WASHINGTON — Last month,  Marine Corps veteran Robert Stahlnecker stood before a District Judge in Plains Township, Pa., and waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of harassing female employees at the VA regional office in Philadelphia. That harassment allegedly included threats of violence and references to rape made during dozens of phone calls and e-mails during the course of several months in 2009 and 2010.

WASHINGTON — Does VA need to employ more aggressive tactics when it comes to getting veterans struggling with PTSD, depression and substance abuse into treatment?  Should some of those tactics involve using disability benefits as an incentive to receive treatment instead of as a simple entitlement?

WASHINGTON — Exercises that have proven effective in improving the cognitive skills of multiple sclerosis patients also may be useful in treating symptoms of TBI.

WASHINGTON — The hustle and bustle of an emergency department may not appeal to everyone, but it is where Army Maj. Katherine E. Frost, AN, clinical nurse officer-in-charge of Madigan Army Medical Center’s Department of Emergency Medicine feels at home.

WASHINGTON — Currently, when troops in Afghanistan suffer a head injury and require magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), they generally must be flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. That ordeal may be keeping some servicemembers from reporting symptoms and getting the care they need, according to DoD officials who say MRIs soon will be available in theater.

WASHINGTON — Acute stress is rampant among troops in Afghanistan who are experiencing “a dramatic increase” in the levels of combat activity, according to a recent study.