Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 1.27.10
Posted by Terrell Frazier on January 25 2010

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 or subscribe to receive the brief in your inbox each morning at www.iava.org/dailynewsbrief.

MUST READS

1) Obama proposing more support for military families

First lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday announced an $8.8 billion boost in the president's 2011 budget to support military families. Nearly $2 billion would provide more help to families, ranging from financial counseling to relocation assistance, while more than $1 billion would expand child care services.

2) Soldier with burn pit-related illnesses invited to State of the Union

A veteran invited to attend President Obama’s first official State of the Union is among a growing number of troops reporting burn pit-related illnesses. Among others expected to be honored during the speech are the police officers who stopped the Fort Hood massacre.

3) Musical group of veterans, 4Troops, makes world debut

The musical group 4Troops, a new band composed of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, is using music to relate their wartime experience, all while boosting troop morale and rallying Americans in support of servicemembers. A percentage of the proceeds from 4Troops' upcoming album will benefit a range of charities, including IAVA.

AFGHANISTAN
NATO confirmed that eight American troops received minor injuries after a suspected suicide car bomber struck near a US military base in Kabul.

President Barack Obama plans to ask Congress for another $14.2 billion to train Afghanistan's army and police over the next two years

Britain and Japan have agreed to head an international fund, expected to total up to $500 million over the next five years, as part of a broad plan to help lure Taliban fighters away from the insurgency.

IRAQ

A suicide car bomber struck a police crime lab in central Baghdad Tuesday, killing at least 21 people and injuring dozens a day after suicide attacks hit several hotels favored by Western journalists.

The U.S. military in Iraq says a soldier has died of injuries from a vehicle accident that was not related to combat.

American soldiers are working with Arab and Kurdish troops along the Iraq border to help secure the nation’s more than two dozen checkpoints. 

MILITARY AFFAIRS
President Obama will seek a 1.4 percent military pay raise for 2011 as part of his defense budget request that will be unveiled Feb. 1, according to a point paper issued Tuesday by the White House.

A man was arrested Monday after police found an arsenal of high-powered weapons and a map of a U.S. military base in his New Jersey hotel, authorities said.

U.S. national-security officials say that Al Qaeda and its affiliates' are trying to circumvent security measures imposed by American and allied governments, and may be considering, or even plotting, to use female suicide bombers.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

Two senior U.S. senators urged the Obama administration to hand over to the U.S. military the man accused of trying to blow up a U.S. passenger jet on Christmas Day for additional interrogation and charges.

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