Here are the top stories this week related to our soldiers here and abroad, taken from the Our Troops Newsladder.

VoteVets.org founder Jon Soltz, in a short debate with HumanEvents.com's Ericka Anderson on MSNBC, provided a blueprint for dismantling right wing talking points on Iraq from someone who's been there. Click here to watch the clip and read analysis at DailyKos.

Alternet expanded on Veterans For America's report on the crisis at Fort Drum. Click to read Military Doctors Withholding Treatment from Soldiers with Mental Health Problems.

Brig. Gen. Belinda Pinckney, the Army's new Diversity Task Force Director called the issue of decreasing minority graduates, which decreases the number of minority youth who can join the Army a "silent epidemic." Click here to read.

Admiral William J. Fallon, the leader of the military's Central Command, announced that he would endorse a pause in troop reductions in Iraq this summer, but then seek to resume withdrawals to reduce stress on the military.

This announcement of a pause in reductions comes as Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey told a Senate panel that the Army is under serious strain from years of war-fighting and must reduce the length of combat tours as soon as possible, citing spikes in desertions, divorce rates and suicides.

Veterans of America is proud to sponsor the Our Troops Newsladder, a new tool to find the top news and articles in the progressive community by, about and for our troops.