Boston University provides VetChange in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD. A free online program for Veterans concerned about their drinking: https://vetchange.org/home
Here are some other sites that have been promoted within the VA:
http://www.veterandrinkerscheckup.org/
http://rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/
http://www.smartrecovery.org/overcoming-addictions/index.htm
ASHLEY’S WAR: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield focuses on the all-Army, all-women team recruited in 2011 to serve on the battlefield alongside special operations on some of the most critical — and most dangerous — missions of the Afghan war – all while the combat ban remained in place. It is a team story about valor, courage, friendship born in battle, and the bonds shared by troops who served at the tip of the spear — these soldiers believed deeply in serving America in the most valuable way possible, and they proved themselves out there on combat operations, night in and night out, alongside some of the most elite forces in the U.S. military – including Army Rangers and Navy SEALs. They are an incredible group of women in these pages– hand picked from across the Army after a tough selection process for a mission in which they would need to interact with Afghan women in the heat of battle.
The book is a story not only of recent military history, but of the shape of the future force. And it is about the team of leaders helping to redefine the hero story. Ashley’s War was also just chosen by Amazon editors as one of its “Best Books of the Year So Far” in both History & Biography.
Media coverage highlights below:
Morning Edition: http://www.npr.org/2015/04/28/402561101/ashleys-war-details-vital-work-of-female-soldiers-in-afghanistan
Diane Sawyer for Nightline: http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/ashleys-war-author-describes-women-soldiers-assisted-special-30486735
Washington Post on “Ashley’s War: A special ops heroine”: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2015/05/18/ashleys-war-a-special-ops-heroine/ Ashley’s War: A Special Ops Heroine
PEOPLE: http://www.people.com/article/reese-witherspoon-buys-rights-army-girls-special-ops-afghanistan
Further Background: In 2010, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command launched a pilot program to put women on the battlefield alongside Green Berets, Army Rangers, and Navy SEALs on sensitive nighttime missions in Afghanistan. The idea was that women could access places and people that had remained out of reach, and could build relationships—woman to woman—in ways that male soldiers in a conservative, traditional country could not. Though they remained officially banned from combat, female soldiers could be “attached” to different teams, and for the first time, women throughout the Army, National Guard and Reserves heard the call to try out for this special ops program that would show them the kind of combat seen by less than five percent of the entire U.S. military. Each had her own story, her own reason for wanting to, as the recruiting poster advertised, “be part of history,” serving alongside America’s finest fighters. In Ashley’s War, Gayle tells the story of Cultural Support Team (CST-2), a unit of women hand-picked from the Army, and the remarkable hero at its heart: 1st Lt. Ashley White, who would become the first CST member killed in action and honored on the Army Special Operations Memorial Wall of Honor alongside the men of Ranger Regiment with whom she died on mission. She would also become the first female to be remembered on the National Infantry Museum’s Memorial Walk, though women still today cannot officially serve in the infantry. But that’s changing.
In 2013 Defense Secretary Leon Panetta lifted the ban on women in ground combat. A few months later when the question arose as to whether women would be allowed to become Rangers and SEALs in their own right, the example of the women featured in “Ashley’s War” – the women who served on the Cultural Support Teams — was cited as an instructive lesson. “Quite frankly, I was encouraged by just the physical performance of some of the young girls that aspire to go into the cultural support teams,” Maj. Gen. Bennet Sacolick of special operations command said in a June 2013 Pentagon press conference about the opening of combat roles to women. “They very well may provide a foundation for ultimate integration.”
The Department of Labor (DOL) and National Veterans Training Institute (NVTI) have developed a series of webinars supporting employment for homeless veterans. This webinar series is supported by the NCHV TA Center.
Designed as an education tool for American Job Center Staff, the webinars are a great free resource for service providers. In addition to providing training on employment tools and interventions for new staff members and partner agencies, the webinars can provide a foundation to strengthen your relationship with local AJC staff.
There are now five webinars available through this series – Promoting Employment for Homeless Veterans, Overcoming Barriers to Employment, Building Partnerships with Service Providers, Assisting Ex-Offenders, and the newest addition –Employer Engagement. The webinars are prerecorded and are available at http://www.nvti.ucdenver.edu/HomelessVeteransWebinars.htm. Find your local AJC here: http://jobcenter.usa.gov/.
Join Region 10 in the Seattle/Tacoma area for our first social event of the summer!
We’ll be meeting at Elliot Bay Brewhouse in Burien from 6:30 to 8:30 – or longer! At 7pm we’ll do a short presentation about Op Double Trouble and Red Card training, as well as some discussion about activities going forward. If you need help with your Roll Call profile, we’ll have laptops set up to walk you through exactly what you need to do in order to be deployable!
NCHV is very pleased to announce that Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) have introduced legislation that would ensure the eligibility for VA homeless services of veterans with “Other Than Honorable” discharges.
The “Homeless Veterans Services Protection Act of 2015” (S. 1731) would clarify the original intent of Congress that the Grant and Per Diem (GPD), GPD Special Needs, and Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) programs serve all veterans with anything other than a Dishonorable discharge, regardless of a veteran’s VA healthcare eligibility. Furthermore, S. 1731 removes the requirement that a veteran serve in the military for two years in order to be eligible for these three VA homeless programs.
This legislation would not extend eligibility for these programs to those who received dishonorable discharges, nor to those who were discharged following courts-martial. Neither would this legislation extend any benefits (including healthcare, pensions, or any other veteran’s benefits) to these veterans, other than access to the GPD, GPD Special Needs, and SSVF programs. The bill ensures that our communities can continue to care for veterans in their time of need as we have for over 20 years.
For background on this issue, click here.
In spite of the long history of these homeless programs serving veterans with “Other Than Honorable” discharges, a recent Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General report found an uneven record of compliance with that policy. The report found that at 15 VA Medical Centers across the country, VA officials had been excluding veterans from their homeless programs based on their discharge status. At one location this process had been erroneously occurring for more than six years. To redress this failure, S. 1731 would also ensure that there is never another instance of confused policy by requiring VA-wide training on the updated VA homeless programs eligibility.
As we reach the end of the Five-Year Plan to End Veteran Homelessness, it is increasingly important that we retain the ability to serve homeless veterans with “Other Than Honorable” discharges. Those who receive them make up 15% of the homeless veteran population across the country. In some urban locales, that number can be as high as 30% of the area’s population of homeless veterans.
NCHV expresses its deepest gratitude to Senators Murray and Hirono for their work on this issue, and calls on the Senate to take up consideration of this important bill.
To view the bill, click here. To view the press release on the bill distributed by Senator Murray’s office, click here.
On Wednesday, July 22, Northeastern University’s Seattle Campus is hosting a speed networking event and reception to connect veteran and transitioning military members with local employers. Practice interviewing skills and make new and promising connections within a variety of local industries! http://bit.ly/1fYDl3G
Honored guest for the evening is General David McKiernan, USA, Ret., former commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
What : Speed Networking & Reception
When : Wednesday, Just 22 from 5:30 to 8pm
Where : Northeastern University – Seattle
225 Terry Ave N., Suite 300 Seattle, WA 98109
RSVP today! See you there!
Best,
Team IAVA
Are you or do you know a veteran in the greater Seattle area who needs some basic dental care?
Smiles for Veterans is Saturday August 8th from 9-4p.m. at the PIMA Dental Hygiene Clinic located at:
9709 3rd Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98115
-QM
Frank William Crawford passed peacefully on June 29th at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle at the young age of 89.
Frank was born March 7th 1926 in Watertown, Minnesota to William and Agnes Crawford. He lived and worked on the family farm in Montrose until graduation from high school when he enlisted and served proudly in the United States Army
On July 17th, 1948 Frank married Peg Burke and they started their family. Frank’s first job in Seattle was at Seattle Iron Works. From there he became a Seattle Transit driver for 10 years and then became a delivery driver for Frederick & Nelson. In 1962 became a Driver-Salesman for Van’s P X and was soon promoted to Plant Manager. Frank loved working at the P X (usually working six days a week) and grew very fond of his co-workers.
Frank was very generous with his time..mowing elderly neighbor’s lawns, helping people move and taking them shopping or to appointments. He was also the first to volunteer at his beloved West Seattle Eagles.
Frank is survived by his daughters Colleen Powers (John), Kathleen Sackett (Doug) and sons Bill (Kathy), Jim (Freddie), grandchildren Dan, Gary and Kristin Powers, Keith Campbell, Emily Myers, Elizabeth Crawford, Nikolas Crawford, great-grandchildren Lauren, Daniel, Jordan and Dylan Powers, Alyssa Powers, Nolan and Rylee Vanbuskirk, Jonathan Myers, sister Marie Timpe and stepson Don Panton.
Frank is preceeded in death by his parents and brothers Lawrence, Donald and Durand.
The family would like to send a heartfelt Thank You to all of the Virginia Mason staff but especially the 9th floor staff for keeping Dad as comfortable as possible during his last month. We are extremely grateful to Colleen and John for opening their home to Dad the last 4 years.
The family will have a final “Toast To Frank” on Sunday July 19th, 3:00 PM at the West Seattle Eagles, 4426 California Ave SW.
Published in The Seattle Times on July 12, 2015
VFW says inadequate military resourcing will cost lives — American lives
WASHINGTON (July 10, 2015) — There was nothing shocking about Thursday’s force reduction announcement by the Army. The Budget Control Act of 2011 had dictated the terms by which America’s largest military service would incrementally shrink from a wartime high of 570,000 active-duty soldiers to 450,000. Still to come, however, is the return of mandatory sequestration in fiscal year 2016, which would further shrink the active Army to 420,000 soldiers, as well as drastically slash the operating budgets of all four military services.
“Sequestration is the most significant military readiness and national security threat of the 21st century, and despite almost universal congressional opposition to it, no member of the House or Senate has yet introduced any legislation to end it,” said John W. Stroud, national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. “Our military can beat any military in the world, but they can’t fight a Congress that is essentially forcing them to operate for a decade on only eight years’ worth of funding.”
Though the Army’s announced two-year plan to reduce its end strength by 40,000 soldiers and 17,000 civilians was preordained four years ago, Stroud said what’s important now is for the new Congress to act.
“We need both political parties to finally say ‘enough,’ not because a continued sequester will hurt civilian economies in certain congressional districts, but because a continued sequester weakens America, worries our allies and emboldens our enemies,” he said. “Our brave men and women in uniform will continue to perform and excel at every mission, but overtasking with inadequate resourcing will cost lives — American lives — which is an impending disaster the VFW will not allow. Sequestration must end!”
-vfw-
Bill prevents changes to VA policy that would cut off thousands of veterans from accessing housing services
MURRAY: We have a duty to care for veterans, not to create more barriers to care
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, introduced The Homeless Veterans Services Protection Act with cosponsor Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), which would prevent thousands of homeless veterans from losing access to housing services. VA’s proposed changes to the decades-old policy for homeless services would bar access for veterans who served less that than two years continuously, or who had an other than honorable discharge. This bill would ensure that those changes can never take place. Last week, Sen. Murray toured the Randall Apartments in Tacoma, a 35-unit complex that serves homeless veterans. She also met with representatives from the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs, local housing authorities, and community groups to discuss her new legislation.
“Our veterans made great sacrifices while serving our country and our commitment to them is especially important,” said Senator Murray. “This bill makes it clear that our country takes care of those who’ve served, and we don’t allow bureaucracy to dictate who gets a roof over their head and who doesn’t.… If we ever hope to end veteran homelessness, we must do everything we can to reach this goal, and I want to make sure that the VA’s policies are moving us in that direction.”
“As we work towards ending veterans homelessness, it is imperative that we use federal resources to help our servicemembers and their families in need,” said Senator Mazie K. Hirono, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. “Many of our vulnerable veterans saw combat and are fighting PTSD and traumatic brain injury. Instead of leaving these veterans out in the cold, we must ensure access to stable housing and other necessary services. This bill would codify VA practices that have proven to be effective in getting veterans off the street and into housing. I commend Senator Murray on her leadership and am proud to work with her on this important issue.”
The problem arose last year when a legal review concluded that veterans who served fewer than two years or had an other than honorable discharge may not be eligible for benefits such as housing services. As a result, when the VA instituted the policy last year, homeless shelters and providers who receive funding through the VA’s Grant and Per Diem (GPD) program were told to turn away new homeless veterans who didn’t meet the length of service or discharge requirements. Had this policy been fully carried out, this could have resulted in 15 percent of the homeless veterans population being turned away, and in certain urban areas could have been up to 30 percent. Sen. Murray introduced emergency legislation to reverse it, causing the VA to temporarily rescind the policy change.
The Homeless Veterans Services Protection Act being introduced today will ensure that in the future, veterans cannot be turned away from organizations because they don’t meet certain length of service or discharge requirements and that our country is fulfilling our promise to care for servicemembers and veterans.
Excerpts from Senator Murray’s remarks for the record are below:
“The Administration set the difficult but commendable goal of eliminating veteran homelessness. Through tremendous efforts at every level of government, and with the help of community groups, non-profits and the private sector, we have made major progress toward achieving that goal.”
“But last year, after a legal review of its policies, VA was forced to prepare for a change that would have cut off services to veterans who did not meet certain length of service or discharge requirements, changing policies that homeless service providers had followed for decades. That would be a heartless, bureaucratic move that could have put thousands of veterans on the streets—practically overnight.”
“As a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the daughter of a World War II veteran, I’m proud that the bill I have introduced today would permanently protect homeless veterans’ access to housing and services. This bill makes it clear that our country takes care of those who’ve served, and we don’t allow bureaucracy to dictate who gets a roof over their head and who doesn’t.”
“If we ever hope to end veteran homelessness we must do everything we can to reach this goal, and I want to make sure that VA’s policies are moving us in that direction. I don’t just believe that the United States can do better; I believe we must do better for those who’ve sacrificed so much for our country.”
Senator Murray’s remarks for the record are below:
“Mr. President, today I am introducing the Homeless Veterans Services Protection Act of 2015. This legislation would ensure continued access to homeless services for some of our country’s most vulnerable veterans who are currently at risk of losing these critical services.
“The Administration set the difficult but commendable goal of eliminating veteran homelessness. Through tremendous efforts at every level of government, and with the help of community groups, non-profits and the private sector, we have made major progress toward achieving that goal. But we know we have a lot of work to do. Veterans are at greater risk of becoming homeless than non-veterans and on any given night as many as 50,000 veterans are homeless across the United States.
“This is unacceptable. Our veterans made great sacrifices while serving our country and our commitment to them is especially important. This commitment includes providing benefits, medical care, support, and assistance to prevent homelessness.
“Two of our greatest tools are the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Grant and Per Diem program and the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program through partnerships with homeless service providers around the country. These important and successful programs assist very low-income veterans and their families who either live in permanent housing or are transitioning from homelessness. The programs help our veterans with rent, utilities, moving costs, outreach, case management, and obtaining benefits.
“But last year, after a legal review of its policies, VA was forced to prepare for a change that would have cut off services to veterans who did not meet certain length of service or discharge requirements, changing policies that homeless service providers had followed for decades.
“That would be a heartless, bureaucratic move that could have put thousands of veterans on the streets—practically overnight. According to some of our leading veterans and homeless groups – including The American Legion, the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans – had the policy been enacted, VA would have had to stop serving about 15 percent of the homeless veteran population, and in certain urban areas up to 30 percent of homeless veterans would have been turned away.
“The veterans community alerted me to this possible change– and while I’m proud that we prevented these changes in the short-term—it’s very concerning that a legal opinion could be issued at any time to undo all of that. There is good reason to reverse this policy for good. A report from VA’s Inspector General, issued just last week, shows how VA’s unclear or outdated guidance hurts veterans, and how VA’s proposed policy changes work against efforts to help homeless veterans.
“As a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the daughter of a World War II veteran, I’m proud that the bill I have introduced today would permanently protect homeless veterans’ access to housing and services. This bill makes it clear that our country takes care of those who’ve served, and we don’t allow bureaucracy to dictate who gets a roof over their head and who doesn’t.
“Many veterans struggle with mental illness, substance abuse, or simply finding a steady job-all factors that can lead to homelessness. And veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are increasingly becoming homeless – numbers that will continue to increase in the coming years unless help is available for them.
“The idea that any of these veterans returning from service could become homeless because of these policies is unacceptable. If we ever hope to end veteran homelessness we must do everything we can to reach this goal, and I want to make sure that VA’s policies are moving us in that direction. I don’t just believe that the United States can do better; I believe we must do better for those who’ve sacrificed so much for our country.
“Finally, I’d like to thank Senator Hirono for cosponsoring this bill and being a champion of the men and women who have served our country. Thank you.”
VFW Post 2713 | Farwell-Roosevelt 