Vietnam Veterans Invited to Commemorative Pinning Ceremony In Wyoming County In an effort to honor Vietnam-era veterans, the Offices of Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Rep. Karen Boback (R-Lackawanna/Luzerne/Wyoming) will co-host a ceremony to commemorate area Vietnam Veterans. This event will take place Friday May 14th, 2021, at 6:00 pm at the Tunkhannock High School Football Field, 135 Pennsylvania Ave, Tunkhannock, PA 18657. This ceremony will be part of the Wall That Heals display in Tunkhannock. The Wall that Heals is a program of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund that displays a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and is designed to travel to communities throughout the United States. Commemorative pins will be presented to eligible Vietnam-era veterans during the ceremony. Veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces at any time between Nov. 1, 1955 and May 15, 1975, regardless of location, will be eligible to receive a lapel pin at this ceremony. Family members are invited to attend the ceremony with veterans. Vietnam veterans from Wyoming and surrounding counties who wish to attend should contact Rep. Boback’s office in Tunkhannock at (570) 836-4777 to RSVP. All CDC and PA Department of Health guidelines will be followed.
Boback Announces Virtual Job Fair Available to Service Members and their Families Rep. Karen Boback (R-Lackawanna/Luzerne/Wyoming) announced two upcoming virtual job fairs to help active military members, veterans and their families. The first was held by the Department of Defense Military Spouse Employment Partnership on Wednesday, March 10, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The second will be held by the Pennsylvania National Guard Associations on Wednesday, March 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. “These virtual job fairs present an amazing opportunity for those who have served our country and continue to serve, along with their families as well,” said Boback. “I am always honored to help out our veterans and their families in any way I can and sharing this information will hopefully provide individuals with interview and hiring experience.” The Department of Defense Military Spouse Employment Partnership is hosting its fourth virtual hiring fair for military spouses. The department is committed to ensuring military spouses have the access to education and employment resources to help them thrive in their military life. Providing virtual opportunities and empowering military spouses remains a top priority. For more information individuals can call 800-342-9647 to speak with a Spouse Education Career Opportunities career coach or visit www.msephire.vfairs.com to register for the event. The Pennsylvania National Guard Associations (PNGAS) is hosting its virtual job fair for all job seekers, veterans and non-veterans. PNGAS has been helping Guard members, veterans, their spouses, military families, and job seekers get job opportunities. Right now, in the middle of COVID, the PNGAS Job Board has over 2,000 job postings. For more information and to register for the event visit https://pngas.org/mission/jobs-board.
New Law Updates CDL Requirements for PA Veterans, Service Members The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) announced today that a new Pennsylvania law waives the requirement for Pennsylvania residents who are current and former military members and who operated a commercial vehicle as part of their duties, to take a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Knowledge Test when applying for a CDL. Previous legislation – Act 133 of 2008 – established a waiver of the CDL skills test for these individuals. “We are pleased to announce this important change and hope that it helps military members in their transition to civilian life find good-paying, sustainable employment to begin their new lives,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. Act 131 of 2020 allows the PennDOT to waive the CDL Knowledge Test for Pennsylvania residents on active or reserve military duty or recently honorably discharged veterans, provided those service members have at least two years of experience operating a commercial motor vehicle as part of their military job requirements. The waiver applies to CDL applicants who wish to operate vehicles similar to those they operated in the military. For example, those who drove combination type commercial (Class A) motor vehicles in the military will be eligible in Pennsylvania for a waiver to drive a combination type vehicle and those who drove a single motor vehicle of commercial type (Class B) in the military will be eligible in Pennsylvania for the waiver to drive that type of vehicle. Applicants must complete form DL-398, “Application for Military CDL Test Waiver,” to request the waiver. Doubles, triples and school bus endorsements cannot be waived under this program. PennDOT will waive the knowledge test specified, subject to the limitations in the 49 Code of Federal Regulation Section 383.77, to an applicant who meets all the requirements for a waiver. “Service members gain many valuable skills in the military that translate well into the civilian job sector,” said Maj. Gen. Mark Schindler, Pennsylvania’s acting adjutant general and acting head of the DMVA. “This program is a huge opportunity to assist our veterans and service members with these skills to get good jobs as Pennsylvania is critically short in CDL drivers.” Military personnel and veterans interested in taking advantage of the CDL skills and knowledge test waivers can find further information by visiting www.dmv.pa.gov, click on Driver Services and choose Military Personnel Veterans from the dropdown. Form DL-398 can be found under Forms and Publications on the homepage.
