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IAVA Daily Brief 6.25.10
Posted by Blake Henderson on June 25 2010

THE DAILY NEWS BRIEF

1) Military opens brain injury center in Maryland
 
The U.S. military is opening a new medical center in suburban Washington dedicated to traumatic brain injury, the signature wound of today's wars.  The $65 million National Intrepid Center of Excellence at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda was built using private funds. Arnold Fisher's comments at the opening were also critical of Washington leaders for not being present.
 
2) VA launches program for soldiers exposed to chemicals in Iraq
 
The Department of Veterans Affairs is creating a program designed to aid military personnel who came in contact with a toxic chemical known as sodium dichromate during their service in Iraq.
 
3) Leader Of Military's Program To Treat Brain Injuries Steps Down Abruptly
 
Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton, the leader of the Pentagon's premiere program for treatment and research into TBI and PTSD, has unexpectedly stepped down from her post.  Sutton launched the center in November 2007 and had been expected to retire next year.

AFGHANISTAN

• Soldiers in southern Afghanistan and Germany sound off on the decision to replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal with Gen. David Petraeus.
• Julia Gillard, Australia's new Prime Minister, assured President Obama that she supports the current military campaign in Afghanistan. Australia has over 1,500 troops currently in country.

IRAQ

• Nine Iraqi police officers were killed during a series of attacks in Mosul and Baghdad.  In the northern city of Mosul, three suicide bombers detonated themselves in separate attacks, killing four police officers and wounding eight others. The bombings came hours after three other police officers in the city were gunned down at a checkpoint.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

• The VA announced plans to install wireless networks at health care facilities nationwide so patients and their families would have Internet access.
• The military's failure to provide consistent and coordinated pain relief to troops contributes to suicides, prescription drug abuse and aggravates cases of mental illness and brain injury. Prescribing doctors rely too often on narcotic pain relievers, while a "no pain, no gain" military culture encourages troops to ignore injuries until discomfort becomes chronic, says a new report.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

• For Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, nominated to take command of U.S. forces in Iraq, the most important question at his confirmation hearing was whether he had ever given an interview to a major magazine criticizing U.S. leadership.  At his hearing, Austin's many military accomplishments and his plans seemed less important than the fact that nobody expects him to give interviews that embarrass the U.S.
• David Brooks in the New York Times discusses the culture of exposure and frustration in government, especially as it relates to Gen. McChrystal.

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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