By Chad Garland, News21
Texas Monthly’s July 2013 cover story is a photo essay about soldiers returning home from war.
What We’re Reading:
The Call of Battle (Matt Cook, 7/2013, Texas Monthly) After two Iraq deployments, Matt Cook left the Army in 2006. He found success writing and making films, where he “mined” his memories — some that haunted him, some that slipped away. Eventually, he no longer recognized himself as a soldier, and that’s when he felt the need to return, “to feed on the pain of war again.” In November 2012, he embedded with his old unit, then in Afghanistan.
4th of July Fireworks a Nightmare for Shell-Shocked War Veterans (Susan Donaldson James, 7/3, ABC News) On the eve of Independence Day, some veterans are looking for alternatives to the customary fireworks displays. Startling noises, such as fireworks, can be a trigger for veterans who served in combat zones where frequent mortar shelling, gunfire and other explosions ingrained second-nature reactions or traumatic memories.
Troops still wary of admitting mental health problems (Gregg Zoroya, 7/3, USAToday) A confidential survey of troops in Afghanistan last year reveals that nearly half of Army troops and 60 percent of Marines who reported psychological problems feel they would be seen as weak if they sought help. A review of previous versions of the survey shows these attitudes have changed little since the first was conducted in 2003.
Former U.S. Marine and amputee brings the heat as rising underwear and fitness model (Nina Golgowski, 6/18, New York Daily News) Alex Minsky, a 24-year-old Marine Corps veteran who lost his right leg below the knee in an explosion in 2009, turned to alcohol to cope with the challenge of recovery. When he finally went sober, he was discovered in a Southern California gym just two days later, launching his career as a fitness and underwear model.
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Casualty Who Became a War Hero (Clay Tarver, 7/2, The New York Times) Before he joined the Army, before he became a member of the elite U.S. Army Special Forces, before he fought the Taliban in Afghanistan, Jason Everman was in a rock band. In fact, he was in two. They just happen to be Nirvana and Soundgarden, two of the most well-known alternative rock groups from the 1990s era grunge movement, and Everman just happens to be the one guy who was kicked out of both.