Friday Digest: July 8

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Friday Digest: July 8, 2016

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This Week:


MACV - Upcoming Events

The Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans will be hosting the following events:


10th Annual Veterans Career Fair in Brooklyn Center, July 13

Veterans Career Fair Flyer

If you are a Veteran and looking for a job or are interested in exploring new careers or educational opportunities, come to the largest Veterans career fair in Minnesota with hundreds of Minnesota's best employers with current job openings.

Wednesday, July 13
10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Earle Brown Heritage Center
6155 Earle Brown Drive
Brooklyn Center, MN

This no-cost event for job seekers brings together:

  • Employers, who can provide company information, speak with you about current job openings and interview you for open positions on site.
  • Service providers who can assist with your employment-related needs, as well as provide information and referrals to non-work related services for Veterans.
  • Resource area staffed by HR professionals to assist with resume critique and job search advice.

All former and current members of the U.S. military are welcome.

If you need accommodations to participate in this event, please submit them by Friday, July 1.

If you have any questions, contact Christine Pribbernow at 651-259-7169 or through the Minnesota Relay Service at 1-800-627-3529.

More Information >>


AVTT Traveling Vietnam Wall at the Eagle's Healing Nest, July 14 - 17

The AVTT Traveling Vietnam Wall will be on display at the Eagle's Healing Nest in Sauk Centre starting at noon on July 14 until 3 p.m. July 17. There will be events each day.

Eagle's Healing Nest
310 US Highway 71 N
Sauk Centre, MN 56378
(320) 351-5678

More Information >>

Eagle's Healing Nest >>


MN DAV State Commander Mick Aguirre selected to throw the 1st pitch for MN Twins on 9/11

The Minnesota Twins have announced that DAV State Commander, Michael (Mick) Aguirre has been selected to throw out the 1st pitch at the Twins game against Cleveland on Sunday September 11. Commander Aguirre was elected DAV State Commander in May 2016 and serves as the leader of the more than 18,000 member organization here in Minnesota. Aguirre, a member of St. Paul Chapter 2 of the DAV, is a former Marine who served in Vietnam. Mr. Aguirre's family has been honored in St. Paul for a long history of service in the Armed Forces. He will be joined on the field with his immediate family.


VA Announces Community Care Call Center to Help Veterans with Choice Program Billing Issues

Veterans can now work directly with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to resolve debt collection issues resulting from inappropriate or delayed Choice Program billing.  A Community Care Call Center has been set up for Veterans experiencing adverse credit reporting or debt collection resulting from inappropriately billed Choice Program claims. Veterans experiencing these problems can call 1-877-881-7618 for assistance and press 1 at the prompt.


Minnesota Humanities Center Announces Discussion Leaders for “Echoes of War” Community Conversations

June 30, 2016—ST. PAUL, Minn.— Twelve Minnesota leaders have been identified by the Minnesota Humanities Center’s Veterans’ Voices program to lead community discussions in the fall of 2016 for its Echoes of War project. Echoes of War asks Veterans and members of the general public to consider how Americans memorialize war and military service in public, and how that relates to the way war gets remembered through the personal stories and life experiences of Veterans.

As part of this project, the Humanities Center will train community discussion leaders who will host a public discussion series on war and memory that will run simultaneously in St. Paul and Northfield this fall. The Echoes of War Discussion Leaders are Veterans, civilians, and current military service members, including:

Joseph Buhain, Prior Lake                   Todd Kuikka, St. Cloud

Vance Gellert, Minneapolis                    John Lally, South St. Paul

Scott Glew, Elk River                            Daniel Reiva, Brooklyn Park                             

Kim Heikklia, St. Paul                            Bruce Richardson, St. Louis Park

Kathy Henderson, St. Paul                    Rachel Robinson, Minneapolis

Matthew Idzik, St. Paul                          Blake Rondeau, St. Paul

Echoes of War features a five-day, immersive, residential training program for these selected discussion leaders that will be co-led by Dr. Susannah Ottaway, Echoes of War co-project director and professor of history at Carleton College, and Trista Matascastillo, the Humanities Center’s Veterans’ Voices Program Officer and herself a Veteran. “We are honored to have such a dynamic group of Veterans, civilians, and current military members included as part of our discussion series, Echoes of War,” notes Trista Matascastillo. “The collective knowledge of each of these discussion leaders will add to the richness of the content and be able to draw personal connections to war literature and experience connected to memorials as we engage communities during Veterans’ Voices Month in October.”     

As a part of their training, these 12 discussion leaders will engage with both war literature and war memorials at the Minnesota State Capitol mall. Leading scholars and voices from Minnesota’s Veteran communities will work with the Humanities Center’s Echoes of War project to train them and use “Standing Down: From Warrior to Civilian,” an anthology published by Great Books Foundation, as the core literary resource.

After their training, discussion leaders will lead a series of four public conversations about history, collective memory and war memorials, and explore how these themes relate to Veterans’ experiences of war. These Echoes of War public discussions will be held simultaneously in St. Paul at the Humanities Center and in Northfield at Carleton College on Tuesday evenings this fall—October 11, 18, 25, and November 1—to coincide with Veterans’ Voices Month in October.

The Echoes of War project is part of a grant from a new National Endowment for the Humanities grant “Dialogues on the Experience of War,” which brings a humanities perspective to the war experience through conversation-based Veterans programming. 


Veterans Can Make Own Appointments for Routine Eye and Hearing Exams

In an effort to improve access and reduce wait times, the Minneapolis VA Health Care System (Minneapolis VA) now offers “direct scheduling” for patients who need routine eye and ear exams.

Veterans can now schedule an appointment two ways:

  • After completing an appointment a Veteran can simply stop by and speak with a clerk at the clinics front desk and request a routine eye or hearing exam.
         - For example: a patient may request a routine eye exam to be scheduled after seeing their primary care provider or completing their physical therapy appointment.

  • Veterans may also schedule an appointment by contacting the VA Call Center at (612) 467-1100.

Routine eye exams include a Veteran who: has not been seen in the last two years for an eye exam; needs new glasses; has a family history of eye disease; needs a baseline exam due to a new medication; or needs a yearly exams for those with a history of diabetes.

Routine hearing exams include a Veteran who: has never had a hearing exam; may need new hearing aids; feels that his/her hearing may be slowly worsening; or needs a baseline exam due to a new medication.

In the past, Veterans required a referral from their primary care provider for routine eye or hearing exams.


Combat Veterans Get Telephonic Health Care Application Option

Accelerates Enrollment of Combat Veterans; All Veterans to Get Option on July 5, 2016

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that it has amended its enrollment regulations to allow Veterans to complete applications for enrollment in VA health care by telephone without the need for a signed paper application. The change is effective immediately for Combat Veterans and will be effective July 5, 2016, for all Veterans.

This phased implementation accelerates VA’s effort to enroll all Combat Veterans with pending applications as part of its ongoing Veterans Enrollment Rework Project. The VA is working to complete the review and rework of all pending health enrollment records for living and deceased Veterans this summer. Veterans can view the amended regulation on the Federal Register website.

“This improvement to our Veterans’ experience is one we can implement now, and it’s the right thing to do for Veterans,” said VA Deputy Secretary Sloan D. Gibson, “Enrolling all 31,000 Combat Veterans with pending applications is the top priority in our effort to fix our enrollment system. Our analysis of our current application process convinced me we could enroll Veterans more quickly using this method, particularly Combat Veterans and those who are transitioning from active duty to Veteran status,” Gibson said.

By adding this telephone application option to VA’s regulations, VA will now offer three ways to enroll.  This change provides Veterans an even more convenient way to apply for enrollment, in addition to the paper VA Form 10-10 EZ and online enrollment application process. With publication in the Federal Register today, Combat Veterans may now apply by phone. All other Veterans may apply by phone starting on July 5, 2016.

When Veterans choose to enroll, VA offers an enhancement to their enrollment experience through “Welcome to VA” (W2VA).  Veterans enrolled since July 1, 2015 have received a personal introduction to VA health care services, programs and resources to help them become more familiar with VA’s services. In addition, VA sends each new enrollee an introductory letter and personalized handbook in the mail. W2VA enhances communication by reaching out to newly enrolled Veterans through personal phone calls upon enrollment, providing assistance with health care inquiries and assisting with their initial appointment at their preferred VA healthcare facility.

For more information, Veterans can contact the Health Eligibility Center Enrollment and Eligibility Division toll free at 1-855-488-8440.


Monthly Native American Veterans Coffee &Treats Get Together, Aug 5

There is a monthly meeting for Native American Veterans from 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. at the Minneapolis American Indian Center.

More Information >>


Learn, Work, Earn: A Minnesota Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Project

Minnesota Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (MnAMP) colleges can offer Veterans:

Training for jobs in Machining, Mechatronics, and Welding

Start with a manufacturing core curriculum, which leads to career pathways and industry recognized credentials

Credit for Prior Learning

Earn college credits for military experience. Use the MnSCU VETS system to instantly identify credits.

Dual-Training & Apprenticeship Opportunities

  • Build on prior military service and work experience
  • Gain year-round employment while going to college
  • Master skills and earn wages with a company during training

Find your MnAMP college here

MnAMP Flyer