You've served your country, now let the country serve you Veterans Benefits Guide For Dummies is your clear and concise guide to the benefits available to you from the VA and other government organizations. You have access to physical and mental healthcare, financial services, long-term planning, education, and much more. This book explains how to make sense of and take advantage of the extensive benefits program offered to veterans in the United States. You'll learn what you're eligible for, how to file applications and claims, and how to appeal decisions. This book covers the most recent benefits available, including vocational rehabilitation, life insurance, home loans, pensions, burial benefits, and survivors' benefits. With Dummies, you can navigate the paperwork to make sure you're getting everything that's available to you. Figure out the VA benefits system and learn what paperwork you need Discover the pros and cons of veterans' services versus civilian services Develop a smart financial plan with a good understanding of military pensions Find and secure benefits you may not have known about - for yourself and your family Newly separated and seasoned veterans alike will love Veterans Benefits Guide For Dummies. We make it easy to get what's coming to you.

Courage, perseverance, and dedication were hallmarks of the Civil War soldier. These qualities, along with their disarming humanness, have lent an enduring attraction to their story. In The Loyal, True, and Brave: America's Civil War Soldiers, readers will learn how the soldier's story has changed over the years, being told in different ways as passing generations introduced their own questions and interests. Steven Woodworth weaves together a variety of writings by historians and by Civil War soldiers themselves so that readers are presented with a lively, balanced picture of all the major aspects of the Civil War soldier's life. Woodworth presents the experiences of both Union and Confederate soldiers so readers gain equal perspective on the men who enlisted for North and South. The Loyal, True, and Brave contains detailed descriptions of every facet of the soldier's life, including enlistment, combat, hospitals, prison, and camp life. Included are writings by Civil War soldiers Abner R. Small, an officer in a Maine regiment; John C. Reed, a lawyer-planter from Georgia and member of the 8th Georgia; and German immigrant Johann Stuber of the 58th Ohio. Renowned historians Reid Mitchell, Bell I. Wiley, James M. McPherson, Earl J. Hess, and Gerald F. Linderman are also featured. Each chapter begins with an introduction by Woodworth, discussing the general topic of that chapter and the historiographical issues involved. These selections offer the best brief introduction available on Civil War soldiers and the historians who have written about them. The Loyal, True, and Brave is ideal for courses on the Civil War and Reconstruction, American nineteenth-century history, and American social and cultural history.

Lt Gen Sagat Singh is unarguably the only military genius post independence India has produced. He commenced his military career through humble beginnings in the Bikaner State Forces with only a smattering knowledge of English. At the outbreak of World War 2 he was commissioned as an officer and served in the Middle East with his Battalion and on staff. By the time the War was over he was the only officer to have done two staff courses, including the prestigious course at Quetta. On being absorbed into the Indian Army after Independence, he was transferred to 3rd Gorkha Rifles, where he commanded two battalions. He was given command of the Para Brigade on promotion and led it in the Goa Operations with aplomb. He was primarily responsible for liberating this Portuguese Colony. Sagat's drive and energy stood out. On promotion as Major General, he commanded 17 Mountain Division in Sikkim, where in 1967, in a bloody skirmish which lasted several days, he gave the Chinese a bloody nose, proving that the Indian Army was no pushover. That year he was transferred to Shillong and tasked to curb the Mizo Insurgency. In two years he succeeded in doing so effectively. In 1970, he was promoted to Lt Gen and given command of 4 Corps. It seemed his whole life was geared to leading a Corps into battle. In 1971, in a major logistic achievement he moved and staged his Corps at Agartala. When operations commenced to liberate Bangladesh, his Corps relentlessly attacked and defeated Pakistan forces, crossed river lines and terrain considered impassable. His innovative use of helicopters has never been repeated. His is the only example in the Indian Army of a successful corps level campaign, which can stand out historically. His knowledge of the operational art was perhaps without parallel. He retired in Dec 1974 and settled down in Jaipur, where till his death in 2001, he tried to ameliorate the lives of ex-servicemen and his people. His achievements were recognised by the Government of Bangladesh, when the President, publicly and formally honoured his son and daughter-in-law in Mar 2013.

Military spouse education is an often overlooked topic. With the proliferation of service member programs and benefits, and the spotlight on them, it is not uncommon for spouses to neglect looking into their own educational opportunities and benefits. The hectic life of a military family also often complicates the process of attending an institution of higher education, for spouses. There are numerous programs and benefits that a spouse may have access to, but they are difficult to find and navigate properly. Balancing Life and Education While Being a Part of a Military Family: A Guide to Navigating Higher Education for the Military Spouse attempts to highlight these possibilities and inform and assure this population that attaining an education is possible regardless of location or current circumstances. Numerous programs and benefits are described, as well as the best way to go about using them. Detailed instructions are illustrated to make the process of obtaining an education easier and to give spouses more confidence in pursing their own education. In addition, the specific considerations of military family life are addressed along with these instructions. Education is really important, and a lot of times military spouses aren't aware of the opportunities and resources available to them to pursue it. The authors of From the Navy to College: Transitioning from the Service to Higher Education and From the Army to College: Transitioning from the Service to Higher Education have put together a clear guidebook will make the process easy, accessible, and understandable. They offer clear advice and information about resources available to spouses of service members, creating a go-to guide for pursuing higher education.

"The Straight State" is the most expansive study of the federal regulation of homosexuality yet written. Unearthing startling new evidence from the National Archives, Margot Canaday shows how the state systematically came to penalize homosexuality, giving rise to a regime of second-class citizenship that sexual minorities still live under today.

Canaday looks at three key arenas of government control--immigration, the military, and welfare--and demonstrates how federal enforcement of sexual norms emerged with the rise of the modern bureaucratic state. She begins at the turn of the twentieth century when the state first stumbled upon evidence of sex and gender nonconformity, revealing how homosexuality was policed indirectly through the exclusion of sexually "degenerate" immigrants and other regulatory measures aimed at combating poverty, violence, and vice. Canaday argues that the state's gradual awareness of homosexuality intensified during the later New Deal and through the postwar period as policies were enacted that explicitly used homosexuality to define who could enter the country, serve in the military, and collect state benefits. Midcentury repression was not a sudden response to newly visible gay subcultures, Canaday demonstrates, but the culmination of a much longer and slower process of state-building during which the state came to know and to care about homosexuality across many decades.

Social, political, and legal history at their most compelling, "The Straight State" explores how regulation transformed the regulated: in drawing boundaries around national citizenship, the state helped to define the very meaning of homosexuality in America.

An immense literature about the Civil War has nonetheless paid surprisingly little attention to the common soldier, North and South. Historians have shown even less concern for the long-term impact of this military service on American society. Larry M. Logue's To Appomattox and Beyond makes a major contribution in addressing this need. In a compact synthesis that draws upon important new materials from his own research, Logue provides the fullest account available of the Civil War soldier in war and peace who fought, what happened to them in battle, how the public regarded them, how the war changed the rest of their lives, in what ways they were like and different from their counterparts across the Mason-Dixon line. To Appomattox and Beyond offers surprising conclusions about the psychological impact of warfare on its participants; about the North's generous pension system for veterans; and about the role that veterans played in politics and social issues, notably the Confederate racist reaction of the late nineteenth century. In a final irony, Logue points out, by the twentieth century men who had once been enemies now had more in common with each other than with the new world around them."

Restore your faith in love and family with one Army wife's courageous story of how she helped her husband recuperate from losing both of his legs while serving in Afghanistan.Paige received the phone call that every military wife prays will never come. Her husband, Army Sergeant Josh Wetzel, stepped on an improvised explosive device while patrolling in Afghanistan. The blast resulted in the immediate loss of his legs. His survival was uncertain, and in the days to come, this traumatic incident began an unbelievable journey of faith for them as a couple.Paige's vulnerability as she struggles physically, emotionally, and spiritually, will remind you of the power of commitment and love in the face of adversity. You will discover the bravery and grit of a woman who stood behind the battle lines but faced a battle of her own to save her marriage and her family. As a military wife, Paige had to come to terms with the priorities of the military: God, Country, and then Family.

In World War II, the author's ship the USS Albuquerque PF-7 endured a fourteen month tour of duty in the Bering Sea performing unending patrols, escorts and emergency steaming to ships in distress to the point that some aboard Albuquerque feared that they had crossed the line, forgotten by the Navy and destined to roam the seas a ghost ship in company with the Flying Dutchman until Judgment Day. Author David Hendrickson, former historian for the Patrol Frigate Reunion Association seeks to preserve the memory of the patrol frigates of WWII and the Korean War. One hundred frigates were authorized for construction in December 1942, four later cancelled, seventy-five manned by the Coast Guard, twenty-one loaned to the British Royal Navy as Colony-class frigates. The American frigates, designed after the British River-class frigates, were designated Tacoma-class, all named for small American cities.The Coast Guard-manned frigates served in every theater from the North Atlantic to the South Pacific. In the North Atlantic many served as weather ships, others assigned escort duty across the Atlantic. Twenty-one frigates served with the 7th Fleet Amphibious Division on the march from New Guinea to Leyte in the Philippines. Near the end of the war, twenty-eight frigates were transferred to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease at the secret transfer base, Cold Bay, Alaska. All but one returned to the US Navy at Yokosuka, Japan, in late 1949. Fifteen were recommissioned for Korean War duty. Britain returned the colony-class frigates in 1946. The majority of frigates were scrapped after WWII, many sold or given under treaty to nations around the world, only to disappear over the years. About the AuthorLeaving college after the fall semester 1942, David Hendrickson joined the US Coast Guard in the spring of 1943. Following basic training and seamanship school on Government Island, (now Coast Guard Island, Alameda, California) and Navy deck petty officer training on Treasure Island, he was assigned to the newly commissioned USS Albuquerque PF-7, in San Francisco in December 1943. Upon completing shakedown, Albuquerque deployed to the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands for a fourteen-month tour as lead ship of Escort Division 27. Leaving Albuquerque to the Russians under Lend-Lease in August 1945, Hendrickson served aboard USCG FS-34 and lastly aboard USS Admiral E. W. Eberle AP 123, until discharge, April 1946.Returning to college in 1946 led to a master's degree in history and a thirty-year teaching career (history and geography) at Fresno City College, Fresno, California. During his teaching career, Hendrickson was twice a Fulbright exchange lecturer to Great Britain, 1966-67 and 1981-82, and president of the California Geographical Society 1978-79. He ended his teaching career, 1989-90, lecturing native teachers of the Pacific nation of Palau seeking the AB degree.

Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia became the new face of the anti-war movement in 2004 when he applied for discharge from the army as a conscientious objector. Now released after serving nearly nine months in prison, Mejia tells his own story in his own words. Most powerful are his firsthand experiences of prison abuse, senseless patrols inviting insurgent attacks, discord among demoralised comrades and the constant brutalisation of Iraqis by paranoid, trigger-happy GIs.' - Publisher's Weekly'

They Were Soldiers showcases the inspiring true stories of 49 Vietnam veterans who returned home from the "lost war" to enrich America's present and future. In this groundbreaking new book, Joseph L. Galloway, distinguished war correspondent and New York Times bestselling author of We Were Soldiers Once . . . and Young, and Marvin J. Wolf, Vietnam veteran and award-winning author, reveal the private lives of those who returned from Vietnam to make astonishing contributions in science, medicine, business, and other arenas, and change America for the better. For decades, the soldiers who served in Vietnam were shunned by the American public and ignored by their government. Many were vilified or had their struggles to reintegrate into society magnified by distorted depictions of veterans as dangerous or demented. Even today, Vietnam veterans have not received their due. Until now. These profiles are touching and courageous, and often startling. They include veterans both known and unknown, including: Frederick Wallace ("Fred") Smith, CEO and founder of FedEx Marshall Carter, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange Justice Eileen Moore, appellate judge who also serves as a mentor in California's Combat Veterans Court Richard Armitage, former deputy secretary of state under Colin Powell Guion "Guy" Bluford Jr., first African American in space Engrossing, moving, and eye-opening, They Were Soldiers is a magnificent tribute that gives long overdue honor and recognition to the soldiers of this "forgotten generation."

This book surveys the medals awarded to British personnel for military service around the world and in two world wars. The campaign medals awarded for the military actions have become a popular field for collectors, since the majority of British awards were officially named, thus making it possible to research the military career of an individual or regiment. This second edition has been extended to include the operations of the British forces in the opening years of the twenty-first century.

All the things you need to know when you're putting the military in your rear view In Military Transition For Dummies, you'll talk a walk through how to transition from active military service to civilian life as smoothly and easily as possible. You'll discover how to make the nuts-and-bolts changes to reach your potential in your new lifestyle. From finding a job you love to navigating educational opportunities and keeping yourself mentally strong, this vital book shows you how to: Find your next career, including how to write an effective resume and conduct a thorough job search Protect your mental and physical well-being by seeking out and accessing the supports you want and need Manage your money and make the financial adjustments that are necessary for succeeding in the civilian world Perfect for active service members who are expecting to transition out of the military in the near future, Military Transition For Dummies is also ideal for anyone who's recently left the service and hopes to make the most of their new life.

This study of the tensions of military clientage focuses on Czechoslovakia to explore the ambiguous position of the military forces of East European countries and to show how the military's dual role as instrument of both national defense and the Soviet-controlled socialist alliance" fundamentally affects the interaction of military and political elites in Eastern Europe. Originally published in 1985. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Throughout the World War II campaign in the Pacific, an ordinary seaman defied navy regulations by surreptitiously compiling a diary on scraps of paper. One of the most extraordinary personal documents to emerge from the war, James J. Fahey's diary presents a vivid picture of an average sailor's daily life -- from the first battle to the typhoons and food shortages to the final desperate attacks by kamikaze pilots and Japanese suicide ships.

The author explores the defense administration, with thorough criticism of the National Security Council, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the armed services as governmental organizations. His book is a substantial reinterpretation of the history of the military organization of the U.S. from 1900 to 1960. Originally published in 1961. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Rapid turnover of ROTC officers, the decline in ROTC enrollment, inadequate training for the specialized techniques of modem warfare, and the quick obsolescence of technical training have created an acute problem in the development of a body of highly-trained professional career officers. This book takes a fresh view of this vital problem and provides a starting point for a revision of our methods for providing the military leadership that our nation requires. Originally published in 1959. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The traditional distinction between military and political affairs in American life has become less significant as military officers increasingly participate with civilians in the formulation of national policies. In an examination of the impact of this change upon professional military education, the authors present a forthright analysis of military responsibility today, the growth of education for policy roles, the form and content of that education, and its relation to the over-all duties of the armed forces. They have used hundreds of interviews and questionnaires and studied carefully the history and programs of the military academies, ROTC, Command and Staff Schools, Armed Forces Staff College, National War College, three service War Colleges, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, and other institutions. Originally published in 1957. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

'A long overdue assertion on the role of women on the battlefield. This book is going straight on my daughter's bookshelf.' Dan Snow, historian, TV presenter and broadcaster

'Sisters in Arms shows the many faces of women in combat - from the myths of the ancient world to the headline-grabbing conflicts of today - with a scrupulous attention to their different contexts, but a common compassion for their struggles and achievements.' Boyd Tonkin, journalist and author

'Wheelwright not only uncovers neglected female warriors, but she brings their temperaments, talents, fancies, and foibles to life.' Professor Joanna Bourke, Birkbeck, University of London

Sisters in Arms charts the evolution of women in combat, from the Scythian warriors who inspired the Amazonian myth, to the passing soldiers and sailors of the eighteenth century, and on to the re-emergence of women as official members of the armed forces in the twentieth century. Author Julie Wheelwright traces our fascination with these forgotten heroines, using their own words, including official documents, diaries, letters and memoirs, to bring their experiences vividly to life. She examines their contemporary legacy and the current role of women in the armed forces, while calling into question the enduring relationship between masculinity and combat.

Established in 1986, the U.S. Special Operations Command was set up to bring the special operational disciplines of all branches of the military under a single, unified command to act on missions involving unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, foreign internal defense, and direct action... The Marine Special Operations Command ("MARSOC") is the newest component of the military's shift toward a fully integrated Special Operations Command structure. At first, the Marines were strongly against any Marines serving under anyone other than another Marine. Then 9/11 happened. In the years following, Marine forces found themselves growing more agreeable to inter-branch operational command, finally forming the Marine Special Operations Command in 2006. Always Faithful, Always Forward follows the journey of a class of Marine candidates from their recruitment, through assessment and selection, to their qualification as Marines Special Operators. Retired Navy Captain Dick Couch has been given unprecedented access to this new command and to the individual Marines of this exceptional special-operations unit, allowing him to chronicle the history and development of the Marine Special Operations Command and how they find, recruit, and train their special operators.

Recent controversies about Ronald Reagan's visit to the Bitburg military cemetery and revelations about Kurt Waldheim's past underscored the political problems inherent in Germany's military traditions and in the relationship of the army to National Socialism. The Allied victors disbanded the German armed forces after World War II, only to press for the arming of the Federal Republic of Germany under the altered political conditions of the cold war. This book is the first comprehensive narrative and analysis of the efforts of German military professionals to discover for their new army an acceptable body of tradition in the proud, ambiguous, and at times criminal history of the German soldier.

The author shows that, despite a complex of political obstacles, the founders of the Bundeswehr generally succeeded in persuading the international community and Germany itself that the army of the 1950s and 1960s would not revive the militarism of the past. However, the rapidity of the military buildup was a major drawback to their reform ideas. Certain officers and NCOs in the Bundeswehr undercut changes made by the leadership, and the debate on tradition building became a major political issue in the Federal Republic and NATO.

Originally published in 1989.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This study of the tensions of military clientage focuses on Czechoslovakia to explore the ambiguous position of the military forces of East European countries and to show how the military's dual role as instrument of both national defense and the Soviet-controlled socialist alliance" fundamentally affects the interaction of military and political elites in Eastern Europe.

Originally published in 1985.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Donald Horowitz presents a case study of an attempted military coup in Sri Lanka. On the basis of interviews with twenty-three participants in this attempted coup--a mine of information rarely available for a study like this--he provides first-hand evidence of the way officers' motives interact with social and political conditions to foster coup attempts.

Originally published in 1981.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.