UK: Afghanistan Veteran Wins Q Fever Disability Claim

Afghanistan veteran wins landmark Q fever compensation claim
The Guardian
Owen Bowcott
November 24, 2016

Ruling may pave way for MoD payouts to others affected by illness that left ex-Royal Marine Phillip Eaglesham in wheelchair

Phillip Eaglesham competed for Ireland in the Rio Paralympics.

Photograph: Diarmuid Greene/Sportsfile via Getty Images

An Afghanistan war veteran who contracted Q fever has won a landmark compensation claim against the Ministry of Defence that could pave the way for payouts to others.

Phillip Eaglesham, a former Royal Marine commando corporal, contracted the chronic condition two days before he was due to return home from a tour of duty in 2010.

He developed flu-like symptoms, fatigue and sweating, which developed into muscular weakness and he is now in a wheelchair.

Eaglesham, 35, who lives with his wife and children in Taunton, Somerset, is likely to receive a significant sum in damages, possibly more than £1m. He regularly requires care to help him with needs as basic as brushing his teeth.

Q fever, caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii, is spread when spores from animals are dispersed by the wind. It was first identified in Australia in the 1930s.

Eaglesham’s lawyers argued that the MoD should have known that the infection was present in southern Afghanistan and that it could have prevented it causing serious illness.
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Fort Hood Soldier Found Dead at Home

Army identifies Fort Hood soldier found dead at home
Army Times
By: Charlsy Panzino
November 21, 2016

A Fort Hood soldier who was found unresponsive in his off-post home on Friday has been identified.

Officials at the Texas post said Spc. Korey Deonte James died in Killeen, Texas, according to an Army press release.

The 21-year-old had been assigned to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood since January. He had served on active duty since August 2014 as a food service specialist, according to the release.
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Memphis VA Erased Claims of Veterans?

FOX13 Investigates: Claims of Memphis veterans being erased from VA system
FOX 13 News
by: Marius Payton
Nov 24, 2016

Waiting over a year just to see a doctor. FOX13 Investigates, obtained a secret wait list from a whistleblower who works at the Memphis VA hospital.

This list shows ridiculous wait times for dozens of vets to get the care they need and some may never get it at all. Some of these veterans are suffering from mental health issues and need help.

Of the 47 people on the list, the longest wait is 403 days, the shortest 206. We've all heard the phrase "Support Our Troops". Well, a whistleblower who wishes to remain anonymous tells FOX13 there are hundreds of veterans in need of support and the VA hospital here in Memphis is treating them more like villains instead of the heroes that they truly are.

"We were told not to add any more people to the electronic wait list.” When we asked what happens to the people who are on the existing list, the whistleblower responded emotionally. “They were still on the consultation list and then the consultations were discontinued.”

FOX13 obtained this internal email telling the staff, "Once a veteran is placed on the EWL, or electronic wait list, the consult should be discontinued."
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Iraq Veteran Received Gift of Love

Iraq war veteran receives gift that evokes memories of fallen comrade and snowboarding buddy
The Gazette
By: Debbie Kelley
November 24, 2016

"For a mom, I can't describe the feeling - it was such a wonderful tribute to my son. He loved snowboarding," she said in a phone interview from her home in upstate New York.

A heart-wrenching story has turned heartwarming, and a local Iraq war veteran says he couldn't be more grateful for everyone who had a hand in the unexpected about-face.

Jason McDonald holds the snowboard Burton made for him to replace the stolen one he had as a tribute to his buddy and comrade Chris Simpson who was killed in Iraq Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016, at his Colorado Springs home.

(The Gazette, Christian Murdock)

"It feels like a big void has been refilled," said Jason McDonald, a civilian contractor who works at Fort Carson's down-range training area.

McDonald claims he was wrongfully evicted from his Colorado Springs apartment in May, and in the process, his military commendation medals, uniforms, breathing machine and other valuables went missing.

The 36-year-old medically retired Army staff sergeant was deployed five times to Iraq and receives treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
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Bonus Betrayal of National Guard Soldiers Again?

Soldier Who Led Suit On Bonuses Now Asks Lawmakers To Slow Down
CBS Los Angeles
November 23, 2016

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Sgt. 1st Class Bryan Strother has been a spokesman of sorts for many of the California National Guard members told to pay back thousands of dollars in enlistment bonuses they got a decade ago.

“I’m worried about future good faith in the military and its contracts,” Strother said.

He filed a class-action lawsuit and was part of the push to bring attention to the issue.

Now that there are three proposed bills in Congress to solve the problem, Strother is saying slow down.

He feels politicians are rushing to be first to pass a bill without listening to all concerns.

“There are all kinds of soldiers that could fall through the cracks, soldiers that have not even been paid their bonuses,” Strother said.

He points to Bruce Himelright, a veteran who served in Iraq and was awarded a Bronze Star for bravery.

According to the lawsuit, he was only given half his promised bonus, then was told he’ll never get the other half.
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And then read how this is not the first time soldiers were betrayed.

Bonus Army War in Washington
As many as 20,000 former soldiers and their families had converged on Washington in the summer of 1932, the height of the Great Depression, to support Texas Congressman Wright Patman’s bill to advance the bonus payment promised to World War I veterans. Congress had authorized the plan in 1924, intending to compensate the veterans for wages lost while serving in the military during the war. But payment was to be deferred until 1945. Just one year earlier, in 1931, Congress overrode a presidential veto on a bill to provide, as loans, half the amount due to the men. When the nation’s economy worsened, the half-bonus loans were not enough, and the unemployed veterans now sought the balance in cash. Known as Bonus Marchers, they came in desperation from all across the nation, hopping freight trains, driving dilapidated jalopies or hitchhiking, intent on pressuring Congress to pass the legislation. The administration vehemently opposed the measure, believing it inflationary and impractical given the $2 billion annual budget deficit.