This morning at Orlando City Hall, the annual POW MIA Recognition Ceremony was held with full honors to those who served this nation. For right now, here are the pictures. But tomorrow, you won't want to miss the videos. I am still editing them.
UCF AFROTC Practicing to make the Remembrance perfect
John Murphy, President Semper Fidelis America and member of VFW Post 4287
John Mina, Orlando Chief of Police and Veteran
VFW Post 2093 Band
John Murphy with Daila "Dee" Espeut-Jones, Veteran and Mayor' s Veterans Advisory Council and member of Semper Fidelis America
Daughters of the American Revolution
Center, Andrew Ewasko Vice Chairman
Commissioner Regina I. Hill
Chief Roderick Williams
Behind Chief Mina, Michael Waldrop, Chairman Mayor's Veterans Council
The Highland Singers Lake Highland Preparatory
Second from right, Vietnam Veteran Ex-POW Joseph William Kittinger II
You Survived Yesterday, Do It Again Combat PTSD Wounded Times Kathie Costos September 27, 2017 Since you are reading this today, safe to assume you survived yesterday with PTSD. You survived all the other days, years and decades since you got home from serving in combat zones or on missions around the world. You put your life on the line and won.
Bet you never thought of it that way. If you are still here, then "it" lost! If you served, then the life of others mattered so much to you, you were willing to die for their sake. So why are so many thinking of taking their own lives now? The bigger question is why are senior veterans the majority of veterans committing suicide? Yes, your generation. 65% of the suicides reported by the VA study are over the age of 50!
Approximately 65 percent of all Veterans who died from suicide in 2014 were 50 years of age or older.
Veterans accounted for 18 percent of all deaths from suicide among U.S. adults. This is a decrease from 22 percent in 2010.
Since 2001, U.S. adult civilian suicides increased 23 percent, while Veteran suicides increased 32 percent in the same time period. After controlling for age and gender, this makes the risk of suicide 21 percent greater for Veterans.
Since 2001, the rate of suicide among U.S. Veterans who use VA services increased by 8.8 percent, while the rate of suicide among Veterans who do not use VA services increased by 38.6 percent.
In the same time period, the rate of suicide among male Veterans who use VA services increased 11 percent, while the rate of suicide increased 35 percent among male Veterans who do not use VA services.
In the same time period, the rate of suicide among female Veterans who use VA services increased 4.6 percent while the rate of suicide increased 98 percent among female Veterans who do not use VA services.
Most of those years between war and now, were taken up with being busy. Work, raising families and other things didn't leave you with much time to think about yourself. Now with retirement, too much time to think of what you brought back home with you. What you may be missing is the other things you brought home with you, like courage, compassion and dedication. Why live all those years and give up now? You don't have leave us now as long as you understand what PTSD is, why you have it and the most important message of all is, you still have time to heal and see tomorrow living a much better life!
Wounded Veteran’s Home Still Unlivable Since 2015 Floods
ABC News Columbia Angela Rogers September 26, 2017
According to Richland County, the property management firm hired non-licensed contractors, so the $91,000 Santana spent on fixing flooring, walls, electrical, and heating and cooling all goes to waste, since the work was done without permits, not up to FEMA code, and violated regulations.
Columbia, SC (WOLO)– Since the historic flooding of 2015, a now-retired wounded Army veteran is having to fight a different type of battle, one he never expected.
“Being a wounded warrior, with TBI, essential tremor, and PTSD, it’s very emotionally draining because I can’t, no matter what my wife and I do, we just cannot find resolution, and it’s been two years. And we want to move on but we can’t.” Maj. Miguel Santana Santana served his country for 26 years. He did a tour in Afghanistan, and two tours in Iraq. When he was deployed his family lived in Germany and he entrusted a property manager to take care of his home in the Midlands, especially when the devastating floods of 2015 hit.
“I could not physically be here. I trusted this property manager, that we had a signed contract, and I trusted the contractors to do what they said they were going to do. And everything was being supervised and managed by the property management company and they failed us,” Santana said. read more here
Meditating through the stress Tribune Chronicle Emily Earnhart September 27, 2017
“We follow up at 3 months, 6 months and a year. I have seen participants look 10 years younger by the end. I have had veterans come in with suicidal ideations that at the end of the course have hope for their futures.” Leslye Moore
WARREN — A dozen local veterans spent Tuesday afternoon breathing and meditating their way through their Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and service-related injuries.
Tribune Chronicle / R. Michael Semple Local veterans, from left, Matt Vadas, Herm Breuer and Michael O’Brien, all of Warren, talk together in a group setting Tuesday while participating in a Power Breath Meditation workshop at the Trumbull County Veterans Services Commission in Warren. The workshop was part of the Project Welcome Home Troops and taught veterans the Sudarshan kriya yoga (SKY) breathing and meditation practice.
Through the Sudarshan kriya yoga (SKY) breathing practice, military members and their families are getting the chance to change their minds and bodies and to heal through Power Breath Meditation workshops brought to Ohio by Project Welcome Home Troops. About 20 veterans involved in the free program are meeting this week at the Trumbull County Veterans Services Commission in Warren for workshops focused on stress reduction and coping skills. read more here
Government cracks down on home refinancing scheme targeting veterans Chicago Tribune Kenneth R. Harney September 26, 2017
In an interview, Michael R. Bright, acting Ginnie Mae president, said some of the abuses he is seeing hark back to 2005 and 2006 — heyday years of the boom before the bust.
Iraq war veteran Vernon Poling, 44, walks through a courtyard past a giant American flag at Potter's Lane, an apartment complex made out of shipping containers in Midway City, Calif.
Federal officials plan to crack down on what they view as predatory lending schemes — reminiscent of the toxic practices seen during the housing boom — targeted at thousands of veterans nationwide who have U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs home loans.
The alleged abuses involve serial refinancings that generate hefty fees for lenders and loan brokers but leave borrowers in worse financial shape than they were before the transaction. Lenders are accused of dangling teaser interest rates, “cash out” windfalls and lower monthly payments, sometimes purportedly using shady marketing materials that resemble official information from the Department of Defense. Not infrequently, say officials, borrowers end up in negative equity positions, owing more on their loan balance than their house is worth.
Officials at the Government National Mortgage Association, better known as Ginnie Mae, say some veterans are being flooded with misleading refi offers and are signing up without assessing the costs and benefits. Some properties are being refinanced multiple times a year, thanks to “poaching” by lenders who aggressively solicit competitors’ recent borrowers to refi them again and roll the fees into a new loan balance, officials say.
“We’re seeing borrowers refinance three times in less than six months and (their) loan balances going up.” Homeowners also are dumping fixed-rate loans for riskier adjustables" Michael Brightread more here
All of US Needs to Apologize to Veterans
Combat PTSD Wounded Times Kathie Costos September 26, 2017 It seems that everyone in this country is offended by something and they demand their feelings be respected. Well, I'm jumping on that platform too! I won't take a knee in protest but I will, as I have, in prayer. I will not bow low but will hop on top of the highest soapbox I can find. (And I hate heights) I will not sit down in indifference while others take walks--do pushups--pull stunts to get attention for themselves while pretending to care about the fact that more veterans are committing suicide while they do absolutely nothing to change the outcome. While some think that "suicide awareness" is new, it isn't and it hasn't improved the outcomes.
And yet again, most cases of suicides tied to military service are tied to PTSD after they survived combat!
The truth is this country has been trying to "prevent" suicides longer than I've been alive.
In 1958, the first suicideprevention center in the United States opened in Los Angeles, California, with funding from the U.S. Public Health Service. Other crisis intervention centers followed. In 1966, the Center for Studies of Suicide Prevention (later the Suicide Research Unit) was established at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This was followed by the creation of national nonprofit organizations dedicated to the cause of suicide prevention.
But just like then, people got paid to try to do something but too many thought that anything was better than nothing. They were wrong.You can get some basic facts to get you started on this here or search this site with military suicides in the search field. For now, this will be long enough on its own. The line of people needing to apologize to veterans is a long one. Top of the list: Awareness Raisers If you are running around the country asking for money to raise awareness, I think you should be included as the biggest part of the problematic outcome. What did you think you'd accomplish? Fame and fortune for yourself or getting a veteran to take the gun away from his/her head when you couldn't even be bothered to read the fucking report you stole the headline from? The reports are out there and if you gave a shit, the way you pretend you do, then you'd actually read the reports and where the data came from, as well as what was left out! Then if the cause was worth any real effort, you'd actually invest some time in finding out what the hell you were up against, like managing to grasp the fact that the DOD has their numbers and the number of veterans reported does not include them. You'd also be aware of the fact that the majority of the veterans committing suicide are OVER THE AGE OF 50 AND THEY ARE THE ONES YOU IGNORE! If you didn't do anything to honestly earn the money, then give it to the families that had to bury their family member. Congress Oh, Congress! You need to apologize for not even bothering to figure out if the Bills you want your names on will actually do any good or not before you hold a news conference to act as veterans really matter. We've read all of them going over the last deadly decade to know that none of you really have a clue. Hell, especially when you're repeating numbers that are not real and the biggest culprits are ignoring the fact that their own state DOES NOT HAVE MILITARY SERVICE ON THE DEATH CERTIFICATES TO EVEN BE INCLUDED IN ANY OF THE NUMBERS BEING REPORTED AS "FACT." And last on the list to save some time, since this could go on forever, is me! For 35 years I have been unable to figure out how to make sure that we stop burying more after war than we do during it. I've been watching it all, reading more than most would even know had been printed. I have invested more hours in this work than I get paid to do on my job and this site is just one of many I've had over the years. It has been up for 10 years! No matter how much I know, how hard I try, I cannot unshed a single tear a family member has wiped at a grave that did not need to be dug. No matter how much I love veterans I dedicated more than half my life to, I can never give you back the lost days of anguished cries for help when no one was there to hear you. No matter how much I know personally what it is like to see one of them decide to leave as questions become poison to hope, I cannot even pretend to know what it is like when some are truly dedicated and have far too many they tried to help, still kill themselves. I have a hard time dealing with one I lost. No matter how hard I pray or how many times my soul cries out for a way to help you heal, to let you know that tomorrow can be so much better than today, I have not found a way to make you believe it. No matter how hard, how much work, knowledge and facts I have, I cannot compete with social media isolating you from what you need to know. So yes, dear heart, I apologize for not being good enough to give you what you need and take your pain away so you can feel your soul's worth again! I do promise, I will not stop trying!
Veteran: 'Just because we made it home…this fight's not over.'
WUSA Andrea McCarren September 26, 2017
WASHINGTON (WUSA9) - A major development played out on Capitol Hill for proponents of a bill helping veterans with PTSD get free service dogs starting next year.
"When I got Axel in 2012, I was on 32 different medications," said Capt. Haag. "Twelve of them were narcotics. I was severely addicted. I was abusing them. I was also drinking heavily."
Today, he has only needed two medications and neither is a narcotic.
Capt. Jason Haag, U.S. Marine Corps veteran said his service dog changed his life. Photo: Elizabeth Jia, WUSA9
The Subcommittee on Health of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs held its first legislative hearing to discuss the PAWS Act. PAWS stands for Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers.
To date, the bill, H.R. 2327, has 199 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House. The Senate has also drafted a corresponding bill, S.1014. If the bill becomes law, then a five-year, $10-million pilot program would begin in 2018. It would grant $25,000 to eligible organizations to raise and train service dogs for veterans in need. “We’re doing it to save lives,” testified Rep. Ron DeSantis, an original co-sponsor of the PAWS Act. The Republican from Florida added, “If you end up having a veteran where that works well and they stop using some of the prescription drugs, that’s actually going to save a lot of money.” read more here
REMINDER: Who you are is not changed by how you are. It is all still inside of you. These dogs can remind you of that by giving you love and hope once you see, your life can change again!
“The NFL doesn’t follow their own rules. The specific rule pertaining to the national anthem is found on pages A62-63 of the NFL League Rulebook. It states:
“The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem.
“During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition...
“...It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.”
Do they understand that they are paid to play a game but others are paid so much less to risk their lives defending their rights to prove they cannot respect any of it? My Dad fought in the Korean War and my Uncles fought during WWII. My husband fought in Vietnam and so did his Nephew. My Father-in-law and his brothers fought in WWII and one of them was killed in Saipan. Both of us are only second generation Americans! Our families came here because of what this country stood for and now these jocks cannot even stand for what families like ours fought for? If the New England Patriots cannot stand for the anthem, then they should change their logo as well as their name because they do not deserve to have either of them associated with their stunts!
They are not acting like patriots but these football players are!
“That anthem means different things to us. America means different things to us. I love my country and I love what that flag and that anthem means to me and what it represents. I would love more than anything for everyone to feel that pride for the country that I feel.”
As almost one-third of the entire NFL planned on protesting during the national anthem in response to President Donald Trump calling out those who “disrespect the flag,” one green beret veteran, who became an NFL player after six years of service for the U.S. Army in both Iraq and Afghanistan, isn't having any of it.
And he stood up!
So did he!
(Sickening update: "This national anthem ordeal has sort of been out of control, and there's a lot of blame on myself," Villanueva, Pittsburgh's starting left tackle, said Monday.
"I made coach (Mike) Tomlin look bad, and that is my fault and my fault only. I made my teammates look bad, and that is my fault.")
(And back to when I thought he deserved praise for standing up to pressure to bow down!)
"I don't know if the most effective way is to sit down during the national anthem with a country that's providing you freedom, providing you $16 million a year ... when there are black minorities that are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for less than $20,000 a year."
And so did some of them!
This isn't about what POTUS had to say to most of us. This is about what that Anthem means to us!
Veteran shot by Mesa police sought treatment from Phoenix VA, wife says AZ Central Uriel Garcia September 25, 2017
"If we can't get the help our vets need, this (type of incident) is what it comes down to."Stephanie Hamilton
For Scott Farnsworth, serving a tour in Iraq as an Army infantry soldier was a point of pride.
But it was also the source of the 28-year-old's struggle with mental health, his wife, Stephanie Hamilton, told The Arizona Republic on Sunday.
That struggle led to a deadly encounter with police Friday night, she said, when officers fatally shot Farnsworth near Skyline High School in east Mesa as a football game was letting out.
Officers had responded to reports of Farnsworth waving a gun near Crismon Road and Southern Avenue, according to Mesa Det. Nik Rasheta.
"He was a good person," Hamilton said in a phone interview, describing Farnsworth as a family man and a veteran who loved his country. "But this is what a vet looks like when they don’t get help."
Hamilton declined to share additional details about Farnsworth's service or his mental-health. She said Farnsworth had sought help from the Phoenix VA Health Care System only to have his case fall "by the wayside."
Court records indicate Farnsworth faced assault and disorderly conduct charges in May and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor attempted car theft in August.
"If we can't get the help our vets need, this (type of incident) is what it comes down to," Hamilton said.
The veterans hospital did not immediately respond to requests for comment Sunday. read more here
When reporters go to cover more of this story, finding out if Tabares was one of the thousands with "bad paper" discharges instead of being treated for PTSD. If he was, then being shot by police on Friday night should be part of the historical account about how we treat those who serve.
Man Killed By Huntington Beach Officer Was Navy Veteran, Says Mother Looking For Answers
CBS Los Angeles September 24, 2017
HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBSLA.com) — The mother of a 27-year-old man fatally shot by a Huntington Beach police officer Friday says her son was a Navy veteran who suffered from mental health issues.
Cell phone video shows the moments leading up to Dillan Tabares’ death, reported around 9:40 a.m. in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven at 6012 Edinger Avenue.
In one of two videos, Tabares appears to swing at the Huntington Beach police officer and the two wrestle and fall to the ground. Another angle shows Tabares appear to grab something from the officer’s waistband. Seconds later, the officer opens fire seven times, killing Tabares.
The victim’s mother, Tiffany Tabares, was at the scene grieving with loved ones Sunday evening.
She said her son received a less-than-honorable discharge from the Navy and she’s looking for answers.read more here
