96-year-old vet gets his wish of visiting US Navy station The Associated Press By: Jennifer Mcdermott July 27, 2017
WWII veteran Edmund DelBarone, second from right, makes the U.S. Navy crossed anchors symbol with his arms while posing for a photograph at Naval Station Newport, in Newport, R.I., Thursday July 27, 2017. DelBarone, a 96-year-old World War II veteran, once dreamed of returning to a Navy installation to reminisce about his naval career, and help of a nonprofit it has become a reality. (Jennifer McDermott/AP)
NEWPORT, R.I. — A 96-year-old World War II veteran who dreamed of returning to a Navy installation to reminisce about his more than 20-year naval career got his wish on Thursday.
Edmund DelBarone toured Naval Station Newport in a visit arranged by Denver-based nonprofit Wish of a Lifetime. After seeing some of the ships assigned to the base, he said he’d have no trouble taking them out to sea.
“It’s exciting,” he said after. “I didn’t expect to see so much.” read more here
76-year-old Vietnam veteran starts his bucket list by skydiving WDAY 6 News By Bailey Vertin Jul 10, 2017
DETROIT LAKES—One man is checking off things from his bucket list as he takes flight.
Edward Gehrke isn't a stranger to risks.
The 76-year-old Vietnam Veteran spent his life trying to experience as much as possible.
This past Sunday he took a new leap, right out a plane window.
While at the Detroit Lakes air show he saw others skydiving and decided to give it a try. read more here
Police: Milwaukee man last seen a week ago in Fernwood Chicago Sun Times CHICAGO NEWS 06/25/2017
Police are asking for the public’s help in finding a Milwaukee man who last last seen a week ago in the Fernwood neighborhood on the Far South Side.
James Ivy, 69, was last seen about 10 p.m. on June 17 in the 10300 block of South State Street, according to a missing person alert from Chicago Police.
Ivy is a retired veteran who has post-traumatic stress disorder and may be headed back to Milwaukee via Amtrak, police said.
He is described as a 205-pound, 6-foot-1 African American man with brown eyes, black hair and a medium complexion, according to police. go here for more
Presidents Inherit Obligation to Veterans Combat PTSD Wounded Times Kathie Costos June 17, 2017 Remember the expression "everything old is new again" because we've been down this road for so long now it is almost as if members of Congress forgot they were responsible for what the VA does and does not do. After all, they got jurisdiction over caring for our veterans back in 1946.
“Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable.” ― George S. Patton Jr.
None of this BS was either one of those. If anyone tells you that all the problems our veterans and families face is new, it is all old news to us. After all, we've been living with it for decades, listening to promises when politicians on both sides want our votes, yet fail us once they get into office. Or, did we fail ourselves and all the other generations to come? When I started to really pay attention 35 years ago, President Reagan had been in charge for a year. Maybe what he said summed up exactly what had been happening to veterans with these words.
"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."
Part of the jobs politicians take is actually making the best use of taxpayers funds but the other part is actually delivering on the promises made to the men and women risking their lives for this country no matter who is Commander-in-Chief. So far I've paid attention to what President Reagan, President Bush, President Clinton, President Bush and President Obama left behind as much as I'm paying attention to what President Trump is doing to veterans after making speeches of what all of them would do for veterans. While we never heard them say BOHICA, that is exactly what veterans and families have ended up with.
Money is quickly and unexpectedly running out for a program that allows veterans to seek health care outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and VA Secretary David Shulkin is urging Congress to fix it.
In March, approximately $2 billion remained in the Veterans Choice Program, which was created following the 2014 wait-time scandal in order to allow veterans to seek outside health care. The funds dropped to $1.5 billion about a month later, and the account now holds $821 million, Shulkin told the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee on June 14.
Shulkin had originally estimated $626 million would be left in the account by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. Now, he’s expecting all of the funds to run out before money for fiscal 2018 is appropriated.
To continue the Choice program through the end of the fiscal year, Shulkin is seeking the authority from Congress to transfer money from a separate community care account that holds approximately $2 billion. The VA secretary does not have the power to move the money between accounts.
Gee that sound bad. What is actually worse is that veterans do not want to have to make a choice between being by the VA or being seen by private providers. Rural veterans do need this option because their VA hospital is just too far away. In those cases, clinics or "community care" would be great, if they were run by the VA and not contractors. Having to see a contractor, frankly pisses them off. Still, what makes all this worse is Congress let it get to the point where they are even talking about billions going to private providers instead of the care they were promised. Here is a brief history of what veterans have had to deal with.
Richard and Vicki Wild of Hillsborough, N.C., said they were mystified when their son Mark’s disability claim was rejected. “We had 10 years’ worth of hospital records,” Mr. Wild said. Credit Jeremy M. Lange for The New York Times
"The agency's new plan to hire 150 new appeals judges to whittle down the backlog, which soared to 755,000 from 311,000 in 2000, will require $100 million more than the president requested this year and still more in the future.
Yes, you read the dates right. There were 311,000 in the backlog before President Bush took office. By 2007 it was 755,000. By June of 2008 it was 879,291. It was taking 185 days to process a veteran's disability claim. And then it was President Obama's turn. by June of his first year in office, the backlog was over 915,000.
Now, while we actually got a brief sense of relief this week with news that senior veterans were not going to be forced to pay for the "care" with massive cuts to their disability checks, we cannot go back to sleep. What they get away with today will be something all other generations will have to be face with if we do no nothing about any of this. Aren't you tired of reading how veterans keep getting failed? Then start fighting back! Don't wait for all the service organizations to do the job for us. After all, the OEF and OIF generation are controlling the news through social media because everything we had to deal with was still hanging over our heads and no one cared but us. UPDATE on something else in the news lately... Everything old is still broken?
"House appropriators have provided $65 million in Fiscal Year 2018 funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ recently announced plans to switch its legacy electronic health record system to a commercial product from Cerner. However, the funds come with strings attached." "VA announced June 5 that it plans to replace its decades-old legacy Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA) records system with Cerner’s Millennium EHR, the same platform that the Department of Defense is currently implementing as part of Military Health System (MHS) Genesis."
So what did they get for the $6 Million and the other millions?
Congressional Record, House October 6, 2000 "The demonstration project may be conducted at several multi-specialty tertiary-care military medical treatment facilities affiliated with a university medical school. One of such facilities shall be supported by at least 5 geographically dispersed remote clinics of the Departments of Army, Navy and Air Force, and clinics of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and a local university.
VA backs off budget proposal to cut benefits for disabled, unemployable vets STARS AND STRIPES By NIKKI WENTLING Published: June 14, 2017
WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs is backing off a proposal in President Donald Trump’s 2018 budget to cut billions of dollars from a program that provides compensation to the country’s most disabled veterans.
VA Secretary David Shulkin told the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Wednesday that he was willing to work with lawmakers to find an alternative to the proposed $3.2 billion cut to the VA Individual Unemployability benefit. The announcement came after the country’s six largest veterans service organizations condemned the proposal.
“As I began to listen to veterans and their concerns, and [veterans service organizations] in particular, it became clear that this would be hurting some veterans and a takeaway from veterans who can’t afford to have those benefits taken away,” Shulkin said. “I’m really concerned about that. This is part of a process. We have to be looking at ways to do things better, but I am not going to support policies that hurt veterans.” Letter signed by 57 congressmen to Sec. David Shulkin read more here Read this letter and then if your member of Congress is on it, thank them! Stephanie Murphy is on it, so a huge public thank you for fighting for our veterans!
The bad news is "rounding down" is still on the table.
Trump’s budget also proposes to reapply a practice at the VA to round down veterans’ cost-of-living adjustments, which would save approximately $20 million in 2018. That savings would also be used for the new Choice program.
UPDATE Here are some of the names we have to thank!
O’HALLERAN, GALLEGO LEAD LETTER TO SECRETARY SHULKIN OPPOSING VETERAN PROGRAM CUTSJune 12, 2017Press ReleaseWashington, DC - Today, Congressmen Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01) and Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) sent a bipartisan letter, signed by 55 additional members of Congress, to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin opposing the proposed cuts to the Individual Unemployability (IU) program within President Donald Trump’s budget proposal.
Congressman Ruben Gallego is the son of Hispanic immigrants, a veteran, and a community leader. He was the first in his family to attend college, graduating from Harvard University with a degree in International Relations. He later joined the Marine Corps, serving in Iraq with the well-known combat unit Lima 3/25.
Congresswoman Dina TitusDina grew up in the small town of Tifton, Georgia, with her parents, Joe and Betty Titus, and her younger sister, Dr. Rho Hudson, who is a professor of special education and founding faculty member of Nevada State College. Dina is a graduate of the College of William and Mary, holds a Master's degree from the University of Georgia, and earned her Doctorate at Florida State University.
Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez is currently serving her thirteenth term as Representative for New York’s 7th Congressional District. In the 115th Congress, she is the Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee and a senior member of the Financial Services Committee.
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, now in her fourteenth term as the Congresswoman for the District of Columbia, is the Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. She serves on two committees: the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Congresswoman Jacky Rosen represents Nevada’s third District and was sworn into the 115th Congress after winning in the 2016 election. Rosen has been an active member of Southern Nevada’s community. As the first member of her family to graduate from college, Rosen worked two jobs and took out student loans to make ends meet. Over summers, Rosen waitressed in Las Vegas and was a proud member of Culinary Workers Union Local 226.
Congressman Tom Suozzi, a CPA and attorney, is the Congressman representing the Third Congressional District in New York. He serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, House Armed Services Committee, is Vice-Chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus and Co-Chair of the Quiet Skies Caucus.
Congressman John LewisDespite more than 40 arrests, physical attacks and serious injuries, John Lewis remained a devoted advocate of the philosophy of nonviolence. After leaving SNCC in 1966, he continued his commitment to the Civil Rights Movement as Associate Director of the Field Foundation and his participation in the Southern Regional Council's voter registration programs. Lewis went on to become the Director of the Voter Education Project (VEP). Under his leadership, the VEP transformed the nation's political climate by adding nearly four million minorities to the voter rolls.
Stop Tolerating Veterans Being Pushed Back Into Subclass Combat PTSD Wounded Times Kathie Costos June 14, 2017 Remember Memorial Day weekend? There was a lot going on especially for the majority of our veterans. There were lots of ceremonies around the country showing how much the American people care at the same time in Washington, news was getting through the crowds gathered that senior veterans were once again being subjected to subclass veteran status. The budget submitted by POTUS called for senior veterans to take a huge cut in their disability checks. Why? Because they are collecting Social Security? Ok, then no one bothered to explain to these veterans why "permanent and total" meant nothing. After all, since most disabled veterans were receiving the equivalent of 100% with the "unemployable" part, they did not bother to clog up the system to get their service connected rating upgraded. After all, they knew about the backlog of claims the younger veterans were facing, much the same way they did when no one cared about them, so they let it go. Most of these senior veterans were unable to work for a decade, or in many cases, decades, meaning they were not able to pay into Social Security. Ever wonder what that does to the amount of money they pay? This is a chart from Social Security
Most stopped working well before the age of 62 because they couldn't, not because they didn't want to.
Retirement is a dangerous time for them instead of their golden years.
Vietnam Veterans Experience PTSD in Retirement for the First Time WGCU NPR News By MICHAEL HIRSH MAY 30, 2017 "Vets have more time to think. They may have been using work as a way to cope. They were self-medicating by turning into workaholics. Now, that coping mechanism is no longer available, and any number of events can trigger symptoms. Even something as simple as going to an Asian restaurant, even though the vet may have eaten at the restaurant throughout their working life."
"Approximately 65 percent of all Veterans who died from suicide in 2014 were 50 years of age or older." Now you can no longer ignore any of this when you hear about what this plan to cut their compensation is doing to them! We have created a subclass of veterans. While they do not want to see anything taken away from younger veterans, imagine what it is like for them to fact this, on top of everything else! Caregiver stipend is not for them. It is only for younger veterans even though their "caregivers" managed to do it all with absolutely no help or recognition at all. The charities popping up all over the country and handing disabled veterans free homes, are not doing it for them, nor have they ever done it, yet now these veterans are worried about losing the homes they struggled to get and keep. They have waited longer, fought harder for all generations to make sure no generation ever left another one behind, but that is exactly what we just did to them. If you think a coin, a lunch saying "Welcome Home" will make up for any of this, you are pretty much out of your mind. How about you actually do something for them? One more thing to consider is that these veterans have lived for decades after facing combat, yet after these decades, the war they had to fight alone at home all this time is still trying to destroy them!
If you think older disabled veterans are freaking out about the President's Budget, read this and do something about it before it is too late! After all, they are the majority of veterans in this state!
DAV commander says Villages veterans could lose homes if Trump budget enacted BY MARV BALOUSEK
Some veterans in The Villages could lose their homes if a federal proposal to cut benefits is enacted, said Villager Jack Johnson, Florida commander of the Disabled American Veterans.
Of about 40,000 veterans in The Villages, Johnson estimated at least 1,000 disabled veterans receive about $3,000 monthly from the Individual Unemployability Program because they are unable to find a job due to service-related injuries.
The federal bill would cut off the benefit when veterans reach 62, the age when they can begin to draw Social Security.
Veterans would not be able to apply for the program after that age.But since the recipients are disabled veterans, it’s unlikely they have paid much into Social Security, Johnson said.
“People could lose their homes,” he said.As many as 225,000 veterans nationally, including 7,000 who are over age 80, could be affected.read more here
Carson veteran, 85, dies after beating in robbery, weeklong coma Eyewitness ABC 7 News June 08, 2017
CARSON, Calif. (KABC) -- An 85-year-old veteran from Carson who was viciously beaten in a robbery last week as he was walking in his own neighborhood died from his injuries Wednesday, sheriff's deputies said.
Frank Hernandez was walking in his neighborhood near the corner of 220th and Dolores streets last week when he was punched in the face and robbed.
The attack left him in a coma with head trauma for more than a week before he succumbed to his injuries Wednesday at 4:27 p.m., the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.
Investigators are still searching for the suspect. read more here
POTUS wants to take away something that veterans were promised going back to WWII. Congress wants to pretend they had nothing to do with the mess at the VA, also going back to WWII. With all the crap in the news, it is a good time for a little history lesson. This way, no one can pretend they actually intended to keep their promises to our veterans.
First, if you think Concerned Veterans of America is actually putting veterans first, they aren't.
WASHINGTON — Like other advocacy groups, Concerned Veterans for America have problems with the president’s proposed Veterans Affairs budget. But unlike most of the veterans community, they think it doesn’t cut enough. The conservative group, which has ties to prominent Republican donors and several members of President Donald Trump’s administration, is releasing a policy memo this week calling for more belt tightening and increased scrutiny of the president’s $186.5 billion budget proposal, which has already drawn criticism from groups like the American Legion for too many trims. “We recommend that Congress aggressively seek out more savings within the VA’s budget, especially in its construction, medical facility operations, personnel, and medical compliance accounts,” the document states.
On Feb. 1, 1946, Bradley reported that the VA was operating 97 hospitals with a total
bed capacity of 82,241 patients. Hospital construction then in progress projected
another 13,594 beds. Money was available for another 12,706 beds with the
construction of 25 more hospitals and additions to 11 others.
But because of the demobilization, the total number of veterans would jump to more
than 15 million within a few months. The existing VA hospitals were soon filled to
capacity, and there were waiting lists for admission at practically all hospitals. In
addition, there were 26,057 nonservice-connected cases on the hospital waiting list.
Until more VA hospitals could be opened, the Navy and Army both made beds
available.
To handle the dramatic increase in veterans claims, VA Central Office staff was
increased in two years from 16,966 to 22,008. In the same period, field staff, charged
with providing medical care, education benefits, disability payments, home loans and
other benefits, rose from 54,689 employees to 96,047.
When he left in 1947, Bradley reported that the VA had established 13 branch offices
and 14 regional offices, and set up 721 contact offices. He noted that 29 new hospitals
had been opened
Yes, it all happened before and considering 2 wars were added to the list of other war veterans in the backlog of claims, waiting for care as elected officials were attempting to push privatizing the VA, it makes sense the mess got worse. After all, if they had actually honored their promises to veterans, they'd never be able to get rid of it.
Currently, veterans eligible for the program have a 60 to 100 percent disability rating through the VA and are unable to secure a job because of their service-connected disability. The program allows them to get paid at the highest compensation rate. For 2017, the monthly rate for a 100 percent disabled veteran living alone is $2,915 per month.
The benefit was a safety net for veterans who couldn't work because of health problems that began in the military and whose disability ratings, based on a formula combining their conditions, fell shy of 100%.
In 1945, as disabled World War I veterans continued to fall out of the workforce, the VA adopted a regulation ensuring eligibility to veterans of any age. That decision underlies much of the current growth.
More than half the 137,343 veterans approved since 2010 were 65 or older, including 13,684 who were at least 75, according to VA statistics.
The largest share served in the Vietnam era. Many joined the disability system over the last decade as the VA expanded eligibility for PTSD and diabetes, heart disease, prostate cancer and other common conditions on the presumption they were caused by exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange, used to clear jungle vegetation in the war.
Once in the system, veterans are eligible for the unemployability benefit if their ailments are deemed too severe for them to work and their disability ratings reach a certain threshold, usually 60% or 70% depending on their mix of conditions.
Pretty much sums up what this is all about. It is about paying to send veterans into private healthcare and treat them like everyone else. You know, the same healthcare they complain about being oh so bad for the rest of us! All these years of them saying how they want to kill "Obamacare" but now it is good enough to send veterans into that mess? Top that off with the fact that now they want our senior veterans to pay for what they do not want and you have a villain and a bunch of vultures! Claim backlog not new and Congress promised to take care of it...New York Times reported this in 2007,
The agency’s new plan to hire at least 150 new appeals judges to whittle down the backlog, which has soared to 755,000 from 311,000 in 2000, will require $100 million more than the president requested this year and still more in the future. The plan has been delayed by the standoff between Congress and the White House over domestic appropriations.
Peake wants to reduce wait times from roughly 180 days to 145 days by the start of next year. He cited aggressive efforts to hire staff, noting the VA will have 3,100 new staff by 2009. VA also is working to get greater online access to Pentagon medical information that he said will allow staff to process claims faster and move toward a system of electronic filing of claims. Peake promised to “virtually eliminate” the current list of 69,000 veterans who have waited more than 30 days for an appointment to get VA medical care.
And that was followed up by a backlog of claims by GovExec
VBA's pending compensation and claims backlog stood at 816,211 as of January 2008, up 188,781 since 2004, said Kerry Baker, associate legislative director of the Disabled Veterans of America, during a Wednesday hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. Baker said VBA must have the funds necessary to upgrade its IT infrastructure to handle the backlog and a growing caseload. Anything short of an increase is "a recipe for failure," he added. Carl Blake, national legislative director for the Paralyzed Veterans of America, said VBA needed $121 million in its fiscal 2009 budget for its information technology. According to VA budget documents, VBA requested an IT budget of $109.6 million for its compensation and benefits programs, down $23.8 million from $133.4 million in 2008. VA requested an overall 2009 IT budget of $2.53 billion in 2009, up from $2.15 billion in fiscal 2008, with the largest portion earmarked for the Veterans Health Administration.
As foolish as it was to actually trust the press to get any of this right and put it all together so that all veterans knew exactly what Congress thinks of them, now is the time for them to make it up to all of our veterans and families! Over the weekend, I'll do the same with the suicide numbers. Oh wait, I don't really have to since I already wrote a book about it!
Top Customer Reviews5.0 out of 5 starsAwesome bookByJames G. Youngon May 14, 2013Format: Kindle Edition|Verified PurchaseIf you have not read anything Kathie has written you are at a major disadvantage when discussing PTSD. She has a first hand account of dealing with this herself as the wife of a Nam vet, but then devoting her life to understanding the dilemma and helping others understand it as well. I consider Kathie a highly knowledgable contact with regards to this subject and have consulted her many times. Kathie truely has the inside pulse in understanding the issues here, the denial of our govenment and the failures of the administrations to come to grips with how best to deal with it. Our govenment is trying to find a series of magic bullets (medications) that some practioners hand out like candy because they have nothing else to give and lack the compassion needed. Straighforward, if you haven't read this book or spoken to Kathie you are at a major disadvantage. Great Book Kathie, well written and researched, should be made mandatory reading for anyone dealing with or discussing PTSD. ....
“Words cannot measure the depth of their devotion, the purity of their love or the totality of their courage,” Trump said. “We only hope that every day we can prove worthy, not only of their sacrifice, but of the sacrifice made by the families and loved ones they left behind.”
“Their legacy will endure forever.”
Except veterans over 62 outlived the promise of "permanent and total" disability as soon as Trump was elected.
This is no small cut. The average veteran will immediately lose 35 percent of his income along with loss of dental benefits, survivor benefits for spouses, and property tax exemptions/deductions depending on his state. The cut will be immediate for those over 62 and as others reach 62, they too will be cut.
This plan will affect about half of all totally disabled veterans which means about 300,000 elderly veterans will take a major hit immediately. They all fall under a program that goes back to prior to World War II and is called Total Disability for Individual Unemployability (TDIU). It is for veterans whose service connected injuries or illnesses have become so severe that they could no longer work. Because of these medical issues their working lives were cut short thus earning less and building up less Social Security benefits and were unable to purchase commercial life insurance to protect spouses. With these veterans being in their 60s to 80s or more their chances of reversing their financial lives is slim.
But hey, while we're being honest here is one more thing senior veterans are getting wrong. Some think that Trump is the one who declared Vietnam Veterans Day, but it wasn't his actions. It was Senator Pat Toomey and Senator Joe Donnelly who made it official. It only took them 5 years to do it!
Former President Barack Obama declared March 29 Vietnam Veterans Day in 2012. This new law will make the date a commemoration of Vietnam veterans every year.
POTUS wants to cut the unemployability part of your compensation because you are too old to work anyway?
You were not able to work when you were younger and did not pay into the Social Security System, so you already lost on that. If you are no longer 100% Disabled, it means a lot more than just the hundreds of dollars a month you thought would still be honored until the day you die and even beyond for your widows.
It is bad enough that veterans over the age of 50 are 65% of the suicides and no one is talking about you but now this? Veterans should never have to go through any of this. It is a disgusting disgrace to the majority of veterans in this country!!!!!
Veterans with a service-connected disability are assigned a disability rating by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the U.S. Department of Defense. Ratings range from 0 to 100 percent, in increments of 10 percentage points, depending on the severity of the condition. (See table 7.) The unemployment rate for veterans with a service-connected disability was 4.8 percent in August 2016, about the same as veterans with no disability (4.7 percent). The labor force participation rate for veterans with a service-connected disability (46.4 percent) was lower than the rate for veterans with no disability (50.7 percent). Among veterans with a service-connected disability, 30 percent had a disability rating of less than 30 percent, while another 37 percent had a rating of 60 percent or higher. In August 2016, veterans with a service-connected disability rating of less
than 30 percent were much more likely to be in the labor force than those with a rating of 60 percent or higher (54.7 percent and 29.9 percent, respectively). The unemployment rate for veterans with a disability rating of less than 30 percent was 4.4 percent, not statistically different than for those with a disability rating of 60 percent or higher (3.8 percent). Among veterans who served during Gulf War era II, 36 percent (1.4 million) had a service-connected disability. Of these, 76.0 percent were in the labor force in August 2016, lower than the 86.6 percent for veterans from this period with no service connected disability. Among Gulf War-era II veterans, the unemployment rate for those with a service-connected disability was 5.4 percent, little different from those with no disability (5.7 percent). In August 2016, about a quarter (901,000) of veterans who served during Gulf War era I had a service connected disability.
Their labor force participation rate (64.0 percent) was lower than the rate for veterans from the era who did not have a disability (86.7 percent). The unemployment rate for Gulf War-era I veterans with a service-connected disability (5.3 percent) was not statistically different than that for Gulf War-era I veterans without a service-connected disability (4.2 percent).
Among the 1.6 million veterans with a service-connected disability from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era, 14.1 percent were in the labor force in August 2016, lower than the 25.3 percent of veterans from these periods who did not have a service-connected disability. The unemployment rate of veterans with a disability from these wartime periods was 3.7 percent, about the same as their counterparts with no disability (3.8 percent)
About 669,000 or 13 percent of veterans who served during other service periods reported a serviceconnected disability in August 2016. The labor force participation rate for these veterans (37.8 percent) was lower than their counterparts without a service-connected disability (50.3 percent), while the unemployment rate was not statistically different for veterans with a service-connected disability (2.0 percent) and those with no disability (4.8 percent). Regardless of period of service, many veterans with a service-connected disability worked in the public sector. In August 2016, 31 percent of employed veterans with a disability worked in federal, state, or local government, compared with 19 percent of veterans with no disability and 13 percent of nonveterans. In particular, 20 percent of employed veterans with a disability worked for the federal government, compared with 7 percent of veterans with no disability and 2 percent of nonveterans."
Proposed Food Stamp Cuts Would Hit Military FamiliesThe report found that about 23,000 active duty service members received food stamps in 2013, according to U.S. Census data. In addition, information from the Department of Defense Education Activity showed that in September 2015, 24 percent of 23,000 children in U.S. DoDEA schools were eligible for free meals, while 21 percent were eligible for reduced-price meals.
Listed as one of the offsets for the extra cost is a new restriction on compensation for veterans through the VA's "individual unemployability" program. Currently, veterans eligible for the program have a 60 to 100 percent disability rating through the VA and are unable to secure a job because of their service-connected disability. The program allows them to get paid at the highest compensation rate. For 2017, the monthly rate for a 100 percent disabled veteran living alone is $2,915 per month.
And while that happened...
"Shulkin said at a congressional hearing earlier this month that he would not be seeking a budget increase for the VA in future years, but needed one in fiscal 2018 for modernization efforts."
No shocker there! Why would he ever want to increase the budget after they kill off the VA? POTUS is increasing money to send veterans away from the VA instead of honoring the fact that Veterans paid for their healthcare with their service...but then again, when it was his time to go, he decided to sit it out.
And then we have this, as if suddenly they will really do anything meaningful. It seems that either the reporter did a massive misquote, didn't know how to read or, the Secretary of the VA did but while quoting the "number" of veterans committing suicide there was this blunder
VA Releases Report on Nation’s Largest Analysis of Veteran Suicide
More than 55 Million Veterans’ Records Reviewed From 1979 to 2014 From Every State in the Nation
WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today released its findings from the nation’s most comprehensive analysis of
Veteran suicide rates in the United States in which VA examined more than 55 million Veterans’ records from 1979 to 2014 from every state in
the nation. The effort advances VA’s knowledge from the previous report in 2012, which was primarily limited to information on Veterans who
used VHA health services or from mortality records obtained directly from 20 states and approximately 3 million records..
Compared to the data
from the 2012 report, which estimated the number of Veteran deaths by suicide to be 22 per day, the current analysis indicates that in 2014, an
average of 20 Veterans a day died from suicide.
A link to the report may be found here.
THE REPORT CONCLUDES:
Approximately 65 percent of all Veterans who died from suicide in 2014 were 50 years of age or older.
Veterans accounted for 18 percent of all deaths from suicide among U.S. adults. This is a decrease from 22 percent in 2010.
Since 2001, U.S. adult civilian suicides increased 23 percent, while Veteran suicides increased 32 percent in the same time period.
After
controlling for age and gender, this makes the risk of suicide 21 percent greater for Veterans.
Since 2001, the rate of suicide among U.S. Veterans who use VA services increased by 8.8 percent, while the rate of suicide among
Veterans who do not use VA services increased by 38.6 percent.
In the same time period, the rate of suicide among male Veterans who use VA services increased 11 percent, while the rate of
suicide increased 35 percent among male Veterans who do not use VA services.
In the same time period, the rate of suicide among female Veterans who use VA services increased 4.6 percent while the rate of
suicide increased 98 percent among female Veterans who do not use VA services.
With all this "awareness" going on, most do not know this part,
A deeper look at PTSDPost traumatic stress disorder encapsulates multiple symptoms related to a traumatic event. The National Institute of Mental Health noted that PTSD can be both acute and chronic. However, the NIMH noted that individuals must have symptoms including flashbacks of a traumatic event, avoidance and mood changes for up to one month for it to be identified as PTSD. When these symptoms last for a shorter amount of time, it can be acute stress disorder.
but now you do and it may help understand why some folks claim they were "cured." Reminder, if the symptoms after traumatic events do not subside or go away, get professional help as soon as possible AND HEAL.
How PTSD medication can increase the risk of dementia Medication may increase the likelihood of dementia in older patients. by Interim HealthCare Published: Monday, May 15, 2017 A new study from the American Geriatrics Society may have identified another risk factor that could increase the likelihood of dementia. Individuals taking medication to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder could increase their risk for dementia later in life.
A closer look at the study Researchers looked at over 3 million participants aged 56 and older. The study focused on individuals working with veterans. According to NPR, there continues to be a stigma for individuals who have seen combat seeking out treatment for PTSD. However, the stigma of seeking out treatment for PTSD is beginning to dissipate.
The study tracked patients since 2003 over nine years. The results found that individuals taking medication to cope with PTSD, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and antidepressants, were more likely to suffer from dementia later in life than individuals who didn't take these medications. While researchers noted the connection between these medications and dementia, they acknowledge that more research is needed to learn about the relationship. read more here
