Tom Jurkowsky
Rear Admiral, US Navy (Retired)
Note to visitors: TheMessenger.com is no longer an active news source and thus all associated links originally included are no longer functional. Jan 2024
2024
Annapolis Capital
March 26, 2024
Annapolis, Maryland
A sharp military hand salute goes to state Sen. Dawn Gile and Del. Andrew Pruski for their proposed legislation in the General Assembly that would create a commission to develop a strategic plan for how to best meet the needs of Maryland’s military families and veterans.
A goal of the legislation would be to make Maryland the best state for military families and veterans.
If passed, the commission would be composed of lawmakers and representatives from the military community. The commission would look at what legislative and budget items are needed to support the military families and veterans in Maryland. Military families face daunting challenges. These include health care access, food insecurity, employment, housing and other quality of life issues. Our local and national political leaders need insight into these problems so they can better understand the needs and challenges of military families, thereby developing policies and programs that can help address those needs.
The exceptionally high spousal unemployment rate is a result of several factors contributing to the unique challenges military spouses face in establishing and sustaining professional careers. These include:
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Frequent moves and transfers
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State licensing requirements
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Childcare (costs, long waitlists for on-base providers and lack of access to off-base providers)
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Caregiving
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Deployments
There are currently more than 14,000 active-duty spouses in Maryland. They represent a pool of talented personnel who may be available to fill vacancies in state government.
The commission being advocated by Gile and Pruski, along with the support of Moore, is a superb initiative. It’s time to pass the necessary legislation, establish the commission and get to work on implementing policies that will make Maryland a state that members of the military, retirees and veterans want to come to.
Real Clear Defense
March 6, 2024
Chicago
It’s time for Congress to do the right thing and fix an inequity that is affecting our combat injured veterans.
Under current policy, military members forced to retire after a combat-related injury must forfeit a dollar of military retirement pay for every dollar of Veterans Affairs (VA) provided disability benefits they receive. Reducing the retirement pay of a combat-disabled veteran—effectively using it to pay for their disability benefit—is as wrong as it sounds.
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TheMessenger.Com
January 30, 2024
West Palm Beach, Florida
As we look at the world geo-politically, the focus has been on the situations in Gaza and Ukraine. However, there are several other regions that could erupt into far more serious situations. These situations include:
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The Red Sea where the U.S. Navy and its allies are protecting commercial shipping from attacks by Houthi terrorists. The shipping under attack is a vital element to the global economy. Our Navy has performed superbly against weapon systems supplied to the Houthis by Iran.
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Continuing attacks on U.S. troops in Syria and Iraq by Iranian-backed militants.
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The Messenger.com
January 3, 2024
West Palm Beach, Florida
In the piece I argue for taking a more aggressive approach towards the Houthis who are harassing commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
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This article is no longer available online at TheMessengr.com