Conflict of Interest

As a military veteran I have a conflict of interest in this posting. Take it for what it's worth.

Two links without comment.

All give some, some give all.  

The counterinsurgency tactic that is sending U.S. soldiers out on foot patrols among the Afghan people, rather than riding in armored vehicles, has contributed to a dramatic increase in arm and leg amputations, genital injuries and the loss of multiple limbs following blast injuries.

Benefits too costly.

Leon Panetta’s words came after the Defense Business Board conducted a study on retiree benefits, The Post’s Walter Pincus reports. The study found that military retirement plans now exceed levels of the private sector. Retirement plans, the board said, are “unfair” because 83 percent of those who serve receive no retirement pay.

Perhaps most telling, the study found that the costs of military retirement plans were growing exponentially. Military pensions and health care for active and retired troops now cost the government a whopping $100 billion a year. And that will only get larger as life expectancy increases.