Iraq veteran's Mom read son died in newspaper...Dad had to tell him bad news...reporting

Fake obituary stuns Chesterfield veteran and his family: ‘I woke up to the sound of my mom crying’

CBS 6 News
BY JON BURKETT AND MIKE BERGAZZI
JUNE 13, 2019

“We can confirm that a private citizen submitted this false information to the Times-Dispatch through our online obituary portal,” said Jason Dillon, vice president of advertising for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Justin Felger joined the United States Navy shortly after 9/11 but found his calling as an infantryman in the Virginia Army National Guard, which put him on the front lines in Iraq.

“I wanted to fight for the red, white, and blue,” Felger said. “Every time we went out there, it was every corner, every step we took you had to worry about losing your life.”

Staff Sgt. Felger survived two combat tours.

But last month he became a fallen soldier, or so it was written.

“Woke up to the sound of, well, my mom was crying,” Felger said. “My dad had to break the news to me.”

An obituary published in the May 9 edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch claimed that the Chesterfield native had died unexpectedly at the age of 36.

Someone had also created a separate memorial website.

The minutes and hours that followed were chaotic.
read more here

Former National Guardsman from Florida Died in Alaska

Alaska Army National Guard soldier dies in Copper River

San Francisco Chronicle
June 10, 2019

Before joining the Alaska Army National Guard, Hepler was in the Florida Army National Guard from 2001 to 2004.

GLENNALLEN, Alaska (AP) — A 35-year-old Alaska Army National Guard soldier from Fort Greely died when he fell into the Copper River while dipnetting for salmon.

Alaska State Troopers say the body of Sgt. 1st Class Russell Hepler was recovered.

Alaska Army National Guard officials say Hepler was a full-time soldier in the 49th Missile Defense Battalion's military police company at Fort Greely.
read more here

Virginia Beach Victims identified, employees and contractor getting permit

update Virginia Beach attacker, who had served in National Guard, notified boss of plans to leave job

Officials ID Virginia Beach gunman as city employee

Associated Press
Ben Finley
June 1, 2019

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — The gunman who killed 12 people in a Virginia Beach municipal building was identified by police Saturday as a 15-year city employee who had served in the military and was described by neighbors as quiet and rarely smiling.

Virginia Beach Police Chief James Cervera identified the gunman as DeWayne Craddock, who was employed as an engineer with the city's public utilities department. Cervera declined to comment on a motive for Friday's rampage that ended with Craddock dying in a gun battle with police. .

Authorities used a Saturday morning news conference to focus on the victims, saying 11 of them worked for the city. Another victim was a contractor trying to get a permit. They projected photos on a screen and gave each victim's name along with biographical details.

The 11 city employees who died were identified as;
Laquita C. Brown of Chesapeake,
Tara Welch Gallager of Virginia Beach,
Mary Louise Gayle of Virginia Beach,
Alexander Mikhail Gusev of Virginia Beach,
Katherine A. Nixon of Virginia Beach,
Richard H. Nettleton of Norfolk,
Christopher Kelly Rapp of Powhatan,
Ryan Keith Cox of Virginia Beach,
Joshua A. Hardy of Virginia Beach,
Michelle "Missy" Langer of Virginia Beach
Robert "Bobby" Williams of Chesapeake
The 12th victim, Herbert "Bert" Snelling of Virginia Beach, was a contractor filling a permit.
read more here

After 43 years Brig. Gen. Thomas Croymans retired from National Guard

South Dakota Army National Guard general retires after 43 years

American News via the AP
By: Kelda J.L. Pharris, Aberdeen (S.D.)
May 26, 2019

When he joined the Guard, the U.S. was enjoying a peaceful respite after the Vietnam War. The Guard’s first active duty was during Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991. It tested the Guard’s mettle in a way it hadn’t been for some time, Croymans said. This was after his time as a soldier, so he fulfilled his duties stateside.

Brig. Gen. Thomas Croymans, assistant adjutant general for the South Dakota Army National Guard, speaks during his retirement ceremony at Camp Rapid in Rapid City, S.D., May 4, 2019. (Staff Sgt. Austin Pearce/Army)

ABERDEEN, S.D. — It was a privilege.

Brig. Gen. Thomas Croymans didn't speak the phrase.

He didn’t have to. With a slight flush in his skin, he averts his eyes and wipes at invisible particles on his meeting table in his office. His voice holds steady.

“It went quick,” Croymans told the Aberdeen American News.

Croymans, 60, retired from the South Dakota National Guard after 43 years. He was officially honored May 4 during a retirement ceremony at Joint Force Headquarters on Camp Rapid.

He’s quick to call attention to the sacrifice his family and employers have made and the support they’ve shown him and every guard member. He never anticipated being at this stage when he signed on at 17. He’s 60 now and continues working in his civilian job as a highway engineer with the Bureau of Indian Affairs Central Office.
read more here

National Guard veteran hanged himself Friday in the Cuyahoga County Jail

Medical Examiner: National Guard vet hanged himself in Cuyahoga County Jail

Cleveland.com
By Adam Ferrise
Posted May 13, 2019

Colbert spent two days in general population at the downtown jail and was moved Friday morning to a cluster of cell’s specifically for veterans. He hanged himself about 2:30 p.m.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner on Monday confirmed that a National Guard veteran hanged himself Friday in the Cuyahoga County Jail.

Nicholas Colbert, 36, died Friday in the Cuyahoga County Jail. He was a National Guard veteran.

Nicholas Colbert’s death was ruled a suicide, a medical examiner spokesman said in a statement. No other information was released.

Colbert served in the National Guard overseas and struggled with heroin addiction in the decade or so since his return, his family told cleveland.com.
read more here

Wisconsin Army National Guard assaulted and betrayed getting justice the hard way

Final punishment: As Wisconsin National Guard officer Megan Plunkett took steps to leave the Guard after she said she was sexually assaulted three times, officials tried to revoke her benefits

Madison.com
Katelyn Ferral
May 11, 2019

“I was like, ‘I’m out, I just want to be left alone.’ I don’t want to cause more problems and then he came at me with fraternization. Are you ... kidding me?” she said. “He… assaulted me and how dare they accuse me of fraternization without asking me what happened?”

Eight months after the Wisconsin Army National Guard finished its investigations into 1st Lt. Megan Plunkett’s sexual assault claims, they tried to kick her out.

They did so even though Plunkett was already making her own way out. She was going through a medical discharge for post-traumatic stress disorder connected to alleged sexual assaults by two different men in two different units she served in.

She was not actively training at that time but was having a consensual relationship with an enlisted soldier in her unit. After the relationship ended, Plunkett said that man also sexually assaulted her. As it did in the first two cases, the Guard said her allegations were unsubstantiated, but they went one step further than that, finding Plunkett guilty of “fraternization.” In the military, officers are forbidden to have sexual relationships with enlisted soldiers.

As of today, Plunkett has won some measure of vindication from other agencies. A panel of out-of-state Army officers ultimately rejected the Guard's attempt to strip her benefits and status, though that ruling is not yet final. Separately, the Veterans Administration awarded her full service-connected disability compensation and medical benefits for PTSD, which they determined was caused by military sexual trauma she experienced in the Wisconsin Army National Guard.

'Failure to Protect'
This week, the Cap Times is publishing “Failure to Protect,” a four-part investigation by reporter Katelyn Ferral into the Wisconsin Army National Guard and its treatment of soldiers who are sexually abused in its service. The series is centered on 1st Lt. Megan Plunkett, a soldier who says she was sexually assaulted by three different Guard colleagues over the course of three years.

After she brought those allegations forward, the Guard not only decided that they were unsubstantiated, but took multiple steps to punish her. Plunkett eventually brought her story to the Cap Times, and after a four-month investigation including access to extensive records of a type rarely available to the public, we are sharing her story with you. It is alarming, nuanced and sometimes graphic, but it is important to hear, coming amidst growing concern among government officials in Wisconsin and nationally about the number of military sexual abuse victims and their treatment.

Part one focused on Plunkett’s allegations, the Guard’s responses and also explains its procedures for responding to sexual assault allegations.

Part two took a close look at a yearlong, internal Guard investigation into Plunkett’s first unit, which concluded that it had a longstanding culture of sexual misconduct.

Part three examined the phenomenon of “military sexual trauma” as well as Plunkett’s often frustrating efforts to maintain consistent medical care and legal representation.

Part four (below) describes the Guard’s final — and at this point, unsuccessful — effort to strip Plunkett of military benefits even after she was in the process of getting a discharge for medical reasons.
read more here

Iowa Mom shocked kids at school

Central Iowa mom surprises children following 10-month deployment to Afghanistan

ABC 9 News

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) - Captain Keri Pender, of the Iowa National Guard, pulled a fast one on her three children Thursday in West Des Moines. She surprised her three children at their schools following a ten-month deployment to Afghanistan.

Before she left the United States, Pender, who has served with the Iowa National Guard for eight years, told her kids Caleb, a sixth grader; Devin, an eighth grader; and Bailey, a tenth grader, that she was going to be deployed longer than expected. go here for more

Kansas National Guard Captain quit in protest for more to be done on preventing suicides!

This is the kind of Captain the military needs to keep because she cared more about those she was leading than her career! Captain Fields YOU JUST MADE A DIFFERENCE BY TAKING A STAND LIKE THIS!

Kansas National Guard Captain Submits Resignation in Wake of Suicides

Topeka Capital Journal
By Katie Moore
Posted Apr 6, 2019

When Fields tried to elevate concerns, she said she felt like addressing suicide wasn’t a priority for guard leadership. And while she said she doesn’t want to play “the female card,” she believes being vocal as a woman isn’t always well-received.

Fields said by speaking out, she has a lot to lose, but hopefully something will be gained.

“We have to hold our organization accountable,” Fields said. “We are not doing right by our soldiers.”

A captain in a Kansas National Guard brigade that experienced several suicides in six months said she has submitted a letter of resignation after concerns about the issue weren’t taken seriously enough by leadership.

The National Guard has a higher suicide rate than other branches of the military, including active-duty soldiers, a report from the Department of Defense said. However, the Kansas National Guard has a lower rate than guards in many other states, said Maj. Jason Davee.

Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli said the Kansas National Guard has had nine suicides in the past five years, three of which were in the past 18 months.

Additionally, a civilian who worked in the guard’s behavioral health department died by suicide last summer, and a man who had just been discharged died earlier this year. Their deaths weren’t included in official numbers, said Capt. Tara Fields.

Fields has served 12 years in the military, eight on active duty. She joined the Kansas National Guard just over a year ago as a behavioral health officer.
read more here

If you want to know why there has been more military members committing suicide...it is because leaders like her are not being heard! They hear her now! Pass this on and make sure other units hear her too!

New Leader for Florida National Guard

Florida National Guard Gets a New Leader

DVIDS
Video by Staff Sgt. Cesar Cordero
Florida National Guard Public Affairs Office
STARKE, FL, UNITED STATES
04.06.2019

STARKE, Fla. -- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis presides over the change of command between Maj. Gen. Michael Calhoun and Maj. Gen. James Eifert for the Adjutant General of Florida during a ceremony April 6, 2019. 

The outgoing Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Calhoun, has served in uniform for nearly 40 years with the last four as the commanding officer of the Florida National Guard.

(U.S. Air Force video by SSgt. Cesar Cordero, released)

Unsolved Mysteries "Gabby's Bones" given proper military funeral in Wyoming

Murdered WWII vet's body found in Wyoming, given military funeral

KGWN News
April 3, 2019

The story also got national attention on the former NBC-TV true crime series "Unsolved Mysteries" during a February 1993 episode, featuring "Gabby's Bones."

Wyoming Army National Guard Military Funeral Honors team members conduct a flag ceremony for Technician 5 Joseph Mulvaney, who received long-overdue honors March 29, 2019 at a memorial service in Cody, Wyoming.

Mulvaney, an Illinois Army National Guard member when he deployed to the Pacific Theater for World War II, was murdered in Iowa in 1963. His remains were discovered in Thermopolis, Wyoming in 1992. It was not until 2017 that he was identified, through DNA testing, as the grandfather of Waukee, Iowa resident Shelley Statler. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jimmy McGuire)

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (WYANG) - The Wyoming Army National Guard Military Funeral Honors team conducted full military rites, which included a 21-gun salute, during a long-overdue memorial service in Cody, Wyoming, for Joseph Junior Mulvaney.

Mulvaney was an Illinois Army National Guard Technician 5 when he deployed to the Pacific Theater during World War II. His story has been an interesting one, and some key players in discovering it were in attendance at the March 29 service including a granddaughter and her family, homicide investigators and a DNA analyst.

The rest of the story, gleaned from various sources, follows.

In 1987 a man named John David Morris, also known as Gabby, left an old military padlocked footlocker in a shed at Newell Sessions' Thermopolis, Wyoming property. Morris said he would return for it when he settled down.

About five years later and still no sign of Morris, curiosity got to Sessions. He cut through the padlock with a torch and opened the trunk. In it, he found a human skeleton, wrapped in a piece of plastic, a belt and a rotting grocery bag.
read more here

Tender moment when blindfolded son hears Dad's voice

Soldier surprises son with tearful homecoming during Taekwondo practice

WTHR
March 19, 2019

LEBANON, Tenn. (WTHR) - A soldier posed as a sparring partner to surprise his young son in a tear-jerking homecoming surprise.

Nine-year-old Luca Cesternino had a blindfold on as he sparred during his Taekwondo class near Nashville Monday night. He had no idea his partner was his dad.

Once Tennessee Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Rob Cesternino called his son by his nickname, the boy stopped, asked "Daddy?" and ripped his blindfold off.

After seeing his father, Luca jumped into his arms for a tearful reunion.

SSG Cesternino was home after spending ten months serving in Jordan and southern Syria. He came home a few days earlier than Luca expected, setting the stage for the big surprise.

go here if video does not load because it is one that you'll be happy you watched.

First Female Infantry Company Commander for Michigan National Guard

Michigan National Guard Gets First Female Infantry Company Commander

Military.com
By Matthew Cox
7 Mar 2019

Kemppainen said in a March 5 Michigan National Guard news release. "I didn't set out to become the first of anything. I only want to look back and know that I made a difference, that I encouraged others to do more, and be more, and give more. The fact that I am opening doors for women is great, but I want my actions to be an example of what doing it right looks like, regardless of gender."

Capt. Amie Kemppainen takes command of Company B, 3rd Battlion, 126th Infantry at a ceremony at the Grand Valley Armory in Wyoming, Michigan Saturday, March 2nd, 2019. (U.S. Army/Lt. Col. John Hall)

U.S. Army Capt. Amie Kemppainen made history recently by becoming the first female officer to take command of an infantry company in the Michigan Army National Guard, and among the first female infantry company commanders in the entire Army.

Kemppainen, who took command of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, in a March 2 ceremony, is a member of a growing sisterhood that has stepped forward to volunteer for infantry, armor and other direct-action jobs after the Pentagon opened up all combat-arms jobs to women just over three years ago.
read more here

Hawaii National Guard Veteran running for President

Iraq War veteran joins crowded democratic field for president

FOX 8 News

HONOLULU, Hawaii – Rep. Tulsi Gabbard officially launched her 2020 presidential campaign in Hawaii on Saturday, drawing on her service in the National Guard as guiding her longshot bid for the White House.

“It is this principle of service above self that is at the heart of every soldier, at the heart of every service member, and it is in this spirit that today I announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America,” Gabbard said at an event in Honolulu, Hawaii.

“I will bring this soldier’s principles to the White House, restoring the values of dignity, honor and respect to the presidency and above all else, love for our people and love for our country,” Gabbard said. “I ask you to join me, join me in putting this spirit, this spirit of service above self at the forefront and to stand up against the forces of greed and corruption.”

She added, “The road ahead will not be easy. The battles will be tough. The obstacles great, but I know when we stand united by our love for our people and for our country, there is no obstacle we cannot overcome. There is no battle we cannot win.”

Gabbard served in Iraq and Kuwait in a Hawaii National Guard field medical unit.
read more here

Ex-POW Ron Young speaker at Boy Scout dinner

Former POW to speak at Boy Scout dinner; AmeriServ CEO to be honored

The Tribune Democrat
Mark Pesto
January 20, 2019

The keynote speaker at the 49th annual Harry E. Mangle Memorial Dinner in Johnstown will be a military veteran who flew Apache helicopters in Iraq, survived a stint as a prisoner of war and once appeared on the reality TV show “The Amazing Race.”

That veteran, Ron Young, has a story that will resonate with those who attend the dinner, which is hosted by the Laurel Highland Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Erik Tomalis, chief development officer for the Laurel Highlands Council, said Friday.

“He’s a lifelong Boy Scout,” Tomalis said. “He loves the mission, he loves the military and he loves giving back, so we’re very honored that he’ll be coming in to share his story. I think (Young’s story) connects well with Johnstown … and connects to our Scouting story.”

Young, a Georgia native and Eagle Scout, was deployed with the Army National Guard twice, conducted search-and-rescue flights in the Gulf of Mexico and is currently flying a helicopter for the air medical service provider Air Methods, according to a biography provided by Tomalis.

In March 2003, during the American invasion of Iraq, Young and another pilot were taken prisoner after their helicopter was shot down, according to contemporary news reports. They were held captive with five other American prisoners until they were rescued about three weeks later.

As a speaker, Young “credits the leadership and training he received in the military for his survival,” according to his biography.
read more here 

Also a story about Ron Young from 2013 
Iraqi war POWs still cope with aftereffects 10 years later

DOD released 3rd quarter suicide report

Department of Defense Suicide Report 3rd Quarter 2018

Really not much more I can say that is more powerful than the report itself~

For the 3rd Quarter of 2018

74 in the Active Component
18 in the Reserves
34 in the National Guard

Sadly on track to average 500 for the year again~

So, how is that "suicide awareness" benefitting anyone other than the people getting publicity and bigger bank accounts?

UPDATE iCasualties.com

These are the combat deaths from 2012 to 2018
Afghanistan 557
Iraq 73

Dunstan the Blacksmith vs the Devil

Never Forgotten: A small token of gratitude for America's heroes

US Army
By Sgt. Jessica Villwok
January 2, 2019

To this day, it is still a blacksmith tradition to ring one's anvil three times at the end of the day to drive the Devil out until the next morning, or, if the Devil sees a horseshoe, he turns and runs away from it, remembering all the pain and torture they had caused him. That is the reason a horseshoe is supposed to bring you good luck, Randy said.

Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Randy Dack, a blacksmith at Grand Island Stuhr Museum in Nebraska, has made more than 4,000 "lucky" horseshoes for military service members worldwide. Dack made his first "Soldier's shoe" for his son prior to his first deployment in 2002 with the Nebraska Army National Guard's 1-134th Cavalry. (Photo Credit: Sgt. Jessica Villwok)

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - Randy Dack still remembers every detail from that fateful day. What he was doing. Where he was standing. Where the messenger stood when he came to tell him the news.

For Randy, the blacksmith at Grand Island Stuhr Museum in Nebraska, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 are forever burned into memory.

"Ralph Gill came down to the shop and he said, 'They just hit the World Trade Center,'" Randy said. As terrible as the attacks were, Randy admits that his most immediate thoughts went to his son who had recently joined the Nebraska Army National Guard.

"Adam had been in boot camp about two weeks on that day," Randy said. "I just knew they were gonna take him out of the National Guard and put him in the regular Army and he wouldn't be coming home." Adam did make it back home to Nebraska from basic training, but he didn't stay there for long.

Shortly after his return in 2002, Adam, who now serves as a sergeant first class in Hastings' Troop A, 1-134th Cavalry - began preparing for a peacekeeping mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina, a country still recovering from years of bloody civil war and ethnic cleansing.

After hearing the news that his son was heading overseas as part of a major mobilization of National Guard Soldiers, Randy, who began his career as a farrier, remembered the story of Dunstan the Blacksmith, the Devil and how a horseshoe came to be lucky.

In that story, a blacksmith named Dunstan was working in his shop one day when the Devil walked by and became intrigued by the sound of the pounding of the anvil. When the Devil realized the blacksmith was making horseshoes to protect the horse's hooves, he thought that as a cloven hoofed animal, he too, should have horseshoes to protect his feet.
read more here

December 13, 1636, thus marks the beginning of the organized militia

National Guard Birth Date December 13, 1636

We recognize December 13th as the birthday of the National Guard. On this date in 1636, the first militia regiments in North America were organized in Massachusetts. 

Based upon an order of the Massachusetts Bay Colony's General Court, the colony's militia was organized into three permanent regiments to better defend the colony. 

Today, the descendants of these first regiments - the 181st Infantry, the 182nd Infantry, the 101st Field Artillery, and the 101st Engineer Battalion of the Massachusetts Army National Guard – share the distinction of being the oldest units in the U.S. military. December 13, 1636, thus marks the beginning of the organized militia, and the birth of the National Guard's oldest organized units is symbolic of the founding of all the state, territory, and District of Columbia militias that collectively make up today's National Guard.

Belated Happy Birthday to all the members of the National Guard for what you do for us everyday!!! The wish may be delivered late, but you guys are never late!

Pease Air National Guard base families speak out on cancer link

National Guard hears ‘heartbreaking’ cancer stories

Sea Coastline Daily
By Jeff McMenemy
Posted Dec 7, 2018

PORTSMOUTH -- More than 200 people who turned out for a meeting at the 157th Air Refueling Wing heard story after story about guardsmen who died from cancer or suffered with other health ailments after serving at the Pease Air National Guard base.

Col. John W. Pogorek, wing commander of Pease Air National Guard base. (Photo Rich Beauchesne Seacoastonlin) 

The guard hosted a “listening session” Friday afternoon to hear the health concerns of retirees, their widows and families, along with active duty guardsmen.

Led by Doris Brock, who lost her husband Kendall Brock, a 35-year member of the guard who died in June 2017 from bladder and prostate cancer, a group of widows and retirees have pushed the Air Force to conduct a health study because of what they believe is an unusually high number of cancers at the base.

Brock reminded the people in attendance that it took 35 years before the Veterans Administration sought presumptive disability status for veterans who served at Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base in North Carolina with acknowledged water contamination.

“I don’t want to wait that long for us. It has to be faster,” Brock said. “We’ve lost a lot of good people.”

She believes her husband’s exposure to 12 different chemicals on the base known to be carcinogens - along with drinking contaminated water at the former air base - caused his cancer.
read more here

Have you heard enough excuses for veterans killing themselves yet?

When will the VA and DOD admit the awful truth?

Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 5, 2018

Yet again, a report came out about how bad it is for our veterans when they come home. Younger veterans are committing suicide in higher percentages, but the facts are missing.

The awful truth is they did not just fail this year, or last year, or five years ago, or even a decade ago. They failed for over 4 of them.

Billions spent every year and billions made by businesses and charities making a profit off of suicides. That should have been a clue but contracts continued to be written and paid for, along with funerals.

Police end up having to respond to someone finding a dead body, as well as respond when one of them is in a mental health crisis and someone called to get them help, only to have to draw their weapons against a veteran they came to help. That happened at least every week in 2017.

This year, there were 22 public suicides where veterans ended their private hell while making a point to let people be aware of what they had driven them to that point. Hoping like hell that someone would pay attention and do something before another veteran lost their life to suicide.

They saw more and more kicked out of the military. 2,300,000 at last count, right after more speeches about how the DOD claimed they were ready to help them heal.

Billions spent on "prevention training" that every member of the military had to take, yet every branch, every rank, every sex, every age group, lives though combat but dies afterwards by their own hands.

We see National Guards and Reservists, return home without a clue they can heal, so they lose hope before they even try to take control of their lives again.

How much are we willing to see while so many are oblivious to the charade? What expert has been fired for incompetence? What business has had to pay back the money they made off what they failed to deliver on? What charity has been held accountable for passing a slogan off as anything but something to benefit themselves?

It isn't as if they had no way of knowing.

Here is a direct quote from Wounded Times posted on May 29, 2009 about how it should have been known that if the DOD pushed resilience training, suicides would increase.

If you promote this program the way Battlemind was promoted, count on the numbers of suicides and attempted suicides to go up instead of down. It's just one more deadly mistake after another and just as dangerous as sending them into Iraq without the armor needed to protect them.

Yes, I predicted all this because I paid attention. I read reports and I listened to the veterans. No, I was not foolish enough to think the DOD or any of the "experts" would ever listen to someone like me, so not shocked this was ignored. The shocking thing is, they still have not figured it out!!!

It didn't matter that the experts over at RAND Corp investigated this "training" in 2013 and showed why it would not work. Not bad enough that in 2012, suicides hit over 500, or even bad enough they have remained an average of 500 a year since then. It was not even bad enough for them to grasp the concept these men and women were ready to die to save someone else, but did not seek help to save their own lives.

No, none of it was bad enough and today, we have a report where the VA and the DOD still say they have no clue!

Rising Suicide Rates Among Younger Veterans Trigger Alarm Bells at VA

Military.com
By Richard Sisk
December 4, 2018

Suicide rates among veterans 34 and younger have spiked in the last two years, leading the Department of Veterans Affairs to focus more on the 18-to-34-year-old age group than civilian programs for suicide prevention do, a top VA official said Tuesday.

She said another factor that has emerged in analyzing recent statistics has been the suicide rate among National Guard and Reserve veterans who never deployed to a combat zone.

Nearly four of the 20 veteran suicides a day were among National Guard and Reserve members who may have experienced trauma in national disaster duty, but were never in a combat zone, she added.

The number of suicides by veterans of all generations averages 22 each day. But "when we break down the numbers, the national numbers for veterans suicides, we're seeing an increased rate within 18-to-34-year-olds," said Dr. Keita Franklin, the VA's national director of suicide prevention.read the rest here

The thing to pay close attention to is this part

Franklin, who previously served as the Pentagon's Defense Suicide Prevention Office director, also noted that her civilian counterparts in suicide prevention are not facing the same rates of female suicides. "The fact that the female [veteran] rate is 1.8 times higher than their non-veteran counterpart is something we're concerned about."

I won a damn award back in 2008 for a video I did about National Guards and Reservists trying to deal with PTSD! So, if I knew, then why the hell didn't they know and do something about it? Like maybe what people like me had been doing for decades?

Did anyone ask her about how suicides increased within the military and in the veterans' community and they still do not know why? Did anyone ask how it is that after over a decade of "efforts" by the DOD and the VA, this is the outcome?

Notice the number of veterans living has dropped by over 4 million, but the rate went up? Now consider how many years, how many times we have heard "one too many" and how they were focused on doing something about it.

This is from the DOD up to June of this year.

And it is projected to remain about 500 for this year too when you look at the report, then factor in they have revised the numbers in the latest release.

Did anyone ask how it is there were thousands of "awareness raisers" running around the country collected over a billion per year and the suicides still happen even though the veterans are fully aware of all of it?

It is time for us to demand answers, since Congress won't and reporters will not. How much longer are we going to all all of this to go on? When do we actually stand up and fight for the men and women who fight all of our battles?

I am tired of having to try to explain all of this to families when it is too late to do them any good, and then have some "experts" say they still do not know what the hell to do!!! We've known for over 4 decades! When will they? They won't as long as we just let them get away with saying whatever they want.

HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE!

Fatal crash killed Iraq veteran, son and father

10-year-old boy, teacher, Iraq vet killed in 'very tragic' crash

LMT Online
HTV National Desk
November 30, 2018

Three members of the same family were killed in a single-vehicle crash on a rural Ohio road Wednesday night.

Investigators said an SUV careened off a road in Brown County and slammed into a tree, without leaving a skid mark. Everyone inside the vehicle was killed.

“It was the last thing on my mind that anything like that would ever happen,” said Rob Moler, who is related to all of the victims.

His father, Robert Moler, 83, was killed in the crash. He was a teacher and basketball coach at Bethel Tate High School. He retired after nearly a half-century at the school.

“Anywhere he went, they always knew dad,” Rob Moler said.

Also killed was Robert’s great-grandson, 10-year-old Cameron Moler. He was a student at Kilgore School in Mt. Lookout.

Cameron’s father, Nick Moler, was driving. He had been in the National Guard and served a tour in Iraq.

“Even one is terrible, but when you have three members of the same family, it’s very tragic,” said Ohio State Police Patrol Sgt. Shannon Utter.
read more here