Mystery Surrounds Local Marine's Death
Man Killed In ‘Non-Hostile Incident’ In Iraq
POSTED: Thursday, April 2, 2009
UPDATED: 8:04 am EDT April 3, 2009
MIAMI -- A mystery is brewing from Miami to Iraq, where a local member of the U.S. Marine Corps was found dead at a military facility.
The Department of Defense said Thursday that 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Nelson M. Lantigua of Miami died on Tuesday in Anbar province.
Lantigua was found shot to death, face down, in a bed inside the military facility to which he was assigned in Iraq, Local 10's Terrell Forney reported.
Officials said Lantigua died of a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. But no other details have been released. The incident is under investigation.
Military officials have called it a non-hostile incident and non-combat related, which raises questions for Lantigua's family. The 20-year old joined the U.S. Marines after graduating high school in Miami and was nearing the end of his first deployment to Iraq when he died.
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Mystery Surrounds Local Marine's Death
linked from CNN
Friday, April 3, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Marine says he is tormented over killing of Iraqi prisoner
What is justice in this case? What is right when this happens? Is there really a right answer? We heard President Bush say we don't torture, while he did everything in his power to make sure they could, but it was not the people giving the orders to do it that ended up in prison for it, it was the men and women ordered to do it. What would you do?
Marine says he is tormented over killing of Iraqi prisoner
Sgt. Ryan Weemer is on trial at Camp Pendleton.
Sgt. Ryan Weemer, in a tape-recording played at his court martial, says he wants to forget what happened in Fallouja in 2004. He is accused of unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty.
By Tony Perry
April 2, 2009
Reporting from Camp Pendleton -- A Marine Corps sergeant charged with murdering an Iraqi prisoner told an investigator that he is tormented by the shooting and has tried to forget what happened that day in Fallouja in 2004, according to a tape-recording played Wednesday at his court-martial.
In the recording, Sgt. Ryan Weemer talked of being covered with the blood of his best friend, who was killed by a sniper, and then minutes later being ordered by his squad leader to kill an Iraqi taken prisoner when Marines stormed a house.
"I grabbed a gun and took him to the back of the house," Weemer is heard telling two agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. "I shot him twice in the chest."
Weemer, 26, is charged with unpremeditated murder and dereliction of duty, and could face a dishonorable discharge and life in prison. His jury is comprised of eight Marines, all with experience in Iraq, Afghanistan or both.
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Marine says he is tormented over killing of Iraqi prisoner
Capt. Bierwiler's widow takes comfort in her husband's devotion
Widow of Hernando sheriff's Capt. Bierwiler takes comfort in her husband's devotion
By Dan DeWitt, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Thursday, April 2, 2009
SPRING HILL — Angie Bierwiler turned on the television 11 years ago when she first heard that Hank Earl Carr was holed up in a Hernando County convenience store with a hostage after killing his girlfriend's son and three law enforcement officers.
"I see Scott's patrol car pull right up in front of the store,'' she said.
Scott was her husband, Scott Bierwiler, 42, a Hernando sheriff's sergeant. But the situation did not worry her.
"I guess that I felt like everyone else did, that he was going to handle it,'' Mrs. Bierwiler, 40, said. "He just stood out there with a notepad and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and organized the whole county.''
That calm air of authority made Bierwiler seem perfect for the job he'd always wanted and seemed likely to assume one day — Hernando County sheriff.
It also made his death even more shocking.
Bierwiler, by then a captain, finally encountered circumstances he couldn't control at 5:45 a.m. on Feb. 19, just minutes after kissing his sleeping wife on the forehead and leaving their home in a quiet gated community.
On an otherwise empty, two-lane highway, his unmarked Ford was struck head-on by an SUV that veered into his lane. The Florida Highway Patrol has not yet completed its investigation or decided whether to charge the SUV's driver, 16-year-old Andrew Morris.
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Widow of Hernando sheriff's Capt. Bierwiler takes comfort in her husband's devotion
By Dan DeWitt, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Thursday, April 2, 2009
SPRING HILL — Angie Bierwiler turned on the television 11 years ago when she first heard that Hank Earl Carr was holed up in a Hernando County convenience store with a hostage after killing his girlfriend's son and three law enforcement officers.
"I see Scott's patrol car pull right up in front of the store,'' she said.
Scott was her husband, Scott Bierwiler, 42, a Hernando sheriff's sergeant. But the situation did not worry her.
"I guess that I felt like everyone else did, that he was going to handle it,'' Mrs. Bierwiler, 40, said. "He just stood out there with a notepad and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth and organized the whole county.''
That calm air of authority made Bierwiler seem perfect for the job he'd always wanted and seemed likely to assume one day — Hernando County sheriff.
It also made his death even more shocking.
Bierwiler, by then a captain, finally encountered circumstances he couldn't control at 5:45 a.m. on Feb. 19, just minutes after kissing his sleeping wife on the forehead and leaving their home in a quiet gated community.
On an otherwise empty, two-lane highway, his unmarked Ford was struck head-on by an SUV that veered into his lane. The Florida Highway Patrol has not yet completed its investigation or decided whether to charge the SUV's driver, 16-year-old Andrew Morris.
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Widow of Hernando sheriff's Capt. Bierwiler takes comfort in her husband's devotion
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty non-combat death in Iraq
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lance Cpl. Nelson M. Lantigua, 20, of Miami, Fla., died March 31 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10 Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The incident is currently under investigation.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lance Cpl. Nelson M. Lantigua, 20, of Miami, Fla., died March 31 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10 Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The incident is currently under investigation.
Documentary on PTSD Needs Help to Reach Completion
The great thing is they are talking about it. The troops are talking on this video and it's a wonderful thing. The need is so great for all of them and the others already home, but at least, thank God, they are talking about it now. Maybe they are finally getting the message that PTSD is normal, not new, and most of all, nothing to be ashamed of at all. I am very hopeful for the first time in a very long time because of this video.
Documentary on PTSD Needs Help to Reach Completion (VIDEO)
Tim King Salem-News.com
The hour-long program could help hundreds of thousands; we are looking for Americans who care to lend a hand.
Soldiers from the Army's 101st Airborne on patrol in Iraq during the summer of 2008. Salem-News.com photo by Tim King
(SALEM, Ore.) - Hundreds of thousands of American combat veterans are suffering from the effects of combat and war. The symptoms of PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, are wide ranging.
The current conflicts continue to generate PTSD in our troops, and they join the ranks of veterans of the Persian Gulf War, Lebanon, Vietnam, Korea and WWII as survivors of things that no man or woman should ever witness in a civilized world.
My goal in Iraq last summer was to gather interviews for a television documentary on PTSD. What veterans are doing while at war is part of what we will explore, and even more importantly, we will show all types of different therapies that are being used successfully by vets and people who help veterans, in their adjustment back to a peaceful society.
We are seeking a partner to help with the cost of producing this extremely important program. Significant interest has already been shown by one television organization and the number of stations and venues where it can be used to help educate people about PTSD, is nearly endless.
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Documentary on PTSD Needs Help to Reach Completion (VIDEO)
Cleveland Ohio:Three girls disappear within five blocks of each other over four years
Three teens disappear from same neighborhood
By Philip Rosenbaum
Nancy Grace Producer
Story Highlights
Three girls disappear within five blocks of each other over four years
Police, FBI in Cleveland, Ohio, looking into hundreds of leads
Investigators not yet sure there's a connection
Tip? Call the FBI at (216) 522-1400 or Cleveland Police at (216) 623-5000
All from the same neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio, the girls disappeared within five blocks of each other over a four-year span, starting in 2003.
Agents and detectives from the FBI and Cleveland Police are looking into hundreds of leads in the cases and whether they may be linked, according to FBI Special Agent Scott Wilson in the agency's Cleveland bureau.
"We kind of put all three of these cases together to work them to see if there's any connection," Wilson said.
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Three teens disappear from same neighborhood
By Philip Rosenbaum
Nancy Grace Producer
Story Highlights
Three girls disappear within five blocks of each other over four years
Police, FBI in Cleveland, Ohio, looking into hundreds of leads
Investigators not yet sure there's a connection
Tip? Call the FBI at (216) 522-1400 or Cleveland Police at (216) 623-5000
All from the same neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio, the girls disappeared within five blocks of each other over a four-year span, starting in 2003.
Agents and detectives from the FBI and Cleveland Police are looking into hundreds of leads in the cases and whether they may be linked, according to FBI Special Agent Scott Wilson in the agency's Cleveland bureau.
"We kind of put all three of these cases together to work them to see if there's any connection," Wilson said.
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Three teens disappear from same neighborhood
How a small community can cope with great loss
How a small community can cope with great loss
By Lily G. Casura
STAFF WRITER
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Here in St. Helena, the community is reeling from the recent tragedy in which 14 extended family members of the Jacobson family, including many small children, died. Dr. Erin Jacobson and his wife, Amy, were well-loved by their friends, family members and colleagues. Their children, Taylor, Ava and Jude, were also beloved locally.
And the question remains, how does a small-town community cope with such a great loss? And what local and national resources are available to them?
From the St. Helena Cooperative Nursery School, where parents gathered last week to grieve in tandem; to the St. Helena Hospital, where a memorial to the Jacobson family is set up in the lobby, and added to daily; to informal gatherings of friends and family at Taylor’s Refresher, or Miner Family Vineyards; to Saturday’s memorial service for the family; the Napa Valley reverberates with echoes of pain and suffering and compassion. And fortunately, also, with help for the grieving.
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How a small community can cope with great loss
By Lily G. Casura
STAFF WRITER
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Here in St. Helena, the community is reeling from the recent tragedy in which 14 extended family members of the Jacobson family, including many small children, died. Dr. Erin Jacobson and his wife, Amy, were well-loved by their friends, family members and colleagues. Their children, Taylor, Ava and Jude, were also beloved locally.
And the question remains, how does a small-town community cope with such a great loss? And what local and national resources are available to them?
From the St. Helena Cooperative Nursery School, where parents gathered last week to grieve in tandem; to the St. Helena Hospital, where a memorial to the Jacobson family is set up in the lobby, and added to daily; to informal gatherings of friends and family at Taylor’s Refresher, or Miner Family Vineyards; to Saturday’s memorial service for the family; the Napa Valley reverberates with echoes of pain and suffering and compassion. And fortunately, also, with help for the grieving.
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How a small community can cope with great loss
Ethnic Disparities in Incidence of PTSD and Suicide among Combat Veterans
April 01, 2009
Ethnic Disparities in Incidence of PTSD and Suicide among Combat Veterans
by Lily Casura
The topic of "culture, race, ethnicity and PTSD" is a complicated subject, with great potential to offend, so it has to be covered delicately, and slowly, over time.
There is a concern that ethnic minorities or non-white populations experience PTSD at greater rates than whites, but this concept is not without its detractors, who frankly disagree.
It would be interesting to learn more about this phenomenon, and learn if the data really supports it, or if it's just an assumption. If it turns out to be true, then it might be useful to map it against the prevalence of ethnic minorities who serve in the armed forces, in order to guesstimate more accurately future numbers of veterans who are likely to be affected by PTSD, and predict the resources that will be needed for their effective care in their home communities. On the one hand, you would hope that these estimates were already being made; on the other hand, it doesn't seem that they are. Consequently, in this post we're unfortunately raising more questions than answers.
To narrow the focus here enough for discussion, let's take a look at just one ethnicity among many from which we could choose -- one that's on the rise in the United States (and in the U.S. military) -- Hispanics (aka Latinos). Observe how cultural issues may come into play with their incidence of PTSD, as the study indicates. (The same questions that are raised here could apply, in turn, to other ethnic minorities, and ideally, all should be studied.)
Re: Hispanics/Latinos:
"Several studies have found that Hispanic Americans have higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than non-Hispanic Caucasian and Black Americans. The authors identified predictors of PTSD symptom severity that distinguished Hispanic police officers (n=189) from their non-Hispanic Caucasian (n=317) and Black (n=162) counterparts and modeled them to explain the elevated Hispanic risk for PTSD. The authors found that greater peri-traumatic dissociation, greater wishful thinking and self-blame coping, lower social support, and greater perceived racism were important variables in explaining the elevated PTSD symptoms among Hispanics. Results are discussed in the context of Hispanic culture and may be important for prevention of mental illness in the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States." (Source.)
Hispanics/Latinos in the military. Do figures exist for how many Hispanics/Latinos are currently serving in the military; and/or are veterans of the Vietnam war, the Gulf war, the Iraq war, or Afghanistan? Are more Hispanics/Latinos joining the military?
I've seen a copy of a report that the state of Massachusetts has for number of veterans by zip code across the state. Not surprisingly, a quick glance through that report impresses the casual reader that numbers of veterans are highest in poorer communities than wealthier communities. (You'd have to know Massachusetts for the examples to make sense, but say, the difference between Brockton or Fall River, MA and Wellesley or Osterville, MA.) A similar trend may also exist for communities with higher concentrations of ethnic minorities.
click link for more
Ethnic Disparities in Incidence of PTSD and Suicide among Combat Veterans
by Lily Casura
The topic of "culture, race, ethnicity and PTSD" is a complicated subject, with great potential to offend, so it has to be covered delicately, and slowly, over time.
There is a concern that ethnic minorities or non-white populations experience PTSD at greater rates than whites, but this concept is not without its detractors, who frankly disagree.
It would be interesting to learn more about this phenomenon, and learn if the data really supports it, or if it's just an assumption. If it turns out to be true, then it might be useful to map it against the prevalence of ethnic minorities who serve in the armed forces, in order to guesstimate more accurately future numbers of veterans who are likely to be affected by PTSD, and predict the resources that will be needed for their effective care in their home communities. On the one hand, you would hope that these estimates were already being made; on the other hand, it doesn't seem that they are. Consequently, in this post we're unfortunately raising more questions than answers.
To narrow the focus here enough for discussion, let's take a look at just one ethnicity among many from which we could choose -- one that's on the rise in the United States (and in the U.S. military) -- Hispanics (aka Latinos). Observe how cultural issues may come into play with their incidence of PTSD, as the study indicates. (The same questions that are raised here could apply, in turn, to other ethnic minorities, and ideally, all should be studied.)
Re: Hispanics/Latinos:
"Several studies have found that Hispanic Americans have higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than non-Hispanic Caucasian and Black Americans. The authors identified predictors of PTSD symptom severity that distinguished Hispanic police officers (n=189) from their non-Hispanic Caucasian (n=317) and Black (n=162) counterparts and modeled them to explain the elevated Hispanic risk for PTSD. The authors found that greater peri-traumatic dissociation, greater wishful thinking and self-blame coping, lower social support, and greater perceived racism were important variables in explaining the elevated PTSD symptoms among Hispanics. Results are discussed in the context of Hispanic culture and may be important for prevention of mental illness in the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States." (Source.)
Hispanics/Latinos in the military. Do figures exist for how many Hispanics/Latinos are currently serving in the military; and/or are veterans of the Vietnam war, the Gulf war, the Iraq war, or Afghanistan? Are more Hispanics/Latinos joining the military?
I've seen a copy of a report that the state of Massachusetts has for number of veterans by zip code across the state. Not surprisingly, a quick glance through that report impresses the casual reader that numbers of veterans are highest in poorer communities than wealthier communities. (You'd have to know Massachusetts for the examples to make sense, but say, the difference between Brockton or Fall River, MA and Wellesley or Osterville, MA.) A similar trend may also exist for communities with higher concentrations of ethnic minorities.
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Wounded Soldier, Healing Warrior
I was given a copy of Clark's book and it is very good. Suggested reading.
Vietnam veteran offers advice at lecture
By Melissa Bower Staff Writer
Vietnam veteran offers advice at lecture
By Melissa Bower Staff Writer
"The problems, the pain from combat and the military situation is inevitable, but suffering does not have to happen," said Allen Clark, retired Army captain. "That was then, this is now."
Clark served in the 5th Special Forces Group at Camp Dak To, Vietnam. He was injured June 17, 1967, and eventually had both legs amputated below the knees. Clark received a Purple Heart, a Silver Star and the Combat Infantryman's Badge.
In 2007, Clark authored a book, "Wounded Soldier, Healing Warrior," about his injuries and healing. He also founded a lay ministry, www.combatfaith.com, to assist warriors healing from combat wounds and post-traumatic stress disorder.
"We're all going to be impacted to some degree by some combat operating stressors of sadness, of anger, of bad - even horrific - memories of things we did or did not do ... Sometimes we see things that we found to be overwhelming and inescapable for our dreams and memories for a long period of time, maybe our whole lives," he said.
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Vietnam veteran offers advice at lecture
Fort Leavenworth Lamp - Fort Leavenworth,KS,USA
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen:Problems after combat will last generations
Mullen: Suicides, homelessness trends a concern
By Robert Burns - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 2, 2009 16:28:24 EDT
NEW YORK — Homelessness, family strains and psychological problems among returning veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will persist in the U.S. for generations to come, the top U.S. military officer said Thursday.
“This is not a 10-year problem. It is a 50- or 60- or 70-year problem,” Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a lunchtime audience at the Hudson Union Society, a group that promotes nonpartisan debate.
Mullen said he was particularly disturbed by the emergence of homelessness as a problem among war veterans.
“I have started to meet with, in veterans hospitals, homeless veterans” of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said. “And they are every bit as homeless and every bit as tragic as any homeless vet we’ve ever had. We as a country should not allow that to happen.”
At a White House news conference last week, President Barack Obama said that some of the funding increases in his proposed budget for veterans affairs are directed at alleviating the problem of homelessness among veterans, which he said is a bigger problem, proportionally, than is homelessness in the rest of the American population.
Mullen said he also was worried by a rising number of suicides among U.S. military members.
“The trends are all in the wrong direction,” he said, adding that “we’re just at the beginning of understanding” how to deal with the psychological wounds and scars that military members incur during combat service.
go here for more
Mullen: Suicides, homelessness trends a concern
By Robert Burns - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 2, 2009 16:28:24 EDT
NEW YORK — Homelessness, family strains and psychological problems among returning veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will persist in the U.S. for generations to come, the top U.S. military officer said Thursday.
“This is not a 10-year problem. It is a 50- or 60- or 70-year problem,” Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a lunchtime audience at the Hudson Union Society, a group that promotes nonpartisan debate.
Mullen said he was particularly disturbed by the emergence of homelessness as a problem among war veterans.
“I have started to meet with, in veterans hospitals, homeless veterans” of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said. “And they are every bit as homeless and every bit as tragic as any homeless vet we’ve ever had. We as a country should not allow that to happen.”
At a White House news conference last week, President Barack Obama said that some of the funding increases in his proposed budget for veterans affairs are directed at alleviating the problem of homelessness among veterans, which he said is a bigger problem, proportionally, than is homelessness in the rest of the American population.
Mullen said he also was worried by a rising number of suicides among U.S. military members.
“The trends are all in the wrong direction,” he said, adding that “we’re just at the beginning of understanding” how to deal with the psychological wounds and scars that military members incur during combat service.
go here for more
Mullen: Suicides, homelessness trends a concern
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