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

In his opening remarks yesterday at the Women in Military and Security Conference in Guatemala City, Guatemala, the commander of U.S. Southern Command said the meeting was convened to talk about the future of professional military and security forces in the region.  Navy Adm. Kurt W. Tidd spoke at WIMCON 17, a conference on integrating gender considerations in force development and military operations cohosted this year by the Southcom commander and the Guatemalan armed forces. [From U.S. Department of Defense]

I skimmed the comments.  Down, down, down.  Wait.  I quickly scrolled back up and read, “ Your scars are gross – you should be embarrassed that you’re so flat.” [From Refinery29]

Today&rsq;s #VeteranOfTheDay is Makissa Lewis.  Makissa served in the Army as a 92A Automated Logistical Specialist for 11 years. [From VAntage Point]

We honor your service, Makissa!

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking nominations of qualified candidates to be considered for appointment to the VA Prevention of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Advisor Committee.  Nominations for membership on the Committee must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on July 24, 2017. [From The Federal Register]

To honor women Veterans and celebrate their expanding families, the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston recently hosted a baby shower.  “We are thrilled to honor our women Veterans with a baby shower,” said Dr. Rola El-Serag, director of the facility’s Women’s Health Center. [From VAntage Point]

Volunteer hours sparkle on a resume when it comes to increasing the likelihood of a promotion or advancing in a career, but for Master at Arms First Class Margaret Clay, volunteering means something entirely different.  “I go back to when I enlisted and think, ‘Why did I join the Navy?’ To make a difference, and that’s what I want to do with the time I have available,” said Clay, whose fellow sailors say does not document the extensive time she puts into volunteer work, choosing instead to remain as anonymous as possible. [From Navy Times]

As wounded, ill and injured service members and Veterans representing American, British and Australian teams take to the track today to compete for medals, medically retired Army Staff Sgt. Megan Grudzinski hopes to break her own records from last year’s Department of Defense Warrior Games and that Team Army will have a strong showing. [From U.S. Department of Defense]

Sometimes women Veterans feel they are hiding in plain sight.  “I went to the college financial aid office and asked about Veterans benefits,” said one woman Army Veteran.  “The man there reflexively asked, ‘Dad or husband?’” [From The Houston Chronicle]

For Air Force Airman 1st Class Jaimie Smith, a 14th Fighter Squadron aircraft maintenance crew chief assigned to temporary duty here, her work is more than a just a job.  “I’ve always wanted to be a mechanic,” said Smith, who’s normally assigned at Misawa Air Base in Japan and is now working here. [From U.S. Department of Defense]

After 9/11, a Navy aviation structural mechanic said she wasn’t going to join the military, but heard a still, small voice that encouraged her to join.  “It was my calling from God,” Petty Officer 1st Class Andrea Dubus said.  She also said it was in her blood since her grandfather, Kenneth Husted, served as a gunner’s mate in World War II, as well as other relatives who also served in the Navy. [From U.S. Department of Defense]

For Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Danielle Pothoof, adaptive sports and her participation in the 2017 Department of Defense Warrior Games have helped to keep her and her family happy.  Pothoof said she joined the Marine Corps because “it’s the best,” though she got picked on by her cousins for her choice of service, as most of her family served in the Army, and her sister is in the Air Force. [From U.S. Department of Defense]

Army Maj. Gen. Robin Fontes on Saturday assumed the highest position of any female servicemember in Afghanistan since the war began, taking over command of Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan.  “I promise to give you my full support, my best effort, my respect and my loyalty every day,” Fontes told a crowd at a change-of-command ceremony. Fontes took over from outgoing Commander Army Maj. Gen. Richard Kaiser. [From Military.com]

On the last day of June, representatives from every branch of the United States military—as well as the British Armed Forces and the Australian Defence Force—descended on the city of Chicago for the Department of Defense Warrior Games, a Paralympic-style sports competition for seriously wounded, injured, and ill service members.  The Games have been an annual occurrence since 2010, but this was the first year that they were held on civilian turf, and the first time that they’ve been easily accessible to the public—an attempt, asserts the DoD’s website, to increase exposure and “provide new opportunities to showcase the strength, resilience, and dedication of the participants.” [From Vogue]

Brittany White’s sister, Ashley, was serving on the first all-woman special operations team of soldiers when an IED went off and killed her. [From Cosmopolitan]

Nearly 600 of the country’s best wheelchair athletes are arriving in Cincinnati, Ohio, for the 37th National Veterans Wheelchair Games July 17–22.  “The Wheelchair Games is a great example of some of the finest athletes on the planet displaying true skill and determination,” said VA Secretary Dr. David J. Shulkin. [From VAntage Point]

On July 6, 2017, Boulder Crest Retreat announces a $10 million donation from the A. James and Alice B. Clark Foundation.  This is the largest gift in Boulder Crest Retreat’s history.  The gift provides the capacity to expand its programs to the western United States for Veterans and families who are healing from combat-related stress. [From Boulder Crest]

House lawmakers will introduce legislation Thursday to secure college aid for reservists and reimburse Veterans whose schools unexpectedly close, as well as do away with a 15-year time limit for Veterans to use education benefits – changes that together create the largest expansion of Veterans’ education benefits since the Post-9/11 GI Bill was created nearly a decade ago. [From Stars and Stripes]

This Cosmopolitan.com original documentary follows 25-year-old Marine Veteran Kirstie Ennis as she navigates life after losing her leg while on duty in Afghanistan. [From Cosmopolitan]

Marine Lt. Theresa Larson was forcing herself to vomit as many as five times a day when she was medically evacuated out of Fallujah, Iraq.  The problem had started back at Camp Pendleton in California, but Larson was doing her job and keeping it together, so the very few people who knew about it backed her up. [From KUOW 94.9]

Tracy Crow’s first few weeks as a military journalist were filled with an editor’s red ink corrections.  Eventually she became a highly respected and decorated combat correspondent, she said, until she had an affair with a general. [From The Herald Sun]

House Republicans and Democrats unveiled legislation Thursday that would provide the biggest expansion of college aid for military Veterans in a decade, removing a 15-year time limit to tap into benefits and increasing money for thousands in the National Guard and Reserve. [From Federal News Radio]

Every Wednesday, Aletha McBryde, 59, makes the trip across the river to Super Bowl Bellewood in Newport, Kentucky.  There, she meets up with her teammates, also from the Cincinnati area, for bowling and boccia practice. [From Cincinnati.com]

When a parent or both parents transition out of the armed services a lot can change, especially when it comes to child care.  If you previously lived on base and were able to take advantage of on-base child care, it will no longer be available, and you may be looking at increased costs. [From VAntage Point]

A new SimLEARN Mobile Simulation Training Team (MSTT) at the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System (NWIHCS) is taking to the roads to conduct simulation training with providers at all levels across the region.  Recently, this SimLEARN MSTT partnered with the VHA Women’s Health Services to develop a 1-day mini residency for rural providers and nurses.  The event was held in Grand Island on May 2 and again in Norfolk, Nebraska on May 4.

Heroes to CEOs – Bob evans, in partnership with The Mission Continues, is giving away three $25,000 Veterans-only business grants and coaching from Shark Tank’s Daymond John.  Are you a Veteran with an entrepreneurial idea, or a business that needs a boost?  Submit your business plan now for a chance to win a $25,000 grant to help turn your idea into a success. [From Our Farm Salutes]

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Navy Veteran Kathryn E. Egleston Eckerd. Kathryn served during the Korean War from 1952-1955.  In an interview with the Veteran’s History Project Kathryn shared her story of becoming a Navy Lieutenant and how she “loved being in the Navy.” [From VAntage Point]

We honor your service, Kathryn!

This issue of “The Rural Connection” is the third in a series of four issues that focus on VA’s top health priorities.  This issue features the priority “improve employee engagement” and ways they relate to increasing access to care for rural Veterans.

According to a study from the Department of Veterans Affairs an average of 20 Veterans commit suicide every day.  Now the VA is launching an initiative called “Reach Vet” to help prevent suicides and be more responsive to the mental health needs of patients [From My Suncoast]

In what one observer called “weaponized” sexual harassment, members of a Facebook group called Marines United crowdsourced thousands of images of hundreds of naked servicewomen, including selfies, creepshots, and intimate photos. [From Esquire]

Kate Hoit always dreamed of joining the FBI.  Then she was deployed to Iraq in 2004, and her life took a different turn. [From Upworthy]

Nina Semczuk oversaw 25 soldiers and all the human mess that goes along with that.  But would a civilian executive see the value in her experience? [From The War Horse]

The Veteran Tickets Foundation (or Vet Tix) is a national non-profit with the simple mission of furthering Veteran and military family reintegration and resiliency by providing free tickets to events that those Veterans or their families might not otherwise be able to attend.

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is U.S. Air Force Veteran Georgia Jane Sandlin Ford.  At the height of the Korean conflict, Jane enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and underwent basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. [From VAntage Point]

We honor your service, Jane!

Kathleen resident Margaret Flowers is bringing together Genesis Joy House, a location and organization to help women who served in the military. [From The Telegraph]

Jacksonville military Veterans want more services tailored for female Vets.∇ That’s what a group of them told U.S. Rep. Al Lawson (D-FL5) at a town hall Thursday morning. [From WJCT]

After her eldest son was shot down while flying a B-17 and reported missing during World War II, Esther Blake became a woman on a mission – to enlist in the military herself and help end the war.  She joined the Women’s Army Corps in 1944 and, 69 years ago today, on July 8, 1948, the 51-year-old became the first woman to enlist in the Air Force. [From NBC News]