1.     Thousands of veterans flock to Detroit for hiring fair at Cobo. 

2.     San Diego neighbors oppose veterans treatment center. 

3.     Making sure military ballots are counted is project's priority. 

4.     Trucking companies scramble to find enough workers. 

5.     Korean man recognized for failed effort to rescue trapped GIs during war. 

6.     New Law Allows Veteran Designation on South Dakota Driver License. 

7.     New Mental Health Center at VA Palo Alto Health Care System Opens. 

8.     Bill proposed to change PTSD military programs. 

9.     Nation's Largest Veterans Job Fair Headed To Detroit This Week. 

10.  Two Organizations Offering Free Transportation To Hiring Fair. 

11.  Veteran Takes Note of VA's "Huge Hiring Fair." 

12.  Technology Tapped To Help Reduce Suicide Risk. 

13.  VA Highlighting Its Coaching Into Care Program. 

14.  VA Hiring More Mental Health Employees. 

15.  Panetta Says VA And DoD Are Working Together To Prevent Suicides.

16.  Employment Key To Helping Veterans Adjust To Life Back Home. 

17.  Top Court Won't Consider Cross At US Veterans' Memorial. 

18.  Double-Whammy: PTSD And Substance Abuse. 

19.  San Diego Neighbors Oppose Veterans Treatment Center. 

20.  Scout Builds Garden For Veterans. 

21.  "God Bless America" Riders Visit Lebanon VAMC. 

22.  Baker: VBMS On Track. 

23.  VA CIO Roger Baker's May IT Report. 

24.  Liability Claims Drop With EHRs. 

25.  Funds Available For Veterans Affected By Flooding. 

26.  Still Reliving The Nightmare Of War. 

27.  New USF Therapy May Ease PTSD. 

28.  New Company Focuses On Veterans. 

29.  VA / VSO-MSO Hearings as June 27, 2012: 

30.  Today in History:

 

1.    Thousands of veterans flock to Detroit for hiring fair at Cobo.  Detroit Free Press  The job fair got under way Tuesday, and, according to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs official Mary Santiago, it's "the largest hiring event that the VA has ...

 

2.    San Diego neighbors oppose veterans treatment center.  A plan for a 40-bed treatment center in San Diego for military veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury has run into opposition from neighborhood groups and a nearby charter school.

 

3.    Making sure military ballots are counted is project's priority.  Tens of thousands of military servicemembers attempting to vote by absentee ballot in recent years haven’t had their votes counted because of various problems with the system, according to authorities that track voter participation. The Military Voter Protection Project is promoting efforts to ensure that the votes of all military members are counted.

 

4.    Trucking companies scramble to find enough workers.  Despite a national unemployment rate topping eight percent, trucking companies are struggling to recruit and retain enough drivers due to a host of factors. But a North Carolina trucking academy reports an enrollment spike thanks to a new Department of Veterans Affairs policy that pays upfront the cost of driver training school for returning military veterans.

 

5.    Korean man recognized for failed effort to rescue trapped GIs during war.  Kim Je Kwon remembers huddling with her family inside a dark tunnel in war-ridden Korea more than six decades ago and crying as her father left. It was the last time she saw her father, Kim Jae Hyun, who was killed as he drove a train through enemy lines to Daejeon in an attempt to rescue U.S. troops.

 

6.    New Law Allows Veteran Designation on South Dakota Driver License.  Chamberlain Oacoma Sun  ... Departments of Public Safety and Veterans Affairsremind military veterans that ... July 1 allows them to have a veteran designation on their state-issued driver ...

7.    New Mental Health Center at VA Palo Alto Health Care System Opens.  Business Wire The Department of Veterans Affairs Under Secretary for Health, Dr. Robert Petzel joined Veterans, staff and congressional representatives on June 22

 

8.    Bill proposed to change PTSD military programs.  TheNewsTribune.com  U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., on Monday submitted legislation that would ...programs in the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs ...

 

9.    Nation's Largest Veterans Job Fair Headed To Detroit This Week.  Grand Rapids (MI) Press  "Thousands of veterans from throughout the country are converging in Detroit for a veterans job fair, small business conference and open house." The US Department of Veterans Affairs "expects up to 11,000 veterans to attend its free VA for Vets Hiring Fair from Tuesday through Thursday at the Cobo Center in Detroit." This hiring fair, VA's "largest-ever," will take place in "in conjunction with a Veteran Open House and National Veteran Small Business Conference and Expo." Mike Walcoff, events coordinator for the hiring fair, small business conference and open house, said, "If you come down to Cobo and give us a day of your time, we think that you'll learn things, whether it be at the small business conference, the open house or hopefully through your contacts at the hiring fair, that will benefit you the rest of your life."  AP  "The National Veteran Small Business Conference and Expo takes place Tuesday through Friday" at the Cobo Center in downtown Detroit. At the same location, there will also be a benefits open house for vets a VA For Vets Hiring Fair that "will offer the chance at thousands of private sector or government jobs. The events are sponsored" by the US VA.

 

10.Two Organizations Offering Free Transportation To Hiring Fair. WYBR-FM "Ferris State University along with Michigan Works! West-Central are offering free charter bus service to Detroit for a Veteran Hiring Fair and open house hosted by the Department of Veterans Affairs Wednesday at COBO Center. Michelle Herron, Business Services Director with Michigan Works! West Central says" the fair will link veterans with companies that are hiring, and will help veterans "translate their military skills into workplace skills that employers can relate to."

 

11.Veteran Takes Note of VA's "Huge Hiring Fair." Daily Beast VA is "throwing a huge hiring fair this week in Detroit." Colby adds, however, "Just 5,000 people have registered, and the VA is optimistically anticipating that 10,000 will show up-which means there will be well more than twice as many jobs offered as job seekers." Colby also says he fears that when he is out of school, which is being paid for by Post-9/11 GI Bill, he will only be able to find work in low-pay positions.

 

12.Technology Tapped To Help Reduce Suicide Risk. US Navy Seals "On Wednesday, June 20, VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki revealed a push towards making greater use of video conferences between" mental healthcare patients and doctors. Shinseki also "said that an increasing number of Veterans were communicating with the VA through electronic means, such as online chatting and text messaging, a trend that the VA is encouraging as it can help reduce the stigma that some patients feel when they seek help." The blog points out that in another attempt to help veterans with mental health problems, VA "intends to gradually integrate its electronic health records with those maintained by the Department of Defense."

 

13.VA Highlighting Its Coaching Into Care Program. Stars And Stripes  Mental health experts attending a suicide prevention conference hosted last week by Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department "noted that often friends and family members of veterans are more likely to see signs of depression and stress in those former troops than the veterans themselves. As part of post-traumatic stress disorder month, VA officials are trying to remobilize those caregivers in their outreach effort. As part of a national media campaign," VA is "highlighting its Coaching into Care program, which gives callers advice and ideas on ways to 'encourage the veteran to seek care while respecting his or her right to make personal decisions.'" In a statement, Shinseki said the program can help VA expand its "reach to those who need our services the most."

 

14.VA Hiring More Mental Health Employees. Healthcare Design Magazine  VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Robert Petzel "joined Veterans, staff and congressional representatives on June 22 to open a state-of-the-art, 80-bed acute mental health center at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System." The magazine notes that in April, Shinseki "announced VA would add approximately 1,600 mental health clinicians as well as nearly 300 support staff to its existing workforce of 20,590 to help meet the increased demand for mental health services. The additional staff would include nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers."

 

15.Panetta Says VA And DoD Are Working Together To Prevent Suicides. Military.com  Speaking Friday at the annual suicide prevention conference hosted by VA and the Defense Department, DoD Secretary Leon Panetta "outlined what he called four 'pillars' of a strategy to end this year's rash of military suicides." Panetta "identified the four pillars of his program for tackling suicide as leadership; improving health care quality and access; elevating mental fitness to the importance of physical fitness; and increasing research into suicide prevention." Panetta "said DoD and the VA already are developing an information repository that should improve analysis of suicides and attempted suicides and spot trends that will help troops' buddies, co-workers and families recognize problem signs."

 

16.Employment Key To Helping Veterans Adjust To Life Back Home. HealthDay  "Having a job and social support are among the factors that greatly reduce the risk of violence by US veterans, a new study finds." The study's leader, Veterans Affairs psychologist Eric Elbogen, said in a news release that when "you hear about veterans committing acts of violence, many people assume that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or combat exposure are to blame. But our study shows that is not necessarily true. Our study suggests the incidence of violence could be reduced by helping veterans develop and maintain protective factors in their lives back home." The study, according to HealthDay, was "published June 25 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry."

 

17.Top Court Won't Consider Cross At US Veterans' Memorial. Bloomberg News The US Supreme Court has "rejected an Obama administration appeal aimed at preserving a 29-foot Christian cross at a veterans' memorial on federal land in San Diego, California. The justices, without comment, left intact a federal appeals court decision that the display of the cross is an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion." Those "challenging the display, a Vietnam veteran and the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, said the cross was 'erected for an avowedly religious purpose and used for religious ceremonies for decades.'"

 

18.Double-Whammy: PTSD And Substance Abuse. Time  Bingham Jamison, a "Marine who saw action in Iraq and came home the worse for wear, is the subject of a new video" by the Veterans Healing Initiative (VHI). The initiative is a "nonprofit group dedicated to getting veterans treatment for substance abuse" and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the video, Jamison, a member of VHI's military advisory board, says, "VHI offers support to veterans from all conflicts, of all ages, men and women, regardless of military status or medical insurance coverage." Jamison says his hope "is that people who watch the film are motivated to share its message, energized to donate to its cause, and impassioned to help other veterans in need."

 

19.San Diego Neighbors Oppose Veterans Treatment Center. Los Angeles Times  In San Diego, a "plan for a 40-bed treatment center for military veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury has run into opposition from neighborhood groups and a nearby charter school." The "volatile issue is set to be discussed by the City Council on Tuesday, although it could be delayed for 30 days to allow compromise negotiations to continue. The Department of Veterans Affairs has allocated $30 million for the Aspire Center project, starting with remodeling a former Thomas Jefferson School of Law building on San Diego Avenue in the Old Town neighborhood."