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The three elements below are key for everyone’s long, healthy and happy life. However, for those brave men and women who served our country proudly and protected our nation’s interests, healing them, as a whole, is a priority.
It’s all to clear that many of our brothers and sisters in arms don’t return from the front lines with physical or psychological trauma. Nonetheless, every single veteran does need a little help getting back in to his or her “old” life.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there that are preying on the public’s goodwill towards veterans and other military service members. Though charity schemes aren’t limited to just veterans’ groups, many organizations claim to support veterans’, offer resources and services really do not.
Whether you’re looking to make sure that your donation is working the hardest for you or if you’re looking for a charity to help you out as a veteran, knowing which charities are reputable and responsible is key.
‘Tis the season for stuffy heads, sneezing and generally feeling awful. Flu season is already on us and we all need to stay safe and healthy so that we can prevent the continuous spread of this awful bug.
Though many of us attribute anything from stomach illnesses to colds to the flu, the flu or influenza is actually a potentially deadly member of a virus family. Recently, the H1N1 flu epidemic not only caused many deaths but headlines across the world. The H1N1 is a strain of influenza and is no longer a major health threat.
It’s no surprise that our active duty service members are using today’s technology – including social media, blogging, texting and instant messaging – to stay in touch with family and friends, while also sharing their personal stories and experiences.
Also, there are more veterans – from all peacetime and combat eras – online today than ever before.
There’s an entire world online for veterans to be a part of. From discussion groups and forums to social networking sites specifically created for veterans of different combat situations and branches.
Find support, advice and resources for you and your family. Connect with other veterans from all branches and wars. Share stories, experiences and information.
It doesn’t matter what you believe or what your political views are, our veterans and active men and women in the service deserve our collective thanks.
1. Say Thank You
If you spot a veteran, an active duty service member or a reservist, just stop, say hello and thank them. That’s all you need to do.
Looking at the numbers generated by our veterans is shocking for many reasons.
First, the number of living veterans from all of the 20th century wars into our current conflicts is amazing. They are strong and resilient. These brave men and women keep the memory of their service alive.
As the largest veterans organization, the American Legion not only supports veterans but the community. Believing that any great change starts in the neighborhoods of veterans, the American Legion supports veterans and their families, provides academic scholarships and promotes patriotism among the younger population.
The DAV’s mission is to promote the needs and interests of our disabled veterans in the community and at the governmental level. Similarly to the American Legion, DAV provides “grass-roots” assistance to disabled veterans including rides to their medical appointments.
According to the United States Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), female service members comprise nearly 8% of the military and are the fastest growing uniformed military service demographic today. As the female military population increases, so does the rise of reported Military Sexual Trauma (MST) cases.
MST affects men and women equally, but there is a general concern that as more women join the military, the number of MST cases involving a female victim will also increase. As such, the spotlight on MST is becoming evermore bright.
For years, highly trained service dogs helped veterans cope with the physical results of war. Guide or helper dogs are a critical part of rehabilitation and daily living for many injured and recovering veterans.
However, until recently, only those proud human companions knew of the psychological power these special dogs bring, something that's beyond aiding in physical activities. Now, there's a recognized and quite tangible effect dogs and pet therapy have on veterans suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
It is an unfortunate but true reality that many women veterans in this country go uncelebrated in comparison to their male counterparts. Many are surprised to learn that we now have nearly 2 million female veterans in the United States, a number that will rise to 10% of the United States veteran population by the year 2020.
While the contributions of female veterans may not be as obvious to those outside the military, I can certainly go on the record as saying they are as integral an aspect as any in modern combat zones. That is why I’m pleased about a new service being offered by the Department of Veteran Affairs.
The 4th of July means a little something different for everyone, but is particularly important for veterans like myself. It falls right as the weather becomes predictably pleasant (and sometimes brutally hot!) in the Northeast and, as such, usually involves family picnics, barbecues, and other outdoor fun. We enjoy the time we get off from work and the time with our friends and families.
But as the days pass and we flow into the rhythm of summer, we sometimes forget what we’re really celebrating in the beginning of July. We’re celebrating the independence of our nation and that which makes us so quintessentially different than any other nation on earth. This “American exceptionalism” is why so many others and myself have served and defended our country and its core values.
Sometimes, it’s difficult to grasp the fact that America’s remaining World War II veterans are all well into their 80s and climbing quickly into their 90s. Statistics show that we lose approximately 1,000 World War II veterans every day. They’re literally a dying breed, and before long, they will have vanished, taking with them the memories of the war that indeed shaped a generation.
Despite dissention about current military conflicts, most Americans view our World War II vets as special people and some have taken the opportunity to find ways to honor them, recognizing that most have little time left to enjoy being with family and friends, doing the things they love.
The Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, along with the Secretary of Veterans’ Services Coleman Nee and Department of Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach were at the New England Center for Homeless Veterans in Boston today to announce an exciting initiative aimed at helping military veterans stop smoking and live a healthier lifestyle.
This is the second go-around for the initiative. In 2008, the state launched the first round, and reported that almost 4,000 veterans and their family members called the MA Smokers’ Helpline to receive free telephone support and stop-smoking aids like nicotine patches. The 2008 program ran for seven months, and was so successful that the state has decided to give it another go.
Beginning on October 1st, President Obama’s $3.73 trillion dollar budget for the 2012 fiscal year will kick in. One of the first things I wondered as a veteran was, how will this new budget impact veterans and members of the military? I decided to consult a great article put out by the NY Times and break it down by agency.
The Department of Defense (DoD) has been allotted $727 billion in spending money for 2012 – that’s an increase of almost 6%. The new budget calls forover $117 billion dollars just to address costs stemming from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but that happens to be a decrease of about $43 billion from the 2011 budget. Note that, in 2012, the government plans on spending the least amount of money on international wars since 2006.
Now here’s an inspiring story! Army Specialist Caroline Barry has quite the impressive resume: she is a ten-time national boxing champion, a five-timeUnited States team captain, and has racked up the amateur awards too. At one time, Spec. Barry was ranked as high as fifth overall in the world, andhas received medals in six international tournaments, as well as having competed in world championships.
To add to the impressive factor, Spec. Barry is so consummate, that she has already retired.
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 25th, President Obama made a point to let veterans know that they “can now downloadtheir electronic medical records with a click of the mouse.”
His announcement follows “two years” of “getting rid of waste” and technological developments by his administration. But, not two days later, a groupcalled the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, or IAVA, posted a response to the President’s statement on their website, stating that the President was guilty of “mischaracterizing” the new electronic medical records system designed by the VA.
Chances are you’ve heard of Faith the Dog – also known as “Hope and love on two legs.” For those of you who have yet to hear her amazing story, Faithwas born in December of 2002, and was one of a litter of puppies with varying deformities. She was the only deformed puppy to survive. Rescued by alittle boy who would later become part of her family, Faith was nearly dead. She had three legs at the time of her rescue, but eventually, due tosevere malformation, her left front leg was removed. Without two front legs, Faith’s new family wondered: how will she walk? They decided to teach Faith to walk on two legs – like a human.
Faith’s family says that it took a long time to get Faith walking on two legs, but now it’s just like second nature for their beloved pup. Faith’s ability to overcome her deformities has inspired millions of people all over the world. In fact, Faith has become quite famous – so much so that she’s even made an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She’s been the subject of many news articles and blog posts, and is even the star of a children’s book series. As an ambassador for those who have overcome severe challenges, Faith and her owner, Jude Stringfellow, make many public appearances at conferences, schools, and military events. In fact, most of Faith’s time is spent visiting military men and women and veterans – free of charge (individuals who are traveling to see Faith, however, are responsible for their own travel and lodging expenses). Some say that Faith does her best work among wounded veterans, perhaps because she feels a sense of camaraderie with the vets who have also lost their ability to walk normally.
MSNBC.com reports today that one of the biggest banks in our nation, JP Morgan Chase, is now coming clean and admitting that they not only “improperlyforeclosed” over a dozen homes belonging to military families, but that they also overcharged military families for their mortgages. The admissioncomes after Marine Captain Jonathan Rowles and his wife sued the bank.
JP Morgan Chase says they reviewed how it handles the mortgages of active-duty military families after Capt. Rowles filed suit, and realized that theiremployees failed to abide by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which lowers the mortgage interest rates of military families to six percent andprotects them from foreclosure. An official from the bank revealed that at least 4,000 families may have been overcharged, and that the bank“discovered” that it improperly foreclosed the homes of at least fourteen military families.
Happy New Year - as 2011 begins, I look forward to another year of informing, educating and supporting the veteran community. Mesothelioma.com is nowthe Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance, and we're proud to offer folks even more information through the Mesothelioma Community Resource Network, a place for those facing this cancer where they canlocate support resources. Please take the time to check it out, and if you’d like, Tweet us your feedback @veteransblog or @mesodotcom!
Veteran groups and military support organizations that wish to share our resource on their website can do so by visiting the Mesothelioma CommunityResource Network page, scroll down and copy and paste the code for our link. We appreciate the support!
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