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

You’re needed.  Yes, you!– Your experience and insight as a Veteran of our nation’s armed forces are needed for the Blue Star Families’ Military Family Lifestyle Survey.  This survey, now in its 10th year, is currently open and we need your voice to make it complete. [From VAntage Point]

Too many Veterans suffer hardship in silence.  Just like I did.  We are trained not to complain, to be self-sufficient, and to put the needs of others before our own. [From The Hill]

During the Vietnam War, Bob Curry flew more than 250 missions, most at night, most just above tree level.  The Army intelligence officer tucked himself into a confined cockpit – one of two men strapped into ejection seats. [From Journal Sentinel]

May is Mental Health Month and one of VA’s leading resources for mental health, Make the Connection, kicked off the month with a YouTube Live event.  The event was a panel discussion about Veterans and mental health. [From VAntage Point]

A 100 Years of Heroes recognizes the century of service that Veterans have given this country and has been created this year to mark the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, which officially ended World War I.  With Giant Food Stores as the exclusive sponsor of this 24-week project that will begin Memorial Day and conclude on Veterans Day, PennLive videographers and writers will tell the stories of Veterans with a Pennsylvania connection, from World War II through Vietnam and up through the Gulf War and The War in Afghanistan. [From Penn Live]

The number of homeless people in San Diego County dropped by 6 percent from the previous year, according to the 2018 Point-in-Time Count.  Conducted every year by the Regional Task Force on the Homeless, the count this past January showed that 8,576 men, women and children are living on the street or in shelters, compared to the 9,116 counted in 2017. Read more » [From San Diego News]

Weld County is honoring the first woman to serve in Colorado’s Army National Guard.  The Greeley Tribune reports that the Weld County Veterans Memorial Committee is recognizing 86-year-old Katherine Ravithis Saturday during its Armed Forces Day ceremony. [From Army Times]

Ending Veteran suicide is the top priority for those at the Marion VA Healthcare System that serves Effingham, it was reported in a town hall meeting Wednesday, intended for local military Veterans.  A variety of program directors associated with the Marion Veterans Affairs Healthcare System gathered with local military Veterans to share information and answer their questions about their care. [From The Effingham Daily News]

A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs initiative focusing on personalized, holistic health plans has selected the Fargo VA Medical Center to participate in the new approach to empower Veterans.  This week, the department announced a list of VA sites across the country to take part in the “Whole Health System,” a model that provides team-based care to address Veterans’ well-being, including physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and environmental health. [From InForum]

A sprawling complex created to serve homeless women and families in Jacksonville is nearing completion.  Tenants will begin moving into Sulzbacher Village in June. [From First Coast News]

The strength and force of the 608-ton, 421-foot future USS Manchester is undeniable.  But perhaps one of the most historic aspects of the U.S. Navy’s newest littoral combat ship is the clout of the women behind it. [From Stars and Stripes]

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Karen C. Jones.  Karen served from 1983 to 2005. [From VAntage Point]

We honor your service, Karen!

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Lesly Johnson served from 2001 to 2004.  Lesly worked as a Quarter Master and chemical Equipment Repairer during her time in the Army and was stationed with the HHB 4/3 Air Defense Artillery in Kitzingen, Germany. [From VAntage Point]

We honor your service, Lesly!

The transformation at Monroe’s VFW Post 7511 is incredible.  After falling to just four members and in danger of closing, a handful of stalwarts refused to let it go. [From K5 News]

Twice a year, the Freedom Honor Flight in La Crosse takes Veterans on the trip of a lifetime to Washington D.C. for an opportunity to see memorials built in their honor.  The Veterans share a common bond of service, but the experience brings out individual stories as well. [From La Crosse’s Own]

One high-achieving Marine Corps Veteran turned graduate student rose above the ranks to earn a scholarship.  And she did it from Japan. [From Connecting Vets]

On Thursday, Acting Secretary Robert Wilkie honored women in the military during the 21st annual Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues’ wreath laying.  The event was held at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. [From VAntage Point]

Gov. Bruce Rauner announced Thursday Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs (IDVA) Director Erica Jeffries will be leaving IDVA after leading the agency for more than three years.  Jeffries is returning to the private sector where she will serve as an executive in a large multinational, Fortune 100 company. [From WXEF]

The number of female Veterans has been growing rapidly.  And as more women struggle to adapt to civilian life, awareness of the different psychological challenges they face is growing. [From North Country Public Radio]

Democrat M.J. Hegar is running on her grit – as an Air Force combat veteran and as a mother – ahead of next week’s Texas primary runoffs.  “I’m not new to pressure,” Hegar said Thursday in a phone interview. [From The Washington Post]

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are more than two million women Veterans in the United States and Puerto Rico.  That means women make up 9.4 percent of the total Veteran population. [From WVXU]

Commanders are calling it the “year of change” for Navy medicine but Rear Adm. Paul D. Pearigen is excited about what the reforms promise, especially for submariners.  The commander of San Diego-based Navy Medicine West, a health network that’s concentrated in the Pacific Rim but extends globally from Peru to Egypt and Vietnam, Pearigen sees 2018 as a transition from the way the armed forces traditionally treated patients to one based more on hiking readiness in deploying units and ships. [From Military.com]

Nationwide, VA Medical Centers have launched a campaign to fight harassment in all forms.  This is significant, especially when sexual assault reporting has increased almost 90% within the Department of Defense since FY 2012. [From Western Slope Now]

She stood in defense of our country.  Now, she’s hoping we’ll run in support of HER. [From Pensacola News Journal]

Tuesday’s primary election results mark a historic first for Idaho:  With women winning both parties’ primaries for lieutenant governor, and no other candidates running, Idaho is guaranteed to elect its first female lieutenant governor in November.  “That’s exciting – I’m really excited to be a part of that history for our state,” said former state Rep. Janice McGeachin, R-Idaho Falls, who won a hotly contested five-way GOP primary for the open seat. [From The Spoikesman-Review]

From problems getting medications and return phone calls to finding stylish eyeglasses, women Veterans shared concerns Wednesday with Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System leaders.  Although the VA holds town hall meetings across the state for all patients at least quarterly, this was the first town hall expressly for women. [From The Herald Sun]

Q&As with VA investigators who served in the military about what inspired their military and research careers, and how their work today is helping their fellow Veterans.  Including female Veterans Dr. Kiersten Downs, Community Reintegration; Dr. Gina McCaskill, Geriatric Research; Dr. Mary Jo Pugh, Diebetes, Epilepsy, and Geriatric Care; Dr. April Ahrendt, Weight Management.

When I heard the story of Southwest Airlines Flight 1380’s emergency landing, I suddenly remembered the moment of eerie silence when an engine-fire indicator lit up in my jet’s cockpit.  The small, amber light glowed amid a panel of dark buttons, knobs and switches – and I froze. [From PRI]

From the outside looking in, the ballroom in Denver’s downtown Grand Hyatt hotel had been transformed.  The tables were lined with everything a new or expecting family could anticipate needing. [From VAntage Point]

American Corporate Partners is a nationwide, non-profit organization.  They offer a FREE, one on one, year long mentorship with a mentor from one of their 65+ partnering companies, most of which are Fortune 500 (21st Century Fox, AT&T, Caterpillar, Disney, The Home Depot, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, USAA and Wells Fargo, just to name a few).

ACP’s Women’s Program offers enhanced support for female Veterans, including access to women executives through exclusive networking events and monthly professional development workshops.  Past workshops include Navigating and Advancing in a Male Dominated Field, and Serving up Feedback, One BITE at a Time.

This is a great program for those currently transitioning, getting ready to transition or those who have been out and need guidance in the search for their next career field.  Learn more and apply today. [From American Corporate Partners]

Bryanna Smith is a busy woman.  She works as a histology technician at Palmetto Health Tuomey, serves as a U.S. Army drill sergeant at Fort Jackson, and she’s a mom.  Read more » [From The Sumter Item]

Lindsay Freeland of La Grande, a U.S. Army Veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is set to become a mom in 4-1/2 months.  Freeland, a former sergeant, does not know if she will be giving birth to a boy or a girl. [From The Observer]

Women with PTSD has been called a silent epidemic.  If left untreated, it can lead to mental and physical illnesses and opioid abuse.  Learn about treatments and community intervention opportunities. [From Efficient.gov]

Tele-health has been a priority at VA and we’ve made great strides in the care we can offer Veterans.  From video conferencing between physician and patient to our mobile app “Annie.” [From VAntage Point]

When Katelyn Sheehan, an Air Force Veteran, pitched the idea of an all-women climb up Mount Denali to an organization that she was volunteering for-and who had already sent an all-male team go up-she was basically told that it was a “cute” idea, but no thanks.  But Sheehan didn”t let that stop her. [From Real Clear Life]

Verna Burton is a Chicago native who served in the U.S. Navy.  Last summer, she had been looking for a career change and started to research employment opportunities outside of Chicago. [From VAntage Point]

A U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and the military dog she served with during the Iraq War have been inducted into the New York State Senate Veterans’ Hall of Fame.  Cpl. Megan Leavey and a German shepherd named Sgt. Rex were wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2006. [From Marine Corps Times]

House lawmakers want domestic violence to be a crime under military law, calling its omission from the Uniform Code of Military Justice a dangerous oversight for both victims and the public.  Members of the House Armed Services Committee included the provision in their mark-up of the annual defense authorization bill last week. [From Military Times]

A clinical psychologist who treated military veterans with post-traumatic stress has been charged with raping female service members who were in therapy as victims of sex assaults, officials said Tuesday.  Heath J. Sommer was ordered Monday to stand trial on three felony sexual assault charges after authorities said he targeted female service members in 2014 and 2015 while working at Travis Air Force Base’s David Grant Medical Center, about 50 miles (85 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco. [From Air Force Times]

As the stage lights came up, models sailed down the runway wearing costumes straight from your wildest dreams—an Aztec princess, a dragon lady, an empress of China.  Exquisite and fanciful designs in every color swayed down the runway, and every wonderous gown was made of no more than 32 sheets of paper. [From VAntage Point]

At VA, one of our primary missions is to educate Veterans about the benefits they have earned, including support for the variety of health challenges and conditions they may face as they transition out of the service and move through life.  Many challenges are known and some can cause a great deal of distress such as being diagnosed with a mental health condition like PTSD or depression. [From VAntage Point]