Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 8.20.10
Posted by Blake Henderson on August 20 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) Video: Soldier kisses wife goodbye for 3rd time
 
Jason Carroll interviews a soldier leaving for Afghanistan on his third deployment.  Sgt. Shorter and his wife discuss the difficulties that come with multiple deployments, including struggling with adapting to life at home and telling their children that their father has to go to war again.
 
2) Army Releases July Suicide Data
 
The Army released suicide data today for the month of July. Among active-duty soldiers, there were 12 potential suicides: three were confirmed as suicides, and nine remain under investigation.
 
3) Zanesville remembers
 
For one small town in Ohio, the war in Iraq has hit close to home; between 2003 and 2008, the small town of 24,000 lost seven residents in Iraq.  Nearly half of the first 3,100 casualties in Iraq hailed from places with fewer than 25,000 residents, and one in five came from towns with no more than 5,000 people.
 
AFGHANISTAN

• Romanian Navy Day centered on more than just pride in the country's sailors; the country's Defense Minister stressed the fact that Romania is behind the American effort in Afghanistan.
• The Taliban have intensified their assassination program in southern Afghanistan, killing two senior government officials in Kandahar and Zabul provinces.

IRAQ

• An Iraqi reflects on the meaning of the US combat troops leaving her country and whether the impact of their absence will be felt or not.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

• For special operations troops in Afghanistan, their beards help bring them closer to Afghans and set them apart from the conventional forces that traditionally must keep stricter grooming standards, but higher ups have decided that some must start to shave.
• In an effort to bring more attention to veterans' education benefits, the GI Bill will sponsor a car in a September 11 NASCAR race in Richmond, Virginia, and is also one of the sponsors of the race itself.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

• A group of 20 senators announced the formation of the Senate Military Families Caucus, the first legislative coalition in that chamber to focus on the impact of war on spouses and children of troops.

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.

  Share:
 del.icio.us  digg  reddit  facebook  newsvine myspace twitter