Mission Daybreak Will Pay for Ideas to Reduce Suicides

Veterans Affairs officials want to give you up to $3 million if you can help solve the problem of
veteran suicides. On 25 MAY, department leaders announced the launch of Mission Daybreak, a
$20 million “challenge” designed to help VA develop new suicide prevention strategies. The goal
is to get thousands of new ideas on how to better help and support veterans over the next six weeks,
and award cash prizes for the best 40 ideas in coming months. “To end veteran suicide, we need
to use every tool available,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said in a statement. “Mission
Daybreak is fostering solutions across a broad spectrum of focus areas to combat this preventable
problem.”

The unconventional approach is intended to build upon the existing array of VA suicide
prevention initiatives and solve the largely static problem of how to keep veterans from self-harm.
Veteran suicides fell to their lowest level in 12 years in 2019, down more than one death per day
from the previous year’s levels, according to VA data. That was the most significant improvement
in suicide metrics in five years, but it still leaves the number of veterans lost to suicide each day at
about 17, despite years of legislative focus and funding to combat the issue.

Last month, VA officials announced plans to award nearly $52 million in grants for suicide
prevention programs in coming months to community groups in an effort to provide more targeted
help for individuals in distress. The new Mission Daybreak initiative has similar parameters but a
different approach, according to Dr. Matt Miller, national director of VA suicide prevention. “A
key to innovation is rapid implementation and development,” he said. “So what we’re really trying
to foster and harness is those ideas that can be rapidly developed, be scalable across our system,
and make a big difference quickly.”

The first phase of the challenge — which is modeled after similar efforts in the Defense
Department for a host of procurement and technology development issues — will require teams or
individuals to submit a 10-page concept paper that describes “a proposed solution, its impact on
specific veteran communities, an evidence framework, [and] an implementation plan.” The
proposals can focus on any facet of suicide prevention, but officials said they will be specifically
considering several key areas:
 Utilizing digital data from active and passive sources;
 Improved access to and efficiency to the Veterans Crisis Line;
 Preventing firearm suicides;
 Improving community resilience and connection;
 Incorporating family and community into veteran’s well-being;
 And reducing barriers to veterans asking for help.

The top 30 ideas will each be awarded $250,000, and 10 others $100,000 each. The top 30 will
also be invited to join an eight-week virtual accelerator program to help individuals refine the
ideas, with additional cash prizes (including two first-place awards of $3 million) to be given out
in the fall. Entrants will not be required to implement the ideas, but instead will help VA officials
put the changes in place and monitor their impact on veterans’ mental health and quality of life.

Miller said initial data compiled by the department shows that the rate of veteran suicides may
have declined even further in 2021. But even so, he is hopeful the new challenge can inspire new
ideas to push those numbers down even further. When factoring in active-duty military, reservists
and other associated groups, the total of military and veteran suicide is roughly 20 per day. Many
outside groups still quote the “22-a-day” statistic regarding veteran suicide, even thought that is
based on an outdated estimate from VA officials more than a decade ago.

Veterans experiencing a mental health emergency can contact the Veteran Crisis Line at 1-800-
273-8255 and select option 1 for a VA staffer. Veterans, troops or their family members can also
text 838255 or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net for assistance.
[Source: MilitaryTimes | Leo Shane III | May 25, 2022 ++]

Troops across the National Guard and reserve components of all military branches will see a standardized discharge form by 2025, according to a Defense Department instruction released earlier this month. After the new policy goes into effect, members will receive the new DD Form 214-1 (https://www.esd.whs.mil/Directives/forms/dd0001_0499) when they retire or separate from one of the military’s reserve components. Currently, each service has its own reserve component separation form, such as the NGB 22 or the NAVPERS 1070/615. Groups representing reserve component troops, including the Reserve Organization of America and the National Guard Association of the U.S., have long advocated for the change. The new form comes after the fiscal 2020 defense policy bill directed DoD to study if it could standardize the forms. The new Defense Department Form 214-1 will standardize separation documents for members of all military reserve components once fully implemented in 2025. The hodgepodge of separation forms sometimes posed problems for reserve component troops when trying to access veteran’s benefits, explained J.C. Cardinale, personnel legislative affairs manager for NGAUS. Part-time troops are typically only issued regular DD-214s when they complete an active-duty tour of 90 or more days. Before the Global War on Terrorism drastically increased the pace of reserve component deployments, some troops could go their entire careers — and even retire — without earning one at any point after their initial training. Cardinale, who is also an Army Reserve officer, described one case in which a retired part-time colonel died, but the Veterans Affairs administration initially did not recognize his NGB 22 as a proper source for the rank to put on his headstone, instead wanting to use his captain rank from his most recent DD-214. They rectified the error in time for the funeral, but it required additional legwork for the officer’s widow. “This is a ‘good governance’ kind of change,” Cardinale told Army Times in a phone interview. “It’s going to ensure that every service member gets every benefit that they are owed, for the least amount of bureaucratic pain or time to get those benefits.” Cardinale said the new form will show when a retiring service member is eligible to start collecting their non-regular retired pay, which a member can’t receive until age 60 without qualifying service. Previously, retired service members were responsible for tracking this date and doing the math themselves so they’d know when to submit their request to turn on their retirement pay and benefits. But those calculations are complicated, because different types of deployments count at different rates towards early retirement pay and benefits depending on when they were, where they were, and what statutory mobilization authority the orders were under. The retirement pay eligibility date will be plainly stated on the new DD-214-1, taking the guesswork out of it for troops. While DoD mulled the new policy, Congress had been preparing to force the military to make the change. Pending bipartisan legislation in the House of Representatives would take the policy a step further, though. If H.R.7041 is passed, it will require the military to issue a new DD-214 (or DD-214-1) at various checkpoints in a service member’s career, according to an online summary at https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-cong...41?s=1&r=4 of the bill. Those points would include when someone transfers between states, as well as at each promotion once a member reaches O-3, W-3 or E-4. Cardinale said those checkpoints are especially important because “a Guardsman or reservist is essentially a currently serving veteran” due to their dual civilian and military lives. He argues that even the proposed legislation isn’t enough, though. The NGAUS official hopes to someday see “digital, on-demand DD-214s,” similar to how members can log in and instantly download their paystubs from MyPay. [Source: MilitaryTimes | Davis Winkie | April 29, 2022 ++]

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Nine Respiratory Cancers Added To List of Exposure Illnesses
Veterans Affairs officials this week will add nine respiratory cancers to the list of illnesses
presumed caused by burn pit exposure, easing the path veterans suffering from those conditions
have to take to get disability benefits. The move follows promises by administration officials last
fall to speed up care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pit smoke in Iraq, Afghanistan and
other overseas locations over the last 32 years. In a statement, VA Secretary Denis McDonough
called the move overdue. “Veterans who suffer from rare respiratory cancers associated with their
service deserve the very best America has to offer, but they’ve had to wait for the care and benefits
they deserve for far too long,” he said. “That ends now.”
“With these new presumptives, veterans who suffer from these rare respiratory cancers will
finally get the world-class care and benefits they deserve, without having to prove causality
between their service and their condition.” The nine new conditions are:
• Squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx;
• Squamous cell carcinoma of the trachea;
• Adenocarcinoma of the trachea;
• Salivary gland-type tumors of the trachea;
• Adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung;
• Large cell carcinoma of the lung;
• Salivary gland-type tumors of the lung;
• Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung;
• Typical and atypical carcinoid of the lung;
The policy applies to veterans who served in the Southwest Asia theater of operations beginning
Aug. 2, 1990, to the present, or in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Syria or Djibouti beginning Sept. 19,
2001, to the present. That includes all veterans who served in the Gulf War, the Iraq War and the
War in Afghanistan. VA officials did not say how many individuals would be affected by the new
policy, although they did classify the cancers as “rare” in their announcement.
The issue of presumptive benefits for burn pit victims has been a priority for advocates in recent
years because of the difficulty in linking many health problems to the toxic smoke present at many
overseas bases. Under most cases, veterans must show a direct link between their medical
condition and military service in order to receive disability benefits, which can amount to several
thousand dollars a month. But when VA grants presumptive status for an illness, that skips the
need for proof of connection, making the path to getting disability payouts easier. In the past, VA
has approved presumptive status for things such as exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, a known
carcinogen.
Last August, for the first time, the department approved presumptive status for veterans
suffering from three illnesses — asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis — related to burn pit smoke
overseas. As of last month, VA officials had processed about 16,500 new claims related to those
burn pit injuries, totaling $36 million in retroactive benefits. The White House also promised
additional research into other medical problems believed linked (but never conclusively proven)
to the toxic smoke produced when military members disposed of a variety of waste in open-air
trash fires.
VA officials said the decision to add the nine new conditions came after researchers found
“biological plausibility between airborne hazards and carcinogenesis of the respiratory tract” and
that “the unique circumstances of these rare cancers warrant a presumption of service connection.”
Both McDonough and President Joe Biden have said they will look to go even further with the
burn pit presumptives, but are limited somewhat by VA benefits regulations. “Supporting our
veterans is a critical part of the Unity Agenda I proposed for our nation,” Biden said in a statement.
“No matter where we live or who we voted for in the last election, we all agree that we should
serve our veterans as well as they have served us.
“My administration will continue to do everything in its power to support our nation’s veterans,
and I urge Congress to pass bipartisan legislation to comprehensively address toxic exposures and
further deliver the vital benefits our veterans have earned. I will sign it immediately.”
Congressional leaders are considering sweeping legislation that would grant presumptive disability
status for an even broader list of medical conditions believed linked to burn pits. Department
officials are expected to reach out to veterans who have filed burn pit claims in the past to inform
them of the changes. Individuals can also get more information on the benefits through the VA
web site. [Source: MilitaryTimes | Leo Shane III | April 25, 2022 ++]

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Title: Application for Burial Benefits (Under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 23), VA Form 21P-530EZ
OMB Control Number: 2900-0003.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Abstract: The major use of the form is to determine a claimant’s eligibility to for
monetary burial benefits, including the burial allowance, plot or interment allowance,
and transportation reimbursement for a deceased Veteran.
The respondent burden has increased due to the estimated number of receivables
averaged over the past year.
VA Form 21P-530EZ has been updated as follows:
• Updated instructions to reflect the regulation change and updates to the form
• Split Section I into Section I – Veteran’s Information and Section II - Claimant’s
Information
• Moved Veteran’s Information Questions to Section I
• Changed Section Titles to Section III - Veteran’s Service Information; Section IV
– Information Regarding Final Resting Place; Section V – Claim for Burial
Allowance; Section VI - Claim for Plot and/or Transportation Allowance
• Question 18 – added Tribal trust land, name of cemetery or tribal trust land and
zip code
• Question 20A – removed VA Hospitalization Death / Amount paid from (now
covered under non-service-connected burial allowance)
• Moved Question 20A to Section VI (now question 23)

Gulf War Exposures and Health Concerns (va.gov)

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