Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 8.26.10
Posted by Isabel Black on August 26 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) Life after the war- helping returning soldiers adjust to civilian life
 
With a complete US troop withdrawal from Iraq set for the end of 2011, and with a similar troop drawdown planned for Afghanistan, the United States is gradually ending the longest period of sustained military combat in its history.  For the more than 2 million veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who have returned home- or who are scheduled to return home- new challenges await them. 
 
2) Marines pour resources into mental health care
 
Marines stressed from repeated tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan are seeking help like never before, and their suicide rate is the highest in the military after doubling in just the past three years. Even with more mental-health professionals sent to bases to help, they have had trouble keeping up with demand.
 
3) Troops departing Iraq leave big job for diplomats
 
As the White House highlights the departure of US combat troops from Iraq, the small army of American diplomats left behind is embarking on a long and perilous path to keeping the volatile country from slipping back to the brink of civil war.  President Obama is banking on the diplomats- about 300 protected by as many as 7,000 private security contractors- to assume the duties of the US military.
 
AFGHANISTAN

• In a New York Times editorial, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's efforts to block corruption investigations are outlined, and findings that one of his aids that was arrested on corruption charges is being paid by the CIA are detailed.
• Five soldiers accused of killing civilians in Afghanistan are now facing additional charges of conspiracy to commit premeditated murder.

IRAQ

• The departure of the last combat troops from Iraq last week caused confusion and anger among soldiers who are still facing daily threats, especially in the disputed, violence-plagued north.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

• Two packages of radioactive material sat under a counter in the main lobby of Walter Reed Army Medical Center for 44 hours, possibly exposing patients and staff to elevated radiation.
• The VA's paperless claims processing system ended up on a list of government IT projects that are up for review and possible termination.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

• As President Obama prepares to mark a major shift in the Iraq war Tuesday, the President's military lingo and language will undergo a transition as well.

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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