Support the Troops

Here's some good video for Fox News.

Filmmaker Patricia Foulkrod is doing her part to expose the rhetoric and lies behind the Bush administration's pleas to "Support the Troops." Her new documentary, The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends, looks at how our soldiers are trained to kill, and the effects of killing and combat on soldiers and their families returning from the Iraq War.

A number of OpTruth member veterans are featured in the film, including Robert Acosta, Herold Noel, Denver Jones, and Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff. Clips are available online.

This film is on its way to Sundance. Let's hope the people with flags and "Support Our Troops" ribbons on their cars care enough to see it.

This is one of the most undercovered stories of the year. During my road trip to the "red states" this summer, I met a number of veterans who are not receiving the care they deserve. Many say Republicans promise to fund veterans programs, but fail to deliver.

Here are a few articles and interviews:

Who Supports the Troops?
During my visit to the Disabled American Veterans Transportation Office, I met with two young veterans. Michael Thomas, 25, a member of the Navy since December 2002, was on the ship that fired the first tomahawks on Baghdad in March 2003. He was discharged for psychological problems three months later. Dennis Hammons, 30, was a member of the Marine Corps from June 1993 to August 1997. Hammons was discharged in 1996 after he experienced a parachute malfunction and fell 500 feet at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Hammons suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome and has knee, back and neck injuries.

Off the Front Lines and Forgotten
Iraq War veterans return home with excruciating mental and physical ailments -- and the treatment they are able to receive is shoddy at best.