Four limbs gone, Iraq vet reclaims his life

Spirit intact, injured Iraq vet reclaims his life
'I never catch him feeling sorry for himself. I've never heard him say, 'I wish this had never happened.' '

Then, on Easter Sunday 2009, a roadside bomb exploded under his vehicle, and he became the first veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to lose all four limbs in combat and survive.

by Lizette Alvarez
New York Times

WASHINGTON — Brendan Marrocco and his brother, Michael, were constructing a summer bucket list, to get them out and about, trying new things. A Washington Nationals game versus their beloved Yankees — sure, since they were stuck here rather than home on Staten Island. Perhaps a ride on the Metro, with its reliable elevators. Pizza: definitely.

How about going to an amusement park? Michael suggested optimistically.

“Would that really be safe?” asked Brendan, a smirk crossing his lips.
read more here
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38083693/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times/
linked from ICasualties.org

Death on Facebook:“Rest in Peace 1Lt Joe Theinert"

July 2, 2010, 3:12 pm
Death on Facebook
By MARK LARSON
They say war isn’t real until you’re getting shot at or shooting at someone, but the true reality of war doesn’t hit until you lose one of your own. This terrible knowledge is shared amongst the comrades, family and friends of some 5,517 Americans who have lost their lives fighting for their country in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past eight years. For the first time since the war began, I now regrettably count myself amongst those who personally know the terrible cost of war. A friend, First Lt. Joe Theinert of Sag Harbor, N.Y., was killed in an ambush in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, on 4 June.

I found out about this sad loss on Facebook when I noticed on my newsfeed that several of my Army friends had joined a group called “Rest in Peace 1Lt Joe Theinert, a True Hero!” I was taken aback at first, so unexpected was the news, when suddenly it struck me: I actually had heard about his death shortly after it happened when a colleague of mine mentioned that a lieutenant from 1st Battalion 71 Cavalry Regiment – one of our sister units in 1st BCT, 10th Mountain Division – had died in the south. He asked me if I knew him, but not knowing any information about who had died or what had happened, I said I didn’t, said a quick prayer for the deceased, and returned to work.

The sad reality is that soldiers die every day in Afghanistan and most of these deaths pass unnoticed within the vast majority of the Army’s ranks. Very few of us search out casualty reports to see if we may have known the deceased. I’m no different, and after hearing the news it quickly passed out of my mind. Only when I came across it on Facebook did I realize I had lost a friend.
read more here
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/death-on-facebook/

linked from ICasualties.org

Female soldier's non-combat death among three

Iraq

DOD Identifies Army Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Spc. Morganne M. McBeth, 19, of Fredricksburg, Va., died July 2 in Al Asad, Iraq, of wounds sustained July 1 in a non-combat related incident in Khan Al Baghdadi, Iraq. She was assigned to the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13676

DOD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Johnny W. Lumpkin, 38, of Columbus, Ga., died July 2 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds sustained July 1 in a non-combat related equipment incident in Taji, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13677

Afghanistan

DOD Identifies Army Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. 1st Class Kristopher D. Chapleau, 33, of LaGrange, Ky., died June 30 at Forward Operating Base Blessing, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13675

all reports linked from ICasualties.org

Commander’s wife banned from the brigade

There have been many complaints from people about FRG's being nothing more than a click of powerful people taking down others. The "Family Readiness Groups" on most bases are supposed to be about supporting the families of the troops, educating them on issues ranging from PTSD, TBI, their own health and yes, offering emotional support. If you think the FRG's in real life are anything like the one on Lifetime's Army Wives, you must not have talked to many real Army wives.

Aside from the stress of being married to someone being deployed over and over again along with the readjusting when they come home, there is also the issue of careers that have to be put on hold or forgotten about because of transfers, the threat of losing everything from housing to benefits if they should separate from their military spouse, domestic violence, the list goes on. Family Readiness Groups are supposed to be there to fill needs and not the ego of someone at the expense of all others. Some bases have good ones and others have them like this one.

Commander’s wife banned from the brigade

By Joe Gould - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Jul 4, 2010 10:39:32 EDT

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Lt. Col. Frank Jenio was hit by an ear-splitting hourlong tirade from his commander’s wife, Leslie Drinkwine, complaining about the roster of his battalion family readiness group.

“Go ahead, and get me fired,” Jenio was heard shouting into his phone. Afterward, he emerged from a conference room, red-faced and furious, a source who was present said.

The March 2009 incident was not the last run-in between the wife of Col. Brian Drinkwine, commander of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, and one of his battalion commanders.

In January, less than a year later, Jenio and his command sergeant major Herbert Puckett were relieved of command while deployed in Afghanistan by Maj. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the 82nd Airborne’s commander. An investigation found they used “poor judgment which fostered a command climate that was not consistent with our Army values.”

Puckett said in a statement to investigators that Leslie Drinkwine later “bragged” to the rear detachment commander, “One team down, five to go.”

The confrontation between Leslie Drinkwine and Jenio was emblematic of an environment within the 4th Brigade, particularly its family readiness group, that was so toxic that it triggered an investigation by a three-star general.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/07/army_drinkwine_070410w/

Army journalist first killed in war since 9/11

Army journalist first killed in war since 9/11

By Kristin M. Hall - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jul 4, 2010 12:44:15 EDT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Military officials say a Fort Campbell soldier killed in Afghanistan who was dedicated to telling the soldier’s story was the first Army journalist killed in combat since 9/11.

Staff Sgt. James P. Hunter died June 18 when a patrol he was with was struck by improvised explosive device in Kandahar.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/07/ap_journalist_killed_070410/

Vietnam vet devoted post-military career to helping PTSD sufferers

'a true American hero'
Vietnam vet devoted post-military career to helping PTSD sufferers

By NATALIE JORDAN, The Daily News, njordan@bgdailynews.com
Saturday, July 3, 2010 11:15 PM CDT

PTSD, Grady Pratt said, wasn’t recognized as a disorder until the 1980s. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 830,000 Vietnam War veterans suffered symptoms of PTSD.

“For 43 years, he’s been dealing with this,” Waldean Pratt said. “He’s still fighting it.”

Grady Pratt, lying in a bed at Greenview Regional Hospital, looked out the large window to his right. He then gazed at his wife before turning to a candy-filled bucket that read “You Are a Hero” around the rim.

“People’s attitudes towards veterans is changing,” said Pratt, a veteran of the Vietnam War who served from 1967 to 1970.

The July 4 commemoration of the United States’ independence is often celebrated with food, music and fireworks. But for veterans such as Pratt, today represents more than just barbecue and pyrotechnics - it’s a time for all Americans to remember the reasons behind the holiday: freedom and patriotism.

“People know more about war than they used to, so they’re more appreciative of soldiers now,” Pratt said in an interview last week. “They say thanks for our service now.”
read more here
http://bgdailynews.com/articles/2010/07/04/news/news1.txt

Slain Florida officers remembered at funeral

Slain Florida officers remembered at funeral; suspect denied bond
By the CNN Wire Staff
July 3, 2010 3:52 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Thousands gather to pay tribute to slain officers
NEW: Judge denies bond to alleged killer
Dontae Morris was arrested Friday
Tampa's police community relieved by arrest

(CNN) -- Hours after the arrest of a suspect, thousands of friends, family and fellow officers gathered Saturday to pay tribute to two slain Florida policemen.

An emotional funeral unfolded inside a Tampa church as suspect Dontae Morris, arrested on Friday, appeared in court for the first time. He was denied bond, CNN affiliate Bay News 9 reported, and is being held at the Hillsborough County Jail.

Morris surrendered after a third party tipped off police, said Police Chief Jane Castor. Police also arrested 22-year-old Cortnee Brantly, the woman believed to have been driving the car at the time of the shooting, Castor said.

The arrests came after a massive manhunt and were a relief, Castor said. They meant the department would be able to provide officers Jeffrey Kocab and David Curtis with the honorable tribute they deserve, Castor said.

"This has brought us a sense of closure, and I pray the arrest brings a level of peace to the families of the officers," she said.
read more here
Slain Florida officers remembered at funeral

Will veterans ever celebrate freedom from PTSD

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

Will veterans ever celebrate freedom from PTSD?

by
Chaplain Kathie

At a time in our history, celebrating the freedom of this nation, comes with a dark price being paid by those willing to serve her.

During all the wars this nation has fought, they arrived in uniform willingly or by lottery number, yet as the saying goes, "All gave some, some gave all" equally, side by side risking their lives for their friends and for total strangers.

Yesterday I was at the VA in Orlando with Semper Fidelis while they were serving lunch to our veterans. I was honored to be asked to offer the blessing. Having a loud voice, blessed with a big set of lungs, there was no need for a microphone.

I spoke of how in John 15, Christ talked about the greatest love was being willing to lay down your life for the sake of your friends. Our veterans were not just willing to lay down their lives for the sake of their friends, but for their neighborhoods, communities, states, the nation as a whole and for total strangers. That they were also willing to lay down their lives for all generations enjoying the freedom of this nation. I asked that the Lord bless all of them and that He holds of them within our hearts.

I listened to the stories of some of the patients talking about their service and as I listened, I noticed the sense of pride they felt fall into sadness. Maybe they were remembering friends they lost or wondering how it was they ended up forgotten by so many other people in this country. Glory days long gone but within them the spirit of a great good lives on.

The intent was not to kill, but to win for the sake of the future. They were told they had a threat to defeat, to fight against and to conquer. If all the weapons in enemy hands were laid down, they would live on because the rules of our military is to not harm the defeated in battle. We saw this throughout out history as captives were taken away to be held until the end of the wars. We saw it on film as German soldiers were taken away and we saw it when during the Gulf War, Iraqi forces raised their arms to American soldiers and they too were taken out of the battle. Getting to this day of celebration has come with a tremendous price in terms of lives and funds but we forget that when we see the fireworks, go to parties and enjoy the day they have provided for us.

The fact all come home from battle changed is forgotten while we rejoice. The fact some wage a battle within themselves still escapes us while they are not free to celebrate the freedom from painful memories. PTSD is the enemy carried away within the warrior and it does not surrender willingly. It does not give up fighting to claim the life and defeat hope. It rejoices with the captivity of character.

PTSD does not stop with just taking over the warrior but his/her family. But just as we created new weapons to fight enemies with, people across the nation are trying to find new weapons to use to defeat PTSD. Gone are the dark times when PTSD was held as some kind of secret to be kept within the family. More and more families are stepping forward to speak of the suicides and hoping, praying that one more family does not have to endure such pain alone or one more grave will not be filled with anther casualty of combat.

The military and the VA are trying to find the answers, but they will not find them looking in the wrong places and using the wrong weapons to fight against it. Medications alone do more harm than good because PTSD has been caused by a suffering soul who has seen too much for too long. The healing has to come from people knowing where the pain lives and why it came.

When this happens, when the mind-body-spirit are treated, they rejoice and the enemy they fought within themselves is taken away where it cannot harm them anymore. If we all understand this, then maybe by the next time we celebrate the independence of this nation, they can celebrate the independence from PTSD.

We have been determined to live in freedom since the founding fathers declared this nation shall be free and people were willing to die for it. To ever celebrate this day without thinking of the men and women who paid the price for it, dishonors this day. To forget about the veterans still waiting to heal dishonors them and the price they are still paying.



Chaplain Kathie
PTSD Consultant
Senior IFOC Chaplain
DAV Chapter 16 Auxiliary Chaplain

Sen. Gillibrand Seeks Better Mental Healthcare for NYS Veterans

Sen. Gillibrand Seeks Better Mental Healthcare for NYS Veterans
by Brooklyn Eagle (edit@brooklyneagle.net), published online 07-01-2010

Brooklyn Has High Number of Vets With PTSD and TBI
BROOKLYN — Brooklyn has the highest number of recent Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the city who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), according to U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s office.

Approximately 580 Brooklyn veterans who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11 suffer from PTSD, more than 540 Brooklyn vets suffer from TBI, and approximately 300 suffer from both, says Gillibrand.

Senator Gillibrand is now announcing new measures to bolster monitoring and treatment for men and women in uniform and new veterans. Her legislative agenda focuses on getting the bureaucracies at the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Veterans Administration (VA) to coordinate more effectively and work to address the stigma associated with mental health treatment by pushing for enhanced screening and better access to mental health providers.

Senator Gillibrand’s agenda asks to improve coordination between the Veterans Administration and the Defense Department. For example, she says, “the VA and DOD currently have no shared interoperable definition of what even constitutes TBI cases, making it difficult to ensure veterans are immediately receiving effective treatment when they transfer to the VA.”

She is also asking co-sponsoring legislation to “embed” a mental health professional with every National Guard and Reserve unit to build the trust of troops and their families and help identify the onset of mental injuries.

read more here

Sen. Gillibrand Seeks Better Mental Healthcare for NYS Veterans

also

Treating Returning Heroes
Nearly 8,000 veterans in New York suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Binghamton, NY (WBNG Binghamton)

About 300 of them are right here in the Southern Tier.

That number keeps growing as the wars overseas continue.

But is there enough treatment available?

Here's Action News Reporter Leigh Dana.

As the Fourth of July holiday approaches, we honor our founding Fathers fight for independence.

Our country's soldiers are currently fighting wars oversees with the goal of freeing us from terrorism.

But as they return home many are still at battle -- with themselves.

"Not all veterans, but some veterans come back from war with various problems that can range from PTSD or difficulty with family or difficulty sleeping or feeling more anxious and uncomfortable in crowds," said Dr. Allison Miller.

Dr. Miller works with veterans at the Binghamton Vet Center to help them re-integrate back into society.
read more of this here
http://www.wbng.com/news/local/97621079.html

July 4th means more to wounded warrior in Tampa

Holiday means more than just fireworks for wounded warrior
By VIN MANNIX

Boggs, who’s on 100 percent disability, volunteers at Haley and mentors disabled veterans.

Gary Boggs wasn’t sure what he’d be doing Independence Day.

Maybe go on a boat. Or hang out along Channelside.

“It’s a celebration, a patriotic day,” he said from Tampa. “I just hope people realize it’s not just about fireworks.”

Boggs, 35, is a wounded warrior and volunteer spokesman for the TAMCO Foundation’s Embracing Florida’s Wounded Heroes, a nonprofit program that provides assistance to injured veterans.

According to Brig. Gen. Chip Diehl (Ret.), there are more than 1,800 wounded Florida veterans and 30 percent are severely wounded. Some are being treated at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa for brain and spinal cord injuries.

“They have lived through pain and sacrifice and all them are special to me and should be to all of us,” said Diehl, the EFWH executive director. “A lot of these kids are heroes in their 20s and ... it’s important to remember them, embrace them, tell them how much we appreciate and love them for what they did.”

Read more: Holiday means more than just fireworks for wounded warrior

Georgia fabric shields soldiers from burns

Georgia fabric shields soldiers

By Michael E. Kanell
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The difference between life and death, between third-degree burns and walking away whistling, between falling and fighting. When a burst of flame engulfs a soldier, his protection better be as close as his skin or he quickly becomes more casualty than combatant.

And in a war fought against rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs, the right defense can quickly turn a target back into an attacker.

“Four seconds is what they need to dismount a burning vehicle, to stay alive and to fight the enemy,” said Lt. Col. Mike Sloane of PEO Soldier, the U.S. Army’s acquisition organization. “It’s got to be scary to see a soldier, his uniform on fire then extinguishing itself — and the soldier continues to fight.”

To see how that can happen, you must follow a thread that leads roughly 7,000 miles from the combat zone to a tiny town 50 miles south of Atlanta.

It is in Zebulon where they are weaving protection.
read more here
Georgia fabric shields soldiers

Texas National Guard soldier's home taken by HOA while he was deployed

Soldier Loses Home While Deployed
June 26, 2010
The Dallas Morning News

A Soldier serving in Iraq lost his Frisco home to foreclosure over late homeowners association dues, renewing a debate over the power of HOAs in Texas.

The case, which has boiled over to involve federal judge, a publicist and death threats, began when Michael and May Clauer lost their $315,000 home to foreclosure in May 2008 after falling behind on their association dues.

The Heritage Lakes Homeowners Association was initially owed $977.55 and sent multiple notices by certified mail demanding payment. All went unanswered, said David Margulies, spokesman for the association and its management company, Select Management.

The problem, according to a lawyer for the Clauers, was that Michael Clauer -- U.S. Army National Guard Capt. Michael Clauer -- was deployed to Iraq.

His wife, suffering from depression over her husband's absence, had let mail pile up and didn't open any of the certified letters. May Clauer and her parents owned the house mortgage-free.
go here for more
Soldier Loses Home While Deployed

Michael Steele failed history, current events and the troops

This came out of the mouth of the Republican National Committee chairman? The party that is always saying how important national security is to them along with the troops? This is the man who stands at the top of their party? No wonder so many are calling for him to resign.

9-11 was used to justify whatever President Bush wanted but this war was not wanted. (Iraq is what he was accused of wanting to do.) It happened September 11, 2001 and by the following month troops were deployed into Afghanistan in retaliation. What no one seems to be asking is why no one claiming to be all about national security was not asking how this happened, right after it happened. So Steele failed this lesson on two parts. First, it was President Bush sending the troops into Afghanistan and secondly, it was not a "war of his choosing" either.

Steele cannot be that stupid to not remember so this has to be part of some kind of political game he's playing. That makes what he said even more terrible. It proved once and for all when it comes to truth and what the troops have been dying for, being wounded over and risking their lives for, none of it matters if he can't use it. He'll just change facts to meet what he wants to say.

Michael Steele under fire over Afghanistan remarks

The Republican National Committee chairman is caught on video saying the conflict is a 'war of Obama's choosing' and implying that the U.S. effort is doomed. Conservatives call for his resignation.

By Michael Memoli, Tribune Washington Bureau

July 2, 2010 3:45 p.m.
Reporting from Washington — Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is facing a new test of his leadership over comments he made that appear to question America's military effort in Afghanistan.

Video footage that emerged Friday shows Steele referring to the conflict as "a war of Obama's choosing" and implying that the effort is doomed to fail.

"If he's such a student of history," Steele said, referring to President Obama, "has he not understood that, you know, that's the one thing you don't do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? Everyone who has tried, over 1,000 years of history, has failed."
go here for more
Michael Steele under fire over Afghanistan remarks

Community rallies to replace money stolen from DAV Forget-me-not donations

Community rallies to replace money stolen from disabled vets
Daniel Tepfer, Staff Writer
Published: 11:19 p.m., Friday, July 2, 2010

FAIRFIELD -- The theft of money collected by disabled veterans outside a local supermarket has prompted an outpouring of community support to replace the stolen donations.

"It's just a heart-breaking story," said the Rev. Dr. Alida Ward of the Greenfield Hill Congregational Church.

The story unfolded Wednesday afternoon as Timothy Kelly, a local Vietnam War veteran, was collecting donations for the Fairfield chapter of the Disabled American Veterans outside the Super Stop & Shop on King's Highway Cut-off when police said 35-year-old Sean Smith, of Black Rock Turnpike, snatched the donation jar.

"I went to hand him a flower, a Forget Me Not, and he said, `Thank You,' and ran off with the donation jar," Kelly later said of the incident.
read more here
Community rallies to replace money stolen from disabled vets

Should the National Guard and Reserves merge to save money?

Guard, Reserve groups duel over merger proposal
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jul 2, 2010 13:30:07 EDT

A radical military reform proposal from the chairman of the board of the National Guard Association of the U.S. calls for the Army Reserve and Air Force Reserve to be absorbed into the National Guard as a cost-saving measure.

In an article appearing in the July issue of the National Guard Association magazine, Air Force Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, adjutant general of the Kansas National Guard, says eliminating the Army Reserve and Air Force Reserve and absorbing their people, equipment and facilities into the Guard should be considered as the Defense Department embarks on an effort to cut $100 billion from the military budget.

“What we really are talking about is the integration of two great teams,” he writes. “In the long run, the new, larger Guard would be more streamlined, with fewer headquarters, headquarters personnel and facilities. That is where we will find even more savings, which will be considerable and is what America needs.”
read more here
Guard Reserve groups duel over merger proposal