For & About Vets

The Iraq Project supports our troops. Check our Action section for written and audio/video material about those who have served or are serving in Iraq.

Iraq is a hidden war. Americans, unless they have a loved one at risk, lead normal lives. The military shields the injured from view just as it discourages photos of coffins. Despite a sophisticated public relations campaign, the administration has failed to support our soldiers and veterans in critical ways: the lack of adequate body armor, insufficient support of our veterans hospitals, and a lack of counseling services for vets and their families.

A shocking secret study by the Pentagon reveals that 80% of Marine fatalities in Iraq might have been prevented with better body armor. Even though the armor has been available since 2003, the Pentagon has largely declined to supply it to troops.

The wounded of this war are different. The New York Times describes advances in battlefield medical treatment: "Modern body armor helps spare the head, heart, lungs and other internal organs, but the areas that remain unprotected -- limbs, neck and face -- are exposed to explosive forces that were often fatal in previous wars. Amputation rates among soldiers, according to congressional estimates, have doubled to 6 percent from the historic norm. Brain injuries are also common."

Further, the number of wounded may be underestimated: As UPI noted: "Nearly 17,000 service members medically evacuated from Iraq and Afghanistan are absent from public Pentagon casualty reports commonly cited by newspapers, according to military data. Most don't fit the definition of casualties, according to the Pentagon, but a veterans' advocate said they should all be counted."

Many will return with mental health challenges: "U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi said that the violent guerrilla tactics used by insurgents in Iraq will take a considerable toll on the mental health of troops, resulting in a lifetime of disability payments for many of those who return from war. So far 20 percent of returning Iraq veterans who've sought VA care have done so for mental health issues."

Getting good care is hard. The Knight-Ridder news team did an investigation of the Veterans Administration: "Many of the VA-accredited experts who help veterans with their cases receive minimal training and are rarely tested to ensure their competence. The VA's network of 57 regional offices produces wildly inconsistent results. Veterans face lengthy delays if they appeal the VA's decisions. The average wait is nearly three years, and many veterans wait 10 years for a final ruling.

Making the war visible: While this diary from a soldier might be difficult to read, it offers a look at the real war:

• A Soldier's Thoughts - "Just a US soldier in Tikrit and his thoughts on life, family, stop loss, and other thoughts."

Soldiers in Iraq have digital cameras; their images show the reality of Abu Ghraib and what life is like for those in the middle of this war. Vets and Iraqis have posted images on the web, photos difficult to look at, but a glimpse of the realities of war. Here are a few:

• "This site contains an archive of photos taken by soldiers and military contractors serving in active duty."
• The Face of War: "This album contains photos taken by the military of dead men in Fallujah. They were taken on November 19th, 2004, to identify the dead."
• "The morgues at the hospitals of Baghdad are filling to capacity."
• Return of the Fallen
• The Memory Hole
• Some horribly graphic images of the dead and wounded.
• Recent photos from Iraq: April 25 - May 3, 2005
• KnightRidder has offered some of the most comprehensive coverage of the war. As part of their special report on Echo Company, a company of Marines who suffered large losses in Ramadi, they offered these powerful photos.

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