Showing posts with label Beyond Yellow Ribbon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beyond Yellow Ribbon. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Senate takes action after 4 killed in Libya, no action after 13 killed at Fort Hood

Senate takes action after 4 killed in Libya, no action after 13 killed at Fort Hood
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
February 6, 2013

As a reminder of what happened, this is an exceptional link to many reports about the Fort Hood Massacure.

These are the names of the men and women killed.
Fort Hood Officials Release Names of Casualties
American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2009 – Officials at Fort Hood, Texas, released the names of the 12 soldiers and one civilian employee killed in the Nov. 5 shooting incident on the post. Dead are:
-- Lt. Col. Juanita L. Warman, 55, of Havre De Grace, Md. She was assigned to the 1908th Medical Company, Independence, Mo. (Worked for the VA and Beyond Yellow Ribbon)
-- Maj. Libardo Caraveo, 52, of Woodbridge, Va. He was assigned to the 467th Medical Detachment, Madison, Wis.
-- Capt. John P. Gaffaney, 54, of San Diego. He was assigned to the 1908th Medical Company, Independence, Mo.
-- Capt. Russell Seager, 41, of Racine, Wis. He was assigned to the 467th Medical Company, Madison, Wis. (Worked for the VA)
-- Staff Sgt. Justin Decrow, 32, of Plymouth, Ind. He was assigned to the 16th Signal Company at Fort Hood.
-- Sgt. Amy Krueger, 29, of Kiel, Wis. She was assigned to the 467th Medical Company, Madison, Wis.
-- Spc. Jason Hunt, 22, of Tillman, Okla. He was assigned to the 1st Brigade at Fort Hood.
-- Spc. Frederick Greene, 29, of Mountain City, Tenn. He was assigned to the 16th Signal Company at Fort Hood.
-- Pfc. Aaron Nemelka, 19, of West Jordan, Utah. He was assigned to the 510th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, at Fort Hood.
-- Pfc. Michael Pearson, 22, of Bolinbrook, Ill. He was assigned to the 510th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, at Fort Hood.
-- Spc. Kham Xiong, 23, of St. Paul, Minn. He was assigned to the 510th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, at Fort Hood.
-- Pvt. Francheska Velez, 21, of Chicago. She was assigned to the 15th Combat Support Battalion at Fort Hood.
-- Michael Cahill of Cameron, Texas, a Fort Hood civilian employee.


The Senate has seen fit to address the security at Embassies but did not do much at all when it came to what happened at Fort Hood when a Psychiatrist decided it was time for soldiers to die.
Senate Passes Bill to Improve Embassy Security
Feb 05, 2013
Associated Press
by Donna Cassata

WASHINGTON - The Senate on Monday approved legislation that would allow the State Department to transfer $1.1 billion to improve security at U.S. embassies overseas in the aftermath of the deadly assault on the U.S. Consulate in Libya last September.

By voice vote, the Senate passed the bipartisan measure that would give the department the authority to use surplus funds that are no longer needed in Iraq, where the United States has scaled back operations. The bill now goes to the House.

"Hardening our embassy security is something that everyone agrees is needed," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., sponsor of the bill and chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees foreign operations. "We all want to do what we can to prevent another tragedy like what occurred in Benghazi. The State Department has done a review, and these funds will be used to expedite construction of Marine security guard posts at overseas facilities, and to build secure embassies."

Last September, a terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
read more here


This happened because Hassan was able to buy his gun when background checks did not work as well as they should have.




But that isn't the worst of all of this. Hassan was promoted even though his superiors were troubled by things he said and did.

What has the Senate done about this especially when the trial seeking justice for all the deaths and all the wounded have been delayed?

Does the Senate even care? Were background checks increased and enforced after this? How can the families ever have any justice for this if the Senate does not take it as seriously as they did what happened in Libya?

Friday, December 18, 2009

Video tells Minn. guardsmen in Iraq of services

Video tells Minn. guardsmen in Iraq of services

By Kari Petrie - St. Cloud (Minn.) Times via Gannett News Service
Posted : Friday Dec 18, 2009 9:26:46 EST

Minnesota National Guard soldiers serving in Iraq were able to hear from St. Cloud service providers during a live video link Thursday.

Providers of education, health care and employment services presented information to about 40 soldiers from St. Cloud City Hall. They communicated with the soldiers stationed in Iraq on a large video screen.

St. Cloud VA Medical Center spokeswoman Joan Vincent said organizers believe the video link is the first of its kind for providing reintegration information.

The goal was to provide soldiers with information before they return home, when their focus is on returning to their families and civilian jobs rather than learning about programs.

“Once they get home, they want to go home,” Vincent said.

The video link was done in coordination with Beyond the Yellow Ribbon and Warrior to Citizen programs, which work to make the transition from deployment to home as smooth as possible.
read more here
Video tells Minn. guardsmen in Iraq of services

Monday, March 16, 2009

Disabled soldier inspires wounded Minn. soldiers

Disabled soldier inspires wounded Minn. soldiers
Updated: 03/16/2009 7:34 AM KSTP.com

By: Elena Kibasova, Web Producer


He lives in Texas but retired SFC Dana Bowman was in Minnesota on Sunday to motivate troops who were injured while serving. His message carries to everyone: ‘disabilities are only the things you think you can't do.‘

A terrible accident left Bowman severely injured but not about to give up. On Sunday, through the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program, he is encouraging wounded Minnesota soldiers to push forward.

"With my family, friends and modern technology, I stand tall and proud," Bowman told the group of soldiers.

As a member of the U.S. Army Golden Knights elite skydiving team, Bowman did all the tricks, including the demanding diamond track. He and his partner would crisscross paths, leaving a trail of smoke that formed a diamond.
go here for more
http://kstp.com/news/stories/S833126.shtml?cat=206

Saturday, June 7, 2008

PTSD SOS TO CLERGY


CALL TO CLERGY: Chaplain John Morris has started a program, "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon," to help reintegrate combat soldiers.
BECKY OLSTAD/SPECIAL TO THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR


Backstory: Enlisting churches to help soldiers
A military chaplain in Minnesota encourages clergy to act as counselors to National Guard troops returning from Iraq.
September 25, 2006 edition
By Sean J. Miller Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

MINNEAPOLIS –
John Morris, a military chaplain, stands at the front of a crowded conference room dressed in desert fatigues and tan combat boots, commanding his audience's attention with a tone barely above a whisper. Addressing some 30 Minnesota church leaders, Major Morris opens with a story about his time in Anbar Province, an insurgent stronghold in western Iraq.

"When the insurgents found out a new unit was there, they would walk a child in front of our convoys," he recalls. "What does a good Minnesota person do? Stop. You only do that one time, because you get ambushed and someone gets maimed or killed."


It's a chilling story, which Morris heard from numerous soldiers in combat, meant to convey the reality of war - and the kind of psychological stress soldiers go through in the field and when they come home.


Morris is on a mission. Since returning from the Middle East, the deputy state chaplain of the Minnesota Army National Guard has labored to convince members of Minnesota's religious community - many of whom oppose the war - to support the soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. More than that, he wants them to be frontline counselors and comforters.

"Sociologists or psychologists - they're great, they're helpful," Morris tells the audience. "But when I get to this issue, I have to always tell them, 'I'm sorry but there are people better qualified than you to handle this: religious leaders.' You're the healers. You bring reconciliation."
go here for more
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0925/p20s01-lire.html


Luke 10
Jesus Sends Out the Seventytwo
1 After this the Lord appointed 72 others. He sent them out two by two ahead of him. They went to every town and place where he was about to go.
2 He told them, "The harvest is huge, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=49&chapter=10&version=76



It is by no accident The Story of the Good Samaritan appears right after this event in Luke. The Good Samaritan saw a man in the road and did not want to know more than the fact this man needed help. He didn't want to know how he voted. He didn't want to know what faith he practiced. He didn't want to know anything more than the need the man had and he took care of him without even knowing his name.

Why can't pastors do the same? They want to tend to their own flock, yet ignore the needs of the community their flock belongs to. They want to ignore the suffering of the wounded men and women who go to war serving this nation, doing what this nation asks of them because they were called to defend this nation. It is no less of a calling than the pastors and priests have and no less worthy. Have they all forgotten the history of how Christianity was begun and spread? It was not with spread with peace alone. The nations of the ancient world had to be defended. Yes, there were very dark times in the history of Christianity they would like to forget because the crusades along with other events bear no resemblance to Christ or His message, but they are nonetheless part of it.

The soul wounded by warfare is recorded in the Bible they all studied. It is recorded in every history book and can be found in the writings of ancient Greek and Roman historians. Unless you've lived in a cave, you've come into contact with terror in one form or another. So how is it when you try to talk to members of the clergy about PTSD and the need to help, their eyes glaze over and they roll them while they try to change the subject?

I spent two weeks driving to some really large churches here in Central Florida, trying to get members of the clergy involved with the need of these men and women. When the mind, body and spirit are tended to, miracles happen, families are restored and healing is tremendous. I couldn't get past the receptionist. One pastor called me back and he happened to be a Chaplain as well. That is appalling! I worked for a church for two years as administrator of Christian Education and couldn't get the pastors educated on what I've spent over half my life doing.

For a while I thought about the difference between Chaplains and pastors. While they work out of a building, Chaplains work in the world. Maybe that's why we have a greater understanding of the needs of the people instead of the needs of just the select few who go to church once a week? I don't know. What I do know is the mission of those who have been called to serve Christ as a Christian or serve God as a member of any other faith, the mission is to serve all of God's children. Read the Ten Commandments and then tell me this is not the case.

These religious leaders had better start opening their minds and the doors to their churches to all of those who serve this nation and their families or those doors will end up being closed by the One they were opened for. Did they forget how Christ sent out the disciples to heal? They still have not gotten the message and this piece came out in September of 2006! When will they hear this urgent call to help the men and women who serve this nation?

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Gov. Joe Manchin, taking the lead taking care of veterans


Helping Afghanistan, Iraq veterans cope theme of conference

By Bill Byrd
Times West Virginian

FAIRMONT — Helping the state’s Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans — and their families — cope with readjustment issues, including care for those with traumatic brain injuries, is the theme of a conference this week in Charleston.

Speakers will discuss issues such as financial counseling, addictive behaviors, suicide prevention, treatment for those with traumatic brain injuries, women in the military, and post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, said the Rev. Ricardo Flippin, a conference organizer.

Flippin is the coordinator of the “Care-Net: Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” program, sponsored by the West Virginia Council of Churches.

Gov. Joe Manchin, one of the leaders in the effort to help the state’s veterans, including those on active duty, will open the conference Wednesday morning. The June 4-5 event at the Charleston Civic Center will consist of workshops and panel discussions. The conference is free and open to the public.

“We want to assure all veterans and their families have the same resources available to them no matter where they live in the state,” Manchin said.

“The Care-Net conference is an opportunity to network and learn about programs, agencies and systems that offer assistance to military members and their families,” he said in a statement.

“We hope to highlight our strong assistance programs and outline our weaknesses so we can learn how to provide the best services and assistance through a combined effort,” the governor said.

Manchin and state lawmakers have been working since early last year and the disclosure of neglect in the care of seriously wounded soldiers to make sure active duty members and veterans of all wars get the services and help they need.
go here for more
http://www.timeswv.com/intodayspaper/local_story_153003504.html

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Montana Guard to hold PTSD public meetings

Montana Guard to hold PTSD public meetings
Posted on May 16




HELENA - The Montana National Guard will have public meetings throughout state in May to discuss Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the steps it has taken to help returning and deploying soldiers and airmen of the Montana Guard.

The meetings will take place during the week of May 19. Four separate teams of

soldiers and airmen will conduct the meetings, according to Col. Jeff Ireland, director of personnel and manpower for the guard.

"We want to take this information to the people of Montana so that they understand what

PTSD is and what they can do to help their friends, neighbors or relatives that may be affected by it," he explained.

The meetings will run from 7 to 8 p.m. on the following dates in western Montana:

May 19, Libby, National Guard Armory, 1004 Treasure Ave.; Dillon, National Guard Armory, 1070 Highway 41 N.

May 20, Kalispell Armed Forces Reserve Center, 2989 Highway 93 N.

May 21, Hamilton, National Guard Armory, 910 W. Main St.

May 22, Missoula, National Guard Armory, 2501 S. Reserve.

"The Montana National Guard is dedicated to ensuring that all Montana's soldiers and airmen are taken care of before, during and after a deployment in support of our state and nation," Ireland said. "Our efforts are to reach out to the people of this state and get their help."

The meetings schedule will include the viewing of a 30-minute video about PTSD and its impact on service members and their families. In addition, a question-and-answer period will be included to get feedback from attendees.

The public is encouraged and invited to attend the meetings.

For more information: Capt. Jeremy Hedges, 406-324-3986, or the "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon" campaign http://www.montanaguard.com.
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/05/16/bnews/br84.txt