Tuesday, October 2, 2018

126,000 Active Duty National Guard and Reservists may have to leave military?

About 126,000 Troops May Be at Risk of Separation Under Deploy-or-Out
Military.com
By Oriana Pawlyk
October 2, 2018
Special considerations are given to those who've been wounded in combat, Mulcahy said.
Sailors, Airmen, and Soldiers salute in formation during the closing ceremony June 5, 2018, of an Innovative Readiness Training in Thomasville, Alabama. (U.S. Air National Guard/Airman Cameron Lewis)

The number of U.S. military personnel being reviewed under the Pentagon's new deploy-or-out policy is likely to change in coming weeks as each of the services determines who's eligible for retention, the head of the Defense Department's personnel management said Tuesday. The policy, announced by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in February, officially took effect Oct. 1.

"This retention determination is clearly made on a case-by-case, individual basis," said Patricia Mulcahy, director of officer and enlisted personnel management, during a phone call with reporters.
As of Aug. 31, approximately 126,000 active-duty, National Guard and Reserve component personnel were considered non-deployable, said OSD spokeswoman Jessica Maxwell. While that excludes trainees, it accounts for roughly six percent of the total force, taking into consideration temporary and permanent non-deployable service members, she said.
read more here

Veterans in other news

When reporters decided that they would cover politics more than anything else, everything else went unnoticed but we were actually looking out for veterans.

So, dear readers, here are veterans reports in other news!

Vietnam veteran was fired as Dean of military school
Why? He used cannabis for cancer.

Missing since Pearl Harbor Sailor's remains were identified as Harold Lloyd Head.

Widow of Sgt. Richard Kutch, will run the Marine Marathon to honor her husband. He committed suicide five years ago.

Army veteran Tyler Lackey was murdered at an ATM two years ago. Man was just convicted of it.

Navy veteran's puppies were stolen from his home. He is disabled.

Veteran reacted to the latest VA budget, sold by reporters as the largest in history, but did not mention that most of that increase goes to private providers and not into the VA.

Volunteers helped a Vietnam veteran who has been living out of his car. Why? His house was ruined by Hurricane Harvey. Yes, that long ago.

Two soldiers in Alaska were hunting when a bear dropped on them from a ridge after being shot. One of them has "life threatening injuries."

Lt. Col. Patrick Schreiber's adopted daughter is being deported. Why? He did not fill out the papers in time. He was deployed.

VA Secretary Robert Wilkie went to check the damage done to VA facilities by Hurricane Florence.

A headline that has been about Staff Sgt. Ronald Shurer II, receiving the Medal of Honor, should have mentioned that he is also dying of stage 4 lung cancer and has set up a GoFundMe for his family. Oh, by the way, he has also been serving in the Secret Service for President Trump.

There are a lot more but those are just from today on Google+.

Then again, considering they are also reporting on veterans committing suicide, missing several keys points, here are a few of those too.

Veteran suicides have increased, not decreased. The number of living veterans has decreased since 2005 but clearly this chart shows the bigger picture.
But reporters do not seem to mention any of this, other than a few who actually care.

You can also check to see how your state did with all the "raising awareness" campaigns going on, and on, and on.

Monday, October 1, 2018

Medal of Honor recipient saved lives, now has GoFundMe for his family

UPDATE Ronald Shurer, Medal of Honor recipient who saved lives in Afghanistan, dies at 41

Former Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Shurer II, who received the Medal of Honor in 2018 for braving heavy gunfire to save lives in Afghanistan, has died of cancer. He was 41.

Miranda Shurer said her husband died Thursday in Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. She said he was diagnosed with cancer three years ago.
read it here on CBS News

Trump Awards Medal of Honor to His Own Secret Service Agent
Military.com
By Matthew Cox
1 Oct 2018
A decade later, Shurer is fighting another battle -- this time with stage 4 lung cancer. More than 500 people have joined his cause and are attempting to raise $100,000 for his family through a gofundme account.
President Donald Trump on Monday awarded the Medal of Honor to former Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Shurer II, a Secret Service agent who is now fighting a battle with cancer.
Associated Press
"Today is a truly proud and special day for those of us here in the White House because Ron works right here alongside of us on the Secret Service counter-assault team; these are incredible people," Trump told a crowded room filled with Shurer's family, fellow soldiers and Army senior leaders. The assault force encountered no enemy activity during the 1,000-foot climb to their objective, but as the lead element approached the target village, "roughly 200 well-trained and well-armed terrorists ambushed the American and Afghan forces," he said.
Shurer, the mission's only medic, immediately began treating wounded. He then sprinted and climbed through enemy fire to reach several of his teammates who were pinned down on a cliff above.
read more here

How is your state doing on Veteran Suicides?

The Department of Veterans Affairs data on veteran suicide for 2016. How is your state? Considering Florida and Texas tie for 1st place, it is interesting to see what other states are reporting. 

The challenge for reporters is to actually read the report this time, and they stop the slogan of "22 a day" since that number has been proven to be false. The VA warned about it being taken from limited data from just 21 states. Yet reporters must have thought, "hey that sounds good to me" so they pushed it. They still are. Check your state and then get an eyeopener at the end.

The challenge for us is, discovering how many veterans charities are in your state claiming to be "raising awareness" at the same time?

ALABAMA
An estimated 34.2 Alabama veterans per 100,000 died by suicide in 2016, compared to the national veteran suicide rate of 30.1 per 100,000. Among the civilian population, the national suicide rate drops to 17.5.

The state of Alabama boasts a higher percentage of its population as veterans. In 2016, the VA found 9.8 percent of the adult population of Alabama to be veterans, compared to 6.6 percent nationally. A total of 373,761 veterans live in our state. WAFF 48 News
128

ALASKA
17

ARIZONA
227

ARKANSAS
79

CALIFORNIA
490

COLORADO
175

CONNECTICUT
36

DELAWARE
24

WASHINGTON DC
LESS THAN10

FLORIDA 
530

GEORGIA 
202

HAWAII
11

IDAHO
58

ILLINOIS
162

INDIANA
70

IOWA
64

KANSAS
60

KENTUKY
108

LOUISIANA
75

MAINE
29

MARYLAND
67

MASSACHUSETTS
68

MICHIGAN
159

MINNESOTA
95

MISSISSIPPI
50

MISSOURI
154

MONTANA
42

NEBRASKA
27

NEVADA
According to the latest data released by the U.S. Department of Veterans affairs., Nevada's veteran suicide rate is also significantly higher than the national rate. 8 News Las Vegas
The vast majority are men of all ages. The local V.A. Hospital in North Las Vegas helps more than 60,000 military members. About 20,000 of them seek mental health treatment.
107

NEW HAMPSHIRE
33

NEW JERSEY
67

NEW MEXICO
71

NEW YORK
153

NORTH CAROLINA
184

NORTH DAKOTA
16

OHIO
245

OKLAHOMA
110

OREGON
122

Oregon advocates target alarming veteran suicide rate


One such tragedy happens in Oregon every 3 days

PENNSYLVANIA
263

PUERTO RICO
LESS THAN10

RHODE ISLAND
16

SOUTH CAROLINA
120

SOUTH DAKOTA
18

TENNESSEE
156

TEXAS
530

UTAH
59

VERMONT
25

VIRGINIA
196

WASHINGTON
174

WEST VIRGINIA
50

WISCONSIN
132

WYOMING
23
Right now they are jumping on the "decrease" in suicides while not mentioning the fact the number of veterans living at the time, has gone down every year. The rate has gone up until 2016 when it went down by only .4%.

Do not let them get away with pushing a slogan this time too. If not, then what do you think the next report will look like? 

Motorcycle accident claimed life of Camp Lejeune Marine

Camp Lejeune Marine killed in motorcycle accident
WITN NBC News
September 30, 2018

SNEADS FERRY, N.C. (WITN) - A Camp Lejeune Marine was killed in a motorcycle accident Saturday evening, Highway Patrol Troopers said.
The accident happened along Old Folkstone Road near Scuba Drive in Sneads Ferry around 5:55 p.m., Trooper Adam Hostinsky said.

The motorcyclist, Trevor Richardet, 19, had been traveling east on Old Folkstone Road at a high rate of speed when a pick-up truck pulled out of a driveway in front of him, Hostinsky said.
read more here