Alaska National Guard Chief Forced Out

Alaska National Guard chief ousted in wake of scathing report
Los Angeles Times
By Maria L. La Ganga
Published: September 5, 2014

Investigators reviewed 37 reports of sexual assault. Of those, 20 were investigated by local law enforcement officials, who decided not to prosecute in 16 cases. In only one instance did the National Guard leadership decide to “pursue administrative action” against a suspect if local authorities refused.

SEATTLE (MCT) — The Alaska National Guard’s commander was forced to resign after a six-month federal investigation found that some members of the Guard had been ostracized and abused after reporting sexual assaults and that Guard members lacked trust and confidence in their leaders.

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell asked the National Guard Bureau Office of Complex Investigations to conduct the review.

After receiving the report, he requested the resignation of Maj. Gen. Thomas H. Katkus, who also served as commissioner of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

The scathing 229-page report, released late Thursday, found that complaints by some sexual assault victims before 2012 were not properly documented, that the victims were not referred to victim advocates, that their confidentiality was breached and that “in some cases, the victims were ostracized by their leaders, peers and units.”

Noting that the report found more than 200 reports of discrimination and sexual harassment over the last year, U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, called it “shocking in its documentation of widespread sexual assault, discrimination, retaliation and tolerance of wrongdoing, especially at the highest levels in the Guard.”
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Sarah Palin speaking at PTSD foundation gala?

Sarah Palin to speak at PTSD support foundation gala
The Courier
September 4, 2014

Former Alaska Gov. and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will speak at a charity gala event to benefit the Mighty Oaks Warrior Foundation at WoodsEdge Community Church near The Woodlands at 6 tonight.

Tickets are still available to attend the gala. General seating, including admission to the silent auction and dinner, is $100 per person. Premium seating is $150 per person. A reserved table for eight guests with front row seating is $2,000; and a VIP table, including dinner for eight, a private meet and greet, photo and book signing with Palin, is $5,000.
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Marine's Missing Wife Found Dead in California Mine Shaft

Marine's Wife Found Dead in California Mine Shaft
Associated Press
by Gillian Flaccus
Aug 19, 2014

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Deep in a mine shaft in the California desert, the body of a pregnant wife of a U.S. Marine was discovered after a search of nearly two months.

Far off in Alaska, a man alleged to have been her lover was arrested on suspicion of homicide.

Authorities on Monday outlined the discovery of 19-year-old Erin Corwin and the arrest of 24-year-old Christopher Brandon Lee, who until recently was also a Marine.

The search for Corwin ended Saturday when her body was spotted with a video camera 140 feet down a mine shaft on federal land near her home in Twentynine Palms, where her husband was stationed, San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said. He said deputies searched many of the 100 mine shafts in a 300 square mile area before zeroing in on right one.

The following day authorities arrested Lee, Corwin's former neighbor, in Anchorage.
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Alaska National Guard Soldier Attacked by Grizzly Bear

Soldier attacked by grizzly in second JBER mauling this summer
Alaska Dispatch
Michelle Theriault Boots
July 20, 2014

A National Guard soldier was mauled by a brown bear on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson while participating in a training exercise Sunday morning, officials said. A JBER release said the soldier was mauled by a sow defending her cubs -- the second such attack in just more than two months on the Anchorage base.

The soldier was in stable condition as of Sunday afternoon. His name had not yet been released.

The Alaska Army National Guard soldier was a participant in a daylong “land navigation exercise,” said Alaska National Guard spokeswoman Maj. Candis Olmstead. During the exercise, soldiers are given a compass and map and are timed as they navigate alone to hidden locations on the course.

At about 11:45 a.m. the soldier was traveling through the woods when he encountered a sow with two cubs, Olmstead said.

“He dropped to the ground, covered his head and remained still,” she said.
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Silver Star for Alaska National Guardsman

Guardsman's Heroism in Afghanistan Garners Silver Star
KTUU News
Chris Klint Chris Klint
Senior Digital Producer

ANCHORAGE
Nearly four years after saving the lives of four comrades pinned down by gunfire in Afghanistan, an Alaska Air National Guard pararescueman received the nation's third-highest decoration for valor in recognition of his selfless acts.

Master Sgt. Roger Sparks, a member of the 212th Rescue Squadron, was awarded the Silver Star in a Friday ceremony on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, according to a statement from Guard spokesperson Capt. John Callahan.

The award recognizes Sparks’ actions on Nov. 14, 2010 during Operation Bulldog Bite, when he and another member of the 212th -- Capt. Koaalii Bailey -- were lowered by helicopter under fire from insurgents into the Watapur Valley, following a call to extract casualties from heavy combat with insurgents.

“Upon touchdown they were both blown off their feet by a rocket-propelled grenade, and Sparks instructed the flight crew via radio not to lower any more personnel due to the high volume of fire,” Callahan wrote. “Under fire from three directions, the pair began communicating with nearby Coalition aircraft to direct air strikes against insurgent positions. Making contact with forces on the ground, they then began to consolidate the wounded and provide treatment.”

Still being attacked by the enemy, Sparks was able to apply his skills to saving his comrades.
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Alaska Based Spc. Shawn N. Bounds Died in Accident

Soldier from Tyler dies in Alaska rollover
NBC KETK
May 12, 2014

BUTTE, ALASKA (KETK) — A U.S. Army Alaska paratrooper died early Saturday from injuries sustained in a vehicle rollover accident in the Knik River Public Use Area near Butte, Alaska.

According to Media Relations Chief John Pennell, Spc. Shawn N. Bounds, 23, of Tyler, was taken by emergency responders to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in Palmer, shortly after the incident took place. He was pronounced dead at around 4:10 a.m.

Bounds was a fire support specialist assigned to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division.
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Amputee Soldier Going Beyond in Ranger School

Amputee Soldier set to attend Ranger School
THE BAYONET
ANIESA HOLMES
Tuesday, May. 06, 2014

When 1st Lt. David Brunett lost his leg after an IED explosion in Afghanistan three years ago it permanently changed his physical appearance, but never changed his mind about going to Ranger School. As he prepares to begin the intense 61-day course, which begins Sunday, Brunett said his only goal is to give it his very best.

"Rangers are the best Soldiers in the Army, and I think every guy wants to test himself in that way," he said.

"I'm glad to have the opportunity to do this and push myself past the limit."

In April 2011, Brunett deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, with 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, from Fort Wainwright, Alaska. He was returning from a dismounted patrol when a roadside IED exploded, severely injuring his left leg. After doctors told him his injuries would prevent him from living an active lifestyle, Brunett agreed to have his leg amputated in July 2012. He was reassigned to the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and received five months of rehabilitation at the Center for the Intrepid.
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2 Alaska State Troopers Killed in Line of Duty

Officers from 'Alaska State Troopers' killed
CNN
By Michael Pearson and Ed Payne
May 2, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Both Alaska troopers killed Thursday had appeared on National Geographic show
Sgt. Patrick Johnson and Trooper Gabriel Rich died in Tanana
Details of what happened remain unclear

Tanana is an isolated village of 254 in Alaska's vast interior

(CNN) -- Two Alaska state troopers have died in a confrontation on the dirt streets of an isolated Alaska village.

A spokeswoman for the police agency identified the slain men as Sgt. Patrick Johnson and Trooper Gabriel Rich.

They died Thursday in Tanana, a remote village in Alaska's interior, 130 miles west of Fairbanks and 281 miles north of Anchorage.

Both had appeared on the National Geographic Channel program "Alaska State Troopers," the channel said Friday.

They worked out of the agency's Fairbanks rural service unit, according to the police agency.

Except to say that one person has been detained in the incident, officials have released few details about what happened.

CNN affiliate KTVF reported that the officers had headed to the village to follow up on a report from the previous night of someone brandishing a gun.

The Alaska Dispatch website reported that the troopers were shot after an unarmed village public safety officer called for backup after an altercation involving the botched sale of a $150 couch.

The news site said two people had been arrested, one after a lengthy standoff with heavily armed police.
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Iraq Veteran Killed in Motorcycle Crash Expecting 4th Child

Army Veteran Killed in Motorcycle Crash
27-year-old Robert Zachary Firlan killed in Tuesday evening collision
KTUU Alaska
Austin Baird, Political, Rural Reporter
Apr 30, 2014

ANCHORAGE
Robert Zachary Firlan survived traumatic brain injuries he suffered during a tour in Iraq, where he was a forward observer for the Army. He was awarded a Purple Heart for his service.

But on a sunny, warm evening, a block from the downtown Anchorage park strip, Firlan died from injuries he suffered when a motorcycle he was driving collided with a van.

A minute after 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Anchorage Police Department received reports of a collision at the intersection of Eighth Avenue and C Street.

The 27-year-old died in a hospital. The driver of the van is not charged with any crimes and is expected to survive. APD spokesperson Jennifer Castro said Wednesday an investigation into what went wrong is ongoing.

Firlan leaves behind a wife, three boys, and another son is on the way.
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Veterans train to climb Denali, while blind

Blind veterans train on Quandry Peak and Mt. Lincoln for Denali ascent
Summit Daily
Melanie Wong
March 28, 2014

SUMMIT COUNTY — To Scott Smiley, Colorado mountains are the crunching of snow underneath his shoes, the scent of pine needles, the chirping of birds and the feel of fresh, alpine air on his skin.

Because the military veteran and instructor is blind, what he won’t see is the whiteness of snow or the sight of towering peaks, until guide Eric Alexander paints a mental image of the rugged mountains.

“I still think it’s one of the most beautiful things,” Smiley said. “The air is fresh, pure and clean. I live in Spokane, Wash., and you don’t get those senses hitting you all the time. There’s the beauty of seeing things, but those pictures go to my mind and it puts a smile on my face.”

Smiley and fellow veteran Marty Bailey both fought for the U.S. Army in Iraq, where they lost their sight — Smiley to a car bomb and Bailey to a grenade explosion. But being blind hasn’t dampened their sense of adventure. The two were in Colorado in mid-March to train for a May trip up Alaska’s Denali mountain (Mount McKinley) — North America’s tallest peak. Joined by Vail Valley resident and mountaineer Eric Alexander, the two got some altitude training in Summit and neighboring Park County by climbing Quandary Peak and Mount Lincoln — two of the state’s above 14,000 foot peaks.
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Alaska Natives slammed by Facebook post by member of Coast Guard

Coast Guardsman under scrutiny for Facebook post
The Associated Press
Published: March 21, 2014

KODIAK, Alaska — A Coast Guard member is under scrutiny after he posted derogatory remarks about Alaska Natives on a Facebook page, and possible actions are being considered in response.

Coast Guard officials said Petty Officer Brandon Upchurch's comments on the "Friends of Kodiak" page are being taken seriously, KMXT reported.

"The Coast Guard holds all our members accountable," Coast Guard spokeswoman Sara Moores said. "Making inappropriate comments isn't tolerated, especially when they have the potential to offend various groups throughout the community."

Upchurch, based in Kodiak, was among people on the Facebook site who were sharing opinions about Kodiak Native groups closing their private land to public use.

In his posting Wednesday, Upchurch said he will still go to Native land to camp and have fires. He went on to say Natives "live like a bunch of bums with trash everywhere. You think that the billions they get from the U.S. Government, they would live like kings."
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Alaska moves bill to give judge room on PTSD and TBI cases

House committee moves bill to let judges consider PTSD, brain injury in sentencing combat vets
Associated Press
By MIKE COPPOCK
First Posted: March 20, 2014

JUNEAU, Alaska — The House Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs moved a bill Thursday allowing judges to consider post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries as a mitigating factor during sentencings of combat veterans.

House Bill 313, sponsored by Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage, would allow a state judge to take PTSD and traumatic brain injuries into account as a possibility of a reduced sentence. Sentencing reductions would be on condition of counseling.

The bill mirrors the statute concerning fetal alcohol syndrome and cannot be used as a mitigating factor for crimes involving serious injury, sexual assault or unlawful death.

"Many of our military personnel seem fine when they come back, but there are scars that are hidden," said Rep. Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River.

Gara said the reason for limiting PTSD to combat-related veterans was a fear that if the category was widened, there may be a wide range of individuals claiming to have PTSD, but do not.
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Vietnam veteran's fractured ankle turned into amputated leg?

Olympia man suing Veterans Administration after he contracted MRSA
Vietnam vet sues Veterans Affairs after broken ankle treatment ended with amputation because of infection
The News Tribune
BY ADAM ASHTON
Staff writer
February 23, 2014

A Vietnam veteran living in Olympia is suing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs two years after a severe bacterial infection he developed while receiving care at the system’s Seattle hospital led to the amputation of his right leg.

Steve Garletts alleges VA doctors were negligent in their care over a three-week stretch in late 2011. It began when he sought treatment for an ankle fracture he suffered in an accident at his Alaska home. He took a turn for the worse when he contracted an antibiotic-resistant MRSA infection.

The former Marine is seeking unspecified compensation for his traumatic injuries, disfigurement and loss of earning capacity.

“I came in with a simple fracture and I came out without a leg,” Garletts, 65, said in an interview this month.
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Army vet and charged him with first-degree murder

Man shot dead ‘execution style’ by Iraq war veteran friend who 'he was trying to help through struggles with PTSD'
Army vet Paul Vermillion admitted to police he shot Genghis Muskox dead
He said the killing was in self-defense during a fight
Multiple people have refuted that claim, with one friend of Mr Muskox's claiming Mr Vermillion had pointed a gun at the man on more than once
Daily Mail
By RYAN GORMAN
PUBLISHED: 09:49 EST, 12 January 2014

An Iraq war veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder told police he killed his friend execution-style. Paul Vermillion, 30, of Anchorage, Alaska, admitted Dec 5 to Alaska State Troopers that he shot Genghis Muskox, 27, dead – but he said the killing was in self defense.

‘I executed the threat,’ Mr Vermillion said to investigators, a source told the Peninsula Clarion.

Troopers arrived at Mr Vermillion’s vacation home in Cooper Landing, a town about 100 miles south of Anchorage, after he called 911 to report the killing and discovered Mr Muskox’s bullet-riddled body.

The slain man had been shot twice in the head and multiple times in the chest, authorities told the Clarion.

When asked by cops if he killed the man, Mr Vermillion replied ‘yes.’

They immediately arrested the Army vet and charged him with first-degree murder.

Mr Vermillion told police he shot the man while defending himself after the two men got into a fight and Mr Muskox choked him, his family told the Clarion.

‘He might have shot off his mouth, and he might have gotten himself into trouble,’ Susan Muskat, Mr Muskox’s mother, told the Alaska Dispatch, but she vehemently denied her soon was violent.
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LA Times thinks suicides tied to financial rewards?

Does this happen? Sure it does and it also happens when they use a vehicle with insurance on it so they can leave something behind for their families. Having insurance does not cause them to kill themselves!

Looking closer at the role of life insurance in military suicides
For distressed service members, knowing death comes with a financial reward for kin could provide extra motivation, experts say.
LA Times
By Alan Zarembo
September 8, 2013

Army Spc. James Christian Paquette walked into the benefits office at Ft. Wainwright, Alaska, with a question: Did his military life insurance policy pay in cases of suicide? He was assured that it did.

Less than two weeks later, he shot and killed himself — and his family collected $400,000.

His widow struggles with the question of whether he would have proceeded with his plan if suicide had not been covered. "He just wanted to know we would be provided for," Jami Calahan said. "It may have been a weight taken away."

The role of life insurance has not been closely examined in the quest to understand why 352 active-duty service members took their own lives last year — more than double the number a decade earlier.
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Fort Greely Commander suspended amid probe

Greely commander suspended amid probe
By Joe Gould
Staff writer
June 11, 2013

The Army has formally suspended Lt. Col. Joseph L. Miley, commander of the 49th Missile Defense Battalion at Fort Greely, Alaska., according to an Army statement.

Lt. Gen. Richard P. Formica, the commander of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command, suspended Miley today after an investigation into possible misconduct within the Alaska Army National Guard battalion.

“He was suspended until further notice by Gen. Formica, the commander of SMDC/ARSTRAT,” said Marco Morales, a spokesman for the command. “He’s still in the area, but he’s not the commander anymore.”
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'Open season' for sex at Alaskan base, military officials say

'Open season' for sex at Alaskan base, military officials say
By Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube
NBC News
May 25, 2013

An Army battalion commander at the Space and Missile Defense Command at Fort Greely, Alaska, is under investigation for allegedly "condoning" adultery and creating an "open season" climate when it comes to sexual activity among the troops, military and defense officials tell NBC News.

According to one military official, "It's as if that was the only thing to do" at the remote Alaska base.

As of now, there appear to be no allegations of sexual assault involved in the investigation. The sources report there are allegations that an officer or officers had sexual relations with female soldiers under their command.
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Pentagon grapples with sex crimes by military recruiters

Rape is a crime and if guilty, the criminal needs to go to jail. So what's the problem?

Pentagon grapples with sex crimes by military recruiters
By Craig Whitlock
The Washington Post
Published: May 13, 2013

Military recruiters across the country have been caught in a string of sex-crime scandals over the past year, exposing another long-standing problem for the Defense Department as it grapples with a crisis of sexual assault in the ranks.

In Alaska, law enforcement officials are fuming after a military jury this month convicted a ­Marine Corps recruiter of ­first-degree sexual assault in the rape of a 23-year-old female civilian but did not sentence him to prison.

In Texas, an Air Force recruiter will face a military court next month on charges of rape, forcible sodomy and other crimes involving 18 young women he tried to enlist over a three-year period. Air Force officials have described the case as perhaps the worst involving one of its recruiters.

In Maryland, Army officials are puzzling over a murder-suicide last month, when a staff sergeant, Adam Arndt, killed himself after he fatally shot Michelle Miller, a 17-year-old Germantown girl whom he had been recruiting for the Army Reserve. Officials suspect the two were romantically involved, something expressly forbidden by military rules. read more here

iPhone killed saving soldier's life

Close Call for Alaska-based Soldier
KTVA.com Story Updated: Feb 15, 2013

ANCHORAGE - On May 14, Joel Stubleski was with his unit in Eastern Afghanistan, the 3-509th out of Fort Richardson, Alaska. His unit was returning from a mission when they heard gunfire.

During the commotion, he felt a strong pressure in his upper thigh. "It knocked me over." He said he didn't feel pain right away. He didn't see blood, so he continued to reload. He'd been hit.

Once he knew what had happened, he took cover and waited. A fellow soldier put the tourniquet he kept in his pocket around his leg. Stubleski waited. While he waited, he thought, "Is this it? If it is, there's nothing I can do -- at least I went out doing what I was supposed to do." He was bleeding and, he said, he started feeling tired. "I kept telling myself, don't close your eyes."

After helicopters picked him up, medics inspected his injuries. They cut off his clothes and went through his pockets. There, they found his iPhone -- with a bullet hole through it. "The medics would come up to me and say, ‘this is the coolest thing I've ever seen.’"

Stubleski wasn't carrying it for calling or texting. He said he used it as a camera or for music. The doctors told him how lucky he was that the bullet didn't hit the femoral artery. They said that the iPhone probably changed the trajectory of the bullet, making the wound shallower in his flesh. The protective cover he had on his phone made it so the glass didn't shatter, making his wounds worse. He and his friends joked they should replace their body armor with iPads.

Even though his injuries could have been worse, they were bad enough to cut his deployment short. He came back after his injury. His battle buddies didn't return until the fall. He said keeping up with them on Facebook helped lift his spirits during his recovery.
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Fallen soldier's son gets wish to send letter to heaven

If you ever wanted to cry for a good reason, here it is. A soldier died and a son wanted to send a letter to him in Heaven. His wish was granted by an angel with the wings of Lt. Col. Brian Baldwin.

Pilot Delivers Letter To 'Heaven' For Little Boy's Fallen Soldier Dad
The Huffington Post
By Zoe Mintz
Posted: 02/01/2013

PHOTOS: Tech. Sgt. Dana Rosso

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 1, 2013 3:34 p.m. EST

MacAidan Gallegos was just five years old when his father was killed in Afghanistan in 2009.

Four years later, 9-year-old ‘Mac’ had a special request in honor of his father’s birthday on Jan. 24 . He wanted to write his dad a letter that would be delivered to him in heaven, KTUU reports.

"I wanted to write a letter because I wanted to know more about my dad and to show that I didn't forget him and to show that I also love him," Mac, who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, told the news outlet.

Amanda Marr, Mac’s mother, posted her son’s wish on Facebook and was soon contacted by Helping American Veterans Experience Alaska (HAVE Alaska), a nonprofit that organizes and funds fishing and hunting trips in Alaska for injured veterans. The organization connected Lt. Col. Brian Baldwin with the family to fly the letter as high as his F-22 aircraft would allow, according to ARPC.
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