National Geographic in its February cover story takes readers through a visually striking, two-part reflection series about veterans coping with their own war beyond the battlefields.
"Sometimes you find yourself saying, I wish ... I would have lost a body part, so people will see — so they'll get it," says Army First Sgt. David Griego in "Revealing the Trauma of War."
The first part of the series — photography and audio by Lynn Johnson — follows veterans in an art therapy program at Walter Reed Medical Center who paint masks to help them cope with daily struggles.
"I think this is what started me kind of opening up and talking about stuff and actually trying to get better," says Staff Sgt. Perry Hopman of the painting therapy program.
"The Invisible War on the Brain" then opens part II of the series with an inside look of how thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan service members suffer physically and emotionally from traumatic brain injuries.
The chapter's leading photo features Marine Cpl. Burness Britt — recently treated for TBI and post traumatic stress disorder — being medevaced out of Afghanistan in 2011 following an IED blast.
Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus took the picture — the one photo out of hundreds she said she couldn't get out of her mind.
Niedringhaus found Britt six months later; the two formed a bond when Niedringhaus returned a piece of wheat she plucked off his shrapnel-torn shirt that day in the helicopter.
In this June 4, 2011, photo taken by AP photographer Anja Niedringhaus, injured Marine Cpl. Burness Britt reacts after being lifted onto a medevac helicopter from the Army's Task Force Lift "Dust Off," Charlie Company, 1-214 Aviation Regiment. Photo Credit: Anja Niedringhaus/The Associated PressNiedringhaus was killed in April when an Afghan police officer opened fire on her car.
View some images from the powerful series, written by Caroline Alexander, below:
Ukraine has won support from Baltic nations and Poland for its weekslong quest to obtain Western fighter jets.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. will increase its deployment of advanced weapons such as fighter jets and bombers to the Korean Peninsula.
New legislation would block further deployments of the controversial system until VA leaders can promise permanent improvements.
The Justice Department dropped its probe of retired four-star Gen. John Allen for his role in an alleged illegal foreign lobbying campaign.
The Navy conducted a final test in August and is awaiting the test and evaluation report before declaring IOC on the entire mine countermeasures package.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Third Class Craig Hucker is set to be arraigned in court on Feb. 7.
Costs are rising throughout the Navy's shipbuilding budget: to train and recruit new workers, to bring in subcontractor support, and for materials.
Previously, secondary caregivers in the Marine Corps had received three weeks of parental leave.
Parris Island, South Carolina, one of the oldest posts in the Corps, was designated for Marine recruit training in 1915.
Routines are good, but sometimes veering from routine to spend a spontaneous moment with family can do wonders.
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