Military service putting the lead in troops?

These US Troops Are Slowly Being Poisoned by Lead in Their Bones

Military.com
By Patricia Kime
4 Apr 2019

One of the those diagnosed, Steve Hopkins, a former Special Forces major who is now retired, called receiving the test results "a big deal." After bouncing from doctor to doctor and being told by Army physicians that he likely had depression or PTSD -- or was malingering -- Hopkins was grateful to put a name to his debilitating illness.

A contractor shows the bullets and rubber that he cleaned in the Training Support Center Benelux 25-meter indoor firing range, on Chièvres Air Base, Belgium, Dec. 6, 2017. (U.S. Army/Visual Information Specialist Pierre-Etienne Courtejoie)

A number of U.S. troops with unexplained symptoms such as impaired concentration, anger, irritability and impulsivity, as well as physical problems such as high blood pressure, peripheral neuropathy and low sex drive, have chronic lead poisoning, according to a report Wednesday in The New York Times Magazine's At War Blog.

Thirty-eight troops -- mostly from Special Forces units -- have gone to Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York for a special test that measures the level of lead in one's tibia bone. Of those, a dozen registered bone lead levels higher than normal, with four having roughly twice the expected amount.

Dozens of other service members sought treatment at the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Functional Medicine for lead and other metal poisoning, including those tested at Mount Sinai.

While the numbers are small compared with the 1.3 million active-duty personnel currently serving, the diagnosis is significant for these troops, who have wrestled for years with symptoms that mimic traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but who also have physical manifestations.

"It was a big weight off my shoulders and off my family," he said. "I mean, we were in crisis."

Hopkins was diagnosed in 2012 after falling severely ill and traveling to Walter Reed National Naval Medical Center, Maryland, where he was seen by Navy Capt. Kevin Dorrance, also now retired. Like Hopkins' physicians at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Dorrance originally thought Hopkins' issues were mental health-related. But he noticed that one medical test, an erythrocyte porphyrin test, consistently came back as elevated.
read more here

If you do not register for draft...your future is iffy!

For a million U.S. men, failing to register for the draft has serious, long-term consequences

USA TODAY
Gregory Korte
April 2, 2019

On paper, it's a crime to "knowingly fail or neglect or refuse" to register for the draft. The penalty is up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Last year, Selective Service referred 112,051 names and addresses of suspected violators to the Justice Department for possible prosecution.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Men who don't register for the draft by age 26 often have problems later in life with federal and state benefits

More than 1 million men have requested a formal confirmation of their draft status since 1993 The most common consequences for failing to register are a loss of student aid, citizenship, and federal employment

For 39 years, it's been a rite of passage for American men. Within 30 days of his 18th birthday, every male citizen and legal resident is required to register for Selective Service, either by filling out a postcard-size form or going online.

What's less well known is what happens on a man's 26th birthday.

Men who fail to register for the draft by then can no longer do so – forever closing the door to government benefits like student aid, a government job or even U.S. citizenship.

Men under 26 can get those benefits by taking advantage of what has effectively become an eight-year grace period, signing up for Selective Service on the spot.

After that, an appeal can be costly and time-consuming. Selective Service statistics suggest that more than 1 million men have been denied some government benefit because they weren't registered for the draft.

With the current male-only draft requirement declared unconstitutional, Congress will have to decide whether to eliminate Selective Service registration or expand it to women.
read more here

Two hotel employees fired over double crossing military and veterans

Colorado Springs hotel apologizes after employees refuse to serve military

KOAA
Tom Kackley
March 15, 2019

COLORADO SPRINGS – The DoubleTree by Hilton in Colorado Springs posted an apology to its Facebook page Friday afternoon for refusing to serve members of the military at the hotel’s bar Thursday night.

Hundreds of Facebook users shared a photo of a sign at the bar that read “NO LONGER SERVING MILITARY PERSONNEL and THEIR GUEST(S)” posted by Aimee Osbourne this morning.

The woman who posted the photo with commentary about the sign has since removed the post due to all of the negative commentary.

News5 spoke with Osbourne about her post and the reaction by staff. The number one thing Osbourne wants everyone to know is there is no ill will towards Doubletree Colorado Springs. She says she did not write the post with the intent of starting problems.

“I’m regretful that anyone had to lose their livelihood,” Osbourne said.

Daniel Kammerer, General Manager of the hotel, said two employees “acted without the proper authority” to exclude service members from the bar. According to the post, both employees are “no longer employed at the property.”
read more here

U.S. service member on vacation, among dead in Ethiopia

U.S. service member among 8 Americans killed in Ethiopia plane crash

CBS News
By DEBORA PATTA
March 12, 2019

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — New details are emerging about the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash Sunday, that claimed 157 lives. Eight of the dead were American, including two brothers and a U.S. service member on vacation.

At the crash site, CBS News witnessed unrestrained grief, as the mother of one of the flight attendants on board broke down. It couldn't be more miserable there, as the smell of death overpowers and bits of mangled wreckage are everywhere.

At the site, local investigators were joined by a team of American aviation experts who are searching for answers. In the U.S. another mother grieves her son Antoine Lewis, an American service member who was heading for Kenya on vacation.

"I will say that plane went down with him doing what he wanted to do most. As a mother, you just say he did what he loved to do," said Antoinette Lewis, his mother.
read more here

Brothers of veteran who committed suicide, reached out to young soldiers with Chick-fil-A

North Carolina man buys Chick-fil-A for servicemen in honor of late veteran brother, PTSD support

Fox News
By Janine Puhak, Jennifer Earl

Two men in North Carolina paid a good deed forward in honor of their late stepbrother Joshua, a Marine veteran who took his own life last week.

As the family grieves his passing, one of his brothers paid the Chick-fil-A bill for 11 servicemen, in remembrance of their loved one and to raise awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder. (Stephen Full)

The two brothers were having a meal at a Chick-fil-A bill and one of them, Jonathan, surprised a group of 11 servicemen with the generous gesture of paying their bill in remembrance of Joshua and to raise awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"We wanted to use it as a teaching moment for our boys ... to show respect and honor for the men and women that fight for this country every day," Jonathan's brother Stephen Full told Fox News. "Take care of the people that take care of us."
read more here

Stationed in Korea, soldiers ask for permission to breathe

US soldiers wish for masks as air pollution smothers South Korea

STARS AND STRIPES
By KIM GAMEL
Published: March 7, 2019

YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — With much of South Korea smothered in record levels of fine dust, the streets are full of people wearing masks as protection from the punishing air pollution.

Pedestrians wear masks while walking at Osan Air Base, South Korea, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. MATT KEELER/STARS AND STRIPES

Most American soldiers don’t have that option — at least when they’re in uniform. The Air Force permits masks when pollution hits a certain level.

Army regulations bar soldiers from wearing the masks, which cover noses and mouths, unless they have a certified medical condition that merits an exception.

That has caused concern among many soldiers and their loved ones as much of South Korea has endured several days of dense pollution that irritates eyes and makes breathing difficult.

“I feel like my husband should be able to wear a mask. I really don’t like that,” Army wife Alexandra Jackson said as she waited for dinner at the Yongsan Garrison food court.

She and her 10-year-old stepson, King Jackson, both wore masks around their necks. She said her husband also wears one when he’s off-duty.
read more here

Transgender troops testify for the first time before Congress.

Decorated Transgender Troops to Testify Before Congress

Associated Press
BY JULIE WATSON AND JENNIFER McDERMOTT
Feb. 27, 2019

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Lindsey Muller served in the Army as a man for nearly a decade before telling her commanders in 2014 that she identified as a woman and would resign because military policy barred transgender personnel. Her superiors, citing her outstanding performance, urged the decorated attack helicopter pilot to stay so she did.

After then-President Barack Obama changed the policy, she started dressing in uniform as a woman. Muller went on to be recommended for a promotion as the surgery to complete her gender transition was scheduled, but the operation was postponed in 2017 when President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that he was reinstituting the ban.

With the ban now blocked by lawsuits, transgender troops Wednesday will testify for the first time before Congress.

This undated photo provided by her wife Jessica Kibodeaux shows Lindsey Muller and her dog Emma hiking in the Cheyenne Mountains west of Fort Carson, Colo. Muller, a 19-year combat veteran who served multiple tours in Iraq, diligently followed the Pentagon guidelines to transition. In the nearly three years since the U.S. military welcomed transgender people into the armed forces in 2016, they have served without incident. Some, like Muller, have earned prestigious medals or received other forms of recognition. (Jessica Kibodeaux via AP) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

In the nearly three years since the U.S. military welcomed transgender people into the armed forces, they have served without incident. Some, like Muller, have earned prestigious medals or received other forms of recognition.

They say they stand as proof against President Donald Trump's argument that their presence is a burden.

"Once you meet transgender people who have served in the different branches ... it's really hard to dismiss the fact that you will find Purple Heart recipients, Bronze Star winners, attack aviators, Navy SEALs," said Muller, who will not be testifying but is a plaintiff in one of four lawsuits challenging the ban. "We've been here, and we will continue to be here regardless. In what capacity is up to the administration."

The hearing will be held by the subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee chaired by Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier. Speier introduced bipartisan legislation in February that would prohibit the Department of Defense from denying the enlistment or continued service of transgender people if Trump's ban takes effect.

Similar legislation was introduced in the Senate. It's unclear whether the legislation would be voted on as a stand-alone bill or be folded into the defense bill, which could be harder for Trump to veto.
read more here

Florida Military Bases losing end of the deal for "national emergency"

Florida military bases could lose up to $177 million to Trump’s border wall

Tampa Bay Times
Steve Contorno and Howard Altman
February 18, 2019

President Donald Trump will pay for his much coveted wall at the southern border in part by taking $3.6 billion from military projects across the country and the world.

LUIS SANTANA | Times A-10 Warthog jets from the 122nd Fighter Wing of the Indiana Air National Guard taxis out of Macdill Air Force Base in Tampa. Increased jet noise and activity surrounding the base are from several jets that are being hosted at Macdill Air Force Base on Dec. 6, 2018. President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency and plans to divert $3.6 billion from military construction to the southern border for a barrier. A $3 million project at MacDill is one of many that could be cut.

The decision means Florida bases could lose up to $177 million for planned construction, more than all but eight other states, according to a list of eligible projects compiled by the House Appropriations Committee and provided to the Tampa Bay Times.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the influential Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies subcommittee, said the move is an indication that Trump feels the wall “is a higher priority than these projects.”

Among the projects in jeopardy are $3.1 million to relocate KC-135 Stratotanker pilot flight simulators to MacDill Air Force Base. The KC-135 are refueling planes “critical to the joint warfighter and our allies,” Gen. Carlton D. Everhart said in a June 2018 press release, and the simulators would allow pilots to experience realistic training of these aircrafts and practice emergency protocol.

Other projects that could lose funding include: $83 million for Littoral Combat Ship support facility and $29 million for Littoral Combat Ship operational training facility at Mayport Naval Base in Jacksonville, and $35 million for a F-35A training center and $28 million for a F-35A student dormitory at Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County.
read more here

Suicide Prevention Texts for Soldiers...working or not?

Mixed Results With Suicide Prevention Texts for Soldiers

Primary endpoints missed, but intervention showed benefit in secondary outcomes
MedPage Today
by Elizabeth Hlavinka, Staff Writer
February 13, 2019

The intervention was based on a caring letters study in the 1970s co-designed by Jerome Motto, who hypothesized that increasing connection would decrease the rates of suicide in a civilian population, and that this could be accomplished by sending a series of letters expressing care and concern, Kerbrat told MedPage Today.

Supportive text messages did not decrease suicidal ideation or "risk incidents" among military personnel at risk for suicide in a randomized trial, but there appeared to be significant benefit for some important secondary outcomes including suicide attempts.

No significant reductions were observed in terms of suicide risk incidents -- inpatient admission or evacuation associated with suicidality -- or current suicide ideation at 12 months among military personnel who were assigned to the text-based intervention compared with standard care alone, reported Amanda Kerbrat, MSW, of the University of Washington, and colleagues.

Stein noted this intervention's failure to meet its primary endpoints could be due to military personnel being "embedded in a rich social milieu that, if nothing else, is hardly isolating," and that, in fact, the social disconnectedness theory behind Caring Contact might not apply to this population.
read more here

"Social isolating" is not their biggest problem. Hiding what is going on with them is! Not knowing what PTSD is feeds the stigma and prevents them from opening their mouths or tapping their fingers on a keypad.

And yes, you read the year right...but the DoD does not tell you that part.

Want to save them? Then explain to the what PTSD is, what it does, and HOW TO DEFEAT IT!
Tell them they can #TakeBackYourLife before they think of taking their lives. Yep, they do not know that one either!

USAA to pay for auto payment errors

USAA to pay $12M to members after failing to stop unauthorized electronic payments

STARS AND STRIPES
By WILLIAM HOWARD
Published: January 4, 2019

More than 66,000 USAA members affected by the financial services and insurance company’s failure to stop electronic payment transfers may receive a $181.59 check, following a settlement with federal regulators.

USAA, who membership is open exclusively to the military community and eligible family members, agreed to pay $12 million in restitution and a $3.5 million civil fine by mid-January, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Thursday.

USAA violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and an associated regulation by failing to properly honor consumers’ stop payment requests on pre-authorized electronic fund transfers, as well as failing to start or complete error resolution investigations, according to a consent order signed by the bureau Wednesday.
read more here

POTUS wants mail in ballots from troops excluded?

President Trump Attacked Mail-In Ballots in Florida. Here Are the Facts

TIME
By ABIGAIL ABRAMS
November 13, 2018

Members of the U.S. military, their families and other U.S. citizens living overseas can also vote by mail thanks to the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. States are required to send ballots to these voters at least 45 days before a federal election.

Advocates for overseas voters harshly criticized President Donald Trump for arguing that some mail-in ballots shouldn’t be counted as he spread a conspiracy theory about Florida’s elections on Monday.

In a tweet on Monday, Trump called for the state to stop counting ballots and stick with the results from Election Night, a move that while circumventing state law would also disenfranchise members of the military and civilians overseas, whose ballots can arrive until Nov. 16 and still be counted.

“These overseas and military voters, the worst thing for them is to hear our country’s leaders saying don’t count these votes,” said Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, president and CEO of the U.S. Vote Foundation, a nonprofit that helps overseas voters cast their ballots. “They go to incredible lengths to send their ballots back.”

Some states also don’t require that the counting be finished immediately. In Florida, counties had until Saturday to complete their initial tallies. And in California, officials have weeks to count their votes.
read more here

BTW: Notice this

Michael Steele to Lead U.S. Vote Foundation

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 9, 2018 --U.S. Vote Foundation's Board of Directors unanimously elected Michael Steele, Former Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), as Chair of U.S. Vote Foundation (US Vote) and its Overseas Vote initiative. His appointment will strengthen the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization and support its work to advance its mission to make Every Citizen is a Voter, a reality.

“With the 2018 midterm election now underway, Mr. Steele's leadership and skill at driving engagement will positively augment our outreach efforts,” US Vote President and CEO Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat. “His breadth of communications experience and insight into the political and media establishment will help us keep our finger on the pulse during this important midterm election year.”

So the President of the United States does not want votes counted from the troops? Seriously? Does he understand that would include all of them? Democrats, Independents and Republicans?

Troops love Mattis, POTUS...not so much

Support for Trump is fading among active-duty troops, new poll shows

Military Times

Leo Shane

October 23, 2018

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s approval rating among active-duty military personnel has slipped over the last two years, leaving today’s troops evenly split over whether they’re happy with the commander in chief’s job performance, according to the results of a new Military Times poll of active-duty service members.

About 44 percent of troops had a favorable view of Trump’s presidency, the poll showed, compared to 43 percent who disapproved.

The results from the survey, conducted over the course of September and October, suggest a gradual decline in troops’ support of Trump since he was elected in fall 2016, when a similar Military Times poll showed that 46 percent of troops approved of Trump compared to 37 percent who disapproved. That nine-point margin of support now appears gone.

During that same period, the number of neutral respondents has dwindled from almost 17 percent to about 13 percent, suggesting political polarization inside the military community has intensified in recent years.
read more here

Troops clearance jeopardized by new background checks

Background Check Change Could Put Troops' Clearances at Risk
Military.com
By Amy Bushatz
27 Aug 2018

"This new process might impact your DoD security clearance and prevent you from being deemed 'deployable,' which could greatly impact your military career unless you can prove to DoD that you were the victim of identity theft, fraud or a mistake, and that you're currently living within your means and are making a good-faith effort to resolve your unpaid debts," the CFPB release warned.

A service member scans in his fingerprint for the Defense Biometric Identification System Jan. 16, 2009. (U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Chad Strohmeyer)

Troops with security clearances who have low credit scores or past-due bills could be at greater risk of having those clearances revoked, thanks to a change to the frequency at which background check officials look at financial data.

"The Department of Defense (DoD) will now 'continuously' monitor the financial status of servicemembers with security clearances," the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced in an Aug. 20 release. "This means that a past-due bill or an error on your credit report could jeopardize your clearance status."

As of early July, 58 workers had their security clearances revoked as a part of the Pentagon's new monitoring system, according to the Associated Press. Officials did not respond to requests for an update.

read more here

"Someone vandalized the military veteran's grave"

Jacksonville family devastated after veteran's grave defiled
News4Jax
By Jim Piggott - Reporter
May 14, 2018

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - For the second time in nearly two decades, a Jacksonville woman's family must lay her beloved uncle to rest. This time, it's because someone vandalized the military veteran's grave.

Cheryl Brown's family visits her uncle Willie Graham at his Bartow burial site once a week. On Sunday, however, they found it covered by a blue tarp pinned down by cinder blocks. His clothes lay nearby.

Brown, who is the secretary for the Jacksonville City Council, said Graham's loved ones have no idea what happened, or why for that matter. "We are at a total loss," she told News4Jax.

His grave was the only one ransacked.

Graham's wife, who lives in Miami, was also upset to learn the news. She's not well enough to make the trip to visit his grave site. But, like her niece, she wants to know what happened.
read more here

Running for office, running from history?

Veteran running for office runs from history
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 5, 2018


Kevin Nicholson is running for the Senate in Wisconsin. He's a veteran. The problem is, he seems to have forgotten what this country actually means to the "Democrats" he served with, as well as the other citizens of this country. 

I stay out of politics because I do not think any of them have actually lived up to their promises to our veterans, especially after getting their votes for the simple reason they are also a veteran. 

Considering veterans have had to protest the way this country repaid them after war since the Revolution itself, things need to be said. The following should be a glowing example of someone thinking history is something that only began when he decided to pay attention to it. This is what the man thinks.

The letter from the veterans, all of whom support Vukmir, came a day after Nicholson, in a radio interview, questioned the “cognitive thought process” of Democratic military veterans. Nicholson also said the Democratic Party had “wholesale rejected the Constitution and the values that it was founded upon.”

Nicholson, whose campaign slogan is “Send in the Marine,” refused to back down or apologize, telling supporters in an email Thursday that “liberals can try to twist this all they want, but I stand by what I said: The Democrat Party has LONG lied to vets.”

Between my husband and I, we have had 7 WWII veterans and 1 KIA (and he was a 19 year old Marine), 1 Korean War veteran, 2 Vietnam veterans. Sorry so few, but considering we are only second generation American. All of them were Democrats! I am standing up for them against what a flat out lie this is. Guess he does not know that the majority of voters are registered Independents.

It was not a Democrat who betrayed senior veterans and wanted to cut their benefits because they were too old to work and no longer needed to receive the permanent and total disability compensation they were promised. That was a Republican.

It was not a Democrat who thought that cutting the VA budget after staring 2 wars was not just OK, but allowed his Secretary of the VA, (also with the same last name) to return money, unspent, because he believed they'd only need dental appointments. And was not a Democrat who thought a budget shortfall was OK.

It was not a Democrat who sent men and women into 2 foreign countries to risk their lives without making sure the VA was ready to "care for him/her" afterwards.

As for the veterans being neglected, then you would have to factor in both parties, since neither party has managed to live up to the debt owed to our veterans. Both sides have lied to veterans!

We had a backlog of claims before OEF and OIF veterans had to get in line. We had long waits to have claims approved for disabled veterans unable to pay their bills because they were unable to work in the civilian world. We had veterans committing suicide, ending up homeless and suffering long before Twitter and Facebook.

History does not begin when someone acknowledges it "is" but some pretend it does. When a person seeks office, it is usually very telling about how they will lead because of how little they learned as to how the mess they say they can fix, got that way in the first place.

Kevin Nicholson did not just slam Democrats he seems to hate. He slammed all those who came before him because, apparently they just do not merit the same respect as his side of the divide. He served next to others without putting politics above their lives. Why can't he remember that?

Mefloquine raises ugly head again

Mefloquine or Medusa and where is Perseus?

Veterans allege devastating side effects from anti-malaria drug they were ordered to take
WHAS ABC 11 News
Author: Andrea McCarren
May 3, 2018

More than a million Americans are believed to have taken the anti-malaria drug called mefloquine. But veterans, former Peace Corps volunteers, government employees and world travelers say they've suffered acute side effects that are getting progressively worse.

For decades, the Department of Defense ordered tens of thousands of American service members to take a drug intended to prevent malaria, a mosquito-borne disease that can kill. And now, veterans, former Peace Corps volunteers, federal employees and world travelers believe mefloquine caused some acute psychiatric and physical conditions that they say are getting progressively worse.

Mefloquine was sold under the brand name Lariam until its manufacturer stopped producing the drug in 2008. Generic versions are still available in the United States, but only by prescription. Common side effects attributed to the drug include paranoia, anxiety, depression and neurological issues, including vertigo and tinnitus, which is the perception of noise or ringing in the ears.

"We have a hidden epidemic of veterans who are suffering the chronic neuropsychiatric effects of mefloquine poisoning," said Dr. Remington Nevin, widely considered the world's expert in the potential side effects of mefloquine. "And in many cases, they’re being misdiagnosed. Misdiagnosed with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder."
read more here


We have been reading about this since 2008. Why are we still reading about it now?
VA issued a warning about Lariam in 2004. By 2012 after Staff Sgt. Robert Bales shot 17 in Afghanistan, later found guilty, the military "scrambled" to limit it. By 2013, the Green Berets and other Special Forces units stopped using it.

BY 2015, reports were coming out from Australia and a veteran said, "At various times it was like living in a heavily armed lunatic asylum" after taking it. In 2017, Canada was also faced with problems. 

So why after all these years are we still talking about it and who is responsible for what it did to the men and women the military gave it to?

MWC (Military Working Cat) Muffins

April Fools' Day pranks include ‘military working cats,’ Marine ‘drill sergeants’
STARS AND STRIPES
By SETH ROBSON
Published: April 3, 2018

U.S. Forces Japan celebrated April Fools' Day by tweeting a photo of a cat named Muffins tactical patches and the sort of camouflage harness you might expect to see on a military working dog. SCREENSHOT FROM FACEBOOK

Military working cats were in the news along with a slew of other unbelievable stories on April 1.

U.S. Forces Japan celebrated April Fools' Day by tweeting a photo of “MWC (Military Working Cat) Muffins” wearing tactical patches and the sort of camouflage harness you might expect to see on a military working dog.

The image shows Muffins alerting on a suspect during a tracking exercise, according to USFJ’s post.
read more here

Protectors and Defenders Deported?

As many as 11,800 military families face deportation issues, group says
Military Times
By: Tara Copp
April 1, 2018

“It used to be veterans we’d see more frequently. We’re now seeing an uptick in active-duty people.” Nancy Kuznetsov

As many as 11,800 currently serving in the U.S. military are dealing with a spouse or family member who is facing deportation, a national immigration advocacy group announced Friday.

Esperanza Perez and her husband, Miguel Perez, parents of war veteran Miguel Perez Jr., stand with a handful of military veterans during a news conference Feb. 27 at the Lincoln Methodist Church in Chicago. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed March 26 that Miguel Perez had been deported to Mexico because of a 2008 drug-trafficking conviction.
(Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune via AP)

No previous estimate, official or unofficial, has been available on just how many of the 1 million married military members currently on active duty, National Guard or Reserve status may be dealing with the stress of having a spouse, dependent or parent deported.

It’s also not a number that can be easily checked, or verified, because neither DoD, the Department of Homeland Security nor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tracks military status in immigration proceedings.

American Families United, a non-profit immigration advocacy group, calculated the estimate using 2011 U.S. Census statistics, which found that 6.3 percent of the 129 million married Americans are married to foreign-born spouses. The Pew Research Center found that one in four of those foreign-born spouses are in the country illegally. About 75 percent of that population comes from countries like Mexico, where if they entered illegally, they have a harder time obtaining legal status, as opposed to a person from Europe who might have overstayed a visa, said American Families United President Randall Emery.
read more here

War Memorial Only Scuba Divers Can See

Underwater memorial dedicated to veterans to be constructed near Dunedin Beach
WFLA NBC 8 News
By Jenn Holloway
Published: February 2, 2018

As a man who has more than 3,000 dives under his “weight belt,” Dr. Mathews says he looks forward to teaching veterans dealing with PTSD, physical injuries and more how to scuba dive, then eventually taking them down to see the memorial in person.

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – It’s the first of its kind in the world right here in the Tampa Bay area! An underwater memorial dedicated to our U.S. veterans is expected to bring in scuba divers from around the world.

In 1999, Dr. Heyward Mathews created the very successful Veterans Fishing Reef 10 miles west of Dunedin Beach. But his second sea floor project honoring veterans isn’t to attract marine life. He hopes these massive memorials will attract scuba enthusiasts.

“These statues are actually six foot tall and they weigh 1300 pounds,” said Dr. Matthews.

The goal is to have 24 military figures set in a 100 foot circle with a center monument representing each of the five U.S. Armed Forces.
read more here

Florida Wants to be Veterans Retirement Haven

Florida Among Top States Competing For Military Retirees

WLRN News

Bobbie O'Brien

November 17, 2017

"I was one of the first into Afghanistan, then to Iraq and then Africa. So I’ve been around the world," Neil said. "And luckily for me, the headquarters of Special Operations is in Tampa when I decided where I should retire to, I chose my last assignment as Tampa, Florida MacDill Air Force Base so it naturally fit."

Former Green Beret Scott Neil points to the framework for the glass wall that will separate the American Freedom Distillery from the restaurant under construction.BOBBIE O'BRIEN / WUSF PUBLIC MEDIA 

States are competitive whether they’re vying to keep their military bases or to attract new corporate headquarters. And now, there’s a new tug of war over military retirees who come with pensions, health care and are a proven workforce.

Florida, already a retirement haven, is adding veteran specific programs to entice even more military retirees to the Sunshine State.

"It means that if you are processing out of the military and you want to build your business here in Florida – we’re going to waive the application fees on almost every occupational license that’s out there," said Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam at a business conference last year. "It means if you’re applying for a concealed weapons license, you’re going to go to the front of the line and it’s going to be expedited in less than two weeks."

Florida officials like to brag that they’re the most veteran friendly state in the nation. So, there’s no ambivalence – if you’re retiring military – Florida Wants You!
read more here