Monday, April 2, 2012
Camp Lejeune Marines hurt after motorcycle crash
Camp Lejeune marine hospitalized after motorcycle crash with fellow marine
By: ANDREA BLANFORD
Eyewitness News 9
Published: April 01, 2012
JONES COUNTY,N.C. (WNCT) - A Camp Lejeune marine is recovering in the hospital this afternoon after his motorcycle collided with another marine's bike.
Highway Patrol troopers tell us it happened just before 2-o'clock Sunday afternoon on Pole Pocosin Road in Jones County.
read more here
Former Airman Sues US After Losing Legs to Botched Surgery
Former Airman Sues US After Losing Legs to Botched Surgery
April 02, 2012
Fort Worth Star-Telegram|by Chris Vaughn
FORT WORTH -- Retired Airman Colton Read and his wife sued the U.S. government for millions of dollars in federal court Friday, asserting that military surgeons botched a routine gallbladder procedure so badly that civilian doctors had to amputate his legs to save his life.
The 25-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth by attorney Darrell Keith, paints a graphic picture of what went terribly awry in the operating room and intensive-care unit at David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., on July 9, 2009.
Read was supposed to have his gallbladder removed before deploying overseas. Read, 23, an Arlington native, barely survived the laparoscopic surgery because one of the doctors lacerated his aorta at the beginning of the procedure. That set off a series of decisions that the lawsuit alleges were grossly negligent and delayed remedial action until Keith was transferred to a civilian hospital nine hours later. By then, his legs had been without blood flow for hours and had to be amputated. Read, medically retired by the Air Force just days ago, now lives in New Braunfels with his wife, Jessica, and their baby. read more here
April 02, 2012
Fort Worth Star-Telegram|by Chris Vaughn
FORT WORTH -- Retired Airman Colton Read and his wife sued the U.S. government for millions of dollars in federal court Friday, asserting that military surgeons botched a routine gallbladder procedure so badly that civilian doctors had to amputate his legs to save his life.
The 25-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth by attorney Darrell Keith, paints a graphic picture of what went terribly awry in the operating room and intensive-care unit at David Grant Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., on July 9, 2009.
Read was supposed to have his gallbladder removed before deploying overseas. Read, 23, an Arlington native, barely survived the laparoscopic surgery because one of the doctors lacerated his aorta at the beginning of the procedure. That set off a series of decisions that the lawsuit alleges were grossly negligent and delayed remedial action until Keith was transferred to a civilian hospital nine hours later. By then, his legs had been without blood flow for hours and had to be amputated. Read, medically retired by the Air Force just days ago, now lives in New Braunfels with his wife, Jessica, and their baby. read more here
Air Force Reserve Staff Sgt. Actress Veronica Simpson, turns personal PTSD story into film
Actress turns personal PTSD story into film
By HOWARD ALTMAN
The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 02, 2012
When she is not wearing her uniform, Air Force Reserve staff Sgt. Veronica Simpson can often be found during her off hours acting in front of a camera.
Most of the time, Simpson, currently a chaplain's assistant at MacDill Air Force Base, is playing a made-up character.
She was a waitress in "Burn Notice,'' a medical technician on "The Glades'' and, in "Charlie's Angels,'' she played an assassin.
But in November, while shooting a movie called "All Wars End,'' Simpson played a role that was all too real – the wife of a Marine with post traumatic stress disorder. It was a role, she said, that changed her life. That's because, in real life, Simpson, 32, is the wife of a former Marine with PTSD. One scene in particular, she said, led to an epiphany. Shot in an apartment in Miami, the scene involved Simpson's character arguing with her husband. "From that one little scene I got a glimpse of my own life," Simpson said. read more here
By HOWARD ALTMAN
The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 02, 2012
But in November, while shooting a movie called "All Wars End,'' Simpson played a role that was all too real – the wife of a Marine with post traumatic stress disorder. It was a role, she said, that changed her life. That's because, in real life, Simpson, 32, is the wife of a former Marine with PTSD. One scene in particular, she said, led to an epiphany. Shot in an apartment in Miami, the scene involved Simpson's character arguing with her husband. "From that one little scene I got a glimpse of my own life," Simpson said. read more here
Marine shot, killed by friend
Marine shot, killed by friend
Posted on 04/02/2012
by Robert Kolarik
A 24-year-old U.S. Marine was shot and killed by a man San Antonio police identified as his friend, KSAT-TV is reporting. Two men and a woman were in an apartment in the 3300 block of Timber View on Sunday evening when one of the men apparently was playing with a 12-gauge shotgun and it was fired, the station reports. read more here
Posted on 04/02/2012
by Robert Kolarik
A 24-year-old U.S. Marine was shot and killed by a man San Antonio police identified as his friend, KSAT-TV is reporting. Two men and a woman were in an apartment in the 3300 block of Timber View on Sunday evening when one of the men apparently was playing with a 12-gauge shotgun and it was fired, the station reports. read more here
Veterans: Westover planes fouled with Agent Orange
Veterans: Westover planes fouled with Agent Orange
Published: Sunday, April 01, 2012
By Jeanette DeForge, The Republican
Through word-of-mouth the group has compiled a list of 48 people who have diseases possibly linked to Agent Orange. red more here
Published: Sunday, April 01, 2012
By Jeanette DeForge, The Republican
The Republican | John Suchocki CHICOPEE – Vietnam veteran Robert P. Patenaude with the Agent Orange spray plane he and others crewed during the war. The C 123 transport named "Patches" because of all the bullet holes it received is now in a container that can only be accessed with hazmat suits, according to Patenaude, who receives disability payments because of Agent Orange.CHICOPEE — For nine years they flew in them, they fixed them and they treated patients in them. Now, three decades later, veterans of the 439th Tactical Airlift Wing at Westover Air Reserve Base believe those airplanes are responsible for making them sick. Unknown to the veterans, the C-123 Providers, which had previously flown in Vietnam, were contaminated with Agent Orange. “We have crew members who are sick. We have crew members who have died ... We have people who aren’t even sick yet,” said retired Air Force Major Wesley T. Carter, who served as an air medical technician and flight instructor and examiner with Westover’s 74th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron for 20 years and flew in the C-123s from 1974 to 1980. While recovering from a heart attack last April, Carter was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Then he started hearing fellow crew members were also suffering from cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
Through word-of-mouth the group has compiled a list of 48 people who have diseases possibly linked to Agent Orange. red more here
Hero soldier's story not fully acknowledged
Hero soldier's story not fully acknowledged
Bravery, sacrifice by U.S. troops in Afghanistan called shining examples
New York Times Published
Saturday, March 31, 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan — The story of Specialist Dennis Weichel could easily be a counterpoint to the gruesome account of the U.S. soldier charged with 17 counts of murder in Kandahar on March 11. Weichel, who was 29, was killed while rescuing an Afghan child, but more than a week after that event the military here has yet to officially confirm what happened. Indeed, the initial details of the episode in northeastern Laghman province came not from military officials but from Afghan civilians and then fellow soldiers and friends in the United States.
Bravery, sacrifice by U.S. troops in Afghanistan called shining examples
New York Times Published
Saturday, March 31, 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan — The story of Specialist Dennis Weichel could easily be a counterpoint to the gruesome account of the U.S. soldier charged with 17 counts of murder in Kandahar on March 11. Weichel, who was 29, was killed while rescuing an Afghan child, but more than a week after that event the military here has yet to officially confirm what happened. Indeed, the initial details of the episode in northeastern Laghman province came not from military officials but from Afghan civilians and then fellow soldiers and friends in the United States.
Matiullah Khan, a vegetable seller and Zaiullah's uncle, said, "As you know, all five fingers on one hand are not equal, and it's the same with American soldiers." "What that soldier did in Kandahar was such a brutal act, no human could do what he did," he said, referring to the accusations against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales in the Kandahar killings. "This soldier, he looked at my nephew as a human being and endangered his life to save my nephew's life."
In a different mission of mercy, three days after the killings of which Bales is accused, medics at a combat outpost in southeastern Paktika province raced to save the life of Mateen, an 8-year-old boy wounded when his Taliban father's homemade bomb exploded. The emergency mission involved two medevac helicopter flights and medical treatment at three military aid stations and hospitals. The boy survived despite losing his eyes and suffering other injuries. With skin grafts and prosthetic eyes, doctors repaired as much of his face as they could. The military finally announced what had happened last week, once the boy had been returned to his family. read more here
Suffolk program supports vets with PTSD
Suffolk program supports vets with PTSD
April 1, 2012
By PAUL LAROCCO
Still, there were few people the Long Island natives could actually talk to -- few fellow war-scarred service members able to break through. Both died from accidental drug overdoses, and Sunday, their loved ones gathered at a Sayville American Legion post to back a new program creating support groups for veterans with PTSD.
"Hopefully people won't have to go through what Joe did," said Brian Dwyer, whose brother, originally of Mount Sinai, died in North Carolina in 2008. "The whole system has just been overwhelmed." As part of the state budget approved last week, Suffolk is one of four counties getting $200,000 to set up the Pfc. Joseph Dwyer Program, in which eight to 10 veterans diagnosed with PTSD or traumatic brain injury -- under a professional's supervision -- will help each other cope.
The idea for the program grew out of a series of meetings of the John P. Jennings Veterans' Advisory Panel, convened last year by Sen. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), an Iraq War veteran. Jennings, 34, an Army National Guard lieutenant, returned from Iraq in 2005 and died at his Calverton home in January 2011. read more here
April 1, 2012
By PAUL LAROCCO
Photo credit: John Roca State Senator Lee M. Zeldin announcing the creation of the PFC Joseph Dwyer Program. (April 1, 2012)As they battled post-traumatic stress disorder, Army veterans Joseph Dwyer and John Jennings had plenty of concerned family and friends.
Still, there were few people the Long Island natives could actually talk to -- few fellow war-scarred service members able to break through. Both died from accidental drug overdoses, and Sunday, their loved ones gathered at a Sayville American Legion post to back a new program creating support groups for veterans with PTSD.
"Hopefully people won't have to go through what Joe did," said Brian Dwyer, whose brother, originally of Mount Sinai, died in North Carolina in 2008. "The whole system has just been overwhelmed." As part of the state budget approved last week, Suffolk is one of four counties getting $200,000 to set up the Pfc. Joseph Dwyer Program, in which eight to 10 veterans diagnosed with PTSD or traumatic brain injury -- under a professional's supervision -- will help each other cope.
The idea for the program grew out of a series of meetings of the John P. Jennings Veterans' Advisory Panel, convened last year by Sen. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley), an Iraq War veteran. Jennings, 34, an Army National Guard lieutenant, returned from Iraq in 2005 and died at his Calverton home in January 2011. read more here
Vets say declaring national monument could help vets with PTSD
Vets say declaring national monument could help vets with PTSD
April 1, 2012
By Samantha Manning
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Veterans said declaring the Organ Mountain-Desert Peaks region a national monument could help vets coping with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to the Unites States Department of Veterans Affairs, between seven and eight percent of people are estimated to have experienced PTSD in their lives, and the chances are among the greatest in veterans.
Some veterans said that a key method of dealing with the condition once they're back home is to spend time in the great outdoors. "It's very important to me to be able to decompress a little bit," Vietnam veteran Peter Ossorio said. Ossorio's daughter is an Iraq war veteran. read more here
April 1, 2012
By Samantha Manning
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Veterans said declaring the Organ Mountain-Desert Peaks region a national monument could help vets coping with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to the Unites States Department of Veterans Affairs, between seven and eight percent of people are estimated to have experienced PTSD in their lives, and the chances are among the greatest in veterans.
Some veterans said that a key method of dealing with the condition once they're back home is to spend time in the great outdoors. "It's very important to me to be able to decompress a little bit," Vietnam veteran Peter Ossorio said. Ossorio's daughter is an Iraq war veteran. read more here
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Tricare web base mental health program shutting down
Tricare to close online mental health program
By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Mar 31, 2012
The Tricare Assistance Program for behavioral health counseling is being shut down due to lack of use, Tricare officials said Friday. The $3 million demonstration program, launched in August 2009, was designed to test use of Web-based video conferencing for mental health counseling.
The instant messaging and Web-based chat program facilitated communications with patients and counselors on non-medical concerns ranging from deployment anxiety and work stress to family and relationship issues. The program logged 5,109 calls during a two-year period, with 89 percent coming from the Tricare West region, according to Tricare spokesman Austin Camacho. Only 1,188 were initial calls, while the rest were follow-ups, he added. read more here
By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Mar 31, 2012
The Tricare Assistance Program for behavioral health counseling is being shut down due to lack of use, Tricare officials said Friday. The $3 million demonstration program, launched in August 2009, was designed to test use of Web-based video conferencing for mental health counseling.
The instant messaging and Web-based chat program facilitated communications with patients and counselors on non-medical concerns ranging from deployment anxiety and work stress to family and relationship issues. The program logged 5,109 calls during a two-year period, with 89 percent coming from the Tricare West region, according to Tricare spokesman Austin Camacho. Only 1,188 were initial calls, while the rest were follow-ups, he added. read more here
Atheism-themed concert held at Fort Bragg
Atheism-themed concert held at Bragg
By Tom Breen -
The Associated Press Posted :
Sunday Apr 1, 2012
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — For the first time in history, the U.S. military hosted an event expressly for soldiers and others who don’t believe in God, with a county fair-like gathering Saturday on the main parade ground at one of the world’s largest Army posts. The Rock Beyond Belief event at Fort Bragg, organized by soldiers here two years after an evangelical Christian event at the eastern North Carolina post, is the most visible sign so far of a growing desire by military personnel with atheist or other secular beliefs to get the same recognition as their religious counterparts.
The purpose was not to make the Army look bad, organizers said, but to show that atheists and other secular believers have a place in institutions like the military. “I love the military,” said Sgt. Justin Griffith, main organizer of the event and the military director of American Atheists. He added, “This is not meant to be a black eye.” Griffith said he and other non-religious soldiers are not permitted to hold atheist meetings at the post and have so far been rebuffed in their efforts to change that. They feel their beliefs marginalize them.
Organizers were hoping for a crowd of about 5,000. At least several hundred people gathered on the parade ground by midday Saturday. Rainy weather for most of the morning may have affected the turnout. Fort Bragg officials said they would provide a crowd estimate later. read more here
By Tom Breen -
The Associated Press Posted :
Sunday Apr 1, 2012
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — For the first time in history, the U.S. military hosted an event expressly for soldiers and others who don’t believe in God, with a county fair-like gathering Saturday on the main parade ground at one of the world’s largest Army posts. The Rock Beyond Belief event at Fort Bragg, organized by soldiers here two years after an evangelical Christian event at the eastern North Carolina post, is the most visible sign so far of a growing desire by military personnel with atheist or other secular beliefs to get the same recognition as their religious counterparts.
The purpose was not to make the Army look bad, organizers said, but to show that atheists and other secular believers have a place in institutions like the military. “I love the military,” said Sgt. Justin Griffith, main organizer of the event and the military director of American Atheists. He added, “This is not meant to be a black eye.” Griffith said he and other non-religious soldiers are not permitted to hold atheist meetings at the post and have so far been rebuffed in their efforts to change that. They feel their beliefs marginalize them.
Organizers were hoping for a crowd of about 5,000. At least several hundred people gathered on the parade ground by midday Saturday. Rainy weather for most of the morning may have affected the turnout. Fort Bragg officials said they would provide a crowd estimate later. read more here
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