Military Personal and Veterans Issues

Abandoned Iraq War Veteran Commited Suicide at Walter Reed in 2003

On July 4, 2003, Carol and Richard Coons had planned to welcome home their son Master Sgt. James Coons, a career soldier who had seen action in Iraq in 2003 and during the first Gulf War. Instead, they found out James was dead. He had committed suicide in his room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and was found hanging from a bed sheet just inside his room in an outpatient hotel. Walter Reed staff did not find him until at least two days after his death, and only then at the insistence of his family, who were desperate to locate their son.
Watch This ABC Report

DoD's Winkenwerder, Embrey and Kilpatrick Deeply Involved in Walter Reed Scandal

When the Walter Reed scandal exploded in the media in February, bringing wide attention to inadequate care for veterans at the Army's flagship hospital, Defense Department officials expressed shock and claimed ignorance. Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., the assistant defense secretary who oversees military medicine, declared at a press conference on Feb. 21: "This news caught me -- as it did many other people -- completely by surprise." But Salon has learned that the Defense Department had been conducting monthly focus group discussions with soldiers treated at Walter Reed since before the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq had even begun, and that it continued to do so as wounded veterans of those conflicts arrived at the facility.

Department of Defense
Policy Shift in 1985 Cut Disability Retirements

Today's Disability Retirement Squeeze Began in 1985: Wary of rising disability retirement costs, the Department of Defense under then-secretary Caspar Weinberger quietly sought and received an internal legal opinion that, to this day, tamps down the number of wounded or ill service members awarded military disability retirement.

U.S. Command Shortens Life of Long War as a Reference

When the Bush administration has sought to explain its strategy for fighting terrorism, it has often said the United States is involved in a "long war" against Islamic extremists. After taking over last month as the head of Central Command, Adm. William J. Fallon quietly retired the phrase.

Mental Health
Some Slow to Realize They Came Home Wounded

Fresh from Iraq, some U.S. troops find the mental health questionnaire they must fill out a hassle, a nuisance keeping them from the door - so they check they're fine, they have no problems.

Veterans Health
Pentagon May Be Shorting Troop Benefits

An injured soldier's disability should be determined by Veterans Affairs officials - and not the Pentagon - because the Army might be shortchanging troops, a presidential commission was told on Monday.

Editorial Column: Bush Administration's Hacks at VA and DoD Still Need to Go

Yes, the Walter Reed scandal is long overdue. But it's vital that government officials and media alike recognize that more of the administration's hacks still need to go, and that for many troops the issue is access to any kind of care at all.