What's New
| VCS Adds "VCS on TV" News Clips to Web Site |
Television News Coverage of VCS Advocacy VCS now posts links to television news broadcasts featuring Veterans for Common Sense and our highly successful advocacy efforts on issues you care about. |
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| Disabled Iraq War Veteran with Service Dog Beaten by McDonalds Employee |
October 30, 2009, Brooklyn, New York (Courthouse News Service) - A disabled Army captain who was wounded in Iraq claims McDonald's employees beat him with garbage can lids after he brought his service dog to the restaurant. Luis Montalvan says the attack came as he was photographing the restaurant after he repeatedly complained about the treatment he received there. |
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| Deployment at All Costs: Military Arrests Mom, Sends Child to Protective Serivces |
Soldier mom refuses deployment to care for baby November 16, 2009, Savannah, Georgia (Associated Press) – An Army cook and single mom may face criminal charges after she skipped her deployment flight to Afghanistan because, she said, no one was available to care for her infant son while she was overseas. |
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| Fort Hood Fallout: Camp Lejeune Whistle-Blower Fired |
A psychiatrist who tried to prevent Fort Hood-style violence among Marines about to "lose it" instead loses his job November 16, 2009 (Salon) - Last April, two Marines at Camp Lejeune predicted to a psychiatrist that some Marine back from war was going to "lose it." Concerned, the psychiatrist asked what that meant. One of the Marines responded, "One of these guys is liable to come back with a loaded weapon and open fire." |
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| New York Times Profiles VA and Secretary Shinseki |
No Longer a Soldier, Shinseki Has a New Mission November 11, 2009 (New York Times) - It was a sad homecoming of sorts. On Tuesday, Eric Shinseki, the secretary of veterans affairs, returned to Fort Hood, Tex., where he was a division commander in the mid-1990s, to pay tribute to two veterans affairs employees who died in the shootings there last week. |
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Suicide Numbers Still on Pace to Top Last Year
Written by Michelle Tan
Friday, 11 September 2009 09:58
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September 10, 2009 - As many as 17 soldiers killed themselves in August, one fewer than in July, the Army announced Thursday. Of the 17 deaths, 11 were active duty soldiers and six were Army National Guard or Army Reserve soldiers who were not on active duty at the time of their deaths.
All 17 cases remained under investigation and none have been confirmed as suicides. However, Army officials have said that about 90 percent of these cases typically are confirmed to be suicides. In July, the Army reported eight possible suicides among active duty soldiers and six among those who were not on active duty. Since then, four additional active duty deaths have been reported as suspected suicides, bringing the total for July to 18. Two of the 12 active duty deaths in July have been confirmed to be suicides. The other 10 are still being investigated. The number of suicides among soldiers has declined since the early months of the year, but the Army continues to battle the problem and it remains on track to surpass last year's record of 140 suicides. So far this calendar year, the Army has reported 110 active duty suicides. Of those, 71 have been confirmed and 39 are pending a determination. There were 89 confirmed suicides among active duty soldiers during the same period in 2008. Among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty at the time of their deaths, 20 deaths have been confirmed to be suicides so far this year, and 34 others are pending a determination. In the same period in 2008, there were 36 suicides among reserve soldiers who were not on active duty. "Effective suicide prevention programs and resources that are accessible to our soldiers and families are a crucial part of our effort, and we're making progress in these areas," Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli said in a statement. Chiarelli, who leads the Army's suicide prevention efforts, added that small-unit leadership is crucial to preventing suicides. "There will never be a substitute for noncommissioned officers who know their soldiers, know when a soldier is suffering, and have the moral courage to act and get that soldier the help that they need," he said. Read more in the next issue of Army Times, out Monday.
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