Military investigates Iowa National Guard soldier's death

Military investigates Iowa National Guard soldier's death

Associated Press - June 19, 2010 1:14 PM ET

SPENCER, Iowa (AP) - Military officials have continued their investigation of the death of a 29-year-old Iowa solider who died in Iraq during a "non-combat incident."

The United States Forces-Iraq offered no new details Saturday in the death of Spc. Christopher Opat. He died last Tuesday from injuries in a non-combat incident in Baquah, Iraq.
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http://www.ktiv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12676764

Army mounts anti-suicide campaign with soldier who survived

Spc. Joseph Sanders survived thanks to the awareness of Spc. Albert Godding. He took a chance and was more afraid of a friend losing his life than of losing a friendship. After all, when you think about pull out the pin on a rifle in Iraq, it is a dangerous thing to do but it would have been more dangerous for Sanders to be able to fire the bullet into himself. Now this act by Godding could in fact end up saving many more lives. Sanders lived to tell his story and will be part of the campaign to save more lives. Sanders also credits the fact he was able to talk to a mental health worker soon after. Wonderful story all the way around.

A victory as Army mounts anti-suicide campaign

By DAN ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer
Jun 19, 10:27 am ET
DENVER – Army Spc. Joseph Sanders was despondent over the breakup of his marriage and feeling alone in the oppressive heat of an Iraqi summer when he turned his rifle on himself and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened. His buddy, Spc. Albert Godding, had disabled the rifle by removing the firing pin after Sanders told him he was thinking of killing himself.

It was a singular but welcome victory in the Army's battle against suicides, which last year claimed the lives of 163 soldiers on active duty and 82 Guard and Reserve soldiers not on active duty.

Congress ordered the Defense Department in 2008 to study ways to address the problem, and the Army started its own task force last year after an alarming spike in suicides in January and February.

The Army also launched a campaign to teach soldiers how to spot suicide warning signs and what to do about them. Godding credits that training for making him aware of the danger Sanders was in.

"Feeling better took time," said Sanders. "I believe a lot had to do with that I had a mental health specialist to speak to right away."

Sanders has agreed to appear in an upcoming video for the Army's suicide-prevention campaign, said Col. Chris Philbrick, director of the Army Suicide Prevention Task Force.

also on this
Carson GI cited for preventing suicide in Iraq

Elderly Vietnam Vet Attacked, Left to Die

Elderly Man Attacked, Left to Die
Darsha Philips FOX40 News
June 18, 2010


SACRAMENTO - A 70 year old wheelchair-bound man was robbed, beaten and left to die in his home.

Robert Gonzales is a former Marine and Vietnam Veteran. He was attacked sometime before Wednesday.
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Elderly Man Attacked, Left to Die

Overdue Medals Awarded to Wounded Vietnam Veteran

Overdue Medals Awarded to Wounded Vietnam Veteran

By Matt Smith

More than four decades after returning from Vietnam, a Door County veteran received an honor that long in the making. Action 2 News was invited to the ceremony.

Still a teenager, Navy corpsman Scott Chobot was front and center during the post-Tet offensive of 1969.

"Got hit on an average of about every two-and-a-half weeks," he recalls.

"Doc," as they call him, wasn't in Vietnam for even three months. He was wounded three times -- the last of which took his legs from him.

Not one, not two, not even three. Doc was honored Friday with eight medals and one ribbon, including two Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars, the National Defense Service medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign medal.
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Overdue Medals Awarded to Wounded Vietnam Veteran

Fort Campbell soldier saves drowning woman

Police: Campbell soldier saves drowning woman

The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf Chronicle
Posted : Saturday Jun 19, 2010 11:05:41 EDT

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — A Fort Campbell soldier is being called a hero after he saved the life of a 58-year-old woman who police said tried to commit suicide by drowning herself.

Clarksville police say Spc. Jose Ortiz and his girlfriend, Kathy Dewitt, were sitting on a log at McGregor Park about 11:15 p.m. Friday when the woman drove her vehicle into the river.
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Campbell soldier saves drowning woman

VA still battling errors, claims backlog

VA still battling errors, claims backlog

By Tristan Hallman - Gannett Washington Bureau
Posted : Saturday Jun 19, 2010 10:03:41 EDT

“When [the VA is] processing 1 million claims, 1 percent error is 10,000 veterans,” De Planque said at a recent House subcommittee hearing. “That is completely unacceptable.”

Retired Marine Sgt. Michael Madden of Prescott, Ariz., knows what it means to battle. In Vietnam, he was shot in the head, forcing him to undergo spinal cord surgery that has left him in a wheelchair.

But the fight was not over for Madden. After being told by a Veterans Affairs doctor to file for funding to make his home and car wheelchair-adaptable, Madden has spent the last decade in a jungle of bureaucracy, legalese and claim denials.

More than $6,000 of out-of-pocket expenses and a suspended Arizona driver’s license later, Madden is still searching for answers.

“I find it kind of ironic that the VA tells me that I can’t drive without the equipment, and then tells me that I can’t have the equipment for a service-connected disability,” Madden said.

Madden is not alone in struggling with the bureaucracy of the Veterans Benefits Administration, the VA sub-agency that handles veterans’ disability claims. Seeing the challenges VBA faces, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has made fighting inefficiency a top priority.

Shinseki’s main target is a backlog of claims. As of June 8, a total of 186,777 claims — 35.8 percent of total pending claims — were still unprocessed after VBA’s new 125-day processing goal, according to Veterans Affairs.
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VA still battling errors, claims backlog

Marine Corps suicides on near-record pace

MILITARY: Marine Corps suicides on near-record pace
Seven self-inflicted deaths in May raise this year's toll to 21
By MARK WALKER

Seven U.S. Marines killed themselves in May, raising the number of self-inflicted deaths this year to 21 and continuing a trend that saw a record 52 troop suicides in 2009.

An additional 89 among the service's 202,000 men and women have attempted suicide this year, including 15 in May, according to a report from the Marine Corps Suicide Prevention Program in Washington.

Despite a host of outreach efforts, the numbers continue to rise, surpassing the rate of 20 per 100,000 in the civilian population and that for all the other services.

In 2009, the Marine Corps' rate reached 24 per 100,000, according to service statistics. The Army's rate last year was 22 per 100,000 while the Air Force's was 15.5 and the Navy's was 13.3.

The 21 suicides this year compare with 55 Marine combat deaths in Afghanistan since Jan. 1, underscoring the breadth of the problem.
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Marine Corps suicides on near-record pace

Jury watches handcuffed Iraq War Vet being beaten

Jury watches video of Housing Officer David London bashing handcuffed Iraq war veteran
BY Oren Yaniv
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Saturday, June 19th 2010, 4:00 AM


Nobody disputes that the disturbing surveillance video screened for a Manhattan criminal jury Friday shows a housing cop bashing an Iraq war veteran with his baton.

The question is whether Housing Officer David London, 45, was committing an act of police brutality or using necessary force to subdue an aggressive suspect.

Prosecutors called London's beating of 28-year-old Walter Harvin in July 2008 an assault that the cop tried to cover up. But the defense insisted London's response was appropriate.

In the video, captured on security cameras at the upper West Side housing project where Harvin's mother lived, Harvin is seen shoving and scuffling with London, who then beat the ex-soldier even after he was cuffed.



Read more: Jury watches video of Housing Officer

Wounded Times going thru face lift

Today there will be a lot of changes made to Wounded Times Blog. It has gotten out of control over the last few years with all the news and great videos coming out that I wanted to share. My videos will be on the side bar with the direct play feature instead of links. A few items on the sidebar will be removed. Please come back later today when the changes have been made.

Congressman Joe Barton sorry for being sorry?

A shakedown? That's what he said when he apologized to BP for wanting to make them pay for what happened to our ocean, beaches, sea life and the people suffering because BP didn't bother to worry about what they were doing. He apologized! What's next? Saying sorry to Osama for putting the Twin Towers in the way of the planes his men hijacked?

What is wrong with this man? Yes, he did then apologize for the apology, but what he really felt was already said and the injury was delivered to everyone else in this country with the ability to understand right from wrong. Does this mean that his financial support from oil companies means more than this country itself? After all, the Gulf is part of this country and many people either depend on it for their living or for enjoyment but since he's just an elected official of this country, he must prefer to work for BP instead of us.

When other companies do wrong, they do in fact face court, should they end up being charged but this is beyond just a company doing bad or wrong. This ended up hurting the country and many states for who knows how long or even if any of this will recover from what was allowed to happen when BP said they had plans in place just in case anything did happen. They were supposed to care enough to make sure they did, but when they were allowed to operate at will, the rest of the story is still being written and if this man is not forced to resign, then the people of Texas should be very ashamed of themselves. After all, the tide could very well turn and then send the oil there way instead. How would they feel then? We're still praying it doesn't hit Florida!