-Thursday, 17 December 2015
-Did you know:
-Purple Hearts to go to victims of Chattanooga terror attack.
-Congress reaches deal on 2016 spending bill to fund federal government.
-Speaker Ryan expresses support for ISIS war authorization.
-U.S. soldiers in Egypt face jihadist threats, deserve combat tax break.
-Patrick J. Murphy, nominee for undersecretary of the Army, gets positive reviews in Senate hearing.
-Navy Under Secretary Nominee Davidson Fields Ford Carrier Concerns During Confirmation Hearing.
-Pentagon names 1st female commandant of West Point's cadets .
-Army cuts 2,664 active-component soldiers in October.
-Marine re-enlistment opportunities surge in 2016.
-Littoral Combat Ship USS Milwaukee Repairs Could Last Weeks.
-Air Force combat jobs attract rush of women.
-Pentagon: Afghanistan becoming less secure.
-Why Bergdahl faces a worse charge than desertion.
-Budget deal mails down fiscal 2016 spending for DoD, VA.
-Congress seeks to shame former VA construction chief, Glenn Haggstrom gets a slap in massive federal spending bill.
-VA’s own internal probe finds impunity of agency leaders at scandal-ridden hospital.
-Phoenix Veterans Affairs whistleblower retaliators not punished, Reports: Senior manager still on jobs.
-Documents: VA refuses to fire officials who punished whistleblowers.
-VA inspectors reject blame for delayed disciplining of Phoenix executives.
-Arizona rep.: Don’t move embattled St. Paul executive to Phoenix VA.
-Congress tries to end VA officials’ abuse of benefits program.
-Congressional delegation not happy with VA choice.
-VA, DoD show Congress progress in e-health records interoperability.
-VA to provide robotic legs to paralyzed Vets.
-VA contracts with DARPA-backed startup for real-time behavioral analytics, mental health app.
-Combat-related lung diseases lack diagnosis guidelines, researchers say.
-Veterans cemetery receives $3.5 million grant to prevent headstones from slipping, plant new grass.
-Philia. Milestone in ending Vet homelessness.
-VA volunteer receives President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for 4,000 hours of volunteer service.
Did you know:
Remember the gift of life this holiday season: Give blood:A lot of military families give to charity during the holidays. One they should always be thinking about is giving in a way that’s crucial to injured service members – blood donations.
Stars and Stripes Purple Hearts to go to victims of Chattanooga terror attack.The Navy said Wednesday that four Marines and one sailor murdered in Chattanooga will receive Purple Hearts after the FBI announced earlier in the day that the July attacks were an act of terrorism.
USA TodayCongress reaches deal on 2016 spending bill to fund federal government.Congressional leaders reached a tentative deal Tuesday night on a $1.1 trillion spending bill that would end the threat of a year-end government shutdown and fund federal agencies through most of 2016.
The HillSpeaker Ryan expresses support for ISIS war authorization. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Tuesday expressed support for considering an authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), even though he said President Obama can wage his military campaign without it.
Army TimesU.S. soldiers in Egypt face jihadist threats, deserve combat tax break.The State Department describes it as a "particularly restive area" where known jihadists operate. It's been the site of multiple terrorist attacks in recent months, some targeting service members.
Fayetteville ObserverPatrick J. Murphy, nominee for undersecretary of the Army, gets positive reviews in Senate hearing.President Obama's nominee to become the next under secretary of the Army received largely glowing reviews during a Senate hearing charged with vetting him.
USNI NewsNavy Under Secretary Nominee Davidson Fields Ford Carrier Concerns During Confirmation Hearing.The nominee for the Navy's number two civilian post told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that she shares its concerns with the cost overruns and delays in the delivery of the Ford-class nuclear aircraft carrier and was "open to all options" in considering alternatives.
Associated PressPentagon names 1st female commandant of West Point's cadets . A veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be the first female commandant of cadets at the U.S. Military Academy, one of West Point's top positions.
Army TimesArmy cuts 2,664 active-component soldiers in October. The Regular Army’s soldier population dropped by 2,664 in October, bringing personnel strength for the first month of this fiscal year to 488,701, some 13,700 shy of the force reduction goal for 2016.
Marine Corps TimesMarine re-enlistment opportunities surge in 2016. 2016 will mark the end of the Marine Corps drawdown, and it will bring greater opportunities for Marines to re-enlist.
USNI NewsLittoral Combat Ship USS Milwaukee Repairs Could Last Weeks. The Navy's newest Littoral Combat Ship - USS Milwaukee (LCS-5) - could be sidelined for weeks to repair an engine casualty that occurred last week during an Atlantic Ocean transit.
Air Force TimesAir Force combat jobs attract rush of women.The interest from potential female recruits in six combat jobs newly open to them is running high, the Air Force Recruiting Service said.
Stars and Stripes Pentagon: Afghanistan becoming less secure.Security in Afghanistan is deteriorating, violence is increasing, and the Islamic State has become “operationally emergent” in the country’s east, though insurgents have not been able to exert lasting control over any major population centers, the Pentagon says in a new report.
Stars and Stripes Why Bergdahl faces a worse charge than desertion.U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has been charged with desertion, but that isn't the reason he faces life imprisonment in his court-martial. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the maximum punishment for desertion is five years. The potential life sentence comes from a now-obscure charge with origins in the articles of war enacted by the Continental Congress on Sept. 20, 1776: the charge of misbehavior before the enemy.
Military Times: Budget deal nails down fiscal 2016 spending for DoD, VA.The omnibus appropriations deal reached by congressional leaders late Tuesday night will provide $573 billion for defense operations in fiscal 2016, another $163 billion for Department of Veterans Affairs programs and about nine months of budget stability for federal agencies that have faced various looming shutdown threats since September… The $163 billion appropriated for VA operations in fiscal 2016 includes $71.4 billion in discretionary funding, an almost 10 percent jump in that account from fiscal 2015 levels.
The Denver Post: Congress seeks to shame former VA construction chief, Glenn Haggstrom gets a slap in massive federal spending bill.A former VA executive was singled out for humiliation this week in a way that few — if any — government workers ever have received: a public shaming penned by Congress. The official in question is Glenn Haggstrom, who once served as construction chief at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and who supervised a VA hospital project in Aurora that saw its price nearly triple , from $604 million in 2011 to about $1.7 billion this year.
The Washington Post (Federal Eye): VA’s own internal probe finds impunity of agency leaders at scandal-ridden hospital.Investigators at the Department of Veterans Affairs found that two senior managers retaliated against whistleblowers who reported dangers to patient care and financial mismanagement at the Phoenix hospital at the center of a nationwide scandal over falsified waiting lists. But 15 months after the internal probes were finished and sent to Secretary Robert McDonald recommending that the managers be disciplined or fired, VA has done neither…
The Washington Times: Phoenix Veterans Affairs whistleblower retaliators not punished, Reports: Senior manager still on jobs.The VA has yet to fire or punish the senior managers in Phoenix who retaliated against whistleblowers who revealed massive dysfunction at the department, despite an internal audit from more than a year ago that said the two executives deserved to be “appropriate administrative action” or firing. Reports obtained by The Washington Times show the Veterans Affairs Office of Accountability Review said Dr. Darren Deering, chief of staff the VA’s Phoenix facility…
Washington Examiner: Documents: VA refuses to fire officials who punished whistleblowers.Officials at the embattled Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Phoenix have held onto their jobs despite an internal review that uncovered evidence they had retaliated against whistleblowers. The year-old report, which has not yet been made public by the VA, offered a detailed account of the retaliation two whistleblowers faced when they attempted to report wrongdoing at the Phoenix facility.
The Arizona Republic: VA inspectors reject blame for delayed disciplining of Phoenix executives.For months, officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs have claimed they were stymied in trying to hold top Phoenix VA officials accountable because of an ongoing criminal investigation. But an email this week from the department's Inspector General's Office says that excuse is bunk: The OIG and FBI criminal investigation of Phoenix officials was completed, referred to federal prosecutors and rejected over the summer. There is no pending case.
Star Tribune: Arizona rep.: Don’t move embattled St. Paul executive to Phoenix VA.Arizona Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick has asked the Veterans Administration to not transfer Kim Graves, the embattled former chief of the St. Paul Regional Benefits Office, to Phoenix because the facility there has enough problems. In a letter to VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson, Kirkpatrick said she was appalled by the findings of the VA Office of the Inspector General regarding Graves' behavior.
Washington Examiner: Congress tries to end VA officials’ abuse of benefits program.Congress is set to pass a $1.1 trillion funding bill that would put new limits on a relocation program for VA workers that has been criticized as a way to funnel extra money and benefits to VA employees. But the language wouldn't shut down the program completely. At issue is the Home Marketing Incentive Program and the Appraisal Value Offer Program, which many members of Congress say have been abused by top VA workers.
WTVA-TV (NBC-9, Video): Congressional delegation not happy with VA choice.Mississippi's congressional delegation is not happy with the choice by Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald for a regional position with the VA. Lawmakers from both parties have sent a letter asking McDonald to rescind the appointment of Dr. Skye McDougall as network director for the South Central Veterans Affairs Health Care Network.
FedScoop: VA, DoD show Congress progress in e-health records interoperability.Weeks after a tongue-lashing by a pair of House subcommittees, the officials working on electronic health record interoperability between the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs say they've finally opened lawmakers' eyes to the progress they've been making. Last week, IT staff from the VA and DOD, as well from the departments' joint Interoperability Program Office, visited members of Congress to showcase the capabilities of the Joint Legacy Viewer…
The New York Times (AP): VA to provide robotic legs to paralyzed Vets.The Department of Veterans Affairs has agreed to pay for robotic legs that could allow scores of paralyzed veterans with spinal cord injuries to walk again. Veterans have been petitioning the VA to do this because many cannot afford the $77,000 needed to pay for the powered exoskeleton called the ReWalk. The device was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2014 for individuals to use at home.
FierceMedicalDevices: VA contracts with DARPA-backed startup for real-time behavioral analytics, mental health app.The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has contracted with Boston-based startup Cogito for use of its real-time behavioral analytics mobile app that analyzes voice recordings and mobile phone usage to create clinically validated behavioral indicators of mental health. The agency said it will use the Cogito app to detect veterans in need of mental health care, including suicide prevention.
Military TimesCombat-related lung diseases lack diagnosis guidelines, researchers say.Evidence is mounting that veterans are suffering from pulmonary disorders related to deployment to the Middle East, but little is being done to diagnose and treat these illnesses, say researchers who are proposing new guidance for treating affected troops.
Boulder City Review: Veterans cemetery receives $3.5 million grant to prevent headstones from slipping, plant new grass.Perfect military order will soon be restored to the Southern Nevada Veterans Cemetery in Boulder City. The cemetery was awarded a $3.5 million grant in October from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs through the Division of the National Cemetery Administration in an effort to restore slipping headstones of fallen veterans. The grant should allow for the veterans cemetery to correct the ground that approximately 26,000 headstones lie on.
Philadelphia Inquirer: Philia. Milestone in ending Vet homelessness.We all know that the vast majority of America’s veterans return home and go on to find good jobs, build strong families, and keep on serving our country in their workplaces, congregations, and communities. But we also know that today, in cities and towns across this nation, there are men and women who wore America’s uniform in wars as far back as Vietnam and Korea — and as recent as Iraq and Afghanistan — but don’t have a roof over their heads.
Moultrie News: VA volunteer receives President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for 4,000 hours of volunteer service.Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center Volunteer Robert “Bob” Block was recently awarded the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for contributing more than 4,000 hours of volunteer service in his lifetime. The President’s Volunteer Service Program is the premier national volunteer awards program and encourages U.S. citizens to live a life of service. Block is the 14th Charleston VA medical center volunteer to receive the award.