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? Follow us on Twitter @iavapressroom [1].
MUST READS
(1) Senate panel OKs VA advance funding for 2011 [2]
IAVA's top legislative priority - Advanced funding for the Veterans Affairs Department - moved another big step forward late Monday after the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on military construction and veterans programs agreed to set aside $48 billion for 2011 veterans’ health care costs in the 2010 budget. Chaired by Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), the committee approved a $133.8 billion funding bill, including $23 billion for military construction, $53 billion for veterans’ health care and administrative programs and $55.8 billion in mandatory spending, such as veterans’ benefits. The 2010 spending is about $440 million more than the Obama administration had requested. The advanced funding component specifically includes $37.1 billion for medical services, $5.7 billion for medical facilities and $5.3 billion for medical support - all of which would become available on Oct. 1, 2010, which is the first day of fiscal 2011. Click here [3] to learn more about Iraq and Afghanistan veterans efforts lobbying for VA advanced appropriations during IAVA's 2009 Storm the Hill campaign.
(2) Big increase in troops' kids seeking mental help [4]
Internal Pentagon documents obtained by the Associated Press reveal that children of U.S. troops sought outpatient mental health care more than 2 million times last year, double the number at the start of the Iraq war. Additionally, the documents underscore an alarming spike in the number of military kids actually hospitalized for mental health reasons. From 2007 to 2008, some 20 percent more children of active duty troops were hospitalized for mental health services; since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, inpatient visits among military children have increased 50 percent. The Pentagon documents do not list reasons for the treatment increases though they coincide with the "surge" of tens of thousands of additional U.S. troops into Iraq over the past two years to stabilize the country. Patricia Barron, head of the National Military Family Association's youth initiatives, said that the organization is currently participating in a study to determine the impact multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan are having on the children.
The Media Research Center, a Virginia-based news analysis organization, reported Tuesday that the deaths of seven U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan on Monday received just 1/20th of the network television news coverage devoted to the funeral of music legend Michael Jackson. The seven deaths garnered less than one minute of coverage on ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts combined, including just 13 seconds on CBS, compared to more than 13 minutes of Jackson-related news. That's a 60-to-1 disparity, the analysis found. “This is a prime example of why network television news audiences are disappearing before our eyes," Media Research Center President Brent Bozell said. "There is no justification for determining that the death of a celebrity over a week ago merits 20 times more news coverage than the tragic deaths of American soldiers in Afghanistan." In a letter to the Washington Post, Martha Gillis - aunt of service member Lt. Brian Bradshaw, 24, who died recently in Kheyl, Afghanistan- asked editors why Mr. Jackson received days of wall-to-wall coverage in the media. "Where was the coverage of my nephew or the other soldiers who died that week?" she asked. Bradshaw, of Steilacoom, Wash., was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division in Fort Richardson, Alaska. He was one of at least 13 U.S. soldiers to die in Afghanistan since Michael Jackson's death on June 25. Click here [6] to read Gillis' letter "A Life of Worth, Overlooked" to the editor.
(4) OPINION: [7]We owe our veterans much more than this [8]
In an editorial for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) called for more vigilance by administrators at VA hospitals and facilities following recent revelations a medical team at Philadelphia’s Veterans Affairs Medical Center botched prostate cancer treatments for more than 100 veterans over a six-year period. “The nation owes its veterans a debt it can never repay,” he writes. “Foremost among its obligations to them is safe, reliable health care… If this had been a consumer product, we would be talking about a breakdown in quality control. That is essentially what happened here.” Last week, Specter – who has struggled with his battles against prostate cancer- chaired a special Senate hearing in Philadelphia to question Dr. Gary Kao about why the botched procedures went unnoticed for six years. Click here [8] to read more of his editorial.
AFGHANISTAN
As U.S. Marines continue to sweep through Afghanistan's Helmand River valley, military commanders have reported to U.S. commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal that they are increasingly concerned about a lack of Afghan forces [9] in the field. “What I need is more Afghans,” Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, commander of the Marine expeditionary brigade in Helmand Province, reportedly told McChrystal Monday during a visit with troops at Patrol Base Jaker. According to Nicholson, the American force of almost 4,000 has only been joined by about 400 effective Afghan soldiers. Capt. Brian Huysman, commander of Company C of the First Battalion, Fifth Marines in Nawa echoed Nicholson's request calling "the net increase in Afghan security forces zero” since the brigade arrived a few months ago. He said the lack of Afghan forces support the U.S. “is absolutely our Achilles’ heel." “We can’t read these people; we’re different,” he said. “They’re not going to tell us the truth. We’ll never get to build and transition unless we have the Afghans.”
As Operation Khanjar continues, there has been little resistance from Taliban fighters many of who are believed to have pulled back to more remote locations, like the village of Marjah [10] , to regroup and try to figure out how to reassert themselves in farmland crucial to financing their guerrilla campaign. In an incident on Monday, Marines reported a dozen militants [11] escaped the village of Khan Neshin, about 60 miles north of the Pakistani border, by donning women's burqas. Due to a lack of female troops, the Marines - which had initially surrounded the residential compound- couldn't search the robed figures and make sure no men were among them in disguise.
Across the border, Pakistani and U.S. officials reported that Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud [12] is increasingly buying and selling young children to stage suicide attacks. A video released by Pakistan's military shows the children training for the task killing and going through exercises. Mehsud has been selling the children, once trained, to other Taliban officials for $6,000 to $12,000, Pakistani military officials said. Pakistan said it is recruiting former soldiers to fill 2,500 police force positions [13] in the Swat Valley to combat Mehsud and improve security now the army has cleared 90 percent of the northwestern region of Taliban militants.
IRAQ
U.S. military officials said Tuesday that Sgt. Joseph Bozicevic [14]h, an Army sergeant accused of slaying his superior and another U.S. soldier in Iraq, will face a court-martial and could be sentenced to death if convicted. Bozicevich, 39, of Minneapolis shot his squad leader, Staff Sgt. Darris Dawson, and Sgt. Wesley Durbin on Sept. 14 at a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol base south of Baghdad. Witnesses have said Bozicevich opened fire on the soldiers when they tried to counsel him for poor performance. If Bozicevich is convicted but not sentenced to death, he would face life in prison without parole, said Fort Stewart spokesman Kevin Larson. A trial date is pending.
MILITARY AFFAIRS
According to a new study [15] featured in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, researchers from the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego are trying to determine how much the way a person interacts with his environment can affect his mental health and whether behavior during stressful training situations might be a possible predictor for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The researchers looked at one of the most stressful environments they could find: Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape training during which at least 96 percent of service members experience peritraumatic dissociative symptoms — becoming emotionally numb or unaware of their surroundings. “[In the study] we have shown that higher levels of perceived stress and use of passive and emotion-focused coping styles prior to survival training are associated with higher levels of acute stress symptoms in response to survival training,” the researchers wrote. “However, we further expected that active and problem-focused coping would associate with lower acute stress symptoms during survival training. But this hypothesis was not supported." Though research continues, they generally concluded that there is no best way for dealing with stress as those in the study who normally dealt with stress by actively trying to problem-solve were all over the board when it came to whether they had acute stress symptoms during SERE training.
On Tuesday New York's Kings County (Brooklyn) announced a new diversion program for military veterans [16] who become involved in the criminal justice system. Supported by the New York State Division of Veteran Affairs, the program, entitled the Veterans Project, is designed to identify nonviolent veteran offenders and provide outreach and specialized support, in some cases helping veterans avoid prison time. “This program opens the door for healthcare providers to help veterans who have become involved in the criminal justice system with much-needed mental health and substance abuse services,” said Martina Parauda, acting director of the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System. According to officials, a Veteran Justice Outreach Specialist will be in charge of identifying assisting veterans who become involved in the criminal justice system.
INSIDE WASHINGTON
Rep. Patrick Murphy [17] (D-Pa.), the new sponsor of legislation to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, said Tuesday it is “impossible to answer” whether his bill will get a vote this year in the House. Murphy, who took over as the lead sponsor of the bill a week ago when the previous sponsor, former Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), resigned to take a job with the State Department, said he has met with leadership on the issue and is “doing my best to get it on the docket.” His comments come as Time Magazine runs a feature this week about the recent murder of a gay service member [18] at Camp Pendleton, questioning whether the military is prepared to deal with a repeal of the policy. According to Time, seaman August Provost of Houston was shot and killed while standing nighttime guard at his base on June 30. His body was found at about 3 a.m. after his guard shack had been torched, apparently to destroy evidence surrounding his slaying, according to Navy officials. Family members confirmed that Provost had recently "come out" to some of his Navy colleagues. Two California Democratic members of Congress including Rep. Susan Davis and Rep. Bob Filner, Chairman of the House Veteran Affairs Committee, have asked the military to investigate whether Provost's sexual orientation was the reason for his murder. Click here [18] to learn more.
CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE
THE SENATE
The Senate will convene at 10:00 am.
FUTURE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST
THE HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES
The House will convene at 9:00 am.
FUTURE HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST
WHAT THE BLOGS ARE SAYING
Blog: Huffington Post (Craig Newmark)
Title: A Personal Call To Service [19]
Date: Wednesday, July 8th
Representative: IAVA
Blog: Daily Kos
Title: [20]Interregnum: THE COLBERT REPORT Spoiler Thread [21]
Date: Wednesday, July 8th
Representative: Paul Rieckhoff
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.
Links:
[1] http://twitter.com/iavapressroom
[2] http://militarytimes.com/news/2009/07/military_VA_advancefunding_070709w/
[3] http://iava.org/content/storm-hill-2009
[4] http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jqBSCmilTeVSALlMJpPp8BCNYmkQD999PEN00
[5] http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,530361,00.html?test=latestnews
[6] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/04/AR2009070402024.html
[7] http://goog_1247025594532
[8] http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20090707_We_owe_our_veterans_much_more_than_this.html
[9] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/world/asia/08afghan.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
[10] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/world/asia/08afghan.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
[11] http://www.military.com/news/article/taliban-wore-burqas-to-escape-marines.html?col=1186032310810&wh=wh
[12] http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/07/07/pakistan.child.bombers/
[13] http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aNKGonyWpQ5s
[14] http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5im2DslscJ9XKRvaaM4pT4c8nZwhgD999TPKO2
[15] http://militarytimes.com/news/2009/07/military_stress_problemsolving_070709w/
[16] http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=4&id=29337
[17] http://www.rollcall.com/news/36530-1.html
[18] http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1908956,00.html?iid=tsmodule
[19] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-newmark/a-personal-call-to-servic_b_227339.html
[20] http://iava.org/goog_1247025594568
[21] http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/7/7/751026/-Interregnum:-THE-DAILY-SHOW-THE-COLBERT-REPORT-(TDS-TCR)-Spoiler-Thread