June 24, 2008 by admin.

Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, charged Bush administration officials Wednesday with continuing to downplay the mental trauma and brain injuries suffered by veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Filner said an April RAND Corp. study, “Invisible Wounds of War — Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery,” justifies a tenfold jump in the U.S. casualty count versus the figure of 33,000 American dead and wounded used by the Pentagon.
RAND researchers extrapolated from a survey they conducted of 1,965 veterans to conclude that nearly 300,000 service members and veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan wars are suffering from post-traumatic stress or major depression. Filner told the pair of researchers, who had summarized their findings for his committee, that their work probably understates the problem.
“I personally think these are low estimates, just from my own studies,” Filner said. “But if you take even the 300,000, [it’s] 10 times the official casualty statistics from the Pentagon. Shouldn’t this 300,000 be included?”
Lisa H. Jaycox, a senior behavioral scientist and clinical psychologist who co-directed the RAND study, embraced Filner’s argument.
“Well, they are [suffering] an injury condition resulting from combat deployment, and so it’s a different kind of casualty,” Jaycox said. “But, yes, they are very important numbers.”
At the same hearing, Michael L. Dominguez, principal deputy under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said RAND had gathered solid data from its survey but then drew the wrong conclusions. The study, Dominguez said, “did not, and cannot, definitively say that there are 300,000 cases of clinically diagnosed cases” of post-traumatic stress disorder or depression among veterans who served in the two theaters of war.
Filner angrily interrupted him, telling Dominguez that RAND didn’t claim to show 300,000 clinically diagnosed cases of PTSD or depression. “It was an extrapolation to the possibility” of 300,000 cases, Filner said.
With over 1.6 million U.S. service members having served in Iraq or Afghanistan, Dominguez said, a finding that 300,000 veterans “have experienced some kind of mental health stress is very consistent with our data. And those people do need to be discovered [and] to get help.”
But, he continued, “many of them will, with very little counseling or assistance, resolve those combat stress issues themselves. A few — a few – will in fact manifest a clinical diagnosis of PTSD and they’ll need much more sustained intervention by medical health care professionals.”
“How many is a few?” Filner snapped.
The results so far, Dominguez said, show “less than one percent will actually have clinical PTSD that will need treatment over…”
“You believe that?” said Filner, cutting him off with sarcasm. “You believe that there are less than one percent of these deployed soldiers will have PTSD as a clinical diagnosis?”
Dominguez was stunned into silence momentarily but finally managed, “So far this is the number that we are seeing.”
“That shows why you don’t do anything,” Filner said, “because you think there’s only a few.”
Another purpose of the three-hour hearing, which included testimony from retired Navy Rear Adm. Patrick W. Dunne, assistant secretary for policy and planning for the Veterans Benefits Administration, was to assess progress by DoD and VA in implementing Wounded Warrior legislation passed in January in response to the Walter Reed scandal last year.
Dominguez and Dunne conceded that some congressional deadlines haven’t been met, including a late April target for establishing a Wounded Warrior Resource Center to give recovering service members, their families and primary caregivers a single point of contact for assistance.
But Dr. Terri L. Tanielian, co-director of the RAND study, acknowledged to Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) that the Wounded Warrior initiatives have set the Departments of Defense and VA “on the right track” for addressing most war-related mental health challenges.
The big hurdle now to proper care for many mentally wounded veterans is clinical capacity nationwide, Tanielian said. The pipeline for training mental healthcare providers in the most effective therapies for PTSD used by VA needs widening, she said, and that requires “transformation and system-level changes across the entire U.S. health care system.”
Filner, meanwhile, wants every servicemember and veteran who has served in Iraq or Afghanistan to receive a mandatory examination, which should include at least an hour with a clinician trained to detect the symptoms of PTSD, depression and even mild cases of traumatic brain injury.
In his tirade at Dominguez and Dunne, Filner said that, between the two of them, “I think there’s been a contest to see who can suck the humanity out of this issue better…I mean, we’re talking about our children! We’re talking about life and death! We’re talking about suicides…homelessness…a lifetime of dealing with brain injuries! And you guys sit there without anything to say. This is absolutely unacceptable.”
He asked Dominguez if he also disagreed with RAND that 320,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have a probable traumatic brain injury.
“Again,” said Dominguez, “you don’t have 320,000 brain injuries. You have 320,000 people who have been in or around a concussive event. Again, it’s a spectrum of experience [versus] a spectrum of need that manifests itself. So, no, there is not 320,000 people out there with brain injuries.”
That attitude, Filner charged, encourages clinicians to misdiagnose conditions so veterans are denied the care they need and the compensation they deserve. Dominguez took strong exception to those remarks.

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June 19, 2008 by admin.

1. GAO upholds Boeing protest of tanker award
   From CongressDaily

The Government Accountability Office Wednesday sustained a protest filed by Boeing Co. over the Air Force’s decision to award a lucrative contract for 179 aerial refueling tankers to a team led by Northrop Grumman and EADS, the European firm behind Airbus. The GAO’s decision follows its exhaustive, 100-day review of the Air Force’s selection process for the $35 billion program. In a summary of its decision, GAO urged the Air Force to reopen competition for the planes, which the service has said are urgently needed to replace 1950s-era KC-135 tankers. “Our review of the record led us to conclude that the Air Force had made a number of significant errors that could have affected the outcome of what was a close competition between Boeing and Northrop Grumman,” GAO said. It recommended that the Air Force reimburse Boeing for the cost of the protest. GAO’s decision is non-binding, but it puts intense pressure on the Air Force to comply with its recommendations.GAO cited seven specific reasons for siding with Boeing, including its conclusion that the Air Force did not adequately assess the merits of the proposals in line with the criteria they established for the program. The Air Force also gave added weight to Northrop Grumman’s proposal because it exceeded a key program requirement, despite establishing in its solicitation for the contract that “no consideration will be provided for exceeding” requirements, GAO said. The GAO summary does not specify which of the requirements was at issue, but Boeing Co. has long argued that the Air Force ultimately selected a larger plane, a modified Airbus A330, than it had asked for.Additionally, GAO concluded that the Air Force “conducted misleading and unequal discussions with Boeing” by informing the aerospace giant that it had fully satisfied a requirement on so-called operational utility. The Air Force later determined that Boeing had only partially met the objective and did not advise the firm of the change in its assessment of the proposal. GAO also concluded that the Air Force’s evaluation of military construction costs on the two planes was “unreasonable” and that the Boeing offering, adapted from its 767 aircraft, would cost less over its lifetime than the A330. In addition, the Air Force “improperly increased” Boeing’s estimated engineering costs on the program, according to GAO. The GAO’s decision Wednesday delivers a stunning blow to an Air Force already suffering from a string of public embarrassments that led to the firings earlier this month of the service’s top civilian and military leaders. It also amounts to a significant setback for the Air Force’s acquisition office, still recovering from a highly publicized scandal nearly five years ago that led to the cancellation of an overpriced Boeing contract to lease tankers to the service. And it also is likely to delay Air Force plans to replace its aging tanker fleet with newer, more capable aircraft — a top acquisition priority for the service.Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40274&dcn=e_ndw

2. IGs face more responsibility, turf wars over war-related spending
   By Dan Friedman, CongressDaily

3.     Through small steps, Congress is mandating a big increase in oversight of war-related spending in Iraq and Afghanistan, but a surge of oversight personnel in Iraq is prompting turf fights among inspectors general.Though bureaucratic battles among overseers are not new, IG employees and congressional aides said disputes over authority to audit contracts in Iraq have sharpened recently.“IGs are definitely fighting over turf, and who will do which audit,” a former senior oversight official in Iraq said.Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40248&dcn=e_ndwReturn to Top 

4. Veterans groups seek funding in advance
   By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., National Journal

Veterans benefits are one of the most popular causes in Congress. But Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics are routinely buffeted by the annual uncertainties of the increasingly dysfunctional budget process on Capitol Hill. Now veterans advocates have proposed a controversial fix.For years, veterans groups have argued, in vain, for making veterans health care funding automatic, as it is for Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare. In recent months, however, a coalition led by the 1.4 million-member Disabled American Veterans has switched tactics. Instead of seeking politically unpalatable mandatory funding, the group is proposing that VA health care be funded through an obscure legislative mechanism called “advance appropriations.”In contrast to mandatory or entitlement funding, the advance-appropriations process does let Congress vote on funding levels–but it does so a year in advance of the regular budget cycle. So while Congress debates most programs’ appropriations for fiscal 2009, it is setting aside almost $30 billion worth of advance appropriations for 2010. This money funds an eclectic mix of programs ranging from Section 8 housing subsidies to education grants to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. No matter how delayed or disrupted funding may be for the rest of the federal government, these advance-appropriations programs are guaranteed to get their money on time, at the start of each fiscal year. “The VA has had a hideous problem for a decade” with tardy funding bills, said John M. Bradley, a longtime Hill staffer who is now with the Disabled American Veterans. “Advance appropriations are a very attractive potential vehicle.”Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40258&dcn=e_ndw

5. Gates taps panel to evaluate stewardship of nuclear arsenal
   By Katherine McIntire Peters

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday named the eight-member task force he’s tapped to review the department’s management of nuclear weapons and related programs. The panel will be led by James R. Schlesinger, who served as CIA director and Defense secretary under Richard Nixon and then became the first Energy secretary under Jimmy Carter.The panel is to consider the findings and recommendations of a classified investigative report prepared by Navy Adm. Kirkland Donald that examined the recently discovered improper shipment of missile components to Taiwan in 2006. That report led to Gates’ unprecedented decision last week to force the resignations of the top two Air Force leaders, Secretary Michael Wynne and Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Mosley.The Donald investigation revealed a “degradation of the authority, standards of excellence and technical competence within the nation’s [intercontinental ballistic missile] force,” Gates said when he announced the resignations June 5.Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40240&dcn=e_ndwReturn to Top

6.    

7. Panel votes to crack down on veterans’ grave vandals
   By Michael Posner, CongressDaily

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to impose severe federal penalties for vandals who desecrate graves or steal grave plaques of deceased military veterans.Without discussion, the committee approved the House-passed bill (H.R. 3480) on a voice vote for Senate consideration. The House approved the bill on May 21.Metal grave markers are being stolen from the grave sites of veterans either as an act of vandalism or to get the metal to sell to scrap yards.Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40238&dcn=e_ndw

8. Air Force concedes mistakes in tanker cost estimates
   From CongressDaily

The Air Force has conceded that Boeing Co.’s proposed KC-767 aerial refueling tanker would cost less over time than the winning plane offered by Northrop Grumman Corp and its European subcontractor EADS, Boeing told auditors reviewing its protest against the Air Force decision, Reuters reported. News of Air Force errors in calculating the life cycle costs of the competing bids, which were also confirmed by Northrop, comes as the GAO prepares to rule by June 19 on the Boeing protest. In a 191-page document filed with the GAO, Boeing said mistakes in calculating the life cycle costs of the airplanes raised questions about the thoroughness and credibility of the Air Force’s overall evaluation. But Northrop downplayed the impact of the Air Force error, saying life cycle costs were just one part of the Air Force evaluation. The final decision was based on the capabilities of its KC-30 tanker, not cost alone, Northrop officials said. The Air Force declined comment.Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40229&dcn=e_ndw 

9. Positive trends in Iraq belie deeper security challenges, says top military officer
   By Katherine McIntire Peters

A day after meeting at Fort Stewart, Ga., with soldiers from the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division who have recently returned from Iraq, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said they described a substantially improved security environment over the course of their yearlong tour. The reduction in violence has allowed the Iraqi government to pass critical laws and take vital security actions that would have been unthinkable a year ago, he said.“The security environment has been set in a very positive way,” Mullen said in a wide-ranging discussion at a Government Executive leadership breakfast on Thursday. “I’m not predicting [anything],” he added. “We’re on a good trend line and I’m hopeful it will continue.”U.S. commanders in Iraq are in the process of reducing forces there from the equivalent of 20 brigades to 15 brigades by the end of July. Mullen was careful to avoid adding fuel to the political fire being exchanged between Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama, Republican and Democratic contenders for the presidency in 2009, and declined to predict when Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander on the ground in Iraq, would make recommendations regarding additional troop reductions. But if security gains can be sustained through the summer, further reductions may be possible as early as this fall, he said.Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40233&dcn=e_ndw

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June 12, 2008 by admin.

Air Force concedes mistakes in tanker cost estimates
CongressDaily June 12, 2008
The Air Force has conceded that Boeing Co.’s proposed KC-767 aerial refueling tanker would cost less over time than the winning plane offered by Northrop Grumman Corp and its European subcontractor EADS, Boeing told auditors reviewing its protest against the Air Force decision, Reuters reported.
News of Air Force errors in calculating the life cycle costs of the competing bids, which were also confirmed by Northrop, comes as the GAO prepares to rule by June 19 on the Boeing protest.
In a 191-page document filed with the GAO, Boeing said mistakes in calculating the life cycle costs of the airplanes raised questions about the thoroughness and credibility of the Air Force’s overall evaluation.
But Northrop downplayed the impact of the Air Force error, saying life cycle costs were just one part of the Air Force evaluation. The final decision was based on the capabilities of its KC-30 tanker, not cost alone, Northrop officials said.
The Air Force declined comment.

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June 8, 2008 by admin.

More than 1.5 million men and women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, many are coming home and finding it difficult, if not impossible, to pay for college. Help open the doors to higher education for America’s newest generation of veterans. Join us in our fight for a new GI Bill in 2008.

Mr. President,

Troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan deserve strong education benefits that make college tuition affordable.

I support the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act (S. 22 and H.R. 5740), and urge you to sign it into law immediately.

I am a veteran of OIF (Iraq)

I am a veteran of OEF (Afghanistan)

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