Blog Post

IAVA Daily News Brief 07.06.12
Posted by Gretchen Andersen on July 6 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

1.) BLS Numbers Indicate Big Dip in Unemployment Rate For Young Veterans

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the June unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans dropped to 9.5 percent, down from 12.7 percent in May. The government reports that the national unemployment rate remains 8.2 percent. The monthly report is based on a survey of about 200,000 people, of whom just 22,000 are veterans, and this month’s survey only included 2,600 people who left active duty since Sept. 11, 2001. At the start of 2012, IAVA Members surveyed were facing 17 percent unemployment nationally.

2.) Veterans Affairs Chief Criticized Over What Some See As His Low Profile

In a New York Times piece by James Dao, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki defended his low-profile in the media by claiming that veterans, not the press, are his focus. IAVA argues that Shinseki, serving as the nation's most high-profile veterans advocate, must address underreported wait times for mental health evaluations and the VA's staggering backlog of 870,000 disability claims.

3.) VA Hospital in Milwaukee Tries To Meet Demand

With an increased demand for mental health appointments over the years, some staff at the Milwaukee VA Hospital, such as mental health manager Bert Berger, feel stretched thin. The hospital is now recruiting more nurses, psychologists and social workers to keep up with demand.

AFGHANISTAN

• Afghanistan will seek at least $4 billion in foreign aid from international donors this Sunday in Tokyo.
• The Pentagon said an Afghan soldier appears to have perpetrated an attack in eastern Afghanistan that wounded several American soldiers. A spokesman for the Pentagon said the attacker is still at large.

IRAQ

• Baghdad deployed hundreds of Iraqi national security forces to the country's 400-mile Syrian border after Iraqi foreign minister Hoshiyar Zebari said Thursday that Al Qaeda operatives were traversing the border for shelter in Syria.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

• Fort Carson’s unique behavioral health strategy helps soldiers cope with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder while in combat.
• Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale was buried yesterday in College Station, Texas yesterday. Tisdale was fatally wounded after a fellow soldier opened fire at Fort Bragg last week.
• Two facilities built to house veterans in California will be delayed in opening due to the state’s budget.

THE NEW GREATEST GENERATION

• Watch IAVA Founder and Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff’s closing remarks at the Aspen Ideas Festival where he asks for the Aspen Institute to lead a national call to support returning veterans.
• Watch IAVA Members Todd Hendricks, Matthew Pizzo and other veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars talk about the eight-week NYSE Euronext Veteran Associate Program, which helps mentor veterans.
• Military service members prepare for the private sector management as part of a week-long executive transition program for senior military officials. 
• A Wall Street Journal op-ed argues that the Department of Veterans Affairs needs to tap into the nation's private research hospitals and universities to fully meet the mental health challenges of soldiers and their families. 

INSIDE WASHINGTON

• June’s unemployment rate, according the U.S. Labor department, remains unchanged at 8.2 percent -- compared to 9.5 percent for Post-9/11 veterans.
• The Department of Veterans Affairs ordered a temporary stop to involuntary employee downgrades to lower-paying jobs.

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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