Thursday, June 19, 2008
WASHINGTON (June 19, 2008) - The Fourth National Summit on Women
Veterans' Issues will take place at the Westin Washington, D.C., City
Center from June 20-22. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B.
Peake said the three-day meeting will help ensure that women veterans
know about the benefits and health care they have earned.
"With more women than ever serving in our armed forces, this public
forum will bring visibility to the issues important to women veterans of
all eras," Peake said. "Today, women are important contributors to the
military and valued members of the veterans community."
Recognizing the valor, service and sacrifice of America's 1.7 million
women veterans, VA has created a comprehensive array of benefits and
programs.
Women veterans are entitled to the same benefits and medical care as
their male counterparts, including health care, disability compensation,
education assistance, work-study allowance, vocational rehabilitation,
employment and counseling services, insurance, home loan benefits,
nursing home care, survivor benefits and various burial benefits.
In addition, VA also has a multitude of services and programs that
respond to the unique needs of women veterans, including pap smears,
mammography, and general reproductive health care, substance abuse
counseling, counseling for sexual trauma, and evaluation and treatment
for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Today, over 200,000 women are serving in the armed forces. About 11
percent of the U.S. forces currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq are
women.
According to a recent "hospital report card" by VA, the Department's
screening for breast and cervical cancer for women in VA facilities
exceeds screening in private-sector facilities, but women veterans lag
behind their male counterparts in some quality measurements.
VA has already launched an aggressive program to ensure women veterans
receive the highest quality of care, including $32.5 million to purchase
additional equipment to meet the health care needs of women. This
includes full field digital mammography equipment, stereotactic imaging
technology, specialized ultrasound and biopsy equipment and DEXA
scanners for bone density measurements. The status of health care for
women veterans will be a major topic at the summit.
There is a women veterans program manager at every VA medical center, a
women's liaison at every community based outpatient clinic and a women
veterans coordinator at every VA regional office.
NYS Cold War Service Medal passed the state senate yesterday and was returned to assembly for delivery to Gov. Patterson.
See Bill Text
S05650 Summary:
BILL NO S05650
SAME AS Same as A 5156-A
SPONSOR
COSPNSR
MLTSPNSR
Amd S247, Mil L
Authorizes the issuance of a Cold War service medal to certain individuals.
S05650 Actions:
BILL NO S05650
04/25/2007 REFERRED TO VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAIRS
05/22/2007 1ST REPORT CAL.1287
05/29/2007 2ND REPORT CAL.
05/30/2007 ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
06/21/2007 COMMITTED TO RULES
01/09/2008 REFERRED TO VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAIRS
01/14/2008 1ST REPORT CAL.24
01/15/2008 2ND REPORT CAL.
01/22/2008 ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
06/19/2008 SUBSTITUTED BY A5156A
A05156A AMEND= Ortiz (MS)
02/12/2007 referred to veterans` affairs
04/17/2007 amend and recommit to veterans` affairs
04/17/2007 print number 5156a
05/01/2007 reported
05/03/2007 advanced to third reading cal.371
05/08/2007 passed assembly
05/08/2007 delivered to senate
05/08/2007 REFERRED TO VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAI
01/09/2008 DIED IN SENATE
01/09/2008 RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY
01/09/2008 ordered to third reading cal.376
03/04/2008 passed assembly
03/04/2008 delivered to senate
03/04/2008 REFERRED TO VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAI
06/19/2008 SUBSTITUTED FOR S5650
06/19/2008 3RD READING CAL.24
06/19/2008 PASSED SENATE
06/19/2008 RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY
--------------------------------------------------------------
Sean P. Eagan
ACWV Public Affairs Director
http://cold-war-veterans-blog.blogspot.com
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
By ČTK / Published 18 June 2008
Berlin, June 17 (CTK) - Former Czech President Vaclav Havel, along with former German and Polish foreign ministers, Hans-Dietrich Genscher and Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, have signed an appeal for the establishment of a museum of Cold War in Berlin, the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung wrote Tuesday.
The permanent exhibition on the Cold War history is to be situated at the Checkpoint Charlie, former border crossing between East and West Berlin.
Havel and other personalities called on the German government and the Berlin Town Hall to secure suitable premises for this purpose at Checkpoint Charlie, Sueddeutsche Zeitung writes, referring to the petition that the paper has at its disposal.
The Checkpoint Charlie currently houses a private museum of the Berlin Wall focused on the division of Berlin during the Cold War. It is one of the major tourist attractions.
The signatories, supporting a new museum, say they want this locality to become a place of serious confrontations with the 20th-century history.
The personalities recall in their appeal that the world has considerably changed during the past two decades since the end of Cold War, so even visitors to Berlin can hardly find any traces of the previous division of the city.
The Berlin Senate self-governing body has already formed a working group promoting for the idea to establish the Cold War museum.
The institution should recollect the formation of two antagonistic military blocs as well as the subsequent events such as the Cuban crisis and the escalation of peace movements.
Unlike Havel, former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev does not support the project much very enthusiastically.
The museum is to be funded by municipal and state resources as well as EU subsidies
SARATOGA COUNTY — Thousands of county residents who served in the military but not in conventional wartime will qualify for a new property tax exemption adopted Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors.
The board unanimously adopted the new Cold War exemption, available to people who were on active duty during the era of armed tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and other communist countries.
The state law allowing local governments to offer the exemption defines the period as being between Sept. 2, 1945, the end of World War II, and Dec. 26, 1991, after the fall of the Soviet communist empire.
Eligible veterans can receive a 15 percent exemption on their county property taxes up to a maximum of $12,000 in property value. It can be for up to $40,000 if the veteran has a service-related disability.
That is 10 percent of the exemption people with military disabilities due to combat service in “hot” conflicts such as World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq qualify for.
The exemption doesn’t apply to local school taxes, which for most property owners is their highest tax.
At a public hearing last week, several veterans spoke in favor of the exemption.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize how much went into the Cold War,” said 35-year veteran Jim Coyne of Saratoga Springs.
“There was a lot of tension in that time,” said Gene Ratigliano, commander of the Gurtler Bros. VFW Post in Saratoga Springs, who said his members favor the legislation. “Regardless of what service you were in, you were involved in Cold war operations.”
Because the exemption is small, it is expected to have a negligible impact on the tax bills of non-veterans.
“I think it’s the principle of the matter,” county Veterans Committee Chairman Philip C. Barrett, R-Clifton Park, said when the legislation was introduced. “Anything that’s out there, I think we should offer to our veterans.”
The Clifton Park Town Board has approved the exemption at the town level, and the Saratoga Springs City Council was to vote on offering it on city taxes Tuesday night.
Other communities across the Capital Region are in the process of discussing or authorizing the exemption, which was made available under a new state law last year. Fulton County has already adopted it.
Veterans of the Cold War served at a time of high military tensions, though not of actual fighting. Until now, veterans’ tax exemptions have been only for those who served in wartime.
The Cold War was a period when a large number of American troops were stationed in Europe against the threat of a Soviet invasion, and others served in non-combat stations throughout the world. Both the U.S. and Russia kept a large array of nuclear weapons with which to threaten the other.
Veterans who served in wars during that era, including Korea and Vietnam, qualify for a higher exemption but can’t also receive the Cold War exemption.
Currently, there are about 19,000 veterans living in Saratoga County. About 9,000 of them currently have an exemption based on their time of service, said Carol Holley, the county’s real property tax services director.
Holley said many veterans who don’t have an exemption now will qualify for the Cold War exemption, but not all will, because some don’t own property or they may have served after the 1991 cutoff date.
The state will provide the application form and local assessors will administer the exemption. The law takes affect July 1 but probably won’t have practical effect until the next time exemption applications are due, March 1, 2009.
Money For Nothing, Checks For Free
by Anne Stanton
A Manistee County judge ruled recently that a portion of a Vietnam veteran’s disability benefits can be considered when determining the amount of alimony paid to an ex-spouse.
Veteran Calvin Murphy had argued in court that his disability benefits should be off limits to his ex-wife, but 19th Circuit Judge James Batzer disagreed.
Murphy, 61, testified in the trial that he served a harrowing 5 1/2 months in Vietnam and mistakenly believed for decades that he had killed a fellow soldier during a North Vietnamese attack. He was wracked by guilt that his entire squadron had been ambushed, shot in the head, and found with cards in their mouths that said “Yankee go home.” He was not with his squadron at the time of the ambush.
Murphy said he was torn up emotionally from the experience—during his 24-year marriage to Karen Murphy, he sometimes slept with a gun, was tormented by nightmares, and used drugs and alcohol. In the early 1990s, he stopped drinking and sought treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder...
Calvin’s attorney, Wendy Divozzo of Cadillac, argued that federal law says that a veteran’s benefits belong solely to the person disabled, and should never be diverted to a third party under any circumstances.
Karen Murphy’s attorney, Connie Krusniak of Ludington, said that other state and federal laws across the country say that disability pay is for the benefit of the veteran and the family, and that those laws are backed by rulings in previous cases. Judge Batzer agreed with her interpretation.
Krusniak argued that an ex-spouse of a military veteran deserves something after supporting her spouse through years of emotional upheaval arising from the disability of post traumatic stress disorder, which is expressed in nightmares, depression, drug and alcohol abuse. A spouse also deserves something for supporting the partner through doctor appointments, rehab and physical handicaps.
Judge Batzer based his judgment, in part, on family law and the income of Calvin and Karen, and the amount of money each needed to survive.
Calvin Murphy, who is unemployed, collects a total of $3886 each month, including $2,400 for military disability, $1,186 in Social Security disability, and $300 in disability income through the National Park Service where he used to work, according to court records. That amount will go down significantly after the divorce.
Karen Murphy, who is also unemployed, collects about $700 per month in disability.
Judge Batzer awarded Karen $800 a month indefinitely until her death or until she remarries. That judgment leaves Calvin $3,195 a month on which to live.
Judge Batzer was clear in his ruling that military disability benefits should be used as a basis for alimony, or what’s now called spousal support.
Part of the problem, attorney Divozzo said, is that state and federal law are contradictory and unclear, and that rulings have varied around the country.
“I am telling Calvin and the other vets that if they want to help the young veterans coming back from Iraq or Afgahnistan, to tell them not to get married unless they have a prenuptial that specifically excludes future VA benefits or service connected benefits. That’s their best shot at having some certainty absent a change in law or a clear ruling that a spouse may not claim those,” Divozzo said.
Krusniak declined comment on the ruling.
Calvin, who has already spent jail time for refusing to pay spousal benefits awarded in the first go-round of the case two years ago, said he will appeal the decision. He has has vowed to give up all his disability benefits if he loses on appeal and “take the homeless life.”
If he is ordered to jail, he said that he’ll request service in the Middle East.
“This whole matter has destroyed my life. I have my home up for sale, and the stress is starting to take its toll on me, but I will keep fighting. I want to go as far as I can and try my best to turn this law around where it is the same everywhere for all vets around the country,” he said.
“When a soldier hangs up his or her uniform, things change. You are treated like an old pair of shoes.”
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Gulf War Veterans Given Added Voice at VA
June 17, 2008
New Committee to Air Veterans’ Concerns
WASHINGTON - - Veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War will gain additional access to the leadership of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) when the department’s Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans holds its first meeting today. The 14-member, independent panel will advise the Secretary and the department on the full range of health care and benefits needs of those who served in the conflict.
“I will ask them to take a ‘fresh-eyes’ approach in developing their recommendations and work expeditiously to produce a final report within 18-months,” said Secretary Peake.
Serving on the committee are Gulf War and other veterans, veterans service organizations’ representatives, medical experts, and the surviving spouse of a Gulf War veteran. Members were selected to provide a variety of perspectives, experiences, and expertise. Open to the public, the meeting is scheduled for June 17 – 19, 2008 at the Hamilton Crowne Plaza, 14th & K Streets, NW, Washington.
Secretary of Veteran Affairs Dr. James B. Peake will welcome the members and thank them for their service both on the committee and in their lives as citizens, veterans or veteran advocates. He will discuss the importance the department places on the unique issues and challenges faced by Gulf War veterans.
The first meeting is designed to give committee members an overview of VA as well as the benefits and services provided to Gulf War veterans. Members will receive briefings on education, home loan guaranty, disability compensation and other benefits.
Additional briefings will include health care and veterans’ legal and appeal rights. They will hear public comments June 18 at 2:15 p.m. and June 19 at 3:30 p.m.
Membership
VA Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans
Charles Cragin, (Chair) of Raymond, Maine. Currently serves a senior counselor for Maine Street Solutions, LLC.
Martha Douthit of Ashburn, Va. Surviving spouse of Gulf War Army veteran, member of the Gold Star Wives of America, currently an international trade analyst with the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Dr. Henry Falk of Atlanta. Retired rear admiral and former Assistant U.S. Surgeon General. Currently director for the Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mark Garner of Lorton, Va. A retired Marine Corps chief warrant officer-three and Gulf War veteran who served as a Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Officer.
Dr. Lynn Goldman of Chevy Chase, Md. Vice chair of the Institute of Medicine Gulf War and Health Study; currently professor of environmental health sciences at Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. John Hart of Plano, Texas. Past president of the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology, currently professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
William (Rusty) Jones of South Riding, Va. Retired Marine Corps colonel, and veteran of Gulf War and Vietnam War.
Kirt Love of Crawford, Texas. An Army veteran of the Gulf War, currently serving as director of the Desert Storm Battle Registry.
Daniel Ortiz of Whittier, Calif. An Army veteran of the Gulf War, currently serving as department service director with the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Daniel Pinedo of Oceanside, Calif. Marine Corps colonel currently serving as the comptroller for First Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Thomas Plewes of Annandale, Va. A retired Army lieutenant general and former chief of the Army Reserve. Currently a senior program officer with National Academy of Sciences.
Valerie Randall of Savage, Md. A retired Army sergeant first class; currently with the Department of Homeland Security.
Edward (Randy) Reese of Washington, D.C. An Army veteran of the Gulf War; currently national service director for the Disabled American Veterans.
Steve Robertson of Fredericksburg, Va. A Gulf War veteran who served both in the Air Force and Army National Guard. Currently director of the national legislative commission for The American Legion.
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