BUTT SNORKLER ALERT!! BUTT SNORKLER ALERT!!

If it was good for WWII, why in the same heck is it not good enough for us now? / D.C

CBO: Better GI Bill would cut retention 16%

A new congressional report supports the Pentagon’s claims that vastly improved GI Bill benefits would hurt retention.

The Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan analytical arm of Congress, said in a report Thursday that enactment of S 22, a bill promising to pay full tuition plus a stipend for veterans attending college, could lead to a 16 percent drop in re-enlistments.

The Defense Department could counter that drop only by increasing re-enlistment bonuses. Fully offsetting the draw of a better veterans’ education program would require a $25,000 re-enlistment bonus for every first-term service member, something that would cost the Pentagon about $6.7 billion over five years.

However, that cost would be offset by lower recruiting costs, the report predicts. It estimates there would be a 16 percent boost in recruits, which would allow a cut in enlistment bonuses and in other recruiting expenses that would result in $5.6 billion in savings over five years.

The combination of better recruiting but weaker re-enlistments would leave the military with a $1.1 billion cost over five years to maintain the current force, the report said.

The report is dated May 8 but was released Friday morning.

The cost estimate for S 22, sent to the Senate Budget Committee’s ranking Republican member, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, comes as the House and Senate are poised to attach the GI Bill improvement package to the 2008 war supplemental funding bill.

House leaders delayed work on the bill until next week because some fiscally conservative Democrats are concerned about passing a veterans’ benefit program without identifying a way to pay for it.

Overall, CBO’s cost estimate is slightly lower than the estimated price tag issued by the Bush administration. Congressional budget analysts predict S 22 would have an overall cost of $680 million in the first full year and $51.8 billion over 10 years.

VA officials told the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Wednesday that the proposal would cost $64.9 billion over 10 years.

S 22, called the 21st Century GI Bill, represents a big increase over the $1,101 basic monthly education benefit provided today for someone with at least three years of active service. It would boost the basic benefit to cover full tuition and fees, up to the cost of in-state tuition at the most expensive four-year public college or university in the state where student is attending school.

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., a member of the veterans’ affairs and armed services committees and chief sponsor of S 22, said better benefits are intended to help people who leave the military after one enlistment, which is the majority of those who enlist.

Seventy-five percent of Army, 70 percent of Marine, 50 percent of Navy and 49 percent of Air Force enlistees who complete their first enlistment term get out of the military, Webb said.

From: Navytimes

Looking for a “FOIL”

Spring Colds, I hate em. I am been stricken with one for the last 4 days.

Yeah I was a Vet of 24 Years. I have served as a Doc with the Marines, 2 Navy Squadrons and many other billets..

But a cold makes me a boob…

Anyways, heres to hoping I feel better tomorrow.

On to business. I am looking for a co-host for a weekly show with me for Corpsman.com. The Details:

Show will be produced weekly.
You must have a “SKYPE” account
You must be a Vet/ Doc of the Navy, Army, Coast Guard, or Air Force.
If your a Vet, you must have had a Honorable Discharge.
Must have done at least 2 operational deployments
Have a strong desire to help your fellow Doc’s.

If your interested, please do the following, you have to follow the instructions to the “T”.

Send me a Email to include:
Name, Age, When you served, What Service, Discharge Status, A 60 second Digital recording (.mp3 or .wav) telling me about yourself and why you want to be a part of this project.
Why am I asking / Looking for someone? While I have done 18 shows now by myself, the show would flow a lot better with a partner online.

There is no money in this. You would be doing this just for knowing your putting out info to your fellow Doc’s.

Send all submissions to admin1@corpsman.com

Thanks!
D/C

Medical technician in war can’t get licensed in Wisconsin

Nicole Moore holds a girl who she had as a patient while in Afghanistan. The girl had fallen on a piece of metal and it went through her eye. Moore, who is from Poynette, said she grew close to her and was happy to see her discharged from the hospital in good shape.

She remembers walking to the gym at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, some 45 miles north of Kabul, when the base’s siren suddenly went off.

Everything else that happened on the morning of Feb. 27, 2007, is pretty much a blur, said 23-year-old Nicole Moore of Poynette, who was serving as an Air Force emergency medical technician at the time.

Within seconds, Moore found herself at the scene of one of the deadliest suicide bombings of the Afghanistan war. The bomber had somehow gotten inside the base’s heavily guarded front gate and then blew himself up — killing 23 people and injuring more than 20 others in an attack that many believe was aimed at Vice President Dick Cheney, who was visiting the base that day.

Moore, who’d arrived at Bagram just two months earlier, said she was stunned by the devastation the blast had caused. Limbs and other body parts were scattered everywhere, and screams of horror filled the air.

“It was crazy, but you couldn’t think about that,” said Moore, a 2002 graduate of Poynette High School. “You just had to concentrate on your job. You couldn’t afford to lose your focus.”

Two of the victims Moore tended to that day died. One was an 8-year-old boy whose intestines were hanging out of his body as Moore and a doctor worked in vain to save him. The other was a civilian contractor from the United States who eventually bled to death.

Moore had a lot of grim days during her five-month stint at Craig Joint Theater Hospital at Bagram, the largest trauma center in Afghanistan, where her duties included those of a typical LPN. While she said she’s proud of her service, she admitted being relieved when her tour ended and she returned to Travis Air Force Base in California in May 2007.

“It was definitely humbling,” she said. “And after it was over, I had such an extreme appreciation for America and how good we have it. It was a real eye-opener for me.”

It left such an impression that Moore decided she wanted to become an LPN in the private sector and devote the rest of her life to caring for others. Unfortunately, those plans recently hit a snag, Moore said.

Upon returning to California, Moore was allowed to take the state’s nursing board exams — which she passed with flying colors, because California allows nursing candidates to substitute military education and experience for college credits.

However, when she moved back to Poynette early this year, she was shocked to learn that her license won’t transfer to Wisconsin. Not only that, but the Wisconsin Board of Nursing won’t even allow her to take the nursing boards because she hasn’t graduated from a board-approved school of nursing.

“I was very disappointed, naturally,” said Moore, who is enrolled at Madison Area Technical College, which has a two-year wait to get into its LPN program. “I feel I have a lot to offer, a lot of experience I could bring to the job. I’m adaptable and I’ve worked under pressure.”

After graduating from the EMT program at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas, Moore went through seven months of medical training at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi. Then she headed off to Afghanistan, where she treated both military and local trauma victims — including members of the Taliban. She served 5 1/2 years in the military, from 2002 to January 2008.

“If I can practice nursing on our soldiers and as a civilian in California, why isn’t that good enough for Wisconsin?” she said. “Especially when there’s such a critical nursing shortage.”

Sgt. Melissa Martinez, who worked alongside Moore in the ER at Bagram and is now stationed at Travis, agreed.

“I think Wisconsin officials need to do a little research and find out what a medical technician in the military does on a day-to-day basis — especially overseas — and compare that to a regular LPN who works in a hospital,” Martinez said. “Because being in a war situation, you experience so much more than any civilian nurse.”

Martinez said that besides working intense 12-hour shifts and getting few days off during her five months in Afghanistan, Moore was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for saving the life of a young Army officer who’d collapsed and gone into cardiac arrest while working out at the Bagram gym.

So for anyone to suggest that Moore isn’t qualified to be an LPN is nonsense, Martinez said.

Kim Nania, division administrator of board services for the Wisconsin Board of Nursing, disagreed.

Nania said each state board has its own criteria, and just because California’s allows military vets without a degree from an accredited nursing school to takes its boards doesn’t mean Wisconsin should follow suit.

The military, she said, trains people to meet its specific needs. “And not all military training is substantially equivalent to what’s required in order to become a nurse,” she said. “And please remember the words substantially equivalent, because that’s the piece that’s very important. Because you need to know you’ve gotten all of the training — not just a piece of it or three-quarters of it — that is deemed necessary.”

Nania said some military schools offer excellent training and are accredited. Many others, however, fall far short.

Nania said it’s unfortunate that there’s a two-year waiting list to get into MATC’s LPN program. But she suggests that Moore check out the online nursing program at Excelsior College of New York, which not only is accredited but often grants credit for military experience.

Thanks but no thanks, said Moore, who’s decided to finish the year at MATC and then transfer to UW-Madison’s RN program — even though it means she’ll spend the next four years basically relearning what she already knows. She’ll work minimum-wage jobs to help pay her bills.

“I’m certainly not giving up on nursing, because I love it,” she said.

But it’s exasperating, she said, knowing that she’s proven herself in the most demanding, high-pressure situations imaginable — and yet Wisconsin officials say that’s not good enough. Then in the next breath, Moore said, they’ll complain about the nursing shortage.

“I’m sorry, but it just doesn’t make sense.”

From the “PORTAGE DAILY REGISTER“

Ring Ring…. Ring Ring….VA to call Iraq, Afghanistan veterans

WASHINGTON — Iraq and Afghanistan veterans: Get ready for a phone call.

The Department of Veterans Affairs said Thursday that on May 1, it will start calling 570,000 recent combat veterans to make sure they know what services are available to them.

The first calls will go to about 17,000 veterans who were sick or injured while serving in the wars. If they don’t have a care manager, the VA says they will be given one.

The next round of calls will target 555,000 veterans from the wars who have been discharged from active duty, but have not reached out to the VA for services. For five years after their discharge from the military, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have access to health care at the VA.

The effort will cost about $2.7 million and will be handled by a government contractor.

The agency has faced complaints that a backlog in claims and bureaucratic hurdles have prevented some recent veterans from getting proper mental and physical care. Earlier this week, two Democratic senators accused the VA’s top mental health official of trying to cover up the number of veteran suicides and said he should resign.

Per The VA’s own letter.. Keith Olbermann Countdown.

This is just downright disgusting. It’s almost like the Vietnam era when our Vets then fell through the cracks.. This is just plain nuts.. Please contact your elected officials. We have friends and family who are in crisis and need help.

120 OIF/OEF Vets Committing Suicide a Week

This article is from the San Francisco Chronicle.  I am not sure I agree with all of it, but they are quoting emails that have been discovered from the VA.  Read below.. Post what you think in the forums.
D/C

VA stalling on care, judge told at S.F. trial

Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

He said veterans are committing suicide at the rate of 18 a day - a number acknowledged by a VA official in a Dec. 15 e-mail - and the agency’s backlog of disability claims now exceeds 650,000, an increase of 200,000 since the Iraq war started in 2003.

Justice Department lawyer Richard Lepley countered that the VA runs a “world-class health care system.” He said the changes the plaintiffs seek in their lawsuit - better and faster mental health care, and more rights for veterans appealing denials of benefits - are beyond the judge’s authority.

“Of course we’re obliged to provide health care,” Lepley said, but “the court does not have standards to determine the speed or the scope or the level of that care.”

U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti is presiding over the nonjury trial, scheduled to last two weeks. Conti, a conservative jurist and World War II veteran appointed to the bench by former President Richard Nixon, ruled in January that the case could go to trial. In doing so, he rejected the government’s argument that civil courts have no authority over the VA’s medical decisions or how it handles grievances.

If the advocates can prove their claims, Conti said in his ruling, they would show that “thousands of veterans, if not more, are suffering grievous injuries as the result of their inability to procure desperately needed and obviously deserved health care.”

He also ruled that veterans are legally entitled to five years of government-provided health care after leaving the service, despite federal officials’ argument that they are required to provide only as much care as the VA’s budget allows in a given year.

But at a later hearing, Conti indicated he was uncertain about his authority to require spending on particular types of health care. The lawsuit plaintiffs - Veterans for Common Sense in Washington, D.C., which claims 11,500 members, and Veterans United for Truth, a Santa Barbara group with 500 members - want him to order the VA to provide immediate treatment for suicidal veterans and prompt care for those suffering from post-traumatic stress.

The trial follows publication of a Rand study last week that estimated 300,000 U.S. troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, or 18.5 percent of the total, suffer from major depression or post-traumatic stress.

The lawsuit is a proposed class action on behalf of 320,000 to 800,000 veterans or their survivors. The advocacy groups say the VA arbitrarily denies care and benefits to wounded veterans, forces them to wait months for treatment and years for benefits, and gives them little recourse when it rejects their medical claims.

“The time delays are staggering,” Erspamer, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, told Conti on Monday. Although the VA says it decides the typical claim for benefits in six months, he said, the agency takes far longer to review post-traumatic stress claims, and four years or more for the government to hear veterans’ appeals of denied treatment.

Veterans who seek benefits within the VA’s grievance system have no right to a lawyer and no right to demand records or question opposing witnesses, Erspamer said. The plaintiffs want Conti to grant those rights and to require the agency to set a timetable for deciding claims.

Lepley, the government’s lawyer, said the VA has undertaken a “huge staff increase” - 20 percent in mental health, 25 percent in claims processing - and now provides one mental health staff member around the clock at every VA center, as well as a suicide-prevention hot line.

For those who do not need immediate care, he said, the agency has a policy of scheduling a mental health appointment within two weeks, and has reached that goal at 80 percent of its facilities.

“These kinds of medical decisions are not something that this court can inject itself into,” Lepley said. He referred to the plaintiffs as “single-interest groups” and said the legal rights they seek in the VA benefit system, such as the involvement of lawyers, are “not in the patients’ interest.”

E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com.

 

 

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/22/MNQK109AA7.DTL

RAND CORP: PTSD STUDY–MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

editor–This was taken from Military.com

WASHINGTON - Some 300,000 U.S. troops are suffering from major depression or post traumatic stress from serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 320,000 received brain injuries, a new study estimates.

Only about half have sought treatment, said the study released Thursday by the RAND Corporation.

“There is a major health crisis facing those men and women who have served our nation in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Terri Tanielian, the project’s co-leader and a researcher at the nonprofit RAND.

“Unless they receive appropriate and effective care for these mental health conditions, there will be long-term consequences for them and for the nation,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The 500-page study is the first large-scale, private assessment of its kind - including a survey of 1,965 service members across the country, from all branches of the armed forces and including those still in the military as well veterans who have left the services.

Its results appear consistent with a number of mental health reports from within the government, though the Defense Department has not released the number of people it has diagnosed or who are being treated for mental problems. The Department of Veterans Affairs said this month that its records show about 120,000 who served in the two wars and are no longer in the military have been diagnosed with mental health problems. Of the 120,000, approximately 60,000 are suffering from PTSD, the VA said.

Veterans Affairs is responsible for care of service members after they have left the service, while the Defense Department covers active duty and reservist needs. The lack of information from the Pentagon was one motivation for the RAND study, Tanielian said.

The most prominent and detailed military study on mental health that is released is the Army’s survey of soldiers at the warfront. Officials said last month that it’s most recent one, done last fall, found 18.2 percent of soldiers suffered a mental health problem such as depression, anxiety or acute stress in 2007 compared with 20.5 percent the previous year.

The Rand study, completed in January, put the percentage of PTSD and depression at 18.5 percent, calculating that approximately 300,000 current and former service members were suffering from those problems at the time of its survey, which was completed in January.

The figure is based on Pentagon data showing over 1.6 million military personnel have deployed to the conflicts since the war in Afghanistan began in late 2001.

RAND researchers also found:

-About 19 percent - or some 320,000 services members - reported that they experienced a possible traumatic brain injury while deployed. In wars where blasts from roadside bombs are prevalent, the injuries can range from mild concussions to severe head wounds.

-About 7 percent reported both a probable brain injury and current PTSD or major depression.

-Only 43 percent reported ever being evaluated by a physician for their head injuries.

-Only 53 percent of service members with PTSD or depression sought help over the past year.

-They gave various reasons for not getting help, including that they worried about the side effects of medication; believe family and friends could help them with the problem, or that they feared seeking care might damage their careers.

-Rates of PTSD and major depression were highest among women and reservists.

The report is titled “Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery.” It was sponsored by a grant from the California Community Foundation and done by 25 researchers from RAND Health and the RAND National Security Research Division, which also has done does work under contracts with the Pentagon and other defense agencies as well as allied foreign governments and foundations.

Overcoming Obstacles is Key to Veterans’ Success Stories

“The American Veteran” Highlights Helpful Programs

WASHINGTON - Military members are trained to overcome obstacles, as part of a team, to achieve their mission. Returning to civilian life, especially after a combat tour, poses new challenges for many service members, requiring new tools and new forms of support.

Programs to help these veterans, available from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and partnering organizations, are the focus of the April edition of “The American Veteran,” VA’s monthly half-hour news magazine.

“We are committed to outreaching to veterans and military personnel about the VA programs available to help these warriors recover from their physical and mental injuries,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. “These stories showcase the courage and determination of the veterans, as well as the commitment of those willing to help - many of whom are veterans themselves.”

The lead story looks at veteran suicide, examining the programs VA has put in place to ensure that everyone from front line clerks to mental health providers are prepared to recognize the early warning signs of suicide and know how to respond.

A second feature looks at a unique rehabilitation program in Florida, “Shake A Leg,” designed to help disabled veterans cope with physical and mental difficulties by teaching them how to sail.

In another story, VA partners with city leaders in Fargo, N.D., to support Project HART, a program created to help homeless veterans get off the street and stay off the street with a unique four-step program.

The series is designed to inform active duty members, veterans, their families and their communities about the services and benefits they have earned and to recognize and honor them. VA’s Office of Public Affairs and the VA Learning University/ Employee Education System (VALU/EES) produce the program and broadcast it to VA facilities around the world on The Pentagon Channel and to community cable outlets.

Aimed at veterans of all eras, VA also tells stories of heroism and sacrifice, and relives moments in history with those who were there, reminding veterans of the bond of service they all share.

The VA Office of Public Affairs offers the program to local broadcasters and cable outlets and makes it available for viewing on the VA Web site, www.va.gov. Just click on “Public Affairs” and then “Featured Items.”

“The American Veteran” schedule on The Pentagon Channel is available at * http://www.pentagonchannel.mil *. The Pentagon Channel has more than 1 million military viewers and is delivered domestically via DISH, EchoStar, T-Warner and Cox cable systems. (Check for service in your area.)

Additional stories on the April edition of “The American Veteran” include:

VA’s Newest Liver Transplant Center — A look at VA’s third and newest Liver Transplant Center at the Michael E. DeBakey Medical Center in Houston where Michael Abshire became the first patient to go through their liver transplant program.

* VA dedicates a new national cemetery in South Florida.

* A new Travel Nurse Corps is designed to address the nursing shortage.

* New GI Bill rules provide an increase in educational benefits.

* A VA research project searching for a vaccine against Salmonella bacterium is carried aboard a NASA space shuttle to the International space station.

* James H. Parke Youth Volunteer Award Winner — Meet Megan Smith a high school junior from Miami. Megan is this year’s winner of VA’s James H. Parke $20,000.00 Youth Volunteer Award Scholarship.

For information about “The American Veteran” program and how to obtain it for local programming, contact VA at 202-461-7502.

* Indicates a link to a non-VA Web site.

People wishing to receive e-mail from VA with the latest news releases and updated fact sheets can subscribe to the VA Office of Public Affairs Distribution List.

Discuss this in our Scuttlebutt Forums

VA Announces SGLI and VGLI Premium Reductions

Change Makes Programs More Affordable

WASHINGTON - Veterans and military personnel with life insurance policies managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will see a reduction in their premiums, thanks to improved investment earnings and a reduction in non-combat claims.

The premium cuts affect military personnel covered by Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) and veterans covered by the Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI).

“The reduction in SGLI premiums makes life insurance even more affordable for today’s men and women in uniform,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. “Lower VGLI premiums will allow more veterans to provide this low-cost financial security to their families.”

On July 1, 2008, the premiums for basic SGLI will be 6.5 cents per month for $1,000 of coverage, down from 7 cents per month for $1,000. This translates into a 7 percent savings.

Servicemembers with the maximum $400,000 of coverage will see their monthly premium reduced from $28 to $26. Servicemembers are also covered against severe traumatic injury for an additional dollar each month.

The reduction in SGLI premiums is made possible by lower, non-combat-related claims and increases in investment earnings. VA officials believe this premium reduction will help maintain the nearly universal participation in the program.

VGLI provides renewable term policies for people after their discharges from the military. Veterans pay premiums according to their age for this coverage.

On July 1, 2008, VGLI premium rates will be reduced for veterans aged 30 to 64, who make up 85 percent of those insured under the program. Premium rates for those under age 30 are already competitive.

Premium reductions, ranging from 4 percent to 12 percent, are a result of fewer claims being received. The reductions will ensure that VGLI remains highly competitive with similar insurance offered by commercial insurers.

“With servicemembers putting their lives at risk against terrorism, life insurance coverage is more important than ever,” added Peake.

Peake said the premium reductions should result in increased program participation and retention. With increased enrollment, the department may be able to reduce rates in the future.

More than 2.4 million people currently participate in the VA-managed SGLI program, with another 433,000 in VGLI.

To obtain more information about the SGLI and VGLI premium reductions or to view a table with the new VGLI rates, visit the VA insurance Web site at www.insurance.va.gov, or call the Office of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance at 1-800-419-1473.

Original Article: Veterans Administration

VA Creates Office to Coordinate Hiring Vets

Initiative Builds on Long-Standing Support for Disabled Veterans

WASHINGTON - Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake announced creation of a Veterans Employment Coordination Service to oversee the Department’s program to recruit new veterans into the VA workforce, especially recently disabled combat veterans.

“It is important VA continues to set the example to private and public employers,” Peake said. “This program builds upon the Department’s long tradition of service to veterans, particularly the disabled.”

The new office will work with military transition programs, veterans service organizations and other VA programs to promote careers in the VA workforce. The program will also work with VA managers and human resource offices to ensure supervisors are aware of programs for hiring veterans. Efforts to assist severely injured veterans have already begun with the Department’s participation in local career fairs targeting veterans of the Global War on Terror.

In November 2007, VA announced plans to hire 10 full-time regional veterans employment coordinators who provide hands-on assistance to veterans interested in careers at the Department. The new office will oversee the regional coordinators.

About 31 percent of VA’s 260,000 employees are veterans, and nearly 8 percent are service-connected disabled veterans. VA ranks first among non-Defense agencies in the hiring of disabled veterans and is second only to the Department of Defense in the overall number of veterans on the workforce. Last fiscal year, VA hired more than 9,000 veterans.

Source: Veterans Administration

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