soldier

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Generals Puzzle Through Surge in Army Suicides

(Newser) - Top Army brass are meeting monthly to figure out the disturbing rise in soldier suicides, the Washington Post reports. The generals pore through case studies and examine factors such as solitude, multiple tours of duty, and interactions between anti-depressants and high-caffeine drinks like Rip It popular among soldiers. “It's...

Gates Praises Soldier in Pink Boxers

(Newser) - A US soldier who took up the fight against the Taliban sans pants and clad in “I Love NY” pink boxers got a vote of his support from the nation’s defense chief last night, reports Reuters. “Any soldier who goes into battle against the Taliban in pink...

3 US Troops Among 25 Killed in Iraq Bombings

25 total dead in series of attacks

(Newser) - Three American soldiers were killed and nine others wounded today as bombings in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk claimed at least 25 lives, the AP reports. The attacks came a day after a car bomb exploded near a group of restaurants in a Shiite neighborhood of northwest Baghdad,...

Brit Families Can Sue Over Soldier Deaths

Court: Troops protected by human rights law, even on battlefield

(Newser) - A British court has ruled that defense heads can be sued for neglecting soldiers’ human rights—meaning decisions made on the battlefield could be subject to litigation, the Times of London reports. The ruling stemmed from an inquest into the heatstroke death of a soldier due to what the coroner...

US Soldier Battles Taliban in Pink Boxers

Private didn't have time to don pants before rushing to return Taliban fire

(Newser) - An American soldier who rushed out of bed when the Taliban attacked his Afghanistan base ended up on the front page of the New York Times in his underwear, the Daily Telegraph reports. Zachary Boyd grabbed his weapon, body armor, and helmet then joined the firefight clad in a red...

Ex-US Soldier Guilty of Rape, Murder in Iraq

Private killed girl, 14, along with her family; faces death penalty

(Newser) - A jury in Kentucky convicted a former US soldier of raping a 14-year-old lraqi girl and killing her and her family, Reuters reports. Former Private 1st Class Steven Green faces the death penalty when the sentencing phase of his trial begins Monday. Green, 24, was the leader of a group...

Abu Ghraib Guards Say They Were Scapegoats

(Newser) - Lawyers for US soldiers convicted of abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison say the recently released CIA memos prove their clients were just following orders, the Times of London reports. Some of the dozen soldiers who were convicted plan to appeal, arguing that the Bush administration kept quiet during their...

Army Introduces New Measures to Stem Suicides

Officials to hire more therapists, boost drug and health screening

(Newser) - The army has begun a new effort to stem the rising toll of soldier suicides, hiring more mental health workers and instituting new rules for drug testing and health screening, reports AP. The number of suicides in the first three months of 2009 reached 56—after a record 140 last...

Book Missing Since Civil War Returned to Virginia School

(Newser) - A Virginia college has a missing library book back—145 years after a Union soldier stole it during the Civil War. An Illinois man who inherited the book from friends tracked down the original owner and returned it to Washington and Lee University in Lexington, reports the Washington Post. The...

US Soldier Pleads Guilty to Iraqi Murders

Sergeant gets 35 years for his role in the killing of 4 prisoners

(Newser) - US Army Sgt. Joseph Mayo pleaded guilty today to the murder of four Iraqi prisoners, the Washington Post reports. The 27-year-old was sentenced to 35 years for participating in the execution-style slaying of four men his infantry unit thought had attacked US military patrols in Baghdad. The prisoners had been...

Army Phasing Out Program Holding Soldiers After Service

Gates announces end to forced extensions

(Newser) - The Army plans to stop forcing soldiers to serve again after their enlistment contracts are up, reports the Washington Post. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced plans yesterday to phase out the “stop-loss” program—which keeps soldiers in the Army beyond their service obligation—over the next two years. Some...

360K US Troops Suffer Brain Injuries

As many as 20% of war vets have had concussions or worse

(Newser) - The number of US troops who have suffered wartime brain injuries may be as high as 360,000, say Defense Department doctors. They estimate that between 10% and 20% of the roughly 1.8 million Americans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan had such injuries—the vast majority of...

Tarantino's Basterds Looks as Lousy as His Spelling

(Newser) - The trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s new film, Inglourious Basterds, is just 100 seconds long, but that's enough. "Perhaps there will prove to be a level of postmodern self-ironising,” Paul MacInnes writes in the Guardian. “Perhaps serving up Kill Bill with the Holocaust as a backdrop will...

Should We Allow Coffin Pics?
 Should We Allow Coffin Pics? 
analysis

Should We Allow Coffin Pics?

(Newser) - President Obama is reviewing a media ban at Dover Air Force Base, where dead soldiers arrive in flag-draped coffins, but "in truth, it's not an easy issue," John Barry writes in Newsweek. There is widespread support for raising the ban "as a way of reminding the...

Iraqi Insurgent: We Won't Stop Til US Leaves
Iraqi Insurgent: We Won't Stop Til US Leaves
Interview

Iraqi Insurgent: We Won't Stop Til US Leaves

Numbers dwindle, but 'I feel happy' when killing Americans

(Newser) - These are tough times for the Iraqi resistance. Violence is down, fighters are scarce, and the public has turned against them. Abu Abdul Aziz is one of just 35 fighters in the Front of Jihad and Change—a far cry from the 750 he fought alongside in 2005—but the...

Army Suicides in January Surpass Combat Deaths

(Newser) - As many as 24 US Army soldiers took their own lives in January, an enormous rise over previous years, the Army Times reports. The deaths of seven soldiers have been confirmed as suicides, while 17 pending cases will likely get the same designation, the AP reports. If that happens, the...

Novice Skydiver Lands Safely With Dead Instructor

Soldier says military training saved his life after instructor's mid-jump death

(Newser) - First-time skydiver Daniel Pharr had to think fast when he realized the instructor he was strapped to had suffered a medical emergency shortly after they leaped from the plane, he tells the Charlotte Observer. The soldier, copying moves he had seen on TV, pulled the toggles above him and steered...

What's in the Box? Dad, Home From Iraq

(Newser) - An Army mechanic stationed in Iraq surprised his son by popping out of an oversize present at the boy’s 6th birthday party, the Nevada Appeal reports. Casey Hurles hadn’t seen son Gabriel since June; when he learned his leave would coincide with the birthday, he hatched a plan...

Israel to Back Soldiers Accused of War Crimes

Government fears tribunals following civilian deaths in Gaza war

(Newser) - Special legal teams will defend Israeli soldiers against potential war crimes charges stemming from civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said today, promising the country would "fully back" those who fought in the three-week offensive. "The soldiers and commanders who were sent on missions...

US to Honor Nazis' Secret Soldier Slaves

350 survivors vowed to keep abuses secret

(Newser) - After 64 years, the US Army will finally honor 350 American soldiers who were tortured and enslaved during the Holocaust's final months, CNN reports. The Nazis beat, starved and forced the war prisoners to work in a section of the Buchenwald  concentration camp. Some 100 of them died, and survivors...

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