Since it was first played in 1890, the annual Army-Navy football game has been a highlight of the college football season, and while the series is relatively even, Navy has been dominant as of late. The Midshipmen have won the last 11 meetings over the Black Knights, but after a close game last year, Army may end the streak, USA Today reports.
Army comes into the game with a 3-8 record, while Navy boasts a 7-4 mark and is headed to a bowl game. Still, the Black Knights have some pieces in place that can help them spring the upset. Most notably, their players at skill positions – such as wide receiver Xavier Moss and running back Terry Baggett, can break a big play at any time, something Navy's head coach Ken Niumatalolo knows very well.
"I think they have made progress. I think this is their most athletic team," he told the publication. "They've got some [backs] that can run, and they have some wideouts that can run, a secondary that can move. He's getting in place the type of athletes he wants."
For many veterans, watching the annual match up is a highly anticipated part of life after service. It kicks off Saturday at 3 p.m. on CBS.
A new study exploring the link between post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries found that Marines who sustained a mild head injury while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan were more likely to develop the condition, The Los Angeles Times reported.
After following more than 1,600 Marines between 2008 and 2012, researchers found that Marines who exhibited symptoms of PTSD prior to deployment and sustained a mild brain injury during combat had an increased risk of testing positive for PTSD once they returned from service. The news source stated that the risk rose by 23 percent to 34 percent, while the risk for those who tested negative for PTSD before deployment remained unchanged. About 327 of the 1,600 Marines studied – roughly 20 percent – experienced a head injury.
According to the news outlet, the researchers suggested that the main factor for the increase is that bomb blasts tend to lead to psychological trauma.
Earlier this year, The Los Angeles Times reported that servicemembers who have a history of insomnia are also at a higher risk for developing PTSD, as well as depression. Researchers suggested that treating the sleep disorder before the servicemembers deploy might help alleviate future PTSD symptoms.
A new investigation from The Wall Street Journal found that the Veterans Administration approved lobotomies for World War II veterans who showed signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.
According to the investigation, the VA performed the procedure on nearly 2,000 veterans between April 1, 1947, and Sept. 30, 1950, at various VA hospitals across the U.S. The Wall Street journal also noted that hundreds more were likely to have had lobotomies performed on them outside VA facilities.
The report stated that The Wall Street Journal unearthed this information through analyzing government documents, including memos, letters and official reports. However, the VA told the news source in a written statement that it had no records of the procedure being used on World War II veterans.
"In the late 1940s and into the 1950s, VA and other physicians throughout the United States and the world debated the utility of lobotomies. The procedure became available to severely ill patients who had not improved with other treatments," the VA said in the statement. "Within a few years, the procedure disappeared within VA, and across the United States, as safer and more effective treatments were developed."
According to a report from NPR, the first lobotomy was performed in the U.S. in 1936, and gained popularity in the 1940s. Many doctors thought the procedure, which severs connections in the brain, would eliminate emotions and help stabilize moods, especially in those who had schizophrenia or symptoms of depression and anxiety.
The Indiana University School of Dentistry announced this week that it will assist homeless veterans who are currently searching for gainful employment by giving them free dental care. The dental services will be made possible by a $12,000 grant from the Dental Pipeline National Learning Institute.
University officials believe providing homeless veterans with various dental treatment will help their public appearance and in return, improve their chances of being hired.
"A person without front teeth, for example, is likely to find it difficult to be hired for a job in a restaurant," said Karen Yoder, director of civic engagement and health policy and a professor of preventive and community dentistry, in a statement released on the university's website. "Our goal is not to make anyone glamorous, just aesthetically prepared for a job interview."
According to Yoder, Indiana veterans who have a high chance of finding a job will be selected through the Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation.
An August 2013 report from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority found that there were 743 homeless veterans in the state, accounting for 12 percent of Indiana's more than 6,000 homeless individuals.
The Minnesota VA is currently overwhelmed by its disability claims backlog, as efforts to reduce the paperwork pileup nationwide have failed.
According to The Associated Press, the Minnesota VA was one of the most efficient regional offices, with an above-average record of processing veterans disability claims. As a result, the Department of Veterans Affairs allocated 1,000 new claims to the Minnesota office as a way to alleviate several other regional offices that fell behind.
County veterans services directors told The St. Cloud Times that it's now taking the office around nine months to process the claims, when it previously took just 90 days. The news source reported that Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki directed regional offices to focus on the claims that have been pending for more than a year. For many Minnesota veterans, that means their claims might be put on the back burner.
Minnesota Sen. Al Franken is currently working on legislation that would help lessen the backlog and improve the service for the state's veterans.
"The fundamental issue is making sure Minnesota veterans are getting the benefits they're entitled to as quickly as possible," Franken told The St. Cloud Times.
According to the VA, disability claims are supposed to be answered within 125 days. The VA issued a plan earlier this year to eliminate its entire backlog by 2015.
Veterans who left the service with an other-than-honorable discharge often find themselves without many military benefits or resources. According to a recent report from NPR, more than 100,000 servicemembers received such a discharge in the last decade, potentially disqualifying them from benefits such as health care, tuition assistance and VA loans.
For the NPR series, reporter Quil Lawrence interviewed dozens of veterans with an other-than-honorable discharge and found that many of them were turned away from the VA when seeking financial assistance and health care, including treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the VA website, veterans with other-than-honorable discharge can be placed in a pending verification status for health care benefits at the discretion of VA medical center staff, but it's typically a case-by-case basis.
"I had spoken with the receptionist [at a VA medical center] and I told her what was going on with me. She looked at my discharge and said, well, you have a bad discharge, other than honorable," Iraq and Afghanistan veteran Eric Highfill told the news outlet. "And they said we will not see you. Congress does not recognize you as a veteran."
Lawrence said that many veterans, especially those with trauma, are facing the same experience as Highfill. As a result, they not only have a harder time receiving care and treatment, but also finding employment, housing and overall stability in their lives.
In an effort to help former servicemembers, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto has established a foundation to provide veterans in Cincinnati and his hometown of Toronto who are currently coping with post-traumatic stress disorder with military benefits.
According to MLB.com, the first baseman announced the launch of the Joey Votto Foundation this week in a news conference.
"I've always been motivated to look at and respect military members," Votto said at the conference, as quoted by the news source. "Every day when we play a game in the second or third inning, especially in Cincinnati, there's a veteran that returns who stands on the dugout. … I'm on a daily basis impressed and honored to be in the presence of somebody that I can't even relate to what they think or how they got to that position or the way they risked their lives."
Votto added that he wanted to focus on former servicemembers with PTSD, as well as their families and spouses, because of his previous experience with anxiety and depression. According to the news outlet, the foundation will feature a military stress disorder program that will provide therapy for about 500 new patients each year. The foundation will work with the University of Cincinnati to offer veterans the highest quality of care and treatment.
A study from the RAND Corporation found that at least 20 percent of Iraq war and Afghanistan veterans have PTSD, while a recent report from The Wall Street Journal added that about 30 percent of veterans treated at VA facilities show symptoms of PTSD.
The Veterans Writing Project, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., is holding a workshop at the College of William and Mary this weekend to help former servicemembers find some therapy through the written word. Created in 2011 by Army veteran Ron Capps, the nonprofit hosts workshops led by professional writers who are also combat veterans, according to the organization's website.
Capps, who grew up in Virginia Beach and served in Rwanda, Kosovo and Afghanistan, told The Virginia Gazette that he decided to work with other veterans after receiving his master's degree in creative writing. Suffering from stress and trauma, Capps found therapy in writing and wanted to share his skills with other servicemembers, especially those with post-traumatic stress disorder.
At this weekend's workshop, 25 pre-selected veterans will have a chance to share their stories, thanks to the generosity of William and Mary students, the news outlet reported.
"I knew I wanted to do something to help veterans, and I was looking at more creative ways to do it," Sam Pressler, a 21-year-old junior at the college who helped organize the event, told the news source. "The goal is to create this experience with veterans of different generations. Each generation has a story to tell."
A group of Ohio veterans recently attempted to block the razing of a veterans memorial in Columbus.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, city commissioners voted this week to demolish the Franklin County Veterans Memorial in order to make room for a multimillion dollar glass-and-steel veterans memorial and museum. The proposed facility is part of a larger plan to develop the Scioto Peninsula – which is located near downtown Columbus – and turn it into a cultural and educational hub.
Although a new building will be built in the place of the Franklin County Veterans Memorial, many Ohio veterans were angered by the redevelopment plan. According to the news source, a group of former servicemembers attended the city meeting to fight for the 60-year-old veterans complex. Some veterans argued that the memorial just needed to be renovated, not rebuilt, while others claimed that the new facility might drive away local veterans and their families.
"I feel outnumbered here. I'm not a general, I'm just a sergeant, but the military taught me what it means to be a family," told the news outlet, adding that many local veterans feared they would be charged a fee to enter the museum and memorial.
The Franklin County Veterans Memorial was established in 1955, and features a convention and entertainment hall used for trade shows, competitions and concerts, according to the memorial's website.
Veterans who have had run-ins with authorities might be able to find a second chance thanks to a new path through the court system.
According to ABC News, former servicemembers and legal professionals gathered this week at the Veterans Treatment Court Conference in Washington, D.C., to discuss the benefits of the courts. The conference was sponsored by Justice for Vets, a nonprofit that connects former servicemembers with the mental health and substance abuse treatment that they need.
Many veterans who attended the conference thanked the system for saving them from incarceration and providing them with a chance to reform, while legal professionals discussed the future of treatment courts.
"Someday in the not-so-distant future when there is a vet treatment court in reach of every vet in need, we will look back on today as the moment we turned the corner," Judge Robert Russell, who founded the first veterans treatment court in 2008 said at the conference, as quoted by the news source.
According to the Justice for Vets official website, veterans treatment courts work in a similar way to addiction and mental health courts. The courts require frequent appearances – typically bi-weekly – and mandatory attendance at counseling sessions.