You can #TakeBackYourLife and live better

VA Centers Across Florida Trying to Reach Troubled Vets Before They Consider Suicide

At least that was the headline on WJCT

This Friday the VA, in conjunction with the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, will be holding Suicide Prevention and Awareness Fairs at all of Florida’s clinics, hospitals and healthcare facilities. 

Katherine Eicher is the lead suicide prevention coordinator at the VA Clinic for North Florida and South Georgia. 

“We are facing such a national crisis when it comes to veteran suicides, that is astronomical. Many are not even connected to VA healthcare systems.. 20% of all suicides and our veteran population is less than 9% of the overall population, so statistically this is off the charts.” said Eicher.

There is so much left out of this report, it is hard to know where to begin. So we should start with the way it ends instead? Isn't that what all the years of raising awareness have brought us to?

They brought us to endings that did not have to happen. 

They brought us to coffins that did not need to be filled. 

They brought us to questions lingering within the minds of family members and friends blaming themselves for what they got wrong.

Someone said that these "awareness" groups are harmless and the "number" of veterans they claim are committing suicide, is just an easy number to remember.

If that was the case, then they would have known that the number was from just 21 states, not 50. The number came with a warning that it was not to be taken as a whole. 

The number, that notorious number, has not really changed since 1999 when there were over 5 million more veterans living in this country at the time.

But that was before these groups, became aware they could turn raising awareness about veterans killing themselves, into a business. Wonder what all of them would have done if they knew as much as they do now about all this?

My bad! It turns out, they still do not have a clue. The VA is not your enemy! They have been saving veterans all along and have a lot of things to help you heal. It is not just "take a pill" and you need to look up what else they offer.

You also need to know that there are groups out there trying to get you to hear the one message you need to replace that ear worm of a number! You can #TakeBackYourLife and live better than you do right now.

In other news...the failure of raising awareness

We just posted how a veteran had a mental health crisis situation at Tampa Airport. He served six tours in the Air Force...but is seems as if there are a lot of stories that should make national news. 

Apparently, people who put their lives on the line to save others, still have not been made aware they are killing themselves. 

Oh, wait, my bad! They have been aware of that for a very long time.  Seems they missed the message on how to change the outcome and heal!

Like these!

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (localmemphis.com) - An hours-long standoff in a northeast Memphis neighborhood ended peacefully Wednesday afternoon, after a man fired shots from his home and barricaded himself inside. 36-year-old Alfred LaBarre, a war veteran according to Memphis police sources, now faces several charges.

MINDEN TOWNSHIP — Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck said the Sauk Rapids man who apparently took his own life on Sunday was a military veteran in crisis.

The incident brought authorities to a standoff with the man, forced neighbors to evacuate the area around the 7300 block of Minnesota Highway 95 and shut down that road.

The news release from Heck's office said the victim was Rodolfo Alberto Gomez Jr., 44, of Sauk Rapids, a military veteran.

This marks the third Chicago officer to die by suicide in the last two months The Chicago police are mourning the loss of one of their own again.

The Chicago Police Department says a veteran officer took her own life Wednesday morning—marking the third suicide within the department in just two months.

Air Force veteran with 6 tours crisis at Tampa Airport

VIDEO: Unruly traveler arrested after making scene at TIA because of flight delay
ABC Action News
Mary Stringini, Michael Paluska
Sep 12, 2018

Carmen Rodriguez said her husband was deployed six times over the course of 15 years serving in the Air Force. Recently, she says her husband had threatened suicide.

TAMPA, Fla. — An unruly traveler was arrested after causing a ruckus at Tampa International Airport on Wednesday because he was upset about a delayed flight, officials say.

The incident took place around 2 p.m. in Terminal A outside gate A-12. According to Tampa International Airport officials, the male traveler, identified as Ralph Rodriguez-Hernandez, 36, was waiting to board a Jet Blue flight to San Juan when he became upset because his plane was delayed. Officials say the traveler threatened to kill the ticket agent at the gate.

Video captured of the incident shows the man remove his pants as he yells, "No f****** bomb. I have no f****** bomb."
read more here

Dateline NBC investigates murder of Fort Campbell soldier

Evil Was Waiting: Dateline NBC investigates murder of Fort Campbell soldier
Clarksville Now
By Nicole June
September 12, 2018

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A report coming later this week from Dateline NBC highlights the 2012 slaying of Fort Campbell soldier Sgt. Vincent Goslyn, Jr.

Clarksville NowInvestigator Ed Stokes talks to Dateline NBC's Andrea Canning in Evil Was Waiting, a new report on the 2012 murder of Fort Campbell soldier Vincent Goslyn, Jr. (Photo courtesy of Dateline NBC)

Goslyn was gunned down on the side of the road in Christian County, Ky. in Feb. 2012, not long after returning home from a deployment to Afghanistan.

At the time of the incident his wife, Jessie Goslyn, called 911 and reported that her husband had been shot when he got out of the car to help a stranded motorist on the side of the road. She told operators she drove away from the scene as her husband supposedly instructed her to.

It was later uncovered that Jessie Goslyn and her boyfriend, Jarred Tabor Long, had plotted Vincent’s murder and used the 911 call as a cover-up.
read more here

Montana:Veteran's Service Dog Stolen

Veteran pleads for service dog’s return
NBC Montana
by McKayla Haack
September 12th 2018

MISSOULA, Mont. — A veteran was traveling through western Montana Monday when he says his dog was taken from his truck early Monday morning.

Ryan Jones served in the Marines and suffers from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). His dog, Masik, helped calm him down and makes him feel more comfortable in public settings.

He transports RV’s for a living and was stopped at the Travel Centers of America at the Wye, west of Missoula, late Sunday night. Masik’s back leg is shorter than the others and it’s hard for him to go upstairs. That’s why Jones said he left Masik in the truck with the windows cracked and the vehicle running. When he returned, the dog, cash and a tuner were all missing.

“I couldn’t believe it. I was just shocked, angry, I didn’t know what to think. I mean I’ve had to leave him in the truck before, but I just, it never crossed my mind that someone would take him,” said Jones.
read more here

Mission BBQ Oviedo 9-11 Remembrance

Our Story
MISSION BBQ opened its doors for business on September 11, 2011.

Ten years after our world changed forever, in some small way we wanted to change it back.

As the founders of MISSION BBQ, we strive every day to remind everyone what makes Our Country great—its heroes.

Who are we? Two friends passionate about BBQ, patriotic for Our Country, and who believe in running a business with meaning and purpose.

We believe there is nothing more American than BBQ. And nobody more American than the brave men and women who have sworn to protect and serve Our Communities and Our Country. We do what we do for the love of our soldiers, firefighters, police officers, first responders—all our loved ones in service.

We set across this great land from Texas to Kansas City, the Carolinas to St. Louis...to discover the secrets of great BBQ.

Every day we strive to serve you authentic BBQ made from the freshest, most delectable ingredients, and serve it to you in a patriotic dining room filled with tributes to those who’ve made Our Country great, given to us by the people who earned them. Stop by at lunchtime, and you might catch us during our daily salute to the Stars and Stripes.

We don't do any of this because we have to. It's because we want to.

At MISSION BBQ, we are Proudly Serving Those Who Serve. Come help us complete Our Mission.

Vietnam Veterans honored in Longwood

Today at the VFW Post 8207 in Longwood, Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy presented Vietnam veterans and their families with pins and challenge coins.

It was a day to remember them and all they did for this country so that no generation would ever be betrayed like they were.

On a personal note, it is why I am heartsick that they are once again, forgotten by the generations who came after them.

Veterans over the age of 50 are the majority of the known veterans committing suicide, but none of the new groups want to help them.

They waited longer for compensation and to have their caregivers helped out along the way, and are still waiting for someone to even notice we are here.

So yes, the Vietnam Veterans deserve much more than this day but it was nice to hear the kind words.

UPDATE
Sgt. Dave interviewed people for his radio show Remember The Fallen

Listen to the compelling story of the First Vietnamese Congresswoman Murphy's families survival of fleeing Communist Vietnam and being saved while drifting in the China Sea without any gas by the US Navy Vietnam Veterans. Most of all, how she and her staff with the assistance of VFW Post 8207, raised the bar, by honoring our Vietnam Veterans with passion and dignity with the pinning of The VNW50th Lapel Pin. God Bless Our Vietnam Veterans

Listen to "1ST Vietnamese Congress Woman Murphy Honors VNW 50th Veterans" on Speaker.

VA Claim Backlog 70,537...maybe?

Inspector general finds VA claims backlog greater than reported
Stars and Stripes
Nikki Wentling
September 10, 2018

WASHINGTON – The number of backlogged benefits claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs is larger than the agency reported, according to findings released Monday from a government watchdog.

The VA considers backlogged claims to be veterans’ claims for benefits that take longer than 125 days to approve or deny. The VA Inspector General’s Office reported officials omitted 63,600 backlogged claims from its count during the first half of 2016, creating a misrepresentation of how many claims were delayed.

Overall, the VA’s estimated backlog represents only 79 percent of actual backlogged claims, the IG determined.
read more here

Seventeen years ago today...

No words adequate enough!

Miramar Marine Sgt. Killed in Lemon Grove

Man Killed in Lemon Grove Shooting ID'd as Miramar Marine
NBC 7 News San Diego
By Alexander Nguyen
Sep 9, 2018

A man shot and killed early Friday morning in Lemon Grove was identified Sunday as a Marine sergeant stationed at Marine Corps Air Station, Miramar, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said.

Sheriff's deputies spotted a car parked in the middle of the street on Pacific Avenue, near the Lemon Grove Square Shopping Center shortly after midnight Friday, sheriff's Lt. Rich Williams said.

Inside, they found Sgt. Christopher Truax Jr., 21, bleeding from a gunshot wound, and a woman. Truax soon stopped breathing and despite CPR efforts from first responders, he was pronounced dead around 12:39 a.m., Williams said.
read more here