Blog Post

IAVA Daily News Brief 06.07.12
Posted by on June 7 2012

Here are some of today's top stories and happenings that IAVA is tracking. Prefer to receive real-time updates about major stories and legislation that IAVA is tracking? Follow us on Twitter @IAVAPressRoom and click here to get the News Brief delivered to your inbox every morning.

MUST READS

IAVA and NVLSP partner on combat-related special compensation

IAVA and National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) are launching a joint initiative to help IAVA members obtain Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC). Think you might qualify? Click here to learn more about the program.

Loan scams target veterans

Officials with the U.S. Treasury, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and other regulators are warning of loan scams that prey on soldiers who have sought mortgage assistance under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program.

McCaskill: Labor Department figures on veteran hiring by government contractors not reliable

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, said the statistics collected by the Department of Labor on the hiring of military veterans by government contractors are frequently inaccurate. 

AFGHANISTAN

• Defense Secretary Leon Panetta made a visit today to Kabul, Afghanistan, where he said “we are reaching the limits of our patience," with Pakistan. Panetta’s words are the strongest language used by a top government official to describe the frayed relationship.
• Wednesday was the deadliest day this year in Afghanistan after 24 Afghan civilians died from a suicide attack in Kandahar City and a NATO airstrike that Afghan officials said had killed women and children in eastern Afghanistan.
• Head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. James Mattis reviewed the Defense Department's findings on the Quran burnings in Afghanistan and issued his recommendations for action. However, the Pentagon would not comment on what recommendations or specific disciplinary actions are being considered.

IRAQ

• Six months after the last U.S. combat troops left, Iraq is experiencing growth -- such as oil production -- yet terror threats and political rivalries may threaten stability.
• The Iraqi Justice Military said that Saddam Hussein’s personal secretary, Abed Hamid Hmoud, was executed by hanging Thursday.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

• A new Army policy that involves service dogs worries critics that the lives of soldiers recovering from physical injuries and mental illness are at risk.  
• “America’s Got Talent” on NBC neglected to check Timothy Michael Poe’s injury claims. Poe told judges on Monday’s show he suffered a broken back and brain injury when he was hit by a grenade in Afghanistan in 2009.
• Defense Secretary Leon Panetta defended U.S. drone strikes in nearby Pakistan yesterday, while speaking in India. Panetta said both the U.S. and India must overcome deep differences with Pakistan to bolster peace and security in South Asia.

INSIDE WASHINGTON 

• As described in  David Sanger’s new book, Confront and Conceal: Obama’s Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the White House he had a ‘new strategic communications approach’ for the White House to deal with the media after the bin Laden raid:  “Shut the f@*k up.”

NEW GREATEST GENERATION

• Filmmaker Benjamin Patton, Gen. George S. Patton’s grandson, has been involved in a filmmaking project that helps veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars organize their combat experiences in video as a way to fight PTSD.
• IAVA Member Veteran Don Gomez blogs about the similarities between how films like The Hurt Locker and Black Swan portray ballerinas and veterans.

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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