VA Help for Gulf War Veterans

http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2365

It has now been 22 years since the start of the 1990-1991 Gulf War which comprises the deployment and combat operations known as Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Almost 700,000 Servicemembers were deployed during this period. Those Veterans who have enrolled in the VA health care system have made over 2 million outpatient visits for health care and had over 20,000 inpatient admissions in the VA health care system.

“The Department of Veterans Affairs has not forgotten the service and dedication of Gulf War Veterans,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “We continue to provide high-quality health care and benefits to them while we invest in research that helps us understand and treat Gulf War Veterans’ illnesses.” 

In support of care and services to the Veterans of the first Gulf War, VA has led efforts to better understand and characterize Gulf War Veterans’ illnesses and to improve treatment.   Research initiatives have included:

• Funding an independent Institute of Medicine (IOM) review of scientific and medical research related to treatment of chronic multi-symptom illness among Gulf War Veterans.  The report is expected in 2013.
• Funding and encouraging a wide spectrum of research focused on identifying new treatments to help Gulf War Veterans, including studies on pain, muscle and bone disorders, autoimmune disease, neurodegenerative disease, sleep disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory problems, and other chronic diseases.   Research is ongoing in other conditions, as well, that may affect Gulf War Veterans, such as brain cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS), and multiple sclerosis. 
• Launching in May 2012, the third follow-up study of a national cohort of Gulf War and Gulf War Era Veterans (earlier studies were conducted in 1995 and 2005; the health surveys are done to understand possible health effects of service and guide health care delivery).
• Continuing the clinical, research, and education activities of the War Related Illness and Injury Study Center program which focuses on post-deployment health.

VA is also improving care and services for Gulf War Veterans through initiatives outlined in the 2011 GWVI Task Force Report. These include the evaluation of a clinical care model specifically for Gulf War Veterans and of enhanced education for health care providers about Gulf War Veterans’ concerns.  Additionally, a VA Gulf War Research Strategic Plan has been developed to address effective treatment for the symptoms experienced by some Gulf War Veterans and to guide efforts toward improvements in diagnosis, the understanding of genetic and biologic factors related to Gulf War Veterans’ illnesses, and the application of research findings in Veterans’ health care.

VA provides care for Veterans of all eras as part of its mission.  VA operates the nation’s largest integrated health care system.  With a health care budget of more than $50 billion, VA expects to provide care to 6.1 million patients during 920,000 inpatient hospital admissions and nearly 80 million outpatient visits during 2012.  VA’s health care network includes 152 major medical centers and more than 800 community-based outpatient clinics.

For more information on Gulf War Veterans’ illnesses, see: http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/.

---- Jerald Terwilliger Former Chairman American Cold War Veterans "We Remember" ---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996

Maine warns veterans of scam targeting them - Boston.com

Maine warns veterans of scam targeting them - Boston.com

All veterans should always be aware and on their toes. There are so many people trying so many ways
to reach into your pocket and bank account. Never give your account information to anyone, if some
body asks for that information always double check. Ask them for their phone number so you can call
them back

----Jerald TerwilligerFormer ChairmanAmerican Cold War Veterans"We Remember"----------------"And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades."-- Robert M. Gates, 1996

Morris, Minnesota to Honor Cold War Veterans

Attention Cold War Veterans, do you live in or around Morris, Minnesota? Plan to attend
this day of recognition.

Morris, Minnesota has planned a day to recognize and honor all Cold War Veterans, those who
served in the military after the Korean War and before the Vietnam War. But, as we all know both
wars were part and parcel of the Cold War (I do not feel those veterans should be excluded).

The day of recognition and gratitude will be held on Sept. 9, 2012 at the Old #1 South Side in
Morris, starting at 2:00 p.m., with a short program and veterans will be given a certificate. There
will be a lunch following the program.

The program is open to veterans of any time period, their families, and the general public. There
is no cost and pre-registration is not required.

More towns, cities and counties are recognize the Cold War, and finally paying the
respect and honor that is long overdue for these brave men and women. Those who have
been forgotten and ignored these many years. It is the "war no one remembers" or maybe
no one wants to remember.

Our national government does not recognize it, the Department of Defense says it was not
a war, even though many lives were lost. DOD continues to block efforts to have a Cold War
Service Medal issued.

There have been many bills issued in Congress over the last ten years, but none have come
to see the light of day. When a provision is written into either the House or Senate version
of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), it gets stripped from the final version.
Other bills have been placed before the Armed Services Committees and do not reach
the floor for a final vote.

This year the NDAA FY2013 makes not mention of a Cold War Service Medal, but there are
two bills in committee S.402 and H.R. 1968, please use the POPVOX links on the right to tell your
elected officials to cosponsor these bills and ask that they be put to the floor for a full vote.

And you can also sign a petition that will be sent to Congress and President Obama by
following the link Petition to Create and Authorize a Cold War Service Medal

---- Jerald Terwilliger Former Chairman American Cold War Veterans "We Remember" ---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996

Congress Limits Protest At Military Funerals

As part of "The Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012"
which passed Congress and is now headed to President Obama's desk, is a section to limit protests
at Military Funerals.

Demonstrators will now no longer be allowed to picket two hours before or 2 hours following a
military funeral service. The bill also says that protesters must remain at least 300 feet away
from grieving family members.

Thanks to Maine Republican Senator Olympia Snowe who introduced this part of the legislation
at the urging of a teenage constituent, in response to a Supreme Court case in 2011 that said
the protests were protected by the First Amendment.

This will severely limit actions by the Westboro Baptist Church in their protests at military
funerals. The Church's disruptive and insensitive actions  often suggest that U.S. Armed Forces
have been killed as part of God's vengeance for tolerance of gay and lesbian in our country.

As a response to the court ruling and the continued presence of the protesters many have held
counter-protest demonstrations in an effort to block to protesters, often forming a human
barrier to keep the Westboro Baptist Church members at a distance from the military funeral.

Our Armed Forces have fought long and hard to allow the freedom to protest, the members of
this Church should be thankful and respectful enough to allow the freedom of a peaceful and
dignified final laying to rest of those who have given their all to our country.

Respect for the families grieving the loss of their loved ones should never be allowed to be minimized,
or interfered with in any manner by any person or group.

---- Jerald Terwilliger Former Chairman American Cold War Veterans "We Remember" ---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996

Obama said no cuts to VA, Secretary Shinseki says there will be cuts

WASHINGTON, D.C—Today, at a joint hearing of the House Veterans' Affairs and Armed Services Committees, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki, confirmed that under sequestration, VA would face cuts, possibly affecting the administration of veterans' benefits and services, stating, "VA is exempt from sequestration except for administrative costs… I don't have a definition of administrative costs right now."

 

"President Obama publicly said Monday at the VFW Convention that VA is exempt from sequestration, yet the Secretary conceded today that VA would face cuts early next year if a sequester takes place," stated Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. "Since last August, I have been asking this question and until today, I have received nothing but double speak. I am now demanding that VA and the President define 'administrative costs.' Does this mean closing veterans' hospitals, fewer claims processors to help veterans with their disability compensation, longer wait times for veterans suffering from the invisible wounds of war or those having to bury a loved one, not to mention the possible impact on homeless veterans' programs and research to care for our wounded warriors? Congress, and more important, our veterans, deserve an honest, straight-forward answer."

 

In the first joint hearing of the two Committees in recent history, Members also addressed serious concerns that the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs were not working fast enough toward a seamless transition for servicemembers leaving the military. Secretary Shinseki noted that "over the next five years, there is the potential for one million serving men and women to either leave military service or demobilize from active duty," raising numerous questions on the already convoluted transition process for veterans.

 

Wait times for the Integrated Disability Evaluation System, which assists wounded warriors transition from DoD to VA, are already at record highs, the disability claims backlog has tripled in the past four years, and a majority of veterans seeking mental health evaluations wait an average of two months for an appointment.

"Despite repeated assurances from VA and DoD to provide a 'warm handoff,' it is clear that is not happening. Unfortunately, what we heard today, we have heard before. And what is clear is that there are still no tangible results demonstrating that the silos between the departments have been broken down," Miller said. "American know-how put a man on the moon in less than a decade, but 50 years later we can't produce single electronic medical database for our military and veterans in the same span of time? There is clearly something wrong with this system, and the time has come to see real change and real results."

For more news from the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, please visit:

Veterans.House.Gov

Find us on Facebook at: Facebook.com/HouseVetsAffairs or follow us on Twitter at:

@HouseVetAffairs

---- Jerald Terwilliger Former Chairman American Cold War Veterans "We Remember" ---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996

Court says VA must release documents about Cold War drug experiments

Veterans won another court order requiring the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to hand over more documents about its Cold War-era drug experiments on thousands of Vietnam veterans. 
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in Oakland, Calif., said the documents requested were "squarely relevant" to the claim that the government failed to adequately notify veterans of the chemicals they were exposed to and what that exposure might do to their health. 
The Army and the CIA, with the help of Nazi scientists, used at least 7,800 veterans as human guinea pigs for testing the effects of up to 400 types of drugs and chemicals, including mescaline, LSD, amphetamines, barbituates, mustard gas and nerve agents, the Vietnam Veterans of America and individual soldiers claim in a 2009 class action. 
The government covered up the true nature of its experiments, which began in the 1950s under code names such as "Bluebird," "Artichoke" and "MKUltra." 


For the full story follow this link
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/07/23/48617.htm


---- Jerald Terwilliger Past Chairman American Cold War Veterans "We Remember" ---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996