Westfield’s upcoming free lecture series “The Retail Vetrepreneur” will be held at the Westfield Corporate Office, 2049 Century Park East, Los Angeles,90067. There is also an option to view the series remotely via Video Conference units at two locations.The series contains three presentations covering Marketing, Real Estate, Legal, HR & Finance. Seating is limited.
LA- Corporate Office – Visit http://bit.ly/2cQTdbo to RSVP.
San Diego- Westfield Regional Office – (via video conference) – Visit http://bit.ly/2dIb3yj to RSVP.
Seattle, WA Westfield Southcenter- (via video conference) – Visit http://bit.ly/2d1vmnL to RSVP.

VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association, has announced that new corporate sponsors are being offered the opportunity of two years of corporate sponsorship for the cost of only one year, at all levels, through September 30th, 2016. The opportunity is also available for current sponsors who renew.

VAMBOA is supported through corporate sponsorship, and does not charge military business owners, veteran business owners or service disabled business owners any membership fees.

VAMBOA recognizes that corporations are seeking to connect with a diverse group of suppliers within their supply chain. Our membership includes Service Disabled Veteran Business Owners, Veteran Business Owners and Military Business Owners. Many are also minorities and women. Corporate sponsorship supports the mission and successes of these Service Disabled Veteran Business Owners, Veteran Business Owners and Military Business Owners. It also provides companies the ability to place their Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and needs in front of VAMBOA’s membership, as well as participate in webinars and conferences, connecting with these diverse suppliers on various levels.

With a nationwide membership of over 6,500 registered business owners, VAMBOA is quickly becoming the Go-To Trade Association for Service Disabled and Veteran and Military Business Owners, and those who want to support them. The 501(c)6 non-profit trade association also has a vibrant social media presence, approaching 300,000 combined fans and followers on social media.

VAMBOA’s founder, Debbie Gregory, said, “Supporting the businesses of our military members and veterans and contributing to their successes provides us with the opportunity to express our pride and appreciation to and for the many who have served and sacrificed to make our country free. It also enables corporations to work with companies run by America’s heroes.”

The next VAMBOA conference is planned for early 2017.

Supporting the businesses of our military members and veterans and contributing to their successes provides us with the opportunity to express our pride and appreciation to and for the many who have served and sacrificed to make our country free

About VAMBOA
VAMBOA, a 501(c) 6 non-profit organization, has been providing its members with knowledge of government provisions that help service-disabled veteran business owners, Veteran business owners and military business owners since 2010. VAMBOA’s mission is to help drive the success of these veteran business owners. VAMBOA also connects it members to contacts within large corporations and government agencies who can mentor members, and in some cases, can even directly provide members with government contracts and vending contracts within large corporations. Membership in VAMBOA is free.

By Debbie Gregory.

Sean C. Page is going to prison. The 45-year-old man from Frisco, Texas was convicted of using his father’s identity to land lucrative federal government contracts under a set-aside program for disabled veterans.

Page, who has never served in the military, was sentenced to serve six year in federal prison for theft of government property and two counts of aggravated identity theft. He was convicted by a jury in February.

He used his father’s name and Social Security number to cash in on his veteran disability status, according to prosecutors.

Dalton Page was unaware of his son’s illegal activities. The combat veteran served in the U.S. Army for 17 years, and was awarded two Bronze Stars during his service in Vietnam, and received a disability rating of 100 percent upon discharge.

Page scammed the federal contracting program out of about $1.2 million with 14 contracts from 2009 to 2013 using two companies he formed, according to officials.

He created 12G Resources Group and Premier Building Maintenance to provide general services such as cleaning and landscape work for veteran-owned facilities, the indictment said.

The programs are for the benefit of service disabled veteran businesses.

“Those who steal and attempt to steal monies from these programs will be vigorously prosecuted,” said U.S. Attorney John M. Bales of the Eastern District of Texas.

Dalton Page said, “Sean is my son, but those programs are set aside for GIs such as myself. I am very disappointed in him getting those contracts like that. The contracts were put in my name. He had me backed in a corner.”

Page continued to do federal contract work after his October 2014 arraignment in violation of a federal judge’s order, court records show. He earned $35,175 from a landscaping and snow removal job with the Veterans Medical Center of Salt Lake City while he was out on bond.

By Debbie Gregory.

UnitedHealthcare is in good company as Health Net Federal Services and WellPoint Military Care have joined in on the protest of the awarding of the military contract to manage the Tricare health program.

The contract, called T-2017 and awarded in July, is worth up to $58 billion and oversees private health services for nearly 9.4 million military family members, retirees and active duty personnel.

Health Net Federal Services, which now manages the Tricare North Region and was awarded the contract to manage Tricare’s West region, filed a protest over the Defense Department’s decision to give the East region contract to Humana Government Business.

The Defense Department and the Defense Health Agency said in 2014 that they would shift Tricare from a three-region system—North, South and West—to two coverage areas.

The brand new East region is a consolidation of the North and South regions

The West region contract has a maximum value of $18 billion over six years, while the six-year East region contract is potentially worth $41 billion.

WellPoint Military Care, a division of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, was created to vie for the lucrative contract.

UnitedHealth Military & Veterans, which manages the Tricare West contract, was the first to file protests over the awards. It was not selected to manage either of the new consolidated regions.

A Pentagon spokesman said the protest will not affect health care services for Tricare beneficiaries, adding that the current contracts will remain in place until all protests are resolved.

The Defense Health Agency has 30 days to respond to the protests. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is expected to rule on the bid protest by November 9, 2016.

By Debbie Gregory.

The U.S. Air Force has asked defense firms to bid to supply new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and Long-Range Standoff Weapons (LRSOs), which are nuclear cruise missiles. It is rumored that the Air Force intends this next generation of ICBMs will have the capability to be deployed on mobile launchers.

A 2014 report by the RAND Corp. on the future of the ICBM force said a “mobile missile must be designed and built to more-demanding specifications then a silo-based ICBM, such as remaining “reliable under the rigors of periodic movement.” The Minuteman III currently is not capable of being put on a mobile platform.

The controversial move comes during a time of heightened tensions with Russia.

Ten senators, all Democrats, have asked the Obama administration to scale back plans for new nuclear weapons, as well as the bombers and submarines that would be used to transport them. The senators specifically called for canceling LRSO, saying it could save taxpayers $20 billion.

“Nuclear war poses the gravest risk to American national security,” the senators wrote.

In a statement, Air Force officials  said they would choose up to two contractors by the fourth quarter of 2017 to build the new cruise missiles. Those two contractors will then compete for 54 months “to complete a preliminary design with demonstrated reliability and manufacturability, which will be followed by a competitive down-select to a single contractor.”

The Air Force maintains that the new cruise missile is necessary to replace its current air-launched cruise missiles, which were designed in the 1970s and built in the 1980s. The Air Force wants the new missiles by 2030.

The Pentagon wants to deploy the new ICBMs in the late 2020s.