iraq then we'll talk to margaret harrell with a report on military suicide and andrew tilghman. "washington journal" is next. ♪ ♪ host: good morning. it is friday, november 11, 2011. this holiday got its start in 1919 when president woodrow wilson claimed an armistice day when fighting ceased between the allied nations and germany in world war i.

to mark veterans day on "washington journal" we have a full lineup of guests. we begin with a question for you about america's connectedness with its military. is it are forgotten 1%? many people are looking at the consequences of an all-volunteer army and the closing of many military bases around the country and suggesting it has consequences for us from a policy perspective. we will talk about that and open up our phone lines on this veterans day morning. good friday morning to you, a day when lots of people who look at numbers are looking at today, 11-11-11. we are going to spend our morning talking about veterans day. this chart tells the story

behind our question to you this morning. it's a graphic demonstration of the total percent of the u.s. population who are in the armed forces from 1900 to 2010. the first spike, of course, world war i. look at the numbers for world war ii. korean war, vietnam war. since 2000, about 1% of the total population has served in the armed forces. the consequences of this are discussed in a number of pieces we have set the table. first of all, "time" magazine. the cover story, "an army of apart." here's a little bit of what mark thompson wrote in a blog piece.

he writes -- ullen, a quote --len, this subject also explored in other places today. if your interested in more

reading about it, there are certainly other opportunities. first of all, the editorial page of "the washington post." open " the forgotten one% -- 1%." forgotten o host: he goes on to talk about

the policy perspective. host: a discussion about the use of our military. one more article and then we will get to some of your calls. that's the front page of "usa today." "today's congress has fewer veterans." gregory korte has written the story.

he quotes donald zillman. host: that's the backdrop for our question. is america's military the forgotten 1%? let's begin with gary in oklahoma, libertarian. caller: good morning, c-span. host: good morning. caller: yes, i am a vietnam veteran -- one of those young kids who thought i was doing the proper thing, doing the honorable thing, serve my country, blah, blah, blah.

found out that was a bad, stupid thing to do. host: it was the subject of many college campuses and kitchens all around the country were intimately aware of. the point now, have we lost that today? caller: i will tell you. in this part of the country, in oklahoma, we have lost a lot of young people from the national guard, which is very upsetting to me. these young people have no business being over there. we lost a young 19-year-old girl last week. i spend my 19th birthday in vietnam. a 19-year-old female lost in combat cannot be allowed to happen. i feel very strongly about our young people serving in the military need to take steps to have some sort of program,

little coffeeshops, little businesses, where they feel they can go and sit down and talk. they literally are the 1% now. it's very hard to relate to other people at large. the fact is, especially most vietnam veterans, those kids and young people who served during that area -- succored by our own peers. i'm not sure that can be washed away. i swear to god. i think that sentiment is still prevalent among a lot of people in this country. host: we're going to jump to another caller. "time" magazine reminds us, with the drawdown of troops in iraq, 45,000 troops will be coming back. their unemployment rate is

already higher than the national average, 12% down. next is a call from dayton, ohio. kathleen is a democrat there. caller: hi, susan. i've been going to the veterans administration for a long time with my father. i had the honor to talk to a lot of iraqi and afghanistan veterans. the other day i talked to a double amputee. we do not go in our discussions anywhere they do not want to go. it's incredibly sad what these young people have been through and that the american public are basically in the dark about what they have been through. for me, personally, i was against both innovations -- both invasions.

at the same time, i do support our troops. i know young people get sent to wars often -- in this case, based on false allegations in regard to iraq. i do think the american public needs to have compassion, really needs to go out there and find out what they've been through and really support them, if they can. host: kathleen, a question for you. if you believe americans do not pay attention, what are the consequences for us from a national debate or policy perspective? caller: in talking to these it keeps the rest of the american public in a bubble about what really went on. and media, not c-span, also kept the american public in a bubble about the atrocities taking place. host: the question is, is there

a remedy? caller: i have three daughters. when my youngest, who is 24, was at home and they invaded iraq, i stood by that there should be a draft. i still stand by that. it's not going to come back. they are not going to let it come back. your reality of war would come back for the american public. i do not think our military wants that. i would have told my young person to be a conscientious objector. i know there are reasons for wars. iraq was not one of them. no, i firmly believe in the draft. i think it would really forced the american public into the reality of what goes on. i think it would make them take -- they would research and find out if what the president and the administrations were true.

host: castling, thank you -- kathleen, thank you. a tweet from sal. next up, brentwood, california. cliff, a republican, good morning. caller: good morning. if our troops are forgotten, it's because of "the new york times," "the washington post," cbs, and even c-span. americans are not reminded of those killed. apparently, all we need to do it to have our soldiers remembered is have a republican president. americans were witness to daily death counts.

we have a world platoon over there. about joy killings and torture killings. none of you cover it. i go to icasualties.com to find out the truth. i think it's really odd that you use the term 1%. i think you got it from "the washington post" -- some connection to occupy wall street. host: why is that odd? caller: clearly, the mention of the term 1% puts us in remembrances of what's going on in oakland, boston, which is a bunch of rapes, assaults, arrests.

host: what's your point? caller: the term 1% is metaphorical, is symbolic of occupy wall street. host: it's also the exact number of the population serving. we're going to be going back and forth on this. thank you for your call this morning. this is a tweet. "the washington post" and almost every paper has a veterans day photograph and many have stories. "the washington post" take is how arlington national cemetery, especially in one section, section 60, families are violating the rules there.

here is what christian davenport writes. host: next is a call from shreveport, louisiana. good morning, randy, independent there. caller: thank you. i have to sign up for the draft in vietnam. i missed that by the skin of my teeth. i did not know at the time, but i finally found out later in years that my father was going to send me to canada until he

saw what was going on in vietnam, what a big farce it was. you go to war to win it, not to kill 50,000 people. all these wars are orchestrated. they have been orchestrated ever since the civil war. britain is no friend of ours. these wars are orchestrated, supported by the banking system. they create these recessions and depressions, the good times, and everything else. j.p. morgan, goldman sachs, bank of america, wells fargo, a citibank, bank of england, the french banks and the german banks. these things are orchestrated. the people in the middle east, that did not happen by accident. it is crazy. we need a strong defense. sending them over there to help

wealthy corporations and everything else, that's crazy. host: thank you. next is a call from oklahoma. victor is a veteran. good morning >. caller: good afternoon. i'm calling about -- as far as us been veterans. veterans are the true cosmetology of american society. jews, blacks, whites -- we're all in various cultures. once you put yourself within a military society, we're all one. we're all american military . host: what are the consequences of that? caller: the consequences are very positive. we are able to overcome a lot of

the adversities that other societies are having problems with. host: a plus for people who are part of the military. caller: definitely a plus. it makes us americans. that's what we are. we're over here and america trying to beat american. host: two stories in "the washington post" related to the military. first, an investigation into what's happening at dover air force base with the remains of service people. the air force told to review were sure reactions.

"the testimony said, if you look how it is handled routinely in civilian life, there are procedures exactly that way." below that, on fort hood. host: we are talking about

whether or not -- is america's military the forgotten 1%? if so, are the consequences to that? don is a democrat. caller: good morning. o sure "forgotten" is the right turn. i think the military gets more respect than in the 1970's, when i was overseas. the respect rainout is a lot better, but there are some consequences to the 1%. ironically, chris matthews' book kind of identifies some of its. once you're in the military, you get this sense of working together for something bigger than yourself, which relates back to civic duty back here.

the greatest generation, which was at 10%, according to your statistics, came back and build highways and roads, and came back and felt like they belong to and had a vested interest in america. now, with the military only being 1%, that civic duty, that responsibility to contribute and build the country for your children -- that is waning and that is reflected within the baby boomers who are so reluctant to give up taxes for and things likemuni infrastruce that. it's not so much that the military is forgotten, but the consequences is a lack of civic duty for america and general. host: thank you, don, for engaging in the debate this

morning. yesterday, the senate passed 94- 0 the jobs for veterans portion of the president's plan. "usa today" has this story. yesterday, the head of the fed went to fort bliss, texas to make a speech about the economy. here is coverage of it in "the washington post." >> i know the people in military service, like all americans, are facing lots of challenges. your home towns may be struggling with foreclosures. you may have had difficulty getting a loan to buy a car or house. you may have family members who are having trouble finding employment in a tough job market. you may be worried about your own job prospects when the time comes for you to leave the military. i appreciate these concerns very much and i thought i believe it

little time telling you what the federal reserve is doing to help strengthen our economy and increase economic opportunity. host: fed chairman ben bernanke at fort bliss yesterday. we have the full coverage in the c-span video library. "the new york times" about the soldiers who are on trial for killing -- for sport killing.

"later on, we learned the soldiers were members of the fifth striker brigade second infantry division, which deployed to afghanistan from the space in 2009." host: next is a call from memphis, tennessee. larry is a veteran. you are on the air. caller: good morning. i have been looking for a job. even though i am a military veteran, i cannot find a job anywhere. i do not even think people care about the military veterans, especially the republicans. every time a republican president gets in office, they

cut the military benefits. republicans do not care about the military. then we have all these wars. i went in when i was 18. i did not know any better. i see why they want young people. i found out the vietnam war was all a lie. afghanistan, iraq, anywhere. thank you. host: raymond kelly will be our guest at 8:15. he is the service director of the vfw. "washington times" story about veterans is about the lack of a world war i memorial on the mall.

you can see this. "d.c. fights for wwi memorial." "make sure it is not a marginal rise in the annals of u.s. history." next is a call from pittsburgh. republican, you are on. caller: good morning. as a 30-year navy veteran, i think it is important today that we simply pause and recognize the sacrifice and in many cases, the giving of one's life -- are you there? host: yes. caller: to serve in the military, i think that is important. i also think it is important for people who call in and critics

of different mores -- of different wars to separate the facts that the decisions to engage in these conflicts are made by the president and the congress and not the military. the military simply implements the decisions and they do so very well. host: we showed a the "usa today" story on how less congressmembers a surge in the military. caller: i was in the military from 1959 until 1989. at that time, we had a substantial number, democrats and republicans, who had served in world war ii. they were advocates and supporters of the military. i think there's a tendency now,

especially after the end of the cold war in the 1980's with the soviet union falling, i think there's a tendency to think we can just cut everything. i think what we ought to be doing in this country, our politicians, is we need to move into this century and update our military strategy and determine what our priorities are. i would be one who would advocate bringing some of our troops out of europe and korea and different places. we need to rethink our trastraty and how we use our military. it should be leaner and downsize. our number one goal is to protect people in this country. our military has done a wonderful job of that. host: echoing those sentiments is the lead editorial in "the washington post" today.

here is a little bit of what they write. "problems uncovered earlier at arlington national cemetery" -- which we talked about earlier in the week.

host: on the phone with us right now is mark thompson. we have been showing you his cover story in this week's "time" magazine, "an army of paapart." we have shared some of your reporting on this about the 1% and also former secretary of defense gates. what are the possible remedies? >> we have got to decide if this is an issue. some people say the military, like a football team, it should be made up of the best and the elite. the country has to decide, as a democracy, if that's the way we want to go. if we decide, maybe in a

democracy, we need a military that's more representative to which more americans contribute, then you run into the issue of the draft or some sort of national service where military might be one option or another. the military, of course, opposes this. they like the idea of professional troops. they stay in longer. they do not need as much training. you do not have new people coming in every two years. you can engage in more sophisticated military maneuvers and tactics. there are arguments on both sides. i do not think the country has sat down yet and had the necessary discussion. that is, is this how we want our military to be? host: it happens as an evolutionary process. guest: that is right. since 9/11, everything else went on hold. we realize all the sudden, there was a fellow killed last month in afghanistan who was on his

14th combat tour. one can only imagine what some of these soldiers are going through. not only today, but these folks will have issues for decades. i do not think the country has addressed that either. host: about the consequences of the 45,000 troops coming home from iraq into society, what are some of the concerns about these military communities? guest: i think about 1/3 of them have come home. president obama announced on october 21 they would be coming home. that was not a lot of time. they are effectively running all around, and getting out through kuwait. assuming the, " immediately, and the pentagon is not telling us that, even though the president said they would be home for the

holidays, there's some suggestion that will take their time. eventually, they will end up at fort bragg, fort bliss, or fort hood. these are military towns. these are places that are used to the churn of troops coming in and out. there used to that. the problem is when they tried to mix with the bigger society. i've talked to many soldiers who basically, once they come down from the adrenaline high of having been in combat, everyone else seems abnormal -- the rest of us citizens. in some way, they resent the fact that they are doing all the work. the families certainly presents it. jack jacobs told me, we are so happy with the troops because we are not the troops. that's the fundamental truth in

the country today. host: mark thompson, national security award winning reporter for "time" magazine has written the cover story and also on his web on "time" magazine's site. thank you for giving us a taste of this week's cover story. guest: thank you. host: we are taking calls until 7:45 eastern time. our topic this morning -- is america's military the forgotten 1%? if so, are there consequences of that? our next telephone call. independent, good morning. caller: some of the world war ii troops, i thank all of the men and women important in military combat. and a product of the 1950's

1970's -- all the issues we stood up for. i am basically an independent. i stand up for the best people, not necessarily what party they are affiliated with. more important than some of the misgivings and shortcomings from war, we have to focus our energy struggles toward not only the people in combat now, but when they return home, a meaningful life and existence above and beyond what they have offered. these little punks who complain about -- god only knows.

they are around the world pretty much representing i don't know what. maybe the banks. maybe capitalism. we need their help. wasted enough time and space and talking about their privacy when they're sitting on public property. wake up and smell the coffee. host: "usa today" editorial, "when the wars come home." c-span junky sends this. one of our segments this morning will be the rising number of

military and veterans suicides and what the v.a., the army, and other branches of military are doing to address that. next is an arbor, michigan. good morning to jim. you are on the air. caller: vote for higher heroes act of 2011. demint is the only one who did not vote for that. he said veterans do not deserve special treatment. i would like to ask a question. i thought that was kind of root. i think veterans and military are the backbone of this country. i look up to them with great respect. i get a lot of feedback from republicans when they say government does not create jobs, they work for the taxpayers. that's about it.

host: we will let your questions stand for others to answer. a military historian and biographer who has written books that have been best sellers, including some of the recent titles -- he teaches at johns hopkins. his piece in "the wall street journal" is about america's distinctive way of waging war. he talks about the notion of conquering into liberty. if you would like to read more, "the wall street journal" this morning. tony tweets this. in "the washington post" newspaper, two organizations, two companies marking veterans day.

boeing has this ad. northrop grumman, the sponsor of this ad in the paper. our question to you is about whether or not the military is are forgotten 1% and are there consequences? next is biloxi. larry is a veteran. good morning. you are on the air. caller: thank you for taking my call. i would like to say thank you to all the veterans on this veterans day. our leaders of this country are the ones who have pretty much forgotten military. they keep looking for ways to save money. the first thing they do is they want to cut the benefits and the

things that were promised to the military for their service. after you spend 20 years or 25 years in the military, you are promised certain things, like a retirement check, medical care, and things like that. it seems they have changed everything in midstream. before you retire from the service, they changed it to where you have to pay for your medical service. even the president has said we should be proud to pay for our medical service. congress keeps voting themselves raises. spending 20 years or 25 years of your life in service of the country and then having your benefits eroded for the sake of saving money. thank you. host: thank you, larry, from the looks, mississippi. we've been hearing a lot more

about the administration's concerns about iran. "the wall street journal" front page >>"the obama administration has quietly drawn up plans to provide a key persian gulf allied with thousands of advanced." back to our question. dennis lane tweets -- the iran story is also in "the washington times." host: next is a telephone call from greenwood, south carolina.

marshall is a republican there. good morning. please hit the mute on your tv. we are getting feedback. can you do it pretty quick? caller: yeah. host: go ahead. caller: i spent 23 years in the military and i found that it was a pretty nice thing. i've got a lot of good things to say about the military. when i went in, there was segregation. blacks did not like whites and whites did not like blacks. i found some of my best friends, most of my best friends, were black. in fact, i have never been to washington, d.c. before. the first time i came back from overseas, i stopped off there.

i stopped in new york and got down to washington. i was walking down the street in washington. i found out -- i was kind of in a scary situation. there were too many people, too many guys, following me and looking me over. host: with such short time, tell us the point of your story. caller: ok. my story is only that the military is not that bad. it brought together some good people. i think the military deserves more credit for being friends and deserving people. host: thank you for your call. next is homestead, florida. tina is an independent there.

caller: thank you for taking my call. not a lot of people know about veterans day. people just ignore it. they do not know how hard our soldiers work to save our country, to keep our country free. no one knows how hard it is for them to everybody just does not care about. it's all about -- nobody cares anymore. i think that lots of people need to know about veterans day, need to know about how hard our soldiers fight to keep our country free. host: thank you very much. we will have a number of segments in our program this morning. in a couple of minutes, we will be talking with the chief spokesperson for the military in iraq about the troop withdrawal, how that is going, and what's ahead for the soldiers there.

washington itself is awash in veterans day celebrations all over the city. we will be covering the major one of those, the arlington national cemetery veterans day observance at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. it was at 11:00 a.m. at the end of the world war when the armistice was in force. at 11:00 a.m. on c-span today, the veterans day observance from the national cemetery. we will now take a quick break. we will be back talking with major general jeffrey buchanan about the withdrawal of troops in iraq. ♪ >> best selling author karl marlantes recognizes and comes to terms with his post-traumatic

stress disorder. >> started telling this guy about my symptoms, jumping up in the middle of the night, running outside without knowing what's going on. i would be out of my own car and just attacking the car behind me. he said to me, "have you ever been in a war?" that hit me so hard. i'm in the middle of this room with 80 people. i started balling. have you ever been in a war? it was that simple. >> more about his life on sunday night on c-span's "q&a." >> extremism in the defense of liberty is now bias. let me remind you, also, that moderation in the pursuit of

justice is no virtue. >> he lost the 1964 presidential election to lyndon johnson, but barry goldwater's ideas galvanized the conservative movement. the five-term senator from arizona is featured this week on "the contenders." >> "washington journal" continues. host: as we continue our program on this veterans day, let me introduce you to our next guest, who joins us live from baghdad this morning. major-general jeffrey buchanan. he serves as the chief spokesperson. our goal is to get a bird's-eye view from your position about the troop withdrawal to areas where do things stand right now? guest: thank you for having me on your show today and veterans day -- and happy veterans day.

things are going very well. we're on track to honor our commitment to the iraqi and american people by living out article 24, the security agreement signed in 2008. that mandates that all of our troops are withdrawn by the end of the year. as far as base transitions, redeployment, and personnel redeployment, we are on track what are some of the security issues -- on track. host: what are some of the security issues? guest: iraq is still a dangerous place. we still see threats from al- qaeda, as well as some of the iranian backed military groups. they want to continue to try to attack our troops, either on our bases or during our movements. we approach every one of the movements as a deliberate operation.

we use intelligence. we coordinate our surveillance and reconnaissance. we provide support with -- aviation support. we work with iraqi security to clear the routes and provide security for our troops. host: there's a story in "the new york times" this morning. it describes the decisions about what goes and what stays in the country. will you tell us about those decisions? guest: sure. we have redeployed a significant amount of equipment. if you look at where we were on the first of september this year, just a couple of months ago, we had about 20,000 truckloads of equipment to move out. we are down to around 10,000 now. that continues to move. with the equipment itself, the military equipment, the military hardware, are tanks and military trucks, artillery pieces, those

are all being redeployed, dumb and only through -- redeployed, dominant lead through kuwait. we have a certain amount of equipment and a small percentage of that military that gets transferred to the department of state. we do have some special vehicles we are transferring to the state department for the embassy's use, as well as systems to detect incoming mortars or rockets. then we have nonmilitary equipment, some of which will get transferred to the state department, like our armored suburban street a lot of the equipment gets transferred to the iraqi government. these are mostly things we do not need in the united states and would not be worth the cost

it would take to ship them back to the u.s. i'm talking about things like old trailers, container housing the air conditioners that cool those down. some of those have been in operation over the last seven years. those kinds of things, we inventory and catalog. we transfer that to the iraqi government. we have saved about $680 million so far in not shipping that unnecessary equipment back to the u.s. host: let's talk about the personnel. the president has said the troops will be home by christmas. in fact, are all the troops leaving iraq coming home right away? guest: we're on track completely to honor our commitment to the security agreement that all our troops have to be out of the country by december 31 of this

year. at the height of the surge, we have about 165,000 troops in the country and we have drawn down a significant amount since the summer of 2010, when we shifted from a focus on security operations to stability operations. we changed our operational name to new dawn. for the bulk of the past year, we've kept between 45,000 to 49,000 troops in the country. we had a lot of work to do under stability obligations. in the last several months, we started to withdraw more significantly our numbers. our priorities have changed from advising training and assisting and equipping the iraqi security forces to praepostor in our troops.

we are down to about 27,000 troops in the country and on track to go to zero by the end of the year. host: people are reading in the newspapers that there's discussion by the president and the defense department that more regional bases will be established. in lieu of those decisions being finalized, will the troops becoming back to the u.s. and then redeployed to the region? we heard from mark thompson of "time" magazine that a good number of them may go to kuwait. guest: the united states central command maintains a number of troops in a number of countries. we have a number of allies in the region. some of these troops are conducting security operations. for example, our fifth fleet that operates based out thatbahrain but spends most of

this time patrolling the waters of the arabian gulf. some of them are involved in missions of various security forces. that's a very important part of our engagement throughout the world. the troops that amount of iraq, the majority of them, will deploy to their home states in the united states or elsewhere. some of them could be re- missioned. that's fairly common. ouor combatant commanders around the world have requirements. the troops that are available to meet those requirements, those are decided by the president and the secretary of defense in terms of priority. some of the troops that are here could be re-missioned elsewhere.

host: we want to get to your calls. before i do that, the question, the u.s. commitment of treasure and lives there. the casualties over all in the two phases of the operation, about 4500 dead, 32,000 wounded. that's just the u.s. military personnel, not including contractors or iraqi civilians. some of the cost estimates of the war since 2001, approximately $802 billion. that's from the christian science monitor. you have been giving interviews recently. i will show one of them to our viewers. you have also been talking to american newspapers about your concerns on the rise of al-qaeda in the region after we leave. with those two thoughts in mind, what have accomplished and what

are we leaving behind? guest: first of all, i think veterans day is a good opportunity for us all to reflect on the sacrifices of so many iraqis, americans, as well as our coalition partners over the years. as someone who has seen a lot of what has gone on over the years, this is my fifth,00 vetes day spent in iraq since 2003. i've seen a lot of crisis. my son has done a tour here. i've seen the effect on my family. i've lost friends, both iraqi and american. the cost of our involvement here has certainly been high. i've seen the tremendous opportunities the iraqi people have now.

i've seen the development of the iraqi security forces. from a force that served a brutal dictator to one that now serves to protect all the people. the opportunities iraqi people have now, not only to choose their own form of government, but to choose who is running the government, the opportunity to develop economically so the nation's wealth benefits all the people rather than just a corrupt regime. and the opportunity for this country, iraq, to rejoing the league of responsible nations. it can be a positive role model for other democracies as they tried to achieve their own future or achieve their own potential. i think the iraqi people deserve a country that is stable, sovereign, and self-reliant. they are not there yet. they have not reached it.

i think they've made progress on each of these areas. i think they have tremendous opportunities to continue to move forward. we have committed to a long-term partnership with the rock in a country -- with iraq. a country that is stable and sovereign is good for our interest. this continues to be a work in progress. i think they're headed on the right road. they have not yet reached their potential. host: there are news reports that the president of the united states, barack obama, and the prime minister have a november 12 meeting. phone calls.your lots for you to follow up on. we begin with virginia, an independent. caller: hello. yes, bless this day.

let's pray for the veterans. thank you for your service, general. pray for the country. pray for peace in the 21st century. the world needs love today, as much love as you can give. thank you, c-span. host: thank you. moving on to a call from robert, who is a veteran. go ahead. caller: the most outstanding thing i remember is the fact that we have been lied to so much. in vietnam, we were lied to every day. i in iraq, we went into that war with a bunch of lies. that is what is paramount right now, the fact that so many people remember that there are so many lies about these wars. i think that's why they are so

unpopular. guest: robert, if i can just take a moment to say one thing. that is this. on veterans day, first of all, i want to thank you for your past service. as a son of a veteran, it means a lot to me. for all the american people, this is one thing i think is very different for us in the military today compared to what the people of your generation went through. regardless of people's politics, regardless of what they thought about the u.s. commitment in afghanistan and iraq, our service members have enjoyed 100% of their support. we're very thankful for that support. i cannot tell you how much that means and what kind of differences means in our morale every day. the troops are doing a lot.

i know they are doing a lot on your behalf and they make you proud. host: after the military leaves in large numbers, the state department will bolster its presence, according to news reports in "the federal times." the military will also have a role in protecting the embassy. can you talk about that, general began in? guest: the role is similar to every single embassy around the world. we have in exceptionable marines unit here. yesterday was the birthday of the united states marine corps. 236 years old. a lot to be proud of. the marine security guards

protect the embassy. there will be about 157 personnel. some military and some department of defense civilians will be working under the leadership of embassador jeffrey to provide what we call the final end. they assist with technical training and the fielding of equipment the rockies -- the iraqis have bought from the united states, whether it is m-1 tanks, f-16's. there's a small office of military personnel that will work to help deliver those goods. they do not actually perform a security function. >> who will bear the

responsibility for protecting the oil fields of iraq? guest: donnelly, the iraqi security forces. also, a lot of iraq's oil infrastructure is offshore. we've been working with the iraqi navy. they have a navy now that's about 60 vessels. the iraqi navy and marine corps are protecting the two offshore terminals and they patrol all of iraq's territorial waters. there's a strong relationship between navy forces and the iraqi navy. they will maintain that relationship well into the future. most of the oil infrastructure is protected by the oil police. they are responsible for protecting the iraq majority the's oil refineries, the

wells, and the pipelines. host: for our viewers, if you're interested in more, and general buchanan in a very recent "the new york times" article. we are talking. craig is a democrat in manhattan. good morning. caller: thank you for your service. i wish you and your men godspeed on this veterans day. the symbol behind you in a disk -- do you know what those symbols mean? i see some swords. there are some arabic words. what does that symbol represent to us and to you and to the american people? what does the iraqi word say? i thank you very much for your explanation, if you do know.

guest: i do speak some arabic. this is the seal of the united states forces in iraq. the symbol is self -- the symbol itself has its origin in iraq based on a combined unit from the british and americans that served in this part of the world in world war ii. this is an iconic symbol from mesopotamia, if i'm not mistaken. winged bull with the head of a man. it started with multinational forces, iraq, and then became the united states forces iraq. it started out with a large portion of the command was british back in 2003 and 2004. over time, the majority of the

british troops have gone elsewhere and redeployed. it was a combined command in world war ii. we took from that lynch to describe our current patch. host: major general jeffrey buchanan joining us from baghdad. plano, texas, a republican. good morning. caller: good morning. please allow me to echo the many who have said thank you for your service and for the service of all those who report to you. i and my family have always been fiercely pro-military. in my mother's brother died during the battle of the bulge, world war ii. i personally lost two of my best buddies in vietnam. the problem i'm having of late, however, is that the country that i would have been willing to fight and even die for does not exist anymore.

our national sovereignty has been surrendered to mexico. i would not be willing to be put in harm's way to protect 30 eight million illegal aliens in this country. there's just no way. i would absolutely refuse to serve. that's how i feel. host: thank you. general, we can leave that as a comment, or you can reply. guest: i do appreciate his support, just like i appreciate the support of all americans. one thing i do think is important is to recognize the sacrifices that our troops have made here. i personally have learned a lot more about democracy in my service in iraq than i ever did

through various schools in the united states. just understanding that everybody in a democracy has a right and a responsibility to voice their opinion. the people are responsible for the government. the government should be held accountable to the people. everybody, regardless of your opinion, has a right to voice that opinion. it should be heard. i do appreciate the support of stan. i understand where he is coming from. i personally do not agree with him. as far as what my oath is to uphold and protect the constitution of the united states. he has the right to have that opinion and speak up about it. host: here's a charge that looks at our troops commitment to iraq over the years, reaching a high point in october of 2007 at

166,000. this is where we are today. general buchanan, of this tweet from jim, who is a veteran. guest: well, first of all, having served many tours with the iraqi security forces and even in the dark days of 2005 and 2006 when i was with the police commandos, i worked very close and personally with these guys. their patriotism was phenomenal. they are people. their troops have the same motivations as our troops. many times, i was protected by iraqi security forces. i do not agree the folks we have been helping to train and really

change their professional military culture over the last eight and a half years are suddenly going to flip a switch and see us as the enemy. also, when it comes to the equipment itself, the military hardware, the tanks, patrol boats, helicopters, the iraqi government is buying that from the united states. an f-16 purchase of squadron that gives u.s. workers in the united states jobs. the things we are transferring to them are things like old airconditioner and old trailers. we have saved the country $685 million by not shipping them back to the united states. i understand the sentiment, but i disagree completely. from aere's a comment

student, joseph ramirez. next, a phone call from jack, an independent in minnesota. good morning. caller: good morning. general sir, you seem like a very nice fellow. i was an army captain only in vietnam when you were in kindergarten. i have to disagree with you on a couple of comments. i want to answer a question that susan proposed. your idea that iraq is sovereign -- frankly, iraq is about as sovereign as india was. we have are puppets in place. we have the so-called iraqi

security forces and we have our boot firmly affixed on iraqis' neck. i would like to respond to the question, what was the war about? i do not think there was any doubt what it was about at this time. alan greenspan said it's kind of a shame we cannot just admit the iraq war was about oil. do not cut me off, susan. i have a quote that will solidify that notion from john bolden himself. he said on fox news, "iran has made little secret of its desire for hegemony in the persian gulf. the critical oil and natural gas producing region that we fought so many wars to try to protect our economy from the adverse impact of losing that supply or

having it available only at very high prices." i do not think it can be any more clear than that what this war was about three it has made ray hunt rich. host: i'm going to stop you. you have made your point. we're going to run out of time with the general. general, would you like to respond to the policies he raises? guest: first of all, i am a military service and ouncei -- military servant and i have been serving in iraq for a number of years. i disagree with what you are saying. you are entitled to your opinion. host: these two articles you have been quoted about regional concerns. we've seen a lot of reporting about increased tensions between the united states, israel, and iran. is there any evidence on the ground of increased presence by iran or influenced by iran?

guest: i think iran is certainly a concern and it has been a concern of the rockies -- of the iraqis. iran and iraq share a long history and most of it is not for a positive. iraq has reached out to all of its neighbors and is trying to reach a positive relationship with all of them. iran's behavior has been shaped by the strategy that's meant to keep iraq weak and isolated. isolated, not just from the united states, but from all of its other neighbors. we see this through the economic policies of the run and through what they're doing by supporting militant groups that attack us and kill a number of iraqis. it is a concern. i think the iraqi security forces have the ability and they have shown the ability to defeat the military -- to defeat the

militant groups. in the long term, the long-term solution to those groups has got to be based on political dialogue between iraq and iran. iran should respect iraq and its right to be sovereign. they have not demonstrated that in the past. host: the last call is from jean, a veteran in chicago. you are on the air. caller: the man who called from wisconsin was completely write about the american hypocrisy. you -- many people in america, civilians and servicemen who think just like you. as long as you people. controlling the government through the military industrial process and programs, we are not going to accomplish nothing. most of the people over there are in that condition because we control the socio-economic system. they have to pretend to go along with us. who killed a the most iraqis,

saddam hussein or the united states military forces since the illegal invasion? thank you. host: general buchanan? guest: most iraqis in the last eight years have been killed by other iraqis or people coming in through al-qaeda. certainly not the united states. again, everyone is entitled to their opinion. host: thank you very much for taking our viewers' calls. have a veterans day -- happy veterans day to you and the people serving around you. major general jeffrey buchanan joining us from baghdad. this is a special veterans day program. we have a number of guests still ahead. our next is raymond kelley.

he will be talking about spending and the debate over veterans programs. we will be right back. ♪ >> every weekend on american history tv, this weekend, collaborator-conspirator, were innocent boarding home? from "oral histories" jeb mag ruder. the presidency and cold war policies. look for the complete schedule

at c-span.org. this weekend on "booktv" the history of conservatism. condoleezza rice discusses her years as national security adviser. former president bill clinton spots on the current state of the american economy and his plan for the american economy. look for the complete schedule at booktv.org. >> i want you all to know, those of you who wanted me to run so badly and those of you who are terribly disappointed, that i'm doing the right thing. >> i believe that 1984 finds the united states in the strongest position in years to reestablish a constructive relationship with

the soviet union. >> the c-span video library is a definitive source for on-line public affairs. now there's a new way to access our programming. download and listen to audio for every c-span program, just 99 cents each. take c-span with you on any portable device. >> "washington journal" continues. host: our next guest, raymond kelley. thank you for being here this morning. guest: thank you for inviting me. thank you to all the veterans and their families for the sacrifices they made.

host: give us a sense of the jobless situation. and will this legislation do anything to address that? guest: first part of the question, veteran joblessness, especially for young veterans, the 18 to 24-year-olds, is 12.1%. the national average is 9%. while that category of veteran increased in unemployment, the rest -- their cohort decreased. that gap is widening. it's going to continue to widen as we bring more troops home from iraq and afghanistan. the second part, will the piece of legislation help? absolutely. there's more parts to it. everybody is talking about the tax credit, but there's much more to it. there's education opportunities. there's extension to a vocational rehabilitation that will allow people who've allowed that training already to go back into vocational rehabilitation to make sure they have job skills that are

tangible and to find work. host: in fact, we've been talking to people for the past year, civilians who have gone through job retaining programs sponsored by the government and has gone out and can't find jobs, why is there a real comfort this can't work? guest: veterans have tangible job skills. they have the leadership. they have the ability to show up on time in the right uniform and do the things that they're asked to do. to incentivize that for employers, in a down economy, if they're looking for people, that they will look towards veterans because there is those tangible skills that they already possess. and giving that tax credit will incentivize it so much more. host: you know this town is pretty much consumed with the topic of deficit reduction and the federal budget and what the special committee will produce. yesterday, the defense secretary, leon panetta, was testifying about his concerns

about see quest ration and what might happen. we have a clip, if we can show that, of the defense secretary talking about it. and while we are getting that ready, let me ask you about congress right now as someone who is responsible essentially for lobbying congress. we showed a "taumplet today" story, this is the lowest percentage of members of congress ever in this century serving in the house of representatives and the senate. how much does that affect and in what ways the job you do? >> guest: i think it has a duo effect. it's what the military does and what the public understands they do. and that's -- and congress is just another example of that. just at a lower level. if they don't understand the sacrifices, then they can't be strong advocates, so our job has become even more difficult, not only bringing the issues to

light but also using those -- teaching those members of congress and what the plites are for veterans and for military personnel. host: all right. let's listen to secretary panetta. >> the military has the organizational structure but lacks the people, the training and the equipment it needs to actually get the job done. it's a ship without sailors. it's a brigade without bullets. it's an air wing without enough trained pilots. it's a paper tiger. an army of barics, buildings and bombs without enough trained soldiers able to accomplish the mission. it's are a source that suffers poor morale, readiness and not able to keep up with potential

adversaries. in effect it adds aggression. host: that is leon panetta with the chairman of the joint chiefs. he talked about the existing serving military. you raised concerned about what will happen to veterans' benefits. what are your concerns? guest: i think for retirees, in defense of secretary panetta, his concern is the force readiness and part of that force readiness is ensuring that these military service members who dedicate 20-plus years of their life to the military, are incentivized to stay that long. he faux about ensuring that we have well-trained pilots, we have well-trained personnel without -- without incentivizing that through a good retirement package, through tricare benefits for health care that will be marginalized. and those mid-career service members are going to choose to leave. host: well, there are skeptics.

here's one viewer who represents that group. he sees veterans as another massive group with an emotional appeal to raise the treasury. guest: right. i disagree respectfully. find another occupation that has a suicide rate of 18 people a day. find another occupation where less than 10% of the people stay around for retirement and find another occupation where you have to incentivize through bonuses to get people to enlist during hard times and to stay during hard times. host: there are senators, though, who are raising the question about whether or not we can afford the extent to which tricare and others brings in thousands of military families, dependents of the military and are suggesting more co-pays and other things. what's wrong with asking extended people who did not serve themselves and are related to the service members from paying a bit more for the health care they get after

service? guest: the family serves with the military personnel. their sacrifice is just as great as the military service member. when i was deployed my wife's stress level was much more than mine. i knew i was in danger. i was gone over a year. she thought i was in danger all the time. her stress level was much higher than mine. these military spouses don't get to build equity in homes. they will be in their 40's and 50's when they retire and be trying to buy their first home and get equity. so providing a solid benefit that is reduced medical expenses is important. host: just in terms of numbers so you know how much the country spends on veterans' benefits -- the budget request in fiscal year 2011, $126 billion, and that budget

request in fiscal year 2012, $132 billion. what does the bulk of that spending go for? guest: medical care. making sure we have an infrastructure and doctors and equipment that veterans need to -- for the health care issues that they have in regard to the -- any disabilities they receive while on active duty. host: here is a pie chart of fiscal year 2012 veterans' budget and as you can see medical programs, 41% of that. and this large green part of the circle is called mandatory benefits programs. what's that? guest: the disability compensation and pension that's paid to members who got a service-connected disability while they were on active duty. host: how many veterans are there in the united states right now? guest: about 22 million. host: and how many of them have

service-related disabilities? guest: i think v.a.c.'s in between five million and six million veterans per year in their hospitals. host: we'll begin with a call from tampa, florida. as we talk about veterans' benefits and the v.a. -- the v.f.w.'s concern that in the budget cycle there will be efforts to diminish those benefits. we'll begin with albert, republican in tampa. caller: yes, thank you for your hard work. i watch c-span and the house. host: albert, are you there? i apologize. we lost that call. let me move on to lan who is a veteran in virginia. caller: yes, i'm a veteran and up until this year most -- i didn't have to pay for my prescriptions or my doctors' visits to the v.a. hospital. and this year i made $93 too much for the whole year so they

charge me $8 per prescription which amounts to $94 a month, and no travel pay. and another thing is i was in salem, virginia, hospital and i looked down the hallway and there wasn't an american in sight. everybody was from a foreign country that was working there. and i asked one of the nurse which was an american. i asked her what was going on. she said, i don't know but i'm quiting and i'm going back to california because i'm scared to work here. and i've never been back to salem because i'm scared to go back because of the foreigners. can you explain that to me? guest: first, i'll take the last part of your question. the v.a. partners with medical universities for training new doctors. and a lot of our medical personnel in our country are coming from foreign countries. and they're being trained at our medical facilities. it's a great partnership for v.a. and it's a great partnership for universities that are training these medical

personnel. it gives low -- high quality at a low cost for our veterans. there's nearly no other way we can do that. with the prescription drugs, v.f.w. is fighting hard to contain the cost of prescription drugs. you earned the right and earned the benefit through your service and through your disability to receive these services and we will continue to fight for that. host: on our sunday night interview program, "q&a," this week's program is about a veteran who is -- talks about his experience. his name is carl marlantes. his book is called "what it's like to go to war" and discusses how he finds out he gets diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. let's listen. >> there was a local group of psychologists that were doing stress and they said, come into a workshop, free workshop on jobs stress. they said, you got to go.

you got a lot of stress. started telling this guy about my symptoms. jumping up in the middle of the night and running outside without even know what was going on. you know, car honk behind me, i'd be go out of my own car and just angry, attacking the car behind me. and he said to me, have you ever been in a war? and that hit me so hard. i am in the middle of this room with 80 people. i started balling, snot coming out of my nose. said, have you ever been in a war? it was that simple. when he finally got back into some semblance of control he said, you got ptsd. have you ever heard of it? no. host: karl marlantes is our guest on "q&a." the experience that he's describing there, we have as we talked 45,000 veterans who are coming home from iraq over the next couple of months adding to the one million-plus who have served over the past 10 years.

what particular problems do they bring with them from a medical perspective? guest: i think he summarized it. combat has an effect on people's mind. some folks can adjust relatively quickly, but there's a good portion that it takes a while and it takes counseling and it takes working through issues to gain some sense of normalcy again, and so we are going to continue, we are going to continue to see, i said earlier, we have 18 sue sides a day from military veterans. that's unacceptable. that is a glaring example of how poorly we've done at reintegrating our service members when they come back and being prepared to take care of their mental health care. we have traumatic brain injury that is another signature sign from the blast injuries that our service members are encountering. i have not met any service member who ran patrols that

their convoy was not hit by an i.e.d. so it's an experience that nearly every person that's been in service in iraq or afghanistan understands. we need to get better grasp of it. the v.f.w. is finding alternative treatments with ptsd and t.b.i. host: are you finding a willing partner in the v.a.? are they understanding the special needs of this generation of soldiers and finding ways to redirect funds towards the issues you raised? guest: they have. they have pushed very hard to increase the number of mental health providers that they've had. they're trying to find new research on traumatic brain injury and how to evaluate that. i think we're still behind. unfortunately when we come from a war we have new things that we need to find out about and the science has not quite caught up so we have a ways to go. we're working with congress and working with v.a. to try to find some of these new treatments.

host: for raymond kelley, our next call. caller: i got two comments. i graduated high school in 1993 and i watched a lot of my friends go to war in 1991 in desert storm and then a lot of my friends now, have to go to war for -- in iraq. and when they came home, one of the biggest things they told me, they didn't understand why when they got there, why they were fighting. a lot of the people over there had the same issues. and when they got out of the war and came home, a lot of the issues as far as, you know, post traumatic stress, a lot of that, they weren't getting treatment from the v.a. and my last comment is this -- we're getting to a point in humanity where where he see that just because they live in a different land or just because they've lived across the waters or whatever they're telling us in the news, we're coming to a point where as

humans we have to look at each other as brothers. we are all brothers and sisters at the end of the day and war is not the answer. no matter how much you talk about it, no matter how much you try and give reason to if, war is only hurting both sides at the end of the day and it's not really accomplishing anything. it's really putting us in a position to where more of our children are going to have to sacrifice, really, for what? that's the primary problem. you know, the reasons why we're going to war and when the soldiers come home, it's just getting to a point now if we can't see this has to stop, if we can't see that we have to look for different alternatives other than war or we can start treating the actual cause, not the symptoms. we're going to be better off as a world, as human beings, to look at someone and say, he's my enemy. you look at him and see your brother, your sister. you have to work these issues out as men, as women, as human

beings. host: thank you. for that caller. guest: thanks for the call, chris. there's two policy issues you are atalking about. one is whether or not we should go to war. that's for another discussion. taking care of veterans that come back with posttraumatic stress, we need to talk about this, we need to bring light to it, we don't need to medicate veterans and sit them in a room and tell them that they're getting better. we need to find real cures. we need to make -- just have the public embrace this and find ways to solve this problem. thank you. host: this is a question about policy in wisconsin. and he asks -- with the jobs, i thought of a veteran went into the service, when they got back they got their old job back, please explain that. especially people in the reserves. guest: thanks, herb, for the question. if you are a guard or reserve there is a law, protection for

active duty, that that employer must hold that job for them. we need to inform the employers what that law requires. and also the guard and reserve members, it goes both members. those guard and reserve members need to know how to communicate what their orders are saying and what their requirements are through the guard and reserve and the employer needs to understand their end as well. host: next calling, virginia, pat, independent there. good morning. caller: hello. yes, i'm particularly interested in jobs for veterans when they come home. we have a big infrastructure problem, but we have no money to pay for it. i'm suggesting that we start toll roads immediately. there are all sorts of shovel-ready projects ready around that could employ many

of our military members. i wonder what our -- mr. kelley thinks about that idea. guest: i don't have a real policy stance on what -- on infrastructure or on transportation and how we can raise revenue to employ veterans. i know that the bill that the senate passed, and i know the house is going to pick up this week does provide a broad range of opportunities for veterans and employers to connect with veterans. host: this is a comment by twitter and i'll say by way of introducing it as it's on spending. there is some discussion about -- with entitlement programs for civilians, medicare, social security. keeping the rules for those already in the system but future generations. in that spirit, dr. duncan writes -- if we promised our vets something, give it to them. maybe we can modify benefits for future service member but not prior commitment. what's your reaction? guest: we looked at this twice

before. back in 1978 c.b.o. scored how we can change the way retirement is paid. c.b.o.'s report came back saying it was a bad idea. in 1985 we tried to modify military retirement. within the two years they turned around and changed it again back to the old system. they know to retain quality people in our military they have to provide a quality benefit. host: next up, tampa, albert, republican, good morning. caller: yes. i do suffer from ptsd and i'm involved in the v.a. right now. host: albert, when did you fight? caller: well, i wasn't in the war. i was in an accident in the service. the v.a. system -- people don't realize, if you're 50% disand -- i haven't worked since 2003 -- you only get $850. that's all your benefits are for 50%.

i have to pay $400 a month for outside medical insurance, and i have to pay all my co-pays for service because in the v.a. system -- and you can get to see your doctor once every three months. and also, too, they don't give you your prescription drugs. i can't get celebrex or the good drugs because they're too expensive. i also had to wait since 2003 to have my v.a. case go to appeals. i've had it threaded twice. in is down in st. peete, florida. -- st. pete, florida. it's been remanded three times. in the interim, i've had my house foreclosed on, i've lost -- i've had to declare bankruptcy. everything has been lost and i served my country and it's just the shame. i appreciate the v.f.w. and the

other organizations and your show showing those committee meetings. but the problem is that you've got administrators in the v.a. program. tampa, over 203 days, the emergency room goes in bypass. host: overall comment is the length of the appeals process for veterans. guest: right. and unfortunately -- thanks for the call, albert. thanks for your service. unfortunately, too many veterans are waiting too long to get their care. i encourage all veterans who are struggling with v.a. to contact v.f.w. service officers in their local community. they will help walk them through. albert should, if he's unemployable, should be able to get other types of compensation through v.a. so i encourage albert and any veterans who are struggling with v.a. and very frustrated to contact a service officer with the v.f.w., have them work those cases for you. host: understanding that the

v.f.w. seeks support from the population at large. this question, a viewer asks -- i donate once a month to the wounded warrior project and would like your opinion of these types of charities. i realize that this is offtopic but mr. kelley's opinion would have meaning. guest: they are really changing lives for a lot of injured veterans and military personnel. host: can you explain what it is? in a general sense? guest: he had help with reintegration. they help that they have the resources they need after they reintegrate. 100% of the donations for that organization go back to the veterans. host: next phone call for ray kelley of the v.f.w. is a call from columbia, south carolina. good morning from paul, independent. caller: good morning. guest: hi, paul. caller: i'm a military retiree. i spent 10 years in the marines

and 10 from the air force. i fought in the korean war in the marine corps. as far as stress, two of the best things happened to me over there. a marine sergeant, i griped to him that i was really getting down, getting depressed. he said the marines don't get depressed, get the hell out of here and go back and do your job. i remember that all the rest of my life. and the next best thing was, i never was wounded. although i was in combat itself. but we knew who the enemy was and we were fighting against those instead of people out of the village that might turn against us. but my main reason for calling is after several years after i retired in 1968, i could go to

fort jackson for my medical treatment which i thought was promised to me over the years. but, anyway, they kept sending me out downtown and finally i started going to the v.a.. but one of the main things i keep thinking about is people like me who thank goodness aren't on disability, get out, work the 30 to 40 years of their life in another industry and all of a sudden when they get up to about my age or younger -- i'll be 83 christmas day -- how they go back and get a disability check from the service? host: ok. thank you very much. guest: first off, thanks for your service. acceptance of posttraumatic stress is -- as we understand it a little bit better, the

acceptance has come out a little bit stronger. i served in the marine corps as well, and we have had top-level generals say that they suffer with posttraumatic stress. so there's a better acceptance today. we hope that it will help drive people away from that stigma of having issues and seek help. the second part, if you're -- have a disability related to your service, contact v.f.w. service officer. you can find them on their website under veterans' service and they will help walk you through the process. make sure you find all your medical records and get a disability payment for you. host: to give the discussion on capitol hill. it says determined to avoid spending reductions. senator levin and senator mccain

and other lawmakers are urging scrutiny of the entitlement program. they support establishing an annual enrollment key. president obama has proposed an initial annual fee of $200. what does this mean to your organization? guest: it means we have a fight on our hands. the vfw is adamantly opposed to changing the way beneficiaries receive care.

increasing fees, pharmaceutical fees, we're opposed to those. it is a great retention tool for the military. they have earned the care. if we want to keep a strong military and keep good people in key military positions, we must maintain these benefits. host: the super committee will have the report on the 23rd of this month. we will see how this bears with their work. we're going to take a break. we will continue our special look at the military on veterans day. we have a lot of statistics today about military suicide. our next guest is a specialist on that. we will talk about the problem and what is being done to address that next. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> and finally recognizes and comes to terms with his posttraumatic stress disorder decades after vietnam. >> i was telling this guy about my symptoms like jumping up in the middle of the night and running outside without knowing what was going on. i would be angry and attacking the car behind me. he asked me if i had ever been in a war. that hit me so hard. i was in the middle of a room with 80 people. i started bawling, snot coming out of my nose. it was so simple. when i got some control, he said i had ptsd and asked if i had ever heard of it. >> more tonight on c-span "q&a."

>> extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. [applause] let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue. >> he lost the 1964 presidential election to lyndon johnson, the barry goldwater galvanized the conservative movement. his speech this week on "the contenders." -- he is featured this week on "the contenders." this weekend on c-span2, a discussion on the history of conservatism. rice recalls her years in the bush administration.

former president clinton gives his thoughts on the current economy and plans for recovery. look for the complete schedule online and show up for -- sign up for a weekly schedules in your in box. host: let me introduce you to our next guest. margaret harrell is a senior fellow of the center for new american security. she has spent much of her academic career becoming a specialist in military manpower and personnel, issues with military families, and overall quality of life for the military. she is the co-author a report on military suicide. we will learn more from her about the size and scope of the problem and what the military and other organizations are doing to address it. "time" has a cover story today on military suicide for veterans

day. give us a sense of the size of the problem for those serving and for veterans. guest: as we look at our experience over 10 years of war, we are distressed that the rate of suicide among service numbers has increasing to a rate much higher than the comparable civilian population. that is the most of those who are serving. we have less information about suicide among veterans. we're concerned as many as 18 veterans today are losing their lives to suicide. that is an estimate. we hope the number would be lower, but it might be higher. host: why are you so pessimistic about the situation? guest: every time we lose a service member or veteran to suicide, they have lost their personal battle and we have lost a battle. we can hope efforts to redress

the situation are improving and we may eventually win the war. currently, we're losing the battle several times a day. host: what we know about the causes for the increase in suicide? guest: suicide is a complicated issue. it is an individual issue. we have tried to understand if it is linked to the point. it seems obvious that after 10 years of war, the increase in rates would be tied to the war itself. the day and confound us -- the data confound us. army members who commit suicide or often deployed. in the other services, we do not see the link. it is especially confusing. host: these two ports have had a higher proportion of people from the national guard and reserve. they may be getting multiple deployments and then integrating into civilian life.

do they have particular issues? guest: we are especially concerned about them. many of the programs and efforts to address suicide have an emphasis on watching others and help to recognize when people exhibit warning signs. with the guard and reserve, we are concerned they are away from the support network. they're not touching their buddies. that is of concern. they do have special issues. host: you write about some of the causes. there is an interesting discussion about a sense of purpose and one house in the military, the adrenalin, the sense of mission. when you come home and integrate, there is a struggle for real meaning. i was doing meaningful work before and now i am sitting at a desk. what can be done?

that is the reality of life. what can be done to help people adjust to the change in their environment? guest: being useful and feeling you belong are two critical project of factors for suicide. when guardsmen and reservists come home from having done extremely meaningful work, and belonging to a cohesive unit they may not feel family and friends fully understand what they have done or that they belong. if they are facing in plymouth struggles, they are especially at risk. -- if they are facing employment struggles, they are especially at risk. host: there are also many cases of depression being dealt with in communities. with the large influx of soldiers coming home, it is important for us to understand the potential issues facing them as they reintegrate into

society. meg harrell is our guest. we will take telephone calls. you can also tweet us. what is the impact on the military of the increased suicide rates? what is it doing tomorrow? it doing to morale? guest: some would say they are small numbers. the reality is every time a unit loses a sailor, soldier, or marine, the effect of that is tremendous. we hear from commanders this is something they are dealing with everyday. we're trying to ensure their service members are safe. host: requested by twitter -- a question by twitter.

james asks if the training that stresses brotherhood to the end could be part of the problem. guest: i do not see how training that emphasizes brothership and the sense of cohesion could be part of the problem. host: we of this question by twitter about whether the increased number of suicides is because of the increased number of veterans. guest: there is an increasing number of veterans. we do not think the number of suicides is strictly related to veterans. the rate of suicide is not related to the numbers. we do not know which veterans we're losing to suicide. we do not know if they are veterans of iraq and afghanistan or of an older generation. that is because of the lack of efficient reporting.

there are only 16 states that indicated in the death data whether someone was a former service members. the data for the other 34 states are extrapolated. host: who is working to increase the reporting? guest: the states themselves need to make the adjustment in their death reporting data to indicate whether an individual who died by any means is a former service members. there is currently an effort between dod and va to match that data with social security numbers to proactively identify veterans we have lost. host: when service members come home, is there a screening process to identify those who might be at risk? guest: there is the post- deployment health assessment that each returning service

member completes to determine if they need follow-up care. this is while they're still on active duty. in the past, the pdha has been problematic in the way that people take it. in the past, we have heard from service members that commanders encourage them to downplay their potential problems. the concern was it would delay them from getting home to their families. they were all eager to return home to their families. the reality is we need to know which service members are likely to have problems so we can help them. that is being addressed. there is a law that says each of those must be administered on a one-on-one basis with eight trained health provider -- with a trained health provider. that should help. host: does the information adequately follow the service member when they move from active to veteran status? guest: that is the concern.

symptoms appeared later. the questionnaire may not be fully indicative of problems they may have later. it is a challenge. host: let's take our first question. caller: my question is, the suicide rate of the military has a lot to do with the love and care for the troops go into no- win wars and the guilt and shame when we come home from family. they do not really care. i feel the country has lost god and country, respect for each other. other.