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.   Searching For Veterans On Alaska’s Remote Edges.  WAMC  Daniel K. Omedelena, 71, served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from 1968-69. A disproportionate … As the veteran population ages, their health care needs increase, but many have not even filed claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Enlarge …
 
2.   Guardsmen use skills to assist in aftermath of Oklahoma tornadoes.  Hundreds of Oklahoma National Guard soldiers and airmen in Oklahoma have secured buildings and rescued survivors; they have passed out supplies and patrolled neighborhoods.
 
3.   Air Force team makes it to the top of the world.  A team of U.S. airmen recently reached 29,000 feet — with their feet still on the ground.
 
4.   Former WWII POW returns to scene of imprisonment after 70 years.  Fifty-three American POWs died of starvation, sickness and injuries in the wartime Japanese labor camp at Soto Dam, now part of an idyllic valley outside the city of Sasebo where a monument marks their suffering.
 
5.   A true hero: Bataan survivor Charles Prigmore.  More than 70 years have passed since Charles Eldon Prigmore, a former master sergeant with the U.S. Army, endured the atrocities of the Bataan Death March in the early months of World War II.
 
6.   Sexual assault callousness by military, interference of brass are detailed by ex-prosecutor.  As an Army prosecutor two decades ago, Michael C. Lancer heard his commanding officer downplay one case as “just a little rape” – and later saw a general unilaterally dismiss the conviction in that case.
 
7.   Effort seeks to match dogs with veterans suffering from PTSD.  The effort is called Veterans K-9 Solutions and it is reinventing how war heroes and service dogs find new life and purpose in the Southeast.
8.   Law schools pitch in to tackle veteran disability benefits backlog.  Hyperlink to Story The Washington Post (AP): The clinic uses law students and a faculty member to tackle complex cases on a pro bono basis in which veterans can have difficulty providing the evidence they need to substantiate their claims. Veterans receive disability compensation for injuries and illness incurred or aggravated during their active military service. The amount of the compensation is based on a rating assigned by the VA.
9.   Saving our warriors from themselves.  Hyperlink to Story Los Angeles Times:  For the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, this is a grim epidemic that has eluded easy or obvious fixes. Experts say the first step toward preventing suicide is knowing who does it, how they do it and why. The military does a good job of collecting those statistics. Since 2008, the Department of Defense has issued an annual Suicide Event Report that lists in meticulous detail the number of suicides and attempted suicides and the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
10. What’s Going Around — Traumatic Head Injury.  Hyperlink to Story Houston Community Newspapers:  For most of us, this injury occurs with bicycles and sports. It’s far too common an issue for our military veterans. One out of five soldiers return from combat having suffered some type of head injury from explosive blasts. The Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston is leading research on long-term effects.
 

Have You Heard?

Reaching Vets in the Golden Hour of Mental Health Injuries.  Veterans are naturally drawn to communities. We’re closer than brothers and sisters in the military, and we’re more than a family in combat. But once we leave a cohesive unit, a community is voluntary. Organizations like Team Rubicon and Team …
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