7.     VA Extends Verification Term for Veteran Entrepreneurs.  Business Wire  The Department of Veterans Affairs is doubling the amount of time before the owners of service-disabled, Veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB) and V. ... U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs RSS feed for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ...

 

8.     Veteran's lost trust in Carlson.  Monroe News Star  This letter is in response to the letter that Lane Carlson, Secretary of Louisiana's Department of Veterans Affairs, wrote to The News-Star on June 27, praising how Louisiana has taken really good care of the veterans at the Northeast Louisiana War ...

 

9.     Veteran's friends fight for recognition Huntsman man earned in World War II.  StandardNet  Now, thanks to information provided by Larry Dawson of West Haven, outreach specialist with the Utah Department of Veterans Affairs, their quest may be nearing its end. Dawson was able to locate DeVries' discharge records in files located only at the ...

 

10.                        VA For Vets Event "A Great Success."  American Legion During the Detroit VA for Vets hiring and veteran-owned small business networking event, "it was evident" VA Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration John Sepúlveda "was a happy man." The event was Sepúlveda's "baby, even though he was joined by an estimated 600 VA employees." According to Sepúlveda, it was the "second largest hiring fair and conference of its type staged by VA." Sepúlveda recalled the words of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, who said during his keynote address Wednesday, "We hear you -- the veteran-owned small business community and the service disabled small business community -- and we're working with you." Shinseki also "emphasized the need to increase responsibility and accountability among" VA senior staff members; and he "addressed concerns about the veteran-owned small business verification process."

  

11.                        Veterans, Active Duty Military Converge On Special Job Fair In Cleveland.  Willoughby (OH) News-Herald  Joe Gojevic, 39, "thought his military background" and Master's degree would "help him find work in the private sector. But the college-educated, bilingual Middlefield Village resident has been underemployed for 26 months." Gojevic was "one of an estimated 350 to 400 veterans and active duty military members" who visited the "Wolstein Center in Cleveland" on Friday for the 2012 Hiring Our Heroes Hiring Fair where "about 100 employers and veterans services organizations" set up booths. Republic Steel's Human Resources Administrator Cassie Sisler "said her company has 400 salaried and hourly positions open." STERIS Corp. Recruiter John Carter "said the global manufacturer of infection prevention products places a huge emphasis on diversity hiring -- focusing on veterans."

 

12.                        Boulder's TechStars Launches Program Focused On Veterans.  Boulder (CO) Daily Camera "Boulder-based startup accelerator TechStars is launching a unique program to help veterans and service members." The new "Patriot Boot Camp, seeks to provide veterans and military personnel interested in creating their own tech companies the skills and tools they need to launch their ideas. Running from July 18-20 in Washington, D.C., the intensive course includes lectures and personal collaborative sessions with TechStars mentors and alumni, as well as other tech industry insiders and motivated entrepreneurs, and the chance to interact with successful startup companies." Patriot Boot Camp is "part of TechStars' new RisingStars program, which seeks to extend startup opportunities to demographic groups that are now underrepresented in the tech world."

 

13.                        Hiring Military Veterans July 12.  Lincolnshire (IL) Review "With a goal of hiring at least 100,000 veterans by 2020, a coalition of more than 60 companies, government agencies and veteran groups will host a hiring event" on July 12 at the University of Illinois' UIC Forum in Chicago. The "100,000 Jobs Mission" hiring event, which is for "military veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses," will be "held in collaboration with the Illinois Department of Employment Security, Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, JP Morgan Chase, Joining Forces, University of Illinois at Chicago, American Legion, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Student Veterans of America, US Department of Labor – VETS, US Department of Veterans Affairs and Veterans of Foreign Wars."

 

14.                        Thousands Attend Detroit Hiring Event. WWTV-TV "Thousands of jobless veterans right here in Michigan hope to connect with employers. Veterans across the state have had the opportunity to attend a job fair at the Cobo Center in Detroit this week. ... Veterans met with successful business owners, networked with employees, and gained employment training and advice. Many of the vets have families they need to support." Marine veteran Scott Bennefield said, "This is something that my daughters and me really need because it's been three months, it's the longest I've ever been unemployed. I've worked my whole life since I returned from the service, and hopefully, I can return that work ethic back to an employer." WWTV added, "The event was hosted by the US Department of Veterans Affairs."

15.                        Lawmakers Vote To Create VA Burn Pit Registry.  Army Times The House VA Health Subcommittee on Friday voted in favor of creating a registry to monitor "service members and veterans to determine if there are any ill effects from being close to or downwind of the open fires used to dispose of solid waste in Iraq and Afghanistan." The Open Burn Pit Registry Act (HR 3337 [pdf]) gives VA "180 days to establish the registry"; and it requires the agency to issue "periodic notifications" to the registrants on research and treatments associated with toxic-chemical exposure. VA officials objected to the bill, saying there are "other ways to identify and track Iraq and Afghanistan veterans exposed to burn pits" and questioning whether burn pits "even posed a serious problem."

 

16.                        Subcommittee Approves Measure Requiring Homeless Veterans Facilities To Meet Building Safety Codes. CQ  Before approving HR 3337, lawmakers by voice vote adopted an amendment by Cliff Stearns (R-FL) that would "limit the amount the VA can pay in performance bonuses to VA senior staff." And in a separate voice vote, the subcommittee "approved legislation (HR 4079 [pdf]), that would require an organization that seeks funding from the VA for services to homeless veterans to provide documentation that their building meets or exceeds all safety codes." Meanwhile, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki has "set a goal of providing housing for every homeless veteran by 2015"; and both the House and the Senate FY2013 "Military Construction-VA appropriations bills ( HR 5854,S 3215 [pdf]) would provide about $5.8 billion for healthcare and support services for homeless veterans."

 

17.                        Veterans Speak Out About PTSD, Suicide.  WAFB-TV New Orleans Veterans Affairs Outreach Director Mike McNaughton is also a wounded Afghanistan veteran, who has had "his own experiences with PTSD and uses that knowledge to help fellow military members." He said there is "a lot of resistance from soldiers to seek help because of the stigmas associated with PTSD. According to McNaughton, military members are viewed as tough and invincible and admitting a mental issue is perceived by many as being weak." However, there are various resources available: The Louisiana VA has "four veteran centers that use a variety of techniques to help veterans"; and the Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention Center "specializes in suicide prevention."

 

18.                        Chiarelli Seeks Clarity In PTSD Treatment.  Seattle Times  Speaking Thursday at the National Alliance on Mental Illness convention in Seattle, retired Army Gen. Peter Chiarelli "described how his frustrations with the current state of mental-health medicine led to his new role as chief executive of One Mind for Research." After he "left the Army," Chiarelli said he "asked how many new drugs were in the pipeline" to treat post-traumatic-stress, and he was "surprised to learn that there were none." Therefore, as the CEO of One Mind, Chiarelli is working to "step up the pace of basic research on brain disease and spur the development of new drugs that can improve treatment." Chiarelli also wants "post-traumatic-stress disorder to be shortened to post-traumatic stress" because he says that calling it a disorder, "discourages people from seeking help."

 

19.                        Group To DoD: Revisit Purple Heart For PTSD.  Army Times The NAMI is "calling on the Defense Department" to honor those who "suffer PTSD or other mental health injuries resulting from combat exposure by awarding the Purple Heart 'with the same level of appreciation and recognition as those awarded to warriors with visible wounds.'" In its "Parity for Patriots" report (pdf), the NAMI also called on the VA to "expand its treatment options by using already existing community health networks and private practitioners." In 2009, the Pentagon decided against awarding the Purple Heart to "troops with PTSD because the disorder can be difficult to diagnose," and symptoms are not linked necessarily to "any one action." Traditionally, the Purple Heart is given to those who incur injuries from "enemy engagement requiring" medical treatment.

 

20.                        Local Doc Who Treats Vets' PTSD Gets Big-Name Help.  Elgin (IL) Courier News Dr. Eugene Lipov believes he has "what looks like a promising cure" for PTSD. Lipov treats PTSD by injecting anesthetic bupivacaine into the stellate ganglion nerves in the patient's neck. On Thursday, actor Mathew St. Patrick, "best known for his role in HBO's 'Six Feet Under,'" met with "one of the veterans before and after his third ganglion block treatment" and said he "could immediately tell the difference" in the veteran's demeanor after the treatment. The 44-year-old actor says he is "helping to publicize the potential of Lipov's treatment" because his father and brother served in the US military. Although Lipov received "an $80,000 grant" from the Illinois VA, the treatments cost "$1,000 each" and it takes about "three treatments" per patient to "really work."

 

21.                        Mental-Health Care For Veterans Is Ramping Up.  Columbus (OH) Dispatch  Columbus VA Ambulatory Care Center Director Dr. Lilian T. Thome, noting that VA Secretary Eric Shinseki "often reminds us" that as new veterans "return home, we must ensure that they have access to quality mental health care," says the Columbus VAACC will increase its mental-health staff by five. Shinseki has also challenged the department to identify treatment barriers and he has travelled to "underserved places...to hear directly from veterans and employees." Likewise, Thome says the Columbus VAACC is listening to veterans in central Ohio, to assess "what we need to do to improve access to care" and the staff is making an effort to "reach out" to veterans in the community. Rapid City Journal VA Black Hills will add an additional seven mental health professionals to its staff. Overall, President Obama, Shinseki and VA Black Hills leaders have increased the number of mental health staff "by 41 percent since 2007," meaning we now, "have a team of professionals that's 20,590 strong." In addition, "we've greatly increased the number of veterans Readjustment Counseling Centers" and developed an "extensive suicide prevention program." Notably, the Veteran Crisis Line team has "fielded more than 600,000 calls from veterans in need and helped rescue more than 21,000 veterans who were in immediate crisis."

 

22.                        Vietnam War Veterans Apply For Benefits.  Newsday  Of the "7.4 million Vietnam-era veterans living today, only 1.16 million -- 15.7 percent -- receive VA disability benefits." Some experts attribute the low number to the fact that many "draftees left the military so embittered they wanted nothing to do with the VA." But veterans' advocates say the VA's benefits-application process is "convoluted" and its outreach efforts are "clumsy and inadequate." VA benefits claims expert Ralph Bratch, a Florida lawyer, contends that because the military is "only now building a system for sharing of health records with the VA, veterans have long had to track down proof of events that happened on chaotic battlefields decades earlier. 'The older these veterans...must rely on a flawed system, so proving things happened can be difficult,'" Bratch said.

 

23.                        What Healthcare Decision Means For Tricare.  Army Times  The US Supreme Court's decision Thursday "upholding the Affordable Care Act has little impact on Tricare beneficiaries, who will see no change to their benefits." The 2010 Tricare Affirmation Act "explicitly stated that Tricare beneficiaries and Defense Department civilian nonappropriated fund employees were not subject to the penalties for lacking private insurance that are part of the broader law." In addition, the Tricare Dependent Coverage Extension Act, "created Tricare Young Adult, a premium-based program" similar to the healthcare reform provision, "allowing adult children up to age 26 to be covered by their parent's healthcare policies." The ACA also "includes a special enrollment window for Medicare Part B that applied to older military retirees enrolled in Tricare for Life; the law waives a late enrollment penalty," but that provision "has yet to be implemented."

 

24.                        In 4 Years, 745,000 Have Used Post 9/11 GI Bill.  Army Times  "On the fourth anniversary of the Post-9/11 GI Bill becoming law, the senator most responsible for the program says he is proud of the outcome." Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) issued a statement saying, "Educated veterans not only have an easier transition and readjustment experience, but they boast higher income levels, which in the long run increase tax revenues." Notably, more than "745,000 Iraq and Afghanistan-era combat veterans or their dependents have used the program since its launch, and an additional half-million have applied for benefits but have not yet started using them." But the process has been a costly one: The VA thus far, has paid "more than $19 billion in tuition, fees, living stipends, book allowances and other benefits."

25.                        IT Workarounds Complicate DOD And VA Health Center Effort.  Federal Computer Week  The Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago "has had a hard time blending its IT" with the VA and DOD facilities integrated into its system. According to a Government Accountability Office report (pdf), VA and DOD planned to incorporate "12 specific areas in the project, and IT is the only one to be delayed." The GAO report says that despite "some progress, the FHCC continues to face costly delays in the IT integration area." Notably, the "Executive Agreement specified three key IT capabilities that VA and DOD were required to have in place on opening day, in October 2010, to facilitate interoperability of VA and DOD electronic health record systems."

 

26.                        VA, Indiana University To Study Telehealth Impact On Brain Injuries.  FierceHealthIT  "Studying the effectiveness of telehealth for treating veterans with mild traumatic brain injuries is the impetus behind a five-year, $920,000 grant given to an Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine professor by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the school announced this week." Professor Jacob Kean "said that initial efforts will focus on creating an 'adaptive algorithm' by gathering data from interviews with self-management and brain injury experts, as well as veterans themselves." Patients will then "test the algorithm to determine their self-management skill level."

 

27.                        Former PTSD Foundation Counselor Charged With Altering Military Discharge Papers.  Houston Chronicle  "Armed Sources" blog reports that a "federal grand jury indicted Paul A. Schroeder, 40, of The Woodlands, on Thursday for unlawfully possessing and exhibiting a certificate of discharge from the military, 'knowing the same to be forged, counterfeited, or falsely altered.'" The misdemeanor charge "carries a penalty of up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine." Schroeder, a former "director of counseling at a nonprofit for veterans in Houston," was charged with "altering his military discharge papers after the Houston Chronicle reported that he had been lying about his Army record and falsely claiming a Silver Star and other medals."

 

28.                        VA Women's Health Clinic Opens In Rapids.  Marshfield (WI) News Herald  The Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center "women's health clinic will open Monday" at the Wisconsin Rapids VA Outpatient Clinic. It will be "staffed entirely by women and offers a full continuum of healthcare, including comprehensive primary healthcare to include care for acute and chronic illnesses and gender-specific care, mental-healthcare, and disease prevention and screening." In addition, the Tomah clinic will offer "women's health specialty care, including prenatal and maternity care, limited newborn care and some infertility treatments." Tomah VA Women Veterans Program Manager Clelia Taylor said, "With the large increase in women enrolling in VA healthcare, we continue to strive to meet the gender-specific needs of our women veterans," which according to VA data, are the "fastest growing segment of the veteran population."

 

29.                        1st Iraq Veteran Opera Puts Inner Turmoil On Stage.  AP "After returning from the battlefields of Iraq, Christian Ellis found the only way to soothe the war wounds in his soul was by losing himself singing opera's powerful, haunting songs. Now the 29-year-old former Marine machine gunner-- who has attempted suicide four times -- is putting his pain on stage in the first opera believed written about the war: 'Fallujah.'" The two-hour "musical journey" was developed in "Vancouver, Canada, by City Opera Vancouver with the help of a playwright, a composer, nine actors and an 11-member orchestra in a kind of performance laboratory. It will debut July 2 on explore.org/fallujah and will be marketed to opera houses."

 

30.                        Runners Bring Flag To War Veteran.  Hi-Desert (CA) Star  A "relay team of US Marines crossed the Hi-Desert Friday, bearing an American flag to present to a veteran" whose lost his legs during combat. The "eight Marines, running in two-person relay teams, arrived at their destination in Twentynine Palms Friday afternoon, 160 miles from their starting point in Camp Pendleton at 1:15 a.m. Friday." The Marines are running to raise money for "Sgt. Milan Franklin, a member of 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines who lost both of his legs" to an IED in Afghanistan in 2011. They are accepting donations "online through the Veterans Family Fund of America."

 

31.                        Local Veteran Recalls Service On B-29 Base In Pacific.  Southern Illinoisan  WWII veteran Jean Lit, 95, who now lives in Murphysboro, Illinois. She was "one of about 1,000 people who attended last week's air show at Southern Illinois Airport that featured a B-29 still capable of flight." During the war, Lit "served in the US Women's Army Corps as a physical therapist on the tiny, mid-Pacific island of Tinian -- home of the B-29" airplanes that were used to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

 

32.                        At 97, Vet Still Helping Vets.  Fayetteville (NC) Observer  Army veteran James Flanders, who began his military career more than 60 years ago. Flanders recently turned 97, "celebrated his 48th wedding anniversary and turned in a medal-winning performance in the Golden Age Games for retired military. But the retired chief warrant officer who traded the skyscrapers of Manhattan for tents on three continents isn't ready to stop working." He volunteers at "Fayetteville's Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he's logged more than 14,000 hours" of service. Flanders says his job at the VAMC is the same as it was "for 30 years in the military: 'I'm the guy who helps get things done.'" Flanders served in WWII and the Korean War. 

 

Note:  When will the younger Veterans step up.

 

33.                        Stolen Valor Absurdity.  Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram

34.                        Leon Panetta: Help Warriors Cope With PTSD.  Santa Cruz (CA) Sentinel  Defense Secretary Leon Panetta discusses the effort the DOD is making to address the "unseen wounds of war": First, those holding "command positions throughout the military" are being encouraged to be "sensitive to signs of stress in the ranks." Second, the Department is continuing to "expand access to quality behavioral and mental health care." In addition, all of the "military services are now systematically reviewing the PTSD screening process for wounded warriors to help ensure we provide the best holistic care"; and the DOD is "also working to reduce knowledge gaps in patient history for service members moving to health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs."

 

35.                        Chico National Guard Armory Hosts Purple Heart Ceremony. Chico Enterprise-Record

 

36.                        Vietnam Veteran Is New VFW State Commander.  Arkansas Democrat Gazette

 

37.                        WWII Veteran Recognized For Serving In The Battle Of The Bulge 68 Years Later.  Courier News (NJ)

 

38.                        VA / VSO-MSO Hearings as July 2, 2012:

            July 25, 2012.  The House Committee on Veterans Affairs and the House Armed Services Committee will hold a joint hearing titled “Back from the Battlefield: DOD and VA Collaboration to Assist Service Members Returning to Civilian Life.”  10:00 AM; 2118 Rayburn HOB