Military Glance
Never before has this country seen so many women paralyzed by the psychological scars of combat. As of June 2008, 19,084 female veterans of Iraq or Afghanistan had received diagnoses of mental disorders from the Department of Veterans Affairs, including 8,454 women with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress — and this number does not include troops still enlisted, or those who have never used the V.A. system.
Their mental anguish, from mortar attacks, the deaths of friends, or traumas that are harder to categorize, is a result of a historic shift. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the military has quietly sidestepped regulations that bar women from jobs in ground combat.
Female vets paralyzed by psychological scars of combat
Copter and Coast Guard Plane Collide
Military helicopters and ships scoured the waters off San Diego on Friday morning for any trace of nine people involved in a mid-air collision between a Coast Guard plane and a military helicopter hours earlier.But after nearly 12 hours of searching, rescue teams had reported no signs of any survivors — only a field of debris floating in the Pacific. Military officials said they did not know how the crash had occurred, or which aircraft might have struck the other, saying they were still focused on search efforts.
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Military Children in Crisis
A seven-year-old second-grader attempted suicide while his father was serving yet another tour in Iraq. Seven years old. Seven. His mother was one of half a dozen military spouses I have spoken with about soldiers' kids who have attempted suicide during their fathers' deployments.
Three-plus decades ago, parents were exempt from conscription because of overwhelming concern about the harmful effects of deployment on children. Today, roughly half of the troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are parents, many of whom have served multiple tours.
Iraq clinic deaths probe depicts troubled soldier
An American soldier who is accused of killing five fellow troops at a counseling center in Iraq had been unraveling for nearly two weeks but the U.S. military lacked clear procedures to monitor him or deal with the deadly shooting spree once it began to unfold, a military report found.
The shootings at a U.S. base in Baghdad in May were the deadliest case of U.S. soldier-on-soldier violence of the six-year Iraq war. Sgt. John M. Russell, 44, was arrested and is the only person charged in the incident.
Investigators Find Flaws in Army Body Armor Tests
The Army made critical mistakes in tests of a new body armor design, according to congressional investigators who recommend an independent review of the trials before the gear is issued to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But Defense Department officials says an outside look isn't needed. In a lengthy response to the Government Accountability Office report, Pentagon officials acknowledge there were a few problems during testing of the armor's bullet-blocking plates. But these were minor miscues, they said, that don't shake their confidence in the overall results.
VA to ease way for vets to get stress disability
Female soldiers and others who served behind front lines have long complained about how hard it is to prove their combat experience when applying for disability due to post-traumatic stress disorder. That could soon change.
The Veterans Affairs Department has proposed reducing the paperwork required for veterans to show their experience caused combat-related stress. Even just the fear of hostile action would be sufficient, as long as a VA psychologist or psychiatrist agreed. The VA says the change would streamline claims and recognize the "inherently stressful nature" of war service.
VA Expands Benefits Status for Vietnam Vets
The Veterans Affairs Department said Tuesday it plans to make it easier for Vietnam veterans exposed to the agent orange herbicide who suffer from certain medical conditions to qualify for VA benefits.
The conditions are B cell leukemias, Parkinson's disease, and ischemic heart disease. The veterans with those conditions under the VA's proposal would have presumptive status, which would make it easier to obtain benefits. It would bring to 15 the number of medical conditions that have presumptive status in connection to agent orange exposure.
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