Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 10-22-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. Webb Calls For Investigation Of VA Hospital. 
2. Ex-Postal Clerk Sentenced To Probation For Stealing Meds From Disabled Vets.
3. VA Expanding Agent Orange Coverage. 
4. Act Would Provide Post-Deployment Mental Health Screenings. 
5. Construction Begins On Two VA Projects In Florida. 
6. VA Unveils New Mobile Vet Center. 
7. DOD To Pay Retroactive Stop-Loss Compensation. 
8. Marine Sentenced To Prison For Falsely Claiming To Be Injured War Hero. 
9. Organization Hoping VA Will Take Over Hospital Space In Tennessee. 
10. Navy Petty Officer Punished For Hazing.

1.      Webb Calls For Investigation Of VA Hospital.  The Newport News (VA) Daily Press (10/22) notes that on Wednesday, US Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) "called for an examination of patient care" at the Veterans Affairs medical center in Hampton, Virginia, "citing a string of complaints and negative government reviews." The facility’s director, however, "responded with a statement that cited improving customer satisfaction scores and its fully accredited status."
      The Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot (10/22, Sizemore) reports, "In a letter Monday to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, Webb wrote that since January 2007, his staff has received 149 complaints about the Hampton center from patients or their spouses." Webb "also cited two critical reviews of the center over the past year by the VA inspector general and several news reports that raised concerns about the level of care provided there." WTKR-TV Norfolk, VA (10/22, 11:01 p.m. ET) aired a similar report.  

2.      Ex-Postal Clerk Sentenced To Probation For Stealing Meds From Disabled Vets.  The Van Buren (AR) Press Argus-Courier (10/22, Ward) reports 36-year-old Carla Jo Wolfe, a "former Van Buren postal" employee, "received a sentence of five years probation Monday in Fort Smith after pleading guilty to stealing packages containing controlled substances that were intended for local disabled veterans." Wolfe "was arrested in July 2008 for the thefts of about 34 mail parcels…mailed by the Veterans Administration to disabled Van Buren veterans." The Press Argus-Courier notes that while Federal "sentencing guidelines called for Wolfe to receive a sentence of 18 to 24 months in prison, in May prosecutors filed a motion for a downward departure from those guidelines. The motion cited Wolfe’s ‘substantial’ help in another case." US Attorney Deborah Groom "stated Wolfe’s assistance ‘put her at a risk greater than normally associated with cooperation.’" The Fort Smith (AR) Times Record (10/21, Arnold) also took note of Wolfe’s sentence.

3.      VA Expanding Agent Orange Coverage.  In continuing coverage, the Kauai (HI) Garden Island News (10/22, Hubahib) reports, "In several press releases issued on Oct. 13 by the Veterans Administration and American Forces Press Service, it was announced that Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki decided to establish a service connection for Vietnam veterans with three specific illnesses based on the latest evidence of an association with the herbicides referred to Agent Orange." Shinseki’s "decision was based on an independent study by the Institute of Medicine and on a recent report by the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine. The report cited new scientific studies pointing to a strong connection between the illnesses and Agent Orange exposure."
      Decision Greeted Positively In Montana.  The Ravalli (MT) Republic (10/22, Jannotta) reports, "Three medical conditions are to be added to the list of illnesses covered" by the Department of Veterans Affairs "in connection to Agent Orange exposure for troops who served in Vietnam. Announced last week" by VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, the "move adds Parkinson’s disease, ischemic heart
disease and B cell leukemias to a list of diseases already presumed to be caused by Agent Orange exposure." The "news is welcome for Vietnam veterans in the Bitterroot Valley, said Bill Beckman, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 938." Rob Embree, "claims agent with the Valley Veterans Service Center in Hamilton, agreed it was a positive move." 

4.      Act Would Provide Post-Deployment Mental Health Screenings.  The second item in the syndicated "Sgt. Shaft" column, appearing in the Washington Times (10/22, Fales), reports, "Members of the military will be able to receive mental health screenings upon returning from deployment under" the Post-Deployment Health Assessment Act of 2009, which US Rep. John Carter (R-TX) "recently co-sponsored." The legislation "directs the secretary of defense to provide an in-person mental health screening for each deployed member of the armed forces." After stating that the "goal of the act is to identify post-traumatic stress disorder," suicidal "tendencies and other behavioral health issues for which additional care and treatment may be necessary," the column notes that the "results of health screenings will also be shared with the secretary of Veterans Affairs." 

5.      Construction Begins On Two VA Projects In Florida.  In continuing coverage, Florida Today (10/22, Moody) says, "Brevard County veterans are a step closer to better" healthcare because construction "is under way on a 30,000-square-foot expansion of the Veterans Affairs Viera Outpatient Clinic and on the initial phase of the VA’s 1.2 million-square-foot medical complex in Orlando." The "$6.3 million expansion" of the Viera clinic "will provide relief from the cramped spaces that doctors and patients…now contend with daily." Florida Today adds, " Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are some of the latest additions to the patient flow through the clinic," while an "influx also is apparent from those who become eligible because of a drop in income and because of an aging population of veterans requiring more care." 

6.      VA Unveils New Mobile Vet Center.  On its website, WVNS-TV Bluefield, WV (10/21, Smith) reported, "Workers from the Department of Veterans Affairs were all smiles" on Tuesday "because they were unveiling a new vehicle designed to help their cause in rural areas. The 38-foot motor coach, being dubbed a ‘Mobile Vet Center,’ will be in use 95 percent of the time according to officials," who "hope to reach veterans who are having trouble adjusting to their civilian lives after service." The Bluefield (WV) Daily Telegraph (10/22, Jordan) says the "mobile unit’s purpose is to be a starting point for veterans who often do not know about the services available to them. ‘It’s amazing how many Vietnam veterans don’t know about our programs,’" said Ernest Baringer, readjustment counseling therapist for the VA, who added, "A large number of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans are homeless."
 

7.      DOD To Pay Retroactive Stop-Loss Compensation.  The New York Times (10/22, A26, Dao) reports, "The Defense Department said Wednesday that it would begin paying retroactive compensation to troops who were prevented from leaving the military under the contentious policy known as stop-loss," which is to be phased out, according to a March announcement by DOD Secretary Robert Gates. The new $500 payments "apply to about 185,000" US "troops who, in the years after 2001, were not allowed to retire or be discharged on time because of stop-loss, an involuntary extension of active service that officials said was necessary to ensure…there were enough officers, skilled personnel and combat enlisted men for two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan." After noting that the "new payment policy…was mandated by Congress," the Times adds, "Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said that the compensation was long overdue and that he hoped its cost would keep the Pentagon ‘from abusing this policy as often as it has done in the past.’" 

8.      Marine Sentenced To Prison For Falsely Claiming To Be Injured War Hero.  In continuing coverage, the AP (10/22, Dishneau) reports 34-year-old David W. Budwah, a Marine Corps sergeant, was "sentenced Wednesday to 18 months confinement and fined $25,000 for pretending to be an injured war hero to get free seats at rock concerts and professional sporting events." Budwah "also will be reduced in rank to private and dishonorably discharged after any appeals." Navy Capt. Bruce W. MacKenzie, "chief judge for the Navy and Marine Corps, gave the sentence after Budwah pleaded guilty to seven counts in a military courtroom on the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Va." Budwah "acknowledged during the hearing that he was never deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, as he had claimed." 

9.      Organization Hoping VA Will Take Over Hospital Space In Tennessee.  On its website, WBIR-TV Knoxville, TN (10/21, Matheny) reported, "Some new plans" for the Fort Sanders Hospital "in Sevierville may be cut short before they even start." The hospital "is moving into a new facility over the next eight months," and Tennessee Helping Hearts, "an organization devoted to helping military families, believes the empty space can fill a major void for east Tennessee veterans." Teresa Miller, the organization’s president, "wants the available space reserved for what she believes could be a complete" Veterans Affairs hospital, "in addition to an around-the-clock" post-traumatic stress disorder treatment and counseling center. The VA, however, "has yet to express any plans for a new hospital in Sevierville or anywhere else in East Tennessee." 
 

10.    Navy Petty Officer Punished For Hazing.  The AP (10/22) reports Chief Petty Officer Michael Toussaint, the "former leader of a bomb-sniffing dog unit in Bahrain," will be "removed from his current position and forced to retire after the Navy reviewed years-old allegations of hazing and sexual harassment against a gay sailor and others. The Navy announced Wednesday that…Toussaint also would receive a letter of censure and be subject to a retirement pay-grade determination, which could significantly affect his retirement pay." According to the AP, a Veterans Affairs "doctor has diagnosed" Joseph Rocha "with post-traumatic stress disorder from the constant hazing." The NPR (10/21, Krantz) website also covered this story.