Did General Mattis Leave Green Berets to Die in Afghanistan?

Trump's Defense Pick Accused of Delaying Aid to Wounded Soldiers
NBC News
by KEN DILANIAN
DEC 2 2016

A former Army Special Forces officer is accusing retired Marine General James Mattis, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be defense secretary, of "leaving my men to die" after they were hit by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2001.

Mattis has not commented publicly on the incident, which was chronicled in a 2011 New York Times bestselling book, "The Only Thing Worth Dying For," by Eric Blehm. The book portrays Mattis as stubbornly unwilling to help the Green Berets.

His actions, which were not formally investigated at the time, are now likely to get far more scrutiny during the retired general's Senate confirmation process.

Trump's transition team did not respond to request for comment from NBC News. Nor did Mattis, whose 2013 retirement from the military means he would need a waiver from Congress to serve as the civilian Pentagon chief.

Mattis is a highly decorated former wartime commander who became famous for leading the 1st Marine Division's lightning fast movement into Baghdad during the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
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Florida Veteran's Home Set on Fire

Veteran's home set on fire, vandalized, investigators find anti-Trump graffiti racial slurs on walls
Home ransacked, children's beds set on fire
ABC News
Michael Paluska
Nov 29, 2016

PLANT CITY, Fla. - The State Fire Marshall is investigating a suspicious fire at a Plant City home that started early Tuesday morning.

Naval veteran Matthew Smith said he got the call just after 3 a.m. from his neighbor that fire trucks were across the street.

“Your heart kind of just sinks in your chest,” Smith said. “Definitely blessed to have not been here. It was pretty bad.”

Smith said the family was staying with their grandparents when he got the call. His 8-year-old daughter’s bed was set on fire along with his 18-month-old son’s crib. Every single room in the remainder of the home also suffered fire damage.

“The place was ransacked. Clothes from my room, all the way to the back, just made it everywhere.

Papers, important documents thrown everywhere, just torn up. The Christmas tree set up yesterday was knocked down and had been lit on fire. Every piece of furniture was pretty much burned through.”

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Female Iraq Veteran With PTSD Takes On TSA "Piggish Behavior"

Decorated Army veteran now marching in high heels, alleges retaliation at TSA
The Washington Post
By MANUEL ROIG-FRANZIA
Published: December 1, 2016

Bermudez's troubles have been exacerbated by health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder, which she says is related to her military service in Iraq. Although her protest has quite literally made her case highly visible, she is far from the only woman who alleges that her life has been upended by working at TSA.

Alyssa Bermudez protests in front of the Transportation Security Administration headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post

For Alyssa Bermudez, high heels, a dress and makeup are her new uniform as much as the one she wore in the sands of Iraq. They represent her evolution from Bronze Star soldier to professional woman.

She wears her new uniform — and carries a protest sign instead of a rifle — in her new role as whistleblower, marching on the streets outside the Transportation Security Administration headquarters in Arlington, Va.

Bermudez says she was driven to protest by the allegedly piggish behavior of men with whom she worked at the Transportation Security Administration headquarters across the street. These men ogled her, she claims, snickered about her being in a "harem" because she's pretty, and retaliated against her when she complained, ultimately stripping her of employment five days before her probationary period ended.

"TSA has a saying: If you see something, say something," Bermudez, 33, says one afternoon. "Little did I know that when I said something, I would be fighting the agency. It's a very daunting task."
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Army Thinks They Did Nothing Wrong on Discharges?

Senators, Military Specialists Say Army Report On Dismissed Soldiers Is Troubling
NPR
Heard on Morning Edition
Daniel Zwerdling
December 1, 2016

The Army's report states that only 3,327 of the more than 22,000 soldiers who had been kicked out met that legal test. As a result, investigators ignored the rest of the soldiers — roughly 19,000 of them — who had mental health problems or brain injuries.

U.S. Secretary of the Army Eric Fanning ordered a review after an NPR

investigation found thousands of soldiers diagnosed with mental health

problems or brain injuries were dismissed for misconduct. But the new

Army report concluded that it treated the soldiers fairly.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

An Army review concludes that commanders did nothing wrong when they kicked out more than 22,000 soldiers for misconduct after they came back from Iraq or Afghanistan – even though all of those troops had been diagnosed with mental health problems or brain injuries.

The Army's report, ordered by Secretary Eric Fanning, seeks to reassure members of Congress that it's treating wounded soldiers fairly. But senators and military specialists say the report troubles them.

"I don't think the Army understands the scope of this problem," says Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. "And I don't think they've conveyed the seriousness to get it right."

The Army's report is "unbelievable," says psychiatrist Judith Broder. "It's just bizarre." Broder was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Obama for organizing the Soldiers Project, a network of hundreds of psychotherapists and others who help troops and their families.
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Vietnam veteran in search of stolen wheelchair

Vietnam veteran in search of stolen wheelchair
KSL TV
By Alex Cabrero
Posted Nov 29th, 2016

WASHINGTON TERRACE — A lot of veterans don't like to talk about what they've experienced at war, especially those who served in Vietnam. But for some, even 45-plus years later, it seems bad things keep happening.

Life hasn't been easy for Jason Cody.

"I'm pushing myself, living alone like this," the Washington Terrace resident said, gesturing around the basement apartment he's called home for the past four years.

A Vietnam veteran, Cody suffers from several health issues: heart disease, bad lungs and post-traumatic stress disorder, to name a few.

"Bad dreams, that's the worst part," Cody said.

But through it all, he's kept on going — until he just couldn't go anymore.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Cody's new black-and-yellow wheelchair was stolen from outside his home.

"I kind of suspect somebody just decided they needed that wheelchair more than I did, or maybe (thought) they could sell it and make some money," Cody said.
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