Naval Hospital becomes training ground for program improvement
January 25, 2012 10:40 AM
HOPE HODGE - DAILY NEWS STAFF
In October 2010, Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital was the worst in the Navy at returning findings for service members sidelined by wounds, injury or illness in a timely manner. A little more than a year later, officials from distant Marine Corps bases and even other services pay visits to the hospital to learn how to improve their own programs.
All it took, Lt. j.g. Lisa Cook said, was a number of sleepless nights and a different way of seeing things.
The process for wounded, ill, or injured troops deemed potentially unfit for further service is supposed to take a Congress-mandated 295 days from injury to military separation or re-joining a unit. The Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital, like other Navy medical centers, is responsible for 100 of those days: the time it takes to complete a service member’s physical exam and complete medical records and findings so that the service member can continue to receive a VA rating and transition to civilian life or begin re-integration into full-time service. And with the high rate of deployment of Camp Lejeune troops, the Naval Hospital processed 1,200 of these medical boards last year, more than any other naval medical center, including larger centers such as Camp Pendleton and Portsmouth.
Cook, the department head for Patient Administration, arrived at her post a year ago to find a staggering mess. In the office were 989 patient files, each representing a Marine or sailor waiting idle on base while his or her findings were completed. The oldest file was dated 2008.
“They’re in limbo; they don’t know if they can move on with their life, or they’re just sitting around,” Cook said. “You don’t know. ‘Do we move my spouse back home while I wait for my findings; do I not?’ We had members being told ‘This process is going to take 295 days and you’re going to be out,’ and they moved their spouse away so they could just sit here and relax and get better, but a year and a half later, they still have no findings.”
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Thursday, January 26, 2012
Good Samaritan killed while helping motorist on I-4
Good Samaritan killed while helping motorist on I-4
The victim has not been identified, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
By Arelis R. Hernández, Orlando Sentinel
12:26 p.m. EST, January 26, 2012
A man who was helping another motorist on the side of westbound Interstate 4 in Volusia County was fatally struck by a passing vehicle early Thursday, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The unidentified victim pulled over to help Tiffany Walters, 23, who properly parked her Landrover sport-utility vehicle on the right shoulder near Mile Marker 115 in Lake Helen after she ran out of gas, said FHP Sgt. Kim Montes.
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The victim has not been identified, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
By Arelis R. Hernández, Orlando Sentinel
12:26 p.m. EST, January 26, 2012
A man who was helping another motorist on the side of westbound Interstate 4 in Volusia County was fatally struck by a passing vehicle early Thursday, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The unidentified victim pulled over to help Tiffany Walters, 23, who properly parked her Landrover sport-utility vehicle on the right shoulder near Mile Marker 115 in Lake Helen after she ran out of gas, said FHP Sgt. Kim Montes.
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557,460 wait more than 125 days for VA claims
VA sees 'paperless' claims as critical to ending backlog
By TOM PHILPOTT
Special to Stars and Stripes
Published: January 26, 2012
The only way to achieve VA Secretary Eric Shinseki’s goal for 2015 -- that every disability compensation claim gets processed within 125 days and with 98 percent accuracy -- is to shift to a paperless claims system. And that transformation has begun.
That was the testimony Tuesday by VA’s top claim processing official before the House veteran affairs’ subcommittee on disability assistance.
Tom Murphy, director of compensation service for the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), an agency for the Department of Veterans Affairs, acknowledged the claims backlog has grown in recent years.
Compensation and benefit claims pending at VA, as of Jan. 23, totaled 852,127 and 65 percent of them – 557,460 – had been filed by veterans more than 125 days ago, which means they are in “backlog” status.
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Big cuts coming; lower pay raises start in 2015
Big cuts coming; lower pay raises start in 2015
By Andrew Tilghman and Rick Maze - Staff writers
Posted : Thursday Jan 26, 2012 14:00:23 EST
Service members can expect standard pay raises for the next two years — most likely 1.7 percent for 2013 — but that will change starting in 2015, according to a new budget plan unveiled at the Pentagon on Thursday.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta released details of the 2013 budget, the first since Congress ordered the Pentagon to slash more than $450 billion in planned spending over the next decade, with a few glimpses of what may be in store beyond 2013.
Under the plan, military pay will continue to rise in tandem with the average annual increase in private-sector wages, but starting in 2015, raises may be capped a level slightly below annual growth in civilian pay.
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By Andrew Tilghman and Rick Maze - Staff writers
Posted : Thursday Jan 26, 2012 14:00:23 EST
Service members can expect standard pay raises for the next two years — most likely 1.7 percent for 2013 — but that will change starting in 2015, according to a new budget plan unveiled at the Pentagon on Thursday.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta released details of the 2013 budget, the first since Congress ordered the Pentagon to slash more than $450 billion in planned spending over the next decade, with a few glimpses of what may be in store beyond 2013.
Under the plan, military pay will continue to rise in tandem with the average annual increase in private-sector wages, but starting in 2015, raises may be capped a level slightly below annual growth in civilian pay.
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Former Marine pleads to military shootings
Former Marine pleads to military shootings
By Matthew Barakat - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jan 26, 2012 12:27:11 EST
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former Marine from Virginia pleaded guilty Thursday and has agreed to serve a 25-year prison sentence on charges that he fired a series of overnight pot shots in 2010 at the Pentagon, the Marine Corps museum in Quantico and other military targets as part of what prosecutors called a campaign to strike fear throughout the region.
Prosecutors also revealed Thursday new details about Yonathan Melaku’s intended next target: Arlington National Cemetery, where he was arrested before he was able to carry out a plan to deface gravestones there.
As part of Thursday’s plea deal, Melaku, 24, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty to destruction of U.S. property, use of a firearm in an act of violence and intention to injure a veterans’ memorial, namely the cemetery. Prosecutors and Melaku’s lawyer agreed to a 25-year sentence as part of the deal, and U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee said he would agree to the sentence as well. But formal sentencing was delayed until April so a pre-sentence report can be prepared and Melaku’s lawyer can request a mental-health evaluation for his client.
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By Matthew Barakat - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jan 26, 2012 12:27:11 EST
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former Marine from Virginia pleaded guilty Thursday and has agreed to serve a 25-year prison sentence on charges that he fired a series of overnight pot shots in 2010 at the Pentagon, the Marine Corps museum in Quantico and other military targets as part of what prosecutors called a campaign to strike fear throughout the region.
Prosecutors also revealed Thursday new details about Yonathan Melaku’s intended next target: Arlington National Cemetery, where he was arrested before he was able to carry out a plan to deface gravestones there.
As part of Thursday’s plea deal, Melaku, 24, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty to destruction of U.S. property, use of a firearm in an act of violence and intention to injure a veterans’ memorial, namely the cemetery. Prosecutors and Melaku’s lawyer agreed to a 25-year sentence as part of the deal, and U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee said he would agree to the sentence as well. But formal sentencing was delayed until April so a pre-sentence report can be prepared and Melaku’s lawyer can request a mental-health evaluation for his client.
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U.S troops killed in action have a last ally
U.S troops killed in action have a last ally
By Misty Showalter, CNN
updated 8:33 AM EST, Thu January 26, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Scientists and historians, military and civilians aim to recover all missing U.S. service personnel
The Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command digs at battle sites and crash sites for remains
In the lab they use dental records, photo recognition software and DNA tests to put a name to the remains
They call it the most honorable mission in the military
Together, it tells the story of life and death in the military.
At the world's largest skeletal identification laboratory more than 30 forensic anthropologists, archaeologists and dentists of Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command are working to put names to the remains.
Based at Hickam Air Force Base -- site of the Pearl Harbor attack -- in Honolulu, Hawaii, JPAC is made up of all branches of the U.S. military and civilian scientists, united in the goal of bringing back all 84,000 U.S. service members who went missing during war or military action.
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By Misty Showalter, CNN
updated 8:33 AM EST, Thu January 26, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Scientists and historians, military and civilians aim to recover all missing U.S. service personnel
The Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command digs at battle sites and crash sites for remains
In the lab they use dental records, photo recognition software and DNA tests to put a name to the remains
They call it the most honorable mission in the military
Editor's note: A team dedicated to finding, recovering and identifying every missing U.S. service member opens its doors to CNN International. Watch "World's Untold Story" Friday January 27 at 2330 ET, Saturday at 1630 ET and Sunday at 2330 ET.Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii (CNN) -- There is a skull here, hundreds of fragments of bones there. Table after table is lined with human remains. One holds a near-complete skeleton, another has hundreds of tiny pieces of bone that could come from many different people.
Together, it tells the story of life and death in the military.
At the world's largest skeletal identification laboratory more than 30 forensic anthropologists, archaeologists and dentists of Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command are working to put names to the remains.
Based at Hickam Air Force Base -- site of the Pearl Harbor attack -- in Honolulu, Hawaii, JPAC is made up of all branches of the U.S. military and civilian scientists, united in the goal of bringing back all 84,000 U.S. service members who went missing during war or military action.
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An Iraq Vet's Journey From Wall Street to OWS
An Iraq Vet's Journey From Wall Street to OWS
Derek McGee January 25, 2012
In late September 2001, I was living in a tent in Lower Manhattan with the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines, a reserve unit just outside the city. We were occupying Battery Park, which at the time served as the National Guard's headquarters. "Guarding the guard," we called it.
The two weeks I spent there were profoundly affecting. There I was, at the center of the world, watching America at its finest, showing at once nearly impossible perseverance and limitless compassion. Generosity sprouted everywhere throughout New York City; people gave out food, shoe inserts, massages, coffee, flowers, hugs, kind words and anything you needed. I told someone I liked Red Bull, and hours later he came to my tent, dragging a handcart with eight cases of the stuff. I would slip one under each of the other marines' pillows while they slept, and when we woke up for guard duty I would say the Red Bull fairy had come.
Exploring the city on my one afternoon off, I stumbled upon the Wall Street Bull. The smooth metal sculpture is stunning, always on the verge of some wild movement—a lunge or a charge, at the least, a bellow with a head toss. Too tarnished to be gold, too big to be a calf, it's revered nonetheless. I would come fairly close to worshiping it myself years later. But for now, I just had my picture taken on top of it. From where I stood, the whole world seemed to feel empathy. It was one of the only times in my life that I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be.
Another time was when I was living under a bridge along the Euphrates River. A nearly ceaseless convoy rolled overhead. I wasn't particularly keen on the invasion of Iraq, but if we had to have one, I knew I needed to be there with my fellow marines. A Subaru filled with reporters pulled up and offered us cigarettes to hasten our search of their car. "They're just outside Baghdad," they told us. The whole world is watching, I thought.
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Derek McGee January 25, 2012
In late September 2001, I was living in a tent in Lower Manhattan with the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines, a reserve unit just outside the city. We were occupying Battery Park, which at the time served as the National Guard's headquarters. "Guarding the guard," we called it.
The two weeks I spent there were profoundly affecting. There I was, at the center of the world, watching America at its finest, showing at once nearly impossible perseverance and limitless compassion. Generosity sprouted everywhere throughout New York City; people gave out food, shoe inserts, massages, coffee, flowers, hugs, kind words and anything you needed. I told someone I liked Red Bull, and hours later he came to my tent, dragging a handcart with eight cases of the stuff. I would slip one under each of the other marines' pillows while they slept, and when we woke up for guard duty I would say the Red Bull fairy had come.
Exploring the city on my one afternoon off, I stumbled upon the Wall Street Bull. The smooth metal sculpture is stunning, always on the verge of some wild movement—a lunge or a charge, at the least, a bellow with a head toss. Too tarnished to be gold, too big to be a calf, it's revered nonetheless. I would come fairly close to worshiping it myself years later. But for now, I just had my picture taken on top of it. From where I stood, the whole world seemed to feel empathy. It was one of the only times in my life that I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be.
Another time was when I was living under a bridge along the Euphrates River. A nearly ceaseless convoy rolled overhead. I wasn't particularly keen on the invasion of Iraq, but if we had to have one, I knew I needed to be there with my fellow marines. A Subaru filled with reporters pulled up and offered us cigarettes to hasten our search of their car. "They're just outside Baghdad," they told us. The whole world is watching, I thought.
read more here
Vietnam Veteran dies after being punched by 18 year old
Vietnam vet dies after being punched by 18-year-old during traffic confrontation
66-year-old bumped man's girlfriend with car: cops
BY PHILIP CAULFIELD / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, January 25, 2012,
An 18-year-old New Jersey man is facing murder charges after cops say he killed an aging Vietnam vet with one punch during a traffic dust-up.
Allen Briscoe, 66, suffered a brain aneurysm caused by blunt force trauma and died at a south Jersey hospital on Monday night after falling and hitting his head during the confrontation Aleem Mayes, NBC Philadelphia reported.
Cops say Briscoe was driving to pick up his girlfriend near his home in East Camden at around 7:30 p.m. when he accidentally bumped Mayes' pregnant girlfriend "at very low speed" with his black Ford F-150, cops say.
The 16-year-old girl was knocked to the ground, and Briscoe rushed out of the cab to help her, cops say.
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66-year-old bumped man's girlfriend with car: cops
BY PHILIP CAULFIELD / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, January 25, 2012,
An 18-year-old New Jersey man is facing murder charges after cops say he killed an aging Vietnam vet with one punch during a traffic dust-up.
Allen Briscoe, 66, suffered a brain aneurysm caused by blunt force trauma and died at a south Jersey hospital on Monday night after falling and hitting his head during the confrontation Aleem Mayes, NBC Philadelphia reported.
Cops say Briscoe was driving to pick up his girlfriend near his home in East Camden at around 7:30 p.m. when he accidentally bumped Mayes' pregnant girlfriend "at very low speed" with his black Ford F-150, cops say.
The 16-year-old girl was knocked to the ground, and Briscoe rushed out of the cab to help her, cops say.
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GAO finds Defense Center for Excellence lacking
GAO: DoD fails to detail mental health spending
By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jan 25, 2012 19:18:28 EST
A new report from a congressional watchdog agency raises concerns about the Defense Department’s accounting of $2.7 billion marked for treating and researching psychological health issues and traumatic brain injuries.
The report released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office says DoD has not provided reports required by law detailing how those funds were spent. The money was distributed between fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2010.
The GAO described as “unreliable” the obligations data — information that gives an overview of what contracts and programs the funds support — in the reports.
“We found that the Tricare Management Activity, which administered funds allocated to [the Defense Centers of Excellence] had not developed written policies and procedures to ensure the proper recording of obligations and that it had not properly classified most of DCoE’s fiscal 2009 contract obligations,” the report states.
GAO also said the strategic plan of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, responsible for the Pentagon’s head injury and behavioral health programs, lacked clear guidance on its statutory responsibilities.
Instead, responsibilities for creating standards of care for injured and mentally ill service members as well as training, outreach, research and patient care are spread among the DCoEs, Tricare, the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and other agencies.
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By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jan 25, 2012 19:18:28 EST
A new report from a congressional watchdog agency raises concerns about the Defense Department’s accounting of $2.7 billion marked for treating and researching psychological health issues and traumatic brain injuries.
The report released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office says DoD has not provided reports required by law detailing how those funds were spent. The money was distributed between fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2010.
The GAO described as “unreliable” the obligations data — information that gives an overview of what contracts and programs the funds support — in the reports.
“We found that the Tricare Management Activity, which administered funds allocated to [the Defense Centers of Excellence] had not developed written policies and procedures to ensure the proper recording of obligations and that it had not properly classified most of DCoE’s fiscal 2009 contract obligations,” the report states.
GAO also said the strategic plan of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, responsible for the Pentagon’s head injury and behavioral health programs, lacked clear guidance on its statutory responsibilities.
Instead, responsibilities for creating standards of care for injured and mentally ill service members as well as training, outreach, research and patient care are spread among the DCoEs, Tricare, the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and other agencies.
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Fort Bragg soldier out of hospital, in police custody
Fort Bragg soldier out of hospital, in police custody
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A Fort Bragg soldier is out of the hospital and in custody after being treated for injuries he received during a police shootout nearly two weeks ago.
Army Staff Sgt. Joshua Eisenhauer, 30, was released from UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill on Tuesday and faced a District Court judge in a Cumberland County courtroom Wednesday on 30 charges stemming from the Jan. 13 standoff.
Police say Eisenhauer fired several shots at police and firefighters responding to a fire at his third-floor apartment in the Austin Creek Apartments complex and then barricaded himself inside.
Four hours later, a special response team used explosives to take down the door to Eisenhauer's apartment. He was found injured on the kitchen floor.
Authorities haven't said how he was injured, but court records show police fired back. His father said last week that his son had three gunshot wounds.
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also
Fort Bragg soldier in standoff
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A Fort Bragg soldier is out of the hospital and in custody after being treated for injuries he received during a police shootout nearly two weeks ago.
Army Staff Sgt. Joshua Eisenhauer, 30, was released from UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill on Tuesday and faced a District Court judge in a Cumberland County courtroom Wednesday on 30 charges stemming from the Jan. 13 standoff.
Police say Eisenhauer fired several shots at police and firefighters responding to a fire at his third-floor apartment in the Austin Creek Apartments complex and then barricaded himself inside.
Four hours later, a special response team used explosives to take down the door to Eisenhauer's apartment. He was found injured on the kitchen floor.
Authorities haven't said how he was injured, but court records show police fired back. His father said last week that his son had three gunshot wounds.
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also
Fort Bragg soldier in standoff
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