Dog who served in Iraq, Afghanistan honored at Wright-Patt
Dayton Daily News
By Chris Stewart
Staff Writer
April 25, 2014
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE — Speaking next to an empty dog crate, Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher Pritchett fought through tears Friday while remembering his one-time partner, Arko.
“Those who have called themselves dog handlers are the only people who can truly understand the bond between handlers and dogs. A bond that can’t be broken even in death,” Pritchett told those attending a memorial service for the military working dog.
Members of the 88th Security Forces Squadron at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base remembered the German shepherd as one of their own during a service Friday morning at the Base Club. About 60 people attended the memorial along with eight other military and area police dogs and their handlers.
Arko served nearly five years as a patrol and explosive detector dog at the base. Arko and Pritchett, now the squadron’s kennel master, served two overseas tours together in Iraq and Afghanistan, always side-by-side. Arko was laid to rest Feb. 16, 2014, at the base kennel after dying suddenly of a twist in his intestines. He was six.
read more here
Showing posts with label military service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label military service. Show all posts
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Senate showdown over military sexual assault bill
Senate showdown over military sexual assault bill
The Associated Press
By Donna Cassata
November 17, 2013
WASHINGTON — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has secured public support from nearly half the Senate, but not enough votes, for her proposal to give victims of rape and sexual assault in the military an independent route outside the chain of command for prosecuting attackers.
Gillibrand’s solution for a problem the military calls an epidemic appears to have stalled in the face of united opposition from the Pentagon’s top echelon and its allies in Congress, including two female senators who are former prosecutors.
Opponents of the proposal by Gillibrand, D-N.Y., insist that commanders, not an outside military lawyer, must be accountable for meting out justice.
Even so, major changes are coming for a decades-old military system just a few months after several high-profile cases infuriated Republicans and Democrats in a rapid chain of events by Washington standards.
“Sexual assault in the military is not new, but it has been allowed to fester,” Gillibrand said in a recent Senate speech.
The Associated Press
By Donna Cassata
November 17, 2013
WASHINGTON — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has secured public support from nearly half the Senate, but not enough votes, for her proposal to give victims of rape and sexual assault in the military an independent route outside the chain of command for prosecuting attackers.
Gillibrand’s solution for a problem the military calls an epidemic appears to have stalled in the face of united opposition from the Pentagon’s top echelon and its allies in Congress, including two female senators who are former prosecutors.
Opponents of the proposal by Gillibrand, D-N.Y., insist that commanders, not an outside military lawyer, must be accountable for meting out justice.
Even so, major changes are coming for a decades-old military system just a few months after several high-profile cases infuriated Republicans and Democrats in a rapid chain of events by Washington standards.
“Sexual assault in the military is not new, but it has been allowed to fester,” Gillibrand said in a recent Senate speech.
Standing against the plan is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.; the panel’s military veterans John McCain, R-Ariz., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., and three of the committee’s women — Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., both former prosecutors, and Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb. read more here
Saturday, September 6, 2008
American Indians have highest per capita of service but get less benefits
Share recognition with American Indian veterans
September 5, 2008
An estimated 100 people gathered at the Royal Scandinavian Inn in Solvang, Calif., Santa Barbara County, to honor fallen American Indian veterans at the U.S. Native Warrior exhibit on Aug. 23.
The 30-panel exhibit primarily honors World War II veterans, but does list the numbers of those who served and died in each major war, according to the Santa Ynez Valley Journal. One panel pays tribute to the estimated 95,500 American Indians who have served since World War II, with a total of 1,119 lives lost, the Journal said.
It is a little known fact that, historically, American Indians have the highest record of service per capita when compared with other ethnic groups. Unfortunately, while they hold the highest record of service per capita in comparison with other ethnic groups they are the least likely to receive veterans benefits.
I'm not sure if there is a breakdown in communication, or if there is blatant discrimination occurring, but it makes no sense at all that these veterans are not being taken care of when they risked life and limb for this country.
I was devastated to learn that benefits are not the only rewards being kept - inadvertently or not - from American Indian veterans. Many are not receiving their earned medals. Veterans from the Persian Gulf War in 1991 who were gassed are not being given Purple Hearts, especially the disabled who could no longer work and were discharged honorably out of the military within a few years. If veterans in World War I were given Purple Hearts for mustard gas, then veterans from the Persian Gulf who were exposed to mustard gas and sarin most certainly should be. If you agree, please sign the petition to Congress at www.petitiononline.com/vc6v4564/.
click post title for more
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Suicide by National Guard, Reserve Troops Studied
Suicide by Guard, Reserve Troops Studied
By KIMBERLY HEFLING – 7 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — National Guard and Reserve troops who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan make up more than half of veterans who committed suicide after returning home from those wars, according to new government data obtained by The Associated Press.
A Department of Veterans Affairs analysis of ongoing research of deaths among veterans of both wars, obtained exclusively by The AP, found that Guard or Reserve members were 53 percent of the veteran suicides from 2001, when the war in Afghanistan began, through the end of 2005.
The research, conducted by the agency's Office of Environmental Epidemiology, provides the first demographic look at suicides among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who left the military — a situation that veterans and mental health advocates worry might worsen as the wars drag on.
Military leaders have leaned heavily on Guard and Reserve troops in the wars. At certain times in 2005, members of the Guard and Reserve made up nearly half the troops fighting in Iraq.
Overall, they were nearly 28 percent of all U.S. military forces deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan or in support of the operations, according to data from the Defense Department through the end of 2007.
Many Guard members and Reservists have done multiple tours that kept them away from home for 18 months. When they returned home, some who live far away from a military installation or VA facility have encountered difficulty getting access to mental health counseling or treatment, activists have said.
Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said the study's findings reinforce the argument that Guard and Reserve troops need more help as they transition back into the civilian world. The military's effort to re-screen Guard and Reservists for mental and physical problems three months after they return home is a positive step, Rieckhoff said, but a more long-term comprehensive approach is needed to help these troops — particularly in their first six months home.
click post title for the rest
By KIMBERLY HEFLING – 7 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — National Guard and Reserve troops who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan make up more than half of veterans who committed suicide after returning home from those wars, according to new government data obtained by The Associated Press.
A Department of Veterans Affairs analysis of ongoing research of deaths among veterans of both wars, obtained exclusively by The AP, found that Guard or Reserve members were 53 percent of the veteran suicides from 2001, when the war in Afghanistan began, through the end of 2005.
The research, conducted by the agency's Office of Environmental Epidemiology, provides the first demographic look at suicides among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who left the military — a situation that veterans and mental health advocates worry might worsen as the wars drag on.
Military leaders have leaned heavily on Guard and Reserve troops in the wars. At certain times in 2005, members of the Guard and Reserve made up nearly half the troops fighting in Iraq.
Overall, they were nearly 28 percent of all U.S. military forces deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan or in support of the operations, according to data from the Defense Department through the end of 2007.
Many Guard members and Reservists have done multiple tours that kept them away from home for 18 months. When they returned home, some who live far away from a military installation or VA facility have encountered difficulty getting access to mental health counseling or treatment, activists have said.
Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said the study's findings reinforce the argument that Guard and Reserve troops need more help as they transition back into the civilian world. The military's effort to re-screen Guard and Reservists for mental and physical problems three months after they return home is a positive step, Rieckhoff said, but a more long-term comprehensive approach is needed to help these troops — particularly in their first six months home.
click post title for the rest
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)