Bin Laden jokes
Friday, May 6, 2011
Two High School Students Holding Benefit for PTSD
Helping Our Troops With Their Own Fight at Home
Written by Matthew A. Piacentini
Friday, 06 May 2011 00:00
Two Students Holding Benefit for PTSD
Brave American military personnel willingly put themselves in danger in service to their country every day. The effects of this kind of activity causes some veterans to experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
According to information put out by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “Most people have some stress-related reactions after a traumatic event… In moments of danger, our bodies prepare to fight our enemy, flee the situation, or freeze in the hope that the danger will move past us. But those feelings of alertness may stay even after the danger has passed.” This can lead to anxiety, depression, anger and more.
To help in awareness and prevention of PTSD, two seniors at North Shore High School are holding a benefit event this month.
Dillon Seudat and Gregory Knox will hold “Shots 4 Soldiers,” a benefit basketball tournament with proceeds going to the National Veterans Association, specifically towards veterans with PTSD.
This is a senior project for the two students, part of the Generation Next curriculum in which seniors do a service project.
read more here
Helping Our Troops With Their Own Fight at Home
Written by Matthew A. Piacentini
Friday, 06 May 2011 00:00
Two Students Holding Benefit for PTSD
Brave American military personnel willingly put themselves in danger in service to their country every day. The effects of this kind of activity causes some veterans to experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
According to information put out by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “Most people have some stress-related reactions after a traumatic event… In moments of danger, our bodies prepare to fight our enemy, flee the situation, or freeze in the hope that the danger will move past us. But those feelings of alertness may stay even after the danger has passed.” This can lead to anxiety, depression, anger and more.
To help in awareness and prevention of PTSD, two seniors at North Shore High School are holding a benefit event this month.
Dillon Seudat and Gregory Knox will hold “Shots 4 Soldiers,” a benefit basketball tournament with proceeds going to the National Veterans Association, specifically towards veterans with PTSD.
This is a senior project for the two students, part of the Generation Next curriculum in which seniors do a service project.
read more here
Helping Our Troops With Their Own Fight at Home
SSG Seyward McKinney Returns to Warrior Games
SSG Seyward McKinney Returns to Warrior Games
By Donna Butler, WTC Stratcom
In March 2009, AW2 Veteran SSG Seyward McKinney’s life changed. After returning from Iraq, McKinney was diagnosed with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in her brain. McKinney was treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and underwent numerous surgeries and nine days after the last, one of the vessels in her brain leaked, which caused her to have a stroke. Paralyzed on the right side of her body, McKinney’s injury caused her to lose her right-sided peripheral vision. Although her injuries are not combat-related, she is a living testament that non-combat related injuries can challenge Soldiers just as much as combat-related injuries.
McKinney was stationed at the Walter Reed Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) and worked diligently to learn how to overcome her injuries, eventually empowering herself to reach another milestone in her life—competing in the 2010 Warrior Games. She competed in the women’s sitting shot-put, in addition to 10K recumbent cycling, sitting volleyball, and wheelchair basketball. These events helped her attain the sense of teamwork she enjoyed in the Army and now can continue to enjoy with athletics. At the 2010 Warrior Games, she won a gold medal in cycling and a bronze medal in shot-put. These two achievements demonstrated to McKinney that with determination and passion, she could continue to succeed.
read more here
SSG Seyward McKinney Returns to Warrior Games
By Donna Butler, WTC Stratcom
In March 2009, AW2 Veteran SSG Seyward McKinney’s life changed. After returning from Iraq, McKinney was diagnosed with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in her brain. McKinney was treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and underwent numerous surgeries and nine days after the last, one of the vessels in her brain leaked, which caused her to have a stroke. Paralyzed on the right side of her body, McKinney’s injury caused her to lose her right-sided peripheral vision. Although her injuries are not combat-related, she is a living testament that non-combat related injuries can challenge Soldiers just as much as combat-related injuries.
McKinney was stationed at the Walter Reed Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) and worked diligently to learn how to overcome her injuries, eventually empowering herself to reach another milestone in her life—competing in the 2010 Warrior Games. She competed in the women’s sitting shot-put, in addition to 10K recumbent cycling, sitting volleyball, and wheelchair basketball. These events helped her attain the sense of teamwork she enjoyed in the Army and now can continue to enjoy with athletics. At the 2010 Warrior Games, she won a gold medal in cycling and a bronze medal in shot-put. These two achievements demonstrated to McKinney that with determination and passion, she could continue to succeed.
read more here
SSG Seyward McKinney Returns to Warrior Games
Gary Sinise working hard for veterans
Lt. Dan Band
Gary Sinise – who co–founded the legendary Steppenwolf Theatre Company in the late 1970s and has enjoyed a successful career on stage, on television and in film – will be in Chicago tonight to perform with his Lt. Dan Band at Joe's Bar to benefit The Veterans Arts Program.
Gary Sinise heads home to Chicago to rock for veterans group
By Tom Lounges Times Correspondent
The tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, deeply affected Gary Sinise and inspired him to become a champion of veterans groups and events.
Sinise – who co–founded the legendary Steppenwolf Theatre Company in the late 1970s and has enjoyed a successful career on stage, on television and in film – will be in Chicago tonight to perform with his Lt. Dan Band at Joe's Bar to benefit The Veterans Arts Program.
Blue Island–born and raised actor/director/musician Gary Sinise said
The Chicago–based organization was co–founded by Kimo Williams, Sinise's musical partner in the Lt. Dan Band.
Sinise, a Blue Island–born and raised actor/director/musician, said it started out as "sort of a culture exchange program," but has since shifted to providing "artist tools" to injured veterans who want to move on in their lives and learn something in the arts, be it playing guitar, or taking up photography, or painting. The Veteran's Arts Program provides instruments and lessons to help enrich the lives of those who served their nation.
Sinise met Williams – a Vietnam veteran and professor at Columbia College – when both were part of Steppenwolf's 1997 production of "A Streetcar Named Desire." Sinise was acting and Williams was composing music for it.
read more here
Gary Sinise heads home to Chicago
Philly thug steals disability check from wounded Marine!
Man Steals $22K From Disabled Veteran: Cops
Police are trying to identify a man who allegedly stole a disability check from a disabled veteran
By Scott Slotkin
Philadelphia Police are asking for your help in identifying a man accused of stealing $22,000 from a disabled veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.
After waiting for and not receiving his $44,000 disability check, the 27-year old veteran reportedly contacted the U.S. Treasury Department to find out what happened.
His check, he was told, had already been deposited at a Bank of America on Street Road in Bensalem, Pa. bank, police said.
read more here
Man Steals $22K From Disabled Vetera
San Diego Navy Wife begs for return of missing husband with PTSD
Missing sailor found
UPDATE - A San Diego sailor suffering from post traumatic stress disorder who had been missing for five days was located on Saturday.
Amanda Hamilton told San Diego 6 News her husband turned himself into police and is now receiving treatment at Balboa Naval Hospital.
Navy Wife begs for return of missing husband with PTSD
SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - A local Navy wife is desperate to find her missing husband, who has post traumatic stress disorder and hasn't been seen in days.
"My whole world is collapsing because this is the guy I was going to spend the rest of my life with," says Amanda Hamilton.
She and Nicholas married four and a half years ago and have two sons together. As a couple they've faced deployments, but the most recent deployment on the USS Ronald Reagan to provide humanitarian relief to Tsunami victims in Japan proved to be a tipping point, according to Amanda.
"He had a really bad flashback episode while on the Reagan," she says. Adding that flashback dealt with a previous humanitarian effort to retrieve bodies from the 2004 Tsunami in Indonesia.
"He took nearly 200 over the counter medications to try and end his life," she says.
That was March 25th of this year and Amanda says Nic was then flown to an Air Force Base in Japan for treatment and then sent back home to San Diego for further treatment on March 31st.
Since then he's regularly checked in twice a day to a Medical Hold unit at the Navy hospital, according to his wife, until May 1st when things unraveled.
read more here
Navy Wife begs for return of missing husband with PTSD
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Should We Reintroduce the Veteran Employment Assistance Act?
Guest Post
Should We Reintroduce the Veteran Employment Assistance Act?
By Marie Owens
Undoubtedly, the economic dynamic of employment in the United States has changed dramatically since the end of military conscription by the United States government. While all males over 18 years of age are still required to register for the draft, the lottery has not been active since the end of the Vietnam War. Similarly, while educational assistance based on past military status has been available in varying degrees since that time, employment assistance has been nominal, relying on veteran status priority in hiring since the end of the war. Thus, as it becomes tougher and tougher for veterans to find jobs and re-enter the work force once they have returned from overseas, many people, particularly those that have a criminal justice degree, have begun to wonder -- should we consider reintroducing the Veteran Employment Assistance Act?
The Employment Problem
Many of those who plan for a full military career often opt for the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) education program, being ushered into the military with an advanced rank as a commissioned officer. Other enlisted servicemen enter the military with a particular assignment in mind and come out of the service with training and education they have received during their tour of the duty. These individuals who complete their tour with an honorable discharge are commonly placed quickly with positions secured before their Estimated Termination of Service (ETS).
However, there are also many soldiers who enter the military as foot soldiers and often experience trouble securing employment when they return from what may have been multiple tours of duty in armed conflict. This due to the fact that these individuals have often been trained for special missions, and while this work is great, there simply is not an abundance of employment opportunities for people with their job titles (paratroopers, artillery specialists and tank operators) and skill sets in the United States.
Thus, for the myriad soldiers who fill active combat military roles there is a specific need for employment assistance, particularly for those who may have entered the military with a weak primary educational background or because of regional employment opportunities. Some of these veterans are good candidates for long-term training if they show a capacity for academics. While on the other hand, some are good candidates for industrial certifications. In any case, the majority of veterans would simply like assistance in securing employment with a salary that is at least comparable to what they were earning while enlisted. It is a general consensus that they have earned that benefit.
In the past, many of these servicemen were covered by the S. 3234 and was designed to build on the existing restrictive legislation, allowing veterans to use educational benefits while drawing a stipend during their training period. It would also broaden the approved training alternatives, enhancing the current 9/11 GI Bill of Rights and the National Guard Employment Enhancement Program.
The Congressional Budget Office studied the financial impact of the legislation and the cost amounted to an average of $1 per person in the United States. Yet, even with one-fifth of the Senate body signing onto the legislation, it did not make it to the floor. This means that the laws that are currently in force are all that veterans have to rely on when it comes to finding a job when they return from overseas.
Disabled Veterans
The fallout of the Middle East military conflicts has created a new generation of veterans who have enlisted, often on salesmanship of the different military branches, and been strapped into an armed conflict that was never anticipated. In addition, many have been commissioned back into active combat or had tours extended because so many of people have decided to avoid military enlistment as a viable means of building a career. As a result, many of those who enlist to fight are coming home as multiple amputees or suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from concussive head injuries. This has created a specific demographic within the veteran community.
This particular group is at severe risk of being ostracized by potential employers regardless of the sacrifice that they have given for their country. Their sacrifice is much more than the time and battle scars. It is a life altering experience that deserves case-by-case attention. Therefore, introducing legislation to assist these veterans and then allowing the bill to "table," or expire, is for many citizens an unacceptable action of the United States representative body.
Conclusion
It is well understood that the U.S. military is the primary peacekeeper in the world. In fact, the American way of life is largely a result of the work that all military veterans have done to secure what many Americans take for granted. However, the employment market is shifting dramatically as the military does its necessary work overseas. As a result, many veterans have come home to find that there aren’t any jobs available, or none that are applicable to the skill set they have acquired while enlisted. Although there are standard educational opportunities for veterans to improve their knowledge base, just as there are for the civilians, this section of the U.S. society has clearly earned serious consideration for employment programs that will provide them with extra help when integrating back into society after being overseas. These programs should be similar to the Veteran Employment Assistance Act, and should ensure that veterans can obtain employment in the field of their choice, given their individual abilities. The on-the-job training that they receive in the military is often not applicable to the world at home and it is time for the same Congress that sent them into battle to help them readjust when they return home.
Marie writes for the blog at criminaljusticedegree.net and as a prospective law student in Washington state, is particularly interested in criminal law and gender issues. She writes to promote criminal justice education, and teaches martial arts in her spare time.
We needed better than us
There is a lot of talk about if Osama's death pictures should be shown or not. Today Bill Bennett was on CNN and said that pictures are needed after murders but failed to mention the fact the general public doesn't get to see the pictures unless there is a body covered up by a sheet. Only the jury, judge and lawyers get to see them. They need to see them but the public doesn't. Bennett must be watching too much TV to get that fact mixed up with what he wants released. We don't need to see a dead Osama as much as we want to see them.
Today something wonderful happened and it had nothing to do with politics. Today it was all about the people this nation lost almost 10 years ago. These are some of the pictures we should want to see now that the man behind so much pain is dead.
That's what we really should be talking about now. When we needed the best of us to show up after the planes hit the towers, the firemen and cops showed up. The best of us were there no matter if the people in trouble were Democrats, Republicans, Independents or didn't vote at all. They didn't care about anything other than people needed help. Goodness rose out of the pit of hell Osama tried to create.
Block after block around the country in huge cities and tiny towns flew flags outside their homes and on their cars. Politics faded away and every member of congress stood together in a moment of silence, united in grief just as the rest of the nation did. We held the firemen and police officers in our prayers, but then people played politics and tried to keep them from getting what they needed to take care of their health afterwards. Today it was about them.
We waved flags and sent young men and women off to fight against the people behind the attacks, then we turned our backs on them when it took too long, cost us too much money and the wounded just got too expensive to take care of. While most of the country thinks the troops are home instead of 150,000 still risking their lives far away from their homes and families, they do it everyday anyway.
We took down our flags a long time ago and ended up just putting them up for the 4th of July as if the flags were just one more decoration to put up in celebration of a day off of work forgetting that over 5,000 of their bodies have come home covered in a flag that was paid for with their lives.
When people allow the best of us to be forgotten and ignored, let politics trump all else, then we will be wondering why no one is showing up when the rest of us need the best of us.
Today something wonderful happened and it had nothing to do with politics. Today it was all about the people this nation lost almost 10 years ago. These are some of the pictures we should want to see now that the man behind so much pain is dead.
That's what we really should be talking about now. When we needed the best of us to show up after the planes hit the towers, the firemen and cops showed up. The best of us were there no matter if the people in trouble were Democrats, Republicans, Independents or didn't vote at all. They didn't care about anything other than people needed help. Goodness rose out of the pit of hell Osama tried to create.
Block after block around the country in huge cities and tiny towns flew flags outside their homes and on their cars. Politics faded away and every member of congress stood together in a moment of silence, united in grief just as the rest of the nation did. We held the firemen and police officers in our prayers, but then people played politics and tried to keep them from getting what they needed to take care of their health afterwards. Today it was about them.
We waved flags and sent young men and women off to fight against the people behind the attacks, then we turned our backs on them when it took too long, cost us too much money and the wounded just got too expensive to take care of. While most of the country thinks the troops are home instead of 150,000 still risking their lives far away from their homes and families, they do it everyday anyway.
We took down our flags a long time ago and ended up just putting them up for the 4th of July as if the flags were just one more decoration to put up in celebration of a day off of work forgetting that over 5,000 of their bodies have come home covered in a flag that was paid for with their lives.
When people allow the best of us to be forgotten and ignored, let politics trump all else, then we will be wondering why no one is showing up when the rest of us need the best of us.
Wounded Warrior Project’s Soldier Ride at White House
A participant in the Wounded Warrior Project’s Soldier Ride heads to the South Lawn of the White House through the Diplomatic Reception Room before the start of their ride, May 4, 2011. The President welcomed the group to the White House in advance of their fifth annual ride on Friday and Saturday. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
This afternoon, the South Lawn of the White House was full of veterans, military families, and their bicycles, as the Wounded Warrior Project's Soldier Ride came to the White House. The Soldier Ride started as a way to help wounded soldiers recover from their injuries through adaptive cycling. Nearly a decade later, the program has expanded to involve civilians as well, raising money for and promoting the cause of America's wounded warriors.
In welcoming the riders, President Obama said a few words about the beginnings of the Soldier Ride effort:
Today is a reminder -- as Michelle and Jill Biden have already said -- that every American, every single person in this country, can do something to support our remarkable troops and their families. Everybody can do something.
So seven years ago, a bartender from Long Island had the same idea. He wasn’t from a military family. He had never served in the military. But he knew that he owed our military something. He was just an ordinary American who was grateful for the service of all those who wear the uniform. And he said, “I just wanted to give something back.”
So he jumped on his bike and rode across the country -- over 5,000 miles -- to raise funds and awareness for our wounded warriors. Today, there are Soldier Rides all across America giving our wounded warriors the confidence and support they need to recover. That’s the difference a single person can make. Today we want to thank Chris Carney and everyone from the Wounded Warrior Project for reminding us of our obligations to each other as Americans.
After taking special note of a few individual soldiers with whom he had met before, President Obama thanked the riders for the inspiration they provide him and so many other Americans:
So to all the riders here today, I want to say, as your Commander-in-Chief and as an American, thank you. We are grateful for you. You represent the very best in America. And in your fight to recover and in the ride that you’re about to begin, we see the values and virtues that make our country great.
We may take a hit. We may endure great loss. But we are a strong and resilient people. We push on. We persevere. We’re confident in our cause. And we know that, like generations of Americans before us, we will emerge stronger than before.
read more here
Wounded Warrior Project Soldier's Ride
Fort Wainwright buried toxic waste cleaned up during construction for housing
Toxic waste cleaned up at Army housing project
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 5, 2011 12:07:32 EDT
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Toxic waste discovered during the construction of housing at Fort Wainwright has been cleaned up.
The discovery of the buried toxic waste in 2005 delayed the completion of the 55-unit development known as Taku Gardens at the Fairbanks base. It also delayed occupation of the housing. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner says the housing now is slated to open October 2012.
Joe Malen, the Army’s cleanup manager, said at a town hall Tuesday that the top level of soil is now considered safe. But tenants will not be able to dig wells or garden without using raised beds because of contamination deep in the soil.
The cleanup of Taku Gardens cost more than $21 million. The Army used the area as a dumping ground in the 1940s and 1950s.
Toxic waste cleaned up at Army housing project
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 5, 2011 12:07:32 EDT
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Toxic waste discovered during the construction of housing at Fort Wainwright has been cleaned up.
The discovery of the buried toxic waste in 2005 delayed the completion of the 55-unit development known as Taku Gardens at the Fairbanks base. It also delayed occupation of the housing. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner says the housing now is slated to open October 2012.
Joe Malen, the Army’s cleanup manager, said at a town hall Tuesday that the top level of soil is now considered safe. But tenants will not be able to dig wells or garden without using raised beds because of contamination deep in the soil.
The cleanup of Taku Gardens cost more than $21 million. The Army used the area as a dumping ground in the 1940s and 1950s.
Toxic waste cleaned up at Army housing project
Wilson expects to fund benefits improvements as long as he can take some away
Wilson expects to fund benefits improvements
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 4, 2011 13:16:54 EDT
The chairman of the House subcommittee responsible for military benefits said Wednesday he is “very hopeful” of finding money to pay for some major benefits improvements next week when the House Armed Services Committee takes up the 2012 defense budget.
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., chairman of the committee’s personnel panel, said he is looking for money to pay for improvements in reserve retired pay, to reduce the so-called “widow’s tax” that cuts military survivor benefits for those also receiving such benefits from the Veterans Affairs Department, and to prevent a proposed retail pharmacy co-pay increase for new prescriptions for acute ailments.
Wilson said he is not making promises for large and sweeping changes, but he believes committee aides have identified some sources of funding from within the defense budget that could be tapped to pay for modest changes in those three programs.
Wilson has the support of the panel’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Susan Davis of California, in his effort to find a way around budget rules that limit sources of funding.
“I am an optimist, and I believe we can do things,” Wilson said. “I’m not saying we can do it all, but that we can take some steps in the right direction.”
Wilson made no mention of finding money for another cause he has long supported: complete elimination of the offset in military retired pay for those also receiving veterans disability compensation.
Committee aides, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they have located possible sources of funding that Wilson and Davis could use, but they did not want to say more, out of fear that someone else might claim the money for another addition to the defense bill.
“Let’s just say that to get something, you have to give something, so we can find money if we are willing to cut, and we are willing to cut,” said one aide.
read more here
Wilson expects to fund benefits improvements
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 4, 2011 13:16:54 EDT
The chairman of the House subcommittee responsible for military benefits said Wednesday he is “very hopeful” of finding money to pay for some major benefits improvements next week when the House Armed Services Committee takes up the 2012 defense budget.
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., chairman of the committee’s personnel panel, said he is looking for money to pay for improvements in reserve retired pay, to reduce the so-called “widow’s tax” that cuts military survivor benefits for those also receiving such benefits from the Veterans Affairs Department, and to prevent a proposed retail pharmacy co-pay increase for new prescriptions for acute ailments.
Wilson said he is not making promises for large and sweeping changes, but he believes committee aides have identified some sources of funding from within the defense budget that could be tapped to pay for modest changes in those three programs.
Wilson has the support of the panel’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Susan Davis of California, in his effort to find a way around budget rules that limit sources of funding.
“I am an optimist, and I believe we can do things,” Wilson said. “I’m not saying we can do it all, but that we can take some steps in the right direction.”
Wilson made no mention of finding money for another cause he has long supported: complete elimination of the offset in military retired pay for those also receiving veterans disability compensation.
Committee aides, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they have located possible sources of funding that Wilson and Davis could use, but they did not want to say more, out of fear that someone else might claim the money for another addition to the defense bill.
“Let’s just say that to get something, you have to give something, so we can find money if we are willing to cut, and we are willing to cut,” said one aide.
read more here
Wilson expects to fund benefits improvements
Soldier kicked out for being in wrong unit over substance abuse
Their future should not depend on who their commanders are or what rules they apply. Over the last ten years there have been many reports of soldiers using alcohol and drugs to stop feeling the effects of combat but finding help instead of discharges. Unfortunately there there have also been too many given the "bums rush" out the door cutting them off from everything as a member of the military as well as what they would have received as a veteran.
They lose their military pay and benefits including housing and when they need it the most, their healthcare. Where do you think they can go after serving and suffering for doing it when they have been cut off from everything?
They lose the chance to go to college topped off with the fact that most companies won't hire a dishonorably discharged veteran especially when there are so many honorably discharged veterans with medals looking for work when employers won't hire them. They lose the VA healthcare along with compensation for wounds they received including TBI and PTSD. They lose support from organizations, most with bylaws regarding conditions that the veteran was honorably discharged.
Their future should not depend on who they served under but it does. How do you tell a soldier like Bill Surwillo that his service leading to all of his suffering just killed off his future but others found the help they needed and are still in or going to college or being treated for what combat did to them? Then how to you tell him that had they left him alone for one more day, he would have received everything he should have? How do you tell him that? How do you explain to him that while he served at Lewis-McChord and lost it all, if he served under another commander, he would be in treatment and see his service appreciated? Four years in a unit that went through hell and they couldn't give him one more day to heal his life?
They lose their military pay and benefits including housing and when they need it the most, their healthcare. Where do you think they can go after serving and suffering for doing it when they have been cut off from everything?
They lose the chance to go to college topped off with the fact that most companies won't hire a dishonorably discharged veteran especially when there are so many honorably discharged veterans with medals looking for work when employers won't hire them. They lose the VA healthcare along with compensation for wounds they received including TBI and PTSD. They lose support from organizations, most with bylaws regarding conditions that the veteran was honorably discharged.
Their future should not depend on who they served under but it does. How do you tell a soldier like Bill Surwillo that his service leading to all of his suffering just killed off his future but others found the help they needed and are still in or going to college or being treated for what combat did to them? Then how to you tell him that had they left him alone for one more day, he would have received everything he should have? How do you tell him that? How do you explain to him that while he served at Lewis-McChord and lost it all, if he served under another commander, he would be in treatment and see his service appreciated? Four years in a unit that went through hell and they couldn't give him one more day to heal his life?
Combat Vet Loses GI Bill Over Pot And Spice
Austin Jenkins
05/03/2011
TRANSCRIPT
NEAR JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – Here's a soldier's tale. Bill Surwillo deploys to Afghanistan. Nearly a quarter of his platoon is killed. He comes home with PTSD. He turns to marijuana and spice – a synthetic version of the drug – to relax. The Army kicks him out and takes away his GI Bill. Is this fair?
I meet Bill Surwillo at a noisy café just outside the gates of Joint Base Lewis-McChord. His car is packed and he's ready to head home to Wisconsin. He's been kicked out of the Army for drug use one day shy of his official end of service date – and he's bitter.
Bill Surwillo: "I gave my life to that unit for the past four years."
Surwillo is especially upset the Army took away his college benefits. He wanted go to trade school to become a plumber or welder.
Sitting next to him in the café booth is his friend and fellow battle buddy, Nick White. Over the din, they describe the chaos in both their lives since they returned home.
That leads them to war stories from what they call their "gnarly" deployment to Afghanistan.
Surwillo tells me about one of the many roadside bombs that maimed and killed his friends and fellow soldiers.
read more here
Combat Vet Loses GI Bill Over Pot And Spice
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Chaplains ponder ethics of celebrating bin Laden's death
Honestly there are many things people do not agree on. This is one of them and has nothing to do with being a Chaplain or even a Christian since we can't agree on much else anyway. The death penalty is another thing people cannot agree on. So let's stop trying to. Why can't we just agree that the long nightmare that began in the 90's is over and may the souls killed because of Osama rest in peace?
Chaplains ponder ethics of celebrating bin Laden's death
By PATRICK DICKSON
Stars and Stripes
Published: May 4, 2011
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Army Chaplain (Maj.) Mitchel Tulloss was pondering whether it was acceptable, from a theological standpoint, for the soldiers he counsels in Afghanistan to rejoice over the killing of Osama bin Laden when he abruptly excused himself from a telephone interview. He had to check on noises he thought were incoming fire.
Navy Chaplain (Cmdr.) Philip J. Pelikan, an Eastern Orthodox priest who spent a year with Marines in Helmand province, Afghanistan, from 2009-2010, said he understood the instinct to celebrate, but hoped to appeal to servicemembers’ better selves.
“When you’ve been in the morgue and seen our guys, the temptation to rejoice when the bad guys get it is a strong one,” he said. “I think we have to fight those tendencies to celebrate or rejoice in the death of anyone.”
read more here
Chaplains ponder ethics of celebrating bin Laden's death
Fort Carson Chaplain: 'I'm Not Going To Lose Any Sleep'
Army Wives Of Deployed Soldiers, Recently Returned Soldiers React To Bin Laden Death
Marshall Zelinger, 7NEWS Content Producer/Presenter
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Military families in Colorado Springs continue to deal with the unknown even though Osama bin Laden has been killed.
Outside of the main gate at Fort Carson is the Global War on Terrorism Fallen Soldier Memorial Wall. The names of 282 Fort Carson soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq since Sept. 11 have been etched into rocks. On May 26, the names of 17 more soldiers killed in the last year will be added to the memorial.
click link for more
Missouri National Guardsmen rescue 93-year-old from car
Guardsmen rescue 93-year-old from car
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday May 4, 2011 11:07:09 EDT
POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Two members of the Missouri National Guard are getting recognition after their rescue, captured on videotape, of a 93-year-old woman from a flooded roadway along the Black River in Poplar Bluff.
read more here
Guardsmen rescue 93-year-old from car
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday May 4, 2011 11:07:09 EDT
POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Two members of the Missouri National Guard are getting recognition after their rescue, captured on videotape, of a 93-year-old woman from a flooded roadway along the Black River in Poplar Bluff.
read more here
Guardsmen rescue 93-year-old from car
Missing Iraq Veteran Jerry Beck Showed Signs of PTSD
Wife: Missing Iraq Veteran Jerry Beck Showed Signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Jennifer Beck said she last saw her husband April 26 at their home in Georgia. His abandoned car was tagged April 27, and linked to him three days later, after being found on Interstate 75, beneath the Leroy Selmon Crosstown Expressway.
By Linda Chion Kenney
Uncertainty, fear and anger overshadow the life of Jennifer Beck as she awaits word — any word — about her missing husband, U.S. Army Specialist Jerry James Beck, whose green Toyota Corolla was found abandoned on Interstate 75, underneath the Leroy Selmon Crosstown Expressway outside of Greater Brandon.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is treating this disappearance as a missing-person case and is seeking the public’s help. So are police in Hinesville, Ga., near Savannah, where Beck, 35, was stationed at Fort Stewart.
Beck’s car was first spotted by Road Rangers for the Florida Department of Transportation, who tagged the car as abandoned on April 27, one day after Beck’s disappearance and the same day Jennifer Beck reported him missing.
It wasn’t until April 30 that the car was linked to Jerry Beck, who used to live in Florida and has friends in the Tampa Bay area.
Missing Iraq Veteran Jerry Beck
Jennifer Beck said she last saw her husband April 26 at their home in Georgia. His abandoned car was tagged April 27, and linked to him three days later, after being found on Interstate 75, beneath the Leroy Selmon Crosstown Expressway.
By Linda Chion Kenney
Uncertainty, fear and anger overshadow the life of Jennifer Beck as she awaits word — any word — about her missing husband, U.S. Army Specialist Jerry James Beck, whose green Toyota Corolla was found abandoned on Interstate 75, underneath the Leroy Selmon Crosstown Expressway outside of Greater Brandon.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is treating this disappearance as a missing-person case and is seeking the public’s help. So are police in Hinesville, Ga., near Savannah, where Beck, 35, was stationed at Fort Stewart.
Beck’s car was first spotted by Road Rangers for the Florida Department of Transportation, who tagged the car as abandoned on April 27, one day after Beck’s disappearance and the same day Jennifer Beck reported him missing.
It wasn’t until April 30 that the car was linked to Jerry Beck, who used to live in Florida and has friends in the Tampa Bay area.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at 813-247-8200. Or, the Hinesville Police Department at 912-368-8215.read more here
Missing Iraq Veteran Jerry Beck
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