Hempstead and the Military

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== Project ==
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== Veterans Looking for Work ==
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This page is part of an enterprise story that examines the relationship between Hempstead, NY on Long Island and the U.S. Military.
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The country has already started to see the effects of the War on Terror on our military personnel and the war is not yet over. Last month reports broke about the poor medical care that Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans were receiving and recently veterans have reported returning to their employers only to be told they no longer have jobs.  
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Although the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act was established in 1994 to protect the jobs of reservists, the act is not always enforced. So, outside organizations are working with Veterans Affairs to help veterans reassemble lives that they left to serve in the War on Terror. Locally, HempsteadWorks, a department of Workforce New York and the New York State Department of Labor, offers services to veterans looking for work.
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== Background ==
== Background ==
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* 139th Infantry Regiment, Company I was recruited from Hempstead in September 1862.  The regiment left New York for Virginia on September 11, 1862 where it served under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Mulcahy until it was honorably discharged and mustered out on June 19, 1865 in Richmond, VA.
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* 145th Infantry Regiment, Company K was recruited from Hempstead in September 1862 as well. On September 27, 1862 the regiment left New York State for Maryland where it served under Lieutenant Colonel R. L. Van Wagenen until it was discontinued on December 9, 1863. The enlisted men were transferred to the 107th, I23d and 150th Infantry.
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*According to [http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1989 Veterans Today], the Department of Defense has mobilized over 500,000 reservists since September 11.   
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* 155th Infantry Regiment, Company E was recruited from Hempstead in November 1862.  The regiment left New York for Virginia on November 18, 1862 when it was mustered in.  The regiment was commanded by Colonel John Byrne until it was honorably discharged and mustered out near Washington, D.C. on July 15, 1865.
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* In 1917 a new army aviation field, Field #2 was created in Hempstead, NY.  The field became the one of the largest in the United States and became the training ground for hundreds of aviators being trained for war.  Field #2 was renamed Mitchel Field in honor of former New York City Mayor John Purroy Mitchel in July 1918 after Mitchel was killed while training for the Air Service in Lousiana. The field continued to flourish after World War I and in 1938 became the starting point for the first nonstop transcontinental bomber flight made by Army B-18s.  Mitchel also served as the base where the first demonstration of long-range aerial reonnaissance was made and in May 1939, three B-17s left Mitchel and flew out to sea where they intercepted the Italian ocean liner ''Rex''. Mitchel Field became the main point of air defense for New York City during World War II and continued to be the headquarters of the Air Defense Command, First Air Force and Continental Air Command in throughout the 1940s. The field was relieved of its defense responsibilities in 1949 and was closed down in 1961 after numerous crashes. One of the most notable occurred when a P-47 flew into Hofstra University’s Barnard Hall, the current political science building.
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*According to an [http://www.5280.com/issues/2006/0610/feature.php?pageID=662 article] by Maximillian Potter in 5280 Magazine, the military’s employer-support office is a disaster caught up in bureaucracy.
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*A Government Accountability Office [http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02608.pdf report] released in 2002 said that the Department of Defense needed to improve relations between reservists and their employers and yet another [http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07195.pdf recent report] by the GAO shows that the U.S. government does not understand the troubles reservists face upon returning from war.
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*The [http://www.nchv.org/news_article.cfm?id=101 National Coalition for Homeless Veterans] reports that although there is no scientific data available to accurately calculate how troop mobilization from the War on Terror will affect Veterans' Affairs, there are enough studies and historical data to conclude that the nation and the VA are unprepared to accomodate those soldiers that served our country returning from war.
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== What New York is Doing to Help ==
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*The New York State Department of Labor offers [http://www.labor.state.ny.us/vets/vetintropage.shtm veterans services] for those returning from war that need to find a job.  The department provides educated and trained specialists to help with the process. The program also offers skills assessments, résumé writing, cover letters, and tools to research the job market.  Another service provided is helping soldiers translate their military positions into civilian world job descriptions.
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*In 1987 Late Assemblyman Richard Connors and late Senator Michael Tully sponsored legislation that would authorize the Civil Service Commission to designate 300 positions, that are normally filled through competitive examination, as positions for disabled wartime veterans.  This is known as [http://www.cs.state.ny.us/dpm/c55.cfm Section 55-c of the New York State Civil Service Law].
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*The [http://dva.jobsearch.org/ Department of Veterans Affairs] also offers assistance in vocational rehabilitation and employment services.
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== Where to Go in Hempstead ==
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* [http://www.hempsteadworks.com/ HempsteadWorks]provides many services to local veterans looking for work.  A listing of the services provided can be found [http://www.hempsteadworks.com/files/resources/HempsteadWorks%20Veterans%20Services.doc here].  For more information, call (516) 485-5000 and ask to speak for veterans services.
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*[http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/localguide/54975,0,1299226.location Hempstead Town Hall] posts that Counselor Nathan King of the New York State Division of Veterans' Affairs is available for one-on-one interviews to discuss veterans' benefits and other issues (including employment services), 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays.
== Sources ==
== Sources ==
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*[http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/139thInf/139thInfMain.htm New York State Military Museum].
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*[http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/145thInf/145thInfMain.htm New York State Military Museum].
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*Benjamin, Mark.  "How Many Have Gone to War?"  ''Salon.''  http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/04/12/troops_numbers/index.html.
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*[http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/155thInf/155thInfMain.htm New York State Military Museum].
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*[http://www.cradleofaviation.org/history/airfields/mitchel.html Cradle of Aviation Museum].
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*Facts & Media.  National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.  http://www.nchv.org/background.cfm.
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*Walker, Kayla. (2007, March 30). [Phone Interview with Pete Paftino, HempsteadWorks LVER].  
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*Walker, Kayla. (2007, March 5). [Phone Interview with Tom Rielly, Veterans' Program Coordinator for New York State Department of Labor].
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*Statistics courtesy of John M. Brooks, New York State Department of Labor Research & Statistics representative.

Current revision as of 13:12, 26 April 2007

Contents

Veterans Looking for Work

The country has already started to see the effects of the War on Terror on our military personnel and the war is not yet over. Last month reports broke about the poor medical care that Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans were receiving and recently veterans have reported returning to their employers only to be told they no longer have jobs.

Although the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act was established in 1994 to protect the jobs of reservists, the act is not always enforced. So, outside organizations are working with Veterans Affairs to help veterans reassemble lives that they left to serve in the War on Terror. Locally, HempsteadWorks, a department of Workforce New York and the New York State Department of Labor, offers services to veterans looking for work.


Background

  • According to Veterans Today, the Department of Defense has mobilized over 500,000 reservists since September 11.
  • According to an article by Maximillian Potter in 5280 Magazine, the military’s employer-support office is a disaster caught up in bureaucracy.
  • A Government Accountability Office report released in 2002 said that the Department of Defense needed to improve relations between reservists and their employers and yet another recent report by the GAO shows that the U.S. government does not understand the troubles reservists face upon returning from war.
  • The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans reports that although there is no scientific data available to accurately calculate how troop mobilization from the War on Terror will affect Veterans' Affairs, there are enough studies and historical data to conclude that the nation and the VA are unprepared to accomodate those soldiers that served our country returning from war.

What New York is Doing to Help

  • The New York State Department of Labor offers veterans services for those returning from war that need to find a job. The department provides educated and trained specialists to help with the process. The program also offers skills assessments, résumé writing, cover letters, and tools to research the job market. Another service provided is helping soldiers translate their military positions into civilian world job descriptions.
  • In 1987 Late Assemblyman Richard Connors and late Senator Michael Tully sponsored legislation that would authorize the Civil Service Commission to designate 300 positions, that are normally filled through competitive examination, as positions for disabled wartime veterans. This is known as Section 55-c of the New York State Civil Service Law.

Where to Go in Hempstead

  • HempsteadWorksprovides many services to local veterans looking for work. A listing of the services provided can be found here. For more information, call (516) 485-5000 and ask to speak for veterans services.
  • Hempstead Town Hall posts that Counselor Nathan King of the New York State Division of Veterans' Affairs is available for one-on-one interviews to discuss veterans' benefits and other issues (including employment services), 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays.

Sources

  • Walker, Kayla. (2007, March 30). [Phone Interview with Pete Paftino, HempsteadWorks LVER].
  • Walker, Kayla. (2007, March 5). [Phone Interview with Tom Rielly, Veterans' Program Coordinator for New York State Department of Labor].
  • Statistics courtesy of John M. Brooks, New York State Department of Labor Research & Statistics representative.
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