Topic: Science

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.

Mystery Seizures Haunt Marine Units a Decade after Deployment

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

Gulf War Illness Treatments Discovered. Will Veterans Affairs Officials Listen Now?

“That’s what made them sick.” Scientists say toxic exposures and anti-nerve agent pills, paired with DEET, poisoned veterans during the Gulf War.
U.S. service members were intentionally exposed to toxic agents, such as nitrogen mustard, during World War II. Photo courtesy of the Naval Research Laboratory.

Exposed: Burn Pits May Force the Military to Acknowledge Generations of Poisoned Veterans

Since World War II, the military has poisoned countless service members through toxic exposures and secret testing.

Point of Impact: An Untold Story of Escape From the Pentagon on 9/11 and the Forever Wars That Followed

When Flight 77 hit the Pentagon, the Marine Corps and Defense Department prepared for war. Two decades later, this is that story of service and sacrifice.
C.J. Pfutzner, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory mechanical engineer, runs to get on station to man the fire hose as Steven Tuttle, NRL combustion and reacting transport section head, adjusts the NRL-developed emulsified crude oil burner system’s airflow to administer emissions testing for the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement at the NRL Chesapeake Bay Detachment in 2019. Photo by Nicholas Pasquini, courtesy of the Naval Research Laboratory.

“We Must Do Our Part to Mitigate Climate Change”—The Military’s Pollution Problem

The military may be taking the threat of climate change seriously, but without reporting requirements, there’s a lack of transparency and accountability.

How the Marine Corps Struck Gold in a Trash Heap During the Defense Department’s Fight Against Climate Change

The DOD treats climate change as a catastrophic threat to national security. “A shrinking polar ice cap doesn’t just mean thinking about polar bears.”
Members from the 15th Medical Group host an open house for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, in 2018. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Heather Redman, courtesy U.S. Air Force.

“The Enemy Is Lurking in Our Bodies”—Women Veterans Say Toxic Exposure Caused Breast Cancer

As the last troops leave the “forever wars,” doctors say they’re seeing more women veterans with breast cancer—younger than the national average.

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

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.
Johnnie Gilpen, left, works in the emergency room for children at Oklahoma University’s Health Sciences Center with Dr. Ryan Brown. Photo courtesy of the author.

Corpsman-Turned-Covid-19 Frontliner: Delta Isn’t a “Political Stunt”

"Why did you fall asleep at the wheel?” My answer: It’s a pitfall of being a juggler in the largest ongoing circus in the world—the Covid-19 pandemic.