Scott Bourque

As a national holiday, Memorial Day exists to remember the nearly 650,000 Americans killed by enemy forces since 1776. 21-year-old Petty Officer Brandon Caserta's parents want Americans to start paying attention to the untold numbers who, in their eyes, were murdered by their own country.

Only about 1% of Americans serve in the military. For the other 99%, their understanding of military service comes from what they see on the news and in movies, as well as what politicians and prominent veterans say in public speeches. The American public devotes a lot of energy to displaying their support for troops and veterans, but some experts believe these public displays are harmful because they alienate veterans who are struggling, and inadvertently stigmatize seeking help.

Although the stigma around mental health disorders are waning in mainstream society, some of those stigmas still exist in the military. Although military policy officially allows service members access to mental health treatment, there is still a cultural stigma on receiving mental health treatment in the military, and that treatment can often have significant repercussions on a service member’s career.

91% of post-9/11 veterans felt the military trained them well for their military service, but only half said the military effectively prepared them to reintegrate into the civilian world after their service was finished. Experts say the military transition process focuses too much on finding a job, and not enough on the massive culture shock someone experiences when they leave the service.

The U.S. military is a shining example of equal pay. Everybody in the same pay grade gets the same paycheck regardless of race or gender. A recent study found that despite equal salaries, women on active duty end up paying more for their uniforms than men do.

A bipartisan group of 106 military veterans from across Arizona signed a letter formally endorsing former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, the Biden campaign announced Wednesday. The letter's release comes two days before Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to appear at a Veterans For Trump event in Litchfield Park.

More than 10% of adults in Arizona served in the armed forces, and they might not be the reliable Republican voting bloc they had been in previous years. Among active duty troops, President Trump’s disapproval rating is now higher than his approval rating ever was with that group. Trump’s approval rating in the military community peaked at 46.1% in 2016. As of August 2020, his approval rating among active-duty troops dropped to 37.8%, while his disapproval rating climbed to 49.9%.

Leaders in the Arizona veteran community had strong reactions to the report published in the Atlantic on Thursday that detailed comments President Donald Trump made about wounded, killed and captured troops in American wars.

After the second world war, close to half of returning servicemen started their own businesses, including major corporations like WalMart, AmWay, FedEx and Enterprise Rent-a-car. But generations later, very few veterans of the Post-9/11 conflicts, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, consider entrepreneurship. According to data from the Small Business Administration, only about 5 percent of returning servicemen and women launch their own businesses — even though 25 percent express interest in entrepreneurship.

Military veterans accused of misdemeanors in Arizona have the benefit of the Veteran’s Court system, which focuses heavily on rehabilitation instead of punishment. Defendants can pay off fines through community service hours and can get credit for finding employment and stable housing.

Just before 8 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the home to the American Pacific Fleet. At the end of the day, close to 2,500 American servicemen were dead. The USS Arizona was at the bottom of the harbor. Nearly 200 American aircraft were destroyed. The Americans were catapulted into World War II. The rallying cry "Remember Pearl Harbor" echoed throughout the nation and motivated 16 million Americans to military service, and th

In 2018, a record 325 active duty military personnel died by suicide. Upwards of 6,000 veterans die by suicide each year, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Anytime someone dies by suicide, close to 135 people are directly affected by the death. That’s close to 1 million people each year who are affected by military-related suicides.