Veterans frustrated by VA disability claims backlog
Miami Herald
12.27.12
BY ALEX BRANCH
THE FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
Infantryman Josh Odom was seven months into his first tour in Iraq when someone lobbed a grenade over the gate at the combat outpost he guarded.
It exploded six feet from the Rockwall native, driving three chunks of shrapnel deep into his right shoulder. One pierced his lung.
Odom wound up at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where he spent four months in rehab before completing his military service in May 2010.
Still suffering neck and shoulder pain, he filed a disability claim at a Veterans Affairs Department office in Dallas.
He expected the claim to take a while, he said, but not the nearly 18 months he waited for a partial decision, then eight more for a final ruling.
While he waited, lingering pain combined with frequent consultations with doctors for surgeries made it difficult to work.
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Thursday, December 27, 2012
Chesapeake prison opens wing for military veterans
Chesapeake prison opens wing for military veterans
By MIKE HIXENBAUGH
The Virginian-Pilot
Published: December 27, 2012
CHESAPEAKE, Va. - The white tile floors, cinder-block walls and rows of steel bunks remind Raymond Riddick of the barracks he stayed in during boot camp in the mid-1980s.
"Only, the beds weren't bolted to the floor," the former sailor said while giving a tour of his dormitory at Indian Creek Correctional Center in southern Chesapeake.
Riddick, who's locked up following a string of car thefts, is one of about 60 former service members serving out criminal sentences in a new veterans dorm at the medium-security prison.
State corrections officials christened the wing during a ceremony last month, saying they hoped the program would change lives and prevent war vets from returning to prison.
Virginia is the latest in a series of states with large military populations, including Florida and Georgia, that have established veterans-only prison facilities to house and assist the growing numbers of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who find themselves in trouble with the law.
read more here on Stars and Stripes
By MIKE HIXENBAUGH
The Virginian-Pilot
Published: December 27, 2012
CHESAPEAKE, Va. - The white tile floors, cinder-block walls and rows of steel bunks remind Raymond Riddick of the barracks he stayed in during boot camp in the mid-1980s.
"Only, the beds weren't bolted to the floor," the former sailor said while giving a tour of his dormitory at Indian Creek Correctional Center in southern Chesapeake.
Riddick, who's locked up following a string of car thefts, is one of about 60 former service members serving out criminal sentences in a new veterans dorm at the medium-security prison.
State corrections officials christened the wing during a ceremony last month, saying they hoped the program would change lives and prevent war vets from returning to prison.
Virginia is the latest in a series of states with large military populations, including Florida and Georgia, that have established veterans-only prison facilities to house and assist the growing numbers of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who find themselves in trouble with the law.
read more here on Stars and Stripes
Historian's new book faults Westmoreland for Vietnam outcome
24 minutes ago
Historian's new book faults Westmoreland for Vietnam outcome
By PAUL AKERS
The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Va.)/MCT
Published: December 26, 2012
The following interview with military historian Lewis Sorley focuses on his newest book, “Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam.” Sorley, a West Point graduate, served in armor units in South Vietnam and West Germany before teaching at the U.S. Army War College. He later worked for the CIA and with several global-security think tanks, also earning a doctorate in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University.
Sorley’s 1999 book, “A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America’s Last Years in Vietnam,” earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination and was read by military policymakers in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
Conducting the interview was Paul Akers, opinion editor of The Free Lance-Star, a daily newspaper in Fredericksburg, Va.
read more here on Stars and Stripes
Historian's new book faults Westmoreland for Vietnam outcome
By PAUL AKERS
The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Va.)/MCT
Published: December 26, 2012
The following interview with military historian Lewis Sorley focuses on his newest book, “Westmoreland: The General Who Lost Vietnam.” Sorley, a West Point graduate, served in armor units in South Vietnam and West Germany before teaching at the U.S. Army War College. He later worked for the CIA and with several global-security think tanks, also earning a doctorate in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University.
Sorley’s 1999 book, “A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America’s Last Years in Vietnam,” earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination and was read by military policymakers in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
Conducting the interview was Paul Akers, opinion editor of The Free Lance-Star, a daily newspaper in Fredericksburg, Va.
read more here on Stars and Stripes
Number of homeless Iraq, Afghan vets doubles
Number of homeless Iraq, Afghan vets doubles
By Gregg Zoroya
USA Today
Posted : Wednesday Dec 26, 2012
The number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are homeless or at risk of losing a roof over their heads has more than doubled in the past two years, according to government data.
Through the end of September, 26,531 of them were living on the streets, at risk of losing their homes, staying in temporary housing or receiving federal vouchers to pay rent, the Department of Veterans Affairs reports.
That’s up from 10,500 in 2010. The VA says the numbers could be higher because they include only the homeless the department is aware of.
The increase arrives as President Obama’s goal of ending homelessness for all veterans is showing some results.
The VA attributes the increase partly to more aggressive efforts to identify and assist this younger generation of veteran.
The department says effects of the two wars on them, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and a slow economic recovery have contributed to their homelessness. read more here on Marine Corps Times
By Gregg Zoroya
USA Today
Posted : Wednesday Dec 26, 2012
The number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who are homeless or at risk of losing a roof over their heads has more than doubled in the past two years, according to government data.
Through the end of September, 26,531 of them were living on the streets, at risk of losing their homes, staying in temporary housing or receiving federal vouchers to pay rent, the Department of Veterans Affairs reports.
That’s up from 10,500 in 2010. The VA says the numbers could be higher because they include only the homeless the department is aware of.
The increase arrives as President Obama’s goal of ending homelessness for all veterans is showing some results.
The VA attributes the increase partly to more aggressive efforts to identify and assist this younger generation of veteran.
The department says effects of the two wars on them, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and a slow economic recovery have contributed to their homelessness. read more here on Marine Corps Times
VA finds sexual assaults more common in war zones
VA finds sexual assaults more common in war zones
Gregg Zoroya
USA TODAY
December 26, 2012
About half of women sent to Iraq or Afghanistan report being sexually harassed, and nearly one in four say they were sexually assaulted, according to new research by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The study — based on anonymous surveys of female servicemembers who deployed to war — suggest a far higher prevalence of sexual misconduct against women in war zones than is reflected by complaints gathered by the various service branches.
In February, more than 20,000 women were serving in Afghanistan. In the preceding year, only 115 reports were filed alleging sexual assault, according to the Pentagon.
read more here
Gregg Zoroya
USA TODAY
December 26, 2012
About half of women sent to Iraq or Afghanistan report being sexually harassed, and nearly one in four say they were sexually assaulted, according to new research by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The study — based on anonymous surveys of female servicemembers who deployed to war — suggest a far higher prevalence of sexual misconduct against women in war zones than is reflected by complaints gathered by the various service branches.
In February, more than 20,000 women were serving in Afghanistan. In the preceding year, only 115 reports were filed alleging sexual assault, according to the Pentagon.
read more here
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