National Veterans Foundation

By Tony Dokoupil
NEWSWEEK
Jun 16, 2008 Issue

As an internist at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital, Dr. Stephanie Santos is used to finding odd things in people's stomachs. So last spring when a young man, identifying himself as an Iraq-bound soldier, said he had accidentally swallowed a pen at the bus station, she believed him. That is, until she found a second pen. It read 1-800-GREYHOUND. Last summer, according to published reports, a 20-year-old Bronx soldier paid a hit man $500 to shoot him in the knee on the day he was scheduled to return to Iraq. The year before that, a 24-year-old specialist from Washington state escaped a second tour of duty, according to his sister, by strapping on a backpack full of tools and leaping off the roof of his house, injuring his spine.

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Time
by Mark Thompson

For the first time in history, a sizable and growing number of U.S. combat troops are taking daily doses of antidepressants to calm nerves strained by repeated and lengthy tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The medicines are intended not only to help troops keep their cool but also to enable the already strapped Army to preserve its most precious resource: soldiers on the front lines. Data contained in the Army's fifth Mental Health Advisory Team report indicate that, according to an anonymous survey of U.S. troops taken last fall, about 12% of combat troops in Iraq and 17% of those in Afghanistan are taking prescription antidepressants or sleeping pills to help them cope. Escalating violence in Afghanistan and the more isolated mission have driven troops to rely more on medication there than in Iraq, military officials say.

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May 28, 2008
PR Newswire

The Buffalo Veterans' Treatment Court in Buffalo, N.Y. was recently established to address the increasing number of veterans entering the criminal justice system -- more than 300 veterans in 2007 alone. The goal is to reduce the percentage of veterans who suffer from co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders by considering the experience of war before sentencing, and by helping former soldiers find treatment. Over the past two years, several courts, including the Rochester Drug Treatment Court in Rochester, N.Y., began serving veterans through their existing drug court programs. Buffalo established the nation's first court dedicated to the treatment of veterans.

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GAO faults training for VA claims processors

AirForce Times By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 28, 2008 11:39:20 EDT

Although the Veterans Affairs Department has added thousands of staff to help process disability claims, a new study finds those new employees face no consequences if they don’t attend mandatory training.

And because the caseload is so heavy, instructors aren’t always available to provide on-the-job training for new employees.

By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 16, 2008

A psychologist who helps lead the post-traumatic stress disorder program at a medical facility for veterans in Texas told staff members to refrain from diagnosing PTSD because so many veterans were seeking government disability payments for the condition.

Speakers include but are not limited to: Major General Michael Lehnert, Shad Meshad, Col. Bucky Peterson (USMC Ret.), & Dr. Wade R. Sanders

LOS ANGELES: The National Veterans Foundation (NVF) has announced that it will sponsor the Student Veterans of America California Conference May 25, 2008 in Los Angeles. This is an opportunity for student veterans, certifying officials, and support organizations to share best practices and discuss obstacles to veterans' degree completion within California's higher education systems and private institutions.

SFGate
Patrick Campbell
Saturday, May 3, 2008

I still laugh when people ask me whether the military paid for my education. When I tell them how meager the actual education benefits are, their shock always make me feel like I just told a child that there is no such thing as the tooth fairy. Unfortunately, many of my battle buddies realized the hard way that the GI Bill isn't what it used to be. The education benefits for troops are so low that they either never enrolled, or dropped out of school because they couldn't handle working two part-time jobs or living back home on Mama's couch to afford to attend school.

My fellow veterans are struggling because the current GI Bill is woefully inadequate. Service members are forced to take out loans just to start classes, and then wait months to get any reimbursement. Even then, the benefit only covers 60 to 70 percent of the cost of a four-year public university. For expensive private schools, the GI Bill is barely a drop in the bucket. And every year, the GI Bill is losing value because education benefits have failed to keep up with the skyrocketing cost of education.

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Problems Present Long, Hidden Toll; Help Often Avoided

Wall Street Journal
By YOCHI J. DREAZEN
April 30, 2008

WASHINGTON -- The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have caused heightened stress, depression and sleeplessness among some military personnel and their families, a new report says.

The survey by the American Psychiatric Association, set to be released Wednesday, found that 32% of military members believe their tours in the two war zones had "at least some negative impact" on their mental well-being. Among military spouses, 40% believed their mental health was hurt by their husband's or wife's service overseas.

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VA Media Relations (April 24, 2008) – On May 1, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will begin contacting nearly 570,000 recent combat veterans to ensure they know about VA’s medical services and other benefits.

“We will reach out and touch every veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom to let them know we are here for them,” said Dr. James B. Peake, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. “VA is committed to getting these veterans the help they need and deserve.”

Los Angeles, Calif. – February 28, 2008 - A study released today by the National Veterans Foundation reports that the United States Government is shortchanging veterans benefits to the military veterans that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The report, “Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans in Crisis,” compares the benefits received by WW II, Korean, and Vietnam War veterans to today’s veterans who have served in the middle-east in order to keep this country safe from terrorists.

Contact:
Jim Goyjer (310) 207-1524
Shad Meshad: (310) 339-0679