Veterans! Here’s your Top 10 News stories of the day compiled from the latest sources

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1.    Military fighting force strategy set, but what will it mean?
Pentagon officials unveiled their sweeping new strategy for the future of the military fighting force on Thursday, but troops won’t get a good idea what that smaller, more agile fighting force means for them until the annual defense budget is released early next month.
2.    Force numbers in Europe: Answers expected in Feb. budget proposal.  When President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta unveiled a military strategy Thursday that foresees shifting security challenges to the Asia-Pacific region, both men avoided the word ‘cuts’ when it came to what the changes will mean for the U.S. role in Europe.
3.    Navy rescues Iranian fishermen, creates awkward moment for Iran.  Iran, which has more or less threatened to start a war in recent days over the presence of U.S. aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf, apparently owes the U.S. Navy a big “thank you” for the rescue Thursday of 13 Iranian sailors who had been held by pirates.
4.    Navy launches substance abuse prevention campaign.  The Navy announced a new service-wide substance abuse prevention campaign Wednesday.
5.    Housing Assistance Available for Veterans and Families.  Patch.com  For caregivers who are no longer able to provide the amount and quality of care their loved ones need, the Aid and Attendance benefit provided by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, can be a huge help. This benefit helps to offset the cost of rent …
6.    Berlin man remembered for World War II legacy.  Oshkosh Northwestern  Nationally, World War II veterans are dying at a rate of more than 1000 a day, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Lewallen said her father never talked much about the Bataan Death March and his days as a prisoner of war. …
7.    Group Looks to Build Affordable Housing for Veterans in East Haven.  Patch.com  According to Heroes Village, the US Department of Veterans Affairs has said 90000 affordable housing homes are needed for returning soldiers, and Heroes Villages, LLC. is projected to build 30000 units nationwide by 2015. …
8.    State delegation seeks more answers, more time on VA health-care plan.  Rapid City Journal  South Dakota’s congressional delegation is calling for the US Department of Veterans Affairs to slow down and more closely consider alternatives to its proposed restructuring of the VA medical system in the Black Hills.
9.    Sex Gets Better with Age: Study.  Huffington Post  “A new study reveals that women’s satisfaction in the bedroom increases with age, even as sexual desire wanes.” Researchers “from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System” conducted the study, which “analyzed sexual activity, desire and satisfaction in a group of women, age 40 or older, with a median age of 67 years. The 806 women studied were part of the Rancho Bernardo Study, which has tracked the health of residents within a planned community in San Diego for 40 years.”
10.              Drug Already On Market May Be A Boon To Gout Patients.  WebMD   “New research shows that gout sufferers treated with weekly injections of the drug Arcalyst (also known as rilonacept) were much less likely to have painful flares than patients who did not get the drug after beginning allopurinol, a traditional uric acid-lowering treatment used for gout. The drug appeared to be safe and well tolerated, and it could be a needed alternative to available treatments, such as the commonly prescribed gout drug colchicine, says researcher H. Ralph Schumacher, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania” and the Veterans Affairs hospital “in Philadelphia. Colchicine can cause nausea, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal symptoms, and many patients can’t tolerate it, Schumacher tells WebMD.”
 sands Of Veterans Cant Afford College After Changes To Bill.  WSOC-TV

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