DAV Flying High With Astronaut At Warbird

RETIRED ASTRONAUT FLIES DAV FLIGHT TEAM B-25 BEFORE AIRSHOW
Air Support.com
Kerry Ward
Date: March 13, 2015

TITUSVILLE, FL– Retired Shuttle Astronaut and former Naval Aviator headed out to the TICO Warbird Airshow grounds on Thursday-March 12 and had a rare opportunity to fly in the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) B-25 Mitchell Bomber. The B-25, “Panchito” will be on display and performing in the show March 13-15 along side the DAV Flight Team.

Representatives from the DAV will be on hand in to reach out to veterans and their families sharing their message of service and volunteerism in support of our nation’s combat-wounded men and women.

Jon McBride began his naval service in 1965 with flight training at Pensacola, Florida. After receiving his wings he was assigned to Fighter Squadron 101 (VF-101) for training in the F-4 Phantom II aircraft.

By August of 1979, McBride joined the elite ranks of the first thirty-five shuttle astronauts where he piloted STS-41G in October of 1984. Over the years, McBride has logged over 8,800 hours flying time in over 40 different kinds of aircraft, but had never previously flown a B-25.

The B-25, which gained notoriety in the famed Doolittle Raid over Tokyo, Japan 71 years ago, shares a modern-day mission with DAV -- reminding people of the sacrifices veterans make for freedom. As brave men and women return from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, the DAV’s services and advocacy are as relevant today as at any time in the nation’s history.

Disabled American Veterans, representing more than 1.2 million disabled veterans, is a non-profit organization founded in 1920 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1932. It is dedicated to one, single purpose: Fulfilling our promises to the men and women who served.

For more information about Disabled American Veterans go to www.dav.org or follow the DAV Flight Team at www.facebook.com/davflightteam, @DAVFlightTeam and/or #DAVFlightTeam.


My two cents:
I am a life member of the DAV Auxiliary and my husband is a life member of the DAV for one simple reason. They fight for all veterans!

Veterans Service Groups Give Priorities Report

Veterans groups release annual priorities report 
Stars and Stripes
By Travis J. Tritten
Published: January 15, 2015

“By sending veterans out of the system, they are abandoning a system that veterans rely on,” Blake said.

WASHINGTON — Four of the nation’s top veterans service organizations said Thursday that the VA health care system is still underfunded and running the risk of new delays for care, despite a $16.3 billion shot in the arm last summer.

The nationwide system of hospitals serving nearly 9 million vets annually will run about $2 billion short of the money it needs this fiscal year — and could be significantly more after a wait-list scandal revealed much higher demand than the VA had acknowledged, according to American Veterans, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America and the VFW.

Furthermore, expanded vet access to outside care runs the risk of creating more delays without proper management and oversight, they said.

 The concerns are part of the groups’ Independent Budget, a collaborative list of policy recommendations for the Department of Veterans Affairs and Congress that has been published annually for the past three decades. The document focuses on access, claims, infrastructure, caregiver support and women’s issues.

The shortfalls in VA funding “is a problem that has compounded over time” and began as early as 2000, said Carl Blake, associate executive director of government relations for Paralyzed Veterans of America. 

The $16.3 billion Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act was an emergency measure that drastically increased the funding but is not enough to dig the department out of its funding hole, according to Blake. read more here Highlights

“What the VA did to me 60 years ago is they tore up the Bill of Rights”

If you missed this story, Vegas Navy Cross recipient shot down by VA benefits office I strongly suggest you read it.

In this one you'll read about the story of a Korean War Veteran being denied benefits and his 60 years battle for justice. Charles Mahoney was treated to electroshock wiping out his memory for days much like 2,000 WWII veterans.

Besieged by psychologically damaged troops returning from the battlefields of North Africa, Europe and the Pacific, the Veterans Administration performed the brain-altering operation on former servicemen it diagnosed as depressives, psychotics and schizophrenics, and occasionally on people identified as homosexuals, according to the report.

The VA’s use of lobotomy, in which doctors severed connections between parts of the brain then thought to control emotions, was known in medical circles in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and is occasionally cited in medical texts. But the VA’s practice, never widely publicized, long ago slipped from public view. Even the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says it possesses no records detailing the creation and breadth of its lobotomy program.

If you are still under the impression that any of this is new, then please make sure you are not expressing your imbecilic opinions publicly. Lack of knowledge, refusing to do basic research and actually learn the truth are reasons why it has been this bad this long for our veterans. We've doomed them to history repeated over and over again.

Veterans say legitimate claims routinely denied or ignored
Las Vegas Review
By KEITH ROGERS
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
December 13, 2014

Vietnam War Navy Cross recipient Steve Lowery isn’t alone in his battle to convince the Veterans Benefits Administration that his wounds are linked to his military service.

Lowery, a retired Marine major from Las Vegas, took a long-awaited physical examination Thursday at the North Las Vegas VA Medical Center to show a doctor that scars from shrapnel in his knee and those on his thighs from an AK-47 resulted from a 1969 firefight in Vietnam.

In 1994, the VA benefits office in Reno told him those wounds weren’t related to his military service, and he’s been fighting with the agency ever since.

The VA apparently disallowed his initial claim because the government’s archive agency failed to send his records to Reno. Bewildered by the decision, Lowery provided a copy of his personal medical file in 2010. Two years later, his claim was rejected again.

Since the Review-Journal wrote about Lowery’s case last week, other veterans have come forward with complaints about tactics employed by the agency, which demands that veterans prove their injuries were service-related but can deny claims without proving anything.

They include Phil Cushman, a Vietnam War Marine veteran from Oregon who beat the VA system there by winning a “due process” challenge in a federal appeals court that netted $400,000 in compensation. Now, through his nationally recognized nonprofit veterans rights advocacy group, Cushman is helping disabled Korean War soldier Charles P. Mahoney, of Las Vegas, with his appeal for more compensation.

Screen capture from Las Vegas Review Journal

“I’m not filing claims for the money. I want justice,” Mahoney, 82, told the newspaper. “What the VA did to me 60 years ago is they tore up the Bill of Rights.”

Mahoney, who served with the 1st Cavalry Division in Korea in 1950, suffered wounds and mental problems from a mortar blast that heaved him 15 feet into the air. After a hospital stint in Japan, he was taken to Fort Hood, Texas, where he underwent a series of electro­shock treatments in 1951 that “blotted out my memory for nine months.”

Two Army evaluation boards determined he was 100 percent disabled, but a third said he was only 10 percent disabled. The Army then told him he was cured and discharged him in 1952.
read more here

There used to be excuses for all of this happening. When? After the Revolutionary War when the Colonies had no basic understanding of the necessity to care for those who put their lives on the line. It isn't as if that generation was totally off the hook either because they did little to take care of any of them or their widows.

After 1946 when the House Veterans Affairs Committee took their seats there should have been no acceptable excuses.

President Obama Dedicates American Veterans Disabled For Life Memorial

Full Speech Video On October 5, 2014, President Obama delivered remarks at the dedication of the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial.

Joe Bacani has become the face of disabled American veterans

War hero shocked, humbled to be featured on veterans memorial
New York Post
By Maureen Callahan
October 5, 2014

The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, located south and west of the United States Capitol, will be dedicated on Sunday, October 5. New Yorker Joe Bacani is featured on the memorial.
Photo: Ron Sachs / CNP

Without ever meaning to, Joe Bacani has become the face of disabled American veterans.

He had been discharged from the Army in 2007 after taking sniper fire in Iraq and spending weeks at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in a wheelchair, learning how to walk again. A few years later, he got a package in the mail. Inside was a letter detailing the ongoing construction of a memorial dedicated to disabled vets. Also inside was a photo taken of Bacani in his wheelchair after he had just been awarded the Purple Heart. Would he allow this image to be used on a wall?

“I remember what I was thinking when that photo was taken,” Bacani says. “Half of me was like, ‘Hurry up and take this photo. I can’t wait till this ceremony’s over.’ And the other half of me was thinking, ‘What am I going to do? How am I going to move on?’ ”
read more here

Montana VA intimidates DAV volunteer for picture reporter took?

VA 'intimidates' decorated war veteran for being photographed on VA property
Billings Gazette
By Cindy Uken
August 21, 2014

Ed Saunders is seen in this Aug. 14 photo that the Veterans Administration is claiming is in violation of their rules because it was taken on their property at the Majestic Lane Clinic without authorization.

Ed Saunders Statement

Who is Ed Saunders?

Ed Saunders is one of Yellowstone County's most trusted and respected veterans. He is:

-- a Ret. Lt. Col in the U.S. Army

-- a decorated ground combat veteran, Persian Gulf War

-- a disabled veteran with service-related disabilities

-- a former member of the Yellowstone County Veterans Cemetery which has been renamed Yellowstone National Veterans Cemetery

-- a member of the Big Sky Honor Flight Board of Directors

-- one of the veterans who led the effort to get public transportation to the West End VA Clinic.

-- a driver with the Disabled Veterans Transportation Network

-- a lifetime member of Disabled Veterans of America

-- a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars

Saunders has also helped numerous veterans get medals they earned but never received.

A man who helps disabled veterans with transportation to Montana’s VA facilities has been threatened with a $50 fine for appearing in a photo with a newspaper article critical of the new West End VA clinic.

In a sworn affidavit, Ed Saunders, adjutant of Billings Chapter 10 of Disabled American Veterans, said he was at the Billings VA Clinic on Aug. 18 on DAV business when VA police officer Steve McCollum asked Saunders to come to his office.

McCollum said he wanted a written statement from Saunders about his involvement with the Billings Gazette photo that was published Aug. 15. The news article centered on glitches with the opening of the new $6.3 million Majestic Lane Clinic. Saunders was among those critical of the clinic.

McCollum claimed being in an unauthorized photo on VA property is in violation of VA rules and subject to a $50 fine, according to Saunders’ notarized statement.

Saunders was not aware of the photo rule and said as a DAV public affairs officer he has taken many photos of DAV activities on VA property, including dedication of the new clinic when Montana’s congressional delegation was on hand. Saunders said he has also taken photos of DAV vans parked on VA property.
read more here linked from The Republic

New DAV Commander, Vietnam Veteran Ronald Hope

Combat-Injured Vietnam Veteran Named DAV National Commander
DAV.org
AUGUST 13, 2014

LAS VEGAS – Combat-injured veteran of the Vietnam War Ronald F. Hope of Clemmons, N.C., was unanimously elected National Commander of the 1.2 million-member DAV (Disabled American Veterans) today at the organization’s 93rd National Convention.

“As our weary nation winds down from combat operations after nearly 13 years of war, those veterans will be making that very challenging evolution that we’ve all experienced ourselves,” Commander Hope told DAV members today. “The transition out of uniform and back to your civilian life is difficult. But that’s where DAV is at its best.”

Hope served 31 years as a DAV National Service Officer, a decade of which was spent as National Area Supervisor overseeing Service Offices in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. His career was dedicated to assisting veterans to ensure they received the benefits they earned.

His devotion to DAV and all of America’s injured and ill veterans and service members is what drew him to seek National Office.

Prior to his DAV career, Hope earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree with a major in marketing from Tarleton State University. He served in the U.S. Army from 1968 until his medical retirement in 1970.

After accepting his new post, he urged his fellow veterans to keep the newest generation in mind. “Be ready to teach them, to reach out to them, to show them the impact we make in peoples’ lives and to give them a role to serve,” Hope said.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to serve as your National Commander and I pledge to you I’ll work tirelessly to ensure your voices are heard as we continue our nearly 95-year mission of service to the men and women who raised their hand, said ‘send me,’ and went forward to conduct America’s business when called.”
Read more about the DAV here

Disabled American Veterans Take the Wheel Transporting Veterans

DAV volunteers take the long road to get vets to and from VA hospital
Jacksonville Daily News
By Terry Dickson
August 9, 2014

BRUNSWICK | At 5:45 a.m. Thursday, Wayne Coleman climbed behind the wheel of a Ford Explorer with a six-hour round trip ahead of him.

Coleman is a volunteer driver for the Disabled American Veterans Transportation Network. Each Thursday morning, he and other drivers start in Brunswick and make stops in Darien, Ludowici, Glennville and other cities to fill the six available seats with veterans bound for appointments at the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin.

While the veterans were on the road Thursday, President Barack Obama signed the Veterans’ Access to Care Through Choice, Accountability and Transparency Act. The bill is intended to reform the scandal-ridden Veterans Administration after whistleblowers told of fabricated wait times at VA hospitals. The act provides $16.3 billion to hire more physicians and nurses, to build or expand facilities and to give veterans the option of getting treatment in their local hospitals rather than travel long distances to VA clinics or hospitals.

Shawn Davies might qualify.

Davies, 51, met Coleman at the Winn-Dixie on Altama Avenue for his first trip in the red-white-and-blue Explorer. Davies, who served in the Marines in Operation Desert Storm, normally gets treatment at the VA Clinic in Brunswick, but his VA-supplied CPap machine for sleep apnea needed service, and he had to go to Dublin for it.
read more here

Florida veterans hoping this time will be different

This reflects more on what we've been talking about all this time. "It will help, but it should have never gotten this way. They knew 10 years ago what was going on." and it was said by an Iraq veteran. They knew and veterans were made promise after promise by members of Congress as they faced crisis after crisis.

Brevard vets like VA bill as first step to agency upgrades
FLORIDA TODAY
R. Norman Moody
August 8, 2014

Brevard County veterans see the VA reform bill signed into law this week as a step in the right direction but said they will have to wait to see how well the reforms actually work.

The bill will allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to hire more doctors and nurses and allow veterans who live more than 40 miles away from VA facilities to get care outside the VA healthcare system. It also gives the VA secretary more authority to fire poorly performing officials.

The bill calls for $16.3 billion in additional spending for the VA.

"That has been needed for a long time," said Vietnam veteran Ed Caron, of Merritt Island.

Caron, a retired lawyer who is a service officer for Disabled American Veterans Chapter 123, said more veterans are being added to the mix at the Department of Veterans Affairs, but the government has for years not provided the resources to meet the demand.

"We have more troops that are coming home," he said. "Congress changed the rule to say you can now get five years' treatment after you get out of the service. There is only so much work they can do with the doctors and nurses they have. They need more."
read more here

Scores of Veterans Facing Electronic Claims Expiration

Scores of Veterans Facing Electronic Claims Expiration
By James T. Marszalek
July 9, 2014

Hundreds of thousands of disability and compensation claims filed with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ eBenefits portal are incomplete and are beginning to expire. DAV wants to avoid a costly reset in their date of claim submission and help veterans and families obtain the benefits they’ve earned. Veterans have been starting claims online through eBenefits since early 2013, but those claims expire if they are not completed and submitted within 365 days.

“It is critical that anyone who has started a claim electronically, with or without DAV’s assistance, be sure his or her claim is being processed correctly and in time,” said National Service Director Jim Marszalek. “Nearly 280 National Service Officers nationwide are ready to provide free assistance to veterans who need our help.”

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ electronic claim submission process gives veterans the ability to start a claim online with limited information to hold a date of claim, while providing 365 days to collect data, treatment records and other related information.

During that one-year period, a veteran may add additional data or upload documents pertinent to the specific claim. At any point during that year, a veteran may click “submit” and a claim will be automatically established within the Veterans Benefits Management System.

After 365 days, according to the VA, any data in an incomplete claim becomes inaccessible and the initiated claim date is removed from the system.

There are many reasons to have DAV assist in the claims process. DAV’s services are always 100 percent free to veterans, their families and survivors. Veterans do not have to be members to utilize this free assistance. DAV has the most highly trained and experienced representatives. Every DAV NSO is a service-connected disabled veteran. Many times claims require hundreds of documents, such as medical records. DAV has the expertise to ensure that the right information is gathered and properly submitted. “We need veterans to let us know if they have initiated claims on their own or if they have problems obtaining the information necessary to complete a claim,” Marszalek said. “We want to help but we need to be in communication with the claimant. We are here, eager to serve our fellow veterans.”

DAV Van Driver Saw Veteran Shoot Himself at Milwaukee VA

Veteran fatally shoots himself at Milwaukee VA campus
Journal Sentinel
By Meg Jones
June 12, 2014

A veteran shot himself at the Milwaukee Veterans Affairs campus Thursday morning and was taken to Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa, where he later died.

The incident happened at 8:40 a.m. in one of the VA parking lots. The man's identity was not released.

The man was a post-Vietnam era, non-combat veteran who came to one of the parking lots, pulled out a gun and shot himself. A Disabled American Veterans van driver saw the man shoot himself and immediately alerted VA police and medical staff, who provided medical care until the veteran was taken by ambulance to Froedtert, said Gary Kunich, VA Hospital spokesman.
read more here

DAV Blames Congress Too Because They Paid Attention All Along

In VA Scandal Fallout, Disabled American Veterans ‘Outraged’ at Burr,
Blames Congress for Lack of Funding
RollCall
By Steven Dennis
May 25, 2014

Sen. Richard Burr’s statement ripping the leaders of veterans’ groups Friday has sparked a second letter of outrage, this time from Disabled American Veterans, in the latest fallout from the VA scandal.

After the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) torched Burr, R-N.C., Saturday for a “monumental cheap-shot,” DAV National Commander Joseph W. Johnston issued a statement of his own.

Johnston defended his and other groups’ decision not to join the American Legion’s calls for Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign, and blamed a lack of funding from Congress for much of the VA’s troubles.

“If Senator Burr believes that calling for the resignation of Secretary Shinseki is the only measure of whether a leader cares about veterans, perhaps he should check with Speaker Boehner, Chairman Miller and numerous Republican Senate colleagues who have not yet done so,” Johnston wrote.

Burr dismissed the criticism in a statement later Sunday, suggesting that groups were more outraged by his letter than they were by the VA scandal.

Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, is one of Burr’s best friends. He said last week he was getting “closer” to calling for Shinseki’s resignation.

The blistering VFW letter and Burr’s original letter are posted here.

As for me and my husband, proud to be life members of the DAV and the Auxiliary

The full DAV statement:

DAV is outraged that North Carolina’s Senator Richard Burr chose the eve of Memorial Day weekend – a sacred time to remember and honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our nation — to attack the patriotism of leaders of most of the nation’s leading veterans service organizations.

Last week at a hearing of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, DAV and other veteran service organizations offered comprehensive testimony on the underlying causes of the waiting list problems afflicting VA health care facilities that are currently under investigation. In addition to demanding full accountability for anyone found to have violated VA rules, regulations or laws, we provided detailed analysis and forward-looking recommendations to address the root cause of waiting lists: lack of access and capacity to treat all veterans seeking care.

Although Senator Burr attended much of that hearing, apparently all he wanted to hear were calls for the VA Secretary to resign. Senator Burr may be enamored with the idea that all of VA’s problems and challenges can be overcome by replacing one Secretary, but the plain facts and simple logic indicate otherwise. If Senator Burr believes that calling for the resignation of Secretary Shinseki is the only measure of whether a leader cares about veterans, perhaps he should check with Speaker Boehner, Chairman Miller and numerous Republican Senate colleagues who have not yet done so.

Regrettably, Senator Burr shows no interest in pursuing serious policy solutions, preferring instead to launch cheap political attacks on the integrity of leaders of veterans organizations that do not agree with him, all of whom served honorably to defend this nation and then devoted all or most of their lives to serving their fellow veterans.

In spite of Senator Burr’s attacks, we will continue to call for an open and comprehensive investigation in Phoenix and at any other VA facility where wrongdoings are alleged. While Senator Burr challenges our integrity, we will continue to demand full accountability for all who violated the public trust, regardless of who or where they are, including criminal prosecution if warranted. While Senator Burr ignores VA’s real challenges, we will continue to call for an independent review not just of VA’s wait list and scheduling problems, but the access and capacity deficits that created them.

History clearly shows that unless VA receives sufficient resources to hire enough doctors and nurses, and has enough physical space to treat veterans, waiting list problems will continue. Over the past decade, DAV – along with many of our veteran service organization partners – have pointed out that the VA has received more than $17 billion less than was needed, a figure that is primarily derived from VA’s own internal analysis. Although these facts have been clear to successive Administrations and Congresses – including Senator Burr – none took the actions necessary to provide VA the resources it requires.

Rather than be distracted by Senator Burr’s hollow insults, we will continue to reach out to thoughtful Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and House, as well as the President and leaders in VA, to join with us in taking an honest look at all the facts, to discuss with us all possible remedies and reforms and to work with us to implement solutions that truly honor the heroism of the men and women we remember this Memorial Day weekend.

Orlando Lake Nona VA Hospital Q and A

Orlando Lake Nona VA Hospital Q and A
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
February 11, 2014

Town Hall meeting for veterans in the Central Florida at the American Legion Post 286 in Orlando last night was filled with information veterans need to know.

If you read the Orlando Sentinel article from yesterday, "New VA Hospital unlikely to open by December" they got the projected opening date wrong. It is not "an additional 90 days" but more than 120 days after construction is done.
You can hear more about that in this video. Parking has been a huge issue as well and according to the VA it is ok to park on the grass since there are not enough spaces at the Lake Baldwin Clinic. Remember, as you'll hear in the video that it is just a clinic and was never intended to be a full hospital. Space for what is needed is the reason why we are getting the new Lake Nona VA Hospital.

The Orlando Sentinel also got the number of veterans a bit wrong. While there are 400,000 veterans in Central Florida, according the the VA they only have a little over 100,000 veteran patients. There are 2,800 employees and 1,100 volunteers. Counties served are brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia.

Who is eligible for VA and the Affordable Care Act were also addressed.

Transportation has been an issue as well and projected to become a huge issue but the DAV and the VA have been working on it for a while. Part of the confusion regarding the vans the DAV supplies the VA with has come from funding. The federal government does not supply funds or the vans. The DAV does and funds come from members and donations. You'll hear that cleared up as well.

Historic Veterans Bills Need Your Support

Historic Veterans Bills Need Your Support Take Action! Please Contact Your Elected Officials Today!   Chairman Bernie Sanders of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs has introduced critically important legislation, S. 1950, the Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014. If enacted, S. 1950 would accomplish many of DAV’s most important priorities and legislative goals based on national resolutions approved by our members. This massive bill would create, expand, advance, and extend a wide array of VA benefits, services and programs that are important to DAV and to our members and their families. For example, responding to a call from DAV as a leading voice for wounded, injured, and ill veterans, it would create a comprehensive family caregiver support program for all generations of severely wounded, injured and ill veterans.  Also, the bill would fulfill DAV’s ongoing drive to enact advance appropriations for VA’s mandatory funding accounts to ensure that in any government shutdown environment in the future, veterans benefits payments would not be delayed or put in jeopardy.  This measure also would provide additional financial support to survivors of service members who die in the line of duty, as well as expanded access for them to GI Bill educational benefits. A two-plus year stalemate in VA’s authority to lease facilities for health care treatment and other purposes would be solved by this bill. Crucially, the bill would fully restore military retirement cost-of-living adjustments that were outrageously reduced in the 2013 House-Senate budget agreement and the subsequent appropriations act. These are but a few of the myriad provisions of this bill that would improve the lives, health, and prospects of veterans—especially the wounded, injured and ill—and their loved ones, if enacted into law. Please use the prepared electronic text, or draft your own version, to urge your Senators to cosponsor and support this important bill, and to bring it to the floor of the Senate for a vote as soon as possible. Also, we have prepared a second letter for you in this message to send to your House member to urge enactment of H.R. 813, the Putting Veterans Funding First Act, an alternative bill that would establish advance appropriations for all VA discretionary accounts. Please send that letter as well. As always, we appreciate your support of DAV and your grassroots activism in participating in DAV CAN, our Commander’s Action Network. Your advocacy helps make DAV a highly influential and leading organization in veterans affairs in Washington. Thank you for all you do for America’s veterans and their families.

DAV, VFW and American Legion not happy with VA claims rule change

VA Hit on Planned Disability Rules Changes
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan
Jan 02, 2014

Some of the country's leading veterans service organizations have rejected changes proposed by the Department of Veterans Affairs that might create disparities between veterans filing for a disability on paper and those filing electronically.

Additionally, some say the new changes are only to slow the VA's receipt of new claims while it tries to eliminate its backlog by 2015. The VA published the proposed changes to the Federal Register on Oct. 31. "VA wants to make it as fast and easy as possible for veterans and their survivors to file for and receive an accurate decision on their claim," the department told Military.com in a statement. "This proposed rule would require the use of standardized forms to help streamline the claims process and modernize the VA system to ensure veterans and their families receive the benefits they deserve more quickly."

But that's now how the Veterans of Foreign Wars, The American Legion, and other groups see it. In official comments to the VA, the groups said the changes would penalize veterans who do not have access to a computer or the internet by relegating paper-initiated claims to a second-class status.

"This proposed regulation separates claimants into two groups," the Legion said in its letter to the VA. "Claimants who can access the internet and claimants who are not able to access the internet. This bifurcated separation of claimants penalizes those claimants not able to access the internet and therefore is not fair."

DAV National Service Director Marszalek, in his comment to the VA, said the change "violates the law and intent of Congress," which directed the VA to provide assistance to veterans expressing an intent to file a claim or who file an incomplete claim, and give them one year from date of notification to submit the application.

"Setting aside special consideration for claimants capable of filing electronically, and excluding those who cannot, will cause a certain portion of the eligible claimant population to be treated differently," Marszalek said.
read more here

DAV and VFW team up for veterans

This is what can happen with veterans' charities work together.

DAV thankful for new garage at VFW in Massena
JOHNSON NEWSPAPERS
By BENNY FAIRCHILD
PUBLISHED: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2013

MASSENA — For years, veterans hoping to catch a ride to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Syracuse would meet at 4:30 a.m. outside Town Hall for the long ride to Syracuse, having to arrive even earlier during the winter to scrape ice and snow off the vehicles belonging to Disabled American Veterans Post 171.

While Massena didn’t magically get any closer to Syracuse, area veterans can now sleep an extra hour during those winter months, as they’ll no longer have to clean ice and snow off the vans thanks to a new garage built at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1143.

“Last year with all those ice storms, we had veterans out there at 3 a.m. trying to chip away at the ice,” DAV Commander Edward Gebault said.

“We were having trouble keeping members. It was tough. They were out there when it was 20 below trying to get those vans going,” he said.
read more here

VA officials probe how its hospital treated blind Las Vegas veteran

UPDATE
VA investigators sent text messages in North Las Vegas probe

VA officials probe how its hospital treated blind Las Vegas veteran
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
By KEITH ROGERS
November 27, 2013

Sandi Niccum is shown slumped in a hospital waiting room on one of her last days. She was blind and in severe pain. (Courtesy Dee Redwine)

The House Veterans Affairs Committee and local VA officials are probing allegations that staff at the VA Medical Center in North Las Vegas mistreated a blind veteran who was writhing in pain while she waited six hours for emergency care at the center on Oct. 22.

The long wait compounded by frustration with incomplete radiology orders and alleged rude treatment increased 78-year-old Sandi Niccum’s frustration to the point that she would pound her walking cane on the hospital floor.

“Several times she would just beat it on the floor and say, ‘Please somebody help me.’ But they didn’t. Nobody cared,” said Niccum’s friend, Dee Redwine, who was with her through the ordeal.

The Navy veteran, described by her aide, Shirley Newsham, as a “brittle diabetic,” had been a volunteer for the VA’s Visually Impairment Services Team for at least eight years. She died Nov. 15 at a local hospice.

Before she died, Niccum asked Redwine to write a chronology of the VA experience and submit it to the Review-Journal.

Her blindness stemmed from diabetes developed during her fifth year of active duty with the Navy Medical Corps as a medic for the Marine Corps at Parris Island, S.C. She was honorably discharged in 1958. She lost vision in one eye in 1983 and the other eye three years later.

Suffering from septic shock from the ruptured abscess in her colon, she died in her sleep about 2 a.m. on Nov. 15. The exact cause of death was unknown, Redwine said.

Niccum’s ashes will be buried at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City at 10 a.m. on Dec. 12 with full military honors.

Donations can be made in her name to the Blinded Veterans Association, P.O. Box 46272, Las Vegas, NV 89114.

Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.

read more here

Veterans Charities Helping All Generations

Veterans Charities Helping All Generations
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 24, 2013

There are many groups I belong to but my heart is devoted to Point Man International Ministries for several reasons. The first is Point Man has been leading the way on healing veterans as well as their families for almost 30 years.

"Since 1984, when Seattle Police Officer and Vietnam Veteran Bill Landreth noticed he was arresting the same people each night, he discovered most were Vietnam vets like himself that just never seemed to have quite made it home. He began to meet with them in coffee shops and on a regular basis for fellowship and prayer. Soon, Point Man Ministries was conceived and became a staple of the Seattle area. Bills untimely death soon after put the future of Point Man in jeopardy.

However, Chuck Dean, publisher of a Veterans self help newspaper, Reveille, had a vision for the ministry and developed it into a system of small groups across the USA for the purpose of mutual support and fellowship. These groups are known as Outposts. Worldwide there are hundreds of Outposts and Homefront groups serving the families of veterans.

PMIM is run by veterans from all conflicts, nationalities and backgrounds. Although, the primary focus of Point Man has always been to offer spiritual healing from PTSD, Point Man today is involved in group meetings, publishing, hospital visits, conferences, supplying speakers for churches and veteran groups, welcome home projects and community support.

Just about any where there are Vets there is a Point Man presence. All services offered by Point Man are free of charge."

Point Man
"It isn't about who got a parade! When I came home from Vietnam, my cousin, a WWII Vet invited me to a VFW meeting and I was all but ignored because I was not in a "real" war and so how could I have any kind of problem? All these guys stuck to each other like glue and pretty much ignored the "new" Vets. And you all remember how it felt. I see the same "new guys" 35 years later with the same baloney coming out of their mouths. How in the world can you say you support the troops and then ignore them when they get home?

Seems to me that no matter how many are killed, the survivors have an obligation to each other and to our posterity to insure the "new guys" don't go through the same stuff our dads, grandfathers and ourselves had to endure...

So to all you "NEW GUYS", Welcome Home. Thank you for a job well done. Your sacrifice is deeply appreciated here. We support you regardless of when or where you served; we understand what you've been through and what you're dealing with now. Continue through the site and get connected! Dana Morgan (President of PMIM)"

If you faced the horrors of war and wondered where God was, He was right there within the men and women who cared. He was in you. He is there now in the people of Point Man Ministries, waiting for you to remember you are loved.

We take care of the spiritual healing of all veterans and their families but what we don't do is raise funds. It seems as if every conversation we get into turns into being about helping and less about financial support for us. It doesn't cost a lot of money to show compassion, offer advice, lend an ear, say a prayer or comfort someone. It is offered for free.

Veterans and family members have the option of calling me, emailing or if they are local, meet face to face. While I have traveled to many states doing presentations, I am a lot more comfortable behind the camera covering veterans events right here in Central Florida. I am Florida State Coordinator and always looking for people to start Out Post for Veterans and Home Fronts for family members. If you are interested in leading a small group, please call me at 407-754-7526.

These events are wonderful but covering them has me talking to veterans from all generations and the one thing they all have in common is the issue of some charities taking care of all veterans while others do not. Point Man is for all generations and so is Vietnam Veterans of America
"Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another." Congressional Charter 1986

These are some the charities taking care of all veterans, no matter what war, no matter where they are, they are treated equally the way it should be. These are some of the other major groups.

American Legion

The U.S. Congress charters The American Legion. September 16, 1919

Disabled American Veterans

92 YEARS OF SERVICE We are dedicated to a single purpose: Empowering veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity. Congressional Charter June 17, 1932

Veterans of Foreign Wars

The VFW traces its roots back to 1899 when veterans of the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902) founded local organizations to secure rights and benefits for their service: Many arrived home wounded or sick. There was no medical care or veterans' pension for them,and they were left to care for themselves.
Congressional Charter 1936

Here is a list of other Congressional Charter Veterans Charities

If you are planning on donating to a charity make sure you know what they are doing with your money and if they take care of all generations or not. It is up to you where your heart leads you but as we enter into the "season of giving" remember these charities need help all year long because veterans are veterans 365 days a year, not just one.

New vans haul disabled veterans

New vans haul disabled veterans
The Daily Inter Lake
By LYNNETTE HINTZE
Posted: Saturday, November 16, 2013

Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake New vans haul disabled veterans From left, John Babb, Dean House, Shane Stratton, Montana DAV Commander Joe Parsetich and Carey Dill gather in front of the three new Disabled American Veterans vans on Friday at the National Guard Armory north of Kalispell.

When three of the four vans serving local disabled veterans crossed the 200,000-mile mark some time ago and a third van had topped 196,000 miles, Larry Smith decided it was time for some new wheels.

Smith, the local area coordinator for the Flathead Valley Chapter of Disabled American Veterans, turned into a fundraising dynamo, bringing in $44,495 in just six weeks. That was the amount needed for the national DAV organization to match half the cost for three new vans.

“These vans have served the vets well,” Smith said about the worn fleet. “The guidelines for replacement for the DAV is 200,000 miles. Our oldest van had 246,000 miles. It was used strictly for local runs, not for long hauls.”

The local DAV held a ceremony on Friday during which top donors were presented plaques for their generosity. Those donors included Plum Creek Timber Co., Kalispell and Whitefish VFW posts, and the Babb family.

Tracy Babb, a Navy veteran, had decided to donate to the van project before she died, so her brother John Babb, of Kalispell, saw to it that the family chipped in $14,000. The Babb family’s donation also honors Ronald Babb, an Army veteran, and John Bartlett, a Whitefish Vietnam veteran who died last year.

“We’ve had lots of smaller contributions, too, from as far away as Charleston, South Carolina,” Smith said.

Last year 2,100 veterans received transportation services from the DAV vans. It’s common to put on 12,000 miles a month, Smith said. The smaller vans transport veterans locally to the Veterans Center on Meridian Road, Kalispell Regional Medical Center and the VA Clinic on Three Mile Drive, while a larger, 12-passenger van takes veterans regularly to facilities in Missoula and the VA Medical Center at Fort Harrison west of Helena.
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Veterans groups to protest for veterans, not politicians like Sunday

UPDATE
Veterans Angry Over Tea Party Takeover Of March On Memorials
The Huffington Post
By Mollie Reilly
Posted: 10/14/2013

Organizers of the Million Veterans March sought to distance themselves from the "political agenda" promoted at Sunday's protests at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., criticizing tea party activists for taking over the demonstration.

"The political agenda put forth by a local organizer in Washington DC [sic] yesterday was not in alignment with our message. We feel disheartened that some would seek to hijack the narrative for political gain," the group wrote on its Facebook page Monday morning. "The core principle was and remains about all Americans honoring Veterans in a peaceful and apolitical manner. Our love for and our dedication to remains with Veterans, regardless of party affiliation or political leanings."

On Sunday, hordes of demonstrators converged on Washington, protesting the closure of memorials and national parks due to the partial government shutdown. According to news reports, Sunday's event was much more political than previous demonstrations at the memorial. A number of conservative politicians spoke at the event, including former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (R) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

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Veterans groups plan protest over deplorable treatment post on October 12th is about veterans fighting for veterans. These groups are not trying to play politics like the one on Sunday, especially grotesque considering Tea Party darling and creator of this mess Ted Cruz was leading the charge. These groups have been around for decades and no matter what party controlled or mess up what, they have always been about fighting for veterans BECAUSE THEY ARE VETERANS. It is too bad the stunt on Sunday made veterans look bad because yet again, they were used. Attacking Park Rangers and security when they are not getting paid but still were doing their jobs was a disgrace. Almost as disgraceful as these Tea Party folks never once complained about anything else being done to veterans all these years later.

Veterans, worried about benefits, to protest shutdown
USA TODAY
John Bacon
October 14, 2013

As the government shutdown grinds into its third week, veterans benefits will draw the spotlight Tuesday in what could be the biggest protest yet aimed at pressing Congress and President Obama to solve the political impasse.

The Military Coalition, a group of 33 veterans and military organizations, is planning a rally at the World War II Memorial on Tuesday morning. The groups want to publicize the impact the shutdown is having on many vets and their families amid concerns of delayed disability pay, GI Bill education stipends and other benefits.

The American Legion, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars are among groups that will be represented. Steve Gonzalez, assistant director of the American Legion's Economic Division, will be among speakers emphasizing the impact on employment and training.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki warned last week that financing vet benefits could become difficult if the impasse continues. Compensation checks to 5.1 million veterans won't be issued Nov. 1; 433,000 fully disabled veterans might not receive payments; and 360,000 surviving spouses and children of wartime veterans may stop getting VA money, Shinseki told a congressional oversight committee.

VA tuition and stipend payments to more than 500,000 veterans and spouses enrolled in college also are threatened. The VA has furloughed nearly 8,000 employees, he said.

Ryan Lamke, an Iraq War veteran diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, works with the Armed Forces Foundation. The foundation is not part of The Military Coalition, but Lamke is fully aware of the problems facing returning vets.
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