Military Glance
The shootings at the Army's Fort Hood in Texas Thursday were an "isolated incident," according to military officials.
But there have been other attacks by military personnel in recent years – some in the United States, some in the war zone in Iraq – and they happened over a period of sustained combat and multiple deployments when increasing numbers of soldiers are experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and committing suicide.
Fort Hood shootings: How often do soldiers kill soldiers?
US generals and soldiers flood Israel
A large number of American generals and at least 1,500 US soldiers arrived in Israel this week for one of the largest joint land exercises ever held between the two nations.
Dubbed "Juniper Cobra," the exercise, which is held every year, but never before on such a large scale, is scheduled to last three weeks.
Female vets paralyzed by psychological scars of combat
Never before has this country seen so many women paralyzed by the psychological scars of combat. As of June 2008, 19,084 female veterans of Iraq or Afghanistan had received diagnoses of mental disorders from the Department of Veterans Affairs, including 8,454 women with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress — and this number does not include troops still enlisted, or those who have never used the V.A. system.
Their mental anguish, from mortar attacks, the deaths of friends, or traumas that are harder to categorize, is a result of a historic shift. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the military has quietly sidestepped regulations that bar women from jobs in ground combat.
Copter and Coast Guard Plane Collide
Military helicopters and ships scoured the waters off San Diego on Friday morning for any trace of nine people involved in a mid-air collision between a Coast Guard plane and a military helicopter hours earlier.But after nearly 12 hours of searching, rescue teams had reported no signs of any survivors — only a field of debris floating in the Pacific. Military officials said they did not know how the crash had occurred, or which aircraft might have struck the other, saying they were still focused on search efforts.
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Military Children in Crisis
A seven-year-old second-grader attempted suicide while his father was serving yet another tour in Iraq. Seven years old. Seven. His mother was one of half a dozen military spouses I have spoken with about soldiers' kids who have attempted suicide during their fathers' deployments.
Three-plus decades ago, parents were exempt from conscription because of overwhelming concern about the harmful effects of deployment on children. Today, roughly half of the troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are parents, many of whom have served multiple tours.
Iraq clinic deaths probe depicts troubled soldier
An American soldier who is accused of killing five fellow troops at a counseling center in Iraq had been unraveling for nearly two weeks but the U.S. military lacked clear procedures to monitor him or deal with the deadly shooting spree once it began to unfold, a military report found.
The shootings at a U.S. base in Baghdad in May were the deadliest case of U.S. soldier-on-soldier violence of the six-year Iraq war. Sgt. John M. Russell, 44, was arrested and is the only person charged in the incident.
Investigators Find Flaws in Army Body Armor Tests
The Army made critical mistakes in tests of a new body armor design, according to congressional investigators who recommend an independent review of the trials before the gear is issued to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But Defense Department officials says an outside look isn't needed. In a lengthy response to the Government Accountability Office report, Pentagon officials acknowledge there were a few problems during testing of the armor's bullet-blocking plates. But these were minor miscues, they said, that don't shake their confidence in the overall results.
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