Gambling: New Combat Vets Plagued by Troubling Addiction
By John H. Tucker
Thursday, May 3 2012
In 2007, having served with distinction during two deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, U.S. Air Force firefighter John Brownfield Jr. took a job as a correctional officer at the maximum-security federal prison in Florence, Colo., 40 miles south of Colorado Springs. Ten months later, prison officials caught the former senior airman smuggling tobacco to at least seven inmates at the facility and accepting at least $3,500 in payoffs. The U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado charged the 22-year-old combat veteran with bribery by a public official. Brownfield pleaded guilty.
Two years later, Sgt. Dreux Perkins returned home from a combat stint in Baghdad — his second overseas tour of duty with the U.S. Army — received his honorable discharge and went to work as a correctional officer at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution in Greenville, Ill., 50 miles east of St. Louis on Interstate 70. In May 2011 the Federal Bureau of Investigation confronted Perkins with evidence that he'd accepted at least $2,600 in payoffs for smuggling cigarettes into the prison. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois indicted the 23-year-old decorated war veteran for bribery by a federal official, two counts of wire fraud and two counts of making a false statement to a federal law officer. Perkins pleaded guilty.
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Thursday, May 3, 2012
As of March 590,000 VA claims over 125 days old
Troops returning home to strained veterans-affairs system
By Rebecca Ruiz
President Obama may face challenges to deliver on his promise that the U.S. will look after troops and their families as combat operations in Afghanistan come to an end.
Fulfilling the president's promise will require the cooperation of a system that is already strained by current demand for veterans’ services and benefits.
Of the 91,000 troops currently in Afghanistan, 23,000 will return to the U.S. by the end of the summer; the remaining 68,000 will gradually come home through December 2014. Many of these veterans will immediately require mental health, disability, education, employment and medical services, but these resources are under varying degrees of strain.
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By Rebecca Ruiz
President Obama may face challenges to deliver on his promise that the U.S. will look after troops and their families as combat operations in Afghanistan come to an end.
As of March 31, the VA was considering 897,556 claims for disability benefits; nearly 590,000 of those had been pending for more than 125 days.“When you get home, we are going to be there for you when you’re in uniform and we will stay there for you when you’re out of uniform, because you’ve earned it,” he told troops at Bagram Air Base on Tuesday.
Fulfilling the president's promise will require the cooperation of a system that is already strained by current demand for veterans’ services and benefits.
Of the 91,000 troops currently in Afghanistan, 23,000 will return to the U.S. by the end of the summer; the remaining 68,000 will gradually come home through December 2014. Many of these veterans will immediately require mental health, disability, education, employment and medical services, but these resources are under varying degrees of strain.
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US Marshals arrest man in $100 million veteran charity scam
Major GOP donor arrested in $100 million veteran charity scam
By David Edwards
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The U.S. Marshal Service announced Tuesday that it had captured one of America’s Most Wanted fugitives who is accused of creating a fake charity for Navy veterans that funneled some of the $100 million collected to Republican candidates.
Between the early 2000s and 2010, a man using the alias “Bobby Thompson” collected millions from unsuspecting donors for the charity U.S. Navy Veterans Association (USNVA), which claimed to provide support for members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Officials believe that very little, if any, of the money was ever used as intended, according to the U.S. Marshal Service.
To help legitimize his charity, Thompson allegedly donated part of the ill-gotten funds to Republican candidates like former President George W. Bush, former Republican presidential candidate John McCain and House Speaker John Boehner.
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By David Edwards
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The U.S. Marshal Service announced Tuesday that it had captured one of America’s Most Wanted fugitives who is accused of creating a fake charity for Navy veterans that funneled some of the $100 million collected to Republican candidates.
Between the early 2000s and 2010, a man using the alias “Bobby Thompson” collected millions from unsuspecting donors for the charity U.S. Navy Veterans Association (USNVA), which claimed to provide support for members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Officials believe that very little, if any, of the money was ever used as intended, according to the U.S. Marshal Service.
To help legitimize his charity, Thompson allegedly donated part of the ill-gotten funds to Republican candidates like former President George W. Bush, former Republican presidential candidate John McCain and House Speaker John Boehner.
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Horses give vets High Hopes for recovery
Horses give vets High Hopes for recovery
By Jennifer McDermott
Publication: The Day
Published 05/03/2012
Therapeutic riding in Old Lyme helps former soldiers cope
Old Lyme - After she rode a horse at a fast gait for the first time, Katye Zwiefka cried.
She threw her arms in the air and said, "I did it!" Zwiefka compared it to the joy she felt as a child on Christmas morning.
"It had been such a long time since I had that feeling or anything like it - just that excitement and that thrill, that joy that's untainted by the world," she said of her experience cantering last summer.
Zwiefka, who served in the Marine Corps, belongs to a women's riding group at High Hopes Therapeutic Riding. Struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, she turned to the center two years ago. She and another veteran in the group, Khaylan Widener, said bonding with the horses and the other equestrians has helped them cope with the anxiety and isolation they have felt since leaving the military.
"It's hard to make connections with people," said Zwiefka, a 30-year-old who lives in Norwich. "It's hard to feel comfortable in my skin and my surroundings and to really just enjoy the moment for what it is.
"Being here, I'm really able to do that," she said of High Hopes. "It's beautiful out here and I'm able to enjoy every moment."
Zwiefka and Widener, an Army veteran, met in counseling at the Norwich Vet Center, run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
With her new friend's encouragement, Widener began riding at the center.
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By Jennifer McDermott
Publication: The Day
Published 05/03/2012
Therapeutic riding in Old Lyme helps former soldiers cope
Old Lyme - After she rode a horse at a fast gait for the first time, Katye Zwiefka cried.
She threw her arms in the air and said, "I did it!" Zwiefka compared it to the joy she felt as a child on Christmas morning.
"It had been such a long time since I had that feeling or anything like it - just that excitement and that thrill, that joy that's untainted by the world," she said of her experience cantering last summer.
Zwiefka, who served in the Marine Corps, belongs to a women's riding group at High Hopes Therapeutic Riding. Struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, she turned to the center two years ago. She and another veteran in the group, Khaylan Widener, said bonding with the horses and the other equestrians has helped them cope with the anxiety and isolation they have felt since leaving the military.
"It's hard to make connections with people," said Zwiefka, a 30-year-old who lives in Norwich. "It's hard to feel comfortable in my skin and my surroundings and to really just enjoy the moment for what it is.
"Being here, I'm really able to do that," she said of High Hopes. "It's beautiful out here and I'm able to enjoy every moment."
Zwiefka and Widener, an Army veteran, met in counseling at the Norwich Vet Center, run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
With her new friend's encouragement, Widener began riding at the center.
read more here
Iraq Veteran stabbed stopping robber
Iraq war veteran Shawn Cox stabbed in the neck while trying to stop robber
By: Rochelle Ritchie
PORT ST LUCIE, Fla. -- A Port St. Lucie man and Iraq war veteran is being hailed a hero after trying to help a woman being robbed at knife-point in a store parking lot Tuesday night.
For his efforts, Shawn Cox ended up with a stab wound to the neck. But the two victims are thankful to be alive and are hoping justice is soon served.
Marie Whitely was able to thank the man who came to her rescue.
"I just wanted to come say thank you, I couldn't do it last night I was so overwhelmed," Whitely told him.
This surveillance video shows Whitely loading groceries in her car in the parking lot of Walmart on St. Lucie West Boulevard.
That's when you see a woman sneaking up behind her.
read more here
By: Rochelle Ritchie
PORT ST LUCIE, Fla. -- A Port St. Lucie man and Iraq war veteran is being hailed a hero after trying to help a woman being robbed at knife-point in a store parking lot Tuesday night.
For his efforts, Shawn Cox ended up with a stab wound to the neck. But the two victims are thankful to be alive and are hoping justice is soon served.
Marie Whitely was able to thank the man who came to her rescue.
"I just wanted to come say thank you, I couldn't do it last night I was so overwhelmed," Whitely told him.
This surveillance video shows Whitely loading groceries in her car in the parking lot of Walmart on St. Lucie West Boulevard.
That's when you see a woman sneaking up behind her.
read more here
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Erin Brockovich Talks 'Last Call At The Oasis'
Erin Brockovich Talks 'Last Call At The Oasis' And Water Contamination Issues
The Huffington Post
By Joanna Zelman
Posted: 05/1/2012
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich recently held a roundtable discussion at The Huffington Post's offices to address water contamination challenges, the upcoming documentary "Last Call At The Oasis," and her newest endeavor to combat health concerns around the world.
"Last Call At The Oasis" focuses on the growing global water crisis, from the drying up of Lake Mead to the fight to keep herbicides from tainting drinking water. The film highlights Brockovich's newest project, mapping disease clusters around the world in partnership with Google.
Brockovich told HuffPost that this "pet project" began as she was receiving up to 50,000 emails per month from people reporting health issues in their communities, writing concerns such as: "We think it's odd that we have 18 people on our street with Hodgkins; We think it's odd that we have 15 kids on our street with leukemia; We think it's odd that we have 20 people in the community with glioblastoma brain tumors."
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The Huffington Post
By Joanna Zelman
Posted: 05/1/2012
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich recently held a roundtable discussion at The Huffington Post's offices to address water contamination challenges, the upcoming documentary "Last Call At The Oasis," and her newest endeavor to combat health concerns around the world.
"Last Call At The Oasis" focuses on the growing global water crisis, from the drying up of Lake Mead to the fight to keep herbicides from tainting drinking water. The film highlights Brockovich's newest project, mapping disease clusters around the world in partnership with Google.
Brockovich told HuffPost that this "pet project" began as she was receiving up to 50,000 emails per month from people reporting health issues in their communities, writing concerns such as: "We think it's odd that we have 18 people on our street with Hodgkins; We think it's odd that we have 15 kids on our street with leukemia; We think it's odd that we have 20 people in the community with glioblastoma brain tumors."
read more here
Spirit Airlines didn't care Vietnam Vet dying and can't fly
UPDATE
Facebook users heap baggage on Spirit Airlines after dying vet refused refund
By Joshua Rhett Miller
Published May 03, 2012
FoxNews.com
A Facebook campaign calling for a boycott of Spirit Airlines has taken off with jet-like propulsion since the carrier's denial of a refund to a dying former Marine made headlines.
The “Boycott Spirit Airlines” Facebook page has seen its number of "likes" soar in recent days, rising from roughly 700 earlier this week to more than 17,000 as of early Thursday.
The social network support has come as Jerry Meekins, a 76-year-old Vietnam veteran with terminal esophageal cancer, raised a fuss when the Florida-based airline nixed his request for a $197 refund. Meekins was going to fly to New Jersey for his daughter's surgery, but his doctor told him not to fly, citing his deteriorating health. The Facebook page blasting the much-complained-about airline already existed, but Meekins' plight has sent furious fellow veterans and concerned citizens flocking to it.
"This is a despicable act on their part," one post read. "They should have quietly returned the airfare and they could have avoided this. I will never fly this airline."
read more here
By Joshua Rhett Miller
Published May 03, 2012
FoxNews.com
A Facebook campaign calling for a boycott of Spirit Airlines has taken off with jet-like propulsion since the carrier's denial of a refund to a dying former Marine made headlines.
The “Boycott Spirit Airlines” Facebook page has seen its number of "likes" soar in recent days, rising from roughly 700 earlier this week to more than 17,000 as of early Thursday.
The social network support has come as Jerry Meekins, a 76-year-old Vietnam veteran with terminal esophageal cancer, raised a fuss when the Florida-based airline nixed his request for a $197 refund. Meekins was going to fly to New Jersey for his daughter's surgery, but his doctor told him not to fly, citing his deteriorating health. The Facebook page blasting the much-complained-about airline already existed, but Meekins' plight has sent furious fellow veterans and concerned citizens flocking to it.
"This is a despicable act on their part," one post read. "They should have quietly returned the airfare and they could have avoided this. I will never fly this airline."
read more here
Spirit Airlines' refusal to refund vet's ticket earns it an 'F' in Public Relations
By Fraser Seitel
FoxNews.com
Published May 01, 2012
Ever shake your head, ruefully, and wonder why those Occupy Wall Street rabble rousers despise corporations so virulently?
Here’s the answer: Spirit Airlines.
And here’s a better answer: Lawyers.
Spirit, of course, is the airline that has been blistered in the media for refusing a dying Vietnam veteran a $197 ticket refund, because his doctor forbade him to fly. The 76-year-old esophageal cancer sufferer, Jerry Meekins, bought a ticket on Spirit to fly from Clearwater, Fla. to visit his daughter in Atlantic City – perhaps for the last time.
But then his doctor nixed the trip. And Spirit nixed the refund.
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Fort Campbell soldier back from Afghanistan, dead from multiple gunshot wounds
UPDATE
Men Accused Of Killing Ft. Campbell Soldier Found Guilty
Fort Campbell Soldier Found Dead in Clarksville
May 2, 2012
Police in Clarksville are asking for information in the death of a Fort Campbell soldier who was found dead from gunshot wounds after giving two men a ride in his car.
The Leaf-Chronicle reports that Clarksville police found 22-year-old Taylor Hotzoglou inside his car with multiple gunshot wounds early Sunday morning.
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Man found dead Sunday remembered as kind-hearted and prone to offer favors
Police say shooting was 'cowardly' act
4:52 PM, May. 2, 2012
Written by
Allison Smith
Leaf-Chronicle
CLARKSVILLE, TENN. — Taylor Hotzoglou was the type of person who performed random acts of kindness.
He enjoyed helping almost anyone with anything, even if it was giving the last dollar out of his wallet. It was his kind heart and willingness to help that his brother, Greg, believes led to the 22-year-old’s death.
Just after midnight on Sunday, the Clarksville Police Department received a call about a possible wreck with an unresponsive victim, said Detective Michael Ulrey, who is overseeing the case.
When officers arrived, Ulrey said, they found Hotzoglou with multiple gunshot wounds. Police discovered that he had given two men a ride from his apartment at 1671 Fort Campbell Blvd. and was found dead shortly after that.
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Men Accused Of Killing Ft. Campbell Soldier Found Guilty
Fort Campbell Soldier Found Dead in Clarksville
May 2, 2012
Police in Clarksville are asking for information in the death of a Fort Campbell soldier who was found dead from gunshot wounds after giving two men a ride in his car.
The Leaf-Chronicle reports that Clarksville police found 22-year-old Taylor Hotzoglou inside his car with multiple gunshot wounds early Sunday morning.
read more here
Man found dead Sunday remembered as kind-hearted and prone to offer favors
Police say shooting was 'cowardly' act
4:52 PM, May. 2, 2012
Written by
Allison Smith
Leaf-Chronicle
CLARKSVILLE, TENN. — Taylor Hotzoglou was the type of person who performed random acts of kindness.
He enjoyed helping almost anyone with anything, even if it was giving the last dollar out of his wallet. It was his kind heart and willingness to help that his brother, Greg, believes led to the 22-year-old’s death.
Just after midnight on Sunday, the Clarksville Police Department received a call about a possible wreck with an unresponsive victim, said Detective Michael Ulrey, who is overseeing the case.
When officers arrived, Ulrey said, they found Hotzoglou with multiple gunshot wounds. Police discovered that he had given two men a ride from his apartment at 1671 Fort Campbell Blvd. and was found dead shortly after that.
read more here
IRS seeks loan taxes from family of dead Marine
IRS seeks loan taxes from family of dead Marine
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 1, 2012
A Tennessee lawmaker is trying to protect a Marine’s parents from having to pay taxes on student loans that were waived after the Marine’s death.
Lance Cpl. Andrew Carpenter died in 2011 in Germany from injuries suffered when he was shot by a sniper in Afghanistan. The 27-year-old, who had attended college before enlisting in the Marine Corps, died with outstanding student loans from a private lender. The lender waived the debt, but family was notified by the Department of Education that the waived debt was considered as income for tax purposes.
While the survivors never expected it, IRS policy holds that forgiven debt on credit cards, personal loans and student loans is treated as income, just like wages — and taxable, just like wages.
Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., a freshman lawmaker representing Carpenter’s hometown of Columbia, Tenn., is trying to help the Carpenter family and ensure similar situations don’t happen to other military families.
“It is simply not right to require the families of deceased veterans, having already sacrificed so greatly for our country, to pay more in taxes for loans that have already been forgiven,” DesJarlais said.
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By Rick Maze
Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 1, 2012
A Tennessee lawmaker is trying to protect a Marine’s parents from having to pay taxes on student loans that were waived after the Marine’s death.
Lance Cpl. Andrew Carpenter died in 2011 in Germany from injuries suffered when he was shot by a sniper in Afghanistan. The 27-year-old, who had attended college before enlisting in the Marine Corps, died with outstanding student loans from a private lender. The lender waived the debt, but family was notified by the Department of Education that the waived debt was considered as income for tax purposes.
While the survivors never expected it, IRS policy holds that forgiven debt on credit cards, personal loans and student loans is treated as income, just like wages — and taxable, just like wages.
Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., a freshman lawmaker representing Carpenter’s hometown of Columbia, Tenn., is trying to help the Carpenter family and ensure similar situations don’t happen to other military families.
“It is simply not right to require the families of deceased veterans, having already sacrificed so greatly for our country, to pay more in taxes for loans that have already been forgiven,” DesJarlais said.
read more here
Camp Lejeune Marine dies after physical training
Marine dies after physical training
May 02, 2012
A Camp Lejeune Marine died Monday after conducting personal physical training, according to information from Camp Lejeune.
Staff Sgt. Carlous Perry, 30, a native of Clay, Miss. and a maintenance chief assigned to 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was rushed to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune where he was pronounced dead at 1:15 p.m.
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May 02, 2012
A Camp Lejeune Marine died Monday after conducting personal physical training, according to information from Camp Lejeune.
Staff Sgt. Carlous Perry, 30, a native of Clay, Miss. and a maintenance chief assigned to 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was rushed to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune where he was pronounced dead at 1:15 p.m.
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Towels, shower items sought for Marines
Towels, shower items sought for Marines
May 1, 2012
BY BRIAN MARTINEZ /
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The city and Irvine 2/11 Marine Adoption Committee are collecting personal items for 350 welcome-home packages for Irvine's adopted Marines – the 2d Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division – out of Camp Pendleton.
The "2/11" battalion, which the city "adopted" in 2007, is returning throughout May and June from a 12-month deployment to Afghanistan. The welcome-home packages are for the battalion's single Marines, many of whom return to empty barracks without the comfort of family.
The public is invited to show support for the troops by donating towels, washcloths and men's body wash/shower gel items (Axe or Dove are the preferred brands) at Irvine Civic Center or the Lakeview Senior Center through Monday, May 7.
Items dropped off after May 7 will be used for any remaining welcome home packages and for other 2/11 Marine activities.
Information: 949-588-8014 or visit Irvine 211 Marines or 949-588-8014.
May 1, 2012
BY BRIAN MARTINEZ /
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The city and Irvine 2/11 Marine Adoption Committee are collecting personal items for 350 welcome-home packages for Irvine's adopted Marines – the 2d Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division – out of Camp Pendleton.
The "2/11" battalion, which the city "adopted" in 2007, is returning throughout May and June from a 12-month deployment to Afghanistan. The welcome-home packages are for the battalion's single Marines, many of whom return to empty barracks without the comfort of family.
The public is invited to show support for the troops by donating towels, washcloths and men's body wash/shower gel items (Axe or Dove are the preferred brands) at Irvine Civic Center or the Lakeview Senior Center through Monday, May 7.
Items dropped off after May 7 will be used for any remaining welcome home packages and for other 2/11 Marine activities.
Information: 949-588-8014 or visit Irvine 211 Marines or 949-588-8014.
MIA U.S. Army Capt. Charles Barnes will be laid to rest
Governor orders flags in Lehigh Co. to fly at half staff in honor of fallen soldier
Author: Katie Shank
Web Producer
Published On: May 01 2012
ARLINGTON, Va.
More than 40 years after his plane went missing over Vietnam, a Lehigh County soldier will finally be laid to rest.
U.S. Army Capt. Charles Barnes, a native of Fullerton, Whitehall Twp., was listed as missing in action after his Army U-21A "Ute" aircraft lost radar contact and crashed in bad weather on Mar. 16, 1969.
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Soccer star strengthens bond with OEF OIF veteran Dad
Danny Cruz of D.C. United strengthens bonds with his father, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan
By Steven Goff,
As he spoke with wounded soldiers last week, his eyes tearing when told of roadside bombs and lost friends, D.C. United’s Danny Cruz thought of his father.
Al Cruz, Army sergeant first class, is stateside these days, preparing for reassignment to Illinois from Arizona. He served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan totaling more than 40 months since 2003 but was never injured.
“When I was listening to them tell their stories, I was thinking, ‘My dad was doing that,’ ” Danny, 22, said the day after a team-sponsored visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. “He was gone so long, it’s remarkable he’s okay.”
With combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, the elder Cruz, 45, doesn’t think he’ll go back. He told Danny he was proud he visited Walter Reed, saying, “You saw the war that most people don’t see.”
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By Steven Goff,
(Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post) - D.C. United midfielder Danny Cruz, left, and Montreal midfielder Felipe Martins go for a header during the second half of the game at RFK Stadium.
As he spoke with wounded soldiers last week, his eyes tearing when told of roadside bombs and lost friends, D.C. United’s Danny Cruz thought of his father.
Al Cruz, Army sergeant first class, is stateside these days, preparing for reassignment to Illinois from Arizona. He served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan totaling more than 40 months since 2003 but was never injured.
“When I was listening to them tell their stories, I was thinking, ‘My dad was doing that,’ ” Danny, 22, said the day after a team-sponsored visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. “He was gone so long, it’s remarkable he’s okay.”
With combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, the elder Cruz, 45, doesn’t think he’ll go back. He told Danny he was proud he visited Walter Reed, saying, “You saw the war that most people don’t see.”
read more here
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
“Tell Ashley I love her.”
Soldiers recount 60-second attack that left them reflecting on life and death
By MARTIN KUZ
Stars and Stripes
Published: May 1, 2012
MUCHAI KALAY, Afghanistan -- Staff Sgt. Damian Remijio and Spc. Zachary Fitch lay on the ground as a grenade bounced down a pile of rocks toward them. Metal struck stone with awful clarity.
Ting … ting … ting …
Remijio spoke the words he believed would be his last.
“Tell Ashley I love her.” His girlfriend of a year. “Tell Leiah I love her.” His 3-year-old daughter.
“Tell them I’m sorry.”
The soldiers belong to Company D of the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment stationed at Combat Outpost Sabari in eastern Khost province. Their platoon came under attack during a patrol April 12 near Muchai Kalay, a maze of mud-walled homes 15 miles from Pakistan.
Earlier that afternoon, a mortar round hit 100 feet outside COP Sabari, the fourth time in two weeks that militants had targeted the base. The artillery strikes suggested the so-called fighting season of the Taliban-led insurgency had arrived in a region dominated by the Haqqani network.
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By MARTIN KUZ
Stars and Stripes
Published: May 1, 2012
MUCHAI KALAY, Afghanistan -- Staff Sgt. Damian Remijio and Spc. Zachary Fitch lay on the ground as a grenade bounced down a pile of rocks toward them. Metal struck stone with awful clarity.
Ting … ting … ting …
Remijio spoke the words he believed would be his last.
“Tell Ashley I love her.” His girlfriend of a year. “Tell Leiah I love her.” His 3-year-old daughter.
“Tell them I’m sorry.”
The soldiers belong to Company D of the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment stationed at Combat Outpost Sabari in eastern Khost province. Their platoon came under attack during a patrol April 12 near Muchai Kalay, a maze of mud-walled homes 15 miles from Pakistan.
Earlier that afternoon, a mortar round hit 100 feet outside COP Sabari, the fourth time in two weeks that militants had targeted the base. The artillery strikes suggested the so-called fighting season of the Taliban-led insurgency had arrived in a region dominated by the Haqqani network.
read more here
President Obama in Afghanistan to sign security pact
Obama in Afghanistan to sign security pact
By Ben Feller
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 1, 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan — President Obama slipped into Afghanistan Tuesday night on an unannounced visit on the anniversary of the killing of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden. Obama is signing an agreement cementing a U.S. commitment to the nation after the long and unpopular war comes to an end.
The partnership spells out the U.S. relationship with Afghanistan beyond 2014, covering security, economics and governance. The deal is limited in scope and essentially gives both sides political cover: Afghanistan gets its sovereignty and a promise it won’t be abandoned, while the U.S. gets to end its combat mission but keep a foothold in the country.
The deal does not commit the United States to any specific troop presence or spending. But it does allow the U.S. to potentially keep troops in Afghanistan after the war ends for two specific purposes: continued training of Afghan forces and targeted operations against al-Qaida, which is present in neighboring Pakistan but has only a nominal presence inside Afghanistan.
read more here
By Ben Feller
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 1, 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan — President Obama slipped into Afghanistan Tuesday night on an unannounced visit on the anniversary of the killing of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden. Obama is signing an agreement cementing a U.S. commitment to the nation after the long and unpopular war comes to an end.
The partnership spells out the U.S. relationship with Afghanistan beyond 2014, covering security, economics and governance. The deal is limited in scope and essentially gives both sides political cover: Afghanistan gets its sovereignty and a promise it won’t be abandoned, while the U.S. gets to end its combat mission but keep a foothold in the country.
The deal does not commit the United States to any specific troop presence or spending. But it does allow the U.S. to potentially keep troops in Afghanistan after the war ends for two specific purposes: continued training of Afghan forces and targeted operations against al-Qaida, which is present in neighboring Pakistan but has only a nominal presence inside Afghanistan.
read more here
Soldier wrongly fired by Catholic charity for Iraq service
Jury: Soldier wrongly fired by Catholic charity for Iraq service
BY LEVI PULKKINEN,
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
A Washington National Guard sergeant was wrongly fired shortly before she deployed to Iraq, a federal jury in Seattle hearing the soldier’s civil lawsuit has ruled.
Returning its verdict late Monday, the jury found Sgt. Grace Campbell’s former employer Catholic Community Services discriminated against and wrongly fired her after learning Campbell would deploy to Iraq in 2008. The jury awarded her $485,000 in damages following a week-long trial.
read more here
BY LEVI PULKKINEN,
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
A Washington National Guard sergeant was wrongly fired shortly before she deployed to Iraq, a federal jury in Seattle hearing the soldier’s civil lawsuit has ruled.
Returning its verdict late Monday, the jury found Sgt. Grace Campbell’s former employer Catholic Community Services discriminated against and wrongly fired her after learning Campbell would deploy to Iraq in 2008. The jury awarded her $485,000 in damages following a week-long trial.
read more here
Fort Bragg won't help Staff Sgt. Joshua “Ike” Eisenhauer
Army will not intervene in Bragg shooting case
By Joe Gould
Staff writer
Posted : Monday Apr 30, 201
Fort Bragg’s top general has decided not to assume jurisdiction in the case of a troubled staff sergeant charged with shooting at cops and firefighters he thought were insurgents.
Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, the XVIII Airborne Corps commander, on Friday denied the request from Staff Sgt. Joshua “Ike” Eisenhauer’s attorney to have the Army take over his prosecution, post spokesperson Jacqueline Thomas said in an emailed statement.
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also
Parents say Fort Bragg soldier charged with shooting at firefighters has PTSD
By Joe Gould
Staff writer
Posted : Monday Apr 30, 201
Fort Bragg’s top general has decided not to assume jurisdiction in the case of a troubled staff sergeant charged with shooting at cops and firefighters he thought were insurgents.
Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, the XVIII Airborne Corps commander, on Friday denied the request from Staff Sgt. Joshua “Ike” Eisenhauer’s attorney to have the Army take over his prosecution, post spokesperson Jacqueline Thomas said in an emailed statement.
read more here
also
Parents say Fort Bragg soldier charged with shooting at firefighters has PTSD
Canadian Forces suicides on the rise in 2011
Canadian Forces suicides on the rise in 2011
Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA
More Canadian soldiers committed suicide last year than at any time since the mid-1990s, according to figures released by the military on Monday.
There were a total of 20 suicides among Canadian Forces personnel in 2011 — 19 males and one female — up from a dozen in 2010.
“One suicide is too many and we have too many every year,” Gen. Walter Natynczyk, chief of the defence staff, said of the increase Monday at a Senate defence committee hearing.
The military said in a news release that while the number for 2011 is higher than in previous years, the variation can be the result of “random patterns or indicate the beginning of an upward trend.”
But Defence Minister Peter MacKay said there is “no question” that the effects of multiple deployments to Afghanistan since 2001 “have had a debilitating effect” on the mental health of Canadian troops.
The military does not release specific details about suicide deaths other than those that occur while a soldier is deployed overseas. There were two “non-hostile” deaths in Afghanistan last year, including that of Master Cpl. Francis Roy last June. Military officials ruled Roy’s death as a possible suicide. A month earlier, Bombadier Karl Manning was killed in a “non-hostile” incident, though it isn’t clear whether it was suicide.
There were also several military suicides last fall that around the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, although it is unknown if the particular date played any role in the soldiers’ decision to take their lives.
read more here
Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA
More Canadian soldiers committed suicide last year than at any time since the mid-1990s, according to figures released by the military on Monday.
There were a total of 20 suicides among Canadian Forces personnel in 2011 — 19 males and one female — up from a dozen in 2010.
“One suicide is too many and we have too many every year,” Gen. Walter Natynczyk, chief of the defence staff, said of the increase Monday at a Senate defence committee hearing.
The military said in a news release that while the number for 2011 is higher than in previous years, the variation can be the result of “random patterns or indicate the beginning of an upward trend.”
But Defence Minister Peter MacKay said there is “no question” that the effects of multiple deployments to Afghanistan since 2001 “have had a debilitating effect” on the mental health of Canadian troops.
The military does not release specific details about suicide deaths other than those that occur while a soldier is deployed overseas. There were two “non-hostile” deaths in Afghanistan last year, including that of Master Cpl. Francis Roy last June. Military officials ruled Roy’s death as a possible suicide. A month earlier, Bombadier Karl Manning was killed in a “non-hostile” incident, though it isn’t clear whether it was suicide.
There were also several military suicides last fall that around the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, although it is unknown if the particular date played any role in the soldiers’ decision to take their lives.
read more here
PTSD treatments that work never include Resiliency
Ritchie ran down the list of common "treatments" that have made the headlines but one thing stands out here. Nowhere has "resiliency" shown up in any of the suggestions about what works from articles posted on the subject. Why is that?
Last night during a conference call with Point Man International Ministries Resiliency Training came up and I had to control myself from hitting the roof on this. I pointed out that the rise in suicides, attempted suicides, calls to the Suicide Prevention Hotline along with veterans committing suicide can all be tied to this "program" that has done more harm than good.
It was introduced under Battlemind Training. While the program has some great aspects to it, the problem is, the message being delivered from the start is, PTSD is their fault for not training their minds to be tough. Yes, that is what the troops hear.
If someone told you that you could train your brain to be tough, wouldn't you think that meant you had a weak mind and not strong enough to take combat? Wouldn't you then assume after an event like a bomb blowing up some of your friends, and you couldn't get over it, that they were right and you are just not tough enough? Wouldn't you then find that notion stronger if you looked at your buddies after they went through the same thing but seem to be fine?
Would you want to talk to any of the people you were with about how it is effecting you knowing they took the same training you did but feel as if you are weaker than they are or didn't train right?
That happens all the time after the DOD has basically told them and everyone else they are with that PTSD is the fault of a weak mind.
They can claim anything they want but the end result is after over 4 years of the Battlemind approach, under different titles, it has not worked but they continue to push it. What is worse is the VA has been using the same type of response. Look at the number of suicides along with everything else and then you'll be as angry as I am about this.
DOD message has been PTSD is your fault
I've held enough Marines and soldiers in my arms as they cry and apologize for not "training" right. They didn't feel safe to talk to anyone about what they were going through because the others were "stronger" and "able to take it" when they couldn't. No one told them the rate of PTSD after an event is 1 out of 3 (some use 1 out of 5) which means not everyone ends up with PTSD after a horrific event during combat. No one told them that while they needed to heal after it, too many times they were exposed to more events piling on top of the event they just survived.
There is too much they are not being told and told too many times the wrong thing. Resiliency Training is the worst message they can hear!
PTSD: Treatments That Work
By ELSPETH CAMERON RITCHIE
May 1, 2012
The recently-issued policy on screening and treating PTSD from the Army’s Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) is dense, specific and should be helpful in advancing the field of post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis and treatment.
Last week, I posted on the change in the criteria for diagnosing PTSD. Now we’ll examine a central focus of the policy: evidence-based treatment, including cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT), exposure-based treatment, and medication.
Evidence-based treatments are ones that are proven, in scientific trials, to be effective. The American Psychiatric Association and DoD-VA have published treatment guidelines.
There are other treatments that have not been proven, but show promise. They may be called evidence-informed treatments, or promising new treatments.
A brief description of these treatments follows. More information can be found in a number of forums, including at the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Read more
Last night during a conference call with Point Man International Ministries Resiliency Training came up and I had to control myself from hitting the roof on this. I pointed out that the rise in suicides, attempted suicides, calls to the Suicide Prevention Hotline along with veterans committing suicide can all be tied to this "program" that has done more harm than good.
It was introduced under Battlemind Training. While the program has some great aspects to it, the problem is, the message being delivered from the start is, PTSD is their fault for not training their minds to be tough. Yes, that is what the troops hear.
If someone told you that you could train your brain to be tough, wouldn't you think that meant you had a weak mind and not strong enough to take combat? Wouldn't you then assume after an event like a bomb blowing up some of your friends, and you couldn't get over it, that they were right and you are just not tough enough? Wouldn't you then find that notion stronger if you looked at your buddies after they went through the same thing but seem to be fine?
Would you want to talk to any of the people you were with about how it is effecting you knowing they took the same training you did but feel as if you are weaker than they are or didn't train right?
That happens all the time after the DOD has basically told them and everyone else they are with that PTSD is the fault of a weak mind.
They can claim anything they want but the end result is after over 4 years of the Battlemind approach, under different titles, it has not worked but they continue to push it. What is worse is the VA has been using the same type of response. Look at the number of suicides along with everything else and then you'll be as angry as I am about this.
DOD message has been PTSD is your fault
I've held enough Marines and soldiers in my arms as they cry and apologize for not "training" right. They didn't feel safe to talk to anyone about what they were going through because the others were "stronger" and "able to take it" when they couldn't. No one told them the rate of PTSD after an event is 1 out of 3 (some use 1 out of 5) which means not everyone ends up with PTSD after a horrific event during combat. No one told them that while they needed to heal after it, too many times they were exposed to more events piling on top of the event they just survived.
There is too much they are not being told and told too many times the wrong thing. Resiliency Training is the worst message they can hear!
Communities need to "invest in these soldiers"
Colorado war veteran: Communities need to "invest in these soldiers"
POSTED:05/01/2012
By Nancy Lofholm
The Denver Post
MONTROSE — Tim Kenney is almost in his element behind the counter at Toads Guide Shop. Here, bits of brightly colored fly-tying fluff fill glass bins, and a blue inflatable raft reminds customers — and Kenney — of the promise of future fly-fishing trips. Kenney had been a fishing, rafting and hunting guide and a contract trapper before he, then 41, decided to join the Army National Guard. He was tired of seeing 20-somethings disproportionately losing their lives in faraway wars. He reasoned that if he served, he might be able to keep his own children — two daughters, now 20 and 18, and two younger children — from having to go to war.
So this wiry outdoorsman reported for duty at Fort Benning with a company of fresh-faced youngsters who laughed at his love of Toby Keith's hyper-patriotic songs and who couldn't fathom Kenney's unfamiliarity with iPhones.
Physically, he was strong enough from years of rowing rough waters and tramping miles in big-game tracks to keep up with the younger soldiers, even when he volunteered for a combat unit headed to a mountainous region of Afghanistan.
A few years, several rocket-propelled-grenade hits, a blown-out disc, a torn shoulder, a shrapnel strike to the face, broken teeth and a rattled brain later, he is struggling to figure out whether he will ever be able to do what he did before he became Army Spec. Tim Kenney.
read more here
POSTED:05/01/2012
By Nancy Lofholm
The Denver Post
MONTROSE — Tim Kenney is almost in his element behind the counter at Toads Guide Shop. Here, bits of brightly colored fly-tying fluff fill glass bins, and a blue inflatable raft reminds customers — and Kenney — of the promise of future fly-fishing trips. Kenney had been a fishing, rafting and hunting guide and a contract trapper before he, then 41, decided to join the Army National Guard. He was tired of seeing 20-somethings disproportionately losing their lives in faraway wars. He reasoned that if he served, he might be able to keep his own children — two daughters, now 20 and 18, and two younger children — from having to go to war.
So this wiry outdoorsman reported for duty at Fort Benning with a company of fresh-faced youngsters who laughed at his love of Toby Keith's hyper-patriotic songs and who couldn't fathom Kenney's unfamiliarity with iPhones.
Physically, he was strong enough from years of rowing rough waters and tramping miles in big-game tracks to keep up with the younger soldiers, even when he volunteered for a combat unit headed to a mountainous region of Afghanistan.
A few years, several rocket-propelled-grenade hits, a blown-out disc, a torn shoulder, a shrapnel strike to the face, broken teeth and a rattled brain later, he is struggling to figure out whether he will ever be able to do what he did before he became Army Spec. Tim Kenney.
read more here
Greedy colleges target veterans
U.S. Veterans Targeted By Marketers in College Selection Process
By SUSANNA KIM
ABC News
April 30, 2012
The Post-9/11 GI Bill offers financial support for veterans' education, leading some marketers to target vets with deceptive advertising about college opportunities and President Obama to sign an executive order on Friday to curb those abuses.
The bill was an enormous boost to Michael Dakduk, who served in the Marine Corps and is now executive director of Student Veterans of America, an organization whose mission is to provide vets in higher education and following graduation with resources and support.
Dakduk, who left active duty in 2008, said he would not have been able to pursue his bachelor's degree full-time at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
"I had such a substantial increase in benefits, I could focus solely on studies," Dakduk said.
The Las Vegas-native had previously attended community college while working part-time, with assistance from the Montgomery GI Bill.
That bill provides a monthly education benefit to active duty military members who pay $100 a month for the financial assistance.
read more here
By SUSANNA KIM
ABC News
April 30, 2012
The Post-9/11 GI Bill offers financial support for veterans' education, leading some marketers to target vets with deceptive advertising about college opportunities and President Obama to sign an executive order on Friday to curb those abuses.
The bill was an enormous boost to Michael Dakduk, who served in the Marine Corps and is now executive director of Student Veterans of America, an organization whose mission is to provide vets in higher education and following graduation with resources and support.
Dakduk, who left active duty in 2008, said he would not have been able to pursue his bachelor's degree full-time at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
"I had such a substantial increase in benefits, I could focus solely on studies," Dakduk said.
The Las Vegas-native had previously attended community college while working part-time, with assistance from the Montgomery GI Bill.
That bill provides a monthly education benefit to active duty military members who pay $100 a month for the financial assistance.
read more here
My life slapped into perspective
Usually I'll offer the "off topic" note for a post like this but in this case, it is far from it.
In all these years I've met stunning heroes I wouldn't have had a chance to meet other than the simple fact I am involved with veterans. Most of the people I meet put me to shame doing far more than I do but without a public voice. Top that off with most of them do not want attention for what they do instead of what they are doing it for. Carol Gambill is one of those quiet heroes.
Most of the time she's out with her husband Russ raising money to build a house for a combat wounded veteran so their lives can be more comfortable. Dedication beyond belief! Carol was at the Veterans Reunion in Melbourne when I made it out there on Saturday, whining about how tired I was from the party the night before. Carol, as usual, stood there with a big smile on her face telling me I needed to have some fun once in a while.
Now I read what else happened while Carol was spending time surrounded by the veterans she loves! The woman she wants to help is not a veteran as you'll read but this goes to show that people who care don't stop caring when someone outside of their "group" needs someone.
In all these years I've met stunning heroes I wouldn't have had a chance to meet other than the simple fact I am involved with veterans. Most of the people I meet put me to shame doing far more than I do but without a public voice. Top that off with most of them do not want attention for what they do instead of what they are doing it for. Carol Gambill is one of those quiet heroes.
Most of the time she's out with her husband Russ raising money to build a house for a combat wounded veteran so their lives can be more comfortable. Dedication beyond belief! Carol was at the Veterans Reunion in Melbourne when I made it out there on Saturday, whining about how tired I was from the party the night before. Carol, as usual, stood there with a big smile on her face telling me I needed to have some fun once in a while.
Now I read what else happened while Carol was spending time surrounded by the veterans she loves! The woman she wants to help is not a veteran as you'll read but this goes to show that people who care don't stop caring when someone outside of their "group" needs someone.
Russ and Carol Gambill
Homes for Our Troops Volunteers
Homes For Our Troops
Florida Veterans Network
From: Carol Gambill
Subject: My life slapped into perspective
All right. This weekend I had my life slapped into perspective. Not only did I volunteer in my typical handing out information at events regarding 'Homes for our Troops', which builds and remodels homes for the severely wounded veterans but that is another story in itself and will try to stay focused and tell you about an extraordinary lady with whom I met.
Lois Search hasn't lost the fervor for life even from problems at a very young age. A "little person" as they are called and now for whatever reason in a wheelchair. Whether she was born ridden in wheelchair was never disclosed and I wasn't about to ask. I look past that fact knowing anyone of us could have been born no different. Lois begins to speak to me with her request as I stand with a flyer in my hand in front of the 'Homes for our Troops' booth. For some reason, I quickly hide the flyer behind my back and bend down to her height of two maybe three feet to listen more intently. I realize then that she has a oxygen tube that goes into her nose for her breathing. I focus on her words and lightly swallow back the discomfort of seeing it all. I look into her kind face and can't stop having the compassion that God would want us to have. To love our brother and sister.
As she hands me cards with the information (more like computer paper cut into the size of cards) and with small hands barely able to work effectively, it makes me wonder just how it would be to cut the paper? My mind drifted in thought in how difficult it would be to just get up every morning. The difficulty of taking care of oneself, showering or bathing, dressing then getting yourself into your wheelchair.
I ask her if I could walk around with her to hand them out. She is no doubt an inspiration as we walk around... her in wheelchair and me, feeling a bit guilty because I could. I talk with Lois and ask her how she got to Wickham Park. She tells me she rode the city transit bus from her house just a couple miles away. Crazy, 'cause if it took that much effort every day I would likely be a bit disillusioned with life and become so depressed I wouldn't go anywhere. Yes, she truly made me realize what a weak person I am.
Lois and I continue handing out the pieces of paper and she never once asks for money or any food but simply asked for a one single vote. A vote on the "Mobility Awaeeness Month" link on the internet so she may be able to pursue her independence with chances of winning a new van. Amazing, the humbleness, pride that has to be held and bravery, not to just speak on your behalf but to get up every day to face struggle.
Lois, you're a special Lady!
Take a look at the youtube video Lois Search Video with Lois telling more about herself but says nothing about her spirited independence, honesty, and adversaries--only that she would truly like to win! So please don't forget to vote for Lois Search on this link: Lois Search.
She currently has 1672 votes and deadline is May 13th 2012 so lets get her that van!
Carol Gambill Author of the 'Breaking Out Series'
Monday, April 30, 2012
Veterans with hidden wounds face service dog harassment
Veterans with hidden wounds face service dog harassment
by Phil Anaya /
KENS 5
Posted on April 28, 2012
For many people across Texas, having a service dog to help them with their disability is a great tool, as well as a great companion. However, for some being out in public with their service dog doesn’t come without some sort of scrutiny.
Most service dogs are trained to help those who are deaf, blind or physically handicapped. But there are also those with invisible wounds or disabilities. For example; Veterans that suffer from PTSD.
In recent months KENS 5 has come across several people questioned and/or harassed about their disability because their service dog doesn’t look like your typical service K9, or because the person handling the dog doesn’t appear to be disabled.
San Antonian Carrie Ann Partch suffers from PTSD. She has a toy poodle named Bella who is her service dog. Partch claims she’s been harassed about her service dog twice this semester at the UTSA downtown campus, as well as at other places around town.
read more here
by Phil Anaya /
KENS 5
Posted on April 28, 2012
For many people across Texas, having a service dog to help them with their disability is a great tool, as well as a great companion. However, for some being out in public with their service dog doesn’t come without some sort of scrutiny.
Most service dogs are trained to help those who are deaf, blind or physically handicapped. But there are also those with invisible wounds or disabilities. For example; Veterans that suffer from PTSD.
In recent months KENS 5 has come across several people questioned and/or harassed about their disability because their service dog doesn’t look like your typical service K9, or because the person handling the dog doesn’t appear to be disabled.
San Antonian Carrie Ann Partch suffers from PTSD. She has a toy poodle named Bella who is her service dog. Partch claims she’s been harassed about her service dog twice this semester at the UTSA downtown campus, as well as at other places around town.
read more here
Fort Bragg WTU needs to give better care
Report: Bragg WTU needs to give better care
By Joe Gould -
Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Apr 29, 2012
An investigation into claims of maltreatment of soldiers at the Fort Bragg, N.C., warrior transition battalion found the post needs to improve the way it selects and trains its staff, and that the staff needs to communicate better with the troops in their care.
“From our position, the perception of that soldier and his wife is reality,” said Brig. Gen. Michael X. Garrett, the departing 18th Airborne Corps chief of staff, referring to publicized complaints about the WTU. “And so we’re trying to figure out, how do we better connect with him? How do we better keep him informed? How do we better prepare leaders for what I would argue is one of the most difficult tasks in our Army?”
Lt. Gen. Frank G. Helmick, the commanding general of 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, ordered the investigation after an advocacy group told him in February that soldiers in the battalion were being overmedicated, poorly treated and unfairly discharged.
The inspector general’s report was not released, but Garrett summarized the inspector general’s findings in a news conference on the post April 17. He told reporters they can request the report from the Inspector General’s Office at Army headquarters under the Freedom of Information Act. Army Times has made that request but had not received the report by press time.
read more here
By Joe Gould -
Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Apr 29, 2012
An investigation into claims of maltreatment of soldiers at the Fort Bragg, N.C., warrior transition battalion found the post needs to improve the way it selects and trains its staff, and that the staff needs to communicate better with the troops in their care.
“From our position, the perception of that soldier and his wife is reality,” said Brig. Gen. Michael X. Garrett, the departing 18th Airborne Corps chief of staff, referring to publicized complaints about the WTU. “And so we’re trying to figure out, how do we better connect with him? How do we better keep him informed? How do we better prepare leaders for what I would argue is one of the most difficult tasks in our Army?”
Lt. Gen. Frank G. Helmick, the commanding general of 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, ordered the investigation after an advocacy group told him in February that soldiers in the battalion were being overmedicated, poorly treated and unfairly discharged.
The inspector general’s report was not released, but Garrett summarized the inspector general’s findings in a news conference on the post April 17. He told reporters they can request the report from the Inspector General’s Office at Army headquarters under the Freedom of Information Act. Army Times has made that request but had not received the report by press time.
read more here
Parents say Fort Bragg soldier charged with shooting at firefighters has PTSD
Parents want Army to care for shooting suspect
By Joe Gould
Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Apr 29, 2012
The parents of a Fort Bragg, N.C., soldier charged with shooting at police and firefighters who responded to a fire at his home said he suffered from combat-related stress and believed he was being attacked by insurgents.
The soldier, Staff Sgt. Joshua “Ike” Eisenhauer, 30, shot at emergency workers who came to fight a small fire on his deck Jan. 13. No emergency workers were seriously injured in the shootout, but Eisenhauer was hospitalized for gunshot wounds.
He has since recovered and was charged with 15 counts of attempted murder, nine counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a government official and six counts of assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm.
In separate letters to Army Times, Eisenhauer’s parents — Mark Eisenhauer and Dawn Erickson — said their son was traumatized after two deployments and called on the Army to “assume responsibility” and take over the prosecution from the state.
Mark Eisenhauer said in the letter, “the Army should take care of its own even when that means prosecutions of its own. The Army has the facilities to provide the physical and psychiatric care or soldier needs to recover and become a useful member of civilian society again.”
According to Eisenhauer’s father, his son said he had “flashbacked to combat in Afghanistan.” He awoke to the sound of footsteps on the stairs outside his apartment, saw flames, smelled smoke, and “fired on the ‘insurgents’ who were actually firemen and police officers.”
read more here
By Joe Gould
Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Apr 29, 2012
The parents of a Fort Bragg, N.C., soldier charged with shooting at police and firefighters who responded to a fire at his home said he suffered from combat-related stress and believed he was being attacked by insurgents.
The soldier, Staff Sgt. Joshua “Ike” Eisenhauer, 30, shot at emergency workers who came to fight a small fire on his deck Jan. 13. No emergency workers were seriously injured in the shootout, but Eisenhauer was hospitalized for gunshot wounds.
He has since recovered and was charged with 15 counts of attempted murder, nine counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a government official and six counts of assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm.
In separate letters to Army Times, Eisenhauer’s parents — Mark Eisenhauer and Dawn Erickson — said their son was traumatized after two deployments and called on the Army to “assume responsibility” and take over the prosecution from the state.
Mark Eisenhauer said in the letter, “the Army should take care of its own even when that means prosecutions of its own. The Army has the facilities to provide the physical and psychiatric care or soldier needs to recover and become a useful member of civilian society again.”
According to Eisenhauer’s father, his son said he had “flashbacked to combat in Afghanistan.” He awoke to the sound of footsteps on the stairs outside his apartment, saw flames, smelled smoke, and “fired on the ‘insurgents’ who were actually firemen and police officers.”
read more here
VFW to restore memorial cross in Mojave Desert
Court settlement paves way for veterans to restore memorial cross in Mojave Desert
Published April 29, 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.
read more here
Published April 29, 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.
read more here
In Blacksburg parade, veterans hear a hearty 'thanks'
In Blacksburg parade, veterans hear a hearty 'thanks'
Hundreds of New River Valley residents gathered on South Main Street on Sunday to clap, wave flags and greet veterans who paraded by.
By Mason Adams
Hundreds of New River Valley residents gathered on South Main Street to clap, wave small American flags and say "thank you" as the veterans walked or rode by.
As one vet passed by in the back of a car, Peggy Eaton of Montgomery County rushed out to shake his hand. Eaton said she lost three fathers -- her birth father, her stepfather and her father-in-law -- to World War II, and said it was important to be at the parade to pay tribute to their sacrifices.
Gary Harris of Radford had the same idea. He has been driving a recreational vehicle called "A Soldier's Spirit" for years to pay tribute to those who have perished in wars. Harris, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 776, served in the Army and fought in the Vietnam War in 1970.
"My friend Steve Traynor, we had 48 days to come home from Vietnam, and he got killed," Harris said. "So when I retired, I bought this old bus and put that mural on the side. When I went out camping or on trips, other people want to put a name of their loved one on the side."
read more here
Hundreds of New River Valley residents gathered on South Main Street on Sunday to clap, wave flags and greet veterans who paraded by.
By Mason Adams
Col. Wesley Fox, one of fewer than 85 living Medal of Honor recipients, talks with compatriots before the Welcome Home Veterans Parade in Blacksburg. Fox was in the Marines for 43 years and is a former deputy commandant for the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets. BLACKSBURG -- Generations of military veterans marched together Sunday in a parade that culminated with the annual Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets' change of command ceremony.
Hundreds of New River Valley residents gathered on South Main Street to clap, wave small American flags and say "thank you" as the veterans walked or rode by.
As one vet passed by in the back of a car, Peggy Eaton of Montgomery County rushed out to shake his hand. Eaton said she lost three fathers -- her birth father, her stepfather and her father-in-law -- to World War II, and said it was important to be at the parade to pay tribute to their sacrifices.
Gary Harris of Radford had the same idea. He has been driving a recreational vehicle called "A Soldier's Spirit" for years to pay tribute to those who have perished in wars. Harris, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 776, served in the Army and fought in the Vietnam War in 1970.
"My friend Steve Traynor, we had 48 days to come home from Vietnam, and he got killed," Harris said. "So when I retired, I bought this old bus and put that mural on the side. When I went out camping or on trips, other people want to put a name of their loved one on the side."
read more here
At 102, female WWII veteran keeps doing good deeds
At 102, female WWII veteran keeps doing good deeds
Bea Abrams Cohen has worked for more than seven decades supporting philanthropic organizations and the U.S. military.
By Ann M. Simmons
Los Angeles Times
April 30, 2012
It's all about "mitzvah," said Bea Abrams Cohen as she sought to explain one possible secret to her longevity. The meanings of the Hebrew word include an act of human kindness or a good deed. That's what Cohen, age 102, has spent a lifetime doing.
"Pay back. It works," said the chatty centenarian, who served her country during World War II and has worked for more than seven decades supporting the U.S. military and philanthropic organizations.
A resident of Westchester, Cohen is believed to be California's oldest female veteran, according to the California Department of Veterans Affairs. She was recently recognized at a state Capitol celebration during Women's Military History Week honoring the achievements of women in the armed forces.
"I don't want anyone to ever forget our veterans," Cohen said. "They are our heroes."
read more here
Bea Abrams Cohen has worked for more than seven decades supporting philanthropic organizations and the U.S. military.
By Ann M. Simmons
Los Angeles Times
April 30, 2012
It's all about "mitzvah," said Bea Abrams Cohen as she sought to explain one possible secret to her longevity. The meanings of the Hebrew word include an act of human kindness or a good deed. That's what Cohen, age 102, has spent a lifetime doing.
"Pay back. It works," said the chatty centenarian, who served her country during World War II and has worked for more than seven decades supporting the U.S. military and philanthropic organizations.
A resident of Westchester, Cohen is believed to be California's oldest female veteran, according to the California Department of Veterans Affairs. She was recently recognized at a state Capitol celebration during Women's Military History Week honoring the achievements of women in the armed forces.
"I don't want anyone to ever forget our veterans," Cohen said. "They are our heroes."
read more here
Tampa VA veterans awaiting appointments hiked from 30 to 120 days
VA standard for veterans awaiting appointments hiked from 30 to 120 days
By William R. Levesque,
Times Staff Writer
Monday, April 30, 2012
Tampa Bay's two veterans hospitals have changed a much-watched measure of their performance by increasing from 30 to 120 days the time a patient must go without an appointment before being placed on a waiting list, interviews and documents obtained by the Tampa Bay Times show.
Critics of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs say the change is part of a wider VA trend of fudging statistics showing how well facilities serve veterans.
The VA denies the charge.
But at James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, a switch from 30 to 120 days this month left the hospital's waiting list for outpatient appointments much improved. It dropped from March's 4,981 patients to 1,800 this month, Haley figures show.
read more here
By William R. Levesque,
Times Staff Writer
Monday, April 30, 2012
Tampa Bay's two veterans hospitals have changed a much-watched measure of their performance by increasing from 30 to 120 days the time a patient must go without an appointment before being placed on a waiting list, interviews and documents obtained by the Tampa Bay Times show.
Critics of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs say the change is part of a wider VA trend of fudging statistics showing how well facilities serve veterans.
The VA denies the charge.
But at James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, a switch from 30 to 120 days this month left the hospital's waiting list for outpatient appointments much improved. It dropped from March's 4,981 patients to 1,800 this month, Haley figures show.
read more here
Son of Vietnam Veteran to receive Silver Star
Soldier from Houston to receive Silver Star for heroism
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Katie McCall
HOUSTON
(KTRK)
A local soldier will be honored this week at Fort Polk in Louisiana.
U.S. Army Sgt. Joshua Laughery of Houston will receive the prestigious Silver Star, the third-highest combat decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of military for valor in the face of an enemy.
"It is a really big honor for valor for bravery under fire, and not many people get it, and I am very proud of him for getting it -- definitely," the soldier's father, Christopher Laughery said.
Christopher Laughery is a Vietnam veteran who has watched his 27-year-old son serve two tours in Iraq and another in Afghanistan, leaving behind two daughters and a wife to serve his country.
read more here
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Katie McCall
HOUSTON
(KTRK)
A local soldier will be honored this week at Fort Polk in Louisiana.
U.S. Army Sgt. Joshua Laughery of Houston will receive the prestigious Silver Star, the third-highest combat decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of military for valor in the face of an enemy.
"It is a really big honor for valor for bravery under fire, and not many people get it, and I am very proud of him for getting it -- definitely," the soldier's father, Christopher Laughery said.
Christopher Laughery is a Vietnam veteran who has watched his 27-year-old son serve two tours in Iraq and another in Afghanistan, leaving behind two daughters and a wife to serve his country.
read more here
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Fort Lauderdale Air Show Cancelation Causes Disappointment
Air Show Cancelation Causes Disappointment
April 29, 2012 6:07 PM
(CBS4)
FT. LAUDERDALE
(CBSMiami) – Due to weather conditions, organizers of the Ft. Lauderdale Air Show were forced to cancel Sunday’s performance.
“After consulting with city officials in regards to public safety, the Lauderdale Air Show has been canceled for Sunday,” show officials posted on their Facebook page.
“It was devastating,” air show worker Leo Abate said after he learned the news. “There were a lot of sad faces, a lot of work in preparing for this, we’ve been preparing for this like six months.”
But Abate realized the right decision was made.
“We had rain bands coming just like our hurricanes and it just was not safe to put people out there on the beach,” said Abate. “They had an issue on the beach with water, standing water, and the tents and things like that.”
read more here
The thrill is back: Air show wows the crowds, despite gray skies and drizzles
By Robert Nolin
Sun Sentinel
April 28, 2012
Afterburners flaming, contrails streaming from wingtips, the gray F-18 Navy Hornet appeared out of nowhere and roared over Fort Lauderdale beach.
The crowd below roared back.
The wild blue yonder just got wilder.
After five years, warbirds and civilian stunt planes returned to lace the skies Saturday with heart-in-your-throat aerobatics as the newly resurrected Lauderdale Air Show soared into town. The show continues today, from noon to 4 p.m. on Fort Lauderdale beach.
read more here
April 29, 2012 6:07 PM
(CBS4)
FT. LAUDERDALE
(CBSMiami) – Due to weather conditions, organizers of the Ft. Lauderdale Air Show were forced to cancel Sunday’s performance.
“After consulting with city officials in regards to public safety, the Lauderdale Air Show has been canceled for Sunday,” show officials posted on their Facebook page.
“It was devastating,” air show worker Leo Abate said after he learned the news. “There were a lot of sad faces, a lot of work in preparing for this, we’ve been preparing for this like six months.”
But Abate realized the right decision was made.
“We had rain bands coming just like our hurricanes and it just was not safe to put people out there on the beach,” said Abate. “They had an issue on the beach with water, standing water, and the tents and things like that.”
read more here
The thrill is back: Air show wows the crowds, despite gray skies and drizzles
By Robert Nolin
Sun Sentinel
April 28, 2012
Afterburners flaming, contrails streaming from wingtips, the gray F-18 Navy Hornet appeared out of nowhere and roared over Fort Lauderdale beach.
The crowd below roared back.
The wild blue yonder just got wilder.
After five years, warbirds and civilian stunt planes returned to lace the skies Saturday with heart-in-your-throat aerobatics as the newly resurrected Lauderdale Air Show soared into town. The show continues today, from noon to 4 p.m. on Fort Lauderdale beach.
read more here
Vietnam Veterans Reunion 2012
While the media loves to say that Afghanistan is the longest war, they forget when the US started to lose lives in Vietnam.
Yesterday we went to the Florida Vietnam and All Veterans Reunion. If reporters bothered to look at the Wall whenever they covered it, they'd know that the years on it began in 1959 and kept claiming lives until 1975.
The last died in May of 1975 Capture and Release of SS Mayaguez
Yesterday we went to the Florida Vietnam and All Veterans Reunion. If reporters bothered to look at the Wall whenever they covered it, they'd know that the years on it began in 1959 and kept claiming lives until 1975.
July 8, 1959 - Two U.S. military advisors, Maj. Dale Buis and Sgt. Chester Ovnand, are killed by Viet Minh guerrillas at Bien Hoa, South Vietnam. They are the first American deaths in the Second Indochina War which Americans will come to know simply as The Vietnam War.
The last died in May of 1975 Capture and Release of SS Mayaguez
At Afghanistan hospital, Texas troops treat the wounds of war
Bagram hospital helps keep survival rates at record highs even as it sees horrible injuries from roadside bombs.
By Jeremy Schwartz
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, April 29, 2012
BAGRAM AIR BASE, AFGHANISTAN — Just after 9 a.m., the helicopter descends past jagged, snowcapped mountains, and the crew rushes a soldier with a gunshot wound to his leg into the trauma center. Nurses, doctors and medical technicians, clad in camouflage scrubs, flood into the room, unwrapping his bloody bandage, checking vital signs and inserting lines for intravenous fluids.
The injury is minor compared with what these military medical workers see on a regular basis. In addition to a growing number of gunshot victims, the trauma center sees many NATO troops whose legs and arms have been blown off by land mines hidden in the Afghan countryside, victims of what the military has termed dismounted complex blast injury. On busy days, staffers treat dozens of patients, as they did on a recent Saturday when insurgent forces staged a series of attacks around Kabul.
By nighttime, the soldier will have been carefully bundled onto a stretcher, or "packaged," and along with a dozen other wounded service members, put on a C-17 cargo plane and flown to the Army's military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.
read more here
By Jeremy Schwartz
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, April 29, 2012
BAGRAM AIR BASE, AFGHANISTAN — Just after 9 a.m., the helicopter descends past jagged, snowcapped mountains, and the crew rushes a soldier with a gunshot wound to his leg into the trauma center. Nurses, doctors and medical technicians, clad in camouflage scrubs, flood into the room, unwrapping his bloody bandage, checking vital signs and inserting lines for intravenous fluids.
The injury is minor compared with what these military medical workers see on a regular basis. In addition to a growing number of gunshot victims, the trauma center sees many NATO troops whose legs and arms have been blown off by land mines hidden in the Afghan countryside, victims of what the military has termed dismounted complex blast injury. On busy days, staffers treat dozens of patients, as they did on a recent Saturday when insurgent forces staged a series of attacks around Kabul.
By nighttime, the soldier will have been carefully bundled onto a stretcher, or "packaged," and along with a dozen other wounded service members, put on a C-17 cargo plane and flown to the Army's military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.
read more here
Orange Park soldier, military dog handler, dies in Afghanistan
Orange Park soldier dies in Afghanistan
2 Army sergeants killed while serving in Ghanzi Province, Afghanistan
Published On: Apr 27 2012
ORANGE PARK, Fl
Two soldiers supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, one from Orange Park, died Thursday while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Sgt Dick A. Lee Jr. and Staff Sgt. Brandon F. Eggleston died Thursday in Ghanzi province from injuries suffered when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.
Lee., 31, of Orange Park, was assigned to 95th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Sembach, Germany.
Lee is survived by a wife and two sons.
His commanding officer called Lee a great soldier and military dog handler and that everyone who knew Lee considered it an honor to serve with him.
read more here
2 Army sergeants killed while serving in Ghanzi Province, Afghanistan
Published On: Apr 27 2012
ORANGE PARK, Fl
Two soldiers supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, one from Orange Park, died Thursday while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Sgt Dick A. Lee Jr. and Staff Sgt. Brandon F. Eggleston died Thursday in Ghanzi province from injuries suffered when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.
Lee., 31, of Orange Park, was assigned to 95th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Sembach, Germany.
Lee is survived by a wife and two sons.
His commanding officer called Lee a great soldier and military dog handler and that everyone who knew Lee considered it an honor to serve with him.
read more here
Biker killed after hitting deer in Ocala National Forest
Biker killed after hitting deer in Ocala National Forest
By Kevin P. Connolly
Orlando Sentinel
April 28, 2012
A South Florida motorcyclist heading north on State Road 19 in the Ocala National Forest was killed Saturday after his bike hit a deer that jumped out of the woods and into his path.
Bruce L. Pelish, 57, of Miramar was killed after the 10:20 a.m. crash at S.R. 19 and Sunset Strip, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The crash happened in a part of the forest located in north Lake County.
read more here
By Kevin P. Connolly
Orlando Sentinel
April 28, 2012
A South Florida motorcyclist heading north on State Road 19 in the Ocala National Forest was killed Saturday after his bike hit a deer that jumped out of the woods and into his path.
Bruce L. Pelish, 57, of Miramar was killed after the 10:20 a.m. crash at S.R. 19 and Sunset Strip, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The crash happened in a part of the forest located in north Lake County.
read more here
More than 500 Volunteers Join Rebuilding Together Boston
More than 500 Volunteers Join Rebuilding Together Boston to Renovate Homes and Non-Profit Facilities on National Rebuilding Day
April 28, 2012
BOSTON
PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Volunteers, including New England Patriots employees and alumni and an all women skilled tradesperson team, are repairing homes and renovating housing for formerly homeless veterans, women and children at nine sites across the City.
Today, Rebuilding Together Boston (RTB), an affiliate of Rebuilding Together, the nation's leading nonprofit working to preserve affordable housing and revitalize communities, is engaging more than 500 local volunteers and civic leaders to rehabilitate six homes in Mattapan, Dorchester and Roxbury; Pine Street Inn Veterans' housing and a residence for formerly homeless women, and the Nazareth Residence for Mothers and Children on National Rebuilding Day.
This work is made possible by the generosity of sponsors: Bank of America, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Booz Allen Hamilton, Bullhorn, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation, Gilbane Building Company, Grand Circle Corporation, the Jacobs family, Mirassou Winery, Sears Holdings and Starbucks. Also, the Home Depot Foundation made a generous community impact grant to Rebuilding Together Boston for the donation of supplies to support the renovation work on National Rebuilding Day.
Projects this year include the renovation of an 89-year old widow's home by an all women crew who are providing plumbing, electricity, and carpentry services at her home in Mattapan where she has resided in for more than 40 years and has cared for her grandson who has cerebral palsy.
read more here
April 28, 2012
BOSTON
PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Volunteers, including New England Patriots employees and alumni and an all women skilled tradesperson team, are repairing homes and renovating housing for formerly homeless veterans, women and children at nine sites across the City.
Today, Rebuilding Together Boston (RTB), an affiliate of Rebuilding Together, the nation's leading nonprofit working to preserve affordable housing and revitalize communities, is engaging more than 500 local volunteers and civic leaders to rehabilitate six homes in Mattapan, Dorchester and Roxbury; Pine Street Inn Veterans' housing and a residence for formerly homeless women, and the Nazareth Residence for Mothers and Children on National Rebuilding Day.
This work is made possible by the generosity of sponsors: Bank of America, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Booz Allen Hamilton, Bullhorn, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation, Gilbane Building Company, Grand Circle Corporation, the Jacobs family, Mirassou Winery, Sears Holdings and Starbucks. Also, the Home Depot Foundation made a generous community impact grant to Rebuilding Together Boston for the donation of supplies to support the renovation work on National Rebuilding Day.
Projects this year include the renovation of an 89-year old widow's home by an all women crew who are providing plumbing, electricity, and carpentry services at her home in Mattapan where she has resided in for more than 40 years and has cared for her grandson who has cerebral palsy.
Also, volunteers will be working on several other projects including providing home modifications and energy-efficiency upgrades for a World War II Veteran and his wife. RTB volunteers will complete needed repairs in the basement; reconstruct the front porch with new windows and paint; repair the railing and lattice work on the back porch and paint; install a new walkway from the driveway to back yard; install drainage for down spouts; and make any needed home modifications for the couple to ensure safety.
read more here
Tacoma VFW Post 91 helps Bales family get through nightmare
Tacoma VFW Post 91 helps Bales family get through nightmare
Kari Bales and her two young children stayed hidden in plain sight at the Daffodil Parade on April 14. They were among about a dozen people waving at the crowd from a float entered by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 91 in Tacoma.
FACT BOX
CHRISTIAN HILL
STAFF WRITER
Published: 04/28/12
Kari Bales and her two young children stayed hidden in plain sight at the Daffodil Parade on April 14. They were among about a dozen people waving at the crowd from a float entered by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 91 in Tacoma.
Despite the international coverage of their plight, only two friends in the crowd recognized the wife and two children of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier who’s charged with murdering 17 Afghan civilians, said Elmer Clark, the VFW post commander.
Clark made the arrangements for the Bales family to ride the float – one of many ways the post is wrapping its arms around family members during their nightmare that began seven weeks ago today.
read more here
Kari Bales and her two young children stayed hidden in plain sight at the Daffodil Parade on April 14. They were among about a dozen people waving at the crowd from a float entered by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 91 in Tacoma.
FACT BOX
HOW TO HELP VFW Post 91 is accepting donations for Kari Bales and her children at its post building, 2000 S. Union Ave. in Tacoma. The money will supplement the family’s living expenses while they pay mounting bills. Donations can be placed in a secured box located just inside the post’s front door. Checks should be made out to VFW Post 91. Call 253-759-6995 to see if the building is open.
CHRISTIAN HILL
STAFF WRITER
Published: 04/28/12
Kari Bales and her two young children stayed hidden in plain sight at the Daffodil Parade on April 14. They were among about a dozen people waving at the crowd from a float entered by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 91 in Tacoma.
Despite the international coverage of their plight, only two friends in the crowd recognized the wife and two children of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier who’s charged with murdering 17 Afghan civilians, said Elmer Clark, the VFW post commander.
Clark made the arrangements for the Bales family to ride the float – one of many ways the post is wrapping its arms around family members during their nightmare that began seven weeks ago today.
read more here
Veteran's mission continues even after his return from combat
Veteran's mission continues even after his return from combat
Saturday, April 28, 2012
BY COLIN GAMBARO
COLUMBIA
James Casey, a U.S. military veteran, had trouble finding an identity in society when he returned home from Iraq.
On Saturday, The Mission Continues — a nonprofit organization that challenges post-9/11 military veterans to be leaders in their communities — teamed up with Fox Sports Midwest as part of the Summer Service Slam to spearhead a refurbishment of Rainbow Softball Center at Cosmopolitan Park.
"Many veterans struggle to find the same purpose at home as they found in the mission, camaraderie and structure of the military. The Mission Continues does not offer charity, rather, it challenges returning service members to utilize their tremendous skills and leadership to continue serving our country at home," the organization's website says.
Saturday was an opportunity for veterans such as Casey to give back to their community with the help from civilian volunteers.
read more here
Saturday, April 28, 2012
BY COLIN GAMBARO
COLUMBIA
James Casey, a U.S. military veteran, had trouble finding an identity in society when he returned home from Iraq.
After suffering a knee injury in 2009, however, Casey was forced to return to St. Louis. It was during this time that he developed post-traumatic stress disorder.He needed to find the focus and purpose back home that he had during his three tours of duty in Iraq. The Mission Continues helped provide that purpose.
“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.”
On Saturday, The Mission Continues — a nonprofit organization that challenges post-9/11 military veterans to be leaders in their communities — teamed up with Fox Sports Midwest as part of the Summer Service Slam to spearhead a refurbishment of Rainbow Softball Center at Cosmopolitan Park.
"Many veterans struggle to find the same purpose at home as they found in the mission, camaraderie and structure of the military. The Mission Continues does not offer charity, rather, it challenges returning service members to utilize their tremendous skills and leadership to continue serving our country at home," the organization's website says.
Saturday was an opportunity for veterans such as Casey to give back to their community with the help from civilian volunteers.
read more here
Soldier accused of selling stolen arms on eBay from Iraq
Feds: Soldier sold stolen arms on eBay from Iraq
Fidel Ignacio Cisneros is accused of violating federal arms export laws, according to the Homeland Security investigators.
By Arelis R. Hernández
Orlando Sentinel
April 28, 2012
A U.S. Army soldier with connections to Orlando sold stolen arms to buyers on eBay while he was deployed in Iraq in 2010, according to Homeland Security investigators.
Fidel Ignacio Cisneros is accused of violating federal law regarding the export of sensitive technology such as night-vision equipment, rifle scopes and high-powered infrared lasers that were not intended for the public, according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Orlando.
Using the eBay name of "silentpro2010," Cisneros told buyers he was retired from the military and based in Orlando selling surplus equipment, investigators said.
His listing touted the arms as being extremely rare and "impossible to find on the international market," the affidavit said.
read more here
Fidel Ignacio Cisneros is accused of violating federal arms export laws, according to the Homeland Security investigators.
By Arelis R. Hernández
Orlando Sentinel
April 28, 2012
A U.S. Army soldier with connections to Orlando sold stolen arms to buyers on eBay while he was deployed in Iraq in 2010, according to Homeland Security investigators.
Fidel Ignacio Cisneros is accused of violating federal law regarding the export of sensitive technology such as night-vision equipment, rifle scopes and high-powered infrared lasers that were not intended for the public, according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Orlando.
Using the eBay name of "silentpro2010," Cisneros told buyers he was retired from the military and based in Orlando selling surplus equipment, investigators said.
His listing touted the arms as being extremely rare and "impossible to find on the international market," the affidavit said.
read more here
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Camp Lejeune Marines justified in killing home invaders
DA: Deaths were justified
April 28, 2012 6:15 AM
LINDELL KAY
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Prosecutors announced Friday they will not press charges against two Camp Lejeune Marines and a civilian who fought for their lives and killed two local men who were burglarizing their Jacksonville home earlier this month.
Maurice Skinner, 33, of Banks Street, and Diego M. Everette, 33, of Graytown Road, were shot and killed by residents of 107 Country Club Drive around 2 a.m. on April 15.
District Attorney Ernie Lee refused to publicly identify the residents involved in the shooting.
He said it was clear from the evidence that the state’s Castle Doctrine, which allows for deadly force in defending one’s home, and self-defense laws apply in the case.
“After investigation by the Jacksonville Police Department and reading the statements of the witnesses, it is clear that Everette’s and Skinner’s death were justified because of the actions of Everette and Skinner in burglarizing the residence and assaulting, robbing and threatening to kill the occupants of the residence,” Lee said.
read more here
April 28, 2012 6:15 AM
LINDELL KAY
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Prosecutors announced Friday they will not press charges against two Camp Lejeune Marines and a civilian who fought for their lives and killed two local men who were burglarizing their Jacksonville home earlier this month.
Maurice Skinner, 33, of Banks Street, and Diego M. Everette, 33, of Graytown Road, were shot and killed by residents of 107 Country Club Drive around 2 a.m. on April 15.
District Attorney Ernie Lee refused to publicly identify the residents involved in the shooting.
He said it was clear from the evidence that the state’s Castle Doctrine, which allows for deadly force in defending one’s home, and self-defense laws apply in the case.
“After investigation by the Jacksonville Police Department and reading the statements of the witnesses, it is clear that Everette’s and Skinner’s death were justified because of the actions of Everette and Skinner in burglarizing the residence and assaulting, robbing and threatening to kill the occupants of the residence,” Lee said.
read more here
First Gay Marriage Proposal on Military Base at Camp Pendleton
How would anyone know this is the first one?
First Gay Marriage Proposal on Military Base at Camp Pendleton
Friday, April 27, 2012
By Beth Ford Roth
A Navy veteran and active-duty Marine may be the first gay couple ever to have gotten publicly engaged on a military installation. It happened this week when Cory Huston proposed to Avarice Guerrero at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County.
San Diego LGBT Weekly broke the story, and was there when Huston got down on bended knee to ask Guerrero to marry him. Guerrero had just returned from a ten-month deployment to Afghanistan.
read more here
Vietnam Veterans in Nashville PTSD group ends?
For ten years these men have been able to meet and support each other. Does the VA have any clue how much these Vietnam veterans need it? Do they even have a clue how they are an example of what does work when it comes to PTSD?
Vietnam veterans worry VA to end local PTSD support group
Posted: Apr 27, 2012
Reported by Jonathan Martin
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV)
A group of veterans fear the Nashville VA Medical Center is turning its back on them.
The Vietnam veterans said living with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is tough enough. Now, they are worried that a support group for those dealing with anxiety from the Vietnam War could be cut.
"It's not good. It's not a good feeling," said veteran Jack Fann.
"This group is my livelihood. Without these people, I don't know how much longer I'll be alive," said veteran John Baglin.
For more than 10 years, the group of about 15 men has been meeting to talk through their issues with help from a VA facilitator.
read more here
Marine no one helped now helping others
One Marine veteran's story: Rick Collier
Published: Thursday, April 26, 2012
By Mike Francis
The Oregonian
My name is Rick Collier. I'm a Marine Iraq Veteran and Founder of No Soldier Left Behind, a 501 (c)3 nonprofit for Military Veterans. I’m writing you today in hopes to share my story, and help thousands of Veterans like myself. Stories like mine aren’t shared often and I think it’s time we speak up and start healing together. Helping me share my story might also save lives. Here’s a small version of my story.
9/11 was where it all started. I was a senior in high school as I stood and watched the news coverage in my school's library. The horror of the planes hitting the twin towers shocked all who watched and we just stood silent. The pain I felt watching our own be attacked and murdered lit a fire inside. Within six weeks of the attacks I was fully contracted with the Marine Corps. Infantry was my job.
read more here
Published: Thursday, April 26, 2012
By Mike Francis
The Oregonian
My name is Rick Collier. I'm a Marine Iraq Veteran and Founder of No Soldier Left Behind, a 501 (c)3 nonprofit for Military Veterans. I’m writing you today in hopes to share my story, and help thousands of Veterans like myself. Stories like mine aren’t shared often and I think it’s time we speak up and start healing together. Helping me share my story might also save lives. Here’s a small version of my story.
9/11 was where it all started. I was a senior in high school as I stood and watched the news coverage in my school's library. The horror of the planes hitting the twin towers shocked all who watched and we just stood silent. The pain I felt watching our own be attacked and murdered lit a fire inside. Within six weeks of the attacks I was fully contracted with the Marine Corps. Infantry was my job.
Not one person wanted to help me; my time in Iraq meant nothing. I meant nothing.
Finally in 2009, 6 years later, I found a Veteran Service Officer willing to help me. He not only took my case, he fought for me like my command should have. I took some time to build my case but I worked hard every step of the way. I collected letters from over a dozen Marines I served with in Iraq, letters from friends and family, from local teachers to Sheriffs and even a fighter pilot in the USAF. I even went as far as getting a Congressman to back me in my fight.
By summer of 2010 I was not only reinstated with VA benefits, but I was diagnosed with several injuries including Severe PTSD and TBI (traumatic brain injury). I was then back paid and enrolled into mental health treatment. I was finally able to start healing. I also gained recognition for my service, and that was something I lived without for many years. I even utilized my VA home loan and bought a house, despite my Bad Conduct Discharge. I started to defy all odds and overcame what others said I couldn’t.
read more here
Army announced plans Thursday to improve discipline at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
Army bringing more management to troubled JBLM
April 26, 2012
The U.S. Army announced plans Thursday to improve discipline at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, an installation that has been linked to a string of recent violence.
By MIKE BAKER
Associated Press
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash.
The U.S. Army announced plans Thursday to improve discipline at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, an installation that has been linked to a string of recent violence.
Army Secretary John McHugh said a layer of management will be added in a reorganization that will bring a new division headquarters to the troubled base.
McHugh said the move was largely in response to the massive growth Lewis-McChord has seen over the past decade. But he also acknowledged a recent string of high-profile cases and indicated that stronger oversight might have assisted in containing those issues.
read more here
April 26, 2012
The U.S. Army announced plans Thursday to improve discipline at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, an installation that has been linked to a string of recent violence.
By MIKE BAKER
Associated Press
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash.
The U.S. Army announced plans Thursday to improve discipline at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, an installation that has been linked to a string of recent violence.
Army Secretary John McHugh said a layer of management will be added in a reorganization that will bring a new division headquarters to the troubled base.
McHugh said the move was largely in response to the massive growth Lewis-McChord has seen over the past decade. But he also acknowledged a recent string of high-profile cases and indicated that stronger oversight might have assisted in containing those issues.
read more here
Is military training so intense it causes PTSD too?
Inside a military training exercise in Yuma
Royal Canadian Regiment trains in Ariz. desert
Published : Thursday, 26 Apr 2012
YUMA, Ariz. - It’s not just US Armed Forces taking on terrorism around the world. We get a lot of help from our allies.
FOX 10 cameras were watching as the Royal Canadian Regiment went into action recently, capturing a high-value target.
A battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment launches its air assault in clouds of swirling dust, as a platoon ropes into the hideout of a high value terrorist target.
“Our unit has deployed several times and I have as well,” said Major David Hill, Royal Canadian Regiment.
But this isn't Afghanistan. It isn't Iraq. That tire burning next to a saguaro cactus means only one thing. This is Arizona. To be exact, the US Army's Yuma proving ground.
“The landscape is a similar type of landscape to places we could potentially deploy in the future,” says Hill.
It's a mock Middle East village built years ago to help U.S. forces train for overseas missions. This month it helped Canadian forces sharpen their skills.
“It’s a great opportunity for the solders to get a chance to see the sights and smells and sounds of places in the future they might find themselves.”
Before the assault, we put a portable camera on one of the bad guys. Our volunteer, plus other Canadians and some U.S. Marines, play terrorist bodyguards.
They are protecting a high value target: another Canadian soldier. She's dressed to look like a terrorist leader.
read more here
Published : Thursday, 26 Apr 2012
“Yeah I think some of the soldiers might get PTSD from being here, but it is a great training environment, it simulates the common environment we are all faced with, its great.”
YUMA, Ariz. - It’s not just US Armed Forces taking on terrorism around the world. We get a lot of help from our allies.
FOX 10 cameras were watching as the Royal Canadian Regiment went into action recently, capturing a high-value target.
A battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment launches its air assault in clouds of swirling dust, as a platoon ropes into the hideout of a high value terrorist target.
“Our unit has deployed several times and I have as well,” said Major David Hill, Royal Canadian Regiment.
But this isn't Afghanistan. It isn't Iraq. That tire burning next to a saguaro cactus means only one thing. This is Arizona. To be exact, the US Army's Yuma proving ground.
“The landscape is a similar type of landscape to places we could potentially deploy in the future,” says Hill.
It's a mock Middle East village built years ago to help U.S. forces train for overseas missions. This month it helped Canadian forces sharpen their skills.
“It’s a great opportunity for the solders to get a chance to see the sights and smells and sounds of places in the future they might find themselves.”
Before the assault, we put a portable camera on one of the bad guys. Our volunteer, plus other Canadians and some U.S. Marines, play terrorist bodyguards.
They are protecting a high value target: another Canadian soldier. She's dressed to look like a terrorist leader.
read more here
10,000 new patients with PTSD checking in at VA every three months
Montana poised to benefit from increase in VA mental health staff
April 26, 2012
By CINDY UKEN
At a time when the VA Montana Health Care System is struggling to recruit psychiatrists to treat veterans with mental health problems, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has announced an immediate, nearly 10 percent increase in mental health staffing across the country.
VA Montana has not yet been told how many new staff members it will receive or the specific type of mental health professionals it will receive, but VA officials are heralding the notification.
Some 1,600 mental health clinicians, including nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers, as well as nearly 300 support staffers, will be added to the existing mental health workforce of 20,590. The expanded mental-health services will include professionals from two additional health care fields: marriage and family therapists and licensed professional mental health counselors.
The infusion of mental health professionals coincides with the scores of men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The VA currently treats 1.3 million veterans for mental health problems, including an estimated 400,000 who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Since 2007, VA has seen a 35 percent increase in the number of veterans receiving mental health services. There are 10,000 new patients with PTSD checking in at hospitals every three months, according to the VA.
read more here
April 26, 2012
By CINDY UKEN
At a time when the VA Montana Health Care System is struggling to recruit psychiatrists to treat veterans with mental health problems, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has announced an immediate, nearly 10 percent increase in mental health staffing across the country.
VA Montana has not yet been told how many new staff members it will receive or the specific type of mental health professionals it will receive, but VA officials are heralding the notification.
Some 1,600 mental health clinicians, including nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers, as well as nearly 300 support staffers, will be added to the existing mental health workforce of 20,590. The expanded mental-health services will include professionals from two additional health care fields: marriage and family therapists and licensed professional mental health counselors.
The infusion of mental health professionals coincides with the scores of men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The VA currently treats 1.3 million veterans for mental health problems, including an estimated 400,000 who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Since 2007, VA has seen a 35 percent increase in the number of veterans receiving mental health services. There are 10,000 new patients with PTSD checking in at hospitals every three months, according to the VA.
read more here
Dr. Phil Issues “Apology” and blames media for "monster" title
This just goes to show that the title was meant to get attention and they just didn't care who got hurt using it.
Dr. Phil didn't care who he hurt with his "monsters" PTSD connection
Dr. Phil Issues “Apology”original story
April 26, 2012
By Marcus the Redshirt
Cassy highlighted the gross disservice provided by The Dr. Phil Show to PTS sufferers last week. Ever since we have campaigned for the show to issue an apology. That “apology” came yesterday after thousands of people contacted Dr. Phil, the producers, and the sponsors.
We’ve received a lot of response about last week’s show, “Heroes in Pain,” which focused on the epidemic of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a condition that torments so many lives, including soldiers who’ve put their lives on the line serving our country.
Some viewers expressed concern, and even disappointment, with the show’s original title, “Heroes to Monsters?” Our intent was to acknowledge the question so often cited in the media, not to make a statement, and to emphasize the severity of the pain and suffering our guests say they experience. In doing so, we unintentionally offended some of our viewers, and have therefore changed the title to more accurately reflect the show’s content.
I’m glad the show stirred so many of you to respond. Our goal is, and always will be, to call attention to the challenges our returning soldiers face, including PTSD. I really wanted you to hear firsthand the effects that PTSD can have on war heroes and their families, and I’m grateful to our guests for being so candid and honest about their experiences. I hope other media outlets will join us in talking openly about these challenges and our need as a society to respond with compassionate action. Two of my three sisters married fighter pilots (Vietnam era), and my nephew flew many missions as a Navy fighter pilot in Iraq and Afghanistan, so the lives of our veterans hits very close to home.
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Dr. Phil didn't care who he hurt with his "monsters" PTSD connection
Active Duty Marine Shot 37 Times by Deputy Will Go To Trial
Wife of Active Duty Marine Shot 37 Times by Local Deputy and CHP Can Proceed to Trial
By REBEKAH KEARN
Thursday, April 26, 2012
SAN DIEGO (CN) - A wrongful death suit against a San Diego deputy sheriff is proceeding to trial after the deputy along with a group of California Highway Patrol officers killed an active duty Marine who was a veteran of the Iraq war, by shooting him 37 times after pinning his car at the side of the freeway.
After an argument with his wife, Robert Medina led 18 officers and 13 police cars on a slow-speed chase down the I-5 through Oceanside, which is near Camp Pendleton, before he was eventually trapped and penned in near Encinitas a few miles south.
Medina was an active-duty, 22-year-old Marine who had recently returned from a tour in Iraq and suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome, according to a federal court ruling. The syndrome often develops after a person experiences a violent personal attack or traumatic event, such as being in a war zone. Military personnel are especially at risk for developing PTSD, which includes symptoms like flashbacks, depression, and difficulty functioning in social situations.
In the early morning hours of November 16, 2006, Medina had a fight with his wife and left the house even though she asked him not to go.
read more here
By REBEKAH KEARN
Thursday, April 26, 2012
SAN DIEGO (CN) - A wrongful death suit against a San Diego deputy sheriff is proceeding to trial after the deputy along with a group of California Highway Patrol officers killed an active duty Marine who was a veteran of the Iraq war, by shooting him 37 times after pinning his car at the side of the freeway.
After an argument with his wife, Robert Medina led 18 officers and 13 police cars on a slow-speed chase down the I-5 through Oceanside, which is near Camp Pendleton, before he was eventually trapped and penned in near Encinitas a few miles south.
Medina was an active-duty, 22-year-old Marine who had recently returned from a tour in Iraq and suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome, according to a federal court ruling. The syndrome often develops after a person experiences a violent personal attack or traumatic event, such as being in a war zone. Military personnel are especially at risk for developing PTSD, which includes symptoms like flashbacks, depression, and difficulty functioning in social situations.
In the early morning hours of November 16, 2006, Medina had a fight with his wife and left the house even though she asked him not to go.
read more here
Iraq Veteran with PTSD saved by Vietnam Veteran
Iraq Veteran Credits Vietnam Veteran With Saving His Life
04/27/2012
By: Nick Winkle
An Iraq war veteran on the verge of suicide says a stranger miraculously stepped in and helped get him the benefits needed to save his life.
Michael Saniti says the VA did little to help him with the guilt, nightmares, and sleepless nights he suffered from after two tours in Iraq.
Saniti says he put a loaded gun to his head several weeks ago and was ready to end it all.
That is, until a stranger stepped in.
Saniti had secretly written his own obituary, which was published in a newspaper by mistake, and was subsequently featured in an article.
A Senior Claims Representative at the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, Robert Laguban, saw the article and reached out to help.
Within a few days, Laguban had Saniti enrolled in a weekly Post Traumatic Stress Disorder counseling program at the VA. More importantly, Laguban's help and support gave Saniti hope.
Saniti credits Laguban with saving his life.
go here to watch video
04/27/2012
By: Nick Winkle
An Iraq war veteran on the verge of suicide says a stranger miraculously stepped in and helped get him the benefits needed to save his life.
Michael Saniti says the VA did little to help him with the guilt, nightmares, and sleepless nights he suffered from after two tours in Iraq.
Saniti says he put a loaded gun to his head several weeks ago and was ready to end it all.
That is, until a stranger stepped in.
Saniti had secretly written his own obituary, which was published in a newspaper by mistake, and was subsequently featured in an article.
A Senior Claims Representative at the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, Robert Laguban, saw the article and reached out to help.
Within a few days, Laguban had Saniti enrolled in a weekly Post Traumatic Stress Disorder counseling program at the VA. More importantly, Laguban's help and support gave Saniti hope.
Saniti credits Laguban with saving his life.
go here to watch video
Friday, April 27, 2012
Why are soldiers dying in their sleep?
Why are soldiers dying in their sleep?
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Steve Daniels
RALEIGH (WTVD)
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have created heartbreak and anger for Stan and Shirley White.
"There's still a lot of raw emotion there. We've lost two sons," explained Shirley.
First, the Charleston, West Virginia couple's first son Bob - a Fort Bragg paratrooper - was killed in Afghanistan.
"There's nothing like the pain of losing a child," said Shirley.
Then, son Andrew survived his deployment to Iraq with Camp Lejeune Marines - only to die in his bedroom.
"It was like a double-whammy all over again, twice the pain," said Shirley.
The couple have kept Andrew's bedroom as it was the day he died as a memorial to him.
"He did a lot of things in 23 years," said Stan.
In the room are his Eagle Scout certificate, an award from his days in the Junior ROTC, his Marine medals, and pictures from his time in Iraq. But the walls do not tell the story of Andrew's psychological trauma from nine months in Iraq.
"He died because of his PTSD, because of what he saw in the war zone. The medication is what killed him. We consider him as being a casualty of war," Stan offered.
read more here
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Steve Daniels
RALEIGH (WTVD)
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have created heartbreak and anger for Stan and Shirley White.
"There's still a lot of raw emotion there. We've lost two sons," explained Shirley.
First, the Charleston, West Virginia couple's first son Bob - a Fort Bragg paratrooper - was killed in Afghanistan.
"There's nothing like the pain of losing a child," said Shirley.
Then, son Andrew survived his deployment to Iraq with Camp Lejeune Marines - only to die in his bedroom.
"It was like a double-whammy all over again, twice the pain," said Shirley.
The couple have kept Andrew's bedroom as it was the day he died as a memorial to him.
"He did a lot of things in 23 years," said Stan.
In the room are his Eagle Scout certificate, an award from his days in the Junior ROTC, his Marine medals, and pictures from his time in Iraq. But the walls do not tell the story of Andrew's psychological trauma from nine months in Iraq.
"He died because of his PTSD, because of what he saw in the war zone. The medication is what killed him. We consider him as being a casualty of war," Stan offered.
read more here
Fort Benning families walk for suicide awareness
Suicide awareness walk on Fort Benning
By: RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ
WRBL News 3
Published: April 26, 2012
FORT BENNING, Ga.
Walkers organized on Fort Benning Thursday to bring awareness and education to the risk of suicide.
Tricia Radenz’s 12-year-old son committed suicide during his dad's deployment in 2009. The mom from Fort Hood, Texas wants to help other parents look for warning signs.
read more here
Suicide awareness walk on Fort Benning
Walkers organized on Fort Benning Thursday to bring awareness and education to the risk of suicide.
By: RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ
WRBL News 3
Published: April 26, 2012
FORT BENNING, Ga.
Walkers organized on Fort Benning Thursday to bring awareness and education to the risk of suicide.
Tricia Radenz’s 12-year-old son committed suicide during his dad's deployment in 2009. The mom from Fort Hood, Texas wants to help other parents look for warning signs.
read more here
Suicide awareness walk on Fort Benning
Walkers organized on Fort Benning Thursday to bring awareness and education to the risk of suicide.
1 out of 4 OEF OIF veterans are disabled
A cost of war: Soaring disability benefits for veterans
By Aaron Smith
CNNMoney
April 27, 2012
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
After more than a decade of continuous warfare, the cost of disability compensation for wounded veterans is surging to mammoth proportions.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs expects to spend $57 billion on disability benefits next year. That's up 25% from $46 billion this year, and nearly quadruple the $15 billion spent in 2000, before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began.
"This is the cost of going to war," said Larry Korb, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who served as assistant secretary of defense during the Ronald Reagan administration. "We've made so much progress in medicine [that] you're going to have a lot of people survive their injuries who didn't in the past."
About 4,500 U.S. troops were killed in Iraq and about 1,800 have been killed in Afghanistan. Some 633,000 veterans -- one out of every four of the 2.3 million who served in Iraq and Afghanistan -- have a service-connected disability, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
read more here
By Aaron Smith
CNNMoney
April 27, 2012
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
After more than a decade of continuous warfare, the cost of disability compensation for wounded veterans is surging to mammoth proportions.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs expects to spend $57 billion on disability benefits next year. That's up 25% from $46 billion this year, and nearly quadruple the $15 billion spent in 2000, before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began.
"This is the cost of going to war," said Larry Korb, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who served as assistant secretary of defense during the Ronald Reagan administration. "We've made so much progress in medicine [that] you're going to have a lot of people survive their injuries who didn't in the past."
About 4,500 U.S. troops were killed in Iraq and about 1,800 have been killed in Afghanistan. Some 633,000 veterans -- one out of every four of the 2.3 million who served in Iraq and Afghanistan -- have a service-connected disability, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
read more here
Band of Brothers Hero John McGrath dies at 92
Soldier depicted in 'Band of Brothers' dies at 92
By JAY LEVIN
The Record
(Hackensack N.J.)
Published: April 26, 2012
John McGrath, a reluctant World War II hero whose derring-do became well known after his depiction in the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers,” died on Tuesday. He was 92.
For decades, McGrath’s local claim to fame was his service to the Elmwood Park Fire Department in New Jersey, which he joined in 1952. He was chief in 1970 and 1971, when the borough was called East Paterson. After retiring as a truck driver, he worked as the borough’s part-time fire code official.
True to the Greatest Generation, the humorously gruff McGrath, who was known as Jack, seldom spoke about what he did in the war.
Stephen E. Ambrose blew his cover.
The historian and biographer immortalized the soldiers of Easy Company, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, in his 1992 book “Band of Brothers.” McGrath belonged to the legendary company, whose successes stretched from D-Day to the capture of Hitler’s Bavarian outpost. The Carlstadt-born soldier had his moment on page 100, where Ambrose describes how McGrath blew up a German tank with a bazooka shot — “the critical moment,” Ambrose writes, in the Allied forces’ taking of Carentan, France, during the invasion of Normandy.
“Band of Brothers” became a critically acclaimed miniseries in 2001, and McGrath’s exploits were officially out in the open.
“I had no idea of his war record until the miniseries — he never said anything,” said Richard Mola, a longtime friend and Elmwood Park’s mayor since 1972.
read more here
By JAY LEVIN
The Record
(Hackensack N.J.)
Published: April 26, 2012
John McGrath, a reluctant World War II hero whose derring-do became well known after his depiction in the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers,” died on Tuesday. He was 92.
For decades, McGrath’s local claim to fame was his service to the Elmwood Park Fire Department in New Jersey, which he joined in 1952. He was chief in 1970 and 1971, when the borough was called East Paterson. After retiring as a truck driver, he worked as the borough’s part-time fire code official.
True to the Greatest Generation, the humorously gruff McGrath, who was known as Jack, seldom spoke about what he did in the war.
Stephen E. Ambrose blew his cover.
The historian and biographer immortalized the soldiers of Easy Company, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, in his 1992 book “Band of Brothers.” McGrath belonged to the legendary company, whose successes stretched from D-Day to the capture of Hitler’s Bavarian outpost. The Carlstadt-born soldier had his moment on page 100, where Ambrose describes how McGrath blew up a German tank with a bazooka shot — “the critical moment,” Ambrose writes, in the Allied forces’ taking of Carentan, France, during the invasion of Normandy.
“Band of Brothers” became a critically acclaimed miniseries in 2001, and McGrath’s exploits were officially out in the open.
“I had no idea of his war record until the miniseries — he never said anything,” said Richard Mola, a longtime friend and Elmwood Park’s mayor since 1972.
read more here
Florida homeless veterans get help
Governor's $1 million grant helps homeless veterans
A grant by the governor will give veteran support groups in the state of Florida a $1 million boost.
By Craig Rubadoux, Malcolm Denemark and Tim Walter
Posted April 27, 2012
A grant by the governor will give veteran support groups in the state of Florida a $1 million boost.
By Craig Rubadoux, Malcolm Denemark and Tim Walter
Posted April 27, 2012
Heroic Vietnam veteran always there for comrades
Heroic Vietnam veteran always there for comrades
By HOWARD ALTMAN
The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 26, 2012
TAMPA
Jimmy Basta hovered the Huey helicopter gunship over a mountainous stretch northwest of Kon Tum, a provincial capital in Vietnam, laying down a barrage of rockets and bullets at the enemy below.
Known by the call signal "Tornado White," Basta was doing what he did best in the jungle: protecting buddies regardless of risk.
"It was his hallmark," said Charlie Rayl. Now a lawyer in Kansas, Rayl was then a fellow member of the Ruthless Riders, 7th Armored Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry. Rayl's chopper had crashed. Basta was saving his life on March 9, 1968.
Years later, Basta would move to Tampa, where he was part of what eventually would become the Joint Communications Support Element at MacDill Air Force Base. He helped put together the Vietnam War Memorial at Veterans Memorial Park, off U.S. 301 in Tampa, volunteered for Meals-on-Wheels and became known as the guy who would cart around the little scout helicopter to parades and schools.
On Tuesday, Basta died after a long bout with lung cancer. He was 72.
His family and friends remember him as a straight shooter who ignored danger, be it to his life in the form of enemy fire or to his career in the form of general officers he was not afraid to criticize.
Before leaving Vietnam, where he did three tours, Basta would be shot down six times, said his wife, Marie, also 72. He earned the Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal and, because he flew so many missions, 55 Air Medals.
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Luc Pieterbourg Jim Basta, right with Barry Spear, helped put together the Vietnam War Memorial at Veterans Memorial Park.
By HOWARD ALTMAN
The Tampa Tribune
Published: April 26, 2012
TAMPA
Jimmy Basta hovered the Huey helicopter gunship over a mountainous stretch northwest of Kon Tum, a provincial capital in Vietnam, laying down a barrage of rockets and bullets at the enemy below.
Known by the call signal "Tornado White," Basta was doing what he did best in the jungle: protecting buddies regardless of risk.
"It was his hallmark," said Charlie Rayl. Now a lawyer in Kansas, Rayl was then a fellow member of the Ruthless Riders, 7th Armored Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry. Rayl's chopper had crashed. Basta was saving his life on March 9, 1968.
Years later, Basta would move to Tampa, where he was part of what eventually would become the Joint Communications Support Element at MacDill Air Force Base. He helped put together the Vietnam War Memorial at Veterans Memorial Park, off U.S. 301 in Tampa, volunteered for Meals-on-Wheels and became known as the guy who would cart around the little scout helicopter to parades and schools.
On Tuesday, Basta died after a long bout with lung cancer. He was 72.
His family and friends remember him as a straight shooter who ignored danger, be it to his life in the form of enemy fire or to his career in the form of general officers he was not afraid to criticize.
Before leaving Vietnam, where he did three tours, Basta would be shot down six times, said his wife, Marie, also 72. He earned the Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal and, because he flew so many missions, 55 Air Medals.
read more here
Blind Iraq Veteran taking Walk for Vision
Moorhead man who lost sight in Iraq War to take part in Walk for Vision
By: Helmut Schmidt,
INFORUM
April 26, 2012
MOORHEAD -
Eric Marts made it a point to take care of the soldiers he led in battle in Iraq, even as repeated roadside blasts were robbing him of his eyesight.
Now blind, the 50-year-old former Army National Guard master sergeant is still helping others, hoping to give people in the same situation – whether veterans or lifelong civilians – the same advantages.
Marts plans to walk with his guide dog, “Corporal” Deacon, at North Dakota State University on Saturday in the Fargo version of “Walk for Vision,” the main fundraiser for the North Dakota Association of the Blind.
“I’m pretty blessed,” Marts says matter-of-factly.
After all, the Army and the Department of Veterans Affairs helped get him the training and the technology to make a life without sight more navigable, as well as his big, friendly English Labrador guide dog.
He wants to be part of the walk to raise money so that those without his support system can go to camps and get the same sort of help to ease their way through the world.
“So I guess that’s a good cause,” Marts said.
read more here
By: Helmut Schmidt,
INFORUM
April 26, 2012
MOORHEAD -
Eric Marts made it a point to take care of the soldiers he led in battle in Iraq, even as repeated roadside blasts were robbing him of his eyesight.
Now blind, the 50-year-old former Army National Guard master sergeant is still helping others, hoping to give people in the same situation – whether veterans or lifelong civilians – the same advantages.
Marts plans to walk with his guide dog, “Corporal” Deacon, at North Dakota State University on Saturday in the Fargo version of “Walk for Vision,” the main fundraiser for the North Dakota Association of the Blind.
“I’m pretty blessed,” Marts says matter-of-factly.
After all, the Army and the Department of Veterans Affairs helped get him the training and the technology to make a life without sight more navigable, as well as his big, friendly English Labrador guide dog.
He wants to be part of the walk to raise money so that those without his support system can go to camps and get the same sort of help to ease their way through the world.
“So I guess that’s a good cause,” Marts said.
read more here
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