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The New York Times has come up with a calculator where you can pretend to be Congress and “make” cuts to the military budget as part of a deficit reduction package. See how you do with their interactive tool.

The Pentagon has committed to $450 billion in reduced spending over the next 10 years, but may have to come up with a total of $1 trillion in cuts if Congress follows through with deeper reductions. Make your own plan to reduce the budget by choosing some of the most common, interesting or provocative cuts that have been proposed by various parties.

The check out MOAA’s position on the deficit reduction proposals already on the table, and take action!

Shortly after proposing to girlfriend Hannah Hudgins last month at the Battleship Missouri Memorial (she said yes!), Hawaii-based Navy sailor Johnny Lunsford sealed the deal with a kiss.

Now that kiss has landed the couple a Hawaiian “staycation.”

From Sept. 19 to Oct. 30, couples entered the Mighty Mo’s Victory Kiss Contest by reenacting the iconic 1945 photograph of a Navy sailor kissing a young nurse in Times Square after the WWII surrender was announced. Hundreds of the reenactment pictures were posted on the memorial’s Facebook page, where finalists were chosen based on the most “likes” they received.

Lunsford and Hudgins’ picture, which received a total of 725 likes, earned the grand prize: airfare for two aboard Hawaiian Airlines to or from the continental United States and a two-night stay at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa.

Runner-up couples will receive credit with the Battleship Missouri Memorial’s Victory Store. All finalists will receive two movie vouchers to see Universal Pictures’ Battleship, premiering in May 2012.

Throughout the contest, couples had an outstanding example to guide their reenactments. A life-scale bronze sculpture of the original kiss remains temporarily on loan to the Missouri. Titled “Unconditional Surrender,” the sculpture was created by Seward Johnson, artist and son of the founder of Johnson & Johnson. It is touring the country as part of the “Keep the Spirit of ’45 Alive!” initiative, a nationwide, grassroots effort to establish an annual day to honor the achievements of America’s WWII generation so that their courage, self-sacrifice and service will continue to inspire future generations of Americans.

Johnny Lunsford and Hannah Hudgins reenact the iconic WWII Times Square kiss next to “Unconditional Surrender,” a lifescale sculpture depicting the famous smooch. The newly engaged couple’s kiss earned them airfare for two aboard Hawaiian Airlines to or from the continental United States and a two-night stay at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa. (“Unconditional Surrender,” lifescale bronze sculpture by Seward Johnson, courtesy of The Sculpture Foundation © 2004. www.sewardjohnson.com)

To celebrate those who serve and their families, Facebook has launched a new page, U.S. Military on Facebook.

The goal with this new page is to highlight what’s going on across Facebook on various Pages related to the branches of the U.S. Military and other organizations, whether they’re official government pages, advocacy organizations, or veterans’ groups.

The new Facebook Page includes an app,  ‘A Nation Gives Thanks.’  The app is focused on personal connections, making it easy for people to send messages to their friends and family members who are part of the military community. Facebook launched this app with the support and endorsement of the USO, Blue Star Families, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), American GI Forum, Disabled Veterans, CNN.com, HLN, BranchOut, and Military.com.

Check them out, and give ‘em a “like!”

President Obama announced the launch of the Veterans Job Bank, powered by the National Resource Directory (www.NRD.gov).

The Veterans Job Bank provides a central source for Veterans to locate job opportunities without having to visit multiple sites. The Veterans Job Bank is unique in that it provides users with the ability to define their search criteria by keyword, Military Occupational Code (MOC) and location. Based on information provided, the search engine sends a query using a Google custom search which pulls a selection of global job opportunities that have been posted or specifically tagged for Veterans on job boards, such as Simply Hired and corporate websites.

In support of this initiative, the Veterans Job Bank Widget was created which allows access to the Veterans Job Bank directly from other websites. An easy to implement feature that any individual or organization can use, the Veterans Job Bank Widget allows Veterans to quickly and easily conduct a targeted job search without ever leaving the website they are visiting.

Read the full White House press release or try out the widget below.

Tracking military targets? The University of Missouri’s College of Engineering has an app for that!

Engineers from the MU College of Engineering, with funding from the U.S. Army/Leonard Wood Institute, have enhanced popular smartphones to be able to find and track targets. In addition, the engineers have developed ad hoc networks so that soldiers can relay smartphone information without using the internet.

“The goal of the project is to provide the exact location of a remote target, through either sound or sight,” said Yi Shang, professor of computer science. “The Android phones and iPhones have powerful processors, which allow us to write complicated programs. Each smartphone has a camera, a microphone, GPS, a compass, an accelerometer, and several other sensors that we can utilize. Plus, these phones typically support three kinds of wireless communication: Bluetooth, WiFi and cellular.”

Shang has worked for ten years in wireless sensors, but has recently begun working with smartphones just as consumers would buy them, “off the shelf.” Collaborators Wenjun Zeng and Dominic Ho, MU professors of computer science, brought expertise in mobile networking, multimedia and signal processing, and have turned the phones into powerful tools for soldiers in combat situations.

“Imagine a team of soldiers in the field,” said Shang. “They see a distant enemy target, but lasers used to provide guidance to the target may be visible to the enemy. With our smartphone-based system, team members could take pictures of the target and obtain a GPS location, which can be relayed via wireless networks to interested parties.”

In addition, the researchers have developed a sound-based localization method for dark or urban environments. A group of soldiers could record a sound and share it, and software would allow the soldiers to determine the location of the sound source.

There are civilian applications to this technology as well. Emergency responders could use the software to identify a location or direct traffic, or tourists could use the application to identify an unfamiliar object or building with the exact location.

“The technology is still in the early stages of development, but it holds a lot of promise,” said Shang. “If we can achieve our goals, the application will be a very useful tool for our soldiers and the general public.”

Twelve finalists have been selected for the latest Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Innovation Initiative (VAi2) competition, which sought new ideas to help service-disabled Veterans obtain meaningful employment. VA employees submitted more than 700 proposals to the competition.

“This innovation competition underscores the commitment of VA employees to making a positive difference in the way this Department serves Veterans in the 21st century,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “Our transformation relies heavily on the talent and expertise of our front-line employees — to streamline operations, improve services and do what is best for Veterans while protecting taxpayers’ dollars.”

Peer review, enabled by crowd-sourcing technology and combined with input from internal and external reviewers, identified 12 finalists in this competition to improve Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment VetSuccess services to Veterans.

The 12 finalists designed new ways to make it easier for Veterans to access benefits and complete their employment rehabilitation programs, while streamlining behind-the-scenes processes to deliver those benefits faster and more effectively through enhanced automation. Each finalist is detailed on www.va.gov/VAi2.

More information about Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment VetSuccess services is available from VA online. Veterans applying for these benefits are encouraged to use VA’s web portal for online applications at http://benefits.va.gov/myebenefits.

For the first time in its history, Arlington National Cemetery is scheduling funeral services on Saturdays to improve service for our veterans and their families. Currently, Saturday services are for internments and inurnments of cremated remains that do not require military honors.

Families of military spouses and dependent children as well as families of veterans who wish to waive military honors have the option to conduct their loved one’s service on Saturday. These services are available between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

“We are entrusted with the sacred duty of taking care of our nation’s heroes and their families. The addition of Saturday services is just one of the ways for Arlington to better meet the wishes of our families in their time of need,” said Patrick K. Hallinan, superintendent.

For information on scheduling a funeral service at Arlington, contact the call center at 1-877-907-8585. For more information on Arlington National Cemetery, please visit the website at www.arlingtoncemetery.mil.

From the U.S. Army:

Lt. General Mark P. Hertling formally assumed command of U.S. Army Europe during a ceremony at Campbell Barracks on March 25.

He is the 36th commander in USAREUR’s nearly 70-year history, and the first three-star general appointed by the U.S. government since 1952 to lead U.S. Army forces in Europe. Lt. Gen. Manton S. Eddy served as the commander from August 1952 until April 1953, when, according to the Army’s Command and General Staff College website, he presided over the command’s transformation from an Army of occupation to one of deterrence.

Not only is Gen. Hertling (pictured below with his wife, Sue Hertling) an accomplished officer and three star general, he’s apparently also a Bon Jovi fan! This photo was taken in a band hospitality suite in Mannheim, Germany the evening of July 16, 2011.

Photo credit: Photo by David Bergman / TourPhotographer.com

MOAA members are extraordinary in their own right, but our chapter and council members surpass even their peers when it comes to fulfilling the role of servant leaders in the community.

The MOAA Tampa Chapter has been working hard to help spread the word on an inspiring memorial to honor all  troops- of every service; rank; and status; past, present and future. The CENTCOM Memorial project has been in the works for ten years already, and finally is nearing completion.

According to the Website for the CENTCOM Memorial at Macdill Air Force Base, their mission is to:

USCENTCOM Memorial Foundation, Inc., is a non-profit, federal and state registered organization, 501C3. It is publicly funded, and accepts donations to complete the Memorial at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida. No taxpayer dollars or Federal grants are used other than the land the Memorial is built on supplied by the Air Force.

The first phase of the memorial has already been completed, with the second phase to be scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2011. Here’s how you can help:

Your participation and support for our efforts would be appreciated by the survivor spouses, families, and friends of the men and women we honor, and the millions of Americans who need to hear the message of Honor, Courage, Commitment and sacrifice embodied in their experiences. To help plan your participation with the Memorial Foundation, please contact us by e-mail at info@centcommemorial.org or ajacobs2@tampabay.rr.com.

Or visit http://www.centcommemorial.com/ for more information on how you can get involved!

We came across this on Twitter last week, and wanted to pass it on:

If you’re a student veteran and have recently attended a college or university that is vet-friendly, or has great programs and support for veterans, let other vets know by taking the “Best for Vets:  2011 Colleges” survey hosted by Military Times EDGE and the Student Veterans of America.

A lot of schools claim to be “military-friendly” or “veteran-friendly.” We believe the service members and veterans at these schools are the best judge of that, which is why we want to hear from you.

This survey — designed by Student Veterans of America and EDGE, the education magazine of the Military Times newspapers — asks you to rate your school’s support for military and veteran students and handling of military and veteran issues. Your responses will inform the “Best for Vets” ranking of colleges in the November issue of EDGE, helping us to recognize the schools that are doing the most for military and veteran students and encourage other schools to emulate them.

If you are a student veteran, make sure you take the survey! If you know a student veteran, please ask them to take it as well! Shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes!