Spec. 4 Robert Towles, who fought in the Vietnam War nominated for Medal Of Honor

4 soldiers from past wars nominated for MoH
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jan 10, 2011 5:46:25 EST
Ancestors of 1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing found the Civil War soldier’s name in the 2011 defense authorization bill along with such futuristic initiatives as the Joint Strike Fighter.

Cushing’s name appears 147 years after he died on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

He and three other soldiers from past wars had their names added to the legislation, qualifying them to receive the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for military valor.

Cushing is joined by Pvt. John Sipe, who also fought in the Civil War; Chaplain (Capt.) Emil Kapaun, a prisoner of war in Korea; and Spec. 4 Robert Towles, who fought in the Vietnam War.

Each military service has a time limit to submit troops for the Medal of Honor. The Army and Air Force set the deadline at two years after the action for which they are nominated, while the Navy and Marine Corps lengthen the deadline to three.

Once past the limits, Congress must approve an extension. Each year, lawmakers submit the names of service members for inclusion in the annual defense policy bill rather than as individual pieces of legislation, in hopes of winning easier approval.
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4 soldiers from past wars nominated for MoH

Also on this

A Lawmaker’s MoH Push for WWII Icon

January 11, 2011
Military.com|by Bryant Jordan
A Texas congresswoman says she will soon file legislation to waive the statute of limitations on awarding the Medal of Honor in an effort to bestow the country's supreme valor award to one of the iconic figures of World War II.

It will not be the first time Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson has filed her bill on behalf of Doris "Dorie" Miller. Miller was the African-American mess attendant who took control of the machine gun on deck of the USS West Virginia on Dec. 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor; for some 15 minutes, he was fully exposed to the guns and bombs of attacking Japanese aircraft as he returned fire.

He was awarded the Navy Cross, but as early as 1942 lawmakers -- sensing racism played a part in the decision -- have pushed for the Medal of Honor.

Johnson believes Miller deserves the award, and she champions him as both a hometown hero and a national one.

"Doris Miller was a friend of my father's and a neighbor in Waco, Texas, when I was a little girl," said Johnson, who was 6 when Miller made his stand on the West Virginia. With so much time gone by, Johnson's bill seeks to have the time limit waived for awarding the Medal of Honor to Miller.

Miller's bill is not the only legislation seeking to have the Medal of Honor awarded to a hero of a past war.
A Lawmaker’s MoH Push for WWII Icon

Heroes acted to stop shooter

Crowd members took gunman down
Two men tackled the shooter and a woman took away his ammunition clip before kneeling on him. Authorities also credit a staff member for helping the wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
By Sam Quinones and Nicole Santa Cruz, Los Angeles Times
January 9, 2011, 8:36 p.m.
Reporting from Tucson — Patricia Maisch watched a gunman shoot a woman who was using her own body to shield her teenage daughter.

"I thought: 'I'm next. I'm next to her. He's going to shoot me. I'm next,' " she said in an interview Sunday.

But two men tackled the gunman when he stopped to reload, and Maisch, 61, restrained his hand as he reached for an ammunition clip, helping stop the attack in a Tucson shopping center that killed six people and wounded 14, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Maisch did not get a good look at the gunman's face as she struggled with him. "I was too busy in the outcome, that things not go any further," she said.
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Crowd members took gunman down

Transition back into civilian life is rarely easy

Returning to Raleigh

By Will Huntsberry • Jan 10th, 2011

Divorce, unemployment, substance abuse and suicide are the most common problems associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, the most common mental ailments of war.

Even for those who don’t come home with such injuries, the transition back into civilian life is rarely easy.

“It’s a little bit different,” said former Army Captain Chris Creasy of Raleigh, with more than a little irony in his voice. Creasy graduated from NC State University in 2006 and in 2009 was Executive Officer of the 664 Ordinance Company tasked with ammunition distribution in Iraq.

“It’s easy to miss the Army,” Creasy said. “The Army provided. It told you where to be. It told you when to be there. The Army told you everything.”

The military tries to smooth the transition for vets by providing a host of services–counseling, help finding jobs, career classes, health care, and money to go to school. With the enormous increase in active duty suicides over the past decade, the military has even introduced mandatory screening for PTSD and brain injury, at the urging of groups such as Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Still, as IAVA notes, follow-up appointments are not currently mandated for all service members who screen positive for possible combat stress injuries.

“I drank a little at first,” said Chris Ruder, another NC State graduate and Army Captain, who is still active in the National Guard.

Ruder, who has been deployed twice and served during the initial push to clear Baghdad of insurgents, said that his drinking calmed down after the first couple months back home but that some servicemen are never able to make a full transition back into civilian life.

“After the first time I came home I was still working at Bragg,” said Ruder. “There were a lot of other guys in the same situation as me who I could talk to. That was helpful. Me and a couple buddies who were also platoon leaders did everything together.”

According to a 2010 Defense Department report (PDF), more than 1,100 active service men and women committed suicide between 2005 and 2009. Divorced service members had the second highest rate of suicide, just less than members with a GED, according to the report.

“A lot of guys overseas are experiencing troubles back home,” said Creasy. As an officer in a foreign war, “You become a parental figure for a lot of these kids. Some of them aren’t making enough money to support their families back home or they’re going through a divorce and they’re having a really hard time.”
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Returning to Raleigh

Mass Burial Planned for 20 Unclaimed Vets

Mass Burial Planned for Unclaimed Vets
January 08, 2011
Associated Press
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. -- Anderson Alston served as an Army master sergeant in World War II. Private Frederick Hunter was a soldier from 1968 to 1971. Myron Sanford Mabry was in the Navy from May 1960 to July 1971. All of them died recently in New York City with no one to claim their remains.
Ordinarily, they would have been quietly buried in a potter's field, their graves unmarked.

Instead, they and 17 other veterans who died in recent months will receive full military honors at a mass funeral this weekend, including prayers over their flag-draped coffins, bagpipers, the playing of taps and local congressmen offering condolences.

The mass service Saturday at Calverton National Cemetery on eastern Long Island - the largest of it kind in U.S. history, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs - is part of a national initiative in recent years to clear a massive backlog of unburied or unclaimed cremated remains of both veterans and non-veterans.

"Our government promised every veteran a decent burial; that doesn't include sitting on a shelf in some funeral home basement," said Fred Salanti of Redding, Calif. The retired Army major is the founder and executive director of the Missing in America Project, which strives to provide a respectful funeral for any veteran who received an honorable discharge.
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Mass Burial Planned for Unclaimed Vets

Too many to blame for Loughner

UPDATE
It looks like Sarah Palin is "locked and loaded" with regrets now.

Palin: 'I hate violence'
By: CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
(CNN) – Sarah Palin is responding to heat from some commentators that her at-times charged rhetoric during the 2010 campaign may have helped inspire attacks against government officials similar to that which occurred in Tucson, Arizona over the weekend.
"I hate violence," Palin told Fox News' Glenn Beck in an e-mail, which Beck relayed on his radio program Monday morning. "I hate war. Our children will not have peace if politicos just capitalize on this." Palin's response was first reported by Politico.

Is it because all the people who kept shooting off hatred now understand that what they say is dangerous? Do they feel to blame or do they fear it could have been them? What is really going on behind all of these regrets when it is too late for all these people? Will any of this really change anything? Will Palin among others stop saying things like "locked and loaded" or will they stop putting gun targets over their political enemies? When does this end?

"News" stations reported that Congresswoman Giffords was dead but that turned out to not be true. Were they so eager to report the death first that no one thought of waiting until they knew for sure? Some bloggers had their fingers flying as fast as the "reporter" talked posting about it.


On FOX it was reported that Jared Loughner was an Afghanistan veteran.

Veterans Demand an Apology From Arizona Rep. Linda Lopez
Posted by Mr. Wolf Jan 9th 2011
Yesterday was a HORRIBLE day.
We’ve seen an obviously unstable and deranged individual, Jared Loughner, shoot and kill innocents; we’ve seen a US Congresswoman declared dead, then not-dead, and we vets have been accused of being the shooter by none other than a state Congresswoman from Arizona.

While listening and watching all of the activity and coverage of this horrific event, one thing has become even more clear- the MFM has come unglued on the Right, on Veterans, and on grass roots organizations. This vitriol has GOT to stop, in both directions. But blaming Veterans just because it involved a gun is over the top. Especially for someone who should know better than to spread rumors.
The topper statement is from State Congressional Representative Linda Lopez, who is about as far-Left as you can get. Not that that’s a particular issue, but, given her next statement, we’ve got a HUGE problem …
”the shooter is likely, from what I’ve heard, an Afghan vet..”
During an interview with Shep Smith (please, do NOT get me started on him) she made these statements- you can hear them about 5 minutes into this interview:

Ms Lopez, on behalf of ALL veterans, and especially the Afghanistan veterans you have repeatedly defaced, I would like to ask this-
WE DEMAND AN APOLOGY
read more here
Veterans Demand an Apology From Arizona Rep. Linda Lopez

Shep Smith just let it go never once asking where she "heard" the shooter was a veteran. This kind of thing is part of the problem in this country. If people are on what is called a news station, they are thought of as being reputable and knowing the facts so that when they are lied to, they know how to respond.

The above article added fuel to the fire by the comment that Lopez is "as far left as you can get" as if that is the blame veterans attitude is rampant among Democrats. What happened to people being responsible for their own actions and what they say? This country has turned everything into a political war and there are no reporters on TV to stop any of it.

People like Sarah Palin were created by the media. What she had to say was taken as truth by the "right" and made fun of by the "left" but there were very few people with no political motivation to tell the truth and stop any of it. When Palin thought it was good to put a target over districts with Democrats, she was allowed to inflame the hatred. Too many others were allowed to say what they wanted just as they were allowed to make any claim they wanted to while the political ads were taking up most of the air time across the country.

Loughner was allowed to get his hands on a gun legally when even the college he attended thought he was dangerous. The list of what went wrong goes on and now the media and politicians seem to want to stop it? It is all a bit too late to be wondering and asking what part they played in all of this. They may have wanted to increase ratings by feeding the divide but what they did was make it impossible for American citizens to just be Americans. Everything has turned into a political war.

The fact that the troops can be in real wars serving side by side with others with a different political view, willing to die for them, is one of the biggest factors that is missed by everyone. When veterans get together, there may be debates about political views but they are not all so important that they forget what really matters and the brotherhood is firm. The bond they share as veterans matters more than anything else.

We as Americans need to stop allowing all the hatred on both sides. We are not stronger when lies are allowed to live on. We are not united in the common good of this nation when hatred replaces a difference of political opinion.

When you listen to the comments made on both sides now, each side points the finger at the other wanting to blame someone and score some points. The point is, no one won anything but too many lost everything.

Members of congress no longer will feel safe to hold an event in their communities. People going to the political events will not feel safe. Shoppers at the grocery store will not feel safe even though they were not part of the small group meeting the Congresswoman. The families of the people killed including a 9 year old girl will not feel safe and their lives are changed forever. The survivors and their families will not feel safe again. While a political war may seem harmless it destroys everything.

If you know the truth and do not speak up when you hear a lie, you are a liar. This is what many in the media have forgotten so whatever political opinion viewers have, they hear what they want to by the station they watch and this is all they need to know. If you watch FOX cable news, you get support if you are on the "right" and if you are on the "left" you get support from MSNBC. If you are in the middle, you can count on CNN to feed into both sides but they seem to try harder to be fair. What happened to just reporting the news with no opinion or agenda?

What happened to being a member of congress and wanting what is best for the nation instead of what is best for your political side? When politicians say their number one job is to defeat Obama, elected by a majority of the nation, they should have been forced to be too ashamed to admit it but they were cheered no matter what problems this nation had going on that needed to be foremost in their thoughts. When Bush was president there was a war going on from the other side and no matter what he did, he was attacked for it. All of us suffered and will keep suffering as long as this goes on without anyone doing anything about any of it.

Blind Iraq Vet runs Disney Marathon with Lt. Colonel

Disney marathoner lost his eyesight while serving in Iraq
By Mark Jenkins, Reporter
Last Updated: Sunday, January 09, 2011 2:17 PM
LAKE BUENA VISTA --
At 5:30 a.m. and 45 degrees, more than 18,000 athletes pounded the pavement for a morning marathon.

The runners ranged from professionals to amateurs, to those who can't walk and another who can't see.

While serving in Iraq, Captain Ivan Castro was nearly killed in a mortar attack that took his eyesight.

After numerous surgeries, he is now more active than most people.

"I cycle swim, I climb, I do triathlons. But the most important thing is that I can still serve," said Castro.

This was his 14th marathon.

Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Bryan ran with Castro in the Disney marathon, attached to each other by a shoe lace.

Castro has been called courageous and heroic, but today he respectfully earned the title "Goofy".

He was one of 5,000 runners that took the goofy challenge of running both the half marathon Saturday and the full marathon Sunday.
read more here
Disney marathoner lost his eyesight while serving in Iraq

PTSD on trial, Jail time for veteran who threatened to kill wife

Jail time for veteran who threatened to kill wife

Shawn Hogendorf of the Prior Lake American reports:

A 31-year-old Prior Lake man, arrested for threatening to kill his wife last fall, was sentenced to serve about four months in jail.

Iraq War veteran who has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), was arrested Sept. 24 after he allegedly threatened to kill his wife during a domestic situation
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Jail time for veteran who threatened to kill wife

PTSD on trial, Iraq veteran gets treatment

Judge: Accused veteran treated for trauma
BY DOUGLAS WALKER • MUNCIE STAR PRESS • JANUARY 8, 2011

WINCHESTER, Ind. -- After nearly 15 months in custody, a Randolph County man who allegedly opened fire on sheriff's deputies has been released and placed on electronic home detention.


Court documents in the case of Andrew S. Ward, 27, reflect negotiations are under way on a plea agreement.

Delaware Circuit Court 1 Judge Marianne Vorhees -- appointed special judge in the Ward case -- said the Marine veteran of the Iraq War had completed an extensive treatment program for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Court records show Ward was transferred Oct. 27 from the Randolph County jail to the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Battle Creek, and remained there until this week.

Vorhees on Tuesday signed the court order allowing Ward -- who had been held under a $500,000 bond -- to return to his home along Randolph County Road 600-S.

The rural Lynn man was ordered to "follow all treatment recommendations as to aftercare," not to possess guns, drugs or alcohol and to have no contact with his alleged victims.

Ward was arrested Oct. 9, 2009, after he allegedly fired four shotgun blasts at three Randolph County sheriff's deputies as they responded to a 911 call at his sister's house. The deputies were not wounded.
read more here
Accused veteran treated for trauma

PTSD Gulf War Vet wants to know who killed his dog

Family says dog poisoned, killed
Updated: Friday, 07 Jan 2011, 10:32 PM MST
Published : Friday, 07 Jan 2011, 10:32 PM MST

Reporter: Ian Schwartz
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Is there a dog killer is on the loose?

An Albuquerque area family said someone poisoned their young dog and now they want to warn everyone about it.

Charlie was more than a dog to the Walters family, he was a form of therapy.

"I'm a gulf war veteran, and have been diagnosed with PTSD," said Thomas Walters.

Charlie was a good dog, Jeanette Walters said.

He protected their Corrales Heights home in Rio Rancho and he was friendly with the kids, she said.

"You know, he was only a year and a half old, and with what a good dog he was at a year and a half old, I can just imagine how great he would have been down the road with my kids," Jeanette said.

But her young kids Vince and Teri will not grow up with Charlie.
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Family says dog poisoned killed

6 dead, 12 wounded for one man's actions

Posts of the shooter show someone with a lot of hatred and under some kind of mental breakdown. What he wrote is nonsense. Above that what he wrote shows a lot of hate. This kind of hate wounded 12 people and left six more dead. One was a nine year old child. Imagine that kind of hatred that this "man" did not care who had to die, who had to suffer for what he decided to do. Imagine Congresswoman Giffords getting up this morning and planning on meeting the people from her district to hear what they wanted to say to her, then someone also woke up this morning planning to take a gun or a Mom taking her child to meet their congresswoman then having to plan a funeral or any of the other people attending this event having their lives shattered in an instant. THIS IS WHAT HATRED DOES.
(Correction. It was a neighbor who took the child to the event.)

Federal judge dead, congresswoman among 12 wounded in shooting
By the CNN Wire Staff
January 8, 2011 8:16 p.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman is among the six dead, press secretary confirms
The aide, a federal judge and four other died in a shooting outside supermarket
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was wounded along with 11 others
A suspect is in custody; law enforcement sources identify him as Jared Lee Loughner

(CNN) -- A federal judge was killed and a congresswoman gravely wounded Saturday in a shooting outside of a Tucson, Arizona, grocery store, according to police and government officials.
In all, six people died and 12 were wounded in the shooting, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, according to Rick Kastigar, bureau chief for the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
President Barack Obama later said Chief Judge John Roll of the U.S. District Court for Arizona was among the dead.
Gabe Zimmerman, the director of community outreach in the congresswoman's Tuscon office, died in the attack, Giffords' press secretary C.J. Karamargin said, as did a 9-year-old girl, according to authorities.
Who is Gabrielle Giffords? Suspect identified in shooting spree Rep. Giffords reads the 1st Amendment Congresswoman wounded in shooting
Gallery: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
The girl is one of four victims whose identity has not yet been released.
An Arizona law enforcement source and a federal law enforcement source identified the suspect as Jared Lee Loughner. Other law enforcement sources put his age at 22. U.S. Capitol Police said the suspect was in custody.
read more here

Federal judge dead, congresswoman among 12 wounded in shooting

Rep. Michael Grimm's Bill would have disabled vets train dogs

Bill would have disabled vets train dogs
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Jan 8, 2011 9:42:21 EST
A Marine veteran newly elected to Congress wants to establish a pilot program to see if training dogs to help disabled veterans can be therapeutic for veterans with post-traumatic stress or other combat-related mental conditions.

Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., a veteran of the first Gulf War who spent a combined eight years in the Marines, says the Veterans Dog Training Therapy Act “is about veterans helping veterans.”

Grimm’s proposal is modeled after legislation that passed the House last year but was never taken up in the Senate. One change he made in the bill — encouraging that the dogs come from shelters — has earned the measure an endorsement from the Humane Society of the United States.

Getting dogs from shelters not only saves animals’ lives but also reduces costs, because specially bred service dogs can cost up to $50,000 each, according to a press release jointly issued by Grimm and the Humane Society.

Reps. Peter King of New York and Leonard Lance of New Jersey, both Republicans, and Michael Michaud, D-Maine, are original co-sponsors of the bill, which was referred to the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee for consideration.

“So many servicemen and women returning from combat struggle with severe PTSD,” Grimm said in a statement. “My legislation provides an opportunity to ease these symptoms through the process of training service dogs. These dogs — many of which I hope will be saved from shelters — will then be given to physically disabled veterans to assist them with their daily activities.”

read more here
Bill would have disabled vets train dogs

Religious test to curb suicides or get converts?

For my Christian friends out there with the idea this is a good thing, you really need to begin to understand exactly what is going on here. This is not about sending them to any Christian Church but telling them if they are not part of the Fundamentalist Christianity faith, they are basically not good enough. In other words, if they are Catholic, they're going to hell. If they have no faith at all or happen to be Muslim or Hebrew, they need to convert and accept their version of what is right.

Over 60% of the Chaplains in the military have no problem with proselytizing by military chaplains

NPR reported that the Academy would be hosting mandatory religious tolerance seminars for cadets. The Department of Defense has also proactively built worship facilities for those of minority faiths and improved pluralist training for chaplains. Still, of the 2,900 active chaplains with the military, two-thirds are evangelical -- and that number continues to rise.

So yes, even you should fight against forcing faith on the troops since this is not about faith is a good thing but more about one certain branch of one certain faith is all that matters.

Other chaplains have a huge problem with this for a reason. They are there to help soldiers with their spiritual needs and not there to convert them. Many conversations I've had with others ministering to veterans feel the same way. Faith does help them heal and on this we agree that it is vital in the healing process but this does more harm than good when it is coerced. Plus there is a fear they don't know how to do it in the first place even if they begin to discuss the emotional healing that is possible.

Let's say a soldier goes to a chaplain and tells them that he thinks he's evil because he killed someone in Afghanistan. Now let's say he happens to be a member of the Catholic faith. The Fundamentalist Chaplain will tell him that basically he is evil because he does not know Christ the way he should and must convert to be born again. This even though the Catholic faith was one of the first to follow Christ and is right up with there with Orthodox Christians particularly the Greeks, who helped Paul spread Christianity throughout the world. But these two branches of the faith are just not good enough for certain Fundamentalists telling even them they are not right with God.

Now take a soldier with no set of beliefs or one with their own ideas about God and then have them come up against a Fundamentalist supposedly there to take care of the emotional crisis the soldier is going through. Instead of talking to them the way any therapist would, they rebuke them. This is an assault on their beliefs and their right to worship as they see fit to do. It does not gently guide them in the process of building any kind of faith but instead pushes them away.

Each person has the freewill to follow their own path and they decide to go to church or not, which church or group they feel connected to and to believe according to their own understanding and growth. None of this can be forced. If you have teenagers, you know this is true. How many of us have taken our kids to church all their lives only to have them walk away from it for a time? They are lead, then they return of their own freewill or not. It is up to them. Some switch to another church finding they fit in better with another group. This is not only the right of an American to worship as they see fit or not at all, but the basic desire of God for each person to worship of their own freewill.

If a Chaplain fails to take care of the people placed into their lives, they have failed God but if it is a military Chaplain, they have not only failed God, they have failed the country formed for the free practice of religious matters. This has also been complicated since military Chaplains are used in place of mental health workers. If they are not taking care of the soldier in crisis situations because they are too busy trying to convert them this leaves the soldier with nowhere to turn. They end up abandoned.

Every member of the clergy, every Chaplain and every service organization needs to take a stand and stop this now before more suffer under this abuse. Sixty percent of the military Chaplains may have no problem with this, but forty percent are still trying to do what they took an oath to the constitution to do. This article talks about atheists having a problem with Fundamentalists but it isn't just them. It is anyone who is not one of them.

OLBERMANN: The Military Is Trying To Curb Suicide Rates By Sending Soldiers To Church
Steven Loeb
Jan. 7, 2011, 10:59 AM

Boy, atheists are getting a lot of attention on the cablesphere these days.
Just when we thought that discrimination had finally been eradicated from the military, now Keith Olbermann is reporting on a new lawsuit from The Military Association of Atheists and Free Thinkers. The military has been giving tests to curb suicide rates and post traumatic stress disorder, but part of the test asks about the soldier's spirituality. And if they fail that portion of the test? The recommendation is that they go to church or pray.


Read more: The Military Is Trying To Curb Suicide

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Psychologist who inspired CIA's Torture Program behind spiritual test?

How did this happen? Torture is anti-spiritual but the same person came up with a test to measure the spiritual aspects of soldiers? Did they have a clue when they were paid if this would work or not? Trauma is Greek meaning wound and trauma is an assault on the spirit/soul so it is vital that the spiritual is included in on healing as much as the mind and body but it cannot be forced or it has the opposite result. Just one more thing the military has done that shows not only poor judgement but a total lack of understanding.

Army's "Spiritual Fitness" Test Comes Under Fire
Wednesday 05 January 2011
by: Jason Leopold, t r u t h o u t | Investigative Report

Test Was Designed by Psychologist Who Inspired CIA's Torture Program

An experimental, Army mental-health, fitness initiative designed by the same psychologist whose work heavily influenced the psychological aspects of the Bush administration's torture program is under fire by civil rights groups and hundreds of active-duty soldiers. They say it unconstitutionally requires enlistees to believe in God or a "higher power" in order to be deemed "spiritually fit" to serve in the Army.

Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF) is a $125 million "holistic fitness program" unveiled in late 2009 and aimed at reducing the number of suicides and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) cases, which have reached epidemic proportions over the past year due to multiple deployments to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the substandard care soldiers have received when they return from combat. The Army states that it can accomplish its goal by teaching its service members how to be psychologically resilient and resist "catastrophizing" traumatic events. Defense Department documents obtained by Truthout state CSF is Army Chief of Staff George Casey's "third highest priority."

CSF is comprised of the Soldier Fitness Tracker and Global Assessment Tool, which measures soldiers' "resilience" in five core areas: emotional, physical, family, social and spiritual. Soldiers fill out an online survey made up of more than 100 questions, and if the results fall into a red area, they are required to participate in remedial courses in a classroom or online setting to strengthen their resilience in the disciplines in which they received low scores. The test is administered every two years. More than 800,000 Army soldiers have taken it thus far.

But for the thousands of "Foxhole Atheists" like 27-year-old Sgt. Justin Griffith, the spiritual component of the test contains questions written predominantly for soldiers who believe in God or another deity, meaning nonbelievers are guaranteed to score poorly and will be forced to participate in exercises that use religious imagery to "train" soldiers up to a satisfactory level of spirituality.
read more here
Army's Spiritual Fitness Test Comes Under Fire

Support, donations pour in for CNN Hero homebuilder

Support, donations pour in for Hero homebuilder
By Kathleen Toner, CNN
January 6, 2011 9:55 p.m. EST


Free homes for injured troops
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Dan Wallrath and his group, Operation Finally Home, build houses for injured U.S. veterans
For his efforts, Wallrath was named a top 10 CNN Hero in November
The exposure has helped Wallrath help more troops and their families
He just partnered with "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to help a victim of the Fort Hood attack

Salado, Texas (CNN) -- Dan Wallrath spent 30 years as a homebuilder in Texas, but it wasn't until 2005 that he found his life's work.

After helping renovate the home of a young Marine who had been severely wounded in Iraq, Wallrath realized there were thousands of other injured war veterans who needed a hand. So he decided to help them by doing what he knew best -- building homes -- and giving them away, mortgage-free.

For his efforts, Wallrath was recognized in November as one of the year's top 10 CNN Heroes. The exposure has helped take his organization -- now known as Operation Finally Home -- to the next level.

"It's just been incredible," Wallrath said last month. "We've been getting phone calls and e-mails and donations from all over the world."

Since the airing of "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute," Operation Finally Home has received more than $100,000 in contributions -- as well as three pieces of property that will be used for future homes. All told, being honored as a CNN Hero has enabled Wallrath to more than double his impact.

So far, his group has completed nine homes, and it has 13 more planned or under construction.
The spotlight also led "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to partner with Wallrath on a special project last month: building a home for one of the victims of the 2009 shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas.
read more here
Support, donations pour in for Hero homebuilder

Homeless Vietnam Veteran Remembered For Compassion, Kindness

Homeless Vietnam Veteran Remembered For Compassion, Kindness
Services to honor Dale Grunder scheduled for Saturday.
By Kristofer Noceda
The homeless Vietnam veteran found dead Sunday morning was known in the streets as "Papa."

Dale Grunder, 65, a longtime transient known for carrying an American flag around town, is remembered by friends as a compassionate, giving and kind-hearted man.

"He had a smile that was so big it could light up the world," said Darcie Gardiner, who referred to Grunder as her "street father."

"Dale always took care and looked after me," she said.

Gardiner, 44, and also homeless, was drinking alcohol with Grunder the night before he was found dead on a bench near the water fountain and park plaza on Railroad Avenue, just behind the Grocery Outlet.

"I was drunk in the park and he was, too," she said. "I blanked out and woke up to cops kicking me and telling me to get out of there."

Grunder, however, never woke up.

read more here
Homeless Vietnam Veteran Remembered For Compassion, Kindness