The American Legion Department of Colorado Blog

Veterans Green Corps (VGC) is hiring veteran who are up for a challenge and want to continue serving their country in America’s great outdoors. Can check it out by going to http://veteransgreenjobs.org/ or you can continue reading here.

VGC conservation work is focused on protecting and preserving our public lands. Done in cooperation with national forests, national parks, the Bureau of Land Management, and state and local government agencies, these projects are an opportunity to take care of our national treasures while working alongside other vets with common goals.

Veteran crews are trained and hired to work on projects such as trail construction and maintenance, fencing, habitat improvement, hazardous fuels reduction, noxious weed removal, re-vegetation and more. Prior experience doing conservation work is not required!

Projects are described below. Get in touch immediately to apply for this rewarding opportunity – and get geared up for a chance to work with The Corps Network

Calling All Military Vets

This is tough work!

–Conservation projects are physically demanding and will often require heavy lifting and hiking with equipment and packs.

–Corps members may be required to use various hand tools for project completion.

–Crews may work and camp outside for up to 11 days at a time in front country and/or back country locations in all types of weather conditions.

–Crews prepare all their own meals and work together as a group to complete all necessary living chores.

–A typical all-veteran crew consists of 6-8 members, 2 leaders and 1-2 members serving as veteran advocates.

–VGC programs provide all necessary training.

–Living and working in the outdoors offers an incredibly rewarding experience!

Who is eligible to apply:

*        All honorably discharged veterans.

*        Veterans of all ages.

*        Veterans with a DD 214.

*        Veterans with all levels of experience.

Conservation Projects

Great Basin Institute, Nevada Conservation Corps – Las Vegas, Nevada

Throughout the summer and fall seasons, a 6-person veteran crew will complete technical trail building and maintenance on U.S. Forest Service trails in the Spring Mountains. Don’t let the nearby desert landscape fool you! The Spring Mountains are rich in forests, streams and mountain vistas. Work will include constructing trail treads, cutting fallen trees from the trail, building water diversion structures, constructing rock retaining walls and much more. Crew work begins in mid-May and continues into November.

Southwest Conservation Corps – Salida, Colorado

Two Summer Technical Trail crews, each with 8 veterans, 2 crew leaders and 6 crew members, will work in the southern Colorado Rockies based out of the Arkansas River headwaters in Salida, Colorado. Trail work will commence in the Rio Grande National Forest with an emphasis on maintenance. Crews will often camp out in the backcountry for days at a time. Work includes rock removal from trail tread, tree clearing with crosscut saws in wilderness areas, and rehabilitation of water diversion structures. One of the crews will be co-ed, with half of the veterans being women and one woman working in a crew leader role. Crew leaders will begin training April 20, crew members will train May 30, and work will be completed by August 20.

Southwest Conservation Corps – Durango, Colorado

Two Fall Saw crews, each with 8 veterans and 2 crew leaders, will conduct fire mitigation and hazardous fuel removal in the southern Colorado Rockies. This work is focused on decreasing the risk associated with wildfires, which pose great threats to intermountain communities throughout the western U.S. Crews will receive chainsaw training to safely reduce wildfire risk by cutting out weak, dead and crowded trees in overgrown forests. The project will begin in August and end in

November.

Medicine Bow – Wyoming and Colorado

Two 8-person saw crews will be formed to remove dead trees that are victims of Mountain Pine Beetle attacks. Over time, dead standing trees present a hazard as they become weak and eventually fall. Crews will be trained on safety and use of chainsaws to eliminate this risk along trail corridors and public use areas. Each crew will have 2 crew leaders and will operate throughout the Routt/Medicine Bow National Forest along

the Colorado-Wyoming border. The summer project begins in mid-June and will continue into September.

Utah Conservation Corps – Logan, Utah

The Inclusive Crew, a 4-person veteran crew, will be formed in Utah with 2 disabled veteran positions. Work will include campground assessments and other conservation work on public lands. Projects will be completed from May 10 to Aug 14.

Apply Today by going to http://veteransgreenjobs.org/green-jobs-training/veterans-green-corps

Contact Justin Clark, national outreach director for Veterans Green

Jobs: justin@veteransgreenjobs.org.

The American Legion – March 11, 2010

On March 10, American Legion Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Division Director Barry A. Searle attended the monthly meeting of the Veterans’ Consortium Executive Board in Washington.

The consortium is an organization made up of members from The American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America and National Veterans Legal Services Program, as well as private-practice attorneys. The purpose of the consortium is to recruit, train and assign pro bono attorney representation to veterans who wish to be represented in the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

Veterans do not need to be members of any service organization to be represented. Appealed cases are reviewed and, if proven to have a valid claim, are represented at no charge by assigned volunteer attorneys.

Women, Tribal Services Are Special Priorities

The Department of Veterans Affairs is allocating $39 million to fund about 2,200 new transitional housing beds through grants to local providers.

    “VA is committed to ending the cycle of homelessness among Veterans,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “We will use every tool at our disposal – health care, education, jobs, safe housing – to ensure our Veterans are restored to lives with dignity, purpose and safety.”

    The $39 million in funding is broken into two categories.  About $24 million in grants are available to renovate or rehabilitate space to create about 1,000 transitional housing beds.  The grants put a priority upon housing for homeless women and housing on tribal lands.

    A second group of grants, valued at about $15 million, is expected to fund about 1,200 new beds for homeless providers who already have suitable transitional housing.  The grants will provide per diems based upon the number of homeless Veterans being served in transitional housing.

    VA is the largest federal provider of direct assistance to the homeless, with 14,000 transitional beds in operation or development.  About 107,000 Veterans are homeless on a typical night.  Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki has committed the department to ending homelessness among Veterans within five years.

Department of Defense – March 11, 2010

The Military Spouse Career Advancement
Accounts program, commonly known as MyCAA, will resume March 13 for the more than 136,000 spouses who already have established an account, the defense official who heads up the program announced today.

Officials announced a temporary halt in the program Feb. 18, pending a top-to-bottom review, after a six-fold spike in enrollments in January, a surge that overwhelmed the system and caused the program to near
y reach its budget threshold.

“We made a commitment to our military spouses when they established a career advancement account, and we will be true to our p
omises,” said Tommy T. Thomas, deputy undersecretary of defense for the Pentagon’s office of military community and family policy.

The Defense Department wi
l resume the program for the 136,583 military spouses currently in the program at noon EDT March 13, Thomas said.
“We sincerely apologize to our military spouses for the added burden caused by the pause in operation,” he added.

While the program will resume for enrolled
spouses, new MyCAA accounts or financial assistance applications will not be accepted yet, Thomas said, noting that the comprehensive review of the program still is under way.

“We are working hard to adjust the program to meet the demands of the MyCAA program and to arrive at a long-term solution for military spouses who would like to establish an account,” he said. “Until that time, we encourage spouses to
onsult with the MyCAA career counselors who can provide career exploration, assessment, employment readiness and career search assistance.”

The top-to-botto
review includes procedures, financial assistance documents and the overall program, which is intended to provide military spouses with opportunities to pursue portable careers in high-demand, high-growth occupations.

yle="margin-bottom: 16pt;">The program has been growing in popularity since its inception March 2, 2009. Enrollments had been increasing at a rate of about 10,000 a month, and in January, the number spiked to 70,000. pan>

“We had very little time to react to that,” Thomas said. “I make no excuses for that. We should have done a better job of notifying our military spouses.” Thoma
said he will work hard to restore the confidence lost when the program was halted.

“We certainly know we have lost some confidence, and we want to rebuild
hat confidence,” he said. “We will restore that faith hopefully by one, restoring the program, and two, having appropriate resources to ensure everyone that applies for the program receives the appropriate financial assistance.

 
“We appreciate what [spouses] do, and we hope that through this, that once we get this program back on track, that we don’t lose any … spouses,” he continued. “We value and treasure everything you do each and every day, not only for the Department of D
fense, but for this nation.”

Thomas said he will ensure the lines of communication stay open in the days ahead. An e-mail has been sent to all program parti
ipants, informing them of the program’s resumption, and spouses will see the announcement letter when they log on to their MyCAA accounts. A “media blitz” of information will precede any announcement that applies to all military spouses, he vowed. >

“We don’t want to make the mistake we made in the beginning, and that is not notifying you what’s going on,” Thomas said. “We want to make absolutely sure that you
understand that we’re working in your best interest.”
In the meantime, Thomas urged spouses to be wary of questionable Web sites enticing them with employment opportunities.

“Stay the course with us and allow u
to work this to finality by restoring the program,” he said. “We will make every effort possible to ensure we educate you and get the necessary funds to continue this program.”

 
Along with MyCAA counselors, spouses also can request free career counseling through Military OneSource at (800) 342-9647 or at http://militaryonesource.com.

The American Legion – March 11, 2010

American Legion Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Division Director Barry Searle was among those attending a House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs hearing Wednesday that focused on the future of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The hearing was conducted by Chairman Bob Filner, D-Calif., to better understand the challenges that face VA in the future and what is needed to transform the agency into a 21st-century organization. VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki offered his assessment of how to improve the structure and implement necessary changes to provide veterans the best care and benefits in the most effective and efficient way possible.

“We are not looking for a piecemeal approach to structuring VA to best address the needs of America’s veterans,” Filner told Shinseki. “Rather, we want to hear about your vision and your assessment of what tools you need, including a proposal that would amend Title 38 to add an additional assistant secretary and eight deputy assistant secretaries. Our hope is to come out of this with a plan we can all get behind that meets the needs of the department and our veterans.”

Current law provides for “not more than seven Assistant Secretaries” and limits the number of deputy assistant secretaries to a number “not exceeding 19, as the Secretary may determine.” As part of its restructuring efforts, VA is seeking legislation that would authorize an additional assistant secretary and eight deputy assistant secretaries.

Shinseki, outlined 4 principles guiding VA into the future:

An increased agility in order to take advantage of and leverage resources;
Showing a demonstrable return on investment;
An improved service to veteran customers; and
Controlling costs.

The secretary also identified past shortcomings that were in failures in IT and acquisition management. In order to improve the process, Shinseki discussed his proposal to add an additional assistant secretary and increase the number of deputy assistant secretaries by 40 percent. He testified that adding positions “is not about creating a new layer of bureaucracy – it is about streamlining and aligning our organization in ways that will better align our priorities with the most responsible use of funds entrusted to the department.”

For both Information Technology and acquisitions, Shinseki said, “past weaknesses have stemmed from overly decentralized control, lack of enterprise-wide information and, in some cases, improvised policies. Managers in the field lacked supervision, guidance, and sustained support; and policies were applied inconsistently.” He identified the next step to producing better results as “strengthening management infrastructure, especially pursuing acquisition reform, paired with continued consolidation of Information Technology management.”

The American Legion – March 11, 2010

VA’s Debt Management Center (DMC) recently sent out letters advising veterans of their options for repaying the advance payment of education benefits they received for this past fall term.

If you are having trouble reaching DMC over the phone in regards to advance payment recoupment, you can also contact VA’s Education Call Center (ECC) toll-free at (888) 442-4551 or visit http://www.pay.va.gov for instructions on how to submit payments. You may also go to www.gibill.va.gov.

The American Legion – March 2, 2010

The American Legion’s lobbying efforts make a difference, and it’s pretty clear to National Commander Clarence Hill. During the Washington Conference Commander’s Call, Hill made that sentiment pretty clear to a packed room of nearly 800 Legion family members at the Renaissance Hotel, who later traveled en masse to Capitol Hill to meet with their respective senators and representatives.

    “Will your actions today really make a difference? Will anyone listen? According to the issues on (the Legion’s) legislative priority sheet last year, I think so,” Hill said. “Advance appropriations for VA medical care: That’s now Public Law 111-81. VA received advance appropriations for fiscal year 2010, before the public law was signed. I guess they heard you.

    “VA appropriations for fiscal year 2010: It wasn’t signed into law before the start of the fiscal year, but advance appropriations for VA’s three medical accounts were included in a continuing resolution until the omnibus appropriations bill was signed. Looks like they got the message on that one, too.”

    Hill went on to say that VA funding met or exceeded nearly every recommendation by the Legion, and that while issues still exist with the new Post-9/11 GI Bill, he applauded Congress for keeping a close eye on the situation.

    Hill also praised VA Secretary Eric Shinseki for his efforts in implementing the GI Bill. The secretary addressed Legionnaires during the Commander’s Call and made a promise that he’ll focus on an issue very close to their hearts: the backlog of VA disability claims.

    “This is one area that we didn’t progress as fast as I would have wanted. It has a little bit to do with me having to focus on that 9/11-GI Bill,” Shinseki said. “That’s not to say that we didn’t work claims processing hard. Last year we completed 974,000 claims. And then we received a million new ones in return. Our productivity went up, and so did our receipts. We know that we’re going to have to get better and faster at it.

    “2010 is my year to focus on the backlog, to find and break all standing obstacles that have been part of holding us up. And try to get faster and better processing, and not just going fast, but getting higher-quality decisions out of those claims processors.”

    U.S. Rep. C.W. “Bill” Young, R-Fla., was presented with the Distinguished Public Service Award for Young’s “commitment to our nation’s military and intelligence communities, particularly to quality of life for military personnel and their families, and to a continued advocacy of medical research immunization programs, and to protecting the American flag from physical desecration.”

    Young was humbled by the award. “To receive an award like this, from men and women who have served in our military, who have made sure that America remains strong, that is a tremendous honor,” he said. ”

    Young – who serves on the Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee – vowed to continue to vote for the funding needed for U.S. servicemembers.

    “We have got to provide whatever it is that our military needs to keep us safe,” Young said. “My commitment is any training must be provided to prepare the troops for the mission. Any equipment or technology that must be provided for the mission must be provided.”

    Also on hand was Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynne III, who briefed Legionnaires on the situation in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

    “(U.S. servicemembers) have now fought in Iraq and Afghanistan for longer than we fought in World War I and World War II combined. Their sacrifice is bringing security to America and stability to many parts of the world,” he said. “In Iraq, our forces continue to responsibly draw out on schedule. Iraq is beginning to emerge as a sovereign, stable nation.

    “As our forces leave Iraq, we face tough new challenges in Afghanistan. As we’ve seen in the city of Marjah, the fighting is fierce. But the initial phase of the Marjah offensive is nearing completion. Our strategy, however, recognizes that military action is only the first step in a successful transition. The Afghan government and our forces must ultimately take responsibility for security and governance.”

    Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga. – a member of the Committee on Armed Services – asked Legionnaires to get behind his bill, H.R. 333, which eliminated the disabled veterans tax for all disabled military retirees. “Get your members to sign on to 333. It’s an easy number to remember,” he said. “Use that term ‘disabled veterans tax.’”

    U.S. Rep. John Boozman, R-Ark., a member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, echoed Hill’s earlier comments when he stressed the importance of the Legion in gaining passage of legislation.

    “Those of us on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee really are working hard to push forward the things we need to get done for veterans,” he said. “We can’t do that as just members on the committee. We have to have you guys. Your leadership does a tremendous job, but they can’t be effective without you. I can’t tell you how important it is to share with your members of Congress, when you look them in the eye… and say, ‘Remember, we have this priority or that priority.’ As a result, we really have been able to get a lot done in the last several years.”

    Legionnaires also heard from Ray Jefferson, assistant secretary of the Veterans’ Employment and Training Services, Auxiliary National President Rita Navarreté and Sons of The American Legion National Commander Mark Arneson.

The American Legion – March 1, 2010

Issues faced by women veterans got front-and-center treatment Feb. 26 on the last day of The American Legion’s Department Service Officers School. The afternoon session began with role-playing scenarios acted out by three staff members of the Legion’s Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Division. The first scenario highlighted the insensitivities that a male VA facility staffer can have toward a woman veteran seeking help after being raped. The second scenario demonstrated that women veterans often fare much better when they can be interviewed by a female VA staff member.

    Verna Jones, who manages the Legion’s Appeals and Special Claims Unit at the Board of Veterans Appeals, spoke to the audience of department service officers when the scenarios were finished. “When I was a field officer for The American Legion,” she said, “one of the most difficult things for me to do was asking veterans if they suffered from erectile dysfunction. But I knew I had to ask that question because it could make a difference in the amount of disability benefits a veteran might receive. So men need to make themselves aware of unique needs and conditions of women veterans, too.”

    Jones urged the male DSOs to ask women veterans the right questions  – even if it was difficult to do so  – and to ask such questions with the proper degree of sensitivity.

    The group then heard presentations from two VA representatives: Rosemary Jordan, analyst for the Compensation and Pension Program; and Betty Moseley-Brown, associate director of the Center for Women Veterans.

    Jordan discussed disability compensation for military sexual trauma (MST), and how service officers can develop evidence for such claims. She also explained differences between the restricted (confidential) and unrestricted (open) reporting of sexual assault claims.

    Stressing the seriousness of long-term effects from sexual trauma, Jordan said it could “lead to anxiety, behavior change, and changes in the quality of duty performance. It can also cause someone to break up with a partner and encourage substance abuse. In some cases, it may even contribute to a woman veteran becoming homeless.”

    Brown told the DSOs about a federal law passed in 2004 that allows women veterans, without filing a claim, to receive VA services and benefits for MST. While this eased the paperwork requirement, Brown also noted that VA’s Center for Women Veterans had only five staff members to deal with the needs of 1.8 million women veterans. The center also advocates cultural transformation both inside and outside VA to promote better treatment for an ever-increasing woman veteran population.

    “Women often do feel uncomfortable in VA facilities,” Brown said. “VA has to construct its facilities to make them more woman-friendly.” She also said that VA employees need to be better educated about women as veterans and as servicemembers, noting that some VA workers still have difficulty understanding that women serve in combat roles.

    Women are enrolling in VA health care at higher levels, according to Brown. She said VA paid for 1,500 births last year and “we’re going to be seeing more of that because VA pays for births for women veterans with service-connected illnesses or conditions.” She said VA needs to pay attention to the entire health care of women veterans, “not just breast and OB/GYN issues.”

    Brown also addressed the lack of respect frequently demonstrated by male VA workers toward women veterans. “Don’t just yell out ‘Betty’ or some other first name when you call a woman vet up to the desk in a VA waiting room. And don’t call us ‘guys.’ Some women get upset when they’re called guys. Because when you use that word, it means the power is with the men, not the women.”

    Women veterans want jobs, and want to know that someone will help them fight for their jobs, Brown said. “We want good homes and the best health care” and procedures at VA medical centers that make sense to women. “Does the PAP smear table still have to face the door?” she asked the crowd incredulously. Many women veterans don’t use VA facilities because they simply don’t feel comfortable in them, Brown said.

    “We need to be on the commissions and the task forces because we need to provide input for future VA construction and change some of these things around,” she said. One of the best things DSOs can do to help women veterans, Brown suggested, is to go over to their local VA facility and get to know its woman veteran coordinator; each VA medical center is now required to have one.

    The month of March is Women’s History Month, and Brown told the audience that VA will do its part to tell “her story,” highlighting the stories of women veterans on its Web site.

Focus on 200,000 Veterans Expected to File Claims under New Agent Orange

Presumptives over Next Two Years

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today an aggressive new initiative to solicit private-sector input on a proposed “fast track” Veterans’ claims process for service-connected presumptive illnesses due to Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War. 

    “This will be a new way of doing business and a major step forward in how we process the presumptive claims we expect to receive over the next two years,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki said. “With the latest, fastest, and most reliable technology, VA hopes to migrate the manual processing of these claims to an automated process that meets the needs of today’s Veterans in a more timely manner.”

    Over the next two years, about 200,000 Veterans are expected to file disability compensation claims under an historic expansion of three new presumptive illnesses announced last year by Secretary Shinseki.  They affect Veterans who have Parkinson’s disease, ischemic heart disease and B-cell leukemias. 

    In practical terms, Veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have one of the illnesses covered by the “presumption of service connection” don’t have to prove an association between their medical problems and military service.  This “presumption” makes it easier for Vietnam Veterans to access disability compensation benefits. Vietnam Veterans are encouraged to submit their claims as soon as possible to begin the important process of compensation. 

    Along with the publication of proposed regulations for the three new presumptives this spring, VA intends to publish a formal request in Federal Business Opportunities for private-sector corporations to propose automated solutions for the parts of the claims process that take the longest amount of time.  VA believes these can be collected in a more streamlined and accurate way. 

    Development involves determining what additional information is needed to adjudicate the claim, such as military and private medical records and the scheduling of medical examinations. 

    With this new approach, VA expects to shorten the time it takes to gather evidence, which now takes on average over 90 days.  Once the claim is fully developed and all pertinent information is gathered, VA will be able to more quickly decide the claim and process the award, if granted.

    The contract is expected to be awarded in April with proposed solutions offered to VA within 90 days.  Implementation of the solution is expected within 150 days. 

    “Veterans whose health was harmed during their military service are entitled to the best this nation has to offer,” added Secretary Shinseki. “We are undertaking an unprecedented modernization of our claims process to ensure timely and accurate delivery of that commitment.”

    Last year, VA received more than one million claims for disability compensation and pension.  VA provides compensation and pension benefits to over 3.8 million Veterans and beneficiaries.  Presently, the basic monthly rate of compensation ranges from $123 to $2,673 to Veterans without any dependents.

    Disability compensation is a non-taxable, monthly monetary benefit paid to Veterans who are disabled as a result of an injury or illness that was incurred or aggravated during active military service. 

Three Federal Departments Collaborate on National Resource Directory

The federal departments of Veterans Affairs, Labor and Defense unveiled today an improved Web site for wounded warriors.

    “VA is committed to tapping into the full powers of the Internet to provide accurate, timely, easy to find and easy to understand information that improves the lives of Veterans, service members, their families and all who care for them,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. 

    The National Resource Directory is a comprehensive, free, online tool for wounded, ill and injured service members, Veterans and their families.  Visitors to the site can find an extensive range of information about Veterans’ benefits, including disability and pension benefits, VA health care and educational opportunities.  The site also provides information for those who care for Veterans, such as access to emotional, financial and community assistance.

    The Web site has been enhanced to provide a single point of access to a wealth of information from more than 10,000 sites by federal, state and local governments and organizations offering services for wounded warriors.

    “This online directory is an invaluable resource for those involved in helping service members and Veterans,” Shinseki said. “Reliable information about government and private-sector programs can be a priceless tool.”

    A recent addition to the Web site is a specialized section where users can find help for homeless Veterans.  These resources will help end Veteran homelessness over the next five years. 

    The new design will help visitors find needed resources easily.  Other enhancements include a fast, accurate search engine; a “bookmark and share” capability that allows users to share valuable resources on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites; and a news feature with updates on relevant information and events.  Resources are added daily.  Visit the site at www.nationalresourcedirectory.gov.