News
Comprehensive Resource Center for the Military Justice Improvement Act
Monday, December 31, 2018 | Category: Military Justice - National
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand posts a continuum of information including legislative actions regarding sexual assault, harassment and retaliation within the United States military.
Donations Needed to Keep the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Doors Open
Thursday, November 15, 2018 | Category: History/Heritage - National
The "Women in Military Service for America (WIMSA), women veterans' memorial at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia faces challenges to stay open 20 years after it was chartered. Commonly known as the "Women's Memorial," it officially opened in October 1997. PRWeb notes that it is the "only national memorial to recognize and honor the service of America's almost 3 million military women who have proudly served since the American Revolution. Initially, Congress earmarked money for the Women's Memorial to assist with operating costs, but in 2010 the Congressional funding stopped." Since 2010, the memorial's doors remained open through personal donations.
The "Women's Memorial," partnered with the Academy Women's Military Women eMentor Community to launch a fundraising campaign that began November 4, 2016 with a goal of raising $20 for every living woman veteran or $20 million dollars to keep the memorial open for the next 20 years and remain a "rallying point for current military women and a pilgrimage site for women veterans. The Memorial tells the story of women's service to over 150,000 visitors every year and almost 300,000 permanent registrations by current and veteran military women have been recorded and preserved for future generations." The campaign raised over $114,508.
Please help keep the memorial doors open! Consider donating...every dollar makes a difference.
US Postal mail:
Please download and complete the Donation Form at: http://www.womensmemorial.org/PDFs/RegForm.pdf
Mail donation form to:
Women's Memorial Foundation
Dept. 560
Washington, DC 20042-0560
Other questions, call: 800-222-2294 or 703-533-1155
RAND Report (Volume 5): Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment in the Military
Wednesday, November 7, 2018 | Category: Sexual Harassment/Assault/Trauma - National
RAND released its 2018 “Volume 5. Estimates for Installation- and Command-Level Risk of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment from the 2014 RAND Military Workplace Study.” RAND’s report summary follows:
In early 2014, the Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office asked the RAND National Defense Research Institute to conduct an independent assessment of the rates of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and gender discrimination in the military — an assessment last conducted in 2012 by the Department of Defense using the Workplace and Gender Relations Survey of Active Duty Members. The resulting RAND Military Workplace Study invited close to 560,000 U.S. service members to participate in a survey fielded in August and September of 2014. This volume presents survey estimates of how risk of sexual assault and sexual harassment varies across military installations and major commands. The researchers find that risk of sexual assault and harassment varies across installations and commands and that these differences are sometimes large. Patterns in these risk estimates offer important insights into the types of environments where service members are most or least likely to be sexually assaulted or harassed. The results may also provide clues about the conditions that contribute to sexual assault risk and about strategies that could be used to prevent sexual assault and harassment.
2018 Veterans Day Deals, Discounts and Freebies
Monday, October 29, 2018 | Category: Advocacy/Outreach - National
Military.com frequently updates a list of Veterans Day 2018 restaurant, goods and services discounts as well as events.
Sign Up Online for a Veterans ID Card: Here’s How.
Monday, October 29, 2018 | Category: Advocacy/Outreach - International
VAntage Point, a Department of Veterans Affairs blog, published the following guidance on how veterans can apply for their ID card.
”Veterans with honorable service can apply for the Veterans Identification Card (VIC) to use as proof of military service.
"The new Veterans Identification Card provides a safer and more convenient and efficient way for most Veterans to show proof of service," said VA secretary Dr. David J. Shulkin when the card was launched. "With the card, Veterans with honorable service to our nation will no longer need to carry around their paper DD-214s to obtain Veteran discounts and other services."
If you already have a photo ID issued by the Department of Defense or a Veterans Health ID, you don't need the new card. To request a VIC, Veterans must visit vets.gov, click on "Sign In" in the top right hand corner and establish an ID.me account. Once the Veteran verifies their identity they may request to "Apply for the Veteran ID Card." Watch the video below for more information.”
Senator Demands Probe of Website That Promotes Nude Photos of Female Servicemembers
Monday, October 29, 2018 | Category: Sexual Harassment/Assault/Trauma - National
Kris Goldsmith, a researcher for Vietnam Veterans of America, alerted Senator Claire McCaskill to the hot military girls.com website and spinoff Facebook pages that appeared to depict identifiable nude and clothed female servicemembers, mostly from the U.S. military. The domain for the site which was registered in 2001 is in Canada and it appears the internet protocol address has changed 24 times. Goldsmith expressed concern that the women could be tracked down and blackmailed. Senator McCaskill requested the Pentagon Inspector General initiate an investigation. Although the military is making reforms regarding social media, this is another in a series of similar sites that contribute to a culture of harassment.
Fact Sheet: VA Community Care Network (CCN)
Friday, October 26, 2018 | Category: Advocacy/Outreach - National
This Department of Veterans Affairs fact sheet provides an overview of the Community Care Network (CCN) established under the VA Mission Act 2018. The Community Care Network, a government initiative to streamline VA’s community care programs, is subdivided into regions depicted on the U.S. map included in this fact sheet. Contracted program administrators will be tasked “to develop and administer regional networks of high-performing licensed health care providers and practitioners to provide medical, dental and pharmacy services to eligible Veterans who are unable to receive care at local VA medical centers.”
K9s For Warriors - Because Together We Stand
Friday, September 14, 2018 | Category: Health Care - National
Meet the founder of K9s for Warriors (a Better Business Bureau accredited charity), a veteran caregiver, and her son, a veteran struggling with PTSD. This article shares the journey many military veterans experience post-military service and how their health, and their rescued dogs’ health, improved when they were paired together to help each other live a productive, more joyful life. As of summer 2018, “the program has rescued more than 850 dogs and 440 military service members, with an astounding 99% program success rate.”
K9s for Warriors: https://www.k9sforwarriors.org
Military Women’s Organizations Unite to Form National Coalition
Friday, September 7, 2018 | Category: Advocacy/Outreach - National
On September 7, 2018, an Advisory Group comprised of leading national and regional military women’s organizations began the formation of “a coalition of like-minded groups to battle the continued marginalization women face within the military and after their service. The unprecedented national gathering of military women’s groups will form a coalition with the goal of elevating the voices of the 2.2 million current service women and women veterans to bring about policy and culture change within the military and the veteran communities.“
VA Says It Will Not Study Effects Of Medical Marijuana On PTSD And Chronic Pain
Wednesday, August 1, 2018 | Category: Health Care - National
Minnesota Representative Tim Walz received a “no can do” response to his request for the VA to research veteran use of medical marijuana. James Clark of Task & Purpose reported: “The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) says it will not conduct research into the effects of medical cannabis on post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain, some of the very ailments veteran patients rely on the drug to treat. In a Dec. 21 letter to Minnesota Democrat Rep. Tim Walz, VA Secretary David Shulkin said that the department is unable to research medical cannabis due to federal restrictions.”