Man reportedly barricades himself with guns; standoff ends without arrest
[UPDATED]
Fergus Falls
Saturday, July 19, 2014
A man reportedly barricaded himself inside a rural Ottertail garage with guns Friday night, and after a standoff, police determined there was no threat at the home.
The Otter Tail County Sheriffs Office temporarily set a perimeter around the house, according to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office.
Officers arrived at the home on Long Lake Road just before 9 p.m. after receiving a call from a woman that a family member had locked himself in the garage. She said he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and that there were guns in the garage.
read more here
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Medals of Honor to modern veterans more often but wait is longer
Obama awards more Medals of Honor to modern veterans — but it takes longer, too
Washington Post
By Dan Lamothe
July 19 2014
When President Obama drapes the Medal of Honor around the neck of Army Staff Sgt. Ryan J. Pitts on Monday, it will symbolize all of the heroism and sacrifice that occurred in a ferocious battle in Afghanistan. But it will represent something else, too: a dramatic rise in the amount of time it takes for troops to be honored with the nation’s highest award for combat valor.
Pitts, of Nashua, N.H., will receive the award six years and eight days after holding off an enemy assault on his platoon’s hillside observation post in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province. He did so even though he was wounded badly enough that a fellow soldier had to put a tourniquet on his leg to control the bleeding, Army officials say.
The amount of time between his actions and his ceremony at the White House will be the second longest for any service member awarded the Medal of Honor for actions after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. It is surpassed only by Army Sgt. Kyle White, who received the medal May 13, more than 61 / 2 years after he braved enemy fire numerous times in a Nov. 7, 2007, battle in Nuristan after he was briefly knocked unconscious by a rocket-propelled grenade blast.
Medal of Honor for Kyle Carpenter
Presentation of Medal of Honor to Sergeant Kyle J. White
Medal of Honor Capt. William Swenson Rejoins Army
Washington Post
By Dan Lamothe
July 19 2014
When President Obama drapes the Medal of Honor around the neck of Army Staff Sgt. Ryan J. Pitts on Monday, it will symbolize all of the heroism and sacrifice that occurred in a ferocious battle in Afghanistan. But it will represent something else, too: a dramatic rise in the amount of time it takes for troops to be honored with the nation’s highest award for combat valor.
Pitts, of Nashua, N.H., will receive the award six years and eight days after holding off an enemy assault on his platoon’s hillside observation post in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province. He did so even though he was wounded badly enough that a fellow soldier had to put a tourniquet on his leg to control the bleeding, Army officials say.
The amount of time between his actions and his ceremony at the White House will be the second longest for any service member awarded the Medal of Honor for actions after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. It is surpassed only by Army Sgt. Kyle White, who received the medal May 13, more than 61 / 2 years after he braved enemy fire numerous times in a Nov. 7, 2007, battle in Nuristan after he was briefly knocked unconscious by a rocket-propelled grenade blast.
Army officials are still smarting from the way the Medal of Honor case for Capt. William D. Swenson was botched. The infantry officer received the award Oct. 15 for braving enemy fire repeatedly in eastern Afghanistan’s Ganjgal Valley on Sept. 8, 2009, to pull a fellow soldier who had sustained a gunshot from a kill zone, and then search for four service members who had been killed.
Swenson received the Medal of Honor more than four years after the battle — and only after his digital nomination packet went missing in Afghanistan. He was first recommended for the award by a battalion commander in December 2009, but it was subsequently recommended for a downgrade by Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, according to the findings of a Defense Department inspector general investigation. The package never received additional processing.
Swenson’s case was submitted for review again in July 2011, as the military prepared to award a Medal of Honor to another service member in the battle, Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer. Swenson refused to accept his award until the Army investigated what happened, and he received a public apology from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last year.
read more here
Medal of Honor for Kyle Carpenter
Presentation of Medal of Honor to Sergeant Kyle J. White
Medal of Honor Capt. William Swenson Rejoins Army
Stolen truck, stolen pain, stolen suffering from fake veteran?
Man who claimed to be a homeless veteran speaks out
WPTV News
Brian Entin
Jul 18, 2014
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. - John Vigil claimed to be a homeless veteran and is out of jail and not wanting to answer most questions.
A spokesman with the U.S. Air Force said Friday that they have no record of Vigil serving in the Air Force.
"Yes, I was in the military. (Reporter) How come the military has no record of you ever being in the military? Because that is classified," Vigil said.
In May, dressed in uniform, Vigil said he was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and was homeless.
He said he suffered from PTSD and was living out of a Penske truck with his animals.
"This is what is left of my existence," Vigil said.
Patty Steenbuck, a Lantana resident who heard his story, took him in because she felt bad for him.
Police charged Vigil with battery and say Steenbuck had multiple injuries.
"(Reporter) Did you hit her? No.," Vigil said.
Vigil insists we don't know the entire story, but he would not elaborate.
He is denying that the Penske rental truck was stolen out of Colorado.
read more here
WPTV News
Brian Entin
Jul 18, 2014
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. - John Vigil claimed to be a homeless veteran and is out of jail and not wanting to answer most questions.
A spokesman with the U.S. Air Force said Friday that they have no record of Vigil serving in the Air Force.
"Yes, I was in the military. (Reporter) How come the military has no record of you ever being in the military? Because that is classified," Vigil said.
In May, dressed in uniform, Vigil said he was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and was homeless.
He said he suffered from PTSD and was living out of a Penske truck with his animals.
"This is what is left of my existence," Vigil said.
Patty Steenbuck, a Lantana resident who heard his story, took him in because she felt bad for him.
Police charged Vigil with battery and say Steenbuck had multiple injuries.
"(Reporter) Did you hit her? No.," Vigil said.
Vigil insists we don't know the entire story, but he would not elaborate.
He is denying that the Penske rental truck was stolen out of Colorado.
read more here
PTSD Service Dog Kicked Out of VA
War Veteran Says VA Police Officer Kicked Out His Service Dog
KUTV News
July 19, 2014
(KUTV) Mike Humphries is a medically retired war veteran who said he was "betrayed" by a veterans administration police officer in Salt Lake on Friday when the officer separated him from his service dog.
Employees say Donovan, Humphries' dog growled at a client in the Disabled American Veterans' office at the VA campus.
Humphries served in the first Gulf War and in the most recent war in Iraq, serving multiple tours as a Marine. In the last six months, his received a new battle buddy named Donovan, a 90 lbs. German Shepherd.
Mike says Donovan is not a pet. Donovan is a service dog, which has been carefully trained to look after Mike who suffers from PTSD and other health issues as a result of trauma from combat. "His first and foremost duty is to take care of me," explained Humphries. He added that when he is stressed or anxious, Donovan will calm him. When he perceives a threat to Mike, he sometimes growls as a cue to him.
On Friday, as the two boarded an elevator, a woman with a small dog suddenly entered, startling Mike - who said he is "hyper vigilant" like most other war vets who have PTSD. The dog sensed his sudden anxiety and growled.
read more here
KUTV News
July 19, 2014
(KUTV) Mike Humphries is a medically retired war veteran who said he was "betrayed" by a veterans administration police officer in Salt Lake on Friday when the officer separated him from his service dog.
Employees say Donovan, Humphries' dog growled at a client in the Disabled American Veterans' office at the VA campus.
Humphries served in the first Gulf War and in the most recent war in Iraq, serving multiple tours as a Marine. In the last six months, his received a new battle buddy named Donovan, a 90 lbs. German Shepherd.
Mike says Donovan is not a pet. Donovan is a service dog, which has been carefully trained to look after Mike who suffers from PTSD and other health issues as a result of trauma from combat. "His first and foremost duty is to take care of me," explained Humphries. He added that when he is stressed or anxious, Donovan will calm him. When he perceives a threat to Mike, he sometimes growls as a cue to him.
On Friday, as the two boarded an elevator, a woman with a small dog suddenly entered, startling Mike - who said he is "hyper vigilant" like most other war vets who have PTSD. The dog sensed his sudden anxiety and growled.
read more here
Fierce love of combat PTSD in veterans
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 19, 2014
U.S. flight medic, Sgt. Billy Raines from CCO., 1-214 AVN Medevac task force Destiny, treats a wounded Afghan Army soldier NBC News
Page by Jonathon M. Seidl - The Fear I Have Never Lost: Meet the Brave U.S. Army Medics in Afghanistan. U.S. Army flight medic SGT Jaime Adame, top, cares for seriously wounded Marine. The Blaze
Flight medic Sgt. Cole Reece checks the vital signs of a wounded Afghan boy before transporting him to the hospital at Kandahar Air Field on Oct. 10, 2010. Huffington Post
Pfc. Kevin Macari, who lost his leg to a landmine explosion in the Arghandab District of Kandahar, Afghanistan, looks at a photo of his fiancée while being evacuated in a U.S. Army medevac helicopter, Sept. 28, 2010. Macari asked photojournalist Louie Palu to hold his hand during the helicopter ride. “It was a hard day,” said Palu. NBC
Iraq, Qubah, soldiers shielding wounded comrade from debris U.S. soldiers shield a wounded comrade Qubah, Iraq, March 24, 2007 -- U.S. soldiers shield a wounded comrade from debris kicked up by a rescue helicopter descending on Qubah. Fighting between U.S. forces and insurgents erupted in the village at dawn, when U.S. troops stormed the city and began house-to-house searches for guerilla fighters. Two U.S. troops were wounded in the clashes. Sixteen suspected insurgents were killed.
Part of this coordination is dependent on the location of the field hospital, these teams transport via vehicles or airlift or both. Equestrian Outreach Veterans Day
According to King James Bible online there are 53 times "fierce" appears in the Bible. The word is used to describe anger and wrath. Merriam Webster defines fierce as, ": very violent : eager to fight or kill : having or showing a lot of strong emotion : very strong or intense" and it is the last definition used we seem to have a hard time of understanding when it comes to our military of today and veterans after their combat has ended.
It is a fierce love that causes them to put their lives on the line for the sake of someone else. When we forget that, it is impossible to remind them of the one thing that will heal them.
Forget what the DOD said about resilience. They never really understood what the term meant in the first place. Resilience is something every single member of the military had from the start. It was in them when they joined while knowing signing up could cost them their lives. It was already in them the day they deployed. Part of them that allowed them to push past all the pain they were carrying inside of their bodies because their buddies were in danger. Driving them on until they returned and the same resilience that allowed them to bury that pain for days, weeks, months and often years. It was not something the DOD could train them to have because it was already there.
When the DOD told them they could train to be "resilient" and "mentally tough" to them it meant if they or anyone else ended up with PTSD, they were weak and it was their fault. Who the hell wants to admit they need help after getting that message? They were already tough and battle tested.
Many Medal of Honor heroes have talked openly about their own issues with PTSD and even attempted suicide. Dakota Meyer tried to kill himself because he didn't want to become a burden to this family. When extraordinary heroes earn the Medal of Honor, it was not hate that compelled them to put other lives ahead of their own. It was the love they had within them for others.
Pfc. Kyle Hockenberry, of 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Infantry Regiment, 1st Heavy Combat Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, who was injured in an improvised explosive device attack near Haji Ramuddin, is treated by flight medic Cpl. Amanda Mosher while being transported by medevac helicopter to the Role 3 hospital at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan on June 15, 2011. Laura Rauch/Stars and Stripes
It is that same unselfish fierce depth of their love that causes them to feel so much pain but no one explained that to them. No one told them that it was because they were so strong, they fell so hard.
They need to remember why they joined, why they fought and who they really fought for because in the end, they did if for each other.
Kathie Costos
July 19, 2014
U.S. flight medic, Sgt. Billy Raines from CCO., 1-214 AVN Medevac task force Destiny, treats a wounded Afghan Army soldier NBC News
It is a fierce love that causes them to put their lives on the line for the sake of someone else. When we forget that, it is impossible to remind them of the one thing that will heal them.
Forget what the DOD said about resilience. They never really understood what the term meant in the first place. Resilience is something every single member of the military had from the start. It was in them when they joined while knowing signing up could cost them their lives. It was already in them the day they deployed. Part of them that allowed them to push past all the pain they were carrying inside of their bodies because their buddies were in danger. Driving them on until they returned and the same resilience that allowed them to bury that pain for days, weeks, months and often years. It was not something the DOD could train them to have because it was already there.
When the DOD told them they could train to be "resilient" and "mentally tough" to them it meant if they or anyone else ended up with PTSD, they were weak and it was their fault. Who the hell wants to admit they need help after getting that message? They were already tough and battle tested.
Many Medal of Honor heroes have talked openly about their own issues with PTSD and even attempted suicide. Dakota Meyer tried to kill himself because he didn't want to become a burden to this family. When extraordinary heroes earn the Medal of Honor, it was not hate that compelled them to put other lives ahead of their own. It was the love they had within them for others.
It is that same unselfish fierce depth of their love that causes them to feel so much pain but no one explained that to them. No one told them that it was because they were so strong, they fell so hard.
They need to remember why they joined, why they fought and who they really fought for because in the end, they did if for each other.
Veteran left VA hospital, texted his good-byes before being killed by police
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 19, 2014
A Kentucky National Guardsman served two tours in Iraq. Justin Neil Davis was only 24. His last tour ended when he was 22 in 2012. Davis knew he was having problems. He had been in the VA rehab for 30 days but as it turned out, it didn't make that much of a difference.
Davis was one of the countless stories of veterans seeking help instead of denying they need it. That is the saddest part of all. They wanted to live, hoped to heal, reached out for help and tried the best they could to recover from combat. They are also the greatest example of how the government failed them.
A sad update to Veteran killed by police had just been to the Memphis VA
Germantown Police describe scene that led up to vet's shooting death
Three police officers are now dealing with the fact they had to kill a veteran who risked his young life and was failed by the VA. VA employees are wondering what else they could have or should have done differently. His family and friends are wondering what they should have done differently. Other veterans are wondering if this happened to Davis after he sought help to survive, what are their chances?
We have to talk about horrible outcomes if we are ever going to fix what has not worked. These are not just testimonials of current events but reflect what veterans have been facing for decades. It is only because the media was not interested in telling the stories of older veterans facing the same fates that the general public had no clue. Just because you are not aware there is a problem doesn't mean it wasn't shattering lives before you read about it in your local newspaper.
July 11 another veteran,
On July 4, 2014 41 Action News out of Kansas reported
June 8th it happened in Denver.
It happened in May in Kansas City when Issac Sims was turned away from the VA after seeking help.
May 14 it was a standoff in North Carolina Standoff with Soldier but he survived and was taken to get help.
May 6 it was happening in Albuquerque to Armand Martin during a standoff with SWAT.
Kathie Costos
July 19, 2014
A Kentucky National Guardsman served two tours in Iraq. Justin Neil Davis was only 24. His last tour ended when he was 22 in 2012. Davis knew he was having problems. He had been in the VA rehab for 30 days but as it turned out, it didn't make that much of a difference.
Davis was one of the countless stories of veterans seeking help instead of denying they need it. That is the saddest part of all. They wanted to live, hoped to heal, reached out for help and tried the best they could to recover from combat. They are also the greatest example of how the government failed them.
A sad update to Veteran killed by police had just been to the Memphis VA
Germantown Police describe scene that led up to vet's shooting death
Members of GPD’s Crisis Intervention Team got to the park at 9:50 p.m. but, despite their attempt to talk with Davis over a loudspeaker and by cellphone, he threatened to shoot at them and “made statements about killing himself.” He asked them to turn off their bright lights.
Then Davis pointed the barrel of the rifle out the passenger side window toward police. Three officers opened fire, hitting Davis multiple times.
When the ambulance got to the park at 10:05 p.m., he was dead.
Davis, a veteran of the Kentucky National Guard, had served two tours in Iraq, the most recent ending in 2012, according to guard records.
Before his fatal encounter with police, Davis struggled with alcohol abuse and was released from a 30-day rehabilitation program in September, according to divorce papers filed by his wife in October. His father, a Navy veteran, died in February. By March, Davis was without a job.
Vallandinghan said Davis had an appointment at the Memphis VA Medical Center at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to have an MRI on his back, and that while he was there, told VA staff he was having suicidal thoughts.
After leaving, Vallandinghan said, he texted friends and family to say goodbye.
Three police officers are now dealing with the fact they had to kill a veteran who risked his young life and was failed by the VA. VA employees are wondering what else they could have or should have done differently. His family and friends are wondering what they should have done differently. Other veterans are wondering if this happened to Davis after he sought help to survive, what are their chances?
We have to talk about horrible outcomes if we are ever going to fix what has not worked. These are not just testimonials of current events but reflect what veterans have been facing for decades. It is only because the media was not interested in telling the stories of older veterans facing the same fates that the general public had no clue. Just because you are not aware there is a problem doesn't mean it wasn't shattering lives before you read about it in your local newspaper.
July 11 another veteran,
"Anthony Reardon, 44, of South Hampton, who allegedly stole and crashed police cruisers during a June 3 incident outside his home, appeared in Seabrook District Court on Thursday to finalize an agreement that would allow him to receive outside treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder instead of sitting in a jail cell and awaiting his indictment on numerous charges."
On July 4, 2014 41 Action News out of Kansas reported
Veteran Icarus Randolph was killed by police after family members called police to say he was suicidal. When police officers arrived he must have felt threatened and went after them with a knife in his hand. The taser did little good and according to police reports, that is when they opened fire killing him.
June 12 "An Iraq War combat veteran who held Northampton police on an armed standoff inside his girlfriend's borough home will serve four years of probation under a plea agreement that takes into account his post-traumatic stress disorder.
Scott P. Wines Jr., 29, served six tours in Iraq as a Marine and is now attending outpatient counseling twice a week to cope with what he experienced overseas, said defense attorney Rory Driscole.
June 8th it happened in Denver.
A police officer shot and killed a suicidal military veteran after the man aimed a rifle at the officer in the driveway of his home, according to police.
"He pointed the rifle," said Lt. Gary Millspaugh of the Aurora Police Department. "He was shot in the upper torso."
The man, whose identity has not been released, was rushed to an Aurora hospital Friday after the 4:04 p.m. incident and was later pronounced dead.
The officer who was involved in the shooting was not injured during the confrontation, police said.
A psychologist called 911 and said he had just received a call from a patient who was potentially suicidal, Millspaugh said.
It happened in May in Kansas City when Issac Sims was turned away from the VA after seeking help.
Issac Sims’ family said he spent every day last week coming to the VA hospital, but was told on Friday that he had to wait a month to be admitted for his PTSD. Sims, 26, was an Iraq war veteran.
May 14 it was a standoff in North Carolina Standoff with Soldier but he survived and was taken to get help.
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — An unidentified male soldier surrendered to Fayetteville police late Tuesday following a 90-minute standoff in the parking lot of a Walmart on Skibo Road.
Officers responding to the west Fayetteville store at about 10:30 p.m. found the man inside a car. According to authorities, he was threatening to harm himself.
Police cleared the parking lot, and customers were kept inside the store as a precaution.
"Cops told us to get in our cars, get back inside the building, because we were in the firing range," Robert Casey, a witness, told WRAL News.
The active duty soldier, who was believed to have a weapon, surrendered at about midnight, and he was taken to a local hospital for an evaluation. His name has not been released and it was unclear if he would face charges.
May 6 it was happening in Albuquerque to Armand Martin during a standoff with SWAT.
The family of Armand Martin says he was a colonel in the Air Force, but in the 27 years of his military career, they say he never saw combat until this weekend.
Albuquerque police said Martin fired shots from inside this house in Ventana Ranch on Saturday, but that officers did not return fire. Instead, they said crisis negotiators tried talking to him for several hours.
APD Deputy Chief Erica Garcia said Martin had been treated at the VA hospital for significant mental health related issues.
Friday, July 18, 2014
Army sexual assault prosecutor accused of doing it
Army reprimands former sexual assault prosecutor
Stars and Stripes
By Chris Carroll
Published: July 18, 2014
WASHINGTON — The Army’s former lead special victims prosecutor was relieved of his duties last month after an investigation into a claim by a fellow Army sexual assault prosecutor that he had groped her during Washington-area legal conference on sexual crimes.
Lt. Col. Jay Morse has received a general letter of reprimand in connection with the case, normally a career-ending administrative action, but is not being criminally charged, an Army official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said.
Morse, the former head of the Army’s Trial Counsel Assistance Program who supervised nearly two dozen other prosecutors who focused on sexual crimes, has maintained he is innocent of the allegations but has told the Army he will soon retire.
The Washington Post was first to report the Morse reprimand. Stars and Stripes reported the allegations in March after Morse was suspended after a fellow prosecutor said he’d tried to kiss her and grab her buttocks against her will.
The sexual assault was alleged to have taken place on March 3, 2011, in a hotel room.
read more here
Stars and Stripes
By Chris Carroll
Published: July 18, 2014
WASHINGTON — The Army’s former lead special victims prosecutor was relieved of his duties last month after an investigation into a claim by a fellow Army sexual assault prosecutor that he had groped her during Washington-area legal conference on sexual crimes.
Lt. Col. Jay Morse has received a general letter of reprimand in connection with the case, normally a career-ending administrative action, but is not being criminally charged, an Army official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said.
Morse, the former head of the Army’s Trial Counsel Assistance Program who supervised nearly two dozen other prosecutors who focused on sexual crimes, has maintained he is innocent of the allegations but has told the Army he will soon retire.
The Washington Post was first to report the Morse reprimand. Stars and Stripes reported the allegations in March after Morse was suspended after a fellow prosecutor said he’d tried to kiss her and grab her buttocks against her will.
The sexual assault was alleged to have taken place on March 3, 2011, in a hotel room.
read more here
Florida Front Beach Inn refuses Veteran with PTSD Service Dog
Army vet denied a hotel room because he had a service dog
First Coast News
Mike Lyons
July 17, 2014
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. -- Karl Fleming was just looking to do something fun at the request of his family, but it turned into a distressing situation when he and his service dog were turned away from a hotel.
Army veteran Fleming attended K9s for Warriors camp in Ponte Vedra Beach. He graduated with his service dog 'Kuchar' last year and moved on, ready to face the world. But Wednesday night he had a setback.
Fleming has a traumatic brain injury as a result of a rocket propelled grenade while he was serving in Afghanistan in 2011. He went to Panama City Beach with his dog, which he depends on, along with his parents and his roommate. He went looking for a hotel room at the Front Beach Inn.
Fleming said he was yelled at by the front desk clerk and told she had no vacancies when the sign out front read vacancy. Fleming said she later told police they had rooms.
''You have to produce papers sir! Get out of my lobby!" the receptionist can be heard saying in a loud voice toward his roommate who was recording the incident on his cell phone.
"I mean it was humiliating, for them to yell at me like that," said Fleming by phone from Panama City Beach. "She did not know her facts, she would not listen to me. The cops really didn't know the laws either. I am still so much on edge because of it because I have an anxiety disorder."
read more here
First Coast News
Mike Lyons
July 17, 2014
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. -- Karl Fleming was just looking to do something fun at the request of his family, but it turned into a distressing situation when he and his service dog were turned away from a hotel.
Army veteran Fleming attended K9s for Warriors camp in Ponte Vedra Beach. He graduated with his service dog 'Kuchar' last year and moved on, ready to face the world. But Wednesday night he had a setback.
Fleming has a traumatic brain injury as a result of a rocket propelled grenade while he was serving in Afghanistan in 2011. He went to Panama City Beach with his dog, which he depends on, along with his parents and his roommate. He went looking for a hotel room at the Front Beach Inn.
Fleming said he was yelled at by the front desk clerk and told she had no vacancies when the sign out front read vacancy. Fleming said she later told police they had rooms.
''You have to produce papers sir! Get out of my lobby!" the receptionist can be heard saying in a loud voice toward his roommate who was recording the incident on his cell phone.
"I mean it was humiliating, for them to yell at me like that," said Fleming by phone from Panama City Beach. "She did not know her facts, she would not listen to me. The cops really didn't know the laws either. I am still so much on edge because of it because I have an anxiety disorder."
read more here
This is a great example of why the media is no longer trusted
This is a great example of why the media is no longer trusted.
A prank caller somehow got himself onto MSNBC on Thursday, where he cursed at host Krystal Ball during a discussion of the Malaysian Airlines plane crash.
Video disabled
No one bothered to find out if this caller was for real or not. They are in such a rush that they don't seem interested in investigating anything and even less time researching what we expect them to know.
Gregg Zoroya of USA Today wrote this yesterday,
It didn't seem to matter that the Department of Defense had already confirmed what most veterans knew in 2008. DoD Confirms Role Combat Plays in Suicide Epidemic and it also stated this.
Along the same lines Report: DoD does not know if PTSD programs work on Army Times in 2012.
As for the news report of how the DOD and the VA don't know if their programs work or not, again, flashback to what was reported in 2008.
All of us know that none of the problems with the VA are new but reporters pretend they are as if they are in competition to get the scoop instead of getting it right. Instead of informing the public on how bad the truth really is, they want us to get angry for today and just forget about it.
As with the prank phone call going into MSNBC, I am not sure which bothers me the most. The fact someone thought the deaths of hundreds of people was of such low importance he would pull a prank call or the fact that MSNBC actually allowed it to happen. Both should make us sick. It is the same way with reporting on the suicides and ignoring what we already knew.
A prank caller somehow got himself onto MSNBC on Thursday, where he cursed at host Krystal Ball during a discussion of the Malaysian Airlines plane crash.
Video disabled
No one bothered to find out if this caller was for real or not. They are in such a rush that they don't seem interested in investigating anything and even less time researching what we expect them to know.
Gregg Zoroya of USA Today wrote this yesterday,
One of the first comprehensive efforts to explain record suicides among soldiers during and after their deployments in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan finds an indirect link between deployment, combat and self-destructive urges, according to a paper published Thursday.It didn't seem to bother him that it was already reported in March of 2014
Study shows infantry soldiers more susceptible to suicide
Rates tripled from 2004 to 2012
Jacksonville.com
Clifford Davis
Posted: May 9, 2014
For most soldiers, their suicide risk is low before their first deployment, the study found.
During deployment, that risk spikes and then comes back down after the soldiers return home, though it is never as low as the pre-deployment level, Schoenbaum said.
Among current service members the suicide rate is remaining steady but historically high while the number of veterans killing themselves represent one of every four suicides in Florida.
It didn't seem to matter that the Department of Defense had already confirmed what most veterans knew in 2008. DoD Confirms Role Combat Plays in Suicide Epidemic and it also stated this.
Army researchers have come together with the National Institute of Mental Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs to increase the nation's awareness and understanding in suicide prevention, Dr. Philip S. Wang, director of the Division of Services and Intervention Research at the National Institute of Mental Health, said.
The five-year partnership is the largest research initiative on suicide ever conducted in the civilian and military sectors, Wang added.
"The National Institute of Mental Health is honored and committed to working with the Army to understand the urgency, to identify risks and prevention factors, to develop new and better intervention," he said. "The knowledge will not only extend to soldiers and their families, but to the civilian population as well."
Along the same lines Report: DoD does not know if PTSD programs work on Army Times in 2012.
In 2009, Dr. Manion was hired by Spectrum Healthcare Resources and Nitelines Kuhana JV LLC, two healthcare contractors, to provide psychiatric treatment to members of the military who recently returned from combat duty. Many patients suffered from PTSD or TBI.
According to the suit, Dr. Manion believed that he was "under constant pressure from his superiors to rate patients as acceptable for deployment…even in circumstances where patients were diagnosed as posing a violent threat to themselves or others or were dangerous for combat deployment due to the presence of a significant mental illness."
As for the news report of how the DOD and the VA don't know if their programs work or not, again, flashback to what was reported in 2008.
APNewsBreak: Report: Pentagon doesn't evaluate its 200-plus programs on PTSD, brain injuries
DAN ELLIOTT
Associated Press
First Posted: November 14, 2011
DENVER — A study commissioned by the Pentagon says the military has more than 200 programs devoted to brain Injuries and the psychological Health of its troops, but no uniform way to evaluate whether they work or to share their findings.
The Rand Corp. study says some programs duplicate others and that the Pentagon risks making a poor investment of its resources without better coordination.
All of us know that none of the problems with the VA are new but reporters pretend they are as if they are in competition to get the scoop instead of getting it right. Instead of informing the public on how bad the truth really is, they want us to get angry for today and just forget about it.
As with the prank phone call going into MSNBC, I am not sure which bothers me the most. The fact someone thought the deaths of hundreds of people was of such low importance he would pull a prank call or the fact that MSNBC actually allowed it to happen. Both should make us sick. It is the same way with reporting on the suicides and ignoring what we already knew.
Marine known as the 'Lion of Fallujah' died during CIA work
Marine known as the 'Lion of Fallujah' died during CIA work
The Washington Post
By Thomas Gibbons-Neff
Published: July 16, 2014
WASHINGTON — In the foyer of the Central Intelligence Agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, there is a marble wall covered in stars. They are carved divots that represent those who have fallen in the service of the CIA. Below them, jutting out from the polished rock, is a black book entombed in a case of glass and steel. The book is a guide to the stars, giving the names of some of those who died and withholding the names of others.
On the pages of the CIA's Book of Honor are 107 hand-drawn stars organized by the years those officers died. For 2007, there is a single, anonymous star.
It belongs to Marine Maj. Douglas Alexander Zembiec.
Long thought to be an active-duty Marine when he was killed in Baghdad, Zembiec was actually serving with the CIA's paramilitary arm. While the CIA would not comment on whether Zembiec worked for the agency, former U.S. intelligence officials said in interviews that he died in an alley in Baghdad's Sadr City on May 11, 2007, as a member of the Special Activities Division's Ground Branch.
It was the final chapter in the life of a Marine known to many as the Lion of Fallujah but whose story, until now, has never been fully told. He is one of the few Americans to be simultaneously honored by the military and the CIA for his actions. But because he was working covertly, his role was never acknowledged publicly.
read more here
The Washington Post
By Thomas Gibbons-Neff
Published: July 16, 2014
Marine Maj. Douglas Zembiec, seen in this undated photo with wife Pam and daughter Fallyn, four months old at the time, died May 11, 2007, in Baghdad during an operation for the CIA Special Activities Division's Ground Branch.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAM ZEMBIEC/THE WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON — In the foyer of the Central Intelligence Agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia, there is a marble wall covered in stars. They are carved divots that represent those who have fallen in the service of the CIA. Below them, jutting out from the polished rock, is a black book entombed in a case of glass and steel. The book is a guide to the stars, giving the names of some of those who died and withholding the names of others.
On the pages of the CIA's Book of Honor are 107 hand-drawn stars organized by the years those officers died. For 2007, there is a single, anonymous star.
It belongs to Marine Maj. Douglas Alexander Zembiec.
Long thought to be an active-duty Marine when he was killed in Baghdad, Zembiec was actually serving with the CIA's paramilitary arm. While the CIA would not comment on whether Zembiec worked for the agency, former U.S. intelligence officials said in interviews that he died in an alley in Baghdad's Sadr City on May 11, 2007, as a member of the Special Activities Division's Ground Branch.
It was the final chapter in the life of a Marine known to many as the Lion of Fallujah but whose story, until now, has never been fully told. He is one of the few Americans to be simultaneously honored by the military and the CIA for his actions. But because he was working covertly, his role was never acknowledged publicly.
read more here
"VA Has Lost Trust of Veterans, American People" and so has Congress
Reporters seem to think that veterans blame the VA but the truth is, most veterans blame Congress. After all, it is the job of our politicians to take care of all veterans and make sure they are getting what they need. When a veteran is having trouble getting a claim approved or is not getting the care they need from the VA, they call their Senators and Representatives offices. No member of congress can pretend to be shocked by anything that went on.
Then there is the issue of decades of promises from congress to fix the problems veterans face. Veterans know none of this is new and the blame falls on congress but reporters don't seem to understand that.
Reporters cover whistleblowers but no one in congress has blown the whistle on themselves. Reporters cover wasted funds but no one has been interested on what congress has wasted for decades funding programs that don't work. When the rate of military and veterans suicides go up, veterans getting arrested, ending up homeless and jobless after so much has been done to address the problems they face, someone is making money off their suffering and frankly, veterans want accountability. They are tired of headlines being repeated over and over again when nothing gets fixed.
They lost trust a long time ago but no matter how much they have suffered for their service, they would do it all over again.
Then there is the issue of decades of promises from congress to fix the problems veterans face. Veterans know none of this is new and the blame falls on congress but reporters don't seem to understand that.
Acting Secretary: VA Has Lost Trust of Veterans, American People
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
By MATTHEW DALY
Published: Wednesday, July 16, 2014
WASHINGTON
The Department of Veterans Affairs has lost the trust of veterans and the American people as a result of widespread treatment delays for people seeking health care and falsified records to cover up those delays, the agency's top official said Wednesday.
Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson said the VA has created an environment where workers are afraid to raise concerns or offer suggestions for fear of retaliation and has failed to hold employees accountable for wrongdoing or negligence.
The agency also has devoted too many resources to meeting performance metrics — such as prompt scheduling of patient appointments — that were subject to manipulation and may not accurately reflect quality of care, Gibson said.
"As a consequence of all these failures, the trust that is the foundation of all we do — the trust of the veterans we serve and the trust of the American people and their elected representatives —has eroded," Gibson told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
Illustrating the depths of the agency's woes, the VA's Office of Inspector General said Wednesday it is investigating possible wrongdoing at 87 VA medical facilities nationwide, up from 69 last month.
read more here
Reporters cover whistleblowers but no one in congress has blown the whistle on themselves. Reporters cover wasted funds but no one has been interested on what congress has wasted for decades funding programs that don't work. When the rate of military and veterans suicides go up, veterans getting arrested, ending up homeless and jobless after so much has been done to address the problems they face, someone is making money off their suffering and frankly, veterans want accountability. They are tired of headlines being repeated over and over again when nothing gets fixed.
They lost trust a long time ago but no matter how much they have suffered for their service, they would do it all over again.
Mountie with PTSD after Greyhound bus beheading committed suicide
Mountie suffering PTSD after Greyhound bus beheading takes own life
The Canadian Press
July 17, 2014
WINNIPEG One of the first police officers on the scene of the beheading of a young man aboard a Greyhound bus on a Manitoba highway six years ago has taken his own life.
Ken Barker, a recently retired RCMP corporal who was a dog handler, killed himself last weekend after struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder for years.
Family and former colleagues say the 51-year-old had already seen almost two decades of horrific crimes when he witnessed the grisly scene on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Winnipeg in 2008.
Tim McLean was stabbed, mutilated and beheaded by Vince Li, who was later found not criminally responsible because of mental illness.
Barker's family say they're speaking out about the suicide in the hope more Mounties will seek help.
Shari Barker, the former officer's estranged wife, said Wednesday her husband was a sensitive man who did not want to be known as the Greyhound guy.
Barker, who had two adult children, retired last month and had been on medical leave since October.
read more here
The Canadian Press
July 17, 2014
WINNIPEG One of the first police officers on the scene of the beheading of a young man aboard a Greyhound bus on a Manitoba highway six years ago has taken his own life.
Ken Barker, a recently retired RCMP corporal who was a dog handler, killed himself last weekend after struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder for years.
Family and former colleagues say the 51-year-old had already seen almost two decades of horrific crimes when he witnessed the grisly scene on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Winnipeg in 2008.
Tim McLean was stabbed, mutilated and beheaded by Vince Li, who was later found not criminally responsible because of mental illness.
Barker's family say they're speaking out about the suicide in the hope more Mounties will seek help.
Shari Barker, the former officer's estranged wife, said Wednesday her husband was a sensitive man who did not want to be known as the Greyhound guy.
Barker, who had two adult children, retired last month and had been on medical leave since October.
read more here
PTSD Veteran escapes police, then they saved his life
Officers rescue veteran suffering from PTSD from river
WSMV News 4
By DeAnn Smith, Digital Content Manager
By Jonathan Carter, Reporter
Posted: Jul 17, 2014
KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV)
A war veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder is alive thanks to two Kansas City police officers who jumped into the Blue River to save the handcuffed man from drowning.
Geoffrey Jenista, 26, while facing serious criminal charges, is also now getting the mental help he needs from the Kansas City Police Department's crisis intervention team.
"He's a veteran who had served multiple tours overseas. He'd seen lots of combat. He was suffering from PTSD," Sgt. Michael Ward said. "Somebody that serves our country, you know, bravely like that, we're not going to turn our backs on him. We're going to try to help him."
read more here
WSMV News 4
By DeAnn Smith, Digital Content Manager
By Jonathan Carter, Reporter
Posted: Jul 17, 2014
After Jenista returned to the United States, the troubled man ran afoul of the law. He was discharged from the Army in April and his life has been increasingly difficult since then. The officers promised to help do what they can for him just like they did Tuesday morning.
KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV)
A war veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder is alive thanks to two Kansas City police officers who jumped into the Blue River to save the handcuffed man from drowning.
Geoffrey Jenista, 26, while facing serious criminal charges, is also now getting the mental help he needs from the Kansas City Police Department's crisis intervention team.
"He's a veteran who had served multiple tours overseas. He'd seen lots of combat. He was suffering from PTSD," Sgt. Michael Ward said. "Somebody that serves our country, you know, bravely like that, we're not going to turn our backs on him. We're going to try to help him."
read more here
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Link between combat and suicide risk,,,again
Study: Indirect link between combat and suicide risk
USA TODAY
Gregg Zoroya
5:40 p.m. EDT July 17, 2014
One of the first comprehensive efforts to explain record suicides among soldiers during and after their deployments in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan finds an indirect link between deployment, combat and self-destructive urges, according to a paper published Thursday.
The two scientists who conducted the study — one of them a former Army research director — argue that high rates of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder flowing out of the combat experience can lead to suicidal behavior.
The illnesses can lead to a sense of burdening others and social isolation. Add to this loss of personal relationships a familiarity with firearms, and the resulting toxic stew can drive suicides among troops and veterans.
The paper published online in Current Psychiatric Reports surmises that this could help explain an astonishing rate of 22 veterans committing suicide each day, as estimated by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Suicides among Army active-duty soldiers reached an historic high of 185 in 2012 or a rate of nearly 30 deaths per 100,000, triple the Army rate of 2004 and double what is reported among civilians.
While the number of Army suicides among active duty soldiers declined in 2013 by 19%, suicides among Army National Guard and reservists reached a record 151 in 2013.
"It's best to view the increase in military suicides as a result of an increase in mental health issues of service members driven in large part, but not entirely, (by) combat and deployment experiences," wrote the authors, retired Col. Carl Castro, former director of psychological health research for the Army, and researcher Sara Kintzle, both with the University of Southern California.
read more here
Not that Castro cares since he was behind the failure called Battlemind, the granddaddy of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, that also failed.
Well, then I guess the study in 2009 showing that the DoD Confirms Role Combat Plays in Suicide Epidemic
veterans in college were six times more likely than other students to attempt suicide.
His widow was expelled from Donald Rumsfeld's book signing when she tried to get some answers.
But hey, why bother to refresh folks memories on exactly how long we've known what was going on?
USA TODAY
Gregg Zoroya
5:40 p.m. EDT July 17, 2014
One of the first comprehensive efforts to explain record suicides among soldiers during and after their deployments in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan finds an indirect link between deployment, combat and self-destructive urges, according to a paper published Thursday.
The two scientists who conducted the study — one of them a former Army research director — argue that high rates of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder flowing out of the combat experience can lead to suicidal behavior.
The illnesses can lead to a sense of burdening others and social isolation. Add to this loss of personal relationships a familiarity with firearms, and the resulting toxic stew can drive suicides among troops and veterans.
The paper published online in Current Psychiatric Reports surmises that this could help explain an astonishing rate of 22 veterans committing suicide each day, as estimated by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Suicides among Army active-duty soldiers reached an historic high of 185 in 2012 or a rate of nearly 30 deaths per 100,000, triple the Army rate of 2004 and double what is reported among civilians.
While the number of Army suicides among active duty soldiers declined in 2013 by 19%, suicides among Army National Guard and reservists reached a record 151 in 2013.
"It's best to view the increase in military suicides as a result of an increase in mental health issues of service members driven in large part, but not entirely, (by) combat and deployment experiences," wrote the authors, retired Col. Carl Castro, former director of psychological health research for the Army, and researcher Sara Kintzle, both with the University of Southern California.
read more here
Not that Castro cares since he was behind the failure called Battlemind, the granddaddy of Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, that also failed.
Well, then I guess the study in 2009 showing that the DoD Confirms Role Combat Plays in Suicide Epidemic
veterans in college were six times more likely than other students to attempt suicide.
JOINT BASE LEWIS MCCHORD, Wash. - A soldier's widow says his fellow Army Rangers wouldn't do anything to help him before he took his own life - after eight deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Army found Staff Sgt. Jared Hagemann's body at a training area of Joint Base Lewis McChord just before he was to be sent back for his 9th tour.
His widow was expelled from Donald Rumsfeld's book signing when she tried to get some answers.
But hey, why bother to refresh folks memories on exactly how long we've known what was going on?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)