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 says claims backlog continues to shrink.  FierceHealthIT  The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has made “significant progress” in trying to work through its backlog of more than 800,000 disability claims, Nextgov reported last week. Since March, the VA has cut the total number of pending claims by roughly …
 
2.   Dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Learning to live again after war.  Sand Mountain Reporter  Though hundreds of thousands of Americans have sacrificed their lives in protecting the democratic freedoms of millions more, Licensed Certified Social Worker Pamela Prestridge at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Community Based Outpatient Clinic …
 
3.   PTSD in the US military: Vet Center offers free counseling.  Federal Way Mirror  Veterans account for 20 percent of the nearly 32,000 suicide deaths in the U.S. per year, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Sexual assault also triggers PTSD. The Department of Defense estimates that 26,000 sexual assaults occurred …
 
4.   Obama’s comments could have long-term effect on sex assault cases.  President Barack Obama’s call last month for strict punishments for military sexual assault — and a military judge’s ruling that those comments from the commander in chief crossed the line — will likely have immediate impacts on sexual assault prosecutions, military legal experts said.
 
5.   Military plans would put women in most combat jobs.  Women may be able to start training as Army Rangers by mid-2015 and as Navy SEALs a year later under plans set to be announced by the Pentagon that would slowly bring women into thousands of combat jobs, including those in elite special operations forces.

6.   Nellis AFB commander worries base’s muted noises are here to stay.  Charles Moore Jr. is no stranger to the fears and anxieties of war, having flown more than 600 combat hours in fighter jets and now serving as a commander of a collection of squadrons responsible for more than 130 aircraft that comprise the Air Force’s most diverse flying wing.
7.   Living memorial outgrows space in somber reflection of the wars’ toll.  Unlike memorials created after a conflict ends, providing only the chance to look back on history, this one is a living memorial, growing along with the death toll. It presents a visual record of the human cost of war as it’s being paid — a powerful opportunity for reflection while the country can still change the path it has chosen.
 
8.   When mom or dad deploys, someone Big is there to lean on.  Big Brothers and Big Sisters are stepping in to take the pressure off of military families.
 
9.   The VA Backlog: Where Are We Now? Really?  TIME  In recent months, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has come under sharp criticism for the mounting pile of backlogged and pending benefits claims for military veterans. The list of critics is long, and includes members of Congress from both …
 
10.  Public Can Honor Veterans With Engraved Pavers At New State Veterans.  Hartford Courant  Schwartz, Governor Dannel P. Malloy, Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, Major General Thaddeus J. Martin, Connecticut Adjutant General of Connecticut National Guard, other state and federal officials, and dozens of veterans from around the state.

Have You Heard?

Mobile Vet Centers Covered Down After Tragedy in Boston:  VA deployed five mobile Vet Centers from across the region to assist Boston area Veterans as well as first responders to the bombing, providing on the ground counseling and referrals to anyone who needed it.