Bedford man reportedly crashed truck into courthouse over frustrations with the VA
WTTV News 4
BY Kylee Wierks Web Producer
DECEMBER 13, 2015
Luttrell later admitted to officers he has been sober for 18 years, but on Friday night he “drank a pint.” Luttrell also admitted to ramming his truck into the courthouse in hopes his actions would help at least one person in their dealings with the Office of Veterans Affairs.
BEDFORD, Ind. (December 13, 2015) — A Bedford man was arrested on charges of resisting law enforcement, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, criminal recklessness, and reckless driving after he allegedly rammed his truck into the Lawrence County Courthouse Friday night. And according to police, it was because he was upset with the Veterans Administration.
The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department and the Bedford Police Department responded to the scene of a vehicle accident at the Lawrence County Courthouse Friday around 9:40 p.m. When they arrived, they discovered Terry Luttrell, 58, backing up and ramming his truck into the doors of the courthouse.
Luttrell was taken into custody after a brief struggle with responding officers. read more here
This is really getting ridiculous! They keep committing suicide and members of Congress keep getting writers cramp. The latest is another bill by Senator Joe Donnelly called "Care Package" but it turns out it will be another empty box with a pretty wrapping paper.
Donnelly’s Military Mental Health Provisions Signed into Law with National Defense Bill
Senator’s bipartisan efforts will improve quality of care and ease of access for servicemembers in ongoing push to address military suicide
November 25, 2015
Donnelly said, “Seeing the ‘Care Package’ signed into law is another important step forward as we continue the fight to bring military suicide numbers down to zero. Getting these provisions implemented in communities across Indiana and throughout the country will improve the quality of mental health care provided to our servicemembers. It will expand their options, helping connect Hoosiers with local providers who are specially trained to deal with challenges unique to the military. It will also help our Department of Defense providers better recognize the signs of suicide risk in their patients and connect them with the resources and support they need. We owe it to our servicemembers and their families to help them get access to the best quality mental health care. Our work is far from done, and I will keep pushing to improve mental health care for our servicemembers, veterans, and their loved ones.”
Exactly what good has any of the other bills done? This is from Joe Donnelly's site.
"In the first half of 2015, DoD reported that more than 200 servicemembers took their own lives. Last year, 443 servicemembers took their own lives and in 2013 474 were lost to suicide, the Pentagon reported."
March 2012 Total - Worldwide
Total 1,409,877
Army 557,780
Navy 320,961
Marine Corps 198,427
Air Force 332,709
2013 Total 1,382,684
Army 532,043
Navy 324,308
Marine Corps 195,848
Air Force 330,485
By September 30, 2014 1,378,834
By September 20, 2015 1,353,762
Members of Congress have been more interested in writing bills than bothering to understand if anything has worked in the past. Repeating the same steps has produced devastation for servicemembers, their families and in the Veterans Community.
What does Joe Donnelly say about suicides now?
Who Is Really Accountable on Suicides Now?
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 26, 2015
We've all been made all too well aware of what is going on regarding suicides tied to military service and none of it is good.
Everyone is doing a hell of a lot talking but no one seems to be doing much answering. Oh, I'm sorry I forgot the press hasn't figured out they are supposed to be asking questions otherwise they are part of the problem.
Has anyone asked Senator Joe Donnelly about suicides going up? Has anyone asked any member of the House or Senate?
On Saturday the Evansville Courier and Press released this stunning piece of information out of Joe Donnelly's state.
Four veterans from one unit have killed self
Ronald Zeller was the first. He died on March 18, 2011.
Then William Waller, July 5, 2013;
Justin Williams, Nov. 3, 2013; and
April James on May 24, 2015.
Sgt. April James with a group of Iraqi children on her second deployment.
Justin's mother, Carolyn Williams, remembers well the day the 163rd came home. The entire family lined the streets with thousands of other Evansville residents to cheer the soldiers' return. Officials hosted a parade along the Lloyd Expressway — a hero's welcome.
April was supposed to attend a grave side service for Justin on Memorial Day 2015.
She never made it.
The night before the service, she shot herself.
The following day the paper followed up with this report
Soldiers have few places to turn for help
Evansville Courier and Press
Jessie Higgins
October 25, 2015
Veterans from the Indiana Army National Guard's 163rd battalion are no longer surprised when one of their own commits suicide.
It happens far too often.
"It was kind of devastating to begin with," said Michael Barrentine, a veteran from the 163rd's 2007-08 Iraq deployment. "Then the second one happened, and the third and the fourth. Now it's kind of just — numb."
To date, four veterans from Barrentine's deployment have killed themselves after long struggles with PTSD.
The issue is not contained to that particular unit. Each day, across the country, about 22 veterans commit suicide, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
"They're still dying," said John Williams, the father of one of the 163rd veterans who committed suicide in 2013. "There's got to be something we can do. We have got to step up. If we don't step up and do something, there will be others."
The VA launched a suicide prevention program in 2007, with a 24-hour suicide hotline, peer support groups and one-on-one therapy, said Beth Lamb, a spokeswoman for the VA. In Evansville, the Vet Center — which is also affiliated with the VA — provides counseling for combat veterans. The Vet Center declined to comment on this story.
But even with those services, veterans and their families fear there is not enough support for veterans in Evansville. read more here
The thing is, first, it isn't 22 a day and no, the VA released the suicide report clearly stating it was an average taken from 21 states incomplete data.
If this prevalence estimate is assumed to be constant across all U.S. states, an estimated 22 Veterans will have died from suicide each day in the calendar year 2010.
They also leave out this
Specifically, more than 69% of all Veteran suicides were among those aged 50 years and older
Yet in state after state more and more folks were popping up claiming to have the answers as long as they got a donation check and no one was asking any questions. Basic facts were left out most of the time while information overload used up valuable time veterans could have used on actually gaining awareness they needed to know instead of just finding the same old worn down false information spread by others with minions jumping on their instant experts every Tweet and Facebook selfie screaming "look at what I did for the veterans today" while lying their ass off about what the results really are.
The state of Indiana sued founders of fake nonprofits. "Starting in June 2011, the four people created the nonprofits in Indiana and at least five other states and started soliciting money, according to the suit" reported by the Indy Star. Not that unusual considering how many folks are out there raising money and not much else to show for all they have taken from the public to "raise awareness" about nothing more than themselves.
A 2014 report by the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs found the state was deficient in 21 ways — both large and small — that hamper the delivery of services.
The report found that in 2013 the state spent $3.67 per veteran. Meanwhile, Texas spent $18.69, Missouri spent $15.97 and Alabama spent $29.40.
"Where is the governor's priority on taking care of veterans?" Bauerle said. "They wipe their hands of it and say 'Well, it's for the federal government to do' instead of being progressive and forward thinking."
Yet another Indiana National Guardsman ended his torment in May of 2015
23-year-old Robert Moroney was the strong, silent type, with one thing on his mind. “He always said he was going to be a soldier,” said his mother, Gina Hayes.
His pictures now line the dining room table as the family prepares for something they never thought would happen. Robert's family says what he witnessed during combat drastically changed him. "He was walking away, she was crying, and she blew up. She had a bomb strapped to her. Her father put it there."
Robert committed suicide last week, and his family wants other veterans to know they aren't alone.
Sen. Joe Donnelly keeps writing bills on suicides but as more and more ink dries up, more and more death certificates are written.
Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act made news in Indiana when FOX 59 reported on it along with a grand picture of a Donnelly and the parents of Jacob Sexton standing by his side. It was the first bill Donnelly introduced but it was not the first one the Senate Armed Services Committee came up with or a even the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
Washington, D.C. — Senator Joe Donnelly conducted a conference call with members of the Indiana media today to discuss military and veteran suicide prevention efforts. Last year, more combat troops committed suicide (349) than were killed in combat in Afghanistan (229), and 43% of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who took their own life did not seek treatment beforehand. The Reserve and National Guard force has also seen a rise in suicides.
“This has to stop,” said Donnelly. “Our fighting men and women bear an incredible burden on our behalf. I’m focused on doing everything I can to ensure that every servicemember and veteran has the resources they need and knows where to go if they need help.”
Did anyone ask him what he has to say about all this time and all of this getting worse?
No, because no one has ever asked members of the House or the Senate to explain to families why all this time of them "addressing" suicides, spending money and raising awareness, the troops know less than before, families know less than before and more commit suicide because they still don't know how to heal or find the help they need.
It isn't as if Donnelly was new to all of this. The Washington Post reported on the Sexton Bill as well as Clay Hunt Bill.
Donnelly, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said working on suicide prevention in the military was one of the most important things he could do. He took the issue up after joining the Senate in January 2013 following six years in the House of Representatives.
“I just wanted to make sure we were doing everything to prevent this scourge, because when it does happen it is such a heartbreak for families and everyone affected,” he said in an interview with Checkpoint. “I thought maybe I could have some impact on bringing those numbers down.”
Yet the Congressional Budge Office had no cost estimates for a reason, they were already being done for the most part.
S. 479 would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop and implement a comprehensive program to reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans. This bill would require that the program have specific components, including training for all staff who interact with veterans, a suicide prevention counselor at each medical facility, outreach and education for veterans and their families, and a national campaign aimed at reducing the stigma of mental illness among veterans.
According to VA, most of those requirements are already in place or will be implemented before the end of the year. For example, training seminars have recently begun for all employees and peer-support groups are a regular facet of veterans’ rehabilitation centers.
Annual screenings for suicide risk factors such as depression and alcohol abuse are routinely performed by primary care physicians. Two medical centers are focused on research and education about suicide and its prevention. In addition, VA works with other medical providers in the community to reach veterans who may not use the VA health care system. VA also plans to hire suicide-prevention professionals at each of its hospitals. The bill would authorize VA to create a toll-free hotline staffed by mental health personnel, and the agency plans to have such a hotline in operation by the end of August 2007. CBO estimates, therefore, that implementing this bill would have little, if any, cost because VA already has or soon will implement all the specific requirements of the bill. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or receipts.
S. 479 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. On March 19, 2007, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 327, the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on March 15, 2007. The two versions of the legislation are similar, and their estimated costs are identical.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Michelle S. Patterson. This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
WASHINGTON -- Army soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new military report.
The report, obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its scheduled release Thursday, found there were 99 confirmed suicides among active duty soldiers during 2006, up from 88 the previous year and the highest number since the 102 suicides in 1991 at the time of the Persian Gulf War.
Pretty much blowing the claim made by members of our Congress.
That number was hit during the first quarter of 2015.
In the first quarter of 2015, there were 57 suicides among service members in the active component, 15 suicides among service members in the reserve component and 27 suicides among service members in the National Guard.
Indiana veterans returning home face dearth of services
Associated Press
September 4, 2015
"They wipe their hands of it and say 'Well, it's for the federal government to do' instead of being progressive and forward thinking." Retired Brig. Gen. James Bauerle
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana has a large number of veterans who are returning home as the Army thins its ranks and winds down overseas engagements, placing more demand on a network of veterans' services that is already stretched thin.
Unfortunately for Hoosiers coming home, local veterans advocates says Indiana lags far behind other states when it comes to getting services to those in need.
The problem may be particularly acute in Indiana. But Army Brig. Gen. Malcolm Frost says it's happening across the entire nation.
"It is a problem and there is a high demand," Frost said Friday in an interview with the Associated Press.
"That population is going to continue to depart the military for the next decade."
In addition to reducing its presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military is required to scale back as a result of cuts to the federal budget, drawing the number of soldiers down from 570,000 to perhaps as low as 420,000, Frost said.
That reduction will essentially give pink slips to many soldiers who have made a career out of repeat deployments. And as the number of veterans grows, so too will the need for services that help them transition back to civilian life, in areas from job training to medical care and counseling.
A 2014 report by the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs found the state was deficient in 21 ways — both large and small — that hamper the delivery of services.
The report found that in 2013 the state spent $3.67 per veteran. Meanwhile, Texas spent $18.69, Missouri spent $15.97 and Alabama spent $29.40.
"Where is the governor's priority on taking care of veterans?" Bauerle said. "They wipe their hands of it and say 'Well, it's for the federal government to do' instead of being progressive and forward thinking."
read more here
Family of Tri-State veteran who committed suicide has one final wish
14 News Indiana
By Jess Raatz, Reporter
Updated: May 14, 2015
The family says the military does not help with funeral costs when someone dies by suicide.
EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) -
The family of an Evansville soldier who spent two years serving in Afghanistan has one final wish as they try to lay him to rest.
23-year-old Robert Moroney was the strong, silent type, with one thing on his mind.
“He always said he was going to be a soldier,” said his mother, Gina Hayes.
His pictures now line the dining room table as the family prepares for something they never thought would happen.
Robert's family says what he witnessed during combat drastically changed him.
"He was walking away, she was crying, and she blew up. She had a bomb strapped to her. Her father put it there."
Robert committed suicide last week, and his family wants other veterans to know they aren't alone.
read more here
Court overturns $85 million award for Oregon soldiers
AP
By Steven Dubois
May 14, 2015
A federal jury in Portland found KBR guilty of negligence after a three-week trial in late 2012. Each of the 12 soldiers was awarded $850,000 in noneconomic damages and $6.25 million in punitive damages.
PORTLAND, Ore. — The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an $85 million jury award to a dozen Oregon National Guard soldiers who said they were sickened from guarding a water treatment plant during the Iraq War.
The military contractor Kellogg, Brown and Root successfully argued that Oregon was not the proper jurisdiction for the case. KBR is based in Houston, and similar cases filed by soldiers from Indiana, West Virginia and South Carolina are pending in federal court there.
“We are thrilled with the result; it is the right result and we look forward to a successful conclusion to this and all the legacy tort claims that relate to KBR’s work supporting the U.S. military in Iraq,” KBR attorney Geoffrey Harrison said by phone Thursday. read more here
Kokomo veteran files complaint after local business turns away service dog
WTHR News Indiana
By Emily Longnecker, WTHR reporter
Updated: May 08, 2015
KOKOMO, Ind. - You wouldn't know it to look at her lounging at her owner's feet in a living room in Kokomo, but Ella, a 16-month-old shepherd mix, has a job.
"She is a hardworking service animal," explained Ella's owner Jody Mitchell.
That means, where Jody goes, Ella goes too.
"I need her. She's basically a piece of medical equipment," explained Jody.
It's Ella's job to help the 48-year-old United States Army veteran navigate the hearing loss and post-traumatic stress disorder she lives with after her military service.
"This dog has gone through a lot of extensive training," Jody said of Ella.
That training has prepared Ella to wear a service dog vest and walk down the aisles of a grocery stores or sit in restaurants right along side Jody.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, service dogs are allowed anywhere their humans and the public are allowed to go. It's federal law and has been for several years.
Under the ADA, service dogs must be harnessed, leashed or tethered, unless the devices interfere with the dog's ability to work or the person's disability prevents using such devices. read more here
Here's a few thoughts.
We need to consider there are fake service dogs popping up all over the country. Easy to buy a vest and piece of paper online. The owners of these dogs are lower than dirt. They just want to take their dogs wherever they want, whenever they want, but never, ever consider the disabled really needing them. Too selfish to think of others.
Topping that off is the fact that veterans need to stop thinking they will be welcomed everywhere. It is wrong and it needs to change but that won't happen until more veterans have been subjected to fools.
Among other things PTSD Service Dogs do is offer support for the veteran to go out in public. Not such an easy thing but situations like this cause more stress.
If you have a PTSD service dog, you can avoid this. Call ahead. Let them know you have a PTSD Service Dog and want to come into their business. If they are up on the law, they will make accommodations for you without any friction, added stress or embarrassment. Then you can feel comfortable.
If they say no, then take to social media to let others know about this business rejecting you and breaking the law. After all, you need to stand up for your rights and folks need to know what the business is all about. Plus this way, you won't have to face some stupid jerk turning what could have been a good day into a nightmare!
Body found in St. Joseph River identified as missing Iraq veteran Jason Holland
The Elkhart Truth
Tabitha Waggoner
Posted on March 26, 2015
A body found in the St. Joseph River has been identified as a missing Mishawaka man, 33-year-old Jason Holland.
MISHAWAKA — A body found Wednesday afternoon in the St. Joseph River has been identified as that of missing Iraq veteran Jason Holland, our reporting partner WNDU reports.
Holland was a 33-year-old former Marine who was first reported missing on Oct. 26, 2014.
He was a student at Indiana University South Bend.
read more here
VFW: Fire VA manager who sent email mocking vet suicides
IndyStar
Tony Cook
March 10, 2015
One of the nation's largest veteran organizations — the Veterans of Foreign Wars — is demanding the ouster of the Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center supervisor responsible for an internal email that appears to mock veteran suicides with depictions of a Christmas elf pleading for medication and hanging itself from an electrical cord.
"There is nothing amusing about 22 veterans committing suicide every day and it is absolutely inexcusable that a VA supervisor would make light of any issue that veterans face," VFW National Commander John W. Stroud said in a statement.
"Ms. Paul might be the most caring and dedicated employee the VA has, but this senseless attempt at gallows humor has caused her to lose the respect and trust of veterans. It is for that reason that the VFW demands she be replaced as program manager. Trust within the military means everything; it should mean no less inside the VA." read more here
They are right but more need to be fired. Think about it this way. You are a veteran with PTSD and sought help there. Would you feel as if you just got trashed by them? How about knowing other employees passed around the email and probably laughed? Then toss in the fact this person's bosses knew and did nothing about it until it hit the internet and the IndyStar got a hold of it. Would you feel good about your care then?
Ok, then add in being a family member of a veteran who committed suicide knowing how much he/she suffered even after turning to the VA. How would you feel then? These stories are only out of Indiana but since this crap happened at the VA Clinic, it matters across the country.
But we're not just talking about veterans being stung by this. We're talking about active military members and what they go through all the time too.
It matters to all military and veterans as well as their families. It should matter to any caring citizen. So where are the crowds showing up to protest this deplorable treatment of everyone who served this country?
Suicide rate for veterans far exceeds that of civilian population
Nearly one in five suicides nationally is a veteran, 49,000 took own lives between 2005 and 2011
Public Integrity
May 19, 2014
The mother of Kimberly Agar, Margy Agar, talks about her daughter's struggles with symptoms related to a traumatic brain injury. Kimberly died by suicide in Germany in 2011. Margy Agar now spends her time at home, suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress, and speaking out against mental illness stigma in the military.
Video by Chase Cook, News21
Margy is a friend of mine and I wanted to know what she thought about all of this.
"It is a slap in the face to our recent and past veterans suffering from mental health issues every single day. It is a complete lack of understanding of not only what the veterans have been through, but also what the active-duty soldiers are currently going through whether downrange or a combat veteran that has reenlisted onto foreign soil where there is absolutely no support system.
My background is a degree in secondary education with an emphasis on physical and health education which includes mental health education. I cannot grasp what this lady who is in a mental health career was even thinking about when she she stated the things she did.
Not only do the veterans suffer but so do the families and I am sick and tired of everybody thinking because suicide is a mental health issue that mental health is a complete joke! In my speeches I talk about that we all have brains we know that we just can't see them.
It also means we cannot see the injuries that affect the brain but it does not mean that they are not there, psychologically or from a traumatic brain injury which is a physical injury when left untreated causes depression and can lead to suicide. I don't think it's one bit funny at all!
I lost my daughter because there was no support system medically, in the military, and because she was overseas, the family could not intervene. Her older brother lost not only a sister in blood but a sister in arms. The continuation of this tunnel vision has got to stop. Until someone has gone through the trauma of losing their soldier to suicide they cannot possibly understand the hopelessness and sadness and pain that they are all going through, and behind closed doors the trickle-down effect in a family who has to deal with the repercussions with angst while facing the stigma of suicide.
It is no joke when someone physically loses their limbs in an IED. So when the hidden demons of war and lack of support cause someone to take their life, I absolutely find no humor in that situation whatsoever!
I can only pray that this was an isolated incident but with stories that I have heard it's hard for me to believe."
Margy Agar
Gold Star Mom Sgt Kimberly Agar US ARMY PH
Blue Star Mom Tsgt S M Agar USAF RES
Military Leaders, Veterans Groups Struggle With Suicide Rate
Nonprofit Group Offers Free Counseling With Help From Lilly Grant
The Indy Channel
Nov 11, 2010
Many places offer vets free counseling services, but the VA reports that half of all veterans with PTSD never seek help.
Chancellor Keesling, a 25-year-old Army specialist from Indiana, took his own life while serving his second tour of duty in Iraq in 2009.
"We miss him greatly. He was a wonderful boy," said his father, Greg Keesling, a Vietnam veteran. "Our soldiers have been through two wars, two very long wars, and they are stressed, very, very stressed."
read more here
That report came out in 2010, but as Senator Joe Donnelly was trying to get his bill passed, he made another stunning statement on members of the military committing suicide.
U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly says he wants greater focus on preventing suicide among active-duty military servicemembers and veterans. That includes increasing outreach to vets.
Last year, more combat troops took their own life than died in combat in Afghanistan. And Senator Joe Donnelly says 43 percent of service members who committed suicide never sought help. He says trying to combat the problem of military and veteran suicide needs to involve erasing the stigma of seeking help.
“They feel like, ‘Well, I don’t want to burden somebody’ or ‘I don’t want anybody to have to worry about me’ or ‘I don’t want anybody to have to spend an extra thought on me,’” he says.
Then when you read the reports from across the country it gets worse. That means that 57% committed suicide after they sought help across the nation but as the VA reports they have 1,000 veterans attempting suicide every month within their system, along with the erroneously reported suicides of 22 a day, this despicable stunt by the VA employee getting paid to treat veterans will feed the stigma every veteran fights everyday.
VA touts progress on suicides, data tell another story
USA Today
Dennis Wagner
August 25, 2015
A fact sheet published by the VA's Suicide Prevention Program in 2012 reported 18 veteran suicides daily, while a "Suicide Data Report" issued by the same program in the same year put the number at 22. In 2013, the VA and Defense Department published a clinical-practice guide saying 18 to 22 die daily.
Even the higher number is suspect. Craig Northacker of Vets-Help.org said death records do not capture the real tally of veterans' suicides, which he estimates at 30 to 35 daily.
Thompson acknowledged the data dilemma: "Numbers of suicides are just very, very difficult to get, period."
But other evidence hints at the magnitude of the crisis. As of June 2012, the national VA Suicide Prevention Line was getting roughly 17,000 calls per month — up more than 17 percent from 2009. Four out of five were veterans seeking help, nearly one-third of them contemplating suicide. read more here
Their lives should matter!
Suicide Rate Spikes in Vietnam Vets Who Won't Seek Help
ABC News
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
Digital Reporter
GOOD MORNING AMERICA
May 3, 3012
Among those not seeking help are Vietnam veterans, still after all these years.
But suicide rates among Vietnam veterans are the highest of any particular group, according to John Draper, project director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
read more here
So as the VA claims they are doing what they can to end the stigma of seeking help for PTSD, and the military claims they are doing the same thing at the same time they are discharging thousands under "personality disorders" this comes out and what they do about it matters. It is bigger than 1 employee and and an elf.
UPDATE From WISH News
VA manager on leave after email mocks veteran suicide
WISH News
By Bennett Haeberle
Published: March 10, 2015
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A VA health clinic manager has been removed from her position and placed on administrative leave after an email she sent others staffers appeared to mock veteran suicide and mental health issues.
Administrators at the VA Roudebush Medical Center in Indianapolis said the employee, Robin Paul, was removed from her position on Monday pending the outcome of an internal investigation. Julie Webb, a spokeswoman for VA Roudebush, denied that the move was a form of discipline.
“This is not discipline,” she told 24-Hour News 8. “It is taking her out of that position while we do an investigation.” read more here
VA: Indiana veteran among 4 who had identities compromised
WISH News
By Bennett Haeberle
Published: January 13, 2015
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Documents containing personal information of four veterans – including one from Indiana – were left unattended for two to three days in a “common area” of a federal building in Cleveland, the Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed to I-Team 8.
As a result of the error, the VA is now apologizing and offering to pay for identity protection for the victims.
In a letter from the Cleveland VA Regional Office sent to Indiana veteran Bob Ildefonzo, Director Tony Milons wrote:
“We were recently notified that documents containing your social security number were inadvertently left unattended in a common area within the Cleveland Federal Building. As a result of the error, information identifiable to you was inappropriately disclosed. We have investigated this incident and provided remedial training to those individuals who handle this type of information.”
The identity breach, which happened last fall, highlights yet another issue new VA Secretary Bob McDonald will be asked to correct this year after allegations of long wait times, falsified documents and pending medical claims led to the ousting of former Secretary Eric Shinseki in 2014.
A copy of the letter, provided to I-Team 8, goes on to state that the VA will pay for credit monitoring for Ildefonzo through Equifax, but doesn’t elaborate on how the breach occurred, where it occurred and if anyone was disciplined for the mistake.
Video: Santa gets down on one knee to help soldier in Afghanistan propose to girlfriend
The St. Nick at the Eastland Mall in Indiana surprised Kimberly Roberts with a bouquet of roses and an engagement ring from her boyfriend, Clint Underhill, who is stationed in Afghanistan.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
BY RACHELLE BLIDNER
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
She must have been on the nice list.
A mall Santa got down on one knee and proposed to an Indiana woman on behalf of her boyfriend, a soldier in Afghanistan, on Tuesday.
Kimberly Roberts sat in Santa's plush green chair at the Eastland Mall in Evansville, Ind., as her mother hit record on a video camera.
St. Nick asked Roberts for her Christmas wish.
"I want my boyfriend to come home from Afghanistan safe," Roberts said of her then-boyfriend, Clint Underhill.
Santa stroked his beard and told her to hold on a second. He grabbed a bouquet of red roses from next to his chair and kneeled beside her.
"Kimberly, our time together has been nothing short of amazing," Santa read off a piece of paper from Underhill. "Not a day goes by I don't realize how lucky I am to be with you." read more here
Another family hopeful others will be spared the pain of losing a service member to suicide. How many more families will have to push a member of congress to do something before they do something right? These rules in this bill have already been done and the Joint Vice Chiefs of Staff admitted years ago they do not do post deployment screenings. No one did anything to enforce the bills that were already done so this will be more of the same.
Families touched by military suicide thankful for new federal law
FOX 59
BY DAN SPEHLER
DECEMBER 19, 2014
INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 19, 2014) – It’s a problem that’s affected far too many of our Hoosier Heroes and their families, but now there’s a new federal law aimed at preventing military suicide.
Sen. Joe Donnelly’s office said they were anticipating President Obama would sign the Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act into law by the end of the day. The new law requires annual mental health assessments for our military- including guardsmen and reservists.
Sexton’s parents, from Farmland, joined Donnelly Friday at the Indiana War Memorial to discuss the new law.
A few years ago, Sexton took his own life while home on leave.
“My son’s name on this bill will help other soldiers and that’s very important to me,” said Jacob’s mother, Barb Sexton. “I’m very proud this is going into law and I truly know this will help other families that are dealing with PTSD.”
Gregg Keesling’s family dealt with the same pain- when his son Chance took his own life in Iraq.
“I’m convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt this bill, if it had been in place, my son would be alive today,” said Keesling. “And when you lose a child all you have is hoping the death can help save other people.” read more here
In 2008 it was another National Guardsman's family getting attention after he committed suicide. Spc. Chris Dana of the Montana National Guards got the attention of then Senator Obama. We had hope back then but as suicides went up, hope left a bitter taste from tears across the country.
Wife fills in for Indiana state senator serving in Afghanistan
Fox News.com
Published December 10, 2014
Talk about a power couple.
Indiana state Sen. Jim Banks has found the perfect match to fill in for him in the state legislature while he serves in Afghanistan as part of his Navy Reserves unit – his wife.
In what is reportedly an Indiana first, Banks’ wife Amanda will serve as an interim senator in his place while he completes his Afghanistan tour.
Banks, speaking with Fox News in a joint interview with his wife on Wednesday, said he’s “very proud.”
“I know she will represent the district well,” Banks said, speaking from Afghanistan.
The Republican senator found out he wouldn’t be around for election day during the campaign. But he won reelection, unopposed, and was sworn in via Skype, from Afghanistan. read more here
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Matthew R. Ammerman, 29, of Noblesville, Indiana, died Dec. 3, in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from small arms fire while conducting a clearing operation.
He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
Veterans Day 2014: Touching Photo, Video Show Paraplegic Veteran Dancing With Wife at Wedding
ABC News
By KATHERINE EMOFF and SUSANNA KIM
via GOOD MORNING AMERICA
Business Digital Reporter
Nov 11, 2014
Sgt. Joey Johnson, 27, a veteran who served for 10 months in Afghanistan, prepared the ultimate surprise for his new wife on their wedding day: a first dance without the aid of his wheelchair.
Johnson, from Fishers, Indiana, suffered a spinal injury in a motorcycle accident on Aug. 12, 2012, just four months after he met his future wife, Michelle Johnson, at a country music concert.
"We realized that we had the same birthday, June 29, and same last name Johnson," Michelle Johnson told ABC News. "Joey had just come back from a tour in Afghanistan a few weeks before."
Johnson had served in Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khowst, Afghanistan.
"We knew we were meant to be," she said. "Joey’s parents Ruth and Michael Johnson also have the same birthday, January 14."
Johnson suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after Afghanistan and needed a rush, his wife said, explaining why he turned to riding a motorcycle. Now, he can't feel anything from the chest down and is a paraplegic.
He proposed in April 2013 and the couple decided to have their wedding on on June 28, 2014 -- the day before their birthday. read more here
It doesn't have to end like this
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 13, 2014
First the good news. No relationship has to end just because they come home with PTSD. We've been married 30 years. The other good piece of news is, if I can learn what PTSD and the difference between what civilians get compared to what veterans end up with, anyone can. If I can learn what it is, why "he" has it but others didn't and what I can do to help him live a better life, anyone can.
All too often, it is not about how much we love them but more about what we are willing to do to make it work.
About three years ago I received an odd phone call. His name is Christopher Thomas. He said he found my site while searching for information on PTSD. Christopher told me that while he never served, some of his friends did and he wanted to do something to help veterans. He wanted to tell their stories through their eyes. No Hollywood type looking to make a fast buck. This project meant something to him.
I put him to the test. I told him where he could find my videos. I told him to catch up and contact me with any questions he had. He did and he had plenty of them.
I still wasn't sure about him until I asked "What's your goal?" His answer was "To do whatever I can no matter what I have to do."
There were times over the years when the title of the movie was part of what he was going through, when it seemed as if this movie would never get made. He didn't give up. The script was done and redone. The done again. After that, it was a matter of finding the people. He just kept trying until he found the right actors, crew, places to film and people to lend a hand.
The day the movie was finished was not the end of the story. Much like the lives of our veterans when they come home. Their jobs while deployed are over. National Guardsmen take off their uniforms, go back to their families, friends and neighborhoods. Look forward to going back to work on their jobs, if they were lucky enough to still have one or start searching for a new one if not. The end of their service story is not done. It is never really finished. It becomes a part of them.
They can get lucky, have people surrounding them with a full understanding of what is going on with them even if they cannot feel it as well, or they can return to people pushing them away during a time when they need them the most.
Oh, it isn't always the fault of families or their friends. Most of the time it is a matter of no one told them anything they needed to understand to do anyone any good. They cared but they didn't know how to help. Now they may know just enough to change the conversation from what is wrong to what is right, what can heal and the reason they have PTSD. They love.
They love the men and women they serve with to the point where they are prepared to die for their sake. They love them enough to grieve so strongly it rips them apart but they push on those living on.
When people think about war, it is alway about the brutality of it forgetting about the strength of the human spirit. Compassion and courage always pushed aside simply because they cannot understand where all that comes from. That is is that very basis within them that compels them to serve when they know they could die. Some simply feel it all more strongly than others and that means they feel the pain more strongly than others. Then it feels terrible to love.
Terrible Love is in the Austin Film Festival
"A bittersweet autopsy of mental illness and lost love, Terrible Love tells the story of Rufus, a wounded veteran returning home from Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder, and his devoted wife Amy. They promised themselves never to leave each other, but that promise is put to the ultimate test when Rufus’ PTSD becomes violent. Terrible Love dives head first into the heart-breaking effects of PTSD, the relationships it hurts, and the lives it threatens."
One in three veterans come home with PTSD. Terrible Love tells the authentic story of the struggles, dangers and sacrifices of a life and a relationship threatened by PTSD.
Here's our trailer, and if you're in Austin, come see the full film at the Austin Film Festival - October 23 and 26
La Crosse veteran marching across state to fight PTSD, suicides
Lacrosse Tribune
MIKE TIGHE
4 hours ago
“After I failed at a lousy attempt, I asked for help,” he said, adding that his therapy is continuing through the VA.
Travis Good of La Crosse, decrying the statistic that 22 fellow veterans a day commit suicide, is marching 221.4 miles from La Crosse to Milwaukee to raise awareness and money to treat PTSD.
Good, 35, who has post-traumatic stress disorder he developed during Mideast deployments, was set to start his trek at 6 a.m. today at the Veterans Affairs River Valley Clinic at 2600 State Road.
The statewide hike is a “ruck march,” which means carrying a backpack. While such packs typically weigh 45 to 50 pounds, Good’s will be a 65-pounder with extra supplies because he is crossing the Badger State.
Accompanying Good on his “Ruck to Recovery for PTSD Awareness” is Gene Bennett, a 38-year-old Marine/Army veteran who also has PTSD. Good welcomes others — veterans and civilians alike — to join for however long they want. He plans to cover at least 36 miles a day, stopping at VA facilities along the way.
Good and Bennett will stop every 65 minutes and salute for a minute in commemoration of veterans who have committed suicide, which the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says happens at about that rate.
“By the time I am done with the ruck march, 144 vets would have died by their own hands — many due to PTSD issues,” Good said.
Good, a native of Rochester, Ind., who hopes the walk will raise $10,000 for the PTSD Foundation of America, acknowledged in an interview that he tried suicide himself.
“After I failed at a lousy attempt, I asked for help,” he said, adding that his therapy is continuing through the VA.
Good also credits his wife, Mara, as his main supporter. read more here
Navy IDs Marine lost in Persian Gulf; search called off
Stars and Stripes
By Hendrick Simoes
Published: October 3, 2014
MANAMA, Bahrain — The U.S. Navy on Friday identified the missing U.S. Marine who is presumed lost at sea after he bailed out of an MV-22 Osprey when it lost power after taking off from the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island.
The U.S. Navy ended the search Thursday in the northern Persian Gulf for Cpl. Jordan L. Spears, 21, of Memphis, Ind., who embarked on the Makin Island as part the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. He was a tiltrotor crew chief working with the 11th MEU's aviation combat element. He was assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force and based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif.
Spears was one of two aircrew members who went into the water Wednesday when it seemed the Osprey might crash. The other aircrew member was rescued and is in stable condition aboard the Makin Island, officials said.
The Osprey’s pilot was able to regain control of the aircraft and return to the ship. The Navy said the plane was participating in flight operations to support the military’s mission in Iraq and Syria. read more here
