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.   DOD leave for same-sex marriage criticized .  Conservative critics are blasting the Defense Department for giving gay troops an early wedding gift: up to 10 days uncharged leave time for same-sex marriages.

2.   Need to prove you’re a soldier? Here’s a tool to do it.  Two former Army Rangers have created a way for servicemembers and veterans to electronically verify their military status, a move that gives them online access to retail discounts, could help them claim education vouchers or even land a job.
 
3.   ‘Game changer:’ Tourniquet for abdominal wounds is already saving lives.  Some special operations medics in Afghanistan now have a new device that helps save soldiers with the most common cause of preventable death in combat: a traumatic pelvic wound.
 
4.   Veterans’ groups in Iowa county aid Honor Flight.  Buchanan County has done its part to keep Honor Flights airborne in 2014. The combined American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts in that county raised $47,500 in an event in Independence last weekend to keep Honor Flight going in a five-county area.
 
5.   A path to healing.  For many Vietnam veterans, standing before the glossy black panels that memorialize more than 58,000 fallen soldiers’ names is a healing experience. But many haven’t had the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., to see the original Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
 
6.   Flap continues over Lejeune health assessment.  A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging the Centers for Disease Control to complete a new, comprehensive report on the health effects of toxic tap water at the Camp Lejeune Marine base.
7.‘Flying coffin’ glider pilot from WWII gets overdue medal.  Bob Swenson was a glider pilot in World War II. It was an unwieldy flying crate that carried up to 15 men on a one-way trip. It’s hard to imagine the nearly 49-foot-long things flying, but they did and were essentially this country’s original stealth plane.
8.Rep. Charles Boustany: Will Congress continue making empty promises to nation’s veterans?  Hyperlink to Article The Washington Examiner:  Congress has approved more than 800 of these clinics since the 1990s. It’s disappointing that Boehner and Reid would allow the end of this leasing program to commence under their watch… The end of lease authorizations means clinics with annual rents above $1 million will close as leases expire. And, new promised clinics won’t be built for waves of returning veterans.
9.Editorial, 8/17: Congress should act on clinic leases.  Hyperlink to Article Lincoln Journal Star:  Promised local outpatient clinics for the Department of Veterans Affairs are not being built as scheduled because of gridlock in Congress.
10.Atlanta VA Looks To Improve Mental Health Care.  Hyperlink to Article Georgia Public Radio (AP):  The Atlanta VA hosted dozens of local health care organizations and mental health advocates at a community mental health summit Friday. The goal of the meeting was to share information and network
 

Have You Heard?

$300 Million to Help End Veteran Homelessness:  $300 million more for a VA program called Supportive Services for Veteran Families which is helping prevent and end homelessness among tens of thousands of homeless Veterans and their families.