Military & Veteran News

Military & Veterans News Benefits News: VA Announces Community Care Call Center to Help Veterans with Choice Program Billing Issues WASHINGTON – Veterans can now work directly with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to resolve debt collection issues resulting from inappropriate or delayed Choice Program billing. In step with MyVA’s efforts to modernize VA’s customer-focused, Veteran-centered services capabilities, a Community Care Call Center has been set up for Veterans experiencing adverse credit reporting or debt collection resulting from inappropriately billed Choice Program claims. Veterans experiencing these problems can call 1-877-881-7618 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time) for assistance.

Military & Veterans News Benefits News: VA Announces Additional Steps to Reduce Veteran Suicide WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced new steps it is taking to reduce Veteran suicide. The steps follow a February 2 Summit, “Preventing Veteran Suicide – A Call to Action,” that brought together stakeholders and thought leaders to discuss current research, approaches and best practices to address this important subject.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: DOD Releases Report on Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan Today DoD provided Congress with a report on “Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan” in accordance with Section 1225 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2015 (Public Law 113-291). This report addresses developments from June 1- Nov. 30.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Remarks by the President to the 113th National Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Commander DeNoyer, thank you for your introduction, and your service in Vietnam and on behalf of America's veterans.  I want to thank your executive director, Bob Wallace; your next commander, who I look forward to working with, John Hamilton.  And to Gwen Rankin, Leanne Lemley, and the entire Ladies Auxiliary, thank you for your patriotic service to America.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Miller: “We Must Reduce Veteran Unemployment to Less Than 5%” WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Rep. Jeff Miller, issued the following statement regarding President Obama’s Employing America’s Veterans initiative:

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Duckworth Takes Charge of VA’s Public Affairs and Outreach Programs WASHINGTON – Tammy Duckworth returned Wednesday to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a key site in her long recovery from wounds suffered in Iraq, to take the oath of office as the chief spokesperson for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Military & Veterans News The Honorable Eric K. Shinseki Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Actress Bo Derek Honored for Work on Behalf of Veterans WASHINGTON – Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake honored actress Bo Derek for her work to increase public awareness of the rehabilitative programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Military & Veterans News Vet News: VA Boosts Services and Research in Spinal Cord Injury MILWAUKEE – During a ground-breaking ceremony today for a world-class facility for spinal cord injuries, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson committed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand programs and open new facilities for seriously disabled Veterans with spinal cord injuries.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: VA To Host PTSD Research Conference WASHINGTON -- Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon H. Mansfield announced today the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will convene a “consensus conference” with the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health to improve the designs and methodologies all three agencies will use in future research studies regarding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Military & Veterans News Vet News: VA Reaches Out to Former Prisoners of War WASHINGTON - Do you know any former prisoners of war (POW) or their family members? If so, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) needs your help.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Fisher House Dedicated at Tampa VA Medical Center The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is now better able to care for the families of injured military servicemen and women recuperating at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital. The newest Fisher House, dedicated August 6 at the Tampa facility, will provide families free lodging, making it easier to participate in the care and recovery of their loved ones.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: VA Medical Centers Extending Hours WASHINGTON -- In order to provide more health care for more Veterans, especially mental health services, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson has directed the 153 medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to keep their doors open longer.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: VA Consolidated Mail-out Pharmacy Enhanced WASHINGTON -- With mail-out pharmaceuticals for Veterans already a $3 billion annual operation for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the department made a major expansion in its future capability with the dedication June 11 of a new building and improved production system for the Dallas VA Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Mental Health Experts Convene for Summit WASHINGTON -- To ensure returning combat Veterans are receiving the latest, world-class mental health care, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is convening a four-day meeting here in July of mental health clinicians and researchers from across the country.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Nicholson Leads Federal Task Force on Combat Benefits WASHINGTON– President Bush has created a special, inter-agency task force under the leadership of Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson to thoroughly examine and cut through red tape affecting the latest generation of combat Veterans seeking services and benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or any other federal agency.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: VA Leading the Way in Care for Traumatic Brain Injury The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), long a leader in the treatment and rehabilitation of Veterans with brain injuries, is continuing to adapt its programs to meet the needs of Veterans from the Global War on Terror, with a variety of new services in place or underway.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: A Improves Services for Blinded and Low-Vision Veterans WASHINGTON – More than a million visually impaired Veterans will receive enhanced health care services from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) under a reorganization of VA’s vision rehabilitation services, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson announced today.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: VA Secretary Appoints New Veterans' Liaison WASHINGTON – The Honorable R. James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, recently appointed Kevin B. Secor, of Woodbridge, Va., as his senior advisor on issues relating to major Veterans groups.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Veterans Day, 2005: A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America The Veterans’ Disability Benefits Commission, established by Congress to review benefits going to disabled Veterans and the survivors of deceased Veterans, held its first meetings May 9 and 10 in Washington, D.C.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: Veterans Receive Cost-of-Living Increase in Benefits The (VA) is including a 2.1 percent increase in the disability benefit payments that millions of Veterans and dependents will receive at the end of December. President Bush authorized an increase matching the increase in Social Security rates by signing into law the Veterans Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2003.

Military & Veterans News Vet News: VA Seeks Expansion of Benefits for Former POWs WASHINGTON, July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Responding to the needs of service members who were prisoners of war during Operation Iraqi Freedom, President Bush has proposed legislation to Congress that would improve benefits for former POWs.