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Picked this up on militarytimes.com blog outside the wire. I watched this episode last night as I DVR every Jon Stewart and Colbert show and try to keep up with them.
Even though he is a self-admitted liberal, Jon Stewart is a big troop supporter having went over to the sandbox himself at least once that I know of and has hosted the last two Remind.org For The Troops fundraising comedy events.
This time it is funny to see his inability to stay in shape help the troops.
BTW this does have some foul language and may not be safe for work or around little kids.
I saw this clip yesterday and then was just reminded of it again. Some great first-hand footage of our mighty US Marines in the fight and what they deal with day in and day out.
I have to give a H/T and thank US Army Europe for sending me a tweet and letting me know about this video. I am also honored that they took the time to send this to me to see. Joseph Brennan is a soldier who was motivated by this cousin, Josh Brennan. Josh died in a famous battle, but his name is not that widely recognized.
So Joseph knows and understands the terrible possibilities of serving in combat. However that did not stop him from following in Josh’s footsteps.
This link to this story was sent to me by a very close friend who works as a trauma nurse in the Military Hospital System. These facts, these faces, and this life is what she lives every day at work and I am sure she lives it at home.
It is a long story, but if you truly care and are concerned about our wounded warriors, you will take the time to read it. I am not a big fan of the Huffington Post, but bravo to them for doing a great job on this story.
They not only tell the story of Tyler but also present a lot of facts about our wounded coming home
About 45,000 American troops in all have been wounded in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan in ways that have been seriously enough to warrant their evacuation to a hospital.
Within that group are roughly 16,500 who have been severely or catastrophically wounded, meaning they have lost the use of at least one limb and have other debilitating injuries.
These include 1,350 amputees and about 6,800 other men and women whose limbs are so mangled that their injuries will “affect their ability to function for the rest of their lives,” said Ficke.
In addition, the Defense Department currently has on its books 310 cases of spinal cord injury, 2,043 troops with deep burns, 130 with the loss of at least one eye, 3,573 with severe penetrating head wounds, and 2,235 with severe traumatic brain injury. More than one fourth of military casualties suffer deep facial wounds. Some of these wounded troops are recorded in two or more categories: It is common, for instance, to see patients with multiple amputations and burns. On average, the wounded are being carried off the battlefield with 4.8 wounds each.
Separately, the Department of Veterans Affairs has on its rolls 6,500 severely wounded veterans under its care. VA officials expect that number to double to 13,000 within four years as the severely wounded retire from active-duty Defense Department care to the VA.
The VA accounts each year for the number of veterans who begin to receive disability payments. New cases of veterans receiving compensation for mental disorders have leaped from 32,838 in 2006 to 60,535 new cases in 2010.
To read all of Tyler story of what happened to him and where he is now, check out:
Here is the latest “Downrange” video from the Pentagon Channel. The first part of the broadcast is about living life on Observation Post #1 (OP1) above FOB Tillman in Lawara District, Paktika Province, Afghanistan. Take note of how soldiers appreciate the austere but simple life of “livin’ in the suck”.
