What's that on the Blog Radar?

 No Veteran's Mail Call today - tomorrow is my son's 1st birthday, so I'm going to shut down early to help my wife (who I affectionately call "Homestead 6") get ready for the party. 

That's RTO-speak for Commander of the Homestead, for those of you that served in the Air Force and never used a radio. *wink*

Instead of recording a Mail Call Video, I want to share some of the best Veteran related content I've found this week out on the blogosphere.

I scrub the internet for this content - from RSS feeds, to content aggregators, you name it - I'm keeping my finger on the pulse of the Veteran Blogosphere and I want to share my favorites with you.

Do you follow "Asknod"?

If you're a Veteran who is "up to your armpits" in the VA mud, you should be tracking this writer.  

His post this week "I FORGOT WHAT IT WAS I WAS ARGUING" is a really thorough commentary on oral arguments on a case involving a regulation about the effective date of a common type of VA claim.

Veteran Speak.

This is a blog that talks about what's important to Veterans dealing with disabilities.  Its author isn't a Veteran, but works with disabled American veterans as an Independent Living Specialist for a Disability Network.  

The most recent post, "Dealing with your Anger" provides an interesting perspectives about how to cope with Post Traumatic Stress.  

These tips aren't going to "cure" your Post Traumatic Stress, but when combined with professional therapy and a close support network of those who have survived the road you are traveling may give relief. 

 War on the Rocks.

War on the Rocks describes itself as "...a platform for analysis, commentary, and debate on foreign policy and national security issues through a realist lens."

I went to college and went through ROTC with the author of a post that appeared on WOTR this past week: "Media Lessons Learned and Civil Military Divides".  Mike Noonan served a tour in Iraq, and then came back to author some phenomenal articles for the Foreign Policy Research Institute.  

Over the years, Mike's thoughts on the Civil-Military Divide have profoundly impacted the way I think about Veterans, VA and lawyers.  We won't hold it against him that he's a Phillies fan.

New Polytrauma Center at Dallas VAMC.

Yesterday I wrote about the VA needing to do a better job of promoting the GOOD things it does.  This story is 3 weeks old, but just trickled onto my "site-scrubber radar".  

Polytrauma Centers are a big deal.  They treat multiple complex injuries that cause physical, cognitive, psychological, and social impairments and functional disabilities that result from blast-related polytrauma open wounds, traumatic amputations, spinal injuries, eye conditions, musculoskeletal system disorders, psychiatric problems, and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

I recently met a nurse in a Polytrauma Center back east, and these are the people that work miracles putting our OIF and OEF Injured Vets back together. 

Great job Dallas VAMC!