Elderly veteran dies in apartment fire
Updated: Friday, 25 Nov 2011
Cory Pippin
PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) - An Army veteran in his 70s, who used a wheelchair and lived alone, died Thursday morning when his Pensacola apartment caught fire.
Eloise Nelson said the victim was Leo Lambert. She had lived next door to him for more than a year. She said when she looked out her door Thanksgiving morning, emergency responders were everywhere.
“I told the fireman that there was a man in the apartment. That’s when they broke down the door and pulled him out. They tried to perform CPR on him for a while," said Nelson.
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Saturday, November 26, 2011
Marine Who Lost Legs in Afghanistan Inspires Many During 5K
Marine Who Lost Legs Inspires Many During 5K
November 25, 2011
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (CBS4) – A Marine severely wounded in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving in 2010 inspired many at a 5K run in Broomfield during this year’s holiday.
Cpl. Gabriel Martinez lost both his legs to a roadside bomb and his recovery has been surprisingly fast. He’s now got two prosthetic legs and has skied, biked and even rock climbed. On Thursday he was out in the Colorado sun running along with both friends and strangers in the Anthem Turkey Day 5k-10k.
“My boys are still in Afghanistan. It was all about getting back in shape and just fighting the fight whether it’s here or in Afghanistan,” he said.
The injured Marine knows the blast could have killed him, but he was fortunate.
“I knew I was hit — I knew I was in the air, ears ringing. All I could see was dust. I just wanted to know if my Marines were okay,” he told CBS4 while making his way through the 5K route.
read more here
November 25, 2011
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (CBS4) – A Marine severely wounded in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving in 2010 inspired many at a 5K run in Broomfield during this year’s holiday.
Cpl. Gabriel Martinez lost both his legs to a roadside bomb and his recovery has been surprisingly fast. He’s now got two prosthetic legs and has skied, biked and even rock climbed. On Thursday he was out in the Colorado sun running along with both friends and strangers in the Anthem Turkey Day 5k-10k.
“My boys are still in Afghanistan. It was all about getting back in shape and just fighting the fight whether it’s here or in Afghanistan,” he said.
The injured Marine knows the blast could have killed him, but he was fortunate.
“I knew I was hit — I knew I was in the air, ears ringing. All I could see was dust. I just wanted to know if my Marines were okay,” he told CBS4 while making his way through the 5K route.
read more here
Friday, November 25, 2011
Jeff Lucey's parents fight to save lives after his suicide
Lucey family of Belchertown honors their late son by campaigning for veterans services
Published: Friday, November 25, 2011
By Fred Contrada, The Republican
Veterans Day is a bittersweet holiday for many, as they celebrate the soldiers who served America and mourn those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
For Joyce and Kevin Lucey there’s nothing sweet about it.
The Belchertown couple lost their son Jeffrey to a war that is only recently being talked about, a war many veterans wage with themselves in the America they return to. Jeffrey Lucey was 19 when he enlisted in the Marines out of Belchertown High School in 1999. He shipped off to Iraq in 2003, after the World Trade Center bombing had led to war in that country. He returned after a turbulent tour of duty there and hanged himself in his parent’s Belchertown home in June of 2004 after an equally turbulent period of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He was 23.
Since then, Joyce and Kevin Lucey have worked tirelessly to help change the lot of veterans who come home still at war with themselves. Most recently, the couple traveled to New York City on the Monday before Veterans Day to tell their son’s story at an event organized by Services for the Underserved. The non-profit group’s mission is to provide assistance for veterans battling Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, struggling to find homes and jobs, trying to reassimilate with their families and fighting the urge to kill themselves.
read more here
Published: Friday, November 25, 2011
By Fred Contrada, The Republican
File photo by Don Treeger / The Republican
Joyce T. and Kevin P. Lucey sit in their Belchertown home in 2009 with a picture of their son, Jeffrey, who hanged himself shortly after returning home from active duty in Iraq with the Marines.
Veterans Day is a bittersweet holiday for many, as they celebrate the soldiers who served America and mourn those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
For Joyce and Kevin Lucey there’s nothing sweet about it.
The Belchertown couple lost their son Jeffrey to a war that is only recently being talked about, a war many veterans wage with themselves in the America they return to. Jeffrey Lucey was 19 when he enlisted in the Marines out of Belchertown High School in 1999. He shipped off to Iraq in 2003, after the World Trade Center bombing had led to war in that country. He returned after a turbulent tour of duty there and hanged himself in his parent’s Belchertown home in June of 2004 after an equally turbulent period of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He was 23.
Since then, Joyce and Kevin Lucey have worked tirelessly to help change the lot of veterans who come home still at war with themselves. Most recently, the couple traveled to New York City on the Monday before Veterans Day to tell their son’s story at an event organized by Services for the Underserved. The non-profit group’s mission is to provide assistance for veterans battling Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, struggling to find homes and jobs, trying to reassimilate with their families and fighting the urge to kill themselves.
read more here
Navy to kick out 28 sailors from USS Ronald Reagan for using Spice
Navy to kick out 28 sailors from USS Ronald Reagan for using Spice
By CHARLIE REED
Stars and Stripes
Published: November 21, 2011
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — A month after kicking out 64 sailors for using synthetic marijuana, the Navy announced Monday that another 28 are getting the boot for similar infractions.
The 28 sailors — all from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan — were caught red-handed, according to a Navy news release.
The dismissal announcement reinforces recent military campaigns to stop troops from smoking fake pot, often called Spice, a catch-all name for a designer drug that mimics the effect of marijuana.
read more here
By CHARLIE REED
Stars and Stripes
Published: November 21, 2011
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — A month after kicking out 64 sailors for using synthetic marijuana, the Navy announced Monday that another 28 are getting the boot for similar infractions.
The 28 sailors — all from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan — were caught red-handed, according to a Navy news release.
The dismissal announcement reinforces recent military campaigns to stop troops from smoking fake pot, often called Spice, a catch-all name for a designer drug that mimics the effect of marijuana.
read more here
Groundbreaking research looks at how blasts injure brain
Groundbreaking research looks at how blasts injure brain
By SETH ROBBINS
Stars and Stripes
Published: November 25, 2011
LANDSTUHL, Germany — During a firefight in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province in 2002, U.S. Army Maj. Kevin Kit Parker stood atop a hill awaiting a Medevac flight for an injured soldier when a bomb exploded several miles away.
He saw the bomb’s intense light first, then felt its shock waves ripple through his body.
“It felt like it was lifting my bowels, and I was quite far away,” Parker said.
Several years later, when he was working in bioengineering research at Harvard University, a friend of Parker’s suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, and Parker was reminded of his Kandahar experience. Parker chose to shift his focus from cardiac tissue to brain research after receiving encouragement from Col. Geoffrey Ling, a neurologist and program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.
Now a professor at Harvard, Parker has published groundbreaking research describing how blasts injure the brain. Gathering data directly on the battlefield from servicemembers who’ve been in close proximity to blasts, he said, will be key to understanding the devastating yet subtle damage caused.
read more here
By SETH ROBBINS
Stars and Stripes
Published: November 25, 2011
LANDSTUHL, Germany — During a firefight in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province in 2002, U.S. Army Maj. Kevin Kit Parker stood atop a hill awaiting a Medevac flight for an injured soldier when a bomb exploded several miles away.
He saw the bomb’s intense light first, then felt its shock waves ripple through his body.
“It felt like it was lifting my bowels, and I was quite far away,” Parker said.
Several years later, when he was working in bioengineering research at Harvard University, a friend of Parker’s suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, and Parker was reminded of his Kandahar experience. Parker chose to shift his focus from cardiac tissue to brain research after receiving encouragement from Col. Geoffrey Ling, a neurologist and program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.
Now a professor at Harvard, Parker has published groundbreaking research describing how blasts injure the brain. Gathering data directly on the battlefield from servicemembers who’ve been in close proximity to blasts, he said, will be key to understanding the devastating yet subtle damage caused.
read more here
Price for Veterans exposed to Agent Orange skyrockets
They are talking about the money but when our families read something like this, we think of their lives.
Agent Orange: With more diseases tied to use during Vietnam War, bill for veterans' care skyrockets
Over the past two years, federal officials say, an estimated 10,000 more veterans have sought medical compensation for diseases related to Agent Orange, an herbicide that contains a toxic chemical called dioxin.
By: Lindsey Bever, Dallas Morning News / MCT
DALLAS
More than 40 years after the U.S. military used Agent Orange to defoliate the jungles of Vietnam, the health-care bill is escalating.
Over the past two years, federal officials say, an estimated 10,000 more veterans have sought medical compensation for diseases related to Agent Orange, an herbicide that contains a toxic chemical called dioxin.
The Institute of Medicine said in a recent report that there is sufficient evidence of an association between exposure to Agent Orange and illnesses including soft-tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma and chloracne.
The report recommended further research to determine whether there could be a link between Agent Orange exposure and other illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, tonsil cancer, melanoma and Alzheimer’s disease.
Over the next decade, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is expected to pay $50 billion for health-care compensation for ischemic heart disease alone — one of the 14 diseases the VA says is associated with Agent Orange exposure.
read more here
83 plaintiffs join in on Hood victims lawsuit
83 plaintiffs join in on Hood victims lawsuit
By Joe Gould - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Nov 25, 2011 10:18:24 EST
The Army, the Defense Department, the FBI and the Department of Justice should have stopped Maj. Nidal Hasan before his deadly shooting rampage in 2009, according to legal action filed by the relatives of his victims.
Eighty-three plaintiffs, including victims and relatives of victims of the attacks at Fort Hood, Texas, seek $750 million in government compensation and have filed an administrative claim against the Army, said their attorney, Neal Sher.
The claim alleges government agencies were guilty of “gross and willful negligence and wanton disregard for the safety of military and civilian personnel,” Sher said in a press release. The government promoted Hasan instead of heeding “warning signs that Hasan posed a grave danger to the lives and safety of soldiers and civilians.”
Fort Hood spokesman Christopher Haug said the Army was legally barred from commenting on the pending civil claims and the criminal case against Hasan.
Hasan, an Army psychiatrist and American-born Muslim, faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. He is awaiting trial.
read more here
By Joe Gould - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Nov 25, 2011 10:18:24 EST
The Army, the Defense Department, the FBI and the Department of Justice should have stopped Maj. Nidal Hasan before his deadly shooting rampage in 2009, according to legal action filed by the relatives of his victims.
Eighty-three plaintiffs, including victims and relatives of victims of the attacks at Fort Hood, Texas, seek $750 million in government compensation and have filed an administrative claim against the Army, said their attorney, Neal Sher.
The claim alleges government agencies were guilty of “gross and willful negligence and wanton disregard for the safety of military and civilian personnel,” Sher said in a press release. The government promoted Hasan instead of heeding “warning signs that Hasan posed a grave danger to the lives and safety of soldiers and civilians.”
Fort Hood spokesman Christopher Haug said the Army was legally barred from commenting on the pending civil claims and the criminal case against Hasan.
Hasan, an Army psychiatrist and American-born Muslim, faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. He is awaiting trial.
read more here
Some of the war's battles are fought at home
Some of the war's battles are fought at home
Families left behind when loved ones are deployed have found deepening support at Camp Pendleton.
By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
November 25, 2011
But there is nothing unusual about that. The Ramirez family lives in base housing, where nearly all the fathers and some of the mothers leave home regularly for seven to 12 months at a stretch.
Sgt. Ramirez, 27, is with an artillery battalion in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand province. He has made three other deployments to Iraq to the insurgent-battleground of Anbar province.
Recently, Keegan has come to understand an inescapable fact about his father's chosen profession: Not everyone comes home alive or uninjured.
"We hadn't heard from his father in a couple of days," said Keegan's mother, Emma Ramirez, "and Keegan came to me one night and asked, 'Did daddy die?' It broke my heart."
Children have had to grow up quickly in the last decade at Camp Pendleton.
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Families left behind when loved ones are deployed have found deepening support at Camp Pendleton.
By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times
November 25, 2011
Marines and family members pay their respects at a Camp Pendleton ceremony for 17 Marines killed in action in Afghanistan. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times / November 4, 2011)Reporting from Camp Pendleton— Six-year-old Keegan Ramirez knows that his father, Marine Sgt. Rafael Ramirez, is in Afghanistan.
But there is nothing unusual about that. The Ramirez family lives in base housing, where nearly all the fathers and some of the mothers leave home regularly for seven to 12 months at a stretch.
Sgt. Ramirez, 27, is with an artillery battalion in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand province. He has made three other deployments to Iraq to the insurgent-battleground of Anbar province.
Recently, Keegan has come to understand an inescapable fact about his father's chosen profession: Not everyone comes home alive or uninjured.
"We hadn't heard from his father in a couple of days," said Keegan's mother, Emma Ramirez, "and Keegan came to me one night and asked, 'Did daddy die?' It broke my heart."
Children have had to grow up quickly in the last decade at Camp Pendleton.
read more here
Fort Riley Soldier found dead on post
Soldier found dead on post
Staff reports
Military police at Fort Riley said Wednesday they are investigating the discovery of a body found on post Sunday.
The soldier was identified as Spc. James Joseph Pizzo, 30, of the Warrior Transition Battalion.
No other details regarding the body's discovery were made available.
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Staff reports
Military police at Fort Riley said Wednesday they are investigating the discovery of a body found on post Sunday.
The soldier was identified as Spc. James Joseph Pizzo, 30, of the Warrior Transition Battalion.
No other details regarding the body's discovery were made available.
read more here
Operation Recovery: Fort Hood Soldiers Demand Right to Heal
Operation Recovery: Fort Hood Soldiers Demand Right to Heal
Vets and active duty Soldiers march for their brothers and sisters who aren't receiving the quality mental care they deserve. PTSD,, military sexual trauma, and combat stress are marginalized and overlooked in the push for deployment numbers and checking the block. We hold the leadership accountable to do their Duty and place their Soldiers' welfare first.
Vets and active duty Soldiers march for their brothers and sisters who aren't receiving the quality mental care they deserve. PTSD,, military sexual trauma, and combat stress are marginalized and overlooked in the push for deployment numbers and checking the block. We hold the leadership accountable to do their Duty and place their Soldiers' welfare first.
Ralph Haines Jr. Oldest living 4-star Army general passed away
Oldest living 4-star Army general Ralph Haines dies
Thu Nov 24, 2011 7:09pm EST
(Reuters) - The U.S. Army's oldest living four-star general, Ralph Haines Jr., died of natural causes at San Antonio Military Medical Center on Wednesday, an Army spokesman said. He was 98.
Haines, who was the Army's senior retired officer, served 37 years in the Army and was vice chief of staff from 1967 to 1968.
Haines also served as commanding general of 1st Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas, and as the commanding general of III Corps, also at Fort Hood, according to a statement from the Army.
"He was a very dedicated and patriotic leader that served his nation honorably and lived up to all its values," said Major Stephen Short, a spokesman for the Army.
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Thu Nov 24, 2011 7:09pm EST
(Reuters) - The U.S. Army's oldest living four-star general, Ralph Haines Jr., died of natural causes at San Antonio Military Medical Center on Wednesday, an Army spokesman said. He was 98.
Haines, who was the Army's senior retired officer, served 37 years in the Army and was vice chief of staff from 1967 to 1968.
Haines also served as commanding general of 1st Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas, and as the commanding general of III Corps, also at Fort Hood, according to a statement from the Army.
"He was a very dedicated and patriotic leader that served his nation honorably and lived up to all its values," said Major Stephen Short, a spokesman for the Army.
read more here
Guilt may be a top factor in PTSD
Guilt may be a top factor in PTSD
by
Chaplain Kathie
How many times have I said this over the last 30 years? It is impossible to come up with a number. One of the reasons is a man mentioned in this article. Jonathan Shay has been a hero of mine every since I read the first few chapters of his book Achilles in Vietnam and emailed him. It was the first book I read that completely addressed what I was living with. Shay not only knew the mind of the veteran, he knew his soul.
It was 1999. Back then I was doing what I could to help other veterans like my husband understand that PTSD was not their fault and they could heal but there was still so much more for me to learn. Shay's book helped me to understand it better. It is because of him that I was assured I was right on believing that PTSD hit the most compassionate the hardest.
Back then I had a messed up email that would only allow people I knew to send them, so Jonathan couldn't email back. He took the time to find me and sent a reply by mail. I called him and then we began to email. I told him about a book I was working on. He read it and tried to help me get it published. No one wanted it. September 11th came and I called him knowing there would be a flood of veterans with PTSD symptoms walking up. I told him I would self-publish the book. For the Love of Jack is available for free now by emailing me woundedtimes@aol.com.
This study on Marines is far behind what was already known but it is important to point out that it can manage to do some good if the researchers know what to do with it. So far most of them have failed. The programs they have come up with support the notion that there is some kind of weakness in their minds instead of addressing the strength of their character. This approach has done more harm than good but they have failed to acknowledge this. All they have managed to do is come up with sending troops back into combat with medications and programs like Battlemind telling them they can "train their brains" to prevent it and be resilient, leaving them with the impression if they end up with PTSD, it is their fault their minds were not strong enough to take it.
I tell the story often of a great example of this. A National Guardsman's Mom contacted me after her son tried to kill himself twice. He got divorced, lost his kids, his home and was sleeping on couches. I got his Mom to understand what PTSD was and why he acted the way he did. Soon her son called me. After enough phone calls to make him feel comfortable talking to me he was able to open up about the most haunting experience he had. All he could remember about it was the outcome. A family was killed in Iraq. He couldn't remember what happened before or what he tried to do to prevent it from happening. He forgot he screamed at the driver to stop the car. He threw rocks. He fired warning shots in the air. The car kept coming. In his mind it could have been one more suicide bomber out to blow up the Humvee and kill his team. His thoughts were about saving the men he was with. Once he was able to see everything that happened, he was able to forgive himself for what he had to do.
A nurse during the Gulf War was haunted by the lives of the men she couldn't save. She had forgotten how many lived on because she was there to help them on one horrible day of carnage.
Regrets can haunt anyone but for the men and women in the military, they have an abundance of events piled onto others. A soldier survived an attack but a buddy died and he thought it should have been him going home in a casket. A Marine recovering from an IED regrets he survived without his legs when his best friend died along with several others. Their stories are timeless and all too often, endless. They cannot heal unless they are helped to see the power already within them and be able to forgive themselves for whatever they believe they need forgiveness for.
Medications numb the pain but addressing the spiritual heals them. This is what has to happen. When they forgive others and themselves, they are able to feel the good feelings without regret. When families are able to forgive them for what they do under the control of PTSD, it heals the family relationships and helps the combat veteran to heal faster and deeper. What comes out on the other side of the darkness is a better person and a stronger family. I have not only seen this happen, I've lived it. My husband and I have been through all the hell possible but in the 27 years of our marriage I can honestly say I don't regret one day of it. Sure there are still some issues we have to adjust to but most of it has become "normal" for us. In my book I wrote about the "new normal" because for all the standards set by "experts" on marriage, our's is far from normal. However it is normal for a unique class of citizens we call veterans. Less than 10% of the population of America are veterans and less than 1% serve in the military today. Once we faced the fact that we are not a normal family by any measure, living a different type of life was easier to accept and thrive with.
Once a veteran sees why they joined and the fact they were willing to die for the sake of others, they begin to forgive themselves.
This is also the reason I am with Point Man Ministries.
by
Chaplain Kathie
How many times have I said this over the last 30 years? It is impossible to come up with a number. One of the reasons is a man mentioned in this article. Jonathan Shay has been a hero of mine every since I read the first few chapters of his book Achilles in Vietnam and emailed him. It was the first book I read that completely addressed what I was living with. Shay not only knew the mind of the veteran, he knew his soul.
It was 1999. Back then I was doing what I could to help other veterans like my husband understand that PTSD was not their fault and they could heal but there was still so much more for me to learn. Shay's book helped me to understand it better. It is because of him that I was assured I was right on believing that PTSD hit the most compassionate the hardest.
Back then I had a messed up email that would only allow people I knew to send them, so Jonathan couldn't email back. He took the time to find me and sent a reply by mail. I called him and then we began to email. I told him about a book I was working on. He read it and tried to help me get it published. No one wanted it. September 11th came and I called him knowing there would be a flood of veterans with PTSD symptoms walking up. I told him I would self-publish the book. For the Love of Jack is available for free now by emailing me woundedtimes@aol.com.
This study on Marines is far behind what was already known but it is important to point out that it can manage to do some good if the researchers know what to do with it. So far most of them have failed. The programs they have come up with support the notion that there is some kind of weakness in their minds instead of addressing the strength of their character. This approach has done more harm than good but they have failed to acknowledge this. All they have managed to do is come up with sending troops back into combat with medications and programs like Battlemind telling them they can "train their brains" to prevent it and be resilient, leaving them with the impression if they end up with PTSD, it is their fault their minds were not strong enough to take it.
Study suggests feelings of guilt may be a top factor in PTSD
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY
A leading cause of post-traumatic stress disorder is guilt that troops experience because of moral dilemmas faced in combat, according to preliminary findings of a study of active-duty Marines.
The conflicts that servicemembers feel may include "survivor's guilt," from living through an attack in which other servicemembers died, and witnessing or participating in the unintentional killing of women or children, researchers involved in the study say.
"How do they come to terms with that? They have to forgive themselves for pulling the trigger," says retired Navy captain Bill Nash, a psychiatrist and study co-author.
The idea of "moral injury" as a cause of PTSD is new to psychiatry. The American Psychiatric Association is only now considering new diagnostic criteria for the disorder that would include feelings of shame and guilt, says David Spiegel, a member of the working group rewriting the PTSD section.
Traditionally, PTSD symptoms such as nightmares or numbness to the world have been linked to combat violence, fear of being killed or loss of friends.
Half of all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs have been diagnosed with mental health issues and the most common is PTSD, which is experienced by nearly 200,000 of these veterans, according to the VA.
PTSD caused by moral injury can lead to more severe reactions such as family violence or even suicide, says Jonathan Shay, a psychiatrist who has worked on military mental health policies.
read more here
I tell the story often of a great example of this. A National Guardsman's Mom contacted me after her son tried to kill himself twice. He got divorced, lost his kids, his home and was sleeping on couches. I got his Mom to understand what PTSD was and why he acted the way he did. Soon her son called me. After enough phone calls to make him feel comfortable talking to me he was able to open up about the most haunting experience he had. All he could remember about it was the outcome. A family was killed in Iraq. He couldn't remember what happened before or what he tried to do to prevent it from happening. He forgot he screamed at the driver to stop the car. He threw rocks. He fired warning shots in the air. The car kept coming. In his mind it could have been one more suicide bomber out to blow up the Humvee and kill his team. His thoughts were about saving the men he was with. Once he was able to see everything that happened, he was able to forgive himself for what he had to do.
A nurse during the Gulf War was haunted by the lives of the men she couldn't save. She had forgotten how many lived on because she was there to help them on one horrible day of carnage.
Regrets can haunt anyone but for the men and women in the military, they have an abundance of events piled onto others. A soldier survived an attack but a buddy died and he thought it should have been him going home in a casket. A Marine recovering from an IED regrets he survived without his legs when his best friend died along with several others. Their stories are timeless and all too often, endless. They cannot heal unless they are helped to see the power already within them and be able to forgive themselves for whatever they believe they need forgiveness for.
Medications numb the pain but addressing the spiritual heals them. This is what has to happen. When they forgive others and themselves, they are able to feel the good feelings without regret. When families are able to forgive them for what they do under the control of PTSD, it heals the family relationships and helps the combat veteran to heal faster and deeper. What comes out on the other side of the darkness is a better person and a stronger family. I have not only seen this happen, I've lived it. My husband and I have been through all the hell possible but in the 27 years of our marriage I can honestly say I don't regret one day of it. Sure there are still some issues we have to adjust to but most of it has become "normal" for us. In my book I wrote about the "new normal" because for all the standards set by "experts" on marriage, our's is far from normal. However it is normal for a unique class of citizens we call veterans. Less than 10% of the population of America are veterans and less than 1% serve in the military today. Once we faced the fact that we are not a normal family by any measure, living a different type of life was easier to accept and thrive with.
Once a veteran sees why they joined and the fact they were willing to die for the sake of others, they begin to forgive themselves.
Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
This is also the reason I am with Point Man Ministries.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Teen arrested, accused of threatening Columbine-style attack on school
Teen arrested, accused of threatening Columbine-style attack on school
By John W. Davis and Dave D'Marko, Reporter
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 23, 2011
An 18-year-old in Altamonte Springs was caught planning to carry out what police call a "Columbine-type" attack at Lake Brantley High School.
Emmanuel Costas is now facing charges of attempted felony murder.
He made his first appearance before a judge Wednesday.
Costas’ father was also arraigned for a parole violation and possession of cocaine, which is not connected with this case.
On Costas’ Facebook page, he said he’s sorry.
However, inside the courtroom, the teen seemed distracted, almost grinning with a smirk on his face.
It all started on the social media website where Costas posted an eerie message Nov. 16:
“everybody prepare urselfz 4/17 iz approaching let tha carnage begin”
Word then started spreading around the school.
“The student reported it to his mother and she immediately contacted the Altamonte Springs Police Department,” said Interim Altamonte Springs Police Chief Michael Deal.
read more here
By John W. Davis and Dave D'Marko, Reporter
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 23, 2011
An 18-year-old in Altamonte Springs was caught planning to carry out what police call a "Columbine-type" attack at Lake Brantley High School.
Emmanuel Costas is now facing charges of attempted felony murder.
He made his first appearance before a judge Wednesday.
Costas’ father was also arraigned for a parole violation and possession of cocaine, which is not connected with this case.
On Costas’ Facebook page, he said he’s sorry.
However, inside the courtroom, the teen seemed distracted, almost grinning with a smirk on his face.
It all started on the social media website where Costas posted an eerie message Nov. 16:
“everybody prepare urselfz 4/17 iz approaching let tha carnage begin”
Word then started spreading around the school.
“The student reported it to his mother and she immediately contacted the Altamonte Springs Police Department,” said Interim Altamonte Springs Police Chief Michael Deal.
read more here
Troops have Thanksgiving Day Parade in Afghanistan
Thanksgiving 2011: Troops in Afghanistan chow down
U.S. Army cooks at the Panjwai district center in Afghanistan cook up a Thanksgiving feast for the troops.
By MARTIN KUZ
Stars and Stripes
Published: November 24, 2011
GOSHTA, Afghanistan — Forget the Macy’s parade in New York City. On Thursday morning, soldiers at Combat Outpost Garcia in Nangarhar province may have held Afghanistan’s first-ever Thanksgiving Day parade.
It was, admittedly, a modest affair: a total of four hand-built floats, including a Sherman tank commanded by a Cartman doll. But for troops with Company D of the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, the event brought a dash of holiday cheer to a war zone.
“It’s just a little something to make you think of home,” said Pfc. Cuyler Slocum, 23, of Warsaw, N.Y., who had suggested the idea of a parade to the company’s command staff a couple of weeks ago.
read more here
U.S. Army cooks at the Panjwai district center in Afghanistan cook up a Thanksgiving feast for the troops.
By MARTIN KUZ
Stars and Stripes
Published: November 24, 2011
GOSHTA, Afghanistan — Forget the Macy’s parade in New York City. On Thursday morning, soldiers at Combat Outpost Garcia in Nangarhar province may have held Afghanistan’s first-ever Thanksgiving Day parade.
It was, admittedly, a modest affair: a total of four hand-built floats, including a Sherman tank commanded by a Cartman doll. But for troops with Company D of the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, the event brought a dash of holiday cheer to a war zone.
“It’s just a little something to make you think of home,” said Pfc. Cuyler Slocum, 23, of Warsaw, N.Y., who had suggested the idea of a parade to the company’s command staff a couple of weeks ago.
read more here
Thanksgiving on the Front Lines: No Break for Troops in Afghanistan
Thanksgiving on the Front Lines: No Break for Troops in Afghanistan
By MIKE BOETTCHER -- Zormat, Afghanistan
Nov. 24, 2011
It's business as usual for the Oklahoma National Guard in eastern Afghanistan.
U.S. soldiers and their Afghan police partners show off a Taliban machine gun they captured during a patrol today. They also uncovered a cache of Taliban weapons, all before the Thanksgiving meal.
"We found some IED [Improvised Explosive Device] making materials. Some HME [homemade explosives], and a couple of mortar rounds. It was a good find," one National Guardsman told ABC News.
Americans across the world are celebrating Thanksgiving today, but there is no break for troops on the front lines.
Oklahoma's 45th Brigade has faced a particularly tough fight in east-central Afghanistan. Since it fully deployed last July, 14 of its team have been killed in action. That included the first woman from Oklahoma to die on the battlefied, Pfc. Sarina Butcher, a 19-year-old mother.The previous brigade from Iowa saw four of its soldiers killed in action while it was deployed there.
read more here
By MIKE BOETTCHER -- Zormat, Afghanistan
Nov. 24, 2011
It's business as usual for the Oklahoma National Guard in eastern Afghanistan.
U.S. soldiers and their Afghan police partners show off a Taliban machine gun they captured during a patrol today. They also uncovered a cache of Taliban weapons, all before the Thanksgiving meal.
"We found some IED [Improvised Explosive Device] making materials. Some HME [homemade explosives], and a couple of mortar rounds. It was a good find," one National Guardsman told ABC News.
Americans across the world are celebrating Thanksgiving today, but there is no break for troops on the front lines.
Oklahoma's 45th Brigade has faced a particularly tough fight in east-central Afghanistan. Since it fully deployed last July, 14 of its team have been killed in action. That included the first woman from Oklahoma to die on the battlefied, Pfc. Sarina Butcher, a 19-year-old mother.The previous brigade from Iowa saw four of its soldiers killed in action while it was deployed there.
read more here
Father, Son Return From Afghanistan For Family Thanksgiving
Father, Son Return From Afghanistan For Family Thanksgiving
November 24, 2011
LAGUNA HILLS (CBS) — A father, one of the oldest recruits in the U.S. Army. His son, an infantry marine on the front lines. Their safe return from Afghanistan is what their family will celebrate around the Thanksgiving dinner table. In the midst of a booming dermatology practice in Newport Beach, Dr. Dore Gilbert decided to follow a lifelong dream. He joined the Army at the age of 60.
Gilbert was determined not to let his age hold him back. “I just couldn’t use that as an excuse,” says Gilbert. “I was done with excuses. I wanted to serve my country.” Gilbert knew the last three months he spent serving as a brigade surgeon in Afghanistan could cost him his life. Still it was the safety of another that was constantly on his mind. Gilbert’s 22-year-old son, Kevin is a U.S. Marine who was also assigned to Afghanistan.
read more here
November 24, 2011
LAGUNA HILLS (CBS) — A father, one of the oldest recruits in the U.S. Army. His son, an infantry marine on the front lines. Their safe return from Afghanistan is what their family will celebrate around the Thanksgiving dinner table. In the midst of a booming dermatology practice in Newport Beach, Dr. Dore Gilbert decided to follow a lifelong dream. He joined the Army at the age of 60.
Gilbert was determined not to let his age hold him back. “I just couldn’t use that as an excuse,” says Gilbert. “I was done with excuses. I wanted to serve my country.” Gilbert knew the last three months he spent serving as a brigade surgeon in Afghanistan could cost him his life. Still it was the safety of another that was constantly on his mind. Gilbert’s 22-year-old son, Kevin is a U.S. Marine who was also assigned to Afghanistan.
read more here
Gabrielle Giffords Serves Thanksgiving Meal At Arizona Air Base
Gabrielle Giffords Serves Thanksgiving Meal At Arizona Air Base
MATT YORK and BOB CHRISTIE
11/24/11
TUCSON, Ariz. — U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords helped serve a Thanksgiving meal to service members and retirees at a military base in her hometown of Tucson, Ariz.
Giffords arrived in the dining hall at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base at midday Thursday wearing a ball cap and an apron with her nickname of "Gabby" sewn on the front. She was accompanied by her retired astronaut husband, Mark Kelly, who also donned an apron.
Giffords used only her left hand as she served, a sign that physical damage remains from the injuries she suffered when she was shot in January.
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MATT YORK and BOB CHRISTIE
11/24/11
TUCSON, Ariz. — U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords helped serve a Thanksgiving meal to service members and retirees at a military base in her hometown of Tucson, Ariz.
Giffords arrived in the dining hall at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base at midday Thursday wearing a ball cap and an apron with her nickname of "Gabby" sewn on the front. She was accompanied by her retired astronaut husband, Mark Kelly, who also donned an apron.
Giffords used only her left hand as she served, a sign that physical damage remains from the injuries she suffered when she was shot in January.
read more here
Bind up the invisible wounds
Simcox & Gates: Bind up the invisible wounds
By: STACEY-RAE SIMCOX, ERNIE GATES
Published: November 24, 2011
Sgt. Monté Webster came home from Iraq with a Purple Heart, some shrapnel still in his body and a bad attitude. He got a discharge, a separation check and a "Thank you for your service."
What he didn't get was the post-deployment medical review that's supposed to be mandatory — the review that should have disclosed his post-traumatic stress disorder, his depression and his traumatic brain injury from the mortar attack that blasted his squad in Samarra.
Webster, who now lives in Texas, is one of thousands of combat veterans who have gone without that critical physical and mental evaluation, known as a post-deployment health re-assessment.
By the Army's own accounting, from 2006 until June 30 of this year, about 5 percent of its returning soldiers never were reviewed. More critically, only 59 percent were assessed within the prescribed 90- to 180-day window after returning. That 90-day wait matters because sleeplessness, headaches, irritability and other symptoms can be masked or dismissed in the first few months after returning from a combat zone. Research has shown that returning soldiers' mental-health problems are more likely to be diagnosed accurately in the second 90 days. Of the soldiers reviewed too soon, the Army estimated, one-third had potentially serious conditions that might have emerged more severely later — severely enough to make them non-deployable.
read more here
By: STACEY-RAE SIMCOX, ERNIE GATES
Published: November 24, 2011
Sgt. Monté Webster came home from Iraq with a Purple Heart, some shrapnel still in his body and a bad attitude. He got a discharge, a separation check and a "Thank you for your service."
What he didn't get was the post-deployment medical review that's supposed to be mandatory — the review that should have disclosed his post-traumatic stress disorder, his depression and his traumatic brain injury from the mortar attack that blasted his squad in Samarra.
Webster, who now lives in Texas, is one of thousands of combat veterans who have gone without that critical physical and mental evaluation, known as a post-deployment health re-assessment.
By the Army's own accounting, from 2006 until June 30 of this year, about 5 percent of its returning soldiers never were reviewed. More critically, only 59 percent were assessed within the prescribed 90- to 180-day window after returning. That 90-day wait matters because sleeplessness, headaches, irritability and other symptoms can be masked or dismissed in the first few months after returning from a combat zone. Research has shown that returning soldiers' mental-health problems are more likely to be diagnosed accurately in the second 90 days. Of the soldiers reviewed too soon, the Army estimated, one-third had potentially serious conditions that might have emerged more severely later — severely enough to make them non-deployable.
read more here
Army IDs alleged Sgt. Matthew Gallagher's killer
Army IDs alleged Gallagher killer
By sean teehan
November 24, 2011
FALMOUTH — The Army notified Sgt. Matthew Gallagher's family this week that military proceedings against their son's accused killer will start next month.
The slain soldier's relatives were told that Sgt. Brent McBride, Gallagher's roommate and alleged killer, will face a pretrial investigation in Fort Hood, Texas, on Dec. 17.
"It just seems to be a never-ending story," said Cheryl Ruggiero, Gallagher's mother, who previously told the Times an autopsy had ruled her son's death a homicide. The cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head.
On Wednesday, a Fort Hood spokesman confirmed the defendant's identity and impending court appearance.
"McBride, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, faces charges stemming from an incident that occurred in Wasit Province, Iraq, on June 26, that resulted in the death of Sgt. Matthew Gallagher," said Sgt. Tyler Broadway in an email to the Times.
"As with all military accused, McBride is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law," he said.
The circumstances surrounding Gallagher's death were shrouded in mystery since Army sergeants delivered the news to his mother, father and wife a week before his 23rd birthday. Family members originally thought Gallagher died during a combat operation. The Department of Defense later released a statement calling Gallagher's death noncombat related.
By the time media outlets caught wind that officials had ruled Gallagher's death a homicide, family members had known for about two months that McBride was suspected of the crime, Ruggiero said.
read more here
By sean teehan
November 24, 2011
FALMOUTH — The Army notified Sgt. Matthew Gallagher's family this week that military proceedings against their son's accused killer will start next month.
The slain soldier's relatives were told that Sgt. Brent McBride, Gallagher's roommate and alleged killer, will face a pretrial investigation in Fort Hood, Texas, on Dec. 17.
"It just seems to be a never-ending story," said Cheryl Ruggiero, Gallagher's mother, who previously told the Times an autopsy had ruled her son's death a homicide. The cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head.
On Wednesday, a Fort Hood spokesman confirmed the defendant's identity and impending court appearance.
"McBride, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, faces charges stemming from an incident that occurred in Wasit Province, Iraq, on June 26, that resulted in the death of Sgt. Matthew Gallagher," said Sgt. Tyler Broadway in an email to the Times.
"As with all military accused, McBride is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law," he said.
The circumstances surrounding Gallagher's death were shrouded in mystery since Army sergeants delivered the news to his mother, father and wife a week before his 23rd birthday. Family members originally thought Gallagher died during a combat operation. The Department of Defense later released a statement calling Gallagher's death noncombat related.
By the time media outlets caught wind that officials had ruled Gallagher's death a homicide, family members had known for about two months that McBride was suspected of the crime, Ruggiero said.
read more here
Community takes in 300 single Marines for holiday
Community takes in Marines for holiday
November 24, 2011 3:51 AM
HOPE HODGE - DAILY NEWS STAFF
More than 300 single Marines from Camp Lejeune will have a place to go for Thanksgiving, thanks to nearby communities and businesses that want to show their gratitude.
Camp Lejeune Single Marine Program coordinator Susan Goodrich said she was asked to place many more Marines at a holiday meal this year than she has in years previous.
“We’ve added some new communities, and the outlying areas that have contacted me this year have expanded out even more,” she said.
In addition to the River Landing community in Wallace and Fairfield Harbour in New Bern, which have taken Marines in for a day of dinner and relaxation for the last few years, two businesses in Wilmington are making sure troops have a meal.
Carolyn Atkinson, owner of Wilmington’s Flying Pi Kitchen, said she knew when she opened for business this year that she would always have troops at her Thanksgiving table.
“My son was in the Marine Corps. He was stationed at Camp Lejeune for awhile, and he was hosted in the Jacksonville area by a family for Thanksgiving,” Atkinson said. “When I opened my restaurant I decided that as long as I have a kitchen there would be Marines fed in my restaurant for Thanksgiving.
read more here
November 24, 2011 3:51 AM
HOPE HODGE - DAILY NEWS STAFF
More than 300 single Marines from Camp Lejeune will have a place to go for Thanksgiving, thanks to nearby communities and businesses that want to show their gratitude.
Camp Lejeune Single Marine Program coordinator Susan Goodrich said she was asked to place many more Marines at a holiday meal this year than she has in years previous.
“We’ve added some new communities, and the outlying areas that have contacted me this year have expanded out even more,” she said.
In addition to the River Landing community in Wallace and Fairfield Harbour in New Bern, which have taken Marines in for a day of dinner and relaxation for the last few years, two businesses in Wilmington are making sure troops have a meal.
Carolyn Atkinson, owner of Wilmington’s Flying Pi Kitchen, said she knew when she opened for business this year that she would always have troops at her Thanksgiving table.
“My son was in the Marine Corps. He was stationed at Camp Lejeune for awhile, and he was hosted in the Jacksonville area by a family for Thanksgiving,” Atkinson said. “When I opened my restaurant I decided that as long as I have a kitchen there would be Marines fed in my restaurant for Thanksgiving.
read more here
There are over 6,000 families spending this Thanksgiving with one less member
There are people getting ready to sit down to a big Thanksgiving feast today and planning where to go for Black Friday to get the best deals for Christmas shopping. They have very little room for thoughts of the people lining up to get a meal from volunteers holding off their own dinners to provide what very well may be the only good meal the poor will have all week.
Families gather together looking at all the food on the table and wondering who will be the first to start an argument or when the nasty one of the relatives will make some kind of remark making everyone uncomfortable.
There are also families across this country looking at an empty chair and wondering what they could have done differently so that the family member would be able to join them one more year.
When a serviceman or woman dies in combat, it seems a death to be honored but when they die because of suicide it is a death that leaves regret.
I know the feeling. Years ago my husband's nephew committed suicide. He was a Vietnam Vet with PTSD. I couldn't save him and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't help him. He didn't want to listen, but worse, he didn't want to talk. To this day I wonder what I could have done differently but more now, I wonder why he didn't do things differently. Why did he choose to try to hide his pain instead of asking for help from the VA doctors treating him? Why didn't he talk to my husband or to me instead of checking himself in a motel room with enough heroin to kill ten men? Why didn't he talk to his girlfriend or to his brother? Was he in so much pain that no one else mattered to him anymore?
There are over 6,000 families spending this Thanksgiving with one less member of the family because of combat and suicide. Those are just the numbers we know about since they had a VA claim and were tracked by the VA but there are more. The latest report is one veteran suicide every 80 minutes. The DOD has their own count but you have to add them up since the Marines have their numbers, the Army has their's and then the Reservists and National Guards numbers come in separately. If the man or woman are discharged, they are not on the DOD counts and if they do not have a VA claim, they are not on their counts either. They will and forever will be on the counts of the family members facing an empty chair.
I found this piece this morning and it offers some support for family members left behind. It is never easy when some dies due to natural causes but when you add in combat, while you may think about it happening due to the dangerous jobs they have, you are never really ready for it. When it comes to suicides after they are supposed to be out of danger, it is something that you are never really over but you can stop torturing yourself because of how they decided to end their suffering.
Families gather together looking at all the food on the table and wondering who will be the first to start an argument or when the nasty one of the relatives will make some kind of remark making everyone uncomfortable.
There are also families across this country looking at an empty chair and wondering what they could have done differently so that the family member would be able to join them one more year.
When a serviceman or woman dies in combat, it seems a death to be honored but when they die because of suicide it is a death that leaves regret.
I know the feeling. Years ago my husband's nephew committed suicide. He was a Vietnam Vet with PTSD. I couldn't save him and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't help him. He didn't want to listen, but worse, he didn't want to talk. To this day I wonder what I could have done differently but more now, I wonder why he didn't do things differently. Why did he choose to try to hide his pain instead of asking for help from the VA doctors treating him? Why didn't he talk to my husband or to me instead of checking himself in a motel room with enough heroin to kill ten men? Why didn't he talk to his girlfriend or to his brother? Was he in so much pain that no one else mattered to him anymore?
There are over 6,000 families spending this Thanksgiving with one less member of the family because of combat and suicide. Those are just the numbers we know about since they had a VA claim and were tracked by the VA but there are more. The latest report is one veteran suicide every 80 minutes. The DOD has their own count but you have to add them up since the Marines have their numbers, the Army has their's and then the Reservists and National Guards numbers come in separately. If the man or woman are discharged, they are not on the DOD counts and if they do not have a VA claim, they are not on their counts either. They will and forever will be on the counts of the family members facing an empty chair.
I found this piece this morning and it offers some support for family members left behind. It is never easy when some dies due to natural causes but when you add in combat, while you may think about it happening due to the dangerous jobs they have, you are never really ready for it. When it comes to suicides after they are supposed to be out of danger, it is something that you are never really over but you can stop torturing yourself because of how they decided to end their suffering.
Santa Clara County averages one suicide every three daysThe last part about finding meaning in your loss applies here. It made me want to work harder to save the lives of others.
By Mary Gottschalk
Posted: 11/23/2011
Suicide is central to the plot of that most popular holiday film It's A Wonderful Life. Shakespeare romanticized it in Romeo and Juliet, and to some extent, so did the life-ending choices of musician Kurt Cobain as well as writers Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton and Hunter S. Thompson.
It's never mentioned in obituaries or death notices, although it occurs on average once every three days in Santa Clara County.
In 2009, the last year for which complete statistics are available, 103 men and 42 women took their own lives here. Ages 45 to 64 had the highest rate, followed by ages 24 to 44. Only one person under the age of 14 died by suicide, but that jumped to nine in the age 15 to 19 group.
Suicide is a subject very few people are comfortable talking about, yet health care professionals say that is exactly what is needed if the numbers are to come down. It is something they believe needs to be talked about openly and freely.
"We had to practice talking about breast cancer. We had to practice talking about sexually transmitted diseases. If we can talk about Viagra, why can't we talk about suicide prevention?" asks Elena Tindall, suicide prevention coordinator for Santa Clara County.
"I would like survivors to know they will get through it and let the process of grief take place. They will come through to the other side of. Let other people help them through and they will make it through."
Coping skills for the bereaved
From Brad Leary and Jeannine Parsons, Hospice of the Valley and the Community Grief and Counseling Center.
• Reach out for help: See a qualified counselor or support group to help you process your feelings. You cannot do this alone.
• Express your feelings: You may feel sad, depressed, confused and angry. Anger is a feeling we try to hide from others because it doesn't show us in a positive light. Yet, you need to work through your feelings of anger, and there can be a sense of relief when doing so.
•Share memories of your loved one: Photos and videos can be helpful. Many bereaved clients fear forgetting their loved ones. By sharing memories you can ensure that they will live on. It is important to speak aloud the name of your loved one to others.
• Be gentle with yourself: If possible, reduce your hours at work. Surround yourself with those that comfort you. Steer clear of people who want to tell you what or how to feel.
• Set limits and learn to say no.
• Call on your personal faith.
• Write a letter to your loved one.
• Writing: journal, poetry, music.
• Remember the choice was not yours: No one is the sole influence on another's life.
• Try not to make sense of the suicide; you may never know "why." Ninety percent of people who complete suicide have a psychiatric disorder.
• Take one moment at a time.
• There is no universal time frame for healing, but you will move forward.
• Find meaning in your loss: This can be helpful after a significant period of time. You may choose to start a cause. One bereaved client started a bike ride for hope in honor of his daughter. Proceeds from the ride benefit counseling services in a local high school.
• You will never be the same again, but know you can survive. You may not think so, but you can.
read more here
‘Sick’ By ‘Call of Duty 3′ Commercials?
It looks like John Nolte is upset over a lot more than a series of Tweets from Luke Russert. Right here I need to mention that while I do know who Luke Russert is, I gave up watching cable news a long time ago. Occasionally I watch CNN and check their site along with the other "news" stations but if you read this blog often, it's pretty obvious I have little use for them. The reason is none of them are really paying much attention to the troops or our veterans yet their stories make the news in their hometown newspapers and TV stations news coverage every single day of the year. I guess they don't deserve the same kind of attention as political candidates or celebrities in the minds of producers, but it has been that way for a long time. The beginning of war is worth covering but they end up moving on soon afterwards. They want the two hour Hollywood ending to war, as gory and glorified as it can be. It would be their greatest joy if they could direct the ending of wars making sure they got there to capture it all on film and telling the generals to wait until they got set up. What happens to them is ignored unless something catastrophic happens and many of them die in the same event. What happens to them when they come home is also ignored unless one of them commits some type of crime. This all leaves the general public with the impression that what they see on the news is all there is.
Anyway back to this piece that really got my attention this morning. I have no clue who John Nolte is. Frankly, after reading this, I don't want to know who he is. "Call of Duty" commercials make me sick too just as when this video game first came out. It bothers me because so many people in this country can spend hour after hour playing this game of war but can't seem to spend a couple of minutes paying attention to the real ones going on. They can score points by killing people and then replay to have them alive again, but that isn't real life. They don't know how many real servicemen and women have died or lost limbs anymore than they know about how many committed suicide when they got back home and couldn't stop replaying the real life action in their minds.
The other thing is that the men and women serving in real combat are the same age as most of the people playing these war video games. Most go into the military right out of high school. This is why I am sick of the games played and the commercials for them. John Nolte seems more troubled by the fact that Luke Russert has his job and just used this to attack him instead of the problem stations like MSNBC really have. The fact that they just don't care enough about what is really going on in real life for the men and women serving this country today or the veterans who served it yesterday. I resent the fact that people will take the opportunity to use the military when they want to make a point that has nothing to do with them.
MSNBC’s Luke Russert Is Made ‘Sick’ By ‘Call of Duty 3′ Commercials: ‘Doesn’t Reflect Costs of War’
by John Nolte
This is a good time to bring up something that’s been bothering me for a couple of years now. As someone who has made his way in the world all on my own and without the help of rich parents or family connections, do I resent the fact that Tim Russert’s son Luke has been shot by the cannon of nepotism into a job men twice his age and with ten times his experience only dream of?
Actually, no.
This is how the world works. Relationships matter and that’s life. I do, however, resent the fact that he’s not up to the job and that every time he’s on MSNBC talking about his Congressional beat I get “Bugsy Malone” flashbacks.
And just to keep the movie metaphors flowing, there’s also that whole “Vertigo” vibe, where Luke is Kim Novak and MSNBC is the sad and twisted Jimmy Stewart trying to creepily recreate someone they lost by dressing some wannabe up to look just like them. Whatever’s going on between MSNBC and Luke Russert. it’s not healthy.
And what better proof of that than this series of sanctimonious tweets from Russert where he laments how “sick” a video game commercial makes him feel because it doesn’t “reflect the costs of war”:
read more here
Anyway back to this piece that really got my attention this morning. I have no clue who John Nolte is. Frankly, after reading this, I don't want to know who he is. "Call of Duty" commercials make me sick too just as when this video game first came out. It bothers me because so many people in this country can spend hour after hour playing this game of war but can't seem to spend a couple of minutes paying attention to the real ones going on. They can score points by killing people and then replay to have them alive again, but that isn't real life. They don't know how many real servicemen and women have died or lost limbs anymore than they know about how many committed suicide when they got back home and couldn't stop replaying the real life action in their minds.
The other thing is that the men and women serving in real combat are the same age as most of the people playing these war video games. Most go into the military right out of high school. This is why I am sick of the games played and the commercials for them. John Nolte seems more troubled by the fact that Luke Russert has his job and just used this to attack him instead of the problem stations like MSNBC really have. The fact that they just don't care enough about what is really going on in real life for the men and women serving this country today or the veterans who served it yesterday. I resent the fact that people will take the opportunity to use the military when they want to make a point that has nothing to do with them.
'He wanted to die'
COUPLE: Justin Crowley-Smilek with his girlfriend, Destiny Cook, in a photo she provided.Contributed photo
'He wanted to die'
Justin Crowley-Smilek’s girlfriend says he left home Saturday not planning to return
By Doug Harlow
Staff Writer
November 23
FARMINGTON -- Justin Crowley-Smilek left his apartment Saturday morning without his wallet, his watch or his cellphone.
Justin Crowley-Smilek, who was shot to death by a police officer near that spot on Saturday.
His girlfriend, Destiny Cook, who had stayed with him Friday night, said she now believes Crowley-Smilek knew he would not be coming back Saturday.
She said she believes he had intended to die that morning -- one way or the other.
A short time after he left home, Crowley-Smilek, 28, a former U.S. Army Ranger who suffered from combat stress and physical injuries from service in Afghanistan, was dead; shot multiple times by a police officer outside the Farmington municipal offices on U.S. Route 2.
Police Chief Jack Peck said Officer Ryan Rosie, who shot the former soldier, was countering deadly force with deadly force. Crowley-Smilek had a knife and acted in a threatening way toward the police officer, Peck said.
Cook said Crowley-Smilek wanted to settle down, raise his own food and start a family. He was buying a house in Mount Vernon, but had become increasingly paranoid in recent weeks and suffered from constant and severe back pain, she said.
It all finally caught up with him.
read more here
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
This holiday, troops in Afghanistan thankful for surviving IED blast
This holiday, troops in Afghanistan thankful for surviving IED blast
By MARTIN KUZ
Stars and Stripes
Published: November 23, 2011
GOSHTA, Afghanistan — Pfc. Derick Vinton was looking forward to lunch as he drove an armored vehicle back to his platoon’s base last month near this village five miles from Pakistan.
That’s when the earth snarled and ripped open.
An 80-pound IED buried in the dirt road detonated beneath the truck’s passenger side. The front wheels heaved upward several feet before landing with a violent stomp. Dust swallowed the cab as the air inside went black.
Vinton, 19, of Riverton, Wyo., heard only silence on his radio headset. A long moment passed. Then yelling erupted. The other three men in the truck were alive.
The four soldiers climbed out of the crippled vehicle. One had suffered a concussion; two had minor leg injuries. Vinton was unhurt.
read more here
By MARTIN KUZ
Stars and Stripes
Published: November 23, 2011
GOSHTA, Afghanistan — Pfc. Derick Vinton was looking forward to lunch as he drove an armored vehicle back to his platoon’s base last month near this village five miles from Pakistan.
That’s when the earth snarled and ripped open.
An 80-pound IED buried in the dirt road detonated beneath the truck’s passenger side. The front wheels heaved upward several feet before landing with a violent stomp. Dust swallowed the cab as the air inside went black.
Vinton, 19, of Riverton, Wyo., heard only silence on his radio headset. A long moment passed. Then yelling erupted. The other three men in the truck were alive.
The four soldiers climbed out of the crippled vehicle. One had suffered a concussion; two had minor leg injuries. Vinton was unhurt.
read more here
Half Naked Man Drives Up Indiana War Memorial
Half Naked Man Drives Up Indiana War Memorial: Police Arrest Daniel Whitaker For Terroristic Mischief
State Police arrested an Indianapolis man on Tuesday after he allegedly drove his SUV up the steps of the Indiana War Memorial, wrapped himself in an American flag, and lit a small fire.
Officials identified the half-naked protester as 49-year-old Daniel Whitaker, WTHR reports.
Whitaker, who described himself to police as a member of the "Texas army," placed a large cross on the memorial, which he briefly stood before while wearing a metal helmet fashioned with a plume and carrying a bright blue staff, police said.
Police also said that once Whitaker drove up the memorial, he poured a canister of gasoline down the steps and lit a fire, WSBT reports.
read more here
State Police arrested an Indianapolis man on Tuesday after he allegedly drove his SUV up the steps of the Indiana War Memorial, wrapped himself in an American flag, and lit a small fire.
Officials identified the half-naked protester as 49-year-old Daniel Whitaker, WTHR reports.
Whitaker, who described himself to police as a member of the "Texas army," placed a large cross on the memorial, which he briefly stood before while wearing a metal helmet fashioned with a plume and carrying a bright blue staff, police said.
Police also said that once Whitaker drove up the memorial, he poured a canister of gasoline down the steps and lit a fire, WSBT reports.
read more here
Jack Daniel's Funds Travel Expenses for Fort Campbell Soldiers
Jack Daniel's Funds Travel Expenses for Soldiers
Published November 23, 2011
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn.-- Tennessee whiskey maker Jack Daniel's is donating more than $100,000 to pay for plane tickets and travel funds for soldiers at Fort Campbell, Ky., to spend the December holiday season with their families all over the country.
The distiller is also asking the public to make additional contributions that could help hundreds of cash-strapped soldiers who otherwise would be stuck at the post on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line. Donations can be made to the Operation Ride Home campaign online at www.jdoperationridehome.com.
read more here
Published November 23, 2011
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn.-- Tennessee whiskey maker Jack Daniel's is donating more than $100,000 to pay for plane tickets and travel funds for soldiers at Fort Campbell, Ky., to spend the December holiday season with their families all over the country.
The distiller is also asking the public to make additional contributions that could help hundreds of cash-strapped soldiers who otherwise would be stuck at the post on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line. Donations can be made to the Operation Ride Home campaign online at www.jdoperationridehome.com.
read more here
Army disputes Occupy Buffalo Veteran's service
Army Records at Odds With Occupy Vet's Claims
November 23, 2011
Buffalo News
by Stephen T. Watson
The claims of a dedicated member of the Occupy Buffalo movement that he saw combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are not supported by Army records.
Christopher M. Simmance has told several media outlets, including The Buffalo News, that he served as many as three tours of duty in those war zones and that he was severely injured in Afghanistan.
Service records obtained from the Army, however, show he was stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash., for three years and he left the active-duty Army in January 2001 -- before the 9/11 terror attacks.
Simmance insists his Army records are incomplete. He told The News he stands by his claims of seeing combat.
"Everything I've told you is completely true; I've got nothing to hide," Simmance said in one of three interviews.
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November 23, 2011
Buffalo News
by Stephen T. Watson
The claims of a dedicated member of the Occupy Buffalo movement that he saw combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are not supported by Army records.
Christopher M. Simmance has told several media outlets, including The Buffalo News, that he served as many as three tours of duty in those war zones and that he was severely injured in Afghanistan.
Service records obtained from the Army, however, show he was stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash., for three years and he left the active-duty Army in January 2001 -- before the 9/11 terror attacks.
Simmance insists his Army records are incomplete. He told The News he stands by his claims of seeing combat.
"Everything I've told you is completely true; I've got nothing to hide," Simmance said in one of three interviews.
read more here
Fallen Soldier's Remains Return To Longwood Florida
Fallen Soldier's Remains Return To Fla.
Funeral Set For Next Wednesday
POSTED: 1:24 pm EST November 18, 2011
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The body of a local soldier who was killed in Afghanistan returned to Central Florida on Friday.
The Department of Defense said 25-year-old Army Pfc. Theodore B. Rushing died on Veterans Day in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.
He suffered fatal wounds when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
Rushing was going to follow his father's footsteps and become a police officer, but once he joined the army, he told his dad that he'd found a new career.
"He liked the fact that he was able to give back to his country that had given so much back to him. He liked the fact that he was a Calvary scout, out front paving the way for everybody else," said Rushing's father, Rick Rushing, on Friday.
Members of the Orlando Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff's Office escorted Rushing's remains to the funeral home.
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Funeral Set For Next Wednesday
POSTED: 1:24 pm EST November 18, 2011
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The body of a local soldier who was killed in Afghanistan returned to Central Florida on Friday.
The Department of Defense said 25-year-old Army Pfc. Theodore B. Rushing died on Veterans Day in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.
He suffered fatal wounds when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
Rushing was going to follow his father's footsteps and become a police officer, but once he joined the army, he told his dad that he'd found a new career.
"He liked the fact that he was able to give back to his country that had given so much back to him. He liked the fact that he was a Calvary scout, out front paving the way for everybody else," said Rushing's father, Rick Rushing, on Friday.
Members of the Orlando Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff's Office escorted Rushing's remains to the funeral home.
The funeral is scheduled for next Wednesday. A viewing is set for Saturday at the Baldwin Fairchild Funeral Home on Lake Ivanhoe.
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Iraq war veteran J.R. Martinez now 'Dancing' champ
Iraq war veteran J.R. Martinez now 'Dancing' champ
(AP) LOS ANGELES — J.R. Martinez started out as the least-known member of the "Dancing With the Stars" cast, but as the season went on, America fell in love with the 28-year-old soldier-turned-soap opera star.
"Dancing" draws 18 million viewers a week who got a firsthand look at the Iraq war veteran with the infectious positive attitude. They heard his story: How he was severely burned over more than 40 percent of his body when the Humvee he was driving for the U.S. Army struck a land mine, how he underwent numerous surgeries over years of recovery — then they saw him dancing like that had happened to somebody else. The 28-year-old actor and motivational speaker radiates joy.
"You've got such a sparkling personality, you just light up this room," ''Dancing" judge Len Goodman said.
Earlier this month, Martinez was chosen as grand marshal of the 123rd annual Tournament of Roses parade. He was on the cover of People magazine and named one of its "sexiest men" a few weeks later. And on Tuesday, he became the new "Dancing With the Stars" champion.
(AP) LOS ANGELES — J.R. Martinez started out as the least-known member of the "Dancing With the Stars" cast, but as the season went on, America fell in love with the 28-year-old soldier-turned-soap opera star.
"Dancing" draws 18 million viewers a week who got a firsthand look at the Iraq war veteran with the infectious positive attitude. They heard his story: How he was severely burned over more than 40 percent of his body when the Humvee he was driving for the U.S. Army struck a land mine, how he underwent numerous surgeries over years of recovery — then they saw him dancing like that had happened to somebody else. The 28-year-old actor and motivational speaker radiates joy.
"You've got such a sparkling personality, you just light up this room," ''Dancing" judge Len Goodman said.
Earlier this month, Martinez was chosen as grand marshal of the 123rd annual Tournament of Roses parade. He was on the cover of People magazine and named one of its "sexiest men" a few weeks later. And on Tuesday, he became the new "Dancing With the Stars" champion.
From Vietnam to Afghanistan, soldier still serving
Almost 60 and Still a Soldier
By Conor Powell
Published November 22, 2011
FoxNews.com
KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Most men at the age of 59 are planning for retirement, but Staff Sgt. Don Nicholas is no ordinary man. He wants to re-enlist in the U.S. Army and stay a soldier as long as he can.
A Vietnam veteran, Nicholas is the oldest soldier serving on the front lines in Afghanistan.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, Sgt. Nic, as he is affectingly called by younger soldiers, re-enlisted in the military.
“It was the right thing to do,” he says. “It’s as simple as that. I just didn’t want everyone else out there doing things I should be doing.”
A former Marine rifleman with two tours under his belt in Vietnam, including one at the U.S. Embassy in Saigon as enemy troops moved into the capital city, Nicholas thought he could faithfully rejoin their ranks.
But the Marines rejected his application. So he turned to the only other unit that offered him a chance to see combat – the U.S. Army.
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By Conor Powell
Published November 22, 2011
FoxNews.com
KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Most men at the age of 59 are planning for retirement, but Staff Sgt. Don Nicholas is no ordinary man. He wants to re-enlist in the U.S. Army and stay a soldier as long as he can.
A Vietnam veteran, Nicholas is the oldest soldier serving on the front lines in Afghanistan.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, Sgt. Nic, as he is affectingly called by younger soldiers, re-enlisted in the military.
“It was the right thing to do,” he says. “It’s as simple as that. I just didn’t want everyone else out there doing things I should be doing.”
A former Marine rifleman with two tours under his belt in Vietnam, including one at the U.S. Embassy in Saigon as enemy troops moved into the capital city, Nicholas thought he could faithfully rejoin their ranks.
But the Marines rejected his application. So he turned to the only other unit that offered him a chance to see combat – the U.S. Army.
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Fort Benning Soldier Claims He Was Predatory Lending Victim
Ga. Soldier Claims He Was Predatory Lending Victim
By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press
SAVANNAH, Ga. November 22, 2011 (AP)
Army Staff Sgt. Jason Cox says he borrowed $3,000 for an emergency trip to pick up his daughter. The loan ended up costing him more than $4,000 in interest, plus a sport utility vehicle the lender seized when he defaulted.
Now the Fort Benning soldier is suing the lender in federal court, contending the interest rate and other terms violated a 2007 law passed by Congress to protect military service members from predatory lending.
Cox's lawyer, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, is trying to persuade a federal judge to grant class-action status because the lender, Atlanta-based Community Loans of America Inc., operates more than 900 stores in 22 U.S. states. Barnes believes numerous soldiers have taken out similar loans, likely without knowing the terms are illegal, though it's not clear how many.
"The rates are so lucrative for those that ignore the law," said Barnes, a Democrat who pushed a statewide crackdown on high-interest payday loans when he was governor from 1999 to 2002. Some in the military are too busy with moves between bases and overseas deployments to bring lawsuits or complain, Barnes said.
read more here
By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press
SAVANNAH, Ga. November 22, 2011 (AP)
Army Staff Sgt. Jason Cox says he borrowed $3,000 for an emergency trip to pick up his daughter. The loan ended up costing him more than $4,000 in interest, plus a sport utility vehicle the lender seized when he defaulted.
Now the Fort Benning soldier is suing the lender in federal court, contending the interest rate and other terms violated a 2007 law passed by Congress to protect military service members from predatory lending.
Cox's lawyer, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, is trying to persuade a federal judge to grant class-action status because the lender, Atlanta-based Community Loans of America Inc., operates more than 900 stores in 22 U.S. states. Barnes believes numerous soldiers have taken out similar loans, likely without knowing the terms are illegal, though it's not clear how many.
"The rates are so lucrative for those that ignore the law," said Barnes, a Democrat who pushed a statewide crackdown on high-interest payday loans when he was governor from 1999 to 2002. Some in the military are too busy with moves between bases and overseas deployments to bring lawsuits or complain, Barnes said.
read more here
Iraq veteran says ‘There Are Things Worth Paying For’
This is something I've been trying to point out for a very long time.
Politicians say what they want, but it is what they do that really matters. When it comes to the troops and veterans, what really matters is they do it everyday and risk their lives for each other. I'll take those values any day over what has been happening in this country for far too long.
“I’m not going out there to talk about I’m a Democrat, I’m a Republican, or anything like that. I’m going out there to talk about issues,” he said.I wish people in this country had the same attitude when they voted. This blog is up for this same reason. Back in 2007 I was operating another blog, full of information but it also had my political views. Back then I was one of those people thinking "I know everything" and I was out to prove it. I opened an email from a Marine saying that he came into that blog for information and support but he didn't want to read my political rants. Well, still so full of myself, I replied defending what I wrote and why I wrote it. He responded with a very short email back with one question. "Are you doing this for us or for yourself?" I cried. He opened my eyes and I realized I had fallen into the political abyss. I replied by telling him that from that point on I would have a blog for them and keep my political views out of it. Most of the time I succeed and limit the "rants" to when a politician (from both sides) votes against the troops or veterans. I will admit that once in a while I do "pop my cork" and get carried away, but I'm getting better at controlling that.
Politicians say what they want, but it is what they do that really matters. When it comes to the troops and veterans, what really matters is they do it everyday and risk their lives for each other. I'll take those values any day over what has been happening in this country for far too long.
Candidate: ‘There Are Things Worth Paying For’
Chris Miller, a decorated Iraq War veteran who’s now running for Congress as a Democrat in Illinois, is watching budget wrangling in Washington with special knowledge about what Pentagon cuts mean.
President Obama has vowed to repeal any attempt to mitigate the cuts that isn’t part of a broader deficit deal.
On ABC’s “Top Line” today, Miller, D-Ill, said he’s not sure that’s the right strategy.
“We have to take a careful look at making any cuts, especially to the military,” said Miller, who served nine years in the Army and received a Purple Heart for injuries sustained in Iraq. “I don’t think that this world is gonna become a safer place or a place that we have to stop worrying about defending just because we’re having budgetary issues.”
“The problems that we have are not — they’re not simply going away, and we need to think about that and things in that context of there’s things that are worth paying for. And I believe that national security is one of them.”
Miller, who’s running for an open House seat in southern Illinois, said his message on the trail is “jobs, jobs, and jobs.”
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Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Reward offered in fatal shooting of Vietnam vet in Lauderdale
Reward offered in fatal shooting of Vietnam vet in Lauderdale
By Ihosvani Rodriguez, Sun Sentinel
5:24 p.m. EST, November 21, 2011
FORT LAUDERDALE—
Broward Crime Stoppers on Monday issued a $1,000 reward in the hopes of turning up leads in the killing of a man described as his neighborhood's "go to" guy.
Nelson Heck, 66, a Vietnam veteran and retired Florida Power & Light Co. worker, was found fatally shot on Nov. 15 inside his home along the 1100 block of Northwest 48th Street.
Fort Lauderdale police investigators hope the reward will generate more information in the case, said Detective Travis Mandell.
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By Ihosvani Rodriguez, Sun Sentinel
5:24 p.m. EST, November 21, 2011
FORT LAUDERDALE—
Broward Crime Stoppers on Monday issued a $1,000 reward in the hopes of turning up leads in the killing of a man described as his neighborhood's "go to" guy.
Nelson Heck, 66, a Vietnam veteran and retired Florida Power & Light Co. worker, was found fatally shot on Nov. 15 inside his home along the 1100 block of Northwest 48th Street.
Fort Lauderdale police investigators hope the reward will generate more information in the case, said Detective Travis Mandell.
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Two Tour Iraq veteran Sgt. Shane Scott Pease found dead in creek
NEWS
Man found dead in Chapel Hill creek served in Iraq
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2011 (Updated 5:09 am)
By THE HERALD-SUN OF DURHAM
CHAPEL HILL — The man who was found dead in Bolin Creek Saturday morning was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division who served two tours of duty in Iraq.
The Chapel Hill Police Department was mum Monday on an investigation into the death of 24-year-old Sgt. Shane Scott Pease, who was found dead in the creek by a jogger, but in a press release from the 82nd Airborne, Pease was identified as an infantryman in Company A, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team.
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'Dream Come True.' Florida soldier becomes US citizen, HS graduate
'Dream Come True.' Florida soldier becomes US citizen, HS graduate
Story by Capt. Kyle Key
OCALA, Fla. -- Coming to America was easy, but the journey to stay here was paved with struggle for Pvt. Angel E. Chavez and his family.
Pvt. Chavez grew up in Panama in the city of La Chorrera and dreamed of coming to the United States some day.
“I would tell my friends in elementary school,” said Chavez. “They used to laugh at me. I would tell them, I am going there one day and I’m going to make it.”
In 2005, Chavez arrived in the United States with his parents and three siblings. They settled in Ocala, Fla., where his father started a business repairing and exporting vehicles to Panama and his mother found a job as a cosmetologist. He and his siblings were doing well in school and were adjusting to their new lives when a big problem arose: their visas expired and their entire family was subject to deportation.
The Chavez family tried every legal avenue to stay in the country. The dishonor of being illegal immigrants wore on the children. By 2008, his mother divorced and remarried a U.S. citizen and shocked the family by disappearing for two years with her new husband.
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Story by Capt. Kyle Key
OCALA, Fla. -- Coming to America was easy, but the journey to stay here was paved with struggle for Pvt. Angel E. Chavez and his family.
Pvt. Chavez grew up in Panama in the city of La Chorrera and dreamed of coming to the United States some day.
“I would tell my friends in elementary school,” said Chavez. “They used to laugh at me. I would tell them, I am going there one day and I’m going to make it.”
In 2005, Chavez arrived in the United States with his parents and three siblings. They settled in Ocala, Fla., where his father started a business repairing and exporting vehicles to Panama and his mother found a job as a cosmetologist. He and his siblings were doing well in school and were adjusting to their new lives when a big problem arose: their visas expired and their entire family was subject to deportation.
The Chavez family tried every legal avenue to stay in the country. The dishonor of being illegal immigrants wore on the children. By 2008, his mother divorced and remarried a U.S. citizen and shocked the family by disappearing for two years with her new husband.
read more here
Ocala Iraq veteran has new home for this Thanksgiving
Veteran Receives New Home
David Calhoun Ready To Celebrate Thanksgiving In New Home
POSTED: 2:42 pm EST November 21, 2011
OCALA, Fla. -- A veteran who was wounded and saved the life of a fellow soldier will be receiving a home for him and his family this Thanksgiving.
David Calhoun and his family were given a home as a gift from the Military Warriors Support Foundation and JPMorgan Chase.
"It's beautiful," said Calhoun. "I never thought I would have my own house."
Calhoun was told he was selected for the enormous gift on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, at halftime of a New York Jets game on NBC.
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David Calhoun Ready To Celebrate Thanksgiving In New Home
POSTED: 2:42 pm EST November 21, 2011
OCALA, Fla. -- A veteran who was wounded and saved the life of a fellow soldier will be receiving a home for him and his family this Thanksgiving.
David Calhoun and his family were given a home as a gift from the Military Warriors Support Foundation and JPMorgan Chase.
"It's beautiful," said Calhoun. "I never thought I would have my own house."
Calhoun was told he was selected for the enormous gift on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, at halftime of a New York Jets game on NBC.
read more here
DoD studies social media’s impact on deployment
DoD studies social media’s impact on deployment
By Mike Chalmers - The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal
Posted : Tuesday Nov 22, 2011 10:28:28 EST
In previous deployments to Iraq and South America, Master Sgt. Clifford Snyder relied on letters and brief phone calls to keep in touch with his wife and three children back in Camden, Del.
“The kids grew so much during those times,” Snyder said. “You felt when you first got home like a visitor in the house.”
But during his most recent six-month deployment to Iraq in 2009 and 2010, he checked in with them on Facebook and video-chatted with them on Skype almost daily.
“I got to see the kids, and they were able to give me updates on how school was going and stuff,” Snyder said. “I felt like I was there for the whole time.”
That nearly constant connection made his deployment with with Delaware Air National Guard more bearable and eased his homecoming transition, Snyder said. It’s having the same effect for thousands of service members and their families around the world.
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By Mike Chalmers - The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal
Posted : Tuesday Nov 22, 2011 10:28:28 EST
In previous deployments to Iraq and South America, Master Sgt. Clifford Snyder relied on letters and brief phone calls to keep in touch with his wife and three children back in Camden, Del.
“The kids grew so much during those times,” Snyder said. “You felt when you first got home like a visitor in the house.”
But during his most recent six-month deployment to Iraq in 2009 and 2010, he checked in with them on Facebook and video-chatted with them on Skype almost daily.
“I got to see the kids, and they were able to give me updates on how school was going and stuff,” Snyder said. “I felt like I was there for the whole time.”
That nearly constant connection made his deployment with with Delaware Air National Guard more bearable and eased his homecoming transition, Snyder said. It’s having the same effect for thousands of service members and their families around the world.
read more here
Former military leaders bash GOP candidates
Former military leaders bash GOP candidates
By Henry C. Jackson - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Nov 21, 2011 18:55:07 EST
WASHINGTON — Three former top military officials slammed the Republican presidential field ahead of Tuesday night’s GOP debate on foreign policy. The Democratic-leaning former officials said the entire Republican field has been all over the map but focused on GOP front-runner Mitt Romney.
“My concern would be that he might not be credibly decisive,” Richard Danzig, who served as Navy secretary under President Bill Clinton, said of Romney on Monday. “There’s too much of a track record here of moving between positions.”
Danzig said President Barack Obama has shown the required decisiveness throughout his presidency.
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By Henry C. Jackson - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Nov 21, 2011 18:55:07 EST
WASHINGTON — Three former top military officials slammed the Republican presidential field ahead of Tuesday night’s GOP debate on foreign policy. The Democratic-leaning former officials said the entire Republican field has been all over the map but focused on GOP front-runner Mitt Romney.
“My concern would be that he might not be credibly decisive,” Richard Danzig, who served as Navy secretary under President Bill Clinton, said of Romney on Monday. “There’s too much of a track record here of moving between positions.”
Danzig said President Barack Obama has shown the required decisiveness throughout his presidency.
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Marine back from Afghanistan sets fire to Vietnam Vet Marine's flag
Marine Accused of Torching Fellow Marine's Flag
By Mike Valerio / Reporter
UPDATED: 10:59 am EST November 22, 2011
JACKSONVILLE -- A Camp Lejeune Marine is accused of setting a retired Marine's American flag on fire Friday, during a party celebrating the suspect's return from Afghanistan.
Vernon Johnson, 24, was charged Saturday with first degree arson by the Jacksonville Police Department. According to neighbors, Johnson was with friends next door to Purple Heart recipient Robert Grafton, 71. Witnesses said Johnson was intoxicated, and torched Grafton's American flag hanging from his porch flagpole.
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By Mike Valerio / Reporter
UPDATED: 10:59 am EST November 22, 2011
JACKSONVILLE -- A Camp Lejeune Marine is accused of setting a retired Marine's American flag on fire Friday, during a party celebrating the suspect's return from Afghanistan.
Vernon Johnson, 24, was charged Saturday with first degree arson by the Jacksonville Police Department. According to neighbors, Johnson was with friends next door to Purple Heart recipient Robert Grafton, 71. Witnesses said Johnson was intoxicated, and torched Grafton's American flag hanging from his porch flagpole.
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Expert: Post-traumatic stress misunderstood
Expert: Post-traumatic stress misunderstood
By Doug Harlow dharlow@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
FARMINGTON -- A former chief judge and chairman of the U.S. Board of Veterans Appeals said Monday that after decades of war, Americans still do not understand post-traumatic stress disorder.
Charles Cragin, of Raymond, who in 2009 was appointed chairman of a study commission on Gulf War I veterans, commented Monday following the shooting death Saturday morning of former U.S. Army Ranger Justin Crowley-Smilek.
"No one outside of the military and Department of Veterans Affairs is trained to deal with these sorts of issues because America has just become so disconnected from its military," Cragin said. "There are stories behind these young men and women who are coming home."
Crowley-Smilek, 28, who served in Afghanistan, was shot by Farmington police Officer Ryan Rosie outside the Farmington municipal building on U.S Route 2. Crowley-Smilek had called the police dispatch center from a telephone in front of the building. When Rosie came outside, Crowley-Smilek came at him in a threatening manner with a knife and was shot, police said.
Crowley-Smilek's father, Michael Smilek, said his son had come home from the war with severe combat stress. He suffered from bouts of substance use and had frequent problems with police as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder, his father said.
Autopsy results released Monday by the Office State Medical Examiner's show Crowley-Smilek died Saturday from multiple gun shot wounds. Brenda Kielty, spokeswoman for the Office of Attorney General, which is investigating the shooting, said the investigation into the shooting has not been completed.
read more here
By Doug Harlow dharlow@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
FARMINGTON -- A former chief judge and chairman of the U.S. Board of Veterans Appeals said Monday that after decades of war, Americans still do not understand post-traumatic stress disorder.
Charles Cragin, of Raymond, who in 2009 was appointed chairman of a study commission on Gulf War I veterans, commented Monday following the shooting death Saturday morning of former U.S. Army Ranger Justin Crowley-Smilek.
"No one outside of the military and Department of Veterans Affairs is trained to deal with these sorts of issues because America has just become so disconnected from its military," Cragin said. "There are stories behind these young men and women who are coming home."
Crowley-Smilek, 28, who served in Afghanistan, was shot by Farmington police Officer Ryan Rosie outside the Farmington municipal building on U.S Route 2. Crowley-Smilek had called the police dispatch center from a telephone in front of the building. When Rosie came outside, Crowley-Smilek came at him in a threatening manner with a knife and was shot, police said.
Crowley-Smilek's father, Michael Smilek, said his son had come home from the war with severe combat stress. He suffered from bouts of substance use and had frequent problems with police as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder, his father said.
Autopsy results released Monday by the Office State Medical Examiner's show Crowley-Smilek died Saturday from multiple gun shot wounds. Brenda Kielty, spokeswoman for the Office of Attorney General, which is investigating the shooting, said the investigation into the shooting has not been completed.
read more here
Proposal to help dying vets slow to pass
Proposal to help dying vets slow to pass
by SUSANNAH FRAME / KING 5 News
Posted on November 21, 2011
LAKE STEVENS, Wash. -- Last year at this time Rich Knapton of Lake Stevens was jogging six miles, four times a week. But his running days are over. Now he struggles to make it a few feet down his hallway with the aid of a walker.
"All the things that I love to do I can no longer do. It was just taken from me. All the plans I had were taken from me. (It’s a) tremendous loss; just tremendous loss," said Rich.
In September Rich was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, which is also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It’s a progressive, untreatable, and fatal disease that destroys the nerve cells that control muscle function. Eventually a patient can't walk, talk or breathe, while the mind stays sharp.
The news was devastating.
"I cried. I cried a lot. Eventually you can't cry. You run out (of tears) and I realized this is how I'm going to die," said Rich. “And it won't affect my mind. I'll be trapped in a body that won't work, but a mind that is still working."
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by SUSANNAH FRAME / KING 5 News
Posted on November 21, 2011
LAKE STEVENS, Wash. -- Last year at this time Rich Knapton of Lake Stevens was jogging six miles, four times a week. But his running days are over. Now he struggles to make it a few feet down his hallway with the aid of a walker.
"All the things that I love to do I can no longer do. It was just taken from me. All the plans I had were taken from me. (It’s a) tremendous loss; just tremendous loss," said Rich.
In September Rich was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, which is also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It’s a progressive, untreatable, and fatal disease that destroys the nerve cells that control muscle function. Eventually a patient can't walk, talk or breathe, while the mind stays sharp.
The news was devastating.
"I cried. I cried a lot. Eventually you can't cry. You run out (of tears) and I realized this is how I'm going to die," said Rich. “And it won't affect my mind. I'll be trapped in a body that won't work, but a mind that is still working."
read more here
When The Cure Is Worse Than The Disease
When The Cure Is Worse Than The Disease
November 22, 2011: After four decades of use, the U.S. Army is banning the use of mefloquine (an anti-malaria drug) because of side effects. Malaria is a debilitating (and sometimes fatal) disease found in most tropical areas. The medication to prevent it has always been unpleasant, either in terms of taste (no longer a problem) and side effects. These uncomfortable side effects are the big problem now. Sometimes it's a huge problem. Two years ago, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) was found to interact in a fatal way with mefloquine. PTSD sufferers taking mefloquine resulted in more anxiety and suicidal behavior.
Once this interaction was discovered, troops with PTSD could no longer use the mefloquine. This impacted a lot of troops, and prevented them from being sent to some areas (like the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan) where malaria is a risk. The number of troops affected was considerable. In some parts of the world, less effective drugs, like doxycycline, could be substituted. But for doxycycline to work troops had to take the pill daily, without fail. The troops don’t always do that, partly because of the side effects (digestion problems and additional skin sensitivity) and the press of battlefield business.
read more here
November 22, 2011: After four decades of use, the U.S. Army is banning the use of mefloquine (an anti-malaria drug) because of side effects. Malaria is a debilitating (and sometimes fatal) disease found in most tropical areas. The medication to prevent it has always been unpleasant, either in terms of taste (no longer a problem) and side effects. These uncomfortable side effects are the big problem now. Sometimes it's a huge problem. Two years ago, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) was found to interact in a fatal way with mefloquine. PTSD sufferers taking mefloquine resulted in more anxiety and suicidal behavior.
Once this interaction was discovered, troops with PTSD could no longer use the mefloquine. This impacted a lot of troops, and prevented them from being sent to some areas (like the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan) where malaria is a risk. The number of troops affected was considerable. In some parts of the world, less effective drugs, like doxycycline, could be substituted. But for doxycycline to work troops had to take the pill daily, without fail. The troops don’t always do that, partly because of the side effects (digestion problems and additional skin sensitivity) and the press of battlefield business.
read more here
Local soldier fighting PTSD
Local soldier fighting PTSD
Adrienne Ruiz: 'You hit bottom, but there is hope'
Author: Shari St. Clair
Published On: Nov 21 2011
SAN ANTONIO -
Adrienne Ruiz's soft voice belies a woman tortured with persistent images of her battlefield experience in Afghanistan.
"We entered what we called a choke point, two hills, we entered it, we received massive rocket propelled grenade and direct fire with armor piercing," said Ruiz.
It was an attack that changed her life that July day in 2008, and an attack that is still fresh in her mind today. "I had a massive brain hemorrhage, yes, and along with that, cervical two, three, five and six blew," Ruiz said.
Ruiz's physical wounds are mostly fixed. But it's the emotional battles she fights every day. "It's horrific, and you remember it, you remember everything you did," Ruiz said. "And, to take human lives? You live with that, but it's how you choose to live."
read more here
Adrienne Ruiz: 'You hit bottom, but there is hope'
Author: Shari St. Clair
Published On: Nov 21 2011
SAN ANTONIO -
Adrienne Ruiz's soft voice belies a woman tortured with persistent images of her battlefield experience in Afghanistan.
"We entered what we called a choke point, two hills, we entered it, we received massive rocket propelled grenade and direct fire with armor piercing," said Ruiz.
It was an attack that changed her life that July day in 2008, and an attack that is still fresh in her mind today. "I had a massive brain hemorrhage, yes, and along with that, cervical two, three, five and six blew," Ruiz said.
Ruiz's physical wounds are mostly fixed. But it's the emotional battles she fights every day. "It's horrific, and you remember it, you remember everything you did," Ruiz said. "And, to take human lives? You live with that, but it's how you choose to live."
read more here
Tiger in Good View
Tiger in Good View
by
Chaplain Kathie
There is a tiger walking around Central Florida's Lake Buena Vista but if you drive down on I-4, you don't know he's there. Thousands of people see him everyday because they go to where he lives. Everyone else on I-4 is too focused on their own lives to even think about the tiger or his friends walking around, so they just don't have a good view of him.
People are like that. They see what they want to see and think about what is important to them during their days. There are few reminders of others living nearby them. Few see them because few go where they live. As with the tiger, while some have no clue what lives nearby but out of their view, they are still there.
Last night, as with every Monday night, Point Man Ministries had a conference call and the question about publicizing issues with veterans came up. It's something that has been a problem for a long time. If we publicize it some will think what they thought when Vietnam Veterans came home and they were drugged up hot heads ready to explode. That wasn't the case but considering all people knew about Vietnam veterans was what they read in the paper or saw in a news report, that was all they were shown. These veterans only made the news when they were arrested, otherwise, they were overlooked.
Families kept their secrets. No one wanted to talk about how they came back home anymore than other families wanted to talk about Korean War veterans came home changed. For that matter, any other generation. They knew what was going on, even if they didn't know exactly why, because they had a good view of all of it. They saw the thrashing of the sheets when they dreamed. They saw the shaking hands when memories overtook the veterans' minds. They saw the tears flow and the stunned expression on their face when they snapped back to the "here and now" away from the horrors the veterans saw. Families lived the best way possible with them accepting what was or leaving them for what could be.
A day came when someone decided they would stop being silent about what war did to veterans after their public battles were over and they were no longer paid to risk their lives but began to pay for all of it with the rest of their lives. Vietnam veterans somehow found enough support to give them the courage to talk about life after war. They forced the government to address what came home with them and all we see available today for this generation of veterans came because they opened the eyes of the public showing them what life was like for them.
Soon the public discovered that while they had read reports of a tiny portion of veterans being arrested for clashes with the law, most were suffering in silence while doing the best they could to live as normal as possible.
"Only the dead have seen the end of war" has been quoted over the years, attributed to Plato but that is up for debate. What is not debatable is the truth within those words. A combat veteran is a veteran for the rest of their lives because they have seen what war does with their own eyes. Their innocent view of mankind forever changed by what they saw, they walk away with the most horrific images overpowering the most loving. Loving in war? Yes, absolutely. There are many pictures of soldiers risking their lives to carry a wounded friend out of danger so he may live. There are pictures of great compassionated acts. All reminders that even in the midst of the worst man can do, loved lived there as well.
A nurse during the Gulf War was haunted by the voices of the dying after a several mortars struck. She had gone to get a jacket for another nurse before they left to pick up supplies. For whatever reason, on her way out, she grabbed her medical bag. The mortars started to hit as soon as she was out the door. She heard their dying screams as she tended to the living. Saving the lives of the men she could, concentrating on them, the screams had dug into her soul. She said that she is still in contact with some of the men saved that day. I told her that they are alive because she was there. She wanted to save all of them. When you look at her, she is smiling and involved in a lot of veterans events. No one knows what she is carrying inside of her except those she feels comfortable enough to share with. Her family has a clearer view of what being there to save lives did to her.
This blog is here so that you can have a good view of what is real on a daily basis. There are some wonderful stories along with terrible ones. There are stories of veterans doing so much to still help others mixed with a report of a veteran hurting others. These stories are tracked across the country because while they serve this one nation, they return home to big cities and tiny towns blending into population but as with the tiger, the only people seeing them are actually going to where they live. Breaking the silence, showing what is real to them takes the power away from fear of the unknown. Once people understand that few of the over two million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have been involved in crimes but many have returned suffering, they will no longer fear them and begin to see them.
History has shown us that this is possible because Vietnam veterans are held in high regard because they had the courage to show themselves as they are. I have a good view of them and I can tell you from what I see on a daily basis, there is not another group of people I would rather be with.
With Point Man Ministries we talk about the news reports and lament over the lives lost after combat when they are supposed to be safe. On a daily basis we're reminded of the lives saved and wonder what it will take to be able to save all of them. How is this one put in touch with help but others are hidden from the help they need? It is only because no one showed them the way. No one showed them stories about this life saved or that one healing to the point where they want to make sure others get to where they are, lovingly forgiven and able to forgive themselves for whatever they feel the need for.
The nurse felt guilty because she couldn't save all the men there that day and wanted forgiveness but she had to be the one to forgive herself and see the lives she did save. Men and women like her come home everyday after war with regrets few others will ever understand. They feel alone because no one has given them a better view of others just like them. They lose hope because no one shows them others who felt the same way but ended up on the other side of the darkness in their soul. No one showed them that the other side is more love moving in and more pain moving out. That the tiger was only something to fear when it was free to attack.
Showing them they are loved takes that power away. Being there for them everyday instead of just a couple of times a year, proves they are worth the time of someone else. That we are there when they need us instead of just when we can show up easily.
by
Chaplain Kathie
People are like that. They see what they want to see and think about what is important to them during their days. There are few reminders of others living nearby them. Few see them because few go where they live. As with the tiger, while some have no clue what lives nearby but out of their view, they are still there.
Last night, as with every Monday night, Point Man Ministries had a conference call and the question about publicizing issues with veterans came up. It's something that has been a problem for a long time. If we publicize it some will think what they thought when Vietnam Veterans came home and they were drugged up hot heads ready to explode. That wasn't the case but considering all people knew about Vietnam veterans was what they read in the paper or saw in a news report, that was all they were shown. These veterans only made the news when they were arrested, otherwise, they were overlooked.
Families kept their secrets. No one wanted to talk about how they came back home anymore than other families wanted to talk about Korean War veterans came home changed. For that matter, any other generation. They knew what was going on, even if they didn't know exactly why, because they had a good view of all of it. They saw the thrashing of the sheets when they dreamed. They saw the shaking hands when memories overtook the veterans' minds. They saw the tears flow and the stunned expression on their face when they snapped back to the "here and now" away from the horrors the veterans saw. Families lived the best way possible with them accepting what was or leaving them for what could be.
A day came when someone decided they would stop being silent about what war did to veterans after their public battles were over and they were no longer paid to risk their lives but began to pay for all of it with the rest of their lives. Vietnam veterans somehow found enough support to give them the courage to talk about life after war. They forced the government to address what came home with them and all we see available today for this generation of veterans came because they opened the eyes of the public showing them what life was like for them.
Soon the public discovered that while they had read reports of a tiny portion of veterans being arrested for clashes with the law, most were suffering in silence while doing the best they could to live as normal as possible.
This blog is here so that you can have a good view of what is real on a daily basis. There are some wonderful stories along with terrible ones. There are stories of veterans doing so much to still help others mixed with a report of a veteran hurting others. These stories are tracked across the country because while they serve this one nation, they return home to big cities and tiny towns blending into population but as with the tiger, the only people seeing them are actually going to where they live. Breaking the silence, showing what is real to them takes the power away from fear of the unknown. Once people understand that few of the over two million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have been involved in crimes but many have returned suffering, they will no longer fear them and begin to see them.
History has shown us that this is possible because Vietnam veterans are held in high regard because they had the courage to show themselves as they are. I have a good view of them and I can tell you from what I see on a daily basis, there is not another group of people I would rather be with.
With Point Man Ministries we talk about the news reports and lament over the lives lost after combat when they are supposed to be safe. On a daily basis we're reminded of the lives saved and wonder what it will take to be able to save all of them. How is this one put in touch with help but others are hidden from the help they need? It is only because no one showed them the way. No one showed them stories about this life saved or that one healing to the point where they want to make sure others get to where they are, lovingly forgiven and able to forgive themselves for whatever they feel the need for.
The nurse felt guilty because she couldn't save all the men there that day and wanted forgiveness but she had to be the one to forgive herself and see the lives she did save. Men and women like her come home everyday after war with regrets few others will ever understand. They feel alone because no one has given them a better view of others just like them. They lose hope because no one shows them others who felt the same way but ended up on the other side of the darkness in their soul. No one showed them that the other side is more love moving in and more pain moving out. That the tiger was only something to fear when it was free to attack.
Showing them they are loved takes that power away. Being there for them everyday instead of just a couple of times a year, proves they are worth the time of someone else. That we are there when they need us instead of just when we can show up easily.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Armed airman still barricaded at Schriever AFB
UPDATE
Airman Ends Stand-off at Colorado Air Base
November 22, 2011
Associated Press
SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- An Airman at a Colorado Air Force base that controls GPS satellites surrendered to authorities Monday night after barricading himself in a building with a gun, officials said.
The man was detained by law-enforcement officials after surrendering around 8 p.m., Air Force officials said. No injuries were reported.
The Airman was in a building where personnel prepare for deployments, and it was evacuated after the standoff began, said Schriever Air Force Base spokeswoman Jennifer Thibault. A negotiator and a SWAT team from the El Paso County Sheriff's Department responded at the Air Force's request, said Air Force Lt. Marie Denson.
Control rooms for GPS and other military satellites are in a separate, heavily protected inner compound surrounded by fences and staffed with armed guards.
read more here
Airman Ends Stand-off at Colorado Air Base
November 22, 2011
Associated Press
SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- An Airman at a Colorado Air Force base that controls GPS satellites surrendered to authorities Monday night after barricading himself in a building with a gun, officials said.
The man was detained by law-enforcement officials after surrendering around 8 p.m., Air Force officials said. No injuries were reported.
The Airman was in a building where personnel prepare for deployments, and it was evacuated after the standoff began, said Schriever Air Force Base spokeswoman Jennifer Thibault. A negotiator and a SWAT team from the El Paso County Sheriff's Department responded at the Air Force's request, said Air Force Lt. Marie Denson.
Control rooms for GPS and other military satellites are in a separate, heavily protected inner compound surrounded by fences and staffed with armed guards.
read more here
Armed airman still barricaded at Schriever AFB
Web Staff
5:00 p.m. MST, November 21, 2011
SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- An armed Air Force airman reportedly facing reprimand barricaded himself inside a building on Schriever AFB Monday east of Colorado Springs Monday.
Officials say the man, whose name was not released, is a member of the 50th Security Forces Squadron.
He barricaded himself in a deployment processing building at about 10 a.m. and remained holed-up as of 5 p.m.
read more here
Parade to honor Marine called off because of missed flight
Parade to honor local Marine called off
By Jo Ann Hustis
Created: Sunday, November 20, 2011
Returning Marine Corps hero Ryan Davis was not honored with a parade Saturday in downtown Morris after all.
The parade to welcome him back home was scrubbed after Davis missed his flight to the Midwest from Camp Pendleton in California earlier Saturday.
read more here
By Jo Ann Hustis
Created: Sunday, November 20, 2011
Returning Marine Corps hero Ryan Davis was not honored with a parade Saturday in downtown Morris after all.
The parade to welcome him back home was scrubbed after Davis missed his flight to the Midwest from Camp Pendleton in California earlier Saturday.
read more here
President Obama signs Veterans' Jobs Bill
Neglecting Veterans Is a Disservice to Our Economy
Posted by Justin Constantine on November 21, 2011 at 12:00 PM EST
We have all heard about the compelling attributes my fellow service members bring to the table when they look for jobs as they transition out of the military – leadership experience, goal-oriented, can-do attitude, great work ethic, etc. Yet we have also heard about the disturbing unemployment statistics for today’s youngest veterans – those in the 24-36 age group. How can this be true, and what is this Administration doing about it?
Unfortunately, our youngest veterans are entering the private workforce at a very challenging time. Many of them are likely to be employed in industries such as construction, manufacturing and transportation, which have all struggled in the last few years. Further, many of these vets come from and return to rural parts of the country, and do not have the benefit of a college degree. Another critical issue is that there currently does not exist a truly effective and cohesive transition assistance program for them. And on top of all that, a staggering number of our returning service members suffer from behavioral health issues, including Post Traumatic Stress, but these issues are not being adequately addressed. The unemployment of today’s young vets is very complicated and cannot be considered in a vacuum.
I was honored to stand behind President Obama today as he signed into law his job bill for military veterans. In a nutshell, this law encourages private industry to hire unemployed veterans and wounded warriors through several generous tax credits. On its own, the law is not an overall panacea to our veterans’ unemployment problems; when considered together with other related initiatives announced by President Obama however, the public-private partnership it fosters will certainly be a big help. And this is critical, because as we end the war in Iraq and wind down the war in Afghanistan, over one million service members are projected to leave the military between 2011 and 2016.
Some of these far-reaching initiatives include: a challenge to the private sector to hire or train 100,000 unemployed veterans or their spouses by the end of 2013; “Gold Cards” issued to service members in transition to help jump-start their job search process; the Veterans Job Bank connecting unemployed vets to job openings with companies that want to hire them; My Next Move for Veterans; and an interagency task force is now developing reforms to ensure that every service member receives the training, education and credentials they need for a successful transition.
read more here
Posted by Justin Constantine on November 21, 2011 at 12:00 PM EST
We have all heard about the compelling attributes my fellow service members bring to the table when they look for jobs as they transition out of the military – leadership experience, goal-oriented, can-do attitude, great work ethic, etc. Yet we have also heard about the disturbing unemployment statistics for today’s youngest veterans – those in the 24-36 age group. How can this be true, and what is this Administration doing about it?
Unfortunately, our youngest veterans are entering the private workforce at a very challenging time. Many of them are likely to be employed in industries such as construction, manufacturing and transportation, which have all struggled in the last few years. Further, many of these vets come from and return to rural parts of the country, and do not have the benefit of a college degree. Another critical issue is that there currently does not exist a truly effective and cohesive transition assistance program for them. And on top of all that, a staggering number of our returning service members suffer from behavioral health issues, including Post Traumatic Stress, but these issues are not being adequately addressed. The unemployment of today’s young vets is very complicated and cannot be considered in a vacuum.
I was honored to stand behind President Obama today as he signed into law his job bill for military veterans. In a nutshell, this law encourages private industry to hire unemployed veterans and wounded warriors through several generous tax credits. On its own, the law is not an overall panacea to our veterans’ unemployment problems; when considered together with other related initiatives announced by President Obama however, the public-private partnership it fosters will certainly be a big help. And this is critical, because as we end the war in Iraq and wind down the war in Afghanistan, over one million service members are projected to leave the military between 2011 and 2016.
Some of these far-reaching initiatives include: a challenge to the private sector to hire or train 100,000 unemployed veterans or their spouses by the end of 2013; “Gold Cards” issued to service members in transition to help jump-start their job search process; the Veterans Job Bank connecting unemployed vets to job openings with companies that want to hire them; My Next Move for Veterans; and an interagency task force is now developing reforms to ensure that every service member receives the training, education and credentials they need for a successful transition.
read more here
Troops Celebrate Thanksgiving in Iraq
Troops Celebrate Thanksgiving in Iraq
Published on Nov 20, 2011 by AssociatedPress
US soldiers at Camp Victory in Iraq celebrated the American holiday of Thanksgiving on Sunday. The traditional Thanksgiving lunch was served four days early because the camp was being closed in preparation for the troops' departure. (November 20)
Published on Nov 20, 2011 by AssociatedPress
US soldiers at Camp Victory in Iraq celebrated the American holiday of Thanksgiving on Sunday. The traditional Thanksgiving lunch was served four days early because the camp was being closed in preparation for the troops' departure. (November 20)
Berea Murder Suspect Disarmed Bombs In Iraq, Afghanistan
Uncle: Berea Murder Suspect Disarmed Bombs In Iraq, Afghanistan
Posted: Nov 21, 2011
The coroner remained on the scene late Monday morning of a double shooting in Berea that left one man dead and the suspect on the run.
Police say Matthew Denholm, 27, shot and killed one person and injured another in an apartment above a law office along Chestnut Street just after 7 a.m.
Police have not identified the victims, saying only they were both males. The injured man was taken to UK Hospital. No word on the extent of his injuries.
Police say Denholm may be driving a black 2005 four-door Pontiac Grand Prix GT with Kentucky license plate 182-OAN. He's described as white male, approximately 6-foot-1, 200 pounds with closely cropped dark hair. He may have another person with him, a white male.
According to his uncle, Denholm joined the U.S. Army after graduating high school, and did some of the most dangerous work a person can do overseas, as he was responsible for disarming road-side bombs and explosives to clear the way for U.S. troops to get around.
read more here
Posted: Nov 21, 2011
The coroner remained on the scene late Monday morning of a double shooting in Berea that left one man dead and the suspect on the run.
Police say Matthew Denholm, 27, shot and killed one person and injured another in an apartment above a law office along Chestnut Street just after 7 a.m.
Police have not identified the victims, saying only they were both males. The injured man was taken to UK Hospital. No word on the extent of his injuries.
Police say Denholm may be driving a black 2005 four-door Pontiac Grand Prix GT with Kentucky license plate 182-OAN. He's described as white male, approximately 6-foot-1, 200 pounds with closely cropped dark hair. He may have another person with him, a white male.
According to his uncle, Denholm joined the U.S. Army after graduating high school, and did some of the most dangerous work a person can do overseas, as he was responsible for disarming road-side bombs and explosives to clear the way for U.S. troops to get around.
read more here
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