Veterans

The divorce rate in the armed forces held steady last year at 3.3% despite the stress that marriages are under during persistent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some veterans questioned whether the figure, reported by the Pentagon, presents an accurate picture. But Defense officials credited efforts in recent years to support couples enduring uncommonly long separations and other hardships because of those wars. The divorce rate represented more than 25,000 failed marriages among the nearly 755,000 married active duty troops in all military branches between Oct. 1, 2006, and Oct. 1, 2007.

Calling it a high honor, President Bush warmly greeted 107-year-old Frank Woodruff Buckles, described by the White House as the last known surviving American-born veteran of World War I. "Mr. Buckles' mind is sharp, his memory is crisp, and he's been sharing with me some interesting anecdotes," Bush said in the Oval Office. Buckles sat quietly with his hands clasped as the president spoke during a short photo opportunity. Bush said that before reporters came into the room, Buckles had recalled chatting with Gen. John J. Pershing, a legendary figure from World War I. Buckles, a resident of Charles Town, W.Va.

Aboard the retired cruise ship Queen Mary -- a World War II veteran redeployed as a tourist attraction -- former members of the armed services Thursday got an extra ration of employment help. But, between a sagging economy and years of specialized experience, many veterans say they still can't find decent jobs or feel pigeonholed into low-paying fitness, security or law enforcement positions.

The VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System began offering 20-minute HIV tests at its downtown ambulatory care center Tuesday -- part of a campaign to encourage more veterans to get tested and treated for the virus. "HIV testing is the gateway to life-saving therapy," said Dr. Earl Tso, a primary care physician who is leading the downtown center's outreach effort. In the past, veterans wanting to be tested for HIV had to have blood drawn and sent to a laboratory for analysis.

A Jamaican man accused of carrying pipe-bomb parts in checked luggage at Orlando International Airport is a U.S. Army veteran who recently served as a contractor in Iraq, sources said. Kevin Christopher Brown, whom FBI agents quoted as saying he wanted to show friends in Jamaica "how to build explosive devices like he saw in Iraq," worked as a contractor there through late 2007.

Minutes after routine surgery for acute appendicitis in October 2003, Staff Sgt. Dean Witt, 25, was being moved to a recovery room at a Northern California military hospital when he gasped and stopped breathing. A student nurse assisting an understaffed anesthesia team tried to resuscitate Witt and failed. Inexplicably, Witt's gurney was wheeled into a pediatric area. Lifesaving devices sized for children, not a 175-pound adult, proved useless, according to an internal report on the incident.

Re "For whom does Old Glory wave?," May 2 Reading about the controversy in Montrose saddened me because the two groups -- the war protesters and those who support the veterans' memorial -- appear to be talking past each other. This, unfortunately, is a microcosm of what is transpiring in our country with regard to the Iraq war. What mostly saddened me, however, was to read about a high school junior with plans to enlist who spit at the protesters, saying that only veterans have a right to "say anything."

A new installation at the Japanese American National Museum in L.A. will be dedicated May 31 as a permanent complement to the National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism in Washington. The East Coast monument was erected in 2000 to honor Japanese Americans who fought for their country during World War II -- and to commemorate the forced internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during the war. The L.A. memorial consists of a donor wall of glass, steel and concrete, by Fresno designer Sidney Mukai, recognizing those who helped finance the East Coast memorial.

Here in the Republican stronghold of eastern San Diego County, Duncan Hunter the son is attempting to succeed Duncan Hunter the father in the 52nd Congressional District. The elder Hunter is leaving Congress after 14 terms and a failed try this year for the GOP nomination for president. When he first ran for Congress in 1980, he was a 31-year-old combat veteran from Vietnam. His son is a 31-year-old combat veteran from Iraq and Afghanistan.

This could be a make-or-break year for Matt Leinart, who has talent around him. Will former Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan be able to step in and play right away? Is Brett Favre in the Ravens' future? Joe Flacco could certainly use a mentor. -- TEAM LOCATION CAMP REPORT DAY ARIZONA CARDINALS Flagstaff, Ariz. Wednesday (rookies and veterans) -- -- ATLANTA FALCONS Flowery Branch, Ga. July 25 (rookies and veterans) -- -- BALTIMORE RAVENS Westminster, Md. Monday (rookies)