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.    Veteran Career Fair and Expo in Washington, DC Showcases New High-Tech VA.   MarketWatch (press release)  The Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) hosts a major Veteran-focused career fair and exposition to provide job opportunities, employment services and information on benefits available to Veterans. …
2.    Navy unlikely to convene another enlisted retention board.  The Navy does not expect to target sailors in overmanned job ratings for separation in 2013, officials from the Navy Personnel Command’s fleet engagement team told sailors Tuesday.
3.    DOD’s strategy for Arctic lacking, agency reports.  The Defense Department lacks a clear strategy for ensuring it will have the resources to operate in the Arctic, which is gaining strategic importance as melting ice opens new shipping possibilities and potential access to untapped natural resources, according to a Government Accountability Office report.
4.    U.S. sailors help rescue 68 people on raft in Med.  A Navy aircrew over the weekend helped rescue 68 people adrift on a raft in the Mediterranean Sea, more than 80 miles off the coast of Malta.
5.    Group calls Marine corpse abuse video overblown.  Members of the conservative group Move America Forward have lashed out at media coverage of a video of Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters, calling the stories sensationalized and insisting that any discipline leveled against the troops should be light.
6.    PETA alleges soldiers took part in sheep beating.  Less than a week after Corps officials were forced to deal with an embarrassing video of Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters, Army officials are now fielding questions about a new online video that appears to show a group of soldiers laughing and celebrating as a sheep is bludgeoned to death.
7.    Experts: Vets’ PTSD, violence a growing problem.  CNN  The US Department of Veterans Affairs and others have made strides in addressing PTSD in veterans, the experts say. Other groups and resources, such as the Wounded Warrior Project, are also available. But many veterans have trouble seeking help, …
8.    Welcome home but not welcome here.  Log Cabin Democrat  That’s veteran Bob Coffey speaking at a meeting of Little Rock’s Downtown Neighborhood Association last Thursday, according to the statewide daily. The association was meeting because the federal Department of Veterans Affairs has proposed building a …
9.    Aid means fewer vets homeless – for now.  Minneapolis Star Tribune  The numbers are based on a one-day shelter and street census taken in January by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In Hennepin County, Minnesota’s most-populous county, the number of …
10.   3 Men Indicted In Veterans’ Property Bribery Scheme.  Wall Street Journal … residential sales manager and two former contractors of a Florida property management company were indicted Tuesday on bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy counts in connection with housing repair contracts for the US Department of Veterans Affairs. …

 

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VA will host its first Veteran Career Fair and Expo on Jan. 18 in Washington, DC. The free event is for Veterans and will provide information on education, benefits, jobs, health care, and small business opportunities. The event is sponsored by VA for Vets.

More Veteran News

•    Med school links with Lovell Center to aid vets.  Chicago Sun-Times  James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center is a partnership between the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, integrating all medical care into a single, fully-integrated federal health care facility with a single combined VA …

•    The Case for Treating PTSD in Veterans With Medical Marijuana. The Atlantic  Sixteen states and the District of Columbia currently have laws permitting marijuana for medical use. However, Veterans Affairs physicians are expressly prohibited from recommending patients for enrollment in any state’s medical marijuana program. …

• Veterans’ New Battle Front: Job Market.  Washington Times  “Business groups are stepping into the breach” to find jobs for veterans. The US Chamber of Commerce “initiated a ‘Hiring Our Heroes’ drive,” which has “put…an estimated 81,000 military veterans and spouses into contact with more than 4,000 employers. On Friday, the chamber partnered with NBC News, its local affiliate and the Military Spouse Employment Partnership for what was billed as the largest career forum of its kind.”

•   Federal And State Governments Also Trying To Help Vets Find Jobs.  New London (CT) Day  While “nationwide unemployment rate continued its downward trajectory in December to 8.5 percent, the jobless rate for veterans who have served in the military since 9/11 rose to 13.1 percent. More than 21 percent of female veterans who served recently and 7.7 percent of veterans of all eras are unemployed, according” to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Day added, “Federal and state governments are trying to get an estimated 900,000 unemployed veterans back to work by giving tax breaks to businesses that hire them.”

•  Veterans Groups Pushing For $54 Discount On Illinois’ License Plate Fee.  Bloomington (IL) Pantagraph   “Veterans groups have launched an effort to give retired military personnel a break on their Illinois license plate fees. Supporters of the proposal have begun collecting signatures as part of a petition drive aimed at bringing attention to the idea, which would reduce the standard plate renewal fee from $99 annually to $45.” An online petition in support of the same idea “had an estimated 41 signatures” as of Monday.

•  IU School Of Medicine Part Of Effort To Help Vets With PTSD, TBIs.  Bloomington (IN) Herald-Times  The Indiana University School of Medicine is “uniting with first lady Michelle Obama’s Joining Forces initiative in committing to train physicians to meet the unique health care needs of veterans and their families, including treatment” for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). The Herald-Times added, “‘We are honored to participate in the White House Joining Forces initiative to address the health care needs of military service members and veterans and their families,’ said D. Craig Brater, M.D., dean of the IU School of Medicine.” He added, “Nearly two-thirds of our school’s more than 100 years of history has been in collaboration with the Roudebush VA Medical Center to provide care to our veterans. This program is a natural extension of that responsibility that we embrace.”

• Idea To Take The “D” Out Of PTSD Studied.  Houston Chronicle  American Psychiatric Association (APA) President Dr. John Oldham “says he is ‘very open’ to a request from the Army to come up with an alternative name for post-traumatic stress disorder so that troops returning from combat will feel less stigmatized and more encouraged to seek treatment.” The “potential change was prompted by a request from Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army’s vice chief of staff, who wrote to Oldham last year, suggesting APA drop the world ‘disorder’ from PTSD.” Oldham “cautioned the discussion is very preliminary but speculated that a new subcategory like ‘combat post-traumatic stress injury’ might work.”

•  Transformer.  National Journal  “Nearly a decade into the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, high-tech advances are changing the way the military treats wounded troops. Scientists, often relying on Pentagon grants, have developed prosthetics that allow their wearers to run and climb mountains, as well as replacement limbs that can be controlled by the brain.” The National Journal listed some other advancements that have been made, including a “handheld ‘gun’ that uses stem cells collected from a small piece of skin to quickly generate a biological liquid” that can be used to transform cells “into an entirely new layer of skin” for burn victims.

•  VA Helps Vets Battle Hidden Wounds Of War.  Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard  The Veterans Affairs hospital in Syracuse recently hosted “Recovery Day, a program designed to encourage veterans who need help” with post-traumatic stress disorder PTSD) “and other mental health issues to come to the VA.” The Post-Standard adds, “The Syracuse VA provides mental health services to more than 7,000 patients annually and expects those numbers to grow as more soldiers return from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

• Research Supports Veterans Administration’s Efforts To Increase Access To Massage And Other Complementary Therapies.  Massage Magazine  “A recent survey of US veterans indicates many veterans self-reported prior use and willingness to continue to use complementary medicine (CAM), which for this study included massage therapy, chiropractic, herbal medicines and acupuncture.” The participants in the study, which was “published in the Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development.,” were “401 veterans in a randomized controlled trial of a collaborative intervention for chronic pain from five Department of Veterans Affairs primary care clinics. Some had used CAM and some had not.”

•   Study: Patients Happy With Nurse-Delivered SBIRT.  Nurse  “Hospital patients have high acceptability of and comfort with nurse-delivered alcohol screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment, according to a study” that is “scheduled for publication in the April issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.” Lauren M. Broyles, “RN, PhD, a research health scientist at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study of 342 males and 13 females in the med-surg unit at a large university-affiliated medical center that is part” of the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

•  Happenings Of The Save The VA Campaign Committees.  Rapid City Journal “Concerned citizens are urged to ‘make the call, for those who answered the call,’ on Jan. 18, as part of a Calling Campaign to let their US representatives know how much quality and accessible health care means to the veterans in South Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming. Anyone interested in sharing their opinion with one of the area” representatives to the US Congress “is urged to call” those reps “on Jan. 18, or anytime during the month of January.”

•   Weight Loss Increases Veterans’ Quality Of Life.  Escanaba (MI) Daily Press   “A group of local veterans recently completed a weight loss program” at the Oscar G. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Iron Mountain. The “Move! weight loss program is also held at each of the Medical Center’s seven Community Based Outpatient Clinics located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin.” The program is “designed by the VA’s National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention to help Veterans lose weight, keep it off and improve their health.”

•   Ann Arbor VA Hospital Volunteers Make Sure No Veteran Dies Alone.  Ann Arbor There are “about 30 volunteers” working for the “VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System’s No Veteran Dies Alone program. For more than a year, volunteers,” including some veterans and some VA Ann Arbor employees, “have been on call to sit at the bedsides of veterans close to death.” Ann Arbor added, “Last year, the program logged about 2,200 of volunteer hours, said” Derek Atkinson, a spokesman for Ann Arbor.

•   As Soldiers Return Home, Patients Expected To Increase.  KRQE-TV  The New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System (NMVAHCS) “says it is prepared for the influx” of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans that will be seeking care. Melissa Middleton with the NMVAHCS said, “We have done a lot of outreach activities, working with National Guard to coordinate care.” KRQE added, “New Mexico’s congressional delegation also feels confident the VA will be able to handle the uptick in patients.”

•   Live Music At Fresno’s VA Hospital Makes A Big Difference.  Los Angeles Times The “Veterans Affairs hospital in Fresno has found” that live music helps patients with post-traumatic stress disorder or a traumatic brain injury. Dr. Hani Khouzam, a “psychiatrist who treats both disorders, said patients have been arriving for appointments so notably calmer that it takes him longer to make a diagnosis – something he welcomes.”

•  What If The Doctor Is Wrong?  Wall Street Journal,  Laura Landro says there is growing evidence that second opinions, especially when it comes to radiology images and pathology slides from biopsies, can result in important changes in the diagnosis for a patient or in the recommendations for treating a patient’s disease. Landro points out that Hardeep Singh, chief of the health policy and quality program at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston, says that in order to prevent misdiagnosis, an increasing number of care facilities are requiring that a second internal review of each pathology report be performed.

•    New York Needs Wheelchair Accessible Taxis.  New York Daily News

•   DAV Chapter 7 Thankful For Benefit Golf Tourney Donation.  Hudson (NH) telegraph

•  VA Loans For National Guard, Reserves.  NASDAQ

•  Once Homeless, Reservist Becomes College Student.  AP

• VA Seeking Entries For National Creative Arts Festival.  Hot Springs (SD) Star