Veterans for America applauds General David H. Petraeus for stating today in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee that he will probably recommend this fall that the U.S. military reduce its troop presence in Iraq by an additional Army Brigade Combat Team.
Veterans for America is deeply concerned about the stress placed on our Army's frontline units, and we urge General Petraeus not to again deploy the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division, which is based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Earlier this week, the Pentagon announced that the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division, which has already been deployed three times since September 11, 2001, will be deployed again this fall, making it one of a handful of BCT's that will have seen four tours.
It's sadly indicative of not only the current administration, but the prior near decade of complete Republican control over all government agencies, what it takes for any "progress" to finally happen for the average working American. It's tragically no different for our hard working military, in spite of all the "support our troops" rhetoric from those that do anything but...
It's sadly indicative of not only the current administration, but the prior near decade of complete Republican control over all government agencies, what it takes for any "progress" to finally happen for the average working American. It's tragically no different for our hard working military, in spite of all the "support our troops" rhetoric from those that do anything but...
Copy of the popular video on the net right now showing how soldiers are living. I am a Fort Hood solider and can confirm that conditions like these are common and I have personally lived in barracks like these. Today we had our rooms inspected (which consisted of the sergeant major yelling us) so I guess people are writing about this. This is unacceptable even for 1 yr (people act like that is not a long time!) Imagine your apartment complex moving you here while you wait for a new complex to be built. Would you have a problem with it?? These guys just went through living hell (no hot water, living in tents, pissing in tubes) for a year only to come back to this.
With the major news networks bombarding the voting public hourly with ridiculous commentary about Rev. Jeremiah Wright's controversial comments, Barack Obama's campaign is suffering. While he spoke earlier, condemning Wright's remarks and attempting to distance himself, the fact remains that this issue seriously threatens his campaign, especially among rural whites in North Carolina. Senator Obama does not need another eloquent speech on this matter, but rather a way to change the subject completely. Enter Fort Bragg.
Last week, a fellow Soldier approached me and informed me of a deeply disturbing situation. The Soldier had an appointment with behavioral health (mental) at Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina this week. Friday, the Soldier got a call from the hospital saying that due to "schedule adjustments" her appointment had be cancelled and that they would be "unable to reschedule anytime soon". She was given no window for when to expect to hear from them again and no referral to any other DoD or civilian agency or service.
The good people of Fort Bragg live in my District, and I just want to say THANK YOU to our military no matter where you serve, with a special prayer for the 29,395 wounded in Iraq and the families of those 3,983 lost lives.
All rhetoric and politics aside on this solemn anniversary, we as Democrats must never forget the troops and their families sacrificing so much for us all.
Whether you, or even they, agree or disagree with our elected leaders' decisions is irrelevant on a day we should all recognize each and every man, woman and child in our military families, heroes one and all.
More than any other war in American history, the war in Iraq is sending home young men and women who suffer from closed-head trauma. IEDs, mines, urban combat, traffic accidents: all these things can lead to head trauma, and are, in increasing numbers. As a result, an entire generation of soldiers is returning home suffering from the sometime's baffling effects of head injuries.
And your government is slashing the funding for their treatment.
Sayeth the Republican Party to America's wounded vets: "Thanks for your service. Screw you."
On July 4, George Bush delivered a bewildering message to assembled troops: "You're winning this war" in Iraq. Everybody knew that's not remotely true, though nobody interrupted his speech to say so. Later that afternoon, Mister Bush held a birthday party for himself. It was an act of hybris, or at least folly, as everybody knew his birthday actually came days later. It would have been considered rude to say so, I think, so the event proceeded as scripted.
In between, Bush gave a revealing interview to Stars & Stripes. Too bad it has gone almost unnoticed, because the questions asked were blunt and entirely foreign to the president's experience. Anyway, Bush's pat answers depicted a man supremely indifferent to the most basic concerns of the troops he had just gotten through lying to.
The interview happens to be a brilliant self-portrait of a strutting peacock. On the one hand, we see a serious journalist asking serious questions. On the other, an actor delivering rehearsed lines as if from a stage.
