UK Veteran Competing in Invictus Games Swimming After Bomb Blast

Ex-soldier who shattered his arm in Afghanistan set to take on Invictus Games this weekend
Coventry Obserer UK
Shaun Reynolds
May 5, 2016

A FORMER soldier whose arm was left shattered when an explosive device was activated by the Taliban will represent his country this weekend at the Invictus Games in Orlando.

James McGill will compete in the 100 metres, discus and swimming events at this year’s games which start on Sunday (May 8) and run until Thursday (May 12).

The 26-year-old, who works for Jaguar Land Rover, will take part in his first Invictus Games – seven years after joining the army in 2009.

James, from Coventry, received multiple shrapnel and exit wounds to his arms and legs – resulting in nerve reconstruction in his left forearm with the addition of a titanium plate and pins to support bone structure.

Following the success of the inaugural event in London two years ago, this year’s games will see 500 competitors compete from 15 nations across ten sports including wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis.

Mr McGill told The Observer he feels more confident in his ability on track than in the pool.

The inspirational athlete has always made sport a key aspect of his life and took part in multiple events before joining the army as a teenager.
read more here

Fort Carson Paralyzed Solider Faults Army for Stryker Going Over Cliff

Paralyzed soldier says Army was at fault in fatal wreck on Fort Carson
The Gazette
By: Tom Roeder
May 4, 2016

Why was 1st brigade pushing so hard? Riney, 25, says it was driven by goal-focused leaders who cared for results more than their troops.

“The atmosphere there was unbelievably toxic, and I feel it led directly to this,” Riney said.

The Army says a wrong turn led to a fatal rollover wreck last year that sent an 18-ton Stryker vehicle tumbling over a cliff.

A soldier who lost the use of his legs in the incident, though, says the cause of the wreck was 1st Brigade Combat Team commanders pushing their troops too hard in training with unfamiliar equipment.

“It was murder,” said retired Sgt. Tim Riney, one of six soldiers hurt in the 9 p.m. crash on Feb. 6, 2015.

Staff Sgt. Justin L. Holt, 31, died when he was thrown from the Stryker along with Riney when the Stryker tumbled off a 250-foot cliff on the post’s training range 41, on the southeastern corner of the 135,000-acre installation.
read more here

Suicidal Veteran Taken to Hospital by Police in California

UPDATE
Standoffs highlight Shasta County’s suicide problem

Deputies: Suicidal veteran sent to hospital after waving machete in Shingletown
Record Searchlight
Redding.com
May 6, 2016

Shasta County Sheriff's deputies early Friday confronted a 26-year-old man - who they later identified as a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder - after he was spotted waving a machete as passerbys in Shingletown, they said.

Dispatchers just before 1 a.m. received report of the man waving the machete near Reed's Market on Highway 44.

Deputies responded to the area to find the man walking along the highway. They tried to talk to him but he kept walking, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The man was then seen holding a machete, at which point deputies ordered him to stop walking and put the machete down, deputies said.

The man complied with that order and another to kneel on the ground, deputy Jon Ruiz said. He then pulled a knife to his neck and told deputies he wrote a letter which they took to mean a suicide note, Ruiz said.
read more here

Veterans Join Forces to Start Another War Against Zombies

Range 15 This is what happens when veterans use their imagination,,,,,,,
They start a Zombie War,,,,,,,and it is fabulous!

Military vets move from battlefield to zombie apocalypse in 'Range 15'
FOX News
By Jonathan Serrie
Published May 06, 2016

Aside from cameos by William Shatner and a handful of other Hollywood stars, the majority of the film’s cast and crew are military vets. Some lost limbs in combat.

The latest zombie apocalypse movie comes from an unusual source — military veterans with little to no filmmaking experience. But the official trailer for “Range 15” is already approaching 5 million views on Facebook, a month ahead of the military comedy’s release.

Social media and crowdsourcing have helped the film’s creators tap into a loyal and enthusiastic fan base among the veteran community.

“We started an Indiegogo campaign with the goal of raising $350,000 to supplement funds that we had raised ourselves, as well as some sponsors,” producer Nick Palmisciano told FoxNews.com. “Over the course of a couple months, we ended up raising $1.2 million.”

“Range 15” gets its name from two veteran-owned apparel companies. Palmisciano is CEO of Ranger Up. The film’s co-producer Mat Best is CEO of Article 15.
read more here

Fort Hood Soldier Iraq Vetearn From Oregon Found Dead

Fort Hood identifies soldier found dead off-post
Army Times
Staff report
May 4, 2016

The Army on Wednesday released the name of a 1st Cavalry Division soldier who died over the weekend.

Sgt. John Andrew Stobbe. (Photo: Spc. Micah Merrill/Army)

Sgt. John Andrew Stobbe, 31, was found unresponsive Sunday in his off-post residence in Killeen, Texas, officials said.

The circumstances surrounding his death are still under investigation.

He had deployed three times to Iraq — from December 2005 to November 2006, from June 2008 to May 2009, and from September 2010 to August 2011. Stobbe also deployed to South Korea from June 2015 to February 2016.
read more here