"We couldn’t have drawn up a more catastrophic way to fail" Veterans

Review: ‘Thank You for Your Service,’ Stories of Soldiers and Suicide
New York Times
By KEN JAWOROWSKI
OCT. 27, 2016

“While you have watched this documentary, a veteran has committed suicide.”

Kenny Toone, an Iraq War veteran, hugs a Vietnam War Veteran in the documentary “Thank You for Your Service.” Credit CreativeChaos

“Thank You for Your Service” starts with a frantic, tear-filled 911 call reporting a suicide. It’s a gut-wrenching moment in a documentary that’s filled with them, and with scenes that make you want to scream in frustration at the bureaucracy faced by combat veterans seeking mental health services.

“We couldn’t have drawn up a more catastrophic way to fail to meet mental health needs than the blueprints that were followed in this war,” a retired Navy psychologist says about Iraq. The facts bear him out: Over the past decade, the number of suicides among veterans has soared.
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Gary Sinise Honors WWII Veterans "They saved the world from tyranny"

Actor Gary Sinise flies veterans to New Orleans' WWII Museum
KSLA 12 News
October 28th 2016

Two dozen World War II veterans from Texas and Louisiana joined Gary Sinise this week for the flight of their lives.

(Source: KSLA News 12)

SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA)
Two dozen World War II veterans from Texas and Louisiana joined Gary Sinise this week for the flight of their lives.

The actor best known for his roles on "Criminal Minds:Beyond Borders" and as Lieutenant Dan in "Forrest Gump" sent 8 veterans from Tyler, Texas, and 16 veterans from Shreveport, La., to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans on Wednesday.

"They deserve everything. They saved the world from tyranny," Sinise said Wednesday before their flight out of Shreveport Regional Airport. "That was the most horrible conflict in human history. and the amount of devastation that happened during that time in the world is unthinkable."
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Sgt. James Morrison, Soldier-Firefighter Laid to Rest

Soldier, firefighter who died of apparent suicide given hero’s escort
Westchester 12 News
October 27, 2016

Morrison’s parents say that their son’s death is proof that post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is very real among the military.

GARNERVILLE - A Rockland soldier and longtime Hillcrest firefighter who recently died of an apparent suicide in Colorado got a hero's escort to Garnerville on Thursday.

Sgt. James Morrison, of Wesley Hills, was on active duty at Fort Carson when he died Wednesday. The 28-year-old also used to be a firefighter in Hillcrest, joining the department when he was a teenager.

Morrison had been deployed to Afghanistan three times and later re-enlisted back in the United States.
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Military Suicide Risk Higher Back Home

Veterans may face higher risk of suicide during first year home
Reuters
October 28, 2016

When they left the military, the risk of suicide remained higher than for current service members for several years. Six years after leaving the military, veterans had a 63 percent higher risk of suicide than those still in the service, the study found.

Veterans may be more likely to commit suicide during the first year after they leave the military than after more time passes, a U.S. study suggests.

Compared with people still on active duty in the military, veterans out of the service for up to three months were 2.5 times more likely to commit suicide, the study found. Veterans who had left the service from three to 12 months earlier had almost triple the suicide odds of current members of the military.

"Family members and community can be proactive to reach out to veterans if they recently experienced stressful events - not just limited to the stressful events we can capture in the data such as divorce or separation from the military," said lead study author Yu-Chu Shen, a researcher at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

"In addition, clinicians should be aware that deployments may increase suicide risk independently of underlying mental disorders, and so asking patients about deployment history is advisable," Shen said by email.

However, in the first quarter following deployment, service members had a 50 percent higher risk of suicide than their peers who didn't experience deployment.

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Family of Maj. Gen. John Rossi Wants Others To Seek Help To Heal

Army Says 2-Star General Committed Suicide
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OCT. 28, 2016

"To the Army, he was Maj. Gen. Rossi. To us, he was John -- husband, dad."

WASHINGTON — The Army said Friday it has determined that suicide was the cause of death of a two-star general who was found dead in his home on a military base in Alabama.

Maj. Gen. John Rossi was found dead July 31 at Redstone Arsenal, two days before he was to assume command of Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

He is the first Army general to commit suicide on active duty since record-keeping began in 2000, according to the Army. Military suicides soared earlier this decade and remain a major source of concern; they typically have affected lower-ranking military members.

Rossi, a West Point academy graduate and an air defense artillery officer by training, had just moved onto Redstone Arsenal and was scheduled to be promoted to lieutenant general when he took command of Space and Missile Defense Command.

"To all the other families out there, to the man or woman who may be facing challenging times, please seek assistance immediately. Compassionate and confidential assistance is available."
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Police Officer Struggle With PTSD Iraq Veteran On Video

Video: Man with apparent PTSD struggles with Gladstone officer, asks girlfriend to ‘shoot him’
FOX 4
BY SHANNON O'BRIEN AND MICHELLE PEKARSKY 
OCTOBER 28, 2016

GLADSTONE, Mo. -- A Gladstone police officer struggled with a suspect for about 4 minutes, trying to keep Aaron Barker, 32, from getting a hold of his gun.

Barker's girlfriend Megan took video during the fight and wanted to explain that the man she loves suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after serving as a mortar man during a 10-month deployment in Iraq, where he saw combat every day and was blown up by a hidden bomb.

In the video above, FOX 4's Shannon O'Brien talked to Megan, who didn't want to show her face, but did want to explain Barker's actions.
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Green Beret Soldier's Death in Kenya Under Investigation

Fort Bragg-based Green Beret dies while serving in Kenya
Army Times
By: Meghann Myers
October 28, 2016

A memorial service for a 3rd Special Forces Group soldier is set for Saturday in Fayetteville, North Carolina, 11 days after his mysterious death while deployed to Kenya, according to his obituary.

Sgt. 1st Class Zachary Bannister, 33, was found dead of non-combat related injuries on Oct. 17, Maj. Christopher Foreman, a spokesman for 3rd Special Forces Group, told Army Times on Friday.

Bannister's remains arrived at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, on Thursday. The cause of his death is under investigation, Foreman said.

The Reynoldsburg, Ohio, native spent four years as a Marine from 2003 to 2007, then re-enlisted into Special Forces in 2010, according to a 3rd Special Forces Group release.

He did two deployment to Afghanistan, the release said, earning three Bronze Star Medals -- one with the combat "V" device -- and various other awards.
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Florida Marine's Widow Forced to Fight VA After Camp Lejeune

8 INVESTIGATES: Camp Lejeune widow keeps fighting V.A. for her husband and benefits
WFLA 8 News
By Steve Andrews
Published: October 27, 2016

“I’ve lost my husband, I’ve lost my home, I will not lose my dignity.” Tara Craver

AVON PARK, Fla. (WFLA) — Tara Craver of Avon Park is becoming a familiar site at busy intersections outside V.A. facilities. She protests what she believes is unfair V.A. treatment of marines and their families.

“They killed my husband,” said Tara.

Her husband Karle was a marine, stationed at Camp Lejeune in the 70’s. His is one of the many faces of Camp Lejeune, the site of one of the largest mass contaminations in American history. From 1953 to 1987, an estimated 750,000 marines, their families as well as base employees were exposed to cancer causing chemicals in their drinking water.

“They didn’t contaminate themselves, the government did and they kept it hid for two or three decades. They kept it hid,” added Tara.

Doctors diagnosed Karle with esophageal cancer in January 2014. He died 10 weeks later.

Karle passed well before Tara heard that the V.A. rejected his claim that his cancer was connected to Camp Lejeune.
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Man Wants To Be Commander-in-Chief Without Military Women?

Trump faces new round of military controversies just days before the election
Military Times By: Leo Shane III
October 27, 2016

With less than two weeks left before the election, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump finds himself in the middle of a new round of military-themed controversies that opponents say shows he’s unqualified to be commander in chief.

The problems began Monday, during an interview with a Florida television station where Trump stated that his campaign has impressive support among veterans and “I’ve been endorsed largely, at least conceptually, by the military.”

Campaign officials offered no further explanation of the remark, which drew criticism and confusion given the military’s strict rules against politicking in the ranks. The most recent Military Times/Institute for Veterans and Military Families Poll showed about 40 percent of active-duty troops plan to vote for Trump next month.

“Well, I went to a military academy, which was from a different planet. ... We didn’t have women in the academy at that time. Today you have women, which is a whole other story, women in the Army and you see what’s going on. It’s like, it’s like bedlam. It is bedlam."
“... It’s something that people aren’t talking about, but what’s going on is bedlam, bringing women in the Army.”
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He's not alone
Mike Pence said in 1999 that women shouldn’t be in the military.

Six Months Equals 221 Military Suicides?

For the first half of this year there have been 120 Active Duty Service Members and another 101 Reserve/National Guard members committed suicide. 

The total for 2015 was 266 Active Duty and 212 Reserve/National Guard members. 

DOD 2nd Quarter Suicide Report 2016

In the second quarter of 2016, the military services reported the following:
 57 deaths by suicide in the Active Component
 23 deaths by suicide in the Reserves
 23 deaths by suicide in the National Guard

Just look at this chart from the Department of Defense.

Just a reminder, the reported count of veterans committing suicide is from the Department of Veterans Affairs. They do not track active and the DOD does not track veterans.

Do you think it is time to change what they are doing? So why is it obvious to us and not them?

Red Tape After Pulse Massacre Leaves First Responder Struggling

Orlando Officers Grapple With Trauma and Red Tape After Massacre
New York Times
By FRANCES ROBLES
OCT. 27, 2016

ORLANDO, Fla. — The sound of a ringing iPhone makes Omar Delgado sweat and freeze in place. His heart pounds. He closes his eyes to fight back the ghastly images that no one should ever have to see.

He hears the marimba-like tone and he is back at the Pulse nightclub on June 12 as a police officer pinned down in an hourslong standoff surrounded by dead bodies, their phones ringing again and again with calls that will never be answered.

“I literally felt like I was standing there at the club, my feet hurting, my arm hurting from holding my weapon,” Officer Delgado recalled, thinking of the times just after the slaughter when the phone rang and the panic came back.

It has been more than four months since a security guard named Omar Mateen gunned down 49 people at the gay club in Orlando. Officer Delgado, 44, who works in nearby Eatonville, was on the job briefly over the July 4 weekend but suffered a flashback on duty and has not been on patrol since. He has spent the last few months getting treated for nightmares and depression while managing red tape and cuts in his take-home pay because he no longer earns overtime.
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Veteran Sang National Anthem in Front of Whining Protestor

Do they actually teach what respect is there? The young woman seems to think that the veteran, who risked his life for this country, did not deserve any respect at all. Freedom of speech does not trump the rights of others to do the same. It is about time folks understood the full impact of the 1st Amendment.

Amendment I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

My Dad and my Uncles served and so did my Husband and his Dad and his Uncles. What they are doing is showing disrespect to every generation that thought this country, as imperfect as it is, was worth dying for. She couldn't even stop whining long enough to think about that.

Video captures national anthem standoff between #BamaSits protesters and veteran
WBMA
by Andrew Donley
October 27th 2016

A peaceful protest during the national anthem before Alabama's last home game was disrupted by a proud veteran, and the incident was captured on video.

Protesters saying that the way the veteran interrupted them was uncalled for, but the veteran says he was well within his rights.

"#BamaSits is a peaceful protest. We are protesting social injustice. We support underrepresented LGBTQ community and people of color against discrimination and we're also protesting against police brutality," Emerald Vaughn said.
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Many Different Wounds You Cannot See Still Just As Real

I often get offended when some folks want to say PTSD is an "invisible wound" almost as if that allows them to walk away without ever really thinking about it. 

Take all the other "invisible wounds" and then try to dismiss them. A broken bone does not always break through the skin, yet a broken bone still causes pain and needs help to heal. 

What about a headache or toothache? Can anyone see that pain? What about torn tendons or pulled muscles? Can anyone see them with just their eyes?

About six months ago I started to have problems with my left leg. I thought it would just get better, but it didn't. It got worse. After the last time I fell, I decided to go see my doctor.

He could tell I was in pain even though there was nothing for him to see as far as my leg was concerned. He sent me for an MRI. 

What if he didn't know me or the fact that I have a high tolerance to pain? What if he didn't believe the pain I was reporting was real?

It tuns out the MRI showed a reason for the pain. I have nerve damage and it has been causing the pain running down my leg. No one can see it with just their eyes. They can only tell by the way I walk that I am in pain.

With PTSD, no one can see it unless they either know the person or use a medical scan to see it. The fact is, the pain is so real inside, if you know them, you can see the pain they carry. You cannot see a lot of things unless you actually take the time and look.

We know that it is real, just as real, as traumatic brain injury, and that is what technology has proven. The pain is real but only machines can see what you feel. That is, unless you happen to be with others, who not only see your pain, but help you carry the load until they help you heal.

The longer you wait to heal, the more you torture yourself. You could be healing right now instead of suffering.

This video is about TBI.

Camp Lejeune Marine Reservist Murder-Suicide Investigation

Brother: Man who killed girlfriend, self 'a good person'
Gaston Gazette
By Adam Lawson
October 26, 2016

As a reservist, Walker was promoted to sergeant with Company F, 4th Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division at Camp Lejeune on Oct. 1. Marine Corps Maj. Andrew Aranda, spokesman for the Marine Corps Reserve, listed his job as tank crewman.

The brother of a Gastonia man who detectives say strangled his estranged girlfriend to death and then killed himself Monday wants to know why things spiraled out of control.

Tyrone Walker knew his baby brother, Justin Hakeem Walker, and Rebecca Jones had "been going through a little something." But he didn't foresee it ending in two deaths. Justin Walker had just proposed to her on Christmas, and the two once planned on getting married at a church in April, according to an online wedding registry.

According to the registry, the two met in September 2011 and had been "together ever since."

Tyrone Walker wants to know what was going through his brother's head at the time, what he was thinking, what could make him end two lives. Police can't answer those questions, Tyrone Walker said.

"I really don't got nothing to ask the police," he said. "There's nothing they can solve. Nobody can know what was going on with both of them. Not nobody knows the motive that really happened."
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American Airlines Sued for Treatment of American PTSD Veteran With Service Dog

Lawsuit: Airline tells veteran with PTSD, ‘You’re not flying with THAT!’
Sun Herald
Anita Lee
October 26, 2016

GULFPORT
An Army veteran who suffers from PTSD says in a federal lawsuit that American Airlines agents subjected her to two days of humiliation and stress when she tried to fly home from Kansas with her service dog, a Labrador retriever named Jake.

Service dog Jake was wearing his vest and had the credentials needed to fly with Army veteran Lisa McCombs, according to a lawsuit she filed against American Airlines and regional carrier Envoy for refusing to let her board a plane with Jake to Gulfport from Manhattan, Kansas. Courtesy of Lisa McCombs

Lisa McCombs says she flew without incident to Manhattan, Kansas, on Oct. 25, 2015, but was stuck there for two days because American regional carrier Envoy refused to let her board a return flight with Jake, even though he was wearing his service vest and met criteria to board the plane.

“Ms. McCombs was emotionally crushed and humiliated by the conduct of (Americans’) agents, who discriminated against her because of her disability and publicly shamed her,” says the lawsuit filed by Biloxi attorney Christopher Van Cleave of Corban Gunn Van Cleave in Biloxi.
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Who Gives National Guard Families Back What Their Service Cost Them?

Military family: Enlistment bonus fiasco 'depleted our savings'
CNN
By Holly Yan and Curt Devine
October 25, 2016

In 2006, at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Pentagon enticed soldiers to reenlist by offering hefty bonuses. Haley and Van Meter both accepted $15,000 bonuses to extend their service.

(CNN)Master Sgt. Susan Haley's family is the epitome of military sacrifice. She's a 24-year veteran. Her husband served for 26 years. Their son lost his leg serving in Afghanistan.

But now, the California National Guard is demanding more sacrifices from her -- to the tune of $650 a month.

"$650 is a quarter of our monthly income. And you just can't all of a sudden come up with that money," Haley told CNN's "New Day" on Tuesday. "We have depleted our savings."

Haley is one of thousands of veterans being forced to repay millions of dollars in reenlistment bonuses after the California National Guard awarded the bonuses in error. Years later, officials realized many of the veterans were not actually eligible for the bonuses and said they wanted that money back -- with interest.
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National Guard: Used and Abused, Served Then Charged Money

Veteran could lose Central Texas home
FOX 7 News
Ashley Paredez
October 24, 2016

Thousands of soldiers are being forced to pay back a large bonus they were promised to re-enlist in the California National Guard.

It has been a decade since they were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon says they were overpaid. FOX 7 spoke with a retired army master sergeant who could now lose her home in Central Texas.

"I gave my time, that I will never get back, and now they want their money back. They can't give me back the missed birthdays and things of that nature," says Susan Haley, retired master sergeant, U.S. Army.

It's taken a toll on Susan Haley who spent 26 years in the Army along with her husband and son.

She's devastated that this is how nearly 10,000 soldiers are being treated after serving their country.
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WWII Veteran Gets Birthday Bash on USS Iowa

Pearl Harbor veteran gets a 99th birthday party thrown for him on-board the Battleship Iowa
DAILY MAIL
By DAILYMAIL.COM REPORTER
25 October 2016

Ernest Thompson lives in Gardena, California, just a few miles from the Battleship Iowa Museum
The WWII veteran can no longer visit though due to health reasons
On October 26 he will turn 99, so on Sunday there was a birthday party
USS Iowa honored him by throwing a large gathering and barbecue

Special moment: World War II veteran Ernest Thompson celebrated his 99th birthday on Sunday with a party thrown for him the Battleship Iowa Museum

A Second World War veteran who was aboard the USS Missouri during Pearl Harbor has received a very special birthday party on-board a battleship.

Ernest Thompson lives just a few miles from the Battleship Iowa Museum in Gardena, California.

The veteran can no longer visit however due to health reasons and some problems with walking.

But he made a special journey to the ship on Sunday so that staff could a throw him a large party with his closest family, friends and chief selects for his 99th birthday.
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Brad Snyder Lost Sight in Afghanistan but Not Inspiration

Brad Snyder, who lost his sight while serving his country, conquers treacherous Alcatraz swim
ESPN 
Dan Arritt

Jill Dahle and Brad Snyder get ready for their 2.1-mile open-water swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco. The Factory Agency

One, two, three, four ...

Brad Snyder managed to block out every next thought, every painful memory, every unwritten plan, and remain focused on the revolving numbers in his head.

24, 25, 26, 27 ...

With every long, powerful stroke -- the thrusts he learned as a child growing up in Florida, polished as captain of the Naval Academy's swim team, and brought back to life while winning five gold medals at the last two Paralympics -- Snyder kept his mind concentrated on pulling his body to a shoreline he'd never see.

56, 57, 58, 59 ...

Even before losing his eyesight in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan six years ago, swimming in chilly ocean temperatures didn't come naturally to the Gulf Coast native. So Snyder stayed locked in on his numbers Sunday morning, counting each stroke as he churned through the treacherous 2.1 miles from Alcatraz Island to a sandy beach just east of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
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Congress Knew Two Years Ago About National Guardsmen Bonus, Did Nothing For Them

Congress knew for at least two years about Pentagon efforts to take back bonuses from veterans
LA Times
David S. Cloud and Sarah D. Wire
October 24, 2016

The California National Guard told the state’s members of Congress two years ago that the Pentagon was trying to claw back reenlistment bonuses from thousands of soldiers, and even offered a proposal to mitigate the problem, but Congress took no action, according to a senior National Guard official.

The official added that improper bonuses had been paid to National Guard members in every state, raising the possibility that many more soldiers may owe large debts to the Pentagon.

“This is a national issue and affects all states,” Andreas Mueller, the chief of federal policy for the California Guard, wrote in an email to the state’s congressional delegation Monday. Attention had focused on California because it was “the only state that audited” bonus payments at the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he added.

In the email, Mueller reminded members of Congress that the Guard had informed them about the issue two years ago. Whether members of Congress understood the scope of the problem at the time is unclear.
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