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NEWS ABOUT: Department of Veterans Affairs

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20K Troops, Vets Lost Their Homes Last Year

But VA says that number could have been much worse

(Newser) - Last year saw the most military foreclosures since 2003, despite efforts from Veterans Affairs to counsel and assist floundering servicemen. More than 20,000 active-duty troops, reservists, and veterans who’d taken out special government-backed mortgages lost their homes last year, the USA Today reports, and foreclosure filings in the... More »

Ex-Soldier Takes Hostages at Army Hospital

Demands treatment for behavioral problems

(AP) - A former Army soldier demanding behavioral treatment at a Georgia military hospital took three workers hostage at gunpoint today before authorities persuaded him to surrender peacefully. No one was hurt and no shots were fired in the short standoff at Winn Army Community Hospital on Fort Stewart, according to a... More »

What the Iraq War Cost Us

It's too soon to tell how the war went

(Newser) - Anne Applebaum was an outspoken supporter of the war in Iraq. Yet as Barack Obama prepares to announce the official end of combat operations tomorrow, she has mixed feelings. “Even if violence abates, even if all American troops go home, we have still paid a very high price for... More »

Rules Eased for Vet PTSD Disability

Conservatives wary of $5 billion plan

(Newser) - A new rule will make it easier for American veterans to get disability payments for post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD . The $5 billion plan erases the need for warriors to document the specific horror, be it bomb blast or raid, that made them sick. That's especially good news for those... More »

VA Doctors Can't Prescribe Medical Pot

New Mexico allows it for PTSD, but veterans can't get it there

(AP) - New Mexico is the only state that explicitly allows people with PTSD to smoke pot under its medical marijuana law—and that's created a conundrum for the VA, which does not allow its doctors to prescribe pot because the drug is illegal in the eyes of the federal government. If... More »

Palin Charges Obamacare Hurts Soldiers

But 'shocking new questions' she raises are bogus, says VA

(Newser) - After scoring big with her “death panels” whopper, Sarah Palin tried to tweet another monkey wrench into the works yesterday, posting on Twitter: “Shocking new questions re:whether military healthcare plans r protected under Obamacare. How will underpaid troops afford their own purchase?” Palin was apparently unaware that... More »

VA Mistakenly Tells Hundreds of Vets They Have ALS

'Coding error' to blame for ALS mistake

(Newser) - Because of an error, the Department of Veterans Affairs incorrectly notified 1,200 veterans they had ALS, the fatal neurological condition also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, the AP reports. The letters alerted the veterans to disability benefits available to those who suffer from the disease. Thought the VA... More »

Long Buried, PTSD Emerges in WWII Veterans

1 in 20 surviving vets affected

(Newser) - For many World War II veterans, decades-old memories of war aren’t as deeply buried as they once believed. The veterans administration estimates that 5% of the 2.5 million US World War II vets suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Older vets came of age... More »

Army Suicides Hit Record High

Army expected to announce new study of post-combat stress

(Newser) - A record 128 US soldiers committed suicide last year, and an additional 15 are suspected of taking their own lives, CNN reports. The previous record was set in 2007. In response to the latest figures, the Army is expected to announce new studies of post-combat stress and why its suicide-prevention... More »

Senate Likes Shinseki for Veterans Affairs

War, economy burden system former Army general would inherit

(Newser) - Retired Gen. Eric Shinseki garnered bipartisan support for his Veterans Affairs Secretary nomination today in outlining his priorities before Congress, the Military Times reports. The former Army chief of staff admitted to little experience with veterans issues, but his vows to streamline the agency won support from the likes of... More »

Obama to Tap Shinseki for Veterans Affairs

Ex-general was fired for saying US had to increase troop levels

(AP) - Democratic officials say President-elect Barack Obama has selected retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki to be the next Veterans Affairs secretary, the AP reports. Shinseki is the former Army chief of staff who upset his civilian bosses in 2003 when he testified to Congress that it might take several hundred thousand... More »

15% of Women Vets Report Sexual Abuse: Study

Assaults often lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, survey of 125K finds

(Newser) - Some 15% of female Iraq or Afghanistan veterans seeking medical care report suffering sexual trauma, including harassment or assault while on duty, a study finds, with more than half suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The study by the Department of Veterans Affairs surveyed more than 125,000 in 2001-2007, USA ... More »

Wounded Vets Assaulted by Mold—Again

Soldiers ordered not to talk about conditions at Walter Reed stand-in

(Newser) - In a replay of the scandalous conditions uncovered at Walter Reed Medical Center last year, an Oklahoma barracks that houses wounded soldiers has become infested with mold, soldiers stationed there told USA Today. Twenty soldiers stepped forward, saying they’d been ordered not to discuss conditions at Fort Sill, which... More »

Vets Used to Test Drugs Linked to Suicide

VA accused of treating troubled patients like 'lab rats'

(Newser) - Combat veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder were recruited for clinical trials of drugs linked to suicide and mental disorders, ABC reports. In a trial involving the smoking-cessation drug Chantix, the VA did not warn patients of the drug's serious potential side effects until 3 months after the FDA and the... More »

Busy Military Cemeteries Keep Customers Satisfied

1,800 vets a day are dying

(Newser) - With veterans of World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam dying at a record clip, US National Cemeteries are performing more than 100 burials a day—and often use assembly-line tactics to meet demand, AP reports. Despite the use of heavy machinery and the volume—1,800 veterans die... More »

VA Doctor Discouraged Post-Traumatic Diagnoses

Email urged staffers to save disability costs

(Newser) - A team leader at a veterans' medical center in Texas sent staffers an email urging them to avoid diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder, the Washington Post reports. "Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD... More »

US Sent 43,000 'Unfit' Troops to War

Soldiers deemed medically unfit deployed anyway

(Newser) - The US has sent more than 43,000 troops deemed medically unfit for combat to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, USA Today reports. Since 2003 soldiers deemed non-deployable by medical officers have shipped anyway, according to Pentagon documents, with unit commanders overruling doctors. “It is a consequence of the... More »

VA 'Lying About Vet Suicides'

It's 12,000 attempts a year, not 790, says secret email

(Newser) - A Democratic senator is calling for the resignation of the Veterans Administration mental health chief, accusing him of deliberately hiding the truth about suicide attempts among US veterans, the Dallas Morning News reports. A secret agency email put the number of suicide attempts at 12,000 a year—not the... More »

Military Families Sue VA Over Suicides

Agency doesn't do enough for veterans' mental health, suit says

(Newser) - Veterans Affairs hasn’t done enough to stem the “rising tide” of suicides and mental health problems, according to a class action lawsuit going to trial this week. Roughly 20% of deployed US troops are suffering from mental illness, a recent study shows, and an average of 18 kill... More »

Gulf Illness Blamed on Chemicals

Pesticides and nerve agents cause syndrome, says researcher

(Newser) - Exposure to chemicals and pesticides during the first Gulf War is the likely cause of widespread illnesses suffered by its veterans, a new study concludes. Some 250,000 veterans of the conflict—a third of the troops who served— suffer fatigue, muscle and joint pain, memory lapses, intestinal problems, and... More »

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