The VA plans to contact nearly 570,000 veterans who’ve returned recently from combat service in the war on terror to explain VA services and benefits. “We will reach out and touch every veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom to let them know we are here for them,” said VA Secretary James Peake in an April 24 press release. The VA has established a contractor-operated “Combat Veteran Call Center” to telephone the vets. The first batch of calls will go to some 17,000 sick or injured veterans from those two operations. According to the VA, the second phase will target 550,000 vets discharged from service but who have not contacted the VA about potential assistance.
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
