Homeless Vallejo woman found dead, along with her dog
By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen,
Vallejo Times-Herald
Posted:04/25/2012
Some of the people who gave her food periodically offered Johanna Dilag and her dog Muggles a quiet send-off Tuesday after the two were found dead in their tent in a wooded area behind a Vallejo car dealership on Sunday.
"We held a little memorial for her," said Maria Guevara, founder of Vallejo Together who was familiar with Dilag and Muggles through the agency's Care to Share arm that feeds the homeless.
"We said a prayer and read The Rainbow Bridge -- a poem about deceased pets reuniting with their owners -- for the dog, and we had a moment of silence for her as a soul living on the planet; someone we cared for."
Fairfield native Mike Wagner, 35, a former waiter and carpenter who's been homeless in Vallejo about eight years, said he's known Dilag for several months. He and several others discovered the 37-year-old woman and her dog dead after not having seen the pair for about two days, he said.
"She lived by us," he said. "She liked to be left alone."
Wagner describes Muggles as a 4- or 5-year-old, short-legged, medium-sized orange and white animal of unknown breed.
Vallejo Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jeff Bassett confirmed Dilag's death and said there were no signs of foul play or suicide at the scene, though the matter is under investigation by the Solano County Coroner's Office.
read more here
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Members of mortuary affairs have some of the highest percentages of PTSD
HOME FROM WAR: One of the toughest military jobs
April 25, 2012
by Scott Wise and Greg McQuade
RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – She is just 20 years old, but Specialist Jennifer Martinez can say her job is one of the most challenging in the armed forces. Martinez just returned to Virginia after serving her second tour in battle. During her six month deployment, Martinez missed a great deal while serving overseas.
“This deployment was in Afghanistan and my first one was Iraq,” she said. “I just got back maybe two weeks ago. I missed food! Food! Driving my car things like that.”
Jennifer is exhaling at Fort Lee after spending a long six months in a war zone. Her five foot one frame had many questioning her ability in a theatre of war.
“Because I’m so short and small they say oh you can lift that.. ‘Yes I can lift that,’” she said.
As a member of the 54th Quartermaster Company, this 20-year-old soldier was tasked with one of the toughest jobs in the military.
“We have infantry people come in special forces come in and say I couldn’t do the job you’re doing. I guess it takes a special person. We basically process the soldiers so they can come home to their families with respect and honor,” she explained.
Not just process any soldier, but those who gave their lives serving their country.
read more here
April 25, 2012
by Scott Wise and Greg McQuade
EDITOR’S NOTE: CBS 6 reporter Greg McQuade is telling the stories of veterans who have returned to Central Virginia after serving their country in Iraq or Afghanistan. Look for Greg’s reports each Wednesday on the CBS 6 News at 11 or click here to view them on WTVR.com. If you know a veteran whose story Greg should tell, let Greg know on his Facebook page.
RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – She is just 20 years old, but Specialist Jennifer Martinez can say her job is one of the most challenging in the armed forces. Martinez just returned to Virginia after serving her second tour in battle. During her six month deployment, Martinez missed a great deal while serving overseas.
Members of mortuary affairs have some of the highest percentages of PTSD in the military. Jennifer said she has the right mental and physical makeup for a most difficult mission.
“This deployment was in Afghanistan and my first one was Iraq,” she said. “I just got back maybe two weeks ago. I missed food! Food! Driving my car things like that.”
Jennifer is exhaling at Fort Lee after spending a long six months in a war zone. Her five foot one frame had many questioning her ability in a theatre of war.
“Because I’m so short and small they say oh you can lift that.. ‘Yes I can lift that,’” she said.
As a member of the 54th Quartermaster Company, this 20-year-old soldier was tasked with one of the toughest jobs in the military.
“We have infantry people come in special forces come in and say I couldn’t do the job you’re doing. I guess it takes a special person. We basically process the soldiers so they can come home to their families with respect and honor,” she explained.
Not just process any soldier, but those who gave their lives serving their country.
read more here
Castle's Jon Huertas Talks PTSD at the 16th Annual PRISM Awards
Castle's Jon Huertas Talks PTSD at the 16th Annual PRISM Awards
(VIDEO)
April 23, 2012
by Wetpaint Entertainment Staff
Castle star and military veteran Jon Huertas opened up about the importance of raising awareness for post-traumatic stress disorder at 16th Annual PRISM Awards on April 19, 2012. He and fellow Castle co-star Stana Katic were honored with the award for Performance in a Drama for tackling PTSD in Season 4, Episode 9: "Kill Shot."
(VIDEO)
April 23, 2012
by Wetpaint Entertainment Staff
Castle star and military veteran Jon Huertas opened up about the importance of raising awareness for post-traumatic stress disorder at 16th Annual PRISM Awards on April 19, 2012. He and fellow Castle co-star Stana Katic were honored with the award for Performance in a Drama for tackling PTSD in Season 4, Episode 9: "Kill Shot."
Another veteran discovers VA ID card not good enough to vote
Wisconsin veteran ‘pissed off’ that he couldn’t vote with Veteran ID card
By Eric W. Dolan
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Gil Paar, a veteran living in Racine, Wisconsin, said he upset to learn on election day that he couldn’t use his Veteran Identification Card to vote.
In a video produced by the United Steelworkers, Paar explained that when he tried to vote in a school board election, he was told that his Veteran ID card was not an acceptable form of identification.
“I can use it anywhere in the United States at a V.A. hospital,” he said. “It is good enough for everything else, but it amazes me that it is not good enough to use as identification to vote. It pissed me off.”
read more here
By Eric W. Dolan
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Gil Paar, a veteran living in Racine, Wisconsin, said he upset to learn on election day that he couldn’t use his Veteran Identification Card to vote.
In a video produced by the United Steelworkers, Paar explained that when he tried to vote in a school board election, he was told that his Veteran ID card was not an acceptable form of identification.
“I can use it anywhere in the United States at a V.A. hospital,” he said. “It is good enough for everything else, but it amazes me that it is not good enough to use as identification to vote. It pissed me off.”
read more here
Iraq vet battling PTSD pedals his way to recovery
Iraq vet battling PTSD pedals his way to recovery
By Matthew Hansen
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
April 26, 2012
Marine Sgt. David Wright of Omaha will climb on his mountain bike today in northern Texas, take a couple of deep breaths to calm his nerves, and begin to pedal through the second-largest canyon in the United States.
He'll be pedaling away from a past of daily roadside bombs in Fallujah and then the daily drinking binges to numb the panic attacks and the flashbacks.
He'll be pedaling alongside former President George W. Bush, who was Wright's commander in chief during two tours of duty in Iraq. Wright is one of 20 Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans picked to participate in the second-ever Warrior 100K, Bush's three-day, 100-kilometer ride through the picturesque Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo.
The ride is meant to honor those injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. It serves as one of the former president's most public events — Bush has remained generally out of the public eye since ending his second term in office.
For the 32-year-old Wright, the ride through the largest U.S. canyon not named the Grand Canyon serves as another milestone in his recovery from a traumatic brain injury and PTSD.
By Matthew Hansen
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
April 26, 2012
Marine Sgt. David Wright of Omaha will climb on his mountain bike today in northern Texas, take a couple of deep breaths to calm his nerves, and begin to pedal through the second-largest canyon in the United States.
He'll be pedaling away from a past of daily roadside bombs in Fallujah and then the daily drinking binges to numb the panic attacks and the flashbacks.
He'll be pedaling alongside former President George W. Bush, who was Wright's commander in chief during two tours of duty in Iraq. Wright is one of 20 Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans picked to participate in the second-ever Warrior 100K, Bush's three-day, 100-kilometer ride through the picturesque Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo.
The ride is meant to honor those injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. It serves as one of the former president's most public events — Bush has remained generally out of the public eye since ending his second term in office.
For the 32-year-old Wright, the ride through the largest U.S. canyon not named the Grand Canyon serves as another milestone in his recovery from a traumatic brain injury and PTSD.
That recovery had been slowed by misdiagnoses and his long-held belief that Marines don't ask for assistance, Wright said before leaving for Texas.read more here
Manager at VA said "we don't want to know or we'll have to treat it"
Wednesday's hearing before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs followed the release of an inspector general's report Monday that found the VA has greatly overstated how quickly it provides mental-health care for veterans.
By Steve Vogel
The Washington Post
One manager directed the staff to focus only on the immediate reason for an appointment and not to ask the veteran about any other problems because "we don't want to know or we'll have to treat it," according to Tolentino.
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs' mental-health-care system suffers from a culture where managers give more importance to meeting meaningless performance goals than helping veterans, according to testimony before a Senate committee Wednesday.
The hearing before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs followed the release of an inspector general's report Monday that found the VA has greatly overstated how quickly it provides mental-health care for veterans.
"They need a culture change," Linda Halliday, the VA's assistant inspector general for audits and evaluations, told the committee.
"They need to hold facility directors accountable for integrity of the data."
VA practices "greatly distorted" the waiting time for appointments, Halliday said, enabling the department to claim that 95 percent of first-time patients received an evaluation within 14 days when, in reality, fewer than half were seen in that time.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chairman of the committee, said the findings show a "rampant gaming of the system."
Nicholas Tolentino, a former mental-health administrative officer at the VA Medical Center in Manchester, N.H., told the committee that managers pressed the staff to see as many veterans as possible while providing the most minimal services possible.
read more here
'Take the warrior mask off...get help' for PTSD
Latino soldier to fellow troops:
'Take the warrior mask off...get help'
April 25th, 2012
By Sonya Hamasaki,
CNN Los Angeles
(CNN) - When Army Master Sergeant Mike Martinez arrived in Saudi Arabia for his first assignment 22 years ago, he knew his experience in the infantry would make him “real tough, tough like nails.” But little did he know back then just how much those words would resonate now, in his new role as a voice for the invisible wounds of war.
Martinez, 42, shared his story in the USO’s first Invisible Wounds public service announcement to address post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries - the masked wounds encountered by many of the 300,000 troops returning home. He’s on a mission to educate Latino troops, in particular, whom he says are likely to feel a cultural stigma surrounding mental health treatment.
“I tell my Hispanic brothers that are still serving, don’t let pride get in the way," Martinez said. "Pride’s going to kill you. Take that warrior mask off and if you need to, get help. Get it in the beginning stages, and not later.”
Even veterans seeking help might not be getting a quick response from those who would care for them, according to an report released by the U.S. Office of Veterans Affairs this week. While the number of former service members seeking mental health care increased by 39% from 2005 to 2010, according to the Veterans Health Administration, the agency hasn't been meetings its goals to evaluate them within 24 hours and begin treatment within two weeks.
read more here
'Take the warrior mask off...get help'
April 25th, 2012
Editor's note: Overseas, they fight for freedom. In America, they fight for jobs. “Voters In America: Vets Wanted?” is the first part of CNN In America's documentary series on American voters. J.R. Martinez narrates the documentary airing at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET May 13 on CNN.
By Sonya Hamasaki,
CNN Los Angeles
(CNN) - When Army Master Sergeant Mike Martinez arrived in Saudi Arabia for his first assignment 22 years ago, he knew his experience in the infantry would make him “real tough, tough like nails.” But little did he know back then just how much those words would resonate now, in his new role as a voice for the invisible wounds of war.
Martinez, 42, shared his story in the USO’s first Invisible Wounds public service announcement to address post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries - the masked wounds encountered by many of the 300,000 troops returning home. He’s on a mission to educate Latino troops, in particular, whom he says are likely to feel a cultural stigma surrounding mental health treatment.
“I tell my Hispanic brothers that are still serving, don’t let pride get in the way," Martinez said. "Pride’s going to kill you. Take that warrior mask off and if you need to, get help. Get it in the beginning stages, and not later.”
Even veterans seeking help might not be getting a quick response from those who would care for them, according to an report released by the U.S. Office of Veterans Affairs this week. While the number of former service members seeking mental health care increased by 39% from 2005 to 2010, according to the Veterans Health Administration, the agency hasn't been meetings its goals to evaluate them within 24 hours and begin treatment within two weeks.
read more here
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Soldier killed, five others injured in autobahn accident near Bamberg
Soldier killed, five others injured in autobahn accident near Bamberg
By MARCUS KLÖCKNER AND JENNIFER H. SVAN
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 25, 2012
A U.S. Army Humvee lies in shambles after it was struck by a civilian truck on the autobahn near Bamberg, Germany, on Tuesday. A U.S. soldier was killed and five others were injured. The truck driver, from Nuremberg, was slightly injured. Courtesy of Ronald Rinklef
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — One U.S. soldier was killed and five others were injured when a large truck slammed into the rear of their slow-moving military convoy Tuesday afternoon on the autobahn south of Bamberg, German police and U.S. Army officials said.
The soldiers were part of the same company within the 21st Theater Sustainment Command and are stationed in the Schweinfurt area, said Army Capt. Gregory Jones, a spokesman for the 21st TSC in Kaiserslautern.
Two of the soldiers received life-threatening injuries, one was seriously injured and two were slightly injured, according to German police. The truck driver had minor injuries, German police said.
read more here
By MARCUS KLÖCKNER AND JENNIFER H. SVAN
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 25, 2012
A U.S. Army Humvee lies in shambles after it was struck by a civilian truck on the autobahn near Bamberg, Germany, on Tuesday. A U.S. soldier was killed and five others were injured. The truck driver, from Nuremberg, was slightly injured. Courtesy of Ronald Rinklef
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — One U.S. soldier was killed and five others were injured when a large truck slammed into the rear of their slow-moving military convoy Tuesday afternoon on the autobahn south of Bamberg, German police and U.S. Army officials said.
The soldiers were part of the same company within the 21st Theater Sustainment Command and are stationed in the Schweinfurt area, said Army Capt. Gregory Jones, a spokesman for the 21st TSC in Kaiserslautern.
Two of the soldiers received life-threatening injuries, one was seriously injured and two were slightly injured, according to German police. The truck driver had minor injuries, German police said.
read more here
Grade-schoolers in trouble for wearing wounded warrior tees
This came from one of my friends on Facebook.
Grade-schoolers in trouble for wearing wounded warrior tees
by Mayra Moreno /
KENS 5
Posted on April 23, 2012 at 6:26 PM
CONVERSE, Texas - They thought it would be a harmless gesture to wear a t-shirt in support of their father who is a wounded warrior. But two elementary school girls got in trouble for it.
According to the Judson ISD spokesperson, the girls got in trouble for breaking the dress code before, but this time, their mom said, they were just supporting their father.
First grade student, Savannah and fourth grade student, Taylor, were raised in an Army family.
"I'm paralyzed. I have a TBI," said Army Spc. Justin Perez-Gorda.
The girls' father was injured by a road-side bomb in Afghanistan. The family moved to San Antonio not long after Perez-Gorda was injured in 2011.
"This organization may build us a home that is safe for my husband to be safe in," said Josie Perez-Gorda.
Last week, the family learned they could soon get help from a non-profit organization. They received t-shirts with their logo on Thursday, so on Friday the two girls wore the shirts to school in support of their father. They got in trouble with their principal at Masters Elementary.
"We do have a standardized dress code," said Judson ISD spokesperson, Aubrey Chancellor. "We certainly support the military, but we do have to be consistent across the board when it comes to following the dress code."
Mom and dad are upset and wondering why the school allows students to wear t-shirts with college logos but not one with an organization that supports wounded warriors like their father.
"These guys are fighting for our country and they should be able to wear something that honors their parents, especially if they are wounded," said the girls' mother.
The district spokesperson said if a parent feels the dress code needs to be changed they are always welcome to attend board meetings to address their concerns.
The Judson Independent School District dess code requiremenst for grades pre-k to 8th are as follows: Polo-style shirts (any color - solid or stripes), t-shirt with college or JISD campus spirit logo.
send letters to:
Judson ISD
8012 Shin Oak Drive
Live Oak TX 78233
210-945-5100 Receptionist
Grade-schoolers in trouble for wearing wounded warrior tees
by Mayra Moreno /
KENS 5
Posted on April 23, 2012 at 6:26 PM
CONVERSE, Texas - They thought it would be a harmless gesture to wear a t-shirt in support of their father who is a wounded warrior. But two elementary school girls got in trouble for it.
According to the Judson ISD spokesperson, the girls got in trouble for breaking the dress code before, but this time, their mom said, they were just supporting their father.
First grade student, Savannah and fourth grade student, Taylor, were raised in an Army family.
"I'm paralyzed. I have a TBI," said Army Spc. Justin Perez-Gorda.
The girls' father was injured by a road-side bomb in Afghanistan. The family moved to San Antonio not long after Perez-Gorda was injured in 2011.
"This organization may build us a home that is safe for my husband to be safe in," said Josie Perez-Gorda.
Last week, the family learned they could soon get help from a non-profit organization. They received t-shirts with their logo on Thursday, so on Friday the two girls wore the shirts to school in support of their father. They got in trouble with their principal at Masters Elementary.
"We do have a standardized dress code," said Judson ISD spokesperson, Aubrey Chancellor. "We certainly support the military, but we do have to be consistent across the board when it comes to following the dress code."
Mom and dad are upset and wondering why the school allows students to wear t-shirts with college logos but not one with an organization that supports wounded warriors like their father.
"These guys are fighting for our country and they should be able to wear something that honors their parents, especially if they are wounded," said the girls' mother.
The district spokesperson said if a parent feels the dress code needs to be changed they are always welcome to attend board meetings to address their concerns.
The Judson Independent School District dess code requiremenst for grades pre-k to 8th are as follows: Polo-style shirts (any color - solid or stripes), t-shirt with college or JISD campus spirit logo.
send letters to:
Judson ISD
8012 Shin Oak Drive
Live Oak TX 78233
210-945-5100 Receptionist
Criminal hazing: Raped by his fellow soldiers
Criminal hazing: Raped by his fellow soldiers
‘Crazy Troop’ NCOs court-martialed after initiation ritual in Iraq went too far, Army victims say
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Apr 25, 2012
Warning: Some details of this story are graphic and may be disturbing.
FORT HOOD, Texas — Minutes after returning to his room after a long day of training Iraqi soldiers, Spc. Jarett Wright heard the door open.
Three of his fellow soldiers entered and pushed him down on the bed. Wright struggled, but the other soldiers were too strong.
Two of them — both sergeants — held him down by the shoulders. Another grabbed his legs.
The soldiers ripped off Wright’s belt and tore off his pants and underwear.
Taking turns, the sergeants grabbed Wright’s genitals while the third soldier repeatedly shoved a finger into his anus.
The attack lasted about a minute. But Wright was not the first, nor the last, soldier in C Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, to endure this kind of assault. The unit calls itself “Crazy Troop.”
Wright, who spoke to Army Times about what happened to him, said all the new guys in the troop experienced some sort of initiation. However, the initiations escalated with attacks on him and two other specialists, he said. The two other victims also described identical attacks in interviews with Army Times.
read more here
‘Crazy Troop’ NCOs court-martialed after initiation ritual in Iraq went too far, Army victims say
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Apr 25, 2012
Warning: Some details of this story are graphic and may be disturbing.
FORT HOOD, Texas — Minutes after returning to his room after a long day of training Iraqi soldiers, Spc. Jarett Wright heard the door open.
Three of his fellow soldiers entered and pushed him down on the bed. Wright struggled, but the other soldiers were too strong.
Two of them — both sergeants — held him down by the shoulders. Another grabbed his legs.
The soldiers ripped off Wright’s belt and tore off his pants and underwear.
Taking turns, the sergeants grabbed Wright’s genitals while the third soldier repeatedly shoved a finger into his anus.
The attack lasted about a minute. But Wright was not the first, nor the last, soldier in C Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, to endure this kind of assault. The unit calls itself “Crazy Troop.”
Wright, who spoke to Army Times about what happened to him, said all the new guys in the troop experienced some sort of initiation. However, the initiations escalated with attacks on him and two other specialists, he said. The two other victims also described identical attacks in interviews with Army Times.
read more here
Marine Who Criticized Obama On Facebook, Other-Than-Honorable Discharge
Gary Stein, Marine Who Criticized Obama On Facebook, Will Receive Other-Than-Honorable Discharge
By ELLIOT SPAGAT
04/25/12
SAN DIEGO — A sergeant will be discharged for criticizing President Barack Obama on Facebook in a case that called into question the Pentagon's policies about social media and its limits on the speech of active duty military personnel, the Marine Corps said Wednesday.
Sgt. Gary Stein will get an other-than-honorable discharge and lose most of his benefits for violating the policies, the Corps said.
The San Diego-area Marine who has served nearly 10 years in the Corps said he was disappointed by the decision. He has argued that he was exercising his free-speech rights.
read more here
By ELLIOT SPAGAT
04/25/12
SAN DIEGO — A sergeant will be discharged for criticizing President Barack Obama on Facebook in a case that called into question the Pentagon's policies about social media and its limits on the speech of active duty military personnel, the Marine Corps said Wednesday.
Sgt. Gary Stein will get an other-than-honorable discharge and lose most of his benefits for violating the policies, the Corps said.
The San Diego-area Marine who has served nearly 10 years in the Corps said he was disappointed by the decision. He has argued that he was exercising his free-speech rights.
read more here
Obama surges in campaign donations from military members
Report: Obama surges in campaign donations from military members
By DEREK TURNER
Published: April 25, 2012
The U.S. military has long been closely linked with the Republican party, particularly when it comes to presidential candidates, but that may be changing.
In March, President Barack Obama took in the most campaign contributions from those within the military and the Department of Defense, trumping the previous leader, conservative candidate Ron Paul, according to data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics. Despite essentially locking up the Republican nomination, Mitt Romney lags far behind.
read more here
By DEREK TURNER
Published: April 25, 2012
The U.S. military has long been closely linked with the Republican party, particularly when it comes to presidential candidates, but that may be changing.
In March, President Barack Obama took in the most campaign contributions from those within the military and the Department of Defense, trumping the previous leader, conservative candidate Ron Paul, according to data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics. Despite essentially locking up the Republican nomination, Mitt Romney lags far behind.
read more here
Army encourages new way of looking at combat and PTSD
I can't believe I am finally reading something like this after all these years of screaming about it!
I don't think I'd call it "new evidence" since most studies on combat and PTSD go back 40 years!
Army encourages new way of looking at PTSD
Traditional definitions of post-traumatic stress disorder may not fit in the case of a trained warrior, a new policy document states.
By Kim Murphy,
Los Angeles Times
April 25, 2012
SEATTLE
In a move to improve treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder, the Army is discouraging the use of traditional definitions such as feelings of fear, helplessness and horror — symptoms that may not be in a trained warrior's vocabulary. It also is recommending against the use of anti-anxiety and antipsychotic medications for such combat stress in favor of more proven drugs.
The changes are reflected in a new policy document released this month, one that reflects a growing understanding of the "occupational" nature of the condition for many troops. For them, the symptoms often associated with combat stress — hyperarousal, anger, numbness and sleeplessness — may be signs of illness at home but also responses crucial to survival in a war zone.
Doctors who adhere strictly to traditional PTSD definitions could withhold lifesaving treatment for those who need it most, Army doctors now warn, passing over soldiers or accusing them of faking problems.
"There is considerable new evidence that certain aspects of the definition are not adequate for individuals working in the military and other first-responder occupations," such as firefighting and police work, according to the policy, developed by the U.S. Army Medical Command.
"They often do not endorse 'fear, helplessness or horror,' the typical response of civilian victims to traumatic events. Although they may experience fear internally, they are trained to fall back on their training skills [and] may have other responses such as anger."
read more here
I don't think I'd call it "new evidence" since most studies on combat and PTSD go back 40 years!
FSU grad still recovering from 2009 Fort Hood shooting
FSU grad still recovering from 2009 Fort Hood shooting
Apr. 25, 2012
By Doug Blackburn
Democrat senior writer
Zeigler, a Florida State graduate who was gravely wounded during the Nov. 5, 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, has relocated to a civilian hospital in California. His daily rehabilitation continues, 30 months out and counting.
He is hopeful he will be able to walk without a cane by August, when he is scheduled to testify in the murder trial of former Army psychiatrist Malik Hasan, charged with killing 13 men and women at Fort Hood. He also continues to work on his left arm, which remains mostly paralyzed after it suffered two bullet wounds.
Zeigler remains a positive, focused man. He and his wife, Jessica, who married at Fort Hood in December 2010, are expecting their first child in late October, within weeks of the third anniversary of the Fort Hood tragedy.
read more here
Apr. 25, 2012
By Doug Blackburn
Democrat senior writer
FSU graduate Patrick Zeigler survived two tours in Iraq but was nearly killed during the Nov. 5, 2009 massacre at Fort Hood.
Zeigler, a Florida State graduate who was gravely wounded during the Nov. 5, 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, has relocated to a civilian hospital in California. His daily rehabilitation continues, 30 months out and counting.
He is hopeful he will be able to walk without a cane by August, when he is scheduled to testify in the murder trial of former Army psychiatrist Malik Hasan, charged with killing 13 men and women at Fort Hood. He also continues to work on his left arm, which remains mostly paralyzed after it suffered two bullet wounds.
Zeigler remains a positive, focused man. He and his wife, Jessica, who married at Fort Hood in December 2010, are expecting their first child in late October, within weeks of the third anniversary of the Fort Hood tragedy.
read more here
Marines Brace for Cuts From Pentagon
Local Marines Brace for Cuts From Pentagon
More than 600 Marines filled Camp Pendleton’s base theater to learn how the Marine Corps will decide who will stay and who will go
By Lea Sutton
Tuesday, Apr 24, 2012
NBC San Diego
Major cuts in the defense budget are making their way to San Diego as the Marine Corps prepares to cut the size of its overall force by 20,000 Marines.
On Tuesday, officials from Headquarters Marine Corps were on Camp Pendleton to brief Marines on that drawdown plan.
Anxiety was in the air on base as many Marines braced themselves for how those personnel cuts will affect them.
"We know that the drawdowns are happening, so I think everybody's kind of anxious trying to figure out how that affects them. You know, for their personal life - not only for their own career, but for their families”, said Major Mark Paolicelli, who attended the brief.
More than 600 Marines filled Camp Pendleton’s base theater to learn how the Marine Corps will decide who will stay and who will go.
read more here
More than 600 Marines filled Camp Pendleton’s base theater to learn how the Marine Corps will decide who will stay and who will go
By Lea Sutton
Tuesday, Apr 24, 2012
NBC San Diego
Major cuts in the defense budget are making their way to San Diego as the Marine Corps prepares to cut the size of its overall force by 20,000 Marines.
On Tuesday, officials from Headquarters Marine Corps were on Camp Pendleton to brief Marines on that drawdown plan.
Anxiety was in the air on base as many Marines braced themselves for how those personnel cuts will affect them.
"We know that the drawdowns are happening, so I think everybody's kind of anxious trying to figure out how that affects them. You know, for their personal life - not only for their own career, but for their families”, said Major Mark Paolicelli, who attended the brief.
More than 600 Marines filled Camp Pendleton’s base theater to learn how the Marine Corps will decide who will stay and who will go.
read more here
Medal of Honor Hero Dakota Meyer stands up for veterans
Honored veteran stands up for VA site
Environmental hearing about location draws Dakota Meyer
Apr. 19, 2012
Supporters of the proposed Veterans Administration hospital on Brownsboro Road couldn’t have asked for a better advocate than Dakota Meyer, the Kentuckian who received the Medal of Honor for his bravery in a firefight in Afghanistan.
Dressed in a suit and tie, Marine Corps veteran Meyer was second in a long line of speakers at a public meeting Wednesday at Kammerer Middle School. And he had a message for the hundreds of area residents who don’t want the hospital built in their backyards:
“Us as veterans, it wasn’t an inconvenience for us and our families when we went out and we fought for you to be free in this country,” Meyer said.
Meyer received cheers and a standing ovation, but his endorsement didn’t seem to change the minds of about two dozen speakers. Most said traffic is already terrible in the area and that the hospital would be better off the Gene Snyder Freeway in eastern Jefferson County or downtown.
read more here
Environmental hearing about location draws Dakota Meyer
Apr. 19, 2012
Supporters of the proposed Veterans Administration hospital on Brownsboro Road couldn’t have asked for a better advocate than Dakota Meyer, the Kentuckian who received the Medal of Honor for his bravery in a firefight in Afghanistan.
Dressed in a suit and tie, Marine Corps veteran Meyer was second in a long line of speakers at a public meeting Wednesday at Kammerer Middle School. And he had a message for the hundreds of area residents who don’t want the hospital built in their backyards:
“Us as veterans, it wasn’t an inconvenience for us and our families when we went out and we fought for you to be free in this country,” Meyer said.
Meyer received cheers and a standing ovation, but his endorsement didn’t seem to change the minds of about two dozen speakers. Most said traffic is already terrible in the area and that the hospital would be better off the Gene Snyder Freeway in eastern Jefferson County or downtown.
read more here
Developer uses $3 million of own money to house veterans
Anger motivates developer to house vets
April 24, 2012
EVA KILGORE
Real-estate developer Matt Heslin is an avid cyclist. As he rode the streets of Orange County and Los Angeles, something disturbed him greatly.
"As I rode, I continually saw very young homeless men and women," said Heslin. "I'd see them at the beaches, on freeway off-ramps, in river beds, and under bridges.
"In talking with these young people, I learned many of them are veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars."
Heslin says they've come home and have been turned loose into society without any reintegration plan to make the transition from soldier to civilian.
"Many are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and can't function in society," said Heslin. "They've ended up jobless, homeless, and living on the streets."
The more Heslin heard, the angrier he got. He visited the Veterans Administration and asked for ways he could help. Then, he took action and founded Serene Haven, a Home for the Brave.
Heslin invested $3 million of his own money to start the nonprofit group. He purchased three apartment buildings in Hyde Park and the West Adams area to house homeless veterans and help give them a fresh start.
read more here
April 24, 2012
EVA KILGORE
Real-estate developer Matt Heslin is an avid cyclist. As he rode the streets of Orange County and Los Angeles, something disturbed him greatly.
"As I rode, I continually saw very young homeless men and women," said Heslin. "I'd see them at the beaches, on freeway off-ramps, in river beds, and under bridges.
"In talking with these young people, I learned many of them are veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars."
Heslin says they've come home and have been turned loose into society without any reintegration plan to make the transition from soldier to civilian.
"Many are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and can't function in society," said Heslin. "They've ended up jobless, homeless, and living on the streets."
The more Heslin heard, the angrier he got. He visited the Veterans Administration and asked for ways he could help. Then, he took action and founded Serene Haven, a Home for the Brave.
Heslin invested $3 million of his own money to start the nonprofit group. He purchased three apartment buildings in Hyde Park and the West Adams area to house homeless veterans and help give them a fresh start.
read more here
2 Joint Base Lewis-McChord to compete in Warrior Games
2 soldiers who overcame illness, injury will compete in Warrior Games
A year after he ended treatment for an acute form of cancer that should have killed him, Army Sgt. Fred Prince received more good news. He was one 50 soldiers selected to compete in a sporting event for ill and injured service members.
CHRISTIAN HILL; STAFF WRITER
Published: 04/24/12
A year after he ended treatment for an acute form of cancer that should have killed him, Army Sgt. Fred Prince received more good news. He was one 50 soldiers selected to compete in a sporting event for ill and injured service members.
Prince is one of two soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord invited to compete against athletes from other service branches at the Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The event begins Monday and runs through May 5.
Prince, 35, and Staff Sgt. Max Hasson, 42, will represent the base. Prince qualified in air rifle and archery. Hasson qualified for air rifle, handcycling and three swimming events.
The two are assigned to the Warrior Transition Battalion at Lewis-McChord, where soldiers receive treatment for long-term injury or illness until they can rejoin their unit or be medically discharged.
read more here
A year after he ended treatment for an acute form of cancer that should have killed him, Army Sgt. Fred Prince received more good news. He was one 50 soldiers selected to compete in a sporting event for ill and injured service members.
CHRISTIAN HILL; STAFF WRITER
Published: 04/24/12
A year after he ended treatment for an acute form of cancer that should have killed him, Army Sgt. Fred Prince received more good news. He was one 50 soldiers selected to compete in a sporting event for ill and injured service members.
Prince is one of two soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord invited to compete against athletes from other service branches at the Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The event begins Monday and runs through May 5.
Prince, 35, and Staff Sgt. Max Hasson, 42, will represent the base. Prince qualified in air rifle and archery. Hasson qualified for air rifle, handcycling and three swimming events.
The two are assigned to the Warrior Transition Battalion at Lewis-McChord, where soldiers receive treatment for long-term injury or illness until they can rejoin their unit or be medically discharged.
read more here
VFW prepares to rebuild cross
Veterans group prepares to rebuild cross
Suit wanted religious symbol off public land
April 24, 2012
BARSTOW
The state Veterans of Foreign Wars is preparing to take over a one-acre cross site in the Mojave National Preserve after the group reached a settlement in its long-running lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union Tuesday.
The settlement calls for the site at Sunrise Rock to be turned over to a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Barstow in exchange for five acres of donated land. That particular VFW chapter has since disbanded, so the state organization will assume control of the site.
James Rowoldt, the secretary-treasurer for the state Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the group was working to determine how best to secure the cross to prevent future vandalism or theft.
read more here
Suit wanted religious symbol off public land
April 24, 2012
BARSTOW
The state Veterans of Foreign Wars is preparing to take over a one-acre cross site in the Mojave National Preserve after the group reached a settlement in its long-running lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union Tuesday.
The settlement calls for the site at Sunrise Rock to be turned over to a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Barstow in exchange for five acres of donated land. That particular VFW chapter has since disbanded, so the state organization will assume control of the site.
James Rowoldt, the secretary-treasurer for the state Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the group was working to determine how best to secure the cross to prevent future vandalism or theft.
read more here
Settlement clears way for cross in Mojave Desert
Published April 24, 2012
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES
A veterans group can restore a memorial cross in the Mojave Desert under a court settlement that ends a decade-old legal battle, the National Park Service said Tuesday.
A federal judge approved the lawsuit settlement on Monday, permitting the park service to turn over a remote hilltop area known as Sunrise Rock to a Veteran of Foreign Wars post in Barstow and the Veterans Home of California-Barstow.
The park will give up the acre of land in exchange for five acres of donated property elsewhere in the 1.6 million acre preserve in Southern California.
The swap, which could be completed by the end of the year, will permit veterans to restore a cross to the site and end a controversy that became tangled in the thorny issues of patriotism and religion and made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003.
The last cross was ordered removed by the park service in 2010 because of a court order.
The donated land is owned by Henry and Wanda Sandoz of Yucca Valley.
read more of this here
Veterans for Common Sense files suit, VA hires?
VA Struggles To Provide Vets With Mental Health Care
by LARRY ABRAMSON
April 25, 2012
Over the past five years, the Department of Veterans Affairs says, the number of former service members seeking mental health services has climbed by a third. In response, the agency has boosted funding and tightened standards.
Now, any vet asking for help is supposed to be evaluated within 24 hours and start treatment within two weeks. The VA has claimed that happens in the vast majority of cases, but a new investigation by the agency's inspector general says the VA statistics are skewed to make wait times appear shorter.
You don't see the real cost in human terms until 20 to 30 years after the conflict has ended. - Patrick Bellon, Veterans For Common Sense
Paul Rieckhoff of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America says that is not surprising.
"It illustrates, in incredible clarity, how dysfunctional the VA system is right now for thousands of veterans around the country," he says.
The inspector general's report says, rather than starting the clock from the moment a vet asks for mental health care, the VA has been counting from whenever the first appointment became available. That could add weeks or months to the wait time.
read more here
by LARRY ABRAMSON
Chris Hondros/Getty Images A veteran of the Iraq War with post-traumatic stress disorder talks to physical therapist Nicole Bormann before a session in the VA Medical Center in St. Louis.
April 25, 2012
"Veterans for Common Sense is suing the VA over delays in treatment, and over the time it takes some vets to get benefit payments. The VA announced plans to hire nearly 2,000 additional mental health staff last week, just days before this report came out."
Over the past five years, the Department of Veterans Affairs says, the number of former service members seeking mental health services has climbed by a third. In response, the agency has boosted funding and tightened standards.
Now, any vet asking for help is supposed to be evaluated within 24 hours and start treatment within two weeks. The VA has claimed that happens in the vast majority of cases, but a new investigation by the agency's inspector general says the VA statistics are skewed to make wait times appear shorter.
You don't see the real cost in human terms until 20 to 30 years after the conflict has ended. - Patrick Bellon, Veterans For Common Sense
Paul Rieckhoff of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America says that is not surprising.
"It illustrates, in incredible clarity, how dysfunctional the VA system is right now for thousands of veterans around the country," he says.
The inspector general's report says, rather than starting the clock from the moment a vet asks for mental health care, the VA has been counting from whenever the first appointment became available. That could add weeks or months to the wait time.
read more here
Marine Arrested In Connection With Death Of Military Wife
Marine Arrested In Connection With Death Of Military Wife
Louis Ray Perez Was Initially Considered Person Of Interest In Death Of 22-Year-Old Brittany Killgore
April 24, 2012
SAN DIEGO
A Camp Pendleton-based Marine already jailed on an unrelated charge was re-arrested Tuesday on suspicion of murdering a 22-year-old North County military wife whose body was found dumped alongside a rural road in Riverside County a week ago.
Louis Ray Perez, 45, was re-booked at Vista Jail Tuesday afternoon in connection with the death of Brittany Killgore of Fallbrook. He was scheduled to be arraigned on the homicide charge Thursday afternoon.
read more here
Louis Ray Perez Was Initially Considered Person Of Interest In Death Of 22-Year-Old Brittany Killgore
April 24, 2012
SAN DIEGO
A Camp Pendleton-based Marine already jailed on an unrelated charge was re-arrested Tuesday on suspicion of murdering a 22-year-old North County military wife whose body was found dumped alongside a rural road in Riverside County a week ago.
Louis Ray Perez, 45, was re-booked at Vista Jail Tuesday afternoon in connection with the death of Brittany Killgore of Fallbrook. He was scheduled to be arraigned on the homicide charge Thursday afternoon.
read more here
Suicides amongst veterans on the rise
Suicides amongst veterans on the rise
Updated: Tuesday, 24 Apr 2012
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - It's an alarming statistic, but according to the Army Times , each day 18 veterans commit suicide.
With veterans serving multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, those numbers only continue to rise.
Tuesday, one of those veterans was laid to rest at Albert G. Horton, Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Suffolk.
10 On Your Side introduced Hampton Roads to Iraq veteran Jonathan Bartlett in 2004. Bartlett, then 19-years-old, lost both legs after the Humvee he was driving hit an improvised explosive device (IED).
The courage and determination displayed by Bartlett inspired many to help him rebuild his life.
Last week, Bartlett, like so many other returning war veterans, took his own life. He was 27-years-old.
When 10 On Your Side first met Bartlett, he was undergoing physical therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. While his legs were gone, his fighting spirit was not.
"I screamed, 'Why me?', like twice, and I was, you know, I had tears in my eye,s and I got over it. It's just the way it is. It's just something you have to deal with," Bartlett said in a previous interview with 10 On Your Side.
read more here
Wounded Iraq vet commits suicide
Updated: Tuesday, 24 Apr 2012
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - It's an alarming statistic, but according to the Army Times , each day 18 veterans commit suicide.
With veterans serving multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, those numbers only continue to rise.
Tuesday, one of those veterans was laid to rest at Albert G. Horton, Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Suffolk.
10 On Your Side introduced Hampton Roads to Iraq veteran Jonathan Bartlett in 2004. Bartlett, then 19-years-old, lost both legs after the Humvee he was driving hit an improvised explosive device (IED).
The courage and determination displayed by Bartlett inspired many to help him rebuild his life.
Last week, Bartlett, like so many other returning war veterans, took his own life. He was 27-years-old.
When 10 On Your Side first met Bartlett, he was undergoing physical therapy at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. While his legs were gone, his fighting spirit was not.
"I screamed, 'Why me?', like twice, and I was, you know, I had tears in my eye,s and I got over it. It's just the way it is. It's just something you have to deal with," Bartlett said in a previous interview with 10 On Your Side.
read more here
Wounded Iraq vet commits suicide
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
A suicidal veteran and a call for help, unanswered
A suicidal veteran and a call for help, unanswered
By LEO SHANE III
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 24, 2012
WASHINGTON
Jacob Manning waited until his wife and teenage son had left the house, then walked into his garage to kill himself.
The former soldier had been distraught for weeks, frustrated by family problems, unemployment and his lingering service injuries. He was long ago diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, caused by a military training accident, and post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from the aftermath. He had battled depression before, but never an episode this bad.
He tossed one end of an extension cord over the rafters above and then fashioned a noose.
The cord snapped. It couldn’t handle his weight.
He called Christina Roof, a friend and national veterans policy adviser who helped him years before, and rambled about trying again with a bigger cord or a gun. She urged him to calm down. She sent a message to Manning’s wife, Charity, telling her to rush home. The two of them tried for more than a day to persuade him to get professional help.
He eventually agreed to call the veterans hospital in Columbia, Mo., near his home.
When a staffer at the mental health clinic answered the phone, Manning explained what he had done, and asked if he could be taken into care.
The staffer asked if Manning was still suicidal. He wavered, saying he wasn’t trying to kill himself right then. The hospital employee told him the office was closing in an hour, and asked if Manning could wait until the next day to deal with the problem.
read more here
By LEO SHANE III
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 24, 2012
WASHINGTON
Jacob Manning waited until his wife and teenage son had left the house, then walked into his garage to kill himself.
The former soldier had been distraught for weeks, frustrated by family problems, unemployment and his lingering service injuries. He was long ago diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, caused by a military training accident, and post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from the aftermath. He had battled depression before, but never an episode this bad.
He tossed one end of an extension cord over the rafters above and then fashioned a noose.
The cord snapped. It couldn’t handle his weight.
He called Christina Roof, a friend and national veterans policy adviser who helped him years before, and rambled about trying again with a bigger cord or a gun. She urged him to calm down. She sent a message to Manning’s wife, Charity, telling her to rush home. The two of them tried for more than a day to persuade him to get professional help.
He eventually agreed to call the veterans hospital in Columbia, Mo., near his home.
When a staffer at the mental health clinic answered the phone, Manning explained what he had done, and asked if he could be taken into care.
The staffer asked if Manning was still suicidal. He wavered, saying he wasn’t trying to kill himself right then. The hospital employee told him the office was closing in an hour, and asked if Manning could wait until the next day to deal with the problem.
After Stars and Stripes brought Manning’s case to the House Veteran Affairs Committee this month, Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., questioned VA officials about what went wrong in Manning’s case and how to prevent a repeat in the future.
“This is not an isolated case, and that is extremely unfortunate,” he said. “The VA has to get its act together. I don’t think they are prepared for the surge in the number of mental health issues that are coming soon.”
VA officials recently announced the hiring of 1,900 new staffers to help deal with gaps in mental health care and long wait times for appointments. At least 100 of those are expected to be added to suicide prevention efforts.
Miller said that won’t be enough to fight the problem.
“Every person in the department who picks up a phone needs to be retrained,” he said.
Lawmakers will press that issue in coming months with VA officials. Miller said the challenge is getting that message beyond the department’s leadership, down through the bureaucracy to lower-level employees who actually interact with veterans.
“There is no margin of error in this,” he said. “It seems they need to be reminded how critical it is to get this right the first time.”
read more here
New Haven firefighters giving each week to Wounded Warriors Project?
Last month after reading a lot of complaints about Wounded Warriors Project, I did a post about it. Ignoring this would have been easier but considering how many people think this group is doing a lot more, they deserved to know. Now it seems that a group of firefighters is giving money out of their own pocket but above that, out of love for the troops. Is Wounded Warrior Project a country crock?
In this report it says that Wounded Warrior Project "raises awareness and support for injured service members" but no one is asking why they need millions to do what I do for free everyday. It doesn't cost anything to raise awareness and frankly the only ads I've seen on TV have been for Wounded Warriors Project and not the wounded themselves. According to the complaints, the wounded say backpacks and trips are not what they need. They need money to pay their bills and help to heal. They need to get into treatment and be seen by doctors without having to wait months. They need to have their claims processed so they can feed their families when they can't work and they need jobs when they can work.
If you have a charity that is doing good work for their sake, get a good ad agency so that you get this kind of money coming into you. Just don't lose the heart you have to get up everyday to help them. Also don't get this group confused with Wounded Warrior Battalion or Wounded Warrior Program. They do really great work!
In this report it says that Wounded Warrior Project "raises awareness and support for injured service members" but no one is asking why they need millions to do what I do for free everyday. It doesn't cost anything to raise awareness and frankly the only ads I've seen on TV have been for Wounded Warriors Project and not the wounded themselves. According to the complaints, the wounded say backpacks and trips are not what they need. They need money to pay their bills and help to heal. They need to get into treatment and be seen by doctors without having to wait months. They need to have their claims processed so they can feed their families when they can't work and they need jobs when they can work.
If you have a charity that is doing good work for their sake, get a good ad agency so that you get this kind of money coming into you. Just don't lose the heart you have to get up everyday to help them. Also don't get this group confused with Wounded Warrior Battalion or Wounded Warrior Program. They do really great work!
Firefighters give back to wounded warriors
Monday, 23 Apr 2012
Tina Detelj
NEW HAVEN, Conn.
(WTNH)
September 11th was a call to action for firefighters in New Haven. The day after the attacks, a bunch of them jumped on the train to go down to New York City to try to help. Now they're finding another way to help.
This time they are hoping to come to the aid of those who fought for our country: wounded warriors now in need of help themselves.
"These young men went to their recruiting office and they joined the war to stand by the 343 firefighters that died and the citizens that day," said Battalion Chief Paul Sandella, "then we should bring it for them, now that they're home and have injuries that are going to be lifelong."
Sandella is organizing the effort in which 75 percent of the Elm City's 300 firefighters have agreed to payroll deductions averaging $5 a week. The money goes straight to the Wounded Warriors Project , which raises awareness and support for injured service members.
read more here
Suicide Attempt Has Fort Carson Soldier In Trouble
Suicide Attempt Has Fort Carson Soldier In Trouble
Prosecutors Press Charges Because Wife Was Shot During Incident
SCOTT HARRISON
KRDO NewsChannel 13
April 23, 2012
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Joshua and Crystal Bradley thought the worst was over when she halted his suicide attempt at their home last summer. They were wrong.
Crystal Bradley was accidentally shot in the leg in August 2011 during the incident. She said she didn't blame her husband and didn't want to file charges, but the District Attorney's Office believed otherwise. Joshua Bradley spent a week in jail and faces charges of assault, reckless endangerment and prohibitive use of a weapon.
"If I get convicted of this, I'll be facing five years in prison," said Bradley, 25. "Then I'll get kicked out of the Army and won't have a job."
read more here
Prosecutors Press Charges Because Wife Was Shot During Incident
SCOTT HARRISON
KRDO NewsChannel 13
April 23, 2012
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Joshua and Crystal Bradley thought the worst was over when she halted his suicide attempt at their home last summer. They were wrong.
Crystal Bradley was accidentally shot in the leg in August 2011 during the incident. She said she didn't blame her husband and didn't want to file charges, but the District Attorney's Office believed otherwise. Joshua Bradley spent a week in jail and faces charges of assault, reckless endangerment and prohibitive use of a weapon.
"If I get convicted of this, I'll be facing five years in prison," said Bradley, 25. "Then I'll get kicked out of the Army and won't have a job."
read more here
Black Hawk crew honored for 3 heroic days
Black Hawk crew honored for 3 heroic days
By John Ryan - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Apr 23, 2012
An Army dust-off crew that flew 11 rescue hoists during 60 hours of combat deep in Afghanistan’s high mountains last June was honored for its heroics at the 2012 Army Aviation Association of America’s annual forum this month.
The Goodrich Corp., an AAAA sponsor, held the reception in Nashville, Tenn., to recognize the four-soldier Black Hawk crew of Dust Off 73 — pilot Chief Warrant Officer 4 Kenneth Brodhead, pilot Chief Warrant Officer 2 Erik Sabiston, flight medic Sgt. Julia Bringloe and crew chief Spc. David Capps — who spent nearly 12 hours in the air, extracting 14 wounded and one soldier killed in action and flying three critical resupply missions during a three-day operation.
Earlier this year, the crew received the AAAA/Goodrich Corp. 2011 Air and Sea Rescue of the Year award at Fort Rucker, Ala. Each soldier has been nominated for a Distinguished Flying Cross, the highest aviation award for valor.
“We didn’t expect to receive an award for our actions,” Sabiston said in an Army release. “It is a great honor, but anyone in this unit would have done the same.”
On June 25-27, 2011, DO-73 supported Operation Hammer Down, an effort to find Taliban training grounds and fighters in Watahpur district of Kunar province. Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, ran missions at elevations as high as 10,000 feet and faced heavy enemy contact.
read more here
By John Ryan - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Apr 23, 2012
An Army dust-off crew that flew 11 rescue hoists during 60 hours of combat deep in Afghanistan’s high mountains last June was honored for its heroics at the 2012 Army Aviation Association of America’s annual forum this month.
The Goodrich Corp., an AAAA sponsor, held the reception in Nashville, Tenn., to recognize the four-soldier Black Hawk crew of Dust Off 73 — pilot Chief Warrant Officer 4 Kenneth Brodhead, pilot Chief Warrant Officer 2 Erik Sabiston, flight medic Sgt. Julia Bringloe and crew chief Spc. David Capps — who spent nearly 12 hours in the air, extracting 14 wounded and one soldier killed in action and flying three critical resupply missions during a three-day operation.
Earlier this year, the crew received the AAAA/Goodrich Corp. 2011 Air and Sea Rescue of the Year award at Fort Rucker, Ala. Each soldier has been nominated for a Distinguished Flying Cross, the highest aviation award for valor.
“We didn’t expect to receive an award for our actions,” Sabiston said in an Army release. “It is a great honor, but anyone in this unit would have done the same.”
On June 25-27, 2011, DO-73 supported Operation Hammer Down, an effort to find Taliban training grounds and fighters in Watahpur district of Kunar province. Soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, ran missions at elevations as high as 10,000 feet and faced heavy enemy contact.
read more here
Who am I today?
UPDATE
Here's an example of what I was talking about
You can read more of what Casey had to say here.
Veteran's mission continues even after his return from combat
“It was being idle and not doing anything,” Casey said, “I was going through a major loss in my life. I was losing an identification of self because for almost a decade I had identified with being a combat soldier.”
You can read more of what Casey had to say here.
Veteran's mission continues even after his return from combat
Who am I today?
by Chaplain Kathie
April 24, 2012
Two years ago I became a student at Valencia College. My finals were yesterday. I woke up today no longer a student. I asked myself "Who am I now?"
The Digital Media field is not something a woman in her 50's goes into normally. It was a lot easier than I thought fitting in with other students my daughter's age but trying to keep up with them was hard. After a while, I knew what the professors expected out of me and got close to several other students. Most days I was in the Digital Media lab when I wasn't in classes. Usually Tuesday mornings I'd check the emails, do some posts and head off to Valencia. Today I had nowhere to go.
For two years there was a normal routine, knowing who I'd see and what I would have to do but today it's all up for grabs and I'm sitting here feeling differently about my life. Sure, I will still do the rest of the things I did in my life, but a part of it is now over. I gave some hugs to some of the people I got close to, said goodbye to the professors after they did all they could to help me learn my trade and drove off campus for the last time.
When you think about life changing events in your own lives, it may be easier to have a better understanding of what it is like for the men and women coming out of the military.
They trained to learn what they had to, then did it. They knew who their commanders were and the members of their units became like family to them. One day they are wearing combat boots, dodging bullets and fearing an IED is hidden in the road they have to drive over. The next day they are waking up and wondering what comes next for them.
They have to rediscover who they are all over again, find where they belong, establish a new routine at the same time they have to adapt back to civilian life without the people they were with. Keep in mind each of them were ready to die for the others. All I had to do was be willing to help another student when I knew something they didn't and be ready to ask for help when I needed it. If this life change is that hard on me, how hard is it for them? We just expect them to do it. Could we? Could we do it easier with help and a community that really has stepped up? Every community across this country needs to step up with support groups for them.
I met a lot of veterans at Valencia. Most of them were in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. There were several National Guard students. It was very hard for them to adjust to that part of their lives. Few other students wanted to understand and even less wanted to get to know them since they were older than students entering college right out of high school. The friends I made at Valencia made all the difference in the world to me. We can make all the difference in the world for these veterans as well.
Oregon National Guard reaches out to faith-based organizations
Oregon National Guard reaches out to faith-based organizations
Capi Lynn
Faith-based organizations are invited by the Oregon National Guard to become a “Partner in Care” to support service members, veterans and their families in communities throughout the state.
A one-day summit, in partnership with the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, will be held Tuesday, May 8 at the Armed Forces Reserve Center at Camp Withycombe, 15300 SE Industrial Way, Clackamas.
Participants will learn about military/veteran culture, the Guard’s Partners in Care program, and suicide prevention. They will have opportunities to network with leaders and get involved on a personal, congregational and community level.
The hope, according to an email sent to me by Special Projects Officer Elan Lambert of the Oregon National Guard’s Joint Transition Assistance Program, is that a faith-based network will become a vital part of a larger effort to provide community based care to military families and veterans since this state does not have an active duty installation.
go here to get involved
Capi Lynn
Faith-based organizations are invited by the Oregon National Guard to become a “Partner in Care” to support service members, veterans and their families in communities throughout the state.
A one-day summit, in partnership with the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, will be held Tuesday, May 8 at the Armed Forces Reserve Center at Camp Withycombe, 15300 SE Industrial Way, Clackamas.
Participants will learn about military/veteran culture, the Guard’s Partners in Care program, and suicide prevention. They will have opportunities to network with leaders and get involved on a personal, congregational and community level.
The hope, according to an email sent to me by Special Projects Officer Elan Lambert of the Oregon National Guard’s Joint Transition Assistance Program, is that a faith-based network will become a vital part of a larger effort to provide community based care to military families and veterans since this state does not have an active duty installation.
go here to get involved
Car accidents more common after deployments
Report: Car accidents more common after deployments
By LEO SHANE III
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 23, 2012
WASHINGTON — Just a few weeks after his 2005 deployment to the Middle East ended, Chief Petty Officer Ron Verdoza smashed his SUV into a neighbor’s car.
Three years later, after returning from Afghanistan, he backed his Mustang into the wall of his garage.
“Both times, I just wasn’t focused on driving like I needed to be,” he said.
A new study released by USAA this week echoes that sentiment. USAA, which provides auto insurance to the military community, found a 13 percent jump in at-fault accidents for troops in the first six months after returning from deployment, compared with the six months before they deployed. Drivers with three or more overseas tours saw a 36 percent increase in accidents.
The three-year study is being shared with military officials and traffic safety experts in an effort to find ways to help returning troops stay safe while driving.
Researchers said that most of the accidents were caused by objects in the roadway and “losing control of the vehicle,” both indications that troops aren’t fully prepared for the pressures of civilian driving after lengthy stints overseas.
By LEO SHANE III
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 23, 2012
WASHINGTON — Just a few weeks after his 2005 deployment to the Middle East ended, Chief Petty Officer Ron Verdoza smashed his SUV into a neighbor’s car.
Three years later, after returning from Afghanistan, he backed his Mustang into the wall of his garage.
“Both times, I just wasn’t focused on driving like I needed to be,” he said.
A new study released by USAA this week echoes that sentiment. USAA, which provides auto insurance to the military community, found a 13 percent jump in at-fault accidents for troops in the first six months after returning from deployment, compared with the six months before they deployed. Drivers with three or more overseas tours saw a 36 percent increase in accidents.
The three-year study is being shared with military officials and traffic safety experts in an effort to find ways to help returning troops stay safe while driving.
Researchers said that most of the accidents were caused by objects in the roadway and “losing control of the vehicle,” both indications that troops aren’t fully prepared for the pressures of civilian driving after lengthy stints overseas.
Scanning streets for signs of roadside bombs, for example, can lead servicemembers to ignore road signs and stoplights on U.S. roads. Drivers used to asserting their right of way in a Humvee convoy can find it irritating and unnerving to get stuck in traffic.
read more here
University of Montana student's death opens dialogue about suicide
Friends, family remember Parmenter after death, open dialogue about suicide
By Linds Sanders
Published: Tuesday, April 24, 2012
It was hard to walk past Jacob Parmenter without being acknowledged.
He was inquisitive, confident and smiled a “big, toothy grin” recalls his close friend Connor Hovsepian, 21. It was that distinct smile that appeared in every picture displayed at his service Saturday, March 24, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Family, friends and fraternity members crowded the pews and stood in the doorway sharing that smile as pictures of Parmenter were projected on a screen in the front. A few laughs escaped when silly pictures appeared: Parmenter making a funny face at the cameraman or sticking out his tongue. The next picture cycled through, and the church was quiet again with old memories and fresh questions.
All those who loved Parmenter have been at a loss since he killed himself Friday, March 16, in his Miller Hall dorm room. Parmenter was 19 years old, a pledge of Phi Delta Theta and a freshman studying paramedicine.
After the pictures of family vacations and childhood memories, Parmenter’s oldest brother, James, stood at the podium. With the help of his close friends, James Parmenter composed a suicide letter he wished his youngest brother had left. The letter spoke to the pain Jacob Parmenter was feeling and said he wished more for his friends and family.
At the beginning of the semester, Parmenter pledged to be a Phi Delta Theta. His good friend and fraternity educator Richard LeCoultre, 19, remembers Parmenter’s confidence from one of the initial house meetings where aspiring pledges learn what it means to be a Phi Delta Theta brother. LeCoultre asked the group to nominate a class president. Parmenter jumped up and nominated himself. Then he explained to the boys why they should entrust him with this duty.
Before attending the University of Montana, he excelled in recruit training for the Marine Corps and was made squad leader.
read more here
By Linds Sanders
Published: Tuesday, April 24, 2012
It was hard to walk past Jacob Parmenter without being acknowledged.
He was inquisitive, confident and smiled a “big, toothy grin” recalls his close friend Connor Hovsepian, 21. It was that distinct smile that appeared in every picture displayed at his service Saturday, March 24, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Family, friends and fraternity members crowded the pews and stood in the doorway sharing that smile as pictures of Parmenter were projected on a screen in the front. A few laughs escaped when silly pictures appeared: Parmenter making a funny face at the cameraman or sticking out his tongue. The next picture cycled through, and the church was quiet again with old memories and fresh questions.
All those who loved Parmenter have been at a loss since he killed himself Friday, March 16, in his Miller Hall dorm room. Parmenter was 19 years old, a pledge of Phi Delta Theta and a freshman studying paramedicine.
After the pictures of family vacations and childhood memories, Parmenter’s oldest brother, James, stood at the podium. With the help of his close friends, James Parmenter composed a suicide letter he wished his youngest brother had left. The letter spoke to the pain Jacob Parmenter was feeling and said he wished more for his friends and family.
At the beginning of the semester, Parmenter pledged to be a Phi Delta Theta. His good friend and fraternity educator Richard LeCoultre, 19, remembers Parmenter’s confidence from one of the initial house meetings where aspiring pledges learn what it means to be a Phi Delta Theta brother. LeCoultre asked the group to nominate a class president. Parmenter jumped up and nominated himself. Then he explained to the boys why they should entrust him with this duty.
Before attending the University of Montana, he excelled in recruit training for the Marine Corps and was made squad leader.
read more here
A special dormitory for vets opened up last week
Veterans dorm at Muscogee County Jail first in country
Updated: Apr 24, 2012
By Laura Ann Sills
Sheriff John Darr announced Monday that military veterans now have a new home at the Muscogee County Jail. A special dormitory for vets opened up last week.
Moses Haynes has been in the veterans' dormitory at the Muscogee County Jail for a week now. He says he can already tell a change in the way he feels and hopes the public will see that Vets have different needs.
"Hopefully people will understand that we do things not cause we just go and do it, because of mental ill problems."
Haynes served in the Army for 5 years. He was in a helicopter crash during his service and says he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Alcoholism and a probation violation landed him in the Muscogee County Jail.
read more here
Updated: Apr 24, 2012
By Laura Ann Sills
Sheriff John Darr announced Monday that military veterans now have a new home at the Muscogee County Jail. A special dormitory for vets opened up last week.
Moses Haynes has been in the veterans' dormitory at the Muscogee County Jail for a week now. He says he can already tell a change in the way he feels and hopes the public will see that Vets have different needs.
"Hopefully people will understand that we do things not cause we just go and do it, because of mental ill problems."
Haynes served in the Army for 5 years. He was in a helicopter crash during his service and says he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Alcoholism and a probation violation landed him in the Muscogee County Jail.
read more here
Nicholas Horner sentenced to 2 life terms plus 29 to 59 years
UPDATE
July 17, 2013 Horner gives up appeals
July 17, 2013 Horner gives up appeals
The U.S. Army veteran whose murder trial last year focused on the issues of post traumatic stress and the treatment he received has decided - against the advice of his lawyer - to give up his appeals.
PTSD on trial. Was justice served? Will Horner get help in prison?
Iraq war vet sentenced to 2 life terms plus 29 to 59 years in 2009 Pa. slayings during robbery
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First Posted: April 23, 2012
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. — An Iraq war veteran has been formally sentenced to life in prison in the shooting deaths of two people during the robbery of a west-central Pennsylvania sandwich shop three years ago.
The Altoona Mirror says Blair County President Judge Jolene Kopriva gave 31-year-old Nicholas Horner of Altoona two consecutive life terms on Monday plus 29 to 59 years in prison.
Jurors who convicted Horner of first-degree murder last month deadlocked on whether he deserved execution or life in prison without possibility of parole in the April 2009 deaths of 19-year-old Scott Garlick and 64-year-old Raymond Williams during the robbery of the Altoona Subway shop.
Defense attorneys argued that Horner was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder at the time, but Williams' daughter, Melanie Kollar, told Horner on Monday that she didn't believe that. She said "I pray nightly you will finally accept responsibility."
read more here
Nicholas Horner Pennsylvania Iraq war veteran convicted of first-degree murder
Monday, April 23, 2012
Black Hawk helicopter crew mourned at Kandahar Air Field
Black Hawk helicopter crew mourned at Kandahar Air Field
By HEATH DRUZIN
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 23, 2012
KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — The mission goes on. Outside a hangar full of mourners here Monday, the buzz of choppers continued unabated. There’s little time to pause during a war.
For two hours, though, hundreds of soldiers got a chance to say goodbye.
They filled the seats inside and spilled out of the fabric clamshell structure in a crowd stretching close to the flight line, bowing their heads in prayer and tears to remember four soldiers killed Thursday in a helicopter crash in Helmand province.
By HEATH DRUZIN
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 23, 2012
KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — The mission goes on. Outside a hangar full of mourners here Monday, the buzz of choppers continued unabated. There’s little time to pause during a war.
For two hours, though, hundreds of soldiers got a chance to say goodbye.
They filled the seats inside and spilled out of the fabric clamshell structure in a crowd stretching close to the flight line, bowing their heads in prayer and tears to remember four soldiers killed Thursday in a helicopter crash in Helmand province.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Nicholas Johnson, 27, San Diego
Spc. Dean Shaffer, 23, Pekin, Ill.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Don Viray, 25, Waipahu, Hawaii
Spc. Chris Workman, 33, Boise, Idaho.
read more here
Investigation blasts VA over wait times for mental health care
Investigation blasts VA over wait times for mental health care
By LEO SHANE III AND MEGAN MCCLOSKEY
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 23, 2012
WASHINGTON — Calling the Department of Veterans Affairs’ data “of no real value,” the Inspector General on Monday slammed department officials for drastically overstating how quickly veterans were able to be seen for mental health issues.
The investigation found that veterans on average have to wait nearly two months – far longer than the VA has claimed. It also confirmed observations by members of Congress that veterans’ access to mental health services has been much more problematic than department officials have acknowledged.
Veterans Health Administration policy requires that all first-time patients requesting mental health services receive an initial evaluation within 24 hours, and a comprehensive diagnostic appointment within two weeks. VHA officials had said that 95 percent of its new patients were seen in that time frame.
But the new inspector general report called those calculations confused and inaccurate. By their researchers’ count, fewer than half of those patients were seen within the 14-day requirement. The average wait for a full evaluation among the rest was 50 days.
The report also sharply criticized VHA staffers for not following proper scheduling procedures, further confusing the data collection.
For new patients, scheduling clerks frequently stated they used the next available appointment slot as the desired appointment date for new patients, thereby showing deceptively short wait times. For established patients, medical providers scheduled return appointments based on known availability, rather than the patient’s clinical need.
Investigators also blamed some of the long wait times on shortages in mental health staff throughout the department.
read more here
By LEO SHANE III AND MEGAN MCCLOSKEY
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 23, 2012
WASHINGTON — Calling the Department of Veterans Affairs’ data “of no real value,” the Inspector General on Monday slammed department officials for drastically overstating how quickly veterans were able to be seen for mental health issues.
The investigation found that veterans on average have to wait nearly two months – far longer than the VA has claimed. It also confirmed observations by members of Congress that veterans’ access to mental health services has been much more problematic than department officials have acknowledged.
Veterans Health Administration policy requires that all first-time patients requesting mental health services receive an initial evaluation within 24 hours, and a comprehensive diagnostic appointment within two weeks. VHA officials had said that 95 percent of its new patients were seen in that time frame.
But the new inspector general report called those calculations confused and inaccurate. By their researchers’ count, fewer than half of those patients were seen within the 14-day requirement. The average wait for a full evaluation among the rest was 50 days.
The report also sharply criticized VHA staffers for not following proper scheduling procedures, further confusing the data collection.
For new patients, scheduling clerks frequently stated they used the next available appointment slot as the desired appointment date for new patients, thereby showing deceptively short wait times. For established patients, medical providers scheduled return appointments based on known availability, rather than the patient’s clinical need.
Investigators also blamed some of the long wait times on shortages in mental health staff throughout the department.
read more here
Veterans healthcare exempt from budget cuts
Vets health care exempt from sequestration cuts
By Rick Maze -
Staff writer
Posted : Monday Apr 23, 2012
Funding for veterans’ health care programs is not subject to sequestration, the White House budget office announced Monday, ending months of speculation about how across-the-board budget cuts could be applied early next year if Congress cannot find a way to avoid fiscal disaster.
Sequestration, looming because Congress and the White House failed to reach an agreement on a 10-year, $1.2 trillion deficit reduction plan, also will not cut veterans’ benefits, leaving only administrative expenses of the Veterans Affairs Department potentially subject to reductions, according to legal opinion issued Monday by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.
The announcement came in a letter to the Government Accountability Office, which had asked the White House for clarification about the automatic cuts’ effect on VA.
The Budget Control Act of 2011, which set up mechanism for cutting federal programs if a deficit spending agreement wasn’t reached, specifically exempted veterans’ benefits but had no clear statement about what might happen to veterans’ medical care expenses. read more here
By Rick Maze -
Staff writer
Posted : Monday Apr 23, 2012
Funding for veterans’ health care programs is not subject to sequestration, the White House budget office announced Monday, ending months of speculation about how across-the-board budget cuts could be applied early next year if Congress cannot find a way to avoid fiscal disaster.
Sequestration, looming because Congress and the White House failed to reach an agreement on a 10-year, $1.2 trillion deficit reduction plan, also will not cut veterans’ benefits, leaving only administrative expenses of the Veterans Affairs Department potentially subject to reductions, according to legal opinion issued Monday by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.
The announcement came in a letter to the Government Accountability Office, which had asked the White House for clarification about the automatic cuts’ effect on VA.
The Budget Control Act of 2011, which set up mechanism for cutting federal programs if a deficit spending agreement wasn’t reached, specifically exempted veterans’ benefits but had no clear statement about what might happen to veterans’ medical care expenses. read more here
Three tour combat vet, gunned down back home
Veteran Survives 3 Tours Of Duty But He’s Gunned Down In Lancaster
April 22, 2012
LANCASTER (CBS)
A 30-year-old veteran who served three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan was shot to death Saturday in Lancaster, sheriff’s officials said.
Nathen Taylor’s family is grieving and in disbelief.
The shooting in the 700 block of West Avenue H-7 occurred around 12:10 a.m., said Deputy Guillermina Saldana of the Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau.
Taylor, according to his brother Patrick, had just left a party because he didn’t like to be around a lot of drinking. Taylor called his brother to say he would be dropping by his house within a few minutes.
Taylor was sitting alone in his car, cell phone in hand, when he was shot by an unknown assailant.
read more here
April 22, 2012
LANCASTER (CBS)
A 30-year-old veteran who served three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan was shot to death Saturday in Lancaster, sheriff’s officials said.
Nathen Taylor’s family is grieving and in disbelief.
The shooting in the 700 block of West Avenue H-7 occurred around 12:10 a.m., said Deputy Guillermina Saldana of the Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau.
Taylor, according to his brother Patrick, had just left a party because he didn’t like to be around a lot of drinking. Taylor called his brother to say he would be dropping by his house within a few minutes.
Taylor was sitting alone in his car, cell phone in hand, when he was shot by an unknown assailant.
read more here
Rape Alleged At West Point, Annapolis
Rape Alleged At West Point, Annapolis
2 Women Claim Academies Ignored 'Rampant Sexual Harassment'
By Kyra Phillips and Jessi Joseph
CNN
April 22, 2012
(CNN) -- Karley Marquet and Annie Kendzior said they enrolled at two of the nation's most prestigious military academies to serve their country and become military officers. Instead, they claim, they were raped -- and their military careers are now over. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. Federal Court on Friday, the women claim the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, ignored "rampant sexual harassment."
The suit claims former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the former superintendents of the two academies and the current secretaries of the Army and Navy are "personally responsible" for failing to "prevent rapes and sexual assaults at the Naval Academy and West Point."
Karley Marquet was a high school honor student, championship swimmer and all-star rugby player. She could have gone to college anywhere with her credentials, but Marquet chose West Point.
"When I was accepted, it was kind of overwhelming," she says. "You can't imagine having that structure and discipline but at the same time having people look at you like, 'Wow, you're doing something great for our country.'"
But Marquet said her dream of becoming an officer was shattered in January 2011, her second semester at West Point.
read more here
2 Women Claim Academies Ignored 'Rampant Sexual Harassment'
By Kyra Phillips and Jessi Joseph
CNN
April 22, 2012
(CNN) -- Karley Marquet and Annie Kendzior said they enrolled at two of the nation's most prestigious military academies to serve their country and become military officers. Instead, they claim, they were raped -- and their military careers are now over. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. Federal Court on Friday, the women claim the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, ignored "rampant sexual harassment."
The suit claims former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the former superintendents of the two academies and the current secretaries of the Army and Navy are "personally responsible" for failing to "prevent rapes and sexual assaults at the Naval Academy and West Point."
Karley Marquet was a high school honor student, championship swimmer and all-star rugby player. She could have gone to college anywhere with her credentials, but Marquet chose West Point.
"When I was accepted, it was kind of overwhelming," she says. "You can't imagine having that structure and discipline but at the same time having people look at you like, 'Wow, you're doing something great for our country.'"
But Marquet said her dream of becoming an officer was shattered in January 2011, her second semester at West Point.
read more here
Honors college students use social media to help soldiers
Students use social media to assist soldiers
By Jessica Velez ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Published: Monday, April 23, 2012
SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE
As a result of their efforts, soldiers deliver school supplies to children in Afghanistan.
Social media might be useful for keeping track of friends and messaging the occasional celebrity, but a group of honors students is using the social media platform to help Afghan children and veterans of the Iraq War and Afghanistan conflict.
“Social Media, Social Change: One Pencil Can Help Bring Peace,” is an honors course in its second semester of existence. Taught by Liisa Temple, an Emmy Award-winning freelance journalist, the idea for the course grew from School Supplies for Afghan Children, a charity she started with her husband, retired U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Rex Temple, in 2009 after an encounter he had with a child in Afghanistan.
“When I was handing out the candy, this particular child was fixated on my ballpoint pen,” Rex said. “And he kept saying … the Dari word for pen.”
Rex said he knew what the word meant but asked his interpreter why the child kept saying it. He learned that the child didn’t want to be like his father and toil in the fields.
“He knew the route out of poverty was through education,” Rex said.
Rex called Liisa at home and asked her to ship all of the extra pens and pencils they had lying around their house, an effort that eventually grew into the school supplies program.
Students enrolled in the Honors College course follow in the footsteps of Rex, who delivered more than 700 boxes of school supplies during his last tour in Afghanistan, which ended April 2010. This semester, students have shipped 65 boxes to Afghan school children, Liisa said, with another 50 to 100 boxes ready to ship out this week. School Supplies for Afghan Children has grown to include participants in 17 states and resulted in more than 20,000 pounds of donated school supplies, such as notebooks, pens, pencils and loose-leaf paper.
read more here
By Jessica Velez ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Published: Monday, April 23, 2012
SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE
As a result of their efforts, soldiers deliver school supplies to children in Afghanistan.
Social media might be useful for keeping track of friends and messaging the occasional celebrity, but a group of honors students is using the social media platform to help Afghan children and veterans of the Iraq War and Afghanistan conflict.
“Social Media, Social Change: One Pencil Can Help Bring Peace,” is an honors course in its second semester of existence. Taught by Liisa Temple, an Emmy Award-winning freelance journalist, the idea for the course grew from School Supplies for Afghan Children, a charity she started with her husband, retired U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Rex Temple, in 2009 after an encounter he had with a child in Afghanistan.
“When I was handing out the candy, this particular child was fixated on my ballpoint pen,” Rex said. “And he kept saying … the Dari word for pen.”
Rex said he knew what the word meant but asked his interpreter why the child kept saying it. He learned that the child didn’t want to be like his father and toil in the fields.
“He knew the route out of poverty was through education,” Rex said.
Rex called Liisa at home and asked her to ship all of the extra pens and pencils they had lying around their house, an effort that eventually grew into the school supplies program.
Students enrolled in the Honors College course follow in the footsteps of Rex, who delivered more than 700 boxes of school supplies during his last tour in Afghanistan, which ended April 2010. This semester, students have shipped 65 boxes to Afghan school children, Liisa said, with another 50 to 100 boxes ready to ship out this week. School Supplies for Afghan Children has grown to include participants in 17 states and resulted in more than 20,000 pounds of donated school supplies, such as notebooks, pens, pencils and loose-leaf paper.
read more here
A story of love and tragedy for WWII veteran
A story of love and tragedy
Chester and Mildred Welebob gave much to others. Their homicide/suicide leaves a void in the hearts of friends.
Steve Mocarsky
WILKES-BARRE TWP.
A husband and wife who were victims of a homicide/suicide Friday and Saturday were well-respected in their town and are fondly remembered, according to friends who knew them for many years.
Chester Welebob had served as a township councilman for 20 years, and his wife, Mildred, was a well-loved nursery school teacher before she retired.
“They both cared for each other a lot. They did a lot of things all over town over the years. It’s so sad, so tragic,” said John Quinn, a former township councilman whose father was Chester’s basketball coach in high school.
Wilkes-Barre police on Friday night found 82-year-old Mildred Welebob, a resident of St. Luke’s Villa, in a wheelchair behind a vehicle at the rear of the facility’s parking lot on East Northampton Street. Acting Luzerne County Coroner Bill Lisman said she died of a single gunshot wound, with the cause of death ruled homicide.
A short time later, Chester Welebob, of Wilkes-Barre Township, was found dead inside his car in Wilkes-Barre Township. He was pronounced dead of a single gunshot wound at 12:15 a.m. Saturday, Lisman said, with the cause of death ruled suicide.
read more here
Chester and Mildred Welebob gave much to others. Their homicide/suicide leaves a void in the hearts of friends.
Steve Mocarsky
WILKES-BARRE TWP.
A husband and wife who were victims of a homicide/suicide Friday and Saturday were well-respected in their town and are fondly remembered, according to friends who knew them for many years.
Chester Welebob had served as a township councilman for 20 years, and his wife, Mildred, was a well-loved nursery school teacher before she retired.
“They both cared for each other a lot. They did a lot of things all over town over the years. It’s so sad, so tragic,” said John Quinn, a former township councilman whose father was Chester’s basketball coach in high school.
Wilkes-Barre police on Friday night found 82-year-old Mildred Welebob, a resident of St. Luke’s Villa, in a wheelchair behind a vehicle at the rear of the facility’s parking lot on East Northampton Street. Acting Luzerne County Coroner Bill Lisman said she died of a single gunshot wound, with the cause of death ruled homicide.
A short time later, Chester Welebob, of Wilkes-Barre Township, was found dead inside his car in Wilkes-Barre Township. He was pronounced dead of a single gunshot wound at 12:15 a.m. Saturday, Lisman said, with the cause of death ruled suicide.
read more here
Only 61 survived USS Hobson
N.J. soldiers who endured a naval catastrophe spill their stories of survival 60 years later
Published: Sunday, April 22, 2012
By Kevin Manahan
The Star-Ledger
On a Saturday afternoon in April 1952, two days before his ship would leave for duty during the Korean War, Joseph Torrisi dashed off a two-page letter to his older sister, Rose, on embossed U.S. Navy stationery. A three-cent stamp brought it from Charleston, S.C., to the 400-room Hotel Douglas in Newark, where she was living at the time.
A week earlier, he had sent a note to his mom in Bloomfield, proudly announcing he had found, in Charleston, a Catholic church and, more miraculously, a restaurant that served homemade ravioli.
In tidy penmanship that would have made his grammar-school nuns beam, the 32-year-old wrote that he was spending more money than he had planned, but he wasn’t sweating it. Thanks to a payday aboard ship, he would be flush when he reached Spain, France, Italy, Sicily and Greece.
His destroyer, the USS Hobson, was scheduled to visit 20 Mediterranean ports — a cushy assignment welcomed by Torrisi, a career Navy man who, curiously, disliked life on the sea.
"The next time I write will be from some place I haven’t been to," he told his sister.
But he never made it.
Five days after his final letter arrived in New Jersey, Joseph Torrisi was asleep in his lower-tier bunk at 10:21 p.m., when, during a deadly war-games blunder, the Hobson was sliced in two by the 40,000-ton Wasp, a U.S. aircraft carrier.
Seven hundred miles from the Azores, in cold, turbulent North Atlantic seas three miles deep, the Hobson sank in four minutes or less, taking 176 men with her. Only 61 survived.
read more here
Published: Sunday, April 22, 2012
By Kevin Manahan
The Star-Ledger
On a Saturday afternoon in April 1952, two days before his ship would leave for duty during the Korean War, Joseph Torrisi dashed off a two-page letter to his older sister, Rose, on embossed U.S. Navy stationery. A three-cent stamp brought it from Charleston, S.C., to the 400-room Hotel Douglas in Newark, where she was living at the time.
A week earlier, he had sent a note to his mom in Bloomfield, proudly announcing he had found, in Charleston, a Catholic church and, more miraculously, a restaurant that served homemade ravioli.
In tidy penmanship that would have made his grammar-school nuns beam, the 32-year-old wrote that he was spending more money than he had planned, but he wasn’t sweating it. Thanks to a payday aboard ship, he would be flush when he reached Spain, France, Italy, Sicily and Greece.
His destroyer, the USS Hobson, was scheduled to visit 20 Mediterranean ports — a cushy assignment welcomed by Torrisi, a career Navy man who, curiously, disliked life on the sea.
"The next time I write will be from some place I haven’t been to," he told his sister.
But he never made it.
Five days after his final letter arrived in New Jersey, Joseph Torrisi was asleep in his lower-tier bunk at 10:21 p.m., when, during a deadly war-games blunder, the Hobson was sliced in two by the 40,000-ton Wasp, a U.S. aircraft carrier.
Seven hundred miles from the Azores, in cold, turbulent North Atlantic seas three miles deep, the Hobson sank in four minutes or less, taking 176 men with her. Only 61 survived.
read more here
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Vietnam Memorial Wall Escort in Melbourne
UPDATE
Here is the video from the bikes coming into Wickham Park.
Here are some pictures taken at the Lone Cabbage
I was there filming them as they came into Wickham Park and I can tell you there were a lot more than 1,000 motorcycles. My camera battery ran out before they were all in. Video is processing now so it will be up later tonight. It ran over 16 minutes and still didn't get all the bikes!
Here is the video from the bikes coming into Wickham Park.
Here are some pictures taken at the Lone Cabbage
I was there filming them as they came into Wickham Park and I can tell you there were a lot more than 1,000 motorcycles. My camera battery ran out before they were all in. Video is processing now so it will be up later tonight. It ran over 16 minutes and still didn't get all the bikes!
Hundreds gather for Vietnam memorial event
5:43 PM, Apr. 22, 2012
Written by
Wayne T. Price
FLORIDA TODAY
The weather report for Sunday in Brevard County called for a mixture of wind and rain.
Greg Welsh basically said “no big deal.”
Welsh, longtime member of the Vietnam and All Veterans of Brevard, met with a few dozen volunteers late Sunday morning in Wickham Park to erect the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall.
Rain or shine, the wall was going up Sunday, Welsh said.
“We were putting it up regardless of the rain,” Welsh said. “We fought and died in the rain, so the rain wasn’t a concern.”
The traveling memorial, which is visiting 18 sites around the United States this year, has turned into a notable tradition in Brevard, as it is part of the the Annual Vietnam and All Veterans Reunion, which kicks off Thursday.
As per tradition, supporters on motorcycles gathered at Brevard Community College's Cocoa Campus Sunday morning and escorted the truck and trailer carrying the wall along U.S. 1 to Wickham Park.
Police estimated between 800 to 1,000 motorcyclists were involved.
read more here
Army Surgeon General makes changes after Madigan on PTSD
Army Surgeon General issues new directive on PTSD
Sen. Patty Murray: 'This is an overdue but very welcome step'
Web reporter
Q13 Fox News Online
April 21, 2012
SEATTLE
The Army Surgeon General's Office has issued a new directive for diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder after questions arose about Madigan Army Medical Center’s reversal of more than 300 soldiers’ PTSD diagnoses in the past five years.
The Madigan Army Medical Center is the chief military hospital for Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma. Members of the base's units have seen extensive action in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
The new policy, first reported by the Seattle Times, was confirmed by the office of Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who had been pressing for changes in the way the Army handles PTSD cases.
read more here
Sen. Patty Murray: 'This is an overdue but very welcome step'
Web reporter
Q13 Fox News Online
April 21, 2012
SEATTLE
The Army Surgeon General's Office has issued a new directive for diagnosing post-traumatic stress disorder after questions arose about Madigan Army Medical Center’s reversal of more than 300 soldiers’ PTSD diagnoses in the past five years.
The Madigan Army Medical Center is the chief military hospital for Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma. Members of the base's units have seen extensive action in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
The new policy, first reported by the Seattle Times, was confirmed by the office of Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who had been pressing for changes in the way the Army handles PTSD cases.
read more here
Vets in need urged to go through VA for pensions
Vets in need urged to go through VA for pensions
Frank Gray
April 22, 2012
For decades the Veterans Administration has had a pension program called Aid and Attendance that was designed to help some veterans and their spouses who need assistance in their daily lives.
Veterans who were receiving in-home assistance or living in assisted-living centers could receive sometimes generous monthly pensions to help cover those expenses.
The catch was that to be eligible, veterans had to have limited assets and limited income.
The VA didn’t try to keep the benefit a secret, said George Jarboe, Allen County’s veterans’ service officer, but it didn’t promote it heavily, either.
“It was designed to help people who have no money survive,” Jarboe said.
For years, most veterans knew little of the program, but about five years ago word got out and spread rapidly. Depending on their age, most wartime veterans or their widows can have $80,000 in assets, including their home, and depending on how much they spent on aid or assistance, they could get a pension.
Since the program has become popular, financial advisers have been taking full advantage of it. They have been counseling veterans and their spouses or widows that they could get the benefit, even if they had far too much in assets to qualify. All they had to do was “eliminate” their assets and they could start getting monthly checks.
read more here
Frank Gray
April 22, 2012
For decades the Veterans Administration has had a pension program called Aid and Attendance that was designed to help some veterans and their spouses who need assistance in their daily lives.
Veterans who were receiving in-home assistance or living in assisted-living centers could receive sometimes generous monthly pensions to help cover those expenses.
The catch was that to be eligible, veterans had to have limited assets and limited income.
The VA didn’t try to keep the benefit a secret, said George Jarboe, Allen County’s veterans’ service officer, but it didn’t promote it heavily, either.
“It was designed to help people who have no money survive,” Jarboe said.
For years, most veterans knew little of the program, but about five years ago word got out and spread rapidly. Depending on their age, most wartime veterans or their widows can have $80,000 in assets, including their home, and depending on how much they spent on aid or assistance, they could get a pension.
Since the program has become popular, financial advisers have been taking full advantage of it. They have been counseling veterans and their spouses or widows that they could get the benefit, even if they had far too much in assets to qualify. All they had to do was “eliminate” their assets and they could start getting monthly checks.
read more here
OEF OIF TBI cases could reach 460,000
Soldiers' brain trauma cases disputed
Thousands of terror war soldiers who are back home struggle with TBI
By Bill Torpy and Mark Davis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now, he struggles to find the right words when talking. He starts sentences and stops in the middle. He reads a chapter, then realizes none of it has soaked in. Some days, he goes out to get the mail, then can’t remember if he brought it in. If he remembers he brought it in, he can’t remember where he put it.
The Army captain says his brain acts like an Internet dial-up connection: The information is there, and it’s coming. But ... he ... must ... wait ... for ... it.
Two years ago, McRaney, a reservist, was in Afghanistan when a mortar shell landed on his bunker, killing three civilian contractors who were with him. McRaney survived, but his brain was damaged in the explosion, diminishing his memory, ability to follow directions and process speech.
read more here
Thousands of terror war soldiers who are back home struggle with TBI
By Bill Torpy and Mark Davis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"A congressional report in February said studies indicate between 15 percent and 23 percent of the 2 million who have served in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced a TBI, which would mean 300,000 to 460,000 cases."David McRaney always considered himself a quick thinker, a problem solver who threw himself into challenges.
Now, he struggles to find the right words when talking. He starts sentences and stops in the middle. He reads a chapter, then realizes none of it has soaked in. Some days, he goes out to get the mail, then can’t remember if he brought it in. If he remembers he brought it in, he can’t remember where he put it.
The Army captain says his brain acts like an Internet dial-up connection: The information is there, and it’s coming. But ... he ... must ... wait ... for ... it.
Two years ago, McRaney, a reservist, was in Afghanistan when a mortar shell landed on his bunker, killing three civilian contractors who were with him. McRaney survived, but his brain was damaged in the explosion, diminishing his memory, ability to follow directions and process speech.
read more here
A war correspondent and veteran's reflection
A war correspondent's reflection: If I don't tell the story, who will?
April 22, 2012
By Jackie Spinner
Coming Home PA is a project spearheaded by PublicSource, a local nonprofit investigative news group, with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and other local media partners.
We were an odd trio, sitting in a hipster lounge in Dupont Circle, last November, smoking flavored tobacco, sharing war stories, oblivious to the people around us.
Joao Silva, a photographer, was still getting treatment in Washington, D.C., after stepping on a land mine in October 2010 in Afghanistan while on assignment for the New York Times. He lost both his legs. A year later, Joao was in shorts, even though it had been snowing earlier in the day, and the disco lights kept catching the metal of his prosthetic legs in a dancing twinkle that matched our mood.
Bill Putnam, a multimedia journalist and former U.S. soldier, was on his way back to Afghanistan. Putnam has gone to war now as a soldier and civilian seven times since 1996. Once again, he was putting everything else aside to cover war.
"I literally don't know anything else but this life," he said in a recent email from Afghanistan. "I don't feel fulfilled back home."
read more here
April 22, 2012
By Jackie Spinner
Coming Home PA is a project spearheaded by PublicSource, a local nonprofit investigative news group, with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and other local media partners.
We were an odd trio, sitting in a hipster lounge in Dupont Circle, last November, smoking flavored tobacco, sharing war stories, oblivious to the people around us.
Joao Silva, a photographer, was still getting treatment in Washington, D.C., after stepping on a land mine in October 2010 in Afghanistan while on assignment for the New York Times. He lost both his legs. A year later, Joao was in shorts, even though it had been snowing earlier in the day, and the disco lights kept catching the metal of his prosthetic legs in a dancing twinkle that matched our mood.
Bill Putnam, a multimedia journalist and former U.S. soldier, was on his way back to Afghanistan. Putnam has gone to war now as a soldier and civilian seven times since 1996. Once again, he was putting everything else aside to cover war.
"I literally don't know anything else but this life," he said in a recent email from Afghanistan. "I don't feel fulfilled back home."
read more here
More soldiers in the Army overall are testing positive for heroin
Opiates killed 8 Americans in Afghanistan, Army records show
By Michael Martinez,
CNN
Sat April 21, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Eight soldiers died of overdoses involving heroin, morphine or other opiates in 2010-11
56 soldiers, including the eight, were investigated for using, possessing or selling the drugs
More soldiers in the Army overall are testing positive for heroin use
The Taliban are believed to be stockpiling opium to finance their activities, U.N. reported
(CNN) -- Eight American soldiers died of overdoses involving heroin, morphine or other opiates during deployments in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011, according to U.S. Army investigative reports.
The overdoses were revealed in documents detailing how the Army investigated a total of 56 soldiers, including the eight who fell victim to overdoses, on suspicion of possessing, using or distributing heroin and other opiates.
At the same time, heroin use apparently is on the rise in the Army overall, as military statistics show that the number of soldiers testing positive for heroin has grown from 10 instances in fiscal year 2002 to 116 in fiscal year 2010.
Army officials didn't respond to repeated requests for comment on Saturday. But records from the service's Criminal Investigation Command, obtained by the conservative legal group Judicial Watch, provided glimpses into how soldiers bought drugs from Afghan juveniles, an Afghan interpreter and in one case, an employee of a Defense Department contractor, who was eventually fired.
read more here
By Michael Martinez,
CNN
Sat April 21, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Eight soldiers died of overdoses involving heroin, morphine or other opiates in 2010-11
56 soldiers, including the eight, were investigated for using, possessing or selling the drugs
More soldiers in the Army overall are testing positive for heroin use
The Taliban are believed to be stockpiling opium to finance their activities, U.N. reported
(CNN) -- Eight American soldiers died of overdoses involving heroin, morphine or other opiates during deployments in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011, according to U.S. Army investigative reports.
The overdoses were revealed in documents detailing how the Army investigated a total of 56 soldiers, including the eight who fell victim to overdoses, on suspicion of possessing, using or distributing heroin and other opiates.
At the same time, heroin use apparently is on the rise in the Army overall, as military statistics show that the number of soldiers testing positive for heroin has grown from 10 instances in fiscal year 2002 to 116 in fiscal year 2010.
Army officials didn't respond to repeated requests for comment on Saturday. But records from the service's Criminal Investigation Command, obtained by the conservative legal group Judicial Watch, provided glimpses into how soldiers bought drugs from Afghan juveniles, an Afghan interpreter and in one case, an employee of a Defense Department contractor, who was eventually fired.
read more here
Gold Star Dads grieve too!
Military dads with tragic bond share their grief
By HOWARD ALTMAN
The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 21, 2012
RUSKIN
The men in the living room at the Southern Comfort Inn Bed and Breakfast nod knowingly as they talk about things no one else fully can understand.
They are part of a small fraternity no man wants to join. They are gathered in Ruskin to share their stories and their pain, and to be with the only people who truly know what it's like.
There are about 68 million fathers in the United States. A few more than 6,000 of them have lost a child to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The six men in the living room are among that .001 percent, gathered on a cloudy Saturday by American Gold Star Mothers Inc., a service organization dedicated to helping the parents of the fallen, be it from battle, accident and even suicide.
read more here
By HOWARD ALTMAN
The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 21, 2012
RUSKIN
The men in the living room at the Southern Comfort Inn Bed and Breakfast nod knowingly as they talk about things no one else fully can understand.
They are part of a small fraternity no man wants to join. They are gathered in Ruskin to share their stories and their pain, and to be with the only people who truly know what it's like.
There are about 68 million fathers in the United States. A few more than 6,000 of them have lost a child to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The six men in the living room are among that .001 percent, gathered on a cloudy Saturday by American Gold Star Mothers Inc., a service organization dedicated to helping the parents of the fallen, be it from battle, accident and even suicide.
read more here
1 Out of 3 G.I. Deaths Are Suicides
Do you really need more evidence "resiliency training" does not work?
1 Out of 3 G.I. Deaths Are Suicides, a New U.S. Epidemic Among Veterans
Thomas Cuffein
Politics,Veterans
For every two American combatants killed by enemy action, one more dies by suicide. The Department of Defense reports that in the last 10 years 4,989 military personnel have been killed in action in Afghanistan and Iraq, while in the same period 2,293 active duty personnel have taken their own lives. American veterans of these and other wars account for 20% of U.S. suicides. The reality is that this country is now facing an epidemic of dire national security and humanitarian consequences as an increasing segment of our military population is turning to suicide.
Direct causes of this upward trend largely stem from issues of mental health which include traumatic brain injury, post traumatic stress disorder, survivor’s guilt as well as increased drug and alcohol dependency. These are often exacerbated by the transition to civilian life that removes many of the previous support networks of service life.
Economic issues are also prevalent, as veterans often find themselves in trying financial situations as they attempt to reintegrate into a civilian society with high unemployment where the few jobs available have little demand for military skills. It does not help that the while the Veteran’s Administration budget of $138 billion has almost quadrupled since the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is still woefully inadequate to serve expanding veteran numbers and requirements.
Maybe the biggest problem confronting those that need help is the continuing stigma that comes with seeking out a mental health professional. This needs to change both within the military and in society as a whole. While the number of service members that pursue mental health help has increased, the stigma against asking for help is still strong – 43% of those service members who killed themselves in 2010 did not seek assistance through official channels.
read more here
Marine’s medals stolen during car break-In
Marine’s medals stolen during car break-In
April 21, 2012
By Scott Wise KTVI
St. Louis, MO (KTVI)
The story of yet another car break-in in the area around the Gateway Arch comes with a new and sad twist. The victim, in this case, is a United States Marine, and what he has lost cannot be replaced.
Sgt. Ethan Stoeckel and his wife Kaitlin had been visiting her family in Central Illinois, and decided to visit the Arch Grounds while waiting for a plane out of St. Louis. It was April 10, around noon.
The parked in a lot right along the river, directly across from the Gateway Arch. The parking lot had an attendant. It seemed like a perfectly safe place to park, but it wasn’t. They returned to their pickup truck, where their luggage had been locked in the cab, and found everything was gone. Stoeckel’s uniforms and medals he had earned were among the stolen items, but there was more.
“I lost six guys this time,” said of the Afghanistan tour he completed last month, “and one of them was my really close friend. And I had a coin he had given me that I was gonna give my dad.”
And that wasn’t the only memento of his friendship with that buddy, a Texan named Joseph Logan.
“I had pictures on my phone that was only on my phone of my best friend and like I said, I’ll never see ‘em again,” he lamented. “We had patches made up, we will never forget patches. And I had one of eight and I’ll never see that patch again.”
read more here
April 21, 2012
By Scott Wise KTVI
St. Louis, MO (KTVI)
The story of yet another car break-in in the area around the Gateway Arch comes with a new and sad twist. The victim, in this case, is a United States Marine, and what he has lost cannot be replaced.
Sgt. Ethan Stoeckel and his wife Kaitlin had been visiting her family in Central Illinois, and decided to visit the Arch Grounds while waiting for a plane out of St. Louis. It was April 10, around noon.
The parked in a lot right along the river, directly across from the Gateway Arch. The parking lot had an attendant. It seemed like a perfectly safe place to park, but it wasn’t. They returned to their pickup truck, where their luggage had been locked in the cab, and found everything was gone. Stoeckel’s uniforms and medals he had earned were among the stolen items, but there was more.
“I lost six guys this time,” said of the Afghanistan tour he completed last month, “and one of them was my really close friend. And I had a coin he had given me that I was gonna give my dad.”
And that wasn’t the only memento of his friendship with that buddy, a Texan named Joseph Logan.
“I had pictures on my phone that was only on my phone of my best friend and like I said, I’ll never see ‘em again,” he lamented. “We had patches made up, we will never forget patches. And I had one of eight and I’ll never see that patch again.”
read more here
Marine kills another Marine near D.C. barracks
Marine kills another Marine near D.C. barracks, police say
By Allison Klein and Clarence Williams
Published: April 21
One Marine allegedly stabbed another Marine to death early Saturday on Capitol Hill’s Barracks Row, near the Marine Barracks and the residence of the Marine commandant.
The Marines got into a fight that began when the suspect called the victim an anti-gay slur, police said.
After the stabbing, Marine guards stationed nearby subdued the suspect and handed him over to D.C. police.
By Allison Klein and Clarence Williams
Published: April 21
One Marine allegedly stabbed another Marine to death early Saturday on Capitol Hill’s Barracks Row, near the Marine Barracks and the residence of the Marine commandant.
The Marines got into a fight that began when the suspect called the victim an anti-gay slur, police said.
After the stabbing, Marine guards stationed nearby subdued the suspect and handed him over to D.C. police.
Phillip Bushong, 23, who was based at Camp Lejeune, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
read more here
Veterans tell their stories of war in 10-part radio series
Veterans tell their stories of war in 10-part radio series
BY HANNAH KOHUT Correspondent
April 20, 2012
Veterans from World War II and wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan are sharing their war stories as part of a new 10-part radio series at St. Xavier University dubbed “Veteran Matters.”
Producer Peter Kreten said the veterans’ experiences are “very much” a part of our American history.
“You can hear honest experiences,” Kreten said. “You’re going to hear stories about being a sailor on the USS Bunker Hill; about Korea and running away from aircraft fire; and of the experiences from Army nurses.”
One of those nurses, 91-year-old Joan Schechner, of Evergreen Park, said that participating in the radio program was “very exciting.”
“We took care of soldiers in Iwo Jima and Okinawa,” Schechner said. “In Iwo Jima, the hospital was just a tent put together with dirt floors and no cots. We prepared the patients to go in for surgery, and penicillin was only about a year old at the time, and we were able to give penicillin shots.
“I spent my 25th birthday in Okinawa, and my grandson had his 25th birthday in Afghanistan,” Schechner said. “It was wonderful being in the service; I’d do the same thing again today.”
Some of the oral histories are from more recent wars.
read more here
BY HANNAH KOHUT Correspondent
April 20, 2012
Veterans from World War II and wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan are sharing their war stories as part of a new 10-part radio series at St. Xavier University dubbed “Veteran Matters.”
Producer Peter Kreten said the veterans’ experiences are “very much” a part of our American history.
“You can hear honest experiences,” Kreten said. “You’re going to hear stories about being a sailor on the USS Bunker Hill; about Korea and running away from aircraft fire; and of the experiences from Army nurses.”
One of those nurses, 91-year-old Joan Schechner, of Evergreen Park, said that participating in the radio program was “very exciting.”
“We took care of soldiers in Iwo Jima and Okinawa,” Schechner said. “In Iwo Jima, the hospital was just a tent put together with dirt floors and no cots. We prepared the patients to go in for surgery, and penicillin was only about a year old at the time, and we were able to give penicillin shots.
“I spent my 25th birthday in Okinawa, and my grandson had his 25th birthday in Afghanistan,” Schechner said. “It was wonderful being in the service; I’d do the same thing again today.”
Some of the oral histories are from more recent wars.
read more here
Killing in war linked with suicidal thoughts, duh
This shocker came from college research?
Mind boggling that they understand so little after so long. Do they ever read research already done? One other cause of a survivor wanting to die is guilt when they believe they should have died instead. Is this the next thing they'll feel the need to put out a press release over?
“We want clinicians and suicide prevention coordinators to be aware that in analyzing a veteran’s risk of suicide, killing in combat is an additional factor that they may or may not be aware of.” Shira Maguen, a clinical psychologist at SFVAMC and an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCSF.
Mind boggling that they understand so little after so long. Do they ever read research already done? One other cause of a survivor wanting to die is guilt when they believe they should have died instead. Is this the next thing they'll feel the need to put out a press release over?
Killing in war linked with suicidal thoughts among Vietnam veterans
University of California at San Francisco
April 21, 2012
The experience of killing in war was strongly associated with thoughts of suicide, in a study of Vietnam-era veterans led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
The scientists found that veterans with more experiences involving killing were twice as likely to have reported suicidal thoughts as veterans who had fewer or no experiences.
To evaluate the experience of killing, the authors created four variables – killing enemy combatants, killing prisoners, killing civilians in general and killing or injuring women, children or the elderly. For each veteran, they combined those variables into a single composite measure. The higher the composite score, the greater the likelihood that a veteran had thought about suicide.
read more here
Former POWs reject Utah man’s claims of being one of them
Former POWs reject Utah man’s claims
Stolen valor?
A nonprofit that investigates vets’ claims of service says the Utah man is not on a Department of Defense list of POWs.
By Kristen Moulton
The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Apr 20 2012
POWs from the Vietnam War contend that Dave Groves, a West Jordan man honored last week by the Veterans Administration and years ago by the University of Utah, was never held captive in Vietnam.
Groves does not appear on a database of Department of Defense Vietnam-era POWs, compiled from military records.
"He’s a typical liar," said Mike McGrath, historian of Nam-Pow, a nonprofit organization of Vietnam prisoners of war. "There are 540 of us still alive from Vietnam, and we have 3,000 wannabees who want to be us."
Groves, who has hired an attorney after a week of online challenges to his truthfulness, insists he was a POW who for unexplained reasons does not appear in the Pentagon’s database.
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A nonprofit that investigates vets’ claims of service says the Utah man is not on a Department of Defense list of POWs.
By Kristen Moulton
The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Apr 20 2012
POWs from the Vietnam War contend that Dave Groves, a West Jordan man honored last week by the Veterans Administration and years ago by the University of Utah, was never held captive in Vietnam.
(Al Hartmann The Salt Lake Tribune) Dave Groves, who claims he was captured and held as a POW in the Vietnam war, shakes the hands of POWs from World War II during a POW appreciation luncheon Friday, April 13, in Salt Lake City. Some now question Groves' account.
Groves does not appear on a database of Department of Defense Vietnam-era POWs, compiled from military records.
"He’s a typical liar," said Mike McGrath, historian of Nam-Pow, a nonprofit organization of Vietnam prisoners of war. "There are 540 of us still alive from Vietnam, and we have 3,000 wannabees who want to be us."
Groves, who has hired an attorney after a week of online challenges to his truthfulness, insists he was a POW who for unexplained reasons does not appear in the Pentagon’s database.
read more here
Vietnam Veteran remembers "Five minutes later, he was dead"
When you think about what they go through during war, never forget what they have to remember afterwards.
Vietnam War Veteran Awarded Bronze Star for Valor
Updated: Friday, 20 Apr 2012
By BETH PARKER/myfoxdc
WASHINGTON - Great sacrifice was remembered Friday on the National Mall. About 100 people gathered at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall. One of them was honored for a brave act 40 years ago.
When Tony Martinez looks at the wall, he sees himself.
“My name should be there, not his,” he says.
In 1970, Martinez was an 18-year-old serving in a village in Vietnam. Over breakfast, his friend Joe Billy McNett asked him to trade duties for the day. That made McNett the first man on patrol.
“We had just shared a meal that morning,” says Martinez. “He showed me some pictures of his family and we were laughing about the old times back in basic. Five minutes later, he was dead.”
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