Soldier stuck at airport, watched baby born on cellphone

Soldier watches daughter's birth on FaceTime after flight delay
WCMH
May 7, 2018

(WCMH) - When flight troubles stopped an army soldier from getting home for the birth of his daughter, he did the next best thing, watched on FaceTime.

Brooks Lindsey was watching his wife, Haley Lindsey give birth to their daughter, Millie, KTVU reported.

“This Army soldier was on my delayed flight home yesterday to MS. He had to watch the birth of his daughter on FaceTime. He was crying and our hearts were breaking. We all gave him space. When we heard the baby cry, we all rejoiced for him,” said Tracy Dover, another traveler who was in the airport at the same time.
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Was Mindfulness over hyped for PTSD?

(Note to readers: as with everything else, find what works for you! If something does not help you, find something else to help you heal. Always make sure that you are addressing your mind-body-spirit, no matter what you do.)

Mindfulness may have been over-hyped
BBC
Bruce Lieberman
May 7, 2018

A 2017 article that assessed evidence on meditation as a treatment for PTSD summed up the overall state of affairs: “This line of research is in its relative infancy.”

Mindfulness meditation has been practiced for millennia – and today is a billion-dollar business. But how much does the practice really change our health?

In combat veterans with PTSD, mindfulness-based group therapy increased healthy connections in parts of the brain that control ruminating (Credit: Getty Images)

In late 1971, US Navy veteran Stephen Islas returned from Vietnam, but the war continued to rage in his head. “I came very close to committing suicide when I came home, I was that emotionally and mentally damaged,” Islas remembers. At his college campus in Los Angeles, a friend suggested he check out a meditation class. He was sceptical, but he found that before long “there were moments that started shifting, where I was happy. I would experience these glimpses of calmness.”

Forty-six years later, Islas says that he has never completely freed himself from his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which was formally diagnosed in 2000 at the Veterans Affairs (VA) West Los Angeles Medical Center. But he’s convinced that meditation has saved his life.

Various forms of meditation are now routinely offered to veterans with PTSD. It’s also touted as a therapeutic tool to help anyone suffering from conditions and disorders including stress, anxiety, depression, addiction and chronic pain. More broadly, meditation has come into vogue as a way to enhance human performance, finding its way into classrooms, businesses, sports locker rooms and people’s smartphones through Internet apps like Headspace and Calm.

“There is a common misperception in public and government domains that compelling clinical evidence exists for the broad and strong efficacy of mindfulness as a therapeutic intervention,” a group of 15 scholars wrote in a recent article entitled Mind the Hype. The reality is that mindfulness-based therapies have shown “a mixture of only moderate, low or no efficacy, depending on the disorder being treated,” the scholars wrote, citing a 2014 meta-analysis commissioned by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
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Rain did not stop Vietnam Veteran from his duty to VFW!

After Photo of Veteran Sitting in the Rain Goes Viral, Walmart Makes Amends
WNEP 16 News
BY ALLEN VICKERS
May 5, 2018

DICKSON CITY, Pa. -- Thousands on Facebook shared a picture of a veteran sitting by himself in the rain outside a Walmart in Dickson City.

In the post, the veteran's wife says he was made to sit out in the rain and not in the covered area of the store.

One day later, Manuel Griffin was in front of the store again--this time in the sun--collecting donations for service members.

The veteran wouldn't talk with Newswatch 16 on camera. He friend David Ragan knows why.

“He is going to do what he has to do for his VFW, and he wants to make sure he is representing them the same way we did when we wore the uniform,” Ragan said.
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Indiana National Guard veteran helped by community

Volunteers pitch in to help Indiana veteran who suffers multiple seizures a day
WTTV 4 News
BY MATT SMITH
MAY 5, 2018

RUSSIAVILLE, Ind. – Volunteers descended onto a farmhouse in Russiaville Saturday, helping a veteran and Hoosier who dedicated more than two decades with the Indiana National Guard.

Larry Sparks served numerous deployments including to Iraq, Afghanistan and to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. What has followed is a traumatic brain injury, daily seizures and PTSD.

“It’s been a process,” he said. “It’s been tough.”

Sparks reached out to the non-profit Wish 4 Our Heroes to help.

Saturday volunteers sanded walls, put my new siding and help renovate numerous rooms inside the home. More volunteers are needed to help paint next week.
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Group gave Army veteran Jon Vandeyacht new motorcycle

Local group donates motorcycle to Wisconsin veteran
WKOW 27 ABC News
By Scott Behrens
May 6, 2018

MADISON (WKOW) -- A local organization is coming together to support a Wisconsin veteran.

The Madison-area group Hogs for Heroes is donating a motorcycle to Army veteran Jon Vandeyacht, from Omro, as a thank you for serving our country.

"I escaped death five times," said Vandeyacht.

Vandeyacht served three tours in combat in Iraq.

"With the IED's at any given moment you could blow up and be dead," Vandeyacht told 27 News.

He's lost friends along the way.

Vandeyacht said, "I had a truck in front of me that got blown up and the blast rocked ours so bad that it knocked me into tomorrow, that's scary that's the hardest part."

Five years ago Vandeyacht had to retire after being seriously hurt.
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Why let your engine overheat?

Crying keeps your engine cool!
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 6, 2018

We have all heard the saying "men don't cry" but that must have originated from a man who couldn't do it. Think of what he was like. He must have been one nasty individual.

Imagine not being able to cope with strong emotions. Then again, imagine what it must have been like to not be able to release that negative power. His engine must have overheated all the time.

Radiators A radiator is an integral part of your car’s engine coolant system. Its primary task is to keep the engine cool — if the radiator were to malfunction, the pistons would seize up, destroying the engine. In effect, the radiator along with the rest of the cooling system is your personal insurance against a devastating repair bill.

If you have PTSD after doing your job, then there are things you need to know beyond what you imagine.

You may think that others like you do not need to cry. After all, you are so courageous that you were willing to die for the sake of someone else. Right? Why were you willing to do that? Is it because you did not care about any of them?

Would it help to know that one of the most courageous men to walk this earth cried? 

He was feeling such empathy for someone else, he could not control his emotions and he wept.

I am sure by now you know where I am going with this. That man was Jesus. When He was in the garden, knowing His days on earth were coming to an end, He had such and inner struggle going on that when He did not weep, the emotional pressure was so great that his sweat came out as drops of blood.

42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. (Luke 22)

His engine overheated. Now, sure, you can dismiss all of this but then you'd have to dismiss the fact that Jesus knew all along who He was and what He was supposed to do. He also knew when it would happen. 
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HOME DEPOT FOUNDATION REACHES QUARTER-BILLION-DOLLARS for Veterans!

THE HOME DEPOT FOUNDATION REACHES QUARTER-BILLION-DOLLAR COMMITMENT TO VETERAN-RELATED CAUSES

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May 04, 2018

ATLANTA, May 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, The Home Depot® Foundation announced it has reached its goal of investing a quarter of a billion dollars in veteran-related causes by 2020 – two years early. 

Since 2011, the Foundation’s mission has been to improve the homes and lives of U.S. military veterans, with a focus on serving homeless, combat-wounded and senior veterans. In 2016, due to the growing needs of those who served, the Foundation pledged to give $250 million by 2020 to nonprofits serving veterans. 

Through incredible partnerships with organizations including Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, Semper Fi Fund, Habitat for Humanity, Volunteers of America and many others, The Home Depot Foundation has impacted the lives of veterans and their families across the United States. Since 2011, the Foundation has enhanced nearly 40,000 veteran homes and facili-ties in more than 2,500 cities. 

“Our veterans have sacrificed so we can have our freedom, so it’s a true honor to give back to them,” said Shannon Gerber, executive director of The Home Depot Foundation. “We’re fortunate to work with the best nonprofits in the veteran housing space and we’ll continue to partner together to serve those who have served us all.”  

About The Home Depot Foundation 

The Home Depot Foundation works to improve the homes and lives of U.S. veterans, train skilled tradespeople to fill the labor gap and support communities impacted by natural disasters.

Since 2011, the Foundation has invested a quarter of a billion dollars in veteran-related causes and improved more than 40,000 veteran homes and facilities in 2,500 cities. In 2018, the Foundation committed an additional $50 million dollars to train 20,000 skilled tradespeople over the next 10 years starting with separating military members and veterans, at-risk youth and members of the Atlanta Westside community. To learn more about The Home Depot Foundation and see Team Depot in action, visit thd.co/community and follow us on Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram@teamdepot and on Facebook at facebook.com/teamdepot.

Why would Navy SEALs use drugs?

Navy: SEALs Tested Positive for Illicit DrugsAssociated PressMay 4, 2018

Navy official tells The Associated Press that cocaine is the drug found in Navy SEALs in Virginia.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — The Navy says members of its SEAL teams have tested positive for illegal drugs.

The Navy released a statement Friday saying 11 members of its Naval Special Warfare units on the East Coast tested positive for "controlled substances."

According to a Navy official, the drug was cocaine, and commanders are investigating to determine if all the alleged offenses happened at the same place and time. go here for more

US Special Forces struggle with record suicides, report from 2014

Ret. Admiral William McRaven
No one – not the top warrior nor the highest star admiral - is immune to war’s toll.

“Ever since I’ve come back it’s been like that,” McRaven said later, during a brief interview. “I’ve told one story a dozen times and I still can’t get through it.” from 2015

There are a lot more report here, but, I think you get the point. If SEALs are using drugs, there has to be a reason for it.

Con-Man claimed to be Firefighter on 9-11

Con Man Outed after Claiming to be Ground Zero FF
Palm Beach Post
ELIOT KLEINBERG
MAY 4, 2018

Fairfield Fire Department Deputy Chief Kyran Dunn told The Palm Beach Post this week the agency has no record of Shapiro working there. A photo provided to The Post shows Shapiro wearing a yellow helmet that says "Fairfield Fire Department" with a 4-digit number, his name and "lieutenant." Shapiro's Facebook page has a close-up of the helmet.

PALM BEACH COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE Steven Shapiro.

May 04--WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- When Don Prince saw a news story about Steven Shapiro being arrested on charges of credit-card theft, he recognized him right away. Prince co-founded a substance-abuse treatment center for first responders. Shapiro, he said, worked there for a while. And told people he was a fire lieutenant in Connecticut and had been at ground zero on Sept. 11. 2001.

By all accounts, he wasn't. And he hadn't.

Such hoaxes are rare, but Prince says he and his colleagues have no patience for them.

"There were 343 firefighters who died that day," he said. "And it hits every one of us directly in the heart."

Shapiro, 56, had been booked April 16 on charges he used credit cards he found in the Delray Beach home of a woman from whom he rented a room to buy $1,823 worth of items, including a television.
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No reporter serves on military suicide watch?

UPDATE

U.S. Army Secretary Mark Esper said reducing suicides in the Army is a priority, and he and his staff are working to study and resolve problems leading to them.After spending the day at Fort Riley speaking with soldiers and their families, Esper spoke with The Mercury Friday afternoon.

How long are we going to hear the same claim while they change absolutely nothing!

When will reporters tell us the truth?
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 5, 2018

Why are reporters ignoring the data on military suicides? That is a question we've been wondering about for over a decade, yet, there has been absolutely no answer.

The Department of Defense responds when suicide reports come out, and reporters being what they are, settle for what they are told. They say "most have not been deployed" but then never have to explain how they were supposed to be trained to prevent suicides. If the training did not work for non-deployed, how did they expect it to work for those sent to risk their lives in combat?

No one seems to wonder how it is that when the number of men and women serving in the military has gone down, the number of men and women serving in the military committing suicide remains close to 500 per year.

Active Duty Decreased

That chart shows how the DOD reduced force size.

This chart shows the number of suicides between 2013 and 2015

2013 254 Active, 220 "Reserve Components" Total 474
2014 273 Active, 170  "Reserve Components" Total 443
2015 266 Active, 209 "Reserve Components" Total 475

2016 280 Active, 202 "Reserve Components" Total 482
2017 285 Active, 219 "Reserve Components" Total 504

Congress started to hold hearings and passed bills with their names on it back to 2007. No reporter has bothered to ask then to account for the loss of life increasing at the same time the numbers of those serving decreased.

No reporter has asked the Department of Defense to account for any of this after they implemented mandatory "prevention" training after spending millions on funding programs that did not work.

No reporter has tied that training to the increase of suicides in the younger veterans population after they survived combat and had this training.

No reporter has tied the report of suicides from the VA to the decrease in the number of veterans living in the country while the numbers they know of remained about the same.

The simple truth is, when we say we value the "free press" that should never equate to them being free from responsible reporting.

Had they been paying attention to all the facts, all along, how many lives could have been saved because the American public had the facts? Do you think all the "awareness" raisers out there would have gotten away with using a number that is not even close to real if reporters paid attention?

In April of 2007, I wondered why we had a non-caring media about the non-combat deaths.

When I was searching for reports on suicides it became apparent that more were dying because they served than from combat itself. Why am I still asking the same question?