San Rafael resident Stanley Kosta, 60, was one of six WWII veterans honored by the Republic of France with its highest military decoration, the French Legion of Honor. When hearing about the honor, Kosta told the Marin Independent Journal that he was shocked. “It sounds like too big of a thing for me,” the IJ reports.Kosta was 26-year-old when he joined the US Army in July 1943. Serving in the 9th Infantry Division, Kosta landed in Normandy in July 1944. He fought in the battle of Saint-Lo, and then crossed the Marne River, just east of Paris for the Ardennes battle. The Ardennes battle raged during a frozen winter, where many died. Then, Kosta’s division entered Germany on Jan. 30, 1944.

B-Schools Recruit More Veterans

As a U.S. Army captain retiring after deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, Tom Pae feared he might have a hard time getting into a prestigious MBA program. When he started applying last year, though, the West Point graduate quickly discovered he had a coveted résumé as recruiters from top institutions encouraged him to consider their programs. In October he was accepted to Columbia Business School in New York, his “reach” school, and he expects to enroll there this fall. “There is a confidence issue when you’re in the military and applying to business school,” Pae says. “You figure you are up against a bunch of consultants and bankers and wonder, ‘How does my experience translate?’ ” Pretty well, it turns out: Leading B-schools such as Wharton, Harvard, and the University of California at Berkeley have stepped up their recruiting of service members. The schools say veterans have a unique outlook on leadership and will help them diversify their student bodies. Vets “are people who have been in very high-stress situations,” says Deirdre Leopold, admissions director at Harvard Business School. “They bring a different perspective.”

Wind Turbine Maker Looking To Hire Veterans

A wind turbine manufacturer that is opening a new distribution center in Woodward has committed to hiring 300 military veterans nationwide this year. Siemens made its pledge on Wednesday in support of the White House’s Joining Forces initiative to support veterans and their families. The company initially promised last year to save 10 percent of its 3,000 positions for veterans. It ended up hiring 630 veterans.

VA Urges Industry to Keep Hiring Vets

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki urged the private sector to help lower the climbing unemployment rate among post-Sept. 11 veterans Wednesday, one day after President Obama proposed a new “Veterans Job Corps” in his State of the Union address. Shinseki urged private companies to hire more veterans while he pledged to increase the percentage of veterans that make up the VA workforce from 30 to 40 percent.

Detroit to Host VA Small Business Conference, Hiring Fair

The National Veterans Small Business Conference, the government’s premier event for Veteran-owned small businesses, is coming to Detroit’s Cobo Center June 25-29, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced today. VA also announced that a “VA for Vets” Hiring Fair will be held during the conference for Veterans looking for careers in the public and private sectors. The conference is expected to attract thousands of Veterans, business owners and federal employees, and bring an estimated $3 million in direct spending to the city.

Program Helps Put Veteran’s Skills to Civilian Use

When military men and women leave the service they often talk about feeling lost. They no longer have a common mission or purpose. But a veteran oriented volunteer organization aims to change that. The organization is called Team Rubicon. It’s all about using the special skills military veterans have learned fighting in wars overseas and putting those skills to use helping in disaster areas. Skills like searching for missing or wounded people and organizing relief efforts are important skills, whether it’s a disaster or a war zone.

Send Valentines to Veterans

Army & Air Force Exchange Service shoppers can show their appreciation to military servicemembers who came before them by sending free valentines through their local exchange now through Feb. 6th. Now in its second year, “Valentines for Veterans” is an annual Exchange campaign to send greetings to local Veterans Affairs hospitals, Fisher House locations and military retirement facilities.

12 California Kids Are 2012 Military Child Of The Year Finalists

On January 26, Operation Homefront announced the 100 semi-finalists ––20 representing each branch of Service––for the 2012 Military Child of the Year ® Award. For the second year in a row, the award will be given to an outstanding military child from each branch of Service: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Each semi-finalist will be interviewed by Operation Homefront staff, and award recipients will be chosen by a committee including active duty military personnel, Family Readiness Support Assistants, teachers, military mothers, and community members.

Homeless Vet Population Falling, But For How Long?

J.B. Baker, Jr., a former Navy gunner who used to live on the streets, is renting an apartment in South Carolina and getting mental-health treatment — all with the federal government’s help. The 1991 Gulf War veteran gets a rental voucher from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He has received treatment for post traumatic stress disorder at a Veterans Affairs Department facility in Salisbury, N.C., and he lived for awhile at a shelter run by the Alston Wilkes Society, a Columbia-based social service agency that receives VA funding.

New Apartments for Homeless Vets Open in Winston-Salem

A new apartment complex for the homeless, veterans and disabled people has opened its doors in Winston-Salem. Two nonpfrofit groups celebrated the grand opening of eight low-income rental units off Fifth Street. The apartments completed Phase II of the group’s construction plan.

VA Sees ‘Paperless’ Claims as Critical to Ending Backlog

The only way to achieve VA’s goal for 2015 — that every disability compensation claim gets processed within 125 days and with 98 percent accuracy — is to shift to a paperless claims system. And that transformation has begun. That was the testimony Tuesday by VA’s top claim processing official before the House veteran affairs’ subcommittee on disability assistance.

Troubled Veterans Pose Special Risk for US Police

The US government is funding an unusual national training program to help police deal with the increasing number of volatile confrontations involving highly trained and often heavily armed combat veterans. The Department of Justice, which is developing the program, said there was an ”urgent need” to defuse crises in which police faced tactical disadvantages against mentally ill suspects who were trained in modern warfare. ”We just can’t use the blazing-guns approach any more when dealing with disturbed individuals who are highly trained in all kinds of tactical operations, including guerrilla warfare,” said Dennis Cusick, the executive director of the Upper Midwest Community Policing Institute.