Tag: Veterans’ Affairs

The VA Task Force on Gulf War Veterans/Illness can be viewed at www.va.gov. The input you each have is critically important and all veterans should...

VA honored three facilities on Earth Day for their efforts in ensuring a healthy and sustainable environment for current and future generations. VA’s Chief of Staff John R. Gingrich presented the 2010 VA Green Routine Awards to Martinsburg VA Medical Center’s “Waste Watchers” Program; Portland VA Medical Center’s recycling education program; and to the Oscar H. Johnson VA Medical Center for innovative recycling.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Ottawa, Illinois, Coldwater, Michigan, San Antonio, Texas, Panama City, Florida, York, Pennsylvania, Shakopee, Minnesota, New Orleans, Louisiana, Montrose, Colorado, Lynchburg, Virginia, and Rapid City, South Dakota.

From The VA Federal stimulus funds are being used for more than bricks and mortar at VA. The department is putting Americans to work...

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from

Do you demand to understand what you sign; or do you take the salespersons’ word for what’s on the page of “small print”? If you just roll your eyes and sign, you’re not alone. Check out the short public service videos produced by the Center for Plain Language to remind you why you need to stand up for yourself and demand to understand what you sign. The Center for Plain Language has been working to fix brain-numbing language by supporting laws that will make Plain Language the law of the land, and by training writers who want to be understood.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from White River Junction, Vermont, Coos Bay, Oregon, Columbus, Ohio, Edmonds, Washington, Wichita Falls, Texas, Columbia, Missouri, El Paso, Texas, Newton, Iowa, Marco Island, Florida, and Washington, DC.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from New London, Connecticut, Grand Island, Nebraska, Topeka, Kansas, Escambria, Alabama, Lakewood, Washington, Swannanoa, North Carolina, Washington, DC, Cleveland, Ohio, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and Alamogordo, New Mexico.

This week, we salute VA research achievements through the decades. Research Week 2010 recognizes the tremendous accomplishments of VA researchers, and salutes the Veterans whose willingness to participate in VA studies make medical advances possible. But this year’s celebration is unique as it hails the distinguished accomplishments of the past, as well—starting with the program’s inception in 1925.

Created in the wake of the scandal in 2007 over serious shortcomings at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Warrior Transition Units were intended to be sheltering way stations where injured soldiers could recuperate and return to duty or gently process out of the Army. There are currently about 7,200 soldiers at 32 transition units across the Army, with about 465 soldiers at Fort Carson’s unit.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Macon, Georgia, Fort Riley, Kansas, Dickinson, North Dakota, Vero Beach, Florida, Tacoma, Washington, Jefferson City, Missouri, Ovid, New York, Palo Alto, California, Cedar Falls, Iowa, Mount Clemens, Michigan.

New Disability Benefits Could Soon Be Available to Vietnam Vets Parkersburg, WV - April 24, 2010 -- According to attorney Jan Dils, Vietnam veterans who have developed diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease, B cell leukemia and ischemic heart disease should have an easier time obtaining disability benefits under a recently proposed change in veterans benefits. In March, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs published a proposed rule change that will add these three illnesses to the list of health problems presumed to be caused by exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Sarasota, Florida, Montpelier, Vermont, East St Louis, Illinois, Richmond, Virginia, Pahrump, Nevada, Oregon City, Oregon, Clarksville, Tennessee, Sedalia, Missouri, and Nogales, Arizona.

BACKGROUND ON NATURALIZATION CEREMONY FOR ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS: Today, President Obama will deliver remarks at a naturalization ceremony for active duty service members. This ceremony recognizes the contributions made by immigrant members of the U.S. armed forces who choose to join the American family as citizens.

VA's Plan for Open Government Government should be transparent, allow for citizen participation, and encourage collaboration among organizations. And that's what VA aims to accomplish through our new Open Government Plan. At our site, you can read the just-released plan and learn more about the process. Get started!

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Oroville, Callifornia, Westport, Connecticut, Manila, Philippines, Montpelier, Vermont, Livermore, California, Jacksonville, Florida, Davenport, Iowa, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, San Francisco, California, and Selma, Oregon.

During National Volunteer Week, VA salutes Joyce Brown, the Voluntary Service Chief from the South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS) in San Antonio, Texas, who is the latest winner of the Award for Excellence given by VA Voluntary Service’s National Advisory Committee. Brown and her staff pursued numerous community outreach avenues to obtain programs and donations improve Veteran’s quality of life under VA care.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Wentzville, Missouri, Watertown, Connecticut, Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, Fort Richardson, Alaska, Columbus, Georgia, Houma, Louisiana, French Camp, California, Beaufort South Carolina, Dayton, Ohio, and Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

VA salutes June Valdivia during National Volunteer Week. She is the recipient of the Female Volunteer of the Year Award, given by VA Voluntary Service’s National Advisory Committee. Valdivia, who will be 89 years old in June, serves as the American Gold Star Mothers representative at the VA Medical Center of the Miami VA Healthcare System. Her first job at the hospital was filing, but she soon gravitated to the nursing home unit where she was a dedicated volunteer for years.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Kalama, Washington, Silver Bay, Minnesota, Madison, Wisconsin, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Ohio, Kinston, North Carolina, Clovis, New Mexico, Destin, Florida, Greenville, South Carolina, and Dayton, Ohio.

Repeated calls to the Charitable Law Division of the Ohio Attorney General's office have yielded little in the way of information about the US Navy Veterans Association (USNVA) and its enigmatic director "Commander" Bobby Thompson.

An army sergeant who had received 22 honors including a Combat Action Badge prior to being wounded in Iraq by a mortar shell was told he was faking his medical symptoms and subjected to abusive treatment until he agreed to a "personality disorder"(PD) discharge.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Seneca, Illinois, Ottumwa, Iowa, Millsboro, Delaware, Louisville, Kentucky, Tallahasse, Florida, Portland, Oregon, Laurinburg, North Carolina, and Greenfield, Indiana.

During National Volunteer Week, VA salutes Marwah Ahmed, 17, of Montgomery Village, Md., the 2009 recipient of the James H. Parke Memorial Scholarship for her volunteer work at the Washington, D.C. VA Medical Center. Ahmed, a high school senior, has been volunteering at the VAMC since she was 13. She has served in a variety of departments, including the lab, research and the director’s office.

Congress Passes TRICARE Affirmation Act Springfield, Virginia (4/13/10) – The Senate unanimously passed legislation championed by Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) to fix a flaw in...

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Lakeville, Minnesota, Melbourne, Florida, Grand Island, Nebraska, Pleasantville, New Jersey, Montgomery, Texas, New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

U.S. Spent $5.6 Billion Last Year Treating Veterans with Mental Disabilities Washington, DC - Caring for soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental illnesses is costing the federal government billions of dollars a year, and will continue to do so for years to come. According to an analysis of Department of Veterans Affairs’ records by the Chicago Tribune, the VA spent $5.6 billion last year to treat mental disabilities. While these costs included treating veterans from previous wars, such as Vietnam and the Persian Gulf, the ballooning expenses have been driven largely by soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Morgantown, West Virginia, Ballston Spa, New York, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, New Bedford, Massachusetts, Souh Bend, Indiana, Gadsden, Alabama, Wesley Chapel, Florida, Lexington, Kentucky, Seattle, Washington, Knoxville,Tennessee, and Newton, North Carolina.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki said Congress should consider an economic stimulus measure that would create jobs for those leaving the military. “That would be helpful,” Shinseki said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Conversations with Judy Woodruff,” airing this weekend. Legislation that would reduce unemployment among veterans would add to other initiatives the Department of Veterans Affairs is taking, he said.

When the trees are fully grown in a few years, maybe some of the 1,000 or so volunteers who planted them Saturday in south Lexington will return to bask in their shade and recall helping Mother Earth on a cool morning in April.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Columbia, Missouri, Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Muscatine, Iowa, Temple, Texas, Watertown, New York, Seattle, Washington, Burnsville, Minnesota, Columbus, Georgia, Troy, New York, and Newnan, Georgia.

Authorities might never completely determine why Jesse C. Huff dressed in Army fatigues, walked to the steps of the Dayton Veterans Affairs Department’s Medical Center and shot himself to death Friday morning. Police said they found no suicide note and knew of no ominous statements he made to employees while inside the medical center hours before his death.

From The VA VA Nutrition and Food Services across the nation celebrated National Nutrition Month (NNM) throughout March. VA dieticians took the opportunity to...

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Lebanon, Oregon, Ramona, California, Hingham, Massachusetts, Portales, New Mexico, Marshalltown, Iowa, Manatee, Florida, Horseheads, New York, Danville, California, and Moses Lake, Washington.

While the head of the nation’s largest organization for combat veterans is pleased that Congress stepped in to assure Tricare beneficiaries that the new health care reform law will not penalize them for having military group health coverage, he says lawmakers need to do the same for veterans. On Monday, Congress gave final approval to the Tricare Assurance Act, which officially exempts Tricare beneficiaries from a health care reform requirement to purchase private health care insurance or face a $750 annual penalty.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Paramus Park, New Jersey, Jacksonville, Florida, Lafayette, Louisiana, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Randolph, New Jersey, Dedham, Massachusetts, Richmond, Virginia, San Jose, California, and Montgomery, Alabama.

VA's Medical Foster Home program finds a caregiver in the community who is willing to provide a Veteran with 24-hour supervision and personal assistance. Read about the program in the Wall Street Journal

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Jefferson City, Missouri, Monroe, New Jersey, Fallon, Nevada, Anchorage, Alaska, Land O' Lakes, Florida, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Lincoln, Nebraska, Opelika, Alabama, Beaufort, South Carolina, and San Antonio, Texas.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. If you’re a Veteran trying to quit, VA wants you to know that there are resources available to help. Learn more from The American Veteran.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Texarkana, Texas, Plymouth, Massachusetts, Spokane, Washington, Benicia, California, Jefferson City, Missouri, Los Angeles, California, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Bristol, Connecticut, Batavia, New York, and Pendleton, South Carolina.

Survivors of the Buchenwald concentration camp have been joined by U.S. veterans and German dignitaries at a ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of its liberation. The U.S. Army freed Buchenwald on April 11, 1945. Some 56,000 people died at the Nazi camp, including Jews, communists, Gypsies and others from across central Europe.

Regional stories on veterans' health, education and other benefits and issues today from Harlingen, Texas, Oceanside, California, Norton, Massachusetts, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Grants Pass, Oregon, Nashville, Tennessee, Vineland, New Jersey, Swartz Creek, Michigan, and Stockton, California.