Bronze Star for Valor Honors Two Fallen Airmen

Two airmen killed in Afghanistan receive Bronze Stars with Valor 
Air Force Times
By Oriana Pawlyk
February 5, 2016

Bonacasa, left, and Lemm, right, have been posthumously honored with the Bronze Star with Valor (Photo: Air Force photos)

Two airmen killed in Afghanistan in December have been posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with “V,” the Air National Guard announced Thursday.

Staff Sgt. Louis M. Bonacasa and Tech Sgt. Joseph G. Lemm, both with the 105th Security Forces Squadron at Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York, have been honored with the nation's fourth highest military decoration for valor “for saving the lives of other airmen at the cost of their own,” the Guard said.

Lemm, 45, and Bonacasa, 31, and four other airmen were killed when a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden motorcycle into a joint patrol with Afghan security forces on Dec. 21, 2015, outside of Bargram Air Field.
read more here

VA Says "Veterans suicide must be a top priority"

VA: Veterans suicide must be a top priority
Military Times
By Patricia Kime
February 4, 2016

“In recent years, the suicide rate has risen steadily for the general population, but not veterans in the VA system. For veterans in our care, rates have remained stable, maybe even declined slightly, which tells us that treatment works," McDonald said.

Susan Selke, mother of Marine veteran Clay Hunt who committed suicide due to PTSD, testifies as Jean Somers, whose son Daniel took his own life, listens at a Capitol Hill hearing in 2014. Selke and Summers spoke at a Washington conference on the issue of veterans suicides on Feb. 3, 2016.
(Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The Veterans Affairs Department is ratcheting up efforts to address the high rate of suicide among veterans, bringing in mental health experts, advocates and affected families to formulate an “action plan” in the coming months to reduce these preventable deaths.

VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. David Shulkin said Tuesday that suicide reduction is one of his top priorities, and he called on experts to help the department establish prevention initiatives aimed at getting veterans into treatment.

“This is really one of our top priority issues for VA,” Shulkin said. “Seeing the number of suicides that occur every day is simply not acceptable.”

The VA hosted a Veterans Suicide Summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to jump-start the effort, drawing behavioral health providers, veterans service organizations, Defense Department personnel and veterans who have attempted suicide, as well as parents of troops who have died.

The VA estimated in 2012 that 22 veterans die each day by suicide, but the number is an extrapolation derived from 1999-2011 data from 21 states, and both the VA and advocacy groups say it should be interpreted with caution.
read more here

Hampton VA Nurse Convicted of Raping Veteran

Hampton VA nurse convicted of sexually assaulting patient previously raped 
The Virginian-Pilot 
By Scott Daugherty 
17 hrs ago

According to a news release drafted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Lopez was a nurse in the hospital’s emergency department on Sept. 20, 2014, when a woman sought treatment for a leg injury. The woman had post-traumatic stress disorder related to a prior rape and two traumatic brain injuries, the release said.

NEWPORT NEWS

Juan M. Lopez, 52, of Virginia Beach is set for sentencing May 19.
He faces the possibility of life in prison. Courtesy Photo

A former nurse at the Hampton VA Medical Center was convicted Friday on charges of aggravated sexual assault and making a false statement to a federal agent. 

Juan M. Lopez, 52, of Virginia Beach is set for sentencing May 19 in U.S. District Court in Newport News. He faces the possibility of life in prison. A federal jury returned the guilty verdicts Friday on the fourth day of trial. Stephen Plott, Lopez’s attorney, maintained his client’s innocence and said he was disappointed in the jury’s verdict. read more here

Hawaii Marine Osprey Crash Caught on Video

Billows of Dust, a Sudden 'Pop' and an Osprey Falls from the Sky 
Military.com 
Hope Hodge Seck 
January 29, 2016

A screen grab of a video showing the May 17, 2015, crash involving an MV-22 Osprey at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, Hawaii. The accident claimed the lives of two Marines and injured 20 other troops on board. (Defense Department video)

The moments before landing are eerily calm.

Caught on shaky hand-held video, two MV-22B Ospreys appear over a ridge of hills. The first Osprey turns in toward a small landing zone near a chain link fence, its rotors facing skyward for a vertical descent. As it comes within meters of touchdown, a choking cloud of brown dust billows up from the ground, completely obscuring the aircraft from view. The dust cloud grows even larger and more expansive, and the Osprey appears once again, ascending briefly. It hovers for mere seconds above the brownout, and a tongue of flame appears to shoot from its left nacelle.

Then, its rotors still spinning, the aircraft simply drops out of the sky, crumpling on impact as the right rotor tears free and chews the dirt.

The circumstances of this May 17, 2015, crash, which claimed the lives of two Marines and injured the other 20 troops on board at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, Hawaii, are laid out through the accounts of eyewitnesses in a 2,200-page command investigation obtained by Military.com. The investigation recommends disciplinary or administrative action for the pilots and some aircrew of the aircraft and for Lt. Col. Andreas Lavato, the squadron commander for Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 161, to which the Osprey was attached, and Col. Vance Cryer, commander of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which housed the squadron.
read more here

Veteran Suicide Families Left Out of Battle At Home

This is one of those morning when I had to walk away from the computer soon after turning it on. After over 30 years there are too many times when I wonder why I even bother to make a difference when nothing changes.

The answer is simple. I know what trying did for my own family and my own veteran. We've been together since 1982. What you're going to read in the following report from San Diego Union Tribune proved to me that after all these years what worked has been forgotten about and what failed has been repeated.

There are many stories in this report but Erin Murzyn's story of not knowing what was going on with her husband shows for all the talk about what the VA is doing, which does work in a lot of cases, few reporters have covered what they should have been doing all along.

These reports are hard to get through but nothing will change if folks keep seeking out what is easy for them. Like the talk of 22 a day committing suicide is an easy number to remember even though it is a false number, none of this should be easy on any of us until we make it easier for them to survive being back home after war.

RUSSELL MURZYN, 44, RETIRED MARINE CORPS
San Diego Union Tribune
By Jeanette Steele
Feb. 5, 2016

Murzyn retired in April 2013, after 20 years that included serving as a drill instructor and two back-to-back deployments to Iraq at the height of the war.

Just before retiring, the gregarious Marine from Minnesota quietly sought out a civilian psychologist. The diagnosis in the first session: PTSD.

Before that, he was afraid to seek care in military medicine because of the stigma attached, said Murzyn’s widow, Erin. He never told her. She only discovered it later, after reading his medical records.

Erin Murzyn said she thinks health care privacy rules shut out family members to a dangerous degree.

No one at the VA told her the details of husband’s conditions or when he stopped seeking therapy.

“If I had known, I would have made sure he was making his appointments. I would have gone to some of his appointments with him,” his wife said.

“Very regularly, I get this feeling of, ‘Thank God he didn’t decide that Nathan (their son) and I needed to go with him.’ I think that’s a very unfair position to put family members in.”

It might have helped if Russell Murzyn had a smoother path from military health care to the VA, his widow said. Why couldn’t his first mental and physical exams at the VA have been prescheduled, she asks?

“Had this process been different than it is today, I truly believe my husband would have been better prepared and more aware of his mental fragility,” Erin Murzyn said. “Maybe he would have been in treatment way before the feelings of identity crisis, worthlessness and anxiety overcame him.”
read more of his story here

WHAT MIGHT HAVE SAVED THESE VETERANS?
The San Diego Union-Tribune
By Jeanette Steele
Feb. 5, 2016

They said the VA, and other health institutions, don’t do enough to include spouses and parents when there are signs a troubled veteran is giving up on treatment or is in despair.

At least 27 veterans under age 45 died by suicide in San Diego County between 2014 and the first half of 2015.

For them, there was no retirement, no second career, no time spent watching their children grow.

The majority suffered from depression or post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in a combat zone since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Their experience defies academic research, which says troops who deploy are not more likely to die by suicide.

San Diego provides a rare window on post-9/11 veterans and the issue of of suicide, perhaps one not available anywhere else in the nation.

With nearly 28,000 post-9/11 veterans, the county is the nation’s largest hub of Iraq and Afghanistan war-era veterans.

This special project relies on death information from the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office, one of the few — if not the only one in the United States — to regularly track veteran and military status in its data. Having the names of these men and women led to family members and friends who shared gripping, tragic and complex stories of the veterans’ lives.

These interviews revealed dissatisfaction with care provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, both in San Diego and other regions.
read more here

Families have always been on the front lines of this homeland war zone but few have been armed with the weapons they need to save the lives of those they love.

Families like ours are more like the militia during the Revolutionary War. We armed ourselves and trained ourselves how to fight for all we hold dear.

We had to lose battles before we figured out how to win others. We had to decide what was important enough to fight for. Adapt to what wasn't worth fighting over, improvise our lives since none of it is normal in the civilian families and then, after finding what was normal for us, we overcame.

If you are new to all this seek out older families to help you learn what it took decades for us to figure out. We'll help you get to where we are the easy way.

If you work for the VA, fight to have family support groups pick up again in your area. Make sure they understand the basics of PTSD as much as they find someone to talk to. I know a lot of you and I know you want to change this system but you have rules to follow. If you can't do it within the VA then help out a support group outside the VA. You care enough to do this job for their sake but these families can't wait for Congress to figure out what we learned over the last 40 years.

The answers have already been found so why are we still looking at the questions?

Seven Ontario First Responders Committed Suicide This Year

UPDATE
8 deaths so far in 2016: Canada’s first responder PTSD crisis
Global News
By Tania Kohut National Online Journalist
February 4, 2016

Toronto Police Const. Darius Garda’s body was pulled from Lake Ontario Thursday, the third death of an Ontario first responder over five days.

Toronto cop Darius Garda remembered as ‘genuine’, ‘empathetic’
Const. Garda was pulled from Lake Ontario on Thursday. He was 29.
Toronto Star
By: Alex Ballingall News
Published on Fri Feb 05 2016
One day after the body of Const. Darius Garda was pulled from the cold lake near Polson Pier, the young cop’s family was cloistered in grief in their Scarborough home.

“Me and my wife are just not able to handle this,” Garda’s father, Keras, said Friday when contacted by the Star. “It’s something we are not able to handle.”

The 29-year-old Toronto police officer was believed to have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Friends and colleagues at 51 Division described him as a capable and good-natured crime analyst who was caring, sensitive and always quick to flash a smile.

“He’s the kind of person who, throughout his life — even though he was actually kind of a small person — he always stood up for people who were being treated unfairly,” one friend told the Star.
read more here

Following Toronto officer's death, attention turns to better PTSD assessment 
City News
BY NEWS STAFF
POSTED FEB 5, 2016

Seven first responders in Ontario have committed suicide this year, according to a PTSD advocacy group, and there have been four more deaths across the country.

Tema Conter Memorial Trust is working to have post-traumatic stress disorder recognized as a work-related illness, while also providing support those suffering from PTSD and their families.

“It feels like almost every day we’re hearing about another first responder, another military member, another communications officer or corrections officer dying by suicide,” Erin Alvarez, the wife of a paramedic, says in a video released by Tema.

“PTSD has become a household name.”
read more here




This one is from me. I created it years ago for National Guardsmen but it turned out the IFOC was using it for police officers and firefighters. While it is about what is going on here in the US, please, watch it and I hope that it helps you! You have PTSD for a reason and that reason IS YOUR JOB!

The folks you help everyday can end up with PTSD but you put your lives on the line everyday, so please understand YOU ARE NOT WEAK anymore than you are stuck suffering. Get help and heal so you can keep taking care of others. Canadians need you as much as we need our heroes!

Central Florida Veterans Events Part 2

From Cathy Haynes

February list #2 of veteran, military and patriotic events in Central FL.

 

*Event list #1 was sent on Jan 28.  If you did not receive it, ask for a re-send. (Address below)

*This is a list of unique events in Central Florida – events that have been shared with me. 

*Send me your events – people cannot attend an event if they don’t know about it!

*Please share this information and events with your friends and interested others and attend.  Post where appropriate.

 

NEX Event - THIS FRIDAY, February 5 - Sweetheart Shopping event where NEX associates can assist you in finding that perfect gift for your special someone.  Offering personalized shoppers throughout the day, complimentary gift wrapping on purchases from 10-4, product demos and food & beverage tastings.  (Eligible persons are all branches of active duty military, reservists, guardsmen, retirees, 100% service-connected disabled veterans and their dependents – I.D. IS checked.)  Located west of Orlando Int’l Airport, about 1 mile south of the Beachline Expy/528 on Tradeport Dr.  Competitive pricing and programs. The big white building on the west side of Tradeport -  7151 Earhart Dr., Orlando, 32827.    www. mynavyexchange .com  407-857-3550

 

Orlando Solar Bears Recognition – Multiple dates.  Military persons are needed for Orlando Solar Bear recognition at home hockey games!  If you know of a veteran to nominate or if you want to nominate yourself (don’t be shy!)  send in contact information.  This includes veterans, active military, reservists and national guards.  Time is always sectioned out at home games and needs to be filled. The chosen willing veteran should wear something that represents their proud service branch (uniform or shirt and ballcap, etc.) and will receive 4 tickets and free parking in the Geico garage.  Wheelchair seating available upon request. Discount for add’l tickets. Don’t delay – Available FEBRUARY home games are Sat 6, Fri 12, Sat 13, Sun 14, Wed 17, Thurs 18, Sat 20, Fri 26, Sat 27, Mon 29.  MARCH home games:  Thurs 17, Sat 19, Sun 20, Wed 23, Wed 30; APRIL home games:  Tues 5, Thurs 7.  You MUST be chosen and receive contact back from the Solar Bear office before you attend the games in order to be recognized and receive the tickets. Info:  Taylor Bartz, Community Relations Coordinator at 407.951.8200 x124,  tbartz @orlando solarbearshockey .com  

 

Four Chaplains Commemorative Ceremony – Sun. Feb 7 – Presented by the Orlando Young Marines at 11am, Azalea Park United Methodist Church, 50 Willow Dr., Orlando, 32807. Come support good kids with your attendance!  Free and open to the public. Info from one of the adult leaders:  SgtMaj John Gionet, USMC (ret.) sgtmajgna @earthlink .net   

     On Feb. 3, 1943, four chaplains from several religions and denominations assisted military personnel and civilians before their ship, USAT Dorchester, sank in the freezing Atlantic Ocean after it was torpedoed.  The chaplains gave up their life jackets and helped other persons onto life boats.  They joined arms, prayed and sang hymns before they died together. 

(NOTE:  This group of Young Marines, Orlando Devil Dogs unit, received the prestigious NATIONAL Unit of the Year for 2013-2014.  The Young Marines is a youth education and service program for boys and girls, ages 8-18 through the completion of high school.  The organization promotes the mental, moral, and physical development of its members. The program focuses on character building, leadership, and promotes a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. )

 

Villagers for Veterans – Wed. Feb 10 – Fundraising event that will provide a track-chair for Marine Cpl. Justin Gaertner.  He lost both legs above the knees and has a severely damaged left arm from an IED blast in Afghanistan during his third deployment. The track-chair is an all-terrain device that will allow him greater mobility outdoors and independence.  While this 6:30pm musical event at the Lake Miona Rec Center in The Villages in Sumter Co., is Sold Out, (320 tickets) additional donations towards the track-chair would still be very welcomed.  Contact Marie B. at 516-220-5068 villagersforveterans @gmail .com 

 

Attention all Veterans Service Organizations:

Veterans Resource Fair – Wed. Feb 17 - The UCF Veterans Academic Resource Center (VARC) hosts this event to provide awareness of service organizations.  11am to 2pm located in the Cape Florida Ballroom (Room 316) Student Union on the UCF Campus.    Each participant will be provided a 6 foot table and two chairs at no cost.  It is requested that if your group participates to please donate an item that could be won as a door prize.  The closest parking garage is Garage H, there is $5 daily rate and less than 5 minute walk to the Student Union.  Free parking can be access in Garage F (Behind the CFE Arena), but is a 10 minute walk to the Student Union through the CFE Arena and walking past Memory Mall area.  Over 1300 veterans are UCF students but the same day, downstairs, is the UCF Major’s Fair.  Spillover traffic is expected.   Great opportunity to share awareness, gain members and volunteers!  Contact   joshua.johnson @ucf. edu  no later than 5pm Fri Feb 12.

 

Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) Daytona Beach Chapter 1048 – Wed. Feb 17 – Join others in the general membership meeting, 6:30 pm at VFW  Post 3282  located at 5810 South Williamson Blvd.  Port Orange, 32128. There are meetings every third Wednesday.  All veterans are welcomed as we honor all Veterans and are very active in our community, teaming up with many other Veteran Service Organization's, supporter's, promoting and honoring our Veterans.  Join now by bringing your DD214 (discharge papers) or we can help you to get your papers.  Info:  vva1048 .com   Rod Phillips (USA Airborne), 386.690.9553 cobra101st @gmail .com 

 

Retiree Appreciation Day – IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFO – Sat. Feb 20 – There will be the opportunity to update ID cards/DEERS during this event.  It's RARE that this service is available on a weekend date! 

Military retirees can enjoy a variety of speakers from the Department of the Army, Veterans Affairs, MOAA (Military Officers Association of America) and others.  Special guest will be Army SMA Raymond Chandler III (ret.)  Information provided by Tricare, Exchanges from the Army, Air Force and Navy, etc.  All service branch retirees and their families are invited.  9am – 3pm at The Venue at UCF (University of Central Florida) at 12777 Gemini Blvd N., Orlando, 32816 located behind the CFE Arena.  Free parking. Sponsored by Fort Stewart.  Retirement Services Office   912-767-5013.

 

Veterans Legal Stand Down - Sat., Feb. 20 – Sponsored by Barry University School of Law, Open to veterans who are newly discharged, unemployed, disabled, or have any questions regarding legal issues. Attorneys will be present to provide free legal advice. Walk-ins welcome. Appointments are strongly encouraged. FREE!  11am – 4pm, 6441 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando, 32807.  Social Security Disability, family law, wills, housing issues, employment law, taxes, expungements, and more.  Also in association with Mission United, Legal Aid Society and CareerSource, offering Resume Assistance workshops, Veterans Employment Services, and Veterans Service office.  Appointments:  407-841-8310 x3167.  Info: Jay Mobley  407-841-8310 JMobley @legalaidocba .org

Walk for Veterans – Sat. Feb 20 – Join American Legion Post 117, the Space Coast Paratroopers, and the City of Palm Bay in the First Inaugural Veterans Walk. Walk for Those that Marched For Us!  The walk will cover a 1.5 mile route starting and ending at American Legion Post 117, 189 Veterans Drive, Palm Bay, 32909. The walk begins at 10 AM.  Advance registration (prior to 12 February) is $15; forms are available at Post 117. Registration on the day of the event; starting at 9 AM at Post 117 is $20. Registration Fees include a Walk T - shirt for each participant. (If you have procrastinated about in a New Year’s resolution to be healthier this year, this is a way to catch up!)

 

Seminole County Homeless Veterans Stand Down - Sat March 12 – Volunteers and Vendor opportunities (requires registrationnow) 9am – 1pm at Florida Department of Health in Seminole County, 400 W. Airport Blvd., Sanford, 32773.  “The term Stand Down was first used during the Viet Nam War; we would come out of the jungle after searching for the enemy for weeks, we would lick our wounds, clean our weapons and get ready to go back. Today the term Stand Down is used when we bring our homeless (and precociously housed) veterans to a central location to reconnect them with the VA and other homeless service providers. Not only providers, but we will provide showers, clothing, hot meals, legal assistance, medical, dental screening, etc .  It is manned and serviced by volunteers. Last year, contrary to news reports, we had a 50% increase from the year before. Feel free to contact us directly at Seminolestanddown @gmail .com.”

 

The Central Florida Veterans Mental Health Council (CFVMHC) is recruiting new members. The CFVMHC represents an opportunity to have a real impact in mental health service delivery and help your fellow Veteran. The Council meets twice monthly for about an hour at the Baldwin Campus (call-in line is available).  More information or to complete an application, visit the Council's website at   cfvmhc .org 

 

 

Caring and sharing,

 

Cathy Haynes

Member/supporter of numerous veteran and military organizations in Central FL

407-239-8468

chaynes11629 @  yahoo .com

Congress cut funding for more research on burn pit exposures for 2016

News5 Investigates: Vets and contractors believed to be sickened by war time burn pits
KOAA 5 News
By Maddie Garrett
February 5, 2016

"We have no idea what these veterans were exposed to day to day," said Daniel Warvi, Public Affairs Officer, VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System.

COLORADO SPRINGS - A News5 investigation into so-called burn pits looks into how toxic fumes our service members and civilian contractors were exposed to in war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq on a daily basis are now believed to be causing serious health problems.

As thousands of veterans came home from war, doctors started noticing a common health problem, they reported having a cough and/or trouble breathing. Some cases developed into rare lung diseases, and few even ended in death. But just as more vets and civilians are being diagnosed as having respiratory problems, Congress cut funding for more research on burn pit exposures for 2016.

The burn pits were used to destroy all types of waste during wars in the Middle East, burning everything from trash and food waste, to vehicle parts, ammunition, tires, batteries, medical waste, animal carcasses, chemicals, plastic and in some cases even body parts.

The Department of Veterans Affairs said one of the challenges in understanding the risks of burn pits is that each one could contain varying kinds of waste and that could differ on a day-to-day basis.
read more here
KOAA.com | Continuous News | Colorado Springs and Pueblo

Philadelphia VA New Employees Not Trained in Suicide Prevention?

Seven VA Hospitals Flagged on Veteran Suicide
San Diego, Philadelphia, other facilities falling short on best practices
Free Beacon
Morgan Chalfant
February 4, 2016

In total, six of the VA medical centers evaluated since September did not meet requirements for training employees in suicide prevention or risk management. Three facilities, like the Philadelphia hospital, also did not properly execute all suicide prevention plans.

Multiple Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities across the country have been flagged in recent months for insufficiencies in their programs to prevent veteran suicides.

In the last five months, seven VA hospitals have been the subject of reports produced by the agency’s inspector general that highlighted insufficient employee training, patient monitoring, and safety planning in their respective suicide prevention programs.

The inspector general found fault with facilities in Butler, Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Columbus, Ohio; San Diego, California; Honolulu, Hawaii; Anchorage, Alaska; and Manchester, New Hampshire.

The Philadelphia VA hospital was the site of a reported veteran suicide in November. The review of the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia was completed about a month before a disabled veteran allegedly jumped to his death from a parking garage after seeking psychiatric treatment.

According to the Jan. 14 inspector general report, the vast majority of new employees at the Philadelphia hospital were not trained in suicide prevention or suicide risk management within the required time frame. Fourteen of 15 employees did not undergo suicide prevention training within a year of being hired, hospital records indicated.
read more here

WWII Veteran Scared Ax Carrying Burglar at 92!

92-year-old WWII veteran scares off ax-wielding would-be burglar, authorities say 
Los Angeles Times Veronica Rocha February 2, 2016

“I let off a shot and he took off,” Milspaugh told the news station with a laugh. “He left his ax. He left his hat and everything else after that.”

A 92-year-old homeowner armed with a handgun fired a shot and scared off an ax-wielding man trying to break into his San Jacinto residence Sunday, authorities said. World War II veteran Joseph Milspaugh told KNBC-TV he heard a noise coming from his backdoor and quickly armed himself with his handgun. 

When he went to investigate he saw a man smashing an ax through one of his windows. read more here