VA Veterans News for Saturday, June 23, 2012.  Thanks to Kevin Secor, VA VSO Liaison

 

1.     VA hopes for an increase in remote conference appointments. 

2.     Lawmakers charge Air Force hostile to religious freedom. 

3.     Threats from cyber to terror supplant Cold War's clearer dangers. 

4.     Hundreds of Employers Offering Thousands of Jobs at Detroit. 

5.     States working to take better care of soldiers upon returning home. 

6.     A beautiful Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Center. 

7.     Hiring Of Military Veterans May Reach 240,000 -- White House. 

8.     Canandaigua VA's Employer Information Seminar Precedes Detroit Hiring Fair. 

9.     Hickey Says Detroit Event Will Include VRAP Outreach. 

10.  New Systems Help Veterans Find Jobs In Transportation Industry. 

11.  VA Aims For 200,000 Telehealth Consults. 

12.  Shinseki Calls For More Research Into The Mentality Behind Suicide. 

13.  Blogger Hopes Substance Abuse Remarks In Shinseki Speech Lead To Change At VA. 

14.  A VA Medical System More Responsive To Women. 

15.  Federal Employees Urged To Use Best Practices Library For Section 508 Implementation. 

16.  Army General Retracts Statement About Suicide. 

17.  Veterans Rural Healthcare Discussion. 

18.  Documentary Film "The Invisible War" Takes On Military Sexual Assault "Epidemic." 

19.  VA / VSO-MSO Hearings as June 23, 2012:

20.  Today in History:

 

1.    VA hopes for an increase in remote conference appointments.  Officials expect a policy change will boost their video and telephone consultation numbers and provide both easier and faster appointments for veterans

 

2.    Lawmakers charge Air Force hostile to religious freedom.  In a letter to Panetta, Republican representatives blast the Air Force for "censorship" of references to the Bible and religion in mottoes, courses and briefings.

 

3.    Threats from cyber to terror supplant Cold War's clearer dangers.  The United States is searching for ways to deter, defend against and respond to ever-increasing cyber attacks and more diverse terrorist threats, even as it tries to cut spending and finance weapons conceived during the Cold War.

 

4.    Hundreds of Employers Offering Thousands of Jobs at Detroit.  Business Wire  The Department of Veterans Affairs continues to receive commitments from ...Federal employers looking to hire Veterans include VA and the departments of ...

 

5.    States working to take better care of soldiers upon returning home.  Gazette.Net: Maryland Community News Online  Services slowly ramp up to help veterans. ... Anthony Brown, himself a veteran of the Iraq war who deployed in 2004, serving in Baghdad, ... an initiative, Maryland's Commitment to Veterans, through the state Department of Veterans Affairs ...

 

6.    A beautiful Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Center.  San Jose Mercury News  unveiled in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday afternoon, is a tangible example of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' national expansion of mental health ...

 

7.    Hiring Of Military Veterans May Reach 240,000 -- White House. Wall Street Journal In order to reach its goal of getting private companies to hire 100,000 veterans and military spouses by the end of 2013, the Obama Administration created Joining Forces. Now, 1,600 employers support Joining Forces and over 70,000 veterans and military spouses have been hired. Joining Forces Executive Director Brad Cooper says the supporting employers have committed to hire another 170,000 veterans and military spouses. The Journal also notes that on Thursday, the second annual Veterans On Wall Street job fair was to be held in New York City. And next week in Detroit, Veterans Affairs will host what the Journal calls a three-day job fair for vets. Jo Schuda, a VA spokeswoman, said more than 200 Federal and private employers will attend the event in the hopes of hiring veterans to fill more than 20,000 job openings.

 

8.    Canandaigua VA's Employer Information Seminar Precedes Detroit Hiring Fair.  Finger Lakes (NY) Times  "In a continuing effort to help returning veterans enter the workforce, the Canandaigua VA Medical Center" was scheduled to host an "employer information seminar" on Thursday. Dan Ryan, public affairs officer at the hospital, stressed the importance of Thursday's event, saying it would allow the Canandaigua VA to meet "with area employers so we can talk to them about the benefits of hiring veterans." Ryan also called VA's annual National Veterans Small Business Conference and Expo, scheduled to be held next week in Detroit, the "VA event of the year." John Gingrich, the national VA chief of staff, added, "In addition to the National Veterans Small Business Conference, our Detroit hiring fair will provide veterans with on-the-spot job opportunities and interviews, while also offering career search classes and one-on-one counseling."

 

9.    Hickey Says Detroit Event Will Include VRAP Outreach. Finger Lakes (NY) Times "In its ongoing efforts to provide unemployed veterans with the education and training they need to compete for high-demand jobs, the Department of Veterans Affairs will seek out veterans who may be qualified for its new" Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP). The "recruitment effort will occur June 26 to 28 at the Detroit 'VA for Vets' job fair. The program allows qualifying veterans between the ages of 35 and 60 to receive up to 12 months of education assistance." The Times quoted VA Undersecretary for Benefits Allison Hickey, who said, "In addition to our other efforts to get the word out about VRAP, we believe the Detroit event is an excellent way to reach potentially qualified veterans."

 

10.New Systems Help Veterans Find Jobs In Transportation Industry. Florida Today On Thursday, US Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood "unveiled a new portal on their departments' websites designed to help military veterans find jobs in the transportation industry. The portal on the US DOT and the VA websites will link to the Veterans Transportation Career Center, where veterans can enter their military work experience and see how it translates to jobs in the civilian world." The portal "will guide veterans to jobs in five categories: aviation pilot, aviation maintenance technician, air traffic controller, commercial motor vehicle driver and emergency medical services." .

 

11.VA Aims For 200,000 Telehealth Consults. Modern Healthcare  Veterans Affairs Department "said it has set a goal of conducting more than 200,000 'telemental health' consultations during fiscal 2012 in an effort to increase veterans' access to mental healthcare services." Telemental "'health provides veterans quicker and more efficient access to the types of care they seek,' said VA Secretary Eric Shinseki in the release." According to Shinseki, VA is "leveraging technology to reduce the distance" veterans "have to travel, increase the flexibility of the system they use and improve their overall quality of life."

 

12.Shinseki Calls For More Research Into The Mentality Behind Suicide. FOX News The suicide prevention conference being put on this week by VA and the Defense Department is "'back to basics' – an attempt to ensure all VA caregivers are knowledgeable of the primary techniques for preventing suicide." While speaking earlier this week at the conference, Shinseki "called for more research into the mentality behind suicide and a national commitment to end this terrible trend. 'Mental health professionals tell me that intervention works,' Shinseki said," adding, "The challenge is knowing when and where to intervene. We have demonstrated that we can react well, but is this good enough for the long term?"

 

13.Blogger Hopes Substance Abuse Remarks In Shinseki Speech Lead To Change At VA. NextGov  "In a powerful and compassionate speech delivered Wednesday at the fourth annual Suicide Prevention Conference hosted by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki zeroed in on substance abuse as a root cause of suicides and veteran homelessness. Shinseki acknowledged that the VA needs to take a look at the role it plays in substance abuse." Brewin adds, "Hopefully this speech marks recognition throughout VA that when it comes to substance abuse, the department has played a major role in causing the problem and it needs to find a better solution."

 

14.A VA Medical System More Responsive To Women.  AOL Government  2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalist Patricia Hayes. Hayes, "Chief Consultant, Women Veterans Health Strategic Health Care Group at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, DC," is a "finalist for the Career Achievement Medal." Hayes is "leading an ambitious Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) initiative to make the male-dominated medical system more responsive to the growing number of women who have served in the military."

 

15.Federal Employees Urged To Use Best Practices Library For Section 508 Implementation. FierceGovernmentIT  "Accessibility officials emphasized use of a new online Section 508 best practices library as a guide for agency implementation of the law requiring comparable access by the disabled to information technology services during a May 24 webinar." Using "and sharing best practices is 'critical' to successful application of Section 508, said Pat Sheehan, Section 508 coordinator at the Veterans Affairs Department. Sheehan also cited 'the power to communicate with senior leadership' as an integral aspect of each agency strategy designed to carry out Section 508 policies."

 

16.Army General Retracts Statement About Suicide. Military Times

 

17.Veterans Rural Healthcare Discussion. Wenatchee (WA) World

 

18.Documentary Film "The Invisible War" Takes On Military Sexual Assault "Epidemic."  MSNBC

 

19.VA / VSO-MSO Hearings as June 23, 2012:

            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