Archive for the ‘News’ Category
June 23, 2009 By Claire
Posted in News, Spouse and Family
I posted this at KDH, but wanted to share it in many places. I really hope they can make some advances in this area. I just wish we could come up with a way to study the brain in deeper detail before death.
NYTimes.com has published a very interesting article about concussive brain injury, soldiers, and football players. The article starts out a little morbid, but it’s a necessary morbidity. Apparently a handful of Service Members with this type of brain injury have chosen to donate their brain to science when they pass away. The types of injuries scientists need to study can not be seen on MRI or CAT scans.
I have friends whose husbands have come home from Iraq and are unable to even drive themselves to work each day. To look at them you would have no clue that they are so severely injured.
Unless you know them personally you will never see the impact such a wound has on a soldier, his family, and those who love him. It’s hard having no visible signs, or “proof” of your injury, and yet being so disabled you forget some of the most simple information such as your home address or how to operate a vehicle.
I also know a couple of car accident victims who have had concussive brain injury who still struggle with short term memory loss. There may be additional population for the study.
An Excerpt from the article:
Mr. McQuigg, 32, is one of 20 active and retired members of the military who recently agreed to donate their brain tissue upon death so that the effects of blast injuries — which, unlike most concussions, do not involve any direct contact with the head — can be better understood and treated.
The research will be conducted by the Sports Legacy Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Waltham, Mass., and by the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, whose recent examination of the brains of deceased football players has found damage linked to cognitive decline and depression.
Whether single, non-impact blasts in battle can cause the same damage as the years of repetitive head bashing seen in football is of particular interest to researchers. The damage, primarily toxic protein deposits and tangled brain fibers, cannot be detected through noninvasive procedures like M.R.I.’s and CT scans.
“We don’t know much about the medium- or long-term effects of head trauma experienced by our military,” said Robert Stern, co-director of the Boston University center as well as its Alzheimer’s Disease Clinical and Research Program. “We know that there are some immediate effects in terms of blast injury on cognition and behavior. But we do not yet know whether there are any long-term effects.”
“Does that single blow result in something that doesn’t go away,” he added, “or perhaps sets off a cascade of events that leads to a progressive degenerative brain disease?”
Mr. McQuigg may be finding out the cruelest way. In February 2006, he was on combat patrol when his Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb, knocking him unconscious, shattering his jaw and damaging his right eye. His helmet could not protect him from a severe concussion that doctors told him was caused solely by the bomb’s force waves, not direct impact.
Now he is experiencing headaches, short-term memory problems and trouble with balance that have only worsened.
“With prosthetics, you can replace an arm or a leg and can still throw a football with your kid,” said Mr. McQuigg, who works at Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego. “If you have a severe brain injury, you might not be able to live on your own.” READ MORE
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May 21, 2009 By CJ
Posted in Guest Blogger, Military News, News, Spouse and Family, Top Posts, Veteran Benefits
On August 7, 2007, the Army released a message informing Soldiers about the new Post Deployment/Mobilization Respite Absence, or PDMRA. PDMRA is a new category of leave similar to administrative leave in the civilian sector. It is a DOD program intended to compensate Soldiers with days of non-chargeable leave when required to mobilize or deploy with a frequency beyond established rotation policy goals. The program only applies to deployments and mobilizations underway on, or commencing after, 19 Jan 07. I want to take a few minutes and try to explain this very confusing policy.
First and foremost, Soldiers should recognize that there are no tax benefits like combat zone exclusions for taking this leave. This program does not replace or circumvent traditional leave accrual. Soldiers will earn both their standard 2.5 days per month as well as PDMRA, if qualified. I’ll break this up into Active and Reserve (National Guard) forces.
After 12 months deployment, eligible Soldiers earn ONE day of administrative absence. Those Soldiers with 18 months deployed begin to earn TWO days and those with 24 months will earn FOUR days. The deployments must occur within a 36 month period. Here’s how it works:
If you deployed for a 15 month tour AFTER the date above, you earn one day of PDMRA PER MONTH after the 12th month. Months 13, 14, and 15 each get one day for a total of three. If you deploy for 21 months, you earn two days of PDMRA PER MONTH after your 18th for a total of six days. Each month past 24 months earns four days per month. Now, this must occur within a 36 month window. If you deployed for 15 months and then didn’t deploy again for three years, your count begins back at zero for PDMRA. The only difference for the Reserve forces is that they have more time to accrue deployments. For those Soldiers, it is a 72 month window.
The deployments that are creditable under this program are to Afghanistan, Iraq or certain theater units and other areas as determined by the Secretary of the Army. For Reserve component Soldiers, creditable mobilizations are defined as mobilizations under Title 10 only and only include INVOLUNTARY mobilizations unless the duty is in conjunction with “deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.” It gets a bit confusing for Reserve components, but here is the actual policy:
…for the Reserve component Soldiers, creditable mobilizations are defined as mobilizations under Title 10, United States Code, sections 12301a, 12302, or 12304. These are involuntary mobilizations. Voluntary mobilizations under 12301(d) /CO-ADOS, Retiree Recall) do not qualify for PDMRA, unless the 12301(d) mobilization/duty is in conjunction with ―deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.‖ To qualify for PDMRA under a 12301(d) period of duty the Soldier must have documentation showing their Iraq/Afghanistan duty under Combat Zone Tax Exclusion (CZTE) on their LES showing the payment of Hostile Fire/Imminent Danger pay to verify the period of Boots on Ground (BOG) in Iraq or Afghanistan. More than 50% of the entire 12301(d) mobilization ―time‖ must occur BOG in Iraq or Afghanistan for a 12301(d) to qualify for any PDMRA. For example, one month of CZTE can be authorized/earned for one day in theater. Technically, a 12301(d) Soldier traveling to Iraq or Afghanistan one day per month for 6 months would earn 6 months CZTE and have an LES that indicates 6 months CZTE. However, that does not qualify the 12301(d) Soldier for any PDMRA since 50% of the mobilization ―time‖ was not preformed in theater.
For active component Soldiers, creditable deployment time commences on January 19, 2004, or the date that is 36 months prior to the Soldier‘s initial deployment, whichever date is most recent, and includes the day of the Soldier‘s arrival in theater through the date of departure from theater. For example: If the Soldier deployed October 10, 2007, creditable deployment time for the Soldier would include previous deployments back 36 months to October 10, 2004. A deployment on December 21, 2013, looks back 36 months for previous creditable deployment… December 21, 2010 in order to calculate the number of days of PDMRA earned. Make sense? It does to me, but if you’re CORNfused, that’s what the comments section is for. Ask away! The following image should explain it a little better. The red blocks account for deployment time. For qualified deployments, a number appears indicating how many days of PDMRA you have earned for that deployment.
PDMRA Example
Now for the REALLY confusing part – the Reserves and National Guard. For Reserve component Soldiers, creditable mobilization time commences on October 7, 2001, or the date that is 72 months prior to the Soldier‘s mobilization, whichever date is most recent, and includes the day the Soldier is initially mobilized through the date the mobilization is terminated; includes the effective date of the Soldier‘s mobilization orders through the date of the expiration of the mobilization order, to include periods of R&R and temporary duty (TDY) outside Iraq and Afghanistan for TDY periods of 30 days or less. For example: A deployment on December 21, 2013, looks back 72 months for previous creditable deployment(s)…December 21, 2007 in order to calculate the number of days of PDMRA earned. PDMRA accrual for RC Soldiers includes all qualifying mobilizations, not just to Iraq or Afghanistan. Only mobilizations under 12301(a), 12302, or 12304 qualify to accrue PDMRA. A 12301(d) period of duty also qualifies when it is documented that the 12301(d) period was in conjunction with a deployment in support of Contingency Operations in Iraq or Afghanistan; deployment time for this purpose includes the day of the Soldier‘s arrival on Title 10 at MOB station through his REFRAD date. PDMRA days do not continue to accrue while Soldier is on transition leave and/or extension of mobilization orders for the purpose of PDMRA usage. Here’s the reserve graphic explanation:
I think these images make a bit more sense than trying to explain it all. I could have saved a lot of energy just posting these at the beginning.
Now the question on probably every Soldiers’ mind is “how do I use it?” PDMRA can be used during any R&R leave period or in lieu of using chargeable annual leave at home station. However, you can’t add the PDMRA to R&R time. If you have 20 days of leave saved up and your R&R is only 14, you can’t extend that time period to use up your leave. You only get to use the 14 days. Soldiers may use PDMRA leave within 12 months of returning from deployment or during PCS travel. If you don’t use them within 12 months of returning from deployment, too bad, so sad. Leaders must make every effort to give their troops this time off within that timeframe. We owe it to them!
Soldiers who return from deployment due to an injury or are deemed to be “not fit for duty” will have one year to use their PDMRA from the day that they are determined to be “fit for duty.” This is good news for those Soldiers recovering from injuries sustained as a result of combat or their deployment, but stuck somewhere like Walter Reed for extended periods of time. Soldiers who are getting out of the Army can combine their ETS (terminal) leave with PDMRA.
PDMRA days do not continue to accrue for those Soldiers on transition leave and/or extension of mobilization orders for the purpose of PDMRA usage. It also doesn’t have a cash value like normal leave does. If it’s not used, it goes the way of GM dealerships and just disappears without a trace and no “cash out” option. For those Soldiers in the Reserve component with federal, state or local government civilian employment, you cannot by law receive civilian pay while using this leave. Since you are considered on active duty while taking this leave. However, there is a provision in the law that allows you to elect to receive Assignment Incentive Pay in lieu of PDMRA. For this purpose, the AIP would be valued at a rate of $200 for each day of administrative absence that otherwise would have been authorized/earned under the PDMRA program, but can’t exceed $3,000 per month. To request this, simply use the 4187 process (see your 1SG).
I hope this cleared up some of the confusion or lack of knowledge about this important way our nation shows its appreciation for what we’re doing. Our media likes to highlight all the down sides of these deployments while completely ignoring worthy programs like this, additional pay, and other benefits that Soldiers receive during and after deployments. We take care of our own and this is just another example of that.
If you have any further questions about the program, don’t hesitate to ask in the comments section so that others can learn along with you. Also, please see your PAC or 1SG. However, since I’ve been contacted by a few First Sergeants myself, they may not have the answer. In those cases, provide them with this link to educate them. They’ll thank you for it!
For services other than the Army, this program SHOULD work the exact same way. It’s a DOD program, not an Army one. We are just better at getting the word out there! 
Oh and I almost forgot, you can access a special calculator to help you figure out how much leave you may be due by clicking HERE.
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April 30, 2009 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in News, Uncategorized
For those of you not on CJ’s email list, you may have yet to see his article in the Washington Times. Congrats CJ, from everyone with You Served!
We just hope you still have time to remember your old pals once you’ve gone big time with a nationally syndicated column and a popular radio show. You’re on the way . . .
image courtesy of the Washington Times
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April 25, 2009 By CJ
Posted in Charities/Contests, Military News, News, Top Posts, Top Posts - My Post, Top Posts - Shared
I arrived safely last night here in majestic D.C. for the annual Milblog Conference. As you know, Troy and I are covering the event exclusively for You Served. Hopefully, you caught the radio show last night.
Today kicked off the pre-event festivities. Some of us, myself being one of them, were invited to the White House to meet with members of President Obama’s National Security Council. Before we walked into the Roosevelt Room for our meeting, I used the Presidential Toilet again. There’s just something cool about taking a leak in the bathroom right outside the Oval Office!
This is me in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, literally right next door to the Oval Office.
Me outside the West Wing of the White House before the meeting.
Because the meeting was off the record, I’ll suffice it to say that we met with Senior Administration Officials. The reason we’re keeping it secretive is that we wanted to be candid in our discussions, which I can talk about.
The White House reached out to us as military bloggers because we tend to have our ear on the pulse of what is going on within the services at the troop level. The messages we put across on these blogs are unfiltered and told from a raw, rounded perspective. There is no Public Affairs “spin” or party line glossing over on most milblogs. The administration wanted to give us the philosophy of its national security policy and see what kind of input we may have. Can you believe it? Military bloggers are actually being sought out to provide some input to national security strategy. Not policy, mind you, but strategy. Only the President establishes policy and we are NOT in the advisor chain.
We spoke about the pirate issue, but didn’t get into the nuts and bolts of all the decision-making behind what really happened. One of the issues I brought up for discussion were all the gaffes by the administration and the perception is that they don’t care about the troops. With the scrapped possibility of charging veterans for private insurance, the DHS secretary calling us potential terrorists, the release of the OLC memos, scrapping military projects at a time of war and the upcoming release of yet more Abu Ghraib photos (still not sure what good that will do), it’s not too hard to draw a line straight to the administration and come to the conclusion that they don’t have our best interests at heart. I asked what the administration is doing to do more than just talk about supporting the troops and actually encourage military service. The answer was that this was just perception, not reality, on our parts. President Obama has met numerous times with Wounded Warriors that he has invited to the White House. But, I pressed, why isn’t the President going out there and directly speaking out about how his administration has falsely portrayed our troops thanks to DHS? While a political, non-direct answer was given, I could tell that I made my point and rested my case. And here’s the kicker, I have a “glimmer of hope” that what I had to say will be seriously taken into consideration.
To his benefit, however, President Obama has chosen a recently separated Naval Special Warfare officer, Matthew Flavin, to head the new Veteran Policy and Wounded Warrior Committee – or something like that. Matt served tours in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Having him and other military detailed personnel on the NSC can’t hurt. General Jones was another good choice, I think.
After the meeting at the White House, several of us proceeded directly to the Pentagon. Lindy Kyzer, from Army Public Affairs, had arranged a special tour of the Pentagon for milbloggers. After the tour, we met with the Secretary of the Army, Pete Geren. He noted that he hadn’t fully appreciated the military blogosphere until the whole Dan Rather incident pertaining to President Bush’s service records. Shortly before the 2004 elections in which President Bush won reelection, 60 Minutes, with Dan Rather as the anchor, presented documents challenging President’s Bush’s service in the Air National Guard. Thanks to milbloggers, myself included, these documents were exposed for the forgeries they were.
Geren was impressed that the man who was at the top of his game wasn’t brought down from the traditional adversaries in competing networks. He was brought down by bloggers. We had succeeded where others had failed and it cost him dearly and it only a day or two. When he became Secretary of the Army, he decided he needed to know more and instantly began a drive to reach out to us. The Army is leaps and bounds ahead of the services because of him.
We also met with the others senior Public Affairs officials from each branch of the military: Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The contrasts amongst the services couldn’t be more start. On one end of the spectrum you have the Marine Corps who is still looking at what to do with the whole blogging situation. They are taking a sort of wait and see approach by studying how the other services are handling it and plan to take the best practices from each for their policy. On the complete opposite side is the Air Force who seems to be micromanaging every aspect of Air Force bloggers with the publication of their “New Media and Air Force” guide. It’s 31 pages of “do this” and “don’t do this” micromanagement. Meanwhile, the Army is so organized and advanced in accepting the blogging community that it just sits back and enjoys the show. The Navy seemed like it could not care less about the medium and basically told they have no time to deal with our requests. “I have to choose between the New York Times, the Pensacola Tribune, or a blog,” said Admiral Thorpe while raising his arms like a scale and placing the MSM on a higher plain.
After the nearly two-hour meeting at the Pentagon, thankfully punctuated with some of Lindy Kyzer’s absolutely delectable cookies, we headed back to the hotel to prep for the screening of the “At War” film. Check out the You Served Twitter (@YouServed) for my remarks about that. Otherwise, I’ll leave those thoughts for Troy to flush out.
The panels begin tomorrow, so I’ll have more then. It’s almost 4am and I need to get some sleep!
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March 30, 2009 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in Military News, News, Uncategorized
A few months back, VAMC (who brings you You Served’s blog and podcast) launched a new military news syndicate at VAMCnews. VAMCnews is a new initiative by our company to employ young journalists who are passionate about the military community and issues affecting Veterans Benefits.
We produce uniquely researched articles and news briefs each week related to news coming out of Washington and the surrouding military community. The focus is on breaking news and also supplementing news from major media outlets. Through VAMCnews, we hope to both broaden the content we are able to provide our current readers and earn new readers time and again.
With the current state of the traditional media in upheaval, massive layoffs and papers shutting down, VAMC hopes to provide an outlet for professional journalism in our space. Please check it out at www.VAMCnews.com !
Here’s a sneak peek -
VAMC Military News
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January 13, 2009 By Troy
Posted in Blogroll, News
Via the 2009 Milblog Conference website…
“As you know, we experimented with moving our annual conference to Vegas in 2008. We had a great time in Vegas – how could you not have a great time in Vegas – but, Washington is a better venue for our official conference, so the 2009 MilBlog Conference will be held in
Washington, DC. Milbloggers will continue to have a presence in Vegas at the annual Blog World Expo, which recently made some news, but the big conference will move back to Washington.
Going back to the successful model of 2007, all events will take place at The Westin Arlington Gateway on April 24-25.
Read the entire story here and learn about room reservations and more.
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January 12, 2009 By Troy
Posted in News, Podcast
The VAMC You Served blog and radio show is now up and running on twitter. You can follow along to see when the latest posts are created, get updates about the show or even get show reminders by going to www.twitter.com/youserved.
If you have a twitter account, follow along and get updates on your phone or pda.
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January 7, 2009 By You Served Editorial Staff
Posted in News, Veteran Benefits
The loan limits for VA Home Loans have been released for the Jan. 1, 2009 – Dec. 31, 2009 year. The amount the Veteran or active-duty member may borrow depends upon the county in which he or she wishes to purchase. This is due to housing costs being much higher in certain counties, and the VA adjusts the limits accordingly. Although the VA itself does not issue VA loans, nor does it impose a maximum loan amount, it does guarantee 25% of the loan to the lender. These limits, as well as whether part of the entitlement has been used but not restored, are calculated when figuring how much of the loan the VA will guarantee.
You can check the VA Web site for specific county loan limits or view our own VA Mortgage Center.com VA Loan Limit Calculator. If you have any questions about the loan limits, the site includes the VA Regional Loan Center for each listed county. For all other counties that are not listed, the 2009 loan limit is $417,000.
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December 25, 2008 By CJ
Posted in News, Top Posts
Billboard.com and the US Army have teamed up to provide our service members with the gift of music. If you’re anything like me, you know the value of music. For a limited time, you can get two free digital downloads from Billboard.com by going to this website and using your .mil email account to register. A special PIN and related information on how to get the downloads of your choice will be emailed to that address within a few minutes. Enjoy your free music and Merry Christmas! But, hurry. This offer ends December 31st!!
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December 21, 2008 By Claire
Posted in News
I am posting a little earlier than I normally do in the week. I wanted to start the week off on a good note, and wanted to share this while it’s still fresh news. I have been working on a piece addressing the Rand report that CJ wrote about two weeks ago. That is an issue worth revisiting and I have some encouraging news on the topic. However, today I am straying a little from my normal posting habits to share some other encouraging news.
Iraqi’s celebrated their first ever open and public Christmas in Baghdad.
I think in order to understand the significance of this celebration we need to consider that the Christian population was cut nearly in half after Saddam came into power (from 20% to 10%). Then after the first Gulf War and then the Iraqi invasion they dwindled down to just 4%. This drastic decline is often cited as a result of radicals and terrorist groups targeting Christians causing them to go into exile.
Is this a sign that Iraqi Christians can go home now? I don’t know. I hope for their sake it does. I know that this is an intended consequence of this war — that is tolerance and minorities openly celebrating their faith without fear of persecution or death from the government. One of President Bush’s principles through out this war has been that “religious tolerance offers a path to peace.” It most certainly had to be fought for, but this open celebration is just one of many such instances where we see that pathway to peace being tread. This trail to peace was not blazed by so called “peace activists.” This trail has been blazed by American Soldiers and Marines and our Allied Forces. Continue reading this post…
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