Veteran of Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq running for President

Joe’s In: Former Congressman, 3-Star Admiral Sestak announces campaign for President.

JUNE 22, 2019

Thank you for taking the time to see why I am declaring my candidacy for President of the United States of America.

What Americans most want today is someone who is accountable to them, above self, above party, above any special interest … a President who has the depth of global experience to restore America’s leadership in the world to protect our American Dream at home … and one who is trusted to restructure policies where too many see only the growth of inequity not of the economy.

I want to be that President who serves the American people the way they deserve to be served.

And while my announcement may be later than others for the honor of seeking the Presidency, the decision to delay was so I would be there with Alex, our daughter, as the brain cancer she had courageously beaten at four years old returned this past year. But with her same team of medical heroes, she has again overcome the single digit odds.

I had worn the cloth of our nation for over 31 years in peace and war, but after Alex’s first high-grade brain tumor, I needed to answer to you, the American people, who provided the military healthcare coverage that saved our daughter’s life. I served our nation as a U.S. Congressman for two terms from a Republican District in order to work for all Americans to have the healthcare coverage we fortunately had had for Alex.

Now, the hour has become late to restore U.S. global leadership that convenes the world for two primary objectives that serve our collective well-being here at home: putting a brake on climate change and putting an end to an illiberal world order’s injustices, from China’s control of the 5G network to Russian interference in democratic elections.

However, we cannot meet the defining challenges of our time without a united America. This is our Hobson’s Choice: not just to win this Presidential election, but to heal our nation’s soul by regaining the trust of Americans – all Americans – by a President who the people know will remain accountable to them alone, no matter the cost to him.

I ask that you would take a moment and watch the video(s) below. The first is my announcement summarizing why our next President must have a unique understanding of all the elements of our nation’s power: our economy and diplomacy, our military – including its limitations – and the power of our ideals. The other videos describe the foreign and domestic challenges we face, and the policies I will pursue as President, particularly accountability to America.
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Sen. Martha McSally bought uniform for Ret. Air Force Colonel

Sen. Martha McSally buys retired Air Force colonel a new uniform so he can swear son into Navy

Arizona Republic
Jeannette Hinkle
June 20, 2019

Luse said he hopes to one day thank McSally in person for her gift. He might get the chance at Arturo’s swearing-in, which likely will happen in Phoenix this August. McSally told The Republic she’ll attend if her schedule allows.

Retired Air Force Col. Charlie Luse, a Casa Grande resident, needed a new uniform for his son's swearing-in to the Navy. Sen. Martha McSally bought him one. Jeannette Hinkle, Arizona Republic

A button had popped off retired Air Force Col. Charlie Luse’s dress uniform.

The material was outdated, a shade lighter than the uniforms of today. The shoes he needed were long gone.

Luse, 85, never thought its condition would matter, until a Navy recruiter knocked on his son Arturo Luse’s door.

When Luse learned Arturo, 19, had decided to enlist, he filled out a form requesting to conduct his son’s swearing-in ceremony and was approved. But Luse couldn’t read the oath in civilian clothes. He needed a new uniform.

Luse posted on the neighborhood-based social network Nextdoor from his home in Casa Grande, hoping a fellow Air Force officer could lend or sell him the Class A dress uniform he needed.

Seamstresses responded, offering to alter his old uniform, but Luse told them, jokingly, that the uniform had shrunk beyond alteration. He’d gained some weight since retiring from the Air Force in 1982.

Then Luse opened his email inbox to a message informing him that Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., had seen an article about his predicament in the Casa Grande Dispatch and wanted to buy the fellow retired Air Force colonel a new uniform.

McSally, a retired Air Force combat pilot, told The Arizona Republic she was happy to dip into the money she sets aside for good causes to buy the uniform, which cost about $450. The connection between service members transcends period or place of service, she added.

“It’s difficult to describe, but we know it on a deep and personal level,” McSally said.

Luse said he was thankful for McSally’s gesture as a member of what he calls the greatest fraternity in the world.

“We're both retired colonels. We're both pilots. We both went to the Air War College. We both had very similar Air Force careers, except she's in politics and I'm not,” said Luse, whose Air Force career stretched from 1956 to 1982 and took him everywhere from Greece to Thailand, where, as an officer, he scheduled bombings during the Vietnam War.
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Blue Water Veterans urged to get claims in ASAP

Senate Passes Blue Water Navy Bill, Cementing Victory for Ill Vietnam Veterans

Military.com
By Patricia Kime
13 Jun 2019

"If they get their claim in, it may be grandfathered," Wells said. "If you were on a ship, especially a carrier that served on the fringe of the territorial sea, it's imperative that they get their claim in now."

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Intrepid (CVS-11) steams in the South China Sea on Sept. 13, 1966, with aircraft of Attack Carrier Air Wing 10 (CVW-10) parked on the flight deck. CVW-10 was assigned to the Intrepid for a deployment to Vietnam from April 4 to Nov. 21, 1966. V.O. McColley/Navy

The Senate unanimously approved a bill Wednesday to extend disability benefits to veterans who served on Navy ships off the coast of Vietnam, signaling the end of a decades-long fight for these former sailors and Marines to receive compensation for diseases presumed to be caused by exposure to Agent Orange and other defoliants used during the Vietnam War.

Following similar approval by the House last month, the Senate vote sends the bill to President Donald Trump for his signature.

The legislation could affect up to 90,000 veterans, although Retired Navy Cmdr. John Wells, an attorney with Military Veterans Advocacy who represented Alfred Procopio Jr., the plaintiff in the case decided in January, said the way the bill is written may limit awards, excluding as many as 55,000 service members, including many assigned to aircraft carriers that operated farther out to sea.
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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.
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Vice Admiral's death ruled suicide

Navy probe rules vice admiral’s death a suicide

By: Geoff Ziezulewicz
June 11, 2019

The three-star admiral found dead in his home last year in Bahrain took his own life, according to a copy of the service’s preliminary inquiry into his death.

Vice Adm. Scott A. Stearney, then the commander of U.S. 5th Fleet, was found dead in his Bahrain home in December. (Marine Corps)

The body of Vice Adm. Scott Stearney, the 58-year-old commander of U.S. 5th Fleet, was found on the afternoon of Dec. 1 in his residence in Janabiya, according to the three-page preliminary inquiry obtained by Navy Times.

The heavily redacted document cites a Naval Criminal Investigative Service probe and concludes that a “timeline of events and witness statements” revealed “his intent to commit suicide.”

“No information uncovered during the subsequent NCIS investigation, including multiple interviews and forensic analysis of VADM Stearney’s electronic devices, contradicted this finding.”

The inquiry determined that Stearney’s death occurred in the line of duty and was not due to his own misconduct.
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Petty Officer James Miske died on May 26 in Columbia, South Carolina.

SC funeral home asks community to serve as family after Vietnam veteran dies alone

FOX 8 News
June 10, 2019

CHAPIN, S.C. — A Vietnam veteran died with no family to take care of his final salute, so a funeral home will take up the duty.

“It is my honor to use the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Program to give this Veteran that final salute. I am reaching out once again asking that you help us serve as family for this previously Unclaimed Veteran,” Caughman-Harman Funeral Home said in a Facebook post Thursday.

Petty Officer James Miske died on May 26 in Columbia, South Carolina.

He was born in 1944 in Chicago and served in the U.S. Navy from 1965 to 1967.

He was assigned to Aviation Administration Maintenance before transferring to Naval Reserves.

“Petty Officer Third Class Miske served his Nation honorably in the Vietnam War receiving a National Defense Service Medal and a Vietnam Service Medal with Bronze Star,” the funeral home wrote.
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White House wanted to keep McCain away from POTUS...the ship that is

update Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said on the Sunday TV talk shows that a junior staffer made the request to the military to hide the destroyer McCain from President Donald Trump's view "That's not an unreasonable thing to ask" that the president be spared having to see a warship with late Sen. John McCain's name on it, given the enmity between them, both personally and politically, Mulvaney said on NBC-TV's "Meet The Press" program. read more here

BTW OMG!

Navy acknowledges request was made to hide USS John S. McCain during Trump visit

NBC News
By Max Burman and Courtney Kube
June 1, 2019

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that it had reviewed an email to Navy and Air Force officials dated May 15 that included the direction "USS John McCain needs to be out of sight" for Trump's Japan visit. CNBC has also obtained the email. NBC News has not reviewed the email.

The USS John S. McCain, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, operates off the Korean Peninsula during exercises on March 2013.Declan Barnes / U.S. Navy via AFP - Getty Images file

The U.S. Navy has acknowledged that a request was made to hide the USS John S. McCain during President Donald Trump's recent state visit to Japan.

"A request was made to the U.S. Navy to minimize the visibility of USS John S. McCain, however, all ships remained in their normal configuration during the President's visit," Rear Admiral Charlie Brown, chief of information, said in a statement to NBC News.

"There were also no intentional efforts to explicitly exclude Sailors assigned to USS John S. McCain," the statement said.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Friday he’d asked his chief of staff to “look into” the reported request from the White House to move the ship "out of sight" during Trump's visit.

“Our business is to run military operations and not become politicized,” Shanahan told reporters during a news conference in Singapore. “I would not have moved the ship," he added.
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New Jersey Police Officer, harassed by Chief for military service gets $1.8 million dollar justice award

Jury awards Navy reservist, ex-cop $1.8M in discrimination suit

Associated Press
May 31,2019

FREEHOLD, N.J. — A jury has awarded $1.8 million to a former New Jersey police officer who claimed he was discriminated against because of his military service.

Kenneth Hagel filed suit in 2014, claiming Sea Girt Police Chief Kevin Davenport falsely believed he was gay and stymied his promotion to sergeant because he periodically was absent from his job for training and deployment with the U.S. Navy Reserves.

Jurors in Monmouth County found the chief had engaged in anti-military and false sexual orientation discrimination. The panel awarded the 50-year-old $262,800 in compensatory damages for lost salary and benefits, $500,000 in emotional distress damages and $1 million in punitive damages.

The chief told NJ.com he could not comment.

The town’s administrator also declined comment on the verdict.
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SEAL TEAM got it wrong on TBI?

SEAL TEAM got it wrong on TBI? Yes they did!

I love this show...but it is because I got hooked on the characters and not technicalities. That is, until the last few shows this year. 

Never Out of the Fight

Bravo team's future is on the line when Commander Shaw (Peter Jessop) recommends they be split up, but Jason's unit has one final mission to prove him wrong. (TV-14 L, V) Air Date: May 22, 2019

DoD Issues Purple Heart standards for brain injury

American Forces Press Service
By Jim Garamone
April 28, 2011

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2011 -- U.S. servicemembers have long been eligible to receive the Purple Heart Medal for the signature wounds of the current wars -- mild traumatic brain injuries and concussions -- but now there is more clarity on how medical criteria for the award are applied, Defense Department officials said yesterday.

The criteria for the Purple Heart award state that the injury must have been caused by enemy action or in action against the enemy, and has to be of a degree requiring treatment by a medical officer.

But it may be difficult to determine when a mild traumatic brain injury, or TBI, or a concussive injury that does not result in a loss of consciousness is severe enough to require treatment by a medical officer.

“This is why we created this baseline standard,” DoD spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said.

DoD allows the award of the Purple Heart even if a servicemember was not treated by a medical officer, as long as a medical officer certifies that the injury would have required treatment by a medical officer had one been available.

DoD officials said that as the science of traumatic brain injuries becomes better understood, guidance for award of the medal will evolve.

“The services are not able to speculate as to how many servicemembers may have received a mild TBI or concussion but did not seek or receive medical treatment,” Lainez said. “Therefore, each military department will establish its retroactive review procedures in the near future to ensure deserving servicemembers are appropriately recognized.”

Retroactive reviews would cover injuries suffered since Sept. 11, 2001, she added.

The Marine Corps has issued clarifying guidance to ensure commanders in the field understand when the Purple Heart is appropriate for concussions.

Army officials are preparing to issue their guidance and ask soldiers to wait until submission requirements are published through command channels and on the Human Resources Command website at http://www.hrc.army.mil before submitting or resubmitting nominations for the Purple Heart Medal for concussion injuries.

Once the Army publishes its requirements, officials said, soldiers should resubmit requests through their chains of command.

So, there you have it. It isn't as if it is a new rule. As you can see, this was released in 2011.

Maybe it would have been better if they stayed focused on how to prevent suicides...especially with real Navy SEALs and other Special Forces.

US Special Ops suicides triple in 2018, as military confronts the issue

Washington (CNN)Suicides among active duty military personnel assigned to US Special Operations Command tripled in 2018, in a disturbing and as yet unexplained spike, CNN has learned.

Special Operations units saw 22 deaths by suicide in 2018, almost triple the eight cases seen in 2017, according to figures provided to CNN by the command.

SOCOM, as it's known, is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations component of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force that take on counterterrorism and other specialized missions.

Based in Tampa, Florida, the command includes some of the military's most highly trained and effective fighting forces, including the Army's Delta Force and the Navy's SEAL Team Six.

While sudden spikes in suicide rates have been noted in both the military and civilian populations, military officials who spoke to CNN said what has happened at SOCOM is striking. The surge in SOCOM suicides comes as the Marine Corps and Navy are experiencing 10-year highs in the number of suicide deaths.

USS Arlington investigating death of female sailor

update Navy IDs Officer Who Died Aboard the Arlington; NCIS Probe Continues

Navy officials have identified the woman who died aboard a ship during a port stop in Spain as Lt. Kaylie Ludwig. Ludwig, a medical corps officer, was found unresponsive aboard the amphibious transport dock ship Arlington on Tuesday. She was later pronounced dead aboard the ship.

NCIS Investigating Sailor's Death Aboard Navy Ship Deployed to Europe

Military.com
Gina Harkins
May 23, 2019

An investigation is underway aboard a Navy ship after a sailor was found dead during a stop in Spain.

The San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24) operates in the Atlantic Ocean (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Chris Roys)

A sailor assigned to the amphibious transport dock Arlington was found unresponsive on Tuesday, said Cmdr. Kyle Raines, a spokesman for U.S. 6th Fleet. The sailor was later pronounced dead aboard the ship, he added.

The person's identity has not been released, pending family notification. Navy Times is reporting the sailor was a woman.
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Third Saturday in May, Armed Forces Day

Armed Forces Day

Military.com
Among the many military holidays celebrated each year is Armed Forces Day. Celebrated the third Saturday in May, Armed Forces Day falls during Military Appreciation Month and joins Memorial Day, Military Spouse Appreciation Day, and Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day) as another May military-themed holiday.

The History of Armed Forces Day
On Aug. 31, 1949, Defense Secretary Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the armed forces under one agency -- the Department of Defense.

In a speech announcing the creation of the day, President Truman "praised the work of the military services at home and across the seas." He said, "It is vital to the security of the nation and to the establishment of a desirable peace."

In an excerpt from the Presidential Proclamation of Feb. 27, 1950, Truman stated:

"Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by America's defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, toward the goal of readiness for any eventuality. It is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense."
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U.S. sailor found in Sasebo park after apparent suicide

update from Military.com

The Navy has released the identity of a 21-year-old gunner's mate found dead late Thursday in a public park outside Sasebo Naval Base, Japan. Petty Officer 3rd Class Chase Edwards, of Euless, Texas, was assigned to the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp, which is homeported at Sasebo.

Body likely belonging to U.S. sailor found in Sasebo park after apparent suicide

BY TOKYO REPORTER STAFF
MAY 10, 2019

NAGASAKI (TR) – Nagasaki Prefectural Police are investigating what is being treated as a suicide after the discovery of the body of a man believed to be a member of the U.S. Navy at a park in Sasebo City early Friday, reports the Nishi Nippon Shimbun (May 10).

At around 11:35 p.m. on Thursday, personnel at the Commander Fleet Activities Sasebo base contacted the Sasebo Police Station to report the disappearance of a male member of the U.S. military “who talked about suicide.”

At around midnight, the body of a foreign man, clothed in a gray jacket, was discovered in a park adjoining the base with a gunshot wound to the head. A pistol was found in one of his hands, police said.

Police are now working to confirm the identity of the body.
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Double murder-suicide claimed lives of 3 Navy Corpsmen

Police: 3 Navy corpsmen dead in double murder and suicide

Associated Press
MAY 7, 2019

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Authorities in Virginia say they're investigating the shooting deaths of three active duty service members in what appears to be a double murder and suicide.

The Virginian-Pilot reported Tuesday that the two women and one man were Navy corpsmen. The two women were stationed at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. The man was stationed at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina.

Police say the two women were shot to death at a 7-Eleven in Portsmouth late Saturday night. The man was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a car parked nearby.

Naval Criminal Investigative Service identified the women who died as 19-year-old Shianne Soles and 23-year-old Meaghan Burns. Soles is from Veradale, Washington, and Burns is from Massachusetts.

NCIS identified the man as 22-year-old Donavon Moora, of New York.
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After standoff with police, community honors veteran lost to PTSD

Adrian veteran's loved ones talk mental health in hopes of saving lives

ABC 13 News
Michael Bratton
May 4, 2019

By talking about an unfortunate end to their veteran's life, Stidham's family hopes they can inspire others to save countless more.

ADRIAN, Mich. (WTVG) - For Jennifer Durell the sudden loss of her brother has been tough.

"I'm going to miss him," Durrel said. "No one expects their loved one to go this way."

On Wednesday police say her brother, Randy Stidham, died by apparent suicide. It happened after the 59-year-old held officers in a daylong stand off at his Adrian home. Police say Stidham fired shots from inside the house and even took aim at law enforcement.

"My sister's going to miss him, my dad's going to miss him," Durell said. "He's missed by a lot of people."

Stidham's family says he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, after serving in the U.S. Navy. Despite his struggles, his family says he loved motorcycles, his dog and spending time outdoors.
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Passengers saved, pets lost on Navy plane from Guantanamo Bay

Pets presumed dead from Boeing 737 plane that crash landed in Jacksonville, Florida

USA Today
Joey Garrison
May 4, 2019

"Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety issues with the aircraft, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, where the crash landing occurred, tweeted early Saturday morning. "Our hearts and prayers go out to those pet owners during this terrible incident."

A charter plane carrying 143 people and traveling from Cuba to north Florida sits in a river at the end of a runway, on May 4 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo: AP)

All 143 people aboard a military-chartered plane survived after the aircraft skidded off a runway into a river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday night, but their pets weren't as fortunate.

At least four pets were checked in the luggage department located in the bottom of the plane that left Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to northern Florida.

Each is still on the aircraft and presumed dead, Kaylee LaRocque, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy in Jacksonville, confirmed to USA TODAY on Saturday.

Although the Boeing 737 plane is not completely submerged in the St. Johns River, the bottom portion, where the pets were positioned, is under water.

“There’s water in the cargo hold," LaRocque said. “We are so sad about this situation, that there are animals that unfortunately passed away."
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Vietnam veteran, Navy photographer created Marvel's Thanos

Vietnam Veteran Jim Starlin Created Thanos and the Infinity Stones

Military.com
By James Barber
25 Apr 2019

He had the idea for Thanos before he came to Marvel and introduced the character during a brief stint when he worked on Iron Man. When Starlin took over the Captain Marvel series, he established Thanos as one of the Marvel Universe's greatest villains. He also gets credit for creating Guardians of the Galaxy favorites Gamora and Drax the Destroyer.

Thanos is back in "Avengers: Endgame." (Marvel)

As Marvel wraps up a 22-movie cycle with the release of the very good movie "Avengers: Endgame," we should all give credit to the Navy veteran who created the Infinity Stones, the mysterious driving force behind the Marvel movies, and Thanos, the intergalactic bad guy who used them to destroy half the universe in "Avengers: Infinity War."

Anyone planning to see "Endgame" should go in with zero advance detail if they possibly can, and this post is guaranteed to be spoiler-free.

Jim Starlin served as a Navy photographer during the Vietnam War and got a job working at Marvel in 1972. Like most comic artists of his generation, he grew up a huge fan of Jack Kirby (creator of Captain America, the X-Men and the Hulk) and Steve Ditko (creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange).
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Gold Star Families hit by huge tax increases on benefits?

Gold Star widow "shocked" by new tax bill on sons' survivor benefits

CBS News
By JANET SHAMLIAN
April 25, 2019

Because a surviving spouse can't receive both Veteran Affairs and Defense Department benefits simultaneously in full, Gold Star parents often sign the taxable DOD benefits over to their children. But the new tax law lumps Gold Star children into a bracket known as the "kiddie tax" at 37 percent, much higher than their previous tax rate.

Coronado, Calif. — Many Americans were shocked by their tax bills this month. The new law was especially costly for our nation's Gold Star families, who saw the taxes owed on their survivor benefits skyrocket.

Theresa Jones has been a single mom to Anthony and Hunter for almost six years. Her husband Landon, a Navy chopper pilot, died in the Red Sea during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2013.

It's been a challenge for Jones, especially financially. They've been able to stay afloat because of the survivor benefits they receive, aid that came with an unexpected surprise at tax time.

"When I saw that tax bill I was shocked at how much these boys owed on benefits that were given to them," Jones said.

The boys each received about $15,000 in survivor benefits last year. Jones was hit with a tax bill of $5,400 for them, up from $1,100 from the previous year.
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Disabled Navy Veteran got gift from another one...George H W Bush's car

Jay Leno, Jenna Bush Hager surprise ailing veteran with George H.W. Bush's service car

NBC Today
By Scott Stump
April 25, 2019

Jenna Bush Hager became emotional as a former Secret Service van that used to transport her grandfather was gifted to a disabled Navy veteran.

U.S. Navy veteran David Miller proudly served his country for 10 years before a degenerative neurological condition turned life upside down for him and his family.

Jay Leno and Jenna Bush Hager are hoping a special gift that was once used by the late President George H.W. Bush, a Navy veteran himself, can help make life a little easier for a fellow sailor.

Jenna became emotional as she joined the former "Tonight Show" host to surprise Miller, 31, along with his wife, Misa, and their daughter, Rachel, 7, outside Rockefeller Plaza on TODAY Thursday.
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NCIS investigating murder-suicide in Okinawa involving sailor

Japan: Sailor kills woman, self in Okinawa

The Associated Press
By: Yuri Kageyama
April 13, 2019

TOKYO — A U.S. serviceman fatally stabbed a Japanese woman and then killed himself in Okinawa on Saturday, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said, amid growing resentment about the presence of American troops in the southwestern Japanese region.

The apartment where a U.S. servicemen and a Japanese woman were found dead, in Chatan town on Okinawa on Saturday. The sailor fatally stabbed a Japanese woman and then killed himself , according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, amid growing resentment about the presence of American troops in Japan's southwestern region. (Kyodo News via AP)

U.S. Forces Japan said the Naval Criminal Investigative Service was working with local police to look into the deaths of a U.S. Navy sailor assigned to a Marine unit and an Okinawa resident.

“This is an absolute tragedy and we are fully committed to supporting the investigation,” it said in a statement, adding that more information would be released later.
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Naval Air Station Oceana shooting one dead, one wounded

update:Navy identifies sailor as gunman killed during domestic dispute at Naval Air Station Oceana

Gunman killed at Naval Air Station Oceana; woman shot multiple times

The Virginia Pilot
By Robyn Sidersky and Courtney Mabeus
Staff writer
Apr 5, 2019

VIRGINIA BEACH

A gunman is dead and a woman is in the hospital after a shooting on base Friday morning on Naval Air Station Oceana, officials said.

The shooter was shot by Oceana security personnel, said Navy spokesman Jeff Hood.

The victim, a woman, was shot multiple times but her injuries are not life threatening, Hood said. She was taken to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital.

The shooting happened at 6:45 a.m. in the parking lot of Strike Fighter Squadron 37, Hangar 145, according to a news release from the Navy. It was resolved in five minutes.

It stemmed from a domestic situation, according to Beth Baker, spokeswoman for Navy Griffin Mid-Atlantic.

The two involved were enlisted sailors. The exact nature of their relationship is unknown, but they were not married, according to Baker.

Navy officials at a news conference this morning declined to identify the two until their next-of-kin have been notified.
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