Today’s Top Stories

Insults to injury: Military sexual-assault victims endure retaliation
Troops who have reported sexual assaults are 12 times more likely to be retaliated against than to see their attacker convicted of sex crimes, according to a report on the fallout of filing a military sexual assault report by Human Rights Watch. | USA Today >>

Funding decision looms in Denver VA hospital predicament
The new Veterans Affairs hospital under construction in Denver is already behind schedule and hundreds of millions over cost, but it could become even more of a mess if Congress does not reach a compromise this week on possible fixes for the project. | Military Times >>

Rural Veterans In Need Of Care Face Uncertainty, Isolation
Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan living in rural areas face unique challenges when trying to receive care through the VA. Is enough being done to help them? | Task & Purpose >>

Afghanistan

A Taliban attack on a district government headquarters in Afghanistan’s southern Uruzgan province on Monday killed at least seven people, an Afghan official said. | Associated Press >>

The recent attack on a Kabul hotel that killed at least 12 civilians is a grim reminder of the Taliban’s contempt for the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian law (IHL) — the laws of war — which ban targeting noncombatants. | Huffington Post >>

Afghanistan’s president has denied recent media reports that Kabul will allow Pakistani intelligence to “train and equip” the National Directorate of Security (NDS), its domestic intelligence agency. | VICE News >>

Iraq

Iranian-backed Shiite militias began mobilizing Monday to help retake the key Iraqi city of Ramadi after it fell to Islamic State militants over the weekend. | USA Today >>

The United States and its allies conducted 25 air strikes since early on Sunday targeting Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, the Combined Joint Task Force carrying out the operations said. | Reuters >>

Is ISIS winning? There are no easy answers in the back-and-forth conflict that dominates the Mideast. On Sunday, the group also known as the Islamic State scored a major victory by seizing Ramadi, the capital of the Anbar province in Iraq, after a year of fighting. | CNN >>

Military Affairs

The Army is seeking the assistance of cyberattack tool sellers, joining a growing number of Pentagon entities aiming to amass advanced cyber capabilities. | NextGov >>

Within the laboratories of Naval Medical Research Unit-San Antonio, or NAMRU-SA, interdisciplinary teams of biomedical engineers, environmental microbiologists, dentists, chemists and other researchers work to research technology that will help wound treatment for the Defense Department warfighter. | Defense.gov >>

The service is encouraging hundreds of departed airmen to return to active duty — and others to stay longer — to help it handle strikes against the Islamic State militant group and manage tensions flaring in Ukraine. | Air Force Times >>

#VetsRising

The first-ever Tunnel to Towers stair climb at 1 World Trade Center was held Sunday morning. Stair climbers climbed up 90 floors, or 180 flights and 2,066 steps. Proceeds go toward building high-tech homes for veterans of war. | WABC 7 >>

McDonough and dozens of other injured airmen gathered at Eglin Air Force base in the Florida Panhandle recently to prepare for the games and encourage other wounded veterans. “I want to become the badass I used to be,” said retired Sgt. Justin Hughes, 38, another injured veteran who has struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and other medical issues. | Washington Post >>

Word about a meeting in South Lyon to form a local chapter of the Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) spread quickly. A homeless man in Grand Rapids heard about the first meeting, borrowed a car and drove two and a half hours to attend. He told organizers it was the only IAVA meeting he could find in the state. | Hometown Life >>

Inside Washington

Pentagon officials won’t get congressional permission for a new base closure round next year. But they might be inching closer. Both the House and Senate versions of the 2016 defense authorization bill again prohibit a new base closure round, despite defense leaders’ repeated pleas for the infrastructure reduction tool. | Military Times >>

It all boils down to Gang Greed. That was how a hero soldier honored by the Jets reacted to news that the team and 13 other NFL franchises were paid by the National Guard and the Department of Defense to salute the troops at home games. | NY Daily News >>

A for-profit college company with 15 campuses in California was ordered by the state Friday to stop enrolling new or returning students who plan to fund their educations with GI Bill benefits. | Associated Press >>