On January 14, immediately after the release of the military’s 2012 suicide data, many in the media repeatedly aimed at a single target. According to the Associated Press, the number of active-duty suicides in 2012 reached an …
National
Combat’s Toll on Caregivers
Remember When Drones Were Supposed to Be Simple and Cheap?
The data we keep getting about the Pentagon’s growing fleet of unmanned aircraft don’t suggest they’re going to be the cheap and dirty replacement for their manned counterparts that many once believed.
Take the Army’s …
The Best Suicide Medicine for Vets…
“Have You No Sense of Decency, Sir?”
Move America Forward is using President Obama’s nomination of former Republican senator Chuck Hagel to forge hate and, its real aim, to raise money. A conservative San Francisco radio talk-show host and a former California assemblyman created the outfit in 2004.
“There is already substantial opposition to his nomination …
Winter Reading…
Though the publishing industry swears the market is oversaturated, books written by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and by embedded journalists keep on coming.
And with good reason too – one, more than a decade of war means …
The Third Surge
The number of suicides in the ranks of the U.S. military has more than doubled since 9/11.
According to data released unofficially by the Pentagon on Monday, there were 349 suicides in the U.S. military in 2012, nearly one a …
$850,000,000,000,000,000
— The estimated cost of building a Death Star. The White House cited the $850 quadrillion price tag as the primary reason it will not be built, despite a petition on the White House web site calling for construction of such a space-superiority orbiting platform. Plus, "the Administration does not support blowing up planets," said Paul Shawcross, chief of the science and space branch at the Office of Management and Budget. Not sure how certain members of the House Armed Services Committee feel, but the decision sounds like an impeachable offense to Battleland.
Joint Operation: Meet the Fauxbamas
Air Force Staff Sergeant Serpico D. Elliott and Army Specialist Delandra Rollins played the Obamas at the inaugural rehearsal Sunday.
“These services are required at OSC-I [Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq] locations throughout Iraq and need to be provided by contractor personnel as a result of the de-mobilization of U.S. military personnel from Iraq and are vital in ensuring the continued physical security of OSC-I facilities by ensuring that Locally Engaged Staff (LES) and Third Country Nationals (TCNs) are properly vetted before accessing these facilities.”
— U.S. Army contract solicitation seeking intelligence support throughout Iraq for up to 18 months.
The Afghan Endgame…and Where It Will Lead
I have an Afghan friend, Hashim, who lives in Europe. We correspond frequently on the situation in Afghanistan. He comes from an old distinguished Pashtun family; he has multiple degrees from the UK’s finest universities, …
$62,750
— The total in campaign contributions defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel received from companies and employees in the defense industry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a small fraction of what his two Senate campaigns got from insurance and investment interests.
A Suicide After-Action Report
The military loves to conduct after-action reports, hoping that whatever problems arose during an operation or exercise can be studied and prevented the next time. (The Army even has an outfit that calls itself the Center for …