Improvised explosive devices have been the single biggest killer of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq – some 3,000 KIA — which is why the Pentagon has spent more than $20 billion trying to defeat them. Now the Pentagon’s …
Military Health
Is “Don’t Ask” to Blame for Bradley Manning and WikiLeaks?
No single man has made gays in the military look worse than Army PFC Bradley Manning: alleged leaker of hundreds of thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks. Anyone found guilty of intentionally weakening our nation’s security is deplorable and deserves harsh punishment. The one thing still irking me about …
Collateral Damage
As the lobbying heavyweights gobble up newspaper pages and local airtime in Washington warning that impending budget cuts are going to send the U.S. into an economic and military tailspin from which recovery will be impossible, …
“Prior to 2008...the cremated remains were…turned over to a contractor for incineration, as was the industry standard. If there was any residual matter, it was handled in accordance with the processes at the time…we did not direct the contractor to put any residual material in the landfill.”
On War and Faith
So of all the elements that can cushion a soldier’s return to civilian life from Afghanistan and Iraq, what’s the most important? Well, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center, it’s a soldier’s faith, or …
How Much Is Your Testicle (Or Ovary) Worth?
Unfortunately, due to the enemy’s favorite weapon in Afghanistan and Iraq – the improvised explosive device – that’s not an irrelevant question. The roadside bombs often are buried and blow up as a soldier walks over them, which can cause serious harm to one’s nether regions, if he or she is fortunate enough to survive. Such …
Thanks, Doc
Wednesday is the final day in office for the Army’s surgeon general, Lieutenant General Eric Schoomaker. He became the Army’s top doctor four years ago this month. He got the slot after helping improve conditions at the (now …
Afghanistan: Looks Like Victory From Here
Charts can make clear too often what words only obscure. Take this arresting graphic, contained in a new Congressional Research Service study made available by Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists (CRS …
Just Who Is a Veteran?
Over on the VA blog, VAntage Point, Army vet Kate Hoit asks, and tries to answer, that vexing (at least for some vets) question:
The definition can be unclear. And it wasn’t the first time I’d encountered confusion over the topic. Former service members give a variety of answers when posed with the question. I’ve heard it all:
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Your Crunchy Military
Limboland: A Correction.
I received a note from Rick Maze over at Military Times this morning commenting on an assertion I made here that things might be improving for veterans’ benefits claims over at the VA. Maze, who took the time to note he’s “only been covering military and veterans issues for three decades,” says that things are getting worse over at VA in …
“Does Fear of Getting Mental-Health Help Drive Up Suicide in the Military?”
The military has long known that many troops won’t take advantage of the roster of mental-health care options the military offers. That’s because they fear the stigma it might generate could hurt their career prospects. Does that aversion contribute to the military’s increased suicide rate? Dr. Margaret Harrell, a Center for a …
MREs: Money Related to Eating
The Pentagon just announced three contracts (above, click on it to enlarge) totaling up to $7 billion for Meals-Ready-to-Eat for troops – and victims of humanitarian disasters – to eat through 2016. Sure, MREs are getting tastier, but $7 billion? We just called the folks who bought them – Philadelphia’s Defense Logistics Agency …