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This new guide provides the critical information on the transportation services available to New Jersey Veterans and their caregivers. |
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DMAVA will have a Veterans Service Officer present |
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DMAVA will have a Veterans Service Officer present |
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DMAVA will have a Veterans Service Officer present |
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March 29, 2023 9:00am – 1:00pm
RETIREMENT / TRANSITION SEMINAR
Joint Military & Family Assistance Center
1048 US Rt 206 South Bordentown, NJ 08505
DMAVA will have a Veterans Service Officer present to help and assist any Veteran or family member.
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DMAVA will have a Veterans Service Officer present |
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DMAVA will have a Veterans Service Officer present |
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DMAVA will have a Veterans Service Officer present |
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DMAVA & Community Calendar |
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We add new events to our calendar on a daily basis so please bookmark and check back often.
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| View Full Calendar |
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Honoring Albanian WWII Heroes |
On March 7, 2023, a delegation from the New Jersey Air and Army National Guard State Partnership Program, U.S. Embassy-Tirana, and the U.S. Air Force Office of the Command Surgeon, Ramstein Air Base, Germany traveled to Belsh, Elbasan, Albania to meet and honor the members of the Zena family, whose relatives helped rescue and house the members of the 807th Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron in November of 1943, after their C-47 transport plane was shot down behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied Albania during World War II.
All 26 members of the squadron, made up of flight nurses, medics, technicians, and pilots, survived the crash and endured harsh winter conditions as they trekked through the mountains of Albania for over two years, hiding from enemy forces, until they could safely reach the Adriatic Coast and were rescued by OSS Agent Lloyd Smith and British operatives on January 9, 1945.
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State Partnership Program |
Service members with the New Jersey Air and Army National Guards trained alongside the Albanian Armed Forces at Land Forces Headquarters, Zall-Herr, Tirana, Albania, March 5-10, 2023, as part of the State Partnership Program. The N.J. Guard sent more than 40 service members to collaborate with their subject-matter counterparts in the AAF.
View Images
Read Story |
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177th Fighter Wing |
The 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard participated in the Red Flag training exercise, hosted by the 414th Combat Training Squadron (CTS) at Nellis Air Force Base on the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) March 12-24, 2023.
Red Flag is a two-week advanced aerial combat exercise designed to provide realistic experience for military pilots, flight crew members and maintainers from various disciplines.
Read Story |
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Join Our Team |
100% Free College Tuition
Bonuses up to $20,000
Student Loan Repayment |
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NJ Catastrophic Entitlement Program | Effective January 1, 2023 the NJ Catastrophic Entitlement Program has increased its yearly benefit from $750 to $1800 a year. This equates to 12 monthly payments of $150.
To be eligible for the NJ Catastrophic Entitlement Program, a Veteran must be a New Jersey resident in receipt of a permanent and total, 100% service-connected disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that resulted from wartime service resulting in one of the following catastrophic disabilities: loss of sight; amputation of both hands, both feet or one hand and one foot; hemiplegia and permanent paralysis of one leg and one arm on either side of the body; paraplegia and permanent paralysis of both legs and lower parts of the body; osteochondritis and permanent loss of use of both legs; multiple sclerosis and the loss of use of both feet or both legs; quadriplegia.
For more information contact the Veterans Benefits Bureau at 888-865-8387 or vbb@dmava.nj.gov.
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Governor's Challenge |
On March 19, 2023, Acting Deputy Commissioner of Veterans Affairs Vincent Solomeno and the New Jersey leadership of the Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A. visited JWV Post 39 in Margate City.
Solomeno spoke about the mental health services available as part of the Governor’s Challenge to Prevent Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families. |
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Iraq VeteransAs part of a recognition of those who served in Iraq since March of 2003, Iraq Veterans who work at the DMAVA headquarters in Lawrenceville stood for a group photo on March 15, 2023. |
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Governor Murphy Signs Two Bills Supporting Veterans |
TRENTON March 10, 2023 - As part of the Murphy Administration’s ongoing efforts to support veterans and their families throughout New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy today signed two bills into law to ease the path for veterans with certain medical training to become licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and to expand eligibility for veterans with limited incomes to have their funerals covered by the government.
Full Press Release |
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VA increases maximum life insurance coverage for Veterans and service members by $100,000
WASHINGTON - Beginning March 1, VA is increasing the maximum amount of life insurance coverage available to Veterans and service members from $400,000 to $500,000 for Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) and Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI). This increase in coverage reflects the current cost of living and helps ensure that the families of Veterans and service members will have the financial support they deserve after their loved ones pass away.
Veterans who are under age 60 and currently enrolled in VGLI will be able to purchase additional coverage in $25,000 increments up to $500,000. All active duty, guard, and reserve service members eligible for SGLI will automatically receive the increased coverage on March 1.
Read Full News Release |
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Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) Proposed Open Season
Congress provided for a Survivor Benefit Plan Open Season in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The SBP Open Season began on December 23, 2022 and ends on January 1, 2024.
The SBP Open Season allows for retirees receiving retired pay, eligible members, or former members awaiting retired pay who are currently NOT enrolled in SBP or RCSBP (Reserve Component Survivor Benefit Plan) to enroll.
The SBP Open Season also allows eligible members and former members who are currently enrolled in either SBP or RCSBP to permanently discontinue their SBP coverage.
Learn More |
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Caregiver Support Program
In this episode of theSITREP, the hosts chat with Colleen Richardson about the Department of Veterans Affairs' Caregiver Support Program and how Caregivers are supported with a multitude of programs and services, to include a monetary stipend for qualified Caregivers.
To learn more call 1-855-260-3274 for the Caregiver Support Line.
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New National Parks PassA new lifetime pass for National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands, called America the Beautiful.
This new lifetime pass for Gold Star Families & Veterans is being offered to demonstrate the country's immense gratitude and respect for those who have served and defended our country.
The Interagency Military Pass has been part of the America the Beautiful – The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass Series since 2012. On December 27, 2021, President Biden signed into law S. 1605 “The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022” (NDAA). Section 641 of the NDAA makes Gold Star families and Veterans eligible for lifetime passes to federal recreational lands.
Learn More at VA News |
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 | VA Life
Veterans Affairs Life Insurance (VALife) provides guaranteed acceptance whole life coverage of up to $40,000 to Veterans with service-connected disabilities. Lesser amounts are available in increments of $10,000. Under this plan, the elected coverage takes effect two years after enrollment as long as premiums are paid during the two-year period.
All Veterans age 80 or under with a VA disability rating of 0 to 100% are eligible for the VALife program and have no time limit to apply.
Learn More |
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PODCAST
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#VetResources
| Subscribe to #VetResources to receive a weekly newsletter from the VA for Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. |
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Happy 104th BirthdayOn Saturday, March 11, 2023, the American Legion Deptartment of New Jersey celebrated The Legion's 104th birthday at Milltown Post 25.
Guest speakers included National Vice Commander Paul M. Kennedy and Dept. Commander Steven Fisher and DMAVA Acting Deputy Commissioner for Veterans Affairs Vincent Solomeno (pictured at podium). |
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Operation Suit Up
On March 16, 2023, the terrific folks at Bridging The Gap provided a free business wardrobe for a local Veteran. Erich S. recently transitioned from military service and is in the first two weeks of his new career in the banking industry. Good luck, Erich!
To learn more about Bridging The Gap and Operation Suit Up please visit their website at bridgingthegap.vet or contact them at 848-895-3500 or info@bridgingthegap.vet.
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Generous DonationOn March 10, 2023, members of American Legion Auxiliary Unit# 28 Absecon NJ and American Legion Post #28 Absecon, NJ presented four geriatric recliners to the Veterans Memorial Home at Vineland.
Photo and caption courtesy American Legion Department of New Jersey Facebook. |
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Rutgers Army ROTCOur Queen’s Guard made history yet again with the first all-female color guard!
In honor of Women’s History Month, the Red Bulls Soccer Team requested the Rutgers Queen’s Guard to present the colors on 18 March 2023.
Photo and caption courtesy Rutgers Army ROTC Facebook. |
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In Honor of all those from New Jersey who gave their lives in the fight against terrorism during Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. In humble gratitude, we remember their sacrifice. |
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March 25, 2004
Operation Iraqi Freedom
SPC Adam D. FroehlichU.S. Army Pine Hill, New Jersey |
March 27, 2012
Operation Enduring Freedom Sgt Joseph D'AugustineU.S. Marine Corps
Waldwick, New Jersey | March 29, 2003
Operation Iraqi Freedom CPL Michael Edward Curtin
U.S. Army Howell, New Jersey |
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March 29, 2010
Operation Enduring Freedom
SGT Scott BrunkhorstU.S. Army Bridgewater, New Jersey |
March 30, 2003
Operation Iraqi Freedom Sgt Brian Daniel McGinnisU.S. Marine Corps
Pitman, New Jersey | April 1, 2007
Operation Iraqi Freedom PFC Miguel A. Marcial III
U.S. Marine Corps Secaucus, New Jersey |
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"But on the battlefield their feet stood fast, and in an instant at the height of their fortune, they passed away from the scene, not of their fear, but of their glory."
~ Pericles |
| NJ Fallen Heroes Memorial |
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Grace TaylorWorld War II |
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Bonalyn SelbWorld War II |
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US Air Force Major Beverly Huber of Pedricktown, NJ after leaving the last airplane full of troops from Vietnam in 1973. Major Huber told the press that she was "very pleased to be the last American lady out of Vietnam." |
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April 1, 1924
| Brendan Byrne was born in West Orange. Byrne graduated from West Orange High School and attended Seton Hall University before enlisting in the US Army Air Force in World War II, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals during his service. He subsequently graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School, entered politics and served as a New Jersey deputy attorney general and judge before running successfully for governor. Byrne was inaugurated as the state’s forty-seventh governor in 1974, served two terms and then went into private law practice in a Roseland firm. |
April 2, 1777 | New Jersey militiamen gathered up horses, cattle and sheep near Secaucus to keep them out of British hands. Due to a lack of boats, they had to swim the livestock across the Hackensack River. |
April 2, 1865 |
New Jersey soldiers of the First and Second New Jersey Brigades fought in the Army of the Potomac’s breakthrough of the Confederate Lines at Petersburg, forcing General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia to retreat west to Appomattox, where Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, effectively ending the Civil War. |
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April 3, 1782 |
Loyalist raider and “Pine Robber” John Bacon was discovered by local militia in a tavern near Tuckerton and was killed in the subsequent fight. | April 3, 1865 |
The Twenty-second United States Colored Infantry, an African-American unit mostly composed of men from New Jersey, was one of the first Union army regiments to enter Richmond, as the Civil War began to draw to a close. | April 3, 1782 |
Loyalist raider and “Pine Robber” John Bacon was discovered by local militia in a tavern near Tuckerton and was killed in the subsequent fight. | April 6, 1917 |
The United States declared war on Germany. In the ensuing weeks New Jersey National Guardsmen were mobilized at Sea Girt and sent to Camp McClellan, Alabama, where they became part of the Twenty-ninth Division before shipping out to France. | April 6, 1944 |
On the evening of April 6, 1944, 22-year-old Mrs. Mary V. Duby, who had been honorably discharged from the Navy with the rank of pharmacist mate third class, joined American Legion Post #128 in Teaneck, NJ. Duby thus became the first female American Legionnaire in the state. |
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New Jersey Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal is a project of the New Jersey Historical Commission, Rutgers University Libraries, and Monmouth University.
The Journal publishes original scholarship on all aspects of NJ studies, including military history.
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Visit Our Friends at JTJ |
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Popular STEM outreach event for young women resumes at Picatinny ArsenalEd Lopez | Picatinny Arsenal Public Affairs | March 15, 2023
PICATINNY ARSENAL, N.J. – After a two-year pause, a popular event to encourage young women to enter technical careers was held here on Feb. 23 with renewed vigor, attracting students from 28 high schools.
The “Introduce a Girl to Engineering” event was last held in 2020 before restrictions related to the COVID pandemic caused a two-year delay. This year, 112 girls attended the event, which is designed to encourage, educate, and inspire young girls to pursue a degree in the various fields of engineering.
Picatinny Arsenal is particularly well suited to provide information on the practical applications of engineering skills, since several of its tenant organizations are engaged in projects and programs that require leading edge technologies.
Displays at the event covered a broad range of topics, including software engineering, chemical engineering, energetics and warheads, human stress and performance, precision targeting sensors and networks, as well as naval systems integration ashore and afloat.
Read Full Story |
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Veterans Services Now Available At Ocean County CollegeBob Vosseller | Jersey Shore Online | March 15, 2023
OCEAN COUNTY – Veterans attending classes at Ocean County College (OCC) are now able to access the programs and services of the Ocean County Veterans Services Bureau without leaving the college campus.
Ocean County Board of Commissioners Deputy Director Gary Quinn, liaison to the Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau said, “often veterans that are attending college are also working, giving them little time to access the services that are available to them.”
“By having a veterans’ service officer right on campus, our veterans can tap into programs that may be available to them in a more convenient way. This on-campus satellite office is all part of the ongoing outreach of our veterans’ service bureau,” he added.
The Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau established a partnership with the Ocean County Veteran and Military Resource Center, which provides services to students attending OCC and also Kean University, located on the same campus off of Hooper Avenue, Toms River.
A veterans’ service officer will be onsite at the college from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Mondays, starting March 20 at the Veteran and Military Resource Center, Room 221 in the Jon and Judith Larson Center on the campus.
Read Full Story |
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CPT Eleanor Grace Alexander |
Eleanor Grace Alexander joined the Army Nurse Corps in May 1967, and attained the rank of Captain. After finishing her basic training at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Houston, she was placed at the 85th Evacuation Hospital in Qui Nhon, Vietnam in June 1967.
Alexander was killed on November 30, 1967. She was with twenty-six other people in a transport plane that crashed three miles south of their duty station.
She is the only woman from New Jersey killed in action. The town of River Vale has dedicated a park in her honor. NJVVMF Biography |
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Connor Frascati | Connor joined DMAVA in January 2023 as the State Executive Officer to The Adjutant General.
Previously, Connor served as the Director of Operations for former Congressman Max Rose's congressional campaign. He has experience working on additional campaigns at the Gubernatorial and Presidential levels, as well as experience working in congressional offices.
Connor serves in the New Jersey National Guard as a Military Intelligence Officer; he is the S2 at the 250th Brigade Support Battalion. Connor received an undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond. |
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Veterans Service Offices |
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Request Military Records |
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Family Programs Office |
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Veterans Memorial Homes |
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NJ State Medals |
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Military Funeral Honors |
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Doyle Veterans Cemetery |
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We Are Hiring!
At the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs we take our work in support of Veterans, Servicemembers and their families very seriously. Whether supporting our Veterans with nursing care, transitional housing, or assisting them in navigating access to their Veteran benefits, the Department provides valuable services and can offer rewarding career opportunities to members of the public.
We also have opportunities in facilities management and program management. In addition, we have job openings for members of our military to serve in AGR and Federal Technician roles.
Stay updated on job openings by subscribing to our Jobs Bulletin.
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We hope you enjoy receiving our newsletter and find it both educational and engaging. If you have questions about our department, our programs or your benefits, please visit our website at nj.gov/military to get contact information.
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| Contact DMAVA |
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We welcome feedback and comments from the public regarding the newsletter. If you would like to contribute with an item of interest to our subscribers, please email us your proposal. Contact the newsletter team at outreach@dmava.nj.gov.
To view previous editions of our newsletter, please visit the DMAVA archives.
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