Burr bill would alter vet disability ratings

Burr bill would alter vet disability ratings


Barbara Barrett, Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Richard Burr introduced legislation Thursday to change the ratings disability system for veterans. The measure could affect the more than 700,000 veterans in North Carolina, as well as the soldiers and Marines returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Burr, the top Republican on the Senate veteran affairs committee, said he wants to improve the system which hasn't been changed substantially in half a century.

"Now's the time for us to tackle this," said Burr, North Carolina's junior senator. "We understand today's soldiers have totally different expectations."

Veterans service organizations, though, have held off on endorsing his bill. And Democratic leaders on the veteran affairs committees in Congress say they want to learn more about what's needed before making changes to the system.

U.S. Rep. Braley: Testifies before Budget Committee on Bush budget’s impact on veterans

U.S. Rep. Braley: Testifies before Budget Committee on Bush budget’s impact on veterans
2/28/2008

Contact: Jeff Giertz, Communications Director
jeff.giertz@mail.house.gov
(202) 226-4026 (office)
(202) 297-6745 (cell)

Braley “Surprised and Disappointed” At Bush’s Proposed Cuts to VA, other Veterans Programs

Washington, DC – Today Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) testified before the House Budget Committee to discuss the impact of President Bush’s proposed FY 2009 budget on the Veterans Administration and other veterans programs.

Braley has been an advocate for veterans and veterans issues in Congress. Braley was involved with hearings last year into substandard conditions for patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and launched a Congressional investigation last fall into the denial of GI Bill education benefits to members of the Iowa National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry after their return from the longest tour of duty in Iraq.

Catch 22 for Housing Authority, veteran

Catch 22 for Housing Authority, veteran
An Aspen Times Editorial
February 27, 2008

The Aspen-Pitkin County Housing Authority and Iraq war veteran Casey Owens are in a no-win situation. Owens might lose his affordable housing because he makes too much money to live there, but the office is reluctant to kick out Owens — a 26-year-old former Marine and double amputee.

In a way, both the Housing Authority and Owens are victims in this situation. Owens’ landlord, Marne Obernauer, should have notified the office that Owens was moving in. Had Obernauer done so — as owners are required to do — then housing officials would have discovered right away that Owens didn’t qualify. (Owens is a Challenge Aspen participant and a member of the Challenge Aspen Competition Team, but draws income from a disability and military pension.)

Legion grants honor veterans' costly sacrifices

Posted February 23, 2008

Legion grants honor veterans' costly sacrifices

Brown County soldiers saluted at cemerony

By Tony Walter
twalter@greenbaypressgazette.com


Jim Wiesner's body is at home in Allouez, but too much of his mind is still on the streets of Baghdad.


"Seeing the kids actually killed, that just keeps coming back to you, and there are nightmares," said Wiesner, a 37-year-old veteran of the Wisconsin National Guard's military police. "It's just insane. You see the scars and the burns, and it just pulls at your heart."

Job Relief For Battle Weary

Job Relief For Battle Weary
Joshua Lipton 02.23.08, 11:39 AM ET


Justin Callahan doesn't remember much about the landmine explosion that crippled him. He recalls only the echo of a large blast, and a shower of dirt raining down on top of him.

The young soldier, then a 22-year-old sergeant in the Army's 10th Mountain Division, was on a routine patrol in Afghanistan. It was a January morning in 2004. Callahan was in charge of an eight-man squad, conducting area clearance and counter mine operations, walking along a dirt road, about 10 yards behind a Humvee.

Credit unions, DNC team up to build home for vet

Credit unions, DNC team up to build home for vet
By Staff


February 22, 2008 --
ARVADA, Colo. – A severely injured veteran will receive a new home – specially outfitted for his needs as a disabled former service member – as a result of a special partnership between Colorado and Wyoming credit unions, the Democratic National Convention and a group dedicated to helping those wounded in service to our nation.

Wounded soldiers cycle to recovery in 7-day bike trip

Wounded soldiers cycle to recovery in 7-day bike trip
By Kristina Peterson
Bay Area News Group
Article Launched: 02/21/2008 01:34:42 AM PST



An hour before the first Soldier Ride in California departed from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Palo Alto Wednesday, Army Spc. Saul Martinez explained his basic hand-cycle strategy.

"You just sit down and start cranking. It's a good workout, needless to say," said Martinez, 23, a double amputee who traveled from the Naval Medical Center in San Diego to participate in the seven-day cycling trip.

Sponsored by the Wounded Warriors Project, the first regional Soldier Ride in California kicked off at the VA hospital and will finish next Tuesday in San Diego. A total of 25 veterans, including six from the Palo Alto hospital's brain trauma unit, are making the trek. Many are on bicycles adapted to their war injuries.

Face of Defense: Wounded in Iraq, National Guardsman Wants to Return

Face of Defense: Wounded in Iraq, National Guardsman Wants to Return
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service



WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2008 – For an Arkansas Army National Guardsman, the war in Iraq came to an abrupt end in the alley of a Baghdad neighborhood on June 13, 2004.WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2008 – For an Arkansas Army National Guardsman, the war in Iraq came to an abrupt end in the alley of a Baghdad neighborhood on June 13, 2004.

First computer-controlled artifical leg

First computer-controlled artifical leg

February 15, 2008 | 8:09 PM

By Karina RuskSAN JOSE, CA (KGO) -- Many people who rely on a prosthetic limb have to really concentrate when they walk to prevent stumbling or falling. However, now there's a new computer-controlled artificial limb on the market, and it's one some South Bay amputees tried out Tuesday.

A wounded warrior

A wounded warrior

The Wounded Warrior Project helped him get back on his feet.

But then, one day in 2005, a Wounded Warrior Project representative visited him in his hospital room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to invite him on a ski trip. Nevins agreed, even though he thought it was "crazy."

Disabilities: Iraq Veteran fights Disability

Disabilities: Iraq Veteran fights Disability


By Daniel J. Vance
Thursday, February 14, 2008 11:46 AM CST



Disabilities: Iraq Veteran fights Disability


By Daniel J. Vance
Thursday, February 14, 2008 11:46 AM CST


On June 18, 2006, Sgt. Joshua Gutierrez of the 4th Infantry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas, was on patrol near Osut, Iraq, searching for missing U.S. soldiers.

“At first, we went into the city and did a peaceful door knock, asking the people there if they'd seen our personnel,” said 25-year-old Gutierrez in a telephone interview from the Naval Medical Center San Diego.