New England Public Radio

US Transportation Department Grants $2 Million to Berkshire Transit Authority for Veteran Services

United States Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced $29 million in federal grants Monday to improve military veterans’ access to public transportation. The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority will receive $2 million under the program this year.

Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff says money from the Veteran’s Transportation Initiative will help veterans in the Berkshires navigate both veterans administration services and regional transit services by establishing what he calls a ‘one click, one call’ center.

“This ‘one click, one call’ center will allow a veteran or their family to get on a website, [and] with one click of the mouse, or one telephone call, be able to identify what services are available to them, tell where they need to go to get the assistance they need to make those connections.”

Rogoff says the transportation department’s efforts are part of government-wide initiatives to assist veterans, who he says face unique challenges when they return to civilian life.

“Within the transportation field, we want to make sure people are connected to what they need, often transportation is the biggest hindrance to a returning veteran getting to the medical services they need, getting to job training.”

The Veteran’s Transportation Initiative is in its second year, but the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority is receiving funding through the program for the first time. Last year the program awarded thirty four million dollars to transit authorities throughout the country.

 

Department of Defense Studies Acupuncture and Gulf War Illness

Western Massachusetts acupuncturist John Varner is participating in a $1.2 million study funded by the Department of Defense  to see if the alternative treatment can help veterans who suffer from Gulf War Syndrome — also sometimes called — Gulf War Illness. Varner told New England Public Radio’s Susan Kaplan that when cases of the mysterious illness first surfaced the military minimized the problem.  He says the U.S. was slower to react to Gulf War Syndrome than other countries who also had soldiers fighting in the Gulf War.

Area Vets Reflect on Troop Withdrawal

 

While troops have been rotating through Iraq and Afghanistan for almost a decade, some veteran support groups are expecting an uptick in the need for veteran services after the last troops come home. Christopher Mcgurk of Belchertown is a veteran who now works for the "SAVE" program — a state service to help veterans reintegrate into civilian life.

“now you're going to see an influx in veterans into various systems and it's going to be a challenging time for a lot of service providers.”

But aside from the services that veterans will need to get jobs, housing, and other benefits — McGurk says the troop withdrawal is also bringing up intense reflection about what the war accomplished.

“I honestly don't feel any sense of closure. I lost good friends. I spent countless hours on patrol, and honestly i wonder what it was all for. There is some sense of pride being in the military and my unit was given a mission and we accomplished it. But beyond that, now as i see the withdrawal, i said — it's about time, but it's too little, too late.”

An estimated 4500 American soldiers died in Iraq since fighting began there in 2003. The Obama administration has said that troops will remain in Afghanistan until 2014.