Legionnaires kills patient at Pittsburgh VA hospital

Legionnaires' kills Pittsburgh VA hospital patient
December 1, 2012
By Sean D. Hamill
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System declared Friday that the water system at its University Drive hospital in Oakland is now clear of Legionnaires' disease-causing bacteria that has killed at least one patient.

At the same time, however, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that while it has only confirmed that five cases of Legionnaires' originated in the hospital's water system, there have been another 24 cases of Legionnaires' reported at the hospital since January 2011 -- eight cases in which patients picked up the disease from outside the hospital and another 16 that the VA is not sure where patients contracted the disease.

One of the five who got Legionnaires' at the hospital has died, and the family of another patient who died thinks he may have contracted the disease at the hospital.
read more here

Walter Reed Cancer Center named after Congressman John Murtha

Walter Reed cancer center to be named for Murtha
Late congressman was advocate of medical care for military members and their families
December 2, 2012
By Tracie Mauriello
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

He has a neuroscience institute, an airport, an Army Reserve center, a highway, and a Navy ship named for him. There's even a John P. Murtha memorial tree on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

Starting Monday, a comprehensive cancer center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center will bear Mr. Murtha's name, too. The popular Democratic congressman died in 2010 but his legacy is still remembered at home in Johnstown, in Washington where he wielded power over defense appropriations and at military medical centers around the country that bear the Murtha name.

Mr. Murtha had a longtime interest in medical care for members of the military and their families.

"It was always his overriding concern. He was worried about our troops being taken care of physically when they get back," said his widow, Joyce, who plans to attend Monday's naming ceremony in Maryland, where top military brass including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta are expected to honor him.
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35 Year old died in police custody after taser

Inmate death under investigation
Buffalo News
BY: LOU MICHEL , NANCY FISCHER

A 35-year-old Depew man who had been jailed on burglary charges by Depew police died late Friday afternoon after being transported from the Holding Center to Erie County Medical Center Wednesday for a mental health evaluation.

Richard A. Metcalf Jr. suffered a massive heart attack in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, Buffalo attorney and family spokesman Thomas J. Casey said. Family also said Metcalf recently had begun showing signs of mental illness.

An investigation has already begun, said Thomas Diina, Erie County Sheriff Superintendant of Jail Management, and an autopsy was to be conducted.

Booking photos show Metcalf was bruised and cut before he was taken to the Holding Center, the Sheriff’s Office said.

“The booking photo shows that he had a rough ride before coming to us,” Diina said.

Casey said the family was distraught but had a lot of questions and wanted a full investigation.

Carwile said the officer used a Taser to subdue Metcalf and forcibly handcuffed him.
read more here

Suicide Prevention? No amount of money can fix what failed already

With the posting of Senator Baucus Sponsored another Suicide Prevention Bill it is a good time to look back at other things our elected officials tried to do over the years. When you think of the millions of dollars spent repeating the same things over and over again yet discovering such deplorable results as increased military suicides along with attempted suicides, you should really be wondering when they will get a clue no amount of money can fix what has already failed.

The Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act

H.R. 327 would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a comprehensive program designed to reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans. Detailed Summary

(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on September 27, 2007. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) suicide among veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious problem; and (2) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in developing and implementing the comprehensive program outlined in this Act, should take into consideration the special needs of such veterans and of elderly veterans who are at high risk for depression and experience high rates of suicide.

Directs the Secretary to develop and carry out a comprehensive program designed to reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans. Requires the program to include: (1) mandatory training for appropriate staff and contractors of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) who interact with veterans; (2) mental health assessments of veterans; (3) designation of a suicide prevention counselor at each Department medical facility; (4) research on best practices for suicide prevention; (5) mental health care for veterans who have experienced sexual trauma while in military service; (6) 24-hour veterans' mental health care availability; (7) a toll-free hotline; and (8) outreach and education for veterans and their families.

Authorizes the Secretary to develop and carry a peer support counseling program as part of such program.

Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the program.

Status of the Legislation

Latest Major Action: 10/24/2007: Presented to President.

Omission of Bean bill described as baffling
Holt and East Brunswick family vow to continue fight for improved veterans’ services
BY LAUREN CIRAULO Staff Writer

EAST BRUNSWICK — A bill named for a Middlesex County veteran and intended to strengthen treatment resources for returning soldiers will not be funded this year.

The bill’s sudden removal from the federal Defense Authorization Act of 2011 has angered a local family as well as Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), who introduced the legislation in honor of East Brunswick native, U.S. Army Sgt. Coleman Bean.

According to Holt, it was Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Ranking Member U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who yanked the measure, believing it to be unnecessary.

A call to McCain’s office requesting comment was not immediately returned.

“When I learned that Sen. McCain removed this provision at the last minute, I was furious,” Holt said. “A serious gap exists in military suicide prevention efforts — a gap that needlessly cost the life of one young central New Jersey resident.”

Coleman Bean took his life on Sept. 6, 2008, at the age of 25, a few months after returning from his second tour in Iraq. He had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after his first tour, but Bean had limited access to veterans services as a member of the U.S. Army’s Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) and was called back to duty without receiving treatment.

Armed Forces Suicide Prevention Act of 2011

For Immediate Release August 31, 2012
Fact Sheet: President Obama Signs Executive Order to Improve Access to Mental Health Services for Veterans, Service Members, and Military Families

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Obama will sign an Executive Order directing key federal departments to expand suicide prevention strategies and take steps to meet the current and future demand for mental health and substance abuse treatment services for veterans, service members, and their families.

Ensuring that all veterans, Active, Guard, and Reserve service members and their families receive the support they deserve is a top priority for the Obama Administration. Since September 11, 2001, more than two million service members have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan with unprecedented duration and frequency. Long deployments and intense combat conditions require optimal support for the emotional and mental health needs of our service members and their families. The Obama Administration has consistently expanded efforts to ensure our troops, veterans and their families receive the benefits they have earned and deserve, including providing timely mental health service. The Executive Order signed today builds on these efforts.

President Obama’s Executive Order

The Executive Order signed by President Obama:

Strengthens suicide prevention efforts across the Force and in the veteran community: The Executive Order directs the VA to increase the VA veteran crisis line capacity by 50% by the end of the year.

Under the Executive Order, VA will ensure that any veteran identifying him or herself as being in crisis connects with a mental health professional or trained mental health worker within 24 hours or less.

VA will work with the Department of Defense to develop and implement a national 12 month suicide prevention campaign focused on connecting veterans to mental health services.

Enhances access to mental health care by building partnerships between VA and community providers:

In service areas where VA has faced challenges in hiring and placing mental health service providers and continues to have unfilled vacancies or long wait times, the Executive Order Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to work with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish at least 15 pilot sites. In pilot sites, VA will contract with community health centers, community mental health clinics, community substance abuse treatment facilities and other HHS grantees and community resources to help reduce VA mental health waiting lists. Under the Executive Order, HHS and VA will develop a plan for a rural mental health recruitment initiative to promote opportunities for VA and rural communities to share mental health providers when demand is insufficient for either to support a full-time provider.

Increases the number of VA mental health providers serving our veterans:

Under the Executive Order, VA will hire 800 peer-to-peer support counselors to empower veterans to support other veterans and help ensure that their mental health care and overall service needs are met. VA has launched an effort to hire 1,600 new mental health professionals to serve veterans. The Executive Order directs VA to use its pay-setting authorities, loan repayment and scholarships, partnerships with health care workforce training programs, and collaborative arrangements with community-based providers to recruit, hire, and place 1,600 mental health professionals by June, 2013. Since, 2009, the VA has expanded its mental health programs, hiring more than 3,500 mental health professionals since 2009.

Promotes mental health research and development of more effective treatment methodologies:

The Executive Order directs the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education to develop a National Research Action Plan that will include strategies to improve early diagnosis and treatment effectiveness for TBI and PTSD.

The Executive Order further directs the Department of Defense and Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a comprehensive mental health study with an emphasis on PTSD, TBI, and related injuries to develop better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment options.

Launch a government-wide collaborative effort to address these issues through a Military and Veterans Mental Health Interagency Task Force:

The Executive Order establishes an Interagency Task Force, including the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, the Domestic Policy Council, National Security Staff, the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which will make recommendations to the President on additional strategies to improve mental health and substance abuse treatment services for veterans, service members, and their families.

Supporting our Military, Veterans, and their Families
The President has taken key steps to protect and strengthen the health of our military, veterans and their families here at home. Many of these initiatives are supported by agencies across the federal government and collaborative partnerships with states and communities.

Health Care
For the first time ever, 135 medical schools have committed to exchanging leading research on PTSD and TBI and will also train future physicians to better understand veteran health needs. More than 150 state and national nursing organizations and over 650 nursing schools have committed to ensure our nation’s 3 million nurses are prepared to meet the unique health needs of veterans and their families by educating the current and future nurses of America to have a better understanding of PTSD and TBI.

President Obama signed the “caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010”, into law which helps our most seriously injured post-9/11 veterans and their family caregivers with a monthly stipend; access to health insurance; mental health services and counseling; and comprehensive VA caregiver training and respite care. The Department of Labor has proposed new regulations for the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to support military families and caregivers. This rule would implement statutory changes to the FMLA, expanding leave to family members caring for veterans who have suffered a serious injury or illness.

In July 2010, the VA published a historic change to its rules, streamlining the process and paperwork needed by combat veterans to pursue a claim for disability pay for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The VA expanded its workforce by over 2,600 people to handle applications for disability pay. The VA is also using technology and new approaches to help veterans get their benefits by accepting online applications for initial disability benefits, initiating an innovation competition, launching pilot initiatives, and investing over $128 million in a paperless Veterans Benefits Management System.

The administration is utilizing partnerships to reduce the stigma associated with seeking treatment for behavioral health issues. Make the Connection, a campaign launched by the Department of Veterans Affairs, is creating ways for veterans and their family members to connect with the experiences of other veterans and access the information and resources to help these families confront the challenges of transitioning from service to daily civilian life.

Licensing and Credentials
Nearly 35 percent of military spouses in the labor force require licenses or certification for their profession. Many military spouses hold occupational licenses and routinely move across state lines, causing licensing requirements to disproportionately affect the military spouse population. The First Lady and Dr. Biden encouraged all 50 governors to pass legislation by 2014 to reduce the financial and administrative strains that 100,000 military spouses incur from trying to get their state licenses or certification credentials to transfer from state to state as they move. Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden encouraged governors to take Action in February 2012 when only 11 states had legislation on the books. 26 states now have measures in place to support military spouses and the initiative is on-track to meet the 2014 goal.

Education
The Department of Defense has awarded $180 million in grants to support military-connected public school districts. These grants support improved academic programs for military children. More than 400,000 students from military families across all grade levels are impacted by these grant projects.

The Department of Defense has awarded approximately $25 million to military-connected Local Education Agencies (LEAs) this summer to focus on increasing student achievement and easing transitions through research-based academic and support programs.

The Department of Defense, in collaboration with the Council of State Governments' (CSG) National Center for Interstate Compacts developed the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children (the Compact) to address the educational transition issues of children of military families. The Compact covers transition issues including class placement, records transfer, immunization requirements, course placement, graduation requirements, exit testing, and extra-curricular opportunities. States adopt the Compact through legislation, and as a result, join the Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission (MIC3). To date, 39 states have approved the Compact and these states are home to 89 percent of school age children whose active duty parents are assigned to military installations in the United States. We will continue to work with leaders to encourage the 11 remaining states approve the Compact and become members of MIC3.

VA eased the Post-9/11 GI Bill application process within the eBenefits portal, including transferability to spouses or children for service members with over six years of service. Servicemembers can now apply on-line to transfer the benefits of their Post-9/11 GI Bill to eligible beneficiaries.

Housing
On top of the historic settlements completed by the Federal government and 49 state Attorneys General, major mortgage servicers will be providing relief to thousands of service member and veteran households. A review will be conducted of every service member household foreclosed upon since 2006. Those wrongly foreclosed upon will be compensated equal to a minimum of lost equity, plus interest and a refund for money lost because they were wrongfully denied the opportunity to reduce their mortgage payments. Additionally, these organizations will pay $10 million into a VA fund that guarantees loans on favorable terms for veterans.

The Administration is working to end veteran homelessness through leveraging broad support at Federal, State, and local levels in both the public and private sectors. Working with over 4,000 community agencies, the VA and HUD have successfully placed more than 37,000 veterans in permanent housing with dedicated case managers and access to high-quality VA health care since 2009. To ensure we reach out to our homeless veterans, the VA created a National Registry for Homeless Veterans and established a National Homeless Hotline. Veteran homelessness was reduced by nearly 12 percent between January 2010 and January 2011.

In 2011, VA helped save 72,391 Veteran and military borrowers with VA-guaranteed loans from foreclosure, a 10% increase from the prior year. VA has helped nearly 59,000 borrowers avoid foreclosure so far in 2012. The home loan guaranty program helps Veterans and their families purchase homes, often with no down payment required. The program expects to guaranty the 20 millionth loan in early November 2012.

Using their Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loan, also known as the Streamline Refinance, VA refinances existing VA loans into new loans with lower interest rates, or adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) into fixed rate mortgages. In 2011, this program saved an average of $202 per month in individual payment reductions and 1.42% in interest rates. This equates to saving military and veterans $24 million a month and $293 million per year.

Financial Readiness
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Financial Education and Financial Access has helped military families identify predatory lending practices. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) established an office of service member affairs to ensure that the CFPB addresses the financial challenges that confront military families and strengthens protections against abusive financial practices.

Senator Baucus sponsored another military suicide prevention bill

Senator Baucus sponsored another military suicide prevention bill
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
December 2, 2012

Don't count me among the people thinking another suicide prevention bill is a good thing. Some people in this country may be really hopeful over this but for me, I've been tracking all of this too long to gain any hope when they show no signs of changing anything.

In 2008 when most people in this country focused on the election of President Obama as the "first black President" in good ways as well as bad ways, I was focused on PTSD and military suicides.

For me that was the issue that matter to me the most.

In May of 2008 I broke my own rule about posting an entire report when I posted U.S. must battle against stigma of mental war wounds because all too often important reports are lost in the archives of newspapers. This one came out of The Billings Gazette. I just checked the link and it is not working, much like the rest of the things I hoped for have not worked.

Senator Max Baucus sponsored another suicide prevention bill along with Senator Tester. In his speech, Senator Baucus mentioned what Montana has been doing to get ahead of military suicides. It made me cry.

Baucus Secures Military Suicide Prevention Program in National Defense Bill
Senator Continues Longstanding Battle Against PTSD
Posted: Thursday, November 29, 2012

(Washington, D.C.) - Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus secured an amendment to the National Defense Reauthorization bill that will create a comprehensive and standardized suicide prevention program for military service members. This is the latest step in Baucus' longstanding efforts to address Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury. Baucus took to the Senate floor today to raise awareness of the need to provide mental health care and support for troops and veterans. The Amendment was also co-sponsored by Montana Senator Jon Tester.

"When duty calls, Montanans answer proudly. This is about taking care of these men and women, just as they have taken care of us. These people have put their lives on the line in the name of freedom. And we have a responsibility to do everything we can to help them return to their families and lives back home," Baucus said on the Senate floor today.

"Montana's military men and women make tremendous sacrifices on the battlefield, but too often they return home with wounds unseen," Tester said. "This measure makes sure we live up to our responsibilities to them and puts everyone on the same page when it comes to making sure our hard-working men and women get the care they earned."

Baucus also inserted a provision in the 2010 Defense Authorization bill that implemented a successful PTSD screening program at the Montana National Guard nationwide. This year's defense bill builds on that provision and advances Baucus' efforts to get Montana veterans and service members get the mental health care they deserve.

The amendment passed the week is known as the Mental Health ACCESS Act. The provision will:

·Create a comprehensive, standardized suicide prevention program within the Department of Defense;
·Expand eligibility for VA mental health services to family members of veterans;
·Create more peer to peer counseling opportunities; and
·Require the VA to establish accurate and reliable measures for mental health services.

This is who Senator Baucus was talking about.

What They Found in the Wastebasket
Suicide shocks Montana into assessing vets' care
Chris Adams
McClatchy Newspapers

HELENA, Mont. — Chris Dana came home from the war in Iraq in 2005 and slipped into a mental abyss so quietly that neither his family nor the Montana Army National Guard noticed.

He returned to his former life: a job at a Target store, nights in a trailer across the road from his father's house.

When he started to isolate himself, missing family events and football games, his father urged him to get counseling. When the National Guard called his father to say that he'd missed weekend duty, Gary Dana pushed his son to get in touch with his unit.

"I can't go back. I can't do it," Chris Dana responded.

Things went downhill from there. He blew though all his money, and last March 4, he shot himself in the head with a .22-caliber rifle. He was 23 years old.

As Gary Dana was collecting his dead son's belongings, he found a letter indicating that the National Guard was discharging his son under what are known as other-than-honorable conditions. The move was due to his skipping drills, which his family said was brought on by the mental strain of his service in Iraq.

The letter was in the trash, near a Wal-Mart receipt for .22-caliber rifle shells.

All across America, veterans such as Chris Dana are slipping through the cracks, left to languish by their military units and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The link to the above story still work so you'll be able to read the rest of this report.

Back then they were not reporting military suicide numbers. Think Progress has this military suicide report still up on their site. Take a look at what the numbers turned out to be when the DOD actually had to start reporting the suicides.

Did you see how the numbers went up? I had such high hopes in 2008 when President Obama was elected because unlike McCain, he was paying attention to military suicides and PTSD. I still think he cares but with cold hard facts proving what they have been doing since 2008 have not worked at all, repeating another bill based on the same thing is heartbreaking.

Here are some facts you should know. These reports are from my blog.

Suicide death of Spc. Chris Dana causes change in Montana National Guard
Montana Guard confronts post-combat stress head-on in wake of suicide
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
Tribune Projects Editor

HELENA — Montana's National Guard is becoming a model of how to help service members adjust to post-combat stress.

"Montana has gone beyond the level of other states in the country, and I applaud that," said Capt. Joan Hunter, a U.S. Public Service officer who was recently designated the director of psychological health for the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C.

"They saw an emergency need, studied the problems and make some significant improvements," Hunter said Friday.

State Adjutant General Randy Mosley said that the effort stems from a former Montana soldier who didn't get the help he needed and who killed himself a year ago.

"We want to make sure we're doing everything we can to help our people and their families pick up the pieces for the problems that may have begun during their deployment in Iraq," Mosley said last week.

"The Guard has done an unbelievable job in changing," said Matt Kuntz, a Helena attorney and stepbrother of the late Spc. Chris Dana, who killed himself March 4, 2007.

In Billings, Obama blames GOP for veteran troubles
By TOM LUTEY
Billings Gazette

BILLINGS - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, speaking Wednesday in Billings, faulted Republican leaders for chronically underfunding veteran services for troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I have some significant differences with McCain and George Bush about the war in Iraq,” Obama said. “But one thing I thought we'd agree to is when the troops came home, we'd treat them with the honor and respect they deserve.”

Several trends indicate veterans are not getting the health care and other benefits they need to succeed at home, Obama told a group of around 200 people during an invitation-only morning listening session in Riverfront Park.

Armed services veterans are seven times more likely to be homeless than Americans who don't serve. In Montana, roughly half the veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder go untreated for the psychological condition, Obama said.

Before speaking, the candidate met for several minutes with the family of Spec. Chris Dana, a Montana National Guard veteran suffering from PTSD who committed suicide in March 2007, several months after returning from Iraq. Dana's stepbrother, Matt Kuntz, became a vocal advocate for better treatment of PTSD after Dana's death.

Obama promises to repeat Montana's National Guard PTSD work nation wide
Obama Pledges Nationwide Use of PTSD Program
Eric Newhouse
Great Falls Tribune
Aug 28, 2008

August 28, 2008 - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama promised Wednesday to expand Montana's pilot program to assess the mental health of combat vets nationwide, if elected.

The Montana National Guard has developed a program to check its soldiers and airmen for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder every six months for the first two years after returning from combat, then once a year thereafter. The program exceeds national standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense.

The pilot program was created in response to the suicide of former Army Spc. Chris Dana of Helena, who shot himself on March 4, 2007, days after being given a less-than-honorable discharge because he could no longer handle attending drills following a tour in Iraq.

Obama win also means PTSD work gets new hero
November 5, 2008
This is one of the biggest reasons I am so delighted that Senator Obama will be President Obama. In August, he visited the Montana National Guard because he heard about the great work they were doing on PTSD. He was so impressed that he promised to take their program nationally.

Up until now, PTSD has only recently become a hot topic. President Bush surrounded himself with people who either had no clue what PTSD was or denied it was real. This prevented years of research not being done and programs that could have been created sooner, to not even be dreamt of. Thousands of our veterans and troops, guardsmen and reservists died as a result, not by enemy hands but because of the enemy within them.

Military families and veteran families have a new hero coming to fight for them and I'm sure when you get to know exactly how much he does care, plans to act, you will feel the same way too. He's been on the Veterans Affairs Committee and has paid attention to all that is going on.

I still think he's paying attention but the problem is the experts the congress has been listening to have not provided the relief these veterans need but instead of doing something differently, they repeat the same thing hoping for different results and leaving more and more families grieving by a graveside and blaming themselves.

Less than half of military gun suicides were personal weapons

Firearm sales coming to MacDill retail store
By HOWARD ALTMAN
The Tampa Tribune
Published: December 01, 2012
TAMPA

There are plenty of guns on MacDill Air Force Base, home to U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command and two Air Force wings.

But unlike many military bases across the country, you cannot purchase a weapon there.

That's about to change.

In a few weeks, anyone with a military ID who is eligible to purchase a weapon will be able to do so at The Exchange, the sprawling 67,000-square-foot base mall that sells everything from cat food to computers.

The process to sell guns at MacDill began in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Judd Anstey, public relations manager for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which runs exchanges at more than 100 Army posts and Air Force bases around the globe.

The decision was based on "customer demand and the fact that Florida has a lot to offer outdoor enthusiasts," he said. The change had to be signed off on by the base commander, fire marshal and security officer.

The decision to sell firearms at MacDill comes at a time when the military is wrestling with the rising number of suicides in the armed forces.

More than 320 confirmed or suspected suicides have been reported so far this year, according to the Pentagon, surpassing the previous high of 310 in 2009. By comparison, 241 U.S. troops have been killed by enemy forces so far this year, according to icasualties.org.

In 2011, slightly less than half of the approximately 280 suicides involved weapons that were not issued by the military, according to Department of Defense spokeswoman Cynthia Smith.

That fact is not lost on Scott Neil, a retired Green Beret who served as the senior enlisted adviser to the Director of the Interagency Task Force at U.S. Special Operations Command.

Neil, who runs sport shooting events that benefit the wounded, said gun policies on bases are actually more restrictive than those outside the gates.

"It is highly controlled on the base," he said. "As far as fear that Joe the Private walks from the barracks to get a gun and commit suicide, it's the same as if he drove 10 miles downtown to a pawn shop. There are probably less regulations or oversight or issues for him to get a gun cheaply at a pawn shop."
read more here

Military moms honor family at Virginia War Memorial

Military moms honor family at Virginia War Memorial
NBC News 12
Posted: Dec 01, 2012
By Tayleigh Davis

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT)
Dozens of military moms were at the Virginia War Memorial, decorating a very special Christmas tree. It's a tribute made possible by the Blue Star families military service organization.

"We understand what that mother is feeling without even saying a word," said Blue Star Mom, Teresa Sumners."

Sumners and about 40 other moms proudly hung ornaments on this hero tree - a reflection of pride and honor. Sumner's oldest son served four years in the army and her youngest was in the National Guard.

The women here decorated an ornament - each one with a special meaning. Whether they have children who are enlisted, in the reserves, or died while serving - they can all connect on a common ground.

"We can talk about things no one else wants to hear anymore about our children and we do," said Eileen Osmolski. "We might share the same story over and over again. It doesn't matter because we understand and we have these same feelings."
read more here and see video

New Jersey suicide victim was an Army veteran, outdoorsman

Franklin suicide victim was an Army veteran, outdoorsman
New Jersey Herald
By ROB JENNINGS
December 1, 2012

FRANKLIN — With much public attention on Michael John Elekes' final tragic hours, his survivors sought to portray a fuller picture of his life in an obituary released to the media Nov. 30.

Elekes, 53, fatally shot himself Nov. 19 inside the Auche Drive home he shared with his parents, hours after shooting his mother, who survived, and holding his father hostage.

Following a private memorial service — the date was not disclosed — his family offered some insights into the lifelong Franklin resident, grandfather, U.S. Army veteran, heavy equipment operator and accomplished outdoorsman.

Michael Elekes, in 1991, donated a kidney to his elder brother, James, who has diabetes.

Several years later, he organized a blood drive when James required open-heart surgery, "offering to donate vascular material should it be required for James to complete successful surgery," according to the obituary prepared by his family and released Friday by F. John Ramsey Funeral Home in Franklin.

The Sussex County Prosecutor's Office has not disclosed a motive in connection with the standoff at 30 Auche Drive, which lasted for more than seven hours and drew approximately 70 law enforcement officers.

Anna Elekes, 77, was wounded in the abdomen and leg — possibly with birdshot, according to Franklin Police Detective Nevin Mattessich — upon fleeing the house when three Franklin police officers pulled up outside her home around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18.

She had called 9-1-1 to report her son was threatening her with a shotgun.

Elekes, at some point during a seven-hour standoff, released his 79-year-old father, James.
read more here

Marine impersonator, online stalker found guilty

Man Guilty of Impersonating US Marine and Threatening Women Online
November 30, 2012

WASHINGTON (CBSDC) - A man was sentenced to over a year in prison in Alexandria Friday for impersonating as a U.S. Marine and threatening women he met online.

James M. Johnson of Roxboro, N.C., was sentenced to 15 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for posing as a Marine and threatening 11 women he met through Internet dating websites.

Johnson, 29, pled guilty on July 30, to one count of cyber-stalking and one count of making interstate threats.

According to his plea agreement, he created an online dating profile posing as “Shawn Davis”, a U.S. Marine purportedly stationed at Quantico.

He used photographs of a uniformed Marine in his dating profile and created a false back-story on “Davis’s” family and military history.
read more here

Fort Hood child gets Mickey Mouse Christmas wish

Fort Hood: Ill Three-Year-Old Gets Mickey Mouse-Themed Christmas Wish
Brittany Semadeni
Out Town Texas
December 1, 2012

FORT HOOD (November 30, 2012)--A three-year-old boy from Fort Hood suffering from Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome will receive his Christmas wish this year.

Xavier has spent every Christmas of his life in the hospital and this year will be no different, except for one thing.

Make-A-Wish Central and South Texas will grant his wish to have a Mickey Mouse-themed Christmas celebration at his home on post.
read more here