Under two previous Executive administrations and wars from, father and son. With son and conservative congresses leading the extremely quick abandoning of the missions and those sent to accomplish after 9/11:
Gen. (retired) Shinseki Continues Moving VA Forward! And continues, finally, with constant help from the whole present Executive Administration and it's Cabinet when they can with their budgets, while still grossly under funded and the right is still targeting the VA for privatization for corporate profits, like their rubber stamped no bid private war contracts that add to the VA needs!!
If you still tow that political right line in laying all blame on the under funded VA, those served refuse to sacrifice, then you don't follow what's been going on! Not only these past some five years but in the previous decades, and wars of, as the country ignored the issues and waved their flags of patriotism with their representatives, who haven't been doing their jobs, and still aren't!!
12/20/2013 - Sometimes people in Washington do a really good job, but take a lot of crap unfairly. Sometimes it takes a "nerd-in-residence" to start to set the record straight. This is the short version; every topic below deserves longer treatment.
In 2009, Eric Shinseki took over the Department of Veterans Affairs, with the mission of doing right for vets. Back then: VA didn't have the right software to process disability claims efficiently. Vets with Vietnam era-Agent Orange illnesses had a hard time getting claims judged properly. Some Vets and Vet Service Orgs (VSOs) felt they faced an adversarial attitude. VA line workers got a lot of unfair abuse. (Note to self: as a customer service rep, I get a lot of that also, almost every day, so I can identify.) More and more Vietnam vets file disability claims, to get the benefits they deserve. However, it was really hard to get properly compensated for Agent Orange herbicide-related issues. Long story, but the bottom line is that Shinseki designated several Agent Orange-related diseases as "presumptive" conditions, and allowed claims to be made on that basis and approved fast. read more>>>
Neither War, OEF and OIF, has yet to be paid for {13page pdf}. And as the decades previous and wars, ignoring the issues of those who served in, of the under funded Veterans' Administration budget is still mostly on borrowed capital, even more so for these two long occupations, after quickly abandoning the missions from 9/11 with those served full 'patriotic' approval!
December 16, 2013 - The Department of Veterans Affairs has approved new regulations to make it easier for veterans to receive health care and compensation for certain illnesses, including Parkinsonism, dementia, and depression, which have been linked to traumatic brain injury.
The final rules, which will be published on Tuesday in the Federal Register, also add to the list unprovoked seizures and hormone deficiency diseases related to the hypothalamus, pituitary or adrenal glands.
The new policy, which takes effect on Jan. 16, could pave the way for thousands of veterans to file claims. Since 2000, more than 287,000 active-duty service members and veterans have been found to have traumatic brain injuries, according to Defense Department figures. About 62,000 of those injuries have occurred since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, said the Department of Veterans Affairs. read more>>>
{from the VA press release site with backlinks}
Adds Five Illnesses Related to Service-Connected TBI
WASHINGTON – December 16, 2013 - Some Veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who are diagnosed with any of five other ailments will have an easier path to receive additional disability pay under new regulations developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The new regulation, which takes effect 30 days from today, impacts some Veterans living with TBI who also have Parkinson’s disease, certain types of dementia, depression, unprovoked seizures or certain diseases of the hypothalamus and pituitary glands.
“We decide Veterans’ disability claims based on the best science available,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “As scientific knowledge advances, VA will expand its programs to ensure Veterans receive the care and benefits they’ve earned and deserve.”
This regulation stems from a report of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM) regarding the association between TBI and the five diagnosable illnesses. The IOM report, Gulf War and Health, Volume 7: Long-Term Consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury, found “sufficient evidence” to link moderate or severe levels of TBI with the five ailments. read more>>>
Rachel Maddow: "We got a huge round of tax cuts in this country a few weeks before9/11. Once 9/11 happened and we invaded Afghanistan, we kept the tax cuts anyway. How did we think we were going to pay for that war? Did we think it was free? Then, when we started a second simultaneous war in another country, we gave ourselves a second huge round of tax cuts. After that second war started. The wars, I guess, we thought would be free, don`t worry about it, civilians. Go about your business." 23 May 2013
"Why in 2009 were we still using paper?" VA Assistant Secretary Tommy Sowers "When we came in, there was no plan to change that; we've been operating on a six month wait for over a decade." 27 March 2013
There had been 4,804 coalition deaths 4,488 Americans
2 Australians, 1 Azerbaijani, 179 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, 1 Czech, 7 Danes, 2 Dutch, 2 Estonians, 1 Fijian, 5 Georgians, 1 Hungarian, 33 Italians, 1 Kazakh, 1 South Korean, 3 Latvian, 22 Poles, 3 Romanians, 5 Salvadoran, 4 Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, 2 Thai and 18 Ukrainians -- in the war in Iraq as of January 2, 2012, according to a CNN and iCasulties count.
Graphical breakdown of casualties. At least 32,230 U.S. troops had been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon.
POW/MIA: Afghanistan & Iraq
One U.S. soldier is currently listed as captured or Duty Status -- Whereabouts Unknown as of March 3 2012. The information below reflects the name as Prisoner of War or Duty Status -- Whereabouts Unknown by the Pentagon.
Sgt Bowe R. Bergdahl 23 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division Ketchum, Idaho Captured in Paktika province in Afghanistan, on June 30, 2009. The Pentagon declared him Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown on July 1 2009 and his status was changed to Missing-Captured on July 3 2009.
Memorial at the New JPED facility at Dover Air Force Base, Del..OEF: Afghanistan - Pakistan!!
There have been 3,411 coalition deaths -- 2,302 Americans, 40 Australians, 447 Britons, 1 Belgian, 158 Canadians, 5 Czech, 43 Denmark, 25 Netherlands, 9 Estonians, 2 Finn, 86 French, 54 Germans, 7 Hungarian, 48 Italians, 2 Jordan, 3 Latvian, 1 Lithuanian, 10 Norwegians, 38 Poles, 2 Portuguese, 21 Romanians, 1 South Korean, 34 Spaniards, 5 Swedes, 14 Turks, 11 New Zealand, 27 Georgian and 14 NATO/ISAF -- in the war on terror as of January 3, 2014, according to a CNN and iCasulties count. Below are the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors whose deaths have been reported by their country's governments. The troops died in support of the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom or were part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. At least 19,541 {19,514 up to December 1, 2013} U.S. personnel have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. In addition to the military deaths, 11 U.S. intelligence operatives have died in Afghanistan.
Capt.David Irvin Lyon 28 Sandpoint, Idaho, USA 21st Logistics Readiness Squadron, 21st Mission Support Group, 21st Bomb Wing Died from wounds suffered when his vehicle was attacked with a roadside bomb in Kabul, Afghanistan, on December 27, 2013
Sgt.Daniel Mark Vasselian 27 Abington, Massachusetts, USA 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force Died while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on December 23, 2013
Staff Sgt.Jesse Lee Williams 30 Elkhart, Indiana, USA Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, Regimental Support Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment Williams was one of six soldiers killed when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Now Bahar, Zabul province, Afghanistan, on December 17, 2013. The Pentagon is investigating whether the six soldiers died due to the helicopter crash or from enemy fire after the crash.
Chief Warrant Officer 2Joshua Benjamin Silverman 35 Scottsdale, Arizona, USA Company B, 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division Silverman was of six soldiers killed when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Now Bahar, Zabul province, Afghanistan, on December 17, 2013. The Pentagon is investigating whether the six soldiers died due to the helicopter crash or from enemy fire after the crash.
Sgt.Peter Christopher Bohler 29 Willow Spring, North Carolina, USA Company B, 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division Bohler was one of six soldiers killed when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Now Bahar, Zabul province, Afghanistan, on December 17, 2013. The Pentagon is investigating whether the six soldiers died due to the helicopter crash or from enemy fire after the crash.
Sgt. 1st ClassOmar Wilfred Forde 28 Marietta, Georgia, USA Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division Forde was one of six soldiers killed when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Now Bahar, Zabul province, Afghanistan, on December 17, 2013. The Pentagon is investigating whether the six soldiers died due to the helicopter crash or from enemy fire after the crash.
Chief Warrant Officer 2Randy Lee Billings 34 Heavener, Oklahoma, USA Company B, 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division Billings was one of six soldiers killed when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Now Bahar, Zabul province, Afghanistan, on December 17, 2013. The Pentagon is investigating whether the six soldiers died due to the helicopter crash or from enemy fire after the crash.
Spc.Terry Kishaun Dantez Gordon 22 Shubuta, Mississippi, USA E Troop, 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division Gordon was one of six soldiers killed when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Now Bahar, Zabul province, Afghanistan, on December 17, 2013. The Pentagon is investigating whether the six soldiers died due to the helicopter crash or from enemy fire after the crash.
Lance Cpl.Matthew Rolando Rodriguez 19 Fairhaven, Massachusetts, USA 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force Died while conducting combat operations in Now Zad, Helmand province, Afghanistan on December 11, 2013
Petty Officer 1st ClassJames Lee Smith 38 Huffman, Texas, USA Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 28, 9th Naval Construction Regiment, Navy Reserve Died of natural causes while hospitalized at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, on December 11, 2013
Jill Biden writes that she felt she needed to do more for military families. | AP Photo
12/5/13 - As a lifelong educator and as part of a military family, the way we reach out to military children in our classrooms has been especially close to my heart. So when first lady Michelle Obama and I started Joining Forces, our initiative to encourage all Americans to take action to find ways to honor and support our service men and women, veterans and military families, I knew part of what I would focus on was raising awareness about the military child experience in the classroom.
Many Americans don’t know anyone in the military, so they aren’t aware that, on average, a military child attends six to nine schools by the time he or she graduates from high school. Through each transition, the children have to leave their friends, try out for new sports teams and adjust to a new school community.
And as we continue to draw down the number of active-duty troops serving in Afghanistan, it is worth remembering that this is not just the experience of children of active duty-service members — transition is also a part of life for military kids who are the children of our National Guard and Reserve force. As more than a million of our service men and women end their military careers and transition back to civilian life, many will move their families to places where they can find the best job or attend school. read more>>>
“As Commander-in-Chief, I’ll keep doing everything in my power to make sure we serve you as well as you’ve served us. And that means making sure you get the care and the benefits you need. It means making sure you don’t have to fight for a job when you get home. It means recognizing our military families and giving them the support that they deserve.” – President Obama at an event honoring wounded warriors
December 24, 2013 - The president’s remarks from earlier this year echoed in my head during the recent 2013 Warrior Family Symposium, an event co-sponsored by the Military Officers Association of America and the National Defense Industrial Association. And something that really struck me during the symposium was that caring for our wounded warriors, making sure they have the kind of support the president promised, is an all-hands-on-deck enterprise.
The federal government has funded many initiatives designed to help our wounded warriors either to rejoin their branch of military service or reintegrate into their local community if they separate from military service. For example, the Army and Marine Corps have created Soldier for Life and Marine for Life programs for this purpose. Our sister agency, the Department of Veterans Affairs, delivers the health and other benefits to which our veterans are entitled.
Another takeaway from the symposium was how critical employment is to the recovery and well-being of our wounded warriors. read more w/backlinks embedded>>>
What the country wants, free wars and especially not fully funding the results of, as no one has demanded, especially their hired representatives, that it's way past time for those served to Sacrifice for those they've demanded do for them, DeJa-Vu all over again, and again, and......., as the already long under funded VA budget is still mostly borrowed!!!
One of the many, one other being use and thus for many overuse of alcohol, self medications used by many brothers and sister veterans for years, as the country ignored the issues of combat veterans {as well as civilian sufferers}, a few making handsome livings denying the existence of PTS and thus TBI's even {not to mention ignoring Test Vets, Agent Orange, Gulf War Syndrome, to name just a very few of many costly health, not just monetary but in lives, issues}. Those caught using did time in jails and long prisons terms, no medical help given during, even though the testimonies and actions of showed it helped them!!
1 January 2014 - Colorado's legal recreational marijuana industry kicked off Wednesday with an Iraq war veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder making the first pot purchase under the new law.
Sean Azzariti of Denver, who helped campaign for Amendment 64, bought an eighth of an ounce of a strain called Bubba Kush and a pot-infused edible truffle for $59 at the 3D Cannabis Center — one of about a dozen retailers that began selling up to an ounce of weed to adults starting at 8 a.m. mountain time.
"It's pretty surreal," the cashier told Azzariti, who grinned widely.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
"Thank you so much," he said as he accepted the package and held up his receipt for a phalanx of television cameras at the carefully choreographed inaugural sale.
"I feel amazing. This is a huge step forward for veterans," he said. "Now I get to use recreational cannabis to alleviate my PTSD." read more>>>
The effort to pass a sweepstakes legalization bill in North Carolina collapsed after Burns' arrest in Florida, triggered by probes into a homeless veterans charity prosecutors said was a front for collecting nearly $300 million in untaxed profits from sweepstakes cafes. read more>>>>
Visit Publichealth Exposures to learn about military exposures and VA benefits.
March 29, 2013 - The past is never dead, as William Faulkner might have written if he were analyzing the federal budget, it’s not even paid for. Did you realize that World War II still costs U.S. taxpayers $5 billion a year? Or that we haven’t closed the financial books on the Civil War yet? read more>>>
Exact Count of Civilian Casualties may never be known, as is the case in every conflict, especially an Invasion by another Country. For it is the Innocent Civilians and those Defending their Countries,of which All would be counted if this country, the U.S., were ever invaded, who suffer the most, during and long after!
The Rand Corporation Terrorism Report the press release here, you can get the full document here or a summary of the research brief here
Airman Missing From Vietnam War Accounted For
December 09, 2013 - U.S. Air Force Col. Francis J. McGouldrick Jr. of New Haven, Conn., will be buried Dec. 13, at Arlington National Cemetery. On Dec. 13, 1968, McGouldrick was on a night strike mission when his B-57E Canberra aircraft collided with another aircraft over Savannakhet Province, Laos. McGouldrick was never seen again and was listed as missing in action.
After the war in July 1978, a military review board amended his official status from missing in action to presumed killed in action. read more>>>
January 5, 2014 - The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) will lead a team of scientists and engineers to fly a Multi-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (MB-SAR) to gather information to aid in the search and recovery of unaccounted for aircraft losses in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
The U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) and Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) is sponsoring the mission.
It is believed many of the downed aircraft sites are located in the Northern, Central, and Morobe provinces of PNG in austere terrain under triple canopy foliage. The goal of the mission is to highlight the effectiveness of remote sensing information to aid JPAC search and recovery efforts.
Similar SAR technology was employed by Fugro Spatial Solutions GeoSAR system in 2006 which resulted in production of a 5m Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the entire mainland of Papua New Guinea. read more>>>
HONORING THE FALLEN: US Military and Coalition Forces Killed in Action, Iraq & Afghanistan/Pakistan from 2001 to January 2013 - My Honor Rolls, and more, to Share
National World War II Memorial
National Korean War Memorial
National Vietnam Veterans Memorial - "The Wall"
The Vietnam Women’s Memorial
Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemeteries
Arlington National Cemetery
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