Can't Catch 22 and Others Screwed
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
March 15, 2016
CBS did an interview with the Chairman of the Wounded Warrior Project board, Anthony Odierno.
"Odierno defended the spending, saying, 'Raising awareness is a very important part of our mission and it's always been an important part of our our mission and I think that's what connects the American people with our service men and women who are coming back.'"
Raising awareness is something that gets talked about a lot however, there isn't much conversation about what the hell that is supposed to mean. Seriously, what does it mean?
It has become the catch to almost everything these days tied to a lot of folks making a lot of money for doing a lot of talking and hardly no explaining.
"Odierno, a retired U.S. Army captain himself, received help from the Wounded Warriors Project when he was injured in 2004."
First, he was not just a Captain, he was and is the son of General Ray Odierno, which makes it really hard to think he'd need a backpack from Wounded Warrior Project. After all, that is all they were doing back in 2004.
John and Jim Melia created the charity back in 2003. Its mission was to provide comfort items to injured vets. But according to Jim Melia, who lives here in Richmond, the charity has lost its way.
But why ask questions? Why actually know that Wounded Warrior Project also has donated millions to colleges with funds that folks donated to them? Why ask for the term "raising awareness" to be explained at all or even the simple fact that they need to explain why they need or deserve hundreds of millions of dollars to do it?
There is a hell of a lot of that going on and the worst one is on the "22 a day" nauseating quoted by people who didn't even bother to read the report from the VA.
You've all read it since it has been posted too many times in the last 4 years. They got away with it the same way that mega charity did. Reporters didn't care enough to do basic research on the subject before they interviewed anyone and then after all was said and done, hardly nothing new was learned.
Ok, on the "22 a day" they should be researching basic questions, like "where did the number come from" and then actually know what the real report is. How about a simple question like "How can you say you are raising awareness if you don't even know the basic facts?"
How about asking them for the demographics that are in the report? How about asking them what the percentages are and who got missed as well as how many states were in the report topped off with why they fail to mention the other fact that the VA report also had a warning about using the limited data?
As with all the others, how about asking what they plan to do with the money they end up with in details. After all, shouldn't they actually have a plan in place before they ask anyone to open their checkbook?
Shouldn't they know what has been done, how long it has been done and what is lacking before they even send in their tax exempt application?
So far all we've heard is blah-blah-blah-awareness as they prove they can't even catch the 22 they are aware of so the other 50 or so are totally screwed!
Plus really frustrating when you consider that this was reported way back in 2013 by the Tampa Tribune.
Marine Harrier Catches Fire During Takeoff From Ship
Military.com
by Hope Hodge Seck
Mar 14, 2016
A Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier aboard a ship in the North Arabian Gulf sustained extensive damage when it caught fire during takeoff, Navy officials confirmed to Military.com.
The mishap took place March 8 aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge, which is deployed in the U.S. Fifth Fleet with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, a spokesman for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.
Around 1 p.m. that day, the Harrier, assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 162 (Reinforced), had been preparing for takeoff ahead of a mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, Stephens said. While Stephens did not specify the nature of the mission, aircraft from MEUs deployed to the Middle East have frequently been tasked with airstrikes on Islamic State targets and with surveillance and reconnaissance missions in support of the coalition fight against the extremists.
While applying takeoff power, the Harrier caught fire while still aboard the deck of the Kearsarge, according to an incident report from the Naval Safety Center. The Harrier's pilot was uninjured.
"The pilot safely exited the aircraft on deck with the assistance of Kearsarge and 26 MEU flight deck firefighters," Stephens told Military.com.
read more here
'If it could just help one person:' Parents grapple with answers after son's suicide
Herald Standard
By Alyssa Choiniere
March 13, 2016
She said he sent Facebook messages to about 100 people in his last hours. For the last few weeks, she said, it now seems like he was preparing for suicide.
Shortly before he died, he made weekend plans with four different friends. He wasn’t alive to see them through.
Dan Rush, 26, of Uniontown took this photo of himself. He was a Marine veteran who died by suicide in February. (photo courtesy of Ron and Loretta Rush)
Dan Rush hit send on his last text message to his mom nine hours before he was found hanging in Uniontown’s Bailey Park Feb. 6.
“I guess you just don’t get it, Mom,” he said after she encouraged him to seek mental health treatment after his time in the Marine Corps.
The 26-year-old echoed a sentiment shared by many military veterans, particularly those who are struggling to readjust to civilian life. But why Dan chose to end his life is a question his parents ask themselves incessantly but can’t answer.
Why?
Maybe, they theorize, he felt like a failure despite his strides to be the best at everything. Maybe he felt like a misfit in the civilian world. Maybe he was suffering from post-traumatic stress after witnessing something he never shared.
“I’ve gone through it in my head a million times. But I’m going to be going through it for the rest of my life,” said his father, Ron Rush, in a video interview from their Florida home. “As much as I try, I’m never going to know what hurt him so bad.”
read more here
Knife-wielding suspect in SSL shooting suffered from PTSD, family says
FOX 13 Salt Lake City
BY TIFFANY DEMASTERS AND DANICA LAWRENCE
POSTED 5:45 PM, MARCH 14, 2016
SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah -- A man shot by a South Salt Lake resident last week suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, a family member confirmed.
David Trujillo, 68, was found dead in the backyard of a home in the area of 3700 South and 200 East on March 12, according to South Salt Lake police. At about 8:30 p.m., officers were called to the home where the homeowner said he shot Trujillo because he was wielding a knife.
While the 68-year-old man has a criminal history of burglary, theft and trespassing – Trujillo’s niece, Kristin Martinez, thinks his behavior was a result of his PTSD.
She said Trujillo suffered from the mental illness because of his service in the Vietnam War.
“I hope he knows that we loved him,” Martinez said. “It's so heartbreaking what happened.”
read more here
Pittsburg mother warns of PTSD's dangers after soldier son commits suicide
FOX 2 News
March 14, 2016
A mom in Pittsburg wants to speak out about the signs of post traumatic stress disorder after her soldier son killed himself recently.
The family of 30-year-old army veteran Terry O'Hearn is holding a memorial service for him at the VFW Post in Antioch this Saturday. His mother Robin Kiepert wants to help other military families struggling to cope with PTSD.
"For people like Terry, it's a need to take care of them when they get back. They're not the same person that left," said Kiepert, who's an Air Force veteran herself.
Kiepert says Terry was loving, playful and easygoing when he enlisted in the Army.
As a soldier, he saw combat during two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He survived with minor physical injuries, but the emotional wounds ran deep.
"When he got back from Afghanistan, he was angry. His personality really changed," said Kiepert.
She says the change was initially understandable because there is a period of adjustment to civilian life. But over time, it became more pronounced and then a suicide attempt, followed by treatment at the VA hospital in Palo Alto.
She says Terry was diagnosed with PTSD.
read more here
