News Analysis: June 3, 2009
Even now, years after the start of two wars that continue to strain our troops, and after years of data pointing to a horrible rate of psychological trauma in the ranks, the stigma over combat-related trauma “continues to be an enormously challenging issue,” said Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Is Mullen expecting the suicide rate to set another sad record this year? For our troops, the stress after combat is a formidable foe. One general at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, recently screamed at his troops not to commit suicide: “It’s bad for soldiers, it’s bad for families, bad for your units, bad for this division and our Army and our country and it’s got to stop now. Suicides on Fort Campbell have to stop now.”
The nation must demand: No more red tape between our troops and veterans and the medical help they require.
The new top US general in Afghanistan predicts a hard road ahead. The war numbers are already large and getting larger — including the grim numbers, like the number of US deaths in the war zone. Meanwhile, the Afghan insurgents are improving their skills and their equipment.
President Obama continues to expand the bipartisan ranks of his administration: he has nominated Rep. John McHugh, a NY Republican, to be his Army Secretary.
A Senate panel is now entering the fray over the shoddy colonoscopies performed by VA clinics that led to at least three hospitals infecting patients with HIV and hepatitis.
Is the standard treatment for traumatic brain injury wrong?
Welcome home, about 240 members of New Jersey’s Army National Guard. Some possible reading material has just been published by the Army: the first National Guard retirement guide.