Word: soldierism
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Down the road from the Waddells' home lies Colorado Springs, home to Fort Carson and the 4th Infantry Division, a spearhead in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Like those cycling in and out of Fort Hood, many soldiers at Fort Carson have endured at least two tours of duty, some three or more, sometimes with only a few months sandwiched in for them to reacquaint themselves with their families. Since 2007, eight men - all from a single combat-weary 500-man infantry battalion nicknamed Lethal Warriors - have been charged with carrying out a string of murders and attempted murders in Colorado...
Care varies from base to base. The previous commander at Fort Carson, Major General Mark Graham, became an advocate for improved mental-health care for soldiers after he lost two sons in military service - one in Iraq and the other to suicide. At Fort Carson, the base hospital is expanding its facilities for mental-health and family therapy, with regular counseling sessions for soldiers and their spouses. But it takes a while for a general's orders to trickle down to the ranks, where platoon leaders are supposed to steel their troops, physically and mentally, against the enemy. Says Colonel...
...Just how much putting extra troops in Afghanistan will cost is in dispute. Orszag pegs it at $1 million per soldier per year ($30 billion annually for 30,000 more troops), which is twice as much as the Pentagon's figure. The number varies depending on how many new weapons and other materiel are cranked into the calculation. But a new study underscores the extra costs of fighting in a landlocked country where the Taliban has shut down much of the meager road network. For example, every U.S. soldier in Afghanistan requires 22 gallons of fuel...
...wonders what such a process would look like, given how the Marines' reintegration procedure works at the foot soldier level. Many, if not most, of the Afghans involved were illiterate, and accustomed to making agreements not rapidly, on chairs, with a relatively new governor, but over time, on cushions, along older networks...
...enjoy making movies too, since he's in three that will be crowding the multiplexes in late 2009. He plays a "psychic soldier" in the fact-based comedy The Men Who Stare at Goats. He lends his voice to the title character in the animated version of Roald Dahl's children's tale Fantastic Mr. Fox. And opening this weekend, he's a solo frequent flyer and corporate axman in Up in the Air--the apex of this Clooney trifecta and one of the year's most rewarding films...