Another Incident of Veterans' Personal Information Being Stolen

Over the last few years there have been several instances of personally identifying information being stolen from trusted sources. It happened at the VA in 2008, the Army's Fort Belvoir in Virginia in 2009, and this time, 4.6 million Tricare beneficiaries’ data was stolen last month from a locked car in Texas. The information was stored on tapes that were being transferred between government facilities by a Science Applications International Corp (SAIC) employee, however, in most instances the confidential information was stored on laptops.

This most recent theft of Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers and health data including data from patients seen at military treatment facilities in San Antonio between 1992 and Sept. 7, 2011, as well as those who filled prescriptions or had lab tests processed at San Antonio-area military health facilities during the same period were contained on backup tapes of Tricare electronic health records.

According to a statement released Thursday by McLean, Va.,-based SAIC, there has been no indication that the data has been misused and the tapes contained no financial data, credit card information or bank account numbers. But thieves can use information such as names and Social Security numbers to obtain credit cards and acquire loans.

While beneficiaries can place a free 90-day fraud alert on their credit by registering with the Federal Trade Commission, I wonder when this rash of incidents will come to an end. Since that question is impossible to answer, what can we do to prevent this from occurring?

What we can do is demand that our private information be guarded more closely. Maybe it isn't a good idea to transport this type of information in a personal vehicle. And if that can not be avoided, then the driver should not be allowed to make any pit stops between drop-ff and pick-up facilities. Unfortunately, that would only cover transporting documents, and not theft that occurs in actual facilities/buildings. With that said, I believe that we should all keep a closer watch on our credit and initiate those fraud alerts as often as the FTC allows.


What do you think? Leave your comments below.

Keeping Posted Online: Illinois AMVETS Honor Local VA Employees

Over the last few months, AMVETS Department of Illinois Commander Rudy Spaulding has been traveling across the state, presenting special honors to VA administrators and staff who have demonstrated a sustained commitment to Illinois' veterans.

Spaulding presents each honoree with an AMVETS plaque featuring a clock and a Commander's Certificate of Appreciation that reads, "In Appreciation for Outstanding Dedication to our Nation’s Brave Veterans."

(Photo: Cmdr. Spaulding honors the staff at the Joliet VA Outpatient Clinic. Photo courtesy of AMVETS Department of Illinois.)

In Case You Missed It... Congress Passes VA Budget in Omnibus

Over the weekend, Congress passed an omnibus federal budget for FY2010, which included $109.6 billion for VA.

While AMVETS leaders were happy to see that the VA will have the funding it needs for the year, AMVETS came far short of applauding Congress for delaying the budget's passage by more than 74 days.

Stars & Stripes reporter Leo Shane broke down the FY2010 VA budget in a recent posting on the Stripes Central blog. This year's VA budget is the first to include advance health care funding for FY2011--a provision AMVETS has advocated for for more than a decade. To read Shane's posting, Click Here.

AMVETS leaders were, however, excited about the conference version of the Department of Education budget, which passed as part of the omnibus package. This year's DOE budget included $6 million in funding for a pilot program commissioning federal grants for student-veterans' "centers of excellence" on college campuses nationwide--one of AMVETS' top legislative priorities since the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill was passed into law in 2008.

To learn more about AMVETS' work on the student-vets' centers issue, Click Here.

(Photo: Stock image of the U.S. Capitol Building from spring 2009 by Ryan Gallucci.)

AMVETS National Commander Visits With Leaders on Capitol Hill

For the last two days, AMVETS National Commander Duane Miskulin has been meeting with leaders in the Senate and House committees on Veterans Affairs on Capitol Hill. Yesterday, Miskulin met with Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-N.C.), hand-delivering a copy of AMVETS' 2010 legislative agenda to each senator.

Today, following a quick meeting with Veterans Affairs Committee Ranking Member Steve Buyer (R-Indiana), Miskulin delivered remarks during a special memorandum signing in the Cannon House Office Building between VA and U.S. Paralympics, codifying a new partnership to assist wounded veterans in achieving their athletic aspirations.

Miskulin thanked VA and U.S. Paralympics for the new partnership, stressing the need for such a program to call attention to the positive rehabilitative tools available to our wounded troops.

U.S. Paralympian wounded warriors were on hand alongside VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, VA Assistant Secretary for Pubic and Intergovernmental Affairs Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Paralympic officials, members of Congress, and veterans' organizations including AMVETS.

Though today's meetings were cut short to participate in the announcement, Miskulin plans to once again meet with Buyer and House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-Calif.) in the coming weeks to discuss AMVETS' legislative agenda in greater detail.

Tomorrow afternoon, Miskulin will be at the White House where President Obama plans to sign advance appropriations for VA health care into law. For AMVETS and the Partnership for Veterans Health Care Budget Reform, tomorrow's signing will mark the culmination of 13 years of work to overhaul the VA funding mechanism, assuing sufficient, timely and predictable funding for the VA.

Check back tomorrow afternoon with American Veteran Online for updates from the White House.

(Photo: AMVETS National Commander Duane Miskulin alongside Sen. Daniel Akaka during yesterday's visit to Capitol Hill, outlining AMVETS' legislative agenda for 2010. Photo courtesy of Sen. Akaka. Members of Congress, VA officials, and veterans' organization leaders, including Miskulin, stand for a photo with the signatories of the agreement, Norman Bellingham of U.S. Paralympics, Secretary Shinseki, and Paralympic veteran Scott Winkler. Photo by Emerson Sanders courtesy of VA.)

Live from Convention: Service Foundation donates climbing wall to Georgia VA Medical Center

This morning, AMVETS National Service Foundation donated $150,000 to the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Ga., to finance the purchase of a therapeutic rock climbing wall for veterans rehabilitating at the facility.

"On behalf of Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center and our director, Rebecca Wiley, I want to say that we're extremely grateful for this donation from AMVETS, which will help our veterans return to a normal life," said David Patillo, assistant medical center director at Charlie Norwood. "We can't do enough to support our wounded troops who have done so much for this country."

The service foundation made the donation as part of the AMVETS Healing Heroes program, which directly supports wounded veterans and their loved ones. When AMVETS Healing Heroes rolled out in spring 2008, AMVETS National Service Foundation sought to keep families of wounded troops together through the long rehabilitation process.

Today, the program has expanded to seek additional rehabilitation opportunities to support wounded veterans through innovative therapeutic options like the Charlie Norwood VAMC climbing wall.

Every cent donated to AMVETS Healing Heroes goes to help wounded warriors, since the program has no overhead costs. To date, AMVETS National Service Foundation has distributed more than $300,000 in aide since its inception.

AMVETS National Programs Director Beryl Love said he is looking forward to continuing to support healing heroes, as the AMVETS National Service Foundation's fund continues to grow.

(Photo: Leaders from AMVETS and the AMVETS National Service Foundation presented officials from the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center with a check for $150,000 to finance a therepeutic climbing wall at the facility. Pictured, left to right: Joe Peining, executive director of the AMVETS National Service Foundation, Beryl Love, AMVETS national programs director, Kimberly Hoge, chief of voluntary services at Charlie Norwood VAMC, John C. Hapner, AMVETS national commander, and David Pattillo, assistant medical center director at Charlie Norwood VAMC. Photo by Jay Agg.)