Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Tester: Trump Administration Has ‘Turned Their Backs’ on Veterans
During Friday’s Democratic Weekly Address, Senator Jon Tester
(D-MT) stated that the Trump administration has “turned their backs” on
veterans by “blocking benefits for those who suffered from illnesses related to
the exposure to Agent Orange.”
“Hi, this is Senator Jon Tester from Montana.
And I want to talk about something really important today,
that being our veterans.
Our nation’s veterans have made many sacrifices for the
freedoms that we enjoy.
And in return for their service, we have an obligation to
ensure that these men and women receive the quality benefits that they have
earned.
But the Trump Administration— while claiming to support our
veterans, has turned their backs on them, blocking benefits for those who
suffered from illnesses related to the exposure to Agent Orange.
Agent Orange is a toxic defoliant that was used during the
Vietnam War. And it was used in such great volumes, that if you served in
Vietnam, you were exposed to it.
As a result of these exposures, Vietnam-era Veterans are now
experiencing diseases and debilitating health conditions.
But the Trump Administration doesn’t see it that way.
Instead of doing right by our veterans, they are actively denying these
veterans—victims of their service—eligibility for the benefits and care that
they desperately need.
The White House is refusing to expand the list of
presumptive health conditions that have been scientifically shown to be
connected with the use of Agent Orange to include four conditions—
Parkinsonism, Bladder Cancer, Hypertension, and Hypothyroidism. The Trump
Administration doesn’t seem to think that exposure to these toxic chemicals in
Vietnam is a cost of war.
Well, guess what? They’re wrong. It is a cost of war. And it
wasn’t until a veteran filed a Freedom of Information Act request that we
finally figured out what the hold-up was: the hold-up was the Trump
administration. They didn’t want to pay for it.
Not another Agent Orange: VA secretary in KC says vets exposed to toxins may get help BY LISA GUTIERREZ
A new study into whether military toxic exposures cause
cancer and other illnesses could make it easier for veterans to get their
medical expenses covered, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs secretary
said Monday in Kansas City.
“I’m the son of a
combat soldier from Vietnam. My father was severely wounded. I saw what
happened when America waited to address Agent Orange. I don’t want that to
happen again. I don’t want Agent Orange to happen again.”
Earlier this month, a McClatchy investigation found
significant increases in veterans treated for urinary, prostate, liver and
blood cancers at VA health care centers from fiscal year 2000 to 2018.
Some military families question whether veterans’ exposure
to toxic environments in Iraq and Afghanistan is to blame.
The VA’s chief research and development officer, Rachel
Ramoni, later announced the study. Veterans and veterans’ advocates have spent
years trying to get the VA to recognize a connection between toxic exposures
and chronic illnesses suffered later.
Veterans Can Now Learn About Their Toxic Exposure Risks with New VA App
For veterans who think they were exposed to toxic substances
during their service, the Department of Veterans Affairs has a mobile
application that will help them answer questions about what this potential
exposure means for their long-term health.
Originally designed for VA providers, Exposure Ed now lets
anyone view a list of service-related exposures -- broken down by type,
conflict and date or location of service. It also has a map veterans can use to
find the closest VA facilities and exposure-related programs.
For example, veterans thinking they came into contact with
the Vietnam-era herbicide Agent Orange can use the "Exposures" button
on the home page for immediate access to a list of illnesses related to
exposure. Or, veterans can input in the time and location they served to view
everything they might have been exposed to.
The last option sorts exposure risks by conflict, ranging
from World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn.
Through the app, users can find studies into the exposure,
learn how to apply for benefits and connect with certain VA programs, like the
"Agent Orange Registry Health Exam for Veterans."
Monsanto pleads guilty to using banned pesticide on research crop
Biotech giant Monsanto agreed to plead guilty to illegally
using a banned and highly toxic pesticide on research crops at one of its
facilities on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
Monsanto on Thursday was forced to pay $10 million in fines.
The company admitted in court documents filed in U.S.
District Court in Honolulu that it sprayed the pesticide known as Penncap-M on
corn seed and other crops at its Valley Farm facility in 2014, even though it
knew the chemical had been banned by the Environmental Protection Agency the
year before.
"The illegal conduct in this case posed a threat to the
environment, surrounding communities and Monsanto workers," said Nick
Hanna, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, whose
office handled the case. "Federal laws and regulations impose a clear duty
on every user of regulated and dangerous chemicals to ensure the products are
safely stored, transported and used."
The case against Monsanto was brought as the agriculture
giant faced a slew of lawsuits arguing that its Roundup weed killer causes
cancer.
Federal prosecutors had initially sought to file felony
charges against the company for illegally spraying Penncap-M, a nerve agent.
But they reportedly agreed to let the company plead to a lesser misdemeanor
offense after Monsanto's lawyers intervened at the highest levels of the
Department of Justice.
Should service in Iraq and Afghanistan be a recognized health hazard for vets applying for benefits?
Lawmakers introduced a bill Thursday that would recognize
the health hazards posed by oil well fires, burn pits and other pollution
sources in Afghanistan and much of the Middle East — an effort they say would
help ill veterans who apply for VA benefits.
The “Veterans Burn Pit Exposure Recognition” bill, S. 2950,
would declare that service members who deployed to the Middle East in the
1990-1991 Persian Gulf War and after, to Afghanistan and Djibouti following
Sept. 11, 2001, and to Iraq beginning in 2003 were exposed to toxins.
The bill stops short of establishing service connection for
specific diseases and does not guarantee disability benefits for ill veterans.
But it would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to
concede that veterans were exposed to pollutants if they served in the named
locations during the specified time frames, effectively eliminating a need for
them to prove that they were in close proximity to a pollution source.
Sponsors Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.,
say the legislation is needed because currently, VA requires veterans to show
evidence of their exposure to support benefits claims and frequently rejects
claims on the lack of evidence on exposure.
Friday, November 22, 2019
Birth Defect Research for Children - America's Children and the Environment October 2019
America's Children and the Environment is EPA's report
presenting data on children and environmental health.America's Children and the
Environment brings together information from a variety of sources to provide
national children's environmental health indicators. This booklet presents a
selection of these indicators that were updated in 2019 with newly available
data. The full set of America's Children and the Environment indicators is
available on the America's Children and the Environment website at:
95% of
tested baby foods in the US contain toxic metals, report says
Toxic heavy metals damaging to your baby's brain development
are likely in the baby food you are feeding your infant, according to a new
investigation published Thursday.
Tests of 168 baby foods from major manufacturers in the US
found 95% contained lead, 73% contained arsenic, 75% contained cadmium and 32%
contained mercury. One fourth of the foods contained all four heavy metals.
One in five baby foods tested had over 10 times the 1-ppb
limit of lead endorsed by public health advocates, although experts agree that
no level of lead is safe.
The results mimicked a previous study by the Food and Drug
Administration that found one or more of the same metals in 33 of 39 types of
baby food tested.
VA announces plans to study military toxic exposures, connections to veteran illnesses
For years, veterans and their families have told stories of
rare cancers, crippling respiratory illnesses, birth defects and more. Their
conditions have confounded doctors and experts. How are these young, previously
health troops and veterans falling so grievously ill? Why are they dying so
quickly?
For years those families have gone without official answers,
though they have their theories. Some say they know unequivocally -- it's toxic
exposure.
Now veterans have perhaps their first major signal that the
Department of Veterans Affairs plans to pursue the matter further. VA
researchers recently announced plans to conduct a major study on environmental
exposures during military service and the connection to illnesses in those
veterans. VA also plans to look at potential intergenerational effects of
military exposures, which may or may not include studying children of exposed
veterans.
VA Chief of Research Development Rachel Ramoni said VA
scientists have spoken with hundreds of veterans about the toxic exposures they
say they've experienced during deployments. Because of those conversations,
Ramoni said VA is planning "major investment in toxic exposures."
Veterans of multiple eras have been frustrated by the wait
times for VA recognition of and payout of benefits for different exposures,
including Agent Orange and Gulf War illness.
Veterans "for good reason have been irritated with us
as an organization because we have not done a lot of work, especially clinical
work, on military exposures," Ramoni said during a conference in
Washington, D.C. last week focused on veteran prostate cancer. "I have
apologized to them ... I have committed that, in (Fiscal Year 2021), we are
going to make major investments in toxic exposures. We are in the planning
phases for that now, but in (Fiscal Year 2021), we will start to roll that out.
That's something that will cut across all our research."
The scope of the study could also extend to veterans'
children, as VA intends to consider intergenerational effects of exposures,
Ramoni said.
Blowing our own horn: VA’s Veterans Benefits Administration makes strides during 2019 Q4
READ THE STORY
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA), Veterans
Benefits Administration (VBA) delivered performance improvements made for the
fourth quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2019 during a late October live webcast.
“The programs serve
4.9 million Veterans and family members and provided $29 billion in benefits in
the last four months of FY 2019,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “VBA will
build on the year’s successes in the new #BestYearEver campaign to further
improve service to Veterans.”
Some Hongkongers Contracted Chloracne, Likely From Harmful Chemicals in Tear Gas
A journalist who has been reporting at the front lines of
Hong Kong’s anti-government protests revealed on Facebook that he was diagnosed
with chloracne a few days ago—a rare skin eruption of blackheads, cysts and
nodules, which has been linked directly to dioxin exposure. Hong Kong’s medical
experts believe the dioxin exposure came from the use of tear gas by Hong Kong
police.
Another internet user also exposed on social media that many
police officers had contracted chloracne as well, but senior police officers
forbade them to tell others, for fear that it would scare other policemen.
Yuhong Chan, a journalist working for Hong Kong-based Stand
News, said in his Facebook post on Nov. 13 that he has been doing on-site
reporting of the protests at least once a week in the past two months. He
started to experience skin irritation since October. When he went to see a
doctor of Chinese medicine a few days ago, he was confirmed to have contracted
chloracne.
Monday, November 18, 2019
Agent Orange: What the US Really Did in Vietnam
The US’ use of chemical warfare is far more insidious than
what it executed conventionally militarily in Vietnam. Unlike napalm, which
immediately scalded its victims, Agent Orange killed and maimed its victims
slowly over time, its effects passed down through generations, wreaking untold
horrors on a mostly civilian populace.
In the end, the military campaign was called Operation Ranch
Hand, but it originally went by a more appropriately hellish appellation:
Operation Hades. As part of this Vietnam War effort, from 1961 to 1971, the
United States sprayed over 73 million liters of chemical agents on the country
to strip away the vegetation that provided cover for Vietcong troops in “enemy
territory.”
Using a variety of defoliants, the U.S. military also
intentionally targeted cultivated land, destroying crops and disrupting rice
production and distribution by the largely communist National Liberation Front,
a party devoted to reunification of North and South Vietnam.
Some 45 million liters of the poisoned spray was Agent
Orange, which contains the toxic compound dioxin. It has unleashed in Vietnam a
slow-onset disaster whose devastating economic, health and ecological impacts
that are still being felt today.
This is one of the greatest legacies of the country’s
20-year war, but is yet to be honestly confronted. Even Ken Burns and Lynn
Novick seem to gloss over this contentious issue, both in their supposedly
exhaustive “Vietnam War” documentary series and in subsequent interviews about
the horrors of Vietnam.
House panel will look into dispute over Agent Orange benefits for Navy veterans
A key House of Representatives subcommittee will probe
Wednesday whether thousands of Vietnam War sailors who say they were exposed to
Agent Orange can qualify for federal benefits — as the list of congressional
supporters continues to grow significantly.
McClatchy detailed last month how veterans’ advocates have
been frustrated for years in their bid for help. The Department of Veterans
Affairs , saying there’s not enough evidence to prove widespread Agent Orange
exposure for Navy veterans who served on large ships like aircraft carriers in
the South China Sea.
The proposed legislation, which now is co-sponsored by 252
of the House’s 435 members, would grant disability-benefits coverage for
potentially tens of thousands of sailors who have certain cancers and diseases
associated with exposure to the chemical dioxin, a dangerous ingredient used in
the Agent Orange herbicide during the Vietnam War.
The bill, defeated in years past in Congress because of the
estimated $1 billion cost over 10 years, is at a crucial political juncture,
with a new president and VA secretary and President Donald Trump’s push to
spend more federal money at the VA.
Vietnam Veterans of America urges vets to file claims if they were impacted by Agent Orange exposure
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — There is a push for Vietnam
Veterans who were exposed to the toxic chemical Agent Orange to speak up now
about their health concerns.
Vietnam Veteran’s of America Bureau Chief Marc McCabe
visited Okeechobee Thursday to encourage veterans to file claims if they feel
they were made sick because of Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam.
McCabe explained they try to visit rural areas where aging
veterans might not have the same access to resources to help them.
McCabe says time is of the essence for veterans to file
claims now, as a new group of veterans will soon be eligible for reimbursement.
Currently, McCabe said Vietnam Veterans who served in
"brown water" in Vietnam, which is the inland waters, could be
considered for presumed Agent Orange exposure.
In January 2020, veterans who served in ships as far as 12
miles offshore will also qualify.
Is this the solution to contaminated water on military bases?
As a Pentagon task force works to come up with a plan to
address cancer-linked chemicals in ground water on its bases, a group of
civilian researchers is exploring a high-tech solution.
The Enhanced Contact Plasma Reactor made its debut in
September at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, according to a Tuesday
release from the Air Force, in a field demonstration of its ability to break
down per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance.
“We are trying to
destroy or degrade PFAS impacted groundwater using electrical discharge
plasma,” principal investigator Selma Mededovic, of Clarkson University, said
in the release.
The idea is that argon gas from the reactor concentrates
perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid, known as PFOS and PFOA,
generating plasma at the surface. The plasma then breaks down the PFAS
molecules.
"This is the only technology that actually destroys
PFAS molecules that has been demonstrated at this scale, it doesn’t just remove
them from water,” co-principal investigator Tom Holsen said in the release.
“All of the other demonstrations that we’re aware of remove it from the water
through filtration so there is still a PFAS-containing waste. Our method
actually destroys PFAS.”
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Dow Chemical agrees to $77 million in environmental restoration settlement
Dow Chemical Co. has agreed to an estimated $77 million
settlement for environmental restoration projects in mid-Michigan to compensate
for wildlife destruction caused by the Midland-based chemical manufacturer.
The settlement, announced Friday and subject to public
comment and approval, would "compensate the public for injuries to natural
resources," according to a news release from the United States Attorney's
Office Eastern District of Michigan.
Dow, which merged with Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont Co. in
2017, has agreed on settlement terms with the state of Michigan and the Saginaw
Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan.
Federal, state and tribal agencies filed complaints alleging
that Dow released dioxin-related compounds and other substances that "adversely
affected fish, invertebrates, birds and mammals," and led to restrictions
on hunting, fishing and use of public parks, the release said.
The Dow plant released dioxins and other hazardous
substances into rivers and their watersheds for decades after opening in 1897.
As part of the reparations, the company agreed to pay for
and implement eight natural resource restoration projects throughout Midland,
Saginaw and Bay counties.
The courts have 'lost patience' with VA over delay on Blue Water Navy veteran benefits
Twelve "Blue Water Navy" Vietnam veterans have
died since the Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie issued a
stay on processing their Agent Orange disability claims.
On Friday, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral
arguments in a lawsuit filed by a veterans nonprofit group, Military Veterans
Advocacy Inc. (MVA), asking that the delay on processing those claims ends. The
delay affects more than 400,000 veterans or surviving family members who could
be eligible for benefits, according to VA.
"I think we won a strategic victory," MVA
Executive Director John Wells told Connecting Vets after the hearing.
Wells feels confident that, at the very least, VA will not
be able to extend the stay past the original date of Jan. 1. However, there's a
possibility that a decision comes back from the court ending the stay even
earlier.
"We'll have to wait until the decision comes out, but I
think if nothing else we've prevented the secretary from going past January
1st," Wells said. "From our point of view that would be the worst
possible outcome. It might be better but we think that would be the minimum
that we would get."
Wells and MVA are optimistic — and sensed that the courts
were frustrated with VA much like the veterans are.
"We felt the court had pretty much lost patience with
the VA," Wells said. "We also felt they were very concerned because
Mr. Procopio had been granted his benefits by that same court back in January
and still hadn't received his benefits. The judges did not seem very happy
about that."
Agent Orange photog returns to jungle where it all began
CA MAU, Vietnam--A 78-year-old Japanese photojournalist who
documented the vast and ongoing suffering caused by the use of Agent Orange by
the U.S. military during the Vietnam War returned to the jungle here where his
life's work began.
What Goro Nakamura saw, now one of the world's largest
mangrove wetlands, bore little resemblance to how the area looked 43 years ago,
when it was devastated by chemicals sprayed by the U.S. military to remove
cover for the opposing side.
The trip to southern Vietnam in October only reinforced his
commitment to continue calling for accountability and capturing the scars and
aftereffects on younger generations of the years-long operation.
NOT EVEN A BIRD CHIRPING
Nakamura started covering the Vietnam War in 1970. The
conflict ended in 1975, and reunification of the country divided for nearly two
decades was formally completed in 1976.
That year, he arrived at Ca Mau, the country's southernmost
region, having heard about forests dying there and wanting to see it for
himself.
It is believed that the U.S. military sprayed more than 70
million liters of Agent Orange between 1961 and 1971 as part of a sweep
operation to uncover Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces hiding in the
jungle. Ca Mau was one of the targets of the operation.
Nakamura traveled by boat in the waterways of the Cape Ca
Mau jungle. What he discovered took his breath away, something he had only
heard about until then and was now in front of him.
It was dead silent, with not so much as a bird chirping, he
recalled. Nothing but a field of thousands of mangrove trees destroyed by the
chemical attacks.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
AGENT ORANGE TOWN HALL MEETING SCHEDULE
November 14, 2019
Okeechobee, Florida
Contact: Dan Hunt
863-447-3662
March 21, 2020
Portland, Oregon
Contact: Steve Carr
503-558-2970
April 25, 2020
Barrington, Rhode Island
Contact: Fran Guevremont
401-374-0573
As we celebrate veterans, don’t forget the residual consequences of war
Next week, millions of Americans will celebrate Veterans
Day—a moment for us to recognize the sacrifices made by all those who have
served our country. It is an especially powerful moment for the 18 million
veterans still alive today, as they look back on their service and its profound
impact on their lives, and those closest to them.
Unfortunately, many of our surviving veterans struggle to
live their lives to the fullest because of war’s harsh consequences—if they
even live at all. Because of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other
residual repercussions, the veteran suicide rate is significantly higher than
that of the general population. According to the most recent data, more than
6,000 veterans commit suicide on an annual basis. This comes out to an average
of 17 veteran deaths by suicide per day.
But, however terrible, even that’s not the end of the story.
A veteran’s daily life is littered with countless obstacles, which are often
ignored by the mainstream media yet continue to wreak havoc on entire
communities.
Perhaps the most significant one is toxic chemical exposure.
Any U.S. veteran who fought in the Vietnam War, which amounts to nearly three
million service members, is presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange. This
includes the roughly 850,000 living Vietnam veterans who are forced to cope
with the ramifications of Agent Orange in their daily lives.
Agent Orange is a herbicide linked to a wide range of
debilitating conditions, such as multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma,
Parkinson’s disease, and others. The U.S. military used the toxic chemical from
1962 and 1975, spraying millions of gallons over Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.
However, Agent Orange’s lethal legacy extends far beyond
Southeast Asia. In Guam, where one in eight adults served in the Armed Forces,
our military’s use of the herbicide has affected thousands of veterans
stationed on the Pacific Island. They, and the thousands more who served on the
island and now live elsewhere, are dealing with the consequences of Agent
Orange on a daily basis. That’s right: It is a daily struggle.
What to know about the 2020 VA home loan program increase
The VA home loan has helped nearly 25 million service
members become homeowners. Between no down payment and no mortgage insurance,
it’s no wonder this mortgage option remains an attractive one for military
borrowers and their families. However, with several changes on tap for the new
year, will the program continue to be a popular choice for eligible buyers?
Here are four things you must know about the VA loan program
increases coming in 2020.
No more loan limits
Starting Jan. 1, borrowers can say goodbye to VA home loan
limits. The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 allows home buyers to
borrow more than the current loan limit of $484,3509 in most U.S. counties.
This change is expected to be a game-changer for military borrowers who are
wanting to stay competitive with conventional buyers in higher-priced markets
such as Denver and Seattle.
The combination of no loan limits and no down payment will
certainly help a number of service members attain their homeownership goals in
2020. That said, veterans shouldn’t confuse the loan limit removal for
unlimited borrowing power. You’ll still need to meet the program’s eligibility
requirements and have sufficient income.
Higher funding fees
If you’ve taken advantage of your VA benefits before, you
know to account for the funding fee at closing. For borrowers who don’t know,
the funding fee varies based on your service history, loan amount, and other
factors. It plays a major role in the VA program and ensures future service
members can also become homeowners.
The funding fee for first-use borrowers will increase from
2.15% in 2019 to 2.30% in 2020. Those using the VA loan a subsequent time will
see funding fees rise from 3.3% to 3.6%. It’s worth mentioning the increase is
supposed to help offset health care costs for veterans who are dealing with the
effects of Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War.
The Myth of Blue Water Navy Benefits
110,000 Carrier Sailors 'Left Behind'
There has lately been a lot of press coverage for the Blue
Water Navy Vietnam veterans who did not step foot on the solid ground of
Mainland Vietnam or any of its many surrounding islands. This matter concerns
their VA Benefit eligibility for presumptive exposure to herbicides (Agent
Orange) in Vietnam while serving aboard ships offshore in a variety of direct
combat and combat support roles. They recently won a landmark court ruling and
have had legislation (that had been kicked around the Legislature since 2007)
finally passed and signed into law by the President. They now face an
unreasonable and possibly illegal delay of their Benefit awards imposed by the
VA.
Anyone reading through the current information would think
that all the Blue Water Navy sailors who served in the Theater of Combat
offshore Vietnam have received their long-awaited Benefits. But that would be
incorrect and no one is providing detailed information about which veterans are
eligible for these Benefits and which are not. And many are still unaware that
there was ever a question concerning their Benefits at all. The sailors who
have recently won their presumption of exposure to Agent Orange are only those
who served within a narrow band of water called the Territorial Seas of
Vietnam, and then only when south of the 17th parallel. The fact is, this new
law excludes many sailors who served on aircraft carriers. That might well be a
significant number of Blue Water Navy sailors who served in the Vietnam Theater
of Combat who should be eligible for these Benefits.
Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom and PTSD
We know that those who are exposed to trauma are at an
increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). What do we
know about OEF/OIF and PTSD?
Occurrence
OEF/OIF is an acronym that refers to the U.S.-led conflicts
in Afghanistan and Iraq. Specifically, OEF means "Operation Enduring
Freedom" (the war in Afghanistan), while OIF stands for "Operation
Iraqi Freedom," or the Iraq War.
Veterans from the OEF/OIF conflicts have been found to have
high rates of PTSD. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
estimates that some 10 percent to 18 percent of OEF/OIF veterans have or had
post-traumatic stress disorder and may be at risk for other mental health
problems.
PTSD was more likely to be diagnosed in service members
several months after they returned from the two conflicts, rather than right
away. Here's some information on the conflicts and how PTSD has affected those
who participated.
Monday, November 4, 2019
Former therapist: VA is hurting mental health care for combat veterans at its Vet Centers
SMITHFIELD, R.I. — From his small home office, former Lt.
Col. Ted Blickwedel is conducting a self-appointed mission: to call attention
to what he claims is a serious problem inside a little-known Department of
Veterans Affairs program that provides free mental health care to combat
veterans.
From 2009 until retiring last year, Blickwedel, a former
Marine Corps logistics officer, worked as a counselor and therapist at a VA
facility in Rhode Island called a "Vet Center."
That facility is one of 300 that VA operates across the U.S.
through its "Vet Centers" program. The program includes 80 mobile Vet
Centers, 20 vet venter "outstations" and almost 1,000 community
access points.
The program began after the Vietnam War as the Readjustment
Counseling Service. Its purpose was and is to help combat veterans
"readjust" to civilian life at home after returning from deployments.
The centers provide cognitive behavioral "talk
therapy" and organize social activities and events designed to get vets
out of the house and connected with other vets. All services are free.
Blickwedel, himself a combat veteran, said he got a master's
in social work so he could help veterans as a therapist. He told NBC News he
found working at a Vet Center to be a "wonderful" experience.
"We witnessed huge changes in veterans. Some of them,
their lives completely did a 180," Blickwedel said. "I've personally
had veterans tell me that I've saved their lives. That I made a difference for
them."