U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs CWV – News Update

If there were a gentle activity you could add to your life that could improve your balance, reduce pain, and even improve your overall quality of life, would you give it a try? Consider this Tai Chi warmup. [From VAntage Point]

Many people have experienced sexual assault or sexual harassment during military service, which is known as military sexual trauma (MST). As a result, VA developed Beyond MST, a free self-help mobile app designed specifically to support the health and wellbeing of MST survivors. [From VAntage Point]

Quilt Guild in Georgia donated 12 quilts for the Veteran hospice residents over the holiday season. One extra to homeless Veteran’s baby. [From VAntage Point]

Every single woman who served has a story! Read about and watch the interview of World War II, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Veronica Bradley. She was part of the very first class of women to graduate from training and become Marines. In her VHP interview, Bradley recalls how her, and her squad mates got into trouble over uniform wear. “They weren’t prepared for women somehow or other, and we had to wear men’s fatigues. And I think the crotch was down to your knees. And I remember the officer saying, you know, ‘Attention,’ and then one of the girls—he went to one of the girls and said, ‘I said attention.’ And she said, ‘I am, sir, I’m at attention. My clothes are at ease.’ They were just so baggy.”

Center for Women Veterans, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has partnered with the Library of Congress Veterans History Project to lift more WOMEN VETERANS to tell their story. Become a part of #Herstory – Tell your Story Now. #VAWomenVets [From The Library of Congress]

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Navy Veteran Barbara June Stone, who served in the WAVES program as a yeoman third class during World War II. Barbara June Stone was born in 1924 in Newark, New Jersey. The daughter of a Navy Veteran, Stone grew up listening to stories about her father’s service on USS Leviathan during World War I. [From VAntage Point]

We honor her service.

You Asked, We Answered: Learn about the Omicron variant and how it differs from other strains, and the benefit of COVID-19 booster shots. [From VAntage Point]

Speak to your VA provider today about how to schedule a cervical cancer screening, your Pap and/or HPV test at your local VA facility. Cervical cancer was once the number one cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Due to increased screening, the number of cervical cancer deaths in the United States has dropped by more than 50% since the 1970s, according to the American Cancer Society. [From VAntage Point]

Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is the best way to protect others and health care workers from hospitalization and death, VA Secretary Denis McDonough said Jan. 19 at a Blue Star Families online forum. McDonough reiterated that getting vaccinated is the most important thing Veterans can do to protect other Veterans and active-duty service members. [From VAntage Point]

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Coast Guard Veteran Dorothy Dempsey, who served in the Women’s Reserve during World War II. Drawn to military service by the tragedy of Pearl Harbor, Dorothy Dempsey enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserve in 1944. She joined some 13,000 other women in the training process, which began in Palm Beach, Florida. [From VAntage Point]

We honor her service.

As Americans continue to live with the COVID-19 pandemic, scammers are coming up with new ways to try and take advantage of people or steal their information. Make sure you know how to protect yourself, your family and your vaccination data against scams. [From VAntage Point]