Of all the vacancies in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet, few have been more closely watched than Secretary of State. On Tuesday, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry was confirmed to replace Hillary Clinton. Kerry, a Vietnam veteran, was easily confirmed by the Senate with a vote of 94 to 3, reports The Boston Globe.
Kerry enjoyed support from both Democrats and Republicans who say he is more than qualified to fill this vital Cabinet post. In addition to his time in Vietnam, which earned him a Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart, Kerry has years of experience in international affairs. Most recently, he was the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“John has earned the respect of leaders around the world and the confidence of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, and I am confident he will make an extraordinary Secretary of State,” Obama said in a statement. “I look forward to his counsel and partnership in the years ahead as we ensure American leadership in the world and advance the interests and values that keep our nation strong.”
The smooth confirmation may signal good news for former Senator Chuck Hagel, whom Obama nominated to replace Leon Panetta as Secretary of Defense. Hagel, who also spent time in Vietnam, will have his first hearing on January 31.
Few people are more affected by the activities in Congress than soldiers and veterans. Their deployments and benefits are often directly tied to what gets through the legislature, so it should come as no surprise that many servicemembers turn to a career in politics to serve as a voice to other troops. Earlier this year, when all the new members of the House of Representatives were sworn in, nine of the new faces included veterans of the country’s most recent wars, reports Stars and Stripes.
Illinois’ Tammy Duckworth
Duckworth earned a fair amount of attention during the campaign not only because she served in the Iraq War, but also because she was seriously injured when she was involved in a helicopter crash. She lost both her legs and suffered significant damage to her right arm. Despite her injuries, she returned to active duty a little more than a year later. Aside from her inspirational story, Duckworth also brings a new perspective to a divided Congress.
“It’s about your constituents and the rest of the nation you serve,” she told the publication. “And we are not all going to get what we want, and not going to like the outcome 100 percent.”
Rep. Brad Wenstrup from Ohio
Wenstrup has been in the Army Reserve Medical Corps since 1998 and served as a combat surgeon in Iraq. Given his close professional relationship with wounded troops, he knows firsthand the challenges they face. As a result, he has signaled that making sure troops get the care they need is one of his top priorities, and with assignments to the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committees, he is well situated to address those issues.
Pennsylvania’s Scott Perry
Perry is one of the most seasoned veterans to get elected to Congress in 2012. He has served in the Army National Guard since 1980, according to Stars and Stripes, a period which includes a 2009 deployment to Iraq. He has pointed to avoiding sequestration, which could have serious ramifications on the military, as his chief concern.
Troops still need more representation
Veterans have long been staples of Congress, with well-respected lawmakers such as John McCain and John Kerry having served. However, their numbers have slipped as of late. This year, around 19 percent of the 535 members of Congress have spent time in the military. In 1977, that figure stood at about 80 percent, according to USA Today.
Just by surviving, Brendan Marrocco had already made history. The 26-year-old soldier became the first person to survive after losing all four of his limbs, injuries he suffered when he was hit with a roadside bomb explode in 2009. On Monday, he entered the record books once again when he received a double arm transplant, an innovative new procedure that could help many wounded troops regain their independence, reports The Associated Press.
A rare surgery
The operation was performed on December 18, but Marrocco’s father only recently made it public. The unique approach included a bone marrow transplant from the donor so that Marrocco was better able to accept the new limbs. Experts say that the operation could signal a breakthrough for the estimated 300 soldiers who have lost an arm or hands in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Marrocco’s surgery was just the seventh such procedure performed inside the United States and took doctors around 13 hours to complete. The operation was led by Dr. W.P. Andrew Lee, who is the chief of plastic surgery at Johns Hopkins University. Lee has been involved in several other similar surgeries, and though there is reason to be hopeful, he stressed that Marrocco has a long road to recovery.
“The maximum speed is an inch a month for nerve regeneration,” Lee told the AP. “We’re easily looking at a couple years [until we know for sure].”
No stranger to adversity
A lengthy recovery likely won’t be unusual territory to Marrocco, who has faced his fair share of challenges since he was wounded. Several months ago his Staten Island home, which was outfitted with more than $895,000 of features to help him get around, was damaged by Hurricane Sandy, according to The New York Times. The house sustained some significant water-related damage, and it was more than a month before he and his family could return.
A beacon of hope
Improvements in modern medicine have helped save the lives of many soldiers wounded by improvised explosive devices, and as a result the number of soldiers coming home with amputations has been especially high over the last decade-plus of war. An estimated 1,500 soldiers have had at least one limb amputated. Of those who lost a limb, 83 percent have lost one or both legs, according to The Huffington Post. Marrocco’s success could have a far-reaching impact on hundreds of wounded soldiers.
Women have been playing a vital role in the United States military for years, yet despite the fact that they were being deployed overseas alongside their male counterparts, they were still banned from serving in combat roles. That all changed on Thursday, however, when the Pentagon announced that, for the first time, it would allow female soldiers to serve in infantry and commando units.
A long time coming
Though technically not in combat units, female soldiers have played a vital role in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last 10-plus years, often coming under heavy fire. In fact, an estimated 12 percent of soldiers deployed in the two wars were women, and they made up around 2 percent of the casualties, according to Reuters.
The changes are expected to be fully implemented by 2016 and will open up around 230,000 new positions to female soldiers. In making the announcement, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that providing more opportunities to troops, regardless of their gender, will make the Armed Forces much stronger.
“Every person in today’s military has made a solemn commitment to fight and, if necessary, to die, for our nation’s defense,” he said. “We owe it to them to allow them to pursue every avenue of military service for which they are fully prepared and qualified.”
Widespread praise
The move by Panetta, who is expected to leave his post as Defense Secretary shortly after more than 18 months on the job, has been applauded by many people both inside and outside the military community. Among its biggest champions is Gen. Richard Myers, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who praised the decision during a recent interview on CBS This Morning.
“Anybody can be on the front line,” he told hosts Charlie Rose and Norah O’Donnell. “Women are fighting, they’re dying and they’ve shown they have great skills.”
Just the latest barrier
The decision to lift the ban on women in combat positions continues the tradition of breaking down barriers in the military over the last two years. In 2011, for instance, the “don’t ask don’t tell” policy, which barred gay and lesbian soldiers from serving openly, was officially removed.
This isn’t the first stride made that will help women advance their military careers. In December, three female Navy officers broke new ground when they earned their “dolphins,” the branch’s oldest warfare pins, according to Navy Times.
As the United States prepares to leave Afghanistan, the Army will likely see a decrease in the number of soldiers, and as a result some bases across the country could have to downsize as well. The potential for downsizing was outlined in a recent Army report that said military installations could see a reduction of up to 8,000 troops, according to Stars and Stripes.
The findings are based on a plan to reduce the total force of the Army from about 562,000 to 490,000 by 2020. Army officials hope there could be alternatives to reducing the number of military personnel stationed at bases around the United States, including inactivating combat brigades and realigning other troops.
“These actions are being undertaken to reshape the Army’s forces to meet more effectively national security requirements while reducing the Army’s end-strength,” the Army said in a release. “Force realignment and some level of force reduction will impact most major Army installations.”
Though there have been some concerns about what impact a smaller force size could have on the Army’s capabilities, some experts say that a greater focus on intelligence gathering and special operations will help ensure the United States Armed Forces remains.
Practices such as meditation and yoga may not seem like they fit in with the rigorous training of the Marine Corps, but some officials are working to include the techniques to make soldiers more mindful of their surroundings. The initiative is making its way through pilot studies and could soon be part of training for all Marines, according to The Associated Press.
The push to include mindfulness training – a concept focused around active attention and staying in the moment – comes from the belief that brain calming techniques could improve the performance of soldiers. Officials also hope the practice could reduce the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental strains on troops who have spent time in combat zones.
“Some people might say these are Eastern-based religious practices but this goes way beyond that,” Jeffery Bearor, the executive deputy of the Marine Corps training and education command, told the news provider. “This is not tied to any religious practice. This is about mental preparation to better handle stress.”
The focus on the mental component of military service comes as the number of suicides has been on the rise. In 2012, the number of military suicides rose to a record 349.
After he was sworn in for the second time on Monday, President Barack Obama’s speech covered a lot of ground. He touched on everything from civil rights to global warming, but the military community may have been most interested in the plans he laid out for the Armed Forces as the United States brings a decade of war to a close. Although he hinted at a second term that will avoid any prolonged military conflict, he did say that the country should maintain a presence in all corners of the globe.
A shifting landscape
As he promised when he was first campaigning for president, Obama has overseen the end of the war in Iraq, and American forces are readying to be fully out of Afghanistan by 2014. Additionally, there has been talk about a more streamlined military as the Pentagon looks to cut its large budget. Despite the changes, Obama made sure to point out that the United States will still maintain its place in the geopolitical world, and support causes for freedom around the globe.
“America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation,” he told a crowd estimated to be at around 600,000 people. “We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom.”
Military may see new focus
The statements are similar to ones Obama has been making for much of the last year. In early 2012, he unveiled a new plan that would create a military more focused on abilities such as intelligence-gathering and special operations, reports USA Today. In the same press conference, he detailed plans to shift the efforts of the United States from the Middle East to Asia, where China and North Korea are playing a bigger role.
New strategy amid uncertainty
Though Obama has laid out detailed plans for the military, there are still concerns about funding. Most significantly, the threat of sequestration – across the board $500 billion budget cuts over 10 years – looms large over the decision-making of top military brass.
Although the United States is lending support in France’s military operation in Mali, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the American public should not be concerned about putting more U.S. troops at risk in the region. During a press conference in Portugal, Panetta ruled out the chance that the U.S. will put forces on the ground in the West African nation, reports The Associated Press.
The United States’ current role in the fight against al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is largely in the form of intelligence gathering, but it could eventually develop into one that sees American planes landing in Mali. While Panetta maintains that the ongoing French mission there is important, he stressed that putting troops in harm’s way is something he’s not interested in.
“There is no consideration of putting any American boots on the ground at this time,” he said at a press conference alongside Portuguese Defense Minister Jose Aguiar Branco, according to the AP.
Panetta may be committed to avoiding any entanglements, but the situation in Mali is developing quickly, The New York Times reports. The threat that the militant groups pose is still being interpreted, and some military officials have supported the idea of drone strikes or other significant involvement.
Earlier this month members of Congress averted the fiscal cliff when they passed a deficit-reduction plan at the last minute. While drastic cuts were avoided, a new debate on Capitol Hill could threaten pay to servicemembers and other federal employees. In a news conference on Monday, President Barack Obama warned that failing to raise the debt ceiling could have a negative impact on everything from veteran benefits to the ability to honor contracts.
The debate echoes one that gripped the nation during the summer of 2011, and while the United States technically reached its debt limit at the end of December, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geitner managed to extend the deadline by approximately two months. Still, the government could have trouble making payments by as early as February 15, and Obama said there is an immediate need to act.
"We've got to stop lurching from crisis to crisis to crisis when there's this clear path ahead of us that simply requires some discipline, some responsibility, and some compromise," he told reporters.
The ongoing debate comes as the threat of sequestration looms once again. Large, automatic spending cuts to the military budget will go into action on March 1 unless Congress can reach a deal.
A group of Islamist extremists has posed an ever-growing threat to the West African country of Mali, and as France becomes involved, the United States’ military may also soon play a larger role. Now that France and Britain authorized air strikes over the weekend, the U.S. has also lent support in the form of drones and logistical aid, USA Today reports.
While the Pentagon has been silent on specifics when it comes to the role the U.S. will play in the future, there has been speculation it will be similar to how it aided NATO in Libya. The U.S. offers the capability of aerial refueling and surveillance, something which could prove useful as France expands its fight against insurgents.
“We stand by our French allies and they can count on U.S. support,” Lt. Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement. “I won’t get into the specific nature of our support. As Secretary [Leon] Panetta has said, we share France’s concern in Mali and we will support the French and international community in the effort to counter the terrorist threat there.”
The decision from France to bomb certain rebel targets is indicative of a shift in how the situation in Mali will be handled. Originally, the plan was to provide support to Mali’s military, but recent developments suggest that may not be a feasible option.