Honoring Our Female Warriors and Female Veterans; Vetrepreneurs; RIP Police Chief Michael Maloney

"Honor is the reward to those who answer the call to serve." Michael Nichols

Facts About Military Women and Women Veterans

• 1.5 million: Number of military veterans who were women as of 2009 (U.S. Census)
• 400,000 women served in the military during WW II (Women in Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, Inc.)
• 265,000 women served during the Vietnam Era, 7,500 women served in Vietnam including nurses (Vietnam Women Veterans)
• 40,000 women served in the First Gulf War, Desert Shield and Desert Storm.  15 were killed.
• Over 10,000 women served in Iraq and approximately 4000 in Afghanistan.
• There have been 139 female causalities in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Today there are over 200,000 women serving in the United States military.

Resources for Active Duty Military Women and Veterans

• American Women Veterans on Facebook
• Center for Women Veterans at the VA
• National Coalition for Homeless Veterans at http://www.nchv.org/
• Vet Friends at http://vetfriends.com/  Women Veterans Organizations
• Military.com at http://www.military.com/
• MilitaryWoman.Org at http://militarywoman.org/

• Vietnam Women's Memorial at http://www.vietnamwomensmemorial.org/
• National Association of Black Military Women at http://www.nabmw.com/

• Women's Army Corps Veterans' Association at http://www.armywomen.org/
• Women of the WAVES at http://www.womenofthewaves.com/

• Women Marines Association at http://www.womenmarines.org/

• Women Military Aviators at http://militarywomenaviators.org/
• Academy Women at http://www.academywomen.org/

Vetrepreneur Programs Help Soldiers Create Start-Ups

With thousands of veterans transitioning to civilian life, finding a job can be a challenge in this economy. One avenue many veterans are following is entrepreneurship. Fortunately, there are a number of programs ready to assist veterans who want to take a shot at start-ups. Syracuse University's Entrepreneur Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities is one.  EBV takes students through a 30 day online course that covers opportunity recognition, marketing and accessing funding. In addition, veterans participate in a nine day residency where they meet other entrepreneurs and motivational speakers. The Small Business Association' Patriot Express helps expedite bank loans for veterans interested in a business start-up. Since 2009, the SBA has provided $460 million toward this initiative. Other sources of information for veterans include:
• The Wounded Warrior Progect at http://woundedwarriorproject.org/
• G.I. Jobs at http://gijobs.com/
• Feds Hire Vets at http://fedshirevets.gov/

Veteran Job Fair

• Veterans Career Expo. April 23rd, 2012 at the Hilton Gateway Hotel in Newark, NJ (directly across from the Newark Penn Station). 10 am- 4 pm. Participants will include the NYPD, Southern Air, Crestron, Atlanta Police Department, Barnabas Health, CDW, Enfield Police Department (CT), Conn. State Police,  United Technologies, Horizon (health care), Penn Mutual, Greyhound and many more.

RIP Police Chief Michael Maloney

Police Chief Michael Maloney of the Greeland Police Department (NH) was just eight days from retirement when he was shot and killed serving a drug-related search warrant on April 12, 2012. Chief Maloney served in law enforcement for 26 years and 12 years with the Greenland Police Department. (ODMP)