DOD plans to reform its disabilities evaluation system, currently managed separately by each service. Between the high demands on the system because of the war terror and service members’ complaints about the system, the Pentagon decided it was time for a business-process review. A Pentagon spokesman said the Defense Department is committed to a full and fair due process for disability evaluation and compensation.
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
