Obama Pledges Thorough Inquiry Into Afghan Attack – NYTimes.com

President Obama pledged on Tuesday that a thorough investigation would be conducted into the bloody rampage by an American soldier in …

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Daily Number: Combat Veterans and Emotional Trauma – Pew Research Center

The challenges veterans face upon returning to civilian life are often linked to experiences they had in combat. Among post-9/11 combat veterans, more than half (52%) say that during their military service, they had experiences that were emotionally traumatic or distressing. Noncombat veterans are less likely to report having these types of experiences, though they are not immune. Among post-9/11 veterans who did not serve in combat, 30% say they had traumatic or distressing experiences over the course of their military service.

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American veterans: A hard homecoming | The Economist

BRETT QUINZON did two tours in Iraq before leaving active duty in May. Originally from Minnesota, Mr Quinzon now lives in Thomaston, a small town around 65 miles south of Atlanta. A grey December morning found him filling out forms in …

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8 Charged in Death of Fellow Soldier, U.S. Says – NYTimes.com

One night in October, an Army private named Danny Chen apparently angered his fellow soldiers by forgetting to turn off the water heater after taking a shower at his outpost in Afghanistan, his …

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End for U.S. Begins Period of Uncertainty for Iraqis – NYTimes.com

At a crowded market in the city center here, the flotsam of the war is for sale. Ripped Fuel workout supplement. Ready-to-eat meals, macaroni and cheese “Mexican style.” Pistol holsters. Nothing seems off limits to the merchants out for a quick …

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The Difficult Transition from Military to Civilian Life – Pew Research Center

Military service is difficult, demanding and dangerous. But returning to civilian life also poses challenges for the men and women who have served in the armed forces, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey of 1,853 veterans. More than seven-in-ten veterans report having had an easy time readjusting to civilian life, but nearly a quarter say re-entry was difficult for them — a figure that swells to 44% among veterans who served in the ten years since Sept. 11, 2001.

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U.S. Troop Pullout Heightens Concerns Over Iran in Region – WSJ.com

The U.S. has dispatched its point man on economic sanctions to European capitals in an effort to increase pressure on Iran, amid new fears Tehran could expand its …

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Iraq eager to see U.S. troops leave – latimes.com

Reporting from Baghdad and Beirut— More than 1 million Americans have served in Iraq, and almost 4,500 lost their lives there. Now the Iraqis have given the U.S. military an unequivocal message: Go home.

Eight years after U.S. troops overthrew Saddam Hussein, there is little…

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War and Sacrifice in the Post-9/11 Era: The Military-Civilian Gap – Pew Research Center

During this decade of sustained warfare, only about 0.5% of the American public has been on active duty at any given time. At the height of World War II, the comparable figure was nearly 9%. As a result of the relatively small size of the modern military, most of those who served during the past decade were deployed more than once, and 60% were deployed to a combat zone.

The American public is well aware that the sacrifices the nation was called upon to make following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 have not been borne evenly across society. More than eight-in-ten Americans (83%) say members of the military and their families have had to make “a lot of sacrifices,” while just 43% say the same about the public as a whole.

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Looking After the Soldier, Back Home and Damaged – NYTimes.com

April and Tom Marcum were high school sweethearts who married after graduation. For years, she recalls, he was a doting husband who would leave love notes for her to discover on the computer or in her purse. Now the closest thing to notes that they exchange are the reminders she set up on his cellphone that direct him to take his …

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The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines – The Washington Post

In the past 18 months, more than 20,000 Fort Campbell soldiers have cycled through Afghanistan; 131 have been killed. The one thing they share? Vastly different reactions to President Obama’s …

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Marines Pursuing Post-Afghan Role – WSJ.com

The U.S. Marine Corps, one of the most storied military forces, is searching for a mission after the war in Afghanistan ends.

Marines consider themselves a quick-reaction force, traveling light and giving their all whether waging war or responding to humanitarian disasters. But for the past decade, the Corps has been fighting long conflicts in the …

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