Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 3-10-09

1. Veterans Groups Concerned About Private Insurance Proposal.  
2. Program Helps Arkansas National Guard Soldiers Reintegrate.  
3. South Carolina Center To Treat Iraq, Afghanistan Vets.  
4. Injured Vet Hoping To Purchase Home So VA Can Modify It.  
5. Veterans Courts Forming Around Country.  
6. Damage Done To Vets’ Hearing Raises Profile Of Tinnitus.  
7. Screening To Focus On Military Families.  
8. WPost Says VA Nominee Did Not Serve In Iraq.  
9. Special Pens Being Sent Overseas To US Troops.  
10. Vet Center Holds Women’s Recognition Luncheon.  

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HAVE YOU HEARD?
Survivors of veterans have a new voice. VA’s Office of Survivors Assistance will advise the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on all matters pertaining to policies, programs, legislation and issues affecting the survivors of veterans. Established in December under public law, the office will serve as an advocate for survivors, develop outreach programs to keep them informed and serve as VA liaison with agencies inside and outside of government on survivor issues. The Office will serve as a primary advisor to the Secretary on all matters relating to the policies, programs, legislative issues and other initiatives affecting survivors. Though it will not process or handle individual claims inquiries, the new office will regularly monitor the delivery of benefits and services of the Department. It will explore innovative opportunities to reach those survivors who are eligible for but not currently receiving VA benefits. Input will be sought from interested stakeholders. Though not fully staffed, the office is already busy gathering survivor data and identifying programs and benefits currently available to veterans’ survivors. For more information, contact the office at 202-461-5159.

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Retired general joining Air Force’s retiree council  
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFRNS) — A new face will share the head of the Air Force Retiree Council table at its annual meeting May 5 to 8. Retired Lt. Gen. Steven R. Polk, who left active duty in February 2006, succeeds retired Lt. Gen. Donald L. Peterson as council co-chair with retired CMSAF Gerald R. Murray.
 
The co-chairs serve as personal advisers to the chief of staff and the secretary of the Air Force on all issues regarding retirees and their families. General Polk’s appointment was announced by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz.
 
Meeting at the Air Force Personnel Center here, the council receives briefings on today’s Air Force structure from senior members of the Air Staff and other Air Force elements. This information helps the 20-member panel address issues submitted from 107 base retiree activities offices worldwide. Subjects range from proposed increases in Tricare fees to publication of the Afterburner to various benefit and entitlement enhancements. Recommendations on key issues are forwarded to the Air Force chief of staff and subject matter experts.
 
A native of Bay City, Texas, General Polk graduated and was commissioned from the U.S. Air Force Academy, and completed 38 years on active duty. His assignments included worldwide flying duty, and a tour as an instructor and assistant professor of engineering mechanics at the academy. He currently lives in San Antonio.
 
Retirees can write to General Polk or Chief Murray at:  HQ AFPC/CCU, 550 C STREET WEST STE 8, RANDOLPH AFB TX 78150-4713.

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1.      Veterans Groups Concerned About Private Insurance Proposal.   In continuing coverage, the Marine Corp Times (3/10, Maze) reports, "Major veterans and military groups like the Obama administration’s proposed $4.9 billion increase in the Veterans Affairs Department budget for next year, but they don’t like some details, especially a proposal to raise money by billing veterans’ private health insurance for some of the cost of treating service-connected injuries, illnesses and disease." Eleven veterans groups complained about the proposal "in a Feb. 27 letter to President Barack Obama, administration officials and congressional leaders." The White House "has not responded to the letter. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, who is scheduled to testify Tuesday" before the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees "about the 2010 budget, is expected to be asked by lawmakers to explain why VA thinks billing private insurance is a good idea."
      Advance Appropriations A Goal For Vets Groups.   The Hill (3/10, Tiron) reports, "Veterans groups have already approached committee staff members and lawmakers to ask that they press Shinseki" on the proposal. Shinseki, however, "could already be in hot water over another issue paramount to veterans groups: advance appropriations to insure predictable medical care funding, particularly for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Veterans groups see Shinseki, a former chief of staff of the Army, as backtracking from statements he made during his confirmation hearing that clearly supported advance appropriations.
      In a related story, the Wahpeton (ND) Daily News (3/10, Hevern) reports, "Wahpeton resident Carroll Quam returned" from Washington, DC, Thursday, "where he lobbied for veterans and their families." Quam, the North Dakota American Legion Department Commander, "joined a delegation of North Dakota Legionnaires also vying to fight for funding to care for the nation’s veterans of past wars and to protect benefits for men and women currently serving." During his trip, Quam "connected most with a presentation given by American Legion National Commander David Rehbein," who stressed that through President Obama’s budget funding for the VA, healthcare "should be granted in a timely and sufficient manner. ‘Therefore, the American Legion wants approved advance appropriations of discretionary funding,’ Rehbein said in a press release."
      Shinseki To Appear First In Front Of Senate Committee.   In its "Today at a Glance" column, CQ (3/10) says Shinseki is scheduled to testify before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee at 9:30 a.m. in 418 Russell, while he will appear before the House Veterans Affairs Committee at 2 p.m. in 334 Cannon.
      Filner Praises Budget.   At the end of a story on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)’s plans to hire "nine wounded or disabled veterans into House staff positions," The Hill (3/9, Yager) also noted that the committees are planning to hold hearings "Tuesday on the proposed fiscal 2010 budget. Obama’s proposed $3.6 trillion budget would increase money" for the VA "by $5.5 billion, from $50.4 billion to $55.9 billion." In a statement, US Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), chairman of the House Veteran Affairs Committee, praised the budget, saying, ""After years of funding neglect and budget shortfalls, I commend President Obama on this honest assessment of the funding needs of the VA."

2.      Program Helps Arkansas National Guard Soldiers Reintegrate.   On its website, KTHV-TV Little Rock, AR (3/8, Yancy) reported, "Soldiers returning from war can find themselves coping with physical and mental problems," so the "Arkansas National Guard is helping 39th Infantry Brigade soldiers with the difficulty of changing from combat to life at home. Hundreds of service members" recently "took part in the federally mandated reintegration process in Pine Bluff. The program requires returning soldiers to attend sessions, 30, 60 and 90" days "after they return home. The idea is to place soldiers in a nonmilitary setting with fellow soldiers and their families. They’re given information on jobs, counseling, marriage and financial help so they can better reintegrate into civilian life." Johnathan Hale, a chaplain with the 39th, commented on the program, saying, "Everybody’s talked" to the Veterans Affairs "counselors and learned about benefits and if there’s anyone here who can help put them in the right direction."

3.      South Carolina Center To Treat Iraq, Afghanistan Vets.   In continuing coverage, the Charleston (SC) Post And Courier (3/10) reports, "The federal government will build a new $3 million center" in Columbia, South Carolina, "to treat Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. Officials said the 10,000-square-foot center" at the Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center "will offer primary and mental health services. Construction on the center is expected to begin in the fall."

4.      Injured Vet Hoping To Purchase Home So VA Can Modify It.   The Evansville (IN) Courier & Press (3/9, Ziliak) profiled Kenneth E. Harker, who for the "last nine months…has been at Walter Reed Army Medical Center" in Washington, DC, "recovering from injuries he suffered in Iraq." Christina Cundiff, Harker’s mother, "said he just wants to get back home" to Evansville. Harker "plans to buy a house – an issue that has left the family frustrated. Harker needs a modified home that is handicap accessible," but the Department of Veterans Affairs will only "provide those modifications free of charge if Harker shows ownership of the home." So, Harker has now "turned to the state of Indiana for help." Christina Cundiff, Harker’s mother, "said she and her son called" US Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-IN) to see if the state "has any measures in place to help wounded soldiers purchase homes." Harker "was put on Ellsworth’s call-back list but has yet to hear from the representative."

5.      Veterans Courts Forming Around Country.   In continuing coverage, a front page story in the Los Angeles Times (3/10, Riccardi) reports on a "new approach in the criminal justice system: specialized courts for veterans who have broken the law. Judges have been spurred by a wave of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, battling post-traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries and stumbling into trouble with the law." The "few veterans courts in the nation are modeled on drug courts that allow defendants to avoid prison in exchange for strict monitoring. Most are only a couple of months old, and it is difficult to track their effectiveness, but the results from the first court, which opened" in Buffalo, New York, "in January 2008, are striking. Of the more than 100 veterans who have passed through, only two had to be returned to the traditional criminal court system because they could not shake narcotics or criminal behavior, said Judge Robert Russell."
 

6.      Damage Done To Vets’ Hearing Raises Profile Of Tinnitus.   The Washington Post (3/10, HE01, Wilkinson) says that after Nathan Green "was knocked unconscious" by a rocket blast in Iraq last year, he began hearing the "high-pitched whine and static buzz of an AM radio. All the time." Nobody "knows quite how big a group Green," who suffers from tinnitus, "has joined. Based on a 2007 survey, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that some 23 million people in the country hear something when there is no external sound present." The Post says tinnitus "has drawn increased attention lately because the Department of Veterans Affairs counted about 400,000 veterans affected by the condition through 2006 and reported in 2008 that just over 93,000 returning Iraq veterans were affected."

7.      Screening To Focus On Military Families.   On its website, WMVS-TV Milwaukee, WI (3/9) said Milwaukee Public Television will present "a Community Cinema Special COMING HOME: MILITARY FAMILIES COPE WITH CHANGE on Tuesday, March 31, at 7 p.m., at the Discovery World Innovation Digital Theatre." The "half-hour, free, public screening will be followed by a discussion" with several panelists, including Dale R. Christiansen from the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

8.      WPost Says VA Nominee Did Not Serve In Iraq.   The final story in the Washington Post‘s (3/10, A2) "Corrections" column reports, "A Jan. 27 In the Loop item and a brief item in the Jan. 31 A-section incorrectly described the military service of W. Scott Gould, who was nominated" by President Barack Obama "as deputy secretary of veterans affairs. Gould was a naval reservist who worked on intelligence for the war in Afghanistan; he did not serve in Iraq."

9.      Special Pens Being Sent Overseas To US Troops.   The Chicago Tribune (3/10, Alexander) reports, "The St. Clair County Woodturners Club has been handcrafting pens for the past few months to send to military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan." The "club plans to continue sending packages of pens to the troops and will send some to veterans" at the John D. Dingell Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Detroit.

10.    Vet Center Holds Women’s Recognition Luncheon.   West Virginia’s State Journal (3/10, Dunn) reports, "March is National Women’s History Month," and to celebrate, the month, the Morgantown Vet Center recently "held its sixth annual Women’s Recognition Luncheon," which "recognizes female veterans, the wives of Vietnam veterans, and "other women serving their country either directly or through others." Samantha Blevins, "the Vet Center team leader," commented on the celebration, saying, "This really is a month to recognize" women "and take them into account and make sure that they’re doing some really good self-care and taking care of themselves."