Of Immediate Interest
Military Sexual Trauma – It’s Not Just Women
Finding Peace After Betrayal, from Military Sexual Trauma in Men: A Review of Reported Rates, by Tim Hoyt, Jennifer Klosterman Rielage and Lauren F. Williams, PhDs. “Military Sexual Trauma (MST) has historically been associated with female service members, but it is also experienced by male service members. There is significant variability in reported rates of men’s MST. Averaging across studies covering the past 30 years, it was found that MST is reported by approximately .09% of male service members each year, with a range of .02% to 6%. MST is reported by 1.1% of male service members over the course of their military careers, with a range of .03% to 12.4%.” (I remember that when Vietnam veterans began initiating such claims it caught the VA quite off guard. ~ Don Chapin)
That’s an Illegal Order
'That’s an Illegal Order' - Veterans Challenge Trump's Officers in Portland Two veterans asked federal agents if they understood their oath to defend the constitution and why they weren’t honoring their oath of office Hallie Golden, Sat 25 Jul 2020 01.00 EDT Last...
Making America Feared Again…
Making America Feared Again... The Trump Administration Considers Resuming (UNNECESSARY) Nuclear Weapons Testing By Lawrence Wittner, Global Research, July 20, 2020, Common Dreams 18 July 2020...
A Working Model to ‘Defund the Police’
This town of 170,000 replaced some cops with medics and mental health workers. It’s worked for over 30 years
Repositioning the Military Budget
FINALLY, there may be some action on repositioning the military budget! The priorities of the U.S. government have been wildly out of touch with both morality and public opinion for decades, and have been moving in the wrong direction even as awareness of the crises...
The Cost of Loyalty
Three take-aways from ‘The Cost of Loyalty’ by Tim Bakken, a law professor at West Point. An extremely well-researched and documented book which largely dealt with upper-rank military malfeasance with a good deal of the same within the ranks of military academy students, in combination with my own experiences.
You’re Not One of Us
Officers had daily study sessions together, but, of course, being the only enlisted student in the class, I wasn’t invited and did my best to study the material on my own. The very first glance I had of the final test, it all became clear because it was exactly the same “test” the professor had started the course with “to see where we were.” The officer/pilot group wasn’t studying the course material, but reassembling the test and studying THAT, “forgetting” to invite me to their sessions since I was still an enlisted troop, while they were commissioned.
Time to Reinvest in People and Cut Weapons of War
“At a time when families across the country are struggling to pay the bills—including more than 16,000 military families on food stamps—we need to take a hard look at every dollar and reinvest in people. It’s time to cut weapons of war and prioritize the well-being of our troops, anti- poverty programs, public health initiatives, and diplomacy.”
Not All It Can Be: The US Military Is Failing
The US military is one of the few institutions that the vast majority of the public praises, but its strategic failures on the battlefield and lack of accountability in its ranks expose an organization that is deeply flawed and out of step with 21st-century needs. This according to Tim Bakken, the first civilian promoted to professor of law in West Point’s history. He eventually blew the whistle on corruption at the military academy and, after the Army retaliated against him, became one of the few federal employees to win a retaliation case against the US military.
Religious Intolerance by an Evangelical Chaplain
Colonel Moon H. Kim used his official Army email account to send a digital copy of John Piper’s Coronavirus and Christ that claims “some people will be infected with the coronavirus as a specific judgment from God”…
More Imperialistic S. American Bungling
More Imperialistic S. American Bungling Trump Admin’s Bounty on Venezuelan President Triggers Explosive Confession of Violent Plot By Leonardo Flores, The Grayzone April 2, 2020 Washington’s indictment of Maduro and members of his inner circle has backfired and could...
Copper Destroys Viruses and Bacteria
Copper Destroys Viruses and Bacteria. Why Isn’t It Everywhere? It could destroy norovirus, MRSA, virulent strains of E. coli, and coronaviruses—including the novel strain currently causing the COVID-19 pandemic. by Shayla Love, Mar 18 2020, 4:00am...
Trump-promised veteran support capability
A (modified) Trump-promised veteran support capability comes to fruition over three years after the promise. February 21, 2020 it appears at va.gov: VA » Veterans Experience Office (VEO) » White House VA Hotline https://www.va.gov/ve/whvahotline.asp What is the White...
VA Secretary Looked for Dirt on a House Staffer Who Reported Sexual Assault in a VA Hospital
VA Secretary Looked for Dirt on a House Staffer Who Reported Sexual Assault in a VA Hospital VA chief Robert Wilkie called a House policy advisor’s assault allegation “unsubstantiated” even though an independent investigation found it was not. by Isaac Arnsdorf, a...
The Military-Industrial Complex Gets Away With Murder in Contract After Contract
The misadventures of the military/industrial complex simply keep getting more and more brazen from even the ones I witnessed from inside the system in the ‘60s thru ’70s!
Counting the Cost of US Military Bases
Since 9/11, American taxpayers have spent $6.4 trillion on wars and military action in the Middle East and Asia, according to the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University. And according to US central command, there are between 60,000 and 70,000 US troops in the Middle East.
Contending with Overmatch
In the abysmal failure of the DOD audit, the military-industrial complex had to come up with SOMETHING that might stand a chance of instilling sufficient FEAR in U.S. citizenry to gain support for ever-increasing and totally unnecessary over-blown budgets
Afghanistan War stories at Washington Post, December 9, 2019
Afghanistan War stories at WaPo on Dec 9, 2019, including: U.S. officials misled public about Afghan war, confidential documents reveal; Afghanistan Papers: A secret history of America’s longest war, and a link to a list of Afghanistan documents by topic
Some of the Deepest Wounds of Veterans Go Undetected
Right now, a veteran is getting ready to commit suicide. At least 16 will kill themselves on Veterans Day, ending the life they risked for their country
Trump has literally brought shame and disgrace upon the U.S. military
Donald Trump’s directive to American troops to abandon our Kurdish allies in the fight against ISIS, leaving them instead wholly at the mercy of invading Turkish forces, has already left an indelible scar on the reputation and credibility of the U.S. military— according to the troops themselves. “It’s a stain on the American conscience.” Of course, in the military, the troops are rarely, if ever, consulted.