What's New
| Presdent Obama Donated $250,000 of Nobel Prize Money to Fisher House |
March 11, 2010, Washington, DC (New York Times) - President Obama made good on his promise to give his $1.4 million Nobel Prize money to charity, releasing the names on Thursday of the organizations that will benefit. |
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| Dr. Haley at UTSW Presents Compelling Brain Images Showing Gulf War Illness |
VCS Asks VA: Since UTSW Research Remains Vital to Understanding Gulf War Illness, Then Why Did a Handful of VA Staff in Washington Impede UTSW Contract and Then End Funding for UTSW? March 9, 2010, Salt Lake City, Utah (Science News) - Nearly two decades after vets began returning from the Middle East complaining of Gulf War Syndrome, the federal government has yet to formally accept that their vague jumble of symptoms constitutes a legitimate illness. Here, at the Society of Toxicology annual meeting, yesterday, researchers rolled out a host of brain images – various types of magnetic-resonance scans and brain-wave measurements – that they say graphically and unambiguously depict Gulf War Syndrome. |
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| March 9 VCS Weekly Update |
This week’s VCS update keeps you in the loop with news on issues you care about. One good change – our weekly news updates won’t ask you for money. Instead, our news updates point you to news articles at our web site. We hope you will read them and share the important facts with your friends. This week's update includes news about VA and suicides, VCS on CNN, our VCS FOIA campaign, VA automating Agent Orange claims, a waterboarding torture video, and Gulf War veterans' benefits. |
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| Federal Court Keeps Torture Lawsuit Against Rumsfeld Alive |
What's Waterboarding? Watch Video of Torture March 5, 2010, Chicago, Illinois (Associated Press) - A federal judge refused Friday to dismiss a civil lawsuit accusing former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of responsibility for the alleged torture by U.S. forces of two Americans who worked for an Iraqi contracting firm. [Rumsfeld served at the Pentagon under former President George W. Bush.] |
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| Reducing Suicides: VA Adopts Policy on Emergency Care for Mental Health Patients |
This Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Directive provides policy to ensure the provision of safe and secure mental health services during all hours of operation for Emergency Departments (EDs) and Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) in VHA |
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VCS in the News: Kansas City Star Calls for Review of Military's Incorrect Personality Disorder Discharges
Written by Kansas City Star
Tuesday, 27 October 2009 15:24
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Make Sure Veterans Get Help with Stress Disorder October 27, 2009 (The Kansas City Star Editorial Board) Many military personnel who acquired post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are being inappropriately discharged, despite Pentagon assurances that proper policy is being followed. That’s the conclusion of Senators Kit Bond of Missouri and Sam Brownback of Kansas, both Republicans. The two recently sent a letter to President Obama urging him to do more to ensure returning veterans get the health care they deserve. The two lawmakers — joined by Sens. Blanche Lincoln, an Arkansas Democrat, and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a Republican — reminded Obama that when he served in the Senate, he, too, was concerned about this issue. The problem is that the Pentagon views personality disorders as a pre-existing condition, often requiring discharge. As a result, many veterans are denied benefits they would otherwise receive. The senators noted that sometimes, service members discharged with ‘personality disorders’ must repay thousands of bonuses, despite combat service. Last year, the Government Accountability Office looked at the issue and found that the Defense Department was releasing people without following proper policy. According to the GAO, compliance with mandatory counseling rules was highly variable — ranging from 40 percent to 99 percent of the time. The military said it had adjusted its procedures and proper policy was now being followed. But Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense said the Pentagon had been doing a poor job of correctly diagnosing mental disorders. Despite the Pentagon assurances, a double-check — which is essentially what the senators are urging — is warranted. The Obama administration should look into this and report to Congress. We should make sure no veteran is getting a raw deal from the government after serving in combat. |