Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News – September 14, 2011

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Veterans! Here’s your Top 10 News stories of the day compiled from the latest sources

 

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1.   Bill would provide special license plates for servicemen and women.  Milford Daily News
Veteran cards with photo IDs are available to those who have retired from the military, are serving right now, or are in the US Department of Veteran Affairs medical system, Fahey said. But healthy veterans who were honorably discharged have only their …
2.   GI Bill helps soldiers into classrooms.  Castleton Spartan  A student veterans club is also in the process of forming at CSC, providing a place for the veterans to support each other and deal with concerns in a group setting. The US Department of Veterans Affairs also has a major hand in assisting the former …
3.   Kalamazoo man with brain injury is first veteran in pilot rehab program.  Kalamazoo Gazette – MLive.com  Origami is one of 21 facilities nationwide to be selected for a pilot program through the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Bill shows good rehab potential, and his condition has improved in the past seven months, Hannah said. …
4.   VA sends staffers overseas to chip away at disability exam backlogWith a backlog of more than 1,500 veterans who have settled overseas and are waiting for medical disability examinations, the Department of Veterans Affairs is sending a group of U.S.-based staffers to Okinawa to try to make some headway.
5.   Senate defense bill includes deeper cuts than House versionSenate defense leaders on Tuesday proposed dramatic cuts to the Defense Department’s budget request for fiscal 2012, including ending the joint light tactical vehicle program and delaying the production of new F-35 aircraft.
6.   Reducing troops based overseas is ‘on the table’ during budget talks, official says.  During Undersecretary of Defense Ashton Carter’s confirmation hearing to be the next deputy secretary of defense, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said Congress must look at relocating some of the more than 300,000 troops based overseas, not including war zones, and closing some of the bases that house them.
7.   Brain Blood Flow Abnormalities Persist in Gulf War Vets.  Doctors Lounge  The US Department of Veterans Affairs’ scientific advisory committee estimates some 125000 vets are afflicted by it. Symptoms can include memory and concentration difficulties, fatigue, neuropathic pain, balance problems and depression. …
8.   Kalamazoo man with brain injury is first veteran in pilot rehab program.  Kalamazoo Gazette – MLive.com  Origami is one of 21 facilities nationwide to be selected for a pilot program through the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Bill shows good rehab potential, and his condition has improved in the past seven months, Hannah said. …
9.   Program Brings Dental and Vision Benefits for Westchester Veterans.  Patch.com  The program was founded in conjunction with Careington International, a dental insurance provider based in Texas, and offers retired veterans of all eras discounted coverage that provides benefits the US Department of Veterans Affairs does not. …
10. Chinese Immigrant Vietnam War Vet Fang Wong Becomes Head Of American Legion Veterans Association. New York Daily News

 

 

Have You Heard?

Wounded Warriors Play Ball at Nationals Park

On September 4, the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team took on local Washington, DC celebrities at Nationals Park. Read more about the team and the game at VAntage Point | View photos

 

More Veteran News

 

  • Bill Approved To Make VA Service-Dog Friendly. Air Force Times “The House of Representatives could vote as early as next week on sweeping legislation that makes the Veterans Affairs Department more dog-friendly. A House committee has approved legislation that would allow service dogs to be used on any VA property or in any VA facility, including any facility or property receiving VA funding.” Officials with VA “have been working since March on trying to come up with a new service dog policy but discussions have been bogged down, in part, over the question of whether the policy should specifically list the types of service dogs that should be allowed or to leave that open to interpretation.”
  • Demands Of War Take Toll On Troops, Families. McClatchy “The demands of war have taken their toll — on the country, the military and families. There have been more US combat fatalities, more grievous wounds, more amputations, more cases of post-traumatic stress disorder than were ever imagined when” former President George W. Bush “launched the war on terror.” For those veterans who have made it home alive, “there has been an increase in suicide and divorce rates as veterans have struggled to deal with the memories of war and the pressures of civilian life.”
  • President Says American Jobs Act Will Help Returning Vets. NBC Nightly News An interview with President Obama, who is promoting passage of the American Jobs Act, which he said “puts construction workers back to work, puts teachers back to work, puts our veterans who are coming home looking for a job back to work, the long-term unemployed back to work.” NBC added, “Today, by the way, the Administration announced how they plan to pay for his new jobs plan through a series of previously proposed tax hikes that have all been raised by the White House in the past and rejected by Republicans.”  Washington Post “President Obama announced plans Monday to fund his $447 billion jobs bill largely by raising taxes on wealthier families, provoking immediate opposition from congressional Republicans.” On Monday, at a “Rose Garden ceremony to promote the bill before he formally sent it to Congress, the president urged the public to pressure lawmakers to quickly approve the package.” The Post adds, “Surrounded by workers who he said would benefit from passage of the plan, Obama said his proposal would put construction workers, teachers and veterans back to work while providing tax relief for small businesses.
  • Q&A: Roger W. Baker. Military Medical/CBRN Technology Veterans Affairs Chief Information Officer Roger Baker, who said that as part of VA’s effort to “provide better services,” his “five areas of focus in VA IT” include “customer service, information security, operational metrics, disciplined systems development process, and strong financial management.” When asked about new initiatives in his office, Baker said the largest one is “to establish a new joint integrated electronic health records [iEHR] system with the Department of Defense.” Baker, who took note of a customer satisfaction survey and other “major accomplishments” within VA’s IT organization in recent years, said such efforts not only decrease costs, they improve care. He added, “For example, one of the secretary’s major initiatives is to increase our telehealth capabilities,” which means patent problems “are frequently addressed before an admission is necessary.”
  • Federal Faces: W. Todd Grams. Washington Post  W. Todd Grams, the executive “in charge of management and chief financial officer” for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Grams told the Post, “I have the opportunity every day to make government work better so that we can deliver more services and benefits to our nation’s veterans. For me, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
  • New Panel Will Provide Legal Help To Struggling Veterans. Buffalo News “The nationally recognized success of Buffalo’s Veterans Treatment Court has spurred creation of a new committee to give even more help to veterans struggling with a variety of issues. The New York State Bar Association’s new Special Committee on Veterans will ‘find innovative ways to expand critical legal assistance to veterans statewide,’ said association President Vincent E. Doyle III.” Doyle “noted that the special court was lauded by US Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki last year and had inspired nearly a dozen similar treatment courts nationwide.”
  • VA Study Finds Nasal Spray Improves Memory In Some Alzheimer’s Patients.  NBC Nightly News (9/12, story 2, 2:25, Williams, 8.37M) broadcast that a “new study funded by the National Institutes of Health has found that an insulin nasal spray…has shown memory improvement in some” Alzheimer’s patients. Research like this, conducted by Dr. Suzanne Craft and other researchers, is part “of the Administration’s effort to develop the first so-called national Alzheimer’s plan.” NBC added, “A longer study should begin in months and reveal whether this hopeful beginning marks genuine progress against a heart-breaking disease that so far has been unstoppable.
  • Teen’s Bus Shelter Project At Veterans Clinic A Success. Lakeland (FL) Ledger “A summer-long project for 15 year-old Fisher Curry came to a successful end Monday with the official ribbon cutting for the bus shelter he raised money to erect at the Veterans Clinic on South Pipkin Road.” Veterans “representatives, city officials, the Citrus Connection staff, Fisher and his family were present for the official dedication. The Veterans Administration Clinic opened in 2009 on South Pipkin Road with a staff of nearly 80.”

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