The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today the immediate processing of disability claims for asthma, rhinitis, and sinusitis based on presumed particulate matter exposure during military service in Southwest Asia and other specified areas. The conditions resulting from the exposure must have been manifested within ten years of a qualifying period of military service. A VA internal process reviewed scientific evidence that concluded that particulate matter pollution is associated with respiratory conditions for veterans […]

The Department of Defense (DoD) announced today a landmark policy change that will allow the 16 million U.S. veterans access to the American Forces Travel (AFT) website. According to Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy Patricia Montes Barron, veterans will join the 10 million active duty, Guard, and reserve service members, family members, DoD civilians, and other patrons who are already receiving this benefit. On average, customers save 35-40 percent […]

Lonnie Bedwell, National Geographic 2015 Adventurer of the Year, award winning author, motivational speaker, and member of the Blinded Veterans Association’s (BVA) Indiana Regional Group, will appear in one of two Sunday, June 27 (tomorrow) episodes of National Geographic’s new series “Breaking Bobby Bones.” The Bones-Bedwell episode will air at either 10:00 or 10:30pm Eastern Daylight Time. The series, a brainchild of television and radio personality Bobby Bones himself, tests his personal motto of “fight, […]

Dear Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) Members, Families of Members, and Friends: As you all know, our country is still dealing with COVID-19. Americans know firsthand the tragedies of this pandemic with nearly 600,000 deaths to date. That is more deaths than those from World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and 9/11 combined.  With only 64 percent of adults having received at least one shot, our country still has considerable work ahead in […]

Key accessibility features for blind and visually impaired users are now part of Home Box Office’s massive streaming service HBO Max, helping the users enjoy the same content as sighted viewers. The new service offers audio descriptions for content, which describes action on the screen beyond the dialog and sound effects, for some 1,500 hours of third-party content, HBO originals, HBO Max Originals, and Warner Brothers movies. Several other changes are also intended to improve […]

BVA Executive Director Donald D. Overton, Jr., recently appointed as a Scholar to the prestigious Policy Vets, appears on a podcast that became available today on the Policy Vets website and can also be found on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, and several other popular platforms. Part 1 of the podcast series, entitled “How Service Animal Regulation Affects Veterans,” will be followed by a Part 2 airing next Friday, June 25. Policy Vets is a nonprofit […]

Professor Renata Gomes, Chief Scientific Officer at Blind Veterans UK and newly appointed Visiting Professor at Northumbria University, is to deliver a virtual public lecture on Blind Veterans UK’s research – sharing knowledge for the benefit of wider humanity. Sight loss, at any age, is life-changing: it is both physically and mentally challenging, causes many issues in different stages of life and it often co-exists with other challenges and disabilities. Blind Veterans UK conducts world-leading […]

Blinded veterans and their families can assist BVA in increasing support for legislation to secure loans for vision research projects and other biomedical research. The “Long-term Opportunities for Advancing New Studies (LOANS) for Biomedical Research Act” (H.R. 3437) would infuse critical private sector dollars into clinical trials for the treatment and cures that many researchers are anticipating. The LOANS Act would help fund vital research for degenerative eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration, […]

Ahead of Memorial Day 2021, the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has upgraded the features of the Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM) website. Aside from a fresh look, better usability, and more ways to submit content, VLM visitors may now upload photos, biographical summaries of a veteran’s life, and historical documents such as award citations, letters, and newspaper clippings. The Veterans Legacy Memorial website is the nation’s first digital platform […]

The Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery is nearing its 100th birthday. On March 4, 1921, the U.S. Congress approved the burial of an unidentified service member in the plaza of what was, at the time, the newly constructed Memorial Amphitheater on those hallowed grounds. The unknown soldier brought back from France was interred below a three-level marble tomb eight months later. The site is located just minutes from our Blinded Veterans Association […]