Ex-Marine to serve 18 years after attempt to run over Las Vegas pastor
A former Marine convicted of menacing his neighbors and attacking a Las Vegas pastor was ordered to serve up to 46 years behind bars on Tuesday.
Walter Laak was found guilty but mentally ill in August after prosecutors argued that he knew his actions in September 2016 were illegal, while acknowledging that the Iraq War veteran suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder...He was acquitted of one count of assault with a deadly weapon.
Laak, who served two tours of duty in Iraq, was accused of beating and attempting to run over a Las Vegas pastor with his vehicle, then driving to the victim’s home and firing multiple gunshots into it while the pastor’s wife and children were inside. It was the third serious crime for which Laak faced charges since his return from combat. He was given a general discharge in 2005. read more here
We’re Too Excited About MDMA’s Potential for Treating PTSD is the headline, however, it is far from new. They have been "researching" it since the 70's.
Florida man rescued after clinging to capsized boat for nearly 20 hours says he prayed, 'called on the Father'
“A bigger wave came and it just filled the back of the boat up and it just went down,” Stills told FOX35.
The grandfather and Vietnam War veteran grabbed onto the boat while his friend, 73-year-old Earnest Jones, ended up in the water with a lifejacket on.
“Then he started drifting off and he told me to stay with the boat,” Stills told FOX35. read more here
An Army Veteran Wages War on Social-Media Disinformation
The Wall Street Journal
Kris Goldsmith’s campaign to get Facebook Inc. to close fake accounts targeting U.S. veterans started with a simple search.
He was seeking last year to gauge the popularity of the Facebook page for his employer, Vietnam Veterans of America. The first listing was an impostor account called “Vietnam Vets of America” that had stolen his group’s logo and had more than twice as many followers.
Mr. Goldsmith, a 33-year-old Army veteran, sent Facebook what he thought was a straightforward request to take down the bogus page.
At first, Facebook told him to try to work it out with the authors of the fake page, whom he was never able to track down. Then, after two months, Facebook deleted it.
The experience launched him on a hunt for other suspicious Facebook pages that target military personnel and veterans by using patriotic messages and fomenting political divisions. It has become a full-time job. read more here
Update
The Air Force on Wednesday identified the American pilot killed in a crash of a Ukrainian Su-27 aircraft as Lt. Col. Seth “Jethro” Nehring, of the California Air National Guard.
Air Force confirms California guardsman killed in fighter crash in Ukraine
Stars and Stripes
Jennifer H. Svan
October 17, 2018
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – An Air National Guard member from California was killed along with a Ukrainian servicemember in a Ukrainian Su-27UB fighter crash Tuesday evening in Ukraine during a large-scale military aviation exercise, officials with U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa confirmed Wednesday.
A Sukhoi Su-27 takes off from Starokostiantyniv Air Base, Ukraine, Oct. 9, 2018 as part of the Clear Sky 2018 exercise.
CHARLES VAUGHN/AIR NATIONAL GUARD
The U.S. airman was a member of the 144th Fighter Wing, California Air National Guard, based in Fresno, Calif. The airman’s name is being withheld for 24 hours pending next of kin notification, USAFE-AFAFRICA officials said in a statement late Wednesday morning.
read more here
For the first time, a woman is leading the largest command in the US Army
CNN
Andrea Diaz
October 16, 2018
(CNN)Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson has succeeded in breaking through a few glass ceilings in the US Army. Now she's set to break a new one.
Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson earned her pilot's license at age 16 and has flown to high rank in the Army.
For the first time in US Army Forces Command, or FORSCOM, history, a woman will be leading the largest command in the Army, representing 776,000 soldiers and 96,000 civilians.
This may be a first for the Army, but Richardson has had other firsts.
She has been with the US Army since 1986, and in 2012 she became the first female deputy commanding general for the 1st Cavalry Division, known as "America's First Team."
In 2017, she became second in command to Gen. Robert B. Abrams, when she was named the first female deputy commanding general of FORSCOM in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the US Army reported.
Now, Richardson will become the first female commanding general of the US Army FORSCOM as Abrams steps down from his post, reported CNN affiliate WTVD.
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Retired Marine dead after teen allegedly shot him by mistake
Military Times
J.D. Simkins
October 16, 2018
Joe Darius Black, Jr. was on the enlisted side before serving the rest of his 20-year career as an officer. The 48-year-old retired major was fatally struck by a round last week as he sat on his porch in South Carolina. (Index Journal)
A 17-year-old is under arrest and a retired Marine is dead after a round the teen allegedly fired from a handgun in the direction of a road sign struck the Marine in the chest as he sat on his porch on Oct. 10.
Eason Reid Gravley, of South Carolina, turned himself in to the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 13, The State newspaper reported, and has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and possession of a handgun.
Gravley was released on a $25,000 recognizance bond and placed on a curfew, the report said. Under South Carolina law, he can face up to five years in prison for the involuntary manslaughter charge.
The victim, 48-year-old retired Maj. Joe D. Black Jr., was struck in the chest after the round “passed through or by the road sign,” then traveled through a wooded area adjacent to the Marine’s house, investigators reported.
read more here
Furious campaigners blast MoD amid fresh claims it is turning a ‘blind eye’ to veteran suicides
Portsmouth UK
Tom Cotterill
October 16, 2018
The dad-of-six, who overcame suicidal thoughts after his time in the army, said: ‘It’s a betrayal by this government to not keep track of people who lose their lives through the hidden wounds of war. ‘All of our allies do it – Germany does it, America does it, so do Australia and Canada. It’s an embarrassment that our government is failing to take action.
CAMPAIGNERS have accused bureaucrats at Whitehall of continuing to bury their hands in the sand and refusing to heed cries to do more to tackle veteran suicide rates. For the past few months, The News has been calling on the Ministry of Defence to up its game and do more for former troops traumatised by the horrors of war.
It comes after an investigation by this paper revealed no records were kept by the MoD of the number of veterans taking their lives – sparking claims the government was ‘turning a blind eye’ to the issue.But now, months after campaigners demanded changes to bring the UK in line with its allies like America and Canada – who do record veteran suicides – The News has learned the Ministry of Defence still hasn’t taken action.
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