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.    For soldiers on Afghan patrol, too much time is on their side.  It’s said that war is 99 percent boredom and 1 percent sheer terror, so it follows that war coverage tends to dwell on the 1 percent.
 
2.    ISAF commander apologizes for improper disposal of Qurans.  NATO’s top commander in Afghanistan apologized and promised an investigation following a report that coalition troops at Bagram Airfield “improperly disposed” of copies of the Quran, an incident that ignited a protest Tuesday outside the base north of Kabul.

3.    Margins Improve at US Companies as Wages Lag.  Bloomberg  The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Services (VR&E) at the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ New York Regional Office on Feb.

4.    Veteran benefits workshop held Saturday in Rochester.  Henrietta Post  Vietnam Veterans of America is partnering with Monroe County and the Department of Veteran Affairs to host a veterans’ benefits workshop Saturday, Feb. 25, at Monroe Community Hospital. The workshop is free and open to any person who served in the …

5.    Jobs forum planned at Austin Peay State University Monday.  Clarksville Leaf Chronicle
… will lead a “Jobs and Veterans” forum at Austin Peay State University, Monday, Feb. 27. Maj. Gen. James McConville of Fort Campbell will be joined by State Commissioner of Veteran’s Affairs Many-Bears Grinder, former Deputy Commissioner of …

6.    Bill aims to make clear the status of veterans.  Delmarva Now  Brown was the chair of a state advisory board on veterans’ behavioral health, one which suggested veteran status on IDs would make it easier for veterans to identify themselves when collecting benefits and discounts. “One of our most basic obligations ..

7.    If you are a disabled veteran, you might be exempt from paying.  Washington Times
By Sgt. Shaft I understand that Virginia now offers a property tax exemption for disabled veterans. What is the procedure for establishing this eligibility? Those in the know tell me that veterans rated by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as …

8.    New treatment for traumatic brain injury shows promise in animals.  pharmabiz.com  A study supported by the American Academy of Neurology, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the US Department of Veterans Affairs reveals that a new drug is showing promise in shielding against the harmful effects of traumatic brain injury …

9.    As Veteran-Related Crime Statistics Increase.  PR Web  According to the National Veterans Foundation (NVF), and supported by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), many of these veterans are finding themselves unable to handle the ravages of PTSD, as well as Traumatic …
 
10.   High Court Examines Lying About Military Exploits.  AP  On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will review the Stolen Valor Act, a “2006 federal law aimed at curbing false claims of military valor.” Veterans “groups have come to the aid of the Obama administration, which calls the law a narrowly crafted effort to protect the system of military awards that was established during the Revolutionary war by Gen. George Washington.” But civil “liberties groups, writers, publishers and news media outlets, including The Associated Press, have told the justices they worry the law, and especially the administration’s defense of it, could lead to more attempts by government to regulate speech.”

Have You Heard?

February is heart month and VA researchers are working hard on identifying ways to improve care for Veterans with heart disease. Investigators with VA’s Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) are focusing exclusively on two particular types of heart disease: congestive heart failure and ischemic heart disease. To learn more about their research, you can visit the QUERI website at www.queri.research.va.gov/.  You can also learn more about how researchers in VA’s Health Services Research & Development Service are focusing on ways to improve the quality, access, and delivery of care for Veterans with heart disease by visiting their special monthly feature page at: http://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/news/feature/heart_disease.cfm

More Veteran News

•  A Suicidal Veteran’s Plea For Help Could Land Him In Jail.  Washington Post  After 45-year-old homeless veteran Sean Duvall called Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Crisis Line and told an agency counselor he was going to use his homemade gun to kill himself, the counselor got in touch with police and Duvall was taken “to a psychiatric facility, where he was treated for depression and began feeling better.” But Duvall “now faces four federal counts related to manufacturing and possessing the homemade gun, which could lead to a 40-year prison sentence. Veterans groups and mental health advocates warn that Duvall’s prosecution could have a chilling effect on distressed veterans who might be contemplating suicide.” After noting that some vets are angry that US Attorney Timothy Heaphy, Secretary Shinseki’s son-in-law, is pursuing the charges against Duvall, the Post quotes VA spokesman Josh Taylor, who in a statement said, “VA crisis responders are there to provide help and save veterans’ lives.”

•  Burnout May Drive Surgeons To Drink.  MedPage Today  “Surgeons may struggle with alcohol use disorders that are potentially related to burnout and depression, survey results suggested. Just over 15% of surgeons who participated in the survey met criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, version C (AUDIT-C), Michael Oreskovich, MD, of the University of Washington in Seattle, and colleagues reported in the Archives of Surgery.” According to MedPage Today, “factors that appeared to be protective against alcohol use disorders included…working” for Veterans Affairs

•   Center Planned For Old Town San Diego Is Pitting Neighbors Against Veterans.  Sacramento (CA) Bee  “Debate about a proposed veterans facility” in Old Town San Diego that would assist veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) has “pitted…veterans” against neighbors, who are worried about the center being located near a charter school. According to the Bee, San Diego “would host one of five facilities the Department of Veterans Affairs is creating nationwide to serve” vets with PTSD and mild TBIs. Residents’ “opposition to the center has surprised officials at the VA, which is forming a 10-member advisory committee of residents and business owners to offer feedback about it.”

• New Smartphone App Helps Patients Fight Anxiety Disorder Symptoms.  Fierce Mobile Healthcare   “Harvard University researchers have created a simple new app that could dramatically reduce the symptoms of patients with anxiety disorders, according to a recent New York Times article.” Fierce Mobile Healthcare added, “Psychological intervention apps appear to be gaining momentum.” Veterans Affairs, for example, “has a stable of post-traumatic-stress and depression apps, debuted over the past year or so, to help soldiers track and manage psychological symptoms following deployment.”

•   VA Secretary Meets With Vets At Trade School. US Navy Seals  Veterans attending the trade school Tidewater Tech, which recently began accepting vets “using the Post-9/11 GI Bill, were visited” by Secretary Shinseki on February 16th. Shinseki “spoke to instructors and reporters, and shared that while unemployment among Veterans of recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are on a decline, it is still ‘far too high’ above the national average. He also mentioned that he was impressed by what he saw at Tidewater Tech,” which is located in Norfolk, Virginia.

•  About 20% Of Military Discrimination Complaints Made Against US Government.  Washington Post  Although it is illegal for employers to penalize military service members because of their military service, the US government “has withdrawn job offers to service members unable to get released from active duty fast enough; in others, service members have been fired after absences.” The Post noted, “In fiscal 2011, more than 18 percent of the 1,548 complaints of violations of that law involved federal agencies, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.” The Post added that the problem has continued even though the Obama Administration “has made a priority of cutting the rate of veterans’ unemployment, which is significantly higher among post-9/11 veterans than in the population as a whole.”

•  Veterans’ Help Wanted To Boost State Trooper Ranks.  Detroit Free Press  “The director of the Michigan State Police, preparing to recruit significant numbers of troopers for the first time in decades, is putting out a welcome mat for veterans returning from military duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue “said she hopes to recruit and train as many as 400 new troopers in the near future. She wants to spread the word to an estimated 3,000 returning Michigan veterans ‘and see how many we could maybe grab onto.'”

• Tampa Bay Jobs Fairs Will Target Veterans.  Tampa Bay (FL) Times  “Veterans in need of work have two opportunities this week to shop their skills at area job fairs. Hiring Our Heroes, sponsored by local chambers of commerce and US Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, will take place Thursday at Bayanihan Arts and Events Center, 14301 Nine Eagles Drive, Tampa.” On Friday, “another job fair will take place at Bay Pines VA Medical Center, 10000 Bay Pines Blvd., St. Petersburg.”

•  Veterans “Welcome Home” Ride To The VA.  Hot Springs (SD) Star  “The public is invited to participate — on foot, horseback or by any means possible — in a ‘Veterans Welcome Home Ride to the VA’ from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25 in Hot Springs. The event is a joint effort by Veterans, for Veterans, to halt the proposed closing” of the VA hospital in Hot Springs. The Star adds, “A large group of veterans, made up of several Native American Tribes, will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with local veterans and civilians to show they care and support the continuation of services at the Hot Springs VA.”

•  VA To Host Outreach Open House In York.  Lincoln (NE) Journal Star   “A Veterans of the Armed Forces open house to provide rural-area veterans information and assistance with US Department of Veterans Affairs benefits and services will be March 16, noon to 7 p.m., and March 17, 9 a.m to 1 p.m., in the Cornerstone Ag and Events Center at York County Fairgrounds” in York, Nebraska. Veterans “and their family members with questions about benefits are encouraged to visit. The goal is to increase awareness about VA and other benefits and services available to veterans, and to assist with applying for these benefits.”

• Nonprofit Secures Funding For Durham Apartments For Vets. Durham (NC) Herald Sun  “A nonprofit developer of affordable housing says it has the final piece of funding needed to build a 10-unit apartment building in Durham for homeless veterans with disabilities. The apartment building, to be located along Guess Road near Northgate Mall, is expected to open early next year, according to a news release from CASA, the nonprofit developer behind the project.” The organization “develops and manages housing for people with disabilities or income limitations.”

• Missing Link: A Man Who Kept An MIA Bracelet For 40 Years, Will Give It To Soldier’s Family.  Fayetteville (NC) Observer

•   Vets Get Sen. Patty Murray’s Ear During Roundtable.  Olympian

•    Madigan Chief Placed On Leave Amid Investigations Into PTSD Diagnoses.  Olympian

•   St. Francis To Provide Service Dogs To Veterans. WSLS-TV

•   Historian Discovers Bravery, Tenderness Of Former Slave. WXIA-TV