Sgt. Tracy Renee Birkman's Father Angry

Virginia Sergeant, Mother Dies in Iraq
By Michael Laris and Meg Smith
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, January 28, 2008; 5:55 PM

Sgt. Tracy Renee Birkman, a mechanic and mother of three from the Roanoke area, died Friday after suffering non-combat-related injuries in Owesat, Iraq, according to military officials. The incident is under investigation, they said.

She is survived by her parents and three sons, all of New Castle, Va., according to officials from Fort Campbell, Ky., where her division, the 101st Airborne, is based.

Birkman's father, Jerald Griffith, a veteran of the Vietnam War, said his daughter was on her third deployment to Iraq.

"She's over there in a war we shouldn't even be involved in, on her third tour," Griffith said. He said he was angry with military officials for releasing information about his daughter's death, and with the media for its portrayal of soldiers such as himself.

"I didn't want it released. I am so [furious] about all this I can just scream," Griffith said. "I hate the media with just an unmitigated passion. You . . . lied about me when I was in Vietnam."

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Non-combat:Sgt. Tracy Renee Birkman dies in Iraq

Soldier dies in Iraq of non-combat injuries

The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jan 28, 2008 9:45:14 EST

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — A Fort Campbell-based soldier died Friday of non-combat injuries in Owesat, Iraq.

Sgt. Tracy Renee Birkman died, 41, of New Castle, Va., was assigned to the 626th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division.

Also this weekend, two soldiers were killed in separate bombings in Baghdad, the military said Sunday.

A Multi-National Division-Baghdad soldier died Sunday after the soldier’s vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in northeastern Baghdad, according to a statement.

Another soldier was killed Saturday by a bomb during a foot patrol near Kazimiyah, a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in northern Baghdad, the military said separately.

Identities were not released pending notification of relatives.

Homeless man named Perry and his gold coin offering

I'm sitting here in tears. Oldtimer Speaks Out has at least one story a week that does that to me.

Perry and his gold coin offering

One of these men, a homeless veteran is Perry. Perry has been described by Pat as “having an entourage of people swirling around him in his head always talking to him.” Perry came to our church among the first two to accept our invitation to visit. Pat and Scott picked him up. During one sermon our Pastor was talking about the woman who gave all she had, a penny, and what a wonderful thing that was.

Perry got up in the middle of the sermon and started for the pulpit. Scott caught up with him and asked what his intentions were. “I’m going to make an offering”. ”But wait, there is a time for that later”, said Scott. “But I want to give now!” So Perry took his Chucky Cheese gold token to the alter and placed it on the corner of the choir railing, and returned to his seat just beaming! Grinning from ear to ear. Gave all he had, real gold to him.

I don’t know what happened to Perry when the evictions came. I think that he had dissappeared. We know of one death, Dominic, and we know that there is likely more - I learned today that the medical examiner sent a homeless person to a funeral home near our church who was apparently found in the same lot we were serving, but Dominic had been found somewhere else.
go here for the rest
http://oldtimer.wordpress.com/2008/01/27/our-fight-for-the-homeless-some-stories/

The pastor was wrong because the woman didn't give one coin, but she gave two. That was all she had and it's been said this gesture is the basis for the saying "putting in my two cents" when we offer our opinion from all we have in our mind.

This would be a wonderful world if we all put in our two cents. When we take compassion on those who have less than us even though we have very little of our own, we prove that we are grateful even for crumbs. When we set ourselves aside for the sake of someone else, that is what Christ was talking about. It wasn't just being willing to lay down your physical life, but to be willing to set aside focus on your own life because someone else is in need. Some may just need a shoulder to cry on, when you are dealing with your own pain. Some may need clothing when you are trying to figure out how to afford to buy the new coat that's on sale and you really want it. You may remember a time in your life when you were eating cereal twice a day because it was a lean month of income but a huge month for bills. You carry on your back those tough days and feel compassion for someone else knowing how much it does hurt to be broke and in need.

For the homeless, especially the homeless veterans dealing with other issues, they live lives as outcasts. Their families have sent them away, refusing to take care of them, or they themselves decided they didn't deserve their families and vanished into a world of wondering.

When we see a homeless person the first thought that comes into our mind is to not look at them. If we turn our heads, they won't come close. They won't ask for money. Horror overcomes us if they dare approach. Why is that? Is it that we fear they will try to harm us or we may catch something from them? That's hardly likely. Are we afraid we may need the change in our pocket or that they will use the buck and half we give them to get drunk with? What business is that of our's? We won't know if they eat or not unless we take them the food or take them to the food.

What about clothing? Do we have a yard sale so we can make some money on what we no longer want to own? Or do we decide to donate the clothes we don't need to someone who does need them? I donate mine. The Vietnam Veterans just picked up bags of clothes that filled my closet I hardly ever wore. No, I didn't go through my closet with them in mind. I did it because I'm a slob when it comes to my closet. My bureau is virtually empty because I'm too lazy to put the clean clothes in draws. It's a lot easier to just stack them on a shelf in my closet. It was purely selfish because I got to the point where I couldn't find anything and didn't have room to hang anything up. So I packed up what I never get around to wearing and donated it to the vets. I figured the clothes weren't doing me any good and cleaning out my closet helped me to find some of the favorite pieces of clothing I haven't been able to find in months.

What about a kind word? Can we manage to say a kind word to a homeless person? Do we even know how they became homeless? We can assume they must deserve to be homeless and then we won't have to face the fact we provide clothing, footwear, shelter and meals to prisoners. We can assume they want to be homeless and then we won't have to face the fact that if they want to be homeless there has to be a reason behind it. Would you in your right mind ever seek to be without anything?

We humans decide who we will judge, who we will help and what we will do while most of the time it's purely out of self interest. Some people will act as if they are doing it for the sake of someone else when what they really want is for people to see them doing it. That is what we think isn't it when we see someone at a feeding table on Lake Eola in Orlando.

Last week this just came out from Local 6 News

Just released this morning

20,000 War Vets Living On Florida Streets; 1,400 In Central Florida

POSTED: 5:42 pm EST January 23, 2008

UPDATED: 10:58 pm EST January 23, 2008

ORLANDO, Fla. -- More than 20,000 military veterans in Florida are homeless, living in a kind of war zone they had never imaged -- on the streets and in the woods.

A former U.S. Marine named Pete who once lived in Cocoa Beach with a great view of the ocean is now one of Central Florida's 1,400 homeless.

Pete lives in the woods.

"I got a tent in the woods. I'm not going to a shelter," Pete said. "I'm a carpenter by trade and I just need to get back to work."

Now we can just ignore them, walk by them, avoid them, but they won't go away. As a matter of fact, if we ignore them they will increase in numbers. They already have. 20,000 homeless veterans in Florida when the last time I checked the numbers it was 14,000. We have 1,400 in Central Florida alone. The Dom in the VA center only has bed for 60. There are other beds scattered across the area but there are not enough of them. What we really have to be aware of is there are homeless the VA doesn't even know about.

One of their stories was posted on this blog because of a comment made by the wife of a disabled veteran who lost everything because he was wounded and cannot work but received a zero percent disability. They are living with a relative. We can only assume this is the case here in Orlando as well. While we may be horrified by the numbers we know about, we need to always retain the fact there are more.

I think having homeless people in this nation is a sin. While we can give huge tax breaks to oil companies sucking our wallets dry at the pump, breaks for businesses looking at the bonus money they make by laying people off, the result is suffering for the many for the sake of the few. Still even with this, my heart is tugged by the veterans. They were willing to lay down their lives for this country and we do owe them a debt of true gratitude. We owe them to not be homeless. I posted about this many times that if we can't even take care of them, the chance of the regular citizens to be taken care of is highly unlikely.

Next time there is a meeting you attend or you hear about a homeless person being blamed for their state, put in your own two cents and set the record straight. Maybe a homeless man like Perry will get you a gold coin in heaven for helping him when he was the least among us.

Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com


"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation."

- George Washington

Marine charged with the death of Lance Cpl. Warren

Fellow Marine charged in ’06 death of Gordon County native

A corporal faces court-martial in the death of a deployed Gordon Marine reportedly shot in the neck.

01/27/08
From the Calhoun Times

Lance Cpl. Kristopher Cody Warren died Nov. 9, 2006.

The Marine Corps is calling the 2006 death of Calhoun native Cody Warren negligence and has charged another Marine in his death.

Lance Cpl. Kristopher Cody Warren, 19, was killed Nov. 9, 2006, while his Marine Reserve detachment was deployed in Iraq. Click here to read a previous report: "Gordon mourning Marine.

At the time, Warren’s death was listed as “non-combat-related,” but the Marines now have charged Cpl. Douglas Michael Sullivan, who was assigned to a military police unit at Camp Pendleton, Calif., with culpable negligence, authorities said.
go here for the rest
http://hotbmembers.blogspot.com/2008/01/fellow-marine-charged-in-06-death-of.html

Re-up bonus offer bust, Pentagon renaged

LES BLUMENTHAL; The News Tribune
Published: October 16th, 2005 12:01 AM
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon has reneged on its offer to pay a $15,000 bonus to members of the National Guard and Army Reserve who agree to extend their enlistments by six years, according to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Seattle).

The bonuses were offered in January to Active Guard and Reserve and military technician soldiers who were serving overseas. In April, the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs ordered the bonuses stopped, Murray said.

“This is outrageous,” the senator said in a telephone interview. “It makes me angry that this administration has broken another promise to our troops.”

A Pentagon spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, confirmed the bonuses had been canceled, saying they violated Pentagon policies because they duplicated other programs. She said Guard and Reserve members would be eligible for other bonuses.

Krenke said some soldiers had been paid the re-enlistment bonuses, but she was unsure how many or whether the money would have to be repaid. Murray’s office said that as far as it knew, no active Guard or Reserve members had received the bonuses.
go here for the rest
http://wearesc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29572

Returning vets symposium planned in Pennsylvania

Returning vets symposium planned
January 27, 2008
BY TED POTTS
The Tribune-Democrat

As the suburban Johnstown-based Pennsylvania Disabled Veterans Rehabilitation/Vocational Retraining Project enters its third year, Tom Caulfield, director of Veteran Community Initiatives, believes the program is growing in influence.

“I think we’re really starting to make an impact,” said Caulfield, who is coordinator of the rehabilitation/vocational retraining project.

The project is sponsored by VCI and Hiram G. Andrews Center, both at 727 Goucher St. in Upper Yoder Township, and the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology.

The purpose of the project is to provide physiological, psychological, vocational and employment assistance to veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

Enduring Freedom is the designation given to U.S. operations in Afghanistan and surrounding regions.

Caulfield said that PDVR/VRP has been working with providers of treatment for soldiers suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), plans to reinstate veterans rap sessions and is considering extending its readjustment counseling efforts.

He said an increased emphasis is being placed on issues and needs relating to families of those in the military and those who have returned home.
go here for the rest
http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/local_story_027215943.html

Piece of advice, use videos.

VA issued warning on Lariam in 2004

VA Warns Doctors About Lariam
United Press International
25 June 2004
WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs is warning doctors to watch for long-term mental problems and other health effects from an anti-malaria drug given to soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.The drug is mefloquine, known by the brand name Lariam, which has been given to tens of thousands of soldiers since the war on terrorism began. Some of those soldiers say it has provoked severe mental and physical problems including suicidal and violent behavior, psychosis, convulsions and balance disorders.

Last year the Food and Drug Administration began warning that problems might last "long after" someone stops taking it.

The VA warned its own doctors Wednesday that the drug "may rarely be associated with certain long-term chronic health problems that persist for weeks, months, and even years after the drug is stopped," according to a summary of published studies by a VA panel of experts. The summary accompanies an "information letter" from the VA's acting undersecretary for health, Dr. Jonathan B. Perlin, to healthcare professionals who treat veterans.Veterans' advocates praised the VA but said the Pentagon seems to have lost track of who has taken the drug -- making the size of a potentially serious problem unclear.While little mefloquine was used in the first Gulf War, advocates said a similar dearth of medical data has thwarted efforts to get to the bottom of Gulf War Syndrome for a decade. Investigators simply did not know what drugs or vaccines -- possible contributors to that syndrome -- were given to solders.

"We are pleased that the VA is taking a proactive approach to this situation," said Steve Smithson, assistant director of the American Legion's National Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission."It is no secret that the military did not do a good job of record keeping in the first Gulf War," said Smithson. "Early reports on Lariam make me concerned that we did not learn the lessons from the first Gulf War in that it is not being documented in health records."

http://www.refusingtokill.net/disability/va_warns_doctors_about_lariam.htm

Sgt. Marvin Lee Branch

But last Christmas, only months after the initial wave of killings, Fort Bragg was again the scene of tragedy when another service member, Sgt. Marvin Lee Branch, allegedly tried to murder his wife. How the situation was handled is indicative of the larger problem. Restraining orders protecting Carol Branch were dismissed within weeks of the attack, and she complained of receiving very little support: "I'm trying to save my life and I've got to beg (the Army) for help? I can see how those other mothers died. They were trapped." Branch said her husband had a history of abusive behavior, but he became uncontrollably violent upon returning from duty in Afghanistan. An Army spokesman confirmed that soldiers in Sgt. Branch's unit had taken Lariam, but would not confirm whether Branch had as well.
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles/Wokusch_War-DomesticViolence.htm

Anthony Mertz

Anti-malaria drug cited in Illinois murder
By Mark Benjamin and Dan Olmsted
From the Washington Politics & Policy Desk
Published 2/21/2003 3:33 PM

CHARLESTON, Ill., Feb. 21 (UPI) -- The lawyer for a former Marine convicted of murder will tell an Illinois jury next week that an anti-malaria drug associated with psychotic behavior and aggression triggered the killing, and he should be spared the death penalty.

The case marks the first time that side effects of the drug, called Lariam, have been raised in front of a U.S. jury in a criminal case. Some believe the drug could have played a role in a string of killings by Fort Bragg soldiers last summer, though the Army calls that unlikely.

Anthony Mertz, 26, was convicted Feb. 12 of killing fellow Eastern Illinois University student Shannon McNamara in her Charleston, Ill., apartment on June 12, 2001. The jury is now hearing testimony before deciding whether to sentence him to death.

"When the Marines gave Lariam to my client they set in motion a chain of events that caused the death of Shannon McNamara," defense counsel David Williams told United Press International Friday.

http://www.aaconsult.com/lariam/lariam_news_52.html

This is from Jonathan Shay in his interview with PBS on a Soldier's Heart

Psychiatrist and author, Odysseus in America

And my personal theory of what lay behind those horrible, horrible murder suicides at Fort Bragg a couple of years ago, these were all staff NCOs … and officers in Special Operations, which is the most macho of all the formations. And what's more, they had been deployed repeatedly into very dangerous, very confusing and ambiguous operations, and had come back with injuries that they could not ask for help with, because they were afraid it would end their careers. And just by coincidence, a number of them broke at the same time, and broke in this catastrophic way. That's my thought about what happened there. This is not likely to be happening with junior enlisted people who I think can get help.
from Front Line Soldier's Heart
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/heart/themes/stigma.html

4 Wives Slain In 6 Weeks At Fort Bragg
Husbands Blamed For Deaths, 3 Of The Men Served In Afghanistan


FORT BRAGG, N.C., July 26, 2002

Fayetteville, N.C., police said that was when Sgt. 1st Class Rigoberto Nieves — a soldier in the 3rd Special Forces Group who had been back from Afghanistan just two days — shot his wife, Teresa, and then himself in their bedroom.

Officials said Nieves had requested leave to resolve personal problems

Sheriff's investigators said Jennifer Wright was strangled June 29. Her husband, Master Sgt. William Wright of the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion, reported her missing two days later. Then on July 19, he led investigators to her body in Hoke County and was charged with murder.

Wright, who had been back from Afghanistan about a month, had moved out of his house and was living in the barracks.

The couple met in high school in Mason, Ohio, about 30 miles north of Cincinnati. They married shortly after Jennifer graduated.

Her father, Archie Watson, said the Wrights had talked recently about divorce. Jennifer had grown tired of military life, her father said, but William Wright was reluctant to let her go.


Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Floyd shot his wife, Andrea, a native of Alliance, Ohio, then killed himself in their Stedman home.

The Fayetteville Observer reported Floyd was a member of Delta Force, the secretive anti-terrorism unit based at Fort Bragg. He returned from Afghanistan in January, officials said. The couple's three children were in Ohio visiting relatives at the time of the deaths.


In the fourth case, Army Sgt. Cedric Ramon Griffin, 28, was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree arson in the July 9 death of his wife, Cumberland County Sheriff Moose Butler said.

Marilyn Griffin, 32, was found dead in the burning home. Her two children escaped the fire.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/31/national/main517033.shtml

Third Bragg soldier took malaria drug

By Mark Benjamin and Dan Olmsted
From the Washington Politics & Policy Desk


Published 8/17/2002 3:00 PM



FAYETTEVILLE, N.C., Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Friends of the three Fort Bragg soldiers suspected of killing their wives this summer say the men exhibited unusual anger and incoherence after returning from Afghanistan where they were given an anti-malaria drug associated with aggression and mental problems.

One of the soldiers was "almost incoherent" and visibly shaking while describing marital problems to a neighbor. Another became unable to control his anger at his wife in public, startling those who knew him. A third puzzled his new neighbors with his strange behavior.

http://home.att.net/~kjo/ftbragg2.htm

Read and comment on this story from UPI on the Army's three month study the slayings of four Army wives at Fort Bragg this summer which concluded that Lariam was not a factor in the murders.

The report has sparked claims the military is covering up problems with a drug it invented and licensed. "Our military said there is no problem with (Lariam) because they developed it," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich. "The hardest thing to do is develop a drug and then admit there is a problem."

Lariam is the most effective anti-malarial drug known and has been used by thousands of Peace Corps Volunteers over the past ten years. However, the drug's potential side effects are rarely reported and include agitation, depression and aggression. In July, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., called for an independent medical investigation to protect the health of Peace Corps volunteers, who are routinely prescribed the drug.
Read our ongoing coverage of the Lariam controversy at:
The Lariam Controversy
Read the story about the results of the Fort Bragg study at:
Army Fort Bragg study faces scrutiny*
http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/1010667.html

So why is it still being used?

Malaria Chemoprophylaxis for Coalition Troops in Afghanistan -

Sep 18, 2007

Although mefloquine may be the drug most often selected, Canadian Forces members have the option of using either mefloquine weekly or doxycycline daily, Journal of American Medical Association (subscription),

Military Times reported on homeless veterans problem in 2005

I was going through my on line files, looking for tax stuff and cleaning out old things I didn't really need anymore when I came up with this. It's amazing what was known in 2005 when you think about it. Already back then they were reporting on homeless veterans, over two years before the rest of the media caught on. A wounded gay soldier was discharged. Hazing was reported. Saddam's gold even made the news. When you think of all the things they were reporting on back then, you wonder if it's groundhog day because not much has changed, other than, it's gotten worse.

Military News for the week of 06 JUNE 2005
Veterans Joining the Ranks of the Homeless Advocates for the homeless already are seeing veterans from the war on terror living on the street, and say the government must do more to ease their transition from military to civilian life....More

Wounded Gay Soldier Discharged from Army An Army sergeant from Ohio who was wounded in Iraq and wanted to remain in the military as an openly gay soldier was officially discharged....More


Navy Officer, Seven Sailors Disciplined Seven sailors and the executive officer aboard a Navy ship have been punished in connection with the hazing of six crew members....More

Video: Chinook Gets Grounded Watch as a CH47 Chinook "beats itself to death" on a ground resonance test. (wmv, 1.2Mb)...More

Surviving BRAC Some communities find that a base closure poses huge, costly problems. Others surmount the barriers to success and reap economic gains for their communities....More

Continuing Service Through the Troops to Teachers Program Beginning a second career in public education is an excellent way to serve the community after leaving the military. Just ask Kerry Salmon....More

Honoring Vietnam Veterans Are you a Vietnam veteran who received a Purple Heart for combat injuries? If so, you could be one of 12 veterans chosen for a VFW-sponsored trip to Las Vegas for "Operation Welcome Home," a 4-day celebration honoring Vietnam veterans. ...More

Whistleblower Beating: Details Emerge The men "didn't take his wallet or our car." But they "kept telling him, 'If you know what's good for you, you'll keep your mouth shut.'"...More

Finding Work Is Hard for Troops Although many employers take pride in hiring veterans and make up any pay an employee lost, some are reluctant to hire Reservists and Guard members who might have to deploy again....More

Photo: Truckload O' Gold Here's a photograph documenting a truckload of Saddam's gold in Iraq. Too bad he won't be around to enjoy it. Check this out and more!...More

Family forced to wait too long for answers on son's death in Iraq

Family still in dark on son’s death

Published Sunday, January 27, 2008
CADET (AP) - More than a month after Sgt. Austin David Pratt died in Iraq, his family in Missouri still knows little about the circumstances that led to his death.

Pratt, of Cadet, died Dec. 15 in Baghdad, four days before he would have turned 23. At the time of his death, the Army said only that it was not combat-related. Since then, the Army has said his death is under investigation.

Pratt’s parents, Austin and Monica Pratt, recently issued a statement to the Park Hills Daily Journal that read: "The investigation into the death of our son, Sgt. Austin D. Pratt, is still on going. There is not much we can tell anyone. All we know is his death was an accident and he did not die by means of malice. Hopefully soon we will be informed of what happened at the time of his death."
go here for the rest
http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Jan/20080127News029.asp

It's been over a month since Pratt died. What's taking so long on telling the family how it happened? How many other families are left waiting for answers too?

PTSD on trial: When judges are aware and do the right thing

Treatment helps Ranger with PTSD rise above incident on plane enroute Great Falls
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
Tribune Projects Editor

Federal Magistrate Keith Strong's decision a year ago to offer help instead of punishment may have saved the life of Danny Ray Reed II, an ex-special forces soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder who hit rock bottom at about 20,000 feet in the air.

A former Army Ranger who'd been involved in the rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch from Iraqi insurgents, Reed struggled to adjust to civilian life after three years of combat.


"When you come back, you're either a workaholic or an alcoholic," he said. "If I wasn't working, I was drinking. It helps for the first couple of hours, but then it takes you back into that frame of mind you don't want to be in. I drank so bad I could be on a two-day blackout, and that's dangerous.

"Like that airplane incident, I can't remember a thing," Reed said. "I can't remember getting on that plane, and I can't remember getting off. I don't remember that day at all."
click post title for the rest