Veterans of Foreign Wars Department South Dakota http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/ en-us Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:38:48 -0400 Policlicks LLC Those eligible must submit a claim by Oct. 21, 2010. The 2009 War Supplemental Appropriations Act established Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay (RSLSP), providing $500 for each month/partial month served in stop loss status. Service members, veterans, and beneficiaries of servicemembers whose service was involuntarily extended under Stop Loss between Sept. 11, 2001 and Sept. 30, 2009 are eligible for RSLSP. To receive this benefit, those who served under stop loss must submit a claim for the special pay. Throughout the year, the services have been reaching out to servicemembers, veterans and their families through direct mail, veteran service organizations, and the media. But there is still money left to be claimed, and the deadline is approaching. The average benefit is $3,700. Get more information http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/38166/ Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:13:00 -0400 http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/38166/ WASHINGTON, D.C., July 12, 2010 - The national commander of America's largest combat veterans organization is applauding the Department of Veterans Affairs for eliminating a requirement for veterans to explicitly prove that a traumatic event directly caused their post-traumatic stress. "From this point forward," wrote VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki in a statement released today, "VA will not require corroboration of a PTSD stressor related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity, if a VA doctor confirms a diagnosis of PTSD and the stressful experience recalled by the veteran adequately supports that diagnosis." Thomas J. Tradewell Sr., the national commander of the 2.1 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. and its Auxiliaries, called the VA secretary's decision to ease PTSD claims requirements a sea-change in the mindset of the VA. It follows numerous other decisions that increased the list of presumptions for diseases associated with Agent Orange exposure; increased services and programs for women veterans, veterans who reside in rural areas as well as the homeless; and reduced the size of the claims form from 23 to 10 pages. Tradewell said even the VA's outreach to patients possibly exposed to improperly sterilized equipment at a small number of its hospitals reflects the department's proactive, veterans' first attitude. Continue reading http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/38065/ Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:52:00 -0400 http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/38065/ The VFW Foundation is presently hovering around 17 in pursuit of a $250k grant from Pepsi...have you voted today to support our Military Families Unmet Needs? If we hit 15 we make the "Leader Board" and should get some traction from there. You can vote once a day. Don't forget to use the share feature to post to your Face Book page or Twitter account if you have one. Click on Pepsi pic to get started. Thank you for your Support. Return the Favor to troops and their families for urgent unmet needs. | Pepsi Refresh Everything http://www.refresheverything.com Vote for our most refreshing idea to win a Pepsi Refresh Project grant for Food and Shelter Share http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/38002/ Thu, 8 Jul 2010 02:16:00 -0400 http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/38002/ This July 4th, troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait can call the U.S for free for a full 24 hours in honor of Independence Day, courtesy of Sport Clips, beginning at 12:01AM July 4, 2010 and ending at 11:59PM July 4, 2010 (Eastern Standard Time). Free Call Days are available at more than 800 MWR internet cafes using SPAWAR located on military installations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. Dialing Instructions for Soldiers Overseas: To place a call, use regular dialing procedures using your SPAWAR prepaid PIN, if you do not have a PIN number, you can obtain one from the cafe manager. You will hear the sponsor announcement informing you that your call is FREE. Feedback is welcomed and encouraged from participants! uplink@vfw.org www.operationuplink.org http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/37935/ Sat, 3 Jul 2010 08:12:00 -0400 http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/37935/ In This Issue: 1. Senior Officer Changes 2. South Korean Presidential Thank You 3. Senate Discusses Military Suicides 4. House VA Committee Hearings 5. U.S.-Russia Joint Commission Update 6. WW I Marine Identified 7. Help VFW Win $250,000 Grant 1. Senior Officer Changes: The president on Wednesday nominated U.S. Central Command commander Gen. David Petraeus to replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal as overall commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan. The action was based on an in depth magazine article in which McChrystal and his senior staff were portrayed as being publicly insubordinate towards the White House and senior administration and diplomatic officials. "I welcome debate, but I won't tolerate division," said the president. Petraeus' nomination requires Senate confirmation. A replacement for Petraeus at CENTCOM has yet to be named. 2. South Korean Presidential Thank You: Today marks the 60 anniversary of the start of the Korean War, and the Republic of Korea wants to personally thank every veteran of that war for their service and sacrifice on behalf of South Korea's freedom. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, almost 1.8 million servicemen and women served in-theater during the three-year war that resulted in 33,739 combat deaths and more than 103,000 woundings. A letter signed by South Korean President Lee Myung-bako is available online at http://eng.koreanwar60.go.kr/apply.asp or by writing to: U.S. Branch, ROK 60th AKW Commemoration Committee, 2450 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20008. Continue reading Washington Weekly http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/37749/ Fri, 25 Jun 2010 01:47:00 -0400 http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/37749/ http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/37682/ Fri, 18 Jun 2010 06:36:00 -0400 http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/37682/ In This Issue: 1. VFW National Commander Meets With President 2. House Subcommittee Meets on Claims Backlog 3. Senate VA Committee Discusses Rural Healthcare 4. Help VFW Win a $250,000 Grant 5. Pearl Harbor Sailor Identified 6. Four Vietnam MIAs Identified 1. VFW National Commander Meets With President: VFW National Commander Thomas J. Tradewell Sr. met with President Obama yesterday to discuss issues of importance to America's veterans, servicemembers and their families. He thanked for the president for signing into law advanced appropriations for the VA and family caregiver legislation, and also expressed VFW concerns about the high military suicide rate, the huge VA claims backlog, unemployed veterans, and burial accountability problems that recently surfaced at Arlington National Cemetery. "It was good meeting and I am grateful for the opportunity, because it is clear that the president shares our concerns to make things right, as does the first lady, and the vice president and Dr. Jill Biden," said Tradewell. A VFW press release is at http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.newsDtl&did=5515. Read more Washington Weekly http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/37627/ Fri, 18 Jun 2010 06:21:00 -0400 http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/37627/ KANSAS CITY, Mo. - the VFW Foundation is in the running to receive a $250,000 "Pepsi Refresh" grant. But it all depends on you. Won't you help us win? Please visit www.refresheverything.com/ReturnTheFavor and vote! Your vote for the VFW Foundation's "Return the Favor" project will support the unmet needs of U.S. military personnel and their families. For example, since 2004, the VFW Foundation has provided over $3,400,000 in direct free financial assistance to military families in urgent financial circumstances for rent, mortgage, utilities, vehicle repair, medical expenses and food/basic aid. In many instances, or intervention has stopped evictions and foreclosures. We constantly hold "welcome home" and "send off" events for troops to boost morale. We've distributed 10,000,000 long distance telephone cards and we pay for innovative Internet "Free Call Days" so our brave troops in Iraq and Afghanistan can call home on a regular basis. You can vote once a day during the month of June. The two organizations that receive the most votes win. Tell friends and family, forward this email to everyone you know. Won't you take a few seconds to show our troops and those they love how much our nation appreciates their service and sacrifice? They are counting on you, please don't let them down! "They have done so much for us...Now let's Return the Favor" http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/37552/ Mon, 7 Jun 2010 11:10:00 -0400 http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/37552/ In This Issue: 1. VFW Victorious in Protecting DOD, VA Healthcare Programs 2. VA Creates Homeless Vet Hotline 3. Help VFW Win a $250,000 Grant 4. Afghanistan Now America's Longest War 5. Defense Budget Update 6. Vietnam MIA Identified 1. VFW Victorious in Protecting DOD, VA Healthcare Programs: The president's signature last week on H.R. 5014 ended a two-month battle that only the VFW waged to ensure all DOD and VA healthcare programs for all beneficiaries were recognized as meeting minimum essential coverage standards under the new national healthcare law. H.R. 5014 recognizes all VA healthcare programs provided to more than 8 million beneficiaries. H.R. 4887, signed into law April 26, recognizes all military Tricare and nonappropriated-fund healthcare programs for more than 9 million beneficiaries. The battle began when House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) revealed just days before a full House vote that national healthcare legislation only recognized Tricare for Life as meeting standards, and excluded a half dozen other Tricare programs, as well as the NAF healthcare plan. A closer review of the 2,400-page document revealed that not all VA healthcare programs were recognized either, to include those provided to widows and dependent children. Whereas many in Washington chose to believe that the intent of the new law would not impact DOD or VA programs, the VFW knew differently, because bill language becomes the law of the land, and because the intent of the 111th Congress will carry little weight in the 125th Congress, when the nation's focus has moved on to other priorities. The new national healthcare law had to be fixed, not for what it provided, but for what it omitted, and "The VFW is proud to have taken the lead on this issue on behalf of all of America's veterans, servicemembers and their families," said VFW National Commander Thomas J. Tradewell Sr. "It's a prime example of what we do as advocates here in the Nation's Capitol." To read the VFW press release, go to http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.newsDtl&did=5498. Continue reading Washington Weekly http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/37390/ Mon, 7 Jun 2010 10:57:00 -0400 http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/37390/ A message from VFW National Commander Tradewell... It's a sacred day to all war veterans: None need to be reminded of the reason that Memorial Day must be commemorated. But what about the general public, and more important, future generations? Do most non-veterans really recognize the importance of the day honoring their fellow Americans killed in war? Judging from what Memorial Day has become-simply another day off from work-the answer is a resounding no. Perhaps a reminder is due, then. And it is the duty of each and every veteran to relay the message. Sacrifice is meaningless without remembrance. America's collective consciousness demands that all citizens recall and be aware of the deaths of their fellow countrymen during wartime. Far too often, the nation as a whole takes for granted the freedoms all Americans enjoy. Those freedoms were paid for with the lives of others few of us actually knew. That's why they are all collectively remembered on one special day. This should be regarded as a civic obligation. For this is a national debt that can only be truly repaid by individual Americans. By honoring the nation's war dead, we preserve their memory and thus their service and sacrifice in the memories of future generations. They came from all walks of life and regions of the country. But they all had one thing in common—love of and loyalty to country. This bond cemented ties between them in times of trials, allowing a diverse lot of Americans to achieve monumental ends. We remember the loss of loved ones, a sense of loss that takes group form. In essence, America is commemorating those who made the greatest sacrifice possible—giving one's own life on behalf of others. Means of paying tribute vary. Pausing for a few moments of personal silence is available to everyone. Attending commemorative ceremonies is the most visible way of demonstrating remembrance: Placing flags at gravesites, marching in parades, sponsoring patriotic programs, dedicating memorials and wearing Buddy Poppies are examples. Whether done individually or collectively, it is the thought that counts. Personal as well as public acts of remembering are the ideal. Public displays of patriotism are essential if the notion of remembering war dead is to be instilled in youth. As America's older war veterans fast disappear from society's landscape, there are fewer and fewer standard-bearers left to carry the torch of remembrance. Such traditions will live on only if there is a vibrant movement to which that torch can be passed. Now, more than in past years, the enduring relevance of Memorial Day should be clearly evident. With two wars under way, the public has no excuse not to remember. This much is owed to the more than 5,400 Americans who have died thus far in Afghanistan and Iraq. http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/37271/ Mon, 31 May 2010 07:12:00 -0400 http://vfwwebcom.org/southdakota/37271/