Texas couple designs tribute coin for veterans
By Celinda Emison - Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News via AP
Posted : Monday Dec 28, 2009 12:07:32 EST
ABILENE, Texas — Larry and Sue Farr are on a mission to make sure all military men and women know they are appreciated for their sacrifices made in the service to their country.
The Farrs have designed and developed the “Not Forgotten” coin to distribute among veterans, service members, and friends and family who want to hand them out to their loved ones.
The coins are made of copper and have a flag and a cross on both sides, with the phrases “In God We Trust” and “You Are Not Forgotten,” on each face.
The idea came to Larry Farr back in January, during a meeting of his church group. Initially, he thought of a coin that airmen at Dyess Air Force Base could use on base to get a cup of coffee.
“That was not enough,” said Larry Farr, who is on the Military Affairs Committee of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce.
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Texas couple designs tribute coin for veterans
Monday, December 28, 2009
Fires claims lives in Mississippi and Massachusetts
Mysterious Fires in Massachusetts Town Kill 2
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (Dec. 28) -- Local and state authorities in Northampton, Mass., are investigating a string of suspicious fires that killed two people and left residents shaken, officials said Sunday.
In just more than an hour early Sunday, five structures -- including a single-family residence -- burned, in addition to "numerous cars," district attorney Betsy Scheibel told a news conference that included fire and police officials and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
Two people were found dead on the first floor of the residence, Scheibel said. Identities of the victims are being withheld pending autopsy results.
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Mysterious Fires in Massachusetts Town Kill 2
Apartment Blaze Kills 9; Kids Among the Dead
STARKVILLE, Miss. (Dec. 28) -- Nine people, including at least six children, died early Monday in an apartment fire, officials said.
The blaze was reported around 4 a.m., according to Oktibbeha County Coroner Michael Hunt. He and state Fire Marshal Mike Chaney confirmed the deaths.
Firefighters were still at the scene more than six hours later, and there was no word on how the blaze started.
"All I can tell you is we had a fire in one of the older apartment buildings," Starkville Fire Chief Rodger Mann said. "That's about all I can say. When a fatality is involved, things move a lot slower."
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Apartment Blaze Kills 9
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (Dec. 28) -- Local and state authorities in Northampton, Mass., are investigating a string of suspicious fires that killed two people and left residents shaken, officials said Sunday.
In just more than an hour early Sunday, five structures -- including a single-family residence -- burned, in addition to "numerous cars," district attorney Betsy Scheibel told a news conference that included fire and police officials and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
Two people were found dead on the first floor of the residence, Scheibel said. Identities of the victims are being withheld pending autopsy results.
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Mysterious Fires in Massachusetts Town Kill 2
Apartment Blaze Kills 9; Kids Among the Dead
STARKVILLE, Miss. (Dec. 28) -- Nine people, including at least six children, died early Monday in an apartment fire, officials said.
The blaze was reported around 4 a.m., according to Oktibbeha County Coroner Michael Hunt. He and state Fire Marshal Mike Chaney confirmed the deaths.
Firefighters were still at the scene more than six hours later, and there was no word on how the blaze started.
"All I can tell you is we had a fire in one of the older apartment buildings," Starkville Fire Chief Rodger Mann said. "That's about all I can say. When a fatality is involved, things move a lot slower."
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Apartment Blaze Kills 9
At Fort Hood, Reaching Out to Soldiers at Risk
At Fort Hood, Reaching Out to Soldiers at Risk
By JAMES DAO
Published: December 23, 2009
FORT HOOD, Tex. — The day after a gunman killed 13 people here last month, Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, the post’s commander, fired off an e-mail message to an unusual audience: local advocates for disaffected soldiers, deserters and war resisters. “I am told you may be able to help me understand where some of the gaps are in our system,” he wrote.
Last week, those advocates put General Cone’s offer to a test. A specialist who had deserted last year wanted to turn himself in. Would the general help the soldier, who has post-traumatic stress disorder, get care?
The general said yes.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said James Branum, a lawyer representing the specialist, Eric Jasinski. “It is very unusual for the commanding general to get involved.”
For years, Fort Hood has been an emblem of an overstretched military, with long deployments and combat-related stress contributing to rising numbers of suicides, divorces, spousal abuse and crime, mental health experts say.
Now, after the Nov. 5 shootings, the post is trying to show that it has another side, one that can care for its frailest and most battle-weary soldiers.
For the last month, the Pentagon has dispatched scores of psychologists, therapists and chaplains to counsel soldiers and their families, and bolster the post’s chronically understaffed mental health network. It has overseen the creation of a new system of trauma counseling. And it has pledged to speed the hiring of dozens of permanent new mental health specialists.
But the stepped-up efforts, while welcomed even by critics of the Army’s record in dealing with combat-related stress, are also seen as a test of its resolve to break with the past. Making change stick remains a challenge not just for Fort Hood, but the entire Army, as it struggles to improve care for its rising tide of deployment-strained soldiers.
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At Fort Hood Reaching Out to Soldiers at Risk
By JAMES DAO
Published: December 23, 2009
FORT HOOD, Tex. — The day after a gunman killed 13 people here last month, Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, the post’s commander, fired off an e-mail message to an unusual audience: local advocates for disaffected soldiers, deserters and war resisters. “I am told you may be able to help me understand where some of the gaps are in our system,” he wrote.
Last week, those advocates put General Cone’s offer to a test. A specialist who had deserted last year wanted to turn himself in. Would the general help the soldier, who has post-traumatic stress disorder, get care?
The general said yes.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said James Branum, a lawyer representing the specialist, Eric Jasinski. “It is very unusual for the commanding general to get involved.”
For years, Fort Hood has been an emblem of an overstretched military, with long deployments and combat-related stress contributing to rising numbers of suicides, divorces, spousal abuse and crime, mental health experts say.
Now, after the Nov. 5 shootings, the post is trying to show that it has another side, one that can care for its frailest and most battle-weary soldiers.
For the last month, the Pentagon has dispatched scores of psychologists, therapists and chaplains to counsel soldiers and their families, and bolster the post’s chronically understaffed mental health network. It has overseen the creation of a new system of trauma counseling. And it has pledged to speed the hiring of dozens of permanent new mental health specialists.
But the stepped-up efforts, while welcomed even by critics of the Army’s record in dealing with combat-related stress, are also seen as a test of its resolve to break with the past. Making change stick remains a challenge not just for Fort Hood, but the entire Army, as it struggles to improve care for its rising tide of deployment-strained soldiers.
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At Fort Hood Reaching Out to Soldiers at Risk
Sunday, December 27, 2009
FDNY firefighter Jason Brezler spends Christmas in Afghanistan
Lombard for News
Firefighters of Ladder 58 hold a photo of Jason Brezler who is fighting in Afghanistan
FDNY firefighter Jason Brezler spends Christmas in Afghanistan fighting Taliban not fires
BY Stephanie Gaskell AND Barry Paddock
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Sunday, December 27th 2009, 12:20 PM
Bronx firefighter Jason Brezler usually volunteers at the firehouse on Christmas, but this year he spent the holiday fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.
"If I wasn't here, 90 percent I'd probably be filling in for someone who has kids," Brezler told the Daily News from his combat outpost in Helmand province. "Those guys are all away from their families, too."
Brezler, 31, is a captain with the Marine Reserves, serving with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines.
He's been deployed four times since Sept. 11.
"I'm actually proud to be here," he said. "We all volunteered for this deployment. All of us wanted to come here and contribute to the fight in Afghanistan."
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FDNY firefighter Jason Brezler spends Christmas in Afghanistan
Troops' Return Can Be Challenge For Whole Family
Troops' Return Can Be Challenge For Whole Family
By JESSE LEAVENWORTH
The Hartford Courant
December 27, 2009
ENFIELD — - A woman at Jessica Keller's church — the wife of a Vietnam veteran and mother of their four children — told Keller that she spoke to her husband only once during his yearlong tour of duty.
Keller said that made her see how fortunate she has been.
While Maj. James "Jake" Keller served in Afghanistan last year, he and Jessica e-mailed each other every day. They also spoke every week by phone and even had a few video conversations over the Internet. Through regular mail, Jessica Keller sent her husband drawings from their two young daughters and sent pressed leaves in the fall to remind him of his Connecticut home.
"It's good just to hear that life is actually normal back in the real world," Jake Keller, a National Guard soldier, said, "knowing that you've got something to look forward to once you get out of there."
The Kellers say that constant contact helped them adjust and carry on when Jake Keller returned from his yearlong tour two days after Christmas in 2008. People who counsel returning service members and their families say that the ease and variety of modern communications have helped with the homecoming adjustment.
"Overall, more communication tends to be better than less communication," said Joseph Bobrow, executive director of the nonprofit Coming Home Project (cominghomeproject.net), which provides counseling and support for service members and their families.
Still, communication can't smooth every jagged patch caused by long separation and the brutality of war. Keller had a relatively easy return to family and work, but some service members travel a tougher road home.
"There are many, many challenges," Bobrow said. "The first is that the service member may be home physically, but they're not home emotionally, spiritually, mentally. They haven't begun to process all that they've been through. Getting home takes quite a bit of time."
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Return Can Be Challenge For Whole Family
By JESSE LEAVENWORTH
The Hartford Courant
December 27, 2009
ENFIELD — - A woman at Jessica Keller's church — the wife of a Vietnam veteran and mother of their four children — told Keller that she spoke to her husband only once during his yearlong tour of duty.
Keller said that made her see how fortunate she has been.
While Maj. James "Jake" Keller served in Afghanistan last year, he and Jessica e-mailed each other every day. They also spoke every week by phone and even had a few video conversations over the Internet. Through regular mail, Jessica Keller sent her husband drawings from their two young daughters and sent pressed leaves in the fall to remind him of his Connecticut home.
"It's good just to hear that life is actually normal back in the real world," Jake Keller, a National Guard soldier, said, "knowing that you've got something to look forward to once you get out of there."
The Kellers say that constant contact helped them adjust and carry on when Jake Keller returned from his yearlong tour two days after Christmas in 2008. People who counsel returning service members and their families say that the ease and variety of modern communications have helped with the homecoming adjustment.
"Overall, more communication tends to be better than less communication," said Joseph Bobrow, executive director of the nonprofit Coming Home Project (cominghomeproject.net), which provides counseling and support for service members and their families.
Still, communication can't smooth every jagged patch caused by long separation and the brutality of war. Keller had a relatively easy return to family and work, but some service members travel a tougher road home.
"There are many, many challenges," Bobrow said. "The first is that the service member may be home physically, but they're not home emotionally, spiritually, mentally. They haven't begun to process all that they've been through. Getting home takes quite a bit of time."
read more here
Return Can Be Challenge For Whole Family
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