Information for Vets

[Black Owl]

NEW MEXICO VET TUITION: Military veterans and their families will be able to save a little money on college tuition or to attend a vocational school in the New Mexico, even if they don't live in the state. Senate Bill 136, which establishes in-state tuition rates for veterans, regardless of where they live, will go into effect on 1 AUG 09 just in time for the start of the 2010 school year. The legislation was approved by both the state Senate and House of Representatives by a combined vote of 104-0. For a copy of the bill refer to http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site557/2009/0421/20090421_111709_0422SB136.pdf. "Gov. Bill Richardson said, “I'm proud of this tremendous bipartisan effort from our state legislators. Signing this bill into law is a way of thanking our veterans for their service to our country, and thanking their families for their sacrifice when sending a spouse or parent to war." Raymond Harper, a retired Army veteran, said the new law will have an effect on soldiers' decisions of where they will retire. "A lot of active duty soldiers will probably consider something like this when they decide to get out," said Harper, who now lives in Oklahoma City, but was stationed for two years at White Sands Missile Range. "I left (New Mexico) because I was from Oklahoma and that's where I had to go to qualify for in-state tuition. I liked being in New Mexico and would've stayed there. But I knew I was going to go to college after I got out of the Army, and I would have had to then go through all that stuff of establishing residency in New Mexico to get their tuition."

 

Any veteran of the U.S. armed forces will be able to pay the same tuition as people who have established residency in New Mexico. Tuition rates for in-state residents are notably less than what people who live outside of the state would pay. Tuition rates vary among state universities and trade schools. There are more than 100 certified institutions across the state where veterans will be able to use their federal G.I. education benefit. "This is a win-win situation," said state Veterans Affairs Secretary John Garcia. "Veterans and their dependents can attend our fine educational institutions, and the state can be the beneficiary of a G.I. benefit which could be worth up to $30,000 apiece, depending on where they choose to attend." Ray Seva, spokesman for the state Department of Veteran Affairs, said the intent of the bill was to help make New Mexico become a destination state for veterans who want to pursue higher education. There are about 180,000 veterans living in New Mexico of which 30,000 served in Iraq or Afghanistan. [source: Silver City Sun-News Steve Ramirez article 22 Apr 09 ++]

RESERVE GI BILL Update 09: The Senate voted 31 MAR in favor of more GI Bill education benefits for National Guard and Reserve members — but that doesn’t mean benefits will increase. By voice vote and with no substantive debate, the Senate approved an amendment to the 2010 budget resolution that adds reserve education benefits to a list of other possible pay increases for service members, veterans and survivors that might be funded by a proposed deficit-neutral reserve fund. The budget plan, S. Con. Res. 13, also says that expanded benefits for disabled veterans in rural areas, as well as concurrent receipt of full military and veterans benefits for disabled retirees and the survivors of people who die of service-related causes, could be covered by the reserve fund.

The catch is that the reserve fund does not exist, and there is no guarantee it would be created. Instead, its creation is proposed as a way to keep open the possibility of benefit improvements even when there is no money set aside for them in the Senate’s version of the 2010 budget.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), chief sponsor of the GI Bill amendment, said she is trying to find a way to reset monthly education benefits for Guard and Reserve members because the value, compared to GI Bill benefits for active-duty members, has eroded since 1984, while reservists’ role in military operations has greatly expanded. “Selected Reserve GI Bill benefit rates are simply not reflective of the critical role Guard members and reservists play in today’s military,” she said, noting reserve benefits have increased just 3% a year since the 2001 terrorist attacks. In 1984, when the Montgomery GI Bill was established as the post-Cold War veterans’ benefits plan, Guard and Reserve members received monthly benefits that were 48% of the active-duty rate. Today, Guard and Reserve members using the Montgomery GI Bill receive a maximum monthly benefit of $329, about 25% of the $1,321 a month paid to those with three or more years of active service. The disparity will soon become larger, with active-duty members and veterans of active duty due to get a big boost 1 AUG when the Post-9/11 GI Bill takes effect. The new GI Bill promises to cover full tuition plus offer stipends for living expenses and books that should fully cover the cost of attending a four-year public college or university at in-state rates.

Guard and Reserve members are covered by the new program if they have been mobilized for 90 days or more since the 2001 terrorists’ attacks, but benefits are prorated based on the amount of service. Full benefits are available only for those who have three or more years of service, or were forced to leave the military because of a service-connected disability, if they are full-time students. Reduced benefits for the Guard and Reserve “sends a very poor message,” Lincoln said. “The rising price of higher education increases, the interest rates on student loans, and the limited earnings ability of those with only high school credentials make educational benefits a primary means of investing in our future,” Lincoln said. “We want to encourage our Selected Reservists to really take advantage of educational opportunities to further their positions in the Guard and Reserve and to ... further their positions in business, in industry and where they are going to be working in our communities.” By getting the amendment approved, Lincoln may have the chance to offer an amendment later this year to other veterans or defense legislation to increase GI Bill payments and be able to say there is money available to cover the costs if the Senate Budget Committee creates a reserve fund with money that is not spent on other benefits. [source: NavyTimes rick Maze article 1 Apr 09 ++]

 

GULF WAR SYNDROME Update 08: A new study of veterans of the 1991 Gulf War suggests that exposure to neurotoxins such as anti-nerve agent pills, insect repellent and Sarin caused neurological changes to the brain. However, brain imaging shows those changes appear to differ depending on what and how much each person was exposed to. The changes also correspond to different sets of symptoms. Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Southern Methodist University, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dallas performed digital brain scans on 21 chronically ill Gulf War veterans from the same Naval Reserve construction battalion, all of whom had symptoms of “Gulf War syndrome.” According to a study published in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging Journal, previous studies defined three categories of symptoms associated with Gulf War veterans. The three complexes suggest "an overall syndrome with variants," according to the researchers. But they also found the variants depended on what the vets had been exposed to:

• Complex 1: mild cognitive problems, such as distractibility, forgetfulness, feeling depressed, and excessive daytime sleepiness. [Associated with troops who had worn flea collars to ward off sand fleas].

• Complex 2: a more debilitating state with confusion and a gross lack of muscle coordination. [Associated with low-level Sarin exposure and anti-nerve agent pills].

• Complex 3: continuous joint and muscle aching. [Associated with insect repellent and anti-nerve agent pills].

In new study, researchers wanted to see how brain blood flow in the veterans changed if they were exposed to a cholinesterase-inhibiting chemical. All the Gulf War exposures (insect repellent, anti-nerve agent pills (pyridostigmine) and Sarin) are such cholinesterase-inhibiting chemicals, and the researchers wanted to see if the previous exposure permanently damaged the way the brain works. Previous studies also had found that some people are genetically less able to process such chemicals out of their bodies, which could explain why some troops exposed to the same chemicals have no symptoms. Research has shown that vets exposed to Sarin gas had a lower volume of white matter than people who had not been exposed, and that their fine motor skills were comparable to someone 10 years older than the exposed veterans.

The new study, which the researchers were quick to point out was small, included 11 men with Complex 2 symptoms, five with Complex 1 symptoms, and five with Complex 3 symptoms. For the study, they injected each veteran with saline solution through an IV, then performed a digital brain scan to check cerebral blood flow. Two days later, they used an IV to send 2 milligrams of physostigmine, another cholinesterase-inhibiting chemical, into their systems. Robert Haley, lead researcher on the study, wrote that they expected the brain activity of the exposed veterans to respond differently to the chemical than a control group of civilians did, and they were correct. But they were surprised that the veterans’ brains responded differently to the saline, as well as to the physostigmine, based on which symptom complex they fell into. They differed significantly on baseline blood flow after the saline, with the Complex 2 group having significantly less than the control group. But after the injection of physostigmine, both the Complex 1 and 3 groups had a slight reduction in blood flow in some regions of the brain, while the Complex 2 group had an increase. There were differences in the areas of the deep brain where the researchers saw reductions of blood flow based on which group they were looking at.

The findings seem consistent with the “impaired cognition, attention deficits, reduced intellectual functioning, audiovestibular dysfunction and emotional changes” in Complex 1 and 2 veterans, versus the “primary pain and sensory dysfunction” of Complex 3 veterans, the study states. The Complex 2 patterns were similar to those found in Alzheimer’s disease, but were obviously not the same because of the pattern of the symptoms, they wrote. “Our findings further suggest that milder-symptom Complexes 1 and 3 involve different neuropathologic mechanisms from those underlying the more severe-symptom Complex 2,” the study states. “This condition might be appropriately referred to as an encephalopathy — a term for any diffuse disease of the brain that alters brain function or structure.” They said the brain scans could provide an “objective diagnostic test” for war-related chronic encephalopathic illnesses. [source: ArmyTimes Kelly Kennedy article 1 Apr 09 ++]

Edited April 30, 2009 by Black Owl