White House Finally Gets Veterans Want to Talk to Veterans?

VA staffing new White House VA Hotline Principally with Veterans
08/11/2017 05:59 PM EDT

Today the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced that the two-month pilot phase of the new White House VA Hotline that began in June has demonstrated that Veterans calling the hotline respond best when their calls are answered by fellow Veterans and others with first-hand experience on their issues.

As a result, VA announced that it will target highly qualified Veterans to staff the hotline going forward, instead of contracting the service to a third-party vendor, and is hiring additional VA personnel to complete the planned move to a 24-hour operation.

“The message we’ve heard loud and clear is Veterans want to talk to other Veterans to help them solve problems and get VA services,” said VA Secretary David J. Shulkin. “We’re taking steps to answer that call.”

This decision will delay the full-time stand-up of the 24-hour service by two months, to no later than October 15, in order to ensure the hiring and training processes are complete.

Until that time, the hotline’s current pilot program service is available to receive calls from Veterans from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.

He said what? What about the Veterans Choice Act sending them to private doctors instead of fixing the VA?

Cutting VA Comp for Seniors is Dishonoring Their Service and Sacrifice

SECRETARY SHULKIN: I have such great admiration and respect for VSOs, and I understand their passion and I share their commitment that it is so important that this country honor its responsibility to our veterans. That doesn't mean that you don't go back and revisit programs that have been around for a long time and figure out different ways to use those resources, as long as they're directed to helping veterans and more veterans. Now, I understand there's not always going to be agreement. This is Washington, and we're always going to get passion over important topics. And I welcome comments from our veteran service organizations about how to do things better. And I know that since we share the same goal of helping veterans, that we'll get to the right answer.

Wrong! This is not about passion. This is about keeping a promise this country made our veterans the day they put their lives on the line for this country. We just had Memorial Day when every politician was giving speeches about honoring those who paid the price for our freedom. No one mentioned the fact that they were about to stop paying that debt.

That honor died the day that the President of this nation decided that he no longer needed to pay full compensation to our disabled veterans.

If this does not bring dishonor and shame to the White House in your own mind, then consider this. They are disabled because they served. They had to fight for their claims to be honored and spent years in limbo with the assurance that once they proved their disability, they would receive medical care and compensation to live the rest of their lives without concern this country would default or decide the elderly were no longer worthy of that promise.

Navy SEAL Medal of Honor Ceremony

Medal of Honor Cermeony President Obama presented the Medal of Honor to Navy Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Byers for his actions during a hostage rescue mission in Afghanistan.
FEBRUARY 29, 2016
From NPR

The president also summarized some of Byers' career, noting that he had been on 11 overseas deployments and nine combat tours.

Fence Jumper Put White House on Lockdown

White House On Lockdown After Man Jumps Fence
Associated Press
Published on Nov 26, 2015

A man draped in an American flag climbed over the fence at the White House on Thursday, prompting a lockdown as the first family celebrated Thanksgiving. An eyewitness spoke to the Associated Press about what she saw. (Nov. 26)
UPDATE From NBC

The man, identified as Joseph Caputo, was apprehended about 2:45 p.m. ET on the North Lawn of the White House grounds — the "front door" side along Pennsylvania Avenue, said Robert Hoback, a spokesman for the Secret Service. Police said Caputo was carrying a manila folder, NBC Washington reported.

"White House Fence Jumper" Killed After Attacking Deputy

Man Previously Arrested For Climbing White House Wall Killed After Attacking Sheriff 
He had a criminal record that included arrests for assault and burglary.
Reuters Posted: 08/25/2015 Aug 25

(Reuters) - A man arrested for climbing a White House fence earlier this year was shot and killed at a suburban Pennsylvania courthouse on Tuesday after he sliced a sheriff's deputy with a knife, the local district attorney said.

Curtis Smith, 34, is accused of entering the lobby of the Chester County Justice Center at about 11 a.m. and slashing a sheriff's deputy on the arm or hand, Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan said in a statement.

A second deputy in the lobby drew his weapon and shot Smith, who was treated at the scene but later died at Paoli Hospital, Hogan said. read more here

Researchers Can Study Medical Marijuana For PTSD Veterans

White House to Let Researchers Study Medical Marijuana for PTSD 
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan
Jun 23, 2015

The move helps clear the way for an oft-delayed study into the use of marijuana in treating veterans with PTSD, Doblin said.

The White House has lifted a major obstacle long standing in the way of studies into the use of pot to treat victims of post-traumatic stress disorder and other ailments.

The Health and Human Services Department has published in the Federal Register its announcement eliminating Public Health Service reviews of marijuana research projects not funded by the government.

"The significance is that the Obama Administration is making formal a decision that they made informally more than a year ago," said Rick Doblin, executive director of Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which plans to conduct a study whose test subjects include 76 veterans.

The Veterans Affairs Department estimates that between 11 and 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans suffer from PTSD. For veterans of the Persian Gulf War, the estimate is 12 percent, and for Vietnam veterans, 15 percent.

The Public Health Service granted review approval to the association in March 2014, but also noted in its letter that what it had previously set down as requirements for approval were now suggestions.

The latest move, Doblin said, signals "the Obama Administration is open to ending federal obstruction of privately-funded medical marijuana drug development research."
read more here

Fewer Veterans Wanted "Choice" Over VA Care

8 minutes ago Budget: Obama proposes big increase in VA funding
Stars and Stripes
By Heath Druzin
Published: February 2, 2015

"The suggestion to divert some of the Veterans Choice Act money was in response to fewer than expected veterans expressing interest in seeking care outside the VA healthcare system, VA Assistant Secretary for Management and Chief Financial Officer Helen Tierney said."

WASHINGTON — Facing a growing national crisis in veterans’ health care and a flood of new veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the president wants to give the beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs a nearly 8 percent boost to hire more VA doctors, give veterans more healthcare options, and increase money for construction.

The proposed 2016 budget includes roughly $70 billion in discretionary funding for the VA, for a total budget of about $168 billion – the rest being made up of mandatory benefit programs such as pensions and disability payments. read more here

Vietnam Veteran Chuck Hagel DOD Retirement Tribute

Hagel 'Quintessentially American,' Obama Says at Farewell Tribute
Department of Defense
By Claudette Roulo
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaks during the Armed Forces Farewell Tribute to him on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Va., Jan. 28, 2015. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Laura Buchta

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2015 – President Barack Obama hosted an armed forces farewell tribute to retiring Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel today at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia.

"Today is a celebration of a quintessentially American life; a man from the heartland who devoted his life to America," Obama said.

From his time as a boy in Nebraska, to volunteering for a war that would see him pull his own brother from a burning vehicle, to leading the charge to ensure veterans exposed to Agent Orange were treated fairly, to the Senate -- where he led the fight to establish the Post-9/11 GI Bill -- and then on to head the Defense Department through a difficult transition, Hagel's career has been characterized by service to others, the president said.

"Thanks to Secretary Hagel's guiding hand, this institution is better positioned for the future," he said. "...But Chuck, I want to suggest that perhaps your greatest impact -- a legacy that will be felt for years to come -- has been your own example.

"It's not simply that you've been the first enlisted combat veteran, and the first Vietnam veteran, to serve as secretary of defense, it's how your life experience -- being down in the muck, feeling the bullets fly overhead -- has allowed you to connect with our troops like no other secretary before."

‘We Are All Americans’

One day last year, Obama said, Hagel arrived with a guest for their regular weekly meeting at the Oval Office. The man, Jerome "Skip" Johnson, had been Hagel's platoon leader in Vietnam, and the two men had only just reconnected after nearly 50 years, the president said.

"Chuck told me about how in 1968, with protests and race riots back home causing tensions among our troops in Vietnam, and Chuck's unit was mostly white, but Skip is African-American," Obama said.

"As the platoon commander, he was not going to tolerate division or distrust, and he went to his men and made himself clear: 'We are all Americans. We're going to live together, we're going to take care of each other, we're fighting together, we're going to get each other's backs. Let's get it done.'"

"And at that moment in the Oval Office, as these two soldiers stood before me, with Skip's grandsons looking on, it wasn't lost on any of us how far our nation has come. And I want to thank Chuck for that moment," the president said, "because part of the reason we've traveled that distance is we've had men like Chuck Hagel serving and representing what's best in America."

"In moments when we are tested as a military, as a nation, sometimes we get distracted by what divides us and lose sight of what unites us,” Obama said. “And at those moments, we can draw strength from the example of a sergeant from Nebraska and a lieutenant from Chicago. We are all Americans. We live together, we sacrifice together, we take care of each other. Sometimes we have to fight together."
read more here

Only 15% US Military Approve of Commander-in-Chief Obama

It is great to read about what most talk about. The troops are very unhappy. When sequestration cut funding for the military after Congress caused the mess, President Obama didn't do much about it. That put a huge scar on all of them considering most wanted to make it to retire from the military instead of being laid off. Imagine what it did to morale when deployed Captains and Majors got their pink slips.

Then there is the issue of PTSD and suicides. Would be interesting to read results of a survey to see who troops blame for the lack of care and the way they were treated in the Warrior Transition Units.

All in all, as damning as this report is, for the troops, it only touches on what they have been talking about for years.

President Barack Obama address the group of soldiers at US Central Command (CentCom) at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., on Sept. 17, 2014. James Borchuck/AP

Obama’s mark on the military
A DEEPLY UNPOPULAR COMMANDER IN CHIEF IS FORCING PROFOUND CHANGE INSIDE THE RANKS
Military.com
By Stephen Losey
December 21, 2014

According to a Military Times survey of almost 2,300 active-duty service members, Obama's popularity — never high to begin with — has crumbled, falling from 35 percent in 2009 to just 15 percent this year, while his disapproval ratings have increased to 55 percent from 40 percent over that time.

In his first term, President Obama oversaw repeal of the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Then he broke with one of the military's most deeply rooted traditions and vowed to lift the ban on women serving in combat.

And the commander in chief has aggressively sought to change military culture by cracking down on sexual assault and sexual harassment, problems that for years were underreported or overlooked.

Obama is an unpopular president in the eyes of the men and women in uniform. Yet his two-term administration is etching a deep imprint on the culture inside the armed forces. As commander in chief, he will leave behind a legacy that will shape the Pentagon's personnel policies and the social customs of rank-and-file troops for decades to come.

For Obama's supporters, the cultural changes he's overseeing are on a level with President Truman's 1948 order that desegregated the military and put it at the forefront of the national push for racial equality.
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Ashton Carter, the former second-in-command may replace Hagel

Meet Chuck Hagel's expected replacement as Defense Secretary
CNN
By Jamie Crawford and Barbara Starr
December 2, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Sources said Tuesday that DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson is no longer considered
The White House has struggled to find a successor for Chuck Hagel as Defense Secretary
The new frontrunner is Ashton Carter, a former Pentagon official with years of DOD
experience

Washington (CNN) -- Ashton Carter, the former second-in-command at the Pentagon, appears to be the top choice to replace outgoing Secretary Chuck Hagel.

Barring any last minute complications, Ash Carter will be President Barack Obama's choice as the new Secretary of Defense, several U.S. administration officials told CNN.

An administration official had said that Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, a former General Counsel at the Pentagon, was also still on the list of possibilities, but on Tuesday morning, sources said Johnson was no longer being considered. The prospect of an additional confirmation hearing for Johnson's replacement if he were to move to the Pentagon as the Senate switches to Republican control would have been problematic for the White House.

Carter, who served as Deputy Defense Secretary under both Leon Panetta and Hagel, would bring a wide range of experience to a department confronting multiple crises in the Middle East and preparing to enter a new phase in Afghanistan as the NATO combat mission ends.

Carter's ability to hit the ground running from his past experience at the Pentagon, in addition to the respect many senior military leaders have for him are seen as major benefits to winning confirmation should Obama nominate him.
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Vietnam Veteran Chuck Hagel Leaving Department of Defense

A Shifting Battleground: Why Chuck Hagel Resigned
NBC News
BY PERRY BACON JR.
November 24, 2014

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s resignation at the urging of the president is not a sign of a broader shift in the White House’s national security or defense policies, according to former and current administration officials.

Rather, Hagel’s departure reflects two new dynamics that have emerged since he took the helm at the Pentagon early last year. Hagel’s background as a Vietnam War veteran and former Nebraska senator was seen by administration officials as giving credibility and clout to implement one of President Obama’s major priorities back then: a broad overhaul of America’s military that would reduce defense spending and shrink the U.S. Army to its smallest force levels in decades.

But the rise of ISIS and other military challenges, like halting Russia’s incursions into the Ukraine and stopping the spread of Ebola, have emerged over the last two years, so the restructuring of the Pentagon is no longer at the top of Obama’s to-do list.

He had a crappy relationship with Susan Rice.

And those events abroad have focused attention on Hagel’s management skills. The Defense Secretary, according to administration sources, simply failed to convince leaders at the White House or the Pentagon that he is the right person to lead what is akin to a war against ISIS.

“They chose Hagel for a job that just turned out to be very different than what was expected with the rise of ISIS,” said one former Obama national security aide.
read more here

Concert at The White House for U.S. troops and their families

President salutes troops with White House concert
Stars and Stripes
By Patrick Dickson
Published: November 9, 2014

WASHINGTON — The White House on Thursday evening hosted hundreds of U.S. troops and their families, treating them to a concert that featured Mary J. Blige and country music legend Willie Nelson.

President Barack Obama said that servicemembers who voluntarily go into harm’s way to keep the country safe and protect its cherished freedoms have the respect and admiration of a grateful nation.

He spoke movingly of having met Luis Avila, who was badly wounded in an explosion during his fifth tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2011.

He suffered a traumatic brain injury, and in the weeks that followed, heart attacks and a stroke. Doctors at one point recommended he be taken off life support.

Nelson opened, followed by John Fogarty, Blige, and rapper Common, who with music director Don Was accompanying on standup bass, offered a powerful poem. Latin singer Romeo Santos and Daughtry, performing via satellite from a USO concert in Yokota Air Base, Japan, also performed.

The concert will be shown on American Forces Network on Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. Central European and Japan-Korea time.

AFN is airing military-themed programming all month, including:

AFN|spectrum airs National Geographic Channel’s “American War Generals” gathers the nation’s leading generals for an unprecedented look at 50 years of military history, from the Vietnam War to America’s war on Al-Qaida; it airs Nov. 11 at 9 a.m. CET/JKT.

A concert from the National Mall which begins at 7 p.m. Veterans Day will air live on AFN Nov. 12 at 1 a.m. CET/ 9 a.m. JKT.

“The Concert for Valor” is an HBO special, and will feature Eminem, Jamie Foxx, Dave Grohl, Metallica, John Oliver, Rihanna, Bruce Springsteen and Carrie Underwood.

Every Tuesday, AFN|movie will air a mix of newer military-themed movies and classics, including “Cold Mountain” Nov. 18 at 9 a.m. CET/JKT; “Saving Private Ryan” on Nov. 18 at 11 p.m. CET/JKT; and “Home of the Brave,” Nov. 25 at 9 p.m. CET/JKT.
read more here

When Blue Stars Turn to Gold Tribute To Military Families Sacrifices

RIVERSIDE: Vet's song about military families takes flight
Press Enterprise
Mark Muckenfuss
Staff Writer
November 6, 2014

Blue Stars Turned Gold
Ted Peterson isn’t sure if he’ll be sick or if he’ll shine.

On Thursday, the Riverside resident and fledgling songwriter will be sitting on a White House panel that includes country singer Willie Nelson and hip-hop artist Common. Hosted by Michelle Obama, the group will discuss the role of music in the military.

“I’m ready to vomit I’m so nervous,” said Peterson, 44. “If it was up to me, I would not be up there on that stage.”

He’s on the stage because he wrote “When Blue Stars Turn to Gold,” a country-oriented song about the sacrifice of military families. The song caught some fire on YouTube recently and grabbed the attention of the panel’s organizers. It’s the first song he has composed in his short writing career that has been recorded.

Peterson, who is connected with the Guitars For Vets music therapy group at Loma Linda’s VA Medical Center, doesn’t even play a musical instrument. He came to songwriting in a roundabout way.

A Navy veteran with active duty from 1989-1993 and later the reserves, from 2002-2007, Peterson also worked for 15 years for Camp Pendleton’s base security. Some long-term physical problems caught up with him and he was forced to leave his security job. He had no idea what to do with his life.

“I hit a depression, a pretty bad one,” said Peterson, 44, of Riverside. “A Vietnam veteran who’s a friend of mine pulled me aside and said, ‘What’s going on with you?’ He made me promise that I would go and talk to someone. So I did.”

It may have been the best advice he ever received.
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Fence Jumper at White House Captured

Man apprehended after jumping White House fence
The Associated Press
DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Oct 22nd 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) - A 23-year-old Maryland man was in the custody Wednesday night after he climbed over the White House fence and was swiftly apprehended on the North Lawn by uniformed Secret Service agents and their dogs.

The incident came about a month after a previous White House fence jumper sprinted across the same lawn, past armed uniformed agents and entered the mansion before he was felled in the ceremonial East Room and taken into custody.

That embarrassing Sept. 19 incident preceded the disclosure of other serious Secret Service breaches in security for President Barack Obama and ultimately led to Julia Pierson's resignation as director of the agency after 18 months on the job.

Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said a man he identified as Dominic Adesanya of Bel Air, Maryland, climbed the north fence line at about 7:16 p.m. and was taken into custody immediately by uniformed agents and K-9 teams that constantly patrol the grounds. Adesanya was unarmed at the time of his arrest, Leary said. Charges were pending.

Two dogs were taken to a veterinarian for injuries sustained during the incident, Leary added.
read more here

White House intruder is an Iraq Veteran

Turns out the man who got past Secret Service and into White House is an Iraq veteran. He is also an amputee, has PTSD and is homeless.

White House intruder was an Army vet with PTSD, family says
LA Times
By LOUIS SAHAGUN, EVAN HALPER
September 20, 2014

“The family’s hope is that this sad event brings awareness to the issue of post-traumatic stress disorder,” he said, “and the need for proper treatment.”

“Omar is not some maniac,” he added. “He’s a veteran who needs help.”

The intruder who scaled a White House fence and made it through the front doors was an Army veteran diagnosed with combat trauma, but authorities said Saturday the case was still under investigation.

A family member in California said Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, of Copperas Cove, Texas, near Ft. Hood, has been homeless and living alone in the wild and in campgrounds with his two pet dogs for the last two years.

“We talked to him on 9/11 and he said he planned to go to a Veterans Administration hospital to seek treatments,” said the family member, who asked that he not be identified pending completion of the Secret Service investigation.

A spokesman for the Army confirmed that Gonzalez served on active duty in the Army and was ‎retired in 2012.

Gonzalez joined the Army in the mid-1990s, the family member said. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after his first tour in Iraq. “But they sent him back for a second tour,” he said.

During a second tour, about three years ago, Gonzalez was reportedly injured by a homemade explosive device. “His job was running patrols in Baghdad when his Humvee was hit,” the family member said.
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Man claiming to be Iraq Veteran got past Secret Service and into White House

Man claiming to be Iraq Veteran got past Secret Service and into White House

“The family’s hope is that this sad event brings awareness to the issue of post-traumatic stress disorder,” he said, “and the need for proper treatment.”

“Omar is not some maniac,” he added. “He’s a veteran who needs help.”

He is a two tour Iraq veteran diagnosed with PTSD on his first tour but sent back. Then had became an amputee. Then he was discharged to become a homeless veteran!

How safe are we when someone can hop the White House fence, run across the lawn and make it into the White House?

White House Intruder Had Knife, Claims to Be Iraq Vet
ABC News
Arlette Saenz
Digital Journalist
WASHINGTON — Sep 20, 2014

Gonzalez was arrested just after going through the North Portico doors of the White House.

The man who jumped over a White House fence and made it all the way inside the executive mansion before being caught was carrying a 3 1/2-inch knife and told officials he was a veteran of three tours in Iraq, according to the complaint released today.

In the wake of the incident Friday night, the Secret Service announced it is stepping up its security procedures at the White House complex.

Secret Service Director Julia Pierson ordered an immediate increase in "officer patrols and surveillance capabilities along the Pennsylvania Avenue fence line" of the White House complex, the Secret Service said Saturday.

The steps went into effect Friday night after Omar Gonzalez, 42, scaled the White House fence, sprinted across the North Lawn, and entered the White House.

The Secret Service dealt with a second security incident in as many days on Saturday after a man was arrested at the White House after trying to enter a barricaded entrance to the White House complex with his car.

Gonzalez was carrying a three and a half inch Spyderco VG-10 black serrated folding knife in his front pants pocket when he was arrested, according to a police affidavit.

On Friday, Secret Service Spokesman Ed Donovan had initially said Gonzalez was unarmed at the time of his arrest.

The affidavit says after he was apprehended, Gonzalez, of Copperas Cove, Texas, told a Secret Service agent "he was concerned that the atmosphere was collapsing and need to get the information to the President of the United States so that he could get the word out to people."

He told officials he served 18 years in the military and did three tours in Iraq, according to the affidavit. He said he lived in Washington, D.C., for three months but has no known address.
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Army Staff Sergeant Ryan Pitts Medal of Honor

Ex-paratrooper receives Medal of Honor for bravery
USA Today
Gregg Zoroya
July 21, 2014

WASHINGTON — A former paratrooper who became the sole survivor of an Afghanistan outpost under heavy attack in 2008, choosing to fight on to the death with the bodies of six U.S. soldiers around him, survived to receive the Medal of Honor Monday in a White House ceremony.

"Against this onslaught, one American held the line, bloody but unbowed," President Obama said Monday of former Army staff sergeant Ryan Pitts. The soldier, who was 22 at the time, exemplified the virtues of integrity, humility and courage, the president said.

"For me, this was a team effort," Pitts told the Army Times. "I'm going to receive it. But it's not going to be mine. We did it together. No one guy carried that day."

Pitts received a medical discharge from the Army in 2009 and lives with his wife, Amy, and 1-year-old son, Lucas, in Nashua, N.H., where he works for a computer software company.

His wife and son, with dozens of other current or former soldiers who fought with him, stood by in the East Room of the White House on Monday as Obama draped the medal around Pitts' neck. It was Pitts' second wedding anniversary.

He is the ninth living recipient of the award from either the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Sixteen of the medals have been awarded in the conflicts for recipients living or dead.

Pitts is the second soldier from the small unit he served with in Afghanistan — Chosen Company — to receive the honor. A Medal of Honor went to Kyle White in April for heroism during an ambush Nov. 9, 2007, that left six Americans and three Afghan soldiers dead.

Pitts and his fellow paratroopers were only a few weeks or days away from going home after a 15-month deployment when they fought on July 13, 2008, to defend a partially completed combat base adjacent to the village of Wanat in northeastern Afghanistan.
read more here
Full Medal of Honor ceremony from the White House

President Obama Presents the Medal of Honor to Staff Sergeant Ryan M. Pitts
The White House
Tanya Somanader
July 21, 2014

At a ceremony at the White House this afternoon, President Obama presented the Medal of Honor to Staff Sergeant Ryan M. Pitts for his unwavering courage in one of the fiercest battles of the Afghanistan war.

In the summer of 2008, when our forces in Afghanistan were stretched thin across isolated outposts, Ryan was serving alongside 48 American soldiers charged with using little resources to defend a post with significant vulnerabilities. Mountains stood sky-high on every side of the village of Wanat, diverting aerial surveillance and delaying the heavy equipment they needed for their defense.

In the pre-dawn darkness of one fateful July morning, while manning this small, unfinished base, Ryan and his fellow soldiers were attacked by 200 assailants who were determined to take their post. “Those 200 insurgents were firing from ridges and from the village and from trees,” President Obama said. “Down at the base, a vehicle exploded—scattering its missiles, back at our soldiers. It was, said a soldier, ‘hell on earth.’”

Pounded by the relentless attack, every soldier was wounded almost instantaneously. Bleeding from the arm and both his legs, Ryan, at 22 years old, was the last man standing between the insurgents and his base. In his remarks, President Obama described how Ryan’s heroic acts helped not only prevent the fall of his post but save lives of his fellow soldiers:

As the insurgents moved in, Ryan picked up a grenade, pulled the pin, and held that live grenade—for a moment, then another, then another—finally hurling it so they couldn’t throw it back. Then he did it again. And again. Unable to stand, Ryan pulled himself up on his knees and manned a machine gun. Soldiers from the base below made a daring run—dodging bullets and explosions—and joined the defense. But now the enemy was inside the post—so close they were throwing rocks at the Americans; so close they came right up to the sandbags. Eight American soldiers had now fallen. And Ryan Pitts was the only living soldier at that post.

Soon, the enemy was so close Ryan could hear their voices. He whispered into the radio—he was the only one left and was running out of ammo. “I was going to die,” he remembers, “and made my peace with it.” The he prepared to make a last stand. Bleeding, barely conscious, Ryan threw his last grenades. He grabbed a grenade launcher and fired—nearly straight up, so the grenades came back down on the enemy just yards away. One insurgent was now right on top of the post, shooting down—until another team of Americans showed up and drove him back. As one of his teammates said, had it not been for Ryan Pitts, that post “almost certainly would have been overrun.”

But even with those reinforcements, the battle was not over. Another wave of rocket-propelled grenades slammed into the post. Nine American soldiers were now gone. Still, the fighting raged. Ryan worked the radio, helping target the air strikes that were hitting “danger-close”—just yards away. And with those strikes the tide of the battle began to turn. Eventually, the insurgents fell back. Ryan and his fellow soldiers had held their ground.

Ryan’s steadfast bravery and selfless dedication to his brothers-in-arms exemplifies the quintessential strength of America’s servicemen and women. To Ryan, the Medal does not belong to him alone but serves as a tribute to all who fought with valor that day and as “a memorial for the guys who didn’t come home.” Today, the President honored the nine men who made the ultimate sacrifice for us all that day in Wanat:

The son who “absorbed love like a sponge”; the expectant father whose dream would later come true: a beautiful baby girl—Specialist Sergio Abad.

The boy who dominated the soccer field, fell in love with motorcycles, and there in that remote outpost took a direct hit in the helmet and kept on fighting—Corporal Jonathan Ayers.

The photographer whose pictures captured the spirit of the Afghan people, and who wrote to his family: “Afghanistan is exactly [where]…I wanted to be”—Corporal Jason Bogar.

The father who loved surfing with his son; the platoon leader who led a dash through the gunfire to that post to reinforce his men—1st Lieutenant Jonathan Brostrom.

An immigrant from Mexico who became a proud American soldier, on his third tour, whose final thoughts were of his family and his beloved wife Lesly—Sergeant Israel Garcia.

A young man of deep faith, who served God and country, who could always get a laugh with his impersonations of his commander—Corporal Jason Hovater.

The husband who couldn’t wait to become an uncle; the adventurous spirit who in every photo from Afghanistan had a big smile on his face—Corporal Matthew Phillips.

The big guy with an even bigger heart; the prankster whose best play was cleaning up at the poker table with his buddies and his dad—Corporal Pruitt Rainey.

And the youngest, just 20 years old, the “little brother” of the platoon, who loved to play guitar, and who, says his dad, did everything in life with passion—Corporal Gunnar Zwilling.

“Their legacy lives on in the hearts of all who love them still, especially their families,” the President said. “Mothers. Fathers. Wives. Brothers and sisters. Sons and daughters.” For Ryan, who is celebrating his two-year anniversary today with his wife Amy and his one-year-old son Lucas, that is the story he wants people to remember: “Soldiers who loved each other like brothers and who fought for each other; families who have made a sacrifice that our nation must never forget. ‘I think we owe it to them,’ he says, to ‘live lives worthy of their sacrifice.’”

The President reflected on the lessons we learned from Ryan and those who fought in the battle of Wanat:

When this nation sends our troops into harm’s way, they deserve a sound strategy and a well-defined mission. They deserve the forces and support to get the job done. That is what we owe soldiers like Ryan and all the comrades that were lost. That is how we can truly honor all those who gave their lives that day. That is how, as a nation, we can remain worthy of their sacrifice. I know that’s a view that’s shared by our Secretary of Defense, our Joint Chiefs of Staff, and all the leadership here. They’re hard lessons, but they’re ones that are deeply engrained in our hearts.

It is remarkable that we have young men and women serving in our military who, day in and day out, are able to perform with so much integrity, so much ability, so much courage. Ryan represents the very best of that tradition and we are very, very proud of him as we are of all of you. So God bless you, Ryan. God bless all who serve in our name. And may God continue to bless the United States of America.

Medals of Honor to modern veterans more often but wait is longer

Obama awards more Medals of Honor to modern veterans — but it takes longer, too
Washington Post
By Dan Lamothe
July 19 2014

When President Obama drapes the Medal of Honor around the neck of Army Staff Sgt. Ryan J. Pitts on Monday, it will symbolize all of the heroism and sacrifice that occurred in a ferocious battle in Afghanistan. But it will represent something else, too: a dramatic rise in the amount of time it takes for troops to be honored with the nation’s highest award for combat valor.

Pitts, of Nashua, N.H., will receive the award six years and eight days after holding off an enemy assault on his platoon’s hillside observation post in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province. He did so even though he was wounded badly enough that a fellow soldier had to put a tourniquet on his leg to control the bleeding, Army officials say.

The amount of time between his actions and his ceremony at the White House will be the second longest for any service member awarded the Medal of Honor for actions after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. It is surpassed only by Army Sgt. Kyle White, who received the medal May 13, more than 61 / 2 years after he braved enemy fire numerous times in a Nov. 7, 2007, battle in Nuristan after he was briefly knocked unconscious by a rocket-propelled grenade blast.

Army officials are still smarting from the way the Medal of Honor case for Capt. William D. Swenson was botched. The infantry officer received the award Oct. 15 for braving enemy fire repeatedly in eastern Afghanistan’s Ganjgal Valley on Sept. 8, 2009, to pull a fellow soldier who had sustained a gunshot from a kill zone, and then search for four service members who had been killed.

Swenson received the Medal of Honor more than four years after the battle — and only after his digital nomination packet went missing in Afghanistan. He was first recommended for the award by a battalion commander in December 2009, but it was subsequently recommended for a downgrade by Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, according to the findings of a Defense Department inspector general investigation. The package never received additional processing.

Swenson’s case was submitted for review again in July 2011, as the military prepared to award a Medal of Honor to another service member in the battle, Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer. Swenson refused to accept his award until the Army investigated what happened, and he received a public apology from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last year.
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Medal of Honor for Kyle Carpenter

Presentation of Medal of Honor to Sergeant Kyle J. White

Medal of Honor Capt. William Swenson Rejoins Army

Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs is Sloan Gibson from USO

Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Sloan D. Gibson was nominated by President Obama to serve as the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and he was confirmed by the Senate on February 11, 2014. On May 30, 2014, Mr. Gibson was appointed Acting Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Prior to joining VA, Mr. Gibson served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Services Organizations (USO), which has been lifting the spirits of American Servicemembers and their families for more than 73 years. During his five years at the USO, net fundraising grew 90 percent, enabling dramatic growth in programs and facilities supporting our forward-deployed men and women, military families, as well as our wounded, ill, and injured Servicemembers, their families, and the families of the fallen.

Before joining the USO, Mr. Gibson spent more than 20 years in banking in Charlotte, NC; Atlanta, GA; Nashville, TN; and Birmingham, AL. In 2004, he retired from AmSouth Bancorporation, a New York Stock Exchange–traded corporation, where he served as vice chairman and chief financial officer. During his tenure as CFO, AmSouth was added to the S and P 500. Mr. Gibson also has a long history of service and leadership with a variety of nonprofit organizations. In 2002, Mr. Gibson chaired the United Way campaign in Central Alabama, which raised more than $30 million.

Mr. Gibson is the son of an Army Air Corpsman who served as a B-17 tail-gunner during World War II, later earning his commission in the U.S. Air Force. He is also the grandson of a World War I Army Infantryman who was wounded while serving in the 3rd Infantry Division at the Second Battle of the Marne.

A 1975 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Mr. Gibson earned both Airborne and Ranger qualifications and served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army. He earned a Masters in Economics from the University of Missouri in Kansas City and a Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Deputy Secretary Gibson and his wife, Margaret, have been married nearly 32 years. They have two grown daughters, Celia and Laura.

Top CIA officer in Afghanistan mistakenly named by White House

Top CIA officer in Afghanistan mistakenly named by White House: report
Reuters
May 25, 2014

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House inadvertently included the name of the top CIA official in Afghanistan on a list of participants in a military briefing with President Barack Obama that was distributed to reporters on Sunday, the Washington Post reported.

The newspaper said the official, identified as "Chief of Station" in Kabul, was named as being among those at a briefing with Obama during the president's trip to Bagram Air Base near the Afghan capital.

The list of names was sent by email to reporters traveling with Obama on his surprise Afghanistan visit and included in a "pool report" shared with correspondents and others not on the trip.

The Post said the White House issued a revised list deleting the CIA official's name after it recognized the mistake.

The newspaper said its White House bureau chief, Scott Wilson, who was on the trip, copied the original list from the email provided by White House press officials and included it in a report sent to a distribution list with over 6,000 recipients.

After he spotted the reference to the station chief, Wilson asked White House press officials in Afghanistan if they had intended to include that name, the Post said.
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