Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

1.      Warner Releases VA Report on Female Veterans.  In continuing coverage, an AP (1/11, Sampson) story carried by at least 23 publications notes that on Monday, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) released a new Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General study that “says female military members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to be diagnosed with mental-health conditions than their male counterparts.” The study, which “also found that the benefits administration denies payment” for post-traumatic stress disorder claims at a higher rate for women than for men, “advises that the Veterans Benefits Administration better inform female veterans about specific services available to them.” Warner has “asked Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki to correct” such issues.  According to a separate AP (1/11) story run by at least 11 news sources, Warner visited a VA hospital in Hampton, Virginia, on Monday “to discuss the findings of a study on female veterans who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.” The Newport News (VA) Daily Press (1/11, Chufo), meanwhile, notes that on Monday, Warner visited the Hampton VA, where he “said he was concerned whether…VA was adequately meeting” the needs of women veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Daily Press adds that Chandra Banks, “who’s with the nonprofit” Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, “applauded the report that…Warner pushed to fund.”

The Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot (1/11, Reilly) reports, “The Department of Veterans Affairs must work harder to address combat stress in women returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a new government study says. Conducted” by VA’s “inspector general, the study found that female veterans are denied benefits and treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder at a rate higher than men. It also concluded that many VA facilities aren’t especially responsive to the health needs of women.”

The WTVR-TV Richmond, VA (1/10) website pointed out that Warner also “spoke about the report…at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond.” WTVR went on to say the “report found that female veterans continue to be denied services and treatments” for PTSD “at a higher rate than men because women, by definition, do no serve in combat roles.” As a “result of Warner’s efforts,” however, VA “recently changed its policies to remove initial barriers for women to apply for treatment,” and now, “military personnel-both men and women-do not have to have served in direct combat to receive PTSD benefits.” The aforementioned study was also noted in reports aired by numerous local TV stations in Virginia, including WSET-TV Roanoke (1/10, 11:09 p.m. ET) and WVBT-TV Norfolk, VA (1/10, 10:35 p.m. ET).  AmVets: Females Have Harder Time Than Males Trying To Use VA Care. The digital edition of the Army Times (1/17, 104K) reports, “Female veterans are disadvantaged compared with male veterans when trying to use the Veterans Affairs Department for primary health care, according to the veterans service organization AmVets.” The Times adds, “Expanded health care for women and more flexible appointment hours, including some after normal working hours or on weekends, would help women receive equal treatment from VA, advocates say.”

2.      Memorial Arrangements Announced For Gen. Vang Pao.  In continuing coverage, an AP (1/11) story run by at least 33 publications reports, “Relatives of Hmong leader Gen. Vang Pao say they are planning a four-day February memorial service for the military hero in central California.” The “general led Hmong guerrillas in their CIA-backed battle against communists during the Vietnam War and was revered as a father figure by the Hmong diaspora. A final resting place has not been determined, but the general’s family is seeking a burial at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia,” a point also made by KSEE-TV Fresno, CCA (1/10, 11:08 p.m. PT).

According to a separate AP (1/11) story carried by at least 45 publications, Federal “prosecutors on Monday dropped all remaining charges against a dozen men once accused of plotting to violently overthrow the communist government of Laos, a move that suddenly ends a 3½-year-old international case that reverberated with the last echoes of the Vietnam War. Charges against 11 members of California’s Hmong community and a former US Army officer were dismissed ‘in the interests of justice,’ according to court documents filed” in US District Court in Sacramento. The “move follows the death of Hmong leader and Vietnam War-era Gen. Vang Pao, 81, last week.”

3.      Arlington Burial Sought For Laotian General.  In continuing coverage, an AP (1/12) story carried by at least 122 publications reports, “California Reps. Jim Costa and Dennis Cardoza,” as well as “Guam’s delegate to Congress, Madeleine Bordallo,” and Pennsylvania Rep. Tim Holden, have asked Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki and Defense Secretary Robert Gates to allow Laotian Gen. Vang Pao, a “key US ally in the Vietnam War,” to be “buried at Arlington National Cemetery.” The “general led Hmong guerrillas in a CIA-backed battle against communists in Laos.” According to the AP, a letter, signed by the aforementioned lawmakers, has been sent to Shinseki and Gates, “asking for a waiver for an Arlington burial” for the general.

A similar McClatchy (1/12, Doyle) story run by at least 29 publications notes, “Vang Pao requires a waiver because he didn’t directly serve” in the US military. The request for an Arlington burial is also noted in “The Lookout,” a Yahoo! News (1/12, Roth) blog, and in stories aired by numerous local TV stations in different parts of the country, including KFSN-TV Fresno, CA (1/11, 11:11 p.m. PT) and WFXS-TV Wausau, WI (1/11, 9:19 p.m. CT).

4.      Contract Awarded For VA Cemetery.  The Bradenton (FL) Herald (1/12, 43K) notes that on Tuesday, US Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) “announced…that a construction contract has been awarded to develop the Phase 1B portion for the new Sarasota National Cemetery.” The lawmaker “wrote Veterans Administration Secretary Eric Shinseki in September urging him to take action to ensure that construction of the VA cemetery in Sarasota gets back on schedule. ‘This is a very encouraging development for area families waiting to inter their loved ones in the new cemetery,’ Buchanan said” of the contract.

5.      Military: Proposed State Budget Would Cut Veterans Services, Program.  The Escondido, California-based North County Times (1/12, Walker) says a plan by California Gov. Jerry Brown to “slash $12.5 billion” from the state’s budget “could slam the door” on the “fledgling Operation Welcome Home program for troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, and drastically reduce the services provided by county veterans offices.” Brown’s “proposed budget…would trim nearly $10 million from the California Department of Veterans Affairs by eliminating general fund support specifically for the two programs.” State Sen. Mark Wyland and Assemblyman Paul Cook, both Republicans, have “called the governor’s proposal misguided,” while “Bill Earl, who runs the Riverside County Veterans Services office,” said the proposed funding cuts would be “devastating.”

6.      New System Makes Veterans Claims Faster, More Accurate.  The WPSD-TV Carterville, IL (1/10) website reported, “Veterans will see speedier filing of benefit claims and faster service in general thanks” to E-Vet Assist, a “new computerized system installed by the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs.” WPSD added, “E-Vet Assist is made possible by a $90,000 grant from the Kentucky Veterans Program Trust Fund, which uses donations from individuals and organizations to support veterans programs that don’t receive state funding.”

7.      New Computer System To Benefit Veteran.  In continuing coverage, an AP (1/12) story run by at least 25 publications reports, “Kentucky veterans should see quicker filing of benefits claims, thanks to a new computerized system installed by the state,” whose Veterans Affairs commissioner “says the E-Vet Assist system makes it faster, more accurate and more efficient to help veterans obtain the benefits and services they earned.” The system was “made possible by a $90,000 grant from the Kentucky Veterans Program Trust Fund,” which “uses donations to support veterans programs that don’t receive state funding.”

8.      Disabled, Wounded Vets Get Lowdown On Filing For Benefits.  The Montgomery (AL) Advertiser (1/11, Benn, 37K) reports, “Wounded veterans returning from war zones often need help to cut through bureaucratic red tape and that’s one of the main responsibilities of a group that met Saturday in Montgomery.” Disabled American Veterans (DAV) “officials from across” Alabama “took part in ‘learning sessions’ to help them become better informed to help vets in search of assistance on how to file for benefits. ‘We’re teaching our members every important part of our organization,’ state DAV Commander Richard Freeman said,” adding, “This is the first time in 18 years that we’ve had a training seminar quite like the one” held at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa’s convention center.

9.      Newport Group Picks Up VA Overflow.  The Long Beach (CA) Press-Telegram (1/12) reports, “Newport-Mesa Audiology, Balance and Ear Institute has been contracted to provide audiological evaluations to overflow patients” from the Veterans Affairs Long Beach Health System, “which is at capacity for these services. The institute said it’s providing evaluations at a significantly discounted rate from its Newport Beach and Ladera Ranch locations.”

10.    Grant To Help Cover Cost Of Alzheimer’s Unit At Georgia War Veterans Home. WMGT-TV Macon, GA (1/11, 11:08 p.m. ET) broadcast that on Tuesday, the “Georgia War Veterans Home in Milledgeville” was awarded “more than $1.5 million to build an Alzheimer’s unit with 24 beds.” The Department of Veterans Affairs “grant will cover 65 percent of the project.”