Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 2-2-09

1. Gould Named Deputy VA Secretary.
2. House Veterans Affairs Committee To Meet Wednesday.
3. Stimulus Provision Provides Tax Breaks For Firms Hiring Unemployed Veterans.  
4. Paralyzed Iraq Vet Moves Into New House.  
5. VA Reaching Out To Troubled Vets.  
6. Money Said To Be An Issue For Mental Care At Fort Hood.  
7. Veterans Return To Find Weak Job Market.  
8. VA Gives Older Veterans An Opportunity To Discuss Their Combat Experiences.  
9. VA Objected To Last-Minute Bush FDA Ruling ON "Off-Label" Drugs.  
10. Heavy Combat Loads Blamed For Troops’ Muscle And Bone Injuries.  

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HAVE YOU HEARD?
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1.      Gould Named Deputy VA Secretary. Philip Rucker, in a blog post for the Washington Post (1/31), reports, “W. Scott Gould, a former naval reservist who served in the Iraq war as an intelligence officer, is President Obama’s nominee to become deputy secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs.” Gould, “who most recently has been a vice president at IBM Global Business Services, will work under Secretary Eric K. Shinseki, a retired four-star general, to revamp the sprawling Veterans Affairs bureaucracy. In a statement released this afternoon, Shinseki said he and Gould are committed to „transforming the Department of Veterans Affairs into a 21st century organization.‟ Shinseki said Gould brings expertise in information technology and managing large organizations.” Rucker notes that during the Clinton administration, Gould “worked as chief financial officer and assistant secretary for administration at the Department of Commerce and as deputy assistant secretary for finance and management at the Treasury Department. He also served as a White House fellow, working at the Export-Import Bank of the United States and in the White House chief of staff’s office. During Obama’s campaign, Gould co-chaired the National Veterans Policy Team, and worked on Obama’s transition team as a member of the Veterans Agency Review Team. Gould “is married to Michèle A. Flournoy, whom Obama has nominated to be undersecretary of defense for policy.”   The Army Times (1/31) adds that as a naval reservist, Gould “served at sea aboard the guided missile destroyer Richard E. Byrd and as assistant professor of naval science at Rochester University. He was recalled to active duty for operations Noble Eagle and Enduring Freedom as a naval intelligence reservist.”  According to Government Executive (1/31, Rosenberg), “Federal management and human capital are two areas of interest for President Obama’s nominee for Deputy Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs — W. Scott Gould. Last year, he co-authored the book, "The People Factor, Strengthening America by Investing in Public Service," which presents a blueprint for effectively training and investing in federal workers. He’s also a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. That’s great for an agency that’s considered by many to be one of the most advanced in its human capital planning.”

2.      House Veterans Affairs Committee To Meet Wednesday.   In its "The Week at a Glance" column, CQ (1/31) said the House Veterans Affairs Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday "to organize and adopt committee operating rules for the 111th Congress." The time of the meeting, to be held in "345 Cannon," has yet to be announced.
      Space Reappointed To Committee.   In continuing coverage, the New Philadelphia (OH) Times-Reporter (1/31) noted that on Friday, US Rep Zack Space (D-OH) "announced…he has been reappointed" to the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Space, who "plans to work with VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to address issues of seamless transition and rural veterans’ health care," commented on the reappointment, saying, "For far too long, the VA has shortchanged our veterans; I will not stop fighting until each and every one gets what they have earned." The Coshocton (OH) Tribune (1/31) published a similar story.
      Fixing VA Said To Be A Tough Job.   An editorial in the Rome (NY) Sentinel (2/2) says the "epic scale of…recent failures" by the VA includes the release "of a Government Accountability Office study that found that the VA repeatedly, and perhaps intentionally, miscalculated its long-term budget needs for rehabilitating veterans." The Sentinel argues that Shinseki "has a difficult job ahead. We’ll know he has succeeded when the backlogs and waiting lists are gone."
      In a related letter to the editor of the Santa Maria (CA) Times (1/31), Dave Troescher of the Committee to Honor California Veterans, argued that if Shinseki talks "to veterans who have to deal with this department of smoke and mirrors, and follow up on the things posted" on websites, "then there could be positive changes" at the VA.
      Meanwhile, a letter to the editor of the Peoria (IL) Journal Star (2/1) said, "Maybe" the VA under Shinseki "can end" its "adversarial attitude towards vets. Why can’t the VA trust those who have served as much as the IRS trusts all of us by initially accepting claims, and then through audits, etc., determine later if any mistakes have been made?"

3.      Stimulus Provision Provides Tax Breaks For Firms Hiring Unemployed Veterans.   The Daily Press (2/1, Lessig) reports, "Tucked into the $819 billion economic stimulus plan backed by President Barack Obama is a provision aimed at jobless veterans in Hampton Roads and across the nation. It would give a tax credit to businesses that hire unemployed veterans who have been recently discharged or released from active duty. Freshman Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Norfolk, who represents the military-rich 2nd Congressional District, was among lawmakers who pushed it. Nye said he wanted to find a way to help the many veterans in his district, along with business owners – especially those from smaller companies – that create jobs. … Under current law, businesses can claim a work-opportunity tax credit on a part of wages paid to one of nine targeted groups. The stimulus bill names unemployed veterans as a new targeted group. Individuals would qualify if they were discharged or released from active duty in 2008 – or will be this year or in 2010 – and if they received unemployment compensation for more than four weeks during the year before they were hired."

4.      Paralyzed Iraq Vet Moves Into New House.   The Grand Rapids (MI) Press (2/1, Roelofs) said "hundreds of West Michigan residents and more than a dozen Marines" gathered in Michigan Saturday to welcome paralyzed Iraq vet Joshua Hoffman to his new home, which had been built especially for him. The "house was built with financial help from Homes For Our Troops, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization dedicated to building houses for wounded and disabled veterans."

 5.     VA Reaching Out To Troubled Vets.   On its website, KSL-TV Salt Lake City, UT (1/31, Boal) reported, "If you’re a veteran struggling and contemplating suicide, don’t wait to ask for help." That is "the message from a new public service announcement featuring Gary Sinise, which now airs nationwide. ‘They have sacrificed mentally, physically and emotionally through their service,’" and "’deserve the services we have available. We want them to come in and access those so we can help them in their transition,’ said Dr. Michael Koplin, suicide prevention coordinator at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center." KSL noted that the "VA in Salt Lake increased the size of its mental health staff. In 2000, that staff numbered around 100 employees," but today, "it’s more than 160."

6.      Money Said To Be An Issue For Mental Care At Fort Hood.   The Killeen (TX) Daily Herald (2/1, Peña) reported, "About 500 Fort Hood soldiers were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and/or mild traumatic brain injuries, and those are just those diagnosed," Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, III, Fort Hood’s commander, "said…Friday" during "Legislative Day at Fort Hood," when a delegation of politicians toured the post. When Lynch "addressed" the legislators, he "said money is an issue when examining one of Fort Hood’s major needs – health care. Fort Hood has only 77 percent of the mental health professionals it needs," he added.

 7.     Veterans Return To Find Weak Job Market.   The Long Island Newsday (2/1, Evans) reports, "In the past year, one Valley Stream father has been shot at, avoided rocket fire and seen two fellow soldiers killed while serving in Afghanistan. Now a different kind of tension grips Sgt. John O’Dougherty and many of his recently returned comrades with the New York National Guard’s 69th Infantry Regiment, which has an armory in Bay Shore. Military personnel newly back from service in Iraq and Afghanistan are meeting with what many economists have referred to as the bleakest economy since the Great Depression. … Among the newly arrived soldiers with the 69th Infantry Regiment who are looking for work is the commander of the regiment’s 145-member C Company, Lt. Peter Fluker. Fluker, of Brooklyn, said about one in seven of his subordinates have indicated they may now join the regular Army because their job prospects are so bleak." The Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as "local governments and private employers, such as the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System – the Island’s biggest employer – have promised to boost hiring of returning veterans."

8.      VA Gives Older Veterans An Opportunity To Discuss Their Combat Experiences.   The Saint Paul Pioneer Press / Minnesota Public Radio (2/1, Olson) reports, "Several years ago the Department of Veterans Affairs realized some older veterans are still troubled by the memories of war, as are those who have served recently. So, during their visits to the VA to discuss their physical condition, the veterans are given the chance to talk with professionals who can help them cope with troubling memories. One listener is Dr. Susan Czapiewski, a psychiatrist at the VA Medical Center at Fort Snelling and an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota. Winter and cold weather, it turns out, triggered anxiety in one of the World War II vets Czapiewski talked to, a man who fought in the Battle of the Bulge during one of Europe’s coldest winters on record. … The VA estimates that one in 20 older veterans have post-traumatic stress disorder from experiences like these. The stress and anxiety they dealt with during World War II is difficult to imagine."

9.      VA Objected To Last-Minute Bush FDA Ruling ON "Off-Label" Drugs.   McClatchy (2/1, Adams) reports, "In the waning days of the Bush administration, the Food and Drug Administration finalized new guidelines to make it easier for drug manufacturers to promote ‘off-label’ prescription drug uses, which can be deadly for patients. The move came despite criticism from Bush’s own Department of Veterans Affairs, which said the change ‘favors business interests over public safety’ and could lead to a ‘decline in drug safety.’ It also was crafted despite efforts by state and federal law-enforcement experts to clamp down on off-label drug marketing. … The Bush FDA issued the new guidance over the objections of Bush’s Department of Veterans Affairs, which pays for drugs taken by its health-system patients. ‘We urge the FDA to withdraw’ the proposal, the VA wrote the FDA last year. ‘It will not improve drug safety and could very well result in a decline in drug safety.’ Among other things, the VA said, ‘second-rate ‘studies’ published in journals with questionable peer-review processes will be used to convince physicians to use drugs for an ever-increasing number of unapproved uses.’"

10.    Heavy Combat Loads Blamed For Troops’ Muscle And Bone Injuries.   The Washington Post (2/1, A3, Tyson) reports, "Carrying heavy combat loads is taking a quiet but serious toll on troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, contributing to injuries that are sidelining them in growing numbers, according to senior military and defense officials. Rising concern over the muscle and bone injuries — as well as the hindrance caused by the cumbersome gear as troops maneuver in Afghanistan’s mountains — prompted Army and Marine Corps leaders and commanders to launch initiatives last month that will introduce lighter equipment for some U.S. troops. … Army leaders and experts say the injuries — linked to the stress of bearing heavy loads during repeated 12- or 15-month combat tours — have increased the number of soldiers categorized as ‘non-deployable.’ Army personnel reported 257,000 acute orthopedic injuries in 2007, up from 247,000 the previous year." The Post adds, "Further evidence of the frequency of the injuries, which have forced some to leave the military, has come up in studies of veterans. Carroll W. McInroe, a former VA primary-care case manager in Washington state, said he has seen such injuries in hundreds of veterans from today’s wars. ‘Our infantry should not be going into battle carrying 90 to 100 pounds on their backs,’ he said. ‘The human muscular-skeletal system is simply not designed for that much weight, and it will break down over time.’"