News
By Steve B. Brooks - November 11, 2014
Standing just 4-foot-9 and a half, Judy Johnston knew she was too short to join the Army during the Vietnam War. So she wore her hair up, getting the necessary half of an inch to enlist.
She ended up becoming part of the first group of enlisted women to be deployed to a combat area of Vietnam and went to bed at night watching mortar fire go in and come out during the Tet Offensive.
By Karen Jowers
Military Times Staff writer
Oct. 17, 2014 - 12:39PM
The tide may be turning in the effort to allow all honorably discharged veterans to shop at the online store operated by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service.
“It appears there are no insurmountable hurdles,” said a source familiar with a meeting held Oct. 8 between Russell Beland, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for military manpower and personnel, and officials with the Navy Exchange Service Command, Marine Corps Exchange and AAFES.
Dennis Wagner, The Republic | azcentral.com
3:22 p.m. MST September 10, 2014
A Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general's report on delayed health care at the Phoenix VA medical center used a standard to evaluate patient deaths that would be virtually impossible to meet, according to medical experts.
By Patricia Kime
Military Times Staff writer
Jul. 30, 2014 - 02:19 PM
Two advocacy groups are suing the Veterans Affairs Department for what they say are the department’s discriminatory practices regarding compensation claims related to service-connected sexual assault.
By Patricia Kime
Military Times Staff writer
Jun. 26, 2014 - 05:55PM
For dog lovers, it’s an absolute: The unconditional love of a canine companion heals the soul, reaching into the heart to cross canyons of loneliness and despair.
Military researchers now are trying to learn if there’s real science behind that semimystical link — and if so, whether it can help treat the signature wounds of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
May 30, 2014 | by Bryant Jordan, Military.com
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki on Friday said he is firing the top administrators of the VA Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona -- ground zero for what Shinseki called a systemwide problem of officials manipulating patient appointment schedules.
Shinseki also said he will ask the Senate to vote on legislation granting him greater authority to fire managers across the VA responsible for what he called a breakdown in trust and integrity.
By Justin Sink
April 23, 2014, 01:25 pm
First lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday announced a new website designed to help military veterans, current service members and their spouses create resumes and connect with outside employers.
The website, called the Veterans Employment Center, hopes to centralize job and veterans resources from across the government. It will include a database of public and private employment opportunities, a resume-builder, and career and training resources.
Lowest level since Agent Orange cases added in 2011
WASHINGTON – One year after the backlog of pending disability compensation claims peaked at over 611,000 in March 2013, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has reduced that number by approximately 44 percent to 344,000 claims – a reduction of more than 267,000 – while at the same time improving the accuracy of the decisions being made on Veterans’ disability claims. Additionally, on average, Veterans are waiting 119 days less for a decision than they were at this time last year.
Categories: Agent Orange
February 25, 2014 | by Bryant Jordan
A new study found that airmen who flew and maintained the C-123 Provider long after the planes were used to spray Agent Orange over Vietnam were exposed to dangerous levels of the dioxin that remained in the aircraft.
A report in Scientific Research titled "Post-Vietnam Military Herbicide Exposures in UC-123 Agent Orange Spray Aircraft" found that environmental testing of the planes revealed traces of dioxin levels above the Defense Department's own standards for maximum permissible exposure to poisonous chemicals.
Categories: GI Bill
New Online Complaint System Empowers Students, Strengthens Enforcement