a. AUSA Five Things - “Median salaries higher for people with licenses or credentials.”
AUSA Five Things: A Weekly Tip Sheet for AUSA Members, dated June 13, 2016: Certification Matters
The Army has a long-range plan to create a license or certificate for virtually every military occupational specialty to certify the value in civilian life of an Army-learned skill. The cool name for the program is Army COOL, which stands for Credentialing Opportunities On-Line.
What to watch: About one-quarter of people holding jobs have an active license or certificate, with greater percentages in health care and technical occupations, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Median salaries are 34 percent higher for people with licenses or credentials than for those without.
b. AUSA News – “Should social media activity be considered during the security clearance process?”
"The Office of the Director of National Intelligence recently enacted a new policy under which federal agencies may consider publicly available social media information in connection with an application for a security clearance. The new policy allows investigators to scan an applicant's history on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other similar sites."
Read more: https://www.army.mil/article/169541
c. Torchbearer – “Emphasis on Strategic Readiness.”
“Strategic Readiness: The U.S. Army as a Global Force” (Defense Report 16-3, June 2016) discusses the global activities and demands facing the Army and the practical steps that the Army is taking in the form of readiness exercises to meet these demands.
Events in recent military history demonstrate the serious cost across multiple spheres that occurs in times of shortfalls and capability gaps. As the nature of operations over the past 25 years has forced the military to focus on particular theaters—in Operation Desert Shield, in Operation Enduring Freedom and in Operation Iraqi Freedom—consistent training for rapid contingency operations has fallen too much by the wayside. The pursuit of meeting short-term needs in the midst of conflicts has come at the expense of overall readiness.
Now, to reconstitute the expeditionary mindset and capabilities, the Army has initiated Total Army emergency deployment readiness exercises (EDREs) and companion sea deployment readiness exercises (SEDREs)—the first SEDRE in several years, involving an entire brigade combat team of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), occurred in Jacksonville, Florida, in April 2016—as a core competency to ensure that the Army is strategically ready and responsive. This and other ILW publications are available online at http://www.ausa.org/ilw and can also be obtained by calling (800) 336-4570, ext. 4630, or by e-mailing a request to ilwpublications@ausa.org.
d. AUSA Moderator –“Are Army working dogs and their handlers getting enough recognition?”
“U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez wants to create a commendation for military working dogs and their handlers. The New Jersey Democrat says his legislation would create the Guardians of America's Freedom Medal. He made the announcement Saturday during the 10th anniversary rededication ceremony of the United States War Dog Memorial in Holmdel. Menendez said the commendation would recognize the valor and meritorious achievement of the highly trained and skilled teams. It would be issued by each branch of the military.”
Click here to read more: http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/06/13/senator-wants-honor-working-military-dogs-their-handlers.html?ESRC=eb_160614.nl
This Week's Poll Questions
(1) Would you recommend military service?
o Yes
o No
o Not sure
(2) Should NATO send combat ready units near the Russian border?
o Yes
o No
o Not sure