Green Beret received valor award upgrade for 2005 firefight
Military Times By: Kyle Rempfer June 21, 2019
Retired Master Sgt. Larry Hawks was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on June 21 for his actions in Afghanistan back in 2005.
The ceremony took place at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School auditorium on Fort Bragg, North Carolina, according to an Army news release.
Hawks received the DSC — the second highest military decoration awarded to a U.S. soldier — for gallantry under fire as a member of 3rd Special Forces Group on July 24 and July 25, 2005, in Afghanistan.
“Sgt. 1st Class Hawks, while conducting armed reconnaissance of a town, came under intense enemy small arms, rocket propelled grenade, and mortar fire," the citation reads, according to the Army release. “While moving to interdict enemy combatants attempting to reposition themselves on the high ground west of the village, he discovered one of his comrades was pinned down by enemy fire.”
"Sgt. 1st Class Hawks, without regard for his own safety dismounted from his vehicle and charged toward the enemy position on the high ground. Under continuous fire, he engaged and neutralized the enemy position.”
His actions led to 15 confirmed enemy killed in action, the capture of 14 insurgents, and the recovery of over 30 light and heavy weapons, according to his older Silver Star citation. read more here
Wounded Times Kathie Costos June 29, 2019
If you love someone with PTSD, you may think that it is hopeless. Trust me on that one, I remember what that was like. Why does there seem to be more and more reasons to walk away and less reasons to stay? Sure you've heard all the talk about "being broken" and "damaged" along with all the other hurtful stuff people say. What they say is based on the inability to learn much at all about what it takes to be a survivor. After all, those are the only people who get hit by PTSD...those who survived what put their lives in danger. If they are a veteran of service caused PTSD, that makes them very special, and it also causes a deeper level of PTSD. They care so much about others, they were willing to die to save them. While most people automatically run away from danger, they made it their job to run toward it. When you love them, it is so easy to mess up. It is easy to question why they seem to be so much different than the person you fell in love with. You'll find answers. You'll find reasons to blame and most of the time, you blame them. Isn't it time that you invested your time to find out exactly what the real reason for the changes is? I did. After 37 years when I heard the song "Solid" As A Rock by Ashford and Simpson, all I could think about was all the effort that went into our relationship has left us solid as a rock. It is the reason why I wrote For the Love of Jack, His War My Battle in 2002 and republished it in 2012.
Want to avoid losing time when you could be enjoying celebrating a love that is solid as a rock with someone who was able to love so much they risked their lives for it? Read the book, watch the videos on YouTube and you can show your love is so strong you were willing to help them heal and fight by their side.
What should the next president know about veterans?
Wounded Times Kathie Costos June 28, 2019 For the last couple of nights I tried to make it through watching the Democrats debates, but ended up changing the channel. How is it that they have missed what our veterans actually want in return for their service?
We heard a lot about how awful civilian healthcare system is. We know that, since we live with it all the time. So how is it that none of them managed to acknowledge that sending disabled veterans into that system subjects them to the same problems they are already dealing with in the VA system?
It puts them into a long line of patients who were there before them. New patients always have to wait for first appointments.
It makes them wait even longer to see a specialist, if they find one willing to deal with the VA.
What makes all this even worse is the fact that civilian doctors do not understand military culture or their unique healthcare needs.
This is not a new issue for them. It was one of the reasons the VA started in the first place. Veterans are not civilians and their wounds, the healthcare issues that created the disability originated with their service to this country. In other words, they pre-paid for their healthcare. Taking a look at the civilian healthcare system, their track record is too unreliable to subject veterans into that system. While current military and veteran suicides have increased, the suicides in the civilian population have gone up as well.
Suicide rates among people 15 to 64 increased significantly during that period, rising from 10.5 per 100,000 people in 1999 to 14 per 100,000 in 2017, the most recent year with available data, according to annual research published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics..."
How is it possible that President Trump and members of Congress thought it was a good idea to send veterans into worse care instead of fixing the VA?
How are they not ashamed to admit how little they know about our veterans unique needs?
We have the same problems in civilian care the veterans have to deal with. We wait for appointments, then wait for appointments with specialists.
A doctor who he thought worked for VA, but was actually an independent contractor, botched his diagnoses delaying treatment for months. In the meantime, his condition became so grim that he feared for his own life. According to documents obtained by Connecting Vets, the hospital openly admits that Tally received second-rate care while at a VA emergency room in Loma Linda, Calif., about 56 miles east of Los Angeles.
But they can sue the VA if their care was provided by the VA. PTSD is something that over 7 million Americans are suffering from, but the President thinks private doctors should also take care of veterans dealing with PTSD combat caused? They cannot even take care of the first responders suffering from what their jobs did in their own communities!
This "choice" is not what the veterans want or deserve from any president! They want a VA that works for them!
4 Officer Suicides in 3 Weeks: N.Y.P.D. Struggles to Dispel Mental Health Stigma
The New York Times By Ashley Southall June 27, 2019
First, there was the deputy chief facing mandatory retirement as his 63rd birthday approached. The next day, it was a veteran homicide detective who had talked dozens of people out of killing themselves.
Officers embraced on a street behind the 121st Precinct station house on Staten Island, where Officer Michael Caddy, 29, ended his own life on June 14.CreditCreditBryan Anselm for The New York Times
A week later, it was a young patrolman handling domestic violence cases and going through a divorce. Then on Wednesday, a veteran officer was found dead at his home on Long Island.
All four officers took their own lives this month with their service pistols, highlighting an uncomfortable reality: More police officers commit suicide every year in New York City than are killed in the line of duty, and the department’s efforts to persuade despondent officers to seek counseling have had only limited success.
Since 2014, an average of five New York City police officers have taken their own lives each year, according to the Police Department. Six have died by suicide in the last six months alone.
The recent cluster of deaths prompted Commissioner James P. O’Neill to declare a mental-health crisis and to direct officers to seek help. read more here
VA’s top suicide prevention official departing in July
Military Times By: Leo Shane III June 26, 2019
At least 24 suicides have occurred on VA campuses in the last 20 months, several in public areas. But department officials insist that the suicide rate at those clinics and hospitals has actually decreased in recent years, even as visibility of the problems has risen.
Dr. Keita Franklin, who has served as the National Director for Suicide Prevention at VA for the last 18 months, will step down from the job in July. (Zachary Hada/Air Force)
Veterans Affairs’ top suicide prevention official will leave that post next month as the congressional focus on the department’s efforts continues to increase.
Dr. Keita Franklin, who has served as the National Director for Suicide Prevention at VA for the last 18 months, will step down from the job in July. Officials said the move was not related to any issues with her office’s performance but instead based on other career opportunities outside of VA.
Dr. Matt Miller, the current director of the Veterans Crisis Line, will fill the post in an acting capacity until a permanent replacement is selected.
In a statement, department leaders praised Franklin for her work in the last few years, giving her credit for “key successes” in improving mental health care for veterans. Prior to joining VA, she served as the Defense Department’s top suicide prevention official.
Last fall, lawmakers blasted the department after the Government Accountability Office found that more than $6 million in suicide prevention and mental health support outreach funds went unspent by the department in fiscal 2018. Officials blamed that mistake on leadership changes at the department in prior months, including the firing of former VA Secretary David Shulkin. read more here
FINDING HOPE: Boise Fire Department coping with suicide death, fighting stigma of mental illness
KIVI News By: Karen Lehr Jun 25, 2019
"New firefighters saw veteran firefighters break down, and they talked about their feelings and how they were feeling that day, and really that has changed the stigma around it," Doan explained. "Other firefighters are seeing it's okay to seek treatment, that it's okay to not be okay."
BOISE, Idaho — Tuesday, May 21 is a day most Boise firefighters will never forget. Early that morning, firefighters at Station #6 discovered Senior Firefighter Charlie Ruffing died by suicide while working overnight.
It was known within the department Ruffing was facing struggles with his mental health. He was undergoing counseling to deal with post traumatic stress injuries as a result of incidents witnessed on the job over the course of his 20 year career.
A recent bill - passed this legislative session - will soon allow those working on the front lines in Idaho to file for workers compensation to cover the cost of treating psychological injuries incurred while on the job, but Boise Fire is doing even more to make sure this never happens again on their watch. read more here
The Pentagon (WBEN/Connecting Vets) - In a moving ceremony in the auditorium deep inside The Pentagon, David Bellavia took the stage following numerous dignitary remarks and spoke from his heart wearing the Medal of Honor he received Tuesday at The White House.
Former Staff Sgt.Bellavia, was inducted into the Hall of Heroes at the Pentagon.
The Hall of Heroes is a dedicated space that opened in the Pentagon in 1968 to recognize every Medal of Honor recipient. The names of each of the roughly 3,600 recipients are listed there for recognition.
Bellavia's induction ceremony was led by Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist who described just how rare of a hero Bellavia truly is.
"We may use the term hero all the time. But there are in fact heroes among our heroes and they are very rare," Norquist said. "Since the Medal of Honor's creation in 1861, of the tens of millions who have served in the U.S. military, less than 3,600 medals have been awarded each after painstaking deliberation and consideration."
However, consistent with his efforts at Tuesday's Medal of Honor ceremony to ensure his unit receives as much recognition as he does, Bellavia requested that Norquist also recognize his unit during the Hall of Heroes induction.
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"David would also ask us to push the spotlight from himself back to his unit," Norquist said. "Let me highlight for the audience that the heroism displayed during the course of the Battle of Fallujah earned Task Force 2-2 the Presidential Unit Citation. David and his fellow soldiers here today come from a task force of heroes."
And when it was Bellavia's time to speak, he told the stories of the men in his squad — the men who comprise his memories and his understanding of the Iraq War. read more here
When exactly do we finally admit that all the awareness is useless and it is time to change what we are doing?
Madison County District Attorney’s Office finds fatal Huntsville police shooting was justified
WHNT 19 News BY BRIAN LAWSON JUNE 24, 2019
After her Army service in Iraq, Ragland spent time in a Kansas Army facility that helps wounded and ill soldiers transition to civilian life or continued Army service.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The Madison County District Attorney's Office agrees with a Huntsville shooting review board in finding that the use of deadly force during a police encounter with an Army veteran suffering from PTSD was justified.
On Friday, a police review board determined the officers involved in the shooting acted within department policy.
Madison County District Attorney Rob Broussard told WHNT News 19 Monday that the evidence supports the board's finding.
"The investigator with the Huntsville Police Department met with us and laid out the case," Broussard said. "He showed us the evidence, including the body cams. It was clearly a justified shooting on the part of HPD. There will be no action on our part with respect to presentment to a grand jury, because it was clearly justified."
The fatal incident came after a call from the Stadium Apartments where Ragland lived. Police said they responded to a call of a woman waving a gun and making threats at Stadium Apartments. The woman, 32-year-old Crystal Ragland, served 17 months in the Iraq war and suffered from PTSD. That call proved to be a fatal and tragic collision. read more here
Rep. Duncan Hunter accused of using campaign money to finance affairs with 5 women
Task and Purpose Jeff Schogol June 25, 2019
In one case, Hunter was supposed to stay with his wife for three nights in a hotel, but Margaret Hunter arrived a day later than expected because she had to rebook her flight, court documents say. Hunter allegedly kept his room reservation for the first night and spent it with his mistress.
The Justice Department has accused Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) of illegally using campaign funds to pay for extramarital affairs with five women.
Hunter, who fought in the Iraq War as a Marine artillery officer, and his wife Margaret were indicated by a federal jury on Aug. 21, 2018 for allegedly using up to $250,000 in campaign funds for personal use.
In a recent court filing, federal prosecutors accused Hunter of using campaign money to pay for a variety of expenses involved with his affairs, ranging from a $1,008 hotel bill to $7 for a Sam Adams beer.
"Carrying out all these affairs did not come cheap—Hunter spent thousands of dollars treating women to meals, drinks, and vacations, and traveling to and from their homes," according to a June 24 motion to admit evidence of Hunter using campaign funds for personal relationships. "Given the pronounced financial difficulties the Hunters were facing, his use of campaign funds to pursue these relationships was necessary for Hunter to satisfy his desire for intimacy." read more here
Here is what to do if you want to help after a tragedy
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
June 19, 2019
Right now, everyone wants to help the Jarheads after the terrible tragedy that claimed the lives of 7 of their group.
Right now they need all the support they can get, but it is more important they receive the right kind of help.
While the shock is still fresh for them, many will experience a harder time after the funerals. Some may think it is their job to stay strong for the others, and that is OK, as long as they allow themselves time to grieve.
Let them honor what they are feeling so they can begin healing.
If they are angry do not try to shut it down. Help them yell at the air, hit pillows, stomp their feet...let them release it.
If they want to cry, let them. Hold their hand, walk beside them or sit near them. Let them know you are there for whatever they need. Do not try to stop their tears. They will stop crying when they get out as much pain as they need to.
If they want to talk, listen to them. Do not try to fix them. They do not need to be "fixed" and you finding something to say is not what they need from you. They need your ear, your time and patience.
If you think about what you would want from them if you were in their place, that will help you know what to do...as much as you will know what to not do, or get as close as you can.
There is no time limit to grieving other than as long as it takes them to do it. No two people are the same.
If you are a survivor, know that the guilt you may feel is "normal" but whatever you think you may have been able to do, it was not like the movie you can play out in your own mind. Most of the time, what you think you should have done, or could have done, is usually impossible.
Do not blame yourself any more than you blame God. He did not do this, but He did send people to help comfort you as much as they can. Lean on those who care about you so you can heal. After all, you'd probably do the same for them.
Within 30 days, if you address what you are going through, your pain should ease up. Flashbacks and nightmares should begin to lose power.
While the pain may be there for a long time, as long as it is not as strong, keep working on it.
If your pain is stronger after 30 days, contact a mental health professional so that you can work on healing with their help.
Know that if you are hit by PTSD, it hit you because your emotional core is strong. As you feel good stuff stronger, you feel pain on a deeper level. As a survivor use that strength to help you heal.
Honor your feelings so you can begin healing! Trying to "get over it" or "stuff it" lets that pain spread out like an infection.
If I can help contact me at woundedtimes@aol.com or 407-754-5426 and it will be kept confidential.
Motorcycle club leader says resignation of RMV head over N.H. crash is ‘ridiculous’
Boston Globe By Travis Andersen and John Hilliard Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent June 26, 2019
The head of a motorcycle club that lost seven people in a horrific New Hampshire crash last week said Wednesday that the abrupt resignation of the Massachusetts RMV boss is a “ridiculous” response to the tragedy, allegedly caused by a West Springfield man who kept his commercial driver’s license after an impaired driving arrest last month in Connecticut.
“It’s ridiculous for someone to be allowed to resign, or forced to resign . . . [and] run away from the problem,” said Manny Ribeiro, president of Jarheads MC, which lost seven riders who were killed June 21 when a truck driven by Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, allegedly plowed into them in Randolph, N.H. read more here
‘It was extremely horrific’: Jarheads motorcycle club president describes New Hampshire crash scene
“It was like nothing I’d ever seen — never in my life.” Boston.com By Dialynn Dwyer June 25, 2019
A Marine who survived the deadly New Hampshire crash that killed seven motorcyclists says what he witnessed that day was worse than anything he saw in combat.
Manny Ribeiro and his wife, Valerie, were riding in the front of the group of motorcyclists with Jarheads MC, a New England-based club for Marine veterans and their spouses, when an oncoming pickup truck hauling a trailer collided with other bikers in the group on Friday evening in Randolph, New Hampshire.
“It was like nothing I’d ever seen — never in my life,” he told reporters on Monday, according to CBS Boston.
The driver of the pickup, 23-year-old Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, was arrested and charged Monday with seven counts of negligent homicide. Authorities have not revealed details about the potential cause of the crash, only that Zhukovskyy was traveling west on U.S. 2 while the bikers were headed east at the time.
Ribeiro, who is now serving as president of Jarheads MC, told the Associated Press that the 21 riders in the group of 15 motorcycles had just finished dinner and were on their way to a fundraiser at a nearby American Legion post.
The motorcyclist had been riding beside the club’s president, Albert Mazza Jr., 59, of Lee, New Hampshire, at the time of the crash.
“It was just an explosion … with parts and Al and everything flying through the air,” he said. “He turned hard left into us and took out pretty much everyone behind me. The truck and trailer stayed attached and that is why it was so devastating … because the trailer was attached and it was such a big trailer, it was like a whip. It just cleaned us out.” read more here To contact the JarHeads go here
