Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Eric Monson, observer coach/trainer assigned to 1st Battalion, 383rd Regiment, conducts a demonstration at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, on Aug. 21, 2020, of the new Army Individual Weapons Qualification standards that will take effect on Oct. 1, 2020. The Army has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases even as it ramps training back up. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Master Sgt. Anthony L. Taylor)
2. COVID-19 Hits the US
COVID-19 would halt PT tests, turn recruiting efforts virtual, make more than 100,000 sick and claim the lives of more than 5,000 veterans and 155 DoD-connected personnel. No respecter of persons, the virus at one point would force most of the Joint Chiefs to quarantine after an exposure event at the White House that infected at least two senior officers. It would also put the spotlight on the military logistics enterprise with Gen. Gus Perna, former head of Army Materiel Command, tapped to lead a nationwide vaccine distribution effort known as Opera
Big six veterans groups ask Trump to fire VA Secretary Wilkie immediately December 16, 2020 Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie speaks at a White House event on April 30, 2020. Multiple veterans groups have called for Wilkie s firing in recent days. (Alex Brandon/AP) The nation’s leading veterans groups on Wednesday formally requested that President Donald Trump fire Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie immediately from his Cabinet post, saying that the VA administrator “no longer has the trust or confidence of America’s veterans.” The letter signed by leaders from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS and Vietnam Veterans of America is the latest damning assessment of Wilkie’s ability shepherd the department following the release of an inspector general report last week criticizing his handling of a sexual assault allegation late last year.
Congress finalizes sweeping veterans policy bill with new protections for women, students December 16, 2020 Sailors assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Bremerton in Washington receive information on GI Bill benefits during a college fair on Feb. 20, 2020. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Haydn N. Smith/Navy) House lawmakers on Wednesday finalized a massive, sweeping veterans policy measure which includes new protections for student veterans, new aid for veterans hurt by the ongoing pandemic and long sought-after improvements to VA services aimed at women veterans. The 337-page bill cobbled together in recent months from dozens of smaller reform measures easily passed the chamber by a voice vote on Wednesday afternoon. It was advanced by the Senate one week ago without any objections, and now heads to the White House for President Donald Trump’s final signature.
Trump eases rules for religious social service providers
by Collin Binkley, The Associated Press
Posted Dec 14, 2020 5:49 pm EDT
Last Updated Dec 14, 2020 at 5:56 pm EDT
FILE - In this Oct. 15, 2020, file photo Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos speaks at the Phoenix International Academy in Phoenix. DeVos has extended the moratorium on student loan payments and the accrual of interest until Jan. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)
The Trump administration on Monday moved to loosen Obama-era restrictions on religious organizations that receive federal money to provide social services.
In new rules co-ordinated across nine federal agencies, the administration said it was clearing barriers that make it difficult for religious groups to participate in federal programs.
Lawmaker faces possible ethics inquiry for role in VA sexual assault investigation scandal December 14, 2020 Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, left, listens during member-elect orientations on Capitol Hill in Washington in December 2017. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP) A key House lawmaker on Monday called for the chamber’s ethics committee to launch an investigation into Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw for his role in a controversial campaign by Veterans Affairs officials to discredit a sexual assault victim. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., and the head of the House Armed Services Committee’s panel on military personnel, blasted Crenshaw’s alleged involvement in the scandal as “abhorrent” and said her colleagues need to fully investigate the issue.