Group offers barbecue, help to disabled vets

There were two reporters out there with us today. FOX was there too and the reporter was wonderful. Looking for his video but haven't seen it yet. Tomorrow I should have mine up.

Today was a really wonderful day. I had the chance to talk to Joshua Cope, a double amputee Iraq vet with a one week old baby and two other young children. I talked to Andrew Berry and Christopher O'Conner, both Iraq veterans wounded by IEDs. All of them have such great attitudes it makes you feel as if you shouldn't have a care in the world.

Ocoee Mayor Scott Vandergrift was there, as usual whenever there is anything going on for Veterans, he's sure to be there with his big smile and warmth. Cathy Haynes was there too. If you are involved with veterans in the area at all, you know who Cathy Haynes is. I think the woman works twice as hard as I do without a nap. (I need them daily)

It was wonderful to see so many young veterans spending time with, as Andrew Berry put it, older veterans with a lot to share. They understand that the DAV is there for them just as it had been for the "older" veterans when they came home around the same age as these new veterans. They also prove that one you're a veteran, you are for life and it is an outstanding family to belong to.

Group offers barbecue, help to disabled vets
Jim Sursely converses with another disabled veteran at a barbecue Sunday. Sursely lost both legs and an arm in Vietnam.
By Mark Jenkins, Reporter
Last Updated: Sunday, October 02, 2011 5:55 PM

ORLANDO --
Jim Sursely has spent the last 40 years confined to a wheel chair. He lost both his legs and an arm in a land mine explosion in Vietnam.

However, that doesn't slow him down.

"What's in my heart now is my willingness to want to come out and help and welcome these young guys coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan," Sursely said.

He's helping guys like Andrew Berry and Chris O'Conner. Both of them were injured in IED explosions.

"It blasted me 10 feet in the air, knocked me unconscious for like a minute," O'Conner said.

Berry suffered damage to his leg, lower back and head. O'Conner received a traumatic brain injury and multiple shrapnel wounds throughout his body. Even after being removed from the war zone, returning home isn't easy.
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Soldier Says PTSD Cost Him His Job On SWAT Team

Soldier Says PTSD Cost Him His Job
by Marcus Washington

SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. - He risked his life for our country, and even watched his friends die in combat. Now a soldier said he is without a job because of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and he said he was fired without merit.

A life as a soldier or someone protecting others from the "bad guys" has always been a dream for Chad Clinard.

"As a kid I was always playing G.I. Joe," said Clinard.

So between two deployments to Iraq, Clinard applied to work for the Robertson County Sheriff's Office.

"I got a call asking if I wanted to be a correctional officer, so I immediately jumped on that and started at the beginning of January 2006," said Clinard.

Clinard did well at the Robertson County Sheriff's Office. In the five years he was there he went from correctional officer to a member of the SWAT team.

"In trying to keep the crime rate down, trying to keep the drugs off the streets, that's where I wanted to be. I wanted to be that guy," he said.

Clinard admitted what happened in Iraq is not always easy to deal with after three of his closest friends were killed in combat.
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Ex-homeless Air Force mom backs Federal Way women's shelter

Ex-homeless Air Force mom backs Federal Way women's shelter
By ANDY HOBBS
Federal Way Mirror Editor
Oct 01 2011
A brain injury from a Mack Truck accident led to Sheila Sebron becoming a homeless single mother of two children.

Sebron had an eight-year career in the U.S. Air Force before her medical discharge. Long an advocate for the homeless, she suddenly saw things from the other side.

“I went from hospital bed to homeless,” said Sebron, a Seattle resident. “Even though I never slept on the street, I had no control of my housing.”

Homelessness affects women in a deeper way than it affects men, she said.
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Hero combat medic "unqualified to be an emergency medical technician"

Ex-soldier is a hero abroad, but unemployed at home

By Drew Brooks
Staff writer

In Afghanistan, Nick Colgin was a hero.

In America, he's unemployed.

Colgin, who earned a Bronze Star as a member of Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division, has become one of the faces of the unemployed veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

His efforts in finding employment became part of history when President Obama referred to him during a speech in August that focused on the need to better prepare veterans for the workforce.

When he was with the Army, then Spc. Colgin was recognized for saving the life of a French soldier who had been shot in the head and for working with other soldiers to rescue more than 40 civilians from a flood. Colgin assumed that a stellar military career would transfer to his civilian life when he left Fort Bragg and the Army in June 2008.

But reality was much crueler for Colgin once the Army rank was dropped from his last name.

A combat medic as a soldier, Colgin found himself unqualified to be an emergency medical technician in Wyoming, where he had hoped to start a new, adventurous life.
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Fort Bragg medic killed helping wounded in Afghanistan

Indiana soldier killed helping wounded in Afghanistan
Army medic was 2009 Chesterton High School grad

By John Byrne, Tribune reporter
October 2, 2011

Spc. James Butz became an Army medic because he wanted to help people, and his aunt said the Northwest Indiana native was doing just that when he was killed last week in Afghanistan.

Butz, 21, was rushing to the aid of two injured Marines when he was killed in Helmand province, his aunt, Joyce Wascher, said.

"They told us two Marines had been hurt, and he ran forward — without his helmet or his gun — to help them," Wascher said Saturday. Butz, of Porter, was fatally injured Wednesday when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device, according to the Department of Defense.

"I think he was just trying to respond, that's the way he was," Wascher said of her nephew, who was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division out of Ft. Bragg, N.C.
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Soldier returns to family and cheers

After serving a year in Iraq, a soldier is home with his family
Once he arrived, the entire airport cheered, as he made his way to hug his family for the first time in over a year
Melissa Gaona
Multimedia Journalist
6:13 p.m. EDT, October 1, 2011

ROANOKE, Va.—
The Hicklin family was at Roanoke Regional Airport staring out the window, waiting and watching for his plane to land.

Once he arrived, the entire airport cheered, as he made his way to hug his family for the first time in over a year.

Saturday was a big day for the Hicklin’s. Their soldier serving in the United States Army finished his tour in Iraq.

His mother, Betty Barber, explains how she’s been staying in touch. “When he wasn’t out on a mission, we got to talk a whole lot through Skype on the computer, through Facebook and by phone,” said Barber.
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3 Tour Ex-Marine arrested in Hillsborough County deputy shooting

It is by the grace of God this ended the way it did. DeVeaux is still alive after being shot at "9 or 10 times" by a Marine trained to kill. Buendia was not killed by SWAT. Some may want to just blame Buendia for all of this but that is only because they do not understand how this country has been failing the men and women we send into combat. Buendia brought the war back home inside of him.

Ex-Marine arrested in Hillsborough County deputy shooting

By Jessica Vander Velde and Shelley Rossetter, Times Staff Writers
In Print: Sunday, October 2, 2011

Hillsborough deputies escort former Marine Matthew Buendia, 24, at the jail on Saturday.

[OCTAVIO JONES | Times]

TAMPA — Five years ago, Matt Buendia was a Marine preparing for deployment and Lyonelle De Veaux was a new sheriff's deputy.

He focused on rising through the ranks. She aimed to help abused and neglected children.

They met on Friday, De Veaux parked under the oaks at a Carrollwood apartment complex and Buendia with a gun tucked into his waistband.

It was a routine domestic call. De Veaux, 35, met Buendia's girlfriend at the front of the complex about 10:30 p.m. Friday. The deputy asked the woman to sit in the patrol car so she could give a statement.

That's when Buendia, 24, walked up. He was too close. The deputy asked him to step back.

Instead, he whipped out a semiautomatic gun and started pumping bullets into De Veaux, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reported.

He fired nine or 10 times, deputies say, from just a few feet away.

De Veaux spun and crouched as she backed up, trying to use her car to get some distance from Buendia — a mix of training and instinct.

Three bullets hit her — in the upper leg, lower leg and shoulder, Sheriff David Gee said. She was wearing a protective vest, but it didn't cover those areas.

As she lay on the pavement, Buendia ran back into his apartment and locked himself inside.
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also
Suspect in Hillsborough deputy shooting a former Marine

9 or 10 times a gun was fired by someone trained to hit what they aim at. He was close to her. She survived. Over the years veterans like Buendia have been treated like common criminals, with no care for anyone else but themselves. The veterans in this country are not about "self" or they wouldn't choose the professions they enter into. When they come home changed and challenged by where we send them, it is our responsibility to care for them. If we don't, there will be many more times when the story is repeated with a very different outcome.

"He served three deployments in the Middle East, according to his uncle, Bob Buendia, 68, and rose to the rank of sergeant. He left the military a couple of years ago. His uncle believes Matthew started working in insurance.


When Matthew Buendia returned to the United States, his uncle spoke to him by phone. Matthew Buendia mentioned he had lost a lot of buddies overseas.


He didn't share the details, but his family could tell he was hurting, said Bob Buendia, of Texas."


The young man was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, family members say.


"I don't think he understands what had happened, to be honest with you," Matthew Buendia's father, Richard Buendia, told Bay News 9. "I feel awful. … He's a good young man, never been in any kind of problems at all."


Matthew Buendia was being seen by Veterans Affairs doctors, Bob Buendia said.

Suspect in Hillsborough deputy shooting a former Marine

Suspect in Hillsborough deputy shooting a former Marine

By JOSH POLTILOVE, THE TAMPA TRIBUNE
Published: October 01, 2011
Updated: October 01, 2011 - 4:59 PM
TAMPA --
The former Marine accused of shooting a Hillsborough County deputy three times Friday night had post-traumatic stress disorder upon his return from Iraq, his uncle said today.

"I know he had been going to the VA hospital quite a bit, and they'd been putting him off, putting him off," Bob Buendia said of his nephew, 24-year-old Matthew Lane Buendia of Carrollwood. "He'd been getting frustrated."

Deputy Lyonelle De Veaux, 35, was shot twice in the leg and once in the shoulder while responding to a domestic call at 10:22 p.m. at Matthew Buendia's apartment complex.

De Veaux, a five-year sheriff's office veteran who works in the department's District 3, was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital. She was in good condition and alert late Saturday, spending time with her family at the hospital, sheriff's spokesman Larry McKinnon said.

"Right now we believe she is doing well," Sheriff David Gee said during a 4 a.m. press conference.
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Orlando DAV Free BBQ for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans

The DAV has been getting phone calls asking "How much is it?" The answer is, it is free

NYPD: Arrest made in attempted rape foiled by Marine in Queens

NYPD: Arrest made in attempted rape foiled by Marine in Queens

BY ROCCO PARASCANDOLA
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU CHIEF
Police have arrested a man they say is the pervert who tried to sexually assault a woman alongside a Queens highway before he was scared away by a former Marine.

Kenneth King, 41, was charged with attempted rape, police said Friday afternoon.

Three people recognized King from an artist's sketch of the suspect that the NYPD released to the media after the attack Wednesday morning, police sources said.

All three called the tip in to the 109th Precinct in Flushing, and each provided King's name, the sources said.

The suspect dragged the woman - who had been waiting for a ride when she was accosted - into a wooded area near the highway, pinned her down and started to rip her clothes off.

But ex-Marine Bryan Teichman, 31, of Fresh Meadows, Queens, who was in the area, dropping his daughter off at a babysitter's home, saw the suspect toss the woman over a highway guardrail.

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Sgt. Nathan Harris Wounded Afghanistan veteran's story captured on film

Wounded Afghanistan veteran's story captured on film
Sgt. Nathan Harris, severely wounded in Afghanistan, joins photojournalist Danfung Dennis to discuss "Hell and Back Again," a film that documents their experiences in the war.
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Parents of veteran killed in Washington speak out

Parents of veteran killed in Washington speak out


Reported by: Julie Tremmel Email: julietremmel@fox23news.com

The parents of the 33-year-old Clifton Park Army veteran who died in Washington, DC earlier this week are now sharing their story.

Shenedahowa graduate Patrick Casey suffered head trauma and never regained consciousness after possibly trying to intervene in an altercation that happened outside a DC McDonald's one week ago.

Casey was a football star at Shen, and not too far down the road, was a football standout at RPI too.

His parents Paul and Gail say their son also saw serious combat action during a recent 12-month long tour to Afghanistan, even losing several friends to the horrors of war.

After his time in the military was up, he worked as a computer systems tech in Israel, making friends with dozens of people in several other countries along the way.

At 6' 4", and 275 pounds, his mom and dad admit Casey was quite an imposing figure.

As an Army Sergeant, a football star and accomplished outdoorsman, Casey may seem on the surface, intimidating. But his parents say the truth is, Patrick was just a big hearted, easy going guy who loved his family, his friends and his country.

The couple says after being overwhelmed with relief to finally watch their son come home to the U.S. safely, they never expected to lose their son like this.

So, right now, people from Israel to Troy are mourning his death.
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Clifton Park native, Army vet killed in Washington, DC

Reported by: Paul Merrill Email: paulmerrill@fox23news.com
Editor: B. DiGiovanni

Print Story Published: 9/28
A Clifton Park native is dead after a bizarre incident on a Washington, DC street.

Thirty-three-year-old Patrick Casey had just finished a one-year-long tour of duty with the U.S. Army Infantry in Afghanistan.

He had moved to Washington in August to begin graduate school at George Washington University.

"When he was in Afghanistan, we thought that was the worst year of our life," says Gail Casey, Patrick's mother. "This is worse and I don't know when it stops."

Patrick died Tuesday at George Washington University Hospital in Washington.

He had been attacked outside a Washington McDonald's the previous Friday.

It was reportedly 2:00 a.m. on Friday when Patrick tried to stop three men who were causing trouble outside the restaurant.
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Police officer wore patch under body armor in Iraq as National Guard soldier

Kennewick police officer welcomed home from Iraq

BY PAULA HORTON, TRI-CITY HERALD

KENNEWICK -- A Kennewick police officer who spent most of the past year with the National Guard in Iraq was welcomed back to work Friday with a celebration at the police station.

Officer Jeff Sagen, a patrol officer in Kennewick for five years, received a Hometown Hero Award from Kennewick Police Chief Ken Hohenberg.

"Our philosophy is not only to make sure our own city's safe, but we work very hard to contribute to the Tri-Cities' safety as a whole," Hohenberg told the Herald. "We have a lot of good federal partners too. ... Officer Sagen just took our philosophy further to another country."

Sagen was stationed for just more than nine months in Balad, which is in north central Iraq. He was with 3rd Battalion, 116th Calvary Regiment and was promoted to captain during his tour.

He kept the Kennewick Police Department close to him by wearing his KPD patch on his armor.

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Sagen is one of many National Guards and Reservists around the country serving at home and then topping it off with serving wherever they are needed. They continue to risk their lives back home but receive less support than regular military service members. Active duty troops have the support of everyone in their company but when the citizen soldiers come home, they are back to work with few understanding where they've been. We need to support them more than we do and appreciate how devoted they are to their country and communities.

White House Cuts $25 Billion More From Defense to Fund VA

When it was first decided to send the troops into Afghanistan, no one thought about how to pay for any of it. Then troops were send into Iraq. Yet again, no one thought about how to pay for any of it or how long it would go on.

"The Pentagon’s latest figures through July 30 indicate the military’s spent $1.054 trillion since Sept. 11, 2001, with $704.6 billion obligated for Iraq and $323.2 billion for Afghanistan."

They didn't even know how much it would cost or how long the troops would be there any more than they knew how many wounded would make it back home.

Now with more and more wounded entering into VA healthcare across the country, it has come to this. Budget cuts from the Department of Defense for the sake of the VA.

White House Cuts $25 Billion More From Defense to Fund VA
September 30, 2011

By Tony Capaccio

Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The White House has directed the Pentagon to reduce its 10-year spending plan by another $25 billion, on top of the roughly $450 billion it’s already planning to cut, according to three government officials.

The Office of Management and Budget directed the action because the White House decided to protect Veterans Administration medical funding from cuts, said one the officials. All three spoke on condition of anonymity because the change hasn’t been announced.

The reduction might mean a $1 billion cut in the pending $513 billion defense bill for fiscal 2012, said the official, who was familiar with the OMB action. The bill’s already been reduced $26 billion from the Pentagon’s original budget request, meaning about no increase from current year spending.

The OMB guidance came in early September, said one of the three sources.

A $27 billion reduction remains within the range laid out in the Budget Control Act signed into law Aug. 2. For the fiscal years beginning in 2013, the new cut would average an additional $2.5 billion a year, the official said.

The Budget Control Act has an overall cap for fiscal 2012 and 2013 that includes the Defense Department, State Department, Veterans Administration and Department of Homeland Security, so to protect this veterans funding means that all other accounts in the security budget will have to be cut that much more, said Todd Harrison, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a non-partisan budget analysis group in Washington.
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Verdict: Lejeune Marine did not haze junior colleague

UPDATE: Verdict: Lejeune Marine did not haze junior colleague
September 30, 2011 12:12 PM
HOPE HODGE - DAILY NEWS STAFF
Updated at 5:37 p.m.

A military jury decided Friday that a Camp Lejeune lance corporal who fought “like a drunken monkey” in the mixed martial arts ring was not guilty of assaulting a Marine in his unit who failed to complete a series of push-ups.

Lance Cpl. Chad Fyffe, 23, was acquitted on charges of assault, false official statement and drunk and disorderly conduct in a summer 2010 incident at his French Creek barracks. Fyffe, then a member of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines scout sniper platoon, called the four newest members of the unit into his room to inspect their rucksacks for the next day’s exercise. Upon finding that some of the sacks were missing pieces of gear, Fyffe and his roommates told the Marines to begin “25-and-5” sets, a push-up exercise used in the platoon for training and correction. When one Marine, Pfc. Charles Holloway, could not keep up, Holloway claimed Fyffe began punching him and kicking him in the ribs, then ordered him into a bathroom across the hall and pummeled him for 10-15 minutes before finally releasing him.
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also on hazing

Marine suicide tied to hazing

Marine suicide leads to charges

‘High-risk activities’ help soldiers remain grounded

‘High-risk activities’ help soldiers remain grounded
Posted On: Thursday, Sep. 29 2011 11:31 PM

'By Colleen Flaherty

Killeen Daily Herald

DALLAS — First Lt. Emily Miller had one thought as she stood at the edge of the seven-story platform.

"Why am I doing this?" she recalled, following her first bungee jump experience Thursday at Zero Gravity adventure park in Dallas.

Miller and about 30 other 66th Military Intelligence Company soldiers from 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, visited the park as part of their reintegration training. The regiment returned from its fourth and final deployment to Iraq in August.

"There's nothing between you and the ground, just open space," said Miller, 24. But the fear was worth "the adrenaline rush. I always told myself I'd go bungee jumping."

Sgt. 1st Class Stanley Holcombe of Fort Hood's Warrior Adventure Quest program accompanied the Ghostrider crew. He said encouraging returning soldiers to thrill-seek in a controlled environment is central to Warrior Adventure Quest, which "mitigates high-risk behavior through high-risk activities."

"The purpose is two-fold," Holcombe said. "They're having fun, but at the same time, they're exhibiting positive adaptive behavior, versus maladapted behavior, like driving too fast or drinking."
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GAO: 4 percent of VA copayments inaccurate

If there is anyone out there not understanding veterans are not covered for everything for free, this should clear that up.

GAO: 4 percent of VA copayments inaccurate
By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Sep 30, 2011 12:26:41 EDT
In 2009, the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s health panel called Department of Veterans Affairs officials on the carpet for what advocates and lawmakers said were “inappropriate billing practices” resulting in veterans being overcharged for medical service copayments.

But a newly released review of VA’s 56 million copayment bills in 2010 by the Government Accountability Office shows VA has an accuracy rate of 96 percent. Still, that means about 2.3 million copayment amounts were inaccurate last year, the GAO report said.

VA collects payment from veterans or their insurance companies for treatment and prescriptions for conditions not related to military service.

At the 2009 hearing, representatives of the Paralyzed Veterans Association, Disabled American Veterans and the American Legion reported incidents of veterans paying erroneous bills and never being reimbursed. Some veterans also were billed multiple times for a single service or received incorrect bills months after services were rendered.
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One more thing to understand is that if they have a claim not approved, they have to pay out of pocket or their insurance unless they can prove they are unable to pay.

Considering members of congress get to keep their full coverage after they leave office, this shows how little the congress does in fact value the troops and veterans. The troops are just not worth as much as they are to themselves. Most people don't know members of congress walk out with great benefits that last the rest of their lives no matter if they go to work for private companies or not. Ask Bachmann if she plans on ending her benefits when she leaves office the way she wants military retirees to give their benefits up.

Vietnam Vet Walks Hundreds Of Miles For Awareness

Vietnam Vet Walks Hundreds Of Miles For Awareness
Vet Is Hopes To Raise Money For Resource Center

KRDO.com Staff
POSTED: 12:12 pm MDT September 29, 2011

UPDATED: 12:36 pm MDT September 29, 2011
FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Ben Cordova is walking from Wyoming to New Mexico to raise awareness for veterans.

The Vietnam vet said his mission is to raise funds for a veteran’s resource center, which will provide free services to veterans and their families.

Cordova said there are not enough programs established to provide assistance to veterans, and he wants to change that.

“I don’t want the younger generations to go through some of the stuff we’ve gone through.
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Camp Lejeune holds career fair and education expo

Camp Lejeune holds career fair and education expo
By: Ashley White

CAMP LEJEUNE – More than 100 companies are coming together to help employ our nation's heroes. The Job Fair and Education Expo on board Camp Lejeune is providing the resources to help get the military men and women, who are ready to leave the service, a new job or on the path for education.
read more here and see video

Fort Hood soldier dies of non-combat incident

The Department of Defense today announced the death of a Texas soldier who was supporting Operation New Dawn in Iraq.

According to The Department of Defense, Staff Sgt. Estevan Altamirano, 30, of Edcouch, died Sept. 18 in Tikrit of “injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident.”

Sgt. Altamirano was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood.

Man accused of killing soldier with truck recovering from stab wounds

Man accused of killing soldier with truck recovering from stab wounds
Posted On: Tuesday, Sep. 27 2011 12:47 PM
From staff and wire reports

A South Carolina man accused of hitting and killing a Texas soldier with his pickup truck and then driving away is recovering from stab wounds after returning to the scene of the biker rally where it happened.

Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton said the victim was Sgt. 1st Class Maurice Collier of Fort Hood.

Collier was assigned to the 8th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, according to information from Fort Hood.
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Navy Vet with PTSD is focus of Criminal Minds episode

One of my favorite shows is Criminal Minds. I don't have much time to watch TV but this is one of the shows I make sure I get off the computer for.

'Criminal Minds' 'Dorado Falls' Preview: He's Fighting his own Mind
September 29, 2011 11:30 AM EDT
Criminal Minds season 7 continues with episode 3, "Dorado Falls." After the last case, which had to be one of the creepiest on the show, the BAU will be dealing with one where things are different from a usual case.

CM season 7 episode 3 "Dorado Falls" promo

"The BAU team investigates a mass murder at an Internet security company in Charlottesville, Va., but clues reveal it is not a typical serial killer at work. Also, Prentiss must complete recertification training under Morgan's watchful eye."

They're not forgetting that Prentiss has recently returned to the BAU after faking her death so fast. She may be back to solving cases, but there are a few more things she needs to take care of. In "Proof," the team was back together at the end of the episode, cooking dinner together like a family. Though Morgan had been understandably upset in the premiere, "It Takes A Village," he was the one to reassure Prentiss about Reid in the last episode. It only makes sense that he's the one helping her with her training.
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Lewis Black, Vic Henley Stand Up For The Troops

Lewis Black, Vic Henley Stand Up For The Troops

l-r MAJGEN John Batiste, US Army RET -Stand for the Troops (SFTT) PTSD Campaign Chair; Lewis Black; GEN Robert Mixon, US Army RET - CDS Warrior Salute; Greenwich resident Eilhys England Hackworth, Stand for the Troops (SFTT) Chair (Photography: Denise Truscello)

Greenwich, CT - Caroline's on Broadway in New York, normally dark on Mondays, was packed for a stellar evening of Stand Up comedy from Lewis Black and Vic Henley on September 12. Pete Dominick emceed the first comedy benefit for Greenwich-based Stand For The Troops, the non-partisan advocate for American's frontline troops.

Before turning the microphone over to the three famed comics who performed pro bono, SFTT co-founder and chair Eilhys England Hackworth announced the Foundation's new PTSD initiative and introduced SFTT PTSD Campaign Chair MAJGEN John Batiste, US Army RET; campaign Co-Chair noted psychologist Dr. Henry Grayson, Ph.D with practices in Westport, CT and New York; and SFTT CDS Warrior Salute's GEN Robert Mixon, US Army Ret.

SFTT is collaborating with CDS Warrior Salute on a Rochester-based Pilot Treatment Program, and developing a local referral resource. Because PTSD affects 1 in every 5 soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan while eighteen (18) vets a day commit suicide, and Traumatic Brain Injury is the legacy injury of returning vets, this initiative complements SFTT's B.E.S.T. BASIC FIVE Campaign to give our fighting men and women the best chance to make in home alive and in one piece by getting them the best personal combat gear: body armor, helmets, rifles, sidearms, and boots.
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Vietnam Veteran's son Mark Wills new song Crazy Being Home

Country singer sheds light on PTSD
by Davia L. Mosley
dmosley@mdjonline.com
September 30, 2011

Platinum-selling country singer Mark Wills will perform Saturday at 8 p.m. at the North Georgia State Fair. The Georgia native is known for his songs such as “Don’t Laugh At Me,” “Nineteen Something” and “Jacob’s Ladder.”

However, his single “Crazy Being Home” has a special purpose: It brings awareness to post-traumatic stress disorder. Wills said his father suffered from PTSD, and the singer wants to bring more attention to the cause.

“I am the son of a retired Vietnam veteran,” he said. “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.”

Wills said the inspiration for the song also came from a soldier (and personal friend) who is active duty with the special forces. Wills said, “His story and reaction inspired me in such a way that we hope it serves as a message to speak to all of our veterans to say, ‘You are not alone.’”

The country star has been a spokesperson for USA Cares since 2009. The nonprofit organization helps post-9/11 military families by providing financial and advocacy support.

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Invisible injuries’ of war to be felt for decades

Military Update

Invisible injuries’ of war to be felt for decades
By TOM PHILPOTT
Published: September 29, 2011

DOD
Sixty-six percent of the most seriously wounded soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have “invisible” injuries of brain trauma or post-traumatic stress, which their families and society will be dealing with at great cost for decades, said Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the Army’s vice chief of staff.

“The truth is, because we don’t see these injuries…they don’t receive the same level of attention as amputations, burns, shrapnel injuries,” Chiarelli said. “There is simply a bias – and I really mean that -- there is a bias either conscious or subconscious toward invisible wounds and injuries…It exists everywhere including in the medical community.”

Chiarelli made his remarks Monday at Defense Forum Washington, a one-day conference on support for wounded warriors and families as they struggle to heal and regain stable lives. The annual event is co-sponsored by U.S. Naval Institute and Military Officers Association of American.
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Marine’s scream halts rape in New York

Marine’s scream halts rape
By JOE MOLLICA and CYNTHIA R. FAGEN
September 29, 2011

A Marine vet who served five years in Iraq and Afghanistan saved a woman from a would-be rapist in Queens yesterday morning -- scaring him off with a jarhead scream.

Brian Teichman was dropping off his 2-year-old daughter at her babysitter near the Cross Island Parkway and 148th Street in Whitestone at around 9 a.m. when he spotted the hulking man force his victim over a guardrail and into a deserted, wooded area.

“It was 100 percent instinct as a Marine that the situation didn’t look right,” said Teichman. “I looked down and I saw him straddling her and he had his hand over her mouth and he was trying to rip her shirt off.

“My thought was scream first. If he runs, you don’t need to worry if he has a gun or a knife.
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Army veteran turned investor-entrepreneur wants to hear your ideas

Army veteran turned investor-entrepreneur wants to hear your ideas
By BILL MURPHY JR.
Stars and Stripes
Published: September 28, 2011
WASHINGTON — Know any millionaire entrepreneurs? You do now.

Meet Joseph Meyer, Army veteran and private equity investor. The businesses he’s started or invested in over the past 20 years, he says, are now worth a half a billion dollars.

If you’re a servicemember, family member or veteran who has a great idea for a new business and who is sincerely looking for advice or mentorship, Meyer says he’s interested to hear from you. You can email him at jm@meyercap.com.

Meyer credits the leadership skills and character traits he honed while on active duty in the 1980s for his success in business, at least once he’d learned to translate those skills to the civilian world. Now, he wants to help others achieve success.

“I look at kind of my whole military background and where I am today and I kind of chuckle,” Meyer said. “If you take a look at what I’m doing now, it stems from the fact that I could get into a situation, understand all the things that are going on around me very quickly, and see where the gaps are. … I’m able to do that because of how battalion commanders and company commanders would give you 10 minutes or two days, whatever it was, to do an operations order. You sat down and said, ‘Well, here are the resources I have and what I don’t have.’ And you did it quickly.”
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Lewis-McChord Soldier Honored for Saving Woman's Foot, and Maybe Life

Soldier Honored for Saving Woman's Foot, and Maybe Life
September 28, 2011
Knight Ridder|by Christian Hill

Pfc. Jose Delgado put his skills as an Army combat medic at a unexpected time: while picking up a pizza in Lakewood.

Delgado, 22, is credited for saving Mary Healey's foot and possibly her life when he saw white smoke spewing from the Union 76 gas station on Bridgeport Way on July 24. He was driving from the barracks on Joint Base Lewis-McChord to pick up dinner.

Delgado and Healey hugged at Monday night's Lakewood City Council meeting, where city leaders and emergency responders recognized the soldier for coming to her aid.

"He's my hero," said Healey, who faces the prospect of another surgery but is praying to regain full use of her foot. "I would not be sitting here talking on the phone if he had not taken the actions he took."

Delgado said he doesn't consider himself a hero but was glad he could help.

"To know that I did enough for her to get her foot back, that was one of the most amazing feelings I'd ever felt," Delgado said Tuesday.
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Military salute outgrows venue, finds new home at Second Baptist

Military salute outgrows venue, finds new home at Second Baptist

By RUSTY GRAHAM
The Examiner
Barbara Hayley was sitting in the Worship Center at Second Baptist Church on Easter Sunday when divine inspiration struck.

Looking around the modern, cavernous, high-tech sanctuary, she knew she’d found a home for Operation Military Salute, an outgrowth from the Houston West Chamber of Commerce’s annual recognition of the military and veterans.

“I looked up and thought ‘I wonder if the church would let us have it here’,” said Hayley.

Not only did it agree, Hayley said, the church is lending all its resources to the Nov. 4 event.

She hopes to fill the 4,200-seat capacity Worship Center with active-duty military and veterans, their families, Patriot Riders and community.

A joint event between the Houston West chamber and the PTSD Foundation of America, Operation Military Salute will, obviously, salute the military and veterans, but also raise money for the PTSD Foundation, and raise awareness of military members and the sacrifices they and their families make, Hayley said.
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Three homeless veterans buried with honor

Three homeless veterans buried with honor
by Brian New / KENS 5
SAN ANTONIO - They served their country, yet ended up without a home and without family to be found.

Wednesday, three homeless veterans were buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery -

U.S. Air Force veteran Peyton Brown, 51,

U.S. Army veteran Craig Burton, 57,

U.S. Navy veteran Richard Owen, 71.

Of the nearly fifty veterans in attendance at the burial, none had ever met any of the three, and yet they came.

"We are their family,” said John Rodriguez.

The former Marine and Vietnam War veteran has attended nearly 150 military funerals for homeless men and woman.

He said their service deserves his respect.

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VA Hospital Aims To Serve New, Younger Vets

VA Hospital Aims To Serve New, Younger Vets
Dorn Medical Center breaks ground on facilities for Afghanistan and Iraq combat veterans
By: ELLEN MEDER
Published: September 28, 2011

COLUMBIA, S.C. --
The Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center broke ground on new facilities that will serve the changing demographic of veterans returning from war.

In a ceremony in Columbia Wednesday, hospital officials and veterans celebrated the new Freedom Health Center, which will help give combat veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan outpatient care.

Construction on the 10,000-square foot building will begin Friday. The project will give the hospital staff much needed office space, and more exam rooms for patients who need specialty care, labs and x-rays.

The medical center, as well as its seven satellite facilities through the Upstate and Midlands, aim to screen all returning combat veterans for spinal injuries, hazardous exposure, post traumatic stress disorder and depression.
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Army veteran Nicholas Horner's trail delayed again

Ex-soldier's Pa. double-murder trial delayed again
Published 08:20 a.m., Wednesday, September 28, 2011

HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — The death penalty trial of an Iraq war veteran has been delayed by two weeks so a psychiatrist can further study his state of mind when police questioned him about a sandwich shop robbery that led to two fatal shootings.

Jury selection was to begin Oct. 4 in the trial of 31-year-old Army veteran Nicholas Horner, but it will now begin Oct. 18 with testimony starting a week later at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg.
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Original story
Three tour veteran Fellow Soldier Says Shooting Suspect Was In 'Combat Mode'

Solider goes on alleged shooting rampage

Medals of America creates ways to support PTSD veterans

Medals of America Releases PTSD Items in Support of Our Veterans Suffering from this Serious Disorder
Medals of America supports returning soldiers and retired veterans who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder through PTSD merchandise, recognizing this disorder.

Fountain Inn, SC (PRWEB) September 27, 2011

Medals of America, the premier source for military medals, military ribbons and more, understands the seriousness of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, and is doing its part to raise awareness and support this disorder through the release of new PTSD merchandise, including PTSD shirts, challenge coins and military hats. All PTSD items are great for both active and retired military members helping let all of our soldiers know that they are supported.
Close to one-third of all soldiers returning home after war suffer from this disorder. Despite being angry, confused and even suicidal, many of these men and women refuse to seek help—afraid it will be seen as a weakness or stigma. Sometimes, it is only through the aid of friends, family, and military leaders that these individuals pull through and can begin the healing process.
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Vietnam Veteran Pays Respects at Soldier’s Funeral

Vietnam Veteran Pays Respects at Soldier’s Funeral

Reported by: Melissa Correa
September 28, 2011
MISSION - Victor Romo never met Staff Sgt. Estevan Altamirano, who was killed in Iraq. That didn't stop him from grieving.

He quietly crept into an Edinburg church. He witnessed true devotion to a son, father, husband and soldier.

“This morning I was thinking we were in the same steps because when I went to Vietnam, I was married. I had a wife,” says Romo.

Romo put himself in the shoes of Altamirano. He felt the grief and pain. With a simple gesture, Romo became connected.
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Facebook users care about troops sacrifices and love

For those I love I will sacrifice is a post that has me stunned right now.

Sometime yesterday, someone on Facebook managed to do what I have not been able to do in the four years this blog has been up. They sent this post out and the hits kept coming.

Usually I am thrilled with 1,000 hits a day on this blog. Last night the blog was getting that many in an hour.

I have no clue what Facebook user managed to do this but I want to offer my heartfelt appreciation!

Above this post about combat medics in Afghanistan on Forward Operating Base PASAB. One of the photos taken was of a young soldier, Pfc. Kyle Hockenberry, wounded by an IED. What made him stand out from the other outstanding pictures in this Stars and Stripes article was his tattoo. On his right side he has the words, For those I love I will sacrifice.

To me, there could not have been a more clear message. That is exactly what they are like. I've been doing this for almost 30 years now and I can tell you that they are brave beyond measure but they are also more loving than they get credit for. You can't do what they do every day if they did not love so deeply. Imagine being willing to die for the sake of someone else by choice and not by circumstance. That requires love.

Anyway, click the link above and you'll know what else I had to say about this. The blessing went beyond this post. My video documentaries also received more views and these videos are my passion. They are about people the media pretty much ignore. The National Vietnam War Museum is getting more attention. First Church of Christ, the church that took in a homeless Vietnam veteran out of love is getting more attention. Pastor Joel took in Staff Sgt. Andrew Wright and his son managed to find him after searching for all his life for him. He found him while serving in Iraq in the Marines. Homes for Our Troops is getting more attention and the outstanding veterans in the video are being paid attention to.

This act of love out of a Facebook user will end up helping more than they ever dreamed of and much more than I prayed for.

If you are the one who spread the word about this post, please contact me so that I can know who my guardian angel is.

Looking After the Soldier, Back Home and Damaged

Looking After the Soldier, Back Home and Damaged
By CATRIN EINHORN
September 27, 2011

RAY CITY, Ga. — April and Tom Marcum were high school sweethearts who married after graduation.

For years, she recalls, he was a doting husband who would leave love notes for her to discover on the computer or in her purse. Now the closest thing to notes that they exchange are the reminders she set up on his cellphone that direct him to take his medicine four times a day.

He usually ignores them, and she ends up having to make him do it.

Since Mr. Marcum came back in 2008 from two tours in Iraq with a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, his wife has quit her job as a teacher to care for him. She has watched their life savings drain away. And she has had to adjust to an entirely new relationship with her husband, who faces a range of debilitating problems including short-term memory loss and difficulties with impulse control and anger.
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Retired Vietnam veteran receives Soldier's Medal at Ft. Eustis

Retired Vietnam veteran receives Soldier's Medal at Ft. Eustis
September 26, 2011

Today, retired Lt. Colonel Harold Campbell received the Soldier’s Medal for Bravery for saving about 50 civilian refugees in Vietnam after their camp caught fire.

"I feel good about what we did and the fact so many people took so much time to make this day happen,” says Campbell.

Retired Lt. Colonel says receiving the Soldier’s medal for bravery means more to him today than it would have in 1968.
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101st Airborne soldiers help welcome Vietnam veteran home

101st Airborne soldiers help welcome Vietnam veteran home
Hundreds turn out for Grundy County funeral
Sep. 27, 2011

Written by
Philip Grey
The Leaf-Chronicle

PALMER, Tenn. — As rain poured in sheets on a small cemetery in Grundy County on Monday, the family of Spc. Marvin Foster Phillips closed a chapter of their lives that had remained open for 45 years.

Phillips was declared missing in action in Vietnam after his helicopter was shot down over the South China Sea. Since his disappearance, many friends and relatives over the years had traced out his name on the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C.

And finally, he is home.

In commemorating Phillips' return Monday, the honor guard from 96th Aviation Support Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, performed flawlessly, from standing guard at Layne Funeral Home, to transporting the remains to the Grundy County High School gymnasium, to graveside honors at Palmer Cemetery.
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Wounded Iraq Veteran Still Dancing With the Stars

Martinez continues on 'Dancing with the Stars'
Written by
Alane S. Megna
The Leaf-Chronicle

Iraq war veteran J.R. Martinez and his professional partner Karina Smirnoff advanced on Tuesday's results show to the third week of competition in ABC's "Dancing with the Stars." In the previous night's competition, they had tied for second on the judges' leaderboard based on the strength of high-flying jive.

Martinez is a former infantry soldier with the 101st Airborne Division's Strike Brigade at Fort Campbell. After being severely injured in the war and leaving the Army, he became a motivational speaker and an actor.
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Dakota Meyer, a Medal of Honor recipient, still wants to serve

September 26, 2011, 9:06 PM
Medal of Honor Recipient Gets Extension for Fire Dept. Application
By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS

Richard Perry/The New York Times
Dakota Meyer, a Medal of Honor recipient, at the National September 11 Memorial.

A Marine who fought his way into an ambush in Afghanistan to rescue dozens of people wants to continue to save people by becoming a New York City firefighter.

A federal judge in Brooklyn agreed on Monday to extend the New York Fire Department application period for 24 hours for the Marine, who was awarded the Medal of Honor, to make that happen.

The application period will reopen for the Marine, Dakota Meyer, a sergeant in the inactive reserve, at midnight Monday and close at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, but it will be open for him only.

His lawyer says that is a problem. “My client does not feel that he deserves any special treatment,” said the lawyer, Keith M. Sullivan. “He has said that it’s not what he wanted and he doesn’t think it’s fair.”
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More than 3,000 motorcycle riders set to honor Vietnam fallen

More than 3,000 motorcycle riders set to honor Vietnam fallen

By: Mike Vielhaber, newsnet5.com
CLINTON, Ohio - It’s truly a unique way to honor those who died during the Vietnam War. On Saturday, Nov. 12, the day after Veterans Day, 3,095 motorcycles will thunder through Summit County to honor those killed during the Vietnam War.

The Ride for 3,095 is being organized by those who volunteer and operate the Ohio Memorial Veterans Park in the small town of Clinton, south of Akron in Summit County.

There were 3,095 Ohioans killed during the Vietnam War and each name is displayed on the Wall in Clinton. Organizers are making flags for each of the 3,095 Ohio armed service members that were killed during the war to be displayed on motorcycles.

Each flag will have the fallen service member's name, rank and branch of military, along with a large image of the Purple Heart.

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New York Councilman helps Vietnam vet evicted by city

Vietnam vet evicted by city on the list for a new home after councilman intervention

BY DANIEL BEEKMAN
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Wednesday, September 28th 2011

David Maurinac served his country as a Marine, worked as a missionary, cared for his sick father and paid his rent on time.

But last Friday, the New York City Housing Authority kicked him to the curb, says a local City Councilman.

NYCHA moved to evict Maurinac from the Pelham Parkway Houses due to a technicality: the 70-year-old Vietnam War veteran never added his name to the lease for the apartment he inherited.

Maurinac was headed for the shelter system until City Councilman James Vacca (D-East Bronx) persuaded NYCHA to delay the eviction and found the vet a new home. Now Vacca wants NYCHA to do more to educate and relocate its tenants.

"I did absolutely nothing wrong," Maurinac said. "I paid my rent every month."

The Iona College graduate - who served 13 months in Vietnam and worked as a Catholic missionary in Taiwan - grew up in the Pelham Parkway Houses.

He moved back to the housing project more than 15 years ago to care for his cancer-stricken father, who died in 2004.
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Even in death, the bond, the band of brothers cannot be broken

7 Soldiers From Fort Hood Come to Valley to Pay Respects
Reported by: Melissa Correa
Email: melissac@krgv.com
Last Update: 9/27 9:55 pm

MCALLEN - Seven soldiers arrived in the Valley. They traveled from Fort Hood to say goodbye to a co-worker, a war hero, a brother.

Even in death, the bond, the band of brothers cannot be broken.

“In the military, people come and go. You never really get that close, but ‘Speedy’ is one of those people that he's like a brother to me. I probably know him better than I know my brothers,” says soldier Malcolm Garcia.

"Speedy" was Staff Sgt. Estevan Altamirano. The 30-year old got the nickname because he was often seen whizzing around a military base.
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Rising Suicides Stump Military Leaders, duh

For the last ten years they've been stumped because they have been listening to and paying the wrong people. Repeating the same failed programs with these results has not managed to sink in. With this attitude, they'd still be using bows and arrows.

Rising Suicides Stump Military Leaders
By KRISTINA WONG @kristina_wong
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2011
The U.S. military doesn't need September's Suicide Prevention Month to realize it has a problem within its ranks.

The increase in suicide deaths is one of the most distressing issues facing military leaders who want to reduce the rates among active-duty service members. More than 2,000 of them have killed themselves in the past decade, including 295 last year compared with 153 in 2001.

Despite their best suicide-prevention efforts, reducing the number of military suicides has been a frustrating challenge, military leaders acknowledged earlier this month at a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. Recent efforts have included increasing at-risk service members' access to mental health professionals, while reducing the stigma attached to mental health care. Internet outreach, including "video chats," has also shown some promise.

The difficulty, however, is in identifying which initiatives work best and deciphering the multiple triggers that can lead to suicide within the armed services, which accounts for a small fraction of the total number of people who serve.

The most commonly identified risk factors and "stressors", according to the leaders who testified, are relationship issues, work-related problems, financial pressure, legal concerns, alcoholism and substance abuse.
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“Celebration of Service” initiative to honor U.S. military veterans

As Chaplain of the Orlando DAV Auxiliary, I can tell you that this group should have a lot more attention. After all, our Chapter was one of the projects Home Depot took on with Mission Continues. Now they are helping out even more.

When it comes to a real "welcome home" to our veterans, Home Depot has been making sure their homes are better than what they are able to do for themselves.

U.S.VETS & The Home Depot Foundation Announce 2012 Veteran Housing Rehabilitation Project
UNITED STATES VETERANS INITIATIVE AND THE HOME DEPOT FOUNDATION ANNOUNCE 2012 VETERAN HOUSING REHABILITATION PROJECT FOR HOMELESS AND LOW-INCOME VETERANS

Creating Transitional and Permanent Housing for 160 Veterans and Veteran Families in St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 19, 2011 — The United States Veterans Initiative (U.S.VETS) and The Home Depot® Foundation today announced the 2012 Veteran Housing Rehabilitation project to expand housing for homeless and low-income veterans in the District of Columbia and St. Louis, Missouri. As part of its “Celebration of Service” initiative to honor U.S. military veterans, The Home Depot® Foundation has awarded U.S.VETS $400,000 to support the launch of its newest site in St. Louis and increase the capacity of its location in the Nation’s capital.

Funding from The Home Depot Foundation will enable U.S.VETS to expand its presence and provide programs and services to twice as many veterans in the D.C. area, while also replicating many of its most successful programs for a new population of veterans in St. Louis. These services include residential and reintegration programs for disabled veterans; education, employment and preventative mental health services for recently returned Iraq and Afghanistan veterans; as well as focused and specific services for women veterans.

“A new generation of men and women are coming home from service to fight another battle – the transition back to civilian life,” said Stephen Peck, President and CEO of U.S.VETS. “They join thousands of veterans from previous wars in their struggles with homelessness, unemployment, and mental trauma. We are grateful to have the support of The Home Depot Foundation and this opportunity to expand our services and presence in the places where veterans’ needs are also growing.”
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More troops' mild brain trauma diagnosed

More troops' mild brain trauma diagnosed
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY

Nearly 1,400 U.S. servicemembers were found to have concussions or mild brain injuries in Afghanistan and Iraq this year under a program that forces servicemembers to take a break from combat when exposed to a blast or other jarring incident.

The military has pulled about 9,000 servicemembers from combat for short periods of time to look for signs of brain injury after blasts that caused no obvious wounds, according to data given to USA TODAY.

Most of the servicemembers were OK; those with symptoms of dizziness, headaches and difficulty processing thoughts were kept out of combat until the problems went away, the Army said.

"Under the rule, troops caught within about 165 feet of a blast must be pulled from combat for 24 hours and examined for signs of concussion. The data on the results of that policy are from August 2010 — when the treatment plan for concussions was initiated — through June."

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Denver Drug Court Opens a Special Track for Veterans

Does having PTSD give them the right to break the law? No and they don't expect to be able to do it any more than they want to break the law. When it comes to combat veterans this goes far beyond the normal because they are not "normal" citizens. Normal citizens live in a tiny world of their own with their own problems focusing on their own needs, wants and desires first. Face it, we're basically self-centered, caring about people in our lives and oblivious to others. While combat veterans have the same wants, needs and desires as the rest of us, they didn't put themselves first when they decided to serve in the military. The country came first, in other words, all of us. Then it was the men and women they served with coming before themselves. Their family and friends came after that and they were willing to be away from them so they could do what the country asked of them. This all came with a higher price for a third of them.

When what they saw and what they did became too heavy on their souls, they sought help reluctantly. Why? Not just because of what some experts point to as a stigma. It goes beyond that. People like them are the ones being turned to to help and they are the least likely to ask for it for themselves. When they do seek it, most of the time it is a battle to get and when they do get it, it is not what they need. When almost half of the suicide deaths came after seeking help, that is a massive inditement on the support they have waiting for them.

Medications are another issue. Some have been found to be useless. Some have been found to do more harm than good. Can anyone really wonder why they would end up using drugs or drinking to numb their pain away and calm themselves down? Can anyone blame them for avoiding what has been passed off as "care" when they see their buddies getting worse instead of better?

This is why there is a great need for Veterans' Courts. They have broken the law. The same law attached to the nation they were willing to die for. With Veterans' Courts they end up having someone with knowledge watching over them instead of just pushing them away or locking them up. They have to do their part and do what the judge orders them to do or they end up in jail. This is not a "get out of jail free" pass but it is a chance to heal.

Denver Drug Court Opens a Special Track for Veterans
September 27, 2011 By Zachary Willis

Earlier this month, the Denver Adult Drug Court implemented a Veterans Track within its existing problem-solving courts program. As a result, some military veterans charged with non-violent crimes may now have the opportunity to be enrolled in the court-monitored treatment and accountability program.

The drug court program was expanded to create the new track, which is designed to balance the specialized treatment needs of veterans with the need to protect the community’s safety. The goal is to provide non-violent offenders with effective treatment while still holding them accountable for their actions.

According to the press release from State Judicial, the National Association of Drug Court Professionals reports that one in six veterans returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq suffer from a substance abuse challenge; one in five has symptoms of a mental disorder or cognitive impairment. Post-traumatic stress disorder can be an underlying factor in crimes allegedly committed by veterans and their subsequent involvement with the criminal justice system.
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Do you have a story about a veteran

It is that time of year again when reporters are looking for stories on veterans.

Do you have a story about a veteran
Posted by Brad Stanhope

This image shows the cover from the 2010 Veterans Day special section.

FAIRFIELD — Do you have interesting stories of your time in the military? We’d like to hear them.

The Daily Republic is publishing a special edition for Veterans Day and is looking for stories of local men and women who served our nation. Whether it was in World War II, Korea, Vietnam or more recent conflicts — or even during peacetime — let us know about your story. It could be a tale of heroism or about a significant moment of which you were a part.

You can also tell us about someone you know who would make an interesting subject.

Send the information Ian Thompson at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net or call him at 427-6976. You can also reach him at Ian Thompson, Daily Republic, 1250 Texas St., Fairfield, CA 94533.

Don't you wish they would all be interested all year long since you are a veteran every day?

Rep. Gordon was in US during Gulf War; rank changed late

Marines: Gordon was in US during Gulf War; rank changed late
September 26th, 2011 at 1:10 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes
The U.S. Marine Corps reaffirmed its record of state Rep. Daniel Gordon’s military service on Monday, saying the embattled lawmaker never left the United States during the first Gulf War and became a private first class weeks before he was discharged.

The Marines first released details about Gordon on Friday that called into question his statements about his service. Gordon told the AP it was “unfortunate” the military did not release his full record and told WPRO’s Matt Allen he was injured by shrapnel outside of Baghdad during the first Gulf War.

“In our view, that’s a false claim,” Maj. Shawn Haney, a public affairs officer for the Marine Corps’ manpower and reserve affairs department, told WPRI.com on Monday. If Gordon thinks his record is inaccurate, Haney said he should contact the Quantico office to get it corrected.

Gordon, who did not return a phone call Monday, uploaded a photograph last week of a certificate he received in 1989 for training in the Philippines and noted that the Marines had not mentioned his time there in its release. The certificate lists him as a lance corporal.

Gordon’s record does show he went to the Philippines as part of his rotation at the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Japan, for five months and 28 days from October 1988 to April 1989, according to Haney. She said she did not mention it on Friday because it was part of his service in the Pacific.

“That’s so normal,” she said. “Units do that all the time. When they’re in Japan, they’re always doing different exercises in the Philippines or whatever, all assorted different training. That’s not a deployment. He was part of a unit that was in Iwakuni.”
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Original story

Vow to care about them so that we can care for them

Vow to care about them so that we can care for them
by Chaplain Kathie

This notice of death announced by the DOD was linked from iCasualties.org and they have been doing a wonderful job of keeping people up to date on what has been going on in Iraq as well as Afghanistan all along. The problem is most people in this country have just about forgotten men and women are dying in both countries. Some are shocked to discover there are still troops in Iraq so when news like the following comes out, they appear to be shocked.

DOD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation New Dawn.

Sgt. Andy C. Morales, 32, of Longwood, Fla., died Sept. 22 in Baghdad, Iraq. He was assigned to the 143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), Orlando, Fla.

Yet this year Sgt. Morales was one of the 46 killed in Iraq. Another 341 have been killed in Afghanistan. Men with stories to tell, lives lived and families left behind.

Brownsville soldier killed in Afghanistan
September 26, 2011 10:19 PM
By LAURA B. MARTINEZ/The Brownsville Herald
A 26-year-old U.S. Army first lieutenant from Brownsville is the latest soldier from the Rio Grande Valley to die in the Middle East.

Andres "Andy" Zermeño died Sunday in Afghanistan from injuries he sustained in the line of duty said his brother the Rev. Joaquin Zermeño, outside his parents’ home in Cameron Park Monday afternoon. Father Joaquin is a priest with the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville.

"He was on patrol in Afghanistan...an IED (improvised explosive device) struck the vehicle and he died from the injuries he sustained," said Father Joaquin. Several other soldiers in the vehicle were also killed.

Andy, as he liked to be called, was in his first tour of duty and had been Afghanistan for about 11 months, his brother said. He was expected to end his tour in about a month and head home.

"He was 11 months into it, so we were expecting him to come home sometime soon but...." Father Joaquin said, as he voice faded away.

Andy had been active duty in the Army for three years. He also served in the National Guard.
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Dana Point soldier dies in Afghanistan
By CLAUDIA KOERNER / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
An Army Ranger from Dana Point died Saturday in Wardak province, Afghanistan, the Department of Defense has reported.

Sgt. Tyler N. Holtz, 22, died from wounds suffered during heavy fire with insurgents. As he led his men in an assault against an enemy position, he was shot, according to a release from U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Holtz was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.

Holtz enlisted in 2007 after graduating from Mater Dei High School and served as a rifleman and Ranger Team Leader. This was his fourth deployment to Afghanistan.

Already decorated for his service, Holtz was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Purple Heart and Joint Service Achievement Medal.
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Oklahoma City soldier killed in Afghanistan
Spc. Francisco J. Briseno-Alvarez Jr., 27, of Oklahoma City, is the 12th soldier from the Oklahoma National Guard 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to die in combat since July 29 and the fifth this month.

FROM STAFF REPORTS
Published: September 26, 2011
Another Oklahoma soldier has died while fighting in Afghanistan, the U.S. Department of Defense reported.

Spc. Francisco J. Briseno-Alvarez Jr., 27, of Oklahoma City, is the 12th soldier from the Oklahoma National Guard 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to die in combat since July 29 and the fifth this month.
Briseno-Alvarez was killed Sunday in Laghman province when his unit was attacked with a roadside bomb, according to a Defense Department news release. He was a member of the 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based in Stillwater.
Three other soldiers also were injured in the attack, according to a news release from the Oklahoma National Guard.

read more here

As of today iCasualties.org has 4,476 killed in Iraq and 1,787 killed in Afghanistan.

This blog is here for a reason. Local news will cover the death of one of their own but as a nation we are left with no clue at all about what is going on because the national media stations don't bother to cover any of it unless something huge happens with many deaths all at once. They forget these men and women do not serve just their own community. They serve the entire nation. The least we can do is pay attention as a nation. I made a vow to do whatever I could, whenever I could back in 1982 when I met my husband. Believe me, I could find other things to do but nothing I want to do more.

I've heard many say that "until they all come home" but why stop there? We've seen how many have been forgotten about while they serve. The odds of being paid attention to when they are back home are very low. It is easier to find support when they come home missing limbs but so much harder for them to find support when they have wounds no one else manages to see.

We need to pay attention to everything going on if we really care as a nation. We need to acknowledge they are not just numbers but people with families and we need to make a vow to care about them so that we can care for them.

They come home wanting to get over it but when we read about the deaths by bombs, we ignore the fact their eyes saw it all happen.

They come home expecting to pick up where they left off with their families, but they forget they are not the same after all they lived through.

They come home with family members expecting them to only need time to "get over it" like they did before and when that doesn't happen, they leave.

They come home in need of help but when they ask for it, it is not what they need. This was made perfectly clear yesterday in an article about military suicides.

"About 46 percent had been seen at a military treatment facility sometime in the 90 days before death. The treatment services include physical and behavioral health, substance abuse, family advocacy and chaplains."read more here

Until we all pay attention we will see even more paying the price for what was asked of them.

Rigors of war leave troops battling arthritis at a young age

Rigors of war leave troops battling arthritis at a young age
By SETH ROBBINS
Stars and Stripes
Published: September 25, 2011

BAUMHOLDER, Germany — Staff Sgt. Thomas Wenzke would sit for hours, hunched over the five-ton truck’s window, scanning for hints of bombs along Iraq’s garbage-lined roadways.

The truck — reinforced with heavy armored plates that had ruined its suspension — motored over crater-sized potholes, and Wenzke’s spine would feel every jolt. His body armor, weighing 50 to 60 pounds, added to the strain.

Convoy forays like this lasted from three to 30 hours, he said, depending on the number of breakdowns and firefights.

“By the time we got back,” he said, “I’d be bent over and hobbled like I was an old man of 50 or 60.”

Wenzke said, since his yearlong deployment in 2006, he has suffered from a herniated disk and degenerative arthritis in his spine, for which there is no cure.

He is 29 years old.
read more here

Remains of WWII vet being repatriated from Bosnia

Remains of WWII vet being repatriated from Bosnia
By JOHN VANDIVER
Stars and Stripes
Published: September 26, 2011

STUTTGART, Germany — For 67 years, the only people who knew about the presence of the American were the residents of the village in western Bosnia-Herzegovina where he was buried.

In 1944, a resident of the hamlet of Stubica buried Staff Sgt. Meceslaus T. Miaskiewicz, a Massachusetts native who was shot down over the former Yugoslavia, according to U.S. military officials who interviewed local residents.

It had long been assumed that Miaskiewicz’s remains had been collected by the military along with the crash’s other seven victims soon after the war, but U.S. military members learned this summer that was not the case. Somehow, Miaskiewicz was left behind.

On Tuesday, Miaskiewicz’s flag-draped coffin will be loaded onto a U.S. C-130 in Sarajevo, the first leg of a journey home to relatives in Massachusetts. After a stop at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, his coffin will be flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where he will receive the same honor guard reception as troops killed in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.
read more here

Medal of Honor recipients convene in Louisville

Medal of Honor recipients convene in Louisville
By Chris Kenning - The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal
Posted : Monday Sep 26, 2011 7:15:12 EDT
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The moment came for Wilburn Ross in 1944, when he spent five desperate hours in France using a machine gun to single-handedly repel waves of attacks by elite German mountain troops.

And this week, they will be here for the 2011 Congressional Medal of Honor Society Convention, a rare gathering held for the first time in the city for many of the nation’s bravest soldiers. It comes as the nation marks the 150th anniversary of the award.

“It’s good for me and all the guys to get together,” said Ross, a former Kentucky coal miner who lives in Washington state.

Starting Wednesday, more than 50 Medal of Honor recipients and their families will be here for five days of school visits, receptions, a public “walk of heroes” and an awards dinner.

It’s a chance to foster what Littrell said is a strong brotherhood among those who have received an award that carries lasting acclaim but also a heavy burden that often includes haunting memories and survivor’s guilt.

“None of us feel we deserve the medal,” said Littrell, who lives in Florida. “We had a job to do.”
read more here

Air Force veteran who lives alone in shack enjoys simple pleasures

Air Force veteran who lives alone in shack enjoys simple pleasures
Published: Sunday, September 25, 2011
By Tom Rademacher
The Grand Rapids Press

The calendar on his wall is stuck on September 2008.

But it might as well read fall 1908, or even 1808, for Jerry Weeks lives in a world of yesteryears — splitting wood to heat his hovel of a home, hobbling out back to answer nature’s call and subscribing to nobody’s rules when it comes to affairs of everyday living.

In an era of hurry up this and more quickly that, you’re apt to miss him as you speed along Five Mile Road NE, where Jerry has set up house just west of Lincoln Lake Avenue. In good weather, he’ll sit on the side of road and wave to anyone who’ll notice.

“Nobody stops,” he says.

His little place — a shack really, uninsulated and lacking plumbing or potable water — stands off the south side of the road in the shadows of trees. His backyard is a struggling woodpile, an outhouse with no door, a dilapidated trailer, a vehicle that hasn’t run in years, and odds and ends of every sort, most of it worthless.

This has been home for Jerry, now 74, since 1972, when he was a young man of 35. His second of two wives lived for a time with him here, but he says, “She was a city gal, wasn’t good enough for her.” The place formerly belonged to his grandfather, and Jerry says he remembers helping pour the floor as a kid of 16.
read more here

Vietnam soldier's remains return 45 years later

Vietnam soldier's remains return 45 years later
KRISTIN M. HALL, Associated Press
September 25, 2011
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Forty-five years to the day since Army Spc. 4 Marvin Phillips was killed in a helicopter crash in Vietnam, his family will finally be able to bury his remains in his hometown in Palmer, Tenn., on Monday.

Phillips was a 20-year-old door gunner on a UH-1B Huey helicopter that crashed into 9 feet of water off the coast of South Vietnam on Sept. 26, 1966, after the helicopter was struck by small arms fire.

James Phillips, Marvin's younger brother, remembers the day a military officer came to his family's home to tell them that the helicopter had been shot down and Marvin was considered missing in action. He said his brother had been due to come home from the war but volunteered for the mission.
read more here

Illinois soldier based at Fort Bragg found dead outside hotel

NC police say Illinois soldier based at Fort Bragg found dead outside hotel
By Associated Press, Published: September 25

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — North Carolina police continue looking for clues in the off-post shooting death of a Fort Bragg soldier from Illinois.

Fayetteville police they found Pfc. Chad Patrick Dellit lying between two cars near a hotel. He had been shot in the head. Fort Bragg said Friday that the 22-year-old Dellit was from Fulton, Ill., and enlisted in September 2008.

Soldier from Longwood dies in Iraq

Soldier from Longwood dies in Iraq

Andy Caraballo Morales is pictured in a 2009 photo: "Training in Japan." (Photo courtesy of Facebook / September 25, 2011)

By Arelis R. Hernández, Orlando Sentinel
9:09 p.m. EDT, September 25, 2011

"The family drifted apart as they lived their lives separately in other states, but Sgt. Morales' near-fatal car accident in North Carolina in 2009 helped draw them back together, family said."

On the 2-month-anniversary of the birth of his daughter, Sgt. Andy Caraballo Morales of Longwood died in Iraq.

The 32-year-old soldier, who was killed Thursday in Baghdad, was assigned to the 143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) of Orlando, the Department of Defense announced today, and was serving in Operation Enduring Freedom.

When Army officials delivered the news to his wife, Mariela Caraballo-Morales, she could hardly believe it, said sister-in-law Mercian Lesser said from her Sarasota home.

Just five months before, the best friends were married in a celebration that brought together a family that had seen its share of hardships. The young soldier spent just nine days with his newborn, Naiara Morales, before he was deployed, his wife said.
read more here

Still in the Fight

Mike Corrado - Still in the Fight (live at Camp Lejeune, NC USO w/Gary Sinise & Lt Dan Band)

Mike Corrado performing "Still in the Fight" a tribute to wounded warriors aboard Camp Lejeune, NC Saturday, September 17. The show was sponsored by the USO and MCCS where Mike opened for Gary Sinise and the Lt Dan Band. The studio version of Still in the Fight is available on iTunes and other major download retailers and proceeds benefit USO Wounded Warrior Family Centers. For more information please visit Mike Corrado.com and Facebook Corradomusic