Category Featured
National Guard, America’s oldest fighting force, celebrates 383rd birthday December 13
The U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps celebrated their respective 244th birthdays, 28 days apart, in October and November. The U.S. Army was born on June 14 of that same year, 1775. But no American fighting force can match the longevity of the National Guard, which turns 383 years old this week. “The National Guard […]
EDD’s Veterans Day campaign showcases how employment services help veterans find jobs
Unemployment among California veterans dropped to 3.2 percent over the past two years – down 2.6 percentage points since August 2019 – according to the state Employment Development Department. And among the 735,700 employed veterans across California, 1 in 10 held a job in management, earning $138,000 annually compared to the statewide average of $60,485. […]
‘You’re out of uniform!’ And that’s a good thing at Operation Dress Code, where women veterans can dress for success
SAN DIEGO – Five years after leaving the U.S. Coast Guard, Franchesca Avila emerged from Central Arkansas University with a degree in family and consumer science. Then came time to get a job as a civilian. The tight budget of a new graduate didn’t leave much extra cash for the attire she needed to interview […]
CalVet Women Veterans award winner Captain Elizabeth L. Hillman truly a trailblazer
In 2013, the U.S. House Armed Services Committee appointed former Air Force Captain Elizabeth L. Hillman, an expert on sexual harassment, assault, and discrimination in the military, to serve on a panel probing sexual assault in the military. The panel exposed how little progress had been made since the so-called “Tailhook” scandal of 1991, when […]
From sea to shining sea: United States Navy celebrating 244th birthday
Here’s a trivia question: Which is older – the United States Navy or the United States of America? If you guessed the Navy, you’d be correct. You might wonder, how did the creation of the Navy precede the formation of the nation? Why not? The Navy even preceded itself. In the summer of 1775, General […]
Veterans faring well in California’s longest job growth streak in decades
Labor Day – the day America celebrates its workers – offers an opportunity to see how our military veterans are doing in the California labor market. The answer? Quite well, it seems. The number of unemployed veterans in California declined from 65,200 to 20,800 between October 2015 and October 2018. The labor force, whether for […]
August 14 celebrates Native Americans’ roles as “Code Talkers” during World War II
During World War II, Native Americans played a key role in the war against the Axis. They confounded the enemy by using the Navajo language to send secret information from the front lines. The enemy could hear the messages, which they couldn’t decipher because the Navajo language was unfamiliar to them. Consequently, these “code talkers,” […]
A WW II victory so historically important that it merits two commemorative days
How important was the Allied defeat of Japan that ended World War II in 1945? So important that V-J Day – V standing for Victory, J for Japan – is commemorated not once but twice in less than a month. The first – August 14 – is the day Japan admitted defeat by Allied forces, […]
Veterans with CalVet home loans among those sorting out their futures in Paradise
Navy veteran Jim Davis saw an ominous sky as he headed out to the woodwork shop at his home in Paradise one morning in November 2018. “A really strange cloud,” he said. Davis sensed immediately that it soon would be raining fire, not water. He packed up what he could, then quickly left his property. […]
Military veterans, chefs mobilize for CalVet’s 7th Annual MRE Cooking Challenge
Can military sustenance become scrumptious? Can drab be transformed into delectable? See for yourself at CalVet’s 7th Annual MRE Cooking Challenge, Thursday July 18 at the California State Fair, an event that promises to be tastefully done. The Challenge pairs military veterans and noted local chefs as they look to impress a panel of culinary […]
