Army Veteran Makes Wrong Descion on Rock For Future Wife

EXCLUSIVE: Morro Rock Rescue Man Tells His Story
Michael Banks claim of making illegal hike for a FaceTime marriage proposal made global headlines
Keith Carls, KEYT - KCOY - KKFX Reporter
Apr 11, 2016

MORRO BAY, Calif.
Michael Banks says his initial intentions were honest and simple but he never imagined it would spiral so far out of control and attract so much attention.

Holding his puppy Moses on the beach with Morro Rock in the background, the 27 year old Banks says he decided to climb the iconic landmark so he could record a cell phone video marriage proposal to his girlfriend.

"This rock is the rock I would love to put on your finger, if I could buy a diamond this size I would because that's what you are worth to me", Banks says about his marriage proposal video, "ultimately I'll never let that go so will you marry me if I feel that way at least? She said yes, now the way she said yes was the emotional part because she says, of course I'll marry you, you are a crazy SOB, and she goes off telling me I can't believe you, you're either going to die or get arrested."

Banks says Morro Bay Police responded to a call of him being a public nuisance and eventually arrested him for being under the influence of methaphetamine which Banks says is actually medication given to him by the VA as an Army veteran.

"I informed him (police officer) not only do I take PTSD anti-axiety meds, I also take meds for my nightmares", Banks says.
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Navy and Coast Guard Search For Missing Sailor From USS Carter Hall

Navy, Coast Guard Search for Missing Sailor
FOX News
April 10, 2016

The Navy's dock landing ship USS Carter Hall.

One of its crew has been missing since Saturday.

(US Navy photo)

The Navy and Coast Guard have launched a search-and-rescue mission after a junior sailor on board the USS Carter Hall was reported missing, according to reports Sunday. 

The sailor is presumed to have fallen overboard Saturday, the Navy Times reported. The dock landing ship was on a training mission off the coast of North Carolina.

The ship immediately began its search after a female third-class petty officer was discovered missing around 4:20 p.m. Saturday, the Navy Times reported, citing an internal Navy report.

A pair of boots with a note was reported found on deck near the rear of the ship, the report said, according to the Navy Times.

Several Navy and Coast Guard units are assisting in the search and rescue effort, a Navy spokesman said Sunday.
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Marine Deserved Better Than to Be Left to Die by Hit and Run Driver

Police Continue Search For Man Who Killed Marine In Hit and Run
WJZ CBS Baltimore
By Jessica Kartalija
April 10, 2016

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The search continues for the driver who struck and killed a Marine. The corporal was helping a stranded driver when he was hit.

Marine Corporal William Ferrell was helping a stranded driver change a flat tire when he was hit by a truck along US 15 and Auburn Road. The search for the driver who killed the Marine and then left the scene continues.

“It’s been over six months now and state police still have not given up finding the person responsible for killing Corporal Ferrell that evening in September,” said Elena Russo, Maryland State Police.
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Almost 1 out of 10 Incarcerated are Veterans

Quaker House vigil to draw attention to mental health care for jailed vets
Fay Observer
By Drew Brooks Military editor
April 10, 2016

"Approximately one in 10 prison inmates have served in the military," Newsom said. "Many suffer from PTSD and/or traumatic brain injury, which increases the likelihood of violent, aggressive and impulsive behavior and requires a regular regime of therapy and medication."

Activists looking to improve the mental health care for jailed veterans will host a vigil outside the Airborne and Special Operations Museum on Monday.

The event will start at 5 p.m. at the museum, 100 Bragg Blvd.

It's led by the Fayetteville Quaker House, which has circulated a petition in recent weeks aimed at encouraging state leaders to provide better care for service members and veterans behind bars, including Joshua Eisenhauer, a former Fort Bragg staff sergeant who was sentenced to between 10 and 18 years in prison last year for charges related to a 2012 shooting at his apartment.

Lynn Newsom, a Quaker House director, said Eisenhauer suffers from severe combat related post-traumatic stress.

She said he is held in an open room with 30 other prisoners, allowed to see a social worker only about once every two months.

And the prison, she said, abuts a shooting range, which worsens his trauma.
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Young New Zealand Veterans Unaware of Help Ending Up Homeless

Young New Zealand veterans homeless and living on the street
Stuff New Zealand
SHANE COWLISHAW
April 10 2016

While many of the younger soldiers suffer from issues including post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), they do not consider themselves veterans and are often unaware of the help available to them.

LAWRENCE SMITH / FAIRFAX NZ

Tina Grant says some young soldiers returning home are left out of the system.

Since the Vietnam War, New Zealand soldiers have been deployed on 41 operations to places including Bosnia, East Timor and Afghanistan.

Young New Zealand war veterans are homeless and living on the street as some struggle silently with the trauma of their service.

With Anzac Day approaching many think of older veterans who served during World War II and the Vietnam War, but the bulk of veterans are much younger.

There are about 31,000 veterans in the country, with 20,000 having served in conflicts after Vietnam.

A review of the Veterans Support Act in December could bring changes, with the RSA hoping it could allow New Zealand veterans suffering from chronic PTSD access to specialist care facilities in Australia.
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