Celebrate Independence Day with Disabled Veterans
Heroes Who Sacrificed for America's Freedom
WASHINGTON (June 9, 2010) - The Fourth of July celebration in Denver
takes on special importance this year when more than 500 wheelchair
athletes who are all military Veterans begin competition at the 30th
National Veterans Wheelchair Games. The event, presented each year by
the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Paralyzed Veterans of
America, runs July 4 through July 9.
"Honoring those who have given so much to this Nation is appropriate on
the day we celebrate America's independence," said Secretary of Veterans
Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "The National Veterans Wheelchair Games
exemplify America's commitment to its disabled Veterans and the
continuing heroism of these men and women."
The games provide an annual multi-event sports rehabilitation program
that is open to Veterans who use wheelchairs for sports competition due
to spinal cord injuries, amputations or certain neurological problems
and who receive care at any VA medical facility. Athletes attending can
be first-time wheelchair athletes or experienced Paralympians. Six of
this year's participants have previously competed at the world-class
Paralympic level.
"Independence Day is the perfect day to kick off this year's National
Veterans Wheelchair Games," said Gene A. Crayton, national president of
Paralyzed Veterans of America. "For 30 years, the Wheelchair Games have
helped to empower thousands of paralyzed Veterans to get back into life
after serious injury, and to eventually lead full and independent
lives."
At the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, Veterans will compete in 17
different sports, including air guns, archery, basketball, bowling,
field events, handcycling, nine-ball, a motorized wheelchair relay,
power soccer, quad rugby, softball, swimming, table tennis, track,
trapshooting, weightlifting and wheelchair slalom. This year, an
exhibition event will also be held in kayaking.
The 30th National Veterans Wheelchair Games begin on Sunday, July 4,
with a quad rugby demonstration in Civic Center Park in downtown Denver.
Kids Day at the games takes place Thursday, July 8, at City Park, where
local children with disabilities will meet the athletes and learn about
wheelchair sports. Other events will be held at Brunswick Zone, Invesco
Field at Mile High Stadium, Family Shooting Center, Fishback Park, the
Colorado Convention Center and other area venues. Admission is free to
the public and local attendance is encouraged.
The VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System in Denver and the Mountain
States Chapter of Paralyzed Veterans of America are hosting the 2010
Games. For many injured Veterans, the Wheelchair Games provide their
first exposure to wheelchair athletics.
For more information about the National Veterans Wheelchair Games or to
volunteer during the week, visit the Games Web site at
www.wheelchairgames.va.gov.
VA is a recognized leader in rehabilitative and recreational therapies,
and operates more than 1,400 sites of care, including 153 medical
centers (www.va.gov). Paralyzed Veterans of America was founded 63
years ago. For more than six decades, Paralyzed Veterans of America and
its 34 chapters have been working to create an America where all
Veterans and people with disabilities and their families have everything
they need to thrive (www.pva.org ).
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Soldier stable after suspected overdose
Saved because friends cared. So why didn't the soldier on his third tour feel as if he could talk to these same friends who cared enough to save his life? Was it an overdose/suicide attempt, or was it a case of forgotten medication? This report says that he saved the life of someone else before. This also shows that what they are going thru does not know national boundaries. This solider is from Australia.
Soldier stable after suspected overdose
Posted Mon Jun 7, 2010 7:00am AEST
An Australian soldier who was found unconscious by fellow soldiers after a suspected drug overdose in Afghanistan remains in a serious but stable condition in a German hospital.
The Defence Force is making arrangements to return the soldier, who served in the Special Operations Taskforce Unit in Tarin Kowt, to Australia.
Defence Force Chief Angus Houston is appointing a commission of inquiry to investigate the apparent overdose 10 days ago.
Air Chief Marshal Houston confirmed last week that a bottle of pills and some powder, thought to be an opiate, were found in the man's room.
Emergency treatment was given at the time and a medical procedure was performed on the soldier in Afghanistan before he was taken to Bagram, where a medical procedure was performed.
The soldier, known as Private D, was described last week by Air Chief Marshal Houston as a courageous and "very professional" soldier whose actions had once saved the life of a mate.
Private D joined the ADF in 2004, has served in East Timor, and was on his third deployment to Afghanistan.
Soldier stable after suspected overdose
Three Marines die in Afghanistan
Three Marines die in Afghanistan
Staff report
Posted : Tuesday Jun 8, 2010 18:06:25 EDT
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Three Marines with a Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based infantry battalion died Sunday after a vehicle accident in Afghanistan, military officials said.
The Pentagon identified the three as
go here for more
Three Marines die in Afghanistan
Staff report
Posted : Tuesday Jun 8, 2010 18:06:25 EDT
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Three Marines with a Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based infantry battalion died Sunday after a vehicle accident in Afghanistan, military officials said.
The Pentagon identified the three as
Sgt. Brandon C. Bury, 26, of Kingwood, Texas;
Cpl. Donald M. Marler, 22, of St. Louis, Mo.; and
Lance Cpl. Derek Hernandez, 20, of Edinburg, Texas.
They were members of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, with the 1st Marine Division.
go here for more
Three Marines die in Afghanistan
Staff Sgt. Shane S. Barnard died defusing bomb to save others
Base holds memorial service for slain soldier
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 9, 2010 10:16:05 EDT
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — Joint Base Lewis-McChord is holding a memorial service Wednesday for a soldier killed May 19 in Afghanistan.
The Army said 38-year-old Staff Sgt. Shane S. Barnard of De Smet, S.D., was an explosives disposal specialist who was probably working on one device when he triggered a second homemade bomb.
read the rest here
Base holds memorial service for slain soldier
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 9, 2010 10:16:05 EDT
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — Joint Base Lewis-McChord is holding a memorial service Wednesday for a soldier killed May 19 in Afghanistan.
The Army said 38-year-old Staff Sgt. Shane S. Barnard of De Smet, S.D., was an explosives disposal specialist who was probably working on one device when he triggered a second homemade bomb.
read the rest here
Base holds memorial service for slain soldier
Helo shot down in Afghanistan, 4 killed
Helo shot down in Afghanistan, 4 killed
By Rahim Faiez and Rohan Sullivan - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 9, 2010 9:55:22 EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan — Insurgents shot down a NATO helicopter and killed four American troops in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the military said, in the latest bloodshed ahead of a major operation in the militants’ heartland.
NATO said the four died “after their helicopter was brought down by hostile fire” in Helmand province, part of a volatile region where Taliban still hold sway despite a buildup of U.S. troops.
Lt. Col. Joseph T. Breasseale, U.S. military spokesman in Kabul, confirmed the four troops killed were Americans, but the military and NATO gave no other details.
read more here
Helo shot down in Afghanistan, 4 killed
By Rahim Faiez and Rohan Sullivan - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 9, 2010 9:55:22 EDT
KABUL, Afghanistan — Insurgents shot down a NATO helicopter and killed four American troops in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the military said, in the latest bloodshed ahead of a major operation in the militants’ heartland.
NATO said the four died “after their helicopter was brought down by hostile fire” in Helmand province, part of a volatile region where Taliban still hold sway despite a buildup of U.S. troops.
Lt. Col. Joseph T. Breasseale, U.S. military spokesman in Kabul, confirmed the four troops killed were Americans, but the military and NATO gave no other details.
read more here
Helo shot down in Afghanistan, 4 killed
Unemployed Army Vet beats odds to run for Senate seat
Who Is Alvin Greene?
Tue Jun. 8, 2010 7:59 PM PDT
— Alvin Greene SCDP.org.
An unemployed 32-year-old black Army veteran with no campaign funds, no signs, and no website shocked South Carolina on Tuesday night by winning the Democratic Senate primary to oppose Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC). Alvin Greene, who currently lives in his family's home, defeated Vic Rawl, a former judge and state legislator who had a $186,000 campaign warchest and had already planned his next fundraising event. Despite the odds, Greene, who has been unemployed for the past nine months, said that he wasn't surprised by his victory. "I wasn’t surprised, but not really. I mean, just a little, but not much. I knew I was on top of my campaign, and just stayed on top of everything, I just—I wasn't surprised that much, just a little. I knew that I worked hard and did," Greene said in an interview.
read more here
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/06/alvin-greene-south-carolina
linked from RawStory
Tue Jun. 8, 2010 7:59 PM PDT
— Alvin Greene SCDP.org.
An unemployed 32-year-old black Army veteran with no campaign funds, no signs, and no website shocked South Carolina on Tuesday night by winning the Democratic Senate primary to oppose Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC). Alvin Greene, who currently lives in his family's home, defeated Vic Rawl, a former judge and state legislator who had a $186,000 campaign warchest and had already planned his next fundraising event. Despite the odds, Greene, who has been unemployed for the past nine months, said that he wasn't surprised by his victory. "I wasn’t surprised, but not really. I mean, just a little, but not much. I knew I was on top of my campaign, and just stayed on top of everything, I just—I wasn't surprised that much, just a little. I knew that I worked hard and did," Greene said in an interview.
read more here
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/06/alvin-greene-south-carolina
linked from RawStory
TBI, when brain doesn't work right, troops given Tylenol
With Brain Injuries, Soldiers Face Battle For Care
T. Christian Miller and Daniel Zwerdling
June 9, 2010
At the rapidly expanding base in Fort Bliss, Texas, along the U.S.-Mexico border, the military is racing to build new homes for 10,000 additional soldiers. Cranes stack prefabricated containers like children's blocks to erect barracks overnight. Bulldozers grind sagebrush desert into roads and runways.
Just down the street from the construction boom squats a tan, featureless building about the size of a convenience store. Completed nearly a year ago, it remains unopened, the doors locked.
Building 805 was supposed to house a clinic for traumatic brain injury, often called the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, it has become a symbol for soldiers here of what they call commanders' indifference to their problems.
"The system here has no mercy," said Sgt. Victor Medina, a decorated combat veteran who fought to receive treatment at Fort Bliss after suffering a brain injury during a roadside blast in Iraq last June. Since the explosion, Medina has had trouble reading, comprehending and doing simple tasks. "It's struggle after struggle."
Previously, NPR and ProPublica reported that the military has failed to diagnose brain injuries in troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mild traumatic brain injuries, which doctors also call concussions, do not leave visible scars but can cause lasting mental and physical problems.
read more here
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127542820
T. Christian Miller and Daniel Zwerdling
June 9, 2010
At the rapidly expanding base in Fort Bliss, Texas, along the U.S.-Mexico border, the military is racing to build new homes for 10,000 additional soldiers. Cranes stack prefabricated containers like children's blocks to erect barracks overnight. Bulldozers grind sagebrush desert into roads and runways.
Just down the street from the construction boom squats a tan, featureless building about the size of a convenience store. Completed nearly a year ago, it remains unopened, the doors locked.
Building 805 was supposed to house a clinic for traumatic brain injury, often called the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, it has become a symbol for soldiers here of what they call commanders' indifference to their problems.
"The system here has no mercy," said Sgt. Victor Medina, a decorated combat veteran who fought to receive treatment at Fort Bliss after suffering a brain injury during a roadside blast in Iraq last June. Since the explosion, Medina has had trouble reading, comprehending and doing simple tasks. "It's struggle after struggle."
Previously, NPR and ProPublica reported that the military has failed to diagnose brain injuries in troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mild traumatic brain injuries, which doctors also call concussions, do not leave visible scars but can cause lasting mental and physical problems.
read more here
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127542820
Rape, sex, abuse at University City nursing home for veterans
Report: Rape, sex, abuse at University City nursing home for veterans
By: Leisa Zigman
KSDK -- Missouri's Department of Health and Senior Services found serious violations regarding allegations of physical, sexual and verbal abuse inside a University City nursing home for veterans.
The I-Team obtained the 21 page report Tuesday night. The state had been investigating the K.F. Jammer Manor, West facility since April and recently completed its investigation.
According to the state's findings one resident made two allegations of rape but no one from the facility made a hotline call or alerted police as required by law. The resident eventually called 9-1-1. That same resident claimed she and a housekeeper had a sexual relationship. The report states, "During an interview the Director of Nursing said the resident alleged he/she had a sexual relationship with Housekeeper #1. Due to the resident's allegations, staff moved the housekeeper to the facility's other location. The Director of Nursing did not report any allegation of rape or a sexual relationship because, according to the report, she did not believe they happened.
go here for more
http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=203774&catid=3
By: Leisa Zigman
KSDK -- Missouri's Department of Health and Senior Services found serious violations regarding allegations of physical, sexual and verbal abuse inside a University City nursing home for veterans.
The I-Team obtained the 21 page report Tuesday night. The state had been investigating the K.F. Jammer Manor, West facility since April and recently completed its investigation.
According to the state's findings one resident made two allegations of rape but no one from the facility made a hotline call or alerted police as required by law. The resident eventually called 9-1-1. That same resident claimed she and a housekeeper had a sexual relationship. The report states, "During an interview the Director of Nursing said the resident alleged he/she had a sexual relationship with Housekeeper #1. Due to the resident's allegations, staff moved the housekeeper to the facility's other location. The Director of Nursing did not report any allegation of rape or a sexual relationship because, according to the report, she did not believe they happened.
go here for more
http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=203774&catid=3
Vietnam Vet wants to make a difference for homeless veterans
From life in uniform to life on the streets
New program seeks to aid homeless vets with mental illness
By John Carpenter, Special to the Tribune
June 9, 2010
It took one year in the Vietnam jungle to smash Walter Newman's mind to pieces. It took him 30 years to figure out that alcohol and drugs weren't going to put it back together. Now, working with a pilot program targeting homeless veterans with mental illnesses, he hopes to show fellow vets that if he can get his life back, they can too.
Newman, 58, will be part of a demonstration program being developed by Thresholds, a Chicago-based mental health agency. The Thresholds Veterans Project will target homeless vets with mental illnesses, offering a range of services from housing to treatment to peer support to employment-skills training.
Newman's story is not unlike that of many Vietnam veterans. A graduate of Englewood High School, Newman enlisted in 1970, having been told he would study administration after basic training. Instead he was slated for the infantry, and served in combat in Vietnam from December 1970 to December 1971.
When he returned he couldn't find a job. He married and started a family. But that fell apart as he descended into more than 30 years of substance abuse. Newman is now living with a diagnosis of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. But for years after his combat service, he simply felt that he was stuck in a cycle of drug and alcohol abuse. He traveled to various cities, winding up homeless in Atlanta for five years.
"I felt like that was my destiny, that I was worthless and that I would always be homeless and eventually die," Newman said.
read more here
From life in uniform to life on the streets
New program seeks to aid homeless vets with mental illness
By John Carpenter, Special to the Tribune
June 9, 2010
It took one year in the Vietnam jungle to smash Walter Newman's mind to pieces. It took him 30 years to figure out that alcohol and drugs weren't going to put it back together. Now, working with a pilot program targeting homeless veterans with mental illnesses, he hopes to show fellow vets that if he can get his life back, they can too.
Newman, 58, will be part of a demonstration program being developed by Thresholds, a Chicago-based mental health agency. The Thresholds Veterans Project will target homeless vets with mental illnesses, offering a range of services from housing to treatment to peer support to employment-skills training.
"When I first realized I needed help, the first person I talked to was a veteran," Newman said. "That made a difference. Now I want to be that difference."
Newman's story is not unlike that of many Vietnam veterans. A graduate of Englewood High School, Newman enlisted in 1970, having been told he would study administration after basic training. Instead he was slated for the infantry, and served in combat in Vietnam from December 1970 to December 1971.
When he returned he couldn't find a job. He married and started a family. But that fell apart as he descended into more than 30 years of substance abuse. Newman is now living with a diagnosis of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. But for years after his combat service, he simply felt that he was stuck in a cycle of drug and alcohol abuse. He traveled to various cities, winding up homeless in Atlanta for five years.
"I felt like that was my destiny, that I was worthless and that I would always be homeless and eventually die," Newman said.
read more here
From life in uniform to life on the streets
Actor turned soldier gets new satisfaction
Actor turned soldier gets new satisfaction
Posted : Monday Jun 7, 2010 15:31:45 EDT
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — People join the Army from all walks of life, but few follow Scott Eberlein’s path.
The Los Angeles native was an actor who had a small part in the film “L.A. Confidential” and larger roles in TV shows such as “The X-Files” and “Nash Bridges.” But he left Hollywood behind following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“To pursue something as trivial as acting was something I had taken for granted all my life; I didn’t think twice about it,” said Eberlein, now a captain stationed at Fort Wainwright with the Stryker brigade’s 1st battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment.
“When I saw it could be taken away in a moment, that spoke volumes to me.”
read more here
Actor turned soldier gets new satisfaction
Posted : Monday Jun 7, 2010 15:31:45 EDT
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — People join the Army from all walks of life, but few follow Scott Eberlein’s path.
The Los Angeles native was an actor who had a small part in the film “L.A. Confidential” and larger roles in TV shows such as “The X-Files” and “Nash Bridges.” But he left Hollywood behind following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“To pursue something as trivial as acting was something I had taken for granted all my life; I didn’t think twice about it,” said Eberlein, now a captain stationed at Fort Wainwright with the Stryker brigade’s 1st battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment.
“When I saw it could be taken away in a moment, that spoke volumes to me.”
read more here
Actor turned soldier gets new satisfaction
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