The tragic news last week that ranger Margaret Anderson was shot and killed in Mount Rainier National Park by Benjamin Colton Barnes brought with it national attention and a litany of sensational headlines. (What came first, the national attention or the sensational headlines, is a chicken-egg debate for another time.) Some form of PARK RANGER [...]
January 6, 2012
Specialist David Emanuel Hickman—the last U.S. service member to die in Iraq. On November 14th, two weeks before he was supposed to go home, Spc. David Emanuel Hickman became the last American service member to be killed in Iraq. While on a regular “presence patrol” in Baghdad, his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive [...]
December 27, 2011
from Lin McNulty Upon the occasion of the last U.S. boot on Iraqi sand, I emailed my grandson. I asked for his permission to share his poignant response. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I have mixed feelings on the issue. Glad most of us are out, but I am truly tired of seeing the american (sic) [...]
December 20, 2011
The Welcome A Healing Journey for War Veterans and Their Families The Welcome, a new documentary film produced by Bill McMillan and Kim Shelton, offers a fiercely intimate view of life after war: the fear, anger and isolation of post-traumatic stress that affects vets and family members alike. As we join a group of war [...]
December 18, 2011
The following email was sitting quietly in my inbox this morning, along with other messages of lesser import: Early this morning, the last of our troops left Iraq. As we honor and reflect on the sacrifices that millions of men and women made for this war, I wanted to make sure you heard the news. [...]
November 17, 2011
by Timothy Kudo When I returned from Afghanistan this past spring, a civilian friend asked, “Is it good to be back?” It was the first time someone had asked, and I answered honestly. But I won’t do that again. We weren’t ready for that conversation. Instead, when people ask, I make it easy for everyone [...]
November 11, 2011
By Joseph Bobrow Founder and President, the Coming Home Project Let me tell you a story from the book, Outliers: In the 1950′s a physician discovered a small town in eastern Pennsylvania where there was no heart disease under age 65, no suicide, alcoholism, drug addiction, peptic ulcers, and very little crime. People died from [...]
November 3, 2011
One U.S. veteran of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan attempts suicide every 80 minutes, according to new study. In a staggering indictment on the lack of mental health programmes in the U.S. military, the report reveals 1,868 veterans made suicide attempts in 2009 alone. Many veterans face dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, high employment and [...]
November 1, 2011
The U.S. military likes to put a positive spin on even the grimmest news. In the summer of 2010, for example, both the Pentagon and the Army issued reports probing the rash of suicides in the ranks. The Defense Department called its study The Challenge and the Promise: Strengthening the Force, Preventing Suicide and Saving [...]
October 6, 2011
by Mark Thompson, Battleland Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the most troubling legacies of our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of troops and their families are affected. How do we ensure the help – both medical and financial – is going to those who need it? Well, that requires, one would [...]
January 9, 2012
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