Rocket launchers turned in to LAPD apparently were from military
By RICHARD WINTON
The Los Angeles Times
Published: December 29, 2012
LOS ANGELES — Two rocket launchers turned into the Los Angeles Police Department as part of the city's gun buyback event appear to be antitank weapons from the military, experts said.
Police said the people turning them in at the buyback told officers they had family members who were at one time in the military and "they no longer wanted the launchers in their homes."
Several military experts said one of the weapons was probably a version of the AT4, an unguided antitank weapon. It's a single-shot weapon that a soldier fires and then discards the tubing.
read more here
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Marine takes down burglar with bare hands
Marine takes down burglar in his parent's Wash. home
By NICOLE HENSLEY
The (Spokane, Wash.) Spokesman-Review
Published: December 29, 2012
After two dangerous tours in Afghanistan, Marine Cpl. Alex Pohle confronted a new threat on the home front: a burglar in his parent’s Spokane Valley home.
Home for the holidays, the 22-year-old Pohle returned to their house after running errands and found the front door open “as plain as a summer’s day.” The family dog sat in the front yard along the 12400 block of East Desmet Road.
Without hesitation Pohle rushed inside after telling his wife to stay in the car. He stormed into the home, burst into his parents bedroom and took suspected burglar Christopher Schwanke, 43, to the floor.
After a short struggle, Pohle had him in a choke hold and Schwanke pleaded for his freedom. “Let me go, let me go,” Pohle’s mom heard Schwanke begging before he stopped moving.
Pohle credited his military training for the take down move and pointed out the blood on his pants and shirt that didn’t belong to him.
read more here
By NICOLE HENSLEY
The (Spokane, Wash.) Spokesman-Review
Published: December 29, 2012
After two dangerous tours in Afghanistan, Marine Cpl. Alex Pohle confronted a new threat on the home front: a burglar in his parent’s Spokane Valley home.
Home for the holidays, the 22-year-old Pohle returned to their house after running errands and found the front door open “as plain as a summer’s day.” The family dog sat in the front yard along the 12400 block of East Desmet Road.
Without hesitation Pohle rushed inside after telling his wife to stay in the car. He stormed into the home, burst into his parents bedroom and took suspected burglar Christopher Schwanke, 43, to the floor.
After a short struggle, Pohle had him in a choke hold and Schwanke pleaded for his freedom. “Let me go, let me go,” Pohle’s mom heard Schwanke begging before he stopped moving.
Pohle credited his military training for the take down move and pointed out the blood on his pants and shirt that didn’t belong to him.
read more here
A different kind of Christmas miracle for a war veteran
Fred Grimm: A different kind of Christmas miracle for a war veteran
Miami Herald
BY FRED GRIMM
December 29, 2012
Think of it as a kind of Christmas miracle. That what should have happened actually happened. That a war-damaged veteran got the help he needed. That a terrifying scenario — an unhinged former soldier holed up with a cache of assault weapons and ammo — was defused.
What should have happened actually happened, despite irrational state laws governing mental health interventions, despite Florida’s fiscal neglect of mental health services.
The 26-year-old Iraq War vet, his reasoning bent by the stress and trauma of combat (and perhaps a brain injury), had barricaded himself in his two-story town house off 109th Avenue in Northwest Miami-Dade County, where he stewed in apocalyptic notions and insurrectionist paranoia. His relatives were terrified that as his mental state deteriorated, the potential for a deadly confrontation was escalating. They knew he kept a dreadful collection of firearms, a virtual armory, inside a town house not far from a school.
That the vet was in urgent need of mental health treatment seemed obvious. He had covered the interior walls of his home with bizarre drawings and portentous slogans: “Everyone must die.” He had tacked bullet-riddled firing range targets, black human silhouettes, on the wall. He raved that the nation was about to dissolve into some final explosion of chaotic violence. He had strategically placed his guns — police would later find 20 assault weapons and seven other firearms, along with more than 15,000 rounds of ammunition — arrayed near the home’s windows, ready to fend off the imagined final siege. (His town house complex is not far from the K-through-12 Miami Christian School.)
But none of these factors, given Florida’s mental health laws and miserly funding (last in the nation) of mental health services, would necessarily lead to real treatment. All too often, after the mentally ill are taken to one of the county’s overcrowded crisis stabilization centers, they’re out again in a few hours, said Habsi W. Kaba, who runs Miami-Dade’s crisis intervention program.
It could have happened with the vet. That it didn’t, that he was involuntarily committed to a Veteran’s Administration hospital after his Baker Act (mental health) hearing on Thursday, was serendipity. Like I said: a Christmas miracle.
read more here
Miami Herald
BY FRED GRIMM
December 29, 2012
Think of it as a kind of Christmas miracle. That what should have happened actually happened. That a war-damaged veteran got the help he needed. That a terrifying scenario — an unhinged former soldier holed up with a cache of assault weapons and ammo — was defused.
What should have happened actually happened, despite irrational state laws governing mental health interventions, despite Florida’s fiscal neglect of mental health services.
The 26-year-old Iraq War vet, his reasoning bent by the stress and trauma of combat (and perhaps a brain injury), had barricaded himself in his two-story town house off 109th Avenue in Northwest Miami-Dade County, where he stewed in apocalyptic notions and insurrectionist paranoia. His relatives were terrified that as his mental state deteriorated, the potential for a deadly confrontation was escalating. They knew he kept a dreadful collection of firearms, a virtual armory, inside a town house not far from a school.
That the vet was in urgent need of mental health treatment seemed obvious. He had covered the interior walls of his home with bizarre drawings and portentous slogans: “Everyone must die.” He had tacked bullet-riddled firing range targets, black human silhouettes, on the wall. He raved that the nation was about to dissolve into some final explosion of chaotic violence. He had strategically placed his guns — police would later find 20 assault weapons and seven other firearms, along with more than 15,000 rounds of ammunition — arrayed near the home’s windows, ready to fend off the imagined final siege. (His town house complex is not far from the K-through-12 Miami Christian School.)
But none of these factors, given Florida’s mental health laws and miserly funding (last in the nation) of mental health services, would necessarily lead to real treatment. All too often, after the mentally ill are taken to one of the county’s overcrowded crisis stabilization centers, they’re out again in a few hours, said Habsi W. Kaba, who runs Miami-Dade’s crisis intervention program.
It could have happened with the vet. That it didn’t, that he was involuntarily committed to a Veteran’s Administration hospital after his Baker Act (mental health) hearing on Thursday, was serendipity. Like I said: a Christmas miracle.
read more here
Montana National Guard "nonexistent suicide-awareness plan"
Veteran: 'I just always hoped that I would be in that freak car accident'
Billings Gazette
10 hours ago
By Cindy Uken
When Casey Elder enlisted in the Montana Army National Guard as a 17-year-old, she was not impressed with the organization’s nearly nonexistent suicide-awareness plan.
She and her friends called it a joke.
She recalls attending a short class during basic training on how to recognize the warning signs of depression and suicide and how to report it. She recalls no specific training prior to her deployment to Iraq, where she worked as a gunner for security envoys, armed with an M249 squad automatic weapon, an M16 and pistol.
While helping rebuild Baghdad’s police departments, her Humvee was struck by a roadside bomb. She suffered permanent nerve damage in her wrist, elbow and shoulder. She suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
When she arrived home, Elder, now 28 and living in Billings, said there was a little more talk about suicide awareness and prevention during a one-hour PowerPoint program and she was handed an 800 number to call.
“That’s about the extent of it,” she said.
Once Elder left the Guard, she became separated from those with whom she deployed and others in the military. She did not talk to her fellow service members and became despondent.
“I never wanted to take my own life, but I did struggle with wanting to be dead and not having to deal with the struggles, the PTSD and the brain injury,” Elder said. “I just always hoped that I would be in that freak car accident.”
read more here
Seven of the men who deployed to Iraq with Ryan Ranalli have committed suicide
Veterans twice as likely to commit suicide as civilians
Billings Gazette
10 hours ago
By Cindy Uken
When Casey Elder enlisted in the Montana Army National Guard as a 17-year-old, she was not impressed with the organization’s nearly nonexistent suicide-awareness plan.
She and her friends called it a joke.
She recalls attending a short class during basic training on how to recognize the warning signs of depression and suicide and how to report it. She recalls no specific training prior to her deployment to Iraq, where she worked as a gunner for security envoys, armed with an M249 squad automatic weapon, an M16 and pistol.
While helping rebuild Baghdad’s police departments, her Humvee was struck by a roadside bomb. She suffered permanent nerve damage in her wrist, elbow and shoulder. She suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
When she arrived home, Elder, now 28 and living in Billings, said there was a little more talk about suicide awareness and prevention during a one-hour PowerPoint program and she was handed an 800 number to call.
“That’s about the extent of it,” she said.
Once Elder left the Guard, she became separated from those with whom she deployed and others in the military. She did not talk to her fellow service members and became despondent.
“I never wanted to take my own life, but I did struggle with wanting to be dead and not having to deal with the struggles, the PTSD and the brain injury,” Elder said. “I just always hoped that I would be in that freak car accident.”
read more here
Seven of the men who deployed to Iraq with Ryan Ranalli have committed suicide
Veterans twice as likely to commit suicide as civilians
After The Kiss Brandon Morgan Interview
Dec 28, 2012
This February began with one of the most iconic photographs of the entire year, that of USMC Sgt.. Brandon Morgans welcome home kiss with boyfriend Dalan Wells....a photo that has come to be synonymous with the end of DADT. Well we had the incredible fortune of being able to sit down with Brandon and Dalan and to to get their point of view on how that photo has affected their lives and whats in store for their future.
This February began with one of the most iconic photographs of the entire year, that of USMC Sgt.. Brandon Morgans welcome home kiss with boyfriend Dalan Wells....a photo that has come to be synonymous with the end of DADT. Well we had the incredible fortune of being able to sit down with Brandon and Dalan and to to get their point of view on how that photo has affected their lives and whats in store for their future.
Military suicides and non-deployed
When you read about "non-deployed" servicemen and women committing suicide, you should never dismiss the military connection. These stories will help you understand that these men and women, while just as human as the rest of us, are different from the rest of us. They wanted to be of service to their country and to others. While they were willing to die for this reason, we did not give them a reason to live.
Military Suicide Among Soldiers Who Haven’t Deployed
BY SARAH CHILDRESS
DECEMBER 20, 2012
The epidemic of suicide in the US military corresponds with the US involvement in parallel wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But the latest figures confirm a confusing fact: Most soldiers who kill themselves have never deployed to a combat zone, and the vast majority have never been in battle at all. Frontline reporter Sarah Childress examines what’s behind the statistic.
The stereotype of the soldier who kills himself—a combat veteran plagued by post-traumatic stress -— is a familiar one to Craig Bryan, the associate director of the National Center of Veterans’ Studies at the University of Utah. “That is the storyline that we have created in our society because it’s a simple storyline and it intuitively makes sense,” he says. “The problem is that the data doesn’t support the notion that it is as simple as combat leads directly to suicide risk.”
Last year, 53 percent of service members who killed themselves had no history of deployment, according to the Defense Department’s most recent data. And about 85 percent of military members who took their lives had no direct combat history, meaning they may have been deployed but not seen action.
Suicide is complex, so there’s no simple explanation for why these service members are killing themselves in greater numbers. But experts who have studied the problem say that one factor may be the pressure from the back-to-back wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
click link for more and to hear report
A Mother Talks About Her Son’s Military Suicide
BY THE WORLD
DECEMBER 20, 2012
According to the Defense Department, most military suicides are among people with no history of deployment.
Peggy Scallorn’s 18-year-old son Cody was part of that statistic. Cody was in the Air Force and was only a few months out of basic training last January when he took his own life.
Anchor Marco Werman talks to Scallorn about her son.
click link to hear report
Military Suicide Among Soldiers Who Haven’t Deployed
BY SARAH CHILDRESS
DECEMBER 20, 2012
The epidemic of suicide in the US military corresponds with the US involvement in parallel wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But the latest figures confirm a confusing fact: Most soldiers who kill themselves have never deployed to a combat zone, and the vast majority have never been in battle at all. Frontline reporter Sarah Childress examines what’s behind the statistic.
The stereotype of the soldier who kills himself—a combat veteran plagued by post-traumatic stress -— is a familiar one to Craig Bryan, the associate director of the National Center of Veterans’ Studies at the University of Utah. “That is the storyline that we have created in our society because it’s a simple storyline and it intuitively makes sense,” he says. “The problem is that the data doesn’t support the notion that it is as simple as combat leads directly to suicide risk.”
Last year, 53 percent of service members who killed themselves had no history of deployment, according to the Defense Department’s most recent data. And about 85 percent of military members who took their lives had no direct combat history, meaning they may have been deployed but not seen action.
Suicide is complex, so there’s no simple explanation for why these service members are killing themselves in greater numbers. But experts who have studied the problem say that one factor may be the pressure from the back-to-back wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
click link for more and to hear report
Veterans twice as likely to commit suicide as civilians
Veterans twice as likely to commit suicide as civilians
Billings Gazette
7 hours ago
By Cindy Uken
They return from war traumatized.
They have survived the grinding stress of being in constant danger. They have seen the worst. Some have injuries that will never heal.
To stay alive, they have learned to trust no one and to never show weakness.
It’s something they don’t want to talk about.
And it’s killing them.
Veterans commit suicide at a rate that is twice the national average. In fact, the annual military death toll from suicides has for several years exceeded the number killed on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
For some returning vets, their injuries are obvious. Many others struggle with unseen wounds like post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries.
But, it’s not just combat vets. In 2010, at least 54 percent of U.S. military suicides had no history of deployment and 89 percent had no combat experience, according to the U.S. Department of Defense’s one-year-old Suicide Prevention Office.
Even for healthy veterans, returning home isn’t always a relief. Many miss the structure of military life and the companionship of their comrades. They find themselves competing for jobs with younger workers who have more up-to-date training. And some return to relationships that have withered or even broken in their absence.
It can all be too much.
In Montana, where nearly 10 percent of the population has served in the military, at least 460 veterans committed suicide between 2002 and 2011, according to the Montana Department of Health and Human Services.
“We go to war to protect ourselves and to give our kids, our grandkids and ourselves the lifestyle we have every day,” said Kellie Lafave, an RN and suicide prevention coordinator for VA Montana since 2005. “Sometimes we don’t want to think about the consequences of what we ask people to do in order to make that happen.”
The rate of suicides among veterans in Montana reflects the state’s high rate.
read more here
Seven of the men who deployed to Iraq with Ryan Ranalli have committed suicide
Montana National Guard non-existant suicide prevention plan
Billings Gazette
7 hours ago
By Cindy Uken
They return from war traumatized.
They have survived the grinding stress of being in constant danger. They have seen the worst. Some have injuries that will never heal.
To stay alive, they have learned to trust no one and to never show weakness.
It’s something they don’t want to talk about.
And it’s killing them.
Veterans commit suicide at a rate that is twice the national average. In fact, the annual military death toll from suicides has for several years exceeded the number killed on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.
For some returning vets, their injuries are obvious. Many others struggle with unseen wounds like post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries.
But, it’s not just combat vets. In 2010, at least 54 percent of U.S. military suicides had no history of deployment and 89 percent had no combat experience, according to the U.S. Department of Defense’s one-year-old Suicide Prevention Office.
Even for healthy veterans, returning home isn’t always a relief. Many miss the structure of military life and the companionship of their comrades. They find themselves competing for jobs with younger workers who have more up-to-date training. And some return to relationships that have withered or even broken in their absence.
It can all be too much.
In Montana, where nearly 10 percent of the population has served in the military, at least 460 veterans committed suicide between 2002 and 2011, according to the Montana Department of Health and Human Services.
“We go to war to protect ourselves and to give our kids, our grandkids and ourselves the lifestyle we have every day,” said Kellie Lafave, an RN and suicide prevention coordinator for VA Montana since 2005. “Sometimes we don’t want to think about the consequences of what we ask people to do in order to make that happen.”
The rate of suicides among veterans in Montana reflects the state’s high rate.
read more here
Seven of the men who deployed to Iraq with Ryan Ranalli have committed suicide
Montana National Guard non-existant suicide prevention plan
Seven of the men who deployed to Iraq with Ryan Ranalli have committed suicide
Right now I'm struggling trying to figure out the best post title to do this report justice. Too many parts of this story that need to be paid attention to and yet I'm wondering why we still have to read stories like this after all these years.
In 2007 I asked Why Isn't the Press on a Suicide Watch? Within the list of names was Spc. Chris Dana of the Montana National Guard. His death caused people to take action. Before President Obama was elected the first time, he met with Dana's stepbrother.
There is another report from the Billings Gazette released today.
Montana National Guard non-existing suicide prevention plan
Veteran: 'You're taught in the military that you don't ask for help'
Billings Gazette
8 hours ago
By Cindy Uken
“You’re taught in the military that you don’t ask for help,” Ranalli said. “If you do, it’s a sign of weakness, especially in the infantry, to talk to somebody or to ask for help. You’re looked down upon. It’s just kind of beat into you. You’re supposed to be self-sufficient.”HELENA — Seven of the men who deployed to Iraq with Ryan Ranalli have committed suicide. The latest killed himself in August.
Ranalli, a retired U.S. Army sergeant, saw how the deaths gutted family members.
Despite struggling with the demons of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, Ranalli, 33, vowed that suicide would never be an option.
Yet about 9 p.m. on April 8, an angry and drunken Ranalli mumbled something to his wife, “I love you,” or “You know I will always love you” and sought refuge in the family’s garage.
There, the 200-pound, 6-foot, 3-inch veteran grabbed a parachute cord, wrapped it around his neck and slung it over a beam.
His horrified wife, Jamie, placed a frantic call to his parents who live two minutes away and then went to the garage to be with her husband of two years.
“I thought if I was standing there he wasn’t going to do anything,” Jamie said, choking back tears.
Ranalli’s father cut the cord to rescue his son.
He was transported immediately to the VA hospital.
The drunken episode was the first in about two years.
“I didn’t ever expect that to happen,” Jamie said. “That’s never been him. In my heart I don’t believe it was a serious attempt. I believe it was a cry for help. I believe he was just so overloaded with the feelings and the emotions. Of course, the drinking didn’t help any of that. I believe he was screaming to get him somewhere where he could unload all of this.”
Ranalli remembers nothing of that night, but recalls with precision the events that led to his alcohol-fueled decision.
He was a squad leader with the 502nd Infantry Brigade in March 2003 when it headed the 101st Airborne’s combat air assault into Iraq. The ninth anniversary of the invasion triggered memories of dates when comrades were killed and of defining firefights and battles. He recalled vivid images of combat, images he had suppressed and never discussed.
read more here
In 2007 I asked Why Isn't the Press on a Suicide Watch? Within the list of names was Spc. Chris Dana of the Montana National Guard. His death caused people to take action. Before President Obama was elected the first time, he met with Dana's stepbrother.
August 28, 2008All these later, I am still collecting stories of deaths that didn't need to happen and still asking why the press in not on suicide watch. If I can find these stories in small press outlets, so can they but they just don't bother to.
Spc. Chris Dana's story told to Obama by step brother Stepbrother tells guardsman's story to Obama
Helena soldier took his own life after tour of duty in Iraq
By LAURA TODE
Of The Gazette Staff
Montana National Guard Spc. Chris Dana will never know the impact his life and ultimately his death may someday have on the lives of veterans nationwide.
Dana took his life in March 2007, less than two years after returning from a tour in Iraq. His family believes he was a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder, brought on by his combat experience.
Since Dana's death, his stepbrother Matt Kuntz has campaigned for more awareness of the costs of untreated post-traumatic stress syndrome in Iraq war veterans.
Wednesday, he was invited to meet with Sen. Barack Obama to share the message he's been spreading statewide for more than a year. At a quiet picnic table at Riverfront Park, Obama sat across from Kuntz, his wife, Sandy, and their infant daughter, Fiona.
There is another report from the Billings Gazette released today.
Montana National Guard non-existing suicide prevention plan
Toby Keith welcomed home Major from Afghanistan shocked wife
Because I have videos on YouTube I get a lot of links to other videos. Usually I get the links soon after they are uploaded but this one took a while. Seems like a great way to welcome in the New Year!
Sep 19, 2012
On September 8, 2012, Toby Keith brought a military wife up on stage at a concert in Houston, Texas. She sang a song with him before Toby surprised her with her husband, Major Pete Cruz, who had been away in Afghanistan.
Sep 19, 2012
On September 8, 2012, Toby Keith brought a military wife up on stage at a concert in Houston, Texas. She sang a song with him before Toby surprised her with her husband, Major Pete Cruz, who had been away in Afghanistan.
Want to write about Combat and PTSD?
There are times when I hate tracking reports on PTSD from news sources. This is one of those times because this morning I read this utter load of bullshit!
There is no way in hell I'd sign up to read the rest of whatever this editorial had because the damage had already been done.
First the author of this nonsense picked the year 1963. What about all the others before that date?
But this doesn't seem to mention the number of troops up to the last battle of the Vietnam War, SS Mayaguez May 12, 1975.
Then the author says that "there was no diagnosis called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" but did not do his research because there was, it was researched and started to be treated.
PTSD Forgotten Warrior Project Forgotten About but that is nothing new. People need to pretend this is all new because then they can justify how sickening all of this is. If they acknowledged how many years researchers have been spending money researching the research already done, compare the appalling results we have today with suicides, attempted suicides topping off a very long list of other issues, we'd have to accept the fact none of this suffering should have happened.
The truth is as much as some want to pretend this is all new, it used to be called "shell shock" before PTSD and other names before that.
So if you want to write about PTSD, do some basic research first. This person just did more harm than good not knowing what the hell he's talking about.
PTSD didn't exist for Vietnam Vets
Freddy Groves
Veterans Post
Before 1980, there was no diagnosis called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Think about that for a minute. If you need a timeline to consider, we had 16,000 soldiers in Vietnam by 1963, and the number escalated rapidly from there. Saigon fell in 1975.
There was no diagnosis for what was surely an existing condition.
There is no way in hell I'd sign up to read the rest of whatever this editorial had because the damage had already been done.
First the author of this nonsense picked the year 1963. What about all the others before that date?
Year Troop Level
1959 760
1960 900
1961 3,025
1962 11,300
1963 16,300
1964 23,300
1965 184,300
1966 385,300
1967 485,600
1968 536,100
1969 475,200
1970 334,600
1971 156,800
1972 24,200
1973 50
But this doesn't seem to mention the number of troops up to the last battle of the Vietnam War, SS Mayaguez May 12, 1975.
Then the author says that "there was no diagnosis called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" but did not do his research because there was, it was researched and started to be treated.
The truth is as much as some want to pretend this is all new, it used to be called "shell shock" before PTSD and other names before that.
So if you want to write about PTSD, do some basic research first. This person just did more harm than good not knowing what the hell he's talking about.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)