House panel labels Fort Hood victims as combat casualties
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Online Edition, Thursday, May 20, 2010
WASHINGTON — Victims of the Fort Hood shooting in Texas last November could be recognized as combat casualties under a measure approved by a House panel Wednesday.
The move would make survivors and relatives of those killed eligible for certain specialty pays and benefits, although it would not make the injured eligible for Purple Hearts. The House Armed Services Committee included the provision in their draft of the fiscal 2011 Defense Authorization Bill, along with a host of other military spending items.
Under current Defense Department rules, families of servicemembers killed in combat zones receive another $100,000 death benefit on top of the $400,000 maximum life insurance payout, and those wounded overseas are guaranteed additional money for catastrophic injuries. Those specialty pays are not taxed when awarded in a combat theater.
read more here
House panel labels Fort Hood victims as combat casualties
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Army identifies five killed in Kabul blast
Army identifies five killed in Kabul blast
Three officers among fallen, including colonel
By Dan Blottenberger, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, May 21, 2010
An Army colonel based in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., was among five U.S. soldiers killed by the powerful blast in Kabul on Tuesday, Pentagon officials have confirmed.
Two lieutenant colonels from Fort Drum, N.Y., and two Germany-based enlisted soldiers also died when a vehicle loaded with explosives hit a NATO convoy near government buildings.
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=70112
Three officers among fallen, including colonel
By Dan Blottenberger, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, May 21, 2010
An Army colonel based in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., was among five U.S. soldiers killed by the powerful blast in Kabul on Tuesday, Pentagon officials have confirmed.
Two lieutenant colonels from Fort Drum, N.Y., and two Germany-based enlisted soldiers also died when a vehicle loaded with explosives hit a NATO convoy near government buildings.
read more hereLt. Col. Paul R. Bartz
Staff Sgt. Richard J. Tieman
Spc. Joshua A. Tomlinson
Col. John M. McHugh
Lt. Col. Thomas P. Belkofer
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=70112
Gates concedes fight against 1.9% pay raise for the troops
Gates concedes fight against 1.9% pay raise
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 20, 2010 16:16:56 EDT
Defense Secretary Robert Gates waved the white flag Thursday over the House Armed Services Committee’s decision to boost the Pentagon’s basic pay raise request for fiscal 2011 by half a percentage point, saying he would not recommend a presidential veto if the proposal is included in the final defense spending bill.
“I want change,” Gates told reporters at the Pentagon. “But I’m not crazy.”
The bill that came out of committee this week included a 1.9 percent raise in base pay effective Jan. 1. Congress has added one-half point to every Pentagon basic pay raise request since 2000 in an effort to narrow a perceived pay gap between average military and civilian wages.
If the Pentagon’s 1.4 percent proposal somehow survived, it would be the lowest raise in the history of the all-volunteer era that began in 1973.
read more hereGates concedes fight against pay raise
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 20, 2010 16:16:56 EDT
Defense Secretary Robert Gates waved the white flag Thursday over the House Armed Services Committee’s decision to boost the Pentagon’s basic pay raise request for fiscal 2011 by half a percentage point, saying he would not recommend a presidential veto if the proposal is included in the final defense spending bill.
“I want change,” Gates told reporters at the Pentagon. “But I’m not crazy.”
The bill that came out of committee this week included a 1.9 percent raise in base pay effective Jan. 1. Congress has added one-half point to every Pentagon basic pay raise request since 2000 in an effort to narrow a perceived pay gap between average military and civilian wages.
If the Pentagon’s 1.4 percent proposal somehow survived, it would be the lowest raise in the history of the all-volunteer era that began in 1973.
read more hereGates concedes fight against pay raise
Senators aim to help troubled, jobless vets
Senators aim to help troubled, jobless vets
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 20, 2010 15:35:24 EDT
As the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee reviewd various legislative proposals to help veterans Wednesday, they focused on two issues:
• Why can’t veterans get jobs?
• Why can’t they access the benefits they need to make them healthy, educate them for the future, and, ultimately, keep them off the streets?
Lawmakers and veterans service organization representatives laid the blame on bureaucracy.
At the White House Office of Management and Budget, veterans make up only 1 percent of the work force, said Rick Weidman, executive director for policy and government affairs for the Vietnam Veterans of America, and he said none of those veterans has disabilities.
read more here
Senators aim to help troubled, jobless vets
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 20, 2010 15:35:24 EDT
As the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee reviewd various legislative proposals to help veterans Wednesday, they focused on two issues:
• Why can’t veterans get jobs?
• Why can’t they access the benefits they need to make them healthy, educate them for the future, and, ultimately, keep them off the streets?
Lawmakers and veterans service organization representatives laid the blame on bureaucracy.
At the White House Office of Management and Budget, veterans make up only 1 percent of the work force, said Rick Weidman, executive director for policy and government affairs for the Vietnam Veterans of America, and he said none of those veterans has disabilities.
read more here
Senators aim to help troubled, jobless vets
Amazing Grace students reach out to war vets
Amazing Grace students reach out to war vets
Students at Amazing Grace Christian School in Seattle cleaned out their piggy banks and raised more than $2,500 to benefit veterans groups and one disabled veteran.
By Nancy Bartley
Seattle Times staff reporter
The war in Afghanistan may be across the globe, but the conflict is very much a part of the daily curriculum in Michelle Zimmerman's class at Amazing Grace Christian School in Seattle.
When the class saw a news story about Army 1st Lt. Dan Berschinski, of Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, who had lost his legs in battle, "We wanted to know more about Afghanistan," said Taelor Willhoite, 12, one of the students in the combined sixth- and seventh-grade class.
Writing to the soldiers there and learning about the war prompted the students to start a school-year-long campaign to support the troops and their families. The results: more than $2,500 raised for veterans groups and Berschinski.
read more here
Amazing Grace students reach out to war vets
Students at Amazing Grace Christian School in Seattle cleaned out their piggy banks and raised more than $2,500 to benefit veterans groups and one disabled veteran.
By Nancy Bartley
Seattle Times staff reporter
The war in Afghanistan may be across the globe, but the conflict is very much a part of the daily curriculum in Michelle Zimmerman's class at Amazing Grace Christian School in Seattle.
When the class saw a news story about Army 1st Lt. Dan Berschinski, of Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, who had lost his legs in battle, "We wanted to know more about Afghanistan," said Taelor Willhoite, 12, one of the students in the combined sixth- and seventh-grade class.
Writing to the soldiers there and learning about the war prompted the students to start a school-year-long campaign to support the troops and their families. The results: more than $2,500 raised for veterans groups and Berschinski.
read more here
Amazing Grace students reach out to war vets
Chicago Cop, Home From Iraq, Slain By Robbers
Chicago Cop, Home From Iraq, Slain By Robbers
(Chicago, IL) -- An off-duty Chicago cop survived his second tour of duty in Iraq only to be slain in front of his parent's home on the city's South Side.
Authorities say Thomas Wortham had finished dinner with his parents and was leaving their home shortly before 11:30 local time last night.
Three robbers tried to take his new motorcycle and one of them opened fire.
Wortham died at a local hospital with multiple gunshot wounds to his head.
go here for the rest
Chicago Cop, Home From Iraq, Slain By Robbers
Unclaimed vet remains in NM, NJ laid to rest
Unclaimed vet remains in NM, NJ laid to rest
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 20, 2010 9:55:39 EDT
Groups in both New Mexico and New Jersey have made efforts to honor the cremated remains of veterans that have gone unclaimed by friends and relatives.
The New Mexico Department of Veterans' Services has launched a program to bury, with full military honors, any unclaimed cremated remains of veterans.
The Forgotten Heroes Burial Program lets the agency become the de facto family for the veteran and to contact the National Cemetery in Santa Fe for a service after the Department of Veterans Affairs verifies the dead person is a veteran.
read more hereUnclaimed vet remains laid to rest
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 20, 2010 9:55:39 EDT
Groups in both New Mexico and New Jersey have made efforts to honor the cremated remains of veterans that have gone unclaimed by friends and relatives.
The New Mexico Department of Veterans' Services has launched a program to bury, with full military honors, any unclaimed cremated remains of veterans.
The Forgotten Heroes Burial Program lets the agency become the de facto family for the veteran and to contact the National Cemetery in Santa Fe for a service after the Department of Veterans Affairs verifies the dead person is a veteran.
read more hereUnclaimed vet remains laid to rest
Fisher family to open new TBI mental health center
New TBI, mental health center to open in June
By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 20, 2010 10:17:57 EDT
A new 72,000-square-foot center for treatment of service members and veterans diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and psychological health conditions will open June 24 at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
The National Intrepid Center of Excellence, to be funded by private donations, is a project of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, a nonprofit organization begun by the Fisher family for supporting service members and their families.
The family is well known in the military community for its Fisher Houses, which provide low- or no-cost lodging for families of wounded or injured service members undergoing medical treatment or rehabilitation.
read more here
New TBI, mental health center to open in June
By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 20, 2010 10:17:57 EDT
A new 72,000-square-foot center for treatment of service members and veterans diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and psychological health conditions will open June 24 at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
The National Intrepid Center of Excellence, to be funded by private donations, is a project of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, a nonprofit organization begun by the Fisher family for supporting service members and their families.
The family is well known in the military community for its Fisher Houses, which provide low- or no-cost lodging for families of wounded or injured service members undergoing medical treatment or rehabilitation.
read more here
New TBI, mental health center to open in June
Armed Robbers Lock Diners In Restaurant Cooler
Armed Robbers Lock Diners In Restaurant Cooler
Thursday, May 20, 2010 10:35:16 AM
Reported by Dave D’Marko
WINTER SPRINGS -- Nearly a dozen employees and customers at a Seminole County Denny’s were forced into the restaurant’s walk-in cooler during a robbery.
Deputies said three armed men wearing masks walked into the Denny’s on Springs Villas Point late Wednesday night.
read more here
Armed Robbers Lock Diners In Restaurant Cooler
Thursday, May 20, 2010 10:35:16 AM
Reported by Dave D’Marko
WINTER SPRINGS -- Nearly a dozen employees and customers at a Seminole County Denny’s were forced into the restaurant’s walk-in cooler during a robbery.
Deputies said three armed men wearing masks walked into the Denny’s on Springs Villas Point late Wednesday night.
read more here
Armed Robbers Lock Diners In Restaurant Cooler
Can caring make you sick
Can caring make you sick?
By Elizabeth Cohen, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent
May 20, 2010 8:58 a.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Caregiving can lead to psychological and physical health problems
Researchers believe depression and high levels of the stress hormone cortisol take toll
Author and mother gives five tips on stress and caregiving
(CNN) -- Soon after Paul Coskie's bicycle collided with a car, it became clear to his mother that her son would be sick for a very long time, and indeed he was. The 13-year-old boy went into a coma for a month and spent six months total in the hospital.
What his mother didn't know at the time was that Paul's collision would eventually claim another victim -- one who was nowhere near the accident scene.
After taking care of her son for a year, Dixie Fremont-Smith Coskie started to lose her balance, stumbling at times when she walked. Then she became so weak she couldn't get out of bed.
read more here
Can caring make you sick
By Elizabeth Cohen, CNN Senior Medical Correspondent
May 20, 2010 8:58 a.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Caregiving can lead to psychological and physical health problems
Researchers believe depression and high levels of the stress hormone cortisol take toll
Author and mother gives five tips on stress and caregiving
(CNN) -- Soon after Paul Coskie's bicycle collided with a car, it became clear to his mother that her son would be sick for a very long time, and indeed he was. The 13-year-old boy went into a coma for a month and spent six months total in the hospital.
What his mother didn't know at the time was that Paul's collision would eventually claim another victim -- one who was nowhere near the accident scene.
After taking care of her son for a year, Dixie Fremont-Smith Coskie started to lose her balance, stumbling at times when she walked. Then she became so weak she couldn't get out of bed.
read more here
Can caring make you sick
Soldiers still fight combat back home
I was going through some old emails and I ran across this. It was from a post I did two years ago. A post that has haunted me and angered me ever since. This is one of the biggest reasons why I think programs like Battle Mind, while well intended, have done more harm than good. The other factor is that suicides have gone up instead of down.
The BBC did interviews in 2008 with US troops in Afghanistan. As reported, Battle Mind training was reduced to 11 1/2 minutes during two days of briefings after troops arrived. This is what we knew in 2008 and this is what has still been part of the problem in helping them heal.
The BBC did interviews in 2008 with US troops in Afghanistan. As reported, Battle Mind training was reduced to 11 1/2 minutes during two days of briefings after troops arrived. This is what we knew in 2008 and this is what has still been part of the problem in helping them heal.
Soldiers' fight persists post-war
Tuesday, 27 May 2008 00:28 UK
Nearly half the US soldiers who serve in Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer some form of post-traumatic stress, according to the US military.
Now there are efforts to find new ways to deal with the 60,000 cases of combat-related stress diagnosed since the conflicts began.
Dominic Di-Natale reports from Afghanistan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/7422853.stm
Sons Say Vietnam Vet Shot In Police Standoff Had PTSD
Sons Say Dad Shot In Police Standoff Had PTSD
GREELEY, Colo. (AP) ―
Two sons of a man who was shot outside a diner in Evans in a standoff with police say he was a Vietnam veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Police say 60-year-old Kenneth Yeager pointed a gun at officers before they fired on him Sunday outside a diner where he had been thrown out earlier.
go here for more
http://cbs4denver.com/news/Angry.Colorado.diner.2.1704027.html
GREELEY, Colo. (AP) ―
Two sons of a man who was shot outside a diner in Evans in a standoff with police say he was a Vietnam veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Police say 60-year-old Kenneth Yeager pointed a gun at officers before they fired on him Sunday outside a diner where he had been thrown out earlier.
go here for more
http://cbs4denver.com/news/Angry.Colorado.diner.2.1704027.html
Deputy and National Guard soldier shot by 16 year old
Investigators: Iowa Soldier Shot At His Home By Teen
POSTED: 5:43 pm CDT May 18, 2010
BROOKS, Iowa -- Investigators continued to gather evidence at the scene of a shooting in the Iowa town of Brooks on Tuesday.
Authorities said Daniel Beardsley, 16, escaped from the Clarinda Academy and drove to Matthew Herring's home.
Investigators said Beardsley shot Herring when Herring returned home from work. Beardsley also fired on Deputy Jason Swanson when Swanson came to the house to investigate the reported shooting.
Swanson suffered only minor injures.
After a three-hour standoff, Beardsley surrendered to authorities.
read more here
http://www.kcci.com/news/23599550/detail.html
POSTED: 5:43 pm CDT May 18, 2010
BROOKS, Iowa -- Investigators continued to gather evidence at the scene of a shooting in the Iowa town of Brooks on Tuesday.
Authorities said Daniel Beardsley, 16, escaped from the Clarinda Academy and drove to Matthew Herring's home.
Investigators said Beardsley shot Herring when Herring returned home from work. Beardsley also fired on Deputy Jason Swanson when Swanson came to the house to investigate the reported shooting.
Swanson suffered only minor injures.
After a three-hour standoff, Beardsley surrendered to authorities.
read more here
http://www.kcci.com/news/23599550/detail.html
Soldier dies in I-380 accident
Soldier dies in I-380 accident
Staff Sergeant Howard Joseph Braxton, 28, of Hampton, Virginia
A soldier stationed at Tobyhanna Army Depot died early Saturday morning in a one-vehicle crash on Route 380 in Clifton Twp., according to State Police-Dunmore.
go here for more
Soldier dies in I 380 accident
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