I can't wait to hear what the neo-cons are going to say about this. A shit-storm approacheth.

what made him think a crippling wound would keep him from being sent back? Now, if he'd gotten the other man to hump him ...

Tragic as this story is there is absolutely NOTHING ANYONE can do about it. We will be occupying Iraq until we run out of soldiers. When that happens we will just kill Iraqis from the air indiscriminately. In the meantime we will bomb Iran turning the Shiites in Iraq totally against us. If we manage to get out of Iraq with 1 brigade alive I'll be surprised.

...have just gone hunting with dick.

My stepfather told my mother he'll shoot his son (who's in the National Guard) himself before seeing him get sent back to Iraq for a second tour. I just hope he isn't put in a position to put his pistol where his mouth is....

Perhaps the saddest aspect of this item is utter lack of support we are giving to the troops -- such as this poor soldier -- who have been emotionally injured. Add this to the system of neglect exposed in the earlier report out of Walter Reed and you can see that this administration's exhortations to "support the troops" only lasts as long as that man or woman is able to stand upright in the meat-grinder Bush and his neo-incompetent-cons have created in Iraq. God help these poor soldiers, and us.

Has just left for basic training not three months after he wound up in a local hospital with alcohol poisoning. I don't think things will work out well for him.

That illegal immigrants kill more americans every year (crime, drunk driving, etc) than the amount killed in Iraq, sounds like this fellow would be safer over there. He lives in the Bronx, for god's sake.

I am a Chaplain... not in the military, but within the Catholic Church. I work (officially) in a medical center in a somewhat large city, but actually, everywhere I go I am still a member of a religious order and a chaplain. (My "mission statement" is to serve those of all religious faiths, and of none.)

I have friends who are serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. I have even know a couple of people who came home permanently disabled or in flag-draped caskets. I have become a chaplain to them, their families, and soldiers I haven't even met yet in person.

I began this journey when I decided to write the thesis for one of my Theology degrees on the Just War doctrine of the Catholic Church... I wanted to see how soldiers who had been raised Christian and who believed in the Just War theory felt about participating in the Iraq War. I didn't know where it would take me.

I have since spoken with soldiers and their families in the strict confidence of the Chaplain/Laity relationship, and in these conversations I have heard accounts of things that no human being should witness.

The current administration prides itself on "patriotism" and how they "support our troops"... but all they do is give lip service.

If the Cheney/Bush administration really cared about the troops and their families, the Walter Reed scandal would not have occured. Veterans from Iraq and earlier wars (like Vietnam) would not be denied medical (including mental health) care at VA facilites throughout America. There would not be homeless Veterans. Returning soldiers would be encouraged to get therapy and support upon transitioning through re-entry into civilian life - instead soldiers who try to ask for help or guidance are demoted, harrased, ridiculed, and called things like "Pussy" (and that's the nicest epithet) or told that they will "be reported" up the chain of command and all of their benefits cut off.

The fact that this young man thought it was better to shoot himself - or even face time in PRISON - should tell us something. Numerous soldiers have been told that if they don't "voluntarily re-up", then after *they* go home, the rest of their unit/battle group will be posted in Baghdad (or another bad hot zone). The implication being that if you don't re-up, you're gonna be responsible for the deaths of your comrades. The army is threatening soldiers with each others' lives. This is blackmail.

I am just one person... I am trying to make changes where I am able. I talk to soldiers, but mostly I listen. Now I need you guys' help... if you know someone, anyone who is stationed over there, talk to them. Listen to them. Let them know that they (and their *entire* platoon, companty, brigade or whatever) matter to you. Let them talk about whatever they need to talk about. Listen. Let them know that whatever they have to say is safe with you. Let it be safe with you. Encourage them. Support them. Pray (or whatever your religious tradition does) for them. If they need professional help, encourage them to go get it. Let them know that you will be there, any time of the day or night to help. Be there.

I am trying to start up a support group for soldiers because I found out that the VA doesn't have 24-hour Chaplaincy staff available... and that each year ~1000 soldiers with combat experience commit suicide because they *can't* carry the burden themself - and they feel that no one is there to help them.

I know this may sound like the same "patriotism" you hear from the administration, but I mean this:

These men and women put their lives on hold to go fight a war. They founght in a war, where they saw things that no human should ever have to see. Every day they made decisions that were difficult, but that kept them alive. Now these same individuals need to know that despite all of that they are still human, they are still themselves, and that they are still loved. They need to know that they are not alone, that we care about them, and we support them.

If we fail in this, we have failed them.