Veterans Information: One Week, One Source
Often being asked about the volume of veterans news that is generated, the following almost four-dozen references are from one source over one week. There are tens of sources.
VA Watchdog Dot Com
MONDAY -- 25 JANUARY 2010
VA AND VETERANS' NEWS: A WEEK-AT-A-GLANCE FOR MONDAY 25 JANUARY 2010
-- A week-at-a-glance is an easy way to peruse VA and veterans' news stories posted in the last week.
VA SECRETARY SHINSEKI ASSISTS AT HOMELESS VETERAN STAND DOWN
-- Secretary Shinseki, along with 600 other volunteers -- many of them VA employees -- attended the Winterhaven Homeless Veterans Stand Down.
MONTANA MODEL FOR PTSD DETECTION FACES MAJOR TEST
-- "This would have been great stuff to have had on my first deployment. I wish I'd had this kind of knowledge going in the first time."
SOLDIERS PREPARE FOR EXPLOSIONS OF WAR IN SIMULATORS
-- A Humvee simulator prepares soldiers for one of the most hazardous jobs in Afghanistan today -- driving.
ILLNESS AND ACCIDENTS CAUSE MOST WAR-ZONE CASUALTIES
-- More than 85% of American military medical evacuations from the Middle East were not the direct result of enemy action.
FLORIDA COUNTIES PUSH FOR A SECOND VA REGIONAL OFFICE
-- "Sometimes the claim dies with the veteran. The regional office has so much they have to do to verify a claim, it takes a while to do that."
POSTAL WORKER CAUGHT STEALING VETERANS' DRUGS
-- A camera was placed in the worker's truck and recorded him stealing from drug deliveries intended for veterans.
OPM PROMOTES WEB SITE TO HELP VETERANS GET GOVERNMENT JOBS
--
Feds Hire Vets dot Gov
will help veterans, transitioning service members and family members connect with government jobs.
WEEKEND -- 23 & 24 JANUARY 2010
VETERAN'S WIDOW FINALLY WINS HER VA CLAIM
-- "This case serves as a reminder of the effect the unacceptable claims backlog at the VA has on veterans and their families."
CONSERVATIVE CIVIL LIBERTIES GROUP CHALLENGES VALIDITY OF STOLEN VALOR ACT
-- John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute: "You have to redraft the law to prove a particularized damage."
WHEN A VETERAN DIES, THEY MAKE SURE UNCLE SAM KEEPS HIS WORD
-- They call themselves the promise keepers. "They promise to remember our service and I'm here to keep that promise."
MANY PHONY WAR HEROES GO UNPUNISHED
-- He holds up his uniform as proof of the honors he's earned, including the Silver and Bronze stars for valor and bravery in combat, four Purple Hearts, and many more.
FOLLOW-UP: VA'S PLAN TO STREAMLINE BENEFITS SYSTEM CALLED "DOA"
-- Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense says planned system is "Dead on Arrival."
VA SAYS MOST G.I. BILL PHONE CALLS DID NOT CONNECT
-- VA officials acknowledged almost 90 percent of calls to the Muskogee, Okla., center never connected.
VA UNVEILS PLANS TO STREAMLINE DISABILITY BENEFITS SYSTEM
-- VA claims new Veterans Benefit Management System (VBMS) will be faster, more efficient, more transparent and paperless.
FRIDAY -- 22 JANUARY 2010
FLORIDA MAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO STOLEN VALOR CHARGES
-- Faces federal charges of wearing or displaying the medals, lying about how he received them and more.
PLAN TO PUT VETS' CEMETERY NEXT TO QUARRY QUESTIONED
-- "We don't want to be opposed to it. We just want some questions answered. We don't want people rattled out of their caskets."
VA TO BRIEF VETS' SERVICE ORGS ON CLAIMS BACKLOG
-- Knowing negative VAOIG report on Roanoke Regional Office would be coming, VA calls VSOs to briefing on claims system.
JUDGE RULES VETERANS' CLAIMS OVER CIA EXPERIMENTATION SURVIVE
-- Vets say the CIA prevented roughly 7,000 human subjects from getting medical care after they were subjected to experiments on mind control, implantation of electronics and the effects of exotic drugs.
VA ISSUES LIST OF SHIPS THAT QUALIFY FOR PRESUMPTIVE AGENT ORANGE EXPOSURE
-- "If a Veteran's service aboard one of these ships can be confirmed ... then exposure to herbicide agents can be presumed without further development."
IN BALAD, SMOKE AND FIRE FROM THE BURN PITS
-- A first-hand account from Dan Clare, an Airman who served at "Mortaritaville."
VAOIG FINDS TELEMETRY MONITORING ISSUES AT DENVER VA
-- "We substantiated the allegation that there were competency and training issues with medical support assistants and registered nurses assigned to telemetry prior to the death of the first patient."
THURSDAY -- 21 JANUARY 2010
VA, DoD BEGIN REALIGNMENT OF DISABILITY RATINGS CLAIMS PROCESS
-- "Once all the kinks are worked out, it's going to be great for Soldiers -- the Soldiers are truly the ones who are win-win in this case."
DoD BEGINS STUDY OF VIRTUAL REALITY TREATMENT FOR PTSD
-- DoD to conduct first randomized clinical trial that uses active-duty military diagnosed with combat-related PTSD to compare Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy results to traditional "imaginal" prolonged exposure therapy.
VA BEGINS SPRING SEMESTER OUTREACH TO VETS ON NEW G.I. BILL
-- Mike Walcoff: "We are making a concerted effort to reach out to everyone to provide the timely benefits that those who served our nation deserve."
VETERANS Q&A with JIM STRICKLAND, #6 for 2010
-- Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland answers questions from VA Watchdog dot Org readers.
VA RESEARCH FINDS WAY TO OBJECTIVELY IDENTIFY PTSD
-- By measuring magnetic fields in the brain, VA researchers have identified biomarkers in those exhibiting PTSD.
WEDNESDAY -- 20 JANUARY 2010
DoD TO FUND DRUG THERAPY STUDY FOR TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY
-- Allopregnanolone "can provide patients with improved survival and cognition and better overall neurological outcomes."
VA FILES AT ROANOKE REGIONAL OFFICE COULD COLLAPSE BUILDING
-- The backlog of VA claims files is so great that it is compromising the structural integrity of the building.
VA WINS AWARD FOR SAFE MEDICATION PRACTICES BUT CAN'T FIND ITS DRUG INVENTORY
-- Independent organization gives VA award for preventing medication errors as VAOIG slams pharmacies for lack of inventory control.
HOUSE VETERANS' COMMITTEE GETS BACK TO WORK
-- HCVA has one roundtable and two hearings scheduled for this week.
LOST HARD DRIVE COULD CONTAIN VETERANS' PERSONAL INFORMATION
-- Healthcare corporation Health Net kept quiet for six months about a lost disk drive, exposing 1.5 million of its members to identity theft.
TUESDAY -- 19 JANUARY 2010
VETERANS Q&A with JIM STRICKLAND, #5 for 2010
-- Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland answers questions from VA Watchdog dot Org readers.
STEP INTO THE MUSEUM AND STEP INTO THE VIETNAM WAR
-- As the steam envelopes you, the sweet chirp of crickets is interrupted by the rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire. A helicopter whirs above.
VETERAN'S WIDOW KEEPS FIGHTING FOR VA BENEFITS
-- Widow's son: "I think this is purposeful. I mean, the VA is waiting for my mother to die. They don't want to pay her a dime."
MANY WWII FILIPINO VETS STILL WAITING FOR VA PAYMENTS
-- "The long delay is justice denied. That's the saying. It's really true -- it's an injustice somehow."
DOCTOR WITH TROUBLED PAST TO BE FIRED BY PITTSBURGH VA
-- Dr. Anna Chacko, whose job was reinstated after Congressional intervention, will now be terminated by the VA.
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HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS -- PRESS RELEASES
Injured Veterans Suffer Consequences of Lingering Communication Gap between DoD and VA -- 01-25-2010
DEMOCRATIC - HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS PRESS RELEASE
Improvements Ahead for Post 9-11 G.I. Bill Claims System -- 01-22-2010
DEMOCRATIC - HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS PRESS RELEASE
Subcommittee Assesses VA Transition Services for Disabled Veterans -- 01-21-2010
REPUBLICAN - HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS PRESS RELEASE
House Veterans' Affairs Committee Meets with VSO Leaders -- 01-21-2010
DEMOCRATIC - HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS PRESS RELEASE
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS -- PRESS RELEASES
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VA -- PRESS RELEASES
VA Secretary Shinseki Helps Veterans at VA Medical Center Homeless Stand Down -- 01-24-2010
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS PRESS RELEASE
VA to Begin Recovery of Post 9-11 GI Bill Advance Payments -- 01-22-2010
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS PRESS RELEASE
VA Opens Washington Crossing National Cemetery -- 01-22-2010
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS PRESS RELEASE
VA Reaching Out to Students and Schools to Speed Benefit Payments -- 01-20-2010
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS PRESS RELEASE
VA Wins National Award for Safe Medication Practices -- 01-19-2010
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS PRESS RELEASE
--- Regards, Walt Schmidt
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