A veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who entered a Veterans Affairs medical center in Kansas with a gun surrendered after trading his ammunition for cigarettes. VA spokesman James Gleisberg said the veteran arrived at Colmery-O'Neil VA Medical Center in Topeka around noon Sunday. Gleisberg said the man then pulled out a gun and threatened to use it on himself. VA police and a SWAT team were called, but the man surrendered about 1:45 p.m. and is now being treated at the VA.
The pilot for a new, jointly-developed DoD-VA disability eVAluation system (DES), set to expand from five to 22 military bases by May, does much of what proponents hoped it would. It allows more injured or ill service members to win higher disability ratings, to see VA payments start faster and, through greater transparency in the process, to feel they have been treated more fairly by government.
FALLS CHURCH, Va. - The Department of Defense (DoD) is working with the Department of Veterans Affairs (Va) to expand a pilot program that simplifies the current disability eValuation process for wounded, injured and ill service members.
The Veterans Affairs Department has
launched its new "Returning Veterans" Web site at http://
www.oefoif.va.gov to welcome home veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan
conflicts with a social, veteran-centric Web site that focuses on their
needs and questions, va officials announced today.
The Defense and Veterans Affairs departments today announced a new, faster means for handling troops with "catastrophic" injuries who seek the veterans' status that allows them access to VA medical and other entitlements.
WASHINGTON, March 11, 2009 - President Barack Obama's fiscal 2010 budget proposal is necessary to transform the Department of Veterans Affairs into the 21st century organization he envisions, VA's top official said here yesterday.
VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki told the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on veterans affairs that the proposed budget is "critical to realizing the president's mission" for future veteran care.
Duckworth, a major in the Illinois National Guard who lost both legs in 2004 after the helicopter she was flying was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, will be nominated to be assistant veterans secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs, White House and VA officials announced Tuesday.
WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today plans to re-open enrollment in its health care system by July 2009 to about 265,000 veterans whose incomes exceed current limits.
WASHINGTON - With motor vehicle crashes being a leading cause of deaths among combat veterans during the first years after their return home, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Defense (DOD) are working together to reduce these accidents.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) commissioned the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report to eVAluate the potential long-term consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The study readily identified the lack of literature on blast-related TBI and the long-term effects of TBI when blast injury is a contributing factor. The five recommendations are listed in the article.
The James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa finds itself at the VAnguard of a therapeutic revolution at the Department of Veterans Affairs, using a popular video game to bring veterans back from the brink.
The course prepares Army IT professionals with the skills they'll need in the combat zone to help the nation's best doctors and nurses capture critical medical information without skipping a beat. Sustaining the systems ultimately leads to improved continuity of care and a complete medical history-useful when soldiers apply for VA medical benefits.
The Veterans Affairs Department is taking steps to help veterans seeking compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder, VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki announced today.
WASHINGTON, June 22, 2009 - The Department of Veterans Affairs took to the road, literally, when it decided to advertise about its "VA Suicide Prevention Lifeline" on public transportation buses in 124 communities across the country.
To strengthen the Department of Veterans Affairs programs for survivors of the nation's veterans and servicemembers, VA officials have staffed an office to serve as the their advocate, with a charter that includes creating or modifying programs, benefits and services.
1/23/2009 - RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Air Force Personnel Center officials here will begin to transfer health treatment records of retired and separated active, Guard and Reserve Airmen to the Department of Veterans Affairs Feb. 1.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki released an unusual open letter to all veterans Friday, saying he is committed to transforming his department into a 21st-century organization in which "veterans are central to everything VA does."