All posts tagged: Veterans

For veterans, a place where peace can take root : NPR

For veterans, a place where peace can take root : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

John Follmer prunes back plants at the Japanese garden on the West LA Veterans Affairs campus in April. Stella Kalinina for NPR hide caption toggle caption Stella Kalinina for NPR John Follmer is an Iraq war vet and an adviser to Los Angeles County on military and veterans affairs, who works with homeless vets on the tough streets of Los Angeles. But on Thursdays, he’s a gardener. “We are here in the center of the largest city in the United States, and aside from an occasional helicopter, it’s hard to imagine you’re only a quarter mile away from the 405 freeway,” Follmer says, standing in the dappled sunlight under the trees. This garden, built in 1968 on the West LA Veterans Affairs Campus, had fallen into wild disrepair when Follmer found it six years ago and started to clean it up. “It’s just such a peaceful place, and I think that this place truly is a deserving place for the veterans,” he says. There’s a chain of koi ponds with giant goldfish and some newly …

Darius Rucker Calls for Every Day Support for Veterans at AMAs 2026

Darius Rucker Calls for Every Day Support for Veterans at AMAs 2026

Published by Daniella Wilson

Darius Rucker was the recipient of the 2026 Veterans Voice Award Presented by USAA’s Honor Through Action at the 52nd American Music Awards on Monday night. The Hootie and the Blowfish frontman and diamond-selling country musician has continued to champion those who serve through his support of military organizations like the Military Warriors Support Foundation. During the course of his career, he’s performed on multiple overseas USO tours and at events in support of veterans such as the DoD Warrior Games. “It’s called the Veterans Voice Award, and I take that to heart big time because all of us can use our voice to support these brave men and women who are serving our country,” Rucker said during his acceptance speech. “We got to make sure that they feel appreciated — not just on big days like Memorial Day — but every day we should be doing this. “I’ve been really fortunate because I’ve been all over the world, and I hear stories from service members who are stationed everywhere. One of the biggest thing they’ve given …

For some veterans, the Iran war has a silver lining

For some veterans, the Iran war has a silver lining

Published by Sam Flores

As the Iran war stretches into its fourth month, the ripple effects are still being felt across the globe. So far, upwards of 3,000 people have died in Iran alone, with thousands dead in Lebannon, and hundreds of casualties in other countries in the region. The economic shock has also rippled across the world, driving up the cost of fuel and other goods. Nonetheless, some U.S. veterans are finding hope in the widespread opposition to the war, which marks a sea change from previous wars. Aaron Hughes, an Iraq war veteran and a Chicago organizer for About Face: Veterans Against the War, told Salon that the beginning of the Iran war brought with it a flood of emotions including despair and depression, stemming from the fact that, despite his best efforts and the efforts of veterans like him, the country had once again found itself embroiled in another war. “When things were beginning, for myself, I was having a hard time sleeping. The disconnect between our military actions and our daily lives is profound,” Hughes …

Brain scans reveal how ibogaine alters neural networks in veterans with head trauma

Brain scans reveal how ibogaine alters neural networks in veterans with head trauma

Published by José Betancourt

Special Operations veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries and posttraumatic stress disorder experienced notable improvements in their symptoms after a single dose of the psychoactive drug ibogaine. Brain scans revealed that the therapy was associated with persistent increases in cerebral blood flow and the widespread reorganization of neural networks. The research was published in the journal Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. Sudden blows to the head or intense blast exposures cause traumatic brain injuries. Combat zones expose soldiers to blast waves that send immense pressure through the skull, which can stretch or shear delicate nerve fibers. Chronic effects include severe anxiety, depression, and a reduced capacity to perform routine tasks. Special Operations forces veterans experience incredibly high rates of both brain injuries and stress disorders compared to the civilian population. Standard medical treatments rely heavily on regular talk therapy and symptom management medications. Many veterans do not find relief through these traditional routes. New, restorative medical approaches are actively sought by health agencies to help former service members regain their independence. Derived from a …

Why a CBS News veteran’s new YouTube show could be a model for the future

Why a CBS News veteran’s new YouTube show could be a model for the future

Published by Sam Flores

The Manhattan apartment of CBS News special correspondent Anthony Mason could serve as an annex to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The walls are lined with gold record awards honoring the best-selling recordings by Adele, Vampire Weekend, Kacey Musgraves and Maren Morris, along with a signed photo from the shoot for Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” album cover. There is also a 60-year-old copy of the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” album signed by lead singer Bill Medley. They are keepsakes from Mason’s interviews with musical artists over the past two decades for “CBS Sunday Morning” and “CBS Mornings,” where he’s provided significant network TV exposure to young emerging acts as well as baby boomer favorites. (He’s interviewed Springsteen five times and had four sit-downs with Keith Richards.) Mason has left a lot of material on the cutting-room floor as he’s edited 45-minute to one-hour long sit-downs into four- to eight-minute segments. “I started feeling a while back ‘you know, I wish I had a place to put these conversations,’” Mason …

Deporting soldiers? Why immigrant veterans fear removal from the US | Donald Trump News

Deporting soldiers? Why immigrant veterans fear removal from the US | Donald Trump News

Published by Sam Flores

Seeking citizenship from a warzone Hernandez has spent most of his life in the US. He was brought across the border by his mother as a baby. He now has three children, all US citizens. As of 2022, nearly 731,000 military veterans like Hernandez were immigrants. They comprise roughly 4.5 percent of the US’s veteran population. For decades, faced with declining enlistment numbers, the US military has depended on immigrants to serve alongside its US-born citizens. Most have citizenship, too — but an estimated 118,000 immigrant veterans do not. Hernandez is one of them. Like many other veterans struggling to reintegrate into society after their military service, Hernandez struggled to find his place in the civilian world. He was jailed on illegal gun charges shortly after returning from his deployment. When he was released a few weeks later, he found he had been evicted from his apartment, and all his possessions, including military memorabilia, had been confiscated. “I came out with nothing,” he told Al Jazeera. With few options left, he became involved in selling …

What secret report reveals about impact of UK nuclear programme on veterans who claimed they were harmed by the fallout

What secret report reveals about impact of UK nuclear programme on veterans who claimed they were harmed by the fallout

Published by skeptic

“The Ministry of Defence has always maintained that it never rained,” said Ken McGinley, founder of the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association (BNTVA). “I’m sorry, you’re liars … I was there!” McGinley, who was a royal engineer, gave this interview in January 2024, shortly before his death, as part of our Oral History of British Nuclear Test Veterans project. McGinley was present during the Grapple nuclear weapons test series, conducted by the UK on the central Pacific island of Kiritimati (also known as Christmas Island) in the late 1950s. At the time, this remote atoll was inhabited by 250 villagers as well as thousands of British servicemen. For decades, many of those present during this and other above-ground British nuclear weapons tests have argued they were harmed by radioactive fallout. McGinley founded the BNTVA in 1983 to “gain recognition and restitution” for the veterans who took part in British and American nuclear tests and clean-ups between 1952 and 1965. British royal engineers build a runway during construction of the British military base on Kiritimati, November …

What secret report reveals about impact of UK nuclear programme on veterans who claimed they were harmed by the fallout

What secret report reveals about British nuclear weapons tests – veterans claimed they were harmed by the fallout

Published by skeptic

“The Ministry of Defence has always maintained that it never rained,” said Ken McGinley, founder of the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association (BNTVA). “I’m sorry, you’re liars … I was there!” McGinley, who was a royal engineer, gave this interview in January 2024, shortly before his death, as part of our Oral History of British Nuclear Test Veterans project. McGinley was present during the Grapple nuclear weapons test series, conducted by the UK on the central Pacific island of Kiritimati (also known as Christmas Island) in the late 1950s. At the time, this remote atoll was inhabited by 250 villagers as well as thousands of British servicemen. For decades, many of those present during this and other above-ground British nuclear weapons tests have argued they were harmed by radioactive fallout. McGinley founded the BNTVA in 1983 to “gain recognition and restitution” for the veterans who took part in British and American nuclear tests and clean-ups between 1952 and 1965. British royal engineers build a runway during construction of the British military base on Kiritimati, November …

Two Palantir veterans just came out of stealth with million and a Sequoia stamp of approval

Two Palantir veterans just came out of stealth with $30 million and a Sequoia stamp of approval

Published by skeptic

Edra, a New York-based startup that says it helps companies automate workflows by turning their existing operational data into a living knowledge base, just picked up a meaningful vote of confidence: a $30 million Series A led by Sequoia, with participation from 8VC and A*, the venture firm founded by serial entrepreneur Kevin Hartz. The founders are worth paying attention to. Eugen Alpeza and Yannis Karamanlakis say they met at university 13 years ago and spent years at Palantir before going out on their own — Alpeza building out major commercial accounts and leading the launch of Palantir’s AI Platform; Karamanlakis as the company’s first Forward Deployed AI Engineer, focused on getting AI models out of demos and into actual production. The problem they’re tackling is straightforward. Companies are sitting on loads of useful operational data — emails, logs, support tickets, chat histories — but have no good way to act on it. Edra says it analyzes that data automatically, builds a knowledge base from it, and keeps it updated. Current use cases center on …

17 Veterans Kill Themselves A Day Waiting 17 Days For Help

17 Veterans Kill Themselves A Day Waiting 17 Days For Help

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Sean O’Connor via RealClearDefense, Every day, roughly 17 veterans take their own lives. For two decades, that number hasn’t budged.  VA Secretary Doug Collins said that despite spending billions of dollars, we’re losing the same number of veterans every year. For veterans under the age of 45, a recent report shows suicide is the second-leading cause of death. They’re not faceless statistics, but fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters who couldn’t survive the wait for help.  What makes this unbearable is that while those veterans were in crisis, veterans wait an average of 17 days to see a mental health professional for the first time. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), ranking member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, wrote that these delays ‘pose serious risks to the health and safety of those who served.’  The problem isn’t money. In November, President Trump signed a $133 billion VA funding bill that includes $698 million for suicide prevention outreach. And the problem isn’t resourcing, as more than 9 million scheduled visits go unutilized each year due to missed appointments. The problem is that the infrastructure can’t keep up.  The VA operates on electronic record systems that don’t communicate across facilities, …