Top Ranking Military Officer Warns Soldiers About Politics

The New York Times reports that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen has written an open letter to all active military personnel warning them not to engage in politics as the U.S. approaches a presidential election in which wars in Iraq and Afghanistan play a key role.

“The U.S. military must remain apolitical at all times and in all ways,” wrote Mullen. “It is and must always be a neutral instrument of the state, no matter which party holds sway.”

Mullen's essay appears in a coming issue of a military journal widely circulated among officers.

Retired military have every right to take part in the political process, but those still in uniform are prohibited to partake in partisan politics.

“As the nation prepares to elect a new president,” Adm. Mullen wrote, “we would all do well to remember the promises we made: to obey civilian authority, to support and defend the Constitution and to do our duty at all times.”

“Keeping our politics private is a good first step,” he added. “The only things we should be wearing on our sleeves are our military insignia.”

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Federal Court Reinstates Gay Military Nurse

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday to reinstate Air Force flight nurse Major Margaret Witt who was dismissed in 2004 for being a homosexual.

However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals let stand the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Yet the court said the government may only "intrude upon the personal and private lives of homosexuals" for such purposes as improving morale and maintaining troop readiness.

Maj. Margaret Witt was discharged after nearly 20 years of service on grounds she had a six-year relationship with a civilian woman. The women kept their relationship private. The court's decision did not reveal how the Air Force found out.

But one of Witt's lawyers said, “Some citizen in Spokane called up and said there are these lesbian women living in a house here and one of them is in the Air Force and you should know that.”

After an investigation and military hearing Major Witt was discharged.

Major Witt filed a lawsuit challenging the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy as a violation of the Constitution’s equal protection and due process clauses. The suit was first dismissed by a Federal District Court in Tacoma, Washington. Then on Wednesday the appeals court disagreed, reinstating much of Witt's suit and returned the case to the Washington court for further proceedings.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

DoD an Obstacle in Aid Boost for Vets

The Associated Press is reporting that the Pentagon is actually the biggest obstacle between soldiers and expanded G.I. Bill aid for college.

The Defense Department is lobbying against a bill backed by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., that would provide a free ride to any instate public college for soldiers serving at least three years. The Pentagon believes that making troops eligible so soon would hurt retention rates -- providing too much of an incentive to leave -- and instead suggests collegiate benefits be made available after six years of service.

Webb counters that any losses in retention would be offset by the number of new troops the measure would attract.

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Disabled Vets' Costs to Surge while Number of Vets Decrease

The AP has obtained internal documents from the VA showing that despite the declining number of vets, the government expects to spend $59 billion a year in 25 years to compensate injured troops, up from today's $29 billion.

Today's total vets number nearly 24 million. The VA expects that number to drop to below 15 million by 2033.

Reasons for the spike in cash include:

• Inflation
• More vets are aware of their benefits and are quick to file
  
• Modern medicine returns troops with injuries that may have killed them in past wars
• Certain medical conditions may worse with age and require higher payments

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation

Hearing on Vet Suicides

CBS News reports on a congressional hearing titled, "The truth about veteran suicides."

There is talk of a "cover up" within the VA over veteran suicide data. A congressional committee is looking into the matter.

Internal emails by Dr. Ira Katz, the VA's head of Mental Health, seem to have landed the VA in hot water. In a email to his top media adviser Katz says, "Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among veterans we see in our medical facilities."

Katz's e-mail was written shortly after the VA provided public data showing there were only 790 attempted suicides in all 2007.

Katz later said, "There is no epidemic in suicide in VA."

Sarabeth of 1115.org has no sympathy for Katz:

Why address the problem, and try to reduce the number of actual suicide attempts, when it’s so much easier to just perform a radical numerectomy on the official statistics? Especially when you can achieve much more dramatic results by number-fudging than you ever could through providing adequate mental health services.

This guy is surely the perfect combination of criminal negligence and criminally stupidity? What kind of mental defective do you have to be to a) think you can get away with claiming that attempted suicides are 15 times lower than they actually are, and b) to openly put it all in writing in an email like that?

-Dippold

Political Online Reputation