More than half of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America members know a post-Sept. 11 service member who has committed suicide, a figure that has climbed dramatically in recent years and underscores continued problems with young veterans and mental health care.

The findings are part of the group’s annual membership survey, which drew responses from roughly 4,300 individuals on a host of post-military challenges, political priorities and social issues.

While the findings don’t speak for the entire generation of Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans, they do offer a snapshot of the challenges many younger veterans face. Among group members, 58 percent said they know a fellow post-Sept. 11 veteran who died by suicide, and nearly two-thirds said they know one who attempted.

Both of those numbers have climbed about 18 percent since the group’s 2014 membership survey. IAVA Research Director Jackie Maffucci called it “a dire situation” for the community.

“The trend lines are going up, which clearly indicates how much work we have to do in this area,” she said.

In addition, more than one-third have had suicidal thoughts.

About 20 veterans each day nationwide commit suicide, according to Department of Veterans Affairs statistics. VA Secretary David Shulkin has called the issue his top clinical priority, and department officials have shifted resources in recent years to combat the problem.

Suicide prevention has also been a key policy focus for IAVA, in large part because of similar concerns about the issue in past membership surveys.

​Among respondents, 82 percent said they have received some health care services through VA, a much higher figure than the roughly 40 percent of veterans nationwide who regularly receive department medical care.

But only 16 percent of members surveyed said they believe troops and veterans get the care they need for mental health injuries.

Among the reasons why, members most frequently listed the stigma of seeking those type of treatments, challenges getting appointments and a lack of quality care options.

Maffucci said one positive note on mental health issues from the survey is that many of her group’s members seem willing to seek out professional help for their struggles.

More than half of veterans who responded said a friend or family member suggested looking into medical help for undiagnosed mental health issues. Of that group, 80 percent said they followed the advice.
“It really highlights the role of families and their support system in helping individuals either recognize they have a problem or take that step and walk through the doors,” she said. “And that is such a challenge for so many veterans.”

The group’s overall view of VA services is mixed. About 42 percent rated VA services as good, and 13 percent as very good. But 25 percent rated them as poor, and 10 percent as very poor.

The full survey results are available on the IAVA website.
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Veterans dealing with mental health issues can contact the Veterans Crisis Line around the clock at 1-800-273-8255 (select option 1 for a VA staffer). Veterans, troops or their family members can also text 838255 or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net for assistance.

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WASHINGTON — It started with a search three years ago. Michael-Vincent Nario Malanyaon learned from American archives that his great uncle in the Philippines served in World War II.

Alfonzo B. Velasco was a Philippine Scout, fighting for the U.S. He died in combat May 5, 1942, according to Malanyaon. His age was unknown.

“I frankly don’t even know where he was buried,” Malanyaon, 43, told NBCNews.

A Congressional Gold Medal presented Wednesday during a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol honors the contributions of a quarter million Filipinos and Filipino Americans like Velasco who fought in World War II, some paying the ultimate sacrifice.

It’s a recognition that comes seven decades after these very same vets were denied benefits promised for their service.

“For me to accept the award as next of kin for my great uncle is very humbling,” said Malanyaon, who received a bronze replica of the medal at a separate event later in the day.
Filipino vets, many in their 80s and 90s, along with family members of surviving and deceased veterans were among the hundreds who attended the late morning ceremony, held in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), as well as other elected officials, also took part.
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“They battled not only the enemy, but they battled starvation and malnutrition,” Ryan said. “But they never lost sight of the cause, and they never accepted defeat.”

The Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project, an all-volunteer initiative begun in 2014, had lobbied Congress to award this highest civilian honor. It memorializes the service and sacrifice of the more than 260,000 Filipino and Filipino-American soldiers during World War II.

A bill to grant the Gold Medal, introduced by Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), both in attendance, passed the Senate and House last year. Former President Barack Obama signed it into law in December.

“Many have passed away waiting for 75 years for this time to come,” said Celestino Almeda, a 100-year-old Filipino veteran who received a standing ovation from the audience.

Advocates say it’s a long overdue moment for Filipinos who fought for the U.S. between 1941 and 1946.
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“We’ve always said that this is an issue that has a high sympathy quotient, because you can’t hear these stories and not be moved, but a very low visibility quotient,” Ben de Guzman, director of communications and outreach for the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project, told NBC News.

It’s a story that traces back to the turn of the century, when Spain ceded sovereignty over the Philippines to the U.S. after the Spanish-American War of 1898.
Between 1934 and 1946, the year the Philippines gained independence, the U.S. maintained the right to summon Filipinos to serve under the U.S. Armed Forces.

On July 26, 1941, less than five months before Japan attacked the Philippines and also Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called into service all “organized military forces” of the former U.S. colony.
Among them were the Philippine Commonwealth Army; the Philippine Scouts, established in 1901 during the early days of American occupation; and recognized Guerrilla units, which helped provide intelligence to Allied forces to repel the Japanese.

But despite their service, these veterans, who were U.S nationals, were disqualified from receiving the same rights, benefits, and privileges as others who served under the U.S. Armed Forces, the result of the Rescissions Act of 1946.

“This is a story that needs to be told again and again so that our country does not forget,” Hirono, the senator, said.

In recent years, Filipino World War II veterans have made headway in gaining recognition for their service.

Obama signed a law in 2009 creating a fund granting $15,000 to Filipino vets who are U.S. citizens and $9,000 to those who are not. Both are one-time payments.

Almeda had long battled with the Department of Veterans Affairs to collect his money, Veterans Affairs Secretary David J. Shulkin told the audience Wednesday.

Shulkin, after learning of Almeda’s struggles earlier this week, said he directed his staff to review his records and decided to award him the $15,000.
​
“Mr. Almeda, 70 years was long enough for you to have to wait,” Shulkin said.

Just last June, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services also took steps toward easing an immigration backlog from the Philippines.

The agency began allowing certain Filipino World War II vets and their spouses, who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, to apply for relatives to come to the U.S. to reunite before their immigrant visas are available.

An estimated 16,000 to 17,000 Filipino World War II veterans are still alive today, according to de Guzman.

​Though reliable data isn’t available, he said he believes most are living in the Philippines. Many came to the U.S. in 1990 after receiving citizenship for their service, de Guzman said. Some stayed, while others returned to or never left the Philippines, he said.

More than $70,000 has already been raised to pay for bronze replicas of the single Congressional Gold Medal, according to de Guzman. They will be given to veterans and family members who are part of the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project’s registry, he said.

​The original will go to the Smithsonian, according to de Guzman.

“This is 75 years in the making,” retired Maj. Gen. Tony Taguba, chairman of the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project, told NBC News. “It's a glorious day in October of 2017 that the veterans finally got the recognition with the Congressional Gold Medal.”

Other combat outfits have also been awarded the highest civilian honor for their service.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House and Senate conferees on a massive 2018 defense authorization bill met Wednesday to launch negotiations between the chambers’ competing bills.

Lawmakers are expected to wrestle over a House proposal to create a new Space Corps as well as the size of the Army and the total number of F-35 fighter jets — among myriad other provisions. Staffers have been working for weeks, and this pass-the-gavel meeting was the first formal sit-down.

At a news conference to kick off the talks, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, told reporters they expect to find agreement on a conference report quickly.

“There is a widespread consensus that we need to do better for our military,” Thornberry said. “Just like Sen. McCain said, I am optimistic that we can deliver better in a pretty short amount of time given the similarities between the House and Senate bills.”

Both versions propose increases well above the president’s defense budget request. The Senate bill calls for $640 billion in Pentagon and other national security spending, blowing past the $549 billion limit set by statutory budget caps. The House bill calls for $621 billion in national security spending.

Complicating matters, there’s no consensus on lifting budget caps or a broader budget deal for fiscal 2018, and the federal government has been operating on a stopgap spending measure, called a continuing resolution, since last month.

The HASC’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam Smith, of Washington, used the news conference to lament the use of continuing resolutions and urge the passage of appropriations and defense policy bills.

“Month to month, week to week is no way to go,” Smith said. “We have to get an authorizing bill passed and an appropriations bill passed. If the money is there, the men and women serving in uniform at least know what is being asked of them.”

For his part, McCain continued to link defense budget caps to recent mishaps in which dozens of troops were hurt or killed, describing it as a “critical situation.”

“This legislation cures some of those problems but they’ve been building up for a long time,” McCain said. “The responsibility to a large degree lies with the Congress of the United States for not providing sufficient funds for them. We hope to turn it around this time.”
The House named 46 Republicans and 27 Democrats as conferees, while the Senate sent every member of the SASC, 14 Republicans and 13 Democrats.

The lawmakers are expected to reach a bipartisan agreement on a conference report for the 56th year in a row. Thornberry noted the House passed its bill with 79 percent of the vote and the Senate passed its bill with 89 percent.

The conference report would then need to be adopted by both chambers and signed by President Donald Trump to become law.

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WASHINGTON — Nick Etten thinks a Navy SEAL in a suit is the perfect person to convince lawmakers that marijuana isn’t scary.

“There’s so many parts to the cannabis debate that it can be too much,” said Etten, a former Navy lieutenant and current executive director of the Veterans Cannabis Project. “It’s a political issue. It’s a security issue.”

“But for veterans, this is just a health issue,” Etten said. “We need to convince (elected officials) to treat this for what it is: an effective medicinal plant that could be a game changer.”
​
Etten, whose team of former service members spent parts of last week meeting with individual lawmakers, is part of a growing coalition of veterans groups trying to jump start the medical marijuana issue on Capitol Hill.

​Officials from the American Legion have been among the most vocal on the topic in recent months, pleading with lawmakers to lift restrictions on cannabis testing to potentially provide alternatives to addictive opioids for a range of war wounds. Other groups have followed their lead, framing the research debate as integral to long-term veterans’ health care.

VCP’s focus is even simpler. They argue that current regulations already allow for more research of cannabis and that lawmakers need to put pressure on administration officials to open up cultivation licenses and testing opportunities to help clarify the potential benefits of marijuana.

“They can do more now to learn about this,” Etten said. “But all this is being held up now, because some politicians are putting ideology in front of the health of veterans.”

Those politicians are members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration in the eyes of the VCP lobbyists. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has repeatedly said he opposes marijuana legalization efforts and has sought broader authority to go after distributors, even in states where the substance is legal.

​The Department of Veterans Affairs has also repeatedly rebuffed outreach efforts from the cannabis community, citing federal statutes on the drug. “As long as the Food and Drug Administration classifies marijuana as schedule one, VA health care providers may not recommend it or assist veterans to obtain it,” the agency’s website states.

Etten believes the key to softening those stances — thereby allowing better research to start — is convincing lawmakers to be less afraid of the debate.

His group of lobbyists included several military academy grads, each of whom spoke to lawmakers about the challenges of opioid addiction among veterans and the benefits they’ve seen from marijuana studies. He said their reception, especially among Republican lawmakers, has been positive.

“We’re really trying to professionalize the mission, give these lawmakers a different view of what the fight is about,” Etten said.

He hopes that work along with the efforts of other groups “moves the needle” on the issue. Already, multiple bills regarding loosening restrictions on cannabis research are pending before the House and Senate. Advancing them will require some of those lawmakers to turn from receptive listeners to loud advocates.

“This is where we need to be to do that,” Etten said. “They need to see veterans for this. This is the right message and the right conversation to move this forward. So we’ll keep coming back until we get it done.”

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump awarded the Medal of Honor on Monday to a retired Army medic from Alabama who risked his life several times to provide medical care to his comrades during the Vietnam War.

Trump awarded retired Army Capt. Gary "Mike" Rose of Huntsville, Alabama, the nation's highest military honor during a White House ceremony.

In the East Room of the White House, Trump told military officials, Rose's family and brothers in arms that this award "will enshrine him into the history of our nation."

"Your will to endure, your love for your fellow soldier, your devotion to your country inspires us all," Trump said Monday. "I have to tell you, that is something. Nations are formed out of the strength and patriotism that lives in the hearts of our heroes."
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At times, he spoke directly to Rose's grandchildren — Kaitlyn and Christian — about their grandfather's heroism, adding that Monday's "field trip" to the White House is their "best homework assignment yet."

​The White House said Rose, 69, is being recognized for his gallantry while serving as a medic with the 5th Special Forces Group during combat operations in Vietnam in September 1970. Rose repeatedly ran into the line of enemy fire to provide medical care, and used his body on one occasion to shield a wounded American from harm.

On the final day of the mission, Rose was wounded but put himself in the line of fire while moving wounded personnel to an extraction point, loading them into helicopters and helping to repel an enemy assault.

As he boarded the final extraction helicopter, the aircraft was hit with intense enemy fire and crashed shortly after takeoff.
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"Mike, this is serious stuff. This was not a good four days," Trump said, describing the events.

The White House said Rose ignored his own injuries and pulled the helicopter crew and members of his unit from the burning wreckage and provided medical care until another extraction helicopter arrived.

Rose is a 20-year veteran of the Army. He will be the second person to be awarded the Medal of Honor by Trump. The president honored James McCloughan of South Haven, Michigan, in July for his actions to save wounded soldiers in a Vietnam kill zone.
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After the ceremony, Rose told reporters gathered in the White House driveway the medal was more than just his. “This is our medal," he said. "We all earned it." 

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​​FORT WAYNE., Ind. – Waynedale Post 241 is scheduled to host a special meal, free to veterans, on Veterans Day, Saturday, November 11, from noon to 6 p.m., serving ham and bean soup, potato soup, salad and dinner rolls.
 
Veterans will eat for free and there will be a free will offering for spouses and children to eat. There will be members of the Naval Sea Cadets, JROTC and Boy Scout Troop 302 throughout the day greeting veterans. In addition, they will be presenting and retiring colors as well as a moving POW/MIA ceremony.
 
Members of the Post 241’s Junior Shooting Sports team will be in attendance accepting canned food and personal hygiene items for Post 241’s veteran food pantry. This new project will support at risk and homeless veterans.
 
National Commander Denise Rohan, the Legion’s first female national commander, asked Legion Posts nationwide to open their doors to all active duty, National Guard, Reserves and veterans to join together and eat this meal as one family. It is in this spirit that Post 241 welcomes in the surrounding Fort Wayne community during these tumultuous and somewhat divided times.
 
Post 241 is located at 7605 Bluffton Rd, Fort Wayne, IN 46809. Post 241’s Commander, Billy Long, can be reached at 260-413-7474. To learn more about veteran’s benefits, youth scholarships and programs, and how The American Legion changes lives in your community, visit www.indianalegion.org.
 
The American Legion is comprised of more than 77,000 military service veterans who have served honorably during times of conflict in defense of their nation and has been active within Indiana since 1919. The Indiana American Legion has represented veterans from every major conflict since World War II to Iraq and Afghanistan within its membership.
 
If you have any questions, please contact the Indiana Legion Communications Director Tim Sproles at 317-630-1300 or by email at communications@indlegion.org 

WASHINGTON — When the Department of Veterans Affairs starts offering new ID cards next month, they won’t be available to every veteran.

That’s because of a decision by VA officials to issue the new IDs only to individuals with honorable discharges, a move that goes against earlier department policies at increasing outreach to veterans with so-called “bad paper” discharges.

The decision has upset advocates, who see it as an unnecessary restriction.

“There’s really no reason to do that,” said John Rowan, national president at Vietnam Veterans of America. “It doesn’t serve veterans well.”

Department officials will start issuing the new veterans ID cards next month. The purpose is to give eligible veterans an easy way to prove their military service for a variety of non-government services, such as business discounts and other promotions.

Legislation authorizing the cards, sponsored by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., passed through Congress without objection in July 2015. Since then, VA leaders have spent time finalizing the rules and application process for the new IDs.

Veterans who wish to receive one of the cards will have to apply through the VA website starting next month. Specifics on that process, including what the cards will look like and how long it will take for them to be mailed out to eligible recipients, have not yet been made public.

But VA Press Secretary Curt Cashour confirmed this week that “only those veterans with honorable service will be eligible for the ID card.”

The legislation as passed by Congress calls for VA officials to issue an ID to any veteran who requests one and “presents a copy of Department of Defense form DD-214 or other official document from the official military personnel file of the veteran that describes the service of the veteran.” It does not specify excluding veterans with other-than-honorable dismissals.

Cashour declined to provide specifics on the reasoning behind VA’s decision.

Defense Secretary James Mattis is urging Congress to allow a long-desired round of military base closures after a new report to lawmakers found that nearly one-fifth of Department of Defense (DOD) facilities are unneeded.

Mattis, in a newly released letter to leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees — which handle defense matters — argues a new round of Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) talks is the only “fair, objective and proven process” to evaluate the value — or lack thereof — of such military facilities.

“Every unnecessary facility we maintain requires us to cut capabilities elsewhere,” Mattis wrote in the Oct. 6 letter, which accompanied a report that found about 19 percent of Pentagon-owned buildings are excess infrastructure.

“I must be able to eliminate excess infrastructure in order to shift resources to readiness and modernization,” he wrote.

The infrastructure capacity study to Congress found that 29 percent of Army buildings and 28 percent of all Air Force facilities are excess. The Navy, meanwhile, has classified 6 percent of its buildings as unneeded, and the Defense Logistics Agency has similarly said 13 percent of its facilities are excess. The findings are based on force structure levels from 2012.

“DoD has not been authorized to undertake a BRAC analysis for over 14 years. In those years, the Department has undergone considerable changes that have impacted the force structure, mission requirements and threats facing the United States,” according to the report.

“Reality and common business sense dictate that infrastructure should be reconfigured to meet specific needs and changing threats,” it adds. “Congress should authorize the Department to undertake a BRAC 2021 round as it has requested.”

Pentagon officials for the past five years have asked Congress for permission to start another round of base closures. But lawmakers, fearing that a BRAC round would target bases in their districts and be politically damaging, have blocked such a move.

“We are wasting taxpayer money to maintain buildings and facilities that the military does not need, while we drain away funds for readiness and weaponry that could keep our service members safe and our country secure,” Smith said in a statement on Tuesday.

Mattis also assured lawmakers in the letter that he wants a more detailed “installation by installation capacity analysis” and would only begin a BRAC round in 2021 if he believes one is needed and savings for each service would occur.

“The BRAC process provides opportunities for military forces to be more effective, for capabilities to be enhanced, and for savings to be applied to higher priorities,” Mattis wrote.
“Now is the time to authorize another round," he said.
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WASHINGTON — Advocates for the families of fallen service members hope their sacrifices aren’t being overshadowed by the growing controversy surrounding President Donald Trump’s recent handling of condolences related to the deaths of four soldiers in Niger.

“Beyond the back and forth going on right now, I’m worried about the politicization of Gold Star families that is happening,” said Ryan Manion, president of the Travis Manion Foundation.

“We never saw this in the past. There are some things that have to transcend politics.”
In recent days, Trump received harsh criticism first for his delay in reaching out to the families of the fallen soldiers, then for telling one grieving widow that her husband “knew what he signed up for” before his death.

In an interview with the Washington Post, the mother of that soldier — Sgt. La David Johnson, one of the four troops killed in the Oct. 2 Niger ambush — said Trump’s comments “did disrespect my son and my daughter, and also me and my husband.”

Before details of that call emerged, officials from Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors released a statement calling for respect for the families involved.

“While there is no one way to acknowledge the death, what is important for the family is that the president acknowledges the life and service of their loved one, and expresses gratitude on behalf of the nation,” said Bonnie Carroll, founder of the group.

“Just as there is no right or wrong way to grieve, there is no right or wrong way to express one’s condolences. What matters is that we honor the lives and the sacrifice, and provide support for all grieving families so no one has to walk such a difficult journey alone.”

​Manion, whose brother, Travis, was killed in Iraq in 2007, said she feels the contentious 2016 presidential campaign opened up those Gold Star families to the harshness of partisan politics in a way she had never seen before.

During the campaign, Trump drew harsh criticism for his handling of Khizr Khan, a Gold Star father who spoke out against the Republican frontrunner at the Democratic National Convention. Trump attacked Khan for spreading “inaccuracies” about his qualifications to be president and implied that Khan may have forced his wife into silence under Islamic law.
Manion thinks both sides share the blame for politicizing those families’ sacrifices. She said reaction to Trump’s highlighting a Gold Star widow during his address to Congress in February was upsetting, with critics viewing it as pandering and supporters extolling it as a sign of leadership.

“What we want to do now is try to find a way to shift the narrative away from using Gold Star families as talking points in political fights,” she said.

That starts with more education about them. Manion said if there is a positive development to come out of the latest controversy, it’s more discussion about the thousands of military family members who have been affected by the death of a loved one on duty.

“People outside our community don’t always think about them,” she said. “I’ve had people ask me how I earned my gold star, not understanding what that means.”

TAPS officials are asking Americans to “reach out to families who live in your community, co-workers at your office, and those you encounter elsewhere to reassure them their loved ones lives and sacrifice will never be forgotten.”

Officials at the Travis Manion Foundation have a stated goal of “empowering veterans and families of fallen heroes.” Ryan Manion said she wants to emphasize how those families have overcome tragedy, and the important perspective they bring to national conversations of service and leadership.

“Maybe we can make this less of a conversation about grieving families and more about their incredible stories,” she said.

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The National Infantry Museum in Columbus, Georgia, on Monday will dedicate the new Global War on Terrorism Memorial.

The memorial consists of eight granite panels etched with the names of nearly 7,000 service members who have died in the Global War on Terrorism since 9/11, according to a press release from the National Infantry Museum. Two concrete columns representing the Twin Towers hold up a 13-foot steel beam salvaged from the World Trade Center and donated by New York City Firefighters.

Nine bronze statues representing a squad of infantry soldiers line the monument, along with narrative panels chronicling the United States’ longest war. The memorial was designed to honor all branches of the armed forces, and has illustrations of each service’s role in the Global War on Terrorism, according to the press release.

Retired Gen. John Abizaid, the longest-serving commander of U.S. Central Command, will speak at the ceremony, according to the press release. Other speakers include retired Lt. Gen. Tom Metz, retired Brig. Gen. Chris Donahue and retired Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Carlton Kent.

Chaplain Yonina Creditor, a Navy rabbi who served as an EMT at Ground Zero after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, will host the ceremony’s closing prayer, according to the press release.

The dedication ceremony is open the the public. The National Infantry Museum asks that those wishing to attend the ceremony RSVP at their website in order to receive a parking pass.

Shuttle transportation will also be provided on Fort Benning at three pickup points: McGinnis-Wickham Hall East Lot, Brave Rifles Field at Harmony Church and Kannell Field at Sand Hill, according to the press release.

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