US Army commanders alarmed by suicides at Fort Hood - Four veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan died this week from what appeared to be self-inflicted gunshot wounds at Fort Hood in central Texas, raising the toll of soldiers who died here at their own hands to a record level and alarming Army commanders. The largest base in the United States, Fort Hood and the surrounding communities have suffered high rates of crime, domestic violence, suicide and various mental illnesses as wave after wave of soldiers have been deployed abroad over nine years of continual warfare, often serving more than one tour. Advocates for soldiers who have suffered mental breakdowns said Army suicide-prevention programs are not effective.
Dwight Was Right - So...it turns out President Eisenhower wasn't making up all that stuff about the military-industrial complex. That's what you'll conclude if you read Bob Woodward's new book, .You thought you voted for change when you cast a ballot for Barack Obama? Um, not when it comes to America occupying countries that don't begin with a "U" and an "S." In fact, after you read Woodward's book, you'll split a gut every time you hear a politician or a government teacher talk about "civilian control over the military." The only people really making the decisions about America's wars are across the river from Washington in the Pentagon. They wear uniforms. They have lots of weapons they bought from the corporations they will work for when they retire. For everyone who supported Obama in 2008, it's reassuring to find out he understands we have to get out of Afghanistan. But for everyone who's worried about Obama in 2010, it's scary to find out that what he thinks should be done may not actually matter. And that's because he's not willing to stand up to the people who actually run this country.
Female vets suffering PTSD overlooked - Female veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder aren't getting proper medical help, even though they suffer at about the same rate as their male counterparts, experts say. The number of female patients at the VA has doubled in the past six years nationally and is expected to double again in the next six. Studies show that women suffer from PTSD at least as much as men. Nearly a quarter of a million women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Department of Defense officials say about 80 percent of sexual assaults in the military go unreported. Nearly 60 percent of women screened for PTSD at the VA in Salt Lake City alone since 2008 have been identified as victims of sexual harassment, sexual abuse or rape during their time in the military. "It's unacceptable," said Andrew Wittwer, a combat-veterans case manager at the Salt Lake VA hospital. "There are a lot of injuries that come out of serving in the military. Clearly, sexual trauma shouldn't be one of them."
