Arizona now has way to track veterans committing suicide...because they did not before

Governor Ducey Signs Bill To Better Track Veteran Suicides

News Release
April 17, 2019

New Data Will Help Inform Arizona’s Efforts To Prevent Veteran Suicide

PHOENIX — Governor Doug Ducey today signed HB 2488, legislation sponsored by Representative Jay Lawrence, directing the Arizona Department of Health Services (DHS) to submit an annual report improving the tracking of veteran suicides in Arizona.

Veterans face a risk of suicide four times greater than non-veterans in Arizona. Until now, Arizona did not have a formal way to track or report veteran suicides in the state. The new annual report will provide critical data to help Arizona understand and prevent veteran suicide. The report will begin in January 2020 and will track a variety of data points that will provide historical and regional trends and compare Arizona's resident veteran suicide rate to the national rate and other regions across the country.

“Our veterans have sacrificed so much to protect our freedom, and this country and Arizona are going to continue doing everything we can to support our veterans and prevent veteran suicide,” said Governor Ducey. “This legislation will provide Arizona with a necessary tool to understand the issues that cause veteran suicide, and implement data-driven policy to address this devastating issue.”

“There are no easy answers when it comes to veteran suicides. With this new report, Arizona will now be able to define the scope of the devastating problem of veteran suicide and find a way to prevent them and bolster our veterans’ services,” said Representative Lawrence. “I thank my colleagues for the bipartisan support and Governor Ducey for signing this legislation to help Arizona’s veterans.”

The FY2020 budget includes increased funding for Arizona’s “Be Connected” suicide prevention program. The Be Connected program connects service members, veterans and their families to support and resources. In 2018, the program assisted over 2,000 individuals. This investment will also support community outreach efforts to find additional public, private and non-profit partnership opportunities and increase awareness of the critical resources available to Arizona’s military and veteran communities.

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife

Side by side the same way you fought every other battle!

Vietnam Veteran Col. Philip Conran may get MOH

Should this airman receive the Medal of Honor for Laos battle? A congressman thinks so

Air Force Times
By: Stephen Losey
April 19, 2019

A California congressman is pushing to upgrade a retired Air Force colonel’s Air Force Cross to a Medal of Honor for “extraordinary heroism” during a fierce 1969 battle in Laos.

Col. Philip J. Conran receives an Air Force Cross for his heroic actions in Laos on Oct. 6, 1969. (Courtesy of the Robert F. Dorr Collection)

Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-California, on Monday introduced a bill, HR 2330, that would authorize the president to upgrade Col. Philip Conran’s Air Force Cross to the nation’s highest award for valor.

On Oct. 6, 1969, as the United States’ war in Vietnam spilled over into Laos, then-Maj. Philip Conran was part of a mission that went south when a helicopter was shot down, according to a narrative provided by Carbajal’s staff. Conran took charge during the rescue attempt, and repeatedly put himself at risk to save 44 of his fellow troops, according to the legislation.
read more here

"The Code" doesn't think female officers can manage a wedding too?

‘The Code’ for tone deafness? CBS show on Marines grilled for tweet about female officer

Marine Corps Times
By: J.D. Simkins
April 18, 2019

Network television shows on military subjects seldom lead the charge when it comes to accurately portraying the subject matter on which said shows are based.

A tweet from the official account of CBS' "The Code" sparked some harsh criticisms of the new show. ("The Code")

And that’s fine. Audience members should never expect to attain a firm, gospel-like grasp of military culture based on shows scheduled adjacent to series like “God Friended Me” or “Hawaii Five-0.”

Such tempered expectations should likewise be extended to CBS’ “The Code,” a show about “the professional and personal lives of some of the military’s brightest legal minds in the courtroom, where each attorney is trained as a prosecutor, a defense lawyer, an investigator — and a Marine,” according to the show’s IMDB page.

Since its debut, veterans have been quick to point out minor inaccuracies, such as ribbon placement or the apparent scarcity of qualified barbers in the region — harmless slip-ups.

But on Tuesday, a tweet from the show’s official Twitter account riled the masses for coming off as questioning basic capabilities of women in the Corps.

“Can Lt. Harper Li balance her duties to the Corps with planning her wedding?” the tweet read. “Find out in the latest episode of #TheCode.”
go here to read the rest if you want to, but do not miss the Tweet responses!

#SprayedAndBetrayed Blue Water Veterans still waiting for justtice

Will the benefits for ‘blue water’ Vietnam veterans be settled soon?

Military Times
By: Leo Shane III
April 17, 2019

“Even though the court has ruled that the VA must provide these benefits, there is no guarantee it will happen,” Gillibrand said in a statement. “Congress must create a permanent legislative fix.”

Troops from the First Cavalry Air Mobile Division watch the carrier USS Boxer after arrival at Qui Nhon, Vietnam, on Sept. 12, 1965. (AP file photo)

The fate of disability benefits for “blue water” Vietnam veterans will be among the key topics lawmakers tackle when they return from their district break at the end of the month.

In January, a federal court ruled that the Department of Veterans Affairs for years has used faulty reasoning to deny disability benefits to veterans who served in ships off the waters of Vietnam. VA officials had argued that extending the benefits to an additional 90,000 veterans would cost as much as $5 billion over 10 years, a figure that advocates have disputed.

This week, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., announced plans to reinforce that ruling and establish a permanent fix for those veterans, who claim exposure to cancer-causing chemical defoliants has caused a host of rare cancers and respirator illnesses.

Already the chairman and ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee have introduced similar plans, and that House panel is preparing for an expansive hearing on the topic early next month.
read more here

Book not pulled on account of zombies

When a copyright goes wrong

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
April 17, 2019

Update on the book thing...It seems that the book went into the dead file somewhere, at some time, and must have been bitten by Zombies because its alive!

Members of Washington National Guard's 194th Wing pose as zombies with their simulated injury makeup before participating in the Cascadia Rising exercise, a test of Washington state’s earthquake response plan. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Paul Rider

I have been trying to figure out what I was seeing, since it did not make sense. If you have read Wounded Times lately, then you know the trouble I've been having with my first book. If not, then you may not need to go back and see what it is all about because of what I am about to show you.

For the sake of my loyal readers, I do not want to rehash all of it, so please forgive me and you can catch up here.

Today I went to ISBN to understand how it works. After all, two numbers on a book did not make much sense. Here is the deal on them.

About the ISBN Standard "ISBN" stands for "International Standard Book Number".

An ISBN is a number, not a bar code.

One agency per country is designated to assign ISBNs for the publishers and self-publishers located in that country. The U.S. ISBN Agency cannot assign ISBNs to publishers and self-publishers located outside the United States and its territories.

*******

Still not sure what is going on with overseas operations but we'll focus on the US for now. 

The ISBN identifies the title or other book-like product (such as an audiobook) to which it is assigned, but also the publisher to be contacted for ordering purposes. If an ISBN is obtained from a company other than the official ISBN Agency, that ISBN will not identify the publisher of the title accurately. This can have implications for doing business in the publishing industry supply chain.

When participating in the ISBN standard, publishers and self-publishers are required to report all information about titles to which they have assigned ISBNs.

For more than thirty years, ISBNs were 10 digits long. On January 1, 2007 the ISBN system switched to a 13-digit format. Now all ISBNs are 13-digits long. If you were assigned 10-digit ISBNs, you can convert them to the 13-digit format at the converter found at this website. A 10-digit ISBN cannot be converted to 13-digits merely by placing three digits in front of the 10-digit number. There is an algorithm that frequently results in a change of the last digit of the ISBN.

On Amazon, FOR THE LOVE OF JACK has the "978" number with the original one.

Paperback: 148 pages Publisher: Xlibris Corp (April 1, 2003) Language: English ISBN-10: 1401086918 

ISBN-13: 978-1401086916

Yet, the book that came in last week, (which according to Xlibris) is not new, it did not have the old ISBN number on the inside. It just had the one that was issued after 2007. Yes, this is like a very bad movie that you cannot shut off!

So, exactly why would a publisher do this after they "stopped printing it" and pulled it from distribution years before?

Even that is in doubt because apparently Xlibris cannot make up their mind when they stopped it.

 First it was 2005,

And then it was 2004~Which came in an email last week after they wrote how they stopped in 2005.

Again, we know it was not a used book! (Yes, that is my name and after I started writing back in 1984)

Love that part at the end. I bet she hoped it did so that I would go away and stop wanting them to be accountable!

The worst part of this is, they have been doing this to me for 16 years! Why not remove a book if they had in fact stopped distribution of it? Why put on a new ISBN number on a book that was "out of print" a couple of years before this special number was even issued?

Wonder how many others they did it to? 

If they did it to you, leave a comment and then maybe someone with the power to do something about it will!

I am trying to raise funds to take control of this book back! I want to print it and give it away. Please go here to support that effort.

Brother convicted of stealing over $300,000 from disabled veteran

Man who spent more than $300K of a disabled veteran’s benefits sentenced to 19 months in federal prison

FOX 43 News
BY SEAN NAYLOR
APRIL 16, 2019

Ehrhart submitted eight false annual accountings to the VA to conceal the embezzlement.

HARRISBURG — A Thompsontown man who spent $316,360 of a disabled veteran’s VA and Social Security benefits after becoming the veteran’s VA Fiduciary and Legal Custodian in 2006 was sentenced Monday to 19 months in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of PA.

Jason Ehrhart, 48, also must pay that total in restitution to his nephew (the veteran’s son). The veteran died at the VA Hospital in Lebanon in July 2018.
read more here

Fort Carson Missing Soldier Found Safe

Missing Fort Carson soldier found alive

KKTV News
By Tony Keith/Lindsey Grewe
Apr 17, 2019

"The soldiers of our brigade are tremendously relieved that our Soldier has been recovered safely," said Col. Dave Zinn, commander of 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

FORT CARSON, Colo. (KKTV) - A Fort Carson soldier who went missing Monday night has been found alive, the Mountain Post confirms.

The soldier had been participating in the "Expert Field Medical Badge competition" and was last seen on foot at the Fort Carson Land Navigation course, which is on the southeastern corner of the post near Pueblo West. The last time someone reported seeing the soldier was about 9:45 p.m. on Monday.

More than 1,700 soldiers, along with Directorate of Emergency Services personnel, and search rescue teams from El Paso, Fremont and Douglas counties took part in a ground search. Additionally, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Inf. Div., and Flight for Life helicopters searched from the air.
read more here

Veterans and PTSD, not worthy of good reporting

Before PTSD was newsworthy

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
April 16, 2019

When I think about all the news reports on PTSD and very sad outcomes, I remember what it was like when no reporter was interested at all.

I often wonder what it would have happened if they cared back in the 80's. What would it be like now if they exposed how Vietnam veterans came home and fought for all the research and funding for all generations of veterans?

I was not alone in trying to get reporters to pay attention. There were many others and even more came afterwards.

Even though we were not silent, it sure felt that way.

I had an old website NamGuardianAngel, among others, that I had to let go of because I could not afford to keep it. Thank God for the fact that the internet does not forget!

In 2005 I was still trying to make a difference with the book...then opted to allow people to read it for free in a PDF! 

Yes, that is the book I am fighting to take back control of. 

I wanted to #BreakTheSilence because I knew how many other families were out there, just like mine.

This pamphlet from the Disabled American Veterans had this piece of information in it.

And then there were more websites. This one started in 2007 and has over 30,000 posts on it. Yes, all trying to make a difference and #BreakTheSilence but to tell the truth.

This video Wounded Minds was also out there early. It went up in 2006.

And this shows how old Wounded Minds video is!

The point to all this pondering is, I still cannot figure out how is it that media has still been unable come close to doing it.

Today we had an example of that on NBC Nightly News as they tackled the latest round of suicide reports. 

Yes, they did the "20" a day, without a clue how many more they are missing. The report was about how there were three veteran suicides at VA hospitals...yes, those, but they missed the others we have been talking about.

So, I am still wondering what it would have been like if they had paid attention all along...or long enough to find the facts first. Looks like they are still not worthy of good reporting~

Soldier ran long distance Boston Marathon...while serving in Afghanistan

US soldier runs Boston marathon in Afghanistan before flying home from deployment

By: WFLA/CNN Newsource
Posted: Apr 16, 2019

(WFLA/CNN Newsource) – A US soldier ran the Boston marathon this week, but he did it while serving in Afghanistan.

Joseph Fraser did the full 26.2 mile run on Sunday, admittedly with zero training ahead of time.

He was not able to shadow Monday’s actual marathon for operations and timing reasons.

Fraser said he took the challenge, among other reasons, to tell the story of how powerful positive thinking can be to get through any tough obstacle.

He’s recovering from his run by flying home from deployment.

He boarded a plane out of Afghanistan shortly after his run.
read more here

Who said Marines should not crawl? This one finished the race because he would not give up!

Marine running in honor of his fallen comrades crawls to the finish line of the Boston Marathon

CNN
By Amanda Jackson
April 15, 2019

(CNN)Micah Herndon proved that you never give up, no matter what, by crawling on his hands and knees to the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Micah Herndon crawls to the finish line in the 123rd Boston Marathon.

Herndon, of Tallmadge, Ohio, competed in the marathon as a tribute to the memories of three men he knew while he served as a Marine in Afghanistan. He told the Record-Courier in Portage County, Ohio, that whenever he feels like giving up he just repeats their names: Mark Juarez, Matthew Ballard and Rupert Hamer.

"I run in honor of them," Herndon told the Record-Courier. "They are not here anymore. I am here, and I am able. I am lucky to still have all my limbs. I can still be active. I find fuel in the simple idea that I can run. Some cannot."

Herndon crossed the finish line with a time of three hours and 38 minutes to complete the 26.2 miles. CNN affiliate WBZ said once he was over the yellow and blue line he was lifted into a wheelchair and given medical attention. He wore the last names of his comrades on tags on his running shoes.
read more here