Military

A Columbus company is building vehicles used as mobile centers to expand veterans' access to counseling and
health care.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says Farber Specialty Vehicles will add 20 more so-called Mobile Vet Centers to a fleet of 50 it has built to be used in underserved or rural areas.  Lawmakers and VA officials are expected to be on hand Wednesday to send off the first of those 20 new vehicles and announce where the
new centers will be headed.

A small group of veterans has been getting some extra attention lately.  Their stories have been made into a comic book.  WYSO’s Jerry Kenney reports on how it all started.

Charlie Bath enlisted in the Army in 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor.   For four years, he proudly served as a wire chief in the signal corps.  That job involved running telephone wire all over France and Germany.  Charlie was the guy who could climb, so that’s what he did – climbed poles, often checking for live wires by hitting them with a wrench.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - On this Veterans day, the state estimates that about 90,000 eligible military veterans are missing out on Ohio bonuses of up to $1,000.

Spokesman Michael McKinney with the Ohio Department of Veterans Services tells The Columbus Dispatch that the agency tries to spread the word about the program using radio ads, social media and booths at fairs and veterans events.

Voters in 2009 approved a $200 million bond issue to fund bonuses for veterans of the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq wars. More than $41 million has been paid out since August 2010.

The U.S. Air Force announced Wednesday that it is consolidating management function from 12 different centers. There will be 5 in total and two of those will be located at Wright Patterson Force Base. This comes as the Air Force faces budget cuts and they say it is an effort to improve efficiency.

Wright Patterson will house the new U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. That will focus on acquisition of aircraft and support weapons systems. The new center will combine other facilities from bases in Massachusetts and Florida.