There’s a new Veterans Affairs program called “Fulfilling the Commitment—Coming Home to Work” that VA officials hope will make it easier for veterans returning from duty in the Global War on Terror to make the transition back to civilian life. The multi-departmental and public-private effort will attempt to link up veterans with prospective employers through local and regional job markets around the country. The VA says that around 200,000 troops separate from active duty each year. Officials also noted a dire statistic recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics: In the first nine months of 2005, the percentage of 20-24-year-old veterans who were unemployed was 15 percent—nearly three times the national unemployment rate.
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.