This Week at American Veteran

This week at American Veteran, we will continue to follow the VA's implementation of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. Tomorrow, the first living stipend checks are scheduled to be deposited in veterans' accounts. AMVETS has expressed concerns that this will not happen and, on Friday, developed a contingency plan which AMVETS leaders plan to discuss with VA.

The latest data from the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) indicates that 234,260 education work items remain pending within the administration. To view the data in VBA's weekly report from Aug. 24, Click Here. Pending education claims can be found in column P.

AMVETS is concerned that many veterans will face financial hardships as a result of payment delays--a situation that must be avoided at all costs. Congress imposed an ambitious timeline on VBA, so rather than blaming the VA, AMVETS would rather propose solutions to the issue.

This week, American Veteran will also continue to follow the "Your Life, Your Choices" debacle, since accusations continue to fly unabated, in spite of the responses from AMVETS and the American Legion acknowledging that the document is not an attempt to steer veterans toward ending their lives.

Tomorrow is Sept. 1, which means that we are coming close to the submission deadline for the fall issue of American Veteran magazine. Please send on your photos and submissions as soon as possible for consideration for Keeping Posted and potential feature content.

Thank you to everyone who read the write-up last week on "Your Life, Your Choices" and the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy. We hope you will continue to comment on our postings, and, as always, we're eager to hear what's happening in the field so that we may highlight it on this blog.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, Army veteran and AMVET, dies at 77

After a year-long battle with brain cancer, the second most senior U.S. Senator, Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), died last night at his home in Cape Cod.

Kennedy, who long served on the Senate Armed Services Committee and left his mark on such noteworthy military and veterans' legislation as defense appropriations for up-armored humvees, anti-IED technology, and the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, was one of the most recognizable political figures in the United States and an astute leader capable of reaching across party lines.

In 1951, Kennedy enlisted in the U.S. Army and served on the honor guard at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Paris. He left the military honorably in 1953 as a private first class. Kennedy's name appears on the official membership rolls of AMVETS.

In 1991, Kennedy played an integral role in passing the bill that paved the way for women to serve as combat aviators. This first rule change ultimately set the stage for women to achieve greater equality in today's armed forces.

Kennedy is most remembered for his work championing social causes stateside, such as disabled Americans' rights, anti-discrimination, and education.

In the summer of 2008, Kennedy worked to pass the Higher Education Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2008, providing significant improvements to the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Included in the 2008 act, which was signed into law by President Bush, was a provision AMVETS introduced commissioning federal grants for student-veterans' "centers of excellence" on college campuses nationwide.

AMVETS envisioned these grants as a way for colleges and universities to prepare for the next generation of leaders returning from the front lines to take advantage of their G.I. Bill benefits. AMVETS recently learned that the provision for these centers has been included in the House version of the 2010 budget for the Department of Education.

Kennedy's courageous return to the Senate last summer while battling brain cancer made the passage of the higher ed bill possible.

Kennedy is the only one of four brothers to die of natural causes. His oldest brother, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., died as a bomber pilot during Operation Aphrodite in WWII, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963, and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated during his presidential campaign in Los Angeles in 1968.

Kennedy is survived by his wife Victoria Kennedy, sons Edward Jr. and Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), daughter Kara Kennedy Allen, and two stepchildren, Caroline Raclin and Curran Raclin.

To read Kennedy's New York Times obituary, Click Here.

(Photo: Sen. Edward Kennedy sits in the cockpit of an F/A-18 Hornet at Naval Air Station Miramar in California on a visit with the Senate Armed Services Committee in 1985. U.S. Navy photo, released.)