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.    Hours after phoning home, Minn. soldier killed in Afghanistan.  Nick Dickhut called his little brother David on Sunday from Afghanistan to wish him a happy ninth birthday. Nick said he couldn’t talk long. He was about to go out on a mission. A few hours later, his parents had to explain to David that he would never talk to his big brother again.

2.    Remains of Army captain missing since Vietnam identified.  The remains of a servicemember who went missing during the Vietnam War have been identified and returned to his family for burial, according to a release by the Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office.

3.    Declassified Bin Laden material sheds new light on al-Qaida.  Osama bin Laden’s personal notes and letters, which were seized a year ago in the U.S. raid on his compound in Pakistan, show a leader removed from day-to-day operations of the terrorist organization he founded and increasingly frustrated with the new generation of managers who were rising in the ranks.

4.    Soldiers recount 60-second attack that left them reflecting on life and death.  Staff Sgt. Damian Remijio and Spc. Zachary Fitch lay on the ground as a grenade bounced down a pile of rocks toward them. Metal struck stone with awful clarity.

5.    Progress report cites Pakistan as top deterrent to success in Afghanistan.  While the number of insurgent attacks across Afghanistan again fell, Taliban and al-Qaida fighters operating from safe havens in Pakistan are the No. 1 roadblock to a successful conclusion of the war over the next few years, the Pentagon said Tuesday in the latest biannual report on progress in Afghanistan.

6.    FDA orders halt to sale of products containing DMAA.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has ordered fitness supplement companies to immediately stop selling popular bodybuilding and weight-loss products containing DMAA, because of the substance’s potentially fatal side effects.
7.    Holding down the fort.  Chicago Reporter  It’s one thing for the [US Department of Veteran Affairs] to identify a problem, and it’s another thing for the [department] to be able to properly address that problem once it has been identified. What I’m talking about is someone who may come back …

8.    Veteran Court In Alabama.  CBS42  For three years, West Alabama has offered Veteran Court with the assistance of the VA Medical Center and the Tuscaloosa municipal court. When a veteran is incarcerated, Tuscaloosa’s program will track

9.    Kalechman to Run for State Representative.  Patch.com  Kalechman has served as a Trustee for the State Department of Veterans Affairs under former Governors Lowell Weicker, John Rowland, and Jodi Rell. Kalechman has also served five terms as a Commander for the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 12.
 
10.  First Lady Applauds Veterans At Warrior Games.  AP  On Monday, First Lady Michelle Obama “applauded more than 200 US servicemen for their courage as she helped open the 2012 Warrior Games, a six-day sports competition for wounded soldiers and veterans in Colorado Springs.” The US Olympic Committee is “hosting the third annual games, featuring active-duty soldiers and veterans in competitions ranging from swimming to shooting to track and field.” Mrs. Obama, “recently marked the anniversary” of Joining Forces, a campaign that she and Jill Biden, Vice President Joe Biden’s wife, began to “help veterans and their families, especially with getting jobs.”

Have You Heard?

 

Message to our Veterans from the VSO’s and MSO’s

In the continuing effort of ensuring a safe and secure environment, while still providing open and accessible service, the Department of Veterans Affairs would like to remind you that possession of firearms is illegal, under Federal law, at all VA facilities and properties.

This applies even to those individuals who have a State-issued permit to carry a concealed firearm.  Persons found in possession of a firearm on Federal property are subject to arrest, citation, and confiscation of their firearms.  So, please ensure that you leave your firearm at home, and properly stored, when you visit any of our VA facilities or properties.

We thank all of you for your service to our Nation.  We hope you will join us in keeping our VA safe and secure.