Topic: Policy

The Army Honor Guard meets Saria Hildabrand’s body as it arrives in Utah. Photo courtesy of Meredith Barney.

Short Changed: Military Comes with Unique Risks for Domestic Violence, Can Silence Survivors

A War Horse review of military women’s noncombat deaths since 9/11 found domestic violence often ended in death.
Lt. Col. Ryan M. Miedema, 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion commander, helps soldiers unload a large donation to Feed Our Vets in Watertown, New York, 2016. Jeff Cook, president of the board of directors for Feed Our Vets’ Watertown location, said they are a 100% volunteer run organization that serves local veterans in need with food, socialization, and hope. Photo by Spc. Thomas Scaggs, courtesy of the U.S. Army.

Veterans Who Are Food Insecure Are Less Likely to Seek Help Than Civilians

More than a million veterans are food insecure. Most at risk are younger vets with families, women, and those with mental health concerns or lower incomes.
Gallery of black women shwo have served as Command Sergeants Major

Sergeants Major Built a Culture of Camaraderie, as Soldiers and as Black Women

Despite making up just 36% of the women of the U.S. Army, Black women soldiers make up almost half of women command sergeants major.

US Military Pledges Principled, Responsible Approach to Artificial Intelligence

The Pentagon is a lumbering bureaucracy where priorities can shift with political tides, which makes the trajectory of progress on AI unclear.
Midshipmen march to lunch at the U.S. Naval Academy during the National Discussion on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment at America’s Colleges, Universities, and Service Academies in 2019. Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Sarah Villegas, courtesy of the U.S. Navy.

Short Changed: Military Women’s Deaths by Suicide Linked to Sexual Trauma

While men in the military have alarmingly high rates of suicide, the rates among military women are rising faster, and their reasons are different.
It took a decade for the author to talk about what happened to her while deployed. Photo courtesy of Unsplash.

He Spent Years Learning Other People’s Secret Pains. I Spent Years Hiding Mine.

E.V.’s husband spent years serving military sexual trauma survivors, unaware that she, too, was one.
A Land-based Phalanx Weapon System fires at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq. The LPWS is part of the Counter Rocket, Artillery, Mortar (C-RAM) system that Cameron McMillan’s battery used to help protect coalition troops and assets from rockets and drones fired by Iranian-aligned militias. Photo courtesy of the author.

We Did Not Fight. This Was Our War, if You Could Call It That.

Veteran Cameron McMillan sifted through his memories as the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq approached. Officially, the war is over. But is it?
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III speaks to servicewomen at the Military Women’s Memorial 25th Anniversary Ceremony at the Military Women’s Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, in October 2022. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Alexander Kubitza, courtesy of the Defense Department.

Short Changed: Military Women Face Assault, Harassment, Death. Is Culture to Blame?

The history of the military's response to women’s service has led to an entrenched separate-and-unequal environment.
Adrienne Barillas leans against a Humvee in South Korea. “She was so proud of wearing that uniform and all that it supposedly represented,” her mother says. “Sometimes I get mad at her for choosing to wear that uniform, then I feel guilty for those bitter thoughts and emotions.” Photo courtesy of Emogene Barillas.

Short Changed: How The Army Failed Spc. Adrienne Barillas

Adrienne Barillas was found naked outside of an Army barracks. The Army ruled her death a suicide. Soldiers and family members say there's more to the story.