Wednesday, 8 April 2015
Did you know:
-Former congressman tapped for top Pentagon personnel post.
-Special ops forces fear standards will be lowered for women.
-Army chaplains say they need training to help suicidal soldiers.
-Pacific sea-basing exercise will highlight new ships.
-Forbes, others question Navy chaplain's removal.
-Pilot eligibility for $225K retention bonus expanded.
-US Coast Guard helicopters to operate out of Point Mugu.
-How the Air National Guard helps recycle Christmas trees.
-The Pentagon’s $10 billion bet gone bad.
-VA Secretary Visits Columbus Clinic, Talks Improving Care.
-U.S. VA Secretary Working to Simplify System.
-Aurora VA Hospital’s construction owes (2 letters).
-Should the VA sell over-budget hospital?
-Congressman: VA could consider selling over-budget hospital.
-Cheyenne VA Uses a Unique Project to Spreas Awareness on Sexual Assault.
-VA Creating Housing for Homeless Vets and Their Families.
-Ford Helps Female Vets.
-Cheyenne getting Veterans mental health care facility.
-VA to open larger clinic in Richmond.
-Upgrades, not growth, behind local VA project.
-North Dakota VA Clinics Offer High-Tech Health Care.
-Atlanta VA Medical Center to Host 2015 Health Innovation Challenge.
-Benefits available for vets who served at Camp Lejeune.
-Vietnam Veteran files class-action suit against VA over claims backlog.
-Michelle Obama, Kerry Washington and Sarah Jessica Parker Team Up to Support Veterans for Memorial Day.
-Trinity Site opens to visitors on 70th anniversary of atomic bomb detonation.
-Selma observes 150th anniversary of Civil War battle.
-Conn. Civil War regiment, and its flag, made a statement at Fort Gregg.
-Black troops were among first Union forces to occupy Richmond in 1865.
Did you know:
Understanding Veterans’ Preference:Veterans Health Administration (VHA) actively recruits for experienced and qualified health care providers to staff over 150 VA Medical Centers and over 1,400 health care clinics nationwide. VHA receives over 1 Million job applications annually for roughly 40,000 positions, from Veterans and non-Veterans alike. There are many exceptional doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists and other caregivers who are working in the VA Medical Centers who are also Veterans. Veterans’ Preference gives eligible Veterans preferance in appointment over many other applicants for Federal Government positions. Here are the answers to several frequently asked questions related to Veterans’ Preference: Do Veterans Receive …
Military TimesFormer congressman tapped for top Pentagon personnel post.President Obama has tapped an Army lawyer and former congressman from Oklahoma to serve as the Pentagon's top personnel official.
The HillSpecial ops forces fear standards will be lowered for women.Men in U.S. special operations forces do not believe women can meet the physical and mental standards to join their ranks, and fear the requirements will be lowered to integrate them into the elite units, polling shows.
USA TodayArmy chaplains say they need training to help suicidal soldiers.Chaplains who are part of the Army's first line of defense against suicide say they need more training in how to prevent soldiers from killing themselves, according to a RAND survey published online Tuesday.
Marine Corps TimesPacific sea-basing exercise will highlight new ships.Navy and Marine officials will be able to put brand-new sea-basing ships through their paces next month in a Pacific-based exercise designed to highlight the concept.
Virginian-PilotForbes, others question Navy chaplain's removal.Lt. Cmdr. Wesley Modder has never served in Hampton Roads. But the Navy chaplain - who's fighting accusations that he pushed conservative Christian views about sexual relations and homosexuality on sailors - has drawn the interest of local congressmen.
Air Force Times Pilot eligibility for $225K retention bonus expanded.Pilots who signed up for five additional years in the Air Force and an Aviator Retention Pay bonus of $125,000 last year will have the option of going for the full nine years and $225,000.
Ventura County StarUS Coast Guard helicopters to operate out of Point Mugu.U.S. Coast Guard officials announced this week that their aircrews and helicopters will operate out of Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu while they look for a permanent home for a new base of operations for helicopter crews serving the greater Los Angeles area.
USA TodayHow the Air National Guard helps recycle Christmas trees.Find out why the Louisiana Air National Guard is dumping old Christmas trees off the coast of New Orleans.
The Pentagon’s $10 billion bet gone bad.It was the most powerful radar of its kind in the world, they told Congress. So powerful it could detect a baseball over San Francisco from the other side of the country.
WBNS-TV (Video): VA Secretary Visits Columbus Clinic, Talks Improving Care.Secretary Robert McDonald walked the halls of the Columbus VA Clinic. Cameras were not allowed inside the closed door meetings he had with clinic staff through Tuesday afternoon… Secretary McDonald will speak at The Ohio State University Wednesday. He's hoping to recruit medical students to work for the VA Medical system.
WKRC-AM: U.S. VA Secretary Working to Simplify System.Visiting Ohio, Tuesday, U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald met with veterans and employees at the Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Center in Columbus… "We are doing a lot of outreach right now, we've hired a Chief Veteran Experience Officer, we are reaching out to veterans, veteran service organizations" he says.
The Denver Post: Aurora VA Hospital’s construction owes (2 letters).What better time than now to look at another avenue for gathering funds to pay down this cost? The hospital complex consists of multiple buildings. Why not offer the public the opportunity to have a building named in their honor — with a designated donation? Colleges and noted hospitals have done it through the years — why not a VA hospital?
KUSA-TV (NBC – Video) (AP): Should the VA sell over-budget hospital?The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee says the VA could consider selling or scaling back the over-budget Denver veterans hospital to find the money to complete it… Florida Republican Rep. Jeff Miller on Tuesday said the Veterans Affairs Department has not taken the troubled construction project seriously. He says Congress won't authorize any more money until it does.
Daytona Beach News-Journal (AP): Congressman: VA could consider selling over-budget hospital.The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee says the VA could consider selling or scaling back the over-budget Denver veterans hospital to find the money to complete it… Florida Republican Rep. Jeff Miller on Tuesday said the Veterans Affairs Department has not taken the troubled construction project seriously. He says Congress won't authorize any more money until it does.
KGWN-TV (CBS – Video): Cheyenne VA Uses a Unique Project to Spreas Awareness on Sexual Assault.Sexual assault is a danger to both men and women no matter where they are, even in the US military… "I think the biggest problem today is realizing that it can occur with anyone anywhere," says Katie Yoder, Staff Sergeant.
ElPaso.Icito.com: VA Creating Housing for Homeless Vets and Their Families.The Minneapolis VA Medical Center will modify 5 aged buildings during Fort Snelling into 58 apartments for homeless Veterans and their families… Renovations work approaching to start in late 2013 or early 2014. The plan represents one aspect of VA’s inhabitant bid to finish Veteran homelessness by 2015.
Wiles Magazine: Ford Helps Female Vets.Ford Motor Company in collaboration with the National Veterans Transition Services, Inc. graduates on a three-week workshop designed specifically to address the issues women veterans face as a growing number of them are returning to civilian life and a possibly uncertain future.
The Herald (AP): Cheyenne getting Veterans mental health care facility.The Veterans Affairs Department is building an extended-stay mental health facility in Cheyenne so Wyoming veterans can get care closer to home… Work on the 10-bed, $6.75 million facility is underway and is expected to be finished by the spring of 2016, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported Tuesday.
Dayton Daily News: VA to open larger clinic in Richmond.A new, larger clinic for veterans will open in Richmond, Ind., on Monday, according to the Dayton VA Medical Center… The 12,000-square foot clinic, nearly double the size of the former site, will open at 1010 North J St. in Richmond, according to the VA.
WHAM-TV (ABC): Upgrades, not growth, behind local VA project.The many buildings on the sprawling VA medical center in Canandaigua are big and beautiful. They're also old and outdated. "Our buildings were laid out with long, double-loaded corridors that are not necessarily conducive to good healthcare these days," said David Price. Price is the one overseeing a $300 million renovation project at the medical center.
KXnet.com: North Dakota VA Clinics Offer High-Tech Health Care.There are 8 Veteran Affairs clinics across North Dakota, but only one hospital, and it's all the way on the east side of the state… Often times, it's too difficult for many of our vets to travel to Fargo, but now they're offering a more high-tech option.
PRweb: Atlanta VA Medical Center to Host 2015 Health Innovation Challenge.The Atlanta VA Medical Center, alongside Forge and the VA Center for Innovation, will host the 2015 Health Innovation Challenge April 10-12… The Department of Veterans Affairs Interim Under Secretary for Health Dr. Carolyn Clancy will deliver the keynote address. During the address, Clancy will discuss the state of innovation across the Veterans Health Administration…
Indiana GazetteBenefits available for vets who served at Camp Lejeune.From the 1950s through the 1980s, people living or working at the U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, were potentially exposed to drinking water contaminated with industrial solvents, benzene and other chemicals.
Fox News: Vietnam Veteran files class-action suit against VA over claims backlog.A Vietnam veteran reportedly filed a class-action lawsuit on Monday looking to force the Department of Veteran Affairs to fast-track a massive backlog of benefits claims appeals… According to The New York Times, the case by lead plaintiff Conley Monk Jr. is the first class-action suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The claims in question include his own.
Breitbart: Michelle Obama, Kerry Washington and Sarah Jessica Parker Team Up to Support Veterans for Memorial Day.In an interview at the White House, the three women sat down to discuss the importance of the holiday with the publication, and all expressed their appreciation for both veterans and military spouses.
Trinity Site opens to visitors on 70th anniversary of atomic bomb detonation.The visitors converged in record numbers Saturday at the location called the Trinity Site, where the U.S. Army detonated the first nuclear bomb almost 70 years ago.
Selma observes 150th anniversary of Civil War battle.Confederate troops defending Selma never stood a chance against Yankees carrying the latest weapons of war, but they did their best 150 years ago Thursday.
Conn. Civil War regiment, and its flag, made a statement at Fort Gregg.In one of the Civil War's last brutal fights, a mud-covered Yankee corporal taunted Confederates with the blue flag of Connecticut.
Black troops were among first Union forces to occupy Richmond in 1865.Union soldiers had plenty of reason to worry as — late on the night of April 2, 1865 — they peered through the gloom and tried to puzzle out what was happening in the Confederate defenses southeast of Richmond.