Deported Vets Eligible for VA Healthcare, GI Bill

Deported Vets Eligible for VA Healthcare, GI Bill
Jan 07, 2013
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan

There is irony and tragedy in the death in Mexico last year of 55-year-old U.S. Army veteran Manuel de Jesus Castano.

The irony is that Castano, a life-long legal U.S. resident deported for a past criminal conviction that had nothing to do with his Army service, was allowed into the U.S. for burial -- with full military honors -- at Fort Bliss, Texas. It was, as far as his family knew, the last and only veteran’s benefit he was entitled to.

Deported in 2011 from El Paso, Texas, where he was getting healthcare from the Department of Veterans Affairs for Lupus and Lou Gehrig’s disease, his conditioned worsened, according to his nephew. He died last June following a heart attack.

The tragedy is that Castano, his family and his supporters -- including other “banished veterans” forced to live outside the U.S. -- never knew that he was entitled to VA healthcare, including medications, regardless of his deported status.

VA spokeswoman Jo Schuda told Military.com that a deported veteran who already has VA healthcare can use the VA’s Foreign Medical Program, which is set up for veterans traveling or living overseas. Under the program, the VA assumes responsibility for necessary medical services related to a veteran’s service-connected medical conditions.

The same program can be used by vets submitted a claim and requiring evaluations and physicals, she said.

Even education benefits remain available.

“Veterans who are eligible for education benefits and have been deported may use their benefits to attend school outside of the U.S. as long as they enroll in a VA approved program,” she said. The VA’s Weams Institution Search website lets veterans find approved schools and universities both within the U.S. and overseas.
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VA doesn't know if it has enough staff to serve vets

This is a huge problem. I received an email from a wife of a veteran with PTSD. He had not been given enough medication but as bad as that was, the doctor he had was transferred and the doctor replacing him wanted to see her husband first before giving him more. The problem was, he couldn't get him an appointment soon enough.

We talk about the delay in processing claims. We talk about the delay in processing appeals. What we don't talk about is what this does to our veterans and their families.

The extra stress of fighting the VA for what veterans earned serving this country makes their overall health worse. When they are living with PTSD, it gets worse, not just because it prolongs help but they feel pushed away from it after advocates talked them into going.

Despite legal requirement, VA doesn't know if it has enough staff to serve vets
Watchdog report is latest in long line critical of the VA's staffing evaluations
Washington Guardian
BY PHILLIP SWARTS
JANUARY 5, 2013

The Veterans Affairs Department doesn't know whether it has enough staff at its medical facilities to give veterans the quality care they need, failing to comply with a decade-old law despite several prior warnings, the agency's internal watchdog has concluded.

A January 2002 law "mandated that VA establish a nationwide policy to ensure medical facilities have adequate staff to provide appropriate, high-quality care and services" but the agency "did not have an effective staffing methodology to ensure appropriate staffing levels for specialty care services," the VA inspector general reported Thursday.

Specifically, inspectors found that the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hadn't developed staffing guidelines for 31 of its specialty care services.

"As a result, VHA’s lack of productivity standards and staffing plans limit the ability of medical facility officials to make informed business decisions on the appropriate number of specialty physicians to meet patient care needs, such as access and quality of care," the report said.

The critical review comes at a time when many veterans are facing growing delays to receive their medical treatment. The Washington Guardian previously reported that wait times at some medical centers are reaching 10 hours.
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A tribute to Marine Chet Gould and his selfless ‘duty’

A tribute to Marine and his selfless ‘duty’
Boston Herald
By Joe Fitzgerald
Jan 7, 2013

Perhaps you, too, have seen the piece on Swifty that’s been sweeping the Internet lately, regarding the death of this Screaming Eagle from the 101st Airborne Infantry whose parachuting into Normandy was highlighted on HBO’s “Band of Brothers” episodes.

The email’s author, noting the enormous attention we give to the passing of celebrities, lamented “this hero died with barely anyone’s notice,” correctly implying our priorities are skewed.

So this one’s for Chet Gould, a native of Plymouth, who died two days ago at 95, taking with him proud memories that only those who served could savor.

A member of the Marines’ Fifth Amphibious Corps, he was still a teen when he left “America’s Hometown” for the belly of wartime hell in the Pacific, fighting in Saipan, Tinian, Guam, all brutal bloodbaths held as sacred by every leatherneck.
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Sailors Cautioned After Legalization of Marijuana

Sailors Cautioned After Legalization of Marijuana
Jan 02, 2013
Navy News
by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Vanessa David

EVERETT, Wash. -- Although the state of Washington has recently updated the law on the use of marijuana, essentially decriminalizing use for civilians, Zero Tolerance drug policy regulations remain unaffected for Sailors.

The Zero Tolerance drug policy was implemented after a fatal crash of an EA-6B Prowler on board USS Nimitz in 1981, killing 14 crew members and injuring 45 others.

Autopsies were performed and several members of the flight deck crew tested positive for marijuana.

Following this discovery, then-President Ronald Reagan instituted a Zero Tolerance drug policy across all of the U.S. Armed Forces.

As a result regular, random urinalysis drug checks are conducted on all military personnel.

"Marijuana can stay in the system for up to 30 days depending on the person's metabolism, dosage and method of consumption," said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class David Johnson. "Because it's lipid-based, it can stay in the fat cells for a long period of time, whereas water-based substances would flow through very quickly."

"Being under the influence of marijuana can result in slow reaction speed and poor judgment, and can negatively affect operational success," said Legalman 1st Class Michael Lightsey. "In the case of an emergency, people could get hurt. You don't want anyone to be high while operating a jet."
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PBS Project Carrier USS Nimitz

Battle of Ia Drang Chaplain Nevin Snyder Remembered

From Bill Vagianos, President, Brevard Veteran's Memorial Center

In a place that came to be known as The Valley of Death, in a football field-sized clearing called landing zone X-Ray, Lt. Colonel Hal Moore and 400 young troopers from the elite newly formed American 7th "Air" Cavalry, were surrounded by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers dug into the surrounding tunnel-pocked mountainside.

The ensuing battle was one of the most savage of the Vietnam War. Those men under fire, their common acts of uncommon valor, and their loyalty to and love for one another continually reflect our Honor and Commitment in service to our country.

The battle was depicted in the book and movie, "We Were Soldiers Once, and Young" Nevin Snyder was there and served heroically.

Nevin served for many, many years as Chaplain to the Vietnam Veterans of Brevard, the Brevard Veteran's Council, the Brevard Veteran's Memorial Center, and also ministered to the Veteran population at-large on an ongoing basis.

Nevin Snyder fought his final battle January 2, 2013. He will buried, alongside his wife at the Brevard cemetery with full Military Honors on Friday, January 18, 2013 at 1500 hours.

JANUARY 5, 2013

My brother Nevin

My brother Nevin died Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 2, at Fellowship Manor in Whitehall, Pa. He was 84.

Nevin served as a pastor in Pennsylvania, where he grew up, before becoming a full-time army chaplain.

As a chaplain, his tours of duty included Vietnam and Thailand.

He was chaplain to the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Ia Drang where 72 American soldiers died, the first big loss of American lives in the Vietnam War. This battle was the basis for the movie We Were Soldiers, although the movie distorted the facts of the battle to try to make the story more upbeat.

It was not an upbeat story except for the honor of the soldiers who served and died. Retired General Hal Moore tells the real story in his book We Were Soldiers Once ... And Young on which the movie was loosely based.

The night before the battle, Nevin served communion to some of the 72 men who died the next day. After the battle, he was called upon to identify their bodies.

He told me that he smoked a cigar while identifying the bodies because the cigar smoke masked the smell of death. Otherwise, he said, he would have vomited. Better to look manly smoking a cigar than to break down.
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