Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 07.17.09
Posted by Michelle McCarthy on July 17

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)VA wastes millions on faulty study, IG says

Days after the Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs issued a report stating that the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas) had violated a contract for research on Gulf War Illness — and that VA had wrongfully awarded the contract in the first place — Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI), chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, is now calling for canceling it entirely.  “I ask that you look into this matter immediately and implement the Inspector General’s recommendation to terminate the contract for default so VA’s funds can be directed to research projects that will help those veterans affected by Gulf War Illness,” wrote Akaka in a letter to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki dated July 16.  According to the IG report, the university has been in default on the contract since Oct. 2 because it refused to allow VA access to patient data gathered in the study of Gulf War Syndrome.  “Because VA did not have a defined need, the scope of the contract and the work performed under the task orders issued against the contract was dictated by [the university], including the review and approval of every research project to be conducted,” the IG report said.  “The contract was merely a funding mechanism to support [the university’s] research program.”  In total, the contract confusion has reportedly wasted more than two years and $15 millions that could have been used to help veterans.

2) Vets’ Mental Health Diagnoses Rising

According to a new study by researchers at the San Francisco Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco, more than one-third of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who enrolled in the veterans health system after 2001 received a diagnosis of a mental health problem, most often post-traumatic stress disorder or depression.  The report also revealed that the number of veterans found to have mental health problems rose steadily the longer they were out of the service.  The study, released Thursday, was based on the department health records of 289,328 veterans involved in the two wars who used the veterans health system for the first time from April 1, 2002, to April 1, 2008.  The researchers found that 37 percent of those people received mental health diagnoses. Of those, the diagnosis for 22 percent was post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, for 17 percent it was depression and for 7 percent it was alcohol abuse. One-third of the people with mental health diagnoses had three or more problems, the study found.  “The study provides more insight as to just how stressed our force and families are after years of war and multiple deployments,” said René A. Campos, deputy director of government relations for the Military Officers Association of America. “Our troops and families need more time at home — more dwell time, fewer and less frequent deployments.”  The release of the report came on the same day the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) announced that an interdisciplinary team of four research institutions will carry out the largest study of suicide and mental health among military personnel ever undertaken, with $50 million in funding from the U.S. Army.  They 5 year study is expected to encompass active duty Army personnel across all phases of service, including members of the National Guard and Reserves.  Click here to read the announcement.

3)What's trashed at Arlington National Cemetery

In part two of a series, Salon investigates today what becomes of mementos left by family and friends in Section 60, a remote area of the famous burial ground, where 600 service members from Iraq and Afghanistan are laid to rest.  According to Salon, Arlington’s poor treatment of the objects – which range from photographs and portraits to crayon drawings by children- stands in stark contrast to practices at other cemeteries across the country which collect and hold items placed on graves for at least 30 days in the event family members which to claim them.  In a statement, cemetery spokeswoman Kaitlin Horst defended the cemetery's practices of throwing away cards and other mementos once they become weather worn. "This is not an ill-intentioned policy," she said. "We are not trying to wrong people. We are not trying to throw away history. We do make an effort here. We are not throwing rosaries away. We are not throwing [uniform] patches away. I guess we can't claim to catch all of it.”  Click here to learn more about the Salon investigation and practices at the other 130 VA cemeteries across the country.

4)GAO: VA Failing to Serve Our Women Warriors

Following the release of a Government Accountability Report earlier this week, IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff addresses in his latest column disparities in  VA healthcare for women veterans.  “This is absolutely unacceptable,” he writes concerning VA facilities failure to adhere to privacy standards for women veterans and hire enough qualified women’s health and mental health care providers.  “The VA must ensure that women veterans receive the care they deserve. With more women serving in combat than ever before, action should have happened yesterday.”  Click here to read more and sign up to receive alerts about IAVA’s upcoming Issue Report on women in the military due for August release.

AFGHANISTAN

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said during a visit to Fort Drum on Thursday he could send more U.S. troops to Afghanistan this year than he’d initially expected and is considering increasing the number of soldiers in the Army in order to relieve increasingly stressed American forces tasked with fighting two wars.  Asked about Afghanistan by one soldier, Gates said, “I think there will not be a significant increase in troop levels in Afghanistan beyond the 68,000, at least probably through the end of the year. Maybe some increase, but not a lot.”  So far, the Obama administration has approved sending 68,000 troops to Afghanistan by the end of 2009, including 21,000 that were added this spring.  The White House has wanted to wait until the end of the year before deciding whether to deploy more, but Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said that Gates does not want to discourage his new commander in Kabul, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, from taking a frank look at how many troops he needs.

Meanwhile, Abdullah Jalali, a spokesman for Taliban commander Mawlavi Sangin, told the Associated Press on Thursday that they have threatened to kill a captured American soldier unless the U.S. military stops operations in two districts of southeastern Afghanistan.  He said the soldier would be killed unless the U.S. stops airstrikes in Ghazni province’s Giro district and Paktika province’s Khoshamand district. Jalali did not explain why the Taliban chose those areas, noting only that Giro has been heavily bombed.

IRAQ

Three American soldiers were killed after insurgents fired mortar rounds Thursday into Contingency Operating Base Basra, about 20 miles outside Basra, an area of the country that has been largely free of the violence that continues to plague the northern part of the country.  No further details were provided.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

According to the Military Times, an Army National Guard sergeant major who says he was fired from his job as a postal worker because of his military service has won a battle in federal court.  In a July 15 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit essentially reaffirmed the bedrock principle of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994: An employer can’t escape liability for claiming that it took an adverse employment action against an employee because of the employee’s absence — when that absence was for military service.  The court sent the case back to the Merit Systems Protection Board, rejecting the board’s earlier finding that Sgt. Maj. Richard Erickson had failed to show that the real reason for his firing was his service in the Army National Guard.  Erickson, who served with the 3rd Special Forces Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group, currently lives in Ft. Myer, Florida.

On the GI Bill front, the University of Notre Dame announced Thursday that it has signed on with the VA to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program.  More details here.

In “odd” news of the day, Duston Britton, a 32 year-old mechanic and ex-Marine from Windsor, Colorado, reportedly used a chain saw earlier this week to defend his wife and two toddlers from a starving mountain lion while they were camping in northwestern Wyoming.  Click here to read more details.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

As the health care reform movement picks up speed in Congress, a handful of lawmakers are reportedly gearing up for a fight to largely exempt military and veterans benefits from Democrats, who fear that allowing any exemptions from the overall health reform effort opens the door for other changes that could undermine the legislation.  Republican aides, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Military Times they expect amendments will be offered in coming weeks to protect the military and veterans health plans.  However, exactly who will offer the amendments and what those amendments might say remain unclear.  “We believe that any health reform legislation must be fully paid for. However, it is untenable to put these costs on the backs of the men and women who are serving their country in the Armed Forces,” said Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Va., one of the lawmakers trying to round up support to prevent the military and veterans benefits from being taxed.  “Our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are key components of our economic engine who lend their unique talents and experiences to drive this nation forward,” Nye wrote in a letter to the education and labor committee. “A proposal to tax their health benefits could harm them and their families in unintended, extremely serious ways, jeopardizing their families’ welfare and even negatively affecting their employment opportunities.”

CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

THE SENATE 

The Senate will convene at 9:00 a.m.

FUTURE COMMITTEE HEARINGS  of  INTEREST

• 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 1:00 p.m.

FUTURE  HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of  INTEREST

• 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: Huffington Post

Title: GAO: VA Failing to Serve Women Warriors

Date: Friday, July 17th

Representative: Paul Rieckhoff

Outlet: NJ Star-Ledger

Title: Study says 1/3 of Iraq, Afghanistan veterans at VA hospitals have mental health problems

Date: Thursday, July 16^th

Representative: Bryan Adams

WHAT THE BLOGS ARE SAYING

Blog: NoFactZone

Title: Update on the petition to make Stephen Colbert an honorary veteran

Date: Friday, July 16th

Representative: IAVA, Paul Rieckhoff

Blog: Cold War Veterans Zone

Title: IAVA Report Due Out on Women in Military

Date: Thursday, July 16^th

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.

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