Tagged: veterans

 The Challenges Facing Female Veterans
Women comprise 14 percent of the military, but VA hospital services and the military system are still primarily male-oriented.

Seattle US Marine veteran, Angela Arellano, and local post-traumatic stress disorder expert, Bridget Cantrell, appear in a new documentary by independent filmmaker Marcia Rock called “Service: When Women Come Marching Home.” They talk about the challenges facing disabled female veterans and how PTSD is addressed. Also, military sexual trauma remains a major issue.

Washington Senator Patty Murray introduced the Combating Military Sexual Assault Act of 2013 last Tuesday. We'll ask them how the act has been received among female veterans.

Greendays Gardening Panel
Our gardening panel includes a flower expert, native plant expert and vegetable gardening expert.  They answer your gardening questions every Tuesday. Call 206.543.5869 with your gardening questions, or email them to us at weekday@kuow.org    

How The World Is Responding To Syria
The US and Russia have agreed to convene an international conference to discuss ways of diplomatically settling the ongoing conflict in Syria. Dr. Steven Cook, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, discusses the implications of this conference and how the international community should be intervening in the crisis.
 
Sexual Assault In The Military  
The Pentagon has released a report on sexual assault in the military. It estimates that 26,000 military members were sexually assaulted in 2012, a large increase from the previous year. The report comes out just as Sen. Patty Murray and Sen. Kelly Ayotte argued for a bill that would work to reduce sexual assaults and help victims of the crime. Sen. Patty Murray and KUOW’s Patricia Murphy explain the new bill and the Pentagon's study.   

The Effects Of Blast Injuries On Hormone Levels In Veterans
A new study suggests that people with blast injuries are more likely to have irregular hormone levels. The hormone imbalance can lead to PTSD-like symptoms, depression and physical symptoms that raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes. University of Washington professor Charles Wilkinson studied the hormone levels in veterans who had suffered from concussions caused by blast injuries.

Basketball Diplomacy
NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman is using his friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to ask for the release of Kenneth Bae, the Lynnwood man sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for "hostile acts" against the government. Rodman took to Twitter on Tuesday to ask Kim to “do me a solid and cut Kenneth Bae loose.” We talk with Seattle Times editorial writer Thanh Tan, who first urged Rodman via social media to approach his “lifelong friend” on Bae’s behalf.

March 19, 2013 marks 10 years since the beginning of the war in Iraq. A total of 3,489 Americans died in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Nearly another 32,000 were wounded in action. The numbers obscure the thousands of individual stories from the War in Iraq. We hear stories of those who fought, worked and died in the war.

According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, there are currently 607,501 veterans in the state of Washington, and as more return each month that number continues to rise. Ross Reynolds talks to US vets about what it's like to return to civilian life.