Veterans Advantage members now get 20% OFF all scheduled lessons and guided trips at all Eastern Mountain Sports seasonal outdoor adventure schools. Winter programs include ice climbing, mountaineering, backcountry skiing, and snowshoeing. Members are able to call EMS at a toll-free reservations line, supply their Veterans Advantage Member ID number and qualify for their 20% Eastern Mountain Sports discount.

ESPN, meanwhile, now accepts the Veterans Advantage card at its popular ESPN Zone restaurants. Before you order, show your valid Veterans Advantage membership card, AND you get a burger, a non-alcoholic beverage and a $15 game card for only $20. You can read more about your special ESPN discounts on the Veterans Advantage website.

Our discount health club membership provider now includes 24 Hour Fitness gyms, one of the more popular club chains in the industry. Veterans Advantage members who start a new gym membership can now join 24 Hour Fitness with access to more than 380 premier clubs in 16 states, including in-demand “Signature” clubs co-branded with Lance Armstrong, Shaquille O’Neal, Andre Agassi and Magic Johnson.

With this announcement, 24-Hour Fitness is joining our growing list of leading providers available for Veterans Advantage discounts, including New York Sports Clubs, Gold’s and World Gyms, Bally’s, and so many of the smaller chains and clubs all across America. Stay fit and get a fitness discount on your monthly membership dues as a Veterans Advantage member today.

Here’s a couple of tips I think will help you get started:

If you are exploring our program for the first time: Click any of the blue links across the top for background on our program. We’ve worked to enhance this area to underscore the importance of our mission — ranging from unique money-saving benefits across a range of key everyday categories with your Veterans Advantage Card, to the latest news and resources to keep you informed about your ongoing benefits from the government and the private sector. And finally, through our charitable activities, we want you to know that you are truly part of something special.

If you are not a member yet, I encourage you to sign up today and get started.

If you are already a member: Click on “Members Only” in the upper right hand corner of each page to access your benefits to enter with your Veterans Advantage Member ID and password. You’ll find direct benefit access just one or two clicks away from anywhere on our Web site.

Our valuable member services support continues to be online: visit the personalized “Your Account” area and “Contact Us” for online support or see our Help section. And finally, your Veterans Advantage Membership qualifies you for our free weekly member e-newsletter that updates you on the latest inclusions in your benefits package and is posted on our new site under “Resources.”

All of us here at Veterans Advantage hope you like this upgrade to our Web site. Tell us what you think!

Enjoy VeteransAdvantage.com today.

And for members trying to cut costs further on vacation travel – pets can come to Red Roof for free! I love it because my daughter recently persuaded me to adopt a Golden Retriever puppy, which helps save on dog sitters or overnight kennel stays. So, on your next stay, try a Red Roof Inn. Click here to learn more about how you can get Red Roof discounts today.

For those of you who are outdoor hunters, campers and dog owners, like several on our staff – we are also proud to announce a special 10% online discount with Orvis. More on that here.

And for you weekend warriors, we are proud to announce great discounts from the major sports & recreation retailers in the industry. Through special online links, you can get between 15% and 20% off from big names such as Dick’s Sporting Goods and Sports Authority. As any active person knows, the selection from these providers is awesome, and includes all the big name brands and top-notch gear. Stock up and enjoy yourself this spring and summer!

There was little thought given to this question for those who served and sacrificed in Vietnam and the results were painful and disastrous; they continue to reverberate through American society nearly 35 years after the end of that war.

Along with training and equipping our troops for wartime service, we need to focus our energies on how we train and equip them to reenter American society. The consequences of inadequate re-entry programs are disturbing and real. Read the article by Give an Hour Founder Dr. Barbara Romberg, who examines the response to the rise in suicides in the Army community. And read our HeroVet profile of Brian Delate, a talented actor and director, long active in the New York veterans community, and now making news on the national scene with an award-winning movie about the perils – and triumphs – faced by people with PTSD. Clearly, we have an obligation to our brave men and women not to repeat the mistakes of Vietnam.

With an eye on your wallet (as always), we highlight this week discounts for food, computers, your upcoming tax filing, and, lastly, flea and tick medication for your pet. Our new discount program with 1800petmeds.com has everything you need to protect your pets from insect-related illnesses this spring.

My family and I have eaten there very recently, as well as others on the staff here, and the food is excellent! Its the perfect solution for families on a tight budget without compromising quality.

The company’s CEO is a former Marine, so we hope you can show him you appreciate his company’s patriotism by dining with your Veterans Advantage card.

This ongoing discount is also good for Veterans Advantage members who already have existing accounts with T-Mobile, too. Check it out T-Mobile today.

More on Veterans Advantage benefits here.

We are proud to be adding EMS to our “flash and save” benefit partners, a list of literally thousands of locations nationwide that recognize the Veterans Advantage Card–joining Amtrak Train Stations, Apple Stores, Greyhound Bus Terminals, Major Car Rental Providers, Norwegian Cruise Line Ships, Thousands of Leading Pharmacies and more are on the way.

Soon, we’ll be adding online discounts via a special online store, for this leading retailer of outdoors and apparel and gear.

More on Veterans Advantage benefits here.