Mistake May Shortchange Wounded Vets
April 07, 2011
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review|by Carl Prine
For more than five years, thousands of wounded and injured military reservists and National Guard troops nationwide might have lost medical benefits because of a Pentagon mistake, according to an investigation by Sen. Ron Wyden.
In a letter sent on Wednesday to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the Oregon Democrat said that many wounded troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq who ended up in Warrior Transition Units at military bases or in community-based programs near their homes lost up to six months of medical coverage that's provided to them under a 2005 law.
The Transition Assistance Management Program, or TAMP, was supposed to help personnel returning from active duty get the medical care they needed before their civilian coverage kicked in. The problem was that the Pentagon began counting the 180 days of coverage the moment the troops returned to the United States, not once they left active duty.
Those who needed extensive care in the Warrior Transition Units often exhausted their six months of benefits before they went home, according to Wyden. Pentagon paperwork leaked last year to the Tribune-Review showed that the typical reservist or Guard member will spend about a year in the special medical units, or longer if they're in a community-based program.
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Mistake May Shortchange Wounded Vets
Showing posts with label wounded soldiers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wounded soldiers. Show all posts
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Flag from U.S. base in Iraq brought to injured Orlando soldier
Special delivery: Flag from U.S. base in Iraq brought to injured Orlando soldier
Army Sgt. Matthew Garwood gave injured comrade Sgt. Noe "Lito" Santos a signed American flag once flown in Iraq.
By Bianca Prieto, Orlando Sentinel
8:18 p.m. EST, February 8, 2011
The dirt-stained, rain-soaked flag that had flown over Joint Base Balad in Iraq for the last two months was carefully tucked into Army Sgt. Matthew Garwood's duffle bag.
Garwood, an Evans High graduate on his fourth tour of duty, took special care because he knew the flag had a meaningful destination – the Winter Park apartment of an honorably discharged soldier he had served beside in Iraq.
Garwood has long wanted to honor his buddy, Army Sgt. Noe "Lito" Santos, a former member of the Personal Security Detachment in Iraq who lost his left leg in 2005 when an Improvised Explosive Device blew up while the soldiers were in their vehicles near Taji, Iraq.
This week, while home on leave, Garwood finally had the chance.
read more here
Flag from U.S. base in Iraq brought to injured Orlando soldier
Army Sgt. Matthew Garwood gave injured comrade Sgt. Noe "Lito" Santos a signed American flag once flown in Iraq.
By Bianca Prieto, Orlando Sentinel
8:18 p.m. EST, February 8, 2011
The dirt-stained, rain-soaked flag that had flown over Joint Base Balad in Iraq for the last two months was carefully tucked into Army Sgt. Matthew Garwood's duffle bag.
Garwood, an Evans High graduate on his fourth tour of duty, took special care because he knew the flag had a meaningful destination – the Winter Park apartment of an honorably discharged soldier he had served beside in Iraq.
Garwood has long wanted to honor his buddy, Army Sgt. Noe "Lito" Santos, a former member of the Personal Security Detachment in Iraq who lost his left leg in 2005 when an Improvised Explosive Device blew up while the soldiers were in their vehicles near Taji, Iraq.
This week, while home on leave, Garwood finally had the chance.
read more here
Flag from U.S. base in Iraq brought to injured Orlando soldier
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Wounded Soldiers Stuck in Middle of Aircraft Battle
Wounded Soldiers Stuck in Middle of Aircraft Battle
Sharon Weinberger
Contributor
This is the third in a series of stories by our special correspondent about military aviation issues linked to the war in Afghanistan. Read also the growing pains of the Afghan air force and the attempts of women pilots to find a place in it.
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (Oct. 30) -- More than two dozen injured U.S. troops, including six critical-care patients, have been loaded onto the C-17 transport aircraft destined for Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Then everyone aboard gets the bad news:
There's a fuel leak, and the aircraft may not be able to fly today.
That means more waiting for the patients, a number of whom were wounded in operations in Afghanistan.
If the aircraft can't be fixed within a few hours, a new aircraft will have to be found, and that's easier said than done. Flights these like -- aeromedical evacuation -- have a high priority, but with military operations in Afghanistan surging, finding an aircraft can be a game of musical chairs.
read more here
Wounded Soldiers Stuck in Middle
Sharon Weinberger
Contributor
This is the third in a series of stories by our special correspondent about military aviation issues linked to the war in Afghanistan. Read also the growing pains of the Afghan air force and the attempts of women pilots to find a place in it.
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (Oct. 30) -- More than two dozen injured U.S. troops, including six critical-care patients, have been loaded onto the C-17 transport aircraft destined for Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Then everyone aboard gets the bad news:
There's a fuel leak, and the aircraft may not be able to fly today.
That means more waiting for the patients, a number of whom were wounded in operations in Afghanistan.
If the aircraft can't be fixed within a few hours, a new aircraft will have to be found, and that's easier said than done. Flights these like -- aeromedical evacuation -- have a high priority, but with military operations in Afghanistan surging, finding an aircraft can be a game of musical chairs.
read more here
Wounded Soldiers Stuck in Middle
Soldier's longest struggle after the battlefield
Soldier's longest struggle has taken place off the battlefield
After year of rehab, surgeries, staff sergeant shot in the head at Fort Hood is determined to recover, continue his Army career.
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Staff Sgt. Patrick Zeigler saw the red laser sight approach his head, and then it all became like a dream. He opened his eyes and he was on the ground, the sound of screams filling the air. He tried to crawl out of the medical building, but he kept slipping on the blood pouring from his head. He grabbed the leg of a chair, but it slid across the wet floor.
His eyes closed, and the world grew dark. "I'm pretty much done for," he thought.
When he opened his eyes again, he was on the ground outside Fort Hood's Soldier Readiness Processing Center. He doesn't remember, but he would later learn that he could move somehow, despite the bullet lodged in his brain and the three others in his shoulder, arm and hip. He cried out for a cell phone so he could call Jessica.
With his massive head wound, paramedics said he easily could have been ignored among the growing number of dead and wounded soldiers being pulled from the unfolding massacre in the processing center — which happened a year ago this Friday.
But his talking attracted the attention of a medic. He was lifted onto a gurney, an oxygen mask was slipped over his face, and needles were plunged into his arm. The helicopter rose into the air and flew 27 miles east to Scott and White Hospital — Temple. The doctors who met his flight were amazed that he was still alive.
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Soldier longest struggle
After year of rehab, surgeries, staff sergeant shot in the head at Fort Hood is determined to recover, continue his Army career.
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Staff Sgt. Patrick Zeigler saw the red laser sight approach his head, and then it all became like a dream. He opened his eyes and he was on the ground, the sound of screams filling the air. He tried to crawl out of the medical building, but he kept slipping on the blood pouring from his head. He grabbed the leg of a chair, but it slid across the wet floor.
His eyes closed, and the world grew dark. "I'm pretty much done for," he thought.
When he opened his eyes again, he was on the ground outside Fort Hood's Soldier Readiness Processing Center. He doesn't remember, but he would later learn that he could move somehow, despite the bullet lodged in his brain and the three others in his shoulder, arm and hip. He cried out for a cell phone so he could call Jessica.
With his massive head wound, paramedics said he easily could have been ignored among the growing number of dead and wounded soldiers being pulled from the unfolding massacre in the processing center — which happened a year ago this Friday.
But his talking attracted the attention of a medic. He was lifted onto a gurney, an oxygen mask was slipped over his face, and needles were plunged into his arm. The helicopter rose into the air and flew 27 miles east to Scott and White Hospital — Temple. The doctors who met his flight were amazed that he was still alive.
read more here
Soldier longest struggle
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital "conditions are horrible" says wounded soldier's stepfather
Injured Cape Coral soldier to remain in Tampa for now
Surgery keeps Kent in Tampa, out of D.C.
BY DENES HUSTY III • DHUSTY@NEWS-PRESS.COM • OCTOBER 20, 2010
A wounded Cape Coral soldier can’t be transferred immediately from a Tampa veterans’ hospital, where his family describes conditions as “deplorable” because he had surgery there Tuesday.
The procedure to remove Army Pfc. Corey Kent’s infected gallbladder was successful, said his stepfather, Dan Ashby.
Kent asked to be transferred from Walter Reed Medical Center near Washington three weeks ago to be nearer his family, Ashby said.
Now Kent, 22, “cannot wait to get out of there. He’s regressed. The conditions are horrible. The place is dirty” and he wants to go back to Walter Reed, said Ashby, 40.
However, he said Kent can’t be transferred until at least late next week because of his recuperation and the arranging of a military flight, Ashby said.
read more here
Injured Cape Coral soldier to remain in Tampa for now
Surgery keeps Kent in Tampa, out of D.C.
BY DENES HUSTY III • DHUSTY@NEWS-PRESS.COM • OCTOBER 20, 2010
A wounded Cape Coral soldier can’t be transferred immediately from a Tampa veterans’ hospital, where his family describes conditions as “deplorable” because he had surgery there Tuesday.
The procedure to remove Army Pfc. Corey Kent’s infected gallbladder was successful, said his stepfather, Dan Ashby.
Kent asked to be transferred from Walter Reed Medical Center near Washington three weeks ago to be nearer his family, Ashby said.
Now Kent, 22, “cannot wait to get out of there. He’s regressed. The conditions are horrible. The place is dirty” and he wants to go back to Walter Reed, said Ashby, 40.
However, he said Kent can’t be transferred until at least late next week because of his recuperation and the arranging of a military flight, Ashby said.
read more here
Injured Cape Coral soldier to remain in Tampa for now
Sunday, October 3, 2010
UK soldier defused bomb with broken hand
Medal for soldier who defused bombs with broken hand
Trapped in a minefield, under heavy attack from the Taleban and with daylight running out, Staff Sergeant Gareth Wood knew he had to work fast.
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
Published: 1:10AM BST 03 Oct 2010
But as the bomb disposal expert removed one of five explosive devices that stood between a stranded British patrol and safety, he felt an excuciating pain.
SSgt Wood had broken two fingers in his right hand - the one he used to seacrh for the Improvised explosive Device, making it almost impossible to continue.
His fellow soldiers urged him to return to base for treatment but SSgt Wood persisted, defusing the bomb and neutralising a further three IEDs even though his right arm in a sling.
SSgt Wood's bravery has now been recognised with the Military Cross and the admiration of his fellow bomb disposal experts.
The head of Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal has described his actions as "truly humbling" and in the "highest traditions of the Army".
read more here
Medal for soldier who defused bombs
Trapped in a minefield, under heavy attack from the Taleban and with daylight running out, Staff Sergeant Gareth Wood knew he had to work fast.
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
Published: 1:10AM BST 03 Oct 2010
But as the bomb disposal expert removed one of five explosive devices that stood between a stranded British patrol and safety, he felt an excuciating pain.
SSgt Wood had broken two fingers in his right hand - the one he used to seacrh for the Improvised explosive Device, making it almost impossible to continue.
His fellow soldiers urged him to return to base for treatment but SSgt Wood persisted, defusing the bomb and neutralising a further three IEDs even though his right arm in a sling.
SSgt Wood's bravery has now been recognised with the Military Cross and the admiration of his fellow bomb disposal experts.
The head of Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal has described his actions as "truly humbling" and in the "highest traditions of the Army".
read more here
Medal for soldier who defused bombs
Friday, October 1, 2010
Wounded face new foe: drug-resistant infections
Wounded face new foe: drug-resistant infections
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Sep 30, 2010 14:26:40 EDT
Aggressive tactics are being used against strains of drug-resistant infections that are creating new risks for combat-injured service members who survived the war but may not survive the recovery, military medical officials said Wednesday.
Called multi-drug resistant organisms, or MDROs, the infections “are not unique to the military” but are a “serious problem for the military,” said Dr. Jack Smith, acting deputy assistant defense secretary for health affairs responsible for clinical and program policy.
Smith and other military health officials testified before the House Armed Services Committee’s oversight and investigations panel.
The hearing was called to look at how the military was dealing with infection and whether more money was needed for military-specific research.
Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Ark., the panel chairman, said he thought that given the implications of problems with treating combat-wounded service members, a case could be made for spending more money on research — but Smith did not ask for more.
read more here
Wounded face new foe drug-resistant infections
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Sep 30, 2010 14:26:40 EDT
Aggressive tactics are being used against strains of drug-resistant infections that are creating new risks for combat-injured service members who survived the war but may not survive the recovery, military medical officials said Wednesday.
Called multi-drug resistant organisms, or MDROs, the infections “are not unique to the military” but are a “serious problem for the military,” said Dr. Jack Smith, acting deputy assistant defense secretary for health affairs responsible for clinical and program policy.
Smith and other military health officials testified before the House Armed Services Committee’s oversight and investigations panel.
The hearing was called to look at how the military was dealing with infection and whether more money was needed for military-specific research.
Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Ark., the panel chairman, said he thought that given the implications of problems with treating combat-wounded service members, a case could be made for spending more money on research — but Smith did not ask for more.
read more here
Wounded face new foe drug-resistant infections
Spouse of the Year award to Carren Ziegenfuss
Military.com and CincHouse.com presented the 2010 Spouse of the Year award to Carren Ziegenfuss Sept. 30 at a ceremony held at the Minuteman Memorial Building on Capitol Hill.
Congressman Glen Thompson, R-Pa., who represents Ziegenfuss’ hometown of Franklin, highlighted the poise and dedication exemplified by those who hold down the fort while troops are overseas.
“The heroes and patriots are the spouses,” Thompson said, adding that a Ziegenfuss friend told him, “This lady has a spine of steel.”
In 2005 Ziegenfuss’ husband was wounded in Iraq while serving as an Army officer. During his recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, she started an outreach group for families of Wounded Warriors through Soldier’s Angels, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping injured troops and their families.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Staff Sergeant William Castillo, wounded in Iraq, gets new home in Orlando
Wounded vet gets new home
By Lisa Bell, Anchor
Last Updated: Friday, September 03, 2010 9:17 AM
ORLANDO --
A wounded soldier has a new place to call home in Central Florida thanks to some local volunteers.
Staff Sergeant William Castillo received a purple heart for his service in Iraq-- it was the home this soldier and his family had been hoping for.
A renovated, 5 bedroom south Orlando home, built by the hands of volunteers who thought Staff Sergeant William Castillo deserved a gift for his work in Iraq.
"Being a husband and a father this is what you want to be able to provide for your family," said wounded veteran William Castillo.
Castillo was hit with 5 bullets after an IED exploded under his Humvee in Iraq.
read more here
Wounded vet gets new home
By Lisa Bell, Anchor
Last Updated: Friday, September 03, 2010 9:17 AM
ORLANDO --
A wounded soldier has a new place to call home in Central Florida thanks to some local volunteers.
Staff Sergeant William Castillo received a purple heart for his service in Iraq-- it was the home this soldier and his family had been hoping for.
A renovated, 5 bedroom south Orlando home, built by the hands of volunteers who thought Staff Sergeant William Castillo deserved a gift for his work in Iraq.
"Being a husband and a father this is what you want to be able to provide for your family," said wounded veteran William Castillo.
Castillo was hit with 5 bullets after an IED exploded under his Humvee in Iraq.
read more here
Wounded vet gets new home
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Cape Coral City employees raise $3,200 for soldier
City employees raise $3,200 for soldier
Funds hand delivered to Pfc. Kent at Walter Reed Hospital
By DREW WINCHESTER,
City of Cape Coral employees are trying to look out for one of their own.
City employees donated $3,200 to Pfc. Corey Kent's family recently, hand delivered by Cape Police Sgt. Rob Wardrop to Walter Reed Hospital where Kent is recovering from serious injuries.
City spokeswoman Connie Barron said Wardrop originally intended to have city employees sign cards showing their support for Kent, but later decided to try and raise money for his family, who are also at Walter Reed in Maryland.
Barron said Wardrop expected to collect a few hundred dollars, and was overwhelmed, but happy, that donations were so strong.
Donations were collected over a period of two weeks, according to Barron.
"The idea was to reach out to him (Kent), and let him know city employees care about him," Barron said.
read more here
http://www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/page/content.detail/id/518938.html
Funds hand delivered to Pfc. Kent at Walter Reed Hospital
By DREW WINCHESTER,
City of Cape Coral employees are trying to look out for one of their own.
City employees donated $3,200 to Pfc. Corey Kent's family recently, hand delivered by Cape Police Sgt. Rob Wardrop to Walter Reed Hospital where Kent is recovering from serious injuries.
City spokeswoman Connie Barron said Wardrop originally intended to have city employees sign cards showing their support for Kent, but later decided to try and raise money for his family, who are also at Walter Reed in Maryland.
Barron said Wardrop expected to collect a few hundred dollars, and was overwhelmed, but happy, that donations were so strong.
Donations were collected over a period of two weeks, according to Barron.
"The idea was to reach out to him (Kent), and let him know city employees care about him," Barron said.
read more here
http://www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/page/content.detail/id/518938.html
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Wounded soldier finally gets Purple Heart after Army ran out of them
Vet gets his Purple Heart
By Mark Sommer
News Staff Reporter
August 17, 2010, 8:19 AM
Spc. Earl Eisensmith received his Purple Heart Medal on Monday, nearly two years after the Orchard Park man suffered a broken back when his military vehicle struck an explosive device in Afghanistan.
The medal was presented in front of the downtown Purple Heart monument at the Buffalo & Erie County Naval and Military Park by Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo.
"Part of me feels guilty for receiving this medal because I know soldiers who have lost their lives and lost their limbs and received the same award as me," Eisensmith said in his brief address.
"But a part of me also feels that my fellow comrades that gave their lives for us would be proud that I'm receiving this award."
Eisensmith, 26, received combat badges and a Purple Heart certificate before leaving Afghanistan but was told the Army had run out of medals. He brought it up to his unit several times, and eventually, his father, Arnie Eisensmith, sought to get the medal delivered.
read more here
http://www.buffalonews.com/incoming/article103356.ece
By Mark Sommer
News Staff Reporter
August 17, 2010, 8:19 AM
Spc. Earl Eisensmith received his Purple Heart Medal on Monday, nearly two years after the Orchard Park man suffered a broken back when his military vehicle struck an explosive device in Afghanistan.
The medal was presented in front of the downtown Purple Heart monument at the Buffalo & Erie County Naval and Military Park by Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo.
"Part of me feels guilty for receiving this medal because I know soldiers who have lost their lives and lost their limbs and received the same award as me," Eisensmith said in his brief address.
"But a part of me also feels that my fellow comrades that gave their lives for us would be proud that I'm receiving this award."
Eisensmith, 26, received combat badges and a Purple Heart certificate before leaving Afghanistan but was told the Army had run out of medals. He brought it up to his unit several times, and eventually, his father, Arnie Eisensmith, sought to get the medal delivered.
read more here
http://www.buffalonews.com/incoming/article103356.ece
Friday, August 13, 2010
Family of wounded soldier shocked by support from community
Mo. community rallies around wounded soldier
By Dennis Rich - The Sedalia Democrat
Posted : Thursday Aug 12, 2010 12:30:40 EDT
SEDALIA, Mo. — Darren Ross started setting up the fish fry at 8 a.m. in the morning — a $5 a plate fundraiser for Sedalia native Army Spc. Joe Yantz.
Weeks ago, it was an ice cream social hosted by St. Paul's Lutheran Church, which raised $2,358 for the Joe Yantz Support Fund. More recently, it was members of the 40 & 8 and Smith-Cotton High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps selling hot dogs.
Other groups and individuals have donated time or resources as the community has rallied around the 21-year-old Yantz, an airborne infantryman who was injured in June by a bomb while on a combat patrol in Afghanistan.
Contrary to preliminary reports of the incident, Yantz received only minor wounds to his neck, face and hand, but his right leg was amputated above the knee. A surgery to repair a perforated eardrum is scheduled for September.
His parents, Jerry and Diane — on hand at the recent fish fry before a planned return to Washington D.C.'s Walter Reed Army Medical Center where their son is recuperating — said they have been "shocked and floored" by the outpouring of support for their son.
"When this happened, the most we hoped for was that people would understand we wouldn't have time for some things. I expected close friends and family would be supportive, but we never expected this," Diane said. "If we weren't sold on Sedalia before, we certainly are now."
read more here
Mo. community rallies around wounded soldier
By Dennis Rich - The Sedalia Democrat
Posted : Thursday Aug 12, 2010 12:30:40 EDT
SEDALIA, Mo. — Darren Ross started setting up the fish fry at 8 a.m. in the morning — a $5 a plate fundraiser for Sedalia native Army Spc. Joe Yantz.
Weeks ago, it was an ice cream social hosted by St. Paul's Lutheran Church, which raised $2,358 for the Joe Yantz Support Fund. More recently, it was members of the 40 & 8 and Smith-Cotton High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps selling hot dogs.
Other groups and individuals have donated time or resources as the community has rallied around the 21-year-old Yantz, an airborne infantryman who was injured in June by a bomb while on a combat patrol in Afghanistan.
Contrary to preliminary reports of the incident, Yantz received only minor wounds to his neck, face and hand, but his right leg was amputated above the knee. A surgery to repair a perforated eardrum is scheduled for September.
His parents, Jerry and Diane — on hand at the recent fish fry before a planned return to Washington D.C.'s Walter Reed Army Medical Center where their son is recuperating — said they have been "shocked and floored" by the outpouring of support for their son.
"When this happened, the most we hoped for was that people would understand we wouldn't have time for some things. I expected close friends and family would be supportive, but we never expected this," Diane said. "If we weren't sold on Sedalia before, we certainly are now."
read more here
Mo. community rallies around wounded soldier
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Idaho Soldier Gets Standing Ovation in Congress
Idaho Soldier Gets Standing Ovation in Congress
Posted by George Prentice on Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 5:58 PM
A severely wounded Marine from Cottonwood received a standing ovation on the floor of the House of Representatives Monday. Lt. Cpl. Randal Wright is receiving treatment at Walter Reed Hospital for injuries suffered due to an IED blast in Afghanistan where he lost both legs and an arm.
At the invitation of Idaho Rep. Walt Minnick, Wright was invited to tour the Capitol with his family. As an extra surprise, he was escorted to the floor of the House and was introduced and praised by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
read more here
Idaho Soldier Gets Standing Ovation in Congress
Posted by George Prentice on Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 5:58 PM
A severely wounded Marine from Cottonwood received a standing ovation on the floor of the House of Representatives Monday. Lt. Cpl. Randal Wright is receiving treatment at Walter Reed Hospital for injuries suffered due to an IED blast in Afghanistan where he lost both legs and an arm.
At the invitation of Idaho Rep. Walt Minnick, Wright was invited to tour the Capitol with his family. As an extra surprise, he was escorted to the floor of the House and was introduced and praised by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
read more here
Idaho Soldier Gets Standing Ovation in Congress
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
New program rebuilding faces of soldiers, veterans
New program rebuilding faces of soldiers, veterans
By MICHELLE ROBERTS (AP) – 2 hours ago
SAN ANTONIO — The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought a new kind of patient to the facial prothestics lab at the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio: wounded warriors, who have recently suffered heavy burns and multiple traumas.
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New program rebuilding faces of soldiers, veterans
By MICHELLE ROBERTS (AP) – 2 hours ago
SAN ANTONIO — The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have brought a new kind of patient to the facial prothestics lab at the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio: wounded warriors, who have recently suffered heavy burns and multiple traumas.
read more here
New program rebuilding faces of soldiers, veterans
Monday, July 26, 2010
Wounded soldier surprises hometown at fundraiser for him
Wounded Soldier Surprises Hometown
Sgt. Brendan Ferreira Makes Trip Home From Walter Reed
Taunton -- A local soldier, wounded in the line of duty, surprised his local community Sunday when he came home for a fundraiser in his honor.
The Wounded Soldier Day Fundraiser Jeep Run was held at the P.A.C.C. in Taunton in honor of Sgt. Brendan Ferreira, 23, of Assonet.
The fund raiser was on the same weekend Ferreira was supposed to come home on leave from Afghanistan. Those plans were changed back in March when Ferreira was critically injured during a suicide bomb attack. Two of his fellow soldiers were killed.
read more here
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/mostpopular/24385897/detail.html
Sgt. Brendan Ferreira Makes Trip Home From Walter Reed
Taunton -- A local soldier, wounded in the line of duty, surprised his local community Sunday when he came home for a fundraiser in his honor.
The Wounded Soldier Day Fundraiser Jeep Run was held at the P.A.C.C. in Taunton in honor of Sgt. Brendan Ferreira, 23, of Assonet.
The fund raiser was on the same weekend Ferreira was supposed to come home on leave from Afghanistan. Those plans were changed back in March when Ferreira was critically injured during a suicide bomb attack. Two of his fellow soldiers were killed.
read more here
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/mostpopular/24385897/detail.html
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Twilight of Glory
Twilight of Glory
by
Chaplain Kathie
While most people in their 20's are talking about movies in the Twilight series about vampires, there is another meaning to the word "twilight" and they live it everyday.
twilight
1.
a. The diffused light from the sky during the early evening or early morning when the sun is below the horizon and its light is refracted by the earth's atmosphere.
b. The time of the day when the sun is just below the horizon, especially the period between sunset and dark.
2. Dim or diffused illumination.
3. A period or condition of decline following growth, glory, or success: in the twilight of his life.
4. A state of ambiguity or obscurity
Young men and women go off to other nations serving in the military everyday. They are sent off with people lining the roadways of military bases waving flags and praying God brings them home safely. In communities around the country we send off citizen soldiers leaving their jobs, families and friends to join the regular military in combat. Our neighbors going away from police, fire departments, offices, hospitals and yes, even unemployment lines, while we cheer for the sake of their devotion to duty.
Many of these men and women die while fighting the battles the nation decides need to be fought. They don't bother themselves with worrying about the politics involved. They have enough to worry about like staying alive and trying to keep their friends alive. They worry about being wounded and what will happen to them the day after they return with their lives changed. When they are deployed, all is taken care of for them. They are fed, given clothes and have a family surrounding them. We call them heroes and glorify their devotion. Yet when they are wounded, by body or mind, they enter into the twilight of glory, when they are in need of someone taking care of them. But we don't want to talk about them.
Thousands of Soldiers Unfit for War Duty
David Wood
Chief Military Correspondent
More than 13,000 active-duty Army soldiers -- the equivalent of four combat brigades -- are sidelined as unfit for war because of injury, illness or mental stress.
In an unmistakable sign that the Army is struggling with exhaustion after nine years of fighting, combat commanders whose units are headed to Afghanistan increasingly choose to leave behind soldiers who can no longer perform, putting additional strain on those who still can.
The growing pool of "non-deployable'' soldiers make up roughly 10 percent of the 116,423 active-duty soldiers currently in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thousands more Army reservists and National Guard soldiers are also considered unfit to deploy, a growing burden on an Army that has sworn to care for them as long as needed.
"These 13,000 soldiers, that number's not going to go away," said Brig. Gen. Gary Cheek, who heads the Army's Warrior Transition Command, which oversees the treatment and disposition of unfit soldiers. "If anything, it's going to get larger as the Army continues the tempo it's on.
"This is an Army at war.''
Among these "non-deployable'' soldiers are those recuperating from combat wounds, some severe, and various forms of brain injury. Far more numerous are soldiers with non-battle conditions, including cases of coronary disease, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, acute anxiety, kidney disease, leukemia, chronic back pain and dozens of other maladies. Sometimes, these cases are complicated by drug or alcohol abuse, according to senior Army officers and internal Pentagon documents.
read more here
Thousands of Soldiers Unfit for War Duty
We don't want to talk about those in need. We honor glory for however long it lasts when we can feel as if we were a part of success simply by offering words of support or showing up to give the impression of really caring. The wounded are past their glory days in our minds. There is no longer a reason to cheer that same devotion to the nation that caused them to be wounded. If they bleed, well we give them a Purple Heart and then send them off to the abyss of the VA. A few communities band together at the urging of some charity to renovate a house to accommodate wheel chairs when they no longer have their legs. Some people really do care but we as a nation on the whole care more about TV shows, celebrity gossip and our own lives as we glorify our own sacrifices for the sake of our own families. While we know what it's like to be unemployed and worry about paying the bills, we forget they end up with the same problems the rest of us have but unlike us, they are suffering for being unselfish.
When what they have to go through is brought to our minds, we get angry but that fades as soon as the DOD or the VA says they will take care of filling the need. We go back to our own lives without every thinking of them again until a news report comes out that one more of them have taken their own life. We fail to understand few families are willing to talk about the circumstances of the death when suicide is involved, so there are many, many more we will never know about. We know the reported number of 18 veteran suicides a day but they represent the number of veterans in the VA system. We know about the reported number of suicides in the active military but we don't know about the deaths "still under investigation" or any of the deaths by their own hands after they leave military duty. We can try to count the number of attempted suicides, arriving at about 12,000 per year, but there are many more we will never know about.
Suicide hotlines report numbers of callers and the "rescues" they arranged, but no one is talking about the fact these men and women feel so hopeless they reach the point when they have to reach out for someone to talk to on a suicide prevention hotline.
Twenty-something year olds fill the beds at Walter Reed and Bethesda but few in this country, other than family members, have ever seen the inside of a military hospital.
One of the perks of being a Chaplain is that I was treated to a VIP tour of Walter Reed during the Memorial Day trip to Washington. There were 5 young soldiers from the same unit, wounded at different times to different degrees. There was a young female MP feeling blessed the RPG only took off one of her legs instead of hitting her higher. Another young soldier talked about how the people of Afghanistan were mostly good people with very little to live with and how he believe he was helping them to live better lives in their future. He wanted to go back as soon as possible. All of them are the same age as my daughter. They all deal with the same problems all others at their age deal with but then they have the added burden of not only risking their lives, but risking their futures. All of the soldiers I met at Walter Reed will live with the wounds they received for the rest of their lives.
It's really hard to believe I'm sitting here after all these years still doing what I began when my Dad met my husband for the first time. I was 22 when I asked my Dad what he thought of Jack. "He's a nice guy but he's got shell shock." Coming from a Korean War vet, I took it seriously but no one knew at the time it was mild PTSD issuing a warning for him to get help. By the time we met he had been home for 11 years. To this day, young men and women are receiving the same warning about getting help now instead of later so that the ravages of PTSD can be prevented, but too few listen. For those who do listen, they end up discovering that help is something they have to not only wait for, but have to fight for in long lines and paperwork.
None of what they are going through has to happen but they are no long in their glory days of deployment when at least some in this nation want to know what's going on. They are in the twilight of their glory when few in this nation will bother to notice them at all and even fewer will feel compelled enough to try to make this right for them.
twilight
1.
a. The diffused light from the sky during the early evening or early morning when the sun is below the horizon and its light is refracted by the earth's atmosphere.
b. The time of the day when the sun is just below the horizon, especially the period between sunset and dark.
2. Dim or diffused illumination.
3. A period or condition of decline following growth, glory, or success: in the twilight of his life.
4. A state of ambiguity or obscurity
They are in the twilight of glory because when they can't risk their lives, they are no longer of use to us but need us instead.
I wrote this poem with the words of Vietnam veterans back in 1984. These are their words. I just arranged them. This was their lives. I just listened. I revised it for today's veterans.
Twilight of Glory
by
Chaplain Kathie
The things I’ve seen and done would boggle your mind.
I’ve seen the death and destruction created by mankind
in the living hell that I walked away from but could not leave behind.
It all comes back to haunt me now and makes peace impossible to find.
The ghosts of the past that find me in the night
make me wonder if my life will ever be right.
I have tried to forget what I have done,
and now there is no place left to run.
All this in the name of glory!
There is no end to this horror story.It still does not make sense even now that I am older,
why, when I was so young they made me a soldier
and why I had to be a part of that war
when I didn’t even know what we were there for.
At eighteen I should have been with my friends having fun
not patrolling through a jungle with a machine gun.
I did my part just the same, just for my country
and stood helplessly watching my friends die all around me.
I felt a surge of hate engulf my soul for people that I did not know
and saw children lose their chance to grow.
All this in the name of glory!
There is still no end to this horror story.
There was no glory for guys like me
only bitter memories that will not set me free.
I can never forget the ones who never made it home
some of them dead and others whose fate is still unknown
and the stigma that we lost what was not meant to win
most of us carry that extra burden buried deep within.
All this in the name of glory!
Will there ever be an end to this horror story?
In the twilight of glory
there is an unwritten story
each warrior keeps within.
Going back from the wars we are sent to fight
like going from sunshine to the darkness of night
we fade away from the public's mind
and wonder when glory was left behind
as we struggle to find reason to go on
back in a world where we no longer belong.
revised from IN THE NAME OF GLORY
@1984 Kathie Costos
I signed the poem W.T. Manteiv for We Trusted and Vietnam backwards.
Monday, July 5, 2010
NFL coaches meet wounded soldiers in Afghanistan
4 NFL coaches visit troops in Afghanistan
By RICHARD ROSENBLATT (AP) – 1 hour ago
As Andy Reid visited with injured soldiers in a hospital at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles couldn't get over how eager they were to return to action.
"You see guys in there, some of them missing limbs and some pretty beat up," Reid said. "These guys couldn't wait to go back out there, if they could, and fight to protect our country. It's quite an amazing thing."
Reid, John Fox of the Carolina Panthers, Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals and Brad Childress of the Minnesota Vikings met with hundreds of soldiers at the air field north of Kabul over the Fourth of July weekend.
The NFL-USO coaches tour is in its second year. Last year, five coaches visited troops in Iraq.
Watching a war unfold on TV half a world away and then suddenly being with the soldiers doing the fighting was an eye-opening experience for the coaches.
go here for more
4 NFL coaches visit troops in Afghanistan
By RICHARD ROSENBLATT (AP) – 1 hour ago
As Andy Reid visited with injured soldiers in a hospital at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles couldn't get over how eager they were to return to action.
"You see guys in there, some of them missing limbs and some pretty beat up," Reid said. "These guys couldn't wait to go back out there, if they could, and fight to protect our country. It's quite an amazing thing."
Reid, John Fox of the Carolina Panthers, Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals and Brad Childress of the Minnesota Vikings met with hundreds of soldiers at the air field north of Kabul over the Fourth of July weekend.
The NFL-USO coaches tour is in its second year. Last year, five coaches visited troops in Iraq.
Watching a war unfold on TV half a world away and then suddenly being with the soldiers doing the fighting was an eye-opening experience for the coaches.
go here for more
4 NFL coaches visit troops in Afghanistan
Monday, June 7, 2010
Vietnam War veteran meets Iraq wounded soldier he helped save
Iraq veteran reunites with rescuer
By AUDREY PARENTE, Staff Writer
June 7, 2010 12:05 AM
Blood-splattered blue jeans -- worn two years ago by veteran photojournalist Jim Wade -- have never been washed.
Wade brought the well-preserved jeans with him from West Melbourne to show former Army corporal and Purple Heart recipient Walter "Matt" Bailey.
The recent reunion in a quiet gated Palm Coast condominium community was their first since an explosion in Iraq on March 30, 2008, wounded Bailey, then 19. He was driving the armored military vehicle in which Wade was a passenger.
Then a private, Bailey was injured by an improvised explosive device that sprayed molten-hot shrapnel.
"The last thing I remember seeing was Jim," said Bailey, 22. "He was wrapping up my foot."
In addition to losing part of his foot, Bailey suffered injuries to both legs, severe nerve damage to his right arm and serious emotional trauma.
The explosion left a crater, said Wade, a 60-plus-year-old Vietnam War veteran -- who leaped out of the back passenger door of the vehicle to help Bailey and others in the Humvee. A retired aircraft mechanic and Seabee, Wade was embedded with Wade's unit, and has been back and forth to the war zone capturing war footage.
read more here
Iraq veteran reunites with rescuer
By AUDREY PARENTE, Staff Writer
June 7, 2010 12:05 AM
Blood-splattered blue jeans -- worn two years ago by veteran photojournalist Jim Wade -- have never been washed.
Wade brought the well-preserved jeans with him from West Melbourne to show former Army corporal and Purple Heart recipient Walter "Matt" Bailey.
The recent reunion in a quiet gated Palm Coast condominium community was their first since an explosion in Iraq on March 30, 2008, wounded Bailey, then 19. He was driving the armored military vehicle in which Wade was a passenger.
Then a private, Bailey was injured by an improvised explosive device that sprayed molten-hot shrapnel.
"The last thing I remember seeing was Jim," said Bailey, 22. "He was wrapping up my foot."
In addition to losing part of his foot, Bailey suffered injuries to both legs, severe nerve damage to his right arm and serious emotional trauma.
The explosion left a crater, said Wade, a 60-plus-year-old Vietnam War veteran -- who leaped out of the back passenger door of the vehicle to help Bailey and others in the Humvee. A retired aircraft mechanic and Seabee, Wade was embedded with Wade's unit, and has been back and forth to the war zone capturing war footage.
read more here
Iraq veteran reunites with rescuer
Monday, March 1, 2010
Two soldiers overcome being hit by Union Pacific train
2 soldiers hurt when train strikes Army vehicle
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Feb 28, 2010 9:52:39 EST
SALT LAKE CITY — A train hit an Army vehicle in Tooele County on Saturday, and two soldiers were hurt.
The tactical vehicle, about the size of a pickup, was traveling to Camp Williams from Dugway Proving Grounds when it was hit by a northbound Union Pacific train.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/02/ap_army_utah_train_crash_022810/
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Feb 28, 2010 9:52:39 EST
SALT LAKE CITY — A train hit an Army vehicle in Tooele County on Saturday, and two soldiers were hurt.
The tactical vehicle, about the size of a pickup, was traveling to Camp Williams from Dugway Proving Grounds when it was hit by a northbound Union Pacific train.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/02/ap_army_utah_train_crash_022810/
Sunday, February 28, 2010
For disabled vet, no place like new home
For disabled vet, no place like new home
By Sydney Lupkin
Sunday, February 28, 2010
In his worst nightmares Staff Sgt. Michael Downing never imagined he would become a double-amputee while fighting in Afghanistan. But in his wildest dreams he never thought hundreds of people would pack his Middleboro garage, ask to shake his hand and give him the keys to a brand-new home.
“I’m still in awe of the whole thing,” Downing said, as crowds surrounded him yesterday.
Homes for Our Troops hosted a key ceremony for Downing yesterday to give him the specially adapted home they built with volunteers - too many to count, according to general contractor Dominic Falconeiri.
“Probably more than half the people here I don’t even know,” said a stunned Downing.
read more here
For disabled vet, no place like new home
By Sydney Lupkin
Sunday, February 28, 2010
In his worst nightmares Staff Sgt. Michael Downing never imagined he would become a double-amputee while fighting in Afghanistan. But in his wildest dreams he never thought hundreds of people would pack his Middleboro garage, ask to shake his hand and give him the keys to a brand-new home.
“I’m still in awe of the whole thing,” Downing said, as crowds surrounded him yesterday.
Homes for Our Troops hosted a key ceremony for Downing yesterday to give him the specially adapted home they built with volunteers - too many to count, according to general contractor Dominic Falconeiri.
“Probably more than half the people here I don’t even know,” said a stunned Downing.
read more here
For disabled vet, no place like new home
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