On a serene Saturday afternoon, thousands of miles from conflict, soldiers with the California Air National Guard are scattered among stations, hunched over a buddy. Some apply tourniquets. Others practice life-saving skills, checking for breathing, tilting chins to clear airways, searching for blood loss and hidden wounds. This is how they learn to keep a […]
Healthcare
Posted inReflections
We Were Winning in the Middle East. But the Civilian Casualties Kept Coming
I watched our medics and nurses work on a small child, one of several who arrived at our makeshift forward surgical unit in northeast Syria. We had been running traumas for eight months, and the team knew what they were doing. I could see that the child had a clear airway, his color looked good, […]
Posted inNewsroom
‘I Felt Like a Factory Worker.’ Why VA Psychologists Are Burning Out
Each year, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ internal watchdog sends a survey to all 139 of the agency’s medical centers coast to coast with a straightforward question: Which jobs have severe staffing shortages? In fiscal year 2025, the responses raised alarm: VA health care facilities reported more than 4,400 severe staffing shortages—a 50% hike from […]
Posted inReflections
I Carried Death’s Shroud With Me From Afghanistan. But I Do Not Fear It
Death first appeared in my life when I yelled, “Take cover!” Sirens wailing in the distance, flak vest slipping off my shoulder, I ran for the nearest bunker in the darkness. Barely 18 hours in-country. I hadn’t fully unpacked, butI knew the location of every bullet in my magazine, felt them digging into my chest. […]
Posted inNewsroom
A Veteran’s Search for Healing Led to an Ibogaine Trip and an Epiphany: ‘I’ve Got to Let It Go’
This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center. Marc Dervaes sat straight-backed in a circle of 10 men at a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico. The glass window behind him looked out on a pool deck and the Pacific Ocean beyond. Inside, sunglasses masked his eyes and a beard grew down to his chest. His blank […]
Posted inReflections
Curing Insomnia with Magic: How One Veteran Finally Got a Good Night’s Sleep
The ridiculous thing about war is that I remember being excited. For the first 90 days or so, I was constantly excited, and I don’t mean in a “joyous,” emotionally positive way. I mean excitement in the strictly physiological sense: raised heart rate, increased breathing, mind racing a mile a second. That state could describe […]
Posted inNewsroom
‘I Feel Lost.’ Anxiety Grows Among Veterans Cut off From VA One-on-One Therapy
Veterans told The War Horse that therapy session limits are damaging their mental health. VA says it works with veterans to create care plans.
Posted inReflections
I Left the Military and Tried to Heal, But I Was Unraveling. This Helped Me Reset
Veteran of Afghanistan War learns to heal from her past and addiction with the help of a psychedelic clinic in Mexico.
Posted inReflections
I Was Exposed to 150 Blasts While Deployed to Iraq. My Brain Was Changed
After being exposed to IED blasts during an Iraq deployment, an Army chaplain’s assistant grapples with the effects of traumatic brain injuries and PTSD.
Posted inNewsroom
‘No Purging on My Ship.’ She Hid an Eating Disorder and Lost Her Navy Career. It Saved Her Life
Service members battling eating disorders may not receive the help they need as the military pushes a “warrior ethos” and “lethality.”
Posted inNewsroom
Exodus at VA: 10,000 Employees Are Resigning in September. Here’s the List
Over 10,000 employees will leave the VA in September after taking a deferred resignation. Nurse and doctors quit too. See the full list of positions.
Posted inNewsroom
Who’s Winning the Multibillion Dollar Battle Over Veterans Benefits?
Congress advances bill that will allow for-profit companies to charge veterans for help with VA benefit claims.
