Support Our Troops

I recently got an email from a good buddy that warned of how terrible things would be for the military if a Democrat got elected. I also work with a couple ex-military wingnuts who said they'd never be in the service under a Democrat (though I've since put together that's when they were in the service, and haven't been when Republicans have taken us to war ... can you say hypocrite?).

So, here's a little reality patrol from "Rolling Stone" Ish. 1042/1043, Dec. 27 - Jan 10, pg. 88:

Be Less Than You Can Be

How the Pentagon supported the troops in 2007

- Required that soldiers discharged early because of battlefield injuries repay their enlistment bonuses

- Sent the longest-serving National Guard unit home after 729 days of combat in Iraq -- one day shy of the 730 that the soldiers needed to qualify for education benefits

- Omitted 20,000 cases of brain trauma from the official tally of troops injured in Iraq

- Denied medical benefits to 22,000 veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress by discharging them for having enlisted with "pre-existing personality disorders"