Armed Sources

VA offers secure email connection to doctors

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:24:57 -0600

Houston-area veterans now can communicate directly with their health care providers through secure email, thanks to a new online messaging tool available at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. Available 24 hours a day, "Secure Messaging" allows veterans to...

Local vet lost to suicide leaves legacy of service

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 10:32:43 -0600

The story of a Marine veteran from Houston who took his own life last month has focused national attention on the tragedy of military suicides. The Associated Press, The New York Times, CNN, Fox News, The Washington Post and MSNBC...

Reports: Friendly fire killed 2 from Houston unit

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:35:13 -0600

NBC News and CNN are reporting that a Marine reservist and a Navy corpsman assigned to the same Houston-based reserve battalion were killed by a drone in Afghanistan in a friendly fire incident. Marine Staff Sgt. Jeremy Smith, 26, and...

Statement from family of Marine killed in Afghanistan

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 10:20:40 -0600

I wrote this article Friday about a Marine reservist and Navy hospital corspman who were killed in Afghanistan on the same day. Marine Staff Sgt. Jeremy Smith, 26, and Navy Seaman Benjamin Rast, 23, both served with the Houston-based 1st...

2 members of Houston battalion killed in one day

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:23:29 -0600

The Houston-based Lone Star Battalion suffered a double loss this week when a Marine reservist and a Navy hospital corpsman were killed on the same day in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. Seaman Benjamin D. Rast, 23, died on Wednesday while conducting...

Lone Star Battalion suffers 1st loss in Afghanistan

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:58:18 -0600

The Houston-based Lone Star Battalion has suffered its first casualty in Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Jeremy D. Smith, 26, of Arlington, Texas, died Wednesday while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Thursday. Smith was assigned...

Congress, Obama paid during shutdown, not troops

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:00:47 -0600

In the increasingly likely event of a government shutdown, members of Congress and the president will continue to get paid, but the nation's troops will not. I'm guessing more than a few readers think there's something wrong with this picture....

Lone Star Battalion officially starts Afghan mission

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:06:35 -0600

Houston's 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment officially took over a wide variety of counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan's Helmand province during a recent transfer-of-authority ceremony at Camp Leatherneck, according to a Marine Corps report. More than 800 citizen-Marines from the 1/23...

Reports of sexual assaults in military down slightly

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:56:27 -0600

The Defense Department today announced that reports of sexual assaults in the military have decreased slightly since last year, although the number is still up overall since 2007. In fiscal year 2010, there were 3,158 reports of sexual assaults involving...

Why is divorce rate higher among military women?

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 13:21:16 -0600

It's no surprise that military life is hard on relationships. Multiple deployments, irregular schedules and frequent moves can strain marriages and alienate romantic partners. But why do women who serve in the military divorce at a higher rate than their...

Jobless rate still high for Iraq, Afghanistan veterans

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:15:26 -0600

While the unemployment rate for the general population dropped under 9 percent in February, the rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans remained at 12.5 percent. That means that 239,000 returning veterans were jobless last month. Photo by Brett Coomer /...

Houston's Lone Star Battalion heads to Afghanistan

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 10:14:05 -0600

Houston's 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment has begun the long journey to Afghanistan. Last week, more than 800 Marines and Navy corpsmen who serve in 1/23 -- also known as 'The Lone Star Battalion' -- started to depart Camp Pendleton...

Gulf War vet reflects 20 years after ground assault

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:34:34 -0600

Today is the 20th anniversary of the start of the 100-hour ground offensive in Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War. Here's a brief timeline and key facts about the war, from Army Times: President George H.W. Bush launched the first...

Houston-based Marine unit trains for Afghanistan

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:14:00 -0600

More than 800 Marines with 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, a Reserve unit headquartered at Ellington Field in Houston, will deploy for Afghanistan later this month. The citizen-Marines of 1/23 -- also known as "The Lone Star Battalion" -- have...

CNN touts 'real-life brotherhood' in Houston battalion

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:41:15 -0600

The five sets of brothers serving in Houston's 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment have brought national attention to the reserve unit headquartered at Ellington Field. All of the brothers were featured on CNN today and an article about them was...