Category Archives: Veterans for Common Sense News

U.S. Command Shortens Life of Long War as a Reference

Posted on April 24, 2007 by Team VCS

WASHINGTON, April 23 — When the Bush administration has sought to explain its strategy for fighting terrorism, it has often said the United States is involved in a “long war” against Islamic extremists. The phrase was coined by Gen. John … Continue reading →

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Mission of Marines’ Parents: To Cope

Posted on April 23, 2007 by Team VCS

ST. LOUIS — Patricia Fry, whose son is a Marine infantryman, was explaining the fine art of creating a scrapbook to Rita Swift, whose son is a Marine helicopter pilot. “I think the blue looks great because it brings out … Continue reading →

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VA Gains EHR Access, Adds Patient Tracking System

Posted on April 23, 2007 by Team VCS

The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday will allow every clinician at all its hospitals and clinics to access in real-time electronic health records of wounded soldiers evacuated from Afghanistan and Iraq through a VA version of the Department of … Continue reading →

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Cooking the Books at VA – Veterans Fall Through the Cracks

Posted on April 22, 2007 by Team VCS

Nurse Diane Birmingham offered her resignation to the Cheyenne Veterans Affairs Medical Center last Monday with great relief. She was tired and demoralized and no longer able to fight for the patients. Birmingham is the second medical practitioner in two … Continue reading →

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Soldier Says He Was Deployed With Head Injury

Posted on April 21, 2007 by Team VCS

After an hour of bench-pressing a log weighing several hundred pounds during Army Special Forces selection training in February 2006, five soldiers lying on their backs at Fort Bragg, N.C., reacted quickly to the next order: “Drop back!” So quickly, … Continue reading →

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Senator Reid Offers Bleak Assessment of Iraq War

Posted on April 20, 2007 by Team VCS

WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday the war in Iraq is “lost,” triggering an angry backlash by Republicans, who said the top Democrat had turned his back on the troops. The bleak assessment – the most … Continue reading →

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Casualty Surge: VA Treats 229,000 Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans

Posted on April 20, 2007 by Team VCS

VA lists top reasons troops seek care  Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans no longer in the military are most likely to seek care for musculoskeletal diseases, mental health disorders, and symptoms without an immediate known cause, such as rashes or … Continue reading →

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Congress to Hold Hearings on Salisbury VA Hospital Deaths

Posted on April 20, 2007 by Team VCS

Today’s congressional hearing on patient care problems at the Salisbury VA hospital could be the first of many sessions intended to bring tougher oversight to the nation’s largest healthcare system. The hearings follow Observer stories about accounts of poor treatment … Continue reading →

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Injured Troops Struggle to Get Health Care

Posted on April 20, 2007 by Team VCS

All Things Considered, April 20, 2007 · When service members are forced to leave the military by war injuries or illness, they face a complex system for getting health and disability benefits. Sometimes, health care gets cut off when new … Continue reading →

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Policy Shift in 1985 Cut Disability Retirements

Posted on April 20, 2007 by Team VCS

Today’s Disability Retirement Squeeze Began Years Ago        Wary of rising disability retirement costs, the Department of Defense under then-secretary Caspar Weinberger quietly sought and received an internal legal opinion that, to this day, tamps down the number of wounded or … Continue reading →

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