Veterans

Lawmaker wants military rape cases shifted to new office

A Northern California congresswoman is deploying a mix of old and new political techniques in an aggressive effort to change how the military handles sex crimes. | 11/17/11 17:17:58 By - Michael Doyle

Vietnam vets are struck by being thanked for their service - unlike in the '70s

After the speeches ended, after the bagpiper played "Amazing Grace," Bob Hamilton went searching for one of the 58,272 names on the polished black granite wall of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Hardly a day goes by that he doesn't think about Ray George, a fellow helicopter pilot who was killed in Vietnam when he subbed for Hamilton one day four decades ago. | 11/11/11 18:41:58 By - Erika Bolstad

Vets say the VA fails to give former warriors preference in contracting

Rodney Marshall just wanted to sell a few electric griddles to VA hospitals. Instead, the 40-year-old former Marine ended up in a battle with the Department of Veterans Affairs over whether they're following a law designed to help companies owned by service-disabled veterans. | 10/21/11 16:39:16 By - David Goldstein

Badly wounded Marine finds a new way to serve

Kurtis Foster knows the cost of wartime service. "I was wounded a total of five times," Foster said, "but I only got three Purple Hearts." Count the causes like a cadence: Grenade. Land mine. Homemade bomb. | 10/14/11 15:25:18 By - Michael Doyle

Study: A fifth of war veterans have mental health issues

Nearly 20 percent of the more than 2 million troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from mental health conditions, according to a new report. | 10/04/11 17:35:13 By - David Goldstein

Report: VA medical staff acted properly, despite vet's death

Federal investigators have dismissed as unfounded a whistleblower complaint that charged Veterans Affairs medical staff in Fresno, Calif., with patient neglect. | 09/29/11 17:35:04 By - Michael Doyle

"Kill team" suspect Holmes sentenced to seven years in jail

Pfc. Andrew Holmes will spend seven years in prison for murdering an Afghan boy during a patrol in January 2010, Army Lt. Col. Kwasi Hawks said today. | 09/23/11 18:14:53 By - Adam Ashton

Kentucky native to receive Medal of Honor for 'worst day' of his life

Two years ago, Dakota L. Meyer had just gone through a hell he did not expected to survive. On Sept. 8, 2009, in a narrow valley in mountainous eastern Afghanistan, Meyer, then a 21-year-old corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps, repeatedly charged through murderous enemy fire to rescue other Marines and U.S. and Afghan soldiers who had been ambushed by Taliban fighters. | 09/12/11 13:52:35 By - Bill Estep

Iraq War vet accused of murder; pleads not guilty by reason of insanity

An Iraqi war veteran had post-traumatic stress disorder, his lawyer says, and killed his girlfriend because he thought she was part of a terrorist attack on America. | 09/07/11 12:25:58 By - Gary L. Wright

WW2 hero, Medal of Honor winner dies in South Carolina

Col. Charles P. Murray Jr., who received the Medal of Honor, three Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars and the French Legion of Honor for valor in World War II, passed away at his Columbia, S.C. home. He was 89. | 08/15/11 14:52:34 By - Jeff Wilkinson

Bradenton, Fla., soldier killed in Afghanistan attack

Spc. 4 Patrick L. Lay II, one of Bradenton’s native sons, was killed Thursday while on combat operations in Afghanistan. He was a decorated soldier and a proven leader who was viewed by all as “the All-American Boy.” | 08/12/11 19:09:44 By - Lee Williams

Army will cut length of combat tours to 9 months

The U.S. Army announced Friday that it will reduce the amount of time soldiers are deployed in combat zones to nine months, the shortest combat rotation since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began nearly 10 years ago. | 08/05/11 18:52:21 By - Nancy A. Youssef

Soldier in alleged Stryker 'kill team' gets plea agreement

The Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier who raised the first alarms about an alleged Stryker “kill team” in Afghanistan has struck a plea agreement with the Army that will send him to prison for participating in a May 2010 murder. | 08/01/11 19:49:45 By - Adam Ashton

Senators try to tackle long-term costs of war

Crystal Nicely said she doesn't mind serving as the chief cook, driver and groomer for her husband, Todd, who lost both arms and legs in March 2010 when he stepped on an explosive device during combat operations against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. | 07/27/11 17:43:49 By - Rob Hotakainen

Researchers find that children of deployed soldiers struggle

An adolescent whose parent is sent on military deployments is more likely to have suicidal thoughts and feel depressed than the child of civilians, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Washington School of Public Health. | 07/22/11 11:43:16 By - Adam Ashton

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