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. U.S. Veterans Agency Clears Apple’s IPads, IPhones for Workers.  Bloomberg  The US Veterans Affairs Department plans to let its employees use Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhones and iPads to conduct official tasks, the department’s chief information officer said today. …

2. Veterans Cemetery being built for veterans, families.  Sulphur Southwest Daily News The cemetery, a $6135259 project funded 100 percent by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, is scheduled to open in early 2012. Located in Leesville, the site is adjacent and west of Fort Polk US Army Base and is situated immediately west of La. …

3. New Stipend Program for Caregivers of Veterans Disperses First Payments.  Forbes (blog)  Family members caring for veterans received their first payments from the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ new Family Caregiver Program in July. The new program, officially titled the Family Caregiver Program of the Caregivers …

4. VA Medical Center to hold public hearing on new housing.  Grand Island Independent VA currently has 15000 transitional beds available to homeless Veterans. “This initiative will significantly support our efforts to eliminate Veteran homelessness and improve quality of life for veterans,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. …

5. Veterans’ column: VA hospitals doing more for women’s health.  Providence Journal A special supplement of the journal Women’s Health Issues, published July 13, details the growth and diversity of women’s health research by the US Department of Veterans Affairs in recent years. Its publication coincides with the VA recognizing July …

6. Vet to compete in wheelchair games.  Weatherford Democrat  “More than anything, I’m hoping to gain camaraderie with other veterans, and as they say in American Idol, ‘I’m going for the win!’” In an effort to get veterans more involved with the event, the US Department of Veteran’s Affairs, which puts on the …

7. VA reaching out to women veterans.  My Edmonds News  Of the 22.7 million living veterans, more than 1.8 million are women. They comprise nearly 8 percent of the total veteran population and 6 percent of all veterans who use US Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) health care services. …

8. POW/MIA Groups Criticize US Efforts. Washington Post “A coalition of groups representing veterans and the families of missing US service members has accused the Defense Department of undercutting a joint US-Russian program that seeks answers to the fate of Americans who disappeared behind the Iron Curtain.” In a recent editorial signed by several veterans groups, including the American Legion, the US-Russia Joint Commission stated that after “nine months of broken promises we cannot sit quietly and allow senior officials in the Department of Defense to redirect funding, transfer researchers and linguists and jeopardize any possibility of mission success.” The Post adds, “The issue was addressed Friday at the National League of POW/MIA Families national meeting in Crystal City, but Defense Department officials attending the conference did not satisfy concerns raised by the veterans groups, according to Ann Mills-Griffiths, executive director of the league.”

9. VA Medical Center To Hold Public Hearing On New Housing. Grand Island (NE) Independent On August 1st, the Grand Island Veterans Affairs will conduct a “public hearing on a proposal to lease six acres of its property for possible use for permanent homeless housing, assisted living housing and independent senior housing.” The hearing will be held at 7 p.m., “at the Hornady-Marshall Theatre at College Park in Grand Island.”

10. A Nightmare That Lasted Nine Years. Providence Journal It has been nine years since a US military investigation of Valerie J. Desautel’s rape allegations led to no charges being filed. She is now telling her story, hoping “to encourage other women in the military who are victims of rape or sexual assault to get help, to resist those who might try to silence them and to demand that the military hold their abusers accountable.” Desautel receives “veterans’ disability benefits, and this year, with the help of American Veterans, a government-financed veterans’ assistance group, the military agreed to raise her disability rating from 30 percent up to 50 percent.”

Have You Heard?

5th National Summit on Women Veterans

Women Veterans and VA employees gathered in Washington, DC for the 5th National Summit on Women Veterans. The summit focused on ways to improve gender-specific care and services for female Vets. Read more at VAntage Point

More Veteran News

• For Wounded Veteran, Medical Marijuana’s Been A Godsend. Waterville (ME) Morning Sentinel Disabled Iraq veteran Ryan Begin is “unemployed, and one of 1,807 patients registered with the state” of Maine “to use marijuana medicinally.” Begin said that hen Veterans Affairs told him he could not get any VA prescriptions if he kept using medical marijuana, he stopped going to VA. In a “statement issued Friday, VA spokesman Josh Taylor said ‘the Department of Veterans Affairs understands the importance of alternative treatments,’ but that VA personnel are not allowed to authorize or recommend medical marijuana.'” The statement added, however, that “VA patients will not be denied service because of their participation in a state-approved medical marijuana program.”

• VA Grant Will Provide In-Patient Services To Vets With Brain Injuries. Muskegon (MI) Chronicle “A $2.4 million contract from the Veterans Administration will enable Hope Network Rehabilitation Services to provide veterans with traumatic brain injuries local in-patient rehabilitation services intended to help them become more self-sufficient. ‘Our goal is to help them learn the skills to help them become as independent as possible,’ said Margaret Kroese, vice president and executive director” of the “nonprofit Christian organization.”

• Federal Contract Awards For The Week Of July 25. Washington Post “Hewlett-Packard of Herndon won a $1.1 million contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs for information technology services, including telecommunications services,” while Knighto of the District won a $2 million contract from VA “for utilities and housekeeping. Romem Aqua Systems of Woodbridge won a $1.4 million contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs for construction of structures and facilities,” while Royce Construction Services of Reston won a $1.2 million contract from VA “for construction of structures and facilities.”

• Wheelchair Games Seeking Volunteers.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

• Sarasota National Cemetery Project In Works. Bradenton (FL) Herald

• Colorado WWII Veteran To Receive Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Prisoner Of War Medal.AP

• Still Waiting For Benefits From VA To Materialize.Asbury Park (NJ) Press