YOU MUST VIEW THIS VIDEO: A HERO'S SONG BY BRENDAN JAMES

There have been times during this past year I've thought of giving up my blog devoted to the wars in IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN because it seems as though nobody really cares about the nearly 200,000 young AMERICANS who are deployed to both countries and fighting what seems at times like endless wars.

The mainstream media in the UNITED STATES has drawn the curtain down on both wars, and you can watch cable news for hours and hours and never see a mention of what is taking place in either IRAQ or AFGHANISTAN.

But then you wake up one day and receive an email from LYNDA GRAHAM giving me a link to a video she produced about BRENDAN JAMES with beautiful music and slides that will tear your heart out.

Suddenly it all seems worthwhile again. Suddenly I realize I can NEVER turn my back on the young hero's from the IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN wars.

It is with this devotion and a deep sense of gratitude to LYNDA GRAHAM, I submit this video for your viewing pleasure.

I sincerely hope you will find it as moving as I did.

WATCH VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/v/mr5B9pvbDCI&hl=en&fs=1

CLICK ON ARROW TO PLAY VIDEO

WAR STRESSES MAY BE GROWING: TOP MILITARY OFFICER

WASHINGTON — Stress on U.S. troops from repeated combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan is “extraordinary” and may be worsening even as fighting eases in Iraq, the military’s top officer says.

By Robert Burns - The Associated PressPosted : Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 6:04:49 EST
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_mullen_111908/

In an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Adm. Mike Mullen expressed hope that the strain will be relieved gradually as the Marine Corps and Army expand the pool of available forces.

The Marines, for example, created an additional battalion this fall and plan to add another by February, Mullen said. That will allow them to “feed the fight as well as relieve the stress,” he said.

The Army, while also growing, will take longer to put additional combat units into the pipeline for fighting wars, he said.

When he became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff a little over a year ago, Mullen made much of his concern that stress on the force — and on troops’ families — could undermine military readiness.

Since then, improved security in Iraq has opened the door to a withdrawal, or at least a slowdown in troop rotations there. But at the same time conditions in Afghanistan have worsened and commanders there are calling for substantially more troops. Thus, slack in Iraq is being taken up by the push into Afghanistan.

In the interview in his Pentagon office, Mullen made clear that he remains concerned about stress, but stopped short of calling it a crisis.

VA DOCUMENT SHREDDING NO SURPRISE TO VETS

Doubts were raised Wednesday about whether the Bush administration can do anything to restore confidence in the Veterans Affairs Department following the discovery last month of almost 500 key benefits claims documents in shredding bins at regional offices.

By Rick Maze - Staff writerPosted : Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 17:14:41 EST
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/military_VA_shreddeddocuments_111908w/

But the problem, initially discovered by teams of auditors from the VA inspector general’s office, didn’t exactly shock the veterans’ community. Veterans have complained for decades about VA losing or destroying claims documents, making an already complicated process even more difficult to deal with.

Veterans’ advocates attending a roundtable discussion arranged by the House Veterans Affairs Committee said VA’s admission of mishandling documents is a sign of the fundamental problems that veterans have seen for years.

Rick Weidman, executive director for government affairs of Vietnam Veterans of America, said the only real news is that VA now acknowledged the problem.

The VA has announced special procedures for veterans who believe lost records have led to the denial or delay of a benefits claim.