This week’s breakdown of news and resources:

• We’ll be talking a lot about the National Veteran Small Business Conference for the next few weeks. From June 26-28, Veterans will converge in Detroit to network, team, and partner with acquisition decision makers. In addition to that, a free Hiring Fair with thousands of jobs, in addition to a VA Open House, will be on the grounds. Find out more (and register) here.
• VA’s Women Veterans Task Force has released a draft report that addresses issues unique to female Veterans. We’ve made strides in the care of female Vets, but there’s still much work to be done. Read the report, and then share any comments and recommendations here.
• There’s been a lot of talk about traumatic brain injury (TBI) this week. Check out our TBI resource page to read about symptoms, the screening process, and options for recovery and rehabilitation.
• I was proud to hear from many Veterans who graduated in the class of 2012, but we still have lots of folks who will be in class this fall. Bookmark our GI Bill page for information, resources, and announcements. Our GI Bill Facebook page is another resource to keep track of what’s happening with your benefits.
• Speaking of social networks, VA is on Twitter. Follow us for news and commentary on Veterans issues, and links to Veterans benefits information.

While wars tend to carry a signature weapon, traumatic brain injury has often been called the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Modern combat medicine and forward surgical teams have saved an amount of lives unthinkable even 60 years ago. But that yields complications: troops have survived wounds and injuries that would have killed in the past. Veterans are returning home with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in unprecedented numbers. But for the first time, a VA-led study has linked brain injuries from combat to a degenerative brain disease most commonly found in athletes.

From The New York Times:

The paper provides the strongest evidence yet that some and perhaps many combat veterans with invisible brain injuries caused by explosions are at risk of developing long-term neurological disease — a finding that, if confirmed, would have profound implications for military policy, veterans programs and future research.

That last point is significant. Brain injuries are notoriously difficult to detect and treat, so these findings may help researchers unravel the complexity of the injuries that has frustrated a generation of medical professionals.

Stars & Stripes details how uniquely damaging chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) can be:

Unlike the temporary cognitive and memory loss associated with some traumatic brain injuries, CTE manifests itself in the form of psychiatric symptoms, learning deficits, dementia and progressive brain cell death.

The study’s findings won’t answer all the questions we have about TBI, and it might even lead to some new ones. But given the severity and complexity of brain injuries, the more we know about them, the better we can treat Veterans who got danger close. If you sustained a head injury (like a concussion), check out our TBI resource page for symptoms, screening information, and recovery and rehabilitation options.

We’re honored and privileged to inter Veterans in VA national cemeteries across the country. But some Veterans in private cemeteries have not been recognized for their service to the nation. A new memorial benefit has been created to alleviate that problem, and now, it’s easier for family members to order a headstone medallion as a tribute to their Veteran’s commitment and sacrifice.

VA recently introduced a new form, VA Form 40-1330M, Claim for Government Medallion, to use when ordering the bronze medallion memorial benefit. The medallion is a new memorial benefit provided by VA authorized by Public Law 110-157, the Dr. James Allen Veteran Vision Equity Act of 2007. The medallion is a device that is attached to a Veteran’s private headstone or marker in a private cemetery to highlight that person’s status as a Veteran of our armed forces.

Under federal law, eligible Veterans buried in a private cemetery are entitled to either a government-furnished grave marker or the medallion, but not both.  For those buried in a private cemetery VA can provide a medallion in lieu of a traditional Government headstone or marker for Veterans whose death occurred on or after November 1, 1990.

VA’s Advisory Committee on Cemeteries and Memorials worked with VA staff and the Department of the Army’s Institute of Heraldry to design the medallions.  The medallion is available in three sizes: 5 inches, 3 inches and 1 ½ inches in width.  Each bronze medallion features the image of a folded burial flag adorned with laurels and is inscribed with the word “Veteran” at the top and the Veteran’s branch of service at the bottom.

Next of kin receive the medallion, along with a kit that allows the family or the staff of a private cemetery to affix the medallion to a headstone, grave marker, mausoleum, or columbarium niche cover.

The new form replaces using VA Form 40-1330, Claim for Standard Government Headstone or Marker, initially used to order a medallion and still used for ordering a traditional Government headstone or marker.

More information about the medallion and headstones and markers is available here. To download the VA Form 40-1330M, Claim for Government Medallion, visit this page.

Mike Nacincik is a public affairs officer at VA. He retired from the Army with 23 years of service.

In honor of Father’s Day, we here at VA need your help to thank the men who have shaped our lives. Through an essay contest, we will put together a tribute honoring father Veterans. We want to hear from wives, mothers, and children, about why you’re proud of your Veteran. Tell us about his service; stories of deployments; his fondest military memory; lessons you have learned; or perhaps you just want to write your Veteran a “thank you” letter—it’s up to you!

Here’s how you can help: Please send us a photograph of you and your Veteran (we’ll accept family photos too!) and your essay. We will pick a few essays and feature them on the front page of VAntage Point. With each submission, please provide names, branch of service, when and where they served, and what they are doing now. Please send all information to newmedia@va.gov by Monday, June 4, 2012.

I am sitting at my desk at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C. with a Mother’s Day card in hand and I can’t find the words.

My thoughts wander back to my last trip home to Vermont for her birthday in April. My brothers and I went for a hike up Arrowhead Mountain. It was a beautiful day and I’ll never forget the overwhelming feeling of awe and euphoria we all experienced as we reached the top. Below us lay the little town of Milton, but it looked so different. It was as if we were seeing it for the first time. The Champlain Valley lay majestically before us. The blue sky seemed endless and we basked in the spring sun. We all felt like we were kids again on some great adventure in our own back yard.

What was most comforting–most beautiful, really—on top of the mountain was that I knew we were going home to mom’s house. Reflecting on that for two weeks has made me realize that her support throughout my life has kept me going through a myriad of circumstances. Her unwavering belief in me kept me going when I was serving in Iraq. I never wanted to let her down. Her encouragement throughout a long period of unemployment and self-employment ultimately helped me maintain a steady course that led to the most rewarding experience of my life: serving my fellow Veterans at VA.

The most reassuring thought a son can have, I think, is knowing that his mother has always lovingly and freely given to him just by being there. Whether I was fighting in Iraq, working in Washington, or in my own backyard, I always had—and I still have—a home to go back to where I am loved no matter what. Thank you for being home, Mom.

Janny, as I affectionately call my mom, has never questioned my commitment to work for Veterans, even when I have.  Working in a bureaucracy can be crushing and I’d be lying if I said there weren’t days when I just want to pack it all in.  But my mom never lets me give up.  She listened carefully when I stressed about putting pen to paper to explain the civilian guilt I felt , she answered my phone calls and encouraged me to keep toughing it out at the office when my husband moved to the other side of the country (I stayed because I love my job and the work my team does matters to me), and she unwaveringly and unabashedly loves my teammates—all of whom served overseas.

Those closest to me were not directly affected by the wars of the last decade.  My little family stayed out of harm’s way because of the unflinching commitment of my team and the Veterans that we reach every day.  My mom is so proud that I work with—and for—such valiant men and women.  She is the reason that, even though I sometimes feel like I’m using all my energy to push a peanut across the table, I never ever give up on doing my best to serve Vets.

Mom – thank you so much for being such an awesome woman, for pushing me to always do the right thing, finish what I start and fight the good fight.  You inspire me to help others the same way you so selflessly and lovingly help me.  I like to think that the Vets I work with and serve fight for mothers just like you.

During my eleven and a half years in the US Army Reserve, I deployed three times to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After each deployment, I had varying issues. Trying to cope with the loss of friends and the realities of war, I was also trying to find myself wearing my other uniform as a citizen soldier. Active duty soldiers may only have to transition once; but I had to on four separate occasions, three times after combat. No one wants to admit they have problems, and I was no different, hiding in meaningless jobs and countless hours lost in bars.

After my third tour, I took an assignment training soldiers deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa.  I will not say I found my time in combat comforting, but I knew what my job was.  I was well-trained and had years of expertise.  Ensuring soldiers were prepared for combat was a way for me to stay in the fight.  I had started dating my wife before I took this assignment, and she supported me whole-heartedly. Then, while training for a PT test, I suffered a knee injury and was unable to continue on this assignment.

I came back home to a woman who loved me unconditionally but could not recognize the man she fell in love with. During recovery from knee surgery, I became severely symptomatic with PTSD and was diagnosed with injuries to both shoulders and my other knee, which also would require surgery. I became so depressed I was barely functioning. I was a combat soldier staring down the end of my military career.

I went back to school in the fall of 2009 and found success there, but that is all I could focus on. My wife nearly left me, and it made me realize I had many things to be thankful for. She had seen me through several psychiatric inpatient stays, two surgeries, and two months away at a PTSD clinic. She is the glue that has held our family together, my rock, the reason I am still alive. While life still has its rough patches, she and my daughter are why I haven’t given up. I can’t give up. They are what I have to live for.

James Casey served in the United States Army Reserve and is a Mission Continues Fellow Alumnus. He lives in St. Louis, MO with his wife Rachel and daughter Lucille.

It’s true—my mom is my biggest fan. When you walk into her kitchen she has an 8 X 11 sized photocopy of my VA business card taped to the refrigerator. On her desk, she has two (practically identical) graduation photos placed next to one another. “Katie, your smile is slightly different in this one.” Next to her bed, in a cheap wooden frame, sits a letter I wrote to her in eight grade: “Dear Mom, thank you for being the best mom ever! I love you sooo much!”

The letter is a little embarrassingly generic and at the time I didn’t know how to appreciate who my mom was.  I mean, what 13 year-old really does? Over the years though, it’s become much more apparent that my success as a daughter, friend, girlfriend (this is debatable), an Iraq War Veteran, honor grad student, and coworker is because of her.

I was raised by a woman who has drilled a few things into my head. Our conversations about life would go like this:

“You don’t ever give up,” she’d say. “You’re stubborn like me! And your grandfather.”

Roger that, mom.

When I hit my late teens the conversation veered away from never giving up in math class to taking chances.

“Do what you want to do first. . .no regrets,” she’d say, “None.” She’d pause for a few seconds and chime in with, “And don’t worry about getting married and kids yet. You’re still young.”

My mom has followed all her own rules. When she graduated college, at the age of 22, she took up a job with an engineer consulting firm and bought her first car. She held her own as she was the only woman in the office and refers to this time as “the best years of my life!” Two years later, she began to work for Page Airways at the Albany County Airport. Here, Miss No Regrets, learned how to fly air planes. She was an avid jazz and tap dancer (and singer—just ride in the car with us for five minutes and she’ll belt something out). In the early 90’s she ran Saratoga County’s Meals on Wheels program. We would hop in and out of the car delivering hot meals to seniors. I still remember the smell of the food and the smile my mom put on people’s faces. At the age of 35, she gave birth to me and has kept me smiling since.

Regardless of what life has thrown at my mom she has always kept that Diane Hoit attitude and refused to ever give up. She just keeps pushing—and pushing me to never regret.

My mom supported me when I decided to join the U.S. Army. She showed up to my basic training graduation in a bright red suit and an American flag scarf tied around her neck. She supported me as I packed my bags for Iraq. She emailed me almost daily while I was overseas just to tell me that she loved me. She screamed and cheered and cried as I walked across the stage at my college graduation. She watched as I packed a single suitcase and headed to D.C. to take my first real job. She is the reason why I’m here today.

So, mom. Let’s try this whole letter thing again. Fifteen years later, not only do I still think you’re the best mom ever but I now know why. You’ve taught me how to life live—with no regrets, take chances (no matter how small or big), smile on the worst of days, appreciate what and who I have in life, and never ever (ever!) give up. Failure is not an option, right? Thank you for being you.

Happy Mother’s Day. I love you.

When I first heard about the Farmer Veteran Coalition, a non-profit that connects military Veterans with farming, I thought, “Wow – how random and specific.” Then I found out about the rural nature of today’s military and Veteran population. Many people from small farming communities join the military, leaving their family farms to serve their country and see the world. After their service, many of these Veterans return home to the rural communities they know and love. In addition to returning to rural farms, the Veterans are starting their own farming operations on the borders of big cities and even starting urban gardens in the heart of our greatest metropolises. I also learned that a lot of these Veterans are women…like me.

Female Veterans comprise 15% of today’s military and make up a rapidly growing segment of the US veteran population. More than ever, they are pursuing careers and independent business ventures, often utilizing their diverse skills from military service. Many of these women are starting careers in food and farming – as chefs, ranchers, organic vegetable producers, and even mentors for inner city kids at community gardens. In all honesty, I can’t even keep my tomato plants alive, but I can proudly say that I am joining the effort by working at the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC).

This summer we are organizing a conference for women Veterans about business and agriculture. This event is the first of its kind, and it seeks to bring our often dispersed women Veteran population together. With the help of the USDA Risk Management Agency, Annie’s Project and Oxfam America, FVC is hosting the “Empowering Women Veterans: Business, Agriculture & Well-Being” conference in Davis, Ca on July 7-8, 2012. We are hoping to draw a diverse crowd, from both rural and urban communities and from all branches and service eras. At this conference, women leaders in business and agriculture will speak to female Veteran participants about the challenges faced by women, tools to mitigate risk in their agricultural ventures, and available programs to help women farmers succeed. Educational topics will include the RMA five areas of risk (production, price (market), financial, legal, and personal); business structure and farm contracts; an introduction to Quicken Software (with free software); loans, debt & credit; direct marketing; and farm labor. This conference will raise awareness of the attendees’ national and local benefits and resources, and will address their needs both as Veterans and as farmers.

They say there is strength in numbers, so how great would it be to stay connected and to support one another with farming and agriculture advice? It is my hope that this conference will act as a catalyst for that support system.

Tia Christopher is a Navy Veteran.  She speaks nationally on issues facing women Veterans and transitioning military personnel. She serves as Director of the Farmer Veteran Coalition Fellowship Fund in Davis, CA.

Social media has irreversibly changed the way we communicate and access information, from finding out the latest gossip to fueling revolutions around the world. Now that Facebook reaches nearly a billion people worldwide, we must find innovative ways to reach and connect people who may be in emotional crisis when seconds count.

Facebook, Blue Star Families, and VA have collaborated on an important resource to do just that. On Thursday, Facebook announced suicide prevention resources geared toward the unique needs of active duty troops, Veterans, and their families. If a threat or mention of suicide appears in a timeline, users can flag the user as a member of the military community, which will trigger a message with contact information for the Veterans Crisis Line to be sent to the person in distress.

The page will also urge the concerned parties to contact law enforcement to ensure they know they will be responding to a member of the military community in order to tailor their response accordingly.

“Partnering with the community, families, and friends of troops and Veterans is our primary tool to use against suicide and its devastating effects,” said Jan Kemp, VA’s national mental health program coordinator. “Letting Veterans and service members know there is hope and help is crucial, and we’re proud to work with Facebook and Blue Star Families to get this done.”

The reduction of active duty and Veteran suicide cannot be accomplished with technology and social media alone. We must inform ourselves about the warning signs of mental stress and learn to recognize them in the people that matter to us most. This new notification system is just a tool, but it will play a vital role in matching those in crisis with resources designed to help in their moment of need.

In the video above, shot at Facebook’s studio in Washington, D.C., watch Dr. Caitlin Thompson from VA’s Crisis Line, Dr. Vivian Greentree from Blue Star Families, and Dr. Denise Hamlin-Glover from the Wounded Warrior Project talk about key issues affecting military and Veteran families like PSTD and suicide prevention.