The best way to do that is BRING 'EM HOME!
73,846 US Soldiers Dead from both Gulf Wars, How they manipulated the numbers to fool you
The wars will continue, and we shouldn't be surprised
At least AmeriKa takes care of its vets.
"House plan backs higher military health care fees; Deficit worries overcome years of reluctance" May 09, 2011|By Donna Cassata, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — After years of resisting proposed increases for military men and women, budget-conscious lawmakers are suddenly poised to make them pay a bit more for their health care....
Haven't they sacrificed enough?
Btw, how much has the Libyan debacle alone cost us so far?
And that was two months ago; you do the math.
The costs of the program that provides health coverage to some 10 million active duty personnel, retirees, reservists, and their families have jumped from $19 billion in 2001 to $53 billion in the Pentagon’s latest budget request....
Think the wars based on lies have had anything to do with it?
The explosive expense of health care rivals what the Pentagon shells out to buy fighter aircraft, submarines, and high-tech weapons, and is about half of the $118 billion that the Obama administration wants in the next budget to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan....
The administration is up against one of the most powerful constituency, the network of veterans groups and retired generals determined to stop any increase. The Military Officers Association of America backs the one-year fee increase....
Of course, the most powerful lobby in WAshIngton is why we have been PropAgandized into Ceaseless wars -- if you know what I mean.
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At least the care is top quality:
"VA infection risk leads to 12,000 tests" May 30, 2011|Associated Press
DAYTON, Ohio — The Department of Veterans Affairs is under political fire and numerous veterans are upset after enduring uncertainty over reports of improper hygiene practices at VA hospitals.
About 13,000 veterans have been warned in the last two years that their blood should be tested for potentially fatal infections after possible exposures by improper hygiene practices at five VA hospitals in Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, and Tennessee....
Infections related to medical treatment are a problem at public and private hospitals nationwide....
The Veterans Affairs system that serves about 6 million veterans a year has been praised by medical authorities for its successful efforts to reduce antibiotic-resistant staph infections from treatment, a common problem in US hospitals.
That does not reassure me about any potential surgery.
--mores--"
Related:
"Palin kept a low profile. She did not speak at the rally that followed the ride; she ate lunch with wounded veterans from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in a tent blocked off from the crowd....
That is about the only time she has kept one.
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At least that disability check is on the way:
"Injured troops’ disability claims still lag" May 19, 2011|By Kimberly Hefling, Associated Press
Why is it the people who beat opponents over these missions of folly over the head with "Support the Troops" never did?
WASHINGTON — A new system to help wounded service members get disability compensation more efficiently has instead kept them in the military longer than intended, preventing some from taking job offers and starting college as they wait on average more than a year for a claim to be processed, Congress was told yesterday.
All I can say to that is they SURE DEPLOY YOU FAST ENOUGH!!
William Lynn, deputy defense secretary, and W. Scott Gould, deputy secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs, told the Senate Veterans’ Committee that the new program is significantly better than the old system, which they say took on average 540 days to complete....
Yeah, now it only takes 400 days.
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At least banks are looking out for our vets, right?
"Bank to pay $56m in mortgage case" April 22, 2011|By Bloomberg News
NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay $56 million to settle claims it overcharged military service members on their mortgages.
JPMorgan will pay $27 million in cash to about 6,000 active-duty military personnel who were overcharged, cut interest rates on soldiers’ home loans, and return homes that were wrongfully foreclosed upon, according to federal court records in Beaufort, S.C....
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That's really going to help their mental stability:
"Mental health issues rise among US troops" May 20, 2011|Associated Press
WASHINGTON — American troops in Afghanistan are suffering the highest rates of mental health problems since 2005, and morale has deteriorated, the Pentagon said yesterday.
That's because after 10 years of lies and wars based on them, having seen what they have seen and done what they have done, they realize we are the 21st-century version of the Nazis.
Military doctors said the findings were no surprise, given the dramatic increase in fighting....
So if we ended the wars and didn't start anymore, it stands to reason that the mental health issues would drop.
The grim statistics illustrated the psychological cost of a campaign that US officials say has reversed the momentum of the insurgency in the war-ravaged country....
Imagine toll on victims.
And I guess it has all been worth it if the media and government can once again tell the "we are winning" lie.
But the rate of psychological problems may actually be small, considering the high level of combat that troops are seeing, said Colonel Paul Bliese, who led the last three survey teams to the battlefield, in 2007, 2009, and 2010.
Yeah, polish up that turd, perfume it, and put a smile on it.
“We would have expected to see a much larger increase in the mental health symptoms and a much larger decrease in morale … based on these incredibly high rates of exposure’’ to traumatic combat events, he said.
Meanwhile, the military said that it has doubled the mental health staff in the country to help troops cope....
Maybe ending the wa.... sigh.
Add those costs to the costs of war, American taxpayers.
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Also see: The Wars Will Make You Mad
No way to put a value on this:
"Iraq, Afghan war veteran who epitomized recovery kills self" April 16, 2011|By Kimberly Hefling, Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Handsome and friendly, Clay Hunt so epitomized a vibrant Iraq veteran that he was chosen for a public service announcement reminding veterans that they are not alone.
The 28-year-old former Marine corporal received a Purple Heart after taking a sniper’s bullet in his left wrist. He returned to combat in Afghanistan. Upon his return home, he lobbied for veterans on Capitol Hill, road-biked with wounded veterans, and performed humanitarian work in Haiti and Chile.
Then, on March 31, Hunt bolted himself in his Houston apartment and shot himself.
Friends and family said he was wracked with survivor’s guilt, depression, and other emotional struggles after combat.
Be treated as a hero for doing horrible things can cause a conflict with the soul.
Hunt’s death has shaken many veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those who knew him wonder why someone who seemed to be doing all the right things to deal with combat-related issues is now dead.
Not me.
:-(
“We know we have a problem with vets’ suicide, but this was really a slap in the face,’’ said Matthew Pelak, 32, an Iraq veteran who worked with Hunt in Haiti as part of the nonprofit group Team Rubicon.
After news of Hunt’s death spread, workers from the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors met with veterans visiting Washington for the annual lobbying effort by the nonprofit Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America group. A year earlier, Hunt had been calling on Congress to improve the disability claims process.
We know how that is going, sigh.
He had appeared in the group’s ads encouraging veterans to seek support from an online network of fellow veterans.
Snapshots posted on Facebook reflect a mostly grinning Hunt. In one, he has a beard and is surrounded by Haitian kids. A second shows him on the Capitol steps with fellow veterans.
Friends said Hunt suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress. But with his boundless energy and many friends, he came across as an example of how to live after combat.
“I think everybody saw him as the guy that was battling it, but winning the battle every day,’’ said Jacob Wood, 27, who served with Hunt.
“He was very despondent about why he was alive and so many people he served with directly were not alive,’’ said John Wordin, 48, the founder of Ride 2 Recovery, a program that uses bicycling to help veterans heal.
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Also see: How to Honor a Suicider
And do know what fragging is, readers?
"Soldier convicted in killing of comrades" May 26, 2011|Associated Press
FORT STEWART, Ga. — An Army sergeant was found guilty yesterday of two counts of premeditated murder in the 2008 slayings of his squad leader and another US soldier at a patrol base in Iraq, but he was spared the death penalty when the military jury didn’t return a unanimous verdict....
I'll bet this is happening a lot more than we are told.
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Related:
After long months in Iraq, soldiers return home
Mass. pair served from start in Iraq, aim toward finish
Conscientious objector wins discharge
N.H. veterans face long ride to Boston for medical care
One of last ones out recalls frantic escape from Vietnam
Flags planted at state’s national cemetery after 4-year efforts
Historic cemetery plays host to ceremony honoring vets
Honor guard’s service increasingly called upon in Mass.
Acupuncture offered as treatment for Gulf War vets
Injured in Fallujah, Marine finds new role on police force
Also see:
Fenway run raises $2.6m to aid veterans
11 Civil War soldiers to be honored
Harvard welcomes ROTC back to campus
Army leader expected to be named to head Joint Chiefs
Obama taps Army general to lead Joint Chiefs
A Declaration of Empire
Related:
"2d Navy carrier to bear JFK’s name" May 30, 2011|Associated Press
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced yesterday that the nation’s next aircraft carrier will be named the John F. Kennedy, in memory of the 35th president.
The nuclear-powered ship will be built at the Newport News shipyard in Virginia.
And on his birthday, no less.
Also see: Globe Spits on Kennedy Graves
Somehow, I think the great man of peace might have had a problem with a weapon of war being named after -- but we will never know (sob).
Mabus said the naming of the next Gerald R. Ford-class carrier in Kennedy’s honor pays tribute to the late president’s service in the Navy.
Who is Mabus, anyway?
Interesting if you buy into that kind of stuff.
Being a trained and certified historian, my money is on Bush once history's judgment is made.
Remember, prophecy says the AC will only be around seven years even though the World War he started will continue longer.
As commander of PT-109, Kennedy led his crew to safety after his patrol-torpedo boat was struck and split in half by an enemy ship in the Pacific.
He held a rope in his mouth while injured and dragged them miles to safety on an island. The incident was one of the reasons he was in physical pain the rest of his life, something that provided a connection to the problems of ordinary folk. He truly was a great man despite some personal failings, and had to have had them because he was just a man.
Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for the rescue of his crew and a Purple Heart.
This will be the second aircraft carrier named after Kennedy. The USS John F. Kennedy was decommissioned in 2007 after nearly 40 years of service, including in the Persian Gulf during the first Iraq war.
I just can't believe Kennedy would be happy about his name being attached to wars based on lies.
Efforts are underway to bring the carrier to Newport, R.I., and turn it into a museum.
“President John F. Kennedy exemplified the meaning of service, not just to country, but service to all humanity,’’ Mabus said in his announcement.
And he was killed for it.
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Almost 50 years later and we still haven't learned:
"In Kabul, US soldiers honor their fallen brethren" May 30, 2011|Associated Press
KABUL — Increasingly, skeptics in both America and Afghanistan question why US and NATO forces remain there. The Taliban recently began its spring offensive, as suicide bombings, roadside explosions and attacks in remote posts have returned with a frightening regularity.
After we were told we were winning.
“You don’t get used to it because you’re in a war zone,’’ said civilian corps worker George S. Triggs, 54, of Louisville, Ky. “You learn to tolerate it and do the best you can.’’
Yet the worst stress, some acknowledged, is that of family members waiting at home for their loved ones to return.
And praying it isn't in a cheap metal box with an AmeriKan flag made in China draped over it.
Lieutenant Colonel Jon Chytka, 44, of Tabor, S.D., recounted having to explain to his 5-year-old daughter why he had to leave: “I told her that before she was born, there were 19 people who killed 3,000.’’
I hate to be the one to tell you, but Muslims didn't do 9/11; Israel (and their dual-national, double-agent allies in the AmeriKan government) did.
Yeah, actually it was 103 that killed 3,000.
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Also see: Tenth anniversary of 9/11 weighs prominently on Memorial Day
