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.   Top VA official: New Syracuse spinal cord center will help repay ‘debt of honor’ owed to vets.  Hyperlink to Story The Post-Standard:  Eric K. Shinseki, the nation’s secretary of Veterans Affairs, said the new spinal cord injury center at the Syracuse VA Medical Center will help continue to repay what he called the nation’s “debt of honor” to its veterans.
2.   A New Step In Solving The Mystery Of Gulf War Illness.  Hyperlink to Story Forbes: Researchers at Georgetown designed a study to test how the brains of sick veterans responded to exercise.  The initial results are promising to veterans, many of whom have complained for years that [VA] doctors attribute their disease to war-related stress or a psychological disorder.
3.   Veterans’ Biggest Benefits Are Things the VA Can’t Provide.  Hyperlink to Story PolicyMic: After the passage of the new Chapter 33 Post 9/11 G.I. Bill, [Veteran Matthew] Litsey decided to use the enticing benefits that he and many of his fellow Marines had been waiting for. On May 10, 2009 at the age of 22, Litsey began his journey as a college freshman at Western Kentucky University.
4.   New compliant reporting system for schools on the way.  Hyperlink to Story Army Times: The federal government is testing, and plans to soon implement, a broad new complaint reporting system designed to root out the “bad apples” among education institutions that serve troops and veterans, a Defense Department official told Congress.  Frederick Vollrath, assistant secretary of defense for readiness and force management, said the automated system, scheduled to start Sept. 1, will coordinate information and efforts across the Defense, Veterans Affairs, Education and Justice departments.
5.   Real solutions for veterans’ claims system.  Hyperlink to Story The Hill:  From the prospective of a Vietnam veteran who receives compensation and medical care through the Department of Veterans Affairs, calling for a change in the agency’s leadership is wrongheaded and would do no good in resolving the claims backlog.
6.   Sen. Jay Rockefeller/Healing the wounds of war.  Hyperlink to Story Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:  Imagine you’re the mom of three young boys with special needs. You are deeply proud of your husband, a combat veteran who served five tours of duty and earned two combat action badges. But you and your family struggle every single day with the invisible wounds of war.

7.   Veterans Affairs federal secretary meets with vets in Syracuse.  Hyperlink to Story Your News Now:  The federal secretary of Veterans Affairs says there has been progress, but more needs to be done to connect unemployed veterans and employers.

8.   Advocates say VA gutting Gulf War Illness panel.  Hyperlink to Story USA Today:  Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki has altered the charter of an independent board to research Gulf War Illness, cut its budget and limited the board’s independence, according to a directive Shinseki signed last month.
9.   New technology would improve VA care.  Hyperlink to Story  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has named the elimination of hospital-acquired infections one of their “Top Ten Winnable Battles.”
10.   Syracuse VA Medical Center opening new $90M wing.  Hyperlink to Story Wall Street Journal (AP):  Officials at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Syracuse are set to unveil the facility’s new $90 million addition.