Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 05.28.09
Posted by Michelle McCarthy on May 28

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

MUST READS

(1) 11 Suicides at Campbell Trigger Stand-down

Regular duties have been suspended for the next three days at Fort Campbell in Kentucky so that soldiers and commanders can focus on suicide prevention training in the wake of 11 confirmed suicides by Campbell soldiers this year.  "This is not a place where Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne Division want to be," said Brig. Gen. Stephen Townsend.  "We don't want to lead the Army in this statistic."  Across the Army, suicides rose from January through March to a reported 56 cases.  During the same period at Fort Campbell, the installation averaged one suicide per week.

(2) Vets Groups Feeling Economic Crunch

Amid the recession, once-sacrosanct veterans' programs are being pinched as tax revenues continue to slide in states including Michigan, Illinois, South Carolina and Ohio.  Associated Press reports today that Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and legislators have slashed $1 million, or 25 percent, of funding for 11 groups that help veterans through a maze of paperwork and bureaucracy to get disability and pension benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.  South Carolina reportedly plans to cut aid to the VFW, American Legion and Disabled American Veterans in the next budget.  Meanwhile, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is threatening to close all four of the state's veterans' home if an income tax increase is not passed, leaving more than 1,000 veterans without care.  The cuts come at a time when state administrators are reporting an influx of benefit claims from older veterans who have recently been laid off and have lost their health insurance coverage.

(3) Numbers Prompt Army to Close Some WTUs

The U.S. Army is reportedly in the process of streamlining its 36 Warrior Transition Units between now and October by closing three WTUs and consolidating six others.  According to officials, the restructuring is necessary because the number of Soldiers assigned to WTUs has declined from a high of 12,500 in June 2008 to its present number of about 9,500.  Officials said they expect a further decline to 8,500 by summer 2010.  WTUs at Fort Leavenworth, Fort Rucker and Redstone Arsenal will close in the coming months.  WTC Chief of Staff Col. Jimmie Keenan said the restructuring will not affect care of wounded soldiers, but anticipates all soldiers in the units to have transitioned out by Oct. 1st.

(4)  Photos show rape and sex abuse in Iraq jails: report

Controversial photographs of Iraqi prisoner abuse which U.S. President Barack Obama does not want released reportedly include images of apparent rape and sexual abuse.  The Telegraph reported Thursday that the images are among photographs included in a 2004 report into prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison conducted by U.S. Major General Antonio Taguba.  "These pictures show torture, abuse, rape and every indecency," Taguba, who retired in January 2007, told the paper.  "The mere depiction of these pictures is horrendous enough, take my word for it."  According reports, the images depict an American soldier apparently raping a female prisoner while another is said to show a male translator raping a male detainee.

AFGHANISTAN

U.S. coalition troops killed 29 insurgents during battle Thursday near Paktika province along the Afghan border with Pakistan.  Forces targeted a suspected a foreign fighter camp in the region; at least six insurgents equipped with explosives blew themselves up during the fight.  Following the battle, forces discovered weapons caches containing rocket-propelled grenade launchers, AK-47 assault rifles, suicide vests and other armaments.

Separately, the Taliban has claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide attack on a security building in Lahore, Pakistan that killed at least 27 people on Wednesday and wounded nearly 300 others.  Taliban Commander Hakimullah Mehsud called the Wednesday attack payback for the Pakistani military's offensive in the Swat Valley which has become a haven for Islamic militants.  "If the government continues to carry out activities at the behest of America, we will continue to hit government installations," Mehsud said.

IRAQ

A U.S. soldier and four Iraqi civilians were killed Wednesday when a bomb exploded on a street in the Abu Ghraib district in western Baghdad as an American military patrol drove past.  The attack, which brings May's death toll for U.S. troops to 20, makes it the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq since September 2008.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pledged Wednesday to fight corruption within his government, launching a campaign to arrest almost 1,000 officials after the trade minister resigned amid claims family members made millions in kickbacks from sugar purchases.  Maliki said during a visit to Iraq's Trade Ministry his office will take control of the ministry's functions and a committee will take over Iraq's massive grains and foodstuffs purchasing program.  "We will not keep silent about corruption after this day and we will chase all the corrupt and bring them before the judiciary," Maliki said in a statement. Rahim al-Ugaili, who heads the Iraqi integrity commission, said it has issued 387 arrest warrants in April alone, including for 51 officials who ranked as department heads. 

MILITARY AFFAIRS

Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Wednesday that any discussions on repealing the military’s "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on open service by homosexuals must proceed in a “measured and deliberate way” that does not increase stress on a force stretched by two ongoing wars.  “I think it’s important, as we look to this change, that it be done in a way that doesn’t disrupt the force at a time where it’s under a lot of stress,” Mullen said. “And that, to me, means in a measured, deliberate way, over some time — to be determined. And I don’t know what that would be.”  Mullen said he has not created a dedicated study or work group, and declined to say whether he has been given a sense of how quickly President Obama wants to repeal the policy.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

While Congress is in recess and President Obama traveled for an economic tour on the West coast, Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano traveled to Canada Wednesday where she apologized for earlier, erroneous comments that the Sept. 11th hijackers gained entrance to the U.S. from Canada.

Meanwhile, the nation's two intelligence chiefs- CIA Director Leon Panetta and National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair- are reportedly feuding over who gets to choose representatives at U.S. embassies overseas.

CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

The Senate and House are not in session today.

IAVA in the NEWS

Outlet: CNN's No Bias, No Bull

Title: Ft. Campbell Stand-down

Date: Wednesday, May 27th

Representative: Paul Rieckhoff

Outlet: MSNBC's The Ed Schultz Show

Title: Helping Returning Veterans

Date: Wednesday, May 27th

Representative: Paul Rieckhoff

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