Military

UNC Chapel Hill and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina are collaborating on a training program for military medics who want to transfer their skills to the civilian world. A physician assistant master's program building on the experience and training of Special Forces medics will be designed with input from a team at Fort Bragg.

The Fayetteville VA Medical Center and Womack Army Medical Center are joining forces on a new physical rehabilitation facility. The Community Rehabilitation Clinic will be built with $6.7 million in federal funds for initiatives to share resources between the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Fayetteville VA Medical Center Director Elizabeth Goolsby says collaborating with Womack will combine their resources and expertise to provide better care and save money.

State charity groups are ramping up efforts to help the troops this holiday season. Thanksgiving begins a time when many people say thank you to military personnel by giving help and holiday cheer. Operation Homefront Carolinas in Charlotte helps by easing financial burdens for military families. Jane Weaver-Sobel is executive director.

Jane Weaver-Sobel: "They skype..they email..they talk to each other. They know when there's a stress at home and we don't want these guys to worry about it so we'll take care of the family while they do their mission and get home."

About 100 North Carolina National Guard Soldiers will deploy to Egypt this week.

The men and women are scheduled to spend the next nine months in the Sinai Peninsula, supporting the 1979 peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. Captain Matthew Boyle says the mission is a standard operation and has not been affected by the tenuous situation in Egypt and the Middle East.