Candidates’ forum at Fort Hood is scrubbed

It will be very interesting to find out why Senator Obama thought doing something else was more important. Don't get me wrong. I think he'd make a fine president but this was very important to the troops. I hope he plans on doing it another day and I hope Senator McCain does as well. The future of the troops depends on who takes the chair next and they should be able to ask all the questions they want.

Candidates’ forum at Fort Hood is scrubbed

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 29, 2008 15:52:57 EDT

A proposed Aug. 11 town hall meeting near Fort Hood, Texas, in which it was hoped that the two presidential candidates would talk to audiences of military members, veterans and retirees is off, the event’s chief organizer said Tuesday.

But whether the event is canceled or simply being postponed is unclear.

“We are open to rescheduling, if they want to, but it was getting to close to Aug. 11 to leave it open,” said Carissa Picard, managing director of the Fort Hood Presidential Town Hall Consortium that was planning the event, planned for the Bell County Expo Center in Belton, Texas, near Fort Hood, the largest U.S. military base.

Picard had announced July 11 that the town hall meeting would be televised by CBS and that aides to Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican presidential candidate, had indicated McCain was willing to attend.

Picard tried to bring pressure to get Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, the Democratic presidential candidate, to agree to attend, but campaign officials said Obama had another event previously planned for that day.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/07/military_forthood_townhall_072908w/

August 9 - 12, 2008 Bally's Hotel Las Vegas 3645 Las Vegas Boulevard South Las Vegas, NV 89109

But Senator Obama will not be able to go to this either. This is from the DAV site.

Delegates to DAV 87th National Convention to
hear from Presidential Candidates

Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain (R-AZ) is tentatively scheduled to address the delegates at DAV’s 87th National Convention on Saturday, Aug. 9.

Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), the Democratic presidential candidate, will be unable to attend the convention because he is travelling out of the country. He will provide a taped message to delegates however.

DAV's 87th National Convention is being held at Bally's Hotel Las Vegas Aug. 9 - 12.

http://www.dav.org/

Bill to aid paralyzed vets blocked in Senate by GOP

Bill to aid paralyzed vets blocked in Senate

By Cristian Hernandez - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 29, 2008 16:45:16 EDT

A bill promising more money for programs that help paralyzed veterans is part of a bundle of legislation tied up in partisan bickering in the Senate.

The Christopher Reeve and Dana Reeve Act, which includes money for research into spinal cord injuries, is one of about 36 bills combined by Senate Democrats into what they are calling the Advancing America’s Priorities Act.

The bills have been bundled in an attempt to bypass objections from Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who has used senatorial privileges and procedures to stop action on several bills, including the spinal cord injury bill.

The Democratic plan failed Monday on a 50-42 vote, leaving them short of the 60 votes needed to cut off debate on the package.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/07/military_paralyzed_spinalcord_072908w/

Ky. weapons depot confirms mustard gas leak

Ky. weapons depot confirms mustard gas leak

By Jeffrey McMurray - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 29, 2008 18:54:33 EDT

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The first mustard gas leak in three years was confirmed Tuesday at a chemical weapons stockpile in Kentucky, less than a month after workers there found a leak inside a separate storage igloo housing a deadly nerve agent.

But officials said the latest leak poses no danger to the community nor the surrounding atmosphere.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/07/ap_mustardgasleak_072908/

Body of soldier found at Fort Hood

Body of soldier found at Fort Hood
By Gina Cavallaro - Staff writerPosted : Tuesday Jul 29, 2008 17:24:57 EDT

The body of a soldier with 1st Medical Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), was found Tuesday at a training area on Fort Hood, Texas.
There was no training taking place in the area where the body was found, brigade spokesman Maj. Raul Marquez said.
The incident is under investigation, and the soldier’s name is being withheld pending the notification of next of kin.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/07/army_hoodbody_072908w/

Troops who served in Basra Iraq may have contamination from water plant

Guard warns soldiers of possible chemical exposure

Associated Press


JASPER, Ind. - The Indiana National Guard is notifying nearly 600 soldiers who served in Iraq that they may have drunk water tainted with a carcinogen at an Iraqi treatment plant.

During a U.S. Senate hearing in June, senators learned that sodium dichromate -- a cancer-causing chemical that can also cause breathing problems -- was used at the Qarmat Ali water plant near Basra, Iraq.

Guard spokeswoman Lt. Col. Deedra Thombleson told The Herald of Jasper on Monday that the Guard has sent letters to most of the 140 current and former soldiers known to have been at that treatment plant between May and September 2003.

The addresses for 18 of those soldiers could not be found to send them letters notifying them of their possible exposure.

Thombleson said 448 other Guardsmen are also being contacted to determine if they were ever at the plant. Of the 588 soldiers being sent letters, she said 138 are back in Iraq.
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http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfJUL08/nf073008-3.htm

This means not just the National Guardsmen but all the people in the area may have been exposed.

City needs donations for Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall

Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall to return to Lynn


By Robin Kaminski / The Daily Item

LYNN - The "Wall That Heals," a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Washington D.C., will be on display at Fraser Field next year.

A beacon of hope to aid the healing process for thousands of veterans over the years, the wall has also acted as a voice for the names of the souls on the memorial to exist once more.

A success the first time it rolled into the city in 1999, the Lynn Department of Veterans' Services will once again sponsor the event from Aug. 27-30, 2009.

Fundraising to help defray costs for the event has already begun, and a raffle will be held tonight prior to the North Shore Navigators game at Fraser Field.

Michael Sweeney, director of Veterans' Services said Solimine Funeral Homes has partnered with the city and Lynn veteran organizations to help organize the event.

"Along with Lucia Lighting and Design, they have donated two pairs of Red Sox vs. Yankee tickets for the last game of the season, Sept. 27, to be raffled off," he said. "And Bob Hulgren, a Vietnam veteran, and his wife Adelle really deserve credit for helping sell raffle tickets at every Navigator game." For $10, tickets can be purchased at City Hall in the Veterans' Service office or at Fraser Field. Proceeds will help pay for the costs associated with bringing the wall to Lynn and other veteran programs.

Sweeney said tickets could also be purchased through the Lynn Veterans' Council, and the Vietnam Veterans of America, Lynn Chapter 908, and through other veteran posts throughout the city.
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For those of you who read my book, you know I'm from Lynn. I remember going to see the Wall and the reaction of the veterans as moving as ever. Years never seem to change the way they look at the Wall no matter how many times they stand in front of it. Now, it's not just for the Vietnam veterans but for all veterans. Much like the Vietnam veterans have fought for benefits for all veterans, this Wall serves as a testament to their compassion for each other and all who have worn the uniform. Politics gone. Pro or Con gone. All that matter is the lives lost for the sake of serving this nation and each other.

I've seen Iraq and Afghanistan veterans approach the Wall the same way I used to see the Gulf War veterans approach it. They stand in awe as they walk past the panels. Are they thinking of the men and women they served with who are no longer here? I believe they are. No matter what or where they served, this Wall has managed to touch all of them. It helps to heal the families of the fallen as well. If you live in the area, please help Lynn out with a donation to host the Wall.

Gospel singer dies in Tampa shooting

Gospel singer dies in Tampa shooting
By Thomas Lake, Times Staff Writer
In print: Monday, July 28, 2008

TAMPA — A young gospel singer died Sunday morning. His name was Levi Dixon Jr. He was alone in a friend's house on Walnut Street in West Tampa about 4 a.m. when someone kicked open the front door and shot him, police said. He was 17.

No arrest had been reported by late Sunday. Relatives thought the shooter might have mistaken Levi for someone else, and Tampa police Lt. Ronald McMullen acknowledged that possibility.

"By all accounts, he was a good kid," McMullen said.

Levi went to Blake High School, and he loved animals. His MySpace page was covered in pictures of Simba, the young lion from Disney's Lion King.

Relatives said he was on the verge of musical success. His uncle, Ricky Pearson, said Levi wrote his own music and sang in local clubs.

"I just keep seeing his face," Pearson said Sunday afternoon, outside Levi's mother's house in Tampa Heights, as friends and relatives came in their church clothes to grieve with her.
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Man shoots girlfriend and co-worker, kills self Tampa Sonic Drive-In

July 29, 2008
Tampa police: Man shoots girlfriend and co-worker, kills self
TAMPA -- Upset about a disagreement with his girlfriend, a Tampa man shot her and a co-worker outside a fast-food restaurant this morning and then killed himself, authorities say.

The shootings stemmed from an altercation Monday night at the the Sonic Drive-In at 4411 W Gandy Blvd., where police say the man argued with a female employee whom he had been dating, identified as Cassandra Gorham, 21, of Seffner.

Shortly before 2 a.m., after the restaurant had closed, the man returned with a handgun and opened fire on several people sitting inside cars in the parking lot, said Andrea Davis, a spokeswoman for the Tampa Police Department. Gorham and another Sonic employee, Michael D. Stephens, 24, of Tampa, received nonlife-threatening injuries, police said.

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Words From War Stories Online

For father on 3rd tour in Iraq, family separation the hardest"Like anything in life, the military comes with its advantages and disadvantages. I know we've enjoyed the different cultures and personal relationships we've experienced in the U.S. and abroad. But this is my third tour in Iraq, and this month is the third of my daughter Claire's seven birthdays that I've missed, and the second in a row. Everything has its price."
— Army Maj. Matthew Phelps

Click above to read more of this.


Click the (links) pictures below to read all "Words From War" stories (listed in alphabetical order):
R. Ball Jr
J. Barker
D. Bates
The Berrys
C. Billingsley
M. Bonner
J. Bradley
S. Burgos
The Burleys
H. Butts
J. Cadenas
G. Calhoun
L. Caroe
K. Cate
R. Cortez
W. Crews
W. Dalla Rosa
S. Dearduff
D. DeKoeyer
T. DeKoeyer
R. Dukes
L. Ebert
I. Elbahtiti
M. Forester
J. Fox IV
A. Garrett
S. Gilpatrick
J. Harris
J. Henry
J. Hoffman
M. Howard
T. Hughes
P. Imhoff
R. Jarrard
L. Jean
D. Johnson
P. Johnson
D. Kelley
K. Kravchak
S. Lawson
K. Lewis
R. Lewis Jr.
K. Linderman
B. Mau
S. Maxwell
N. McDonell
D. Miller
S. Mislan
K. Mitchell
R. Mitchell
R. Morris
J. Neilson
D. Pack
T. Padgett
M. Phelps
J. Page
A. Rager
B. Ray
J. Riggs
C. Salvia
W. Schaeffer
Schoenwetter
S. Seymour
I. Talarico
J. Teasley
J. Thomas
R. Walton II
A. Witters
This is a great series I didn't even know was there.

Non-combat death in Afghanistan

DoD Identifies Army Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Spc. Seteria L. Brown, 22, of Orlando, Fla., died July 25 in Sharana, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident. She was assigned to the 62nd Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, Fort Hood Texas.

The incident is under investigation.
linked from ICasualties.org