$3 Billion for repairs to Tyndall Air Force Base

Air Force plans to spend $3 billion to rebuild Florida base

Associated Press
February 1, 2019

Tornado damages Tyndall Air Force Base, Photo date: 1/21/2019 / Courtesy: WJHG

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) — Air Force officials say they are committed to spending $3 billion during the next five years to rebuild a Florida base heavily damaged by Hurricane Michael.

The assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and energy announced the Tyndall Air Force Base reconstruction plans Thursday to local officials in Florida's Panhandle.

The News Herald report s Assistant Secretary John Henderson said the plans will be submitted to Congress this spring.

Bay County officials said the effort likely will create up between 4,000 and 5,000 jobs.
read more here

Suicide Prevention Office Sucks At Saving Lives

Active-Duty Military Suicides at Record Highs in 2018

Military.com
Patricia Kime
January 30, 2019

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include Army year-end totals.

The U.S. military finished 2018 with a troubling, sad statistic: It experienced the highest number of suicides among active-duty personnel in at least six years.

Lt. Cmdr. Karen Downer writes a name on a Suicide Awareness Memorial Canvas in honor of Suicide Awareness Month at Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Sept. 10, 2018. (U.S. Navy/Jacob Sippel, Naval Hospital Jacksonville).

Active duty Military members could save more with GEICO. Get a quote today! A total of 321 active-duty members took their lives during the year, including 57 Marines, 68 sailors, 58 airmen, and 138 soldiers.

The deaths equal the total number of active-duty personnel who died by suicide in 2012, the record since the services began closely tracking the issue in 2001.

Suicide continues to present a challenge to the Pentagon and the military services, which have instituted numerous programs to save lives, raise awareness and promote prevention. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller, in his 2019 guidance to Marines released Friday, urged them to consider the lasting impact that a "permanent solution to a temporary problem" can have.

According to Air Force officials, 58 active-duty airmen took their lives, while three Reserve members died by their own hands. The number represents a decline from previous years, down from 63 in 2015 and 2017, and 61 in 2016, but is still troubling, said Brig. Gen. Michael Martin, director of Air Force Integrated Resilience.
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Do not let Air Force Veteran Joseph Walker be buried alone

UPDATE

No one was expected to show up for Texas veteran's burial — now cemetery is planning for big turnout

'No veteran should be buried alone': No one expected to attend Texas veteran's funeral

KVUE ABC News
Author: Juan Rodriguez, Rebecca Flores
January 26, 2019

Air Force Veteran Joseph Walker will be laid to rest Monday, and no one is expected to attend.

KILLEEN, Texas — The Central Texas State Veteran’s Cemetery is calling for the public’s attendance at an unaccompanied Texas veteran’s funeral.

Air Force Veteran Joseph Walker will be laid to rest Monday, and no one is expected to attend. The cemetery said they do not know where his family is and they do not want him to be laid to rest alone, so they are asking the public to attend.

A member of Wind Therapy Freedom Riders is also encouraging the public to attend.

"Let's show our respects to an American Veteran," said Luis Rodriguez.

The group of bikers will meet at Rudy's BBQ off I-35 in Round Rock and take off to the burial site at 9 a.m.

"No veteran should be buried alone," Rodriguez explained on a Facebook post.

Mr. Walker served in the Air Force from September 1964 to September 1968.

His funeral will take place Monday at 10 a.m. at the Central Texas State Cemetery.
go here for updates

Morgan Watt has relied on dogs to save his life many times

He relied on dogs in the Air Force to save his life. As a veteran, he’s relying on one again

Bradenton Herald
Sara Nealeigh
January 16, 2019

“A guide dog will stand in front of them and not let someone interfere with their personal space. A guide dog will alert them when somebody’s coming up and make them more comfortable,” said retired U.S. Army General Doug Brown, the keynote speaker for the breakfast.

Pella, a black Labrador service dog from Southeastern Guide Dogs, lays on the stage near her veteran, Sean Brown while he speaks to a crowd gathered at the Southeastern Guide Dogs Heroes Breakfast on Wednesday at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota. Sara Nealeigh snealeigh@bradenton.com

SARASOTA
Morgan Watt has relied on dogs to save his life many times.

First, in the Air Force when he was a bomb dog handler, Watt relied on the dogs to detect dangerous explosives.

“Working a bomb dog you had to be 100 percent. I always knew in that position I was expendable, and just felt like if something’s going to blow up, I want it to blow up on me and not somebody else,” Watt said.

“So that was kind of the attitude I had going into all the bomb threats and everything that I worked. It was just high stress but I was relying on my dog for my life. So coming full-circle, it was really easy to rely on my dog again for my life.”
read more here

MOH Retired Air Force Col. Joe M. Jackson passed away

Air Force legend, Medal of Honor recipient, Joe Jackson dies at 95

Air Force Times
Kyle Rempfer
January 15, 2019

Former Air Force Lt. Col. Joe Jackson, a legendary pilot and Medal of Honor recipient, attends an awards dinner in Arlington, Va., in 2015.(DoD)

Retired Air Force Col. Joe M. Jackson, a Medal of Honor recipient, veteran of three wars and Air Force legend, has died.

The 95-year-old Jackson passed away over the weekend, according to Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein, who made the announcement Monday morning.

His death leaves James P. Fleming as the only other living Air Force Medal of Honor recipient, according to Military Times Hall of Valor Curator Doug Sterner.

Jackson, a native of Newnan, Ga., was famous within the aviation and special operations community for his daring rescue of a team of Air Force combat controllers who were stranded at the besieged airfield of an abandoned Army Special Forces camp during the Tet Offensive.

His exploits saved the lives of three men, but risked his own, as the airfield had been the site of multiple U.S. aircraft shootdowns and aircrew fatalities over the past 24 hours.

Although Jackson has passed, his exploits and the significance of the battle he took part in were recorded in the Southeast Asia Monographs, Volume V-7, at the Airpower Research Institute of Maxwell Air Force Base, as well as first-person accounts archived by the Library of Congress.
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Airman's suicide note shakes our souls

Father writes heartfelt message after Airman son's suicide

Sandusky Register
Nichael Harrington
January 12, 2019

MILAN — The father of an Air Force airman who died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wrote a heartfelt Facebook post remembering his son.
XinHua Mesenburg graduated from Edison High School before he found his calling in the Air Force. He was stationed as a Senior Airman at Andrews Joint Base when his father and stepmother received a picture of an alarming handwritten note on Jan. 5

Mitch, who is from Huron but lives in Florida, shared what the message said in a Facebook post: “I hope that all you remember me fondly, I hope all you will live a long and happy life. As I fade from your memories, please know this was nobody’s fault. The stress life has given me, finally broke my will to live.”

After reading the note, Mitch and Shannon tried desperately to get ahold of him by phone and called authorities in Virginia. Mitch stayed on the phone with a dispatcher for what he described as an eternity, but it turned out to only be 12 minutes.

Mitch Mesenburg’s Facebook post in full:

To all my family and friends,

It is with great regret and a heavy heart that I am writing this letter. On January 5th. at 8:03 pm Shannon and I received a text message picture from our son Senior Airman XinHua Mesenburg who was stationed at Andrews Joint Base. The picture was of a handwritten note, it said. read more here

DOD released 3rd quarter suicide report

Department of Defense Suicide Report 3rd Quarter 2018

Really not much more I can say that is more powerful than the report itself~

For the 3rd Quarter of 2018

74 in the Active Component
18 in the Reserves
34 in the National Guard

Sadly on track to average 500 for the year again~

So, how is that "suicide awareness" benefitting anyone other than the people getting publicity and bigger bank accounts?

UPDATE iCasualties.com

These are the combat deaths from 2012 to 2018
Afghanistan 557
Iraq 73

Female Air Force Captain, assaulted twice...including Lackland Air Force

Faculty questioned whether Air Force Captain was really a victim of sexual assault: Witness

Comments made same month captain was terminated from internship for second time 

KSAT ABC News 12 
By Dillon Collier - Investigative Reporter 
December 21, 2018 

SAN ANTONIO - Faculty members of a clinical psychology internship at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland openly discussed the validity of claims from an intern that she was a victim of sexual and domestic assault, according to records reviewed by the KSAT 12 Defenders.

Former Air Force Capt. Robin Becker said she was removed from the internship after disclosing in 2015 that she was sexually assaulted and repeatedly physically assaulted by her former fiancé. 

In a letter submitted in January in support of Becker's attempts to get the Air Force to confer her psychology degree, Dr. Jeff Haibach recounted a lunch he attended along the Riverwalk in June 2016 with faculty from Becker's program.

Haibach, who at that time was engaged to a psychologist who had a supervisory role in Becker's internship, said faculty members were laughing and joking about Becker's tenuous standing in the rigorous year-long program at Lackland Air Force Base's Wilford Hall.

"As though Robin was making some sort of drama, as though she was entirely making information up or at least greatly exaggerating it," Haibach told the Defenders during an interview.

Becker's former fiancé, Adam Chylinski, was criminally charged in three attacks against Becker in 2014-2015. Two of the attacks happened in San Antonio while Becker was taking part in the internship; the other attack happened in their native Pennsylvania months before Becker moved to San Antonio.
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Florida veterans showing up for others

Florida Veterans in the News

David Smith riding new wave of veteran-advocates in the Florida Legislature

Orlando Rising
Scott Powers
12/05/2018

Republican state Rep. David Smith will be heading to Tallahassee with a broad platform of ambitions covering education, the economy and the environment, but the retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel gets particularly excited about prospects he sees to improve the lot for Florida’s military veterans.

Smith was elected Nov. 6 to succeed Jason Brodeur in representing House District 28 in east Seminole County. Riding in with him in this class are state Reps. Anthony Sabatini of Howie-in-the-Hills, Elizabeth Fetterhoff of Deland, Tommy Gregory of Sarasota, and Spencer Roach of North Fort Myers, all military veterans, joining returning lawmakers such as Paul Renner of Palm Coast.

They have restarted a veterans’ caucus in the Florida House, Smith said.

“I think there is going to be new excitement to address issues for veterans,” Smith said. “The one thing I’m committed to is systemic solutions. I don’t want band-aid solutions or give-away programs. They don’t work and they’re insulting to veterans.”

Specifically, Smith is looking at creating a state contracting set-aside preference for veteran-owned businesses, much as currently exists for women- and minority-owned businesses. There are plenty of models out there, including a federal program, state programs in Texas, California, and North Carolina, and a patchwork of local programs.

Smith said that the University of Central Florida’s contracts for construction of its downtown campus features a 10 percent set-aside for veterans’ businesses. Smith’s willing to start much smaller at the state, perhaps 1 percent, and work toward 3 percent.

He has filed no bills yet, saying he’s taking his time. Like other state representatives, he’s also waiting for his committee assignments.

“That’s one of the things I campaigned on,” Smith. “One of the differences I have even with Gov. [Rick] Scott is I think Florida is not as veteran-friendly as it could be as relates to veterans’ businesses. I want to be an advocate for those veterans in the Legislature.”
read more here

Meet the Palmetto resident who was inducted into Florida Veterans Hall of Fame

Bradenton Herald
BY JAMES A. JONES JR.
December 7, 2018

MANATEE
Carl Hunsinger of Palmetto, chairman of the Manatee County Veterans Council, was among 20 vets inducted into the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame this week in Tallahassee.

Carl Hunsinger has been inducted into the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame. He is shown above with Lee Washington, Manatee County veterans service officer, Gov. Rick Scott, and the Florida Cabinet. Hunsinger is retired from 30 years service in the U.S. Air Force, and is a tireless advocate for the Manatee County veterans community, provided photo

Hunsinger, 63, a retired U.S. Air Force chief master sergeant and veteran of 26 months of combat service in Iraq and Kuwait, was the only Manatee County resident among the 20 inductees honored by Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet.

“I was surprised when I got the call that I had been selected about 9 a.m. one morning around Thanksgiving,” Hunsinger said. “I said, ‘What?’ ”

In 2004, he led a team of 160 enlisted airmen providing gun truck security in Mosul, Iraq.

Hunsinger was in Mosul when one of the American dining facilities was bombed, killing 24 and wounding 70 others.
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Air Force Staff Sgt. Anthony James Dean and family killed in accident

Update: Air Force family in fatal highway accident identified

Valley News
Joshua Peguero
November 23, 2018

GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D (Valley News Live) – Update: Staff Sgt. Anthony James Dean, 25, assigned to the 69th Maintenance Squadron, was killed in a vehicle accident near Billings, Montana, over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Dean’s remains were recovered alongside those of his wife, Chelsi Kay Dean, 25. Also deceased in the accident are their two daughters Kaytlin Merie Dean, 5, and Avri James Dean, 1.

“Words are not enough during a time like this,” said Maj. Eric Inkenbrandt, 69th Maintenance Squadron commander. “AJ’s family brought a light to our maintenance community, and this loss strikes each of us deeply. May their friends and family be granted the strength and serenity to get through this sorrowful time.”

Montana Highway Patrol discovered the accident scene early Saturday morning after searching for the missing family since Thanksgiving Day. Initial reports indicate they were traveling on Interstate 94 when the vehicle went off the road, eventually coming to rest in a creek. The crash remains under investigation by the Montana Highway Patrol.
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New firefighter has a leg to stand on...really!

Disabled veteran graduates fire academy

NBC News
November 19, 2018

(KING) An injured veteran in Washington continued his tradition of serving others with an important graduation ceremony Saturday.

Retired Air Force Tech Sgt. Daniel Fye was serving his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2011, when he stepped on an IED.

He lost his left leg below the knee, and fought for months of surgery to keep his right leg.

Within two years, he was able to walk without any help.

Today, he's achieved his lifelong dream of becoming a firefighter, after graduating with honors from the South Sound Fire Academy.
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PTSD Veteran and dog rescued each other in Tampa

Bay Area veteran, shelter pup with anxiety find support in one another

FOX 13
Jen Epstein
November 2, 2018

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Mark and Molly have a very special bond. Their friendship goes far beyond the typical human-pet relationship.

"We pretty much do everything together. You talk about the old adage of boy meets dog; you're looking at it," said veteran Mark Starr.

Molly provides Mark with the emotional support he needs to get through each day. Mark is a Navy and Air Force veteran who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, and Molly is the one thing that keeps his anxiety and depression at bay.

"If I'm having difficulty or having a hard day, she's right on me. She wants to play and she gets me out of bed," said Mark.

Mark and Molly's friendship is give and take. Before he adopted her a year ago, Molly was a stray found walking the streets after Hurricane Irma.

"She has anxiety. She's definitely scared of thunderstorms. So, we have to work together when we have bad days," said Mark. "I play a little classical music for her, and I get down on the ground and hug her until until the storm goes."
read more here

California Air National Guardsman Killed in Ukraine

Update

The Air Force on Wednesday identified the American pilot killed in a crash of a Ukrainian Su-27 aircraft as Lt. Col. Seth “Jethro” Nehring, of the California Air National Guard.

Air Force confirms California guardsman killed in fighter crash in Ukraine

Stars and Stripes

Jennifer H. Svan

October 17, 2018

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – An Air National Guard member from California was killed along with a Ukrainian servicemember in a Ukrainian Su-27UB fighter crash Tuesday evening in Ukraine during a large-scale military aviation exercise, officials with U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa confirmed Wednesday.

A Sukhoi Su-27 takes off from Starokostiantyniv Air Base, Ukraine, Oct. 9, 2018 as part of the Clear Sky 2018 exercise. CHARLES VAUGHN/AIR NATIONAL GUARD

The U.S. airman was a member of the 144th Fighter Wing, California Air National Guard, based in Fresno, Calif. The airman’s name is being withheld for 24 hours pending next of kin notification, USAFE-AFAFRICA officials said in a statement late Wednesday morning. read more here

Seabee shot and killed at Keesler Air Force Base.

UPDATE

Officials tell news outlets that Builder Constructionman Grace Kayla Davis-Marcheschi died early Saturday morning at military housing belonging to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi.
The 23-year-old Davis-Marcheschi is originally from Oregon.

Navy: Seabee shot and killed in southern Mississippi

Associated Press
October 15, 2018

BILOXI, Miss. — The Navy says a sailor has been shot and killed in southern Mississippi. News outlets reported the shooting happened early Saturday morning at military housing belonging to Keesler Air Force Base. 

The shooting did not take place at Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport but the Seabee served there. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class George M. Bell/Navy)

Spokesman Brian Lamar said the dead sailor was assigned to the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport.
read more here

Do not forget military families caught by Hurricane Michael

Lawmakers vow to rebuild damaged Air Force base

FOX 13 News

Jim Turner

October 15, 2018

Base command at Tyndall last week called the hit from Michael “widespread catastrophic damage,” with every structure damaged, including hangars where planes that could not be flown out --- due to maintenance or safety reasons --- had been sheltered.

TALLAHASSEE (NSF) - Northwest Florida’s Tyndall Air Force Base, where pilots train to fly the F-22 stealth fighter, won’t be abandoned because of major damage it sustained in Hurricane Michael, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson vowed Monday.

Speaking to reporters at Tallahassee International Airport, Nelson sought to dismiss growing concerns that the storm-battered base outside Panama City will follow the path of what had been Homestead Air Force Base, which was heavily damaged by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and subsequently became an Air Force Reserve base.

“I think that fear is unfounded,” Nelson said. “As a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I can say that Tyndall will be rebuilt, and it will be an example of a modern U.S. Air Force base. That is because it is critically located right next to one of our greatest national assets, the Air Force Eastern Gulf Test and Training Range, which is the largest testing and training range for the United States military in the world.”

read more here

Trump gets bird’s-eye view of Tyndall, devastated Florida communities

Associated Press

Deb Reichmann and Darlene Superville

October 15, 2018

Florida Gov. Rick Scott, right, looks on as President Donald Trump talks with reporters after arriving at Eglin Air Force Base to visit areas affected by Hurricane Michael, Monday. (Evan Vucci/AP)

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump got a bird’s-eye view Monday of Florida communities left in ruins by Hurricane Michael, including houses without roofs, a toppled water tower and 18-wheel trucks scattered in a parking lot during a nearly hour-long helicopter tour of portions of the Panhandle.

Trump initially saw uprooted trees and houses with blue tarps covering damaged roofs after his helicopter lifted from Eglin Air Force Base near Valparaiso. But the severity of the damage worsened significantly as Trump approached Mexico Beach, a town of about 1,000 people that was nearly wiped off the map in a direct hit from the hurricane and its 155 mph winds last week.

Many of the houses in Mexico Beach had no roofs. In some cases, only the foundations were left standing. The water tower lay on its side and 18-wheelers were scattered in a parking lot like a child's toys.

Trump also saw Tyndall Air Force Base, which was heavily damaged by the storm.
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HUNDREDS OF NJ MILITARY BASE FAMILIES LOSE POWER — SOME FOR 10 DAYS

 JOINT BASE McGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST — More than a thousand military families were without power in the last week — many for nine days and counting — after a power surge destroyed an electrical substation. The Oct. 4 surge, which caused the substation equipment to erupt in flames, knocked out electricity to 1,087 homes on the McGuire Air Force Base. The length of the outage rivals the blackouts that parts of New Jersey experienced after Hurricane Irene, Superstorm Sandy and the nor'easter storms last winter. read more here

Baird Asher from Air Force, to homeless veteran, to discovered artist

Homeless Air Force veteran and street artist receives national attention after stranger buys his work

ABC 13 NEWS

Deborah Wrigley

October 11, 2018

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- As cars travel over a creek on a Katy Freeway service road, yards beneath out of view, a homeless vet applies paint to plywood, creating art.

It is where Baird Asher has lived for two months after he caught a ride to Houston from New Orleans, where he was a street artist. As an Air Force veteran who was an aircraft mechanic, "I can put an engine together," he said, but his real calling is his art.

"I'm an artist, and this is what I do," he said. "I don't necessarily refuse to do anything else, but this is what God gave me the talent to do."

Technically, Asher is homeless.

"I live under a highway bridge," he said with a laugh. But he needed the kindness of strangers to eat.

Two days ago, he was standing at an intersection with a sign that read, "Hungry Vet." That caught the eye of Suzanne Coppola, who was stopped at the light. At his feet was one of his paintings. It got Coppola's attention.

"I parked illegally and talked to him," she said. "He had an amazing story, and he's an amazing artist and I put it on my Facebook page, asking the creative community if we could do something for him."

The response amazed Coppola.

"I have artists contacting me about ideas they have for him, and a gallery owner from Dallas, who also has a gallery in Miami, asked to buy all his paintings," she said.
read more here

Astronauts safe after booster failure on Soyuz

Rocket carrying space station crew fails in mid air, crew safe
Thomson Reuters
BY SHAMIL ZHUMATOV
Oct 11th 2018

BAIKONUR COSMODROME, Kazakhstan, Oct 11 (Reuters) - A booster rocket carrying a Soyuz spacecraft with a Russian and U.S. astronaut on board headed for the International Space Station failed mid-air on Thursday, forcing the crew to make an emergency landing.

The rocket was carrying U.S. astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin. Footage from inside the Soyuz showed the two men being shaken around at the moment the failure occurred, with their arms and legs flailing.

The rocket was launched from the Soviet-era cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. A Reuters reporter who observed the launch from around 1 km away said it had gone smoothly in its initial stages and that the failure of the booster rockets must have occurred at higher altitude.
read more here

DOD 2018 2Nd Quarter Suicide Report Slightly Down

Department of Defense 2nd Quarter 2018 Suicide Report

For the 2nd Quarter of 2018, the Military Services reported the following: 
o 75 suicide deaths in the Active Component
o 14 suicide deaths in the Reserves
o 27 suicide deaths in the National Guard

Comparisons of suicide counts between the 2nd Quarter of 2017 and 2018 are provided below.
 For the 2nd Quarter of 2018, the number of Active Component suicide deaths is greater by 18 than the 2nd Quarter of 2017 (75 versus 57 deaths)
o Air Force deaths are up by 7
o Army deaths are up by 7
o Marine Corps deaths are up by 4
o Navy deaths are unchanged

 For the 2nd Quarter of 2018, the number of Reserve suicide deaths is lower by 15 than the 2nd Quarter of 2017 (14 versus 29 deaths)
o Air Force Reserve deaths are down by 3
o Army Reserve deaths are down by 10
o Marine Corps Reserve deaths are down by 2
o Navy Reserve deaths are unchanged

 For the 2nd Quarter of 2018, the number of National Guard suicide deaths is lower by 16 than the 2nd Quarter of 2017 (27 versus 43 deaths)
o Air National Guard deaths are down by 2
o Army National Guard deaths are down by 14

First Quarter of 2018 121
 80 suicide deaths in the Active Component 
 18 suicide deaths in the Reserves 
 23 suicide deaths in the National Guard 

Press missed the biggest issue on Graham's outburst

Senator Graham has no answer for hell he added to military sexual assault survivors
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 2, 2018

After reading some of my Republican friends lash out on social media today, it made me sick to my stomach. Then again, they are letting the political haze cloud their judgment to the point where they miss the biggest point of all. 

When I think of all the female veterans I have talked with over the last 30+ years, all I could think about was what they went through after being attacked by other service members who were supposed to be ready to die for them, but used that trust to attack them.

The press has ignored the worst part about Senator Graham's outburst yesterday. That is, the message he sent every member of the military about what he thinks about sexual assaults.

When he sat there and defended a man accused of sexual assaults, after listening to the woman tell what happened to her, he sent a shock wave throughout female veterans who have been subjected to this attitude for far too long.

Was he actually trying to say that sexual assaults were not crimes? Is that what he and many other Senators think?

What makes this worse is Graham was a Colonel in the Air Force.

Before being elected to Congress, Graham compiled a distinguished record in the United States Air Force as he logged six-and-a-half years of service on active duty as an Air Force lawyer. From 1984-1988, he was assigned overseas and served at Rhein-Main Air Force Base in Germany. Upon leaving active duty Air Force in 1989, Graham joined the South Carolina Air National Guard where he served until 1995. During the first Gulf War in the early 90's, Graham was called to active duty and served state-side at McEntire Air National Guard Base as Staff Judge Advocate where he prepared members for deployment to the Gulf region.

In 1995, Graham joined the U.S. Air Force Reserves. During American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Graham put his experience in military law to use pulling numerous short-term Reserve duties in both countries over congressional breaks and holidays.

Graham retired from the Air Force Reserves in June 2015 having served his country in uniform for 33 years. He retired at the rank of Colonel.

Lindsey Graham erupts during Kavanaugh hearing

When you consider the committees he serves on, it is even worse.

  This same senator serves on these committees

Lindsey Graham sits on the following committees:

Senate Committee on Appropriations
Chair, Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Member, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Member, Subcommittee on Department of Defense
Member, Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies
Member, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
Member, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Chair, Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
Member, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution
Senate Committee on Armed Services
Member, Subcommittee on Cybersecurity
Member, Subcommittee on Personnel
Member, Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
Senate Committee on the Budget

And if you have not been paying attention to how huge sexual assaults are in the military, far worse than what we civilians deal with, here is a little bit more you should know.

The DOD released this

DoD Releases Annual Report on Sexual Assault in Military

---

WASHINGTON --The Defense Department today released its Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military, which shows that service member reporting of sexual assault increased by about 10 percent in fiscal year 2017.The increase in reporting occurred across all four military services.The report for fiscal 2017 says the department received 6,769 reports of sexual assault involving service members as either victims or subjects of criminal investigation, a 9.7 percent increase over the 6,172 reports made in fiscal 2016.The department encourages reporting of sexual assaults so that service members can be connected with restorative care and that perpetrators can be held appropriately responsible, Navy Rear Adm. Ann M. Burkhardt, the director of the Defense Department’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, told reporters."Every sexual assault in the military is a failure to protect the men and women who have entrusted us with their lives,” she said. "We will not rest until we eliminate this crime from our ranks."

Military.com released this

VA Must Prove to Women Vets That They Belong

Last month, a Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General report revealed that roughly 1,300 claims for military sexual trauma were incorrectly processed and denied, leaving veterans suffering from PTSD without the benefits they deserve.

Military Times had to produce this

Sexual assault risk at your military base: Here’s a searchable database

So yes, as Senator Graham talked about the hell that he saw the accuser and the accused go through, he just added to the hell survivors of sexual assaults have been in while he had the power in the military and when he sat on the committees that were supposed to make it right for them.

They just heard him loud and clear.