On March 21, the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, Senator Jon Tester, introduced S. 681, the Deborah Sampson Act.  This comprehensive measure addresses gender disparities and would improve and expand programs and services for women veterans provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The bill would establish a pilot program for peer-to-peer counseling and authorizes group retreat counseling for women veterans recently separated from military service. It would expand the capabilities within the VA Women Veterans Call Center and extend the number of days, from seven to 14, VA can cover the cost of care for newborns of women veterans and authorize medically-necessary transportation for newborns.

The legislation aims to eliminate barriers to care by ensuring every VA medical facility has at least one full-time or part-time women’s health provider, as well as a Women Veterans Program Manager and a Women Veteran Program Ombudsman. Additional resources are authorized for mini-residency training in women’s health for clinicians, and retrofitting VA facilities to enhance privacy, safety and improve the overall environment of care for women veterans.

S. 681 would provide support services for women veterans seeking legal assistance and authorizes additional grants for organizations supporting women veterans and their families. Finally, The Deborah Sampson Act would require data collection and reporting on all VA programs serving veterans, by gender and minority status, including a report on the availability of prosthetics for women veterans and would better coordinate outreach by centralizing all information for women veterans in one easily accessible place on VA’s website.

DAV’s 2014 report, Women Veterans: The Long Journey Home identified many of these gaps in VA programs for women and has long advocated for a more comprehensive provision of VA women’s health services that appropriately recognizes and honors their service and sacrifice.

Please contact your elected representatives to urge co-sponsorship and passage of S. 681. A letter has been prepared for this purpose or you may write your own to express your personal views. Click the link below to log in and send your message:

As always, thank you for your support.

Click the link below to log in and send your message:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/Tt_FBNVP6_OS8TonFXzD_w

Congressman Jim Banks (IN-03) introduced a bill that would authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay for the transportation of a deceased veteran’s remains to a state-owned or tribal-owned veterans cemetery. The VA is currently only authorized to transport such remains to a national veterans cemetery. “These men and women stood ready to answer their country’s call with their lives, and we should treat their deaths with dignity,” said Banks.

The Senate passed a joint resolution on 8 MAR which would authorize a national memorial dedicated to those who served in the campaign that liberated Kuwait from an Iraqi invasion to be built on the National Mall. The House passed its version of the language in January and the VFW has committed $500,000 to support the construction

Medical IDs are an important benefit that veterans can claim, free of charge. It is easy to claim your veteran medical ID with the help of your clinician. Follow these simple steps to obtain this benefit: • Step 1: Download and print the VA information sheet to bring to your VA clinician https://www.americanmedical-id.com/media/wysiwyg/PDFs/AMI-VAHandout2016v3.pdf
Step 2: Select from the available medical ID styles on the information sheet.
Step 3: Visit your clinician to discuss the engraving information on your medical alert bracelet or necklace.
Step 4: Submit the VA information sheet to your clinician who will process your order with a Purchasing Agent.

In appearances before veterans groups this week, Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin is outlining his 10-point plan for reforming department operations and offerings, with a heavy emphasis on VA medical improvements. plan is separate from the 10-point VA plan President Trump unveiled on the campaign trail last summer, The list includes:
1. New accountability legislation
2. Extend the Choice deadline past August
3. Choice 2.0 Legislation
4. Infrastructure improvements and consolidations –
5. VA/DOD federal coordination
6. Enhance foundational services in VA
7. Electronic medical record modernization
8. Breakthrough in suicide prevention –
9. Appeals modernization
10. Accelerating performance on benefits claims

Meet Dave & Yvonne Riley our National Guest this June State Convention

Tulsa Tech

Information Relating to Military Tuition Waiver

This is a Financial Assistance opportunity included in Tulsa Tech Financial Assistance flyer along with other Scholarships and Grants.  The program was approved by the Board of Education in 2016 and is intended to fill a gap in the availability of VA Educational Benefits which are current not able to be approved for many of the Tulsa Tech Full-Time programs due to issue relating to accreditation.

Military Tuition Waiver

Oklahoma veterans are eligible to attend one full time program
tuition free. Applicants must have served active duty
in the U.S. Military and have been honorably discharged
within the last 15 years.

The term “one full time program”, also referred to as “one full time career major”, includes any “Full-Time Programs” contained in the current “Make Your Own Path – Full-Time Classes” catalog which are identified for “Adults”.  The selection of the “one full-time program” will cover the entire duration of the program, for example a Powersports Technology program of 5 months (all day) to 27-30 months (Evening) program for Aviation Generals.  Note that this is a waiver of Tuition only.  Any books or other related costs/expenses are not included in this program.

The Military Tuition Waiver application is available online via the HUB.  https://hub.tulsatech.edu/studentresources/financialassistance/Documents/Military Tuition Waiver Application_v2.pdf

Eligibility Criteria are listed on the application as follows:

1. Must have served on active duty and must have been honorably discharged.
2. Must use this scholarship within 15 years of the date of separation from the U.S. Military.
3. Must be an Oklahoma resident.

A copy of a valid OK Driver’s License or OK State issued ID and coy of DD-214 are required to be provided with the application.

Note that the applicant must go through the standard application process and be selected for the application program.  Not every program will have availability for each applicant.

For details and face-to-face assistance for this program, the Tulsa Tech contact is:

Samantha Alberty
Financial Assistance Consultant
918 828-5223
Samantha.alberty@tulsatech.edu

Located on the Tulsa Tech Lemley Memorial Campus at 3420 S Memorial Drive
Office in the Career Service Center (CSC) building, Financial Aid Office
Follow Signs for “ENROLLMENT”

Among deployed and non-deployed active duty Veterans who served during the Iraq or Afghanistan wars between 2001 and 2007, the rate of suicide was greatest the first three years after leaving service, according to a recent study.
Compared to the U.S. population, both deployed and non-deployed Veterans had a higher risk of suicide, but a lower risk of death from other causes combined. Deployed Veterans also had a lower risk of suicide compared to non-deployed Veterans.
These findings are from a study that looked at the vital status of 1.3 million Veterans from their time of discharge through the end of 2009

Many veterans sacrifice comfortable, lucrative lives to protect the liberties of their home country—only to find nothing left of those former lives when they return. In the face of rising veteran homelessness rates, due in part to inadequate medical and psychological resources, Missouri volunteers pooled their creativity, time, and money to create a community of tiny homes that welcomes veterans, completely free of charge.,
There is an organization in Oklahoma that has started creating homeless villages for homeless veterans and building tiny homes for homeless veterans

A new Android app being made available at no cost for Muskogee, Okla.-area veterans will plug them into practically every resource they could need or want. The Barracks is the brainchild of Army veteran Victor Lezama. The app includes direct access to a crisis hotline, assistance with medical claims, job-assistance programs, housing information, recreation and veteran discounts.
“Our main concern is for veterans in crisis — let’s get them help as soon as possible, even if to talk,” Lezama said, noting the first thing a veteran will see when the app opens is a telephone number to a crisis hotline. “My favorite thing is that veterans can click on Crisis Hotline and have the option to text, call or chat with somebody for help.”
The Barracks is available for download now on Google Play. An iPhone version of the app is expected to be available in two weeks.