Operation Love Letters At Tampa Veterans Memorial Park

Families to honor fallen military in Tampa during Operation Love Letters
Tampa Tribune
By Howard Altman
Tribune Staff
Published: February 12, 2016

“The event provides an atmosphere to create new relationships with other surviving families,” Giddens said. “It is a chance to gain spiritual insight and resilience, and to interact with the Army Reserve community.”

For Yolanda Mercado, the pain of losing her son while he was deployed in Afghanistan more than four years ago is still raw.

That’s why she is looking forward to Operation Love Letters, a commemoration of Americans who died while in service to the country that is being held for the first time in Tampa on Saturday.

“It is important to me because it is to honor our loved ones,” said Mercado, whose son, Army Pvt. Jalfred D. Vaquerano, was 20 when he died from his wounds in December 2011 after being shot in Logar province. “It’s a day to remember the good times we had with them and share it with others.”

Operation Love Letters was created to bring Gold Star families together to remember their loved ones, said Mercado. The families bring their loved ones’ favorite dessert to share with their memories,, she said. They also write letters to them, do crafts as mementos and release balloons “with the hope that it reaches their loved ones,” she said.

The event will be held at the Tampa Veterans Memorial Park and Museum as a collaboration between the Army Reserve Survivor Outreach Services (part of Army Reserve Family Programs), the Army Reserve Medical Command, as well as survivor family members, said Marshall F. Pesta, an Army Reserve spokeswoman.
read more here

Pentagon Has No Clue How Often Hazing Happens?

Military hazing is often horrifying — and the Pentagon has no idea how often it happens
Washington Post
Checkpoint
Dan Lamothe
February 12, 2106

The GAO released the investigation’s findings this week, reporting that the services have no uniform way of tracking the practice and unclear definitions of what constitutes hazing in the first place.

Five years ago, 21-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Harry Lew kept falling asleep while on guard duty in Afghanistan, a major gaffe for any infantryman in combat. His sergeant told two other Marines in his unit that “peers correct peers,” and so Lew was punched, kicked and forced to do pushups, crunches and other exercises in the middle of the night while wearing body armor, according to a Marine Corps investigation of the incident. Soon after, Lew turned his gun on himself and ended his life.

Lew’s suicide jump-started a debate: What constitutes hazing in the military, and what should the Pentagon do to crack down on the practice?

Lew’s case generated significant interest in Washington in part because of his aunt: Rep. Judy Chu (D.-Calif.). She pressed successfully for an independent investigation by the Government Accountability Office, saying that the stories of her nephew and other victims of hazing — generally described as abusive behavior meant to correct a mistake or earn one’s way into a group — showed the military clearly needed to make improvements.

When surveyed, however, more than a third of male Marines (14 of 39) and and nearly half of female Marines (eight of 17) said they had experienced hazing during their military career. About a quarter of male sailors (10 of 40) and female sailors (four of 15) reported the same, the GAO reported.
read more here

“My Mom Deserves to Know the Truth.”

California National Guardsmen Sue For Promised Bonuses

Veterans Balk at Pentagon's Bonus Grab
Courthouse News
By NICK CAHILL
February 12, 2016

According to the complaint, the United States Department of Defense has mismanaged $8.5 trillion and that it uses computer software dating back to 1959.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) - The California Army National Guard "conned" thousands of soldiers into reenlisting and is now attempting to recover signing bonuses a decade later, an Iraq war veteran claims in court.

In a class action filed Wednesday in Federal Court, plaintiff Bryan Strother says the National Guard offered soldiers bonuses in order to inflate its reserves and that the plaintiff class is "victims of one of the most egregious mass frauds in U.S. Military history."

Shortly after signing his reenlistment contract in 2006, Strother says he was sent to Iraq and finished out the terms of his deal with honor and even appeared on a National Guard magazine. Three years later the government sent him a letter saying he shouldn't have received an enlistment bonus because he changed his military occupational specialty while serving in Iraq.
read more here

"California National Guard Always Ready Always There"

Wounded Warrior Angler's Hope Veterans Take Bait and Fish

Good idea but bad information

"We want to knock that 23 veterans dying of suicide daily down by helping to get things in a more positive direction for them," Souters said, whose husband, David, helped found the organization.

When will folks ever get the number right?


Wounded Warrior Anglers open new facility
Cape Coral Daily Breeze
By CHUCK BALLARO
February 12, 2016

CHUCK BALLARO
Judy Souders, center, co-founder of the Wounded Warriors Anglers, cuts the ribbon on the organization’s new facility during a grand opening and open house Tuesday.

An idea that started as a dream years ago and not long ago became a reality now has a home to call its very own, thanks to the benevolence of others.

The Wounded Warrior Anglers cut the ribbon and held an open house on its new brick-and-mortar location at 1490 Pine Island Road, Unit 5, on Tuesday.

The event featured a color guard, many of the Wounded Warrior Anglers, friends, dignitaries and donors who surprised the group with more funding.

Judy Souders, vice president and co-founder of the group, said the WWA did its work at her house for the first 5-plus years of its existence.

"It's something we had a dream about since we formed it, it's always been there. It's taken us a while to get the funds to get this location," Souders said. "Now that it's come to fruition, we're excited we can help veterans and families."

The Wounded Warrior Anglers is a group that caters to veterans through alternative therapies by getting them on the water fishing and teaching them to build their own rods to give them self-worth.
read more here

Gulf War Veteran Fights Back After Eviction Over Service Dog

Veteran sues over eviction due to service dog
Lincoln Journal Star
By NICHOLE MANNA
Updated 9 hrs ago

A veteran suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder filed a lawsuit against an Omaha apartment complex after they allegedly refused to give him accommodation to live with his service dog.

Dwaine Goings served in the Army and fought in the Persian Gulf War. As a result of combat, the decorated veteran suffers from PTSD and requires the assistance of his dog for daily support.

Goings signed a one-year lease in December 2014 with Hillsborough Pointe Apartments, at 14441 Sprague Court in Omaha.
read more here

View of what plagiarism looks like

PTSD Blog has been very busy copying and pasting my articles. If you want to see what plagiarism looks like, here are just some of them. On the site it says they are sponsored by MYPTSD.com

These are from my site on the left and PTSD Blog on the right.

I posted on November 13 they posted on December 4

I posted on November 15 and they posted on November 20

I posted on November 18 and they posted on December 23

I posted on November 19 and they posted on November 20

I posted on November 19 and they posted on December 24

I posted on November 20 and they posted on November 21

I posted on November 20 and they posted on December 1

I posted on November 23 and they posted on November 27

I posted on November 24 and they posted on November 25

I posted on November 25 and they posted on December 26

I posted on November 25 they posted on December 15

I posted on November 26 and they posted on November 29

I posted on November 29 they posted on December 4

I posted December 8 and they posted December 24

I posted on December 25 and they posted on December 26

I posted on December 26 and they posted on December 27

I posted on December 30 and they posted January 1

I posted on December 31 and they posted on January 1

I posted on December 31 and they posted the same day,

I posted January 1 and they posted January 2

I posted on January 6 and they posted on January 7

I posted on January 8 and so did they

I posted on January 9 and they posted on January 10

I posted on January 11 and they posted on January 12

I posted on January 12 and they posted the same day

I posted on January 22 and they posted on January 23

I posted on January 23 and they posted on January 24

I posted on January 24 and they posted on January 25

I posted on January 26 and they posted the same day

I posted on January 27 and they posted on January 28

I posted on January 28 and they posted on January 29

I posted on January 22 and they posted on January 23

I posted on January 23 and they posted the same day

I posted on January 28 and they posted the same day

I posted on February 3 and they posted on February 4

Now you get the idea of what it looks like. They didn't just take my work, they also took the work of the reporters I always link to so that readers and go to the site and give them the traffic for their work. There are a lot more of these but wanted to give you an idea of what I have to go through.

Now you know what plagiarism looks like but unless it happens to you, you don't know what it feels like.

Plus, considering I just had to waste hours putting this together instead of doing the work I normally do tracking all these reports, there won't be any more posts today. I need a lot of adult beverages to get this bad taste out of my mouth.

Tomorrow I'll be back to work on this site and give them more stuff to just take as their own,,,,,,,,

John Preston, Iraq Veteran Musician Plans New Path

While this veteran/musician didn't know the "22 a day" is wrong and the numbers have simply been pushed, this is a good story to read. John Preston wants to prevent suicides instead of just raise awareness they are happening. We're looking at over 26,000 veterans committing suicide every year and the majority of them are from the older veterans.

East Bay Veteran, Musician Suffers Personal Setback In Fight Against PTSD
NBC Bay Area
By Garvin Thomas
February 11, 2016

He has promised to redouble his efforts, though in a slightly different direction. Preston's goal now is to not just raise awareness about the lives that have been lost, but stop them from happening.

It was one year ago and, clearly, things were just about the happen for John Preston.

The Danville Marine and Iraq War Veteran had just re-booted his music career and people were beginning to take not of his songs and the message they carried.

More Americans, Preston believed, needed to know about the tragedy that was 22 veterans a day committing suicide.

"A number that, the first time I heard it blew my mind," Preston said in January of 2015.

Preston's older brother was a police officer in their home state of Kentucky. Like so many other veterans Preston knows, his brother was suffering from PTSD.

"He kissed his kids goodbye, got in his car, drove down the street, and took his life," Preston said.

Of all the lives Preston has been trying to save, he couldn't save one of the ones closest to him.
read more here

Plagiarists At It Again

It is really pitiful to see all the hard work I put into this site simply stolen just because someone felt like it.

Much to my shock, there is a site that has most of my content going back to November of 2015. MyPTSD.com is connected to a site PTSD Blog and they have been using my work going back to November of 2015.

What I do on Wounded Times comes from countless hours of tracking news reports plus over 30 years experience researching and living with PTSD in my own home. I take all of this very seriously. 

It doesn't matter I don't get a paycheck to do it. I get one from my regular job. 

It doesn't matter that I lost a couple thousand dollars every year and no one has thought about any of this. It hasn't stopped me because this, this is my life as it has been for far too long.

It is reprehensible for all these "awareness groups" popping up all over the country expecting money from folks to do what they should be doing for free! Ask any of them what the money is for or why they deserve it and they won't be able to come up with a reasonable answer. Ask them what their background is or what qualifies them to do this work and they won't really have anything to say. Caring isn't enough! That's how we ended up with all of this getting worse instead of better.

Every news report on this site has links to the original source. Every government has links to where it came from. I do not take someone else's work and won't put up an entire article for that reason. I want my readers to go to the link to read the rest of the work the reporter put into the story. I value their work.

If you see any of my work online contact me so that we can stop these plagiarist!

Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center HOVER For Veterans

FOX28 Special Report: HOVER Vets
Katherine Duchame
February 10, 2016

The first visit to a veteran took place on January 5 last year. The total of visits to vets so far, over 1,300.

A local Vietnam veterans dream to continue serving after duty, is now a reality. One that touches the hearts of dozens of veterans every week in Michiana.

It started as what was thought to be a "simple" idea, a program to help veterans hospitalized get back on their feet. Now, a realization that the program does so much more as we learned in a special report from FOX 28's Katherine Ducharme.

The program is called HOVER, it stands for Honoring Our Veterans and Encouraging Recovery. HOVER ensures that every veteran hospitalized at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, is thanked for their service. A gesture many of us view as "normal" in today's world, but for some veterans who never received that recognition, it means so much more.

Bern McGrane, a Vietnam veteran and coordinator of HOVER, has a routine day of delivering an American flag and some company to hospitalized veterans. It became McGrane's mission in life just over a year ago."I was in the army in 1967, and as funny as it may seem that was me in 1967, I was 19 I believe," said McGrane.He served as a combat infantry soldier in Vietnam for 14 months.

"During the time that I was there, there was a uniqueness to being in a squad or a platoon, because it's not like you're going to do an eight to five job, you live with your fellow soldiers 24/7 under every imaginable kind of circumstance," said McGrane.
read more here
Fox 28: South Bend, Elkhart IN News, Weather, Sports

Another Veterans Charity With Selective Service?

If they got this part wrong, what did they get right that they ended up on Forbes?

"Every day, an average of 22 veterans take their own lives. This tragic reality motivated Josh and Lisa Lannon and Tom Spooner to do something."

Warriors Heart Founders Offer Help To Struggling Veterans
Forbes
Devin Thorpe
February 10, 2016

They founded Warriors Heart, an addiction treatment center that provides peer-to-peer solutions to help veterans, law enforcement and first responders who struggle with addiction and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Josh Lannon took the time to explain the challenges that veterans face, what Warriors Heart is doing and what he hopes will come of their efforts.

Lannon says the VA isn’t the answer. “While the VA (Veterans Administration) has good people, they can’t keep up with the needs of veterans after 14 years of war.”
read more here

Veteran Moved From Sleeping Under Bridges to Building Them

A veteran used to sleep under bridges but after he got help, he ended up building bridges to help other veterans.

Homeless vet went from sleeping under bridges to helping others
KVOA News
Written By Monica Garcia
February 10, 2016

TUCSON (KVOA)-- A Tucson Navy veteran went from living on the streets, to helping other homeless vets.

For years Andrew Young struggled with alcohol addiction and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Throughout his twenties, Young was homeless, traveling from city to city sleeping under bridges.

It wasn’t until Young reached out to the Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs, did he receive the help he so needed.

According to Young, the VA Outreach Program helped him not only stay sober, but finally get off Social Security Disability benefits he’d grown dependent on.
read more here

KVOA | KVOA.com | Tucson, Arizona

Florida Vietnam Veteran Still Looking For Answers

This is a confusing report to read. While it addresses some of the issues veterans should never, even have to face, like paying out of pocket for what should be done by the VA, it has the years leaving more questions. It says this Vietnam veteran received bad news from a VA doctor about cancer and advised to not wait to get treated for it. That was in 2008. Then it talks about canceled appointments in 2015 along with a drop in his disability.

Vietnam veteran: I want answers!
WFTV 9 News
by: Staff writer, Charlotte Sun
Feb 9, 2016

Bob Conetta loves America.

He would give anything to his country.

When he received his draft notice, he went into the U.S. Army and was sent to Vietnam, serving with the 1st Air Cavalry Division.

On July 20, 1968, outside Hue City, he gave his left leg, his right eye and most of his hearing when a mine was detonated near him.

This did not stop Conetta. He served as the financial secretary for the Utility Workers Union of America, Locals 1-2, in New York City. He was instrumental in creating Operation Family Reunion, a program that brings family members to Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., to be with their loved one who has sustained serious wounds.

Despite his injuries, he moved forward with his life.

'Get the procedure done on my own’

After he retired and relocated to Punta Gorda, Conetta was diagnosed with prostate cancer -- one of the 15 presumptive conditions from Agent Orange.

On July 2, 2008, he had bloodwork.

On July 14, 2008, he had a biopsy.

On Aug. 26, 2008, he was scheduled for a bone scan -- six weeks after his biopsy that proved he had prostate cancer.

Conetta said the Department of Veterans Affairs doctor said he put him in for the bone scan but his cancer was aggressive, saying, "I implore you not to wait."
read more here

Headline Put Rescued Dog Above Vietnam Veteran Being Murdered?

UPDATE
Chicago man, woman charged with murder of veteran in University Village shooting



I read a lot of strange stories. This just made it to the top of my list of head exploding reporting! A Vietnam veteran served 3 tours and was dealing with PTSD. He adopted a rescue dog. Great story so far. Then I went to the link on Robert Howard to see what was reported by Sun Times Homicide section. The story on the dog was longer than the story on Howard.

Should we care a rescue dog was left homeless again? Sure, but have things gotten so bad in Chicago a story on a dog seems to mean more than a murdered veteran?

Apollo needs new home after his rescuer, Vietnam veteran Robert Howard, was shot to death in University Village Chicago Sun Times
by Brittany Reyes
Posted Feb. 9, 2016

Robert Howard Jr. was a graduate of VALOR (Veterans Advancing Lives of Rescues). He was killed on Jan. 26 and is missed by loved ones, Safe Humane Chicago members, and his emotional support dog, Apollo.

The death of Robert Howard Jr. left the dog he’d once rescued without a home and his best friend.

Howard, a 62-year-old Vietnam War veteran killed in a shooting in University Village on Jan. 26, was the proud owner of Apollo, a big, joyful puppy who was matched with Howard through Veterans Advancing the Lives of Rescues (VALOR).

VALOR is an 8-week Safe Humane Chicago program that pairs military veterans struggling with post traumatic stress disorder with animals that had been abused, neglected or used for fighting.

After struggling with PTSD since his three-year tour in Vietnam from 1970-73, Howard began participating in VALOR in early 2015. His experience with the program was so positive that he decided to adopt a dog for himself, according to Cynthia Bathurst, the organization’s executive director.

In April 2015, Howard acquired Rugby, an 8-month old puppy who’d been rescued through Chicago Animal Care and Control. Howard renamed his new companion Apollo, and documented their experience together in a feature for The Unexpected Pit Bull’s 2016 annual calendar.
read more here

MOH Edward Byers Added to Navy SEAL Museum

Navy SEAL Museum to honor Medal of Honor recipient
TC Palm
February 9, 2016

Five Naval Special Warfare Operators are honored by the installation. The names of Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Robert Joseph "Bob" Kerrey, Lieutenant Thomas R. Norris, Petty Officer Second Class Michael E. Thornton, Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy (posthumously) and Petty Officer Second Class Michael A. Monsoor (posthumously) are engraved at the base of the memorial.

FORT PIERCE — The Navy SEAL Museum has announced the addition of a sixth name to its Medal of Honor statue. Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator, Edward Byers, U.S. Navy, will be added to the installation as a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his courageous conduct while serving as part of the team that rescued an American hostage from Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan Dec. 8-9, 2012.

The Medal of Honor is the highest military honor in the United States. It is awarded by the President in the name of the U.S. Congress for personal acts of valor determined to be above and beyond the call of duty. Three distinctions of the honor are made, one for each the Army, Navy and Air Force; the Marine Corps and Coast Guard are recipients of the Navy's medal.

On Nov. 9, 2013, a Medal of Honor statue was dedicated to the Navy SEAL Museum through a generous gift from former presidential candidate H. Ross Perot. The statue depicts the actions of Medal of Honor recipient, Michael Thornton, carrying wounded Medal of Honor recipient, Tom Norris, off the battlefield.
read more here

YouTube Video Navy SEAL Museum

Veterans Healing PTSD Old Warrior Way

Vets turn to sweat lodges to treat PTSD 
KOAA News 5
February 10, 2016

"You pray for your enemies and people that don't like you," explains Cheek. "And that's difficult, and as a veteran, you're praying for those people that actually shot at you. That helps you come to terms with a lot of the stuff."

FORT CARSON - A centuries-old tradition has become a new form of treatment for soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and the Native American sweat lodge on Fort Carson is leading the way for military installations around the country.

What once was a ritual held in secrecy is now a growing trend among both active duty and veteran warriors seeking its legendary cleansing powers. In a remote section of Turkey Creek, the air is filled with songs and smoke at the Lakota Sioux inipi, a traditional sweat lodge made of willow branches and donated quilts. It has been there since 1995. "They didn't have a clue as to what we were doing, and we weren't telling them at the time," says faith group leader Michael Hackwith.

Hackwith, a Marine veteran of the Gulf War, started the inipi with a couple friends who wanted to follow their own cultural religious practice. They got permission from the manager of the Turkey Creek manager at the time. The participants pray, sing, play drums and sweat in the tent around dozens of hot stones, in complete darkness. It is a purity ritual designed to help sweat out negativity, a common problem for struggling soldiers.

Special Agent Kevin Cheek of the Air Force, now the military liaison for the sweat lodge, says, "I've deployed five times. I've been there and back, and all that negative baggage that you collect and the things that you see and stuff like that, this helps you cope. This helps you deal with all that."
read more here

Vietnam Veteran, Retired General Charles "Hondo" Campbell Passed Away

'Hondo' Campbell, former FORSCOM boss, Vietnam vet, dies 
Army Times
By Michelle Tan
February 9, 2016

Commander of a Special Operations A-Detachment in Vietnam, then-2nd Lt. Charles "Hondo" Campbell sets out on a mission in Vietnam in 1971.

(Photo: Army)

Retired Gen. Charles "Hondo" Campbell, former commanding

general of Forces Command, died Feb. 8, 2016.

(Photo: Army photo)

Retired Gen. Charles “Hondo” Campbell, former commander of U.S. Army Forces Command, has died.

Campbell served in the Army for 40 years, retiring in June 2010. He was the last continuously serving general officer who saw action in Vietnam to leave active duty, according to information from the Army.

He died late in Shreveport on Monday after a lengthy illness, according to The Shreveport Times in Louisiana, Campbell’s hometown. He was 68.

Tributes and condolences were pouring in on social media Tuesday, with many calling the man who went by the nickname “Hondo” a great soldier and leader. While the origin of that famous moniker is somewhat obscure, it reportedly is related to the character in the Louis L’Amour western novel by the same name, a role played by John Wayne in the movie version of the classic tale, according to information from the Army.
read more here

Marine Sustained by Faith After Helicopter Crash

35 years after mid-air collision, Marine finally speaks
Daily Bulletin 
Imani Tate 
February 9, 2016

Six Marines died in what Rivera described as a “horrific” crash between a CH-53 Sea Stallion and a CH-46 Sea Knight within 20 minutes of the Sea Stallion’s takeoff.

Joe Rivera, 56 of La Verne, stands next to a picture of himself next to a Marine CH-53 helicopter from the early 1980's. Rivera was the lone survivor of a midair helicopter crash between a CH-53 and CH-46 on February 10, 1981 in Tustin. Six marines were killed in the crash while Rivera suffered a broken back, third degree burns and a multiple of other broken bones and injuries. (Will Lester/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin)

LA VERNE

When Joe Rivera saw the white light, he thought he was dead.

And 35 years later, recounting the midair collision of two military helicopters over the Marine Air Station in Tustin at 7:20 p.m. Feb. 10, 1981, he remembered being aflame, his back broken and helicopter parts pinning him down as he hung upside down.

Christian, his 19-year-old son, sat quietly across from Rivera on Monday. Richard Villescas, Joe’s brother-in-law and best friend, slipped onto the sofa beside Rivera and gently rubbed his back as the 56-year-old former Marine hesitated over painful memories.

“It’s time,” Villescas said, looking around at loved ones who’d gathered at the Rivera family home to emotionally fortify the man they called “humble, heroic, generous and kind.”

It was the first time in 35 years that Rivera talked about the 1981 crash that killed six colleagues and almost claimed his life, the grueling and painful treatment and rehabilitative therapy he endured for years afterward and the spiritual faith and people he said repeatedly saved and sustained him.
read more here

DOD 1,000 Suicide Attempts for 2014

Not sure why they revised this report ahead of the 4th quarter and total for 2015, but this shows they still haven't figured it out yet. Will they ever?

Then again, considering what they added into the part about attempted suicides, it is unlikely they ever will.

"The 2014 Pentagon report also examined more than 1,000 suicide attempts among DoD personnel, finding that the majority showed similar trends in deployment, legal or administrative problems or relationship issues as those who died by suicide."

Which means they do not get what kinds of problems PTSD can cause. After 4 decades how many more will it take?

Active-duty suicides up, Guard and Reserve down in 2014
Military Times
By Patricia Kime
February 8, 2016

The latest report from the Pentagon on military suicides shows a slight uptick in the suicide rate among active-duty personnel in 2014 compared with the previous year, but significant drops in rates for Reserve and National Guard members when compared to 2013.

"In 2014, 269 active-duty service members and 169 reserve and National Guard troops took their own lives, according to the 2014 Defense Department Suicide Event Report, released in January."

"As seen in previous years, most service members who died by suicide in 2014 were men under age 30, mostly enlisted, white and married. The majority ended their lives by shooting or hanging themselves. And just over half had deployed at least once — down from nearly two-thirds reported in 2013 as having deployed."

Commonalities among the 2014 deaths were:
50 percent had a mental health diagnosis, with the most common being mood or adjustment disorders or substance abuse.
In the enlisted ranks, infantry personnel, gun crews or seamanship specialties had the highest rates of suicide, 21 per 100,000, followed by electrical or mechanical equipment repairers, 18.9 per 100,000.
The occupational specialties with the highest suicide rates for officers were tactical operations, at 4.3 suicides per 100,000.
65 percent of suicides took place either at home or in the barracks.
read more here