Saturday, November 23, 2013
Marine Corps Ball in Afghanistan
This year's Marine Birthday Ball was different for those at Kandahar
Video
Marine clothing made in Bangladesh?
Marines Toughen Rules for Makers of Licensed Clothing
New York Times
Business Day
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
Published: November 22, 2013
The Marine Corps trademark licensing office has adopted tougher production standards for manufacturers that produce clothing items like sweatshirts emblazoned with Marine mottos or insignia, after the corps was stung by the discovery of a licensed company’s designs in the rubble of a factory fire in Bangladesh a year ago.
Found among the debris after the Tazreen factory fire last year, which killed 112 workers, were patterns from one of its licensees for sweatshirts and other garments carrying Marine slogans like “Semper Fidelis.”
The corps licensing office has issued a new policy requiring licensees that produce items in Bangladesh to certify that they are complying with the rules of a European-dominated group of retailers that is seeking to improve safety there. The Marine Corps chose that group instead of an American-led group, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which includes Walmart.
read more here
New York Times
Business Day
By STEVEN GREENHOUSE
Published: November 22, 2013
The Marine Corps trademark licensing office has adopted tougher production standards for manufacturers that produce clothing items like sweatshirts emblazoned with Marine mottos or insignia, after the corps was stung by the discovery of a licensed company’s designs in the rubble of a factory fire in Bangladesh a year ago.
Found among the debris after the Tazreen factory fire last year, which killed 112 workers, were patterns from one of its licensees for sweatshirts and other garments carrying Marine slogans like “Semper Fidelis.”
The corps licensing office has issued a new policy requiring licensees that produce items in Bangladesh to certify that they are complying with the rules of a European-dominated group of retailers that is seeking to improve safety there. The Marine Corps chose that group instead of an American-led group, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which includes Walmart.
read more here
International Survivors of Suicide Day
This is some of the best advice families need to hear after suicide. The grief we feel is not just about how they left us but about a thousand questions that cannot be answered. "What did we do wrong?" We always want to know why they didn't know how much we loved them. Why didn't they trust us, open up to let us know? Most of the time, they just didn't know how.
It was not a contest of love. Not about how much we love them but more about how much they are able to love themselves. We are left behind wondering why they couldn't realize how much they meant.
2013 International Survivors of Suicide Day - Special Preview from AFSP on Vimeo.
When I wrote For the Love of Jack, His War My Battle about my husband, a Vietnam Vet with PTSD and how our lives were changed, it was about facing suicide as well. His nephew Andy turned 19 in Vietnam just like Jack did.
Andy was going out on patrol with his buddies after he had already down a sweep checking for bombs. Three of them were walking together when Andy stopped to tie his bootlace. His buddies were up ahead when a bomb blew up killing both of them and sending shrapnel into Andy. He wound have been right between them had he not stopped. Andy blamed himself for their deaths.
At such a young age it was the second time he blamed himself for someone dying. When he was in school, his Dad, a cop, was laying on the floor from a gunshot wound to his head when Andy came home.
There is a lot of his story I will never know. He came home addicted to heroin. There was a drug deal he was involved in later on and someone was killed. Andy didn't pull the trigger but he went to jail, yet again blaming himself for someone dying. By the time he was released, he tried to pick up his life with finding jobs and losing jobs just as fast.
By the time I met him, he was starting his life over again. He met a woman determined to help him recover. He was getting back on his feet, filed a claim with the VA for PTSD and the wounds he received. He was really happy when it was approved and he received 100%. He started to feel worthy of a better life again just when he started to have problems with pain.
The VA sent him for an MRI but moments before it started, someone stopped the test because of the metal still in his body. It could have killed him. Days later he heard from the Army after requesting his records telling him that his unit did not exist.
That sent Andy over the edge. It was as if the Army told him the deaths of his buddies never happened and the shrapnel in his body as a constant reminder of what he viewed as his fault didn't really matter.
Andy started using heroin again. He checked himself into a motel room when the pain got too much to carry with enough heroin to kill 10 men, barricaded the door and ended his life.
No one in Andy's family understood Vietnam but Jack did. He couldn't understand why Andy didn't talk to him about what was going on. I couldn't understand why he didn't come to me. The woman he lived with didn't understand why he didn't go to her. So did his sister and brother and his son. Everyone was wondering why he didn't let us know what was going on.
By the time Andy committed suicide I had been helping other veterans for over a decade. My husband was getting better by the help he got from the VA and me in a way, but as his wife, I couldn't really do more than just make is life a little easier. I took Andy's death hard wondering what I missed, didn't say and what I could have done differently. Every time I read about a suicide, I remember Andy. I was in a different position than anyone else around Andy but he didn't trust me enough to listen to what I had to say. He kept telling me I was too young to understand.
The way I cope with this is trying to make a difference for other veterans with PTSD and their families. I've seen the darkest of days with my husband and Andy but I've also seen the other side when lives got better.
Watching the video above and hearing the pain in their voices has me remembering all the losses over the years but those memories will pass the way they always do and I'll remember the healing that came for others because of Andy and Jack and the change they made in me.
It was not a contest of love. Not about how much we love them but more about how much they are able to love themselves. We are left behind wondering why they couldn't realize how much they meant.
International Survivors of Suicide Day
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
November 23, 2013
International Survivors of Suicide Day
Every year, survivors of suicide loss gather together in locations around the world to feel a sense of community, to promote healing, and to connect with others who have had similar experiences. This year, join us for International Survivors of Suicide Day on Saturday, November 23, 2013.
Each location welcomes survivors of suicide loss, providing a safe and healing space where everyone can comfortably participate in a way that is meaningful to them. Join with others to listen to a diverse group of survivors discuss their losses, how they coped, and much more.
Come in person to experience the powerful sense of connection and community that is forged between survivors of suicide loss. You are not alone. This day is for you.
Here Is a Very Special Preview from This Year's Program
Listen in as survivors of suicide loss share what they wished they had known in the early days:
2013 International Survivors of Suicide Day - Special Preview from AFSP on Vimeo.
When I wrote For the Love of Jack, His War My Battle about my husband, a Vietnam Vet with PTSD and how our lives were changed, it was about facing suicide as well. His nephew Andy turned 19 in Vietnam just like Jack did.
Andy was going out on patrol with his buddies after he had already down a sweep checking for bombs. Three of them were walking together when Andy stopped to tie his bootlace. His buddies were up ahead when a bomb blew up killing both of them and sending shrapnel into Andy. He wound have been right between them had he not stopped. Andy blamed himself for their deaths.
At such a young age it was the second time he blamed himself for someone dying. When he was in school, his Dad, a cop, was laying on the floor from a gunshot wound to his head when Andy came home.
There is a lot of his story I will never know. He came home addicted to heroin. There was a drug deal he was involved in later on and someone was killed. Andy didn't pull the trigger but he went to jail, yet again blaming himself for someone dying. By the time he was released, he tried to pick up his life with finding jobs and losing jobs just as fast.
By the time I met him, he was starting his life over again. He met a woman determined to help him recover. He was getting back on his feet, filed a claim with the VA for PTSD and the wounds he received. He was really happy when it was approved and he received 100%. He started to feel worthy of a better life again just when he started to have problems with pain.
The VA sent him for an MRI but moments before it started, someone stopped the test because of the metal still in his body. It could have killed him. Days later he heard from the Army after requesting his records telling him that his unit did not exist.
That sent Andy over the edge. It was as if the Army told him the deaths of his buddies never happened and the shrapnel in his body as a constant reminder of what he viewed as his fault didn't really matter.
Andy started using heroin again. He checked himself into a motel room when the pain got too much to carry with enough heroin to kill 10 men, barricaded the door and ended his life.
No one in Andy's family understood Vietnam but Jack did. He couldn't understand why Andy didn't talk to him about what was going on. I couldn't understand why he didn't come to me. The woman he lived with didn't understand why he didn't go to her. So did his sister and brother and his son. Everyone was wondering why he didn't let us know what was going on.
By the time Andy committed suicide I had been helping other veterans for over a decade. My husband was getting better by the help he got from the VA and me in a way, but as his wife, I couldn't really do more than just make is life a little easier. I took Andy's death hard wondering what I missed, didn't say and what I could have done differently. Every time I read about a suicide, I remember Andy. I was in a different position than anyone else around Andy but he didn't trust me enough to listen to what I had to say. He kept telling me I was too young to understand.
The way I cope with this is trying to make a difference for other veterans with PTSD and their families. I've seen the darkest of days with my husband and Andy but I've also seen the other side when lives got better.
Watching the video above and hearing the pain in their voices has me remembering all the losses over the years but those memories will pass the way they always do and I'll remember the healing that came for others because of Andy and Jack and the change they made in me.
Marine dead, suspect arrested, neighbors horrified
Marine dead, suspect arrested in northern Beaufort County shooting
Beaufort Gazette
BY ERIN MOODY
November 23, 2013
One man is dead and another is in police custody following a shooting Friday night in the Mossy Oaks neighborhood in Beaufort, according to police.
The shooting occurred about 9:30 p.m. near the intersection of Hookstra Drive and Mossy Oaks Road, City of Beaufort Police Department Deputy Chief Dale McDorman said.
The names of the victim, who is a Marine, and a suspect were not released, but McDorman said charges might come early Saturday morning. The suspect is from Shell Point, and may be friends with the residents of the home near where the shooting occurred, he said. The residents were not involved.
The cause of the shooting was not immediately clear, he said. Neighbors reported hearing up to 10 shots. Two handguns were recovered at the scene.
read more here
Beaufort Gazette
BY ERIN MOODY
November 23, 2013
One man is dead and another is in police custody following a shooting Friday night in the Mossy Oaks neighborhood in Beaufort, according to police.
The shooting occurred about 9:30 p.m. near the intersection of Hookstra Drive and Mossy Oaks Road, City of Beaufort Police Department Deputy Chief Dale McDorman said.
The names of the victim, who is a Marine, and a suspect were not released, but McDorman said charges might come early Saturday morning. The suspect is from Shell Point, and may be friends with the residents of the home near where the shooting occurred, he said. The residents were not involved.
The cause of the shooting was not immediately clear, he said. Neighbors reported hearing up to 10 shots. Two handguns were recovered at the scene.
read more here
Army needs to reclassify Fort Hood massacre for families
Army Considers Reclassifying Fort Hood Shooting, Pending Review
Reclassifying Fort Hood attack as international terrorism could allow Purple Hearts, benefits to victims
NBCNews
By Scott Friedman
Friday, Nov 22, 2013
NBC 5 Investigates has learned the United States Army plans to launch another review of the Fort Hood shooting to see if it was an act of “international terrorism. “ The result of that review could have a big impact on the victims who’ve been denied Purple Heart medals and the financial benefits that come with them.
In a letter dated Nov. 1 to South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson, U.S. Army Secretary John McHugh said, “the intelligence community considers Major Hasan to be a 'homegrown violent extremist' - a person who may engage in ideologically - motivated terrorist activities …"
Shawn Manning was shot six times by Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who’s been sentenced to death for gunning down 32 people and killing 13 at Fort Hood in 2009.
read more here
Reclassifying Fort Hood attack as international terrorism could allow Purple Hearts, benefits to victims
NBCNews
By Scott Friedman
Friday, Nov 22, 2013
NBC 5 Investigates has learned the United States Army plans to launch another review of the Fort Hood shooting to see if it was an act of “international terrorism. “ The result of that review could have a big impact on the victims who’ve been denied Purple Heart medals and the financial benefits that come with them.
In a letter dated Nov. 1 to South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson, U.S. Army Secretary John McHugh said, “the intelligence community considers Major Hasan to be a 'homegrown violent extremist' - a person who may engage in ideologically - motivated terrorist activities …"
Shawn Manning was shot six times by Maj. Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who’s been sentenced to death for gunning down 32 people and killing 13 at Fort Hood in 2009.
read more here
Fort Hood Soldier Died of Gunshot Wound on Emergency Leave
Fort Hood: Soldier Dies Of Gunshot Wound
Our Town Texas
November 22, 2013
FORT HOOD (November 22, 2013) Pfc. Marty Maiden, 20, of Tucson, Ariz., died of a gunshot wound Wednesday while home on emergency leave, Fort Hood said Friday.
His death is under investigation, Fort Hood said.
read more here
Our Town Texas
November 22, 2013
His death is under investigation, Fort Hood said.
read more here
Friday, November 22, 2013
Northland Vietnam veteran receives more than $300,000 in back pay
Veterans Service Officer honored for catching old error
Hometown Focus
Minnesota
Northland veteran receives more than $300,000 in back pay
DULUTH – Brian Rulifson had been on the job as a St. Louis County Veterans Service Officer less than six months when he was visited in September by a Vietnam vet in need of medical assistance through the Veterans Administration (VA).
The veteran, who is from the northern part of St. Louis County, is undergoing treatment for cancer. He asked to not be identified but agreed to let the details of his story be shared.
As Rulifson looked through the paperwork in the vet’s file, he noted something didn’t look right. The vet, who has what’s termed a presumptive cancer – meaning it’s a type of cancer that’s presumed to be linked to his service in Vietnam – had applied for certain benefits in 2004, but been turned down.
Rulifson brought it to the attention of Sherry Rodriguez, director of Veterans Service Offices for the county, who agreed that this veteran had wrongly been denied benefits, and pursued the case with the VA.
Ultimately, the VA ruled that a “Clear and Unmistakable Error” had occurred nine years ago, and in late October issued a check to this veteran, for $306,962 in back pay. It is believed to be the largest single payout ever to a veteran in the county. Additionally, the man is now considered permanently and totally disabled, which means he will receive increased monthly payments for the rest of his life.
read more here
Hometown Focus
Minnesota
Northland veteran receives more than $300,000 in back pay
DULUTH – Brian Rulifson had been on the job as a St. Louis County Veterans Service Officer less than six months when he was visited in September by a Vietnam vet in need of medical assistance through the Veterans Administration (VA).
The veteran, who is from the northern part of St. Louis County, is undergoing treatment for cancer. He asked to not be identified but agreed to let the details of his story be shared.
As Rulifson looked through the paperwork in the vet’s file, he noted something didn’t look right. The vet, who has what’s termed a presumptive cancer – meaning it’s a type of cancer that’s presumed to be linked to his service in Vietnam – had applied for certain benefits in 2004, but been turned down.
Rulifson brought it to the attention of Sherry Rodriguez, director of Veterans Service Offices for the county, who agreed that this veteran had wrongly been denied benefits, and pursued the case with the VA.
Ultimately, the VA ruled that a “Clear and Unmistakable Error” had occurred nine years ago, and in late October issued a check to this veteran, for $306,962 in back pay. It is believed to be the largest single payout ever to a veteran in the county. Additionally, the man is now considered permanently and totally disabled, which means he will receive increased monthly payments for the rest of his life.
read more here
Did North Korea Detain the Wrong US Korean War Vet?
Did North Korea Detain the Wrong US Korean War Vet?
ABC News
By COLLEEN CURRY
Nov. 22, 2013
North Korean authorities pulled a visiting tourist U.S. citizen off a plane last month and have been detaining him in the country ever since, but may have mistaken the man for another American of the same name.
Merrill E. Newman, an 85-year-old grandfather from Palo Alto, Calif., traveled to North Korea last month with a tour group out of Beijing.
Authorities have kept Newman's situation quiet for weeks, but former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former ambassador to the U.N., confirmed to ABC News today he has been in touch with his North Korean contacts working on the situation. The State Department has declined to release details about Newman's status.
Newman was a Korean War veteran, one of many that has gone back to visit North Korea in the decades after their service.
But another North Korean veteran named Merrill H. Newman, age 84, was, until recently, the better-known Merrill Newman. He received a Silver Star for his time in the Korean War.
"The thought entered my head," said Merrill H. Newman, reached at his home in Beaverton, Ore. "The name is the same and there's always that possibility, but I have no way of knowing."
"The thing that has been kicked around by media people, not me, is that I received a Silver Star for 60 years ago in Korea and I have the same name, so the question has come up, could it be that in the process of maybe Googling, like anybody can, and finding that perhaps they thought there was a connection there? I don't know. I have no way of knowing," he said.
read more here
ABC News
By COLLEEN CURRY
Nov. 22, 2013
North Korean authorities pulled a visiting tourist U.S. citizen off a plane last month and have been detaining him in the country ever since, but may have mistaken the man for another American of the same name.
Merrill E. Newman, an 85-year-old grandfather from Palo Alto, Calif., traveled to North Korea last month with a tour group out of Beijing.
Authorities have kept Newman's situation quiet for weeks, but former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former ambassador to the U.N., confirmed to ABC News today he has been in touch with his North Korean contacts working on the situation. The State Department has declined to release details about Newman's status.
Newman was a Korean War veteran, one of many that has gone back to visit North Korea in the decades after their service.
But another North Korean veteran named Merrill H. Newman, age 84, was, until recently, the better-known Merrill Newman. He received a Silver Star for his time in the Korean War.
"The thought entered my head," said Merrill H. Newman, reached at his home in Beaverton, Ore. "The name is the same and there's always that possibility, but I have no way of knowing."
"The thing that has been kicked around by media people, not me, is that I received a Silver Star for 60 years ago in Korea and I have the same name, so the question has come up, could it be that in the process of maybe Googling, like anybody can, and finding that perhaps they thought there was a connection there? I don't know. I have no way of knowing," he said.
read more here
Soldier Connects Terrorist in Kentucky to Slain Brothers in Arms
Soldier Connects Terrorist in Kentucky to Slain Brothers in Arms
ABC News
By JAMES GORDON MEEK, BRIAN ROSS, CINDY GALLI and LEE FERRAN
Nov. 21, 2013
Army Staff Sgt. Joshua Hedetniemi couldn't believe what he was hearing: Two al Qaeda terrorists had been arrested in a small town in Kentucky, right in America's heartland.
But it wasn't the 2011 arrests that caught the combat veteran's attention, but the offhand mention in a press report of a town in Iraq called Bayji, where the terrorists had operated before slipping into the States.
"It's an extremely small town and not very well-known," Hedetniemi told ABC News. But Hedetniemi knew it all too well.
He was just south of the town in 2005 when another group in his Pennsylvania National Guard platoon was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) and attacked by small arms fire. The Americans managed to fend off the attack, but four soldiers died.
"So once I actually read the bulletin [about the Kentucky arrests]… the more research I did on it, I realized that these guys were operating in the same area that we were at the time we were attacked," Hedetniemi said. "It was more than a coincidence, I think it was fate that the news broke."
read more here
ABC News
By JAMES GORDON MEEK, BRIAN ROSS, CINDY GALLI and LEE FERRAN
Nov. 21, 2013
Army Staff Sgt. Joshua Hedetniemi couldn't believe what he was hearing: Two al Qaeda terrorists had been arrested in a small town in Kentucky, right in America's heartland.
But it wasn't the 2011 arrests that caught the combat veteran's attention, but the offhand mention in a press report of a town in Iraq called Bayji, where the terrorists had operated before slipping into the States.
"It's an extremely small town and not very well-known," Hedetniemi told ABC News. But Hedetniemi knew it all too well.
He was just south of the town in 2005 when another group in his Pennsylvania National Guard platoon was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) and attacked by small arms fire. The Americans managed to fend off the attack, but four soldiers died.
"So once I actually read the bulletin [about the Kentucky arrests]… the more research I did on it, I realized that these guys were operating in the same area that we were at the time we were attacked," Hedetniemi said. "It was more than a coincidence, I think it was fate that the news broke."
read more here
Soldier home on leave for Dad's funeral shot by Deputies
Sheriff's office: Soldier was threat to deputies
FOX Phoenix
Posted: Nov 22, 2013
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Authorities say an Army soldier fatally wounded by a Pima County sheriff's deputy was suicidal, holding two guns and posed a threat to officers when a deputy shot him during a standoff.
The shooting occurred Wednesday after deputies responded to a call from Marty Maiden II about his intention to commit suicide found him barricaded inside a residence.
FOX Phoenix
Posted: Nov 22, 2013
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Authorities say an Army soldier fatally wounded by a Pima County sheriff's deputy was suicidal, holding two guns and posed a threat to officers when a deputy shot him during a standoff.
The shooting occurred Wednesday after deputies responded to a call from Marty Maiden II about his intention to commit suicide found him barricaded inside a residence.
The 20-year-old was home on emergency leave from Afghanistan to attend the funeral of his father.
The father shot himself at the same residence during a similar SWAT standoff on Oct. 31.
read more here
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