Veteran healthcare is one of the biggest federal costs

An ammunition specialist carries a 105 mm armor-piercing, discarding sabot round, to be used in an M1 Abrams tank, during Desert Shield. Photo by Sgt. Brain Cumper, courtesy of U.S. Army.

Fighting to Go Home: Operation Desert Storm, 30 Years Later

by David Chrisinger February 25, 2021August 8, 2025

The Pentagon expected roughly 40% of Americans would be wounded or killed but “the Iraqi army wasn’t nearly as formidable as everyone made them out to be.”

Soldiers, including the author (far right back row), from the 17th Signal Battalion pose in MOPP gear during the ground war.

Reflections

Chemicals. Chemicals. And More Chemicals. A Veteran Reflects on Her Time in Desert Storm

by Kelly Kennedy February 24, 2021June 5, 2024

For decades, the U.S. has poisoned service members with toxic chemicals. Lotions. Pills. Testing. Burn pits. And then there’s the enemy’s chemical weapons.

Children from a nearby village pose for a photograph in Zharay district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan, in 2012. Photo by Spc. Jason Nolte, courtesy of U.S. Army.

Reflections

“I Screamed Into My Radio to Ignore the Order”—Pardoned Soldier’s Comrade Still Lives With Guilt of Murdered Civilians

by Mike McGuinness November 18, 2020July 11, 2025

When Clint Lorance ordered his men to kill innocent civilians in Afghanistan, the soldiers came home and struggled to assuage their feelings of guilt.

U.S. Army veteran Tom Bomke takes a selfie with Jon Stewart at the DoD Warrior Games opening ceremony, June 22, 2019, at Amalie Arena in Tampa during the Department of Defense Warrior Games. Photo by Spec. Seara Marcsis, courtesy of the U.S. Army.

Newsroom

“We’re Better Than This”—Jon Stewart, Veterans Advocates Rally for Bipartisan Burn Pit Legislation

by Kelly Kennedy November 3, 2020July 11, 2025

Burn pits have poisoned service members for years. Policy is lacking and defense contractors are not liable for decisions that might harm soldiers at war.

Reflections

“Pulling the Crazy Card”—Choosing to Show Empathy for a Suicidal Sailor

by Thibaut Delloue September 30, 2020September 29, 2025

Thibaut Delloue rushed a suicidal sailor to shore after he asked for help on deployment only to see his shipmate ostracized and labeled a malinger.

Brandon Alt, right, was one of at least six Marines and Navy corpsmen who deployed from Camp Pendleton, California, to Afghanistan in 2010 who later developed seizures or seizure-like episodes. Photo courtesy of Brandon Alt.

Newsroom

Mystery Seizures Haunt Marine Units a Decade after Deployment

by Amanda Miller September 29, 2020July 18, 2025

Seizures among veterans are surging. Some blame PTS and TBI. Others blame toxic exposures.

Roy and Andrew van Wey in Husaybah, Iraq. Photo courtesy of the author.

Reflections

“They Didn’t Make It?”—When Your Brother’s Homecoming Starts in a Burn Ward

by Andrew van Wey August 12, 2020July 18, 2025

After an IED exploded in Iraq, a badly burned Marine asks his brother if his teammates survived. “He knows I won’t lie to him. We are both warriors.”

Master Sgt. Darryl Sterling, 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron equipment manager, throws trash into a burn pit at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, in 2008. Photo by Senior Airman Julianne Showalter, courtesy U.S. Air Force.

Newsroom

“It’s so inaccurate”—How the VA Is Failing to Track Veterans Burn Pit Claims

by Kelly Kennedy August 7, 2020July 18, 2025

VA figures show an astonishingly low rate of approval of burn pit claims: Of the 10,588 claims, 2,360 veterans had their benefits granted and 8,228 were denied.

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Charles Dane adds weight to the bar during a 2018 Defense Department Warrior Games powerlifting practice at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Dane was medically retired from the military after a 19-year career. Photo by Cpl. Juan Madrigal, courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Newsroom

Your Kidneys Are Failing and Your Doctor Has Just Deployed. Now What?

by Kelly Kennedy July 9, 2020February 10, 2026

An overhaul of the Army, Air Force, and Navy’s medical services doesn’t appear to be going to plan, with 10 kidney transplant recipients left in the lurch.