The U.S. Department of Labor has a new online resource to help employers of veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), two increasingly common consequences of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The America’s Heroes at Work Web site ( www.AmericasHeroesAtWork.gov) provides information about TBI and PTSD, as well as tools and guidance on how to implement workplace accommodations and other services. In addition, the Web site includes the toll-free phone number of the Job Accommodation Network, which employers can call to receive personal assistance relating to workplace accommodations for veterans with disabilities.

Through America’s Heroes at Work, employers can leverage a variety of promising practices, such as job coaching and mentoring programs, to create a positive, successful workplace experience for disabled veterans and non-veteran employees, such as first responders, who have experienced traumatic events.

America’s Heroes at Work is managed jointly by the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy and Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, in collaboration with other federal agencies engaged in TBI and PTSD programs, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and the Social Security Administration.

2008 handbook available

The Retired Military Personnel Handbook, now in its eighth year of publication, is specifically written for all military personnel, retirees and their families, and explains all aspects of retirement benefits and how to get them.

Topics include TRICARE Plus program A, the Federal LTC Insurance program, tax policies affecting retirement accounts, estate tax treatment and long-term care premiums, and new retirement lifestyle information, including how to evaluate continuing-care communities and nursing homes and many others.

The 2008 edition has the latest information on military retirement and is a good reference guide for those nearing retirement or already retired. The handbook still costs $10.95, plus shipping and handling, and is available for single or bulk orders at www.fedweek.com/pubs/index.php, or call the 24-hour toll-free order line at (888) 333-9335, or mail your order with payment (total $15.70) to: FEDweek, PO Box 5519, Glen Allen, VA 23058.

High school group seeks veterans of Berlin Airlift

The German American Partnership Program (GAPP) at North Kingstown High School is looking for Rhode Island military and civilian personnel who were stationed at Quonset Point and had any connection with the Berlin Airlift — especially those active with Naval Squadrons VR-3, VR-6, and VR-8 —during the 1948-49 operation that kept supplies flowing into East Germany when the Soviet Union sealed off the border.

On Oct. 3 GAPP will mark the German holiday that celebrates reunification as well as its own sixth year of partnership with Burgau Academy, in Düren, Germany. Seventeen Burgau Academy students will be in North Kingstown for three weeks.

The Oct. 3 festivities will begin with a scavenger hunt early in the day to acquaint the Burgau partners with their host surroundings and to help raise awareness of the Unity Day Celebration within Wickford and Rhode Island.

The North Kingstown High School group hopes that local veterans who played a role in the Berlin Airlift can share stories during the event, which will conclude with a potluck supper at Wickford’s town dock.

For more information or to join the celebration, call North Kingstown High School German teacher Ruthann Baker at (401) 268-6236, or e-mail her at Ruthann_Baker@nksd.net.

Mini-BX coming to Quonset installation

An Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) shopette, or mini-BX, is scheduled to open in November in supply building P-5 at the 143rd Airlift Wing, North Kingstown. The shop will carry sundries, military clothing, beer, food, wine and liquor.

Customers will be able to order any item in the AAFES catalog and the Hanscom Base BX will ship it via courier service to the shopette. The store will be open to all eligible active duty, Guard, Reserve, retirees and eligible family members. For more information, call Mike Martin at (401) 886-1473. You can visit AAFES online at aafes.com.

9/11 ceremony planned

Rhode Island ROTC and JROTC commands will provide briefings on their programs on Thursday, Sept. 11, at the Quonset O Club in North Kingstown, beginning at 6 p.m. The seminar is cosponsored by the Rhode Island Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army and the Rhode Island Department of the Reserve Officers Association.

The program will include a ceremony marking the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and will honor Rhode Island military personnel who have lost their lives in the Middle East.

Dress is casual and admission is free, but reservations must be made in advance by Sept. 9 by calling Tony Ferri at (401) 861-2997, or send e-mail to afnf458673755@aol.com.

• Disabled American Veterans

Maurice Pion Chapter 17 Post will meet at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Crompton Veterans Organization, on Hepburn Street in West Warwick.

• NUSC/NUWC

The group will meet at noon Wednesday at McGovern’s Restaurant, 310 Shove St., Fall River. For more information, call Dan at (508) 673-1558 or Bob at (401) 625-2531.

• Marine Corps League

The Kent County Detachment will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday in VFW Post 449, Providence St., West Warwick. The Bucci-Atwood Detachment will have a steak fry, open to the public, at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Shields Post, 662 West Shore Rd., Warwick. For $20 tickets, call Joe at (401) 265-1138.

• Military Police Regimental Association

The Rhode Island chapter will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Schofield Armory, 705 New London Ave., Cranston.

• Coventry Veterans Council

The council will meet Thursday at 10 a.m., at AJ’s Restaurant, Main Street, West Warwick.

• Destroyer Escort Sailors Association

Members and all former DE sailors will gather for a luncheon meeting at noon Thursday at White’s Restaurant, Westport, Mass. For more information, call Roland at (508) 995-1566.

• Vietnam Veterans of America

Chapter 325 will meet Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at 1958 Kingstown Rd., Peace Dale.

• Veterans of Foreign Wars

State commander Stephen Stewart and an officer delegation will attend the homecoming for national commander Glen Gardner Jr. in San Antonio, Texas, Sept. 4-7. Two bingos will be held on Sunday at Gatchell Post 306, 171 Fountain St., Pawtucket, at 1 p.m., and Gilbert Post 4487, 52 Underwood Lane, Middletown, also at 1 p.m.

• Pawtucket Veterans Council

The council will meet at 2 p.m. Friday at Gatchell Post 306, in Pawtucket.

• American Legion

Armstrong-Gladding Post 69, at 2 Salem St. in Providence, will initiate new members, and those not previously initiated, in a ceremony on Sunday at 2 p.m. For more information, call Fred Correy Sr. at (401) 781-6309.

George W. Reilly can be reached at VeteransColumn@verizon.net or by writing to The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, R.I. 02902.