Veteran Services

From the Director Put your benefits to work toward the completion of your academic goals! The fall semester is off and running, and that means there are many new faces on campus. Please contact me at 701-858-4002 if you need to stop in to get your benefits rolling or if you need to complete your degree plan in Campus Connection to finish your VA file. Please stop in the Veterans Services Center, located in Dakota Hall. We are here for all veteran students, and we appreciate it when you keep us up to date! Also, bring any suggestions you have that may help the office better serve you.

Andy Heitkamp Veteran Services Director

IN THIS ISSUE Ann’s Corner

Activities attended

Activities photos

Important dates

North Central Veterans Stand Down

POW/MIA Day info

Stroklund’s Section

Courses for transitioning service members and their families

Tutor.com

VetTix

Braille and Talking Books Program

2019 pheasant hunt for veterans

Commissioner’s challenge

2019 women’s retreat

Information fair in Washburn

Volume 6 – Issue 9, September 2019

OFFICE HOURS 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Veteran Services Center Minot State University 500 University Ave W Minot, ND 58707 701-858-4003 / 1-800-777-0750 MinotStateU.edu

Be seen. Be heard. Belong.

Activities Attended

Ann’s Corner Welcome back! I hope everyone had a good summer. Please stop by the office to say hi, we would love to see everyone. If you intend on using your benefits this semester, visit MinotStateU.edu/veterans/va-certification-worksheets.shtml to complete your semester worksheet, making sure to only complete the form once. Please contact the office at 701-858-4003 or email ann.bougard@MinotStateU.edu to make any changes to your schedule. If you do not remember if you have completed the worksheet, please contact our office. I encourage you to contact the VA at 1-888-442-4551 with any questions regarding your benefits. You can also submit a question at www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.

Ann Haider-Bougard Veterans School Certifying Official

August 1 Military Affairs Committee meeting — JDC 5 Student Affairs meeting 5 Colmery Act Section 103 update meeting 5 Resident Hall Diversity training 6 Resident Hall Connect suicide training 6 Enrollment Services veteran recruiting meeting 6 Safe Communities 7 AMVETS meeting 8 Guest speaker DAV annual summer picnic 13 BIT meeting 13 Active shooter training 14 Minot Air Force Base education fair 15 Grand Forks Air Force Base education fair 19 North Central Veterans Stand Down meeting 19 Student Affairs meeting 21 Fall Welcome Back Celebration — Roosevelt Park 22 VA mental health summit 23 Campus move-in day 23 Student convocation 24 Team Minot Commanders open house 26 Orientation 26 Mini session CRT/BIT presentations 28 University Cabinet 28 Fall Club fair 29 Community Fair 30 Wellington veteran breakfast

Activities photos

Minot Air Force Base and Grand Forks Air Force Base education fairs Expanding Minot State University’s online programs to area military instillations, Veteran Services participated in the Minot Air Force Base and Grand Forks Air Force Base education fairs in August. Minot State has partnered with the United States Air Forces GEM-General Education Mobil and AU-ABC (Air University Associate to Baccalaureate Cooperative) programs. GEM

Minot State University has partnered with the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) to offer general education courses online that meet the general education requirements for the CCAF Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree. Please visit MinotStateU.edu/online/pages/gem.shtml for more information.

AU-ABC Minot State University is committed to providing airmen opportunities to pursue advanced education beyond their associate degree. We have worked to design programs that help airmen achieve their educational goals by only completing an additional 60 semester hours. Visit MinotStateU.edu/online/pages/au-abc.shtml to find out more.

VA Mental Health Summit 2019 – Grand International Hotel Minot State Veterans Services was one of the 54 providers and 246 attendees participating in this year’s summit.

Important Dates

ACADEMIC

August

1 – 3 Financial Aid charging in the bookstore

2 University closed — Labor Day

4 Last day to add 16-week class

4 Last day to drop 16-week classes for 100% refund

11 Patriot Day — campus event at 11:30 a.m. in the Quad

11 Financial Aid disbursement / fall tuition due

18 Last day to return fall textbooks for refund

23 Assessment Day

US Armed Forces Dates

August

National Suicide Prevention Month 2 V-J Day (Victory over Japan)

11 Patriot Day

17 Constitution Day

17 – 23 Constitution Week

18 U.S. Air Force Birthday

18 Air National Guard Birthday

20 National POW/MIA Recognition Day

29 Gold Star Mother’s Day

North Central Veterans Stand Down

Oct. 24, 2019 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Armed Forces Reserve Center 3420 2nd St NE, Minot, ND (north of the Minot International Airport)

Free

Veterans benefits Counseling Health care Legal services Hygiene items Food Personal care services Clothing Employment assistance Housing assistance

Please bring DD214 or VA card as proof of veteran status, if possible.

For more information, contact Kelli Weiand, military outreach specialist at colleen.y.weiand.nfg@mail.mil or 701-340-2779

Friday, Sept. 20 – POW/MIA Day

POW/MIA numbers In order to comprehend the importance of this movement, all you need to do is look at the sheer number of Americans who have been listed as POW/MIAs.

According to a Congressional Research Service Report on POWs:

· 130,201 World War II service members were imprisoned; 14,072 them died while POW

· 7,140 Korean War service members were imprisoned; 2,701 of them died while POW

· 725 Vietnam War service members were imprisoned; 64 of them died while POW

· 37 service members were imprisoned during conflicts since 1991, including both Gulf wars; none are still in captivity

According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, 83,114 Americans who fought in those wars are still missing, including:

· 73,515 from World War II (an approximate number due to limited or conflicting data)

· 7,841 from the Korean War · 1,626 from Vietnam · 126 from the Cold War · 6 from conflicts since 1991

The DPAA said about 75% of those missing Americans are somewhere in the Asia-Pacific. More than 41,000 have been presumed lost at sea.

Efforts to find those MIAs, identify them, and bring them home are constant. For example, the DPAA said that in the past year it has accounted for 41 men missing during the Korean War: 10 had been previously buried as unknowns, 26 were from remains turned over by North Korea in the 1990s, one was from a recovery operation, and four were combinations of remains and recovery operations.

2019 DAV picnic At the 2019 DAV picnic, information about The

Survivors’ and Dependents’ Education Assistance

(DEA) program was shared. This program offers

education and training opportunities to eligible

dependents of veterans who are permanently and

totally disabled due to a service-related condition or

of veterans who died while on active duty or as a

result of a service-related condition.

Please click on the link below for more information:

https://www.benefits.va.gov/GIBILL/DEA.asp

AMVETS local contact,

Skip Gjerde skipgjer@hotmail.com

For more information about AMVETS,

visit www.amvets.org

Free membership for veteran university students is available at www.amvetsmembers.org/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?Site=AMVETS&WebKey=f1b27c6c-31eb-49ef-892e1bde0a199752&Action=Add

What do you get for being a member of the Power Center? Well, for starters:

· Priority registration · Personality and career interest assessments · Academic counseling and coaching · Additional advising · Individual tutoring · Information on individual development accounts · Mentoring · Student success workshops · Career and professional development

opportunities · Assistance with financial aid and scholarship

applications · Social and cultural enrichment activities · Student use area equipped with computers,

printers, and other resources · Graphing calculator checkouts · Supplemental instruction · Use of scanner, fax machine, staplers, etc.

And, you get this all for free! Be sure to stop by and check your eligibility. We also take free trips within North Dakota and to locations like Washington, D.C. throughout the year.

Stroklund’s Section

As one talking from experience — I have come up the ranks both as a soldier and as a student — I can help you navigate the different systems you will need to know while at Minot State. If you’re new to college or experienced with college words like syllabus, prerequisite, seminar, cold heart, advisor, articulation, I can help navigate through these waters.

I look forward to having you drop by and visiting all of us at the Veterans Center!

Paul Stroklund POWER Center Academic Coach

Courses for transitioning service members and their families Each year, more than 200,000 service members leave the military for the civilian sector. Navigating this transition can be complex, but these linked short, self-paced videos will benefit service members and families alike in successfully navigating their journey. Sponsored by the Schultz Family Foundation, these courses are for any service member, veteran, or family member making the transition from military service.

Whether you are separating or retiring, this portfolio of courses will provide you the education, tools, and resources you need along the way. Beginning with the course “How to Build a Successful Transition Plan,” you’ll learn that there is no one right way to transition and that each journey is unique. Your transition plan may be different from others, but each course in this portfolio was designed to assist you along the way and we hope that you find them beneficial.

Please click the link below for more information and access to the videos: https://psycharmor.org/courses-for-transitioning-service-members-their-families

Veterans receive free concert, sporting event, and family activity tickets VetTix provides free tickets to veterans and service members with the aim of reducing stress, strengthening family bonds, building life-long memories, and encouraging connections with local communities. How it works: First, VetTix secures tickets to sporting events, concerts, performing arts, educational, and family activities. Then, veterans sign up online where their service is verified. Finally, members, or “VetTixers,” request tickets to events that interest them, pay a small delivery fee, and receive their free tickets. Please click on the link below for more information: www.vettix.org, Braille and Talking Books The Braille and Talking Book Program offers veterans who have difficulty with regular print materials the return of the gift of reading. This program, from the National Library Service (NLS) and the Library of Congress, provides talking books, audio magazines, and digital talking-book players free of charge. Any honorably discharged veteran who is blind, has low vision, or a disability preventing the reading of traditional materials is eligible. For more information, call the National Library Service at 1-888-NLS-READ (1-888-657-7323) or visit them online at www.loc.gov/ThatAllMayRead

Tutor.com for eligible U.S. military families Tutor.com, for eligible U.S. military families, offers on-demand, online tutoring and homework help for free. Please click on the link below for more information: https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-k932p-9c1dd3