VFW Commander-in-Chief Defends Modernization
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at 07:58 AM
by post1546
Robert F. Dorr's December 1 commentary, "
VFW, Legion must modernize in order to thrive" is interesting reading but regrettably focuses on archaic stereotypes that are simply re-hashing many of his embedded misunderstandings of what veterans service organizations really accomplish.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U. S. was founded in 1899 by Spanish-American and Philippine War veterans who returned home to a government that bore little responsibility to care for wounds or rehabilitation. Since then, and through every war and conflict in the 20th and 21st centuries, the VFW has led the way to promote strong military and veterans' legislation.
Our accomplishments are significant, from helping to create the Department of Veterans Affairs, the World War II GI Bill, and Agent Orange and Gulf War undiagnosed illnesses legislation, to leading the way to today's traumatic injury disability insurance and the new better GI Bill for the 21st Century.
We would not be celebrating our 110th birthday next year if we were stuck in the past. We incorporate the best practices from each generation and move forward, yet some practices are sacrosanct: we stand for the flag of our country, recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing the National Anthem. We open our meetings with prayers, just as military units did and continue to do before going out on missions. This is not Old School; this is what real, caring Americans do..."
Read more
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VA Sends Latest Gulf War Illness Report to IOM for Review
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 07:46 AM
by post1546
WASHINGTON (Dec. 1, 2008) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has sent the October 2008 report from the VA Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses to the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine (IOM) for review and recommendations.
The October report from the advisory committee identified potential causes for -- and asserted that research supports the existence of -- a multi-symptom condition resulting from service in the 1990 - 1991 Gulf War, which the committee identified as Gulf War Illness (GWI).
Because VA has traditionally and by law relied upon IOM for independent and credible reviews of the science behind these particular veterans' health issues, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake has asked IOM to review the advisory committee's report before VA officially responds to the report's conclusions.
"I appreciate the committee's work on this report, and I am eager to see the results of further independent study into their findings," Peake said. "Of course, VA will continue to provide the care and benefits our Gulf War veterans have earned through their service, as we have for more than a decade."
VA has long recognized conditions, granted benefits and provided health care to Gulf War veterans suffering from a broad range of symptoms, even though these conditions have not been scientifically recognized as a specific disease or injury or GWI.
These include chronic fatigue, persistent rashes, hair loss, headaches, muscle pain, joint pain, neurologic symptoms, neuropsychological symptoms (such as memory loss), respiratory system symptoms, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal symptoms, cardiovascular symptoms,
abnormal weight loss and menstrual disorders.
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BUDDY POPPIES: PANHANDLING? SAY IT AIN'T SO!
Sunday, November 30, 2008 at 08:45 PM
by post1546
(
via Dept of Wisconsin)
Institute President John Whitehead is representing disabled Vietnam veteran John Miska who was repeatedly threatened with arrest for distributing the artificial flowers.
..... in Washington, D.C. on the National Mall, by the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam memorial and other places in D.C., [but] he's been continually threatened by the Park Police .....
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Gulf War Illness: Scientific Evidence Leaves No Question That It Is A Real Condition
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at 02:46 PM
by post1546
The following excerpts are from the Executive Summary of a 465 page report titled
"Gulf War Illness and the Health of Gulf War Veterans: Scientific Findings and Recommendations" released recently by the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses.
The Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses was appointed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in 2002 and directed to evaluate the effectiveness of government research in addressing central questions on the nature, causes, and treatments of Gulf War-related illnesses. According to its charter, the guiding principle for the Committee’s work is the premise that the fundamental goal of all Gulf War-related government research is to improve the health of Gulf War veterans, and the choice and success of federal Gulf War research should be judged accordingly.
The central focus of this report is Gulf War illness, the multisymptom condition that affects veterans of the 1990-1991 Gulf War at significantly elevated rates. Despite considerable government, scientific, and media attention, little was clearly understood about Gulf War illness for many years. Now, 17 years after the war, the extensive body of scientific research and government investigations that is currently available provides the basis for an evidence-based assessment of the nature and causes of Gulf War illness. As described throughout the report, scientific evidence leaves no question that Gulf War illness is a real condition with real causes and serious consequences for affected veterans. Research has also shown that this pattern of illness does not occur after every war and cannot be attributed to psychological stressors during the Gulf War.
You can download the full report in .pdf here:
http://www1.va.gov/rac-gwvi/docs/GWIandHealthofGWVeterans_RAC-GWVIReport_2008.pdf
You can go to the VFW Membership Forum and discuss here:
http://www.vfwwebcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,442.0.html
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Sixty-three years after he helped liberate captives in three Nazi concentration camps and one POW camp in Germany and Austria, veteran Raymond Callanan (left) of Farmington, Missouri is getting his Bronze Star medal.
