Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki on Tuesday unveiled an ambitious five-year plan to end homelessness among the nation’s veterans who make up a comparatively large portion those living on the streets. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Shinseki, speaking at a VA summit in Washington, D.C., said the VA will spend $3.2 billion next year towards that goal and is working to strengthen partnerships with other government agencies and service organizations. “Even in tough economic times, this is still the wealthiest, most powerful nation in the world and no veteran should be living on the streets without care and without hope,” he said. The new initiative will focus both on preventing vets from ever going homeless and removing those already on the streets from that condition. (For more, see the Washington Post’s Nov. 4 report (requires free registration).
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.