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.       Olympic grant helps wounded vets.  Idaho Mountain Express and Guide  Though US Paralympics administers the grants, the funding comes from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. The Wood River Ability Program has also been working extensively with Sustain Blaine and the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation to have Sun …
2.       Congress seeks national recognition for Vietnam vets.  Ocala  According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Florida is home to about 511100 Vietnam-era veterans. The Census Bureau reports that nationally there are nearly 7.6 million veterans of that period — about one-third of country’s overall total. …
3.       More vets rely on VA loan program.  Insurance News Net   The US Department of Veteran Affairs home-loan program is gaining in popularity among people eligible for it, mostly because its one of few remaining options for zero-down-payment, fixed-rate mortgages, lenders here say. …
4.       Dance champ Martinez offers Panetta some tips.  Dancing with the Stars champion J.R. Martinez made a quick visit to the Pentagon Thursday, following up on a request from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to meet the military’s newest celebrity veteran.
5.       Military spouse unemployment at 26 percent.  Think a 12 percent unemployment rate for recently separated veterans is bad’ Officials from the Pentagon’s office of Military and Community Family Policy reminded lawmakers during a Capitol Hill event today that the unemployment rate among military spouses currently sits at 26 percent.
6.    Groundbreaking research looks at how blasts injure brain.  Harvard University professor and Army combat veteran Kevin Kit Parker has published groundbreaking research describing how blasts injure the brain. Gathering data directly on the battlefield from servicemembers who’ve been in close proximity to blasts, he said, will be key to understanding the devastating yet subtle damage caused. The military currently is fielding several new technologies in Afghanistan to do exactly that.
7.    Senate Panel Hears Of Battles For Care By Veterans With PTSD.  USA Today  “Accounts of chronic staff shortages among Department of Veterans Affairs mental health staff and veterans discouraged over delays in therapy” for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) “were brought before a Senate Veterans’ Affairs committee hearing” on Wednesday. During the hearing, VA’s director of mental health operations, Mary Schoen, noted that his agency has “increased its staffing by nearly 50% since 2006, and continues to look for ways to improve access to care” But Michelle Washington, a coordinator of PTSD care at a VA hospital in Wilmington, Delaware, was less positive in her testimony, stating, “Too often, I am told that the patient will have to wait as long as six weeks for the first appointment.”  Washington Post  “After hearing testimony about the continued long waits faced by veterans seeking” mental healthcare, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee “Wednesday called for an investigation of the problem and an audit” of VA’s $5.7 billion mental healthcare budget. The committee’s chair, US Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), asked “VA’s Office of Inspector General to examine the issue. The action came after” Washington testified that managers at her hospital are “spending time ‘gaming’ the system to meet goal numbers rather than providing needed mental” healthcare for veterans. When Murray asked Schohn about Washington’s claim, he “responded that the VA ‘does not condone gaming of any kind’ and regularly audits its facilities, and that she was unaware of any such problems.”  McClatchy   “Senators gave a public scolding Wednesday to the director of mental health operations for the nation’s veterans, saying the federal government must speed up services for those” with PTSD “and other afflictions. Faced with a 34 percent increase in the number of veterans who have sought mental health services since 2006, the Department of Veterans Affairs has not kept pace, said” Murray. Schohn “said the department has made mental health care a high priority but added that ‘we recognize we have much more to do.’
8.    South Texas VA “Well-Equipped” To Treat Vets With PTSD.  KSAT-TV  “One in six soldiers who served in Afghanistan or Iraq during the War on Terror are diagnosed with PTSD, according to a new” VA report, which said new PTSD “cases continue to come in at a rate of more than 3,000 every month. While the report said the number of additional cases, which pushes the total to over 200,000 has put a strain on VA resources, local officials said they haven’t had trouble dealing with new patients.” Dr. Julianne Flynn, chief of staff of the VA’s South Texas Healthcare System, said, “We are well-equipped to provide” PTSD care.

9.    Returning Vets Can Face Problems.  Shelby County (AL) Reporter  “Two of the biggest issues facing” such vets are post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Just as “‘9/11 affected all of us, those of us who have been on the battlefield have seen it first hand and have lost friends,’ said Chaplain Raymo, who works at the Birmingham VA hospital.” The Reporter adds, “Unlike the loss of limbs, PTSD and TBI and ‘very subtle,’ according to Jeff Hester, a spokesman for the VA hospital.”
10.  Courtroom Compassion For Veterans.  Newsday  Bob Keeler says it is good news for veterans that the “Mental Health Association of Nassau County and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock in Manhasset” have begun an educational campaign on post-traumatic stress disorder. Also good news for vets, adds Keeler, is the recent “opening of the Nassau vets court in Mineola.”

Have You Heard?

Get Schooled Up on the GI Bill

Looking to head back to school? Visit VA’s GI Bill page to apply for benefits online, browse frequently asked questions, and read a guide for choosing the right school for you.

More Veteran News

•  Lawmakers Also Criticize VA’s Business Certification Process.  Army Times Lawmakers on the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations “grilled Veterans Affairs Department officials Wednesday about why veteran-owned businesses ranked eighth in priority for government contracts despite laws and regulations that are supposed to put veterans first. The answers provided” by the officials were “unsatisfying to lawmakers.” The Times adds, “The certification process needs to be efficient…said” US Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH), who chairs the subcommittee. Johnson said approved businesses must be “able to compete for the appropriate contracts. Otherwise, there is no point in having these businesses in the system if VA is going to ignore them.”  Washington (DC) Business Journal   “Fedbiz Daily” blog, VA officials “faced harsh words” at Wednesday’s hearing. Some lawmakers who heard from the officials “accused the VA of failure to comply with a law requiring veteran-owned small businesses to receive priority for contract awards, and throwing up obstacles that delay or deny the certification needed to bid on set-aside contracts.” But Tom Leney, executive director of VA’s small and veteran business programs, testified that whenever his agency “limits competition via set asides,” it runs the “risk of increasing the cost to government.”

•    Ivins, Payson Breaking Ground On Veterans Homes. Salt Lake (UT) Tribune  “Ground is being broken Thursday in Ivins for an 108-bedroom home that will serve veterans in nine southern Utah counties. A second ground-breaking is planned Dec. 14 in Payson, where a nearly identical home will serve veterans from throughout central Utah.” The “state submitted a request for federal Veterans Administration funding in 2004, and was far down on the list of proposed nursing home projects – 45 and 46 – before the bad economy walloped other states’ ability to kick in their share for such projects.”

• Latest Tablet Fans: US Census Bureau.  InformationWeek  “The next US census isn’t until 2020, but the US Census Bureau is planning ahead to ensure its use of mobile devices to collect data in the field will be working smoothly next time around. The bureau has awarded Agilex a four-year contract to develop new mobile applications so fieldworkers can use tablets such as iPads and Android-based devices to collect information, according to the company, which is not disclosing the financial terms of the deal.” The Department of Veterans Affairs is also working with Agilex, a systems integrator, “to deliver components of its electronic health record system to mobile devices.”

•  Community College Sessions Focus On Veteran Students.  San Diego (CA) Union-Tribune  “A two-day meeting focusing on the needs of student veterans at community colleges will be held today and Friday at the Holiday Inn San Diego On The Bay.” The meeting “will address issues such as mental health needs for veterans…and helping veterans access financial aid and other resources.”

•  Gold Star Families Tree Part Of White House Christmas Decorations. NBC Nightly News “First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled this year’s White House Christmas decorations” on Wednesday, “with some special guests in attendance.” NBC added, “US military families, who have become a special cause to Mrs. Obama, are being honored” in “this year’s décor, one of the highlights” of which is a “Gold Star Families Tree with ornaments containing messages from loved ones of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.”   AP  The First Lady “welcomed military families to the first viewing of the 2011 decorations on Wednesday.” Several White House “decorations honor military families including a Gold Star Families Tree with ceramic gold ornaments carrying personalized messages by families. Tour visitors can also create handwritten notes for the troops.” When unveiling the decorations on Wednesday, Mrs. Obama said, “I want to thank all of the troops, all of our veterans and all of our military families. Your service and sacrifice inspire us all.”

•   Arlington Cemetery Breaking Ground On Columbarium.  AP  “Officials at Arlington National Cemetery are breaking ground on a new columbarium that’s expected to hold the cremated remains of more than 20,000 people.” Arlington “projects that the new columbarium will allow the cemetery to accommodate cremated remains until 2024.”

• Muskegon Brain Rehab Facility Gets National Attention. Muskegon (MI) Chronicle “Acres of Hope and Aspirations was recently toured” by the Bunces, a US military family that “has been instrumental in testifying at US Senate Committee of Veteran’s Affairs in Washington DC, in defense of veterans with brain injuries due to their son’s own brain injury that he sustained while in the Iraq War.” Justin Bunce, who “sustained a severe brain injury” in Iraq, “toured Acres of Hope and Aspirations with his father, Colonel Peter Bunce (Air Force, retired) who has testified in front of US Senate Committee of Veteran’s Affairs to change brain injury programs within the VA, and his wife Patti.”

•   Price Of Freedom: Wyoming Vets Struggle To Find Jobs.  KOTA-TV  “Wyoming’s unemployment rate for veterans is about 50 percent higher post 9/11 than the state as a whole.” But the Veterans Affairs hospital in Sheridan “has programs in place to help veterans readjust.”

•  Service Dog Helps Local Army Veteran Deal With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Today’s Sunbeam  “Students of Woodland Country Day School gathered on Wednesday to listen to a local war veteran talk about his struggles” with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and about how the veteran “uses a service dog to help cope with everyday life.” Joseph McMahon, a 40-yea-old Gulf War veteran, “and his Chinese Shar-Pei service dog Coji, 1, visited students in kindergarten through fourth grade.” It is “nice to know they are recognizing service dogs for PTSD now. I just want people to know about service dogs,” said McMahon.

•   Local Vet With PTSD Getting Better With Help Of Afghan Dog.  Atlanta (GA) Journal-Constitution  Veteran Jeff Mitchell, “who served two tours in Iraq, has a severe form” of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He “speaks in public, which he hates, to promote a non-profit program called paws4vets, which provided him with a specially trained dog for troops with PTSD. Jeff is one of the estimated 250,000 who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffering with PTSD.”

•    VA Looking To Desktop Printers For Cost Reductions In 2012.  Federal Computer Week  “The Veterans Affairs Department is looking for savings on printing costs in 2012 as part of its ‘Ruthless Reductions’ agenda, according to Roger Baker, the agency’s” chief information officer (CIO), who made his comment “in a conference call on Nov. 23.” Baker “cautioned that reducing the number of desktop printers is a ‘balancing act’ and ‘we do not want to be pennywise and pound foolish.’ If a manager can make a strong business case for a desktop printer, the printer will stay, he added.”

•  Salvation Army, Homeless Coalition Will Partner To Find Housing For Homeless Veterans.  Bismarck (ND) Tribune  “The Salvation Army and the North Dakota Coalition for Homeless People will partner to find housing for at least 200 veterans next year through a grant” from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. This “first-of-its-kind grant from the VA will fund an outreach to homeless veterans in all 53 North Dakota counties, with Salvation Army caseworkers located in six communities – Bismarck, Devils Lake, Dickinson, Fargo, Grand Forks and Minot.” The “new VA grant, Supportive Services for Veteran Families, is one of 85 such grants nationwide.”

•  Teaching Patient-Centered Care A Must For Physicians, Patients. FierceHealthcare “Although much of the focus of competencies revolves around clinical abilities of physicians, there are other competencies to consider with other stakeholders in healthcare. ‘Patients need competencies too,’ Dr. Eric Holmboe, chief medical officer of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), said Tuesday at the ECRI Institute’s 18th Annual Conference at the FDA in Silver Spring, Md.” FierceHealthcare continues, “Key to medical education and health reform is practice redesign that is conducive to patient-centered care, said Dr. Malcolm Cox, chief academic affiliations officer of the Veterans Health Administration,” who added, “Patients have a right to personalized, patient-centered care that is safe, effective, and efficient.”

•  Area Veterans’ Van Needs Volunteer Driver.  Rapid City (SD) Journal

•    Broomfield Civil Air Patrol Squadron Helping Honor Fallen Veterans For The Holidays.  Broomfield (CO) Enterprise

•   WWII Veterans Return To Normandy, Confront Memories. Scripps Howard News Service

•  Judge Rules To Give Veteran With No Next-Of-Kin Military Burial.  KTRK-TV

• Veteran Says Homelessness “Just Snuck In.” WCVB-TV