Veterans battling PTSD are being sacked by heartless employers, top army officer claims
Portsmouth News UK
Tom Cotterill
May 26, 2018
TRAUMATISED veterans battling a silent war against mental health are still facing an uphill struggle against fearful employers, a decorated army officer has claimed.
Lieutenant Colonel Chris Parker has hit out saying ex-soldiers, diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are still being penalised by employers. This comes despite a national drive for companies to sign up to the armed forces covenant, which is a pledge to offer fair treatment for military veterans and their families.
The retired officer – who was chief of staff of the 8,000-strong 7th Armoured Brigade in the Middle East during the Iraq War – said scores of troops were being sacked or pushed out of roles after admitting to their condition. Lt Col Parker, who grew up in Cowplain and is the chairman of the Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment Association – which looks after troops across the area – said things needed to change.
Speaking to The News, the nine-time combat veteran said: ‘There is clearly evidence that, although the public is very positive and say when asked they will support the military, it can be a very different story with employers.
‘The sad news is once employers find out their employees have PTSD or have had mental health issues in the past, very often we find people lose their jobs. ‘There seems to be a fear that someone will turn into an axe murderer. This certainly isn’t an issue.
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Veterans with offenses struggling to find jobs
The Associated Press
By JENNIFER McDERMOTT
May 26, 2018
"You may as well be a felon when you're looking for a job," said Iraq War veteran Kristofer Goldsmith, who said the Army gave him a general discharge in 2007 because he attempted suicide.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Military veterans who were discharged for relatively minor offenses say they often can't get jobs, and they hope a recent warning to employers by the state of Connecticut will change that.
In this May 9, 2018 photo, Iraq War veteran Kristofer Goldsmith, sits in a campus park after his last final exam of the semester at Columbia University in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
The state's human-rights commission told employers last month that they could be breaking the law if they discriminate against veterans with some types of less-than-honorable discharges. Blanket policies against hiring such veterans could be discriminatory, the commission said, because the military has issued them disproportionately to black, Hispanic, gay and disabled veterans.
At least one other state, Illinois, already prohibits hiring discrimination based on a veteran's discharge status, advocates say, but Connecticut appears to be the first to base its decision on what it deems discrimination by the military.
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We build monuments to honor the lives lost of those who risked all for us.
We have ceremonies talking about all they gave.
We have politicians making speeches about how much our heroes matter.
When do we finally acknowledge we suck at risking anything for them?
Police officers fight to save victims of crimes and accidents...and each other.
Firefighters fight to save victims of fires and accidents...and each other.
Reserve and National Guard members fight to recover victims and save survivors of natural disasters...and each other.
Servicemembers risk their lives for strangers...and each other.
The price they pay for all they do for us will never be repaid by us. It haunts them and they forget they did not do their jobs alone, but fight this alone.
Friends do not let friends decide to give up. They fight for them when they cannot fight for themselves.
Friends to not let friends suffer in silence. They speak up for them.
Friends do not walk away because they do not know what to say. They find someone who does.
Friends do not let friends repeat lies. The number of these men and women, who did all they could to save lives of strangers, but not their own, is unknown.
If you do not know why, then you have not bothered to take the time to research anything.
Stop spreading something that is simply not true. It is the least we can do.
U.S. troops guarding nuclear missiles took LSD, Air Force records show
CBS News
May 24, 2018
A slipup on social media by one airman enabled investigators to crack the drug ring at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in March 2016, details of which are reported here for the first time. Fourteen airmen were disciplined. Six of them were convicted in courts martial of LSD use or distribution or both.
WASHINGTON -- One airman said he felt paranoia. Another marveled at the vibrant colors. A third Air Force member admitted, "I absolutely just loved altering my mind." Meet service members entrusted with guarding nuclear missiles that are among the most powerful in America's arsenal who used LSD both on and off base.
Air Force records obtained by The Associated Press show they bought, distributed and used the hallucinogen LSD and other mind-altering illegal drugs as part of a ring that operated undetected for months on a highly secure military base in Wyoming. After investigators closed in, one airman deserted to Mexico.
"Although this sounds like something from a movie, it isn't," said Capt. Charles Grimsley, the lead prosecutor of one of several courts martial.
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2 civilians rushed to their cars to get their guns before fatally shooting Oklahoma City restaurant gunman
ABC News
By JULIA JACOBO MEGHAN KENEALLY
May 25, 2018
Not one, but two men ran to their respective cars to grab their guns when a shooter opened fire at an Oklahoma City restaurant Thursday.
Police Capt. Bo Matthews said today that both of those men shot suspect Alexander C. Tilghman on Thursday. Tilghman died as a result of those gunshots.
The two civilians have been identified by police as Juan Carlos Nazario, 35, and Bryan Whittle, 39.
"You are welcome," Nazario said to local ABC affiliate KOCO after the shooting. "Just did what was trained to do to neutralize the situation."
Whittle’s family told ABC News that he served in Afghanistan and has been in the National Guard for almost 20 years.
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Jason Seaman is teacher credited with stopping school shooting, according to students
Mother says Seaman was shot 3 times
RTV 6 News
Matt McKinney, Rafael Sanchez
May 25, 2018
NOBLESVILLE, Ind. -- The mother of the teacher credited with helping to stop a school shooting at Noblesville West Middle School says her son, Jason Seaman, was shot three times.
Seaman is a science teacher at the school.
Multiple students on the scene say Seaman was the teacher who helped stop the shooter
His mother, Kristi, says her son was shot in the abdomen, the hip and the forearm, according to her Facebook page. She says Jason is out of surgery and is "doing well."
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