Veterans GOODNEWS for Feb. 4

Veterans GOODNEWS for Feb. 4

Good news for veteransMinor league baseball team will wear camo this season to honor injured vets (Associated Press)
The Louisville Bats are dressing in camouflage this year to benefit injured veterans. The Bats are wearing the jerseys at all Sunday home games, and the shirts will be auctioned at the end of the season. All of the proceeds will be donated to the Kentucky-Indiana Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America. The jerseys are being provided by Koetter Construction, based in Floyds Knobs, Indiana. Koetter President Bob Koetter Jr. says he hopes the jerseys remind people to thank veterans, particularly those who lost limbs or were left paralyzed from military service.

Two veterans with no next of kin buried with military honors (CBS-Pittsburgh)
Two hearses make their way through the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies. The first bears the body of World War II Navy veteran Armond Hottner. He was 87. The second carries 65-year-old John Roberts, veteran of a much different war in Vietnam. Both died on Jan. 9. They’ll be buried with military honors by members of the AMVETS post in Hopwood. Post member Larry Stavish delivers the eulogy. “One day, John and Armond left home and loved ones to go across the land and sea as ordered, to fulfill that sacred oath.” But there are no loved ones on hand for this final goodbye. An exhaustive search by the Missing in Action Project failed to locate next of kin. Funeral director and Pennsylvania coordinator John Fabry says more than 60 such veterans have been laid to rest here in the past the past 18 months. “It’s really sad whenever you get that call, and you find out that there’s a veteran that passed away. And not only that, he may have no next of kin, and he doesn’t have any funds,” said Fabry. “And you think how sad it is that he represented our country. He fought for what we are here in America today.” The veterans, and others like them, are eligible for funding under the “Dignified Burial Act” of 2012.

Bureau of Land Management is looking to hire veterans (ABC6-Idaho)
Idaho’s Bureau of Land Management has announced that its fire management program is seeking to hire veterans to join the BLM Idaho firefighting team. Veterans can apply for various firefighting positions, including Firefighter Type I, Engineering Equipment Operator (dozer), Ramp Manager (air tanker base), Materials Handler (warehouse) and Fire Logistics Dispatch. Once hired, the BLM will train the veterans in firefighting techniques and other associated skills, depending upon their positions. “BLM Idaho’s Fire Management Program is one of the most active in the nation. We suppress hundreds of fires each year and maintain a high level of professionalism,” said BLM Idaho State Director Tim Murphy. “The additional assistance of our country’s veterans will significantly enhance our fire program and help us reach our goals of managing healthy lands, improving community safety from wildfire and protecting valuable resources, such as Greater Sage-Grouse Habitat.” BLM firefighting positions are a good match for veterans who bring with them skills and competency in fitness and endurance, leadership, experience in remote terrain, heavy equipment operation, logistics, communications, and many more talents, Murphy added. BLM Fire Managers are encouraging any interested veterans to apply.

Helping veterans find new careers in manufacturing (Military.com)
As the U.S. manufacturing resurgence grows, veterans will play a critical role in strengthening the core of the manufacturing and technical service industries, which are poised to hire 230,000 workers over the next five years.  Vet2Tech is a non-profit organization helping military veterans find employment in manufacturing and technical service careers. With the help of Military.com, Vet2Tech was able to train and employ numerous veterans this year. The goal for 2015 is to find great career opportunities for more than 150 veterans. Carol Multack, President and CEO of Vet2Tech, started the Chicago-based non-profit in 2012 to help alleviate the staggering unemployment rate of Post 9/11 veterans. “Targeting manufacturing and technical service industries was a no brainer” she says, “because the resurgence in manufacturing is creating a large number of new jobs that require skills many of our highly-trained veterans possess.” It is estimated that over the next five years U.S. manufacturing will hire 230,000 employees and Multack sees veterans playing a critical role in strengthening those industries. “Veterans have been well-trained by the military for many of the mechanical and technical skill-sets needed in manufacturing,” Multack states, “but, most veterans struggle to see the connection between the skills they’ve obtained in the military with the skills needed in the civilian workforce.”

How a vet’s itchy beard, buddy’s untimely death led to skin care business (Geek Wire)
Don’t call Nicholas Karnaze a metrosexual. The former U.S. Marine Corps special operations officer and Afghanistan war veteran just hates the term, even though he likes to wear blazers and runs a growing men’s grooming and cosmetics company called Stubble & Stache. “I am not a fan of that,” said Karnaze, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who spoke today at the Startup Week events today in Tampa as part of a special veteran’s tract. “For me, the beard is a personal connection to my buddies and what I used to do…. I am just all about guys owning their style.” In fact, Karnaze’s new online retailing business — which includes face moisturizer and beard conditioner, as well as something called beard balm — arose from a big loss. In July 2012, Karnaze’s good friend — U.S. Marine Sergeant Justin Hansen — was killed in combat operations in northwest Afghanistan. “I remember getting the phone call, and I just stared at my phone for 30 minutes,” recalled Karnaze. “I didn’t know what to do with myself, because he was like a Captain America-type of guy who never dies…. I just didn’t know what to do.” In a tribute to Hansen and his epic beard, Karnaze grew a beard for Hansen’s funeral. And then the beard started to itch and itch and itch. That prompted Karnaze, a skin cancer survivor, to start researching products that could help with the itch. He couldn’t find any that suited his needs, so he started tinkering with some formulations and doing some research on the men’s grooming market in the U.S.