Community honors memory of soldier who never got to meet his baby son

Hundreds of flags decorate coffee shop belonging to fallen soldier and wife

The Denver Channel
By: Jessica Barreto
Jul 05, 2019

Sergeant Elliott Robbins also leaves behind a baby son, Elliott Jr., who was born shortly after his deployment.

FLORISSANT, Colo.
Hundreds of U.S. flags now adorn a coffee shop in belonging to a fallen Fort Carson soldier and his wife.

Special Forces Sergeant First Class Elliott Robbins died earlier this week in Afghanistan, just three weeks before he was set to return home.

Many took time out of their holiday on Thursday to pay their respects to Robbins and his family.

Costello Street Coffee House opened up early at 6:30 Thursday morning, and folks from all over the area stopped by to plant a flag, drop off a note of encouragement, and simply let this grieving family know there is an entire community behind them.

"Without them giving up everything for us, we can't celebrate," said Amber Ray, a military spouse who went to the coffee shop with her family.

Robbins deployed to Afghanistan earlier this year, and on Sunday, his family found out he would not be coming home.
read it here

Do any rules apply to POTUS...or the Senate anymore?

Border wall $21.6 billion July 4th event going up with millions diverted from National Parks and then there was the government shutdown...but some of my Republican friends refuse to notice what else is going on that should hit them where their hearts used to be...

As Housing Mold Derails Military Moves, This Is the Solution We Need

Military.com
By Joyce Wessel Raezer
July 1, 2019

Joyce Wessel Raezer is the outgoing executive director of the National Military Family Association.

Contracted personnel perform an accountability assessment and pack items belonging to a U.S. Soldier before her moving to a different state June 12, 2019. (U.S. Transportation Command/Stephenie Wade)

‪Military families are at risk once again.

After suffering untenable living conditions, rodent and other infestations, loss of property and chronic health problems, military families dealing with mold in their privatized, on-base housing now face another challenge: moving.

While installations and contractors move ahead with remediating dangerous living conditions, many families must simultaneously navigate an unusually complex PCS season. And the damage done by the mold in their houses is affecting not just their furniture and their health, but also their ability to complete their PCS move on schedule. Shortages of movers as well as potential housing delays at installations where remediation work continues further complicate an already stressful time.

Moving companies, appropriately unwilling to assume the liability of moldy belongings that could create higher costs for themselves or safety problems for future customers, are now backing out of pack-outs in homes where mold is present, according to a story in Military Times. That includes the homes of thousands of families whose very safety has been affected by substandard conditions.
read it here

You can catch up on that here....if you care more about our troops and veterans than you do a political party.

"The thing that brings us all together is love..." at Jarheads funeral

'Tough to Lose Your Brothers': Funerals Held for Marine Motorcycle Club Bikers

The Associated Press
By Michael Casey
29 Jun 2019

"The thing that brings us all together is love, love for my Dad." Matthew Ferazzi

Members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club and a police honor guard salute as the casket of Michael Ferazzi is loaded into a hearse outside St. Peter's Catholic Church in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Friday, June 28, 2019. Ferazzi, a motorcyclist and retired police officer, was killed in a fiery crash that claimed the lives of seven people riding with the Jarheads Motorcycle Club in New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — A motorcyclist who was among seven killed in a collision with a pickup truck last week was a family man, proud Marine and dedicated public servant, mourners said Friday at a funeral that drew about 200 people, including leather-clad bikers and law enforcement officers.

The funeral for Michael Ferazzi, 62, of Contoocook, New Hampshire, was held at a church in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The rumbling of motorcycles echoed through town as dozens of bikes made their way to the service.

Many riders were fellow members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, with which Ferazzi and the other six killed were riding when they died. They hugged one another as Ferazzi's flag-draped casket was carried into the church and offered a military salute alongside their bikes as the service ended with the Marine Corps hymn on bagpipes.

"Tough to lose your brothers, especially so many at one time," said Jarheads member Paul Downey as he and his fellow bikers got on their motorcycles for the ride to the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.

"He had a lot more life in him," said retired Lt. Col. Joe Murray. Ferazzi was in his American Legion post, he said, and the two marched in parades together.

"He didn't need to die when he was obviously enjoying the ride with his buddies," Murray said. "But it's good he died doing something he loved."
read more here

Give your love story a fighting chance against PTSD

Your love solid as a rock!

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
June 29, 2019

If you love someone with PTSD, you may think that it is hopeless. Trust me on that one, I remember what that was like. 

Why does there seem to be more and more reasons to walk away and less reasons to stay?

Sure you've heard all the talk about "being broken" and "damaged" along with all the other hurtful stuff people say. What they say is based on the inability to learn much at all about what it takes to be a survivor.  After all, those are the only people who get hit by PTSD...those who survived what put their lives in danger.

If they are a veteran of service caused PTSD, that makes them very special, and it also causes a deeper level of PTSD. 

They care so much about others, they were willing to die to save them. While most people automatically run away from danger, they made it their job to run toward it.

When you love them, it is so easy to mess up. It is easy to question why they seem to be so much different than the person you fell in love with. You'll find answers. You'll find reasons to blame and most of the time, you blame them.

Isn't it time that you invested your time to find out exactly what the real reason for the changes is?

I did. After 37 years when I heard the song "Solid" As A Rock by Ashford and Simpson, all I could think about was all the effort that went into our relationship has left us solid as a rock.

It is the reason why I wrote For the Love of Jack, His War My Battle in 2002 and republished it in 2012.

Want to avoid losing time when you could be enjoying celebrating a love that is solid as a rock with someone who was able to love so much they risked their lives for it? Read the book, watch the videos on YouTube and you can show your love is so strong you were willing to help them heal and fight by their side.

Solid
Ashford and Simpson

And for love's sake, each mistake
Ah, you forgave
And soon both of us learned to trust
Not run away, it was no time to play
We build it up and build it up and build it up
And now it's solid
Solid as a rock
That's what this love is
That's what we've got, oh
Solid, solid as a rock
And nothing's changed it
The thrill is still hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot
Oh, you didn't turn away
When the sky went gray
Somehow we managed
We had to stick together (oh, oh)
You didn't bat an eye
When I made you cry
We knew down the line
We would make it better (oh, oh)
And for love's sake, each mistake
Ah, you forgave
And soon both of us learned to trust
Not run away, it was no time to play
We build it up and build it up and build it up
And now it's solid
Solid as a rock
That's what this love is (oh, oh)
That's what we've got (oh)
Yes, it is
Solid, solid as a rock
And nothing's changed it
The thrill is still hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot
Oh, gone with the wind
Another friend
Got in between
Tried to separate us (oh, oh)
Oh, knock-knock on wood
You understood
Love was so new
We did what we had to (ooh, ooh)
And with that feeling
We were willing to take a chance
So against all odds, we made a start
We got serious, this wouldn't turn to dust
We build it up and build it up and build it up
And now it's solid
Solid as a rock
That's what this love is, oh
That's what we've got, oh
Solid (yes, it is)
Solid as a rock
And nothing's changed it
The thrill is still hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot , hot
Solid, solid as a rock (you know it, well, you know it, baby)
Solid, solid as a rock (lovin' me, lovin' me, oh)
Solid (don't leave me, baby)
Solid as a rock (well, well, well, well)
Solid, solid as a rock (every day it gets sweeter, now)
Solid, solid as a rock (good, good, well, it's good, good, good)
Solid
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Nickolas Ashford / Valerie Simpson
Solid lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Arrest made after murder of Air National Guard female soldier and children

Arrested boyfriend of slain Staten Island servicewoman had violent past

New York Post
By Tina Moore, Anabel Sosa and Max Jaeger
June 23, 2019

A Staten Island military man was arrested and charged Sunday in the murder of his Air National Guard girlfriend and their two young sons, police announced.

The scene of the alleged murder (left) and Alla Ausheva Richard Harbus; CNP

The arrest came as new details emerged about accused killer Shane Walker’s violent past — and his Russian-born girlfriend’s tragic story of achieving her American dream only for her life to be cut short at 37.

Cops charged Walker, 36, with murder, manslaughter, arson and criminal possession of a weapon for killing US Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Alla Ausheva along with the couple’s sons Ivan, 2, and Elia, 3.

Ausheva was found bludgeoned to death in her home Saturday near the bodies of their children, who appear to have been drowned.
read more here

Veteran lost brother to PTSD battle...stranger let her know he cared

Stranger leaves heartfelt note for veteran who lost brother to PTSD

WINK
Jerrica Valtierra
Jack Lowenstein
Published: June 20, 2019

A little kindness can go a long way. And for a woman, a stranger’s act of kindness meant the world to her. Now, she wants to thank a man who showed her and her brother a simple kindness.

Lauren Osborne is a retired Florida Highway Patrol officer and a U.S. Air Force veteran. Osborne lost her brother to PTSD after he served in the U.S Marines Corp.

Osborne drives around with a special decal on her car that memorializes her brother’s life. She also just so happens to have a dash cam that captured a man share his sentiments with her.

“There’s no way that I could really thank him for what he did,” Osborne said. “It was really sweet.”

Osborne’s camera recorded the moment a man left a note on her car’s windshield.

“Sorry about your brother,” the stranger’s note read. “May God bless him. He was part of a great brotherhood.”

Osborne said she had to take the time to appreciate the message left especially for her and her brother.

“I received this note,” Osborne said. “I was actually taken aback a little bit. I had to sit in my car and read it.”

Osborne’s brother served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Osborne said he experienced the unimaginable while he was overseas.

“One of the hardest things I ever probably will go through in my entire life,” Osborne said. “My brother, a U.S. Marine for five years, he was a sergeant when he discharged at the end of 2010. He became incredibly withdrawn.”
read more here

Deputy Chief Steven Xiarhos standing by side of those who stood by him..Jarheads

Father of fallen Marine mourns friends killed in Route 2 crash

New Hampshire Union Leader
By Shawne K. Wickham New Hampshire Sunday News
Jun 22, 2019

“I don’t know why God does this. I don’t know. Maybe there’s a reason.” Deputy Chief Steven Xiarhos

In Steven Xiarhos’ darkest hour, after his 21-year-old son was killed in Afghanistan, a group of motorcycle riders, all Marines, came to offer comfort and support. And they’ve stood by his family for the 10 years since.

Now, after some of those Marines were killed in a horrific crash on Route 2 in Randolph, it’s Xiarhos’ turn to stand by them.

Xiarhos is deputy chief of police in Yarmouth, Mass., on Cape Cod. He’s been friends with members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club there for a decade. News that members of the club died Friday evening hit him hard.

Those who died were “American heroes,” Xiarhos said.

“I don’t know why God does this,” he said, his voice breaking. “I don’t know. Maybe there’s a reason.”

His son, Nicholas, was 21 years old when he was killed in combat in Helmand Province in Afghanistan while going to the aid of fellow Marines.

“It was Marine bikers that came to me in my worst time in my life,” Xiarhos said.

They asked if they could hold a charity ride in his son’s honor. And Big Nick’s Ride for the Fallen has been held every year since, raising thousands of dollars for worthy causes.

In order to be a member of the Jarheads, Xiarhos said, “you have to be a combat Marine.”

Members served in different wars, he said. “Some of them are young, from this war; some are from Vietnam.”
read more here

God did not do this!

How would you turn to God in your darkest times, if you believe He just caused them? What is the point in praying for relief if you believe God is punishing you?

All of us search for answers...and someone to blame when bad things happen, especially senseless ones.

God did send people to help after the tragedy. 

God did send people who responded and tried to render medial aid until emergency responders arrived. He also sent those responders, because He called them to take on those jobs.

He caused people from around the nation to donate and help the families.

Each of us have the ability to do harm or help someone in need. Those who choose to help, listened to what their soul called them to do.

Whatever good comes out of something bad, He is there.

One accident 7 Patriots killed in New Hampshire... mind boggling!

‘We all feel it’: Motorcyclists mourn death of 7 in crash

Associated Press
By Michael Casey and David Sharp
Posted Jun 22, 2019

RANDOLPH (AP) -- Investigators pleaded Saturday for members of the public to come forward with information that could help them determine why a pickup truck hauling a trailer collided with a group of 10 motorcycles on a rural highway, killing seven bikers.

The crash in remote northern New Hampshire involved members of Marine JarHeads MC, a motorcycle club that includes Marines and their spouses, authorities said. The tragedy sent shockwaves through New England’s communities of motorcyclists and military veterans, which often overlap.

“When something like this happens, we all feel it,” said Cat Wilson, who organizes a motorcycle charity event in Massachusetts and is a friend of some of the crash victims. “There is no tighter community than our biker community.”

Authorities identified the pickup driver as Volodoymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, an employee of a Springfield, Massachusetts, company called Westfield Transport.

Zhukovskyy survived the accident and has not been charged, authorities said, but they didn’t release details on his condition or his whereabouts. A phone listing for him couldn’t be found.
read more here

Vets Mourn After Crash Kills 7 Marine JarHeads MC Bikers

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MICHAEL CASEY and PATRICK WHITTLE
June 23, 2019

Randolph, N.H. (AP) -- Motorcyclists and military veterans mourned Sunday as authorities sought help in determining why a pickup truck collided with a group of bikers on a rural highway, killing seven of them.

The crash in remote northern New Hampshire involved members of Marine JarHeads MC, a motorcycle club that includes Marines and their spouses. Authorities said they might begin identifying victims by name as soon as Sunday.

The tragedy left the close-knit motorcycle community in shock, with many remembering their own close calls on the road.

"Seven people. C'mon. It's senseless," said Bill Brown, a 73-year-old Vietnam War veteran and motorcyclist, who visited the accident scene on Saturday to put down flags. "Somebody made a mistake, and it turned out to be pretty deadly."

A pickup truck towing a flatbed trailer collided with the group of 10 motorcycles around 6:30 p.m. Friday on U.S. 2, a two-lane highway in the tiny North Woods community of Randolph. The pickup truck caught fire, and witnesses described a "devastating" scene as bystanders tried to help the injured amid shattered motorcycles.

This weekend's long-planned "Blessing of the Bikes" ceremony an hour to the north of the accident was expected to be especially emotional this year. Meanwhile, members of the motorcycle community had already begun organizing help for the victims' families, said Cat Wilson, who organizes a motorcycle charity event in Massachusetts and is a friend of some of the crash victims.
read more here

On a personal note:This is what all of us fear the most

We know the dangers that can come from a bike breaking down, which did happen and one of our members was killed after a saddle bag dropped off another bike.

We also know the dangers that come on the road with other drivers.

My husband and I have been with the Nam Knights MC in Orlando for ten years. They are veterans and members of law enforcement, firefighters and patriotic folks serving others who served.

It is family! Wives are usually on the back of the bikes, or on their own. We have lost members because some other driver in a car decided their time was more valuable than our lives.

We love! We love riding together and working toward helping others. I used to ride on the back of my husband's Harley until my back was so messed up, I have to meet them where they are going.

To have a pack of ten bikes hit and know that 7 did not survive, is mind boggling!


Please go to this GoFundMe and donate what you can!

Jarheads MC - Victims and Families support

On Friday, June 21st 2019 Jarheads MC was riding to a charity event at the local American Legion in Gorham, New Hampshire Post #82. Our pack was struck by an oncoming vehicle and we lost 5 patch holders and 2 supporters, and many others are injured. 

Our club and the families are going to need help and we cannot do it alone. I am pleading with you all, please do what you can, and 100% of the funds raised will go where it is needed to help ease some of the financial burden left behind after this tragic event. Jarheads MC has always been about helping veterans and their families. 

Please help us now and give what you can. Everything you can do is appreciated. We are strong enough to get through this, but we ask for and need your support.

Names and conditions of all will not be shared at this time as we are still being impacted by news as it arrives. We will be in New Hampshire the rest of the weekend supporting our friends and families.

*Jarheads Motorcycle Club is a club consisting of active duty or honorably discharged Marines and FMF Corpsmen. We ride and serve veterans and veteran families in our committees, with chapters in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Jarheads Motorcycle Club charity ride turned deadly for 7 in New Hampshire

update  Trucker charged with 7 counts of negligent homicide in crash that killed motorcyclists

USA Today
John Bacon
6/24/ 2019

A truck driver was charged Monday with seven counts of negligent homicide in a gruesome collision with a group of motorcyclists on a remote New Hampshire highway.

Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, was arrested at his home in West Springfield, Massachusetts, early Monday by the Massachusetts State Police Fugitive Apprehension Unit, the New Hampshire attorney general's office said in a statement.

"Mr. Zhukovskyy was taken into custody on a fugitive from justice charge," the statement said. He was expected to make his first court appearance later Monday.
read more here

update Victims of New Hampshire Marine JarHeads motorcycle crash ID’d as bikers bid goodbye

Authorities identified the dead as
Michael Ferazzi, 62, of Contoocook, New Hampshire
Albert Mazza, 49, of Lee, New Hampshire
Desma Oakes, 42, of Concord, New Hampshire
Aaron Perry, 45, of Farmington, New Hampshire
Daniel Pereira, 58, of Riverside, Rhode Island
Joanne and Edward Corr, both 58, of Lakeville, Massachusetts. read more here

Pickup Truck In New Hampshire Collides With Marine Motorcycle Group; 7 Killed

NPR
Bobby Allyn
June 22, 2019

The group was on a charity ride connected to an American Legion in Gorham, N.H., according to an online fundraiser set up for the families of the victims.

"Jarheads MC has always been about helping veterans and their families and sadly, today we are in need of that same support," wrote Doug Hayward, a member of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club.

This photo provided by Miranda Thompson shows the scene where several motorcycles and a pickup truck collided on a rural, two-lane highway on Friday. Miranda Thompson/AP

A pickup truck in rural New Hampshire struck and killed seven people on motorcycles Friday night. The crash ignited a small fire in a nearby wooded area and left a wreckage of damaged vehicles and the bodies of victims strewn across the highway.

State police said a Dodge pickup truck hit the motorcycles around 6:30 p.m. Friday along U.S. 2 in Randolph.

Authorities are still investigating what caused the deadly collision. Police have not released the names of the victims or the pickup driver, who witnesses said survived the incident.

"It's tragic," New Hampshire State Police Capt. Chris Vetter told reporters Friday night. "Our concern right now is with the victims, the victims' families and anybody else who was adversely affected by this accident," he said.

Police said two other motorcyclists were injured and one person was airlifted to a local hospital after the crash on the two-lane highway.

Some of the riders were members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, which comprises active and veteran Marines. They were on their way to a bike gathering in northern New Hampshire, said Charlie St. Clair, executive director of the Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, a large motorcycle gathering that ended last weekend.
read more here

'Please don't hurt him. He just needs help'

A frantic call, a final standoff: 'Please don't hurt him. He just needs help'

Arizona Republic
Bree Burkitt
June 19, 2019

Balladares’ mouth opened and he began to spew out a slurry of grievances — the VA couldn’t help him, all his friends were dead, no one cared about him, his country abandoned him.

Tida Garcia lives with a ghost.

Moises Balladares has been dead for almost two years. Avondale police shot him just feet outside the front door of his house — the house where Garcia still lives.

The blood is gone, and so is the small memorial of miniature American flags and patriotic-colored roses that marked the spot where he died on the night of July 25, 2017.

Tida Garcia talks about the shooting of her fiancé, Moises Balladares, a veteran, in her home in Avondale on April 4, 2019. PATRICK BREEN/THE REPUBLIC

But he's still there.

Balladares is present in nearly every part of the house, from the enlarged photos that guard the front door to his Purple Heart medal safely stored in a new shadowbox (after he destroyed the last one on that volatile night). It's in the paint colors and the furniture he chose during his last few good days.

In a sense, it's still his home — his home he tenderly prepared for Garcia and her children before he left them.

"He just always had these little signs he was going to leave us," Garcia said. "But he's always going to be here with me."
read more here

His country abandoned him...

Moises Balladares served this country and paid a price physically and mentally. His family paid too. In a way, so did the police officers who responded that deadly night. 

Ballandares went to the VA for his disabilities and asked for help that was not enough to actually help him heal.

What good did "suicide awareness" do for him? They claim that is the point of raising millions per year in every state but cannot claim to change the veteran's state of mind.

I got into arguments with these groups too many times. In the end, when they can no longer dismiss the facts, their response is "its just a number" and then add in "it is easy to remember" which proves they have no clue. 

What makes them deserve all the funds, publicity and support when the results are so appalling? That is one of the questions I ask when someone says they support one of these groups. It finally dawns on them that making veterans aware of the fact they are killing themselves, is insane. 

Making veterans aware of what PTSD is, what it really is, and then letting them know they can heal to live a happier life is preventing suicides. 

One requires no more work than planning a stunt and getting reporters to show up so they can share it on social media. The other requires an investment of research before standing by their side and giving them the help they need.

Please stop hurting them and start helping them!

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.
read more here

Army veteran committed suicide after Lasik surgery

Ex-FDA Advisor Says Of LASIK Eye Surgery: ‘It Should Have Never Been Approved’

CBS News Pittsburgh
June 17, 2019

Burleson said the surgery caused her son, an Army veteran, to go legally blind. She said his chronic suffering caused him to take his own life. “They found the suicide note on him that said the doctor ruined his eyes,” she said.

PITTSBURGH (CBS) — A former FDA advisor, who told the government to approve LASIK eye surgery in the 1990s, is now saying it should have never happened.

It comes as more patients are having the procedure, and a number of them are seeing problems instead of seeing better.

“Imagine every good thing you see today, tomorrow you don’t,” said Rick Rackley, who gets emotional talking about his corrective eye surgery one year ago.

The gourmet food truck owner, who loves the outdoors, didn’t want to wear prescription sunglasses when he was outdoors. But he says LASIK eye surgery made his eyesight worse.

“There is substantial blurriness. It’s just fuzzy,” he said.

Heather Christensen also had LASIK eye surgery eight years ago.

“For months after that I was seeing rainbows and halos around everything,” she said.

She didn’t need glasses when she got the procedure, so it frustrates her that now she does. She blames LASIK for making her eyes worse.

“I was reaching 40. I was having trouble reading labels and small print,” she said explaining the reason behind getting LASIK.
read more here

Moving is hard but staying is worse

Moving parts

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
June 16, 2019

Today is a hard post for me to put up. We are leaving Florida. After 15 years, hundreds of events and countless veterans coming into our lives, it is time to move back north.

Our daughter moved a few years ago and the last trip we took up there, it finally felt like Christmas for us. I miss our family and all the memories we had, as well as the change in seasons.

The heat and humidity down here is not good for someone with my health filming for hours in the sun most of the year.

That said, my life is like any vehicle with moving parts. There are changes as we all get older and we need to be prepared to stop being comfortable complaining about them. 

Each of us know when it is time to change but the trick is actually doing it.

My husband needed to let some people we know about the move before I went public with it. In this video, the move is mentioned, so I figured it was the best time to let readers know why things have been a bit out of whack for a while.

Between getting this house ready for sale and trying to find the area we want to move, it has been really draining my energy.


editors note

In this post and the video, Sgt. Dave Matthews and I are reading and discussing parts of the book For The Love of Jack, His War My Battle.
read more here

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.
read more here