Disabled retirees who qualify for both combat-related special compensation (CRSC) and concurrent retirement and disability pay (CRDP) will have the month of January to compare relative payments under the two programs and elect whichever of the two options will pay them the most.



CRDP payments are still ramping up each year under a statutory phase-in plan, so don't assume that whatever program paid you more in 2008 will still be best for you in 2009. 



If you need help determining which you would like, please contact an accredited service officer at the Nevada Office of Veterans Services or one of the other service officers accredited by Nevada's Veteran Service Organizations.

During this holiday season, too often we are drawn into focusing on gifts.  The presents we want to receive.  The gifts we want to give our family and friends.  And yet too frequently, while we sit down to enjoy that gift giving time, whether it being unwrapping presents beside the tree or enjoying a holiday meal, we overlook one of the greatest gifts of all.  Our freedom, gifted to us daily by those thousands of men and women who have served and continue to sacrifice on behalf of our country is perhaps the greatest gift of all.



Many Americans attempt to thank these American heroes daily.  Whether saying thank you as you pass by in the airport or serving a holiday meal for homeless veterans at the Veterans Center, remember a sincere thank you has tremendous value.  For we must all realize the gift we were given by the veterans service and the debt of thanks we owe them.  One Nevadan who epitomizes this is Sands Casino Corporation CEO Sheldon Adelson.  Mr Adelson, his wife, and his company spend millions to provide a small gift of appreciation to those American heroes of the Global War on Terror.  If you missed the story outlining his program, CBS Sunday Morning covered it here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RLs9VFENZU). 



So please take time during these holidays to thank a veteran.  Thank them for our gift of freedom and the sacrifices he/she made to preserve that freedom.  And never forget as you sit down with your family and friends that those sacrifices continue today.  For while you sit in relative luxury stateside, today's American heroes remain our sentinels in the cold mountains of Afghanistan, windy deserts of Iraq, or hundreds of other places worldwide.



Merry Christmas and blessings towards a wonderful New Year.

According to the Associated Press (AP) in an article titled "Bases brace for stress related disorders"

"More than 63,600 active duty Army soldiers have done three or more tours in Iraq or Afghanistan. That is a nearly 12 percent of the total number of soldiers who have deployed at least once. Roughly four in 10 soldiers who have gone to war have served more than one deployment — and that number is growing steadily."