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

New federal data show that the U.S. suicide rate has risen since 1999, with the largest increase among Native American women. Experts suggest that experiences of trauma, poverty, and limited access to mental health care could place American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) at higher risk for suicide. [From Suicide Prevention Resource Center]

1:23 a.m. It’s pitch black in Ramadi, Iraq, except for the cold moon above. Staff Sgt. Ryan Major and his squad creep silently closer. [From VAntage Point]

The Bronze Star with valor was awarded Thursday to a Fort Bliss soldier who lobbed mortars from exposed ground onto an ISIS fighting position attempting to target wounded friendlies during a fight in eastern Afghanistan two years ago. On Aug. 16, 2017, Spc. Collin Jackson was serving as an uplift soldier for an Army Special Forces team operating alongside Afghan commandos from the 8th Special Operations Kandak. [From Army Times]

A Marine captain who was dropped from the F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet training pipeline in 2016 has been granted rare permission from the head of Marine Corps aviation to try again, following a report that revealed instructors and staff had acted unprofessionally and made racial jabs in a private chat group. The pilot will report for training at Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron (VMFAT) 101 in Miramar, California, next month, said Capt. Christopher Harrison, a Marine Corps spokesman. [From Military.com]

House lawmakers have introduced legislative amendments to promote two military pilots who made great contributions to aerial battles during World War II. The proposals would posthumously promote Richard “Dick” Cole from lieutenant colonel to colonel and retired Air Force colonel and distinguished combat aviator Charles McGee to brigadier general. [From Military.com]

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Grant Ichikawa, who served in an intelligence unit during World War II and later earned Congressional Gold Medal. Grant Hayao Ichikawa graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1941, the first college graduate in his family. [From VAntage Point]

We honor his service.

The first African American and female leader of the Maryland National Guard is retiring, and Gov. Larry Hogan has chosen a successor. Maj. Gen. Linda Singh announced Tuesday she plans to retire this summer. [From Army Times]

There’s a new commander in charge of the last large military base occupied by U.S. forces near the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Lt. Col. Diosabelle Buack took command of Camp Casey from outgoing commander Lt. Col. Brian Jacobs during a ceremony Tuesday at the Carey Fitness Center attended by troops, family members and officials from the nearby city of Dongducheon. [From Stars and Stripes]

There is a push to review the case of an African-American combat medic who was wounded off Omaha Beach on D-Day while still aboard his landing craft but who fought through the injuries and spent the next 30 hours saving lives until ultimately collapsing. Cpl. Waverly B. Woodson Jr., an Army medic assigned to a segregated combat unit, the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, was wounded by shrapnel in his groin and back as his landing craft crushed through the choppy waters off the coast of France on June 6, 1944. [From Army Times]

A Missouri man who was unable to finish high school but went on to serve as crew chief for the famed Tuskegee Airmen has received an honorary diploma nearly 80 years after leaving high school. The Jefferson City News-Tribune reports that James Shipley got the diploma in a Sunday ceremony. [From Air Force Times]

Hipolito Garcia Paulino was the only one throwing his cap in the air at Hackensack High School in New Jersey on June 21, after his school held an early graduation ceremony just for him. Originally from the Dominican Republic, Garcia Paulino, 18, hadn’t been in the United States for long, but already has answered the call to serve in the Marine Corps, according to NorthJersey.com. [From Marine Corps Times]