Benefits For Dependants
VA Form 21686c allows veterans to claim dependents for benefit programs…

Vets Urged To Consider Counseling
Government agencies are trying to bring in out of the cold veterans all across the country who need counseling for issues that include post-traumatic stress disorder…

VA Loan Eligibility Certificate
In order to receive your Certificate of Eligibility for VA loan benefits, you will need to submit your request for a Certificate of Eligibility…

VA Announces Funding for Gulf War Illnesses
The VA announced up to $15 million in additional research funding for Gulf War illnesses…

Veterans' New ID Cards Help Battle Identity Theft
The VA has designed a new identity card for veterans that will safeguard confidential information…

VA to Contact Vets Who Faced Harm
The VA says it will begin contacting veterans exposed to dangerous levels of chemicals during World War II and will invite them to apply for benefits if they were harmed…

VA Ends Laser Eye Surgery by Optometrists
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has ended a five-month-old policy that permitted optometrists to perform laser eye surgery at its health care facilities under the supervision of ophthalmologists…

Cumulative Adulthood Trauma Can Worsen Health in Later Years
Cumulative trauma during a person's life can have an overall effect on health in later years, according to a study that examines the consequences of traumatic events on older adults' physical health…

Gulf War Syndrome Victims Have Specific Nervous System Damage
University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas researchers have uncovered damage in a specific, primitive portion of the nervous systems of veterans suffering from Gulf War syndrome…

VA Awards Contract to Build Georgia National Cemetery
"This new national cemetery will meet the burial needs of veterans well into the future," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi…

Law Gives VA Flexible Pay for Physicians, Schedules for Nurses
President George Bush today signed a bill that will improve the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA's) ability to recruit and retain top-quality physicians, dentists and nurses…

State Cemetery Opening in Idaho Marks VA Milestone
In the midst of the largest expansion of the veterans cemetery system since the Civil War, Idaho has added a landmark event by opening a state veterans cemetery in Boise…

Dod-VA Agree on Discharge and Examination Processing
The VA signed an agreement this week to implement cooperative separation processes and physical examinations for the service members at discharge sites…

VA Awards Contract To Build Great Lakes National Cemetery
The VA has awarded a $8.7 million contract to a local small business to begin work on the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Oakland County, Mich…

SCARRED
Matt LaBranche, 40, changed inside and out after nine months as a machine-gunner in Iraq. Feeling dead inside, he got heavily tattooed and underwent psychiatric treatment, and is having trouble functioning in society despite medication. A mental health crisis is emerging, with one in six returning soldiers afflicted, experts say…

Tricare Benefits Improved Significantly For Reservists
The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2005, signed by the President yesterday, improves significantly the overall health benefits available to guardsmen, reservists and their families…

Anthrax Vaccination Program Paused
The Department of Defense is currently reviewing a preliminary injunction issued today by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia regarding the department's anthrax vaccination program…

Veterans in Harlem Home Cite Violence and Vermin
"We've got a problem going on in there," said Ron Allen, 52, a hulking former Army clerk who has lived in the home since 1992. "Everything is breaking down."…

Defense Department Announces Sexual Harassment Task Force
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld today announced the appointment of the Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Academies…

EPA Recognizes Armed Forces Pest Management Board
The mission of AFPMB is to recommend policy, provide guidance, and coordinate the exchange of information on all matters related to pest management throughout DoD…

DoD Issues Green Procurement Policy
The policy affirms a goal of 100 percent compliance with federal laws and executive orders requiring purchase of environmentally friendly, or "green" products and services…

DoD Announces Completion of Tricare North Region
The completion of the Tricare North Region transition marks an important milestone in our transformation of military healthcare services…

DoD Assists CDC with Anthrax Plasma Project
The military will support a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) effort to create a new medication against anthrax…

VA Begins Chiropractic Care
Veterans can receive chiropractic care at 26 selected Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities…

Some Survivors Face Deadline for Restored Benefit
The VA wants to ensure that surviving spouses of deceased veterans are aware of an approaching deadline that may affect entitlement to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits…

DoD Begins Tricare Retail Pharmacy Program June 1
On June 1, 2004, the new Tricare Retail Pharmacy (TRRx) contract takes effect for Tricare beneficiaries…

Amendment to 2005 Defense Bill mandates full study of Mental Health Services available to U.S. Soldiers and their Families
the House of Representatives voted in support of an amendment requiring the Secretary of Defense to launch a comprehensive review of the mental health and counseling services available to U.S. soldiers and their families…

Project SHAD involving Navy ships was a portion of Project 112
As of March 2004, VA had received 316 claims for benefits related to Project 112 tests. Of the 316 claims, 88 are pending, 168 have been denied, 50 have been granted for a condition not connected to Project 112, and 10 were granted for a condition connected to Project 112…

Committee Moves Six Bills to Boost Vets Education, Housing, Health Care, and Disability Benefits; GI Bill Expanded for OJT and Apprenticeship Programs; VA Home Loan Guaranty Limit Increased by 39%
The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs today cleared a package of six bills that would expand and strengthen a number of education, housing, health care, and disability programs for veterans and active duty military personnel…

DoD Begins New Tricare West Region Transition
The military healthcare plan, Tricare, in Oregon, Washington and northern Idaho will transition to the new Tricare West region and will receive health services and support through its new regional contractor, TriWest Healthcare Alliance Corp…

Nonprofit Group To Build Homes for Disabled Troops
"I remember watching that and wondering, "What happens to him from here?"…

VA To Close 3 Hospitals
The Veterans Affairs Department will close three hospitals in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Mississippi and build two new ones in Nevada and Florida…

VA Secretary Set to Announce CARES Decisions
The plan includes new hospitals in Orlando and Las Vegas, 156 new community clinics…

DoD Issues CRSC Guidelines
The DoD released consolidated rules and application forms for both original and expanded Combat-Related Special Compensation procedures…

Program Cuts Red Tape for WIAs
Acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee said he hopes the Disabled Soldier Support System (DS3) will serve as a pilot for the other military services…

Lawmaker Pushes Draft
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., is calling for a return of the military draft…

Mourning Julie Moore, an Army daughter, an Army wife and an Army mother
And at Fort Benning, Georgia, this week we are laying to rest one of the finest Army wives who ever walked…

Army Survey's Combat Veterans in War Zone
Soldiers in Iraq last year suffered from low morale, high stress and holes in the Army's support system…

CHAMPVA Policy for Some Surviving Spouses Extended
An extended deadline will allow more time for some remarried surviving spouses of veterans to seek health care insurance…

Selective Draft
The Selective Service System is looking at procedures and policies it might use to implement a "special skills draft"…

Seventh Iraq war veteran kills himself
At least the seventh soldier who has committed suicide after serving there…

DoD Establishes Additional Sexual Assault Hot Line
The DoD announced today that an additional toll-free telephone number has been established for individuals to provide information to the DoD Task Force on Care for Victims of Sexual Assault…

Woman Who Are Purple Heart Recipients Needed
The Womens' Memorial Foundation has been given a grant to develop information about military women who are Purple Heart recipients…

VA Launches New Web Site on Hepatitis C
A new, comprehensive Web site on hepatitis C will be formally launched Feb. 25 through a collaboration between the VA and the UC San Francisco's Center for HIV Information (CHI)…

10% at Army hospital had mental problems
Between 8 and 10 percent of nearly 12,000 soldiers from the war on terror, mostly from Iraq, treated at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany had "psychiatric or behavioral health issues."…

Fisher House Distributing Free Airline Tickets Through Operation Hero Miles
The Fisher House plans to give away hundreds of free airline tickets to help reunite service members hospitalized due to their service in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and their family members…

Summary of proposals by the CARES Commission recommendations for health care facilities
The CARES Commission conducted 38 public hearings and 10 public meetings around the country, heard from 770 witnesses, including 135 members of Congress and seven governors, and received written comments from more than 212,000 people since it began its work in August…

DoD Announces Korean Defense Service Medal
The KDSM is a service medal to give special recognition for the sacrifices and contributions made by members of the U.S. armed forces who have served or are serving in the Republic of Korea…

White House faulted for not adequately funding the VA
"Funding VA at levels that do not even keep up with inflation is an example of how rhetoric and reality are two divergent things when it comes to this administration's lack of commitment to our nation's veterans," Sen. Bob Grahamasserted…

Administration Seeks $67.7 Billion for VA in 2005
A $5.6 billion increase in budget authority, primarily targeted for health care and disability compensation…

DAV Restricted From Wounded Veterans
DAV official Gorman has written secretary Rumsfeld urging him to relax restrictions…

High Suicide Rate For Iraq War GIs
The Pentagon counts at least 22 GI suicides in the Iraq conflict…

VA To Gain Six New Cemeteries
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has begun the largest expansion of these national shrines since the Civil War…

VA Gets Record Budget for FY 2004
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will receive a record budget of $64 billion for the current fiscal year…

New Members Appointed to Committee on Women Veterans
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi today announced the appointment of two new members to the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans…

Stress epidemic strikes American forces in Iraq
The war's over, but the suicide rate is high and the army is riddled with acute psychiatric problems…

U.S. Agent Orange Study Finds Raised Cancer Risks
The ongoing study of 2,000 Vietnam veterans shows for the first time an elevated risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer…

Coming Home: Disabled Soldier Faces Battle in Seeking Benefits
Two years after enlisting, a 20-year-old veteran of the Afghanistan war struggles just to care for the tiny garden outside his rented trailer home…

PRESS ADVISORY from the United States Department of Defense
Jan 07, 2004 - Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness David S. C. Chu signed a memo today resuming the Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program. To download a PDF copy of the memo, click here.

VA's Largest "Fisher House" Scheduled for Houston
Jan 5, 2004 - Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi accepted an offer from the Fisher House Foundation to build a 21-suite facility on the Houston VA campus in November. Fisher Houses provide temporary lodging to families of hospitalized VA patients…

CARES Commission Accountable if Realignment Plans Are Flawed
Jan 2, 2004 - NAMI's concern grows over the Veterans Administration's Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) commission's decisions to close inpatient psychiatric care beds…

Disabled Veterans Get Health Care Priority from VA
Jan 1, 2004 - "Caring for veterans with service-connected medical problems is a major reason VA exists," said Secretary of VA…