Families worry about graves at Arlington
By Aamer Madhani and Tom Vanden Brook - USA Today
Posted : Monday Jun 14, 2010 12:56:44 EDT
ARLINGTON, Va. — After the Army announced that Arlington National Cemetery mishandled the remains of more than 200 troops, Margaret Timmons decided to trek out to her husband's headstone on Sunday to make sure he was still where she laid him to rest 34 years ago.
The plot of her husband, Navy Senior Petty Officer Jerome Timmons, is near the corner of Bradley and MacArthur drives in Section 66, one of the cemetery areas where the Army says it uncovered several cases of misidentified or improperly buried remains.
With a bouquet of red carnations and her youngest daughter by her side, Timmons felt a bit more at peace after visiting her husband's grave, which appeared to be in good shape. But Timmons, 75, of New Carrolton, Md., said she's disturbed about the situation.
"I am really shocked. This is the most prestigious cemetery in the world," said Timmons, whose husband served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. "I just can't believe they let this happen."
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Families worry about graves at Arlington
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Report: 90% of youth in Philly cannot serve
Report: 90% of youth in Philly cannot serve
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 15, 2010 11:49:03 EDT
PHILADELPHIA — A nonprofit group says that up to 90 percent of young Philadelphians are ineligible for military service because of criminal records, obesity or lack of education.
Pennsylvania-based Mission: Readiness released its report Monday. It says 1 million Pennsylvanians are ineligible for the same reasons.
Mission: Readiness is made up of more than 150 retired generals and admirals. The group wants state and federal funding for pre-kindergarten programs that it says give children a solid foundation for academic and personal success.
The report says 145,000 Philadelphians ages 18 to 24 cannot meet the military’s medical, moral and mental standards.
Nationally, the Defense Department estimates that 75 percent of young adults are disqualified from military service.
Report: 90% of youth in Philly cannot serve
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 15, 2010 11:49:03 EDT
PHILADELPHIA — A nonprofit group says that up to 90 percent of young Philadelphians are ineligible for military service because of criminal records, obesity or lack of education.
Pennsylvania-based Mission: Readiness released its report Monday. It says 1 million Pennsylvanians are ineligible for the same reasons.
Mission: Readiness is made up of more than 150 retired generals and admirals. The group wants state and federal funding for pre-kindergarten programs that it says give children a solid foundation for academic and personal success.
The report says 145,000 Philadelphians ages 18 to 24 cannot meet the military’s medical, moral and mental standards.
Nationally, the Defense Department estimates that 75 percent of young adults are disqualified from military service.
Report: 90% of youth in Philly cannot serve
Man who tried entering MacDill is AWOL
Man who tried entering MacDill is AWOL
By Mitch Stacy - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 15, 2010 14:46:19 EDT
TAMPA, Fla. — A man arrested as he tried to enter MacDill Air Force Base with weapons and ammunition in his car is a serviceman listed as being absent without leave, base officials said Tuesday.
Air Force Col. Dave Cohen released few new details about Monday night's arrest at the base that houses the U.S. command center for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But Cohen said it doesn't appear to have been a terrorism attempt. He did not release the serviceman's name, his military branch or the name of the woman who was with him. Both are in their mid-20s, Cohen said. The woman is not connected to the military.
read more here
Man who tried entering MacDill is AWOL
By Mitch Stacy - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 15, 2010 14:46:19 EDT
TAMPA, Fla. — A man arrested as he tried to enter MacDill Air Force Base with weapons and ammunition in his car is a serviceman listed as being absent without leave, base officials said Tuesday.
Air Force Col. Dave Cohen released few new details about Monday night's arrest at the base that houses the U.S. command center for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But Cohen said it doesn't appear to have been a terrorism attempt. He did not release the serviceman's name, his military branch or the name of the woman who was with him. Both are in their mid-20s, Cohen said. The woman is not connected to the military.
read more here
Man who tried entering MacDill is AWOL
It's official; DD-214s are NOW Online
It's official; DD-214s are NOW Online. The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has provided the following website for veterans to gain access to their DD-214s online: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/evetrecs/index.html
This may be particularly helpful when a veteran needs a copy of his DD-214 for employment purposes. NPRC is working to make it easier for veterans with computers and Internet access to obtain copies of documents from their military files.
Military veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members may now use a new online military personnel records system to request documents. Other individuals with a need for documents must still complete the Standard Form 180, which can be downloaded from the online web site.
Because the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays that normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized. The new web-based application was designed to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the records centers mailroom and processing time. Please pass this information on to former military personnel you may know and their dependents.
This may be particularly helpful when a veteran needs a copy of his DD-214 for employment purposes. NPRC is working to make it easier for veterans with computers and Internet access to obtain copies of documents from their military files.
Military veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members may now use a new online military personnel records system to request documents. Other individuals with a need for documents must still complete the Standard Form 180, which can be downloaded from the online web site.
Because the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays that normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized. The new web-based application was designed to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the records centers mailroom and processing time. Please pass this information on to former military personnel you may know and their dependents.
Lawyer would have opposed his killer's execution
Lawyer would have opposed his killer's execution
Salt Lake City, Utah (News Today) - By all accounts, Michael Burdell was a gentle soul with a soft spot for people in need. A Vietnam veteran, he was issued a weapon but refused to carry it, serving as a technician on communications equipment, his fiancée, Donna Nu, said in court documents. The two had known each other for six years. Had Burdell, a 36-year-old attorney, not died on April 2, 1985, shot to death by Ronnie Lee Gardner during Gardner's escape attempt at a Salt Lake City courthouse, they would have been married.But Nu, along with Burdell's friend, Ron Temu, and his 86-year-old father, Joseph Burdell, are now arguing on Gardner's behalf.
Gardner is to face a Utah firing squad on June 18. But driven by Burdell's pacifism and opposition to the death penalty, the three have filed statements in the case seeking to have his sentence commuted.
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Lawyer would have opposed his killers execution family says
Salt Lake City, Utah (News Today) - By all accounts, Michael Burdell was a gentle soul with a soft spot for people in need. A Vietnam veteran, he was issued a weapon but refused to carry it, serving as a technician on communications equipment, his fiancée, Donna Nu, said in court documents. The two had known each other for six years. Had Burdell, a 36-year-old attorney, not died on April 2, 1985, shot to death by Ronnie Lee Gardner during Gardner's escape attempt at a Salt Lake City courthouse, they would have been married.But Nu, along with Burdell's friend, Ron Temu, and his 86-year-old father, Joseph Burdell, are now arguing on Gardner's behalf.
Gardner is to face a Utah firing squad on June 18. But driven by Burdell's pacifism and opposition to the death penalty, the three have filed statements in the case seeking to have his sentence commuted.
click link for the rest
Lawyer would have opposed his killers execution family says
Search restores lost dog tags to family of vet
Search restores lost dog tags to family of vet
By Malinda Reinke - The Dominion Post via AP
Posted : Monday Jun 14, 2010 16:01:09 EDT
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Rob Boyce lifted the top off the secondhand board game he’d just paid $2 for at Goodwill in the Mountaineer Mall.
Little Jason wanted it.
In fact, as the Boyce family strolled past the store on their way to Walmart that early spring day in 2008, the toddler saw the toys all stacked up and irresistible in the Goodwill window and took off toward the store.
Of course, the family followed.
“There was this board game I wish I could remember the name of it but I mean, it didn’t even have all its pieces,” Boyce, 28, said one morning just before Memorial Day, as he began to tell the saga of Leland Harless’ dog tags.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/06/ap_wwii_lost_dog_tags_061410/
Really great story!
By Malinda Reinke - The Dominion Post via AP
Posted : Monday Jun 14, 2010 16:01:09 EDT
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Rob Boyce lifted the top off the secondhand board game he’d just paid $2 for at Goodwill in the Mountaineer Mall.
Little Jason wanted it.
In fact, as the Boyce family strolled past the store on their way to Walmart that early spring day in 2008, the toddler saw the toys all stacked up and irresistible in the Goodwill window and took off toward the store.
Of course, the family followed.
“There was this board game I wish I could remember the name of it but I mean, it didn’t even have all its pieces,” Boyce, 28, said one morning just before Memorial Day, as he began to tell the saga of Leland Harless’ dog tags.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/06/ap_wwii_lost_dog_tags_061410/
Really great story!
Screening for PTSD in doubt in UK
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment U-turn
By Julian O'Halloran
BBC File on 4
A government plan to provide more help for mentally ill soldiers has been thrown into doubt weeks after it was announced by the Ministry of Defence.
The scheme, unveiled by the MoD in May, was aimed at early diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions affecting combat soldiers.
But a defence minister has told the BBC he opposes screening.
Veterans' charities say the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts alone will cause thousands of cases of mental illness.
The Ministry of Defence said last month it was "committed to creating an effective, through-life, mental health scheme for our Service and ex-Service personnel".
Screening debate
It stressed: "A dedicated programme for those leaving the Armed Forces will be established to tackle post-combat mental health issues: a new mental health screening service within the Armed Forces will work to identify problems early on, and for those who need specialist help, we will establish Britain's first dedicated PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) treatment programme within the NHS."
However, Andrew Robathan, Minister for Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, told BBC File on 4: "I think most expert opinion is that you should not screen people for mental health issues because first of all there is no scientifically robust way that you can do that and indeed the downside of suggesting that people have mental health problems when actually they do not have, is actually quite immense and of great concern."
read more here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8739662.stm
By Julian O'Halloran
BBC File on 4
A government plan to provide more help for mentally ill soldiers has been thrown into doubt weeks after it was announced by the Ministry of Defence.
The scheme, unveiled by the MoD in May, was aimed at early diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions affecting combat soldiers.
But a defence minister has told the BBC he opposes screening.
Veterans' charities say the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts alone will cause thousands of cases of mental illness.
The Ministry of Defence said last month it was "committed to creating an effective, through-life, mental health scheme for our Service and ex-Service personnel".
Screening debate
It stressed: "A dedicated programme for those leaving the Armed Forces will be established to tackle post-combat mental health issues: a new mental health screening service within the Armed Forces will work to identify problems early on, and for those who need specialist help, we will establish Britain's first dedicated PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) treatment programme within the NHS."
However, Andrew Robathan, Minister for Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, told BBC File on 4: "I think most expert opinion is that you should not screen people for mental health issues because first of all there is no scientifically robust way that you can do that and indeed the downside of suggesting that people have mental health problems when actually they do not have, is actually quite immense and of great concern."
read more here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8739662.stm
Labor Department Offers VETS Grants
Labor Department Offers VETS Grants
Week of June 14, 2010
The U.S. Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) announced a $750,000 grant competition aimed at supporting Department of Labor grantees that provide employment services to homeless veterans and veterans at risk of becoming homeless. National Technical Assistance Center Cooperative Agreements grants will establish partnerships that will, in turn, continue and improve training, technical assistance, research and other support services offered by more than 150 existing grantees that work with homeless and at risk veterans. For more information on this solicitation, call 202-693-4570 or visit grants.gov and the Department of Labor VETS webpage.
Week of June 14, 2010
The U.S. Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) announced a $750,000 grant competition aimed at supporting Department of Labor grantees that provide employment services to homeless veterans and veterans at risk of becoming homeless. National Technical Assistance Center Cooperative Agreements grants will establish partnerships that will, in turn, continue and improve training, technical assistance, research and other support services offered by more than 150 existing grantees that work with homeless and at risk veterans. For more information on this solicitation, call 202-693-4570 or visit grants.gov and the Department of Labor VETS webpage.
Warriors Not Forgotten Motorcycle Run
Tom has left a new comment on your post "Motorcycles roll across Eastern Connecticut have "..."
The “Warriors Not Forgotten Motorcycle Run” to assist severely wounded returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan will be sponsored by RI-4GIs for the Wounded Warrior Project on June 27, beginning with staging at 9 a.m. and kickstands up at 11 a.m.
This ride will be hosted by and begin at VFW Post 9404, 29 South Main St., Coventry RI 02816.Riders will return to the VFW post where food, entertainment, prizes and raffles will be available. The cost per person is $25. There are 1,765 veterans in New England considered severely wounded who need support and help.
Bikers please show your support for our wounded veterans.
Contact; frankmarabello@aol.com
Missing in America honors abandoned veterans' remains
Historic service honors abandoned veterans' remains
By JOHN FRIEDLEIN
jfriedlein@thenewsenterprise.com
After Lisa Hutchings’ father died more than 20 years ago, she assumed the Korean War veteran’s cremated remains were interred for good.
Then about two months ago she received a phone call: Somebody had found the remains.
“I didn’t know they were lost,” she said.
The veteran — along with more than 30 others and some of their wives — received a military burial and service Monday at a Radcliff cemetery. Their ashes had sat neglected for years.
The Missing in America Project recovered the remains from the University of Louisville, which stored them after Eastern Cemetery was charged with violations and targeted by vandals. The remains belong to veterans who served in wars from World War I to the Korean War.
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Historic service honors abandoned veterans remains
By JOHN FRIEDLEIN
jfriedlein@thenewsenterprise.com
After Lisa Hutchings’ father died more than 20 years ago, she assumed the Korean War veteran’s cremated remains were interred for good.
Then about two months ago she received a phone call: Somebody had found the remains.
“I didn’t know they were lost,” she said.
The veteran — along with more than 30 others and some of their wives — received a military burial and service Monday at a Radcliff cemetery. Their ashes had sat neglected for years.
The Missing in America Project recovered the remains from the University of Louisville, which stored them after Eastern Cemetery was charged with violations and targeted by vandals. The remains belong to veterans who served in wars from World War I to the Korean War.
go here for more
Historic service honors abandoned veterans remains
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