1.      VA Officials Launching Veterans Relationship Management Initiative. The Air Force News Service (9/22) reports, "Department of Veterans Affairs officials are launching a multi-year initiative called Veterans Relationship Management, or VRM, that will greatly improve veterans' access to health care and benefits information. 'VRM will transform veterans' interactions with VA by using innovative 21st century technologies,' said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki," who, in a press release, added, "Veterans will have a better experience when they contact VA for assistance, and our employees will be able to quickly convey accurate, up-to-date information through call centers and the Internet."

2.      Obama Awards Posthumous Medal Of Honor To Soldier Killed In Laos. The CBS Evening News (9/21, story 12, 0:40, Couric, 6.1M) broadcast that at the White House on Tuesday, an "extraordinary act of heroism long kept secret was officially recognized. President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously to Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Richard Etchberger," whose "act of valor was kept under wraps for decades because his mission" in Laos "was top secret." NBC Nightly News (9/21, story 9, 1:20, Williams, 8.37M), CNN Newsroom (9/21, 1:25 p.m. ET), and Fox News' Live Desk (9/21, 1:08 p.m. ET) also aired reports on this story.
     After noting that Etchenberg's "three sons were at the White House for the ceremony," the CNN (9/21, Meserve) website added, "Shortly after Etchberger's death," he was "recommended for the Medal of Honor, but then-President Lyndon Johnson rejected the idea, fearing it would expose the US military's activities in Laos."
     VA Secretary In Attendance At Medal Ceremony. The American Forces Press Service (9/22, Parrish) says that during a medal ceremony attended by Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, Obama "detailed Etchberger's actions as he fought through the night of March 11, 1968, holding off the enemy, calling in air strikes and loading three fellow servicemembers into an evacuation helicopter before he was shot by enemy forces who overran his worksite -- a secret radar installation manned by Air Force technicians disguised as civilians." The Washington Post (9/22, Wilson, 605K) runs a similar story, though it does not say Shinseki attended the medal ceremony.
     The Reading (PA) Eagle (9/22, Kelly, 57K) reports, "Obama credited Etchberger's wife, Catherine, who died several years ago in Redlands, Calif., with keeping her husband's and the US government's secret for 20 years until the mission was declassified and she was able to tell her sons that their father hadn't died in a helicopter crash in Vietnam. 'This story might have ended there,' Obama said," adding, "But today...marks another chapter in a larger story of our nation finally honoring that generation of Vietnam veterans who served with dedication and courage but all too often were shunned when they came home, which was a disgrace that must never happen again."
     According to the Air Force Times (9/22, Fontaine), Etchberger "is the first airman to receive the Medal of Honor since Dec. 8, 2000, when Staff Sgt. William Pitsenbarger was honored for actions during the Vietnam War." Twelve "other airmen have received the Medal of Honor for actions during the Vietnam War."

3.      Veterans Court Concept Praised. In an editorial, the Buffalo News (9/21, 174K) said the "Veterans Court concept," which "started...in Buffalo," has "already made the difference in the life of Britten M. Walker, as it will for others across the nation. That's not just a good thing, it's a necessarily great thing" for people like Walker, a veteran who got in trouble with the law following his service in "both Iraq and Afghanistan." The News pointed out that the "Veterans Court concept...received national recognition earlier this year" from US Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.

4.      Wisconsin VA Secretary Tours VA Clinic, Praises Care Offered By State. On its website, KQDS-TV Duluth, MN (9/21) reports, "Wisconsin's Secretary of Veterans Affairs says the Badger State offers some of the best programs in the nation." Ken Black, who toured the Superior Veterans Affairs Clinic "Tuesday before meeting with local" vets, "says there is a budget problem, and that the 'Veterans Trust Fund' may be in the red within two years. So, he's looking to reorganize."
     Wisconsin Vets Concerned About Funding Issues, Lack Of Assisted Living Facilities. The WDIO-TV Duluth, MN (9/21, Calhoun) website reported, "Those who served our country came to see what their local lawmakers had to say about improving services," during a meeting. After noting that Black said such meetings "allow us to hear from the community what we're doing well and we're we not doing so well," WDIO added, "Some of the veterans concerns include the lack of assisted living facilities for vets in Northwestern Wisconsin, as well as dealing with funding issues in today's economy."

5.      Alabama Governor To Accompany Vets On Honor Flight. The AP (9/22) notes that on Wednesday, "Alabama Gov. Bob Riley will accompany 88 veterans of World War II on an Honor Flight" to Washington, DC. Riley, who "will serve as a guardian for three of the veterans during the one-day trip to the World War II Memorial" and Arlington National Cemetery, "says it will be a special day that he will never forget. The Honor Flight Network raises money and organizes volunteers to arrange trips for World War II veterans to see the memorial." The Mobile (AL) Press-Register (9/21, Pickett) did not mention that Riley would be on Wednesday's flight.

6.      Women Vets To Be Honored At Conference In New Mexico. The Las Cruces (NM) Sun-News (9/21) noted that on Saturday, female veterans "will be honored...when the New Mexico Department of Veterans' Services presents Women in Defense of America, the 2010 2nd Annual Women Veterans' Conference in Las Cruces." The conference will be "at the Hotel Encanto de las Cruces, 705 S. Telshor Blvd."

7.      Bell Tower To Be Dedicated At Northwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery. The Shreveport (LA) Times (9/22) reports, "The new carillon tower at the Northwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery will be dedicated at noon Thursday. Louisiana Secretary of Veterans Affairs Lane Carson will be at the dedication, which also will include representatives of AmVets, the national veterans organization that with local coordination paid for the tower at the cemetery near Keithville in southwest Caddo Parish." The Times says carillons, which have a "series of bells in place to toll simple melodies for special occasions," are a "frequent sight at larger cemeteries."

8.      VA Hospital Finds Low-Carb Diets Resulted In More Weight Loss Than Low-Fat Diets.  Time (9/21, Liss, 3.37M) reported, "Two studies reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in May showed that people on the Atkins diet lost more weight than others on conventional diets - without suffering any damaging nutritional deficiencies." One of the studies, conducted "by the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Center, put 132 obese men and women - over 127 kg - on either low-carb or low-fat diets and found that the low-carb group lost around twice as much as the low-fat group. What was perhaps more interesting - even baffling - was that the group on the Atkins low-carb diet showed lower levels of the blood lipids that contribute to arterial disease."

9.      VA Clarifies Life Insurance Payout Options. In continuing coverage, the Army Times (9/18, Jowers, 104K) reported, "Veterans Affairs officials are making options for insurance payouts clearer for beneficiaries and are no longer automatically placing the money in 'retained asset accounts.'" The move comes "after a review of the way Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance payouts are handled by the program's underwriter, Prudential Insurance Co." The Times, which noted that a Prudential spokesman said the company "very much" supports VA's move, added, "VA is also looking into the option of electronic funds transfer and is evaluating safety and other issues, spokeswoman Katie Roberts said."

10.    VA Grant To Pay For Veterans Cemetery In West Virginia. The Charleston (WV) Gazette (9/22, White, 40K) reports, "As many as 60,000 veterans and family members could have a final resting place" in Institute, West Virginia, "after the state secured a $14.1 million grant to build the first veterans cemetery to be administered by the state of West Virginia. Keith Gwinn, director of the state Division of Veterans Affairs, said the federal Department of Veterans Affairs grant would cover construction of the cemetery, all buildings on the property and any additional equipment needed at the site." According to the Gazette, West Virginia "will be responsible for operating costs after the cemetery is built just off the Interstate 64 exit and next to the West Virginia State Police Academy."

     Officials Say Grant Is Largest Ever Awarded For A State Veterans Cemetery. Similar coverage is offered by the WSAZ-TV Charleston, WV (9/21) website and the AP (9/22), which notes that on Tuesday, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin and US Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) "said...the grant from the US Department of Veterans Affairs is the largest ever awarded for a state veterans cemetery." The AP adds, "The cemetery is named for longtime veterans advocate Donel Kinnard, who died last year." WOWK-TV Charleston, WV (9/21, 11:08 p.m. ET) broadcast that both Rockefeller and Manchin "applauded" VA for making the grant award.

11.    Expert: Vet Center Can Help Vets With PTSD.  KTVA-TV Anchorage, AK (9/21, 10:27 p.m. AT) broadcast, "It is estimated about a third of all veterans suffer" from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After noting that Alaska has the "highest per capita percentage of veterans in the nation," KTVA showed PTSD expert Dr. Ken Jones saying the local Vet Center "can provide support and services both to...vets" suffering from PTSD and to their family members. KTNL-TV Juneau, AK (9/21, 10:28 p.m. AT) aired the same footage.

12.    New Mental Health Counseling Services Offered To Vets in Willmar, Minnesota. According to the Willmar, Minnesota-based West Central Tribune (9/21, Lange), combat veterans in "Kandiyohi County now have access to new mental health counseling in Willmar. The federally funded service will initially be offered once a month to veterans, said Trisha Appeldorn, Kandiyohi County Veterans Service Officer, who is hosting an open house from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Health and Human Services Building to introduce veterans to the new program." The Tribune went to say that a "good turnout" Thursday could "eventually lead to the Veterans Affairs-operated mobile counseling service coming to Willmar as often as three times a month." The St. Paul (MN) Pioneer-Press (9/22) publishes the same story.

13.    VA Offering Assistance To Homeless Vets. The KDKA-TV Pittsburgh, PA (9/21) website sad that while in the "wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the ranks of homeless veterans are growing faster than ever," the Department of Veterans Affairs is "committed to getting all these vets off the street in the next five years." Across the country, VA "has about 35 so-called domiciliary programs for homeless vets, but they're mostly just dormitories. Locally, the vets live together in a handsome residential community with a central quad," where they get "months of counseling, therapy and job training to make a proper transition from wartime." WPCW-TV Pittsburgh, PA (9/21, 10:26 p.m. ET) aired a similar report.

14.    Sibling Vets Battle Homeland Security Deportation Efforts. The KMGH-TV Denver, Co (9/21, Hernandez) website said Valente and Manuel Valenzuela, two brothers "who were born in Mexico but grew up" in the United States, are resisting efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to deport them for what the brothers, both decorated Vietnam vets, say has to do with arrests in their past. While Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities "declined to comment for this story, saying they have very strict privacy policies for individual cases," a "public affairs officer with the Executive Office for Immigration Review said there are a variety of reasons why a deportation hearing might be initiated against an individual and that breaking the law is one of them." After noting that members of the American G.I. Forum in Denver, a Latino veterans group, is "backing the Valenzuelas in their battle against Homeland Security," KMGH added, "Fellow veterans will lead a rally in support of the Valenzuela brothers at 9 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 29 in front of the new Immigration Court at 621 17th St."

15.    Court Asked To Intervene In Mojave Cross Dispute. The San Jose (CA) Mercury News (9/22, Nelson) says the Liberty Institute, a Texas-based nonprofit "dedicated to protecting Constitutional freedoms," filed a motion in US District Court in Riverside, California, on Tuesday, "requesting it intervene in the ongoing legal battle over a steel cross erected in the Mojave National Preserve as a memorial to war veterans." The motion, filed "on behalf of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of California and VFW Post 385," in Barstow, California, "argues that the VFW has a vested interest in the legal proceedings and should be included in the existing lawsuit that has been challenged repeatedly over the last 10 years." After noting that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has "sued the National Parks Service on behalf of Frank Buono, a former assistant superintendent for the Mojave National Preserve," the Mercury News argues that it is improper to display a sectarian symbol on public land. The San Bernardino (CA) Sun (9/22, Nelson) runs the same story.

16.    VA Hospital Earns Gold Seal Of Approval. The Huntington (WV) Herald-Dispatch (9/22) says the Huntington Veterans Affairs Medical Center "has earned the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission," which "conducted an unannounced, on-site evaluation of the medical center in June and awarded the accreditation certificates in September. The accreditation includes the facility's hospital, behavioral health care and home care programs, and recognized the medical center's compliance with Joint Commission standards for health care quality and safety."

17.    VA Hospital To Host Emergency Preparedness Fair. The Salt Lake (UT) Tribune (9/22) reports, "Utahns may want to beef up their own emergency plan, after watching residents in Herriman flee the Machine Gun Fire." On Friday, the George E. Wahlen Veterans Affairs Medical Center "is hosting its fourth annual emergency preparedness open house, with vendors selling food storage, home emergency supplies and equipment. The fair is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Emergency Management Training Center, at building 18 at the VA Medical Center, 500 Foothill Drive."

18.    VA Hospital Director To Offer Update On Expansion Efforts. The second "Around Acadiana" item for the Baton Rouge (LA) Advocate (9/21, Brown, Sills, Burgess) noted that at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Gracie Specks, director of the Veterans Affairs hospital in Alexandria, Louisiana, "will offer an update on efforts to expand clinical services for veterans in the Lafayette area." The update will occur "at the Veteran Action Coalition's meeting...in the Clifton Chenier Center, 220 W. Willow St."

19.    VA Spends $50M For IT Security.  Federal News Radio (9/22).

20.    VA To Weed Out Fraud In Contracts. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (9/22, Roche).

21.    VA Employee Hoarded Stacks Of Patient-Related Info At Home.  FierceHealthcare (9/21, Yin).

22.    VA Opening Carroll Clinic In Early 2011. The Carroll (IA) Daily Times (9/22, Burns).

23.    Warning: Unemployed And Military Vets More Likely To Commit Suicide. The Orlando Sentinel (9/22, Shrieves, 206K) reports, "At a time when government funds for mental health help have dried up, Americans are in greater danger of becoming depressed and suicidal -- because of unemployment and the recession. Add in returning war veterans and you've got a potential mental health crisis." The Sentinel adds, "According to National Alliance on Mental Illness, people who are unemployed and military veterans are at higher risk of suicide." The Chicago Tribune (9/22, 488K) runs the same story, under the same headline.

24.    Wave Of Violence May Be Due To Combat PTSD. The KGET-TV Bakersfield, CA (9/21) website.

25.    Theater Performance Opens Discussion Of Post-Trauma Stress. The Riverside (CA) Press Enterprise (9/22, Muckenfuss).

26.    Avon Woman Pleads Guilty To Death Benefit Theft. The Elyria (OH) Chronicle-Telegram (9/22, Dicken) reports 66-year-old Anna C. Kramer "has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of theft of government funds for receiving $221,474 in veterans benefits she wasn't entitled to."

27.    San Diego's Second National Cemetery. The KUSI-TV San Diego, CA (9/21) website said that after "several construction delays," San Diego County "is on the verge of seeing its second national cemetery come to fruition." According to KUSI, Miramar National Cemetery is "just months away from opening."

28.    Baldwin County Veterans Cemetery Will Go Forward. The WKRG-TV Mobile, AL (9/21, Peterson) website.

29.    ECHO To Add Housing For Homeless Vets. The Evansville (IN) Courier & Press (9/21, Wersich, 62K) noted that on Monday, the executive director of ECHO Housing Corp. "said her nonprofit agency proposes building" Lucas Place II, a $3 million apartment complex for some of Vanderburgh County's homeless veterans. The Courier & Press added, "Support services will be provided by ECHO, the local Veterans Center, the Veterans Affairs Clinic and the Veterans Hospital in Marion, Ill. The four organizations will identify candidates for living at Lucas Place II."

30.    Ground Broken In Tuckerton For Single Veterans' Housing. The Asbury Park (NJ) Press (9/22, Scully) reports, "Jay Smith will be the first veteran to move into the first permanent affordable housing for single veterans and current military members in the state" of New Jersey. Applicants for the units "will be screened" in a process involving input from the Veterans Administration.

31.    Ralston Home Getting Face-Lift For Son's Return. According to the Waterloo And Cedar Fall (IA) Courier (9/20, Kinney), wounded Iraq veteran Ian Ralston "continues to progress at a Veterans Administration hospital in Minneapolis. Meanwhile, his family" in Iowa "has received a groundswell of support in labor, materials and cash pledged for a substantial disability-accommodating addition to his parents' home."