More lame reporting on military suicides

Military suicides are up but reporters do not seem to take it seriously enough to ask questions?

Ever think that you are about to read a very worthy article because of the title...and then find out you just wasted your time? Damn, I could have been playing candy crush instead.

Yes, dear reader, I am about to take off on one of those rants that I cannot avoid.

This is the headline that I though would really mean some great reporting.

"Gut wrenching replies to a US Army tweet portray the gravity of veteran suicide rates"

So much for a great headline. It was all a bunch of the same old reporting done with what the VA says and how they are taking all of this seriously...even though the report was supposed to be about the Army. 

Even more BS trying to make it seem as if no one had ever done anything on this, going all the way back to Bush 41 when he signed the Joshua Omving Suicide Prevention Act.

OK, so what we have here is a failure to communicate facts! If you read this site, you'll be able to spot what they should have been asking instead of this!

Business Insider
Sarah Gray
May 25, 2019

"How has serving impacted you?" — that was a question put forth by the US Army's Twitter account.

Scott Nelson/Getty Images

The tweet was threaded below another with a video of Pfc. Nathan Spencer, a scout with the Army's First Infantry Division explaining how the Army has "influenced his life" in a positive way.

The replies below the question, however, are were varied: some acknowledge life-long friendships, while others share gutting stories of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), difficulties with the Veterans Administration, or loved ones they lost to suicide.

"Given me memories of twelve Soldiers who chose suicide, three killed in preventable rollovers, another dozen sexually assaulted, and lots of people and families broken by immoral acts in a war that won't end," Bill Cork, whose Twitter bio describes him as "chaplain (former Army)," said in a tweeted response to the Army. And he was not alone in documenting veteran suicides. read more here

Son buried Mom in backyard to keep VA and Social Security checks coming?

PCSO: San Tan Valley man buried mom's body in backyard, kept cashing her checks

azfamily.com
News Staff
Posted May 22, 2019

SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ (3TV/CBS5) -- A man was arrested on Wednesday after confessing to burying his mom's body in his backyard to continue receiving her benefits, according to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.

The arrest of 66-year-old Daniel Shannon comes after a nearly two-month investigation of the disappearance of his 97-year-old mother, Leonie Shannon.

On April 5, deputies went to a home near the area of Jasper Butte and Saratoga Meadows drives, after someone reached out to them with concerns about the whereabouts of Leonie, who had not been seen by anyone since December of 2018.

Daniel was the caregiver for his mother. At the time, he claimed she walked away from the home on Dec. 21, 2018. In addition to saying this isn't his mom's first disappearance, Daniel said they just started getting her Veterans Affairs benefits, and he didn't want to report her missing if she returned.

Daniel's story kept changing during the course of the investigation, PCSO spokeswoman Navideh Forghani said.
read more here

What did you forget to prepare for Memorial Day?

Where were you while they lived?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 25, 2019


While commercials flood our favorite TV shows for products we can buy cheaper than normal...because it is Memorial Day, stores advertise products for cookouts with the unofficial kick off of summer, and they are having a sales, all of us need to remember what this is actually all about. 

It is Memorial Day weekend. It is the one time of the year that the dead are supposed to be honored and remembered. The question is, where were you when they lived?

The news is pretty bleak for them, but we do not seem too willing to do anything about any of it.

Suicides are up in all the services. The headlines say "at a ten year high" because it was about 10 years ago they started to track them.

The first yearly suicide report was for 2008.

There were a total of 268 Service Member suicides in CY 2008, including cases pending final determination but strongly suspected to be suicides (Army = 140; Air Force = 45; Navy = 41; Marine Corps = 42).

While the number of enlisted went down, the number of suicides went up. As of the third quarter of 2018, the Department of Defense reports that  231 active duty and 144 Reserve Components (National Guard and Reservists) committed suicide....but we do not force anyone to account for any of this or change what they are doing, instead of pushing failed programs.

Suicides in the veterans community also went up. Sure, on the surface it may seem as if it has all remained simply steady since 1999, but when you look at the percentages, you see a rise because the population of veterans has declined.

Some people I know seem to care more about POTUS getting his wall than they care about military families living in squalor. 

How can we as a Nation, supposedly valuing those provide the defense of this nation, remain oblivious to everything that is happening to them?

Every night I go to bed knowing I did the best I could to help veterans. Every night I also know what it is like to do something for the right reason, and find little...or no support. After the last time I asked for help, received less than ten people willing to help me, I gave up asking. I am not asking now, and will probably never ask again. 

As much as I understand about PTSD, I also know what it is like for veterans to spend their days wondering when they will finally get the help they need to stay alive!

This is what happens to veterans all over the country. They are the last ones to ask for help from anyone. When they finally understand they deserve the help and bring themselves to seek it, all too often, they do not find any.

Ever wonder what it is like for them to read about another veteran, just like them, taking their own lives? First family and friends probably let them down. Then the government. Then the people getting the most attention marketing their own best interests while publicizing suicides...having fun with stunts.

Still they try until they ask for help for the last time, and then decide it is time for them to raise awareness the only way they can think of. They go to a public place, usually a VA facility and put themselves to death so that no one can ignore it.

Why? They gave up on themselves but wanted to make sure that they did what they could so that no other veteran would feel the way they did...abandoned.

Missing in America Project spends their days going to funeral homes search for the remains of veterans to make sure they get a proper military funeral and laid to rest with honor. We did not help them live their lives with honor and dignity. We abandoned them.

Everyone feels terrible when it happens, but it is too late to do the veteran any justice. Too late to help them find the healing they sought, the understanding they needed to support them, or the compassion they needed to give them back hope.

The only way we can do something that will actually honor them is to do whatever we can, everyday, to make sure they are treated as honored members of this Nation.

Stop falling for the noise! Politicians say that sending disabled veterans into the same healthcare system citizens suffer with is a good thing. Make them fix the VA so that it works for those who prepaid the price of their healthcare WHEN THEY BECAME DISABLED VETERANS.

They write bills that are repeats of what failed because they ask the same questions, to the same people and get the same answers. We see funerals that did not need to happen and families fall apart.

Want to know that you did something while they lived? Then make sure you spend the time to actually do it. 

SEAL TEAM got it wrong on TBI?

SEAL TEAM got it wrong on TBI? Yes they did!

I love this show...but it is because I got hooked on the characters and not technicalities. That is, until the last few shows this year. 

Never Out of the Fight

Bravo team's future is on the line when Commander Shaw (Peter Jessop) recommends they be split up, but Jason's unit has one final mission to prove him wrong. (TV-14 L, V) Air Date: May 22, 2019

DoD Issues Purple Heart standards for brain injury

American Forces Press Service
By Jim Garamone
April 28, 2011

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2011 -- U.S. servicemembers have long been eligible to receive the Purple Heart Medal for the signature wounds of the current wars -- mild traumatic brain injuries and concussions -- but now there is more clarity on how medical criteria for the award are applied, Defense Department officials said yesterday.

The criteria for the Purple Heart award state that the injury must have been caused by enemy action or in action against the enemy, and has to be of a degree requiring treatment by a medical officer.

But it may be difficult to determine when a mild traumatic brain injury, or TBI, or a concussive injury that does not result in a loss of consciousness is severe enough to require treatment by a medical officer.

“This is why we created this baseline standard,” DoD spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said.

DoD allows the award of the Purple Heart even if a servicemember was not treated by a medical officer, as long as a medical officer certifies that the injury would have required treatment by a medical officer had one been available.

DoD officials said that as the science of traumatic brain injuries becomes better understood, guidance for award of the medal will evolve.

“The services are not able to speculate as to how many servicemembers may have received a mild TBI or concussion but did not seek or receive medical treatment,” Lainez said. “Therefore, each military department will establish its retroactive review procedures in the near future to ensure deserving servicemembers are appropriately recognized.”

Retroactive reviews would cover injuries suffered since Sept. 11, 2001, she added.

The Marine Corps has issued clarifying guidance to ensure commanders in the field understand when the Purple Heart is appropriate for concussions.

Army officials are preparing to issue their guidance and ask soldiers to wait until submission requirements are published through command channels and on the Human Resources Command website at http://www.hrc.army.mil before submitting or resubmitting nominations for the Purple Heart Medal for concussion injuries.

Once the Army publishes its requirements, officials said, soldiers should resubmit requests through their chains of command.

So, there you have it. It isn't as if it is a new rule. As you can see, this was released in 2011.

Maybe it would have been better if they stayed focused on how to prevent suicides...especially with real Navy SEALs and other Special Forces.

US Special Ops suicides triple in 2018, as military confronts the issue

Washington (CNN)Suicides among active duty military personnel assigned to US Special Operations Command tripled in 2018, in a disturbing and as yet unexplained spike, CNN has learned.

Special Operations units saw 22 deaths by suicide in 2018, almost triple the eight cases seen in 2017, according to figures provided to CNN by the command.

SOCOM, as it's known, is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations component of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force that take on counterterrorism and other specialized missions.

Based in Tampa, Florida, the command includes some of the military's most highly trained and effective fighting forces, including the Army's Delta Force and the Navy's SEAL Team Six.

While sudden spikes in suicide rates have been noted in both the military and civilian populations, military officials who spoke to CNN said what has happened at SOCOM is striking. The surge in SOCOM suicides comes as the Marine Corps and Navy are experiencing 10-year highs in the number of suicide deaths.

Texans closer to medical pot...but not veterans with PTSD?

Former Dallas Cowboy Jay Novacek, Wife Advocate For Medical Marijuana Law: ‘We Want To Save Our Son’s Life’

CBS DFW
By Andrea Lucia
May 23, 2019

NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) – More than one million Texans could be eligible to access medical marijuana through the Texas Compassionate Use program, after state senators unanimously approved a bill expanding the list of qualifying conditions on Wednesday.

Jay and Amy Novacek (CBS 11)

The bill is more narrow than one passed by the House earlier this month, but would allow patients with medical seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, spasticity, terminal cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, autism and ALS to obtain medical cannabis with up to .5% THC from a state-licensed dispensary.

“We’re just like everybody there, desperate. We want to save our son’s life,” said Amy Novacek.

She and her husband, former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jay Novacek, never expected they would be advocating for anything related to marijuana.

“Everybody I grew up with.. there was no drinking, no drugs. I was naïve to all that in small town Nebraska,” said Jay Novacek.

Joshua Raines, an Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient, has plead with lawmakers for years to extend medical marijuana access to veterans suffering from PTSD.

“I’ve lost more friends to suicide than I have to combat,” he said.
read more here

Agent Orange and the generational cost of service

Generations of Veterans Dealing With Invisible Wounds of Vietnam War

NPR
By LISA AUTRY
May 23, 2019

“Most all families have no clue that it can go on past one generation," Cowherd said at a Glasgow town hall. "I’ve talked to people where it’s skipped generations and gone into grandchildren. They say, ‘Now I know why my child is so sick all the time. Something finally makes sense."

Hardin County veteran Denzil Lile flips through a scrapbook, recalling his service in Vietnam. CREDIT LISA AUTRY

Monday is Memorial Day, a time when the nation will pause to remember the men and women who died while serving in the military. More than four decades after the Vietnam War, some veterans in Kentucky and elsewhere say the conflict is still claiming casualties.

“This guy here, he and I were on the same team in Vietnam, said Hardin County veteran Denzil Lile. "That’s Billy Smith, he was the first one to get killed from Metcalfe County. Me and him was drafted on the same day.”

Denzil Lile looked through a scrapbook at the kitchen table in his apartment in Elizabethtown. There's one of him with a black Labrador Retriever.

“I was a dog handler. His name was Joey B-388, which he came from the British and was called the queen’s dog, Lile said. "They tracked. They worked more off of a ground scent.”

Lile is one of about 125,000 Kentuckians who served in the military during the Vietnam War and many were exposed to a harmful herbicide known as Agent Orange. The U.S. military sprayed the chemical to clear vegetation so Viet Cong wouldn’t have a hiding place, but the toxic chemicals did more than that. Agent Orange left a medical legacy for veterans and their families.

“I had a little blister to come up under my watch while I was in Vietnam, and for the next several years, my face would tan in different colors," recalled Lile. "I never thought much about it because it was just another thing you got in the jungle, until we got to hearing about it (Agent Orange) later on. I had a basal melanoma taken off my nose right here.”
read more here

Service dog killed by gator, owner committed suicide next day

Service dog mauled to death by gator outside Palmetto dog park

WFLA News
By: Victoria Price
May 24, 2019

PALMETTO, Fla. (WFLA) - PALMETTO, Fla. (WFLA) - Pet owners in Manatee County are sounding the alarm after a gator mauled and killed a man's service dog at Dog Leg Park at Buffalo Creek.

The attack happened Friday shortly before dusk. Sharil Dowling and other witnesses say the chocolate lab somehow got loose while outside the fence with its owner.

Next thing Dowling knew, the lifeless dog was slumped over a man's shoulders, covered in blood.

Dowling described the scene as horrifying but had previous feared such an attack was an accident waiting to happen.

"Most people, if they knew they were that close to marsh and gators, they wouldn't walk back there," she said. "I can't imagine the anguish that guy was in."

A line of trees just outside the dog park obscures wetlands, and both Dowling and other pet owners who frequent the dog park fear not enough people are aware of the dangers hidden away.

In the five years Tim Todd has come to Dog Leg Park, he knows of at least three dogs eaten by alligators. After Friday, he reached out to the county, demanding it put up warning signs.

"It was too late to do anything for that dog, but what could we do to help other people?" Todd asked.

Snake and gator warning signs were installed earlier this week.

News Channel 8 has learned the dog killed Friday, Java, was a service dog for Andrew Epp, a local man who suffered mental health issues. Epp was so distraught, according to family and friends, that he took his own life the very next day.
read more here

Vietnam War Memorial vandalized in Massachusetts days before Memorial Day

A Vietnam veterans memorial was vandalized with a swastika. Police want to find out who did it

CNN
May 24, 2019

(CNN)Several days before Memorial Day, a Vietnam War memorial in Massachusetts has been vandalized with "hate-related" graffiti.

Police are canvassing the area near the memorial in Dorchester, about six miles from Boston. Early Thursday, flags were ripped down and tossed; dozens of plants were torn from the ground; and stone monuments were marked with hateful graffiti -- including a swastika -- according to a press release from the Massachusetts State Police.

In addition to graffiti, police say flags were torn down and plants were ripped from the ground. In addition to graffiti, police say flags were torn down and plants were ripped from the ground. The memorial is on a space owned by The University of Massachusetts Boston and includes the names of 80 Vietnam War veterans, according to the university.

"The University of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts State Police condemn this despicable act and are conducting a thorough and coordinated investigation to determine who is responsible and to hold that person or persons accountable," the release said.
read more here

Heroes’ Mile is a for-profit recovery center?

New treatment center to be run for veterans, by veterans

West Volusia Beacon
Joe Crews
May 22, 2019

The 45-bed center, located at 2775 Big John Drive, is on 10 acres of secluded land. The center will offer a full range of inpatient and outpatient programs for veterans struggling with mental health and substance use.

RECOVERY HAPPENS HERE — Heroes’ Mile is a for-profit recovery center dedicated to helping veterans exclusively, with a full range of inpatient and outpatient programs for veterans struggling with mental health and substance use. PHOTO COURTESY OGLETHORPE INC.

Heroes’ Mile Veteran Recovery and Transition Center, a for-profit recovery center dedicated to helping veterans exclusively, with programs developed for veterans and services delivered by veterans, is having a grand-opening event Friday, May 31, at its facility on Big John Drive, east of DeLand.

Guest speakers will include U.S. Rep. (U.S. Army, retired) Michael Waltz of the 6th Congressional District of Florida; U.S. Rep. (U.S. Army, retired) Brian Mast of the 18th Congressional District of Florida; Executive Director of the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs (FDVA) and U.S. Army Capt. Danny Burgess; and Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood.

A full slate of events beginning at 3 p.m. will culminate just before 5 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting hosted by the West Volusia Regional Chamber of Commerce. A reception and tours will follow from 5 to 7 p.m.

As a patient-centric center, Heroes’ Mile follows veterans through recovery and into a new, healthy way of living. Unlike other recovery centers, Heroes’ Mile not only treats addiction but also treats invisible wounds such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and military sexual trauma (MST).

The Heroes’ Mile facility is owned and managed by Oglethorpe Inc., a national hospital-management company headquartered in Tampa. The company has recovery and behavioral health centers in Florida, Ohio, Louisiana, Texas and Nevada, according to its website. All of them treat veterans, but Heroes’ Mile is the only one dedicated solely to treating veterans.
read more here

Police Chief accused of not being a Marine even once?

Wisner police chief’s military record called into question

Norfolk Daily News
By ANDREA LARSON
May 18, 2019

WISNER — The future of a Northeast Nebraska town’s police chief appears to be in doubt following a social media post that recently went viral on area military pages.

Wisner Police Chief Jeffery Treu’s claims of a military career were called into question after a letter from the National Personnel Records Center was posted on Facebook.

The Daily News obtained a hard copy of the letter from Ryan Smith, a deputy with the Howard County Sheriff’s Department and a retired Navy chief petty officer.

Smith had filed a Freedom of Information Request from the records center after being told by other area law enforcement officers that Treu may have fabricated his military career.

The letter from the records center — sent and signed by archives technician John Welsch — says this in regards to a search for Treu’s military history: “We have conducted extensive searches of very records source and alternate records source at this Center; however, we have been unable to locate any information that would help us verify the veteran’s military service.”
read more here