All war deaths are cruel and unforgiving, leaving families left behind to grieve and ponder what might have been. But somehow they seem more cruel when the young soldier is brought home, alive, to one of the world’s best hospitals, and lives for 10 days before succumbing to his wounds:
Army
Hey Army: Why You So Far Behind the Marines When It Comes to Women?
The recent announcement by Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos that he is exploring ways to better integrate female Marines into combat units came hot on the heels of a policy shift that will allow women to attend the Marine …
Shout’s Shootout
The New Rules on PTSD
Wow. The new 17-page policy from the Army’s Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG ) on screening and treating PTSD is exciting and comprehensive. And will absolutely be controversial.
Although it is playing out in the news as related to the Fort Lewis controversy – were its reversals of PTSD diagnoses there fair? — this …
Joint Op
“Increasingly Expensive and Incapable…”
Former Army intel officer Chris Davis, who served with a light-infantry unit in Afghanistan, is pondering the price, and cost (there is a difference) – of the U.S. military over at Small Wars Journal:
As the defense budget continues to grow, the military is less able to deliver desirable political outcomes in America’s conflicts.
…
War Dog
Beyond the Headlines: Care With Compassion
I visited Joint Base Lewis-McCord in Washington state last week, to attend the retirement of a good friend of mine, another Army psychiatrist who has served for many years.
I have blogged before about my dismay at the allegations swirling around the post’s Madigan Army Medical Center. But this was my first time back to Madigan in …
Life On the Front Lines, Back Home
My heart sinks to my toes…my head spins with worries: is it someone I didn’t call back? Is it someone I couldn’t get onto my calendar for four weeks? Oh, God – please don’t let the name be familiar, please…
The last …
Two Unrelated Wednesday Afternoon Events
1. The Army announced that there were a total of 28 suspected suicides in its active and reserve ranks, nearly double February’s suspected toll of 15 suicides.
2. The San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco, released a study showing that Vietnam-era vets who did more killing during their …
They Better Be 100% Silk
Five of the first six contract awards announced Tuesday were for parachutes costing nearly $1 billion. All five contracts were for “low-cost, low velocity parachutes.” Alas, as is becoming increasingly common, the contract …
A Soldier’s Best Friend…
The Army’s Medical Department just published a journal devoted to the use of dogs in Army medicine. I wanted to highlight the publication here on Time’s Battleland. Both dog- and soldier-lovers can read it for free.
Army …
The Army’s More Deadly Bullet: Stateside Only
The Army has just ordered its first batch of 9mm Jacketed Hollow Point bullets. But it’s limiting the rounds to its law-enforcement personnel based only in the U.S. and its territories.
So how’s that for a paradox: the Army is buying deadlier bullets for use on American soil, most likely for use against Americans, than it …