RSSVetJobs Veteran Eagle
Issue 9:12, Monday, December 1, 2008
www.vetjobs.com
The Veteran Eagle is a newsletter for veterans, transitioning military, their family members and friends and supporters of VetJobs.
This month’s Veteran Eagle is sponsored by BNSF Railway
Search the thousands of jobs nationwide in the VetJobs database!
Contents:
1. Message from the Top
2. Outsourced Call-center Options Offer Legitimate Work-at-home Opportunities
3. Navy Introduces Paternity Leave Policy for Sailors
4. Guard/Reserve Debt Relief Act of 2008
5. Agencies Loosen Rules On Security
6. Historic Lawsuit Challenges Unacceptable Delays in Delivering Benefits to America’s Veterans by Department of Veterans Affairs
7. GAO Gives HUBZone Program Priority over Service Disabled Veteran Owned Firms
8. Toxins Linked to Gulf War Illness
9. New FMLA Regulations Affect on Families of Servicemembers
10. National Guard and Reserve Mobilized as of November 25, 2008
11. Significant Events this Month in Military History
HAVE YOU REFRESHED YOUR RESUME SO EMPLOYERS KNOW YOU ARE AVAILABLE? Employers generally will not look at a resume over 14 days old.
Thank you for reading this VetJobs Veteran Eagle newsletter. If you like the newsletter and what VetJobs, the VFW and other veteran service organizations do to assist veterans and their family members find employment, please go to www.weddles.com/poll.htm and vote VetJobs for the WEDDLE’s User’s Choice Award!
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1. Message from the Top
December finds VetJobs in its tenth year of service to veterans and their family members! VetJobs has grown considerably in the last nine years. I am proud to announce that VetJobs for the last month is averaging over 23,000 jobs a day representing over 750 employers who are active daily on the site! These are all quality jobs with good employers who want to hire transitioning military, veterans and their family members.
Being able to maintain 23,000 jobs is a feat in the face of the recession. While job postings on major comprehensive sites are down 18% to 40%, VetJobs postings are still up over last year. Earlier this year we were up over 40%, but the recession is causing many employers to be more selective as to where they advertise their jobs. Fortunately, many want to hire veterans and VetJobs is the leading military related job board. So for now, we are still on the positive side of where we were last year in terms of job postings. That is good for you as a candidate!
Over the last nine years VetJobs has been able to assist tens of thousands of veterans and their family members find a job with thousands of employers who have used VetJobs! The renewal rate by employers remains well above the industry average and more employers are joining the site every month. So tell your friends that if they want a job with a military friendly company, VetJobs is the place to search!
Importantly, VetJobs has regularly been voted to the WEDDLE’s User’s Choice Award. VetJobs is the only military related job board to be voted to this pinnacle of success for five years in a row! The WEDDLE’s award marks VetJobs as one of the top job sites on the Internet! Additionally, VetJobs is the only military related job board on Workforce Management Magazine’s Hot List of recruiting sites for the last four years. These recognitions confirm that VetJobs is the leading military job board on the Internet!
We appreciate your using VetJobs to assist you in your career and find employment!
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December 7 is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Let us never forget that 67 years ago Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor and Hickim Air Field, killing more than 2,300 Americans. The following day President Franklin Roosevelt, addressing a joint session of Congress, called December 7, 1941, “a date which will live in infamy.” Declaring war against Japan, Congress ushered the United States into World War II and the United States abandoned isolationism. Our parents and grandparents became the “greatest generation” for liberating the world from the threat of fascist domination which at that time was dominant in Germany, Italy and Japan. Today our youth defend us from a new threat of tyranny from religious Islamic zealots whose sole goal is world domination and the murder of anyone who disagrees with their fanatical interpretation of religious beliefs. Keep our military that fight for our freedoms in your prayers this holiday season. This will be a long war fraught with political and religious problems.
On December 13 we celebrate the 372nd birthday of the National Guard! The National Guard traces its origin to an event in 1636 when the first muster of three militia regiments took place in Salem, MA. The National Guard is an integral part of today’s military and is active in nearly 100 countries around the world. The National Guard has been called up for combat more times in the last decade than in its entire history. So if you meet a member of the National Guard, say Happy Birthday and THANK YOU for defending our freedoms!
And December is when people celebrate Hanukkah (December 22), Christmas (December 25) and Kwanzaa (December 26).
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The economic news is not good. The Dow has lost 26% of its value in the last three months (and that’s after this week’s rally.) Retail sales are dropping, home values are falling and jobs are disappearing in several old line industries in the United States. But all is not lost. Even in down times companies are still hiring. If you are in the job market, it means that you will have to just work harder. Studies show that the number one source of finding a job is using Internet job boards. Number two is networking. Number three is using a third party recruiter. But you should also be checking newspaper ads, attending job fairs and letting everyone you know that you are in the job market.
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Finally, each year I like to close presenting a poem. I do not know who wrote the poem, but as military people and veterans, I know you will understand the meaning and importance of this poem.
A Different Christmas Poem
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood; his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me and my wife and my child.
What are you doing? I asked without fear,
Come in this moment, it’s freezing out there!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.
To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light
Then he sighed and he said Its really all right,
I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night.
It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ‘ Pearl on a day in December,
Then he sighed, That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘ Nam ‘,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue… an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother
Who stand at the front against any and all
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.
So go back inside, he said, harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.
But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,
Give you money, I asked, or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you’ve done,
For being away from your wife and your son.
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you, as you mattered to us.
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From the staff of VetJobs, we wish Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all!
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As always, if there is anything we at VetJobs can do for you, please do not hesitate to call or email.
Remember, Freedom Is Never Free – Support Our Armed Forces and Veterans
Best regards,
Ted Daywalt
President
/—December Veteran Eagle sponsor is BNSF Railway—-\
BNSF Railway Company is actively seeking applicants with military experience. At BNSF, we salute those with service, value their skills and welcome the unique experiences of our service members. From skilled craftsmen to first-line supervisors, we filled over 3,000 positions this year and expect to surpass that amount in 2008. BNSF offers challenging and rewarding career opportunities for those in transition from military to civilian life as well as veterans, retirees and members of National Guard and Reserve components.
For more than 150 years, BNSF Railway has been quietly delivering cars, coal, clothing, games and nearly anything else found in homes and businesses. Today, our focus is on using speed, agility and resourcefulness to help expand the global marketplace for goods and services. Through world-class people, processes and technology, BNSF Railway provides an easy, relevant choice for all types of shippers in a wide variety of locations. If you are seeking a challenging and rewarding career that appreciates your military experience, then visit http://www.bnsf.com/careers/military/index.html.
\—–Please visit your December Veteran Eagle sponsor BNSF Railway—-/
2. Outsourced Call-center Options Offer Legitimate Work-at-home Opportunities
You’ve heard of off-shoring. What about home-shoring? That’s a term some use to describe companies tapping U.S. workers to answer tech-support and customer-service calls — from home.
These at-home workers handle hotel and airline reservations, roadside assistance, tech support and sales calls. Retirees and near-retirees watching their retirement accounts shrink may find these legitimate work-at-home opportunities a way to earn extra cash. Hilton Hotels employs about 900 work-at-home reservation agents, while outsourcing companies such as Alpine Access, Arise Virtual Solutions and LiveOps, among others, hire agents to handle various types of call-center work for their clients.
3. Navy Introduces Paternity Leave Policy for Sailors
The Navy announced the implementation of a paternity leave policy authorized Oct. 14 which is part of the Fiscal Year 2009 National Defense Authorization Act. The paternity leave policy provides Sailors another tool designed to help balance work and family. It grants 10 days of non-chargeable leave to married fathers who are currently serving on active duty following the birth a child. The Navy, which is committed to becoming one of the top 50 employers in the nation and attracting the best talent possible, designed the progressive paternity leave policy after considering the changing perspectives of work and family needs in the Navy. These perspectives include a desire for more family time.
4. Guard/Reserve Debt Relief Act of 2008
President Bush signed into law Oct 20 the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008. The act amends federal bankruptcy law to prohibit the bankruptcy court from dismissing or converting a case based on means testing while the debtor: is either on active duty in the military service of the United States or performing a homeland defense activity for at least 90 days; during the 540 days following the end of such period; and was called to such active duty or performed such homeland defense activity after Sept. 11, 2001, as a member of a Reserve Component of the Armed Forces or the National Guard. It also directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on whether and to what degree members of Reserve Components: (1) avail themselves of the benefits of this Act; (2) are debtors in federal bankruptcy cases substantially related to service that qualifies such members for such benefits of this Act; and (3) are debtors in federal bankruptcy cases materially related to such service.
5. Agencies Loosen Rules On Security
U.S. intelligence agencies have loosened security-clearance and hiring rules to open their ranks to first- and second-generation Americans and to outside professionals with cutting-edge technological skills. First- and second-generation immigrants have been essentially blackballed from getting the highest security clearances because their family ties to people in other countries have been considered security risks. The same concerns have all but blocked applicants with dual citizenship. The problem is that those are exactly the kind of people the intelligence agencies need to spy on the decentralized and shadowy world of terrorism. They speak foreign languages, understand the culture and have associations that can help penetrate extremist networks. Now dual citizens are being actively encouraged to apply as they can travel more freely between the U.S. and other nations without raising suspicions. Also in October, National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell approved a program to hire outside experts – mostly technological professionals – for temporary projects inside the intelligence agencies, paying salaries competitive with the best in industry.
6. Historic Lawsuit Challenges Unacceptable Delays in Delivering Benefits to America’s Veterans by Department of Veterans Affairs
Two groups representing thousands of American veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) and Veterans of Modern Warfare (VMW), announced that they have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia seeks to end the unconscionable delays experienced by veterans when applying for disability benefits. VVA and VMW seek immediate action to prevent further irreparable harm to our nation’s veterans.
The lawsuit demands that the VA provide an initial decision on every veteran’s claim for disability benefits within 90 days and resolve appeals within 180 days. Additionally, the veterans groups ask that the Court grant further relief in the form of interim benefits awards in the event that the VA exceeds these minimum standards of constitutionally-guaranteed due process. These interim benefits will provide veterans with a lifeline of support when it is most needed to facilitate reintegration into their lives back home. There are approximately 25 million veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces alive today. More than 7 million of those veterans are enrolled in the VA’s healthcare system, and approximately 3.4 million veterans receive benefits. More than 600,000 VA benefits claims are backlogged – this number will only increase as the 1.7 million troops that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to return home.
7. GAO Gives HUBZone Program Priority over Service Disabled Veteran Owned Firms
Recently, the GAO made a very important decision to give priority to HUBZone Program set-asides over any other small business set-aside program. Elizabeth Jauer, legal analyst of International Program Group Inc. protested to the GAO challenging the US Marine Corps’ (USMC) decision to acquire services through the Service Disabled Veteran Owned (SDVO) set-aside program and that the USMC failed to give reasonable consideration for a HUBZone small- businesses set- aside procurement. The GAO upheld the protest.
The SBA and USMC filed motions for reconsideration and vigorously argued for overruling the earlier GAO decision, arguing primarily that implementation of the HUBZone statute is for SBA, not GAO, to decide. The GAO denied the motions for reconsiderations in a decision which upholds the interpretation of the “HUBZone Rule of Two” and materially strengthens the argument that HUBZone set-asides have priority over any other set-aside program and must be followed when there are two or more qualified HUBZone bidders. GAO used a standard statutory interpretation analysis and said there was no deference required to the agency charged with implementing a statute where the statute is unambiguous on its face. These two decisions are a great victory for the HUBZone Program and for the “HUBZone Rule of Two”.
The GAO stated, with regards to the HUBZone Program, a contract opportunity shall be awarded on the basis of competition restricted to HUBZone small business concerns if the contracting officer has a reasonable expectation that is not less than 2 qualified HUBZone small business concerns will submit offers and that the award can be made at a fair market price.
In its decision, GAO concluded that a HUBZone set- aside is mandatory! If the specified HUBZone conditions are met, then the discretion granted to the contracting officer under the SDVO set-aside program does not supersede the mandatory nature of the HUBZone set- aside program. To interpret the statutes otherwise, would create parity between the programs, and would fail to give effect to the clear language of the HUBZone statute, which uses the mandatory term “shall” while the SDVO set-aside statute uses the discretionary term “may.”
8. Toxins Linked to Gulf War Illness
A landmark 450-page report released by a federal panel of scientific experts and veterans concludes that at least one-fourth of the nearly 700,000 military personnel who served in the Persian Gulf War have complex but real health problems that can be scientifically linked to the toxins to which they were exposed. The Congressionally mandated report, ”Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses,” clearly states that Gulf War illness was caused by unique exposures and that Gulf War illness is not a stress related or trauma condition. The full report is available in PDF format at the Boston University School of Public Health website located at http://sph.bu.edu/insider/index.php?%20option=com_content&task=view&id=1579&Itemid=150
9. New FMLA Regulations Affect on Families of Servicemembers
On November 17th, the Department of Labor published new regulations clarifying the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), including provisions that affect the family members of servicemembers who are on active duty or have been injured in the line of duty. Family members such as the spouse, parent, son, or daughter of an individual who is currently on active duty or who has been notified of an impending call to duty in the Armed Forces are now entitled to use FMLA leave under the new regulations. The new rules also define “qualifying exigencies” under which family of servicemembers can take job-protected leave to get family affairs in order when a servicemember is called for duty or deployment. These include short-notice deployment, issues involving childcare and school activities, and post-deployment activities.
The other new provision applies to an employee who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or in the absence of any immediate family, the next of kin such as a grandparent, of a servicemember who has suffered a serious wound or injury in the line of duty. Such an employee is permitted to take up to 26 workweeks of FMLA leave during a 12-month period to care for the servicemember. It should be noted that the FMLA does not apply to all employers in this country-small employers who have fewer than 50 employees are exempted. In addition, to be eligible, employees must have worked for that particular employer for at least a year and put in at least 1,250 work hours during the 12-month period immediately before the leave. If you have any questions about the new FMLA regulations and how they apply to you or your family, or have questions regarding USERRA, call Tully Rinckey PLLC at (202) 787-1900.
10. National Guard and Reserve Mobilized as of November 25, 2008
The total number currently on active duty from the Army National Guard and Army Reserve is 96,345; Navy Reserve, 5,803; Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 10,741; Marine Corps Reserve, 6,859; and the Coast Guard Reserve, 858. This brings the total National Guard and Reserve personnel who have been activated to 120,606, including both units and individual augmentees. A cumulative roster of all National Guard and Reserve personnel who are currently activated can be found at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Nov2008/d20081125ngr.pdf
11. Significant Events this Month in Military History
1775 – The first official American flag (not the Stars and Stripes) was raised for the first time over the Navy flagship Alfred.
1778 – British troops under COL Archibald Campbell occupied Savannah, GA (American Revolution).
1812 – The US frigate Constitution defeats the British frigate Java (War of 1812).
1814 – Treaty of Ghent (Belgium) signed, ending the War of 1812 between the United States and England.
1846 – American troops occupied Ciudad Victoria in northeastern Mexico (Mexican War).
1860 – South Carolina secedes from the Union and South Carolina troops seize the Federal arsenal in Charleston (Civil War).
1898 – The Treaty of Paris was signed by American and Spanish representatives, ending the Spanish-American War.
1921 – The first helium-filled balloon, a U.S. Navy dirigible, flew from Hampton Roads, VA to Washington, D.C.
1941 – Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. The United States declared war on Germany, Japan and Italy (World War II).
1944 – Battle of the Bulge began (World War II).
1946 – The official end of World War II.
1972 – The Paris Peace talks temporarily fail and President Nixon orders a resumption of full-scale bombing of targets in North Vietnam (Vietnam War).
1989 – Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama, begins.
1991 – The USSR went out of existence after 74 years.
1992 – Operation Restore Hope – America’s intervention in Somalia began.
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