True stories

Nonstop Theft And Bribery Are Staggering Iraq
(New York Times)...Damien Cave

Jobless men pay $500 bribes to join the police. Families build houses illegally on government land, carwashes steal water from public pipes, and nearly everything the government buys or sells can now be found on the black market.

And the implications for these men and us when they come to Basic training like they receive at our training center.... sigh.



'A Soldier's Officer'
(Washington Post)...Dana Priest and Anne Hull...
But outside the Pentagon, the military still largely deals with mental health issues in an ad hoc way, often relying on the judgment of combat-hardened commanders whose understanding of mental illness is vague or misinformed. The stigma around psychological wounds can still be seen in the smallest of Army policies.

Generally, I'm proud of my service in the military. Sometimes I'm not so proud of how the military treats those who serve it. Mental health issues have been a trouble spot for quite a while.