| October 2025 |
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⭐ Next VMF Meeting: October 18, 2025, at 7:00 AM ET on Webex ⭐
Link to attend here; Meeting number 23100207446; password: dems
* VMF meetings are open to all DA members, and all VMF members are encouraged to attend.
Message from the Chair
Caucus colleagues—
Since our last newsletter, I attended the funeral of a local U.S. Army veteran who tragically took his own life in recent days, leaving behind his family, countless friends, and coworkers. This experience made me want to redouble VMF’s efforts to ensure the military-connected community living abroad know that resources do exist to help with mental health issues and/or depression. As such, we’ll be posting more on these resources on our social media channels.
On to more encouraging news, VMF-endorsed candidate James Walkinshaw handily won the Virginia-11 Congressional Special Election, and we welcome his fresh presence in the U.S. House of Representatives to join in the fight against voter suppression and protecting VA benefits.
And lastly, the VMF Caucus would like to invite all Democrats Abroad members to send us photos of your military/veteran-inspired artwork. The artwork could be a pencil drawing, painting, diorama, poem, sculpture, photography, pottery, homemade quilt, or anything else – so long as it’s military/veterans/activism/GOTV/volunteering/Democratic-themed. This is an open ask with no hard deadline for art submissions. We look forward to highlighting your pieces on the Democrats Abroad website!
As always, thank you for being part of the VMF family,
Michael Ramos
Democrats Abroad Global VMF Caucus, Chair
Veteran and Military Family Member
Get Out the Vote! (GOTV)
If you live in South Korea, Japan, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Norway, or the U.K., and you’re willing and able to assist with nonpartisan voter registration efforts on a military base with U.S. voters in 2026, please make sure to register your interest with your country committee in addition to letting us know ([email protected]). It’s going to take all hands on deck to pump out the overseas vote for the midterms, and we know that the vote from service members and their dependents always makes a difference.
If you haven’t already done so for 2025, please go to VoteFromAbroad.org to ensure you get your home state ballot emailed to you well in advance of the General Election on November 4.
VMF Updates
VMF's TAKE ACTION Advocacy: Urge Your U.S. Representative to Pass H.R. 439 to Help Veterans Abroad Get the VA Health Care They Have Earned
Statement from the VMF Caucus: Secretaries Pete Hegseth and Doug Collins Must Resign
***To view (lots!) more of the latest VMF News Articles & Opinions, please see here.
Legislative Updates
On Sept. 10, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3838, the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act. Click here to see how your representative voted.
Also on Sept. 10, the U.S. Senate voted to kill an amendment to its version of the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act, which would have made public the files on Jeffrey Epstein. Click here to see how your Senators voted.
VMF Tip of the Month
Did you know that veterans living abroad with service-connected disabilities are eligible to apply for VA’s Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) program? This critical program includes those with spinal cord injuries and degenerative conditions, such as Parkinson’s and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The grant program helps disabled veterans to buy or build a permanent home to provide independent living, adapt a home they or their family member already own, or adapt a home where they are temporarily living. If this pertains to you, are you ready to apply? Let us know, we’re happy to recommend a VA-accredited representative to assist in the process.
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We’d also like to send a quick shout-out to DA Spain VMF Caucus member Lucia Perez for making this extra delicious-looking cinnamon roll! If you’d like a shout-out, e-mail us a pic of whatever VMF-inspired food or other artwork you created! [email protected] |
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Need some fresh Democrats Abroad gear? Click here: https://democratsabroadmerchandise.com/collections/all
Are you following us on social media?
Also, be sure to check out VMF’s podcast and movie recommendations! And if you haven’t checked it out already, make sure to swing by our Virtual Museum (QR Code shown below). Simply click on each “display” and swipe through each one to view additional pages.
Questions/Comments/Suggestions?
For matters concerning the VMF newsletter: [email protected]
For reaching the VMF Caucus chair: [email protected]
For all other matters: [email protected]
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Are you following the Democrats Abroad Global Veterans & Military Families (VMF) Caucus on social media?
- CONUS: Call 988 and Press 1 or go to https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/
- In Europe: +1 844-702-5495 or DSN 988
- In the Pacific: +1 844-702-5493 or DSN 988
- In Southwest Asia: +1 855-422-7719 or DSN 988
- Chat: Text with a crisis line responder. Send a text to 838255 or through https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/chat
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The VMF Caucus, proudly consisting of veterans, military family members, civilians affiliated with the Department of War, or DoW (formerly Department of Defense, or DoD), and strong allies of our causes, has over 1,400 members located in dozens of countries.