Washington keeps breaking its promises to those who serve

Welcome back to Hell Cats.

This week, Maura Sullivan and Rebecca Bennett ask what a country owes the people it asks to sacrifice. They hold that question up against the news, a costly war with Iran that Congress won't vote on, a Defense Secretary blocking some of the Navy's most qualified women while rolling out testosterone testing in the middle of that war, and a push to cut the disability benefits veterans already earned. They make the case that a nation that can't afford to take care of its veterans can't afford to go to war. 

Then they turn to something more hopeful: service has never belonged only to those in uniform, and rebuilding a culture of it, in classrooms, hospitals, nonprofits, and neighborhoods, from AmeriCorps to City Year, might be one of the few ideas that still crosses the political aisle. Along the way, a listener Q&A on the habits, and the hard-won lessons, that service leaves behind.

Look for more conversations ahead about the experiences, leadership, and service of women veterans.