Tenn. Iraq vet’s statue vandalized again
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 25, 2010 10:22:16 EDT
MARTIN, Tenn. — A statue memorializing a Martin soldier has fallen victim to vandals for the second time in two years.
The statue was erected in honor of Dustin Laird, who was killed in 2005 in Iraq only a month before he was scheduled to return home.
In 2008, two people from Martin were convicted of vandalism after confessing to painting a skull over the statue's face and dousing it with red paint to simulate blood.
According to radio station WCMT, the head and arms were broken off over the weekend.
Dustin's father, Billy Laird, plans to replace his son's memorial soon.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/05/ap_statue_vandalized_052510/
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Wainwright GI told to remove Facebook video
Wainwright GI told to remove Facebook video
ANCHORAGE, Alaska
An Alaska-based soldier is under investigation for a video on his Facebook page that taunts smiling Iraqi children by asking if they're gay, if they engage in certain sex acts and if they would grow up to be terrorists.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska
An Alaska-based soldier is under investigation for a video on his Facebook page that taunts smiling Iraqi children by asking if they're gay, if they engage in certain sex acts and if they would grow up to be terrorists.
U.S. soldiers focus of criminal investigation
Sources: U.S. soldiers focus of criminal investigation
WASHINGTON — At least 10 U.S. Army soldiers from an already-troubled unit of the 2nd Infantry Division in southern Afghanistan are now the focus of a criminal investigation into allegations they deliberately killed three Afghan civilians, used illegal drugs and conducted other illicit activities, several military sources told CNN.
The soldiers are part of the 5th Stryker Brigade of the 2ID, based out of Fort Lewis, Washington, said the sources, who declined to be identified because the military has not named those under investigation.
The military issued a brief statement last week saying a criminal probe was under way into the allegations of killing, illegal drug use, assault and conspiracy. One military official familiar with the details of the case told CNN the matter was brought to the attention of commanders by at least one other soldier. The killings of the three civilians did not take place in one single incident, the official said.
Those under investigation are members of the same company, the official said. All 10 remain in Afghanistan. One soldier is being held in detention known as "pre-trial confinement." The others have been "put in a position where they can do no harm," the official said. He would offer no other details.
read more here
U.S. soldiers focus of criminal investigation
WASHINGTON — At least 10 U.S. Army soldiers from an already-troubled unit of the 2nd Infantry Division in southern Afghanistan are now the focus of a criminal investigation into allegations they deliberately killed three Afghan civilians, used illegal drugs and conducted other illicit activities, several military sources told CNN.
The soldiers are part of the 5th Stryker Brigade of the 2ID, based out of Fort Lewis, Washington, said the sources, who declined to be identified because the military has not named those under investigation.
The military issued a brief statement last week saying a criminal probe was under way into the allegations of killing, illegal drug use, assault and conspiracy. One military official familiar with the details of the case told CNN the matter was brought to the attention of commanders by at least one other soldier. The killings of the three civilians did not take place in one single incident, the official said.
Those under investigation are members of the same company, the official said. All 10 remain in Afghanistan. One soldier is being held in detention known as "pre-trial confinement." The others have been "put in a position where they can do no harm," the official said. He would offer no other details.
read more here
U.S. soldiers focus of criminal investigation
Community, Soldiers and Red Sox Foundation team up to help veterans
Community, Soldiers and Red Sox Foundation team up to help veterans
May 24, 2010
By John Harlow/USAG-Natick Public Affairs Officer
BOSTON -- On a sunny morning in Boston, more than 2,000 runners gathered on Yawkey Way outside of Fenway Park to run nine kilometers with the finish line being one of the most famous spots in Boston... home plate of Fenway Park.
The Boston Red Sox Foundation hosted the run to raise money supporting The Home Base program which helps veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who are suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).
The Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. was on hand to welcome the runners, thank them for what they are doing to help our wounded warriors and congratulate them when they crossed home plate. Casey is very familiar with the area, having graduated from Boston College High School in Dorchester, Mass.
"This run is very important to our servicemembers," said Casey. "We are working to reduce the stigma of asking for help which is half our battle. Once we reduce the stigma, we can help Soldiers recover."
The Red Sox Foundation partners with Massachusetts General Hospital for The Home Base Program. The event on Sunday raised $2.4 million to support research for PTSD and TBI.
read more here
Community, Soldiers and Red Sox Foundation team up to help veterans
May 24, 2010
By John Harlow/USAG-Natick Public Affairs Officer
BOSTON -- On a sunny morning in Boston, more than 2,000 runners gathered on Yawkey Way outside of Fenway Park to run nine kilometers with the finish line being one of the most famous spots in Boston... home plate of Fenway Park.
The Boston Red Sox Foundation hosted the run to raise money supporting The Home Base program which helps veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who are suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).
The Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. was on hand to welcome the runners, thank them for what they are doing to help our wounded warriors and congratulate them when they crossed home plate. Casey is very familiar with the area, having graduated from Boston College High School in Dorchester, Mass.
"This run is very important to our servicemembers," said Casey. "We are working to reduce the stigma of asking for help which is half our battle. Once we reduce the stigma, we can help Soldiers recover."
The Red Sox Foundation partners with Massachusetts General Hospital for The Home Base Program. The event on Sunday raised $2.4 million to support research for PTSD and TBI.
read more here
Community, Soldiers and Red Sox Foundation team up to help veterans
PTSD in the news
Golf Outing Raises Funds for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Posted Monday, May 24, 2010 ; 10:27 PM
Updated Monday, May 24, 2010; 11:55 PM
The organizer has been suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder since 1993.
Story by Kristen Sell
HURRICANE -- There was a lot of activity Monday afternoon on Sleepy Hollow's greens in Hurricane.
But the golfers swinging clubs weren't just paring for entertainment.
This golf tournament raised money for Mission PTSD Foundation.
go here for more
http://wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=80372
PTSD counseling helps veterans heal from emotional wounds of war
by Len Cannon / 11 News
khou.com
Posted on February 3, 2010 at 10:05 PM
Updated Thursday, Feb 4 at 12:04 AM
Related:
PTSD Web site
HOUSTON—Paul Schroeder and Robert Nuttal are decorated soldiers who both served on the front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan.
But even though they’re long retired, they’re still haunted by the battlefield.
"People say, ‘Well, when did you get back from Iraq?’ I got back last night – it was in my dreams," Schroeder said. "The smells are the worst, but it’s also the noise and the sheer chaos."
They saw things overseas that they can’t forget.
"The bodies had burned into the seats where they had become one, and I found myself chiseling these bodies out, one at a time," Nuttal said.
Guilt is just one of the problems Nuttal and Schroeder have struggled with after returning home.
go here for more
Distress of 9/11 may have led to miscarriages
Distress of 9/11 may have led to miscarriages, research says
By Madison Park, CNN
May 25, 2010 7:42 a.m. EDT
Even without personal connections, people can be stressed by major events like September 11, 2001.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Distress after 9/11 may have contributed to a higher loss of male fetuses
Even without direct relationships with those killed, women appear affected by attacks
Stress during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, early labor, low birth weight
Factors seem to affect only male fetuses; reason not known
(CNN) -- The shock and stress felt by pregnant women after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, may have contributed to an increase in miscarriages of male fetuses in the United States, according to a study released Monday.
Researchers found the male fetal death rate increased in September 2001 and subsequently affected the ratio of boys born in a later month, according to the study published in the journal BMC Public Health.
The authors hypothesized that this might be a case of "communal bereavement." Even without direct relationships with the deceased, pregnant women may have been distressed by the attacks, resulting in miscarriage, according to the research.
"A huge population saw the consequences and carnage onscreen," said lead author Tim Bruckner, who is an assistant professor of public health at University of California Irvine, about the effects of 9/11. He examined this topic "because pregnancy is sensitive to stressors. I wondered whether pregnant women might have a physiological reaction to witnessing harm."
read more here
Distress of 9 11 may have led to miscarriages
Design Chosen For Veteran's Memorial
Design Chosen For Veteran's Memorial
By AMANDA FALCONE, afalcone@courant.com
10:54 p.m. EDT, May 24, 2010
ROCKY HILL —A design has been chosen for a statewide veterans' memorial. Now all that's needed is about $1 million in donations to build it.
The state chose a design featuring an amphitheater, a remembrance wall and ample parking, submitted by landscape artists Dean Adam Johnson and Robert Schechinger Jr., both of the Collinsville section of Canton.
read more here
Design Chosen For Veterans Memorial
By AMANDA FALCONE, afalcone@courant.com
10:54 p.m. EDT, May 24, 2010
ROCKY HILL —A design has been chosen for a statewide veterans' memorial. Now all that's needed is about $1 million in donations to build it.
The state chose a design featuring an amphitheater, a remembrance wall and ample parking, submitted by landscape artists Dean Adam Johnson and Robert Schechinger Jr., both of the Collinsville section of Canton.
read more here
Design Chosen For Veterans Memorial
Flag dispute sparks veteran angst at city leaders in Idaho
Flag dispute sparks veteran angst at city leaders in Idaho
The Associated Press
Kellogg, Idaho » A dispute between military veterans and town leaders in Kellogg over flagpole etiquette and the fate of a war memorial park has now take a political turn, with veterans leading a drive to recall the mayor and all six members of the City Council.
The veterans' frustration with the officials focuses on the city's response to complaints about flying a second flag below the American flag on the same flag pole at Kellogg's Memorial Park.
The flagpole, located at a stone memorial dedicated more than 50 years ago for veterans of the two World Wars and Korean War, displayed Old Glory along with a Tree City USA flag.
But commanders of the Silver Valley veterans groups complained last summer that it was improper to fly the Tree City flag over a memorial honoring soldiers. Veteran Lee Haynes said the group asked the city to remove the Tree City flag and display it on a separate pole.
In response, the city removed the American flag, dug up the stone memorial and moved it to a newer veterans memorial inside the park, irritating and frustrating veterans.
"We look at a memorial much like you do a gravesite," Haynes told the Spokesman-Review. "Why you think you can rip apart a 50-year-old memorial is beyond my imagination."
But Mayor Mac Pooler said city leaders met with veterans and believed moving the stone memorial was a suitable solution.
read more here
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_15154975
The Associated Press
Kellogg, Idaho » A dispute between military veterans and town leaders in Kellogg over flagpole etiquette and the fate of a war memorial park has now take a political turn, with veterans leading a drive to recall the mayor and all six members of the City Council.
The veterans' frustration with the officials focuses on the city's response to complaints about flying a second flag below the American flag on the same flag pole at Kellogg's Memorial Park.
The flagpole, located at a stone memorial dedicated more than 50 years ago for veterans of the two World Wars and Korean War, displayed Old Glory along with a Tree City USA flag.
But commanders of the Silver Valley veterans groups complained last summer that it was improper to fly the Tree City flag over a memorial honoring soldiers. Veteran Lee Haynes said the group asked the city to remove the Tree City flag and display it on a separate pole.
In response, the city removed the American flag, dug up the stone memorial and moved it to a newer veterans memorial inside the park, irritating and frustrating veterans.
"We look at a memorial much like you do a gravesite," Haynes told the Spokesman-Review. "Why you think you can rip apart a 50-year-old memorial is beyond my imagination."
But Mayor Mac Pooler said city leaders met with veterans and believed moving the stone memorial was a suitable solution.
read more here
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_15154975
When we help less
When we help less
by
Chaplain Kathie
I was sitting here yesterday reading emails and stunned when yet another email came in from someone asking me to help them. Maybe sickened is the word I'm looking for. Helping is what I do. It's in my nature. It's a huge contributing factor behind becoming a Chaplain. I want to share the love I know God has for us, especially with our veterans. I want to share what I know about PTSD. Simple as possible, imperfect as expected, I do what I can to help anyone God sends my way. Feeling the way I do when people ask for help, are in the position to return the favor when I need help, but ignore my pleas, then turn around when they are in need again, asking for help, really put a damper in my day. I really wanted to say no, debated if I should just ignore the email or fire off an angry response. In the end, I replied with the help asked for and then had a good cry.
I was talking to one of my friends last night over dinner before the movie Just Wright, telling her what happened. She's known me for a long time and is well aware of what I was feeling like. It happened to her many times. When she had a better job, she would spend her own money supplying gifts and snacks for the veterans at the nursing home in Orlando every month for Bingo night. Her heart was tugged by our veterans and she didn't want them forgotten about. When she was laid off, no one helped her when she was having a hard time paying her bills. Now she has another job but is unable to do what she used to do even though her heart really wants to.
I told her that yet again someone asked me for help, to make life easier but when I asked for help before I was ignored. The person is not a veteran in need or a family member of one trying to cope. The person is a professional acquaintance. It makes me think twice about helping someone after they have shown me how little they really care about me.
In the movies, like the one we saw last night, the giver is usually rewarded in one way or another. They go through hardships and heartbreaks but it would hurt them more to stop being who they really are inside. They struggle with what other people think is a "normal" reaction and what their soul is calling them to do. We don't have to look very far to see examples of this every day if we bother at all to notice, because good guys don't always win in the real world.
We see it in the military and in our veterans. We turn to them all the time for our security and our safety. We feel as if we are doing our part by simply saying we support them but our words don't do much for them when so few of us bother to know what's happening to them while they are deployed. Few of us care how many died, how many were wounded or if any of them are in need. They are important to us and they matter to us, but the truth is, they just don't matter enough to enough of us.
This is all one more reminder of how they are so much better than I am. They don't help less because we don't seem to care when it matters to them, to what they need, and they still serve just as much as they would had we bothered to care enough to help them.
I have to admit that when the person asked for help, the help I gave yesterday was not up to my normal standards. I held back. I just didn't want to bother as much as I would have had the person helped me when I needed it.
Ask any veteran if they would serve again and their eyes light up. The majority would be willing to do it all over again. Regrets come from losing someone they cared about but they never seem to connect the other losses they endured because of their service to the point they would question doing it again. Some lost families because the war came home with them. Some lost a place to live because they couldn't work anymore or because claims were tied up. Some had to fight for years to have their claims honored, but instead of dwelling on the higher price they paid for their service, they feel grateful the claim was finally honored.
The beginning of the month I put out a request for financial help because I'm heading into Washington DC for Memorial Day weekend. I'm broke but this trip is important to my husband and to me. Not one donation came in. I am going to Arlington Cemetery, Walter Reed, the Wall and the Law Enforcement Memorial so that I can be better at what I do, refueled by being with some of our veterans. Since I asked for help but no one bothered, it's been really hard to focus on putting more of myself "out there" because it feels as if I just don't matter enough to others in return.
What about them? They don't get to say that today they will only shoot a limited amount of bullets or just work half day because they are feeling sorry for themselves. They don't get to say they have their own personal problems back home so they want to "call in sick" today. Veterans don't get to say they will stop being a veteran when there are no activities in their honor a couple of times a year.
While I know I can walk away from this anytime I want, I am surrounded by reminders of people so much better than I am. Pictures of family members in their uniforms, of monuments and the old pamphlet hanging on my wall of the PTSD publication the DAV put out in 1978. Certifications of the training I've taken remind me of why I do any of this and a map of the world remind me of all the places we've sent the troops since the beginning of this country. Books read over and over again fill my bookcase and in each one of them more reminders of people so much better than I am. The Bible filled with stories of even more imperfect humans going above and beyond what others were willing to do. Emails saved over the years reminding me of how little they ask for in return and how much they have paid for being among the few willing to risk their lives while I whine about my own insignificant ego issues. All reminders of the years I've done what I could publicly and privately, knowing I will never be one of them or even come close to measuring up to them.
If we can look at our own lives and remember what it feels like to feel being taken for granted or abandoned, why can't we understand what it's like for them? What will it take for the rest of us to know what it must be like to be forgotten about in Iraq or in Afghanistan right now? We've lost over 5,000 between the two wars but other than the occasional serviceman or woman in uniform, we're more interested in the scandals and our TV shows. Hundreds of thousands of our veterans are wounded still paying the price with body and mind but we ignore them.
I get to decide when to shut down the computer and do something else. I get to decide if I will post something I read to share it or go out to the pool and relax. There are no strings on me and in the grand scale of things, I'm not that significant, so if I stopped, few would even notice. If they decided they wanted to just care about themselves, everyone would notice because no one would be serving and they would have to start the draft again. No one would blame them for not joining the National Guards or Reservists but we sure would complain when there is no one to help when natural disasters strikes, tornadoes come or hurricanes blow or floods rush in. The truth is we don't seem to think about them unless we need them.
I know what that feels like and how much that hurts but thank God these men and women are better than I am because they still give us all they have no matter how much we just take them for granted.
While we would decide to help less being treated the same way, we ask more of them but offer nothing more in return. They push their own personal feelings out of the way for the greater good and forgive us for not caring enough.
Shelia Snyder's tribute to veterans
Beautiful!
It is the Veteran, not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the Veteran, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Veteran, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Veteran, not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.
It is the Veteran, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Veteran, not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.
It is the Veteran who salutes the Flag,
It is the Veteran who serves under the Flag,
Eternal Rest Grant Them O Lord
And Let Perpetual Light Shine Upon Them
~Sacrifice is meaningless without remembrance~
I honor and remember our military, both past and present. I help with health and well being issues of our Veterans of all Era’s and for the active duty military of today.
This is the focus, this is our purpose, this is what we owe to our Veterans.
Shelia Snyder
Agent Orange Quilt Of Tears
Agent Orange Victims & Widows Support Network
Home Of The Agent Orange Quilt Of Tears
http://www.agentorangequiltoftears.com
~Sacrifice is meaningless without remembrance~
Monday, May 24, 2010
Man pleads guilty to fake military medals
Man pleads guilty to fake military medals
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday May 24, 2010 11:32:29 EDT
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A Marshall County man accused of wearing military medals he didn’t earn and illegally possessing firearms has pleaded guilty in a Birmingham court.
Douglas Lee Weaver, 35, had pleaded not guilty in April to charges of fraudulently wearing the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star and the Combat Infantry Badge.
read more here
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2010/05/ap_fake_medals_052110/
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday May 24, 2010 11:32:29 EDT
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A Marshall County man accused of wearing military medals he didn’t earn and illegally possessing firearms has pleaded guilty in a Birmingham court.
Douglas Lee Weaver, 35, had pleaded not guilty in April to charges of fraudulently wearing the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star and the Combat Infantry Badge.
read more here
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2010/05/ap_fake_medals_052110/
Military must deal with alarming number of suicides
OPINION: Military must deal with alarming number of suicides
By Express-Times opinion staff
May 24, 2010, 12:30AM
We may never know why Austin Gates Benson — a 19-year-old Hellertown resident and airman first class in the U.S. Air Force — took his life earlier this month while serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
But we do know this: Gates Benson loved his country. And we know that far too many of our men and women in uniform are dying by their own hand.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, there were 160 reported active-duty Army suicides in 2009, up from 140 in 2008. Even though military suicide rates are similar to civilian rates in the U.S., officials say last year’s numbers are alarming because military rates traditionally have been lower than civilian rates.
go here for more
Military must deal with alarming number of suicides
By Express-Times opinion staff
May 24, 2010, 12:30AM
We may never know why Austin Gates Benson — a 19-year-old Hellertown resident and airman first class in the U.S. Air Force — took his life earlier this month while serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
But we do know this: Gates Benson loved his country. And we know that far too many of our men and women in uniform are dying by their own hand.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, there were 160 reported active-duty Army suicides in 2009, up from 140 in 2008. Even though military suicide rates are similar to civilian rates in the U.S., officials say last year’s numbers are alarming because military rates traditionally have been lower than civilian rates.
go here for more
Military must deal with alarming number of suicides
186,000 troops in two wars this Memorial Day
For First Time, More US Troops in Afghanistan than Iraq
May 24, 2010 1:31 PM
ABC News' Luis Martinez reports:
For the first time ever, the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan is larger than the number of American forces in Iraq. Pentagon figures show that there are now 94,000 U.S. forces serving in Afghanistan and 92,000 serving in Iraq.
The crossover point for American force levels in both countries was expected to take place this Summer as the Obama administration surges 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan this year and draws down the number of forces in Iraq.
The drawdown plan in Iraq calls for reducing the number of American forces to 50,000 by September 1, a move that will require a major logistical effort over the next three months.
go here for more
More US Troops in Afghanistan than Iraq
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