Congratulations 2017 Graduates! Veterans Center

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1 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FOR VETERAN STUDENTS OF MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY Veterans Center Volume 1 Issue 38 JUNE 2017 FROM THE DIRECTOR WE APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE! Congratulations graduates! Unfortunately, I was not able to watch this year s group of graduating student Veterans cross the stage into the next journey of their careers. Pictures of this year s undergraduate students are below. We are open throughout the summer, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, except for holidays. We are here for Veterans, and always enjoy it when they stop in to update us. Make sure to bring any suggestions you may have to help the Veteran Center help us better serve you. Looking forward to a great summer! Andy Heitkamp, Veteran Services director Important Dates June PTSD Awareness Month 1 5 Financial Aid charging at the campus bookstore 2 Orientation 3 Last day to drop eight-week summer classes and receive 100 percent refund 3 Last day to add a summer class 6 Orientation 7 Summer tuition due and financial aid disbursement 14 Flag Day event on campus 16 Military Day at the Roosevelt Park Zoo (10 am 8 pm with lunch from 11 am to 2 pm) 19 Father s Day 27 Orientation 27 PTSD Awareness Day on campus July 5 Last day to drop a summer class 25 Military Day at the ND State Fair Congratulations 2017 Graduates! Front row (L to R): BreAnne Etier, Mark Holter, Matthew Hargrove, Crystal Seibel, Nicole Reyes, Stephen Adams, Kevin Gillgallon II Middle row (L to R): Ingrid Gurule, Cassandra DeMora, Melissa Bradshaw, Molly Frueh, Rebecca Jackson, Paul Stroklund, Shaun Hill Back row (L to R): Larry Jeffcoat, Tyler Schelske, Hillary Waite, Heather Ives, Christopher Summers, Evan Hunt Individuals not pictured that meet the requirements for graduation who were entitled to VA educational benefits to complete their degree at Minot State University included: Katherine Bunting, Molly Frueh, Noelle Gomez, Sarah Guisgand, Erin Kent, Anthony Jones, Kenneth Kulling, Talandra Lamons, Daniel Mastel, Nathan Rauhauser, Matthew Robbins, Angela Schultz, Amber Smith, Steven Vaudt, and Kyle Volk. HELPFUL RESOURCES OEF/OIF/OND returning service members team locator: Access to Care website walkthrough: GI Bill Q&A info: Women Veteran Health Care Hotline: 1(855) OFFICE HOURS 8 a.m. 4:30 p.m. 500 University Ave. W. Minot, ND /

2 US Armed Forces dates JUNE 6 D-Day 14 Flag Day U.S. Army 241st Birthday 23 Coast Guard Auxiliary Birthday 27 PTSD Awareness Day Events attended MAY 2 Student Affairs meeting Mental health and suicide prevention webinar PEERS presentation 3 Safe Communities meeting Title IX presentation AMVETS meeting 4 Community problem-solving project Military Affairs Committee 5 Veterans benefits reporting conference call Veterans to Civilian Education, Employment and Beyond meeting 7 Students vs. Employees softball 8 Serving students at Finals Breakfast 9 Budget forum Pastor Christoph Schmidt farewell 10 Employee Recognition event 24 POWER Center webinar KMOT interview 25 Minot Air Force Base LTC Giannone farewell 26 KXMC interview Poppy Day/ 3rd annual Search and Discover Fallen Heroes Memorial Day event on campus 29 8th Street Bridge and Rosehill Cemetery Memorial Day events June is PTSD Awareness Month PTSD Awareness Day is June 27 Wear black and gold ribbon with red star. If you have a friend that may have PTSD listen. To find him/her help: WAR-VETS ( ) or Suicide Hotline, TALK. In order to bring greater awareness to the issue of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the United States Senate designated June 27th as National PTSD Awareness Day. In addition, June has been designated as PTSD Awareness Month by the National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD). According to the NCPTSD, PTSD is an anxiety disorder resulting from exposure to a single traumatic event or multiple traumatic events, such as sexual or physical assault, natural or man-made disaster, and war-related combat stress. Symptoms of PTSD include persistent intrusive thoughts and distressing dreams about the traumatic event, triggered emotional responses to reminders of the trauma, efforts to avoid thinking or talking about the trauma, and persistent hypervigilance for cues that indicate additional danger or trauma re-occurring. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder has a profound effect on the lives of those who suffer from it. The statistics alone are staggering, but can only tell a portion of the story. The trauma and anxiety associated with PTSD is a constant burden, inseparable from the sufferer. It was once a condition that was attributed only to returning combat veterans, but more and more the condition is diagnosed in those who have experienced violent crime or lived through catastrophic events. According to PTSD United, 20 percent of adults in the United States who have experienced a traumatic event suffer from PTSD. For more information on PTSD and help for Veterans contact Minot Vet Center at or visit the following websites. National Center for PTSD: IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America): Make the CONNECTION Shared experiences and support for Veterans: Ann s Corner Hello all. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Remember, the fall term is right around the corner, so make sure you complete your semester worksheet. If you make any changes to your schedule, do not complete the worksheet again. You will need to call or me of the changes made. If you wish not to use your benefits, do not fill out the worksheet. If you have not registered for your fall classes, please do so, they are filling up fast. Contact the Center if you have any questions or concerns. Center hours are 8 a.m. 4:30 p.m. Thank You for all you do. Ann Bougard, Veterans School Certifying Offical

3 Poppy Day To commemorate Memorial Day, the Minot State University Veterans Center hosted a Poppy Day Event on May 26 in the Student Center Atrium. The red remembrance poppy is a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem In Flanders Fields, written by Canadian physician John McCrae. Lessons from Veterans Minot State University s Westlie Room proved the right venue for an April 4 presentation by World War II veterans. Lynn Aas, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and Ben Tollefson, who was sent to Japan, talked about their experiences in History Professor Ernst Pijning s U.S. History since 1877 class. The students paid full attention as they heard how Aas was received in Belgium, 70 years after he helped to liberate the area from Nazi occupation and defeated the last German offensive against the American troops. The people of Belgium were grateful indeed, as Aas was personally honored by the local community, by school classes, as well as battlefield impersonators. Yet the most dramatic event was Aas visit to Margraten, the large military cemetery in the Netherlands. On two occasions, he visited the graves of comrades buried there, actually some of them had died right by his side. In Germany, he participated in Operation Varsity, the largest airborne operation in World War II, meant to let the allied forces safely cross the Rhine and capture the German heartland in Aas was sent in a glider, and of the five soldiers, only one remained unharmed. Aas was wounded on the battlefield and that was the end of the war for him. The students also listened to Tollefson, who was transported by ship to the Pacific. However, before he saw active combat, the two nuclear bombs had been dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which ended the war. Both Tollefson and Aas explained that this had probably saved their lives. As horrible as dropping the bombs was, it ultimately saved the lives of many people. Aas and Tollefson were assisted by Aas son David, an MSU alumnus, and their friend, Bob Marquardt, who organized the activity. The students posed many questions, not only about the war itself, but also about the lives of veterans afterward. In the end, all believed that it was a great honor to receive the veterans in the room that was designated to Minot State s contributions during those trying times. Veterans Center Director Andy Heitkamp and President Steven Shirley present to students, faculty and staff on Poppy Day. Lynn Aas addresses MSU students.

4 Refund of the Montgomery GI Bill $1,200 buy-in for Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients? ( Individuals who entered active duty after June 30, 1985 OR who served a combination of at least two years of Active Duty service and four years of Selected Reserve service after June 30, 1985 may qualify to receive a refund of the $1,200 deduction for the Montgomery GI Bill - Active Duty (Chapter 30) under the Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33). Individuals must have made an irrevocable election to use Chapter 33 by relinquishing benefits under Chapter 30 and had entitlement remaining as of the date of relinquishment of Chapter 30. Only individuals who actually made the contributions may receive the refund. Individuals must be receiving a housing allowance at the time entitlement exhausts to receive the refund. The refund comes with the last housing payment. Individuals receiving transferred benefits are not entitled to the Chapter 30 refund. The amount of the refund will be equal to the number of months and days the individual had remaining under Chapter 30 divided by 36 months multiplied by $1,200. Note: The $600 buy-up is NOT refundable. For example, if an individual has 20 months and 15 days of entitlement remaining under Chapter 30 prior to relinquishing the benefit in lieu of Chapter 33, then the individual would receive $ as a refund. The calculation is (20.5 divided by 36, multiplied by $1200). We converted the days of entitlement remaining into a decimal by dividing the number of days remaining into 30 days.

5 EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Operation Homefront assists military families during difficult financial times by providing food assistance, auto and home repair, vision care, travel and transportation, moving assistance, essential home items, and rent-free transitional housing for wounded veterans and their families. HOW TO APPLY Log on to OperationHomefront.net and click on Get Help Now. Requests for emergency financial assistance must be made through the online application. Priority is given to families of junior- and mid-grade (E1-E6) enlisted service members deployed to combat zones and post-9/11 service-connected wounded, ill, or injured. Applicants will be asked for copies of appropriate documentation. More information is available at OperationHomefront.net or by calling OTHER OPERATION HOMEFRONT PROGRAMS Back-To-School Brigade Through this nationwide school supply collection campaign, we distributed more than 44,000 backpacks at 100+ locations last year. Holiday Toy Drive Each year Operation Homefront brightens the holidays of military kids and lightens the burden on their parents by collecting thousands of toys that are distributed at events across the nation during November and December. OH Villages Located near major military medical facilities, OH Villages provide rent-free, furnished apartments where service members can live with their families while recovering from injury. Families receive a full complement of support services, including financial aid, jobsearch counseling, and morale activities. Homes on the Homefront Part of the American dream always has been owning a home. After helping to secure the freedoms all Americans enjoy, we want to help our warriors and their families realize their own dreams. Hearts of Valor Through on-site support communities, and our virtual community that includes an online discussion forum, Hearts of Valor provides caregivers with opportunities to build relationships, access resources and enjoy brief moments of rest and respite from their care giving responsibilities. Holiday Meals for Military Each year, OH provides thousands of free meal packages to military families.

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9 DEADLINE TO APPLY 7/11/17 DATES AUGUST