Much of the research regarding brain injuries and Iraq veterans focuses on men, but women bear the same combat responsibilities as men. A recent study attempted to bridge the gender gap. Dr. Kristine Yaffe and her colleagues at the University of San Francisco reviewed over 100,000 female service records. They concluded that women with PTSD, TBI, and/or depression were twice …

Overseas military contractors enjoy a number of financial benefits. Contractors usually earn two or three times more pay than their counterparts who work for Uncle Sam in places like Haiti. Much or all of this money is tax free. Many other contractors enjoy financial benefits like free or subsidized housing and per diem allowances. However, things are not all wine …

Pancreatic cancer recently killed one of the highest-ranking members of the Vermont National Guard. Brigadier Gen. Michael T. Heston passed away just a few days after he voluntarily ceased pancreatic cancer treatments and turned to hospice care. Gen. Heston’s wife June said that “He stopped chemo and then started radiation treatment until two weeks ago, when they told him that …

Over the last several months, violence has increased significantly in the 17-year war, sparking fears that the conflict may have reached a bloody stalemate. On November 28, a truck bomb explosion and subsequent firefight in Kabul killed 10 people and injured 19 others. The incident forced the international airport to close. The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for the attack against …

In many ways, overseas contractors are a microcosm of the U.S. workforce. Of course, there is a significant difference between a place like Diego Garcia and a place like Delaware, but the work required in each can run parallel much of the time. American military and private contractors have served on foreign soil ever since before the United States was …

Veterans of the Global War on Terror who sustain traumatic brain injuries are twice as likely to end their own lives, according to a study released by the VA-funded Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC). Dr. Robert Shura and his team based their conclusions on interviews with almost 1,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. In addition to a …

Even as combat operations wind down in the war-torn country of Syria, contractor presence is ramping up. No one knows how many combat contractors are in Syria right now, but there are about 2,000 U.S. soldiers in-country. Once combat operations end, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said contractors would focus on rebuilding and pacification. Their duties will also include training local …

Soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial troop pull-out, the number of Russian visitors to the war-torn country reached an all-time high. These two items are probably related. According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), 17,000 Russians went from Russia to Syria in the first half of 2018. That is far more than any other six-month period …

Federal prosecutors recently announced that they would try former Blackwater contractor Nick Slatten for a third time. They allege he was the instigator in a disastrous incident in Iraq that killed 14 civilians and injured 17 others. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered jury selection to begin October 29. Prosecutors plan to streamline this third trial. They predict it should …

Many people assume that the life of a military contractor is a lot like Michael Bay’s Benghazi film 13 Hours. That film probably had more action sequences in two hours than most contractors see in an entire tour. But nevertheless, most contractors do serve in hot spots like Libya. However, other contractors serve in environments nothing at all like Benghazi. …

An Afghanistan contractor is heading home early after video surfaced of him wearing a Kekistan flag patch on his flight helmet. The unidentified MAG Aerospace contractor was training UH-60 helicopter crews and pilots in Kandahar. The camera clearly showed a Kekistan flag on the left side of his helmet. Many white nationalist groups have embraced this emblem, which is a …

The House of Representatives recently approved the Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act on a vote of 377 to 20. The measure would ban burn pits in Afghanistan and elsewhere, while also earmarking $5 million for further study. Rep. Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D-CA) was one of the bill’s primary co-sponsors. He introduced the legislation in 2017. These pits burned …