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JP Morgan and its Treatment of Military Veterans

JP Morgan and its Treatment of Military Veterans

Appreciation for the service and protection that military personnel provide is an emotional subject in America. Although gratitude to military servicemen and women is a phenomenon experienced in just about every country in the world, the American people seem particularly aware of the debt they owe the men and women who join the armed services. As such, the matter of how these service personnel are cared for when they re-enter the community, particularly if they were injured during their service, is one that is passionately and acutely felt across America. One of the largest banking brands in the US, JP Morgan, has also been keen to show its appreciation of ex-servicemen, and has launched a major campaign that is planned to run for at least ten years highlighting its dedication to helping these people take their rightful place in society.

Housing

JP Morgan announced a raft of measures in February 2011 aimed at helping former soldiers financially. One of the largest areas of its program was dedicated to housing for servicemen, with the brand aiming to provide 1,000 veterans with homes before 2016. The brand works with a number of charities dedicated to helping soldiers, so is in close contact with those who actually know and understand the needs of former military personnel. The brand also pledged to open Chase Homeownership Centers directly near core military bases in order to help servicemen secure their own homes. Servicemen stationed at bases including Fort Hood in Texas and Camp Lejeune in North Carolina will all receive help securing a home with the brand.

Employment

Elsewhere, the brand has also outlined a commitment to securing employment for former members of the military. One core thrust of this campaign is a partnership with some of the major corporate employers in America. JP Morgan hopes that this partnership will allow it to find employment for 100,000 veterans before 2021. Of course, this is very much a work in progress so more and more employers should be added to the campaign as time goes on. Interestingly, the brand has also made a commitment to finding out the employment processes of any company it does deals with. As an official release from the bank states, it “will make contract decisions in part based on how strong those [military hiring] programs are. This is in addition to our current practice of requiring vendors to disclose their diversity practices”. In short, the brand will refuse to do business with any firm that doesn’t meet certain standards of equal employment for military veterans, even if that would cost the bank money.

Banking

JP Morgan has launched a dedicated website for veterans outlining its intentions to help members of the military and detailing how it will go about completing its ambitious goals, at www.chasemilitary.com. As well as offering veterans jobs itself, the brand also wants to be the major bank for all servicemen, whether it is taking care of their mortgage needs or handling a credit card transfer for them.

Controversy

Unfortunately for the bank, many have criticized these recent endeavours as a smokescreen attempt to cover up its previous track record of treating military veterans unfavourably. At the start of 2011 (interestingly right before the initiative was launched), JP Morgan was blasted in the press for making mistakes with the homes of servicemen. The bank miscalculated the mortgages of around 4,500 military members, while further mistakes led to the premature and incorrect foreclosure of 18 households belonging to members of the military. The bank profoundly apologized for these errors and has since updated its foreclosure policy altogether, changing its regulations to state that a foreclosure is prohibited on the house of any customer currently serving in the armed forces. However, many commentators have stated that the brand’s campaign has come too late and the damage has already been done.

Although this is true, the fact is JP Morgan has now undergone genuine attempts and measures to make the re-entry into public life easier for members of the military. Although the bank may not have always done right by ex-servicemen in the past, measures like these are always welcome in order to give the troops the support and assistance that they deserve for protecting our freedoms, both at home and abroad.

Black Box Network Services is Now Premier Employer on YourMilitaryJobs.com

YourMilitary.com is happy to include Black Box Network Services as a premier employer. They have begun a campaign to post many career opportunities on YourMilitaryJobs.com. This will target the active duty soldiers soon to be separated from the military, as well as Veterans, Retirees, Reservists and federal employees.  

Black Box started as a technology products catalog company and has grown to a $1 billion communications and infrastructure services provider. This growth enables them to offer an unrivaled solutions portfolio and international footprint, all built on the foundation of their business—trusted technical advice and support.

Black Box offer opportunities throughout the U.S. for innovative, flexible, team-oriented professionals.
They offer the excitement of a fast paced environment and a competitive total compensation package commensurate with experience, excellent benefits and the advancement opportunities that come from being part of a growing company.

To view their database of job opportunities please click here.

YourMilitaryJobs.com has been dedicated to providing job opportunities since 1999. Everyone can post a resume for free. Click to post your resume today: http://www.YourMilitaryJobs.com. 

 

 

Free Text Messaging for Deployed Personnel Thanks to New Partnership of eMailOurMilitary and Tatango

Here's today's news of free text messaging for deployed troops thanks to eMailOurMilitary and Tatango:

Tatango, the Seattle-based SMS service firm, has partnered with Miami-based eMail Our Military (eMOM) to connect deployed military service members with their loved ones back home through text messaging.

Tatango has created an interface exclusively for military personnel, which easily allows any service member to instantly update all their loved ones on events of the day, advancements and most importantly, their safety.

Read the rest of this article at http://snipurl.com/textmessaging

Looking Back at Katrina as New Orleans Braces for Gustav

Tonight while monitoring the tweets on Twitter about Gustav -- including the helpful communication info from a representative of Sprint -- I also read one of Big Tobacco’s older posts describing his experiences when his National Guard unit was in New Orleans after Katrina.

As you may recall, Big Tobacco is a National Guard infantryman currently deployed somewhere in Kuwait. Apparently he’s on the move from one FOB (Forward Operating Base) to another and he’s going to be away from internet access. So he kindly provided a list of some of his past blog posts for his fans to read while he’s offline.

That’s how I came across his Katrina post, which I highly recommend you read. There are some very funny moments (the military mind at work) and some very ugly moments (the boots-on-the-ground situation patrolling the streets of New Orleans). Taken together, the post is a very interesting first-hand look at New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina.

And at this point, all we can hope is that history doesn’t repeat itself in New Orleans only three years after Katrina.

Here’s the link to Big Tobacco’s Katrina post: http://tinyurl.com/6h59vq 

And here’s the link to my PZ the Do-Gooder Scrooge blog post about an online central information point for news of Gustav: http://tinyurl.com/6pkccj 

(Just saw a warning on Twitter not to shoot video of Gustav from cell phones while driving. This is dangerous!)

 Syndicated from www.mrslieutenant.blogspot.com

National Guard Member in Iraq Reports the Convoy Made It Through Safely

I'm back a little earlier than I thought.  Everything is fine. 

This is the email I received Saturday evening Pacific time from the National Guard member whom I wrote about in my post on Friday  – http://tinyurl.com/6otpao. 

I immediately responded that I was glad to hear from him. Then, because a few days ago he had mentioned concerns he had about this mission, I asked him for more details. This is his response: 

Boring day which is the way I like it. We are going out for most of the week, but odds are I will not be doing this.  HQ just provides fills when the line units need a body. So I'll be in the TOC [Tactical
Operation Center} on the radio or watching a movie.

I want to be out with my guys, and that can happen on some missions, but it’s just not my job.  I'm supposed to make sure my guys run the TOC and my mechanics are fixing vehicles.  I can go out, but from now on, it will be as a Joe, not as a leader.

Now Operation Soldier Care only has one more day to go – tomorrow, August 18^th. And I want those of you reading this blog to think about “the guys” of this National Guard platoon sergeant who are struggling through the desert in convoy formation. (FYI – The “guy” on the gun on Vic 6 – vehicle 6 – of the eight-truck convoy was a woman.)

Thanks to Trish Forant of www.emailourmilitary.com and Nancy Sutherland, sales director of Mary Kay who is matching up to $5,000 of donations, in a few days sun/skin care products will be on the way to help our troops in the Iraqi desert.

And Trish just won the Blog of the Day Award! See http://tinyurl.com/6mden8 to read about this terrific honor – then click through to read her most recent blog post on Operation Soldier Care.

And while you’re cruising the internet sitting in comfort, click on the link from Trish’s blog to the Mary Kay skin/sun care product page and send a little comfort to our troops in the blazing Iraqi desert. Or click from here directly to the Mary Kay product page – http://tinyurl.com/5dmwq4. Consider buying multiple packages – the top five donors will receive an incredible array of donated prizes.

If it were your loved one serving in harm’s way under these difficult conditions, you’d want the American public to show appreciation.

Now’s your chance to show appreciation to the loved ones of other Americans. Do this now before the clock ends on August 18^th.

Syndicated from www.mrslieutenant.blogspot.com

A Convoy Coming Up Tomorrow: Donate to Operation Soldier Care

As I got ready to write this blog about Operation Soldier Care, I received an email from a deployed National Guard member. In order to protect his platoon he hasn’t told me his name or his location. Here’s what he wrote:

I have a convoy coming up tomorrow.  Prep starts today.  If I don't respond to your emails, that is why.

So I hope you understand that, when I write about deployed soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, I’m not writing about some imaginary people that I don’t know. I’m writing about this platoon sergeant and the men and women under him as well as all the other platoon sergeants and their platoon members.

And that’s why I’m urging you to donate to Operation Soldier Care – a project to send sun/skin care products to the blazing Iraqi desert. The project is sponsored by Trish Forant of www.emailourmilitary.com and Nancy Sutherland, sales director of Mary Kay, who is matching all donations up to $5,000.

In order to encourage people to donate more than a minimum amount, donations have also been sought as prizes for the top five donors. And terrific prizes have been donated. Yesterday Nancy Sutherland emailed me about a new incredible donation:
 
I have another HUGE CONTRIBUTOR! Zna Trainer (www.znatrainer.com) is giving away $15,000 worth of personal training! She is giving $950 personal training for each of the top 5 contributors PLUS 5 for lucky soldiers and their spouses! A total of 15 personal training packages! 

If Zna Trainer can step up to the plate, you can too. 

To read about Operation Soldier Care and all the prizes for the top five donors, go to Trish Forant’s blog entry “Giving Back to Those Who Give So Much” at http://tinyurl.com/67srcm. The deadline is August 18^th. 

Think of that platoon sergeant’s convoy coming up tomorrow through the blazing Iraqi desert. What must it feel like to be out in those incredibly high temperatures (wearing full body armor) and with blowing desert sand stinging your faces?
 
Please donate to Operation Soldier Care to help give a little comfort to these men and women fighting in our names. 

Syndicated from www.mrslieutenant.blogspot.com

A Soldier’s Story of His War on Terrorism

I have just finished reading the July 2008 article in Texas Monthly entitled “Soldier” by Matt Cook.
 

The article starts on September 11, 2001, the first day of Matt’s basic training one month after he enlisted following college at the University of Texas at Austin. It isn’t until late in the day when the new recruits are introduced to their company’s first sergeant that they learn what has happened. Here’s a passage from Matt’s description of what the first sergeant said to them:
 

“Listen up,” he says. “Does anyone here have parents who work at the World Trade Center in New York City?”

No one responds.

“Good. Does anyone here have parents who work at the Pentagon in D.C.?”

No one responds.

“Even better.”

 

The article goes on to describe Matt’s first tour in Tal Afar, a northern Iraqi city near the Syrian border. And then his next tour in Iraq.

 

The end of the article describes his feelings after he fulfilled his enlistment commitment and returned to civilian life. This is the end of his last paragraph:

 

I never found the war hero inside of me, but in my rite of passage I found a worldliness and particular understanding of life that has made me a better man. And I never won my ex-girlfriend back, but I do not regret a day I spent in uniform – I’m immensely proud of my service. If I’ve learned anything, I’ve learned what a truly remarkable thing it is to be a combat veteran. Now I want to live an exceptional life for those who never left the desert.

 

If you’re in tears as I am at those last words, please consider supporting the troops who are in the desert right now. Donate to Operation Soldier Care. Read the eMailOurMilitary blog post at http://tinyurl.com/67srcm to find out how you can help. And, remember, the deadline for this project is August 18^th.

 

Syndicated from www.mrslieutenant.blogspot.com

We Need Your Help with Operation Soldier Care

Listen to Nancy Sutherland explain on a posting to Utterz.com about Operation Soldier Care. Nancy and www.eMailOurMilitary.com are doing this project to support our deployed troops (with a little help from me and others):

http://tinyurl.com/5hk6pt

OPERATION SOLDIER CARE HAS MATCHING SPONSOR TO SUPPORT OUR TROOPS

August is in full force through the U.S. with record heat waves keeping people inside in front of their air conditioners. 

Imagine, then, how hot and uncomfortable U.S. men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan must be! And also imagine how nice it would be for them to receive sun/skin care products that can make their lives a tad easier.

Thanks to Trish Forant of www.eMailOurMilitary.com and Nancy Sutherland, sales director of Mary Kay, OPERATION SOLDIER CARE is providing sun/skin care products to deployed service members to help relieve the ravages of a desert combat tour. 

What started as a smaller project has now grown to a larger one due to Nancy’s offer to match all contributions up to $5,000. This is, in effect, a 2-for-1 offer where every purchased Mary Kay gift set results in Nancy buying a matching second gift set.

Show support for our deployed troops by stepping up to the plate and buying Mary Kay gift sets. Click on this link to Nancy’s Mary Kay website to buy the gift sets of satin hand pampering -- http://tinyurl.com/5dmwq4. After putting in the number of sets, put OPERATION SOLDIER CARE in the comment section at checkout and your gifts will be sent directly to the soldiers.

It’s that easy!  So click on http://tinyurl.com/5dmwq4 now because this troop support project ends August 18.

And to encourage you to buy multiple gift sets, the top five biggest individual donors will receive a copy of the new book MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL by Phyllis Zimbler Miller and an eMail Our Military 15-oz. ceramic coffee mug.

Why not consider this as a great summer project for scouts or camps to pitch in to help our troops? Let’s show them that we care!

Technorati Tags: Operation Soldier Care, www.emailourmilitary.com, Nancy Sutherland, Trish Forant, Mary Kay, Mrs. Lieutenant, do-gooder, Scrooge