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Marines and sailors broke ground Friday on a place where wounded warriors will be able to heal, mentally and physically. The new Wounded Warriors barracks, which is scheduled to take about 18 months to build, will include 100 two-man rooms, living area and kitchenette, fitness, physical therapy and counseling space. The rooms are designed to accommodate two wheelchair-bound Marines without collisions, said Lt. Col. Thomas Siebenthal, commander of Wounded Warriors Battalion-East. Camp Lejeune's wounded warriors are currently housed in a 1940s-era building across base from the Naval Hospital. The new facility is just steps away from the hospital.

The Army chief of staff says a new training program will begin soon to help soldiers become more mentally resilient against the stress of war.\n\nGen. George W. Casey Jr. said Monday at Fort Campbell that the comprehensive soldier fitness program will focus on coping with stress, along with physical training.

The men crewed .50-calibers through Iraq neighborhoods, survived roadside bomb blasts, attended memorial services for buddies. Now they were being asked to cut cattle, on foot, in front of one another and a handful of real cowboys. It's safe to say there wasn't exactly a rush to start. But within a few minutes, the 15 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan-almost all of them self-described city boys whose experience with livestock extends only to the dinner plate-had learned a thing or two about patience and teamwork, and for a few minutes of laughter and sweat, they could forget about the war that still haunts them. "It's like we're back in the field now," said Jeremy Williams, a 26-year-old who lives in a small town near Huntsville and served three tours in Iraq with the Marines. The veterans came from throughout the United States to spend four days at the stylish Wildcatter Ranch, invited by the Wounded Warrior Project and the owners of the ranch to help restore their spirits. Some of the men have physical injuries, but each of them is struggling to deal with combat stress and their return to civilian society. The men went canoeing and rode horses. They got massages and shot skeet. They stayed in luxurious rooms and they visited an elementary school, where the children gave them Graham Steers ball caps. "I have never seen anything like this before," said Harvey Stubbs Jr., 32, a Chicago-area native who was medically retired from the Army because of his injuries. "The outpouring of love ... has been amazing. A lot of people give lip service to supporting the troops, but these people have opened their hearts to us in ways I can't believe."

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What exactly is a "mental disorder"? For that matter, what criteria should determine whether any condition is a "disease" or a "disorder"? Is "disease" something like an oak tree-a physical object you can bump into or put your arms around? Or are terms like "disease" and "disorder" merely abstract, value-laden constructs, akin to "injustice" and "immorality"? Are categories of disease and disorder fundamentally different in psychiatry than in other medical specialties? And-by the way-how do the terms "disease," "disorder," "syndrome," "malady," "sickness," and "illness" differ? Anyone who believes there are easy or certain answers to these questions is either in touch with the Divine Mind, or out of touch with reality. To appreciate the complexity and ambiguity in this conceptual arena, consider this quote from the venerable Oxford Textbook of Philosophy and Psychiatry: "The term 'mental illness' is probably best used for those disorders that are intuitively most like bodily illness (or disease) and, yet, mental rather than bodily. This of course implies everything that is built into the mind-brain problem!"1(p11) In a single sentence, we are already grappling with the terms "illness," "disorder," and "disease," not to mention Cartesian psychology! And yet-daunting though these issues are-they are central to the practical task now before the DSM-V committees: figuring out what conditions ought to be included as psychiatric disorders.

Mort Reichek - New Jersey - Age:83 ***would be great to interview*** What I do: Retired (former senior editor of Business Week) Me at home: Married, grandchildren My blog's beginnings: Began publishing when I achieved octogenarian status in 2005 Why I blog: As a retired, physically aching 83-year-old man, who once relished playing tennis, blogging has provided a stimulating alternative. Focus: Current events and memoirs as a one-time journalist, World War II army veteran, and first-generation American raised in an immigrant family in the Bronx. On the blog's impact: I published a piece about a fellow journalist who had been a Soviet air force colonel before defecting to this U.S. This produced responses from two of his children who were very young when he died. They were naturally eager to learn more about their deceased father. Above details from http://technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere/who-are-the-bloggers/

During World War II, the scientific field was atomic physics. Afraid that the Nazis were working on an atomic bomb, the U.S. government mounted its own crash project to get there first. The Manhattan Project was so secret that Congress did not know what it was funding and Vice President Harry S. Truman did not learn about it until FDR's death made him president. In this situation of extreme secrecy, there was almost no ethical or political debate about the Bomb before it was dropped on two cities by a bureaucratic apparatus on autopilot.

I am pleased to announce the inaugural Marine Week activities held in partnership with the great city of Chicago from 11-17 May 2009. This is the first of many celebrations honoring country and Corps in cities across the Nation. Established to recognize the contributions of local Marine heroes, their families, and the cities from which they came, Marine Week also showcases the rich history and traditions of our beloved Corps. During the week, citizens will find Marines volunteering at local food kitchens and community parks, inspiring students by sharing their stories of service to their country, conducting intense physical fitness challenges and martial arts demonstrations, and performing with local musical groups. The Marine Corps will also display aircraft, vehicles, and the latest technology and equipment used to protect and preserve our Nation and its citizens.

The Department of the Army has finally gone public and acknowledged the alarming rate of suicide among its ranks. While Army leadership is to be commended for breaking the barrier of silence regarding mental illness in the military, the underlying culture of secrecy that has contributed to the current trend is in dire need of reform.