CT army veteran gets discharge upgrade CT Post By Peggy McCarthy, Conn. Health I-Team Writer April 2, 2018
Connecticut veterans’ leader and decorated soldier Stephen Kennedy has won his eight-year battle to have his Army discharge status upgraded to honorable.
Kennedy, 31, of Fairfield, president of the Connecticut branch of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, will continue his federal class action lawsuit on behalf of Army veterans nationwide who received less than honorable discharges for behavior later attributed to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Kennedy said his Army service “was really central to my identity. I was really proud of that. To have them say it was less than honorable, to have that kind of stamp on it…has been a cloud over the memory of my service.”
“It’s hard not to really take that to heart,” he said, adding that the upgrade “really feels great.”
Kennedy served in Iraq for 13 months. In the Army, he was given leadership positions, fast-tracked to become a sergeant and honored with several awards including the Combat Infantry Badge, Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal. His discharge status was based on his going Absent Without Leave for his wedding and honeymoon, a behavior he later said was uncharacteristic for him and based on PTSD, which had resulted from his military service. He had become suicidal and self-destructive, cutting himself and drinking and smoking heavily.
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Medal of Honor recipient Michael Novosel saved more than 5,000 in Vietnam ― including his son Vietnam Magazine By: Doug Sterner March 30, 2018
A month before the father was to return home, the son’s helicopter came under fire, and Novosel Jr. made an emergency landing. Novosel Sr., with wounded aboard his helicopter, dropped down to pick up his son and the grounded dustoff crew. One week later, Novosel Sr. and his helicopter were grounded. He recognized the pilot coming to the rescue him—it was his son. “I’ll never hear the last of this,” Novosel recalled saying.
“Dustoff.” In 1963 that was the call sign for helicopter pilots who pioneered emergency medical evacuations during the Vietnam War. About 3,000 pilots and crewmen flew unarmed air ambulances, often into heavy fire, to medevac more than 100,000 severely wounded men, and 33 percent became casualties themselves.
Michael “Mike” J. Novosel, a native of Etna, Pennsylvania, took a circuitous route to the cockpit of a UH-1H Huey medevac copter. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps (a predecessor to the U.S. Air Force) in February 1941 to become a pilot but was a quarter-inch shy of the 5-foot, 4-inch requirement for the aviation cadet program and found himself in a pay clerk’s job.
In his 1999 Dustoff: The Memoir of an Army Aviator, Novosel recounted his effort to beat the height requirement. He had read that people are tallest in the morning before they stand and the body compresses, so on the day of the measurement Novosel’s buddies transported him to the medical facility on a makeshift stretcher. He still came up short, but a compassionate medical officer “stretched” his height on paper.
After earning his wings in December 1942, Novosel became a B-24 pilot training aerial gunners in World War II. He placed a pillow behind him in the pilot seat so his feet could reach the rudder pedals. He later flew B-29s on four combat missions in the Pacific. During the Japanese surrender ceremony on Sept. 2, 1945, he was one of 500 pilots to fly in formation over Tokyo Bay. read more here
As many as 11,800 military families face deportation issues, group says Military Times By: Tara Copp April 1, 2018
“It used to be veterans we’d see more frequently. We’re now seeing an uptick in active-duty people.” Nancy Kuznetsov
As many as 11,800 currently serving in the U.S. military are dealing with a spouse or family member who is facing deportation, a national immigration advocacy group announced Friday.
Esperanza Perez and her husband, Miguel Perez, parents of war veteran Miguel Perez Jr., stand with a handful of military veterans during a news conference Feb. 27 at the Lincoln Methodist Church in Chicago. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed March 26 that Miguel Perez had been deported to Mexico because of a 2008 drug-trafficking conviction. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune via AP)
No previous estimate, official or unofficial, has been available on just how many of the 1 million married military members currently on active duty, National Guard or Reserve status may be dealing with the stress of having a spouse, dependent or parent deported.
It’s also not a number that can be easily checked, or verified, because neither DoD, the Department of Homeland Security nor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tracks military status in immigration proceedings.
American Families United, a non-profit immigration advocacy group, calculated the estimate using 2011 U.S. Census statistics, which found that 6.3 percent of the 129 million married Americans are married to foreign-born spouses. The Pew Research Center found that one in four of those foreign-born spouses are in the country illegally. About 75 percent of that population comes from countries like Mexico, where if they entered illegally, they have a harder time obtaining legal status, as opposed to a person from Europe who might have overstayed a visa, said American Families United President Randall Emery. read more here
Family searches for answers after missing Oregon Natl. Guardsman found dead KATU 2 News Keaton Thomas April 1, 2018
Veber says her brother's body was found in the river near Waverly Country Club on Wednesday night by fisherman. Deputies do not suspect foul play was involved.
PORTLAND, Ore. -- The body of Marty Nance, an Oregon Air National Guardsman reported missing back in January, was found Wednesday in the Willamette River, but family members are still hoping for answers in his disappearance and death.
Lisa Veber, Nance's sister, says a chaplain with the Clackamas County Sheriff's office told her about the discovery Thursday night.
If he had problems, Veber said, "Marty was a fixer, Marty was a doer."
That being said, Veber understands it's possible her brother may have committed suicide. read more here
Getting the demon out PTSD Patrol Kathie Costos April 1, 2018
You have this great vehicle and take pride in it. You make sure it is clean. You even go to have the body detailed, so it sparkles in the sunlight. If you do not take care of the parts that power it, then it will sit there and rust. The tires will go flat and you'll cover it, ashamed of what you let happen to it. What about the vehicle the carries everything that powers you? That wonderful spirit inside of you needs detail work too. After all, that spirit is what caused you to want to be of service to others. It is what enabled you to train to do it. Endure all the hardships that came with that job. It gave you the courage to rush toward what you knew could end your life. It is also what can help you heal your life. How is it that you can find it so easy to believe that you were meant to do your job saving lives, yet do not believe you are worthy of saving your own? PTSD is fueled by the acid of doubt. It eats away at everything that is good within you. The devil is in that detail. The demons are in control of every negative thought you have and they enjoy causing you pain. You went to bed one night filled with hope long ago. So long ago, you cannot remember what it felt like. The sense of being wrong believing in the power within you became stronger. Now, you are not sure of who you are anymore. It is time to see the miracle of redemption and the see that everything you need to heal is within your body. Time to work on that. read more here
