Veterans Memorial toppled in Elmwood IL

Tornadoes Strike the 16th District
Saturday June 6th Tornadoes struck in the towns of Elmwood and Magnolia, Illinois in the 16th District. Sr Vice Commander Larry Stimeling and Department Membership Chairman Denise Fields went to Elmwood on Monday. We spoke with Commander Kim Davis and were happy to hear that no Legionaires had any major damage due to the storms. On Tuesday Comrade Fields went on to Magnolia where the news was just as good. No legionaires' property damaged. Sr. Vice Stimeling went back to Elmwood and attended their regular Monthly meeting. It was there that he learned that the Veterans' Memorial in Elmwood was toppled and the flagpoless and lighting fo the memorial were destroyed. The Elmwood Post is in need of our help to repair the Monument and replace the flag poles.

Since most of the businesses in Elmwood have been effected by the storm which litterally wiped out the business district in town (see above), the ability of Post 638 to locally raise funds is greatly diminished. If everyone reading this would send a donation to the Post in Elmwood, They would be well on their way to fixing the Veteran's Memorial. Our Preamble states one of the reasons we associate together is "To consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness."
Now is the time to practice what we recite every month.
Please send your individual or post donation to
American Legion % Farmers State Bank Elmwood Illinois 61529

Larry Stimeling (larrynamvet)
16th District Senior Vice-Commander
The American Legion, Department of Illinois
Webmaster 3rd Division, The American Legion, Department of Illinois
Webmaster 16th District, The American Legion, Department of Illinois
Post Adjutant and Service Officer American Legion Post #318 Morton Il

Frasier actor conned by fake fallen soldier on Twitter

Frasier actor conned by fake fallen soldier from Fife
Lauren Chalmers struck up a friendship with Kelsey Grammer on Twitter, but then pretended to have been killed in Afghanistan.
By Jennifer Crichton

10 June 2010 10:26 GMT
A young Fife woman who struck up an online friendship with Frasier actor Kelsey Grammer has been forced to apologise to him after she pretended to have died on active service in Afghanistan.

Lauren Chalmers began conversing with the comedian on Twitter last month and told him she was a soldier about to be posted to Afghanistan. She then pretended to be her own mother, posting a message to him saying she had been killed by an improvised explosive device.

The devastated actor, who had posted signed photos to her parents Kirkcaldy home as a homecoming surprise, used his own site to pay tribute to her bravery and even set up an armed forces tribute site.

However, it quickly emerged Chalmers had conducted a sick hoax from her home in Kirkcaldy and had never served in the armed forces at all.
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Frasier actor conned by fake fallen soldier from Fife

Thief takes lap top of Soldier home on leave from Afghanistan

If you are in the military and think you are forgotten or not appreciated enough by the American people, here's a reminder of exactly how much you are loved. One creep stole from a soldier and his family but a lot more people showed up to help simply because he was loved and appreciated.
UPDATE to this story

Donor replaces soldier's stolen laptop
By CHARLES WEBSTER • STAFF WRITER • June 11, 2010

HOWELL — A U.S. Army soldier heading back to Afghanistan after a stay in Howell during a family emergency, who had his laptop computer stolen on Tuesday, has a brand new replacement today thanks to the generosity of a hometown retired military man and his wife, police say.
Friday morning, the retired military man's wife arrived at Howell Police headquarters with the brand new Dell Inspiron laptop computer, according to police.

"There has been a huge outpouring - it's been incredible," Detective Nancy Carroll said. "We've gotten a lot of phone calls from people offering to help."


In addition to replacing the stolen laptop, another anonymous donor is replacing the daughter's cash, Carroll said.
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Donor replaces soldiers stolen laptop

Howell police seek return of soldier's laptop
By CHARLES WEBSTER • STAFF WRITER • June 10, 2010


HOWELL — A soldier heading back to Afghanistan after a trip here for a family emergency had the laptop computer he uses to communicate with his wife and children stolen, according to police.

The soldier and his immediate family are former Howell residents but now live in Italy where the serviceman is stationed. The soldier is currently serving with the Army in Afghanistan.


The serviceman came here on a seven-day emergency leave and took up residence at His Mercy House, a food pantry on West Farms Road in Howell, while attending to the personal matter, police said.
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Howell police seek return of soldier laptop

Soldier critically wounded in Iraq ripped off by parents?

They managed to raise a son who wanted to join the military. This same son, most parents would feel grateful to have come home still alive, ended up being used to provide them with financial gain, according to the charges. Is there a word in the English language strong enough to describe such a despicable act?

Injured Soldier's Parents Charged With Stealing Son's Recovery Fund
Investigators: Lori and Michael Nault Gambled Money Meant to Pay for Son's Care
By SARAH NETTER
June 10, 2010

A Wisconsin couple who have pleaded for help in caring for their son after he was severely injured while serving in Iraq have been charged with stealing more than $100,000 meant to finance his care and rehabilitation.

Lori and Michael Nault are accused of using at least $167,000 of their 23-year-old son's money to heavily gamble at casinos in three states and fund their own household expenses, a new truck and thousands of dollars in jewelry.

Army Specialist Shane Nault, who cannot speak and requires 24-hour care, suffered catastrophic brain injuries after an IED explosion in Iraq in May 2007. Just 23 years old, he is blind and suffered strokes.

According to court documents supporting felony theft charges for both Lori and Michael Nault, they tried to cover their tracks by listing their son's assets as $35,218 when there had actually been $254,191 deposited into nine bank accounts, many of them in Shane's name.
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Parents Charged With Stealing Sons Recovery Fund

When the Music Stopped Star Spangled Banner Started

When the Music Stopped...

(For those who are unaware: At all military base theaters, the National Anthem is played before the movie begins.)

This is written from a Chaplain in Iraq:

I recently attended a showing of 'Superman 3' here at LSA Anaconda. We have a large auditorium we use for movies, as well as memorial services and other large gatherings. As is the custom at all military bases, we stood to attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. All was going well until three-quarters of the way through The National Anthem, the music stopped.

Now, what would happen if this occurred with 1,000 18-22 year-olds back in the States ? I imagine there would be hoots, catcalls, laughter, a few rude comments, and everyone would sit down and yell for the movie to begin. Of course, that is, if they had stood for the National Anthem in the first place.

Here in Iraq, 1,000 Soldiers continued to stand at attention, eyes fixed forward. The music started again and the Soldiers continued to quietly stand at attention. But again, at the same point, the music stopped. What would you expect 1000 Soldiers standing at attention to do ?? Frankly, I expected some laughter, and everyone would eventually sit down and wait for the movie to start.

But No !!... You could have heard a pin drop, while every Soldier continued to stand at attention.

Suddenly,there was a lone voice from the front of the auditorium, then a dozen voices, and soon the room was filled with the voices of a thousand soldiers, finishing where the recording left off: "And the rockets' red glare, the bombs
bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave."

It was the most inspiring moment I have had in Iraq and I wanted you to know what kind of Soldiers are serving you.

Remember them as they fight for us !

Pass this along as a reminder to others to be ever in prayer for all our soldiers serving us here at home and abroad.

Many have already paid the ultimate price.

Written by Chaplain Jim Higgins LSA Anaconda is at the Ballad Airport in Iraq, north of Baghdad.

Please share only if you are so inclined.

God Bless America and all of our troops serving through out the world.

Fallen laid in mess at Arlington

Cantonrep.com / File
Scott Warner, father of fallen soldier, Heath Warner, holds a poster commemorating his son who is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Arlington probe surprises dad of Marine buried there

By Anonymous
CantonRep.com staff report
Posted Jun 10, 2010 @ 09:16 PM
Last update Jun 10, 2010 @ 09:23 PM
CANTON — Scott Warner, a Gold Star parent from Canton, heard last summer of an investigation into problems at Arlington National Cemetery but said he was still surprised by Thursday’s announcement.

The Army said at least 200 remains in Arlington may have been misidentified or misplaced, casting a shadow over what has been called America’s “sacred ground.”

Warner’s son, Marine Corps Pvt. Heath Warner, was killed in Iraq in 2006 and is buried at Arlington.

Warner said he has heard there was a problem with one grave in the section where his son is buried.

The name on that grave hasn’t been released, but Warner said he has been told that it isn’t his son’s grave.

Arlington is the most honorable place to have a loved one buried, said Warner, who visited the cemetery on Memorial Day and has plans to return soon. The fallen and their families are treated with dignity and respect.
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Arlington probe surprises dad of Marine buried there

Arlington National Cemetery's top supervisors ousted in mismanagement case
The move comes after an Army inspector's general report detailing misidentified graves, poor record-keeping and improper handling of service members' remains.

About 330,000 bodies are buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

By Julian E. Barnes, Tribune Washington Bureau

June 11, 2010

Reporting from Washington — The Army ousted top supervisors of Arlington National Cemetery in the wake of a blistering report that found some graves had been mismarked and that raised questions about the Virginia burial ground's management, officials announced Thursday.

Army Secretary John McHugh said the Army inspector general's report raised questions about 211 gravesites and found unmarked graves, burial sites with the wrong headstones and improper handling of cremated remains.

"That all ends today," McHugh said.

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Arlington National Cemetery top supervisors ousted

Arlington Cemetery inquiry results come today

Arlington Cemetery superintendent retiring

Anger and grief over Arlington Cemetery disaster
By Leo Shane III
Published: June 11, 2010

Army 1st Sgt. Shelly Jenkins, with the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment known as The Old Guard, places flags on the graves at Arlington National Cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day.
Jacquelyn Martin/APVeterans groups reacted quickly and harshly to news yesterday that the remains of more than 200 veterans were misplaced or lost by workers at Arlington National Cemetery, demanding immediate improvements to Amry records systems and a change in the "culture of complacency" at the hallowed site.

Shortly after the Pentagon press conference yesterday House Armed Services Committee leaders announced plans to hold hearings on the problems at Arlington. Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., noted the staff's conduct "is disgraceful and cannot be tolerated." Ranking member Buck McKeon, R-Calif., said "families demand, and most importantly, deserve to know that their loved ones are being treated with the utmost respect and decorum."
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Anger and grief over Arlington Cemetery disaster

Errors at Arlington affected 211 graves

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jun 11, 2010 16:07:39 EDT

At least 211 graves at Arlington National Cemetery — including two in the section where fallen troops from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are buried — were mismarked, missing headstones or burial cards, or were not recorded at all, according to a new internal investigation.

The investigation of operations at the nation’s most hallowed military burial ground found no criminal misconduct, but much evidence of “improper internment, trans-internment of remains — including the loss of accountability of remains — remains in graves listed as empty, unmarked gravesites, improperly marked graves and improper handling of cremains,” Army Secretary John McHugh told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday.

The Army Inspector General also concluded in its seven-month investigation that “mistakes continue to be made.”

The IG also found that rank-and-file employees, who handle an average of 27 funerals daily, were burdened in their day-to-day work by “dysfunctional management, lack of established policy and procedures, and an overall unhealthy organizational climate.”
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Errors at Arlington affected 211 graves

Vet’s upset win in SC primary scrutinized

Vet’s upset win in SC primary scrutinized

House majority whip questions background, wonders ‘where did he come from’
By Meg Kinnard - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jun 10, 2010 15:02:19 EDT

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The No. 3 Democrat in the U.S. House called on federal authorities Thursday to investigate how an unemployed South Carolina military veteran won the state’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

“Here is Alvin Greene, unemployed, he goes into the Democratic headquarters and pays $10,000. That’s no little bit of money for an unemployed person,” House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., said. “This guy, who is he? Where did he come from?”

Greene, 32, stunned the Democratic Party establishment Tuesday night when he handily defeated Vic Rawl, a four-term state lawmaker and former judge, for the party’s nomination. Rawl, who had campaigned little but already raised $186,000, was forced to scrap a fundraiser planned for Thursday night.

Greene has not reported any fundraising, run any ads, or put up signs or a website in his challenge of Republican U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint. He had been considered such a long shot that neither his opponent nor the media bothered to check his background, which includes a November arrest on a charge of felony obscenity.
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Vet’s upset win in SC primary scrutinized

Army Private bound for Hood jumps from NY bridge

Army pvt. bound for Hood jumps from NY bridge

By Rob Ryser, Richard Liebson and Brian Howard - (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News
Posted : Thursday Jun 10, 2010 15:23:56 EDT

DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. — The mother of Army Pvt. Elizabeth Lynch-Gonzalez, who jumped from the Tappan Zee Bridge early Thursday, said her daughter was upset that her deployment to a Texas military base had been moved up to today.

The mother said her daughter, who was 19 and 2009 graduate of Lakeland High School, was greatly upset when she found out Wednesday that her deployment order for Fort Hood had been moved up to today.

The comments of the mother, Mary Ellen Lynch, came moments before police confirmed that a body found in the Hudson River a few miles south of the bridge was her daughter’s.

The body washed ashore in Dobbs Ferry shortly after noon Thursday, 10 hours after the young woman jumped from the middle of the Tappan Zee Bridge up river in Tarrytown.
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Army pvt. bound for Hood jumps from NY bridge

Through many dangers, toils and snares

by
Chaplain Kathie

"Through many dangers, toils and snares" is one part of this song that gets me every time. It makes me look back at other times in my life when I just didn't think I'd ever overcome what I was going through. It makes me remember when everything seemed just too hopeless and I, I was not worthy of being helped by anyone, especially God. God however graced my life and saved me despite myself. I have made such a mess out of my life so many times it is beyond reason I am still here. You'd think that after facing death so many times, not from combat but from illness, accidents and violence, I would be thankful for each day upon this earth, but so many times I wished for the end of the struggle, longed for the end of the pain in my soul and tears that fell far too many nights. I was too focused on what I lacked, what I could not do and how other people treated me or judged me unfairly without knowing what was inside of me.

I fell into every trap, was cut on every snare, fell prey to every person hoping to take advantage of me and I knew what it was like to hate, to want revenge and to rejoice over the grief of someone else that hurt me. It was in one of my darkest moments that I handed my life over to God knowing full well that He knew all of me. The good and the bad could not be hidden from Him any more than I could hide pain behind anger. Little by little, He worked on my, softened my temper, opened my eyes and let me see what I had been missing all along. This lifelong Greek Orthodox woman with faith once as much a part of my life as breathing was, was finally seeing God through the eyes of love the way Christ came to confirm it.

Did He take away all of my burdens? Take away all my tears? Remove all my fears? No. He did however give me what I needed to get through all the bad life has to offer as well as rejoice with all it provides.

Listen to the words of Amazing Grace sung by Judy Collins. Then read on.




The lyrics to Amazing Grace change depending on the singer but the meaning of this song never changes.

Amazing Grace

Lyrics

John Newton (1725-1807)
Stanza 6 anon.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.


T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.


Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.


The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.


Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.




Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come;'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far and Grace will lead me home.

Maybe it's because I've felt so much pain in my own life and have lived with the pain in my husband all these years, I am able to understand the pain felt by the men and women in the military who become our veterans. I am not one of them. I do not know what it is like to be willing to willingly place myself into the position where I know I may have to lay down my life as well as take a life in order to save others. That is a burden few understand but we can understand what it is like to be a human wanting to do what we are called to do and the struggles we face in order to do it.

This is our link to them. This is our chance to understand the price they pay after and it is our calling to help them heal.

The dangers and toils and snares, they have already come. They were saved by the grace of God and we cannot explain why He allows some to live on while He embraces the others home. We can only know the men and women who survive, survived for a reason only Heaven knows. Coming home is the hardest part for them because their danger days are supposed to be over. No longer are they subjected to bullets and bombs or witnessing the worst that man can do to man. No longer are they trying to save the lives of their friends or mourning the loss of others but they are left to question every day of their deployment, every action, every deed and every word they muttered from anger and fear. It is the part of war that came home with them that they need to fear the most.

What part of them escaped the horrors of combat? What part of them is still sweet, loving, kind, humble and sensitive? What part of them is still strong and beyond regret? What other parts of them are frozen behind the wall terror built? What will it take to bring that wall down so they can heal?

It all begins with forgiveness. Forgiving themselves for all they felt they lacked and all they believe they did that was wrong. No matter how many times you try to convince them that they did what they had to do, they will always be blaming themselves for having done it. They will blame everyone else for all that went wrong and they will blame the enemy. All understandable and all human reactions to what they went through but not very helpful at all when they are trying to recover the best parts of their nature. They were not allowed to feel because of where they were and what was happening so it all comes rushing in on them.

They need to know there is nothing they cannot be forgiven for and suggesting to them they did nothing wrong is dismissing that pain. Remind them Christ forgave from the cross and then tell them there is nothing God cannot forgive them for. Forgiveness is between them and God so get out of their way. Help them to forgive others and let go of what they have no control over. Forgive them for what they do while trapped in pain and then hold them accountable as they heal but only after you become aware of where it is all coming from. And then, then forgive yourself for the time in your life when you just didn't know any better but did what you could with what you knew in that moment.

All of the "person" they were before is still in there but just as the rest of us humans arise on the other side of life with yesterday tagging along, they have combat tagging along inside of them. If you look at your own life honestly, then you will see how each day has played a part in the person you are today. Then you will understand how they have become the way they are as well. None of this is hopeless for them any more than life is hopeless for the rest of us. Begin today to believe that God's grace will help the person you love come home all the way to you and they can heal.

PTSD lives off of everything negative and eats away everything positive in their lives. This is why addressing the spiritual part of their lives matters enough to predict the outcome of any kind of therapy. The negative energy needs to be defeated. This is a painful process because as every negative emotion is reduced, the painful ones gain power and releasing them feels as if they are getting worse until they understand that pain is rushing out instead of being trapped inside. That release is freeing their soul so they can build in more good emotions to rejoice with and sing a song of Amazing Grace that saved a wretch like them just as it saved one like me.

New VA benefits claim form: Just 6 pages

New VA benefits claim form: Just 6 pages

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jun 9, 2010 21:07:19 EDT

After years of complaints from veterans about having to fill out a 26-page-long benefits claims form for the Veterans Affairs Department, the Office of Management and Budget has approved VA’s new six-page form.

As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have progressed, the 26-page application became particularly troublesome for veterans dealing with traumatic brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder, both of which can cause short-term memory loss and other cognitive issues.

“It’s a good thing and we’re pleased,” said Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense. “In our view, the current form is burdensome. It’s too long.”

VA spokesman Steve Westerfeld confirmed in a voicemail that VA had shortened VA Form 21-526, as well as creating a new “express claim” form, or 21-526EZ, which is six pages long and requires that the veteran provide his own medical and military records, rather than waiting for VA to gather them.
read more here
New VA benefits claim form

Arlington Cemetery inquiry results come today

Arlington Cemetery inquiry results come today

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jun 10, 2010 9:22:00 EDT

The results of an Army investigation into revelations of improperly marked graves, faulty records-keeping and other management failures at the hallowed Arlington National Cemetery will be unveiled this afternoon, officials say. And top officials could be facing disciplinary action as a result.

Army Secretary John McHugh launched the Inspector General inquiry last November after an internal Army finding that cemetery workers in 2003 discovered a casket without a headstone and confirmed a news report that cremated remains contained in an urn were buried two years ago over an unmarked but occupied grave site.
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Arlington Cemetery inquiry results come today
Arlington Cemetery superintendent retiring

PTSD on Trial: Gulf War decorated veteran 15 years for assaulting a cop

Decorated vet gets 15 years for assaulting cop with car
By JOHN MOLSEED
WATERLOO - A Waterloo man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for driving his car at a Waterloo police officer.

Deon Lemar Mosley, 38, was sentenced Wednesday on a charge of assault on a peace officer. He was ordered to serve the sentence concurrent with a fifteen-year sentence on second-degree theft and a five-year sentence for eluding.

Mosley plead guilty Feb. 25 to the assault charge for driving his car at officer Kevin Boyland June 1, 2009. Boyland was attempting to arrest Mosley for parole violation at the parole office on East Fifth Street. Mosley was attempting to leave in a car as Boyland, who was on foot, motioned for Mosley to stop his car, Mosley accelerated toward the officer, police said.

Jim Katcher, assistant Black Hawk County attorney, asked the sentence be stacked consecutive to the second-degree theft and eluding sentences for a total of 35 years in prison.

Mosley's mother, Theresa Mosley, asked District Court Judge George Stigler to consider her son's military service and his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Decorated vet gets 15 years for assaulting cop with car

Combat's Hidden Toll, Medicated Military

Take a pill and get back to duty is basically what this approach leads to and it will do no good at all. One of the coping avenues many PTSD veterans take is the use of alcohol and drugs while attempting to calm their nerves and kill off the ability to feel anything. Giving them medications without adding any kind of therapy is accomplishing the same outcome, numbing instead of healing.

What will it take for the military to be able to understand that while these men and women are highly trained to face any situation in combat they can never be trained to stop being human?

The civilian world has evolved enough to acknowledge the need to address psychological changes in the workings of the mind and spirit after traumatic events yet the most traumatic environment with multiple exposures is being ignored. We can respond to traumatic events caused by nature or other humans, mobilize teams of responders, hit the aftermath of traumatic events head on, yet the military's answer seems to always be quickest solution to get them back on duty. How do they ever expect this to work?

What will it take for them to finally fully understand that numbing them is driving them over the edge? Will they ever understand that the recovery rate is much higher if they address it soon after the events? Do they really want a medicated military?

Combat's Hidden Toll: 1 in 10 Soldiers Report Mental Health Problems
Soldiers Report PTSD Symptoms and Other Mental Health Problems

By KIM CAROLLO
ABCNews Medical Unit
June 9, 2010

Even though he's retired from active military duty, CSM Samuel Rhodes still suffers from deep emotional wounds.

"I had to take this afternoon off from work today because of anxiety," he said. "And sometimes, if I'm going through a really tough time, I think about suicide."

He spent nearly 30 years in the Army and recently spent 30 straight months deployed in Iraq where he, like many soldiers, witnessed some of the horrors of war.

"In April 2005, it started to eat me up because I started losing one soldier after another," Rhodes said. "We lost 37 soldiers that were in my unit."

He was command sergeant major of his brigade, and over the 30 months he was there, he lost 37 of his soldiers. As time wore on, the loss of life wore him down.


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Combats Hidden Toll

Michael Fay reporting with art from war

Drawing Fire
By MICHAEL D. FAY
In 2005, then Chief Warrant Officer Michael D. Fay traveled to Iraq in his capacity as official Marine Corps artist. There he fought with Marines engaged in Operation Steel Curtain against insurgents along the Euphrates River, and documented the events in sketches, photographs and audio recordings.

Michael D. Fay held the the position of combat artist for the United States Marine Corps from 2000 through January 2010. He was deployed several times to Iraq and Afghanistan. He is currently in the Kandahar region of Afghanistan working as a war correspondent embedded with Marine units. His blog is Fire and Ice.

Mr. Fay describes that experience here in “Drawing Fire,” to be published in five consecutive parts this week in Home Fires. It is based on material from his memoir, “The War Artist,” (earlier drafts appeared on his blog in January), and includes artwork and photographs from his time with Marine units in Operation Steel Curtain.

In 2006, Mr. Fay was a contributor to The Times’s Frontlines series, in which he described the orders he followed as Marine Corps artist: “Go to War, Do Art.” He is now retired from the Marine Corps, but is currently in Afghanistan working as a correspondent embedded with Marine units in Afghanistan.
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Drawing Fire
Drawing Fire: Last Day
Drawing Fire: Stay With Us
Drawing Fire: Reckoning

VA finds problems but cannot fix them

Filner: VA finds problems but cannot fix them

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jun 9, 2010 12:15:41 EDT

The Veterans Affairs Department is good at finding waste and inefficiency, but it could be faster to take action to fix these problems, according to testimony at a Wednesday congressional oversight hearing.

Since October, the VA inspector general has issued 120 reports containing 232 recommendations for saving $673 million, said Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., the House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman. That is good news, he said, showing the VA IG is doing “high-quality” and “essential” work.

However, VA has 124 open reports with a combined 756 recommendations, including 16 reports with 45 recommendations that are more than one year old, said Richard Griffin, the VA’s deputy inspector general. The oldest open report dates back to Sept. 30, 2005, he said.
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VA finds problems but cannot fix them

2nd LT Mike McGahan will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery

2nd Lt. Mike McGahan: Olympia High grad dies in Afghanistan
Mike McGahan will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

By Sarah Lundy, Orlando Sentinel

4:59 p.m. EDT, June 8, 2010


Mike McGahan's loved ones describe him as a born leader and an exceptional young man.

The Orlando man's desire to serve his country led him to join the U.S. Army after graduating from the University of Florida two years ago. He became second lieutenant and led a platoon of soldiers in Afghanistan.

McGahan, 23, was with those soldiers when he died Sunday.

On Tuesday, his family attended a ceremony at the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where his body arrived with those of four other service members killed in recent days.

"He loved the Army," said his father, Tim McGahan. "He felt young people today should serve their country."
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Olympia High grad dies in Afghanistan

Publix shoppers witness murder of cashier and suicide of husband

Orlando Publix shooting: Records reveal deeply troubled lives
Orlando police release evidence from investigation into murder-suicide at Publix on Michigan Avenue in March. Estranged husband Andreau Yankton shot and killed wife Anicia Yankton before turning the gun on himself.

By Bianca Prieto, Orlando Sentinel

5:59 p.m. EDT, June 9, 2010


Andreau Yankton was drunk and on anxiety medication when he walked into Publix on March 2, got in the checkout line with a liter of soda and shot his wife to death.

His spouse, Anicia Yankton, was having an affair with a co-worker, a man to whom she lied about her husband and about being pregnant.

The Orlando police investigation of the public murder-suicide — Andreau Yankton left the store and fatally shot himself in the parking lot — concluded that the husband acted out because his wife was no longer coming home after work.

Although the investigation is not closed, police on Wednesday released hundreds of pages of documents from the deadly shooting, including photos and transcripts of interviews with witnesses. The records were released after the Orlando Sentinel filed a public records request.

Andreau Yankton walked to the back of the store and returned to her checkout line with a liter of soda, waiting while she assisted two people in line ahead of him. She still didn't appear to notice he was there, according to an investigative summary.

"When Anicia began assisting the customer directly in front of the suspect, she then appeared to notice the suspect standing in her line," the report said. "The suspect immediately produced a handgun and fired a single shot into Anicia's face."

Andreau Yankton calmly walked out of the store and toward his car. When a police officer confronted him in the parking lot, he pulled the .38 caliber revolver from his pocket and shot himself in the chest, the report said.

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Records reveal deeply troubled lives

also more Orlando news

Volusia Beach Patrol vehicle hits woman sitting in chair

Woman doused with lighter fluid; boyfriend arrested

Woman commits suicide on the beach in South Daytona

Celebrate Independence Day with Disabled Veterans

Celebrate Independence Day with Disabled Veterans
Heroes Who Sacrificed for America's Freedom

WASHINGTON (June 9, 2010) - The Fourth of July celebration in Denver
takes on special importance this year when more than 500 wheelchair
athletes who are all military Veterans begin competition at the 30th
National Veterans Wheelchair Games. The event, presented each year by
the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Paralyzed Veterans of
America, runs July 4 through July 9.

"Honoring those who have given so much to this Nation is appropriate on
the day we celebrate America's independence," said Secretary of Veterans
Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "The National Veterans Wheelchair Games
exemplify America's commitment to its disabled Veterans and the
continuing heroism of these men and women."

The games provide an annual multi-event sports rehabilitation program
that is open to Veterans who use wheelchairs for sports competition due
to spinal cord injuries, amputations or certain neurological problems
and who receive care at any VA medical facility. Athletes attending can
be first-time wheelchair athletes or experienced Paralympians. Six of
this year's participants have previously competed at the world-class
Paralympic level.

"Independence Day is the perfect day to kick off this year's National
Veterans Wheelchair Games," said Gene A. Crayton, national president of
Paralyzed Veterans of America. "For 30 years, the Wheelchair Games have
helped to empower thousands of paralyzed Veterans to get back into life
after serious injury, and to eventually lead full and independent
lives."

At the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, Veterans will compete in 17
different sports, including air guns, archery, basketball, bowling,
field events, handcycling, nine-ball, a motorized wheelchair relay,
power soccer, quad rugby, softball, swimming, table tennis, track,
trapshooting, weightlifting and wheelchair slalom. This year, an
exhibition event will also be held in kayaking.

The 30th National Veterans Wheelchair Games begin on Sunday, July 4,
with a quad rugby demonstration in Civic Center Park in downtown Denver.
Kids Day at the games takes place Thursday, July 8, at City Park, where
local children with disabilities will meet the athletes and learn about
wheelchair sports. Other events will be held at Brunswick Zone, Invesco
Field at Mile High Stadium, Family Shooting Center, Fishback Park, the
Colorado Convention Center and other area venues. Admission is free to
the public and local attendance is encouraged.

The VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System in Denver and the Mountain
States Chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America are hosting the 2010
Games. For many injured Veterans, the Wheelchair Games provide their
first exposure to wheelchair athletics.

For more information about the National Veterans Wheelchair Games or to
volunteer during the week, visit the Games Web site at
www.wheelchairgames.va.gov.

VA is a recognized leader in rehabilitative and recreational therapies,
and operates more than 1,400 sites of care, including 153 medical
centers (www.va.gov). Paralyzed Veterans of America was founded 63
years ago. For more than six decades, Paralyzed Veterans of America and
its 34 chapters have been working to create an America where all
Veterans and people with disabilities and their families have everything
they need to thrive (www.pva.org ).

Soldier stable after suspected overdose

Saved because friends cared. So why didn't the soldier on his third tour feel as if he could talk to these same friends who cared enough to save his life? Was it an overdose/suicide attempt, or was it a case of forgotten medication? This report says that he saved the life of someone else before. This also shows that what they are going thru does not know national boundaries. This solider is from Australia.

Soldier stable after suspected overdose
Posted Mon Jun 7, 2010 7:00am AEST

An Australian soldier who was found unconscious by fellow soldiers after a suspected drug overdose in Afghanistan remains in a serious but stable condition in a German hospital.

The Defence Force is making arrangements to return the soldier, who served in the Special Operations Taskforce Unit in Tarin Kowt, to Australia.

Defence Force Chief Angus Houston is appointing a commission of inquiry to investigate the apparent overdose 10 days ago.

Air Chief Marshal Houston confirmed last week that a bottle of pills and some powder, thought to be an opiate, were found in the man's room.

Emergency treatment was given at the time and a medical procedure was performed on the soldier in Afghanistan before he was taken to Bagram, where a medical procedure was performed.

The soldier, known as Private D, was described last week by Air Chief Marshal Houston as a courageous and "very professional" soldier whose actions had once saved the life of a mate.

Private D joined the ADF in 2004, has served in East Timor, and was on his third deployment to Afghanistan.
Soldier stable after suspected overdose

Three Marines die in Afghanistan

Three Marines die in Afghanistan

Staff report
Posted : Tuesday Jun 8, 2010 18:06:25 EDT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Three Marines with a Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based infantry battalion died Sunday after a vehicle accident in Afghanistan, military officials said.

The Pentagon identified the three as

Sgt. Brandon C. Bury, 26, of Kingwood, Texas;

Cpl. Donald M. Marler, 22, of St. Louis, Mo.; and

Lance Cpl. Derek Hernandez, 20, of Edinburg, Texas.

They were members of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, with the 1st Marine Division.

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Three Marines die in Afghanistan

Staff Sgt. Shane S. Barnard died defusing bomb to save others

Base holds memorial service for slain soldier

The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 9, 2010 10:16:05 EDT

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — Joint Base Lewis-McChord is holding a memorial service Wednesday for a soldier killed May 19 in Afghanistan.

The Army said 38-year-old Staff Sgt. Shane S. Barnard of De Smet, S.D., was an explosives disposal specialist who was probably working on one device when he triggered a second homemade bomb.
read the rest here
Base holds memorial service for slain soldier

Helo shot down in Afghanistan, 4 killed

Helo shot down in Afghanistan, 4 killed

By Rahim Faiez and Rohan Sullivan - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 9, 2010 9:55:22 EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan — Insurgents shot down a NATO helicopter and killed four American troops in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the military said, in the latest bloodshed ahead of a major operation in the militants’ heartland.

NATO said the four died “after their helicopter was brought down by hostile fire” in Helmand province, part of a volatile region where Taliban still hold sway despite a buildup of U.S. troops.

Lt. Col. Joseph T. Breasseale, U.S. military spokesman in Kabul, confirmed the four troops killed were Americans, but the military and NATO gave no other details.
read more here
Helo shot down in Afghanistan, 4 killed

Unemployed Army Vet beats odds to run for Senate seat

Who Is Alvin Greene?
Tue Jun. 8, 2010 7:59 PM PDT
— Alvin Greene SCDP.org.
An unemployed 32-year-old black Army veteran with no campaign funds, no signs, and no website shocked South Carolina on Tuesday night by winning the Democratic Senate primary to oppose Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC). Alvin Greene, who currently lives in his family's home, defeated Vic Rawl, a former judge and state legislator who had a $186,000 campaign warchest and had already planned his next fundraising event. Despite the odds, Greene, who has been unemployed for the past nine months, said that he wasn't surprised by his victory. "I wasn’t surprised, but not really. I mean, just a little, but not much. I knew I was on top of my campaign, and just stayed on top of everything, I just—I wasn't surprised that much, just a little. I knew that I worked hard and did," Greene said in an interview.
read more here
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/06/alvin-greene-south-carolina
linked from RawStory

TBI, when brain doesn't work right, troops given Tylenol

With Brain Injuries, Soldiers Face Battle For Care
T. Christian Miller and Daniel Zwerdling


June 9, 2010
At the rapidly expanding base in Fort Bliss, Texas, along the U.S.-Mexico border, the military is racing to build new homes for 10,000 additional soldiers. Cranes stack prefabricated containers like children's blocks to erect barracks overnight. Bulldozers grind sagebrush desert into roads and runways.

Just down the street from the construction boom squats a tan, featureless building about the size of a convenience store. Completed nearly a year ago, it remains unopened, the doors locked.

Building 805 was supposed to house a clinic for traumatic brain injury, often called the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, it has become a symbol for soldiers here of what they call commanders' indifference to their problems.

"The system here has no mercy," said Sgt. Victor Medina, a decorated combat veteran who fought to receive treatment at Fort Bliss after suffering a brain injury during a roadside blast in Iraq last June. Since the explosion, Medina has had trouble reading, comprehending and doing simple tasks. "It's struggle after struggle."

Previously, NPR and ProPublica reported that the military has failed to diagnose brain injuries in troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mild traumatic brain injuries, which doctors also call concussions, do not leave visible scars but can cause lasting mental and physical problems.
read more here
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127542820

Rape, sex, abuse at University City nursing home for veterans

Report: Rape, sex, abuse at University City nursing home for veterans

By: Leisa Zigman

KSDK -- Missouri's Department of Health and Senior Services found serious violations regarding allegations of physical, sexual and verbal abuse inside a University City nursing home for veterans.

The I-Team obtained the 21 page report Tuesday night. The state had been investigating the K.F. Jammer Manor, West facility since April and recently completed its investigation.

According to the state's findings one resident made two allegations of rape but no one from the facility made a hotline call or alerted police as required by law. The resident eventually called 9-1-1. That same resident claimed she and a housekeeper had a sexual relationship. The report states, "During an interview the Director of Nursing said the resident alleged he/she had a sexual relationship with Housekeeper #1. Due to the resident's allegations, staff moved the housekeeper to the facility's other location. The Director of Nursing did not report any allegation of rape or a sexual relationship because, according to the report, she did not believe they happened.
go here for more
http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=203774&catid=3

Vietnam Vet wants to make a difference for homeless veterans

From life in uniform to life on the streets
New program seeks to aid homeless vets with mental illness

By John Carpenter, Special to the Tribune

June 9, 2010


It took one year in the Vietnam jungle to smash Walter Newman's mind to pieces. It took him 30 years to figure out that alcohol and drugs weren't going to put it back together. Now, working with a pilot program targeting homeless veterans with mental illnesses, he hopes to show fellow vets that if he can get his life back, they can too.

Newman, 58, will be part of a demonstration program being developed by Thresholds, a Chicago-based mental health agency. The Thresholds Veterans Project will target homeless vets with mental illnesses, offering a range of services from housing to treatment to peer support to employment-skills training.

"When I first realized I needed help, the first person I talked to was a veteran," Newman said. "That made a difference. Now I want to be that difference."

Newman's story is not unlike that of many Vietnam veterans. A graduate of Englewood High School, Newman enlisted in 1970, having been told he would study administration after basic training. Instead he was slated for the infantry, and served in combat in Vietnam from December 1970 to December 1971.


When he returned he couldn't find a job. He married and started a family. But that fell apart as he descended into more than 30 years of substance abuse. Newman is now living with a diagnosis of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. But for years after his combat service, he simply felt that he was stuck in a cycle of drug and alcohol abuse. He traveled to various cities, winding up homeless in Atlanta for five years.

"I felt like that was my destiny, that I was worthless and that I would always be homeless and eventually die," Newman said.
read more here
From life in uniform to life on the streets

Actor turned soldier gets new satisfaction

Actor turned soldier gets new satisfaction


Posted : Monday Jun 7, 2010 15:31:45 EDT

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — People join the Army from all walks of life, but few follow Scott Eberlein’s path.

The Los Angeles native was an actor who had a small part in the film “L.A. Confidential” and larger roles in TV shows such as “The X-Files” and “Nash Bridges.” But he left Hollywood behind following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“To pursue something as trivial as acting was something I had taken for granted all my life; I didn’t think twice about it,” said Eberlein, now a captain stationed at Fort Wainwright with the Stryker brigade’s 1st battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment.

“When I saw it could be taken away in a moment, that spoke volumes to me.”
read more here
Actor turned soldier gets new satisfaction

PTSD:Growing need of National Guard and Reservists

This is one of the biggest reasons I made this video. The problem is, too few cities and towns are stepping up to help them really come home.

The risk of mental health problems may be more persistent among National Guard soldiers, the study suggests. A greater proportion of men and women in the National Guard than in the Army were diagnosed with PTSD and depression one year after their return, although the two groups had similar rates at the three-month mark.

"These were soldiers who were exposed to the same level of combat; who, by and large, reported similar rates of being attacked, ambushed, [and] rocketed; and who reported similar symptoms when they got home," says the lead author of the study, Major Jeffrey L. Thomas, Ph.D., the chief of military psychiatry at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Depression, PTSD plague many Iraq vets
By Amanda Gardner, Health.com
June 7, 2010 5:30 p.m. EDT


STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Up to 31 percent of soldiers returning from combat in Iraq experience depression or PTSD
In extreme cases, relationship problems and stress can lead to suicide
The time between deployments may not be sufficient for many soldiers to recover

(Health.com) -- Up to 31 percent of soldiers returning from combat in Iraq experience depression or post-traumatic stress disorder that affects their jobs, relationships, or home life, according to a new study by Army researchers.

For as many as 14 percent of these veterans, depression and PTSD cause severe problems in their daily life. These problems are often accompanied by alcohol misuse and aggressive behavior, the study found.

"These things begin to snowball," says Robert Bossarte, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center, in Rochester, New York. "Your work performance suffers; you experience job loss and economic strain."

In extreme cases, the resulting relationship problems and stress can lead to suicide, adds Bossarte, who was not involved in the new study.

The researchers analyzed mental health surveys from more than 13,000 Army and National Guard infantrymen who fought in Iraq. The soldiers completed the surveys between 2004 and 2007, three and 12 months after returning to the U.S.
go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/07/iraq.vets.ptsd/

also

National Guard Troops question Army Weekend Warrior Healthcare
Robert L. Hanafin

Members of an Oregon National Guard unit have made complaints about medical care they are receiving or have received from the Regular Army in a throwback to the Weekend Warrior mentality of active duty Regular Army prior to the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Well, frankly an RA attitude of the Guard as weekend warriors was held as the Guard really did transform from an expectation of being weekend warriors to becoming part of the Total Force. We believe that the Guard has earned the right to have that attitude pushed back to the Vietnam War Era when the National Guard truly were weekend warriors enlisting to avoid combat.

In order to politically avoid the publicly unpopular Selective Service Draft, but to have the adequate bodies needed to sustain wartime operations tempo of multi-deployments to two war zones, the Pentagon and Congress has exploited the use of each state’s National Guard. While this approach of avoiding THE DRAFT allows the vast majority of Americans’ to not have to relate to the war(s) that only our federal government, Pentagon, and war profiteers are committed to, it is our National Guard troops and families who take the heat.
click link for more

Comfort in an hour of greatest need

Comfort in an hour of greatest need
Chaplain Rick Bulman serves sheriff’s office to assist both the public and emergency responders



DEBBY ABE; Staff writer
Rick Bulman always asks prospective police chaplains if they’ve ever cradled a dead baby or seen people with their heads shot off.

Bulman has. Far too many times.

As the full-time chaplain for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, he sees the bodies and emotional wreckage of some of the most heartwrenching deaths in the county.

He gives people the worst news of their lives, and as they collapse in disbelief and grief, he helps them navigate those first few horrible hours.

In 2008, he told Judith Mitchell-Ballard her three young daughters had perished in a fire in Graham.

In 2009, he told Angela Harrison her husband had killed himself. Hours later, he broke the news that all five of her children were dead as well.

Last month, he accompanied the mother of slain Deputy Kent Mundell to memorial ceremonies in Washington, D.C., but returned early to confront another tragedy: 11-year Deputy Allen Myron had fatally shot his in-laws in Gig Harbor before killing himself.

But it did. It took a divorce, multiple jobs, a conversion to Christianity, and finally visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., in 1989 before he realized that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Failing to deal with the disorder caused him to be a “major jerk” to his first wife and to his current wife, Kathi, during the first decade of their marriage.

“Anger is the only emotion I showed. And control. It’s a subconscious thing, but when you’re not in control, something bad happens. You have to realize also that military and cops basically are taught to react without thinking to any stimulus. If you take time to think, somebody gets hurts or dies.”

Kathi Bulman recalls he was so controlling, she had to ask permission to go to the grocery store. “He would tell me he how embarrassed he was if my purse wasn’t in order,” she said.

Once he began confronting the stress disorder and the couple grew as Christians, she said, their marriage flourished. The Parkland couple have four adult children and 14 grandchildren.

Today, he leads a military veterans support group in Federal Way and serves as the western state coordinator for a veterans group called Point Man Ministries.



Read more: Comfort in an hour of greatest need

Chaplains follow strict code

Lives shaded by grief: The families of slain police officers

Records reveal horrific details of night Pierce County deputy shot in-laws, himself

body of boy found Officials believe he is one of two missing persons

Pierce deputy's motives in killing in-laws remain unclear

Senator Jim Webb wants to stop what began 40 years ago

Tell Senator Webb and the rest of congress that this began when they decided to spray Agent Orange no matter what it would do to the men and women they already sent to risk their lives. Any delay in doing the right thing finally is making them suffer for having served. In case Senator Webb forgot, many of these men had no choice in going but were forced to under the draft. They served with honor. They served with courage. They served as well as the others who went willingly. Now after all these years, there should be on more acceptable excuses for not honoring that at least.

The following was sent from Shelia over at
Agent Orange Quilt of Tears/

Webb: Delay AO Claims, Stop Bigger Raises
by Tom Philpott
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,215720,00.html?wh=wh
Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), chief architect of the pricey Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefit for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan war era, could become a new champion, for taxpayers, against what he perceives as excess spending on military pay and on a new wave of Agent Orange claims.
Webb, a former Navy secretary and decorated Vietnam War veteran, risked the anger of thousands of veterans from that war when he won Senate approval last week of an amendment to block, at least temporarily, the Department of Veterans Affairs from paying new disability claims on three prominent diseases presumed linked to wartime herbicide exposure.
As many as 86,000 Vietnam veterans with ischemic heart disease, Parkinson's disease or B-cell leukemia are awaiting a final VA regulation to receive disability compensation based on a decision last fall by VA Secretary Eric Shinseki of evidence linking these diseases with exposure to deadly defoliant used during the war. Many more vets could file first-time claims.
VA officials not only have published interim regulations already but, for months, have been encouraging veterans stricken with these diseases, or their surviving spouses, to file new claims or re-file claims as soon as possible because benefits would be paid back to claim filing dates.
click the links for more

VA uses trailer near dumpsters as morgue

"The treatment of these deceased veterans is absolutely despicable," Anderson said in the news release. "To think they would throw a metal box onto the parking lot next to a couple of dumpsters and call that dignified and respectful treatment of the bodies of people who serve our country is sickening. I can't tell you how upset the staff are by all of this."

Submitted photo
National Association of Government Employees’ spokesperson Stephanie Zaiser says the Martinsburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center used this old tractor-trailer, shown at the far left, as a temporary morgue, and that action has outraged VA employees.

VA uses trailer as morgue
Group outraged that remains were housed in ‘dilapidated box’ next to dumpsters

By Jenni Vincent, Journal staff writer
MARTINSBURG - A union representing workers at the Martinsburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center is accusing the facility's administration of using an old tractor-trailer as a temporary morgue during renovations.

That accusation has brought little response from VA officials, who said only that renovation work has been finished and the regular morgue is back in service.

In a news release issued Monday, National Association of Government Employees' spokesperson Stephanie Zaiser said local workers were "outraged" after learning about a makeshift morgue that was in a "dilapidated 40-foot tractor-trailer box outside a warehouse dock."

Evidence of its existence was found at the regular morgue, the news release stated.
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VA uses trailer as morgue

Count the witnesses to know the need to address PTSD

According to ICasualties.org, the current death count for US forces in Iraq is 4,402 and for Afghanistan, 1,103.

Given the fact a company can be ten more, 5,503 would mean there would have been about 55,030 witnesses.

To get a better understanding of what these witnesses see, look at the number of IED attacks coupled with the numbers of amputations from Vietnam to Afghanistan to Iraq.

Squad - 9 to 10 soldiers. Typically commanded by a sergeant or staff sergeant, a squad or section is the smallest element in the Army structure, and its size is dependent on its function.

Vietnam War
Casualties:
Hostile deaths: 47,359

Non-hostile deaths: 10,797

Total: 58,156 (including men formerly classified as MIA and Mayaguez casualties).

Highest state death rate: West Virginia--84.1. (The national average death rate for males in 1970 was 58.9 per 100,000).

WIA: 303,704 - 153,329 required hospitalization, 50,375 who did not.

Severely disabled: 75,000, 23,214 were classified 100% disabled. 5,283 lost
limbs, 1,081 sustained multiple amputations. Amputation or crippling wounds to the lower extremities were 300% higher than in WWII and 70% higher than in Korea. Multiple amputations occurred at the rate of 18.4% compared to 5.7% in WWII.

How many US Military amputees are there due to the Iraq War?
1,091.

The 2009 United States Military Casualty Statistics report, published by the Congressional Research Service, states the amputee population in the US Military forces due to Operation Iraq Freedom (OIF) consists of 1,091 servicemembers. This number represents 85% of the total servicemember amputations occurred between 2001 and 2009. More than 50% of the amputations were caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

How many IED attacks have occurred in Afghanistan?
18,319.

According to an article posted on The Washington Post website, from 2004 to February 2010 about 18,319 IED attacks took place in Afghanistan. Such attacks are on the rise in the country since 2008, while, in the same year, Iraq IED attacks started to decrease. Solely between January and February 2010, 721 attacks have already occurred.

The real issue we need to focus on, is not just the deaths in combat, but the numbers of the wounded that needs to be counted when trying to figure out how many veterans will end up needing help for PTSD.

The most common question when veterans are evaluated for disability, addresses anyone they knew killed in action. Too often witnessing wounds are ignored. Imagine seeing someone you were in a vehicle with one moment, having their leg or arm blown off the next. Imagine trying to pull them out of a burning vehicle. Then imagine you were not in the vehicle with them but in the one behind them escaping the blast or in the vehicle in front of them that just missed the bomb. Instead of 10 witnesses, there are twenty, thirty, forty more. Each one having to live with that memory etched in their mind and then, then having to face the fact it could have been them or very well could be them the next time. Then imagine going home, making it back to family and friends, parties and celebrations, while you remember what you just left.

Civilian psychologists use either one out of five or one out of three susceptible to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after traumatic events. There is a clear indication that despite the military's best efforts in preventing PTSD, they are running about the same averages as the rest of the population. Unlike the rest of the population, they are supposed to be "trained" to prevent PTSD and be "resilient" enough to "get over it" instead of being trained to recover from it after the fact.

The attitude of the military has been one of train them to do anything and they will do it when ordered to. This was translated when the troops were under orders to not kill themselves. Yes, that actually happened several times out of frustration because no matter how much money was invested in coming up with programs, the suicide and attempted suicide rate went up instead of down. They should have focused on healing after as soon as possible instead of preventing the inevitable human chain reaction.

If PTSD is already digging into them the added stress of repeated redeployments, which the Army study had shown to increase the risk of PTSD by 50%, not only prolongs the damage done, it adds to it during a time when they could have been healing and recovering. Mild PTSD can often be almost fully reversed but the longer it is allowed to fester the less the chance of reversing it becomes. Vietnam veterans proved this because for far too many, help was not available, the wound was allowed to cut deeper into them as the reality of life back home added to their stressors at the same time they were wondering what the hell was happening to them.

Talk about resilient! These men and women ended up going on to get educations, jobs, start families and take over almost every service organization in the country, but managed to run a lot of companies. All of this without help from the communities they lived in simply because no one had a clue or cared to even learn. Yes, they committed suicide, ended up homeless, some had serial marriages and a long list if failed career moves. Yet at the same time many ended up still wanting to give back and went to work in law enforcement and firefighter jobs. When you consider how long they went from combat to care, it is amazing so many of them are still able to heal even a fraction of their pain, but they are. Many of them have found peace with the fact they will be on medication and in therapy the rest of their lives to remain stabilized but they are living lives again. They don't like the odds of the alternative suffering in silence, too proud to ask for help.


Add into the above how many had to kill in combat. How many will be among the one to have their futures challenged by their past and how many will be suffering instead of healing? How many will become statistics of suffering we study ten or twenty years from now? The best indication of this is the numbers we already have. We know what Vietnam produced and we still see many suffering instead of healing, families still trying to come to grips with what came home with their own veteran, just as we are seeing today in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families after multiple tours of duty and very little support. The National Guards and Reservists forces receive even less support from their communities detached from what they went through and uninterested to learn out of fear they may learn what they do not want to know.

All of this indicates that while the military attempts to produce super Soldiers and Marines untouched, they have failed at the task to provide the best case scenario for the survivors. The numbers we're seeing now are only the beginning because as the operations in Iraq wind down and Afghanistan gears up, the veterans of each will increase as will the price they pay for the "success" of the campaigns. The numbers from Vietnam will be trumped by today's wars. The question is, "Will the survivors win or lose the peace?"

No letup in Marine attempted suicides

No letup in Marine attempted suicides

By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Marines are trying to kill themselves at a record pace this year despite a 2009 program aimed at stemming the problem, according to Marine Corps data.
Eighty-nine Marines tried to commit suicide through May, most commonly by overdose or lacerations, according to statistics and the Marine Corps suicide prevention program officer, Navy Cmdr. Aaron Werbel. At that rate, there could be more than 210 attempted suicides this year.

There were a record 164 attempted suicides in 2009.

With 21 confirmed or suspected suicides by Marines this year, the Corps is on track to near last year's record number of 52, Werbel says. The Marine Corps suicide rate in 2009 was 24-per-100,000, the highest in the military, Marine records show. The latest demographically adjusted suicide rate among civilians in 2006 was 20 per 100,000, federal records show.

The Marines introduced a training program for sergeants and corporals last year aimed at suicide education and urging them to become more knowledgeable about the lives of their younger Marines.
read more here
No letup in Marine attempted suicides

Mom faces bank robber at Wendy's drive-through

One minute she was trying to figure out what to order and the next minute, she was trying to figure out how to stay alive and keep her kids safe.

Wounded mother, Jacksonville police give accounts of Wendy's shooting
Officers didn’t see hostages in the car, resulting in injury.
By Jim Schoettler
Joann Cooper told the hurried gunman she’d obey his demand for her car if she could leave with her two kids.

Standing in the drive-through of the Baymeadows Road Wendy’s, bank robber Jeremiah Mathis reached inside the car’s open window and unlocked the driver’s door. Mathis then raised his gun and told Cooper he would kill her if she didn’t get out. Mathis pushed his way inside and Cooper began wrestling with him over the gun. She told him he wasn’t going to kill anyone.
read more here

Jacksonville police give accounts of Wendys shooting

He struggled with demons — and lost

He struggled with demons — and lost
By Rubén Rosario



Duy Ngo, the veteran Minneapolis cop who apparently killed himself Monday, left a message on my cell phone May 28.

"This is Duy Ngo, officer Ngo,'' the message started.

I remember distinctly the "officer" mention.

He called me after I dropped off my contact information and a copy of a story that week in the New York Times on a national study of police-on-police shootings. I left it on the doorstep of his immaculately manicured Mendota Heights home when no one answered the bell. I remember the American flag planted near the mailbox, flapping in the wind.

Not knowing he had remained on the police force, I reached out to him because there was no other cop in the Twin Cities or Minnesota who could provide the proper insight or perspective about the results of this study.

"This is my cell phone," Ngo said on the message I still have. "Feel free to call me, and I'll see what I can do for you."

That was the last time I heard from or about Ngo. He never returned my calls before I wrote my piece. Then came Monday's shocking development.

Seven years ago, Ngo, then an undercover Minneapolis cop assigned to the scandalized and now-defunct Metro Gang Strike Force, was wounded by a robbery suspect he was chasing one wintry night. The still-unknown suspect fired a shot from a .40-caliber weapon that struck Ngo on the side of his bulletproof vest.
read more here
He struggled with demons and lost

Minneapolis police officer Duy Ngo's death: Some wounds never heal
Some wounds never heal

Minneapolis police officer Duy Ngo had always said the lawsuit he filed against a fellow officer who shot him six times was not about the money but about justice. He got the money — $4.5 million in a record settlement with the city — but more elusive were justice and the ability to make it through a day without pain.

On Monday, Ngo was found dead at his home in Mendota Heights. He was 37.

16-year-old boy accused of shooting Sanford cop

16-year-old boy accused of shooting Sanford cop
A police detective said the suspect 'didn't care of the seriousness of the crime.'
By Walter Pacheco, Orlando Sentinel

7:49 a.m. EDT, June 8, 2010
A 16-year-old is at a juvenile detention center in Seminole County after officers arrested him this morning for allegedly shooting a Sanford police officer last week.

Officers arrested the suspect in the Pine Hills neighborhood of Orange County at 1 a.m.

Investigators said tips led them to a home on Mercy Drive, where he had been staying with his two sisters.

Detectives said more than a dozen U.S. Marshals, Orlando police and Orange County deputies surrounded the home before arresting the suspect.

The Orlando Sentinel is not identifying the suspect because he is a minor.

He faces charges of attempted murder of a law-enforcement officer in the shooting of Sanford Officer Brandon Worrall. He is being held without bond at the Seminole Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Sanford.

"It's a little disheartening, you know," Sanford police Chief Brian Tooley said at a news conference this morning. "You got 16-year-old kids out there shooting a police officer."
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16 year-old boy accused of shooting Sanford cop

VA Has $80 Million Available for Private Sector Innovations

VA Announces Industry Innovation Competition
$80 Million Available for Private Sector Innovations

WASHINGTON (June 7, 2010) - Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.
Shinseki announced today the opening of the Industry Innovation
Competition by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the most recent
effort under the VA Innovation Initiative. With this competition, VA
seeks the best ideas from the private sector to address the department's
most important challenges.

"At VA, we are continually looking for new ways to improve the care and
services we deliver," said Secretary Shinseki. "Engaging the private
sector to tap its expertise and find ways to leverage private-sector
innovations, we can improve the quality, access and transparency in
service to our Nation's Veterans."

The VA Innovation Initiative (VAi2) is a department-wide program that
brings the most promising innovations to VA's most important challenges
by involving employees and the private sector in the creation of
visionary solutions in service to Veterans.

"Innovation is more than simply a collection of ideas," said Jared
Cohon, president of Carnegie Mellon University. "It requires close
collaboration between academia, industry and government to produce
solutions that make a meaningful impact on society. VAi2's programs
bring about exactly that kind of fruitful collaboration."

"Creativity in the private sector generates a wealth of technology
capability that can help drive VA forward," said Dr. Peter Levin, senior
advisor to the secretary and VA's chief technology officer. "By
targeting innovations that are nearing commercialization, the Industry
Innovation Competition provides a bridge between creative ideas in the
private sector and real-world deployments that improve the services we
deliver."

Public and private companies, entrepreneurs, universities and
non-profits are encouraged to participate in the competition, which
targets advancements in:

* Innovative Housing Technology to Address Veteran Homelessness:
Eliminating Veteran homelessness is a top VA priority. New design and
construction techniques, materials and building technology can enable VA
to use existing buildings and unused space to rapidly create highly
functional, energy efficient and affordable housing.

* Telehealth: VA is a leader in telehealth implementation and
currently serves many thousands of Veterans with solutions such as home
health monitoring. Potential applications for telehealth solutions are
broad and varied and department officials are interested in pursuing
integrated solutions that improve their ability to provide the right
treatment at the right place and at the right time.

* New Models of Dialysis and Renal Disease Prevention: VA
currently provides dialysis for more than 10,000 Veterans annually, at
both VA and community-based medical facilities. Alternative treatment
strategies and dialysis technology can extend and improve our ability to
provide quality care in a patient-preferred setting.

* Improvement of Polytrauma Care: VA provides comprehensive,
inter-disciplinary rehabilitation care to Veterans and returning Service
members with multiple injuries, or polytrauma. Solutions in areas such
as the application of dynamic treatment algorithms, home monitoring of
diverse and complex symptoms and assistive technologies can help the
broad advancement of polytrauma care.

* Reduction of Adverse Drug Events: The development and deployment
of strategies to prevent patient harm from adverse drug events is an
on-going priority at VA. Tools that can integrate with VA records and
systems and provide an increased ability to continuously monitor for
at-risk situations can enhance dramatically the quality and safety of
care provided by VA.

* Integrated Business Accelerator: A wide array of services and
benefits are available to assist Veterans, and Service Disabled Veterans
in particular, in starting and sustaining new businesses. However, an
integrated, long-term approach that assists Veterans in accessing
existing resources and provides services that aid in the launch and
maintenance of startup businesses can help insure the long-term success
of Veteran-owned businesses.

VAi2 identifies, funds, tests and deploys new efforts that significantly
improve the access, quality, performance and cost of VA services. For
more about VAi2 please visit www.va.gov/vai2 .
Please go to
www.FedBizOpps.gov to learn more about
federal opportunities for businesses.

Reporters wrong on Vietnam-Afghanistan length

Today there was news Afghanistan has now replaced the Vietnam War as being the longest. That is news to Vietnam Veterans since they started to die in 1956 and did not stop dying there until 1975. Last time I used my math skills that would mean Vietnam lasted 19 years and Afghanistan has not even begun it's tenth year. That would take place in October when the first troops were sent. There is one distinction that Afghanistan has in fact earned and that is the most underreported on in recent times. Especially when you consider there are now 24 hour news stations ignoring it.

THE FIRST KNOWN CASUALTY


Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Mass. is listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having a casualty date of June 8, 1956.
His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who has a casualty date of Sept. 7, 1965.
http://thewall-usa.com/information.asp

The Vietnam War, which lasted longer than any other military conflict in American history, grew out of the U.S. government’s Cold War-era policy to prevent the spread of communism at home and abroad. The United States began sending financial aid and military advisors to South Vietnam in the 1950s, hoping to thwart a takeover by the communist North Vietnamese, led by Ho Chi Minh. As troop levels and casualties escalated throughout the 1960s, the war became increasingly unpopular at home, inciting large-scale protests, profoundly affecting popular culture and fomenting mutual distrust between the public and its leaders. The United States began withdrawing its troops in 1973, and in 1975 the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces. More than 58,000 American soldiers had perished.
http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war

Yet since the official start of the Vietnam war was 1964 and the offical end was 1975, it is easy to get that wrong.


UPDATE 6-09-10
Looks like someone else agrees. This was posted yesterday on CNN Blog

Can Afghanistan be compared to the Vietnam war?
Post by: CNN's Tim Lister
Much has been made in recent media reports about the conflict in Afghanistan surpassing the length of the Vietnam War, becoming the United States’ longest war. Some would dispute that, and few would suggest the two wars are comparable.

But the Afghan War can’t really be compared to the conflict in Vietnam, which claimed some 58,000 American lives and involved more conventional warfare, including pitched battles for major cities, as well as guerrilla combat. The Tet offensive in 1968 involved some 80,000 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers in a series of coordinated attacks on cities in South Vietnam.

Whether or not Afghanistan is now the longest war that America has fought is a contentious issue. The Department of Defense officially lists deaths in Vietnam beginning November 1, 1955 as related to the war; that’s the date when the Military Assistance Advisory Group began in Vietnam. Others insist that 1964 represents the year when the United States rapidly escalated its military presence in Southeast Asia, and moved from a support role to front-line engagement.

The start of the Vietnam War is also dated from the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, something that diplomat Richard Holbrooke has rejected.

read more here

Can Afghanistan be compared to the Vietnam war

But there is so much more of the history of Vietnam that has been forgotten.

United States in Vietnam 1945-1975
Comprehensive Timelines with Quotes and Analysis
Seeds of Conflict
America Committs 1961-1964

Looking at the totals of Vietnam, we need to remember that as some want to try to make headlines suggesting Afghanistan lasted longer than Vietnam, when they do, they end up dismissing the lives lost and the wounded who would never be the same. Imagine being one of the veterans sent into Vietnam watching friends die and then read according to the media, it was all forgotten.

Reason (Cause of Casualty)
Number of Records
Gun, Small Arms Fire 18,518
Multiple Fragmentary Wounds 8,456
Air Loss, Crash on Land 7,992
Other Explosive Devices 7,450
Artillery, Rocket or Mortar 4,914
Other Accident 1,371
Misadventure 1,326
Drowned, Suffocated 1,207
Vehicle Loss, Crash 1,187
Accidental Homicide 944
Accidental Self Destruction 842
Other Causes 754
Air Loss, Crash in Sea 577
Burns 530
Illness, Disease 482
Suicide 382
Heart Attack 273
Intentional Homicide 234
Malaria 118
Bomb Explosion 52
Stroke 42
Hepatitis 22
Unknown, Not Reported 520
Total 58,193

According to media reports, that would mean all the deaths before 1964 and after 1973 did not happen.

Year of Death or Declaration of Death Number of Records
1956-1960 9
1961 16
1962 52
1963 118
1964 206
1965 1,863
1966 6,143
1967 11,153
1968 16,592
1969 11,616
1970 6,081
1971 2,357
1972 641
1973 168
1974 178
1975 161
1976 77
1977 96
1978 447
1979 148
1980 26
1981-1990 34
1991-1998 11
Total 58,193

Florida restaurant shooting leaves 4 women dead, 3 wounded

Florida restaurant shooting leaves 4 dead, 3 wounded
By Divina Mims, CNN
June 7, 2010 12:09 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Police: Shooting likely stemmed from domestic dispute
All 7 victims were women
Shooter killed himself a short distance away

(CNN) -- A gunman fatally shot four women and wounded three others in a metropolitan Miami restaurant Sunday night, before turning the gun on himself, police said.

Mark Overton, the police chief of Hialeah -- where the shooting took place -- said the incident most likely stemmed from a domestic dispute.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/06/07/florida.shooting/index.html?hpt=T2

US military detains soldier linked to Iraq video

US military detains soldier linked to Iraq video
(AP) – 3 hours ago

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military in Iraq says it has detained a soldier who has been identified as the source of a leaked video showing Army helicopters killing two journalists in a 2007 shooting.

The military said Monday it is holding Army Specialist Bradley Manning of the 2nd Brigade 10th Mountain Division in pretrial confinement in Kuwait and that he is suspected of releasing classified information.
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US military detains soldier linked to Iraq video