VA Leader Responds to C-123 Agent Orange Exposure Concerns

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Recently my own benefits application was rejected by Mr. Thomas Murphy, Director of the VA Compensation Services on the faulty basis that the highly respected scientists confirming our exposure were unqualified to make observations because they are scientists and not physicians. Her letter will be interesting to the VA experts who, too, are scientists and not physicians.

Also prohibiting C-123 veterans' access to VA medical care is Under Secretary for Benefits Allison Hickey, herself a retired Air Force general officer and pilot. Her letter to the C-123 veterans was received 3 October:
Her introduction of secondary exposure was a surprise. While our aircrews certainly did have secondary exposure to TCDD aboard the C-123, our main exposure was instead primary and mostly dermal. We physically touched military herbicides which remained on the aircraft following their Agent Orange spray missions during Vietnam. Primary!  As well as secondary. And while dermal absorption of TCDD can be slower because of the skin barrier, dermal generally includes the ingestion route was well. 
Too bad there wan't any place on the C-123 to wash our hands!
Remember readers that our exposure, while it may have been "low concentration," was long-term...a full decade and many, many years before the first official tests which established the aircraft as "heavily contaminated." The airplanes were much more toxic when we flew them than later, after the dioxin had degraded.
Every study about dioxin which touches upon long-term and short term exposure stresses the fact that long-term low dose exposure like ours is even worse than short-term, high dose exposure.
Our absorption of dioxin added up. We sure wish the logic of our exposure added up to the VA also!

Harvard Physician Explains Dioxin History & MS

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Agent Orange, United States Military Veterans, And Myelodysplastic Syndromes

By David P. Steensma, MD FACP 
Published: Oct 18, 2012 3:09 pmWhenever we experience a strange and unexpected event, especially a personal calamity, we naturally want to know: What caused it?  Could it have been prevented?For thousands of men and women who served in the Armed Forces of the United States during the Vietnam War era, questions about causation of serious illness, especially when the diagnosis is an unusual condition such as a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), can stir up an old ghost: the misty specter of Agent Orange.I often see Vietnam-era military veterans in my clinic who have been diagnosed with MDS, and they always ask me, “Could Agent Orange exposure have contributed to my bone marrow problem?”Whether there is a connection between Agent Orange exposure and subsequent development of MDS, and whether veterans who develop MDS are entitled to compensation under the Agent Orange Act, has been an area of some controversy in recent years.Below, I review some of the facts about Agent Orange and its potential link to MDS, and then discuss some of the complicated politics.What Is Agent Orange?Agent Orange is an herbicide that was sprayed in large volumes on the jungles of Southeast Asia during “Operation Ranch Hand” in the Vietnam War between 1962 and 1971.  It was used to kill plants that might provide cover to enemy combatants and to disrupt agricultural production (e.g., destroy rice paddies) in hostile areas.Agent Orange was also sprayed in the Korean Demilitarized Zone in the late 1960s, and it may have been used in other locations, too, such as in tests on U.S. domestic military bases or to control unwanted growth in National Forests.  However, details about domestic use have been harder to confirm.Agent Orange is not orange like Fanta soda pop; instead, it was named that because of the color of the barrels it was shipped in to Asia, more than four decades ago.There were other “Rainbow herbicides” sprayed in Vietnam, such as Agent Blue and Agent White, but Agent Orange was the most widely used, and is the agent most clearly linked to health risks.Agent Orange Is ToxicAgent Orange was meant to be a 50:50 mixture of two herbicides with lengthy chemical names, 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (the latter is still widely used globally as a weed killer).Unfortunately, the final product was contaminated with a synthetic byproduct, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-dioxin – TCDD, commonly called “dioxin” – created during the manufacturing process by Dow Chemical and Monsanto.  TCDD is a known carcinogen and is recognized as harmful by the World Health Organization’s International Agency on Cancer, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other global health agencies.Military veterans have also testified that in the field, Agent Orange was frequently mixed with other unhealthy substances such as kerosene, JP-4 jet fuel, and other toxic aromatic hydrocarbons (i.e., molecules with a benzene ring), in order to facilitate spraying from aircraft.The Red Cross of Vietnam has claimed that more than 400,000 Vietnamese citizens were killed and a half-million children born with birth defects because of Agent Orange and TCDD exposure in the 1960s.  A number of these victims filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against Dow and Monsanto and dozens of other smaller companies in 2004.While there is a clear connection between exposure to aromatic hydrocarbons and marrow failure – a risk of aplastic anemia and leukemia in workers with occupational exposure to benzene was recognized before 1920 – just how TCDD contributes to subsequent development of cancer or other diseases is less clear, which has caused lingering questions about epidemiologic association.  The minimal, “safe” dose of exposure to such agents is unknown. The amount of toxin exposure that results in marrow disease or cancer is likewise not known, but based on other exposures, is clearly different for individual patients, varying in part based on the levels and function of detoxifying enzymes and DNA repair proteins in the patients’ cells.Agent Orange Has Been Linked To A Number Of DiseasesThroughout the 1970s and 1980s, there was growing concern about illnesses in U.S. service personnel as a result of being exposed to Agent Orange.  Therefore, in 1991, as part of the Agent Orange Act legislation, the U.S. Congress asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to review the health effects of Agent Orange and its TCDD contaminant, as well as other herbicides used for military purposes.The IOM is an authoritative non-governmental national academy that includes more than 1,000 distinguished physicians and scientists, who are appointed to advise Congress on policies related to health and medicine.  Various IOM committees and task forces have been formed to address specific health issues.The IOM published its first report on Agent Orange in 1994, summarizing a large body of epidemiologic studies that collectively found that certain diseases were occurring more commonly in veterans exposed to Agent Orange than in unexposed matched control populations.Does Agent Orange Cause MDS? There is considerable circumstantial evidence.In multiple case-control studies, individuals who work in agricultural and petrochemical industries have been found to have a higher incidence of MDS than those who work at other occupations.The fact that an exposure is remote in time doesn’t mean it can’t contribute to MDS.  A major epidemiological study published in 2011 demonstrated that among Japanese individuals exposed to the Nagasaki and Hiroshima atomic events in 1945, MDS and acute myeloid leukemia continued to be diagnosed at an increased rate when compared to unexposed people of the same age, even 50 years later.If Agent Orange and hydrocarbon exposure contributes to MDS development years later, what might the mechanism be?  Radiation exposure after an atomic bomb explosion, like certain types of chemotherapy or toxic chemical exposure (aromatic hydrocarbons again), causes cells in the body to undergo DNA damage, increasing risk of subsequent cancer development if the damage is not fully repaired by the cells.  If the damage occurs in the wrong set of genes, a disease like MDS results.Recent whole-genome sequencing experiments have confirmed that MDS, like other neoplasms (cancers), require multiple genetic events to occur over a series of time before the full-blown condition develops.  If the first of these required events happened as a result of a chemical injury in the 1960s or 1970s, that DNA injury in a bone marrow cell could have made it more likely that MDS would develop later on as a result of subsequent events.Of course, in an individual case, it can never be said with absolute certainty that a particular exposure “caused” a cancer – just as it cannot be said with certainty that the individual cigarette smoker who develops lung cancer did so specifically because of their smoking history.  We all know George Burns-types who smoke heavily yet live to age 100, as well as people who get lung cancer at age 30 without ever smoking at all.  Life is unfair that way.  So epidemiologists talk about risk factors.When a disease is common, it can be more difficult to demonstrate that there is a true increase of the disease in people exposed to a risk factor compared to unexposed people.Men and women who were 22 years old in 1968 (the average age of military combatants in the year of peak U.S. deployment in Southeast Asia) are 66 in 2012, and getting into the peak years of MDS risk (epidemiologic studies in the U.S. indicate that the median age at which MDS is diagnosed is about 71 or 72 years old).  So, a lot of people who served in Vietnam are now at the ages where they might have gotten the disease anyway.  But given what we know about MDS biology, it seems much more likely that Agent Orange and accompanying toxic hydrocarbon exposure contribute to MDS than to, say, ischemic heart disease or prostate cancer.Disability Benefits For U.S. VeteransAs a result of the IOM’s  report, the U.S. Veterans Administration (VA) agreed to provide disability compensation (i.e., a monthly monetary allowance) for veterans who develop one of the diseases linked to Agent Orange.  Notably, veterans do not have to prove that they actually had Agent Orange sprayed on them to have their illness deemed “service-connected” and be eligible for compensation, only that they served in Vietnam sometime between January 1962 and May 1975.Every two years, the IOM updates its list of Agent Orange-associated diseases, which the VA calls “presumptive diseases.”  The current list can be found on the Veterans Administration website.It is notable that numerous hematologic malignancies – chronic B cell leukemias, multiple myeloma, light-chain amyloidosis, Hodgkin disease, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma – and some other cancers are on the “presumptive” list, but not MDS or acute myeloid leukemia.It is also remarkable that many of the conditions on the “presumptive” list, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease, are extremely common in the general U.S. population and are incontrovertibly linked to other non-Agent Orange risk factors, such as obesity, high cholesterol, family history, or cigarette smoking.Veterans Administration PoliticsClearly, despite the non-partisan and authoritative nature of the IOM, there is more to the decision about what makes it onto the VA “presumptive” list and what does not than just science and epidemiology.Finances clearly play a role; given the hundreds of thousands of Vietnam-era veterans with common conditions like ischemic heart disease, billions of dollars are at stake.  And whenever that much money is in play, shenanigans will inevitably occur; several Congressional representatives have lobbied for diseases to be included or excluded from the “presumptive” list, as if the science could bend to political will.Veterans who develop a malady that is not on the VA “presumptive” list can still apply for service connection benefits, but they have to show both that they were exposed to herbicides during military service, and that there is “an actual connection” between their disease and Agent Orange exposure.  Defining an “actual connection” is left to case reviewers appointed by the VA, who are rarely specialists in the disease under question.
MDS Is Often MisunderstoodI have read a lot of correspondence related to these applications and appeals for VA benefits, and it is clear that the reviewers are often confused by the causes, biological nature, classification, effects on patients, and severity of MDS.  This confusion has contributed to considerable ongoing inconsistency in VA decisions, including the approval or denial of benefits to veterans with very similar or even identical diagnoses and degree of impairment.Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) decisions are not precedent setting and are based on a judge’s findings in each individual case.    When veterans submit their applications and supporting documentation, the outcomes are a crapshoot.Furthermore, some veterans have been told by BVA administrators that their MDS is indeed considered to be service connected… but that since MDS is only a form of anemia, they are not “disabled” and therefore not entitled to any compensation.These judgments reflect a grave misunderstanding of the nature of the disease.MDS is not just anemia – it is a life-threatening marrow failure state, associated with severe fatigue, among other symptoms, and a risk of death from infection or bleeding.  Nor is MDS a benign condition; MDS is a neoplasm (malignancy) in almost all cases, and MDS is classified as a cancer by the World Health Organization and by the U.S. National Cancer Institute.A history of problematic MDS-related terminology, including “preleukemia” or “refractory anemia” (see my related Beacon column), may be contributing to the judges’ confusion about the nature of MDS, but that is not an excuse.How The MDS Community Has ReactedA number of veterans whose lives have been affected by MDS have become active advocates for more consistent treatment of veterans by the VA and for better understanding of the disease.For instance, a veteran named Larry Sauger from Michigan has set up a website  to bring together veterans suffering from MDS and to serve as an information clearing house.Another Vietnam-era veteran, Bob Macfarlane from Florida, went so far as to obtain data on MDS diagnoses from the VA via the Freedom of Information Act, which his calculations indicate is diagnosed at a much higher than expected rate among veterans.  Bob has appealed directly to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki with his findings (thus far without results), and also went to Chicago with Larry Sauger in late 2010 to testify before the IOM’s “Committee for Review of the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides.”However, despite the efforts of these men and other advocates, when the IOM issued its bi-annual report in September 2011, the Institute decided not to add any more conditions to the current list of presumptive diseases (the IOM report, at 800 pages, makes a fine treatment for insomnia).  In this document, MDS merits barely a footnote.Still, Bob emailed me a few weeks ago that he has been told by a number of widows of ex-soldiers who have died of MDS and related conditions, “My husband did not die in Vietnam– he died because of Vietnam.”  And so, like an old soldier would, he continues to struggle on with this as his motivator.John Huber, executive director of the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation, has begun organizing information sessions specific for veterans at Foundation-sponsored patient and family education events across the U.S., in order to give veterans a forum to learn about and discuss Agent Orange and VA-specific concerns.John is constantly working with MDS patients and their families, and he has been particularly troubled by the documents from the VA in some veterans’ cases suggesting that MDS is simply a form of anemia, akin to iron deficiency or kidney failure-associated anemia, or a “mild” problem.As he says, “The danger and the severity of MDS are not debated in the clinical medical community, and to call MDS anything less than a group of potentially lethal diseases is an error that belittles the men and women struggling with the disease, or who have died of complications of the disease.”When the Vietnam War ended in April 1975 with withdrawal of U.S. troops from Saigon, I was four years old.  I can remember watching the helicopters on a black and white television in our family den – a real 1970s classic with shag carpet and faux paneling – and hearing my parents (or maybe it was Walter Cronkite) saying something about the “long nightmare” finally being over.  That judgment was premature.  Nearly 40 years later, the Vietnam conflict’s dark legacy continues, including in the MDS clinic.Dr. David Steensma is a physician at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. His primary area of research focuses on myelodysplastic syndromes and related conditions.Photo of Dr. David Steensma, physician at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and professor at Harvard Medical School.Tags: Agent Orange, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Physician Column, Veterans Administration

We've got it all wrong - Dioxin not harmful! (VA)

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T.  Murphy, VA Director of Compensation

In his 25 September 2012 denial of my own application for Agent Orange benefits, Mr. Thomas Murphy (VA Director of Compensation Services), decided to redefine the fields of toxicology, environmental science, oncology, and others with his conclusion below. Going overboard thus, Mr. Murphy overruled the Institute on Medicine, World Health Organization, Society of Toxicology, American College of Medical Toxicology, National Institutes of Health, the United States Congress and much of the VA itself when he assured us:


"In summary, there is no conclusive evidence that TCDD exposure causes any adverse health effects."
Fellow veterans: do you draw comfort from his assurances, or do you feel Mr. Murphy offers this amazing statement in his dedication to insure one more veteran is denied medical care at the VA?

If Mr. Murphy has it right, scientists around the world have it wrong by their long-established conclusion that TCDD is the most toxic chemical known to science. TCDD is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. 

Does Mr. Murphy have it right? His business background at Home Depot has been brought directly to bear in dismissing world-famous toxicologists' opinions that C-123 veterans were exposed to dioxin aboard our airplanes. Does Mr. Murphy have it right?

"No adverse effects." This shows the lengths the VA will go to in preventing fully qualified veterans' access to already-overstretched VA medical care.

Veterans Last to know! Timeline of the C-123 Agent Orange Deception

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History of the C-123 Agent Orange Contamination 

1972-1982...C-123 warplanes' continued service after Vietnam Agent Orange spray missions (1961-1971).

1978...First known C-123 veteran's Agent Orange illnesses surfaced (peripheral neuropathy) but not understood to be caused by Agent Orange at the time.

1979...Military herbicide residue was first confirmed to contaminate C-123 aircraft.

1983...First C-123 Agent Orange death (Robert Boyd, ischemic heart disease).

Smelting C-123 (USAF photo)

1994...Agent Orange contamination of C-123 warplanes became known to officials in the Air Force. Decision made not to inform exposed C-123 veterans.

1996...Air Force JAG directed all Agent Orange contamination in the C-123 be "kept in official channels only."

2010...All remaining C-123 warplanes destroyed as "toxic waste" with special measures to minimize publicity.

2011...Using Freedom of Information Act veterans uncover details confirming C-123 Agent Orange contamination.

VA Tom Murphy:"TCDD harmless"

2011...Office of Secretary of Defense privately slurs C-123 veterans as "trash haulers, freeloaders looking for a tax-free dollar from sympathetic congressmen."

2012...Veterans Administration official notifies C-123 veterans Agent Orange isn't actually harmful, so there was no exposure to any C-123 veteran, and VA will bar all C-123 veterans from all medical care for Agent Orange illnesses.

A Possible Opening? Newest VA C-123 Agent Orange Bulletin!

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In their most recent Agent Orange bulletin on 21 November 2012, the VA included a remarkable statement affecting all C-123 veterans. The inference is that we need only show the same level of evidence or proof as Thailand and other veterans to be considered.

"Eligibility for Veterans outside of Vietnam or KoreaVeterans who do not meet the criteria for presumed exposure to Agent Orange may be eligible for service-connection for related disabilities. This includes:

• Blue Water Veterans
 who served on ships off the shore of Vietnam that did not operate on the inland waterways of Vietnam, or who did not set foot in Vietnam. Check VA's list of U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships that operated in Vietnam.

• Veterans who served on or near the perimeters of military bases in Thailand during the Vietnam Era

• Veterans who served where herbicides were tested and stored outside of Vietnam

• Veterans who were crew members on C-123 planes flown after the Vietnam War

These Veterans must show that they were exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides during military service to be eligible for service-connection for presumptive diseases related to Agent Orange exposure."

Could this be the shining light we've been looking for?  This is the first time the VA has actually stated that C-123 veterans can be eligible if we show our exposure to Agent Orange, and in which they have included us with certain Blue Water Navy and Thailand veterans.

Vets Rebuilding After Sandy

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These are always needed, once, professions in the needed economic trades environment, that many ex-military personal are perfect for. The military training has developed their common sense and critical thought gifts, needed especially if sent into war and occupation theaters but also within much of the military communities needs as they support the bases and if in theaters need varied skills to be able to quickly take over anothers job, if a brother or sister falls, for their survival and the survival of those they're with. Like I said earlier 'once professions'. Having myself been a professional carpenter 'once', with multiple other trades expertise in the construction industry, for way over forty years. 'Once' because the trades have been relegated down in stature within our economy, whether union or non union, to skilled labor or just labor designation, even as prices for product, houses, commercial/industrial buildings,infrastructure needs, etc. rose and wages were blamed for those cost rises. That kept the wages and benefits stagnated or dropping for the past couple of decades. Unlike many working in the office buildings etc., we build, who if having a piece of paper from an expensive higher education facility theirs have risen and many titles added, even in the bigger contractors offices.

Marine helps vets find work rebuilding after Sandy

November 28, 2012 - Bruce Bradford spent 12 years in the Army, fixing vehicles and rebuilding communities in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was discharged in 2010 and has been out of work ever since.

"You put so much into serving your country that once you take the uniform off, it's almost as if you lose a sense of pride and a sense of dignity, because you wake up, and you realize, 'I used to stand for something,'" Bradford says.

That's why Bradford soldiered through a foot injury to get to a veterans' job fair in Toms River, N.J.

Kevin Schmiegel is a retired Marine who runs "Hiring Our Heroes".

"This is not charity, this is about connecting talented young men and women, giving them the tools they need to connect with an employer, and helping them land a career," Schmiegel says. read more>>>

Military veterans already have a wide variety of skills taught while serving in those communities. Honed skills in most any area makes them able to quickly pick up any needed skills for different jobs, within the military community or especially the civilian economy, or professions, even in offices, especially with short time training by an experienced trades professional. In almost all trades they also come in with fresh minds and abilities, along with leadership qualities and a natural team work mentality, thus even developing other ways to perform the needed jobs that the experienced hadn't thought of because they've set their own ways and gotten used to doing same. They can even train the experienced with new idea's. They've been trained to hone those critical thought gifts thus pick up quickly new developments in tools and machinery just as experienced trades workers already do, that which helps make the labor easier and even quicker and importantly safer. Experienced well paid trades are an economies backbone as they fill and maintain the many needs of the business and corporate, even higher education, area's they need to exist and flourish for success and continued growth.

Reasons above, and more, are what gives the ability to start veterans organizations and quickly fill the needs of when their community or the civilian communities especially need to be served again, one like Team Rubicon and hurricane Sandy's many clearing and rebuilding needs:

A 'Thanksgiving message from the team:

From our family to yours, Thank You.

Thanksgiving, 2012

As we reflect back on the last three weeks of work in New York and New Jersey, we realize that we have much to be thankful for: our brothers and sisters in arms, the opportunity to continue our service, and a resilient nation. Perhaps most critical, however, is the generous support of people like you.

So from our TR Family to yours, Thank You.

Want to see more inspiring photos from Hurricane Sandy? Check out these incredible images.

Vietnam War Memorial ‘Wall’ Education Center Groundbreaking

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DoD Sec. Panetta, Dr. Jill Biden, Honors Vets at ‘Wall’ Education Center Groundbreaking

Nov. 28, 2012 – The education center at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial “Wall” will be a place to join the past to the future, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said at the center's groundbreaking ceremony today.

By telling the stories of service members whose names are inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country will not be forgotten, he said.

Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, joined Panetta at the ceremony, held near the memorial on the National Mall here. The groundbreaking included a large delegation of congressional and military leaders and members of Gold Star Families -- an organization for families that have lost loved ones in military service.

"It will be a site for future generations of Americans to learn, think and reflect on our nation's wars and those who fought them," Panetta said of the education center. "This is a very poignant moment, for a very special place in my heart for [Vietnam veterans]." read more>>>

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Dr. Jill Biden deliver remarks

Dioxin, TCE Drums, U-235 and El Toro's Panhandle

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http://www.salem-news.com/articles/november122012/el-toro-nukes.php
What lurks beneath this old Marine base?(IRVINE, CA) - The Navy will label this fiction but if you wanted to hide environmental contamination and avoid expensive remediation from weapons grade U-235, Agent Orange, buried drums of TCE, then the proposed transfer of the 900+ acres of El Toro’s panhandle from the FAA to the FBI makes sense. The FBI plans to turn El Toro’s panhandle into a training facility “with outdoor shooting ranges, explosions, helicopter landings and impregnable fences,” according to the news story in the Orange County Register on April 2, 2012, “U.S. reneging on land deal for wildlife corridor.”El Toro’s panhandle may be contaminated with weapons grade U-235, dioxin (the toxic chemical in Agent Orange), and buried, rusting 55 gallon drums of TCE; the government would label this as wild and unfounded speculation.We do know that one El Toro Marine who never served in Vietnam died from Agent Orange exposure, Dr. Chuck Bennett over 12 years ago cited two Orange County experts who examined soil samples from the panhandle and found weapons grade U-235 (the stuff that makes the BANG in nuclear bombs); and the Navy ignored testimony from an Orange County environmental expert who reported that TCE drums were buried on the base to hide them from the Marine Corps Inspector General. Public Works Department kept no record on the locations of the buried drums, but the base’s panhandle would be the perfect place for a frontend loader to bury the 55 gallon metal drums.READ MORE: http://www.salem-news.com/articles/november122012/el-toro-nukes.php

Deployment Health News

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Study provides more clues to Gulf War illness

During 2002-2011, among active component U.S. military members, the rates of idiopathic hypothyroidism were 39.7 and 7.8 per 10,000 person-years among females and males, respectively. Unadjusted rates of idiopathic hypothyroidism and chronic thyroiditis (e.g., Hashimoto's disease) were at least twice as high among white, non-Hispanic as black, non-Hispanic service members. However, black, non-Hispanic service members had higher rates of goiter and thyrotoxicosis. Increasing rates of thyroid disorders during the period were accompanied by increases in numbers of screening tests for thyroid function recorded during outpatient visits. 
Study provides more clues to Gulf War illness
Gulf War illness, the series of symptoms ranging from headaches to memory loss to chronic fatigue that plagues one of four veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf war, is due to damage to the autonomic nervous system, a study released Monday shows. "This is the linchpin," said the study's lead author, Robert Haley, chief of epidemiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Just Label It Calls on Agriculture Secretary Vilsack to Deny Approval of 2,4-D Resistant Corn

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 28, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Citing the human and environmental health risks of 2,4-D, an ingredient in the notorious Vietnam era defoliant "Agent Orange," the national Just Label It (JLI) coalition called on Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack to deny approval of genetically engineered (GE) 2,4-D resistant corn.
"Corn may be as American as apple pie, but if it's genetically engineered it may jeopardize both human and environmental health. It needs to be labeled," said David Bancroft, JLI Executive Director.  "We urge Secretary Vilsack to work to to ensure that GE crops are thoroughly researched and safe before they go on the market. It's in the best interest of all Americans, including our farmers.  It's the right thing to do."
In a letter to Secretary Vilsack, Bancroft noted that 2,4-D poses health threats to consumers, and its use will only proliferate if 2,4-D resistant corn is approved. Studies have linked the herbicide to reproductive abnormalities, birth defects, liver dysfunction and Parkinson's disease and several forms of cancer.  Approval of 2,4-D corn could lead to an additional 50% increase in herbicide use per acre, studies show, just as the approval of previous herbicide resistant crops have increased the use of the herbicides exponentially.
Rushing to approve 2,4-D without proper testing is similar to the path taken to bring  Round Up ready corn to market.  Now ten years later, French scientist Gilles-Eric Seralini  found that Round Up Ready corn produced tumors and multiple organ damage in laboratory rats.  Criticism of his study raised issues concerning the original industry-generated studies used to gain GE food approvals, e.g., access to the GE seeds needed for this research has been restricted by the GE seeds' patent holders. Dr. Seralini had to smuggle seeds out of Canada to France in order to conduct his research.
"Sufficient testing on the long-term effects of GE foods has never been conducted.  The notion that USDA will approve 2,4-D resistant corn without proper testing is irresponsible and a disservice to American consumers," warned Bancroft.  He noted that Americans deserve the same right to know about their food as citizens in more than 50 nations worldwide, including the European Union, India and China, where GE foods are already labeled.
JLI spearheaded the drive to get 1.2 million signatures on a F.D.A. petition for mandatory federal GE foods labeling. For further information, sign the petition, or view JLI's new celebrity video, go to www.justlabelit.org, or visit them on Facebook or Twitter.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/28/5015504/just-label-it-calls-on-agriculture.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/11/28/5015504/just-label-it-calls-on-agriculture.html#storylink=cpy

Homeless Veterans Apprenticeship Program

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New veterans program gives apprenticeships to homeless vets

25 November 2012 - Like many veterans who return from combat, David Kurttila of Hot Springs described himself as just "blowing in the wind" after he came home from serving with the National Guard in Iraq.

Some soldiers — Kurttila among them — who cannot make a successful transition back to civilian life end up drifting or becoming homeless.

For a small group of struggling area vets, there is new hope from a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs program that offers them work apprenticeships. The intent is to help them find future employment and also forge a new path to a better, more stable life.

And for a half-dozen of those local soldiers, that rebirth all starts in a cemetery.

Kurttila is one of six local veterans in the VA Black Hills Health Care System who have become the newest full-time employees at the Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis. read more>>>

Veterans: “Strong at the Broken Places”

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Meet Vets who are “Strong at the Broken Places”

In honor of Veterans Day, VA launched an ongoing portrait project entitled Strong at the Broken Places.

Strong at the Broken Places highlights portraits of courage, strength, intelligence and tenacity all found in Veterans who have succeeded after their military service by moving forward in positive and constructive ways. They are triumphant and resilient.

The project gives Veterans the opportunity to share their stories of reintegration in their own words. read more>>>

US Is Failing Employing Its Veterans

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Former Army General Explains Why The US Is Failing To Employ Its Veterans

Nov. 26, 2012 - It’s well documented that unemployment for our military veterans is disproportionately high.

According to some estimates, nearly a third of our youngest veterans returning from combat and serving our nation can’t find work, which is considerably higher than their non-veteran peers.

The question that all of us ask is “why?”

While veteran populations are disproportionately under-employed, they’re also disproportionately qualified for our most in-demand roles. So it raises questions about what systematic differences are present in this community that put these more qualified workers in a less marketable position.

I believe these differences are both structural and cultural.

The US Department of Defense has the most effective large-scale training program in the world. It’s unmatched in its ability to develop men and women with the Values, discipline and skills necessary to protect our national interests at home and abroad. Our military academies, ROTC programs, basic training, and post-graduate programs cultivate world-class skills for our women and men in combat and personnel supporting the largest-scale operations on the planet. read more>>>

VA Electronic Government Operations

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VA turns to electronic payments to save money, improve work

Nov 27, 2012 - Companies soon will be required to submit payments to the Veterans Affairs Department in electronic form. It will be mandatory as officials work to boost VA's productivity and garner more savings from even the smallest corners.

VA officials announced the finalized rule Nov. 27 in the Federal Register. The new rule takes effect Dec. 27.

Electronic payments will help VA make its timely payments and avoid interest penalties for late payments. VA will also be able to increase how much money it can save from prompt payment discounts. On top of that, VA will bring electronic government deeper into its operations. The result could lead to improving how VA achieves its performance goals and reduces its own costs and the burdens on businesses. read more>>>

House Committee on Veterans' Affairs: 28 November 2012

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This one is right up the controlling political parties, tepublicans, alley. The ability to Attack the VA personal and underfunded VA, trying to build the VA that should always have been, finally, and getting everyone involved in that. Underfunded because of their decades long obstruction, especially with these two present wars and related to veterans affairs, while they quickly rubber stamp defense, and especially war, costs and without looking at their own mirror reflections as to how they waste our money for similar and more!

VA Conference Spending Accountability House Committee on Veterans' Affairs | 334 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC | Nov 28, 2012 10:15am

Witnesses

Panel 1

The Honorable W. Scott Gould, Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Accompanied by:
Mr. W. Todd Grams, Executive in Charge, Office of Management Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Ms. Phillipa Anderson, Assistant General Counsel, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Visit House home page for possible live stream at time of hearing, above. Visit site page for statements.
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Dioxin, TCE Drums, U-235 and El Toro's Panhandle

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http://www.salem-news.com/articles/november122012/el-toro-nukes.php
What lurks beneath this old Marine base?(IRVINE, CA) - The Navy will label this fiction but if you wanted to hide environmental contamination and avoid expensive remediation from weapons grade U-235, Agent Orange, buried drums of TCE, then the proposed transfer of the 900+ acres of El Toro’s panhandle from the FAA to the FBI makes sense. The FBI plans to turn El Toro’s panhandle into a training facility “with outdoor shooting ranges, explosions, helicopter landings and impregnable fences,” according to the news story in the Orange County Register on April 2, 2012, “U.S. reneging on land deal for wildlife corridor.”El Toro’s panhandle may be contaminated with weapons grade U-235, dioxin (the toxic chemical in Agent Orange), and buried, rusting 55 gallon drums of TCE; the government would label this as wild and unfounded speculation.We do know that one El Toro Marine who never served in Vietnam died from Agent Orange exposure, Dr. Chuck Bennett over 12 years ago cited two Orange County experts who examined soil samples from the panhandle and found weapons grade U-235 (the stuff that makes the BANG in nuclear bombs); and the Navy ignored testimony from an Orange County environmental expert who reported that TCE drums were buried on the base to hide them from the Marine Corps Inspector General. Public Works Department kept no record on the locations of the buried drums, but the base’s panhandle would be the perfect place for a frontend loader to bury the 55 gallon metal drums.READ MORE: http://www.salem-news.com/articles/november122012/el-toro-nukes.php

No Health Risk Found in Times Beach, Missouri Soil

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http://www.semissourian.com/story/1916103.html
EUREKA, Mo. -- Soil samples show no significant health risks for visitors or workers at an eastern Missouri state park.
The park was established in 1999 on the former site of a Times Beach, a St. Louis County town shut down due to dioxin contamination, according to a report by the Environmental Protection Agency. The contamination was the result of material sprayed on streets to keep dust down.
The EPA released its report this week on the soil sampling it conducted on Route 66 State Park in Eureka at the request of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The sampling used new technology that tests for trace amounts of dioxin.
The EPA report released Monday found "very low" levels of dioxin at the state park, "showing that the past remedial actions on site were effective in meeting the cleanup goals," according to the report. 
READ MORE: http://www.semissourian.com/story/1916103.html

Agent Orange Ship List

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http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/shiplist/list.asp
If your vessel is not included in the Mobile Riverine Force, ISF Division 93 or listed designations (see "Find Your Ship"), check the alphabetized list of ships below.
To search for your ship, look under the first letter of the formal ship name. For example, if your ship's name is Dennis J. Buckley, look under the letter "D" for Dennis.
Ships will be regularly added to the list based on information confirmed in official records of ship operations. Currently there are 244 ships on this list. Ship not on the list and you think it should be?
Questions about your eligibility for disability compensation? Contact your nearest VA benefits office.
Last updated: November 2012

Art honoring veterans on display at Portland business

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Attorney Patrick Duff exhibits brother Bernie's paintings; proceeds to benefit Agent Orange victims.

http://www.sentinel-standard.com/article/20121123/NEWS/121129855/1003/NEWS
A collection of paintings entered in this year's ArtPrize juried art competition in Grand Rapids is making a mark on its visitors in Portland through the end of the month.
"Price Tags," a series of seven painting in acrylics/mixed media by Bernie "Doc" Duff, is on exhibit at the law office of Patrick Duff, Bernie's brother, at 108 Kent St. in Portland.
Bernie Duff served for 10 years in the military, including as a medic in Vietnam. Originally from Muskegon, he has lived in Vietnam since 2006, working with families who still suffer from the effects of Agent Orange.
READ MORE: http://www.sentinel-standard.com/article/20121123/NEWS/121129855/1003/NEWS
 

CAUTION: Do Not Take With Grapefruit Juice

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http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/updates/update0206d.shtml

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice are healthful, providing enough vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, and other nutrients to earn the American Heart Association’s “heart-check” mark. That’s the good news. The bad news is that grapefruit juice can interact with dozens of medications, sometimes dangerously.
Doctors are not sure which of the hundreds of chemicals in grapefruit are responsible. The leading candidate is furanocoumarin. It is also found in Seville (sour) oranges and tangelos; although these fruits have not been studied in detail, the guidelines for grapefruit should apply to them as well.
Grapefruit’s culprit chemical does not interact directly with your pills. Instead, it binds to an enzyme in your intestinal tract known as CYP3A4, which reduces the absorption of certain medications. When grapefruit juice blocks the enzyme, it’s easier for the medication to pass from your gut to your bloodstream. Blood levels will rise faster and higher than normal, and in some cases the abnormally high levels can be dangerous.
 Certain chemicals that grapefruit products and citrus fruits contain can interfere with the enzymes that break down (metabolize) various medications in your digestive system. As a result, more medication stays in your body. This can increase the potency of your medication to potentially dangerous levels, causing serious side effects. 
Grapefruit interaction 


http://finance.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/grapefruit-linked-to-medication-overdoses-31211134.html

History of the League's POW/MIA Flag

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In 1971, Mrs. Michael Hoff, an MIA wife and member of the National League of Families, recognized the need for a symbol of our POW/MIAs. Prompted by an article in the Jacksonville, Florida Times-Union, Mrs. Hoff contacted Norman Rivkees, Vice President of Annin & Company which had made a banner for the newest member of the United Nations, the People’s Republic of China, as a part of their policy to provide flags to all United Nations members states. Mrs. Hoff found Mr. Rivkees very sympathetic to the POW/MIA issue, and he, along with Annin’s advertising agency, designed a flag to represent our missing men. Following League approval, the flags were manufactured for distribution.

On March 9, 1989, an official League flag, which flew over the White House on 1988 National POW/MIA Recognition Day, was installed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda as a result of legislation passed overwhelmingly during the 100th Congress. In a demonstration of bipartisan Congressional support, the leadership of both Houses hosted the installation ceremony.

The League’s POW/MIA flag is the only flag ever displayed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda where it will stand as a powerful symbol of national commitment to America’s POW/MIAs until the fullest possible accounting has been achieved for U.S. personnel still missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.
On August 10, 1990, the 101st Congress passed U.S. Public Law 101-355, which recognized the League’s POW/MIA flag and designated it "as the symbol of our Nation’s concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainty for their families and the Nation".

The importance of the League’s POW/MIA flag lies in its continued visibility, a constant reminder of the plight of America’s POW/MIAs. Other than "Old Glory", the League’s POW/MIA flag is the only flag ever to fly over the White House, having been displayed in this place of honor on National POW/MIA Recognition Day since 1982. Passage by the 105th Congress of Section 1082 of the 1998 Defense Authorization Act requires that the League’s POW/MIA flag fly six days each year: Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day and Veterans Day. It must be displayed at the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Departments of State, Defense and Veterans Affairs, headquarters of the Selective Service System, major military installations as designated by the Secretary of the Defense, all Federal cemeteries and all offices of the U.S. Postal Service. By law passed in 2002, it must fly year-round at the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the World War II Memorial.

Freedom Flight's POW / MIA Message From Above

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Jim Tuorila’s most memorable hot air balloon flight comes with a small bit of irony attached to one of its more prominent elements—altitude. The veteran balloon pilot and co-founder of Freedom Flight, Inc., a non-profit organization that raises awareness as well as hot air balloons, had flown hundreds of times. But when one of his passengers requested that he take his distinctive black balloon with the easily recognizable POW/MIA logo to 5,000 feet, Tuorila acquiesced with little enthusiasm.

“I don’t like to fly high,” he said, laughing. “I’m afraid of heights. I can’t lean over the side of a tall building and feel comfortable. I probably wouldn’t be flying this balloon if it weren’t for the issue.”

But the POW/MIA issue and the balloon are inseparable. The striking black craft with its three 30-foot high POW/MIA logos is like no other and is easily spotted even in a sky like Albuquerque’s in October, when mass ascensions at the Albuquerque International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta might number more than a thousand colorful balloons in all shapes and sizes gliding over the city.

Tuorila’s three guests that day came with special significance. So he opened up the balloon’s gas burners and the black craft rose into the air. His passengers were women married to men still listed as MIA from the Vietnam War. He doesn’t remember which one asked that he fly to 5,000 feet, but Tuorila has been a psychologist at a VA Medical Center in Minnesota for 20 years; he was curious to see what would happen when they reached that altitude. Balloon flights generally skim the earth, the better to see and be seen. At 5,000 feet, people on the ground are barely able to see the balloon. He couldn’t imagine why his passenger wanted to climb that high.

He said that the moment they reached the requested altitude will stay with him forever.

“We get up there and she says this is the altitude the military said her husband was at when he ejected from his plane over Vietnam,” he said. “She wanted to see what the world looked like when he ejected. It touched me so deeply that I’ll never forget that flight with those women.”

Freedom Flight, the POW/MIA Hot Air Balloon Team, has flown in more than seven hundred events since its first flight in November 1989. The non-profit now has three balloons that attend 35 to 45 events a year, staffed entirely by volunteers. The organization grew out of Tuorila’s vocation—psychology—and his avocation—hot air balloons.

In 1981, while attending graduate school at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, he worked with a group of World War II ex-POWs called the “Lost Battalion,” all of them survivors of more than three years in Japanese prison camps. That work inspired Tuorila to write his doctoral dissertation on the effects of captivity, especially regarding the work of Victor Frankl and his famous writings following his own imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps.

While doing his doctoral internship at the Topeka, Kansas, VA Medical Center, Tuorila and his wife volunteered to crew for a hot air balloon. When he went to work in Minnesota, they saw a balloon in flight one day and decided to volunteer again.

In 1987, he appeared on a local TV program to talk about the emotional difficulties families face when a loved one returns after years of captivity. On the program he met the daughter of a Navy pilot shot down and declared MIA. The daughter told him that the government story of her father’s disappearance was very much at odds with the story told by her father’s wingman, who made a point of finding the pilot’s family to tell them the true story of the incident.

By then, Tuorila and his wife were crewing on a balloon flown by a Vietnam veteran who had been encouraging him to set up a non-profit with an eye toward calling attention to the POW/MIA issue.

Then one day at work, his professional life and his weekend life coalesced.

“I told my co-therapist, ‘You know, I’ve been flying and working with balloons for five years now. What about a black POW/MIA balloon? What kind of attention would that get?’ “

The co-therapist and co-founder of Freedom Flight, Vietnam veteran Bill Nohner, thought it was a great idea. A year later, Freedom Flight, Inc., obtained status as a non-profit educational organization.

In 1989, the first flight went up. Its first passenger was Henry Sha, a World War II veteran and ex-POW who happened to stop his car when the balloon landed nearby. Invited onboard, he didn’t hesitate.

Now in its sixteenth year, Freedom Flight continues to attract attention, sometimes through a little luck. At the 2005 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, Tuorila volunteered to give rides to the media. A Voice of America camera crew making a documentary on the balloon fiesta accepted his offer. When the crew members found out who they were flying with, a new angle for the documentary emerged.

“When they found out what we were doing with the balloon, I think the program changed to include Freedom Flight and everything we were doing,” Tuorila said.

The change was in keeping with how Tuorila describes the past sixteen years. “The reception we’ve gotten over the years make the hair on the back of my neck stand up,” Tuorila said. “It’s been incredible. I’ve had what I assume to be a Vietnam veteran come up, put $100 in my pocket and say, ‘Keep it up,’ then walk away. I’ve had family members of the missing come up to me with tears in their eyes. I’ve had ex-POWs come up and thank us. Everywhere we go, the reception has been positive and overwhelming, and that keeps us flying.”

For more information on Freedom Flight go to www.freedomflight.org or call Jim Tuorila at 320-252-7208.

The purpose of Vietnam Veterans of America's national organization

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The purpose of Vietnam Veterans of America's national organization, the state councils, and chapters is:

* To help foster, encourage, and promote the improvement of the condition of the Vietnam veteran.
* To promote physical and cultural improvement, growth and development, self-respect, self-confidence, and usefulness of Vietnam-era veterans and others.
* To eliminate discrimination suffered by Vietnam veterans and to develop channels of communications which will assist Vietnam veterans to maximize self-realization and enrichment of their lives and enhance life-fulfillment.
* To study, on a non-partisan basis, proposed legislation, rules, or regulations introduced in any federal, state, or local legislative or administrative body which may affect the social, economic, educational, or physical welfare of the Vietnam-era veteran or others; and to develop public-policy proposals designed to improve the quality of life of the Vietnam-era veteran and others especially in the areas of employment, education, training, and health.
* To conduct and publish research, on a non-partisan basis, pertaining to the relationship between Vietnam-era veterans and the American society, the Vietnam War experience, the role of the United States in securing peaceful co-existence for the world community, and other matters which affect the social, economic, educational, or physical welfare of the Vietnam-era veteran or others.
* To assist disabled and needy war veterans including, but not limited to, Vietnam veterans and their dependents, and the widows and orphans of deceased veterans.

Strategic Plan - VVA's Roadmap to the Future

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VVA, like most service organizations these days, is in a period of transition. This is not unusual since change or evolution is natural, and historically VVA has been a catalyst for change within the veterans service community. What is different today is the rapid pace and complexity that these changes have and will continue to have on VVA's ability to be a relevant factor both to ourselves and to society as a whole. The VVA leadership recognized that VVA would need a method or process to address the multitude of opportunities to emerge and to meet the challenges it would encounter in this fast-changing "reality" that is taking us into the 21st century.

In earlier years, VVA utilized a strategic plan that was developed and approved by the national board of directors in 1989. A review indicated that indeed this plan had actually served VVA very well as it focused the entire organization on the issues and concerns that were relevant and important during that time period. Many of VVA's successes and victories can be traced back to the clarity of purpose that the plan brought forth to the entire organization. What the plan lacked was a process that continued its implementation and kept the plan alive as the dynamics of VVA leadership at all levels evolved and changed.

The need to create a comprehensive process or methodology for the development and implementation of a new strategic plan for VVA was recognized by the VVA national president James L. Brazee, Jr., and a Strategic Planning Committee was established for this purpose.

The president appointed VVA national treasurer Jack McManus to chair the new Strategic Planning Committee, and he, in turn, appointed committee members that represented the diverse interests of the various constituencies and organizational levels within VVA. It is important to recognize that the committee was intentionally structured to include representation from large and small chapters, large and small state councils, the VVA staff, VVA associates, non-BOD committee chairs, national BOD members, minority and women veteran members, and elected national officers.

The reasoning behind having such diversity in the committee makeup was ultimately the plan would need to reflect the real differences of interests within the organization at each level. The intent was to be truly representative of our memberships' interests so that the individual members could embrace and own the plan. The committee believes that if the entire organization claims ownership in the Strategic Plan, then the implementation of the various elements of this plan will be more successful at all levels.

Core Values

Advocacy:

We are committed to unrelenting advocacy for fairness in the treatment of veterans so that never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.

Meaningful Achievement:

We want to make a difference, focusing on issues that stand as critical barriers to a fulfilling life for veterans and all Americans.

Integrity:

We tell the truth and take responsibility.

Compassion:

We care about comrades and others in needs.

Camaraderie:

We support each other and feel we're all members of one family.
Vision & Mission Statements

Vision:

We are leading the challenge to do what is right for America and its veterans.

Mission:

Using the shared vision of our membership:

· we aggressively advocate on issues important to veterans;

· provide programs and services that improve the well-being of all veterans and their families;

· and serve our communities.

Goals, Rationales, and Strategies

Membership Goal:

To proactively recruit, retain, and develop an informed and personally effective membership dedicated to VVA's values, mission, and goals.

Membership Rationale:

The operative phrases in the membership goal are: Informed, personally effective, and dedicated membership who embrace VVA's values, mission, and goals. In other words, as we seek to expand our membership, we offer opportunities for increasing personal effectiveness to those who share our values and commitment. The new strategic plan will let prospective members know the kind of organization they are joining. Vigorous pursuit of the goals and strategies by chapters offer many opportunities for the full use of prospective members' talents according to the interests. The strategy calls for an effective external communications program to aid recruitment, combined with training to promote personal and professional development for members through their participation in chapter activities.

Membership Strategy:

Develop and implement a comprehensive master plan, which includes all levels; a targeted effort to recruit members (using professional and personal contact and face-to-face marketing resources); and a program to retain them.

Advocacy Goal:

Identify and prioritize legislative and administrative objectives to focus our energy and resources as an effective catalyst for the retention and improvement of veterans benefits.

Advocacy Rationale:

America has an "unfinished agenda" for public policy and funding of programs affecting veterans. Health care looms large at all levels of government. Other issues range from protecting and improving service-connected compensation benefits and veterans employment preferences to advocating research and/or programs addressing Agent Orange, PTSD, and homelessness as well as specialized programs relating to women, minority, and incarcerated veterans. In an age of government downsizing, veterans benefits across the board are at risk. There is an enormous educational job to be done among Vietnam veterans, public policymakers and the general public.

When it comes to passionate and powerful advocacy, VVA is clearly a leader in the veterans community, and the situation is ripe for action. More and more Vietnam veterans are being elected at all levels of government. In short, the Vietnam generation is in charge. But there are many challenges: Advocacy goals are not focused sufficiently to establish a clear agenda in order to concentrate efforts to achieve it. Not all VVA members accept a "political" role for the organization; veterans service organizations have competing legislative and administrative agendas; and VVA's own advocacy efforts are often scattered. Thus, there is a need to establish key legislative and administrative priorities in VVA and among veterans service organizations.

Advocacy Strategy:

Identify and prioritize legislative and administrative objectives, consolidate existing VVA advocacy functions and focus our energy and resources to most effectively advocate for the advancement of veterans' concerns.

Direct Services Strategy:

Maintain, expand, and support our network of veteran service representatives nationwide. Publicize direct service information and conduct training on how to build community-based coalitions. Offer the tools necessary; information and training for providing direct services and for building community-based coalitions to meet the needs of veterans and their families.

Direct Services Rationale:

VVA seeks to assure a decent, positive lifestyle for veterans by working at two levels: Actually providing VVA-sponsored services and by building the community's commitment and capacity to provide essential services to veterans and their families.

VVA has a strong base expertise in veterans benefits and provides representation for veterans to receive benefits due them. As our population ages, new concerns ranging from long-term health care to career upheavals and retirement need to be anticipated. While we continue to provide direct services, we need to help members understand the complexity of emerging needs. And we need to train members in how to build community-based coalitions to address these needs.

Direct Services Goal:

Participate in providing direct services needed by veterans and their families.

Community Service Goal:

Enable VVA members to their community and promote positive social change.

Community Service Rationale:

Creating safe and viable communities, whether rural, urban, or suburban, is high on America's agenda. The opportunity to provide meaningful service to his/her community is an important reason for any veteran to become and remain involved in a VVA chapter. VVA has a history of community involvement-chapters have conducted a wide variety of creative, effective programs attacking gang warfare, drug addiction, family strife, homelessness, help to the elderly and disabled, and education on the Vietnam War at various academic levels.

However, these efforts are largely isolated. There is no organized network for communication among community service efforts, no mentoring program, and no designated responsibility at any level of VVA. Therefore, the first step is to document how chapters are serving their communities and to organize a mentoring program among chapters to inspire continued innovation.

Community Service Strategy:

Create a database of current and past community activities and develop and implement a commmunity mentor program, which stimulates community service activities.

Financial Goal:

Continuously expand the financial base to assure adequate resources to support VVA's mission at all operational levels.

Financial Strategy:

Develop and implement a comprehensive Financial/Funding Master Plan that provides a diversified funding base for all operational levels of the organization. The plan would include: A description of the current situation, needs and priorities, existing and potential resources, training needs, opportunities and methods at all levels, restrictions, allocation formulas, and means for monitoring and evaluating achievement of goals.

Financial Rationale:

VVA has tremendous potential for fundraising. Members recognize the need to devote energy to obtaining resources. The VVA name is well established, and we have a record of success. Moreover, many Vietnam veterans who are nearing their peak earning years in successful careers represent an important and largely untapped source for financial support.


On the other hand, we lack a comprehensive approach, relying too heavily on funding from just a few sources. We need a plan based on modern fundraising techniques plus training and technical assistance to enable chapters, state councils, and the national office to participate in a well-coordinated effort. The plan should also describe how resources will be shared to support national, state, and local operations.

Communications Goal:

Create a clear communications system/structure identifying responsibility throughout VVA, effectively using new and existing technology.

Communications Rationale:

Effective, two-way communication inside VVA and with various publics is critical to our success. VVA wants to be the authoritative voice and clearinghouse for information on topics of interest to veterans. The information age is producing increasingly accessible technology for inter-personal communication through the Internet and for mass media. VVA may not be taking full advantage of these channels. Some of the technology has not reached every chapter or member. Most important, responsibility for conveying information and providing feedback has not been established throughout VVA. Hence, the need to create a clear strategy for communicating with external audiences and to establish a system and structure that defines responsibility at all levels for our internal communications.

Communications Strategy:

Establish effective communication channels and assign responsibility at all levels. Make effective use of new and existing technology to assure accurate information exchange within these channels and encourage use and feedback between all levels.

Organizational Effectiveness Goal:

Continuously improve the ability of VVA at all levels to service a growing membership.

Organizational Effectiveness Rationale:

Assuring a positive future for VVA requires an ongoing effort to continuously improve the effectiveness of the organization itself. Success depends on: a) commitment to VVA's values and vision, b) cooperation in the pursuit of clear goals and strategies c) agreement on roles-who gets to do what d) constant, accurate feedback from VVA's members and external audiences to anticipate needs and to measure accomplishment and e) effective leadership. Making this happen is not a one-shot project. It is an ongoing process, requiring constant attention and resources. Equipping VVA's leaders for continuous improvement of the organization begins by helping them to explore implications of the strategic plan through planning with their constituencies. Feedback from these discussions about VVA's directions and ways to implement the plan at national, state, and local levels will provide the basis for designing a systematic, continuous improvement process to keep VVA strong. There must also be an ongoing, periodic review of VVA's organizational and committee structure to make VVA's operations as efficient and effective as possible and to ensure that VVA's structure changes appropriately as the organization j evolves. Additionally, VVA's resource allocation must be constantly geared to making the best possible use of limited fiscal and staff resources. Doing so will necessitate prioritizing national convention and board resolutions and directives so that VVA's priorities will be determined by a deliberate process and not by reactions to emerging and changing events.

Organizational Effectiveness Strategy:

Develop and implement a process to address the purposes, roles, and responsibilities of each organizational element within VVA and define the means for the leadership of element within VVA and define the means for the leadership of each organizational elements to measure and reward accomplishments.

Implementation Roles

Role of the Board:

Approve the strategic plan; act as spokesperson for VVA's vision, values, and strategic directions; provide policy; and prioritize resources for plan implementation.

Role of Committees:

Review strategic plan; adjust agendas/objectives to support the strategies; develop work plans to measure achievement of objectives.

Role of State Council:

Review the strategic plan; develop objectives for state-level activities; provide technical advice and support to chapters.

Role of Chapters:

Review national and state strategies and objectives; decide how they are able to support them; implement appropriate activities.

Role of Conference of State Council President:

Act as advisory and leadership development resource amongst state council presidents, providing knowledge, evaluation, and feedback on the various objectives and activities implemented to fulfill the plans' goals and strategies from VVA's chapters and state councils.

Role of National Staff:

Internally - develop and implement objectives in support of the strategic plan, report to the board on implementation.

Externally - provide resources, training, and technical support to state councils and chapters to support their strategic planning and evaluation processes.

Methodology

VVA's Strategic Plan provides a roadmap for building a positive future for our organization. The strategic plan spells out the core values we share, affirms our fundamental purposes through our mission statement, and establishes a framework of goals and strategies to focus our energies and resources. The plan presents a simple and necessarily concise framework for subsequent planning and actions that must take place at all levels.

To assist the committee, we engaged Mr. Dwight Fee, a well-respected expert in strategic planning and organizational development to act as the facilitator for the planning process and to keep the committee focused.

The committee utilized the illustrated planning model as a guide through this Strategic Planning process. In addition, the Strategic Plan from 1989 was utilized from the perspective of "lessons learned," building upon the fine work of that earlier plan.

Further, the committee conducted a survey of VVA members and leaders-from chapter and state council presidents to the BOD, the national officers, and staff. The survey asked them to identify trends in society likely to affect VVA and its members. It also asked them to suggest how VVA may need to change.

The utilization of this survey data assured the committee that the "voice of the membership" was also fully recognized and incorporated into the planning process.

The committee also examined the strengths and limitations of VVA, seeking to match our strengths to the emerging opportunities in the world around us.

Strategic Plan provides a roadmap for building a positive future for our organization. The strategic plan spells out the core values we share, affirms our fundamental purposes through our mission statement, and establishes a framework of goals and strategies to focus our energies and resources. The plan presents a simple and necessarily concise framework for subsequent planning and actions that must take place at all levels.

To assist the committee, we engaged Mr. Dwight Fee, a well-respected expert in strategic planning and organizational development to act as the facilitator for the planning process and to keep the committee focused.

The committee utilized the illustrated planning model as a guide through this Strategic Planning process. In addition, the Strategic Plan from 1989 was utilized from the perspective of "lessons learned," building upon the fine work of that earlier plan.

Further, the committee conducted a survey of VVA members and leaders-from chapter and state council presidents to the BOD, the national officers, and staff. The survey asked them to identify trends in society likely to affect VVA and its members. It also asked them to suggest how VVA may need to change.

The utilization of this survey data assured the committee that the "voice of the membership" was also fully recognized and incorporated into the planning process.

The committee also examined the strengths and limitations of VVA, seeking to match our strengths to the emerging opportunities in the world around us.

This exhaustive examination not only informed our planning, it also yielded some important implications for the way we operate.

The single most important conclusion is that merely producing a strategic plan will not be sufficient to move VVA successfully into the 21st century. What is required is a planning and evaluation process that cascades through all levels of the organization to align our energies to implement the plan. Without such a process, supported by members skilled in facilitation, meaningful implementation is highly unlikely.

A second overarching conclusion is that implementing our roadmap for the future depends on empowering people at all levels through strong leadership, clear responsibility and authority, sufficient resources, and above all, a new level of cooperation among all elements of the organization.

Like every organization these days, VVA is in transition. To grow and remain relevant, we must change in order to respond to changes occurring around us. The new global economy, the march of technology, and the maturing of our membership are just a few of the forces already impacting us. Not only do we need to change, we need to change fast just to stay up.

The core values expressed in the plan are those things that our members believe are why they joined VVA and what needs to be here for them to remain committed to VVA. The committee utilized these core values to guide its decision-making during the planning process and are important to be considered when implementing the plan.

The vision statement is how we want the organization to be viewed by our members, our staff, and the public at any ideal point in the future.

The mission statement: simply addresses how and what we do as an organization based upon rethinking our basic purposes.

The goals define areas from our mission statement where we can achieve specific results.

The rationale is a summary analysis of the forces likely to effect the achievement success of the stated goal.

The strategy for each goal defines in a broad sense what should be accomplished to attain specific achievements.

Objectives and workplans committees at all levels, including chapters and state councils and the national staff, are asked to establish objectives and work plans for each goal and strategy, including measurable outcomes. This will require the committee and national staff to rethink their work and shift their resources and energy to align their work with the Strategic Plan.

Chapters and state councils should undertake an assessment of their respective entity to determine how they can best align their objectives and activities to best support this Strategic Plan.

The roles identify the responsibilities that each entity within the organization could be expected to perform for the successful implementation of the Strategic Plan.

Follow-up a continuing effort will be undertaken by leaders of VVA to: Communicate the values, mission, goals, and strategies throughout VVA; support committees, national staff, state councils, and chapters in their efforts to achieve the goals; and measure and recognize achievement.

The Proposed Strategic / Operational Planning Model

* The model is constructed from the bottom up.
* After the plans are completed, one can easily check the consistency of current activities with agreements made in preceding blocks.
* Thus, the strategic plan serves to keep the organization on course: in pursuit of its mission-consistent with realities in the environment- and aligned with the core values of its members.

Workplans - Action plans of individuals responsible for achieving the objectives.
Objectives - Major results needed to implement the strategy in certain time.
Roles - Who gets to do what to align resources and people with the plan.
Strategies -The grand design for achieving each goal.
Goals - Four of five "chunks" of the mission (area for achievement).
Mission - The "match" between the core values and the realities of the environment
determines the core business of the organization.
SWOT Analysis - Organization's strengths and weaknesses, plus anticipated opportunities and threats in the environment.
Core Values - Specific aspirations members hold for the organization.