tagged w/ Soliders
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Obama Signs War Funding Bill
President Obama has signed into legislation a war funding bill that provides $37 billion more for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama signed the bill Thursday without public remarks in a low-key Oval Office session. With the new war spending, the total amount of money that Congress has allotted for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has now surpassed $1 trillion.Obama Signs War Funding Bill
President Obama has signed into legislation a war... more
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In this candid commentary, correspondent Kaj Larsen goes behind the scenes of Vanguard's episode "War Crimes." Kaj talks about the empathetic bond he forged with Inmate Clark Fish, an Army medic who suffers from PTSD and is now waiting to find out if he'll be sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend. Plus, hear Kaj talk about readjusting after his own service as a Navy SEAL, the challenges of reporting a story that no authorities want to track statistics for, and how PTSD is one of the oldest stories known to man.
Watch a trailer for "War Crimes" here: http://current.com/shows/vanguard/92518362_war-crimes-vanguard-trailer.htm
"Vanguard," airing weekly on Current TV Wednesdays at 10/9c, is a no-limits documentary series whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show's correspondents, Adam Yamaguchi, Kaj Larsen, Christof Putzel and Mariana van Zeller, serve as trusted guides who take viewers on in-depth real life adventures in pursuit of some of the world's most important stories.
For more, go to http://current.com/vanguard.In this candid commentary, correspondent Kaj Larsen goes behind the scenes of... more
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2 years ago
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Gary Pfleider doesn't remember much of what happened after he got shot. The former Oregon National Guard soldier was in a truck on patrol in Iraq in 2007 when a bullet tore through his left leg.
"I remember grabbing ahold of my leg and realizing I had blood on my hands," Pfleider told KVAL-TV. "And from that point on, until I got loaded onto the Stryker, it was just a big blur."
Pfleider flew back to the states and recuperated at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where he was awarded the Purple Heart. One-third of the muscle in his leg is gone and he'll have to wear a brace for the rest of his life.
And according to the government, he also has some debts to repay.
Last June, the Army sent Pfleider a bill for more than $3,000. Technically, the clothes and weapons his unit had to leave behind after he got shot were the responsibility of his commanding officers.
Pfleider claims he got sworn statements from his bosses that he was no longer liable. The government says he may have misfiled them, or they may be lost. It's issuing a ruling on Friday to determine what Pfleider owes.
The feds are already docking Pfleider's social security and put a freeze on his tax returns. Making it even more difficult for him to mentally prepare for an upcoming surgery on his leg, the ninth one he's undergone since getting shot.
In the meantime, altruistic strangers are reaching out to Pfleider and offering to cover his expenses.
"I'm asking those people to wait," he told KVAL. "I appreciate the offers, but that's not the issue. I want a response back from the military. I want them to admit they are wrong. I want it known that vets are not going to stand for it and be treated the way we're being treated."
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2010/06/soldier_gary_pfleider_shot_by.phpGary Pfleider doesn't remember much of what happened after he got shot. The... more
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Throughout 2003, after the combat phase of the Iraq War had ended, the U.S. military and defense contractors raced to try and fix Iraq's infrastructure.
Working in a war zone obviously presents unexpected challenges and dangers far beyond the usual ones at industrial worksites. But this is the story of why some Army National Guardsmen are suing defense contractor KBR because of alleged exposures to a toxic chemical at one such industrial worksite in Iraq.Throughout 2003, after the combat phase of the Iraq War had ended, the U.S. military... more
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A Fort Eustis soldier who was killed Sunday in a shootout with police was described as idolizing The Joker from "The Dark Knight," and he painted his face during a failed getaway attempt that took him across the state.
Investigators also said Lanum was dressed in black pants and a green vest before the stabbing, and that the computer in his room showed that someone was searching for information on "sleeping gas."
As police approached, the court records say, they saw Lanum holding a shotgun, his finger on the trigger. Lanum ignored orders to drop the weapon and a trooper fired through the window.
However, she said her boyfriend idolized the Joker — the fictional criminal from the Batman film. Separately, investigators also noticed masks and pictures or paintings of the Joker in Lanum's room, as well as face paint on the hutch and dresser.
She told investigators that her boyfriend "said everything the Joker did he did for a reason, like killing people, and that he agreed with the philosophy of doing things for a reasonA Fort Eustis soldier who was killed Sunday in a shootout with police was described as... more
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About 12,000 U.S. soldiers will leave Iraq by September, officials said Sunday, hours after a Baghdad suicide bomber killed about 30 people in a chilling reminder of the nation's still-shaky security.About 12,000 U.S. soldiers will leave Iraq by September, officials said Sunday, hours... more
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WASHINGTON — "Joe the Plumber" was only one of two Americans injected into the presidential election this past week. The other was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan , whom former Secretary of State Colin Powell invoked in his endorsement Sunday of Barack Obama .
Khan was a 20-year-old soldier from Manahawkin, N.J. , who wanted to enlist in the Army from the time he was 10. He was an all-American boy who visited Disney World after he completed his training at Fort Benning, Ga. , and made his comrades in Iraq watch "Saving Private Ryan" every week.
He was also a Muslim who joined the military, his father said, in part to show his countrymen that not all Muslims are terrorists.
"He was an American soldier first," said his father, Feroze Khan . "But he also looked at fighting in this war as fighting for his faith. He was fighting radicalism."
Khan was killed by an improvised explosive device in August 2007 along with four other soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter while searching a house in Baqouba, Iraq . He's one of four Muslims who served in Iraq or Afghanistan and are buried in Arlington National Cemetery , where 512 troops from those wars now rest.
About 3,700 of the U.S. military's 1.4 million troops are Muslims, according to Defense Department estimates.WASHINGTON — "Joe the Plumber" was only one of two Americans injected... more
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