The number of the “millennial,” group, ages 18-28; born in 1981 to the present, who have served in the Armed Forces is 2%.
Millennials (b 1981-present) 2%
Gen Xers (B. 1965-1980) 6%
Baby Boomers (b. 1946-1964) 13%
Silent Generation (b. 1928-1945) 24%
And which generation became the titans of industry? I say the ones had the most to do and the least to say. Think those days will return? Or has the Tower of Babel consumed us?
I have experienced this technique. While it seems like you are in a road show with Mandrake the Magician, the stuff works. Something about all those meridians getting cleaned out that leaves you with a feeling of contentment that is palpable.
I was taught the technique by a retired Air Force F-16 Pilot about two years ago at the Merritt Retreat Center in Payson, Arizona. The remarkable aspect to this training session was that 9 hard core combat veterans all reported a positive result. You just can’t do it while your texting! And it really works well after answering some fellow bloggers!
Energy Psychology’s Magical Mystery Tour of the U.S. Congress
David Feinstein, Ph.D.
After some 30 phone calls to members of Congress trying to set up meetings to plead the case
that Energy Psychology is superior to conventional treatments for soldiers and veterans suffering
with PTSD, Dawson Church and I had managed to arrange only one appointment, and a tentative
one at that since members of Congress may be called to the floor at any time for a vote. Worse,
when we arrived (Wednesday, March 24, 2010, three days after passage of the Health Care bill)
at Congressman Bob Filner’s door on the fourth floor of the House Office Building, we were told
by a prim female aide who was clearly accustomed to shooing away people wanting to see the
Congressman, the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, that we were not on
the appointment calendar, it was a busy day, and there was zero chance we could have even a
five-minute meeting, no matter how long we were willing to wait.
On to Plan B. Dawson knew Congresswomen Lynn Woolsey from his own district in Santa
Rosa, California. We went to her office on the second floor, hoping that even though we hadn’t
been successful in attempting to arrange a meeting in advance, we might be able to drop in based
on Dawson’s being in her district and having had previous collaborations with her. The
Congresswoman had been a strong supporter of “The Family Connection,” a nonprofit which had
consistently been voted by the community’s other organizations as the county’s “most admired
nonprofit.” Dawson had served as its president. But again staffers were to tell us: “busy day”
and “no chance” of even a brief meeting. Just the night before Dawson had been talking to me
about how, when your vision goes against the odds, part of the journey is to accept defeats and
disappointments with grace. And, indeed, today, despite being 0 for 2 on our scorecard of two, he
still seemed undaunted, ready to enthusiastically knock on every door of the Congressional
Offices if necessary. The Army Second Lieutenant we had brought with us, however, was
incredulous that he was spending his day off trying to help us fulfill such a bumbling mission.
“What is your plan of action, now?” he asked with icy courtesy after Dawson had hand-written
the Congresswomen a long note saying he had been by. As we stepped out the door, not sure
whether to turn left or right, we turned left and found ourselves in the path of the
Congresswoman returning to her office. She recognized and hugged Dawson warmly. Within
minutes the three of us were in the inner sanctums of her office with her and two male aides
taking notes.
Our presentation was brief but effective, centering around 29-year-old Second Lieutenant Olli
Toukolehto’s telling of his story. While serving as a guard and medic in Iraq, he was able to
psychologically mobilize himself to perform his duties like a model soldier. He had enlisted in
the Army and was deployed to the “Triangle of Death” in Baghdad, where he served in 2006 and
2007. He attended to mass casualties and encountered many bloodied, burned, and dead bodies.
The first casualty he witnessed was a member of his unit who had half his head blown off. It was
a time when fellow soldiers were being kidnapped and beheaded. At night, lying in his tent, in
an area being heavily bombed, he explained what goes on in the mind: “When the sound of a
whizzing rocket fills the air, if you hear an explosion three seconds later, you are alive. If you
don’t, you are dead.” Upon returning to the U.S., safety did not provide comfort. In a classroom
or other public setting, he would be calculating his response should there be an attack. Sirens
were now the screams of approaching rockets. An ebullient personality before the war, his inner
life had become dry and restricted. He no longer found himself laughing. He realized in
retrospect that he had become dissociated from his body. He gradually came to accept that his
undiagnosed PTSD was his new way of life. Having become an officer, and in training now to
become a physician, he knew that reporting a psychological difficulty of this magnitude could
have a devastating impact on his career.
About a year after returning from Iraq, a friend commented on how he had changed. She offered
to try a technique that she thought might be helpful. This led to a three-hour session of EFT (a
form of Energy Psychology) where he made a list of every trauma he experienced during the war.
Giving a 0-to-10 “subjective units of distress” rating to the first item on his list, he reported that
it was a 0. He felt no distress in his (dissociated) body. His friend had him tap on the memory
anyway. Within minutes he was sobbing, feeling the full impact of the memory, as high a 10 as
could be imagined. For three hours they went through and, by tapping on acupuncture points,
emotionally neutralized every memory on his list. He described how one of the first things he
noticed as the session progressed was a return of sensation in his hands. He said it was like he
was back in his body. By the end of that single session (followed by a brief follow-up session
the next day), he was cured of all his symptoms of PTSD. Now nearly two years later, although
his friend would be happy to provide follow-up at any point, he has been his joyful self again, no
longer hypervigilant, and in no need of further help.
Dawson followed with a brief description of the research he has conducted demonstrating that
the poignant story just told was not an isolated incident but rather an example of a reliable and
unusually effective treatment for PTSD. He described the Iraq Vets Stress Project, which has
offered free Energy Psychology treatment to hundreds of veterans through an international
network of more than 100 providers, with many VA therapists referring veterans for treatment
(www.StressProject.org). I put the meaning of that research into the context of conventional
clinical practices. Congressman Woolsey was obviously impressed, but she also made it clear
that she was not the one we needed to impress. She is on the House Labor and Employment
Committee. We needed to engage members of committees that could make an impact on the care
provided soldiers and veterans. She and her aides started naming the people they thought we
should visit. She could only sympathize with us regarding how difficult it is to get an
appointment, but she did offer to personally hand some of these Congressmen the research
documentation we had brought. By the end of the day she had, on the floor of the House,
initiated personal talks with three key committee leaders and handed them our research summary.
But these are dry documents, and we still had no means for personally visiting with them.
Following this fortuitous but inconclusive meeting, we found ourselves again in the proverbial
halls of Congress with no plan of action. But timing, coincidence, and who knows what else
were to shape the rest of our day. Last January, a staffer to Congressman Dan Lungren, a
Republican on the House Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees, had attended a small,
intimate conference in Costa Rica where my wife, Donna Eden, and I were presenters. I had
shown a video of veterans who were treated with PTSD and it had caught her attention and her
passion. Congressman Lungren cares very deeply about the plight of returning veterans and
Sandra wanted to bring our work to his attention. Two months later, however, their office had
been fully immersed in the pending health care legislation and many other projects, and there had
not been time to give much focus to the strange new treatment she had witnessed in Costa Rica.
As we were leaving Congresswoman Woolsey’s office, the office next door, by coincidence, was
Congressman Lungren’s office. I said, “Let me stop by and say ‘Hello’ to a friend who works
there.” We were told that Sandra was away. So off we went to the elevator, where we would
once more need to regroup. About 30 seconds later, Sandra walked out of the elevator, gave a
little shriek of surprise on seeing me, and hugged me enthusiastically. She explained that part of
the strength of her response is that she was just a few minutes earlier thinking about walking to
the Veterans’ Affairs Office to try to present to them what she had seen in Costa Rica. And
suddenly, there I was.
We were soon in her office giving the presentation that had just impressed Congresswomen
Woolsey. We would be giving variations of that presentation five more times that day. Sandra
said, “I want Congressman Lungren to hear this.” She checked with the person who keeps his
schedule, and there was no way to fit us in. She initiated an alternative plan, whisking us away
to a security clearance area and then to the Rayburn Room, a large, busy area which is just off
the House Congressional Chamber. Congress members can easily duck out of the Chamber
between votes for small impromptu meetings. The place bustles with a strange mix of
informality and importance.
Sandra’s office had gotten a message to Congressman Lungren to meet us there. We arrived via
the underground trolley for Congress members and staff that runs between the House Offices and
the Capitol Building. We waited a few minutes, and suddenly, there was the Congressman, who
had a way of being that, despite my strong antipathy toward his political party, soon had me
thinking, “I could see voting for this man!” He listened with obvious interest and empathy as the
lieutenant told his story. The Congressman responded by relating stories from his own family
that were highly pertinent to the discussion, but he then posed one of the key dilemmas for
Energy Psychology’s acceptance. “It sounds too simple! Too good to be true!” He let us know
he would like to believe there is a simple cure for PTSD, but he would need a lot more
convincing. The ensuing discussion was brief, frank, and to the point, starting with our
agreement that the field does indeed face this odd credibility problem that its methods are so fast
and effective that people don’t find the personal accounts or even the existing research to be
plausible. We also addressed a second very astute concern that the Congressman raised. Would
this treatment impair a soldier’s performance on the battlefield? We argued that it would not.
PTSD does not increase a soldier’s effectiveness. He conceded that point. At the end, we knew
he felt warmly toward Olli Toukolehto and he appeared to be expressing respect for me and
Dawson, but we had no idea if we had convinced him.
Back to Sandra’s office. We were all three impressed as we watched the wheels in her mind
strategizing ways of making the best use of our visit. She told us to go get some lunch while she
took the next steps (meanwhile, shuffling her appointments for the day so she could maximize
the amount of time she could give to us). When we returned, Sandra had good news. The
Congressman wanted to introduce us to some of his House colleagues. Back to the Rayburn
Room. One at a time, between votes on the House Floor, Congressman Lungren brought us to
meet, in succession, a member of the House Armed Services Committee (who had previously
served with the Marines in Iraq), a former chair and now the second ranking member of the
House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, another member of that Committee, and a member of the
House Budget and Appropriations Committee. We told each one our story and fielded their
questions. Sandra is a seasoned Congressional staffer who later told us how improbable it was
that things could have come together for our visit as they did – it was almost as if the timing of
the House votes had been orchestrated to make all this possible.
Dawson Church, Ph.D., Congressman Dan Lungren (R-CA), Second Lieutenant Olli Toukolehto,
David Feinstein, Ph.D
According to a recent article in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, only one in ten veterans who
enters treatment for PTSD in the V.A. actually completes it. Each of the Congressmen we met
was clearly interested in a better treatment approach to PTSD, and each seemed to leave with a
sense that evidence for one may be sitting there in the Rayburn Room. Congressman Lungren
brought us both Republican and Democratic colleagues, and Sandra explained that it is a
welcome opportunity to have an issue that cuts across party lines. Two of the Congressmen gave
Olli their personal e-mail address, asking for follow-up, and one of them said he would be calling
the EFT practitioner who had given Olli the session that had cured his PTSD almost two years
earlier.
We don’t know what will emerge from this Magical Mystery Tour of Congress by a couple of
Energy Psych therapists/researchers who don’t know poly sci from polymers, but Sandra assured
us that she now had what she needed to set some things into motion. The very next day we
received a call from Olli. He and Dawson had been stonewalled by bureaucratic obstacles for a
year in their efforts to institute a research study at Walter Reed, and their proposal had finally
been rejected. Olli relayed that the morning following our visit to Congress, the doors had been
opened wide for the study’s consideration. The commanding officer had appointed a colonel to
coordinate a study of Energy Psychology within Walter Reed and requested that the initial
paperwork be submitted by the following week. Dawson will be the Principal Investigator and
Olli the On-Site Investigator. Olli didn’t indicate exactly what caused the military wheels to
suddenly bounce into action so quickly after the year of intense effort that had gone nowhere, but
we could only imagine that in his charming way, he had successfully conveyed to his superiors
that when Congress asks if they are aware of this new tapping therapy, that they might want to be
sure they have the right answer.
Representatives Chet Edwards (D-TX), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Cliff Stearns, (R-FL), Second
Lieutenant Olli Toukolehto, David Feinstein, Ph.D.
Dawson Church, Ph.D., tapping on Lyndon Johnson’s stomach meridian.
On March 29th, 1973 the last U.S. combat troops left Vietnam. It took the lives of over 58, 2oo men. Some say nearly 110,000 thousand committed suicide after the war.
It was Richard Nixon who pursued the policy of drawing down forces starting as far back as 1969, with the intent of building up the South Vietnamese forces. The program was called Vietnamization. It hit some snags early on, but the Vietamese forces were able to hold their own because of our intense air and naval support.
In 1972 Nixon ordered B-52’s to bomb the North Vietnamese in hope of bringing them to a peace agreement. Wild eh? Bomb for peace! Sound familiar? After 35,ooo tons of bombs were dropped on the North. a peace agreement was reached in January of 1973. However the fighting continued for another two years.
I cannot imagine serving in Vietnam in those last years. The morale must have been horrible.
Have we learned anything from the Vietnam War?
VA Recognizes “Presumptive” Illnesses in Iraq, Afghanistan
March 18, 2010
Decision Makes It Easier for Gulf War Veterans to Receive Benefits
WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki today
announced the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is taking steps to
make it easier for Veterans to obtain disability compensation for
certain diseases associated with service in the Persian Gulf War or
Afghanistan. This will be the beginning of historic change for how VA
considers Gulf War Veterans’ illnesses.
Following recommendations made by VA’s Gulf War Veterans Illnesses Task
Force, VA is publishing a proposed regulation in the Federal Register
that will establish new presumptions of service connection for nine
specific infectious diseases associated with military service in
Southwest Asia during the Persian Gulf War, or in Afghanistan on or
after September 19, 2001.
“We recognize the frustrations that many Gulf War and Afghanistan
Veterans and their families experience on a daily basis as they look for
answers to health questions, and seek benefits from VA,” said Secretary
Shinseki.
The proposed rule includes information about the long-term health
effects potentially associated with the nine diseases:
Brucellosis
Campylobacter jejuni
Coxiella burnetii (Q fever)
Malaria
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Nontyphoid Salmonella
Shigella
Visceral leishmaniasis
West Nile virus
For non-presumptive conditions, a Veteran is required to provide medical
evidence that can be used to establish an actual connection between
military service in Southwest Asia or in Afghanistan, and a specific
disease.
With the proposed rule, a Veteran will only have to show service in
Southwest Asia or Afghanistan, and a current diagnosis of one of the
nine diseases. Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted over the
next 60 days. A final regulation will be published after consideration
of all comments received.
The decision was made after reviewing the 2006 report of the National
Academy of Sciences (NAS), titled, “Gulf War and Health Volume 5:
Infectious Diseases.” The 2006 report differed from the four prior
reports by looking at the long-term health effects of certain diseases
determined to be pertinent to Gulf War Veterans.
The 1998 Persian Gulf War Veterans Act requires the Secretary to review
NAS reports that study scientific information and possible associations
between illnesses and exposure to toxic agents by Veterans who served in
the Persian Gulf War.
Because the Persian Gulf War has not officially been declared ended,
Veterans serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom are eligible for VA’s new
presumptions. Secretary Shinseki decided to include Afghanistan
Veterans in these presumptions because NAS found that the nine diseases
are prevalent in that country.
Noting that today’s proposed regulation reflects a significant
determination of a positive association between service in the Persian
Gulf War and certain diseases, Secretary Shinseki added, “By setting up
scientifically-based presumptive service connection, we give these
deserving Veterans a simple way to get the benefits they have earned in
service to our country.”
Last year, VA received more than one million claims for disability
compensation and pension. VA provides compensation and pension benefits
to over 3.8 million Veterans and beneficiaries. Presently, the basic
monthly rate of compensation ranges from $123 to $2,673 to Veterans
without any dependents.
Disability compensation is a non-taxable, monthly monetary benefit paid
to Veterans who are disabled as a result of an injury or illness that
was incurred or aggravated during active military service.
For more information about health problems associated with military
service during operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and
Enduring Freedom and related VA programs go to
<http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/> or go to
<http://www.va.gov/> for information about disability compensation.
————————————————————————
———–
VA seeks to make getting benefits easier for vets
<http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iDTMFc36iJeT3Ld-G20KE
uRPLyhwD9EH60L80>
By KIMBERLY HEFLING (AP) – 20 hours ago
WASHINGTON – The Veterans Affairs Department took steps Thursday to make
it easier for veterans of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars to get disability
benefits. To qualify for the new streamlined status, they must have
malaria, West Nile Virus or one of seven other diseases.
The VA has proposed a regulation change that lets veterans qualify for
benefits by showing only that they served in the recent conflicts, or in
the Gulf War, and have a diagnosis of any of nine diseases. Called
“presumptive status,” it’s easier to prove an illness stems from war
service.
Such status had been given to veterans from earlier eras with certain
diseases, but this is the first time veterans from the recent conflicts
qualified.
“We recognize the frustrations that many Gulf War and Afghanistan
veterans and their families experience on a daily basis as they look for
answers to health questions and seek benefits from VA,” Veterans Affairs
Secretary Eric Shinseki said in a statement.
Shinseki made the decision after a recommendation by the agency’s Gulf
War Veterans Illnesses Task Force.
The seven other diseases are brucellosis, campylobacter jejuni, coxiella
burnetii, mycobacterium tuberculosis, nontyphoid salmonella, shigella
and visceral leishmaniasis.
<http://www.thefederalregister.com/d.p/2010-03-18-2010-5980>
DATES: Comments must be received by VA on or before May 17, 2010.
Federal Register /Vol. 75, No. 52 /Thursday, March 18, 2010 / Proposed
Rules
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted through
http://www.Regulations.gov;
by mail or hand delivery to
Director, Regulations Management (02REG),
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave., NW., Room 1068,
Washington, DC 20420
or by fax to (202) 273-9026.
(This is not a toll free number).
Comments should indicate that they are submitted in response to
”RIN 2900-AN24-Presumptions of Service
Connection for Persian Gulf Service.”
Copies of comments received will be available for public inspection in
the Office of Regulation Policy and Management, Room 1063B,
between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except
holidays).
Please call (202) 461-4902 for an appointment. (This is not a toll free
number.)
In addition, during the comment period, comments may be viewed online
through the Federal Docket Management System at
http://www.Regulations.gov.
The following is for your information and distribution to your members. The following Legislative Report was compiled 18 March 2010.
Of the 4841 House and 3099 Senate pieces of legislation introduced in the 111th Congress to date, the following are of interest to the non-active duty veteran community. Bill titles in green (if any) are new additions to this summary, titles in orange have either passed either the House or Senate and been passed to the other for consideration or been incorporated into another bill, and those highlighted in blue have become public law. A good indication on the likelihood a bill of being forwarded to the House or Senate for passage and subsequently being signed into law by the President is the number of cosponsors who have signed onto the bill. An alternate way for it to become law is if it is added as an addendum to another bill such as the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and survives the conference committee assigned to iron out the difference between the House and Senate bills. At http://thomas.loc.gov you can review a copy of each bill’s text, determine its current status, the committee it has been assigned to, who your representative is and his/her phone number, mailing address, or email/website to communicate with a message or letter of your own making, and if your legislator is a sponsor or cosponsor of it. To separately determine what bills, amendments your representative has sponsored, cosponsored, or dropped sponsorship on refer to http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/d111/sponlst.html. To review a numerical list of all bills introduced refer to http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/111search.html. The key to increasing cosponsorship is letting legislators know of their constituent’s views on issues. Those bills that include a website in red are being pushed by various veterans groups for passage and by clicking on that website you can forward a preformatted message to your legislator requesting he/she support the bill.
H.R.32 : Veterans Outreach Improvement Act of 2009 to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the outreach activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. Companion Bill S.315
Sponsor: Rep McIntyre, Mike [NC-7] (intro 1/6/2009) Cosponsors (41)
Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 10/28/2009 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Provisions of measure incorporated into H.R. 3949 .
H.R.82 : Veterans Outreach Improvement Act of 2009 to expand retroactive eligibility of the Army Combat Action Badge to include members of the Army who participated in combat during which they personally engaged, or were personally engaged by, the enemy at any time on or after December 7, 1941.
Sponsor: Rep Brown-Waite, Ginny [FL-5] (introduced 1/6/2009) Cosponsors (18)
Committees: House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 1/30/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
H.R.161 : Social Security Beneficiary Tax Reduction Act to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 1993 increase in taxes on Social Security benefits.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/6/2009) Cosponsors (7)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/6/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
H.R.162 : Senior Citizens’ Tax Elimination Act to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the inclusion in gross income of Social Security benefits.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] (introduced 1/6/2009) Cosponsors (3)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/6/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
H.R.333 : Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Act to amend title 10, United States Code, to permit retired members of the Armed Forces who have a service-connected disability rated less than 50 percent to receive concurrent payment of both retired pay and veterans’ disability compensation, to eliminate the phase-in period for concurrent receipt, to extend eligibility for concurrent receipt to chapter 61 disability retirees with less than 20 years of service, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Marshall, Jim [GA-8] (introduced 1/8/2009) Cosponsors (124) Committees: House Armed Services; House Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 2/6/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=12406456&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id] and http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=12888756
H.R.593 : CRSC for DoD Disability Severances Pay. To amend title 10, United States Code, to expand the authorized concurrent receipt of disability severance pay from the Department of Defense and compensation for the same disability under any law administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs to cover all veterans who have a combat-related disability, as defined under section 1413a of such title.
Sponsor: Rep Smith, Adam [WA-9] (introduced 1/15/2009) Cosponsors (44)
Committees: House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 2/6/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=12918951&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id]
H.R.775 : Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act to repeal the requirement for reduction of survivor annuities under the Survivor Benefit Plan to offset the receipt of veterans dependency and indemnity compensation.
Sponsor: Rep Ortiz, Solomon P. [TX-27] (introduced 1/28/2009) Cosponsors (324) Companion Bill S.535
Committees: House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 2/17/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via or http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=12541746
S.535 : SBP DIC Offset Elimination. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to repeal requirement for reduction of survivor annuities under the Survivor Benefit Plan by veterans’ dependency and indemnity compensation, and for other purposes. Companion Bill H.775.
Sponsor: Sen Nelson, Bill [FL] (introduced 3/5/2009) Cosponsors (55)
Committees: Senate Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 3/5/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
To support this bill and/or contact your Senator send a message via http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=14275496&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id]
H.R.2243 : Surviving Spouses Benefit Improvement Act of 2009 to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for an increase in the amount of monthly dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Sponsor: Rep Buyer, Steve [IN-4] (introduced 5/5/2009) Cosponsors (74)
Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 10/8/2009 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held.
To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=13303636&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id
S.1118 : DIC Compensation Rate Increase to 55%. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for an increase in the amount of monthly dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Lincoln, Blanche L. [AR] (introduced 5/21/2009) Cosponsors (3)
Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 10/21/2009 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Hearings held.
H.R.208 : National Guardsmen and Reservists Parity for Patriots Act to amend title 10, United States Code, to ensure that members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces who have served on active duty or performed active service since September 11, 2001, in support of a contingency operation or in other emergency situations receive credit for such service in determining eligibility for early receipt of non-regular service retired pay, and for other purposes. Companion Bill S.644.
Sponsor: Rep Wilson, Joe [SC-2] (introduced 1/6/2009) Cosponsors (123)
Committees: House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 1/30/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via http://capwiz.com/vfw/dbq/officials and /or http://capwiz.com/ngaus/mail/compose/?mailid=13672261&azip=92571&bzip=7311
S.644 : National Guard and Reserve Retired Pay Equity Act of 2009. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to include service after September 11, 2001, as service qualifying for the determination of a reduced eligibility age for receipt of non-regular service retired pay.
Sponsor: Sen Chambliss, Saxby [GA] (introduced 3/19/2009) Cosponsors (13) Companion Bill H.R.208 Related Bill S.831
Committees: Senate Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 3/19/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
To support this bill and/or contact your Senators send a message via http://capwiz.com/ncoausa/issues/alert/?alertid=12995086&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id] or http://capwiz.com/moaa/issues/bills/?bill=12960556
S.831 : National Guard and Reserve Retired Pay Equity Act of 2009. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to include service after September 11, 2001, as service qualifying for the determination of a reduced eligibility age for receipt of non-regular service retired pay.
Sponsor: Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] (introduced 4/20/2009) Cosponsors (27) Related Bill S.644
Committees: Senate Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 4/20/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
To support this bill and/or contact your Senators send a message via www.ngaus.org/content.asp?bid=1805
H.R.433 : Ready Employers Willing to Assist Reservists’ Deployment (REWARD) Act of 2009 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers a credit against income tax equal to 50 percent of the compensation paid to employees while they are performing active duty service as members of the Ready Reserve or the National Guard and of the compensation paid to temporary replacement employees.
Sponsor: Rep Poe, Ted [TX-2] (introduced 1/9/2009) Cosponsors (40)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 1/9/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
H.R.466 : Wounded Veteran Job Security Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit discrimination and acts of reprisal against persons who receive treatment for illnesses, injuries, and disabilities incurred in or aggravated by service in the uniformed services.
Sponsor: Rep Doggett, Lloyd [TX-25] (introduced 1/13/2009) Cosponsors (8)
Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 6/9/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
H.R.1089 : Veterans Employment Rights to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the enforcement through the Office of Special Counsel of the employment and unemployment rights of veterans and members of the Armed Forces employed by Federal executive agencies, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie [SD] (introduced 2/13/2009) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 5/20/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
H.R.1647 : Veterans’ Employment Transition Support Act of 2009 to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers a credit against income tax for hiring veterans.
Sponsor: Rep McCotter, Thaddeus G. [MI-11] (introduced 3/19/2009) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 3/19/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
H.R.293 : Homeless Women Veteran and Homeless Veterans with Children Reintegration Grant Program Act of 2009 to amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Labor to carry out a grant program to provide reintegration services through programs and facilities that emphasize services for homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children.
Sponsor: Rep Buyer, Steve [IN-4] (introduced 1/8/2009) Cosponsors (14)
Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 1/8/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
S.1237 : Homeless Women Veterans and Homeless Veterans with Children Act of 2009. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to expand the grant program for homeless veterans with special needs to include male homeless veterans with minor dependents and to establish a grant program for reintegration of homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Murray, Patty [WA] (introduced 6/11/2009) Cosponsors (6)
Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 1/28/2010 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Date of scheduled consideration. SR-418. 9:30 a.m.
H.R.1211 : Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to expand and improve health care services available to women veterans, especially those serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. Companion Bill S.597
Sponsor: Rep Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie [SD] (introduced 2/26/2009) Cosponsors (51)
House Reports: 111-165 Latest Major Action: 6/24/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=12833716&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id]
H.R.2583 : Women Veterans Access to Care Act to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve health care for women veterans, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Boswell, Leonard L. [IA-3] (introduced 5/21/2009) Cosponsors (8)
Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 5/21/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
S.597 : Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2009. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to expand and improve health care services available to women veterans, especially those serving in operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. Companion Bill H.R.1211
Sponsor: Sen Murray, Patty [WA] (introduced 3/16/2009) Cosponsors (20)
Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 3/16/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
H.R.1232 : Far South Texas Veterans Medical Center Act of 2009 to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to construct a full service hospital in Far South Texas.
Sponsor: Rep Ortiz, Solomon P. [TX-27] (introduced 2/26/2009) Cosponsors (6)
Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 2/26/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
S.699 : South Texas Veterans’ Hospital. A bill to provide for the construction by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of a full service hospital in Far South Texas.
Sponsor: Sen Cornyn, John [TX] (introduced 3/25/2009) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 3/25/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
H.R.1428 : VA Parkinson’s Disease Compensation. To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide wartime disability compensation for certain veterans with Parkinson’s disease.
Sponsor: Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] (introduced 3/11/2009) Cosponsors (82)
Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 3/13/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=12986021&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id]
S.1752 : Parkinson’s Disease VA Compensation. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide wartime disability compensation for certain veterans with Parkinson’s disease.
Sponsor: Sen Sanders, Bernard [VT] (introduced 10/5/2009) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 10/21/2009 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Hearings held.
H.R.2254 : The Agent Orange Equity Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify presumptions relating to the exposure of certain veterans who served in the vicinity of the Republic of Vietnam.
Sponsor: Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] (introduced 5/5/2009) Cosponsors (249)
Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 5/8/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
To support this bill and/or contact your legislators send a message via http://capwiz.com/usdr/issues/alert/?alertid=13301656&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id]
S.1939 : Vet Presumptive Exposure in Vietnam. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify presumptions relating to the exposure of certain veterans who served in the vicinity of the Republic of Vietnam, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [NY] (introduced 10/27/2009) Cosponsors (15)
Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 10/27/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
H.R.2926 : VA Special Care for Vietnam-era & Persian Gulf War Vets Exposed to Herbicides. To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide, without expiration, hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for certain Vietnam-era veterans exposed to herbicide and veterans of the Persian Gulf War.
Sponsor: Rep Nye, Glenn C., III [VA-2] (introduced 6/17/2009) Cosponsors (5)
Latest Major Action: 7/9/2009 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended) by Voice Vote.
H.R.3491 : Thomas G. Schubert Agent Orange Fairness Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a presumption of service connection for certain cancers occurring in veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam and were exposed to certain herbicide agents, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Kagen, Steve [WI-8] (introduced 7/31/2009) Cosponsors (7)
Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 9/11/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
H.R.177 : Depleted Uranium Screening and Testing Act to provide for identification of members of the Armed Forces exposed during military service to depleted uranium, to provide for health testing of such members, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Serrano, Jose E. [NY-16] (introduced 1/6/2009) Cosponsors (None)
Committees: House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 1/30/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
H.R.2419 : Military Personnel War Zone Toxic Exposure Prevention Act to require the Secretary of Defense to establish a medical surveillance system to identify members of the Armed Forces exposed to chemical hazards resulting from the disposal of waste in Iraq and Afghanistan, to prohibit the disposal of waste by the Armed Forces in a manner that would produce dangerous levels of toxins, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Bishop, Timothy H. [NY-1] (introduced 5/14/2009) Cosponsors (23)
Committees: House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 6/8/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Readiness.
S.642 : Health Care for Members of the Armed Forces Exposed to Chemical Hazards Act of 2009. A bill to require the Secretary of Defense to establish registries of members and former members of the Armed Forces exposed in the line of duty to occupational and environmental health chemical hazards, to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide health care to veterans exposed to such hazards, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Bayh, Evan [IN] (introduced 3/19/2009) Cosponsors (7)
Committees: Senate Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 3/19/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
S.1779 : Health Care for Veterans Exposed to Chemical Hazards Act of 2009. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide health care to veterans exposed in the line of duty to occupational and environmental health chemical hazards, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Bayh, Evan [IN] (introduced 10/14/2009) Cosponsors (7)
Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 10/21/2009 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Hearings held.
S.1518 : Caring for Camp Lejeune Veterans Act of 2009. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to furnish hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to veterans who were stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, while the water was contaminated at Camp Lejeune.
Sponsor: Sen Burr, Richard [NC] (introduced 7/27/2009) Cosponsors (15)
Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 10/21/2009 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Hearings held.
H.R.568 : Veterans Health Care Quality Improvement Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the quality of care provided to veterans in Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities, to encourage highly qualified doctors to serve in hard-to-fill positions in such medical facilities, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Costello, Jerry F. [IL-12] (introduced 1/15/2009) Cosponsors (4)
Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs; House Oversight and Government Reform
Latest Major Action: 1/15/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
H.R.952 : Compensation Owed for Mental Health Based on Activities in Theater Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the meaning of “combat with the enemy” for purposes of service-connection of disabilities.
Sponsor: Rep Hall, John J. [NY-19] (introduced 2/10/2009) Cosponsors (94)
Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 6/10/2009 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
S.1452 : COMBAT PTSD Act. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the meaning of “combat with the enemy” for purposes of service-connection of disabilities.
Sponsor: Sen Schumer, Charles E. [NY] (introduced 7/14/2009) Cosponsors (5)
Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 7/14/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
H.R.1544 : Veterans Mental Health Accessibility Act to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for unlimited eligibility for health care for mental illnesses for veterans of combat service during certain periods of hostilities and war.
Sponsor: Rep Driehaus, Steve [OH-1] (introduced 3/17/2009) Cosponsors (7)
Committees: House Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 3/17/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
H.R.1701 : PTSD/TBI Guaranteed Review For Heroes Act to amend title 10, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a special review board for certain former members of the Armed Forces with post-traumatic stress disorder or a traumatic brain injury, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Jones, Walter B., Jr. [NC-3] (introduced 3/25/2009) Cosponsors (11)
Committees: House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 4/27/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
H.R.4051 : Cold War Service Medal Act of 2009 to amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the award of a military service medal to members of the Armed Forces who served honorably during the Cold War, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Israel, Steve [NY-2] (introduced 11/6/2009) Cosponsors (26) Related bill: S.2743
Committees: House Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 11/18/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
S.2743 : Cold War Service Medal Act of 2009. A bill to amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the award of a military service medal to members of the Armed Forces who served honorably during the Cold War, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Snowe, Olympia J. [ME] (introduced 11/5/2009) Cosponsors (6) Related bill: H.R.4051
Committees: Senate Armed Services
Latest Major Action: 11/5/2009 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
S.1556 : Veteran Voting Support Act of 2009. A bill to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to permit facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs to be designated as voter registration agencies, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Feinstein, Dianne [CA] (introduced 8/3/2009) Cosponsors (6)
Committees: Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Latest Major Action: 10/21/2009 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Hearings held.
God Bless
Jose M. Garcia
National Executive Director
Catholic War Veterans,USA
josegarcia4@sbcglobal.net
Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.
In God We Trust
I apologize for shoving these press releases in front of all of our readers, but I do believe that the mission statement of this Blog, which is advocacy, must include the most current information I can find about the machinations of the Veterans Administration. That information frequently trumps my opinions. Rest assured there are many opinions in the wings. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” is waiting to come to center stage this weekend.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2010
AKAKA AND MAJORITY OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS SUPPORT OBAMA BUDGET FOR VETERANS, URGE ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) was joined by a majority of Committee members in recommending a $380 million increase in discretionary funding above the President’s VA budget proposal. This recommendation came in the Committee’s views and estimates letter on the Fiscal Year 2011 budget for veterans’ programs, submitted to the Senate Budget Committee Friday.
“We can never forget that caring for veterans is a cost of war, and must be treated as such,” said Chairman Akaka. “I look forward to working with my colleagues and the Administration to build on the President’s strong VA budget proposal. Our recommendations are for stronger funding to help disabled veterans train for new careers, provide support to family caregivers, and invest in medical and prosthetic research.”
Chairman Akaka was joined in signing the letter by the following Committee members: Senators John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV), Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Begich (D-AK), Roland W. Burris (D-IL), and Arlen Specter (D-PA).
Akaka and co-signers recommended the following additional discretionary investments for veterans programs:
Akaka and co-signers also recommended that the budget provide mandatory funding to avoid imposing a Cost-of-Living Adjustment round-down in the coming fiscal year and to support a reasonable increase in the Specially Adapted Housing Grant programs which make it possible for severely disabled veterans to live more independently in residential housing.
Views and estimates are a formal part of the federal budget process, in which Congressional committees recommend funding levels for programs and activities under their legislative jurisdiction. (For the Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s jurisdiction, click here.) The House and Senate Budget Committees review these recommendations when formulating the proposed Budget Resolution for the following fiscal year.
The President proposed to increase VA’s budget by nearly $11 billion for the next fiscal year. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki testified before the Senate last week that this budget will improve the Department’s ability to transform VA into a 21st Century organization and ensure veterans timely access to care and benefits. (To view that hearing, click here.)
The full views and estimates document can be viewed here: LINK.
I had the opportunity to interview Joe Galloway for the Northwest Explorer. He was in town in 2006 for a Leadership Seminar for the Vietnam Veterans of America.
I for one am happy for Joe and sad to see him go. The sadness is because there are so few journalists who are conversant with veterans affairs. For years we had but just a few nation wide who could speak with authority sans the toxic political ideology that now blankets the nation.
He and Col. David Hackworth could rise above the polarity and polemic and educate the reader without inciting them. The sole survivor may be Doonsberry!
Good luck Joe and God speed.
To quote Mr. Dickens, they were the best of times and the worst of times. This is Galloway writing “-30-” and farewell to this weekly column after almost seven years and wrapping up half a century in the newspaper business.
Oh, I will still write an occasional op-ed piece when the bastards in Washington, D.C., blast across the line into moron territory, and there’s always another book waiting to be written.
From that first day in November of 1959 when Jim Rech, the managing editor of The Victoria (Texas) Advocate, hired me as a reporter to this day when I say my goodbyes I have, with few and momentary exceptions, loved all of it.
This is not going to be an obituary for the newspaper business. I have loved being a reporter; loved it when we got it right; understood it when we got it wrong. I hope print-and-ink daily newspapers will outlive me by many years. Somehow.
I was a state bureau chief for United Press International (UPI) before I could legally take a drink or vote. My friends and mentors were former President Harry Truman and former governor and presidential candidate Alf M. Landon. I stood in the courthouse corridors on smoke breaks and talked to Richard Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, the “In Cold Blood” killers. On a freezing cold midnight, I watched as the State of Kansas hanged Lowell Lee Andrews by the neck until death for shooting his mom and dad for the insurance money.
In 1964, at age 24, I headed off to Asia to cover a war that I was certain was coming in a little-known country called South Vietnam. Within four months, the first American troops, Marines, were landing on the beaches of Danang, and I was right behind them.
It would be 16 years before I returned to work in the U.S. — years of wars, coups d’etat, disasters natural and otherwise in places such as Vietnam, Laos, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, East Timor, Afghanistan, the U.S.S.R.
You grew up fast covering the infantry at war in the jungles and mountain highlands and broad rice paddies of Vietnam. Seventy reporters, photographers and cameramen, many of them friends, were killed covering the war.
We mourn their loss even now, four decades later: the scholarly Bernard Fall, Life photographer Larry Burrows, UPI shooters Kyoichi Sawada and Kent Potter, old colleagues such as the effervescent Henri Huet, my buddy Sean Flynn and his sidekick Dana Stone, and a mentor, Dickie Chappelle.
There were great characters, some of them left over from covering World War II or fighting in it, such as former Guards officer and former rubber planter-turned-war correspondent Don Wise, Jim Lucas and Jack Foisie and Keyes Beech and George McArthur. There were others: Dave Halberstam, Neil Sheehan, Syd Schanberg, the AP’s Horst Faas and Pete Arnett and Bob Poos, a Korean War Marine who fought at the Chosin Reservoir. My good buddy Leon Daniel of UPI, a Korean War Marine. Also Kate Webb, Gloria Emerson, Betsy Halstead, Maggie Kilgore and Tracy Wood.
We were privileged to march with and get to know some great military commanders at all levels — soldiers and Marines — such as my best friend and co-author Hal Moore, Marine commander Lew Walt, Hank Emerson, David Hackworth, Charlie Beckwith, Sam Wilson, Norm Schwarzkopf and on and on. Too many great infantry non-coms and too many bold, brave, insane helicopter jockeys to begin naming.
It was a pleasure to share a foxhole or a watering hole with any one of them, especially on a very bad day.
There were some fine editors who were willing to gamble that you could deliver on a risky or occasionally even a fanciful proposal. The best one of all I worked for the longest — John Walcott — who was my boss and friend for nearly 20 years at U.S. News, Knight Ridder Newspapers and, most recently, at McClatchy Newspapers.
Then there were two others who were a delight to work for and with — Mike Ruby and Merrill McLoughlin, husband and wife co-editors at U.S. News who each possessed their own unique skills that fit together perfectly.
In the end, it all comes down to the people, both those you cover and those you work for, with or alongside during 50 years. I can only thank God for putting me on paths that crossed with all those named above and all the others not named here but still alive in my heart.
Finally, I have to say that when I was given this weekly opinion column to write in April of 2003, it was strange new ground for someone who had spent 22 years at UPI, where you might be allowed to have an opinion but could never let one creep into your stories, and nearly 20 years at U.S. News, whose founder believed in presenting the facts and letting the readers make up their own minds.
There was never a shortage of topics or targets during the remainder of the Bush administration. Nor is there any seeming shortage as the Obama administration wraps up a first year of one disaster after another.
But in the words of Kenny Rogers “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em.” After 50 years, it’s time to fold ‘em and move on with the rest of my life.
Listing Of Veteran Benefits
ALL VETS SHOULD COPY THIS
Someone has gone to a lot of trouble.. If this helps one person, then it was worthwhile.
Pass on to all veterans!
Below are web-sites that provide information on Veterans benefits and how to file/ask for them. Accordingly, there are many sites that explain how to obtain books, military/medical records, information and how to appeal a denied claim with the VA. Please pass this information on to every Veteran you know. Nearly 100% of this information is free and available for all veterans, the only catch is: you have to ask for it, because they won’t tell you about a specific benefit unless you ask for it. You need to know what questions to ask so the right doors open for you — and then be ready to have an advocate who is willing to work with and for you, stay in the process, and press for your rights and your best interests.
Appeals http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/admin21/m21_1/mr/part1/ch05.doc
Board of Veteran’s Appeals http://www.va.gov/vbs/bva/
CARES Commission http://www.va.gov/vbs/bva/
CARES Draft National Plan http://www1.va.gov/cares/page.cfm?pg=105
Center for Minority Veterans http://www1.va.gov/centerforminorityveterans/
Center for Veterans Enterprise http://www.vetbiz.gov/default2.htm
Center for Women Veterans http://www1.va.gov/womenvet/
Clarification on the changes in VA healthcare for Gulf War Veterans http://www.gulfwarvets.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000016.html
Classified Records – American Gulf War Veterans Assoc http://www.gulfwarvets.com/ubb/Forum18/HTML/000011.html
Compensation for Disabilities Associated with the Gulf War Service http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/admin21/m21_1/part6%20/ch07.doc
Compensation Rate Tables, 12-1-03 http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Rates/comp01.htm
Department of Veterans Affairs Home Page http://www.va.gov/
Directory of Veterans Service Organizations http://www1.va.gov/vso/index.cfm?template=view
Disability Examination Worksheets Index, Comp http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Benefits/exams/index.htm
Due Process http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/admin21/m21_1/mr/part1/ch02.doc
Duty to Assist http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/admin21/m21_1/mr/part1/ch01.doc
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ecfr/
Emergency, Non-emergency, and Fee Basis Care http://www1.va.gov/opa/vadocs/fedben.pdf
Environmental Agents http://www1.va.gov/environagents/
Environmental Agents M10 http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1002
Establishing Combat Veteran Eligibility http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=315
EVALUATION PROTOCOL FOR GULF WAR AND IRAQI FREEDOM VETERANS WITH POTENTIAL EXPOSURE TO DEPLETED URANIUM (DU) http://www1.va.gov/gulfwar/docs/DUHandbook1303122304.DOC and http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1158
See also, Depleted Uranium Fact Sheet http://www1.va.gov/gulfwar/docs/DepletedUraniumFAQSheet.doc
EVALUATION PROTOCOL FOR NON-GULF WAR VETERANS WITH POTENTIAL EXPOSURE TO DEPLETED URANIUM (DU) http://www1.va.gov/gulfwar/docs/DUHANDBOOKNONGW130340304.DOC
Fee Basis, PRIORITY FOR OUTPATIENT MEDICAL SERVICES AND INPATIENT HOSPITAL CARE http://www1.va..gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=206 Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependants 2005 http://www1.va.gov/opa/vadocs/fedben.pdf OR, http://www1.va..gov/opa/vadocs/current_benefits.htm
Forms and Records Request http://www.va.gov/vaforms/
General Compensation Provisions http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title38/partii_chapter11_subchaptervi_.html
Geriatrics and Extended Care http://www1.va.gov/geriatricsshg/
Guideline for Chronic Pain and Fatigue MUS-CPG http://www.oqp.med.va.gov/cpg/cpgn/mus/mus_base.htm
Guide to Gulf War Veteran’s Health http://www1.va.gov/gulfwar/docs/VHIgulfwar.pdf
Gulf War Subject Index http://www1.va.gov/GulfWar/page.cfm?pg=7&template=main&letter=A
Gulf War Veteran’s Illnesses Q&As http://www1.va.gov/gulfwar/docs/GWIllnessesQandAsIB1041.pdf
Hearings
http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/admin21/m21_1/mr/part1/ch04.doc
Homeless Veterans http://www1.va.gov/homeless/
HSR&D Home http://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/
Index to Disability Examination Worksheets C&P exams http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/benefits/exams/index.htm
Ionizing Radiation http://www1.va.gov/irad/
Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom Veterans VBA http://www.vba.va.gov/EFIF/
M 10 for spouses and children < http://www1..va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1007
M10 Part III Change 1 http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1008
M21-1 Table of Contents http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/M21_1.html
Mental Disorders, Schedule of Ratings http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/regs/38CFR/BOOKC/PART4/S4_130.DOC
Mental Health Program Guidelin es http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1094
Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Centers http://www.mirecc.med.va.gov/
MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Centers of Excellence http://www.va.gov/ms/about.asp
My Health e Vet http://www.myhealth.va.gov/
NASDVA.COM http://nasdva.com/
National Association of State Directors http://www.nasdva.com/
National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention http://www.nchpdp.med.va.gov/postdeploymentlinks.asp
Neurological Conditions and Convulsive Disorders, Schedule of Ratings http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/regs/38cfr/bookc/part4/s4%5F124a.doc
OMI (Office of Medical Inspector) http://www.omi.cio.med.va.gov/
Online VA Form 10-10EZ https://www.1010ez..med.va.gov/sec/vha/1010ez/
Parkinson’s Disease and Related Neurodegenerative Disorders http://www1.va.gov/resdev/funding/solicitations/docs/parkinsons.pdf
and, http://www1.va.gov/padrecc/
Peacetime Disability Compensation http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite:+38USC1131
Pension for Non-Service-Connected Disability or Death http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title38/partii_chapter15_subchapteri_.html and, http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title38/partii_chapter15_subchapterii_.html
and, http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title38/partii_chapter15_subchapteriii_.html
Persian Gulf Registry http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1003
This program is now referred to as Gulf War Registry Program (to include Operation Iraqi Freedom) as of March 7, 2005: http://www1..va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1232
Persian Gulf Registry Referral Centers http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1006
Persian Gulf Veterans’ Illnesses Research 1999, Annual Report To Congress http://www1.va.gov/resdev/1999_Gulf_War_Veterans’_Illnesses_Appendices.doc
Persian Gulf Veterans’ Illnesses Research 2002, Annual Report To Congress http://www1.va.gov/resdev/prt/gulf_war_2002/GulfWarRpt02.pdf
Phase I PGR http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1004
Phase II PGR http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1005
Policy Manual Index http://www.va.gov/publ/direc/eds/edsmps.htm
Power of Attorney http://www.warms.vba..va.gov/admin21/m21_1/mr/part1/ch03.doc Project 112 (Including Project SHAD) http://www1.va.gov/shad/
Prosthetics Eligibility http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=337
Public Health and Environmental Hazards Home Page http://www.vethealth.cio.med.va.gov/
Public Health/SARS http://www..publichealth.va.gov/SARS/
Publications Manuals http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/publications.cfm?Pub=4
Publications and Reports http://www1.va.gov/resdev/prt/pubs_individual.cfm?webpage=gulf_war.htm
Records Center and Vault Homepage http://www.aac.va.gov/vault/default.html
Records Center and Vault Site Map http://www.aac.va.gov/vault/sitemap.html
REQUEST FOR AND CONSENT TO RELEASE OF INFORMATION FROM CLAIMANT’S RECORDS http://www.forms.va.gov/va/Internet/VARF/getformharness.asp?formName=3288-form.xft
Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans Illnesses April 11, 2002 http://www1.va.gov/rac-gwvi/docs/Minutes_April112002.doc
Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans Illnesses
http://www1.va.gov/rac-gwvi/docs/ReportandRecommendations_2004.pdf
Research and Development http://www.appc1.va.gov/resdev/programs/all_programs.cfm
Survivor’s and Dependents’ Educational Assistance http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title38/partiii_chapter35_.html
Title 38 Index Parts 0-17
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?sid=1b0c269b510d3157fbf8f8801bc9b3dc&c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title38/38cfrv1_02.tpl
Title 38 Part 3 Adjudication Subpart Aââ,¬”Pension, Compensation, and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=1b0c269b510d3157fbf8f8801bc9b3dc&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title38/38cfr3_main_02.tpl
Title 38 Pensions, Bonuses & Veterans Relief (also Ã,§ 3.317 Compensation for certain disabilities due to undiagnosed illnesses found here) http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=1b0c269b510d3157fbf8f8801bc9b3dc&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title38/38cfr3_main_02.tpl Title 38
PART 4–SCHEDULE FOR RATING DISABILITIES Subpart B–DISABILITY RATINGS
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=ab7641afd195c84a49a2067dbbcf95c0&rgn=div6&view=text&node=38:1.0.1.1.5.2&idno=38
Title 38 Ã,§ 4.16 Total disability ratings for compensation based on unemployability of the individual. PART 4ââ,¬”SCHEDULE FOR
RATING DISABILITIES Subpart Aââ,¬”General Policy in Rating http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=1b0c269b510d3157fbf8f8801bc9b3dc&rgn=div8&view=text&node=38:1.0.1.1.5.1..96.11&idno=38
U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims http://www.vetapp.gov/
VA Best Practice Manual for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) http://www.avapl.org/pub/PTSD%20Manual%20final%206.pdf
VA Fact Sheet http://www1.va.gov/opa/fact/gwfs.html
VA Health Care Eligibility http://www.va.gov/healtheligibility/home/hecmain.asp
VA INSTITUTING GLOBAL ASSESSMENT OF FUNCTION (GAF) http://www.avapl.org/gaf/gaf.html
VA Life Insurance Handbook ââ,¬” Chapter 3 http://www.insurance.va.gov/inForceGliSite/GLIhandbook/glibookletch3.htm#310
VA Loan Lending Limits and Jumbo Loans http://valoans.com/va_facts_limits.cfm
VA MS Research http://www.va.gov/ms/about.asp
VA National Hepatitis C Program http://www.hepatitis.va.gov/
VA Office of Research and Development http://www1.va.gov/resdev/
VA Trainee Pocket Card on Gulf War http://www.va.gov/OAA/pocketcard/gulfwar.asp
VA WMD EMSHG http://www1.va.gov/emshg/
VA WRIISC-DC http://www.va.gov/WRIISC-DC/
VAOIG Hotline Telephone Number and Address http://www.va..gov/oig/hotline/hotline3.htm
Vet Center Eligibility – Readjustment Counseling Service http://www.va.gov/rcs/Eligibility.htm
Veterans Benefits Administration Main Web Page http://www.vba.va.gov/
Veterans Legal and Benefits Information http://valaw.org/
VHA Forms, Publications, Manuals http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/
VHA Programs – Clinical Programs & Initiatives http://www1.va.gov/health_benefits/page.cfm?pg=13 http://webmaila.juno.com/webmail/new/UrlBlockedError.aspx>;
VHA Public Health Strategic Health Care Group Home Page http: // www.publichealth.va.gov/
VHI Guide to Gulf War Veteransââ,¬(tm) Health http://www1.va.gov/vhi_ind_study/gulfwar/istudy/index.asp
Vocational Rehabilitation http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/
Vocational Rehabilitation Subsistence http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/InterSubsistencefy04.doc
VONAPP online http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp
WARMS – 38 CFR Book C http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/bookc.html
Wartime Di sability Compensation http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite:+38USC1110
War-Related Illness and Injury Study Center – New Jersey http://www.wri.med.va.gov/
Welcome to the GI Bill Web Site http://www.gibill.va.gov/
What VA Social Workers Do http://www1.va.gov/socialwork/page.cfm?pg=3
WRIISC Patient Eligibility http://www.illegion.org/va1.html
Print this out and save it in your VA files. There may be a time for use in the future .
overwhelm.
Mindfulness is a simple and radical approach to dealing with the stress
phenomena. Simple, because it is an innate ability of the mind. Radical,
because it is going to the root of the stress creation phenomena within us. With
mindfulness practices, we slow down the perception process and most likely
abate the unnecessary stimulation of stress physiology. By simply .
strengthening our ability to pay attention on purpose to each present moment
without trying to change anything, we begin to create an atmosphere for rest,
recovery, and for new insights about how to relate to ourselves and our
stressors. Whatever is happening is happening and the clearer we can see it,
the more skillful our response can be. We are refreshing our ability to “be” with
ourselves and to trust our abilities to deal with what arises.
While mindfulness is innate, it is underdeveloped for most of us. While it is
healing, there is a lot in our daily life that discourages this way of being. This is
why MBSR is so helpful for many who are interested in exploring the
possibilities of mind/body methods. Through the formal meditation practices
which we teach and encourage you to practice daily, you cultivate mindfulness
in a systematic way. Through the group process and the integration of
mindfulness into daily living, you learn how to make it relevant for you and how
to sustain it in new situations. Many findthat this way of being’,’ present arid
responsive, has a far greater affect than reducing stress.
“… there is nothing particularly unusual of mystical about meditating or being
mindful. All it involves is paying attention to your experience from moment to
moment. This leads directly to new ways of seeing and being in your life
because the present moment, whenever it is recognized and honored, reveals a
very special, indeed magical power: it is the only time that any of us ever has.
The present is the only time that we have to know anything. It is the only time
we have to perceive, to learn, to act, to change, to heal. That is why we value
moment-to-moment awareness so highly. While we may have to teach
ourselves how to do it through practicing, the effort itself is its own end. It makes
our experiences more vivid and our lives more real.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn, Full CatastroQhe Living,
How will I benefit?
Over 25 years of published research indicate that people who complete the
program report:
An ability to cope more effectively with both short and long term stressful
situations
An increased ability to relax
The second of the Community Veteran Forums, sponsored by Himmel Park Library, with the assistance of librarian Suzanne Parker, wife of a Vietnam Veteran, is scheduled for Sunday, February 28th from 1pm to 4pm. Himmel Park Library is located at 1035 N. Treat Ave. 520-594-5305, Ext. 3.
“One cannot meet catastrophic events and survive when deprived of the feeling that somebody cares” Bettleheim.
Survivors of traumatic events have long been known to suffer psychological sequalae. Combat is one of the most devastating. Combat exposes its adherent to stimuli that are far beyond the grasp of understanding of civilized life. The impact that lingers can affect generations of family, friends, neighbors and employers.
Until recently there has not been much research on the long term effects of battle. There is less data on the impact on family and the capacity to regain intimacy and relationship skills. And the data that does exist seldom leads to any implementation of programs or simple gatherings for spouses and close associates. We have overcome the tendency to minimize the psychic impact of war, and have simultaneously learned to not stigmatize the veteran when she/he reach out for help.
We have finally separated the War from the Warrior and in doing so have found a path for the community to be involved with lessening the toll of psychic scars. In fact it is the belief of the presenters of this forum, that there can be no healing without the community having a working fund of knowledge of exactly what the returning soldier, and Marine are coping with on a daily basis.
Re-entry to civilian life does not happen naturally. The very foundation of the way the world is objectively seen is altered on a minute to minute trail of thought.
Expectations run high and the reality of the retuning vet is often met with very painful reunions.
There is a known therapeutic value in deep listening. While there are a ton of outreach programs tailored just for the transitioning veteran, like the one at the Merritt Center in Payson, AZ, there is a paucity of listening to the families, and it is they who these forums are designed to help.
So please spread the word through your workplace and your neighborhood to come spend some time with us as we discover new ways to love and accept our warriors. Our dream is that every Public Library in our nation will have something similar on an ongoing basis. Welcome Home gatherings are tremendous, but more is needed.
For more information or details about the forum leave a message at 520-540-7000.
This Forum is sponsored by TucsonCitizen.com. Photocopy expenses are covered by Steve Sisson of Century 21 Heritage Real Estate.