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Do you associate the concept of networking with kissing up, lying or not be authentic? The concept of networking is often seen as distasteful by veterans. During your military career, it was important to build relationships and credibility with influencers and stakeholders, but you might believe you did it naturally, not in a forced or strategic manner. In the civilian world, networking is a huge career catalyst. Nurturing current relationships with people that will vouch for you and support you become a network to help advance your current position. Your Network Buys You Brand CapitalAs you transition to a civilian career, broaden your perspective of networking– online and in person – to build strategic relationships with colleagues, influencers, and contacts who can grow your career in meaningful ways. What is Networking? Networking is a mutually beneficial, reciprocal business relationship. In a networking situation, both people must perceive some benefit from the relationship, but the benefit does not need to be the exact same thing. Consider this example: John and Tim are sales professionals at different firms, and are networking contacts. They frequently see each other at business events, seminars, and conferences. John values Tim's insights into industry trends and his mentorship as John grows his career. Tim values John’s feedback on his own sales style and communication skills, which is something Tim is working on. They each benefit from the relationship. When you network with someone, you commit to sharing knowledge, support, and resources. Relationships take time to develop to a comfortable level of trust. At the outset of a new networking relationship, contacts might simply exchange pleasantries, connect online, and initiate a meeting to learn more about how each party can help and benefit from the relationship. Later, as they learn more about each other, the parties might share more confidential information. Networking Basics To get started building your professional network, consider these steps:1. Categorize your contactsAs you leave the military, you might feel you don’t know anyone. That’s not true! Make a list of your contacts, including: the men and women with whom you served; alumni from high school, college, graduate school; colleagues and co-workers from current and past jobs; and people you've met at events, job fairs, and other gatherings, contacts you’ve met through your spouse, socially, or through any transition prep courses. This is the start of your network. 2. Identify who you should know To build your next career, who are the people you should, or would like, to know? Are there industry leaders, experts or collaborators in careers who could help you get started? Who are the people who get mentioned in conversations as being influential? Are there mentors you’d like to work with? Make a list of people you believe would be helpful to you. Then, identify ways you could help them: Could you provide insight into the military culture? Do they need to know someone with your skills or expertise? Are there connections you could make for them? 3. Plan how you can introduce yourselfWhen you’ve identified a contact you should know, what is the best way to connect? Do you know someone who knows them? Are you connected somehow online? Do you attend the same industry events? When you initiate contact – in person or on a social networking site – be sure to introduce yourself, clarify why you are reaching out to connect, and how you can help them. 4. Start with your elevator pitchYour elevator pitch is how you answer the question, “what do you do?” Be sure you clearly state what your job is (or what you seek), how you are unique (what makes you memorable?) and share an example of how you can help others. You might consider answering this way: I do “X” for “Y” to solve “Z”.NOTE: To learn more about the elevator pitch and networking, tune into our webinar on March 28! 5. Don’t take rejection personallyIf the person you want to connect with does not return the favor, don’t take it personally. If you introduce yourself to them at a business event and they seem disinterested there are a myriad of possible reasons (they might be waiting for someone, not in the mood to meet someone new, distracted from a bad day, etc.) Online, if the person rejects your invitation to connect, they might be too busy or distracted to pay attention to your offer. If they don’t know you, how could they reject you personally? Consider this before you take it to heart. Always be yourself when building a network of contacts. When you are genuine, people want to get to know you and help you. Then, act with generosity and curiosity, and you will make a positive impression on the people in the community in which you will work! Developed through the VFW’s collaboration with Lida Citroën of the international brand strategy firm LIDA360, this article is part of the VFW’s expanding education and transitioning services, resources and webinars designed to provide service members and veterans transitioning to the civilian workforce with an opportunity to learn about personal branding and strategies for navigating the job search process. To learn more about Lida’s commitment to the veteran community, check out her recent TEDX talk.    By Lida Citroën, principal, LIDA360

National Commander Schmidt and others stroll through Hollywood during the California Walk for Veterans. Photo by Jon Endow Los Angeles area veterans stroll through Hollywood during the California Walk for Veterans. Photo by Jon Endow Walkers pose for selfies with the National Commander during the California Walk for Veterans in Hollywood. Photo by Jon Endow Los Angeles area veterans gather at Post 43 in Hollywood for the California Walk for Veterans. Photo by Jon Endow A few of the walkers managed to hitch a ride during the California Walk for Veterans in Hollywood. Photo by Jon Endow

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate on Monday easily confirmed physician David Shulkin to be secretary of Veterans Affairs, charged with delivering on President Donald Trump's campaign promises to fix long-standing problems at the department. Senators voted 100-0 to approve the former Obama administration official, who was the VA's top health official since 2015, in a rare show of bipartisanship amid partisan rancor over Trump's other nominees. Shulkin secured the backing of Senate Democrats after pledging at his confirmation hearing to always protect veterans' interests, even if it meant disagreeing at times with Trump. The 57-year old physician has ruled out fully privatizing the agency and says wide-scale firings of VA employees are unnecessary, describing the VA workforce as "the best in health care." Trump had made accountability and rooting out wrongdoing a cornerstone of VA reforms, having called the department "the most corrupt." Shulkin is the first nonveteran to head the government's second-largest agency, which has nearly 370,000 employees and an annual budget of nearly $167 billion. He'll have plenty to do once sworn in. Shulkin has acknowledged that Congress should hold him to a higher standard of faster results as a former VA official who has laid initial groundwork for changes. He says he should be fired from his job if, like some VA secretaries before him, he isn't able to significantly fix problems and regain veterans' trust. "You're not going to hear me asking for a learning curve," Shulkin said at his hearing. "I don't have a lot of patience and I am going to be serious about making these changes and regaining that trust." The immediate challenge includes revamping scheduling and access for VA medical appointments following a 2014 wait-time scandal. Shulkin is urging a more integrated VA network where veterans could seek outside private care only in coordination with the VA. He has not sketched out full details. "We've yet to hear from him how he'll pursue President Trump's vision for a public-private partnership at the VA," said Dan Caldwell, policy director for the conservative group Concerned Veterans for America. Shulkin also will have to address long backlogs for veterans who apply for disability payments - he calls its appeals system "broken - and grapple with the White House's order of a 90-day federal hiring freeze. According to Shulkin, the White House agreed to exempt 37,000 out of 45,000 VA vacancies, but major veterans organizations say much more hiring is needed to eliminate red tape.   BY HOPE YENASSOCIATED PRESS

Facing institutional racism as well as the enemy, African-Americans have fought throughout our nation's history with honor and bravery, often making the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country. Here are just a few of their stories. 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment It is estimated around 179,000 African-Americans served in the U.S. Army during the Civil War, and another 19,000 served in the Navy. Perhaps the best-remembered African-American regiment of that era is the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, which comprised 1,007 black soldiers led by a white colonel named Robert Gould Shaw. The 54th Massachusetts fought well, demonstrating valor and bravery over several battles in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. But there were horrific losses, too. On July 18, 1863, just four months after the regiment was formed, Shaw amassed 600 soldiers for an assault on Fort Wagner, S.C., which guarded the Port of Charleston. Unfortunately, Union intelligence regarding the fort was faulty, and an overwhelming force of 1,700 well-armed Confederate soldiers awaited them. The result was a massacre. More than a third of Shaw's forces were killed, wounded, or captured, and Shaw, who led the charge, was among the first to die. Though the assault was a failure, the 54th managed to inflict heavy damage and the fort was abandoned shortly after. On Memorial Day 1897, a statue by Augustus Saint-Gaudens commemorating the 54th Massachusetts Infantry was unveiled on the Boston Common. The regiment also was the subject of the 1989 movie Glory, starring Denzel Washington. 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment  Sometimes referred to as “Pershing's orphan soldiers,” the predominantly black 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment broke the color barrier as the first African-American soldiers to man the front lines at the height of World War I. However, they had to join the French Army to do it. Gen. John Pershing attached the 360th to the 16th Division of the French 4th Army because he didn't want them fighting alongside white American soldiers. The war-weary French, however, greeted the 369th with open arms. As part of the French 4th, the 369th saw a total 191 days of combat, fighting so bravely their French comrades nicknamed them Harlem's Hellfighters.  Indicative of their valor on the battlefield was an incident involving Pvt. Henry Johnson and Pvt. Needham Roberts, who were manning a listening post in no-man's land on the Western Front when they were attacked by 24 German soldiers on a nighttime snatch-and-grab mission. Both men were shot, Johnson three times. But he quickly rose and fired his three-shot rifle, killing as many enemy soldiers. He used the empty rifle as a club until it shattered, then grabbed his bolo knife and savagely slashed at every German soldier within arm's reach. Unable to capture the feisty redcap from Albany, the remaining German soldiers finally retreated but not before Johnson used his grenades to kill several more. For his bravery, Johnson was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French military. Later, the entire regiment was awarded the same. In June 2015, Johnson posthumously was awarded the Medal of Honor (read more in “Selfless Courage”). “The Hellfighters were pioneers,” observes Stephen Harris, author of Harlem's Hell Fighters: The African American 369th Infantry in World War I. “They paved the way for other black regiments and proved they could fight. It's a legacy that continues today.” Read more about the Hellfighters in the February 2014 issue of Military Officer.    320th Barrage Balloon Battalion Photo Credit: Army Signal Corps file photo On the morning of June 6, 1944, Allied forces stormed the beaches at Normandy, France, in an effort to finally bring the ground war to Germany. It was a day of tremendous peril, and in the thick of it was the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, the only African-American combat unit to take part in the D-Day invasion. Barrage balloons were huge, unmanned inflatables anchored to the ground with steel cables. Their job was to provide protection from low-flying enemy planes, either by snagging them with cables or forcing the planes to fly at higher altitudes. The 320th came ashore with the infantry early on the morning of June 6, and its medics immediately started treating the hundreds of casualties that lined the beach. One medic named Waverly Woodson worked almost nonstop for 30 hours despite being wounded himself, finally collapsing from exhaustion. Once the beachheads were secure, the men of the 320th deployed their barrage balloons along the length of the Normandy coast, providing landing craft effective protection from German attack planes. “[The balloons] confounded skeptics by their part in keeping enemy raiders above effective strafing altitude,” reported Stars and Stripes. Four members of the 320th perished during the Normandy invasion, but the battalion got the job done. In a commendation to the 320th, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote, “Despite the losses sustained, the battalion carried out its mission with courage and determination and proved an important element to the air defense team.”   The Tuskegee Airmen Perhaps the best-known group of African-Americans to serve during World War II is the Tuskegee Airmen, which included pilots, navigators, ground crews, and others and provided fighter support in North Africa, Sicily, and the mainland of Italy. The 99th Fighter Squadron, which later joined the 332nd Fighter Group, was the first black American flying unit and the first of its kind to see combat. It deployed to North Africa in April 1943 and flew P-40s in defense of Allied shipping in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as missions against various enemy targets in Italy. Its valor earned the 99th two Distinguished Unit Citations before it became part of the 332nd.  In 1944, the Tuskegee Airmen found themselves escorting heavy bombers on raids deep into enemy territory for the 15th Air Force. Their planes - P-47s and, later, P-51 Mustang long-range fighters - had red tails for group identification, which gave the squadron the nickname Red Tails. A total of 992 black pilots trained in Tuskegee, Ala., between 1941-46, and 355 deployed overseas. The squadron proved adept at flying almost any plane given to them and equally effective at protecting the bombers in their charge, even shooting down a few much faster German jets. Over the course of their service, the Tuskegee Airmen flew 1,578 combat missions (1,267 for the 12th Air Force and 311 for the 15th Air Force) and 179 bomber escort missions. A total of 84 airmen lost their lives in combat or accidents, and 32 were held as prisoners of war.  The Tuskegee Airmen received numerous citations for their service, including at least one Silver Star, 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 14 Bronze Stars, 744 Air Medals, and eight Purple Hearts.     6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion Credit: National Archives and Records Administration As American forces spread rapidly across Europe following the Normandy invasion, the distribution of mail from home began to falter. By early 1945, warehouses in England and France were overflowing with undelivered letters and packages. It was the mission of the all-black, all-female 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion to sort through the mountains of mail and make sure it was properly delivered. One general predicted the task would take at least six months; the unit did it in three. Led by Maj. Charity Adams Earley, the 6888th comprised 824 African-American enlisted personnel and 31 officers drawn from the Women's Army Corps, the Army Service Forces, and the Army Air Forces. Like most service personnel of color, they faced tremendous hardships while trying to accomplish their mission, including forced segregation from white female soldiers and inferior living conditions. The women of the 6888th worked eight-hour shifts, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Individual servicemembers were tracked using nearly 7 million information cards that included serial numbers so the sorters could distinguish between soldiers with the same name. They played detective, searching for clues in letters and packages that were improperly or insufficiently addressed. They also had the sad duty of returning mail addressed to servicemembers who had died. According to Beth Ann Koelsch, curator of the Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project at UNC-Greensboro, the greatest legacy of the 6888th was the advancement of women of color within the U.S. military. “They were under an incredible spotlight and had to struggle against a lot of prejudice,” she says, “but by all accounts I have read, these women talk with great pride about their service.” Read more about their story in “All-Black Female Battalion Made History.”   2nd Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne) Attached to the 7th Infantry Division, the all-black 2nd Ranger Infantry Company was an elite Army unit that served in Korea between December 1950 and June 1951. Though not quite as well-remembered today as some other all-black military units, the 2nd Ranger Company played a significant role in demonstrating the dedication and courage of black servicemembers in combat and, ultimately, proving the value and importance of desegregation within the armed services. After several weeks of training, the 2nd and 4th Ranger Companies reached Korea Dec. 29, 1950. The 2nd Rangers were attached to the 7th Infantry Division and experienced combat quickly. They participated in their first firefight Jan. 7, 1951, when 20 North Korean guerillas encountered a Ranger roadblock near the village of Changnim-ni. The unit also spearheaded an attack on the village of Majori-Ri and later aided a company trapped by the enemy, losing eight of their own in the process. On March 23, the 2nd Ranger Company, attached to the 2nd Battalion, 187th Regimental Combat Team (Airborne), made military history by becoming the first African-Americans to make a parachute assault in combat - an airborne attack near Munsan-ni known as Operation Tomahawk. They successfully engaged the enemy several times over the next four days, with limited casualties. The valor of the 2nd Rangers is confirmed by the number of merit citations the unit received: more than 100 Purple Hearts, nine Silver Stars, and 12 Bronze Stars for valor above and beyond the call of duty.    By: Don Vaughan

The Department of Veterans Affairs will start offering in vitro fertilization services to injured veterans for the first time in March, under new rules released Thursday. The move comes just a few months after Congress dropped a ban on the procedure for veterans and their spouses, the result of a yearslong push from advocates who called the restrictions unfair to individuals who sacrificed for the country. Limited fertility counseling is already available to veterans, and active-duty troops who suffer service-related injuries are eligible to receive advanced fertility treatments including IVF services. But existing rules had blocked VA from matching all of those military offerings until now. Though the procedure is considered controversial by critics — in particular, conservative Christians — VA officials in the new rules described IVF as “a common and medically accepted procedure for addressing infertility that cannot be overcome with other types of infertility treatment.”Lawmakers who approved the change argued the existing rules unfairly penalized veterans whose injuries were so severe they forced them out of the ranks, since individuals who remained on active duty had access to the procedure.The new rules state that VA will offer IVF as a family-planning option “when clinically appropriate to a veteran who has a service-connected disability that results in the inability of the veteran to procreate without the use of fertility treatment, as well as a spouse of such veteran.” Military Times Congress approves fertility services for wounded veterans, but no funding Defense Department officials estimate nearly 2,000 troops received debilitating injuries to their groins or genital regions from 2000 to 2013, and another 300,000-plus experienced some type of head injury, which can also impact sexual performance or drive. In a statement, officials from Wounded Warrior Project — who helped lead the congressional lobbying effort to change the rules — called the news a positive and perhaps overdue step ahead. “WWP is pleased the VA will now offer reproductive treatments similar to what active-duty service members already receive,” the statement said. “We were honored to have led a coalition advocating for this benefit so that these veterans can start families.” Military Times Fertility clinics to offer discounts to wounded veterans Specifics on available appointments and services will be outlined at local VA facilities following the 60-day review period for the rule change. The legislation passed by Congress covering veterans IVF treatments also included new rules for reimbursement of adoption expenses for veterans. VA officials said specifics of that program will be included in a future rules release.   By: Leo Shane III

Newswise — Feb. 14 was coming up quickly, and the two young lovers’ emotions were heating up the hundreds of miles between them. The 16-year-old girl wrote to her adored fiancé that “my heart is ever with you, my prayers daily offered up for you.” The young Confederate soldier rhapsodized about his “darling angel” and his desire to “plant a lover’s kiss on thy ruby lips and with words of burning love rekindle the fire of devotion . . . ” They were secretly engaged, and they sent their love, not with a tap of a finger on a cellphone, but by pressing quill pen to paper to write letters that today — more than 150 years after the Civil War that kept them apart — are creased, torn and turned rusty in places. They wrote at least 32 letters to one another between 1861 and 1864, often waiting a month or two to receive them because of slow and unreliable wartime mail. While some bear February 1863 dates, not one mentions Valentine’s Day — unusual compared with modern times, says Eric Ames, digital collections curator for Baylor University Libraries. Feb. 14 as a romantic holiday was still relatively new in the United States. Or “it may just be that then, it wasn’t a matter of, ‘This is a special day to tell you how much I love you,’” Ames said. “If you were thinking, ‘I could die any day,’ then you took any day, every chance you got, to say, ‘I love you.’” Ames scanned, transcribed and uploaded the letters of Virginia Eliza “Jennie” Adkins — the daughter of a Marshall, Texas, judge — and Maj. John Nathan Coleman, commissary officer of the Third Texas Cavalry, which saw action at such key battles as the one at Pea Ridge, Arkansas, the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and the Atlanta campaign. The digitized letters are housed in The Texas Collection at Baylor.While Coleman was responsible for procurement of food and other supplies, he saw “a fair amount of combat,” Ames said. But he spared his wife-to-be the violent details — “TMI,” by today’s social media standards — in his letters. “Even in the darkest days of our confederacy I tried to cheer you up,” he wrote.Just as social media today carries the risk of misinterpretation, so did the couple’s written correspondence. As they waited for the next letter, both had ample time to read between the lines for implications, both good and bad. Coleman, who was 26 when the war began, was “a pretty typical jealous boyfriend” — troubled to learn about the concerts and balls that Adkins occasionally attended with some officers stationed in Marshall, Ames said. Adkins assured him, “You cannot conceive how much you are loved, and how often you are thought of.” Sometimes the soldier’s life was monotonous, sometimes filled with dread and sorrow — and nearly always uncomfortable, despite the socks and comforter that Adkins sent him.“I . . . can sleep in a mud hole as comfortable as a feather bed,” he wrote. Occasionally, there was respite — such as meeting kind people in Tennessee and enjoying maple syrup and molasses there. “It is a new thing to us to see the trees dripping” sap, Coleman wrote. On a somber note, Adkins wrote that one Christmas, while attending parties, “I often thought I could hear you calling me by my name . . . I left one night from a party before I had been there an hour. All at once a feeling came over me I could not account for . . . Don’t think I was the least superstitious, but after referring to your letters, I find that about that time you were in a battle . . . ” As the war continued, paper became scarce and expensive. At times, the youthful pair’s intense back-and-forthing was “a little schizophrenic, and he (Coleman) gets melodramatic as he realizes there is no way the South will win,” Ames said. “He just wants to get back.” Sometimes, a jest was mistaken for a jab, and apologies ensued. And then there is the puzzle of Coleman’s hair. “My health is better than in two years . . . even my baldness is passing away and a beautiful black hair is once more covering my head,” Coleman wrote. “My whiskers have also returned much blacker and have grown four inches long.” Responded Adkins: “I am very happy to know you are enjoying good health, and that your hair is growing out thick and black. After all I will not have a gray baldheaded husband. But I don’t like very long whiskers.” Ames said the discussion “struck me as joking. But that’s always the challenge with these kinds of letters. They never had any reason to think anyone else would ever read these letters.” How did the two meet? What sparked the flame? And most of all, why did they keep their engagement secret? Some letters imply that Adkins’ father would have disapproved, perhaps questioning Coleman’s social standing or financial status. But “that’s just a guess,” Ames said. Coleman, a merchant who owned a business before the war, had “a spotless military record” by war’s end, Ames said. “There’s more to this story,” he said. “There are some letters we know are missing that were mentioned in others. “I wish we had a little more to fill the gaps. But the letters do paint a pretty clear story of how they felt about each other and the deprivations of war. This is the raw stuff of history.” *Ames' research revealed that Coleman survived — as did the couple’s love. They were married in August 1865, when Coleman returned to Marshall after receiving a parole from the Union Army, and they had six children. Coleman lost both legs in an industrial accident, and, in 1880, died at age 45. His wife never remarried, receiving a Confederate widower’s pension from the state of Texas for the final 18 years of her life. She died in 1932 at age 87. *The letters were loaned to Baylor by the late Dr. Douglas Guthrie, a Mexia podiatrist and Civil War buff. He learned from a patient -- a great-granddaughter of Jennie Adkins -- that she and some relatives had dozens of letters written by a Confederate officer and his fiancée, and she offered to give her share to him. Guthrie attended a lecture by John Wilson, director of The Texas Collection, and after speaking with Wilson, agreed to loan the letters to Baylor. The digitized letters are in an online database in The Texas Collection in Carroll Library, 1429 S. Fifth St. on the Waco campus and may be viewed by appointment by calling (254) 710-1268. ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. ABOUT THE BAYLOR UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES The Baylor University Libraries support excellence in teaching and learning, enhance research and discovery, and foster scholarship and success. Through its Central Libraries and special collections – Armstrong Browning Library, W.R. Poage Legislative Library and The Texas Collection – the Libraries serve as academic life centers that provide scholarly resources and technological innovation for the Baylor community and beyond.

WASHINGTON — 2/7/2017 DAV (Disabled American Veterans), Paralyzed Veterans of America (Paralyzed Veterans), and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) released The Independent Budget Veterans Agenda for the 115th Congress. The collaborative report, now in its 30th edition, outlines legislative and policy issues for the veterans’ community and this year immediately precedes the annual funding recommendations for the programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Topping the list of six critical issues for the 115th Congress to address is the need to “strengthen, reform and sustain the VA health care system.”“Veterans of every era of service, those injured in times of war and peace, those now in the civilian workforce, and those of us who continue to serve as veteran advocates rely on VA health care benefits of some kind,” explained Paralyzed Veterans National President Al Kovach, Jr. “While no one is denying VA has flaws, those among us who are the most catastrophically injured veterans, and who rely on VA health care for our very lives, urge policymakers to place the highest priority on sustaining specialized services. We all support this country’s obligation to provide lifelong, high-quality, accessible, comprehensive, and veterans-centric health care to all who served, and place emphasis on improving that care. The Independent Budget recommends integrated healthcare and benefits to all veterans as a common goal that the VA, Congress, the new Administration, private healthcare providers, stakeholders and veterans can and should work toward together.”The Independent Budget (IB) veterans service organizations (IBVSOs) also list as critical issues: Resolving budget constraints that negatively impact veterans programs Reforming the claims and appeals process Realigning and modernizing capital infrastructure Improving the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers of Severely Injured Veterans Ensuring that VA provides high-quality, effective programs and services to meet the unique needs of women veterans “We have reached a defining moment in the process of reforming both the VA healthcare and benefits systems, in which Congress, the new Administration, and the VA must examine the most pressing needs of veterans and make decisions on sensible, lasting solutions to address them,” said DAV National Commander Dave Riley. “Modernizing the claims and appeals processes is a key part in ensuring veterans, especially those most severely ill and injured, are able to access their earned benefits as well as needed healthcare. Delays in adjudicating these claims are unacceptable, and Congress must adequately fund the Veterans Benefits Administration and move forward with appeals modernization legislation in order to ensure all claims and appeals are processed timely and accurately. For the hundreds of thousands of veterans currently awaiting decisions on their claims and appeals, and for all veterans in the future, we must get this right.” Since the release of the IBVSOs last report in January 2015, the groups note significant progress on key elements of the delivery of veterans’ health care and benefits, but urge caution in the ongoing discussion about the role of community care in the delivery of veterans health care, stating “veterans’ access to care, including to non-VA community providers in the networks, should be based on the clinical need and veterans preference … ” “Choice Act funding expires this year, so it is imperative that Congress and the administration incorporate what works into the VA’s standard operating procedures as we move forward,” said VFW National Commander Brian Duffy. “Through contracted care, the Choice Act enabled the VA to serve more veterans in more areas than ever before, but it also highlighted weaknesses, such as chronic employee shortages, especially in clerical staffing, which forces doctors and nurses to file paperwork instead of seeing more patients. The Choice Act also proved that contracted care can complement but never replace the continuity and continuum of care that the VA provides to America’s veterans.” For 30 years, the co-authors of The Independent Budget — DAV (Disabled American Veterans), Paralyzed Veterans of America (Paralyzed Veterans), and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) — have presented their collective budget and policy recommendations to Congress and the Administration. The recommendations are meant to inform Congress and the Administration of the needs of its members and all veterans, and to offer substantive solutions to address the many health care and benefits challenges they face. The FY 2018 and FY 2019 budget recommendations are scheduled to be released later this week, and will serve as the veterans groups’ benchmark for properly funding the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to ensure the delivery of timely, quality health care and accurate and appropriate benefits.To view the full budget report, please visit independentbudget.org.MEDIA CONTACTS:  DAV: Ashleigh Byrnes, 202-314-5214, abyrnes@davmail.orgParalyzed Veterans: Tracey Lynn Shifflett, 202-416-7670, TraceyS@pva.orgVFW: Joe Davis, 202-608-8357, jdavis@vfw.orgAbout Disabled American Veterans (DAV):DAV empowers veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity. It is dedicated to a single purpose: fulfilling our promises to the men and women who served. DAV does this by ensuring that veterans and their families can access the full range of benefits available to them; fighting for the interests of America’s injured heroes on Capitol Hill; assisting them with employment; and educating the public about the great sacrifices and needs of veterans transitioning back to civilian life. DAV, a non-profit organization with more than 1.3 million members, was founded in 1920 and chartered by the U. S. Congress in 1932. Learn more atdav.org.About Paralyzed Veterans of America (Paralyzed Veterans):Paralyzed Veterans of America is the only congressionally chartered veterans service organization dedicated solely for the benefit and representation of veterans with spinal cord injury or disease. For 70 years, Paralyzed Veterans has ensured that veterans have received the benefits earned through their service to our nation; monitored their care in VA spinal cord injury units; and funded research and education in the search for a cure and improved care for individuals with paralysis. With more than 70 offices and 34 chapters, Paralyzed Veterans serves veterans, their families and their caregivers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Learn more at pva.org.

The American Legion will host a Women Veterans Focus Group Feb. 28 in conjunction with the organization’s 57th annual Washington Conference in the nation’s capital. Last summer, the Legion conducted a Women’s Veteran Quality of Life Survey that revealed that 60 percent of the more than 4,600 respondents had experienced some form of military sexual trauma (MST); 50 percent didn’t report the incident. The purpose of the Legion’s focus group, which will be conducted by American Legion Women and Minority Veteran Outreach staff, is to share Department of Veterans Affairs resources and benefits for disabilities caused by or related to MST. Focus group speakers will include VA staff and representatives from the National Veteran Legal Service Program. The audience will include local women veterans, as well as educators and advocates from the Departments of Defense and VA sexual harassment/assault prevention and response community. The event, which will include lunch, will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Georgetown Room, Concourse Level, at the Washington Hilton.

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. (AP) -- The owner of a UPS store in Minnesota spent four years searching for the intended recipient of a package filled with mementos before he found the man living in Georgia. The package ended up at Randy Holst's UPS store in Golden Valley after several failed attempts to deliver it. Holst finally opened it and discovered a military veteran's mementos: a framed military flag, spent shell casings, newspaper clippings and other items. "You wouldn't toss a memory like that," said Holst, whose father was a veteran. "I can't imagine anyone would." The name of veteran Carl Burnett Burchell was on several items, so Holst called the Department of Veterans Affairs looking for information about the man. When the agency couldn't help, Holst took his search to the internet. He sent more than 40 Facebook messages to people with potential ties to Burchell. He finally reached the wife of a man named Tim Burchell on Facebook last month. Tim Burchell confirmed that the items belonged to his father, a Navy veteran who died of cancer in 1988. "It's just priceless," Burchell said of the parcel's contents. "Obviously the flag is just a treasure trove right there." The box also contained old family photos, letters from Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan thanking the elder Burchell for his military service, and a game of Scrabble, which Burchell's dad played while receiving chemotherapy. It turns out Burchell's stepsiblings had mailed the box to an incorrect address in 2012, after Burchell's stepmother died. Burchell wasn't expecting the box, so he didn't know it was missing, and his stepsiblings themselves then moved. Burchell, who lives in St. Marys, Georgia, said he's incredibly grateful Holst took the time to find him. "I want to make sure he gets the credit he deserves," Burchell said. "One little touch of kindness is contagious."

Newswise — ST. LOUIS -- Veterans could better transition to civilian life by volunteering with civic service programs in their communities, Saint Louis University research suggests. “When veterans complete their military service, they go through a transition like all of us, when we change jobs, move to a new town or retire. It is a transition that takes focus, deep reflection and new information to discover the next challenge they will pursue along their journey in life,” said Monica Matthieu, Ph.D., the lead author of the study and assistant professor of social work at Saint Louis University. “This study tells us that formal volunteering in a civic service program that engages the veterans in community service in their hometown is one option to aid in that transition. Some may call this a gap year, I call it a fulfillment year.” The research is the first peer-reviewed and published national study of civic service among U.S. military veterans. It examined how volunteering affected the health and social life of U.S. veterans who served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, then participated in a formal civic service program. Civic service has accountability requirements, clearly defined goals and a stipend, making it more like a job than less structured forms of volunteering, such as helping out with child care or setting up for a church function. Researchers evaluated the impact of The Mission Continues, a national nonprofit that deploys veterans on six-month volunteer service missions with community agencies. The organization was founded in St. Louis in 2007 by Eric Greitens, who stepped down as CEO in 2014 and now is Missouri’s governor. Researchers studied 346 veterans who completed the program in 2011-2014, volunteering 20 hours a week on specific projects for six months. Before deployment on civic service missions, more than 50 percent said they had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and nearly a fifth reported symptoms of depression. Nearly half had reported receiving treatment for a mental health condition. At the end of their civic service, more volunteers reported they had good or excellent health than before they volunteered. Their emotional health improved; more reported it was easier to perform everyday activities than before volunteering. Their PTSD symptoms significantly decreased, and the number of veterans who had probable PTSD dropped from 50 percent prior to civic service to 43 percent after. The number of veterans who had symptoms of depression also decreased – from 23.5 percent before civic service to 15 percent after. They said they felt less isolated and lonely, and realized help is available. “All veterans in the civic service program experienced improvements in health, mental health and social functioning,” Matthieu said. “Importantly, even after controlling for current treatment, veterans with positive depression screens when entering the program benefited the most with significant improvements in purpose in life, enhanced social support and decreased feelings of loneliness. Those screening positive for probable PTSD, again, after controlling for current treatment, showed significant improvements at the end of the program.” She said the actual mechanism of why volunteering improves mental health remains a question. “One of our theories has to do with behavioral activation and the purpose surrounding the activity. So in other words, when we get up and move and that movement is geared toward a purpose of helping others, it is like stepping outside our own lives to focus on the needs of others, that so many positive things come together,” said Matthieu, who directs SLU’s graduate-level social work education specializing in veteran’s services. Veterans are eager to find opportunities to serve at home as they rejoin civilian life, she said. Matthieu speculated that for veterans, volunteering allowed them to find meaning and purpose again in life, which prepared them for the transition back to the civilian world. “This area of science around health promotion programs that make a difference in veterans’ lives is really just starting,” Matthieu said, adding that more research will follow. Authors of “The Impact of a Civic Service Program on Biopsychosocial Outcomes of Post 9/11 U.S. Military Veterans” are Monica M. Matthieu, Karen A. Lawrence and Emma Robertson-Blackmore. The paper is published in the February 2017 issue of Psychiatry Research. The Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice is the only academic unit of its kind, studying social, environmental and physical influences that together determine the health and well-being of people and communities. It also is the only accredited school or college of public health among nearly 250 Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States. Guided by a mission of social justice and focus on finding innovative and collaborative solutions for complex health problems, the College offers nationally recognized programs in public health, social work, health administration, applied behavior analysis, and criminology and criminal justice. Of large private universities, SLU ranks seven among the top 10 Military Friendly Schools. SEE ORIGINAL STUDY