Army Medic Veteran Looks Back on Three Tours of Duty

Veteran Sgt. Smith reflects on her 3 tours in Iraq
The Collegian
By Julia Hood
Nov 11, 2016

“I think the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do was call my mom a week after I came back from war to tell her I was going back again in four months,” Smith said. “That was a conversation I wasn’t looking forward to.”

Retired Sgt. Jennifer Smith treats an American casualty of war suffering from a gun shot wound during her second deployment in November 2004 in Fallujah, Iraq.   (Photo Courtesy of Jennifer Smith)

Veterans Day for retired Sgt. Jennifer Smith is not just any day, but one where she can look back on the 13.5 years she spent serving as a medic in the Army and also remember her time spent on the frontlines in Iraq.

“I think that what defines me as a veteran is the fact that I stood up and said, ‘I’m gonna serve my country,'” Smith said.

“People just aren’t exposed to it so they’re not sure of all what a veteran is, so it’s nice to see the diversity, especially being a female that was in the military and coming back as a student,” she said.
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Veteran's Company Helps Patriotic Teen in Wheelchair Rise Again

Veterans gift disabled teen featured in flag photo with standing wheelchair
FOX.com
November 11, 2016

A wheelchair-bound teen who went viral after his photographer uncle shared a photo of him standing for the flag is in the news again, as a veteran-owned company who saw the photo has stepped forward to gift him with a standing wheelchair.

Arek Trenholm, of Lake County, Florida, was born with spina bifida, a birth defect that causes incomplete closing of the backbone and membranes around the spinal cord. The 16-year-old has only stood from his chair two times in the last seven years, Fox 35 Orlando reported, with one of those occasions occurring when headlines were dominated by athletes choosing to kneel during the playing of the national anthem. Trenholm was commended nationwide for his efforts to stand during his town’s homecoming parade as the flag passed him.

Veteran Scott Liesch came across the photo of Trenholm and presented it to his employers at The Standing Company, who are also fellow veterans. The Michigan-based group decided to surprise Trenholm with a standing wheelchair to help him gain more independence and be able to stand upright more easily, Fox 35 reported.
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Women Veterans Need More Support, So When Do We Do It?

Commentary: Nation must increase support for women veterans
Philly.com
By Elisa Borah
NOVEMBER 10, 2016

The election of the highest number of women into the U.S. Senate, four, is a harbinger of change to come in public policy affecting all of us. They will govern alongside one of the largest number of women elected to public office, and they will work with an increasing number of female top military leaders in our armed forces.

And with this growing influence of women, we have an opportunity to make significant progress in addressing the mental-health problems of our female veterans. Friday on Veterans Day, as we thank, recognize, and honor our veterans, we must address the hard realities that many female veterans struggle with.

Of particular concern is the alarming rate of female veteran suicide. According to a recent study by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), since 2001, the age-adjusted rate of suicide among male veterans has increased 30.5 percent. In comparison, the age-adjusted rate of suicide among female veterans has increased 85.2 percent. And among veteran women ages 18 to 29, the risk of suicide is 12 times the rate of nonveteran women.

It is clear that gender-specific interventions are needed to support our female veterans. Our new female leadership in this country must respond to the challenges facing female service members and veterans.
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Deputy Sheriff: 'I Felt Like a Failure' Stigma of PTSD

Deputy Sheriff: 'I Felt Like a Failure'
WEBMD
By Katherine Kam, Reviewed by Melinda Ratini, DO, MS
November 10, 2016

Like soldiers, cops prize a show of toughness, and acknowledging PTSD is hard. “It takes a lot for cops to talk about their internal feelings because we don’t want to be judged or we’re afraid our gun will be taken away from us. We may lose our job,” DiBona says. “I held all that in, and I told very few people what was going on.”

Nov. 10, 2016 -- In 31 years of police work, Sgt. Mark DiBona has witnessed a torrent of human tragedy. But it took a child’s death a decade ago to crush his spirit.

DiBona was sitting in his police cruiser at 3 a.m. when a mother drove up and screamed that her 6-month-old son had stopped breathing. Firefighters at a nearby station were out on a call, so DiBona tried to revive him with CPR. But the baby died from sudden infant death syndrome.

“I felt worthless that I could not save the baby through my training, and I tried my hardest,” he says.

After he attended the baby’s funeral, the nightmares started.

The baby appeared in terrifying dreams: in his mailbox, at the dinner table with him and his wife, in the passenger seat of the police car.

In one nightmare, the doorbell rang and DiBona answered it, startled to find the baby lying on his doorstep. “He was lifeless,” DiBona says. “I started doing CPR again, and I woke up in a cold sweat, yelling and screaming, just feeling bad that I couldn’t save the baby.”

During the day, DiBona was tormented by intrusive thoughts, as well as guilt and shame -- negative emotions that kept intensifying. He isolated himself from other officers.
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Knicks End Veteran's 18 Month Wait for Service Dog

WATCH: New York Knicks surprise Army veteran with service dog
United States Army Retired Sergeant First Class Luciano Yulfo and Murphy will make quite the team
CBS Sports
Ananth Pandian
November 10, 2016

The New York Knicks may be having issues with the triangle offense and their defense but they are still making dreams come true.

During a break in action against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, the Knicks utilized the time by honoring United States Army Retired Sergeant First Class Luciano Yulfo, who served the country for 36 years. The Knicks presented Yulfo with a custom jersey and former All-Star Larry Johnson was on hand to thank the retired sergeant for his service. But then the Knicks made the moment even more special for Yulfo as they surprised him with a service dog, which he has been waiting to get for 18 months.
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