Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 6.14.10
Posted by Blake Henderson on June 14

MUST READS
1) Military fails on brain-test follow ups
 
The Department of Defense has failed to comply with a congressional directive to give all troops tests before and after they serve in combat to measure their thinking abilities and uncover possible brain injuries.

2) U.S. Intelligence Puts New Focus on Afghan Graft
 
The military's intelligence network in Afghanistan, designed for identifying and tracking terrorists and insurgents, is increasingly focused on uncovering corruption that is rampant across Afghanistan's government, security forces and contractors, according to officials.
 
3) Video shrinks distance to mental health care
 
Recently, when a group of troops entered the post-deployment processing site, they sat down in a private room and had "face-to-face" conversations with mental health professionals thousands of miles away via videoconference.  This is the Virtual Behavioral Health Program, which is part of a limited pilot program within Western Regional Medical Command - but officials are hoping to expand the program.
 
4) Two Men and Two Paths
 
IAVA Board Member, Afghanistan veteran, and author Wes Moore was featured in a New York Times article.  The piece discussed his new book, 'The Other Wes Moore', and issues of poverty and race in America.
 
AFGHANISTAN

• Afghanistan's former head of intelligence believes that President Hamid Karzai has lost faith in the US strategy in Afghanistan and is increasingly looking to Pakistan to end the insurgency.
• According to a new study, Afghanistan has nearly one trillion dollars in mineral deposits - including gold, copper, and lithium - and could transform the country into a global mining hub.
• President Karzai called on community leaders in Kandahar to support a NATO campaign to bolster security, urging people to work with his government to "bring dignity back."

IRAQ

• Iraq's parliament has held its first session since elections in March, but the 20 minute meeting ended without any discussions on who will be the country's next leader.
• The Shatt al Arab, the river that flows from the biblical site of the Garden of Eden to the Persian Gulf, has turned into an environmental and economic disaster that Iraq's newly democratic government is almost powerless to fix.
• At least 26 people were killed and 50 others wounded in a coordinated attack on Iraq's Central Bank.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

• 26 winning ideas were announced in the Veterans Health Affairs' information technology competition.  The contest drew more than 6,500 entries from VHA employees.
• Law enforcement officials are continuing their hunt for the police officer who is accused of shooting and killing Tyrone Brown, a Marine Iraq veteran, while off duty.
• The military is training troops on a new radar system that lets soldiers see what they normally can't: bombs and other weapons hidden beneath clothing.
• First lady Michelle Obama visited Camp Pendleton over the weekend, telling families there that the administration is committed to supporting them in times of war.
• A pipe bomb was found outside of a VA hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

• Rep. Buck McKeon, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, is pressing Defense Secretary Robert Gates to advocate for the speedy passage of the war-funding bill.
• Senator Jim Webb has introduced a bill, the Blue Star/Gold Star Flag Act of 2010, that would prohibit any condominium association, cooperative association, or residential real estate management association from preventing a resident from displaying the Service flag on personal residential property.

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.