Dropping into action
Dogs are also trained to rappel from helicopters.
“That is the most effective tool against poaching ever used and it’s low technology, it’s low cost compared to other technologies. And it works,” Holtshyzen says
Monday, March 13, marks National K9 Veterans Day, a day to honor and commemorate the service and sacrifices of American military and working dogs throughout history. According to American Humane, it was 75 years ago today that the U.S. Army first established the War Dog Program, or “K9 Corps,” to train man’s best friend to become the military’s best canine asset. The dogs of war who have served alongside soldiers throughout history aren’t just good dogs — they’re great dogs.
Veteran’s family says his disappearance over weekend caused by poor VA care FOX 31 News BY DAVE YOUNG MARCH 13, 2017
Somehow, the survivalist-trained Marine ended up in a Greeley jail Monday after stealing a sweater and something to eat. He still wasn't wearing shoes.
BROOMFIELD, Colo. -- It was just after 9:20 p.m. Saturday at Cory Hixon's Broomfield apartment when his family says the 33-year-old became distraught and jumped off a balcony wearing no shoes and no coat, disappearing into the night.
Two days later, as family watched and waited desperately for news, police with tracking dogs searched the area where they believe he might have gone.
“He's trying to leave so that he's no longer a burden to our family, which he's not,” said Cory’s wife, Shala Hixon.
During two combat tours in Iraq, the decorated U.S. Marine lost an eye during a firefight and suffered a traumatic brain injury from a mortar round that left him unconscious.
The injuries left the father of two young children with severe memory loss, anxiety, migraines and post traumatic stress disorder. read more here
As with most things, numbers are really important but data is king. If the researchers do not tell where numbers came from, it is up to the reviewer to put the pieces together. So far, I'm totally confused.
As the number of veterans living in the US has gone down since 1999, and "efforts" have increased to the point where "awareness" has become a mega money maker, the number of reported suicides should have gone down after all these years. So why are they virtually the same? This is such a serious issue and so far I've seen little to do with seeking answers as much as folks run around seeking publicity, including politicians.
2013 Report from Alaska Veteran Suicides Twice as High as Civilian Rates by Jeff Hargarten, Forrest Burnson, Bonnie Campo and Chase Cook | News21
News21 filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the raw data collected by the VA to this point, but it was denied because the “disclosure of raw research data poses a serious threat to the scientific process” and because of fears the information would be misinterpreted without peer review.
Most states provided veteran suicide information gleaned from death certificates. VA research, Kemp said, shows death certificates are about 90 percent accurate and “good enough” to help understand veteran suicides.
Veterans are over-represented among suicides compared to the general population, a trend seen in most states between 2005 and 2011.
For example, in Alaska, veterans were about 14 percent of the population, but represented about 21 percent of all suicides in 2010. The same year in Washington, Census data showed veterans were about 11 percent of the population, but state vital statistics showed they represented about 23 percent of suicides.
STATE NUMBERS STAGGERING
In Florida, the numbers are staggering.
Although veterans make up only 8 percent of the state’s population, they accounted for more than 25 percent of its suicides, according to the report.
Between 1999 and 2011, 31,885 suicides were reported in the state, according to the Florida Department of Health. That would mean more than 8,000 Florida veterans took their lives during those 13 years, according to the VA.
The numbers put Florida among states with the highest percentage of veteran suicides — but the numbers don't explain why.
Aside from Florida, most states report the veteran suicide rate is double the civilian population rate.
Oklahoma Veterans Commit Suicide at Twice the Rate of Civilians By Chase Cook August 27, 2013 The veteran suicide rate in Oklahoma is down from a peak of about 46 in 2008, but researchers said that year had increased suicides due to the Great Recession. The rate dropped to about 39 in 2009 and has since climbed back up.
But the puzzling thing is that California does not tract veteran suicides.
Valley Assembly members introduce legislation to track veteran suicide rates Fresno Bee BY CHUEYEE YANG January 20, 2017 Assemblymen Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno and Jim Patterson, R-Fresno introduced legislation Monday that would require the State of California to track how many veterans die by suicide.
AB 242 would require the California Department of Public Health to send veteran suicide rates and data from the electronic death registration system to the California Department of Veterans Affairs and the Legislature.
And in Illinois, they do not have the ability to list it on their death certificates.
Cullerton advanced Senate Bill 1693 to allow deceased veterans with military service to include their veteran status, branch of military and the period of time served in the military on their death certificate.
I went through the suicide report from the VA and they say they used the VA, DOD and CDC for reports, but with these two states not even tracking the numbers, how good is this report? The next question is, when do reporters actually start to ask for answers? When do folks running around the country actually get held accountable for "raising" awareness cash while the problem veterans face has gotten worse and when the hell do they start to raise awareness about the rest of the story?
Marine scandal hits home for Ohio women veterans The Columbus Dispatch Rita Price March 10, 2017
"You raised your head a little higher, you clicked your heels a little harder and you walked on," Gilliam told an audience at the Ohio History Center. "Today, I'm hoping, it is different."
At 94, World War II veteran Ruby Gilliam would like to be able to say she outlived the problem. But she knows that the fight against discrimination and harassment are far from over for America's military women.
"I used to think, 'Someday, this will change,''' Gilliam said. "There we were, serving our country. It was all very disturbing. It still is."
A panel of female veterans — some more than a half-century younger than Gilliam — joined her Friday to celebrate Women's History Month and to share their stories of struggle and accomplishment, of hope and honor.
Gilliam was a young widow who had lost her husband to the war when she shocked her family and joined the military herself. She still considers the moment she donned her WAVES uniform the proudest of her life, more so, she said to laughter, than giving birth.
That certainty made the slurs hurt and bewilder all the more. With few avenues for complaint, she and others tried to respond with determination. read more here
A Lifeline for Troubled Veterans New York Times By THE EDITORIAL BOARD MARCH 11, 2017
There are roughly 500,000 veterans with less than honorable discharges, including more than 100,000 who left the service during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The government does not know what percentage of these veterans have acute mental health problems, but it became apparent after the Iraq drawdown that many were struggling.
Credit Caroline Gamon
After the United States withdrew troops from Iraq in 2011, thousands of combat troops were expelled from the force with less than honorable discharges as the military came under pressure to downsize quickly. This left a large number of veterans — including many kicked out for minor infractions — without access to health care and other benefits that are granted to service members who leave the armed forces with honorable discharges.
After being cut off from care and benefits, many turned to drugs and painkillers, often to relieve physical pain and mental distress that resulted from combat. Some wound up homeless. Others killed themselves.
Last week, the Department of Veterans Affairs took an important, belated step to protect tens of thousands of former service members who risked their lives in war zones. Starting this summer, the agency decided, it will provide emergency mental health care to some veterans who received less than honorable discharges.
“Our goal is simple: to save lives,” David Shulkin, the secretary of veterans affairs, said on Tuesday as he announced the change in policy during testimony before the House Veterans Affairs Committee. “Veterans who are in crisis should receive help immediately.” read more here
How many veterans are we talking about? Consider that California has the largest percentage of veterans, then reconsider the fact that none of these veterans were part of the suicide reports.
California has the largest number of veterans of any state in the nation with nearly 2.1 million vets calling the Golden State home. That’s about 9% of the nation’s entire veteran population. The state also has the highest number of homeless veterans in the country with a staggering estimated 50,000 living on the streets. It follows that veterans make up 26% of the state’s homeless population. Furthermore, the state estimates that 62% of homeless veterans have been diagnosed with both substance abuse issues and mental health problems. Additional benefits and services include tuition waivers for college, job placement services, vocational training, assistance with applying for aid from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, burial in a state veterans cemetery and special outreach programs for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
VETERANS GATHERED TO SUPPORT BILL THAT WILL TRACK VETERAN SUICIDE IN CALIFORNIA ABC 30 News By Cory James Friday, March 10, 2017
Currently data on veteran suicide is collected by county coroners, but that information is not being used by the state to help come up with ways to improve suicide prevention outreach and other programs.
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Military Police Veteran Norbie Lara knows the danger that comes with protecting our country and serving overseas. In 2004, while in Iraq, he was injured when the vehicle he was in was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade.
"Which took my arm, my lieutenant's left arm-- she was sitting right behind me."
But Lara says the risk of returning home is often just as bad as being out on the battlefield, because for some it is a homecoming that ends in suicide.
"I lost a buddy, Tim, to suicide and I attempted to take my life a couple times."
Because of that, Lara is a supporter of this new bill-- AB 242. The bill will require the State Department of Public Health to collect data on veteran suicides and report it to the legislature and the Department of Veteran Affairs each year. read more here
Newspaper with a Heart came to the aid of a veteran The Ledger By Eric Pera March 11, 2017
The Heart program exists through the generosity of Ledger readers who recognize the need for a fund of last resort for families — neighbors — in crisis, usually because of severe illness, injury or loss of job. The program also assists seniors living on limited incomes.
Janet Williams, at her apartment in Winter Haven, is an Army Veteran with medical issues and loss of job. Pierre DuCharme
WINTER HAVEN — South Korea seemed a million miles away from Janet Williams' world in New York.
It was 1996. She was 25. She'd just received her first deployment as a new Army recruit.
Korea was considered a "hardship tour," a place with substandard living conditions compared to the United States. It came with extra pay, but such tours are lengthy.
Her's lasted a year. Turns out Korea wasn't so bad. It was her fellow soldiers she had to fear. Williams says she was sexually assaulted six months after arriving in Korea. Aside from the humiliation, she received a head injury severe enough to cause migraines. Stress, combined with her injuries, led to PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, and multiple sclerosis. As a result, Williams qualified for medical retirement and disability pay. She said she left the Army after serving approximately 3½ years. read more here
Could not have asked for a better day out at the Orlando Nam Knights for the annual Bike Week Party. Blue sky, over head, lots of "family" gathered together and oh, yes, the Harley's!
PROPOSED NATIONAL DEFENSE BUDGET INCLUDES $3M FOR CENTRAL FLORIDA PTSD CLINIC WMFE News by Renata Sago March 9, 2017
More than 250 service members, veterans, and first responders have been treated since the clinic opened.
The $577.9 billion national defense bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week includes a provision for money that would go to a University of Central Florida clinic that treats veterans and first responders for post-traumatic stress disorder. UCF RESTORES uses virtual reality as a key part of treatment. The funding for the clinic would come from a defense budget devoted to advanced concepts and simulation. Dan Holsenbeck, Senior Vice President for University Relations for UCF, is hopeful the provision will get Senate approval and eventually a nod from the president. He knows the funding will not help the clinic run long-term. read more here And yet again, this program is just for OEF and OIF veterans...not our generation! UCF Restores
PTSD Treatment Troop deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan has been extensive and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common among our returning veterans. PTSD is associated with poor quality of life, guilt, anger, and unemployment, among other life challenges.
The Trauma Management Therapy program, a division of UCF RESTORES, is offering a treatment program that uses the most effective treatments for combat-related PTSD.
This is a clinical research program, funded by a grant to UCF from the Department of Defense Military Operations Medical Operations Program.
Individuals who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, who believe that they might be suffering from PTSD, and who are interested in getting more information about our Trauma Management Therapy program are encouraged to call the TMT Project Manager, Dr. Sandra Neer, at 407-823-1668.
Do they give a shit about the fact that the majority of the reported suicides by the VA are over the age of 50? Do they give a crap that age group is also among the largest percentage of veterans fighting PTSD on a daily basis with little help or attention? Do we matter at all to any of these new "efforts" following the decades of efforts we created in the first place?
New Album ‘Battle Cry: Songs of America’s Heroes’ to Help Veterans Muse Wire By Raychel Harvey-Jones Mar 10, 2017
“I wish my brother could have taken a glimpse into the future and see how families are torn apart by suicide. My message is always to move forward and be you. Find what you love and go after it. Losing one vet is losing one vet too many.” John Preston.
I feel as if we live in a society these days where most people are looking out for themselves with some out to make an easy buck. As a former professional singer music will always be a part of me, a passion. Many say music is the only universal language.
I first heard the music and story of Iraq Veteran and rock singer John Preston last year and had been inspired ever since. I got the chance to catch up with John again this year to talk about his new album, an album to solely benefit veterans – a selfless act in this ever-changing world.
“My mission is simple. I want to use my music and life experiences to help veterans all over the world find success in life after serving their country,” says Preston.
Preston penned his first song while serving in Iraq; the led to a record contract with Pacific Records. After returning to what we could call “normal” life his battle with PTSD consumed him and his life. “That fight is bigger than any I faced in Iraq; it’s almost like fighting the unknown. I realized that losing so many good men and women to suicide that I could bring awareness through my music.”
Last year Preston lost his brother after a battle with PTSD.
“He was my hero growing up, and I didn’t see the signs. I was traveling across our nation raising awareness of veteran suicide, and I lost my own brother; how do you explain to his 7-year-old son? How do I explain our hero is no longer here?”read more here
Iraq War veteran rescues dog that fell through ice Dog fell through ice 150 yards from shore Channel 3000 News Dave Delozier Posted: Mar 10, 2017
“When the deed is done, then you realize, OK, boy, I really could have lost him. So you get a little different appreciation for things.” Justin Neumeier
BRIGGSVILLE, Wis. - When Justin Neumeier’s dog, Charles, fell through the ice on Lake Mason, the instincts he developed as a U.S. Marine serving Iraq kicked in and he went out to rescue the black lab. “Maybe it was my Marine Corps mentality, just get it done,” Neumeier said.
Serving with the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine, Neumeier saw some of the wars toughest combat in the battle for Ramadi in 2004.
read more here
There is nothing new to us, even though, younger veterans seem to believe it is all about them alone. The truth is, we've just been fighting for the things they get and got left out of most of it. Our husbands and wives came home with the same wounds and we had the same struggles but no one had the internet back then and reporters just didn't care. Imagine what could have happened if they had paid attention to us too?
VA secretary backs expanding caregiver program to older vets Military Times By: Leo Shane III March 10, 2017
But when Congress authorized those services in 2010, they made the the majority them only available to caregivers of post-9/11 veterans. Researchers estimate that covers only about one-fifth of the 5.5 million family members providing home care for veterans.
WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin supports expanding his department’s caregiver benefits to families of veterans of all eras, and thinks the move may be far less costly than most critics expect.
In testimony before the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee earlier this week, Shulkin said he believes the current restrictions on the caregiver program — which limit many benefits solely to families of post-9/11 veterans — need to be updated.
“I do believe it needs to be for all veterans,” he said, “particularly our older veterans who want to stay at home, and then maybe they wouldn't have to leave their home and into an institution.”
He said department officials have begun a review of the costs and procedures for expanding the program, and will formally approach lawmakers with a plan in the months to come.
Currently, VA caregiver programs provide a monthly stipend, travel expenses, access to health insurance, mental health services, training and respite care for designated caregivers of injured or infirm veterans. read more here
Veterans provide burial for fellow veteran without a family KTHV Erika Ferrando March 9, 2017
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - On February 8, 68-year-old Private First Class William A. Powers died alone in a central Arkansas hospital. He was a veteran who was nearly forgotten, but nearly 100 veterans who never met him, made sure Powers was laid to rest with the honor deserving of a hero.
Powers served as a soldier in the Vietnam War from 1966 until 1969. He was given a proper burial at Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery, thanks to a few phone calls.
"It's a very heartfelt appreciation for the service and sacrifice," said Jerry Ashby, Patriot Guard Riders.
They showed up not because they knew him, but because no one else did.
“We attempted to find family. There was none," said Mike Frazier, manager at Roller-McNutt Funeral Home.
Maybe it's fate Mike Frazier's funeral home received the call from the hospital.
“It's very sad," Frazier said. "No one should leave the world like that."
As a fellow veteran himself, he felt it was his duty to provide a proper burial. read more here
"We will follow these men as they train, plan and execute some of the most dangerous, high-stakes missions our country can ask of them, (and) as they also work to preserve the delicate balance of their lives at home," an unofficial synopsis reads.
CBS to shoot pilot episode for planned Navy SEAL drama in New Orleans The Times-Picayune By Mike Scott, NOLA.com March 09, 2017
Word is still out on whether the locally shot CBS series "NCIS: New Orleans" will return for a fourth season, but the network appears poised to come back to the Crescent City for a Navy-based drama one way or the other. Paperwork was recently filed with the state to film the pilot episode for an untitled CBS drama about a team of Navy SEALs in New Orleans this spring.
The series would follow the lives of members of SEAL Team Six, one of the most elite SEAL teams, as they train for and are deployed on a series of dangerous missions. Production on the pilot is expected to begin in mid-March.
According to Deadline, the announced cast so far includes A.J. Buckley ("CSI: NY"), as a skilled but self-destructive member of the team; Max Theriot ("Bates Motel"), as a cocky but secretly insecure millennial SEAL; and Neil Brown Jr. ("Straight Outta Compton"), as the longest-tenured member of the team.
read more here
Just to give you an idea of how many veterans the following article is about, here is the breakdown for the state of
Illinois
721,575 Total 539,880 War time 206,504 Gulf War 241,854 Vietnam 65,381 Korean 37,506 WWII 181,695 Peacetime 54,707 Female 666,868 Male
Think about how many veterans from Illinois would not have been included in the suicide research.
Tom Cullerton advances measures to combat veterans' suicide epidemic Daily Herald March 8, 2017 SPRINGFIELD- State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) has started tackling obstacles found during the Veterans Suicide Taskforce hearings.
Cullerton advanced Senate Bill 1693 to allow deceased veterans with military service to include their veteran status, branch of military and the period of time served in the military on their death certificate.
"We need to get to the cause of veteran suicide," Cullerton said. "The only way to tackle the problem is to have a complete picture. This is a simple way to collect statistics and honor Illinois' veterans."
The idea was suggested by DuPage County Coroner Richard Jorgenson, who indicated that veteran suicide was under reported since Illinois death certificates do not include information on the history of U.S. military service.
"These are our nation's heroes. They took care of us, now it is our time to take care of them," Cullerton said. "Every life we save is priceless."
Cullerton also advanced Senate Bill 866 to require the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) to provide information and education on service animals to veterans.
read more here
Monday, March 13, marks National K9 Veterans Day, a day to honor and commemorate the service and sacrifices of American military and working dogs throughout history. According to American Humane, it was 75 years ago today that the U.S. Army first established the War Dog Program, or “K9 Corps,” to train man’s best friend to become the military’s best canine asset. The dogs of war who have served alongside soldiers throughout history aren’t just good dogs — they’re great dogs.
