Lightning strike injures12 Fort Carson Soldiers

UPDATE August 4, 2012
Soldiers released from hospital after lightning strike

UPDATE
Lightning at Base Leaves 12 Soldiers Hurt
FORT CARSON, Colo.
August 1, 2013 (AP)

One soldier was in serious condition Thursday and another was in stable condition, but 10 others were released from the hospital after lightning struck near them during a training exercise, officials at Fort Carson said.

The 12 soldiers had been in training but were heading toward shelter when the lightning struck Wednesday afternoon, Army officials said. Medics who were present for the training treated them until emergency responders arrived.

Ten of the soldiers were released from the hospital Wednesday evening.
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12 soldiers hurt in Colorado lightning strike
From Carma Hassan
CNN
August 1, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
One soldier is in critical condition, Fort Carson says
12 soldiers are injured after a lightning strike from a fast-moving storm
Spokeswoman: "The lightning struck before they were able to get sheltered"


(CNN) -- A lightning strike from a fast-moving storm in Colorado injured 12 soldiers on Wednesday.

One is in critical condition, and the other 11 are in stable condition, Fort Carson said in a statement.

The soldiers had been training Wednesday afternoon when they were notified of lightning in the area.
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Iraq War veteran preserves his stories for Library of Congress

Bomb disposal vet from Iraq War preserves his stories for Library of Congress
Florida Times Union
By Matt Soergel
Posted: July 29, 2013

ST. AUGUSTINE - Tim Fredericksen — tall, muscular, looking every bit the elite ex-military man he once was — leaned forward in an armchair to tell some of his war stories.

He got through the details fine: where he grew up, when he served, the tough training. How it was all he ever wanted to do, how he went to an Army recruiting office the minute he got out of his California high school, how that was the easiest day that recruiter ever had.

Then he told of coming to Iraq for the first time: the U.S. air base under fire as his plane landed, the blazing heat, the unfamiliar sounds of a country at war.

His memories ambushed him. His voice faltered. Tears came.

George McLatchey handed over a box of tissues and turned off the recorder that was capturing those war stories. Fredericksen wiped his eyes. “Sorry about that.”

McLatchey spoke gently in reply. “Tim, you don’t need to apologize.”

Moments later, he turned the recorder back on, and Fredericksen, with a tissue in his hand, started talking again. For 56 minutes, he told his stories — funny ones, sad ones, horrific ones — which will now be preserved for future generations, future historians.
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Jesse McCartney talks about portraying PTSD soldier on Army Wives

Jesse McCartney talks touring with BSB, 'Army Wives': 5 highlights
by OnTheRedCarpet.com Staff
07/30/2013

With a role on "Army Wives," new music and a tour, Jesse McCartney is having a busy year.

The actor and singer recently spoke to OTRC.com correspondent Tony Cabrera about joining The Backstreet Boys for their "In A World Like This Tour," starting on August 2 in Chicago. McCartney also chatted about his new music, how preparing for his role on "Army Wives" was life-changing and his charitable work with City of Hope.

Preparing for his 'Army Wives' role was life-changing.

"The top of this year I was in South Carolina for about five months. I was working on a show called 'Army Wives.' It was in its seventh season, they brought me in. I played a young Army recruit straight out of high school who gets shipped over to Afghanistan to fight and, really sweet kid," McCartney said of his character on the show. "Just happy to be there. Trying to make friends with everyone. Doesn't really know quite what he's doing, but he just knows he wants to fight for his country."

McCartney's character,Tim Truman, goes through a traumatic experience during the war and begins to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

"I got to sit down with a lot of ex-military who have actually struggled with PTSD and I heard some unbelievable stories that were kind of life-changing," he said about preparing for his role. "It was great to really shed some light on an issue like this, 'cause I feel like most of America doesn't realize what these soldiers go through and that most of the time the war really starts when they come home."
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Iraq veteran goes from combat to cheerleading

Arizona Cardinals cheerleader an Iraq veteran
Welter’s amazing journey to the NFL
USA Today
By NICK SCHWARTZ
July 30, 2013

Arizona Cardinals cheerleader Megan Welter didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming an NFL cheerleader, and her professional experience before joining the Cardinals wasn’t exactly ordinary — Welter came to the sidelines after spending 16 months in Iraq.
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Former Navy SEALs set to swim to raise awareness of combat PTSD

Former Navy SEALs to swim across Lake Norman to raise awareness
WCNC News
by KATIE KILLEN
NBC Charlotte Staff
Posted on July 31, 2013

"If it takes me doing something crazy like swimming 12 miles in Lake Norman to raise awareness for these guys, then I feel obligated to do so."

LAKE NORMAN, N.C. -- Two former Navy SEALs are set to swim more than 12 miles across Lake Norman Friday.

The swim is raising awareness for Operation Restored Warrior, a program in Colorado that works with veteran suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.

Mooresville resident and former US Navy SEAL Shannon Rusch and friend and fellow SEAL Rich Graham will take off from Queen's Landing at 10 a.m.

They'll then swim the 12. 2 miles to the Rusty Rudder, a lakeside restaurant. Rusch estimates it will take the two men six to eight hours.

"It's going to be difficult, no matter how you cut it. So, it's just going to be one of those things, you commit to it and then go out and do it," he said.

Rusch and Iredell County resident Randy Millwood came up with the idea for the swim. Millwood is a former Air Force pilot and said both men were looking for a way to lend a hand to Operation Restored Warrior and the veterans that the program helps.
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Soldiers Say Army Ignores, Punishes Mental Anguish

Soldiers Say Army Ignores, Punishes Mental Anguish
NPR
July 30, 2013

Army studies show that at least 20 percent to 25 percent of the soldiers who have served in Iraq display symptoms of serious mental-health problems, including depression, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Administration officials say there are extensive programs to heal soldiers both at home and in Iraq.

But an NPR investigation at Colorado’s Ft. Carson has found that even those who feel desperate can have trouble getting the help they need. In fact, evidence suggests that officers at Ft. Carson punish soldiers who need help, and even kick them out of the Army.

Soldier Tyler Jennings says that when he came home from Iraq last year, he felt so depressed and desperate that he decided to kill himself. Late one night in the middle of May, his wife was out of town, and he felt more scared than he’d felt in gunfights in Iraq. Jennings says he opened the window, tied a noose around his neck and started drinking vodka, “trying to get drunk enough to either slip or just make that decision.”

Five months before, Jennings had gone to the medical center at Ft. Carson, where a staff member typed up his symptoms: “Crying spells… hopelessness… helplessness… worthlessness.” Jennings says that when the sergeants who ran his platoon found out he was having a breakdown and taking drugs, they started to haze him. He decided to attempt suicide when they said that they would eject him from the Army.
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Fort Wainwright soldier died in boating accident

Soldier dies after boat flips on Klutina River
Associated Press
July 30, 2013

Officials say a 23-year-old soldier based at Alaska’s Fort Wainwright has died in a boating accident in the Copper Center area.

The Army says Pfc. Christopher Covington of Temple Hills, Md., died after the mishap Saturday on the Klutina River. An autopsy will be conducted by the state medical examiner’s office.

Alaska State Troopers say Covington and fellow Fort Wainwright soldiers – 23-year-old George Brady and 39-year-old Columbus Jones Jr. – and Jones’ 11-year-old son, Columbus Jones III, were fishing on a jet boat operated by the elder Jones.
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Pfc. Bradley Manning faces up to 136 years in prison

Manning Faces Upward of 136 Years in Jail
Military.com
by Michael Hoffman
Jul 31, 2013

U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning will return to a military courtroom Wednesday facing up to 136 years in jail after he was convicted of espionage charges Tuesday. However, he will not face life in jail without parole after the judge acquitted him of aiding the enemy -- the most serious of the 21 charges.

Manning’s defense attorney David Coombs told supporters at Fort Meade, Md., after the verdict was read that “we won the battle, now we need to go win the war,” referring to the sentencing phase of the trial.

Unlike most civilian courts, sentencing hearings typically start immediately following a verdict in a court-martial. Military lawyers who have watched this case told Military.com that plenty is yet to be determined in terms of Manning’s fate and the precedent that will be set by this case.

Army Col. Denise Lind, the judge in the case, convicted Manning on 19 of 21 charges, including espionage and theft three years after Manning handed over classified information to WikiLeaks, a website founded by Julian Assange. WikiLeaks then posted the information on the Internet.

Manning collected and distributed to the website more than 700,000 battlefield reports and diplomatic cables, as well as a video of a 2007 U.S. helicopter attack that killed civilians in Iraq. The pilots in the film referred to the targets as “dead bastards.”
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Marine and wife team up to save lives

Sgt. Richard Skates saves 4 lives after car accident
KDSK News
Brandle Piper
July 30, 2013

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (KSDK) - A soldier form O'Fallon, Mo., stationed in California, saved the lives of four people involved in a car accident earlier this month.

Sgt. Richard Skates, 25, is an amphibious assault vehicle crewman. He and his wife, Jacqueline, and child were driving on an exit ramp from state Route 78 to Interstate Highway 5 July 9 when they noticed an overturned vehicle in a ditch. It was standing son its end.

Skates said he could hear the crash victims yelling for help, so he reached into the back of the vehicle and pulled two children out, and then a teenager from the passenger seat.
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also

Soldier Saves Teens from Burning Vehicle
Army.mil/News
by Maj. Penny Zamora
Jul 25, 2013

NINEVEH, Ind. -- It was a scene from a parent's worst nightmare: a car full of teens had hit a tree head on, and the car was now on fire. Thanks to Staff Sgt. Michael Peters and his wife, Debra, all the teens survived and are on the road to recovery.

Peters and Debra were driving home from work at Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center, or CAJMTC, Ind., on July 19, 2013, when they came upon a car accident moments after it occurred. A 15-year old passenger had gotten out of the vehicle, but the three other teens, aged 14, 16, and 18, were still inside.
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Florida National Guard Medical Evacuation Training

Florida National Guard Medical Evacuation Training
Jul 26, 2013

Guardsmen from the Florida National Guard's 256th Area Medical Support Company along with members of the 1-111th Aviation Regiment, train on medical evacuations at Camp Blanding Joint Training Center. Story by Army Staff Sgt. Derrol Fulghum.