Florida Airman retires after 44 years!

Longest Serving Air Force General Retires After 44 Years of Service
News 13
Penton LoCicero
July 2, 3018

Hurlburt Field, Fla. - Honor, duty and commitment are what it takes to lead an entire crew into harms way and still return victorious. It's been a successful career for an Air Force General, who is longest serving general and is now ready for retirement.

Trumpets sounded and flags flew as Lieutenant General Brad Heithold took his final salute after serving for 44 years in the Air force.

"My entire youthful years were dedicated to service to this country and to the United State Air Force. So, really today this day capsulated really all 44 years of my extremely proud service to the country," said Lt. Gen. Brad A. Heithold, United States Air Force, Retired.

Hundreds of distinguished military guest and the Chief of Staff for the U.S. Air Force gathered to celebrate, as Heithold officially enters retirement. He enlisted in the air force in 1974 and was commissioned in 1981.

Forty-four years later, Heithold has an outstanding list of accomplishments.
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#MissingSalior U.S. Navy Seaman Shaun Palmer

UPDATE

"Seaman Shaun Palmer is assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.“Please help me find my son,” his mom, Diane, tweeted, adding that her son’s phone is dead and there has been no activity on his credit cards."

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Search for missing Navy sailor last seen in Waikiki
KHON 2 News
By: Brigette Namata
Posted: Jul 02, 2018

HONOLULU (KHON2) - U.S. Navy Seaman Shaun Palmer failed to report for duty at Marine Corps Base Hawaii on July 1, and was classified as unauthorized absence on July 2, after 24 hours.

Palmer is a hospital corpsman assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

A missing persons report has been filed with the Honolulu Police Department and his command is working closely with local and military officials to find the missing sailor.

Palmer was not scheduled to participate in the ongoing Exercise Rim of the Pacific, a large maritime exercise taking place on and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California.

Palmer's mother Elizabeth Diane Unterein, who lives in California, said she received a call from the military of her son's disappearance on Monday morning. She ran multiple scenarios in her head. "Maybe he just went out and had too much to drink and he'll show up... and he hasn't shown up."

On Saturday night, Palmer was last seen outside the Kelly O'Neil's bar on Lewers Street in Waikiki.
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Kansas City VA found liable for Iraq veteran committing suicide

Court Slaps VA With Damages After Finding It Liable In Suicide Of Kansas City Veteran
KCUR
All Things Considered
Dan Margolis
July 3, 2018

On St. Patrick’s Day, 2010, after arguing with his girlfriend, Draughon shot and killed himself in front of his girlfriend and brother. He was 28 years old.

Cpl. William Draughon in his Marine Corps Blue Dress uniform.

DONALD AND LAURIE DRAUGHON

After finding the Veterans Health Administration liable earlier this year for the suicide of an Iraq war veteran, a federal judge has awarded more than $480,000 to his father and two children.

In what was thought to be one of the few verdicts of its kind, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ruled in February that the negligence of the VA directly contributed to the death of Cpl. William Draughon of Kansas City.

Draughon was a squad leader and gunner in Iraq for seven months in 2004 before he was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps.

After he returned to the Kansas City area, he began drinking heavily and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. During one of several hospitalizations at the Kansas City VA, he’d been flagged as being at high risk for suicide. Although no risk assessment was done, a suicide prevention coordinator at the hospital removed the high-risk flag from his electronic medical records 90 days later.
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Huey vandalized at American Legion

Vandals damage helicopter used in Vietnam War
Columbus Dispatch
Marc Kovac
July 3, 2018

NEWARK — Local veterans are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of vandals responsible for damaging a Vietnam-era helicopter that’s been displayed at schools and in parades for decades.

The UH-1 “Huey” helicopter was used in the Vietnam War for about five years and subsequently for stints by the U.S. Navy and the Ohio National Guard before it was transferred to Newark about 30 years ago for display.

Sometime over the weekend, vandals broke out two of the windows on the chopper, which was parked at the American Legion Post 85 on Wilson Street in Newark, said Mark Rehl, president of Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 55, District 1.

“It’s very upsetting,” he said.

The aircraft, which rides atop a customized boat trailer, has been used as a mobile historic display at community and school events, with frequent appearances during parades. It’s also been a help to local veterans, some suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from their service years.

Anyone with information about the weekend vandalism of the aircraft is encouraged to contact the local Vietnam Veterans of America chapter at (740) 927-6272.
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PTSD on Trial: Case dropped against veteran who bit nurse

DA drops case against patient who bit nurse
The Oregonian/OregonLive
By Aimee Green
July 2, 2018

A Northwest Portland man was injected with a sedative, then hours later bit a nurse. He faced criminal charges, until recently.(The Associated Press)

Prosecutors have dropped charges against a 35-year-old Portland man charged with assault for biting a nurse while he was heavily sedated and taken to a hospital against his will.

Advocates from the Criminal Justice Reform Clinic at Lewis and Clark Law School took up the case of Brandon Michael Gabaldon when they heard the circumstances of what happened to him.

Ambulance medics injected Gabaldon with as much as 15 times the normal dose of the sedative Versed and then took him to Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital in Northwest Portland in November 2016, said Lewis and Clark law professor Aliza Kaplan, in a friend-of-the-court brief in Gabaldon's case.

Hours later, Gabaldon woke from a deep, medicated sleep -- and after an argument broke out, Gabaldon ended up biting the nurse's elbow, according to the brief.
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