Veterans for Common Sense (VCS), founded in 2002, is a non-profit organization dedicated to advocacy on behalf of United States veterans who continue to serve their country by protecting the rights and interests of fellow citizens. Based on the pragmatic ideals of the American Patriot Thomas Paine, VCS was established "by service-minded war veterans who believe we, the people, are most secure when our country is strong and responsibly engaged with the world." [1]
In 2006, Veterans for Common Sense merged for a period with Veterans for America, an organization partnered with the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation; however, the two organizations separated again in 2007. Veterans for America continued VCS's focus on national security issues, with the added element of active humanitarian relief, mine mapping and other programs that address the consequences of war.
VCS focuses on four primary program areas: national security, civil liberties, energy policy and veterans healthcare and benefits. Activities have included large veterans' sign-on letters urging caution to the President before the 2003 invasion of Iraq and a lawsuit against the government seeking documents related to torture at the Abu Ghraib prison and the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. In addition, VCS has given frequent testimony before Congress about the need for mandatory full funding for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare, the VA's broken disability claims process, and the VA's need for increased capacity for dealing with Gulf War Illness, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mental health patients. [2]
VCS's current Director is Anthony Hardie, a former state veterans agency official and former Congressional staff member. [3] He succeeded previous Executive Directors Paul Sullivan (2006-2012), a former project manager at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and Charles Sheehan-Miles (2003-2006), a former Gulf War-related non-profit executive. [4]
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a federal Cabinet-level agency that provides near-comprehensive healthcare services to eligible military veterans at VA medical centers and outpatient clinics located throughout the country; several non-healthcare benefits including disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, education assistance, home loans, and life insurance; and provides burial and memorial benefits to eligible veterans and family members at 135 national cemeteries.
A veteran is a person who had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who has served and is no longer serving in a military. Military veterans that have served directly in combat in a war are further defined as war veterans.
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health that implements the healthcare program of the VA through the administration and operation of numerous VA Medical Centers (VAMC), Outpatient Clinics (OPC), Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC), and VA Community Living Centers Programs.
Coleen Rowley is an American former FBI special agent and whistleblower, and was a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) candidate for Congress in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, one of eight congressional districts in Minnesota in 2006. She lost the general election to Republican incumbent John Kline.
Cindy Lee Miller Sheehan is an American anti-war activist, whose son, U.S. Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed by enemy action during the Iraq War. She attracted national and international media attention in August 2005 for her extended antiwar protest at a makeshift camp outside President George W. Bush's Texas ranch—a stand that drew both passionate support and criticism. Sheehan ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2008. She was a vocal critic of President Barack Obama's foreign policy. Her memoir, Peace Mom: A Mother's Journey Through Heartache to Activism, was published in 2006. In an interview with The Daily Beast in 2017, Sheehan continued to hold her critical views towards George W. Bush, while also criticizing the militarism of Donald Trump.
Gold Star Families for Peace (GSFP) is a United States-based organization founded in January 2005 by individuals who lost family members in the Iraq War, and are thus entitled to display a Gold Star. It is considered an offshoot of Military Families Speak Out. Gold Star Families for Peace now includes more than 65 families of troops killed in Iraq.
The following is a partial accounting of financial costs of the 2003 Iraq War by the United States and the United Kingdom, the two largest non-Iraqi participants of the multinational force in Iraq.
Charles Sheehan-Miles is an American writer and veterans' advocate.
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal refers to a series of allegations of unsatisfactory conditions, treatment of patients, and management at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) in Washington, D.C. culminating in two articles published by The Washington Post in February 2007. Several cases of patient neglect and shoddy living conditions were reported as early as 2004. "Soldiers suffering from traumatic brain injuries or stress disorders, others with amputated limbs, have languished for weeks and months on end in vermin-infested quarters waiting for a decision on their military status and a ruling on the level of benefits they will receive if they are discharged and transferred to the civilian-run Veterans Administration (VA) healthcare system." When the scandal broke, soldiers were pressured to keep quiet and punished with daily inspections for speaking to the press. Significant public and media attention was generated, which in turn prompted a number of congressional and executive actions, including resignations of several high-ranking officers. CPT Micheal Dake did not implement any changes that rectified the disrepair of Building 18. The initiatives of the following Command Team lead to Building 18 being repaired and made livable. It was when the building was left dormant during the summer that mold became a problem.
The CNA Military Advisory Board (MAB) is an American defense advisory group composed of retired three-star and four-star generals and admirals from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps that studies pressing issues of the day to assess their impact on America's national security. CNA is a nonprofit research and analysis organization that operates the Center for Naval Analyses and the Institute for Public Research. The CNA Military Advisory Board was founded by Sherri Goodman, former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense, who served as the Executive Director of the CNA MAB from its founding in 2007–2015.
VoteVets.org is a political action committee (PAC) and 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization in the United States. It was co-founded in 2006 by Jon Soltz and Jeremy Broussard.
Jonathan Powers, commonly called Jon Powers is an American former soldier, charity organizer, government official and business executive. He was appointed by President Obama to serve in multiple roles as an energy security expert.
The National Committee for a Citizens Commission of Inquiry on U.S. war crimes in Vietnam was founded in New York by Ralph Schoenman in November 1969 to document American atrocities throughout Indochina. The formation of the organization was prompted by the disclosure of the My Lai Massacre on November 12, 1969 by Seymour Hersh, writing for the New York Times. The group was the first to bring to public attention the testimony of American Vietnam War veterans who had witnessed or participated in atrocities.
Casey Owens was a United States Marine, Iraq War veteran, and paralympic athlete from Houston, Texas, United States. He is best known for completing marathons in a wheelchair after his legs were amputated due to the injuries received while on a rescue mission during the Iraq War.
Robert Leon Wilkie Jr. is an American lawyer and government official serving as the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He was confirmed on July 23, 2018 by the United States Senate; the confirmation vote was 86–9. He was sworn in on July 30, 2018.
Gulf War syndrome or Gulf War illness is a chronic and multi-symptomatic disorder affecting returning military veterans of the 1990–1991 Persian Gulf War. A wide range of acute and chronic symptoms have been linked to it, including fatigue, muscle pain, cognitive problems, insomnia, rashes and diarrhea. Approximately 250,000 of the 697,000 U.S. veterans who served in the 1991 Gulf War are afflicted with enduring chronic multi-symptom illness, a condition with serious consequences.
SoldierStrong is a Stamford, Connecticut based 501(c)(3) charitable organization whose mission is to improve the lives of the men and the women of the United States Armed Forces.
The Naval Center for Combat and Operational Stress Control (NCCOSC) is a U.S. Navy Medicine organization established to promote psychological health in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. It is a culturally relevant center that leverages sound medical knowledge to improve resilience, preserve psychological health, improve care for sailors, marines and their families and facilitate Navy Medicine research efforts on psychological health and traumatic brain injury.
The Gulf War Health Research Reform Act of 2014 is a bill that would have altered the relationship between the Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses (RAC) and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the federal agency under which the RAC is constituted. The bill would have made the RAC an independent organization within the VA, required that a majority of the RAC's members be appointed by Congress instead of the VA, and authorized the RAC to release its reports without needing prior approval from the VA Secretary. The RAC is responsible for investigating Gulf War Illness, a chronic multi-symptom disorder affecting returning military veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War.