There was a very interesting article sent to me by Military.Com. It is widely known that the majority of Vets do not know the full extent of benefits they've earned. This article is also a primary driver for the Service and Sacrifice manuscript. My associate at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center Dr Gala True has agreed this information justifies her hard work in the area of Veterans Outreach. Please take some time to read this article and share it with your families and friends, espcially if you know they have Veterans in their lives.
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,211267,00.html
Many Vets Still Unaware of Benefits
Tom Philpott | February 25, 2010
Too Many Vets Still Leave Service Unaware of Benefits
Despite billions of additional dollars pumped into veterans' benefits in recent years, many military personnel still leave service unaware of their VA benefits or of programs set up to help them transition to civilian life, a senior Defense official and veteran advocates testified Wednesday.
Noel C. Koch, deputy under secretary of defense for wounded warrior care and transition policy, said he has visited many military hospitals and interviewed "hundreds" of service members, many recovering from wounds.
"It's a constant source of partly amazement and partly disappointment at how little aware they are" of benefits and programs to help them either return to full duty or smooth their path into veteran status
Communication "seems to be the entire issue," Koch explained. Despite a lot of work being done to address this gap, the government fails to communicate effectively with departing members, particularly younger ones.
"This is partly a generational issue," Koch told the House veterans affairs subcommittee on disability assistance. Young veterans "don't communicate the way people my age communicate. They don't refer to these thick manuals we put out that are just chock full of information, which nobody reads. Even websites are becoming somewhat antiquated in the eyes of some of our younger service members."... click on the web link above for the complete article. God Bless America!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Book reviews
The purpose of this blog is to get the word out about the progress towards getting 'Service and Sacrifice' published. I've read several military books to learn more about memoirs and other combat experiences. I've been doing this work as a member of the Dorrance Publishing 'Book Review Team'.
I have just completed reading ‘Toy Soldier – SGT Perronne’s Story’ by Paul E. Perronne. This is a very interesting account of one airman’s experience of the early days of Desert Storm and how serving during that war changed his life. This account may inform veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom about the struggles many service members have experienced proving they have Service Connected medical conditions. I’m especially interested in SGT Perronne’s account of how he documented his injuries, or at least the symptoms and record of medical treatments. He made reference to keeping both a deployment journal and a medical treatment journal. This is vitally important to service members along with maintaining current official copies of their medical files.
I’m not going to attempt to take a formal position on SGT Perronne’s account and cannot validate his story. You can read it for yourself. I just believe it has quite a bit of merit from the perspective of what many of our Vets are experiencing today. Please check it out. If you need to borrow my copy, please let me know.
I have read several books and I post my comments as a member of the Dorrance Publishing ‘Book Review’ team on my Amazon account page. The link to the page is below. A copy of my book reviews are also placed on my Barnes & Nobel book review history. Stop by these sites and please feel free to leave me comments about my reviews or if you have read any of the same titles.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A1D6V6MUSPFAJ2/ref=cm_cr_pr_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview
http://my.barnesandnoble.com/LTConsole-profile/
Let me know if these links don’t work for you! God Bless and take care!
I have just completed reading ‘Toy Soldier – SGT Perronne’s Story’ by Paul E. Perronne. This is a very interesting account of one airman’s experience of the early days of Desert Storm and how serving during that war changed his life. This account may inform veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom about the struggles many service members have experienced proving they have Service Connected medical conditions. I’m especially interested in SGT Perronne’s account of how he documented his injuries, or at least the symptoms and record of medical treatments. He made reference to keeping both a deployment journal and a medical treatment journal. This is vitally important to service members along with maintaining current official copies of their medical files.
I’m not going to attempt to take a formal position on SGT Perronne’s account and cannot validate his story. You can read it for yourself. I just believe it has quite a bit of merit from the perspective of what many of our Vets are experiencing today. Please check it out. If you need to borrow my copy, please let me know.
I have read several books and I post my comments as a member of the Dorrance Publishing ‘Book Review’ team on my Amazon account page. The link to the page is below. A copy of my book reviews are also placed on my Barnes & Nobel book review history. Stop by these sites and please feel free to leave me comments about my reviews or if you have read any of the same titles.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A1D6V6MUSPFAJ2/ref=cm_cr_pr_auth_rev?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview
http://my.barnesandnoble.com/LTConsole-profile/
Let me know if these links don’t work for you! God Bless and take care!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Wounded Warrior National Resource Directory
Hello Everyone!
I see how time is a factor keeping a blog up-to-date. Well, I don't want to post every day just for the sake of it. I really want this information to be valuable. Here is a new reference that will be a key link from Part IV of the manuscript: www.nationalresourcedirectory.gov
The NRD has been released as a single point of reference for the majority of known Wounded Warrior benefits and services. You'll notice it is a ".gov" site. If you check out their 'About Us' section, you'll see this program is a partnership with Department of Defense, Labor, and Veterans Affairs. There are links to State and Local services and quick filters.
Remember, the 'Service and Sacrifice during Operation Iraqi Freedom' manuscript includes key references to programs like this. In contrast, the manuscript intent is to focus on injuries related to PTSD and TBI as opposed to employment services and non-medical issues. I appreciate your feedback and God Bless America!
Sam
I see how time is a factor keeping a blog up-to-date. Well, I don't want to post every day just for the sake of it. I really want this information to be valuable. Here is a new reference that will be a key link from Part IV of the manuscript: www.nationalresourcedirectory.gov
The NRD has been released as a single point of reference for the majority of known Wounded Warrior benefits and services. You'll notice it is a ".gov" site. If you check out their 'About Us' section, you'll see this program is a partnership with Department of Defense, Labor, and Veterans Affairs. There are links to State and Local services and quick filters.
Remember, the 'Service and Sacrifice during Operation Iraqi Freedom' manuscript includes key references to programs like this. In contrast, the manuscript intent is to focus on injuries related to PTSD and TBI as opposed to employment services and non-medical issues. I appreciate your feedback and God Bless America!
Sam
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