Replica Of Vietnam War Memorial Touches Local Veteran
NEWS ON 6
ERIN CONRAD
Posted: Oct 22, 2014
OKMULGEE COUNTY, Oklahoma - The American Veterans Traveling Tribute, a replica of the Vietnam Wall War Memorial, stopped in Henryetta Wednesday, and the community held a welcoming ceremony for its arrival.
The traveling memorial lists the more than 58,000 names of those who died in the Vietnam War - 19 of those were from Okmulgee County - and one local Navy veteran shared what it meant to him to see the wall.
“I think I'd have to be dead not to feel anything,” Alfonso Mogana said while wiping a tear away.
Mogana has never had the chance to see the wall before, and he isn't sure he'll be able to recognize any names when it goes up in Henryetta, but said it will touch him all the same as he hopes it will others.
“It's a reminder for everybody what was going on there. And because that was an unpleasant war that a lot of people didn't like," he said.
read more here
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Patrice Vincent, soldier killed in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, was close to retirement
Patrice Vincent, soldier killed in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, was close to retirement
Warrant officer served in the military for 28 years
CBC News
Posted: Oct 23, 2014
The family of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, who was killed Monday when he was struck in a targeted hit and run in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., is struggling to come to terms with his death.
“It's actually hard for us.… When it happens to somebody else in Canada — you hear that on the news — personally it touches me, but when it's closer to your family, it's harder to accept that,” said Vincent’s cousin and former soldier Sylvain Guerette.
“When you lose a member of your family, especially in the Armed Forces, it's harder because you would like to be there. You would like to do something, but you can't.”
Guerette said Vincent had been thinking about retirement.
read more here
Warrant officer served in the military for 28 years
CBC News
Posted: Oct 23, 2014
The family of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, who was killed Monday when he was struck in a targeted hit and run in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., is struggling to come to terms with his death.
“It's actually hard for us.… When it happens to somebody else in Canada — you hear that on the news — personally it touches me, but when it's closer to your family, it's harder to accept that,” said Vincent’s cousin and former soldier Sylvain Guerette.
'“My cousin was a nice guy … always ready to help, always smiling.' —Sylvain Guerette, cousin of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent
“When you lose a member of your family, especially in the Armed Forces, it's harder because you would like to be there. You would like to do something, but you can't.”
Guerette said Vincent had been thinking about retirement.
read more here
Cpl. Nathan Cirillo's Dogs Wait For Him To Come Home
Gut-Wrenching Photos: Dogs Belonging to Canadian Soldier Killed in Terrorist Attack Seemingly Wait for Their Master to Return
The Blaze
Jason Howerton
Oct. 23, 2014
TORONTO (TheBlaze/AP) — Canadians mourned the army reservist killed in a terrorist attack on Parliament Hill, with friends remembering Cpl. Nathan Cirillo as a devoted father so ready to make people smile that he was once known as the class clown.
Gut-wrenching photos showing Cirillo’s dogs seemingly waiting for their master to return also emerged Thursday. Cirillo, a 24-year-old a reservist from Hamilton, Ontario, was shot dead as he stood guard before the country’s Tomb of the Unknown soldier, that start of an attack Wednesday that ended with a lone gunman storming into Parliament and opening fire before being shot dead himself.
read more here
Ottawa shooting: Haunting last picture of soldier Nathan Cirillo moments before he was killed
The Blaze
Jason Howerton
Oct. 23, 2014
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Peter Power)
TORONTO (TheBlaze/AP) — Canadians mourned the army reservist killed in a terrorist attack on Parliament Hill, with friends remembering Cpl. Nathan Cirillo as a devoted father so ready to make people smile that he was once known as the class clown.
Gut-wrenching photos showing Cirillo’s dogs seemingly waiting for their master to return also emerged Thursday. Cirillo, a 24-year-old a reservist from Hamilton, Ontario, was shot dead as he stood guard before the country’s Tomb of the Unknown soldier, that start of an attack Wednesday that ended with a lone gunman storming into Parliament and opening fire before being shot dead himself.
read more here
Ottawa shooting: Haunting last picture of soldier Nathan Cirillo moments before he was killed
Black Hawk Down CSM Robert Gallagher Died at 52
Decorated soldier from 'Black Hawk Down' battle in Somalia dies at 52
FoxNews.com
Published October 23, 2014
A decorated soldier who participated in the Somalia battle immortalized by Hollywood blockbuster “Black Hawk Down” was reportedly found dead in his Georgia home earlier this month.
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Gallagher, 52, died of natural causes as a result of a heart condition, the Army Times reports. He served as the command sergeant major for the Army’s Wounded Warrior Program, but had extensive experience in major combat operations, including Operation Just Cause in Panama and with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia, which was later made famous by the 2001 film.
“You know, I don’t say this lightly, but Bob is probably one of, probably the best soldier I ever served with, retired Col. Greg Gadson told the newspaper. “That man really cared about soldiers.”
Born in Bayonne, N.J., Gallagher joined the Army in 1981 and later earned several awards and decorations, including a Silver Star, two Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars. He earned the Silver Star in 2002 during Operation Iraqi Freedom as troops advanced from Kuwait to Baghdad, when he suffered a leg wound but continued to direct his men.
read more here
FoxNews.com
Published October 23, 2014
Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Gallagher was in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993 and in Baghdad for the U.S. invasion in 2003. When he retired, he worked to serve soldiers. He died on Oct. 13 at age 52.
(3rd Infantry Division/Facebook)
A decorated soldier who participated in the Somalia battle immortalized by Hollywood blockbuster “Black Hawk Down” was reportedly found dead in his Georgia home earlier this month.
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Gallagher, 52, died of natural causes as a result of a heart condition, the Army Times reports. He served as the command sergeant major for the Army’s Wounded Warrior Program, but had extensive experience in major combat operations, including Operation Just Cause in Panama and with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia, which was later made famous by the 2001 film.
“You know, I don’t say this lightly, but Bob is probably one of, probably the best soldier I ever served with, retired Col. Greg Gadson told the newspaper. “That man really cared about soldiers.”
Born in Bayonne, N.J., Gallagher joined the Army in 1981 and later earned several awards and decorations, including a Silver Star, two Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars. He earned the Silver Star in 2002 during Operation Iraqi Freedom as troops advanced from Kuwait to Baghdad, when he suffered a leg wound but continued to direct his men.
read more here
New Military Suicide Research Says Don't Blame the Army Again!
Ok. Really? Then how do they explain the fact there are mental health screenings for every recruit? How do they explain that part of all of this? Are they saying they are giving weapons and training to "unstable" recruits? They never even try to explain why they missed it if they actually did.
How do they explain that Comprehensive Soldier Fitness was supposed to be the answer for all but wasn't even good enough to prevent non-deployed soldiers from committing suicide? Any clue? They sure don't have any.
If any of this is true, although given the small percentage of the findings, it would indicated a massive failure of the Department of Defense to establish recruitment standards as well as failing to fulfil what they have claimed for years. They claim to have trained military folks and families to be "resilient" spending billions every year. Then why are families not informed and veterans don't even know the basics of how to heal?
This is more BS!
How do they explain that Comprehensive Soldier Fitness was supposed to be the answer for all but wasn't even good enough to prevent non-deployed soldiers from committing suicide? Any clue? They sure don't have any.
If any of this is true, although given the small percentage of the findings, it would indicated a massive failure of the Department of Defense to establish recruitment standards as well as failing to fulfil what they have claimed for years. They claim to have trained military folks and families to be "resilient" spending billions every year. Then why are families not informed and veterans don't even know the basics of how to heal?
This is more BS!
The Army May Not Increase Risk Of Suicide, More Suicidal People May Join
Science 20
By News Staff
October 23rd 2014
The second Army STARRS paper reported that 14.1 percent of new soldiers had considered suicide at some point in their life before enlisting, 2.3 percent of new soldiers had made a suicide plan, and that 1.9 percent of new soldiers previously attempted suicide.
Due to increased awareness of suicide and military life, there has been concern military lifestyle may be causing more suicides. A new study instead finds that new soldiers are twice as likely to have three or more psychological disorders, or comorbidity, prior to enlisting as civilians.
They may regard the military as a solution to their problems.
One recent study found that new soldiers and matched civilians are about equally likely to have experienced one major episode of mental illness in their lifetime (38.7 percent of new soldiers and 36.5 percent of civilians) but that some mental disorders (generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and conduct disorder) are more common among new soldiers than civilians. Only 6.5 percent of civilians were likely to have experienced a combination of three or more disorders, versus 11.3 percent for new soldiers.
Another study focused on suicide, finding that new soldiers had pre-enlistment rates of suicide thoughts and plans at rates roughly the same as matched civilians, but rates of pre-enlistment suicidality are higher among soldiers than civilians later in the Army career, implying that Army experiences might lead to chronicity of suicidality or that people more inclined to suicide joined the military and then stayed in.
read more here
Alaska Rep. Don Young Should Apologize to Families After Suicide Comment
Murkowski asks for Young apology on suicide comments
Alaska Dispatch News
Alex DeMarban
October 23, 2014
Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she has asked Rep. Don Young to apologize to Alaskans for hurtful comments he made to high school students struggling with suicide.
“Earlier today, I talked to Don Young and encouraged him to rethink the past few days and apologize to Alaskans so we can all be rowing in the same direction against suicide,” Murkowski said in a Facebook post Thursday.
The request came after Young stunned students and staff at Wasilla High School on Tuesday -- just days after the suicide of a student -- by saying suicide was caused by a lack of support from parents and friends. That comment and others Young made at the school offended many in Alaska, where suicide rates are some of the highest in the country.
Alaska Dispatch News
Alex DeMarban
October 23, 2014
Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she has asked Rep. Don Young to apologize to Alaskans for hurtful comments he made to high school students struggling with suicide.
“Earlier today, I talked to Don Young and encouraged him to rethink the past few days and apologize to Alaskans so we can all be rowing in the same direction against suicide,” Murkowski said in a Facebook post Thursday.
The request came after Young stunned students and staff at Wasilla High School on Tuesday -- just days after the suicide of a student -- by saying suicide was caused by a lack of support from parents and friends. That comment and others Young made at the school offended many in Alaska, where suicide rates are some of the highest in the country.
In a press release issued Thursday night, Sen. Mark Begich, who is also running for reelection, said "I believe Congressman Young’s statements were uninformed and inappropriate."
The statement said Begich had received dozens of calls to weigh in on the subject. "In addition to the alarming rates of suicide in our rural communities, especially among young Alaska Native men, there are troubling rates of suicide in the ranks of Alaska’s military and among our veterans," the statement continued, in part. "We need to encourage open conversations about this tragedy -- not make hurtful statements."
read more here
Cops Caught Taking a Stand with PTSD Iraq Veteran
They not only stood by him, they helped him! They stood by him in court and then helped get community involved with helping him get on his feet again!
Allegheny County law enforcement officials honored at awards luncheon
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Liz Navratil
October 25, 2014
That February morning began like many others for detectives in the non-support squad at the Allegheny County sheriff's office. They intended to arrest a man on a warrant for failing to pay his child support.
But when they stepped inside the suburban Allegheny County home, “Immediately, there were red flags,” said Detective James Klingensmith.
The man’s wife told them her husband sustained a traumatic brain injury while serving in Iraq. He didn’t understand what was going on, and he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, she told them.
“The officers were legally bound to bring the man to court, but they understood that he was a man in need,” Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Kathleen Durkin said while presenting Detective Klingensmith and four of his colleagues Friday with an award for their service.
He, Sgt. Michael Scherbanic and Detectives Vincent Longo, Jay Stegena and Mark Zimmerman were among 14 officers recognized Friday at the annual Amen Corner Senator John Heinz Law Enforcement Awards Luncheon.
“It wasn’t expected,” Detective Klingensmith said of the award. When he and his colleagues learned that the man was having trouble paying his bills, they gave him money.
They appeared alongside him in court and explained his situation to the judge. In the months that followed, they persuaded local businesses to give gift cards to the family and to help with home repairs.
read more here
Death of 19 Year Old Marine in Iraq "Non-combat Injury"
First US military death announced since Isis offensive started in Iraq
The first US service member has died in the third US-Iraq war, although not in combat, the Department of Defense says
The Guardian
October 24, 2014
Nearly three years after Barack Obama withdrew the US military from its bloody, exhausting second conflict in Iraq, the first US service member has died there in the third US-Iraq war.
Marine Lance Corporal Sean P Neal, one of 1,600 troops serving in Iraq to support the Iraqi struggle against Islamic State (Isis), died of a “non-combat” injury, the US announced late on Friday. Neal, of Riverside, California, died in Baghdad, more than 7600 miles from his home, on Thursday.
Neal, 19, was the first American acknowledged to have died in Operation Inherent Resolve, the US military’s new name for the war Obama launched on August 7. Americans have been dying in Iraq since 1991, some four years before Neal was born.
Technically, Neal may not have been the first US fatality of the Iraq-Syria war against the Islamic State. Naval forces assigned to US Central Command, which has operational control of the war, acknowledged on October 3 that a Marine, Corporal Jordan L. Spears, went missing at sea in the North Arabian Gulf after bailing out of his MV-22 Osprey. Spears took off from the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island, which carried Marines of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, assigned to support the war in Iraq and Syria.
read more here
The first US service member has died in the third US-Iraq war, although not in combat, the Department of Defense says
The Guardian
October 24, 2014
Marine Lance Corporal Sean P Neal, one of 1,600 troops serving in Iraq to support the Iraqi struggle against Islamic State (Isis), died of a “non-combat” injury, the US announced late on Friday. Neal, of Riverside, California, died in Baghdad, more than 7600 miles from his home, on Thursday.
Neal, 19, was the first American acknowledged to have died in Operation Inherent Resolve, the US military’s new name for the war Obama launched on August 7. Americans have been dying in Iraq since 1991, some four years before Neal was born.
Technically, Neal may not have been the first US fatality of the Iraq-Syria war against the Islamic State. Naval forces assigned to US Central Command, which has operational control of the war, acknowledged on October 3 that a Marine, Corporal Jordan L. Spears, went missing at sea in the North Arabian Gulf after bailing out of his MV-22 Osprey. Spears took off from the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island, which carried Marines of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, assigned to support the war in Iraq and Syria.
read more here
Friday, October 24, 2014
Queens Police Officers Attacked by Terrorist with Hatchet
'Rookie cops' recovering after hatchet attack
CNN
By Shimon Prokupecz and Kevin Conlon
October 24, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
There's no indication the attack is tied to radical Islam, official says
Officials: New York police told to be on alert "against random attacks"
A man rushed four police officers in Queens, New York, police commissioner says
Two were hit; the two who weren't shot at the attacker, who was killed, commissioner says
New York (CNN) -- A New York City police officer remains in critical condition at a Queens hospital Friday, one day after suffering a hatchet wound to the head.
Officer Kenneth Healey and three on-duty colleagues were posing for a picture on the sidewalk Thursday afternoon when a hatchet-wielding man charged at them "unprovoked," according Police Commissioner Bill Bratton.
The suspect, identified as Zale H. Thompson, was hiding behind a bus shelter as if he was waiting to attack the officers, according to a law enforcement official, who said it almost appeared as if he were stalking them.
Healey, 28, was struck in the back of the head. Officer Joseph Meeker, 24, was struck in the arm. The remaining two officers fired at Thompson, killing him.
In the chaos, one of the officer's bullets struck a nearby pedestrian in her lower back. Bratton said she was recovering in surgery Thursday evening.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio praised the officers' swift response. "Here are four rookie cops, just starting out in their career, when the absolute unexpected happened," de Blasio said at a Thursday press conference. "They responded exactly as their training dictated and ended the situation -- thank God -- very, very quickly. "
read more here
CNN
By Shimon Prokupecz and Kevin Conlon
October 24, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
There's no indication the attack is tied to radical Islam, official says
Officials: New York police told to be on alert "against random attacks"
A man rushed four police officers in Queens, New York, police commissioner says
Two were hit; the two who weren't shot at the attacker, who was killed, commissioner says
New York (CNN) -- A New York City police officer remains in critical condition at a Queens hospital Friday, one day after suffering a hatchet wound to the head.
Officer Kenneth Healey and three on-duty colleagues were posing for a picture on the sidewalk Thursday afternoon when a hatchet-wielding man charged at them "unprovoked," according Police Commissioner Bill Bratton.
The suspect, identified as Zale H. Thompson, was hiding behind a bus shelter as if he was waiting to attack the officers, according to a law enforcement official, who said it almost appeared as if he were stalking them.
Healey, 28, was struck in the back of the head. Officer Joseph Meeker, 24, was struck in the arm. The remaining two officers fired at Thompson, killing him.
In the chaos, one of the officer's bullets struck a nearby pedestrian in her lower back. Bratton said she was recovering in surgery Thursday evening.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio praised the officers' swift response. "Here are four rookie cops, just starting out in their career, when the absolute unexpected happened," de Blasio said at a Thursday press conference. "They responded exactly as their training dictated and ended the situation -- thank God -- very, very quickly. "
read more here
Central Alabama VA Healthcare System Director Removed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24, 2014
Central Alabama VA Healthcare System Director Removed
Permanent Director Sought
Montgomery, AL – Today the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) formally removed the Director of the Central Alabama Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHCS) from federal service. This decision followed an investigation by the Office of Accountability Review (OAR) in which allegations of neglect of duty were substantiated.
This removal action underscores VA’s commitment to hold leaders accountable and get Veterans the care they need. OAR, which reports directly to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, assists VA facilities in accelerating leadership accountability actions and ensuring that such actions are applied consistently across the Department.
The Veterans Health Administration will begin recruiting a Director for CAVHCS. To ensure continuity of care for Veterans and leadership for VA employees during the recruitment period, Dr. Robin Jackson, Deputy Network Director, VISN 7, has been designated acting CAVHCS director.
October 24, 2014
Central Alabama VA Healthcare System Director Removed
Permanent Director Sought
Montgomery, AL – Today the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) formally removed the Director of the Central Alabama Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHCS) from federal service. This decision followed an investigation by the Office of Accountability Review (OAR) in which allegations of neglect of duty were substantiated.
This removal action underscores VA’s commitment to hold leaders accountable and get Veterans the care they need. OAR, which reports directly to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, assists VA facilities in accelerating leadership accountability actions and ensuring that such actions are applied consistently across the Department.
The Veterans Health Administration will begin recruiting a Director for CAVHCS. To ensure continuity of care for Veterans and leadership for VA employees during the recruitment period, Dr. Robin Jackson, Deputy Network Director, VISN 7, has been designated acting CAVHCS director.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)