According to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, active duty personnel who received “traumatic injuries” during operations in Afghanistan and Iraq will get payments of at least $25,000 to $100,000 before Christmas. Service members or their beneficiaries must complete a certification form, providing information from their physician and service. The committee Web site has more information. This is a link to the VA Web site for more information.
A top Pentagon tech official called on industry this week to help the military develop “lighter, more efficient” directed energy weapons designed to go on aircraft and conduct special operations missions or down drones—areas where the Air Force’s directed energy efforts have been quiet as of late.