Mike Helm, national commander of the American Legion, was on a whirlwind tour of Arkansas . The American Legion Post 341 in Bella Vista was his fifth and final stop on Tuesday, Feb. 17. Unfortunately for Helm, the wintry weather on Sunday forced him to cancel several meetings in central Arkansas on Monday.
Prior to the dinner at the local Legion post home, Helm, who is a member of the Lebanon, Neb., American Legion but lives in Norcatur, Kan., said health care for veterans is the Legion's No. 1 focus. However, the veterans group also is working on veterans re-employment, job creation and education services.
As far as the health issues go, the Legion is working to get better outcome-based therapy assistance to injured military personnel, particularly those with post-traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries, he said. In many cases, they are taking too many drugs in their treatments.
"We're working with the VA, the Department of Defense, veterans organizations and outside agencies to come up with better treatments," said Helm, a Vietnam veteran.
On the veterans' re-employment front, Helm said the Legion is working to ensure that soldiers who are driving vehicles in the military can come back and get jobs in the trucking industry without having to go through a lot of red tape.
The same is true for those working in medical fields in the military, where their life experiences in the military can be translated into entry level jobs in similar medical fields, he added.
General News on 02/25/2015