CNN Reporter Drew Griffin got it right: The $435 million no-bid contract to Siga reported earlier by SFTT this week is a sham and yet another example of the blatant corruption in government and the cozy relationship that exists between political fund-raisers and career procurement officers in government. Nevertheless, director and mouth-piece for Siga, Fran Townsend was able to do a convincing cover-up in a CNN interview with an obviously uncomfortable Anderson Cooper ...
Continue Reading →Siga Technologies and Military Procurement
SFTT has been reporting for years on the distasteful – read, rampant corruption – in our military procurement process. We are not finger-pointers, we simply comment on the many government auditing studies that clearly indicate that our military procurement process is out of control and, yes, corrupt from top to bottom.
Does this mean our military leadership is corrupt? Of course not, but then who is accountable when corrupt and inept military officers and civilians in the chain of command ...
Continue Reading →Remains of War Heroes Dumped in Virginia LandFill
According to an article published in the Washington Post by correspondents incinerated partial remains of at least 274 American troops in a Virginia landfill, far more than the military had acknowledged, before halting the secretive practice three years ago. The landfill dumping was concealed from families who had authorized the military to dispose of the remains in a dignified and respectful manner, Air Force officials said. There are no plans, they said, to alert those families ...
Continue Reading →Military Procurement and Counterfeit Parts
In yet another glaring example of seeing the trees rather than the forest, US Senators are now patting themselves on the back for proposing new legislation that would theoretically make it more difficult for military contractors to use counterfeit parts in combat equipment and protective gear supplied to our military forces. According to news reports, the Senate cleared yet another hurdle to pass its version of the National Defense Authorization Act. In a key amendment to ...
Continue Reading →Dr. Henry Grayson on Neuro Pathways: A Treatment for PTSD?
As indicated earlier, SFTT is thrilled to have Dr. Henry Grayson as Chairman of SFTT’s Medical Task Force to help develop effective programs to treat our brave men and women suffering from PTSD. PTSD for veterans of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is now reaching epidemic proportions. Government studies suggest that 1 in 5 veterans suffers from PTSD. The symptoms of PTSD manifest themselves differently from person to person – but make no mistake – PTSD ...
Continue Reading →SFTT targets PTSD: Interview with Eilhys England Hackworth
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with SFTT Chairperson, Eilhys England Hackworth the wife, partner, co-author, and muse of Stand For the Troops (“SFTT”) founder, the late Colonel David H. Hackworth—America’s most valor-decorated soldier—from the late 1980s until his death. Since the passing of this great American hero in May 2005, Ms. England Hackworth has kept her deathbed promise to her husband to continue SFTT’s mission to protect America’s frontline troops.
The purpose of the meeting was to hear from SFTT’s ...
Continue Reading →The US Military Budget Debate
The US military budget is roughly $700 billion a year and defense leaders are being asked to cut costs of this sizable and growing budget. According to a recent article published by NPR, the defense budget represents approximately 50% of total discretionary federal spending. While the Department of Defense has committed to cut $450 billion in spending over the next ten years, the sad reality is that overall military spending is likely to remain at ...
Continue Reading →Point Blank settles body armor suit with DoJ
In yet another indication that our military procurement process is out of control is the news that Point Blank – who makes much of the body armor vests worn by our military – has finally settled a long-standing suit with the Department of Justice.
According to a news release cited by Thomson Reuters, “The government asked for “tens of millions” of dollars in penalties and damages, saying that from 1999 to August of 2005 the company knew or disregarded ...
Continue Reading →Dream Therapy to Treat PTSD
Several news organizations have commented on a new treatment using comforting sights. The world will be one he’s built himself in visits to his clinic, where, using biofeedback to track his response, he has trained himself to relax when he sees these images.”
The program reminds me of Stanly Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange, where “society” tries to rehabilitate the main character Alex DeLarge through a programmed treatment to alter behavior based on stimuli to a series of slides and ...
Continue Reading →VA Care for Patients with PTSD
As military service members deployed in Iraq begin come home, the alarm bells are beginning to sound as the Veterans Administration (“VA”) now seems over-stretched to deal with alarming number of cases of service members with PTSD.
According to a recently published Rand study, excerpts of which are reported by Health Affairs, “There is a large and growing population of veterans with severe and complex general medical, mental, and substance use disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder, PTSD, and major ...
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