Prince Harry Opens Up About Stress of His Afghanistan War Service as He Visits Ambulance Crews PEOPLE.com BY SIMON PERRY UPDATED FEBRUARY 2, 2017
“We’re all human, we’re not machines, despite a lot of people in certain jobs having to think and behave like machines in order to get the best out of you – I accept that – but it’s not weakness, it’s strength to be able to come forward, deal with it, move on and be a better person.” Prince Harry
Prince Harry spoke about the mental health challenges he faced while serving in Afghanistan as he met ambulance crews in London.
Recalling his days flying helicopters on his second tour, he said, “You land and then hand them over and then are radioed to do something else. You never find out how that guy or girl recovered, whether they did recover or they didn’t.” read more here
Air Force base: 1 killed, 1 injured in New Mexico training FOX News February 1, 2017
A pair of F-16 jets struck two members of a ground-control party -- killing a civilian contractor and wounding an Air Force service member -- after a training exercise went awry on Tuesday night, officials said in a Wednesday statement.
The F-16s were using unspecified munitions when the incident occurred at a range that's part of the White Sands Missile Range complex near Holloman Air Force Base in southern New Mexico. read more here
Helicopter Training Incident Injures Four Fort Campbell Soldiers WKMS News By NICOLE ERWIN and MATT MARKGRAF JAN 31, 2017
Tuesday Afternoon Update: The helicopter caught fire during a training exercise and was extinguished by Fort Campbell Fire and Emergency Services personnel.
Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team aided in the extraction of the aircraft personnel. The soldiers suffering injuries were transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Blanchfield Army Community Hospital. Their families are still being notified. read more here
Man’s re-engagement to Army wife tops off return ceremony Kentucky News JESSE JONES February 1, 2017
Fort Campbell welcomed 332 soldiers home from deployment Wednesday night into Thursday morning at its airbase.
But Willie Sanders only had eyes for one.
After letting their children embrace his wife for a tearful moment, Sanders got down on one knee and asked Maj. Ireka Sanders to marry him — again.
“The first time I was in college, I was 24, didn’t have a lot of money, financial aid, oodles and noodles, that’s all I was good enough for,” Willie said. “But now I think I did a pretty good job.”
Because he was poor when he first decided to propose, he could only afford a “bubble gum” ring. The pair also decided to get tattoos to mark the occasion around their left hand ring fingers. read more here
Filmmaker Accused of Stealing Money for PTSD Documentary The Connecticut Law Tribune
ROBERT STORACE
January 30, 2017
The three plaintiffs eventually raised more than $1.7 million for the film, according to the complaint. While the money raised was supposed to go exclusively toward the making of the film, the suit alleges Bernadette King, Michael King's wife, was given $60,000 for "unknown office operations" and another $70,000 went to pay writer Richard Friedenberg to draft a script for an unrelated for-profit feature film.
A West Hartford woman has sued a California-based production company claiming they stole hundreds of thousands of dollars intended for a documentary on war and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Poster for the film “When War Comes Home.”
Credit: Michael King Productions
Debra Hyde claims Michael King Productions spent a good portion of the money donated for filming on such things as luxury hotel stays unrelated to filming, plane tickets for family members and restaurants. Hyde also claims she, Laurence Smith and Jennifer Harris, also plaintiffs in the case, were not allowed to screen the final version of "When War Comes Home," and that the film was never publicized despite an agreement to do so. read more here This is what happens when people want to make money off someone else's pain.
I am sure you see the dates on these. 2006 and 2007. Those are my videos that used to be up on Youtube when I started to make them to help veterans and their families understand what we had lived through since 1982. They had to have a format edit and that is why you see 2006, 2007 and 2010. I gave them away for free just like everything else I do.
PTSD legislation could give first responders lost wages Senate Bill 516 mandates 'clear and concise' medical evidence Click Orlando By Mike Holfeld - Investigative Reporter January 30, 2017
“We do see a lot of bad stuff and it affects different people differently," he said. "(PTSD) is disabling ... . I represent first responders in a lot of cases and it’s just a shame that those who are suffering from PTSD can’t go back to the job – can’t get wage loss benefits.”
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The fight to provide lost wages to first responders diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder received a potential lifeline Friday, in the form of Senate Bill 516.
The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Keith Perry of Gainesville, allows for lost wages “whether or not
the mental or nervous injury is accompanied by physical injury requiring medical treatment.”
Mike Clelland, a retired battalion chief with the Longwood Fire Department, now with the Morgan and Morgan Law firm, said he “likes the proposal with reservation.” read more here
A Veteran Needs Your Help Combat PTSD Wounded Times Kathie Costos January 30, 2017
A veteran needs your help. He did everything possible to stay alive in combat. After all, the lives of everyone in his unit depended on him. It didn't matter if he was sick, tired, hungry, or if he spent the night battling memories he didn't want to keep. He was always watching over everyone else. When he got back home, everything came with him. It wasn't a matter of staying alive, because someone else needed him. It was a matter of not knowing how to get up when he no longer knew who he was. Nightmares, flashbacks, mood swings, pushing people away when he needs to have someone care. Hope? No hope of healing. Hell, he didn't think he deserved to and even if someone told him he could, he wouldn't believe them. Not that he would have told anyone he needed help at all. He feels totally alone like no one will ever understand him and even if they did, they would think he was just weak or there was something mentally wrong with him. All he needs is someone to show up the same way others were watching his back with each deployment. Someone to just show they care about him. That's all he needs to know. He is worthy of someone sitting with him, listening to him, buying him a beer or even a cup of coffee. Picking up the phone and showing some compassion, listening without any judgment or competition. Do you think you can do that? Ok, then. That veteran is you. It is a safe bet you'd do anything for one of your brothers or sisters, without thinking anything less of them than you did in combat. So what's stopping you from doing what you need to help now? If in your mind your buddies deserved your help, then why don't you deserve their help? Cross posted on Residualwar.com
U.S. service member killed in Yemen raid marks first combat death of Trump administration The Washington Post By Missy Ryan, Sudarsan Raghavan and Thomas Gibbons-Neff January 29
A U.S. Special Operations service member died of injuries suffered during a weekend raid against al-Qaeda militants in Yemen, the military said Sunday.
Three other American troops, members of a Navy SEAL unit, were wounded in the operation on Saturday against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The militant organization has remained a potent threat amid an extended civil war in Yemen. read more here
If you read the Declaration of Independence, it came at a very high price for the freedoms we still have and have expanded upon after this document was delivered to the King of England. In the end there is this portion.
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
We have men and women in foreign nations risking their lives side by side with Muslims, yet they have not only been banned from entering our country, they have been told by our President, the troops are in those countries for the oil.
Article the third... 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.
I wonder what they would think had they lived to see this day.
That same year, Bates spent part of the summer in Colorado. She was there lecturing at Colorado College. During her visit, she went on a hike to Pikes Peak. The view from this mountaintop inspired her most famous poem. "It was then and there, as I was looking out over the sea-like expanse of fertile country spreading away so far under those ample skies, that the opening lines of the hymn floated into my mind," she later said, according to the Library of Congress web page on "America the Beautiful."
I wonder what she would write if she had lived to this day.
A sight to behold: More than 1,200 people show support for veterans during Wounded Warrior Banquet The Huntsville Item By JP McBride Jan 27, 2017
In suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, many veterans feel like they are alone in their pain and are helpless in finding the healing they need.
The residents of Walker County and others from around the state of Texas showed that there are many Americans who want to help veterans struggling with PTSD find a solution and get them on the road to recovery during the eighth annual Walker County Wounded Warrior Banquet on Thursday night.
A sellout crowd of more than 1,200 generous folks made their way to the main building of the Walker County Fairgrounds for the banquet to honor the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country by donating to organizations like the Lone Survivor Foundation and Mighty Oaks Warrior Programs, as well as the Warrior Family Support Center in San Antonio. read more here Stronger (2017) - Official Trailer (HD) Film draws awareness to PTSD, provides suicide intervention
Girlfriend: I-17 chase suspect was Army veteran battling PTSD AZ Family News By Zahid Arab Jan 26, 2017
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) The girlfriend of a man who stole work truck in Gilbert and led troopers on an I-17 chase says he was an Army veteran dealing with PTSD.
Brad Moore, 29, drove nearly 95 miles before he drove off the road and died near Camp Verde Tuesday.
Moore finished his service several years ago. (Source: 3TV/CBS 5)
“That’s not him at all. I would have never expected something like that ever,” said the woman who asked we not use her name.
His family says Moore served in the Army as a paratrooper during a tour in Afghanistan. The 29-year-old finished his service several years ago.
While DPS calls what Moore did criminal, the woman says those that knew him say it’s out of character.
“We lost such a beautiful soul. He had the most contagious laugh and smile. It just lit up the room,” she said.
read more here azfamily.com 3TV | Phoenix Breaking News, Weather, Sport
Vietnam veteran inspires ‘Devil’ brigade Soldiers Camp Casey South Korea Cpl. Dasol Choi 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team 1/27/2017
“Roever inspired me because he told his story of how he wanted to give up because of what happened to him,” said Spc. Mitchell Strange from the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st ABCT. “While a lot of people would have given up, he never gave up. From now on, I want to start to look at things more positively.”
Photo By Cpl. Dasol Choi | CAMP CASEY, South Korea – Soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, listen to a speech given by Dave Roever, a former riverboat gunner in the Brown Water forces in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and a recipient of the Purple Heart Medal, during resiliency training at the Camp Casey Multipurpose Complex, Camp Casey, South Korea, Jan 24. (U.S. Army Photo by Cpl. Dasol Choi, 1st ABCT, 1st Inf. Div. Public Affairs)
CAMP CASEY, South Korea ¬– Soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, had an opportunity to hear from a Vietnam War veteran and a recipient of the Purple Heart Medal, during a resiliency training session held at the Camp Casey Multipurpose Complex, Camp Casey, South Korea, Jan. 24.
Invited by Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea and his chaplains, Dave Roever, a veteran of the U.S. Navy who served in the Vietnam War, shared his experience of overcoming hardship that he faced while serving in the Vietnam War as a riverboat gunner in the Brown Water forces in the Navy.
“My heart followed troops; I love the troops; I was one and I never got it out of my system,” Roever said. “I came here to say to the troops not to cave under pressure but to stand strong and always defend against the enemies.”
Although injured during the war and believed to be dead, Roever never gave up. Instead, he considered a moment, which others might call a defeat, as an opportunity.
“I was burned and was given up twice as other Soldiers believed I was dead. I never died, never claimed it, and never said that,” Roever said. “But I can tell you, I wouldn’t have been standing here giving you this speech if I had given up.” read more here
‘No Man Left Behind’: Marine Corps veteran opens home to help fellow vets FOX 17 News Michigan Janice Allen January 27, 2017
"I bought a house and I didn't need all the rooms, so I started bringing in veterans that needed help," Clemens explained. "If they need food, I buy them food... If they need clothes, I give them clothes."
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Joe Clemens has been back to civilian life for awhile now, but he's still fighting to help his fellow man.
"No man left behind. That's the way I've lived my life," he told FOX 17 News. "When I got out, nobody helped me, so because of that, I wasn't going to let that happen to anyone else."
Despite battling a rare and terminal blood disorder as a result of his service, Clemens has made it his mission to help veterans who are struggling.
"They're not gonna fall through the cracks," he said. "To come back, and not be able to feed your family, it takes a toll on you."
Clemens is a Service Officer at American Legion Post 459. His job is to help veterans navigate different resources to secure their benefits and get back on their feet. read more here
Identity of soldier killed in H-1 motorcycle crash released by Army KHON News By Brigette Namata and Web Staff Published: January 27, 2017,
The name of the Schofield Barracks soldier who died from a motorcycle crash early Friday morning on the H-1 Freeway was released by the Army Saturday.
He was Spc. Patrick James Rodgers, 26, of Willis, Texas, assigned to 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
A wheeled vehicle mechanic, Rodgers enlisted in the Army in March 2010. He previously served in Oklahoma and South Carolina, and moved to Schofield Barracks in July 2014. Rodgers deployed once to Kuwait for 12 months in 2012. He was a recipient of two Army Achievement Medals, the Army Good Conduct Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal, among others. read more here
Before you cringe reading Wounded Warrior, keep reading because this is about Wounded Warrior Program and to them healing is not a project. It is a mission.
If you think that women are only hit by PTSD from experiencing sexual assaults, this should be an eyeopener. Too many forget they are still in the same combat zones and trying to get through it the best they can. After all, the lives of others depend on them too.
There are heroes in combat and then there are heroes because of it. Maj. Lisa McCranie is one of them.
Wracked by PTSD for years after combat, an Air Force pilot finally got help San Antonio Express-News By Sig Christenson January 28, 2017
That’s how it is in the pilot community, she said, explaining that no pilot she’s known has ever admitted to suffering from PTSD and the Air Force had no formal support program to help them.
Photo: Bob Owen, STAFF / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS Members of one of the basketball teams playing an exhibition game huddle before the start of a game at the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program Warrior Care Event at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph on Friday, Jan. 13, 2017. The CARE event provides seriously wounded, ill and injured military members, veterans and their caregivers focused and personalized service through caregiver support, training, adaptive and rehabilitative sports events.
A veteran of Afghanistan, Maj. Lisa McCranie is a pilot to the core, so steeped in the culture of never showing weakness that she hid every symptom of post traumatic stress disorder even as the weight of war began to crush her spirit.
Years in uniform and the bulk of 2,800 hours in the cockpit went by — 1,100 of them in combat — before she even realized she had PTSD.
McCranie found herself in yet another war, to get help.
“I told my commanders, ‘I’m not OK right now,’ and then part of my story is how I’ve been treated in the military, which hasn’t been good. I had an ops group commander who basically threatened to take my wings from me if I didn’t go through a re-qualification and fly,” she recalled.
McCranie recently earned a medical retirement from the Air Force and will soon leave the service and head to a culinary school in Denver. A feeling of isolation followed her through much of her military career, but after spending time at a recent Air Force Wounded Warrior program Warrior CARE event in San Antonio, which drew more than 120 wounded, ill and injured airmen, she was relieved to find that she wasn’t alone.
McCranie flew four different aircraft after entering the Air Force in 2004 — the C-17 Globemaster III, T-6A Texan II, MC-12W, a reconnaissance plane, and the UV-18A Twin Otter. read more here
When I saw the cartoon on this video, I got ready to have my head explode. I thought about just passing on this article since lately there has been far too much bullshit stories and not enough helpful facts. In this case, I am very proud to admit I was totally wrong and very, very glad I spent the time to watch this video. Heidi Kraft is spot on and talks about most of the things we talk about all the time. If you are trying to explain PTSD to someone, this is the video to share with them.
Help for Caretakers: Understanding PTSD in Veterans Military.com by Amy Bushatz Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is one of the invisible wounds of war often discussed in popular culture. But it's also a very real diagnosis.
How can a caregiver go about understanding PTSD in veterans? What are the symptoms, and what can families do about PTSD?
PsychArmor, a non-profit dedicated to bridging the military-civilian divide by providing resources to help community members and others engage veterans, has free video courses on a variety of military-related issues. This section of PsychArmor's Invisible Wounds of War at Home caretaker and family video series focuses on PTSD. In the first video, Heidi Kraft, a clinical psychologist, Navy veteran and PsychArmor's clinical director, helps caregivers and families answer the question "what is PTSD" while also discussing the stigma that still surrounds the problem. read more here
Emotional testimony: Supporters push for money to pay for veterans home in Butte The Missoulian Renata Birkenbuel January 27, 2017
The facility would be built on a 10-acre parcel of land near Continental Drive and the Interstate 90 interchange in Butte. Don Harrington donated the land. The other veterans homes in the state are in Columbia Falls, nearly a four-hour drive away, and Glendive, which is six hours away.
The Butte delegation and others on Friday pushed for the Legislature to approve a loan to build a long-awaited veterans home in southwest Montana that would serve the state’s many veterans.
Proponents overwhelmingly urged a subcommittee to help fund the projected $16.8-million project in bonds. The state has $5 million to commit to the nonpartisan project, but the federal government has not provided additional money as hoped because Montana is not on a high-priority list compared to other states.
“We have $5 million in the bank, but we need $10 million (of bonded money),” said Sen. Jon Sesso, D-Butte. “But we are losing more in construction inflation waiting to build the home. This is a simple formula.”
Sesso, Senate Minority Leader and one of the long-range planning committee members hearing testimony on House Bill 14, said Montana has been on the federal list since 2012. read more here
Army Veteran, Double-Amputee Finds New Battlefield in DC ABC News By LIZ ALESSE Jan 27, 2017
Florida Congressman Brian Mast says he decided to run for office on a day seven years ago when he woke up in the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The Army bomb technician had been serving in Kandahar, Afghanistan, as part of the Joint Special Operations Command. “We came to a place on the battlefield that I told my guys I was pretty sure that there was a bomb buried somewhere there,” Mast said. “I found it in a way I didn’t intend to.”
Mast stepped on an improvised explosive device and lost both of his legs and his left index finger in the blast. His injuries ended his 12-year military career, but not his commitment to service. “The most important lesson my father ever gave me was very shortly after I was injured,” Mast recalled.
“He said, 'Brian, you can't let this keep you down ... You cannot let your kids see you sitting on your butt regardless of what happened to you, because your kids will think it’s an OK way for them to go through their life. That's when I decided the most important fight of my life could be here in Washington, D.C. in another capacity.”
read more here
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
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
