Mahalo Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command for Accepting Our Invitation!

We are proud to announce that Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command  and Mrs. Pam Locklear will attend our USS Arizona Memorial 2012 Golf Event & Banquet.

Don't miss out: http://www.ussarizonamemorial.us/.  Mahalo!

Mahalo Admiral Richard C. Macke for Accepting Our Invitation!

We are proud to announce that Admiral Richard C. Macke, Commander in Chief, US Pacific Command, Retired. U.S. Pacific Command and Mrs. Susan Macke will attend our USS Arizona Memorial 2012 Golf Event & Banquet.  Don’t miss out: http://www.ussarizonamemorial.us/.  Mahalo!

VA Sec­re­tary Eric K. Shin­seki announces hir­ing of 1,600 new men­tal health care professionals

LANHAM, Md., April 23, 2012—AMVETS National Com­man­der Gary L. Fry expressed his sup­port today for the deci­sion to increase men­tal health staffing at the Depart­ment of Vet­er­ans Affairs by 1,600 pro­fes­sion­als. VA Sec­re­tary Eric K. Shin­seki announced on Thurs­day, April 19, the addi­tion of 1,600 men­tal health work­ers, includ­ing psy­chol­o­gists, psy­chi­a­trists, nurses, social work­ers and pro­fes­sional coun­selors, as well as 300 sup­port staff, increas­ing the men­tal health staff by nearly 10 per­cent. Hop­ing to reduce wait times and serve an increas­ing num­ber of return­ing war vet­er­ans, this increase in pro­fes­sion­als will sup­ple­ment the exist­ing work­force of 20,590 men­tal health staff. “As the tide of war recedes, we have the oppor­tu­nity, and the respon­si­bil­ity, to antic­i­pate the needs of return­ing vet­er­ans” Shin­seki said in a statement.

AMVETS rec­og­nizes that the VA faces sig­nif­i­cant chal­lenges ensur­ing that newly return­ing war vet­er­ans have access to post-deployment read­just­ment ser­vices and spe­cial­ized treat­ments while guar­an­tee­ing that all other enrolled vet­er­ans gain and keep access to effec­tive, timely, high-quality men­tal health ser­vices. This new hire ini­tia­tive fol­lows a VA review that deter­mined short­ages in the men­tal health staff resulted in longer wait times for vet­er­ans to receive treat­ment. Begin­ning imme­di­ately, VA hopes the new per­son­nel will help to meet the needs of an increas­ing num­ber of vet­er­ans who are seek­ing men­tal health care.

“I applaud Sec­re­tary Shinseki’s action to address the crit­i­cal issue of vet­er­ans’ men­tal health care by adding the skilled and trained pro­fes­sion­als we need in this area,” said Fry. “AMVETS will con­tinue to work with our part­ners at VA, in Con­gress, and the Obama Admin­is­tra­tion, to ensure VA has the resources nec­es­sary to meet the needs of our Amer­i­can veterans.”

Since 2007, VA has expe­ri­enced a 35 per­cent increase in the num­ber of vet­er­ans who receive men­tal health ser­vices. Untreated and unhealed phys­i­cal and men­tal health com­bat injuries play a sig­nif­i­cant role in the num­ber of mil­i­tary and vet­eran sui­cides. VA reports that 18 vet­er­ans take their own lives each day, total­ing 6,750 vet­er­ans’ sui­cides per year. In a Fall 2011 sur­vey, 40 per­cent of the sur­veyed men­tal health providers gave a wait-time of 14 days for appoint­ments. Result­ing from staff defi­cien­cies, this wait-time proves crit­i­cal as vet­er­ans face life-threatening issues and are left with­out avail­able pro­fes­sion­als to pro­vide sup­port and treatment.

Chair­man of the Sen­ate Vet­er­ans’ Affairs Com­mit­tee U.S. Sen­a­tor Patty Mur­ray will hold a hear­ing on Wednes­day, April 25 to dis­cuss the defi­cien­cies in vet­er­ans’ men­tal health care and to hear the Inspec­tor General’s find­ings on the sub­ject. “Too often we have seen staff vacan­cies, sched­ul­ing delays, and red tape leave those vet­er­ans who have been brave enough to seek help in the first place left with nowhere to turn,” states Mur­ray in a state­ment. The VA has taken the first steps in solv­ing the prob­lems involved in vet­er­ans’ men­tal health care and AMVETS actively sup­ports these ini­tia­tives in aid­ing our nation’s veterans.

About AMVETS:
A leader since 1944 in pre­serv­ing the free­doms secured by America’s armed forces, AMVETS pro­vides sup­port for vet­er­ans and the active mil­i­tary in procur­ing their earned enti­tle­ments, as well as com­mu­nity ser­vice and leg­isla­tive reform that enhances the qual­ity of life for this nation’s cit­i­zens and vet­er­ans alike. AMVETS is one of the largest congressionally-chartered vet­er­ans’ ser­vice orga­ni­za­tions in the United States, and includes mem­bers from each branch of the mil­i­tary, includ­ing the National Guard and Reserves. To learn more visit www.amvets.org.

This Memorial Day marks the 50th Anniversary of the USS Arizona Memorial

April 13, 2012

Aloha,

This Memorial Day marks the 50^th Anniversary of the USS Arizona Memorial.

In the past 50 years, time, exposure to the elements, and the daily foot traffic has left the USS Arizona Memorial in need of major repairs. Thus the National Park Service has asked Pacific Historic Parks to lead the fund raising efforts to raise approximately $1,000,000 to restore the Memorial.

One of the major fundraising events for the Memorial is the American Veterans’ 50^th Anniversary USS Arizona Memorial Golf Tournament at Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course on May 25, 2012. Proceeds from this event will go directly to the refurbishment of the USS Arizona Memorial. To register to participate in this tournament or for your company to become a major sponsor of this golf tournament, please visit http://www.ussarizonamemorial.us/ or email Commander Donovan A. Lazarus, at donovan@amvets-hawaii.org.

We would also like to request your company’s help in providing prizes for the golf tournament and for the silent auction. Please drop off or mail your gifts to:

Carlton Kramer

VP of Marketing

Pacific Historic Parks

1 Arizona Memorial Place

Honolulu, Hawaii 96818

Thanks so much for your support and we hope to see you at the golf tournament.

Mahalo and Aloha

Carlton Kramer

Carlton Kramer

VP of Marketing

Pacific Historic Parks

Phone 954-8767

CKramer@PacificHistoricParks.org

USS Arizona Memorial 2012 Golf Event & Banquet - Friday, 25th May 2012 [Memorial Day Weekend]

Golf with our returning Warriors!
One combat veteran will play on each shotgun team.

Prizes includes: Trophies, golf bags, clubs, gloves and other accessories will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place, and for other contest winners!

This is an official USS Arizona Memorial fundraiser event, organized by the USS Arizona Memorial Post, AMVETS Hawaii and partners: National Parks Service, Pacific Historic Parks and the Lazarus Foundation in order to help raise $1,000,000 in restoration funds for the USS Arizona Memorial.

In order to raise the needed funds to preserve what remains of the sunken battleship USS Arizona, the final resting place for many of the 1,177 crewmen killed on December 7, 1941, we are also accepting donations.  Any amount will be greatly appreciated – click on our “Donation” page now!

This is a tax-deductible contribution – EIN#45-3643811

Mahalo

Location:

Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course & Officers’ Club
Marine Corps Base, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii 96853

Date:

Friday, May 25, 2012 [Memorial Day Weekend]

Timeline:

• 1130 – 1230: Registration & Reception, PUPU Platter, FREE for all Golfers
• 1230:  Tee Time, on the Green
• 1700 – 1745:  Cocktails
• 1800 – 2030: Banquet & Entertainment at the Officers’ Club, FREE for all Golfers

Guest Speakers:   Governor Linda Lingle, Mayor Peter Carlisle, Representative Kimberly Pine and Councilwoman Tulsi Gabbard
Tee Off with Admiral Macke and General Lee, and enjoy a day of golf with our returning Warriors while supporting a great cause!

Transition Services Now Mandatory for Outprocessing Soldiers

All sol­diers who are leav­ing active duty, whether they are reg­u­lar Army mem­bers who are sep­a­rat­ing or retir­ing or reservists demo­bi­liz­ing after six months or more on active duty, now must par­tic­i­pate in ser­vices to help them tran­si­tion to civil­ian life, Army Times reported.

Army Sec­re­tary John McHugh man­dated the change in a direc­tive issued last year.

Wal­ter M. Herd, direc­tor of the Army Career and Alumni Pro­gram, told the Army Times he expects about a 300 per­cent increase in the num­ber of sol­diers using his pro­gram, which pro­vides career coun­sel­ing, edu­ca­tion, job-preparation and job-search ser­vices. Read More

USS Arizona Memorial Golf Event & Banquet

USS Arizona Memorial 2012 Golf Event & Banquet

Golf with our returning Warriors!
One combat veteran will play on each shotgun team.
Prizes includes: Trophies, golf bags, clubs, gloves and other accessories will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place, and for other contest winners!

This is an official USS Arizona Memorial fundraiser event, organized by the USS Arizona Memorial Post, AMVETS Hawaii and partners: National Parks Service, Pacific Historic Parks and the Lazarus Foundation in order to help raise $800,000 in restoration funds for the USS Arizona Memorial.

Keynote Speaker: 

Governor Linda Lingle

Location:

Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course & Officer’s Club
Marine Corps Base, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii 96853

Date:

Friday, May 25, 2012 [Memorial Day Weekend]

Timeline:

• 1130 – 1230: Registration & Reception, PUPU Platter, FREE for all Golfers
• 1230: Tee Time, on the Green
• 1800 – 2030: Banquet & Entertainment at the Officer’s Club, FREE for all Golfers

Enjoy a day of golf with our returning Warriors while supporting a great cause!

Visit our event site at: www.ussarizonamemorial.us

Mahalo!