Afghanistan Veteran with PTSD died of overdose at Miami VA Rehab

IG: Vet overdosed while in VA rehab center
Army Times
By Patricia Kime
Staff writer
March 29, 2014

A veteran of the war in Afghanistan died of a heroin and cocaine overdose last year while receiving treatment at a Miami Veterans Affairs residential treatment facility, according to a VA inspector general report released Friday.

The veteran, who was in his 20s, had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological conditions as well as traumatic brain injury. He had a history of drug abuse while in the Miami VA Medical Center substance abuse residential rehabilitation program and had previously lost leave privileges for continued use of alcohol and illicit drugs.

But according to the IG report, the medical facility staff failed to check him for contraband after he had been allowed to leave for an afternoon and also failed to monitor the facility closely, increasing the potential for visitors to bring in banned substances or for patients to leave to get them.

According the the IG:

■The security surveillance camera for the program did not work at the time the patient died and still didn’t work three months later when the IG team visited.

■A staff member was not present at all times as required.

■Staff often stayed in a back room with limited view of the unit and no view of the entrances or exits.
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Illness Claims Life of Fort Hood Soldier from Florida

Fort Hood soldier with terminal illness dies 
Killeen Daily Herald
October 30, 2013

Fort Hood officials on Tuesday released the name of a soldier who died Friday from a terminal illness in Copperas Cove.

Staff Sgt. Jason Allan Hicks, 40, of North Miami, Fla., entered active duty service in January 1994 as an infantryman. He was assigned to Fort Hood’s Warrior Transition Brigade since March 2012.

Hicks’s deployments include four tours to Iraq between 2003 and 2011; Kosovo operations from February 1999 to September 1999; and Operation Joint Endeavor to support efforts in Bosnia from December 1995 to December 1996.
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Miami Cops Help Vietnam Veteran Rebuild Home

Miami Cops Help Vietnam Veteran Rebuild Home
NBC News
Miami Police officers are helping Vietnam Veteran Neroy Alford rebuild his home after his roof collapsed two months ago.
By Betty Yu
Saturday, Jun 22, 2013

Vietnam veteran Neroy Alford's home has turned into a virtual junkyard after his roof suddenly collapsed two months ago.

But one group of Miami Police officers are looking to change that after they learned the 65-year-old has been sleeping in a nearby shed ever since.

The officers are rebuilding the residence on the 800 block of Northwest 69th Street from the ground up. They began their efforts Saturday.

"It broke our hearts," Sgt. Leandro Abad said. "To see somebody who's willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms and serve our country, to see how the house is deteriorated and the conditions that he was living in just wasn't acceptable to us and we definitely want to make a difference for him."

A couple of officers were moved to help they found out Alford was a former Marine.

"Marines are for life," said Officer Jose Prado, who is also a former Marine. "Even though he served a while ago, we had that connection."

The bond is fueling this group of volunteers to lend their muscle, and give their hearts to the project.
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40 Florida Army National Guard Soldiers return home

40 Florida Army National Guard Soldiers Return Home
CBS Miami
June 2, 2013

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – It was quite a homecoming for the Florida families of the Florida Army National Guard’s 856th Quartermaster Support Company.

Approximately 40 soldiers from the Immokalee based company returned home Sunday after a deployment to Afghanistan.

The soldiers began arriving Sunday afternoon in small groups at six different airports throughout the state: Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers, and Jacksonville.

A wife stood in Miami International Airport in tears and a mother rushed past the airport security line to welcome home a hero. read more here

Special Forces Commander Killed in Afghanistan

Special Forces Commander Killed In Afghanistan
March 13, 2013
MIAMI (CBSMiami)

The family of a U.S. Special Forces Commander are mourning the loss of their loved one after he died earlier this week in the service of his country.

Twenty-eight year old Captain Andrew M. Pedersen-Keel, who once lived in South Miami, and 26-year old staff Sgt. Rex Schad from Oklahoma died Monday after they came under attack in the Wardak Province of Afghanistan.

The Department of Defense said Pedersen-Keel was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), headquartered at Fort Bragg, N.C.
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CBS4 Investigates: Standoff With A Soldier in Miami

CBS4 Investigates: Standoff With A Soldier
February 6, 2013
Michelle Gillen

MIAMI (CBSMiami) — “Sir. I am writing to you because I am in urgent need of preventing a crisis from occurring.”

It was an e-mail that stopped its reader in her tracks. An e-mail that made its way to a specialized Miami-Dade mental health program, the 11th Judicial Circuit Criminal Mental Health Project, created to interface counselors with police and the courts. The goal is to save lives and reduce the number of people with mental illness in the criminal justice system.

The e-mail arrived on the heels of the Sandy Hook tragedy in Connecticut and just days before December 21, 2012 – a date that some believed signaled the end of the world. In fact, a worried family member of a young Iraqi soldier wrote of her unsuccessful attempts to get the young soldier help. A man the family member said suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, Schizophrenia and more. She detailed that she believed the young soldier was going to kill himself and others and included a laundry list of weapons he allegedly he possessed, including shotguns, rifles and handguns.

“That’s when the second best of luck happened. We got a hero who came out who turned out to be an Iraqi vet himself.” said Leifman.

“He was in crisis and he truly believed that what he was doing was the right thing,” says Victor Milian. To the judge, a hero in this story.

Millian is not only a Miami-Dade Hostage negotiator, but also a veteran of the Iraqi war, a senior sergeant, and when he arrived at the soldier’s apartment complex he was determined to get the roubled soldier out alive, while trying to make sure that residents and his fellow officers were kept safe.
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Troops in Afghanistan show their talent against Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders

Any employers out there thinking about going digital with videos,,,,maybe you should call these guys and give them a job when they come home!

U.S. troops in Afghanistan make hilarious spoof mimicking Miami Dolphins cheerleaders' video of Call Me Maybe
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 15:20 EST, 22 November 2012

It's hard to believe that the Miami Dolphins cheerleaders could be outshone - but it looks like a group of fun-loving soldiers in Afghanistan might have done it.

Call Me Maybe by Carly-Rae Jepsen was turned into a music video by the cheerleaders in August, with the ladies splashing around in a swimming pool, writhing on the beach and waving pom-poms.

Earlier this month, the soldiers gave them a run for their money with dance moves and lip synching making do with props from their Afghanistan base.
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Soldiers returning to Miami from Afghanistan

Nearly 100 Soldiers Heading Home From Afghan Combat
WBFS
September 16, 2012

“Our soldiers will come back changed in some way or another. They will be different,’’ Chandler says. “Some will be withdrawn. Some will not want to interact with people outside of their fellow soldiers. Some may have psychological difficulties or difficulty in readjusting to civilian life. We want the people left behind to understand this, to recognize the signs and be able to be supportive.’’

MIAMI (CBSMiami) — Following 225 long, brutal days of combat duty in Afghanistan, nearly 100 Army soldiers are coming home Tuesday, possibly sooner.

CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald reports the military chartered 767-300 plane will land at Miami International Airport.

The Miami-based U.S. Army 841st Engineer Battalion — one of the last of its kind to deploy to the war-ravaged country for Operation Enduring Freedom — will come home after spending six months working to build a $27 million camp in the northern region of Afghanistan that will be used as staging headquarters for troop departures as part of the military drawdown.

And with the mission accomplished, the unit arrives from a 400-day deployment almost six months early and days after the 11th anniversary of the horrific 9/11 terrorist attack that triggered what is now America’s longest running war. Twenty-six soldiers are staying behind to manage the final chapters.
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Florida Marine doing 1 million pushups to help PTSD wounded veterans

Florida Marine doing 1 million pushups to help wounded veterans
By NBCMiami.com and msnbc.com staff

Florida Marine Sgt. Enrique Trevino is more than halfway to his goal of completing one million push-ups to raise money and awareness for wounded veterans.

"In the very beginning, there were a lot of people who said your body can't handle it," Trevino told NBCMiami.com. "That's their first mistake was telling a Marine you can't do something."

Trevino began his one million push-up pursuit as a New Year's fitness resolution, but soon realized he could turn it into an opportunity to help the Wounded Warriors Project. The organization helps veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, where Trevino himself has served, get reacquainted into post-military life.

He said not all vets return with wounds that one can easily see.

"People who are suffering from PTSD. Those are scars that are not seen, but people don't notice everyday," Trevino pointed out. "I'm just trying to bring awareness to those veterans who're transitioning into civilian life, and just make sure they're never forgotten."
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Rudy Eugene Victim Ronald Poppo's Family Didn't Know He Was Alive

Rudy Eugene Victim Ronald Poppo's Family Didn't Know He Was Alive
(PHOTOS, VIDEO)
Posted: 05/31/2012

The family of the Miami homeless man whose face was chewed off by a naked assailant Saturday thought he was dead for years, CBS Miami reports.

"I tried to reach him, but I just thought he killed himself,” said Ronald Poppo's sister, Antoinette.

“And we really thought he was no longer on this earth.”

Antoinette Poppo said the family hasn't heard from Ronald, 65, in 30 years. Details of his life after he attended New York's prestigious Stuyvesant High School in the 1960s remain scarce, traced in a string of mostly petty arrests, hospital records, and a call to the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust last week from the Jungle Island zoo, where Poppo had been sleeping on the roof of the parking garage.
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Who killed Iraq Veteran Yosbel Millares

Family Of Murdered Iraq War Veteran Pleads For Help In Unsolved Homicide
Reporting Peter D’Oench
MIAMI (CBS4) — Twenty-eight-year-old Yosbel Millares survived a dangerous tour of duty in Iraq. But the former U.S. Marine would not survive a shooting on the streets of Miami when he was closing up a store.

Now, four and a half years after his murder, his loved ones are asking for help in solving this crime.

“We were really close,” said his sister Magnolia Millares. “He was my youngest brother and he was such a great person. He was very humble.”
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Miami VA names new chief for 57,000 veterans

Veterans Affairs names new Miami VA chief

 Paul M. Russo is coming from North Carolina to replace Mary Berrocal, who retired in November.

BY CAROL ROSENBERG

Paul M. Russo, a three-decade veteran of health work at the Veterans Health Administration, has been chosen to take over as the new director of Miami’s regional VA health care network, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Friday.

 As director of the Miami VA Health Care System, Russo will oversee delivery of health care to more than 57,000 veterans living in South Florida and an operating budget of $478 million. read more here

Three Florida doctors and 18 others charged with Medicare scam

3 doctors, 18 others charged in Fla. Medicare scam
By KELLI KENNEDY - Feb 15, 2011 5:25 PM ET
By The Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — Three doctors and 18 other people were charged Tuesday with billing Medicare for roughly $200 million in bogus mental health services for patients suffering from Alzheimer's and severe dementia.

Prosecutors allege American Therapeutic Corp. and its sister companies faked medication and care charts and paid the owners of assisted living facilities and halfway houses to bring patients to their seven mental health centers for therapy sessions that were never held.

Some patients also cashed in on the scheme by providing their Medicare numbers, while others were "not coherent enough" to demand kickbacks, according to the investigation by the U.S. departments of Justice and Health and Human Services.
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Medicare scaml

Police officer involved in two shootings in four days

Police officer involved in two shootings in four days
Story Highlights
Miami Beach police officer Adam Tavss is involved in two police shootings

Second shooting happened on his first day back on street

Questions are being raised as to whether he was cleared for duty too soon

Miami Beach police chief decides when an officer is ready to return



By Rich Phillips
CNN Senior Producer


MIAMI BEACH, Florida (CNN) -- On the grainy, silent black and white video, it's hard to tell exactly what happened the night of June 14 in Miami Beach. But one thing is certain: A tourist, Husien Shehada, can be seen falling to the ground, shot by a police officer. Shehada, 29, later died.

Four nights later, again in Miami Beach, Lawrence McCoy allegedly pistol-whipped a cab driver and led police on a chase. Police say shots were exchanged. McCoy, also 29, was killed.

Officer Adam Tavss, a 34-year-old former history teacher with three years on the force, was involved in both police shootings, the first in Miami Beach since 2003.

Although it is not yet clear whether Tavss fired one of the shots that killed McCoy, questions are being raised as to whether the officer was cleared for patrol duty too soon after the first shooting.

Police and the Miami-Dade County state attorney's office are investigating the shootings. The inquiry is expected to last several more months. All the records and reports have been sealed.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/16/florida.police.shootings/index.html

Student killed in fight at Florida school, officials say

Student killed in fight at Florida school, officials say
Story Highlights
Student killed another at Coral Gables, Florida, school, police say

High school placed on lockdown after killing

CNN affiliate reports student stabbed to death at school

At least four students witnessed the stabbing, TV station says
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- A Florida high school student was killed Tuesday by a second student during an altercation at the school, officials said.

The incident occurred just after 9 a.m. ET at Coral Gables Senior High School in Coral Gables, officials said. The school was placed on lockdown afterward.

Two students were arguing between first and second periods, and one produced a weapon and killed the other, police at the scene told reporters. Authorities would not release the victim's name, age or grade level pending notification of relatives.

CNN affiliate WSVN-TV in Miami-Fort Lauderdale reported the student was killed in the school's courtyard area after the suspect pulled out a switchblade and stabbed the victim in the chest.

The suspect was taken into custody just after the incident and was being interviewed, officials said.

At least four students witnessed the incident, WSVN said.

read more here

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/15/school.stabbing/index.html

Miami Heat's Tim James from NBA to Spc. Tim James in Iraq

Former NBA player now with Army in Iraq

By Tim Reynolds - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Aug 30, 2009 13:49:27 EDT

MIAMI — Tim James apologized for being late. A rough day at work, said the Miami Heat’s 1999 first-round draft pick. Vehicles broke down, problems flared up, and he simply fell behind.

“It happens,” James said. “Even here.”

Even here — on the front line of the Iraq war.

A former NBA player who often wondered about his true calling, Tim James is now a soldier, a transformation that even many of the people closest to him never saw coming.

“I got my degree, lived the life I was able, have my freedom and became a professional athlete,” James said last week from Iraq. “I’m the example of the American dream.”

James is at Camp Speicher, the massive base near Tikrit, 85 miles north of Baghdad, not far from Saddam Hussein’s hometown and where insurgents still are a perpetual threat. For Miami Northwestern High, the Miami Hurricanes, three NBA teams and some foreign clubs, he was forward Tim James. For the Army, he’s Spc. Tim James of Task Force ODIN — short for Observe, Detect, Identify, Neutralize.
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Former NBA player now with Army in Iraq

Florida Veteran will sue VA over HIV

Fla. veteran says he is HIV+, will sue VA

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Aug 18, 2009 18:56:21 EDT

MIAMI — A South Florida man, who claims he contracted HIV during an endoscopic colonoscopy at a Miami Department of Veterans Affairs hospital, has filed a notice that he will sue the federal government

Juan Rivera, 55, an Army veteran, claims he contracted HIV during the procedure on or about May 19, 2008. Rivera said he had been tested twice and both times he was positive for the disease. He served in the Army from 1979 to 1989.

Ira Leesfield, an attorney for Rivera, said the notice is necessary under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Rivera has to give the federal government six months before he files a federal lawsuit. Leesfield said this lawsuit will be filed against the VA through the United States of America. He added the claim states Rivera will sue for $20 million in damages.
Fla. veteran says he is HIV will sue VA

Woman sets herself on fire at mall in Miami

Woman sets herself on fire 1:30
Mall-goers in Miami were shocked to see a woman engulfed in flame walking through a local mall. WFOR reports.



Three people were hurt trying to help put out the fire and help the woman.

Fort Hood Stop Loss Soldier ends up in jail?

He went, did what he was expected to do but when the Army had other plans for him he ends up in jail? How many others has this happened to?

Soldier who refused deployment gets month in jail
By ANGELA K. BROWN (AP) – 1 hour ago

FORT HOOD, Texas — A Fort Hood soldier who refused to deploy to Afghanistan over his beliefs that the war violates international law was sentenced Wednesday to a month in jail.

Spc. Victor Agosto, 24, of Miami, pleaded guilty to disobeying a lawful order to report to a site that performs medical, legal and other services for troops before they deploy. The judge also reduced his rank to the Army's lowest level, a private, which also was part of the maximum penalty he faced in his plea agreement with the military.

After the sentence was announced, Agosto immediately ripped the rank patch from his uniform. He later was escorted out of the building and taken to the county jail, where he will start serving his sentence.

Also, Agosto cannot be discharged at a level lower than other-than-honorable conditions, an administrative discharge. A discharge was not mentioned in the hearing, but Agosto is expected to be released from the Army after completing his jail term.

Before he was sentenced during the hourlong military hearing at the central Texas Army post, he told the judge he should not be jailed because he posed no threat to anyone.

He said he had remained on post and went to work every day since refusing to deploy after learning a few months ago that the Army was keeping him beyond his enlistment date.
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Soldier who refused deployment gets month in jail

At least 26 hurt as airliner hits turbulence

Whenever I fly I keep my seatbelt on,,,,please do the same. You never know when you'll wish you did.

At least 26 hurt as airliner hits turbulence
Story Highlights
Airliner hits turbulence, is forced to divert to Miami, Florida
At least 26 people hurt, four of them seriously
Jet had been en route from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Houston, Texas

(CNN) -- Severe turbulence shook a Continental Airlines flight Monday, injuring dozens of passengers and forcing the aircraft to divert to Miami, Florida, according to the airline and a fire official.


There were 168 passengers and 11 crew members on Flight 128, which was heading from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Houston, Texas, according to a statement from Continental Airlines.

"I've never seen turbulence like that, so I really thought we wouldn't make it," passenger Giovani Loss told CNN affiliate WSVN-TV. Loss, who is originally from Brazil, said he is a lawyer in the United States and frequently travels between the two countries.
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At least 26 hurt as airliner hits turbulence