VFW: VA Turned 'Blind Eye' to Insurer Profiteering Off Survivors
Military.com
Bryant Jordan
September 30, 2015
The lawsuit was settled in 2014 when the insurer paid out a $40 million settlement, but did not acknowledge any wrongdoing. The VFW continued to demand release of the documents, however, arguing that they would enable families and the public to better understand what the company did in connection with its administering of federally subsidized life insurance programs.
One of the country's largest veterans' organizations says it has uncovered proof that that the Veterans Affairs Department agreed to an insurance policy payout system that gave Prudential Insurance Co. an edge in holding onto survivor's money rather than pay it out in a lump sum.
A 2009 document shows that that VA allowed Prudential to pay benefits in the form of an account that survivors could draw on rather than a single payment, as the law governing Service Group Life Insurance and Veterans Group Life Insurance required.
"The documents speak for themselves, and they show that Prudential initiated this program for the money that could be gained, not to help grieving military families -- and the VA knew all about it," VFW National Commander John A. Biedrzycki Jr. said. "For an insurance company to profit off the dead is sickening, but for our own government to turn a blind eye to profiteering is something entirely else." read more here
UPDATE
Looks like the service groups are coming out swinging!
The Legion, which first sought her removal along with other department officials in connection with a wait-times scandal in 2014, said Hickey now should go because of her connection to officials who used coercion to assume the directorships of regional offices in Philadelphia and St. Paul, Minnesota.
IAVA Chief Criticizes Sanders as ‘Apologist’ for Scandal-Riddled VA
The head of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America said presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, should explain why he didn't early and aggressively investigate the Veterans Affairs Department scandal involving manipulated wait times and the deaths of veterans.
"If you want to be commander-in-chief, let's ask some hard questions of Bernie Sanders on why he didn't do more, why he didn't hold more oversight hearings," Paul Rieckhoff said during a panel discussion on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. "We and others called him out for basically being an apologist for the VA as the scandal erupted around him."
Report Alleges Army Surgeon General Tried to Cover Up Concussion Data
Military.com
by Richard Sisk
Sep 29, 2015
The Times' story Tuesday said that Horoho and Caslen "discussed trying to kill an article in The New York Times on concussions at West Point by withholding information so the Army could encourage competing news organizations to publish a more favorable story."
The Pentagon's press secretary said Monday that he was looking into allegations that Army Surgeon Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho sought to delay a Freedom of Information Act request for concussion data and manipulate reporters to cover up potential wrongdoing.
Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho, U.S. Army Surgeon General hosts a roundtable with key medical representatives from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, April 24, 2015 (Photo: Master Sgt. Anthony Elliott, PRMC)
At a confrontational news briefing, Pentagon Press Secretary told reporters, "I hear your concerns about this particular incident." He said, "We treat the FOIA process here, as with other government agencies, as incredibly important."
Cook said he was not yet fully informed on the details of the allegations that Horoho and the West Point Superintendent, Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen Jr., conspired to delay a FOIA request from The New York Times on concussions in the Academy's mandatory boxing program.
The Times also published an internal Army document that purported to show Horoho and Caslen planned to quash the Times story before it was published by planting favorable articles with other news outlets.
Caslen earlier this month took responsibility for an Aug. 20 pillow fight at the academy in which 30 cadets required treatment for mild concussions, bloody noses, split lips and other injuries. The final injury toll was 24 concussions, a broken nose, a dislocated shoulder, a hairline fracture of a cheekbone and possibly a broken leg. All of the injured returned to duty.
Because the incident that started out as a morale builder turned bloody, a military police investigation was ongoing, Caslen said at the time. "I assure you that the chain of command will take appropriate action when the investigation is complete," he said. read more here
How the British Army and Help for Heroes spent tens of millions on recovery centres for wounded soldiers where beds are empty
Daily Mail
By MARK DUELL and LUCY CROSSLEY FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 23:54 EST, 28 September 2015
Network of centres is funded by Army with H4H and Royal British Legion
Half of bedrooms at two biggest facilities 'occupied by serving personnel', although the centres are also used by veterans
Costs allegedly went from £70m over four years to £350m over ten years
Charity founder says 'We are not running a Travelodge. These Centres are helping to rebuild lives'
Royal visit: The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry open the
Tedworth House recovery centre in May 2013
Tens of millions of pounds has been spent on recovery centres for wounded soldiers where beds have been left empty, it was claimed last night.
The network of centres is funded by the British Army, in partnership with Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion, to support injured military personnel and veterans.
But only around half of bedrooms at the two largest facilities were reported to have been occupied by serving personnel between August 2013 and January this year.
This figure does not include mentally and physically injured veterans who also use the centres or other visitors. Many facility users only attend during the day.
Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Sutton, acting chief of staff on the project, told The Times that he had warned senior officers and the Ministry of Defence about what he said was the army's failure to justify how the money was being spent.
'‘The team used to joke how it was like trying to build an aeroplane while taxiing down the runway,' he said. read more here
PORTLAND — The University of Southern Maine will host the state premiere of a documentary detailing soldiers’ wartime trauma and their struggles to transition home.
The documentary, titled “Searching for Home: Coming Back from War,” will premiere Oct. 3 at the university’s Hannaford Hall, located in the Abromson Community Education Center on 88 Bedford St. An invitation-only reception will be held at 6:30 p.m.; the film will be screened at 7:30 p.m. and a question and answer session with the filmmakers will follow.
Eric Christensen, the director of the 106-minute documentary, said he has made documentaries about individual trauma in the past, which eventually led him to the topic of wartime trauma. The documentary, portions of which were filmed in Maine, features veterans who survived injuries in war and their attempts to transition to life back home, as well as their family members.
The documentary looks at veterans suffering grief and trauma and spans multiple decades, from World War II to modern day conflicts.
Christensen, who lives in Burbank, California, said he hopes the message people take from the film is that recovering from trauma is a process.
“I want people to take away hope from the film and relate it their own traumas,” Christensen said.
He said military trauma is an acute example of trauma, and it is a good analogy that people who are suffering from their own trauma can relate to. read more here
Built on the pillars of the truth, the healing and the hope, SEARCHING FOR HOME: COMING BACK FROM WAR is an emotional and unflinching look at returning veterans and their search for the“home” they left behind, physically, mentally and spiritually.
Tomorrow is the end of Suicide Prevention Month It is also the anniversary of the day I married my best friend. Hard to believe so many years have gone by but harder to believe that we don't spend much time thinking about the bad times we've had in over 3 decades together.
We were so young, full of dreams and possibilities. We were also carrying memories of a lot of pain. He was married before and it fell apart. I was married before and it did worse than fall apart. My ex-husband tried to kill me one night. Yep, he decided I needed to die.
The last thing I ever thought I'd do again, was be willing to trust someone else enough to get married again. I couldn't help it.
Somehow I just knew I was supposed to be by his side.
It has been a long road for us and everything I do is because of my husband and what he taught me about what real love is.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
Folks talk all the time about "awareness" yet don't seem too interested in offering much hope. Sure they just have a lot of stuff they looked up online but it a lot different being aware of the reality we face everyday.
I almost lost my husband but we made it even though most of it was during a time when no one was talking about any of this battle after war families were fighting everyday. We were all suffering in silence and searching for hope.
I don't want to dwell on any of that right now. For now, I am asking you to give me an anniversary gift. Don't worry. It won't cost you a dime. It will cost you some pride because if you are still suffering instead of healing, take a good gulp of that pride of yours and do something to change right now.
Bet you didn't think it was wrong to ask for help when you were in combat so why think it is wrong now? You didn't go where you were alone. You didn't train yourself to use the weapons. You didn't just et off a bus from your hometown and jump out of a perfectly good plane hoping the parachute would open up on time or wondering if you figured out how to put it on right. Other folks taught you how do all of it. You had to learn. Then why find so many excuses now to not ask for help?
My husband didn't want to either. Then again, my husband thought that he didn't deserve it. He actually thought he didn't deserve to be happy or loved. Now he knows the difference between what he thought and what was true.
If you are a spouse, you can give me a gift too. Think about all the reasons you fell in love with your veteran. No matter how rotten they are acting, or how big of a jerk you may think they suddenly became, all the good stuff is all still in there behind a huge wall of pain. He/she needs you to help them find themselves again.
Sometimes they had to do some bad things and they think they are evil for having done them but they need to be reminded that the basic fact of war is simple for those who go. They are willing to sacrifice their lives for those they are with. Imagine that kind of love and that is what you saw within them when you decided to spend the rest of your life with them.
Everyone can learn what PTSD is and what it does but you have to look at all of it in a different way. Yesterday is part of the pain we all carry within up but the hope of a different tomorrow keeps all the good stuff alive.
The song from Fleetwood Mac, Don't Stop is one of my favorites. It pretty much sums up what I really want for my gift from you. Don't forget about things that matter but that doesn't mean you have to let them haunt you. You can make peace with the past. Yesterday is gone and there isn't anything you can do to change it. There is plenty you can do to change right now so that it will be a different day tomorrow.
Fleetwood Mac – Don't Stop Lyrics
If you wake up and don't want to smile
If it take just a little while
Open your eyes and look at the day
You'll see things in a different way
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
It'll be even better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone
Why not think about times to come
And not about the things that you've done
If your life was bad to you
Just think what tomorrow will do
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone
All I want is to see you smile
If it takes just a little while
I know you don't believe that it's true
I never meant any harm to you
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop, it'll soon be here
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone
Ooh, don't you look back
Ooh, don't you look back
Ooh, don't you look back
Ooh, don't you look back
Fort Hood Soldier Creates App to Help Sexual Assault Victims
KCEN News
By Tiffany Pelt
Updated: Sep 28, 2015
“The app will allow you access to one touch call for the III Corps Hotline, touch to call for Army OneSource, the local ER, Military and other local police stations,” she said. “Where ever they are at, if they need help all you have to do is push the icon.”
FORT HOOD – It is a new weapon in the war against sexual assault within the military, and the creator is right here at Fort Hood.
“All they have to do is open it,” said Sgt. First Class Sarah Whatley. “Anything they could potentially need would be at the touch of a finger.”
For two years, Whatley has served as a brigade SARC, a Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, for the 1st Air Cav Brigade at Fort Hood. She handles all sexual assault complaints for her brigade and helps link the victim to their needed resources.
“I think some of the hardest things for me personally is witnessing how much the event has changed them as a person,” she said. “You can really tell how bad it hurts and how much they break down.”
Dealing with these victims and seeing the pain her fellow soldiers were enduring sparked something within Whatley. Her mission: make the process easier for the victims and bring more awareness to the issue of sexual assault. read more here
Green Beret Discharged for Shoving Accused Afghan Rapist Speaks Out
Fox News
by Judson Berger
Sep 28, 2015
A Green Beret ordered discharged after he and his team leader body-slammed an alleged Afghan child rapist is speaking out against the Army's effort to punish him, as he fights to stay in the service.
"Kicking me out of the Army is morally wrong and the entire country knows it," Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland said, in his first public statement on his case.
The detailed written statement, requested by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., was shared by the congressman's office with FoxNews.com. Hunter, who has advocated on Martland's behalf, intends to submit the statement to the House Armed Services Committee.
Martland's case has received renewed attention amid recent press reports on the U.S. military's handling of child abuse allegations involving Afghan allies. In his statement, Martland gives a blunt account of the September 2011 encounter with the "brutal child rapist," local police commander Abdul Rahman. He acknowledges the confrontation, but suggests the commander exaggerated his injuries -- and argues that the boy's safety, as well as American lives, was at stake that day.
Martland said the Afghan Local Police had been "committing atrocities," raising concerns that many locals viewed as "worse than the Taliban" -- and if locals returned to the Taliban, attacks against U.S. forces would increase.
"While I understand that a military lawyer can say that I was legally wrong, we felt a moral obligation to act," he said. read more here
Army Veteran Shot in the Back after Baseball Game May Never Walk Again
Fox News
Sep 29, 2015
An Army vet may never walk again after he was shot in the back while leaving a St. Louis Cardinals home game on Friday.
Candis Sanna, left, and Christopher Sanna in a picture from the family's
GoFundMe page to help pay for Christopher's medical bills. (GoFundMe)
Christopher Sanna, 43, was struck in his liver, spine and lungs, according to KMOV. His mother, Candis Sanna, posted on a GoFundMe page on Sunday that "surgeons have confirmed that his spinal injury cannot be repaired."
"They said he could eventually get a little feeling back, but there was no hope for him to walk," Candis Sanna told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "It’s horrible."
Christopher Sanna was attending the game against the Brewers with his three brothers to celebrate his mom’s 60th birthday. But he had to work Saturday morning at his job as the manager of an automotive store, and so he left the game early, with his girlfriend, while the rest of his family stayed to watch the final inning. As Sanna walked back to his car around 10:30 p.m., two armed male suspects in a black sedan confronted him and his girlfriend.
"After she gave him her purse, [one perpetrator] pulled a gun," Candis Sanna told KMOV. "That’s when they turned to run, and he shot at them twice."
Sanna served six years in the Army, stationed in Germany, according to the Post-Dispatch. read more here
Chris Sanna, second from right, poses for a family photo with his mother and brothers at a Cardinals game on Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. He was shot during a robbery after leaving the game. Family photo.
UPDATE: Army captain assaulted on Plaza out of hospital, back at Ft. Leavenworth
He is at Leavenworth for 12-week course
KSHB 41 News Kansas City
Shain Bergan, Nick Sloan
Sep 26, 2015
The man punched the soldier, according to police. The other five individuals then piled on and began punching and kicking the soldier while he was on the ground.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - UPDATE, 9/28: The Army captain who suffered serious injuries after being assaulted on the Country Club Plaza on Sept. 19 was released from the hospital Monday. He is back at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., being examined by on-base medical crews, according to officials there.
The 37-year-old man was admitted at St. Luke's hospital in Kansas City after being jumped by six assailants outside of the Zocalo Mexican restaurant on the Plaza in Kansas City, Mo. Another Army captain he was with was also assaulted, but was treated at the scene and released, according to Fort Leavenworth officials.
Both captains serve in the Army Reserve with the 151st Theater Information Operations Group at Fort Totten, New York. They are at Fort Leavenworth for a 12-week qualification course
Officials said the severely injured captain met with family at the base and was released from on-base medical care Monday. read more here
Former Navy SEAL Greitens running for Missouri governor
The Associated Press
By Alan Scher Zagier and Summer Ballentine
September 28, 2015
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — Former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens, a political newcomer who was once courted to run for Congress as a Democrat, on Saturday launched a Republican campaign for Missouri governor in 2016.
Eric Greitens
Former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens smiles at a rally where he announced his candidacy into the
2016 race for Missouri governor onSept. 26, 2015, at Westport Plaza in Maryland Heights, Mo.
(Photo: uy Mach/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
Greitens, 41, is already the top fundraiser in a crowded GOP field thanks to an exploratory campaign committee that's raised more than $1 million in recent months, boosting his total haul to more than $2 million.
He touted both his military background and lack of political pedigree before a crowd of several hundred supporters at an announcement in suburban St. Louis near his childhood home.
"I'm running for governor because we need a political outsider to move Missouri forward," Greitens said. "We have a political class of corrupt consultants, well-paid lobbyists, and career politicians who have been in Jefferson City for decades. They have produced nothing for us but embarrassment and failure."
Greitens grew up in St. Louis County, was a Rhodes Scholar after graduation from Duke University, served in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and as White House fellow. He's written three books that combine stories of his military service and humanitarian work with lessons on leadership. He founded the nonprofit group The Mission Continues, which connects veterans with volunteer work to ease the post-military transition.
He drew the loudest cheers with a call to extend term limits to all statewide offices and ban lobbyist gifts to state lawmakers.
"I will defeat you, I will expose your lies, I will root out your corruption, and I will see you out of the people's Capitol," said Greitens, adding his own lifetime pledge to never lobby government. read more here
