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

“You are only as young as you feel in your spine.” This was printed on a poster in a chiropractor’s office I visited many years ago when I was having some neck pain. “Hmmm,” I thought, “if that is true, then today I am pretty old!” Day to day life can make us feel stiff and inflexible. Whether you are sitting at a desk working on a computer or hunched over gazing at the device in your hand, our neck and back can start to feel a little creaky. [From VA News]

You may have heard about the new PACT Act that impacts millions of Veterans. This law allows VA to provide more services to more Veterans and survivors who were exposed to environmental toxins such as Agent Orange in Vietnam, burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan, or other herbicides or radiation exposures in other places around the world where Veterans have served. [From VA News]

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Sam Huff, who was killed by a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq. Sam Huff was born in July 1986 in Tucson, Arizona. Her father, Robert, was a detective who later became a musician, and her mother, Margaret, was a Marine Veteran and a supervisor at a suburban Tucson police department. [From VA News]

We honor her service.

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 Alicia Dill, a public speaker and award-winning author. Dill joined the Army National Guard at 17 and served six years, including a deployment to Kosovo. She met many other women who shared her goal for service, and it was those shared experiences that inspired her to write “Squared Away,” her debut novel, as well as its follow-up, “Beyond Sacrifice,” which published in 2021. [From VA News]

March is Women’s History Month, and wear blue: run to remember is holding its third annual Piestewa Challenge to remember our fallen female warriors and celebrate women in military service. The Piestewa Challenge is a 177-mile virtual event that honors the service and sacrifice of our nation’s women Veterans; the more than 400,000 currently serving female soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines; and the 177 women killed in action since September 11, 2001. [From VA News]

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Air Force Veteran Alexis McCray, who provided personnel support during the 2010 drawdown of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Alexis McCray was attending middle school in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, during the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. “The base went on lockdown, and it was scary for us because we knew our family was leaving [because of the war],” she recalled. [From VA News]

We honor her service.

Sitting in a trailer in Southern Iraq, using a calling card to call home to her young children, Zelpha Anderson felt torn between two worlds. At that time, in 2005, there was no Skype or Facetime to help families stay connected. All she had was a landline she shared with other soldiers. One-by-one, after dinner, they took turns calling home to hear their loved ones’ voices. [From VA News]

This Women’s History Month, VA celebrates 100 years of advancing health care for women Veterans. The milestones and achievements throughout the last 100 years are integral chapters in the story of VA. This recognition includes the work of many who advocated for women Veterans to receive the health care services they’ve earned and deserve. [From VA News]

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Army Veteran Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Clarke, a pioneer for women in the Army during her 36-year career. Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Clarke was born in December 1924. After graduating from Rochester West High School, she became a secretary and then a defense worker before enlisting in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in August 1945. [From VA News]

We honor her service.

In 1995, while stationed as a young Marine in Yuma, AZ, I lost vision in my right eye. It was not a complete loss, but it was significant enough to be sent to Balboa Naval Hospital where I was ultimately diagnosed with Optic Neuritis, often a symptom of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS was discussed at that time, but I was young. [From VA News]

Farming uses many of the same skills essential to the ethos of the U.S. military: hard work, attention to detail and service before self, to name a few. In 2013, Veterans to Farmers launched to allow Veterans to re-utilize those skills while taking on the challenge of continuing to feed our growing nation and securing our food sovereignty. [From VA News]

Get the Recruitment & Retention, Employment & Integration, Well Being & Treatment, Servicwomen in the News, Women Veterans, and Upcoming Events DACOWITS news from February 2023. [From DACOWITS]