VA's Home Loan Program Continues to Stay Strong

Shinseki Says VA's Home Loan Program Continues to Stay Strong

Veterans More Likely to Avoid Foreclosure with VA-Backed Loan

WASHINGTON - Mortgage loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) continue to have the lowest rate for serious delinquency
and foreclosures in the industry.

"The continued high performance of VA loans is due to the dedication of
VA's loan professionals, the support of our partners in the mortgage
industry and most notably, the responsibility of our Veterans and their
desire to maintain home ownership," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Eric K. Shinseki. "VA is making good on its promise to help Veterans
achieve the American dream of owning a home."

There are currently about 1.3 million active home loans that have been
obtained using VA's Home Loan Guaranty Program. The program makes home
ownership more affordable for Veterans, active-duty service members, and
eligible surviving spouses by permitting low or no downpayment loans and
by protecting lenders from loss if the borrower fails to repay the loan.


According to the Mortgage Bankers Association National Delinquency
Survey, VA's foreclosure rate for the last eight quarters and serious
delinquency rate for the last five consecutive quarters have been the
lowest of all measured loan types, even prime loans.

Much of the program's strength stems from the efforts of VA employees
and loan servicers nationwide, whose primary mission is to "ensure all
Veterans receive every possible opportunity to remain in their homes,
avoid foreclosure, and protect their credit from the consequences of a
foreclosure," added Shinseki.

Depending on the situation, VA's loan specialists can intervene on a
Veteran's behalf to help pursue home-retention options such as repayment
plans, forbearances and loan modifications. When home retention is not
an option, sometimes VA can help arrange a sale, or a deed-in-lieu of
foreclosure, both of which are better options for Veteran borrowers than
foreclosure.

Since 1944, when home-loan guaranties were first offered under the
original GI Bill, VA has guaranteed more than 18.8 million home loans
worth $1.06 trillion.

To obtain more information about the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program,
Veterans can call VA at 1-877-827-3702. Information can also be
obtained at http://www.homeloans.va.gov .

Vietnam Veterans remembered in Afghanistan

Vietnam Veterans remembered in Afghanistan

A replica of the cross that has come to symbolise the sacrifice of Australian servicemen in Vietnam a generation ago took pride of place in a ceremony at Multi-National Base - Tarin Kot yesterday.

Australian troops reflected on the service of their fighting forebears during the Long Tan Day commemoration in a world far removed from the jungle and plantations of Vietnam.

Addressing the Australian, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan troops who attended the memorial service, 1st Mentoring Task Force Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Mark Jennings said the exploits of Delta Company 6RAR in 1966 had come to symbolise Australia’s contribution to the war in South Vietnam but the day was also especially poignant for the soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan.

“While we take time out to reflect and pay respects to the 18 men of 6RAR who died at Long Tan, take a moment to remember this Task Force, our predecessors and our fellow warriors from the Special Operations Task Group who have lost 18 of our own generation here in Afghanistan,” Lieutenant Colonel Jennings said.

“The 6RAR Battlegroup – Mentoring Task Force 1 of 2010 – carries on the tradition set by our forebears.”
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Vietnam Veterans remembered in Afghanistan

Vietnam vets honored with ceremony in Canonsburg

Vietnam vets honored with ceremony in Canonsburg
Legislators call awards 'overdue'
Thursday, August 19, 2010
By Janice Crompton, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

He wasn't born until five years after the last shots were fired in the Vietnam War, but state Rep. Jesse White, D-Cecil, said he thought a formal thank you was "long overdue" for veterans who had been treated as anything but heroes.

"It's hard for me to grasp the politics that were going on at the time and how the vets were treated," said Mr. White, who co-sponsored an awards ceremony honoring Vietnam vets with state Rep. Timothy Solobay, D-Canonsburg.

About 167 local veterans, living and dead, were recognized at last Thursday's ceremony at Canon-McMillan High School.

None of the veterans interviewed for this story had been formally thanked or recognized previously.

Alex Nakoneczny, 60, a former Army corporal, of Houston, said he was shocked by the reception he received when he returned from Vietnam in August 1970.

"I couldn't figure that out," he said, recalling his first steps off a plane in San Francisco, where protesters were gathered. "They called us baby killers."

It's been 40 years since that day, and Mr. Nakoneczny and his contemporaries aren't bitter.

"This is a good thing," he said. "And good things are worth waiting for."

The more than 200 veterans and their families who gathered in the high school auditorium greeted a fellow soldier, Joshua Haines of Cecil, with thundering applause and a standing ovation that lasted 30 seconds.

The 22-year-old Army specialist and 2006 Canon-McMillan graduate recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq and was humbled by the recognition, especially because "the Vietnam vets were the first ones we saw when we got off the plane" on the return home, he said.

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4th Stryker brigade returns to cheers at Lewis McChord

End of an era as combat troops return to Lewis-McChord
By KOMO Staff and Associated Press


JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - A group of soldiers representing the last U.S. combat unit in Iraq has returned home to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, marking the end of an era.

About 150 soldiers from the Army's 4th Stryker brigade marched into Soldiers Field House on Thursday morning.

The brigade's 2nd Infantry Division was officially designated the last combat brigade to leave Iraq under Obama's plan to end combat operations in Iraq.

Seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion, the troops were leaving well ahead of President Barack Obama's Aug. 31 deadline for ending U.S. combat operations there.
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Man Accused In Shooting Suffered From PTSD

Family Members: Man Accused In Shooting Suffered From PTSD

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- Family members said the man accused of shooting his two neighbors and then killing himself spent three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Police identified the gunman in Wednesday night’s shooting as 27-year-old Dennis Dugger.

Gwinnett County police said Dugger, who lived in the Indian Trail Apartment Homes, shot several rounds into the ceiling of his apartment leading into the victims’ apartment because he was upset with the amount of noise the couple was making.
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Man Accused In Shooting Suffered From PTSD

Richmond County Sheriff's Office deputies learn about PTSD

Officers learn to deal with situations involving PTSD
By Kyle Martin
Staff Writer
Thursday, Aug 19, 2010

Fifteen months is a long time to fear that every piece of roadside garbage is going to explode or that a suicide bomber is tracking your Humvee.

Multiply that time by three or four deployments to Afghanistan or Iraq and it's easy to understand why returning servicemen and women have a hard time letting their guard down.

"I have soldiers in my (therapy) group who walk the perimeter of the room before sitting down," said Mwende Mualuko, a medical resident at Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta. "They can't sit with their back to the door."

Mualuko was sharing her knowledge about post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Wednesday morning with a small group of Richmond County Sheriff's Office deputies. Helping her out with the presentation on how law enforcement can safely handle people with the disorder was Dr. Miriam Hancock, who also counsels patients at the PTSD clinic.
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Officers learn to deal with situations involving PTSD

Last U.S. combat forces crossed the border into Kuwait

The last U.S. combat forces cross the border into Kuwait, bringing Operation Iraqi Freedom to a close after nearly 7½ years. NBC News’ chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engel, reports live from the border.

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Goodbye, Iraq: Last US Combat Brigade Exits
August 19, 2010
Associated Press

KHABARI CROSSING, Kuwait -- A line of heavily armored American military vehicles, their headlights twinkling in the pre-dawn desert, lumbered past the barbed wire and metal gates marking the border between Iraq and Kuwait early Thursday and rolled into history.

For the troops of the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, it was a moment of relief fraught with symbolism but lightened by the whoops and cheers of Soldiers one step closer to going home. Seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion, the last American combat brigade was leaving Iraq, well ahead of President Obama's Aug. 31 deadline for ending U.S. combat operations there.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd ID, was officially designated the last combat brigade to leave Iraq under Obama's plan to end combat operations in Iraq by Aug. 31. Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana joined the troops on their final journey out of the country.

Last US Combat Brigade Exits

Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth’s parents will get day in court

Lawsuit against KBR over soldier's electrocution to go forward
By Lisa M. Novak
Stars and Stripes
Published: August 18, 2010

A lawsuit against military contractor KBR for the 2008 death of an Army Special Forces soldier will go forward, according to a ruling Tuesday by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.

The federal appeals court rejected KBR’s request to dismiss the wrongful death suit, brought by Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth’s parents in 2008. Maseth was electrocuted in January 2008 while showering at the Radwaniyah Palace Complex in Baghdad, a facility maintained by KBR.

A Defense Department investigation concluded KBR did not properly ground the water pump which led to Maseth’s electrocution.

Prior to Maseth’s death, the company said it was never directed to perform repairs or upgrades in the building where he lived.
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Lawsuit against KBR

Pit Viper bites man twice at Lowe's

Man hospitalized after viper bite at Ocala Lowe's store
By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel

10:21 p.m. EDT, August 17, 2010
A man was hospitalized Tuesday after he was bitten twice by a pit viper at a Lowe's Home Improvement store, an Ocala Fire Rescue official said.

Brigade Chief Brian Stoothoff said a man in his 40s was bitten twice on his left hand in the store's garden section. The man was taken to Ocala Regional Medical Center and was expected to recover, Stoothoff said.

According to Stoothoff, the man was conscious when emergency crews responded to the store on Silver Springs Boulevard about 3:40 p.m. Tuesday.

Stoothoff said the venomous snake was caught and transported to the hospital with the patient so it could be identified, in case antivenin was necessary.
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Man hospitalized after viper bite at Ocala Lowes store

Vietnam vet went from homeless shelter to Baghdad

Returning home from a war zone
Bayonne welcomes back 55-year-old vet

by Al Sullivan
Reporter staff writer
Aug 18, 2010
Willmont Griffin – often called “Griff” – is a Vietnam-era veteran even though his tour of duty only required him to serve in that country for two days. He was one of the U.S. Marines pulling terrified people into a CH-53 helicopter just before Saigon fell in April 1975 after Communist forces captured the city.

Thirty-five years later and now an airman with the New Jersey Air National Guard, Griffin returned home from another war zone, Iraq, his second tour of duty to a combat zone since leaving the U.S. Marines in 1977. He was recently named Legionnaire of the Year at the Bayonne American Legion Post.
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Returning home from a war zone