ARMED FORCES

ARMED FORCES

VETERANS

Program applauds Wilkie’s announcement

WASHINGTON

As the country commemorates Vietnam War veterans and the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, the National Veterans Legal Services Program applauded the recent announcement by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie to recommend not to appeal the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Procopio v. Wilkie.

That decision extends the presumption of Agent Orange exposure to all veterans who served in the territorial waters offshore of the Republic of Vietnam. The announcement was made last month in a hearing before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Wilkie cautioned, however, other federal officials may not accept his recommendation.

In Procopio v. Wilkie, all judges on the federal circuit convened in 2019 and explicitly overruled its prior holding in Haas v. Peake, finding that Congress clearly intended the definition of “the Republic of Vietnam” to include the Republic of Vietnam’s territorial seas, which would encompass all of Vietnam’s harbors, including Da Nang Harbor.

DoD initiative continues

WASHINGTON

Armed Services YMCA and the Department of Defense recently announced the continuation of the DoD Military Outreach Initiative, a joint effort that provides eligible DoD service members and their families access to local YMCAs and to certain local private fitness centers around the country.

This initiative is designed to provide eligible military families and active-duty personnel with access to youth development, family strengthening and health and well-being programs through memberships at community Ys or access to select private fitness facilities nationwide.

Membership fees are underwritten by the DoD and the program is overseen by Armed Services YMCA.

Service members can visit www.asymca.org/ymca-dod-military-outreach-initiative for more information and to see if they meet the eligibility requirements for a free Y or private fitness membership.

‘A’ rating for YMCA

WOODBRIDGE, Va.

CharityWatch has awarded an A rating to Armed Services YMCA and has included the organization in CharityWatch’s list of Top-Rated charities.

This Top-Rated designation is recognition of Armed Services YMCA’s sound fiscal management, fundraising efficiency, transparency and governance. The rating offers current and future donors assurance that their gifts will support their intent in the most efficient way possible.

BASIC TRAINING GRADS

Air Force: Airman Jasmine Mcguire, a 2018 graduate of Randall High School, Amarillo, Texas, is the daughter of Mary Wilson of Amarillo, Texas, and Beau Mcguire of Hanoverton.

Items of note for the Armed Forces Digest can be sent to The Vindicator, Regional Desk, P.O. Box 780, Youngstown OH 44501-0780, or emailed to William K. Alcorn at alcorn@vindy.com.