Author's posts
May 17 2009
Weapon of Choice
Where are we getting our real news from in these past times, especially about the two long running occupation theaters we have our soldiers engaged in? I would suggest we’re getting a better look on these conflicts, and other real news, from local outlets and not the so called National Media Cable Outlets, which seem to give more talk, from so called experts and analyst, singular opinion, than real news reporting, with the occasional mini doc thrown in.
I did a post yesterday on Veterans and the problem of Homelessness within our community of brothers and sisters, all the video’s and links were from local outlets, or individuals.
Same a few days prior to that after the tragic incident at the stress clinic In-Country in Baghdad. These were also local outlet reports and investigations on the stress of War and Occupation and PTSD possibly playing a major roll in what happened.
May 16 2009
Homeless Heroes: Veterans Struggles
Like a recent tragic event in Iraq brought out a number of reports on PTSD around the country there have also been a number of other reports as well that focussed on the homeless veterans, the first one just below is in and around this Nations Capital:
Homeless War Veterans Abound in D.C. Region
A new report is giving sobering statistics about how homeless veterans are treated in the Washington area.
The report says beds are available for only 10% of the homeless vets in Virginia, 8% have beds in Maryland and in the District, there is room is less than 2%.
From the Iraq War with the Army’s First Calvary Division to fighting a battle to find homes for fellow veterans, Chad Lego says he never imagined when he came home, he would find some 200,000 service members homeless. >>>>>More
May 15 2009
Military,VA and PTSD Around the Country: Vets Urged To Seek Treatment
A number of reports have sprung up in the last few days following the very tragic shooting by one soldier in killing five of his fellow soldiers at an in country military stress clinic, of which he himself was receiving care.
Military training alone starts the process of the change needed from how most are brought up and what they are taught and told to be able to serve and defend, if needed, this country.
Place these now trained soldiers in a War Zone creating the Occupation of same lasting many years and now in these times many tours being served and not only in one but two and for many the stress of war, what they experience, their individual incidents, what they see, feel, and just know, is overwelming!
They aren’t the only ones, think of those who live in these occupied countries! It also isn’t only a war that creates the traumatic nightmares, individuals that experience trauma in theirs lives also can suffer, most silently, from those traumas!
Below is a number of recent reports, this subject should have been takin seriously many years ago after finally realizing what War and Trauma can do to a Human Being!
May 13 2009
Army Suicides Soar Past 2008’s Pace
The day after the shooting at a combat stress clinic in Iraq, new data released to Salon shows soldiers committing suicide at a record-setting pace. Is combat stress the reason?
The Army is on a pace this year to shatter the record suicide rate set among soldiers in 2008, according to data released by the Army to Salon. And the numbers, obtained a day after a patient at a combat stress clinic in Iraq killed five, suggest that combat stress may be contributing to the spike in suicides.
May 09 2009
Robotic Drone Aircrafts
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAV’s, is becoming increasingly controversial. U.S. military leaders say the robotic drone aircraft have been effective in killing Al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan without putting U.S. troops in danger. But what happens when civilians die too? Our guest is Peter Singer, senior fellow and director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at the Brookings Institution; he’s also author “Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century”
May 08 2009
For “Military Spouse Appreciation Day”………
Today, May 8, 2009, is “Military Spouse Appreciation Day”!
And while it comes two days prior to Mothers Day not all the spouses of military personal are women, especially in todays military, for women have increased not only their numbers in serving but what they now do in their military service to country.
Below is just a collection of news reports and appreciation letters about this day.
May 05 2009
HONORING THE FALLEN: US Military KIA, Iraq & Afghanistan/Pakistan – April 2009
Iraq, Rapidly becoming the Forgotten War!!
There have been 4,603 coalition deaths — 4,286 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 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 May 5 2009, 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 their country’s governments. The list also includes seven employees of the U.S. Defense Department. At least 31,230 U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. View casualties in the war in Afghanistan.
May 03 2009
Rachel Corrie: “Rachel” the Documentary
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Simone Bitton’s documentary “Rachel,” which premiered this week at the Tribeca Film Festival, is what’s not in it. Bitton, a Moroccan-born Jewish filmmaker who spent many years in Israel and now lives in France, conducts a philosophical and cinematic inquiry into the death of Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old American activist who was killed under ambiguous circumstances in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip in March 2003. But the political firestorm that followed Corrie’s death, which saw her beatified as a martyr for peace by some on the left and demonized as a terrorist enabler by some on the right, is virtually absent from the film….>>>>>Much More Here
Rachel’s mother and father, a brother ‘Nam Vet, were living and working for a stop to the impending illegal invasion of Iraq, here in Charlotte, at the time of Rachel’s Murder by the Israeli Army!!
May 01 2009
“Long time passing:
Mothers Speak about War and Terror”
Courage to Resist and Susan Galleymore. April 29, 2009
Courage to Resist co-founder Susan Galleymore made international headlines by taking the extraordinary and even dangerous step of traveling to Iraq to visit her US Army son stationed on a military base in the so-called Sunni Triangle, north of Baghdad. She is now on tour to promote her new book “Long Time Passing: Mothers Speak about War and Terror”.
What Susan found in Iraq – the horrors of war which was at once heartbreaking and compelling – challenged her to continue her journey interviewing mothers in war zones including Iraq, Israel and the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Afghanistan and the US. These powerful first-person stories offer dramatic insight into the impact of war on mothers, families, communities, and cultures around-the-world.
Apr 30 2009
Military Spouses Deserve a Special Nod
Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 10, 2009. If you need a reminder just check your calendar.
What you might not find on that calendar, however, is that the Friday before Mother’s Day is designated as a day of remembrance for another very special group – it’s called Military Spouse Day.
Military Spouse Day was first celebrated 25 years ago. President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation assigning the Friday before Mother’ Day as a time to honor and commemorate the contributions of military spouses. It is likely that few people are even aware this special day exists.
Military families clearly live a different life then their civilian counterparts. The military family might have the opportunity to travel to wondrous places they might never had a chance to visit as civilians. Their duty stations could be in Europe, the Far East, the South Pacific, or even beautiful areas of this country. But, there is another side to being a military spouse. >>>>>Rest Here