2.      Wis. Board Nixes Vets Secretary Search.  The AP (12/14) reports, "The state Department of Veterans Affairs board has held off on launching a national search for a new agency secretary." Although "the board was scheduled to vote Friday on launching the search," it "voted 4-1 to withdraw the item from the agenda." The panel withdrew the vote "because it's unclear what may happen to the secretary or the structure of that office when Republican Gov.-elect Scott Walker takes over next month."

3.      With Repeal's Fate Uncertain, New Suit Challenges 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'  The Washington Post (12/14, O'Keefe, 605K) reports, "Three former service members discharged under the military's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy filed suit in federal court on Monday, asking for reinstatement and arguing that the ban on gays serving openly is unconstitutional." The suit, filed in San Francisco, "is the first of several that are expected if efforts to repeal the law fail in Congress during the lame-duck session." At least 62 publications run a similar AP (12/14, Leff) story.

4.      VA Cites GI Bill Progress, But Asks To Delay More Changes.  The Army Times (12/20, Maze, 104K) says that while the Veterans Affairs Department "seems to have made dramatic progress in processing and paying Post-9/11 GI Bill claims, with a fully automated claims system just around the corner," department officials are "pleading with Congress to delay any significant changes to the program." According to the Times, VA is "asking Congress to refrain from making significant changes in the benefit for two to three years in order to avoid renewed problems."
     Senate Unanimously Approves Expansion Of Post-9/11 GI Bill. CQ (12/14, Lesniewski), however, notes that on Monday, the Senate "passed an amended bill that would make changes to education benefits for veterans who served after Sept. 11, 2001, including setting the amount of financial aid for individuals enrolled at a public university or college to meet in-state tuition and fees. The measure (S 3447), sponsored" by US Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), the Veterans Affairs Committee chairman, "would expand the post-Sept. 11 GI Bill (PL 110-252) to include tuition reimbursements for vocational and trade schools." Before "passing the measure by unanimous consent Monday, the Senate agreed to an Akaka manager's amendment that would require that certain benefits not be paid out before Oct. 1, 2011 - the beginning of fiscal 2012."

5.      Cyberbattle. Modern Healthcare (12/13, Rhea, 72K) reports, "Officials at the Veterans Health Administration have been placing certain electronic devices behind a sophisticated web of protection in an effort to fight off a growing number of cyber-attacks." The devices are "intended to prevent potentially life-threatening compromises to a host of clinical information and patient-care devices."

6.      Va. Health Info Exchange Links To Veterans EHR.  Modern Healthcare (12/13, Conn, 72K) reports, "MedVirginia, a Richmond, Va.-based health information exchange, is now linked to the virtual lifetime electronic record, a collaboration between the healthcare systems of the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments and civilian healthcare systems." The link "allows physicians at VA and military facilities to query MedVirginia's clinical data repository." It also permits "civilian physicians [to] look for information about their patients from military and VA facilities."

7.      Queens Court For Veterans Aims To Help, Not Punish.  The New York Times (12/14, A28, Eligon, 1.01M) reports, "New York City's second criminal court program tailored to military veterans opened in Queens on Monday, expanding the state's efforts to provide treatment" for veterans "who may be struggling" with mental health or substance abuse problems. The Times adds, "The federal government has given more than half a million dollars to courts in Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau County to hire screeners to determine suitable candidates for veterans' courts...said" the judge "who will lead the Queens court."

8.      Congress And The Court. In an editorial, the New York Times (12/14, 1.01M) says that because a veteran of the Korean War named David Henderson had been "diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia," he "should have been given leeway" by the Department of Veterans Affairs for filing a claim for in-home care "15 days after the statutory 120-day period for his appeal had ended." The Times, which says this is "not a reasonable deadline," argues that the Supreme Court "can and must conclude that the law and precedent allow veterans like Mr. Henderson leeway. Otherwise, the neediest, most challenged veterans would be the least likely to obtain essential benefits, which is certainly not the purpose of the law, nor the nation."

9.      Study Finds "Hidden Epidemic" Of Female Vet Suicides. The digital edition of the Army Times (12/20, Kennedy, 104K) reports, "Female veterans commit suicide at a rate three times higher than women who never served, according to a new study. 'These findings suggest a hidden epidemic of suicide among young women with military service,'" researchers "wrote in their study," which they described as the first general-population analysis of suicide risk among female veterans.

10.    Eyeing Death Rates Of Vietnam War Veterans. According to Newsday (12/13, Evans, 339K), an "increasingly vocal number of Vietnam veterans or their loved ones...are questioning whether participation in the Vietnam War is hastening the deaths of soldiers who survived it." Still, John Rowan, president of Vietnam Veterans of America, who "said his organization had been frustrated that the Department of Veterans Affairs has not done current research on the death rates of Vietnam" vets, "said he sees change coming." After noting that in "September, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, said his department has begun a study of the health impacts of the war, which he said would be complete in about three years," Newsday added, "Many veterans note with alarm that...VA this year again expanded the list of more than a dozen diseases -- including a host of cancers, Type 2 diabetes, and ischemic heart disease -- directly linked to exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides."
     Akaka Seeking Expansion Of Agent Orange Benefits For Vets' Children. The digital edition of the Army Times (12/20, 104K) says US Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), chairman of the Senate veterans Affairs Committee, "wants to expand benefits eligibility for spina bifida victims who are children of veterans exposed to...Agent Orange," a herbicide that was "widely used in Vietnam." While current law "covers children of veterans who were in Vietnam or near the Demilitarized Zone in Korea during the Vietnam War," Akaka "introduced a bill, S 3953, that would add veterans who worked on Air Force bases in Thailand during the Vietnam War because Agent Orange was handled at those installations."

11.    Program Addresses Trauma Resurfacing In Aging Veterans.  The digital edition of the Army Times (12/20, 104K) notes, "Researchers at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and the University of Alabama have created a program to address old trauma" in aging veterans. The Educations on Palliative and End-of-Life Care for Veterans Project, which is "scheduled to be introduced in 170 Veterans Affairs Department medical centers over the next" year, "teaches health providers about how past combat experience can affect a person's emotional and physical care."

12.    ACLU Lawsuit: Military Won't Release Rape Records.  In a story run by at least 31 publications, the AP (12/14, Christoffersen) reports, "Sexual assault pervades the military, but the Pentagon refuses to release records that fully document the problem and how it is handled, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups said in a federal lawsuit that seeks access to the records. Tens of thousands of service members have reported some form of sexual assault, harassment or trauma in the past decade, according to the lawsuit filed Monday" in New Haven, Connecticut. After noting that the suit was filed "against the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs," the AP adds, "Sexual abuse is the primary causes" of post-traumatic stress disorder "among female service members."

13.    Turn Off The Ringing Sound. In a story on the variety of ways to treat tinnitus, which causes people to perceive sound when there is no external source for it, the Wall Street Journal (12/14, Beck, 2.09M) points out that brain injuries from explosive devices have resulted in tinnitus becoming the top service-related disability among Iraq and Afghanistan vets.

14.    New Operation, New Medals Count. The digital edition of the Army Times (12/20, 104K) reports, "More than 5,100 soldiers serving in Iraq earned awards and decorations in September and October, according to a medals count for the first two months of Operation New Dawn, the new name for the mission in Iraq." The Times says the count includes 12 Bronze Stars for Valor and 23 Purple Hearts. A separate article in the Army Times (12/20, 104K) digital edition says Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently "presented six Silver Star medals" and a Bronze Star to soldiers in Afghanistan.

15.    Vets Vs. Protestors. The digital edition of the Army Times (12/20, 104K) reports, "Veterans from across" the United States have "offered to come to the aid" of 26-year-old disabled Afghanistan vet Ryan Newell, who is "accused of conspiracy to commit aggravated battery against" the Westboro Baptist Church. According to the Times, church members have protested "at military funerals."

16.    Counseling For Combat Veterans. The Flathead (MT) Beacon (12/14, Reece, 5K) reported, "When veterans come home from war, an entirely new challenge begins. Depression can take hold, along with any number of other post-traumatic inflictions." In 1979, however, Congress "established the Vet Center Program" to help such vets. Now, "due to increased awareness of the readjustment problems experienced by veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan...60 more centers are opening nationwide."
     New Grand JunctionVet Center Opens In Montrose. The Montrose (CO) Press (12/12, 6K) reported, "Any combat veterans experiencing problems in readjusting to society soon will have an opportunity for free counseling in Montrose through an outreach effort by the Grand Junction Vet Center, and other veterans can avail themselves of assistance with benefits, finding employment, getting community education and other challenging elements of life." The Vet Center will provide "counseling for individuals, groups and couples, whether for sexual trauma, substance abuse or other life problems."

     BirminghamVA Expands Mental Healthcare. In the second part of a story on how the Veterans Affairs hospital in Birmingham, the WTVM-TV Birmingham, AL (12/13) website noted that the hospital has provided a "much-needed boost" to it ability to provide mental healthcare to vets returning from war.
     Decorated Vet Complains About VA. The WCSH-TV Portland, ME (12/14) website said Brian Barron, who "served a tour in Vietnam, was wounded and received a purple heart," suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He is having issues "with the Veterans Administration" in terms of "receiving treatment and payments for care." Representative Mike Michaud, chair of the VA's Health Care Subcommittee, states that the VA "needs to look into providing assisted living options for veterans."

17.    DoD Extends Stop Loss Special Pay Deadline. The Salem (OR) Statesman Journal (12/13, 40K) reported, "The Department of Defense (DoD) has extended the deadline for eligible veterans and service members and their beneficiaries to apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay (RSLSP) to Saturday." The Department of Veterans Affairs has "worked with DoD for the past year to let veterans know about this program to compensate military members whose service was involuntarily extended under Stop Loss between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2009."

18.    Vets Fix Bikes For Kids.  According to the Medford (OR) Mail Tribune (12/13, Fattig, 26K), three patients at the US Department of Veterans Affairs' Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics (SORCC) are leading an "effort that has brought together some two dozen veterans at the SORCC to mend...broken bicycles in time for the holidays." A bike shop "on the SORCC's huge campus" has been open since mid-November, "repairing donated bicycles to give to local youngsters." At least 18 sources run the same story, which was picked up by the AP (12/14).

19.    Pentagon Official Tours Orlando's Medical City.  The WFTV-TV Orlando, Fl (12/13) website reported, "General Patricia Horoho toured the construction site of the [Medical City at Lake Nona] and visited the UCF medical school and the Sanford Burnham Research Institute." Horoho, who "was in the Pentagon when it was attacked on September 11," said "the new VA complex will be vital in providing comprehensive healthcare to veterans."

20.    Los Angeles Seeking To Shed Reputation For Homelessness.  In a front-page story, the New York Times (12/13, A1, Nagourney, 1.01M) reported, "For national organizations trying to eradicate homelessness, Los Angeles - with its 48,000 people living on the streets, including 6,000 veterans, according to one count - stands as a stubborn anomaly, an outlier at a time when there has been progress, albeit modest and at times fitful, in so many cities." However, a "task force created by the Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Greater Los Angeles has stepped in with a plan, called Home for Good, to end homelessness here in five years." Christine Marge, "director of housing for the United Way of Greater Los Angeles," said, "We believe that with the release of this plan, we now have a blueprint to end chronic homelessness and veteran homelessness."
     Public Libraries Offering Assistance To Homeless. USA Today (12/13, A1, Keen, 1.83M), meanwhile, said in its own front page story that public libraries are becoming "more hospitable to the homeless by hosting social-service agencies, organizing events such as book clubs and movie matinees and redesigning their facilities."

21.    A Veteran's Story: He Saw Japan, Korea With Navy. Ron Simon's column in the Mansfield (OH) News Journal (12/14, 25K).

22.    GAO And VA Squabble Over Agile Development Project, Procedures. ADT Magazine (12/13, Ramel).

23.    For A Vet In Crisis, An Informed Officer. The Houston Chronicle (12/14, Wise).

24.    The 'Store' Is Open. The Grand Island (NE) Independent (12/14, Reutter).

25.    Houma-Thibodaux Ranks Highly For Military Retirees. The Thibodaux (LA) Daily Comet (12/13, King, 9K, 11K).

26.    IAVA, American Legion At Odds Over Gays. The digital edition of the Army Times (12/20, 104K).

27.    Newman's Own Steps In After Loss Of Major Military Charity Donor. The digital edition of the Army Times (12/20, 104K).

28.    Reservist Says Company Punished Him For Serving. The AP (12/13).

29.    Pearl Harbor Survivor Honored By Great-Grandson. The digital edition of the Army Times (12/20, 104K).