Wife's loving letter earns disabled veteran new wheels

Wheelchair-Bound Iraq War Veteran Wins Specially-Equipped Silverado(VIDEO)
21Alive
By Emma Koch
December 27, 2013

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (21Alive) -- Earlier this year, Summit City Chevrolet received a deluxe 2013 Chevrolet Silverado that was specially-equipped with a wheelchair lift and special hand controls to enable a wheelchair-bound person the ability to easily board and drive the vehicle.

Realizing that this vehicle was special, John Garcia and Jane DeHaven, Summit City's owners, decided that, rather than selling the $65,000 vehicle on the open market, the dealership would instead donate it to a deserving disabled vet as a way of saying thank you for their sacrifice.

Following is an expert from the winning nomination:

I nominate my husband because he is an amazing man. He has taken what happened and completely turned it around and used it to lead himself to his dream!

He lost his leg in Iraq in 2006 above the knee. He can't wear a prosthetic because of a back fusion that was a result of the attack. He had metal plates put in both forearms, an amputation, traumatic brain injury, PTSD, broken facial bones, broken vertebrae and the list goes on. He was an avid runner. In high school and college he ran track and cross country.

His dream was to be an olympian. When he joined the military he was best in his physical tests and was one of the fastest guys to rise through the ranks. The night of June 3, 2006 took his dreams away- HE THOUGHT! While at Walter Reed Army Medical Center he was introduced to hand cycles.

This was one way to get his physical life back. He has been hand cycling for 2 years now with a goal of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. He is an amazing husband and father. He goes out and with stares he coaches our kids teams.

He deals with people not wanting their kids to play for someone in a wheelchair. He gives his testimony of how God saved him that night on June 3, 2006 and how being in a wheelchair doesn't have to stop your dreams, it just changes the course. I would love to see him win something that he needs/wants. This would make transporting his bike and chair easier on him! He's very independent and will not let others help him put his chair in the car so just being able to lift it up and over the back would be awesome! Thank you for listening to my story!
read more here

Marine in custody after standoff with San Diego Sheriff's Deputies

Marine Arrested in Vista Standoff
Chris Johnson, 26, of Vista, surrendered to deputies just before 5 a.m.
NBC San Diego
By R. Stickney and Monica Garske
Thursday, Dec 26, 2013

A U.S. Marine was in custody Thursday following a 5-hour standoff with San Diego County sheriff's deputies which began after the Marine allegedly fired multiple gunshots from inside his Vista apartment.

Just before midnight on Christmas Day, deputies were called to an apartment complex located at 911 Taylor St., near East Vista Way.

A neighbor told deputies she heard shots fired inside her apartment and noticed a bullet hole in the window of her dining room. She also said she heard someone knocking on her door. Deputies told her not to open the door.

Deputies soon determined that Christopher Johnson, 26, of Vista, had allegedly fired multiple rounds from his .44 caliber magnum revolver handgun while inside his apartment.
read more here

Platoon of Marines moved to Uganda After Four Navy SEALS Wounded

Platoon of Marines moved to Uganda amid South Sudan crisis
Stars and Stripes
By Jon Harper
Published: December 26, 2013

WASHINGTON — A platoon of U.S. Marines was moved from Djibouti to Uganda on Tuesday in the event the fighting in neighboring South Sudan deteriorates further.

“This forward posturing provides the Combatant Commander additional options and the ability to more quickly respond, if required, to help protect U.S. personnel and facilities,” U.S. Africa Command said in a statement.

AFRICOM said this contingent of some 40 Marines and a KC-130J aircraft are now in Entebbe, the capital of Uganda.

The KC-130J transport plane has airborne assault capabilities, and is also used for medevac, search and rescue, and aerial refueling.

“These movements were made with the full knowledge and cooperation of the Ugandan authorities,” AFRICOM said.

A Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response unit was moved Monday from Moron, Spain, to Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, after an incident in which four Navy SEALs were wounded during an aborted rescue operation in South Sudan.

The SEALs were trying to evacuate American citizens from the city of Bor on Saturday when the Osprey aircraft they were flying in came under small arms fire while they were trying to land.

Three of the SEALs were transported to Landstuhl earlier in the week; the fourth was stabilized at a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, and was moved to Landstuhl on Christmas day.
read more here

Fort Cason Officer killed step-daughter accidentally

Stepdad who shot teen girl is decorated Fort Carson officer
The Gazette
By Lance Benzel
Updated: December 26, 2013

A man who told police he shot and killed his 14-year-old stepdaughter after mistaking her for a burglar is a 29-year-old Fort Carson officer with multiple deployments behind him and a Bronze Star for service.

Sources on Wednesday confirmed that 2nd Lt. Daniel R. Meade is at the center of the tragedy that has drawn headlines across the world.

A dispatch recording suggests that Meade opened fire on the girl about 6 a.m. Monday as she was crawling through a window of a home in the 4000 block of Ascendant Drive, off North Carefree Circle and Peterson Road.

She died of her wounds at a Colorado Springs hospital later that day.
read more here

Veteran faces felony charge for pointing a gun

Veteran charged in Missoula assault held on $30K bail
The Missoulian
By Rob Chaney
December 26, 2013

A visibly shaking suspect in a felony assault case said he needed treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder during an appearance in Missoula County Justice Court on Thursday.

Justice of the Peace Karen Orzech ordered Richard Heilman, 44, of Missoula held pending $30,000 bail but said he could seek treatment at the Veterans Affairs hospital at Fort Harrison if he posted bond. Heilman is in the Missoula County Detention Center on a charge of felony assault with a weapon.

According to an affidavit filed by Deputy County Attorney Jordan Kilby, Missoula police officers came to a Hillview Way house early Wednesday morning after getting a call from a woman who said Heilman had pointed a gun at her.
read more here

Veterans are not public property

Veterans are not public property
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 26, 2013

VA hospital refuses to accept 'Merry Christmas' cards was the headline of a piece written by Todd Stames about Dallas VA hospital refusing to take Christmas cards from school children.

According to Stames, the VA said,'That's great. We're thrilled to have them, except the only thing is, we can't accept anything that says ‘Merry Christmas' or ‘God bless you' or any scriptural references because of all the red tape.'" And that is true but he should have told Stames that the Chaplain could deliver them because he would know the "patient" well enough to be able to judge if the card would be helpful or not.

Any religious item, not matter how innocently it was sent, is not welcomed by everyone equally.

This is a huge issue for our veterans in the hospital. People want to let them know they care and that is a wonderful thing but assuming what they want to give is right is actually wrong. How many times have you wanted to do something for someone only to discover it was not what they needed from you? Just think of yesterday when you gave someone a gift and they took it back to the store today.

If you really want to do something for them, write letters to members of Congress to make sure they are taken care of. Donated to great charities like Fisher House so they can take care of family members near where their loved one is recovering. In 2012 they cared for 19,000 families. They operate 62 houses near hospitals. Since 1990 they have saved families $200 million dollars they would have spent on lodging. The list goes on.

You can donate to the Home Depot Foundation or help to repair a home for a veteran in need. Or give your money and time to Homes For Our Troops to make sure that disabled veterans have a home that is adapted/built for their wounds to make their lives better.

You can volunteer at a VA hospital to spend time with them. You can also do what is advised. If you want to send cards or letters, do it in a generic way so that they know you care about them.

These men and women are not our property and they are individuals. What we may want to do for them may not be what they need or want. It isn't up to us to decide for them.

I would love to take Veterans Bibles to all of them but all of them will not receive them the same way. It isn't up to me to decide who should or should not get one and I take no offense when I am told what I can and cannot do. It is much better to ask first.

This Congress has learned nothing on military sexual assaults

UPDATE
December 27, 2013
Military Sexual Assault Reports Jump By 50 Percent

This Congress has learned nothing on military sexual assaults
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 26, 2013

First the news,

HONOLULU (AP) — President Barack Obama has signed into law a comprehensive defense bill that cracks down on sexual assault in the military.

The White House says Obama signed the bills Thursday while vacationing in Hawaii.

The bill provides $552.1 billion for the regular military budget, plus $80.7 billion for the Afghanistan war and other overseas operations. It gives military personnel a 1 percent pay raise, but also reflects deficit-driven efforts to trim spending and the drawdown in Afghanistan after more than a decade of fighting there.

The bill signing caps a yearlong campaign led by the women of the Senate to address the scourge of rape and sexual assault in the military. Under the bill, military commanders no longer will be permitted to overturn jury convictions for sexual assault.

Now the truth. We've heard it all before. Not by President Obama or this congress. But back in 2007 in a report going back to 2006.

Nearly 3,000 women reported last year that they were sexually assaulted while serving in the military, according to the Department of Defense's 2006 annual report on military sexual assault.

That was what the news was when a "new program" out of the "Cincinnati VA was getting national attention." You are not alone if you are wondering why after all these years we are where we are that a defense budget bill has to have sexual assault changes in it.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a Monday letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that harassment and assault of military women, especially in combat zones, is a “scourge” that needs to be eliminated.

Casey is particularly interested in how the military handles complaints from women in the National Guard and reserve, whose cases may be harder to investigate than those of women on full-time active duty and in the federal civilian workforce.

Not this past Monday but back in 2008. Also reported by Reuters in 2008 was this piece of news.

Nearly 15 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking medical care from the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department have suffered sexual trauma, from harassment to rape, researchers reported on Tuesday.

And these veterans were 1.5 times as likely as other veterans to need mental health services, the report from the VA found.

But if you not adequately angry by now, this should drop your jaw.

V.A. Plans Review of Billing for Care in Sexual Assaults
By JAMES DAO
Published: May 6, 2009

The Department of Veterans Affairs will review the billing practices of veterans health centers around the country amid concerns that some are improperly charging for care relating to sexual assault in the military, officials said Wednesday.

The department is required to provide free care, including counseling and prescription drugs, to veterans who were sexually harassed or assaulted while in military service. Sexual assault includes rape and attempted rape.

But the Office of Inspector General at the department found this year that an outpatient clinic in Austin, Tex., had repeatedly charged veterans, mostly women, for those services. Based on concerns that the practice may be more widespread, the office decided to expand its review to a sampling of veterans health care centers and clinics nationwide.

An official in the office declined to comment, saying it does not discuss pending reviews. The official said the review would be made public when it was completed, possibly by October.

In a statement, the Department of Veterans Affairs said the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, which oversees the Austin clinic, was reimbursing patients who had been improperly billed. “Patients seen for military sexual trauma should not be billed for payment,” the statement said. “We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.”

Can we please stop pretending that things are going to change?

Church and VA team up to help veterans heal

Church, VA partner to help rural veterans tackle PTSD, other problems
Arkansas Times
by Evin Demirel
December 26, 2013

For some veterans, reintegrating into civilian life is a rocky process. Many suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), estimated to afflict 400,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Sometimes, depression and even suicide follow (It's estimated 22 veterans commit suicide daily). Some return with brain injuries. Vets in rural areas may have a tougher time getting help. They tend to be uncomfortable contacting mental health care providers, preferring instead to share problems with VA clergy or their church's pastor.

Enter the VA/Clergy Partnership for Rural Veterans, a North Little Rock-based program that aims to reconcile science-and spirituality-based approaches to treating mental illness. It began with a pilot program in El Dorado and has expanded to Russellville, Pine Bluff, Searcy, Mountain Home and Jonesboro. At each site, clergy, representatives of non-profit organizations, veterans and mental health providers meet monthly to discuss ways to help veterans in their area of the state.

Most who take part, such as William Flynn, pastor of Grace Chapel Pentecostal Church in Russellville, are volunteers. Flynn came aboard in 2010 after hearing about the suicide of a local veteran who had returned from Afghanistan. "It's just sickening to think that a person who sacrificed that way would come home and feel that there was no hope for them," Flynn said.
read more here

Home from war should never be a gray area

Home from war should never be a gray area
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 26, 2013

In 1993 I was among the millions discovering the amazing ability to search news reports from all over the country when I got my first PC. (For younger folks, that was a time when there was a freaky noise connecting the PC to the internet as the connection was made thru a phone line.)

I freely admit to being a new junkie but as the years passed, I was frustrated searching for information on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I wondered why these reports were not all in one place. I did what I usually do. I complained. Then I thought about the national news reports I watched faithfully. It became clear that the producers make decisions based on what they think will get the most attention instead of what should have the most attention.

The numbers of veterans taking their own lives proves that it is a national crisis but how many reports have you seen on national news? How many families have you seen begging for someone to do something? How many reports have you seen on what works and how long it has worked for? How many reports on veterans stepping up to make sure more are saved?

Across the nation the best reporting being done on veterans issues has come from local news outlets. Heart tugging stories of suffering, inspiring stories of overcoming and people trying to make a difference, all important stories to the rest of us were ignored by the major news stations. Print was dying a slow death. It has been on life support for years but good reporting has not stopped.

If you read your local paper, tell them what you value. If they write a good story on veterans, thank them and encourage them to do more. Have an event? Make sure they know about it. Have a story to tell? Make sure you tell it. If the story is important enough they will usually do it. If they don't, then tell your story to your friends online and make sure they share it. The more attention it gets online, the more they will be inclined to jump on it and get their share of the attention. If you read a great story, send me the link in case I missed it.

Your lives should never, ever be a gray area. You deserve to know what is going on across your city, your state and the rest of the country. Otherwise, the major news stations will keep telling you what they want you to know instead of what is really going on.

Major Gen. McConville praises troops in Afghanistan

•  
• world 
• afghanistan

Major Gen. McConville Praises U.S. Forces in Afghanistan

by SEAN CARBERRY

December 25, 2013 4:37 AM

Listen to the Story

Morning Edition

3 min 29 sec

• Playlist
• Download

For the 13th year in a row, U.S. troops are spending Christmas in Afghanistan. For the 7,500 of them based in the eastern part of the country, Major Gen. James McConville is providing the closest thing to a visit from Santa.

MCCONVILLE: What I want to do is thank you for your service for being out here. And there's going to be a lot of people waking up during Christmas morning who are going to have a nice safe and good Christmas because of what you all do out here. discover more here