1. Aberdeen scientists fight a war against IEDs.
2. A Marine's toughest battle.
3. World War II vet, 92, wins PTSD disability benefits.
4. Deployed dads' sacrifice tough on the whole family.
5. Veterans' finances hit by friendly fire.
6. Conn. veterans agency to offer discount card.
7. Families fight for financial freedom.
8. Veterans Corner: VA has extended care services available.
9. Disabled Vets Increasingly Cheated By Fund Managers.
10. DoD Conference To Address Military Suicides.
11. Pentagon Must Overcome Bureaucracy On PTSD Diagnoses.
12. Military Families Discuss Challenges At Summit.
13. Conference Held On Needs Of Women Vets.
14. Army Task Force: Female Soldiers Need Better Health Care.
15. Detroit To Host Veterans' Assistance Events.
16. Yes, Wall Street Can Reach Out.
17. Defense And VA Eye Commercial System For Managing Medical Tests.
18. Va. Initiative Seeks To Reduce Veteran Unemployment By Helping
Companies With Hiring, Training.
19. Vets On Patrol For Work.
20. Bills Would Help Veterans, Spouses Work As Nurses, Teachers And EMTs.
21. Governor Launches Effort To Get Businesses To Hire Veterans.
22. Governor Stresses Veteran Support At Convention.
23. Lassa Named VFW Legislator Of The Year.
24. American Legion Dedicates Memorial Room To Late Arkansas VA Director.
25. VFW, A Helping Hand For Homeless Female Veterans.
26. Vet On The Long Road To Recovery.
27. Suicide Rate For Veterans Spikes.
28. VA Threatens Orlando Hospital Contractor.
29. Tuscaloosa VA Dedicates Renovated Women's Wing.
30. Group Questions Data In Hot Springs VA Healthcare Analysis.
31. Workers Point Finger At Their Own Agency Amid A Backlog In Veterans' Benefits.
32. Havre De Grace: Volunteers Gathered To Start Building House For Injured Army Veteran.
33. County Comes Together To Show Support For Wounded Soldier.
34. VA / VSO-MSO Hearings as June 18, 2012:
35. Today in History:
1. Aberdeen scientists fight a war against IEDs. Inside a two-story, cylindrical metal structure at Aberdeen Proving Ground, scientists detonate a homemade bomb to take high-speed pictures of the shrapnel flying apart. Elsewhere on the Army installation in Harford County, soldiers train on radio jammers intended to render enemy remote controls useless. At still another location, inventors work on hand-held test kits that will enable troops to identify chemicals used by bombmakers.
2. A Marine's toughest battle. In his 20 years in the military, Marine Corps Master Sgt. Michael Magon received numerous medals for his service and twice deployed to Iraq. But as a civilian, he struggled.
3. World War II vet, 92, wins PTSD disability benefits. The war gave him flashbacks and nightmares. He flailed around in his sleep, bruising his arms. Memories of being bombed and rocketed seemed real, and painfully intense. Tech Sgt. Stanley Friedman was ultimately diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, the signature disability from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
4. Deployed dads' sacrifice tough on the whole family. When dad is deployed, family life can be tough. Especially on Father's Day.
5. Veterans' finances hit by friendly fire. Albany Times Union In the last six years, the VA has removed 467 fiduciaries for misuse of funds, ... States who was convicted of stealing from a disabled veteran - she worked at a ...
6. Conn. veterans agency to offer discount card. The Hour Connecticut's Department of Veterans' Affairs is partnering with a national program to offer the state's veterans and their families discounts at ...
7. Families fight for financial freedom. Ct Post Across the country, disabled veterans' families are waging bitter battles with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, trying to remove VA-appointed fiduciaries ...
8. Veterans Corner: VA has extended care services available. Hanford Sentinel The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers a spectrum of geriatric and ... of being offered in many local communities where veterans can receive care near their ... on a joint cost-sharing agreement between VA, the veteran and the state.
9. Disabled Vets Increasingly Cheated By Fund Managers. San Francisco Chronicle "Gambling addicts, psychiatric cases and convicted criminals are among the thieves that have been handed control of disabled veterans' finances" by the Veterans Affairs Department, according to a Hearst Newspapers investigation. "For decades, theft and fraud have plagued the fiduciary program, in which the VA appoints a family member or a stranger to manage money for veterans the government considers incapacitated." Although VA spokesperson Josh Taylor "says the program is being reorganized and improvements are being ordered every year," the Hearst analysis of "court records and documents...shows that the thieves' take since 1998 is more than $14.7 million -- almost twice the amount reported to Congress."
10.DoD Conference To Address Military Suicides. Army Times A "conference scheduled for next week in Washington on suicide among US military personnel and veterans has taken on new importance in light of reports showing active duty suicides to date are outpacing last year's numbers." The annual meeting, scheduled for "June 20-23, will bring top officials, including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Jonathan Woodson, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, VA Undersecretary for Health Dr. Robert Petzel and others together to discuss the topic." The Pentagon's Defense Suicide Prevention Office Director Jackie Garrick said the "goal of the conference is to provide basic information, research findings and share best practices in the realm of suicide prevention, different interventions, post-ventions and surveillance activities."
11.Pentagon Must Overcome Bureaucracy On PTSD Diagnoses. Tacoma (WA) News Tribune The Defense Department's plan to expand its review of PTSD diagnoses "back to the 2002 start of the war in Afghanistan and include all branches of the military." However, during a Senate hearing "last week," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta "said he wasn't satisfied with how the military has handled the problem of PTSD diagnoses." Panetta and VA Secretary Eric Shinseki have been "meeting on the subject and trying to implement improvements" but Sen. Patty Murray is rightly "concerned that a military bogged down in bureaucracy won't be able to both handle a 10-year review and address current mental health concerns at the same time." The DOD "needs to be more forthcoming with its plans for cutting through the bureaucracy and funding treatment for mental health problems."
12.Military Families Discuss Challenges At Summit. Columbus (GA) Ledger-Enquirer About 200 people sought help at the 2012 Congressional Military Family Caucus Summit on June 14 at the National Infantry Museum & Soldier Center. Military Family Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr. (D-Albany) "said the major topics at the summit included health and wellness, education and employment among soldiers, veterans and their families." Patricia Shinseki, the "wife of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and who serves on the White House Joining Forces Initiative, said employment is needed for veterans and spouses," who possess "tremendous leadership skills and value a strong work ethic to present employers with valuable assets." The unemployment rate is "12.7 percent for veterans and 25 percent for military spouses."
13.Conference Held On Needs Of Women Vets. AP Massachusetts Department of Veterans' Services hosted its "annual conference for women veterans" on Saturday at the Bristol Community College in Fall River. The goal of the annual event is to help "provide women veterans with information on federal, state, and local benefits while expanding awareness of the needs of women veterans and advocating on their behalf." The keynote speaker was "Colonel Susan Luz, author of 'The Nightingale of Mosul.'"
14.Army Task Force: Female Soldiers Need Better Health Care. USA Today An Army task force "led by female officers," has issued a report calling for "basic improvements" to help women "avoid higher rates of urinary tract or vaginal infections, stress-related menstrual difficulties and the chafing, bruising and bleeding caused by ill-fitting body armor designed for men." Task Force Leader Army Col. Anne Naclerio said data indicated the Army treated "about 450 women for urinary tract infections in Afghanistan" last year. Factors contributing to infections include a "tendency by women to drink less water and delay urinating while on a mission in full battle gear." But the task force found that women are not being made aware that a device, which enables them "to urinate standing up" is available during deployment.
15.Detroit To Host Veterans' Assistance Events. American Forces Press Service From June 26 through June 29, Detroit's Cobo Center will "host three major" VA-sponsored events: The VA for Vets Hiring Fair, the Veteran Open House, and the National Veterans Small Business Conference and Expo. Detroit's VA for Vets Hiring Fair is "free and will feature some 22,000 federal and private-sector job openings." VA hosted its "first veterans hiring fair here on Jan. 18, attracting more than 4,100 veterans and resulting in more than 2,600 on-the-spot interviews as well as more than 500 tentative job offers. ... 'We had a number of folks who went home that night employed, which I think is a terrific signal...that the opportunities are real and the jobs are available,'" VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki told the AFPS "about the Washington event."
16.Yes, Wall Street Can Reach Out. New York Times Last year, nearly "one of every three young male veterans was out of work" but Drexel Hamilton is "trying to change" that statistic. The institutional brokerage firm contributes 20 percent of its expenses "toward housing, educating and training" disabled veterans for careers in finance. In 2007, disabled Vietnam veteran Lawrence K. Doll used his own money to found Drexel Hamilton, which now has "$3.2 million in assets, six offices across the country and 35 employees," nine of whom are veterans. Doll is also "co-founder of the Wall Street Warfighters Foundation, a nonprofit group that finds candidates for banking careers and subsidizes a portion of their training at Drexel Hamilton."
17.Defense And VA Eye Commercial System For Managing Medical Tests. NextGov VA and DOD have "decided to focus on commercial products for a system to track laboratory work such as blood tests within their integrated electronic health record." In a June 5 RFI, the Military Health System "asked potential vendors to provide information on developing a lab information capability that includes commercial off-the-shelf products." VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and Defense Department CIO Roger Baker have "backed using open source software for the iEHR, which will cost $4 billion to develop and is slated for deployment in 2017." A draft "blueprint for the iEHR that Nextgov obtained said the future health record data infrastructure will end up as a hybrid of public and private data centers."
18.Va. Initiative Seeks To Reduce Veteran Unemployment By Helping Companies With Hiring, Training. AP "New initiative in Virginia is taking a different approach to reducing veteran unemployment. Instead of focusing on helping veterans with job searches, Virginia Values Veterans will help employers that want to hire, train and retain them." The state Department of Veterans Services "announced V3 this week during a conference attended by more than 40 employers." Virginia Business Magazine Companies that are "part of the program will go through a certification process that includes customized workforce assessment and training. Spotsylvania-based TMG Inc. will work with DVS to create the certification program."
19.Vets On Patrol For Work. Bergen (NJ) Record "Nearly 250 veterans and active-duty military personnel came to Rutgers University on Thursday to face a new battlefront: Landing a job at the tail end of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. The turnout was for the 'Job and GI Bill Fair' sponsored by the Rutgers Office of Veteran and Military Programs and Services and the G.I. Go Fund."
20.Bills Would Help Veterans, Spouses Work As Nurses, Teachers And EMTs. Burlington County (NJ) Times New Jersey lawmakers have "advanced three pieces of legislation intended to help veterans and their spouses land jobs as nurses, teachers, and emergency medical technicians and paramedics." Approved June 14 by the Assembly's "Military and Veterans' Affairs committees, two measures would require state boards to create temporary nursing licenses and teacher certificates for qualified military spouses who hold similar credentials from other states." The third measure "requires the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services to certify EMTs or paramedics who have equivalent military training or experience in the armed forces or National Guard."
21.Governor Launches Effort To Get Businesses To Hire Veterans. WPSD-TV Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear "announced Friday a statewide effort to connect returning members of the National Guard, Reserve and other veterans with job openings in the state." Joined by "military, veteran, workforce and business leaders at the annual state convention of Disabled American Veterans," Beshear unveiled the "Hiring Kentucky Heroes partnership and Web resource that will bring together veterans seeking jobs with employers needing workers." The partnership "brings together expertise and resources from several agencies to focus on a statewide strategy to assist veterans and employers to accomplish their employment goals."
22.Governor Stresses Veteran Support At Convention. Huntington (WV) Herald-Dispatch West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin "stressed the importance of taking care" of the state's veterans "during the second day of the 91st annual Veterans of Foreign Wars state convention at the Pullman Plaza Hotel" in Huntington. Tomblin detailed "some of the ways he and the members of the legislature have provided that support, including the new veterans cemetery in Dunbar and the creation of a cabinet-level position for veterans affairs." VFW Post 1064 Commander Scottie King said the convention, which will be "held in Huntington for the next two years, brings close to 600 veterans and their family members to town."
23.Lassa Named VFW Legislator Of The Year. Stevens Point (WI) Journal Wisconsin Veterans of Foreign Wars named state Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point) as the "2012 Legislator of the Year." Lassa, the "ranking member of the Senate Committee on Economic Development and Veterans and Military Affairs, received the award during the Wisconsin VFW annual convention" in Green Bay on June 14. Veterans-focused bills passed by Lassa during the "2011-12 session," included measures to "create a tax credit for hiring disabled veterans, expand state hiring preferences for disabled vets, and make it easier for veterans to obtain professional licenses and certifications."
24.American Legion Dedicates Memorial Room To Late Arkansas VA Director. KATV-TV "An Arkansas native who served during the Vietnam War is being remembered this weekend for his service to our country and state. Today, a crowd turned out at American Legion Post One in Little Rock for the Nick Bacon Memorial Room Dedication Ceremony. Staff Sergeant Bacon was the last living Congressional Medal of Honor recipient from the State of Arkansas prior to his death in 2010. Bacon served as director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs and he also helped establish the state Veterans Cemetery."
25.VFW, A Helping Hand For Homeless Female Veterans. Catskill (NY) Daily Mail "Recently the VFW Ladies Auxiliary held an open house at their post on Whitbeck Street" to raise money for the "Guardian House in Ballston Spa and raise awareness about the Auxiliary." The Guardian House, which "opened last summer, is one of only two homes in New York State designed to accommodate women who have returned from active military duty and find themselves" homeless. The home offers "mental health services, job training, and drug and alcohol counseling."
26.Vet On The Long Road To Recovery. Atlanta Journal-Constitution Army Capt. David McRaney, who has "spent the last two years of his military career coping with a traumatic brain injury." While serving in Afghanistan in 2010, McRaney, was hit by a mortar explosion, which lodged "metal shrapnel" in his cerebellum and caused "fractures in his occipital and temporal lobes." His recovery has been a "slow and challenging process."
27.Suicide Rate For Veterans Spikes. KOAT-TV The suicide rate for veterans in New Mexico is "twice that of civilians. More than once a week a New Mexico veteran dies by suicide, according to the VA hospital. Right now, Dr. Brenda Mayne is tracking 352 vets who are considered high risk for suicide."
28.VA Threatens Orlando Hospital Contractor. Orlando Sentinel "Long-simmering tensions" between Veterans Affairs and one of its "largest contractors boiled over Friday when the agency warned Brasfield & Gorrie that it must speed up construction of Orlando's new VA Hospital or risk of losing its contract." The VA issued a notice giving Brasfield & Gorrie "no more than 10 days to develop a plan to increase the number of construction workers on the project, now estimated at 500 or fewer." The agency also wants the contract to "get going on sections of the 1.2 million-square-foot facility not embroiled in disputes that already have delayed its completion date by several months to the summer of 2013, if not later." Central Florida News 13 the VA issued a "Contract Cure Notice, which gives the contractor a written notice to hurry up and hire the people necessary to get the job done."
29.Tuscaloosa VA Dedicates Renovated Women's Wing. Tuscaloosa (AL) News On Friday celebrate the opening of the newly renovated women's wing within the residential rehabilitation treatment program at the Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center." The newly renovated, $300,000 VAMC includes an "eight-bed unit with a living room and lounge area, a laundry room, a spa with a whirlpool and a salon area, where women can receive beauty treatments. ... 'It is important that we provide exceptional care to both men and women who have fought for our nation's freedom. This new wing will ensure that female veterans receive the accommodations that they deserve,'
30.Group Questions Data In Hot Springs VA Healthcare Analysis. KEVN-TV "The thought of shutting down the Veterans Hospital in Hot Springs received immediate rejection as soon residents there heard the idea earlier this year. Now a veterans affairs economic analysis says the department's plan to restructure its Black Hills Health Care System would save major cash, about $26 million annually. The study concludes that it would be more cost-effective to turn the VA hospital into a clinic and rebuild a new facility in Rapid City. But this new report isn't setting well with the Save the VA Committee, which says the town of Hot Springs would see 263 full-time workers cut. Black Hills Health Care System Director Steve di Stasio this afternoon said that nothing is finalized and he would gladly sit down with the group to go over its plan."
31.Workers Point Finger At Their Own Agency Amid A Backlog In Veterans' Benefits. New York Times Columbia, South Carolina, Veterans Benefits office staff will picket Saturday to call attention to the claims-processing "dysfunction within their own bureaucracy." VA officials and the Columbia protesters agree that
32.Havre De Grace: Volunteers Gathered To Start Building House For Injured Army Veteran. Hartford County (MD) Aegis As "part of the nonprofit Homes for Our Troops" program, wounded Army Medic SSG Kelly Keck and his family will "soon hold the keys to a new, accessible house off Old Level Road in Havre de Grace." A ceremony Friday "morning kicked off a weekend event in which volunteers and contractors from Harford County based Bob Ward Companies are joining a Build Brigade to erect the outside of the Kecks' new home." Keck, who "lost a leg and suffered a severe hand injury during his first deployment in Afghanistan, is part of a larger project to build homes for other injured veterans."
33.County Comes Together To Show Support For Wounded Soldier. Bucyrus Telegraph Forum "No one person has brought Crawford County together more than Nick Vogt. In an area of about 40,000 people, where letter-jacket mentality sometimes rules, there have been no school colors waved when it comes to the story of Vogt, a soldier injured in Afghanistan." He was "reason for a block rally Friday, put on by the South 200, a group of business owners in the 200 block of South Sandusky Avenue." Friday's event was the "third year the rally was held and this year all donations went to the Nick Vogt Hope Fund." The family reports Vogt is "making a slow recovery" at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
34.VA / VSO-MSO Hearings as June 18, 2012:
June 19, 2012: The House Veterans Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on VA’s Veterans Benefits Management System. 2:00 P.M.; TBD
June 21, 2012. HVAC, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity will hold a hearing on pending legislation. 10:00 A.M.; 334 Cannon
June 27, 2012. SVAC will conduct a legislative hearing. The agenda is comprised mainly of bills regarding health care, disability compensation, and NCA matters. 10:00 A.M.; 418 Russell
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32.Havre De Grace: Volunteers Gathered To Start Building House For Injured Army Veteran. Hartford County (MD) Aegis As "part of the nonprofit Homes for Our Troops" program, wounded Army Medic SSG Kelly Keck and his family will "soon hold the keys to a new, accessible house off Old Level Road in Havre de Grace." A ceremony Friday "morning kicked off a weekend event in which volunteers and contractors from Harford County based Bob Ward Companies are joining a Build Brigade to erect the outside of the Kecks' new home." Keck, who "lost a leg and suffered a severe hand injury during his first deployment in Afghanistan, is part of a larger project to build homes for other injured veterans."
33.County Comes Together To Show Support For Wounded Soldier. Bucyrus Telegraph Forum "No one person has brought Crawford County together more than Nick Vogt. In an area of about 40,000 people, where letter-jacket mentality sometimes rules, there have been no school colors waved when it comes to the story of Vogt, a soldier injured in Afghanistan." He was "reason for a block rally Friday, put on by the South 200, a group of business owners in the 200 block of South Sandusky Avenue." Friday's event was the "third year the rally was held and this year all donations went to the Nick Vogt Hope Fund." The family reports Vogt is "making a slow recovery" at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
34.VA / VSO-MSO Hearings as June 18, 2012:
June 19, 2012: The House Veterans Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on VA’s Veterans Benefits Management System. 2:00 P.M.; TBD
June 21, 2012. HVAC, Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity will hold a hearing on pending legislation. 10:00 A.M.; 334 Cannon
June 27, 2012. SVAC will conduct a legislative hearing. The agenda is comprised mainly of bills regarding health care, disability compensation, and NCA matters. 10:00 A.M.; 418 Russell
A welcoming home for our Troops.
