Soldier Describes Shooting Rampage That Killed L.I. Marine
By Pei-Sze Cheng
Friday, Feb 15, 2013
Six months after a Long Island soldier was shot and killed in Afghanistan, his heartbroken family continues to seek answers about his death.
Lance Cpl. Greg Buckley Jr., 21, was killed last August when an Afghani man who worked on Buckley's base went on a shooting rampage. Buckley and two of his comrades died.
Buckley's family in Oceanside was initially told the shooter was an Afghani policeman being trained by American soldiers on the base. The military hasn't completed its investigation, but his relatives have been talking to witnesses and are raising doubts about what they were first told.
read more here
Friday, February 15, 2013
VA doctor: I was punished for speaking out on PTSD care
VA doctor: I was punished for speaking out
By Elaine Quijano
CBS News
February 14, 2013
(CBS News) Veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder will be getting much-needed help. This week, the Department of Veterans Affairs said it has hired more than a thousand new specialists on orders from President Obama. It might not have happened if a VA doctor had not sounded an alarm. But now that psychologist says she's being punished.
"It did weigh on me pretty heavily," said psychologist Michelle Washington. "I felt like as a therapist I'm not doing what I was trained to do."
Washington said that in 2011, the Wilmington, Del., veterans hospital was overwhelmed by the number of troops returning from war with PTSD.
"There was a massive delay in the treatment," she said. "Often what happens is they start medicating with drugs or alcohol, and they don't come back. And they end up getting lost in the system and lost out there in the world without the help."
At the VA hospital where she works, Washington said her concerns were ignored by supervisors. So she accepted an invitation to appear before the Senate Veterans Affairs committee. But after she requested time off to testify, she received the first and only unsatisfactory performance rating of her five-year career at the VA.
read more here
By Elaine Quijano
CBS News
February 14, 2013
(CBS News) Veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder will be getting much-needed help. This week, the Department of Veterans Affairs said it has hired more than a thousand new specialists on orders from President Obama. It might not have happened if a VA doctor had not sounded an alarm. But now that psychologist says she's being punished.
"It did weigh on me pretty heavily," said psychologist Michelle Washington. "I felt like as a therapist I'm not doing what I was trained to do."
Washington said that in 2011, the Wilmington, Del., veterans hospital was overwhelmed by the number of troops returning from war with PTSD.
"There was a massive delay in the treatment," she said. "Often what happens is they start medicating with drugs or alcohol, and they don't come back. And they end up getting lost in the system and lost out there in the world without the help."
At the VA hospital where she works, Washington said her concerns were ignored by supervisors. So she accepted an invitation to appear before the Senate Veterans Affairs committee. But after she requested time off to testify, she received the first and only unsatisfactory performance rating of her five-year career at the VA.
read more here
VA videos help veterans make the connections to heal
VA Make the Connection
This is where you can find links to support you need no matter what war was yours. You didn't fight alone back then, don't think you have to fight this battle alone now.
This is where you can find links to support you need no matter what war was yours. You didn't fight alone back then, don't think you have to fight this battle alone now.
Rebecca met Bryan online, and they soon struck up a long distance romance. After getting married, Rebecca discovered Bryan's combat experience had changed him. By taking a first step to reach out for help, she discovered resources available to help both of them adjust to a new reality.
Senators playing politics with Department of Defense
Military suicides up, attempted suicides up, troops in Afghanistan and the list goes on but some Senators think their political games matter more than the troops. So much for being about "supporting the military" when it really counts.
Republicans filibuster Hagel’s nomination
DOD Buzz
By Michael Hoffman and Bryant Jordan
February 14th, 2013
Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel will have to wait at least another week before the Senate votes on his nomination.
The Republicans launched a filibuster against the former Republican two-term senator from Nebraska by voting to continue the debate over President Obama’s nomination to name Hagel the next secretary of defense. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called for a cloture vote at 4:15 p.m. EST on Thursday in which 60 votes were needed to end debate and vote on the nomination.
Only 58 senators voted in support of the cloture meaning debate will continue. The Democrat majority voted in favor of the cloture, but could only find four Republicans to vote against the filibuster. In a procedural move, Reid switched his vote against the cloture once the Democrats realized they did not have the votes needed to block the filibuster.
read more here
VFW wants Distinguished Warfare Medal rank reduced
VFW Wants New Medal Ranked Lower
Feb 14, 2013
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan
Barely 24 hours after the Pentagon announced its new medal for cyber warriors and drone pilots, the Veterans of Foreign Wars is demanding the decoration's ranking be lowered.
The Distinguished Warfare Medal is ranked above both the Bronze Star with Combat "V" and the Purple Heart – medals typically awarded for combat in which the servicemember's life is at risk.
"The VFW fully concurs that those far from the fight are having an immediate impact on the battlefield in real-time, but medals that can only be earned in direct combat must mean more than medals awarded in the rear," VFW National Commander John E. Hamilton said in a statement released Thursday. "The VFW urges the Department of Defense to reconsider the new medal's placement in the military order of precedence."
Hamilton said the new medal and its ranking "could quickly deteriorate into a morale issue."
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, who announced the new award on Wednesday, said the military needed a medal that recognizes that post-9/11 warfare is different with servicemembers at consoles in the U.S. directly affecting the outcome of enemy engagements.
read more here
DOD announces Distinguished Warfare Medal
Feb 14, 2013
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan
Barely 24 hours after the Pentagon announced its new medal for cyber warriors and drone pilots, the Veterans of Foreign Wars is demanding the decoration's ranking be lowered.
The Distinguished Warfare Medal is ranked above both the Bronze Star with Combat "V" and the Purple Heart – medals typically awarded for combat in which the servicemember's life is at risk.
"The VFW fully concurs that those far from the fight are having an immediate impact on the battlefield in real-time, but medals that can only be earned in direct combat must mean more than medals awarded in the rear," VFW National Commander John E. Hamilton said in a statement released Thursday. "The VFW urges the Department of Defense to reconsider the new medal's placement in the military order of precedence."
Hamilton said the new medal and its ranking "could quickly deteriorate into a morale issue."
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, who announced the new award on Wednesday, said the military needed a medal that recognizes that post-9/11 warfare is different with servicemembers at consoles in the U.S. directly affecting the outcome of enemy engagements.
read more here
DOD announces Distinguished Warfare Medal
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)