Angelina College Procurement Assistance Center (ACPAC)

"Developing Government Contracting Opportunities for the Texas Forest Country"

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Veterans to Business
Purpose:
  • To provide an overview of the various programs available to Veterans who want to do business with the government.
  • To provide information on resources to assist Veterans wanting to go into or are in business.

Document
Veterans to Business
Veterans to Business

This is a presentation by ACPAC on Veterans to Business.

Definitions of a Veteran
Definition of a Veteran:
There are two ways to define a Veteran - by definition and for benefits.  There is no standardized legal definiton of "military veteran" in the United States.  The two definitions that are used are:
  • Veteran by definition - a person who has served in the Armed Forces in time of war or peace, with no time limit.  "A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."
  • Veteran by government - as defined in U.S. Code Title 38 - Veteran's Benefits, Part 1 - General Provisions, Section 101 - Definitions:
    • (2) - The term "Veteran" means means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released there from under conditions other than dishonorable. 
    • (21) - The term ``active military, naval, or air service'' includes:
      • (A) active duty;
      • (B) any period of active duty for training during which the individual concerned was disabled or died from a disease or injury incurred or aggravated in line of duty; and
      • (C) any period of inactive duty training during which the individual concerned was disabled or died:
        • (i) from an injury incurred or aggravated in line of duty; or
        • (ii) from an acute myocardial infarction, a cardiac arrest, or a cerebrovascular accident occurring during such training.

!! No where does it say you had to be in a WAR or SERVE OVERSEAS to be called a Veteran !!
VA Eligibility:
http://www.va.gov/healtheligibility/eligibility/DetermineEligibility.asp

  • Determine qualifying military service:
    • The character of discharge you received from the military can be a factor. It is not an issue if you received:

      • An honorable discharge
      • A general discharge
      • A discharge under honorable conditions
    • The length of your service may also matter. It depends on when you served. There’s no length of service requirement for:
  • Former enlisted persons who started active duty before September 8, 1980, or
  • Former officers who first entered active duty before October 17, 1981
  • All other veterans must have 24 months of continuous active duty military service or meet one of the exceptions described below.
  • Minimum Service Requirement - You do not have to meet the 24 continuous months of active duty service requirement if you:
    • Were a reservist who was called to Active Duty and who completed the term for which you were called, and who was granted an other than dishonorable discharge, or
    • Were a National Guard member who was called to Active Duty by federal executive order, and who completed the term for which you were called, and who was granted an other than dishonorable discharge, or
    • Only request a benefit for or in connection with:
      • a service-connected condition or disability; or
      • treatment and/or counseling of sexual trauma that occurred while on active military service; or
      • treatment of conditions related to ionizing radiation; or
      • head or neck cancer related to nose or throat radium treatment while in the military.
    • Were discharged or released from active duty for a hardship , or
    • Were discharged with an "early out"; or
    • Were discharged or released from active duty for a disability that began in the service or got worse because of the service; or
    • Have been determined by VA to have compensable service-connected conditions; or
    • Were discharged for a reason other than disability, but you had a medical condition at the time that:
      • Was disabling, and
      • In the opinion of a doctor, would have justified a discharge for disability (in this last case, the disability must be documented in service records)

 
Veterans Doing Business with the Federal Government
Purpose:  To provide an overview of the various programs available to Veterans who want to do business with the government.

Document
CVE Programs
Center for Veterans Enterprise

This provides information on programs that the Center for Veterans Enterprise provides for Veterans.

 
Veterans Training
Returning Veterans Skills Training Fund
http://www.twc.state.tx.us/svcs/funds/vet_scholarship.html

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) provides $1 million in funding for the Returning Veterans Skills Training Fund.  Scholarships are awarded for skills training based on employers' identification of the skills necessary for Texas' future economic growth.  When employers identify these needs, the training fund enables recently separated veterans to upgrade their skills to meet current and future workforce demands.

Private Texas employers can apply to TWC for training grants by partnering with established training providers such as community colleges, apprenticeship training programs, or community-based training programs with demonstrated experience.  Employers must be based in Texas and in good standing and in compliance with the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act and other applicable state and federal labor laws.

Veterans eligible for skills training scholarships must:
  • Be discharged or released from active duty within the previous 36 months;
  • Be discharged or released from active duty within the previous 36 months;
  • Have served during a war, campaign, or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized;
  • Be employed by a participating employer or have an offer of employment from a participating employer; and
  • Provide a DD-214 to document service status.
Scholarship funds can be used to pay tuition, books, and fees for eligible veterans.  Scholarships may be granted for amounts up to $1000 per scholarship. Scholarships may exceed $1,000 with sufficient justification.  The veteran's GI Bill is not affected.
 
Applications for grants can be submitted at any time up to November 1, 2010. To apply, download the grant application below, complete all requested information, sign the forms, and return them electronically to: vet.scholarproject@twc.state.tx.us

For more information, contact George Bousquet at (512) 936-0401 or George.Bousquet@twc.state.tx.us.

Document
Skills Training Fund Flyer
Returning Veterans Skills Training Fund

This provides information on the program.

Document
Skills Training Fund Application
Returning Veterans Skills Training Fund

This provides the application package for the program.

 
Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV)
http://www.whitman.syr.edu/ebv/

The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) offers cutting edge, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities resulting from their service to our country.  The EBV is designed to open the door to business ownership for our veterans by developing your skills in the many steps and activities associated with launching and growing a small business, and by helping you leverage programs and services for veterans and people with disabilities in a way that furthers your entrepreneurial dreams.

The EBV program is offered through a national partnership of exceptional universities:  the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, UCLA Anderson School of Management, Florida State University’s College of Business, Mays Business School at Texas A&M, the University of Connecticut School of Business, and the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University.  Each of these world-class business schools will offer the EBV program on their campuses in 2010.

To be eligible for the program:
  • A 'service-connected disability' as designated by the Veterans Administration or Department of Defense;
  • Military service after September 2001; and
  • A passion for entrepreneurship.

Document
EBV Flyer
The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV)

This provides information on program.


Angelina College Procurement Assistance Center

936-633-5432  ¤  888-326-5223  ¤  936-633-5478 (Fax)


director@acpactx.org  ♦•♦ www.acpactx.org