Roguish Lawyers post speaks volumes about this lawsuit. Heres my story.
I confidently say that minimalist footwear has helped me recover from several injuries that had given me problems throughout the years and that hadn't fully healed. Ankle, knee, lower back were the areas of concern that I constantly struggled with. Icyhot, braces, Ice, compression, epidural injections (back), etc
After speaking with a physical therapist (not a salesman at you name the sporting goods store) she gave me a plan of gradual progression in using minimalist footwear. Literally for the first 2 weeks my runs in vibram's were only 1 mile. Little by little I was able to do more and more, and like others have stated heel striking is BAD.
Fast forward about 18 mons, and I run up to 5 miles in vibrams/minimalist footwear with the previously mentioned problems completely rectified. Additionally, I was able to return to lifting again and am able to lift atleast bodyweight in the average lifts (Squat, clean, deadlift, Bench).
I suspect that these people's issues come from otherwise out of shape or injured people going full bore after putting on minimalist(vibram) shoes and causing further complications. There are a lot of things that soldiers do that are horrible for our bodies; wearing combat boots, carrying heavy rucksacks, jumping out of airplanes and many more.
I highly recommend the below series of videos for anyone that has feet, ankle, problems. Kelly Starrett from Mobility WOD knows what he's talking about. The other guy... well, you decide. At the end of the videos they offer simple programs to rehab/rebuild your feet. Additionally, Starrett has hundreds of videos that can help you increase your mobility and overall physical fitness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha6ZxfG6Tz8
CH