Upcoming activities at the Kaua‘i Veterans Center • The Kaua‘i Veterans Museum is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. • The Veterans Center hosts a Night at the Veterans Museum from 5 to 9
Upcoming activities at the Kaua‘i Veterans Center
• The Kaua‘i Veterans Museum is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• The Veterans Center hosts a Night at the Veterans Museum from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday. Enjoy live music from your favorite era in a wartime club atmosphere. There will be a no host cocktails, appetizers and dancing hostesses. There is an entry fee.
• The Military Swap Meet will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free to the Kaua‘i community. There is a vendor fee. Contact Rhan at kvcmuseum@gmail.com for more information about the Night at the Museum and swap meet.
• To find out more about other planned activities call Aida Cruz at 246-1135.
Understanding PTSD
Have you or a loved one been through combat or experienced any other kind of traumatic event? Have you wondered what PTSD is or whether you or someone you know suffers from it? To find answers to these and other related questions, Dr. Amyn K. Hirani, Ph.D. of the Kaua‘i Veterans Center, invites all veterans and/or their spouses to attend free group sessions. Sessions are from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Tuesday through March 5. Call 246-1163 for details.
VA burn pit registry coming
The new VA burn pit registry will be used to try and determine if there is a link between the burn pits that dotted Iraq and Afghanistan during two wars and long-term health problems in some American veterans. Military personnel who were stationed near an open burn pit will be able to sign up.
Researchers will use the database to monitor health trends in participants, and the VA will alert them to major problems detected. VA will announce how to sign up once the registry is available. For more information, visit VA’s burn pits at http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/burnpits/index.asp
Cyber combat medal outranks Bronze Star with ‘V’
Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has announced the creation of a new medal for drone pilots and others away from the battlefields called the Distinguished Warfare Medal, to recognize “extraordinary achievements that directly impact combat operations, but do not involve acts of valor or the physical risks that combat entails.”
The new medal will rank just below the Distinguished Flying Cross. It will have precedence over and be worn on a uniform above the Bronze Star with Valor device, a medal awarded to troops for specific heroic acts performed under fire in combat.
Many veterans have voiced outrage that the Defense Department has given greater honor to those operating a computer joystick than troops who engaged in physical combat. (Read more at http://www.navytimes.com/news/2013/02/military-new-medal-for-drone-pilots-outranks-bronze-star-021313/).
Kauai’s VA Rural Health Outreach team
The Kaua‘i VA Clinic will soon begin conducting weekly outreach sessions on both the North Shore and Westside of the island. Veterans who are not currently using VA for medical or mental health services are encouraged to stop by and check out what the Kaua‘i VA can do to help you.
Veterans are asked to bring a legible copy of their military discharge paper unless already enrolled with VA. Dates/times and locations are:
• Each Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Hanapepe United Church of Christ
• Each Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Hale Halawai ‘Ohana ‘O Hanalei, Hanalei Community Center.
For questions about these and other services offered by the VA, call 246-0497.
Kaua‘i tele-benefits pilot program
Following a brief interruption, veterans can once again speak directly via video conference with a VA benefits advisor in Honolulu to ask questions and discuss concerns involving their benefit claim(s). This test program eliminates the lengthy wait to speak with a counselor when calling the 1 (800) 827-1000 nationwide number.
To participate, a veteran must first schedule an appointment by emailing a request to pctc.vbahon@va.gov. Veterans may use their own email account to correspond directly with VA.
For additional assistance, the veteran may visit the VA’s Vet Center located on Kuhio Highway near Fish Express or stop by the Kaua‘i Office of Veterans Services (KOVS) collocated within the Kaua‘i Veterans Center on Kapule Highway near the airport.
Once the request is received, VA will contact the veteran with an appointment date/time. Appointments must be made five days in advance and slots are limited to one hour to accommodate as many veterans as possible. Appointments will be scheduled Monday through Friday (except holidays) at 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. or 2:30 p.m. only.
On the day of the appointment, the veteran simply shows up at the CBOC with any pertinent documents and a VA staff member will guide him/her to the designated room for the video conference. Assistance will also be provided with faxing any additional documents to VA Honolulu prior to the Veteran’s departure.
Call the Vet Center at 246-1163 or KOVS at 241-3348 with questions.
• SgtMaj Tony Elliott USMC (Ret) is a member of the Hawai‘i Office of Veterans Services on Kaua‘i.
