Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News – August 01, 2013

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.   Pentagon to bear brunt of upcoming budget cuts.  A second, deeper round of automatic federal budget cuts is on its way, and it’s going to hit the Pentagon hard.
 
2.   Senate measure would shut down Pentagon counterterrorism websites.  Pentagon propaganda websites aimed at countering terrorism in foreign countries would be shut down under a Senate measure sponsored by the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, according to his office.
 
3.   Ex-drill sergeant school commandant says bias sabotaged her job.  The Army’s celebrated first female commandant of the vaunted U.S. Army Drill Sergeant School at Fort Jackson is no longer on the job, no longer in the Army and unhappy about both.
 
4.   AAFES no longer selling Playboy and other magazines.  The internet has done what socially conservative politicians failed to do — get Playboy magazine withdrawn from military exchange stores. But the decision came down to money, not morals, with a total of 891 publications getting dropped.
5.Reno visit: VA chief vows to end claims backlog.  Reno Gazette Journal  Eric K. Shinseki during a news conference in Chicago, Sunday, Dec. … Eric K. Shinseki, secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, is adamant: No …
 

Soldier’s Eyes

a poem by Devan Botcher
dedicated to her grandfather, a WWII Veteran.
To look into a soldier’s eyes, the window to their soul. Look out from inside their mind and see horrors never told. You say we are just killers it’s not that plain you see. Take a walk inside my boots and see what I have seen. Many innocent live taken and soldiers, they were some. Giving their life freely to get the mission done. The last cold stare of death, we see in our buddies eyes. They fought for all your freedom this is why we die. Some wonder why we fight? To protect this nation and maybe lose our life. Ask a question to a soldier, the answers are in their eyes. Always will we be here waiting, the call we wont deny. We’ll always fight for freedom, never asking why? We’ll go away to far off lands, leaving our loved ones behind. Many times we die alone, several times inside, Open Windows to our souls, see the tears we hide, secrets that we cannot keep are in a soldier’s eyes.

6.Veterans Affairs building projects are late, over budget.  Fox News We’re talking about things like veterans affairs hospitals that were supposed to … the original estimate according to the US Government Accountability Office in the … Well the department actually issued a statement to Fox News in part saying.
7.Veterans court’s 1st graduate embraces 2nd chance.  San Francisco Chronicle  … treatment for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
8.   VA building up its telehealth capabilities.  Hyperlink to Story Stars and Stripes:  Today, a veteran can see a specialist for post-traumatic stress disorder treatment without leaving the comfort of his home. Veterans Affairs officials wish more would.
9.   Newest veterans say suicide is their biggest challenge.  Hyperlink to Story USA Today:  The nation’s newest combat veterans — those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan — say the biggest challenge facing their generation is suicide, according to a survey by the group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
10.  At White River Junction VA, Doctor Is In — and On Screen.  Hyperlink to Story Valley News:  From mental health services to physical therapy, the VA continues to expand telehealth capabilities at its 152 medical centers and related clinics throughout the nation, said Dr. Robert Petzel, VA under secretary for health.

Have You Heard?

Can You Name Medical Centers Named for Presidents? He was a descendant of a Revolutionary War soldier. He was a member of: Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and Military Order of the World War. Name this president.