Veterans
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
SAN ANTONIO – U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Jacob L. Pfann graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training also earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Pfann is the son of Jerry Pfann of Kelseyville, Calif.
He is a 2015 graduate of Keseyville High School.
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
Beginning this week (Sept. 23-29) and over the coming months, commemoration plaques to pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives and the families they left behind are being placed at VA national cemeteries across the country.
“We are duty bound as a nation to the families of loved ones who gave their last full measure of devotion to protect our freedoms,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Recognizing Gold Star Families by placing memorials on the graves of these heroes reminds us of their sacrifice and is a fitting tribute to their sacrifice for our freedom.
“VA commends the U.S. Senate on its passage earlier this month of Senate Resolution 522, designating a full week to honor the families of members of the armed forces who died in the line of duty,” he added.
Visitors to national cemeteries and other VA facilities may find other tributes to Gold Star Families, such as the recently dedicated Gold Star Families Memorial Monument at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and one at Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Newtown, Pennsylvania.
The term Gold Star Family references the service flag, first flown by families during World War I. The flag included a blue star for every immediate family member serving in the U.S. armed forces.
If that loved one died, the blue star was replaced by a gold star. The U.S. began observing Gold Star Mother’s Day on the last Sunday of September in 1936.
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
The analysis is part of VA’s ongoing examination of non-veteran and veteran death records that is being used to evaluate and improve VA’s Suicide Prevention Program.
“Suicide prevention remains VA’s highest clinical priority. One life lost to suicide is one too many,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie.
The report yields several important insights:
From 2015 to 2016, the overall current and former service member suicide count decreased from 7,663 to 7,298 deaths (decrease of 365).
From 2015 to 2016, the veteran specific suicide count decreased from 6,281 to 6,079 deaths (decrease of 202).
From 2015 to 2016, the veteran unadjusted suicide rate decreased from 30.5/100,000 to 30.1/100,000.
Overall, the fact remains that on average about 20 current or former service members die each day, six have been in VA health care and 14 were not.
Rates of suicide were highest among younger Veterans (ages 18-34) and lowest among older veterans (ages 55 and older). However, because the older veteran population is the largest, this group accounted for 58.1 percent of veteran suicide deaths in 2016.
The rate of suicide among 18-34-year-old veterans continues to increase.
The use of firearms as a method of suicide remains high. The percentage of suicide deaths that involved firearms was 67.0 percent in 2015 and 69.4 percent in 2016.
Information regarding deaths among current service members is not included.
The 2016 VA National Suicide Data Report follows a new format, designed to be easier to understand and consume.
This report does not highlight the average number of suicides per day, a measure that is commonly misinterpreted as a rate. Unlike a rate, the count per day does not account for changes in population size.
VA’s goal is to present complex suicide data in the most actionable format and to convey the key findings in the clearest terms.
The “VA National Suicide Data Report 2005–2016,” and the accompanying state data sheets are available at https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/Suicide-Prevention-Data.asp.
“Data are an integral part of our public health approach to suicide prevention,” Wilkie said. “These data offer insights that will help us build networks of support, interventions and research-backed suicide prevention initiatives to reach all veterans, even those who do not and may never come to us for care.”
VA is committed to ensuring that all Veterans receive the support they need, and it is working diligently to improve services every day. VA has undertaken substantial veteran suicide prevention efforts in recent years by:
Developing the National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide to guide VA personnel and stakeholders – including other federal agencies, state and local governments, health care systems, and community organizations – so that we, as a nation, can reduce suicide rates among all veterans.
Implementing the Mayor’s Challenge to empower cities nationwide to build coalitions to prevent veteran suicide.
For more information on VA suicide prevention efforts, refer to “VA’s Efforts to Prevent Veteran Suicide: September 2018” fact sheet at https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/Suicide-Prevention-Data.asp and visit www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention.
Veterans who are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, and those who know a veteran in crisis, can call the Veterans Crisis Line for confidential crisis intervention and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Call 800-273-8255 and press 1; send a text message to 838255 or chat online at www.VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Those schools include the United States Military Academy at West Point, the United States Naval Academy, the United States Air Force Academy, and the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
“Each year I have the pleasure of getting to know some of the finest young people in our district and have the honor of nominating exceptional candidates to our country’s military service academies,” said Thompson. “The men and women who attend these schools go on to serve our nation and become our military leaders and I am excited to announce that this year’s nomination process is underway! I look forward to meeting this year’s class of candidates and encourage anyone interested to apply.”
Candidates must be between 17 and 23 years of age in the year they are admitted to the academy, a citizen of the United States and a resident of California’s Fifth Congressional District.
The deadline to submit applications to Thompson’s office is Monday, Oct. 15.
You can click here to apply or call Thompson’s Santa Rosa Office at 707-542-7182 for more information.
Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and sonoma Counties.
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
Compared with data from the same period a year ago, the July 2018 release of VA’s Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning, or SAIL, report showed 103 (71 percent) VA Medical Centers have improved in overall quality – with the largest gains seen in areas where there were VA-wide improvement initiatives, such as mortality, length of stay and avoidable adverse events.
Seven (5 percent) VA Medical Centers had a small decrease in quality.
“This is a major step in the right direction to improving our quality of services for our veterans,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Over the past year, we were able to identify our problems and implement solutions to fixing the issues at 71 percent of our facilities. I’m extremely proud of our employees and the progress they have made to raise VA’s performance for our nation’s heroes.”
Additionally, of the 15 medical centers placed under the Strategic Action for Transformation program, or StAT, an initiative that monitors high-risk medical centers and mobilizes resources to assist the facilities, 33 percent (five medical centers) are no longer considered high-risk and 73 percent (11 medical centers) show meaningful improvements since being placed under StAT in January 2018.
The quarterly SAIL report, which has been released publicly since 2015, assesses 25 quality metrics and two efficiency and productivity metrics in areas such as death rate, complications and patient satisfaction, as well as overall efficiency and physician capacity at 146 VA Medical Centers.
It is used as an internal learning tool for VA leaders and personnel to pinpoint and study VA Medical Centers with high quality and efficiency scores, both within specific measured areas and overall.
The data is also used to identify best practices and develop strategies to help troubled facilities improve.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Attorney General Becerra sponsored the bill and worked closely with the bill’s author, Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, to shepherd it through the Legislature.
AB 3212 extends the length of time that service members are protected against foreclosure, eviction, repossession, and default judgments.
It also extends to them interest rate protections for student loans and clarifies that students in the National Guard and Reserve have a right to academic leave when they are called to active duty.
The bill updates current law to close loopholes that have been used to take advantage of service members and extends the protections of California law to cover all service members in California.
Prior to this new law, some protections only applied to members of the Guard and Reserve who are called to active duty.
“If you put yourself in harm’s way to defend our freedoms, you more than deserve your protections as a consumer,” said Attorney General Becerra. “I am proud to have worked with Assemblymember Irwin to see Assembly Bill 3212 become law. This is another way we show all of our men and women in uniform that we appreciate their service and have their backs. My office collaborated with the military community to get this bill across the finish line. We won’t stop working to protect service members and military families.”
“We ask members of the armed forces to take great personal risk on our behalf, but the demands of military service go beyond the dangers of the battlefield,” said Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin. “A life in the military also means moving around frequently, moving your kids from school to school, updating addresses, and suddenly being called away to places where you may have uncertain access to the internet, or phones, or personal records. Because of this, we’ve long recognized the need to provide service members with specific protections under the law to insulate them from predatory business practices, unscrupulous creditors and the risk of falling into financial distress that comes with a life that demands so much. This bill will strengthen the protections California provides to those who protect us.”
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
In doing so, VA’s Board of Veterans’ Appeals provided thousands of veterans with critical, life-changing decisions.
“The board’s historic achievement delivering results to veterans and their families reflects VA’s hard work and commitment to getting it right for our veterans under the leadership of President Trump,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Together, we have achieved significant results for our nation’s veterans, as each of the more than 81,000 decisions produced by the board can make a real difference in their lives and for their families.”
The achievements come amid focused board efforts to prepare for the full implementation of the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017, which is transforming a historically complex appeals process into a simple, timely and transparent process providing Veterans with increased choice and control.
Veterans who disagree with the initial claim decision have three options under the Act: Higher level review at the office of original jurisdiction, supplemental claim with the office of original jurisdiction and appeal to the board.
Once a veteran appeals to the board, he or she remains in control of the process by choosing one of three dockets best suited to the appeal: Direct review docket, evidence docket and hearing docket.
To support the various organizations preparing to help veterans navigate the new appeals process, the chairman of the board and her staff led numerous training sessions and panels held by national, state and local veteran service organizations and private legal organizations.
To maintain its momentum, the Board hired 186 new attorneys this fiscal year, and plans to add 30 more to the team by Sept. 30.
Additionally, the board is joining the Military Spouse Employment Partnership in October, and looks forward to participating in a program that helps bring the valuable insights and tremendous talent of military spouses to the board.
For more information about the board and its progress on appeals modernization, visit https://www.bva.va.gov.
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- Written by: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
The law requires VA, within one year of enactment, to hire 50 additional veterans justice outreach, or VJO, specialists and place them at eligible VA medical centers; the VJO specialists will, either exclusively or in addition to other duties, serve as part of a justice team in a veterans treatment court or other veteran-focused court.
“By signing this bill into law, President Trump is demonstrating VA’s commitment to supporting America’s veterans, particularly those who may be navigating difficult chapters in their lives,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “Since incarceration is often linked to homelessness, mental health issues and substance abuse, the VJO specialists will help facilitate these veterans’ access to numerous VA programs and resources.”
Created in 2009, VA’s Veterans Justice Outreach, or VJO, Program currently funds 314 VJO specialist positions across the U.S., including 53 added in fiscal year 2018. VJO specialists serve veterans at earlier stages of the criminal justice process, with a three-pronged focus on outreach to community law enforcement, jails and courts.
VJO specialists at each VA medical center work with veterans in the local criminal justice system (including but not limited to veterans treatment courts), conduct outreach in jails, and engage with law enforcement by delivering VA-focused training sessions and other informational presentations. VJO specialists have served more than 184,000 justice-involved veterans since 2009.
The first veterans treatment court started in Buffalo, NY in 2008. There are now 551 veterans treatment courts and other veteran-focused courts operating in the U.S. VA is a critical partner for these courts, and VJO specialists serve as members of the courts’ interdisciplinary treatment teams.
Veterans treatment courts are a veteran-specific adaptation of the drug court model. Unlike traditional criminal courts, veterans treatment courts are not adversarial; the judge, prosecutor, defense counsel, and others work together as a team to ensure that veteran defendants access the treatment services they need and fulfill any other requirements imposed by the court.
For more information about the Veterans Justice Outreach Program, visit https://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/VJO.asp.
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- Written by: Department of Veterans Affairs
The campaign highlights the risk factors and warning signs for suicide, provides information about VA mental health and suicide prevention resources, and helps individuals and organizations start the conversation around veteran mental health in their communities.
“In our various communities, everyone is in a position to make a difference for a veteran who may be at risk for suicide,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, who recorded a video about VA’s strategies to prevent veteran suicide. “A common misconception is that you need special training to talk safely about suicide risk or show concern for someone who is in distress. One simple act of kindness could help save a life. I encourage everyone this September, and beyond, to take the first step in acting as that support system.”
Talking with a veteran about mental health or suicide risk may be challenging, but VA encourages community leaders, colleagues, family and friends to simply “Be There” by sharing messages of support that can help show a veteran you care.
VA has also collaborated with community partners and is asking individuals across the country this month to share resources with veterans in their lives via the http://BeThereForVeterans.com Web page.
Veterans in crisis or having thoughts of suicide – and those who know a veteran in crisis – can call the Veterans Crisis Line for confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Call 800-273-8255 and press 1, chat online at http://VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat or text to 838255.
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