New lawsuit filed in shower electrocution
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Dec 22, 2009 8:39:02 EST
PITTSBURGH — The mother of a soldier electrocuted in an Army barracks shower in Iraq has filed a second lawsuit targeting another military contractor.
Cheryl Harris on Monday sued Washington Group International of San Francisco, which allegedly did electrical work in her son’s barracks from 2003 to 2005.
Army investigators say a water pump shorted out, electrocuting Harris’ son while he showered. Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, is one of 18 people electrocuted at Iraq military facilities since 2003.
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New lawsuit filed in shower electrocution
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Vets motorcycle group has fun while helping community
Bikes, beards and brotherhood
Vets motorcycle group has fun while helping community
By Lauri Harvey Keagle
Anyone dropping by the Lowell Veterans of Foreign Wars post on a Saturday night might think they accidentally stepped into a biker bar.
The parking spaces closest to the door are filled with motorcycles flying American and Prisoner of War flags. Inside, long-haired, leather-clad, tattooed and bearded bikers with names like Moose, Dracula and Snowman are bellied up to the bar in the dark room, beers in hand, under a cloud of smoke.
Some tease each other about not riding their bikes there on a brisk winter night.
"You wimp," one says to another. "What, did your mommy drop you off?"
But no bar brawls break out among the group. Beneath the tough veil are local military vets and their supporters, all members of the American Veterans Motorcycle Riders Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting veterans and others in the community in need. The group raises about $3,000 annually for various organizations.
"Nobody does enough," said Roselawn resident Larry Midkiff, an Army veteran who serves as commander of the group. "The government doesn't do enough. We need to help fill that void."
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Bikes beards and brotherhood
Vets motorcycle group has fun while helping community
By Lauri Harvey Keagle
Anyone dropping by the Lowell Veterans of Foreign Wars post on a Saturday night might think they accidentally stepped into a biker bar.
The parking spaces closest to the door are filled with motorcycles flying American and Prisoner of War flags. Inside, long-haired, leather-clad, tattooed and bearded bikers with names like Moose, Dracula and Snowman are bellied up to the bar in the dark room, beers in hand, under a cloud of smoke.
Some tease each other about not riding their bikes there on a brisk winter night.
"You wimp," one says to another. "What, did your mommy drop you off?"
But no bar brawls break out among the group. Beneath the tough veil are local military vets and their supporters, all members of the American Veterans Motorcycle Riders Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting veterans and others in the community in need. The group raises about $3,000 annually for various organizations.
"Nobody does enough," said Roselawn resident Larry Midkiff, an Army veteran who serves as commander of the group. "The government doesn't do enough. We need to help fill that void."
read more here
Bikes beards and brotherhood
Toledo Vietnam veterans work to serve others
Posted to Great Americans by NamGuardianAngel on September 12, 2009
Vietnam veterans seem to always be showing up in the news like in this following report. They show up to do motorcycle rides for charities ranging from helping kids feel special on Christmas to helping disabled Iraq and Afghanistan veterans feel appreciated. They show up on Veterans day just as much as they show up in Washington and around the nation to honor the fallen on Memorial Day. Vietnam veterans show up, no matter what the need is or who is in need, but these acts of kindness did not always make the news. What they did wrong did. Mostly because we didn't know what Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was, so when they self-medicated or drank too much, we blamed them.
By the time Vietnam veterans were coming home, the availability of reporters was staggering. They seemed to be everywhere. Vietnam combat came into our living rooms every night and it was in our newspapers everyday. Before Vietnam, when veterans came home, they came home to become well kept secrets families held when Dad was drinking too much or was a nasty person not to be messed with. They came home just like their fathers did. After the parades and parties, they faded into their own private hell. Vietnam veterans would not let the rest of their lives become suffering in silence.
They fought for the healing available today. They pushed the government to invest in the research the rest of the population are assisted with today. The findings from investigations into PTSD ended up resulting in crisis responders showing up right after traumatic events, police officers, firefighters and emergency responders having someone to turn to and when survivors are shattered by loss. They pushed for the VA to compensate for this invisible wound they carried inside of their skin but touched every part of their lives.
The Vietnam veterans are still showing up to help. They show up to help others heal in whatever way they can. They show up to make a difference as they take leadership positions in all the service organizations as well as in businesses. They show up when one of their brothers needs someone to care and they show up when one of them is still sleeping in the woods or on the streets. They show up when they are at the other end of the phone looking for clothing to be donated to give the homeless veterans something warmer and cleaner to wear.
It is a joy to post a report like the following because when it comes to them, the next time you need help or some stranger to care, the chances are, it's a Vietnam veteran showing up.
Toledo Vietnam veterans work to serve others
Written by Chris Schmidbauer sports@toledofreepress.com
With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it is easy to forget the true meaning of Christmas. Often times we become so consumed with shopping, baking holiday treats, and planning family parties, that we often overlook the true meaning of the yuletide season.
Gene Shurtz sees the holidays in a different light these days. The 66 year old, who was a 1st Lieutenant in the Army, spent his Christmas 30 years ago stationed in Vietnam.
“Well the saying always goes ‘you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone,’” Shurtz said. “When you are isolated like that in deployment overseas, you spent a whole year, if you weren’t evacuated or injured in battle, away from your family and friends. It is very difficult.”
Shurtz is also the chapter president of the Vietnam Veterans of Greater Toledo, and he and his fellow veterans are working to make this Christmas a little brighter for service men and women and their families.
“We wanted to do some social functions, and we are trying to achieve some fellowship with some social functions,” Shurtz said. “The idea is to connect veterans with each other, and a Christmas party is a nice way to do that.”
The Christmas party will be held Monday December 21 at the Hooters restaurant on Monroe Street, but the party designed to bring some extra holiday cheer is just on part to the group’s mission.
The greater Toledo chapter is an arm of the Vietnam Veterans of America (V.V.A), whose mission has been not to forsake a group of veterans the way Vietnam veterans were.
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Toledo Vietnam veterans work to serve others
Monday, December 21, 2009
Multiple Deployments Raises Risk of PTSD by Three Times
When the last straw broke the camels back, the owner thought the camel was doing just fine although his tongue must have been hanging out and his knees must have been buckling under all the weight. He didn't notice simply because he didn't want to. This is what's been happening to our military and while some want to say they are just not tough enough, others want to say they should have known what they were getting into and others just want to hide their heads in the sand, these men and women, no matter how well trained and determined to do their duty, have had the weight added to them for far too long.
Maybe they could have been able to take even more if the rest of us had bothered to show up and help them carry their load, but we didn't. Maybe they could have come home and felt they were appreciated when it came to what they needed from us, but they didn't. We just kept asking more and more of them and their families, repeating the same mistakes over and over again when addressing the emotional toll they paid and now we're upset because some people are calling for the return of the draft. What can we expect when none of us wanted to go in their place at the same time we complained they needed help when they got back because they went in our place?
Maybe they could have been able to take even more if the rest of us had bothered to show up and help them carry their load, but we didn't. Maybe they could have come home and felt they were appreciated when it came to what they needed from us, but they didn't. We just kept asking more and more of them and their families, repeating the same mistakes over and over again when addressing the emotional toll they paid and now we're upset because some people are calling for the return of the draft. What can we expect when none of us wanted to go in their place at the same time we complained they needed help when they got back because they went in our place?
New VA Study: Multiple Deployments Raises Risk of PTSD by Three Times
Written by Patrik Jonsson
Sunday, 20 December 2009 10:02
Pentagon plays catch-up as toll of repeat combat duty rises
A Department of Veterans Affairs study reports a three-fold increase in depression and post-traumatic stress after repeat combat duty, raising questions about the Pentagon’s ability to keep soldiers with combat-related psychological problems away from the front.
December 17, 2009 (Christian Science Monitor) - Emotional pain, depression, and angst among US soldiers seeing multiple deployments in war zones are much more common than the Pentagon has reported, a new Department of Veterans Affairs survey says.
Soldiers facing multiple deployments, moreover, are at least three times more likely to anonymously report problems of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than are those with a single deployment, according to the study published Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health.
Coming as 30,000 more troops are being sent to Afghanistan, the findings in a study of nearly 3,000 New Jersey National Guardsmen are likely to spur additional debate over military and societal response to America’s heavy dependence on volunteer soldiers for repeated deployments in two wars.
The findings also raise questions about the military’s ability – and willingness – to properly screen soldiers for combat-related problems that could limit their effectiveness in war zones, writes Anna Kline, lead author of the VA study.
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Multiple Deployments Raises Risk of PTSD by Three Times
Soldier on leave from Afghanistan killed in Baltimore while shopping
Soldier out shopping murdered in Baltimore
By Ben Nuckols - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Dec 21, 2009 15:10:33 EST
BALTIMORE — Baltimore police say an active-duty soldier was shot to death Sunday in the city while on the way home from grocery shopping with his wife.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says 22-year-old Clifford Williams was on leave from service in Afghanistan.
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Soldier out shopping murdered in Baltimore
By Ben Nuckols - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Dec 21, 2009 15:10:33 EST
BALTIMORE — Baltimore police say an active-duty soldier was shot to death Sunday in the city while on the way home from grocery shopping with his wife.
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says 22-year-old Clifford Williams was on leave from service in Afghanistan.
read more here
Soldier out shopping murdered in Baltimore
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