Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 11-07-08

1. Cleland In Mix For New VA Secretary.  
2. Father, Son Iraq Veterans Honored.  
3. Thousands Of Southern California Vets Diagnosed With PTSD.  
4. Conference Seeks To Highlight PTSD-Related Issues.  
5. Center For The Intrepid Profiled.  
6. Wayne, PA Vets Seek Closer Facility.  
7. West Hartford Group Seeks To Ensure Veterans Receive Benefits.  
8. Vets Not Flocking To Wenatchee Clinic In Washington State.  
9. Submariners Support Georgia Fisher House.  
10. SAIC Wins Health Data Support Contract. 

HAVE YOU HEARD?
The Miami VA Medical Center officially became the Bruce W. Carter VA Medical Center last week, named after Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Marine Private First Class Bruce W. Carter at a ceremony attended by Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lentinen, VA staff and patients and veterans service organization members from throughout the area. Carter’s mother, Georgie Carter Krell, National President of Gold Star Mothers and a long-time volunteer at the medical center, also attended. Private Carter was a radio operator with Hotel Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Division when on August 7, 1969 during combat in Vietnam’s Quang Tri Province; he threw himself on an enemy grenade to save fellow Marines. An unofficial count of VA medical centers shows 45 named after individuals; six after Medal of Honor recipients. In addition to Miami, they are: Audie L. Murphy VAMC – San Antonio, Alvin C. York VAMC – Murfreesboro, Ralph H. Johnson VAMC – Charleston, Raymond G Murphy VAMC — Albuquerque, and George E. Wahlen VAMC – Salt Lake City. For more about Medal of Honor recipients, go to the Web at http://www.cmohs.org/recipients.htm.

1.      Cleland In Mix For New VA Secretary.   The Politico (11/7, Dimascio) reports former Sen. Max Cleland (D-Ga.) "is in the running to be the new secretary of the Army, defense industry officials say." Cleland "had a run-in with the Obama campaign over the summer, when he was bounced from a fundraiser because he was a lobbyist." Nonetheless, Cleland’s name "is also being circulated as a potential secretary of Veterans Affairs, a position he held in the Carter administration."
      The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (11/7) reports Cleland "brushed off a report that he was in the running to be secretary of the Army." Cleland said, "I don’t know anything about anything." The Journal-Constitution adds Cleland’s "press assistant, Lynn Kimmerly, said there had been no communication with the President-Elect Obama’s transition team."
      The Hill reports, "At Veterans Affairs, former Sen. Max Cleland (D-Ga.) is apparently under consideration, along with Iraq war veteran and former House Democratic candidate Tammy Duckworth, another Illinois native."
      Rep. Edwards Also Cited As Potential Nominee.   KBTX-3 (11/7) reports Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco "is considered a possible candidate for Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Edwards was among the possible vice presidential candidates the Obama campaign considered before picking Joe Biden as Obama’s running mate."
      The Bryan-College Station Eagle (11/7, Watikins) reports Rep. Chet Edwards "said he is proud he was elected Tuesday to another term in Congress and that he plans to spend the next term working for veterans and Texas A&M University. He does not expect to serve in President-elect Barack Obama’s Cabinet, he said." Edwards said, "While my parents taught me never to say never, I love doing my job in working for my district and fighting for veterans. I don’t expect to have any different job than the one I am already doing."

2.      Father, Son Iraq Veterans Honored.   The Salisbury Post (11/7, Garrett) reports the Salisbury Christian Fellowship held a dinner in honor of Luis Alamo Jr., "who is home on leave from Iraq, and all the veterans who attend the church." The "group included" Aida Alamo’s "husband, Luis, who served in Iraq with the 846th Transportation Co. from Salisbury." Despite his "parents’ desire for him to wait, Luis Jr. joined the Army while his Dad was still in Iraq. The two wound up deployed at the same time." Luis Sr., "who has served more than 32 years in the military, spent 18 months in Iraq and was part of the security force for elections there. Luis Jr. completed one year of a 15-month tour, returning home because of an injury." But just "hours after being injured, Luis Jr. heard his father had re-enlisted, so he re-enlisted, too. Father and son said serving their country is important to them." Other veterans "at the church dinner agreed."

3.      Thousands Of Southern California Vets Diagnosed With PTSD.   The OC Weekly (11/7, Schou) reports after "years of psychiatric counseling and group therapy," Persian Gulf War vet Tom Fortney, "now 40, has come to terms with a condition he expects will never go away: posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He is just one of thousands of veterans in Southern California who have been diagnosed with the disorder." With the US "currently at war in both Iraq and Afghanistan, PTSD is on the rise. According to a 2005 Veterans Affairs (VA) study, 20 percent of recent combat troops suffer from severe depression and PTSD. Some veterans, like Fortney, are able to keep their symptoms under control. Others aren’t so lucky: As of March 2008, 145 Iraq war veterans had committed suicide."

4.      Conference Seeks To Highlight PTSD-Related Issues.   The Waynesboro News Virginian (11/7, LaRoue) reports Steven Moore and "his godmother, Angita Szelesta, were in the emergency room at a Veterans Administration Medical Center, where she had taken him to get treated for a drug overdose." Moore had "suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury following his one-year of military service in Iraq. They waited for more than six hours, and in that time, the medical center lost Moore’s records, Szelesta recalled. They left." Szelesta, "along with a number of speakers, are taking part in the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program Summit at the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center, which continues today. The conference is designed to increase awareness of combat stress-related issues and brain trauma injuries that affect military members – both active duty and retired – as well as their families."

5.      Center For The Intrepid Profiled.   WLS-TV Chicago (11/7, Perez) reports on an "unprecedented effort to create a truly unique treatment facility – The Center for the Intrepid in San Antonio, Texas. It’s been called a State of the World facility because it is like no other. The $50 million rehab center was made possible all by private donations from more than 600,000 Americans." The money was "raised by the intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. CFI sits across from Brooke Army Medical Center, handed over to the Army in January of 2007. It caters to young, healthy patients suffering multiple trauma, from brain injuries to lost limbs to severe burns. They are a different breed of patient. And the high-tech facility is meeting their needs in an unusual way."

6.      Wayne, PA Vets Seek Closer Facility.   The Wayne Independent (11/7, Becker) reports representatives "of area veteran organizations asked Wayne County Commissioners Thursday to support the idea of a veteran medical program in the local area." Backed by "several more veterans in their distinctive caps, James Bruck, newly elected commander of American Legion Post 254, Honesdale, and Michael J. O’Hara, commander, VFW Post 531, Honesdale, served as spokesmen. O’Hara explained the difficulty vets can face with the nearest Veteran’s Administration (VA) Hospital 50 miles away." O’Hara "stated that they don’t wish to compete with the VA Hospital in Wilkes-Barre, but if federal or state funds were available, Wayne Memorial Hospital could provide some of the services locally."

7.      West Hartford Group Seeks To Ensure Veterans Receive Benefits.   The Hartford Courant (11/7, Kovner) reports Peggy Gray, "wife of a Vietnam War veteran and mother of a disabled Iraq war vet, wants to make sure that former service members from West Hartford are getting the benefits they’ve earned." So "does Dr. Ken Colliton, who served in a mobile emergency room in the Persian Gulf during Desert Storm. Dr. John Rixon, who works in the urgent care unit at the Veterans Affairs facility in Newington, said he sees too many returning National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve vets with no private health insurance." These West Hartford residents "and five others who share a commitment to helping local veterans are serving on a newly formed town veterans commission. The panel’s job will be to advise the town manager and council on veterans’ needs and to identify gaps in services."

8.      Vets Not Flocking To Wenatchee Clinic In Washington State.   The Methow Valley News (11/7, Cambell) reports Flip Arnold, manager of the veterans’ outpatient clinic in Wenatchee, said "veterans are not flocking to the new clinic for various reasons, including too much red tape, coverage by other insurance and the belief that they are not eligible. Arnold encourages veterans to get enrolled in veterans’ health care services." The Wenatchee Veterans Affairs Community-based Outpatient Clinic "opened in June 2007, and offers central Washington-area veterans an expanding list of medical services."

9.      Submariners Support Georgia Fisher House.   The WRDW (11/7, Rogers) reports the Denizens of the Deep, Aiken Chapter, Thursday "night made a $5,000 donation to the new Fisher House for the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center." The "submariners raised the money to help build the new 21-bedroom home-away-from-home for the families of active duty service members and veterans getting inpatient care at the VA Medical Center."

10.    SAIC Wins Health Data Support Contract.   The San Diego Business Journal (11/7, Mowad) reports SAIC "won a contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs to support the agency’s Health Data Systems Repositories. The contract, announced Nov. 5, will last up to five years and is valued at $56 million if all options are exercised."