Jasper man convicted of beating soldier to death for insurance money
The Associated Press
March 27, 2015
A federal jury took less than an hour to convict an Alabama man of murder in the 2013 baseball bat slaying of a Fort Stewart soldier found beaten on government property near the southeast Georgia Army post.
The U.S. District Court jury returned its guilty verdict Thursday against 43-year-old Carl Evan Swain of Jasper, Alabama. Prosecutors say Swain killed his brother-in-law, 29-year-old Army Spc. John Eubank, in a plot with the defendant's sister to collect $500,000 in life insurance and benefit payments from the soldier's death.
"He is penniless. He is desperate, and he is willing to kill her husband if she'll pay him," Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Rafferty told jurors in his closing argument.
Swain didn't testify at during his trial, the Savannah Morning News reported. His defense attorney, Edward Tolley, asked jurors to consider Swain's statement to FBI agents after he was arrested in December 2013.
read more here
Friday, March 27, 2015
Utah Remembers Vietnam Veterans Day
Utah Vietnam Veterans Day: Remembering and honoring those who have served
Daily Herald
Cathy Alfred
March 27, 2015
On Monday, the state of Utah will observe its first Vietnam Veterans Day, a tribute to those who fought and served in the Vietnam War.
President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Vietnam Veterans Day on April 23, 1976.
Since then, several states have declared their own Vietnam Veterans Day, usually on March 29 because it is the date the last American combat troops left Vietnam in 1973.
read more here
Daily Herald
Cathy Alfred
March 27, 2015
When we came home, nobody said nothing, and they made all kinds of foul remarks about it,” Robinette said of his military service. “Even my friends made derogatory remarks."HIGHLAND -- Dennis Callanta is a Vietnam veteran. He knows how to fight in the hot, humid jungle, has felt the effects of Agent Orange, has seen the horrors of battle, and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. “I like to call it PTSI for post-traumatic stress injury,” Callanta said.
On Monday, the state of Utah will observe its first Vietnam Veterans Day, a tribute to those who fought and served in the Vietnam War.
President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Vietnam Veterans Day on April 23, 1976.
Since then, several states have declared their own Vietnam Veterans Day, usually on March 29 because it is the date the last American combat troops left Vietnam in 1973.
read more here
Ex-Marine and Wife Found in Burning Car
Ex-Marine, wife dead in car; cops suspect suicide
IOHUD
Thane Grauel
March 27, 2015
YONKERS A former Marine and his wife found dead late Tuesday in a car at The Mall at Cross County likely committed suicide, police said.
Elijah and Shannon Woodson, both 22, were found about 11:45 p.m. in a car with burning charcoal briquettes according to the Westchester County Medical Examiner's Office.
The cause of death was asphyxiation. Lt. Patrick McCormack, a police spokesman, said Thursday that the department was not confirming their identities because it was still trying to locate relatives of the two.
"We feel, based on what we found inside the vehicle, that it was a suicide," said Lt. Patrick McCormack, a police spokesman.
read more here
IOHUD
Thane Grauel
March 27, 2015
"No way it could be suicide," said Arendt, now a civilian. "He had his whole life planned out ahead of him, investments, he was going to make a business with his wife."Elijah and Shannon Woodson, both 22, were found about 11:45 p.m. Tuesday.
YONKERS A former Marine and his wife found dead late Tuesday in a car at The Mall at Cross County likely committed suicide, police said.
Elijah and Shannon Woodson, both 22, were found about 11:45 p.m. in a car with burning charcoal briquettes according to the Westchester County Medical Examiner's Office.
The cause of death was asphyxiation. Lt. Patrick McCormack, a police spokesman, said Thursday that the department was not confirming their identities because it was still trying to locate relatives of the two.
"We feel, based on what we found inside the vehicle, that it was a suicide," said Lt. Patrick McCormack, a police spokesman.
read more here
USO Honors Medal of Honor Recipients
Joint Chiefs of Staff, USO Salute Medal of Honor Recipients
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2015 – On the eve of National Medal of Honor Day, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff partnered with the United Service Organizations Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore to salute the nation’s Medal of Honor recipients here yesterday.
The USO Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore held its 33rd annual awards dinner, where it paid special tribute to nearly 30 recipients of the nation’s highest military honor, as well as yearly accolades to those who serve America’s troops.
Following a video presentation, Army Gen. Frank J. Grass, chief of the National Guard Bureau, began the Medal of Honor recipient tributes.
Heroism ‘Thrust Upon Them’
“Our veterans have forged the story of American patriots,” he said. The fabric of our society continues to be built upon the foundation of these patriots who display extraordinary heroism, courage and selfless sacrifice for our nation, Grass said. “They do not go out seeking to become heroes; it’s thrust upon them,” he said.
Grass quoted a fifth-century writer who once said, “‘the purpose of all wars is lasting peace.’”
read more here
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2015 – On the eve of National Medal of Honor Day, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff partnered with the United Service Organizations Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore to salute the nation’s Medal of Honor recipients here yesterday.
Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife, Mary, speak before an audience of about 600 during the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore’s 33rd awards dinner in Arlington, Va., March 24, 2015. The Winnefelds and the Joint Chiefs of Staff honored the nation's Medal of Honor recipients on the eve of National Medal of Honor Day. DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Nathan Gallaha
The USO Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore held its 33rd annual awards dinner, where it paid special tribute to nearly 30 recipients of the nation’s highest military honor, as well as yearly accolades to those who serve America’s troops.
Following a video presentation, Army Gen. Frank J. Grass, chief of the National Guard Bureau, began the Medal of Honor recipient tributes.
Heroism ‘Thrust Upon Them’
“Our veterans have forged the story of American patriots,” he said. The fabric of our society continues to be built upon the foundation of these patriots who display extraordinary heroism, courage and selfless sacrifice for our nation, Grass said. “They do not go out seeking to become heroes; it’s thrust upon them,” he said.
Grass quoted a fifth-century writer who once said, “‘the purpose of all wars is lasting peace.’”
read more here
TEAM RUBICON Run to End Veteran Suicides
Memorial run on Saturday to raise veteran suicide awareness
KOCO News
By Rob Hughes
Mar 27, 2015
OKLAHOMA CITY —A 5K memorial run to raise veteran suicide awareness will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday at Earlywine Park in Oklahoma City.
Team Rubicon, Team Red, White and Blue and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America have partnered to lead the fourth annual "Suicide and Prevention and Awareness Run as One."
The event is in honor and memory of Clay Hunt, a Marine Corps veteran who lost his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2011. The nationwide event also raises awareness of PTSD.
read more here
KOCO News
By Rob Hughes
Mar 27, 2015
OKLAHOMA CITY —A 5K memorial run to raise veteran suicide awareness will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday at Earlywine Park in Oklahoma City.
Team Rubicon, Team Red, White and Blue and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America have partnered to lead the fourth annual "Suicide and Prevention and Awareness Run as One."
The event is in honor and memory of Clay Hunt, a Marine Corps veteran who lost his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2011. The nationwide event also raises awareness of PTSD.
read more here
Team Rubicon mourns the loss of a veteran, volunteer, and brother. Neil Landsberg, a former Combat Controller in the United States Air Force, was an active Region 3 team member. As an Air Force Special Operator, Neil completed multiple overseas combat deployments. When he took off the uniform he volunteered at Walter Reed and served as a role model for many TR volunteers around the Washington, DC area. Neil is remembered by his teammates and fellow volunteers as a “total stud”.
Heart Problems and PTSD Connection Linked Years Ago
When will they do a study to find out how stressful it is to keep funding these studies?
This is a study of PTSD and hearts
For years there has been more research on this but we're not talking a decade. We're talking about decades. Now unless the human body has been changed, unless the human mind has been totally rewired and war has changed so much that it caused PTSD to morph into something else, not much results came out of all these repeated research projects.
So here's the latest headline everyone is talking about as if it is something totally new. It ain't new and it hasn't improved for veterans. Gee wonder why that is?
Everything in the human body is connected. Get under stress and it causes heart problems. What is more stressful than combat? Easy. Living the rest of your life with PTSD and then getting a load of stuff instead of help. This was reported on the UK Daily Mail about a study done in Massachusetts.
This is a study of PTSD and hearts
MUNICH, Germany, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Patients with cardiac defibrillators may have a higher death risk if they have post-traumatic stress disorder, German researchers said.It was reported by UPI PTSD linked to increased heart death risk and is still an active page showing;
"Our findings provide direct evidence for an independent influence of PTSD symptoms on fatal outcome in these patients," the study authors said in a statement.But if you already checked the links, then you know this report was from 2008.
The study, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, found those experiencing PTSD symptoms conferred a 2.4-fold long-term age- and sex-adjusted mortality -- death -- risk for patients with implantable cardiac defibrillators.
For years there has been more research on this but we're not talking a decade. We're talking about decades. Now unless the human body has been changed, unless the human mind has been totally rewired and war has changed so much that it caused PTSD to morph into something else, not much results came out of all these repeated research projects.
So here's the latest headline everyone is talking about as if it is something totally new. It ain't new and it hasn't improved for veterans. Gee wonder why that is?
Study adds evidence on link between PTSD, heart disease
In a study of more than 8,000 veterans living in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, those with posttraumatic stress disorder had a nearly 50 percent greater risk of developing heart failure over about a seven-year follow-up period, compared with their non-PTSD peers.
The findings appear in the April 2015 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
The study adds to a growing body of evidence linking PTSD and heart disease. The research to date—including these latest findings—doesn't show a clear cause-and-effect relationship. But most experts believe PTSD, like other forms of chronic stress or anxiety, can damage the heart over time.
"There are many theories as to how exactly PTSD contributes to heart disease," says Dr. Alyssa Mansfield, one of the study authors. "Overall, the evidence to date seems to point in the direction of a causal relationship."
Everything in the human body is connected. Get under stress and it causes heart problems. What is more stressful than combat? Easy. Living the rest of your life with PTSD and then getting a load of stuff instead of help. This was reported on the UK Daily Mail about a study done in Massachusetts.
Proof that stress really does cause heart attacks
Adrenaline can increase white blood cell production which can cause ruptures
Extra white blood cells can cause inflammation in people whose arteries are already thickened with plaque
These inflammations can lead to ruptures which can cause heart attack in minutes
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Vietnam Veteran Gets Dying Wish To Go Back to Pearl Harbor
Vietnam War Veteran Gets Dying Wish to Visit Pearl Harbor
Associated Press
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii
Mar 25, 2015
When a Vietnam veteran briefly stopped in Hawaii on his way home from war, he vowed to return one day to honor the people who perished during the attack on Pearl Harbor. With just less than two months to live, Joseph Hooker realized his longtime dream on Wednesday.
The Marine Corps veteran, who has heart disease and cancer, traveled from his home in Essex, Maryland, to Honolulu to visit the site of the Japanese attack that pushed the United States into World War II. The Dream Foundation, which grants wishes for those who have life expectancies of a year or less, arranged for the journey.
Hooker's brother and sister-in-law, who are his caregivers, took turns pushing him in a wheelchair as they went on a private tour of the battleship USS Missouri.
The Hawaii dream stems from a 20-minute stop in the islands in 1971 as Hooker headed home from Vietnam, Hooker said from his Waikiki hotel room Tuesday. He was let off the ship just long enough to make a phone call to his family and eat some ice cream. He promised to come back someday "to honor the men and women that gave their life at Pearl Harbor."
More than four decades later, Hooker visited the spot where Japan surrendered on the deck of the USS Missouri and got a rare peek inside the captain's cabin. "I've never seen a battleship like this before," he said.
The Dream Foundation's new program, Dreams for Veterans, made Hooker's wish possible. In applying, Hooker wrote a letter saying that he longed to visit Pearl Harbor to "learn, touch and understand what happened there."
read more here
Associated Press
By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii
Mar 25, 2015
When a Vietnam veteran briefly stopped in Hawaii on his way home from war, he vowed to return one day to honor the people who perished during the attack on Pearl Harbor. With just less than two months to live, Joseph Hooker realized his longtime dream on Wednesday.
The Marine Corps veteran, who has heart disease and cancer, traveled from his home in Essex, Maryland, to Honolulu to visit the site of the Japanese attack that pushed the United States into World War II. The Dream Foundation, which grants wishes for those who have life expectancies of a year or less, arranged for the journey.
Hooker's brother and sister-in-law, who are his caregivers, took turns pushing him in a wheelchair as they went on a private tour of the battleship USS Missouri.
The Hawaii dream stems from a 20-minute stop in the islands in 1971 as Hooker headed home from Vietnam, Hooker said from his Waikiki hotel room Tuesday. He was let off the ship just long enough to make a phone call to his family and eat some ice cream. He promised to come back someday "to honor the men and women that gave their life at Pearl Harbor."
More than four decades later, Hooker visited the spot where Japan surrendered on the deck of the USS Missouri and got a rare peek inside the captain's cabin. "I've never seen a battleship like this before," he said.
The Dream Foundation's new program, Dreams for Veterans, made Hooker's wish possible. In applying, Hooker wrote a letter saying that he longed to visit Pearl Harbor to "learn, touch and understand what happened there."
read more here
Marine Hit and Killed By Plane in Yuma Arizona
Marine Killed in Plane Crash Was Escorting Construction Crew
Associated Press
YUMA, Ariz.
Mar 25, 2015
A U.S. Marine who was killed when a civilian plane struck his government truck was serving as an escort to a construction crew when the crash happened at an Arizona military base, federal investigators say.
The construction crew was working near a runway at the base March 11, and the Marine was in a truck about 140 feet from the runway, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report into the plane crash at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma and Yuma International Airport.
The Marine Corps has identified the Marine who died as Lance Cpl. Anthony T. DuBeau, 23, a native of Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The pilot and a passenger were not injured. During takeoff, the plane banked to the left and then to the right, despite the pilot's attempts to regain control, the NTSB said. read more here
Associated Press
YUMA, Ariz.
Mar 25, 2015
The construction crew was working near a runway at the base March 11, and the Marine was in a truck about 140 feet from the runway, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report into the plane crash at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma and Yuma International Airport.
The Marine Corps has identified the Marine who died as Lance Cpl. Anthony T. DuBeau, 23, a native of Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The pilot and a passenger were not injured. During takeoff, the plane banked to the left and then to the right, despite the pilot's attempts to regain control, the NTSB said. read more here
Yet Again Congress Puts Lives in Danger
Bureaucrats Block Special Ops Intel Requests
Associated Press
by Ken Dilanian
March 26, 3015
Over the last four months, six Army special operations units about to be deployed into Afghanistan, Iraq and other hostile environments have requested software made by Palantir, a Silicon Valley company that has synthesized data for the CIA, the Navy SEALs and the country's largest banks, among other government and private entities. But the Army has approved just two of the requests after members of Congress intervened with senior military leaders.
Four requests pending with U.S. Army Special Operations Command in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Tampa, Florida-based Special Operations Command have not been granted.
read more here
Associated Press
by Ken Dilanian
March 26, 3015
Email messages and other military records obtained by The Associated Press show that Army and special operations command bureaucrats have been pressing troops to use an in-house system built and maintained by traditional defense contractors. The Distributed Common Ground System, or DCGS, has consistently failed independent tests and earned the ire of soldiers in the field for its poor performance.WASHINGTON— Military bureaucrats have been trying to force an unpopular government-built intelligence system on special operations units deploying to war zones while blocking soldiers from using the commercial alternative they say they need, according to government records and interviews.
Over the last four months, six Army special operations units about to be deployed into Afghanistan, Iraq and other hostile environments have requested software made by Palantir, a Silicon Valley company that has synthesized data for the CIA, the Navy SEALs and the country's largest banks, among other government and private entities. But the Army has approved just two of the requests after members of Congress intervened with senior military leaders.
Four requests pending with U.S. Army Special Operations Command in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Tampa, Florida-based Special Operations Command have not been granted.
read more here
Stellate Ganglion Block No Better Than Placebo for PTSD
The VA has been spending millions on useless PTSD research It isn't as if they just discovered the price being paid by servicemen and women. They discovered it about 100 years ago and all hands on deck were called in the 70's.
Stellate ganglion block offers hope for PTSD treatments was one of those "projects" that was supposed to take care of servicemembers but as reported today, it didn't work.
This is from Eyewitness News 2010
The real questions we should be asking is, "If any of this worked, then why didn't it work? If it didn't work then why did we still have to pay for it? When do we get the tax funds back so we can invest in what does work? Who is being held accountable for all this wasted time and money? The biggest question I have is, who is going to bring back the lives lost after all these years?
Stellate ganglion block offers hope for PTSD treatments was one of those "projects" that was supposed to take care of servicemembers but as reported today, it didn't work.
Stellate Ganglion Block No Better Than Placebo for PTSD
MEDSCAPE
Nancy A. Melville
March 26, 2015
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD — While promising preliminary research has shown some benefits of stellate ganglion block (SGB) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a new randomized controlled trial shows the treatment is not superior to sham injection.
An increasing number of case reports showing benefits from SGB for PTSD for several months after treatment has generated much buzz in the popular press, and the treatment has recently been featured on various TV programs.
One of the largest studies of the treatment to date was a case series involving 166 patients at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in which 70% of military service members with PTSD reported significant improvement of their PTSD symptoms, with benefits persisting beyond 3 and 6 months after the procedure.
Robert N. McLay, MD, PhD, lead author of the new study, said such improvements were seen even in a small case series of patients with PTSD at his center, prompting the placebo-controlled study.
"We were hoping for a benefit," Dr McLay, of the Naval Medical Center, in San Diego, California, told Medscape Medical News.
"We tried this out informally in our clinic and did see some benefit in about half of patients, but in this more formal study we were not able to reproduce those results."
read more here
This is from Eyewitness News 2010
Dr. Lipov says when a traumatic event is experienced, nerves in the brain sprout like flowers. By applying the local anesthetic, the nerve growth factor returns to normal.
In a recent study at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, doctors found the shot provided "immediate, significant and durable relief" for two soldiers who didn't respond to pills. Other doctors say more safety studies need to be done before the treatment is widely used.
The real questions we should be asking is, "If any of this worked, then why didn't it work? If it didn't work then why did we still have to pay for it? When do we get the tax funds back so we can invest in what does work? Who is being held accountable for all this wasted time and money? The biggest question I have is, who is going to bring back the lives lost after all these years?
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