Blog Post

IAVA Daily Brief 6.28.11
Posted by Isabel Black on June 28 2011

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 at www.IAVA.org/DailyNewsBrief.

MUST READS

1) Soldiers raising awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder

IAVA’s Senior Legislative Associate, Tom Tarantino, joined FOX 5 in Washington DC to discuss National PTSD Awareness Day and the stigma of PTSD.  Tom stressed the importance of reducing the stigma of treating invisible injuries, especially as troops surge home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

2) Groups say changes to labor law won’t do enough for veterans

Even before President Obama said last week that he would speed the pullout of American troops from Afghanistan, the Department of Labor was trying to strengthen a Vietnam-era law designed to make sure returning soldiers get jobs.  Some longtime veterans complain, though, that the wording of the law isn’t the problem.  Instead, they say, the law isn’t enforced well, complaints aren’t handled promptly, and contractors are failing to adequately inform veterans about the law, as required.

3) Spike in US deaths in Iraq raises worries

Two American soldiers were killed Sunday in Iraq, the military command said, making June the worst month in combat-related fatalities for United States forces in Iraq in more than two years. The casualties also reflected the dangers ahead as the United States prepares to withdraw all its troops from Iraq by the end of the year.

AFGHANISTAN

• Authorities in Afghanistan say that an 8-year-old girl was tricked into carrying a concealed bomb close to a police vehicle, where it was remotely detonated; only she died.

• A large-scale operation airlifting hundreds of US and Afghan soldiers into the rugged, insurgent-laced mountains of eastern Afghanistan is being met with fierce resistance by the Taliban and other armed groups.

IRAQ

• A rift has opened in recent weeks between local leaders of the Sunni-dominated area of Ramadi and the Iraqi soldiers who serve there, but answer to leaders in Baghdad’s Shiite-led government.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

• The man tapped to take over as the top US commander in Afghanistan endorsed the size and pace of the more than 30,000-troop withdrawal laid out by President Barack Obama last week, despite other commanders’ worries that it’s too risky and aggressive.

• Three members of the Air Force have asked to be discharged because they are gay, moving quickly to get out of the military under the ban on openly gay service before its expected repeal later this year.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

• Lawmakers are growing increasingly frustrated with the Coast Guard’s inability to provide up-to-date budget and fleet plans and mission studies, and are seeking to compel the completion of a plan to recapitalize the icebreaker fleet.

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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