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VA chief of staff stepping down from leadership post after 8 months on the job
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Air Force Times, National

VA chief of staff stepping down from leadership post after 8 months on the job

By Leo Shane III | Air Force Times Veterans Affairs Chief of Staff Kimberly Jackson on Friday announced she will step down from the leadership role next month, creating another vacancy at the top of the department. Jackson has served in the role for only eight months, but had previously served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for force readiness at the Pentagon since the start of President Joe Biden’s presidency. The chief of staff role at VA serves as the top advisor to the secretary and deputy secretary. In a statement, Jackson said she is stepping down to spend more time with her family. “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve alongside the dedicated women and men in the Department of Veterans Affairs in our mission of ensuring veterans and their families...
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Dwindling number of D-Day veterans mark anniversary with plea to recall WWII lessons
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denvergazette.com, National

Dwindling number of D-Day veterans mark anniversary with plea to recall WWII lessons

By JOHN LEICESTER, SYLVIE CORBET and DANICA KIRKA | The Denver Gazette As young soldiers, they waded ashore in Normandy through gunfire to battle the Nazis. On Thursday, a dwindling number of World War II veterans in a parade of wheelchairs joined a new generation of leaders to honor the dead, the living and the fight for democracy in moving commemorations on and around those same beaches where they landed exactly 80 years ago on D-Day. The war in Ukraine shadowed the ceremonies, a grim modern-day example of lives and cities that are again suffering through war in Europe. The break of dawn eight decades after Allied troops landed on five code-named beaches — Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword — started the day of remembrance by Allied nations now stand...
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No veterans living on Denver streets? That’s Mayor Mike Johnston’s goal.
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CBS Colorado, Local

No veterans living on Denver streets? That’s Mayor Mike Johnston’s goal.

By Austen Erblat | CBS Colorado Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said he wants to make Denver the largest city in the country to have no veterans living on the streets. Johnston says that by tracking people experiencing homelessness in the Mile High City and partnering with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Denver Department of Housing Stability, the city identified and plans to provide housing for the 52 homeless veterans. "We think this puts us in a position to, before the end of this year, house all 52 of those veterans who we know are still experiencing unsheltered homelessness," he said at a news conference on Monday. "We will be the largest American city to make sure that no veteran who has served this country sleeps outside in the streets of Denver." RE...
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VA says its trust scores among veterans are at highest level ever, 25% surge in 8 years
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Air Force Times, National

VA says its trust scores among veterans are at highest level ever, 25% surge in 8 years

By Leo Shane III | Air Force Times Trust in Veterans Affairs programs rose dramatically over the last eight years amid department efforts to improve delivery of medical and disability benefits, according to new data released by agency officials on Tuesday. Overall confidence in the department increased from just over half of users in 2016 (55%) to more than 80% this past quarter, based on figures in VA’s recurring Veteran Signals Survey. That report polled more than 38,000 veterans using a wide range of department services, including medical care, disability benefits, and home loans programs. “This is meaningful because it is the voice of the veterans that we serve from across all different ages, service areas, locations, and demographics, telling us how we are delivering for...
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Remembering those ‘that gave all’: Colorado Freedom Memorial in Aurora honors fallen servicemen
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denvergazette.com, Local

Remembering those ‘that gave all’: Colorado Freedom Memorial in Aurora honors fallen servicemen

By Sage Kelley | The Denver Gazette A 1,000-pound bronze bell, forged in honor of Colorado's fallen, tolled several times during the Colorado Freedom Memorial on Saturday morning. The Colorado Freedom Memorial Foundation, along with the City of Aurora, held its 11th annual Colorado Remembers ceremony on Saturday, celebrating Memorial Day and those who gave everything for the country.  Cannon fire from the Colorado Army National Guard followed the ringing bell, bringing about silence throughout the park as over 100 attendees honored the nation's fallen servicemen and servicewomen. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Colorado vets go through hundreds of unclaimed cremated remains to give comrades dignified memorial
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado vets go through hundreds of unclaimed cremated remains to give comrades dignified memorial

By Kevin Simpson | The Colorado Sun A motorcycle escort rumbled slowly along the pavement that cuts through meandering rows of identical white headstones at Denver’s Fort Logan National Cemetery, making its way toward a pavilion where dozens of military veterans converged under a brilliant late April sky for a long-overdue rite. While bagpipes played, 13 men in crisp white dress shirts beneath black vests bearing patches signifying their military affiliations each accepted a wooden box unloaded from the back of a hearse. Solemnly cradling them in white gloves, some with trembling hands, they delivered sets of cremated remains to a table. Once the boxes had been laid in a row, a folded American flag next to each, uniformed onlookers snapped a salute. The bagpipes quieted and speake...
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Bill declaring Women Veterans Appreciation Day on June 12 headed to Gov. Polis
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Bill declaring Women Veterans Appreciation Day on June 12 headed to Gov. Polis

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice A bill led by Eastern Colorado legislators will declare a Women Veterans Appreciation Day, if signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis. House Bill 1236 cleared the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee without objection last week and Monday earned unanimous support of the Colorado Senate. "There's a lot of reasons why we need to celebrate women veterans," said Sen. Byron Pelton, a co-prime sponsor of the legislation in the Colorado Senate. "Being a veteran myself, I know the difference of treatment of myself and those I served with that happen to be female." The bill establishes June 12 as Women Veterans Appreciation Day in Colorado. The other prime sponsors of the bill were Rep. Richard Holtorf and Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer. Th...
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Disabled American Veterans facing statewide shortage of vehicles, drivers to take veterans to VA appointments
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Disabled American Veterans facing statewide shortage of vehicles, drivers to take veterans to VA appointments

By BRIAN PORTER | The Rocky Mountain Voice Veterans from the distant regions of the Western Slope to the Eastern Plains are met with a challenge in order to receive medical treatment. There are three Veterans Affairs medical centers serving the state, and only one actually in the state. Many veterans take appointments in Cheyenne, Wyo., and others in Albuquerque, N.M. That often means transportation is needed, even to get to an appointment at the Denver location. The solution is Colorado’s Disabled American Veterans’ transportation program, but there exists a shortage of vehicles and drivers. “We just purchased five more vehicles and at least three will need to go to Northeast Colorado,” said Benito Gonzales, adjutant and treasurer for the Colorado DAV. “These new vehicles repl...
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