Master Sergeant's Parents Get Double Act of Kindness

Act of kindness helps Arlington military family, twice
WFAA
Sean Giggy
January 27, 2017

Officials, who already agreed to move the ceremony to Fort Worth, moved it again. This time to the hospital, so these Air Force parents could give their Air Force daughter that Master Sergeant pin.

Noelle Scala's parents, Joe and Better, were able to be there to put a Master Sergeant pin on their daughter. Photo: Courtesy

FORT WORTH - Air Force veteran Joe Scala is in the hospital battling cancer, but he prefers to talk about how the staff helped him with his heart.

“What they’ve done, they gave us our life back,” he said.

Joe’s agony began when he and his wife, Betty, were both admitted to Texas Health Arlington Memorial as patients last month.

“It was an emotional drain on us. Both of us," she said.

But, soon after, one act of kindness changed everything.

“It gave me my life back,” Joe said with a little grin. “My little girl.”

Air Force Deputy Airfield Manager Noelle Scala is Joe and Betty’s only child. After five miscarriages, they call her their “miracle baby.”

Now, Noelle, after 14 years of dedicated service, was selected to receive one of the highest promotions the Air Force can give: Master Sergeant.
read more here

Marine's Wife Paralyzed in Robbery is Pregnant

Family raising funds for former Marine's pregnant wife paralyzed in alleged armed robbery
FoxNews.com
Published January 27, 2017

“This baby is a miracle. It shouldn’t have survived it. I can’t wait to find out what we’re having and give birth,” Webb told KPRC2. “It’s seriously what is keeping me going.”

The Houston woman who was left paralyzed in an armed robbery and later discovered she was pregnant at the hospital is speaking out in an effort to help authorities nab the alleged suspects. Paxton Webb, 23, is still recovering at Texas Medical Center.

“I am here ad I’m fighting every day,” she told KPRC2.

Webb was working at Katz Boutique, an adult shop, on Christmas Eve when a pair of armed suspects whose faces were covered allegedly demanded money from her before firing a shot into her back. The assault left her paralyzed from the chest down.

“The bullet completely severed my spine, hit my lungs, missed my heart by less than a centimeter, fractured a couple of ribs and fractured my left shoulder,” Webb told KPRC2.
read more here

ABC 13 News Video from robbery

Montford Point Marines Honored at MacDill Air Force Base

Medal honors black Marines who served despite discrimination in WWII
Tampa Bay Times
Howard Altman, Times Staff Writer
Friday, January 27, 2017

"When they would go out on furlough, the black Marines couldn't go certain places," she said. "There was an incident on a train to New York. They were trying to put out my father, but the white Marines all stood up and said, 'No, we are all Marines, stay right here.'"

TAMPA — In 1943, as the Marines were slogging through a bloody Pacific island-hopping campaign, two good friends from Nyack, New York, showed up at a recruiting station to join the fight.

David Knight was given orders to report to boot camp within a week. His friend, Charles Robert Fountain, passed the physical too, but then had to undergo questioning about his personal life, education and marital status. It would be seven months before the corps would accept him.

The difference?

Knight was white, Fountain black.

Friday at noon, Fountain's service as one of the first black Marines was honored during a ceremony at MacDill Air Force Base presided over by the commander of Marine Corps Forces Central Command, Lt. Gen. William Beydler. Fountain's daughter, Kim Fountaine of Ruskin, received a Congressional Gold Medal, awarded to those black Marines stationed at the Camp Montford Point — a rundown barracks outside of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where some 20,000 were housed in substandard, segregated quarters between 1942 and 1949.
read more here

Feb 12, 2012
Last night at the Orlando Nam Knights there was a surprise guest. Charles O. Foreman, a WWII veteran, member of the Montford Point Marines came. He is part of the group of Marines receiving the Congressional Gold Medal. At 87 he is just amazing. No matter what he had to go through because of the color of his skin, he'd do it all over again. He credits the Marines with making him the man he is today.

VA Un-Freeze Job List Did Not Include Claims Processors?

It seems that POTUS had a busy week issuing Executive Orders, then discovering they are not Royal Decrees, had to undo them.

Among the things President Trump had to undo, was placing a hiring freeze on the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA released a list of jobs that are now excluded from the freeze. They seem to have thought of everything but Claims Processors.

It was a week filled with proof that the power, and will, of the American people will stand against what politicians do.

VA specifies jobs exempt from Trump's hiring freeze
The Hill
BY REBECCA KHEEL
01/27/17

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has released a full list of jobs exempt from President Trump’s federal hiring freezing that includes a slew of medical specialties.

“The Department of Veterans Affairs intends to exempt anyone it deems necessary for public health and safety, including frontline caregivers,” acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Snyder said in a statement. “The president and VA remain committed to seeing that our veterans receive the quality care and benefits they’ve earned. This is the right thing to do for our veterans.”

Trump signed an executive order Monday that freezes all federal hiring except for the military. It also allows for exemptions for public safety.

The hiring freeze has come under fire from dozens of Democrats, including every Democrat in the Senate, who say it disproportionately affects veterans, as the VA won’t be able to hire support staff and veterans won’t be able to apply for federal jobs. The Democrats wanted Trump to exempt the entire VA from the order.
read more here

VA Still Needs Doctors and Nurses, And Will A Lot Longer Now

Trump’s hiring freeze comes as VA in Spokane seeks doctors, nurses
The Spokesman Review
Mike Prager
FRIDAY, JAN. 27, 2017

The Mann-Grandstaff Veterans Administration Medical Center in Spokane has job openings for doctors, nurses and other care specialists that may or may not be filled because of President Donald Trump’s hiring freeze of federal workers.

The president’s press secretary initially said the freeze would extend to the VA, which has been harshly criticized for the long wait times veterans face getting care.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said of the VA Tuesday, “Right now, the system’s broken,” and that the hiring freeze is meant as a “pause” while a new VA secretary takes stock of the situation.

“And I think the VA in particular, if you look at the problems that have plagued people, hiring more people isn’t the answer,” Spicer said, according to the Washington Post. “It’s hiring the right people, putting the procedures in place that ensure that our veterans – whether health care or mortgages or the other services that VA provides to those who have served our nation – get the services that they’ve earned.”
read more here

Veterans With Bad Discharges Get Fighting Chance

Tampa, Florida Veterans Lawyer Comments Need for Veterans to be Honorably Discharged
Tampa, FL (Law Firm Newswire)
January 26, 2017

Many veterans who were diagnosed with mental problems or traumatic brain injury have received less-than-honorable discharges. But such a discharge can result in the denial of veterans’ benefits, thereby causing these veterans to become homeless, imprisoned, develop substance abuse or commit suicide.

In an effort to assist these veterans, the Vietnam Veterans Association of America wrote President Obama asking him to pardon all post-9/11 veterans who received less-than-honorable discharges without the due process of a court-martial. They are making the same request of President-elect Donald Trump.

Prominent Tampa, Florida veterans lawyer David Magann says, “Veterans who have received less-than-honorable discharges because they suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other mental illnesses are entitled to receive an honorable discharge.” “They should not lose their Veterans Affairs health benefits or GI bill education benefits.”

As reported in Shelbyville Daily Union, one such victim of this policy is Kristofer Goldsmith, who enlisted in the army a short time after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In a little over two years, he was promoted to sergeant, and spent a full year in Baghdad. However, upon his return home, he had to drink in order to sleep, and he spent time in isolation so he would not hurt his family and friends in the event he had an abrupt fit of anger. Then, when he attempted to commit suicide, the Army gave him a less-than-honorable discharge for severe misconduct. He was not found guilty by a court marshal.
read more here

Man arrested in cousin's slaying in Tampa

Man arrested in cousin's slaying is Army vet, may have PTSD, family reported
Tampa Bay Times
Anastasia Dawson Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 25, 2017

TAMPA — Darrell Leon Gadson's mother was concerned about her grown son's "erratic" behavior Monday morning, a detective reported.

The 38-year-old had recently moved back to her country ranch home in Thonotosassa and was going through a divorce. Family members feared the Army veteran could be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

So Marilyn Gadson, a registered nurse, asked her son's brother and cousin to visit the house at 9862 Timmons Road and talk to him.

They had just arrived and were sitting in the living room when Darrell Gadson came out of his bedroom with a gun, approached his 23-year-old cousin sitting on the couch and fired a fatal shot through his head, according to a report from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
read more here

Remains Identified of Missing Fort Campbell Soldier

TBI: Remains identified as missing Fort Campbell soldier 
Beaver 1003 FM by Nick Fox
Posted on January 25, 2017 

ROBERTSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) – The skeletal remains found Monday in Robertson County have been positively identified as Pfc. Shadow McClaine.

The Fort Campbell soldier went missing on Sept. 2, 2016 and was never seen or heard from again. read more here

Michigan Missing Veteran Alert

UPDATE
He has been found safe.


Police: Vet missing has not been seen since Monday
FOX 2 News
January 26, 2016

The Wixom Police Department needs your help locating a missing person.

The family of Arthur Tillman Jr. has not seen or heard from him since the evening of Monday, January 23.

According to debit card records, Arthur’s card was used on Tuesday, January 24 in Waterford and in Troy.

Arthur is a military veteran and may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Tillman Jr. is described as a 24-year-old African American man who is approximately 5’09” and 170 lbs.
read more here

Missing Veteran Alert Texas: Amon Gift, Afghanistan Veteran

Sheriff's Office: U.S. Army vet found dead in Sam Rayburn had been suffering from PTSD
KTRE ABC 9 News
By Gary Bass, Digital Content Producer
Friday, January 27th 2017

SABINE COUNTY, TX (KTRE)
A 23-year-old Army veteran whose body was found in the Sam Rayburn Reservoir Thursday night had been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder that resulted from being involved in two separate bomb attacks, according to a press release.

Fishermen found Amon Gift’s body in a cove just south of Mill Creek Park on the southeast side of the Sam Rayburn Reservoir at about 2 p.m. Thursday.

“Gift was a U.S. Army veteran who had recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan,” the press release stated.

“Gift suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder which originated when he was involved in two separate bombings while serving overseas. Gift’s family said he has recently been struggling with depression due to his PTSD, and it appeared to be worsening.”

Gift, a Houston resident had been missing since Jan. 20. His family members told authorities that he left Houston in his 2008 Dodge Dakota, the press release stated.
read more here 

UPDATE
Body found in Lake Sam Rayburn is that of veteran reported missing, according to JP

Sabine County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Jamie Brasher has identified the remains as that of Amon Gift, 23, who had been reported missing by family members after he reportedly left his home in his 2008 Dodge Dakota.

Even though an official ruling on the cause of Gift’s death has not been made, pending a formal autopsy, it is believed that the man died of a gunshot wound. However, officers are not saying at this point whether the gunshot was self-inflicted or not.
read more here

EQUUSEARCH LOOKING FOR MISSING HOUSTON MAN WHOSE WIFE SAYS HE HAS PTSD 
ABC News 13

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Texas EquuSearch volunteers are looking for a Houston man who vanished before the weekend. Amon Gift, 23, was last seen by anyone on Friday in Houston. 

His wife Savannah told ABC13 she received a text from him saying he was at Mill Creek Park in Brookeland, Texas. But she wasn't able to find him there, his phone is turned off and no one has heard from Amon since Friday. 

She added that Amon, who serves in the military and returned from Afghanistan in May, has been diagnosed with PTSD. Savannah said she filed a missing person's report on Saturday. 
read more here

Man Shot in Alabama Possible Suicide By Cop?

Knox man killed in Alabama officer-involved shooting
USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee
Hayes Hickman
Jan. 26, 2017

Partridge added that Oxford police were notified by the Heflin, Ala., Police Department, which initiated the pursuit, that the suspect was armed, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had made suicidal threats in the past. He could not confirm whether Lambert was a military veteran.

Micah R. Lambert

(Photo: Knox County Detention Facility)

A Knoxville man who fled the state after an alleged assault on a Knox County sheriff's deputy was fatally shot by police in Alabama following a pursuit Wednesday, authorities said.

Micah R. Lambert, 37, was killed when he attempted to charge officers with his SUV, according to Oxford, Ala. Police Chief Bill Partridge.

The chief said Lambert was wanted on a charge of aggravated assault on police officers in connection with an incident earlier this week in Knox County.

"Lambert had been reported missing and had left a friend's house with a loaded handgun after making threats to harm himself, according to the report.

"Mr. Lambert had left his dog with his friend and signed over the title to his vehicle before leaving," the report states.
read more here

"Blind Veteran" Drove Car, Had Job and VA Comp Check?

Officials: Veteran faked blindness for 15 years, took home $400K in disability benefits
WFTV
Jan. 24, 2017

A 60-year-old Florida woman has pleaded guilty to pretending to be blind for more than a decade to receive veterans disability benefits of nearly $400,000, investigators said.

Veronica Dale Hahn, of Bonifay, entered the guilty plea Friday in Panama City federal court.

Hahn is accused of convincing Veterans Health Administration staff and private doctors that her service-related injury caused nearly complete blindness in both eyes from 2001 to 2016, court documents say.
read more here

PTSD On Trial: Aaron Wanless in Florida

Troubled vet sentenced to 48 years for shooting at lawmen
Northwest Florida Daily News
By Kelly Humphrey
January 25, 2017

Wanless was under treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses at the local Department of Veterans Affairs clinic when he fired a gun in the direction of Okaloosa County deputies during a 2015 altercation. In December, he was found guilty of five felonies in connection with the incident.

Assistant State Attorney Jonathan Schlechter and Public Defender Ricky Dayaram walked into Circuit Court Judge William Stone's courtroom on Wednesday with two very different goals.

Dayaram attempted to convince the judge to depart from mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines that could send his client, 35-year-old Aaron Wanless, to prison for nearly 50 years. He asked the judge to consider sentencing Wanless to 48 months in prison, followed by probation and in-patient treatment for mental illness.

Schlechter, on the other hand, argued that Wanless should be punished to the full extent of the law as prescribed by Florida's 10-20-Life statute, which at the time Wanless was arrested applied to felonies that involve the use of a firearm. The law was repealed last year and replaced with a statute that gives judges more flexibility in sentencing.
read more here

Canada Veterans Need to Look At US Reports on Mefloquine

In 2008 the VA issued a warning about Mefloquine, and there are other stories on this report going back to 2002.

Senator Dianne Feinstein wanted answers from Donald Rumsfeld in 2003

Veterans, families want answers over Forces' use of Mefloquine
Toronto Sun crime reporter Chris Doucette. (Sun files)
By Chris Doucette, Toronto Sun
Monday, January 23, 2017

The call for accountability over the Canadian Forces’ use of a controversial anti-malaria drug is growing louder and veterans and family members hope Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will hear their cries for help.

A former medic who served in Somalia, the wife of a soldier disgraced in the Somalia Affair, the mother of a soldier who killed himself in Rwanda and a doctor with expertise in the neuropsychiatric effects of Mefloquine toxicity recently submitted written statements to the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs outlining the drugs’ devastation.

Marj Matchee writes her husband, Clayton, suffered paranoia and hallucinations prior to his 1993 arrest for the deadly beating of a Somali teen.

“You see things when you sleep. You see it in the daytime too,” she recalls him saying.

Many veterans who were forced to take the drug before it was licensed still suffer from side effects that Health Canada and AA Pharma, the Canadian supplier of the drug, quietly added to Mefloquine’s warning label last year.

“We must do more to reach out to these veterans, to acknowledge the harms that Mefloquine has caused them, and commit to funding research to study and ultimately try to reverse these effects,” Matchee writes.

Dr. Remington Nevin, of Johns Hopkins University, says Mefloquine toxicity can cause brain damage that mimics PTSD, so sufferers may receive the wrong treatment and symptoms such as suicidal thoughts persist.
read more here

These may help their case

Lariam Psychiatric and Suicidal Side Effects Research shows the anti-malaria drug mefloquine hydrochloride—formerly sold under the brand name Lariam—might cause psychiatric abnormalities, suicidal ideations and behaviors, and potentially permanent nerve damage. Because of these psychiatric side effects, the drug’s manufacturer, Hoffmann-La Roche, pulled it from the market in 2008. The U.S. Army continued to administer it to soldiers, however, until 2011, when the army ceased prescribing Lariam even for soldiers deployed in malaria-prone regions such as Afghanistan. In July 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified the public that mefloquine products’ drug labels would be updated with a black box warning—the agency’s most serious kind—concerning the aforementioned side effects.

Mall Hero Identified

One more reason why we need to check the links to see what is true or not.

This story appears to be true,

Man killed in jewelry store heist described as a family man and protector
FOX 29 News
by FOX San Antonio
January 23rd 2017

SAN ANTONIO - The Good Samaritan killed in a jewelry store heist on Sunday afternoon has been identified by the Bexar County Medical Examiner as Jonathan Murphy, 42.

Murphy never served in the military but came from a military family and respected the service and sacrifice. Amber is not sure if Jon knew the robbers had guns. But, regardless he would have done what he did. His family asks for the communities continued support as they try to heal from a senseless act.
read more here

But the report that linked to it, added in a bit of their own news.

SAN ANTONIO (KABB/WOAI) - The good Samaritan who was killed trying to stop a jewelry store robbery in San Antonio, Texas on Sunday afternoon has been identified as Jonathan Murphy.

A GoFundMe page, which has not yet been confirmed to be associated with Murphy's family, described him as a retired Marine and a manager at a car dealership.

The fund organizer said Murphy was a "first rate protector" who was with his wife at the jewelry store to get their wedding bands cleaned.
read more here

Special Ops Veteran Brings Back "Ghost" From War Zone

Special ops veteran risks life to recover pets from bases in war zone
FoxNews.com
By Cristina Corbin
Published January 23, 2017

The recovery operation was costly and dangerous, requiring the special operations soldier to enter hostile territory in full body armor and make his way to a U.S. military base.

The purpose of his mission, however, did not include bringing back an American soldier. It was to pick up a 45-pound white Canaan dog named "Ghost" and reunite him with his human companion back home.

It's the kind of mission this soldier, who declined to give his name for security reasons, says he conducts in war zones around the world.

"It's the best feeling to reunite these pets with their soldiers," he told Fox News. "I was wounded in Iraq, myself, and I owe my life to my dog. There is a bond there that could never be broken."

For American soldiers serving abroad, pets are not considered military property – and are often left to die in the war zones where they bonded with their handlers. But this special operations soldier, with the help of a New York animal rescue group, has made it his mission to fly into countries in the Middle East and bring the pets back to the U.S. to live with their companions and their families.
read more here

Homeless Veteran's Heart Warmed By Kindness From Cop!

When a St. Paul cop and a homeless veteran met, grace followed
Twin Cities Pioneer Press
By MARA H. GOTTFRIED
PUBLISHED: January 13, 2017

At first, it was just the man’s sign that caught Eric Reetz’s attention.

“Veteran 10 yrs Army,” William Tentis, 64, had written on a piece of cardboard. “God Bless.”

Reetz talks with Tentis before giving him a challenge coin with his badge number on it. He gives them only to people who’ve been a positive force in his life. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)

Reetz, who is a sergeant first class in the Minnesota National Guard and a St. Paul police officer, could not just walk by as he headed into the Xcel Energy Center to watch a Minnesota Wild game. They talked briefly and Reetz gave Tentis, who is homeless, a $20 bill.

“I didn’t think that we’d ever cross paths again,” said Reetz, 40.
read more here

Is the Electoral College Useless?

A friend of mine said that if they abolish the Electoral College, no Republican would ever be elected President again. 

That got me thinking. First, I doubted it was a fact using simple math and the fact votes are counted individually and equally, meaning the total "popular vote" should be the will of the American people. 

The next thought was if the claim made were true, then it would mean it was more a problem of the Republicans running for office than anything else.

I decided to take a look back.

In 1964 LBJ's election map is fascinating.

In 1968 Richard Nixon won the Popular vote as well as the Electoral votes.


Richard Nixon's map is even more impressive for his second term. In 1972 he won both.

But the end was totally different.

Furthermore, the presidential term of 1973–1977 is notable for being the only one in American history in which both the original President and Vice President fail to complete the term. Vice President Spiro Agnew, who resigned less than a year after the election over allegations that he had accepted bribes as Governor of Maryland, was replaced by Gerald Ford under the terms of the 25th Amendment, while Nixon would resign due to the Watergate Scandal in August 1974. 

In 1976 Jimmy Carter won the Popular vote and the Electoral votes.

In 1980 Ronald Reagan received 50.7% of the Popular vote. He also received 489 Electoral votes. President Carter lost both, so there were no issues. The same thing happened in 1984.

In 1988, George H. W. Bush won both as well.

In 1992, Bill Clinton won both. He did it again in 1996.

In 2000 George W Bush won the Electoral vote but lost the Popular vote. In 2004, Bush won both.

In 2008 Barack Obama won 365 Electoral votes and almost 10 million more votes than John McCain. He did it again in 2012.

This is what happened between Trump and Clinton. Donald Trump received 304 Electoral votes to Clinton at 227. The upset running across this nation is what the actual votes were.

Popular vote	Trump 62,980,160	Clinton 65,845,063
Percentage	45.9%	48.0%

As you just saw, when someone says something that does not make sense to you, look up the facts and discover the truth, because the way things have been going lately, we can't believe some of the news reports either.

Florida Medal Of Honor Hero Charles Liteky Passed Away

Vietnam veteran Charles Liteky, who became a peace activist and famously gave up his Medal of Honor to protest US foreign policy in Central America, dies at age 85
By Associated Press and Jessica Chia For Dailymail.com
21 January 2017

Liteky grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, where he was quarterback in high school
He went to seminary school and became a Roman Catholic priest
Liteky served in the Vietnam War, and rescued 20 wounded men in 1967 despite the fact that he had been hit with shrapnel in the neck and foot
One man was too heavy, so he rolled on his back, placed the man on his chest and crawled back to the landing zone using his elbows and heels
He volunteered for another tour in Vietnam, before renouncing faith
He met former Catholic nun and peace activist Judy Balch; they married in 1983
Liteky became an activist as well, and gave up his Medal of Honor in protest
He also went on a six-week hunger strike to protest US foreign policy in Central America, including the US-backed, right wing Nicaraguan contras
In 2003, he traveled to Baghdad with other peace protesters to bear witness to the war and work with children in an orphanage and at hospitals

Charlie Liteky, a Vietnam veteran who courageously rescued more than 20 wounded men only to give up his Medal of Honor in protest after he became a peace activist, has died at the age of 85.

Richard Olive, a longtime friend of Liteky's said he died on Friday night at the Veterans Administration Hospital in San Francisco, California.

Liteky was a quarterback in high school who became a Roman Catholic priest before two tours in Vietnam eventually led him to renounce his religion and protest for peace in places like El Salvador and Iraq.

Reflecting on his life in 2009, he told the Florida Times Union: 'I have tried to live life to the truth as I see it at the time. That's a very costly thing. I've lost a lot. I'm an ex-lot of things. But what have you got? Your integrity.'
read more here

Florida Veterans Needed To Mentor Veterans

We have the third largest Veterans Community in the nation. According to the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, there are 1.5 million veterans.

Florida is home to more than 515,000 Vietnam-era veterans, so it is very likely that one in three veterans you meet in the Sunshine State is a Vietnam veteran.

As for OEF and OIF veterans, read this,

More than 231,000 veterans from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom claim the Sunshine State as their home of record. Many are enrolling in Florida’s colleges and universities using the new Post 9/11 GI Bill. Others are looking for employment, housing, health care and other earned services, benefits and support. Florida welcomes its returning veterans and their families.

Don't you think it is time to stop taking walks to raise awareness and start standing beside a veteran needing support? Don't you think it is time to stop doing push-ups and help them stand up instead?

Do you remember what it was like coming home and finding yourself with the war inside of you going on and no one around to help you fight it? Ok, so then what is your problem now? 

I've seen so many of you show up for fundraisers and other veterans events. I've seen you open your wallets to donate to a veteran in need. You have joined veterans groups because of the brotherhood/sisterhood you still feel. Well, there are many veterans in need of your help. So why aren't you showing up to help them recover?

Florida veterans treatment court comes up short of mentors
Stars and Stripes
By JAMES A. JONES JR.
January 20, 2017

The Manatee County Veterans Treatment Court held its first session in Bradenton, Fla. on Aug. 6, 2015, before Circuit Judge Andrew Owens Jr. as a way to help vets who enter the judicial system get treatment and assistance.

But one of the stumbling blocks for the program has been finding enough veterans to mentor those trying to find their way back into society.

“Mentors are what make the program a success,” Chris Landis, Veterans Treatment Court services coordinator for the 12th Judicial Circuit, said Thursday at the Manatee County Veterans Council meeting.

There are only six mentors now serving all of Manatee and Sarasota, and about 20 are needed, Landis said.

An estimated 500 veterans enter the criminal justice system annually in Bradenton-Sarasota, and the veterans court is intended to assist those facing lower level charges.
read more here

Being a mentor isn't easy. It requires your time to help them go through the system designed to help them heal instead of being locked up like so many of your generation was. Most of the time, the charges they face are directly tied to what they carried back from combat and in the form of the demons we call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

They are coming home, much like you did, without a clue they are not struck as they are suffering today and can have a better quality of life. It takes you showing up to prove that to them by your example. Show them they really matter to you and SHOW UP AS MENTORS!