News

U.S. Air Force veteran James Baulier has made multiple trips to The Haven, an outdoor retreat located in Carbondale, Ill., and operated by The American Legion Department of Illinois – and, more specifically, the Department of Illinois Fifth Division and the Egyptian Past Commanders’ Club (EPCC). A temporary resident at the Community Living Center at the Marion, Ill., Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baulier said visiting The Haven always is a great experience. “It brings regular life back,” Baulier said. “It’s tremendously valuable. (The volunteers at The Haven) are the nicest people you could ever meet. It’s wonderful how they treat you here.” The EPCC – named for the area of Southern Illinois known as Egypt – was formed in 1937. A member of the club, Legionnaire Ray Hubbs, came up with the idea of creating a facility along Crab Orchard Lake that would serve as a rehabilitation program for veterans. The site was chosen in 1947, a lease for the land was signed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and construction began in 1948. Fundraising efforts kept the project moving forward, and in 1950 the facility was dedicated on what remains a federally protected wildlife refuge. Since then, hundreds of thousands of veterans have used the facility, spending a day there fishing in the lake and walking outside, or relaxing inside the ski lodge-type building playing cards or pool, watching television or movie, and enjoying a meal. Each visit is a day trip, and the facility is open year-round. Allen and Sherry Rix serve as live-in caretakers. In addition to performing upkeep on the facility, they also cook and serve meals for guests. Sherry, a member of Auxiliary Unit 647 in Du Quoin, Ill., said the facility hosted 19 events in September and another 19 in October, serving more than 1,300 individuals. The majority of those were veterans – most from the Marion VAMC. “It thrills me,” Sherry said of seeing the veterans’ reactions to the facility and the impact their visits have. “It’s the highlight of my month. I look forward to these guys. I love to talk to them and hear their stories. And they’re all so sweet. They’re so appreciative, but they don’t understand it’s me who’s thanking them. “To get to live here, I get up and thank God every morning. Finding this place for us, giving us this chance to meet these vets, it’s amazing.” The facility also is used by National Guardsmen and reservists for a “family day,” by AA groups, and by church groups. Other members of the community will use the facility for dinners and weddings; donations made by those using the facility help with the operation costs. In addition to fundraising, donations also play a major role in funding the facility. “Donations keep coming in that keep us afloat,” Legionnaire Bill Flanagan said. “To be very honest … when something’s going on and you need money, you just put out the call, ‘Hey, we need donations for whatever,’ and they come in like crazy. Everyone is so generous.” Flanagan, a past department commander, has served as The Haven board of directors’ secretary-treasurer since 2000 and has been involved with the facility for 20 years – though he can’t explain exactly why he has become so dedicated to the facility. “I guess it’s one of those things I got involved in, and I want to see it move on,” he said. Flanagan said the facility has probably had eight different caretakers during his 16 years as secretary-treasurer. “Right now, we have found two very professional caretakers,” he said of Allen and Sherry. “They’re top-notch, really. It’s very critical, because you never know who may come in and want to see the place, use the place, something like that. It’s just so nice to have people who care about what they’re doing. They are passionate.” Jeff Roscow, a member of Post 137 in Marion and senior vice commander for Illinois’ Fifth Division, said the facility has needed to “evolve with the times.” There are less long-term patients at the Marion VAMC, so now more groups from the hospital will visit The Haven. “There are times when the mission has needed to be rethought a bit,” said Roscow, a member of the Haven’s board of directors and somewhat of a historian on the retreat. “But the core mission has always been the same: to serve the veterans in this area. That won’t change.”   By Steve B. Brooks

TOMAH, Wis. (AP) -- A dentist has resigned from his position at a Wisconsin Veterans Affairs hospital amid accusations he treated hundreds of patients with improperly cleaned equipment. The VA in Tomah, Wisconsin, announced the dentist's resignation Friday, ahead of a scheduled Monday meeting of a panel used in situations that could warrant firing. The hospital's acting medical director, Victoria Brahm, said last week that an investigation was launched after a dental assistant reported last month that the dentist hadn't properly cleaned equipment. Brahm says the dental equipment might have been cleaned, but it didn't meet VA standards. The dentist's name wasn't released. Brahm says 592 veterans who received care from the dentist can receive free screenings for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. She says the risk of contracting an infection is low.

Newswise —  US military veterans have high rates of potentially harmful respiratory exposures—which are linked to an increased likelihood of respiratory diseases, reports a study in the December Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM). Shannon K. Barth, MPH, and colleagues of the US Department of Veterans Affairs analyzed national health survey responses from about 20,000 veterans of the Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) era. About 13,000 veterans were deployed and 7,000 were non-deployed. Both groups had high rates of potentially hazardous respiratory exposures: dust and sand, burning trash, petrochemical fumes, oil fires, or industrial pollution. At least one of these exposures was reported by 95 percent of deployed veterans and 70 percent of non-deployed veterans. High exposure (at least three out of five) was reported by 70 percent of deployed and 24 percent of non-deployed veterans. Veterans with any respiratory exposure were more likely to have asthma, sinusitis, or bronchitis. At least one of these respiratory diseases was reported by 23 percent of deployed and 28 percent of non-deployed veterans with any respiratory exposure. There was evidence of a "dose-response" relationship—veterans with more exposures had higher odds of respiratory disease. The associations remained significant after accounting for smoking. The results add to previous studies reporting increased rates of respiratory diseases among deployed OIF/OEF-era veterans. "Respiratory exposures should be considered a hazard of military service in general, not solely deployment," the researchers write. They emphasize the need for further research to determine if there is a causal relationship between respiratory exposures and diseases in veterans. ###

With a new year comes new job opportunities. Here are some upcoming job fairs and networking events for servicemembers, veterans and military spouses. Dec. 1: Allen Hiring Fair, 8:30 a.m. employment workshop, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. hiring fair, Allen (Tex.) Event Center. Dec. 1: Fredericksburg Job Fair, 3 p.m.-7 p.m., Fredericksburg (Va.) Expo & Conference Center. Dec. 13: Jacksonville Hiring Fair, 8:30 a.m. employment workshop, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. hiring fair, Adam W. Herbert University Center, Jacksonville, Fla. Jan. 19: Cleveland Hiring Fair, 9:30 a.m. employment workshop, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. hiring fair, Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland. Jan. 24: Lexington Park Job Fair, 3 p.m.-7 p.m., Bay District Vol. Fire Department Social Hall, Lexington Park, Md. Jan. 25: Austin Hiring Fair, 8 a.m. employment workshop, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. hiring fair, Omni Hotel at Southpark, Austin, Tex. Jan. 26: Joint Base Andrews Job Fair, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., The Club at Andrews, Maryland. Jan. 31: Dallas Hiring Expo with the Dallas Stars, 9:30 a.m. employment workshop, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. hiring fair, American Airlines Center, Dallas. Follow the links for full details and keep tabs on upcoming career fairs at http://www.legion.org/careers/jobfairs.

EVANSVILLE, Wyo. (AP) -- They had never met Stephen Carl Reiman, but hundreds of people packed a Wyoming chapel on Tuesday to mourn the homeless U.S. Navy veteran who died where he was a stranger. It was standing room only at the chapel in Evansville for Reiman's funeral, the Casper Star-Tribune (bit.ly/2gDaNRa) reported. Reiman, 63, arrived in Sheridan on Nov. 8 after a three-day bus ride from a Southern California community for homeless veterans. He traveled to Wyoming with just a backpack that contained Bruce Springsteen CDs, a cellphone, a laptop, an iPod, two identification cards, a copy of his birth certificate and his Navy discharge papers. He also carried Springsteen's memoir "Born to Run," Natrona County Coroner Connie Jacobson said. A few days later he fell ill at a motel and was eventually taken to Wyoming Medical Center in Casper, where he died on Nov. 17, Jacobson has said. Nobody visited Reiman in the hospital. Jacobson initially had difficulty finding any family and after three days said she hoped people from the community would attend Reiman's funeral to mark his passing. "One of the reasons I did this was to raise community awareness that we have homeless vets in our own communities," Jacobson said. "They deserve the same recognition and honor that any other vet would get." After a week of searching, Jacobson located Reiman's sister, who said she hadn't heard from her brother in at least two years. Diane Reiman said she didn't know why he had come to Wyoming, but said he worked as a firefighter in Casper for a few years in the late 1970s or early 1980s and enjoyed his time in the state. Diane Reiman said nurses at the hospital assured her they were with him when he died and he didn't suffer. "That was so important to me, being a nurse myself. He was remembered even though he was isolated and we had lost touch with him for so long," Diane Reiman told K2 Radio (http://bit.ly/2guRmqW). "He was cared for in a very special way by a lot of special people." Pastor Rob Peterson said during the service he was proud that so many people showed up to honor Reiman. "He was a man who lived a solitary life for many, many years, but at his final goodbye there is a room full of community," said Peterson, who is a chaplain in the Army National Guard. Reiman was in the Navy from 1971 to 1975, served with honor in Vietnam and told a Veterans Affairs doctor he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and alcoholism exacerbated by the death of his only son in combat in Iraq, Jacobson said she learned while trying to find his family. Jacobson also was able to locate Reiman's daughter-in-law and her daughter - Reiman's only grandchild - but they could not afford to travel to the funeral, she said.

Newswise — Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has been honored with a Gold 2016 Optimas Award for Recruiting from Workforce Magazine, recognizing the Lab for excellence in its military internship programs. The Optimas awards are given out annually in 10 categories. The recruiting award recognizes organizations that have developed and implemented an innovative and effective recruitment initiative that helped the organization source, attract and recruit job candidates. The three programs the magazine highlighted for effective recruiting efforts at LLNL are the Military Academic Research Associates program (supported and funded by the NNSA NA-10 Military Academic Collaborations Program), the ROTC Internship Program and the Newly Commissioned Officer program, which combined have brought in more than 400 cadets and midshipmen since the late 1990s. “The ROTC and Academy programs are different from anything else we do here in human resources,” said LLNL’s manager for Undergraduate & Graduate Internships Barry Goldman, who founded the programs. “The difference is the academy and ROTC cadets and midshipmen move on to a military career where their experience at LLNL might benefit them and their services. When they complete their service, they might return to LLNL with military experience in the sciences and engineering fields. While in the service, they may be involved in future collaborations with the Laboratory in a variety of national security areas. It’s a win-win.” Each year, recruiters from Lawrence Livermore, as well as Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories, visit the military academies -- the U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy -- giving briefings and talks to cadets and midshipmen. The Military Academic Research Associates program, which started in 1996, brings an average of 25-30 cadets, midshipmen and faculty from the academies to the Lab annually for a four- to six-week summer internship, where they are placed in a number of key areas, including global security, engineering and materials science. They also receive weekly lectures on the breadth of military work done at the Lab. “They’re experiencing who we are and what we do in support of the military and Department of Defense, while contributing a military perspective and being productive for the lab researchers,” Goldman said. Since 2010, LLNL has been growing the ROTC intern program and over the most recent couple of years, LLNL has hosted an average of 15-16 cadets and midshipman from universities across the country. They stay for 12 weeks during the summer and support research at the Lab. The program is supported by LLNL’s National Security Office. George Sakaldasis, the Deputy Director for Military/Nuclear Affairs in that office said “the ROTC program and our other military education efforts are providing a core of future military leaders who may one day be in the position of influencing the laboratory’s programs for years to come." The Newly Commissioned Officer program provides an opportunity for the newly commissioned officers to participate in LLNL programs and technologies. The participants also benefit from networking between the services and with LLNL’s general summer student population. Two 2nd Lieutenants are currently working at the Lab under the program. Workforce Magazine awards the Optimas each year for human resources and workforce management initiatives that achieve business results. Management professionals nominate their own initiatives, which are then chosen by the magazine’s editors. “For more than 26 years we’ve seen companies place increasing importance on human resources initiatives, realizing the potential a strong HR department can have on business growth,” said Rick Bell, managing editor of Workforce magazine. “This year’s finalists stand out in an ever-expanding field of qualified nominees, and we’re pleased to see so many organizations using innovative HR practices to improve their business.” LLNL is looking to place ROTC cadets and midshipmen for its summer 2017 program. For more information or to apply for an internship, contact Barry Goldman at goldman1@llnl.gov. Founded in 1952, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (http://www.llnl.gov) provides solutions to our nation’s most important national security challenges through innovative science, engineering and technology. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. - END - SEE ORIGINAL STUDY

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has received Hall of Fame recognition by the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (NCCR) for achieving an 82 percent colorectal cancer screening rate, which exceeds the NCCR goal of 80 percent and the national average, which is in the 60 percent range. NCCR was established in 1997 by the American Cancer Society and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a national coalition of public, private and voluntary organizations along with invited individuals.             “We know that colon cancer is both common and lethal,” said David J. Shulkin, VA Under Secretary for Health. “Colon cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the United States; we know that it can be prevented through screening. Recognition by this prestigious organization shows that our prevention measures are saving our Veterans’ lives.” VA has been an early leader in fully embracing the value of colorectal cancer screening and in employing a comprehensive approach to its screening program by developing policies and guidance about screening. VA also monitors and reports system-wide screening rates, increased access to screening, developed systems of care to facilitate screening using clinical reminders, clinician toolkits, patient and staff education. Information about VA’s efforts to prevent and treat colorectal cancer may be found at http://www.va.gov/QUALITYOFCARE/initiatives/compare/Prevention_Colorectal_Cancer_Screening.asp. Information about VA’s cancer research and achievements may be found at http://www.research.va.gov/topics/cancer.cfm.  ###  

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) -- Veterans were protesting at a western Massachusetts college facing criticism from around the country for its decision to stop flying U.S. flags after students allegedly burned a flag in protest of Donald Trump's presidential election. Dozens of veterans and other demonstrators held American flags and chanted "U.S.A." at Hampshire College in Amherst on Sunday, in what organizers called a "peaceful demonstration of freedom." College officials decided to indefinitely stop flying flags earlier this month after the main flag in the center of campus was burned after students lowered the banner to half-staff. Officials replaced the flag, but it was lowered again. School officials say they welcome peaceful discussions about the flag decision. Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and others at the rally said the school's decision disrespects veterans and current military members.

Newswise — DURHAM, N.C. -- Although both group and individual therapy can ease post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in active-duty military service members, individual therapy relieved PTSD symptoms better and quicker, according to a study led by a Duke University School of Medicine researcher. The randomized clinical trial is the largest to date to examine an evidence-based treatment for active-duty military service members, with 268 participants from the U.S. Army’s Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas. Findings will be published Nov. 23 in JAMA Psychiatry. The study analyzed the effectiveness of six weeks of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and found that nearly half the participants in one-on-one therapy improved so much they no longer carried a PTSD diagnosis. Almost 40 percent of the participants in group sessions also dropped their PTSD diagnoses after six weeks. “For some of the participants, you can see a change just by looking at them -- as though they have been unburdened,” said Patricia Resick, Ph.D., the study’s lead author, who developed CPT in the 1980s for victims of rape and other interpersonal trauma and is now a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Duke University School of Medicine. “Some people think you have to go to therapy for years to address PTSD, but in this large-scale clinical trial with CPT, we saw a large percentage of patients show significant improvements and even recover from PTSD in a matter of weeks,” Resick said. CPT examines how an individual thinks about a traumatic event and how that affects their emotions, Resick said. “We look at what people have been saying to themselves about the trauma, which in people with PTSD can be distorted,” Resick said. “Many of them think there’s something they could have done differently to prevent the trauma. We teach them how to examine their thoughts and feel their natural emotions instead of feelings, such as guilt or blame that may result from distorted thinking. We go back and look at the evidence. Once they think in a more balanced, factual way, their emotions and symptoms of PTSD subside." To measure effectiveness in active-duty military members, the trial was established through STRONG STAR Consortium, a multi-institutional initiative to develop and evaluate effective prevention, detection and treatment of combat-related PTSD. The consortium is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. “Cognitive-behavioral therapies such as CPT and Prolonged Exposure therapy are the leading treatments for PTSD, with the most scientific support for their effectiveness,” said Alan Peterson, Ph.D., director of the STRONG STAR Consortium and professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. “However, both were developed primarily for civilians, and until the STRONG STAR Consortium was developed, they had never been evaluated in clinical trials with an active-duty military population,” said Peterson, who is also a retired lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Air Force. “This study shows that CPT is effective, but it still needs to be adapted and tailored in ways that increase its effectiveness with combat-related PTSD so that more patients can fully recover.” About half of the participants were assigned to group therapy, attending 90-minute sessions twice a week for six weeks. The other half met one-on-one with a therapist for 60-minute sessions twice a week for six weeks. Independent evaluators used standard PTSD diagnostic tools to measure the severity of PTSD and associated conditions such as depression and suicidal thoughts. The participants were evaluated before and during treatment, with a follow-up six months after the treatment was over. For all participants, PTSD-related symptoms such as nightmares, intrusive thoughts or being easily startled improved. Overall, about 50 percent of participants experienced such improvement that they no longer met the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis, although many still had some symptoms, particularly trouble sleeping, Resick said. Those who attended individual therapy saw more significant improvements in the severity of their PTSD symptoms and the improvements were seen more quickly, Resick said. The study also showed that whether subjects received group or individual therapy, they had equal reductions in depression and suicidal thinking. These results continued through a six-month follow-up. The findings are based on the total 268 participants who enrolled and intended to complete the full six-week program. Overall results include about 9 percent of participants who did not begin treatment due to military deployment or other reasons, and participants who received fewer than 12 sessions (full details included in manuscript). The findings, although encouraging, show that many participants still had lingering symptoms after six weeks of treatment, and about half retained their PTSD diagnosis. Further research will allow researchers to refine the therapy, considering any specific adjustments for active-duty service members such as varying the number of weeks patients would participate. Researchers with the STRONG STAR Consortium will also expand on the research by evaluating the roles of substance abuse and traumatic brain injury on patients’ outcomes. In addition to Resick and Peterson, study authors include Jennifer Schuster Wachen, Ph.D.; Katherine A. Dondanville, Psy.D.; Kristi E. Pruiksma, Ph.D.; Jeffrey S. Yarvis, Ph.D.; Jim Mintz, Ph.D.; and the STRONG STAR Consortium. The research was supported by the U.S. Department of Defense through the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, and the Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program (W81XWH-08-02-0116, W81XWH-08-02-109, W81XWH-08-02-0114).###

A 12-week-old Papillion therapy dog traveled more than 500 miles by car to meet his new owner, U.S. Marine veteran Larry Barnett. A survivor of the deadly Mayaguez Incident during the Vietnam War, Barnett was gifted the dog after its original owner could not care for him due to a tragic motorcycle accident. Vietnam War-era Marine veteran Michael Jones and his famous 11-year-old Papillion, General, were in a motorcycle accident on Sept. 17, that claimed the life of General and resulted in a medically-induced coma for Jones. The two inseparable companions logged more than 200,000 miles together on Jones’ motorcycle, with General in a pouch around his waist, as they traveled throughout the country to raise awareness about POWs and MIAs. In honor of General, Barnett’s therapy dog is humbly named Lil General. “(Jones) has given me the most precious gift that you can imagine," Barnett said. "It’s more than a puppy – it’s a new attitude on life. “The man basically took a piece a his heart and said to another veteran ‘Here, take a piece of me with you.’ This is only the second time in my life that I actually felt love in a whirlwind.” Lil General was delivered to Barnett in his hometown of Springfield, Ohio, on Saturday by Jones’ 27-year-old daughter, Amanda Schwartz, and longtime friend Art Graham. Schwartz and Graham traveled from their home in Kansas City, Mo., to Columbia, S.C., to pick up the dog from breeder and Legionnaire Dan Hoffman. “We decided to donate him to another veteran as a contribution from my dad to help somebody else,” said Schwartz, whose father is currently in rehab. “This is what my father wanted.” Jones contacted Hoffman through Facebook about purchasing another Papillion dog as General was getting older. Hoffman said it’s important to get the dogs at a young age for bonding purposes and to get the dog accustomed to traveling on a motorcycle. With Jones’ accident prohibiting him from immediately connecting with the dog, several of his friends – including Graham – wanted another deserving veteran to receive the Papillion. Around the time of Jones’ accident, Hoffman received a phone call from Barnett – who he knows through Mayaguez Incident reunions – about wanting assistance in finding a PTSD therapy dog. Barnett’s VA doctors believed a therapy dog “would be a positive benefit” for him. Hoffman told Barnett, “this is your lucky day.” Hoffman gave Barnett’s name to Graham, who immediately knew Barnett was the perfect match for Lil General because of “his service, what he’s been through, and he didn’t have the ability to get a service dog on his own,” Graham said. “He was in need of a service dog so it was just natural. It’s an honor to give this small gift to him in recognition of his service.” Barnett believes the way Lil General came into his life “is a miracle,” he said. And in the first 10 minutes with his new puppy, he discovered that his VA doctors were “100 percent right.” “For so many years I thought I was the only one who had PTSD and felt this way," Barnett said. "I labeled myself as someone not as brave as someone else. In late 2000, I found other veterans that I served with in Vietnam and Cambodia, and I found out that a lot of people felt the same way I did.” Barnett is a founder of the Koh Tang/Mayaguez veterans group, which was organized to help survivors of the deadly battle heal. Like Hoffman, Barnett was among the 230 Marines and airmen sent in to rescue crew from the Mayaguez, an American container ship, on Koh Tang island in Cambodia on May 15, 1975, due to it being detained by the Khmer Rouge. The 14-hour operation resulted in four helicopters being shot down, including one that Barnett was in, and the lives of 38 men and three MIAs. The fallen were the last names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Hoffman’s own Papillion dog, named Koh Tang Dan in honor of the Mayaguez battle, saved him when he was at his lowest with PTSD. He knows Lil General will do the same for Barnett. “I know how terrible and debilitating PTSD can be, so we are just so excited and happy to participate in this wonderful thing to help another veteran,” said Hoffman, a member of Post 6 in Columbia. “This is just a fabulous thing that we were able to help Larry.” Barnett said Lil General is going to help him fight through his PTSD, all while having “his run of the roost. He is going to be spoiled and the center of attention; and he will be sleeping right by my head. “In one breath the best I can say is that I’m humbled and honored.”   By Cameran Richardson