Fort Hood Soldiers Finally Getting Justice From Lame Ducks

Purple Hearts might be awarded in domestic terrorism cases
Military Times
By Andrew Tilghman and Leo Shane III
Staff writers
December 3, 2014

Victims of the 2009 Fort Hood shootings will be eligible to receive Purple Hearts and combat injury benefits under a provision included in the latest defense authorization deal.

The measure is expected to be approved by Congress next week, and would end a five-year quest by Texas lawmakers to get battlefield recognition for the soldiers killed in the deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in U.S. history.

It could also be a financial windfall for the families of the 13 people killed and 32 wounded in the attack.

The latest authorization draft stipulates that Purple Heart medals will be awarded to "members of the armed forces killed or wounded in domestic attacks inspired by foreign terrorist organizations."

The Fort Hood, Texas, shooter — Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan — was allegedly inspired by al-Qaida but faced murder charges rather than international terrorism charges. He was convicted and sentenced to death.

Pentagon officials for years have said the shooting victims are not eligible for the Purple Heart and certain combat-injury compensation. Families of the victims have said they've faced thousands of dollars in uncovered medical expenses that would have been covered if the same injuries occurred in Iraq or Afghanistan.
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Soldier's struggle with PTSD inspired new song

EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE: The Song of a Soldier
WWAY TV
Submitted by Daniel Seamans
12/03/2014

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can affect anyone. In the military, the Department of Veterans Affairs reports upwards of 20% of Veterans suffer from it. A local band wrote a song about a soldier who lives that life.

In part two of a special Extraordinary Person of the Week, the Song of a Soldier and how that music is helping those in need.

"He used to be so confident, now, he's grown weak from the pain," David Fair sings.

The song was born the day musician David Fair met now retired Lieutenant Colonel Cody Roberson while on touring with a former band in Texas.

David and his bandmate, Madonna Nash, singing duet: "As he walks into the local bar, drowned his pain and broken heart, until he can't find his way back home."

"Cody's story inspired me and we wrote it," Fair told Daniel Seamans.

Cody's story is one of a decorated soldier who battles life after many years of service in the military. One who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

Nash and Fair's new song, 'Welcome home', is a tale of a troubled journey so emotional that the song itself had challenges.
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Andrew Eskola, Iraq Veteran or Guardian Angel?

Iraq war veteran’s military skills help save Brainerd man’s life
Brainerd Dispatch
By Forum News Service
Dec 3, 2014

“A lot of times we take these young vets for granted,” said Bingham, “but they truly have a lot of skills to offer. It would have been like trying to plug a hole in a water pump without that tourniquet.”

Frank Bingham, 61, of Brainerd discovered the hard way just how helpful strangers can be.

Bingham was on his way home via medical transport from Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis following treatment for a heart issue a couple of weeks ago. The van driver had to first make a stop to drop off another patient at Black Bear Casino Resort and then headed over to the Junction Oasis to gas up.

Bingham headed to the restroom but found the two stalls were occupied. As he waited, he took off his Harley Davidson jacket and discovered “blood running out of my arm like a waterfall,” he recalled.

“I started feeling faint so I dived for one of the urinals and held on for dear life,” he said.

A young man came out of one of the stalls and immediately came to Bingham’s aid. As it turned out, the young man was Andrew Eskola, the store manager, who told Bingham he’d learned Combat Life Saving (CLS) skills while serving in Iraq and Kuwait.

Eskola joined the Guards after graduating from Esko High School in 2007 and deployed with the Red Bulls to Kuwait and Iraq in 2011-2012. He was honorably discharged in December 2013 after seven years of service.

Thankfully, what he learned there stuck with him.
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Fort Benning Soldier attacked and trigger finger removed?

Update: Sheriff investigating claim soldier's trigger finger cut off
Ledger Enquirer
BY CHUCK WILLIAMS
December 2, 2014

As Russell County authorities investigated an active-duty soldier’s claim that two masked men forced their way into his home Tuesday morning and cut off a portion of his trigger finger, social media reports exaggerated the incident, Sheriff Heath Taylor said.

There were multiple social media posts that there were two incidents of soldiers having a finger amputated. Taylor said those reports were inaccurate.

“We don’t have an attack on our soldiers in this area losing their fingers.” Taylor said during an afternoon media briefing. “We have a soldier who has lost part of a finger, and we don’t know why that has occurred.”

The soldier, who lived on Shadow Ridge Lane near Seale, reported that two men forced their way into his home after he opened the door about 8 a.m., Taylor said. It was after the man’s children left for school and his wife left for work.

The details provided to deputies by the soldier were incomplete, Taylor said.
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VA Approved More Than 15,000 Caregivers

Veterans Health Administration Overwhelmed by Caregiver Applications
Delays in applications due to outdated IT system
Free Beacon
BY: Ellison Barber
December 3, 2014

The Department of Veterans Affairs continues to struggle to meet the demands of applications for a program intended to assist family members caring for wounded veterans, according to testimony at a House Veterans Affairs subcommittee on Wednesday.

“The number of applications we’re getting every month is 500. We had anticipated that the number of applications would eventually reach a plateau, but that hasn’t happened,” said Dr. Maureen McCarthy, the deputy chief of patient care services at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

The VHA’s Family Caregiver Program began in May of 2011, a year after the president signed it into law. Officials initially estimated that 4,000 eligible caregivers would enroll in the program within the first three years. By May of 2014, more than 15,000 caregivers were approved for the program—nearly quadruple the original estimate.

The Government Accountability Office released a report in September 2014 evaluating the program and found that in addition to “significantly underestimat[ing]” the demand for services, the program was hamstrung by an outdated information technology (IT) system.
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