Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News – October 18, 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.Hagel apologizes for delay in Swenson’s Medal of Honor.  Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel apologized Wednesday to former Army Capt. William Swenson for the mishandling of his Medal of Honor nomination four years after his heroism in a deadly six-hour battle in Afghanistan.

2.Shutdown ends but defense budgets still squeezed.  Military personnel and defense civilians still work under the cloud of budget sequestration. So first-year sequestration cuts continue to crimp military training and to freeze civilian hiring. And pressure is building on the services to curb military personnel costs.

3.Shutdown over, but effects may linger across Europe.  The shutdown is over and the debt ceiling was raised, but uncertainty was still the name of the game Thursday as military organizations in Europe awaited further guidance on how and when things would get back to normal.
4.   Vets and the Government Shutdown.  Hyperlink to Story The Huffington Post: To a veteran, gridlock in our government looked like this: Where would next month’s rent come from?  Groceries and gas to travel to look for work? Money to pay phone and utility bills?  They didn’t stop because the government was shut down. For disabled vets, the situation was worse.  What options are there if you’re unable to work?
5.   VA resuming normal operations after shutdown.  Hyperlink to Article Military Times:  The Veterans Affairs Department is “working quickly to resume normal operations,” VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said Thursday. In what should be a relief to many veterans, Shinseki said Nov. 1 benefits checks will be paid on time to more than 5 million disabled veterans, survivors and students.
6.   VSOs Use Shutdown as Case for Advance VA Funding. Hyperlink to Above Story Military.com:  The government shutdown may be over, but veterans organizations are not relaxing their demand that Congress pass legislation to fully fund the Department of Veterans Affairs a full year in advance as a way to prevent future shutdowns from interfering with its mission.
7.   VA benefit payments will go out on time; VFW calls for funding change.  Hyperlink to Article  AL.com:  The end of the stalemate over the government shutdown and the debt ceiling will allow the Veterans Administration to make next month’s benefit payments on time.
8.   Shutdown’s end hasn’t ended threat to veterans.  Hyperlink to Article The Daily Herald:  If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this with hope that those who shut down much of the federal government indeed have sounded retreat on Wednesday, perhaps thank a veteran.
 
 9.Commander Thankful Shutdown is Halted.  EON: Enhanced Online News   American Legion National Commander … The shutdown had idled thousands of Department of Veterans Affairs …
10.Veterans are flocking to college as wars wind down.  Some 1 million veterans and their dependents have enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities over the past four years, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. This influx of veterans has come with the drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and more generous financial incentives. Many veterans face an array of challenges in making the transition.

Have You Heard?

Preventing Suicide: One Veteran at a Time:  Kellie Lafave, a VA Suicide Prevention Coordinator, crisscrosses Montana in her Ford Escape, teaching people how to detect the warning signs of suicide in Veterans they care about.