Doug Karr

In a plot that seems more fitting in a movie thriller, the United States Marshals caught up to the fugitive after a cross-country chase, accused of siphoning millions of dollars in donations from a phony United States Navy Veterans charity.

Though the accused con artist is not giving up his real name, “Bobby Thompson” is accused of raising $100 million in donations from his bogus Navy veteran charity, U.S. Navy Veterans Association. According to the Associated Press, “[l]ittle, if any, of the money collected by the charity was use to benefit veterans.”

Tags: Navy, US Navy Veteran Scam, US Navy Veterans, Veterans

Besides the staggering number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with psychological trauma stemming from their wartime experience, one of the biggest news stories about veterans continues to be the incredibly high unemployment rate.

Unfortunately, the rate of unemployment among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is higher than the national average and is the leading cause for the rampant homelessness – among other economic issues – in this population.

Tags: Afghanistan, Hiring Our Heroes, Iraq, Veterans

For some Americans, this may have been a long time in the making, but recently Maine demonstrated how valuable their veterans are to their state by mandating the establishment of a specialized court for veterans.

This court is entirely different than what we all may think of “traditional” courts. In fact, these courts offer veterans a second chance after committing a crime.

Tags: Afghanistan, Iraq, Veteran Health, Veteran Treatment Courts, Veterans

President Barack Obama's Federal Budget proposal pleases 4 of the nation's largest veterans organizations, even as these organizations agree there is a lot more room to improve.

American Veterans (AMVETS), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) and Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW) push the Obama Administration and Congress to extend the proposed Federal budget to $68 billion for Veterans Health Care and Benefits.

Tags: AMVETS, Barack Obama, budget, veteran health, veterans, VFW

It is everyone's favorite time of year: tax time. In an effort to relieve some of the stress associated with April 15, we've put together some useful and timely information for employers of veterans and active duty service members. Some of the following information is new for this tax season.

Employers of Veterans

As of today, the IRS published additional information for employers who have hired veterans in 2011. There is a tax credit available for such employers. Depending on the business structure, the credit is worth up to $9,600 per veteran employee (for-profit businesses) and $6,240 per veteran employee (non-profit organizations and other tax-exempt businesses).

Tags: tax season, veteran health, veterans

Unlike wars and military conflicts in the past, the end of the Iraq War is marked without any American celebration. Even as recent at the formal end of the first Gulf War, official and unofficial parades, celebrations and ceremonies dotted American cities and towns, where people congratulated the returning troops and veterans.

That is not the case for the Iraq War, so it seems.

Tags: Iraq War, President Bush, President Obama, Returning troops, veterans.

Now’s the time to start planning for sending gifts to your husband, wife, son or daughter that’s serving overseas. With only a handful of days left before the shipping deadline, getting great ideas for gifts may be difficult, especially if you’re like the rest of us, juggling holiday events, wrapping other presents and attending festive functions.

To help you on your way to gift-giving greatness, here are a handful of ideas for that special someone. Holidays are meant for family, and sending the right gift will make your stationed loved one even brighter.

Tags: holidays, overseas military, veterans

Regardless of how you look at it, the sheer volume of veterans from the time of the Vietnam Conflict through current war efforts abroad who are homeless is tragic, devastating and entirely unnecessary. According to 100,000 Homes Campaign – an organization dedicated to providing homes to the homeless– there are nearly 76,000 homeless veterans today.

Homelessness among veterans is a solvable problem. Fortunately, there are many advocates, friends and communities of supporters that are continuously fighting this epidemic, simply because they understand that homelessness isn’t an endgame for veterans.

Tags: mesothelioma, veteran health, veteran homelessness, veterans

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.

Tags: blogging, social media, veterans

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.

Tags: navy veterans, veteran health, veterans

American Legion

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.

Disabled American Veterans

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.

Tags: American Legion, D.C., veteran health, Veterans, VFW, Washington

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.

Tags: D.C., veterans, Veterans Administration, Washington, women

The 4^th 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.

Tags: American Exceptionalism, July 4th, veterans

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.

Tags: alcoholism, mesothelioma, smoking, veterans

Beginning on October 1^st, 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.

Tags: budget, department of defense, mesothelioma, military, VA, veterans, war

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 25^th, 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.

Tags: President Obama, VA, VA Blue Button, veteran health information, veterans

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.

Tags: animal assisted therapy, Faith the Dog, pet therapy, PTSD, veterans

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.

Tags: veterans, JP Morgan Chase, military

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!

Tags: mesothelioma, Tricare, veterans

The VA says it will be creating "Veterans Health Benefits Handbooks" for all veterans in the Washington D.C. and Cleveland, Ohio areas that are enrolled with the VA and currently receiving benefits in an effort to "give veterans everything they need to know and leave out everything that doesn't apply to them," according to Secretary of Veteran Affairs Eric Shinseki.

Previously, some vets had complained that materials distributed by the VA outlining each vet's benefits were difficult to understand and contained unnecessary information. The idea behind the new booklets is to only give the veteran information that pertains to them and the benefits they are eligible to receive.

Tags: Agent Orange, asbestos, D.C., Eric Shinseki, Korean War, VA, veterans, Vietnam