VA Moves to Prevent Veteran Violence Over Disability Claims

To curtail confusion, the department wants to change when veterans can view the results of their disability exam online.

 Veterans Affairs officials want to change when veterans can view some of their medical records online, fearing that some could become violent if they see negative comments and think their disability claims will be denied.

A group of department officials said Monday that they fear some veterans could see the notes from the exam, assume from this partial picture that their claim is being denied, and take out their anger on local VA officials. They voiced their safety concerns Monday to members of the department's Advisory Committee on Disability Compensation at their meeting this week in Washington.

Source:  http://www.nationaljournal.com/defense/va-moves-to-prevent-veteran-violence-over-disability-claims-20141021

US, Japan agree on access to bases following environmental incidents

Lack of acceptable protocol over environmental issues has long been a point of contention in Okinawa, the strategic island where about half of all U.S. military personnel in Japan are stationed.

Concerns rose after empty chemical drums excavated on former U.S. military property this year were suspected to contain Agent Orange, a Vietnam War-era defoliant associated with severe health hazards and birth defects. A Japanese government report found no evidence of Agent Orange or local health risk, though it did find common herbicide compounds in the soil.

Source:  http://www.stripes.com/news/us-japan-agree-on-access-to-bases-following-environmental-incidents-1.309198

North Central Veterans Stand Down

A few North Dakota corporations teamed up to host the third annual "Stand Down for Veterans" at the Armed Forces Reserve Center here in Minot. A free haircut is one of the many, many services there were available to veterans.

15,800 of those North Dakota veterans fought in the Vietnam war. The state legislature recently granted $50,000 dollars for education and outreach regarding Agent Orange and the health risks Vietnam vets still face from their exposure to it. Today's Stand Down featured round tables to discuss agent orange.

 "Hopefully it's just gonna open their eyes to what's gonna happen to their children, and grandchildren, and their grandchildrens' children," says President of North Dakota Vietnam Veterans of America Dan Stenvold. "It's not gonna go away."

Source:  http://www.kfyrtv.com/story/26809970/north-central-veterans-stand-down

First Agent Orange conference to be held in Virginia

What: Agent Orange Town Hall Meeting

When: 9 a.m.-noon, Oct. 18

Where: American Legion Post 16, 1301 Greenview Drive

Information: Contact David Stokes, (434) 993-2916

“I believe some people are still unaware of what Agent Orange has done to them and the benefits they could be receiving,” Caler, who said he served three stints in Vietnam with the Air Force. Caler flew 300 missions in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and then worked in jungles assisting Americans with secret missions on the border of Cambodia and Vietnam.

The first signs he had been affected by Agent Orange appeared before he’d even left the country but it wasn’t until 2002 that he was diagnosed and began receiving treatment.

He suspects Agent Orange played a role in his daughter’s illness as well and on Saturday he hopes to advocate for two pieces of legislation that call for continued investigation into the affects of Agent Orange.

TAKE ACTION NOW

• CLICK HERE:  Justice for the Innocent Victims affected by the use of Toxic Substances in War Time Support S. 2738 Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014

 

• CLICK HERE:  H.R. 5484 Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014

Source:  http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/first-agent-orange-conference-to-be-held-in-virginia/article_dc7c15cf-8cb1-5fa8-90c2-cbcbdff976e2.html

VA Awards Contract for Independent Assessment of Health Care to Non-Profit Firm

Choice Act Requires Third Party Assessment of Processes; Firm Will Serve as Program Integrator

Washington – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced that the MITRE Corporation, a not-for-profit company that operates multiple federally funded research and development centers, has been awarded a contract to support the Independent Assessment of VA health care processes, as required by the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 (“Choice Act”). MITRE Corporation will serve as program integrator.

Section 201 of the Choice Act directs VA to enter into one or more independent, third-party contracts for an assessment of the hospital care, medical services and other health care processes in VA medical facilities. The program integrator will be responsible for coordinating the outcomes of the assessments conducted by the third-party entities according to the scope of the contracts. The program integrator is required to report the independent assessment results to Congress within 60 days of the assessment’s conclusion.

“This independent assessment is a key element in our effort to rebuild trust with Veterans and our other stakeholders,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald.  “It will provide the Department a way to transparently review our vital programs, organizations, and business practices to make us a better and more accountable VA for the Veterans we serve.”

Working with Congress, Veterans Service Organizations, and other stakeholders, VA has taken steps to implement Choice Act legislation, including:

• Establishing a Program Management office to oversee planning and implementation of the legislation across the Department.
• Putting in place the mechanisms to execute the outlined facilities with the authorization provided to carry out major medical facility leases.
• Working through the contracting process to extend the pilot program called Project ARCH to ensure the continued expanded access for Veterans in rural areas provided by that program.
• Holding Industry Day to seek input on how best to provide administrative support including issuing Veteran Choice Cards.

JBLM tells Vietnam vets ‘it's never too late’ to say welcome home

Stephen Stribling looked wide-eyed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord on Thursday as he walked into a column of uniformed sailors waiting to thank him for his service in the Vietnam War.

The 66-year-old grinned as he took in the appreciation of active-duty troops. It was nothing like the lonely homecoming he experienced at the end of his combat tour in 1968.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/10/09/3424119/jblm-tells-vietnam-vets-its-never.html#storylink=cpy

Stribling’s new Vietnam homecoming — 46 years in the making — unfolded at a JBLM salute to Vietnam-era veterans. It was meant to recognize a generation of military service members who too often felt scorned by the public after serving overseas.

“It is never too late, never too late, to pay tribute to the men and women who served and continue to serve our country,” said I Corps Commander Lt. Gen. Stephen Lanza, the senior Army officer at JBLM.

Welcome Home>>>hhttp://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/10/09/3424119/jblm-tells-vietnam-vets-its-never.html

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/10/09/3424119/jblm-tells-vietnam-vets-its-never.html#storylink=cpy

The VA embraces technology to better care for veterans

Mobile healthcare is one of the hottest topics in the news right now, especially since the unveiling of Apple Watch, iPhone 6 and iOS 8. With its newest gadgets, Apple is hoping to integrate all sorts of features through its Health app that will let you do everything from track exercise to store your healthcare documents.

Apple's Healthbook app is still a work in progress, but you can be sure that they and other tech companies are trying to come up with ways to integrate all of your healthcare information into your gadgets. This brings up some serious privacy concerns, but if these companies can pull this off, your healthcare might never be the same.

Continue Learning>>>https://www.komando.com/happening-now/271658/the-va-embraces-technology-to-better-care-for-veterans/all

VVA supports H.R. 5484 the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014

September 19, 2014

Legislative Alert – Ask your Representative to Support H.R. 5484  the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014

Representative Dan Benishek, (MI-1), has introduced H.R. 5484, the Toxic Exposure Research of 2014 formerly H.R. 4816, the Toxic Exposure Research and Military Family Support Act of 2014, VVA strongly supports this bill, which reflects positively on one of our foremost legislative goals. Not only would it help achieve a measure of justice for the innocent victims of the use of toxic substances in times of war, but it offers unlimited possibilities for scientific research into the effects of these toxic chemicals.

This comprehensive legislation will construct a common mechanism and procedures that will encompass all past and future toxic wounds, as needed.

VVA urges you to go to our Legislative Action Center site athttp://capwiz.com/vva/home/  and Take Action NOW by entering your zip code and sending the prepared letter to your U.S. Representative, asking them to please join their colleagues Brownley, (CA-26), Conyers, (MI-13) Honda (CA-17) and Rahall (WV-3) to co-sponsor H.R. 5484, the Toxic Exposure Research Act of  2014.

Agent Orange Awareness Bracelet>>>Agent Orange We Survived and Came Home but Death Followed Close Behind by Ed Travis, Disabled American Vietnam Veteran

Ed Travis is a disabled Vietnam veteran affected by exposure to Agent Orange. Ed wants to promote Agent Orange Awareness by making and selling Agent Orange bracelets.  

Description:

The bracelets sport an engraved dog tag and are made of heavy orange and black para cord with a heavy duty shackle closure. 

 The engraving reads as follows:

 Agent Orange
"We Survived and Came Home but Death Followed Close Behind" 

Contact Ed:

Please email Ed Travis at eftforester@gmail.com for more information or if you would like to order a bracelet .

Donations:

**One-third (1/3) or $5.00 from the sale of each bracelet will be donated to an Agent Orange charity 501 3-C. 



Absolutely no funds will go to Agent Orange Legacy.  Agent Orange Legacy's only role is to help Ed get the word out.  

Thanks for your continued support...Sharon & Dee

Agent Orange Awareness Bracelet

Agent Orange and VA battles Wife recounts years of struggles for late husband to finally receive benefits

Over the following decades, he suffered from cysts and boils on his body and post traumatic-combat stress that nearly tore his family apart. He sought disability benefits for exposure to Agent Orange — a blend of chemicals used by U.S. armed forces in Vietnam to eliminate foliage that provided cover for the enemy — but theDepartment of Veterans Affairs repeatedly rejected his claims until days before he died, according to records.

"He was denied so many years until he was on his deathbed," Francesca Cesare said from her home in the Luther Forest development. "What good is that? At the end of his life, they finally admit it."

Continue Learning>>>http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Agent-Orange-and-VA-battles-5727316.php?cmpid=fb

Take Action NOW ask your Senator to Support S. 2738, the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014

Senator Richard Blumenthal, CT  has introduced S.2738 the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014 formerly S.1602, the Toxic Exposure Research and Military Family Support Act of 2013.

Among the so-called invisible wounds of war are those brought home by troops that may not manifest for a decade or more.   And most tragically, they may pass on genetically to the progeny of our nation’s warriors.

If enacted into law, this bill would establish within the Department of Veterans Affairs a national center for the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions of the descendants of veterans exposed to toxic substances during service in the Armed Forces.

TAKE ACTION>>>http://capwiz.com/vva/issues/alert/?alertid=63293526&type=CO

Navy veterans need help getting politicians to act: PennLive letters

The main item that needs to be addressed by Congress when back in session is House Bill HR543, The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Agent Orange Act. We vets need the American people to call their members of Congress and urge them to support this bill.  

Navy Vietnam veterans are the most-often denied for VA benefits because they served at sea not on land, yet are still infected and sick with Agent Orange. The deadly herbicide was in the air and in our drinking water at sea, a proven fact by the Institute Of  Medicine, which the VA ignores. 

Continue Learning>>>

http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2014/08/congress_navy_agent_orange_bil.html

Put action behind empty veterans honors

Do folks personally apologize for the way Vietnam veterans were treated, being spit on after returning from a war they didn’t start? How do folks assist veterans suffering from poisoining in Vietnam by Agent Orange, the chemical the public was told would do no harm to humans, who are on oxygen?

Who helps the World War II veterans we see returning from the Honor Flights when they need snow shoveled or lawns mowed, ensures they receive one nutritional meal every day or takes them to a doctor or vision appointment?

Continue Learning>>>http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/story/opinion/2014/08/05/put-action-behind-empty-veterans-honors-column/13610825/

Vietnam veterans speak on effects of Agent Orange

Jim Hackbarth was a helicopter door gunner in the Vietnam War.

“Some people asked me one time, ‘Were you ever in contact with Agent Orange?’ ” he said. “I said, funny you mentioned that. We landed in it, we breathed it, we got sprayed with it.”

“I’ve seen forests of dead trees,” said Hackbarth, of West Bend, Wis. “On guard duty at night, we’d be on the perimeter and there would be no vegetation for 200 yards out beyond the perimeter. You ever ask the question why?”

Hackbarth has diabetes.

Continue Learning>>>

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2014/08/07/3586919/vietnam-veterans-speak-on-effects.html#storylink=cpy

R“I’ve seen forests of dead trees,” said Hackbarth, of West Bend, Wis. “On guard duty at night, we’d be on the perimeter and there would be no vegetation for 200 yards out beyond the perimeter. You ever ask the question why?”

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2014/08/07/3586919/vietnam-veterans-speak-on-effects.html#storylink=cpy

ead more here: http://www.kansas.com/2014/08/07/3586919/vietnam-veterans-speak-on-effects.html#storylink=cpy

Meeting scheduled to gather comments on Agent Orange impact

Next month, the Spokane Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of American is organizing a town hall meeting to collect testimony from veterans and their families about the health consequences of Agent Orange.

In an announcement Saturday about the meeting, organizer Bob Raymond said that the Department of Veterans Affairs needs to do more research on the birth defects linked to Agent Orange and to compensate those affected by the defoliant’s widespread use during the Vietnam War.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/latestlocalnews/2384939-8/meeting-scheduled-to-gather-comments-on-agent-orange

VA reform bill preserves employee bonuses

Despite public outrage over dysfunctional and dangerously run hospitals, a landmark VA reform bill set to be signed Thursday by President Barack Obama will retain some department perks: Hefty bonuses for executives and other employees.

The bill includes a compromise by House and Senate lawmakers allowing the Department of Veterans Affairs to continue handing out up to $360 million in employee performance awards each year as it attempts to overhaul its health care system and ease chronically long patient wait times.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.stripes.com/news/veterans/va-reform-bill-preserves-employee-bonuses-1.296911

More Ala. support for bill to expand Agent Orange coverage

Agent Orange is a herbicide the U.S. military used to kill vegetation in Vietnam. It is also linked to a list of health problems.

But Jack Swann is not eligible for Agent Orange-related benefits through the VA.

According to VA policy, veterans who served off the coast of Vietnam must have actually stepped foot on Vietnam soil or served on its inland waterways between January 1962 and May 1975, to be presumed that their illnesses are related to Agent Orange exposure.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.myfoxal.com/story/26192022/more-ala-support-for-bill-to-expand-agent-orange-coverage

VVA PRESS RELEASE>>>Sen. Jerry Moran Joins With Senator Blumenthal To Introduce Toxic Exposure Research and Military Family Support Act of 2014

“We applaud Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) for joining forces to introduce The Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014, said VVA National President John Rowan. “Among the so-called invisible wounds of war are those brought home by troops that may not manifest for decades. And most tragically, the damage done by the toxins may pass on genetically to the children and grandchildren of our nation’s warriors. Our children are the innocent victims of our military service.”

This bill, (S.2738), instructs the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a national center for research on the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions of the descendants of veterans exposed to toxins during service in the Armed Forces. Further, S.2738 calls for the establishment of an advisory board to oversee and assess the work of the center; to determine health conditions that result from toxic exposure; and to study and evaluate cases of exposure. The advisory board will advise the Secretary of VA on issues related to research conducted at the National Center and the particular benefits and services required by the descendants of individuals exposed while serving as members of the Armed Forces.

Toxins, such as Agent Orange, have been shown to cause birth defects in the children of military personnel who came into contact with them, either during the Vietnam War, in the storage and transportation of those toxins, or by riding in aircraft that had been previously used to transport the toxins. For Gulf War veterans, the exposure was to chemical weapons that were in an Iraqi ammo dump that was blown up by U.S. Forces at the end of the Gulf War, to oil fires, and possibly to tainted vaccines. This is comprehensive legislation that will construct a common mechanism and procedures that will encompass all past and future toxic wounds, as needed.

We thank Senator Blumenthal and Senator Moran for constructing this bi-partisan bill, and we thank Senator Begich for being an original co-sponsor. We look forward to many additional co-sponsors, and to the support of many of our colleagues in other veterans organizations. We also look forward to quick action by the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs when Congress returns in September.

Source>>>http://www.vva.org/PressReleases/2014/pr14-018.html

McDonald must clean house at VA, experts say

Bob McDonald, President Barack Obama’s pick to head up the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs, faces such a hidebound bureaucracy that experts say the way forward is clear: He must clean house.

“McDonald has to walk in and kind of dismantle all of those structures that would keep the culture in the same place,” according to Todd Henshaw, the director of executive leadership programs at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. “If you’ve been in an organization that’s failed across the board the way the VA has, the writing is on the wall and probably a lot of the senior people have to go … He’s going to need some people coming in from the outside” with “some experience and some success leading organizations through turnarounds and transformations.”

Continue Learning>>>http://www.stripes.com/news/mcdonald-must-clean-house-at-va-experts-say-1.294510

Lawmakers Want Answers on the Effects of Iraq and Afghanistan’s Burn Pits

But veterans groups worry the administration is on track to repeat past mistakes by refusing thousands of disability claims that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans say are related to breathing toxic fumes from open burn pits—which were used for years to discard everything from trash and human waste to vehicles and batteries.

The Veterans Affairs Department finally opened a congressionally mandated online registry for burn-pit victims late last month, and lawmakers are starting to look at how to move forward on helping veterans who believe their illnesses—ranging from bronchitis to cancer—are tied to exposure to the fumes.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.defenseone.com/politics/2014/07/lawmakers-want-answers-effects-iraq-and-afghanistans-burn-pits/88576/