McGinnis was perched in the gunner's hatch of a Humvee when a grenade sailed past him and into the truck where four other soldiers sat. He shouted a warning to the others, then jumped on the grenade. The grenade, which was lodged near the vehicle's radio, blew up and killed him.

Said Dole: "Most of us go through this transition from able-bodied to disabled, and it's tough. And I worry about these young men and women ... who are 17, 18, 19, because I don't think it's really going to hit them until they're 20, 25, 30 years of age."  For the injured, questions of self-worth and a fear of rejection because of physical or other changes they've undergone can form barriers in their relationships.

Mitchel S. Tepper, assistant project director at the Center of Excellence for Sexual Health at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, which organized the conference, told the AP one of the hardest things about this issue is the lack of discussion between doctors and patients.

Tepper said badly injured patients are extremely interested in the subject, even if they're shy about asking. He said studies of the general population of people with spinal cord injuries find that some rank the desire to have sex above the ability to walk again.  Healthy intimate relationships add meaning to life and can aid in recovery from other injuries, he said. And the loss of a relationship can be detrimental, even a factor in suicide.

Jackson, of Des Moines, Iowa, was injured in Iraq in 2003 while serving in the Iowa Army National Guard. In addition to losing his legs, he had burns, post-traumatic stress disorder, and he was heavily medicated. When his wife initially wanted to be intimate, he refused.

His wife said she felt rejected, and went to talk to his doctor with specific questions. She said the doctor just told her things would get better with time, and she wasn't sure what that meant. She said she and her husband kept talking and were able to work things out.

In a separate interview with About.com late last year, Tepper gave an in-depth look at what the sexual intimacy problems are affecting vets, and what he plans to do about them.  But he was clear to make this distinction:

Is important to note that sexual health encompasses more than the absence of disease and more than reproductive function. Sexual health includes how people feel about themselves as lovable and capable partners; establishing and maintaining intimate relationships; freedom from stigma, discrimination, sexual abuse, coercion and violence; and the ability to enjoy sexual pleasure and satisfaction.

Former army sergeant Kristofer Goldsmith told the landmark hearing of "lawless murders, looting and the abuse of countless Iraqis."  He spoke of the psychologically fragile men and women who return from Iraq to find little help or treatment offered from official circles.  Goldsmith said he had "self-medicated" for several months to treat the wounds of the war...Another soldier told AFP he had to boost his medication to treat anxiety and social agoraphobia -- two of many lingering mental wounds he carries since his deployments in Iraq -- before testifying.  A group of veterans in the packed hearing room gazed blankly as their comrades' testimonies shattered the official version that the U.S. effort in Iraq is succeeding.  Almost to a man, the testifiers denounced serious flaws in the chain of command in Iraq.

"We are talking about people who are making over $1 million to pay a small sacrifice for this war where our military families are paying a huge sacrifice," said Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.

The White House weighed in with an official veto promise Thursday that also attacked the Democratic plan for increasing taxes.

"The president has been clear that tax increases are unacceptable," the White House statement said.

In the simplest terms, the Webb bill would effectively pay for tuition and housing at a four-year public college for those serving at least three years of active duty. The McCain measure isn't as generous, as it increases existing education benefits by $400 a month for the same time served: from $1,100 to $1,500.

“My job is to get people to stay in the military, not only to join, but to stay as well,” McCain said, although he added that he will be sitting down with Webb to try to work out a compromise. He wants to make sure to include a component of his bill which is not in Webb bill that would allow for transferability of benefits to family members.

I have great respect for John McCain's service to this country and I know he loves it dearly and honors those who serve. But he is one of the few senators of either party who oppose this bill because he thinks it's too generous. I couldn't disagree more. At a time when the skyrocketing cost of tuition is pricing thousands of Americans out of a college education, we should be doing everything we can to give the men and women who have risked their lives for this country the chance to pursue the American Dream.

News roundup: 

*Bill Ardolino of The Long War Journal takes his readers along on a night patrol with U.S. soldiers and members of a Baghdad neighborhood watch called Sons of Iraq:

Co-founded seven months ago by local leaders and members of the 82nd Airborne, the Al Sadria branch of the neighborhood watch is composed of about 250 members who are paid by and coordinate with American units. The branch is responsible for a series of predominantly Shia neighborhoods in central Baghdad that include part of the Shorja Market. Though leader Faris Abdul-Hassan refers to his group as “the first Shia Awakening” against criminals and terrorists, he refuses to hire anyone with sectarian allegiances.

“We want to put mental health professionals with our small-unit leaders,” Navy Surgeon General Vice Adm. Adam Robinson said. “We think if we can train them there. Tere’s a real synergy that can come. We can be there to help with treatment, training and surveillance.”

I stopped for a while and I saw many Iraqi Army cars riddled with bullets. I saw troops deployed everywhere I looked: on the roof of every high building, every road intersection, occupying government offices that before were occupied by political factions.

I was shocked when I saw traces of the fight, which was clear on the buildings close to the main streets.

As an Iraqi from the south who knows exactly what was going on, with the militias controlling everything in particular cities or ports, I did not expect that the Iraqi forces – which are majority Shia - would be able to confront the militia influence.

There was a new feeling. I had never seen before the Iraq Army, without hesitation, accusing the Mahdi Army of being involved in all the disorder there.

One of the soldiers told me: “The Mahdi Army are a group of criminals, they will destroy everything if we don’t stop them.”

In the past, I have never seen soldiers dare to say anything about them. I felt the reign of fear is broken, and that is it. Exactly the same feeling as when the Baathist regime fell.

*Military.com recently posted an article taking a look at the rise in per capita income within military communities:

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could be behind the jumps in income, according to experts. Combat pay and re-enlistment bonuses for professional soldiers, combined with the activation of National Guard and Reserve units, put more money in the bank accounts of personnel shipping out of Fort Bragg, said David G. Lenze of the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis, which issued the income data.

“... I believe Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld knew Pat was killed by fratricide and permitted the cover-up.  It is not believable that a man known for his propensity to micromanage would not want to know what happened to his most high-profile soldier. I informed the committee that Pat received a personal letter from Rumsfeld shortly after he and his brother enlisted, commending him for his commitment to serve. Pat was obviously in Rumsfeld's consciousness."

"Well, that's one of the questions that we will never completely answer.  But it certainly is one of the areas that that raises questions. There are so many mistakes. So many things that happened. If you add them all together, it certainly calls into question the credibility of those who handled this. And raises the kind of questions that Ms. Tillman raises. I don't blame her for that. And I don't expect her ever to believe us. But there was no effort to deceive. There were mistakes and grievous errors by the legions. And as a result, we fell short of our duty to her as a mother of one of our heroes."

Only a certain amount of people handle the citation for the Silver Star, one of our highest military awards. Each commander signs a block on the document and there is a document called a transmittal letter that accompanies it from office to office. Only organizational will prevents the Army from prosecuting the criminal that a) faked an official document and b) tried to leave a lower grade enlisted Soldier to take the blame.

The awarding of the decoration was illegal, as the incident obviously didn't represent "gallantry in action against an armed enemy," as required by the Army's own regulations.  This award does a disservice to all of our veterans who have legitimately earned this august award. The Tillman family should return the award to the Army, which should then rescind the award as unjustified and issued illegally.

Yes, it may be true that this star represents "gallantry in action against an armed enemy." What could be more gallant than a young man giving up not only his career but his life?  Pat Tillman gave up his life to serve in an illegal war that has ruined our economy with the billions of dollars being wasted but, more important, the loss of the respect of the rest of the world.

Eddie Grant, the Giants’ third baseman, died in France in 1918. Christy Mathewson, the great Giants pitcher, had his life shortened from a mustard-gas accident in training near the end of World War I. And Nile Kinnick, the star running back from Iowa, died in a training flight in 1943. But Pat Tillman’s death was different because of the way he was used, posthumously, blatantly.

"I don't want to sound like an ad, a public service ad on TV, but the fact is if you can read, you can walk into a job later on. If you don't, then you've got the Army, Iraq, I don't know, something like that. It's not as bright."

I guess he also feels that the war in Iraq has nationwide approval. Well, it doesn’t have mine. It is a waste of national resources...and that includes the youth and blood of the 4,000 American troops who have lost their lives there and for the tens of thousands who have been wounded. I live in a national guard town, and I support our troops, but I don’t support either the war or educational policies that limit the options of young men and women to any one career—military or otherwise.

"America's soldiers are proudly serving and fighting for us all. We can be proud of our soldiers' selfless service, their skill and their ingenuity. They certainly are role models for every high-school student in America considering a noble career...and many book authors."

I actually don't think King meant to insult the troops. He made a mistake of trotting out an outdated draft-era notion about the military to prove a totally different point. But he compounded his error by lashing out at those who pointed out his mistake. Now it's a "thing" in the media, and he's not looking very good, or smart.

Any member of the Army with an exceptional skill who could provide recruiting and public affairs benefits to the Army could be assigned to the nearest recruiting unit for their two-year active-duty period. Those approved can participate in their professional activity — in Campbell’s case, pro football — as long as it does not interfere with military duties. Then they can apply for early release from active duty.

The U.S. military death toll will soon reach 500 in Afghanistan, where the war has received less media attention than the conflict in Iraq despite an increasingly violent insurgency, the resurgence of al-Qaeda, and a growing commitment of troops...

...By the Pentagon's latest count, the armed forces have suffered 489 deaths so far. And still troops arrive: The number in Afghanistan exceeds 34,000, with 7,500 additional men and women requested.

The U.S. troops are part of a 40-nation force expanded from 40,000 in fall 2006 to nearly 70,000 today. Last year was the deadliest since 2001, according to the United Nations, which reported 8,000 fatalities, including 1,500 civilians.

As far back as 2004, Time Magazine published a cover story whose online component was titled: "Remember Afghanistan?" And then there was this New York Times 2005 editorial titled: "Afghanistan's Forgotten War." Now, in 2008, we're still wondering if Afghanistan is forgotten. But, why? Is it simply because of less media coverage? Is it because of Iraq? Is it because people don't care, don't understand, or don't have enough energy to follow two U.S. wars at the same time?

Whatever the reason, the violence still continues. Yesterday came word that U.S. Marines recently deployed to Afghanistan, launched a major operation attacking a Taliban-held town in the violent Helmand region.  According to the Associated Press, this was the furthest south U.S. forces had operated in years:

The goal is to stretch NATO's presence into an area where illegal opium poppy fields are plentiful and the Taliban is strong. British troops man a small base on Garmser's northern edge but insurgents rule the countryside south of the outpost all the way to the Pakistan border.

The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act is designed to offer the brave men and women who have served honorably since September 11, 2001 a level of educational benefits on par with those provided to veterans of the World War II era.

Many people enlist to earn money for college, and almost everyone signs up for the education benefits -- which, in the case of the main GI Bill, requires a service member to pay about $1,200 into the plan-- but not everyone takes advantage of it. And that buy-in is not returned even if the benefits are unused.

About 70 percent use at least some part of it, said Keith Wilson, director of the education service, but the VA does not track how many earn degrees.

An independent study found that just over half use some part of the benefits, said Ray Kelley of AMVETS, a veterans support group, and only 8 percent use all. "Congress is realizing we're not giving them the benefits we say we're giving them," Kelley said. "They only have 36 months from the time they start using it to the time they finish." That means going to school full time, year-round.

Hampered by unprofitable routes, ATA lost $75 million last year and was in talks with five potential suitors when FedEx, with apparently little explanation, decided to cut off the Indianapolis carrier's only money maker: military charters...Its roots were passenger charters that led the carrier, earlier known as American Trans Air, to branch out into troop charters. ATA operates a $340 million-a-year airborne bus line ferrying troops and their families to and from places where the U.S. military stations troops worldwide.

The suit claims that many disabled combat veterans are in dire need of counseling and other services they are not currently receiving from the U.S. government. Erspamer [the plaintiff's counsel] estimates that 120 veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan commit suicide each week. The veterans' groups are not seeking monetary damages but want reform of a health care system in which they allege a huge backlog of cases prevents veterans from receiving timely care.

A majority of the VA's counselors, doctors, social workers and psychologists "don't have the tools and the information that they need to intervene effectively with suicidal vets," said Maris, a former president of the American Association of Suicidology who has been a consultant to the Army on suicide prevention.

He was particularly critical of the VA's top health care administrator, William Feeley, who said in a pretrial deposition April 9 that the agency has no systematic national plan for suicide prevention. Feeley also said he was unaware of any methods of tracking veterans at risk of suicide and that suicide rates "are not a metric we are measuring."

-In May 2007 the practice of stop-loss reached a three-year low of 8,540.

-"Since then, the number of soldiers forced to remain in the Army rose 43% to 12,235 in March."

-"Soldiers affected by stop loss now serve, on average, an extra 6.6 months...Key leaders at the small-unit level — sergeants through sergeants first class — make up 45% of those soldiers. Soldiers typically enlist for four-year stints."

-58,300 soldiers have been affected by the stop-loss since 2002.

Among our recommendations is that effective treatments documented in the scientific literature — evidence-based care — are available for PTSD and major depression. Delivery of such care to all veterans with PTSD or major depression would pay for itself within two years, or even save money, by improving productivity and reducing medical and mortality costs. Such care may also be a cost-effective way to retain a ready and healthy military force for the future. However, to ensure that this care is delivered requires system-level changes across the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the U.S. health care system.

They gave various reasons for not getting help, including that they worried about the side effects of medication; believe family and friends could help them with the problem, or that they feared seeking care might damage their careers.

Rates of PTSD and major depression were highest among Army soldiers and Marines, and among service members who were no longer on active duty (people in the reserves and those who had been discharged or retired from the military). Women, Hispanics and enlisted personnel all were more likely to report symptoms of PTSD and major depressions.

Last November the Pentagon opened the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury in an effort to bring together education, treatment, and research.  From the Department of Defense:

The center also will set standards and assess, survey and validate DoD programs, and decide, in part, how resources are directed... Center officials are reviewing hundreds of research project proposals that hope to claim a piece of the $300 million set aside by Congress last year for brain injury research. The office also will work with the military services to see which of the many programs funded with another $600 million from Congress are working and how to direct those funds to programs most beneficial to servicemembers and families.

The day when Iraq alone can defend its shores — and protect its critical offshore oil installations — seems remote.

Iraq’s navy now has five Chinese-made patrol boats and 26 fast-attack aluminum vessels — fewer than half of which are operational. Its personnel number about 1,350, including 350 Marines.

“They think they are an elite unit, but they are not,” said Capt. Jock Alexander of the British Royal Marines, who is in charge of training Iraqi Marines to guard the 1.8-mile exclusion zone around each of the country’s two oil platforms.

The struggle to build a credible Iraqi navy is mirrored — on larger scales — by the mounting delays and costs to form a new Iraqi army and air force after Washington disbanded Saddam Hussein’s military.

While Veterans Affairs officials appreciate the support of community groups like Bobrow's, they're careful about embracing them. Because of privacy regulations, the VA can't disclose who has used their services. Often, VA employees are reluctant to even hand out flyers from fledgling groups until thoroughly checking them out.

"The veterans and their families have suffered enough. So when they put up a public profile or say they need help, we want to make sure they don't get injured again," said Patricia Matthews, a spokeswoman for the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Center.

She was surprised at the men being upset at having women in their units. "I would get long responses about how useless women are in war ...; not sexist but how they don't belong there."

Men said they created sexual tension and diverted attention. They require involvement from male colleagues for their safety, for example, having to guard their showers or to calm them during a difficult time. "And I think they felt it was unfair that woman could get pregnant and go home," she says. "I was just listening, thinking this is amazing."

Donald H. Rumsfeld, who resigned as secretary of defense in late 2006, will write his memoirs for the Sentinel imprint of Penguin Group USA. Mr. Rumsfeld, 75, will cover not only his years in the Bush administration but also his experiences with Presidents Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford and Ronald Reagan; his work in the private sector; and his early life. In contrast to other recent political figures who have produced memoirs, Mr. Rumsfeld is forgoing an advance and will donate profits to a nonprofit foundation he recently established to make educational grants to young people interested in public service and establishing links between the United States and Central Asia.

The Marine Corps Times reports that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is proposing new measures that would provide homes for severely injured veterans on VA property.  The proposal came during a Senate defense appropriations subcommittee hearing where issues of long-term veterans care were raised.  Sen. Feinstein cited VA property in West Los Angeles that includes 300 acres of undeveloped land:

Feinstein said she offered VA’s West LA campus as an example because she often visits the site, but she believes such housing also could be built at other VA facilities around the country.

Feinstein and other California lawmakers have been trying to block VA from leasing out the unused land for commercial purposes, but they have not agreed on what to do with the property. Some want the land to be public park land, some have proposed building housing for homeless veterans and others have talked about leaving it completely undeveloped so it can be used by future generations.