By Debbie Gregory. A former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who killed a U.S. soldier and injured another in Afghanistan recently received an apology and an $8 million check from the Canadian government. Retired U.S. Special Forces soldier Layne Morris was blinded by a grenade thrown by Canadian-born Omar Khadr during a firefight in Afghanistan in 2002. […]
By Debbie Gregory. Chester Bennington was one of those guys: enormously talented but deeply troubled. The 41-year-old father of six struggled with alcohol and drug addiction, and had previously talked about suicide as the result of childhood trauma and abuse. Linkin Park bandmate Mike Shinoda said that the band had always felt “a special bond […]
By Debbie Gregory. The Arizona National Guard is trying to oust one of its top officers, Col. Christopher Lambesis, based on charges that he has been insubordinate, as well as a toxic leader who committed and communicated threats to the state’s military commander, Maj. Gen. Michael McGuire. Col. Lambesis, nicknamed “Big Nasty,” has been accused by […]
By Debbie Gregory. When it comes to finding ways to save money, the last place Congress should look is at military families, especially when both spouses are active duty service members. The Senate Armed Services Committee is considering a proposal that would require dual military couples to receive Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) stipends at […]
By Debbie Gregory. Ex-Army officer Clint Lorance is serving a 19-year prison sentence at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas for his role in the slayings of two unarmed Afghans. In July 2012, Lorance found himself newly installed as the leader of a combat platoon in Afghanistan. Just three days into his tenure, three Afghan men on a […]
By Debbie Gregory. On June 23, 2012, Kirstie Ennis was critically injured in a helicopter crash while serving as an aerial door gunner in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. Just six years into her planned 20 year career, the young Marine suffered a traumatic brain injury and severe damage to her face, spine, left leg and shoulders. […]
By Debbie Gregory. It’s been six years since the VA held its last national-level event for women veterans, and a lot has changed since 2011. Registration is now open for the Women Veterans Summit, which will take place at the Hyatt Regency Downtown in Houston, Texas, August 25-26, with an opening reception on August. 24. […]
By Debbie Gregory. The Marine Corps has identified the 15 Marines and one sailor who were killed when their Marine KC-130T tanker-transport aircraft crashed in the Mississippi Delta. The plane was carrying seven members of the Marines’ elite special operations 2nd Raider Battalion, including six Marine commandos and a Navy hospital corpsman attached to […]
By Debbie Gregory. A bill introduced by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, would require each branch of the military to allow a portion of its Judge Advocate General (JAGs) to specialize in litigation. “The lack of specialized JAG litigators that currently exists in many […]
By Debbie Gregory. New Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson thinks the Air Force has too much bureaucracy, too many regulations and too many people stuck doing busy work. And she wants to breathe some fresh air into the branch. The Air Force is currently facing a crisis-level shortage in fighter pilots as well as an […]
