October 10, 2006

Veterans News, By Edward G. Aulman, Director
Nassau County Veterans Service Agency

Support for Veterans

County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi has announced that the Veterans Service Agency (VSA) is again hosting a Stand Down for Homeless Veterans and is providing transportation to the “Salute Our Heroes Job Fair” at the Javits Center in New York City. Thanks to a generous donation from the Nassau County Counsel of the Veterans of Foreign War and a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, the VSA along with the United Veterans Organization and hundreds of volunteers from many veterans and non- veterans organizations will bring together dozens of government and not for profit social service agencies at the Freeport Armory on Monday November 20, 2006. Veterans in need will be able to get counseling from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Labor, Social Security, Salvation Army, Beacon House and the Department of Social Services and other local, state, and federal offices. A turkey dinner, clothes, showers, haircuts and medical screening are also part of this annual event.

On November 6, 2006, round trip transportation to the Javits Center in New York City will be provided to veterans in search of employment. To pre-register for the “Salute our Heroes Job Fair”, please contact Andy Rodriquez at the Hicksville DOL office (516) 934-8508, or Peter Paftinos at the Hempstead DOL: (516) 485-5000.

Military Care Package Kit

The USPS has a program for military family and friends to supply them with packaging materials to send packages overseas. If you call 1-800-610-8734 and select option #1, ask them for the “military pack” and they will send you the boxes, tape, packaging materials and labels at no charge to you or the recipient. The materials take about four to ten days to receive. (From VVA Interchange Vol. 17, Issue 3).

More Agent Orange Exposure in Korea

Based on declassified military documents and access to historical information released through the US Army Combat Studies Institute’s Leavenworth Papers the following have been added to the list of military units exposed to Agent Orange in Korea between April 1968 and July 1969: 1st Bn. 12th Artillery, 1st Bn. 15th Artillery, 7th BN. 17 Artillery, 5th BN. 38th Artillery, 6th Bn. 37 Artillery, 1st Bn. 31st Infantry(7th Infantry Division), 1st Bn 32nd Infantry(7th Infantry Division),2nd Bn. 32 Infantry(7th Infantry Division), United Nations Security Battalion-Joint Security Area and the Crew of the USS Pubelo. Contact the Veterans Service Agency at (516) 572-8452 if you wish to open a claim. (Thanks to Clark Barnes of the National Association of County Veterans service Officers)

Omitted from my August “Veterans News” were the following units of the 3rd Brigade of the 7th Infantry Division: 1-73 Armor, 1-31 Infantry and 2-31 Infantry.

Gulf War Syndrome Criticized

On September 12, 2006, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report entitled, “Gulf War and Health: Volume 4. Health Effects of serving in the Gulf War.” The report is based on an analysis by an IOM committee charged “to review, evaluate, and summarize peer reviewed scientific and medical literature addressing the health status of Gulf War veterans.” While the report dismisses the theory that the Gulf War illness is a single syndrome, the committee does recommend further study into the prevalence of particular diseases among the Gulf War veteran population. (Thomas Zampieeri, BVA). According to WebMD, 30% of Gulf War Veterans complain of some form of “multisymptom” illness, often including fatigue, depression, anxiety, pain, or gastrointestinal problems.

Veterans March on Washington

The South Hudson Valley Veterans Coalition, representing veterans from Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester Counties, are planning a national event on Veterans Day, November 11, 2006. Called VETS-MOW (March of Washington) the organization hopes to rally 1 million veterans at the Lincoln Memorial at 11:00 AM on Veterans Day. For more information contact Sal Scarlato, 1st Vice president of the Central Long Island Chapter, Korean War Veterans Association, at (631) 724-5459.

GI Bill Increases

Good News - the GI Bill now provides $38,000 in education benefits for 36 month studies (traditional 4 year education with summers off). Bad news: Tuition at Long Island's private colleges for four years without room and board average $86,588. Add another $9,170 per year for room and board. SUNY Stonybrook is a bargain at $5,000 per year plus $8,000 room and board. The best bargain is, of course, Nassau Community College. The first 2 years of a college education costs just about $4,000 per year.

VA Secretary to Keep Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens Facilities

This summer, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary R. James Nicholson announced that the Manhattan VA Medical Center (23 Street) and the VAMC Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn would remain open, ending several years of consolidation studies. Further, the Secretary announced that the VA would replace the existing facility: a St. Albans location, with a state -of-the-art nursing home, outpatient clinic and domiciliary.

Lou Gehrig’s disease

The VA is developing a nationwide registry of veterans who have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, it is a chronic progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the brain cells that control muscle movement. There is no known cure for this disease. The VA hopes to identify all veterans with the disease, enroll all newly diagnosed individuals, collect data including DNA samples that will be available for approved studies, and inform veterans about research studies they may be eligible for. Contact the VA ALS Registry at 1-877-342-5257.

D.C. Vietnam Memorial to get Visitors Center

A 25,000 square foot visitor center will be constructed underground between the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. “This was a long time in coming,” said Jan C. Scruggs, president and founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. According to Scruggs, the center may contain a movie theatre, a three-directional battle scene, a wall where pictures of the fallen will be projected on their birthdays, and mementos left at the wall (Associated Press, 8/5/2006)

Disabled, but Looking for Work

The “Ready, Willing and Able” Job Fair is Tuesday, October 31, 2006 from 9:00 AM to noon at the Hicksville Community center 28 West Carl Street, Hicksville, NY 11801. Call Dianne Kipp at (516) 873-5678 for details and registration.

Thank You

Al McMinn and Jin Strouse of Levittown, Joseph Carosella from Farmingdale, Howard Bestoff of Massapequa and Joseph Elowsky of Plainview, for spending many hours driving our disabled veterans to their appointments at Northport and Plainview.