Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 07.14.09
Posted by Michelle McCarthy on July 14

Here are some of today's top stories and happenings at IAVA.  Prefer to receive real-time updates about major stories and legislation that IAVA is tracking?  Follow us on Twitter @iavapressroom.

MUST READS

(1) Make Colbert an Honorary IAVA Member?

Stephen Colbert is back from his USO tour in Iraq!  And on Monday, IAVA Executive Director joined him on the The Colbert Report to discuss the success of "Operation Iraqi Stephen" and issues affecting our nation's troops and veterans as they transition home including the VA claims backlog, foreclosure and unemployment.  During the show, Rieckhoff also issued Colbert Nation a new challenge: Colbert made it to Iraq and back, but does he deserve to be an honorary IAVA Member? IAVA is asking our veteran and civilian supporters to decided!  If 25,000 people sign the pledge, IAVA will make Colbert an Honorary Member.  To vote and spread the word visit www.iava.org/colbert!  Watch the clip of Rieckhoff on Colbert here.

(2) Veterans with post-traumatic stress are at high risk of dementia

According to scientists from the University of California-San Francisco, veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have a significantly higher risk of developing dementia compared with veterans who don't have the disorder.  In a new study using data from the Department of Veterans Affairs National Patient Care Database, UC-SF scientists analyzed files of 181,093 veterans ages 55 and older without dementia from 1997 to 2000. The mean age at the start of the study was 68, and 97% were male.  During the follow-up period from 2001 to 2007, the researchers learned that 53,155 veterans were diagnosed with dementia or cognitive impairment. Veterans who had post-traumatic stress developed dementia at a rate of 10.6% over seven years, while those who didn't have the disorder had a rate of 6.6%, the researchers reported. "The results are not surprising," says Robert Wilson, neuropsychologist in the Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center. "Our thinking is that things like PTSD or chronic anxiety or depression don't cause dementia themselves but may make us more vulnerable to it."

(3) TV Journalist Wounded in Iraq Returns to the War

Three years after he suffered severed Traumatic Brain Injury in a roadside bombing in Iraq, ABC News journalist and veteran advocate Bob Woodruff made his first visit back to the warzone Monday for a series of interviews with front-line doctors and nurses about new equipment that is said to reduce injuries among the military forces there.  Woodruff is one of the highest-profile member of the news media to be wounded in the six-year-long war, and through a foundation established with his wife Lee he has sought to keep a spotlight on soldiers who experience traumatic brain injury and combat stress while on duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.  He is among the reporters accompanying Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on an overseas trip to Iraq this week.  In an interview with the New York Times, IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff applauded Woodruff's return visit saying his  presence on ABC makes him “the most visible wounded person in this war.”  “He put a face on the injured,” Mr. Rieckhoff said, and helped to put pressure on the American government to improve the support systems for soldiers with traumatic brain injuries.  Follow Woodruff's live reports from Iraq on Twitter at @BobWoodruff or @tweettoremind.

AFGHANISTAN

U.S. military officials confirmed Tuesday that two U.S. Marines have been killed in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan, where marines, NATO troops and Afghan Army forces have been mounting an offensive against Taliban insurgents in the past two weeks.  In a separate incident, a helicopter crashed in Sangin district, northeast of Helmand's provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.  The number of casualties and the nationalities of those on board could not immediately be confirmed. It was not clear whether the helicopter had been shot down or suffered mechanical failure.

Meanwhile, the Pashtun police chief of a district south of Kabul that the Americans had sought to make a Taliban-free model of safety and security was killed Monday along with three of his officers in a roadside bombing.  Some officials are perceiving it as a blow to the American offensive and a sign that Taliban operatives have re-infiltrated the district, Jalrez, in Wardak Province.  The attack came as Afghan President Hamid Karzai embarked on the first trip of his election campaign, to his home city, Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan. Once the stronghold of the Taliban, Kandahar remains one of the most dangerous provinces and is the sight of a sweeping U.S. offensive in the past two weeks.  In a speech, Karzai urged the Afghan people to support the foreign troop presence. “Let the foreign countries stabilize our country, let them build our country and stand us on our own feet. After doing all this, then you can tell them to go and they will go,” he said.

Britain announced Tuesday it is sending an additional 140 troops to Afghanistan as Prime Minister Gordon Brown faces pressure to bolster armored equipment after the deaths of 8 U.K. forces there in the past week.  The Ministry of Defense said Tuesday the soldiers will be transferred from a British base in Cyprus to the war zone where they will join 9,000 British soldiers.

To learn more about some of the conditions that U.S. and NATO forces are facing in Helmand Province, click here to listen to an interview with NPR producer Graham Smith and staff photographer David Gilkey about their embed with U.S. Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment.  View a gallery of their warzone photography here.

IRAQ

Seven American soldiers and a linguist traveling with them were wounded in a bomb blast as they walked out of a meeting with local government officials in northern Iraq, a United States military spokesman said Monday.  The attack occurred Sunday afternoon in Al Sharqat, a town about 200 miles north of Baghdad, but was not reported by the United States military until the following day.  The soldiers had traveled to the town, in generally peaceful Salahuddin Province, to discuss possible United States military participation in several projects, including renovating schools and medical centers, said Lt. Sean P. Riordan, a military spokesman in Baghdad.  The revelation came as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen made a surprise visit Monday to Iraq’s northern city of Kirkuk to meet with representatives of the city's divided communities, provincial officials and senior Iraqi police commanders in the provincial government buildings.

Separately, the New York Times reports today that Iraq is crippling under the pressure of an intense drought – largely in part due to the lack of water agreements and treaties with the Turkish and Syrian governments.  Click here to learn more. 

MILITARY AFFAIRS

More than 100 Air Force Academy basic cadet trainees are in isolation after being diagnosed with swine flu or experiencing flu-like symptoms, officials said.  Over the weekend, 52 trainees received word they have the H1N1 virus, bringing the number of confirmed cases at the academy to 67, said John Van Winkle, an academy spokesman. Another 54 fell ill, coughing, running a fever and complaining of body aches. They’re awaiting test results to determine if they have the flu.  All ill trainees are being kept in a dormitory, away from their classmates; no one has been hospitalized, Van Winkle said.  The 121 cadets represent 9 percent of the 1,341 incoming freshman who arrived at the academy June 25 for training before their first semester.

Two soldiers from the Virginia National Guard’s 266th Military Police Company accused of filming and photographing female members of their unit during pre-deployment training have been charged with misconduct, officials announced Monday. The soldiers, Sgt. Gilbert Parker and Spc. Matthew Delia, are currently deployed to Basra, Iraq, with their company. In fall 2008, during the unit’s mobilization training at Fort Dix, N.J., Parker is accused of committing an indecent act by filming and photographing female members of his company while they showered. The maximum authorized sentence for Parker’s charges includes 18 years in confinement and a dishonorable discharge. The maximum authorized sentence for the charges against Delia includes 12 years in confinement and a dishonorable discharge.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

The Hill reported late Monday that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is considering adding a possible amendment to the 2010 defense authorization bill currently under debate on Capitol Hill.    That amendment could be a first step leading to the repeal of the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy by placing an 18-month moratorium on the discharge of gays serving in the military.

Meanwhile, the Senate Veterans Affairs Comittee will host a special hearing Tuesday morning concerning bridging the gaps in care for our nation's women veterans.  Click here to view the hearing live beginning at 9:30 a.m.  Additionally, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will also chair a hearing Tuesday to examine the progress of electronic health record interoperability between the VA and DoD.  More details below.

CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

THE SENATE 

The Senate will convene at TBA.

FUTURE COMMITTEE HEARINGS  of  INTEREST

• July 14, 2009 - SVAC will hold a hearing entitled, “Women Veterans: Bridging the Gaps in Care.”  9:30 a.m.; 418 Russell (Vasquez)
• July 29, 2009 - SVAC will hold a hearing entitled, "Review of Veterans' Disability Compensation: Forging a Path Forward."  9:30 a.m.; 418 Russell (Smith)

THE HOUSE of  REPRESENTATIVES       

The House will convene at TBA.

FUTURE  HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of  INTEREST

• July 14, 2009  Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Hearing: Examining the Progress of Electronic Health Record Interoperability Between VA and DoD  10:00 a.m.; 334 Cannon HOB
• July 16, 2009  Joint Subcommittees on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs and Health Hearing:  Eliminating the Gaps: Examining Women Veterans’ Issues  10:00 a.m.; 334 Cannon HOB
• July 23, 2009  Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Hearing:   Examining Quality of Life and Ancillary Benefits Issues  10:00 a.m.; 334 Cannon HOB
• July 30, 2009  Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Hearing:  The Implications of VA’s Limited Scope of Gulf War Illness Research  10:00 a.m.; 334 Cannon HOB

IAVA IN THE NEWS

Outlet: The Colbert Report

Title: Colbert Back from Iraq, and worthy of Veteran Status?

Date: Monday, July 13th

Representative: Paul Rieckhoff

Outlet: New York Times

Title: TV Journalist Wounded in Iraq Returns to the War

Date: Tuesday, July 14^th

Representative: Paul Rieckhoff

WHAT THE BLOGS ARE SAYING

Blog: A Plum Life

Title: The 30 Day Challenge to Support IAVA

Date: Monday, July 13th

Representative: IAVA

A wide-range of views, positions, and publications are represented in these articles.  These views, positions and publications are not endorsed by nor do they necessarily represent the views of IAVA.