From Baghdad to DC, Veterans Attend Inauguration Events, Available for Comment on Inauguration Activities and New Era of VA Leadership

NEW YORK – This week, members of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the nation's first and largest nonpartisan organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will be available for interviews and commentary on President Obama and the implications of the new presidency for the military and veterans community in our country. They will be attending a variety of events from the Inauguration Ceremony itself to the Huffington Post Ball to celebrate the rise of new media to the Commander in Chief Ball to honor our country’s servicemembers and their families. 

Veterans and military veterans will play an extensive roll in all events in Washington this week, and IAVA utilizes a diverse group of veteran spokespeople from all over the country to comment on the most relevant issues. Notable spokespeople include, IAVA’s founder and Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff, who led an infantry platoon in Baghdad and is the author of the critically acclaimed book, “Chasing Ghosts”; Todd Bowers, a Marine wounded by a sniper’s bullet during his second voluntary tour in Iraq as a Civil Affairs Team Sergeant; Patrick Campbell, a combat medic who led the fight to implement the “Post-9/11” GI Bill; Genevieve Chase, an Army Reserve Soldier who served with the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan; and Tom Tarantino, a former Army Captain who served in combat as both a cavalry and mortar platoon leader, and was awarded the Combat Action Badge and Bronze Star.

To read the bios of all of IAVA’s spokespeople visit: http://iava.org/content/spokespeople.  

To arrange an interview with IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff or any member veterans, contact Michael Houston at (914-473-8100), or email michael@IAVA.org.

IAVA is the country’s first and largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has more than 125,000 active veteran members and grassroots supporters nationwide. Its mission is to improve the lives of this country’s newest generation of veterans and their families. For more information, please visit www.IAVA.org