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.   Army captain’s ‘lost’ nomination for Medal of Honor questioned.  The findings threaten to taint a military awards process that’s designed to leave no margin of doubt or possibility of error about the heroism and sacrifices of U.S. service personnel. They also could bolster charges by some officers, lawmakers, veterans’ groups and experts that the process is vulnerable to improper interference and manipulation, embarrassing the military services and the Obama administration.
 
2.   ‘Sequester’ raises concerns about massive defense cuts.  One year after Congress approved a controversial plan to extend the nation’s debt ceiling, Republicans are stepping up their campaign to repeal a major part of the law.
 
3.   Mentally ill veteran’s case highlights justice system’s gaps.  Since Leo Bullman was charged with assault after arguing with a neighbor last year, psychiatrists have ruled a half-dozen times that the 68-year-old Vietnam vet is not competent to be tried. Bullman’s schizophrenia has made him volatile and unable to understand and aid his lawyer, experts say.

4.   Obama signs Camp Lejeune act.  UPI.com  U.S. President Barack Obama greets U.S. Marines stationed at Camp Lejeune in 2009.  … The bipartisan “Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012” allows the Department of Veterans Affairs …

5.   Press the Blue Button for Improved Customer Service.  CIO  Take, for example, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Blue Button Initiative. At its core, Blue Button lets veterans download their personal health records (PHRs) from the VA in a simple, readable format that they can share with their doctors or …

6.   Veterans Affairs Implementing RTLS Across Seven Midwest Hospitals.  RFID Journal The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is currently in the process of installing a real-time location system (RTLS) at all seven of its hospitals in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. The VA’s intention is to improve staff efficiencies …

7.   VA tries to balance fraud-fighting, accessibility in vet-owned contracting.  FederalNewsRadio.com  Jared Serbu, reporter, Federal News Radio. Download. Lawmakers are expressing frustration that the Department of Veterans Affairs is making it too difficult for disabled veterans to get certified for set-aside contracts. Simultaneously, they’re worried …


8.   Obama To Sign Bill Helping Lejeune Water Victims.  AP Jerry Ensminger, the “man who has led the fight for information about…contaminated water at Camp Lejeune,” will be at the Oval Office on Monday, “when President Obama signs a bill providing health care for those who suffered illnesses because of the toxins.” Health officials “believe as many as 1 million people may have been exposed to tainted groundwater” at Camp Lejeune from 1957 to 1987.
 
9.   Veterans Agency Reviews Case Of Navy SEAL Rejected For Contracts.  Bloomberg Government  “The Department of Veterans Affairs is reviewing its decision to strip a retired Navy SEAL’s small business of the ability to bid on contracts reserved for veteran owners.” Last month, US Reps. Bill Johnson (R-OH) and Marlin A. Stutzman (R-IN) sent a letter to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, saying VA’s “‘regulations too often fall outside a reasonable interpretation'” of a “law that gave the agency power to certify veteran-owned businesses.” In an email, VA spokeswoman Jo Schuda said, “VA officials are ready to assist” Afghanistan veteran Mark Lilly, the Navy SEAL involved with a Virginia-based company called Syncon, and “other veteran entrepreneurs to correct all deficiencies in their applications” to VA asking that their businesses be classified as veteran-owned.
 
10.  Vets’ Unemployment Rate Improves Again In July.  Military Times  “The job outlook for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans continues to brighten as the unemployment rate for the group fell for the sixth month in a row. The unemployment rate for veterans who entered service after Sept. 11, 2001, fell to 8.9 percent in July, down from 9.5 percent the previous month and from 12.4 percent in July 2011, according to the latest monthly employment report released Friday by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.” The Times pointed out that the “overall veterans jobless rate was 6.9 percent, down from 7.4 percent in June and 8.6 percent a year ago.”