U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs CWV - News Update

A diverse class of cadets will report to West Point next Monday for Reception Day, including 301 women and 207 African-Americans – both numbers representing historic highs for the Army’s military academy.  More than 1,230 cadets, chosen from a pool of nearly 13,000 applicants, will report to the academy in New York, according to a press release from West Point. [From Army Times]

A healthy, educated Veteran is a better employee.  That message was at the heart of a meeting at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., Friday, where leaders in government, healthcare, education, philanthropy, and corporate America met to discuss strategies that can help improve Veterans’ transitions out of the military.  The event, hosted by the Dallas-based George W. Bush Institute, culminated a six-month long, cross-industry effort to address some of the biggest challenges. [From Military Times]

A Leesburg Army Veteran is demanding answers for the lack of medical care she say has not received from Albany’s VA clinic.  Melody Owens said changes need to be made to give her and many more women Veterans the proper care for PTSD. [From WALB 10 News]

Double-amputee 82nd Airborne Division Sgt. Michael Verardo was at the White House on Friday to attest to the urgent need to hold Veterans Affairs Department employees more accountable for delayed or poor treatment.  With President Donald Trump and Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin looking on, Verardo told an audience of lawmakers and representatives of Veterans Service Organizations of his struggles with the VA system after stepping on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2010. [From Military.com]

The 2017 Virginia Women Veterans Summit will be held Friday in Chesapeake.  The motto of the conference is “Achievement, Empowerment & Wellness:  Virginia’s Women Veterans Lead the Way.”  “Virginia is proud to be the home of nearly 800,000 Veterans, and of those more than 100,000 are women,” said Governor McAuliffe.  “All Veterans, including women, face challenges such as balancing family life with their duties and successfully transitioning to the civilian workplace.  The Virginia Women Veterans Summit presents female Veterans with information and resources to help them overcome these challenges and be successful in civilian life.” [From Augusta Free Press]

Future Veterans Affairs clinics could feature fewer maternity services, fewer cancer specialists and more reliance on private-sector clinics for routine or non-military care, under Secretary David Shulkin’s vision for the department.  But he insists that doesn’t amount to privatization of VA’s responsibilities. [From Military Times]

USDA’s Veterans in Agriculture initiative supports female Veterans in the 3Es:  Employment, Education, and Entrepreneurship.  Learn more, and read a personal story of a female Air Force Veteran who now works with her hands on a farm, in the latest issue of USDA’s Women in Agriculture newsletter [From U.S. Department of Agriculture]

I knew the drill – state your name, major, and something interesting about yourself.  They were small classes, approximately two dozen students, and most of us had already met and knew of each other.  So generally we kept to the script, and this process moved along fairly quickly, without interruption.  After all, this ring-around-the-rosy was really for the professor. [From Foreign Policy]

Angela Lyon, a social worker and therapist at the Grand Island VA Medical Center in Nebraska, believes strongly in the power of preventative medicine.  Especially when it comes to mental health.  “Something we see a lot of here at VA is people coming to us when they’re in crisis,” she said.  “Wouldn›t it be better to reach them before they get to that point?” [From VAntage Point]

It was nap time at Oak Forest Elementary School in Jackson.  Kara Stanford, then 7, saw her chance when the teacher looked away, preoccupied with something else.  The child sneaked to the other side of the classroom and pulled on a little sequined ballet dress from a pile of dress-up clothes in the classroom.  Stanford managed to get the dress on, but a classmate soon noticed and alerted the rest of the class.  The teacher grabbed her camcorder, Stanford recalls, as the little boy in the sequined dress sought refuge from embarrassment in a classroom closet. [From Jackson Free Press]

Navy officials have changed uniform regulations for female sailors wearing ball caps and will now allow a hair bun through the cap’s opening, a June 21 Navy release said.  It’s a move that reflects reality, as many female sailors had already been quietly wearing their hair this way for years.  Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson decided to push forward after a June 6 all hands call in San Diego. [From NavyTimes]

candidates to be considered for appointment as a member of the Veterans and Community Oversight and Engagement Board for the VA West Los Angeles Campus in Los Angeles, CA.  Nominations for membership on the Board must be received no later than 5:00p.m. EST on June 23, 2017. [From The Federal Rgister]

If you’re British (or even if you’re just visiting Great Britain), don’t miss out on some of these interesting, moving and all-around fascinating war-related sites. [From War History Online]

Ann DiValerio, a Veteran of the Marine Corps, traveled to Washington last summer to visit the Iwo Jima Memorial near Arlington National Cemetery and attend a concert by the United States Marine Band.  As the World War II Veteran entered the concert grounds in a wheelchair, she was spotted wearing her Marine Corps cap and was given an escort to a special viewing section and seated in the front row. [From The Chicago Tribune]

In 2014, a study by the VA Inspector General found that 20.4% of community-based outpatient clinics run by the Veterans Health Administration failed to provide adequate privacy for female Veterans.  That number dropped to 14.3% in 2015, but still has a ways to go, according to a new report released June 19. [From Task & Purpose]

It’s been a long time coming, but the 2017 National Women Veterans Summit is set and will take place at the Hyatt Regency Downtown in Houston, Texas Aug. 25-26, with an opening reception Aug. 24.  Register now!