Double Murder-Suicide Again Brings Mental Health Issues to the Forefront
Debra Denison reportedly suffered from bipolar disorder. 'It underscores that we need to do more to provide mental health access to people and families struggling," state Sen. Andrew Maynard said.
By Bree Shirvell
As Connecticut residents mourn the tragic loss of two young North Stonington boys, the state is once again facing questions about mental health and gun policies.
On Tuesday afternoon, Debra Denison, 47, of Stonington picked up her grandsons, Alton Perry, 2, and 6-month-old Ashton Perry, from Kidds and Co. day care in North Stonington. Sometime that night she shot the two boys to death at a boat launch in Preston near Lake of Isles golf course before killing herself.
"This is absolutely heartbreaking," Senator Chris Murphy said. "Our thoughts are with the family and their loved ones as they deal with this awful tragedy.”
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Thursday, February 28, 2013
Fort Hood families talk about cuts
Fort Hood Families Take Part In Army's Online Fiscal Cliff Chat
KCEN News
Posted: Feb 27, 2013
By Sophia Stamas
If Congress can't agree on a national budget by Friday, automatic spending cuts will take effect, delivering a hard hit to the military.
As the deadline draws near, more military families and civilian employees have questions about how the sequester might affect them.
So today the Army hosted a live chat on it's Twitter feed.
The three main topics were impact on soldier training, civilian furloughs, and how they could affect programs and services to military families.
"I'm concerned about retirement pay," says Tamma Ruth.
After 23 years as an Army wife, Tamma is intently tuning into the buzz over automatic spending cuts.
She says, "My husband has served, and been in Iraq, and been in harm's way for a long time, and I think he deserves to have his full military retirement."
read more here
KCEN News
Posted: Feb 27, 2013
By Sophia Stamas
If Congress can't agree on a national budget by Friday, automatic spending cuts will take effect, delivering a hard hit to the military.
As the deadline draws near, more military families and civilian employees have questions about how the sequester might affect them.
So today the Army hosted a live chat on it's Twitter feed.
The three main topics were impact on soldier training, civilian furloughs, and how they could affect programs and services to military families.
"I'm concerned about retirement pay," says Tamma Ruth.
After 23 years as an Army wife, Tamma is intently tuning into the buzz over automatic spending cuts.
She says, "My husband has served, and been in Iraq, and been in harm's way for a long time, and I think he deserves to have his full military retirement."
read more here
Open letter to Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
Dear Senator Sanders,
The House and Senate have failed our troops and our veterans!More and more leave military service while both houses refuse to hold anyone accountable for what is done to them while they are in. You guys hold hearings while families hold dead veterans in their arms screaming "why" when these men and women survived combat but could not find one reason to live one more day.
These are the facts
Comprehensive Solider Fitness increased suicide warning ignored by the DOD and Congress held no on accountable. The program passed off as Resilience Training, which replaced Battlemind failed these men and women. Each year we read headlines of the rise in suicides at the same time we read leaders saying they were doing something about it. The Congress turned around, renewed contracts, funded research that was passed off as new without ever once acknowledging the studies were already done in the last 40 years and never once asked for the money back when the results were this deplorable.
Just because OEF OIF Veterans, the first internet generation of war fighters have made the news, that does not mean any of this is new. Look up the records of what veterans all the up to the Gulf War came back to and finally learn the truth.
Has Congress ever once noticed that with the implementation of the Suicide Prevention reporting an increase in calls, no one asked why with all the other things the government has been doing in "preventing" PTSD? What about Suicide Prevention Fund had a surplus?
Or that this is the kind of "training" they have been doing?
Staff Sgt. Victoria Gettman, a lab technician instructor at Fort Sam Houston, told The Huffington Post that she was among 800 soldiers from the 264th Medical Battalion undergoing resilience training on Sept. 26. Almost all of the soldiers were fresh out of boot camp and in training for their first job in the Army.No one was held to account for any of this.
After a 45-minute talk on how to cope with stress, the officer in charge turned the stage over to a chaplain for the sometimes controversial "spiritual fitness" part of the session.
When will Congress once and for all ask what works? When will all of you take a look at how we ended up with this?
Veterans 7% of population 22% of suicides yet we are expected to believe our government has been addressing it?
Senator Sanders I know you just took over as Chairman, but you have to get your staff to actually learn about what is real, what works, what is a waste of money and what families are going through if you are ever going to do anything meaningful to save their lives!
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has a tough job ahead
Hagel vows to ‘take care’ of DoD work force
Army Times
By Marcus Weisgerber
Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 27, 2013
WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel pledged to take care of the Defense Department’s military and civilian work force even as billions of dollars in defense spending cuts loom.
In his first address to the Pentagon work force as defense secretary on Wednesday, Hagel said the DoD needs “to deal with this reality” that about $46 billion in cuts, known as sequestration, are set to kick in Friday.
“We need to figure this out,” Hagel said. “You are doing that. You have been doing that. We need to deal with this reality.”
If hit with these spending cuts and a yearlong continuing resolution, which is $11 billion less than the Pentagon’s planned 2013 budget, senior defense officials have said they would need to furlough most of DoD’s 800,000 civilian workers over the next six months. Military pay is exempt from the sequestration cuts.
“Our budget problems here, if nothing else what we’re dealing with, what you’re dealing with, what we’re all dealing with, is yes, dollars coming down; but it’s the uncertainty of the planning, it’s the uncertainty of the commitments, the uncertainty of what’s ahead,” Hagel said.
read more here
Just noticed this is post 18,000!
Army Times
By Marcus Weisgerber
Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 27, 2013
WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel pledged to take care of the Defense Department’s military and civilian work force even as billions of dollars in defense spending cuts loom.
In his first address to the Pentagon work force as defense secretary on Wednesday, Hagel said the DoD needs “to deal with this reality” that about $46 billion in cuts, known as sequestration, are set to kick in Friday.
“We need to figure this out,” Hagel said. “You are doing that. You have been doing that. We need to deal with this reality.”
If hit with these spending cuts and a yearlong continuing resolution, which is $11 billion less than the Pentagon’s planned 2013 budget, senior defense officials have said they would need to furlough most of DoD’s 800,000 civilian workers over the next six months. Military pay is exempt from the sequestration cuts.
“Our budget problems here, if nothing else what we’re dealing with, what you’re dealing with, what we’re all dealing with, is yes, dollars coming down; but it’s the uncertainty of the planning, it’s the uncertainty of the commitments, the uncertainty of what’s ahead,” Hagel said.
read more here
Just noticed this is post 18,000!
Man shot, shooter fleas in Florida
Dog Shoots Owner: Florida Owner Shot in Leg by his Dog
By Jack Phillips
Epoch Times Staff
Created: February 27, 2013
Dog shoots owner: A man in Florida was wounded after his dog shot him in the leg with a pistol while they were driving.
A Florida man was shot and injured by his dog over the weekend, it was reported. The man walked away without any serious injuries.
Gregory Lanier, 35, was shot after his dog kicked a loaded gun while they were riding in his truck, reported Highlands Today. The gun, which was positioned on the floor, then shot him in the leg.
read more here
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