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Secretary Nicholson: VA Reaches Out to Veterans and Spouses "Aid and Attendance" an Under-Used Benefit
"Veterans have earned this benefit by their service to our nation," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson…

New Military Health System Governance Plan Announced
The concept creates joint oversight and leadership of several key functional areas across the health system…

Study Analyzes VA Mental Health Spending
The VA budgeted $300 million in fiscal 2005-06 for new mental health initiatives but spent only $200 million…

New Military Health System Governance Plan Announced
The concept creates joint oversight and leadership of several key functional areas across the health system…

Stolen Valor Act clears hurdle
The House of Representatives passed a Senate-approved bill Wednesday that would make it a felony to claim unearned military decorations…

Studies Link PTSD, Heart Attacks
Veterans of World War II and Korea shows that those with PTSD incur a greater chance of heart attacks when they age…

VA Continues Coverage for Gulf War Syndrome
The interim rule continues a presumption that veterans of the Persian Gulf War with disabilities from undiagnosed illnesses incurred during their service are eligible for disability and other VA benefits…

House Democrat Wants Draft Reinstated
Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said Sunday he sees his idea as a way to deter politicians from launching wars…

Veterans Court on Record Pace
The bench is now on track to issue 30 percent more decisions than any year in the Court's history…

Veteran benefit lifts burdens
More and more seniors are discovering a little-known veterans benefit that helps pay for long-term care…

DoD Announces Recruiting and Retention Numbers for October

Active Duty Survivor Benefits Enhanced
The law also enhanced Tricare benefits for surviving children and spouses of deceased active duty service members…

Air Force Extends PCS Minimums
The Air Force is reducing its permanent change of station budget deficit by extending the minimum time on station before transfers…

New Vaccine Trials Set for Boot Camp Crud
20 percent of all recruits lose some time from training due to adenoviral illness…

VA Fact Sheet
VA Services for Returning Combat Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom…

A Claims Processing Crunch Looms
The current deluge of disability claims is adding to a large existing backlog…

DoD to Resume Anthrax Vaccinations
The DoD announced today a resumption of the mandatory Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program (AVIP) for military personnel, emergency-essential DoD civilians and contractors…

More Veterans Suffering from Stress
More than one-third of Iraq and Afghanistan vets seeking medical treatment from the VA report symptoms of stress or other mental disorders…

Special Health Registry Examination Programs Questions and Answers
An in-depth review about the VA's health registry programs and benefits…

Agent Orange Findings Called Flawed
Two scientists involved in 25-year, $140 million study say it may underestimate cancer risks for Vietnam vets…

VA Underestimates Care Costs
The government used prewar data to estimate the cost of caring for veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, contributing to a $3 billion budget shortfall at the VA since 2005…

Military Veterans Suffer Dramatic Increase in Tinnitus, Other Hearing Damage from Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan
American Tinnitus Association Calls for Boost in Funding, Research for Cure…

Agent Orange cancer findings won't get in report; Air Force says Study's chairman raises questions about decision to leave data out The analysis showed a doubling in cancer rates among the highest-exposed veterans, according to information submitted to the advisory committee…

Agent Orange Study Ends After 24 Years
The study involving veterans who served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War is set to end later this month, at least partially closing another chapter on the war…

Body Armor Claim Deadline Approaching
Soldiers have until Oct. 3 to file claims for reimbursement of certain private purchases of protective, health and safety equipment such as body armor…

Stair Climbing Mobility System Now Covered by VA
Eligible veterans with disabilities now have the opportunity to purchase the innovative iBOT® 4000 Mobility System through medical coverage provided by the VA…

Bill For Native American Veterans Cemeteries
If passed in Congress, The Native American Veterans Cemetery Act would authorize states to provide grants financed by the VA for the development or improvement of veterans' cemeteries on tribal land…

Marines Tag IRRs For Callup
President Bush has authorized the Marine Corps to call up Marines from the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR)…

Vets Fight Over Lawyers
Vets Split Over Need For Paid Attorneys In VA Claims…

Fact Sheet: VA Benefits for Former Prisoners Of War
Former American POWs are eligible for special veterans benefits, including enrollment in VA medical care for treatment in VA hospitals and clinics without co-payments as well as disability compensation for injuries and diseases that have been associated with internment. These benefits are in addition to regular veterans benefits and services to which they, as veterans, are entitled…

Bill Would Aid Cemeteries for Indian Veterans
Representative Tom Udall, the New Mexico Democrat who wrote the bill, said it would authorize states to provide grants financed by the Department of Veterans Affairs for the development or improvement of veterans' cemeteries on tribal land.
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Vietnam Veterans of America Applauds Recent Court Decision In Favor of Service Members Who Served in the Offshore Waters of Vietnam
"Some of the inequities of the application of presumptive coverage for exposure to Agent Orange have finally been set aside," said John Rowan, national president of Vietnam Veterans of America…

Court Expands Agent Orange Coverage To Offshore Vets
The Court determined the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been unlawfully denying presumptive disability compensation for exposure to Agent Orange (AO) for service members who served in the waters offshore of Vietnam and earned the VSM…

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Registry
The VA is developing a nationwide registry of living veterans who have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)…

Congress To Cut Traumatic Brain Injury Funding
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is becoming one of the most common injuries among soldiers fighting in Iraq…

Sickened Vets Cite Depleted Uranium
A shell coated with depleted uranium pierces a tank like a hot knife through butter, exploding on impact into a charring inferno. As tank armor, it repels artillery assaults. It also leaves behind a fine radioactive dust with a half-life of 4.5 billion years…

Veterans Want Further Study On DNA Findings
The results of a study indicating a significant level of genetic damage to the DNA of Vietnam War veterans warrants a larger investigation, the Ex-Vietnam Services Association says…

Study Indicates Genetic Damage Incurred By Vietnam Vets
A test which analyses the way chromosomes self-replicate. A comparatively higher level of sister chromatid exchange identified in the study indicates genetic damage…

DNA Injury Confirmed In Vietnam Veterans
The Massey University study, released yesterday, found that the sample of 24 veterans tested had damage to their DNA following exposure to the herbicide, which was sprayed by US forces to remove jungle cover and food supplies from the enemy…

Massey University Items Related To NZ Agent Orange Study Agent Orange study to show significant damage
A report out today was expected to show that all New Zealand Vietnam War veterans exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange may have suffered genetic damage…

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Registry
The VA is developing a nationwide registry of living veterans who have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)…

National Symposium for Young Veterans
AMVETS is hosting the National Symposium for the Needs of Young Veterans, which is planned for October 18-22, 2006 in Chicago, Ill…

Military Amputees to Get Free Service Dogs
Thanks to the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind and a new pilot program, amputees at Walter Reed Army Medical Center will soon get their own service dogs, without cost…

DoD Announces Recruiting and Retention Numbers for July

Experts Help Children Deal With Loss
Some educators don't recognize that a child's behaviors, difficulty in learning or emotional state may be related to adverse events in their life…

Data for 38,000 Veterans Missing
As many as 38,000 veterans may be at risk of identity theft because a Veterans Affairs Department subcontractor lost a desktop computer containing their sensitive personal data…

Subcontractor Notifies VA of Missing Computer with Vet Files VA, Law Enforcement Authorities Investigating
The VA today announced that a subcontractor, hired to assist in insurance collections for VA's medical centers in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, has informed the Department that a desktop computer containing personal information on some veterans is missing…

Teens Accused in Theft of VA Computer
The equipment contained the names, Social Security numbers and birth dates of veterans discharged since 1975, in what was the worst-ever breach of government data. Jesus Alex Pineda, 19, and Christian Brian Montano, 19, both of Rockville, Md., were arrested early Saturday, Montgomery County police said…

VA To Open 25 New Clinics
To provide world-class health care closer to where more veterans live, the VA today announced plans to open 25 new community-based clinics in 17 states and American Somoa…

Vaccines May Have Caused A Soldier's Death
The soldier, Pfc. Christopher "Justin" Abston, received smallpox and injectable influenza vaccines in November 2005, at Fort Bragg, N.C., 16 days before suffering sudden death in his barracks room…

DoD Establishes Mental Health Task Force
It will include assessments and recommendations for improving the efficacy of mental health services provided to service members by DoD and will begin meeting in July 2006…

VA Database Stolen
The data contained names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth for up to 26.5 million veterans and some spouses, as well as some disability ratings…

DoD Announces Detection of Intrusion into TMA Files
Investigation of the activity led to the discovery that an intrusion had occurred and information was compromised…

VA To Seek DNA of All Veterans
The VA plans to create a genetic database from potentially millions of VA patients…

Legislation Introduced to Increase COLA
U.S. Senators have introduced legislation to increase the money veterans with service-connected disabilities will receive…

WWII Merchant Marines May Gain Veteran Status
A bill gives the remaining World War II mariners, or their surviving spouses, $1,000 a month…

DoD Website Links Service Members to Deployment Medical Research
The DoD recently announced a new Web site, DeployMed ResearchLINK, for service members, veterans, their families and other members of the public to access medical research information…

DoD Announces Recruiting and Retention Numbers for March

VA Bill Would Give Vets Attorney Rights
Rep. Lane Evans, D-Ill., and Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., have introduced a bill that would permit veterans to hire an attorney when they disagree with a benefits claims decision…

More Sailors Tagged for Ground Duty
During the next six months, the Navy plans to assign up to 2,000 more Sailors to ground combat duty…

MOAA Proposes Tricare Cost Savings
The Military Offices Association of America has proposed a list of 15 items that could make Tricare more cost-effective…

DoD Postpones Tricare Fee Hikes
The Defense Department has rescinded its notification to Tricare contractors to begin a plan to double and triple Tricare fees starting Oct. 1 for military retirees under age 65…

Evans, Akaka, Lambaste VA Budgeting
Lane Evans, ranking Democratic member, House Committee on Veterans Affairs, says the Department of Veterans Affairs used "phantom claims to offset VA budget requests for health care…

Court Upholds Campus Military Recruiting
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously March 6 that colleges may not bar military recruiters from their campuses based upon the Defense Department's "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward homosexuals…

Navy Shipboard Vietnam cancers linked to water
Sailors who served on naval ships during the Vietnam War have been told their ships' drinking water, which was contaminated with Agent Orange, could be causing their cancers…

Proposed Tricare Hikes Labeled "Reprehensible"
Air Force Sergeants Association says the Bush administration's "reprehensible" plan in its fiscal 2006 budget to raise Tricare fees and deductibles for military retirees under age 65…

DoD Release Sexual Assault Report for 2005
The Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) report provides data on alleged sexual assaults reported to military officials during calendar year (CY) 2005 in which members of the armed forces are victims or offenders…

DoD Announces Recruiting and Retention Numbers for February

DoD Launches Public Awareness Campaign Against Domestic Violence
DoD, in partnership with the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) is launching a national public awareness campaign to "Take A Stand Against Domestic Violence."…

Air Force Health 'Ranch Hand' Study Data and Materials Merit Further Study And Should Be Transferred to New, Active Management
The study was initiated by the U. S. Air Force in 1979 to assess the possible health effects of military personnel's exposure to Agent Orange and other chemical defoliants sprayed during the Vietnam War, some of which contained dioxin…

VA and HHS to Target Diabetes, Obesity among American Veterans
The VA and HHS have announced a coordinated campaign to educate veterans and their families about ways to combat these health issues…

VA Teams with National Guard to Train New State Benefits Advisors
The VA and the National Guard Bureau have teamed up to improve the coordination of veterans benefits at the state level by training newly created State Benefits Advisors (SBAs) to help ensure a smooth and seamless transition for Guard members returning from active-duty deployments…

DoD Announces Recruiting and Retention Numbers for January

More Than 260,000 Can't Get VA Health Care
Those locked out - totaling 263,257 in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 - have no illnesses or injuries attributable to their service in the military and earn more than the average wage in their community…

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