Veteran's PTSD Service Dog Murdered in Back Yard

Glendale war veteran's service dog poisoned 
AZ Family
By Jason Volentine
August 28, 2015

It would be a tough loss for anyone, but Darvin was much more than a pet. Long is a Marine and former police officer. He served in Desert Storm and has severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Darvin was Long's service dog – his balance.

GLENDALE, AZ (KPHO/KTVK) - A Valley war veteran's service dog was killed and he believes it was poisoned by someone throwing tainted food over his backyard wall. Julian Long rushed his little dog, Darvin, to an animal hospital on Wednesday.

The dog was having seizures and trouble breathing. Less than two hours later, Darvin had to be put down. "I've never been married, I don't have any kids, and he was my child," Long said.

"On my good days he was there, on my bad days he was there, and he [would do] anything from cuddling to going to get a toy to bring it to me and play to try to divert my attention away from things that I'm dealing with in life." read more here

Two Troy Police Officers Shot, One is Air Force Reservist

Suspect dead in exchange of gunfire; 2 wounded Troy police officers identified
Press conference at 11 a.m. will detail attempted carjacking incident, shootout
Times Union
Staff report
Sunday, August 23, 2015

Comitale is a 7-year member of the force, and Chad Klein, a 9-year member who is an Air Force Reserve veteran who served in the Gulf War. Klein will need surgery in the future, and Comitale will need additional surgeries on his legs, Tedesco said.

Calling it the first time in 40 years that a city police officer has been shot, Chief John Tedesco outlined Sunday morning how a carjacking suspect allegedly shot two officers before being shot multiple times himself and Tasered.

The suspect, now identified as Thaddeus Faison, 39, of Albany, died from his injuries. Tedesco, who held the press conference at 11 a.m. at Troy City Hall, said Faison approached a man in a car near 114th Street and Second Avenue around 10:45 p.m. Saturday night. Tedesco called it an attempted carjacking, with the victim driving away from the scene. Tedesco said the victim called someone to tell them what happened, and that person called police.
read more here

Wade Baker's Family Hopes To Save Others

We hear this a lot. “We gave him all the support and help we could, but we weren’t told a lot of things,” said Candace Baker, Wade’s mother. “A lot of things were hidden from us. We didn’t know things were that bad.” But we also keep hearing about how much the Department of Defense, the VA and all the charities are doing to make sure veterans and families know.

The first time I heard PTSD, I didn't have a clue what it was. Average folks like me had no way of knowing that experts had been studying it for over a decade. They knew it all! They knew about the cause of PTSD, what it did to the veterans as much as they knew what it did to their families. They also knew what to do to help all of us heal and live better lives to this wound that could not be cured.

They said medication would level off the chemicals in their minds but that was just one part of healing. They also needed to do physical therapy to teach their bodies to react more calmly instead of reacting with adrenaline pumped anger. Their research didn't end there. They knew healing required emotional healing as well by addressing the spirituality component. If you look up the word "component" you find "part or element of a larger whole" and that is exactly what it is. The largest part of the veteran hit by PTSD.

Putting therapy into all three parts of the whole heals. Leave out the most important part and you have needless suffering sucking out hope for the veteran and his family.

Now that you know what was known, you need to know when all that happened. It was back in 1982 when this average person discovered what the experts already knew. That's how long we've had to get it all right. Now maybe you know more about why I get so sick to my stomach when I still hear families say, they didn't know.

Family of killed veteran hopes to help others cope with PTSD
KCCI News 8
Rose Heaphy
Aug 21, 2015

DES MOINES, Iowa —The family of Wade Baker, the veteran shot in a North Carolina church after exchanging fire with police, hopes to share his tragic story to help other families living with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The family said for almost two decades, Baker struggled with PTSD and a brain injury he sustained during his service.

They said his struggle is much like thousands of other veterans living with the disorder.

“We gave him all the support and help we could, but we weren’t told a lot of things,” said Candace Baker, Wade’s mother. “A lot of things were hidden from us. We didn’t know things were that bad.”

Wade joined the Army in 1989 and served for nine years during Operation Desert Storm, according to his family.

“He was very proud of that, I think, but he wasn’t the same when he came home,” said his mother.

When he returned, his family said he was no longer the fun-loving teen he used to be. Instead, he was a quieter man who attempted suicide and faced demons at night.

He would wake up screaming, crying, sweating and shaking,” said Laura Thomas, Wade’s sister.

In recent years, Baker’s parents said their son seemed better.

Three years ago, Baker received a service dog to help calm him and cope with PTSD.
read more here

Decorated Veteran Father of 9 Dies in Gunfire at Church
Thursday, August 20, 2015

Decorated Veteran Father of 9 Dies in Gunfire at Church

UPDATE August 21, 2015
Wade Baker was on the Dr. Phil show in 2007 talking about PTSD
Man Killed in Police Shooting Appeared on Dr. Phil, Discussed PTSD

Father of 9 dies in gunfire at church; Family releases statement 
Wade Allen Baker was decorated veteran, family says
WYFF 4 News
By Carla Field
UPDATED 3:39 PM EDT Aug 20, 2015

Wade was also a military veteran. He served in the U.S. Army from approximately August 1989 to November 1998. His military occupational specialty was mechanized infantryman, and he received an honorable discharge. His military awards include: Army Commendation Award (second award), Army Achievement Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Service Award, Good Conduct Medal (third award), National Defense Service Award, Southwest Asia Service Medal with three Bronze Service Stars, Armed Forces Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) and others.

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. —The family of a man who died at a North Carolina church after an exchange of gunfire with officers released a statement Thursday in which they spotlighted his highly awarded time in the military.

Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a 911 call claiming that four people had been shot at about 3:15 p.m. Wednesday at Maple Grove Baptist Church on Stamey Cove Road in Waynesville.

Sgt. Heidi Warren of the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office said a man, later identified as Wade Allen Baker, 44, of Clyde, alone in the church when law enforcement crews arrived. The man exchanged gunfire with the officers, she said.

The SBI said Thursday that Baker was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured in the gunfire. Officials have not said who fired the shot that killed Baker. read more here

Gulf War Veteran With PTSD Reaches Out to Others

Gulf War Veteran Suffers from PTSD
Marco Soto started a non-profit to help veterans
KRGV ABC News 5
Aug 12, 2015

After an argument with his wife, Soto locked himself in his bathroom. Marco Soto, a husband and father, soaked in a tub with a gun in his hand and wanted to die.

MCALLEN
Marco Soto is a Gulf War veteran who was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He said he found a “Buddy,” so he doesn’t have to go through it alone.

“I was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington DC,” Soto said.

He served four years of military service with the Air Force, in the Gulf War and on a medical readiness team.

“We saw all things,” he said. “From extracting bodies in pieces to putting them back together, to suturing, to trying to find out if there were any survivors at all. So that wasn't anything very pleasant to see.”

The Mission native served from 1994 to 1998. Soto said his life seemed fine until 2011.

“I was T-boned by a lady in a Chevy Cavalier, when the cars were made of metal,” Soto said. “It was like a 1984, or something; she T-boned me in my Harley Davidson.”

The father of four was hospitalized for six months. He survived 13 surgeries.

“I have a titanium rod from my knee to my ankle, and I've got a reconstructed hip,” Soto said.

The pain, smells from the crash and his injuries triggered the trauma of war.
read more here

St. Augustine Gulf War Veteran Among World's Best

St. Augustine wounded veteran uses para-cycling as outlet
Associated Press
By WILL BROWN
Sunday, August 9, 2015

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (AP) - Anyone can exist. Frank Matzke would rather live, and do so abundantly. For years the longtime St. Augustine resident searched for a purpose after a severe brain injury sustained serving in the Gulf War recalibrated his life. He found it in para-cycling.

“My wife found para-cycling,” Matzke said. “I raced with able-bodied individuals and I was hours behind them because of my disabilities. My wife said ‘There has to be something out there for you.’ She did a little homework and found US para-cycling. That was my objective. I found it.” 

The 44-year-old is now one of the best para-cyclists in the world. Matzke competes on the UCI Para-cycling tour and is ranked No. 21 in the world in the Men’s Elite T2-Road classification.

This year alone his quest for competition has taken him to Montreal, Canada, Bilbao, Spain and Germany. In September, he plans to compete in a World Cup race in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

Matzke was serving in the 11th Armored Calvary Regiment at Camp Doha, Kuwait on July 11, 1991, when an ammunition depot caught fire and eventually exploded. He took cover in a warehouse, but a piece of shrapnel hit the warehouse and fell on his head.

A reported 52 were injured and there were three secondary fatalities. At the time, the Associated Press noted “one American soldier suffered serious brain damage when shrapnel shattered his skull and that he was not expected to live.”
read more here

Desert Storm OIF PTSD Veteran Files Lawsuit Against Verizon

I have been with Verizon forever and really hope they do the right thing now.

Bronx War Veteran Says Verizon Fired Him to Avoid Dealing With PTSD: Suit
DNA Info
By Eddie Small
July 21, 2015

Roche enlisted in the Marines Corps in 1986 and served in Operation Desert Storm from September 1990 to March 1991, according to the USMC. He was on reserve duty from 1994 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2011, and he was deployed in Iraq from June 2005 to February 2006, according to the Marines.

Roche served in the Marines from 1986 to 2011 and

fought in Iraq from 2005 to 2006, according to the USMC.

THE BRONX — A war veteran fired from Verizon after losing his temper at work claims that the phone company used the argument as an excuse because they were tired of dealing with his PTSD, according to a lawsuit recently filed in Bronx Supreme Court.

Verizon fired Miguel Roche, 48, on Oct. 9, 2014, a few weeks after he told a coworker during a meeting at their Dyre Avenue office that he would "kick his ass," according to Roche and court papers. Although Roche, of Wingdale, NY, who began working there in 1996, said the coworker had been antagonizing him and making his job difficult, he acknowledged that he had acted poorly at the meeting and expressed regret for how he handled himself. read more here

The Price Paid For Your Freedom Is Still Being Paid, Over and Over Again

When Someone Else Pays The Price, It Isn't Free
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 18, 2015

It happened when troops were sent to Vietnam and war coverage was brought to every home in America. It happened to veterans of the Korean War the same way it did to veterans of WWII and WI. It happened to all those generation when troops were sent to Kuwait. Outsiders didn't know what it was doing to the veterans because they wouldn't talk about it. Not than anyone bothered to ask them. Folks didn't know so they just didn't care.

Then came that dreadful day in September of 2001 when advocates were screaming about what was to come after the attack on our own soil. Few listened, even less understood the warnings were very real.

Troops were sent into Afghanistan in October and the screams were louder because the evidence was presenting itself throughout the veteran community. Most families didn't understand what happened to shred their lives as they knew them.

In 2003, another war began in Iraq and President Bush gave a speech to announce it.

Million of Americans are praying with you for the safety of your loved ones and for the protection of the innocent.

For your sacrifice, you have the gratitude and respect of the American people and you can know that our forces will be coming home as soon as their work is done.

Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly, yet our purpose is sure. The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder.

We will meet that threat now with our Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines, so that we do not have to meet it later with armies of firefighters and police and doctors on the streets of our cities.

While everyone in this country has the opportunity to enjoy freedom, few felt the price was worth paying to retain it. The others never really understood how valuable it was. They simply took it for granted someone would always show up and risk their lives for it. When someone else pays the price, it isn't free.

There was no mention of the price being paid in over 20 million homes with veterans of past wars fighting a renewed battle to live.

In 2009, the attack came in the disguise of one of their own. The terrorist attack came from not just a soldier, but an officer and psychologist in charge of caring for their mental health. It will forever be known as the Fort Hood Massacre but no one bothered to calculate the cost for the families at Fort Hood or on all the other bases around the world.

Army Ret. Command Sgt. Maj., James Rominger reaches down to touch one of the 13 crosses surrounded by American Flags in front of the Central Christian church, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, in Killeen, Texas. CREDIT: AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

No one bothered to sum up the crisis for all the other veteran families yet again.

In a Tennessee town, another attack left 4 Marines dead. Americans were shocked for a few minutes and then got on with their lives. Community members near the recruiting office let the grief touch their hearts. For current military members, this will not be something they simply get over or move on from. They will take it with them wherever they go right along with every other veteran who paid the price so that others had the right to forget.

David Wyatt, killed in Chattanooga, was even-keeled mentor to Marines
Washington Post
By Dan Lamothe
July 17 2015

“He was a mentor and a leader to a lot of guys who are now like, ‘Wow,’ ” Bein said. “It’s going to bring back a lot of memories for guys, especially knowing that stuff like this is now on our own soil. Good Lord.”

Staff Sgt. David A. Wyatt was a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a pillar of support to his comrades in those conflicts who came home with physical or emotional scars.

After Matt Bein was wounded by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2009, he turned to Wyatt for help in wrestling through what he should do with the rest of his life — leave the Marine Corps, or find some way to continue to serve despite his injuries.

“He was a mentor and a leader to a lot of guys,” said Bein, a former joint terminal attack controller who ultimately decided to accept a medical retirement as a sergeant. read more here

part two Vietnam Requiem Revisisted

Wounded National Guard Col. War Veteran Told to "Quit Playing Soldier"

Air Force officer: State bosses told me to ‘quit playing soldier’ 
New York Post
By Isabel Vincent
July 5, 2015

Col. Jack O'Connell Photo: J.C.Rice

A hero US pilot claims his bosses at the New Jersey Turnpike Authority have harassed him for years because they want him to “quit playing soldier” in the Reserves.

Col. Jack O’Connell, 50, who was wounded in Baghdad and flew 30 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm, says the agency denied him leave to attend military training in Nebraska last month, and he fears he’ll be fired.

He is already suing the Authority, alleging it blocked his promotions and raises for years because of his five active-duty tours in Iraq and at Guantanamo Bay.

“When you’re in the military you have an obligation,” O’Connell told The Post. “I get an order, and I go.”

O’Connell, of South Amboy, NJ, began his military career flying Navy F-14 fighter jets off aircraft carriers during the First Gulf War in 1991. He was decorated for valor after flying dozens of strike missions in and around Baghdad.

O’Connell left active duty in 1993 and earned a law degree at Seton Hall. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the newly minted attorney joined the Air National Guard.

He had to leave his job five times to serve his nation, once to oversee legal operations at Guantanamo Bay in 2004-2005. He also worked as legal adviser to Gens. George Casey and David Petraeus in Iraq. His first tour of duty lasted 14 months. He missed nearly six years at his civilian job in total because of the deployments scattered over 13 years.

In 2007, he was wounded in Iraq while running for cover during a rocket attack.
read more here

Winn Dixie Forgot To Honor All The Other 20 Million Veterans

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 1, 2015

Blind patriotism is writing a check and thinking you just did something worthy of all they did for us. Ignorance is no excuse for forgetting those who came before those you choose to remember.

This morning started out like every other day. I got up at 4:30, put on the coffee, let my dog out and turned on the TV to catch up on the news. As soon as I turned it on there was, what I thought would be, a great patriotic commercial for those who served this nation. After all, they are the reason we are still free. They are ready to defend us with their lives. All of them. And that is the part that made me sick to my stomach.

The commercial from Winn Dixie wasn't about all our veterans. It was not about the over 20 million veterans out of the news and the spotlight of the reporters. It wasn't about all the dedicated groups taking care of all our veterans equally simply because they are worthy of so much more. No, not about WWII veterans, Korean War veterans, Vietnam War veterans or Gulf War veterans. It was about donating money to Wounded Warrior Project despite the hashtag Winn Dixie wants folks to use which is "#allforhonor."

 This is from WWP website

Why don't you offer services to ALL veterans?
WWP began as a small, grassroots effort to provide immediate assistance when a warrior of this generation was injured. We felt we could do the most good by providing more comprehensive programs and services to the newly injured, rather than spread ourselves too thin by trying to help all veterans. We also knew there were many terrific veterans' organizations for warriors from previous conflicts, but very few focused on serving our newest generation.

Driving to work at 5:45, my favorite radio station played their ad. They repeated it all day long.

I emailed Winn Dixie and asked how they abandoned the other veterans. This was their response.

Thank you for reaching out to us to express your opinions. We are partnering with WPP for this particular promotion because we have a responsibility to care and contribute to the lives of those who have served and sacrificed for our nation, and we believe WWP is doing just that. We have chosen to be specific with our donation by donating to the Independence program so that 100% of our donation goes directly to the veterans they serve and not administrative costs.

We understand that our campaign focus is of concern to you, but we hope you’ll understand this is one of many programs we have in place to give back to the communities we serve, many of which are veterans organizations. Just last year, with the help of our customers, vendor partners and associates – BI-LO, Harveys and Winn-Dixie channeled more than $10 million and nearly 33 million pounds of food back to hundreds of non-profit organizations across our footprint. Again, we appreciate your feedback and thank you for shopping with us!
Winn Dixie Customer Support

This is their press release

BI-LO, Harveys and Winn-Dixie to hold Wounded Warrior Project Day
Fourth of July profits to go to Wounded Warrior Project

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., July 1, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) and longtime collaborator Southeastern Grocers — home of BI-LO, Harveys and Winn-Dixie — band together for a special Fourth of July initiative: Wounded Warrior Project Day. Southeastern Grocers will donate every cent of every dollar of Independence Day profits to WWP to help support the Independence Program.

The WWP Independence Program helps warriors live life to the fullest, on their own terms. It pairs a specialized case manager with each injured service member and his or her family to develop a personalized plan that targets the warrior's needs or interests. In many instances, for the cost of one month in an in-patient institutionalized brain injury rehabilitation program, the WWP Independence Program can provide a year's worth of community-based support on a weekly basis to an individual warrior.

On Saturday, July 4, BI-LO, Harveys and Winn-Dixie customers can support WWP programs by simply shopping at one of the nearly 800 participating grocery stores in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina. Customers are also able to make individual contributions to WWP at BI-LO, Harveys and Winn-Dixie websites and in-store checkout stations.

"BI-LO, Harveys and Winn-Dixie operate in states with some of the highest active duty military populations in the United States," said Ian McLeod, Southeastern Grocers president and chief executive officer.

McLeod announced the initiative and thanked active and retired military and their families for their service and sacrifice. "While we recognize on Memorial Day those soldiers who paid the supreme sacrifice, and give thanks to those that have served on Veterans Day; the sacrifice and needs of those who are severely injured visibly or invisibly is not necessarily fully understood. I am honoured that we are running this program and am thankful to the military men and women and their families for their service and sacrifice."

"We are excited to continue our work with BI-LO, Harveys and Winn-Dixie in the spirit of lifelong commitment to serving our nation's veterans," said Steve Nardizzi, WWP chief executive officer. "The promise we have made to injured servicemen and women is evident in the kindness from companies like Southeastern Grocers. The generosity that will result from Wounded Warrior Project Day is vital to honoring and empowering our nation's bravest. Independence Day provides a timely framework to celebrate that mission and those who help us fulfill it, while uplifting those we serve."

Wounded Warrior Project Day is one of many ways Southeastern Grocers continues to support Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP). Southeastern Grocers has donated more than $610,000 to WWP in the following areas: Believe In Heroes® campaign, Soldier Ride® and the Alumni Program. Wounded Warrior Day will also be celebrated on social media platforms across the Internet. Donors with social media accounts are welcome to post tributes to injured veterans using #allforhonor.

All for honor? Seriously? I thought about all my uncles who served in WWII. They passed away years ago after fighting for this country. My husband's Dad and his uncles also served in WWII and passed away. We're losing that generation but many are still with us and they endured the same wounds as the generations before them.

I thought about my Dad and how he served in Korea and all the other Korean veterans still with us. My Dad was 100% disabled but he passed away years ago after his generation also suffering from the same wounds.

I thought about my husband, a Vietnam veteran, also 100% disabled for serving this country and thank God he is still here. We've been married over 30 years. There are a lot of other families just like mine. Forgotten in all of this even though our generation fought for everything being done on PTSD and TBI long before this generation was even born topped off with Agent Orange. I thought about how most of the veteran suicides are over the age of 50 but no one seems to care.

I thought about friends, Gulf War veterans suffering from the same wounds plus the wounds causing illnesses no one is really sure about even after all these years.

Then I thought about all the organizations formed so many years ago but have been ignored by all these businesses writing checks and getting a lot of publicity doing it. They are blind, as you noticed from the response from Winn Dixie.

We belong to the Disabled American Veterans. My husband is a Commander at one of the Chapters. We belong simply because of the work they have been doing for all disabled veterans since WWI. One of those veterans was my Dad and then they helped my husband.

The historical account of DAV in Wars and Scars on the pages that follow tells the story of that journey, from the days after World War I to the men and women of today returning from Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond. It tells the story of the veterans, families and civilians who made the commitment that none of America’s heroes should ever go it alone.

We support and belong to the Veterans of Foreign Wars

The VFW traces its roots back to 1899 when veterans of the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902) founded local organizations to secure rights and benefits for their service: Many arrived home wounded or sick. There was no medical care or veterans' pension for them,and they were left to care for themselves.

In their misery, some of these veterans banded together and formed organizations with what would become known as the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. After chapters were formed in Ohio, Colorado and Pennsylvania, the movement quickly gained momentum. By 1915, membership grew to 5,000; by 1936, membership was almost 200,000

I belong to Point Man International Ministries helping veterans heal the spiritual wound of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder since 1984.

Since 1984, when Seattle Police Officer and Vietnam Veteran Bill Landreth noticed he was arresting the same people each night, he discovered most were Vietnam vets like himself that just never seemed to have quite made it home. He began to meet with them in coffee shops and on a regular basis for fellowship and prayer. Soon, Point Man Ministries was conceived and became a staple of the Seattle area. Bills untimely death soon after put the future of Point Man in jeopardy.

However, Chuck Dean, publisher of a Veterans self help newspaper, Reveille, had a vision for the ministry and developed it into a system of small groups across the USA for the purpose of mutual support and fellowship. These groups are known as Outposts. Worldwide there are hundreds of Outposts and Homefront groups serving the families of veterans.

When you go shopping on July 4th remember the faces that have been forgotten by Winn Dixie and far too many others pretending to be doing something for all veterans while only caring about some.

WWII Veterans Still Matter

Korean War Veterans Still Matter

Vietnam Veteran Still Matter

Gulf War Veterans Still Matter

These are the veterans forgotten this July 4th

Sgt. Maj. Michael Jarnevic Still On Duty Since Vietnam

Is this Green Beret the last Vietnam vet on active duty? 
Marine Corps Times
By James K. Sanborn, Staff writer
June 28, 2015

Sgt. Maj. Michael Jarnevic, seen here in 1995, will retire from the Army on July 8. He is believed to be the last Vietnam War veteran serving on active duty.
(Photo: Courtesy Michael Jarnevic)

In the 1970s, he was among the last Marines sent to Vietnam.

In the '80s, as an Army Green Beret, he deployed into Honduras during the Contra Wars.

In 1991, he was gassed in Iraq.

And after 9/11, he fought terrorists in Afghanistan.

He's an environmental conservationist and holds a master's degree in creative writing.

He is not the Most Interesting Man in the World.

But with 42 years in uniform, 59-year-old Michael Jarnevic is likely the saltiest sergeant major serving in the U.S. military. And when he retires July 8, he'll likely be the last person in uniform whose service record includes a tour during the Vietnam War.

"I don't know how you could actually prove it," Jarnevic told Marine Corps Times, "but the onus would be to disprove it."

He knows of a few warrant officers serving until recently who also had Vietnam deployments. And the last Vietnam War draftee, Chief Warrant Officer 5 Ralph E. Rigby, retired in November.

Jarnevic is now on terminal leave, having fulfilled a 16-month assignment as the senior enlisted adviser for the U.S. Joint Reserve Intelligence Support Element, part of U.S. Special Operations Command, at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. There, he was involved in one last war effort — coordinating analyst work against the Islamic State group.
read more here

Battle With PTSD Toughest Fight To Win

The toughest fight: A Soquel soldier’s battle with post-traumatic stress disorder 
Santa Cruz Sentinel
By Stephen Baxter
POSTED: 06/20/15

Therapy and medications can treat PTSD, but there is no easy cure.

Former Soquel resident Steven Husong sits on the steps outside of the Santa Cruz County Courthouse on June 13. Husong is dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, which came from military service in Afghanistan. (Kevin Johnson -- Santa Cruz Sentinel)

SANTA CRUZ
Steven Husong has some vivid, violent dreams from his past.

The former Soquel resident and Army National Guard sergeant said one recurring dream dredges up memories from Camp Doha in Qatar, when a young colleague of Husong’s became depressed after more than three months at the base. The man’s wife at home was pregnant, and Husong sent him to a firing range to try to clear his head.

Later that day, the man was back at the base carrying a loaded M4 Carbine rifle when he entered a trailer with a bank of phones to call home. In the phone room, he shot himself in the head.

Husong rushed to him, and in his dream he relives the smell the gunpowder and the copper scent of the man’s blood.

“I slipped on his blood when I tried to give him CPR. It was very messy and very horrible,” Husong said. “I felt like it was my fault. It really (expletive) me up.”

Husong, now 50, lives in Napa. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, which often includes flashbacks and nightmares, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Sufferers often feel tense, can’t sleep and dive into depression and guilt. Therapy and medications can treat PTSD, but there is no easy cure.

Since then, he has thrown himself into volunteer work. He facilitates a weekly group of PTSD sufferers at Travis Air Force Base in the Solano County city of Fairfield and runs an Alcoholics Anonymous group at the Mare Island Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic near Vallejo. He also participates in a care-package service called Operation: With Love From Home and works as a veterans’ liaison Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena.
read more here

Las Vegas Police Look For New Training After Gulf War Veteran Was Killed

Las Vegas a test to reduce police shootings 
Mohave Daily News
June 21, 2015

“When you have the trainers actually mocking the training, how seriously are the trainees going to take it?” said Andre Lagomarsino, a lawyer for the family of Trevon Cole, killed by an officer.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — By 2 a.m., nearly five hours had ticked by since Stanley Gibson’s last call. “I want to come home,” the 43-year-old Gulf War veteran told his wife, Rondha, his voice edged by post-traumatic stress disorder.

But Rondha Gibson did not know where to find him until a white Cadillac, bathed in spotlights, filled her television screen. “Local man shot by Metro police,” a headline announced.

“I think that’s my husband you guys killed,” she recalled telling the dispatcher who answered her 911 call.

On that night in 2011, local leaders had just started acknowledging two decades of shootings by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers. But Gibson’s death was a flash point.

Las Vegas, now the first department in the country to complete a “collaborative” Justice Department review, has rewritten its use-of-force rules and ramped up training to de-escalate tense encounters.

Some criticized it as not enough. But shootings by officers, which peaked at 25 in 2010, declined to 13 in 2013 and 16 last year. Through mid-June, Metro officers shot three people, killing one. Even critics credit the decrease at least partly to new training.

Policing experts say training often falls short.

A 2008 survey of more than 300 departments found one-third limited deadly-force training to requalifying in shooting skills, without focusing on judgment or tactics. More than three-fourths did not share findings from police shooting investigations with trainers.
read more here

Story Behind Desert Storm Famous Photo Continues

Strangers linked by iconic Desert Storm photo finally meet 24 years later
Buffalo News
By Tim Graham
News Sports
Reporter
May 30, 2015

Veteran whose face came to symbolize Desert Storm meets comrade’s widow 24 years after tragedy that forever binds them

The face of war: Sgt. Ken Kozakiewicz, left, wails with grief after learning that the soldier in the body bag is fellow crewman Pvt. Andy Alaniz, in this February 1991 file photo. The widely published photo came to define the Persian Gulf War for many.

UNIONTOWN, Pa. – Twenty-four slow, burning years have passed since Sgt. Ken Kozakiewicz got wrecked to his soul.

Raw from a battle that ended moments before, dazed from the two missiles that smoked his Bradley Fighting Vehicle and weary from traversing an ungodly expanse of Iraq desert, Kozakiewicz did what any man would.

He read the name on the dead soldier’s identification card, looked away from the bloody body bag and wailed.

Kozakiewicz’s helpless, primal howl became the signature image of Operation Desert Storm. The picture, taken by David Turnley, showed war’s wicked truth and is considered one of military history’s most provocative photos.

Kozakiewicz, his broken left hand in a sling, had been guided into a medical evacuation helicopter after the Jalibah Airfield rout Feb. 27, 1991. The battle was among the final objectives of a dominant campaign to expel Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein’s army from neighboring Kuwait.

Kozakiewicz and Cpl. Mike Tsangarakis were about to be whisked away. Then a body bag was loaded onto the helicopter floor. Kozakiewicz demanded the dead soldier’s name.

A medic reluctantly handed Kozakiewicz the ID for 20-year-old Pvt. Andy Alaniz. In the center of the photo, Tsangarakis lifted his head bandages to glimpse the sack at his feet.
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Gulf War Veteran's Body Found

Family says man found dead near Ann Arbor School was Marine Veteran 
MLIVE
Ben Freed
May 8, 2015

Shawn Memmer joined the Marine Corps at the age of 17 and served for eight years, Effie Pringle said. He served in Operation Desert Storm in Iraq.

Family members have identified the body found near Ann Arbor's Pioneer High School Thursday as 53-year-old Shawn Douglas Memmer, originally from Indian River, Michigan.

Memmer's brother Shannon Pringle said he had contacted police investigating the body, which was found by contractors preparing for a controlled burn on property owned by Ann Arbor Public Schools.

An official identification has not been made, but Shawn Memmer's sister-in-law Effie Pringle said the family has been told to begin making arrangements for the body.

Effie Pringle said Shawn moved from Gaylord to Ann Arbor for treatment through the VA Hospital for PTSD and substance abuse. He had not been in contact with any family members since October, 2014.
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Gulf War Veteran Lost Everything Waiting 20 Years For VA Claim Approval

A veteran's long battle for benefits 
MYFOXAtlanta
By Aungelique Proctor, FOX 5 Reporter
Updated: Apr 03, 2015

FOX 5's Aungelique Proctor asked Muckle, “You are telling me the VA made you feel like you were nothing?” He lamented, “All the time. Like a piece of trash. I been taking paperwork to the VA for 20 years trying to get it straight."

Gulf War veteran Ronald Muckle says losing his East Point house is just one of the many calamities that happened to him while waiting for years to get the VA to approve his disability.

He says he went into the Navy at 17 years old and served for decades as a recruiter and even a flight engineer. But the 63-year-old says the problems started when he returned from Abu Dhabi in 1995.

He describes his body as "broken down" at that point. "I have the vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss -- see where I have the hearing aids now. I have adjustment disorder, PTSD, MDD, manic depression. I have problems with my back; I have problems with my foot. I have digestive problems,” said Muckle.

Muckle says he served our country for 24 years, but he says he has gotten nothing but the run around from the VA following his service. He says the lack of his disability benefits led him to hit rock bottom. He ended up with a house in foreclosure, lost his family through a divorce and even became homeless. He blames the Veterans Administration for is problems.
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Disabled Gulf War Veteran Turns to News Station For Help

Disabled veteran’s long wait could be over 
WIVB News
By Al Vaughters, News 4 Reporter
Published: March 24, 2015

"Chris Krieger, co-founder of Western New York Heroes, a veterans self-help outfit, said the VA’s program of adapting homes and vehicles for disabled veterans is overrun with regulations."

HAMBURG, N.Y. (WIVB) — Disabled veteran Dale Dart’s quest for a more independent life could soon be within reach.

Dart turned to the government to re-work his home to accommodate his wheelchair, but it got bogged down in government paperwork, so he contacted Call 4 Action.

The Army veteran of Operation Desert Storm (1991) does have a bedroom and bathroom in his family’s Hamburg home that are wheelchair accessible, but they are in the basement.

Dart vented his frustration earlier this week, “I just sit in my room, and sit in my room.”

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs came up with a way to retrofit the Dart’s ranch style house with a first floor bedroom and bathroom that would be fully accessible, and the planning and permits have taken nearly two years to complete. But just as the contractor was about to break ground on the room addition, the VA threw more red tape at the project, which could delay the job enough to send it back to the drawing board.

 Dale’s sister-in-law, Pamela Dart said the VA cited regulations which require a second contractor for the project. read more here

The VA Didn’t Do the Right Thing, Congress Didn't Either

There are a lot of reports that get to me emotionally, more than others. This one about claims being stuffed in a file cabinet ranked toward the top.

The claims, which dated back as far as the mid-1990s, were discovered in 2012 as a national scandal erupted over the VA’s sloppy and slow handling of benefits, which outraged veterans.
San Francisco Gate, Oakland VA office botched benefits, forgot about claims

It hit me hard on several levels. The battle my husband and I fought was from 1982 when I was discovering what PTSD was from the local library. We didn't have the internet back then in case you don't remember those days. It took 8 more years to get him to be diagnosed by a private doctor. Three more years to get him to go to the Veterans Center and from there, to the VA hospital.

What I thought would save his life and our marriage turned into another 6 years of fighting the VA to treat him, honor his claim and fighting him to not give up. I thanked God he had great doctors at the VA working with me to help him while the claim denials were making things worse for him.

That nightmare hasn't changed for veterans even though we have the internet to find out what is going on from state to state and well aware of the struggles fought as much as we are aware that politicians never hold anyone accountable for any of this. Why should they when they've gotten away with all of this for decades?

We lived clear across the country from California yet time zones didn't matter.  Veterans were suffering from coast to coast.

Oakland VA files reveal heartbreak, delays
Santa Cruz Sentinel
By Mark Emmons
POSTED: 03/21/15

OAKLAND — There was nothing special about the metal, gray file cabinet.

But for Rustyann Brown, it represented heartbreak and shattered trust. Stuffed inside were the silent pleas of more than 13,000 veterans and surviving spouses, some dating back to the mid-1990s, begging for VA assistance — help she believes never came for an untold number of them.

Instead, those compensation and disability claims from Northern California veterans had been stashed away and forgotten at the Oakland regional benefits office, according to Brown and other whistle-blowers.

“The VA didn’t do the right thing,” said Brown, 61, of San Leandro. “It didn’t even try to do the right thing. So many of them died waiting. The thought of what happened to those veterans will keep me up at night the rest of my life.”
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Nothing has changed. It never will as long as members of Congress actually remember their obligation to veterans if they sit on the Veterans Affairs Committee in the House, seated in 1946, or on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee since 1970. Until that happens they will just keep blaming the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as they have since it was made into a cabinet position.

The VA was elevated to a cabinet-level executive department by President Ronald Reagan in October 1988

Oh but hey, why bother to actually learn any history of what went on and when? After all, if members of Congress actually had to do that, they'd also have to be aware folks are watching them too and planning on holding them accountable as well. It is so much easier to dismiss what was done and for how long they did it.

Disabled Veteran Attacked by Bite and Run Dog and Jerk Owner

Boyle: Disabled veteran stunned by dog bite, owner's actions 
Citizen Times
John Boyle
March 7, 2015

Because the bites broke the skin and neither the dog nor its owner could be found, Brown had to go through the full rabies shot treatment protocol, which cost $16,703.

If people could just be decent to one another in this world, we'd all be a lot better off.

Just ask Shiloh resident Willie Brown, who got attacked by a large boxer in October just outside of the Pet Supermarket on Tunnel Road. An army veteran who's on service-related disability, Brown had recently had a left knee replacement surgery through the VA hospital when he went to the store to get food for his girlfriend's dog.

"You hear a dog barking at a place like that and you think he's barking at one of the other dogs," said Brown, 53. "But he came up on me as soon as I stepped off the sidewalk. Pushed me down. I'm rolling on the asphalt, and he grabbed my leg and just started shaking it."

It was the same knee he'd had surgery on. The boxer, about 75 pounds and all white except for a brown spot on his head, clamped down and shook with all its might.

The puncture wounds are still visible on Brown's knee.

Now, what gives this "dog bites man" story its twist is the dog owner's behavior. She had her dog on a retractable leash and was talking on a cell phone when the boxer went after Brown.

She acted like she was so sorry.

"The lady told me, 'I'm going to put him in the car and I'll be right back," Brown said.

And he never saw her again.

"That lady told me a straight-out lie," Brown said, sitting at his dining room table. "She walked, no, ran out the store and got in her car. I'm laying there on the asphalt."
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Older Veterans Will Need More Help Filling Claims

New VA Claims Process Called Detrimental to Older Veterans 
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
by Brian Bowling
Feb 23, 2015

While the new Department of Veterans Affairs claims process uses forms that are simpler than income tax return forms, they have similar names and designs. More importantly, they represent a shift that puts more of the burden on veterans for starting a claim and will end up hurting older veterans and those with traumatic brain injuries, spokesmen for the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans said. "In the end, the changes are being implemented for the convenience of the VA and not for the benefit of the veterans," said Gerald Manar, deputy director of the VFW's National Veterans Service.

The policy, which will take effect March 24, eliminates the informal claim process that allowed veterans to start a claim simply by making a written request. Under the existing policy, the veteran then had one year to file a completed claim. Any benefits awarded would be backdated to the day of the request.

The new policy requires veterans to fill out a standardized form to start the claims process. "They're not going to do anything until they receive the correct form, completed correctly," said Jim Marszalek, the DAV's National Service Director. Consequently, veterans could lose months of benefits while waiting for the VA to notify them that they need to send in the correct form, and some are likely to simply give up, he said. "There's nothing (in the regulation) to specify how long the VA has to respond to someone who doesn't use a standard form," Marszalek said.
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