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

There’s a first time for everything.  Even at Fargo’s VA.  The hospital put on their first ever baby shower for expecting Veterans or their family members to say thank you for all they have done for their country. [From KVRR]

Mild traumatic brain injury may sound like an oxymoron, along the lines of “jumbo shrimp” or “random order.” But a new study shows that mild TBIs can have serious consequences for military Veterans by raising their risk of dementia. [From Los Angeles Times]

In the lead-up to Mother’s Day, the Department of Veterans Affairs is spotlighting an emerging field of services catering to women. [From U.S. News]

May is Mental Health Month.  #MentalHealthMeans recovery is possible.  During Mental Health Month this May, talk to the Veterans in your life about mental health.  Every tweet, post, or conversation can help spread the word: treatment works and recovery is possible. [From Thunderclap]

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Evelyn M. Noles Bayer.  Evelyn served during World War II from 1944 to 1945. [From VAntage Point]

We honor her service.

“Well, you look like you’re doing great,” my primary care physician cheerfully informed me.  I stared at her from the examination table in disbelief.  I had just told her that I wasn’t enjoying being with my children and was having trouble doing what needed to be done at work and at home. [From The New York Times]

VA is very active in addressing and attempting to prevent Veteran homelessness.  We hold a “no wrong door” policy, which allows Veterans to touch base with any point of contact at VA with confidence they will be guided to our resources and services to assist them. [From VAntage Point]

As any parent can attest, caring for newborns can be the most trying stage of the child-rearing adventure and even more so for active-duty military and Veterans.  That’s why Philips is partnering with VA, First Quality Enterprises, the American Legion and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation to host 60 baby showers for 2,400 Veterans at VA medical center sites around the country in support of the 2018 Nationwide Baby Shower. [From VAntage Point]

One sign of the changing demographics of Veterans could be seen this past weekend on the second floor of the Baltimore VA Medical Center on Greene Street:  a baby shower.  Dozens of new and expectant mothers played games and listened to speakers Saturday afternoon amid pink and blue balloons, gift bags and birthday cake. [From The Baltimore Sun]

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking its eighth leader (when considering both acting secretaries and official secretaries) in the last 10 years, showcasing instability as the norm.  The ongoing debate about how to fill the leadership vacuum has reinvigorated the debate about the gap between Veterans’ vital health care needs and the system’s ability to provide. [From The Hill]

Female veterans will be honored at an upcoming recognition dinner hosted by Rowan Hospice & Palliative Care.  The dinner, titled “Saluting Women Veterans,” will be held Sunday, June 10, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem. [From The Independent Tribune]

The Hampton VA Medical Center will be participating in a nationwide VA baby shower come May 9, and will be specifically offering it to veterans who have just brought new ones into the world!  The “Babies Make the World Go ‘Round’” baby shower will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and is to help bring increase awareness of the VA’s comprehensive maternity care services and to encourage women Veterans to Choose VA to support their health and wellness goals. [From WTKR]

Four African American women Veterans, who span four decades, want you to know that through it all, they are still standing.  Janet Wilson Carter served in the Army and Army Reserve from 1978-2002. [From Pittsburg Courier]

Sit-Rep host Jeff Smith discusses topics from the 2018 Women’s Veteran Summit in Raleigh.  Plus national VA Suicide Prevention director discusses how the VA is working to reduce the number of suicides by Veterans. [From North Carolina Channel Stream]

In what’s long been a man’s world of pilots, directors, catapult teams and shooters, women on Feb. 28 took over the carrier Theodore Roosevelt’s flight deck.  Although female sailors have served aboard America’s flattops for two decades, on that sunny morning in the Persian Gulf, 35 women made history. [From The San Diego Union-Tribune]

When Sarah Zorn applied for admission to the Citadel four years ago, she had not heard the story of Shannon Faulkner, the first woman to gain full admission to the famed Southern military college.  Ms. Zorn did not know about the two-and-a-half-year legal battle that had forced the college to accept her, or the death threats, or the sexist epithets spray-painted on her parents’ house, or the federal marshals who escorted Ms. Faulkner to campus on her first day as a cadet in 1995, or that she had dropped out a week later. [From The New York Times]

VA announced it is offering two opportunities for early participation in the new, more efficient claims decision review process outlined in the historic Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017.  These two opportunities will allow eligible Veterans to receive a review of a decision on a claim much faster than the current appeals process. [From VAntage Point]

Get the Recruitment & Retention, Employment & Integration, Well Being & Treatment, Servicwomen in the News, Women Veterans, and Upcoming Events DACOWITS news from April 27, 2018. [From DACOWITS]

VA is working with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide education and support to disabled Veterans interested in self-employment.  VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) entered into an agreement with the SBA Office of Veterans Business Development in early December to provide self-employment guidance, assistance and on-the-job training to disabled Veterans. [From VAntage Point]

The Women Veteran Athletes Initiative was on display Thursday night at the Ralph Johnson VA Hospital.  The traveling exhibit is a part of a national effort to encourage women Veterans to be active. [From ABC4 News]

The top Marine does not plan to make any more gender integration changes at the recruit depots anytime soon.  The Corps has come under criticism from vocal activist groups who perceive the Corps’ efforts at integrating and creating a coed recruit training environment at boot camp as unsatisfactory. [From Marine Corps Times]

When Capt. Tammie Jo Shults of Southwest Airlines made her emergency landing of a Boeing 737 on April 17 after an engine explosion and traumatic injuries in the cabin, the world took note of the previous history she made as one of the first women to serve as a fighter pilot in the Navy.  Shults, 56, who had wanted to fly since she was a teenager, first tried to enlist in the Air Force and was turned down. [From The New York Times Magazine]

Have you considered a career in the energy sector?  Learn more about some new initiatives in the Center for Energy Workforce Development’s March 2018 Get Into Energy Update and check out the Troops To Energy Jobs website.

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Cristina Mungilla.  Cristina served from 1998 to 2006. [From VAntage Point]

We honor your service, Cristina!

When the Army opened a second round of divisions to women in newly integrated direct combat specialties this year, an overseas option in Vicenza, Italy, opened as well, the Army’s personnel boss told Army Times on Thursday.  The 173rd Airborne Brigade is also now available for women making their way into infantry, armor and artillery, Lt. Gen. Thomas Seamands said. [From Army Times]

Where is the body of Captain Molly?  Revolutionary War hero Margaret “Captain Molly” Corbin was long thought to be buried beneath her granite monument at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. [From Army Times]

Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center’s Women’s Program, in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Center for Women Veterans, will host a local exhibition of the Women Veteran Athletes Initiative photo project on Thursday, May 3 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm in the Charleston VAMC Main Auditorium located at 109 Bee Street.  This project is part of a national effort to encourage women Veterans to be physically active and choose VA for their health and wellness needs. [From Holy City Sinner]

Prevention-and-reporting leaders want the U.S. military to be a “bit more strategic” in how it talks to troops about sexual assault. [From Defense One]

Women who’ve served in the Armed Forces are a fast-growing segment of the veteran community in Central Texas.  And that means the needs for health care and recovery programs are growing too. [From KWTX10]

More cases of military sexual assault are being reported, but fewer are being referred to courts-martial because commanders are increasingly relying on administrative action and discharges for accused offenders, according to the latest report on sexual assaults in the military. [From Task & Purpose]