Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
A Bit Of History
September 30, 2008
Andy Duprey, Scoutmaster
Do any of you the significance of the phrase "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month"?
It's the time, day, and month when, in 1918, the Treaty of Versailles was signed bringing an end to fighting in the "Great War"
Congress made this day a national holiday in 1926, originally known as Armistice Day - to honor the end of the "war to end all wars".
Unfortunately, there were other wars and conflicts.
Armistice Day was renamed "Veteran's Day" by Congress in 1954.
Veteran's Day is when we honor all service members and veterans
Currently there are approximately 24 million veterans in the United States
Who can tell me the current US population? 305 million.
What percentage are veterans?
We will take some time between now and November 11th to talk about Veterans and Service Members.
Tonight, however, please think about this.
We talk about service to the troop, our schools, churches and our communities.
Think as you go home, about the service and sacrifice the 24 million living Veterans have given to our country.
Thank you and good night scouts.
VA Benefits & Health Care Utilization
Updated 07/22/08
| Number of Veterans Receiving VA Disability Compensation (as of 06/30/08) | 2.9 M |
| Number of Veterans Rated 100% Disabled (as of 06/30/08) | 257,414 |
| Number of Veterans Receiving VA Pension (as of 06/30/08) | 317,439 |
| Number of Spouses Receiving DIC (as of 06/30/08) | 320,226 |
| Number of Total Enrollees in VA Health Care System (FY 07) | 7.8 M1 |
| Number of Total Unique Patients Treated (FY 07) | 5.5 M (1) |
| Number of Veterans Compensated for PTSD (as of 06/30/08) | 329,746 |
| Number of Veterans in Receipt of IU Benefits (as of 06/30/08) | 244,186 |
| Number of VA Education Beneficiaries (FY 07) | 523,344 |
| Number of Life Insurance Policies Supervised and Administered by VA (as of 06/30/08) | 7.2 M |
| Face Amount of Insurance Policies Supervised and Administered by VA (as of 06/30/08) | 1.3 T |
| Number of VA Voc Rehab (Chapter 31) Trainees (as of FY 07) | 52,477 |
| Number of Active VA Home Loan Participants (as of 06/30/08) | 2.1 M |
| Number of Health Care Professionals Rotating Through VA (FY 07) | 101,404 |
| Number of OEF/OIF Amputees (as of 06/30/08) | 803 (2) |
Source: DVA Information Technology Center; Health Services Training Report; VA Education Service; (1) VHA (10A5); B (2) DOD
Veterans Demographics
| Projected U.S. Veterans Population | 23,816,000 {Female 1,780,000 7%} |
| Projected Number of Living WW II Veterans (as of 9/30/2007) | 2,911,900 |
| Number of WW II Veterans Pass Away Per Day | 900 |
| Percentage of Veteran Population 65 or Older | 39.1% |
| Veteran Population by Race | White 80.0%
Black 10.9% Asian/Pacific Islander 1.4% Hispanic 5.6% American Indian/Alaska Natives 0.8% Other 1.3% |
| Number of VA Employees | 271,109 |
| Number of VA Medical Centers | 153 |
| Number of VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) | 737 |
| Number of VA Vet Centers | 225 |
| Number of VBA Regional Offices | 57 |
| Number of VA National Cemeteries | 125 |
| FY06 Appropriations (actual)(1) |
VA: $73.6B
VHA: $31.0B (2) VBA-GOE: $1.08B (3) NCA: $150M |
| FY07 Appropriations (enacted)(1) |
VA: $80.2B
VHA: $34.5B (2) VBA-GOE: $1.17B (3) NCA: $161M |
| FY08 Appropriations (enacted)(1) |
VA: $90.0B VHA: $39.1B (2) VBA-GOE: $1.33B (3) NCA: $195M |
Produced by Office of Policy and Planning National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics (008A3)
Source: Veteran Population as of 09/30/07; VA Employ Pay Status Count 06/30/08; Veterans Affairs Site Tracking
(VAST) 06/30/08; NCA as of 06/30/08; Office of Budget; Health Services Training Report FY07 ; (1) Includes MCCF;
(2) Medical Care w/ MCCF; (3) Discretionary Spending Only