Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

From the VA:

1.      GAO Says US Bases Operating Burn Pits In Iraq Are Not Complying With Regulations. In continuing coverage, the Army Times (10/18, Kennedy, 104K) notes, “Of four US bases in Iraq operating burn pits, none complies with federal regulations designed to keep service members safe, according to a Government Accountability Office report released” last week. After noting that Veterans Affairs officials “told GAO that no one is tracking veterans who have been exposed to burn pits,” the Times points out that, among other things, GAO “recommends that the military: Create comprehensive guidance for managing burn pits.”
     The GAO’s findings are also noted by the Salt Lake (UT) Tribune (10/18, LaPlante), which points that in July, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki “told The Salt Lake Tribune the federal government did not adequately address military members’ exposures to toxic exposures following Vietnam ‘the way that might have been and the way that should have been.’ Yet even while acknowledging that many veterans waited for decades – and many died – before medical conditions were connected to exposure to Agent Orange,” the Secretary “defended a century-old standard requiring scientific proof before veterans can be compensated for their suffering. ‘What we’re trying to change is the opportunity to establish the connection,'” Shinseki said, “noting that millions of federal dollars have been poured into research into military members who have been exposed to open-air burn pits.”

 2.      VA Awards Grant To Support Homeless Vets In Rhode Island. According to the lead item for the “Veterans’ Journal” column in the Providence (RI) Journal (10/18, Reilly), the “Providence Center at 528 North Main St. has been awarded” a Veterans Affairs “grant to support homeless veterans in Greater Providence with mental-health and substance-abuse problems.”

 3.      VA To Adopt Open Source Model For Electronic Health Records. The Federal Times (10/15, Johnson, 40K) reported, “The Veterans Affairs Department will adopt an open source model to modernize its legacy electronic health records system, the department’s chief information officer said” at recent Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing. The Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) “runs on an archaic program language called MUMPS, which experts said must be modernized to properly serve the 8 million veterans who receive care at VA health facilities. The department’s CIO, Roger Baker, told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee that an open source model will restore ‘the innovation that made VistA the best electronic health record system in the country.'”

4.      Veterans Affairs Committee Chairmen Say New Law Will Help Disabled Vets. The Army Times (10/16, Maze, 104K) reported, “An omnibus veterans benefits bill signed into law on Wednesday holds the promise of big changes for disabled veterans and their families, according to the two committee chairmen responsible for passing” the “Veterans’ Benefits Act of 2010. … ‘Veterans across the country will see their benefits improve,’ said” Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka (D-HI), “highlighting programs to increase automotive grants for disabled veterans, provide childcare services for homeless veterans and expand life insurance for disabled veterans.” Bob Filner, the California Democrat who chairs the House Veterans Affairs Committee, “mentioned improvements in employment help, more research into health issues facing Gulf War veterans and expansion of financial and legal protections of deployed troops as key items” of the legislation.

 5.      Man Given Bronze Star For Little Known WWII Rescue Mission. The CBS Evening News (10/17, story 8, 2:32, Mitchell, 6.1M) broadcast that this weekend, the “US government awarded…the Bronze Star” to George Vujnovich “for his role” in Operation Halyard, a “little known chapter of World War II.”
     The AP (10/17, Dobnik) says the US government has recognized Vujnovich as the “World War II architect of a mission to rescue more than 500” US bomber “crew members shot down over Nazi-occupied Serbia.” The “95-year-old New York City man was awarded the Bronze Star in a ceremony Sunday at Manhattan’s St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral.”

 6.      Annual Assistance Event For Homeless Vets Hosts Its Largest Gathering Ever. CBS’ 60 Minutes (10/17, 7:23 p.m. ET) broadcast that according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, there are more than 9,000 homeless Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, some of whom, CBS added, took part in this year’s 23rd annual “Stand Down” in San Diego, California, a “three-day campout” for homeless veterans “that’s part jobs fair, part health clinic, part sobriety meeting.” CBS pointed out that while VA recently “set a goal of ending homelessness among vets in five years,” this year’s “Stand Down” in San Diego “turned out to be the largest ever.”

 7.      Family Unhappy With Care Provided To Afghanistan Vet At Haley. On its website, WZVN-TV Fort Myers, FL (10/17) noted that the family of 22-year-old Corey Kent, a “Cape Coral soldier critically injured” in Afghanistan, “says he isn’t getting the care he needs” at Tampa’s James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital. Corey’s family “isn’t happy with the doctors, the cleanliness of the room, or the way Corey’s being treated.” Dan Ashby, Corey’s stepfather, “hopes to have Corey back in Walter Reed within a few weeks.” The WBBH-TV Ft. Myers, FL (10/17) website published the same story.

8.      Army Discovers Blood Test To Diagnose Mild Brain Trauma. In continuing coverage, USA Today (10/15, Zoroya, 1.83M) noted that the US Army “says it has discovered a simple blood test that can diagnose mild traumatic brain damage or concussion, a hard-to-detect injury that can affect young athletes, infants with ‘shaken baby syndrome’ and combat troops. ‘This is huge,’ said Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army vice chief of staff.” USA Today added, “About 300,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have suffered concussions, mostly from roadside bombs, according to a RAND Corp. study.”

 9.      Vet Completes Coast To Coast Run For Fallen Troops. The AP (10/16, Sharp) said veteran Mike Ehredt, who “pounded the pavement from coast to coast to honor the nation’s fallen” troops, “finished his grueling journey in rain and high winds on Friday in Maine.” Ehredt, a 49-year-old resident of “Hope, Idaho, placed a flag in the ground every mile along the way to honor military personnel killed in Iraq and on Friday the final flag honored Marine Maj. Jay Aubin, a pilot from Waterville who died when his CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter went down near the Iraq border.”

 10.    Memorial To Iraq, Afghanistan Vets Dedicated In Arizona. The Show Low, Arizona-based White Mountain Independent (10/17, Corrigan) reported, “Hundreds gathered at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix last weekend to dedicate the Enduring Freedom Memorial,” whose “creators describe it as, ‘Dedicated in honor of our men and women from Arizona serving in our armed forces who lost their lives fighting terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout the Southwest Asia Theatre of Operation.'”