tagged w/ Veterans Affairs
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"VETS News Release: [05/02/2012]
Contact Name: Jason Kuruvilla of Mike Volpe
Phone Number: (202) 693-6587 or x3984
Release Number: 12-0780-NAT
US Department of Labor announces availability of approximately $12 million in grants to provide job training services for more than 6,000 veterans
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of approximately $12 million in grants through the Veterans' Workforce Investment Program to provide job training and skills development services that will help approximately 6,000 veterans succeed in civilian careers.
"These men and women served our country, and now it is our turn to serve them and to support them. The grants announced today will help ensure our nation's veterans receive the assistance they need as they make the transition to civilian life," Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said.
Through funds provided by this program, veterans will receive skills assessments, individual job counseling, labor market information, classroom or on-the-job training, skills upgrades, placement assistance and crucial follow-up services. Veterans also may be eligible for services through other Workforce Investment Act programs for economically disadvantaged or dislocated workers.
The department will award at least 10 grants in 10 states on a competitive basis to state and local workforce investment boards, local public agencies and nonprofit — including faith-based and community —organizations. Grantees must be familiar with the areas and populations to be served, and have demonstrated that they can administer effective programs.
More information about the Department of Labor's unemployment and re-employment programs for veterans can be found at http://www.dol.gov/vets/.
The solicitation for grant applications is available at http://www.grants.gov. It also may be viewed at http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/vwip/main.htm. "
A small payment on the debt the nation owes it's veterans. Now, we need to 'support the troops' by making sure the $$ actually goes for the training they need to get jobs, and not just some shell game movement of funds to corporations that pretend to provide training."VETS News Release: [05/02/2012]
Contact Name: Jason Kuruvilla of Mike Volpe... more
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Know them by their deeds, not the words they speak in hopes their illusions will get you to vote for them so they can work against the interests they are supposed to serve,
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Enter Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Penn.). At the behest of the Catholic Church, and unbeknownst to the Home, Santorum slipped an amendment into the 1999 National Defense Authorization Act handcuffing how the home could cash in on those 49 acres. The amendment forced the Home to sell—and not lease—the land to its next-door neighbor, the Catholic University of America. Ultimately, the Catholic Church bought 46 acres of the tract for $22 million. The Home lost the land for good, and by its own estimates, pocketed $27 million less than the land's value and $83 million less than what it could've made under the lease plan. Santorum's amendment sparked an outcry from veterans' groups and fellow US senators, who barraged his office with complaints.
..."
If Rick's primary concerns are the interest of his church, fine. Let him work for his church. But the POTUS should not serve the interests of one Church over the interests of the people who serve the nation by putting their lives on the line for the nation.
No Rick Santorum for public office ever again.Know them by their deeds, not the words they speak in hopes their illusions will get... more
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http://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com/2010/11/video-of-torture-hearing-released-on.html
Some of war's most disturbing moments don't happen on the battlefield. Such was the case when Sergeant Chuck Luther sat before a Congressional committee and described how he was tortured by U.S. Army officials.
Luther had been confined to a closet at Camp Taji, Iraq. He was held there for over a month, under enforced sleep deprivation, until he agreed to sign documents saying his mortar fire wounds were caused by a pre-existing condition, making him ineligible for benefits.
Below is a video of Luther's testimony, as he lays out the graphic details of his torture. As a reporter who covers veterans' issues, I'm often asked what Americans can do to honor our soldiers. My answer: watch this video. Share it with your friends. Ask them to share it with theirs.
On this Veterans Day, don't let the voices of soldiers like Sgt. Luther go silent.
Follow Joshua Kors on Facebook: www.facebook.com/joshua.kors
Follow Joshua Kors on Twitter: www.twitter.com/joshuakorshttp://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com/2010/11/video-of-torture-hearing-released-... more
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Footage from the 2009 Veterans Holiday Celebration event, December 6, 2009
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Troubling new data has revealed that there are an average of 950 suicide attempts each month by veterans who are receiving some type of treatment from the Veterans Affairs Department.
Seven percent of the attempts are successful, and 11 percent of those who don’t succeed on the first attempt try again within nine months.
The numbers show about 18 veteran suicides a day, about five by veterans who are receiving VA care.Troubling new data has revealed that there are an average of 950 suicide attempts each... more
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A tea party member thinks socialists are nuts and threatens "death to commies," but his form of socialism...well, that's ok.A tea party member thinks socialists are nuts and threatens "death to... more
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4,370 US Soldiers Killed, 31,582 Seriously Wounded
U.S. SPENDING IN IRAQ
Spent & Approved War-Spending - About $800 billion of US taxpayers' funds spent or approved for spending through mid-2009, including $76 billion requested by President Obama and approved by Congress.
U.S. 2009 Monthly Spending in Iraq - $7.3 billion as of Oct 2009
U.S. 2008 Monthly Spending in Iraq - $12 billion
U.S. Spending per Second - $5,000 in 2008 (per Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on May 5, 2008)
Cost of deploying one U.S. soldier for one year in Iraq - $390,000 (Congressional Research Service)
Lost & Unaccounted for in Iraq - $9 billion of US taxpayers' money and $549.7 milion in spare parts shipped in 2004 to US contractors. Also, per ABC News, 190,000 guns, including 110,000 AK-47 rifles.
Missing - $1 billion in tractor trailers, tank recovery vehicles, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and other equipment and services provided to the Iraqi security forces. (Per CBS News on Dec 6, 2007.)
Mismanaged & Wasted in Iraq - $10 billion, per Feb 2007 Congressional hearings4,370 US Soldiers Killed, 31,582 Seriously Wounded
U.S. SPENDING IN IRAQ
Spent... more
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http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/content/view/113112/149/
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CNN news anchor John Roberts asks "How far would you go to get good health insurance?" A report this morning tells the heartbreaking story of a man who lost his job as a computer consultant, and along with the job went the health insurance for his family.
Army SPC Greg Missman had ended his military service 11 years earlier, but signed back on in order to provide his young son Jack with health insurance coverage.
After only one month on the ground in Afghanistan, Missman's father Jim received the news that Greg's convoy had been ambushed, and Greg was killed in the attack.
CNN reports that a "Pentagon spokesman said there is no way to count how many soldiers have joined the armed services to get health care benefits. As for Greg Missman, his son will continue to receive military health insurance so this soldier's sacrifice will live on."
The following YouTube video is from a CNN news report originally aired Mon., Sept. 7, 2009:CNN news anchor John Roberts asks "How far would you go to get good health... more
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FOX News Chis Wallace Interviews Veterans Administration's Tammy Duckworth About "Death Book For Veterans" - 08/23/09
Veterans can buy the book for 5$ This book is about Advance Directive!FOX News Chis Wallace Interviews Veterans Administration's Tammy Duckworth About... more
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WASHINGTON – Outside the Veterans Affairs Department, severely wounded veterans have faced financial hardship waiting for their first disability payment. Inside, money has been flowing in the form of $24 million in bonuses.
In scathing reports this week, the VA's inspector general said thousands of technology office employees at the VA received the bonuses over a two-year period, some under questionable circumstances. It also detailed abuses ranging from nepotism to an inappropriate relationship between two VA employees.
The inspector general accused one recently retired VA official of acting "as if she was given a blank checkbook" as awards and bonuses were distributed to employees of the Office of Information and Technology in 2007 and 2008. In some cases the justification for the bonuses was inadequate or questionable, the IG said.
The official, Jennifer S. Duncan, also engaged in nepotism and got $60,000 in bonuses herself, the IG said. In addition, managers improperly authorized college tuition payments for VA employees, some of whom were Duncan's family members and friends. That cost taxpayers nearly $140,000.
Separately, a technology office employee became involved in an "inappropriate personal relationship" with a high-level VA official. The technology office employee flew 22 times from Florida to Washington, where the VA official lived. That travel cost $37,000.
The details on the alleged improprieties were in two IG reports issued this week. VA spokeswoman Katie Roberts said the agency was extremely concerned about the IG's findings and would pursue a thorough review.
"VA does not condone misconduct by its employees and will take the appropriate correction action for those who violate VA policy," Roberts said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
The number of claims the VA needs to process has escalated, and the Information and Technology Office has a critical role in improving the technological infrastructure to handle the increase. President Barack Obama has said creating a seamless transition for records between the Pentagon and the VA could help eliminate a backlog that has left some veterans waiting months for a disability check.
.................linkWASHINGTON – Outside the Veterans Affairs Department, severely wounded veterans... more
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August 14, 2009
Department of Veterans Affairs
WASHINGTON -- Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced Aug. 14 that combat veterans will receive readjustment counseling and other assistance in 28 additional communities across the country where the Department of Veterans Affairs will establish vet centers in 2010.
"VA is committed to providing high-quality outreach and readjustment counseling to all combat veterans," Secretary Shinseki said. "These 28 new vet centers will address the growing need for those services."
The community-based vet centers, already in all 50 states, are a key component of VA's mental health program, providing veterans with mental health screening and post-traumatic stress disorder counseling.
The existing 232 centers conduct community outreach offering counseling on employment, family issues and education to combat veterans and family members. Staffs also offer bereavement counseling for families of servicemembers killed on active duty and counseling for veterans who were sexually harassed on active duty.
Vet center services are earned through service in a combat zone or area of hostility and are provided at no cost to veterans or their families.
They are staffed by small multidisciplinary teams, which may include social workers, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, master's-level counselors and outreach specialists. More than 70 percent of vet center employees are veterans themselves, a majority of whom served in combat zones.
The vet center program was established in 1979 by Congress, recognizing that many Vietnam veterans were still having readjustment problems. In 2008, the vet venter program provided more than 1.1 million visits to over 167,000 veterans, including over 53,000 visits by more than 14,500 veteran families. More information about vet centers can be found at www.vetcenter.va.gov/index.asp.August 14, 2009
Department of Veterans Affairs
WASHINGTON -- Secretary of Veterans... more
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WASHINGTON - The number of US troops who have suffered wartime brain injuries may be as high as 360,000 and could cast more attention on such injuries among civilians, Defense Department doctors said yesterday.
The estimate of the number injured - the vast majority of them suffering concussions - represents 20 percent of the roughly 1.8 million men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where blast injuries are common from roadside bombs and other explosives, the doctors said.
The estimate came during a Pentagon news conference on activities planned this month to bring attention to brain injuries. The doctors said the number could be as low as 180,000, based on estimates that between 10 percent and 20 percent of troops might have such injuries.
The previous high estimate offered publicly was 320,000 in a study released a year ago by the private Rand Corp. It was based on about 1.6 million who had done tours of duty Iraq or Afghanistan from late 2001.WASHINGTON - The number of US troops who have suffered wartime brain injuries may be... more
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I like the moral highground. I can see all the bullshit more clearly from up here.
Barack Obama embarked on the wholesale deconstruction of George Bush's war on terror, shutting down the CIA's secret prison network, banning torture and rendition, and calling for a new set of rules for detainees. The repudiation of Bush's thinking on national security yesterday also saw the appointment of a high-powered envoy to the Middle East.
Obama's decision to permanently shut down the CIA's clandestine interrogation centres went far beyond the widely anticipated move to wind down the Guantánamo Bay detention centre within a year.
He cast his scrapping of the legal apparatus set up by Bush as a way for America to reclaim the moral high ground in the fight against al-Qaida.I like the moral highground. I can see all the bullshit more clearly from up here.... more
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WASHINGTON -- An Army investigation calls the electrocution death of a U.S. soldier in Iraq "negligent homicide" caused by military contractor KBR Inc. and two of its supervisors.
In a document obtained by The Associated Press, an Army criminal investigator says the manner of death for Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, has been changed from accidental to negligent homicide because the contractor failed to ensure that "qualified electricians and plumbers" worked on the barracks where Sgt. Maseth died.
The Green Beret from Shaler died of cardiac arrest on Jan. 2, 2008. He was electrocuted while taking a shower in his barracks in Baghdad.WASHINGTON -- An Army investigation calls the electrocution death of a U.S. soldier in... more
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President-elect Barack Obama has named a decorated Vietnam veteran as his choice to head the Department of Veterans Affairs.President-elect Barack Obama has named a decorated Vietnam veteran as his choice to... more
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President-Eleck Barack Obama has chosen General Eric Shinseki as Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) during his transition.
General Shinseki is a former Army Chief of Staff and 38-year Army veteran who served two combat tours in Vietnam.President-Eleck Barack Obama has chosen General Eric Shinseki as Secretary of Veterans... more
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Barack Obama has selected retired Gen. Eric Shinseki, who clashed with the Bush administration over the number of troops needed in Iraq, to be the next secretary of veterans affairs.
Obama's announcement was made in a television interview taped on Saturday that is to be aired in full on Sunday.
Shinseki famously clashed with the administration of President George W. Bush over how many troops would be needed in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion.
Obama was to name Shinseki for the veterans' post at a news conference on Sunday that coincides with the anniversary of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
"I think that General Shinseki is exactly the right person who is going to be able to make sure that we honor our troops when they come home," Obama told NBC's "Meet the Press" in a clip aired by NBC News on Saturday.
"Meet the Press" moderator Tom Brokaw noted Shinseki had lost his job in the Bush administration because he said more troops were needed in Iraq than then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wanted.
"He was right," Obama said of Shinseki.
Obama's news conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST on Sunday.
Obama pledged during his presidential campaign to improve services for retired U.S. military men and women if he won the White House.
The news conference is his latest in a string of announcements of appointments to his Cabinet and other top administration posts.
Shinseki would need Senate confirmation to the position.Barack Obama has selected retired Gen. Eric Shinseki, who clashed with the Bush... more
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BuddyP
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3 years ago
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WASHINGTON; The Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday that it would no longer ban voter registration drives among veterans living at federally run nursing homes, shelters for the homeless and rehabilitation centers across the country.
In May, the department said such drives would violate the prohibition on political activity by federal employees and would be disruptive.
The reversal came after months of pressure from state election officials, voting rights groups and federal lawmakers who said that such drives made it easier for veterans to take part in the political process.
Veterans participation could be particularly important this year in a presidential election in which the handling of the Iraq war and treatment of veterans will be major campaign issues.
V.A. has always been committed to helping veterans exercise their constitutional right to vote, which they defended for all Americans while serving their nation, said Dr. James B. Peake, secretary of veterans affairs. We've now established a uniform approach to helping those of our patients who need assistance to register and to vote.
Veterans officials said that they would welcome state and local election officials and nonpartisan groups to hospitals and outpatient clinics to help register voters but that such assistance needed to be coordinated by those facilities in order to avoid disruptions to patient care.
More than 100,000 people reside for a month or longer at V.A. facilities nationally, a number that has grown as soldiers return wounded from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Story continued at link...WASHINGTON; The Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday that it would no longer ban... more
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ivxx
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3 years ago
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"Supporting the troops" only applies until they actually come home from war.
Sgt. Juan Jimenez had one of the most dangerous jobs in Iraq, ushering top Administration officials through the war-torn streets of Baghdad. He returned home with two Purple Hearts and shrapnel lodged in his right arm. Today he is gravely ill.
What Jimenez didn't realize is that before he could receive benefits for his wounds, he'd have to prove that those wounds came from war. Three and a half years later, the sergeant is still making his case. The Department of Veterans Affairs isn't convinced. And it won't give him his benefits until it is.
The VA requires all veterans to prove their wounds are "service-connected" before it writes them a check. Jimenez thought that hurdle was merely a formality. The Army sergeant had been struck by two roadside bombs. The first sliced into his arms; six months later, a second bomb sprayed scrap metal into his face, knocking him unconscious and leaving him brain damaged. He began having seizures and suffering from memory loss. The blast left a persistent ringing in his right ear. The stress sparked nightmares, flashbacks and acid-reflux disease.
"I'm a different person now," Jimenez says glumly. "I come home; I lock myself in my room. I don't really talk to anyone. I used to be fun." Now, he says, he can't even have a bowl of cereal. It gives him heartburn for days. "That second bomb, it killed me -- it just left my body." Sick, suicidal, the sergeant sought help from the VA.
The VA's diagnosis: too much caffeine. "They said I was drinking too much Red Bull. That's what was causing my problems."
Jimenez got mad. At that point, he did something few veterans even consider: he sued the VA. The sergeant is a member of Veterans for Common Sense (VCS), one of the most prominent veterans' groups in the country. In July 2007, executive director Paul Sullivan filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Jimenez and the thousands of veterans in his organization who were wounded in Iraq and, he says, were rebuffed by the VA when they sought disability and medical benefits."Supporting the troops" only applies until they actually come home from war.... more
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