Post-Vietnam-Era Vets Have Highest Substance Use Rate

Post-Vietnam-Era Vets Have Highest Substance Use Rate

Last Updated: April 27, 2011.


Veterans diagnosed with serious mental illness more likely to have substance use disorder


Substance use rates are highest in war veterans who served in the post-Vietnam era, and in those who served in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan and have comorbid diagnoses of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, according to a study published in the May-June issue of the American Journal on Addictions.

WEDNESDAY, April 27 (HealthDay News) -- Substance use rates are highest in war veterans who served in the post-Vietnam era (VET), and in those who served in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) in Iraq and Afghanistan and have comorbid diagnoses of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, according to a study published in the May-June issue of the American Journal on Addictions.
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Post-Vietnam-Era Vets Have Highest Substance Use Rate

Nonprofit putting wounded from Fort Meade to work

Nonprofit to hire 48 wounded vets
By BEN WEATHERS Staff Writer
Published 04/27/11
The nonprofit group that takes over a multimillion-dollar contract for maintenance services at Fort George G. Meade this summer expects to hire up to 170 people.

While Upper Marlboro-based Melwood may hire many of the men and woman now working for the outgoing contractor, it is looking to add 48 people with special qualifications - veterans wounded in the service of their country.

Melwood CEO Janice Frey-Angel said her group is working with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Maryland Center for Veteran Education and Training to identify potential candidates. Candidates may have cognitive, mental health and physical disabilities, as well as brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The group also is recruiting the 200 soldiers in Fort Meade's Warrior in Transition unit, which helps servicemen and women return to civilian life, said Fort Meade spokeswoman Mary Doyle.

"Being able to provide veterans with jobs has been one of Melwood's missions," Frey-Angel said. "Being on base, it's a familiar (environment for them) - it's not like taking them out of their comfort zone. In many ways, it gives us the opportunity … to do our job, meet our mission and also help the country."

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Nonprofit to hire 48 wounded vets

173 dead after tornadoes, media spends day on one birth certificate

UPDATE 6:30

Southern storms: 'I don't know how anyone survived'
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 28, 2011 5:59 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Nearly 1 million customers without power
Death toll nears 200 in Alabama
President Obama calls storms "heartbreaking," will travel to Alabama on Friday
More than 1,100 are people treated at hospitals
Read more about this story from CNN affiliates WBMA-TV and WIAT-TV. Is severe weather affecting you? Share stories, photos and video with iReport.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama (CNN) -- Public and private assistance -- in the form of food, tarps and hugs -- began arriving Thursday in storm-battered Southern communities that lost nearly 300 people and saw once-familiar neighborhoods reduced to piles of debris.
The grim death toll continued to rise across the region, with 284 counted in six states. Nearly 1 million customers were without electricity in seven states.
The vast majority of fatalities occurred in Alabama, where at least 195 people perished, said Gov. Robert Bentley.
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I don't know how anyone survived

Update 3:05

250 die as storms carve up South
More victims are being found after a tornado outbreak that leveled entire neighborhoods and crippled towns in six Southern states. Alabama was hardest hit with 162 dead.
FULL STORY

UPDATE

Violent Storms Rip Through 6 Southern States, Kill at Least 200

Storms rip across the South, killing at least 173
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 28, 2011 8:01 a.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Alabama governor: Some University of Alabama students died
The death toll in Alabama skyrockets to 128
Birmingham's mayor says many people are missing and hundreds are injured
"My bathroom is across the street," a resident says

(CNN) -- Daylight illuminated a scene of utter devastation across many areas of the South Thursday, following storms of near-epic proportions that killed as many as 173 people in five states.

The vast majority of fatalities occurred in Alabama, where at least 128 people perished, Jennifer Ardis, a spokeswoman for Gov. Robert Bentley, told CNN Thursday. A breakdown provided by Ardis showed that violent weather claimed lives in 16 Alabama counties. The hardest hit was DeKalb County, where 30 people perished.

Before dawn Thursday, Mississippi emergency management officials also added 14 previously unreported fatalities to the count, increasing the death toll in that state to 32, officials said. At least one person died in both Arkansas and Tennessee and 11 died in Georgia.

Entire neighborhoods were leveled and hundreds of thousands of people were without power.

"This could be one of the most devastating tornado outbreaks in the nation's history by the time it's over," CNN Meteorologist Sean Morris said.
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Storms rip across the South, killing at least 173

It is silly season after all when the media has been following around Donald Trump and giving the "birth issue" coverage instead of covering a massive story like this. As Jon Stewart pointed out last night, Trump was taking credit for Obama releasing the "long form" birth certificate and felt as if he had done "something really important" by causing the release when if Trump really cared about this country, he'd take that helicopter to some of these areas hit by tornadoes and actually do something to be proud of since it is because of him no one is giving these states the attention they deserve. These are real lives but Trump turned a non-story into every cable station covering it. They even had to waste time talking about if the coverage is over or not!

Wednesday April 27, 2011

Believe It or Believe It
Obama Releases Long-Form Birth Certificate
Barack Obama expresses his sad disappointment in Americans, and Donald Trump proudly takes credit. (07:18)

Ohio veterans have money waiting for them while they count pocket change

Many Ohio veterans aren't applying for benefits


Posted: Apr 27, 2011
By Dave Dykema - email
By Jonathan Walsh, Reporter


Toledo, OH -
TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Tens-of-thousands of veterans in Ohio are supposed to be getting some money from the state, but so far they haven't applied.

Anyone who served in the Persian Gulf War or Iraq or Afghanistan is eligible for up to $1,500. Families of fallen soldiers could get up to $6,500.

Former Marine Brad Luderman says, "I'm sure there are a lot of people who don't know about it."

Luderman served in Iraq in 2003, 2004, 2005. When he got back he applied for the Ohio Veterans bonus money last October.

"When they first came out with it they said it would be within 8 weeks and here it is 5-6 months later and I still haven't got it," Luderman said. "But I'll get it eventually."

He says he just talked to program reps Tuesday and was told some more paperwork is needed. Despite the delay, he says the application is not hard.
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Many Ohio veterans aren't applying for benefits

Is iPhone a risk to security of deployed troops?

When we talk about not wanting to be tracked by the iPhone, we do it because we don't like to have our privacy challenged. When the owner of an iPhone happens to be in the military, we should be asking if this is putting their lives at risk.

Stop and think about all the programs that are supposed to be secure only to discover they have been hacked because someone else was smarter.

Apple Sued Over iPhone Data Privacy
The disclosure of Unique Device Identifiers associated with Apple's mobile devices represents a privacy law violation, the complaint claims.

By Thomas Claburn InformationWeek
February 01, 2011 02:56 PM
Apple last week was sued in San Jose, Calif., for alleged privacy and state business law violations arising from its disclosure of iPhone device identifiers and personal information.

Plaintiff Anthony Chiu, a resident of Alameda, Calif., claims that Apple knowingly transmits data to third parties that can be used to identify users of Apple's mobile devices, without user consent and in violation of various laws. The legal filing also targets 50 unnamed "John Doe" defendants, raising the possibility that third-party developers of apps that use the data in question could wind up in court.

We spoke with Chris Sather, Product Management for Network Defense at McAfee about McAfee's next generation firewalls that analyze relationships and not protocols.

The case hinges on Apple's use Unique Device Identifiers (UDIDs), serial numbers associated with every mobile device. The complaint states that Apple allows UDIDs to be displayed to application developers and allows downloaded apps to access the user's browsing history whenever the user clicks on an ad or application using his or her mobile device.
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Apple Sued Over iPhone Data Privacy

These are not just personal phones heading into combat with the troops, but they have been handed out to them by the military as a new weapon to help them. What happens if someone hacks into them and finds out where they are if these phones are tracking their every move? If iPhones can track anyone, what about iPods? The troops are using iPod Touch.

Apple’s New Weapon
To help soldiers make sense of data from drones, satellites and ground sensors, the U.S. military now issues the iPod Touch.

Tying the hands of a person who is speaking, the Arab proverb goes, is akin to "tying his tongue." Western soldiers in Iraq know how important gestures can be when communicating with locals. To close, open and close a fist means "light," but just opening a fist means "bomb." One soldier recently home from Iraq once tried to order an Iraqi man to lie down. To get his point across, the soldier had to demonstrate by stretching out in the dirt. Translation software could help, but what's the best way to make it available in the field?

The U.S. military in the past would give a soldier an electronic handheld device, made at great expense specially for the battlefield, with the latest software. But translation is only one of many software applications soldiers now need. The future of "networked warfare" requires each soldier to be linked electronically to other troops as well as to weapons systems and intelligence sources. Making sense of the reams of data from satellites, drones and ground sensors cries out for a handheld device that is both versatile and easy to use. With their intuitive interfaces, Apple devices—the iPod Touch and, to a lesser extent, the iPhone—are becoming the handhelds of choice.

Using a commercial product for such a crucial military role is a break from the past. Compared with devices built to military specifications, iPods are cheap. Apple, after all, has already done the research and manufacturing without taxpayer money. The iPod Touch retails for under $230, whereas a device made specifically for the military can cost far more.
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Apple's New Weapon

As you can see from the Apple site, it looks like the same technology is available. If they can find a lost iPod Touch, then their iPods can be traced as well.

If you lose your iPod touch, help is only a tap away.
Locate your iPod touch on a map.
Apple iPod Touch
People misplace things all the time. Fortunately, if your iPod touch is one of those things, Find My iPod touch can help. It’s a feature that’s part of MobileMe, but now it’s also free on every iPod touch (4th generation) with iOS 4.2 or later.1 Enable Find My iPod touch in Settings. Then if you misplace your iPod touch, you can sign in to me.com from any computer web browser or using the Find My iPhone app on another iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad to display its approximate location on a map.2

They say the reason they need to do this is to track you!

Why Apple and Google need to stalk you


By David Goldman, staff writerApril 28, 2011: 5:18 AM ET


NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Apple, Google and Microsoft have finally cleared up most of the mysteries about how and why the smartphones their software runs store your location information.

Here's the run-down:

Are they tracking you? Sort of. Companies that design smartphone operating systems like Apple, Google, Research In Motion, Microsoft and Nokia all collect current and historical data about your location that, the companies say, is anonymized and can't be traced back to you.

The information that's collected is uploaded to massive databases maintained by the companies. A very small part of those databases are stored on your phone. The information tracked is actually not comprised of your specific locations, but rather the locations of the Wi-Fi network routers and cell towers around you.

What exactly are the companies doing with your data? The information is used for two reasons: To provide a way to locate you if GPS is unavailable, and to more quickly locate a GPS signal when one is around.
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Why Apple and Google need to stalk you

Vietnam Vet's son, Mark Wills, spokesperson for Military Outreach Program

Mark Wills Is New Spokesperson for Military Outreach Program
Posted Apr 27th 2011 8:30AM by Cory Stromblad
Mark Wills has been asked to be the official spokesperson for the 'Crazy Being Home' military outreach program. The singer will kick off the campaign with a performance at the 6th Annual National MilBlog Conference in Washington D.C. on April 29. Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield has been confirmed to appear at the conference.

The program was created to raise national awareness for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), two crippling, long-term effects of war service. The organization is a subdivision of the USA Warrior Treatment Today program.

Mark has a personal connection the the cause. His father experienced disabling psychological symptoms after serving in the Vietnam War.

"When my dad returned, he was inexplicably a changed man. The problem was we didn't know what it was or what to do for him," Mark recalls. "Now we know he was suffering from PTSD. It's sad that even still today, too many men and women who sacrificed their lives, go without diagnosis, help or treatment. We're hoping to change that."

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Mark Wills Is New Spokesperson

American GI, nonissue to Americans

Now that President Obama kills birth issue, releases certificate the cable news stations will just go back to focusing on the royal wedding. After that there will probably be another celebrity getting into trouble or one more politician making stupid claims even the average American is insulted by.

Today an Afghan Colonel opens fire, kills 6 US soldiers at airport when they were there trying to train the Afghans to take control over their own security and their own future. These six soldiers, along with the thousands of others dead, have no future other than to have their bodies carried back to the US under a flag. What will the cable "news" stations be focused on? The wedding and the birth issue as one by one talking heads will try one more time to spin the news and talking points their way. Talk radio is just as bad. Is there any wonder why the American public considers the troops and our veterans a nonissue?

Arlington Graves Of Iraq And Afghanistan Vets Digitized By Teen

Arlington Graves Of Iraq And Afghanistan Vets Digitized By Teen
by MARK MEMMOTT
"Richard 'Ricky' Gilleland III — 11th-grader and Junior Future Business Leaders of America computer ace — has succeeded where the Army failed," the Los Angeles Times writes this morning. "He has created the only digitized record of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans laid to rest at Arlington [National Cemetery]. His website, PreserveAndHonor.com, is a reverent catalog of the fallen, and one young man's response to a scandal of Army mismanagement, mismarked graves and unmarked remains that has rocked this hallowed place for two years."

"It's a tool to help remember people. They can go on and think, 'Wow, look at all these people who gave their lives just so I can walk around,' " 17-year-old Ricky tells the Times. He has focused on the cemetery's Section 60, "where about 700 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are buried, more than anywhere else in the country," the Times says.
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Arlington Graves Of Iraq And Afghanistan Vets Digitized By Teen

Obama kills birth issue, releases certificate

April 27th, 2011




BREAKING: White House releases Obama's birth certificate
By: CNN Political Unit

(CNN) – President Obama released his original birth certificate Wednesday, saying the controversy surrounding the issue had become a "sideshow."
The surprise release follows recent and sustained remarks by businessman Donald Trump, among others, that raised doubts as to whether the president was born in the United States.
“Over the last two and half years, I have watched with amusement. I have been puzzled with the degree with which this thing just kept going,” Obama told reporters Wednesday.
"We are not going to be able to solve are problems if we get distracted by side shows." he added.
read more here
White House releases Obama's birth certificate1

Bachmann settles birth issue

NCIS, police arrest Cleveland murder suspect

NCIS, police arrest Cleveland murder suspect

Written by
Kim Wendel

CLEVELAND -- Police Chief Michael McGrath confirmed the arrest of two men wanted on aggravated murder warrants in the death of Asia Harris, 20, of Parkway Road in Cleveland, on April 11.

McGrath said the two arrested are the victim's husband, Samuel Wilson, 21, of Fallback, California, and Darin M. Brusiter, 25, of Cleveland.

The arrest warrants were issued as the result of an investigation by the Cleveland Division of Police Homicide Unit of the incident at E. 37th Street and Croton Avenue April 11.

Today Wilson was arrested at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, located in San Diego County, California by Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS).

Brusiter was arrested about 5:30 p.m. Monday in the 200 block of Euclid Avenue in Cleveland by Cleveland Division of Police Homicide Detectives.
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NCIS, police arrest Cleveland murder suspect

Afghan Colonel opens fire, kills 6 US soldiers at airport

UPDATE


Nine Americans Killed By Afghan 'Pilot' at Kabul Airport
By BEN FORER
April 27, 2011
An Afghan wearing the uniform of an Afghan Air Corps pilot opened fire on a group of Americans today, killing nine before he was shot dead.

The Afghan military said the gunman was a 20 year veteran of the Afghan Air Corps and he fired after arguing with the Americans. The Taliban claimed the shooter was an insurgent who impersonated an officer to gain access to the secure area.

The dead included eight U.S military personnel and one American contractor. Five Afghan soldiers were also injured in the violence, most receiving broken bones and cuts, said Afghan Air Corps spokesman Col. Bahader.
click link above for more of this update

Afghan official: Man opens fire on Americans in Kabul; 6 dead
By Nick Paton Walsh, CNN
April 27, 2011 8:39

The man "was holding the rank of colonel at the time and he had an AK-47 with him. After his bullets were finished, then he was shot to death by armed forces," Mujahid told CNN.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Six Americans are killed, an Afghan official says
The Taliban claims responsibility for the shooting
The militant group says a "suicide attacker" killed 14 people

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- At least six American service members were killed Wednesday when an Afghan military pilot opened fire on international trainers and a "gunfight" ensued at an airport in the Afghan capital, military officials said.

NATO said six International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops and a contractor were killed. It did not disclose their nationalities.

The incident -- which occurred at the Afghan national air force compound at North Kabul International Airport -- stemmed from an argument between an Afghan pilot and an international colleague, officials said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and said it had been working with the shooter for some time.

"A 50-year-old man opened fire at armed U.S. military soldiers inside the airport after an argument between them turned serious," said Col. Baha Dur, chief of public relations for the Afghan National Army at Kabul military airport.
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Man opens fire on Americans in Kabul

Armed Forces Family Aid Concert

This part of the story is true.

Armed Forces Family Aid Concert,’ April 29th – May 1st
Posted by Rick Amato Apr 26th 2011
A tremendously important story has gone virtually untold by the media, ignored by our political leaders, and unknown to the American public. Despite the extraordinarily high price they have paid, America’s severely wounded veterans are enduring humiliating financial hardships of epic proportions. Home evictions, utility shutoffs, car repossessions, and foreclosures are commonplace.

“The Armed Forces Family Aid Concert” seeks to benefit those families suffering severe financial hardship.

You can read the rest here Armed Forces Family Aid Concert because I won't post it. It is a blend of truth and spin.

Readers of this blog know that there has never been more done to help veterans with PTSD and it is due to congress finally getting involved. Funding for research and treatment has been at an all time high in the last six years, and that is a good thing, but the above article attempts to portray the congress as being AWOL on PTSD and military families.

There are families suffering right along with the veterans. There are foreclosures piling on more stress and lost incomes. There are over 100,000 claims tied up, turned down or sitting in a pile that belongs to a veteran suffering financially while he/she has to fight to have the claim approved. How do I know this? Because it happened to us.

We spent six years fighting the VA to have my husband's claim approved. Other than the money we needed to pay bills, the denials increased the stress because he felt even more betrayed and all of this added to what PTSD was doing to him and the family. Back in the 90's no one was talking about PTSD or any of this. Families like mine had nowhere to turn to for help so this is a good thing. What would be even better would be for the general public to have some clue about what is going on. This article points that fact out and rightly so. Knowing people care offers more than just support. It offers hope.

Congress has made it easier to prove a PTSD claim and they have also passed a Caregiver's bill to help families of disabled veterans. While this does not stop the suffering, it helps.

The problems families have are enormous but the biggest ones come between wound and compensation.

Jim Phillips, a World War II veteran, knows what vets need

A hero helping heroes
Jim Phillips, a World War II veteran, knows what vets need

By Ann Sperring
Correspondent

Published: Sunday, April 24, 2011
Building the destroyer USS Luce in 1942 took more than nine months. She sank in less than six minutes, a victim of Japanese kamikaze pilots, trapping more than 120 of her crew of 312 men in a blazing coffin.

Commissary Petty Officer Jim Phillips was among the injured who jumped overboard or were blasted by the ship's exploding bombs into a South Pacific sea full of hungry sharks.

“It was just around breakfast when they hit. The Japanese pilots flew their planes into us and in just a few minutes I was in the ocean holding onto some empty aluminum casing to stay afloat,” said Phillips, of Ocala.

In combat situations, he commanded the 20-millimeter cannon at the bow of the ship and his was the last gun to have a chance of blasting a diving plane away.

The force of bursting bombs and his ship's ammunition knocked Phillips out of his shoes. His uniform in tatters, he struggled for survival as salt water washed into his burned body.

“All around me I could hear shipmates pleading for help. The worst part was the sharks attacking,” he recalled. “I would hear a buddy screaming, a lot of thrashing and in a few minutes there was nothing left but bloody water.”

Phillips was rescued after a full day under the blazing sun. At one point, an enemy plane strafed him.
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A hero helping heroes

Catherine Zeta-Jones Was 'Outed' in Bipolar Fight

The National Enquirer has done something no one else ever could, or would. They just told the rest of the population they have no right to privacy at the same time they turned Jones into a shining example of getting help is nothing to be ashamed of. She is the one who stood there after her private life was taken away and then held her head up high talking about mental illness. The only shame here belongs to the National Enquirer.

Michael Douglas Says Catherine Zeta-Jones Was 'Outed' in Bipolar Fight

By Rob Shuter

A raspy-voiced Michael Douglas is speaking out about Catherine Zeta-Jones' battle with bipolar II disorder, telling Oprah Winfrey in an interview airing Tuesday that his actress wife's private struggle with depression was cruelly "outed" by the media.

"I must say, Catherine's being quite open about it because she was outed, you know," he said. "She went to go get some help and some other patient probably in there said, 'Hey, you won't believe who's in here now.' And, so, once that happens, I think she felt [it] best to kind of get out the story."

He is referring to the fact that the National Enquirer first reported that Zeta-Jones was in a mental health facility, which then prompted a statement from the actress hours later.

Michael told the talk show queen why she was reluctant at first to talk about her problems.

"My oldest son is in federal prison, my ex-wife is suing me, and I got cancer. It's kind of hard for the wife to say, 'I'm depressed,'" Michael tells Oprah.

Catherine spent a total of five days in a mental health clinic to get help, leading Michael to tell PEOPLE magazine, "It takes a lot of courage to seek help and I am proud of Catherine for doing something positive about her situation. It's onwards and upwards for us."
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Catherine Zeta-Jones Was 'Outed' in Bipolar Fight

First Lady Aims to Improve Military Families’ Lives with Joining Forces

American Forces Press Service

First Lady Aims to Improve Military Families’ Lives

By Elaine Sanchez
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 25, 2011 – First Lady Michelle Obama stood tall behind a podium in the White House’s East Room, her husband close at hand, as she addressed a packed audience of high-ranking military and government officials.


Although it was a high-powered crowd, the first lady wasn’t there for the officials or for the star-studded brass. She was there to speak for military families.

As the flashes of hundreds of cameras lit the room, the first lady unveiled an unprecedented initiative intended to draw the entire nation together in support of military families.

This is about “the extraordinary military families who serve and sacrifice so much every day,” Obama said. One Marine wife, tightly gripping her husband’s hand, wiped away tears.

The event marked not only the launch of the “Joining Forces” campaign, but also the culmination of a long journey to improve military families’ lives. Over the past two years the first lady, with Dr. Jill Biden at her side, has traveled to bases -- stateside and overseas -– to meet with military spouses and to advocate for funding on their behalf.

“This is the moment that we’ve been working toward for such a very long time,” she said.
For Obama, it’s a journey that began even before her husband took the oath of office. Just over two years ago, she hit the campaign trail and met with working women to discuss the challenges of balancing work and family while “staying sane.”
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First Lady Aims to Improve Military Families’ Lives

Traffic cam captures Iraq Vet on motorcycle being hit

Video: Iraq war veteran on motorcycle gets rear-ended; survives crash
Posted: 8:23 AM
Last Updated: 1 hour and 41 minutes ago

By: Eric Ristow
DALLAS - A soldier returning from Iraq is in good spirits despite being rear-ended by a car in Texas while he was riding his motorcycle. The man lived, and the incident was all caught on video.

A driver slammed into Army Cpl. Zacharie Perez from behind on the Dallas North Tollway as he was on his way home from work.



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Iraq war veteran on motorcycle gets rear-ended

"Hope Unseen" blind soldier and daughter of NY fallen firefighter earn awards

The Christophers' Special Awards to Capt. Scotty Smiley, First Blind Active-Duty Army Officer, and Shannon Hickey, Young Activist for the Homeless

Capt. Smiley, commander of Warrior Transition Unit for ailing or wounded soldiers at West Point, to receive 2011 Christopher Leadership Award; Hickey, 21, founder of ministry serving poor and homeless which was inspired by 9/11 victim, Father Mychal Judge, to get 2011 James Keller Award
NEW YORK, April 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- (http://www.myprgenie.com) -- Capt. Scotty Smiley, the U.S. Army's first blind active-duty officer, and Shannon Hickey, a 21-year old college student who, at age 11, was inspired to help provide for the poor and homeless by the example of Father Mychal Judge, the New York City Fire Dept. Chaplain killed in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, will both receive special Awards at the 62nd annual Christopher Awards ceremony in New York City on Thursday, May 19th.

Capt. Smiley, who was nearly killed while leading his platoon on patrol in Iraq in 2005, will receive the Christopher Leadership Award for his exemplary courage and leadership in the face of adversity. He opted not to retire from the Army, as is customary after a life-changing injury, but instead fought to regain his health and went on to command the Warrior Transition Unit for ailing or wounded soldiers at West Point. Hickey will receive the 2011 James Keller Award for founding Mychal's Message, a ministry that serves the poor and homeless, and which has taught many teens about the problem of homelessness in society.

The Christopher Leadership Award recognizes individuals whose work, actions and example serve as a guiding light to those in and out of public life, and inspires others to lead lives that make a difference for the good. This year's winner barely survived the shrapnel and debris that pierced his eyes and brain following a car bomb attack in Iraq. Crushed by the news he would never see again, Captain Smiley at first questioned his faith and his belief in God.

During his recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Army pressured his wife to follow standard procedure by signing papers that would "medically retire" her husband, since it was accepted wisdom that blind people couldn't serve in the Army. She resisted, believing her husband might still have a future within the Army he loved.

After tremendous physical, emotional and spiritual struggles, Capt. Smiley came to terms with his new reality and successfully fought to stay on active duty. Along with teaching leadership at West Point, he also earned an MBA from Duke University with assistance from his wife and a dedicated tutor, and wrote an autobiography, "Hope Unseen."

With the vast number of American servicemen and women returning from war with serious injuries, his job is of critical importance as is the example he is setting. He remains committed to living a life of service to others and admits his trust in God has been taken to new levels.

read more here
The Christophers' Special Awards

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.

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.
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Sycamore veteran raises awareness of soldier suicides

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."
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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.
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Jamestown family mourns loss of soldier killed in Afghanistan