MilitaryHealth

t's been around since 2007, but the success of the Military Health System blog has surpassed expectations. Dr. Michael Kilpatrick is the Director of Military Health System Strategic Communications. He tells us that the importance of keeping in contact with members of the military and their families really can't be understated. He also says the blog helped make a lot of important information much more accessible to them.

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."

Four soldiers serving in Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq, with the New Hampshire National Guard earned a special distinction last week when they became their company's first all-female medical evacuation crew.

Traumatic brain injury, one of the signature injuries suffered by troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, demands a "sense of urgency," the U.S. military's top officer said today.

The Navy played a key role last spring in the discovery of the H1N1 influenza's presence in the United States, according to a senior Navy medical

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.

To strengthen the Department of Veterans Affairs programs for survivors of the nation's veterans and servicemembers, VA officials have staffed an office to serve as the their advocate, with a charter that includes creating or modifying programs, benefits and services.

Military health care workers saw 9,000 patients, returning from Indonesian relief effort

According to the National Institutes of Health, Breast cancer affects one in eight women during their lives. Breast cancer kills more women in the United States than any cancer except lung cancer.

Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment, or CAREN, a new therapeutic technology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

Combat gauze, the Common Remotely Operated Weapons System, and a new machine-gun cradle were among technologies recognized by U.S. Army Materiel Command during the "Top Ten Great Inventions of 2008" event held near the Pentagon.

Too many veterans' disability claims take more than a year to process, the Veterans Affairs Department's inspector general said. An audit showed that a year ago, 11,000 veterans had claims pending more than a year. It said the agency awarded retroactive payments totaling about $43 million for about a third of them. Of that total, it says about $14 million was unnecessarily delayed. Among the worst cases, the inspector general said, was one involving a veteran who was owed nearly $65,000 for a delayed claim, and another in which a veteran waited more than two years for payment, the inspector general said. The report said the veterans agency had made progress in reducing handling claims, but that delays still created too much of a financial burden for veterans.