Maine Veterans Plead For Help With Fake Service Dogs

'There are no requirements': Service dog misrepresentation a growing problem 

Veterans plead for fakers to stop as task force looks into issue 
WMTV News 
By David Charns 
UPDATED 6:11 PM EST Feb 25, 2016

PORTLAND, Maine —The misrepresentation of service dogs in Maine has become such a large issue that the Legislature tasked a panel to find a way to resolve it.

"I said he's not a pet, he's a service dog,” Christopher Henry, of Auburn, said. “’And he then asked me, "for what?’”

It’s just one time someone has asked Henry if his service dog, Brewsky, is legitimate. The 17-year-old combat veteran has post-traumatic stress disorder. Brewsky is there to keep Henry calm and keep strangers a good distance away.

"We're hearing about it all the time,” said Jennifer Norris, of Bethel. Norris, a 15-year veteran, is a sexual assault survivor and her dog, Onyx, helps her with her PTSD.

Both dogs underwent rigorous training. Their owners said the animals keep them from isolating, something they said is common with veterans with PTSD.

"She helped pulled me out of the deepest darkest depression I've ever been in my life,” Morris said.

But some Mainers are faking it.
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Charges and Questions Surface Over PTSD "Service" Dog "Theft"

Considering Melnick "trained Kai to be her service dog" then the title should be simply "dog" unless she is a certified trainer.

Charges filed in alleged theft of service dog 
San Diego Union Tribune 
By Teri Figueroa 
Feb. 25, 2016

Marine veteran Alexandra Melnick hugs German shepherd Kai in this September 2015 file photo. The pair were reunited that month after Kai was stolen from her Vista home ten months earlier. — Misael Virgen

The ex-husband of a Marine veteran whose service dog went missing in late 2014 — and was found in Texas last summer — has been charged with taking the dog, a case his attorney said Thursday is rooted in an ownership dispute.

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Pablo Cortes was charged last month with stealing Kai, a German shepherd, from ex-wife Alexandra Melnick. He has pleaded not guilty.

A preliminary hearing is set for mid-March in Vista Superior Court, where a judge will determine if there is enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.

Cortes’ attorney, Alex Ozols, said his client contends that Melnick — whose search for Kai garnered news coverage — knew Cortes had taken the dog.

“They both loved that dog and they both wanted it,” Ozols said, adding that Cortes has said the dog is legally his.

The attorney also said his client is distraught over the criminal case, which could ruin his 11-year military career.
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Patrick Murphy is sworn in as Army under secretary

Iraq veteran Patrick Murphy is sworn in as Army under secretary 
Stars and Stripes 
By Corey Dickstein 
Published: February 24, 2016 

WASHINGTON – Iraq war veteran Patrick Murphy was officially sworn in as the Army’s under secretary on Wednesday, about two months after the senate confirmed him for the position.

Patrick Murphy, the under secretary of the Army and the acting Army secretary, speaks Wednesday at the Pentagon after being officially sworn in as the Army's 32nd under secretary. COREY DICKSTEIN/STARS AND STRIPES

Though the Pentagon ceremony officially installed him as the Army’s No. 2 civilian, he has been serving as the acting secretary of the Army since mid-January, when President Barack Obama’s choice for that role, Eric Fanning, stepped aside amid a political dispute.

“This is such an awesome, awesome honor to be back in the Army family,” said Murphy, who served as a judge advocate officer in the 82nd Airborne Division in Baghdad in 2002 and 2003. He later taught law at The U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

In 2006, Murphy became the first Iraq War veteran to be elected to U.S. House of Representatives, serving the eighth congressional district in his native Pennsylvania from 2007 to 2011.
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VA: Action on Wrongdoing in Cincinnati

PRESS RELEASE

VA Takes Action on Allegations of Wrongdoing in Cincinnati

Network Director Proposed for Removal, and Acting Chief of Staff Reassigned Pending Further Action

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today actions against two senior leaders in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Based on preliminary results of a joint VA Office of Medical Inspector (OMI) and Office of Accountability (OAR) review conducted February 9-11, 2016 at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Sloan D. Gibson, has proposed the removal of Jack Hetrick, the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN 10) director, from Federal Service. oday, Mr. Hetrick submitted his retirement.

Additionally, VA’s Undersecretary for Health, Dr. David J. Shulkin, has detailed the Cincinnati VA Medical Center Acting Chief of Staff, Dr. Barbara Temeck, out of her current duties pending appropriate administrative action.

Hetrick received a notice of pending removal today. As of today, Shulkin has summarily suspended Temeck’s privileges and detailed her to non-patient-care duties while he considers appropriate additional actions.

“We are committed to sustainable accountability,” said Gibson.  “We will continue to use VA’s statutory authority to hold employees accountable where warranted by the evidence. That is simply the right thing to do for Veterans and taxpayers.”

The VA joint team conducted the site visit to investigate allegations of professional misconduct on the part of Temeck along with allegations that she directed the referral of Veterans for care in the community as a cost-shifting mechanism, resulting in poor quality of care.

The team did not substantiate any impropriety with respect to community care referrals or quality of care for Veterans. However, the team did substantiate misconduct by both Hetrick and Temeck related to Temeck’s provision of prescriptions and other medical care to members of Hetrick’s family. VA OIG has accepted VA’s referral of the substantiated allegations for potential criminal investigation.

Florida Mug Shot Not So Funny When He's a War Hero With PTSD

Fred Grimm: Story of disabled combat vet muddled by strange “only in Florida” mug shot 
Miami Herald 
Fred Grimm 
February 24, 2016

Bizarre booking photo of grease paint-smeared man was irresistible fodder for local media.  Familiar “only in Florida” story line missed the part about three combat tours in Iraq.  Veteran came back from Iraq with 100 percent disability for PTSD.

We played Case No. 16001719MM10A for laughs, of course.

A strange jailhouse mug shot of a man whose face was smeared with black grease paint — that was irresistible stuff for a local media ever vigilant for bizarro material. We’re always looking for proof that we’re living in a caldron of crazy.

NBC 6 added the story to its “Only in Florida” feature: “A Virginia man was arrested in South Florida after several 911 callers claimed he was acting suspiciously.” There was a link to another story in the same category: “Naked woman kicks out police car window.”

Both ABC Channel 10 and the Sun-Sentinel ran with reports of the incident early Monday morning in Oakland Park, describing an arrest following 911 calls about a young man’s strange and threatening behavior.

Because, really, that crazy mug shot told us all we needed to know about Craig Bolin.

Except for a few missing details. Like Bolin’s three combat tours. With actual combat, including a stint with Charlie 1-26, the storied infantry outfit that lost more men in Iraq combat than any Army battalion since Vietnam. Sgt. Bolin posted a YouTube video in 2006 of a harrowing night fight as his unit fended off a siege of an Iraqi police station.

In 2009, Stars and Stripes featured a photograph of young Sgt. Bolin patrolling the Jamilla market on the outskirts of Sadr City, “a volatile Shiite slum in east Baghdad.” In 2009, volatile Shiite slum had become just another euphemism for hell.
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Ex-Marine Getting Jail Time After Lying About Service

Former Marine who lied about service to get donations is sentenced to jail time
The Virginian-Pilot
By Jane Harper
12 hrs ago

When the charity obtained a copy of his record, it showed that Henry received a bad conduct discharge from the Marine Corps in 1998, the stipulation said. He was never in combat, received no commendations or medals, was not a K-9 handler and was not involved in a helicopter crash, which were all claims that he had made, the stipulation said.

A former Marine who lied about his military service to get assistance from a local charity was sentenced Wednesday to eight months in jail, according to a spokeswoman for the commonwealth’s attorney.
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Vietnam Veteran Died Trying to Save Stranger in Australia

Norman Olsen dies after bid to stop alleged domestic dispute in Toowoomba
ABC Australia
Updated February 24, 2016

A 65-year-old good Samaritan has died in hospital after he was allegedly assaulted trying to help a woman in Toowoomba.

Norman Olsen was driving with his partner in the suburb of Wilsonton on Monday when police say he saw a woman being attacked by a young man in an alleged domestic dispute.

The Vietnam veteran tried to intervene but was allegedly pushed to the ground by 22-year-old James Callow, who has since been charged with manslaughter.

Mr Olsen hit his head on the road.

He was taken to Toowoomba Hospital with a serious head injury before being taken to Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital, where he died late on Tuesday.

Detective Inspector Paul McCusker said Mr Olsen should be commended for his actions.
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Terminal Burn Pit-Iraq Veteran Claim Denied by VA?

Report: VA Abandoned Terminally Ill Army Combat Veteran
Free Beacon 
BY: Morgan Chalfant 
February 24, 2016

Marshall missed mandatory meetings with the VA last year during which he would have had the opportunity to offer evidence connecting his cancer to his service in Iraq because he was hospitalized with pneumonia. While Marshall said he could still present such evidence, the VA will not listen to him.

A decorated Army combat veteran says that the Department of Veterans Affairs abandoned him in his fight against terminal cancer following his service in Iraq.

Pvt. John Marshall told Fox News that the VA has denied his claims that his service in Iraq, particularly his close proximity to burn pits, precipitated his cancer.

“It’s all just a big slap in the face. I tried to be the perfect soldier,” Marshall said. “I did everything I was told, and now they just forced my claim through and denied coverage and my benefits.”

Marshall, who now lives in a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, was diagnosed with scar tissue sarcoma a little over a year ago. He attributes his illness to his time spent working over open burn pits, which a 2013 report from the Government Accountability Office designated as a likely cause of chronic health problems for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Ret. Gen. Robert M. Shoemaker’s 92nd birthday in Style

Retired general celebrates 92nd birthday 
Killeen Daily Herald 
Amy Proctor 
February 24, 2016

Shoemaker, who commanded III Corps and later U.S. Army Forces Command, retired as a general after 36 years in the U.S. Army.

Amy Proctor RET GEN SHOEMAKERs 92nd BIRTHDAY 1st Cavalry Division Commanding General Maj Gen. John Thomson III, right, talks with retired Gen. Robert M. Shoemaker and his wife, Tuke, at Shoemaker's birthday celebration at Robert M. Shoemaker High School in Killeen. Shoemaker turns 92 on February 18, 2016.

KILLEEN — More than 750 Shoemaker High School students, staff and Fort Hood area dignitaries celebrated retired Gen. Robert M. Shoemaker’s 92nd birthday at the high school bearing his name Feb. 18.

Nearly a dozen of the school’s groups and clubs performed for the retired general, followed by a cake-cutting ceremony and refreshments.

The auditorium at Shoemaker High School was standing room only, overflowing with affection and appreciation from students, faculty, family and local community leaders who came to honor the former four-star general.

“How blessed are we that we have such a man such as our dear Gen. Shoemaker, as not only our namesake, but as our benefactor and our Grey Wolf grandfather,” said JROTC cadet Capt. Joshua Rillera, a senior at Shoemaker High School.
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Dark Horse Marines Test Legged Squad Support

‘Dark Horse’ Military Unit Will Test Experimental Weapons
Epoch Times
By Joshua Philipp
February 23, 2016

Lance Cpl. Timothy Knaggs (center), a team leader with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, walks ahead of the Legged Squad Support System at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, June 19, 2014. The Marines is assigning a battalion to test new equipment and new ways of operating.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Matthew Callahan)

The “Dark Horse” battalion of the U.S. Marines will spend the next year field-testing new equipment, technology, and fighting methods that may eventually be used in the broader military.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller made the announcement on Feb. 19. According to Military.com, he announced the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, also called “Dark Horse,” will start testing the new gear and techniques in Camp Pendleton, California.

The battalion has close to 1,200 Marines in it, and was first organized in June 1917 for the First World War, and has fought in every major American war since then.

“They’re going to be our experimental platform, if you will, and we’ll give them capabilities and do it in an efficient way—which is, give it to Marines and let them figure it out, because they’re our best developers and experimenters,” Neller told Miltiary.com.
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