Standing shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the honor graduates from our Officer Candidates School (OCS) class, I accepted my award from the Commanding General with a crisp salute. My transformation from a frat boy trolling Rugby Road at The University of Virginia to a man deemed worthy to lead Marines was finally complete. It was …
Veterans
Painful Chopper Rides: Maintaining Your “Optimal Buttocks Reference Point” Can Kill Your Back — Failure to Do So Can Kill You
A decade of war certainly takes its toll on the brains and minds of those waging it. We’ve seen that in the numbers of troops returning with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. Pentagon leaders refer to them as the “signature wounds” of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq because of their prevalence due to …
Meanwhile, Back Among the Spouses at Walter Reed
The report released earlier Thursday at the Pentagon about the grim mental-health issues facing U.S. troops at war brings into focus the need for the spouse-support group at Walter Reed. It’s supported by the non-profit Walter Reed Society. Following up on Wednesday’s post, here is the latest from Gayla Romanowsky at the five-day …
“I see a darkness — I feel cold…something is not right.”
Many military spouses deserve Purple Hearts of their own for dealing with their troops when they return home. The Army is trying to help with week-long sessions for them at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. The “Significant Others Support Group” offers basic training in how to deal with multiple deployments and the …
Army Suicide Rate Likely to Remain High
Mark Benjamin commented on the spike in suicides among soldiers in April, noting that the number was equal to about half the deaths in Afghanistan during the same time period. The Army has been trying for several years to get ahead of the rising number of suicides. General Peter Chiarelli, the Vice Chief of Staff, is leading the effort, …
Is This the Next Agent Orange?
Soldiers who served in Afghanistan, Iraq or Kuwait inhaled aluminum, nickel, lead and chromium in microscopic dust according to research led by a Navy medical officer. Officials at the Defense Department have dismissed the findings. The story is reported in USA Today by Kelly Kennedy.
Where I Failed
“The VA’s unchecked incompetence has gone on long enough; no more veterans should be compelled to agonize or perish while the government fails to perform its obligations.”
Judge Reinhardt, Ninth Circuit.
Well, it’s official: denying veterans medical treatment is unconstitutional according to the ninth circuit court of …
Appellate Court Rules Poor VA Mental-Health Care for Vets Is Unconstitutional
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq potentially got a lot more costly Tuesday. That’s because a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has concluded that the Department of Veterans Affairs’ treatment of mentally-ailing vets is so poor it is unconstitutional.
“Among other issues, Veterans ask us to …
Some Things About War Never Change
Every other day in Afghanistan or Iraq, a U.S. soldier or other service member loses a leg or arm to an IED, or other kinds of battle trauma. In 2010, the rate of 16.4 amputations per month was more than double the 2009 rate of 7.3. That’s a growing audience for the latest item slated for display at the U.S. Army Medical Research and …
National Shame: Fighting A War Overseas, Then Fighting For a Job Back Home
Powerful and poignant Time video piece by ace videographer Natasha Del Toro about the veterans coming home from America’s two wars — widely hailed as heroes, and praised for their service and sacrifice — and why they are having such a tough time landing jobs.
“Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have fought in the toughest parts of …
Suicidal Thoughts Up 7,000% As Reason For U.S. Military Hospitalizations Over Past Five Years
This surprising chart is contained in a new Pentagon report. “Annual numbers of hospitalizations with primary (first-listed) diagnoses of suicidal ideation at discharge have steadily and sharply increased (from 5 in 2006 to 355 in 2010),” the Pentagon notes. That’s a 7,000% increase in patients who reported thinking of killing …
TIME’s online map of jumbled burial paperwork at Arlington
TIME has published an interactive map to help readers understand and explore the jumbled, confusing, and sometimes-contradictory burial paperwork that lurks behind the scandal at Arlington National Cemetery.
Some background facts on understanding the scandal at Arlington:
Purple Heart Clarity
Troops suffering from traumatic brain injury — one of the signature wounds of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — have long been eligible for the Purple Heart. But now the Pentagon is clarifying the rules: