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

The Air Force has announced this year’s Outstanding Airmen of the Year winners.  The 12 winners represent the service’s top enlisted members and were selected from a pool of 36 nominees based on their superior leadership, job performance and personal achievements. [From Air Force Times]

A campaign ad released Wednesday by a progressive running in Texas’s 31st Congressional District in 2018 is gaining national attention for its candid presentation of issues including domestic violence, misogyny, and money in politics.  MJ Hegar, a decorated Air Force Veteran who led the fight in 2012 to overturn a policy barring women from direct ground combat, is challenging U.S. Rep. John Carter, a Tea Party Republican who has held his seat for 15 years, in a district that includes a major military base. [From ABC News]

A historic change of command took place June 22 aboard Camp Pendleton, California, as the first woman to command a Marine ground combat arms unit took charge.  Lt. Col. Michelle I. Macander took over as commanding officer of 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division from Lt. Col. Christopher M. Haar, during a ceremony held aboard Camp Pendleton. [From Marine Corps Times]

Veterans Affairs officials are walking back a new suicide study which appeared to show thousands of unreported military deaths in recent years, saying differences among classifications of service members led to confusion in the statistics.  At issue is an update last week to VA’s annual National Suicide Data Report, a massive collaboration between the department, defense researchers and census analysts which has founds that roughly 20 Veterans a day take their own lives. [From Military Times]

According to Julianna Margulies’ dad, women are amazing.  And the recent panel focusing on ‘The Kick-Ass Women of AMC’ certainly proves that statement. [From Hidden Remote]

With over 30 years of service, Brig. Gen. Carol Eggert (retired) has seen the evolution of the role of women in the military.  Eggert, who now serves as senior vice president of Military and Veteran Affairs with Comcast NBCUniversal, has been deployed to Germany, Italy, Nicaragua and Lithuania and earned the Combat Action Badge, Purple Heart and Bronze Star during a 15-month deployment to Iraq in 2009-2010. [From The Standard-Journal]

Mainers have long since been a tough, resilient breed of hard-working and generous individuals.  We tend to be smart about our generosity, perhaps a bit cynical at times. [From Central Maine]

“I’m pulling the rope and pulling her in and I drop the rope, I open my arms like ‘we did it.’  I want this huge hug, she doesn’t even see what I’m doing, she goes down on to her knees and she started sobbing.” [From Connecting Vets]

The Rose City Chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction Inc. honored 14 women on Saturday for their service to the United States military.  Following the theme “A Salute to Military Women,” the accomplishments and contributions of the honorees, who have ties to the local chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction Inc., were read aloud and celebrated throughout the organization’s Founder’s Day program. [From Tyler Morning Telegraph]

Suicide rates are increasing for both Veterans and civilians in the US.  Male Veterans, when compared to civilian men, are 1.3 times more likely to kill themselves. Women Veterans however die by suicide twice as often as their civilian counterparts. [From Connecting Vets]

In another historic milestone for female Marines, another woman is on track to graduate the Corp’s grueling and arduous 13-week Infantry Officer Course on June 23, 2018, and she’s pushing for a job field that could put her in charge of the Corps’ elite reconnaissance Marines.  Only one woman thus far has successfully completed the course and gone on to don the occupational field 0302, infantry officer. [From Marine Corps Times]

Pete Mittelstaedt lines up his wheels to line up his putt.  Ray Martinez (pictured above) is hoping his softball-like swing magically corrects itself.  Carissa DiPietro just wants to improve at a sport that is helping her get better. [From VAntage Point]

Exactly 70 years after President Harry S. Truman signed into law the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act, allowing women to serve as permanent, regular members of the military, a group of Veterans gathered at Killeen’s Lions Club Park to celebrate the inaugural Texas Women Veterans Day June 12.  In June 2017, the Texas state senate passed a bill commemorating the sacrifices of and the valor displayed by Texas women Veterans, establishing June 12 of each year the official Women Veterans Day. [From Fort Hood Sentinel]

In 2006, Gina Elise had an unusual idea.  The grandchild of a World War II Army Veteran, she’d become interested in the American tradition of wartime pin-up propaganda that dates back to the start of the World War I. [From Task & Purpose]

For years, the Department of Veterans Affairs reported an average of 20 Veterans died by suicide every day – an often-cited statistic that raised alarm nationwide about the rate of Veteran suicide.  However, the statistic has long been misunderstood, according to a report released this week. [From Stars and Stripes]

The DC Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs (MOVA) has three specialty Veterans plates available through the DC DMV; the DC Veteran Tag with MOVA logo, DC Woman Veterans Tag and the Disabled American Tags (DAV).  Letters from MOVA are not required for specialty Veteran tags [From DC.gov]

The first time Kate Kelly heard the warnings about George Air Force Base, she was a 19-year-old airman just getting settled into the barracks.  It was 1975. [From Military Times]

The Marine Corps has changed its parental-leave policy so that new mothers and fathers can spend more time with their children.  The update – which went into effect June 14 and can be used by parents whose children were born as far back as Dec. 23, 2016 – adds six weeks of primary caregiver leave that can be taken in conjunction with six weeks of maternity leave, according to the new policy. [From Stars and Stripes]

More than 600 women Veterans from across the Commonwealth and Greater Capital Region attended the 2018 Virginia Women Veterans Summit June 14 and 15 at the Mark Center Hilton in Alexandria.  Hosted by the Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS), the theme of this year’s Summit was “Change Makers & Trailblazers:  The Power of Being a Woman-The Strength of Being a Veteran.” [From Inside NOVA]

The Service Leadership Corps is a new opportunity from The Mission Continues—a six-month leadership development opportunity for Veterans and servicemembers looking to make an impact in their communities. [From The Mission Continues]

Suicide prevention is VA’s highest clinical priority.  Our most vulnerable Veteran communities, including LGBT Veterans, face some of the biggest obstacles in seeking help. [From VAntage Point]