A country song about PTSD: 'All you've got left are these pieces'
By Bill Briggs
NBC News contributor
Everything you see in the music video happened to Marine-turned-country-singer Stephen Cochran: Pushing the girl away, boozing into oblivion, the gun on the blanket. It all went down last year.
Stephen Cochran, a former Marine recon scout and now a country-music singer, has penned a new song about PTSD - combat-related symptoms that almost claimed his life in 2011.
Even the actor who portrays Cochran is, himself, a former Marine and Iraq veteran who knows of post-traumatic stress, who has wrangled with identical demons. The actor was not acting.
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Stephen Cochran, wounded veteran, sings Pieces for others with PTSD
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Veterans Honored On 50th Anniversary Of Vietnam War
Veterans Honored On 50th Anniversary Of Vietnam War
September 28, 2012
by Daniela Perallon
WHNT News
One by one they read the names of the 1207 Alabamians killed in action and 16 who went missing in action during the Vietnam War.
The Vietnam Veterans Tribute marks the 50th anniversary of the United States entering into the Vietnam conflict.
“It’s a crucible. There’s pressure and problems and you’re stretched to your limit in a lot of ways,” said Vietnam Veteran James Henderson, who also led the ceremony’s invocation.
Mayor Tommy Battle, leaders from Redstone Arsenal, veterans and their family members all read off the names of the killed and missing in action veterans. After each name, they rang a bell, and lit a candle after each reading.
For many in attendance, the tribute was a long time coming.
read more here
September 28, 2012
by Daniela Perallon
WHNT News
One by one they read the names of the 1207 Alabamians killed in action and 16 who went missing in action during the Vietnam War.
The Vietnam Veterans Tribute marks the 50th anniversary of the United States entering into the Vietnam conflict.
“It’s a crucible. There’s pressure and problems and you’re stretched to your limit in a lot of ways,” said Vietnam Veteran James Henderson, who also led the ceremony’s invocation.
Mayor Tommy Battle, leaders from Redstone Arsenal, veterans and their family members all read off the names of the killed and missing in action veterans. After each name, they rang a bell, and lit a candle after each reading.
For many in attendance, the tribute was a long time coming.
read more here
Veterans take final Honor Air Flight to Washington
Veterans take final Honor Air Flight to Washington
By Jason Wheeler, Reporter
Last Updated: Sunday, September 30, 2012
Veterans on Honor Flight return to welcoming crowd
DAYTONA BEACH
Hundreds of World War II veterans from across Central Florida descended on Washington for their final Honor Air Flight.
Early Saturday morning, veterans from Volusia and Flagler counties met at Daytona Beach International Airport where they hopped aboard a chartered jet.
It was the tenth and final Honor Air Flight put on by a trio of rotary clubs in West Volusia County.
Over the past five years, volunteers raised more than $800,000 to send just over 1,000 veterans to the various war memorials in their honor.
“Well, this'll be the first time that I could, what you call, bear going up and looking at that wall. Because I've got quite a few friends up there,” said Charles Hargrove, Sr., a veteran.
v Hargrove fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
read more here
By Jason Wheeler, Reporter
Last Updated: Sunday, September 30, 2012
Veterans on Honor Flight return to welcoming crowd
DAYTONA BEACH
Hundreds of World War II veterans from across Central Florida descended on Washington for their final Honor Air Flight.
Early Saturday morning, veterans from Volusia and Flagler counties met at Daytona Beach International Airport where they hopped aboard a chartered jet.
It was the tenth and final Honor Air Flight put on by a trio of rotary clubs in West Volusia County.
Over the past five years, volunteers raised more than $800,000 to send just over 1,000 veterans to the various war memorials in their honor.
“Well, this'll be the first time that I could, what you call, bear going up and looking at that wall. Because I've got quite a few friends up there,” said Charles Hargrove, Sr., a veteran.
v Hargrove fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
read more here
Shots fired at Winter Springs VFW
4 arrested after shooting
UPDATE October 1, 2012
2 dead, 1 hurt in biker shooting at VFW post in Winter Springs
By David Breen, Orlando Sentinel
WINTER SPRINGS — Two people are dead and one was left critically injured after gunfire erupted Sunday outside a VFW post where members of a motorcycle club had gathered for a charity fundraiser, authorities said.
The shooting happened at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4504 on Edgemon Drive at about 10:40 a.m., according to Lt. Doug Seely, a Winter Springs police spokesman.
Bystanders at the scene said members of the Warlocks motorcycle club were about to depart on a charity run before the shooting. According to Seely, a confrontation in the parking lot preceded the shooting.
Two people were confirmed dead, he said, and a third person was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition. Seely said authorities think all three victims were motorcycle-club members.
Winter Springs police taped off the neighborhood adjoining the post and evacuated people from a senior center next door. Authorities did not say whether they thought there was a single shooter or more.
read more here
UPDATE October 1, 2012
2 dead, 1 hurt in biker shooting at VFW post in Winter Springs
By David Breen, Orlando Sentinel
WINTER SPRINGS — Two people are dead and one was left critically injured after gunfire erupted Sunday outside a VFW post where members of a motorcycle club had gathered for a charity fundraiser, authorities said.
The shooting happened at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4504 on Edgemon Drive at about 10:40 a.m., according to Lt. Doug Seely, a Winter Springs police spokesman.
Bystanders at the scene said members of the Warlocks motorcycle club were about to depart on a charity run before the shooting. According to Seely, a confrontation in the parking lot preceded the shooting.
Two people were confirmed dead, he said, and a third person was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition. Seely said authorities think all three victims were motorcycle-club members.
Winter Springs police taped off the neighborhood adjoining the post and evacuated people from a senior center next door. Authorities did not say whether they thought there was a single shooter or more.
read more here
WINTER SPRINGS -- Winter Springs police are investigating a shooting. It happened Sunday morning at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5405 at 420 N. Edgemon Ave. Units from several law enforcement agencies are at the scene. Stay with News 13 and cfnews13.com for more on this developing story. read more here UPDATE from WESH
Winter Springs shooting kills 2, injures 1 Shooting happened at VFW lodge read more hereUPDATE 12:17
Two people are dead and one injured after a shooting between two rival motorcycle gangs at a Veterans of Foreign Wars post.
Man "recently discharged" brought gun to talk to God
The Holy Land Experience
ORLANDO
A New Jersey man is being evaluated after bringing a gun to the Holy Land Experience.
It happened around 7:30 a.m. Sunday while the park was closed.
Orange County Sheriff’s deputies said the man, who was recently discharged from the military, was vacationing in the City Beautiful with his family when he told them he needed to “talk to God.”
The man was spotted by park employees with a semi-automatic pistol.
He was taken into custody under the Baker Act and transported to Lakeside Alternatives in Eatonville to be evaluated.
read more here
ORLANDO
A New Jersey man is being evaluated after bringing a gun to the Holy Land Experience.
It happened around 7:30 a.m. Sunday while the park was closed.
Orange County Sheriff’s deputies said the man, who was recently discharged from the military, was vacationing in the City Beautiful with his family when he told them he needed to “talk to God.”
The man was spotted by park employees with a semi-automatic pistol.
He was taken into custody under the Baker Act and transported to Lakeside Alternatives in Eatonville to be evaluated.
read more here
Romney Links Defense Cuts To Veteran Suicides
WATCH: Romney Links Defense Cuts To Veteran Suicides
September 27th, 2012
Henry Decker
In a speech at an American Legion hall in Springfield, Virginia, Mitt Romney tied the rising number of veteran suicides to the legislative battle over cuts to the defense budget.
“We have huge numbers of our men and women that are returning from conflict, that are seeking counseling, psychological counseling, and can’t find that counseling within our system. And, of course, record numbers of suicides. This is a crisis!” Romney declared.
“Given the needs of our veterans, how in the world, as commander-in-chief, you could stand by as we shrink our military commitment financially is something that I don’t understand, and I will reverse it,” he added.
First, veterans’ health care is exempt from the sequestration deal that Romney is attacking. The Obama administration is not abandoning veterans’ needs, as Romney charges.
In fact, the administration has actually been an active advocate for veterans’ care. In August, President Obama signed an executive order directing the Veterans Administration to hire 1,600 new mental health professionals and 800 new peer support counselors, along with expanding the capacity of its crisis line to ensure that veterans in need can meet with a counselor within 24 hours. Furthermore, the Department of Veterans Affairs has seen its budget increase in each year of Obama’s presidency.
By contrast, Romney’s running mate Paul Ryan’s budget plan would cut the VA budget by $11 billion. Ryan also voted for the very same defense cuts that Romney criticized today (although he now tries to deny it.)
read more here
Watching this video made me sick. I heard people clapping when he said all of this. These are members of the American Legion and should know better.
Major General (ret) John Cantwell discusses his battle with PTSD
Cantwell talks about his battle with PTSD
Updated Mon Sep 24, 2012
Exit Wounds
The former commander of Australian forces in Afghanistan, Major General (ret) John Cantwell discusses his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder and the prevalence of the disorder in the armed forces.
go here for video
Exit Wounds
The former commander of Australian forces in Afghanistan, Major General (ret) John Cantwell discusses his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder and the prevalence of the disorder in the armed forces.
go here for video
The General's regrets: John Cantwell
27 September, 2012
By Melanie Sim (with Alex Sloan) Australian Forces Commander in Afghanistan in 2010, John Cantwell writes: "When I sent 10 [deceased] soldiers home from Afghanistan I failed that trust and it broke my heart."
Alex Sloan began her interview with General Cantwell by saying it is one of the finest and bravest books that she has read, and it is a book that has changed her life.
General Cantwell's "Exit Wounds, one man's war on terror" is an account of his experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan and then his very personal war with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Horror
General Cantwell says he saw many horrific things during his time in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The killings were overwhelming horrible," he told Alex on 666 ABC Canberra Mornings. General Cantwell was in Iraq in 2006 and says his most "horrible memory from that time was confronting the scenes in a market place after a car bomb had gone off.
...Each Thursday, mothers and their kids would go to market places all over Baghdad and exchange their gas bottles. Regrettably just as I was down the road...a car bomb detonated in one of those market places and I will take to my grave the memories of that day."
Stress
Events like this started to affect him, but he says he made a great mistake with the way he initially dealt with them.
"The dumb mistake I made was burying the issue and denying it to myself and denying it to my friends and my family ... because I thought it was a sign of weakness that showed I was less of a solider than I thought I was,"
"It's not part of the job profile to have PTSD but in reality it is very much part of the job profile."
General Cantwell says mental illness isn't something to be ashamed of, and he says it is frustrating with the way that PTSD is treated.
"To have an emotional response is absolutely normal and human, otherwise you'd be some sort of psychopath, and it's important that people recognise these terrible memories."
And he says it's more important that after people recognise this, that then they do something about it.
Treatment
In the early days tried to access counselling but was told he was a big sook, so General Cantwell buried it away, yet it didn't go away.
Going to war
People have questioned why he wanted to be in the army, when the obvious destination was a war front.
He explains he was very determined to go to war.
"Teachers want to teach kids, and surgeons want to operate on people, and soldiers want to go and fight. The trouble is the big adventure sometimes isn't as much fun as you think."
read more here
Bystanders Lift Car Off 10-Year-Old Boy
Bystanders Lift Car Off 10-Year-Old Boy In New Zealand After Collision
The Huffington Post
By Ron Dicker
Posted: 09/29/2012
We often hear of ordinary people unleashing superhuman strength in an emergency. But in Nelson, New Zealand, this week, the heroics required a team effort.
Three bystanders lifted a car off a 10-year-old boy after he became pinned underneath in a collision. The boy, who was not identified, suffered just scrapes and bruises, the Nelson Mail reported. Police are still investigating.
The boy was pushing his scooter on a street crossing when the car plowed into him and dragged him more than six yards, the news outlet said. Some onlookers waved at the driver to stop.
The assistant manager at a Subway, Patrick McDougall, Coffee Shack co-owner Keith Simpson and an unidentified woman heard the crash followed by the screams of the boy and others, according to the Leader. Then they sprinted to the scene and quickly hoisted the vehicle from the front and pushed the car back to free him. He appeared to have been trapped under a wheel.
"It was bloody heavy and I think the driver still had the brakes on, but we got it back," Simpson told the Leader. "Then the boy started talking so that was a big relief.
I hope I never have to see that again."
The trio's actions illustrate the Superman potential in all of us. In August, a slight Massachusetts man named Carlos Castro lifted an SUV to free a neighbor who became trapped underneath when a tire jack collapsed.
read more here
The Huffington Post
By Ron Dicker
Posted: 09/29/2012
We often hear of ordinary people unleashing superhuman strength in an emergency. But in Nelson, New Zealand, this week, the heroics required a team effort.
Three bystanders lifted a car off a 10-year-old boy after he became pinned underneath in a collision. The boy, who was not identified, suffered just scrapes and bruises, the Nelson Mail reported. Police are still investigating.
The boy was pushing his scooter on a street crossing when the car plowed into him and dragged him more than six yards, the news outlet said. Some onlookers waved at the driver to stop.
The assistant manager at a Subway, Patrick McDougall, Coffee Shack co-owner Keith Simpson and an unidentified woman heard the crash followed by the screams of the boy and others, according to the Leader. Then they sprinted to the scene and quickly hoisted the vehicle from the front and pushed the car back to free him. He appeared to have been trapped under a wheel.
"It was bloody heavy and I think the driver still had the brakes on, but we got it back," Simpson told the Leader. "Then the boy started talking so that was a big relief.
I hope I never have to see that again."
The trio's actions illustrate the Superman potential in all of us. In August, a slight Massachusetts man named Carlos Castro lifted an SUV to free a neighbor who became trapped underneath when a tire jack collapsed.
read more here
2,000th U.S. Soldier Killed In Afghanistan Insider Attack
Afghanistan War: 2,000th U.S. Soldier Killed In Insider Attack
By HEIDI VOGT and RAHIM FAIEZ
09/30/12
KABUL, Afghanistan -- An Afghan soldier turned his gun on American troops at a checkpoint in the country's east, killing two Americans and at least two fellow members of Afghanistan's army in a shooting that marked both the continuance of a disturbing trend of insider attacks and the 2,000th U.S. troop death in the long-running war, officials said Sunday.
The string of insider attacks is one of the greatest threats to NATO's mission in the country, endangering a partnership key to training up Afghan security forces and withdrawing international troops.
Saturday's shooting took place at an Afghan army checkpoint just outside a joint U.S.-Afghan base in Wardak province, said Shahidullah Shahid, a provincial government spokesman.
"Initial reports indicate that a misunderstanding happened between Afghan army soldiers and American soldiers," Shahid said. He said investigators had been sent to the site to try to figure out what happened.
read more here
By HEIDI VOGT and RAHIM FAIEZ
09/30/12
KABUL, Afghanistan -- An Afghan soldier turned his gun on American troops at a checkpoint in the country's east, killing two Americans and at least two fellow members of Afghanistan's army in a shooting that marked both the continuance of a disturbing trend of insider attacks and the 2,000th U.S. troop death in the long-running war, officials said Sunday.
The string of insider attacks is one of the greatest threats to NATO's mission in the country, endangering a partnership key to training up Afghan security forces and withdrawing international troops.
Saturday's shooting took place at an Afghan army checkpoint just outside a joint U.S.-Afghan base in Wardak province, said Shahidullah Shahid, a provincial government spokesman.
"Initial reports indicate that a misunderstanding happened between Afghan army soldiers and American soldiers," Shahid said. He said investigators had been sent to the site to try to figure out what happened.
read more here
Camp Pendleton Marine killed in motorcycle crash
Written by
Pauline Repard
OCEANSIDE — A motorcyclist suffered fatal injuries in Oceanside early Saturday when he swerved into oncoming traffic on El Camino Real and collided with a car, police said.
The county Medical Examiner's Office identified the rider as Ian Copelean Wiseman, 28, of Oceanside, a Camp Pendleton Marine sergeant.
He was southbound on El Camino Real at high speed and passed Skyline Drive, then lost control of the 2011 Suzuki Sport bike about 1:50 a.m., authorities said.
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