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The University of Virginia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science is launching an advanced degree program to serve those who have served.

The Accelerated Master’s Program for Veterans in Systems Engineering has been created to meet the educational needs of recent U.S. military veterans as they reenter civilian life. Planning for the program is supported in part by the National Science Foundation through one of seven grants awarded to selected schools to develop programs targeted specifically toward helping veterans transition from military life into productive careers in advanced technology.

The Engineering School has initiated a fundraising campaign to provide scholarships for eligible veterans. These scholarships would help to offset tuition not covered by the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill.

While systems engineering is a promising career path for anyone holding the degree – CNNMoney.com recently ranked systems engineering No. 1 on its list of “best jobs in America” – veterans are particularly suited for the career and in high demand because many have gained technical skills and security clearances through their work in the military. These are two qualifications sought after by large defense and government contractors such as Lockheed Martin or Science Applications International Corporation, both of which often work in classified technology projects.

Learn about the Accelerated Master’s Program for Veterans in Systems Engineering.

Many young veterans of the war in Iraq choose to further their education after returning from deployment.

During the spring of 2009, Penn State offered the course, “Narrative, Oral History, New Media Technologies.” This course was designed to teach student veterans how to use video and web technologies in order to chronicle the stories and experiences of the Iraq War.

Students gained hands-on experience in documentary filmmaking and oral history interviewing while learning pre- and post-production video techniques.

Meet the student Veterans, learn about their goals for the class, and watch some of their videos!

Sounds like a great learning experience to us!

Now’s your chance! Per the American Forces Press Service:

Defense officials have launched virtual “listening sessions” in hopes of gaining more insight into the effectiveness of military family programs, a Pentagon official said today.

The anonymous, online survey solicits feedback from servicemembers and their families on the military’s educational programs, support networks and other services.

“We hope to hear from a tremendous number of people and have the opportunity to hear from people with wide-ranging issues,” said Cathann Kress, program lead for partnerships within the Pentagon’s office of military community and family policy. “Whether you’re a brand-new military family with no children or a military family with many years in with several children, we want to hear from you.”

Servicemembers and their families are invited to participate in the survey online.

Are women in the U.S. military getting full opportunities to serve their country? And are they getting adequate support upon their return from combat zones? It won’t surprise you that the answer is no, not really.

Irin Carmen is a blogger at Jezebel, a feminist blog covering all topics affecting women. Including women serving in the military. Her style may not be that of the entire military community, or even the MOAA membership, but one thing is clear; based on the recent news coverage of females in the armed services this issue is going to continue to garner attention.  Read the entire post Women in the Military: Underutilized During, Neglected After, for more reflection on the treatment of women both on and off active duty service.

Other articles on women serving in the military by fellow Twitterer @khefling, an Associated Press Reporter, add some depth to this issue:

• Female vets face homelessness, dearth of services
• New VA patients younger, more likely to be women
• Back from combat, women struggle for acceptance

From an article by Phillip O’Connor in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

For decades, the long-held belief was that only eight members of the legendary World War II unit [The Tuskegee Airmen] were Purple Heart recipients, despite a roster filled with dozens of airmen who were wounded, killed or missing in action. No one is certain why most historical accounts used the erroneous number, which made its way into the Library of Congress and the Congressional Record.

Why this information is part of historical record is unclear, but new stories and records are coming to light that prove 59 men have received the Purple Heart, and several more may have as well.

It’s about time we get the records straight and honor their memory and their service to their country.

A study by RAND corp  reports that children of military families, especially older children, are prone to suffer from emotional and behavioral issues above the national average for children their age.

The Rand Corp. study, commissioned by the National Military Family Association, explored how older children from military families deal with the deployment of a parent. The results were published in the journal Pediatrics on Dec. 7.

About one-third of the children in the study reported symptoms of anxiety, somewhat higher than the percentages reported on other studies of children, the results indicated. Also, the number of child difficulties was linked to the total months deployed in the past three years…

The study is useful in that it provides scientific data that can help to identify vulnerable populations and to steer the department’s future decisions on military family programs, Thompson said.

Read the full story by Elaine Wilson of the American Forces Press Service for further details.

So this is pretty cool- Navy Chef Kyle Daley, 27, is featured on the new “Top Chef Academy”. If you’re watching, cheer him on!

Among the students selected for Novelli’s academy is Kyle Kupiszewski, 27. Kyle known as “Kup” to his buddies, is a young navy chef residing in Portsmouth New Hampshire. Below is a brief biography of Kyle who traveled to the academy in Venice, Calif. from Virginia Beach.

A cook aboard nuclear powered submarines, Kup is used to serving 150 helpings of hash browns and bacon in one sitting, so he isn’t fazed by pressure. However, Kup arrived at the Academy with a limited range of dishes and techniques and so was nervous about learning how to cook under the renowned Chef Novelli. He may look like a muscular sailor with attitude and tattoos, but Kup may have been the student who most desperately wanted to impress Jean Christophe.

Toughened by years in of Navy experience (he once spent 91 days underwater) nothing much fazes Kup. During the series, he shows he has a short fuse and doesn’t take kindly to childish behavior. He forms a close friendship with Kyle, the other alpha male type in the group, but clashes with some of his female classmates.

Kup was deployed on active duty with the Navy, but has recently arrived back in the United States.

Want to know if your company is a military-friendly place to work? Or if you should even bother to apply there? Check out G.I. Jobs’ list of the top 100 military-friendly employers!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Colorado State University and Veterans Green Jobs announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to create the Veterans Green Jobs Education Initiative at the university. CSU is the first four-year university to partner with Veterans Green Jobs to provide “green” educational opportunities to veterans.

The MOU establishes a formal relationship between CSU and the Denver-based, non-profit organization, Veterans Green Jobs, for the purpose of encouraging and enhancing opportunities for military veterans to attend the university, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The initiative promotes academic disciplines that provide post-educational career opportunities for veterans in the green jobs sector, both in Colorado and nationally.

These disciplines, across four colleges at CSU, would include, but are not limited to: natural resources management, forestry and military lands management, green/sustainable construction, renewable energy technology and sustainable business development.

To achieve the goals of the MOU, the university and Veterans Green Jobs will focus on:

• supporting military veterans attending Colorado State University in achieving their educational and professional goals for the green jobs sector;
• and, developing pathways and programs that will assist and encourage military veterans to attend Colorado State University to undertake undergraduate and graduate level studies in green job related disciplines.

Veterans Green Jobs is a national nonpartisan organization providing returning military veterans with rapid training programs and deployment into meaningful jobs in the new energy economy. Leveraging the investments already made in military personnel, Veterans Green Jobs retools them for a new mission: working on the frontlines here at home to implement energy conservation, renewable energy and environmental restoration.

Partnering with academia and private industry, Veterans Green Jobs training programs have resulted in a skilled workforce currently implementing energy efficiency and weatherization measures as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In 2010, Veterans Green Jobs will launch programs across the United States to train veterans as leaders of market-based initiatives to manage weatherization programs, install solar panels and wind turbines, rebuild and retrofit homes, and replant and restore both urban and wildland environments.

For more information about Veterans Green Jobs, visit http://veteransgreenjobs.org/ or contact Kirsten Maynard, (415) 350-4147, kirsten@veteransgreenjobs.org.

It’s that time of the year again and the North American Aerospace Defense Command is getting ready to track Santa! The NORAD Tracks Santa Web site, www.noradsanta.org, is now live and features fun holiday games and activities that change daily. The Web site is available in seven languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and Chinese. On Dec. 24, the website will stream videos, captured by NORAD “Santa Cams,” from numerous cities along Santa’s journey.

This year, children and the young-at-heart are able to track Santa through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and TroopTube.mil. To follow us on any of these Web sites, type in @noradsanta into the search engine and start your tracking.

New this year, OnStar is partnering with NORAD to provide OnStar subscribers with live Santa updates as they travel in their vehicles on Christmas Eve. Subscribers simply push the blue OnStar button to get status reports on Santa’s whereabouts.

Also new and beginning at 12:00 a.m. MST on Dec. 24, visitors to the website can watch Santa as he prepares his sleigh, checks his list, and goes through all his preparations to ensure he has a successful journey.

As soon as Santa takes off from the North Pole, children can also track him with up-to-the-minute Google Maps and Google Earth reports.

Santa trackers will begin answering phones and replying to email at 4:00 a.m. MST (6:00 a.m. EST) on Christmas Eve. Children of all ages can call the NTS toll free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) or send an email to noradtrackssanta@gmail.com.