Author Archives: Team VCS

Veteran Suicide Rates Questoned

Posted on May 8, 2008 by Team VCS

May 6, 2008, Washington, DC – Lawmakers are questioning whether the Department of Veterans Affairs has been accurately reporting the number of veterans who commit suicide or if it’s covering up the data. At a hearing held by the House … Continue reading →

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Editorial Column: Returning Vets: Shh! Don’t Worry

Posted on May 8, 2008 by Team VCS

May 7, 2008 – It looks as though the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to keep Ira Katz on as mental health director. Katz tried to keep the alarming rate of veteran suicides quiet with a “Shh!” … Continue reading →

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VA Official On Veterans’ Attempted Suicides: ‘Shh!’

Posted on May 8, 2008 by Team VCS

May 7, 2008 – The director of mental health at the VA yesterday told the House Veterans Affairs Committee he made a poor choice when he wrote ‘Shh!’ in an email to colleagues discussing veterans’ suicide attempts. The line “was … Continue reading →

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May 8: Pentagon Deployed 43,000 Medically Unfit Soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

Posted on May 8, 2008 by Team VCS

May 8, 2008, Washington, DC — More than 43,000 U.S. troops listed as medically unfit for combat in the weeks before their scheduled deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2003 were sent anyway, Pentagon records show. This reliance on troops … Continue reading →

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Lampson Calls for VA to Look Into Clinics

Posted on May 7, 2008 by Team VCS

May 6, 2008, Texas City, TX – U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Stafford, asked the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to investigate reports of poor staff performance at two health care clinics in Galveston County. In a letter dated April 30 … Continue reading →

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May 7, VCS in the News: Tempers Flare at Congressional Hearing on Veteran Suicide Epidemic

Posted on May 7, 2008 by Team VCS

May 6, 2008 – The name of the hearing said it all: “The truth about veteran suicides.” After playing clips of recent CBS News reports from April 21st and 25th of this year outlining attempts within the Department of Veterans … Continue reading →

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VA Blasted Over Veterans Suicides

Posted on May 7, 2008 by Team VCS

May 6, 2008 – The chairman of the House Veterans Committee blasted the Veterans Affairs Department on Tuesday, accusing the agency of criminal failure to respond to evidence of rising suicide rates among former soldiers. “This is a matter of … Continue reading →

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Testimony of Dr. James Peake, VA Secretary

Posted on May 7, 2008 by Team VCS

May 6, 2008 – The purpose of this testimony is to provide information on the issues related to veterans suicide: what VA knows, including the sources of information we use; what we do not know, and what we intend to … Continue reading →

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Veterans Aged 20-24 are Three Times More Likely to Commit Suicide, Expert Tells Congress

Posted on May 7, 2008 by Team VCS

May 6, 2008, Washington, DC – A statistician told a House panel today that male U.S. veterans between the ages of 20 and 24 are three times more likely to commit suicide than non-veterans their ages. In general, veteran suicide … Continue reading →

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May 5: Another Outrage as VA Official Says Suicides Occur ‘Just Like Cancer Occurs’

Posted on May 6, 2008 by Team VCS

May 5, 2008 – Suicides among veterans of wars overseas occur “just like cancer occurs,” and are not an indication of negligence by Veterans Affairs Department mental health care providers, a top VA official has argued in a lawsuit filed … Continue reading →

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