CBS Forgot Reports on Wounded Warrior Project Nothing New?

UPDATE FROM NEWS4JAX

Wounded Warrior Project board hires PR firm
Reports highlight claims of questionable spending practices at charity
By Lynnsey Gardner - Investigative reporter
Posted: 5:50 PM, February 04, 2016

The CEO of the board's new PR team, the Abernathy MacGregor Group based in New York City, said the board has hired Simpson Thatcher as its legal counsel.

With the CBS report on Wounded Warrior Project there is a lot that was missing. After this report this time, WWP demanded a retraction, then they promised to review all of it.

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Is Wounded Warrior Project A Country Crock? posted on March 24, 2012, it seems I scooped CBS. But so were a lot of other people as you can see from the links on the original post.

Example of what they report under Benefits Service
Media ad value $2,307,198
Salaries 696,683
Advertising 649,750
Consulting and outside services 176,994
Direct mail 265,480
Postage and shipping 247,931
Travel 161,183
Payroll tax and benefits 148,070
Meetings and events 14,111
Promotional items 23,629
Grants -
Depreciation 51,166
Occupancy 36,088
Telephone 23,334 Miscellaneous 1,227
Professional fees - Office equipment rental and services 15,820
Supplies 6,360
Printing 1,985
Insurance 6,096
Utilities 3,167
Staff education 896
Books and Subscriptions 1,825
Bank service charges -
Organizational membership fees and dues -
$4,838,993

They were not trying to hide it since that was public information. It doesn't seem as if they were trying to hide much at all, since it was all reported over the years.  

Last year there was this report.

How does the Wounded Warrior Project spend its donations?
News Channel 3
BY MATT KNIGHT AND MIKE MATHER
POSTED 7:45 PM, APRIL 26, 2015

Norfolk, Va. - The Wounded Warrior Project’s top executive says his charity has been unfairly saddled with lower grades from two top charity watchdogs in part because of the Florida-based charity’s high executive salaries and high fundraising costs.

The Jacksonville charity – founded a dozen years ago in Virginia – lists on its tax return the salaries for its eleven executives as $2.2 million. That includes a base salary to CEO Steve Nardizzi of $375,000. The charity also lists fundraising expenses of nearly $32 million. Those figures are, in part, responsible for lower grades from “Charity Watch” and “Charity Navigator,” two of the nation’s three main charity-checking organizations. read more here

Pretty much the same story that CBS News got this year but nothing changed. Oh, by the way, when you watch this video you need to pay attention to what they didn't say. They do not pay attention to pre-9-11 veterans.

It mentions how much they spend on PTSD in the millions, and they are probably right on that considering how much they donated in grants to colleges and other charities.


Then there was this announcement

$70M to be invested in veterans' mental health
Military Times
By Patricia Kime, Staff writer
7:56 a.m. EDT June 18, 2015

A new program funded by Wounded Warrior Project aspires to improve mental health services and care for veterans in the private sector.

The charity is using $70 million to fund an effort that will create outpatient programs at four of the nation's top academic medical facilities, aimed at helping sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

Just didn't matter to corporations donating to them.

ATLANTA, Dec. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/-- Georgia-Pacific, the maker of Brawny® paper towels, is proud to have donated more than $2 million to Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) following its third year of partnering together. WWP is a national organization dedicated to honoring and empowering wounded service members transitioning back to civilian life through unique, direct programs and services.

This year alone, the Brawny® brand raised $600,000, achieving its 2014 goal.

"Proceeds raised by the campaign have helped WWP foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded veterans in our nation's history."

UCLA benefited with over $15 Million donation.

Wounded Warrior Project has approved a $15.7 million grant over three years for UCLA Health to expand its Operation Mend program. The grant will fund a new, intensive structured treatment program for service members suffering from mild traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Operation Mend expansion is part of Warrior Care Network, a first-of-its-kind medical network funded by Wounded Warrior Project that will connect wounded veterans and their families with world-class, individualized mental health care. In addition to Operation Mend, the network will include three other programs based at academic medical centers — the Veterans Program at Emory University in Atlanta, the Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base Program in Boston, and the Road Home Program at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

WWP and Warrior Care Network partners will commit a total $100 million over three years to fund the initiative, including $7.5 million each that the medical centers will contribute through their own fundraising efforts.

Then there was this grant

Dignity Receives $65,000 Grant from Wounded Warrior Project

We are excited to announce that Dignity has received a grant in the amount of $65,000 from Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a non-profit veteran service organization whose mission is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. The grant will expand Dignity’s ability to provide brand new clothing to injured service members.

Serving veterans is one of Dignity U Wear’s primary focus areas and the Wounded Warrior Project grant will support two programs: “Suits for Soldiers,” which provides work-appropriate clothing for veterans seeking employment; and “Helping Homeless Heroes,” which provides basic clothing necessities for those who have become homeless.

“We are thrilled to be a Wounded Warrior Project grant recipient,” said Barbara Truncellito, Dignity U Wear Executive Director. “The funds will allow us to expand our Suits for Soldiers program, which, with the help of our partner, Brooks Brothers, allows us to offer brand new, custom-fit business suits and accessories to veterans. The clothing increases their confidence and helps them prepare emotionally to ace an interview or begin a new position.

OSU named Wounded Warrior Project grant subcontract recipient

The Ohio State University announced its selection as a 2014 Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) grant recipient through a subcontract with The Military Family Research Institute (MFRI) at Purdue University.

The WWP grant program bridges gaps in services and support for this generation of injured service members by supporting organizations that provide high-quality, high-touch, unique programming in remote or underserved regions. Through teamwork and collaboration, the $250,000 grant will enhance support for this generation of injured service members and foster healthy readjustment to civilian life through programmatic activities aimed at training civilian behavioral health specialists.

The award will be used to increase regional approaches to Star Behavioral Health Providers (SBHP), a program that MFRI first created in Indiana, in collaboration with the Center for Deployment Psychology, the Indiana National Guard and the Indiana Family Social Services Administration. SBHP is a training and registry system that prepares civilian behavioral health providers and other community-based professionals to serve members of veteran and military families. WWP funding will allow expansion of the program into Ohio and South Carolina and extend the programs currently operating in Indiana, Michigan, California and Georgia.

You can find more online since none of this is hidden. The really important thing to most of us is that all these donors and all these recipients of those grants, along with WWP itself, don't seem to be bothered by the fact they are ignoring older veterans waiting even longer but left out of all of this.

Rush to expand veterans program with Wounded Warrior Project grant
Rush University Medical Center's veterans program is set to receive $15 million from the Wounded Warrior Project, securing a spot as the Midwest's only hospital to receive such a grant.

The grant is part of a $100 million commitment the Jacksonville, Fla.-based Wounded Warrior Project launched to create a national medical care network connecting wounded veterans and their families.

Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) serves veterans and service members who incurred a physical or mental injury, illness, or wound, co-incident to their military service on or after September 11, 2001 and their families.

Hey but they have a year book! This is a new report and pretty shocking.

Wounded Warrior Project yearbooks raise more spending questions
By Lynnsey Gardner - Investigative reporter
Posted: 6:17 PM, February 02, 2016

A quote page includes one that reads: "Thanks for calling Wounded Warrior Project. What the (expletive) do you want?” which is presumably intended as humor.

There is also a social media section that appears to poke fun at some posts from the public to the charity titled "No words."

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Former employees are raising more red flags about possible questionable spending by the Wounded Warrior Project.

The Jacksonville-based charity is under fire across the country after whistleblowers spoke out against the nonprofit's spending choices.

More Investigations Headlines
Wounded Warrior Project responds to allegations
Wounded Warrior Project accused of spending too little on injured soldiers
Wounded Warrior Project suing 2 injured veterans
Now, former employees are questioning the group's practice of printing annual yearbooks for its staff. News4Jax was told those yearbooks cost more than $20,000 annually to produce.

Wounded Warrior Project has not responded to requests for confirmation of the cost of the yearbooks.
read more here

Mother of Homeless Veteran Shot by Deputy Getting $375,000

Mother of combat veteran killed by deputy will get $375K
My News LA
Hillary Jackson
February 2, 2016

Atkinson’s mental illness was also cited as a contributing factor. Atkinson left his family and mental health treatment in Texas to live on the streets in Los Angeles.

The Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to pay out $375,000 to the mother of a homeless combat veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, who was fatally shot after threatening the deputy with a wooden dowel rod.

On the afternoon of Oct. 6, 2013, deputies encountered 49-year-old Darrell Atkinson hiding or crawling behind a line of grocery carts under an overpass of the Santa Monica (10) Freeway near Venice Boulevard and Cadillac Avenue.

A news release from the Sheriff’s Department issued shortly after the shooting said Atkinson grabbed a wooden stick from one of the shopping carts.

“The suspect suddenly armed himself with a wooden stick,” Deputy Mark Pope of the Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau told a reporter following the shooting. “He advanced toward the deputies with the wooden stick overhead.”

The summary provided to the board referred to the weapon as a wooden club.
read more here

Army Discharged at Least 22,000 Combat Soldiers for Misconduct

Senators to Army: Stop misconduct discharges until review is completed
Army Times
By Michelle Tan
February 3, 2016

Since then, however, the Army has reportedly moved to separate at least one highly decorated combat soldier who was diagnosed with PTSD, according to a new NPR report.

A group of lawmakers wants the Army to stop discharging soldiers who have been diagnosed with mental health problems because of their service in Iraq or Afghanistan.

A group of U.S. senators wants the Army to stop discharging soldiers who have been diagnosed with mental health issues because of their service in Iraq or Afghanistan, at least until the service completes an internal review.
(Photo: Army photo)

The move comes one month after the Army announced it would conduct a “thorough, multidisciplinary” review in response to a call from 12 senators to investigate reports that the service discharged for misconduct as many as 22,000 combat veterans who had been diagnosed with mental health problems.

“It doesn’t make sense to continue these discharges while the practice is in the midst of multiple reviews,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said in a statement. 

“Soldiers prevented from serving due to post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury should be treated like we treat those with physical injuries, not be discharged, cast aside and ignored. They fought for their country and have earned the benefit of the doubt.”

Murphy was one of the 12 senators to initially call on the Army to investigate the reports regarding the 22,000 soldiers. The issue was first reported by National Public Radio.

NPR in October reported that the Army, since 2009, has separated 22,000 soldiers for misconduct after they returned from Iraq or Afghanistan and had been diagnosed with mental health problems such as PTSD and TBI.
read more here

Navy SEAL Receiving Medal of Honor Was a Corpsman

SEAL Who Rescued Doctor in Afghanistan to Receive Medal Of Honor
Military.com
by Hope Hodge Seck
Feb 02, 2016

Byers, a native of Toledo, Ohio, began his 17-year Navy career as a hospital corpsman, serving with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

A Navy SEAL who was part of a courageous hostage rescue in Afghanistan in 2012 will receive the military's top award for heroism later this month, the White House announced today.

Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Edward Byers will be awarded the Medal of Honor on Feb. 29. He will be the 11th living service member to receive the award for actions in Afghanistan.

Byers, 36, was a member of the team that conducted a heroic raid Dec. 8 and 9, 2012 to rescue Dr. Dilip Joseph, an American who had been kidnapped in Afghanistan by the Taliban days before. Joseph was in the country as the medical director for Morning Star Development, a nonprofit organization training Afghan healthcare workers.

While Dilip was recovered safely from his captors, the operation proved costly. Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas Checque, 28, a member of the Navy's elite SEAL Team 6, was shot and killed during the raid.
read more here

Washington Rep. Graham Hunt Resigned After Military Record Questioned

Washington state lawmaker resigns over questions about military record
The Associated Press
February 2, 2016

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state Rep. Graham Hunt of Orting announced his resignation from the Legislature on Tuesday after recent questions that he exaggerated his service in the military.

Hunt has faced increasing scrutiny over his military record since The Seattle Times reported last month that records did not verify his claims of being a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. He also claimed three medals the military has no record of him receiving.

In a statement on his website, Hunt wrote there are inconsistencies in the record of his military service. He said his constituents "deserve a full-time representative who can zealously advocate for their objectives without distraction."

Most recently, Washington state's Libertarian Party Chairman Steven Nielson said Hunt's statements last week saying he only suffered post-traumatic stress disorder is contrary to claims the lawmaker made in 2014 about being stabbed, according to The News Tribune.

"I was stabbed in Afghanistan and I was shot in Iraq so before you start talking about your thoughts and feelings on veterans realize first of all that I'm sorry that you've lost a loved one but I've lost brothers," Nielson claims Hunt wrote in a social media message in June 2014.
read more here