USA Today has an outstanding look at blindness injuries among recent veterans, including interviews with blind vets who’ve really opened up and spoken honestly. According to the paper, Iraq has the highest percentage of eye injuries of any U.S. war dating back to WWI:
At the Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego, a Drill Instructor was found guilty yesterday of assaulting and mistreating recruits. Prosecutors originally charged Sgt. Jerrod M. Glass with 225 counts, while at the time of his court martial the number dropped to eight. He could face 9 1/2 years imprisonment. Of the platoon’s 45 recruits, jurors found Glass abused 23 of them.
Once the Los Angeles Times puts the story into context, it’s clear this is a big deal:
A former Marine was charged with claiming he’d been awarded the Purple Heart in order get a license plate depicting the award. He ended up getting 18 months probation, 200 community service hours, and an order to undergo a mental evaluation.
In more uplifting military award news, four Army Green Berets were awarded the Silver Star for fighting that occurred near the Iraqi city Najaf:
