Australia: Need for Annual Mental Health Screenings Pushed

Here in the US there is already a law requiring it however, when asked by our Senate, they said they didn't do post-deployment screenings. 

ADF members should have annual mental health screenings, Senate inquiry recommends 
ABC News Australia 
By Kristy O'Brien 
March 22, 2016

Since 2000, 96 serving members have killed themselves and a further 13 veterans have taken their own life.

Alex Kasmarek struggled with mental illness for eight years after returning from Iraq. ABC News

An Iraq veteran has spoken out about his experience with mental illness following his service abroad, saying he felt suicidal every day for eight years.

Alex Kasmarek has told the ABC his life spiralled out of control after he returned from an eight-month rotation of Iraq, left the military and found himself homeless.

His comments come after a Senate inquiry found nearly one in four returned soldiers had experienced a mental disorder in the previous 12 months, and the rate of suicidality - which the Federal Government defines as serious thoughts about taking one's own life, suicide plans and suicide attempts - was double those of the general population.

"Every day of my life for eight years I had an undesirable will to shoot myself. Every single day. And I just didn't know why," Mr Kasmarek said.

"I didn't know what PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] was exactly, and Army doctors told me I was fine. I just thought I was going mentally insane."
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When you watch this clip, you'll hear how low the suicides were back then, so please remember, they were important enough to hold a hearing like this back then but things got worse and we received no accountability from anyone. Their answer was a half day course for "non-commissioned officers" to take.

Fort Carson Soldier Arrested After Standoff Has 28 Military Awards and Untreated PTSD

Fort Carson soldier who was arrested after barricading himself in home says he suffers from PTSD
The Gazette
By: Kaitlin Durbin
March 21, 2016

The incident started around 1 p.m. Sunday when Fernandez's wife called 911 to report that a phone call with her husband had ended abruptly and that she believed she heard gunshots before he hung up, the sheriff's office said.

A Fort Carson soldier who barricaded himself in his home Sunday and threatened to harm officers and himself told authorities he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Sgt. 1st Class Raymond San Nicholas Fernandez, 39, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of prohibited use of a weapon and reckless endangerment after it took authorities hours to talk him into surrendering, according to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.

Fort Carson officials confirmed Fernandez's employment in the military.

He's earned as many as 28 military awards, including a National Defense Service Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star, Korea Defense Service Medal, NATO medal and Senior Army Aircraft Crewman Badge.
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Camp Lejeune Ret. Marine Received Silver Star

MARINE AWARDED SILVER STAR FOR HEROIC ACTIONS IN AFGHANISTAN
Marines.mil
By Sgt. Kirstin Merrimarahajara, II Marine Expeditionary Force
March 21, 2016

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, North Carolina -- Sgt. Matthew S. Parker (ret.), received a Silver Star medal on base March 18, 2016.

Marine awarded Silver Star for heroic actions in Afghanistan Sgt. Matthew Parker (ret.) speaks to a group of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment Marines during his Silver Star ceremony at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, March 18, 2016. Parker was awarded the Silver Star for his courageous actions during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2011, where assumed control of his platoon during a firefight after several leaders had been injured.

The Silver Star is the third highest military combat decoration and was awarded to Parker for his bravery and composure during an attack in Afghanistan on May 21, 2011, while he was deployed as a rifleman with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment during Operation Enduring Freedom. Parker courageously assumed control as the ground force commander after several leaders had been injured, called in fire support and evacuated casualties.

The award was presented by Maj. Gen. Brian Beaudreault, commanding general of 2nd Marine Division, who expressed his appreciation for what Parker did that day.

“You represented everything we want to teach in honor, courage, commitment and the warrior’s ethos… and for that I’m greatly indebted to you,” Beaudreault said. “You did everything we would want and hope for every Marine NCO leading a formation to do.”
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Florida Suicide Prevention Training Deserves Gov. Scott's Approval

Pledge Of Allegiance, Suicide Prevention Training Among Bills That Survived Session 
WSFU.com
By Sascha Cordner
MAR 18, 2016

Hannah Jines is a teacher from Lakeland. About seven years ago, her father committed suicide.

“On January 12, 2009, at 8 o’ clock, my uncle had called me and his exact words were, ‘there was an accident and your father didn’t make it,’” she said. “Now, I knew my dad had been struggling with depression and alcoholism, PTSD [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder], and so, in the pit of my stomach, I knew it wasn’t an accident, I knew it was a suicide. At first, no one in my family wanted to admit that it was a suicide, and no one definitely wanted to talk about it.”

She says stigma is one of the worst parts of losing someone to suicide.

“The stigma was so strong that our Pastor refused to let us name the church in his obituary,” Jines added.

Jines says it was around that time, she started getting depressed.

“My father was a retired Master Chief in the Navy. He served 25 dedicated years and he was so put together,” she continued. “No one would have ever thought that he would have ever taken his life. I never thought that I would have experienced a suicide in my family.

Unfortunately, mental illness does not discriminate. I felt like I had this picture perfect family and it was just shattered. I went through the darkest time in my life. I battled depression myself, afterwards, and I wanted to end my own life.”
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Fort Campbell Did Not Search For AWOL Suspected Rapist?

Suspected rapist goes AWOL, but Army doesn't search for him
Associated Press
By Richard Lardner
Published: March 21, 2016

Had anyone looked, Hazelbower may not have been hard to find. After fleeing Fort Campbell, he had gone home to Lanark, Ill., a small town two hours west of Chicago. Lanark Police Chief Matt Magill and other local law enforcement officials said they were never asked to search for him.

WASHINGTON — Army Pvt. Jameson T. Hazelbower went AWOL after learning he was suspected of raping a 15-year-old girl. Despite the potential threat to the public that he posed, the self-described sex addict roamed free for nearly three months before local police collared him in Winnebago, Ill., near where he grew up.

And that was only by chance, according to interviews, police reports and court-martial records obtained by The Associated Press.

An officer responded to a call late on a Friday night in March 2014 about a suspicious vehicle parked in a cul-de-sac outside an apartment complex. Hazelbower, his pants down to his knees, was in the car with a girl, barely 14. She was unharmed.

Hazelbower's case is a window into an obscure but significant aspect of the U.S. military's legal system. Deserters suspected of serious crimes are to be prioritized for capture based on the severity of the offenses. But the Army never searched for Hazelbower and the U.S. Marshals Service was not called in, even though marshals have arrested more than 200 deserters over the past five years alone.

In fact, there was a lack of urgency to locate Hazelbower despite strident warnings from his superiors at Fort Campbell, Ky., records show. The military's version of an arrest warrant described him as a "sexually violent predator" and a known drug abuser. Also, he had gone AWOL before. "CAUTION - ESCAPE RISK" is stamped in bold letters on the right side of the document. read more here

UK Fraud Duped Veterans Charity Caught By Walter Mitty Hunters Club

Ex-soldier who lied about fighting in Afghanistan duped veterans' charity who gave him place in street transformed by William and Harry on DIY SOS
Daily Mail 
By POPPY DANBY FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 07:21 EST, 20 March 2016

Princes Harry and William helped out on BBC One's DIY SOS last October as they worked to build homes for ex-servicemen

Serviceman went AWOL for two years but never deployed to Afghanistan
Charity says it is indicative of a greater problem amongst veterans in need
Giles is due to move out this week to a one-bed flat elsewhere

An ex-soldier who lied about fighting in Afghanistan tricked a charity into giving him a home on the veteran's street transformed by Princes William and Harry on DIY SOS. Aiden Giles, 27, claimed to be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after coming back from Afghanistan.

As a result, Giles played a part in the BBC programme, which was broadcast last October, and even moved in to a renovated house on the Manchester street.

Instead, defence sources revealed that when Giles's unit moved to the Hyde Park barracks in central London, he went absent without leave (AWOL) for two years.

It is suspected that he had gone to the Greek island of Zante, where his mother was living.

On top of this, during a spell in military custody he was released from the army but struggled to cope with civilian life and became homeless.

Giles's DIY SOS fraud was first exposed in December by The Walter Mitty Hunters Club.
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Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day in West Virginia

Vietnam vets welcomed at area ceremony
The Register-Herald
By Charles Boothe
March 21, 2016

PRINCETON — Area residents and state and local dignitaries showed their appreciation of Vietnam veterans Sunday afternoon at a ceremony at the Memorial Building in Princeton.

The third annual Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day Ceremony was held to “welcome home, honor and recognize Vietnam veterans,” said Marie Blackwell, a member of the ceremony’s organizing committee.

Blackwell said those veterans were “never given that recognition” during and right after they served, and she also drew attention to the more than 58,000 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the more than 300,000 injured.

“We honor these brave men and women and their families,” she said.

The ceremony is part of a broader statewide recognition leading up to March 30, which is Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day in West Virginia.

Col. Daniel Bochicchio, M.D., interim director at the VA Medical Center in Beckley, said he has a “great respect for veterans who served in combat zones.

“I appreciate your sacrifices,” he told the veterans, and he offered to help in any way he could to make their lives better.

West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, one of the guest speakers, told the veterans that two simple words, “welcome home,” mean “so much,” but Vietnam veterans were not given that courtesy and respect.
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Marine Killed in Afghanistan Memorialized in Sculpture From Florida Artist

Striking sculpture pays tribute to Nebraskan killed in Afghanistan
Omaha.com
By Chris Bowling
World-Herald staff writer
March 21, 2016

Former Marine and Vietnam War veteran Cliff Leonard of Jacksonville sculpted the bust. It is one of almost 30 he’s made for Florida Marines and corpsmen — Navy medical specialists who may serve with Marine units — killed in action.

In August 2010, during his fourth deployment with the U.S. Marine Corps, Staff Sgt. Michael Bock was killed in Afghanistan by a Taliban sniper.

Marine Staff Sgt. Michael Bock with his wife, Tiffany, and their son Zander. Tiffany said the eyes took her breath away when she saw the bust of her husband.

Bock, 26, who grew up in Springfield, Nebraska, left behind a family including his widow and then-3-year-old son.

Six years later, Bock’s family and a sculptor in Florida are reminding the world he’s not forgotten.

On March 14, a clay bust of Bock went on display at the Leesburg Public Library in Leesburg, Florida, to commemorate his service and sacrifice.

For his parents, Sandra and David Bock of Leesburg, the bust is the latest in a line of memorials, honors and commemorations for their son.

Since 2010, people have attached Michael Bock’s name to baseball games, Sept. 11 memorials and even a Florida highway he used to drive every day.

Each honor is unique and special, his mother said. When it comes to this bust, it’s the likeness to Bock that’s most striking.
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Fisher House To Build Lodging Near Charleston VA

Lodging for VA patients’ families in the works
The Post and Courier
Diane Knich
Mar 19 2016

Emerson said he originally thought about organizing a golf tournament to raise about $30,000 for a good cause. But he ultimately got swept up into fundraising for the Fisher House and has helped raise $8 million of the required $10 million for the project.

The Charleston VA hospital soon will build the Fisher House Charleston at 150 Wentworth St. The old funeral home at the site will be torn down to make room for the facility, which is like a Ronald McDonald House where patients’ families can stay.
BRAD NETTLES/STAFF

Trux and Durbin Emerson’s desire to help veterans ultimately led to a $10 million campaign for a new lodging facility for families near the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center.

The Fisher House, similar in concept to a Ronald McDonald House, could open as early as next year on the site of the former McAlister-Smith Funeral Home at 150 Wentworth St.

The Charleston VA hospital soon will build the Fisher House Charleston at 150 Wentworth St. The old funeral home at the site will be torn down to make room for the facility, which is like a Ronald McDonald House where patients’ families can stay.

Family members of patients at the hospital will be able to stay for free in the 14,000-square-foot facility, which will include 16 bedroom suites and common kitchen, living and dining areas, said Trux Emerson, who retired from a residential real estate career and now lives on Kiawah Island.
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Veterans Court Making A Difference For Those Who Served

Veterans Court helping make a difference
Sioux City Journal
Nick Hytrek
Mar 19, 2016

"It got me in touch with benefits I didn't realize I was entitled to," said Linton, an Army generator mechanic from 1992-95 who was convicted in May of first-degree theft. Completing Veterans Court is a condition of his probation.

Tim Hynds Sioux City Journal

SIOUX CITY | Standing at parade rest in a Woodbury County courtroom, Nick Sampson tells a judge about the progress he's made in his treatment for mental illness.

He believes he's been doing well while on pretrial release since his arrest last summer on a charge of reckless use of a firearm.

District Judge Jeffrey Poulson agrees, so much so that he approves Sampson's request to visit his father out of state this summer. Then Poulson promotes Sampson, an Army veteran, to Phase 3 of the Woodbury County Veterans Treatment Court and gives him a military-style dog tag with the word "Honor" stamped on it.

The dog tag is symbolic of the work Sampson has done since his arrest. But the real reward, he said, is the alternative Veterans Court has presented him.
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