Maryland Air National Guard soldier stopped attack

Off-duty Air National Guard member kills armed man at Maryland restaurant

By: The Associated Press
July 12, 2019

MILLFORD MILL, Md. — Authorities in Baltimore County say an off-duty member of the Maryland Air National Guard shot and killed an armed man while reportedly breaking up a fight outside a restaurant.

Baltimore County Police say the shooting happened early Friday after the airman saw people arguing outside the restaurant in Windsor Mill.

Authorities initially identified the airman as an off-duty officer. They say he has a gun permit.
read it here

Two non-combat deaths under investigation

Pentagon IDs soldier who died in noncombat incident in northern Syria

STARS AND STRIPES
By CHAD GARLAND
Published: April 29, 2019

The Defense Department has identified the American servicemember who died Monday while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve in northern Syria.

Pfc. Michael A. Thomason, 28, of Lincoln Park, Mich., died of “wounds sustained from a non-combat incident” in Kobani, Syria, according to a statement issued late Monday by the Pentagon.

Thomason was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), out of Fort Campbell, Ky., the statement said.
read more here

South Korea-based soldier dies while on leave in Maryland

STARS AND STRIPES
By KIM GAMEL
Published: April 29, 2019

SEOUL, South Korea — An 18-year-old soldier serving with the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea died while on leave in Maryland, the Army said Monday, adding the circumstances surrounding her death are under investigation.

Pvt. Courtney Shields, a signal support systems specialist from Bryans Road, Md., was found unresponsive Friday while on leave in her home state. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to a press release.
read more here

Maryland Coast Guard Lieutenant wanted to kill?

‘I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on earth’: A self-proclaimed white nationalist planned a mass terrorist attack, the government says

The Washington Post
By LYNH BUI
Published: February 20, 2019

A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant and self-identified white nationalist has been arrested after federal investigators uncovered a cache of weapons and ammunition in his Maryland home that authorities say he stockpiled to launch a widespread domestic terrorist attack targeting politicians and journalists.

Christopher Paul Hasson called for "focused violence" to "establish a white homeland" and dreamed of ways to "kill almost every last person on earth," according to court records filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland. Though court documents do not detail a specific planned date for an attack, the government said he had been amassing supplies and weapons since 2017 at the latest, developed a spreadsheet of targets that included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and searched the internet using phrases such as "best place in dc to see congress people" and "are supreme court justices protected."

"The defendant intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country," the government said in court documents filed this week, arguing that Hasson should stay in jail awaiting trial.

Hasson, of Silver Spring, is expected to appear before a judge for a detention hearing in federal court in Greenbelt on Thursday.
read more here

After VA GI Bill scam, jail next mission for ex-VA employee

11 years in jail for ex-Veterans Affairs official in disabled vet fraud scheme

WTOP News
Valerie Bonk
February 18, 2019

WASHINGTON — A former U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs official has been sentenced 11 years in prison for a $2 million bribery scheme involving a program for disabled military veterans.

James King, 63, of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to one count of honest services and money wire fraud, one count of bribery of a public official and one count of falsifying records to obstruct an investigation, authorities said in a news release.

King was sentenced Friday to serve 132 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and to pay $155,000 in restitution to Veterans Affairs.

Three school owners and employees, who admitted to bribing King, were sentenced last week.

Albert Poawui, the owner of Atius Technology Institute, was sentenced to serve 70 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution.

Sombo Kanneh, Poawui’s employee, was sentenced to serve 20 months in prison and ordered to pay $113,000 in restitution.

Michelle Stevens, the owner of Eelon Training Academy, was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $83,000 in restitution.

“James King and his associates exploited an important VA program that provides valuable services to our disabled military veterans,” said Justice Department Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski in a release. “This prosecution once again demonstrates the Justice Department’s commitment to hold accountable those who seek to defraud government programs for their own personal enrichment.”
read more here

Airman found dead at Eielson Air Force Base

Airman found dead in Alaska

By STARS AND STRIPES
Published: February 6, 2019

An airman was found dead in a parking lot in North Pole, Alaska, Eielson Air Force Base officials said Tuesday.

Then-Airman 1st Class Elijah Evans in a photo from social media. Evans, 23, a senior airman from Waldorf, Md., stationed at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, was found dead on Monday in North Pole, Alaska. His death is under investigation.COURTESY OF ELIJAH EVANS/FACEBOOK VIA U.S. AIR FORCE

Senior Airman Elijah Evans, 23, was found dead on Monday, according to an Air Force statement, though where he was found is unclear. The Air Force said it was a restaurant parking lot, while North Pole police quoted by KTVF News of Fairbanks said he was found at the Gorilla Fireworks parking lot.

Evans was assigned to the 354th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Eielson, and hailed from Waldorf, Md. He joined the Air Force on May 10, 2016, according to the statement.
read more here

Maryland Veteran Lives on Roof Waiting for Santa

Man sleeps on roof for 12 days for toy drive

Cecil Whig
By Katie Tabeling
9 hrs ago

Mangini is also a veteran, as he served with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division in the late 1970s. In his own way, living up on the roof during Christmastime is a way to pay tribute to those in the military who are currently stationed in Afghanistan, Iraq or other far-flung places. Mangini himself never served overseas, but said his tent is “a mansion” compared to what he lived in while training. He’s willing to bet his current living conditions are miles better than active-duty troops.

ELKTON — He has eyes that twinkle and a beard as white as snow. But unlike the Santa Claus described in “The Night Before Christmas” that shimmies down chimneys to leave presents, Bruce Mangini, of Landenberg, Pa., plans on staying on his rooftop until he can rally enough people to fill his “sleigh” with toys for families of veterans in need.

Mangini, 58, started living on the roof of the Elkton Veterans of Foreign Wars Elkton Memorial Post No. 8175 on Dec. 2 in a fundraising and awareness campaign called #BruceOnTheRoof

To protect himself from the wind and rain, he built a tent out of tarp and a blue gazebo and sleeps under an electric blanket on a cot his grandson chose for him. He comes down on occasion to walk around, per his doctor’s orders, and to go into the VFW to use the bathroom.

But for the most part, Mangini stays on the roof — and he’ll come down for good when his 12 days are up or when his trailer, parked nearby, is filled with toys, coats and non-perishable food donations.

“People say I’m crazy,” he said. “Well, I’ve been called that a lot in my life.”

Mangini likes to participate and organize charity events in the tristate region, like a motorcycle ride to fundraise for the Domestic Violence Center of Chester County, Pa., or coordinating with his cousin on a cookie baking and giveaway for veterans. But he’s always gravitated to Elkton after he established a friendship with Commissioner Mary Jo Jablonski and her family. After working with the Elkton VFW for other toy drives with the Steel Horse Guardians, a nonprofit charitable group of motorcyclists, he’s felt the need to continue paying it forward to Elkton.

“I don’t like talking negatively about nobody, but Elkton is a very small town, and it’s a struggling town that’s trying to do better,” Mangini said. “When I see a small town trying to do better, I want to jump in and help. Everybody needs a helping hand once in a while.”
read more here

Report: Multiple people shot at Maryland newspaper office

UPDATE
CBSNews
5 dead and several wounded.

Report: Multiple people shot at Maryland newspaper office
Thomson Reuters

Jun 28th 2018

June 28 (Reuters) - Several people were fatally shot at a newspaper office in the Maryland capital of Annapolis on Thursday and a suspect was apprehended, the local sheriff told Fox News.

Anne Arundel Sheriff Ron Bateman told Fox News the incident took place outside the Capital Gazette office.

Phil Davis, a Gazette reporter, said that multiple people had been shot, according to a report from the Baltimore Sun, which owns the paper.

Agents from the Baltimore office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were responding to the incident, the bureau tweeted.
read more here

Eddison Hermond National Guardsman and Air Force Veteran found

National Guard member, Air Force veteran found dead in Patapsco River, police say
WJLA News
Stephen Pimpo Jr
May 29, 2018

Eddison Hermond. (Photo, Howard County Police)

BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. (ABC7) — The body of the Air Force veteran and National Guard member who went missing during Sunday's floods, was found in the Patapsco River Tuesday, according to authorities.

Howard County Police say searchers found the body of 39-year-old Eddison Hermond in the river just across the Baltimore County line.
read more here

Veteran sits in jail, instead of getting help he sought from VA?

First, weapons are not allowed on VA property. Do not try to take them with you. The veteran in the following report pulled out a knife and a security guard shot him.

The biggest thing to take away from this report is for all the "help" out there, it is mostly too little, too late, because no one cared enough to make sure veterans did not find coming home, harder than combat.

None of this is new and that is the most depressing part of all. Anyone in Congress have an answer for what they failed to do, or are they still too busy talking about sending our veterans into the same mess everyone else has to settle for?

This is what mental health is like for civilians in crisis.

A viral video from Baltimore is drawing attention to a crisis that's unfolding in emergency rooms across the country: Surging numbers of patients with psychiatric conditions aren't receiving the care they need.
On a cold night in January, a man walking by a downtown Baltimore hospital saw something that shocked him. He started recording the incident on his phone.
Imamu Baraka's video, which has been viewed more than 3 million times, shows security guards walking away from a bus stop next to the emergency room of University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus.

And now what happened to the veteran who sits in jail.

Father of Army vet shot at Oregon VA clinic feels betrayed
ASSOCIATED PRESS SALEM, Ore.
By ANDREW SELSKY
Apr 30, 2018

Brent Brooks, who served with Negrete in the 10th Mountain Division, said he was a "really driven, goal-oriented" soldier. Their unit maintained Kiowa helicopters and sometimes came under mortar fire. In Afghanistan, their second deployment, a mortar round tore apart a wooden shack 20 yards (meters) from their own, wounding all the soldiers inside, Brooks said.

In this undated photo provided by Alyss Negrete, she poses with her with husband, Gilbert "Matt" Negrete and their children, from left, Aubree, Mya and Camren. Negrete, an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is in jail awaiting trial for attempted assault and other crimes after he allegedly pulled a knife during an altercation with veteran clinic staffers in January 2018, in White City, Ore. (Courtesy of Alyss Negrete via AP)

The father of a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder who was shot at a government clinic in Oregon blames Veterans Affairs for letting down his son.

Gilbert "Matt" Negrete, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is in jail in the former timber town of Medford, charged with attempted assault and other crimes after he allegedly displayed a knife during a confrontation at the VA clinic in nearby White City on Jan. 25. A VA guard shot him in the chest.

"First they shoot him, now they're gonna try to put him away," his father, Gilbert Negrete, told The Associated Press in a Facebook message. "You would think they would have some concern about us. My son needs help not prison."
read more here

Aberdeen Proving Ground soldier dead after standoff

Soldier Dead After Barricade Situation At Aberdeen Proving Ground
Associated Press
CBS Baltimore
March 23, 2018

The soldier’s name is being withheld until next of kin has been notified. The soldier was assigned to the Kirk U.S. Army Health Clinic.

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (WJZ/AP) — Army officials say an incident involving a soldier who barricaded himself inside a home on a U.S. Army installation ended after a 17-hour standoff.

Aberdeen Proving Ground spokesman David Patterson says the man was alone in the home when a concerned relative called Thursday morning saying he’d locked himself inside. In a statement Friday afternoon, the installation stated emergency responders found the soldier dead inside the home early Friday morning.
read more here

Inspirational Five Year Old Cares For Homeless Veterans

5-Year-Old Makes Care Bags For Homeless Baltimore Veterans

CBS Baltimmore
By Mike Schuh
August 3, 2017

“Almost everybody in our family is a veteran,” he says. Including his grandfather, Alfred Blackstone.

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — In the age of social media, it’s easier than ever to be exposed the world’s problems, even if it’s not an issue that affects you directly.

That’s what happened to 5-year-old Tyler Stallings.

“Well, I saw a YouTube video, and I thought it wasn’t right,” he says. That video was about veteran homelessness.

On any given night in the U.S., it is estimated that some 200,000 veterans call the streets home.

Those facts got Tyler thinking, which is why when WJZ’s Mike Schuh visited him, Tyler was strapped into a seat in the back of his mom’s car navigating rush hour traffic in downtown Baltimore.

“We are headed to the Community Resource and Referral Center,” says his mom, Andrea Blackstone.

It’s a place most 5-year-olds will never see, where homeless vets can get help from the VA.

Tyler and Andrea were loaded up with bags and backpacks filled with the stuff homeless veterans need to survive on the streets.
read more here

Neighborhood Parade Welcomes Home Army Surgeon

Md. family welcomes hero dad home from Afghanistan with neighborhood parade
FOX 5 News
Anjali Hemphill
October 21, 2016

BETHESDA, Md. - A Maryland hero was welcomed home from deployment in Afghanistan in style Friday night-- by his entire neighborhood. Army Lieutenant Col. Benjamin Potter, an orthopedic surgeon from Bethesda, has spent the last four months caring for injured service members and Afghan allies.

Lt. Col. Potter had a block party waiting for him to help him celebrate his return—and of course, a very happy family. The neighborhood scooter brigade parade is actually a tradition for the Potter family, one that pumps up the whole neighborhood.
read more here

Military Chaplains Find Help in Silver Spring

Helping the helper: Institute aids military chaplains suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder
Christianity Today
Andre Mitchell
June 7, 2016

"I thought I had a handle on suffering. I thought I had a handle on understanding the sovereignty of God. I didn't know crap," Williams shared in a report by The Washington Post.

Members of the U.S. Army Chaplains Corps take a moment of silence to pray for their fellow brothers in arms in harm's way.

For soldiers coming home from conflict areas, the military chaplain is the person who is there to listen to all their troubles and help them cope with the trauma they are experiencing.

But after absorbing the woes of soldiers, ministering to them, and seeing the battlefield scene themselves, some of these chaplains also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and need assistance themselves.

The St. Luke's Institute, a Roman Catholic Center based in Silver Spring in Maryland, has made it part of its mission to help these military chaplains.

One such chaplain is Pastor Matthew Williams, who has already been deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Williams said he initially thought that he could take in everything he saw in the battlefield—from corpses in body bags to his "friends' faces all blown apart"—until he realised he could not take it anymore.
read more here

Special Forces Soldier Taken For Medical Evaluation After Armory Standoff

Police release name of Special Forces soldier in barricade at National Guard armory
The Baltimore Sun
Ian Duncan
May 3, 2016

(XXXXXX) turned out to be unarmed and did not have access to the weapons, which were locked with a code, a police spokeswoman said. He eventually agreed to come out of the building and was sent for a medical evaluation.

Baltimore County police released the name of the Special Forces soldier who is accused of trespassing at an armory in Glen Arm on Monday.


(XXXXXX) 43, of Virginia, allegedly tripped an alarm at the Gunpowder Military Reservation at about 11 a.m. Monday, starting a standoff with heavily armed police that lasted several hours.

He was taken into custody without incident and released on $7,500 bail, online court records show. He could not be reached for comment on Thursday, and had no attorney listed in online records.

Police responded in force to the facility on Notchcliff Road, unsure if (XXXXXX) had access to the weapons stored there.
read more here

**Name removed**

Marine Deserved Better Than to Be Left to Die by Hit and Run Driver

Police Continue Search For Man Who Killed Marine In Hit and Run
WJZ CBS Baltimore
By Jessica Kartalija
April 10, 2016

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The search continues for the driver who struck and killed a Marine. The corporal was helping a stranded driver when he was hit.

Marine Corporal William Ferrell was helping a stranded driver change a flat tire when he was hit by a truck along US 15 and Auburn Road. The search for the driver who killed the Marine and then left the scene continues.

“It’s been over six months now and state police still have not given up finding the person responsible for killing Corporal Ferrell that evening in September,” said Elena Russo, Maryland State Police.
read more here

CVS Fired Afghanistan Veteran For Stopping Armed Robbery?

Afghanistan Vet Fired after Confronting Robbers
WTRF News
Posted: Mar 01, 2016

BELTSVILLE, Md. (WUSA9) -- A 26-year-old CVS store manager who was fired Friday for violating a company policy against confronting robbers says he’s applied to the Prince George’s County Police Department to become an officer.

“It was fight or flight, and I choose fight,” said Afghanistan veteran Joe Morici as he described the Friday morning confrontation inside the Calverton CVS store he was managing.

Morici said two men leapt over the pharmacy counter, stole prescription drugs and headed for the door. Morici told his staff to call 911 and went to see if any employees had been hurt. That’s when he confronted the two robbers and ended up grappling with them near the store’s front door.
read more here

Marine diagnosed with cancer posts video

Marine diagnosed with cancer posts video sharing his story 
The Washington Post
By Dan Lamothe
Published: December 30, 2015

WASHINGTON — After a weight-lifting session left him struggling to catch his breath, Marine Staff Sgt. Mark Fayloga made a decision: It was time to visit a doctor and find out what was wrong with him. He'd been struggling with fatigue for months, but chalked it up in part to his long commute from Columbia, Md., to the Pentagon.

The diagnosis wasn't good: Fayloga, 30, has cancer. He announced it in a video posted online Monday, saying that while it has been difficult each time he has told someone he cares about, sharing updates about his illness in a video series will provide a distraction for him and keep his friends and family informed.

In a phone interview, Fayloga said that he is still waiting to learn what kind of lymphoma he has. Already, though, doctors have drained 3 1/2 liters of fluid from around his lungs and completed a biopsy. At least one possible diagnosis – Hodgkin's disease – is considered highly curable.

Fayloga's initial six-minute video isn't just somber. It's filled with off-color humor, wisecracks and Fayloga having fun by depicting himself using his diagnosis as leverage to get a variety of things, including an extension on a work project, an unfair advantage while playing Scrabble and the last cupcake at home.
read more here

Ultimate Tackler MOH Groberg Teams Up with Ravens

Medal Of Honor Recipient Joining Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
Ryan Mink Staff Writer
Posted Dec 13, 2015

Along with Sgt. Andrew Mahoney, Groberg sprinted to intercept the man. When Groberg hit the man with his gun, he felt a vest underneath his clothing.

Maryland native Florent Groberg is a retired Army Captain who was struck by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan.

Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh frequently talks to his team about bravery, pulling examples from every source he can find and often the military.

On Sunday, Harbaugh had one of the best examples on his own sideline.

Florent Groberg, a former Maryland resident and University of Maryland track and field and cross country runner, is only the 10th living service member to be given the Medal of Honor – the military’s highest award for battlefield bravery – for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama personally presented Groberg with the award on Nov. 12. At M and T Bank Stadium, the now retired U.S. Army Captain was honored as the Ravens’ Hometown Hero.

“People are going to go home and be like, ‘Who’s this freak who did that stuff?’” Groberg said with a laugh.

“Then, when they see my story, they’ll understand who the four guys that I lost are. We have some incredible individuals who just don’t come home and have the opportunity to go to this game.”
read more here

Army Released Names of Aviators Killed in South Korea

Army releases names of aviators killed in South Korea crash
Army Times
By Michelle Tan, Staff writer
December 6, 2015

The Army on Sunday night released the names of the two aviators killed when their AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed in South Korea.

The incident happened about 6:30 p.m. local time on Nov. 23 during a routine training mission. The helicopter crashed about 50 miles east of Camp Humphreys.

It would be the first of three deadly Army helicopter crashes in 10 days, prompting U.S. Army Forces Command to ground all of its aircraft for a safety stand down. The stand down began Thursday and will end Monday evening.

• Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jason McCormack, 43 from Maryland, Fort Campbell 101st

CW4 Jason McCormack (Photo: Army)

• Chief Warrant Officer 3 Brandon Smith, 38 from Colorado. Fort Carson

CW3 Brandon Smith (Photo: Army)

read more here

Marine Dies in Hit-and-Run While Helping Another Driver

Marine, 21, Dies in Hit-and-Run While Helping Another Driver
NBC Washington
Sep 30, 2015

Ferrell joined the fire department at age 16 and then joined the U.S. Marine Corps, Tyner said. His journey led him to Maryland, where he was promoted to corporal and stationed at Camp David.

A Marine who tried to help the driver of a disabled vehicle in heavy rain Tuesday night in Frederick County was hit and killed by a driver who fled the scene.

Marine Cpl. William Ferrell, 21, stopped to help a driver on northbound Route 15 in Thurmont, Maryland State Police said.

Ferrell, of Carthage, North Carolina, was walking on the shoulder and was just feet from the stranded car when a tractor-trailer or heavy-duty pickup with a car-hauling trailer left the road, striking and killing him.

Witnesses tell police that as they tended to Ferrell, the truck stopped for a few minutes, then pulled away.

Police say the truck likely has damage to its right side.
read more here