Brian Stewart: That ticking time bomb is America's exhausted army

Meanwhile, rates of domestic violence surged by over 30 per cent among military families between 2006 and 2011, along with drug and alcohol abuse, rates that Gen. Peter Chiarelli says has grown out of a length of combat "our nation has never experienced before."

And if that weren't enough, the growing fear of violence on U.S. bases has been heightened in recent years by a steady infiltration of street gang members into the military.

Every major gang in America is represented on domestic and foreign bases, according to the FBI. Some members are said to have joined up to try to escape gang life. But at least some seem intent on picking up military skills and more deadly weapons.

Young Vets with PTSD More Likely to Be Prescribed Opiates

Doctors are more likely to prescribe highly-addictive opiates for pain to post-9/11 veterans with mental health issues, than to veterans without diagnosed mental health problems. That�s according to a new study conducted by the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers looked at the health records of more than 140,000 veterans for the study. They found doctors were more likely to prescribe opiates to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan if they had already been diagnosed with a mental health issue like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, or anxiety.

Dr. Karen Seal of SFVAMC wrote in her article about the study:


�rescription opioids are now a leading cause of death in the United States. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with pain- and PTSD-prescribed opioids may be at particularly high risk of prescription opioid misuse given the high co-occurrence of substance use disorders among veterans with PTSD.�

Seal recommends that doctors look to other methods of controlling pain for veterans who suffer from PTSD, depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues � because veterans with these problems are more likely to �self-medicate� with opiates, and that can lead to abuse, addition, and violence.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that she was briefed before the release of a controversial intelligence assessment and that she stands by the report, which lists returning veterans among terrorist risks to the U.S.

"BeaverFever" said
The Obama Administration doesn't deliver your mail, ...

"BeaverFever" said
Well, Timothy McVeigh and the proliferation of milita groups after Desert Storm for example. I think its valid.

Also note that "the Obama Administration" did not write the report - Analysts at the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis did. The Obama Administration doesn't deliver your mail, doesn't give you a speeding a ticket and doesn't pick up your garbage. Civil servants do that. The idea that such analysis should be edited out of official documents is just political correctness from the tighty-righties

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that she was briefed before the release of a controversial intelligence assessment and that she stands by the report, which lists returning veterans among terrorist risks to the U.S.

"BartSimpson" said
Well, Timothy McVeigh and the proliferation of milita groups after Desert Storm for example. I think its valid.

Also note that "the Obama Administration" did not write the report - Analysts at the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis did. The Obama Administration doesn't deliver your mail, doesn't give you a speeding a ticket and doesn't pick up your garbage. Civil servants do that. The idea that such analysis should be edited out of official documents is just political correctness from the tighty-righties

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that she was briefed before the release of a controversial intelligence assessment and that she stands by the report, which lists returning veterans among terrorist risks to the U.S.

"fifeboy" said
Well, Timothy McVeigh and the proliferation of milita groups after Desert Storm for example. I think its valid.

Also note that "the Obama Administration" did not write the report - Analysts at the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis did. The Obama Administration doesn't deliver your mail, doesn't give you a speeding a ticket and doesn't pick up your garbage. Civil servants do that. The idea that such analysis should be edited out of official documents is just political correctness from the tighty-righties

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that she was briefed before the release of a controversial intelligence assessment and that she stands by the report, which lists returning veterans among terrorist risks to the U.S.