Veterans For America

A day after the nation heard that many of our injured troops recuperating at Warrior Transition Units were being punished for minor violations — including one soldier suffering serious combat-related sleep problems being punished for being late to morning call — the Army has launched a review of the troubling situation. “We are transparent enough in this that we want to make sure that we aren’t doing anything bad by our soldiers,” said Brig. Gen. Gary Cheek, who is in charge of the Army’s more than 9,000 wounded soldiers housed in WTUs. 

Secrecy is a factor in the rise of military suicides, with the military culture partly to blame for the soaring rate of suicide in the ranks. Our combat-weary troops should not have to fight another battle at home — they are owed nothing less than the nation’s full support and the most effective treatment for the wounds they suffered in service for all of us.

A new study from the Food and Drug Administration lends more credence to the claim that smoking-cessation drugs used by our troops and veterans may actually put them at an increased risk for suicide. As if they weren’t under enough stress already, with deployments to two wars and traumatic injuries still tearing through our military. And this is the psychological fallout — the flip side is the everyday physical stresses borne by our service members that is literally pounding away at their bones and muscles. 

And the National Guard deployments continue, continue, continue — including the involuntary deployments. These brave citizen-Soldiers are a long, long time and many battles removed from being “weekend warriors.” As in a handful of other states, some Guard families and advocates in Oregon are seeking to keep their citizen-Soldiers near the homefront and not deployed to foreign combat. It is vital all of our troops, Guard particularly, that they’re welcomed home with lots of support services.

It’s never too late for the military to work to dispel myths about post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury — and to advance treatments for both of our ongoing wars’ signature injuries. It’s also never too late for the Pentagon and the VA to launch a shared, online record system to cut down on some of the red tape our returning troops face when seeking care and benefits.

Iraq will be able to cope after the US leaves, according to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. What’s more, terrorists in Iraq are losing their capabilities, he added. Meanwhile, Iraq’s most famous shoe-hurler was sentenced to three years for unloading both of his shoes on then-President George Bush in December. Demonstrators the world over have taken to hurling shoes in Muntazer al-Zaidi’s honor. 

President Obama’s nominees for ambassador to Afghanistan and ambassador to Iraq are in…

Are we about to celebrate a living Medal of Honor recipient from the war on terror?

Welcome to the “Year of the Military Family.” The First Lady is visiting families at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Don’t forget to file for your tax refunds, military families.

Resupplying our Marines in Afghanistan by unmanned aerial vehicles would decrease the need for shipping supplies over troubled land routes through Pakistan, Russia and elsewhere. 

We’ve had troubling signs of discord in Pakistan, Iraq, North Korea, Iran, Sudan and Somalia — and now we may need to send troops to the Mexican border too.