Truth about veteran's service forces memorial change
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Updated Mar 29, 2012
By CINDY STAUFFER
Staff Writer
Donald E. Armold was third on the list of Vietnam War veterans whose names were included on a bronze plaque at a Mount Joy memorial when it was unveiled in 2010.
It appeared just under the inscription "HONORING ALL WHO SERVED IN VIETNAM."
Armold also was the grand marshal of last year's Marietta Memorial Day parade.
His full-page bio in the parade program lists him as "VIETNAM VETERAN."
There is only one problem, and it's a big one.
Armold, 68, of Manheim Township, isn't a Vietnam War veteran.
He did serve in the U.S. Marines from 1961 until 1966, but never set foot in Vietnam, doing his service stateside and on cruises in the Mediterranean and in Guantanamo Bay.
The memorial committee recently ordered and installed a new plaque — minus Armold's name — for the Mount Joy monument at a cost of $3,000.
read more here
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Naomi Wolf calls Katy Perry video propaganda
When it comes to FOX cable news, it is no secret how I feel about them. In this case, they proved me right again. The title of this article is "Left Calls for..." and not just "Naomi Wolf."
I am an Independent because I have issues with both sides. One lesson we should all learn from the people in the military is they manage to work together for a common cause and put each other above any political ties. I wish the media could manage to do the same.
Personally don't care about what Naomi Wolf has to say. I've read it before but it didn't change my mind about Katy Perry's video. I thought it was great when I posted it and I still do.
So why did FOX give Naomi Wolf more power than she deserves by suggesting she speaks for the "left" in this country? I have friends on both sides of politics and they never agree on anything politically but what they all agree on is their dedication to the men and women serving in the military today and the veterans of yesterday. If anything, there needs to be more "propaganda" like this to get people to pay attention to the sacrifices the troops make everyday!
I am an Independent because I have issues with both sides. One lesson we should all learn from the people in the military is they manage to work together for a common cause and put each other above any political ties. I wish the media could manage to do the same.
Personally don't care about what Naomi Wolf has to say. I've read it before but it didn't change my mind about Katy Perry's video. I thought it was great when I posted it and I still do.
Left Calls for Katy Perry Boycott Over Marine Video
March 30, 2012 LOS ANGELES –
Katy Perry transforms herself into a U.S. Marine in her latest power-pop single, "Part of Me," which addresses female empowerment and pays particular tribute to service women. However, at least one media type doesn't support Perry's Marines shout-out. Prominent feminist Naomi Wolf, author of "The Beauty Myth" and one of many who were arrested amid the Occupy Wall Street protests last year, is urging Americans to boycott the singer, labeling her video "a total piece of propaganda for the Marines." read more here
So why did FOX give Naomi Wolf more power than she deserves by suggesting she speaks for the "left" in this country? I have friends on both sides of politics and they never agree on anything politically but what they all agree on is their dedication to the men and women serving in the military today and the veterans of yesterday. If anything, there needs to be more "propaganda" like this to get people to pay attention to the sacrifices the troops make everyday!
Marine general opens up about battle with prostate cancer
Marine general opens up about battle with prostate cancer
By Dan LaMothe
Marine Corps Times
MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. – In the midst of planning a complicated drawdown in forces, the Marine Corps' three-star manpower chief received startling news: He had cancer. Not just any cancer, either.
Lt. Gen. Robert Milstead, deputy commandant of manpower and reserve affairs, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that could spread and kill him if it weren't treated quickly. He received the news in January after a battery of tests that began in November with his annual physical, he said. The score on his prostate-specific antigen blood test, or PSA, had increased in the previous year, raising the prospect that something was wrong.
"Once they told me, 'You've got cancer,' I said, 'Whoa,' " Milstead said. "The C-word can be intimidating. The range of options goes from denial to acceptance, and I think I was able to jump pretty quickly up to, 'OK, I've got cancer. How am I going to deal with this?' " Milstead, 60, is far from alone.
One in six men will get prostate cancer, and one in 33 will die from it, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Recovery frequently depends on a key factor that worked in Milstead's favor: early detection. read more here
By Dan LaMothe
Marine Corps Times
MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. – In the midst of planning a complicated drawdown in forces, the Marine Corps' three-star manpower chief received startling news: He had cancer. Not just any cancer, either.
Lt. Gen. Robert Milstead, deputy commandant of manpower and reserve affairs, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that could spread and kill him if it weren't treated quickly. He received the news in January after a battery of tests that began in November with his annual physical, he said. The score on his prostate-specific antigen blood test, or PSA, had increased in the previous year, raising the prospect that something was wrong.
"Once they told me, 'You've got cancer,' I said, 'Whoa,' " Milstead said. "The C-word can be intimidating. The range of options goes from denial to acceptance, and I think I was able to jump pretty quickly up to, 'OK, I've got cancer. How am I going to deal with this?' " Milstead, 60, is far from alone.
One in six men will get prostate cancer, and one in 33 will die from it, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Recovery frequently depends on a key factor that worked in Milstead's favor: early detection. read more here
Miami VA names new chief for 57,000 veterans
Veterans Affairs names new Miami VA chief
Paul M. Russo is coming from North Carolina to replace Mary Berrocal, who retired in November.
BY CAROL ROSENBERG
Paul M. Russo, a three-decade veteran of health work at the Veterans Health Administration, has been chosen to take over as the new director of Miami’s regional VA health care network, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Friday.
As director of the Miami VA Health Care System, Russo will oversee delivery of health care to more than 57,000 veterans living in South Florida and an operating budget of $478 million. read more here
Paul M. Russo is coming from North Carolina to replace Mary Berrocal, who retired in November.
BY CAROL ROSENBERG
Paul M. Russo, a three-decade veteran of health work at the Veterans Health Administration, has been chosen to take over as the new director of Miami’s regional VA health care network, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Friday.
As director of the Miami VA Health Care System, Russo will oversee delivery of health care to more than 57,000 veterans living in South Florida and an operating budget of $478 million. read more here
Utah war veterans share sobering perspectives of PTSD
Utah war veterans share sobering perspectives of PTSD
Summit
Counselors, social workers learn about veterans’ challenges.
By Kristen Moulton
The Salt Lake Tribune
Mar 30 2012
"You go from playing high-stakes poker and doing stuff that matters," to dealing with clueless civilians, said Watt, who was on a Friday panel telling social workers and therapists what it’s like to return from war. The discussion was one of more than 30 sessions at the Utah Veterans and Families Summit, which itself was part of the three-day Generations conference put on by the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute.
A job fair for veterans was also part of the summit at the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City. The disconnect that warriors feel was the focus of the panel, led by psychologists at the Veterans Affairs George E. Wahlen Medical Center who work with vets who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and moral injury. That’s the name used to describe the suffering many vets have over what they did or did not do in war.
In Iraq, Watt said, "I needed to keep my guys alive and myself alive and hunt down the Number 2 targeted guy in al-Qaida." Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. military airstrike in 2006. Watt was in the 101st Airborne, which was part of the mission to get al-Zarqawi.
Back home, Watt’s job at a buddy’s Salt Lake City computer company put him in the cross hairs of angry customers. "I come home and guys are screaming at me because their computer has been out of their hands for eight hours," said Watt. "You just want to choke them." Vets with PTSD often are angry, but it’s complicated by the fact they are trained, as warriors, to use anger, said Tanya Miller, a VA psychologist.
"They are trained to turn fear into anger and anger into action," she said. read more here
Counselors, social workers learn about veterans’ challenges.
By Kristen Moulton
The Salt Lake Tribune
Mar 30 2012
(Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Iraq War veteran Gordon Ewell, left, of Eagle Mountain, shakes hands with Col. Gregory D. Gadson, who is with the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program, as they talk during the Utah Veterans and Families Summit at the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City on Friday.Justin Watt, an Iraq war veteran, felt he had landed on another planet when he came back to America.
"You go from playing high-stakes poker and doing stuff that matters," to dealing with clueless civilians, said Watt, who was on a Friday panel telling social workers and therapists what it’s like to return from war. The discussion was one of more than 30 sessions at the Utah Veterans and Families Summit, which itself was part of the three-day Generations conference put on by the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute.
A job fair for veterans was also part of the summit at the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City. The disconnect that warriors feel was the focus of the panel, led by psychologists at the Veterans Affairs George E. Wahlen Medical Center who work with vets who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and moral injury. That’s the name used to describe the suffering many vets have over what they did or did not do in war.
In Iraq, Watt said, "I needed to keep my guys alive and myself alive and hunt down the Number 2 targeted guy in al-Qaida." Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. military airstrike in 2006. Watt was in the 101st Airborne, which was part of the mission to get al-Zarqawi.
Back home, Watt’s job at a buddy’s Salt Lake City computer company put him in the cross hairs of angry customers. "I come home and guys are screaming at me because their computer has been out of their hands for eight hours," said Watt. "You just want to choke them." Vets with PTSD often are angry, but it’s complicated by the fact they are trained, as warriors, to use anger, said Tanya Miller, a VA psychologist.
"They are trained to turn fear into anger and anger into action," she said. read more here
Colleges listed as Military Friendly may be more money friendly
`Military friendly' college lists prompt concerns
BY JUSTIN POPE AP
Education Writer
In press releases and ads, colleges love boasting they're "military friendly" and "veterans friendly" - and that isn't just because veterans are usually good students and campus leaders. It's also because the newly expanded Post 9/11 G.I. Bill will pay colleges of all types around $9 billion this year to educate nearly 600,000 veterans, and virtually every school wants to expand its slice of that pie.
But some schools touting their spots on proliferating lists of "military friendly" colleges found in magazine guides and websites have few of the attributes educators commonly associate with the claim, such as accepting military credits or having a veterans organization on campus. Many are for-profit schools with low graduation rates.
The designations appear on rankings whose rigor varies but whose methods are under fire. Often, they're also selling ads to the colleges. Some websites help connect military and veteran students with degree programs that may match their interests, but don't disclose they are lead aggregators paid by the institutions - often for-profit colleges - whose programs they highlight.
"They're not real rankings," said Tom Tarantino, a veteran who is deputy policy director of the advocacy group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "What they are is advertisement catalogues." Labeling them "a huge problem," he called for standards to be established for proper use of the term "military friendly" schools. read more here
BY JUSTIN POPE AP
Education Writer
In press releases and ads, colleges love boasting they're "military friendly" and "veterans friendly" - and that isn't just because veterans are usually good students and campus leaders. It's also because the newly expanded Post 9/11 G.I. Bill will pay colleges of all types around $9 billion this year to educate nearly 600,000 veterans, and virtually every school wants to expand its slice of that pie.
But some schools touting their spots on proliferating lists of "military friendly" colleges found in magazine guides and websites have few of the attributes educators commonly associate with the claim, such as accepting military credits or having a veterans organization on campus. Many are for-profit schools with low graduation rates.
The designations appear on rankings whose rigor varies but whose methods are under fire. Often, they're also selling ads to the colleges. Some websites help connect military and veteran students with degree programs that may match their interests, but don't disclose they are lead aggregators paid by the institutions - often for-profit colleges - whose programs they highlight.
"They're not real rankings," said Tom Tarantino, a veteran who is deputy policy director of the advocacy group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "What they are is advertisement catalogues." Labeling them "a huge problem," he called for standards to be established for proper use of the term "military friendly" schools. read more here
Friday, March 30, 2012
Another Nam Knight killed in motorcycle accident in March
Nam Knights Westside
Rest In Peace
Christopher "NK Woody" Woodard
June 11 1981 - March 28 2012
On March 28, 2012 we lost a great man, father, husband, Brother, and true American Hero. A tragic motorcycle accident prematurely took our Brother from us.
Dover documents show how 9-11 remains ended up in landfill
27 minutes ago
Dover documents show how 9-11 remains ended up in landfill
By CHRIS CARROLL
Stars and Stripes
Published: March 30, 2012
WASHINGTON – The summer after the 9-11 attacks, Air Force personnel pondered whether to ceremonially disperse ashes of unidentified biological remains from the Pentagon crash site at sea, or to dispose of them as waste. In a report released in February, an investigation headed by retired Army Gen. John Abizaid concluded there had been a breakdown of procedures and command authority at the Dover Port Mortuary, leading to improper handling of servicemembers’ remains. “Debate raged throughout the department” about what to do with the biological material in questions, acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness Joanne Rooney said Friday. read more here
Dover documents show how 9-11 remains ended up in landfill
By CHRIS CARROLL
Stars and Stripes
Published: March 30, 2012
WASHINGTON – The summer after the 9-11 attacks, Air Force personnel pondered whether to ceremonially disperse ashes of unidentified biological remains from the Pentagon crash site at sea, or to dispose of them as waste. In a report released in February, an investigation headed by retired Army Gen. John Abizaid concluded there had been a breakdown of procedures and command authority at the Dover Port Mortuary, leading to improper handling of servicemembers’ remains. “Debate raged throughout the department” about what to do with the biological material in questions, acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness Joanne Rooney said Friday. read more here
Deadline near for military spouse fellowships
Deadline near for military spouse fellowships
By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Mar 30, 2012
The deadline for military spouses to apply online for the financial counselor fellowship program is midnight Eastern time, Saturday.
The Military Spouse Fellowship Program provides military spouses with the education and training they need to earn the Accredited Financial Counselor designation. The fellowship is sponsored by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, through a partnership with the National Military Family Association and the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education.
read more here
Afghan Policeman Kills 9 Sleeping Fellow Officers
Afghan Policeman Kills 9 Sleeping Fellow Officers
March 30, 2012
Associated Press|by Amir Shah
KABUL, Afghanistan -- An Afghan policeman killed nine of his fellow officers as they lay sleeping in a village in the eastern Paktika province on Friday, police said, blaming the attack on the Taliban.
Provincial police chief Dawlat Khan Zadran said the incident took place in Yayakhil town of Yayakhil district.
Bowal Khan, chief of Yayakhil district, identified the gunman as Asadullah, who goes by one name. He said the gunman was assigned to a small command post when he woke up at 3 a.m. for guard duty. He then used his assault rifle to kill the nine men sleeping inside the post, took their weapons and piled them in a pickup truck.
According to Khan, Asadullah then sped away in the truck.
read more here
March 30, 2012
Associated Press|by Amir Shah
KABUL, Afghanistan -- An Afghan policeman killed nine of his fellow officers as they lay sleeping in a village in the eastern Paktika province on Friday, police said, blaming the attack on the Taliban.
Provincial police chief Dawlat Khan Zadran said the incident took place in Yayakhil town of Yayakhil district.
Bowal Khan, chief of Yayakhil district, identified the gunman as Asadullah, who goes by one name. He said the gunman was assigned to a small command post when he woke up at 3 a.m. for guard duty. He then used his assault rifle to kill the nine men sleeping inside the post, took their weapons and piled them in a pickup truck.
According to Khan, Asadullah then sped away in the truck.
read more here
Sgt Bales case echoes loudly for ex-soldiers on hotline for vets
Afghan massacre: Sgt Bales case echoes loudly for ex-soldiers on hotline for vets
By Kari Huus, msnbc.com
LOS ANGELES – The young men who answer the phones at the National Veterans Foundation's hotline for troubled veterans speak with an authority that comes from having faced down the same demons that plague their callers.
All are combat veterans, having served up to four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all have struggled with either PTSD or traumatic brain injury – the signature wounds of these conflicts – or both.
For them, the story of Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, accused of murdering 17 Afghan civilians during his fourth combat deployment, triggers mixed emotions – horror over the senseless rampage but also empathy for a soldier who, in their view, apparently was pushed beyond the breaking point. But their more immediate concern is the impact it may have on the troubled voices on the other end of the phone lines they answer each day.
read more here
By Kari Huus, msnbc.com
LOS ANGELES – The young men who answer the phones at the National Veterans Foundation's hotline for troubled veterans speak with an authority that comes from having faced down the same demons that plague their callers.
All are combat veterans, having served up to four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all have struggled with either PTSD or traumatic brain injury – the signature wounds of these conflicts – or both.
For them, the story of Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, accused of murdering 17 Afghan civilians during his fourth combat deployment, triggers mixed emotions – horror over the senseless rampage but also empathy for a soldier who, in their view, apparently was pushed beyond the breaking point. But their more immediate concern is the impact it may have on the troubled voices on the other end of the phone lines they answer each day.
read more here
Combat veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts share their experiences with PTSD, and their reaction to reports that Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales allegedly gunned down 17 Afghan civilians. Msnbc.com's Kari Huus reports.
68 year old Ex-Marine's medic alert alarm got him killed by police
When I came across this, Black Marine Veteran killed in own home after accidentally calling authorities
it was hard to believe, so I did a search and found the news report.
it was hard to believe, so I did a search and found the news report.
‘Officers, Why Do You Have Your Guns Out?’
By MICHAEL POWELL
Published: March 5, 2012
The niece stood in the darkened stairwell of the Winbrook Houses, listening, as 20 feet away five police officers yelled at her uncle, who had locked himself in his apartment.
It was 5:25 on a chill November morning. The officers banged loud and hard, demanding that her 68-year-old uncle open his door.
“He was begging them to leave him alone,” she recalls. “He sounded scared.” She pulls her shawl about her shoulders and her voice cracks; she is speaking for the first time about what she saw.
“I heard my uncle yelling, ‘Officers, officers, why do you have your guns out?’ ”
The string of events that night sounds prosaic, a who-cares accumulation of little mistakes and misapprehensions. Cumulatively, though, it is like tumbling down the stairs. Somehow the uncle, Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., a former Marine who had heart problems and wheezed if he walked more than 40 feet, triggered his medical alert system pendant. The system operator came on the loudspeaker in his one-bedroom apartment, asking: “Mr. Chamberlain, are you O.K.?” All of this is recorded.
read more here
Depression Key Risk Factor for Suicide in Homeless Veterans
Depression Key Risk Factor for Suicide in Homeless Veterans
March 28th, 2012
Suicide is a leading cause of non-natural death among older veterans. Rates of suicide among veterans are nearly double that of the general population. Many veterans struggle with mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress (PTSD), drug or alcohol abuse, and depression as a result of having been in combat. With increased access to firearms and knowledge of how to use them, these individuals are more likely to act on suicidal thoughts when they occur. Additionally, older veterans, many of whom are unemployed and impoverished, often remain isolated, and if they do attempt suicide, will likely be left unattended for long periods of time, making their chances of survival even slimmer.
read more here
March 28th, 2012
Suicide is a leading cause of non-natural death among older veterans. Rates of suicide among veterans are nearly double that of the general population. Many veterans struggle with mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress (PTSD), drug or alcohol abuse, and depression as a result of having been in combat. With increased access to firearms and knowledge of how to use them, these individuals are more likely to act on suicidal thoughts when they occur. Additionally, older veterans, many of whom are unemployed and impoverished, often remain isolated, and if they do attempt suicide, will likely be left unattended for long periods of time, making their chances of survival even slimmer.
read more here
PTSD Iraq Veteran proves help better than lockup
Local Iraq War Vet Makes History When U.S. Attorney Decides Against Prosecution
Mar 29, 2012
Written by
Scott Brown
HAMBURG, N.Y. - Over the past ten years, brave Western New Yorkers have sacrificed their lives, and others their mental health, while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
One local veteran, Britten Walker, came home very troubled and did some things he never would have done but for the impact his service had on him.
Federal prosecutors recognizing that fact, treated him not as a criminal, but instead with compassion.
To say that Britten Walker has come a long way over the past few years is a huge understatement.
Today he's a talented artist preparing for a showing of his work.
And a dean's list student at ECC.
But except for a decision by U.S. Attorney William Hochul, a guy known for locking people up, Britten Walker could have been serving up ten years in prison.
We'll get to what turned out to be that life changing moment for Britten Walker in a minute, but first the back story of what led him there.
"The region we were in they called it the 'Triangle Of Death,'" said Walker.
Back in 2006 and 2007, Britten was a sergeant in the infantry serving in Iraq during a a period of very heavy fighting.
read more here
Mar 29, 2012
Written by
Scott Brown
HAMBURG, N.Y. - Over the past ten years, brave Western New Yorkers have sacrificed their lives, and others their mental health, while fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
One local veteran, Britten Walker, came home very troubled and did some things he never would have done but for the impact his service had on him.
Federal prosecutors recognizing that fact, treated him not as a criminal, but instead with compassion.
To say that Britten Walker has come a long way over the past few years is a huge understatement.
Today he's a talented artist preparing for a showing of his work.
And a dean's list student at ECC.
But except for a decision by U.S. Attorney William Hochul, a guy known for locking people up, Britten Walker could have been serving up ten years in prison.
We'll get to what turned out to be that life changing moment for Britten Walker in a minute, but first the back story of what led him there.
"The region we were in they called it the 'Triangle Of Death,'" said Walker.
Back in 2006 and 2007, Britten was a sergeant in the infantry serving in Iraq during a a period of very heavy fighting.
read more here
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