(CNN) – Two American tourists have been kidnapped in the southern part of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, a security official said Friday.

Obama Announcing New Programs for Vet Hiring

President Barack Obama plans to announce a new job-hiring plan that could see thousands of post-9/11 veterans filling first responder positions across the U.S., as well as a conservation program intended to put 20,000 vets to work restoring and protecting the nation’s national parks.

In winding down war, a fundamentally different challenge in Afghanistan than in Iraq

The narrative that the Obama administration has laid out for winding down the war in Afghanistan has a familiar feel: It is intended to evoke the gradual withdrawal from Iraq.

Marine Fights Conviction for Suicide Attempt

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — A discharged Marine private who slit his wrists in a suicide attempt is fighting his military conviction for deliberately injuring himself, arguing the punishment is inconsistent with the armed forces’ efforts to battle a rise in suicides during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Combat troop ailments drive medical retirement backlog

Tens of thousands of combat troops who undergo routine health checks before returning home need treatment for ailments ranging from bad backs to mental illness, helping to drive a backlog of troops waiting for medical retirements, new Pentagon data show.

Danger Pay Now Calculated By the Day

WASHINGTON — Starting this month, the Defense Department will calculate imminent-danger pay by the day rather than the month, a cost-cutting move the department estimated last year could save $30 million annually.

U.S. government, military to get secure Android phones

(CNN) – Some U.S. officials this year are expected to get smartphones capable of handling classified government documents over cellular networks, according to people involved in the project.

1. Obtain COE 

A Certificate of Eligibility (COE) can be obtained with your lender’s help or by you online at the Veterans Information Portal (VIP). The COE provides important information to the lender about your eligibility and entitlement.

2. Pre-Qualify

Give your lender all the information about your income, debts and assets upfront so you can get a good idea of how much you can afford to borrow.  Pre-qualifying is just an estimate.  The VA loan underwriter will verify that you are a satisfactory credit risk later in the VA loan process.

3. Property Eligibility

VA mortgages are for primary residences like single family homes, townhomes, VA-approved condos, multi-family dwellings (one fourplex per borrower) and some manufactured homes (secured to a permanent foundation).  Properties financed with a VA loan must have an appraisal and compliance inspection for value and safety.

4. Appraisal

The VA appraiser will evaluate the property to determine fair market value and safety compliance.  The home should appraise at or above the purchase or refinance price.  If it’s determined is unsafe, then safety issues are usually required to be fixed before closing.

5. Underwriting 

A VA underwriter uses income documents, credit reports, the appraisal and other documents to finalize your VA loan application process. The underwriter’s role is to certify to the VA that the borrower is a satisfactory credit risk.

6. Closing 

A title company will be used to close your loan.   You will sign loan, title and other documents at your VA loan closing.  If buying a home, you can move in within the time specified after closing – often within 24 hours.

Many veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are reluctant to seek help from VA. A study to be released this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that only 51 percent of new veterans have sought the services of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

CDC researchers found several problems that result in younger vets failing to seek VA help. First, some younger veterans may be unfamiliar with the VA system. Second, some live too far from a center. Third, and most troubling, some doubt the quality of care they would receive. A fourth issue, as expressed by some veterans, is more personal. They don’t want to admit that they need help.

VA officials acknowledge that they need to develop better ways to reach younger vets – and social media is playing a new and larger role. VA has launched individual Facebook pages for each of its 152 medical centers. According to Brandon Friedman, VA’s director of online communications, “With more troops returning home, we also have a responsibility to connect with the thousands of servicemembers who have been — and will be — entering our system. They’re using social media, so that’s where we need to be.” 

For more information on the CDC study, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2012/pdf/11_0132.pdf

For more information on the new VA social media launch, go to: http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2238

Peter S. Gaytan is the author of For Service To Your Country – Updated Edition: The Essential Guide to Getting the Veterans’ Benefits You’ve Earned (Citadel, 2011), available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other booksellers. He has served as an advocate in securing and protecting the earned benefits of America’s veterans for more than a decade. Gaytan is the Executive Director of the American Legion, the largest 

veterans service organization in America.

PARK CITY, Utah – The U.S. Department of Defense estimates that more than 19,000 military men and women were sexually assaulted by fellow troops in 2010 while serving in the armed forces. At least 20 percent of servicewomen and 1 percent of men – an estimated 500,000 troops – have experienced sexual trauma while serving.

VA sees ‘paperless’ claims as critical to ending backlog

The only way to achieve VA Secretary Eric Shinseki’s goal for 2015 — that every disability compensation claim gets processed within 125 days and with 98 percent accuracy — is to shift to a paperless claims system.  And that transformation has begun.

IED attacks in Afghanistan set record of 16,000 this past year

Attacks with makeshift bombs hit a record high of more than 16,000 in Afghanistan in the past year, and the increasing harm they cause to Afghan civilians indicates insurgents may lack strong leadership, military officials say.

Panetta: Troop numbers to fall, but no hit to active-duty pay and benefits

WASHINGTON — Overall troop numbers will fall, ships and planes will be retired and some programs will be curtailed, but building the “smaller and leaner” U.S. military of the future won’t immediately hit the pocketbooks of active-duty troops or wounded veterans.

Iraq May Take Legal Action Over Haditha Raid

BAGHDAD – Iraq will take legal action to ensure justice for the families of 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians killed in a U.S. raid in Haditha seven years ago, a government spokesman said Thursday, after the lone U.S. Marine convicted in the killings reached a deal to escape jail time.

Key points of President’s State of the Union address

Here are key initiatives from President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night:

U.S. special forces rescue Somalia aid workers

U.S. special forces swooped into Somalia in a pair of helicopters in a daring overnight raid to rescue two kidnapped aid workers — an American and a Dane — and killed several gunmen, American officials said Wednesday.

Grant money to go toward educating former service members

National Louis University recently awarded $749,599 in grant money from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation for Education to Employment Initiative, which is aimed to helping former service members and other underserved students.

House Bills Promote Religion at War Memorials

WASHINGTON — The House on Tuesday passed two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials. One writes into law the propriety of displaying religious markers at war memorials while the other orders that the Interior Department add to the World War II Memorial in Washington a plaque with Franklin Roosevelt’s prayer to the nation on D-Day.

Report: Numbers of homeless female vets doubles

NAPLES, Italy — The number of homeless female veterans has more than doubled, and their numbers are likely to increase as servicemembers return from Iraq and Afghanistan if the Deparment of Veterans Affairs does not address the specific needs of women veterans, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.

We know that many of our servicemembers return from repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We know that many vets struggle with unemployment and find that the transition to civilian life is difficult. While VA has made a strong commitment to meeting the mental health needs of returning veterans, there are still areas that need improvement.

The VA’s Inspector General (IG) admitted that 7 out of 10 Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities lack the staff to adequately handle vet mental health care needs. This statistic was part of a report by IG at the “VA Mental Heath Care: Addressing Wait Times and Access to Care” hearing, held by The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. IG also reported that 40 percent of VA health care providers could not schedule patient appointments within their own timeline of two weeks. Even when they literally do schedule an appointment, it is often just to complete paperwork. Actually meeting with a doctor or nurse to deal with the problems the veteran is encountering can take weeks or months. Furthermore, IG found that 46 percent of VA facilities do not schedule appointments outside of normal working hours which means that many veterans do not get adequate access to health care.

Timely meetings with mental health professionals is critical to the treatment of any health problem, but especially PTSD and other mental health issues facing our veterans. VA funding for mental health care has increased 126 percent since fiscal 2006. VA is committed to hiring qualified professionals to meet the growing veteran population suffering from mental health troubles.

VA continues to work toward more effective screening, diagnosis and treatment for all veterans to include the newest generation of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

For a complete report on the “VA Mental Health Care: Addressing Wait Times and Access to Care” hearing, go to:

http://veterans.senate.gov/hearings.cfm?action=release.display&release_id=a9c9fd7c-36e8-4e4b-a9a4-dbff47a4fe5d

Peter S. Gaytan is the author of For Service To Your Country – Updated Edition: The Essential Guide to Getting the Veterans’ Benefits You’ve Earned (Citadel, 2011), available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other booksellers. He has served as an advocate in securing and protecting the earned benefits of America’s veterans for more than a decade. Gaytan is the Executive Director of the American Legion, the largest veterans service organization in America.