Thousands of veteran-owned businesses have been disqualified from bidding on government construction projects — costing U.S. taxpayers millions — because stringent federal checks to guard against fraud are mired in bureaucracy, multiple contractors told The Des Moines Register. In Iowa, the Register found examples where projects have cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars more
Author: Maurice Wilson
Results-driven visionary with 20 years experience driving dramatic results in the non-profit community-based organization social services sector. Consistently overcomes complex business challenges and makes high-stakes decisions within fast-paced, high-pressure environments using experience-backed judgment, innovation, strong work ethic, humor, and irreproachable integrity. Specialties: Communication, organizational development, planning, business development, collaboration, social networks, marketing, fundraising, fiscal management and implementation.
I get lots of notes thanking me for my service on Veterans Day. I am grateful and appreciative. My friends, both veterans and active duty service members, receive the same affections of respect and esteem and, of course, value those sentiments. There comes a time, however, when a line is breached. I have difficulty receiving
Those who have never been in combat can have difficulty fully understanding the true emotional toll. Yet the invisible wounds of war are more pervasive now than ever before. In fact, the Veterans Administration reports that U.S. troops have seen more casualties by suicide this year than by enemy fire. As those troops draw down
They have come from as far as Alaska to tear down water-damaged walls and clear debris from flood-ravaged yards. They have been assigned team leaders and given marching orders. They have been asked to work in the rain, sleep on a gym floor and eat military Meals Ready to Eat. If that all sounds like
In spite of the commitment the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces have made to their country, and the lip service paid to veterans and current service men and women during elections season, the state of veteran affairs in the U.S. still leaves much to be desired. As Semil pointed out in a
When Paul Rieckhoff started his organization, The Iraqi And Afghan Veterans of America (IAVA), he had his work cut out for him. In a time when less than 1 percent of the population serves in a volunteer military, most Americans have no personal connection to service members or veterans. As a result, veterans often suffer
The Kroger Co. today announced a renewed commitment to hiring veterans of the United States Armed Forces. The company is encouraging military veterans seeking employment to visit www.honoringourheroes.com to learn more and find links to apply for a job. Kroger’s Hiring Our Heroes initiative is an extension of the company’s Honoring Our Heroes program, which
The nation observes Veterans Day today, but there are many veterans who are unemployed and on the streets. Careerbuilder.com says 3-in-10 employers say they are actively seeking veterans. But, Ed Speller of Philadelphia Stand Down says he doesn’t see a lot of vets getting jobs because their area of expertise doesn’t translate over to civilian
It’s Veterans Day 2012 and the US military is one of the country’s most trusted institutions. Seventy-five percent of respondents in a June Gallup poll either had a “great deal” of confidence in the military or “quite a lot” of confidence in it. By contrast, only 6 percent of respondents had a “great deal” of
A war memorial cross that once stood on a rocky hilltop in a national park before being deemed unconstitutional and ordered removed was resurrected on Veterans Day at the stunningly stark Mojave desert site, capping a landmark case for veterans fighting similar battles on public lands. Henry Sandoz, who cared for the original 1930s cross