War Hero: Troops Can Draw Strength From Each Other
By Elaine Sanchez
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON,
March 30, 2012 –
Service members can draw strength from each other rather than attempt to deal with tough times alone, a highly decorated wounded warrior who triumphed over great adversity said here today.
Adversity “is not best dealt with by oneself; it’s overcome by the help of others and hard work and the will to get through it,” Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy A. Petry, the Army’s most recent Medal of Honor recipient, told an audience of nearly 750 behavioral health experts and military leaders.
Petry discussed his recovery and the people who helped pull him through during the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury’s Warrior Resilience Conference. This conference, in its fourth year, is intended to equip service members, units, families and communities with resilience-building techniques and tools.
Petry was wounded May 26, 2008, during an operation to capture an insurgent leader in a compound in Afghanistan’s Paktia province, near the Pakistan border. His unit was met with heavy automatic weapons fire when they moved into the area. He and several of his fellow soldiers were wounded and sought cover as an enemy lobbed a grenade at the unit.
Although wounded in both legs by assault-rifle fire, rather than turn away or seek cover, Petry picked up the grenade to throw it back at the enemy. Instead, the grenade detonated, amputating his right hand.
Still, Petry remained calm, put on his own tourniquet and continued to lead.
Last summer, President Barack Obama awarded the country’s highest military honor to the Ranger. Petry became only the second living veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to receive the Medal of Honor.
Petry credits his ongoing recovery to the troops, medical personnel and family members around him. He recalled his first night in the hospital.
A female soldier, part of an explosive ordnance disposal unit, visited him before even his family arrived. She had lost both of her arms above the elbow during deployment.
Still, “she had the greatest attitude,” Petry said, recalling how she played ping-pong without arms.
“I was in awe,” he said.
read more here
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Suicide followed weeks of turmoil
Suicide followed weeks of turmoil
Police reports detail Hamrick's final days
Written by Lou Whitimre News Journal
Mar. 30, 2012
MANSFIELD -- Military services were conducted Thursday for Russell Hamrick, the same day charges were filed against a man accused of stealing his wallet and credit cards. Police reports also detail repeated complaints by Hamrick in the weeks before his death. Hamrick, 48, died in a 30-foot plunge from a bridge to Richland B and O Trail on March 22.
Richland County Coroner Dr. Stewart Ryckman ruled the death a suicide.
The Mansfield man attempted suicide on at least two other occasions, in 2010 and 2011, police say.
Hamrick reported a variety of complaints to police in the last two weeks of his life, including theft, assault, being threatened at knifepoint and being burned with cigarettes.
Relatives believe Hamrick was tortured and pushed to the edge figuratively, if not literally, according to Randy Hamrick, Russell's brother. Hamrick served 10 years in the 179th Airlift Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard. Military services were conducted by the Richland County Joint Veterans Burial Squad. Only hours earlier, Mansfield police arrested Kevin Davis, 20, of 140 Wood St., on a felony warrant citing forgery charges stemming from purchases made with Hamrick's credit cards. read more here
Police reports detail Hamrick's final days
Written by Lou Whitimre News Journal
Mar. 30, 2012
MANSFIELD -- Military services were conducted Thursday for Russell Hamrick, the same day charges were filed against a man accused of stealing his wallet and credit cards. Police reports also detail repeated complaints by Hamrick in the weeks before his death. Hamrick, 48, died in a 30-foot plunge from a bridge to Richland B and O Trail on March 22.
Richland County Coroner Dr. Stewart Ryckman ruled the death a suicide.
The Mansfield man attempted suicide on at least two other occasions, in 2010 and 2011, police say.
Hamrick reported a variety of complaints to police in the last two weeks of his life, including theft, assault, being threatened at knifepoint and being burned with cigarettes.
Relatives believe Hamrick was tortured and pushed to the edge figuratively, if not literally, according to Randy Hamrick, Russell's brother. Hamrick served 10 years in the 179th Airlift Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard. Military services were conducted by the Richland County Joint Veterans Burial Squad. Only hours earlier, Mansfield police arrested Kevin Davis, 20, of 140 Wood St., on a felony warrant citing forgery charges stemming from purchases made with Hamrick's credit cards. read more here
Wife of Capt. Michael McCaddon talks about his suicide
Widow says Army stress, apathy led to husband's suicide
March 30, 2012
CNHI ROCKPORT, Mass. - Army Capt. Michael McCaddon, M.D., died on duty nine days ago. He wasn't shot, he wasn't blown up, and he wasn't a victim of the other horrible ways soldiers die in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
McCaddon, 37, killed himself on March 21 at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he delivered babies and cared for women brought to the hospital.
His widow, Leslie McCaddon, 36, says her husband fell victim to the heavy stress the military inflicts on all soldiers -- no matter their mission -- and a tough-guy military culture that discourages them from seeking assistance for mental health issues.
She said her husband had been "severely depressed" for seven years, became verbally abusive and that eventually it became too much for her to bear. So she returned with their three children -- ages 10, 8 and 6 -- to her hometown of Rockport, Mass., five months ago. read more here
March 30, 2012
CNHI ROCKPORT, Mass. - Army Capt. Michael McCaddon, M.D., died on duty nine days ago. He wasn't shot, he wasn't blown up, and he wasn't a victim of the other horrible ways soldiers die in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
McCaddon, 37, killed himself on March 21 at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he delivered babies and cared for women brought to the hospital.
His widow, Leslie McCaddon, 36, says her husband fell victim to the heavy stress the military inflicts on all soldiers -- no matter their mission -- and a tough-guy military culture that discourages them from seeking assistance for mental health issues.
She said her husband had been "severely depressed" for seven years, became verbally abusive and that eventually it became too much for her to bear. So she returned with their three children -- ages 10, 8 and 6 -- to her hometown of Rockport, Mass., five months ago. read more here
For one attorney in Horner trial, PTSD is a personal experience
Horner attorney reflects on trial
DeFazio disagrees with Dickey making PTSD argument
March 31, 2012
By Phil Ray (pray@altoonamirror.com) , The Altoona Mirror
Attorney David J. DeFazio of Pittsburgh, who represented Nicholas A. Horner in the death penalty phase of his murder case this week, has a unique perspective about the many issues raised during the trial. It is something nobody involved in the trial knew about, not Blair County President Judge Jolene G. Kopriva nor even DeFazio's co-counsel, Thomas M. Dickey of Altoona. Dickey, who was Horner's trial attorney, emphasized that the 31-year-old Army veteran suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his war experiences in Iraq.
Post-traumatic stress, Dickey said during the months leading up to the trial, was the "seed" that eventually led to Horner killing 19-year-old Scott Garlick and 64-year-old Raymond Williams on April 6, 2009.
DeFazio disagrees with Dickey making PTSD argument
March 31, 2012
By Phil Ray (pray@altoonamirror.com) , The Altoona Mirror
Attorney David J. DeFazio of Pittsburgh, who represented Nicholas A. Horner in the death penalty phase of his murder case this week, has a unique perspective about the many issues raised during the trial. It is something nobody involved in the trial knew about, not Blair County President Judge Jolene G. Kopriva nor even DeFazio's co-counsel, Thomas M. Dickey of Altoona. Dickey, who was Horner's trial attorney, emphasized that the 31-year-old Army veteran suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his war experiences in Iraq.
Post-traumatic stress, Dickey said during the months leading up to the trial, was the "seed" that eventually led to Horner killing 19-year-old Scott Garlick and 64-year-old Raymond Williams on April 6, 2009.
DeFazio said his father, Pfc. Joseph DeFazio, was a World War II Army veteran, who, like Horner, was on full pension from the Army because of post-traumatic stress. DeFazio, 57, grew up with PTSD in his household. He said his father had many of the same symptoms as Horner: He didn't like crowds; he kept to himself; he never talked about the invasion of Normandy or his Bronze Star or his Purple Heart. read more here
Truth about veteran's service forces memorial change
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
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
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
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