Death of Fort Leonard Wood soldiers in Afghanistan hits base hard

Death of Fort Leonard Wood soldiers in Afghanistan hits base hard
BY PHILLIP O'CONNOR
October 7, 2011

From left: Pvt. David Drake, 1st Lt. Ivan Lechowich and Spc. Steven Gutowski

The deaths last week of three Fort Leonard Wood soldiers equaled the largest loss of life from a single incident for those deployed from Missouri's biggest military installation since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began.

First Lt. Ivan Lechowich, Spc. Steven Gutowski and Pvt. David Drake, all members of the 5th Engineer Battalion, were killed Sept. 28 in Afghanistan's Ghazni province when their mine-resistant vehicle was struck by a hidden explosive. It was the third time three battalion soldiers had died from a single roadside bomb.

Located about 130 miles southwest of St. Louis, Fort Leonard Wood might best be known for its role as a training installation. Each year, about 90,000 military members pass through the post, including about 30,000 Army recruits who spend nine weeks learning the fundamentals of being a soldier. But recent years also have seen an increase in the number of combat-ready troops based at the 63,000-acre post. In 2008, the 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade was established. Its 4,000 soldiers tripled the number of forces based at the fort that could deploy to a war zone.

That includes engineers who are charged with ridding roads of the enemy's most effective weapon — the improvised explosive device, or IED.
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Cable news forgets ten years of war in Afghanistan

Ten years after troops were sent to Afghanistan, 1,801 fallen according to iCasualties.org thousands wounded and many suffering with PTSD topped off with suicides, yet the national media doesn't seem to think the American people care enough to dedicate the top story to the men and women fighting this battle.



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Notice that after ten years in Afghanistan, not one of these stories was about it.


MSNBC

Top stories
Young Afghans reflect on 10 years since invasion

AFP
Afghanistan as war began: Looking back over a decade
US military eyes next threats, missions

Nightly News
Steve Jobs said
he authorized biography so his kids can know him

They did have a great photo section including this.

Shannon Spann, wife of CIA officer Johnny Michael "Mike" Spann, follows her husband's casket to the graveside as she holds her 6-month old son, Jake, at Arlington National Cemetery, Dec. 10, 2001 in Arlington, Va. Spann was the first American known to be killed in combat in Afghanistan. Johnny "Mike'' Spann, 32, who entered the Marine Corps and then joined the CIA in June 1999, was killed in action during a prison riot at Mazar-e-Sharif.

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Pentagon - POLITICS
In Washington, 10-Year Afghanistan War Mark to Pass Quietly
Published October 07, 2011
Associated Press


AP
A U.S. Marine of 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3/4 Marines, covers other Marines carrying boxes of U.S. Mail into their small outpost, Patrol Base 302, in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Friday, Aug. 26, 2011.
WASHINGTON -- A decade of war will pass quietly at the White House this week.
President Obama plans no public events Friday to mark a moment the nation never really expected: 10 years of war in Afghanistan. Out of sight and off the minds of millions of Americans, the war is the most prolonged conflict this country has been engaged in since Vietnam. Obama has gone so far as to declare it "the longest war in American history."
The lack of attention to the 10-year milestone is driven in part by White House thinking that Obama has already helped lead a national reflection on a decade of costly sacrifice and battle.

read more here

Can anyone really wonder anymore why the troops and military families feel the public is totally detached from them?

10 years in Afghanistan: Long war, deep scars

10 years in Afghanistan: Long war, deep scars
BY SUSAN DEMAR LAFFERTY and MAUDLYNE IHEJIRIKA
Sun-Times Media October 6, 2011
The War on Terror in the Middle East began 10 years ago Friday in Afghanistan.

While it still rages on thousands of miles away, the most painful reminders for many on this grim anniversary are in their own neighborhoods.

In New Lenox, there’s a park and U.S. post office named after Jacob Lowell. In Evergreen Park, a street dedication later this month will honor Jared Stanker. In Midlothian, the historical society has uniforms that once belonged to Christopher Abeyta.

All were among the regional service members killed in tours of duty in Afghanistan.

There are others, like Andrew Meari of Plainfield, remembered also by the anguish in the hearts of loved ones.

“I would ask that as people reflect on the 10th anniversary, that they take a moment to think about those who are serving and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Deb Pyznarski, a Chicago Ridge military mom and co-founder of Southside Parents of Military Personnel.

Her son Bryan, 22, is in the Marines, currently serving stateside. She was traveling Thursday to visit him for his birthday, which coincides with the anniversary.
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WWII veteran honor flight takes him to Vietnam Wall and his son's name

Angelo Papale didn't have a way to get to the Vietnam Memorial Wall until a flight to take him to the WWII Memorial brought him to Washington. The other WWII veterans wanted to go to the Vietnam Memorial Wall where Angelo was able to see the name of his son. Arthur was shot down after the third trip to save the lives of Rangers.

A veteran's emotional goodbye to son at Vietnam Memorial
Oct 06, 2011
By Jeff Lawson
WASHINGTON D.C., (WLOX)
Angelo Papale was one of nearly 90 World War II veterans who traveled to see their memorial in the nation's capital in late September. During the war, Angelo flew 30 bombing missions as a gunner on board a B24. Somehow, he made it back alive and unscathed.

At 88, this was the first time he has ever gone to the WWII Memorial. Like the rest of the veteran's on the trip, he called it a great honor.

For Angelo and the other vets, the day also included a stop at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall, where they saw all those names of soldiers gone too soon. For Angelo, the stop was personal, because one of those 58,195 names, is that of Arthur L. Papale, Angelo's son.

It was 1969, when Arthur Papale was shot down while piloting a helicopter.

"He had gone in and picked up two rangers," Angelo said. "He went back to pick up more, and there was too much firepower. So he went back a third time and that is when they shot him down."

Angelo and his wife did not learn of their son's fate until several days later, while at their Biloxi home.
read more here

If you want to see a powerful video report on two heroes watch this video.

Big welcome home for troops in Titusville Florida

Happy homecoming: Patrick AFB airmen return from Afghanistan

About 40 Reserve Airmen from the 920th Rescue Wing returned to Patrick Air Force Base today after a four-month deployment in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
read more here

Man picked wrong house to rob, National Guard soldier's house!

Police: Man tried to rob Cape soldier's home
Oct 04, 2011
By Meaghan Smith, NBC2 Reporter

CAPE CORAL -
A robber, armed with a machine gun, broke into Cape Coral man's home near Skyline Boulevard. But we found out the gunman picked the wrong homeowners to mess with.

In a nice Cape Coral neighborhood, Mike Ponton, a soldier with the National Guard, was just trying to enjoy his day off at home.

"I was watching TV," says Ponton.

What happened next was something made for a movie.

It involved a threatening phone call followed by a man with a ski mask, baseball bat and machine gun sneaking up to his house - which is right off Cape Coral Parkway near Skyline Blvd.

Ponton said it was about 1:30 in the afternoon.

"You come in my house and you bring a weapon to do bodily harm on me, I have no other choice but to protect myself and my family," he said.
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Homeless Brevard vet finds way to get life back on track

Homeless Brevard vet finds way to get life back on track
Written by
R. Norman Moody
FLORIDA TODAY

Phil Campbell, a former Marine, was homeless. With help from the National Veteran's Homeless Support, he now has an apartment, a car, a job and is attending BCC. He works at the Chevron store on US 1 just south of the Beachline. _photo by Malcolm Denemark / Malcolm Denemark

COCOA — Philip Campbell would trek from his primitive, tarp-covered camp hidden in the thick brush in Cocoa to a nearby gas station every day. There, he was allowed to use the Internet connection to do college classwork.

After getting to know him, the owners of the gas station and convenience store offered Campbell a job. Soon after that, the U.S. Marine Corps veteran began to have hope that he could beat homelessness. And he did, thanks to the kindness of several in the community.

“If I can do it, you can, because I’m not that smart,” he said, sitting at a picnic table outside the store.

In the three months since gaining employment, Campbell has not only emerged from more than a year of living in the woods, but he also continues his work at the convenience store and his schooling at Brevard Community College. His story moved someone he never met to donate a car to him earlier this month.
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Camp Pendleton Marine Awarded Silver Star

Camp Pendleton Marine Awarded Silver Star

Marine Master Sgt. David Jarvis Awarded Medal For Heroism In Afghanistan Last Year
October 5, 2011

CAMP PENDLETON -- A Camp Pendleton Marine was awarded the third highest medal for his actions in Afghanistan last year but it was not the only recognition he received.

Marine Master Sgt. David Jarvis was awarded the Silver Star on Wednesday for heroism during an hour-long battle with the Taliban last year in Afghanistan.Jarvis was also awarded the Bronze Star for his actions during the entire deployment.
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Less than 1% of respondents reported using functional assessment scales for PTSD

How Do We Know If Someone Has PTSD?
Posted by Mark Thompson Thursday, October 6, 2011

Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the most troubling legacies of our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of troops and their families are affected. How do we ensure the help – both medical and financial – is going to those who need it? Well, that requires, one would think, a uniform yardstick so folks working for the Department of Veterans Affairs can separate the deserving from the rest.

But according to a new paper in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, that's not the case:

One hundred thirty-eight Veterans Affairs mental health professionals completed a 128-item Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Practice Inventory that asked about their practices and attitudes related to disability assessment of PTSD. Results indicate strikingly wide variation in the attitudes and practices of clinicians conducting disability assessments for PTSD. In a high percentage of cases, these attitudes and practices conflict with best-practice guidelines. Specifically, 59% of clinicians reported rarely or never using testing, and only 17% indicated routinely using standardized clinical interviews. Less than 1% of respondents reported using functional assessment scales.

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Highly decorated Fort Hood soldier dies in Harker Heights

Fort Hood soldier dies in Harker Heights
Updated: Wednesday, 05 Oct 2011, 11:42 AM CDT
Published : Wednesday, 05 Oct 2011, 11:42 AM CDT

FORT HOOD, Texas (KXAN) - Officials this week have released the name of a soldier who died from an apparent gunshot wound Sept. 24 in Harker Heights.

Sgt. 1st Class Washington Vaalele Ale, 39, whose home of record is listed as Pago Pago, American Samoa, entered active-duty service in April 1992 as a cannon crewmember. He was assigned to 479th Field Artillery Brigade, First Army Division West, since April 2011.

Ale's deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from October 2006 through December 2007 and again from August 2008 through October 2008.
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Disappointed in Criminal Minds Dorado Falls

I love Criminal Minds. It is one of the reasons I get off this computer. I was really looking forward to watching last night. One of the few times I posted on the show, I was really hopeful since the subject was PTSD and a combat veteran. In this case it was about a retired Navy SEAL.

While they have had shows on PTSD before, as in the case of the veteran suffering in flashback mode after ending up in a construction zone and killing anyone he felt threatened by, this one was totally different.

First the good points of last night. They talked about combat and PTSD a lot. Rossi talked about his time in the Marines and showed he understood this SEAL was deeply troubled. The SEAL was not killed unlike the other episode with a PTSD veteran. His ex-wife and daughter still loved him and wanted him to get the help he needed. Those were the good parts.

The rest was wrong to do. The SEAL was blowing away people while "thinking" they were impostors and out to get him. He blew away his boss then the rest of his coworkers. Imagine being an employer thinking about hiring a veteran with PTSD and then watching this on TV. He killed his parents. Imagine being a parent with a PTSD veteran. If you don't think thoughts went through the minds of viewers then you don't understand how popular this show is.  Later in the show it showed the trigger.  He killed a couple of children.

To blindfold the SEAL while taking him into custody was stupid beyond belief. That would be the last thing anyone should do. The enemy blindfolds so this only enforced the idea the SEAL was facing off with the enemy.

Here are some facts. Given the staggering number of PTSD combat veterans in this country, there are very few crimes committed by them. While there is a need for veterans courts, these are non-violent cases. For the most part the justice system does take into account PTSD and combat when considering sentencing for violent crimes but again, these cases are few compared to over 2 million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan along with Gulf War and Vietnam Veterans.

Veterans with PTSD are generally not violent, more depressed than anything else. The rise in suicides is an powerful indication of this. At least 18 veterans a day take their own lives.

Families of these veterans either understand what PTSD and help them heal or they don't and end up turing their backs on them. Homeless veterans are on the rise.

On this blog I track reports from around the country. While there have been many cases involving law enforcement and veterans, the reports are tiny when compared to the over 24 million veterans in this country and that should have been the message delivered last night. Actually it would have been better for veterans with PTSD if they didn't do the show at all. In the four years this blog has been up there hasn't been any veteran serial killers like last night out of 12,937 posts. If they really want to do an episode on PTSD, wow do I have a script for them!

Criminal Minds show with PTSD as topic Dorado Falls

Home Depot Celebration of Service at Marietta GA VFW

Veterans helping veterans: 'This is personal'
6:55 AM, Oct 5, 2011
Written by
Matt Pearl

MARIETTA, Ga. -- Of the 200+ Home Depot volunteers who came to fix up a VFW post in Marietta, nearly two dozen were veterans themselves.

Last month, the Atlanta-based home improvement retailer began its Celebration of Service, a two-month collection of community service projects designed to help veterans. They kicked the efforts off locally by renovating VFW Post 2681 in Marietta.

What made the event special were the handful of veterans who came out to work to help other veterans.

"This is personal, this is professional, and this is a tremendous opportunity," said one such veteran, Oregon Emerson III.

read more here

SGT Sophie Champoux, U.S. Army, Funeral Set In Clermont, FL

SGT Sophie Champoux U.S. Army Clermont, FL

10 Oct. 2011

Becker Funeral Home
806 Minneola Drive
Clermont, FL 34711-2118

The family of Sophie Champoux has invited the Patriot Guard Riders to stand in silent respect for this hero.

SGT Champoux, 25, was born and raised in Clermont, Florida and attended South Lake and East Ridge High Schools. She loved the sport of softball and played short stop for awhile. She was a member of the ROTC while at South Lake High School. SGT Champoux served three (3) years in the Army and was on active duty when she passed. She served at White Sands, New Mexico, Afghanistan and Ft. Stewart, Georgia.
editor's note: comment left by reader corrected her name from Sophia to Sophie

Mom of UK wounded soldier says "We’ve had to fight for everything"

When will governments actually value the men and women willing to die for them? They wouldn't need to have wounds taken care of if they didn't serve so what's the problem?

We’ve had to fight for everything...
By Jo Davison
Published on Wednesday 5 October 2011 02:58

Every day for months, she had sat by the bedside of her unconscious soldier son, willing him to prove the doctors wrong.

His dreadful wounds, inflicted by a land mine just days before he was due to finish his tour of duty and fly home, were slowly mending.

Ben had suffered 37 injuries but the extent of the damage to his brain was still unknown.

Doctors had warned mother of three Diane Dernie her son would probably have no meaningful brain function, but she refused to believe them.

After all, he had come this far. And no other soldier had endured so many injuries and lived.

She thought the family’s prayers had been answered when, months into his recovery, he began to open his eyes. “But when I looked into them, it was so scary; there was absolutely nothing there,” she recalls.

Still, she clung to hope. And one day, when a nurse asked him to look over towards his mother, Diane watched his eyes move towards hers and for a moment, saw in them a glimpse of recognition.

Elated, she turned to the doctors. But they delivered a crushing blow. It meant nothing, they said. He could not have looked into her eyes – because they believed Ben was also blind.

For the first time since an Army official had arrived on her doorstep to tell her Ben had been severely injured on September 12 2006, Diane broke down and her thoughts turned to suicide.


She admits: “It was too much – the last blow. I thought there was nothing for Ben to carry on for.

“I decided I would end it for him, then take my own life because it wasn’t worth anything without him in it.”
read more here

VA direct deposit missing from veteran's account

Disabled veteran blames VA for losing check

Sean Dieterich - The Independent
LAKESIDE — Paul Blecke says he got his perseverance from his time in the United States Marine Corps. And he says that is why he cannot stop fighting in the face of losing everything he has.
Blecke, 62, did not get his monthly disability check from the Veterans Administration (VA), but said he is getting no help in recovering those lost funds. Without it, he said he cannot pay his bills and will more than likely end up back on the street.

Blecke served in the Marines from 1967 to 1968 and again from 1970 to 1972. He served in Vietnam with the 7th Marine regiment, stationed near a demilitarized zone. During his combat tours he suffered injuries to his legs which rendered him disabled. Blecke also serves as a chaplain for Disabled American Veterans.

Blecke has lived in the White Mountains off-and-on for the last 10 years, most recently at Apple Tree Apartments. He said he is 100 percent disabled, due to his injuries and his post-traumatic stress disorder, and gets $2,673 a month from the government. He said he has direct deposit set up through the Bank of America, where the checks are automatically deposited into his account on the first of every month.

September, Blecke said, was the first month the money did not show up in his account. Instead, he said it ended up with a bank in Maryland. He said it is the first problem he has had with direct deposit in 15 years, but the VA is not doing much to rectify the problem. He said they have repeatedly tracked the check and continue to blame him for the mistake.
read more here

Recently Married Fort Bliss Soldier Dies In Car Crash

Recently Married Soldier Dies In Car Crash
Pregnant Wife Is In Hospital
October 5, 2011

EL PASO, Texas -- A soldier dies in a car crash and his pregnant wife is in the hospital.

Tyon Smith, 21, was a Fort Bliss Soldier. Smith recently married Destiny Evans Smith who is 7 months pregnant.

Tuesday night Tyon Smith died after losing control of his pickup truck. The accident happened at Leigh Fisher Boulevard and Founders Boulevard. Police were called out around 8:20 p.m.

Smith’s Dodge Ram was flipped onto its side and Smith had been ejected over 50 feet from the truck. He was taken to University Medical Center where he died.
read more here

Mom takes down robber at ATM

Mother Takes Down Robbery Suspect

John Meekin Wrestled To Ground While Fleeing

POSTED: 5:06 pm EDT October 5, 2011
OCALA, Fla. -- An Ocala mother wrestled and held a robbery suspect who was trying to flee from police.

It started Monday evening with Warren Kinsella, 55, who was withdrawing money from an automated teller machine near Ocala.

Investigators with the Marion County Sheriff's Office said John Meekin, 35, approached Kinsella on his bike, drew a gun and demanded money.

"I said no," Kinsella said. "I've got to pay bills with my money."

Kinsella retired from the Army and was a former military policeman. He said he shoved the bike out of the way and fled before following Meekin in his truck Kinsella said the gunman even shot at him but missed.

read more here

Colonial State Road 50 open after standoff ends

S.R. 50 standoff over, man in custody

By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
4:37 p.m. EDT, October 5, 2011

A man armed with a gun sparked a standoff with Orange County deputies near the Brevard County line on Wednesday afternoon, blocking State Road 50 for several hours.

The situation shut down the roadway at the St. Johns River, where the man was threatening to harm himself inside a pickup truck, officials said.

He surrendered without violence just after 2 p.m., about three hours after the standoff was initially reported.
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Florida Vets to See Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Bill?

Vets to See Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Bill?
Florida's home to more than 1-point-6 million military veterans. Many of them have served multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan
Reporter: Troy Kinsey
Email Address: news@wctv.tv

Tallahassee, FL -- October 4, 2011 --

Florida's home to more than 1-point-6 million military veterans. Many of them have served multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. And all too often, the difficult process of adjusting to life back home can lead to a life of crime. Now, state lawmakers have a plan to prevent that from happening.

Home from the battlefield...And life should be easier for veterans of of the war on terror. But for thousands... The war rages on in the form of post traumatic stress. Having served back-to-back tours of duty in iraq, state representative Jeff Brandes knows all too well. Post-traumatic stress disorder can take a heavy toll.

"Even within the same unit, you might have soldiers who have experienced the exact same things, but are having much more challenging situations in dealing with it when they return back home," said, Republican representative, Jeff Brandes.

That's why Brandes is taking a hard look at a bill that would let veterans with combat-related psychological disorders avoid going to prison.
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Criminal Minds show with PTSD as topic Dorado Falls

Tonight on Criminal Minds: 7.03 "Dorado Falls"

Written By emma fraser
October 5th, 2011
The BAU team head to Charlottesville, Virginia tonight to investigate a mass murder at an Internet-security company. They find that the clues lead them to a suspect who is not a typical serial killer. In the sneak peek for "Dorado Falls" that can be seen below, Emily (Paget Brewster) has to complete recertification training with a familiar face as her trainer. Warning light spoilers ahead.

So what is it about this unsub that makes him different from a typical serial killer? It would appear that Navy Veteran Luke Dolan (guest star Max Martini: Revenge, The Unit) may be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which not only results in him killing his own parents but believing that he is on some kind of bigger mission. This sounds somewhat reminiscent of the season 2 episode "Distress" which featured a Veteran who also suffered from PTSD from his time in Somalia, and who also went on a seemingly random killing spree. Not that I think that this new episode will be a carbon copy of this previous one and I'm sure it will explore other factors about PTSD.
read more here