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Courtney hosted veterans representing several area organizations for a monthly veterans advisory board meeting at his district office in Norwich. In attendance at the meeting was the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs Thomas J. Saadi, who addressed the group with updates from his department and responded to questions. Specifically, Courtney spoke about current issues that he said are important for Norwich area veterans, including declaring his strong opposition to a July 12 policy change from the Department of Defense that will prevent service members with greater than 16 years of service from transferring their Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits to eligible family members. “To scale back this benefit, it’s really blindsiding to people,” Courtney said.

The Navy’s newest submarine will make Groton its home after its Sept. 29 commissioning, which U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, said is seven months earlier than originally planned. Electric Boat already won a contract to perform maintenance on the USS Indiana, a Virginia-class, fast-attack submarine, beginning in November. The work will correct any defects found during so-called "shakedown" testing before the submarine is deployed.

The full-service center is one of only five of its kind in the state and will include various services and specialists for jobseekers — even a self-service center with computers, Internet service, research material and phones. For the employers who are trying to fill the increasing number of manufacturing jobs being created in this region and throughout the state, American Job Center East is a way to grow the state’s workforce. John Beauregard, the president and CEO of the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board (EWIB), points to the Eastern CT Manufacturing Pipeline Initiative (MPI) as an example of why the American Job Center East model works.