Military & Veterans News

Military & Veterans News Vet News: US Official Urges Mental Health Changes The Pentagon’s top health official said Thursday he wants to see better mental health assessments, stronger privacy protections and a "buddy system" to change the military’s stigma against seeking help for anxiety and depression.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: DoD Announces Installation Realignments in Germany The Department of Defense announced today that the United States will cease operations at U.S. Army, Europe, locations in Buedingen, Gelnhausen, Darmstadt, Hanau and Turley Barracks in Mannheim, Germany.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Policy Change Boosts G.I. Bill Eligibility for Some Guard, Reserve Members WASHINGTON - A recent Defense Department policy change widens the eligibility window for some Reserve-component troops who want to use their Montgomery G.I. Bill education benefits, a senior DoD official said here today.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Admiral Surprises Soldiers With Candid, Detailed Answers BAGHDAD, June 21, 2007 - When the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff showed up to speak to 1st Cavalry soldiers here yesterday, soldiers were a bit surprised by how in tune he was with the current situation in Iraq.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Leadership Changes in Special Operations Some leadership changes involving the military’s special operations forces:

Military & Veterans News Vet News: VA Secretary Praises Dole-Shalala Panel WASHINGTON -- Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson today thanked the members of a special presidential commission for their work examining the federal government’s response to the health care needs of returning combat Veterans.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Defense Secretary, Servicemembers Reflect on D-Day Heroism COLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AFPN) -- The defense secretary was among hundreds of people who walked above the windswept cliffs and paused among fog-shrouded headstones here June 6 to honor those who died during the D-Day invasion 63 years ago.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Study: Sarin at Root of Gulf War Syndrome As benefits administrators, officials and politicians argue the worthiness of studies on Gulf War syndrome, researchers say they have no doubts that they’ve found the root of the problem.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Veterans Encouraged to Wear Military Medals on Memorial Day America’s Veterans are the face of America. They come from all walks of life, all ages, all ethnicities. They served our Nation honorably and well and we honor that service, but how do we honor the veteran – the individual who put on the uniform and gave his or her all for our country?

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Soldiers Lose MySpace, YouTube Privileges Citing security and bandwidth concerns, the military has blocked its computers from accessing many popular social networking Web sites. Military personnel are still allowed to access the sites; they just won’t be able to log on using the government’s network. However, for many stationed overseas, that’s the only network they have access to.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: New VA Advisory Panel to Improve Services for Returning Combat Veterans WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson today announced the formation of a formal, 17-person committee that will advise him on ways to improve VA programs serving Veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and their families.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: 6 Men Charged in Plot to Attack Fort Dix Six foreign-born Muslims were arrested and accused Tuesday of plotting to attack Fort Dix and slaughter scores of U.S. soldiers — a scheme the FBI says was foiled when the men asked a store clerk to copy a video of them firing assault weapons and screaming about jihad.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: America Supports You: NFL and eKnowledge Tackle College Entrance Exams WASHINGTON, April 30, 2007 - The Montgomery G.I. bill pays servicemembers’ and their dependents’ tuition at institutes of higher learning, but it doesn’t help them gain admission to school.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: From the NFL to the Marines A former NFL player who left the sport to join the Marines and was motivated by college roommate Pat Tillman was heading for Iraq on Tuesday night

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Blue Angel Pilot Killed in Air Show Crash Identified PENSACOLA, Fla. (NNS) -- The identity of an F/A-18A Hornet pilot who crashed during an April 21 Navy flight demonstration at Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort, S.C. has been released.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: House Acts to Improve Care for Veterans Today, the House unanimously passed H.R. 1538, the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act. This bipartisan bill responds to the problems brought to light at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military health care facilities by including provisions to:

Military & Veterans News Vet News: ESGR Accepting Nominations for 2007 Freedom Award ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is accepting nominations for the 2007 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Awards at the ESGR website at www.esgr.mil

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Federal Task Force Launches Web Site; Secretary Invites Feedback on Services Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson, head of the new inter-agency task force examining the processes for combat Veterans seeking services and benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other federal agencies, announced the creation of a dedicated Web page to solicit input on the ease of accessing federal services.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: National Guard (In Federal Status) And Reserve Mobilized As Of March 14, 2007 This week, the Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard announced an increase, while the Army and Navy had a decrease. The net collective result is 645 fewer reservists mobilized than last week.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: VA Partnering with States to Help Injured Veterans WASHINGTON – To help severely injured service members receive benefits from their states when they move from military hospitals to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities in their communities, VA today announced expansion of a collaborative outreach program with states and territories.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: VA Update on Missing Hard Drive in Birmingham, Alabama WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today issued an update on the information potentially contained on a missing government-owned, portable hard drive used by a VA employee at a Department facility in Birmingham, Ala.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: VA Budget Proposal Still Billions Short, Disenfranchises Thousands of Veterans "We recognize that the budget recommendation VVA is making this year -- an increase of $6.9 billion over the expected fiscal year 2007 appropriation for Veterans' health care -- is extraordinary," John Rowan, National President of Vietnam Veterans of America said in testimony before the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs this morning. "But with troops in the field, years of under-funding of health care organizational capacity, renovation of an archaic and dilapidated infrastructure, updating capital equipment, continued underestimation of usage by Veterans, particularly returnees from Iraq and Afghanistan, and several cohorts of war Veterans reaching ages of peak health care utilization, these are extraordinary times," Rowan said. "It's past time to meet these needs.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: World War II Veteran Wins Lottery CHESTERFIELD, Mo. —A World War II veteran and his family stepped forward Monday to claim a Powerball jackpot worth more than a quarter-billion dollars, one of the largest single-ticket lottery prizes in U.S. history.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Enhancements Improve Care for Veterans says Secretary Nicholson WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) today agreed to make joint inpatient electronic health records a reality — a move that will transform the way both departments deliver health care and that can be a model for the health care industry nationwide.