Woman Struck by Drill Sergeant’s Errant Arrow
July 28, 2011
St. Louis Post-Dispatch|by Kim Bell
ST. JOHN, Mo. - An archer apologized Wednesday after an errant arrow sailed through the window of a house here, striking a woman in the face as she ate a doughnut.
The man, an Army drill sergeant who was practicing archery in his backyard Tuesday morning when a shot flew far beyond his target, said he prides himself on being safe.
"I can't explain how bad I feel," Robert "Ben" Joiner said Wednesday. "I thank the Lord she wasn't more injured than she was."
Joiner, 26, spoke to a reporter at his home after posting bail to be freed from the St. Louis County Jail. He faces two felonies after the incident: second-degree assault and armed criminal action.
The arrow traveled more than 100 yards - through Joiner's backyard, through a section of thick woods, and into a neighbor's backyard - before it crashed through a double-pane kitchen window of a house.
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Woman Struck by Drill Sergeant Errant Arrow
Friday, July 29, 2011
Dogs Helping Local Veterans to Regain Freedom
Dogs Helping Local Veterans to Regain Freedom
By Maria Scali
Fox 8 News Reporter
12:24 a.m. EDT, July 29, 2011
CLEVELAND— No doubt you've heard that dog is man's best friend. That is particularly true for some area veterans.
Specially trained dogs are helping those who fought for our freedom, regain their freedom. It is made possible through the local Veteran's Best Friend program.
Frank DeLorenzo served in Iraq and works with the Army Wounded Warriors program at the Cleveland VA Hospital. He is also the co-founder of the Veteran's Best Friend Program. His dog Nina, a Labrador/ Shepherd mix, is never far from his side.
read more here
Dogs Helping Local Veterans to Regain Freedom
By Maria Scali
Fox 8 News Reporter
12:24 a.m. EDT, July 29, 2011
CLEVELAND— No doubt you've heard that dog is man's best friend. That is particularly true for some area veterans.
Specially trained dogs are helping those who fought for our freedom, regain their freedom. It is made possible through the local Veteran's Best Friend program.
Frank DeLorenzo served in Iraq and works with the Army Wounded Warriors program at the Cleveland VA Hospital. He is also the co-founder of the Veteran's Best Friend Program. His dog Nina, a Labrador/ Shepherd mix, is never far from his side.
read more here
Dogs Helping Local Veterans to Regain Freedom
Vets with PTSD, government reach settlement
Vets with PTSD, government reach settlement
By KIMBERLY HEFLING Associated Press
Posted: 07/29/2011
WASHINGTON—More than a thousand Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder would be given lifetime disability retirement benefits such as military health insurance under the terms of a settlement reached between the government and the veterans.
Attorneys for the veterans, the Justice Department and the military jointly filed a motion on Thursday that spelled out the terms. The settlement must be approved by a judge to be final.
It also affects another thousand veterans who already had lifetime retirement benefits, but would receive a higher disability rating from the military. All of the veterans affected by the settlement would potentially receive new monthly disability compensation.
The settlement stems from a 2008 class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington by veterans unable to serve, at least in part, because of the anxiety disorder who said they were illegally denied benefits.
The law requires the military to give a disability rating of at least 50 percent to troops discharged for PTSD, but each of the plaintiffs received a disability less than that, said Bart Stichman, co-executive director of the National Veterans Legal Services Program, a nonprofit organization that represented the veterans.
read more here
Vets with PTSD government reach settlement
from CNN
Vets with PTSD get benefits under settlement
From the CNN Wire Staff
July 29, 2011 9:09 a.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder filed a class-action lawsuit
They claimed they were denied benefits
A settlement in the case will afford them compensation
Thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan vets suffer from PTSD
Washington (CNN) -- Anthony Koller's squad was ambushed in Iraq. He saw his friend die. He spent 14 months at war and returned home with a diagnosis that has become all too common for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans: post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Army discharged him but he did not receive medical benefits to which he said he was entitled. There were times when the family, with three small children, did not have any health care coverage at all.
But relief is on its way for Koller and more than 1,000 other Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who suffer from PTSD. Under the terms of a class-action lawsuit settlement announced Friday by a veterans advocacy group, those veterans will now receive lifetime disability benefits.
The National Veterans Legal Services Program said the U.S. military violated the law by failing to assign the veterans a 50% or higher disability rating that is needed to qualify for benefits.
"These veterans served our country in time of war, but have waited three to eight years to receive the disability benefits which they've earned for their service," said Bart Stichman, co-executive director of the veterans advocacy group.
"Today, a terrible wrong to our nation's war veterans is being righted," he said.
read more of this here
Vets with PTSD get benefits under settlement
“Pattern of conduct” by Assistant Secretary of Labor for VETS
Probe requested by McCaskill results in resignation of senior Administration official
Senator pursued whistleblower allegations of contractor fraud, waste at Labor Department
By Press Release
Waynesville Daily Guide
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A top official at the U.S. Department of Labor has resigned after an Inspector General investigation, requested by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, found that the official, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training Services (VETS) Raymond Jefferson, circumvented rules and regulations to secure government contracts for friends and colleagues.
McCaskill, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, was approached late last year by a whistleblower who shared allegations of contracting fraud committed by senior officials within the Department. A thorough investigation by the Labor Department’s Inspector General (McCaskill’s request for an investigation is available on her website, HERE) resulted in a report released publicly today.
The report (executive summary HERE) describes a “pattern of conduct” by Assistant Secretary of Labor for VETS, Raymond Jefferson, “which reflects a consistent disregard of federal procurement regulations, federal ethics principles, and the proper stewardship of appropriated dollars.”
McCaskill was informed yesterday that as a result of the investigation, Jefferson has resigned.
The Labor Department has also taken control of procurement authority in the VETS program to ensure that no contracts can be awarded without approval of senior officials outside the program.
read more here
Probe requested by McCaskill results in resignation
Senator pursued whistleblower allegations of contractor fraud, waste at Labor Department
By Press Release
Waynesville Daily Guide
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A top official at the U.S. Department of Labor has resigned after an Inspector General investigation, requested by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, found that the official, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training Services (VETS) Raymond Jefferson, circumvented rules and regulations to secure government contracts for friends and colleagues.
McCaskill, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, was approached late last year by a whistleblower who shared allegations of contracting fraud committed by senior officials within the Department. A thorough investigation by the Labor Department’s Inspector General (McCaskill’s request for an investigation is available on her website, HERE) resulted in a report released publicly today.
The report (executive summary HERE) describes a “pattern of conduct” by Assistant Secretary of Labor for VETS, Raymond Jefferson, “which reflects a consistent disregard of federal procurement regulations, federal ethics principles, and the proper stewardship of appropriated dollars.”
McCaskill was informed yesterday that as a result of the investigation, Jefferson has resigned.
The Labor Department has also taken control of procurement authority in the VETS program to ensure that no contracts can be awarded without approval of senior officials outside the program.
read more here
Probe requested by McCaskill results in resignation
GOP elected and veterans? Frankly my dear they don't give a damn!
If there is anyone left in this country still under the delusion the Republican party is for veterans, they will never wake up. The people who really cared about the troops and veterans in the GOP retired a long time ago yet some just assume they care because they say so.
All you have to do is look at all the Bills over the last ten years to know what the truth is, who voted for veterans and who voted against them.
Social Security and Medicare are part of how veterans pay bills just like their disability checks. Everything we need on a daily basis to live is on the line while most of the Republican elected fight tooth and nail for the sake of the tax breaks for the rich. They are not fighting for us. Frankly my dear, they just don't give a damn about the debt this nation owes veterans. After all, since most of the members of congress are in the ranks of the rich, how could they possibly understand that the debt they are talking about putting on hold was due payable as soon as the men and women entered into the military. They will let everyone suffer so that their rich friends get to keep their tax cuts no matter who has to suffer.
This goes on to print how some veterans are blaming Obama for telling them what's on the line but when you stop and think about all of this, the target of righteous anger should be the members of congress not fighting for us. They expect us to forget about all the money that went missing in Iraq they never even thought of looking into. Any idea how far billions could go in taking care of the wounded coming home? They allowed the wars to be ongoing with no one checking on where the money was going but now they complain? They didn't even demand the two wars were made part of the budget as if they were not worth it. All they did was demand the money be there so that we would "support the troops" and now, now suddenly they care about the debt because both wars are in the budget?
I feel sorry for anyone blindly supporting members of both parties without knowing who is the "friendly" and who is the "enemy" of veterans.
All you have to do is look at all the Bills over the last ten years to know what the truth is, who voted for veterans and who voted against them.
Social Security and Medicare are part of how veterans pay bills just like their disability checks. Everything we need on a daily basis to live is on the line while most of the Republican elected fight tooth and nail for the sake of the tax breaks for the rich. They are not fighting for us. Frankly my dear, they just don't give a damn about the debt this nation owes veterans. After all, since most of the members of congress are in the ranks of the rich, how could they possibly understand that the debt they are talking about putting on hold was due payable as soon as the men and women entered into the military. They will let everyone suffer so that their rich friends get to keep their tax cuts no matter who has to suffer.
White House to veterans: Boehner's plan will endanger your benefits
Joe Newby, Spokane Conservative Examiner
On Tuesday, Obama Administration officials met with representatives of veterans groups in an effort to frighten them - just as the President did with seniors earlier in July - into believing that the Republicans would endanger their benefits in the event America defaulted on its debt.
Although Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to the president, said she believes the military will continue to be paid in the event of a default, officials said the plan being worked on by House Speaker John Boehner “would endanger veterans benefits,” according to Joseph R. Chenelly of the Disabled American Veterans.
“They said the president understood veterans’ anxiety and regretted it,” he said, the Washington Post reported.
According to the Post:
Tuesday’s meeting came on the eve of an online protest meant to protect veteran benefits during the debt crisis negotiations. DAV, the nation’s largest group representing disabled veterans and their families, is organizing a “virtual march on Washington” on Facebook for Wednesday.
Thousands of virtual marchers have registered for the online protest, according to the DAV. Though it will take place primarily on Facebook, links to participate will also be available at http://www.dav.org and on Twitter, using the hashtag #March4Vets, organizers said.
read more here
White House to veterans
This goes on to print how some veterans are blaming Obama for telling them what's on the line but when you stop and think about all of this, the target of righteous anger should be the members of congress not fighting for us. They expect us to forget about all the money that went missing in Iraq they never even thought of looking into. Any idea how far billions could go in taking care of the wounded coming home? They allowed the wars to be ongoing with no one checking on where the money was going but now they complain? They didn't even demand the two wars were made part of the budget as if they were not worth it. All they did was demand the money be there so that we would "support the troops" and now, now suddenly they care about the debt because both wars are in the budget?
I feel sorry for anyone blindly supporting members of both parties without knowing who is the "friendly" and who is the "enemy" of veterans.
Police officers get training on combat brain injuries
A Day of TBI Training for Albemarle Police
Reported by Julie Bercik
Some Albemarle County police officers spent Thursday afternoon in the classroom. They discussed the effects of post traumatic stress disorder and other traumatic brain injuries for soldiers.
Ben Shaw, a veteran peer specialist with the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program, led the training session. The former marine served time in Iraq.
read more here
A Day of TBI Training for Albemarle Police
Reported by Julie Bercik
Some Albemarle County police officers spent Thursday afternoon in the classroom. They discussed the effects of post traumatic stress disorder and other traumatic brain injuries for soldiers.
Ben Shaw, a veteran peer specialist with the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program, led the training session. The former marine served time in Iraq.
read more here
A Day of TBI Training for Albemarle Police
AWOL soldier arrested with bomb items near Ft. Hood
AWOL soldier arrested with bomb items near Ft. Hood
An AWOL soldier from the U.S. Army has been arrested, and bomb-making materials discovered in his motel room, near Fort Hood, Texas.
by KWTX.com, CBS News
Army Pvt. Nasser Jason Abdo, 21, who was AWOL from Fort Campbell, Kentucy, was arrested on Wednesday in Killeen, Texas, on an outstanding child pornography warrant.
Abdo was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's Company E at the time of his arrest.
Killeen police arrested Abdo Wednesday afternoon at America's Best Value Inn on South Fort Hood Street after responding to a report of a suspicious man.
FBI spokesman Erik Vasys said Thursday that firearms and "items that could be identified as bomb-making components, including gunpowder" were removed from his motel room.
Abdo, who's from Garland, joined the Army in March 2009. He went AWOL on July 4, on the eve of his first deployment to Afghanistan.
A law enforcement official told CBS News that Abdo had asked how to build explosives at a gun store near Fort Hood. His questions about explosives made the gun store worker suspicious and contact police, the official said.
read more here
AWOL soldier arrested with bomb items near Ft. Hood
An AWOL soldier from the U.S. Army has been arrested, and bomb-making materials discovered in his motel room, near Fort Hood, Texas.
by KWTX.com, CBS News
Army Pvt. Nasser Jason Abdo, 21, who was AWOL from Fort Campbell, Kentucy, was arrested on Wednesday in Killeen, Texas, on an outstanding child pornography warrant.
Abdo was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's Company E at the time of his arrest.
Killeen police arrested Abdo Wednesday afternoon at America's Best Value Inn on South Fort Hood Street after responding to a report of a suspicious man.
FBI spokesman Erik Vasys said Thursday that firearms and "items that could be identified as bomb-making components, including gunpowder" were removed from his motel room.
Abdo, who's from Garland, joined the Army in March 2009. He went AWOL on July 4, on the eve of his first deployment to Afghanistan.
A law enforcement official told CBS News that Abdo had asked how to build explosives at a gun store near Fort Hood. His questions about explosives made the gun store worker suspicious and contact police, the official said.
read more here
AWOL soldier arrested with bomb items near Ft. Hood
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Triple amputee veteran's wife tells lawmakers of long-term cost of war
Marine Lost Arms, Legs; Wife Tells Lawmakers of Long-Term Cost of War
July 27, 2011
ABC News’ Arlette Saenz (@arlettesaenz) reports:
Crystal Nicely, the wife of one of three surviving quadruple amputees in the Marine Corps, put a face to the long term costs of war by sharing her experiences navigating the system as a non-medical attendant for her husband.
“For me, I'm not only my husband's caregiver, non medical attendant, appointment scheduler, cook, driver and groomer, but I'm also his loving wife faced with my own stresses and frustrations,” Nicely said at a hearing before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. “To be clear this is not an issue of being overwhelmed with caring for my husband, but what is upsetting is the lack of support, compassion and benefits for these individuals. It needs to be just a little bit easier.”
Her husband, Marine Cpl. Todd Nicely, lost both arms and both legs when he was hit by an IED during a foot patrol in Helmand province in Afghanistan in 2010. Since his injury, he has spent a year recovering at Walter Reed and has received prosthetics, which enable him to be a little more independent, even recently being able to drive.
“It has been a long journey since that day in the early 2010 and you would think that it would be easy for someone to lose hope and motivation after such a catastrophic injury, but my husband has been a fighter since day one. In recovery, he displayed the same irresistible warrior spirit for which the marines are so beloved,” Crystal Nicely said.
But the Nicely couple has confronted red tape throughout their time at Walter Reed as they’ve struggled with delayed paperwork, and slowly trained warrior unit personnel. Cpl. Nicely waited 70 days for doctor to complete a medical summary for his disability review, which delayed his release from Walter Reed and retirement from the military.
The CBO estimates the medical costs associated with the Veterans Health Administration’s treatment of veterans from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq could total between $40 billion and $55 billion over the next ten years.
read more here
Cost of war
July 27, 2011
ABC News’ Arlette Saenz (@arlettesaenz) reports:
Crystal Nicely, the wife of one of three surviving quadruple amputees in the Marine Corps, put a face to the long term costs of war by sharing her experiences navigating the system as a non-medical attendant for her husband.
“For me, I'm not only my husband's caregiver, non medical attendant, appointment scheduler, cook, driver and groomer, but I'm also his loving wife faced with my own stresses and frustrations,” Nicely said at a hearing before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. “To be clear this is not an issue of being overwhelmed with caring for my husband, but what is upsetting is the lack of support, compassion and benefits for these individuals. It needs to be just a little bit easier.”
Her husband, Marine Cpl. Todd Nicely, lost both arms and both legs when he was hit by an IED during a foot patrol in Helmand province in Afghanistan in 2010. Since his injury, he has spent a year recovering at Walter Reed and has received prosthetics, which enable him to be a little more independent, even recently being able to drive.
“It has been a long journey since that day in the early 2010 and you would think that it would be easy for someone to lose hope and motivation after such a catastrophic injury, but my husband has been a fighter since day one. In recovery, he displayed the same irresistible warrior spirit for which the marines are so beloved,” Crystal Nicely said.
But the Nicely couple has confronted red tape throughout their time at Walter Reed as they’ve struggled with delayed paperwork, and slowly trained warrior unit personnel. Cpl. Nicely waited 70 days for doctor to complete a medical summary for his disability review, which delayed his release from Walter Reed and retirement from the military.
The CBO estimates the medical costs associated with the Veterans Health Administration’s treatment of veterans from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq could total between $40 billion and $55 billion over the next ten years.
read more here
Cost of war
School helps military vets find peace of mind
School helps military vets find peace of mind
Karen Meyer
More: Bio, News Team
July 28, 2011 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Combat veterans often struggle to adjust to life once they return home. Many experience psychological challenges that require support from therapists who understand and are trained in this area.
A local school of psychology is making this possible.
Adler School of Professional Psychology's military psychology program will be starting this fall. It prepares students to work as clinical psychologists either as members of the military or as civilians.
Joseph Troiani is a retired U.S. Navy commander and an associate professor at Adler who created the military program.
"Two years ago we decided to formalize, that by the development of a specialty track of elective courses to better prepare the student interested in either going into the military as a military psychologist or in working with veterans," said Troiani. "For example, we have a course called 'The Psychology of Combat and Conflict.' ... We also have additional classes dealing with disaster response."
read more here
School helps military vets find peace of mind
Karen Meyer
More: Bio, News Team
July 28, 2011 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Combat veterans often struggle to adjust to life once they return home. Many experience psychological challenges that require support from therapists who understand and are trained in this area.
A local school of psychology is making this possible.
Adler School of Professional Psychology's military psychology program will be starting this fall. It prepares students to work as clinical psychologists either as members of the military or as civilians.
Joseph Troiani is a retired U.S. Navy commander and an associate professor at Adler who created the military program.
"Two years ago we decided to formalize, that by the development of a specialty track of elective courses to better prepare the student interested in either going into the military as a military psychologist or in working with veterans," said Troiani. "For example, we have a course called 'The Psychology of Combat and Conflict.' ... We also have additional classes dealing with disaster response."
read more here
School helps military vets find peace of mind
Norwegian chaplain training with VA grieves for homeland
Visiting Norwegian chaplain grieves for homeland
Written by
Kirsti Marohn
A month ago Kyrre Klevberg’s family returned to their home in Norway overlooking a peaceful lake and island that last week became the site of unspeakable terror and tragedy.
Klevberg, a military chaplain, is wrapping up three years of work and training at the St. Cloud VA Health Care System, where he has worked with veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder.
On Monday, he’ll return to his homeland that has been shaken by the deadly attacks on a government building in Oslo and a youth camp just 2 miles from Klevberg’s home, as survivors and families of victims deal with their own trauma.
“I’m really grieving and being both angry and sad about the upsetting news,” Klevberg said.
read more here
Visiting Norwegian chaplain grieves for homeland
Written by
Kirsti Marohn
A month ago Kyrre Klevberg’s family returned to their home in Norway overlooking a peaceful lake and island that last week became the site of unspeakable terror and tragedy.
Klevberg, a military chaplain, is wrapping up three years of work and training at the St. Cloud VA Health Care System, where he has worked with veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder.
On Monday, he’ll return to his homeland that has been shaken by the deadly attacks on a government building in Oslo and a youth camp just 2 miles from Klevberg’s home, as survivors and families of victims deal with their own trauma.
“I’m really grieving and being both angry and sad about the upsetting news,” Klevberg said.
read more here
Visiting Norwegian chaplain grieves for homeland
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