American Legion, Auxiliary, and S.A.L Post 446

01/11/2012

We extend our thoughts and prayers to the families of Auxiliary Member Julie Simcox.May God be with you at this time.

01/09/2012

Thanks to everyone who helped on bingo and the kitchen on New Years

12/30/2011

Happy New Years Hope next year is better than this one was.

12/24/2011

Merry Christmas to All

11/21/2011

Very good to listen to and just something different to add to your day. Louis

11/20/2011

Help support our Veteran's like Nascar does. Come bye Your local American Legion 446 and let them know you care and thank them for the help they give our troops young and old.

11/17/2011

To locate Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Facilities (VA Medical Centers, Community Based Outpatient Clinics, Vet Centers, National and State Cemeteries) in your state, please go to: http://www2.va.gov/directory/guide/home.asp.

VA Home | Privacy | FOIA | Regulations | Web Policies | No FEAR Act | Site Index | USA.gov | White House | National Resource Directory | Inspector General

11/16/2011

Women Veterans


Challenges

The current global war on terror illustrates a few deficiencies in services provided for women veterans. Never before have women servicemembers been engaged in constant combative environments. Participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom has forced them to expand their military roles to ensure their own survival, as well as the survival of their units. They sustain the same types of injuries that their male counterparts endure. Any future women veterans’ research will need to take into consideration the physical effects of combat on women veterans, not just mental effects of combat and military sexual trauma.


View Women's Veterans
Brochure

Since women veterans are sometimes the family’s sole caregivers, services and benefits designed to promote independent living for combat-injured veterans will need to consider other needs – like child care during rehabilitation. This dynamic should also be considered more when designing domiciliary and homeless women veteran programs. Homeless veterans’ service providers’ clients have historically been almost exclusively male. That is changing as more women veterans and women veterans with young children have sought help. Additionally, the approximately 200,000 female Iraq veterans are isolated during and after deployment, making it difficult to find gender-specific peer-based support. Reports show that one of every 10 homeless veterans under the age of 45 is now is woman. Access to gender-appropriate care for these veterans is essential.

In the past 10 years, the number of homeless women veterans has tripled. In 2002, the VA began a study of women and PTSD. The study includes subjects whose PTSD resulted from stressors that were both military and non-military in nature. Preliminary research shows that women currently serving have much higher exposure to traumatic experiences, r**e and assault prior to joining the military. Other reports show extremely high rates, 20 to 40 percent, of sexual trauma while women are in the service. Repeated exposure to traumatic stressors increases the likelihood of PTSD. Researchers also suspect that many women join the military, at least in part, to get away from abusive environments. Like the young veterans, these women may have no safe supportive environment to return to, adding yet more risk of homeless outcomes.

Providing quality health care in a rural setting has proven to be very challenging, given factors such as limited availability of skilled care providers and inadequate access to care. Even more challenging will be VA’s ability to provide treatment and rehabilitation to rural veterans, including women veterans, who suffer from the signature ailments of the on-going global war on terror – traumatic blast injuries and combat-related mental health conditions. VA’s efforts need to be especially focused on these issues.

Gaining access to the nearest facility providing gender-specific services can prove even more of an obstacle, since the nearest facility may be a community-based outpatient clinic that may not offer these services.

Statistics

There were 1.8 million living women veterans in 2008. In 2008 453,250 women veterans enrolled in the VA health-care system for care. The number of women veterans enrolled in the system is expected to grow by 33 percent in the next three years. Over 102,126 female veterans served in OEF/OIF as of September 2008. Of those, 44.2 percent have enrolled in the VA health-care system. Post-traumatic stress disorder), hypertension, and depression were the top three diagnostic categories for women veterans treated by VA health care. Twenty-two percent of women screened positive for military sexual trauma, compared to 1.2 percent of men. Of all the OEF/OIF veterans who used VA health care in 2007, 16.7 percent of women and .8 percent of men screened positive for MST.

Resources
•Women Veterans Health Care
•Center for Women Veterans Home
•Women Veterans Health Resources on My HealtheVet
•VA Research & Development Women's Health Program
•VA Mental Health - Military Sexual Trauma
•VA Health Services Research - Current Studies

Links
•2011 National Training Summitt on Women Veterans
•VA: Women Veterans Health Care
•VA: Center for Women Veterans
•MyHealthEVet: Women veterans health resources
•VA: Research & Development
•VA: Military sexual trauma
•VA: Health Services Research current studies

11/16/2011

Membership Renewals


Membership in The American Legion is based on a calendar-year from January 1st to December 31st. When a member pays their dues, they are paid up for that membership year. They will also receive twelve monthly subscriptions to The American Legion Magazine.

The renewal process begins in July for the upcoming membership year. Renewal notices are sent out in July, October, January, March and May. When a member renews, they are removed from future renewal notices for that year. There are times when a member pays their dues, but they still receive a renewal notice. Since dues are paid to the local post, it takes a little longer for national to be notified about the renewal and the member may receive another renewal notice. If this occurs, please check with your local post to ensure they have received your dues.

11/16/2011

Next membership target date Nov. 16
The American Legion - November 3, 2011
0 1

Each membership year, The American Legion establishes 10 target dates for achieving certain percentage of each department's membership goal. Target dates fall on the second Wednesday of the month unless there is a holiday on that day or at the beginning of that week.
The final target date is 30 days prior to the national convention; delegate strength for the convention is determined on that date.
Below are the remaining target dates for the 2011-2012 membership year:
• Veterans Day - Nov. 16 (65 percent, 65 percent)• Pearl Harbor Day - Dec. 14 (75 percent) • Mid-Winter - Jan. 19, 2012 (80 percent)• President's Day - Feb. 8, 2012 (85 percent)• Legion Birthday -March 14, 2012 (90 percent)• Children & Youth - April 11, 2012 (95 percent) • Armed Forces Day - May 9, 2012 (100 percent)• Delegate Strength - 30 days prior to national convention

11/16/2011

Membership in The American Legion is based on a calendar-year from January 1st to December 31st. When a member pays their dues, they are paid up for that membership year. They will also receive twelve monthly subscriptions to The American Legion Magazine.

The renewal process begins in July for the upcoming membership year. Renewal notices are sent out in July, October, January, March and May. When a member renews, they are removed from future renewal notices for that year. There are times when a member pays their dues, but they still receive a renewal notice. Since dues are paid to the local post, it takes a little longer for national to be notified about the renewal and the member may receive another renewal notice. If this occurs, please check with your local post to ensure they have received your dues.