ILLINOIS SPOTLIGHT: Sycamore veteran raises awareness of soldier suicides
CAITLIN MULLEN The (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle
First Posted: April 26, 2011
SYCAMORE, Ill. — Laurie Emmer wants everyone to know Clay Hunt's name.
Sycamore resident Emmer, 48, a member of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), recently spent time in Washington, D.C., as part of Storm the Hill, where members of IAVA spoke with legislators about their agenda for the year and what they'd like to see addressed through legislation.
It's the second consecutive year Emmer, commander of Sycamore VFW Post 5768, has been chosen to attend. She served more than 23 years in the Army, spending most of her time in the 82nd Airborne Division.
The group spent most of this year's trip focusing on veteran unemployment. But news received on their last day in Washington - of a fellow veteran's suicide - shocked group members and inspired them to change direction.
Hunt, who also was an IAVA member, was a 28-year-old Marine from Houston who served two tours of duty. He struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder but was an advocate for veterans and remained active with various charity groups. He was the last person his IAVA friends expected to succumb to extreme depression, Emmer said.
Hunt killed himself March 31.
"You don't always see it coming," Emmer said.
read more here
Sycamore veteran raises awareness of soldier suicides
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Soldier and veteran suicides, "You don't always see it coming,"
No one sees the bullet coming. It travels too fast. No one sees the bomb planted in a road. It is covered up. Sometimes we can see when a veteran or soldier is in trouble, but sometimes you can't understand how fast they can change or how deeply they are hurting. Sometimes there are signs they are thinking about it. When they give away things they cared about as if they just don't matter anymore. When they seem as if they don't care about anyone in their lives, stop talking about anything in the future as if they have no hope for tomorrow and when you look into their eyes the "life" seems to be gone. Other times, they cover up the pain so well that you may think they are doing better, until the phone call comes or the knock on the door shatters all hope you had for them.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Former Army chaplain in Iraq tries new role at home in Alabama
Former Army chaplain in Iraq tries new role at home in Alabama
JIMMY SMOTHERS The Gadsden Times
First Posted: April 25, 2011
GADSDEN, Ala. — He once was the subject of a television documentary that was broadcast over the Military Channel, and about the same time stories about him were published in some of the nation's larger newspapers. That was three years ago as he was winding up 27 months of duty during several deployments as an Army chaplain to U.S. military forces in Iraq.
Today, he is no longer in the military nor pastors a church, but still has a "flock" in a secular way. "The only "preaching' I do these days is therapy," Chuck Popov said, referring to his therapy group as his congregation.
Popov was a major when he left the service after 15 years. He once was an Army chaplain in the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, known as the Wolfhounds. He recently was back on base at Fort Benning, Ga., where he had once trained for deployment and where he later served as a brigade chaplain. This time he was serving his country in another role, helping military families live with — even if they don't understand — the horrors of war.
Over a period of five years, 2003-2007, Popov said he was deployed "quite often, and never got enough time back home to get it out of my system."
During one 15-month deployment, in one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq at the time, his unit had 18 killed and 300 wounded.
Popov said there were many medics but only one surgeon at the battalion aid station, and one of his duties was to help carry off the dead and write letters home to their families.
He talked about opening the body bag of a young soldier who had been killed and seeing that he was still clutching the cross he wore on a chain around his neck.
"I could just see him saying the rosary and clutching the cross, praying that he wouldn't die," Popov said. "I opened another body bag and the body of a very good friend was staring up at me."
read more here
Former Army chaplain in Iraq tries new role at home in Alabama
JIMMY SMOTHERS The Gadsden Times
First Posted: April 25, 2011
GADSDEN, Ala. — He once was the subject of a television documentary that was broadcast over the Military Channel, and about the same time stories about him were published in some of the nation's larger newspapers. That was three years ago as he was winding up 27 months of duty during several deployments as an Army chaplain to U.S. military forces in Iraq.
Today, he is no longer in the military nor pastors a church, but still has a "flock" in a secular way. "The only "preaching' I do these days is therapy," Chuck Popov said, referring to his therapy group as his congregation.
Popov was a major when he left the service after 15 years. He once was an Army chaplain in the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, known as the Wolfhounds. He recently was back on base at Fort Benning, Ga., where he had once trained for deployment and where he later served as a brigade chaplain. This time he was serving his country in another role, helping military families live with — even if they don't understand — the horrors of war.
Over a period of five years, 2003-2007, Popov said he was deployed "quite often, and never got enough time back home to get it out of my system."
During one 15-month deployment, in one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq at the time, his unit had 18 killed and 300 wounded.
Popov said there were many medics but only one surgeon at the battalion aid station, and one of his duties was to help carry off the dead and write letters home to their families.
He talked about opening the body bag of a young soldier who had been killed and seeing that he was still clutching the cross he wore on a chain around his neck.
"I could just see him saying the rosary and clutching the cross, praying that he wouldn't die," Popov said. "I opened another body bag and the body of a very good friend was staring up at me."
read more here
Former Army chaplain in Iraq tries new role at home in Alabama
U.S. Army Reserve nurse killed in Afghanistan
Jamestown family mourns loss of soldier killed in Afghanistan
By Keith Gushard
Meadville Tribune
MEADVILLE — Mike McClimans of Jamestown was asleep at home when his phone rang just after 7 a.m. Saturday.
“He said to me, ‘Mr. McClimans, I’m Maj. Scott North and I’m outside your door,’ ” McClimans said, his voicing quivering slightly.
McClimans knew what the call meant.
“I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ He said, ‘No sir, I’m not.’ ”
North was there to inform him that McClimans’ son, Capt. Joshua McClimans, 30, a registered nurse serving with the U.S. Army Reserve, had been killed in action in Afghanistan.
Capt. McClimans apparently had left his living quarters to begin a 12-hour shift at a hospital when he was shot.
read more here
Jamestown family mourns loss of soldier killed in Afghanistan
By Keith Gushard
Meadville Tribune
MEADVILLE — Mike McClimans of Jamestown was asleep at home when his phone rang just after 7 a.m. Saturday.
“He said to me, ‘Mr. McClimans, I’m Maj. Scott North and I’m outside your door,’ ” McClimans said, his voicing quivering slightly.
McClimans knew what the call meant.
“I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ He said, ‘No sir, I’m not.’ ”
North was there to inform him that McClimans’ son, Capt. Joshua McClimans, 30, a registered nurse serving with the U.S. Army Reserve, had been killed in action in Afghanistan.
Capt. McClimans apparently had left his living quarters to begin a 12-hour shift at a hospital when he was shot.
read more here
Jamestown family mourns loss of soldier killed in Afghanistan
Female veterans get their own VFW Post!
Vets start female-focused VFW post
By Matthew Daneman - USA Today
Posted : Monday Apr 25, 2011 6:21:44 EDT
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Marlene Roll is used to standing out in a crowd.
The former Army reservist joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1991 shortly after returning from a deployment in the Middle East during the Persian Gulf War. She quickly found that attracting fellow female military veterans to the male-dominated VFW was no easy task.
As Roll rose through the ranks of the VFW, and post after post asked her for advice on attracting female members, she decided maybe a different approach was needed.
“I thought the only way to bring them in was give them a post of their own,” said Roll, chief of staff for the New York state VFW and women veterans chairwoman for the national VFW.
And so, Roll went to work organizing what has become the nation’s only VFW post founded by and targeting the needs of women.
Men often wear their military backgrounds almost literally on their sleeve, with jackets or hats proclaiming their veteran statuses, Roll said.
“But not in the female world. A lot of them didn’t even know they were veterans and eligible for the VFW,” said Roll, 46, of Alden, N.Y. “And a lot of them shifted gears when they came back — ‘I’m a mom, I’m a business woman.’”
The VFW has a membership of 1.6 million, with membership typically being men ages 60 and up, said Jerry Newberry, VFW director of communications.
read more here
Vets start female-focused VFW post
By Matthew Daneman - USA Today
Posted : Monday Apr 25, 2011 6:21:44 EDT
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Marlene Roll is used to standing out in a crowd.
The former Army reservist joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1991 shortly after returning from a deployment in the Middle East during the Persian Gulf War. She quickly found that attracting fellow female military veterans to the male-dominated VFW was no easy task.
As Roll rose through the ranks of the VFW, and post after post asked her for advice on attracting female members, she decided maybe a different approach was needed.
“I thought the only way to bring them in was give them a post of their own,” said Roll, chief of staff for the New York state VFW and women veterans chairwoman for the national VFW.
And so, Roll went to work organizing what has become the nation’s only VFW post founded by and targeting the needs of women.
Men often wear their military backgrounds almost literally on their sleeve, with jackets or hats proclaiming their veteran statuses, Roll said.
“But not in the female world. A lot of them didn’t even know they were veterans and eligible for the VFW,” said Roll, 46, of Alden, N.Y. “And a lot of them shifted gears when they came back — ‘I’m a mom, I’m a business woman.’”
The VFW has a membership of 1.6 million, with membership typically being men ages 60 and up, said Jerry Newberry, VFW director of communications.
read more here
Vets start female-focused VFW post
Mother remembers night tornado struck, injured son at Camp Lejeune
Mother remembers night tornado struck, injured son
April 24, 2011 11:38 AM
HOPE HODGE
One moment, Kelsey Salerno had reached into the crib of her 23-month old son Evan to comfort him against a coming storm. The next, she had been hurled away from the crib and buried under sheetrock, and the baby had disappeared.
That is how Salerno, 21, remembers experiencing the April 16 tornado that tore through sections of Camp Lejeune housing, leaving the Salernos’ house a pile of rubble in its wake.
“I was just barely touching (Evan) when it sounded like a freight train,” she said. “I look over and the window is busted. I see the curtain is blowing and there’s glass everywhere, and all of a sudden I get thrown to a corner of the bedroom. I’m tumbling, all of a sudden I’m rolling and rolling and all I see is gray; that’s all that I can see.”
Salerno’s husband, Seaman Jesse Salerno, a corpsman with 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, had returned from his first deployment in August and was now training for a May deployment in California. High school sweethearts from Charleston, S.C., the Salernos had known that life as a military family would not be easy, but they had never realized one of their greatest trials would come in the form of a Carolina tornado.
“You know, I’ve lived on the coast my whole life,” Kelsey Salerno said. “I know more about hurricanes than anything else. But I never thought I’d have to deal with a tornado.”
But when she was ripped away from her son, instinct was more powerful than experience.
read more here
Mother remembers night tornado struck, injured son
April 24, 2011 11:38 AM
HOPE HODGE
One moment, Kelsey Salerno had reached into the crib of her 23-month old son Evan to comfort him against a coming storm. The next, she had been hurled away from the crib and buried under sheetrock, and the baby had disappeared.
That is how Salerno, 21, remembers experiencing the April 16 tornado that tore through sections of Camp Lejeune housing, leaving the Salernos’ house a pile of rubble in its wake.
“I was just barely touching (Evan) when it sounded like a freight train,” she said. “I look over and the window is busted. I see the curtain is blowing and there’s glass everywhere, and all of a sudden I get thrown to a corner of the bedroom. I’m tumbling, all of a sudden I’m rolling and rolling and all I see is gray; that’s all that I can see.”
Salerno’s husband, Seaman Jesse Salerno, a corpsman with 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, had returned from his first deployment in August and was now training for a May deployment in California. High school sweethearts from Charleston, S.C., the Salernos had known that life as a military family would not be easy, but they had never realized one of their greatest trials would come in the form of a Carolina tornado.
“You know, I’ve lived on the coast my whole life,” Kelsey Salerno said. “I know more about hurricanes than anything else. But I never thought I’d have to deal with a tornado.”
But when she was ripped away from her son, instinct was more powerful than experience.
read more here
Mother remembers night tornado struck, injured son
War, Wives and a Near Suicide
Reading this, all I could think about was some friends. The same thing happened to them but we don't want to talk about any of this. We don't want to talk about the fact some of these "Army Wives" spent years in college, got degrees and then discovered none of it does any good when you are tied to military because the person you fell in love with belongs to the government. They go where they are sent for as long as they are told to stay. This means the families go with them. Kids end up in different schools but they are surrounded by other kids with the same stories. For a spouse, jobs are hard to get no matter how much they have to pay back in student loans.
A friend of mine became a lawyer. She was married to a helicopter pilot. She had a couple of kids to take care of but part of her wanted to practice law. Unable to join a firm because they could end up moving with a transfer, she had a lot more to worry about than just his deployments. She had to worry about all of it including her own future.
One of the other things we don't talk about is the other sword hanging over their heads. Like with all marriages, there is always the chance of a spouse falling out of love with them and in love with someone else. When they get divorced they lose all of it. They have to find another place to live and pick up the pieces of their past civilian lives.
My friend ended up divorced and alone to raise her kids. She didn't have many friends outside of military and her family was not close leaving her basically alone wondering what all the years of sacrificing for the military was for.
When you read this story, understand that it happens all the time. It is a serious issue they face all the time.
A friend of mine became a lawyer. She was married to a helicopter pilot. She had a couple of kids to take care of but part of her wanted to practice law. Unable to join a firm because they could end up moving with a transfer, she had a lot more to worry about than just his deployments. She had to worry about all of it including her own future.
One of the other things we don't talk about is the other sword hanging over their heads. Like with all marriages, there is always the chance of a spouse falling out of love with them and in love with someone else. When they get divorced they lose all of it. They have to find another place to live and pick up the pieces of their past civilian lives.
My friend ended up divorced and alone to raise her kids. She didn't have many friends outside of military and her family was not close leaving her basically alone wondering what all the years of sacrificing for the military was for.
When you read this story, understand that it happens all the time. It is a serious issue they face all the time.
April 25, 2011, 8:26 AM
War, Wives and a Near Suicide
By ALISON BUCKHOLTZ
“If you are reading this, you should know that I am dead,” began the blog of a 27-year-old Army wife named Jessica Harp. “At least I hope I’m dead,” she added. “It would be awful to fail at your own suicide.”
The entry, posted to the blog “(Mis)Adventures of an Army Wife” on April 11, was titled “A Final Goodbye.” Its broad outlines, though not dramatic conclusion, are recognizable to many in the post-9/11 generation of military spouses. In 4,100 words, Ms. Harp chronicled her husband’s severe depression after his unit’s deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, and her own subsequent depression, for which she sought counseling and medication.
After her husband’s return and their cross-country move to Fort Jackson, S.C., so he could attend an eight-month officers’ course, she was told she could not join the base’s family support group because her husband was only a student there. She tried to put to use her master’s degree in financial counseling, but was told she was unemployable because she would be leaving the area before the year’s end. Her husband’s erratic behavior, coupled with his drinking, convinced her that he was an alcoholic, and she encouraged him to get help.
“The doctor immediately put him on antidepressants and sleeping pills,” she recounts. “And that was it. No counseling. No getting to the root cause of the issue. Just drugs.” She writes that he mixed his prescriptions with alcohol and at times became violent.
As their marriage deteriorated, Ms. Harp realized her husband was involved with another woman. Ms. Harp checked herself into the hospital because of suicidal thoughts, and her husband left her. She felt that the military community, for which she had given up her career and her independence, had abandoned her as well. “I wish he had just died in combat,” she writes. “If he had died, I would have been surrounded with so much support that I wouldn’t have known what to do with it. Instead, he has discarded me on the side of the road like a piece of rubbish, and the Army ‘family’ has shrugged its shoulders and said, ‘Well, he doesn’t want you anymore. There’s nothing we can do about it.’ ”
read more here
War, Wives and a Near Suicide
Alligator invites himself into Palmetto home
Off topic but part of life in Florida
Alligator invites himself into Palmetto home
(Photo/Jimmy Pollack) Seeing the gator was quite a shock for homeowner Alexis Dunbar, who had just walked in her front door.
PALMETTO --
A Manatee County woman got quite a surprise Saturday when she found a 6-foot alligator in her house.
Seeing the gator was quite a shock for homeowner Alexis Dunbar, who had just walked in her front door.
"I look to the right," she said. "And there's an alligator in my guest bedroom."
Dunbar immediately got out of the house, and became concerned for her pets.
see more pictures and read more here
Alligator invites himself into Palmetto home
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Why Are We Throwing Traumatized Vets in Jail for Calling 911
Why Are We Throwing Traumatized Vets in Jail for Calling 911?
Joe Bangert is being jailed for doing exactly what he was trained to do: calling for backup when he feels threatened.
April 21, 2011
On March 4, 2011, the Honorable J. Thomas Kirkman, addressed the defendant in Barnstable Massachusetts' Second District Court: "Mr. Bangert, I see that you served your country honorably. It's time to do that again. I'm asking you to serve your country honorably again by (spending) nine months in the house of correction." And the gavel came down.
Joe's crime? Calling 911.
Joe Bangert is being punished for doing exactly what he was trained to do: calling for backup when he feels threatened. The problem is that, since September 11, it's not always clear to him whether the threat is coming from outside or inside. His PTSD keeps him constantly on full alert, trying to keep everything and everyone out beyond what vets call the "kiss me/kill me" range.
No question about it: Joe can be a civic nightmare. When he's upset, things get messy, rules get broken. But that should come as no surprise. We have studies going back 100 years connecting wartime experiences with traumatic injuries that lead to criminal behaviors.
read more here
Why Are We Throwing Traumatized Vets in Jail for Calling 911
Joe Bangert is being jailed for doing exactly what he was trained to do: calling for backup when he feels threatened.
April 21, 2011
On March 4, 2011, the Honorable J. Thomas Kirkman, addressed the defendant in Barnstable Massachusetts' Second District Court: "Mr. Bangert, I see that you served your country honorably. It's time to do that again. I'm asking you to serve your country honorably again by (spending) nine months in the house of correction." And the gavel came down.
Joe's crime? Calling 911.
Joe Bangert is being punished for doing exactly what he was trained to do: calling for backup when he feels threatened. The problem is that, since September 11, it's not always clear to him whether the threat is coming from outside or inside. His PTSD keeps him constantly on full alert, trying to keep everything and everyone out beyond what vets call the "kiss me/kill me" range.
No question about it: Joe can be a civic nightmare. When he's upset, things get messy, rules get broken. But that should come as no surprise. We have studies going back 100 years connecting wartime experiences with traumatic injuries that lead to criminal behaviors.
read more here
Why Are We Throwing Traumatized Vets in Jail for Calling 911
Don't be fooled by some collecting for veterans
There is the
Disabled Veterans Foundation
Then there is Disabled Veterans National Foundation
This all has people very confused because when they hear Disabled Veterans, they think DAV.org
The DAV does not dress up in a costume. I call it that because there are people collecting money in uniform but when asked, they say they are not a veteran but paid to collect on streets.
Disabled American Veterans, the DAV known nationally for what they've been doing for disabled veterans since,
It is totally up to you if you want to give to these other groups or not but don't think your giving money to the DAV when it is going to one of the other groups.
Near my home they have been collecting all weekend. One told me he was a disabled vet, then when I asked him "who are you with" he said Disabled American Veterans Foundation but he wasn't. I told him I was with the Auxiliary, then he said, "Oh no, not that one" but this isn't new. If they can give you a fast answer so you'll drop a buck into the bucket, you'll drive away thinking you just donated to the DAV. He was with the Disabled Veterans Foundation. The names are so close that people can't tell them apart but the veterans can. They know how much work the DAV does for them and how long they've been doing it.
Disabled Veterans Foundation
Then there is Disabled Veterans National Foundation
This all has people very confused because when they hear Disabled Veterans, they think DAV.org
The DAV does not dress up in a costume. I call it that because there are people collecting money in uniform but when asked, they say they are not a veteran but paid to collect on streets.
Disabled American Veterans, the DAV known nationally for what they've been doing for disabled veterans since,
"Incorporated in 1931, the Disabled American Veterans National Service Foundation was set up to assist in raising funds for the service initiatives of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) National Organization. The Foundation initially served to ensure that the DAV’s National Service Program and other service initiatives would always be available should the DAV National Organization suffer a downturn in its financial health. Over the years, the Foundation’s role has grown and changed as the times and the needs of veterans and DAV service programs at all levels have changed.
From the outset, the Foundation has continued its identity as a separate nonprofit organization, maintaining its primary focus on direct services for veterans who come home from military service sick or injured. In this way, it has become a strong partner of the DAV in our mission to build better lives for America’s disabled veterans and their families."
It is totally up to you if you want to give to these other groups or not but don't think your giving money to the DAV when it is going to one of the other groups.
Near my home they have been collecting all weekend. One told me he was a disabled vet, then when I asked him "who are you with" he said Disabled American Veterans Foundation but he wasn't. I told him I was with the Auxiliary, then he said, "Oh no, not that one" but this isn't new. If they can give you a fast answer so you'll drop a buck into the bucket, you'll drive away thinking you just donated to the DAV. He was with the Disabled Veterans Foundation. The names are so close that people can't tell them apart but the veterans can. They know how much work the DAV does for them and how long they've been doing it.
Bachmann settles "birth issue" too late for Maj. Gen. Karl Horst
Correction:
To replace Horst with Lakin. The change of mind of Bachmann came too late when Horst had to approve the sentence of Lakin. Totally embarrassed over this misplaced name.
To replace Horst with Lakin. The change of mind of Bachmann came too late when Horst had to approve the sentence of Lakin. Totally embarrassed over this misplaced name.
Because of people like Michele Bachmann getting attention for accusing President Obama of not being a natural born citizen, there were a lot of people paying the price for what this "congresswoman" told them. People like Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin believed it and it cost him his career and freedom.
Military affirms Army birther’s sentence
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Apr 22, 2011 13:49:00 EDT
FORT MEADE, Md. — The commander of the Military District of Washington is affirming the six-month prison sentence of an Army doctor who disobeyed deployment orders because he doubted President Barack Obama’s eligibility to serve as commander-in-chief.
A spokeswoman said Friday that Army Maj. Gen. Karl Horst has approved the findings and sentence of Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin’s court-martial in December.
Lakin was sentenced to six months at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for refusing to go to Afghanistan.
In online videos posted on YouTube, Lakin aligned himself with the so-called “birther” movement that questions whether Obama is a natural-born citizen, as the Constitution requires for presidents.
Lakin’s sentence also includes dismissal from the armed services.
Now with the same evidence she had since the beginning about President Obama's place of birth being Hawaii, now she says "it's settled" but it is too late to undo the damage done.
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