Category Archives: Veterans for Common Sense News

The Women’s War

On the morning of Monday, Jan. 9, 2006, a 21-year-old Army specialist named Suzanne Swift went AWOL. Her unit, the 54th Military Police Company, out of Fort Lewis, Wash., was two days away from leaving for Iraq. Swift and her … Continue reading

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New Veterans’ Claims Are Stressing the VA System

WASHINGTON | More than a quarter of the discharged veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns have filed injury claims with the government, according to an internal Department of Veterans Affairs report. Between 2001 and the end of 2006, about … Continue reading

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Problems at Other VA Facilities, Panel Told

Story Highlights• Testimony paints picture of neglect and bureaucratic delays at VA facilities• Ex-official: Plan shelved to fix problems between VA, Defense departments• VA chief wasn’t behind move to abandon program, VA official tells House panel• Ex-official also says he … Continue reading

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Failing Our Wounded

After returning from Iraq in late 2005, Jonathan Schulze spent every day struggling not to fall apart. When a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic turned him away last month, he lost the battle. The 25-year-old Marine from Stewart, Minn., had … Continue reading

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Bob Woodruff Reports: To Iraq and Back

ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and his team ran over a bomb while out on patrol with U.S. troops in Iraq last year. He is about to tell his miraculous story of recovery, and how it reflects the experience of … Continue reading

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VA Lowers Casualty Count – Says Higher Casualty Total Was Posted in Error

For the last few months, anyone who consulted the Veterans Affairs Department’s Web site to learn how many American troops had been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan would have found this number: 50,508. But on Jan. 10, without explanation, the … Continue reading

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Iraq War Vets Return; Some Have No Home

National Guard Cpl. Joe Raicaldo is home from Iraq with things he didn’t have when he left: an honorable discharge, metal rods and screws up and down his spine, and an arm that moves like a robot’s. He’s also homeless, … Continue reading

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Data Suggests Vast Costs Loom in Disability Claims

Nearly one in five soldiers leaving the military after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan has been at least partly disabled as a result of service, according to documents of the Department of Veterans Affairs obtained by a Washington research group. … Continue reading

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Letter to Editor: Veterans’ Health Care

To the Editor, New York Times: As a former Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters project manager who monitored returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, I agree with Paul Krugman’s comment that the V.A. is a stunning success for quality medical care … Continue reading

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Iran president suggests West ain’t seen nothing yet in high oil prices

Wading into oil politics for the first time, Iran’s president said crude oil prices – now at record levels – still are below their true value. In statements expected to rattle world oil markets, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also said developed … Continue reading

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