OCTOBER 26, 2009

During Appearance With Shinseki, Gates Says Injured US Troops Face Too Much Bureaucracy.

  The AP (10/27, Hefling) reports, "Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday that troops injured in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to face too many bureaucratic hurdles. Paperwork alone for them can be 'frustrating, adversarial, and unnecessarily complex,' Gates said" as he "spoke at a mental health summit with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. By appearing publicly together," the two men, who earlier "this year...pledged with President Barack Obama to create a system that would make it easier for the Pentagon and VA to exchange information so there is less of a wait for veterans to get disability" benefits, "sought to reinforce their commitment to tackling veterans' health issues and the stigma associated with seeking mental health care." The Washington (DC) Examiner (10/27, Lamb) published a similar story, while KNSD-TV San Diego (10/26, 6:07 p.m. PT) aired a similar report.

Two Secretaries Open To Suggestions On How To Improve Mental Health Treatment.  The NC8-TV Washington, DC (10/26) website reported that at Monday's summit, health "experts from within the military and government" joined "with representatives from more than 50 private mental health organizations to talk about how to best deal with mental wounds from war." The "mental health professionals are planning to put together a list of recommendations on how the Defense Department" and the VA "can improve things. They'll send that list" Shinseki and Gates, who both "say they'll look at any and all suggestions that come out of these meetings."
      The first item in the Washington Post's (10/26, O'Keefe) "Federal Eye" blog said Shinseki and Gates "have agreed to collaborate on veterans" healthcare "issues since the start of Obama's Presidency," while the New York Times' (10/26, Shanker) "At War" blog noted that when Shinseki convened Monday's summit, he "said the Department of Veterans Affairs had adopted three goals: enhancing the existing level of mental health assistance; working with the Pentagon on cutting-edge advances in mental health care, including prevention programs; and looking to American society at large to build support networks for veterans, beyond families, to include places of work, schools and religious organizations."
Impact: Shinseki, Gates, mental health

Obama Touts VA, DOD Funding During Speech.

  WFTV-TV Orlando, FL (10/26, 6:01 p.m. ET) broadcast that during a speech in Jacksonville, Florida, on Monday, President Barack Obama "had an important message" for US troops and "400,000 veterans living around Central Florida." Obama "highlighted increased funding" for the VA and the DOD, and "recognized the family of aviator Scott Speicher, whose remains were finally recovered and returned" to Jacksonville, "18 years...after he was killed in Iraq. And men and women serving now seemed to respond to the message." WFTV showed an unidentified service member saying, "He took his time to say hi to us" and "one of our local hero families. That means a lot."
Impact: President Obama