Death of 21 year old soldier in Afghanistan under investigation

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Department of Defense
Release No: NR-078-14
February 11, 2014

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

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

Pfc. Joshua A. Gray, 21, of Van Lear, Ky., died Feb. 10, in Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, from a non-combat related incident currently under investigation.

He was assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

UPDATE
Soldier who died remembered as bright, giving

Hungry military families helped by donations to buy food?

All the other scandals Congress wants you to pay attention to this is one of the ones they don't want to talk about.

Operation Homefront Receives $50,000 from the Walmart Foundation
The Leaf Chronicle
Feb. 11, 2014

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (Feb. 11, 2014) – Operation Homefront today announced that it received a $50,000 contribution to assist with food distribution to military families during the recent holiday season. The grant – which was given to the non-profit organization through the Walmart Foundation’s State Giving Program – helped provide gift cards to military families in Tennessee and Kentucky who needed assistance purchasing food for holiday meals.

“Thanks to the Walmart Foundation, our annual Holiday House in December not only helped military families shop for gifts, but it ensured every family left with a $50 or $100 Walmart gift card to help pay for food,” said Tina Englen, Operation Homefront – Tennessee/Kentucky’s Executive Director. “It was a needed addition to our program this year, and we are very grateful for the grant.”

A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront provides emergency and other financial assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors. Operation Homefront has met more than 750,000 needs of military families since its inception in 2002, including financial assistance, emergency food, emergency home repairs, and more. This year’s Holiday House in Oak Grove, Ky., served about 600 military families living in the Fort Campbell region.
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Special Ops Member killed in Black Hawk hard landing

Member Of Elite Army Helicopter Unit Killed In 'Hard Landing' Accident; At Least 2 Others Injured
Huffington Post
By RUSS BYNUM
01/16/14

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A member of an elite Army helicopter unit was killed and two crew members suffered injuries when their aircraft slammed into the ground as they tried to land at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, a military spokesman said Thursday.

The MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was returning from a routine training flight when it made a "hard landing" just before 11:30 p.m. Wednesday on or near the airstrip at the base in coastal Georgia, said Army Maj. Allen Hill, a spokesman for the crew's aviation unit.

The three-man crew was assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, which trains soldiers to fly helicopters behind enemy lines under cover of darkness. Nicknamed the Night Stalkers, the unit was responsible for flying Navy SEALs into Pakistan during the 2010 raid in which Osama Bin Laden was killed. The 160th regiment is headquartered at Fort Campbell, Ky., but has a battalion stationed in Savannah.
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Judge orders Army to review Iraq Veteran's discharge

Judge: Examine ex-soldier, reconsider discharge
Associated Press
By BRETT BARROUQUERE
Friday, January 10, 2014

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An Iraq war veteran who twice deployed to Iraq is being re-examined by the U.S. Army after a federal judge found that the military may have mishandled his medical complaints and involuntary discharge from the service.

The chief judge of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, Patricia Campbell-Smith, ordered both the Army and attorney for Richard P. Watson of Hebron, Ky., to report back to the court by February on the status and results of physical examinations. Should Watson be diagnosed with an ailment that would exclude him from combat service, Campbell-Smith ordered the military to determine if Watson's discharge should be changed and if he is eligible for disability retirement.

Watson, who enlisted in 2004 and rose to the rank of corporal in the Army in 2007, sued the military in 2012 after being discharged under other than honorable conditions for refusing orders to return to Iraq in December 2007. Watson told the military he had severe vision problems, a claim the Army rejected before charging him with missing movement by design - or willingly failing to deploy as ordered.
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Veterans Court choice to "free of the demons that haunted them"

Fayette court program allows veterans to get physical, psychological help instead of jail time
Kentucky.com
BY JIM WARREN
January 1, 2014

Lexington veterans who run afoul of the law as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder, drug abuse or other issues stemming from their military service are getting a new chance under a recently launched court program.

The Fayette Veterans Treatment Court, which opened in early October, helps veterans get support and treatment for their physical and psychological problems as an alternative to simply sending them to jail.

Veterans who elect to go through the court — and can qualify — may have their sentences deferred while they enter an 18-month, court-supervised program of treatment and counseling.

The hope is that those who stick it out through the 11/2-year regimen will "graduate," ready to resume normal lives, free of the demons that haunted them.
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After standoff with police, veteran being sent for help

New information on Michael Vaughan
FOX19 Investigates
Mary Kate Gaffney
Posted: Dec 23, 2013

Covington Police Chief Spike Jones says it's likely Vaughan was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. After being treated for his injuries during the standoff, he will be evaluated with the help of veterans affairs.

FOX19's Sara Celi reported live in Ft. Thomas at the Veteran Affairs Center where Vaughan was treated for PTSD.

Celi tells FOX19 that military authorities say Vaughan was removed from the military this summer for conduct unbecoming of an officer. Vaughan was also under investigation in Washington for cyber stalking and identity theft in 2009.

Documents show that Vaughan has a troubled history of domestic violence, restraining orders, criminal cases, lawsuits against the Kentucky Army National Guard and more.

Rebecca Williams, a neighbor at the scene of the standoff, tells FOX19, "He told all of us how he and his wife got into a big argument last year because he caught her cheating. I guess that's why they split up, and then he had a different girlfriend, that's the one that was involved yesterday."
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Standoff between military vet, police comes to an end in Kentucky

In Colorado
Standoff closes Canon City streets

Standoff between military vet, police comes to an end in Kentucky

Standoff between military vet, police comes to an end in Kentucky
Fox News.com
Published December 22, 2013

A standoff lasting more than 24 hours between police in northern Kentucky and a military veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who barricaded himself and his three children inside his home has finally ended.

Army veteran Michael Vaughan surrendered after firing at police around 12:40 p.m. and then suffering a wound in his arm through return fire, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

He was reportedly being taken to a hospital in Cincinnati, which is 10 miles north of his home in the Latonia neighborhood of Covington.

The matter was initially a hostage situation, but the Kentucky State Police told FoxNews.com the veteran released his three children earlier on Sunday morning after continued negotiations with police.
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Fayette Court program supports troubled veterans with PTSD

Judge John Schrader: Fayette Court program supports troubled veterans
Kentucky.com
BY JOHN P. SCHRADER
December 13, 2013

Over 20,000 veterans currently live in Lexington and substantial growth in this population is anticipated over the next 18 months as troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan.

At least 20 percent of those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan are known to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and over 80 percent of the veterans injured have sustained traumatic brain injuries not detectable by casual observation.

The impact of these conditions may be debilitating with long-term complications including depression, anger, anxiety, memory loss, flashbacks and sleep disturbance. The emotional and psychological damage sustained by these veterans is fully understandable given their experiences: engaging in personal hand-to-hand combat, killing aggressors or innocent non-combatants, being injured by a sniper or an IED, seeing friends injured or killed in battle and enduring the wear and tear which results from carrying 75 pounds of gear several hours per day.

Back home, veterans are challenged to find an outlet for the hyper-vigilance to which they became accustomed while in combat. Many unfortunately resort to self-medication of their emotional and physical injuries by excessive drinking and abuse of illegal drugs. With diminished impulse control and substance abuse concerns, routine incidents such as road rage, being startled by fireworks or even a child's playful squeal can lead a veteran suffering from PTSD to criminal conduct which results in an arrest.

While these veterans must be held accountable for their behavior, we know that, without appropriate treatment, the problems which caused the criminal activity will continue to haunt them and their families long after they are released from jail or prison.
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Fort Campbell soldier missing after discharge

Missing: recently discharged Fort Campbell soldier
WPSD
Web Editor - Amanda Roberts
Story Created: Mon Dec 9, 2013

MADISONVILLE, Ky - The Kentucky State Police is requesting help in the search for a recently discharged missing soldier.

Jordan T. Welch, 21 has been out of contact for several weeks. His sister, Jennifer Wheeler contacted KSP about his disappearance.

Welch received a general discharge from the US Army September 24th and was stationed at Fort Campbell. Wheeler last had contact with Welch by phone September 29th; he had told his sister he was working a construction job but did not indicate the job location.

Jordan Thomas Welch has brown hair and eyes, is 5'9'' and weighs approximately 115 pounds.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact KSP at (270) 676-3313 or call toll-free at (800) 222-5555
go here for updates

Soldier Connects Terrorist in Kentucky to Slain Brothers in Arms

Soldier Connects Terrorist in Kentucky to Slain Brothers in Arms
ABC News
By JAMES GORDON MEEK, BRIAN ROSS, CINDY GALLI and LEE FERRAN
Nov. 21, 2013

Army Staff Sgt. Joshua Hedetniemi couldn't believe what he was hearing: Two al Qaeda terrorists had been arrested in a small town in Kentucky, right in America's heartland.

But it wasn't the 2011 arrests that caught the combat veteran's attention, but the offhand mention in a press report of a town in Iraq called Bayji, where the terrorists had operated before slipping into the States.

"It's an extremely small town and not very well-known," Hedetniemi told ABC News. But Hedetniemi knew it all too well.

He was just south of the town in 2005 when another group in his Pennsylvania National Guard platoon was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) and attacked by small arms fire. The Americans managed to fend off the attack, but four soldiers died.

"So once I actually read the bulletin [about the Kentucky arrests]… the more research I did on it, I realized that these guys were operating in the same area that we were at the time we were attacked," Hedetniemi said. "It was more than a coincidence, I think it was fate that the news broke."
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Kentucky National Guardsmen prove stigma of PTSD lives on

One more example of "resilience" training not working. The stigma lives on and more take their own lives no matter what the DOD says they have done about prevention.

Kentucky National Guard partners with University of Louisville to expand combat trauma counseling
Courier Journal
Written by Chris Kenning
Nov. 7, 2013

A Department of Veterans Affairs report last year found that nearly 30 percent of the more than 834,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans treated at VA Hospitals had been diagnosed with PTSD.

As more than a decade of war winds down in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Kentucky National Guard is initiating a new effort to treat combat trauma among returning veterans who often have to wait for help.

The Guard is partnering with the University of Louisville’s Psychiatry Department in a project to offer therapy for veterans, an effort to funnel them more quickly into treatment and work to minimize prescription drug use for post-traumatic stress and depression.

“We have a lot of mental-health issues with our soldiers that we’re trying to address,” said David Altom, a spokesman for the Kentucky Guard, which announced the pilot program that, while open to all vets, focus on Guard soldiers.

Spurred partly by two-week wait times at some Veterans Affairs mental health services, the use of U of L therapists may also draw veterans previously reluctant to seek care in military facilities, said Capt. Stephanie Fields, deputy state surgeon for the Kentucky Guard.

“I think there is still a stigma,” Fields said. “They don’t want it reflected in their military record and affecting their career.”
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Family remembers Iraq War Veteran killed in car crash

Family remembers Iraq War Veteran killed in Floyd Co. crash
WKYT News
By: Hillary Thornton
September 30, 2013

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. (WYMT) - Battling a war of emotions, a Floyd County family mourns the loss of their loved one. Iraq War Veteran, 29-year-old Brenan McKinney, died this weekend following a crash. McKinney's mother says her son will now live on through his daughter.

A proud army mom, Pamela Couch, lights up when she looks at pictures of her son.

"When he told me he wanted to go into the Army, I tried every way in the world to talk him out of it but he just kept saying, 'I could get killed on the road or how drugs are here I could get shot in a drive by.' When he talked me into letting him go...I worried the whole time he was gone," says Couch.

Couch worried because she knew the dangers he would face....the images and scars he would return with.
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Wounded Soldiers ride 167 miles in two-day cycling trip

Wounded warrior bike trek ends with no one left behind
Soldiers ride 167 miles in two-day cycling trip
Leaf-Chronicle
Written by Philip Grey
Sep. 26, 2013

FORT CAMPBELL, KY. — The first Bluegrass Rendezvous – a two-day 167-mile bike ride from Fort Knox to Fort Campbell – came to a successful conclusion on Wednesday afternoon as a group of 40 cyclists hit the finish line at Fort Campbell with everyone who started the ride at Fort Knox.

Following a half-hour rest stop in Guthrie, Ky., the cyclists completed the last 17-mile leg strong and fast, actually getting back to Fort Campbell and the finish line at the Warrior Transition Battalion well ahead of schedule.

It would have been an amazing performance and a proud moment for anyone, but for the wounded, ill and injured soldiers of the Fort Knox and Fort Campbell Warrior Transition Units, who comprised over half of the group, it was a statement that they were far from out of the game of life, and actually more fit than many who have never endured the kind of adversity some of these warriors have faced.
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Combat wounded Iraq veteran's motorcycle stolen in Kentucky

Veteran's prized motorcycle stolen
WHAS11.com
by Jacob Ryan
Posted on September 5, 2013

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11)-- A veteran of the Iraq War and Purple Heart recipient, Richard Davidson, looks out the window of his home on Tazwell Drive to check on his motorcycle every night. When he looked out early Wednesday morning, to his surprise, all he saw was an empty parking spot.

“It was gone,” Davidson said.

Davidson joined the Army in 1991 and during deployments to Iraq from 2003-2005 he sustained several injuries, including being struck by an I.E.D.

“Basically, the Army retired me,” he said.
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Cody Baker survived combat in Iraq, until he couldn't survive anymore

Family fights for PTSD help after soldier's suicide
WAVE 3 News
By Janelle MacDonald
Posted: Aug 29, 2013

HARDINSBURG, KY (WAVE) - A Kentuckiana family is trying to turn their tragedy into a helping hand for others in their same position. Army Specialist Cody Baker, an Iraq War veteran, took his life earlier this month.

His family says he suffered for years from post traumatic stress disorder and now they're hoping to change the way military members are treated.

Cody's family says his excitement at competing in the Meade County Fair's Mud Sling was there on his face for all to see. A month later, the same truck carried his coffin for his burial.

On August 19, the man his family remembers for his big smile committed suicide.

His wife Laci says she knew immediately it was because of PTSD. "There was no doubt in my mind because my Cody wouldn't do that," she said. "There's no way. He was way too full of life and cared way too much about everybody else to do something like that, to leave everybody behind. He was not that type of person. Without a shadow of a doubt, I knew immediately what had happened."

Laci knew the man who came back from Iraq in 2008 was different almost as soon as he returned.

"I noticed the first night that Cody got home from overseas that he had a nightmare in the night. He woke up and he couldn't breathe," she said.

She also noticed that Cody seemed like he had to stay busy. "It's like he couldn't stop for fear that something would catch up with him."
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How many more do we have to lose before we help them win?

VFW backs Medal of Honor for Vietnam veteran William Collier

VFW Backs Vietnam Veteran to Receive MoH
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan
Jul 24, 2013

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Veterans of Foreign Wars national membership on Monday approved a resolution supporting congressional action to award the Medal of Honor to a retired Army officer for heroic actions in Vietnam 41 years ago.

Then-Maj. William Collier was one of just two Americans and 120 South Vietnamese troops at the Duc District Headquarters in Quang Ngai Province when it was attacked Sept. 16, 1972, by up to 1,000 North Vietnam Army soldiers.

The battle -- which two eyewitnesses called “Maj. Collier’s Alamo” -- lasted 54 hours and left only Collier and 21 ARVN soldiers alive. Staff Sgt. Carroll Jackson, the only other American at the headquarters, was killed in the fighting.

Collier, who retired as a colonel, was awarded the Silver Star for his leadership and bravery, though there has long been a belief his actions were worthy of the nation’s highest honor, said Joe Davis, spokesman for the VFW.

The VFW’s National Security and Foreign Affairs Committee on Sunday easily passed the resolution that was approved on Monday by members gathered this week in Louisville for the organization’s annual convention.
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Groups seeking to honor veterans' graves fight additional burden

Changes sought for Ohio, Ky. unmarked vets' graves
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 19, 2013

CINCINNATI -- Federal policy is preventing some veterans with unmarked graves from getting headstones and tombstones to mark their final resting places, and some supporters of historic cemeteries want that changed.

Supporters in Ohio and Kentucky are among those who want to change a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs policy they say is too restrictive, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

The federal regulation defines "applicant" as the veteran's next of kin, a person authorized in writing by the next of kin or a representative authorized in writing by the veteran. But members of historical groups and those working to preserve Civil War-era cemeteries say the policy wasn't consistently enforced until last year. Some seeking to get markers for veterans' unmarked graves say they've been turned down because they weren't direct descendants, the newspaper said.

A national campaign to change the policy has launched an online petition asking that the VA make the regulation inapplicable to veterans who served more than 62 years ago. The petition collected 1,950 signatures as of Thursday, the newspaper reported.

"This is having an impact all across America," said Jeff Richman, leader of a committee behind the petition. Richman is the historian for Green-Wood Cemetery in a Brooklyn, N.Y. It contains graves of 3,300 Civil War veterans.

Richman said the policy creates an impossible and unnecessary burden for groups seeking to honor veterans who served generations ago.
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Iraq Veteran Marine goes from Kentucky Coal Mine to America's Got Talent

Last night America's Got Talent once again showed that the heart of this country is with those who serve. The reaction of the judges and the audience was priceless when Jimmy Rose sang a song he wrote with true country heart!

Jul 9, 2013
Jimmy Rose looks at life a lot different after being away at war, so he's chasing his dreams. See him sing an original song about the Kentucky coalmines that has his mom in tears and the Judges sending him to Las Vegas!

Subject of PTSD documentary faces more troubles

Life takes another tough turn for brother featured in sibling's film about PTSD
Lexington Herald Reader
By Mary Meehan
Published: July 7, 2013

The Harlan soldier at the heart of a documentary about PTSD is on house arrest facing multiple felony charges as the film, Two Brothers, is scheduled to run on KET.

The short documentary features Joe Edwards, who returned forever changed after two tours in Iraq as an Army gunner. It started as a student film by his brother, Jason Edwards. But with the help of Jason Edwards' professor at Eastern Kentucky University, John Fitch, the film has started appearing in film festivals and being shown to veterans' groups.

The goal of the film was to show how post-traumatic stress disorder affects not only the returning soldier but also all those who love him, said Jason Edwards. Withdrawn and ultimately suicidal, Joe Edwards, who joined the National Guard after high school, was different from the brother Jason grew up with.

As the filming wrapped up last summer, Joe Edwards' once debilitating symptoms of anxiety and depression were lifting. And, Jason Edwards said, Joe Edwards was proud that the telling of his painful story might help other veterans.

A black and white epilogue at the end of the 28-minute film acknowledges Joe Edwards' involvement with the police.

According to a report from the Kentucky State Police, Joe Edwards exchanged gunfire when deputies tried to serve a warrant at his Harlan apartment at 11 p.m. Nov. 30.
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Veterans Treatment Court a success, lawmakers told

Veterans Treatment Court a success, lawmakers told
The Lane Report


FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 14, 2013) — A specialty court in Jefferson County is the first in the state dedicated to serving veterans involved in the criminal justice system, members of the Interim Joint Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection heard yesterday.

Based on the drug court model, the Jefferson County Veterans Treatment Court (JCVTC) is a four-phase evidence-based program for veterans charged with non-violent crimes.

The goal of JCVTC is to identify and address veterans’ needs so they can return to productive lives and reintegrate with society, according to Judge David Holton of the Jefferson County District Court.

Many veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury or other mental illnesses and sometimes self-medicate with drugs and alcohol, Holton said.

“Combining mental illness with drugs and alcohol is like adding gasoline to fire,” he said. “The results are often broken homes, failed marriages, homelessness, unemployment. And these are all factors that lead directly to the criminal justice system.”
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