By Jesse Russell

A coalition of defense department union locals' known as DEFCON, issued a vote of no confidence against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Tuesday. The local union offices are part of the American Federation of Government Employees and the vote follows a decision by the Defense Department to appeal a federal judge's ruling against Rumsfeld over proposed personnel regulations. A judge had ruled that the new rules would blunt collective bargaining, eliminate fair appeals for disciplinary action and quells the voice of workers. The resolution states that Rumsfeld broke promises to both Congress and workers that the new system would respect collective bargaining and prevent favoritism.

By Jesse Russell

Ten unions filed a lawsuit Monday against the Defense Department over a proposed merit pay system. The American Federation of Government Employees filed the suit along with nine other federal employee unions alleging that the new system would lessen the collective bargaining rights of employees. Part of the plan gives more flexibility to management to assign work and would reward employees based on merit and not seniority. A similar plan introduced at the Department of Homeland Security was blocked by a federal court judge in August. The judge agreed with the unions who bro

By Doug Cunningham

Cindy Sheehan's son Casey was killed in Iraq. She wants U.S. troops home now. She's outraged that George W. Bush is calling the war a "noble cause". So outraged that she went to Crawford Texas and is camped there to interrupt Bush's vacation and confront him about his statement.

[Cindy Sheehan 1] : "I don't want him to use my son's name to continue the killing. I don't want him to use my family's sacrifice to continue the killing."

Sheehan says the war is immoral, based on horrendous lies and deceptions. And she knows Bush doesn't really care about those killed in Iraq based on her own meeting with him after her son Casey's death.

Federal employees from the Department of Defense marched on Capitol Hill yesterday in protest of a proposed personnel regulation overhaul. American Federation of Government Employees President John Sweeney told the hundreds of rallying employees that the National Security Personnel System "will jeopardize public safety and national security by taking away employee protections that allow workers to speak freely when they see wrongdoing or mismanagement." The AFGE and other unions representing government employees are planning to file a lawsuit. The decision to implement similar changes at the Department of Homeland Security has already led to one lawsuit, saying that the changes undermine the constitutional right of due process. AFGE General Counsel Mark Roth said of the DHS changes in a press release that managers will have free reign to retaliate against employees who challenge management decisions.

The Department of Defense is launching a program intended to help injured soldiers returning home find jobs. According to the department, the program is meant to give injured or disabled veterans opportunities in active duty or the civilian work force. The DoD says that nearly 10,000 soldiers have been wounded in Iraq since March of 2003. Those statistics do not include psychological trauma often caused by warfare. Only 1 in 10 of the US troops wounded in Iraq has died, the lowest rate of any war in US history. However, the limb amputation rate of the Iraq War has been double that of past wars. In addition, 20 percent of the wounded in Iraq have suffered head and neck injuries that will require lifetime medical care.

Often considered the most dangerous job in the world, soldiers preparing to leave Kuwait for Iraq yesterday had the rare opportunity to bring their concerns over military equipment they need to do their jobs to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld:

[Wilson1]: Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to uparmour our vehicles?

After the cheering from more than 2,300 mostly National Guard and Reserve soldiers died down, Army Spc. Thomas Wilson repeated his question. Rumsfeld gave this reply:

[Rumsfeld1]: As you know you go to war with the Army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.

This Veteran's Day, past and present members of the US armed forces are facing many challanges. The most apparent of which is the danger of fighting in Iraq, where 1,100 men and women have lost their lives. Another 4,000 suffered an injury serious enough to retire. Due to persistant underfunding of the VA Hospital system, many sick or disabled veterans have to wait for months to recieve care. The Army has even tried to refuse benefits, claiming illnesses are due to pre-existing conditions.