Season’s Greetings from your National Chaplain and Regional Chaplains as we close out 2023. At this time of year, we share thoughts, emotions, and acts of humility, hope, love, faith, grace, and spiritual discipline.  Our Father sees us while providing the beacon of light that fosters our joy through all seasons of the year. While our backgrounds are diverse and our beliefs not all identical, our commonalities support our desire to learn from one another […]

Join BVA’s VetTech team this Wednesday, December 20, at 2:00pm Eastern Time for a special pre-holiday season Weekly Wednesday Webinar that will serve as a wrap-up for the 2023 sessions and present a preview of what lies ahead for the program in 2024. For Wednesday’s attendees, the session will be a valuable opportunity to: Review the topics and special guests from 2023. Share personal successes with technology and lessons learned from VetTech. Provide feedback related […]

VA announced earlier this week that after just 13 months of veteran screening for toxic exposures as part of the PACT Act, 5 million have been screened and some 2.1 million (43 percent) reported at least one potential exposure.  The screening takes 5-10 minutes and begins with VA health providers asking veterans if they believe they experienced toxic exposures while serving in the armed forces. A “yes” response results in follow-up questions and access to […]

The Veteran’s Educational Assistance Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), otherwise known as VEAP, offers educational assistance to veterans who have submitted payments into the program throughout the duration of their service. In general, veterans have ten years from their date of discharge to use their education benefits. Some ineligible veterans still have unused contributions and are entitled to a refund.  Veterans or next of kin potentially eligible for a refund would have […]

Sharing Your Light This Holiday Season – The holiday season has officially begun. The spirit of this wonderful time of the year can trigger feelings of joy, love, and generosity. It is a time of celebration, coming together with loved ones, and expressing gratitude for the blessings in our lives. Amid darkness, there can also be light. We invite BVA members to share a portion of their light through video messages of gratitude. The videos […]

On November 13, Judge Marilyn J. Horan of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania preliminarily approved a class action settlement resolving disability discrimination claims against iFit Inc., a retailer that sells exercise equipment and interactive fitness classes via its digital properties, which include four different websites and its mobile application, iFIT At-Home Workout & Fitness.  The complaint centered on iFit’s failure to communicate information on its digital properties to consumers who […]

The holiday season has officially begun. The spirit of this wonderful time of the year can trigger feelings of joy, love, and generosity. It is a time of celebration, coming together with loved ones, and expressing gratitude for the blessings in our lives. Amid darkness, there can also be light. We invite BVA members to share a portion of their light through video messages of gratitude. The videos will be featured on the Association’s social […]

by Gary Schoelerman, Louisiana/Mississippi Regional Group On Saturday, November 4, the general citizenry of my hometown of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana (population 7,500), may have been startled to see and hear two F-15 Air Force Eagles flying low level over the city, but the 400-500 people at the Breaux Bridge Veterans Park were more than aware of what was going on. It was the beginning of the dedication of the Memorial Flag Plaza in the town’s […]