The War Report » DOSSIER

51-Year-Old Woman Completes Basic Training

Stephanie Gaskell — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:41:45 +0000

The average age for an Army Reserve recruit is about 23 years old. "Everybody in the world thinks I am a total nutcase. I just want to support our troops. I love all of them," said Army Sgt. Sandra Coast.

Bob Ward Retires After 37 Years As Pentagon Photographer

rsisk — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 17:29:38 +0000

His skill with a camera worked magic for Robert Ford in his long career as a Defense Department photographer. Now if only he could've gotten Bob Gates to smile.

Military Mom Cares for Her Triple Amputee Son

Stephanie Gaskell — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 22:56:18 +0000

“It was really hard. He’s 19; he’s my baby," said Saralee Trimble, whose son Army Pfc. Kevin Trimble lost both of his legs and his left arm just four months into his deployment in Afghanistan. She then thought of her other children. Four of her five children are in the service: one in the Air Force, two in the Army and one in the Marine Corps Reserve.

Special Ops Pilot Picked to Investigate Pakistani Border Raids

rsisk — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 02:47:22 +0000

The military has picked a Special Ops pilot to investigate the raid by Special Ops pilots that has provoked a standoff with Pakistan.

Four-Star General To Lead Probe of Dover AFB Scandal

rsisk — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:47:45 +0000

Retired Gen John Abizaid has been named to head a panel reviewing reports of missing body parts at the Dover Air Force Base mortuary, but his mandate to expose past wrongdoing was unclear. .

The Dover AFB Scandal: One Family’s Anguish

rsisk — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 19:17:29 +0000

The family of a slain Marine feels betrayed by the handling of his remains at the Dover Air Force Base mortuary, and now an investigation of the scandal is on hold.

Odiernos, Father and Son, Honored

rsisk — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 22:45:42 +0000

Retired Army Capt. Anthony Odierno, now a front-office executive for the New York Yankees, and his father, Gen. Ray Odierno, who once pitched against the Yankees, received awards over the weekend from the National Italian American Foundation.

Soldier Inspires His Daughters To Help Afghan Children Read

Stephanie Gaskell — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:01:35 +0000

When an Army reservist challenged his two daughters to help the children of Afghanistan, he never imagined it would turn into this.

Mullen’s Last Watch

rsisk — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 19:54:16 +0000

Adm. Mike Mullen passed the baton as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff last week to Army Gen. Martin Dempsey along with the task of winding down two wars and presiding over a new era of defense budget cuts.

From Vietnam to Afghanistan

Stephanie Gaskell — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 21:50:45 +0000

Roy Brown served with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam - and he's back with the Screaming Eagles again, this time in Afghanistan as his military career draws to a close 41 years later.

‘My First Thought Was, I Better Go To Work’

Stephanie Gaskell — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 01:15:11 +0000

Today, Peter Rosie is an Army staff sergeant serving here with the 1st Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 4th Cavalry Regiment. On Sept. 11, 2001, he was a paramedic with the New York City Fire Department

‘We’re Reminded of Where This Journey Began’

Stephanie Gaskell — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:48:59 +0000

Bonnie Carroll, president of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, was among a team of volunteers who responded in the wake of the devastating terrorist attack that took 184 lives at the Pentagon ten years ago.

Unbreakable

Stephanie Gaskell — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 22:00:22 +0000

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Matt Garst should be dead. Few people survive stepping on an improvised explosive device, even fewer walk away the same day after directly absorbing the force of the blast.

Identical Twins Promoted Together

Stephanie Gaskell — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:24:24 +0000

Two twins. Two deployments. Two promotions.

The Faces of 2/8 Marines

Stephanie Gaskell — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 15:54:20 +0000

Here's a look at some of the Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, who have been improving security here in Marjah, in southern Afghanistan, since January.

Marine’s Best Friend

Stephanie Gaskell — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 00:48:17 +0000

Marine Corps Cpl. Angelo Melendez and his military working dog, Rocky, spend 8 to 14 hours a day training for missions such as bomb-sniffing, IED detection, vehicle extraction, and other security duties.

Combat Veteran Talks About Fighting PTSD

Stephanie Gaskell — Wed, 11 May 2011 15:07:11 +0000

A U.S. Army captain who fought in Iraq opens up about seeking help for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Darrell Mangham

Stephanie Gaskell — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 01:39:29 +0000

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Darrell Mangham spent a year in Afghanistan helping to stand up preventive medicine programs he said will have a long-term impact, not just on the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police, but also on the country's civilian population. For his efforts, he became the first enlisted U.S. service member to receive the prestigious Hunter-Strickland Excellence Award for Deployment Preventive Medicine.

Katie Wade

Stephanie Gaskell — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:51:10 +0000

When Chad and Katie Wade got married, she created a blog called "Starting Our New Lives Together: The Wades." A corporal in the U.S. Marines, Chad was killed in Afghanistan on Dec. 1. Katie is still blogging and her painful journey is touching readers across the globe.

Army Spc. Steven Starkey and Army Pfc. Andrew Starkey

Stephanie Gaskell — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:09:41 +0000

Meet this father and son, both are soldiers with the Iowa Army National Guard and they're both deployed to Afghanistan.

Maya Alleruzzo

Stephanie Gaskell — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 20:28:47 +0000

Meet AP Photographer Maya Alleruzzo, who has lived and worked in Iraq since 2007.

Ken Fisher

Stephanie Gaskell — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 21:36:33 +0000

Ken Fisher runs the Fisher House Foundation, which builds homes for families of wounded service members to stay nearby while their loved ones recover. Next week, the foundation will open a very different kind of Fisher House at Dover AFB in Delaware. This one provides a place of comfort for families of the fallen when they come to recover the bodies of their loved ones.

Gen. Hugh Shelton

Stephanie Gaskell — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 18:21:44 +0000

Retired Gen. Hugh Shelton has led a very interesting life. He grew up in a small town called Speed, N.C., got a degree in textiles, joined the Army, married the love of his life, served two tours in Vietnam with …

Thomas E. Ricks

Stephanie Gaskell — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 20:43:11 +0000

Thomas E. Ricks wrote not one, but two of the most definitive books about the war in Iraq thus far – “Fiasco” and “The Gamble.”

A former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, Ricks now writes …

Paul Rieckhoff

Stephanie Gaskell — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 15:50:57 +0000

Former Wall Street banker Paul Rieckhoff was a New York National Guard soldier when two planes struck the World Trade Center in 2001. After responding to ground zero, he went to Baghdad in 2003 and came back with a new …

Dave Rosner

Stephanie Gaskell — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 19:20:47 +0000

Marines aren’t supposed to be funny.

Try telling that to Marine Corps Reserve Lt. Col. Dave Rosner. He’s a Marine, an Iraq War veteran – and a stand-up comedian.

Rosner, who bills himself as “the only Jewish Marine comedian,” …

Paul Rieckhoff

Stephanie Gaskell — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:19:58 +0000

Ryan Conklin

Stephanie Gaskell — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:10:09 +0000

Last year, Ryan Conklin was one of seven strangers living in a house – and “The Real World’s” first Iraq War veteran. On the MTV hit reality show, Ryan helped shine a light on what it’s really like for some …