More than half of the Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers have reported severe staffing shortages for jobs such as nurses, nursing assistants and psychologists, according to a new report from the VA’s Office of Inspector General.In a report published Friday, the VA watchdog found that 59% of the VA’s 139 reporting facilities struggle to hire qualified practical nurses and 58% face issues hiring psychologists. For non-clinical staff, 57% of Veterans Health Administration leaders reported shortages of potential VA police officers while 53% faced problems hiring custodians.The report, based on surveys from late March and early April, shows VA hospital leaders’ perceptions of occupations that are difficult to fill, not vacancies.According to the report, VHA officials reported 4,712 severe staffing shortages across 389 occupations. The surveys cover fiscal 2026, a period following a reduction in VA staff by roughly 30,000 jobs. Since Sept. 26, 2025, the VA workforce has declined by more than 19,000 persons, including 11,000 from the VHA, which manages the department’s health care services.A VA official said Monday that the OIG report is not a reliable tool to assess staffing shortages because it is not based on actual vacancies. VA Press Secretary Quinn Slaven noted that the report states that a staff shortage refers to “occupations that are difficult to fill,” and this designation “does not necessarily indicate the presence of vacancies.”But Democratic lawmakers who track VA staffing say the surveys indicate a problem, given that the fiscal 2026 report showed 4,712 severe shortages compared with 2,959 in fiscal 2024.In the surveys, nearly all VA facilities — 97% — reported severe occupational staffing shortages for medical officers, up from 94% in fiscal 2025, while 86% reported shortages for nurses, up from 79% the previous year. But Slaven said VA continues to “outperform most other health care organizations” when it comes to staffing, and actual vacancy rates are 15% for doctors and 9% for nurses.“These are lower than most other health care systems, in line with normal VA historical averages and much lower than the respective 19% and 20% physician and nurse vacancy rates VA saw at times during the Biden Administration,” Slaven said in a statement to Military Times.He added that pay caps for physicians hinder the VA’s hiring, and the department has asked Congress to address the “longstanding pay disparity” that hurts recruitment.He noted that since January 2025, the VA has opened 41 new health clinics, enrolled an additional 250,000 veterans in health care and increased medical appointments at VA facilities and in the private sector by 4.1% and 12%, respectively, since fiscal 2024.Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., issued a report last year charging that veterans services, including health care and research, were affected by the loss of 40,000 employees at the VA in President Donald Trump’s second term from voluntary retirements, resignations and layoffs. On Monday, Blumenthal said the OIG report on staffing shortages was also affected by the elimination of “tens of thousands of positions” at the VA’s health care system, which he said artificially reduces vacancy rates and prevents facilities from hiring needed staff.“This report confirms that staffing shortages at VA continue to increase in number and impact,” Blumenthal said in a statement to Military Times. “Even more employees left VA because of the toxic work environment this administration has created.”According to the report, the top five medical occupations experiencing severe staffing shortages across VA facilities are: practical nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and nursing assistants.The top five non-clinical occupations with shortages are: police officers, custodial workers, medical support assistants, food service workers and health care engineers.As with previous reports on severe staffing shortages, the OIG made no recommendations to VA leadership regarding the data.“This report is a descriptive review and is intended for informational purposes,” wrote Dr. David Krulak, assistant inspector general for healthcare inspections.

U.S. veterans ages 20 to 39 had higher levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in their bloodstream compared with civilians of comparable age, according to a new study published Monday by Brown and Harvard researchers.Known as “forever chemicals” because they resist breaking down and can accumulate in the body over time, PFAS are used in a host of products and equipment such as firefighting foam, weapons systems and textiles in military settings and food packaging, cookware, makeup, stain repellent and more. At least one type of PFAS — PFOS — has been linked directly to testicular cancer, while another type, PFOA, is associated with kidney issues and increased risk of kidney cancer. PFAS chemical exposure has also been connected to cardiovascular disease, thyroid dysfunction, low birth weight, developmental delays in children and reduced response to immunizations.According to the study published Monday in Environmental Health Perspectives, young veterans had 13% to 24% higher concentrations of PFAS in their blood than non-veterans the same age. Male veterans had higher PFAS concentrations than female veterans, while older veterans had levels comparable to their civilian counterparts.The study reviewed the PFAS blood serum results of participants in National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 2003 to 2018. According to the review, 58% of the 22.8 million veterans who participated, or 13 million, had blood PFAS levels above a threshold set by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine of 20 micrograms per liter.Lead study author Christian Hoover, a National Institutes of Health Research Fellow at Brown’s School of Public Health and Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said the National Academies recommends that those who exceed the threshold be monitored by their physicians.Having high PFAS levels in their blood does not mean a person will develop cancer or cardiovascular disease, Hoover said, but blood tests and monitoring can provide data that may be useful in the future.“[Testing] gives people helpful context … as they age for some of the things that might happen to their bodies over time,” Hoover said. “If they don’t get tested now between [ages] 20 and 39 and they get to 55, and they’re having all of these health effects, they won’t know why.”Study links 'forever chemicals' to testicular cancer in US troopsThe surveys at the heart of the cross-sectional study did not ask about possible sources of PFAS exposure. Hoover said previous research has shown that aqueous film-forming foam, related groundwater contamination on military bases, munitions, treated uniforms and even the burn pits used to dispose of industrial waste in combat zones could be responsible.Younger veterans are more affected because they are most likely to have had recent exposure as a result of military service. Older veterans are less likely to have acute exposure and PFAS that may have accumulated will be excreted over time, according to Joseph Braun, a professor of epidemiology at Brown University.“The common PFAS chemical PFOA, for example, has a half-life of about one and a half to two years, which means that if someone drank a jar of PFOA today, it would take 10 years for their body to get rid of it,” Braun said in a statement.The Department of Veterans Affairs does not provide or cover the cost of blood tests for PFAS. The Defense Department is required by law to offer blood tests for PFAS to active-duty and civilian DoD firefighters.The 2020 legislation that mandated the testing does not include retired military firefighters, other active-duty personnel or dependents.Hoover said all veterans, even those 40 and above, may want to talk to their doctors about exposure and possible health consequences.“Even though our study wasn’t able to pick this up, it doesn’t mean that older veterans weren’t at the same risk when they were younger,” Hoover said.Nearly 600 military installations, former defense sites and National Guard facilities have some degree of PFAS contamination. Since the late 2010s, the DoD has reviewed 727 installations and found that 590 require some type of cleanup. The timeline for completing the review and remediation process has been extended for some installations to 2066.

One of the week’s biggest bombs wasn’t dropped in Iran, it came at American theaters over the weekend. Director Paul Greengrass’ (“The One That Got Away”) new movie “The Uprising” stars Andrew Garfield (“Hacksaw Ridge”) as Wat Tyler, a ploughman who leads the peasants of 1300s England in a revolt against the council that rules for the young King Richard II. Also Read: One of military history’s most lopsided beatdowns didn’t need to happen“The Uprising” and its $20 million budget made a lackluster $3.25 million in U.S. theaters on its opening weekend, at a time when some of its core themes should have resonated more with American audiences. In the film, a peasant class still recovering from a deadly plague struggles with the cost of living by their own labor as a government led by a delusional child-king imposes more taxes on them to pay for the country’s ongoing forever war. The revolt depicted in “The Uprising” was real, as was Wat Tyler, King Richard II, and the Hundred Years War. The plague in question was the actual plague, the Black Death that wiped out roughly 30% to 60% of Europe’s population—upwards of 200 million people. The massive death toll meant a sudden labor shortage, increased wages for the peasants doing the laboring, and less of a profit for the landowners. Moreover, many serfs were suddenly free to work land other than their lord’s. Those who weren’t free found themselves able to move freely for the best work. If moving was illegal, many did it anyway, with few, if any, consequences. Some were also free to not be farmers at all anymore. The Hundred Years War In 1337, England’s King Edward III decided he was the King of France too, and launched a seaborne invasion of France, defeating the French Navy at Sluys, ensuring the French could no longer threaten an invasion of England. On land, the English were initially successful, capturing Crecy and Poitiers, and even capturing France’s King John II. But financial troubles plagued the English from the start. England couldn’t actually afford a war, let alone one that lasted more than a century.Between 1360 and 1369, the war enjoyed a brief respite, but once it restarted, England would lose nearly all of what Edward had won by the time he died in 1377. When his grandson, Richard II, took over, the regime began to impose taxes through Parliament. Tax after tax was levied, and not only was it never enough to pay for the war, the war was not going well for the English. Losing in France, and deep in the hole, the country was soon in danger fo defaulting on its debts.Wat Tyler’s was not the only open rebellion to overtaxation. London saw rioting in 1377, but the rural serfs were (understandably) the most unhappy: they were unhappy that a faraway legal system in London was taking what was theirs, but they were also unhappy with being serfs at all. The 1381 tax, however, cost three days’ wages per person aged 15 and above was the catalyst for Wat Tyler’s rebellion. An account from the period says a tax collector in what is today either Kent or Essex, lifted up the skirt of a young girl “to see if she reached the age of puberty.” That was the last straw. The tax collector was killed with a hammer. Court documents were burned. Peasants across England rose up and marched on London to demand not only relief from the taxes, but an end to serfdom. Tyler led the rebels from Kent into the capital city to meet with the king. From left, Tom Hollander, Woody Norman and Katherine Waterston in “The Uprising.” (Focus Features) King Richard II did meet the rebels, and promised to make the reforms they demanded. that was good enough for most of the rebellion. Pardoned by the king, many returned home. Tyler, however, met separately with the king the next day. A meeting between the two started off well, but went downhill very quickly. According to (surviving) sources, insults were exchanged, then blows, then Tyler tried to stab the Mayor of London who fought back, slashing the rebel leader across the neck. Tyler escaped but was found in a local hospital, detained, and beheaded. With their leader’s head hanging from London Bridge, the rebels were easily dispersed and later hunted down. King Richard revoked all the concessions he’d promised, and the Hundred Years War would continue, until England’s final defeat in 1453. By the end of the war, the English crown was bankrupt, with a debt ten times the country’s annual income. It led to another civil war between the country’s many disgruntled nobles.Don’t Miss the Best of We Are The Mighty• Why George Washington tried to kidnap the future king of England• How four college students stole Scotland’s ‘Stone of Destiny’ from England• Medieval England required all free men to own weapons in proportion to their wealth Movies and TV Movies and TV The real story behind the peasants’ revolt in ‘The Uprising’ By Blake Stilwell Movies and TV The tragic case of the real-life Marine connected to ‘A Few Good Men’ By Stephen Ruiz Movies and TV Youngest FDNY firefighter killed on 9/11 honored with ESPN documentary By Miguel Ortiz Sponsored Content ‘The Fix’ is an action movie for the post-War on Terror world By Blake Stilwell Movies and TV The controversy around ‘Lanterns’ is real—and makes for a better show By Shannon Corbeil The post The real story behind the peasants’ revolt in ‘The Uprising’ appeared first on We Are The Mighty.

Seven prominent retired general officers are imploring the U.S. electorate to have faith in the election process, issuing a call for Americans to read and adhere to what they call five “principles for trusted elections.” The group, with a combined 250 years in the military and additional service as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, NASA administrator, Central Intelligence Agency director and other leadership posts, issued a video Tuesday asking voters, candidates and government officials to take time to understand the voting process in their communities and share the information with family and friends. The message, sponsored by Team Democracy, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization with a goal to reduce political polarization, focuses on the principles of free elections and responsibilities of citizens to sustain confidence in American elections. “Protecting our lawful electoral processes might be our most important civic role of all,” said retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, who served as director of the National Security Agency under Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and as Central Intelligence Agency director under Bush and President Barack Obama. In the video, Hayden joined fellow retirees Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Army Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, Army Maj. Gen. Marilyn Quagliotti, Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, Marine Corps Major Gen. Charles Bolden and Air Force Lt. Gen. James Clapper in speaking on election integrity — without mentioning any candidates, political leaders, parties or previous election outcomes. Advocates call on veterans to serve as poll workers for upcoming electionsPresident Donald Trump cast doubt on the security of the American election system when he lost to President Joe Biden in 2020. Although Biden won the popular vote 81.2 million to 74.2 million and the Electoral College 306-232, Trump attempted to overturn the results through legal challenges and political pressure. According to a poll conducted in June by the Economist/YouGov, more than a quarter of Americans believe that the 2020 election was “rigged,” and only a quarter of Americans are “very confident” that the November mid-term elections will be conducted fairly. It is in this heated climate that the retired generals have entered the fray. During an interview with Military Times Monday, Lute said the officers weighed in because they feel it is time to “get back to the basics.” “Before, during and after elections, there are some fundamental rules that everybody ought to agree on, and I think you know why that’s important now,” Lute said. According to the video, the five fundamental principles Team Democracy is asking Americans to commit to are their beliefs in: an honest process; nonviolent campaigns; secure voting; responsible oversight; and trusted outcomes. The generals say that free, fair and trusted elections are the root of democracy, and without belief in the system, trust breaks down. “We know what holds countries together and we know what tears them apart,” Hayden said in the video. “These aren’t liberal ideas, conservative ideas. They are the rules of the road, the ones that make self-governance possible,” Lute said. According to the group, more than 6,000 Americans have signed the principles, including roughly 2,000 candidates across the political spectrum. In addition to supporting the principles, the officers urged Americans to get involved in the election process, sharing trusted information with others, volunteering as a poll worker or taking a tour of local election offices. “I’ve traveled the world and I’ve seen this country at its best. I’ve seen what’s worth protecting,” McChrystal said. Founded by two whitewater rafters — Ken Powley, who operated a rafting company in Weatherly, Pennsylvania, and Chris Newlon, an IT manager and specialist — Team Democracy partnered with The Carter Center and Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation on the Principles for Trusted Elections campaign and has received financial support from The Carter Center to enable its work. In addition to focusing on trust in elections, the group supports programs that support civic engagement and hosts rafting excursions that bring together people of various backgrounds. In his interview, Lute said the political divide has become so rancorous he worries it cannot be overcome, especially regarding the topic of election integrity. But he hopes for a future where election winners will be “gracious winners” who are respectful of their opponents and consider their positions, even if they disagree. “I was part of the transition between Bush and Obama and there was a strong mutual regard for the other party,” Lute said. “There’s an old saying in the Army that I suspect is the same across the other services, that effective leadership reflects that disagreement is not disrespect. … we need to get back to that as a sort of a political model.” The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday against the administration’s proposals to restrict mail-in ballots, allowing states to proceed as usual with their voting processes for this year’s midterm elections. Nearly one-third of the country votes by mail.

David Cox firmly believed he did nothing wrong.Cox didn’t dispute that he and nine other Marines hazed Private 1st Class William Alvarado at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba in 1986. They targeted Alvarado after he reported outside of the chain of command that they were involved in illegal fence-line shootings at Cuban soldiers.“Our platoon commander pulled us aside and said, ‘Don’t take him up to the roof and throw him off and kill him, but if he were to fall down the stairs in the middle of the night, oh, well,” Cox told the Natick Bulletin, his hometown newspaper in Massachusetts, in 1993.Also Read: What it means when a Marine Corps officer hands over a sidearm during a warInstead, the Marines blindfolded Alvarado, tied him up, and shoved a pillowcase into his mouth. They began to shave off Alvarado’s hair when Cox noticed the Marine wasn’t breathing, per reporting from Boston.com. They ended the hazing, informally known as a Code Red among Marines, immediately and Alvarado received medical attention.Thankfully, he survived.Meanwhile, the Marines involved in the incident faced a court-martial for their actions. While seven of the 10 agreed to plea deals, Cox and two other Marines maintained their innocence. They were prepared to let a jury decide their fates. Writing ‘A Few Good Men’ on Napkins Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise), Lt. Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore), and Lt. Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollak) comprised the defense team in ‘A Few Good Men.’ (Castle Rock Entertainment) Aaron Sorkin (“The West Wing,” “Charlie Wilson’s War”) was trying to break through in the entertainment industry in the late 1980s. He was working as a bartender on Broadway in New York City and had written a couple of plays that didn’t attract much attention.His sister, Deborah, was a lawyer in the Navy Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps and represented one of the Marines charged in the Code Red incident. She told Aaron the details of the case, and that inspired him to obtain the court-martial transcripts. During his downtime tending bar, Sorkin told National Public Radio’s “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” in 2019 that he wrote out what became “A Few Good Men” on cocktail napkins.“A Few Good Men” became a hit on the stage before Sorkin wrote the screenplay for the movie version. In the on-screen version, the target of the Code Red died, and the Marine commander who ordered it—-Col. Nathan Jessep (Jack Nicholson)—admitted his guilt during a climactic courtroom scene. In real life, Alvarado did not die from his injuries, and Col. Samuel Adams, who allegedly gave the order, denied he ever did.“He said it must have been a mistake,” Donald Marcari, who represented Cox, told The Virginian-Pilot newspaper. “He said he didn’t realize Code Reds were still going on. But they were. They were very prevalent. We were trying to show there was an implied order. That Marines are so gung-ho, they must follow any order, even if it’s an implied order.” Receiving an Honorable Discharge Two Marines faced a court-martial for murder in ‘A Few Good Men.’ (Castle Rock Entertainment) Like Tom Cruise’s character, Lt. Daniel Kaffee, in “A Few Good Men,” Marcari was extremely early in his career in military justice. He was barely out of law school when he represented Cox, but he overcame his inexperience and did a commendable job.The jury found Cox guilty of simple assault, a misdemeanor, but cleared him of a more serious charge, aggravated battery. He remained in uniform before he left the Marines with an honorable discharge in 1989.Five years later, he went missing.On January 5, 1994, Cox was alone in the apartment he shared with his girlfriend. He then was working part time at UPS, hopeful the position would become more permanent. That day, UPS called to inform him it was hiring him full time, but Cox never got the message. When his girlfriend returned home, he wasn’t there.According to a 1996 episode of “Unsolved Mysteries,” Cox’s girlfriend, Elaine Tinsley, came home and discovered his truck in the driveway. The keys were in the ignition.“When I came into the house that night after work, I realized right away that the doors to all the rooms were open, and our rabbit, who we usually just kept in the kitchen, was hopping all over the place,” Tinsley recalled to “Unsolved Mysteries.” “… As the days went on and there was no news from him, we checked his bank account. There was no activity on his bank account. You start to believe that, you know, maybe something did happen, but why?”Cox hardly ever wore his camouflage Marine Corps jacket, Tinsley said, but it too was missing. An Unexplained Murder Colors fly above the headquarters of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay at sunset on March 5, 2025. (U.S. Navy) Three months later, friends and family received the answer they never wanted to hear about what happened to Cox. In April 1994, a stranger discovered Cox’s body along the Charles River five miles away in Medfield, Massachusetts. Law enforcement officials revealed Cox sustained one gunshot wound in the back of his neck and three more in his torso. He was 27 years old.“It was definitely an execution-style shooting,” Cox’s brother Steve told Boston.com.Based on the evidence, investigators theorized Cox knew his killer. They did not find any indications that Cox put up a struggle for his life. When his body was discovered, he was wearing jeans, a black Marine sniper school hoodie, and his camouflage jacket.Speculation abounded about the motive behind Cox’s murder. “Unsolved Mysteries” delved into a few theories. Some, like Marcari, wondered whether it was tied to Cox’s time in the Marines at Guantanamo Bay. Cox’s mother expressed it might be linked to an explosive radio interview that her son gave regarding the Marines’ activities in Cuba. And Steve Cox mentioned that before his death, his brother told him of “some suspicious—and potentially illegal—activity” involving UPS.The true motive remains unknown more than three decades later, as does the identity of Cox’s killer (or killers). As of last year, the case remains open. Anyone with information is asked to call the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office at 781-830-4800.Don’t Miss the Best of We Are The Mighty• ‘The Fix’ is an action movie for the post-War on Terror world• The Navy said her son died by suicide. This mother pushed back fiercely for the truth• A Marine Corps general led a fictional Iran against the US military—and won Crime Movies and TV The tragic case of the real-life Marine connected to ‘A Few Good Men’ By Stephen Ruiz Civil War Why grave robbing Confederate Civil War dead is big business By Blake Stilwell Army Army investigators doggedly worked to solve a soldier’s murder 3 decades later By Stephen Ruiz Military News The US military can legally invade The Hague to free Americans from the ICC By Blake Stilwell World War II How ‘Axis Sally’ became the first woman convicted of treason against the US By Stephen Ruiz The post The tragic case of the real-life Marine connected to ‘A Few Good Men’ appeared first on We Are The Mighty.