Paul Rieckhoff

It's Time for the President to Prove He's Brady or Eli for Vets

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 03.25.2012

Read More: Michelle Obama, Jobs, Veterans, War, Suicide, Mental Health, Iraq, Afghanistan, Obama, Post-9/11 Gi Bill, State of the Union, Economy, Paul Rieckhoff, Politics News

As all eyes turn to Capitol Hill tonight for the State of the Union address, I'll join 20 fellow Iraq vets on the House floor and millions nationwide and overseas who are looking for crucial promises from the president.

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The Good Guys

The Huffington Post | Posted 05.09.2012

Editing a Good News section is often a lesson in the unbeatable buoyancy of the human spirit. Even in the midst of overwhelming negativity, people lik...

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A Message to All Candidates: Our Troops Aren't Props

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 03.10.2012

Read More: Politics, Department of Defense, Troops, Iava, Afghanistan, Ron Paul, War, Elections 2012, Jesse Thorsen, Iraq, Paul Rieckhoff, Politics News

Our troops are many things to many people. Heroes, parents, diplomats, victims, villains, victors. But as the GOP primary heats up, there is one thing that everyone must understand they're not: political props. And that's not just my opinion, it's the law.

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Paul Rieckhoff: Young Vets Are 'Going To Break Our Backs' To Turn Around America

HuffingtonPost.com | Howard Fineman | Posted 11.26.2011

Read More: Iraq War, Iava, Video, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, War in Afghanistan, Afghan War, Paul Rieckhoff Iava, The Inspirationals, War in Iraq, Paul Rieckhoff, Afghanistan War, Politics News

NEW YORK -- On Thanksgiving Weekend, there is no group of Americans more deserving of thanks than the country's youngest war veterans. One of their...

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WATCH: Paul Rieckhoff On Veteran Unemployment

Posted 12.19.2011

Read More: Iraq Veterans, 2011-Game-Changers, Paul Rieckhoff, Veterans, Veterans Day, Video, Politics News

The Huffington Post honored our 2011 Game Changers at New York's Skylight Soho on Tuesday, celebrating forward-thinking individuals who have changed t...

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SXSW World Premiere and Vets Screening With Elvis

K. Lorrel Manning and Michael Cuomo | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq Veterans, Happy New Year Iraq Film, Movie Premiere, Sxsw 2011, Elvis Mitchell, Roger Ebert, Tina Sloan, Paul Rieckhoff, Entertainment News

Our pre-screening fears were quickly silenced when the lights went down. Happy New Year played beautifully, and the audience response was overwhelming.

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Oscar Nominee Sebastian Junger Speaks About His Year in Deadliest Place on Earth

Joshua Kors | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Best Documentary, Tim Hetherington, Iava, Academy Award, Sebastian Junger, Sal Giunta, Restrepo, Perfect Storm, Afghanistan, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Oscars, Korengal Valley, Paul Rieckhoff, Oscar Nominees, Laura Linney, Time Stands Still, Medal of Honor, Entertainment News

Junger's film, Restrepo, is an eye-opening look at the war for viewers who know Afghanistan only from two-minute clips on cable, followed by hours of political analysis.

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Tweet Your Way to a Great, Productive 2011

2morrowknight | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Social Media, Twitter, Twitter News, Making a Difference, Lotay Yang, The Black Card Circle Foundation, Paul Rieckhoff, Iraq-and-Afghanistan-Veterans-of-America, Impact News

There are lots of numbers in social media: followers, listings, etc. But to me, there is one number that shines above all else: the number of people whose lives are impacted by what you do

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Army: Soldiers Need More Time At Home Between Deployments

HuffingtonPost.com | Amanda Terkel | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Redeployment, Homeless Veterans, General Peter Chairelli, Peter Chiarelli, Afghanistan, Christiane Amanpour, Deployments, Iraq Veterans, Afghanistan Veterans, Ptsd, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Paul Rieckhoff, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Veterans, Homelessness, Politics News

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Repeated troop deployments are putting an enormous strain on members of the U.S. military who are forced to deploy to Iraq and/or Afg...

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This Thanksgiving, Be Thankful for Real Heroes

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Thanksgiving, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iava, Veterans, Sal Giunta, Paul Rieckhoff, Thanksgiving 2010, Politics News

While Black Friday looms, the disconnect between our military and the American public is at its most palpable since I came home from Iraq in 2004.

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Glenn Beck Declares War on Our Veterans

Jake Diliberto | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Fraud, Veterans for Common Sense, Iraq War, Iava, Patriotism, Department of Veterans Affairs, Vote Vets, Unpatriotic, Glenn Beck, Iraq, Paul Rieckhoff, Veterans, Afghanistan War, Rush Limbaugh, Media News

Glenn Beck is the modern day pharisee, a wolf in sheep's clothing. If Beck were aware, he would see American Vets are stomped on with little caution, and IAVA fights for them.

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HuffPost's Greatest Person Of The Day: : Paul Rieckhoff, Iraq Vet And Founder Of The IAVA

The Huffington Post | Dominique Fenton | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq War, Iava, Iraq Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Afghanistan, Veterans Day, Greatest Person of the Day, Iraq, Paul Rieckhoff, Afghanistan War, Veterans, Video, Impact News

Every day on HuffPost, we're highlighting one 'Greatest Person'- an exceptional individual who is confronting the country's economic and political cri...

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Long Story Short: Six Words on Coming Home From War

Larry Smith | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Afghanistan, Iraq, Storytelling, Six-Word Memoirs, Paul Rieckhoff, Veterans Day, Impact News

War is not a simple concept. And yet this Veterans Day and every day, just six words can offer an unflinching glimpse into a soldier's heart.

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The President Talked About Vets at the DAV; I'll Bet You Didn't Read About That

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Dav, Iava, Afghanistan, Va, Iraq, Obama, Paul Rieckhoff, Veterans, Politics News

The president said many of the right things in his veterans speech, but the hard results were lacking. Lip service doesn't go far with military folks. We expect more than rhetoric about respect and promises; we expect outcomes.

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Our Turn

Clint Van Winkle | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Soldiers, Operation in Their Boots, Newsweek, Hurt Locker, Brave New Foundation, Veterans, Oitb, Documentary, Paul Rieckhoff, Entertainment News

Five veterans are making short documentaries that will let people see what the veteran experience is really like. We aren't making Hollywood action movies.

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GI Bill 2010: A Quick Update

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Politics News, Veteran, Jason Hansman, Iava, Veterans GI Bill, Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, Afghanistan, Iraq, College, Don Gomez, Paul Rieckhoff, Politics News

In 2008 we got the new GI Bill passed; in 2009 hundreds of thousands of veterans enrolled in school; and in 2010 we are focused on making the needed upgrades to fill in the gaps and get the benefit right.

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The Hurt Locker, and What it Means to be Addicted to War

Michael Hastings | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Kathryn Bigelow, Iraq War, The Hurt Locker, The Oscars, Hurt Locker, Afghanistan War, Paul Rieckhoff, Entertainment News

Pre-Oscar kneecapping of The Hurt Locker misses the point: despite being set in Baghdad, the film was never really about Iraq. It's about the addiction that grips war correspondents and soldiers alike.

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A Lump of Coal for Our Nation's Veterans From GE's John Krenicki

James Boyce | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Veterans Day, Swiftboating, Votevets, Jon Soltz, John Kerry, Paul Rieckhoff, Politics News

For reasons I don't understand, time and time again, we see Americans who believe not in honoring the service of those that wear the uniform but who use it to take advantage of it.

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"We Got Your Back" -- Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

Craig Newmark | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iava, Paul Rieckhoff, Veterans, Facebook, Media News

Today, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America is premiering a new PSA on their Facebook fan page to coincide with Veterans Day 2009. And you can be among the first to see it.

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Congress Gets Paid, Veterans Get Shafted

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Veteran, Iava, War, Health Care, Iraq, Afghanistan, Congress, Budget, Shinseki, Paul Rieckhoff, Politics News

This year, like 20 out of the last 23 years, the veterans' health care budget is late. In fact, the only budget that did pass on time this year was the one that funds salary checks for members of Congress.

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"Immeasurable Courage and Uncommon Valor"-- Sgt. First Class Jared C. Monti

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Veteran, Medal of Honor, Sgt. Jared Monti, Kanye, 9/11, Obama, Iraq, Afghanistan War, Paul Rieckhoff, Politics News

Last Thursday, we were reminded of what true courage, sacrifice, and heroism is all about.

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Eight Years Later: Why Is There Still A Hole at Ground Zero?

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Rudy Giuliani, Veterans, War, Health Care, 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan, Obama, Ground Zero, September 11th, Paul Rieckhoff, Politics News

I, along with almost two million other troops, were sent to war because of what happened there. Too many lives were lost that day, and too little attention has been given to memorializing them.

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Veterans: Newest Addition to the Health Care Debate

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Health Care, Public Option, Department of Veterans Affairs, Obama, Iava, Shinseki, Veterans, Paul Rieckhoff, Politics News

Hundreds of veterans were in attendance recently to hear Obama and VA Secretary Shinseki promise that despite the rumors, VA health care will be protected.

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As Michael Vick Awaits Hail Mary, Vets Tackle a New GI Bill

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Veteran, Iava, Todd Bowers, Michael Vick, Veterans GI Bill, Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, Iraq, Afghanistan, College, Nfl, Paul Rieckhoff, Politics News

In less than five days, the Post-9/11 GI Bill will finally take effect, ushering in the education dreams of hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops and veterans.

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GAO: VA Failing to Serve Women Warriors

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Veterans Affairs, Patty Murray, Veterans, Women Warriors, Iraq, Afghanistan, Obama, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Health Care, Troops, Government Accountability Office, Paul Rieckhoff, Politics News

This week, the Government Accountability Office released a stunning new report detailing significant barriers that many female veterans face in accessing health care at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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