"Hurt Locker" producers fire back at Iraq veteran

"Hurt Locker" producers fire back at Iraq veteran
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Producers of "The Hurt Locker" are firing back against the Iraq War veteran who claimed that his life story was ripped off to create the Academy Award-winning drama.

Master Sgt. Jeffrey S. Sarver filed his case with much fanfare just days before the film won best picture at the Oscars in March. He claimed the depiction of an Army bomb squad was a thinly veiled account of his own story.

According to Sarver's complaint, journalist/screenwriter Mark Boal breached an agreement with the U.S. military that restricted the reporting of detailed personal information about service members. Sarver said the information was used in Boal's Playboy article and then the screenplay for "The Hurt Locker," and that the depiction of the character of Will James violated his publicity rights, defamed him and caused emotional stress.

But now the defendants, including distributor Summit Entertainment, financier Voltage Pictures, Boal, director/producer Kathryn Bigelow and others, have responded to the complaint with a motion to dismiss.
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"Hurt Locker" producers fire back at Iraq veteran

Deadline to appeal PTSD rating one month away for some

File your appeal. It is not a handout. You earned it as soon as you decided to serve and paid for it the day the trauma began to take over. If you were hurt on the job in civilian life, would you hesitate to file a claim for Workman's Comp? Hell no! This was your job and you were hurt doing it. Had you not gone into combat, you wouldn't have been exposed to the traumatic events causing PTSD. That is after all the only way to get PTSD. It literally means "after trauma" with POST Traumatic Stress Disorder. Don't waste time so that later on in life you have regrets for not doing all you can now for your future.

Time Running Out for PTSD Sufferers to Claim Benefits
posted 06/14/10 5:46 pm posted by: Markham Evans

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military has agreed to pay millions of dollars to veterans who were discharged from the service for post-traumatic stress disorder with lower disability ratings than they are entitled to. But time is running out for those who are eligible.

The law says that veterans whose PTSD was serious enough to result in discharge from the military are entitled to 50-percent disability, which would give them and their families lifetime medical care, and, if the PTSD is combat-related, tax-free retirement payments, as well. But for some reason, Iraq (web news) war veteran Ryan Peck and more than 4,000 others did not receive the 50-percent rating.

Enter Lawyers Serving Warriors, volunteers like Morgan Lewis attorney James Kelley, who provide free legal assistance to people like Peck through the National Veterans Legal Services program.

But there's a catch: Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans like Peck have only until July 24 to apply for the 50-percent rating.

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http://www.news8.net/news/stories/0610/745743.html

A show of gratitude for Vietnam Vets felt deeply

A show of gratitude
By: MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
The field of red, white and blue stretching out before the patriotic crowd drew tears from many who remembered loved ones lost in the line of duty.

At the 25th annual Flag Day memorial ceremony by the Delaware Veterans, 58,000 miniature American flags fluttered in the humid breeze at Falls Community Park.

Named the Donald W. Jones Flag Memorial for local Sept. 11 victim Donald W. Jones, the afternoon ceremony started with a motorcycle rally by the Delaware Valley group. It drew more than 200 people Sunday and hundreds more for a Saturday concert that celebrated veterans' contributions.

Members of the Delaware Valley group and community volunteers stuck the flags in the grass on Friday. Each flag honors an American killed doing his or her duty. In the middle of the array of patriotic colors, volunteers planted a field of nearly 2,000 black flags to pay solemn tribute to soldiers still missing in action.

Together, the individual flags create the shape of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Patriotic songs set the mood, including a rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner," and "Amazing Grace" by the Bucks Caledonian Pipe Band and poems about remembering fallen soldiers by various speakers.

"It's altogether fitting and proper that we should have a day to recognize the symbol of this country and all it represents. Each of these three by five flags represents a human life. It represents a loved one. They gave their life for a principle, an idea," said Bucks County Commissioner James Cawley, one of several speakers that included various local lawmakers, veterans and their family members.
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William Dayton, who used to be Falls Supervisor and recommended holding the annual memorial at Falls Park, said the event helps war veterans heal. It especially helps those who didn't receive thanks when they came home from battle emotionally and physically scarred, he said.

"At night after the flags are put in the ground, Vietnam veterans come stand here. Some of them break down. It's an emotional cleansing. They saw a lot of ugliness over there. This is an in-your-face thank you. It's gratitude," he said.
A show of gratitude

Motorcycles roll across Eastern Connecticut have "Reason to Ride"

They wear leather, so does my husband and so do I. They have long hair turning gray, so does my husband and so do I. (Well, his is a lot more gray than mine is.) Some drink a lot but some don't drink at all. Some of them have to be worried about other drivers wanting to run them off the road while others are just afraid of the bikers. What really gets to me is when most of the American public have no clue what these leather wearing bikers do on most of the rides they go on. They ride in all kinds of weather, all kinds of temperatures and road conditions. They are usually spotted in large groups called "packs" because they have to stay together usually because they need to be in a certain place at a certain time as well as the fact if one of them breaks down, they all come to help. They do all of this because there is someone, somewhere needing some help and they do it all the time. Next time you see a motorcycle with a couple on it, think of that and know, they are putting themselves out for the sake of someone else.

Motorcycles roll across Eastern Connecticut to raise money for vets in need
12th annual event draws more than 900 people, 450 bikes

By DEBORAH STRASZHEIM
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jun 13, 2010 @ 11:46 PM
Plainfield, Conn. — Perhaps Lori Sadosky always had a reason to ride, even before her friend needed help from the motorcycle run that raises money for veterans.

But now the event, A Reason to Ride, held Sunday for the 12th year, is different to her because she knows where the money goes.

Sadosky, of Canterbury, said her friend’s husband was a Vietnam veteran.

The couple had a two-bedroom house in Plainfield when he was diagnosed with cancer. He got too sick to work, his wife quit her job to care for him, and they fell behind on their mortgage payments.

“Her husband was her life,” Sadosky said of her friend.

The couple eventually were forced to sell the house, and Sadosky’s friend’s husband died. But while he was still living, A Reason to Ride paid their mortgage for one month, she said.

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USA Cares Marks Military Aid Milestone

$7 Million in 7 Years
USA Cares Marks Military Aid Milestone

Radcliff, KY (Vocus/PRWEB ) June 14, 2010 -- USA Cares is celebrating providing post-9/11 military and their families with $7 million dollars in assistance in seven years. This achievement represents financial aid given to thousands of families across the United States, its territories and military installations around the world. Specifically, the $7 million represents:

Over 22,000 clients helped—service members, veterans and their families
Over 1,000 homes saved from foreclosure or eviction
Over 2,000 children spared the trauma of displacement


Along with housing assistance, USA Cares assists with the real problems service members face every day including utility shut off, car repair, unemployment and access to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment.
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USA Cares Marks Military Aid Milestone

Military wants your poems

Poetry has drawn in observers since the beginning of time, pulling them into worlds and lives they never would have otherwise known. War poetry, perhaps the most heart wrenching of all, explains what the soul lives with. Between losing friends and watching enemy die, to not being home for milestones in their children's lives to missing the one they love back home, and yes, the occasional Dear John letter coming to inform the soldier they will not be there when they return home, poems know no generational boundaries. Reading poems held in achieves from the Revolutionary War all the way thru to the wars of today, while the vocabulary may vary, the message is the same and just as powerful as if it were written today on Facebook or a crunched down to an eloquent tweet on Twitter. These poem not only deliver a message from the soul, they also help to heal the soul of the writer as well as the reader.

This is a wonderful thing to participate in.

Share Your Poetry With Us
Posted by Brigadier General Loree K. Sutton, DCoE Director on June 14, 2010

DCoE Director Brig. Gen. Loree K. Sutton.


The DCoE Blog Team wants your poetry! Please scroll down to the end of the post to see the criteria for poem submissions. All poems should be e-mailed to Victoria.Shapiro.ctr@tma.osd.mil, in the body of the e-mail, not as an attachment.

The tradition of Warrior poetry is thousands of years old. For as long as wars have been fought, Soldiers have expressed their feelings and experiences with poems and creative writing – a powerful outlet to help heal the invisible wounds of war and foster an unprecedented level of understanding.

Today marks the United States Army’s 235th Birthday, and it is also Flag Day. As the Nation commemorates both, and we’re thinking of our Warriors, Veterans and their loved ones, I encourage you to share your writings with us.
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Share Your Poetry With Us

Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker defends noncompliance on TBI tests calling it "no better than coin toss"

562,000 troops were tested once, before they left, but not after. Seems that the most important test would be for after deployment but this is the one not being done.

Military fails on brain-test follow-ups

By Gregg Zoroya - USA Today
Posted : Monday Jun 14, 2010 13:33:50 EDT

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has failed to comply with a congressional directive to give all troops tests before and after they serve in combat to measure their thinking abilities and uncover possible brain injuries, military records show.

More than 562,000 tests of troops taken before they deployed have not been re-administered on their return by military health officials, the records show. That means the Pentagon could be missing thousands of cases of brain injury, says Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., who helped write the 2008 order.

"This is a total failure," says Pascrell, co-chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Brain Injury Task Force. "We're failing to find TBI (traumatic brain injury) and post-traumatic stress disorder in an era when the military is trying to find and assist folks who need it."

Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, the Army surgeon general, and other Army officials say the test is flawed and no better than a "coin flip."
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Military fails on brain-test follow ups

Vietnam Vet, "Rose Garden" Marine Sgt. Taliano laid to rest

Ex-Marine, S.C. resident on famous poster dies
By PATRICK DONOHUE - The Beaufort Gazette
BEAUFORT —

Sgt. Chuck Taliano was awaiting an honorable discharge at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in 1968 when a reservist writing a book about boot camp snapped a picture of him giving a recruit an “attitude readjustment.”


That cemented Taliano’s place in Corps legend.



Chuck Taliano, the mean-mugged drill instructor pictured on the Marine Corps’ ‘Rose Garden’ recruitment poster, died June 4.



The photo captured his snarling mug inches from a fresh-faced recruit with the caption, “We don’t promise you a rose garden.” It was on thousands of Marine Corps recruiting posters printed during the 1970s and 1980s.


The poster made Taliano a celebrity among Marines, said Stephen Wise, curator of the Parris Island Museum, where Taliano worked as manager of the gift shop.


“Everyone from generals to former privates would stop by to see him,” Wise said. “Everyone knew Chuck.”


Taliano, 65, died in his Beaufort home Friday after a long battle with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow. A memorial service was held Wednesday for Taliano at the depot’s Recruit Chapel, and he will be buried today at Beaufort National Cemetery.



Read more: Ex Marine SC resident on famous poster dies

First Lady's Trip to Camp Pendleton Sparks GOP Criticism

This is a pretty appalling thing to do considering Michelle Obama has been visiting bases since the beginning, even before she became First Lady and has taken and active interest in meeting with Military Families! When political figures do something wrong, then yes, complain but when they do something good, for the right reasons, at least be honest if you have to say anything at all.

Denis Poroy, AP
First lady Michelle Obama speaks to troops and their families during a visit to Camp Pendleton on Sunday.

First Lady's Trip to Camp Pendleton Sparks GOP Criticism
Julie Watson

AP
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (June 13) -- After meeting with wounded Marines, first lady Michelle Obama told thousands of troops and their families Sunday that she is launching a national challenge to Americans to find ways to support them.

Since her husband took office, Obama has been visiting bases across the country as part of her mission to improve the quality of life for military families. She called Camp Pendleton and the surrounding Southern California cities a model for community support of troops.

But California Republicans called the event a publicity stunt to help Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who is running for a fourth term and has been criticized by opponents for not doing enough to support troops. President Barack Obama flew to California last month to support Boxer's fundraising efforts for her campaign.

The first lady said she came to Camp Pendleton for a simple reason: "To help the rest of our country better understand and appreciate the incredible service of you and your families, and to make sure your voices are heard back in Washington and that your needs are met."
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First Lady Trip to Camp Pendleton Sparks GOP Criticism

for the rest of this story, this is what else went on

First lady at Pendleton: Take care of families
By Gretel C. Kovach,
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER


CAMP PENDLETON — First lady Michelle Obama brought her national call to action on behalf of military families to Camp Pendleton on Sunday, where she challenged each American to find a way to support service members and their loved ones.

Obama met privately with injured service members and their families at the Marine Corps base and then addressed a crowd of about 3,500 — most of them troops from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force headquartered at the base near Oceanside.

“Given all that you and your family do to take care of America, America needs to take care of you,” she said. “Not just now, but for decades to come.”

The Camp Pendleton visit was one in a series of appearances by Obama to highlight one of her signature issues as first lady — the challenges military families continue to face during nearly a decade at war.
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First lady at Pendleton

UConn wants to know why you're angry?

Actually if they come up with ways to help you control your anger that would be a good thing but unless they are planning on addressing the spiritual side of PTSD, they will not be able to find the best way to treat it. Much like AA works on the spiritual issues, when ex-active-alcoholics stop drinking without addressing it, they end up being what is called a "dry drunk" and usually remain pretty nasty.

PTSD hits the emotional part of the brain and this should be directly tied to the spiritual life of anyone they treat. Without it, they are receiving only a third of the help they need. They need to be treated body, mind and soul.

Anger keeps soldiers alive and keeps them going long after their bodies are too tired to move. It keeps them alert long after they want to fall asleep. This emotion was part of the reason they survived and it is the strongest one even when they come home and cannot "get over it" when they have nothing else to fight against accept what is happening inside of them.

UConn seeks participants for study of PTSD, anger problems
Published 06/14/2010 12:00 AM

Men who served in the military in Afghanistan or Iraq are being sought for a University of Connecticut study comparing two treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder and anger problems.

An estimated 2,500 or more male Connecticut military personnel and veterans may require help with PTSD and anger problems, according to a UConn news release.
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UConn seeks participants for study of PTSD