Veterans For America

Elizabeth Rubin spent time with the 173rd Airborne’s Battle Company in Afghanistan’s Korengal River Valley and has written a piece that does an excellent job of capturing the experiences of conventionally-trained American soldiers fighting an unconventional war in hostile territory. Personally, I think that this article puts a face on many of the sometimes abstract issues that VFA talks about, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the strains of the Army’s missions exceeding its capacity. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, once again heard first-hand of the strains multiple, prolonged deployments are causing, and Gen. David Petraeus admits that despite his plans for Iraq, strain is taking a toll.

All of today’s news isn’t bad, however. There are some exciting developments in the field of traumatic brain injury (TBI) research and care. Doctors and engineers at the University of Maryland’s Shock Trauma Center may have developed a better, more portable method of identifying those suffering from mild TBIs (mTBIs). A state senator in Nebraska is pushing his state to create a program for helping those of its citizens suffering from TBI get rehabilitation that insurance may not cover, and the Maine Army National Guard is among the first to scan all of its soldiers before they deploy in order to create a baseline reading of brain function.

For the rest of the news, please visit the News Archive and the Our Troops Newsladder.