From Kevin Secor at VA HQ:  Women Veterans: Share your Stories at the 2011 Summit The National Training Summit on Women Veterans is July 15-17. The three day summit will focus on the role of women in the military. Summit attendees will have the chance to share their stories to help VA illustrate the vital role women serve in the military. Learn more

 

Chicago Veterans Gathering:  Our good friend, a Veteran and a respected Veterans Advocate, Jerry Paulsen out of Chicago, alerts us to the Illinois Warrior Summit / Midwest Valor Games which will be held August 23 – 25, 2011, at Soldier Field and U.S. Cellular Filed in Chicago, IL. The event is cost-free, and over 5,000 Veterans and their families are expected to attend.  Please see the attached flyers for more detailed information.  Thanks Jerry for passing this along and thanks for your hard work in support of our Vets!

 

Veterans Employment:  HireDS, LLC - a certified disabled owned company promoting the inclusion of our Veterans and people with disabilities into mainstream employment - today announced it is hosting another 2011 Global Veterans' Career Expo, themed "Be a Hero, Hire a Hero," scheduled for November 7th in New York City.  The Expo will be held aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, as well as run virtually online simultaneously and for two weeks thereafter spanning military bases around the globe.  Between 3,000 - 4,000 Veterans are expected to participate.  Please click on the following Link for more information:  http://www.beahero-hireahero.com/ 

 

About Independence Day: During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia. After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4. A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:

 

“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

 

Adams's prediction was off by two days. From the outset, Americans celebrated independence on July 4, the date shown on the much-publicized Declaration of Independence, rather than on July 2, the date the resolution of independence was approved in a closed session of Congress.

 

Historians have long disputed whether Congress actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, even though Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin all later wrote that they had signed it on that day. Most historians have concluded that the Declaration was signed nearly a month after its adoption, on August 2, 1776, and not on July 4 as is commonly believed.

 

In a remarkable coincidence, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as Presidents of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Although not a signer of the Declaration of Independence, James Monroe, the Fifth President of the United States, died on July 4, 1831. Calvin Coolidge, the Thirtieth President, was born on July 4, 1872, and thus was the only President to be born on Independence Day.

 

Prayers and blessings for you and your loved ones and for our fearless Troops and their loved ones everywhere. God Bless Em!

 

Best.........................Wayne

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VA Veterans News for Wednesday, June 29, 2011.  Thanks to Kevin Secvor at VA HQ

1.    Bars offer vets more than drinks.  http://www.omaha.com/article/20110627/NEWS01/706279936/-1   Bruce Yeager, 62, came in one day complaining about a sore on his foot that wouldn't heal. A former Army medic in Vietnam, he knew what was wrong. But it took Keys to persuade …   

2.    Blue Star Museums open their doors to military families this summer.   This summer, anyone serving the military on active duty will be given free access to 24 museums in New Jersey - including the Old Barracks Museum in Trenton and Morven Museum and Garden in Princeton - as part of the Blue Star Museums Initiative. Overseen by the National Endowment for the Arts, the program …

 

3.    Lessons from the Gates war room.  In his first major address to the Army, Gates talked expansively about the importance of training foreign forces in places such as Afghanistan.

 

4.    Groups say changes to labor law won’t do enough for veterans.  Even before President Obama said last week that he would speed the pullout of American troops from Afghanistan, the Department of Labor was trying to strengthen a Vietnam-era law designed to make sure returning soldiers get jobs.

 

5.    CSU offers full tuition to veterans and kids.  Northern Colorado Business Report
Colorado State University, partnering with the US Department of Veterans Affairs' Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program, is offering free tuition as well as housing and book stipends to military veterans and their ... 

 

6.    Brockovich wades into Lejeune water issue.  ENC Today  Pollution at Camp Lejeune is the largest documented Defense Department environmental contamination incident on record. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, at least 500000 people may have been exposed in the 30-year period from 1957 to 1987 ... 

 

7.    8000 homeless veterans on the streets of LA.  CBS News  After intensive Veterans Affairs (VA) counseling he keeps his rage under control and channels the negative into positive. He helps veterans with even worse PTSD, like Vietnam veteran John Aldridge who can't hold a job, and lives by a freeway in LA. ... 

 

8.    Documentary featuring several 'Rosie the Riveters from W.Va..  Daily Mail - Charleston
Its been nearly 60 years since these young women put their lives on hold to help in the war effort, but now the "Rosies" are ready for their close-ups. A documentary featuring several local "Rosie the Riveters" will premier this ... 

9.    Southeast Could Get Cemetery For Veterans. Westchester (NY) Journal News Putnam County has "offered the town $60,000 in an effort to bring a state veterans cemetery there. State Sen. Greg Ball and some county leaders are pushing for land near the Middle Branch Reservoir in Southeast to become a final resting place for those who served their country." If the effort is successful, it will be followed by a Veterans Affairs review, "which will pay 90 percent of the construction costs of an approved project." 

10.                       Use Of Land In West LA.  LookOut News "The West Los Angeles Veteran Affairs (WLA VA) Medical Center has published a final Master Plan to guide its development over the next 50 years, and critics say it doesn't do enough to help the region's homeless mentally ill veterans. While WLA VA officials say in the plan that they offer thousands of beds to veterans throughout Los Angeles county, the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a complaint claiming that homeless veterans are entitled to supportive housing on the WLA campus, which plaintiffs say they need so that their medical treatment can be effective." The "WLA VA Master Plan proposes renovating buildings 205, 208 and 209 'to make them available for homeless housing.'" 

11.                       VA Assisting Homeless Intervention Program In California. Los Angeles Times  "If a homeless person violates certain Costa Mesa ordinances, such as camping in the park or drinking alcohol in public, the city refers them to Orange County's homeless court...said" Elena Gerli of the city attorney's office. "The city attorney's office and Orange County district attorney's office work together on comprehensive prosecution, she said. Police also reached out to the Department of Veterans Affairs, whose representatives about three months ago began weekly visits to Lions Park - long a magnet for the homeless - to help identify those who might qualify for VA services, according" to Costa Mesa police officer Julian Trevino.

12.                       Official Says New Mexico Offers Help To Troubled Vets. Albuquerque Journal New Mexico Department of Veterans' Services Secretary Timothy Hale notes that Monday was "designated as National Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day" by the US VA. Hale points out that New Mexico has "centers throughout the state where counselors can help" vets with PTSD. He also says his agency, "in cooperation with Presbyterian Health Services and others similar" agencies, "offers opportunities for veterans and families to attend Healing Retreats." 

13.                       Problems From Iraq And Afghanistan Wars Will Be Long-Lived.  Scientific American "As Operation Enduring Freedom, the war on terror in Afghanistan, winds down and some 33,000 US servicemen and servicewomen return from overseas in the next year, a plan announced by President Obama on June 22, the psychological issues that veterans face back home are likely to increase." Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense "have taken steps to prepare for the forecast rise in PTSD cases, highlighting two approaches to treatment-cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure therapy-that studies have shown to be effective. And June 27 has been designated National PTSD Awareness Day." 

14.                       AFGE, VA Differ On Agency's Ability To Serve Troubled Vets.  Huffington Post "Among the steps suggested by the VA to increase awareness are posting PTSD Awareness Day flyers in common areas, adding links for PTSD information to Web sites, or printing educational materials about the disorder." However, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), "which represents VA employees, issued a warning that the department does not have enough mental health and support personnel to deal with veterans suffering from PTSD." On Monday, though, VA "said...it has hired more than 3,500 mental health professionals since January 2009, and that its mental health staff now totals more than 21,000." The post quotes VA spokesman Josh Taylor, who stated that VA is "continuing to expand our mental health services by providing more staff and more resources to provide veterans and their families with the care and benefits they have earned." 

15.                       Bike Ride Aims To Raise Awareness About Vets With PTSD.  Bismarck Tribune Iraq veteran Dan Olson, who lost a friend and fellow veteran to suicide, "wants to raise awareness about PTSD so those who may not even know they are suffering can have access to the help they need before it's too late." Olson has partnered with the North Dakota American Legion to create "Pedaling for PTSD as a way to help raise awareness" for a program called Courage Carries On. While biking across North Dakota each year, Olson "stops at various locations in order to get the word out about PTSD and encourage those suffering from the disorder to get the help they need." Olson started this year's trip on Monday. 

16.                       Ground Broken For USO's First Wounded Warrior Family Center.  WRC-TV  "The USO plans to open new family-oriented facilities at Fort Belvoir and at the new Walter Reed campus in Bethesda." At Fort Belvoir on Monday, ground was broken for a building that will be "transformed into the first ever stateside Wounded Warrior Family Center," which the USO will operate. The USO "also launched Operation Enduring Care -- a $100 million fundraising campaign to build family centers at both Fort Belvoir, where the new Dewitt Army Hospital is opening soon, and at the new Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Md."

 

17.                       Army To Soldiers: Take Concussions Seriously.  Army Times  "The Army wants soldiers to get the message: Mild traumatic brain injury is a physical wound, not a behavioral issue. So it has launched a new campaign to reverse its 'cultural attitude' against the injury, one of the signature wounds from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, according to a recent Army message." "The Army has called for all units to immediately adopt the plan, according to the message."

 

18.                       Royal Couple To Attend Veterans Job Fair In L.A.  Army Times  "England's newest royal will appear at a hiring fair for veterans and their spouses July 10 at Sony Pictures Studio in Los Angeles." Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, will "also join a service project to create 1,000 care packages for military children, in partnership with Blue Star Families and the USO." According to the Times, the hiring fair is "sponsored by the US and Los Angeles Area Chambers of Commerce."

 

19.                       CSU Fort Collins Adopts Enhanced GI Education Benefits Program. Colorado Springs Gazette  "Colorado State University at Fort Collins announced Monday that it is offering full awards - including tuition, fees and stipends for housing and books - to US military veterans or their children beginning this fall as part of the US Department of Veterans Affairs' Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program." The "University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Webster University, Colorado Technical University and Troy University and several other campuses in the area participate."

 

20.                       New Veterans Court Offers Path To Recovery. Billings (MT) Gazette  "At least five US veterans have been" in driving under the influence "treatment courts Judge Mary Jane Knisely launched in Billings Municipal Court and in Yellowstone County District Court. Knisely is ready to expand the 5-month-old District Court program to add a track just for US military veterans. The move makes a lot of sense," in part because Veterans Affairs can treat vets with traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, "and other conditions less common in the civilian population."

 

21.                       Along The Spine, Women Buckle At Breaking Points. New York Times

 

22.                       65-Year-Old Vietnam Vet Who Hit The Lottery Four Years Ago May Finally Get Some Of His Winnings. New York Daily News  "Walter Carver, 65, won $10,000 in 2007, but officials took more than half the money because he had once worked a welfare-to-work program." Now though, a "state appeals court has paved the way for the Vietnam veteran to get his winnings back." Carver, "who has lost his teeth but couldn't get the Veteran's Administration to help him get new ones," said he will use the money to buy new teeth.

 

23.                       Big Surprise For Wounded Marine. Charlotte (NC) Observer

 

24.                       Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal Signs Legislation Affecting State Workers; Medals For Veterans. New Orleans Times-Picayune  

 

25.                       Disabled American Veterans Van Stolen In Pocatello. Idaho State Journal

 

26.                       Free Workshop For Veterans And Other Job Seekers. Pratt (KS) Tribune

 

27.                       Q&A: Philip Newcomb On MUMPS And VistA Refactoring. FierceGovernmentIT

 

28.                       Book Excerpt: Veterans Health Administration's VistA MUMPS Modernization Pilot. FierceGovernmentIT

 

29.                       VA Black Hills "VA2K Walk And Roll" Event Benefits Homeless Veterans And Promotes Wellness. Rapid City Journal 

 

30.                       Allegations Of Rape At Veterans' Center Investigated. KOCO-TV 

 

31.                       Federal Spending: Breakdown Of Contracts. Washington (DC) Business Journal "The majority of federal contract dollars awarded Sunday were for computer design services, with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention awarding the two biggest contracts under that category to 2020 Company LLC, which has offices in Chicago, Rockville and D.C., and Northrop Grumman Corp.'s information technology group in McLean." Other "categories of products and services that commanded the most federal dollars included surgical and medical instrument manufacturing, stemming primarily from awards from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and accounting services for the Defense Department."

 

32.                       Colleges Gain HHS Health IT Training Materials. InformationWeek "The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has released a set of 20 educational components that any college or university can download for free and incorporate into health IT training programs." InformationWeek adds, "Users can download a modified copy of the US Department of Veterans Affairs' VistA electronic health record (EHR) system and create exercises around that...said" William Hersh, "chair of the department of medical informatics and clinical epidemiology at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, who led development efforts."

 

33.                       More Towns Consider Increasing Veterans Tax Credit. Vermont Public Radio

 

34.                       Voters Could Decide Tax Break For Veterans. Thibodaux (LA) Daily Comet

 

35.                       Shelby Resident, 29, Starts Nonprofit Org. For Veterans. Shelby-Utica (MI) Patch 

 

36.                       War Veteran To Get Free Home.  Jacksonville (NC) Daily News

 

37.                       A Fairytale Comes True For Iraq Vet And His Bride. Manassas (VA) News & Messenger

 

38.                       Bethesda Medical Prepares For Walter Reed Arrivals. American Forces Press Service 

 

39.                       A New Military Museum Honoring Maine Soldiers Takes Shape. Maine Public Broadcasting Network