News
at
January 14, 2015 | 3:18 AM ET
Steve Walsh, NPR
NPR — along with seven public radio stations around the country — is chronicling the lives of America's troops where they live. We're calling the project "Back at Base." This story is Part 2 of a three-part series about veteran benefits.
at
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.
at
By Leo Shane III
Military Times Staff writer
Sep. 10, 2014 - 04:00PM
A senior attorney at the Board of Veterans Appeals told lawmakers Wednesday that managers at the agency covered up delays in appeals processing and doctored records to protect their performance bonuses.
Lawmakers said they were dismayed not just at the allegations but how closely they echo earlier VA scandals of case manipulation and whistleblower retaliation that have been the source of months of oversight and criticism.
at
at
By Leo Shane III
Military Times Staff writer
Jun. 25, 2014 - 10:53 AM
Lawmakers are moving as fast as they can to pass a new Veterans Affairs reform bill. Unfortunately for supporters, that doesn’t guarantee it’ll be finished soon.
at
By Patricia Kime
Military Times Staff writer
May. 27, 2014 - 07:33PM
A new Veterans Affairs Department effort to shorten wait times for veterans needing health care could include extended hours and overtime at VA health facilities in addition to increased staffing at some VA primary care clinics.
In cases where VA cannot meet demand for timely appointments in-house, the initiative would expand access to care in private health facilities paid for by VA.
at
Undersecretary for benefits said name change would be 'limiting'
By Patricia Kime
Military Times Staff writer
After the Institute of Medicine in March recommended using the term “Gulf War illness” to describe symptoms affecting more than 200,000 Persian Gulf War veterans, a top Veterans Affairs Department official expressed concern that such a change would imply a direct causal link between service in the 1990-’91 conflict and long-term illness.
at
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.
at
Categories: Agent OrangeFebruary 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.