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Undersecretary for benefits said name change would be 'limiting'
By Patricia Kime
Military Times Staff writer
After the Institute of Medicine in March recommended using the term “Gulf War illness” to describe symptoms affecting more than 200,000 Persian Gulf War veterans, a top Veterans Affairs Department official expressed concern that such a change would imply a direct causal link between service in the 1990-’91 conflict and long-term illness.
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Lowest level since Agent Orange cases added in 2011
WASHINGTON – One year after the backlog of pending disability compensation claims peaked at over 611,000 in March 2013, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has reduced that number by approximately 44 percent to 344,000 claims – a reduction of more than 267,000 – while at the same time improving the accuracy of the decisions being made on Veterans’ disability claims. Additionally, on average, Veterans are waiting 119 days less for a decision than they were at this time last year.
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Categories: Agent OrangeFebruary 25, 2014 | by Bryant Jordan
A new study found that airmen who flew and maintained the C-123 Provider long after the planes were used to spray Agent Orange over Vietnam were exposed to dangerous levels of the dioxin that remained in the aircraft.
A report in Scientific Research titled "Post-Vietnam Military Herbicide Exposures in UC-123 Agent Orange Spray Aircraft" found that environmental testing of the planes revealed traces of dioxin levels above the Defense Department's own standards for maximum permissible exposure to poisonous chemicals.
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Categories: GI BillNew Online Complaint System Empowers Students, Strengthens Enforcement
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The New York Times
December 23, 2013
By JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG
With every slip and fall, every bruise and ache, the reality set in: Henry Schaffer, 86, could no longer live on his own. So his daughter, Kristi, began searching for a retirement home — and the money to pay for it.
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Categories: Mental HealthDecades after the end of the U.S. war in Vietnam, more than one in 10 American veterans from the conflict still experience at least some symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, according to a new study.
One third of veterans with PTSD also suffer from major depressive disorder, the research team reports in JAMA Psychiatry.
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Categories: Agent OrangeThe number of Vietnam veterans affected by the chemical Agent Orange is astonishing. Roughly 300-thousand veterans have died from Agent Orange exposure -- that's almost five times as many as the 58-thousand who died in combat.
“Did it save lives? No doubt. Over there it did, but nobody knew it was going to be taking them later,” said Dan Stenvold, President of the North Dakota branch of the VVA.
The Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) define Agent Orange as a highly toxic herbicide used by the U.S. military to kill vegetation during the Vietnam War.
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Posted 5:11 pm, January 20, 2015, by Tak Landrock, Updated at 10:31am, January 21, 2015
DENVER — Veterans Affairs executives in charge of four hospital projects currently over budget and years behind schedule were given bonuses, despite the administration admitting failures in their jobs.
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By Grace Lyden on Nov 19, 2014 at 11:25 p.m.
Forum Reporter
MOORHEAD - After more than a year of living in motels, Melissa Rood has a home again.
It took that long because every time Rood, 53, applied for an apartment, landlords rejected her based on bad credit and a poor reference. A previous property owner claimed she owed rent and other fees, which she plans to dispute in court.
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By Leo Shane | 3:37 PM, Oct. 21, 2014
All veterans aren’t homeless washouts. But Got Your Six officials worry that many Americans see them that way.
In a new survey by the campaign, almost half of respondents shown a picture of a homeless man identified him as likely a veteran. Researchers say that stereotype is not only misleading, but also indicates a deep and disturbing stereotype of how service members adjust to post-military life.