The TAPS Daily - October 23, 2020

Welcome to The TAPS Daily - curated news and resources relevant to military, veterans, and their families. For more news and resources, visit our Government Resources page.

1. New Law Extends VA Mental Health Counseling to More Guard and Reserve Members
   Military.com
   The Vet Center Eligibility Expansion Act extends VA mental health services to Guard and Reserve who didn’t deploy but participated in certain domestic operations.
2. VA poised to help women veterans fight their battle against cancer
   Connecting Vets
   October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the Department of Veterans Affairs is developing a National Women Veterans Oncology System of Excellence.
3. 241 service members died today 37 years ago in the Beirut barracks bombing
   Connecting Vets
   On October 23, 1983, a suicide bomber killed 241 service members in an attack on barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.
4. Silent killers: These are the invisible, respiratory dangers that put our service members at risk
   We Are The Mighty
   The operational tempo of the last two decades has exposed military personnel to a myriad of dangers on and off the battlefield.
5. U.S. Tops 70,000 Coronavirus Cases In 1 Day — Heights Not Seen Since July
   NPR
   U.S. cases have been rising sharply since the middle of September.
6. Study: Universal mask-wearing could save 130,000 lives by spring
   The Hill
   Universal mask-wearing could prevent nearly 130,000 deaths from COVID-19 through February.
7. Pizza to the Polls offers free pizza in exchange for your democratic responsibility
   The Hill
   Pizza to the Polls is planning to deliver free food to polling places with long lines.
8. NASA astronauts cast 2020 election votes from space
   FOX 5 DC
   NASA is proving nowhere is too far to exercise your right to vote.
9. An Upcoming Tom Hanks Flick Follows a Civil War Vet Through the Wild West
   Military.com
   Tom Hanks reunites with "Captain Phillips" director Paul Greengrass for the new movie "News of the World," due for release by Universal Pictures on Christmas Day.

• Staying in Touch - Real Touch
  Understand our need for physical touch and discover tips for feeding your touch starvation during this time of social distancing.
• Not the Funeral I Wanted
  Dr. Kenneth Doka offers suggestions to help make your memorial meaningful despite feeling empty after saying good-bye to a loved one during this pandemic.
• Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors Upcoming Events
  Make plans to join your TAPS Family at an upcoming event.
• TAPS News Archive
  Catch up on all the TAPS news stories over the years on the TAPS media resource page.

• Have Army Emergency Relief Debt? It Could Soon Be Canceled
  Military.com
  Soldiers and families who received loans this year from Army Emergency Relief are about to get a windfall, as the nonprofit forgives those debts, converting them instead to grants.
• Bill introduced allowing disabled veterans to use HOV lanes
  SIlive.com
  Soon those who’ve risked life and limb for our country could be in for a quicker commute.
• Senators Want Upgraded C-130s Assigned to Western Firefighting Mission
  Military.com
  A group of senators has again requested the Air Force consider stationing upgraded C-130 Hercules firefighting aircraft in Nevada due to worsening wildfire seasons.
• Landlords, housing industry sue CDC to overturn eviction ban
  The Hill
  Landlords and housing industry members have filed a lawsuit to overturn the CDC eviction ban.
• Former VA nurse pleads guilty to stealing dying veterans' morphine
  Connecting Vets
  A former VA nurse pled guilty to stealing morphine from dying veterans.
• Feds still make three quarters of private sector pay
  Federal Times
  Some military housing tenants are seeing incremental progress in getting more of the remaining four provisions in the tenant bill of rights.

• Video: Is It Depression Or Is It Grief?
  TAPS
  Strategies to distinguish normal grief from depression and how to respond to each.
• 9 Ways to Ease Anxiety During Halloween
  Healthline
  Haunted houses and scary movies can trigger a response that isn’t fun.
• Beware of Trauma Triggers This Halloween
  Promises Behavioral Health
  For trauma survivors, Halloween can present a perpetual minefield of trauma triggers at every ghoulish turn. Read advice from a trauma expert on this issue and ways to alleviate such triggers.
• Halloween Fun or Horror?
  Psychology Today
  Supporting veterans and survivors of trauma during the Halloween season.
• 9 Election Mental Health Resources You Can Start Using Now
  Self
  Mental health resources to help with election stress, from guided meditations to self-care tips.
• Here 12 ways to cope with anxiety during this crazy year
  CNN
  You're not nuts. This really is a crazy time. Here are a dozen ways to cope.
• Seasonal depression amid coronavirus pandemic: Symptoms, treatment
  USA Today
  Health experts caution seasonal depression could be amplified this year as 2020 winds to a close.

• Operating at home: How to make SOF troops' transition to civilian life easier
  Military Times
  It may be surprising, then, to learn that making the transition back to civilian life can be one of the scariest things some SOF personnel ever do.
• Soldier killed on base at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in non-training incident
  Stars & Stripes
  A 24-year-old Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier was killed in a non-training related incident.
• NCOs Can Now Rank Their Assignment Preferences Under a New Army System
  Military.com
  The Army will now allow noncommissioned officers to rank where they would like to be assigned.
• Meet the refugee who escaped civil war and became an American soldier
  Task & Purpose
  At 20 years old, Army Spc. Poe Hsee understands selfless service more than others.
• ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ is actually the best post-9/11 military movie
  Task & Purpose
  Battle: Los Angeles’ unbridled and unapologetic motivation — what Marines call “being moto” — is where Jonathan Liebesman’s 2011 sci-fi military action flick shines.

• VA failing to track health issues for LGBT vets: report
  Military Times
  VA physicians may be missing significant medical issues among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender veterans because they do not have any standard approach to tracking them.
• Interview with Brian Hanson: From Ranger deployments to Hollywood directing
  We Are The Mighty
  He’s succeeded in unique endeavors: earning a Ranger tab and making a movie.
• Office Depot and OfficeMax Are Giving a 3-Day Veterans Day 2020 Military Discount
  Military.com
  A special Office Depot and OfficeMax Veterans Day discount will give qualifying shoppers a big discount off qualifying purchases over a three-day window in November.

• How Military Families Can Prepare for a No Spend November
  Military.com
  Some people are using November to save up for holiday spending, while others are working toward a year-end savings goal and some are looking to pay off debt.

Banner photo courtesy of the School of Advanced International Studies | John Hopkins University.