VFW NC Post 8989 - Kannapolis

VFW Washington Weekly - March 19, 2010

Posted at 7:32 PM on Friday, March 19, 2010 by POST 8989

In This Issue:

1. VA to Ease Gulf War Benefits

2. Claims Summit Draws a Crowd

3. Vietnam MIA Identified

2. Claims Summit Draws a Crowd: VFW participated in a claims summit held by House VA Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA).  More than 50 witnesses discussed problems, ideas and potential solutions to help the disability claims process.  Overhauling the veterans' benefit delivery system is the number one priority goal of the VFW.  We have asked VBA to improve their process by enhancing training and quality, improving IT infrastructure, and demanding a total commitment from leadership to accurately adjudicate claims the first time.  For a list of VFW's 2010 legislative priority goals, go to http://www.vfw.org/PR/Legislative/2010PriorityGoals%20PROOF.pdf.

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VA Recognizes "Presumptive" Illnesses in Iraq, Afghanistan

Posted at 7:29 PM on Friday, March 19, 2010 by POST 8989

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki today [Thursday] announced the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is taking steps to make it easier for Veterans to obtain disability compensation for certain diseases associated with service in the Persian Gulf War or Afghanistan.  This will be the beginning of historic change for how VA considers Gulf War Veterans' illnesses.

Following recommendations made by VA's Gulf War Veterans Illnesses Task Force, VA is publishing a proposed regulation in the Federal Register that will establish new presumptions of service connection for nine specific infectious diseases associated with military service in Southwest Asia during the Persian Gulf War, or in Afghanistan on or after September 19, 2001.  

"We recognize the frustrations that many Gulf War and Afghanistan Veterans and their families experience on a daily basis as they look for answers to health questions, and seek benefits from VA," said Secretary Shinseki.

The proposed rule includes information about the long-term health effects potentially associated with the nine diseases: Brucellosis, Campylobacter jejuni, Coxiella burnetii (Q fever), malaria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Nontyphoid Salmonella, Shigella, Visceral leishmaniasis and West Nile virus.

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ATTN: Post Commanders and Quartermasters-New 2010-2011 QM Kit Procedures

Posted at 4:59 PM on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 by POST 8989

MEMBER DUES PROCESSING:  Quartermaster Kit 2010-2011

 

Attention Quartermaster: The separate mailing of a QM Kit in 2010-2011 is now a needless expense!

 

The VFW Leadership Reference Guide for 2010-2011 will be on-line.

Historically, the Quartermaster Kit has been a very costly yet necessary expenditure to facilitate the processing of a member’s dues. The post roster and printed kit cards alone made up 75% of the material contained in previous year kits and the cost to produce and mail these kits was well over $150,000.00.

 

Last year, we began the process of providing: 1) more timely data, 2) immediate document accessibility to the new or returning Quartermaster, and 3) major cost reduction.

The process began with the “piggyback mailing” of a comprehensive prior year (July 1 thru June 31, 2009) roster with the July Maintenance Journal. This corrected the inherent deficiency in previous year end rosters. As you may know, in previous years the roster was produced in late April, and therefore did not contain members processed by the Post in May and June.

“Piggyback” mailing, discontinuance of the kit cards and the increased utilization of available

technology by our post has allowed us to meet our goal.

 

Membership applications and Benefit Brochures, as always, are available upon request.

Just a reminder to all Post Commanders and Post Quartermasters that you will not be receiving copies of the VFW Leadership Reference Guide CDs this year as part of the Quartermaster Kits. Beginning this year, the VFW Leadership Reference Guide will be available on-line in E-membership. More details to follow in the coming months.

NY Man Attempting 4,500 Mile "Patriot Walk" for Veterans

Posted at 11:23 AM on Monday, March 15, 2010 by POST 8989

BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) -- Mark Klodzinski, a Western New York native, will embark on a cross-country walk to raise money and awareness for American Veterans.

Mark will begin his 4,500 mile journey on March 16th, and hopes to raise over $1 million for the cause.

Mark hopes to travel 25 miles a day, meaning his entire trip will take him about 8 months, stopping at local American Legion and VFW Posts across the country.
View Source

View route and follow on his website here

Follow Mark's Facebook page here

VFW Cites Backlog, Health Care as Top Legislative Priorities

Posted at 4:27 PM on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 by POST 8989

Washington D.C.,March 9, 2010 — In his opening statement today before a joint hearing of the Senate and House Veterans Affairs Committees, Thomas J. Tradewell Sr., the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., testified about his organization's concern with the national health care debate, and whether or not it will impact the health care programs currently provided to veterans and military retirees by the VA and the military's Tricare system.

"Many promises have been made — by the president and by this Congress — that VA and Tricare will be protected, but a free press and an even freer Internet continue to fuel speculation that both health systems will be lost and/or absorbed into a larger national plan," said Tradewell, who leads the nation's largest and oldest major combat veterans' organization. "America's veterans and military retirees look to you — our champions in Congress — to protect both programs, and to do so vocally at every opportunity."

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"Making Virutual Friends" VFW Blogger Interviews of D.Peirce & IJK

Posted at 8:54 PM on Sunday, March 7, 2010 by POST 8989

Donald Peirce	Iris Joe Kelley

D. Peirce, a  senior blogger on the VFW Network  says making virtual friends is " better than buying drinks in a canteen."   "It's like a living history." says IJK, one of the first VFW Post bloggers online with VFW WebCOM.* 

Donald Peirce and "IJK," Iris Joe Kelley have been blogging for their VFWs for years.  Recently they responded to email Interviews with MyVFW.  Here's what they had to say:   MORE>

VFW Washington Conference Live Stream

Posted at 6:03 PM on Sunday, March 7, 2010 by POST 8989

You can also join us for chat while watching the live stream at My VFW WebCOM.

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Donates $100,000 to VFW Foundation’s Voice of Democracy Student Essay Contest

Posted at 12:58 PM on Friday, March 5, 2010 by POST 8989

Kansas City, MO, March 4, 2010 - The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Foundation announced today that it has received a $100,000 gift from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation in support of its Voice of Democracy student essay contest.

Each year more than 65,000 U.S. students (grades 9-12) from public, private, parochial and home schools, research write and record an essay based on a patriotic theme.

Winners advance from their local geographic areas to state then national levels, all the while earning money for educational scholarships. The national winner is awarded a $30,000 prize.

Currently, 70,000 teachers/counselors receive informational materials relating to the Voice of Democracy program.

The donation from the Bradley Foundation will be used to increase distribution to approximately 350,000 teachers and school counselors across the United States, thereby dramatically expanding student participation in the scholarship contest.

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Online Help for Wounded Warriors

Posted at 10:31 AM on Monday, March 1, 2010 by POST 8989

WASHINGTON (Feb. 25, 2010) - The federal departments of Veterans Affairs, Labor and Defense unveiled today an improved Web site for wounded warriors.

"VA is committed to tapping into the full powers of the Internet to provide accurate, timely, easy to find and easy to understand information that improves the lives of Veterans, service members, their families and all who care for them," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.

The National Resource Directory is a comprehensive, free, online tool for wounded, ill and injured service members, Veterans and their families.  Visitors to the site can find an extensive range of information about Veterans' benefits, including disability and pension benefits, VA health care and educational opportunities.  The site also provides information for those who care for Veterans, such as access to emotional, financial and community assistance.

The Web site has been enhanced to provide a single point of access to a wealth of information from more than 10,000 sites by federal, state and local governments and organizations offering services for wounded warriors.

View VA Press Release
Visit National Resource Directory

Up to the Minute

Posted at 4:03 PM on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 by POST 8989

Now you can stay on top of all the latest information no matter where you are in the My VFW Network. 


Just look at the bottom of each page in the network.  You'll see a new toolbar which will make navigating around the network much easier.  On the toolbar you can:

• Search the My VFW Network
• Join a chatroom with other network users.
• See how many other users are on the network
• Click on "Network News" and see all the latest news stories from anywhere in the network.
• Keep track of the latest conversations in the VFW Forum.
• Join our My VFW social network.
• See the latest story posted by a random VFW Post.
• Zoom back to the top of the page you are viewing.
• Subscribe to RSS feeds
• Share pages via email, Facebook, Twitter and more.
• Become a fan and join our Facebook community
• and even post to your Twitter account right from the toolbar.

Keeping up to date with the My VFW Network has never been so easy!

VFW to Stream Video from Legislative Conference

Posted at 9:31 AM on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 by POST 8989

The American Veteran - February 2010

Posted at 3:20 PM on Saturday, February 13, 2010 by POST 8989

Buddy Poppy Fun at NC Mid-Winter Convention

Posted at 10:23 AM on Monday, February 8, 2010 by POST 8989

VFW Applauds VA, National Security Budget Requests

Posted at 9:50 AM on Monday, February 8, 2010 by POST 8989

WASHINGTON - The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is applauding President Obama for submitting a fiscal year 2011 budget that strengthens defense and national security, and boosts programs for veterans, servicemembers and their families.

Thomas J. Tradewell Sr., a combat-wounded Vietnam veteran from Sussex, Wis., said the president's vision tracks with key VFW legislative goals that advocate for a strong and secure America, and for ensuring that those who serve in uniform are properly cared for by a grateful nation.

White House Seeks $125 Billion for Veterans in 2011

Posted at 7:27 PM on Monday, February 1, 2010 by POST 8989

WASHINGTON – To expand health care to a record-number of Veterans, reduce the number of homeless Veterans and process a dramatically increased number of new disability compensation claims, the White House has announced a proposed $125 billion budget next year for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"Our budget proposal provides the resources necessary to continue our aggressive pursuit of President Obama's two over-arching goals for Veterans," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "First, the requested budget will help transform VA into a 21st century organization.  And second, it will ensure that we approach Veterans' care as a lifetime initiative, from the day they take their oaths until the day they are laid to rest."

The $125 billion budget request, which has to be approved by Congress, includes $60.3 billion for discretionary spending (mostly health care) and $64.7 billion in mandatory funding (mostly for disability compensation and pensions).

"VA's 2011 budget request covers many areas but focuses on three central issues that are of critical importance to our Veterans – easier access to benefits and services, faster disability claims decisions, and ending the downward spiral that results in Veterans' homelessness," Shinseki said.

Reducing Claims Backlog

The president's budget proposal includes an increase of $460 million and more than 4,000 additional claims processors for Veterans benefits.  This is a 27 percent funding increase over the 2010 level.

The 1,014,000 claims received in 2009 were a 75 percent increase over the 579,000 received in 2000.  Shinseki said the Department expects a 30 percent increase in claims – to 1,319,000 – in 2011 from 2009 levels.

One reason for the increase is VA's expansion of the number of Agent Orange-related illnesses that automatically qualify for disability benefits.  Veterans exposed to the Agent Orange herbicides during the Vietnam War are likely to file additional claims that will have a substantial impact upon the processing system for benefits, the secretary said.

"We project significantly increased claims inventories in the near term while we make fundamental improvements to the way we process disability compensation claims," Shinseki said.

Long-term reduction of the inventory will come from additional manpower, improved business practices, plus an infusion of $145 million in the proposed budget for development of a paperless claims processing system, which plays a significant role in the transformation of VA.

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