Community Finishes Dream Veteran Started

After Iraq veteran's death, a Thanksgiving gift
Lansing State Journal
Ken Palmer
November 25, 2015

Melanie Newcombe and daughter Teegan, 9, talk with members of Faith Works and Operation: Come H.O.M.E. in their house in Ionia on Tuesday. Newcombe's husband Brandon, a Marine, bought the house for the family to fix up and live in. Brandon died on May 16, 2014, but the two Michigan non profits teamed up to finish the work on the house. (Photo: Dave Wasinger/LSJ)

IONIA - Iraq war veteran Brandon Newcombe spent much of the last year of his life remodeling an old house in Ionia for himself and his family.

Before he finished, he lost his battle with the demons unleashed by post-traumatic stress disorder. Newcombe took his own life in May of 2014.

"There is so much blood, sweat and tears in this house," his widow, Melanie Newcombe, said on Tuesday in the newly refinished second level of the house, where she and her daughter, Teegan, 9, finally have their own bedrooms. "He worked from sunup to sundown on this house for us. He wanted Teegan and I and him to be in this house together."

Volunteers came together after Brandon Newcombe's death to finish the house. On Tuesday, they presented Melanie and Teegan with a gift card for furniture and a unique four-sided wooden plaque designed to preserve his memory. The plaque, made of Michigan maple and purple heart wood from Brazil, is designed to be taken apart to make two memorials.

"Tonight was part of the healing process, not just for me but for Melanie, Teegan and everyone involved," said Eric Calley, an Iraq veteran who had known Newcombe since high school and mentored him in Ionia County's veterans court. "(We) designed that plaque especially for Teegan and Melanie. When Teegan gets older and moves out of the house, she can take that with her in memory of her dad. When she comes back home, she can bring it back and make it whole again."
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Vietnam Veteran With PTSD At Bay Pines for 36 Years

Florida VA Clinic Provides Care for Vets With PTSD 
Department of Defense
By Shannon Collins
DoD News Features
November 24, 2015

Taylor, a Marine Corps and Vietnam War veteran who’s worked with the VA for more than 36 years and has PTSD himself, said he’s seen many positive changes in the VA for the treatment of PTSD.

Army veteran Manuel “Al” Alcantara, right, and Vietnam veteran Jim Alderman share stories beside a duck pond after a day’s therapy at the inpatient post-traumatic stress disorder clinic at Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bay Pines, Fla., Oct. 29, 2015. DoD photo by EJ Hersom

BAY PINES, Fla., November 24, 2015 — For veterans who may have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder due to wartime trauma or military sexual trauma, their first step is to contact their local U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Vet Center or outpatient center.

But if veterans require more care, they can voluntarily check in at inpatient centers such as the Bay Pines VA Medical Center here.

Bay Pines has a 14-bed residential program for veterans with war-caused PTSD and a separate wing for veterans with PTSD caused by military sexual trauma.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ PTSD website, military sexual trauma, or MST, is the term used by the VA to refer to experiences of sexual assault or repeated, threatening sexual harassment that a veteran experienced during his or her military service.

The definition for military sexual trauma used by the VA comes from federal law -- Title 38 U.S. Code 1720D. Under that law, MST is defined as: "Psychological trauma, which in the judgment of a VA mental health professional, resulted from a physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment which occurred while the veteran was serving on active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training."

Sexual harassment is further defined by the law as "repeated, unsolicited verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature which is threatening in character."

Bay Pines is the only VA inpatient facility that treats PTSD caused by MST, said Tony Taylor, program manager for the warzone PTSD program at Bay Pines.
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Vietnam Veterans Life Turned Around After Court

Vietnam veteran recalls 'super drunk' arrest that turned his life around 
MLIVE Michigan
By John Counts
November 24, 2015

He was sentenced to 18 months of probation, but was put in touch with the Battle Creek VA for substance abuse treatment, as well as treatment for his post-traumatic stress disorder. "They were more interested in helping me than punishing me," he said. "It was hard work. But it was stuff I could do. They didn't require anything."

Earl "Gunny" Christensen at his home in Holt Monday, November 9, 2015.
(Danielle Duval MLive.com)

Earl "Gunny" Christensen couldn't tell the Fourth of July firecrackers from incoming enemy fire.

So the Vietnam veteran drank. A lot.

On July 3, 2012, Christensen estimates he had about 20 whiskey drinks between noon and 10 p.m. while he was bar hopping in his hometown of Holt, near Lansing.

Christensen says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. "During the Fourth of July I got to get drunk to pass out. So I don't have to deal with all the fireworks and explosions."

Christensen went to four different bars. At the last bar, the bartenders wouldn't serve him. As he was leaving, he crashed into a parked car in the parking lot.

"I backed into somebody at a bar and I drove home," he said.

He recalls police showing up at his house and conducting the sobriety tests there, long after he was out of his vehicle. He blew a .218 percent and was arrested for "super drunk" driving.
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102,499 Soldiers Non-Deployable

Army Has 50,000 Active Soldiers Who Can't Deploy, Top NCO Says 
Military.com
by Matthew Cox
Nov 25, 2015

In total, the Army's active, Guard and Reserve force 102,499 soldiers from all ranks that were non-deployable for medical, legal, or other administrative reasons as of mid-August, according to Master Sgt. Michelle Johnson, spokeswoman for Dailey, adding that that number is about 10 percent of the total force, Johnson said.

The U.S. Army's top enlisted soldier said the number-one readiness problem facing the service is that the active component -- the most deployable force -- has 50,000 soldiers who can't deploy.

That figure represents the largest number of non-deployable soldiers in all three components of the service. The National Guard has 28,000 non-deployable soldiers and the Reserve component has 25,000, according to Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel Dailey's office.

Having 50,000 non-deployable, active soldiers is comparable to three of the Army's 10 active combat divisions, Dailey told a group of sergeants recently at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, according to an Army press release.

"That's huge. That's three out of the 10 divisions," he said. "If you will not or cannot fight and win, then there's no place for you in the Army. We have to become unemotional about this. We have a job to do."

Dailey's comments come at a time when President Barack Obama is under enormous pressure to commit some type of ground force to the Middle East to fight extremists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.
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Veteran With PTSD Service Dog Kicked Out of Mall

Veteran kicked out of mall for having service dog
13 News Now
Arrianee LeBeau
November 23, 2015

Brown said the experience immediately triggered his anxiety, sending him into a panic attack.

CHESAPEAKE, Va (WVEC) -- Joshua Brown is a veteran that requires the assistance of a service dog, because he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He has had his current dog for about a year, and said she helps him get back to living a normal life.

"She's definitely helped me with being able to go out in public places with crowds," said Brown.

Last Friday, Brown said he was kicked out of Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake, because of his service dog. Brown's dog trainer -- a psychiatrist and another veteran -- were walking the animals around the mall to get them both comfortable in public places.
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Until We Finally Rest at Arlington

Until We Finally Rest at Arlington
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos

No one has to tell us what freedom really means.
Your boots were back on last night in your dreams.
As for me, no one told me I'd be fighting a war
with memories of things I never saw.
But I'll do what other wives have done since Lexington
fighting this last battle until we finally rest at Arlington.

I still love you as much as I can
but to tell you the truth, you're not the same man.
The man I knew wouldn't push me away
he'd be doing whatever he had to do to stay.
If you're afraid I'll stop loving you,
then darling you don't have a clue
that after all the years we've been through
there isn't anything I won't do for you.

Tell me you don't deserve me in your life
and I'll tell you I'm glad I'm your wife.
PTSD doesn't have to defeat or rob tomorrow
replacing this love of our with sorrow.
So I'm going to tell you exactly what I think of you
like the only person on earth that really knows what is true.

You did what few others have done
from the first battle at Lexington
when brave men fought for freedom to be obtained
and all those who came after to to keep it retained
when all was said and done
the battle back home had just begun
to find your place back at home
feeling as if you had to fight alone.

I know you changed since those dark days
but I also know there are different ways
to change again and live a happier life
to feel all the love I promised when I became your wife.
But fighting wars should never be easier for any of you
then being back home remembering what you had to do.

The grieving you do comes from an unselfish heart
and that was within you right from the start.
It took love to be willing to lay down your life
and courage to endure all the strife.
You may wonder why God let it all happen
but you really need to look again
at all the compassion surrounding you
when your friends were willing to sacrifice for you too.

So please search for all that now
so that you can live a better life somehow.
And the sadness in your eyes will melt away
when you understand that I'm going to stay
and fight for you as hard as you fought back then
until the day we finally rest at Arlington.

MOH Capt. Florent Groberg receives tribute at Disneyland

VIDEO: Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Army Capt. Florent Groberg receives tribute at Disneyland
OC Register
Mark Eades
Nov. 22, 2015

Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Army Capt. Florent Groberg got to go to Disneyland on Saturday. He was there to be honored by the Disneyland Resort at its Flag Retreat Ceremony.

Captain Groberg received the Medal of Honor from President Obama on November 12, 2015, for actions in saving lives in Afghanistan in August 2012.

According to the mission report, Groberg was assigned as part of a security detachment for Task Force Mountain Warrior, which was responsible for the safety of 28 coalition military personnel, and civilian officers.
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Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Army Captain Florent Groberg honored at Disneyland

Hispanic Pilot Flew With Tuskegee Airmen

Once Unknown, Story of World War II Latino Tuskegee Airman Uncovered 
Fox News
by Bryan Llenas
Nov 24, 2015

Among the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, America's first African-American military air squadron which heroically fought in World War II, was a little known about Hispanic pilot named Esteban Hotesse.

(Fox News photo)

Born in Moca, Dominican Republic, but a New Yorker since he was 4 years old, Hotesse served with the Tuskegee Airmen for more than three years before he died during a military exercise on July 8th, 1945. He was just 26.

As a black Dominican, Hotesse was a part of a squadron credited for single-handedly tearing down the military's segregation policies, while helping to change America's perception of African-Americans during the Jim Crow era.

He is believed to be the first Dominican soldier to serve on the well-known squadron. His historic role was recently discovered by a group of New York academics.
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Fort Hood Helicopter Crash Claims Lives of 4 Soldiers

4 killed in Fort Hood helicopter crash
Killeen Daily Herald
Jacob Brooks Herald staff writer
November 24, 2015

FORT HOOD — An Army Black Hawk helicopter with four crew members on board crashed Monday evening, killing the four soldiers, officials said in a statement early this morning.

The crash happened sometime after 5:49 p.m. in the northeast portion on the Fort Hood Range.

"After an extensive search, emergency crews located the scene of the incident and are reporting the four crew members found deceased," Fort Hood officials said in a statement.

"The crew was assigned to Division West, First Army. They were on a routine training mission at the time of the crash."
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Vietnam Veteran 7 1/2 Year Wait For Agent Orange Testing

Local veteran waits on Agent Orange testing for 7 1/2 years
First Coast News
Ken Amaro
November 23, 2015

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- During the Vietnam War, 20 million gallons of Agent Orange was dumped on Vietnam and parts of Cambodia.

Bill Harnage, 65, now retired after 20 years of service in the Army and the National Guard, said he was in the line of some of the dumping. "I was a gray water soldier.

The area we were Agent Orange was in use."

The Vietnam veteran is on a new mission. He wants to be tested for exposure to the herbicide

"I asked to be tested, but never did get it," he said.

In 2008, the former Army medic made his request in writing to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It was sent to the VA Medical Center in Gainesville and received. But, he said, nothing happened.

"They don't know why it wasn't addressed," said Harnage.

The irony is every year he goes to the VA for his annual physical exam. He said at no time was he asked to take or was he given an Agent Orange exam.
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Eligibility for Agent Orange Registry health exam These Veterans are eligible for the Agent Orange Registry health exam:

Vietnam
Veterans who served in Vietnam between 1962 and 1975, regardless of length of time. Veterans who served aboard smaller river patrol and swift boats that operated on the inland waterways of Vietnam (also known as “Brown Water Veterans”). Check VA's list of U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships that operated in Vietnam.

Korea
Veterans who served in a unit in or near the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) anytime between April 1, 1968 and August 31, 1971.

Thailand
U.S. Air Force Veterans who served on Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) bases near U-Tapao, Ubon, Nakhon Phanom, Udorn, Takhli, Korat, and Don Muang, near the air base perimeter anytime between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975.

U.S. Army Veterans who provided perimeter security on RTAF bases in Thailand anytime between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975.

U.S. Army Veterans who were stationed on some small Army installations in Thailand anytime between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975. However, the Army Veteran must have been a member of a military police (MP) unit or was assigned a military occupational specialty whose duty placed him or her at or near the base perimeter.