OUR MILITARY KIDS RECEIVES GRANT FOR EXTRACURRICULARS
Trish Aldag and her kids have been through this once before.
Rich Aldag, a first sergeant in the National Guard, is overseas for the second time in his 20-year career, but that doesn’t make it any less stressful for his wife and children.
But this time around it might be just a little bit easier for Hayden, 10, and Aubrey, 8, who are participating in some extracurricular activities at no cost through a grant from a national nonprofit organization.
Hayden is taking martial arts classes and Aubrey is learning gymnastics through Thanks to Our Military Kids. READ MORE »
PTSD LINKED TO HARDENED ARTERIES
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects more than the mind. The disorder may damage blood vessels and increase the risk of dying early, according to new research presented today at an annual meeting of the American Heart Association.
The study included about 286,000 mostly male veterans between the ages of 45 and 81 who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and conflicts dating back to the Korean War.
The vets with PTSD — who accounted for roughly 10 percent of the study participants — had more than double the risk of dying during the 10-year study compared to their peers who didn’t have disorder, the researchers found. READ MORE »
VETERANS AFFAIRS SCRAMBLES TO SERVE FEMALE VETERANS
The number of women serving in the military has mushroomed in recent decades to more than 200,000 active duty, not counting National Guard and reservists. This growing population faces many of the same problems as men — but also health and mental issues that are unique to female veterans.
In a wide hallway at a junior college in Kansas City, Mo., veterans — many of them homeless — drift from table to table. They’re collecting everything from clothes and soap to legal advice.
The recent event, hosted by the Women’s Bureau of the Labor Department, was designed specifically for female READ MORE »
VA PILOTS EXPEDITE PAYMENTS TO DISABLED VETERANS
‘Quick Pay’ and ‘Express Lane’ Initiatives Work to Cut Processing Time
WASHINGTON – VA has launched two pilot programs to test new procedures that will speed the payment of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) compensation benefits to Veterans with disabilities connected to their military service. These new programs are part of Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki’s effort to “break the back” of the disability claims backlog.
“A fundamental goal in the transformation of VA’s claims processing is to make sure that Veterans receive in a timely manner the benefits they earned through their service to our Nation,” Shinseki said. “VA’s ambitious tests of numerous READ MORE »
USDA FUNDS THE FARMER-VETERAN COALITION TO TRANSITION VETERANS INTO AGRICULTURE CAREERS
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has announced that The Farmer-Veteran Coalition (FVC) will receive a grant from the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) to assist the transition of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars into careers in farming.
A project of Community Partners and a member of the Coalition for Iraq + Afghanistan Veterans (CIAV), FVC was started by farmers with life-long careers in agriculture. The grant award will enable them “to share (their) experiences with recent military veterans and to assist them in using their many relevant skills to create a new generation of innovative, ecological, and financially successful young farmers.” READ MORE »
THE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY COUNSELING COLLABORATIVE
The Marriage and Family Counseling Collaborative (MFCC) is a partnership group designed to inform, educate, and support providers who work with military Service members and their families.
The following resource guides were developed by the MFCC. The Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of these resource guides.
DEALING WITH THE UNSEEN SCARS OF WAR
New York (CNN) — His vivid memories from the battlefield won’t go away: a Taliban surface-to-air missile striking a Chinook helicopter, killing everyone on board. The ensuing firefight that nearly killed him.
Shooting down an enemy combatant and watching his body fall, lifeless, in his tracks.
The flashbacks led to post-traumatic stress disorder for the soldier, who shared his story but did not want his name used.
“The helicopter shoot-down stands out as the number one ‘Holy s–t, I might die’ experience,” he said. “But the personal nature of killing [the enemy combatant] bothered me the most.” READ MORE »
REAL WARRIORS CAMPAIGN EFFORTS FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER
Campaign Efforts for the Month of November
Electronic greeting cards are available for anyone to send to veterans and Service members to thank them for their service and to encourage them to access tips, tools and resources for the invisible wounds of war on the campaign website. Share the e-cards with your membership, subscribers and stakeholders to say thank you to a veteran.
At 1 p.m. on Tuesday, November 9, 2010, Real Warriors profilees Maj. Ed Pulido (U.S. Army, ret.) and Army Capt. Josh Mantz will participate in a DoD Bloggers’ Roundtable with Mr. Ken MacGarrigle from the U.S. Department of Veterans READ MORE »
VETERANS GOOD FOOD EDUCATIONAL RETREAT
Veterans interested in attending this three day event will experience:
A reception on Friday evening November 12th featuring food and drinks grown, produced and prepared by fellow veterans.
Saturday tours of the Oakland Produce Market, urban farming, inner-city farmers Market, and a local bakery.
Sunday tour of the Jack London Square Farmers Market and regional veteran-run farms.
Lodging, transportation and food during the event will be provided. Sponsored by: USDA Risk Management Agency & the Farmer Veteran Coalition. Introducing Veterans to Urban Farming, School Gardens, Culinary Arts and Community Supported Agriculture
November 12-14. READ MORE »
BURN PITS: TOXIC EXPOSURES IMPACT IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN VETERANS, FAMILIES AND SURVIVORS
In a 2006 memorandum to the Pentagon, Air Force Lt. Col. Darrin Curtis, who was in charge of assessing environmental health hazards at Balad Air Base in Iraq, raised serious concerns about toxic exposures from burn pits.
The letter, which was signed by Lt. Col. James R. Elliott, the Air Force’s chief medical officer at Balad, confirmed the environmental dangers that open air burn pits posed to the soldiers and airmen who lived on one of the largest U.S. installations in Iraq.
Smoke from burning plastics, Styrofoam, paper, wood, rubber, waste, metals, chemicals and oils were contaminating READ MORE »
