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  • A 2007 Timeline of Veterans News

    David Botti | Dec 28, 2007 10:42 AM

    As the last days of 2007 come upon us, I've compiled a timeline of veterans news throughout the year. What struck me is the vast number of veterans stories pouring out from all media outlets. Will this continue to be the case in 2008? Most likely it will be for the simple fact that the number of Iraq/Afghanistan vets is getting bigger. 

    Here are selected stories from throughout 2007:


    FEBRUARY 18 -- The Washington Post exposes decrepit living conditions for wounded soldiers recovering in Building 18 at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center:

    Behind the door of Army Spec. Jeremy Duncan's room, part of the wall is torn and hangs in the air, weighted down with black mold. When the wounded combat engineer stands in his shower and looks up, he can see the bathtub on the floor above through a rotted hole. The entire building, constructed between the world wars, often smells like greasy carry-out. Signs of neglect are everywhere: mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses.



    MARCH 8
    -- A New York Times study finds vast inequities in how veterans receive disability checks based on location and type of service.

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  • Reservist Employment: "a Walter Reed-like nightmare"

    David Botti | Nov 9, 2007 10:20 AM
    When I got word back in March 2003 that my reserve unit was getting mobilized to Iraq, I was sitting in my cubicle working for a company I’d started at about two weeks earlier.  I went in and told my boss, who could hardly hide his displeasure of loosing a recent hire.  But he did the right thing and said the job would be waiting when I got back.  I never did go back; partly because I didn’t want to be an imposition (where would they put me if someone else was hired in the interim?), and partly because, well, I hated the job.

    Now it’s looking like more and more veterans aren’t as lucky as I was to have an understanding boss.  Under U.S. law, if a service member is mobilized he/she is entitled to return to the same job, with the same benefits—no questions asked.  According to the Associated Press, a 2005-2006 Pentagon survey of reservists released Thursday found 44 percent said they were dissatisfied with the Labor Department’s handling of employment discrimination claims.  That’s up from 27 percent in 2004.  Here’s the AP’s partial summary of the survey’s findings:

    --About 23 percent of reservists reported they did not return to their old jobs in part because their employer did not give them prompt re-employment or their job situation changed in some way while they were on military leave.

    --Twenty-nine percent of those choosing not to seek help to get their job back said it was because it was "not worth the fight." Another 23 percent said they were unsure of how to file a complaint. Others cited a lack of confidence that they could win (14 percent); fear of employer reprisal (13 percent), or other reasons (21 percent).

    --Reservists reported receiving an average of 1.8 briefings about their job rights and what government resources were available. This is down slightly from the 2.0 briefings they reported getting in 2004.


    Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), chairman of Thursday’s committee meeting held to address this issue with the Labor Department said this about vets looking for government help with job issues:

    ...veterans who seek help face a Walter Reed-like nightmare—a system that is crumbling and failing to serve them when they need it most. They have to negotiate a maze of bureaucracy. They can be shuffled among multiple agencies—only to find after all the bureaucratic run-around that they still may have to pay a lawyer to file their case in court.


    The Labor Department agreed there were problems, but stated:

    …the solution was to better educate employers — not litigate more cases in court. Most disputes can be resolved with a phone call to an employer explaining what the law is. 


    According to Sen. Kennedy’s press release, he plans to introduce legislation that holds federal agencies responsible for protecting veterans’ employment rights, as well as setting up a uniform way to collect their employment data.

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PROJECT GREEN
NWK Caption: At the Excel High School in Oakland, California a group of students, their teacher and members of community groups pose with air pollution monitors in front of a mural at the school.  July 26, 2008.       Left to Right:   Randy Colosky, a member of Global Community Monitor  wearing brown shirt ,Juan Hernandez, student (seated) ,   Ina Bendich, teacher Danyale Willingham,student in blue top).Elizabeth de Rham far right, member of the Rose Foundation.

Young pollution sleuths and community activists fight for healthier air.

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