OCTOBER 26, 2009

Technological Advances Allowing Amputees To Continue Pre-Injury Pursuits.

  The Olympian (10/25), a newspaper in the state of Washington, said that for 33-year-old Iraq veteran A.J. Tong "and other soldiers who have lost limbs in combat, technological advances in prosthetics put his goal" of doing everything he did before his injury "into the realm of the possible." After noting that Tong, "now outfitted" with a leg prosthesis, competes in athletic events, the paper said amputations "aren't the barrier they once were to physical training, participating in other high-level athletic pursuits – and continuing their military careers." Greg Davidson, a "Puyallup-based prosthetist who works with Tong and several other service" amputees, "said the typical high-end below-knee prosthesis costs at least $13,000. The military and Department of Veterans Affairs, after the service member is discharged, pick up the tab." The Tacoma (WA) News Tribune (10/25) published the same story.
Impact:, Yelm Army officer, prosthetics, rehabilitation

Vet Struggling With PTSD At Risk On Another Front.

  A front page story in the Los Angeles Times (10/126, A1, Watanabe) reports, "Two years after returning from his service in Iraq," 26-year-old US Army Spc. Jack Barrios "is fighting sleeplessness, sudden angry outbursts, aversion to emotional intimacy and other fallout from his post-traumatic stress disorder." But "as he undergoes counseling and swallows anti-depressants, the soldier is fighting an even bigger battle: to keep his family from collapsing as his wife, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, faces deportation." The Times adds, "Hundreds of US soldiers are facing the same trouble as they fight to legalize their spouses' status, a difficult process that has affected their military readiness, according to Margaret Stock, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves and an immigration attorney specializing in military cases." Concerned "about the effect immigration problems are having on military families, US Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) has held hearings on the issue and last year introduced a bill to give undocumented spouses" of US soldiers "a chance at gaining legal status." The American Legion "spoke out against the bill, but the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America supported it." But Lofgren, "who heads the House immigration subcommittee, said she plans to include the provision for military families in the comprehensive immigration reform bill that could be unveiled early next year."
Impact: PTSD

Embassy: Over 11,000 FVEC Claims Processed.

  The Philippine Daily Inquirer (10/26, Uy) reports, "The United States government has processed more than 11,000 claims for the Filipino World War II Veterans Equity Compensation (FVEC), and has paid out $105 million for this since the US government allowed it earlier this February, the US embassy" in Manila "said Monday. In a statement, the embassy said that the processing and pay-out were made through its US Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) Manila Regional Office. The embassy reminded Filipino WWII veterans that they have only until February 16, 2010 to file their claims for the FVEC benefit that was included among the many provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 passed by the US Congress and signed into law February 17, 2009."
Impact: Filipino Veteran compensation statistics