Fallen Soldier's Remains Return To Longwood Florida

Fallen Soldier's Remains Return To Fla.

Funeral Set For Next Wednesday

POSTED: 1:24 pm EST November 18, 2011


ORLANDO, Fla. -- The body of a local soldier who was killed in Afghanistan returned to Central Florida on Friday.

The Department of Defense said 25-year-old Army Pfc. Theodore B. Rushing died on Veterans Day in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

He suffered fatal wounds when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
Rushing was going to follow his father's footsteps and become a police officer, but once he joined the army, he told his dad that he'd found a new career.

"He liked the fact that he was able to give back to his country that had given so much back to him. He liked the fact that he was a Calvary scout, out front paving the way for everybody else," said Rushing's father, Rick Rushing, on Friday.

Members of the Orlando Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff's Office escorted Rushing's remains to the funeral home.

The funeral is scheduled for next Wednesday. A viewing is set for Saturday at the Baldwin Fairchild Funeral Home on Lake Ivanhoe.

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Fort Benning Soldier Claims He Was Predatory Lending Victim

Ga. Soldier Claims He Was Predatory Lending Victim

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press
SAVANNAH, Ga. November 22, 2011 (AP)
Army Staff Sgt. Jason Cox says he borrowed $3,000 for an emergency trip to pick up his daughter. The loan ended up costing him more than $4,000 in interest, plus a sport utility vehicle the lender seized when he defaulted.

Now the Fort Benning soldier is suing the lender in federal court, contending the interest rate and other terms violated a 2007 law passed by Congress to protect military service members from predatory lending.

Cox's lawyer, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, is trying to persuade a federal judge to grant class-action status because the lender, Atlanta-based Community Loans of America Inc., operates more than 900 stores in 22 U.S. states. Barnes believes numerous soldiers have taken out similar loans, likely without knowing the terms are illegal, though it's not clear how many.

"The rates are so lucrative for those that ignore the law," said Barnes, a Democrat who pushed a statewide crackdown on high-interest payday loans when he was governor from 1999 to 2002. Some in the military are too busy with moves between bases and overseas deployments to bring lawsuits or complain, Barnes said.
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iPods donated to wounded soldiers

iPods donated to wounded soldiers

Submitted by Joshua Ninke, Community Web Producer
Friday, November 18th, 2011

FORT BENNING, GA - Wounded troops admitted to Martin Army Community Hospital on Fort Benning will receive an iPod filled with donated music from a local nonprofit. Troop Tunes, in partnership with New West Records and other individual musicians around Georgia, raise funds and donate music to help wounded troops during their recovery process.

Troop Tunes volunteers traveled to Walter Reed Army Medical Center last year and delivered their first batch of iPods containing over 30,000 donated songs to troops wounded in service to their country.

“The impact of handing a small gift to a person who had sacrificed so much was tremendous.” said Spencer Frye, a board member of Troop Tunes. “Each troop we visited was grateful for the iPod.
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Army IDs 2 pilots killed in Benning helo crash

Army IDs 2 pilots killed in Benning helo crash
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Aug 10, 2011 11:27:47 EDT
FORT BENNING, Ga. — The Army has identified two special operations pilots killed when their helicopter crashed during a training exercise in Georgia.

An Army news release Wednesday said the soldiers killed in the crash were 30-year-old Capt. John D. Hortman of Inman, S.C., and 37-year-old Chief Warrant Officer 3 Steven B. Redd of Lancaster, Calif. Both men served in the 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky.

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Wife of wounded Fort Benning soldier serving on the Recovering Warrior Task Force

Fort Benning soldier, his wife share experiences of war today at Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Suzanne Crockett-Jones serves on task force that looks into programs for wounded soldiers

By BEN WRIGHT - bwright@ledger-enquirer.com

The wife of a former Fort Benning soldier is serving on the Recovering Warrior Task Force, a committee approved by Congress to look into programs for wounded soldiers.

“When I talk to individual service members, I tell them to be their own best advocate and be as informed as possible,” said Suzanne Crockett-Jones, the wife of Army Maj. William Jones. “I try to point them to the place to get good information.”

Crockett-Jones, the mother of three children, was caregiver and advocate for her wounded husband after he was shot three times in an ambush near Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. She and her husband will share their experiences at 10:40 a.m. today as guests at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1442 Double Churches Road, Columbus. William Jones served as Ranger instructor, attended Officer Candidate School and an advanced course at Fort Benning.

Shortly after her husband was injured, Crockett-Jones was asked to serve on the committee looking into injured soldiers even though her husband is still not recovered from battle wounds. Unable to return to an infantry unit, he is now assigned to the Aberdeen Proving Ground at Aberdeen, Maryland.

In Washington, Crockett-Jones is the civilian co-chair of the 14-member committee made up of seven military service members and seven civilians. Created in 2009 by Congress, the group meets about once a month and visits installations providing services to members in the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine. The group will work until 2014, making recommendations to improve services.

On any given day, the Army has 10,000 wounded soldiers. Some only need short term recovery before they’re able to return to their unit. The task force is concerned about soldiers who need more extensive time to recover and must find a new way to serve in the military or become medically retired, Crockett-Jones said.


Read more: Fort Benning soldier, his wife share experiences

Medal of Honor recipient Sammy L. Davis speaks at Fort Benning

MEDIA ADVISORY
April 15, 2011

FORT BENNING, Ga. – Medal of Honor recipient Sammy L. Davis will address an audience of Fort Benning Soldiers at 1 p.m. April 19 in Pratt Hall.
Davis was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on Nov. 18, 1967 in Vietnam while serving as a cannoneer at a remote fire support base.
Davis’ fire support base, under heavy mortar attack, was simultaneously attacked by a battalion- sized ground assault which came within 25 meters of friendly lines.
Davis was providing covering fire as his artillery gun crew attempted to fire. An enemy recoilless rifle round scored a direct hit on his crew’s artillery piece, Davis was blown into a foxhole and set the artillery piece on fire.
Despite being seriously injured and disregarding enemy gunfire aimed at his position, Davis managed to fire the artillery gun five times. He then seized an air mattress, and despite his inability to swim, made his way across a river to rescue three wounded Soldiers on the far side. While the most seriously wounded Soldier was helped across the river, Davis protected the other two, standing upright and firing into dense vegetation to prevent the Viet Cong forces from advancing, until he could pull the wounded Soldiers back across.
Refusing medical attention, he then joined another artillery crew which fired at the Viet Cong forces until they broke contact and fled.
There will be a brief media opportunity at the conclusion of Davis’ presentation.
The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military award, presented for gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States.
Media interested in attending this event should contact the Public Affairs Office during duty hours to coordinate a media escort to Pratt Hall.

The Military's Secret Shame, rape

Victims speak out: (from left) Greg Jeloudov has debilitating PTSD; Blake Stephens twice attempted suicide; Jamey Michael Harding saw a drill sergeant go on to rape underage cadets.

The Military's Secret Shame
by Jesse Ellison
April 03, 2011
When men in the military rape other men in the ranks, no one wants to talk about it. Why the sexual assault of males in the service is finally being confronted.

Like in prisons and other predominantly male environments, male-on-male assault in the military, experts say, is motivated not by homosexuality, but power, intimidation, and domination. Assault victims, both male and female, are typically young and low-ranking; they are targeted for their vulnerability. Often, in male-on-male cases, assailants go after those they assume are gay, even if they are not. “One of the reasons people commit sexual assault is to put people in their place, to drive them out,” says Mic Hunter, author of Honor Betrayed: Sexual Abuse in America’s Military. “Sexual assault isn’t about sex, it’s about violence.”

Greg Jeloudov was 35 and new to America when he decided to join the Army. Like most soldiers, he was driven by both patriotism for his adopted homeland and the pragmatic notion that the military could be a first step in a career that would enable him to provide for his new family.

Instead, Jeloudov arrived at Fort Benning, Ga., for basic training in May 2009, in the middle of the economic crisis and rising xenophobia. The soldiers in his unit, responding to his Russian accent and New York City address, called him a “champagne socialist” and a “commie faggot.” He was, he told NEWSWEEK, “in the middle of the viper’s pit.” Less than two weeks after arriving on base, he was gang-raped in the barracks by men who said they were showing him who was in charge of the United States. When he reported the attack to unit commanders, he says they told him, “It must have been your fault. You must have provoked them.”

What happened to Jeloudov is a part of life in the armed forces that hardly anyone talks about: male-on-male sexual assault. In the staunchly traditional military culture, it’s an ugly secret, kept hidden by layers of personal shame and official denial. Last year nearly 50,000 male veterans screened positive for “military sexual trauma” at the Department of Veterans Affairs, up from just over 30,000 in 2003. For the victims, the experience is a special kind of hell—a soldier can’t just quit his job to get away from his abusers. But now, as the Pentagon has begun to acknowledge the rampant problem of sexual violence for both genders, men are coming forward in unprecedented numbers, telling their stories and hoping that speaking up will help them, and others, put their lives back together. “We don’t like to think that our men can be victims,” says Kathleen Chard, chief of the posttraumatic-stress unit at the Cincinnati VA. “We don’t want to think that it could happen to us. If a man standing in front of me who is my size, my skill level, who has been raped—what does that mean about me? I can be raped, too.”
read more here
The Military's Secret Shame

Staff Sgt. Josh Olson: A soldier's new reality

Staff Sgt. Josh Olson is an incredible young man but that is nothing new when you know the men and women serving in the military and the veterans of war. Staff Sgt. Olson lost his leg in Iraq but after that, he still wanted to serve. He wanted to help others.

He is teaching other soldiers how to shoot at Fort Benning but that was still not enough for him. Now he wants to help the people of Haiti recover from losing their limbs.

When I first heard about the Haiti earthquake I remembered what I was going through at an American hospital and I can only imagine what it's like in a country like Haiti. I'm a soldier; I was in a war zone. I knew I could get hurt. But they didn't see it coming.

Staff Sgt. John Olson was on patrol in Iraq with his Army unit on Oct. 27, 2003 when he was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade that tore off his right leg.

Josh Olson: A soldier's new reality
News Type: Event — Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:35 PM EDT
By Linda Dahlstrom

About the project
When the ground shook in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Jan. 12, the magnitude-7 earthquake left behind an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 instant amputees in a land where there's little mercy for disability.

This project follows one prosthetic team's efforts to help those victims, and also explores a grim truth: In the United States and around the world, the number of amputees is rising dramatically, driven by war, disease and natural disaster.

Through stories of U.S. veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and Haiti earthquake victims, msnbc.com explores the experiences of those who've lost limbs and the struggle they say is not just to survive, but to build a life worth living.

Josh Olson became one of the first soldiers to lose his leg at the hip level in the Iraq war when he was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade while on patrol in 2003. He was a 23-year-old Army staff sergeant when he had to grapple with the situation so many Haitians are suddenly facing.

His story, told in his own words, continues msnbc.com's special series of essays from amputee veterans recounting what it means to rebuild your life after losing a limb.

By Josh Olson, with Linda Dahlstrom

I always thought being a soldier was a best job in the world – I still do.

Ever since I was a young kid I wanted to enlist. It's kind of what the men in my family do. My grandpa, father and uncle were all in the military. When I turned 17 I enlisted in the Army; I was 18 when I shipped out.

A few years later my unit was one of the earliest to get to Iraq. We arrived in February 2003, a few months before the U.S. invasion. When we first go there it was pretty chaotic. All the Iraqi military and police were gone and there was a lot of looting in the streets. I wouldn't really say it was anarchy but pretty close to it. Our job was to reclaim government buildings and vehicles.

The night of Oct. 27, 2003, we were patrolling town when a rocket hit the back of the vehicle. A second rocket, the one that hit me, came about 90 seconds later. At first I thought I'd just gotten shot and I tried to walk it off. I did a quick physical inventory like they teach us: I checked my arms and hands and they were OK, but when I reached down to my right leg, I realized I had a problem.

I knew I was injured but didn't realize my leg was gone, blown off at the hip. I tried to crawl back to the vehicle and then my driver saw me.

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A soldiers new reality

HLN Clark Howard offers advice to the troops

Operation Clark Smart
Clark Howard has served for eight years as a member of his state guard. And now, he wants to serve his fellow military personnel!

Join Clark and HLN's Robin Meade at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, Georgia, as they field the money questions from soldiers of nearby Fort Benning.

Troops have unique financial challenges, and Clark has the solutions -- from help for homeowners who've been ordered to relocate, to paying for moving expenses, and what kind of assistance is available for families of soldiers who've been deployed overseas.

You'll get money-saving tips you can use whether you're in the military or not. Clark talks retirement savings, paying off student loans, and buying cars.
Plus, Robin's stories from her own "Salute To Troops" on HLN's "Morning Express with Robin Meade."

And, Clark teaches soldiers how to get through a year-long deployment on just two razors! Tune in for "Operation Clark Smart" -- this weekend at 6 a.m., 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET.

Note said Hood-style shooting could happen at Fort Benning

Note said Hood-style shooting could happen

By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Nov 20, 2009 18:23:44 EST

A box of hollow-point bullets and an anonymous note threatening an incident like the one at Fort Hood, Texas, were discovered Thursday at Fort Benning, Ga., sparking a criminal investigation and greater police presence, a witness told Army Times.

According to a witness at the scene, a box of 20 hollow-point shells and a handwritten note were found in the motor pool area between 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry, under the 197th Infantry Training Brigade.

“The note said ‘tell the commanding general to call off all charges or there will be a re-enactment of Fort Hood,’ ” the witness told Army Times. He spoke on condition he wouldn’t be identified.

After the discovery, he said, military police arrived with dogs, cordoned off a 20-foot perimeter around the box and began dusting for fingerprints and questioning people.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/army_benning_box_112009w/

Tests widen for streamlined disability system

Tests widen for streamlined disability system

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Nov 16, 2009 14:49:59 EST

The test of a streamlined system for examining and evaluating disabled veterans will be expanded to an additional six U.S. bases beginning in January, the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday.

The new locations offering the Disability Evaluation System pilot program will be Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Lewis, Wash.; Fort Riley, Kan.; and Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, Va., which serves bases in the greater Hampton Roads, Va., area. The expansion, to be completed by March 31, 2010, will bring the total number of facilities using the pilot to 27.
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Tests widen for streamlined disability system

Fort Benning soldier dies in Iraq

Fort Benning soldier dies in Iraq

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Nov 3, 2009 20:24:44 EST

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Defense Department says a Fort Benning soldier from Colorado Springs has died in Iraq of injuries from a noncombat incident.

Military officials said Tuesday that 21-year-old Spc. Jonathon M. Sylvestre died Monday in Kut, Iraq. Details of his injuries weren’t released.

Sylvestre was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.

The circumstances of his death are under investigation.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/ap_benning_soldier_dies_iraq_110309/

Calley apologizes for role in My Lai massacre

Calley apologizes for role in My Lai massacre

The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Aug 21, 2009 11:39:49 EDT

COLUMBUS, Ga. — The former Army lieutenant convicted of the 1968 killing of 22 civilians in the Vietnamese village of My Lai publicly apologized Wednesday at an event near Fort Benning.

William Calley told members of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Columbus that “there is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai.”

He said he feels “remorse for the Vietnamese who were killed, for their families, for the American soldiers involved and their families. I am very sorry.”

Calley was convicted in 1971 of the March 16, 1968, massacre and was sentenced to life in prison. He was the only American convicted of involvement at My Lai. His sentence was later reduced by President Nixon, and Calley served three years of house arrest.

Calley did not deny what happened but repeatedly said he was following orders.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/08/ap_army_calley_apology_082109/

Fort Benning Soldiers Death In Iraq

UPDATED
Fort Benning soldier dies in Kuwait
Spc. Walter dies of natural causes
By Lily Gordon - lgordon@ledger-enquirer.com

The Department of Defense announced Tuesday Fort Benning Spc. Richard A. Walters Jr. died in Kuwait.

Walters, 41, died in Ali Al Salem of natural causes, according to Lt. Col. Robert Mon of Fort Benning.

The Cleveland native was assigned to the 14th Combat Support Hospital, a unit consisting of approximately 300 soldiers that deployed to the Middle East in early July. The unit is to complete a yearlong rotation in Iraq.

Walters joined the 14th Combat Support Hospital in May 2009, said Fort Benning spokeswoman Elsie Jackson. He had a history of prior service, possibly in the Navy, she said.

Walters’ record shows he enlisted in the Army in September 2006 and that he served seven years of active duty in the military.

Walters was a licensed practicing nurse who spent time at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington before he was assigned to Fort Benning, Jackson said.

Walters’ awards include the Navy Fleet Marine Force Ribbon, the National Defense Service Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal with Bronze Star, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon and the Kuwait Liberation Medal.
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http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/story/804204.html

DoD Identifies Army Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Spc. Richard A. Walters Jr., 41, of Cleveland, Ohio, died Aug. 10 in Ali Al Salem, Kuwait, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 14th Combat Support Hospital, Fort Benning, Ga.

The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.

http://icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx

Benning lieutenant killed in motorcycle wreck

Benning lieutenant killed in motorcycle wreck

The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Aug 2, 2009 14:51:51 EDT

SMITH’S STATION, Ala. — A Phenix City man has been killed in a motorcycle crash in Smith’s Station.

Lee County Coroner Bill Harris says Joshua Adam Picard was killed when his motorcycle crossed the center line and collided with a small SUV Friday night.

Picard was a Army lieutenant and was stationed at Fort Benning, Ga. Picard lived less than two miles from the site of the accident. Harris said Picard was ejected from his 2002 Harley-Davidson Sportster and landed in a swampy area near the road.
Benning lieutenant killed in motorcycle wreck

Fort Benning Private accused of killing his mother

Benning private accused of killing his mother

The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jul 29, 2009 18:57:08 EDT

AUSTIN, Texas — A soldier arrested in a Texas border city has been charged with capital murder in the death of his mother.

Pvt. Travis Wayne Baczewski of Austin was in the Travis County Jail on Wednesday on bonds totaling $1.1 million. That’s according to Travis County sheriff’s spokesman Roger Wade.
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Benning private accused of killing his mother

PTSD on Trial:Georgia Supreme Court denies new trial for Iraq vet

State high court denies new trial for Iraq vet

By Bill Rankin
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/08/08
The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday upheld the murder conviction against Alberto Martinez, a former soldier who killed a fellow infantryman shortly after returning from heavy combat in Iraq.

The court rejected claims that Martinez deserved a new trial because his lawyers failed to tell jurors he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder when he killed Spc. Richard Davis, 24.

Justice Harris Hines, writing for a unanimous court, said PTSD might explain why Martinez would snap and do something in reaction to some stimulation. But the disorder "could not explain Martinez's subsequent actions of repeatedly stabbing Davis and engaging in a conspiracy to cover up the murder," Hines said.

The grisly Muscogee County murder loosely inspired the movie, "In the Valley of Elah." Davis died on July 12, 2003, shortly after the soldiers returned to Fort Benning from a six-month tour in Iraq and Kuwait.
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http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2008/07/08/soldier.html

Deadly Afghan battle results in 11 Silver Stars

Deadly Afghan battle results in 11 Silver Stars

By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Apr 12, 2009 8:56:28 EDT

Just days before the end of a punishing 15-month tour in some of Afghanistan’s toughest terrain, soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment faced their deadliest battle yet.

On July 13, 2008, about 45 Americans and 24 Afghan soldiers battled up to 200 enemy fighters determined to overrun the newly established Vehicle Patrol Base Kahler and Observation Post Top Side, nestled in the village of Wanat in the Waygul Valley of Konar province.

When the fighting stopped, nine paratroopers were dead and 27 were wounded.

For their actions on that day, 11 soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy, received Silver Stars, the third highest award for valor. An additional 17 received Bronze Star Medals with V device and 25 received Army Commendation Medals with V device.

On March 30, two of the Silver Star recipients, Capt. Matt Myer and Sgt. Michael Denton, were honored at Fort Benning, Ga., where both are now assigned.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/04/army_silverstars_041209w/

Lame Deer soldier dies at Fort Benning

Lame Deer soldier dies in Ga.
Montana's News Station - Missoula, MT,USA
Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer has ordered all federal and state flags to be flown at half-staff on Friday to honor a Lame Deer soldier who died last weekend at Fort Benning, Ga.



Lame Deer Soldier Funeral
By Stephanie Domurat
Story Published: Apr 10, 2009


LAME DEER - Sergeant Kellum's family says they had the option to bury their son in Arlington, but instead they chose to bring his body home. He was laid to rest Friday in Lame Deer. "He was a well known young man, not only through the military but as a young boy he was involved in everything. He was a traditional dancer, participated in sports and participated in everything. He was well liked by many." says his uncle Steve Littlebird.

Family members say Sergeant Kellum wanted to be a soldier since he was a young boy. He enlisted in 2004, and since has served in Germany and Iraq.

"He was really enjoying it and made lot of friends in the military," says Littlebird. Fellow soldiers and family members spoke in remembrance, saying he was in many ways a hero.
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http://www.kulr8.com/news/local/42828287.html

Three Fort Benning Soldiers awarded medals of valor

3 Benning soldiers awarded medals for actions

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Mar 31, 2009 11:16:20 EDT

FORT BENNING, Ga. — Three Fort Benning soldiers have been awarded medals of valor for their action in Afghanistan.

The honors Monday were for action in the Battle of Wanat on July 13, 2008. Silver stars went to Capt. Matthew E. Myer and Sgt. Michael T. Denton. A bronze star with a V device was awarded to Sgt. 1st Class David L. Dzwik.
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3 Benning soldiers awarded medals for actions