Veterans

Moral Injury and America’s Endless Conflicts: A Legacy of a New Kind of War

Arnold R. Isaacs: In the decade since the concept of moral injury began to take root among mental health specialists and others concerned with the emotional lives of active-duty soldiers and military veterans, it has come to be fairly widely regarded as “the signature wound of today’s wars.”

“Other Than Honorable?” Veterans With “Bad Paper” Seek Long Overdue Benefits

Steve Early and Suzanne Gordon: When you’re drummed out for misconduct in uniform, the punishment is loss of similar benefits—including Veterans Administration (VA) healthcare, disability pay, and access to GI bill programs that make higher education and housing more affordable for those who have served.

Watching My Students Turn Into Soldiers of Empire

Danny Sjursen: My romantic hope was that I’d help develop future officers imbued with critical thinking and with the integrity to oppose unjust wars. It was a fantasy that helped me get up each morning, don a uniform, and do my job with competence and enthusiasm.

The Last Kill Shot

Dick Price: It was overkill, every bit of it—the grunt, the huge swing, the twisting hips, the spray of perspiration, even the unsteady lumbering back toward the middle.

Dear Mister President: No Day for Clowns or Criminals

Dan Embree: It mattered that a chemistry professor had won a silver star. We learned from them things they did not exactly teach – it might be better to say that we imbibed things that they embodied.

With Dem Party Help: Trump Launches D-Day Assault on Veterans Care

Suzanne Gordon and Steve Early: On this D-Day anniversary, Donald Trump is rolling out a program, favored by his right-wing backers, that directly attacks public provision of veterans’ healthcare.

“Schmidt Happens:” My Eulogy for Vietnam Veteran Rainer “Hippie” Trappe, Now Laid to Rest With Our Anti-Nazi German Ancestors

Eric C. Jacobsen: Everyone who knew Rainer, very much including his surviving relatives who knew him longest, was impressed by Rainer’s liberal, cultured and genteel sensibility.

Moulton for President: Has This “Service Candidate” Served Other Veterans Well?

Steve Early and Suzanne Gordon: The 40-year old ex-military officer is worth watching, for as long as his vanity campaign lasts. Moulton-style “service candidates” are now being widely recruited and strongly supported by both major parties and their wealthy funders.

Keeping Promises to Veterans

Steve Hochstadt: Behind the pious words that come so easily to politicians’ lips has been a nasty fight over how much money to spend on veterans.

Why This November 11th Should Alter Our Leaders’ Sensibilities

Larry Wines: It’s rather shocking that there is no special programming scheduled today on any of the major networks for either the 100th anniversary of the armistice or Veterans Day. That should scream volumes for all of us.

A Few Good Men: Portraits of Homelessness

Daniel Lichtenstein-Boris: The man held a sign on a piece of used cardboard, the word “Hungry” scrawled with a black magic marker. I stopped, and offered him a banana out of my lunch bag. He said he didn’t eat them. I dug into the bag. I had some walnuts and raisins, which I offered. He ate walnuts, and his partner, well, she ate raisins.

9-11: Reality Versus Posturing

Tom Hall: Rudi Giuliani, who now defends the Donald’s denial of global climate change, in 2001 denied the scientific evidence that the attacks caused dangerous air pollution that lingered for months.