This Week at American Veteran

This week at American Veteran, we're putting the finishing touches on the fall issue of American Veteran magazine. Thank you to each of the posts and departments that submitted content for consideration in Keeping Posted. Keep it coming. If we run out of space in the magazine, we're eager to share photos and stories on this blog.

The AMVETS National Legislative Department is also in the final stages of preparing the report from this summer's AMVETS Symposium for 21st Century Veterans. With recent legislation and policy changes within the Department of Veterans Affairs, National Legislative Directory Ray Kelley has had to adjust fire on the report and recommendations. This is good news, considering that some of the recommendations made at this summer's symposium have already resonated with leaders in Washington, such as calls for equity in care for female veterans and increased access to mental health counseling for veterans' family members. American Veteran Online will keep you posted on the publication date for the final symposium report.

AMVETS legislative team is also currently compiling the 2011 AMVETS Legislative Agenda, which will be available on the AMVETS National Web site by Veterans Day. AMVETS' top legislative priorities are based on critical issues within the veterans' community and the national resolutions as voted on by AMVETS members at each year's national convention. Last year's legislative agenda proved to be exceedingly popular among AMVETS leaders across the country and national policy leaders in Washington, which is why AMVETS is expanding on the concept for 2011. Check back on Veterans Day to learn about this year's top priorities and AMVETS' proposed solutions.

Next, AMVETS National Commander Jerry Hotop is scheduled to leave for his Far East tour on Thursday. Hotop will visit with American troops stationed on the Korean peninsula, visit with leaders from the allied Republic of China (Taiwan) and their Veterans Affairs Commission, with a final stop scheduled at the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, which AMVETS helped to finance and refurbish. We will bring you highlights of this annual tour.

As always, we're eager to hear from you, our readers. The recent posting on the malicious COLA hoax proved to be our most popular blog posting to date. Thank you for your comments. As a result, we will post the accurate COLA charts for 2011 this week. We will continue to bring you timely information on veterans' issues, so please keep the comments coming.