Veterans! Here’s your Top 10 Newsstories 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.   USS Enterprise’s original crewman joins ship for its final ride.  Godfrey was 21 when he began his Navy career on Enterprise. Now, with the aircraft carrier nearing the end of its final combat deployment, he has rejoined his old ship for the final ride.

2.   Cleveland State Hosts Veteran’s Day Ceremony.  The Chattanoogan  Cleveland State Community College’s Veterans Affairs Department, along with the Social Work Club, will be co-sponsoring a Veteran’s Day ceremony again this year on CSCC’s main campus on Monday, Nov. 12 at 11 a.m. in front of the L. Quentin Lane …

3.   Slidell vets cemetery in works.  Bayoubuzz  The Department of Veterans Affairs gave the state official notification last week of an $8.3 million grant to build the cemetery, which will be the third operated by the Louisiana Department of Veteran’s Affairs. The money will be used to build the …

4.   Cayuga CC campuses to host NYS Mobile Vet Center Nov. 5 and 6.  Oswego Daily News  Authorized by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the MVC program came online in early 2009 with 50 vehicles serving the country, and 20 more units were added this year to be able to reach more veterans in a wider area. A readjustment counselor …
 
5.   Indiana students looking for sponsorships for Wounded Warrior class project.  Some students at Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Terre Haute, Indiana, want to make a difference in the lives of American warriors who are newly injured during their military service.
 
6.   The Family Of A Soldier Who Went Missing In Korea 62 Years Ago Finds Closure.  Fayetteville (NC) Observer “It took 62 years, three cemeteries and some high-tech detective work, but Army Pfc. James Curtis Mullins is at last in his final resting place,” in Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery in Spring Hill, where he was buried Friday with full military honors. He “was just 18 years old when he left Japan in June 1950 and headed for South Korea at the onset of the Korean War.” He went missing in July, however, after a battle near Yugong-ni. Of the nine soldiers’ remains recovered there, one could not be positively identified. The Observer explains how “the Army never gave up” in its efforts to identify Mullins.

7.   Honor Flights Visit World War II Memorial.  Stars And Stripes  “Honor Flights, carrying World War II veterans from Florida, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, arrived in Washington on Saturday for tours of the WWII memorial.” Stars And Stripes reports that the “majority of veterans on site for the event were men, but among them were several women.” Stars And Stripes adds that, “for many, it was a sight to see for the first – and possibly last – time.”

8.   Women Vets Face Challenges When Returning Home.  WWLP-TV  The Massachusetts State House “marked Women Veterans’ Appreciation Day this week, and while Massachusetts leads the nation in veterans’ services, state leaders said there is still work to be done in offering more assistance to women veterans. The Commonwealth offers programs like the Women Veterans’ Network to match women vets with resources and benefits.” Women face challenges such as “reestablishing family relationships, job discrimination, and mental health issues like post traumatic stress disorder.” The Outstanding Woman Veteran of the Year, MSG Carin Smith said “there’s help everywhere, you just need to look around and it’s there.”
 
9.   Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center Following New Vision Of Long-Term Care With Cottages For Veterans.  Tuscaloosa (AL) News  The Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center “plans to build a dozen 10,000 square-foot cottages based on the Green House Project model of long-term care,” which is about “creating small homes with staff providing personalized daily care and nursing.” This week, the center “celebrated the completion of the first cottage and a community center building, which will feature a coffee shop, a barber shop, a library, an exercise room and game rooms for veterans in the neighborhood-style community.” A second phase of four cottages is scheduled to begin in 2013. The development will have “family-friendly spaces for visiting,” while “pets are allowed to visit and veterans are invited to decorate their rooms.”
 
10.  Inappropriate Use Of Antipsychotics Found At VA Nursing Homes. Pittsburgh Business Times  New research from the University of Pittsburgh and the VA Pittsburgh Medical Center shows that “more than one in four older veterans in nursing homes were taking antipsychotic medications,” while 40 percent of those on the medicines had no related diagnosis. That finding, lead author Walid Gellad said, shows that “the VA is not immune” to the trend of overuse of such medications in nursing home settings. Gellad and colleagues “collected data on all veterans age 65 and older who were admitted for 90 or more days to one of the 133 VA Community Living Centers between January 2004 and June 2005.” The data suggested “veterans in dementia units had 66 percent greater odds of receiving an antipsychotic and residents with aggressive behavior had nearly three times greater odds of receiving an antipsychotic.”

Have You Heard?

VA Info for Vets in Areas Affected by Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy might be over but recovery efforts are ongoing in affected areas. You can find out more about how Sandy has affected local medical center operations here. And keep up with your benefits here.