Soldiers help replace vet’s stolen medals
By Evan Belanger - Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser
Posted : Sunday Sep 19, 2010 9:22:05 EDT
DECATUR, Ala. — With tears forming in his eyes, disabled war veteran Scott Sharbutt said he was thankful and proud after a medal repatriation ceremony Thursday at Decatur City Hall.
The ceremony, arranged by members of Redstone Arsenal’s 2nd Medical Recruiting Battalion, replaced the Gulf War veteran’s service medals, which were stolen from his Decatur home in a burglary this month.
“I’m about to cry,” Sharbutt said after the ceremony. “I didn’t think the response was going to be this great.”
Army civilian employee Stephen Hogan, who organized the ceremony, said he and other veterans in his battalion were touched when they read Sharbutt’s story last week.
“Being a prior veteran, it caught my eye, and I saw these medals that I actually have, too, and the first thing I thought was ‘How can I assist this veteran?’ ” Hogan said. “Because once a veteran, always a veteran. It’s a brotherhood that you’re always helping and assisting as much as you can.”
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Soldiers help replace vet stolen medals
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Soldiers help replace vet’s stolen medals
Far more than just a lesson about what our soldiers do for veterans, this goes a long way to explain why Stolen Valor rules mean so much to these real heroes. A disabled veteran has his medals taken away from him but soldiers decided to step up knowing how much they really do mean to those who earned them. Great story all the way around.
What’s happening at Joint Base Lewis-McChord?
What’s happening at Joint Base Lewis-McChord?
Base scrutinized over war crime allegations, mental breakdowns and post-combat treatment
By Megan McCloskey
Stars and Stripes
Published: September 17, 2010
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. — First the medical center at this sprawling joint military base was alleged to have turned away National Guard soldiers seeking help for war wounds on the grounds that they were merely “weekend warriors” who were feigning injuries.
Then a dozen soldiers based here were accused of involvement in one of the worst war crimes allegedly committed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
And then three soldiers associated with the base suffered dangerous public mental breakdowns after returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, leading to confrontations with police and the deaths of two of them.
Now multiple criminal and military investigations are under way into the conduct of Lewis-McChord troops and the adequacy of the medical and mental health care they are receiving when they come home from war.
read more here
What’s happening at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Base scrutinized over war crime allegations, mental breakdowns and post-combat treatment
By Megan McCloskey
Stars and Stripes
Published: September 17, 2010
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. — First the medical center at this sprawling joint military base was alleged to have turned away National Guard soldiers seeking help for war wounds on the grounds that they were merely “weekend warriors” who were feigning injuries.
Then a dozen soldiers based here were accused of involvement in one of the worst war crimes allegedly committed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
And then three soldiers associated with the base suffered dangerous public mental breakdowns after returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, leading to confrontations with police and the deaths of two of them.
Now multiple criminal and military investigations are under way into the conduct of Lewis-McChord troops and the adequacy of the medical and mental health care they are receiving when they come home from war.
read more here
What’s happening at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
VA Honors Veterans on POW/MIA National Recognition Day
VA Honors Veterans on POW/MIA National Recognition Day
Special Benefits Available to Former POWs
WASHINGTON (September 20, 2010)- Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.
Shinseki wants former American prisoners of war (POWs) to be aware of
the benefits and services available to them as Americans across the
nation show respect and appreciation for this special group of men and
women during POW/MIA National Recognition Day.
"These Veterans made great sacrifices for their country in time of war,
and it is our Nation's turn to honor them by reinforcing to them the
full range of compensation, health care and benefits they have earned,"
said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has expanded policies to cover
increasing numbers of former prisoners of war.
Special benefits for former POWs include enrollment in medical care for
treatment at VA hospitals and clinics without copayments, as well as
disability compensation for injuries and diseases that are associated
with internment.
Former POWs are also generally entitled to a presumption of
service-connection for certain diseases, based on the length of
captivity and the severity of their conditions.
Free dental treatment for any dental condition is also available to
former POWs. These benefits are in addition to regular Veterans'
benefits and services to which they are already entitled.
A major benefit for survivors of former POWs include Dependency and
Indemnity Compensation (DIC), which is a monthly benefit which may be
payable to the surviving spouse, children and, in some cases, parents.
Currently, more than 15,000 POWs are receiving VA benefits for
service-connected injuries, diseases, or illnesses. VA is asking former
POWs not currently utilizing VA benefits to contact the agency at
1-800-827-1000 to find out if they may be eligible for disability
compensation and other services.
Veterans can also apply online at
http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp or contact their
coordinator for former POWs located at each VA regional office.
More information about VA services for former POWs is available at
http://www.vba.va.gov/VBA/benefits/factsheets/misc/formerpow.doc
Special Benefits Available to Former POWs
WASHINGTON (September 20, 2010)- Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.
Shinseki wants former American prisoners of war (POWs) to be aware of
the benefits and services available to them as Americans across the
nation show respect and appreciation for this special group of men and
women during POW/MIA National Recognition Day.
"These Veterans made great sacrifices for their country in time of war,
and it is our Nation's turn to honor them by reinforcing to them the
full range of compensation, health care and benefits they have earned,"
said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has expanded policies to cover
increasing numbers of former prisoners of war.
Special benefits for former POWs include enrollment in medical care for
treatment at VA hospitals and clinics without copayments, as well as
disability compensation for injuries and diseases that are associated
with internment.
Former POWs are also generally entitled to a presumption of
service-connection for certain diseases, based on the length of
captivity and the severity of their conditions.
Free dental treatment for any dental condition is also available to
former POWs. These benefits are in addition to regular Veterans'
benefits and services to which they are already entitled.
A major benefit for survivors of former POWs include Dependency and
Indemnity Compensation (DIC), which is a monthly benefit which may be
payable to the surviving spouse, children and, in some cases, parents.
Currently, more than 15,000 POWs are receiving VA benefits for
service-connected injuries, diseases, or illnesses. VA is asking former
POWs not currently utilizing VA benefits to contact the agency at
1-800-827-1000 to find out if they may be eligible for disability
compensation and other services.
Veterans can also apply online at
http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp or contact their
coordinator for former POWs located at each VA regional office.
More information about VA services for former POWs is available at
http://www.vba.va.gov/VBA/benefits/factsheets/misc/formerpow.doc
Army not sure about 13 potential suicides
Army Releases August Suicide Data
The Army released suicide data today for the month of August 2010. Among active-duty soldiers, there were 13 potential suicides: none have been confirmed as suicides, and all 13 remain under investigation. For July, the Army reported 12 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, five have been confirmed as suicides, and seven remain under investigation.
During August, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 10 potential suicides. For July, among that same group, there were 16 total suicides. Of those, eight were confirmed as suicides and eight are pending determination of the manner of death.
“With the release of the Army Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention Report in July, the Army has transitioned suicide prevention efforts to the Health Promotion, Risk Reduction Council and Task Force. These two elements will help analyze, shape and implement the more than 240 additional changes to Army policy, procedure and processes recommended in the report,” said Col. Chris Philbrick, deputy director of the Army Health Promotion, Risk Reduction Council and Task Force.
“Our efforts continue to evolve as we learn more about the multiple factors contributing to suicides and high-risk behavior within our Army family. The end state remains the ability to provide our soldiers, civilians and families with the quality care and support they need and deserve,” Philbrick said.
Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact Military OneSource or the Defense Center of Excellence (DCoE) for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Outreach Center. Trained consultants are available from both organizations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.
The Military OneSource toll-free number for those residing in the continental United States is 1-800-342-9647; their Web site address is Military OneSource. Overseas personnel should refer to the Military OneSource Web site for dialing instructions for their specific location.
The Army's comprehensive list of is located at Suicide Prevention Program information .
Army leaders can access current health promotion guidance in newly revised Army Regulation 600-63 (Health Promotion) at: Health Promotion and Army Pamphlet 600-24 (Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention) at Suicide Prevention.
Suicide prevention training resources for Army families can be accessed at Suicide prevention training
(requires Army Knowledge Online access to download materials).
The DCoE Outreach Center can be contacted at 1-866-966-1020, via electronic mail at Resources@DCoEOutreach.org and at DCoE Outreach Center.
Information about the Army’s is located at Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program .
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Suicide Prevention Resource Councilsp.
The Army released suicide data today for the month of August 2010. Among active-duty soldiers, there were 13 potential suicides: none have been confirmed as suicides, and all 13 remain under investigation. For July, the Army reported 12 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, five have been confirmed as suicides, and seven remain under investigation.
During August, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 10 potential suicides. For July, among that same group, there were 16 total suicides. Of those, eight were confirmed as suicides and eight are pending determination of the manner of death.
“With the release of the Army Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention Report in July, the Army has transitioned suicide prevention efforts to the Health Promotion, Risk Reduction Council and Task Force. These two elements will help analyze, shape and implement the more than 240 additional changes to Army policy, procedure and processes recommended in the report,” said Col. Chris Philbrick, deputy director of the Army Health Promotion, Risk Reduction Council and Task Force.
“Our efforts continue to evolve as we learn more about the multiple factors contributing to suicides and high-risk behavior within our Army family. The end state remains the ability to provide our soldiers, civilians and families with the quality care and support they need and deserve,” Philbrick said.
Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact Military OneSource or the Defense Center of Excellence (DCoE) for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Outreach Center. Trained consultants are available from both organizations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.
The Military OneSource toll-free number for those residing in the continental United States is 1-800-342-9647; their Web site address is Military OneSource. Overseas personnel should refer to the Military OneSource Web site for dialing instructions for their specific location.
The Army's comprehensive list of is located at Suicide Prevention Program information .
Army leaders can access current health promotion guidance in newly revised Army Regulation 600-63 (Health Promotion) at: Health Promotion and Army Pamphlet 600-24 (Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention) at Suicide Prevention.
Suicide prevention training resources for Army families can be accessed at Suicide prevention training
(requires Army Knowledge Online access to download materials).
The DCoE Outreach Center can be contacted at 1-866-966-1020, via electronic mail at Resources@DCoEOutreach.org and at DCoE Outreach Center.
Information about the Army’s is located at Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program .
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Suicide Prevention Resource Councilsp.
Combat trauma afflicts women, men alike
In all these years I have met a lot of wonderful people trying to make a difference, offer someone a helping hand and perhaps the most important gift of all is offering hope. Lily has done all of them. She cares about them and wants to help them so she reports on the problems they face like a veteran reporter but Lily has never been satisfied to tell people what is wrong. She wants to tell them what helps so they don't feel as if this is the way the rest of their life has to be. It can change. Because of people like Lily, there is a whole new world opened up for our veterans no matter what age. Read about Healing Combat Trauma and what she has been doing.
Combat trauma afflicts women, men alike
Lily Casura Napa Valley Register
Posted: Sunday, September 19, 2010
A few months ago, I attended the week-long clinical training program in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the National Center for PTSD in Menlo Park (Veterans Administration) as well as the “Brain at War” conference in San Francisco, put on by the Department of Defense. Both made clear how much money is being spent on research ($500 million), but success stories can be hard to find. PTSD affects veterans, their families and communities; it can also lead to suicide.
Current statistics show an active-duty suicide every 36 hours, and that 18 veterans a day die by their own hand. Suicides are on the rise in every branch of the military that’s seen heavy combat in the current wars — Marines, Army, National Guard — and so far this year, there have been more suicides than combat deaths.
The problem extends to women veterans as well. According to the American Psychiatric Association, “Women veterans are two to three times more likely to commit suicide than nonveteran women” — and also die at a younger age, “between 18 and 34.”
Clearly, the problem is serious and troubling. Suicide is the final step on a journey of misery, pain and despair that can potentially be halted earlier, by intervention that increases a veteran’s chances of survival and success.
Five years ago, after writing about integrative medicine for years, I created the nonprofit Healing Combat Trauma, a website devoted to therapeutic resources for veterans with combat-based PTSD. Today, that’s becoming an actual program to lead combat vets with PTSD through, using integrative medicine — “the best of East and West” — to help them recover from the scars of war.
read more here
Combat trauma afflicts women, men alike
Veterans, tiny fish in big pond back home
Veterans, tiny fish in big pond back home
by
Chaplain Kathie
They walk by us everyday. A shaved head, a unit tattoo, a determined walk and once in a while you catch a flash of light as the sun hits a metal leg, but most of the time they show no signs of having been in the places we occasionally read about in newspapers. You know the stories well. As you flip through the pages of your local newspaper, they are the stories you stay away from while searching for movie listings and the latest gossip on your favorite celebrity. You may spend more time on a report if it is in the obituary section but honestly, you may have only read it to see when the funeral will be so you know when to stay away from the area. You may be a very busy, important person with places to go and things to do so your time is precious to you. You may want to disregard what is happening so far away from here because in your mind, if it really mattered, it would be all over the news and there would be no escaping it. With so little reported on Iraq and Afghanistan, you may rationalize it as being something involving less than one percent of the population eliminating the possibility it involves anyone you know. The problem is, you may know them already but have no clue where they’ve been.
They are in your local movie theater. They go to your favorite bar and restaurant. They shop at the same grocery store you do. They go to your church but unless your pastor mentions they are home from a tour of duty, you’d never know it especially with some of the mega size churches around the country. They are on your college campus but they blend right in. They are the few, the proud, the veteran. Tiny fish in a big pond the rest of us live in pursuing our own happiness, worrying about our own lives and what we perceive as problems in them.
We have bills to pay, so do they. We have problems at work, home, in our studies, so do they. We have to put up with jerks driving cars talking on cell phones, so do they. They are just like us. For the most part, they look just like us. We assume they are no more special than we are but we miss the fact that while the rest of us guppies are swimming in the pond they are the ones ready to swim into the mouth of the big fish trying to eat us.
They are the people who join the military and the National Guards because while they want to live with the rest of us they know we need someone to be unselfish for our sake. We want someone else to step up when a storm comes, floods wash away roads, downs power lines, or when a fire threatens to wipe out everything. We want to have them show up but that never seems to translate into us showing up for them.
So here’s our chance. For the homeless veterans there is a Stand Down next weekend in Orlando. Sign up, show up and stand up for them. The information is on the sidebar of this blog. I can’t go. I’ll be in Buffalo with Point Man Ministries. What you’ll see there is not about sadness but about what is possible. You’ll see all kinds of people helping these homeless veterans simply because they care. Other tiny fish stepping up to take care of them for a change will warm your heart and you may even decide to do what you can for them after that. Go and meet these people, find out what happened to them and what you can do to help them.
If you are in one of the colleges here in Central Florida and you think you may see a veteran in one of your classes, ask them. If they are not a veteran then you just put the idea to ask into the head of another tiny fish classmate to wonder if someone he knows is. If they are a veteran then get to know them. Don’t be afraid. You won’t hear any gory stories. As a matter of fact you will hear very little about what they went through because none of them really talk that much to people they know well about any of it. Just know one thing. They were willing to die for you since you live in this country and they wanted to serve for the sake of this country doing what they were told was needed to be done. The politics didn’t matter. All they needed to know was it was what other men and women were being sent to do and they wanted to go too. They risked their lives for the sake of the people they served with but would a friend of yours do the same for you? These people are just like the rest of the tiny fish on the outside but on the inside they are committed, driven and a hell of a lot more compassionate than the rest of us.
If you work for a living, then do the same. Find out if someone is a veteran or not and spend some time getting to know them. If they go to your church, find out if they need any kind of spiritual help and then get the pastor involved. Put a section in your bulletin so that veterans can contact someone for help if they need it or if a National Guards/Reservist family needs some help while their spouse is deployed.
Think of it this way. While you are a tiny fish in this really big pond, wouldn't you want someone else in the pond to care about you? Now top that off with the fact they cared so much they set their lives aside to serve and now they are trying to play catch up.
Friends gather to remember fallen Marine "Pretty Boy Floyd"
When we read stories about their Memorials, we are touched for a time but then we get to go back to our lives as if nothing happened. The family and friends have to go back to living their lives with a piece of their hearts missing. Moms bury sons and daughters. A lifetime of praying and worrying about them, being proud and worried, being hugged and hearing those sweet words, "I'm home" will not be repeated again in over 5,000 homes. Such a small percentage of the population of this country and easy to ignore if we choose to, yet if we do, we miss knowing about men and women who died for our sake.
Friends gather to remember fallen Marine
By EloÃsa Ruano González, Orlando Sentinel
4:52 p.m. EDT, September 18, 2010Memorial service for Marine Gunnery Sgt. Floyd Holley
(Copied by Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Orlando Sentinel / September 18, 2010)
A photo shows Marine Gunnery Sgt. Floyd Holley, who was killed in Afghanistan on Aug. 29, on display during a celebration of his life, on Saturday, September 18, 2010, in the auditorium of Lyman High School, where he attended. Holley, a roadside explosives specialist, died after he was hit by a blast from an improvised explosive device.
LONGWOOD — For some of the former Lyman High School students, it was their first time back on campus since their graduation almost two decades ago. They were there on Saturday to honor a classmate who could not join them.
Gunnery Sgt. Floyd Holley never made it home from his third tour of duty in the Middle East. The Marine, who grew up in Casselberry, died Aug. 29 after he was hit by a blast from a homemade bomb in Afghanistan's Helmand province.
Hundreds of friends and relatives gathered in the school's auditorium to pay tribute to their hometown hero. Although somber at times, the memorial was a way for people to relive the happy memories. They shared pictures of Holley, an outgoing, yet, kind-spirited man. In most of the pictures, he wore a big grin on his face, held a beer in his hand or flashed a shaka, a common greeting among surfers. While in the service, he taught an Afghani man and boy to flash shakas. The photo was displayed on a table at the entrance of the auditorium.
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Friends gather to remember fallen Marine
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Wife of N.C. Marine copes with husband's suicide
Wife of N.C. Marine copes with husband's suicide
By LINDELL KAY, The Daily News of Jacksonville
Jacksonville, N.C. — Katie Bagosy had been a Marine wife long enough to know when two men in uniform showed up at her front door it meant her husband wasn’t coming home again.
But she expected the visit while he was on one of his deployments, not after he went for a mental health session.
Sgt. Tom Bagosy, 25, died May 10 after shooting himself during a confrontation with base police on McHugh Boulevard.
His wife saw it coming a long time before it happened, she said, but felt helpless to stop the self-destruction of the man she loved.
Bagosy joined the Marine Corps in 2004 and married Katie in 2005. They have two children.
He was deployed to Iraq in 2006 and promoted to sergeant in 2007. He joined Marine Corps Force Special Operations Command in October 2008 and was deployed to Afghanistan. During his tours, he earned several medals, including two Combat Action Ribbons and a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, according to information from MarSOC.
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Wife of NC Marine copes with husband suicide
By LINDELL KAY, The Daily News of Jacksonville
Jacksonville, N.C. — Katie Bagosy had been a Marine wife long enough to know when two men in uniform showed up at her front door it meant her husband wasn’t coming home again.
But she expected the visit while he was on one of his deployments, not after he went for a mental health session.
Sgt. Tom Bagosy, 25, died May 10 after shooting himself during a confrontation with base police on McHugh Boulevard.
His wife saw it coming a long time before it happened, she said, but felt helpless to stop the self-destruction of the man she loved.
Bagosy joined the Marine Corps in 2004 and married Katie in 2005. They have two children.
He was deployed to Iraq in 2006 and promoted to sergeant in 2007. He joined Marine Corps Force Special Operations Command in October 2008 and was deployed to Afghanistan. During his tours, he earned several medals, including two Combat Action Ribbons and a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, according to information from MarSOC.
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Wife of NC Marine copes with husband suicide
Chester County judge voids prison time for Iraq War veteran
Chester County judge voids prison time for Iraq War veteran
Published: Saturday, September 18, 2010
By Michael P. Rellahan, Special to The Mercury
WEST CHESTER — A Chester County Court judge erased a proposed prison term for an Iraq War veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after the man's attorney argued that the combat horrors he survived in that country justified a reduced sentence.
"I figure this country owes him," attorney John Duffy of West Chester told Common Pleas Court Judge William P. Mahon, who was set to sentence Robert Allen Delaney to 20 days in Chester County Prison as part of Delaney's acceptance into the county's Recovery Court program for repeat offenders with substance abuse and psychological problems.
Mahon, in forgoing the jail term in favor of an increased amount of time Delaney will spend on electronic home monitoring, recalled the way that some veterans were treated when they returned from the Vietnam War. No one said, "Welcome, home," he remarked.
read more here
Chester County judge voids prison time for Iraq War veteran
Published: Saturday, September 18, 2010
By Michael P. Rellahan, Special to The Mercury
WEST CHESTER — A Chester County Court judge erased a proposed prison term for an Iraq War veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after the man's attorney argued that the combat horrors he survived in that country justified a reduced sentence.
"I figure this country owes him," attorney John Duffy of West Chester told Common Pleas Court Judge William P. Mahon, who was set to sentence Robert Allen Delaney to 20 days in Chester County Prison as part of Delaney's acceptance into the county's Recovery Court program for repeat offenders with substance abuse and psychological problems.
Mahon, in forgoing the jail term in favor of an increased amount of time Delaney will spend on electronic home monitoring, recalled the way that some veterans were treated when they returned from the Vietnam War. No one said, "Welcome, home," he remarked.
read more here
Chester County judge voids prison time for Iraq War veteran
Illness kills soldier from Fort Gordon
Sergeant dies in Iraq
Illness kills soldier from Fort Gordon
By Adam Folk
Staff Writer
Friday, Sept. 17, 2010
The Fort Gordon soldier who died Thursday in Iskandariya, Iraq, of an illness had spent most of his career in Augusta.
Sgt. John Franklin Burner III, 32, was deployed with the 63rd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, which is part of the 35th Signal Brigade, according to Buz Yarnell, a Fort Gordon spokesman.
Burner, who was originally from Baltimore, left Fort Gordon with his unit Aug. 21 to work as a satellite systems team chief.
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Illness kills soldier from Fort Gordon
Illness kills soldier from Fort Gordon
By Adam Folk
Staff Writer
Friday, Sept. 17, 2010
The Fort Gordon soldier who died Thursday in Iskandariya, Iraq, of an illness had spent most of his career in Augusta.
Sgt. John Franklin Burner III, 32, was deployed with the 63rd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, which is part of the 35th Signal Brigade, according to Buz Yarnell, a Fort Gordon spokesman.
Burner, who was originally from Baltimore, left Fort Gordon with his unit Aug. 21 to work as a satellite systems team chief.
read more here
Illness kills soldier from Fort Gordon
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