The Soldiers for the Truth Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity organization in the United States dedicated to military reform. Its stated mission is to inform the public, Congress, and the media on issues related to the training, readiness, equipment and leadership of US armed forces. The Foundation is registered as a non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Notable issues in which the foundation has been involved include campaigning for better body armor for troops serving in Iraq and contributing to coverage of the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Soldiers for the Truth claims a membership of 20,000 and publishes an online magazine called Defense Watch criticising the country's military leadership using information provided by active servicemen and women. History and organization Soldiers for the Truth grew out of the regular opinion pieces written by David H. Hackworth from the early 1990s on, originally titled "Defending America". Though donations are solicited from readers, Col. Hackworth also used the profits from his own book sales to help fund the organization. Weekly email newsletters were composed by a group of like-minded veterans, their friends and spouses, including R.W. Zimmermann, Bill Rogers, Ray Starmann, Kate Aspy, Barry "Woody" Groton, Ed "Edgar" Schneider, and Kyle Elliot. Later contributors included author and civilian security analyst Paul Purcell, and Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, a whistleblower who criticised the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans as "Orwellian". Other authors included former Editor in Chief Ed Offley, Paul Connors, Matt Dodd and Roger Perry. As of 2007, the foundation's board included Hackworth's widow Eilhys England, Maj. John Falcon, US Army Retired and Lt. Col. Gary Stahlhut, US Army Reserve Retired. Activities In October 2001, as the American military prepared for its campaign in Afghanistan, Col. Hackworth assessed the readiness level of most of the troops as follows: "I would be reluctant to jump into a battle zone with any conventional American unit. I would hate to take them into battle - they ain't ready, they are not 'good to go'." He was also critical of the 'elite' troops who were expected to lead the assault. Hackworth has repeatedly stated the American military is weakened by a combination of senior officers who are primarily concerned about their own careers above the welfare and training of their troops, and a culture of misdirected and wasteful expenditure. In May 2004, the New York Times reported Mr William