Pentagon lifts ban on women in combat

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is lifting the military’s ban on women in combat, which will open up hundreds of thousands of additional front-line jobs to them, senior defense officials said on Wednesday.

Read the New York Times article here.

Photo: Lynsey Addario for The New York Times. Capt. Emily Naslund on patrol in Marja, Afghanistan, in 2010.

Read about a Wisconsin woman who saw some harrowing combat here.

Dane VSO leaving job at month's end

 The Dane County veterans service officer is leaving his job at the end of the month to work for a nonprofit group that helps military members and their families.
Sgt. B.J. Ganem has been the county's veterans service officer since October 2011.

Click here for the story.

UW health effort for OEF/OIF combat vets

UW-Madison is looking for a few good men (and women) who served in Iraq and Afghanistan to help other soldiers cope with mental health issues.

Click here.

Wisconsin vet's journey back to Vietnam

Click here to read the blog.

Faces of Freedom

For more information click here.

43 years later, old telegram yields medal

 By Dennis Punzel, Wisconsin State Journal
When Larry Stanczyk received a minor shrapnel injury in Vietnam in 1969, little did he suspect it would take him 43 years to heal completely.
Stanczyk, 64, will officially receive a Purple Heart in a Veterans Day ceremony Friday morning in the Capitol rotunda.
The ceremony will mark a day Stanczyk never thought he’d see. But it’s come to pass due in large part to his desire to leave something memorable for his granddaughter, combined with a dash of serendipity and a pinch of persistence.

Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/local/precious-medal-vietnam-vet-will-finally-get-his-purple-heart/article_bfaf5a44-2741-11e2-8cef-001a4bcf887a.html#ixzz2BN8fcBWb

Soviet Propaganda at Vets Museum

Twenty-two Cold War era posters will be on display as part of a "special evening with David Olien," according to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum. Olien is senior vice president emeritus of the UW System.
The event takes place 5-9 p.m. Friday at the museum, 30 W. Mifflin, Madison, WI. The event is free and open to the public. For more information:  Call Jennifer Kollath at 608.264.7663. The posters -- "From Revolution to Reform" -- are up now and will remain on display through Dec. 31.