Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 11-25-08

1. Peake, Others Said To Be Possible VA Secretary In Obama Administration.  
2. Peake Dedicates VA Acquisitions Center.  
3. US General Discusses Personal Struggle With Post-Traumatic Stress.  
4. Caretaking Relatives Said To Be In Need Of Compensation.  
5. Psychiatrists Reportedly In Short Supply In Southwest Virginia.  
6. Officials Say VA Is Doing A Good Job With Electronic Health Records.  
7. Tobacco Companies Said To Be Targeting College Students.  
8. Fayetteville VAMC Changing Its Name
9. Rehbein: VA Funding Is A Priority.  
10. Ground Broken On Care Facility For Wounded Vets.

     1.      Peake, Others Said To Be Possible VA Secretary In Obama Administration.   In continuing coverage, the AP (11/25) notes at the end of a story on President-elect Barack Obama’s reported choice for Commerce secretary being New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, that Obama "has picked or is considering an array of Washington insiders and outsiders" for other Cabinet positions, "according to Democratic and transition officials." The AP says that according to those officials, several names are considered possibilities for secretary of Veterans Affairs, including Tammy Duckworth, "a disabled Iraq war veteran" and Illinois Veterans Affairs director, former "Sen. Max Cleland. D-Ga., a Vietnam veteran who had three limbs amputated after a grenade blast," current VA Secretary James Peake, and "Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, D-Md." In its "Maryland Politics" blog, the Baltimore Sun (11/24, Nitkin, 249K) also noted that Brown "is under consideration for Obama’s" VA secretary.

2.      Peake Dedicates VA Acquisitions Center.   The Frederick (MD) News-Post (11/25, Palk) reports, "The Department of Veterans Affairs’ new Center for Acquisition Innovation and Acquisition Academy is officially open for business. VA Secretary James Peake was on hand Monday to dedicate the center," located in Frederick, "and to recognize the first class of 30 interns who will be studying there. Since 2002, the VA’s purchasing budget has grown from $5 billion to more than $12 billion, but the number of people handling those purchases has remained flat, said Jan Frye, deputy assistant secretary for office acquisition and logistics." The VA "will use the center to train a new corps of professional acquisitions experts who can cope with both the growing volume of purchases they must oversee and also with increasingly complex acquisitions rules, Frye said." The center "is also intended to be a place where the VA can refine and improve its ability to purchase goods and services as the world changes, Peake said."

3.      US General Discusses Personal Struggle With Post-Traumatic Stress.   USA Today (11/25, Brook, 2.28M) reports that after 56-year-old Gen. Carter Ham, "one of only 12 four-star generals" in the US Army, returned from Iraq, he "sought screening for post-traumatic stress and got counseling from a chaplain. That helped him ‘get realigned,’ he says." The "willingness of Ham, one of the military’s top officers, to speak candidly with USA TODAY for the first time about post-traumatic stress represents a tectonic shift for a military system in which seeking such help has long been seen as a sign of weakness." Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "calls Ham’s decision to speak publicly about stress ‘huge’ and says it could help reduce the stigma many servicemembers feel about seeking help for mental health issues."
      Mullen: Despite Various Efforts Made On Their Behalf, Veterans Still Need Help.   In a Los Angeles Times (11/25, 833K) op-ed, Mullen writes that "some experts believe we are producing homeless vets faster than we ever have." Programs like "the Labor Department’s ‘Hire Vets First,’" the Department of Veterans Affairs’ "’Stand Down’ counseling and assistance events, and numerous other grass-roots efforts" are a "good start" for veterans, but "so much more needs to be done. As we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving — with hundreds of thousands of troops still deployed around the world and many others preparing to leave the service — we need to remember that."

      Narrowed Definition Of Combat-Related Disabilities Sparks Controversy.   The Los Angeles Times (11/25, A1, Zucchino, 833K) reports, "In a little-noticed regulation change in March," the US military’s "definition of combat-related disabilities was narrowed, costing some injured veterans thousands of dollars in lost benefits" and "triggering outrage from veterans’ advocacy groups. The Pentagon said the change was consistent with Congress’ intent when it passed a ‘wounded warrior’ law in January. Narrowing the combat-related definition was necessary to preserve the ‘special distinction for those who incur disabilities while participating in the risk of combat, in contrast with those injured otherwise,’ William J. Carr, deputy undersecretary of Defense, wrote in a letter to the 1.3-million-member" Disabled American Veterans, which "is lobbying to have the change rescinded."
      Iraq, Afghanistan Vets Said To Face Difficulties Relating After Returning Home.   The AP (11/24) reported some veterans "gathered recently at Truckee Meadows Community College’s Dandini campus to share how they’ve adapted…from military to civilian life." In attendance at the event was Scott Drew, "a team leader at the Reno Vet Center who spent four years in the Persian Gulf as a Navy officer before graduating with a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Nevada, Reno." The veterans "agreed that the biggest obstacle is gaining understanding from those who don’t understand what it’s like to have served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Every veteran’s transition varies, Drew said, and each deals with it in their own way, which can add to the intensity of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder."
      Defense Department Funding "Reintegration Program" For Guard Units.   The Westchester (NY) Journal News (11/24, Rae) reported, "Soldiers from New York’s 2nd Battalion 108th Infantry, including some Iraq war veterans, returned from Afghanistan in early October after a nine-month tour." But this past weekend in Greenburgh, New York, they went "through a ‘reintegration program’ funded by the Department of Defense, which aims to help soldiers and families through the transition." National Guard units "returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in previous years were given a three-month break before returning to monthly drills. The new approach calls them back at the one- and two-month mark, so that they remain in touch in a nonmilitary setting."
      Letters Differ On What Veterans Need.   In a letter to the editor of the New York Times (11/25, A25, 1.12M), Illinois resident Jed Weiner references "Help Is On The Way," a recent column by the New York Times‘ (11/22) Bob Herbert. Weiner writes, "As a middle-aged liberal with a bleeding heart, I embrace war veterans like Bryan Adams, whose story Mr. Herbert told with sensitivity. For Mr. Adams and other" GI’s "to return from battle unaware" of PTSD is "startling." Weiner argues that is "time for Congress to enable the Department of Veterans Affairs to require" PTSD screening "for all soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, followed by effective treatment for those in need." But in a separate letter to the New York Times (11/25, A25, 1.12M), Iraq veteran Paul Kane writes, "Veterans of combat are different, not damaged." Kane adds, "More than anything else, veterans need time to reintegrate, strong family support and an audience without an agenda open to hear their stories."

4.      Caretaking Relatives Said To Be In Need Of Compensation.   An editorial in the St. Petersburg (FL) Times (11/24) said that five years "into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, however, thousands" of US troops "returning with severe physical and psychological injuries are receiving subpar care because of an inadequate federal program, according to the Wounded Warrior Project." Since the "1990s, the VA has allowed the relatives of injured troops to train as aides with the companies under contract that provide home care," and for several years, such relatives "have been campaigning to get the VA to fairly compensate them for their efforts." The Times argues, "All Americans should encourage" Barack Obama’s Administration "to support legislation to compensate veterans’ families for the care they give."

5.      Psychiatrists Reportedly In Short Supply In Southwest Virginia.   The Roanoke (VA) Times (11/24, Jones) reported, "A long-existing shortage of psychiatrists in Southwest Virginia has recently become more dire, causing some people with mental health conditions to go untreated or undertreated, according to local mental health officials." Still, "in some sectors, such as at the Salem Veterans Affairs Medical Center, there aren’t any openings for psychiatrists. ‘We currently do not have any vacancies in our psychiatry program, but as the demand has risen for mental health services in our community, we are beginning to feel some of this impact as well,’ Ann Benois, spokeswoman for the Salem VA Medical Center, wrote in an e-mail. ‘We have added two psychiatrists to our staff in order to expand mental health services.’"

6.      Officials Say VA Is Doing A Good Job With Electronic Health Records.   The Army Times (11/25, McMichael) reports the Pentagon and the VA "are making ‘great strides’ in the ability to electronically share the medical records of troops and former troops under their care who are transitioning between the health care systems of the two departments," but "they can’t accurately quantify overall progress because, officials say, the measuring sticks for progress are a moving and evolving target. ‘DoD and the VA are already making very great strides in sharing health care data – which is to say, we’re on target to meet the requirements’ of the 2008 Defense Authorization Act, said Gerald Cross, VA’s principal deputy undersecretary for health, in a Pentagon news conference Monday." Cross added, "DoD and VA are now sharing almost all essential health information that’s available electronically in a viewable format."

7.      Tobacco Companies Said To Be Targeting College Students.   The Oklahoman (11/23, 208K) reported, "A decade ago when states sued big tobacco companies, officials were hoping the result would be a decrease in the number of youth who begin smoking. In Oklahoma, that proved to be true," but now, "health care officials say tobacco companies are targeting another demographic that is proving more difficult to protect – college students." Health officials "say reminding college students of the dangers of tobacco is a challenge. They can legally buy cigarettes and are often a targeted age group, said Dr. Robert McCaffree, chief of staff at the Oklahoma VA Medical Center. ‘We’ve got to try to change social norms,’ McCaffree said. One way to do that is increase non-smoking rules, he said." McCaffree stressed, "We can’t keep them from buying cigarettes, that’s legal. But we can restrict access and make it more difficult to smoke in public places."
8.       Fayetteville VAMC Changing Its Name.   The Springdale (AR) Morning News (11/22) reported, "The Fayetteville Veterans Affairs Medical Center is changing its name to the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks, the institution announced" last Wednesday. The "new name is ‘more inclusive of the veterans we serve in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma,’ said director Kathleen R. Fogarty."

9.      Rehbein: VA Funding Is A Priority.   In a story noting that David Rehbein, the American Legion’s national commander, is currently speaking about military issues while touring Asia, the Stars And Stripes (11/25, Lee) reports that while on his trip, Rehbein "said the legion will continue to press for appropriate funding" for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Receiving "funding in a timely manner is also a priority, Rehbein said, adding that funding is not always available at the start of the fiscal year. ‘I’ve been using three words to spread this message: predictability, sufficiency and timeliness,’ Rehbein said. ‘We want the money to come on time so the VA can spend it right.’"

10.    Ground Broken On Care Facility For Wounded Vets.   The AP (11/23) reported, "Top doctors and researchers will collaborate on care for wounded veterans at a new facility planned at the Providence Veterans Administration Medical Center." Last Friday, ground "was broken…on the $6.1 million Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine." The focus of the facility, which "is a partnership between the VA, Brown University," and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will be on "traumatic brain injury, neurodegenerative diseases, amputations and post-traumatic stress disorder." The VA "is financing the Providence research center, one of 13 such centers in the nation."