Oakley cares for kids orphaned by plane crash
Tyche Hendricks,Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writers
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
(06-30) 19:02 PDT Oakley - -- The east Contra Costa County town of Oakley was in mourning Monday for two couples deeply woven into the fabric of the community who died in a single-engine plane crash Saturday near Las Vegas, leaving seven children orphaned.
A U.S. flag flew at half-staff outside City Hall, and black ribbons festooned the "City of Oakley" signs there. The electronic sign board at the town's civic center read: "Our deepest sympathies to the families of Erik & Tanya Nunn and Craig & Michele Wilson."
Nowhere was the grieving greater - or the community response stronger - than in the well-kept subdivision where the two families lived less than a block apart, on Susie Street and Kali Court.
Cars clogged the driveways of both homes along with children's bikes and scooters, and a steady stream of friends and neighbors came and went. The parents and siblings of all four victims had settled in to care for the three Wilson children and the four Nunn kids.
Anne Marie Montes, who lives across from the Wilsons and around the corner from the Nunns, sat stunned on her front stoop. All the families in the neighborhood moved in together when their homes were built about five years ago, she said. The parents visit frequently, and the children play constantly.
click post title for more
How to help
Donations can be made to:
-- The Nunn Children Trust and Wilson Children Trust at Bank of the West, 2195 Main St., Oakley, CA 94561 or call (925) 625-2211.
-- The Children of Craig Wilson Trust Fund, the BART Police Officers Association, P.O. Box 12688, Oakland, CA 94604 or call (510) 464-7182.
E-mail Tyche Hendricks at thendricks@sfchronicle.com.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Corps: Marine who died at Africa base wasn't hazed
Corps: Marine who died at Africa base wasn't hazed
By GENE JOHNSON
The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 1, 2008; 5:16 PM
SEATTLE -- A Marine was not being hazed or abused when he collapsed and died on a base in Africa, but his superiors broke rules when they had him exercise as punishment for slightly injuring another Marine, a commander concluded.
Lance Cpl. Dustin Canham chose to do push-ups and other exercises to avoid having a black mark on his record and his death March 23 was due solely to a heart condition, said Lt. Gen. Samuel T. Helland, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command, in a summary provided to Canham's father.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating Canham's death separately, but the Marine report includes some statements other Marines made to NCIS.
Canham, 21, of Lake Stevens, Wash., and a Marine private had been playing catch with a rock that day at the U.S. base in Djibouti, according to the documents. The private told investigators he looked away just before Canham threw the rock, which hit him in the mouth. It chipped his tooth, but the injury did not require medical attention.
click post title for more
By GENE JOHNSON
The Associated Press
Tuesday, July 1, 2008; 5:16 PM
SEATTLE -- A Marine was not being hazed or abused when he collapsed and died on a base in Africa, but his superiors broke rules when they had him exercise as punishment for slightly injuring another Marine, a commander concluded.
Lance Cpl. Dustin Canham chose to do push-ups and other exercises to avoid having a black mark on his record and his death March 23 was due solely to a heart condition, said Lt. Gen. Samuel T. Helland, commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command, in a summary provided to Canham's father.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating Canham's death separately, but the Marine report includes some statements other Marines made to NCIS.
Canham, 21, of Lake Stevens, Wash., and a Marine private had been playing catch with a rock that day at the U.S. base in Djibouti, according to the documents. The private told investigators he looked away just before Canham threw the rock, which hit him in the mouth. It chipped his tooth, but the injury did not require medical attention.
click post title for more
Peake still doesn't get it on PTSD
VA SECRETARY PEAKE MINIMIZES PTSD AND MARGINALIZES
VETS WITH DISORDER -- Peake: "It doesn't mean you have
a disorder that is going to be longstanding..." and "...it is not
just a federal responsibility, it is a national responsibility."
VA Secretary James Peake
Although the following article's headline is about VA Secretary Peake's reaction to the New G.I. Bill...the real story of importance is his comments about PTSD.
Peake, very well-trained in public relations, is using what we call the "M&M" strategy, "minimize & marginalize."
When you "M&M" a situation, you try to make a problem appear smaller that it really is (minimize), and then you try to show that those with the problem are really alright because the problem is being taken care of (marginalize).
In the article below, Peake minimized PTSD by saying, "It doesn't mean you have a disorder that is going to be longstanding and problematic for the rest of your life..." The message here is that PTSD is not debilitating...and many Americans will believe this.
He then marginalized PTSD vets by saying, "...it is not just a federal responsibility, it is a national responsibility." This statement was made in reference to private providers stepping in to help PTSD vets because the VA can't handle the load. The message here is, "It's OK. They are being taken care of." But, Peake is wrong. It IS a federal responsibility. When Peake makes it a national responsibility, he turns PTSD veterans into welfare cases, needing to rely on the sympathy of the public instead of the care that the VA should be providing.
A veteran wrote me recently and said, "Peake doesn't have a clue." Wrong! He knows exactly what he's doing. He's trying to sell his "minimize & marginalize" program to the American people.
I hope they see this for what it is...just another way for the government to avoid their responsibility to veterans who come home from war with the unseen wound of PTSD.
For more about veterans and PTSD, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here... http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q=ptsd&op=and
Story here... http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0628/p25s34-usmb.html
Story here on VA Watchdog
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfJUN08/nf062808-1.htm
Can anyone in this country wonder why there has been so many problems with our veterans getting the help they need for PTSD with an attitude like this?
VETS WITH DISORDER -- Peake: "It doesn't mean you have
a disorder that is going to be longstanding..." and "...it is not
just a federal responsibility, it is a national responsibility."
VA Secretary James Peake
Although the following article's headline is about VA Secretary Peake's reaction to the New G.I. Bill...the real story of importance is his comments about PTSD.
Peake, very well-trained in public relations, is using what we call the "M&M" strategy, "minimize & marginalize."
When you "M&M" a situation, you try to make a problem appear smaller that it really is (minimize), and then you try to show that those with the problem are really alright because the problem is being taken care of (marginalize).
In the article below, Peake minimized PTSD by saying, "It doesn't mean you have a disorder that is going to be longstanding and problematic for the rest of your life..." The message here is that PTSD is not debilitating...and many Americans will believe this.
He then marginalized PTSD vets by saying, "...it is not just a federal responsibility, it is a national responsibility." This statement was made in reference to private providers stepping in to help PTSD vets because the VA can't handle the load. The message here is, "It's OK. They are being taken care of." But, Peake is wrong. It IS a federal responsibility. When Peake makes it a national responsibility, he turns PTSD veterans into welfare cases, needing to rely on the sympathy of the public instead of the care that the VA should be providing.
A veteran wrote me recently and said, "Peake doesn't have a clue." Wrong! He knows exactly what he's doing. He's trying to sell his "minimize & marginalize" program to the American people.
I hope they see this for what it is...just another way for the government to avoid their responsibility to veterans who come home from war with the unseen wound of PTSD.
For more about veterans and PTSD, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here... http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q=ptsd&op=and
Story here... http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0628/p25s34-usmb.html
Story here on VA Watchdog
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfJUN08/nf062808-1.htm
Can anyone in this country wonder why there has been so many problems with our veterans getting the help they need for PTSD with an attitude like this?
Bush's speech on Webb's GI Bill was a load of lies
YouTube - COUNTDOWN: Sen. Jim Webb On The GI Bill 6/30/08
Jim Webb discuss the recent GI bill he sponsored and the hypocritical stance of President Bush and Sen. John McCain trying to take credit for it when they
but here is Bush's speech
Too bad the fact is Bush, McCain and others fought against this bill and that is why Webb had to fight so hard to get this many to sign onto it. He had to make sure Bush could not be able to veto it as he promised he would and was on tape saying he would veto it. McCain fought it because he said it was just too generous.
Now I heard on the Randi Rhodes show today that McCain is getting disability payments from the VA for his wounds. If he is, he does deserve them but you would think he wouldn't have become part of the "I got mine, screw you club!" since he always votes against veterans.
Jim Webb discuss the recent GI bill he sponsored and the hypocritical stance of President Bush and Sen. John McCain trying to take credit for it when they
Statement of Senator Jim Webb on the White House's Embrace of his 21st Century GI Bill
"For the past 17 months, I and my staff have been working every day to provide first-class educational benefits to those who have served since 9/11. I am delighted that after having opposed this legislation, the President has now pledged that he will not veto it when it comes before him as part of this year's supplemental appropriations package.
"The bill being sent to the President contains every provision in S. 22, which has received meticulous scrutiny and the full support of every major veterans' organization. It will pay for a veteran's tuition, books, and a monthly stipend, along the lines of the benefits given to those who returned from World War II. As such, it fulfills the pledge I made on my first day of office to provide today's veterans with the opportunity to move forward into an absolutely first-class future.
"I would like to again express my appreciation to the veterans' service organizations, many of whom communicated their support of this bill directly to a skeptical White House, and to the 58 Senate and 302 House cosponsors of this landmark legislation. This bipartisan coalition consistently rejected the allegations of this Administration, and of Senators McCain, Burr and Graham, among others, who claimed that the bill was too generous to our veterans, too difficult to administer and would hurt retention.
"It has now been nearly seven years since 9/11 -- seven years since those who have been serving in our military began earning the right for a proper wartime GI Bill. I am looking forward to the President living up to his word, and signing this legislation at his earliest opportunity."
To view a Fact Sheet on S.22, please click here
To download a complete press packet on S.22, please click here
To view the Senate co-sponsors, please click here
To view the House co-sponsors, please click here
New York Times Op-Ed: A Post-Iraq G.I. Bill by Senators Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel (November 9, 2007)
Washington Post Editorial: Reward for Service, Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan deserve an improved GI bill (November 11, 2007)
Prominent GI Bill Beneficiaries (Edward Humes, Over Here: How the GI Bill Transformed the American Dream)
Chart on WWII Veterans in the Senate--How Much the GI Bill Would Cover Then & Now
but here is Bush's speech
President Bush Signs H.R. 2642, the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008
Oval Office
Video (Windows)
Presidential Remarks
Audio
En Español
9:48 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. A few moments ago I signed legislation that funds our troops who are in harm's way. Our nation has no greater responsibility than supporting our men and women in uniform -- especially since we're at war. This is a responsibility all of us in Washington share -- not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans. And I want to thank leaders of the House and Senate for getting this bill to my office.
America remains a nation at war. There are enemies who intend to harm us. Standing in their way are brave men and women, who put on the uniform, who raise their right hand, and took an oath to defend our freedom. They volunteered to deploy in distant lands, far from their families, far from their homes, and far from comfort of America. And every day, they risk their lives to defeat our adversaries and to keep our country safe.
We owe these brave Americans our gratitude. We owe them our unflinching support. And the best way to demonstrate that support is to give them the resources they need to do their jobs and to prevail. The bill I sign today does exactly that. It provides necessary funds to support our troops as they conduct military operations in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in other theaters in the war on terror.
I appreciate that Republicans and Democrats in Congress agreed to provide these vital funds without tying the hands of our commanders, and without an artificial timetable of withdrawal from Iraq. Our troops have driven the terrorists and extremists from many strongholds in Iraq; today violence is at the lowest level since March of 2004. As a result of this progress, some of our troops are coming home as result of our policy called "return on success." We welcome them home. And with this legislation we send a clear message to all that are servings [sic] on the front line that our nation continues to support them.
We also owe a debt of gratitude to our nation's military families. They endure sleepless nights, and the daily struggle of caring for children while a loved one is serving far from home. We have a responsibility to provide for them. So I'm pleased that the bill I sign today includes an expansion of the GI Bill. This legislation will make it easier for our troops to transfer unused education benefits to their spouses and children. It will help us to recruit and reward the best military on the face of the Earth. It will help us to meet our responsibilities to those who support our troops every day -- America's great military families.
The bill also includes agreed-upon funding for other critical national priorities. This bill includes $465 million for the Merida Initiative -- a partnership with Mexico and nations in Central America to crack down on violent drug trafficking gangs. The bill includes nearly $2.7 billion to help ensure that any state facing a disaster like the recent flooding and tornadoes in the Midwest has access to needed resources. This bill includes a measured expansion of unemployment insurance benefits with a reasonable work requirement. And this bill holds overall discretionary spending within the sensible limits that I requested.
The bill is a result of close collaboration between my administration and members of both parties on Capitol Hill. I appreciate the hard work of my Cabinet -- especially the leaders of Defense and State, and Veterans Affairs, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, as well as OMB. I want to thank House and Senate leadership and leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. I am particularly grateful to Congressmen Boehner, Hoyer, Obey, and Lewis. And I want to thank members who worked hard for the GI Bill expansion -- especially Senators Webb and Warner, Graham, Burr, and McCain.
This bill shows the American people that even in an election year, Republicans and Democrats can come together to stand behind our troops and their families.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080630.html
Too bad the fact is Bush, McCain and others fought against this bill and that is why Webb had to fight so hard to get this many to sign onto it. He had to make sure Bush could not be able to veto it as he promised he would and was on tape saying he would veto it. McCain fought it because he said it was just too generous.
Now I heard on the Randi Rhodes show today that McCain is getting disability payments from the VA for his wounds. If he is, he does deserve them but you would think he wouldn't have become part of the "I got mine, screw you club!" since he always votes against veterans.
Veteran Healthcare Advocates Want VA to Focus More on Prevention
Veteran Healthcare Advocates Want VA to Focus More on Prevention
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2008--A first-ever leadership summit for veterans' healthcare advocates ended here Thursday in general agreement that the Department of Veterans Affairs must focus more time and resources on prevention and preventive medicine practices.
The objective of the Patient Advocacy Leaders Summit, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., was to expand awareness about critical health issues that impact the lives of veterans and those currently serving in uniform. Almost 100 attendees from more than three dozen organizations from the veteran and medical communities were present to hear and interact with prominent physicians and researchers in the fields of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD), Diabetes, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
The TBI seminar focused on the effects blast injuries are having on servicemen and women deployed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 20 percent of the 1.6 million men and women who had served in the war had experienced a blast – mostly caused by improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Better body armor combined with modern battlefield medicine and rapid transportation have reduced the war's mortality-to-casualty rate to 10 percent, compared to previous wars that had 25 percent fatality rates in Vietnam and Korea, and 30 percent during World War II. The high survivability rates, however, are resulting in multiple grievous injuries that will continue to challenge the medical community – and the wounded veterans – for years.
Symptoms, diagnostic issues and challenges were presented at the PTSD seminar, as well as who was most at risk: military reservists under the age of 25 who have had repeated deployments, as well as those who are repeatedly exposed to traumatic events. This seminar also found the results of three independent PTSD studies to be similar: a quarter to one-third of those who went to war came home with mental health problems.
go here for more
http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.newsDtl&did=4620
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2008--A first-ever leadership summit for veterans' healthcare advocates ended here Thursday in general agreement that the Department of Veterans Affairs must focus more time and resources on prevention and preventive medicine practices.
The objective of the Patient Advocacy Leaders Summit, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., was to expand awareness about critical health issues that impact the lives of veterans and those currently serving in uniform. Almost 100 attendees from more than three dozen organizations from the veteran and medical communities were present to hear and interact with prominent physicians and researchers in the fields of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD), Diabetes, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
The TBI seminar focused on the effects blast injuries are having on servicemen and women deployed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 20 percent of the 1.6 million men and women who had served in the war had experienced a blast – mostly caused by improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Better body armor combined with modern battlefield medicine and rapid transportation have reduced the war's mortality-to-casualty rate to 10 percent, compared to previous wars that had 25 percent fatality rates in Vietnam and Korea, and 30 percent during World War II. The high survivability rates, however, are resulting in multiple grievous injuries that will continue to challenge the medical community – and the wounded veterans – for years.
Symptoms, diagnostic issues and challenges were presented at the PTSD seminar, as well as who was most at risk: military reservists under the age of 25 who have had repeated deployments, as well as those who are repeatedly exposed to traumatic events. This seminar also found the results of three independent PTSD studies to be similar: a quarter to one-third of those who went to war came home with mental health problems.
go here for more
http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.newsDtl&did=4620
Sgt. Sean K. Webster found dead at Camp Pendleton
VA Marine Killed (10:31 pm)
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) - Marine Corps authorities investigating the death of an Iraq combat veteran at Camp Pendleton say they have not ruled out the possibility of homicide. The Marine Corps said the body of 23-year-old Sergeant Sean K. Webster of Fairfax, Virginia, was discovered Saturday. Webster was twice awarded the Purple Heart.
The North County Times reports his first Purple Heart came after he was wounded in June 2005 bombing during a raid near the Syrian border. The second came after an anti-tank mine exploded under his vehicle in Anbar province in September 2005. The Marines say the death was not an accident, and spokesman Lieutenant Ken Kunze says the Naval Criminal Investigative Service has not ruled out homicide.
The circumstances have not been released.
http://www.wtvr.com/Global/story.asp?S=8582068
Linked from ICasualties.org
UPDATE
A reader left a comment on the first post I did on Sgt. Webster letting me know he passed away. In just a few days, I had forgotten why his name was tugging at me. This is why and I feel horrible I had forgotten this hopeful story was part of his life.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Camp Pendleton 80% PTSD at Wounded Warrior Battalion
"Eighty percent of our residents have some degree of PTSD," Lawhorne said, referring to the disorder that requires counseling and group therapy in mild cases and more intensive psychiatric treatment and medications in its more severe form. "At the same time, we're seeing a lot more TBI cases."
MILITARY: Treating the troops
Wounded Warrior Battalion focuses on injured Marines and sailors
By MARK WALKER - Staff Writer Friday, June 20, 2008 5:13 PM PDTCAMP PENDLETON ---- Nearly three years and 14 surgeries after the right side of his body was torn apart by shrapnel in a roadside bombing in Iraq, Marine Sgt. Sean Webster is working to save his military career.After he was injured, he had visions of becoming a drill instructor; now, he'd be grateful for a job training fellow Marines in some less-intensive discipline."My goal is to stay in the Marine Corps on limited duty," the 23-year-old Virginia native said during a Wednesday interview at the base. "What I'd really like to do is stay as a staff member here.
"The "here" for Webster is the Wounded Warrior Battalion West, a unit established in part because of criticisms regarding care for troops.The battalion's mission is simple: Do all it can to help coordinate treatment for injured Marines and sailors.Nearly 12 months after it was formally launched, the battalion's civilian and military members are working directly with or tracking more than 600 current and former troops, including 41 now living in the barracks.The battalion and a comparable one at Camp Lejeune on the East Coast were established to provide a central point of contact for troops injured on and off the battlefield. Troops assigned to it are mostly those needing outpatient services, not the more severely wounded who are treated at comprehensive medical facilities.
"We have two main goals," said Cheryl Lawhorne, a civilian liaison officer who works to make sure troops and families are receiving the services they need. "Get them back to full ability or get them through the medical board and get them every benefit they're entitled to. We track everybody who comes through here for as long as it takes."go here for more
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/06/20/military/
z2bc7c6e36fc93b698825746c0071037d.txt
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) - Marine Corps authorities investigating the death of an Iraq combat veteran at Camp Pendleton say they have not ruled out the possibility of homicide. The Marine Corps said the body of 23-year-old Sergeant Sean K. Webster of Fairfax, Virginia, was discovered Saturday. Webster was twice awarded the Purple Heart.
The North County Times reports his first Purple Heart came after he was wounded in June 2005 bombing during a raid near the Syrian border. The second came after an anti-tank mine exploded under his vehicle in Anbar province in September 2005. The Marines say the death was not an accident, and spokesman Lieutenant Ken Kunze says the Naval Criminal Investigative Service has not ruled out homicide.
The circumstances have not been released.
http://www.wtvr.com/Global/story.asp?S=8582068
Linked from ICasualties.org
UPDATE
A reader left a comment on the first post I did on Sgt. Webster letting me know he passed away. In just a few days, I had forgotten why his name was tugging at me. This is why and I feel horrible I had forgotten this hopeful story was part of his life.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Camp Pendleton 80% PTSD at Wounded Warrior Battalion
"Eighty percent of our residents have some degree of PTSD," Lawhorne said, referring to the disorder that requires counseling and group therapy in mild cases and more intensive psychiatric treatment and medications in its more severe form. "At the same time, we're seeing a lot more TBI cases."
MILITARY: Treating the troops
Wounded Warrior Battalion focuses on injured Marines and sailors
By MARK WALKER - Staff Writer Friday, June 20, 2008 5:13 PM PDTCAMP PENDLETON ---- Nearly three years and 14 surgeries after the right side of his body was torn apart by shrapnel in a roadside bombing in Iraq, Marine Sgt. Sean Webster is working to save his military career.After he was injured, he had visions of becoming a drill instructor; now, he'd be grateful for a job training fellow Marines in some less-intensive discipline."My goal is to stay in the Marine Corps on limited duty," the 23-year-old Virginia native said during a Wednesday interview at the base. "What I'd really like to do is stay as a staff member here.
"The "here" for Webster is the Wounded Warrior Battalion West, a unit established in part because of criticisms regarding care for troops.The battalion's mission is simple: Do all it can to help coordinate treatment for injured Marines and sailors.Nearly 12 months after it was formally launched, the battalion's civilian and military members are working directly with or tracking more than 600 current and former troops, including 41 now living in the barracks.The battalion and a comparable one at Camp Lejeune on the East Coast were established to provide a central point of contact for troops injured on and off the battlefield. Troops assigned to it are mostly those needing outpatient services, not the more severely wounded who are treated at comprehensive medical facilities.
"We have two main goals," said Cheryl Lawhorne, a civilian liaison officer who works to make sure troops and families are receiving the services they need. "Get them back to full ability or get them through the medical board and get them every benefit they're entitled to. We track everybody who comes through here for as long as it takes."go here for more
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/06/20/military/
z2bc7c6e36fc93b698825746c0071037d.txt
Wheelchair man dumped forgives deputy
No trial for deputy in wheelchair case
Prosecutors say the request for the intervention program, which spares former deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones from a trial, came from an unlikely source: Brian Sterner, the victim who had been dumped to the jailhouse floor.
Prosecutors say the request for the intervention program, which spares former deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones from a trial, came from an unlikely source: Brian Sterner, the victim who had been dumped to the jailhouse floor.
Florida Base on list DOD doesn't want to clean up
DoD fights EPA on hazardous waste cleanups
By Dina Cappiello - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 1, 2008 6:50:32 EDT
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department is refusing to comply with orders or sign contracts to clean up 11 hazardous waste sites, and has asked the White House and Justice Department to intervene on its behalf.
The dispute between the Pentagon and the Environmental Protection Agency has simmered over the last year since the EPA began issuing orders compelling the Air Force and Army to clean up four properties where contamination poses an “imminent and substantial” risk to public health and the environment. To date, the Pentagon has agreed to comply with only one of those orders, at an Air Force missile plant near Tucson, Ariz.
In separate letters in May to the White House budget office and the Justice Department, Pentagon officials challenged the EPA’s authority to issue orders under other environmental laws to force Superfund cleanups at Air Force bases in New Jersey and Florida and at the Army’s Fort Meade in Maryland. The Defense Department dismissed the EPA’s claim that soil and groundwater pollution at the three bases was dangerous enough to warrant such action.
Senate Environment Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., agreed Monday with a request by Maryland’s two Democratic senators, Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin, to hold a hearing on the Pentagon’s noncompliance with the EPA’s orders.
At eight other Superfund sites, the Pentagon is objecting to “additional provisions” that it says the EPA added to proposed cleanup contracts. Those eight facilities are in Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland, Alabama, New Jersey, Florida and Hawaii.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_hazardous_waste_063008/
By Dina Cappiello - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 1, 2008 6:50:32 EDT
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department is refusing to comply with orders or sign contracts to clean up 11 hazardous waste sites, and has asked the White House and Justice Department to intervene on its behalf.
The dispute between the Pentagon and the Environmental Protection Agency has simmered over the last year since the EPA began issuing orders compelling the Air Force and Army to clean up four properties where contamination poses an “imminent and substantial” risk to public health and the environment. To date, the Pentagon has agreed to comply with only one of those orders, at an Air Force missile plant near Tucson, Ariz.
In separate letters in May to the White House budget office and the Justice Department, Pentagon officials challenged the EPA’s authority to issue orders under other environmental laws to force Superfund cleanups at Air Force bases in New Jersey and Florida and at the Army’s Fort Meade in Maryland. The Defense Department dismissed the EPA’s claim that soil and groundwater pollution at the three bases was dangerous enough to warrant such action.
Senate Environment Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., agreed Monday with a request by Maryland’s two Democratic senators, Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin, to hold a hearing on the Pentagon’s noncompliance with the EPA’s orders.
At eight other Superfund sites, the Pentagon is objecting to “additional provisions” that it says the EPA added to proposed cleanup contracts. Those eight facilities are in Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland, Alabama, New Jersey, Florida and Hawaii.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_hazardous_waste_063008/
Video Shows Patient Dying on Floor
Video Shows Patient Dying on Floor
AP
Posted: 2008-07-01 12:35:02
Filed Under: Law News, Nation News
NEW YORK (July 1) - Video from a surveillance camera at a Brooklyn, N.Y., hospital shows a woman dying on the floor of a psychiatric emergency-room while people nearby ignore her.
The video was released Monday by lawyers suing Kings County Hospital alleging neglect and abuse of mental health patients at the facility.
click post title for more
The video is posted on the side bar of this blog.
AP
Posted: 2008-07-01 12:35:02
Filed Under: Law News, Nation News
NEW YORK (July 1) - Video from a surveillance camera at a Brooklyn, N.Y., hospital shows a woman dying on the floor of a psychiatric emergency-room while people nearby ignore her.
The video was released Monday by lawyers suing Kings County Hospital alleging neglect and abuse of mental health patients at the facility.
click post title for more
The video is posted on the side bar of this blog.
French army chief quits after soldier shoots 17 people
French army chief quits after soldier shoots 17 people
Posted 3 hours 37 minutes ago
The French army chief of staff has resigned two days after a soldier injured 17 people when he mistakenly opened fire with live ammunition during a display at an army base, the presidency said.
President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed severe punishment following the shooting, which took place as hundreds of people watched a mock hostage rescue operation near the south-western city of Carcassonne.
"The president of the republic, head of the armed forces, has accepted the offer of resignation by General Bruno Cuche, chief of staff of the army," Mr Sarkozy's office said in a statement.
"This powerful gesture follows the tragedy that occurred last Sunday in Carcassonne," it said.
Fifteen bystanders including five children were shot during the display as were two soldiers. A three-year-old boy was in serious condition after taking bullets in the heart and in the arm.
The 28-year-old sergeant who fired the shots from his assault rifle was being held in custody and was expected to be charged with causing unintentional injury.
The sergeant has been described as an experienced soldier with no history of psychological problems.
go here for more
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/01/2291444.htm?section=justin
Posted 3 hours 37 minutes ago
The French army chief of staff has resigned two days after a soldier injured 17 people when he mistakenly opened fire with live ammunition during a display at an army base, the presidency said.
President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed severe punishment following the shooting, which took place as hundreds of people watched a mock hostage rescue operation near the south-western city of Carcassonne.
"The president of the republic, head of the armed forces, has accepted the offer of resignation by General Bruno Cuche, chief of staff of the army," Mr Sarkozy's office said in a statement.
"This powerful gesture follows the tragedy that occurred last Sunday in Carcassonne," it said.
Fifteen bystanders including five children were shot during the display as were two soldiers. A three-year-old boy was in serious condition after taking bullets in the heart and in the arm.
The 28-year-old sergeant who fired the shots from his assault rifle was being held in custody and was expected to be charged with causing unintentional injury.
The sergeant has been described as an experienced soldier with no history of psychological problems.
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/01/2291444.htm?section=justin
Two programs assist veterans with disability
Vero Beach Press-Journal - Vero Beach,FL,USA
By Allan Appel
Monday, June 30, 2008
The Veterans Administration administers two disability programs designed to help veterans with support and benefits.
Eligibility for the Veterans Disability Compensation Program is not based on financial need. Assets and income are not qualifying factors and therefore do not affect eligibility. The veteran's injury or disease, however, must have been incurred or aggravated while on active military duty.
On the other hand, the Veterans Disability Pension Program is tailored for low-income veterans who are totally and permanently disabled. The disability need not be connected to time spent on active military duty. Unlike the previously mentioned compensation benefit, this is a needs-based program, similar to Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income.
Monday, June 30, 2008
The Veterans Administration administers two disability programs designed to help veterans with support and benefits.
Eligibility for the Veterans Disability Compensation Program is not based on financial need. Assets and income are not qualifying factors and therefore do not affect eligibility. The veteran's injury or disease, however, must have been incurred or aggravated while on active military duty.
On the other hand, the Veterans Disability Pension Program is tailored for low-income veterans who are totally and permanently disabled. The disability need not be connected to time spent on active military duty. Unlike the previously mentioned compensation benefit, this is a needs-based program, similar to Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income.
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Soldier on leave found dead
Soldier on leave found dead
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 1, 2008 6:01:13 EDT
GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — A 24-year-old Army soldier who was home on leave after serving in Afghanistan and Germany died just days after he arrived in Alabama, authorities said Monday.
Spc. Toney L. Goble II was found dead in bed Friday morning at a home where he had spent the night, said Marshall County Coroner Marlon Killion. The cause of death wasn’t determined immediately.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_goble_063008/
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 1, 2008 6:01:13 EDT
GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — A 24-year-old Army soldier who was home on leave after serving in Afghanistan and Germany died just days after he arrived in Alabama, authorities said Monday.
Spc. Toney L. Goble II was found dead in bed Friday morning at a home where he had spent the night, said Marshall County Coroner Marlon Killion. The cause of death wasn’t determined immediately.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_goble_063008/
DOD to review comp cases 20% or less
Pentagon board to review disability ratings
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 1, 2008 8:26:52 EDT
Service members given a disability rating of 20 percent or lower during their medical evaluation boards since Sept. 11, 2001, may have their cases reviewed by a new Defense Department board.
The Physical Disability Board of Review was mandated by the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act after several investigations — including an analysis of five years’ worth of Defense Department budget records by Military Times — showed discrepancies across the services in average amounts of disability benefits awarded. For example, Military Times found enlisted airmen averaged much higher monthly disability payments — $926 — than did enlisted Marines at $770 a month. And all the services tended to award more officers than enlisted personnel ratings of 50 percent or higher.
“The purpose of the [board] shall be to reassess the accuracy and fairness of the combined disability ratings assigned service members who were discharged as unfit for continued military service,” wrote David S.C. Chu, undersecretary for personnel and readiness, in a memo dated June 27. “The [board] shall operate in a spirit of transparency and accountability, and shall impartially readjudicate cases upon which review is requested or undertaken on its own motion.”
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/military_medicalboard_review_063008w/
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 1, 2008 8:26:52 EDT
Service members given a disability rating of 20 percent or lower during their medical evaluation boards since Sept. 11, 2001, may have their cases reviewed by a new Defense Department board.
The Physical Disability Board of Review was mandated by the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act after several investigations — including an analysis of five years’ worth of Defense Department budget records by Military Times — showed discrepancies across the services in average amounts of disability benefits awarded. For example, Military Times found enlisted airmen averaged much higher monthly disability payments — $926 — than did enlisted Marines at $770 a month. And all the services tended to award more officers than enlisted personnel ratings of 50 percent or higher.
“The purpose of the [board] shall be to reassess the accuracy and fairness of the combined disability ratings assigned service members who were discharged as unfit for continued military service,” wrote David S.C. Chu, undersecretary for personnel and readiness, in a memo dated June 27. “The [board] shall operate in a spirit of transparency and accountability, and shall impartially readjudicate cases upon which review is requested or undertaken on its own motion.”
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/military_medicalboard_review_063008w/
VA Losing Care Coordinators
VA Losing Care Coordinators
Rick Maze
Army Times
Jun 30, 2008
June 27, 2008 - The Department of Veterans Affairs has trouble keeping medical care coordinators for severely injured combat veterans, with four of the first eight people having to be replaced.
Two of the original Federal Recovery Coordinators hired late last year quit, and two have died, VA officials confirmed Thursday.
"Of the original eight, two have tragically died and two left the program for personal reasons," said VA spokeswoman Josephine Schuda.
VA officials and congressional aides, speaking on the condition of not being identified, said they knew that the jobs were going to be stressful — dealing with seriously ill or wounded combat veterans who have especially complex needs can be demanding — but no one anticipated such high turnover.
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10535
Rick Maze
Army Times
Jun 30, 2008
June 27, 2008 - The Department of Veterans Affairs has trouble keeping medical care coordinators for severely injured combat veterans, with four of the first eight people having to be replaced.
Two of the original Federal Recovery Coordinators hired late last year quit, and two have died, VA officials confirmed Thursday.
"Of the original eight, two have tragically died and two left the program for personal reasons," said VA spokeswoman Josephine Schuda.
VA officials and congressional aides, speaking on the condition of not being identified, said they knew that the jobs were going to be stressful — dealing with seriously ill or wounded combat veterans who have especially complex needs can be demanding — but no one anticipated such high turnover.
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10535
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