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.    Montford Marines, the first black Marines, to get highest civilian honor.  Few people know their story. Unlike the Army’s Triple Nickels and the Army Air Corps’ Tuskegee Airmen, the history of the groundbreakers who went through Montford Point has been largely overlooked.
 
2.    High veterans’ jobless rate leads to state and federal initiatives.  More than four decades after the Vietnam War, veterans are still struggling to get hired. Their high jobless rate, particularly for the youngest ones, is a major problem, sparking a number of initiatives on the state and national levels. It’s the reason Detroit’s Cobo Center will play host to a massive job fair this week that’s expected to draw 10,000 veterans.
 
3.    DOD to halt Air Force transfers.  The Department of Defense has notified the Senate that it will halt scheduled transfers of Air Force aircraft until Congress finalizes its 2013 budget later this year, according to a Jackson Clarion-Ledger newspaper report.
 
4.    Concussion care center in Afghanistan offers full treatment for troops.  Marine Sgt. Albert Carls can endure just about anything the war dishes out, except being pulled from his unit. When he suffered a concussion in a series of improvised explosive device attacks that cost two men their legs in the Kajaki district, the way he saw it, he wasn’t really injured.
 
5.    New bill gives veterans access to in vitro fertilization.  A bill introduced last week into Congress by Sen. Patty Murray would give veterans and their spouses access to in vitro fertilization services through the Department of Veterans Affairs for the first time.
 
6.    Turkey says jet downing cannot be ignored.  Turkish President Abdullah Gul has said it is not possible to ignore the fact that Syria shot down one of its military jets.
 
7.    American Legion vice commander says $1.2 trillion Defense cut will hurt agency.  Across-the-board budget cuts of more than $1 trillion are one of the American Legion’s biggest concerns, according to David Voyles, a national vice commander for the Legion.

8.    At Gettysburg, is sale of flag history or propaganda?  Typically yellow with a coiled rattlesnake and the warning “Don’t tread on me,” the Gadsden flag, flown by colonists rebelling against British rule, has become the adopted symbol of the Tea parties and conservative Republicans. That fact has prompted some to question whether it’s an appropriate theme for merchandise sold at the Gettysburg battlefield bookstore.

9.    VA looks at ways to reduce suicide rate.  Columbia Daily Tribune  “VA should have received ample warning about the mental health burden this veteran was carrying,” Shinseki said. “There was no handoff between our …

10.   Help available for returning veterans.  North County Times  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki often reminds us: as the tide of war recedes we have the opportunity, and the responsibility, …

Have You Heard?

Veteran Hiring Fair Will Feature Thousands of Jobs

Just a reminder, pre-registration for VA’s Veteran Hiring Fair in Detroit on June 26-28 closes at midnight tonight. 22,000 jobs will be available nationwide at this event. Find out more and get signed up.

More Veteran News

• High veterans’ jobless rate leads to state and federal initiatives.  Detroit Free Press  The large numbers of unemployed veterans in Michigan and nearby states led the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to select Detroit as the site for its job fair.

•   Guest commentary: A lot of good reasons to hire vets.  Detroit Free Press  The Department of Veterans Affairs is hoping to change that with a free Veterans … In 2011, some lucky viewers watched the fireworks from the U.S. Coast Guard …

•  State-run veterans home closing in Little Rock.  Today’s THV  The state alerted residents Thursday that it will close the veterans home once all … Several veteran agencies will help find VA-approved nursing homes or …

• High Veterans’ Jobless Rate Leads To State And Federal Initiatives. Detroit Free Press  Veterans’ high “jobless rate, particularly for the youngest ones, is a major problem, sparking a number of initiatives on the state and national levels,” include a job fair at Detroit’s Cobo Center “this week that’s expected to draw 10,000 veterans. ‘This is the most significant hiring event of its kind,'” said Veterans Employment Services Office Director Mary Santiago. “We want every veteran who comes to this event to walk away knowing they have been helped,” she added. The job fair will be “held in conjunction with the National Veteran Small Business Conference, which aims to help veteran business owners…win government and corporate contracts.”

• Veterans Wheelchair Games Schedule. Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch  32nd National Veterans Wheelchair Games, which will take place “Monday-Saturday” in the “Greater Richmond Convention Center and other venues in the Richmond area.” The event is being hosted by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Virginia Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

•  Richmond Rates High For Wheelchair Accessibility.  Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch  The Richmond area is very wheelchair-accessible. Since 2009, the city has spent “nearly $2.6 million on about 1,200 curb cuts, the ramps from sidewalks to streets that allow people in wheelchairs to more easily move across streets and back onto sidewalks. The city school system has spent millions, too, making its buildings accessible in recent years, with projects ranging from new door handles to elevators.”

•   Veterans To Be Recognized In Orlando Ceremony. AP  “Some 50 ribbons or medals will be given to veterans during a ceremony” in Orlando today at a “Veterans of Foreign Wars post in central Florida.” The local “Korean War Veterans Association is hosting the event along with the local Korean Senior Society.” Orlando Sentinel  Veterans from the “first Gulf War, Vietnam, Korea and World War II who never received the awards they were entitled to will get them in a 4 p.m. ceremony” at VFW Post 2093. One “Vietnam vet will receive 32 ribbons from his three tours of duty; another will receive his Bronze Star.” The ceremony is “timed to the 62nd Anniversary of the start of the Korean War.”

• VA Mental Health Consultant Discusses Agency’s Effort To Treat Traumatized Veterans. PBS’ Need To Know Scott Simon asked Veterans Affairs Deputy Chief Consultant for Specialty Mental Health Dr. Sonja Batten to explain why PTSD symptoms can emerge long after the traumatic triggers occurred. Batten explained that whereas some people “might have immediate symptoms,” others, such as veterans “who think a combat zone is not the time or place to experience such emotions may avoid them for a period of time, but at some point, that avoidance stops working.” Asked what the VA is doing to “treat traumatized veterans, once they return home,” Batten said, “We’re adding 1,600 new mental health professionals across a variety of disciplines; and we’re also refining our processes by doing site visits at every single VA Medical Center this year.”

• Jonas Center Scholar Discusses Nursing’s Integral Role In Veterans’ Mental Healthcare.  PBS’ Need To Know  “Lt. Commander Pam Wall is a nurse with the US Navy, but chances are you won’t find her running an IV or distributing meds. She’s a psychiatric nurse, and a scholar with the Jonas Center, a philanthropy supporting the training and education of nurses in veterans’ healthcare around the nation. We caught up with her as she taught a class on PTSD to a group of nursing students at the University of Pennsylvania. Wall emphasized the clear connections she sees between nursing care and mental healthcare.” Wall: “I think it absolutely makes sense that nurses do mental healthcare work. Whether you are with a mental health provider or you are a nurse in the OR, you’re always doing mental health work. It’s never off your radar. It’s something that’s inherent in nursing.”

•  New Denver Veterans Administration Hospital To Offer Latest Treatment. Denver Post  The Denver VA hospital is undergoing an extensive, $800-million renovation that will bring the 1950-circa healthcare facility far into the 21st Century. The high-tech modifications include lactation rooms for both veterans and spouses; a stand-alone spinal trauma unit and a dedicated PTSD clinic with a 20-bed capacity; and electronic registration kiosks and digital Skyping availability for patients and physicians. Project Coordinator Judy Guy says the new VA hospital, which is slated for opening in 2015, expects to serve 82,000 veterans during its first year of operation.