A roundup of military and veterans stories worth taking a look at:
Five
U.S. Marine Corps humvees seized by Russian forces when they entered
Georgia earlier this summer still haven't been returned:
The Humvees were taken Aug. 19 during Russia’s assault on the Georgian
port of Poti, said Lt. Cmdr. Corey Barker, a spokesman for U.S.
European Command. The vehicles were in Georgia awaiting commercial
transport back to the U.S. following Operation Immediate Response, a
multinational training exercise in July involving Georgian and U.S.
forces. [Marine Corps Times]
Last
week New York Magazine went down to the iconic Times Square recruiting
station in New York City for some Q & A with new Army recruits on
their way to boot camp. The interviews were spurred by news the Army
has passed its recruiting goals for the past three years. The magazine
described its subjects as: "four local boys and one Goth girl from
Alabama in New York for the first time, all ages 17 to 23." Excerpt:
Chris Biener, 21, Bohemia, Long Island:
New York: So you leave for Army Reserves boot camp next Monday. What'll you do until then?
CB: Hang out with some friends.
New York: What have you been doing up to now?
CB: I went to Stonybrook University and played
football there for the first semester, then I went to Suffolk Community
College, then I started working and going to school, back and forth,
then I decided to do this.
New York: Why didn't you stay in college?
CB: I kept switching my major, which kept putting me back. So I worked at a swimming-pool store.
New York: Why are you joining the military?
CB: I almost did it straight out of high school, but my parents wanted me to go to college. I always wanted to join growing up.
New York: Why?
CB: I've always played sports, but there's no team after high school. So this is a big team to join.
New York: What's your big dream?
CB: I'm going to be an LPN, a nurse. So when I get out
[of the military], I know I'll get a good job. And if I stay in,
there'll always be people who need help.
New York: We're in two wars right now. You may go and be seriously physically or mentally damaged or die. Does that affect your decision?
CB: I used to think about it, but then I realized I'll
be trained enough to probably get away from that situation, so if it
happens, it happens.
New York: How would you characterize the situation [in Iraq] right now?
CB: We should be there, but the people don't want us there. It's kind of up in the air.
New York: Should we reinstitute the draft?
CB: No, I think the turnout's positive enough with
volunteer people. With a draft you have an Army with people who don't
want to be there. If it's volunteer, you'll get 100 percent out of all
of them.
New York: Would you pick Iraq or Afghanistan to be deployed to?
CB: Iraq. There seems to be more going on. It'd be more fun. As a nurse, there'd be more jobs for me to do.
[Daily Intel]
A
Jewish Army recruit has been transferred to a new training battalion
after his involvement in incidents of verbal and physical harassment by
other recruits and drill sergeants over his religion. The military is
not providing a specific reason for why the recruit was transferred,
though his father told the Associated Press it was because his son
didn't feel safe.
Handman began basic training Aug. 29 at Fort Benning in Columbus. He
soon wrote a letter to his parents in which he said, “I have just never
been so discriminated against/humiliated about my religion.” He told
them he feared for his safety.
Handman’s parents contacted U.S.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., who forwarded their concerns to the Army.
Four days after commanders interviewed Handman about being harassed, he
was beaten in a laundry room near his barracks and treated at the Army
post’s hospital.
Manganaro said investigators don’t believe
religious bigotry was the motive for Handman being attacked, though she
could not explain why...The investigation of Handman’s allegations of harassment found that one
drill sergeant had ordered Handman to remove his yarmulke, which he
wore with his uniform, as he ate in a dining hall. Another had called
him “Juden,” the German word for Jews. [AP]
A new campaign ad by the group VoteVets
criticizes Sen. John McCain for skipping a crucial GI Bill vote. In
the ad the veteran remarks: "Vet to vet, Senator McCain. When you put
money from your rich friends ahead of vets like me how is that country
first?"
A few weeks ago I posted a pro-McCain ad featuring a wounded Iraq veteran.
I'm reposting it here for you to compare how veterans from two
different ways of thinking voice support for their respective
candidates.
The widow of an
Iraq veteran who committed suicide after returning from the war is
suing the federal government for negligence. The deceased veteran,
Donald Woodward, 23, made three suicide attempts and was seeking
treatment at a VA hospital. His wife said VA doctors were slow to
diagnose her husband's psychiatric condition and did not schedule
follow-up visits. Woodward, at the time, was in VA out-patient care
for depression.
"I intend to make them make changes," said his mother, Lori
Woodward. "I have too many friends whose kids are in Iraq. I have a
nephew now in Iraq, in the same unit, and I can't have my family go
through this again."
Alison Aikele, a VA spokeswoman in Washington, said the agency does not typically comment on pending litigation. [AP]
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