Iraq vets organizing

VFW Magazine, Nov-Dec, 2004

Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are already beginning to organize. One group, called Operation Truth, was launched Aug, 24 by Paul Rieckhoff, a New York Army National Guard vet of the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq.

His group has four main concerns: imminent danger & family separation pay, adequate equipment for front-line troops, length of deployments for "citizen-soldiers" and the stop-loss policy of keeping personnel in uniform beyond their enlistment dates.

Operation Truth, identified as an advocacy, and educational organization (www.optruth.com), also is concerned about counseling for those wounded both physically and psychologically.

It may be worth keeping the abovementioned issues in mind when approaching members of this newest generation of vets about joining