Back to Iraq

Facing the unprecedented demands of simultaneous wars fought by volunteers, the Army has sent wounded and drug dependent soldiers back into battle, sometimes overruling the recommendations of physicians.

>> Cleared to go, through the pain

Soldiering on in pain

Defense Department spending for narcotics, anti-depressants, sleeping pills and other drugs has soared, but some soldiers complain that they are simply being medicated to return to war while the causes of their injuries go untreated.

>> Change of medicine for Ft. Carson soldier turns tragic

>> After GI's injury, painkillers "kept coming and coming"

Waging internal war

The number of suicides committed by soldiers has reached its highest recorded level, and the multiple deployments troops face is increasingly being identified as a cause.

>> Carson soldier racked by family crisis, fears of war