Vietnam Vet Riding Weapon-toting Harley to Raise Money
Posted By: Angela Williams
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Whoever said, "less is more," hasn't met Robert Harris.
"In the back are two M16s A1s, the rifles used in Vietnam," says Harris, pointing to his Harley.
Everywhere he goes, he sparks a bit of attention.
"There are hand grenades for my foot peddles for my passenger," says Harris.
And that's exactly his intention. This Vietnam veteran paratrooper now dedicates his life to raising funds, and awareness for homeless and disabled vets.
The mission is called Operation Dust Off. It's named after a rescue mission in Vietnam that actually saved his life. Now, he wants to rescue others.
"Not one vet should be on the street," said Harris. "We never left a soldier behind on the battlefields in Vietnam, and I don't see any reason to leave one on the streets."
With the help of fellow vets, Harris transformed his 1985 Harley into a tribute to veterans of all wars. After winning several awards for his bike, he decided to use the attention for their benefit.
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Vietnam Vet Riding Weapon-toting Harley to Raise Money
Saturday, April 4, 2009
DOD releases name of another non-combat death in Iraq
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Devin C. Poche, 25, of Jacksonville, N.C., died Mar. 31 at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, near Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Devin C. Poche, 25, of Jacksonville, N.C., died Mar. 31 at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, near Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
Tampa woman gets jail over VA benefit fraud
This makes my blood boil! This is not a matter of a widow of a veteran fighting to have a claim honored but a woman with the nerve to take money from the VA after a widow had died. She had nothing to do with the disabled veteran that was willing to die for this country and nothing to do with the life of the wife at his side. She just must have decided that she didn't need to earn any of the money she was taking without a clue of what kind of price others paid. In a time when there are claims tied up in a backlog, claims denied and veterans suffer, here we have someone making a living off of the legacy of a veteran!
Woman Gets Prison For Veterans Benefits Fraud
TBO.com
Published: April 2, 2009
A Palmetto woman who pleaded guilty to cashing veterans benefit checks in the name of her boyfriend's dead mother was sentenced today to five months in prison and five months of house arrest.
Lynn Weber, 55, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew to pay $62,960 in restitution.
A woman named Eleanor Edwards was the intended recipient of the checks from the Veterans Administration Dependency and Indemnity Compensation program, which is paid to eligible surviving spouses of veterans who have not remarried, according to court documents.
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Woman Gets Prison For Veterans Benefits Fraud/
Veteran struggle to truly come home
Veterans struggle to truly come home
4/4/2009 1:05:02 AM
By Jeff Hansel
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN
After returning stateside from serving in the Gulf War in 1991, Gabe Cruz had a stable job.
He was a surveillance specialist with the Lubbock, Texas, Health Department, tracking the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases in the west Texas population. He was considered a public health expert, especially in the field of HIV/AIDS.
"I oversaw 42 counties. I dressed in shirts and ties and I worked in nice clothes," he says.
But he experienced a personal tragedy and an emotional breakdown at work, and he lost his job. Anything can trigger such an unexpected downward spiral for veterans who might think they've returned to normalcy.
"I went crazy," Cruz says, showing his disability documents that state, "you were found running barefoot in the street, claiming people were shooting at you."
He had a flat tire and "I just started crying. I couldn't get it together."
While on active duty, most routine things are predetermined, so changes in routine can throw off veterans.
"I remember one guy getting off the plane, met his wife and family at the airport, went to have a meal and felt completely overwhelmed because the waitress put a menu in his hand," said Katie Burnes, a psychiatric nurse practitioner who helps soldiers at the VA Clinic in Rochester. "Because he didn't have to choose anything. He didn't have to choose what to eat for 16 months. And he didn't know how to act. He didn't know how to respond."
Cruz uses the disability statement as if it's proof for non-believers.
"I read it over and over (because) I forget," Cruz says. "I think any logical person would say they'd want to forget the worst parts."
He has formed a relationship with a woman and her two children, but he struggles. In post-war relationships, when a woman rolls her eyes in response to his behavior, he says, he knows it's over.
"I sleep in the garage because I don't want the kids to see me. ... It's cold in the garage. It's more embarrassing, though, if they were to see me," he says.
Severe panic attacks are the problem. Any unexpected noise can set one off.
go here for more
Veterans struggle to truly come home
Post-Bulletin - Rochester,MN,USA
4/4/2009 1:05:02 AM
By Jeff Hansel
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN
After returning stateside from serving in the Gulf War in 1991, Gabe Cruz had a stable job.
He was a surveillance specialist with the Lubbock, Texas, Health Department, tracking the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases in the west Texas population. He was considered a public health expert, especially in the field of HIV/AIDS.
"I oversaw 42 counties. I dressed in shirts and ties and I worked in nice clothes," he says.
But he experienced a personal tragedy and an emotional breakdown at work, and he lost his job. Anything can trigger such an unexpected downward spiral for veterans who might think they've returned to normalcy.
"I went crazy," Cruz says, showing his disability documents that state, "you were found running barefoot in the street, claiming people were shooting at you."
He had a flat tire and "I just started crying. I couldn't get it together."
While on active duty, most routine things are predetermined, so changes in routine can throw off veterans.
"I remember one guy getting off the plane, met his wife and family at the airport, went to have a meal and felt completely overwhelmed because the waitress put a menu in his hand," said Katie Burnes, a psychiatric nurse practitioner who helps soldiers at the VA Clinic in Rochester. "Because he didn't have to choose anything. He didn't have to choose what to eat for 16 months. And he didn't know how to act. He didn't know how to respond."
Cruz uses the disability statement as if it's proof for non-believers.
"I read it over and over (because) I forget," Cruz says. "I think any logical person would say they'd want to forget the worst parts."
He has formed a relationship with a woman and her two children, but he struggles. In post-war relationships, when a woman rolls her eyes in response to his behavior, he says, he knows it's over.
"I sleep in the garage because I don't want the kids to see me. ... It's cold in the garage. It's more embarrassing, though, if they were to see me," he says.
Severe panic attacks are the problem. Any unexpected noise can set one off.
go here for more
Veterans struggle to truly come home
Post-Bulletin - Rochester,MN,USA
Grim twist in torture-slay of Marine Sgt. Jan Pietrzak and wife
Grim twist in torture-slay of Marine Sgt. Jan Pietrzak and wife: racial epithets on walls of home
By Nancy Dillon In Murrietta, Calif. and Corky Siemaszko In New York
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Race may have been the motive for the brutal murders of Brooklyn-raised Marine Sgt. Jan Pawel Pietrzak and his wife, Quiana.
After insisting for months the Pietrzaks were slain by four other Marines for their money, a key prosecution witness dropped a bombshell Friday - racist remarks were spray-painted in the couple's California home.
The words "N----- Lover" were found on the wall near the master bedroom and on a bathroom mirror, Riverside County Homicide Investigator Benjamin Ramirez testified.
Pietrzak, 24, was white, his 26-year-old wife was black, and the four accused Marines are black.
Ramirez's revelation came at the start of a two-day hearing to determine if the Camp Pendleton Marines should stand trial - and plunged the victims' heartbroken mothers into tears.
go here for more
Grim twist in torture-slay of Marine Sgt. Jan Pietrzak and wife
By Nancy Dillon In Murrietta, Calif. and Corky Siemaszko In New York
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Race may have been the motive for the brutal murders of Brooklyn-raised Marine Sgt. Jan Pawel Pietrzak and his wife, Quiana.
After insisting for months the Pietrzaks were slain by four other Marines for their money, a key prosecution witness dropped a bombshell Friday - racist remarks were spray-painted in the couple's California home.
The words "N----- Lover" were found on the wall near the master bedroom and on a bathroom mirror, Riverside County Homicide Investigator Benjamin Ramirez testified.
Pietrzak, 24, was white, his 26-year-old wife was black, and the four accused Marines are black.
Ramirez's revelation came at the start of a two-day hearing to determine if the Camp Pendleton Marines should stand trial - and plunged the victims' heartbroken mothers into tears.
go here for more
Grim twist in torture-slay of Marine Sgt. Jan Pietrzak and wife
Survivors may struggle in aftermath of Civic Association shootings
Imagine being one of the people, minding their own business, attending class and all hell breaks loose with a gunman on a rampage shooting people he does not even know.
The investigation will go on and people have gone home. The gunman is dead and while some think he cannot hurt anyone else now, the truth is, he will keep hurting people for many more years. The survivors of the attack will keep paying the price and so will their families for a very long time. Some will recover, but as this article points out, it has a lot to do with the history of the survivors. Sometimes it is one traumatic event too many opening the door for PTSD but other times, it's because the individual exposed to the events carries away the pain of others along with their own.
How can you ever feel safe after this? How can you believe you do not have to look over your shoulder or wonder where the next attack will happen? You can't but you do get to a point when you are able to rationalize that an abnormality like this does not happen every place you go. Your nerves will stop jumping and your senses will not be out of control forever as time replaces this horrific part of your life. The key is to start talking about it, let it out, so that it does not take root inside of you. Too many survivors stuff the horror into the back of their minds, avoiding any discussion or memory of it and they allow it to end up ruling their lives after. You couldn't control the event but you are in control when it comes to you and what you do to heal from it. If you need help, ask for it. If you need to talk, find people to listen. If you need a shoulder to lean on, reach out for it. Do not suffer in silence if you find you need help to heal.
UPDATE
Binghamton struggles to understand why
Wearing body armor and carrying two weapons, Jiverly Wong blocked the back door of the American Civic Association with his car on Friday, then went inside and fatally shot 13 people before apparently turning the gun on himself, police said. "Whatever drove this individual to do what he did I cannot possibly fathom," said Angela Leach, a representative of the association. "He must have been a coward," said Police Chief Joseph Zikuski. full story
Motive unclear in deadly Binghamton shootings
Story Highlights
NEW: Police execute search warrant at suspected gunman's home
NEW: Authorities have also talked with shooting suspect's mother
Fourteen people, including gunman, died Friday in N.Y. immigration center shootings
(CNN) -- Authorities are still sorting out the details after a shooting rampage Friday at a Binghamton, New York, immigration center left 14 people dead, including the suspected gunman.
A senior law enforcement source with detailed knowledge of the investigation identified the suspect as Jiverly Wong, who is believed to be in his early 40s.
Authorities executed a search warrant at Wong's home in Johnson City, near Binghamton, and spoke to the suspect's mother, the source said.
Earlier in the day, Binghamton police Chief Joseph Zikuski said the gunman entered the American Civic Association building. At 10:31 a.m., authorities received a 911 call from the receptionist, who said she'd been shot in the stomach, Zikuski said.
She told police that a man with a handgun also shot and killed another receptionist before proceeding to a nearby classroom, where he gunned down more victims, Zikuski said.
Authorities said 37 people made it out of the building alive, most of the survivors managed to survive by hiding in a boiler room and storage closets.
go here for more of this
Motive unclear in deadly Binghamton shootings
The investigation will go on and people have gone home. The gunman is dead and while some think he cannot hurt anyone else now, the truth is, he will keep hurting people for many more years. The survivors of the attack will keep paying the price and so will their families for a very long time. Some will recover, but as this article points out, it has a lot to do with the history of the survivors. Sometimes it is one traumatic event too many opening the door for PTSD but other times, it's because the individual exposed to the events carries away the pain of others along with their own.
Survivors may struggle in aftermath of Civic Association shootings
Press & Sun-Bulletin - Binghamton,NY,USA
By Vanessa Ebbeling • vebbeling1@gannett.com • Staff Writer • April 3, 2009
BINGHAMTON -- They're alive.
But the 37 survivors who walked away from Friday's massacre at American Civic Association might face debilitating emotions in the wake of the shooting tragedy that left 14 dead. Symptoms and the coping mechanisms will be as different as the individuals themselves, mental health experts said.
"It's normal for people to feel anxiety and feel depressed; people often have trouble sleeping," said Meredith Coles, an assistant professor of psychology at Binghamton University. "Typically, that goes down over time and that's one of the amazing things about people facing trauma."
Humans are incredibly resilient and can recover -- and even thrive -- after traumatic experiences. But if symptoms persist for weeks or months, survivors should seek professional help.
"They'll also attempt to avoid stimuli that arouse recollections of the trauma," he said. "But these are normal responses to an abnormal event."
The degree of a survivor's symptoms might depend on their involvement in the circumstance and past traumas in their life.
click link for more of this
How can you ever feel safe after this? How can you believe you do not have to look over your shoulder or wonder where the next attack will happen? You can't but you do get to a point when you are able to rationalize that an abnormality like this does not happen every place you go. Your nerves will stop jumping and your senses will not be out of control forever as time replaces this horrific part of your life. The key is to start talking about it, let it out, so that it does not take root inside of you. Too many survivors stuff the horror into the back of their minds, avoiding any discussion or memory of it and they allow it to end up ruling their lives after. You couldn't control the event but you are in control when it comes to you and what you do to heal from it. If you need help, ask for it. If you need to talk, find people to listen. If you need a shoulder to lean on, reach out for it. Do not suffer in silence if you find you need help to heal.
UPDATE
Binghamton struggles to understand why
Wearing body armor and carrying two weapons, Jiverly Wong blocked the back door of the American Civic Association with his car on Friday, then went inside and fatally shot 13 people before apparently turning the gun on himself, police said. "Whatever drove this individual to do what he did I cannot possibly fathom," said Angela Leach, a representative of the association. "He must have been a coward," said Police Chief Joseph Zikuski. full story
3 police officers shot in Pittsburgh answering domestic violence call
3 police officers shot in Pittsburgh
Story Highlights
Officers were responding to a domestic call, Allegheny County police said
Gunman is apparently in a house keeping law enforcement at bay
WTAE-TV reports that as many as 80 shots have been fired
(CNN) -- Three police officers were shot in Pittsburgh on Saturday, as they responded to a domestic call, Allegheny County police said.
A gunman is apparently holed up inside a home in the Stanton Heights neighborhood of the western Pennsylvania city.
The conditions of the officers were not known.
Police couldn't say whether the officers struck were from the city, the county or other departments. City, county and state police officers were at the scene.
CNN affiliate WTAE reported that as many as 80 shots have been fired between people in the house and officers
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/04/pittsburgh.officers.shot/index.html
check back with CNN later for details as they come out.
UPDATE
This makes no sense at all. If he was "afraid" President Obama would "ban guns" then why would he do something like this? Why kill police officers for what he was "afraid of" and do something like this?
Story Highlights
Officers were responding to a domestic call, Allegheny County police said
Gunman is apparently in a house keeping law enforcement at bay
WTAE-TV reports that as many as 80 shots have been fired
(CNN) -- Three police officers were shot in Pittsburgh on Saturday, as they responded to a domestic call, Allegheny County police said.
A gunman is apparently holed up inside a home in the Stanton Heights neighborhood of the western Pennsylvania city.
The conditions of the officers were not known.
Police couldn't say whether the officers struck were from the city, the county or other departments. City, county and state police officers were at the scene.
CNN affiliate WTAE reported that as many as 80 shots have been fired between people in the house and officers
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/04/pittsburgh.officers.shot/index.html
check back with CNN later for details as they come out.
UPDATE
This makes no sense at all. If he was "afraid" President Obama would "ban guns" then why would he do something like this? Why kill police officers for what he was "afraid of" and do something like this?
Gunman 'lying in wait' kills 3 Pittsburgh officers; friends say he feared Obama would ban guns
DAN NEPHINRAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI
Associated Press Writers Associated Press Writers
5:59 PM EDT, April 4, 2009
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A gunman wearing a bulletproof vest and "lying in wait" opened fire on officers responding to a domestic disturbance call Saturday, killing three of them and turning a quiet Pittsburgh street into a battlefield, police said.
Police Chief Nate Harper said the motive for the shooting isn't clear, but friends said the gunman recently had been upset about losing his job and feared the Obama administration was poised to ban guns.
Richard Poplawski, 23, met officers at the doorway and shot two of them in the head immediately, Harper said. An officer who tried to help the two also was killed.
Poplawski, armed with an assault rifle and two other guns, then held police at bay for four hours as the fallen officers were left bleeding nearby, their colleagues unable to reach them, according to police and witnesses. More than 100 rounds were fired by the SWAT teams and Poplawski, Harper said.
go here for more
Gunman 'lying in wait' kills 3 Pittsburgh officers
UPDATE Sunday April 5, 2009
Urinating dog triggered argument resulting in 3 officers' deaths
Story Highlights
The officers were the first department fatalities since 1995
Third officer killed was on his way home after finishing shift
Officers were responding to domestic call in Stanton Heights area of Pittsburgh
Two more officers were injured in the nearly four-hour standoff that ensued(CNN) -- Three Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, police officers were shot to death while responding to a 911 call of a domestic argument triggered by a urinating dog, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.
The officers were the first department fatalities since 1995, according to the department.
Police said following the shootings Saturday that Richard Poplawski, 22, would be charged with three counts of homicide, aggravated assault and other charges. Poplawski, who was shot in the leg during a four-hour standoff with police, was hospitalized at an undisclosed location, police said.
Details of the incident were included in the police complaint seeking an arrest warrant for Poplawski. The complaint says Margaret Poplawski called 911 about 7 a.m. Saturday to report that her son was "giving her a hard time." Watch officers respond at the scene »
She told police she awoke to discover that "the dog had urinated on the floor," and awakened her son "to confront him about it."
The two had an argument, and Margaret Poplawski told her son she was calling police to remove him from her home, according to the complaint. When officers Stephen Mayhle and Paul Sciullo III arrived, she opened the door and let them in.go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/05/pittsburgh.officers.shot.dog/index.html
Pentagon’s Sexual Assault and Prevention Office taking women seriously
Rape and sexual assaults are crimes that no one should ever ignore.
New campaign aims to stop sexual assault
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Apr 3, 2009 14:49:01 EDT
The Pentagon on Friday launched a campaign to raise awareness of and prevent sexual assaults with a focus on what it calls “bystander intervention” — service members taking the initiative to step in when someone is about to be victimized.
The campaign, dubbed “Our Strength is for Defending,” is running throughout April in tandem with National Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Officials are employing posters, brochures and radio and TV announcements and focusing the campaign on 18- to-24-year-old men and women — the age range in which officials say most sexual assaults take place.
The campaign resembles a similar effort by the international advocacy group Men Can Stop Rape. That group’s campaign is focused on men; SAPRO worked with the group to adapt the program to the military and include women as a focal point.
“We all have a responsibility of intervening if we think a sexual assault is going to occur,” said Kaye Whitley, director of the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault and Prevention Office, or SAPRO.
The campaign goal is twofold, Whitley said: preventing sexual assault, and raising awareness of the issue.
go here for more
New campaign aims to stop sexual assault
Wales:Truck carries coffin of soldier to final rest
Truck carries coffin of soldier
Cpl Dean John's coffin was escorted to the crematorium by his army colleagues
A soldier from south Wales with a life-long love of engines and trucks was driven to his funeral service on the back of a brand new lorry.
Cpl Dean John, 25, of Port Talbot, was killed by a roadside bomb in Helmand province in Afghanistan on 15 March.
Hundreds of people lined both sides of the streets as the married father of three was driven to Margam Crematorium.
Fellow soldier Cpl Graeme Stiff, 24, from Grimsby, lost his life in the same blast.
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Truck carries coffin of soldier
Students at St. Johns Academy talked face-to-face with a pilot in Iraq
Students in Ms. Mahan first-grade got to see that Flat Stanley made it to Iraq to visit some soldiers.
Soldier In Iraq Speaks To Local 1st-Grade Class
POSTED: Thursday, April 2, 2009
UPDATED: 8:29 pm EDT April 2, 2009
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- A soldier serving the country hundreds of thousands of miles away in Iraq made time for some first-graders in St. Augustine on Thursday.
Students at St. Johns Academy talked face-to-face with a pilot who is overseas. Using a webcam, Lt. Col. Jim Baker told the children about the ups and downs of military life and answered all sorts of questions.
"Do you miss your family?" one student asked.
"Oh yes. That's the one thing about being over here that we agree on, that we miss our family," Baker said.
For the first time, the students got to meet with a helicopter pilot stationed in Iraq. The high-tech visit was conducted via Skype.
"We've got everything from hamburgers and hot dogs, to sandwiches and soup," Baker shared about life overseas.
"It's a good opportunity for us to show our gratitude to him for his sacrifices over there," said first-grade teacher Leah Mahan.
go here for more
Soldier In Iraq Speaks To Local 1st-Grade Class
Friday, April 3, 2009
Demi Moore's Twitter Readers Save Suicidal Woman
Demi Moore responds to Twitter suicide threat
Story Highlights
Demi Moore was recipient of suicide threat on Twitter
Moore helped put word out; police later took troubled texter into custody
Moore: "The twitterverse is on the case"
By Alan Duke
CNN
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Actress Demi Moore's frequent postings on Twitter put her in the middle of a life-and-death drama Friday when a woman sent her an online message threatening suicide.
Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore are both active members of the Twitter social-networking site.
Moore, who was in southern France where her husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, is filming a movie, quickly replied to the threat saying, "Hope you are joking."
Twitter followers who saw the message tracked it to a San Jose, California, home, where police found a 48-year-old woman. The police took her into custody for a psychological evaluation, according to a police spokesman.
About two hours after the initial exchange, Moore posted this message -- known as a "tweet" -- on Twitter: "Thanks everyone for reaching out to the San Jose PD i am told they are aware and no need to call anymore. I do not know this woman."
go here for more
Demi Moore responds to Twitter suicide threat
Story Highlights
Demi Moore was recipient of suicide threat on Twitter
Moore helped put word out; police later took troubled texter into custody
Moore: "The twitterverse is on the case"
By Alan Duke
CNN
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Actress Demi Moore's frequent postings on Twitter put her in the middle of a life-and-death drama Friday when a woman sent her an online message threatening suicide.
Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore are both active members of the Twitter social-networking site.
Moore, who was in southern France where her husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, is filming a movie, quickly replied to the threat saying, "Hope you are joking."
Twitter followers who saw the message tracked it to a San Jose, California, home, where police found a 48-year-old woman. The police took her into custody for a psychological evaluation, according to a police spokesman.
About two hours after the initial exchange, Moore posted this message -- known as a "tweet" -- on Twitter: "Thanks everyone for reaching out to the San Jose PD i am told they are aware and no need to call anymore. I do not know this woman."
go here for more
Demi Moore responds to Twitter suicide threat
California Law Firm Seeking To Defend El Toro Veterans and Workers
Most of you know my friend Shelia at Agent Orange Quilt of Tears. She's been doing all she can to take on Agent Orange and now it looks as if she's rolled up her sleeves for this as well.
Please this is an important issue that concerns a lot of our sick Veterans & their families. As Jim says below these chemicals are just as bad as Agent Orange. Please take a few minutes to print out the packet & gather some signatures to support this issue, even if you can only get a few it will help.
All the direction & mailing addresses are included in the PDF file.
I've included more information below about the health concerns of these chemicals below Jim's message for help.
Thank you,
Shelia & Henry Snyder
Agent Orange Victims & Widows Support NetworkHome Of The Agent Orange Quilt Of Tearshttp://www.agentorangequiltoftears.com/Sacrifice is meaningless without remembrance
From: jdavis92840@gmail.comTCE/PCE Reduction Act of 2009 Petition - Help is needed!
Dear Friend,
I know I’ve come to you on several occasions now to ask for your help on this petition for the TCE/PCE Reduction Act of 2009 and some of you have responded with 10 signatures or more and this is greatly been appreciated.
And a special thanks goes out to Mr. Wright of GA who sent in 40 signatures, awesome job!
But we’re still a long ways off from the goal of 40,000+ signatures in order to help insure this bill doesn’t die in committee or on the House Floor.
You may feel you can’t get 10 signatures, or your health doesn’t permit you to which is ok, even if you alone sign, and mail in, and maybe forward on the E-Mail with file attachment to others, this too is a great help!
I have been in communication twice now with Congressman Hinchey’s office over the past two weeks and have been promised they would take the proposed bill under serious consideration.
These chemicals are as bad as Agent Orange, and will also have long lasting affects on those who used either TCE which is a degreaser chemical or PCE which is a dry cleaning chemical. Both are capable of causing various cancers and more. They’re also known to put off a gas called Vinyl Chloride which can and has caused behavioral changes at many military installations, and could very well have caused a veteran to be discharged dishonorably.
I have two firm beliefs, 1) There is power in numbers, and 2) Allow one veteran to be harmed, you harm all veterans.
Please, if you’ve not already signed the petition and mailed it to our office, please reconsider today?
If you’re a member of any of the Veteran Service Organizations, this too would be a great place to get signatures.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this E-Mail, and for your participation.
Best regards,
Jim
California Law Firm Seeks Injured El Toro Veterans & Workers
By Robert O'Dowd, Staff Writer, Posted on March 30, 2009
http://www.veteranstoday.com/article5587.HTML
A legal review and evaluation of possible injuries and deaths related to exposure to TCE/PCE and radium at former MCAS El Toro is underway by a Southern California law firm. There is no cost for the review or commitment for legal representation. Veterans, dependents, and civilian workers are encouraged to contact the law firm.A trichloroethylene (TCE) toxic plume was discovered in 1985 off of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) El Toro, California. El Toro was placed on the EPA Superfund list in 1990, closed in July 1999, and most of the land sold at a public auction in 2005. Once the Marine Corps’ premier air station, the former base sits deserted, a number of building torn down, part of the former base leased to Cal State Fullerton for classes, buildings demolished, most of the runways, taxiways and aprons still in tack, while according to the OC Register, Lennar has spent the “the last few months demolishing and removing existing El Toro structures to make way for grading.”
(See: http://collegelife.freedomblogging.com/2009/02/04/csuf-campus-in-south-county-is-moving/2680/)
Two huge maintenance hangars in the industrial portion of the base were found to be the source of the toxic plume spreading off the base. Multiple contaminants were found on base near landfills, including radionuclides (Uranium 235, Radium 226 and Radium 228).A radium 226 paint room and administrative office space in Hangar 296 were contaminated with radium. The radium 226 paint room was used decades ago to make a fluorescent paint for aircraft gauges and instruments. Some of the radium waste wound up in base landfills. The administrative space above the radium paint room was once occupied by the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing’s Supply Support Division. The California Department of Public Health, citing concerns over the radiological survey conducted by the Navy, has not released this hangar for unrestricted use, even though the Navy completed a “final” radiological report in 2002.
As is the case with the other 132 military bases on the EPA Superfund list, no veteran, dependent or civilian employee has been notified of their possible exposure to contaminants and the health effects.El Toro’s Laundry List of Contaminants EPA lists multiple Contaminants of Concern for El Toro on their Internet site. According to EPA: “COCs are the chemical substances found at the site that the EPA has determined pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. These are the substances that are addressed by cleanup actions at the site. Identifying COCs is a process where the EPA identifies people and ecological resources that could be exposed to contamination found at the site, determines the amount and type of contaminants present, and identifies the possible negative human health or ecological effects that could result from contact with the contaminants.” (See: http://cfpub.EPA.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0902770
For each COC, the EPA Internet site links the reader to the health effects identified by the Agency for Toxic Substances Registry (ATSDR). ATSDR under the Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for performing for performing public health assessments of EPA Superfund sites.Trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) are two toxic chemicals found in the base’s the soil and groundwater. TCE and PCE are both excellent cleaning solvents. TCE was used at El Toro for decades to degrease aircraft parts and for other applications. PCE was used as a metal degreaser and dry cleaning solvent in the base drying cleaning facility in the industrial portion of the base, now repository of the administrative records supporting the Navy’s clean-up activities.
What are the health effects of TCE/PCE exposure?
ATSDR reported a number of health problems in children who were exposed in the womb from their mother drinking water contaminated with TCE and/or PCE include:
Leukemia
Small for gestational age
Low birth weight
Fetal death
Major heart defects
Neural tube defects
Oral cleft defects (including cleft lip)
Chonal atresia (nasal passages blocked with bone or tissue)
Eye defects
Miscarriage
Major malformations
ATSDR reported health problems in people of all ages from drinking water contaminated with TCE and/or PCE include:
Non-Hodgkins lymphoma
Bladder cancer
Breast cancer
Lung cancer
ATSDR reported health problems in people of all ages from working with TCE and/or PCE include:
Hodgkins disease
Non-Hodgkins lymphoma
Cervical cancer
Kidney cancer
Liver/biliary cancer
Ovarian cancer
Prostate cancer
Neurological effects (delayed reaction times problems with short-term memory, visual perception, attention, and color vision)
Radium 226 Health EffectsATSDR reported that: “Radium has been shown to cause effects on the blood (anemia) and eyes (cataracts). It also has been shown to affect the teeth, causing an increase in broken teeth and cavities. Patients who were injected with radium in Germany, from 1946 to 1950, for the treatment of certain diseases including tuberculosis were significantly shorter as adults than people who were not treated.”How likely is radium to cause cancer?
ATSDR noted that: “Exposure to high levels of radium results in an increased incidence of bone, liver, and breast cancer. The EPA and the National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation, has stated that radium is a known human carcinogen.” (See: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts144.html)
No Cost or Commitment for Legal ReviewEl Toro veterans, dependents, and civilian workers with injuries possibly related to exposure to TCE/PCE, radium and other contaminants at former MCAS El Toro can contact Mr. Michael E. Gates, Carroll, Kelly, Trotter, Franzen and McKenna, 111 W. Ocean Boulevard, 14th Floor, Long Beach, California 90802-4646, Telephone: (562) 432-5855. Facsimile: (562) 432-8785. megates@cktfmlaw.com.
Mr. Gates told me that there is no cost to this legal review.
However, there is a need for information from injured parties: “Now that we are moving forward on this, I will need names and contact info, although I do not necessarily need to be contacted personally. I will also need retainers signed by everyone individually, but I will send out a standard PDF version that can be printed, signed, and sent back to me. This retainer will just say that the injured party agrees to have us represent them and also binds us with confidentiality.”Mr. Gates emphasized that: “Until a retainer is signed by the injured party, NO LEGAL REPRESENTATION HAS COMMENCED, and the "review" is merely exploratory.
However, any and ALL communication is strictly confidential.”With exception of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, no veteran, dependent or civilian employee of El Toro and the other 131 military bases on the EPA Superfund list has been notified of their possible exposure to contaminants and the health effects.
The Navy and Marine Corps are attempting to notify Camp Lejeune veterans and civilians but only after Congressional legislation and the tragic deaths of children from the TCE contaminated wells on base.One positive outcome of any legal review is that depending on the number of injured El Toro parties, the government may be forced to notify veterans and civilian workers of El Toro of their possible exposure to contaminants and the health effects. There’s no question that this is the right thing to do for those who served our county honorably.
Compassion Fatique Study Should Open Eyes on Combat PTSD
I cut out the part I really want you to read. It backs up what I've been saying about the type of person PTSD usually sets in on. Compassionate, sensitive people. While this article is discussing caregivers of terminal patients, think about the death that surrounds the men and women in the military and then you will have a better idea of why I keep saying the military and the VA are going at PTSD in the wrong direction. Between my two blogs, there are over 15,000 posts and most of them deal with PTSD. What you don't know is that with all of these posts sharing information I think is important, there are thousands more I've read over the years that are not posted. There is only so much room in this brain of mine, so it's impossible to even come close to remembering how many books and magazine articles I've read since 1982. What I believe has come from many years of taking all of this very personally because I've also been with my husband for as long as I've been doing this. I not only study it, I live it. Please do not dismiss what needs to be heard and taken seriously if we are ever going to get this right on PTSD.
'Compassion Fatigue' Drains Some Caregivers
By Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: April 03, 2009
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Study of the causes of and signs of compassion fatigue, as well as techniques for managing the condition, has been hampered by the ambiguous definition of it, they said.
It is difficult to differentiate compassion fatigue from similar conditions, such as burnout, secondary traumatic stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, and vicarious traumatization, they said.
Empathy is central to all of these processes, yet compassion fatigue is a unique kind of burnout that occurs in caregiving professions, they said.
Although some tools have been developed to assess compassion fatigue -- the Compassion Satisfaction Fatigue test and the newer-generation Professional Quality of Life Scale -- there have been few validation studies, according to the researchers.
Workers who are most vulnerable are "overly conscientious, perfectionistic, and self-giving," Dr. Doebbeling and colleagues said.
Sufferers "may feel chronically tired and irritable, dread going to work or walking into a patient's room, lack joy in life, feel trapped, drink more alcohol or overeat, or experience an aggravation of existing physical ailments, such as headache or body aches," they said.
Affected workers may also become more cynical and bored.
Taken together these factors may result in decreased productivity, more sick days, and higher turnover at the workplace, they said.
'Compassion Fatigue' Drains Some Caregivers
Female veterans need to be voice for other women after military sexual abuse
Many Women Veterans have difficulty receiving service-connected disability for PTSD due to MST (Military Sexual Trauma).
“We need more specific information about the incidents. We need to know, within a 2 month period, the date(s) the incidents occurred. We need to know the name(s) of your attackers, and we also need to know if any police reports, or other reports, were filed regarding the incidents described in your statement. If police reports were filed, we need to know the name of the agency they were filed with, and the approximate date they were filed.”
"Your service treatment records do not show treatment for PTSD or any other mental health disorders while in service. Service personnel records do not provide any evidence that a personal assault occurred in service. There is no evidence of changes in performance or performance evaluations or unexplained behavioral changes which could be expected from a person who had undergone such an assault.
In the National Center for PTSD Fact Sheet on Military Sexual Trauma,
Page 2,under What Happens?: "There is no set reaction to MST......You may have a response right away, or it may delayed for month or years."
Page 3 first paragraph states: "After a sexual assault, many women veterans keep quit. They worry what others will think of them, and that talking about the assault will hurt their military careers."
As you can see from the National Center for PTSD already shows, that many times, that MST are not reported, and that reactions vary, including the onset of symptoms.
And again other documents and reports basically say the same thing.
What does it take for the VA to believe the Veterans, who are seeking service-connected disability for PTSD due to MST? Especially for the older Veterans.
Changes need to be made now.
In the Military Sexual Trauma: Violence and Sexual Abuse Document:
Page 3, 2nd Paragraph: "......However, three fourth of the women who were raped did not report the incident to a ranking officer."
Page 4, 2nd Paragraph: "Reasons why both men and women avoid reporting sexual abuse include fears no one will believe them, that their careers will disruupted, that they will be harassed or face retribution from their attacker, or that they will be told to suck it up."
Sexual Assault Permates theU.S. Armed Forces, CBS Evening News: Shocking Report On Frequent Attacks, Low Rate Of Investigation, Prosecution, March, 17, 2009
Page 3, 1st Paragraph: "The Pentagon acknowledges that some 80 percent of rapes are never reported - making it the most under-documented crime in the military."
Page 3, 3rd Paragraph: "They didn't report because they didn't report because they didn't think they'd believed."
The Women's War Document
Page 8, 3rd Paragraph: "Given that PTSD sometimes takes years to surface in a veteran..."
Page 16, 3rd Paragraph: "There is the story of Tina Priest, a 21-year-old soldier who, according to Army investigation records, shot herself with an M-6 rifle in Iraq last March, two weeks after filing a rape charge against a fellow soldier and days after being given a diagnosis of ^acute stress disorder consistent with rape trauma^"
Page 22.last Paragraph: "Some of the women served in previous decades and were only now dealing with their PTSD" Sadly to say, this is many of us "Older" Veterans fall in this category. Assaults occurred decades ago, and we supposed to remember the exact dates, names and such? We forget to survive only to find ourselves wondering why the symptoms of PTSD come to surface.
NAMI VETERANS COUNCIL
Cornelia Huebscher
Veteran/ U.S. Army
NAMI Alaska Liaison to NVC
Chair/Women Veterans Subcommittee to NVC
Chair/NAMI Vets Alaska
huebscher@acsalaska.net
www.nami.org
Vietnam Vet says "We're All Brothers Now"
"We're all brothers in arms," said Emswiler, who visited the memorial in D.C. in 1995. "Once you go through something like that, there is a special bond, no matter your race, color or creed."
‘We're All Brothers' Posted 2009-04-03
Wall Unites A War's Living, Dead
By Pete DeLea
Air Force veteran Dick Lorette, 80, listens to opening ceremonies for "The Wall That Heals" in Harrisonburg's Ralph Sampson Park on Thursday. Lorette served in Vietnam in 1971-72.
Photos by Pete Marovich
HARRISONBURG - Vietnam veteran Alan Emswiler spent about a year stationed in Kansas before being deployed to fight in the war in 1969.
During that time, Emswiler was sent by the Army to several Midwestern states to serve as a pallbearer in military funerals for fallen soldiers returning from Southeast Asia.
Emswiler recalled one specific funeral where the widow asked the military not to use a hearse, but to escort the fallen soldier through town by hand.
"We carried it from one side of the town to the other," he said.
After about 16 funerals, Emswiler was sent to Vietnam with the 18th Military Police Brigade.
On Thursday, the 60-year-old Broadway resident was one of the first to get a glimpse of "The Wall That Heals," a traveling half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., that's now set up at Ralph Sampson Park.
The exhibit will be on display 24 hours a day at the park on East Washington Street until 8 a.m. Monday.
Emswiler said he purposely didn't remember the names of the fallen soldiers whose funerals he attended.
"You can't remember the names," he said. "If you remember the names, it becomes too personal."
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Vietnam veteran to receive Silver Star for bravery in battle 42 years ago
Vietnam veteran Ray Calhoun will receive a Silver Star for combat bravery during a ceremony today. In his hand is one he had purchased. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / Union-Tribune)
Hero finally gets his due
Vietnam veteran to receive Silver Star for bravery in battle 42 years ago
By Steve Liewer (Contact) Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. April 3, 2009
Nighttime cloaked Hill 881 South in a blackness that filled the Marines of Mike Company with a well-founded dread.
Lance Cpl. Ray Calhoun's platoon had drawn the job of leading an assault in this northwest corner of South Vietnam on the morning of April 30, 1967. They knew the enemy was waiting for them.
Some of the North Vietnamese soldiers shouted taunts in accented English.
“All night long, they're telling us: 'Put on your helmets, Marines. You're gonna die in the morning,' ” recalled Calhoun, who now lives in Scripps Ranch.
The enemy didn't lie. Three-fourths of the men in Calhoun's platoon were killed or wounded.
Throughout the battle, the 19-year-old Calhoun alternately aimed grenades at enemy bunkers and bandaged his dying buddies. Twice he passed out from his own wounds, only to wake up and resume the fight.
Today, nearly 42 years later, Calhoun will receive a Silver Star – the nation's third-highest award for combat bravery – during a ceremony at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego.
Two of Calhoun's platoon mates also were awarded Silver Stars recently. Don Hossack of Kalispell, Mont., received his medal last month, and Tommy Wheeler of Lutz, Fla., will get his April 13.
The presentations follow six years of Pentagon review, through a process approved by Congress to recognize overlooked valor from past wars. The law has been invoked to credit ethnic or religious minorities whose heroism was ignored or initially downgraded.
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Hero finally gets his due/
Gen. Peter Chiarelli at Fort Hood to address suicides, mental health in the ranks
Photo credit Chris Haug, III Corps PAO
Vice Chief of the Army Gen. Peter Chiarelli speaks to members of the media while visiting Fort Hood, Texas.
Vice Chief comes to Hood to address suicides, mental health in the ranks
Apr 01
By Heather Graham, III Corps PAO
FORT HOOD, Texas -- When Vice Chief of the Army Gen. Peter Chiarelli began an eight-day trip to seven Army installations across the country, his focus was on combating rising suicides in the ranks. After stops at the first few posts, the focus quickly broadened to include the overall mental health of Soldiers and their families.
Chiarelli and the suicide task force began visiting posts last week, looking at general trends in suicide and hoping to share best practices in prevention and treatment. The findings will be assembled in a plan that will be out soon.
What Chiarelli found is a stretched and tired force.
According to Department of Defense figures, 140 Soldiers killed themselves last year, an average of 20 Soldiers for every 100,000. This is the first time the Army has ever exceeded the Centers for Disease Control's most current statistic for the general population of 19 per 100,000, Chiarelli added.
This year has not started out well.
"We saw an alarming trend in the number of suicides during 2008, and the number - including those suspected, but not yet confirmed - for 2009 is still higher than average," Chiarelli said when he addressed the March 18, Central Texas and Fort Hood Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army general membership meeting at the Killeen Civic and Convention Center.
Nearly eight years of combat on two fronts and multiple deployments have token a terrible toll on Soldiers and their families.
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Vice Chief comes to Hood to address suicides, mental health in the ranks/
Texas Tech psychologist to head study aimed at curbing veterans' suicides
Tech psychologist to head study aimed at curbing veterans' suicides
By Marlena Hartz AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Friday, April 03, 2009
Story last updated at 4/3/2009 - 1:17 am
The U.S. Department of Defense has chosen a Texas Tech psychologist to lead a three-year study intended to reduce suicides among veterans.
Suicide rates in the U.S. Army reached an all-time high in 2008, according to Army officials. Last year, 128 active-duty soldiers committed suicide, an Army spokesman told The Avalanche-Journal. Another 15 potential suicides are under investigation, he said.
In other branches, suicides are less common. They reported between 38 and 41 suicides last year, according to an Air Force Times story.
The Army's alarming suicide trend continues this year, said David Rudd, the chairman of Tech's psychology department who will head the $1.97 million Defense Department study.
"For the first time in history this January, more soldiers died by suicide than in combat. The problem is fairly complex, but ultimately, we've been in a two-front war now for six years. There have been high rates of psychological problems associated with that, and when that occurs, suicide rates increase," Rudd is quoted as saying in a Tech news release.
Rudd said his study will examine whether a short-term psychological treatment plan can reduce suicide rates with those who report feeling suicidal.
He will work in conjunction with the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, the Warrior Resiliency Program at Brooke Army Medical Center and the University of Pennsylvania.
In September, Rudd and his team will begin a random clinical trial offering cognitive behavioral psychotherapy to suicidal soldiers at Fort Carson, Colo., according to the Tech news release.
go here for more
Tech psychologist to head study aimed at curbing veterans' suicides
By Marlena Hartz AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Friday, April 03, 2009
Story last updated at 4/3/2009 - 1:17 am
The U.S. Department of Defense has chosen a Texas Tech psychologist to lead a three-year study intended to reduce suicides among veterans.
Suicide rates in the U.S. Army reached an all-time high in 2008, according to Army officials. Last year, 128 active-duty soldiers committed suicide, an Army spokesman told The Avalanche-Journal. Another 15 potential suicides are under investigation, he said.
In other branches, suicides are less common. They reported between 38 and 41 suicides last year, according to an Air Force Times story.
The Army's alarming suicide trend continues this year, said David Rudd, the chairman of Tech's psychology department who will head the $1.97 million Defense Department study.
"For the first time in history this January, more soldiers died by suicide than in combat. The problem is fairly complex, but ultimately, we've been in a two-front war now for six years. There have been high rates of psychological problems associated with that, and when that occurs, suicide rates increase," Rudd is quoted as saying in a Tech news release.
Rudd said his study will examine whether a short-term psychological treatment plan can reduce suicide rates with those who report feeling suicidal.
He will work in conjunction with the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, the Warrior Resiliency Program at Brooke Army Medical Center and the University of Pennsylvania.
In September, Rudd and his team will begin a random clinical trial offering cognitive behavioral psychotherapy to suicidal soldiers at Fort Carson, Colo., according to the Tech news release.
go here for more
Tech psychologist to head study aimed at curbing veterans' suicides
4 People shot 41 hostages in Binghamton NY
NY shooting: Deaths, hostages
Authorities have converged on a building in Binghamton, New York, where there are "multiple" shooting victims and hostages are being held, a county spokesman said. The local newspaper reports at least four people have been shot and 41 people taken hostage. FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said his agency is sending hostage negotiators and an evidence response team to the scene. developing story
UPDATE from MSNBC
Governor: '12 to 13' killed at immigration center
Gunman blocks back door, opens fire at offices in Binghamton, N.Y.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Twelve to 13 people were killed Friday when a gunman walked into an immigrant services center and opened fire, Gov. David Paterson said.
A federal law enforcement official said the suspected gunman was found dead in the building. The man carried identification with the name of 42-year-old Jiverly Voong of nearby Johnson City, N.Y., a law enforcement official said.
"I speak for all of New York when I offer my prayers for the victims and families of this tragedy," Paterson said hours after the gunman shot several people and took dozens hostage. The gunman first blocked the back door with his car, authorities said.
Two people were seen in handcuffs as they left the building, but NBC's Pete Williams said they were not suspects and that police were simply taking extra precautions as people left the building.
Go here for more
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30030756/
Authorities have converged on a building in Binghamton, New York, where there are "multiple" shooting victims and hostages are being held, a county spokesman said. The local newspaper reports at least four people have been shot and 41 people taken hostage. FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said his agency is sending hostage negotiators and an evidence response team to the scene. developing story
UPDATE from MSNBC
Governor: '12 to 13' killed at immigration center
Gunman blocks back door, opens fire at offices in Binghamton, N.Y.
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Twelve to 13 people were killed Friday when a gunman walked into an immigrant services center and opened fire, Gov. David Paterson said.
A federal law enforcement official said the suspected gunman was found dead in the building. The man carried identification with the name of 42-year-old Jiverly Voong of nearby Johnson City, N.Y., a law enforcement official said.
"I speak for all of New York when I offer my prayers for the victims and families of this tragedy," Paterson said hours after the gunman shot several people and took dozens hostage. The gunman first blocked the back door with his car, authorities said.
Two people were seen in handcuffs as they left the building, but NBC's Pete Williams said they were not suspects and that police were simply taking extra precautions as people left the building.
Go here for more
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30030756/
General Casey: Increasing dwell time is a priority
Casey: Increasing dwell time is a priority
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Apr 3, 2009 11:48:35 EDT
FORT HOOD, Texas — Soldiers fighting overseas could eventually have longer stays at home, depending on supply and demand and if the Iraq drawdown continues on schedule, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey told soldiers at Fort Hood.
On Thursday, Casey spoke to soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and other units recently returned from Iraq. He predicted time at home will get to be an average of 14 or 15 months, then next year increase to almost two years, and to 2½ years the year after that.
“We are focused on trying to increase the amount of time the soldiers spend at home, but it’s a function of supply and demand,” Casey said in a story for Friday’s online edition of the Temple Daily Telegram.
In January, the Army met a goal set in 2007 to increase the size of the Army by 74,000. The Army originally set 2012 as the deadline to reach that goal. As of January, the active duty force was at 547,000, Casey said.
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Apr 3, 2009 11:48:35 EDT
FORT HOOD, Texas — Soldiers fighting overseas could eventually have longer stays at home, depending on supply and demand and if the Iraq drawdown continues on schedule, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey told soldiers at Fort Hood.
On Thursday, Casey spoke to soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and other units recently returned from Iraq. He predicted time at home will get to be an average of 14 or 15 months, then next year increase to almost two years, and to 2½ years the year after that.
“We are focused on trying to increase the amount of time the soldiers spend at home, but it’s a function of supply and demand,” Casey said in a story for Friday’s online edition of the Temple Daily Telegram.
In January, the Army met a goal set in 2007 to increase the size of the Army by 74,000. The Army originally set 2012 as the deadline to reach that goal. As of January, the active duty force was at 547,000, Casey said.
Peering into the eyes of 400 soldiers fresh from the war in Iraq, he saw combat stress, which often doesn’t manifest until the mission is accomplished and the soldier is back home with his family, he said.
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