Jason Leopold and Mary Susan Littlepage (Truthout, 12.03.09)
In May 2008, during a campaign stop in Charleston, West Virginia, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama gave a passionate speech about the inadequate care war veterans had received, particularly those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, under the Bush administration’s tenure in office.
More »There is a debate under way about the best strategic plan for our efforts in Afghanistan. General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander there, has reportedly given President Obama a range of options—all involving an increase in the number of U.S. troops deployed to the region. This decision not only has critical implications for the military campaign but also will have a significant impact on the psychological well-being of those who serve.
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Yana Kunichoff (Truthout, 11.19.09)
Suicides among veterans and soldiers have reached a record high this year and are set to continue rising, Pentagon officials said.
More »Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the Bob Woodruff Foundation, Give an Hour, The Veterans Project and other organizations have recently launched public education campaigns aimed at increasing awareness of the issues affecting military personnel returning from the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. But why do we need to raise awareness?
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I often bemoan how the the media’s policy of sanitizing combat images and its failure to report what the true face of war looks like have caused the public to be detached from the carnage wrought by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. |
Those we sent to war are coming home, and we as a society, having embraced them as our best and brightest, are discovering that there is something wrong.
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Jason Leopold (3.14.09)
The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs wants President Barack Obama to approve another $800 million for the Department of Veterans Affairs to cover operating expenses and to ensure health care funding doesn’t dry up.
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Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki disseminated an open letter to veterans Friday in which he promised to fulfill President Barack Obama’s “vision” for turning the VA into a “ 21st Century organization.”
Shinseki’s letter, while short on specifics, certainly seems to live up to one of the retired general’s early promises about connecting with veterans. One of the major complaints about the last administration is that VA officials were disconnected from the veterans they served and thereby out of touch with their needs. |
Tyler Boudreau (The Boston Globe, 3.09.09)
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With Army and Marine Corps suicide rates climbing dramatically, surpassing even those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan last month, the nation is increasingly disturbed and demanding treatment for veterans. But these suicide reports highlight an important distinction: A significant portion of those returning from war are not yet veterans; they are still active or reserve service members, which means, above all, that they probably will be going back to one of our theaters of operations. |
The U.S. Army just released the latest figures of active-duty soldier suicides for the month of February. In a nutshell, we have a full-scale crisis on our hands.
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Jeff Norman (3.03.09)
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Often veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are unaware of the many benefits they automatically qualify for. For example, ALL OEF/OIF veterans receive five years of health care regardless of their service connection. There is no application and no wait as there is with disability claims. They need not have any claim in at all. Veterans need only enroll with their local VA Hospitals and begin receiving care immediately. This is just one of several benefits the VA provides that OEF/OIF veterans should know about. Details can be found here. Pass the word! |
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PBS’s recently aired posthumous tribute to George Carlin included a video clip of the legendary comedian expounding on the various wordage used over the years to label symptoms of what was originally called shell shock but nowadays is known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). |
Terri Judd (The Independent, 2.28.09)
The British Army’s most decorated serving war hero has accused his nation’s government of failing soldiers suffering from mental trauma resulting from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
More »Jason Leopold (2.26.09)
President Barack Obama unveiled his fiscal year 2010 budget Thursday that calls for a 10 percent increase in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs on the same day that top VA and Pentagon officials said they would convene a meeting to address the spike in suicides among military personnel.
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Lindsay Wise (Houston Chronicle, 2.20.09)
The Army had ample evidence of low morale and poor leadership at the Houston Recruiting Battalion from internal investigations and inspections dating back to 2006, roughly three years before a brigadier general’s report uncovered the same problems at the battalion following a string of suicides among recruiters there.
Mary Louise Kelly (NPR, 2.17.09)
Across the country, the Navy is running Returning Warrior Weekends to ease the transition from war zone to civilian life for sailors coming home after yearlong deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan. The Navy gets a few hundred of them together in a hotel and tries to get them to talk.
Mary Louise Kelly (NPR, 2.16.09)
Col. Drew Doolin served two tours in Iraq at the height of the insurgency. After his first tour, he suffered the first of many panic attacks. Things got worse until he got treatment. Now, he is speaking out to try to help others.
More »Legislation introduced on Thursday would fund veterans health care for two years at a time so the Veterans Affairs Department would not have to rely on the sluggish annual budget process for those appropriations.
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A stand-down of the Army’s entire recruiting force, ordered by Army Secretary Pete Geren, will take place Friday.
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Returning U.S. combat soldiers are committing suicide and murder in alarming numbers. In a special series, Salon uncovers the habitual mistreatment behind the preventable deaths. |