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IAVA Daily News Brief 09.29.09
Posted by Michelle McCarthy on September 26

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?  Sign-up to receive the IAVA Daily News Brief in your inbox each morning or follow us on Twitter @IAVAPressRoom.

MUST READS

1) Lawmakers not happy with GI Bill delays

While supportive of providing $3,000 emergency payments to students waiting on their Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are expressing dismay the Veterans Affairs Department was forced into a tight situation by a claims backlog. The "'current situation was foreseeable and could have been prevented,' said Rep. Steve Buyer of Indiana, ranking Republican on the House Veterans Affairs Committee.  "VA never asked for additional resources, and in five hearings leading up to the Aug. 1st launch of the new benefits plan was constantly optimistic about making on-time payments."

2) CNN: War Reality to Impact Troop Decision

IAVA Membership Associate Adam Bryant joined CNN's "Situation Room" on Monday to discuss his combat experience in Afghanistan and challenges associated with moving throughout the country by foot rather than from the security of armored vehicles.  "You could be driving down the street, you're looking at any number of Afghan civilians, but the question is, 'are they civilians?'," Bryant said in the interview.  "Taliban, the enemy dresses just as civilians do on a daily basis, they don't wear any type of uniform you could recognize. So, the question you have to ask yourself every single day is 'am I surrounded by enemies?'"  Click here to watch the segment.

3) Services Prepare to Make Stop-Loss Payments

The Army, Marine Corps and Navy said Monday they are on track to begin accepting applications for retroactive $500 monthly payments to service members who were "stop-lossed" or held in uniform beyond the end of their service contracts because of wartime personnel demands.  Soldiers currently serving under stop-loss receive an extra $500 per month.  Last year, Congress approved funding to make retroactive $500 payments to troops who had been placed on stop-loss anytime between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2009.  The Army, with 136,778 likely eligible recipients, is furthest along, having created a prototype of a Web-enabled application that will allow soldiers to submit documentation by e-mail.  For breaking alerts on when the Pentagon issues finally guidance on the stop-loss payment process, click here.

AFGHANISTAN

An intercity bus crowded with passengers struck a roadside bomb in the contested southern province of Kandahar early Tuesday, killing 30 civilians and wounding 39 others.

The U.S. military is taking a multi-pronged approach to battling the rising threat of improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan, particularly in the southern part of the country. "We've basically seen the number of IEDs double over a one-year period," said Rear Adm. Michael Tillotson, the deputy J-3 for CentCom. "But ... we've [also] put a lot more forces out there." There were 810 IED incidents there in August compared with 420 during the same month in 2008. In addition to more advanced or heavily armored equipment, "we are increasing the number of enablers who are there to counter the IED threat," he said. Route clearance packages, made up largely of engineers, explosive ordnance disposal experts and those who provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance are among the types of troops the U.S. will continue to grow in Afghanistan, Tillotson said.

Stay, go, or increase troops in Afghanistan? In a set of in-depth interviews with MSNBC on Monday, six different military analysts offered a picture of the United States' options in Afghanistan. Most argued that addressing and reassessing the situation in Iraq is a pressing issue and should be a top priority for President Obama. Solutions discussed Monday included the "Biden" approach advocated by Vice President Joe Biden to invest more resources in surveillance and counterterror efforts, which would seek to root out Al Qaeda operatives. Multiple analysts argued for governmental reform and the need for a wholesale reexamination of the objectives and goals of engagement in Afghanistan.

IRAQ

A string of bombings killed at least 18 people across Iraq on Monday, shattering a relative lull in violence during the celebration that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The blasts primarily targeted Iraqi security forces, which have been the focal point of insurgent attacks since U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq's cities at the end of June. The rise in violence also comes as the country's shops and schools reopened after the Eid holiday that follows the end of the Muslim holy month. The deadliest attack Monday occurred in Ramadi, about 70 miles west Baghdad, when a suicide bomber slammed a tanker truck packed with explosives into a police post, killing at least seven people and wounding 16 more, a security official said.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

The Department of Veteran Affairs is expanding its Suicide Prevention Campaign outreach to all veterans by piloting an online, one-to-one "chat service" for veterans who prefer reaching out for assistance using the Internet. Called 'Veterans Chat,' the new service enables veterans, their families and friends to go online where they can anonymously chat with a trained VA counselor. If a person seeking assistance is determined to be in a crisis, the counselor can take immediate steps to transfer the person to the VA Suicide Prevention Hotline, where further counseling and referral services are provided and crisis intervention steps can be taken.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

According to the Newark Star-Ledger, there has been a surge in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking training for political office via the non-profit, non-partisan organization Veterans Campaign. Since 1977, the number of those in Congress with military experience has plummeted from 77 percent to fewer than 25 percent in 2008. Despite a push to elect veterans in 2006, only two current members of Congress have combat experience in Iraq or Afghanistan.

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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