Retired Admiral Kicks-Off USF Veterans Week

U.S. Department of State spokesperson John Kirby, who retired as a Rear Admiral in May 2015. Photo courtesy U.S. State Department.

Retired Rear Admiral John Kirby is featured at two free, public events today at the University of South Florida Tampa Campus.

The current spokesperson for the Department of State, Kirby, is the keynote speaker at the USF Veterans Day Ceremony at 10 a.m. in the Marshall Student Center Ballroom A.

Later at 1 pm, Kirby will be part of a presentation, “U.S. Foreign Policy in a Turbulent World,” on campus at the Patel Center for Global Solutions, Room 138.

Kirby is a former chief spokesman for the Department of Defense and former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, a USF alumnus and St. Petersburg native. He retired from the Navy in May 2015.

Other events for USF’s Veterans Week are scheduled to honor the nearly 2,000 veterans and their family members attending USF.

On Wednesday, Nov. 4 from 11 am to 12:30 pm is the 6^th Annual Chili Cook-Off at the Marshall Center Amphitheater. USF departments compete to be named for the top chili recipe. Free samples of chili are sampled by attendees who vote for their favorites.

A Salute to Service Football Game, USF vs. Temple, is scheduled Nov. 14 at Raymond James Stadium. Active duty military and veterans will be recognized during a presentation at the game.

Naming the chili is half the fun of participating in 2013 Annual USF Office of Veterans Services Chili Cook-Off. Photo courtesy of OVS.

Marine Lima 3/25 Company Memorial Exhibit Tours Florida

The artist’s depiction of LCpl Timothy Bell, Jr, Sgt Justin Hoffman, and LCpl Nicholas Bloem from the Lima Company Memorial traveling exhibit.

Opening today, April 7, 2014, and staying for only three days in Tampa, Florida is an art exhibit that has become an iconic symbol for the men and women who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The Lima Company Memorial: The Eyes of Freedom exhibit features life-size paintings depicting 23 Marines from the small Ohio Reserves unit L 3/25 who were killed in action in 2005 in Iraq.

Mike Strahle served with Lima Company and now shepherds the exhibit around the U.S. He said the exhibit has a broader reach than just his generation.

“It is a great example of a traveling exhibit for this modern war on terror. I don’t even want to limit it to just this war,” Strahle said. “We have so many men and women that come in and see our exhibit from WWII, Korea, Vietnam (wars), and it’s just as moving for them as it is for the 25 to 35-year-olds that have fought in the current war on terror.”

The Lima Company Memorial was open for three days in Clearwater before moving to the Tampa USF Campus.

The USF Student Veterans Association is hosting the traveling exhibit which is set up at the Marshall Center. Marine Reservist Patrick Sweickart hopes the exhibit will bring closure to his fellow student veterans who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“There’s a ton of student veterans whether they were active duty going to school or Reservist or National Guard for Florida that while they were going to classes got called to order, called to serve, they had to leave in the middle of the semester and do a tour,” Sweickart said.

The Lima Company Memorial – Eyes of Freedom is free and open to the public.

The hours at USF’s Marshall Center – Ballroom C – are: Monday noon-8 pm, Tuesday 8 am-8 pm, and Wednesday 8am-4 pm.

The exhibit will then move on to Melbourne for a three-day stop before returning to Ohio.

Student Veteran Recognized for Cross-Country Ride

August 5, following a cross-country cycling tradition, Kiersten Downs dips her front tire into the reflecting pool on the Washington DC mall at the end of her journey. Her journey started June 2 with a dip of her rear tire in the Pacific Ocean. Credit: Biking USA

An Air Force veteran and anthropology doctoral student who spent her summer Biking across America was named Student Veteran of the Year by the Student Veterans of America organization at its annual conference in Scottsdale, AZ on Saturday evening.

The National SVA recognized University of South Florida student veteran Kiersten Downs, a former president of the USF Student Veterans Association, for her cross-country trip that raised $50,000 for the organization as well as raising awareness of student veterans’ challenges and successes in higher education.

The current USF SVA President Ray Mollison accepting the award for Downs who was unable to attend the ceremony.

USF SVA President Ray Mollison (right) accepting the Student Veteran of the Year award for Kiersten Downs.

Chili Contest Brings Together Student Vets and Civilians

The trophy sits in between two judges who cool off their taste buds before sampling more of the chili samples from dozens of competitors at the 4th Annual USF Student Veterans Chili Cook-Off.

The air was filled with the aroma of cumin, sauteed onions and chilis. Dozens of tables covered with food and cookers lined the arena. Four men – the judges – sat on stage behind cloth-covered tables with water bottles at their ready.

Could there be any better setting or better way to come together than over a warm and spicy – but not too hot – bowl of chili?

Pineapple was the surprise ingredient in the 2nd place chili presented by the USF Marshall Student Center staff.

That’s the philosophy behind the 4th Annual Chili Cook-Off sponsored by the Student Veterans Association and Veterans Services Office at the University of South Florida.

They recruited dozens of USF departments, student groups and staff to compete in the veterans’ annual event. The idea is to use the competition as a way for the USF civilian community to get to know the student veterans and it’s a chance for them to show off their culinary skills.

After the teams delivered their tastes to the judges – the amphitheater was opened up to eager students who flooded the various booths to taste the various chili concoctions.

First place winners of the USF Student Veterans’ 4th Annual Chili Cook-Off, the team from Dining Services with their “I’m chili and I know it” entry.

Judges for the competition included the man many in the Tampa Bay region credit with starting the chili cook-offs, Tampa Tribune columnist Steve Otto. Rounding out the panel were USF Men’s Basketball Coach Stan Heath, Women’s Basketball Coach Jose Fernandez and Baseball Coach Lelo Prado.

The top three chili winners: 1st place – Team “I’m chili and I know it” from USF Dining Services; 2nd place – The Marshall Center; 3rd place – Team Angelica. Watch the video as they accept their prizes.

How Civilians Can Help Returning Veterans

Ray Mollison, president of the USF Student Veterans Association, Bobbie O’Brien, WUSF reporter, and Pat Schweikart, an SVA officer and Marine Reservist.

On what was the most pleasant and least humid Saturday in the Tampa Bay area since April, some chose to spend a few hours inside.

The Friends of the St. Petersburg Library gathered in the auditorium of the main library to learn about the challenges and successes of the newest generation of veterans from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Student Veterans President at USF Ray Mollison and SVA officer Patrick Schweikart served as their guides.

They said the SVA’s mission is to serve student veterans but also to reach out to the community.

Their outreach includes helping to build homes for injured veterans through Homes for Our Troops, joint exercise like runs and cycling and social outings with Team Red, White and Blue  and making presentations to public groups.

One of the questions they fielded was what civilians could do to get involved and help veterans. Ray started it off with two suggestions:

1. Participate in Team Red, White and Blue events like the cycling he did this morning. He said civilians are more than welcome to become part of the team.
2. In-state tuition for veterans is the top priority for the USF student veterans. Their chapter has tried for several years to get it passed by the legislature. Last year, the bill never made it out of a senate committee. Rep. Kathleen Peters and Sen. Jack Latvala are co-sponsoring veterans in-state tuition bill for the 2014 session. So, Ray suggested they could help lobby lawmakers this year to get legislation passed.

There are a myriad of options to offer help to a veteran. Here are a few ideas:

• Join the Got Your 6 program – it offers the community ways to share in the sacrifice and show appreciation for those who have served like becoming a mentor or providing care packages for homeless veterans.
• Wreaths Across America – The group of veterans who fund-raise for the wreaths at Bushnell National Cemetery are trying to get enough donations for 10,000 wreaths in 2013. They also need volunteers to lay the wreaths before the holidays.
• Support the Troops Inc. – Volunteer to help put together packages for troops deployed overseas.
• Honor Flight West Coast Florida – Volunteer to escort a World War II veteran for a day of touring national memorials in Washington D.C.

If you have an idea on how civilians in your community can help veterans and military families, write a comment or send me an email at bobrien@wusf.org.

A final thank you to the USF SVA and Friends of the St. Petersburg Library for including me in an informative afternoon that offered some laughs and some tasty lemon bars.

Reaching Student Veterans with Tutoring, Jobs, Events

USF Army ROTC Battalion Commander Victor Benoit talks with Army veteran Rachael Meyer who was staffing the SVA table at the barbecue event.

Students returned to campus this week at the University of South Florida in Tampa and among them are an estimated 1,700 veterans transitioning from active duty military to college student.

At a welcome back barbecue on campus Thursday, student veteran Victor Benoit collected a free shirt from the USF Student Veterans Association (SVA). He is a former Army military police soldier and a USF criminology major.

“It’s a totally different lifestyle between military and being back in school. Some people say it’s hard,” Benoit said. “It’s a case by case basis and whether you’re an adaptive person.”

Benoit said he had a fairly easy transition partially because he joined the U.S. Army ROTC where he now serves as battalion commander. So, Benoit will return to active duty when he graduates this winter instead of joining the SVA.

Patrick Schweikart, a USF SVA leader, said the chapter hopes to double its registered members by spring semester.

The organization is reaching out to student veterans by adding services like a tutoring program and partnerships with local businesses that may offer internships.

“Community outreach with getting vets jobs is another big push,” said SVA leader Patrick Schweikart.

The USF chapter leadership spent their summer doing outreach. Schweikart and SVA president Ray Mollison taught about 200 USF faculty and staff how to help student vets transition into college with their “Got Your 6” workshops. And former SVA president Kiersten Downs biked across America helping to raise money and visibility for the USF chapter.

“Our chapter here is really like a spearhead for the national chapter because so much of what we have done and are doing and continue to do,” Scheikart said.

SVA members Rachael Meyer and Justin Marin hold up the free t-shirt being handed out to student vets with an ID.

Those activities include community service like a tree planting event that the city of Temple Terrace invited USF student veterans to attend and the 2013 Run for the Wounded.

And there are career focused events like the internship fair, Tampa Bay Tech forum,  scheduled September 10, 2013 for USF student veterans studying engineering and technology.

But Schweikart said they’re big, renewed goal this year is getting in-state tuition for Florida’s student veterans. For a second year in a row, the Florida legislature failed to pass a bill that would have given student veterans in-state tuition.

You can hear the radio version of this story on the WUSF website.

Student Veteran Is Halfway to Goal of Biking USA

Kiersten Downs climbing the summits in Colorado. Credit: Biking USA.net

What do you think would be the toughest part of cycling across the United States? Climbing the mountains? Crossing the desert?

Not for University of South Florida student veteran Kiersten Downs.

“Dealing with the silence because I have been on the road a lot by myself,” Downs said. “I have learned how important my community is to me and how much I need them.

USF Student Veterans Have “Got Your Six”

USF student veteran and Marine Reservist Patrick Schweickart helps academic advisor Alyssa Thomas try on his military-issued backpack.

Over the next five years, more than one million men and women will leave the military and re-enter civilian life.  For some, that is not an easy transition.

But there’s a program to help. The national, Got Your 6 campaign partners Hollywood with veterans groups. Their focus is helping veterans reintegrate in their communities through jobs, education, health, housing, family, and leadership.

The education component is in practice in more than 100 universities. It’s a campaign where student veterans instruct faculty and staff about their experiences so educators and advisors can help student veterans adjust to campus life and the classroom.

Student veterans at the University of South Florida are holding weekly Got Your 6 classes this summer. The three-hour session is voluntary, yet it is attracting a lot of participants.

Student Vets Bring Leadership, Fitness and Fun to Campus

Members of the USF Student Veterans Association and Team Red, White and Blue at a recent event. From the left, Ray Mollison, Amanda Lynn Alexander, Amanda Pasquale-Spellicy, Chris Rhode, Kelly Knigge, Patrick Stephen Schweickart and Oliver Lima. Credti: SVA/RWB

It happened in a big way at the end of World War II – soldiers headed home from the frontlines and into the classroom.

Again, the number of veterans on college campuses around the nation is expected to increase as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down.

Some 2,200 students are currently using their VA education benefits to attend the University of South Florida said Ray Mollison, president of the USF Student Veterans Association (SVA). Of those, 1,700 are active veteran students and 1,200 are on the Tampa campus.

Mollison, an Army veteran who did two tours in Iraq, said his time in the military taught him leadership, especially when he was deployed.

He is now focusing those leadership skills on his goal to dramatically increase the number of student veterans who participate in the SVA.

Mollison said about a dozen or so student veterans regularly attend meetings. His goal is to reach dozens if not hundreds of those existing veteran students.

“We do not believe that we have reached our potential,” Mollison said. “We want to really get everyone to recognize, especially the student veterans, that you’re not alone.”

He said the SVA can help veterans integrate into civilian life and college classes.

“We’re going to make your college experience fun,” Mollison said.