VA Announces Blue Button Prize Competition
Washington - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today it is offering a $50,000 prize to the first team that builds a personal health record (PHR) using the Blue Button? download format, and arranges to install the PHR on the websites of 25,000 physicians across America. Sponsored by the VA Innovation Initiative (VAi2), the Blue Button Prize Competition is open to all U.S. organizations and individuals. The contest started July 18.
“Over six million Veterans who receive health care from VA can already download their personal health data using the Blue Button,” said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. “We want to be sure the 17 million Veterans who receive care from non-VA doctors and READ MORE »
AIRMAN DISCHARGED UNDER ‘DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL’
WASHINGTON — The Air Force has discharged an airman under the law banning gays from serving openly in the military, the first firing since President Obama signed legislation late last year aimed at ending the ban.
The service member was discharged April 29, Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Todd Vician said late Thursday.
“The airman in the case asked to be separated expeditiously,” Vician said, adding that he didn’t know other details of the case nor the gender of the service member. READ MORE »
RESTREPO’ DIRECTOR IS KILLED IN LIBYA
Tim Hetherington, the conflict photographer who was a director and producer of the film “Restrepo,” was killed in the besieged city of Misurata on Wednesday, and three photographers working beside him were wounded.
The wounds to two of the photographers — Chris Hondros and Guy Martin — were severe, according to Andre Liohn, a colleague at the triage center where they were being treated Wednesday night.
Mr. Hondros, an American working for the Getty photo agency, suffered a severe brain injury and was in extremely critical condition, according to Mr. Liohn. He had been revived READ MORE »
HOMELESS WOMEN VETERANS NEED MORE CLINICAL RESOURCES, OPEN EARS
Paulina Hicks has always done things systematically. She went to college for civil engineering, enlisted in the military out of veritable love of her country and always kept a cinched-tight savings account. Now, as a former military officer, she can’t quite understand how her life escaped her fixed grip, forcing her to assume a new title: homeless veteran.
I meet with Hicks at her home in Cabrillo Villages, a U.S. Vets-funded women’s living center in Long Beach, Calif. She’s friendly and circumspect all at once, but she eases into talking by READ MORE »
GATES TELLS TROOPS IN IRAQ PAYCHECKS MAY NOT COME
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – Defense Secretary Robert Gates told troops deployed in Iraq that he knows what it’s like to live paycheck-to-paycheck and so hopes the federal government will not shut down on Friday. But if the White House and Congress cannot make a deal, troops may not see a paycheck at the end of the month.
Before Gates arrived to meet with 200 soldiers from the U.S. Division-Central headquarters in Baghdad for a typical open question-and-answer session, several unit members said they planned to ask him about the shutdown affecting their pay. And it was the first question asked by one unidentified soldier: “How do you see the possible government shutdown READ MORE »
OFFICIAL: TROOPS’ PAY WOULD BE WITHHELD UNTIL SHUTDOWN IS RESOLVED
Troops will remain on duty even if politicians can’t solve a budget impasse that threatens to shutter the U.S. government after April 8, a senior Obama administration official said Wednesday.
But pay for any work done after the shutdown would have to wait until federal operations resumed, said the official, who is familiar with the government’s contingency planning but not authorized to speak publicly.
“The military would be paid through the 8th” — or half a paycheck, the official said. “Beyond READ MORE »
GIVE A THOUSAND THANKS PROJECT AIMS TO SHOW FAMILIES OF OUR FALLEN THAT AMERICA CARES
GIVE A THOUSAND THANKS PROJECT AIMS TO SHOW FAMILIES OF OUR FALLEN THAT AMERICA CARES
TAPS Organizers Hope Thousands Will Post Thank You Notes, Photos & Videos Before Memorial Day
WASHINGTON – Less than one percent of Americans today serve in the military but anyone can express their gratitude and support for the families of our fallen military through a new website at www.GiveAThousandThanks.org. READ MORE »
REPORT: COMBAT SOLDIERS CARRY TOO MUCH WEIGHT
SEATTLE — A newspaper report says combat soldiers are carrying too much weight, leading to increasing injuries.
The report by the Seattle Times found that the number of soldiers medically retired from the Army with at least one musculoskeletal condition increased nearly tenfold from 2003 to 2009, according to Army statistics.
The heavy loads contributed to rising numbers of Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans retiring with degenerative arthritis, cervical strains and other musculoskeletal injuries. The newspaper estimated that disability benefits for READ MORE »
MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT GIUNTA TO END ARMY CAREER
Medal of Honor recipient and Iowa native Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta will end his Army career in June and move to Colorado to pursue his education, a military spokesman said Tuesday.
Giunta has opted not to re-enlist and will leave the Army in mid-June, said Army spokesman George Wright. Giunta and his wife, Jenny, plan to move to Fort Collins, Colo., where he will attend school.
Wright said he didn’t know what school Giunta will attend, but Fort Collins is home to Colorado State University. READ MORE »
HOUSE GOP LOOKS TO TRIM DEFENSE, VETS SPENDING
House Republicans who are hoping to finally complete work on the delayed 2011 federal budget are looking at cutting funds from defense and veterans programs.
A revised budget proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., the House Budget Committee chairman, calls for a 2 percent increase in defense spending over 2010 levels, which is about 2 percent less than the Obama administration requested.
As a result, defense spending would increase about $9.5 billion above the READ MORE »
