Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 8.19.10
Posted by Isabel Black on August 19 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 at www.IAVA.org/DailyNewsBrief.

MUST READS

1) Standing up for homeless vets at Stand Down
 
The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that on any given night, more than 100,000 veterans are homeless, with double that number experiencing homelessness over the course of a year.  "Stand Down," an event for homeless vets in Northern California, offers beds and free services to some of these 100,000 vets one weekend a year to help them find a job and a home.

2) High-tech knee holds promise for veterans young- and old
 
A new device, known as the X2, is a prosthetic knee loaded with microprocessors, sensors and even a gyroscope that gives amputees more freedom of movement, and better balance.  The new knee will help amputees gain back an active and more normal lifestyle.
 
3) Male-dominated, war-ravaged country offers little hope for Iraqi widows
 
There are estimated to be one million women widowed after years of war, without a husband's protection in a patriarchal society and often destitute, relying on relatives, neighbors and mosques for their meager living.  The Iraq government has a stipend program for widows and their children, but of the approximately 1 in 11 women that are widowed, few receive this aid.
 
4) Last brigade of combat troops drives out of Iraq
 
The last brigade of US combat troops withdrew from Iraq ahead of the end-of-the-month deadline imposed by President Obama. Civilians from the State Department and contractors will remain to continue to repair the war-torn country.
 
AFGHANISTAN

• Makeshift-bomb attacks in July wounded a record number of US-led troops in Afghanistan, and experts say even more would have died without widespread use of armored vehicles.
• Taliban insurgents broke into the home of a provincial official in southern Afghanistan and killed him and his wife, the latest attack on those with links to the government or international forces.

IRAQ

• As the United States military prepares to leave Iraq by the end of 2011, the Obama administration is planning a remarkable civilian effort, buttressed by a small army of contractors, to fill the void.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

• A tattoo artist near Camp Lejeune in North Carolina has seen requests for meat tags - a tattooed copy of vital information inked in the skin- rise considerably.
• The Pentagon rebutted statements by the WikiLeaks organization that the Defense Department had expressed a willingness to discuss reviewing a trove of classified documents before public release.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

• Patrick Murphy, the first Iraq veteran elected to Congress, discusses how his military experience led him to politics and what motivates him in Washington today.

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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