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.   Panetta: Congress hurting itself, US image with squabbling.  The world is nervously watching a dysfunctional Congress and wondering “whether or not we can rise to the challenges” that face the United States, outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Wednesday.
 
2.   New medal for modern warfare sparks strong reaction.  The news that a medal has been created to honor the “extraordinary actions” of drone pilots and other servicemembers acting far from the battlefield has triggered strong reactions about medals and their value.
 
3.   Unmanned drones cause privacy concerns.  Hundreds of tiny aircraft are causing an outcry from privacy advocates around the country who fear law enforcement agencies, in particular, have a new tool to spy on people.
 
4.   Remains found in first ironclad ship to be buried at Arlington.  The remains of two Navy sailors who died during the Civil War will be interred in Arlington National Cemetery next month after efforts to identify them failed.
 
5.   Joint exercise meant as show of force to North, South Korea says.  The U.S. military is denying that a four-day joint air defense exercise this week has any special significance, but South Korean defense officials are loudly touting it as a “massive” show of force to North Korea following its latest nuclear test.
 
6.   Veteran saving up to buy service dog is mugged at gunpoint.  Brian Ryder has undergone 23 surgeries to repair his spine and hips after a nearly fatal accident in July 2009, while he was deployed with the U.S. military in Afghanistan. He was saving his money to buy a service dog that he hoped could change his life.
 
7.   VFW helping veterans collect VA benefits.  Nationwide, the VFW helped 125,000 veterans collect more than $3.7 billion last year in disability benefits — a year-to-year increase of 23,000 veterans and about $1.7 billion.

8.   Many Federal Workers Facing Furloughs Are Veterans.  Washington Post  “If the federal government is forced to furlough civilian employees in the event of sequestration, the burden will fall heavily on a population that Congress and the White House have vowed to support: veterans. More than two out of five of the approximately 800,000 Department of Defense employees facing furloughs are veterans, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Wednesday,” during a “hearing on the potential effect of sequestration on the military.” Carter stated, “Very soon we’re going to have to furlough the great majority of them.”
 
9.   Legislation Introduced To Cut Red Tape For Sexual Assault Survivors.  US News & World Report  “Lawmakers introduced the Ruth Moore Act Wednesday to help… military victims of sexual assault cut through red tape and more easily access the benefits they say are essential to healing. Maine Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree and Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester’s legislation would require” Veterans Affairs “to give rape victims who have PTSD as a result of the trauma benefits for their diagnosis even if they do not have formal documentation of the trauma.”
 
10.  Making America’s Heroes Wait: Benefit Claims Backlog Not Our Fault, VA Officials Say.  Washington (DC) Examiner  Breaking Veterans Affairs claims backlog “was a top priority of retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki when he became VA secretary in 2009.” Veterans “groups and congressional critics do not blame Shinseki, who inherited the backlog, but they add that he hasn’t fixed it, either.” The Times, which does point out that VA is trying to process many claims that are sometimes complicated in nature, quotes US Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), who said, “If it was me, I would be going to every single VA office in the country and making them shake in their boots that their jobs are not safe.” The Times adds, “Diana Rubens, deputy VA undersecretary for field operations, said her department has fired, demoted or transferred bad regional directors and front-line claims-raters.”

Have You Heard?

 

It was the turning point of the Cold War and the beginning of the end for Soviet Communism. The Korean War was one of the most important events of the Twentieth Century because, for the first time, force was used to contain communism. As President George W. Bush said on May 1, 1990, “It was a war in which we turned the tide against communism for the first time. Our defense of freedom laid the foundation for the march of democracy that we are seeing today around the world.”

Our mission is to raise awareness of the anniversary, not just among the American people, but also among the Korean War vet-erans themselves, many of whom are unaware of the commemorations in their honor, including a Senate Resolution designating 2012-2013 as the “Year of the Korean War Veteran.”

Perhaps, not since the 50th Anniversary Commemoration in 2000, or the dedication of the Korean War Memorial, will such a large number of Korean War veterans, Korea Service veterans, and their families, gather to commemorate the “Forgotten Victory” of the Korean War. Estimates range that from ten to fifteen thousand veterans and their families will converge in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. The Department of Defense (DoD) 60th Anniversary Commemoration Committee (DoDKOR60) has been working diligently for the past three years to make this 60th anniversary observance an event to remember. The recent Korean War Veterans’ float in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA is just one of the many major efforts in the past three years that have been designed to commemorate and observe the “Forgotten Victory,” under the sterling leadership of the committee chairman, Colonel David Clark, U.S. Army, as well as the Joint Committee staff.

Korean War Veterans Association (KWVA) President, Jim Ferris, and Warren Wiedhahn, chairman of this historic event, have frequently met with representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, as well as the DoD Committee, in order to ensure that this 60th Anniversary commemoration will go down in history as an educational, historical, and unforgettable series of events. Above all, it is hoped that the sacrifices made by the men and women of all the United Nations countries, working side-by-side with the brave soldiers of the Republic of Korea, were not in vain.

 Please let your membership and our Veterans are aware of this significant event

 Commemoration Registration Details:

KWVA: The Graybeards, national publication of the Korean War Veterans Association. Web Site at: www.kwva.org

Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel: (formerly the Sheraton National Hotel), 900 Orme Street, Arlington, VA, 22204, 703-521-1900. (Ask for the KWVA convention discount rate)

Event Registration Contractor: Armed Forces Reunions, Inc. (AFRI), Norfolk, VA. Register on-line at: www.afr-reg/kwva2013 or call 757-625-6401.

DoD 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee: www.http://koreanwar.defense.gov.