Early Bird Brief: September 26, 2024

Welcome to the Early Bird Brief's LinkedIn Edition, a tightly edited round-up of today's most important military and defense stories. To get the full EBB, with dozens of stories, subscribe here.

Today's Top 5:

What will the surge of US forces to the Middle East cost the military?

(Defense News) The day the Middle East almost erupted into a full regional war this summer, Lloyd Austin was touring an Asian shipyard. Just before the defense secretary visited Subic Bay, Philippines, the former site of a massive U.S. Navy base, Israel killed the political leader of Hamas, who was visiting Iran. Read More

Veterans could get free gun safes under suicide prevention proposal introduced in House

(Military.com) Any veteran who wants a lockbox to store their firearm would be able to get one for free from the Department of Veterans Affairs under a bipartisan bill introduced in the House on Wednesday aimed at curbing veteran suicides. Read More

VA to research link between PFAS chemicals and kidney cancer

(Military Times) Veterans Affairs officials will research the link between kidney cancer and exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, at military bases, a move that could eventually provide presumptive benefits to thousands of veterans suffering from the illness. Read More

Meet the Afghan general who wants to take on the Taliban

(Military Times) In rural Mason Neck, Virginia, among homes with Confederate flags hanging out front and towering pickup trucks occupying driveways, a stately brick mansion makes for an unexpected neighbor. In the home’s front lawn, sitting amid manicured shrubs, rises an even more unusual sight: the flag of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It is one that has not flown in its own country since 2021, when U.S. forces departed and top leaders fled, ceding control to the Taliban. Read More

Senate confirms new National Guard chief, other command leaders

(Military Times) Senate members late Tuesday confirmed Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Nordhaus as the next chief of the National Guard Bureau, filling the key leadership role after a nearly two-month vacancy. Read More

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