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

Social connection is essential to our Whole Health. When we live in harmony with others and through a shared community, our well-being is strengthened. Social connections can be gained through active participation with family, groups and communities. [From VAntage Point]

Veterans who experienced MST can find the support they need at VA to heal physically and emotionally. Treatment is free and personalized. MST, or military sexual trauma, is sexual assault or harassment that occurs during military service, whether on or off duty and on or off base. Anyone in the military can experience MST, regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, branch of service, or physical size or abilities. [From VAntage Point]

Women Veterans represent ten percent of North Texas VA’s 204,000 enrolled patients, and more than 600 of its 6,400 employees. As our fastest growing patient population, this growth represents an opportunity to amplify efforts and create programs to ensure timely, equidiv, high-quality services for all women Veterans. Health care that is sensitive, private, and comprehensive. [From VAntage Point]

Each month, VA’s Center for Women Veterans profiles a different woman Veteran author as part of its Women Veteran Authors Book Corner. This month’s author is Army Veteran M.B. Dallocchio, who served from 1998 to 2006. Dallocchio’s service included a tour to Iraq in 2004-2005. She is the author of “The Desert Warrior,” a memoir that chronicles her journey home from the Iraq War. [From VAntage Point]

On March 14, President Joe Biden signed the Six Triple Eight Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021 into Public Law 117-97. The legislation awards the Congressional Gold Medal to the 855 members of the Women’s Army Corps, who were assigned to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion – the “Six Triple Eight” – during World War II. [From VAntage Point]

Every individual has a story. Each is a story worth telling…worth knowing. Each person’s story contributes to the tapestry that makes this nation unique…special. My story is but one of the threads interwoven to create the beautiful fabric that is America. (see pages 8-11) [From AVOW Magazine]

This #OperationSong spotlight is on “Peacemaker” by Veteran Gloria Savage, who served in the United States Air Force for 20 years. In 2019, Savage was invited to participate in an Operation Song Veteran’s event in Nashville, Tennessee. She was very excited to attend because she loves music; she had to pinch herself to prove she was not dreaming. [From VAntage Point]

During Women’s History Month, today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Air Force Veteran Lillian K. Keil, who served in World War II and the Korean War. Lillian K. Keil grew up impoverished and lived in a convent with her mother and brothers. Watching the nuns take care of the ill peaked her interest in nursing. [From VAntage Point]

We honor her service.

This March marks a difficult anniversary: two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In that time, all of us have been affected by COVID-19 – most of all, those who have lost loved ones to the virus. We all want to return to a sense of normalcy. To keep the most vulnerable members of our communities safe, please continue to follow the precautions deemed necessary in your area. [From VAntage Point]

This week’s America250 salute is Army Veteran Linda Bray, who was the first woman in the United States military to lead troops into combat. Linda Bray was the first woman in the U.S. military history to lead troops into combat. Her company encountered and fought with troops from the Panama Defense Forces (PDF) at a guard dog kennel. [From VAntage Point]

During Women’s History Month, today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Helen Grace McClelland, who served as a nurse during World War I. Helen Grace McClelland was born in Ohio in 1887. She enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in 1908 and graduated in 1912. [From VAntage Point]

We honor her service.

As part of a government-wide effort to tackle barriers to voting that many Americans face, VA announced a new initiative this week to provide voter assistance to Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors at VA facilities across the country. VA is doing this because we recognize that advocating for all Veterans include advocating for their ability to exercise the rights they fought for and to participate in the civic life that they defended in uniform. During his speech at the 57th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, AL, Deputy Secretary Donald Remy said, “For too long, too many Americans have fought too hard around the globe to protect our rights and freedoms only to fight brutal battles here at home for their own rights and freedoms.” This work ensures “Veteran access to that most sacred right they fought for and so many died for.”

As part of this effort, our goal this year is to establish a pilot voter assistance program in select facilities in six states where Veterans and their families, caregivers, and survivors can go to receive voter assistance information and support.

As we work towards establishing this pilot program, we are asking you to complete this survey which would help us identify the barriers that Veterans face when registering to vote. Additionally, we ask you to disseminate this survey to your networks to ensure that we get as much participation from our Veterans and their families, caregivers, and survivors, especially from communities that are more likely to be affected by barriers to voting.

Finally, we invite you to visit va.gov/vote, which is our new online portal for resources available to Veterans and their families, caregivers, and survivors on registering to vote. We encourage you to visit the site and we welcome any feedback you may have on how we can make the site more effective at meeting the needs of our customers.

Countless women have served Veterans on the Tuskegee Campus of the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System. The care they provide has set the foundation of what is now one of the most historic medical centers in our nation. [From VAntage Point]

In honor of Women’s History Month, here are several feats accomplished by remarkable women Veterans over the last year. Last year saw a number of firsts for Women Vets across the country. [From Veterans of Foreign Wars]

On March 29, 2012, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day. Each year, Vietnam Veterans are honored and thanked in public ceremonies and via media outlets, giving them the thanks and welcome home they did not receive during or after U.S. involvement in Vietnam. What too often goes unsaid during conversations and commemorations about the Vietnam War is recognition of the women who served during that time: the Women Vietnam Era Veterans. [From VAntage Point]

During Women’s History Month, today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Marine Corps Veteran Lena Basilone, who served during World War II. Growing up on her family’s farm in Salem, Oregon, Lena Basilone was the daughter of Italian immigrants who instilled in her the values of hard work and self-reliance. After graduating high school, Basilone left her family’s farm and moved to Portland to attend business school. [From VAntage Point]

We honor her service.