Topic: Policy

War Horse Managing Editor Recognized by VA Secretary for Toxic Exposure Reporting

“Kelly told the human stories of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and families who were suffering, so we as a nation would not, and could not, forget.”

Veterans-Turned-Poll Workers Defend Democratic Elections Against Threats Foreign and Domestic

Recruiting veterans to work as poll workers could harness the energy of veterans looking for new ways to serve their country.

‘When They Came Home They Were on Their Own’—National Guard Grapples With Suicide Rate

As things got worse, death itself became a means of intervention: Funerals reunited buddies, and they quietly identified who could be next.
Retired Army Capt. Katie Blanchard speaks with a nurse before surgery Sept. 6, 2019, at Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. A coworker Blanchard had reported as threatening poured gasoline over her and lit her on fire. Blanchard could not recover damages from the government because of the Feres Doctrine. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Katherine Spessa, courtesy of the U.S. Air Force.

Feres Helps Military Avoid Accountability for Harm. New Ruling Could Be a Chance for Justice.

For decades, the Feres doctrine has protected the military from lawsuits over things like training mishaps, medical malpractice, and sexual assault.

The Story Behind Operation Pineapple Express, a Daring Rescue Effort in Afghanistan

“Veterans know something the politicians don’t. ‘I have your back’ means something. Our failure to honor that promise is way bigger than the moral issue.”
Airmen with the 374th Airlift Squadron wait and watch for the arrival of President Donald Trump before a troop talk at Yokota Air Base, Japan, in 2017. False allegations of voter fraud continue nearly two years after Trump lost the presidential election. Photo by Senior Airman Donald Hudson, photo courtesy of the U.S. Air Force.

Veterans and Reservists Make up More Than 28% of Candidates Who Question 2020 Election Results

Among candidates on the 2022 ballot who question the 2020 election results are 96 with military experience, including 12 candidates currently serving.

More Than 40% of Troops Face Limited or No Access to Abortion Care, Study Shows

Even before the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, abortion care for military women was extremely limited.
Marine Corps Sgt. David E. Martin assists a veteran during his visit to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, D.C., in 2014. Photo by Sgt. Alvin Williams Jr., courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Climate Change Makes Things Harder for Unhoused Veterans

Unhoused Veterans Provide a Mini View of How Climate Change Affects Homelessness
Master Sgt. Michael Riggenbach, the noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the 910th Airlift Wing safety office, watches a recorded video of Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III addressing the issue of extremist ideology within the military during a base-wide pause in training on May 1, 2021, in the 910th Airlift Wing headquarters building, Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio. Department of Defense policy expressly prohibits military personnel from actively advocating for or participating in supremacist, extremist, or criminal gang doctrine, ideology or causes. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Gross, courtesy of the U.S. Air Force.

Congress Urges DoD, VA to Defend Troops and Veterans Against Extremists Who Want to Recruit Them

Military service and transitioning to civilian life include stressors that make some veterans vulnerable to recruitment tactics used by extremist groups.