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newsvineIAVA Daily Brief 08.11.09
Posted by Michelle McCarthy on August 10
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)White House: Vets' health care is safe and sound
Though Congress is in recess until September, the White House released a special video message on Monday to dispel concerns that President Obama’s healthcare reform proposal will negatively impact veterans’ existing benefits and access to VA healthcare. The message from Matt Flavin, White House Director of Veterans and Wounded Warrior Policy, explains that nothing in health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now and that the President's budget greatly expands coverage for veterans who have been denied access in the past. Click here to watch the “Reality Check” video message. Separately, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs official L. Tammy Duckworth told a Charleston audience on Monday that the VA is in the process of "a major transformation." As the VA assistant secretary for public affairs, she talked about her personal experiences as an example of why reforms are needed within the VA to make it easier for other caregivers to gain quick access to veterans' medical records. Duckworth spoke during "CARE-NET: Caring Beyond the Yellow Ribbon," a day-long conference for veterans.
2)Study to Seek Clues to Soldier Suicides
The Washington Post reported Monday that doctors leading the largest study ever of suicide and mental health in the military are developing intensive soldier surveys that they hope will provide clues as to why suicide rates among Army personnel have grown dramatically in recent years. The study, a collaboration between the National Institute of Mental Health and the Army, will seek data from every soldier recruited into the Army over the next three years as well as from about 90,000 soldiers already in the service. According to researchers, the project could eventually involve half a million participants. "We're looking at suicide as the culmination of a long chain of events," said Robert K. Heinssen, the NIMH study director who noted that soldiers will be asked on a volunteer basis for personal information that can be used to make psychological assessments. The five-year, $50 million study, which stems from an agreement in October between the Army and NIMH, is an ambitious attempt to stem a wave of suicides which claimed 143 soldiers in 2008, the highest number in the three decades that the Army has kept records.
3) Did Arlington National Cemetery break the law?
In the fourth installment of series, Salon’s Mark Benjamin investigates whether officials at Arlington National Cemetery broke Army protocol and federal law when it mailed two computer servers containing the personal data -- including Social Security numbers -- of thousands of deceased soldiers to a Florida contractor. According to Salon, senior cemetery official ordered the servers to be mailed despite federal law and Army regulations that prohibit such unauthorized shipping, and despite the objections of the cemetery's IT manager, who warned of possible privacy law violations. The incident follows reports in July of shoddy care and misplaced remains at the military cemetery. "We continue to be concerned about the revelations at Arlington and we have yet to see an adequate response from Congress or the Army," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "Despite national reporting on this, there has yet to be an official response from the president. It is clear that these are not isolated incidents and there are deep-rooted problems at Arlington." Click here to read more about new allegations.
4) McChrystal: Jobs could quell Afghan violence
In an interview with USA TODAY, Gen. Stanley McChrystal said Monday his No. 1 unmet need in Afghanistan is to have functioning local governments and officials who can provide basic services. He went a step further to argue that many Taliban insurgents, particularly in the violence-plagued south, could be persuaded to stop fighting if they could find jobs in a stabilized country. "What we see are indications that mid- and low-level commanders and fighters have a tremendous interest in trying to reintegrate into Afghan society, working with the government of Afghanistan so that they can go back to normal lives," McChrystal said in a phone interview from Kabul. McChrystal indicated that trying to persuade Taliban insurgents to stop fighting would differ from the effort the U.S. military used in Iraq, called the Sons of Iraq or Awakening Councils, which helped curb violence after roughly 90,000 mostly Sunni volunteers acted as local security guards in exchange for cash. "There's a lot of concerns on the part of the population that we not create [bands of warlords] unintentionally," he said. McChrystal is scheduled to make recommendations by late August or early September on how to fight the war in Afghanistan and how many troops will be needed to reverse the Taliban's momentum.
AFGHANISTAN
The U.S. military reported three U.S. troops were killed in clashes with insurgents in southern Afghanistan, where roadside bombs also killed nine civilians, according to officials. NATO said the Americans died in separate “hostile fire incidents.” It did not disclose the exact location of the attacks but that the first died of wounds suffered in an incident that occurred Saturday, another died Sunday and the third died Monday. At least 27 foreign troops, including 18 Americans, have died in August, a record pace. A Polish soldier, 22 Taliban insurgents and two Afghan soldiers also died in violence nine days ahead of the country’s second-ever presidential election.
Just across the border, the U.S. resumed missile strikes in Pakistan’s northwest Tuesday — nearly a week after one reportedly killed the country’s Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud — hitting a hide-out believed to be frequented by his supporters and killing at least eight suspected militants. A Taliban spokesman confirmed the strike in the South Waziristan region but said only six “innocent civilians” were killed. The latest missile attack came as the Taliban continued to deny Mehsud was killed in last week’s strike, and amid conflicting reports of a power struggle among those trying to decide who should succeed him. Intelligence officials say meetings are being held in the South Waziristan tribal region to name an heir.
IRAQ
In nearby Kuwait, authorities said Tuesday they arrested an al-Qaida-linked group allegedly planning to attack the U.S. military base at Camp Arifjan as well as the headquarters of the country’s security agency, in addition to other facilities it did not name. The Interior Ministry said in a brief statement that State Security had detained a “terrorist network” of six Kuwaitis who gave “detailed confessions.” The statement did not provide any details. However, Kuwait’s Alrai daily quoted anonymous security sources Tuesday that the group had confessed to buying a truck which it intended to load with fertilizer, chemicals and gas cylinders and ram into the camp.
MILITARY AFFAIRS
A week after the Post-9/11 GI Bill went into effect, reports surfaced over the weekend that about 300 new and returning student veterans to the University of Maryland might have to wait up to 10 weeks for the VA to transfer payments to the school. In a statement, the VA said it has “reached out to the states and schools to strongly encourage them to demonstrate flexibility and forbearance when working with students receiving VA education benefits.” In the interim, the University of Maryland said it will take care of the tuition until the VA catches up, but students will have to take care of books and supplies on their own. Visit NewGIBill.org for the latest updates on the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
Meanwhile, attorneys from Morrison & Foerster LLP and Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) on Wednesday will present arguments in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in a landmark lawsuit demanding reform of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which remains backlogged with 900,000 disability claims—400,000 of which have been filed by Iraq war veterans. Previously, the lawsuit was dismissed when a Court ruled it had no jurisdiction over telling federal agencies how to conduct their business. Non-profit group Veterans for Common Sense (VCS) and co-plaintiff Veterans United for Truth (VUFT) are asking Court of Appeals judges to reverse the lower court’s ruling, which lacks the authority to order VA to provide timely medical care and disability benefits to hundreds of thousands of waiting veterans. The lawsuit was filed in July 2007 on behalf of all veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), conditions impacting more than 600,000 U.S. service members sent to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Click here to read the appeal. The Ninth Circuit has also granted C-SPAN access to broadcast the oral argument on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 in San Francisco.
INSIDE WASHINGTON
The House and Senate are both in recess until September 8th.
CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE
THE SENATE
The Senate is on recess until September 8th.
FUTURE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST
August 28, 2009 - SVAC will conduct a field hearing on the state of VA’s services on Maui, to include an OIG report of the same. 10:00 a.m.; Maui Cultural Center (Vasquez)
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
The House is on recess until September 8th.
IAVA IN THE NEWS
Outlet: San Antonio Express News/ Houston Chronicle
Title: Groups help vets adjust to college
Date: Monday, August 10th
Representative: Patrick Campbell
Outlet: Salon.com
Title: Did Arlington National Cemetery break the law?
Date: Tuesday, August 11th
Representative: Paul Rieckhoff
WHAT THE BLOGS ARE SAYING
Title: Corey Taylor at Ride For Dime
Date: Monday, August 10th
Representative: IAVA
Blog: The Escapement
Title: Reviving a Classic
Date: Monday, August 10th
Representative: IAVA
Blog: Celebrate America
Title: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
Date: Monday, August 10th
Representative: IAVA Promo
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.
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