lumberjack in a desert

Posts Tagged ‘iraq’

Capt. Dan Luckett of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division is assigned to one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan, the Zhari district just north of Kandahar city, where Taliban attacks are common.

He goes on patrols, lifts weights in his spare time and is second in command of his company.

That may not sound unusual.

What is unusual is that Luckett is a double amputee, after injuries he received in combat in Iraq in 2008.

I encountered a handful of other amputees during my stay at Walter Reed who returned to combat. The vast majority were lower extremity, but a couple were upper limb, below elbow amputees (its a lot easier to go back as as leg than an arm).  Make sure you read the whole thing.

Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Game Features Awaiting Orders, Repairing Trucks

This is by far the most realistic war game I have ever seen. Despite the fact I was trained as an Infantry Soldier, I spent as much time fixing our broken humvees as I did going on patrol. Favorite quote: “The game comes with a 17 pound M-249 SAW that you must carry around with you everywhere you go, but never get to fire.” Add some details about cleaning it constantly, and it sounds pretty damn realistic to me. Hat tip to Hotair.

Hate is a very strong word, and I really do not like using it. But I’ll be honest, I am really, REALLY starting to hate Obama. What next? Back billing me for the medical care I received at Walter Reed? The surgeries in Germany? The medivac in Baghdad?

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki confirmed Tuesday that the Obama administration is considering a controversial plan to make veterans pay for treatment of service-related injuries with private insurance.

Lawmakers say they’d reject a proposal to make veterans pay for treatment of war wounds with private insurance.

But the proposal would be “dead on arrival” if it’s sent to Congress, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, said.

Murray used that blunt terminology when she told Shinseki that the idea would not be acceptable and would be rejected if formally proposed. Her remarks came during a hearing before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs about the 2010 budget.

No official proposal to create such a program has been announced publicly, but veterans groups wrote a pre-emptive letter last week to President Obama voicing their opposition to the idea after hearing the plan was under consideration.

The groups also cited an increase in “third-party collections” estimated in the 2010 budget proposal — something they said could be achieved only if the Veterans Administration started billing for service-related injuries.

Asked about the proposal, Shinseki said it was under “consideration.”

“A final decision hasn’t been made yet,” he said.

Currently, veterans’ private insurance is charged only when they receive health care from the VA for medical issues that are not related to service injuries, like getting the flu.

Charging for service-related injuries would violate “a sacred trust,” Veterans of Foreign Wars spokesman Joe Davis said. Davis said the move would risk private health care for veterans and their families by potentially maxing out benefits paying for costly war injury treatments.

If you are one of the Kool-Aid drinking Obama lovers, and think what he is trying to do is the right thing, please come over to my house. I’ll even give you my address. I would like to have a word with you about the real cost of freedom.