Soldier dies in I-380 accident

Soldier dies in I-380 accident

Staff Sergeant Howard Joseph Braxton, 28, of Hampton, Virginia

A soldier stationed at Tobyhanna Army Depot died early Saturday morning in a one-vehicle crash on Route 380 in Clifton Twp., according to State Police-Dunmore.
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Soldier dies in I 380 accident

People in pain told how to kill themselves by nurse

Added On May 20, 2010
CNN's Randi Kaye reports on a former Minnesota nurse accused of instructing people how to kill themselves.

3,800 vets affected by latest VA data breaches

3,800 vets affected by latest VA data breaches

By Tom Spoth - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 19, 2010 17:42:42 EDT

More than 3,800 veterans had their personal information compromised last month in two data breaches that have led to renewed criticism of the Veterans Affairs Department’s data security.

On April 22, an unencrypted laptop belonging to VA contractor Heritage Health Solutions was stolen from a vehicle, compromising the records of more than 600 veterans, Rep. Harry Mitchell, chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee on oversight, said at a hearing Wednesday.

And on April 24, a log book vanished from a medical lab that contained the records of 3,265 veterans.

Both incidents were related to VA facilities in Texas.
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3800 vets affected by latest VA data breaches

Red Sox program helps vets get care

Red Sox program helps vets get care
By Ashley Studley/Daily News staff
Milford Daily News
Posted May 19, 2010 @ 01:17 AM
FRANKLIN — Asking for help is never easy, and for the new generation of proud veterans, it can seem almost impossible.

That's why outreach coordinators for the Home Base Program told Franklin Veterans Agent Bob Fahey yesterday that they want to spread the word about new services for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffering from combat-related stress and traumatic brain injury.

"It's our mission to help veterans," veteran outreach coordinator Kenneth Isaksen said.

The Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital teamed up last fall to form the Home Base Program, a group of clinicians and specialists that provide individual counseling and rehabilitation to veterans, Isaksen said.

Sean Kennedy, the program's leader for veterans outreach, said it offers a variety services not found elsewhere.
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Red Sox program helps vets get care

CBT and EMDR A revolution in war-stress UK solutions

A revolution in war-stress solutions
By KATE WIGHTON

Published: Today

TWO shocking stories this week highlighted the struggle many of our brave Forces' personnel face AFTER they leave the battlefield - but revolutionary help is at hand.
Victoria Cross hero, L/Cpl Johnson Beharry revealed how he tried to commit suicide in 2008 by crashing his car at 100mph after battling depression triggered by the horrors of Iraq four years earlier.

Meanwhile, ex-soldier Michael Fong admitted trying to take his own life last month after suffering Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from his time in Ulster and Iraq.

PTSD is thought to affect one in 20 UK troops and can cause horrendous flashbacks and traumatic nightmares.

But there are now incredible treatments offered to soldiers to help them overcome the ordeals of war, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprogramming (EMDR).

In a session of EMDR, a patient is asked to talk about a traumatic incident while a therapist sends their mind into a similar state to dreaming. The patient is completely awake and aware.

While talking about the incident, their eyes follow a dot moving left to right on a computer screen.

They do this for around three minutes and repeat ten times in a session.

This helps to reprogramme the memory, so a patient can think about an incident without getting upset.



Read more: A revolution in war stress solutions

Vietnam Veteran shares thoughts on LZ Lambeau Event

Onalaska Vietnam Veteran shares thoughts on LZ Lambeau Event
Posted: May 20, 2010 12:21 AM EDT

35 years after the end of the Vietnam War, Wisconsin veterans are finally getting a formal welcome home.

A big event this weekend at Lambeau Field in Green Bay will honor the state's Vietnam vets for their service and sacrifice for our country.

The event is called LZ Lambeau, named for the landing zones the veterans were often deployed to. Of the more than 165,000 Wisconsin veterans who served in Vietnam, nearly 1300 never made it home and for those who did, it wasn't always the warmest of welcome backs. Now, all these years later, the public is getting a chance to recognize and thank a group of veterans that sacrificed so much and got so little in return.

Every day, 63 year old Tom Baertsch of Onalaska lives with the horrors of the past. "There isn't a day go by that I don't think about something that went on and there's still the nightmares and there still are the flashbacks and there's still all that kind of stuff," says Baertsch.

Although Tom's learned to live with the emotional scars from more than four decades ago, he considers himself lucky to even be here today. "There was many times when I made peace with the lord, like they say there's no atheists in a fox hole. That's probably one of the scariest things for a 21 year old to be able to do is to be at peace with himself that if he's going to die, he's going to die."
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http://www.wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=12512211

Army vet fatally shot by FBI agent at MacDill

Army vet fatally shot by FBI agent at MacDill base in Tampa; security chased him after fight

TAMARA LUSH

Associated Press Writer

9:27 p.m. EDT, May 19, 2010
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — An Army veteran who sped away from MacDill Air Force Base security on a motorcycle was fatally shot Wednesday by an FBI agent after the man threatened him with a knife, officials said.

At about 6 p.m., base security was called to an altercation, which wasn't described, at a camping area inside the base, said Col. Larry Martin, the base commander.

The veteran who was described as a guest at the camping area was arguing with another person, but officials wouldn't name either.

"We don't have a lot of details about what went on in that altercation," Martin said.

The veteran sped away on his motorcycle and security tried to stop him, Martin said.
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Army vet fatally shot by FBI agent at MacDill

Heroes rescue trucker from burning tanker in Orlando

Rescuer: 'It just burst into flames'
Orlando man pulled driver from cab after tanker truck explodes on Interstate 4
By Anthony Colarossi, Orlando Sentinel

5:38 a.m. EDT, May 20, 2010
David Neel of Orlando was driving home when he spotted the tanker truck barrel into a right-lane divider wall along Interstate 4 and burst into a fireball at John Young Parkway.

"It was like watching a movie. It just burst into flames," Neel said.

He then ran up to the truck, popped open the driver's side door and found the driver.

Another motorist helped with the rescue, too.

The flaming wreck snarled eastbound traffic along I-4 for hours, but it also provided a glimpse of hometown heroism, as two motorists stopped at and pulled the truck driver from the burning rig.

"He was still moving and we snatched him out of the truck," Neel said. "He was dazed. He couldn't tell me what happened.

"Everything was just smoke and flames."

The tanker fire was extinguished a short time after the accident, and the driver suffered minor injuries, police said.
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Rescuer It just burst into flames

Fatal shooting outside MacDill Air Force Base

Fatal shooting outside MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, home to U.S. Central Command
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
TAMPA, FLORIDA (BNO NEWS) -- A person was shot dead outside MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida on Wednesday evening, authorities say. The base is also home to the U.S. Central Command.

Tampa Fire Rescue crews responded to the Dale Mabry gate of MacDill Air Force Base at 6.47 p.m. Eastern time. "Rescuers are on scene at this time as are Tampa Police and Base Security," a spokesman said.
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Fatal shooting outside MacDill Air Force Base

UPDATE
It was an Army veteran

Army vet fatally shot by FBI agent at MacDill

Bill adds protections for sex assault victims

Bill adds protections for sex assault victims

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 19, 2010 15:49:13 EDT

In a move that could lead more military women to report sexual assaults and seeking counseling, the House Armed Services Committee voted Wednesday to allow conversations between victims and victims’ advocates to be privileged communications.

At the urging of Rep. Susan Davis, D-Calif., the committee approved a new rule that would treat communications between sexual assault victims and their advocates in a way similar to information shared between patients and psychiatrists.
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Bill adds protections for sex assault victims