Iraq veterans

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Young Vets Burst Onto Political Scene

Military stays neutral, but returned troops stump for both sides

(Newser) - Military rules bar troops from getting involved in politics while on duty, the New York Times reports, but as they return home more young vets are diving into an election that will determine the nation's course in Afghanistan and Iraq. Driven by a sense of political duty and kept up...

Troop Brain Injuries Often Overlooked

Wounded suffer blast affects that stump medical experts

(Newser) - An alarming number of US veterans are returning home from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars suffering long-term effects from concussions, the New York Times reports. Half of those who have suffered concussions quickly recover, but others have symptoms—including memory loss and mood swings—that can resurface months after the...

Vets Slipping Into the Bottle
 Vets Slipping Into the Bottle 
Jul 8, 2008 5:36 AM CDT

Vets Slipping Into the Bottle

Military blames troubled vets turning to booze for rise in misconduct

(Newser) - A rise in alcohol abuse among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is worrying military officials, the New York Times reports. Counseling services for vets suffering post-traumatic stress disorder are stretched to the limit and many tormented former soldiers are turning instead to the bottle. The increase in binge drinking, and a...

'Virtual Iraq' Helps Vets Face Stress

Treatment drags soldiers back to moments of crisis

(Newser) - Therapists are plunging US war veterans back into the horrors of battle—as therapy. A virtual reality treatment is helping them cope with post-traumatic stress disorder by returning them to scarring events until their shock value wanes. "When the ground starts vibrating and you smell smoke and hear the...

VA Doctor Discouraged Post-Traumatic Diagnoses

Email urged staffers to save disability costs

(Newser) - A team leader at a veterans' medical center in Texas sent staffers an email urging them to avoid diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder, the Washington Post reports. "Given that we are having more and more compensation-seeking veterans, I'd like to suggest that you refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD...

'Sorry' Gates: We Let Down Our Soldiers

He regrets poor treatment for Iraq, Afghanistan vets

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates admitted yesterday that the US military made mistakes in taking care of soldiers back from Afghanistan and Iraq, reports Reuters. He said he regretted that veterans had received inadequate care for physical and mental problems, particularly those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Gates also acknowledged that...

Soldier Laid to Rest After 4 Years

Thousands pay tribute to Sgt. Matt Maupin in Ohio memorial services

(Newser) - Thousands attended emotional memorial services over the weekend for an Ohio Army reservist whose remains made the journey home 4 years after he was captured in Iraq. Ten thousand filed past Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin's casket, and 3,000 attended a ceremony at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati yesterday,...

Mental Disorders Huge Issue for US Troops

300K have depression or stress from combat, and half don't seek help

(Newser) - 300,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have either post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression, and another 320,000 suffered brain injuries, the AP reports. RAND Corporation, in the first private evaluation of mental injury from the conflicts, found 18.5% of combat troops suffered from major depression...

Nonprofit Builds Free Houses for Wounded Vets

Mass. group provides 'great ending to bad beginning'

(Newser) - A nonprofit group is putting up customized homes for badly injured vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Massachusetts-based Homes for Our Troops is building in 20 states, fueled by donated supplies, land, and labor. “When a vet is in need, people come out of...

Overseas Tours Cost Soldiers Child Custody

Deployment often means troops have rough time in court

(Newser) - In what the Pentagon and parent-advocacy groups agree is a growing trend, troops serving overseas are unable to maintain custody of their children upon their return, NPR reports. One National Guardswoman raised her son until her unit deployed to Iraq, when his father took temporary custody. AFter she returned home,...

Homeless Vets Spark Outcry: Haven't We Learned?

1,500 back from Iraq now in poverty

(Newser) - Iraq war veterans are suffering from stress, turning to alcohol, and falling into poverty—a fate that prompts some to ask whether the US has learned from tragedies of veterans past. Washington has identified 1,500 Iraq vets as homeless and helped about a third, but echoes of Vietnam persist...

PTSD: Vets Wage Internal Wars
PTSD: Vets Wage Internal Wars
Jan 13, 2008 10:04 PM CST

PTSD: Vets Wage Internal Wars

Combat trauma continues to plague returning soldiers

(Newser) - Records of post-traumatic stress disorder go as far back as The Odyssey, and Iraq veterans are adding to the list. Combat trauma has been repeatedly linked with rates of unemployment, substance abuse, domestic violence and criminality above the national average. Yet  PTSD victims aren't getting the treatment they need, and...

Dems: Hidden Costs Double Price of War

$1.5T price tag on Iraq, Afghanistan tallies to $20,000 per family

(Newser) - The costs of waging war in Iraq and Afghanistan is actually $1.5 trillion, Democrats say in a report out today—far above the $802 billion spent or appropriated by Congress. Citing "hidden costs" such as higher oil prices, veterans' care, and interest on war debt, the report estimates...

Afghan Ambush Kills 6; 2007 Deadliest Year for US

At least 101 troops have been killed this year

(Newser) - The deaths of 6 American soldiers in an ambush yesterday make 2007 the deadliest year so far for US troops in Afghanistan, the AP reports. This year's toll is at 101. The AP also says that more than 5,800 people, most of them militants, have been killed in the...

Senators: Vets Need New GI Bill
Senators:
Vets Need
New GI Bill
Nov 9, 2007 11:36 AM CST

Senators: Vets Need New GI Bill

Hagel, Webb argue US owes it to today's soldiers

(Newser) - The US needs a spruced-up GI Bill for today's veterans, Chuck Hagel and Jim Webb say in an op-ed in today's New York Times. The Vietnam vets argue that the measure "was one of the most important pieces of legislation in our history" and call for a new version...

25% of US Homeless Are Vets
25% of US Homeless
Are Vets
Nov 8, 2007 3:42 AM CST

25% of US Homeless Are Vets

Many rocked by 'mental health toll' of service in Iraq, Afghanistan

(Newser) - Though they constitute only 11% of the population, veterans make up 25% of homeless people in the US, according to a new study by The Alliance to End Homelessness. The problem is not limited to older vets—former soldiers from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts are increasingly showing up at...

'Antiquated' VA Ill Equipped to Care for Vets

Bush pledges massive overhaul, which requires major funding

(Newser) - Some 700,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are eligible for VA benefits, and overhauling the overburdened system is firmly in the sights of  President Bush and a bipartisan commission. Citing "fundamental system weaknesses," a GAO report last week outlined a huge bureaucracy rife with staffing and training shortfalls,...

Veteran Stress Cases Surge
Veteran Stress Cases Surge
Oct 19, 2007 6:20 AM CDT

Veteran Stress Cases Surge

VA took on 20,000 new cases—up 70% —in one year

(Newser) - The Department of Veterans Affairs reported treating 20,000 new cases of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in a 12-month period ending in June, up an astounding 70% from the same time the previous year, reports USA Today. The VA counts a total of nearly 50,000 PTSD cases, and expects the...

189 Busted in Anti-War Protest
189 Busted in Anti-War Protest
Sep 16, 2007 6:19 AM CDT

189 Busted in Anti-War Protest

Police move In after Capitol Hill 'die-in'

(Newser) - Police arrested 189 demonstrators yesterday as thousands converged on Capitol Hill to protest the war in Iraq. Hundreds staged a "die-in" in what was generally a trouble-free protest until police used chemical spray on some demonstrators attempting to scale fences in front of the Capitol, reports the Washington Post....

Injured Veterans Sue US
Injured Veterans Sue US
Jul 24, 2007 4:53 AM CDT

Injured Veterans Sue US

Class action suit targets VA for 'shameful failures' in treatment

(Newser) - Two veterans groups representing troops who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan are suing the US government for "shameful failures" in medical treatment, Reuters reports. The Department of Veterans Affairs is swamped with a backlog of 600,000 health claims and is "abandoning" soldiers returning home, the class-action...

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