VA Appoints AMVET to VA Committee on Women Veterans

Last week, VA announced four new members appointed to the VA Advisory Committee on Women Veterans, including Nancy Kaczor, a life member of AMVETS.

Kaczor is a retired Air Force colonel who currently lives in Franklin, Wis. During her time in the military, Kaczor served in Kosovo, Kuwait, and Iraq. She is currently an active volunteer with a variety of veterans' and civic organizations, including AMVETS Post 60 in Oak Creek, Wis.

Established in 1983, the advisory committee is comprised of experts who can advise VA on issues and program affecting women veterans, making recommendations to the secretary for administrative and legislative changes. Appointees hold their positions on the committee for two-year terms.

In addition to Kaczur, this year's appointees are Jack Phillip Carter, Jr., a retired Marine lieutenant colonel from Bradenton, Fla.; Nancy Glowacki, a former Army Reserve officer from Silver Spring, Md.; and Terry Moore, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel from Stetson, Maine.

"Throughout history women have played essential roles in the military," said VA Secretary Eric Shinseki in VA's announcement. "It is VA's responsibility to anticipate and prepare for the evolving needs of women veterans, their families, and survivors."

According to VA, women veterans are on the fastest growing demographic groups within the veterans' community. Today, approximately 1.8 million American women are veterans and women make up nearly five percent of all veterans who utilize VA health care services.

While VA estimates that the total number of veterans will decline over the next twenty years, the number of women veterans will actually increase by more than 20 percent over the same period.

For the last two years, AMVETS has listed issues facing women service members and veterans as a top legislative priority. At the 2010 AMVETS Symposium for 21st Century Veterans, the female veterans panel also identified current shortfalls and unintended consequences in VA's newest care models for female veterans, which VA said they quickly addressed.

To read AMVETS' recommendations to better serve today's women veterans in AMVETS 2011 Legislative Priorities, Click Here.

March is also Women's History Month and American Veteran will continue to publish stories of extraordinary military women and their contributions to the force, as we have done in years past. Check back regularly for updates.

Keeping Posted Online: Wisconsin Auxiliary Collects Movies for Troops

This holiday season, AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary from Post 50 in Phillips, Wis., collected nearly 100 DVDs to send to troops serving overseas as part of AMVETS Task Force DVD.

AMVETS Department of Wisconsin then collected the donations from Post 50 and other posts around the state during the state executive committee meeting in Waupaca in order to deliver the DVDs to troops serving in the combat zone in time for Christmas.

AMVETS Task Force DVD is the national ongoing DVD and digital media donation program that provides entertainment to American troops serving overseas free of charge.

AMVETS Task Force DVD is managed by the AMVETS Department of Ohio, which boxes and ships movies to requesting units across the globe. Troops who wish to request DVDs can contact AMVETS National Programs Department directly at the following email address, thilton@amvets.org, with their complete military mailing address, including name and APO.

To date, millions of hours of entertainment have been sent overseas.

AMVETS National Headquarters accepts all cash donations to defer shipping costs and DVD donations can be made directly to AMVETS Task Force DVD at the following address:

AMVETS Task Force DVD
1395 E. Dublin Granville Road #222
Columbus, OH 43229

To learn more about AMVETS Task Force DVD, Click Here.

Keeping Posted Online: Wisconsin AMVETS Host Bingo at VA Hospital

On Saturday, Jan. 16, North Fond du Lac, Wisc. AMVETS Post No. 41 hosted a bingo night along with the post Ladies Auxiliary at the nearby Tomah VA Medical Center. The post also provided refreshments for the event and made a donation to the hospital's library fund.

(Photo: AMVETS Post No. 41 members prepare snacks for the post's bingo event at the Tomah VA Medical Center. Photo courtesy of the AMVETS Department of Wisconsin.)

From the Floor of the NEC

This morning, the spring meeting of the AMVETS National Executive Committee opened at the BWI Hilton in Linthicum, Md.

On the floor, the NEC approved AMVETS' follow-up on the 2006 National Symposium on the Needs of Young Veterans.

The follow-up symposium, hatched out of the National Headquarters, will take place during the 65th AMVETS National Convention in New Orleans this August.

AMVETS hopes to bring at least one post-9/11 veteran from each department to New Orleans to participate in a roundtable discussion of the pertinent issues identified in the original symposium from 2006. AMVETS will also investigate new issues that may have arisen over the last three years and issue a new report on their findings to guide the organization's work pertaining to the newest gerenation of American veterans.

On Monday morning, AMVETS will begin to plan for the follow-up symposium. Check back regularly with American Veteran Online for more details on this summer's symposium as they develop.

AMVETS also signed a new agreement with the University of Phoenix to continue providing educational opportunities for members of the military, veterans, and their family members. Since University of Phoenix first partnered with AMVETS, the university has given hundreds of veterans the opportunity to earn a college degree. From the lectern at the NEC, AMVETS National Commander John C. Hapner called on every department to spread the word about the new scholarship opportunities.



Also on the floor, Norm Barker from the Department of Wisconsin announced the new Women Veterans' Memorial, which AMVETS and Wisconsin's leading veterans' organizations will build at Irma Hill.

The AMVETS Department of California also officially presented the AMVETS Law Clinic at Chapman University School of Law in California. The new clinic, which handles a variety of pro bono cases for members of the military and veterans in California will be featured in the upcoming issue of American Veteran magazine.

Official NEC business has drawn to a close in Linthicum, but check back with American Veteran Online for coverage of tonight's 55th Annual Silver Helmet Awards banquet.

(Photos, Top: Cmdr. Hapner addresses the AMVETS National Executive Committee. Center: University of Phoenix and AMVETS sign a new agreement to continue offering scholarship opportunities to our veterans. Photos by Ryan Gallucci)