Missouri's National Veterans Memorial in Perryville now open

Grand opening of Missouri’s National Veterans Memorial in Perryville

St. Louis Post Dispatch
May 20, 2019

A Huey helicopter flies over the visitors center during the grand opening weekend celebration of Missouri's National Veterans Memorial in Perryville, Mo., on Sunday, May 19, 2019. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

Missouri's National Veterans Memorial in Perryville, Mo. held its grand opening this weekend. The memorial features a permanent full-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. The 46-acre site has a visitors center and museum space designed to honor all the nation's veterans, from all conflicts. Missouri's Vietnam Wall uses the same black-granite as the Washington, D.C., memorial, and is etched with the names of the nearly 59,000 men and women killed during the Vietnam War.

Navy veteran Shawn Jeager, from St. Charles, points out planes on the deck of an aircraft carrier etched into a granite memorial to his sons Adam Jeager (left) and Daniel Jeager during a visit to Missouri's National Veterans Memorial in Perryville on Sunday, May 19, 2019. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com

The nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that runs Missouri's National Veterans Memorial does not charge admission but is hoping suggested donations of 10 dollars from the planned 30,000 visitors a year will help grow and sustain the memorial.
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Other than honorable way to treat combat veterans

Lawmakers demand change after KING 5 reveals VA fumble left veterans without help

KING 5 News
Author: Taylor Mirfendereski
May 21, 2019

Members of Congress who championed a 2018 law that increases access to mental health care for veterans say the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hasn't done enough to implement it.

SEATTLE — Several current and former members of Congress who championed a 2018 law that makes a vulnerable group of veterans eligible for mental health care at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are calling for change after a KING 5 story revealed the VA mishandled the program's roll out.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said Tuesday that she's concerned about the VA's failure to reach other-than-honorable veterans who qualify for mental health treatment under the law, which Congress passed in March 2018 to reduce suicides among the group of veterans who previously were largely ineligible for care.

"Obviously I am not happy with how the VA has implemented the law," said Murray, who co-sponsored the legislation. "It is their responsibility. It is our responsibility for oversight, which we are following this very closely on."

Nationwide, less than one percent of veterans with other-than-honorable discharges received mental health treatment at the VA last year, according to data provided by a VA spokeswoman.

Congress set a 180-day deadline for the VA to notify eligible veterans about the change, but it took the agency nearly a year after the law passed to make direct contact with veterans who qualified for care.
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And what type of veteran is included in all of this?

'The Army Broke Him'
SHELTON -- Kord Ball dug out his wrinkled Army uniform from a pile of clothes inside his Shelton trailer.

And for the first time in months, the disheveled staff sergeant mustered up the energy to shave and get a haircut.

That September 2018 morning was one of Ball's last days in the U.S. Army, after a decorated 10-year military career. But the 27-year-old didn't leave the service on good terms.

Army leaders at Joint Base Lewis McChord kicked Ball out of the service for misconduct because he failed a drug test for marijuana. He received an other-than-honorable discharge, which strips away his right to access veteran benefits, including long-term health care from the Department of Veteran Affairs.

But records show the behavior that got Ball in trouble was directly related to his diagnosed anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder -- medical conditions brought on by his military service. And now, the veteran doesn't have a right to access the long-term medical benefits he needs to heal.
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If you were kicked out instead of helped to heal, tell your story so that this BS stops! The only way they get away with treating those who serve like this is to remain silent!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife

President Donald Trump's tax law hit Gold Star Children

Lawmakers change Trump tax law that hit Gold Star families with 'kiddie tax'

NBC News
By Corky Siemaszko
May 21, 2019

The federal government "is trying to save a few bucks by ripping off" military families, Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., said.

The Senate on Tuesday passed a change to President Donald Trump's tax law after it unexpectedly socked hundreds of Gold Star families this year with a "kiddie tax" of thousands of dollars.

Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.Aaron P. Bernstein / Getty Images file

The new tax law treated military and Veteran Affairs survivor benefits as trusts or estates, which subjects them to a tax rate as high as 37 percent.

The Gold Star Family Tax Relief Act would fix the error by treating military and VA survivor benefits as earned income, which is taxed at a much lower rate. That bill now goes to the House for consideration.

"Gold Star families have sacrificed so much for our nation, and passing this legislation to remove the exorbitant tax on surviving children's benefits is the least we can do," Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., said after the Gold Star Families Tax Relief Act passed the Senate with unanimous and bipartisan support.
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ALSO
Gold Star families hit by huge tax increase on benefits

New gun covers enlisted in fight against suicide

"Cover Me Veterans" helps veterans thinking of suicide to think twice

Action 2 News
By Brittany Schmidt
May 20, 2019

Dr. Sigmund would often ask her clients to put a picture of someone or something they treasure close to their firearms when they are having dark thoughts. “It would be a prompt to look at that and think, 'Hey, I have a lot to live for. These people need me or I can count on them,'" said Dr. Sigmund.

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - In the United States, we lose almost two dozen veterans a day to suicide, but one local woman is hoping her efforts will make veterans think twice before taking their own life.

“I think there could be no greater work than to devote time and effort giving back to the people who sign up, volunteer or answer the call to serve all of us,” said Dr. Heidi Sigmund, founder of the non-profit organization called Cover Me Veterans.

For the past 12 years, Preble High School and St. Norbert College graduate Heidi Sigmund has been helping veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“We talk about 'suicidal ideation' a lot because unfortunately when someone is struggling with PTSD that is something that can come up,” said Dr. Sigmund.

When that happens, Dr. Sigmund asks her veterans to distance themselves from their firearms.

“It’s kind of a conundrum because we know that most veterans that choose to end their lives do so using firearms, but we are also working with people who really value their firearms, it’s a firearm culture,” said Dr. Sigmund.

Dr. Sigmund teamed up with GunSkins to create personalized vinyl skins to go on a veteran's firearms. In the kit, a veteran can upload a personal, meaningful photo to be printed and included in the order. Many pictures include children, spouses, pets and military logos.
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VA gave Dennis a reminder of happy times, a black and white cat

Robotic pets give Asheville veterans a source of companionship at the VA

ABC 13 News
by John Le
May 20th 2019

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Long after serving our country, too many vets fight for a sense of peace. An unusual form of pet therapy provides a source of comfort and companionship at Charles George VA Medical Center.

"I'm 100 percent disabled, and I have PTSD," says Dennis Vincent, a Vietnam veteran. 'It's been a struggle practically since war, you know."

The VA gave Dennis a reminder of happy times, a black and white cat.

"He does a thing where he rolls on his back if I can get him to do it," Vincent explained, as the feline purred. "He's the next best thing to having a cat."

It's the 'next best thing,' because it's not real. 'Jack,' as Dennis calls it, is a robotic pet.

"You don't have to feed him. He doesn't have fleas. And he doesn't give me any back talk," Dennis points out.
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Supreme Court denies justice, lets military malpractice stand....

Supreme Court rejects bid to overturn prohibition on military malpractice cases

Military Times By: Leo Shane III May 20, 2019

Thomas wrote that by refusing to re-examine the issue, the Supreme Court has allowed the Feres doctrine to be twisted and strengthened over the years. He also lamented that Congress could find ways to address the issue “but it did not.”

The Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. is shown in January 2019. On Monday, the court opted not to hear a case which challenged the legal precedent barring individuals from suing the military for medical malpractice. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP

The Supreme Court again on Monday opted not to hear a challenge to the legal precedent barring individuals from suing the military for medical malpractice, a decision blasted by Justice Clarence Thomas as short-sighted and unfair.

“Unfortunate repercussions — denial of relief to military personnel and distortions of other areas of law to compensate — will continue to ripple through our jurisprudence as long as the Court refuses to reconsider (this issue),” Thomas wrote in his dissent to the court’s decision not to take up the challenge.

The move once again shifts from the courts to Congress debate on how to fix problems surrounding the Feres Doctrine, a 1950 Supreme Court decision that blocks troops from claiming medical malpractice damages for actions related to their military service. At the time, the court found that military personnel injured by the negligence of another federal employee cannot sue under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
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Congress major malfunction on suicide prevention

Congress needs to ask DOD and VA what their major malfunction is

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 21, 2019

Right now there is a hearing going on with congress on "Military and Veteran Suicide" but they are still wondering why they have not reduced them in either side of service...

Scheduled from May 21 2019 2:00 PM EDT to May 21 2019 5:00 PM EDT Elizabeth P. Van Winkle, executive director of the Office of Force Resiliency for the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, and Navy Capt. (Dr.) Mike Colston., director for mental health programs in DOD’s Health Services Policy and Oversight Office, testify at a joint hearing of the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on military personnel and the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s health subcommittee titled, “Military and Veteran Suicide: Understanding the Problem and Preparing for the Future,” May 21, 2019.
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Resiliency is the major part of the problem, but the DOD has not figured it out yet. 

DOD suicide event report should have been released last month for 2018, but it looks like they are doing it just yearly now. Why?

These reports are the most current numbers showing the growing need to change what is being done, or expand on what is working. So far, what works has not replaced what failed.

Consider that these men and women, valued life so much, they were willing to die for the sake of others. 

They endured hardships and more misery than most humans will ever know for a cause that was greater than their own comforts.

They were willing to leave their families and friends for whatever time they were needed to be gone, again, for the sake of others.

So how is it that anyone could find it acceptable to allow any of these men and women to devalue their own lives and seek an end to the same life who gave so much, survived so much, only to fall by their own hands?

Considering the DOD has been feeding the stigma of PTSD with their "resilience" and making it sound as if there is a weakness in them instead of what they needed to know. They are survivors and while still human. When civilians get PTSD, it can happen after just one time. For them, it is the one time too many that causes PTSD in those who serve the rest of us.

Dr. Franklin got it wrong on the number when she said "20" a day over the last few years. According to the VA it has been that number since 1999 when there were over 5 million more veterans alive at the time. Yes, she got that wrong and here are the charts from the VA. Notice the percentage of suicides going up.

"The VA has tripled mental health care spending since 2005 to a record $8.6 billion in fiscal year 2019" and this is the result.

This is from the report where so many groups just decided that all they had to do was repeat a number to "raise awareness" it was happening but never thought it would be necessary to do anything else...like research what to do to get a basic understanding.

Dr. Van Winkle ran down a long list of what they are doing...but seems to have missed the point that none of it is new, while the number of active duty suicides has gone up. Check the suicide reports that have been released by the DOD

Capt. Colston said that over 40% had not been deployed but did not mention how that proves that if the "prevention" efforts were not good enough to save those lives, it was very unlikely it would save any of those who had been deployed.  Top that off with those who had been deployed multiple times and you can see how that should have been known as a major malfunction in their thinking.

Capt. Colston did not know why suicides went up...but at least he is an honest man.

Dr. Neal Dunn asked about reporting on veterans committing suicide, as if reporting on them is any worse than running around the country raising money to raise "awareness" they are happening. Seems it would be a good place to start shutting those groups down and ending the stunts that rob donors of money...and veterans of hope.


It was announced there was a suicide at a VA campus over the weekend and he had been confused because he had a "other than honorable discharge." (Looking for that information now.)

Judging by how few members of the House Armed Services Committee and Veterans Affairs Committee, maybe that explains how nothing has changed to help these veterans hear the one thing they needed to hear all along...they could heal!

Four widowed Police Officers' wives speak to #BreakTheSilence

Widows Of Police Suicide Speak Out

NPR
May 18, 2019
Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday

More police officers now die by suicide than in the line of duty. NPR's Scott Simon talks with the widows of four officers who took their own lives about losing their husbands to suicide.

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
There is a suicide crisis in the United States. We're going to talk about it frankly, and our story may disturb some listeners. If you feel you're in a crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255.

The national suicide rate has increased by nearly 30 percent since 1999 in this blessed America. There are now more than twice as many suicides in the United States as homicides. Many involve drugs, drinking or depression, losing a job, a loved one, or stress. But experts say there is no one, two or 10 causes.

We have a story today to begin a series of reports about some of the people touched by suicide.

SIMON: Seven Chicago police officers have taken their own lives in the past 12 months. Father Brandt goes out to crime scenes and station houses if officers feel the need to talk to a priest, if not a therapist. Across the country, at least 159 officers died by suicide in 2018.

*******

Kristen Clifford's husband was Officer Steven Clifford of the Nassau County, N.Y., police. They had just gotten a puppy. They looked forward to having children. One day in May 2017, he wasn't responding to her text messages, so she drove home.

*******

Melissa Swailes was married to Officer David Swailes of the Los Angeles Police Department. They had four sons. David Swailes had symptoms of post-traumatic stress from his time in the U.S. Navy. On their youngest son's second birthday, Melissa Swailes came home and found her husband behind their bathroom door.

*******

Erin Gibson was married to Sergeant Clinton Gibson of the Liberty Lake, Wash., police. They were high school sweethearts. They had four children.

*******

Nicole Rikard had recently married Officer John Rikard of the Asheville, N.C., police. He was a recovering alcoholic, but he drank the night he took his life. She got a phone call from one of his lieutenants.
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Veteran saving lives because PTSD service dog saved his

Vet-founded Companions for Heroes has saved 3,300+ from suicide with shelter animal program

American Military News
LAURA WIDENER AND MELISSA LEON
May 20, 2019

"I got pissed at God,” Sharpe told American Military News of his friend’s suicide

.

Jason Sturm and "Sassy" paired by Companions For Heroes. (Companions for Heroes/Facebook)

Veteran suicide is no stranger to David Sharpe, an Air Force veteran and founder of Companions for Heroes, a nonprofit that helps American heroes by providing them a trained service animal rescued from a shelter, free of charge.

Losing his own two close friends to suicide and nearly taking his own life set him on a mission to reach struggling veterans like himself nearly 10 years ago.

Sharpe was struggling with the death of his friends and incidents during his Middle East deployments with the U.S. Air Force Security Forces, which included coming face to face with a Taliban sympathizer’s weapon.

“I got a 45 pistol, charged it and put the barrel in my mouth, as I’m squeezing the trigger, my rescue Pit bull walked through the door,” he explained.
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Mom of "Lone Soldier" "No other soldier should come back in a casket

MOTHER OF MICA LEVIT, WHO TOOK HER OWN LIFE, CALLS FOR MORE LONE SOLDIER SUPPORT

Jerusalem Post Israel News
BY ANNA AHRONHEIM
MAY 20, 2019

But the annual State Comptroller report has found major deficiencies in how the military deals with lone soldiers whose needs the IDF has not fully examined.

"No other soldier should come back in a casket."

When Michaela (Mica) Levit joined the Israeli military in November of 2017, her parents knew she was going to be a fighter, but last week she was found dead outside her base in central Israel.

“We knew she wasn’t going to go anywhere else in the army,” her mother Orit Levit told The Jerusalem Post. “She told us she wasn’t going to Israel to be a secretary, she wanted to be a fighter. We knew that if she was going, she wouldn’t do anything else.”

Levit described her daughter as “full of life, positive and happy,” as someone who was always encouraging and supporting her friends in times of need and the life of the party and “glue of the group” during the happier moments.

“She loved everyone, she never had bad word to say... She was so good to her family, never wanted us to worry, to disappoint us. She was an angel.”

What happened “wasn’t anything we expected of her,” Orit said.

“I never felt she was isolated in Israel, she had the support of extended family. She had so many invitations and she told me 'Mum, sometimes I feel bad that I want to stay home on the weekends.’”

And it wasn’t only family, Orit said. “A lot of her friends are sending condolences and [saying] that their hearts are broken and that they will never meet another person like her... She had a community.”

Orit’s middle child, Mica, moved to Israel in June 2017 and settled at Kibbutz Kinneret, where she took ulpan classes before joining the IDF through the Garin Tzabar program in November, drafting into the mixed Caracal combat battalion. She had just moved to an apartment with other lone soldiers in Hadera and was going through the army’s team leader training course (Course Makim) when she took her life.
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This is what a "Lone Soldier" is

LONE SOLDIERSA “lone soldier” is a soldier in the IDF with no family in Israel to support him or her: a new immigrant, a volunteer from abroad, an orphan or an individual from a broken home.

Every day tens of thousands of soldiers are defending the State of Israel and its citizens. These soldiers regularly spend weekends and holidays at home where their parents provide for all of their needs: food, laundry, and even a hug. Challenges for a lone soldier arise when he or she leaves base. While Israeli-born lone soldiers have their families to return home to, lone soldiers are left to fend for themselves while on leave from the army. This can be once a month, or every weekend, depending on where they serve and what part of training they are in. For more than 7,000 lone soldiers, there is no immediate family in Israel to support them. Though highly motivated and proud to serve, when on leave, many of them struggle with basic needs that a family would solve.

Family searching for answers after US-born IDF lone soldier dies by suicide