Vietnam Veterans of America

Meetings are held the first Monday of every month. The next meeting is June 3, 2010. Meetings begin at 7:30pm. No smoking or drinking on the floor during the meetings. If you can, plan to get there early and check out our product sales. Bring in your can tabs, cancelled stamps and empty coffee cans. We are also always accepting donations for Stand Down. Come on out and support your chapter. THERE WILL BE NO CHAPTER MEETINGS IN JULY OR AUGUST. BOARD MEETING WILL STILL BE HELD.

Chairperson Steve Uchniat reminds us that we are the :lifeblood” of the chapter. We currently have 258 VVA members and 41 AVVA members for a total of 299. Recruitment is always open and the application for membership is in this newsletter and on our web site www.vva266.org

We and our brothers at the Tucson VAMC Stamp and Coin Club #135 still need any/all cancelled stamps [no meters please]. Domestic, foreign, waterfowl, hunting, tax, and etc. You name a stamp and we will accept it. Stamp sets as well as stamp collecting supplies. Even old coins, coin sets and coin collecting supplies. If you collect old tokens from transit authorities like SEPTA and parking meter tokens we will accept those as well. Due to the outstanding endeavors of our supporters at State Council, other PA Chapters but mostly our brothers and sisters in VVA#266 and Associates, 15 ounces of stamps were mailed on Tuesday, April 6, 2010. It does not sound like much but amounts to 1,500-3,000 stamps. Not in the least bit shabby. And we still have a similar amount to be mailed after the May 3, 2010 meeting. Bring stamps to chapter meetings and give to Al Mikutis

We are still collecting old cell phones for Cell Phones for Soldiers”. Bring in your old cell phones with the battery attached. No other accessories needed. Our post home is an official drop off site for www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com We have already sent 2 shipments of old phones to them (we send them off 50 at a time). See Sue Justice with your phone donations.

We are collecting grocery coupons. These are the manufacturer coupons found in your Sunday paper. Please do not bring in specific store coupons. If you have time, please cut them out & separate them in 2 piles. Food & Non-Food. (Pet food is Non-Food). Bring them to the chapter meetings or drop them off at the canteen of Friday nights. These coupons are being sent to Incirlik AFB in Turkey. The coupons can be expired up to 2 months. See Sue Justice if you have any questions..

In November 2009, President Barack Obama announced the Veterans Employment Intiative to underscore to federal agencies the importance of recruiting and training veterans' who have valuable knowledge and technical skills.

When applying for federal jobs, veterans have three hiring authorities for which they may be eligble

An individual who is eligible for veterans preference, or who separates after three or more years of continuous active service performed under honerable conditions is generally eligilble for consideration.

Any disabled veteran, a veteran who served on active duty in the Armed Forces during a war decleared by Congress, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized, a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the Armed Forces, participated in a military operation for which the Armed Forces Service Medal was awarded, or a veteran separated from active duty within the last three years may be eligible for consideration under this title.

Any veteran retired from the active military service with a disability rating of 30 percent or more, or veterans who have been rated by the Department of Veterand' Affairs since 1991 or later, to include disability determinations from a branch of the Armed forces at any time, as having a compensable service- connected disability of 30 percent or more may be eligible for consideration under a special appointing authority for 30 percent or more disabled veterans.

We are now collecting money for the T-shirts that are listed on the web site. If you ordered a shirt, please make sure you have your money in to Len Johnson. Bring it to the next meeting. Contact Len Johnson for more information. 267-254-9097.

FLASH UPDATE
<http://agentorangezone.blogspot.com/>
Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Betty Mekdeci - Birth Defects Registry for Children <http://agentorangezone.blogspot.com/2010/06/betty-mekdeci-birth-defects-registry.html>

By Jim Belshaw
If there is a moment that represents the long battle Betty Mekdeci fought to shine a light on the origins of birth defects, it might be when a courts representative wrote to her about an Agent Orange project she proposed. She was told it was far beyond her ability. It was simply too big. Awesome, the letter said. She could not possibly do it. That made me so angry, she said. You just didn't tell me that I couldn't do something. It made me really mad.
She had been engaged in the fight for birth defect information for some years. She was the co-founder and executive director of Birth Defect Research for Children, Inc. She had been in courtrooms, going up against high-powered opposing attorneys and, in some cases, even her own attorneys. She didn't do well in those court cases. Then someone told her she wouldn't do well on her own, either.
I had been thinking a lot about birth defect research globally, why we couldn't learn anything, why typical studies didn't work, and how the major causes of birth defects had been discovered. They had all been discovered by cluster identification or what we call an Alert Practitioner, who is someone who starts seeing a number of unusual birth defects. Then they look into the background of these cases and find a common factor.
She set out to create her own Alert Practitioner, one involving thousands of people, people who were desperate to learn about birth defects.
Birth Defect Research for Children is a non-profit organization providing parents with information about birth defects and support services for children. The BDRC sponsors the National Birth Defect Registry, a research project that studies the links between birth defects and a number of causes, among them exposure to Agent Orange, an issue of particular note to Vietnam veterans.
Her interest in birth defects began in 1975, when her son was born with birth defects. Eventually, she would link those defects to a drug she had been prescribed (along with many other women) Bendectin. Her efforts would lead to the removal of Bendectin from the world market. The initial search for information began with Betty and her mother.
In 1982, she and her husband, Mike, founded the Association of Birth Defect Children, now called Birth Defect Research for Children.

Read more at: http://vva.org/Faces_Of_AO/Mekdeci031610.pdf

This month please remember these women who died during June while serving our country in or during war times:

11 Jun 2007: USA SPC Crystal D Bolling, 22, motor pool accident, Ft Campbell, KY

19 Jun 2008: USA SPC Megan L Touma, 23, found in motel room murdered by US soldier, Fayetteville, NC

Veterans Benefits

House Passes Landmark Bill to Care for Women Veterans and Provide Support for Veteran Caregivers

Washington, D.C. - House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) announced that the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve S. 1963, the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act, with a vote of 419-0. The bill creates a caregiver support program, improves health care services for America's women veterans, and expands the mental health services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), among other things. S. 1963, as amended - The Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act

Provides Caregiver Support

S. 1963 provides immediate support for veteran caregivers by creating a program to offer caregiver training, access to mental health counseling, and 24-hour respite care in the veteran's home. This allows caregivers temporary relief without having to leave the veteran at a medical facility. Veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) are eligible to select a caregiver to receive a financial stipend along with travel and lodging expenses associated with the veteran's care.

Welcomes Home Women Veterans

S. 1963 expands and improves VA services for the 1.8 million women veterans currently receiving VA health care - AND goes one step further by anticipating the expected increase of women warriors over the next five years. This bill seeks to build a VA health care system respectful of the unique medical needs of women veterans. For the first time, VA will be authorized to provide health care for newborn infants of women veterans.

Prevents Veteran Homelessness

S. 1963 essentially expands the number of places where homeless veterans may receive supportive services. For veterans struggling without a roof over their heads, this small change in the law will make a big difference in their lives.

Rural Health Care

S. 1963 includes key provisions to improve the health care provided to our rural veterans by authorizing stronger partnerships with community providers and the Department of Health and Human Services. These collaborations will allow VA to offer health care options to service members living far from the nearest VA medical facility. S. 1963 also

requires the VA to establish a grant program for veteran service organizations to provide transportation options to veterans living in highly rural areas.

Increases Mental Health Care Access

S. 1963 addresses the troubling reality of post-traumatic stress and troubling incidents of suicide among the veteran population. This bill requires a much-needed and long-awaited study on veterans' suicide and requires the VA to provide counseling referrals for members of the Armed Forces who are not otherwise eligible for readjustment counseling.

Other Veteran Health Care Provisions

* Creates a National Quality Management Officer to act as the principal officer responsible for the Veterans Health Administration's quality assurance program

* Provides for a pilot program studying the use of community organizations and local and State government entities in providing care and benefits to veterans.

* Requires the VA to contract with the Institute of Medicine to study the health impact of Project Shipboard Hazard and Defense.

* Creates a pilot program, which would provide specified dental services to veterans, survivors, and dependents of veterans through a dental insurer.

* Prohibits the VA from collecting copayments from veterans who are catastrophically disabled.

* Provides higher priority status for certain veterans who are Medal of Honor recipients.

* Requires the VA to provide hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for certain Vietnam-era veterans exposed to herbicide and Gulf-War era veterans who have insufficient medical evidence to establish a service-connected disability.

* Establishes a position for the Director of Physician Assistant Services in the central VA office reporting to the Chief of the Office of Patient Services.

* Creates a Committee on Care of veterans with traumatic brain injury.

"It is simply our duty as a Nation, when we put our men and women in harm's way, to care for them when they return," said Chairman Filner. "S. 1963 demonstrates America's commitment to the dedicated service members who have served in uniform and puts front and center the health care needs of veterans and their families. It is our pledge to them,

that we have not forgotten the sacrifices they have made in defense of this country. We owe our veterans a debt of gratitude - and this bill represents an understanding that the sacrifices of our veterans are shared among us all as Americans."

The bill will next be considered in the U.S. Senate.

Web Site

I have updated the website. I have added new photos from memorial day, dragon boat races, Edison High School Memorial Day services, etc. Also I have added some new events, such as the moving of the Dougherty High School Veterans Memorial and the rededication service on November 11, 2010. Make sure you check out the events going on this week. I try to keep them in date order. Also added the Pennsylvania Veteran Newsletter for June on the Newsletter page.

We also have the minutes and many other pages that have been updated since I try to update things about 2 times a week.

Let me know if you have anything that may be of interest to our veterans that you would like me to place on the site. Also, if you find any errors, please let me know.

Thanks to all of you for helping me keep the site fresh.

Sandy

Webmaster for www.vva266.org

Stand Down will be behind the old municipal bldg at 7311 New Falls Rd. Levittown, PA. 19055-1006. From Philadelphia take I-95 north to the PA 413/Bristol exit. Turn left on PA 413. Proceed north on PA 413 beyond the PA Turnpike overpass to New Falls Rd. Turn right. Go northeast 2 miles on New Falls Rd past 5 point intersection with Edgely, Emillie and Woodbourne Rds to County Way. Turn left into site.

DEPARTS FROM DUNKIN DONUTS PARKING LOT IN ROOSEVELT MALL ON COTTMAN AVENUE (PA-73)

NO REFUND FOR NO-SHOW. SEE JIM SMITH, TRIP COORDINATOR FOR TICKETS 215-205-7722 NO SEAT IS RESERVED UNTIL JIM SMITH RECEIVES YOUR $35 PER TICKET.

Vietnam Veterans of America

Liberty Bell Chapter #266