Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 05.26.09
Posted by Michelle McCarthy on May 26

Here are some of today's top stories and happenings at IAVA.

MUST READS

(1) Obama honors fallen at Arlington Cemetery

President Barack Obama marked his first Memorial Day in office on Monday, laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unkown soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.  In brief remarks during the ceremony, Obama asked: “Why in an age when so many have acted only in pursuit of narrowest self-interest have the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines of this generation volunteered all that they have on behalf of others.  Why have they been willing to bear the heaviest burden?  Whatever it is, they felt some tug. They answered a call. They said ‘I’ll go.’ That is why they are the best of America.  That is what separates them from those who have not served in uniform, their extraordinary willingness to risk their lives for people they never met.”

(2) GI Bill's wording costs state's student vets

Over the weekend, the San Francisco Chronicle profiled several Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who could miss out on new Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits because of an anomaly unique to California's university system.  Since 1960, state law has affirmed that California residents should attend public colleges and universities "tuition free," instead charging students "fees" comparable to tuition rates for housing and other costs.  Since the Post-9/11 GI Bill reimbursement rate is specifically based on public education tuition, not on fees, veterans seeking graduate degrees or to attend private institutions in California could receive no money for tuition this fall.  To ameliorate the problem, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) are crafting a bill designed to help CA veterans receive full tuition benefits.

(3) Autopsies of War Dead Reveal Ways to Save Others

The New York Times reports today that the U.S. military is taking unprecedented measures to examine the bodies of deceased soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in order to learn about deficiencies in body armor, vehicle shielding and medical equipment used on the battlefield.  According to military officials, since 2004, every service man and woman killed in Iraq or Afghanistan has been given a CT scan, and since 2001, when the fighting began in Afghanistan, all have had autopsies, performed by pathologists in the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System. In previous wars, autopsies on people killed in combat were uncommon, and scans were never done.  “We’ve created a huge database that’s never existed before,” said Capt. Craig T. Mallak, a Navy pathologist and lawyer who is chief of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System.  According to Mallak, the medical examiners have scanned about 3,000 corpses, more than any other institution in the world, creating a minutely detailed and permanent three-dimensional record of combat injuries.

AFGHANISTAN

A suicide car bomber driving a Toyota Corolla plowed into a NATO convoy early Tuesday, killing three American soldiers and a civilian passer-by on a main road north of Kabul.

In one of his last speeches as outgoing U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan paid tribute Monday to U.S. troops who have died in Afghanistan since the American invasion shortly after 9/11.  "To those of us who deployed to this land, those who deployed with us that will not return home -- we salute you and we will never forget you," McKiernan told a crowd of about 600 people that included Afghan cabinet ministers. "It is a commitment we will not leave but we will see through to the very end... Make no mistake, we will be successful."

On Memorial Day, 106 U.S. service members became U.S. citizens while stationed in Afghanstan. The naturalized citizens included 94 soldiers, 10 Marines and two sailors from several countries, including Mexico, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea.  President Barack Obama congratulated them via a video.

IRAQ

The U.S. military said a bomb struck a convoy of U.S. officials and civilian contractors visiting a construction site near Falluja on Tuesday, killing three people including one U.S. soldier.  Ahead of the attack, U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. David Perkins said Sunday that high-profile attacks in Iraq— those involving a high number of casualties — have fallen 58 percent from last March and more than 50 percent from a month ago.

Iraqi Trade Minister Abdel Falah al-Sudani resigned Monday amid allegations of corruption and embezzlement linked to the nation's food assistance programme.  Sudani stands accused of importing expired commodities -- sugar -- and procuring illegal contracts as well as failing to fight corruption in his ministry.  His resignation coincides with a request submitted by Iraq to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a seven-billion-dollar loan to cover its budget deficit.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

The FBI has arrested Cpl. Eric Piotrowski, an Operation Desert Storm veteran, charging him with one misdemeanor count of violating the Stolen Valor Act and one felony count of lying to agents. California Department of Veterans Affairs honored Piotrowski in 2007, presenting him with a Silver Star for his actions 16 years earlier during the Gulf War; however, FBI officials now claim that Piotrowski never saw military action in Desert Storm and purchased a Silver Star Citation and medal through the Internet.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

The White House said Tuesday that President Obama will nominate Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit as his first appointment to the U.S. Supreme court.  An announcement is expected at 10:15 a.m.  If confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Senate, Judge Sotomayor, 54, would replace Justice David H. Souter to become only the third female justice in the history of the Supreme Court and the first Hispanic justice.

CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

The Senate and House are not in session today.

IAVA IN THE NEWS 

Outlet: CNN

Title: Memorial Day

Date: Saturday, May 23rd

Representative: Patrick Campbell

Outlet: CNN

Title: Memorial Day

Date: Monday, May 25th

Representative: Patrick Campbell

Outlet: WNYC Radio

Title: Memorial Day

Date: Monday, May 25th

Representative: IAVA Member Veterans Bryan Adams, Kristen Rouse

Outlet: Bev Smith Show

Title: Memorial Day

Date: Monday, May 25th

Representative: Tom Tarantino

Outlet: Huffington Post

Title: This Memorial Day, Honor the Fallen

Date: Monday, May 25th

Representative: Paul Rieckhoff

Outlet: Military.com

Title: Honor the Fallen

Date: Monday, May 25th

Representative: Paul Rieckhoff

Outlet: TPMCafe.com

Title: Honoring the Fallen

Date: Monday, May 25th

Representative: Paul Rieckhoff

  Share:
 del.icio.us  digg  reddit  facebook  newsvine myspace twitter