VA Hospital costs in Orlando are on track, officials tell Mica
By Marni Jameson
Orlando Sentinel
July 30, 2012
Veterans' Affairs officials overseeing the construction of the new Orlando VA Medical Center told U.S. Rep. John Mica today that project costs are actually well under budget, and that the agency won't be asking Congress for any more money.
"This is the best feeling I've had in a long time about this project," said Mica (R-Winter Park). "It's not as grim a picture as has been painted."
In a Congressional hearing in March, representatives from Brasfield & Gorrie, the main contractor for the project, testified that the project was running at least $120 million over budget.
Congress has appropriated $665 million for the 1.2 million-square-foot medical center, which was supposed to open this October, but is delayed.
In the meeting to update Mica on the project's status, VA officials committed to a summer 2013 completion. "The work can physically be done within that time frame," said Bart Bruchok, senior resident engineer for the VA project.
Brasfield & Gorrie has targeted completion for the end of 2014.
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Monday, July 30, 2012
New Talk Therapy Shows Promise for PTSD
If what you are getting for treatment does not work, don't give up. Talk to your doctor to try something else. Everyone is different.
New Talk Therapy Shows Promise for PTSD
By RICK NAUERT PHD
Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D.
July 30, 2012
University of South Florida (USF) researchers report that brief treatments with Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) substantially reduces symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
ART is a form of talk therapy that uses back-and-forth eye movements as an individual fluctuates between talking about a traumatic scene, and using the eye movements to help process that information.
In ART, the eye movements are thought to be conducive to sorting out problems quickly through increasing the integration of activities in the left and right sides of the brain. The eye movements also seem to help an individual process information by producing a deep feeling of relaxation.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), PTSD has become an epidemic in the United States. Recent NIH statistics show more than 7.7 million American adults and as many as 31 percent of war veterans suffer from PTSD. They experience mild to extreme symptoms, often with greatly impaired quality of life and physical and psychological functioning.
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Credit company to pay $12 million to troops for violating Civil Relief Act
Credit company to pay $12 million to troops for violating Civil Relief Act
By ERIK SLAVIN
Stars and Stripes
Published: July 30, 2012
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Capital One will pay $12 million to servicemembers and their families to settle claims that it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, according to documents filed in federal court Thursday.
The bank and credit card issuer unlawfully foreclosed on homes, repossessed property and charged servicemembers at interest rates beyond the maximum 6 percent rate they were entitled to under the act, according to a settlement agreement with the Justice Department filed in Alexandria, Va.
The agreement sets aside $7 million for servicemembers who unlawfully lost their homes during foreclosure proceedings with Capital One or either of two acquired subsidiaries, ING Direct USA and HSBC Holdings.
An additional $5 million will go to servicemembers who did not receive correct interest rates or other benefits on credit card accounts and loans.
“Servicemembers will be identified and compensated, with no action required on their part, on accounts dating back to July 15, 2006,” according to a Justice Department statement.
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By ERIK SLAVIN
Stars and Stripes
Published: July 30, 2012
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Capital One will pay $12 million to servicemembers and their families to settle claims that it violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, according to documents filed in federal court Thursday.
The bank and credit card issuer unlawfully foreclosed on homes, repossessed property and charged servicemembers at interest rates beyond the maximum 6 percent rate they were entitled to under the act, according to a settlement agreement with the Justice Department filed in Alexandria, Va.
The agreement sets aside $7 million for servicemembers who unlawfully lost their homes during foreclosure proceedings with Capital One or either of two acquired subsidiaries, ING Direct USA and HSBC Holdings.
An additional $5 million will go to servicemembers who did not receive correct interest rates or other benefits on credit card accounts and loans.
“Servicemembers will be identified and compensated, with no action required on their part, on accounts dating back to July 15, 2006,” according to a Justice Department statement.
read more here
Reaper drone pilot talks about "kill shot a world away"
A Day Job Waiting for a Kill Shot a World Away
By ELISABETH BUMILLER
Published: July 29, 2012
HANCOCK FIELD AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.Y. — From his computer console here in the Syracuse suburbs, Col. D. Scott Brenton remotely flies a Reaper drone that beams back hundreds of hours of live video of insurgents, his intended targets, going about their daily lives 7,000 miles away in Afghanistan. Sometimes he and his team watch the same family compound for weeks.
“I see mothers with children, I see fathers with children, I see fathers with mothers, I see kids playing soccer,” Colonel Brenton said.
When the call comes for him to fire a missile and kill a militant — and only, Colonel Brenton said, when the women and children are not around — the hair on the back of his neck stands up, just as it did when he used to line up targets in his F-16 fighter jet.
Afterward, just like the old days, he compartmentalizes. “I feel no emotional attachment to the enemy,” he said. “I have a duty, and I execute the duty.”
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By ELISABETH BUMILLER
Published: July 29, 2012
HANCOCK FIELD AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.Y. — From his computer console here in the Syracuse suburbs, Col. D. Scott Brenton remotely flies a Reaper drone that beams back hundreds of hours of live video of insurgents, his intended targets, going about their daily lives 7,000 miles away in Afghanistan. Sometimes he and his team watch the same family compound for weeks.
“I see mothers with children, I see fathers with children, I see fathers with mothers, I see kids playing soccer,” Colonel Brenton said.
When the call comes for him to fire a missile and kill a militant — and only, Colonel Brenton said, when the women and children are not around — the hair on the back of his neck stands up, just as it did when he used to line up targets in his F-16 fighter jet.
Afterward, just like the old days, he compartmentalizes. “I feel no emotional attachment to the enemy,” he said. “I have a duty, and I execute the duty.”
read more here
Fort Carson clinic named after Pfc. Eric P. Woods
Colorado Army clinic named for Omahan killed saving fellow soldier's life
By Matthew Hansen
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
An Army medic from Omaha who died trying to save a fellow soldier's life will now be remembered at a famed Army base.
On Friday, Colorado's Fort Carson officially renamed a medical clinic in honor of Pfc. Eric Paul Woods, who died in a 2005 bomb blast in Iraq. Now, when a soldier's spouse or child needs medical help they will go to the Pfc. Eric P. Woods Soldier Family Care Center on the base.
read more here
By Matthew Hansen
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
An Army medic from Omaha who died trying to save a fellow soldier's life will now be remembered at a famed Army base.
On Friday, Colorado's Fort Carson officially renamed a medical clinic in honor of Pfc. Eric Paul Woods, who died in a 2005 bomb blast in Iraq. Now, when a soldier's spouse or child needs medical help they will go to the Pfc. Eric P. Woods Soldier Family Care Center on the base.
read more here
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