Horses help returning soldiers
RYN GARGULINSKI
Tucson Citizen
Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are finding horses can be a man's best friend.
A group of horses called The Warriors in Transition Unit are helping soldiers with their return to their home turf.
For soldiers coming back from Afghanistan or Iraq, the transition back into society can be a tough one.
As strange it may sound, horses are helping them overcome survivor's guilt, battlefield nightmares and the transition back into society.
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http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/fromcomments/116768.php
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Missing Fort Carson Soldier Found Dead
Carson issues alert on AWOL soldier
CARLYN RAY MITCHELL
THE GAZETTE
The Army is asking for help in finding an AWOL Fort Carson soldier who may be armed.
Police and residents are asked to be on the lookout for Pfc. Roy Mason Jr., 28, and the 2008 red Chevy Cobalt he rented from Enterprise with CO license plate 253SOX.
Mason is part of Carson's Warrior Transition Unit, to which physically and psychologically wounded soldiers are assigned as they recover or wait for reassignment.
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http://www.gazette.com/news/carson-54506-fort-mason.html
UPDATE
Missing Fort Carson Soldier Found Dead
Posted: 6:48 PM May 22, 2009
Last Updated: 11:09 PM May 22, 2009
Fort Carson officials tell 11 News a 28-year-old soldier who has been missing since Tuesday has been found dead in California.
Brandy Gill, a Fort Carson spokesperson says PFC Roy Mason II was found dead this afternoon in Santa Cruz, California by the Santa Cruz Police Department.
Gill said she could not release any other details because the death is still under investigation.
A California newspaper is reporting that Mason's death was a suicide. Fort Carson officials would not confirm.
PFC Roy Mason II, was assigned to the Warrior Transition Unit, and was listed as AWOL Tuesday when he did not report to the morning's accountability formation.
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http://www.kktv.com/news/headlines/45878117.html
Fort Hood investigating soldier's death on post
Fort Hood investigating soldier's death on post
© 2009 The Associated Press
May 20, 2009, 7:15PM
FORT HOOD, Texas — Fort Hood officials are investigating the death of a soldier found in his barracks, at least the fourth such incident this year at the Central Texas Army post.
Spc. Caleb Allen Bezanson, 28, of Ridgecrest, Calif., was found unresponsive Monday in his room by fellow soldiers and was later pronounced dead after being taken to the Army hospital, Fort Hood officials said Wednesday in a news release.
© 2009 The Associated Press
May 20, 2009, 7:15PM
FORT HOOD, Texas — Fort Hood officials are investigating the death of a soldier found in his barracks, at least the fourth such incident this year at the Central Texas Army post.
Spc. Caleb Allen Bezanson, 28, of Ridgecrest, Calif., was found unresponsive Monday in his room by fellow soldiers and was later pronounced dead after being taken to the Army hospital, Fort Hood officials said Wednesday in a news release.
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Soldier's wife charged with having him killed
Austin woman charged in murder for money plot
Posted: May 20, 2009 12:11 PM EDT
by Patrick Tolbert
KILLEEN - An Austin woman is facing capital murder charges after police say she paid friends to kill her ex.
On October 14, Killeen Police met Fort Hood officials at an apartment in the 3400 block of Girard to conduct a welfare check after a soldier failed to show up for work. When officials made their way into the residence, they found the body of 26-year-old Ryan Michael Sullivan. His death was ruled a homicide.
Austin Police served a search warrant on Kathryn Nellie Briggs' home Tuesday. Officers seized a number of personal items, documents and computer hardware during the search.
According to police documents, Sullivan's Army insurance policy named Briggs as a beneficiary of $100,000. Briggs, who is also known as Kate Briggs and Arianna Benitez, then "intentionally and knowingly cause the death" of Ryan Sullivan.
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Austin woman charged in murder for money plot
Posted: May 20, 2009 12:11 PM EDT
by Patrick Tolbert
KILLEEN - An Austin woman is facing capital murder charges after police say she paid friends to kill her ex.
On October 14, Killeen Police met Fort Hood officials at an apartment in the 3400 block of Girard to conduct a welfare check after a soldier failed to show up for work. When officials made their way into the residence, they found the body of 26-year-old Ryan Michael Sullivan. His death was ruled a homicide.
Austin Police served a search warrant on Kathryn Nellie Briggs' home Tuesday. Officers seized a number of personal items, documents and computer hardware during the search.
According to police documents, Sullivan's Army insurance policy named Briggs as a beneficiary of $100,000. Briggs, who is also known as Kate Briggs and Arianna Benitez, then "intentionally and knowingly cause the death" of Ryan Sullivan.
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Austin woman charged in murder for money plot
PTSD Caused Him To Forget He Was Still Married?
Is this a case of abusing PTSD or can this be for real? Somehow I doubt it's really what happened. While I am not a psychiatrist and do not play one on the blog, there doesn't seem to be any condition of PTSD that makes them forget something as important as being married and having five kids. Short term memory loss, sure, this happens all the time, but we're talking about having five children and a wife, not what he had for dinner the night before.
Woman Upset Husband Legally Has 2nd Wife
Man Says PTSD Caused Him To Forget He Was Still Married
POSTED: 5:12 pm CDT May 20, 2009
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- An Independence woman said her husband abandoned his family before the war and when he came back, he got a new wife and baby and a new life.
Marcella Rivera found out about her husband William Rivera’s possible bigamy in an unusual way. Her mother saw him on a Valentine's Day television special last year, marrying another woman. Rivera said she was floored, because he was still married to her.
"I don't think he should get away with it," said Marchella Rivera.
But he may have done just that.
Rivera found out Friday that the criminal bigamy charges against her husband were dropped. She said his attorney stated that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition he suffered after his military tour in Iraq. Rivera said he didn't remember still being married to her and thought they were divorced.
"I guess if I truly believe in my heart that he didn't know, then OK, yes, he has PTSD and he didn't know; Iraq totally messed him up. But I know he knew he was married, because we had discussed it," she said.
Rivera said she filed for divorce before his second marriage, but they dismissed the case and were going to reconcile for the sake of the five children they have together.
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Woman Upset Husband Legally Has 2nd Wife
Monday, May 25, 2009
Paying tribute at Arlington
Paying tribute at Arlington
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday May 25, 2009 14:29:46 EDT
WASHINGTON — Barack Obama marked his first Memorial Day as president Monday, saluting the men and women of America’s fighting forces, both living and dead, as “the best of America.”
The president spoke after participating in a solemn holiday tradition, laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, the burial ground for American veterans dating to the Revolutionary War.
In brief remarks after laying the wreath and observing a moment of silence, Obama said he wondered why the country’s fallen warriors felt a sense of duty and answered the call to serve, knowing they might have to make the ultimate sacrifice.
“Why in an age when so many have acted only in pursuit of narrowest self-interest have the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines of this generation volunteered all that they have on behalf of others,” he said. “Why have they been willing to bear the heaviest burden?”
“Whatever it is, they felt some tug. They answered a call. They said ‘I’ll go.’ That is why they are the best of America,” Obama said. “That is what separates them from those who have not served in uniform, their extraordinary willingness to risk their lives for people they never met.”
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/05/ap_arlington_052509w/
What President Obama said is beautiful and echoes what many of us wonder all the time. While some were drafted in wars of the past, they also gave their lives for the sake of the nation and what was asked of them. What does it take to be like that? I always wondered when I thought of my father and my uncles and a cousin that served in Vietnam. All of them survived and all of them enlisted. I grew up surrounded by veterans and ended up marrying one. I still, to this day, wonder among all the excuses he used to enlist, why exactly he felt he had to.
Over the years I've met some of the most wonderful men and women this country has to offer. Whatever it is inside of them hangs on long after the days of wearing a uniform and boots ends. They still go on serving others. They go into the police force, DEA agents, become firefighters and emergency responders. They enter into the Reserves and National Guards. No matter what they do, they go on giving until their last breath comes.
Some go on to serve other veterans, homeless veterans and other citizens. They go into the Disabled American Veterans and other service organizations helping veterans maneuver around the red tape and bureaucracy of the VA making sure they get what they need and what they've already paid for by their service to this country.
Veterans that go into organizations like Point Man Ministries taking care of the spiritual needs of veterans from all generations.
Even veterans going into groups like Rolling Thunder and Nam Knights, going on to be of service to others so many years after their duty has been done. I just spent the last 5 days with them, watching them and listening to them, all the time wondering how this nation was so blessed to have so many willing to do for others while asking so little for themselves.
The fallen, those we remember this Memorial Day as with all other years were the same way. They knew the risk they were taking but did it anyway. To forget them is to refuse to acknowledge exactly what made them risk it all for the sake of the rest of us. Sure, we can debate the necessity of the war they died fighting, that's political arguments and I doubt anyone will ever find a way for people to all agree over the worthiness, but we all manage to agree on the men and women sent to fight the nation's battles. Only days out of a year we take time to remember them. We remember the lives lost on Memorial Day and the living from all generations on Veterans Day. We remember them on Vietnam Veterans Day and we celebrate them on the 4th of July. For the rest of the year, they humbly serve with all they have to give and we are all better for them having been here because our dependence on them never seems to end.
Vietnam veterans fought to make sure PTSD was treated and recognized as service connected and because the government invested a lot of money into it, the mental health community and Chaplains take care of people from all walks of life after trauma. But we never seem to notice when we have a crisis and find someone right there to help us after.
Most of what we use today was developed either for NASA and the space missions or the military but we never seem to notice when we use the inventions.
The giving these men and women are ready to do just never ends and when their lives do come to an end, their families pick up where they left off. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing to finally, once and for all, live up to the motto we so easily let fly from our lips the rest of the year when we say "grateful nation" and prove it with what we are willing to do for them?
Train Hits Stalled Van, 2 Rescuers Hurt
Train Hits Stalled Van, 2 Rescuers Hurt
By CARRIE ANTLFINGER, AP
(May 25) - A freight train smashed into a minivan stuck on the tracks Monday as a police officer struggled to help a man pull his wife and child to safety.
They got the woman out but the 2-year-old boy was still inside when the 94-car train rammed the vehicle, crumpling the front and throwing the van into the two men. The child was unhurt, but both men suffered injuries, said Jim Gage, police chief in suburban Elm Grove.
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Train Hits Stalled Van, 2 Rescuers Hurt
By CARRIE ANTLFINGER, AP
(May 25) - A freight train smashed into a minivan stuck on the tracks Monday as a police officer struggled to help a man pull his wife and child to safety.
They got the woman out but the 2-year-old boy was still inside when the 94-car train rammed the vehicle, crumpling the front and throwing the van into the two men. The child was unhurt, but both men suffered injuries, said Jim Gage, police chief in suburban Elm Grove.
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Train Hits Stalled Van, 2 Rescuers Hurt
Nam Knights Memorial Day Washington DC Ride
852.9 miles from Orlando to Washington DC, but it was so worth it.
It rained Thursday when we left Orlando and followed us most of the way to North Carolina.
While Saturday there was a ride of the Nam Knights and the 20th anniversary, there was no doubt why we were in Washington DC. This was for the fallen and to remember them. Rolling Thunder had their ride on Sunday and a lot of the Nam Knights rode that day as well but Saturday it was just for the Knights.
Traffic was pretty hairy at times.
Other chapters met at the hotel in North Carolina
This great bunch of officers gave an escort back onto I-95
Being with all of these members of the Nam Knights was simply amazing. I've never seen such a huge bunch of people so caring about each other. If you don't know anything about the Nam Knights, look them up on line. They are Vietnam veterans, police officers and firefighters. All of them willing to lay down their lives for the sake of others in war and in this nation. They have devoted their lives to all veterans.
It was also wonderful to see how much appreciation there is for these men. At the VFW Hall, I thanked the volunteers for putting themselves out for all of us. I was told "We didn't do much compared to what these men did and keep doing." They do a lot for others and are always having one fund raiser after another for someone, but to hear how much they are appreciated, it left a lump in my throat and I was at a loss for words. (Imagine that!)
There is a lot more to say but having just got back today from this long ride, I'm drained. I'll be putting up a video of parts of the ride tomorrow.
It rained Thursday when we left Orlando and followed us most of the way to North Carolina.
While Saturday there was a ride of the Nam Knights and the 20th anniversary, there was no doubt why we were in Washington DC. This was for the fallen and to remember them. Rolling Thunder had their ride on Sunday and a lot of the Nam Knights rode that day as well but Saturday it was just for the Knights.
Traffic was pretty hairy at times.
Other chapters met at the hotel in North Carolina
This great bunch of officers gave an escort back onto I-95
We were escorted from the hotel past Arlington National Cemetery to the Wall. We had to form on the grass for a brief ceremony because there was construction going on near the Wall. A lot of people were disappointed we didn't get to walk the Wall but we understood because there were almost 400 (by some counts) bikes to get moving, traffic to stop, so that we could go to the Law Enforcement Memorial.
At the law enforcement memorial
After a ceremony there, we were escorted all the way to Maryland for a great feast at the VFW hall and greeted with people waving flags and two fire engines with joined ladders.
Just some of the over 300 bikes at the VFW Hall. They fed about 500 people is my guess. I'll do an update on the numbers when I get them after everyone has a chance to get back. They came from all over the country and Canada.
Being with all of these members of the Nam Knights was simply amazing. I've never seen such a huge bunch of people so caring about each other. If you don't know anything about the Nam Knights, look them up on line. They are Vietnam veterans, police officers and firefighters. All of them willing to lay down their lives for the sake of others in war and in this nation. They have devoted their lives to all veterans.
It was also wonderful to see how much appreciation there is for these men. At the VFW Hall, I thanked the volunteers for putting themselves out for all of us. I was told "We didn't do much compared to what these men did and keep doing." They do a lot for others and are always having one fund raiser after another for someone, but to hear how much they are appreciated, it left a lump in my throat and I was at a loss for words. (Imagine that!)
There is a lot more to say but having just got back today from this long ride, I'm drained. I'll be putting up a video of parts of the ride tomorrow.
Are these people out of their minds?
Just back from the DC Memorial Day ride with the Nam Knights out of Orlando. Think about taking that long of a trip, trying to stay together in a pack with a couple of chase trucks towing hitches in case someone broke down and then having idiots decide they were more important than their lives. Not much fun dealing with such careless, thoughtless people thinking they needed to go faster and our lives just didn't matter. I'll do a post in a bit about the rest of the trip but this is just some of what we had to put up with on the road. Traveling in a pack is dangerous enough but when you're trying to keep everyone together so you can watch over each other, there really isn't much of a choice. What comes into some people's minds is beyond belief so lets see why they did it. If you know anyone with these vehicles, let them know they endangered all the lives of the bike pack and the two chase trucks. Ask them if it was worth it?
This jerk cut us off first, but then decided to cut them off on the ride back home. Drive going so fast I couldn't get a good shot of the plate.
This jerk thought it was so funny the first time to play games with the chase truck that he did it a few times and then cut off the bikes. Look at how close he came to the car in front of him.
This jerk cut us off first, but then decided to cut them off on the ride back home. Drive going so fast I couldn't get a good shot of the plate.
This jerk thought it was so funny the first time to play games with the chase truck that he did it a few times and then cut off the bikes. Look at how close he came to the car in front of him.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Vets join priest to fight violence
Vets join priest to fight violence
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 10:28 PM
May 19, 2009 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Veterans of several different wars joined together to support a Chicago pastor in his battle against gun violence.
The veterans prayed with Fr. Michael Pfleger outside St. Sabina church on Tuesday night.
Some veterans have criticized Fr. Pfleger for turning the church's flag upside down as a sign of distress. But those who came out on Tuesday night say something must be done to draw attention to the escalating violence. They include a Vietnam veteran who lost three young relatives, including a nephew killed just weeks after getting out of the army.
"I didn't know I had to fight two wars," said Claude Hilliard, Vietnam veteran.
go here for more and video
Vets join priest to fight violence
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 10:28 PM
May 19, 2009 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Veterans of several different wars joined together to support a Chicago pastor in his battle against gun violence.
The veterans prayed with Fr. Michael Pfleger outside St. Sabina church on Tuesday night.
Some veterans have criticized Fr. Pfleger for turning the church's flag upside down as a sign of distress. But those who came out on Tuesday night say something must be done to draw attention to the escalating violence. They include a Vietnam veteran who lost three young relatives, including a nephew killed just weeks after getting out of the army.
"I didn't know I had to fight two wars," said Claude Hilliard, Vietnam veteran.
go here for more and video
Vets join priest to fight violence
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