1. Study: Virtual Reality Experience May Help Reduce Wounded Vets' Pain Levels. Medscape (2/15, Collins) reported, "A virtual-reality experience helped reduce pain levels in veterans with combat-associated burns during wound care treatment, according" to a study presented at the American Academy of Pain Medicine's 26th annual meeting. Meanwhile, "in a separate presentation, researchers said that the use of low-dose ketamine (120 μg/kg per hour), continuously administered intravenously, helped control severe pain from combat injuries due to improvised explosive devices, gunshots, and other causes."
2. Filing Deadline Arrives For Filipino WW II Vets. The Philippine Daily Inquirer (2/16) reports, "Today is the last day for filing by Filipino World War II veterans of their application for a one-time lump-sum payment under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, according to Jon Skelly, director of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs." The law, "signed by US President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009, authorized the release of a one-time payment to eligible Filipino veterans to be made through" the US VA "from a $198-million appropriation established for this purpose." The Daily Inquirer adds, "In a video message posted on the US embassy website, Skelly encouraged relatives of ailing veterans to help them meet the deadline for the filing of claims." The Manila Bulletin (2/16, Sabater), another Philippines-based paper, also notes the deadline.
3. Some Asking States, Cities For Vietnam Veterans Day. USA Today (2/15, Keen, 2.11M) reported, "Some Vietnam War veterans are fighting for a day of their own. They have persuaded several state legislatures and dozens of cities to designate Vietnam Veterans Day and are lobbying others for a symbol of the gratitude and respect they believe they were denied when they came home from an unpopular war." After noting that the vets are not "seeking a national holiday that gives federal workers the day off," USA Today added, "In September, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation making March 30 Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day."
4. Study Advises That Veterans' Mental Health May Be Helped By Talking About Killing. The New York Times (2/14, A21, Dao, 1.09M) reports that "a new study of Iraq war veterans by researchers in San Francisco suggests that more discussion of killing may help veterans cope with an array of mental health problems stemming from war. The study, published last week in The Journal of Traumatic Stress, found that soldiers who reported having killed in combat, or who gave orders that led to killing, were more likely to report the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol abuse, anger and relationship problems." The principal investigator for the study, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center psychologist Shira Maguen, "said the results suggested that mental health professionals need to incorporate killing more explicitly into their assessments and treatment plans for veterans."
5. Black Hills VA Healthcare Hosts Women's Retreat On PTSD. The Rapid City (SD) Journal (2/13) reports, "The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder clinical team at the Department of Veterans Affairs Black Hills Health Care System will host its semiannual Women's Retreat from April 23-25 at the Fort Meade VA Medical Center. The program is intended for women veterans and "collaterals" –- including wives, domestic partners, mothers and adult daughters -- of male veterans traumatized by experiences during their military service."
6. Iraq Vet's Suicide Stirs Mauldin's Son To OK Willie And Joe T-Shirts For Soldiers Project. "Weekend Edition" on NPR (2/13, Simon) interviews the son of famed World War II Stars and Stripes cartoonist Bill Mauldin, who has authorized his father's Willie and Joe GIs to appear on t-shirts being sold to aid The Soldiers Project, a non-profit offering free psychological treatment to military service members and their families. Sam Mauldin says that he was prompted by "reading a New York Times article back in August about a sergeant named Jacob Baylock, who had a very traumatic experience during his service in the Iraq conflict, and after he got out of the war, he was very psychologically troubled and the VA wasn't very helpful to him. Be it understaffing or underfunding, they let him down and couldn't give him the psychological treatment that he needed and that led him to commit suicide." Noting that the uncaptioned t-shirts will meet military regs, Mauldin adds, "That would be something that would bring a big smile to my dad's face, that people on active duty can wear Willie and Joe."
7. Specialists Look To Kaiser, VA For Help On Colorectal Cancer Screening . The AP (2/16, Neergaard) reports, "The dreaded colonoscopy may get the most attention but a cheap, old-fashioned stool test works" as well when it comes to screening "for the nation's No. 2 cancer killer - colorectal cancer." And, "when California health care giant Kaiser Permanente started mailing those tests to patients due for a colon check, its screening rates jumped well above the national average. Now specialists are looking to Kaiser and the Veterans Affairs health system, another program that stresses stool-tests, for clues to what might encourage more people to get screened for a cancer that can be prevented, not just treated, if only early signs of trouble are spotted in time."
8. Woman Lobbying For Gold Star Mothers Monument. CQ Weekly (2/15, Zeller) reports, "Judith Young, who lost her son, Marine Sgt. Jeffrey D. Young, in the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon, is trying to persuade Congress to commemorate gold star mothers by authorizing a monument to them in Washington." Congress "periodically passes bills to memorialize people, groups and events, but few make it into stone and bronze." Young, however, "says she's visited every Senate office and 250 House offices to lobby for the bill."
9. Connecticut Lawmakers Concerned About College Tuition Waiver Program. The AP (2/15) reports, "Some Connecticut lawmakers say the definition of veteran needs to be changed to make sure members of the military and National Guard benefit from a college tuition waiver program. Rep. Ted Graziani says there's a policy at the US Coast Guard Academy in New London that allows cadets enrolled for at least 90 days to be considered veterans, eligible for benefits designed to help combat veterans and National Guard members earn degrees." Members "of the legislature's veterans committee say they're working on a bill that would adjust the current law."
10. As Pfizer Backed Healthcare Reform Bill, Former VA Head Principi Left Top Lobby Post. The Wall Street Journal (2/12, Strassel, 2.08M), in an opinion article headlined "Pfizer's Bad Political Bet," details how Pfizer CEO Jeffrey Kindler came to support for the Obama administration's healthcare proposal, and assesses how that may now boomerang on the company. It reports that after Obama's election, Kindler "heeded congressional threats that companies would do well to have more Democrat-heavy lobby shops. Many of Pfizer's free-market government hands have retired or been fired. In December, Mr. Kindler sent an internal memo noting the latest changes: Tony Principi, George W. Bush's Secretary of Veterans Affairs and now Pfizer's senior vice president for government affairs, would soon 'transition' out of that role."
11. Community Turns Out To Raise Funds For Airman Injured In Afghanistan. The Durango (CO) Herald (2/13) reports on community efforts to raise funds for an Air Force veteran who was blinded and suffered other injuries in a roadside bomb explosion in Afghanistan. An estimated 800 to 1,000 people turned out for a spaghetti dinner, and over 500 items were donated for raffles and a silent auction; the evening's proceeds totaled $80,000, as the airman heads to rehabilitation at VA's Palo Alto PolyTrauma Center.
12. Sailor Killed On USS Maine In 1898 Will Have Hero's Memorial. In continuing coverage, the MyCentralJersey.com (2/14, Kaltwasser) reports, "More than a century after his death, John Henry Ziegler will finally get the hero's burial his family has waited for," as a memorial service for Ziegler will be held at the Evergreen Cemetery in New Brunswick, New Jersey this Saturday. One of 266 sailors killed when the USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor in 1898, sparking the Spanish-American War, Ziegler's family in New Jersey presumed his remains had never been located, but Ziegler's 18-year-old great-great-great nephew, after hearing the family story during Thanksgiving two years ago, eventually discovered that Ziegler's remains had been buried in a plot in Key West. The descendants then "petitioned the Veterans Administration for a memorial marker to place in Evergreen Cemetery, and the VA complied."
13. Nonprofit Hopes To Assist Homeless Vets In North Carolina. The Fayetteville (NC) Observer (2/15, Barksdale, 61K) reports a nonprofit group called RHA Health Services "would like to build Fayetteville's first transitional housing for homeless military veterans." Scott Little, director of housing and asset management for the organization, which "plans to seek government grants totaling more than $2 million to build 24 efficiency-style" apartments, "said a Cumberland County site has not been identified but ideally would be close" to the Veterans Affairs hospital on Ramsey Street. The Observer added, "Last fall, the secretary of Veterans Affairs announced $17 million in grants for community groups that would create 1,155 beds for homeless vets." WTVD-TV
Raleigh-Durham, NC (2/15, 5:36 p.m. ET) aired a similar report.
14. Man Admits To Stealing VA Benefit Checks. The Newport News (VA) Daily Press (2/16, Dujardin, 76K) reports 54-year-old Newport News resident Gilbert C. Harges "has admitted bilking the federal government out of $191,669 in paychecks to his deceased mother - then blowing much of the money on drugs and booze." According to a "statement of facts that Harges agreed to as part of his guilty plea in Newport News federal court this month," Harges forged his mother's signature on 221 monthly Department of Veterans Affairs benefit checks, then deposited them into a bank savings account he held jointly with her. It "was not immediately clear why it took the Department of Veterans Affairs 19 years to discover the problem." WTKR-TV Norfolk, VA (2/16, 5:46 p.m. ET) broadcast a similar story while the WAVY-TV Norfolk, VA (2/15) website published a similar story.
15. American Legion National Commander Calls For Quicker VA Benefit Decisions. The Springfield (IL) State Journal Register (2/12, Reynolds, 52K) reports, "The national commander of the American Legion said Friday that more should be done to speed up the processing of benefit claims filed with the Veterans Administration." In Springfield for the 76th annual National American Legion Pilgrimage to the Tomb of Abraham Lincoln, retired Navy captain Clarence Hill identified the VA's claims backlog, which he said hasn't improved in years, as a priority for the American Legion, and also "said one way to cut down on the backlog at the VA would be to digitize claims forms." He also said that another problem "is the way VA employees are given credit for moving along cases. Employees are given credit when a case leaves their desks, even if all they have done is find a technical problem with the application that needs clarification, Hill said. 'They should only get credit when there is a final result," Hill said. He predicted that the average 159 days that the VA says it takes to process a complete claim is "likely to go up to 190 days as more (Iraq and Afghanistan veterans) enter the system."
16. Some On Capitol Hill Challenge Adequacy Of VA's Treatment Of Female Veterans. The Oklahoman /McClatchy (2/14) reports, "The number of female veterans being treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs has doubled in recent years and is expected to double again within a decade. The swift demographic change has prompted some veterans' advocates to assert that the VA has not responded adequately to female veterans' mental and physical health care needs." Although VA officials "say they have gotten the message," the account notes that both chambers of Congress are seeing efforts to push the VA to do more for female veterans suffering from PTSD, including a Senate-passed bill calling for a comprehensive study of how the agency treats women.
17. Veterans Counseling Center Moves Records Onto National Database. The Chattanooga Times Free Press (2/13, South, 78K) reports, "Eight hours or more a day and three weeks -- that's how long it takes to scan more than 12,000 records in the Chattanooga Vet Center office." Workers from DOMA Technologies, a Virginia Beach, Va.-based document management company, are converting counseling files, some of them going back decades, into a central database in Virginia that all veterans centers will be able to access. IT website TMCnet (2/13) also carries the story.
18. Duckworth Mentioned As Possibility For Illinois Lt. Governor. The New York Times (2/14, A27A, Warren, 1.09M) assesses the choices for running mate awaiting Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D), now that Scott Lee Cohen, the winner of a primary election for Lt. Governor, has withdrawn, briefly examining six names that have received mention, including Tammy Duckworth, described as "a failed Congressional candidate now serving in the Veterans Affairs Department," before suggesting that Quinn consider naming his primary rival, state comptroller Dan Hynes.
19. VA Representative Will Visit Marshall Islands To Aid Veterans. The Marshall Islands-based Yokwe (2/14) reports that a Islands) reports that a service representative from the Department of Veterans Affairs "will visit Majuro, March 2-3" and will be available to help U.S. military veterans understand VA benefits and programs and how to apply for them.
20. Column Covers Diverse Veterans Issues. In the Craig (CO) Daily Press (2/13, 3K), veterans' issues columnist Ed Wilkinson deals with VA processing on Post-9/11 G.I. Bill claims, the agency's Medical Hardship Program, Honor Flights to Washington, D.C. and the veterans' preference for Census positions.
21. March Ceremony At Capitol Will Commemorate WASPs. The Peninsula (WA) Daily News (2/14, de la Paz, 16K) reports that a ceremony presenting the Congressional Gold Medal to the WASPs --Women Airforce Service Pilots who served during World War II -- is set for 11 a.m. March 10 at the U.S. Capitol."
22. VA Will Hold Heart Health Clinic For Female Veterans. The Salt Lake Tribune (2/12, LaPlante, 120K) reports, "The Women Veterans Clinic at the George E. Wahlen VA Medical Center in Salt Lake City will offer health screenings and other information to female veterans from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 19." The event will focus on preventing heart disease, and provide participants will free blood pressure screening, a resting electrocardiogram and information about heart care. VA officials "they've made prevention a key goal for Utah's 17,000 female veterans," noting that heart disease is the leading killer of American women.
23. Saginaw VAMC Will Hold Women's Health Fair. The Midland (MI) Daily News (2/13, 15K) reports that the Aleda E. Lutz Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Saginaw "will sponsor a women's health fair on Feb. 25," with free information on such topics as nutrition, disease prevention, community resources, parenting resources and other preventive health care topics.
24. New MRI Unit Headed For Hefner VAMC. The Salisbury (NC) Post (2/14, 21K) reports that the W.G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center "will take delivery Monday of a new $2.2 million magnetic resonance imaging machine," according to an agency announcement.
25. Pin-Up Calendar Raises Funds For Hospitalized Veterans' Care. Stars And Stripes (2/14, Peace) reports, "A California woman is having her picture taken while wearing sexy outfits from the 1940s and '50s to help U.S. servicemembers and to pay homage to her late grandfather. In 2007, Gina Elise, 27, began posing for her 'Pin-Ups for Vets' calendars and 'Kiss a Vet' T-shirts, then sending them to military veterans and wounded and deployed servicemembers around the globe." So far she has donated $35,000 to veterans hospitals, most recently with $15,000 given last week during Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Week to the Portland, Oregon VAMC Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service, where it will help purchase needed equipment.
26. Lejeune Water Study Stalled. The Raleigh (NC) News & Observer (2/16, Barrett).
27. Group Gives Veterans, Homeless Pets A Second Chance. The CNN (2/16, Aarthun) website.
28. Gates, Top Military Brass To Attend Murtha's Funeral. The Hill (2/15, Tiron, 21K).
29. Today in History:
- 1249 – Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with Mongol Khagan of the Mongol Empire.
- 1646 – Battle of Great Torrington, Devon – the last major battle of the first English Civil War.
- 1804 – First Barbary War: Stephen Decatur leads a raid to burn the pirate-held frigate USS Philadelphia (1799).
- 1838 – Weenen Massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
- 1852 – Studebaker Brothers wagon company, precursor of the automobile manufacturer, is established.
- 1862 – American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
- 1868 – In New York City the Jolly Corks organization is renamed the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
- 1899 – President Félix Faure of France dies in office.
- 1899 – Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur Iceland's first football club is founded.
- 1918 – The Council of Lithuania unanimously adopts the Act of Independence, declaring Lithuania an independent state.
- 1923 – Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
- 1934 – Austrian Civil War ends with the defeat of the Social Democrats and the Republican Schutzbund.
- 1934 – Commission of Government is sworn in as form of direct rule for the Dominion of Newfoundland.
- 1937 – Wallace H. Carothers receives a patent for nylon.
- 1940 – World War II: Altmark Incident: The German tanker Altmark is boarded by sailors from the British destroyer HMS Cossack. 299 British prisoners are freed.
- 1943 – World War II: The Soviet troops reenter Kharkov.
- 1945 – World War II: American forces land on Corregidor island in the Philippines.
- 1947 – Canadians granted Canadian citizenship after 80 years of being British subjects. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes the first Canadian citizen.
- 1957 – The "Toddlers' Truce", a controversial television close down between 6.00pm and 7.00pm was abolished in the United Kingdom.
- 1959 – Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1.
- 1961 – Explorer program: Explorer 9 (S-56a) is launched.
- 1968 – In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service.
- 1978 – The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago, Illinois).
- 1985 – The founding of Hezbollah.
- 1987 – The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of being a Nazi guard dubbed "Ivan the Terrible" in Treblinka extermination camp, starts in Jerusalem.
- 1991 – Nicaraguan Contras leader Enrique Bermúdez is assassinated in Managua.
- 1999 – In Uzbekistan, a bomb explodes and gunfire is heard at the government headquarters in an apparent assassination attempt against President Islom Karimov.
- 1999 – Across Europe, Kurdish rebels take over embassies and hold hostages after Turkey arrested one of their rebel leaders, Abdullah Öcalan.
- 2005 – The National Hockey League cancels the entire 2004-2005 regular season and playoffs, becoming the first major sports league in North America to do so over a labor dispute.
- 2006 – The last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army
Dear Servicemember or Veteran/Retiree:
This message was forwarded to you by one of your fellow veterans to invite you to join us as a member of the Association that has a reputation for fighting hard for the benefits of the men and women who serve, and have served, our country in uniform: the National Association for Uniformed Services (NAUS).
Why YOU should join NAUS.
NAUS listens and learns about the issues that affect you, and then we educate Congress about these issues. NAUS then leads the way in getting action. Action on issues like holding the line on TRICARE costs, repealing the SBP/DIC offset, getting concurrent receipt for those medically retired with less than 20 years' service, and increasing educational benefits for servicemembers.
Membership dues for NAUS are low - only $15 for one year, or just $37 for three years! Your dues go toward NAUS' non-partisan fight on Capitol Hill to maintain the benefits you and others deserve. Plus, you'll receive your own subscription to NAUS' acclaimed bimonthly magazine, the Uniformed Services Journal, and our FREE Weekly Legislative Update email.
NAUS offers members money-saving benefits too: health insurance (TRICARE Supplements, dental, others); life, auto and homeowners insurance; travel discounts; financial and relocation services; a NAUS Visa card program and more. Taking advantage of just one of these benefits could easily save you the cost of your low annual dues.
When you join, you'll multiply the power of your voice and help other servicemembers and veterans - even if you're already a member of another association. NAUS is the only military association with its own Political Action Committee - giving us an additional avenue of access to members of Congress.
So please, join online today at http://naus.org/
Thank you.
William M. Matz, Jr.
Major General, USA (Ret)
President, NAUS
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U.S. Marine Walks Away From Shot to Helmet
Bryan Denton/CORBIS
MARJAH, Afghanistan — It is hard to know whether Monday was a very bad day or a very good day for Lance Cpl. Andrew Koenig.
On the one hand, he was shot in the head. On the other, the bullet bounced off him. In one of those rare battlefield miracles, an insurgent sniper hit Lance Cpl. Koenig dead on in the front of his helmet, and he walked away from it with a smile on his face.
"I don't think I could be any luckier than this," Lance Cpl. Koenig said two hours after the shooting.
Lance Cpl. Koenig's brush with death came during a day of intense fighting for the Marines of Company B, 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment. The company had landed by helicopter in the predawn dark on Saturday, launching a major coalition offensive to take Marjah from the Taliban. The Marines set up an outpost in a former drug lab and roadside-bomb factory and soon found themselves under near-constant attack.
Lance Cpl. Koenig, a lanky 21-year-old with jug-handle ears and a burr of sandy hair, is a designated marksman. His job is to hit the elusive Taliban fighters hiding in the tightly packed neighborhood near the base.
The insurgent sniper hit him first. The Casper, Wyo., native was kneeling on the roof of the one-story outpost, looking for targets.
He was reaching back to his left for his rifle when the sniper's round slammed into his helmet.
The impact knocked him onto his back.
"I'm hit," he yelled to his buddy, Lance Cpl. Scott Gabrian, a 21-year-old from St. Louis.
Lance Cpl. Gabrian belly-crawled along the rooftop to his friend's side. He patted Lance Cpl. Koenig's body, looking for wounds.
Then he noticed that the plate that usually secures night-vision goggles to the front of Lance Cpl. Koenig's helmet was missing. In its place was a thumb-deep dent in the hard Kevlar shell.
Lance Cpl. Koenig climbed down the metal ladder and walked to the company aid station to see the Navy corpsman.
The only injury: A small, numb red welt on his forehead, just above his right eye. He had spent 15 minutes with Doc, as the Marines call the medics, when an insurgent's rocket-propelled grenade exploded on the rooftop, next to Lance Cpl. Gabrian. The shock wave left him with a concussion and hearing loss. He joined Lance Cpl. Koenig at the aid station, where the two friends embraced, their eyes welling. The men had served together in Afghanistan in 2008, and Lance Cpl. Koenig had survived two blasts from roadside bombs.
"We've got each other's backs," Lance Cpl. Gabrian said, the explosion still ringing in his ears. Word of Lance Cpl. Koenig's close call spread quickly through the outpost, as he emerged from the shock of the experience and walked through the outpost with a Cheshire cat grin. "He's alive for a reason," Tim Coderre, a North Carolina narcotics detective working with the Marines as a consultant, told one of the men. "From a spiritual point of view, that doesn't happen by accident."
Gunnery Sgt. Kevin Shelton, whose job is to keep the Marines stocked with food, water and gear, teased the lance corporal for failing to take care of his helmet.
"I need that damaged-gear statement tonight," Gunnery Sgt. Shelton told Lance Cpl. Koenig. It was understood, however, that Lance Cpl. Koenig would be allowed to keep the helmet as a souvenir.
Gunnery Sgt. Shelton, a 36-year-old veteran from Nashville, said he had never seen a Marine survive a direct shot to the head.
But next to him was Cpl. Christopher Ahrens, who quietly mentioned that two bullets had grazed his helmet the day the Marines attacked Marjah. The same thing, he said, happened to him three times in firefights in Iraq.
Cpl. Ahrens, 26, from Havre de Grace, Md., lifted the camouflaged cloth cover on his helmet, exposing the holes where the bullets had entered and exited.
He turned it over to display the picture card tucked inside, depicting Michael the Archangel stamping on Lucifer's head. "I don't need luck," he said.
After his moment with Lance Cpl. Gabrian, Lance Cpl. Koenig put his dented helmet back on his head and climbed the metal ladder to resume his rooftop duty within an hour of being hit. "I know any one of these guys would do the same," he explained. "If they could keep going, they would."