Some media outlets drive me crazy!

Off topic Some media outlets drive me crazy!
There is a "big story" on a bird that sounds like a baby crying. Afghanistan bird sounds like a real baby

While it does sound like one, I wanted to compare it to another video.

This one tops the one they are making a big deal out of.

Mom wants answers after wounded son found dead at Walter Reed

Soldier's Mom Still Waiting for Answers in Son's Death
Parsippany's Derek McConnell was found dead in his bed at a Maryland military hospital.
Parsippany Patch
By Ariana Cohn-Sheehan
June 20, 2013

The mother of a 23-year-old soldier from Parsippany who was found dead in his hospital bed in March is still waiting for answers from the U.S. Army on how he died and growing frustrated, according to NJ.com.

U.S. Army Specialist Derek McConnell's body was discovered by his fiancee at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. The soldier had lost both of his legs in July 2011 after being wounded by an Improvised Explosive Device while serving in Afghanistan.
read more here

The Weight Of Drone Warfare

The Hidden Cost Of The Drone Program
By NPR STAFF

A faint light has begun to shine in recent weeks on the secretive U.S. program of drone strikes and targeted killings.

Members of Congress are making speeches and statements, writing letters to the White House and holding hearings on Capitol Hill. We know the administration is now reviewing some aspects of the program.

The story of the drone program starts after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. When Congress authorized the president to use necessary force against suspected militants, drone strikes on these suspects slowly increased in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.

The Weight Of Drone Warfare

Although the drones that carry out these targeted killings are called "unmanned vehicles," there's always someone at the controls.

As a former sensor operator for the U.S. Air Force Predator program, 27-year-old Brandon Bryant was one of the people sitting in the pilot's seat.

Bryant originally joined the military to pay off college debt. In 2006 he found himself wearing a flight suit, sitting in a kind of trailer in Las Vegas. He was surrounded by monitors and the low hum of computers and servers.

On his very first sortie as a pilot, Bryant watched from the drone's camera as American soldiers got blown up in Afghanistan. There was nothing he could do.

Bryant's "first shot" came later, as he watched a group of insurgents who had been firing on U.S. troops. He was ordered to fire a missile at a second group of armed men standing away from the others.

"The missile hits, and after the smoke clears there's a crater there and you can see body parts from the people," Bryant says. "[A] guy that was running from the rear to front, his left leg had been taken off above the knee, and I watched him bleed out."
read more here

Afghanistan Cargo Plane Crash Kills 7 Crew Members With Florida Ties

Afghanistan Cargo Plane Crash Kills 7 Crew Members
Reuters
Posted: 04/29/2013

KABUL, April 29 (Reuters) - Seven crew members of a U.S.-run cargo plane were killed on Monday when their plane crashed shortly after take off from Bagram air base near the Afghan capital Kabul, the cargo operator told Reuters.

The Taliban in a statement claimed responsibility for the crash, but NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said there were no reports of insurgent activity in or around the base, which is one of the largest in the country and located about 40 km (25 miles) north of Kabul.

"We did lose all seven crew members," a spokeswoman for National Air Cargo told Reuters by telephone from Florida, where the company is located. The nationalities of the crew members were not immediately clear.
read more here

6 American GIs and civilians killed in Afghan attacks

6 American GIs and civilians killed in Afghan attacks
Army Times
Apr. 6, 2013
By Mirwais Khan
The Associated Press

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Six American troops and civilians and an Afghan doctor were killed in attacks on Saturday in southern and eastern Afghanistan as the U.S. military's top officer began a weekend visit to the country, officials said.

In the south, three U.S. service members, two U.S. civilians and the doctor were killed when a suicide bomber detonated a car full of explosives just as a convoy with the international military coalition drove past another convoy of vehicles carrying the governor of Zabul province.

Another American civilian was killed in an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said in a statement.
read more here

As suicides rise among veterans, outreach increases

As suicides rise among veterans, outreach increases
Connie Cone Sexton
The Arizona Republic
March 19, 2013

The VA says there were an estimated 8,030 suicides among vets in 2010, an increase from 7,300 in 2000. PHOENIX -- Michael Rolack never heard the gunshot, only the screams of his grandson's fiancee.

Running to the front yard of his Phoenix home, he saw the body of 28-year-old Nicholas Rolack, a Marine Corps veteran, who had just put a bullet in his head.

Thinking back on that March 7, 2012, night, Michael Rolack's voice catches in grief.

"Just two hours before he killed himself, we had been watching a movie. I knew he was having a hard time after coming back from Iraq, but he wouldn't talk; he wouldn't share nothin'," Rolack said. "His hurt must have been so big that he couldn't get around it. Maybe he felt like he had to do it to keep from hurting us."

Suicide among veterans and active military members is not a new problem, but the number of incidents has risen significantly in the last decade, reaching what former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta described as "epidemic" levels. His statement to Congress coincided with efforts by the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs to ramp up suicide-prevention programs.

Between 2000 and 2010 the number of veteran suicides rose from 20 to 22 per day, the VA reported last month. The total grew from an estimated 7,300 suicides in 2000 to an estimated 8,030 in 2010, for a difference of 730.
read more here

Pentagon bans 60mm mortar round after Marine deaths

Pentagon bans 60mm mortar round after Marine deaths
CBS News
March 19, 2013

HAWTHORNE, NEV. A mortar shell explosion killed seven Marines and injured several more during mountain warfare training in Nevada's high desert, prompting the Pentagon to immediately halt the use of the weapons until an investigation can determine their safety, officials said Tuesday.

The explosion occurred Monday night at the Hawthorne Army Depot, a sprawling facility used by troops heading overseas, during an exercise involving the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Lejeune, N.C. Several Marines from the unit were injured in the blast, authorities said.

The Marines were practicing firing mortars, reports CBS affiliate KTVN-TV in Reno, when one of the rounds exploded while still inside the tube.

Brig. Gen. Jim Lukeman said investigators were trying to determine the cause of the malfunction.

The Pentagon expanded a temporary ban to prohibit the military from firing any 60 mm mortar rounds until the results of the investigation. The Marine Corps said Tuesday a "blanket suspension" of 60 mm mortars and associated firing tubes is in effect.

The Pentagon earlier had suspended use of all high-explosive and illumination mortar rounds that were in the same manufacturing lots as ones fired in Nevada.

It was not immediately clear whether more than a single round exploded, a Marine Corps official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation.

The Marine Corps said early Tuesday that seven Marines were killed. Eight men under the age of 30 were taken to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. One of them died, four were in serious condition, two were in fair condition and another was discharged, said spokesman Mark Earnest.
read more here

Generations of war veterans show what team work really is

Veterans from WWII to Afghanistan swap war stories, share bonds in Henderson courtroom
Las Vegas Sun
By Jackie Valley
Friday, March 8, 2013
WWII Veterans Honored in Henderson

Ninety-year-old Richard Zimpfer considers himself the lucky one.

The World War II veteran — part of a small team charged with maintaining anti-aircraft systems during the war — once drove a Jeep to retrieve an explosive that didn’t detonate. He returned unharmed.

Now he chuckles at the memory, but don’t call him a hero. He says he’s just one of many who served.

“I just feel I am lucky,” said Zimpfer, choking back tears as he spoke during a ceremony Thursday in Henderson’s Veterans Treatment Court. “I had a good time, and I have never regretted having served.”

Zimpfer and two female World War II veterans, Evie Hallas and Billie D’Entremont, received handmade quilts thanking them for their service and, perhaps more important, a round of applause from the people sitting in the courtroom, including a few younger veterans.

Veterans Treatment Court, a specialty court launched in June 2011, aims to help veterans who face issues — whether it be post-traumatic stress disorder or drug and alcohol addiction — after they return home from service. It enrolls veterans charged with certain misdemeanor crimes, such as drunken driving, petty larceny and possessing marijuana, and attempts to rehabilitate them through a team approach.
read more here

Spc. Willie Stewart, combat wounded, hailed as hero

Wounded warrior hailed as a hero
Fayetteville Observer
By Drew Brooks
Staff writer

Army Spc. Willie Stewart wants a cigarette, but he can't find the words.

Instead, the Fayetteville native turns toward his father and taps on his arm.

"Do you need a drink?" James Wilburn guesses.

A shake of Stewart's head and the guesses continue until, a minute later, Wilburn is lighting a cigarette in his son's mouth.

Less than a year ago, it would have been absurd to think Wilburn, who suffered a heart attack in early 2012, would be the one nursing his son.

But Stewart's 6-foot, 5-inch frame is now folded into a wheelchair at a rehabilitation center in Raleigh.

His body is a shadow of its once muscular, 250-pound self, the right half paralyzed, the left half still responding to months of slow, tedious rehabilitation.

The top of Stewart's skull has been replaced by a titanium plate. His memory is unreliable. His sight is gone, never to return. His speech is coming back, but at a pace that frustrates him. Stewart knows what he wants to say, but he can't get his body to respond.
read more here

PTSD in Drone Pilots shows how non-deployed are at risk too

The drone pilots getting hit by PTSD without having to set foot in combat can help with understanding how non-deployed troops can suffer from it as well.

Women are more likely to suffer from PTSD as pointed out by the Mayo Clinic. Here is the list of causes. Notice right at the top is combat exposure.

Kinds of traumatic events
Post-traumatic stress disorder is especially common among those who have served in combat. It's sometimes called "shell shock," "battle fatigue" or "combat stress."

The most common events leading to the development of PTSD include:
Combat exposure
Rape
Childhood neglect and physical abuse
Sexual molestation
Physical attack
Being threatened with a weapon
But many other traumatic events also can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, including fire, natural disaster, mugging, robbery, assault, civil conflict, car accident, plane crash, torture, kidnapping, life-threatening medical diagnosis, terrorist attack and other extreme or life-threatening events.

So how can they get it without risking their lives? Seeing it happen in front of their own eyes.
There have been few studies on non-deployed forces and the psychiatric illness. NON-BATTLE INJURY & NON-BATTLE PSYCHIATRIC ILLNESS IN DEPLOYED AIR FORCE MEMBERS by Melinda Eaton in 2010.

The overall incidence of non-battle non-drug psychiatric illness in deployed Air Force members was 7.76 non-battle non-drug psychiatric illnesses per 1,000 person-years deployed. The incidence of non-battle non-drug psychiatric illness increased as the operations progressed with the invasion phase and both stabilization phases having a higher incidence rate than the buildup phase. Higher incidence rates were also seen in females, junior officers, and the Reserve members. Results from this study are intended to facilitate the development of proper training and prevention programs to maximize operational efficiency as well as to reduce non-battle injuries and non-battle psychiatric illnesses in a deployed environment.

There have been even less studies on how many develop PTSD after training even though the method of training has changed over the years to reflect the way wars are fought. Gone are the days when members of a nation wore uniforms and respected the rules of war.

As training for ground forces has evolved, so too has the training for pilots when they sit in a building thousands of miles away from combat, watching, waiting and witnessing what is happening to the ground forces as well as civilians topped off with armed drones able to participate in the action.

This is a good look at what we're talking about.

Drone Pilots Are Found to Get Stress Disorders Much as Those in Combat Do
New York Times
By JAMES DAO
Published: February 22, 2013

In the first study of its kind, researchers with the Defense Department have found that pilots of drone aircraft experience mental health problems like depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress at the same rate as pilots of manned aircraft who are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

The study affirms a growing body of research finding health hazards even for those piloting machines from bases far from actual combat zones.

“Though it might be thousands of miles from the battlefield, this work still involves tough stressors and has tough consequences for those crews,” said Peter W. Singer, a scholar at the Brookings Institution who has written extensively about drones. He was not involved in the new research.

That study, by the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, which analyzes health trends among military personnel, did not try to explain the sources of mental health problems among drone pilots.

But Air Force officials and independent experts have suggested several potential causes, among them witnessing combat violence on live video feeds, working in isolation or under inflexible shift hours, juggling the simultaneous demands of home life with combat operations and dealing with intense stress because of crew shortages.
read more here

Guns and mental health still as wrong as in 2007

Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act was signed into law by President Bush because the Congress had to act as if they understood the issues veterans were dealing with. I was just as wrong. In 2007 I was thinking Coburn was wrong "Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention bill blocked by Coburn" simply because the number one means of committing suicides was at the wrong end of a gun.
My husband's nephew used heroin.

I did a check to see what percentage of suicides are committed by guns and other means. There were 3,850,000 results to "top ten ways people commit suicide" search.

Google also provided this

Searches related to top ten ways people commit suicide
suicide garage
easy ways to kill self
suicide methods
quick ways to kill yourself
painless suicide methods
how to hang yourself painlessly
how to kill yourself quickly
what is the most effective way to kill yourself

This was the top answer from Harvard when I used "mental health" in the search.

Suicide, Guns, and Public Health
Most efforts to prevent suicide focus on why people take their lives. But as we understand more about who attempts suicide and when and where and why, it becomes increasingly clear that how a person attempts–the means they use–plays a key role in whether they live or die.

“Means reduction” (reducing a suicidal person’s access to highly lethal means) is an important part of a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention. It is based on the following understandings

Many suicide attempts occur with little planning during a short-term crisis.
Intent isn’t all that determines whether an attempter lives or dies; means also matter.
90% of attempters who survive do NOT go on to die by suicide later.
Access to firearms is a risk factor for suicide.
Firearms used in youth suicide usually belong to a parent.
Reducing access to lethal means saves lives.

After talking to a lot of veterans after 2007, it was pointed out to me that my thoughts were way too limited. The bill ended up putting fear into veterans that if they sought help from the VA, they would have to surrender their guns. It kept them from going to the VA. The bill to supposedly save lives was in fact preventing them from going for help.

We now have a better idea of how many veterans are committing suicide. At least 22 a day are ending their own lives. Most do use guns. Medal of Honor hero Dakota Meyer tried to commit suicide with his handgun but it didn't fire. It is not as if they suddenly decide they don't want to be here anymore. The hope of better days takes time to be eroded.

Still when you look at the numbers, the whole view of them, you'll understand that the good intentions of this bill ended badly.

Military Suicides went up.
Veterans Suicides went up.

This is from the GAO

Number of Veterans Receiving Care, Barriers Faced, and Efforts to Increase Access from 2011.
In fiscal year 2010, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provided health care to about 5.2 million veterans. Recent legislation has increased many Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans' priority for accessing VA's health care, and concerns have been raised about the extent to which VA is providing mental health care to eligible veterans of all eras. There also are concerns that barriers may hinder some veterans from accessing needed mental health care. GAO was asked to provide information on veterans who receive mental health care from VA.

In this report, GAO provides information on

(1) how many veterans received mental health care from VA from fiscal years 2006 through 2010,
(2) key barriers that may hinder veterans from accessing mental health care from VA, and
(3) VA efforts to increase veterans' access to VA mental health care. GAO obtained data from VA's Northeast Program Evaluation Center (NEPEC) on the number of veterans who received mental health care from VA.

The number of veterans represents a unique count of veterans; veterans were counted only once, even if they received care multiple times during a fiscal year or across the 5-year period. GAO also reviewed literature published from 2006 to 2011, reviewed VA documents, and interviewed officials from VA and veterans service organizations (VSO).

Over the 5-year period from fiscal years 2006 through 2010, about 2.1 million unique veterans received mental health care from VA. Each year the number of veterans receiving mental health care increased, from about 900,000 in fiscal year 2006 to about 1.2 million in fiscal year 2010. OEF/OIF veterans accounted for an increasing proportion of veterans receiving care during this period. The key barriers identified from the literature that may hinder veterans from accessing mental health care from VA, which were corroborated through interviews, are stigma, lack of understanding or awareness of mental health care, logistical challenges to accessing mental health care, and concerns about VA's care, such as concerns that VA's services are primarily for older veterans. Many of these barriers are not necessarily unique to veterans accessing mental health care from VA, but may affect anyone accessing mental health care from any provider. Veterans may be affected by barriers differently based on demographic factors, such as age and gender. For example, younger OEF/OIF veterans and female veterans may perceive that VA's services are primarily for someone else, such as older veterans or male veterans. VA has implemented several efforts to increase veterans' access to mental health care, including integrating mental health care into primary care. VA also has implemented efforts to educate veterans, their families, health care providers, and other community stakeholders about mental health conditions and VA's mental health care. According to VA officials, these efforts help get veterans into care by reducing, and in some cases eliminating, the barriers that may hinder them from accessing care. GAO provided a draft of this report to VA for comment. In its response, VA provided technical comments, which were incorporated as appropriate.

The GAO should have added in fear of losing gun permit.

When you look at those numbers understand what you're seeing. That many veterans went to the VA and we have at least 22 of them taking their own lives everyday. While that is sickening beyond reason to many, the vast majority of them are not a threat to themselves and even less are a threat to anyone else.

This morning I was reading irresponsible reports saying that the gun and mental health issues are new. That is what caused this post. The search for responsible answers on guns has focused on mental health but the reality is, much different than they expected it would be back in 2007 when congress wanted show they were doing something so they were willing to just do anything.

Suicide Prevention bills have not worked because Congress didn't understand it.

The means by which they commit suicide is important but not as important as why they do it.

VFW wants Distinguished Warfare Medal rank reduced

VFW Wants New Medal Ranked Lower
Feb 14, 2013
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan

Barely 24 hours after the Pentagon announced its new medal for cyber warriors and drone pilots, the Veterans of Foreign Wars is demanding the decoration's ranking be lowered.

The Distinguished Warfare Medal is ranked above both the Bronze Star with Combat "V" and the Purple Heart – medals typically awarded for combat in which the servicemember's life is at risk.

"The VFW fully concurs that those far from the fight are having an immediate impact on the battlefield in real-time, but medals that can only be earned in direct combat must mean more than medals awarded in the rear," VFW National Commander John E. Hamilton said in a statement released Thursday. "The VFW urges the Department of Defense to reconsider the new medal's placement in the military order of precedence."

Hamilton said the new medal and its ranking "could quickly deteriorate into a morale issue."

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, who announced the new award on Wednesday, said the military needed a medal that recognizes that post-9/11 warfare is different with servicemembers at consoles in the U.S. directly affecting the outcome of enemy engagements.
read more here

DOD announces Distinguished Warfare Medal

Afganistan Special Forces Now Have Women!

UPDATE March 9, 2013
It only took NBC a little under a month to pick up on this story.
Under cover of darkness, Afghan women head to battle

Afghan army trains women for special forces
By RAHIM FAIEZ
The Associated Press
Published: February 14, 2013

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan army is training female special forces to take part in night raids against insurgents, breaking new ground in an ultraconservative society and filling a vacuum left by departing international forces.

"If men can carry out this duty why not women?" asks Lena Abdali, a 23-year-old Afghan soldier who was one of the first women to join one of the special units in 2011.

Night raids have long been a divisive issue between Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who doesn't want foreign troops entering Afghan homes, and the U.S.-led coalition that says the raids are essential to capturing Taliban commanders.

Many Afghans, however, have complained that the house raids are culturally offensive. Having male troops search Afghan females is taboo. So is touching a family's Quran, the Muslim holy book, or entering a home without being invited. Another focus of anger has been the disregard for privacy and Afghan culture because women and children are usually home during the raids.
read more here

MOH Romesha's son, future President

The look on the little boy's face is priceless! Not so much impressed with Dad, he has his attention set on the podium. Unfortunately this says Clint is a Marine even though he served from Army's Fort Carson.

Marine at White House Tries to Corral Boy Before Ceremony
Those waiting for a Medal of Honor ceremony are treated to a cute sight near president's podium.
01:13 | 02/11/2013

Watch More News Videos at ABC | Technology News | Celebrity News

But that wasn't his only stunt

This was from the ceremony

"Colin is not as shy as Clint. (Laughter.) He was in the Oval Office, and he was racing around pretty good. (Laughter.) And sampled a number of the apples before he found the one that was just right." President Obama

Medal of Honor Ceremony for Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha

Veterans in Maryland seeking disability benefits can face a perilous wait

Veterans in Maryland seeking disability benefits can face a perilous wait
Washington Post
By Steve Vogel
February 03, 2013

BALTIMORE — Veterans across Maryland who have filed disability claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Baltimore office may wait more than a year for a decision and even then face a 25 percent chance that their claims will be mishandled, according to agency figures.

Nationally, the system is struggling with a backlog of more than 900,000 claims, the result of a sharp increase in filings by veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as well as by older generations. The Baltimore regional office’s performance is among the nation’s worst, with claims filed by veterans seeking disability compensation pending 429 days on average, six times VA’s goal of 70 days, and 162 days longer than the national average.
read more here

VA overpaid disabled vets by up to $1.1B

If you have a VA claim for something that will not get better, like an amputation, then you'll receive a "permanent and total" disability rating.

VA overpaid disabled vets by up to $1.1B
Army Times
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Feb 5, 2013

In a reversal of normal complaints about the Veterans Affairs Department being too slow to pay disabled veterans, a House subcommittee is investigating overpayments to veterans who were temporarily rated 100 percent disabled but were not reevaluated to see if their conditions improved.

The loss to the government could be as much as $1.1 billion, according to VA auditors, who estimate the 27,500 veterans were not properly re-evaluated.

Rep. Jon Runyan, R-N.J., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee’s disability assistance panel, said the “unacceptable” problem needs to be fixed — especially now, when federal spending is tight.

VA policies allow 100 percent disability ratings to be assigned to veterans undergoing surgery or some other treatment that prohibits them from working, making them eligible for disability compensation. When their treatment or recovery period ends, a follow-up medical examination is supposed to be requested to determine if they still have any disability for which they should continue to receive compensation.

Disability pay can be up to $3,214 a month at current rates for a veteran with a 100 percent rating.

The IG found no regional office within VA that fully followed established policies requiring reevaluations. Error rates were as high as 100 percent in Wyoming. The “best” regional offices, in Lincoln, Neb., and Des Moines, had an error rate of 27 percent.
read more here

Spotlight on veteran hunting and shooting clubs

There is no easy answer and it is high time reporters understood this. Hunting, fishing, shooting, Yoga, Martial Arts, you name it, some are helped by each one but no one is helped by all of them. There needs to be real talk on this issue and for a change, reporters asking real questions but that won't happen until they know what they are talking about first. That's the only way they will know what questions to ask.

Murder of former Navy SEAL turns spotlight on veteran hunting and shooting clubs
By Bill Briggs
NBC News contributor

Firing bullets at a gun range — as a Marine reservist was doing Saturday when he allegedly killed ex-Navy SEAL and "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle — can ignite combat flashbacks, a leading expert on post-traumatic stress disorder said Monday, adding, however, that hunting and target practice can be therapeutic for veterans if their shooting buddies intimately know war.

“The question being asked is: Wouldn’t the shooting of a weapon out in the open trigger feelings, nightmares, flashbacks? The answer is, yes, it can,” said Dr. Harry Croft, a San Antonio-based psychiatrist who has talked with more than 7,000 veterans diagnosed with PTSD. “But the hope would be that those would be triggered in a situation that’s safe, where other people are there who understand PTSD and could help the person cope with the thoughts that may come back to them.

“In situations like a shooting range, the sounds may set off a hyper-vigilant response, maybe flashbacks and nightmares at night. But it doesn’t make you violent, like you’re going to kill the person around you. And if the person around you is a Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL who knows and can support you, then that experience can have a more positive effect,” Croft said.
read more here

Number of unemployed veterans up 150,000 in four months

Number of unemployed veterans up 150,000 in four months
By LEO SHANE III
Stars and Stripes
Published: February 1, 2013

WASHINGTON — The number of unemployed veterans rose above 800,000 in January, a spike that raises concerns about the long-term viability of efforts to find jobs for former military personnel.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the overall unemployment rate for veterans rose to 7.6 percent in January, more than 1 percent above where it was last fall but still below the national rate of 7.9 percent.

But the total number of veterans unsuccessfully looking for work rose to 844,000, almost 150,000 more than it was four months ago.
read more here

Congress Targets Contractors and Overseas Crimes

Congress Targets Contractors and Overseas Crimes
Feb 01, 2013
Associated Press
by Eric Tucker

WASHINGTON -- With thousands of civilian contractors remaining in Iraq and Afghanistan, Justice Department officials want Congress to resolve a legal issue they say obstructs efforts to prosecute any such workers who rape, kill or commit other serious crimes abroad.

Scofflaw Pentagon employees and contractors supporting the American war mission overseas are subject to federal prosecution in the U.S., but a nonmilitary contractor who breaks the law may fall outside the Justice Department's jurisdiction. Lawmakers who have pushed in the past to extend the reach of U.S. criminal law plan to renew their efforts this session with bills to make civilian contractors and employees liable to federal prosecution for acts including murder, arson and bribery.

Federal prosecutors believe clearer and more uniform rules are needed to resolve a jurisdictional question made murkier by the end of the Iraq war and the ongoing reduction of troops in Afghanistan. The issue caused problems for authorities during the first prosecution of Blackwater contractors accused in 2007 shootings in Baghdad and could again be a stumbling block as prosecutors seek a new indictment in the case.
read more here

12 most despicable things Fox News did in 2012

If it is about the military or veterans, I read it. I may not post it, but that all depends on how important the story is. This one is. Considering the majority of the veterans I know watch FOX, this is actually a great example of why they shouldn't trust FOX at all.

Remember when they were claiming Romney was going to win in a landslide while the rest of the country was laughing at them? That proved they want to twist things up to get the result they want. It didn't matter what the truth was any more than it has mattered to what it is when they are talking about, or not talking about, the men and women risking their lives for this country.

The list of "despicable things Fox News did in 2012" has two reports involving the military. While this is a "left leaning" site, it does not change the fact that FOX did them.

12 most despicable things Fox News did in 2012
From producing its own anti-Obama video to spinning furiously on unemployment, the network had a banner year
BY MARK HOWARD, ALTERNET
JAN 5, 2013

1) Romancing Petraeus: Fox News CEO Roger Ailes tries to recruit for the GOP.

The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward revealed that Fox News CEO Roger Ailes had dispatched a Fox News defense analyst, to Kabul, Afghanistan to recruit Gen. David Petraeus as a GOP candidate for president. The notion of a news network soliciting candidates for political office is a perversion of the role journalists play in society. In response, Ailes claimed that it was “a joke” and that he “thought the Republican [primary] field needed to be shaken up.” Where Ailes got the idea that it was his right and/or duty to shake up the GOP primaries is unexplained. News people are supposed to report the news, not make it. Woodward’s story affirms that Fox News is a rogue operation. Its intrusion into the political process debases journalism by breaching all standards of ethical conduct. And it debases democracy as well by exploiting its power and wealth to manipulate political outcomes.

5) Fox lies about military access to voting in Ohio.

This year Republicans in the state of Ohio sought to amend their early voting law so that only members of the military would be permitted to vote early in the three days prior to the election. Democrats objected to this as it discriminates against certain voters, and they filed suit to preserve the right of every Ohio citizen to vote early. Fox News picked up the story advancing the premise that Democrats were seeking to take something away from our military. Anchor Shannon Bream falsely declared that “If President Obama gets his way, the special voting rights of some of America’s finest will be eliminated.” The truth is that Democrats in Ohio were suing to ensure that nobody’s rights were eliminated. The Ohio GOP was deliberately attempting to suppress the votes of citizens they presumed would vote Democratic. And Fox News helped them in that mission by brazenly lying about the substance of the debate.

Obama Not Trying to Curb Military Early Voting
Military Vote

The Center for Responsive Politics reported last month that self-described military personnel had donated $678,611 to Obama, 85% more than the $398,450 the Romney campaign has collected.

The other issue viewers notice is that FOX doesn't seem to have much time covering all the problems our veterans face coming home any more than they have time to cover what is happening in Afghanistan.