Texas Veterans Network

A former U.S. military pilot and flight instructor who ran an aviation consultancy in China is in custody in Australia awaiting an extradition request from his homeland on an undisclosed charge, officials said Wednesday.

Daniel Edmund Duggan, who says he is a former U.S. Marine Corps major, was refused bail when he appeared last Friday in Orange Local Court in the New South Wales state rural town of Orange northwest of Sydney, court records show.

Australian Federal Police arrested him that day “pursuant to a request from the United States,” a police statement said.

Former US Marine pilot who worked in China arrested in Australia Australia has been investigating whether any of its military veterans had been recruited to work for the Chinese air force.

Veterans Affairs officials have already received nearly 113,000 new disability claims related to the sweeping toxic exposure legislation signed into law less than three months ago, an indication of the potential impact of the measure and the work ahead for the department. Benefits officials began accepting claims for all presumptive illnesses included in the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (better known as the PACT Act) after it was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Aug. 10.

Nearly 113K claims already filed for PACT Act benefits VA officials have urged all vets who believe they are eligible for the new benefits to apply soon.