Intrepid Spirit Center at Fort Bragg Opens At Fort Bragg

Fort Bragg facility to address soldiers’ PTSD, depression, brain injuries
WNCN News
By Nate Rodgers
Published: April 1, 2016

The 25,000-square-foot facility is considered state of the art with a gymnasium, several conference rooms and various multi-purpose spaces. The 11-million dollar project was funded through the Intrepid Fallen Heroes fund.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, traumatic brain injury are all among the wounds soldiers are carrying home. Fort Bragg has opened a place to tackle these demons of war.

The Intrepid Spirit Center at Fort Bragg, which expects to service nearly 1,700 soldiers annually, is the fifth of nine centers of its kind built around the country.

It’s a house for hope and healing, officials say.

The center is a one-stop shop specifically geared to help service members with traumatic brain injury, chronic pain and behavior health.

“There are psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, something that I never took advantage of during my military career,” said Col. Paul Rounsaville, who served for more than 28 years.

Last year, Col. Rounsaville was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. Until receiving treatment, he’d go 3-5 days without sleep. He says his brain just wouldn’t shut down.
read more here

Fort Bragg Soldier Charged After 2 Year Old Daughter Died

Bragg soldier charged in death of 2-year-old daughter
Army Times
Kevin Lilley
March 25, 2016

A Fort Bragg soldier faces murder and child abuse charges related to the December death of her 2-year-old daughter.

Fayetteville, North Carolina, police detectives arrested Spc. Jeanie Ditty, 23, on Thursday, according to a news release from the city's police department. Officers have also charged Zachary Keefer in the child's death; Keefer, reportedly Ditty's boyfriend and not the girl's father, remains at large.

Macey Ditty died Dec. 4, two days after arriving at a local emergency room with bruises all over her body and "life-threatening injuries consistent with child abuse," the release states. The injuries came within a day of the ER visit, medical personnel determined.
read more here

Dream Wedding May Happen For Soldier After 28 Years!

Fort Bragg soldier, fiancee a step closer to fairy tale wedding
Fay Observer
By Drew Brooks Military editor
Updated 9 hrs ago Comments

Fort Bragg Sgt. Maj. Jeff LeMaster and Piper Cronin, a PE teacher in Maine are competing in a competition to win a 100,000 wedding from Real Maine Weddings magazine.

Jeff LeMaster and Piper Cronin have a love story that's nearly 30 years in the making.

Now, the two are a step closer to possibly having a fairy tale wedding, too.

LeMaster, a Fort Bragg sergeant major, and Cronin, a physical education teacher in Maine, are finalists to win a wedding package valued at more than $100,000 from Real Maine Weddings magazine.

The two met in 1988 but were torn apart by the constant moves of Army life. They rekindled their relationship in recent years.

Speaking by phone from Fort Bragg and Maine this week, the two said having each other now makes the long wait worth it.

They're one of three finalists for the wedding package at Real Maine Weddings. The winners are expected to be announced this weekend.

The winner will be determined based on popular vote and on the selection of participating vendors, according to officials. Online voting ends today at midnight.
read more here

Fort Bragg Command Sgt. Major Killed Riding Harley

Fatal collision of two lives leaves a community in mourning 
Fayetteville Observer
By Greg Barnes, Staff writer
January 25, 2016

Fort Bragg Command Sgt. Maj. Lynn Edward Ratley had been around the world, leading soldiers and helping people in need.

He had worked at medical centers in Germany and Afghanistan, served as chief clinical sergeant major at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and, most recently, commanded troops with Fort Bragg's 261st Multifunctional Medical Battalion.

Justin Andrew Dunlap hadn't been much of anywhere, save for a stretch in a South Carolina prison.

The paths of the 47-year-old military leader and the 26-year-old convicted sex offender crossed eight days ago, in a screeching tangle of rubber and steel near the intersection of West Mountain Drive and Gillespie Street.

Fayetteville police say Dunlap's black 2000 Honda Accord was traveling south on Gillespie Street when it crossed a grassy center median, veered into oncoming traffic and smashed into Ratley's 2015 Harley Davidson motorcycle.
read more here

Fort Bragg Special Forces Remembers MOH Staff Sgt. Robert Miller

On anniversary of his death, MoH recipient a model for Army special operators 
Fayetteville Observer
Drew Brooks
January 25, 2016

On the eighth anniversary of his death, Miller remains the only Special Forces soldier to receive the Medal of Honor for service in Afghanistan, and the only Fort Bragg soldier to be so recognized in the Global War on Terror.

First, there was just one insurgent.

A single man jumping from behind a boulder, screaming "Allahu Akbar!"

Staff Sgt. Robert Miller killed the man instantly.

Then, the valley erupted.

More than 140 enemy fighters, holed up in fortified positions overlooking Miller's 3rd Special Forces Group team and their Afghan allies, faced the soldiers on three sides.

The soldiers, trapped in the open terrain, had little chance to respond. Some of the enemy fighters were a mere feet away, unleashing hell with AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades and PKM machine guns.

That day, Jan. 25, 2008, could have been the last for the Green Berets and their allies, according to some of the men who were part of the fight.

But as the ambush began, Miller took charge.
read more here
Linked from Stars and Stripes

Orlando Sentinel


This is the memorial service after the Medal of Honor had been presented to his family.
Adm. Eric Olson Special Forces

Medal of Honor Afghanistan and Iraq

VIDEO: DOD tribute video to Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sgt. Robert Miller Department of Defense video

Getting Onto Military Bases Harder in 5 States

Military Bases No Longer Accepting IDs from Five States 
Military.com
by Amy Bushatz
Jan 13, 2016

U.S. military installations are no longer allowing visitors to gain base access using official ID cards from five states -- and other installations may soon follow.

State-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards from Illinois, New Mexico, Missouri, Washington and Minnesota can no longer be used to obtain a visitor’s pass because those cards don’t comply with federal standards, officials said. DoD officials did not say whether or not enhanced driver's licenses (EDL) from Minnesota or Washington would still be accepted.

Guidance has already been issued by such installations as Fort Bragg in North Carolina, White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, Fort Drum in New York, Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri and Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

"Effective immediately, residents of these five states can no longer use their driver’s license to get a visitor’s pass," Tom McCollum, a Fort Bragg spokesman said in a release today. "Driver's licenses and identification cards issued by these states cannot be used to access not just Fort Bragg, but all federal facilities, to include other military installations."

Nate Allen, a spokesman for the Army, in an email confirmed the changes affect all military installations in the U.S.
read more here

Civilian didn't just get into Fort Bragg, he lived there?

No Charges for Man Found Living at Fort Bragg Special Forces Barracks
Military.com
by Richard Sisk
Dec 18, 2015

A civilian who was found living in a barracks of the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was released without charges Friday, base authorities said.

"He has been released" but the case was still under investigation by Fort Bragg law enforcement, said Christina Douglas, Fort Bragg's chief of media relations.

Douglas said the man's identity could not be disclosed, and she could not comment on how he gained access to the base, how long he had been living in the barracks, or what his purpose may have been in residing there. The Fayetteville Observer reported that he may have posed as a soldier.
read more here

Second Fort Bragg Soldier Found Dead Within Days

Fort Bragg soldier found dead in barracks 
WRAL News
December 11, 2105

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Officials said an 82nd Airborne Division soldier was found dead Thursday in his barracks room at Fort Bragg.

Spc. Trenton Weston, 22, of Washington, Ill., was a signal support systems specialist. He was assigned to the 82nd Special Troops Battalion and 82nd Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade.

"Specialist Weston was known throughout the battalion as being absolutely selfless when it came to helping others and accomplishing the mission. He will be sorely missed,” said Lt. Col. David E. Vandevander, commander of the 82nd Sustainment Brigade. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to Spc. Weston’s Family and loved ones during this time of great loss.”
read more here

Luke Carreiro

Fort Bragg Soldier Found Dead Remembered for Who He Was

Family, friends recall Westport soldier who died at Fort Bragg 
Luke Carreiro, a Westport High graduate who served his in Iraq and died last week in North Carolina, is being remembered as a good soldier and a loving son.
Herald News
By Brian Fraga
 Herald News Staff Reporter
Dec 10, 2015

Shannon Lynch, a spokeswoman for the Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, did not disclose Carreiro’s cause of death and said the Army’s Criminal Investigative Command is investigating the incident, as it does with all deaths on Army installations.

WESTPORT — Luke Carreiro, a Westport High School graduate who served his country as an Army soldier in Iraq and died last week in North Carolina, is being remembered as a great teammate, a good soldier and a loving son.

“He was a good boy. He never had a bad word to say about anyone. He helped everybody who needed it,” said his mother, Marie Carreiro, of Westport. Marie Carreiro said her son was found unresponsive last week at Fort Bragg, where Luke, 26, was stationed as a U.S. Army mental health specialist.

The military said he died last Wednesday but has not released a cause of death. Marie Carreiro said the family has been told that they might not know the cause of death for another six to seven months. read more here

Fort Bragg Soldier From Massachusetts Fatal Motorcycle Accident

Fort Bragg soldier dies from wreck injuries 
FayObserver
Drew Brooks
November 16, 2015

A Fort Bragg paratrooper injured in a motorcycle wreck on post last week has died, officials said.

Pfc. Aaron Cordoba-Martinez, 24, of Taunton, Massachusetts, died Saturday, a spokesman for the 82nd Airborne Division said.

He was injured Thursday, after a wreck on Butner Road near McFayden Pond. Cordoba-Martinez, who joined the Army last November, had been assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team since May.

He served with the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which was his first unit since completing infantry training at Fort Benning, Georgia. read more here

Ex-Fort Bragg Officer Took More Than Money--He Took Trust

Ex-Bragg officer guilty of taking contractor bribes in Afghanistan
Fayobserver.com
By Drew Brooks Military editor
November 5, 2015

A former Fort Bragg officer has pleaded guilty to accepting money from a contractor in Afghanistan.

Capt. David Anthony Kline, 32, lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, according to U.S. Attorney Thomas G. Walker. Kline was back in North Carolina on Thursday, pleading guilty to solicitation and receipt of a gratuity and aiding and abetting the same in a Raleigh federal courthouse.

Following the plea, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, John Sopko, said the crime undermined the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.

"Not only did Capt. Kline seek to defraud American taxpayers and abuse his position of authority as an officer, but he also put his fellow soldiers in harm's way by stealing vital resources that are needed for legitimate operations," Sopko said.

The charges against Kline are connected to a 2008-2009 deployment in which Kline served with Fort Bragg's 189th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, part of the 82nd Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade.

From January 2008 to April 2009, then-1st Lt. Kline served on Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, as officer-in-charge of a movement control team, according to the criminal information filed earlier this year.

In that position, he oversaw the movement of fuel and equipment, including food, within Afghanistan.
read more here

Fort Bragg Soldier's Choice for Halloween Costume Caused Emergency Response

Never mind "what was he thinking" when he must have not been thinking at all.

Soldier's Suicide Bomber Costume Sparks Fort Bragg Security Response
NBC News
by PHIL HELSEL
October 31, 2015

A Halloween costume at Fort Bragg prompted an emergency response after a soldier tried to enter the North Carolina military installation dressed as a suicide bomber, the military said.

The soldier was not identified.

The costume prompted a gate to be cleared and a response from an explosive ordnance disposal team, Fort Bragg said. The costume included a simulated explosive vest. "Costumes of this sort are not allowed on Fort Bragg," the base said in a statement.
read more here

Fort Bragg Master Sgt. Found Dead

Army identifies 1st TSC soldier found dead near Bragg 
Army Times
October 22, 2015

A soldier from the 1st Theater Sustainment Command was found dead Tuesday at his home in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Master Sgt. Daniel A. Wells, 37, was an electronic maintenance chief in the support operations section, Special Troops Battalion, 1st TSC, according to information from the Army. He was based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The Fayetteville Police Department is investigating the circumstances of Wells’ death.
read more here

Fate of Fort Bragg Soldier with PTSD in Hands of Army Board

UPDATE
Fort Bragg soldier guilty of misconduct; separation will allow health care
Fay Observer
By Greg Barnes Staff writer
October 9, 2015

A three-member board recommended Friday that Fort Bragg Staff Sgt. Joshua Eisenhauer be separated from the Army on a general discharge under honorable conditions.

The board agreed that Eisenhauer was guilty of misconduct but bucked Fort Bragg's desire that he be separated from service under an other-than-honorable discharge.

The recommendation means that Eisenhauer, who doctors say suffers from severe post-traumatic stress disorder, will one day become eligible for health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"This has made me proud of the Army today," Eisenhauer's father, Mark, said moments after the board announced its recommendation. "They got the truth out. This was what was important to us."
read more here

Army board deliberating over fate of Fort Bragg soldier, Joshua Eisenhauer 
FayObserver
By Greg Barnes Staff writer
Posted: Thursday, October 8, 2015

Conormon, along with lawyer Mark Waple, is fighting for the Army to provide Eisenhauer medical care for the rest of his life. They contend that Eisenhauer was so wracked by PTSD that he suffered a flashback and thought he was shooting at Afghan insurgents - not at police and firefighters - from his Austin Creek apartment in west Fayetteville.

Undated photo of Joshua Eisenhauer

A three-member board began the process Thursday of deciding whether to separate Fort Bragg Staff Sgt. Joshua Eisenhauer from the Army.

Eisenhauer was sentenced Aug. 6 in Cumberland County Superior Court to between 10 and 18 years in prison for shooting at Fayetteville police and firefighters from his apartment on Jan. 12, 2012.

Now the separation board is tasked with deciding whether Eisenhauer is guilty of misconduct, whether he should be separated from the Army, and, if so, under what grade of service.

The panel is expected to reach those findings today and then make a recommendation to the commanding general of the 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg.

Eisenhauer, who enlisted in 2005 after a conviction for resisting arrest near his home in Fort Worth, Texas, twice deployed to Afghanistan - in 2007-08 and 2009-10.

Soldiers who were with Eisenhauer on his first deployment said they experienced hundreds of firefights, sometimes as many as two or three a day.

Their job as a theater task force in Helmand province and other areas of Afghanistan was to move toward "the sounds of the guns," Staff Sgt. John Drollinger said.

Drollinger said the task force rooted out enemy insurgents, often by knocking down doors and killing them. At times, he and other soldiers said, their unit was forced to fight without sleep in stretches that lasted for days.

Drollinger and other soldiers who testified all used similar words to describe Eisenhauer: loyal, trustworthy, unwavering, honorable and dedicated.
read more here

Did Fort Bragg Soldier With PTSD Get Justice?

NEW MOTIONS, HEARING IN FORT BRAGG SOLDIER'S SHOOTING CASE
ABC News
By Nicole Carr
September 24, 2015

FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- Attorneys for a Fort Bragg soldier convicted for opening fire on local first responders are asking military and civilian courts to lighten their punishments.

Staff Sergeant Joshua Eisenhauer, 34, is serving an 18 year sentence for shooting at Fayetteville police and firefighters during a 2012 standoff in his apartment complex. Eisenhauer's defense team has argued the soldier was going through an episode tied to PTSD. Military health officials have disagreed with civilian doctors, citing substance abuse as the issue ailing the young soldier.

Eisenhauer, who was sentenced in Cumberland County last month, will face a military separation board on October 8. His military defense attorney Todd Conormon plans to request the Fort Bragg board to allow him to finish his service agreement instead of discharging him.
read more here

Mother: Fort Bragg soldier convicted in cop shooting had PTSDPosted 6:46 p.m. Wednesday

Mother: Fort Bragg soldier convicted in cop shooting had PTSD
Posted 6:46 p.m. Wednesday



FORT BRAGG, N.C. — The mother of a Fort Bragg soldier convicted of shooting at police and firemen wants less prison time and more understanding for her son. Lawyers for Staff Sgt. Joshua Eisenhauer said post-traumatic stress disorder played a role in his actions during a four-hour standoff, but the judge said that didn't matter and sentenced him to up to 18 years.

Eisenhauer, who served two terms in Afghanistan, fired several shots at police and firefighters responding to a fire at his apartment in January 2012.

Eisenhauer’s mother, Dawn Erickson, who lives and works in Afghanistan, has filed a motion for relief with the courts to try and get her son out of jail and into a mental health facility to treat him for PTSD. “We can only hope that there is justice in North Carolina. I didn’t see it on August 6th,” said Erickson.

Army Killed Deal to Help PTSD Fort Bragg Soldier Get Justice

This is an important story to read especially when you consider this Soldier was a good Soldier yet the military wants to blame what happened to him in his life before joining. They have a habit of doing that. I hope you read the whole story but if not, please read what those who served with him had to say.

Tragedy, Trauma Mark Fort Bragg Soldier's Path to Prison 
Fayetteville Observer
Greg Barnes
September 14, 2015

In September 2014, Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West confirmed that the Army had reneged on a deal for Eisenhauer's case to be transferred from civilian jurisdiction to the military.

Under the agreement, Eisenhauer was to face a court-martial and be separated from the Army on a general discharge, which would have allowed him to get Veterans Affairs benefits for life to treat his PTSD. But the Army killed the deal, for reasons officials at Fort Bragg have never revealed. Eisenhauer is officially still in the Army.

In February, Eisenhauer pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers and government officials. He had been charged with 15 counts of attempted murder.

On Aug. 6, the day of Eisenhauer's sentencing hearing, his family and friends from across the country filled one side of the courtroom. Police and firefighters filled the other.

Psychiatrists testified that a combination of Eisenhauer's severe PTSD, his alcohol and prescription drug abuse and the Womack doctor's decision to reduce his Klonopin all contributed to flashbacks to Afghanistan and to the shootings.

Eisenhauer's Army buddies testified to his character and the changes they saw in him after the suicide bombing.

Many also wrote letters to the court on Eisenhauer's behalf.

Cmd. Sgt. Major Richard Flowers wrote that he was with Eisenhauer on both of Eisenhauer's combat deployments in Afghanistan.

"It became my opinion that SSG Eisenhauer was a true professional in every sense of that word," Flowers wrote. "SSG Eisenhauer gave everything on the battlefield and prior to the end of his last deployment, he was the man I wanted watching my back."

Former soldier Kevin Strohmeyer described Eisenhauer as, "by far, the most prepared soldier I knew in the Army."

Col. John Orendorff, deputy commander of a wounded warrior brigade that includes Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, urged Ammons to let Eisenhauer get the PTSD treatment he desperately needs -- first at Fort Bragg's Warrior Transition Battalion and later at Walter Reed.

Although Eisenhauer's lawyer, Larry McGlothlin, asked for probation, the defense agreed that Eisenhauer should not go completely free until he had undergone significant treatment.

Psychiatrist G. Martin Woodard argued that Eisenhauer would not be able to get adequate treatment for PTSD in prison. Without it, Woodard said, Eisenhauer's condition is likely to deteriorate to the point he can never be fully functional.

Prosecutors, police and firefighters argued that prison was the right place for Eisenhauer.
read more here Linked from Military.com

Fort Bragg Commander Removed For Kissing Spouses--Not His

Colonel Removed Over Accusations of Kissing Spouses, Poor Leadership 
Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer
by Amanda Dolasinski
Aug 31, 2015

In this file photo from Sept. 25, 2012, Col. Chad B. McRee, commander of the 16th Military Police Brigade, briefs soldiers about the importance of buddy aid when it comes to suicide prevention at Fort Bragg, N.C. 16th Military Police Brigade photo

As Congress wrangled with the growing clamor over sexual misconduct in the military in 2013, a Fort Bragg commander made it a practice to give the wives of subordinates unwelcome kisses on the lips at public events.

After an anonymous letter was sent to the commander's superiors, a subsequent investigation led to his removal from his job. But he stayed in the military and was allowed to quietly retire in April 2015 -- more than two years after the initial complaint about his conduct.

An Army investigation -- triggered by an anonymous letter to Lt. Gen. Daniel Allyn, commander of the 18th Airborne Corps at the time -- reveals that Col. Chad McRee, former commander of the 16th Military Police Brigade, violated five of eight core expectations for Army leaders, made inappropriate remarks toward officers and noncommissioned officers and was unfairly authoritative toward Family Readiness Group members, officers and noncommissioned officers.

In 2013, McRee was suspended amid numerous allegations, then reinstated for the purpose of relinquishing command.

He was moved to serve as a special assistant to the 18th Airborne Corps Headquarters. He went on leave in December 2014 and retired in April 2015, according to Tom McCollum, a spokesman for Fort Bragg. McRee denies allegations
read more here

Lightning Strike Sends 16 Fort Bragg Soldiers to Hospital

Lightning strike hospitalizes 16 soldiers at Fort Bragg
WITN News
Updated: Thu 3:46 PM, Aug 20, 2015

A lightning strike has hospitalized 16 soldiers on an Army training exercise in North Carolina.

Master Sgt. Patrick Malone, a spokesman for the 82nd Airborne Division, says 60 soldiers were gathered to discuss the day's training when lightning struck nearby around 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Malone said 15 soldiers were hospitalized overnight for observation at an Army hospital, and another was taken to a different hospital for heart monitoring. Two others were examined and returned to duty without staying overnight.
read more here


Also from WITN News

CAMP LEJEUNE: Marine grabs police officer's gun; fires it in hospital waiting room
WITN News
Aug 19, 2015

Camp Lejeune says a Marine in police custody managed to grab an officer's gun, firing it once in the waiting room at the Naval Hospital.

It happened approximately 6:30 p.m. Sunday, but the Marine Corps didn't release information about the shooting until late Wednesday afternoon.
read more here

Lawyers Want Fort Bragg Soldier's Sentence Changed

Lawyers seek corrected sentence for Fort Bragg soldier suffering from PTSD
FayObserver
By Greg Barnes Staff writer
August 18, 2015

Lawyers, family members and psychiatrists contend that Eisenhauer's severe PTSD and addiction to a prescription anti-anxiety medication caused him to have a flashback, believing he was shooting at enemy insurgents in Afghanistan.

Joshua Eisenhauer
Staff Sgt. Joshua Eisenhauer talks to one of his lawyers during his sentencing Thursday.

A lawyer for Fort Bragg Staff Sgt. Joshua Eisenhauer has filed a motion seeking to correct a sentence handed down Aug. 6 that landed Eisenhauer in prison for up to 18 years for shooting at police and firefighters in 2012.

In his motion for appropriate relief, lawyer Larry McGlothlin argues that the state did not substantially rebut defense testimony that Eisenhauer suffers from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and needs immediate professional treatment. The motion was filed Monday afternoon in Cumberland County Superior Court.

Eisenhauer pleaded guilty in February to shooting at police and firefighters after they responded to a report of a fire at Austin Creek Apartments in west Fayetteville on Jan. 13, 2012. Police shot Eisenhauer four times during a standoff. Police and firefighters escaped serious injury.

On Aug. 6, Cumberland County Superior Court Judge Jim Ammons sentenced Eisenhauer to between 10 and 18 years in prison after listening to about four hours of testimony.

Among those who testified, psychiatrist G. Martin Woodard said that on the night of the incident, Eisenhauer suffered from severe PTSD that was exacerbated by alcohol and anti-anxiety medications.
read more here