Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 3.17.10
Posted by Michelle McCarthy on March 15 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) After Receiving Advice From Veterans, US Army Revamps Basic Training Regimen

New soldiers are grunting through the kind of stretches and twists found in “ab blaster” classes at suburban gyms as the Army revamps its basic training regimen for the first time in three decades. Heeding the advice of Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans, commanders are dropping five-mile runs and bayonet drills in favor of zigzag sprints and exercises that hone core muscles.

2) Petraeus addresses range of military issues during Senate testimony

During testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, addressed a range of issues related to the military and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Petraeus declared that the drawdown in Iraq remains on schedule, said he is open to repealing ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and told the committee to expect a “ tough year” in Afghanistan.

3) Defendants fresh from war find service counts in court

 Judges are finding ways to factor stress and other burdens into sentences for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who break the law. At the federal level, judges are bucking guidelines and focusing more on the qualities of the person who committed the crime than on the nature of the crime. States, too, are forming special courts to ensure that veterans in court receive the treatment their service entitles them to.

AFGHANISTAN

A top U.S. military official says U.S. forces in Afghanistan are undergoing a major restructuring that will bring virtually all American troops under NATO command.

Afghanistan's government denied a report on Tuesday that it had been holding secret peace talks with the Taliban's number two leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, when he was arrested in Pakistan.

By any estimate, the living conditions at Combat Outpost Coutu in Marjah can only be described as grim. There are no beds, no showers, no toilets and no electricity. Chickens and ducks roam the bare dirt yard amid scraps of trash.

IRAQ

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's lead over his rival narrowed on Tuesday as new results brought into focus a fragmented vote that may mean months of political bargaining and a risky power vacuum.

The withdrawal in Iraq will leave only 50,000 US troops in Iraq by August 30, none of them in combat roles, and reduce the number of bases from 290 to fewer than 10.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

Reported sexual assaults involving service members —as victims and perpetrators — rose 11 percent in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

A Maryland man who vanished in January 2009 with thousands of dollars that he raised for a presidential inaugural ball for veterans that never happened — leaving sponsors, entertainers and ticketholders in the lurch — is back.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

After no cost-of-living adjustment this year in military and federal civilian retired pay, veterans disability compensation and Social Security, congressional economists are estimating that the pay adjustment for next year will be just 0.1 percent.

CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

THE SENATE

 The Senate will convene at 9:30 a.m.

SENATE FLOOR ACTIVITY of INTEREST

 No issues today

COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST

 No issues today

 FUTURE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST

March 24, 2010 GAO Entrance Conference: VA Education Benefits (GAO Job Code 130984) 10:00 a.m.; Room 601V, VBA (1800 G St., NW)

March 24, 2010 GAO Exit conference - Spending & Workload for Mental health Services (GAO code 290776) 11:00 a.m.; Room 630, VACO (810 Vermont Ave., NW)

March 24, 2010 SVAC Oversight Hearing: VA's Plan for Ending Homelessness among Veterans 9:30 a.m.

THE HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES 



 The House convenes at 10:00 a.m.

HOUSE FLOOR ACTIVITY of INTEREST

No issues today

HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST 



March 17, 2010 Full HVAC Committee Roundtable: Heroes Homecoming 10:00 a.m.; 334 Cannon HOB

March 17, 2010 House Armed Services hearing on the fiscal 2011 budget for U.S. Central Command, with Army Gen. David H. Petraeus. 10 a.m., 2118 Rayburn

FUTURE HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST 



March 18, 2010 Full House Veterans' Affairs Hearing: Claims Summit 2010 2:00 p.m.; 345 Cannon

March 24, 2010 House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Hearing: Examination of VA Regional Office Disability Claims Quality Review Methods—Is VBA’s Systematic Technical Accuracy Review (STAR) Making the Grade? 2:00 p.m.; 334 Cannon

March 25, 2010 House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health Legislative Hearing on H.R. 949, H.R. 1075, H.R. 2698, H.R. 2699, H.R. 2879, H.R. 3926, H.R. 4006, H.R. 84, and 3 Discussion Drafts 10:00 a.m.; 334 Cannon HOB

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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