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News Analysis
VFA News Analysis: July 23, 2008
VFA President Bobby Muller and Garett Reppenhagen shine more light on the impact “stop-loss” policies have on those who volunteer to fight for their country. They note that both presidential candidates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have expressed their desires to end the use of stop-loss.
The Army has begun phasing in the “Re-Engineering Systems for the Primary Care and Treatment of Depression and PTSD in the Military” (RESPECT-MIL) program, in which primary care physicians screen active-duty servicemembers for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and other post-combat psychiatric conditions. This is a welcome, if somewhat belated, development.
Meanwhile, the Army Medical Command’s brass was on Capitol Hill yesterday explaining why, after the Walter Reed scandal and eight investigations, the Army is still not providing its wounded with the care they are due. The subcommittee chairwoman, Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA), remarked: “We are very concerned that the Army took its eye off that ball, that you are not living up to the goals you set and the promises you made.”
VFA News Analysis: July 21, 2008
After the Iraqi president endorsed a 16-month timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq — the plan drafted by Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president — Adm. Mike Mullen warned that such a move could lead to “dangerous consequences.” Obama was in Iraq and Afghanistan over the weekend while politics between the White House and Iraq heated up over the Iraqi president’s remarks.
Consequences are being felt at home for as the wars continue, the toll on families mounts. “I still have days when I want to hide under the bed and cry,” said one military wife whose husband has been deployed three times.
A congressional panel moves to expand military benefits. Another move would give military spouses the same residency rights.
Battling “next-war-itis” at the Pentagon.
Take care of our “stop-loss” soldiers…
Veterans are increasingly becoming victims of violent crime here at home…
VFA News Analysis: July 18, 2008
Shoddy electrical work by private contractors on U.S. military bases in Iraq is far more extensive than previously disclosed. In one six-month period from August 2006 to January 2007, at least 283 electrical fires broke out damaging or destroying American facilities in Iraq. The Pentagon has reported that 13 Americans have been electrocuted in Iraq, but many more have been injured, some seriously — and some on a near daily basis.
More than 1,600 injured veterans could receive retroactive traumatic injury insurancepayments thanks to a newly released review of Veterans Affairs Department practices.
Despite critics who contend that the new G.I. Bill would help deflate enlisted numbers, a Pentagon finding reveals that the enhanced education benefits of the bill will likely lead to more and better candidates for the military.
Helping our wounded troops reintegrate, holistically.
Bloodshed at home may prompt a new National Guard assignment – patrolling the streets of Chicago.
Minnesota became the first state to formally sign an official National Guard family covenant– which aims to provide better services to help Guard members and their families cope with deployments and their aftermath.
The Air Force’s top leadership sought for three years to spend counterterrorism funds on “comfort capsules” to make their trips on spartan military transport planes more luxurious. Production on the first capsule has already begun.
Living with PTSD, a wife’s perspective.
If they are required to serve extra time in the military, it should mean extra pay.
Veterans’ counselor shares his skills.
VFA News Analysis: July 17, 2008
The military’s heavy reliance on Guard and Reserve forces to fight wars has been hard on the part-time troops, their families and many small businesses. Will any efforts to alleviate the burden be successful, short of changing the currently costly deployment policy? We know that there are plenty of reasons to keep our Guard and Reserve near to home: fires, floods and, still, Katrina.
Members of Congress join to all for compensation payments to troops affected by “stop-loss,” which involuntarily extends military service beyond an enlistment contract. Support the Stop-Loss Compensation Act.
Facing multiple deployments to high-intensity combat zones, our troops have more than bullets and bombs to worry about: they have their own children. How are kids coping with their parents’ war.
Troops in Iraq: We want to fight in Afghanistan. A shift of forces from Iraq to Afghanistan may be in the works.
For the first time, a four-star general is set to lead the National Guard Bureau.
The Army issues new guidelines for Traumatic Brain Injury care – all soldiers involved in a blast, fall, vehicle crash or direct impact incident who lose consciousness or become dizzy must bee seen by a medical professional.
“I’m scared I’m going to miss my family a lot.”
VFA News Analysis: July 16, 2008
Congressional report finds that at least 8,763 vets died while waiting for their benefits and that at least 28,283 disabled vets were denied retroactive pay because of bureaucratic backlogs.
Stop-loss compensation pay for troops kept in uniform beyond their regular terms of service? YES, say readers of Stars and Stripes.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned against the “creeping militarization” of U.S. foreign policy and urged that more diplomacy be deployed, rather than troops, when dealing with other countries. He urged that more resources be used for the State Department. Gates’ remarks come as operations in Iraq continue to grind through our troops, our treasury and our time with still no end in sight.
This week Francisco Martinez will land in Iraq as an Air Force Reserve, and begin dealing head-on with the death of his son who was killed by a sniper in Ramadi more than three years ago.
They say the surge of U.S. forces in Iraq is over — but we still have some 150,000 troops there, or about 15,000 more than when the buildup began. President Bush notes that the Iraqis “invited us to be there.” The surge was begun to give the Iraqis time for political reconciliation. Now, the Iraqi parliament is without a quorum because Kurdish leaders walked out.
The VA is set to begin advertising its suicide prevention hotline. A pilot project will put ads in the Washington D.C. area on metro cars and buses.
National Guard members nowadays risk heavy combat rotations and repeated deployments to war zones — a situation unheard of since the days of World War II. In Missouri, they now have to deal with the theft of their personal information.
Where’s our National Guard? Overseas…
Military families missing organizations ready to help them…
Afghanistan’s descent…
