Today in History:

• 1701 – War of the Spanish Succession: Austrians defeat France in the Battle of Carpi.
• 1745 – War of the Austrian Succession: French victory in the Battle of Melle allows them to capture Ghent in the days after.
• 1755 – French and Indian War: Braddock Expedition – British troops and colonial militiamen are ambushed and suffer a devastating defeat by French and Native American forces.
• 1776 – George Washington ordered the Declaration of Independence to be read out loud to members of the Continental Army inNew York City for the first time.
• 1789 – In Versailles, the National Assembly reconstitutes itself as the National Constituent Assembly and begins preparations for aFrench constitution.
• 1790 – Russo-Swedish War: Second Battle of Svensksund – in the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Navy captures one third of the Russian fleet.
• 1793 – The Act Against Slavery is passed in Upper Canada and the importation of slaves into Lower Canada is prohibited.
• 1810 – Napoleon annexes the Kingdom of Holland as part of the First French Empire.

 

• 1811 – Explorer David Thompson posts a sign at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (in modern Washington state, US), claiming the land for the United Kingdom.
• 1816 – Argentina declares independence from Spain.
• 1821 – 470 prominent Cypriots including Archbishop Kyprianos are executed in response to Cypriot aid to the Greek War of Independence
• 1850 – U.S. President Zachary Taylor dies and Millard Fillmore becomes the 13th President of the United States.
• 1863 – American Civil War: the Siege of Port Hudson ends.
• 1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.
• 1875 – Outbreak of the Herzegovina Uprising against Ottoman rule, which would last until 1878 and have far-reaching implications throughout the Balkans
• 1877 – The inaugural Wimbledon Championships opens.
• 1900 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom gives royal assent to an Act creating the Commonwealth of Australia thus uniting separate colonies on the continent under one federal government.
• 1900 – Boxer Rebellion: The Governor of Shanxi province in North China orders the execution of 45 foreign Christian missionaries and local church members, including children.
• 1922 – Johnny Weissmuller swims the 100 meters freestyle in 58.6 seconds breaking the world swimming record and the 'minute barrier'.
• 1932 – The state of São Paulo revolts against the Brazilian Federal Government, starting the Constitutionalist Revolution
• 1943 – World War II: Operation Husky – Allied forces perform an amphibious invasion of Sicily.
• 1944 – World War II: Battle of Normandy – British and Canadian forces capture Caen, France.
• 1944 – World War II: Battle of Saipan – American forces take Saipan in the Mariana Islands.
• 1944 – World War II: Battle of Tali-Ihantala – Finland wins the Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in northern Europe. The Red Army withdraws its troops from Ihantala and digs into defensive position, thus ending the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive.
• 1958 – Lituya Bay is hit by a mega-tsunami. The wave is recorded at 524 meters high, the largest in recorded history.
• 1961 – Turkish voters approve the Turkish Constitution of 1961 in a referendum.
• 1962 – The Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test is conducted by the United States of America.
• 1972 – The Troubles: In Belfast, British Army snipers shoot five civilians dead in the Springhill Massacre.
• 1979 – A car bomb destroys a Renault motor car owned by famed "Nazi hunters" Serge and Beate Klarsfeld at their home inFrance. A note purportedly from ODESSA claims responsibility.
• 1995 – The Navaly church bombing is carried out by the Sri Lankan Air Force killing 125 Tamil civilian refugees.
• 1999 – Days of student protests begin after Iranian police and hardliners attack a student dormitory at the University of Tehran.
• 2008 – Iran conducts the Great Prophet III missile test and war games exercise.
• 2011 – South Sudan gains independence and secedes from Sudan.

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1.     McChrystal says it's time to bring back the draft. 

2.     Camp Lejeune to get $10 million battle training course. 

3.     Wartime remains of 6 US airmen recovered in Laos. 

4.     Plans for South Korean naval bases moving forward. 

5.     Clinton's 'sorry' is unlikely to stop Pakistan’s support of insurgents. 

6.     New veteran unemployment falls in June, hinting at positive trend. 

7.     Thousands of veterans sign up for job education. 

8.     Vet-Owned Small Firms Received 20% Of VA FY 2011 Contracts. 

9.     VA Gets A Grade Of B On Fiscal 2011 Small-Business Scorecard. 

10.  In Detroit, Shinseki Announced New Procedures For Vet-Owned Small Businesses. 

11.  Spokeswoman Says VA Is Trying To Improve Claims Process. 

12.  Veterans Affairs Chief Criticized Over What Some See As His Low Profile. 

13.  VA Hospital Recruits Mental Health Providers. 

14.  Soldiers Seeking Routine Medical Care Now Get PTSD Screening As Well. 

15.  Army's Huge Culture Shift: No Shame In Mental Health Help. 

16.  UnitedHealthcare Launches Blue Button Capability. 

17.  Three Families Pledge To Raise $30 Million In Aid For US Veterans. 

18.  Grant Will Help Homeless Veterans In Saratoga County. 

19.  Nassau To Offer Veterans Housing. 

20.  Downtown To Get Supportive Housing Project. 

21.  Augusta Court Program Helps Veterans Who Are In Trouble With The Law. 

22.  MicroTransponder Raises $2 Million And Reports Positive Tinnitus Clinical Trial. 

23.  San Francisco Doctors Striving To Steer Dying Patients Out Of ER, Into Hospice. 

24.  Durham VA Seeks To Improve Labeling Of Investigational Drugs To Improve Safety. 

25.  Post-Op Delirium May Impair Thinking For Year. 

26.  Actor Gary Sinise Visits Veterans At Augusta VA. 

27.  Program Arranges Retreats For Military Families That Have Been Separated By War. 

28.  Microsoft Helps Startups Create Business Connecting With Kinect. 

29.  Summit Offers Help For Women Veterans. 

30.  Marine Doing 1 Million Push-Ups To Help Veterans. 

31.  VA / VSO-MSO Hearings as July 7, 2012:

32.  Today in History:

 

1.    McChrystal says it's time to bring back the draft.  Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former top commander of international forces in Afghanistan, said this week that the United States should bring back the draft if it ever goes to war again.

2.    Camp Lejeune to get $10 million battle training course.  The new range “provides II Marine Expeditionary Force a realistic and relevant training range in support of live-fire and maneuver training for a Marine infantry squad fighting while in the offensive and defensive positions,” a Marine Corps spokesman said.

3.    Wartime remains of 6 US airmen recovered in Laos.  The remains of six airmen who died during a crash in Laos during the Vietnam War have been identified and returned to their families for burial together, the U.S. Department of Defense said.

4.    Plans for South Korean naval bases moving forward.  Islands located near the territorial waters separating South Korea from North Korea have been a hot-button issue since 2010. That's when a torpedo, presumably fired by North Korea, sank a South Korean vessel, killing 46 sailors. There have been other attacks as well. Now South Korea's efforts to bolster its naval capabilities are making headway.

5.    Clinton's 'sorry' is unlikely to stop Pakistan’s support of insurgents.  The American “sorry” to Pakistan that eased the logistical challenge of Afghanistan war does little to solve tougher issues that divide the two countries, including Pakistan’s support of insurgents who attack American troops, scholars who study the region said.

6.    New veteran unemployment falls in June, hinting at positive trend.  The unemployment rate for veterans of the post-Sept. 11 era dropped to 9.5 percent in June, potentially indicating a positive trend in veterans hiring even as national employment remains stagnant.

7.    Thousands of veterans sign up for job education.  CBS News  Unemployed veterans may be heading back to school in mass under a federal program to get out-of-work veterans trained and back in the job market. Officials at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs say there has been an enormous response ...

8.    Vet-Owned Small Firms Received 20% Of VA FY 2011 Contracts.  ExecutiveGov "The Department of Veterans Affairs awarded 20 percent of its contract dollars to veteran-owned small businesses in fiscal year 2011, exceeding" the 12 percent goal set for VA by its secretary, Eric Shinseki. The Small Business Administration (SBA) "found in a recent scorecard that the VA, by six times, exceeded the SBA's goal for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses." ExecutiveGov adds, "During a conference last week, Shinseki announced supplementary procedures to continue...VA's support for veteran-owned businesses."

9.    VA Gets A Grade Of B On Fiscal 2011 Small-Business Scorecard. Federal Computer Week "Acquisitive Mind" blog reports, "The General Services Administration and the Treasury Department earned A+ on their fiscal 2011 small-business scorecards." Veterans Affairs earned a B on its scorecard.

10.In Detroit, Shinseki Announced New Procedures For Vet-Owned Small Businesses.  Business News Daily  "Last week at the National Veteran Small Business Conference in Detroit, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced additional steps to ensure that...VA meets its commitment to veteran-owned businesses." The plan, according to Business News Daily, is that any "contract not going to a veteran-owned small business must be reviewed by a senior executive and concurred with by a senior contracting executive," and that all "senior executive performance evaluations will include a small business performance metric. For the first time, the VA has established small business procurement goals all the way down to the lowest senior executive level that exercises procurement responsibilities." Shinseki commented on VA efforts in this area, saying his agency is committed "to the success of Veteran-owned small businesses."