The University of Iowa Veterans Association

Hey Everybody,

In case you missed the meeting last night, here is what we discussed:

- The DoD is compensating Service Members who were stop lossed. More information can be found at: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=56337

- The University of Iowa is hosting a Veterans Reception on November 10, 2009 at 3PM in the IMU, Second Floor Ballroom. RSVP at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=154393667502

- The University of Iowa Veterans Association is holding a showing of Lioness following the Veterans Reception at 5PM in the IMU, Second Floor Ballroom. For more information: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=180422759257

- On Veterans Day, we're going to meet up at Applebees for a free Veterans' lunch. For more information: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=163952888001

- The Johnson County Military Affairs Association is holding their annual banquet on Veterans Day at the Riverside Casino in Riverside, IA. John Mikelson and Randy Miller have tickets; $15 for students and E4. The event starts at 6PM for cocktails and 7PM for dinner. RSVP at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=262159370386

- City High School in Iowa City is having a concert in honor of Veterans on November 10 at 7:30.

- Walmart has a Wall of Honor where they will display pictures of Veterans and those still serving.

- Lowes, Menards and Home Depot have some Veterans Day deals going on.

- We're going to be signing some Christmas cards. If you have any addresses for folks serving overseas, let us know!

- Wreaths Across America will be having a service on December 12 at 11AM. If you can assist with finding graves before the service, please contact Randy Miller.

- Dan Grinstead, IAARNG, is working on an interesting project about deployment. His unit is deploying to Afghanistan. As a counselor he would like to look at the positive aspects of deployment to change the mentality of people deploying. If you have anything you'd like to share, email me ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) and I can send you the survey.

- Dan is also working on setting up a fly fishing outing for Veterans in the area, which got us thinking about other activities we can do as a group outside the immediate Iowa City area. If you have any ideas, let us know!

- A few Veterans will be going on a bar crawl December 4th, and we're going bowling later this month. More information to come.

Don't forget to check out our Veteran Day Tribute! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEsRjTdT8kg

From the NY Times:

The Defense Department said Wednesday that it would begin paying retroactive compensation to troops who were prevented from leaving the military under the contentious policy known as stop-loss.

The new payments apply to about 185,000 troops who, in the years after 2001, were not allowed to retire or be discharged on time because of stop-loss, an involuntary extension of active service that officials said was necessary to ensure that there were enough officers, skilled personnel and combat enlisted men for two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If you were affected by this program, I encourage you to read this article, as it has more service-specific contact information.