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.   VA deputy secretary Scott Gould departs Friday.  Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Secretary W. Scott Gould (Department of Veterans Affairs) One more deputy secretaryship opens up on Friday, when Veterans Affairs’ Scott Gould , a Navy veteran, finishes his last day there. Gould, who announced his …
2.   White House, Congress bear down on military sexual assault.  As lawmakers on Thursday railed against the epidemic of sexual assault in the military, President Barack Obama summoned top Pentagon leaders to an emergency White House meeting to deal with the perceived culture of indifference among service leaders.
3.   Senate hears debate on revising 2001 war authorization.  The United States is still at war with al-Qaida and its affiliates, and a law passed in the days after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, continues to provide the authority the military needs to strike groups worldwide that threaten the United States, Pentagon officials told Congress on Thursday.
4.   Obama signs off on routine changes to court-martial manual.  President Obama on Wednesday signed off on several changes to the Manual for Courts-Martial, including a change to the maximum penalty for rape — lowering it from the death penalty to life in prison.
5.   Blue Star Families survey shows stress over finances, deployments.  A by-the-numbers look at the annual survey, which surveys troops and their spouses about the successes and challenges they see while serving

6.   Secretary of Veterans Affairs speaks at observance.  Belvoir Eagle  Gen. Eric K. Shinseki. Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, retired Gen. … The Secretary of Veterans Affairs spoke about the value of the U.S.’s diversity during Fort Belvoir’s Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month observance Tuesday …
7.   House panel passes $73.3B military construction, Veterans Affairs bill.  Hyperlink to Story The Hill:   The House Appropriations Committee moved its first spending bill Wednesday as the military construction and veterans affairs subpanel passed a $73.3 billion measure.

8.   House Spending Panel Backs Joint Defense-VA Electronic Health Record.  Hyperlink to Story  NextGov:  The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday solidly backed development of a single, joint electronic health record for the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments in its preliminary version of VA’s fiscal 2014 spending bill.
9.   Senate vet leaders join in-state tuition push.  Hyperlink to Story Army Times:  A push to prevent public colleges and universities from charging student veterans out-of-state tuition took a leap forward Tuesday when Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee leaders joined the cause.
10.    Multiple traumatic brain injuries increase military suicide risk, U. study finds.  Hyperlink to Story The Salt Lake Tribune:  Repeated traumatic brain injuries can significantly increase suicide risk for people in the military and the danger appears to continue throughout the soldier’s lifetime, according to the a new study from the University of Utah.
 

Have You Heard?

Make Sleep a Top Priority, Advises Expert:  As a board-certified clinical psychologist with Deployment Health Clinical Center, part of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, Dr. Vladimir Nacev has seen his share of patients suffering from sleep deprivation and disorders. While sleep problems used to be considered a part of a patient’s diagnosis, they are now recognized as a separate diagnosis that can exacerbate other conditions like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and traumatic brain injury (TBI), says Nacev.  Read more