Blog Post

IAVA Daily News Brief 08.09.12
Posted by Gretchen Andersen on August 9 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 @IAVA and click here to get the News Brief delivered to your inbox every morning.

MUST READS

1) Dakota Meyer Attempted Suicide, Book Reveals

Marine Times reports that Dakota Meyer, a Medal of Honor recipient, attempted to kill himself in 2010, as described in his new book “Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War.” Meyer struggled with deciding whether to include the suicide attempt in his book, but decided to do so to illustrate the reality of war. The book is due to be published Sept. 25. You can watch his interview here.

2) August is Heaviest Homecoming Month for Marines in Afghanistan

NBC News reports that the highest number of U.S. Marines will exit Afghanistan in August compared to any other month in 2012. The pullout of U.S. forces this year is expected to reach 23,000 total troops. U.S. Marine Corps Maj. General David Berger said he has seen progress among the Afghan security forces with their available fighting equipment and “ability to man those tools.”

3) Auto Anxiety: Some Returning Veterans Struggle with Driving

CBS This Morning reports that for some veterans, driving can be an anxiety-inducing ordeal. When former Marine Sgt. Eric Campbell hits potholes, he has flashbacks of his tours in Iraq. Campbell is part of a study of veterans and driving out of the VA Hospital in Palo Alto, California. Campbell gets wired up to monitors that check his heart rate and breathing behind the wheel, while a therapist sits beside him.

AFGHANISTAN

• In a second apparent “green-on-blue” attack this week, Afghan soldiers attacked NATO troops outside a military base in the Laghman province. No troops were killed, but one of the attackers was killed when NATO forces shot back. According to AP count, 27 coalition service members have been killed in 20 green-on-blue attacks so far this year.
• HuffPost Live discusses how both Romney and Obama are quiet on their positions with the Afghanistan War and course of action after troops withdraw in 2014. David Wood, Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist, joins several veterans and former IAVA staffer Tim Kudo.
• Petty Officer 3rd Class Clayton R. Beauchamp was killed Tuesday while on patrol in the Shaban District of the Helmand Province. His brother said Beauchamp had planned to buy an engagement ring for his girlfriend once he returned from Afghanistan.
• Cpl. Daniel L. Linnabary II died in the Helmand province on Monday.

IRAQ

• Iraq pumped 3.08 million barrels a day in July, for the first time since U.S. troops invaded Iraq in 2003, according to the Monthly Oil Market Report. Bloomberg reports that Iraqi production is increasing as overseas investors such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP Plc.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

• Active-duty service members should keep in mind a few guidelines for social media during the upcoming presidential election.
• After a bomb threat was called into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center yesterday, medical services resumed after 12:50 p.m. when no bomb was found.

THE NEW GREATEST GENERATION

• The South Jersey producers of a new online reality series called Bands of Brothers are looking for area Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with musical ability.
• Maj. Kamal S. Kalsi, D.O. of the U.S. Army urges Americans to open themselves up to the Sikh community in light of the tragedy in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

• A Washington Post op-ed argues both presidential candidates are not drawing enough attention to the Afghanistan War.
• A Reuters exclusive reports the Obama administration has sweetened a proposed prisoner swap under which it would transfer five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to Qatar in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. The White House and the Bergdahl family declined to comment on the revised proposal for a deal.
• In a $43 million joint project with Vietnam, the United States will remove Agent Orange chemical Dioxin from a former U.S. air base. The project is expected to take four years.

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