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Former Army sergeant and triple amputee Bryan Anderson offered a message of perseverance and courage at a recent event held in McLean, Va. Anderson, who received the Purple Heart for his injuries suffered during a deployment to Iraq, urged those in the audience to "experience life and have fun - you only live once."

The Army has dropped Lariam - the drug linked to side effects including suicidal tendencies, anxiety, aggression and paranoia - as its preferred protection against malaria because doctors had inadvertently prescribed it to people who should not take it. Lariam, the brand name for mefloquine, should not be given to anyone with symptoms of a brain injury, depression or anxiety disorder, which describes many troops who have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

The Defense and Veterans Affairs departments today announced a new, faster means for handling troops with "catastrophic" injuries who seek the veterans' status that allows them access to VA medical and other entitlements.

Eighteen months ago, Lt. Col. KC Bolton took command of the newly created Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Lewis, where 99 combat-wounded soldiers are recovering from injuries suffered "in theater."

DoD recently opened a 24-hour outreach center to provide information and referrals to military servicemembers, veterans, their families and others with questions about psychological health and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

The Defense Department is investigating new treatments as part of a focused, sustained campaign to assist wounded warriors suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, a senior U.S. military official told Pentagon journalists recently.

If they are able, every wounded soldier is assigned a job, internship or takes continuing education classes during their recovery, said Col. Jimmie Keenan, chief of staff of the nation's Warrior Care and Transition Office. The goal is to place troops in jobs that match existing skills, help them learn new ones, or, if an injury means they need a new career, help them find one.

For the past year, almost 7,000 sensors mounted on helmets in Iraq and Afghanistan have been collecting data on blast trauma from improvised explosive devices.

"Real Warriors is a program aimed at wiping out the stigma associated with getting mental health care in the military," said Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Loree Sutton. "We want people to seek help the same way they would if they had a physical wound." Sutton is a psychiatrist who heads the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

Treatment for servicemembers suffering from psychological trauma really is a brave new world. Before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there was little research on effective treatments and not much pressure to add to what existed, said Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Loree Sutton, director of the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. Sutton, at a Warrior Resilience Conference here, said her office has been working with the services to develop treatment programs and is researching best medical practices. But the effort isn't a simple matter of an open checkbook; results count.

A group of researchers at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children have erased brain cells in mice that store fearful memories, holding out the hope that terrifying memories in humans may one day be erased before causing conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder. While the sights and sounds of a terrifying blast or crash would stay intact, the memory of the fear it caused could conceivably be erased, the researchers suggest. Their work appears today in the journal Science.

Alexian Bros. unveils simulator to help veterans deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.

David Zucchino, a service member diagnosed with PTSD, describes his journey through diagnosis, treatment, and the affects on his family.