Hawaii Democrat Daniel Akaka, head of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, has sent a letter to both DOD chief Robert Gates and VA chief James Nicholson asking for “more detailed information” on a new record-sharing agreement DOD and VA announced Jan. 24. He referred to the “glacially slow progress” the two departments have made in creating an interoperable health record system. Akaka also noted that in testimony last week neither DOD nor VA senior officials gave satisfactory responses on the joint electronic health record issue, which he said was “supposed to have been a priority.”
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.