Police need help finding missing Indiana PTSD Iraq veteran

Police Searching for Missing Iraq War Veteran
By Stan Lehr
WIBC
10/31/2012

Randy Darling, Jr. (photo courtesy IMPD)

IMPD missing persons detectives are asking for public assistance in the search for 24-year-old Randy Darling, Jr., a veteran of the war in Iraq who hasn't been seen since he quit his job October 28th.

Darling was honorably discharged from the Army and has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. His family and friends fear that he may be suicidal. He has been known to walk the downtown canal area when troubled.

If you can help find him, call IMPD Missing Persons are 317-6160.

PTSD Iraq veteran becomes filmmaker to help others

Veteran Pursues Career in Filmmaking
ABC News
By BOB WOODRUFF
Oct. 31, 2012

Michael Chan's life changed when the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center hit close to his lower east side Manhattan home.

"It was pretty horrific. You could hear the fire ambulances on FDR Drive," Chan said in ABC's Stand Up For Heroes series. "I thought to myself, you know, I want to make a difference. I knew on my 18th birthday, I would enlist."

"I think it was more of a shock at first," he added. "I didn't really understand what was going on. But I knew that I had to learn quick."

While many of Chan's peers were pursuing a higher education, he joined the Marines. Chan served two tours in Fallujah, Iraq, where he served as explosive ordinance security, combat security detachment for the U.S. Army, artillery support for the Al Anbar province and provisional infantry on foot.

Chan served in Fallujah from April 2004 to April 2008, during some of the hottest moments the area experienced.

"I guess we were mentally prepared, but at the same time, it's different when you're actually there in the fight," he said.

Since returning home from duty, Chan suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
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Woman kept dead friend 18 months and cashed his checks

Woman who kept dead friend for 18 months, cashing his benefit checks, pleads guilty, will enter mental health court
By Aaron Aupperlee
October 31, 2012

JACKSON, MI —€” With supportive family members seated on a court bench behind her, a woman admitted to cashing regular benefit checks of a friend months after he died.

Linda Chase, 72, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of larceny by conversion, a felony punishable by up to five years. More severe counts of forgery, a 14-year felony, were dismissed as part of the plea arrangement.

Chase, who kept her friend and roommate, Charles Zigler, for 18 months after he died, will likely not spend time in jail or prison and instead receive probation, said District Judge Michael Klaeren.
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NFL Recognizes Coast Guardsmen at Football Games

NFL Recognizes Coast Guardsmen at Football Games
Oct 31, 2012
U.S. Coast Guard
by PAC Kyle Niemi

Major American professional sports teams have long found ways to recognize military servicemembers at their events. In the 9th Coast Guard District, Great Lakes athletes and teams are often acknowledging the service and sacrifice of area Coast Guardsmen.

From throwing the first pitch at a Cleveland Indians baseball game, to dropping the puck at a Lake Erie Monsters hockey game, to being recognized at an annual invitational golf tournament in Akron, Ohio, the sporting public gets their fair share of opportunities to “cheer-cheer” for their Coast Guard.

Recently, Coast Guardsmen assigned to the 9th District were recognized at two different NFL football game in less than one week.

Rear Adm. Mike Parks, commander of the 9th Coast Guard District in Cleveland, was honored at the Monday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions, Oct. 22, at Soldier Field in Chicago. The following Sunday, Oct. 28, 12 Coast Guardsmen were honored at the Cleveland Brown’s Stadium during a Hats Off to Our Heroes event during the Browns’ game against the San Diego Chargers.

Parks was selected by the United Service Organizations of Illinois, which has had a partnership with the Bears for the past 10 years. The USO serves as the conduit for selecting military members to participate in the “Bears/Boeing Military Salute.”
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John McCain playing politics with tragedy again

Should members want to get to the bottom of what happened? Hell Ya! Should they be playing politics instead of seeking the truth? Hell NO. Don't you find it very interesting that while McCain and Graham are pushing for answers on this, they were not doing it after 9-11 when a lot more people died? The difference is this President does not belong to their party.

Republicans Hound Obama over Benghazi Attack
Dec 01, 2012
Military.com
by Michael Hoffman

Four Republican Senators sent a letter to President Obama Wednesday as they continue to hound the president for answers to questions regarding the terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that resulted in four dead, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

In the letter, signed by Senators John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, the senators demand answers to the questions sent in seven previous letters over the past month to members of the Obama administration. In each, the senators have asked for more details regarding events before the Sept. 11 attack and the actions taken after it.

"The American people deserve to know all the facts surrounding the terrorist attack in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, that resulted in the murder of four Americans-including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Unfortunately, you and your senior administration officials have not been forthcoming in providing answers to the many questions that have emerged," the letter read.
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The security was provided by Defense Contractors and all the information has not been released yet. McCain is not the type of person to wait for the truth before he opens his mouth. Wish he did the same thing after 9-11, before troops were sent into Afghanistan, before they were sent into Iraq and long before they came home wounded and waiting for help. Oh well, that would meant McCain would have to go against the President that was a member of his party.

Airmen Saved Woman From Burning Car

Airmen Save Woman From Burning Car
Oct 31, 2012
Air Force News
by Dan Hawkins

SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The July 4th holiday had been fun for Senior Airman Gil Campos and Airmen 1st Class Juan Vanegas and Chris Leon. After spending the day in Dallas watching an FC Dallas professional soccer game, they had made the two-hour drive back to Wichita Falls and Sheppard Air Force Base, where the trio are stationed.

The end of the day feeling was quickly replaced with a sense of urgency and duty when the three spotted a vehicle just off a local freeway that had crashed and was on fire.

"Chris (Leon) was driving and saw the accident first," said Vanegas, an awards and decorations technician with the 82nd Force Support Squadron. "We pulled over right away and jumped out of the car and ran as fast as we could to the car hoping nobody was inside."

While Vanegas and Leon were in a dead sprint to the burning car, Campos, 82nd FSS personnel systems manager, dialed 9-1-1 to get emergency services support to the scene as quickly as possible.

As soon as Vanegas and Leon, a knowledge operations manager with the 982nd Training Group, got close to the vehicle, they realized their worst fears were coming true.
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$677,000 to find out how families feel after suicide?

All this money for something they could find out just by going to Purple Star Families.org

On the military beat: Study seeks out families touches by suicide
Article by: MARK BRUNSWICK
Star Tribune
October 31, 2012

"The $677,000 study, which began a few months ago, will last two years. They hope to interview 100 participants."

Researchers at the University of Kentucky are investigating bereavement issues of families with relatives or other loved ones who've killed themselves related to their military service.

The research is funded by the Department of Defense's Military Suicide Research Consortium and has involved in-person interviews with parents, spouses, and adult children of active-duty service members and recent veterans who have died by suicide.

The idea is to better understand what families go through after the suicide and to suggest policy changes. For instance, the time window for a family member to move off a base after a suicide varies among military installations, which affects how families cope and what resources are used to help, said Julie Cerel, one of the lead investigators in the study.
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Attempted suicide at West Edmonton Mall prevented watchful eye

Suicide attempt at West Edmonton Mall
by The Canadian Press - Story: 82654
Oct 31, 2012 / 5:56 pm
Canada
The owner of a firearms range at West Edmonton Mall is full of praise for two of her employees who may have prevented a customer from killing himself with a rented pistol.

Flora Kupsch said when a man pointed a Glock 9-mm gun at himself Tuesday night after firing more than 40 rounds at a target, her staff stepped in and there was a scuffle.

Police say the man suffered a gunshot wound to the neck and was in stable condition in hospital.

"I am very, very proud of them the way they reacted," Kupsch said Wednesday. "Everybody is shaken up about what happened. I was just freaking out about the whole thing."

The Wild West Shooting Centre has been operating for 13 years at the mall and bills itself as "Edmonton's Funnest Attraction." Customers rent pistols and ammunition and paper targets to shoot at.

Ads for the centre say that no firearms licence is required. Wild West says it prides itself on following strict safety protocols and employs friendly, experienced staff.

However, two men have died as a result of self-inflicted gunshot wounds in the past, one in 2007 and another in 2008.

Kupsch said a man in his 50s came into the centre Tuesday night saying he had never fired a gun before.

He then paid the fee to rent the Glock, the type of pistol used by many police services across Canada, and 50 rounds of ammunition, but then left the centre briefly to have a cup of coffee before taking the gun.
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Military discharge for being gay, Combat PTSD, philanthropist arrives

Marvin Carter says he's helping others because he is also helping himself. In a way, that is why everyone involved in helping others does it. They remember. They remember what it was like when they needed help but no one would help them. When you need help and don't get it, you lose hope. You can also get very angry when you see others being helped, provided with what you need. You also wonder what the hell is wrong with you when you can't get a hand. Some people become bitter. Some people become filled with so much hopelessness they want to die instead of spend one more day suffering. Then one day comes when hope, no matter how small, gives them what they need to try again. They know the difference they can make in someone else's life.

Officer and a Philanthropist
From a military discharge for being gay to struggling with PTSD, today Marvin Carter is helping others to help himself
By Will O'Bryan
Published on November 1, 2012

With Veterans Day coming up Nov. 11, the nation takes some time this month to honor the veterans of the U.S. armed forces. One of them is Marvin Carter, though he's still waiting for the honor – or at least the benefits.

Nearly three decades ago, Carter, 60, was discharged from the Marine Corps for being gay. It was the sort of discharge that cut Carter off from the investment he'd made in the military between 1972 and 1985. In short, the Pentagon discharged Carter with not so much as a thank you, but with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and no access to Veterans Health Administration medical services to treat it.

Rather than stress from being a closeted Marine – or the stress of surviving three military plane crashes – Carter and the professionals treating him suspect his PTSD is rooted in a particularly nerve-racking military tactic.

''We flew covert ops and we would get shot at on a regular basis, especially by the North Koreans and Yemenis. They were always the worst,'' recalls Carter, who speaks not with any gung-ho bluster, but with calm reserve. ''Our evasive technique was called a 'dead drop.' We were flying at 35,000 feet. When they would start to shoot – I was the mission commander – I would get in position. The pilot would get his fingers on the engine. We would turn all the engines off. When we go to a thousand feet, the pilot would turn on the engines. It was a very common evasive technique, but the g-forces on you were incredible. [My doctor] really thinks that doing that on a weekly basis for two years probably took a tremendous toll on my brain.''
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Marines help save 14 New Yorkers trapped by Hurricane Sandy

Marines help save 14 New Yorkers trapped by Hurricane Sandy
Marine Forces Reserve
Story by Cpl. Michael Ito

Aerial views of the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy to the New Jersey coast taken during a search and rescue mission by 1-150 Assault Helicopter Battalion, New Jersey Army National Guard, Oct. 30, 2012.
(U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen/Released)

“The bravery and dedication I saw was so great,” said Negron. “Everyone was riding in our truck and then the police would hop into their raft and go to a family in need and the fire department would get in their (rafts) and go straight to a fire.”

NEW ORLEANS - Winds, close to 80 mph, whipped the 14-foot floodwaters through the streets of New York Monday night as Hurricane Sandy bore down on the city. During the height of the storm, a detective from the New York Police Department approached the duty noncommissioned officer of 6th Communications Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group in Brooklyn, N.Y., and requested assistance for a rescue operation.

A transformer in the Queens neighborhood of Rockaway Beach burst, triggering a house fire that soon spread to adjacent buildings. Because of the fire and the rising floodwaters, many residents were trapped.

First responders attempted to help stranded residents, but they were also trapped, bringing the number of those marooned to 14. The water was too deep for the emergency services units, so the NYPD called on the Reserve Marines for support.

“We were just checking (our training center) for damage because the storm was getting pretty bad,” said Sgt. Jorge Negron, a ground radio repairman with 6th Communications Battalion. “The police showed up at the gate and, after getting approval, there was no hesitation. It was just ‘yeah, of course we’ll help.’”

Lt. Col. Richard Bordonaro, Inspector-Instructor for the 6th Communications Battalion, authorized the use of two 7-ton trucks, as well as the service of three Marines and one Navy corpsman, to conduct rescue assistance under the authority of the Defense Support of Civil Authorities directive.

Sgts. Allan Donaire, Michael Roy and Jorje Negron along with Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Pulitano, a hospital corpsman, responded to the police department’s request at approximately 10:15 p.m.
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