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BELLMORE, New York (CNN) -- Walking through a crowded shopping mall can bring back memories of war. The shifting crowds, the jostle of passers-by and the din can all trigger Army Sgt. Kristofer Goldsmith's post-traumatic stress disorder.

(English-language translation) [Puerto Rico's] legislators moved - chairs and all - to Roberto Clemente Coliseum to honor during a special session the Puerto Rican soldiers who fought in the United States war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Within the framework of the observance of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and New Progressive Party legislators held a special session in which they spoke for over an hour to the hundreds of soldiers and their families who arrived at the Coliseum. The main speech was given by San Juan Mayor Jorge Santini. At a cost of $80,000 - not...

Vets for Freedom 'Four Months to Victory' Campaign On July 9, 2008, Vets for Freedom (VFF) kicked off a nationwide campaign entitled “Four Months For Victory.” This grassroots effort, combined with a $1.5 million media buy, will remind Virginians of the importance of success in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the War on Terror as a whole. VFF was founded two years ago by combat veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Today, our organization carries membership of 25,000 in all fifty states. The Virginia organization has 350 registered members, as well as countless supporters. We represent the courage, conviction and commitment...

For the first time, the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is about to get a substantial hand from advertisements by an outside group. Conservative and Republican groups have been largely quiet, leaving McCain heavily outmatched by Sen. Barack Obama's campaign fundraising juggernaut. Next week, Vets for Freedom — a 20,000-member, nonpartisan organization established by combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — plans to begin spending more than $1 million on a TV campaign that will include Ohio, Virginia and New Mexico. The group plans to spend millions more and to add other states to the...

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., June 27, 2008 – On Aug. 19, 2006, the life of Army Capt. James Barclay IV changed forever. Army Capt. James Barclay IV bonds with his hunting dog, Bryant. A Williamsburg, Va., trainer donated his services to train Bryant for Barclay, who was wounded in an Afghanistan roadside-bomb attack. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Joe Laws   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. He was in the lead vehicle of a convoy in a remote area of Afghanistan when a roadside bomb tore through his vehicle. Barclay survived, but suffered burns over 40 percent of...

"The government is testing drugs with severe side effects like psychosis and suicidal behavior on hundreds of military veterans, using small cash payments to attract patients into medical experiments that often target distressed soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, a Washington Times/ABC News investigation has found."

Afghanistan Heroes Offer to Colonize Moon, Mars and Beyond By Anthony Duignan-Cabrera A recent survey in the news showed that the war in Iraq had dropped to number 3 on a list of issues currently obsessing potential voters in the ongoing presidential campaign season. -snip- The problem is, NASA is going about it all the wrong way. Here is an idea: Send battle-hardened, strong-minded soldiers and marines on the long trips into space. We are conditioned to live with the bare minimal (of) life’s necessities and are trained to be prepared for … the worst conditions that any environment could...

Roughly one in every five U.S. troops who have survived the bombs and other dangers of Iraq and Afghanistan now suffers from major depression or post-traumatic stress, an independent study said Thursday. It estimated the toll at 300,000 or more. As many or more report possible brain injuries from explosions or other head wounds, said the study, the first major survey from outside the government. Only about half of those with mental health problems have sought treatment. Even fewer of those with head injuries have seen doctors. Army Surgeon General Eric Schoomaker said the report, from the Rand Corp., was...

'One in five US servicemen has brain injury' By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent Last Updated: 3:26am BST 18/04/2008 The psychological toll of America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has touched one in five servicemen and its consequences will be long-lasting, a study suggested yesterday. The Rand Corporation, a leading research operation, said that 320,000 soldiers suffered brain injuries on the battlefield, while more than 300,000 suffered mental disorders on returning home. The report said that US veterans are incurring "invisible wounds" of war, most notably traumatic brain injury. A survey of 1,926 soldiers represented a statistically significant sample of...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 300,000 U.S. troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, but about half receive no care, an independent study said on Thursday. The study by the RAND Corp. also estimated that another 320,000 troops have sustained a possible traumatic brain injury during deployment. But researchers could not say how many of those cases were serious or required treatment. Billed as the first large-scale nongovernmental survey of its kind, the study found that stress disorder and depression afflict 18.5 percent of the more than 1.5 million U.S. forces who have deployed...

WASHINGTON, April 15, 2008 – Wounded veterans who once enjoyed sports and being outdoors have the opportunity once again, courtesy of a program in Alabama. “Lakeshore Foundation’s ‘Lima Foxtrot Programs for Injured Military’ help servicemen and women adapt sports and recreation activities so they may get back to living healthy, active, independent lives,” said Susan Katz, the foundation’s communications coordinator. “These programs are open to military personnel who have sustained severe service-related injuries in recent warfare in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations in the world.” For more than 20 years, the Lakeshore Foundation has worked to enable people with...

On a gray Tuesday morning on Capitol Hill Sen. John McCain addressed several hundred members of Vets for Freedom -- the largest Iraq and Afghanistan veterans' organizations in the country. In DC's upper Senate Park, McCain and other pro-victory Senators and Congressmen rallied for success in Iraq. The event was timed to support the same day U.S. Commander in Iraq Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker returned to Washington to present their latest progress reports. Washington was one of VFF's last stops in the three-week National Heroes Tour, on which members spoke to and encouraged crowds...

WASHINGTON — While former Vietnam POW John McCain campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination in Florida, another retired veteran is counting on his military experience to catapult him to victory in the Sunshine State. Retired Army Col. Allen West is campaigning in Florida's 22nd U.S. Congressional District, hoping to unseat freshman Democratic Rep. Ron Klein, who toppled 26-year Republican incumbent Clay Shaw in a contentious battle in 2006. The well-funded and very politically active Klein is not about to give up his seat easily, but West is banking on his notoriety as much as his military experience to make his...

Twelve Fort Bragg soldiers have been accused of killing 13 people in the six-plus years since Sept. 11, 2001, according to Observer records. In the six years before the terrorist attacks, 16 Fort Bragg soldiers were accused of killing 18 people. Those numbers came from a search of the Observer’s archives and may not be conclusive. Law enforcement agencies do not track killings by whether the accused was a soldier. The Observer examined its own records after a New York Times story published Jan. 13 indicated that homicides involving active-duty service members and new veterans rose 89 percent during the...

January 19, 2008, 1:00 a.m. UnphenomenalTimesFake but ... fake. By Mark Steyn Have you been in an airport recently, and maybe seen a gaggle of America’s heroes returning from Iraq? And you’ve probably thought, “Ah, what a marvelous sight. Remind me to straighten up the old ‘Support Our Troops’ fridge magnet, which seems to have slipped down below the reminder to reschedule my acupuncturist. Maybe I should go over and thank them for their service.” No, no, no, under no account approach them. Instead, try to avoid making eye contact and back away slowly toward the sign for the...

Have you been in an airport recently and maybe seen a gaggle of America's heroes returning from Iraq? And you've probably thought, "Ah, what a marvelous sight. Remind me to straighten up the old 'Support Our Troops' fridge magnet, which seems to have slipped down below the reminder to reschedule my acupuncturist. Maybe I should go over and thank them for their service." No, no, no, under no account approach them. Instead, try to avoid making eye contact and back away slowly toward the sign for the parking garage. You're in the presence of mentally damaged violent killers who could...

Despite predictions the military surge in Iraq would increase death tolls, the counter-insurgency strategy has brought U.S. and Iraqi casualties way down, improved conditions in Iraq and put al-Qaida on the run. With so much good news, what are the nattering nabobs to do? Why, make up bad news, of course. And who better to do it than the anti-war New York Times? "Across America, Deadly Echoes of Foreign Battles" blared the Sunday headline for a front-page Vietnam flashback that essentially said soldiers and Marines who became crazed bloodthirsty baby-killers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have transitioned into civilian life...

I'VE had a huge response to Tuesday's column about The New York Times' obscene bid to smear veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan as mad killers. Countless readers seem to be wondering: Why did the paper do it? Well, in the Middle Ages, lepers had to carry bells on pain of death to warn the uninfected they were coming. One suspects that the Times would like our military veterans to do the same. The purpose of Sunday's instantly notorious feature "alerting" the American people that our Iraq and Afghanistan vets are all potential murderers when they move in next door was...

The Times documentation of 121 potential killings out of more than 1.5 million veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq) and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), divided by 6 years of conflict results in a murder rate of just 1.34 incidents per 100,000 veterans per year. Since all but one of the veterans cited by the Times who committed a killing in the U.S. was male, the comparable rate is approximately 7.67 incidents of murder per 100,000 people among the general male population, compared to just 1.34 incidents per 100,000 returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans (of both genders).

In a long report published on Sunday the New York Times appears to be trying to promulgate the idea that our returning military vets cannot successfully reintegrate back into their communities and into "normal lives" after returning from the stress of active duty overseas. The Times seems to be saying that our veterans have become murderers and are so mentally wracked that coming home is difficult for them. Their entire report is written as if the rate of murders committed by returning veterans is shockingly high. But, a look at real statistics proves that vets are less likely to become...