It's almost inconceivable, but Army Ranger, Sgt. First Class Lance Vogeler, who was killed in action last week during heavy combat in Afghanistan, was on his 12th deployment after seven previous deployments to Afghanistan and four deployments to Iraq. Vogeler was a husband and father who was expecting his third child.
Such multiple deployments, which are unprecedented in American military history, have become a staple of this war and are something that an increasing number of Americans, including family members of the troops as well as activists, are speaking out against. The Navy Times reports that yesterday, on the ninth anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan, members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) marched in Washington from Walter Reed Army Medical Center to Capitol Hill, to launch "Operation Recovery," which seeks to stop the deployment of troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological problems.
Members of IVAW, whose mission is to mobilize the military community to withdraw its support for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, started Thursday's rally with a moment of silence before placing 10 roses - one for each anniversary and one for the upcoming year - on a sign at the hospital. IVAW member Jason Hurd, who served as a medic in Iraq with the Army National Guard and came home with a diagnosis of PTSD, said the following this week on the IVAW blog:
