IAVA Daily Brief 11.05.09

IAVA Daily Brief 11.05.09
Posted by Terrell Frazier [1] on November 5 [2] 2009

AfghanistanArmyMilPic.jpg [3]

 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 [4].

MUST READS

1) Roadside Bombs Frustrate U.S., Spur Review [5]

The increasing power and effectiveness of roadside bombs in Afghanistan has spurred the U.S. military to reassess its defenses even as it rushes more blast-resistant vehicles to the region. Defense Secretary Robert Gates met at the Pentagon late today with military officials involved in buying fortified vehicles, developing anti-bomb technologies and running aerial reconnaissance to spot militants laying bombs, Morrell told reporters. Representatives from the U.S. Central Command and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization also attended, he said.

2) Sen. Blocking Bill: Objection is Cost, Not Vets [6]

The senator holding up consideration of an omnibus veterans’ health bill doesn’t hate veterans and their families, but he does hate the idea of creating new benefits without paying for them, his spokesman says. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is using Senate rules to block a vote on S 1963, a major veterans bill, unless he has the chance to offer amendments to pay for the new benefits it creates, especially stipends, health benefits, counseling and other programs aimed at family caregivers of seriously wounded combat veterans. Coburn spokesman John Hart said the senator has questions about the new benefit, wondering why, if it is such a good thing for families, it is limited to helping only those of Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans. But the main objection is cost. IAVA is among a group of veterans organizations calling on Colburn to end his block.

3) Brain Injury Research Warrants Urgency, Mullen Says [7]

Traumatic brain injury, one of the signature injuries suffered by troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, demands a "sense of urgency," the U.S. military's top officer said today.  Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Defense Department is in the early stages of understanding the impact of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, a mental condition characterized by headaches, dizziness, lacking motor coordination, memory loss and other symptoms. In wide-ranging remarks this morning, Mullen emphasized the importance of focusing on TBI and other issues affecting troops and their families. He said he supports efforts by those within and outside the department to better understand TBI.

AFGHANISTAN

A rogue Afghan policeman shot and killed five British soldiers [8] in southern Helmand Province on Tuesday and escaped, the British military said Wednesday. It was one of the highest British tolls from a single attack since the Afghanistan invasion eight years ago. About the same time, militants attacked on the other side of the checkpoint, and during subsequent fighting a fire broke out. As residents tried to put out the blaze, warplanes attacked the militants and killed five civilians. It was not clear whether the two attacks had been coordinated. The British prime minister, Gordon Brown, told the House of Commons that the Taliban had claimed responsibility for the attack on the soldiers, which brought the British death toll in the Afghanistan war this year to 92. According to the UK Times, the latest attack has raised fresh questions [9] about Britain’s role in Afghanistan.

The United Nations is temporarily pulling hundreds [10] of staff members out of Afghanistan while it reviews security arrangements in the wake of an attack by militants on a Kabul guesthouse last week that killed five U.N. employees, officials said today. U.N. officials said staff members, scattered in dozens of dwellings in Kabul and around the country, were vulnerable — in many cases protected only by a handful of Afghan security guards.

As the military shifts its focus to Afghanistan [11] from Iraq, the patent for an independent truck suspension is proving to be worth billions of dollars to the company and a potential lifesaver for American troops in Afghanistan. The special suspension is being used in new armored trucks, now being rushed to the front, that are nimble enough to veer off road and avoid the homemade mines that have killed or injured hundreds of soldiers. The first trucks reached Afghanistan last month, and the company creater has hired or called back nearly 1,200 workers to deliver the rest by next spring.

Stars and Stripes cited a number of incidents during a three-day mission last week in a suspected Taliban stronghold to underscore the fundamental challenges that U.S. troops face in Afghanistan. As the war drags into its ninth year, and as President Barack Obama contemplates sending thousands more troops, Americans are fighting alongside Afghan government forces more closely than ever. But it’s an uneasy alliance [12].

Adm. Mike Mullen, America's top military officer, said Wednesday [13] that he is comfortable with the length of time it is taking for the White House to come to a decision on the way forward in Afghanistan.  In a brief interview on Capitol Hill with The Christian Science Monitor, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said he feels good about the "depth of the discussion." Mullen said he is confident Obama will make a decision in the next few weeks and dismissed criticism from former Vice President Dick Cheney and others. "This is a big decision, it's a huge decision," Mullen said.

IRAQ

Iraq’s security forces have been relying on a device to detect bombs [14] and weapons that the United States military and technical experts say is useless. The small hand-held wand, with a telescopic antenna on a swivel, is being used at hundreds of checkpoints in Iraq. But the device works “on the same principle as a Ouija board” — the power of suggestion — said a retired United States Air Force officer, Lt. Col. Hal Bidlack, who described the wand as nothing more than an explosives divining rod. Still, the Iraqi government has purchased more than 1,500 of the devices, known as the ADE 651, at costs from $16,500 to $60,000 each. Nearly every police checkpoint, and many Iraqi military checkpoints, have one of the devices, which are now normally used in place of physical inspections of vehicles.

As Iraqi lawmakers repeatedly miss deadlines for writing the new law urgently needed for elections to go ahead in January — and for U.S. troops to go home — America's diminishing role in the political process here is very much in evidence [15]. Back in 2005, when Iraq's democracy was being formed, it was common for legislators to meet into the small hours of the morning in the presence of U.S. officials, who shuttled between the feuding camps, mediating disputes and pressuring them to stick to the timetable for a new constitution and for elections to be held. This time around, U.S. diplomats have adopted a noticeably lower profile, ceding the lead mediation role to the United Nations and emphasizing the need for Iraqis to solve their own problems.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

Ohio voters approved a largely uncontested ballot issue [16] authorizing $200 million in debt to pay cash bonuses to recent war veterans from Ohio. With 90 percent of the votes counted, Issue 2 was carrying 72 percent of the vote. Veterans who served honorably in war zones would be eligible for up to $100 for every month of service up to a maximum of $1,000. Those stationed elsewhere in wartime would be eligible for $50 per month up to a maximum of $500.

U.S. military-age youth are increasingly unfit to serve [17]. According to the latest Pentagon figures, a full 35 percent, or more than one-third, of the roughly 31.2 million Americans aged 17 to 24 are unqualified for military service because of physical and medical issues. And, said Curt Gilroy, the Pentagon’s director of accessions, “the major component of this is obesity. We have an obesity crisis in the country. There’s no question about it.”

An Army veteran who authorities say threatened to go on a shooting rampage at a Veterans Affairs hospital [18] in southern Illinois has been indicted on a gun charge. A federal grand jury in Benton indicted 29-year-old Mark Harmon on one count of attempted possession of a firearm on federal property with the intent to commit a crime.

Airmen concerned about becoming glow-in-the-dark targets [19] are sounding off about shiny Air Force safety belts that clash with their cammies. Air Force policy requires the belts to be worn during reduced visibility, such as inclement weather; on a flight line; and when a commander deems necessary, said Paul Carlisle, acting deputy chief of Air Force Ground Safety, via telephone from Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs said both he and his wife fully support [20] the new Congressional Military Family Caucus, a group formed to work on childcare, education, health and deployment issues. Adm. Mike Mullen was the keynote speaker at Wednesday’s inaugural meeting of the caucus — which has 70 members and growing — formed by members of the House of Representatives to identify and try to resolve issues affecting military families. Mullen said he and his wife, Deborah, will do everything they can for the cause.

CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

THE SENATE

The Senate will convene at 9:30 a.m.

SENATE FLOOR ACTIVITY of INTEREST

HR 2847 — Commerce-Justice-Science spending

COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST

November 5, 2009  Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Hearing on cooperation between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Indian Health Service.  10:00 a.m.; 418 Russell

THE HOUSE of  REPRESENTATIVES



The House will convene at 10:00 a.m.

HOUSE FLOOR ACTIVITY of INTEREST

Under suspension of the rules:

HR 3548 — Unemployment aid
HR 1849 — World War I memorial

Postponed suspensions:

H Res 868 — Honoring and recognizing the service and achievements of current and former female members of the Armed Forces (Rep. Davis (CA) – Armed Services)

HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST



November 5, 2009   Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity Hearing:  Adaptive Housing Grants  1:00 p.m.;  334 Cannon HOB

FUTURE  HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of  INTEREST



November 19, 2009  Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health Hearing:  Review of VA Contract Health Care: Project HERO  10:00 a.m.; 334 Cannon

December 3, 2009  Veterans‚ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity Roundtable  1:00 p.m.; 334 Cannon HOB

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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