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

We encourage you to browse our list so that you can take what you want and keep what you need

 
1.   Republicans set stage for battle over link between climate, security.  The ongoing war in Afghanistan, looming defense cuts and greater military focus in the western Pacific dominated President Barack Obama’s unusual Pentagon appearance in January to present his new national defense strategy. Environmental concerns weren’t in Obama’s talking points that day, but it’s that aspect of his strategy that drew particular fire this week at the Republican Convention in Tampa.
 
2.   Pentagon reviews ex-Navy SEAL’s book on bin Laden raid.  The Pentagon and CIA are reviewing a forthcoming book by a retired Navy SEAL who was on the May 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and they are considering legal action against the author for failing to submit his account for security review, officials said.
 
3.   Soldiers, interviewers get more time to talk at hiring events.  Fort Bragg is taking a more focused approach to helping soldiers find jobs in the civilian workplace. Instead of job fairs involving more than 100 companies and thousands of soldiers, officials at the post are turning their attention to smaller, more intimate “hiring events.”
 
4.   Vivid memories haunt survivors of USS Indianapolis sinking.  One of the old sailors remembers the feel of barnacles on his feet as he slid into the sea and the horrifying brush with sharks as they swam below him as he floated in the water for four days. The other can still see the head of his best friend disappear in a wave as the man tried to swim toward land.

5.   Health care for veterans to expand at new clinic.  Toledo Free Press  19 when Toledo’s VA clinic opens in its new building. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Community-Based Outpatient Clinic will move to a 66,000-square-foot facility at 1200 S. Detroit Ave. The space is more than twice the size of the current …

6.   National security (finally) gets top billing.  Politico  And all wonder, ‘Where does America stand?’” — McCain: “Sadly, for the lonely voices of dissent in Syria, and Iran, and elsewhere, who feel forgotten in their darkness, and sadly for us, as well, our president is not being true to our values …

7.   VA: Care For Women Vets Has Improved.  Modern Physician  “The nearly 300,000 women veterans who receive care through the US Veterans Affairs Department saw their care improve relative to their male counterparts during the past three years, according to two recently released government reports.” Although “‘we are encouraged by the progress we have achieved, we are not going to stop working until all gaps are eliminated,’ VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said in a news release. The VA touted the progress as a result of the national initiative it launched in 2008 to eliminate gender gaps in preventive care, which included requiring assessments of gender-based differences and improvement plans from each regional VA center.”

8.   VA, DoD To Expand Health Information Exchanges. Federal Times  “The Veterans Affairs and Defense departments are ready to expand 16 pilot programs and offer veterans’ health information exchanges nationwide.” The move, announced on Tuesday by Barclay Butler, director of the VA-DoD Interagency Program Office, is a “major step toward fulfilling an administration initiative called the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record (VLER), which requires VA and DoD to provide service members and veterans with seamless health care and online access to their health and other personal data throughout their lifetimes. ‘The next step is to further that deployment, but in a focused way,'” said Butler, who made his announcement “during an event hosted by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association’s Northern Virginia chapter.”
 
9.   In Legion Speech, Romney Also Says He Would Bring Vets Home To Jobs. Fox News’ Special Report Romney speaking before the Legion convention, when he said, “Where the President has failed to lead, we will protect our national defense from cuts that jeopardize critical missions. Where he has let down our veterans, we will welcome them home to a booming economy and the jobs they need.”  WTHR-TV “Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is telling veterans that he will make jobs a top priority.” He stressed that point during Wednesday’s speech. WTHR adds, “On Tuesday, President Obama addressed the veterans via video focusing on what his administration has already done to better the lives of veterans. Many of the veterans we spoke with say they will pay close attention to what both candidates have to say, but many are upset the president didn’t make a personal appearance.”  Washington Post A statement, Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said, “If Mitt Romney were truly serious about helping veterans, he’d tell Congressman Ryan and his Republican allies in Congress to work with the President to achieve a balanced deficit reduction plan that includes asking millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share while investing in veterans and the middle class – as the President’s plan does.” But in his Legion convention speech, Romney “tore into Obama over a backlog of disability claims and long waits for mental-health treatments” at VA. Beyond the President’s “‘failure to deliver an economic recovery, and beyond what I see as reckless defense cuts, are the reproachable failures at the VA itself,’ he said,” adding that a Romney Administration would not increase fees for TRICARE. Indianapolis Star Romney’s Legion convention speech brought “thousands of military veterans to their feet.” On Tuesday, the convention heard from the President, who spoke to attendees via video. Mark Gullion, a member of the Legion’s Speedway district, said, “I have to take into consideration that at least (Romney) bothered to come and talk to 10,000 veterans when Obama didn’t have the time.” In a Wednesday statement, though, Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker said, “President Obama has a strong record of supporting our veterans and our military troops.” Parker added, “Just last week, the White House announced that a program to encourage businesses to hire and train US military veterans and their spouses has exceeded its target and helped secure work for 125,000 people.”
 
10. Blogger Says 2010 Ryan Budget Did Not Mention Word “Veteran.”  Huffington Post  Afghanistan veteran Jake Lonoski, the co-founder of the Stanford Law Veterans Organization, says that “with issues of national security looming large, the number of Americans killed in Afghanistan reaching 2000 this month, suicide among veterans reaches record highs, and veterans’ health and education benefits seen as prominent portion of budget calculations, it seems a strange time for Republicans to begin nominating candidates with no military service whatsoever.” Lonoski adds that “most clear policy statement from either candidate on priorities in regard to veterans, the 2010 budget authored by Ryan, failed to mention the word ‘veteran’ in nearly 100 pages and cuts $11 billion, or 13%, of veterans spending from Obama’s proposed levels.”

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VA Program Offers Training Assistance for High Demand Jobs

The Veterans Retraining Assistance Program has approved nearly 38,000 applications for unemployed Vets 35-60 years old. Learn more to see if you qualify for training assistance.