{This blog is not affiliated with the VA. Though a Veteran, four yrs. all shore in Navy last year In-Country Vietnam, I don't work for the VA}
**USN All Shore '67-'71 GMG3 Vietnam In Country '70-'71 - Independent**


In 2003 some 72% of Americans fully supported the Abandoning of the Missions and those Sent to Accomplish so extremely Quickly after 9/11!!
At least some 95%, if not more as less then 1% serve them, not only still support the, just below, total lack of Sacrifice, they ran from any and all Accountability and left everything still on the table to be continually used if the political/military want was still in play in future executive/legislative wants!!
DeJa-Vu: “With no shared sacrifices being asked of civilians after Sept. 11", Decades and War From, All Over Again!!
Especially for the Corporate and Wealthy Community, investors in Defense Industries, and for these, Afghanistan and Iraq, came Two Huge Tax Cuts, with more sweetheart deals to same from states and the fed!!


Thousands of people across America don’t just talk about honoring Veterans; they walk the walk. Dedicated Volunteers Serve Veterans for Decades

On this Executive Administration, it's Cabinet and those directly around same, "Best - Ever": "We haven't had this kind of visibility from the White House—ever." Joyce Raezer National Military Family Association - Dec. 30, 2011, and plenty more of similar since Joyce, others, spoke and continues!

Ask yourself: If the Veterans Administration is so corrupt and mismanaged, as the conservative ideology, under which the seeds of are planted when they control, wants everyone to buy into as they obstruct the budgets and do extremely little after they charge same, then why does the Private sector, many problems within rarely heard about, adopt so many practices and advanced technologies developed within the VA, for free?! The VA, DoD, and in partnership with Universities and Colleges, not just Health Care are constantly in R&D and that developed that works is quickly moved into the private, for profit, sector, even as the VA is long under funded, decades, and especially during and after our wars that the few are sent into!

* * * * *
President Obama 26 August 2014

Fact: "This is not just a job of government. It’s not just a job of the veterans’ organizations. Every American needs to join us in taking care of those who've taken care of us. Because only 1 percent of Americans may be fighting our wars, but 100 percent of Americans benefit from that 1 percent. A hundred percent need to be supporting our troops. A hundred percent need to be supporting our veterans. A hundred percent need to be supporting our military families."

Fact:
"We’ve been able to accomplish historic increases to veterans funding. We’ve protected veterans health care from Washington politics with advanced appropriations. We’ve been able to make VA benefits available to more than 2 million veterans who didn't have them before, including more Vietnam vets who were exposed to Agent Orange. We’ve dedicated major new resources for mental health care. We’ve helped more than 1 million veterans and their families pursue their education under the Post-9/11 GI Bill."

August 26, 2014 - Secretary Robert A. McDonald's Remarks for the American Legion's 96th Annual Convention, Charlotte, NC
Fact: "Unlike, P&G, VA may not be concerned about quarterly profit and loss statements or shareholder value, but it does have a bottom line—Veterans. "
{which is why No Government agency should be turned into a private corporate entity feeding for profit off the Countries duty and responsibility, especially the VA}
* * * * *

Fact: “We are dealing with veterans, not procedures—with their problems, not ours.” —General Omar Bradley, First Administrator of the Veterans Administration

Facts: Matthew Hoh {former Marine and foreign service officer in Afghanistan}: "We spend a trillion dollars a year on national security in this country."
"And when you add up to the Department of Defense, Department of State, CIA, Veterans Affairs, interest on debt, the number that strikes me the most about how much we're committed financially to these wars and to our current policies is we have spent $250 billion already just on interest payments on the debt we've incurred for the Iraq and Afghan wars."
26 September 2014

Fact: "If military action is worth our troops’ blood, it should be worth our treasure, too — not just in the abstract, but in the form of a specific ante by every American." -Andrew Rosenthal 10 Feb. 2013

Fact: "12 years also is a long time. We now have a lifetime responsibility to a generation of service members, veterans and their families." Dr. Jonathan Woodson 11 Sep. 2013: With 9/11 Came Lifetime Responsibility
{two tax cuts, especially for the wealthy, came with these two recent unpaid for wars, nor the results of, DeJa-Vu all over again from the previous decades and wars from! Ignore the many issues, by those served, no need to fund!}

Fact: Sen. Bernie Sanders told Republicans: “If you can’t afford to take care of your veterans, than don’t go war. These people are bearing the brunt of what war is about, We have a moral obligation to support them.” February, 26th, 2014

Fact: 25 June 2014 U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller: Veterans' Affairs issue an 'all too similar' scene

Fact: How We Could Do More For Our Vets: "We need to go into debt to pay our debt to U.S. veterans to make sure they get the care and services we owe them."

Fact: “Why in 2009 were we still using paper?” VA Assistant Secretary Tommy Sowers “When we came in, there was no plan to change that; we’ve been operating on a six month wait for over a decade.” 27 March 2013

WHY? GOOD QUESTION THOSE SERVED SHOULD ANSWER!


Bob Herbert Losing Our Way : "And then the staggering costs of these wars, which are borne by the taxpayers. I mean, one of the things that was insane was that, as we're at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush administration cut taxes. This has never been done in American history. The idea of cutting taxes while you're going to war is just crazy. I mean, it's madness." Bill 'Moyers and Company': Restoring an America That Has Lost its Way 10 Oct. 2014

Presidential Proclamation -- Veterans Day, 2013: "As we pay tribute to our veterans, we are mindful that no ceremony or parade can fully repay that debt." read more>>>


Under two previous Executive administrations and wars from, father and son. With son and conservative congresses leading the extremely quick abandoning of the missions and those sent to accomplish after 9/11:

ProPublica and The Seattle Times Nov. 9, 2012 - Lost to History: Missing War Records Complicate Benefit Claims by Iraq, Afghanistan Veterans
"DeLara's case is part of a much larger problem that has plagued the U.S. military since the 1990 Gulf War: a failure to create and maintain the types of field records that have documented American conflicts since the Revolutionary War."

Part Two: A Son Lost in Iraq, but Where Is the Casualty Report?

Army Says War Records Gap Is Real, Launches Recovery Effort

3/27/15 - U.S. Nerve Gas Hit Our Own Troops in Iraq
"During and immediately after the first Gulf War, more than 200,000 of 700,000 U.S. troops sent to Iraq and Kuwait in January 1991 were exposed to nerve gas and other chemical agents. Though aware of this, the Department of Defense and CIA launched a campaign of lies and concocted a cover-up that continues today."
"When Brown and others tried to obtain their medical records to prove their illnesses were service-related, they learned that the records had disappeared."


Add in the issues of finally recognizing in War Theater and more Veterans, by the Shinseki Veterans Administration and the Executive Administrations Cabinet, what the Country choose to ignore from our previous decades and wars of: The devastating effects on Test Vets and from PTS, Agent Orange, Homelessness, more recent the Desert Storm troops Gulf War Illnesses, Gulf War Exposures with the very recent affects from In-Theater Burn Pits and oh so so much more! Tens of Thousands of Veterans' that have been long ignored and maligned by previous VA's and the whole Country and through their representatives!

How does a Country HONOR It's Fallen, by Their Own 'Sacrifice' in Taking Care of the Brothers and Sisters They Served With!!


"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today." - Abraham Lincoln

"To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan" - President Lincoln

She wrote that she's proud of her service but added this: "That doesn't change the fact that I contributed - however indirectly - to human beings vanishing from the earth in a moment of sheer agony."







For our sisters: National Women Veterans Hotline, call 1-855-VA-WOMEN1-855-VA-WOMEN (1-855-829-66361-855-829-6636) New Hotline now up and running







They are a coalition of leading Veterans, mostly of OEF and OIF, and national security organizations who recognize that climate change is a major threat, and support fast, bold action. It is time for Americans to rise to the challenge, and we’re taking on the fight.





Their Mission: Team Rubicon unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams. Learn More




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Monday, October 11, 2010

HONORING THE FALLEN: US Military KIA, Iraq & Afghanistan/Pakistan - March 2010

October 29 2009

Honoring the Fallen: Casualties from Afghanistan.


Iraq, Rapidly becoming the Forgotten War!!
There have been 4,708 coalition deaths -- 4,391 Americans, 2 Australians, 1 Azerbaijani, 179 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, 1 Czech, 7 Danes, 2 Dutch, 2 Estonians, 1 Fijian, 5 Georgians, 1 Hungarian, 33 Italians, 1 Kazakh, 1 South Korean, 3 Latvian, 22 Poles, 3 Romanians, 5 Salvadoran, 4 Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, 2 Thai and 18 Ukrainians -- in the war in Iraq as of April 5 2010, according to a CNN count. { Graphical breakdown of casualties }. The list below is the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen whose deaths have been reported by the DoD of the United States. At least 31,762 {31,706 last month} U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. View casualties in the war in Afghanistan


Pfc. Raymond N. Pacleb 31 Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment, 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Hawaii Army National Guard Honolulu, Hawaii Died of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 29, 2010


Spc. Robert M. Rieckhoff 26 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Kenosha, Wisconsin Killed when enemy forces attacked his unit with rocket-propelled grenade fire in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 18, 2010


Staff Sgt. Richard J. Jordan 29 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division Tyler, Texas Died of injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover in Mosul, Iraq, on March 16, 2010


Spc. Steven J. Bishop 29 Company C, 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, 352nd Civil Affairs Command Christiansburg, Virginia Died from a non-combat related illness at Contingency Operating Base Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq, on March 13, 2010


Pfc. Erin L. McLyman 26 296th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division Federal Way, Washington Died of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked her base with mortar fire in Balad, Iraq, on March 13, 2010


Sgt. Aaron M. Arthur 25 Company G, 203rd Brigade Support Battalion, attached to 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Lake City, South Carolina One of two soldiers that died of injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover accident north of Kut, Iraq, on March 8, 2010


Sgt. Lakeshia M. Bailey 23 Company G, 203rd Brigade Support Battalion, attached to 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Columbus, Georgia One of two soldiers that died of injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover accident north of Kut, Iraq, on March 8, 2010


POW/MIA


Two U.S. soldiers are currently listed as captured or Duty Status -- Whereabouts Unknown as of December 1, 2009. The information below reflects the name, an unknown, officially listed as Prisoners of War or Duty Status -- Whereabouts Unknown by the Pentagon.


Spc. Ahmed K. Altaie 41 Army reservist assigned Provincial Reconstruction Team Baghdad Ann Arbor, Michigan On October 23, 2006, Altaie was categorized as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown when he allegedly was kidnapped while on his way to visit family in Baghdad, Iraq. The Pentagon changed his status to missing-captured on December 11.


Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl 23 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division Ketchum, Idaho Captured in Paktika province in Afghanistan, on June 30, 2009. The Pentagon declared him Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown on July 1 and his status was changed to Missing-Captured on July 3.


Afghanistan - Pakistan!!
There have been 1,696 coalition deaths -- 1,026 Americans, 11 Australians, 280 Britons, 1 Belgian, 141 Canadians, 3 Czech, 29 Danes, 21 Dutch, 7 Estonians, 1 Finn, 40 French, 35 Germans, 2 Hungarian, 22 Italians, 3 Latvian, 1 Lithuanian, 5 Norwegians, 16 Poles, 2 Portuguese, 12 Romanians, 1 South Korean, 28 Spaniards, 4 Swedes, 2 Turks -- in the war on terror as of April 5 2010, according to a CNN count. Below are the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors whose deaths have been reported by their country's governments. The troops died in support of the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom or were part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. At least 5,393 {5,131 last month} U.S. personnel have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. In addition to the military deaths, one Jordanian and 11 U.S. intelligence operatives have died in Afghanistan.

Lt. Miroslav Zilberman 31 Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 121 assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Columbus, Ohio Killed when his E-2C Hawkeye command and control aircraft crashed into the Arabian Gulf after experiencing mechanical malfunctions and the crew performed a controlled bailout on March 31, 2010. The recovery effort was abandoned on April 2, 2010 and his body was not recovered. The other three crew members were rescued alive in good condition.


Staff Sgt. Scott W. Brunkhorst 25 2nd Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Fayetteville, North Carolina Died of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with a roadside bomb in the Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan, on March 30, 2010


Pfc. James L. Miller 21 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division Yakima, Washington Died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with a roadside bomb in Dashat, Afghanistan, on March 29, 2010


Lance Cpl. Randy M. Heck 20 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force Steubenville, Ohio Died from a non-hostile incident in Djibouti on March 28, 2010


Rifleman Daniel Holkham 19 Company B, 3rd Battalion, The Rifles Chatham, Kent, England Killed when a sucide bomber detonated an explosive device just outside the bazaar in Sangin, Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 27, 2010


Lance Cpl. of Horse Jonathan Woodgate 26 The Household Cavalry Regiment, attached to 4 Troop, Brigade Reconnaissance Force Lavenham, Suffolk, England Killed when a grenade was thrown from behind a wall during a foot patrol operating about 1.8 miles (3 km) south of Sangin district center in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 26, 2010


Lance Cpl. Rick J. Centanni 19 Headquarters & Service Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve Yorba Linda, California One of two Marines killed during combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 24, 2010


Sgt. Maj. Robert J. Cottle 45 Headquarters & Service Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve Whittier, California One of two Marines killed during combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 24, 2010


Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Ross 19 Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force Gillette, Wyoming Died while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 24, 2010


Sgt. Steven Campbell 30 Company A, 3rd Battalion, The Rifles Durham, England Killed when a roadside bomb detonated during a patrol about 1.8 miles (3 km) south of Sangin district center in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 22, 2010


Sgt. 1st Class Carlos M. Santos-Silva 32 Company C, 2nd Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Clarksville, Tennessee Died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with a roadside bomb in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, on March 22, 2010


Lance Cpl. Justin J. Wilson 24 Company I, 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force Palm City, Florida Died while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 22, 2010


Cpl. Darren James Fitzpatrick 21 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Prince George, British Columbia, Canada Died on March 20, 2010, at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Canada, of wounds sustained when a roadside bomb exploded during a joint Canadian-Afghan dismounted patrol in Zhari district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan, on March 6, 2010


Chief Petty Officer Adam Brown 36 Naval Special Warfare Development Group Hot Springs, Arkansas Killed during a battle with heavily armed militants in Afghanistan on March 18, 2010


Sgt. Joel David Clarkson 23 Company A, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment Fairbanks, Alaska Died on March 16, 2010, at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds sustained during a firefight that ensued after his unit attacked a group of Taliban fighters in Farah province, Afghanistan, on March 13, 2010


Gunnery Sgt. Robert L. Gilbert II 28 Company G, 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Special Operations Regiment Richfield, Ohio Died on March 16, 2010, at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, of wounds sustained while supporting combat operations in Badghis province, Afghanistan,on March 8, 2010


Pvt. James Grigg 20 Company A, 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment Hartismere, Suffolk, England One of two British soldiers killed when a roadside bomb exploded during an operation 12.4 miles (20 km) north of Musa Qalah in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 16, 2010


Lance Cpl. Scott Hardy 26 Company A, 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment Chelmsford, England One of two British soldiers killed when a roadside bomb exploded during an operation 12.4 miles (20 km) north of Musa Qalah in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 16, 2010


Capt. Martin Driver 31 Company A, 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England Died on March 15, 2010, at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, England, of wounds sustained when a roadside bomb detonated during a patrol in the Musa Qala district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, on February 21, 2010


Cpl. Jonathan D. Porto 26 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force Largo, Florida Died while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 14, 2010


Sgt. 1st Class Glen J. Whetten 31 Military Transition Team member assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division Mesa, Arizona Died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with a roadside bomb near Kandahar, Afghanistan, on March 12, 2010


Lance Cpl. Garrett W. Gamble 20 Company G, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force Sugarland, Texas Died while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 11, 2010


Sgt. Jonathan J. Richardson 24 Company C, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Bald Knob, Arkansas One of two soldiers killed when insurgents attacked their unit using small arms, indirect and rocket-propelled grenade fires in Khost province, Afghanistan, on March 9, 2010


Pfc. Jason M. Kropat 25 Company C, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division White Lake, New York One of two soldiers killed when insurgents attacked their unit using small arms, indirect and rocket-propelled grenade fires in Khost province, Afghanistan, on March 9, 2010


Pvt. Nicholas S. Cook 19 Company B, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team Hungry Horse, Montana Died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire in Kunar province, Afghanistan, on March 7, 2010


Lance Cpl. Tom Keogh 24 Company A, 4th Battalion, The Rifles Paddington, London, England Died of a gunshot wound sustained during a small arms engagement at Patrol Base Bariolai near Sangin in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 7, 2010


Cpl. Stephen Thompson 31 1st Battalion, The Rifles Bovey Tracey, Devon, England Killed when a roadside bomb exploded while on patrol south of Sangin district center in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 7, 2010


Rifleman Liam Maughan 18 Company B, 3rd Battalion, The Rifles Doncaster, England Shot and killed while providing protection to his platoon as they engaged with the local population near Sangin, Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 6, 2010


Rifleman Jonathon Allott 19 Company B, 3rd Battalion, The Rifles North Shields, England Killed when a roadside bomb exploded while conducting an operation to insert a new patrol base near Sangin, Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 5, 2010


Spc. Alan N. Dikcis 21 630th Engineer Company, 7th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade Niagara Falls, New York Died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with a roadside bomb in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on March 5, 2010


Lance Cpl. Nigel K. Olsen 21 Company C, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve Orem, Utah Died while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 4, 2010


Spc. Anthony A. Paci 30 Company B, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division Rockville, Maryland Died of injuries suffered during a vehicle rollover in Gereshk, Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 4, 2010


Cpl. Richard Green 23 Reconnaissance Platoon, Company B, 3rd Battalion, The Rifles Reading, England Died as a result of small arms fire near Sangin in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 2, 2010


Rifleman Carlo Apolis 28 Company A, 4th Battalion, The Rifles South Africa Killed when his foot patrol received small arms fire about 2,310 feet (700 meters) east of Patrol Base Blenheim in Sangin district, Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 1, 2010


Lance Cpl. Carlos A. Aragon 19 Company C, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve Orem, Utah Died while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 1, 2010


Spc. Josiah D. Crumpler 27 Company A, 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Hillsborough, North Carolina One of two paratroopers killed when insurgents attacked their unit using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires in Bala Murghab, Badghdis province, Afghanistan, on March 1, 2010


Spc. Ian T.D. Gelig 25 Company A, 782nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Stevenson Ranch, Californa Died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with a roadside bomb in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on March 1, 2010


Spc. Matthew D. Huston 24 Company A, 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Athens, Georgia One of two paratroopers killed when insurgents attacked their unit using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires in Bala Murghab, Badghdis province, Afghanistan, on March 1, 2010


Sgt. Vincent L.C. Owens 21 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Fort Smith, Arkansas Died on March 1, 2010, at Forward Operating Base Sharana of wounds suffered earlier that day when enemy forces attacked his vehicle using direct fire in Yosuf Khel, Afghanistan


PTSD - TBI and more


None left behind

February 28, 2010 Veterans' safety net now requires many threads

The Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans in Wheaton opened in 2007.
(Jonathan Miano/Sun-Times Media)


It's often said that dying on the battlefield is the ultimate sacrifice that can be made for one's country.

There is little disagreement that the adage holds true in the country's current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But many of those serving on those faraway fighting fields also are giving up treasured parts of the lives they used to lead once their deployments end and they at last come home. >>>>>


War's ghosts after two tours in Iraq

March 1, 2010 The triggers can come out of nowhere.

Marines and Iraq veterans Keith Ellis and Sarah Raby eat dinner with their children at their home in Hanover Park. (Jonathan Miano/Sun-Times Media)

Sometimes, rolling down an otherwise unremarkable stretch of road, Sarah Raby and Keith Ellis will spot a box or other sort of container left alongside the curb. Whichever of them is driving, the car suddenly cuts a wide berth around the nondescript object. It's almost an involuntary reflex.

"It's like a muscle memory, I guess, thinking that something's going to happen," Ellis said.

The couple, former Marines who have both served two tours of duty in Iraq, can't forget that in some places, a plain-looking box can contain deadly explosives. >>>>>


PTSD: New War on An Old Foe. Big changes underway at the VA could mean better treatment for thousands of vets. A bureaucracy in transition.


The Hidden Casualties Of War: Suicide


Military suicides are causing civilian casualties, too

Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Wimmer's daughter Alex holds her sister Mi-Na at his grave. | MCT

Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Wimmer charmed potential Army recruits with a movie star's smile, but somehow it never quite reached his eyes, even when he was cradling his newborn twin daughters.

Whenever he closed his eyes, he dreamed of his own dead body swinging from a rope, his feet dangling just above a chair.

When those nightmares eventually blurred, the Persian Gulf veteran and former Army recruiter began trying to recreate their grisly images. He tried to kill himself with pills in the woods, and a razor blade in a hotel room, and every suicide attempt drew his wife, Jennifer, and their four daughters deeper into his dark world. >>>>>


Tough old soldier battles new enemy: Suicide epidemic


Despite prevention efforts, U.S. military suicides rise


Military Suicides


Military Suicides: A Billion to Sell a War

If you fit into any of the marketing data published weekly by pollsters, it is more likely you will have watched American Idol than wondered why so many of our military personnel are committing suicide.

If that offends any readers, the option is to stop here...>>>>>


A series many should visit and follow.

Women at Arms
The Psychological Scars

Articles in this series explore how the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have profoundly redefined the role of women in the military.
Previous Articles in the Series


Traumatized Female Vets Face Uphill Battle

Veterans Administration, Geared to Men, Shortchanges Special Needs of Women

Kristine Wise (left) of Oceanside, Calif., had trouble getting respect from VA doctors when she returned from Iraq with symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. She is shown here in Kuwait in 2003. (Courtesy Kristine Wise )

The first day Kristine Wise returned from eight months military service in Iraq, she knew something was wrong. Driving from San Diego to Bakersfield to see her brother, the road signs triggered flashbacks.

"One said 'railroad,' but instead I saw 'roadside' and in my mind a roadside bomb," said Wise, who supplied parts to combat vehicles in the first wave of the war. "I would see 'beware' and my mind would see 'Baghdad.' I couldn't explain it." >>>>>


Veterans Courts are Only Part of What's Needed


AIR DATE: March 3, 2010

Veterans Suspected of Crimes Swap Guilty Pleas for Rehabilitation



Transcript

TOM BEARDEN: Nic Gray was a sergeant with the 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was part of the Iraq troop surge in February 2007. >>>>>


Local doctor has a plan to help the VA treat America's vets -- for free


Defense, VA must prepare to help vets readjust, IOM report says


Civilian Casulties - Iraq


Just Foreign Policy Issues
Over a million {*1,366,350 plus} Iraqis are estimated to have been killed as a result of the U.S.-led invasion and occupation. Learn More and Take Action»
*Estimate, click for explaination

.
To


John Hopkins School of Public Health { October 11, 2006 report } puts the count at 650,000, with a range from 400,000 to 900,000.


Civilian Casulties - Afghanistan

Civilian casualties of the War in Afghanistan (2001-present)

The War in Afghanistan (2001-present) has caused the deaths of thousands of Afghan civilians directly from insurgent and foreign military action, as well as the deaths of possibly tens of thousands of Afghan civilians indirectly as a consequence of displacement, starvation, disease, exposure, lack of medical treatment, crime and lawlessness resulting from the war. The war, launched by the United States as "Operation Enduring Freedom" in 2001, began with an initial air campaign that almost immediately prompted concerns over the number of Afghan civilians being killed[1] as well as international protests. With civilian deaths from airstrikes rising again in recent years[2], the number of Afghan civilians being killed by foreign military operations has led to mounting tension between the foreign countries and the government of Afghanistan. In May 2007, President Hamid Karzai summoned military commanders to warn them of the consequences of further deaths.[3]........>>>>>


Exact Count of Civilian Casulties may never be known, as is the case in every conflict, especially an Invasion by another Country. For it is the Innocent Civilians and those Defending their Countries {of which All would be counted if this land were ever invaded} who suffer the most, during and long after!


UNHCR - Refugees and more, Afghanistan and Iraq

Iraq Refugees UNHCR - Iraq: UNHCR Global Appeal 2008-2009 - Iraq Situation


Afghanistan Refugees UNHCR - Afghanistan UNHCR Global Appeal 2008-2009 - Afghanistan Situation


All the Deaths, Maimings and Destruction are the Blood on All Our Hands, No One can Escape that Guilt!


Honoring The Fallen of Iraq and Afghanistan/Pakistan


The War in Iraq Costs, the rolling tabulation, over $715,942,572,832++++ and continually counting!


CNN-Iraq and Afghanistan War Casulties


In Remembrance - Moving Tributes



97 percent {now more} of U.S. deaths in Iraq have occurred after George W. Bush declared an end to "major combat."
"Mission Accomplished!"


GOP Congressmen Say That ‘Everyone’ In Congress ‘Would Agree That Iraq Was A Mistake’


"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is," - George W. Bush, Texas Gov., 1999


The Rand Corporation Terrorism Report the press release here, you can get the full document here or a summary of the research brief here


"What is the difference between an al Qaida terrorist and a misguided American terrorist?" "The planes they fly!"

"How anyone can say that torture keeps Americans safe is beyond me -- unless you don't count American soldiers as Americans."
Matthew Alexander who is writing under a pseudonym for security reasons


"Torture is the tool of the lazy, the stupid, and the pseudo-tough. It's also perhaps the greatest recruiting tool that the terrorists have."
Major General Paul Eaton


Done "In Our Names"!


The Failed Policies will Haunt Us and the World for Decades, This Time!!

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