Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki on Tuesday unveiled an ambitious five-year plan to end homelessness among the nation’s veterans who make up a comparatively large portion those living on the streets. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Shinseki, speaking at a VA summit in Washington, D.C., said the VA will spend $3.2 billion next year towards that goal and is working to strengthen partnerships with other government agencies and service organizations. “Even in tough economic times, this is still the wealthiest, most powerful nation in the world and no veteran should be living on the streets without care and without hope,” he said. The new initiative will focus both on preventing vets from ever going homeless and removing those already on the streets from that condition. (For more, see the Washington Post’s Nov. 4 report (requires free registration).
Nearly 50 aircraft from the German, French, and Spanish air forces are embarking on a series of exercises across the Indo-Pacific region from June to August, with the U.S. Air Force jumping in on several as well.