Girl Pleads Guilty to Plotting Mom's Death With Soldier Beau
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ALLENTOWN, Pa.
Feb 11, 2016
A 14-year-old Pennsylvania girl accused of plotting with her soldier boyfriend to kill her mother pleaded guilty Thursday in a deal with prosecutors.
Jamie Silvonek will be sentenced to 35 years to life in prison, the Lehigh County District Attorney's office said.
As part of the deal, Silvonek pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, criminal conspiracy, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. She will be eligible for parole after serving 35 years.
Silvonek, who was charged as an adult, was accused of conspiring with 21-year-old Army Spc. Caleb Barnes via text to kill her mother in the driveway of her home near Allentown last March, after the three returned from a concert. Barnes stabbed the 54-year-old Cheryl Silvonek then he and the teenager ate at a restaurant and went shopping for gloves, bleach and other cleaning supplies, authorities said.
Police found Cheryl Silvonek's body in a shallow grave a few miles from the Silvonek home. The victim's blood-soaked car was found nearby.
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Saturday, February 13, 2016
Operation Love Letters At Tampa Veterans Memorial Park
Families to honor fallen military in Tampa during Operation Love Letters
Tampa Tribune
By Howard Altman
Tribune Staff
Published: February 12, 2016
For Yolanda Mercado, the pain of losing her son while he was deployed in Afghanistan more than four years ago is still raw.
That’s why she is looking forward to Operation Love Letters, a commemoration of Americans who died while in service to the country that is being held for the first time in Tampa on Saturday.
“It is important to me because it is to honor our loved ones,” said Mercado, whose son, Army Pvt. Jalfred D. Vaquerano, was 20 when he died from his wounds in December 2011 after being shot in Logar province. “It’s a day to remember the good times we had with them and share it with others.”
Operation Love Letters was created to bring Gold Star families together to remember their loved ones, said Mercado. The families bring their loved ones’ favorite dessert to share with their memories,, she said. They also write letters to them, do crafts as mementos and release balloons “with the hope that it reaches their loved ones,” she said.
The event will be held at the Tampa Veterans Memorial Park and Museum as a collaboration between the Army Reserve Survivor Outreach Services (part of Army Reserve Family Programs), the Army Reserve Medical Command, as well as survivor family members, said Marshall F. Pesta, an Army Reserve spokeswoman.
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Tampa Tribune
By Howard Altman
Tribune Staff
Published: February 12, 2016
“The event provides an atmosphere to create new relationships with other surviving families,” Giddens said. “It is a chance to gain spiritual insight and resilience, and to interact with the Army Reserve community.”
That’s why she is looking forward to Operation Love Letters, a commemoration of Americans who died while in service to the country that is being held for the first time in Tampa on Saturday.
“It is important to me because it is to honor our loved ones,” said Mercado, whose son, Army Pvt. Jalfred D. Vaquerano, was 20 when he died from his wounds in December 2011 after being shot in Logar province. “It’s a day to remember the good times we had with them and share it with others.”
Operation Love Letters was created to bring Gold Star families together to remember their loved ones, said Mercado. The families bring their loved ones’ favorite dessert to share with their memories,, she said. They also write letters to them, do crafts as mementos and release balloons “with the hope that it reaches their loved ones,” she said.
The event will be held at the Tampa Veterans Memorial Park and Museum as a collaboration between the Army Reserve Survivor Outreach Services (part of Army Reserve Family Programs), the Army Reserve Medical Command, as well as survivor family members, said Marshall F. Pesta, an Army Reserve spokeswoman.
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Pentagon Has No Clue How Often Hazing Happens?
Military hazing is often horrifying — and the Pentagon has no idea how often it happens
Washington Post
Checkpoint
Dan Lamothe
February 12, 2106
Lew’s suicide jump-started a debate: What constitutes hazing in the military, and what should the Pentagon do to crack down on the practice?
Lew’s case generated significant interest in Washington in part because of his aunt: Rep. Judy Chu (D.-Calif.). She pressed successfully for an independent investigation by the Government Accountability Office, saying that the stories of her nephew and other victims of hazing — generally described as abusive behavior meant to correct a mistake or earn one’s way into a group — showed the military clearly needed to make improvements.
Washington Post
Checkpoint
Dan Lamothe
February 12, 2106
The GAO released the investigation’s findings this week, reporting that the services have no uniform way of tracking the practice and unclear definitions of what constitutes hazing in the first place.Five years ago, 21-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Harry Lew kept falling asleep while on guard duty in Afghanistan, a major gaffe for any infantryman in combat. His sergeant told two other Marines in his unit that “peers correct peers,” and so Lew was punched, kicked and forced to do pushups, crunches and other exercises in the middle of the night while wearing body armor, according to a Marine Corps investigation of the incident. Soon after, Lew turned his gun on himself and ended his life.
Lew’s suicide jump-started a debate: What constitutes hazing in the military, and what should the Pentagon do to crack down on the practice?
Lew’s case generated significant interest in Washington in part because of his aunt: Rep. Judy Chu (D.-Calif.). She pressed successfully for an independent investigation by the Government Accountability Office, saying that the stories of her nephew and other victims of hazing — generally described as abusive behavior meant to correct a mistake or earn one’s way into a group — showed the military clearly needed to make improvements.
When surveyed, however, more than a third of male Marines (14 of 39) and and nearly half of female Marines (eight of 17) said they had experienced hazing during their military career. About a quarter of male sailors (10 of 40) and female sailors (four of 15) reported the same, the GAO reported.
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California National Guardsmen Sue For Promised Bonuses
Veterans Balk at Pentagon's Bonus Grab
Courthouse News
By NICK CAHILL
February 12, 2016
In a class action filed Wednesday in Federal Court, plaintiff Bryan Strother says the National Guard offered soldiers bonuses in order to inflate its reserves and that the plaintiff class is "victims of one of the most egregious mass frauds in U.S. Military history."
Shortly after signing his reenlistment contract in 2006, Strother says he was sent to Iraq and finished out the terms of his deal with honor and even appeared on a National Guard magazine. Three years later the government sent him a letter saying he shouldn't have received an enlistment bonus because he changed his military occupational specialty while serving in Iraq.
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"California National Guard Always Ready Always There"
Courthouse News
By NICK CAHILL
February 12, 2016
According to the complaint, the United States Department of Defense has mismanaged $8.5 trillion and that it uses computer software dating back to 1959.SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) - The California Army National Guard "conned" thousands of soldiers into reenlisting and is now attempting to recover signing bonuses a decade later, an Iraq war veteran claims in court.
In a class action filed Wednesday in Federal Court, plaintiff Bryan Strother says the National Guard offered soldiers bonuses in order to inflate its reserves and that the plaintiff class is "victims of one of the most egregious mass frauds in U.S. Military history."
Shortly after signing his reenlistment contract in 2006, Strother says he was sent to Iraq and finished out the terms of his deal with honor and even appeared on a National Guard magazine. Three years later the government sent him a letter saying he shouldn't have received an enlistment bonus because he changed his military occupational specialty while serving in Iraq.
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"California National Guard Always Ready Always There"
Wounded Warrior Angler's Hope Veterans Take Bait and Fish
Good idea but bad information
Wounded Warrior Anglers open new facility
Cape Coral Daily Breeze
By CHUCK BALLARO
February 12, 2016
The Wounded Warrior Anglers cut the ribbon and held an open house on its new brick-and-mortar location at 1490 Pine Island Road, Unit 5, on Tuesday.
The event featured a color guard, many of the Wounded Warrior Anglers, friends, dignitaries and donors who surprised the group with more funding.
Judy Souders, vice president and co-founder of the group, said the WWA did its work at her house for the first 5-plus years of its existence.
"It's something we had a dream about since we formed it, it's always been there. It's taken us a while to get the funds to get this location," Souders said. "Now that it's come to fruition, we're excited we can help veterans and families."
The Wounded Warrior Anglers is a group that caters to veterans through alternative therapies by getting them on the water fishing and teaching them to build their own rods to give them self-worth.
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"We want to knock that 23 veterans dying of suicide daily down by helping to get things in a more positive direction for them," Souters said, whose husband, David, helped found the organization.When will folks ever get the number right?
Wounded Warrior Anglers open new facility
Cape Coral Daily Breeze
By CHUCK BALLARO
February 12, 2016
CHUCK BALLAROAn idea that started as a dream years ago and not long ago became a reality now has a home to call its very own, thanks to the benevolence of others.
Judy Souders, center, co-founder of the Wounded Warriors Anglers, cuts the ribbon on the organization’s new facility during a grand opening and open house Tuesday.
The Wounded Warrior Anglers cut the ribbon and held an open house on its new brick-and-mortar location at 1490 Pine Island Road, Unit 5, on Tuesday.
The event featured a color guard, many of the Wounded Warrior Anglers, friends, dignitaries and donors who surprised the group with more funding.
Judy Souders, vice president and co-founder of the group, said the WWA did its work at her house for the first 5-plus years of its existence.
"It's something we had a dream about since we formed it, it's always been there. It's taken us a while to get the funds to get this location," Souders said. "Now that it's come to fruition, we're excited we can help veterans and families."
The Wounded Warrior Anglers is a group that caters to veterans through alternative therapies by getting them on the water fishing and teaching them to build their own rods to give them self-worth.
read more here
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