You can rake leaves under snow?

This is just for some laughs! Our dog Murray figured out that you can rake leaves under the snow. Not bad for a dog who lived in Florida most of his life.

Female veterans it is no longer acceptable to be forgotten warriors!

Female veterans it is no longer acceptable to be forgotten warriors! Isn't it time that your service mattered as much as the male veterans? Isn't it time that you received the same attention to your needs and wounds?

Hell, it isn't as if women did not fight since the Revolutionary War! Considering that women have earned ever medal for service, including the Medal of Honor after the Civil War, you deserve a lot more than you have been getting.

Point Man International Ministries is coming to the New Hampshire-Maine border just for you! My husband and I moved from Florida to Rochester New Hampshire. Point Man has asked me to open the first Out Post for female veterans. While I am not a veteran, the need is so great that we can no longer wait to find a female veteran to take the lead on this.

The goal is to begin to train women veterans from all generations to open their own Out Post and Home Fronts for families.

Consider the following and begin to understand why we can no longer wait for someone else to do it.

The need for female veterans is growing and will continue to grow as more women enter the military.

Military.com had this in 2019 report With Historic Number of Women in Uniform, the Vet Community Is About to Change

In fact, the number of women in the armed services -- and subsequent veteran population -- is rapidly increasing. According to the Defense Department, women now make up 20 percent of the Air Force, 19 percent of the Navy, 15 percent of the Army and almost 9 percent of the Marine Corps.

Women now make up approximately 10 percent of the current veteran population, the fastest-growing demographic. The number of female veterans treated at the VA almost tripled between 2000 and 2015. As a result of this rapid growth, the VA experienced difficulty meeting the clinical needs of female veterans at all sites of care.

For 2017 according to the VA report on Female Veterans 8,541 lived in New Hampshire and 9,103 lived in Maine.

And another report from the VA in 2018 focusing on female veterans indicated that "between 2005 and 2015 female veterans between the age of 35 and 54 had higher suicide rates than those in other age groups. While we seem fixated on the rise of veteran suicides in general, the most shocking find was that for male veterans the rate went up 35.3 but the rate for female veteran suicides went up 45.2 percent.

It is no longer a matter of we need to do better. It has become we have to do better right now and we have had enough years to get this right! Contact Kathie Costos at 407-754-7526 email woundedtimes@aol.com

Columbus veteran admits to Stolen Valor...for PTSD VA Comp and Job

VA paid Columbus veteran $76,000 for PTSD from war events. He admits he made it up.

Ledger Examiner
BY NICK WOOTEN
DECEMBER 06, 2019

“Faking serious wartime injuries to gain undeserved benefit, and claiming valor where there is none, do a disservice to our brave veterans and service members who selflessly risk their lives protecting this country,” said U.S. Attorney Charlie Peeler in a statement.

A Columbus military veteran accused of stolen valor and lying about a combat-induced mental health condition to receive disability payments pleaded guilty to multiple charges in federal court.

Gregg Ramsdell, 61, entered a guilty plea to one count of false statements and one count of violation of the Stolen Valor Act. Ramsdell was indicted on those charges in August.

The Stolen Valor Act makes it illegal for people to claim to be war heroes in order to gain money, employment, property or other tangible benefits, according to court documents and a news release from the United States Attorney’s office for the Middle District of Georgia.
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Four dead in Fla. Navy base shooting

Four dead in Fla. Navy base shooting; gunman was Saudi air force officer, officials say

STARS AND STRIPES
By CAITLIN M. KENNEY
Published: December 6, 2019

“You just don’t expect this to happen at home…But it did and it has,” Sheriff David Morgan said.

Navy Capt. Tim Kinsella briefs members of the media following a shooting at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla., Friday, Dec. 6, 2019. A U.S official told The Associated Press that the suspect was a Saudi aviation student, and that authorities are investigating whether the shooting was terrorism-related.
TONY GIBERSON/PENSACOLA NEWS JOURNAL/AP

WASHINGTON — A member of the Saudi Arabian air force opened fire Friday morning in a classroom building at the Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., killing three and injuring several others, according to local and law enforcement officials.

The aviation student, who was fatally shot by an Escambia County sheriff's deputy, was a second lieutenant in the Saudi air force, two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press. The officials said authorities were investigating whether the attack was terrorism-related.

Seven other people were injured in the shooting, including two sheriff deputies, Chief Deputy Chip Simmons of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said. One deputy was shot in the arm and the other in the knee, and both are expected to survive, he said.

The shooter used a handgun and all of the shooting took place in one classroom, authorities said. Capt. Timothy Kinsella, the commanding officer of NAS Pensacola, noted weapons are not allowed on the base.
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Tell veterans the truth that can set them free to heal instead of committing suicide

Counting more suicides because they could not count on us

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 5, 2019

I have been thinking a lot about "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" John 8:32 but there has not been much truth telling going on and instead of setting veterans free from their pain by helping them heal, we have succumbed to slogans. How is it that anyone has been so oblivious they actually believe reminding veterans they are killing themselves is a good thing to do?

Seems it would be a lot wiser to tell veterans the truth that can set them free to heal PTSD after service instead of committing suicide.

It isn't as if no one has tried, or pretended to do so, but far too many have failed. The evidence of this is clear. We have we been reading headlines like this for decades. "Lawmakers seek answers on rising military and veterans suicide rates" and then end up reminded of how it has all gotten worse.

The DoD’s 2018 Annual Suicide Report, released in September, found the suicide rate for active-duty U.S. service members in 2018 was 24.8 deaths per 100,000 troops, the highest on record since DoD began tracking suicides closely in 2001.

What that article does not point out is that there was another headline "obtained by the Associated Press" declaring that suicides were at a 26 year high. Well, that number was 99 and the year was 2006 when they committed suicide.

Who offered an apology to Teri and Patrick Caserta after their son Brandon committed suicide? Who gave excuses to other parents after all these years?

Joshua Omvig committed suicide and his parents fought like hell to get the government to do something about saving those who serve. President Bush signed the bill in his name in 2007. No one can explain what happened to all the other bills that followed year after year while the number of those serving, and those who became veterans, continued to climb. No one has been held accountable as more grieving families pleaded with the government to do something that would actually turn things around.

I have been asking why the press was not on suicide watch since 2007, because once they do a report, they seem to lack the ability to retain any of it. It is for sure no editor has assigned the task of putting it all together as if any of it really matters.

More and more groups pop up, get their publicity while apparently never taking any of it seriously enough that they actually manage to change a damn thing. Oh, excuse me. They do manage to change their bank accounts while they fabricate suicide figures and facilitate the ear worm penetrating so deeply veterans cannot fathom possibilities of healing waiting for them.

The press loves to cover feel good stories of the stunts almost as much as they seem to want all the grizzly details of those who took their own lives. What they do not seem too interested in are facts, or reporting anything that will make a difference. How about first telling them the truth about all the lies they have been fed? How about letting them know that they can heal PTSD and their lives can be so much better? How about all the groups claiming to care actually start to do the work necessary to let them know they really do matter and are worthy of the time it takes to change their lives?

That won't happen until we are brave enough to tell the truth and stop settling for BULLSHIT!

Sailor committed suicide after shooting civilian employees at Pearl Harbor

update Navy Commander: Motive Unknown for Pearl Harbor Shooting

Authorities say 22-year-old Gabriel Romero killed Roldan Agustin, 49, and Vincent Kapoi Jr., 30, and wounded Roger Nakamine, 36, who survived the Dec. 4 shooting. Romero's job was to stand watch and provide security for the fast attack submarine USS Columbia.

Suspect identified in shooting at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard

ABC News
By
Luis Martinez
Justin Doom
and
Mark Osborne
December 5, 2019

The shipyard commander, Capt. Greg Burton, said in a statement, "No words will convey the full measure of sorrow from today’s tragedy. This loss will be felt throughout our shipyard ‘Ohana, greater shipyard and NAVSEA family, submarine force, and the Navy as a whole."

A 22-year-old active-duty sailor opened fire on three civilian employees, killing two, before he fatally shot himself at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard near Honolulu on Wednesday, officials said.

The suspected shooter was identified as 22-year-old G. Romero. He opened fire on shipyard personnel with his M4 service rifle and then used his M9 service pistol to shoot himself, officials said.
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