Veterans

Tom Frame, an Army staff sergeant in Vietnam, has battled post-traumatic stress ever since the war, as have many of his fellow soldiers.

National

A Daughter Explores Her Father's PTSD, From Vietnam Until Today

2:56pm November 11, 2016

by Kara Frame

NPR's Kara Frame traces her father's PTSD, and those of his Army comrades, back to a terrible battle in Vietnam. In a short documentary film, she also explores the impact it's had on their families.

National

U.S. Soldiers Told To Repay Thousands In Signing Bonuses From Height Of War Effort

3:48pm October 23, 2016

by Bill Chappell

Under threat of wage garnishes and tax liens, the California National Guard is pursuing bonuses it says it never should have paid.

Gary Linfoot was paralyzed by a helicopter crash in Iraq. He's one of the few veterans still using an iBOT, which allows him to rise up to eye level using Segway-style balancing technology. The wheelchair was discontinued in 2009, but may soon be reissued

A Reboot For Wheelchair That Can Stand Up And Climb Stairs

7:19pm October 17, 2016

by Quil Lawrence

Toyota announced this year that it's backing the return of the iBOT, which went out of production in 2009. Inventor Dean Kamen says a reboot would include improvements using the latest technology.

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Coning left the Marines in 2013. His wife says she thinks it's likely he had post-traumatic stress disorder, but he was never tested for it by the VA.

National

After A Vet's Suicide, Getting VA Benefits Can Compound A Family's Grief

4:28pm August 31, 2016

by Quil Lawrence

A former Marine who served in Afghanistan took his own life recently. But there was no diagnosis linking his service to his suicide, making it hard for his family to receive full death benefits.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe delivers the keynote address during Zimbabwe's 36th Independence Day celebrations in February in Harare.

World News

Zimbabwe's Powerful Veterans Withdraw Support For President Mugabe

6:39pm July 22, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

"This rot needs to be uprooted, and right now," say the veterans, who have been among Robert Mugabe's staunchest allies. They've played a pivotal, often violent role keeping him in power since 1980.

Psychologist Diane Adams devotes a portion of her private practice in Renton, Wash., to veterans. But she said the bureaucracy involved in the Veterans Choice program has proved frustrating and veterans have had a hard time getting approval to see her.

For Doctors And Patients, 'Veterans Choice' Often Means Long Waits

7:11pm June 06, 2016

The $10 billion Veterans Choice has not cut backlogs, critics say. This problem can be particularly urgent when it comes to mental health cases.

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"Some days I wake up and go, 'Am I wasting time, when I could be on chemotherapy or getting a surgery?' " asks Tony Lapinski, a Montana veteran who worries about what is causing his back pain.

Despite $10B 'Fix,' Veterans Are Waiting Even Longer To See Doctors

12:52pm May 16, 2016

A $10 billion program to eliminate long wait times and other problems for veterans' health care hasn't worked out as planned. More veterans wait even longer for care now than they did a year ago.

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Create Prosthetics' 3-D printers give anyone in the world access to a design operation in Lake Placid, N.Y., that, for $500, creates a personalized cover for a prosthetic device.

Fashionable Prosthetics Trade Realistic Color For Personal Pizzazz

9:16am April 02, 2016

by David Sommerstein

A firm in New York is making brightly colored, personalized covers for prosthetic legs that each wearer helps design — sort of like a tattoo.

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Irvin Bishop Small at his home in York, Pa.

For The VA's Broken Health System, The Fix Needs A Fix

7:30pm March 23, 2016

by Quil Lawrence

After scandals around veterans waiting too long for care in 2014, Congress pushed through a $10 billion fix to get those vets care, fast. Now it's almost unanimous: The fix is broken.

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Inmate and Vietnam veteran Ed Munis works on his computer at the Veteran Service Office in California's Soledad Correctional Training Facility, which he helped start more than a decade ago.

National

Inmate-Run Program Helps Vets Behind Bars Navigate VA Maze

9:17am January 28, 2016

by Krista Almanzan

For the past decade, a Veteran Service Office operating inside a prison has aided 1,000 incarcerated veterans in receiving more than $15 million in benefits for themselves and their dependents.

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