Disabled veterans hit the slopes at winter sports clinic

Disabled veterans hit the slopes at winter sports clinic

John Moore / Getty Images Blind military veterans snowshoe up the mountainside with the help of instructors on March 28, 2012 in Snowmass Village, Colorado.

More than 350 U.S. military veterans are taking part in the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic held between March 25-30 in Snowmass Village, Colorado. The cliinic is co-sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Disabled American Veterans. It teaches winter sports with the aim to motivate veterans with traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, orthopedic amputations, visual impairments, and neurological problems to heal both mentally and physically. read more here

Fire Department response to trauma should be lesson to military

Whenever you read about a traumatic event, the back story is there are people rushing out afterwards to take care of the responders.

 In 2008 I spent most of the year training with crisis teams. Some of teams were training to take care of survivors but most were focused on the responders. If civilians can understand the necessity of taking care of the people putting their lives on the line, then the military should have learned this a long time ago.

Missoula Firefighters Work To Prevent PTSD, After Fire Kills 11-Year-Old MISSOULA COUNTY By Alissa Irei March 30, 2012

Within 48 hours of a high-stress call, Missoula firefighters participate in two mandatory group therapy debriefings.

MISSOULA, Mont. -- It's been two weeks since an 11-year-old boy died in an early morning house fire in West Missoula. It was a tragedy for a family, a community and a fire department. "Most of us are husbands and fathers, and we can identify with that situation and the feelings and emotions that are involved in that," Missoula Fire Department EMS Coordinator Ben Webb said. "People think sometimes that we're superhuman or we're robots and we don't have feelings, but we have feelings and emotions when we deal with a tragic incident like that." Not all firefighters are willing to admit that, says Jeff Dill, an Illinois battalion chief who founded Counseling Services for Fire Fighters and Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance. read more here

No evidence Bales was drinking says lawyer

Afghan suspect attorney: 'Government hiding evidence'
(2:02) Mar. 31, 2012
The attorney for the U.S. soldier accused of killing 17 Afghan civilians says the government is "hiding evidence" and not giving his defense team the cooperation they were promised. (The Associated Press)

Judge Awards $44 Million for '83 Beirut Attack

Judge Awards $44 Million for '83 Beirut Attack
March 29, 2012

Associated Press
by Frederic J. Frommer

WASHINGTON - A federal judge has awarded $44.6 million from Iran to victims of the 1983 suicide truck-bombing attack on U.S. Marines in Beirut. But the money will be difficult to collect. U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth awarded the money Wednesday to two servicemen who were injured, Jeffery Paul O'Brien and Daniel Lane Gaffney, and their family members. The lawsuit claimed that Iran was involved in the attack, which killed 241 servicemen. read more here

Too many disabled soldiers on hold puts Army at risk

Disabled Soldier Backlog Puts Army at Risk
 March 26, 2012
Military.com
by Michael Hoffman

The backlog of soldiers too injured to serve is growing so large that it could affect the Army’s ability to go to war. Army leaders plan to reduce the size of the service by 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers each year over the next decade, but that’s not counting the 20,500 troops Army doctors have declared unable to serve.

Budget cuts, combined with the end of the Iraq war and drawdown in Afghanistan, have forced the Army to cut end strength by 80,000 soldiers.

The 20,500 soldiers tabbed to leave the service because of disabilities, however, still remain on the books.

The backlog is caused by failures in a system built to transition those soldiers out. Quite simply, Army doctors classify more soldiers as too injured to serve than the system can separate each year. The number of soldiers in the Integrated Disability Evaluation System has grown by 42 percent just this past year.

It’s grown from 11,900 soldiers to 20,500 soldiers since 2009. Army medical leaders expect that number to continue to rise. The Defense Department adopted the IDES -- and it will apply each one of the services -- but the Army is in most dire straits. Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, the Army’s top manpower officer, described the system to Congress as “fundamentally flawed,” saying, “The biggest area that we need help is in the disability evaluation system.” read more here

Vietnam vets to be officially welcomed home Saturday

Vietnam vets to be officially welcomed home Saturday
Updated: Mar 30, 2012 6:18 PM EDT
By Steve Crump, Reporter
HARRISBURG, NC (WBTV) - Thousands of eyes will be focused on the big infield stage at Charlotte Motor Speedway, for this weekend's Vietnam Veteran's Homecoming Celebration. However, expect moving moments to be delivered by etched words in small print.

On hand will be a replica of the Vietnam War Memorial that's found in our nation's capitol. It has the names of more than 58 thousand veterans who lost their lives in that conflict, but these days there's a different kind of pain.

Vietnam era veteran Keith Arbuckle is part of the Patriot Guard Riders that travels with the exhibit, and is grateful for the overdue greetings of gratitude. "Knowing so many Vietnam veterans to see what they go through, and they have a lot of pain, "he said. "So much anger that's been bottled up. They've had to go through this for 30 something years. "It's never too late." read more here
Vietnam veterans to be officially welcomed home Saturday 3:21

Gulf Coast Vietnam Veterans Salute

Gulf Coast Vietnam Veterans Salute
 Published : Saturday, 31 Mar 2012

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The public is invited to participate in the Gulf Coast Vietnam Veterans Salute honoring Vietnam & Vietnam Era Veterans who live along the Gulf Coast. The community celebration provides a unique opportunity for community groups, faith-based groups, and local businesses to express their respect and appreciation for Vietnam Veterans.

The event offers many ways for Vietnam Veterans to enjoy connecting with their fellow Veterans. Civilians are encouraged to participate by lining Government Street in downtown Mobile to cheer for the Rolling Thunder Honor Ride Parade. After the Honor Ride Parade, the community is invited to join the Vietnam Veterans and their families for the opening ceremony and special activities at Battleship Memorial Park. The celebration, which is free, will be held in the area just outside the museum. read more here

Ron Paul supporter Army Reserve soldier reprimanded

Reserve reprimands cpl. who spoke at Paul rally
By Ryan J. Foley -
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Mar 30, 2012

IOWA CITY, Iowa — A soldier who went on national television in his military fatigues to endorse Ron Paul’s presidential campaign after the Iowa caucuses has been reprimanded but not dismissed from the Army Reserve, a spokeswoman said Friday. The Army determined that Jesse D. Thorsen violated policies that bar soldiers from participating in political events in their official capacities or while in uniform. Experts say a reprimand may become a problem if Thorsen seeks a promotion or could be used to justify more serious punishment if he gets in trouble again. read more here

Air Force mortician pays price for whistleblowing

Air Force mortician pays price for whistleblowing
March 30, 2012
 By David Martin (CBS News)
MAGNOLIA, Del. - On Friday, the military released documents that explain how incinerated partial remains of 9/11 victims went into a landfill. Some officers from the Dover Air Force Base mortuary wanted a burial at sea overseen by a chaplain, but instead the remains were declared medical waste. The Dover mortuary has also been accused of mishandling the remains of fallen troops. One man tried to stop it, but he paid a price. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin has his story. It is a grim and solemn sight: flag-draped caskets coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. But unseen is an even grimmer fact: Many of the bodies inside those caskets have been blown to pieces. read more here Air Force campaign of retaliation

Sgt. Ryan Sotelo Honored For Bravery During Afghanistan Battle with Silver Star

Camp Pendleton Marine Awarded Silver Star
 Sgt. Ryan Sotelo Honored For Bravery During Afghanistan Battle
March 30, 2012
 SAN DIEGO -- A Camp Pendleton Marine was honored Friday wit h the country's third-highest combat award for his heroic actions while deployed in Afghanistan. Sgt. Ryan Sotelo became the latest Camp Pendleton Marine to be decorated for bravery in battle when he was awarded the Silver Star in a ceremony in the San Mateo section of the base.

On Thanksgiving Day 2010, Sotelo's squad left their forward operating base in the Sangin district of southern Afghanistan to hunt for a Taliban commander. The squad came under intense enemy fire, which killed the officer in charge, 1st. Lt. William Donnelly. The citation read, in part: "Sprinting into the open under enemy fire, Sotelo went to retrieve his fallen commander who was in the open." read more here

MOH Sgt. 1st Class Leroy A. Petry " Troops Can Draw Strength From Each Other"

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

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

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

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 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

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.

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

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

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

(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