VFW WI WebCOM Network

Vote and Get a Free Download

Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 02:59 PM

by Wisconsin VFW News

(via VFW.org)

The moment has arrived! Finalists have been chosen in the VFW Fly the Flag Photo Contest and voting has begun. Vote for your favorite photo and we’ll send you a free download of country music artist Ricky Lee's popular song "A Soldier Like You."

The best of the best have been selected. Now it's your turn to vote for the patriotic photo you think should win. Voting makes you eligible to download a country song from Ricky Lee!

Be part of VFW's 2008 Fly the Flag campaign! Let everyone know you support America's defenders and will never forget their sacrifice for freedom.

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VA Announces On-Line Claims Applications

Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 02:41 PM

by Wisconsin VFW News

(via VA Press Release)

WASHINGTON (July 16, 2008) - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that on-line applications are now accepted from veterans, survivors and other claimants filing initial applications for disability compensation, pension, education, and vocational rehabilitation and employment benefits without the additional requirement to submit a signed paper copy of the application.

Effective immediately, VA will now process applications received through its on-line application website (VONAPP) without the claimant's signature. The electronic application will be sufficient authentication of the claimant's application for benefits. Normal development procedures and rules of evidence will still apply to all VONAPP applications.

VONAPP (www.va.gov/onlineapps.htm) is a Web-based system that benefits both internal and external users. Veterans, survivors and other claimants seeking compensation, pension, education, or vocational rehabilitation benefits can apply electronically without the constraints of location, postage cost, and time delays in mail delivery.

VONAPP reduces the number of incomplete applications received by VA, decreasing the need for additional development by VA claims processors. The on-line application also provides a link to apply for VA health care benefits and much more.

Over 3.7 million veterans and beneficiaries receive compensation and pension benefits from VA and approximately 523,000 students receive education benefits. Approximately 90,000 disabled veterans participate in VA's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment program.

For more information about VA benefits, go to VA's website at www.va.gov or call our toll-free number at 1-800-827-1000.

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WISCONSIN BADGERS FOOTBALL 2008 ANNUAL SALUTE TO VETERANS

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 11:27 AM

by Wisconsin VFW News

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CONGRESS OVERTURNS PRESIDENTIAL VETO ON MEDICARE/TRICARE CUTS

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 09:19 AM

by Wisconsin VFW News

Comrades and Sisters:

Thank you for your calls and letters concerning these proposed Cuts by the Administration.  We were successful, and the cuts will not happen.  Make sure you thank your Senators and Representatives when you are talking with their offices.

Congress promptly overturned the President's veto of "The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act" (H.R. 6331) that repeals the Medicare/TRICARE 10.6 percent doctor reimbursement cut that took effect 1 July 2008, and authorizes a 1.1 percent increase for 18 months.

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WDVA SECRETARY JOHN SCOCOS TO BE DEPLOYED TO IRAQ

Friday, July 11, 2008 at 12:28 PM

by Wisconsin VFW News

“Secretary Scocos has again been called to duty and I thank him and all of the members of our military from Wisconsin, including the Guard and Reserves, who are serving here and abroad for their hard work and patriotism,” Governor Doyle said. “Serving in our military is one of the greatest sacrifices our citizens can make. We are indebted to each of the service men, service women and their families for all that they are doing for the greater good of our country.”
“The men and women of our Armed Forces who have been called to serve in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – and around the world in support of the Global War on Terrorism – come from every part of our country and state and from every walk of life,” said Scocos. “I am honored to again have the opportunity to serve my nation in Iraq, and I will look forward to returning to continue serving the people of this great state in carrying out Wisconsin’s veterans programs, including the array of important new programs passed into law in the last few years by Governor Doyle and the Legislature.”

Data provided by the U.S. Department of Defense show more than 266,000 U.S. service members currently deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, with nearly one-fourth from the Reserve and National Guard.

Of the more than 1.7 million troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the percentage of Wisconsin Guard and Reserve members is even higher, at nearly 45 percent.
In accordance with uniformed service employment laws and the rules governing the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, WDVA’s Deputy Secretary serves as both Deputy Secretary and the department’s Acting Secretary in the Secretary’s absence.

Ken Black, a retired Lieutenant Colonel with 22 years of active duty military service with the U.S. Army, will become the agency’s second in command on August 1st, when he assumes duties as Deputy Secretary. WDVA’s Executive Assistant Anthony Hardie, a seven-year Army veteran with Gulf War and Somalia service, is the agency’s third in command. Neither Black nor Hardie have any remaining military service obligation.

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FEINGOLD LAUDS VA DECISON TO OPEN BROWN COUNTY VET CENTER

Friday, July 11, 2008 at 09:05 AM

by Wisconsin VFW News

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) is hailing an announcement by the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) that it will open an additional Vet Center in Brown County, Wisconsin. Late last year, Feingold led an effort by the Wisconsin congressional delegation urging the VA to open a Vet Center in Brown County. The VA’s announcement comes at a time when approximately 40 percent of Wisconsin veterans do not live close enough to a Vet Center to obtain needed counseling on a regular basis.

“I am very pleased that significantly more Wisconsin veterans and their families will have access to assistance when this Vet Center opens in Brown County,” Feingold said. “During this time of incredible strain on members of the Armed Forces, it is extremely important that we provide support to veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan and their families while we continue to provide services to the generations of veterans who served in previous wars. These veterans are struggling with alarming rates of post traumatic stress disorder and other mental health concerns, yet most never seek care. This Vet Center will conduct outreach and offer counseling to ensure veterans are getting the health care and benefits they need in order to readjust to civilian life."

Vet Centers provide counseling in a non-medical setting to complement the services provided in VA medical centers and outpatient clinics. Currently, Wisconsin only has two Vet Centers, both in the southern part of the state. States with similar veteran populations have more than double this number of Vet Centers. Maryland, for example, has fewer veterans than Wisconsin and is one fifth its size but will soon have seven Vet Centers. Massachusetts is about one eighth the size of Wisconsin, and has only a slightly larger veteran population, but it has seven Vet Centers. While an additional Vet Center in Brown County will help to better serve the over 469,000 veterans who live in Wisconsin, an additional center in La Crosse County, which Senator Feingold and the Wisconsin delegation also requested, would ensure that roughly 82 percent of Wisconsin veterans reside within an hour’s drive of a Vet Center.

“While I am pleased an additional center will be built in Wisconsin, I will continue to work with the VA until all Wisconsin veterans and their families have access to a Vet Center,” Feingold said. “For all our veterans have given to our country, we should be constantly working to make sure they have adequate access to the care and benefits they have more than earned.
 

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NATIONAL CONVENTION BANQUET NEWS

Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 04:20 PM

by Wisconsin VFW News

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