Presidential Citizens Medal to 13 Americans dedicated to service

Obama honors CNN Hero who cooks meals for homeless people
August 4, 2010 3:02 p.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
President Obama awards Presidential Citizens Medal to 13 Americans dedicated to service
The Citizens Medal is the second-highest civilian award behind the Medal of Freedom
One of the 13 recipients is Jorge Munoz, a former CNN Hero who delivers free food to needy
(CNN) -- Jorge Munoz, a former CNN Hero who distributes free home-cooked meals to needy people in New York, was honored by President Obama on Wednesday.

Munoz was one of 13 everyday Americans who received the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian honor, behind the Medal of Freedom.

Awarded at the sole discretion of the president, the Citizens Medal recognizes those who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or fellow citizens.

"What unites these citizens -- what makes them special -- is the determination they share to find a wrong and right it; to see a need and meet it; to recognize when others are suffering and take it upon themselves to make a difference," Obama said. "These honorees' lives stand as shining examples of what it means to be an American. And today, we have an opportunity to tell their stories; to say thank you; and to offer them a small token of our appreciation."
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http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/04/citizens.medal/index.html?hpt=T2

120,000 stop loss payments wait for you to claim them!

If you were kept longer under stop-loss this money is your's! You have to claim it before time runs out.

100K eligible troops could miss stop-loss pay

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Aug 4, 2010 14:41:50 EDT

A key lawmaker behind the creation of a monthly $500 stop-loss allowance says the Defense Department has not done enough to try to locate separated service members who are now on the brink of losing the right to apply for the money.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., chief Senate sponsor of legislation that created retroactive stop-loss allowances, said only about 25,000 of the more than 145,000 eligible service members and veterans have applied for and received payments.

There is an Oct. 21 deadline to apply for payments, and Lautenberg expects an all-out push from the military using “every available outlet” to warn people they could be losing the money.
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100K eligible troops could miss stop loss pay

Louisiana National Guardsman shot self after holdup try

Police: Guardsman shot self after holdup try

The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Aug 4, 2010 15:39:00 EDT

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. — Police said Wednesday that a man who killed himself on Interstate 10 after an attempted holdup in Louisiana was a Louisiana National Guard soldier assigned to help with the oil spill.

Bay St. Louis Deputy Chief Mike DeNardo identified the guardsman as John Paul Loupe, 24, of LaPlace, La., a member of the 773rd Military Police Battalion.
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Guardsman shot self after holdup try

Can Jesus Cure Shell Shock?

Can Jesus Cure Shell Shock?
Tuesday 03 August 2010

by: Matthew Harwood, t r u t h o u t News Analysis
Many Christians believe faith in Jesus Christ can cure almost anything: alcoholism, cancer, homosexuality, even the Son of Sam. But can it cure post traumatic stress disorder in troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq? The Army Reserves' top chaplain for military policemen believes so, and published his prescription on the Army Reserves' official Web site for everyone to see, in an act a watchdog organization argues is unconstitutional and dangerous when soldiers continue to kill themselves at an alarming rate.
In a nearly 11,000 word essay, "Spiritual Resiliency: Helping Troops Recover from Combat," Command Chaplain Col. Donald W. Holdridge of the 200th Military Police Command at Fort Meade, Maryland, argues belief in Jesus Christ and Bible reading, particularly King David's Psalms, can help cure a soldiers' PTSD. "Combat vets need to know that most of these [PTSD symptoms] do fade in time, like scars," writes Holdridge, a professor at the Baptist Bible College, as the Army Reserves banner hangs from the top of the Webpage. "They will always be there to some degree, but their intensity will fade. What will help them fade is the application of the principles of Scripture."
The tone of Holdridge's essay only gets more unapologetically evangelical as the chaplain's initial wading in a Christian sea slides into more brackish waters, evangelizing soldiers with PTSD that their service was part of a larger theological plan and dangerously merges church and state. "Military and law enforcement personnel bear the additional burden of contending with evil by acting as an arm of the state to punish those who have no respect for human life (Rom.13:4)," he writes. "It is messy business, but necessary in a fallen world. If the military member knows Christ as savior, they can be assured that Jesus is with them until the end of the age (Mt.28:20)." (If this doesn't seem offensive or incendiary for a military Website to publish this, replace "Christ as savior" with "the Prophet Mohammed" and "Jesus" with "Allah.")
read more here
http://www.truth-out.org/can-jesus-cure-shell-shock61984

I have a lot of problems with this article. It comes off as someone trying to minimize the reality of healing thru faith but at the same time points out another problem, the evangelizing/proselytizing in the military going on today.

Many find no harm in Chaplains out there trying to find recruits for their denomination but they forget the job of a chaplain is not to get butts in the pew but to help people in times of need. At least that's the way a lot of Chaplains view their ministry. I know because I believe that way but I have also heard a lot of Chaplains complain about what's going on. There are some soldiers seeking spiritual help and finding that if they are not a member of the denomination the military Chaplain is, they are not being taken care of for what their need is. It becomes recruitment sessions instead.

The truth is Christ can heal PTSD and families if they understand what the true message of the Gospels are. That is, Christ is the Son of God, came to earth to deliver a message to us that God loves us. This keeps getting forgotten about along with the fact that Christ didn't come to minister to the gentiles. He came for the Hebrews. Had it not been for the conversion of St. Paul, gentiles would have been shut out of the message and salvation. Read about the life St. Paul had before Christ opened his eyes on the road to Damascus by taking away his vision. He was called Saul of Tarsus and was a Christian hunter. Yet while much of the Bible is forgotten, there is much to be learned from it beginning with the Psalms and the accounts of David. If there is not a clear image of PTSD there, then nothing is.

Christ left behind one "church" and the people decided to do it all their own way. Now we have so many different teachings based on the same Bible it's hard to count all of them or keep any of them straight.

If you have faith, you also need to know what it is exactly you have faith in. Do you believe God loves you and there is nothing He won't forgive and that Christ even forgave the people who hammered the nails into his body? Then you know you can be forgiven and you are loved. If you believe in a God that sends bad things into your life like hurricanes, tornadoes, crimes, fires and illnesses, then no, faith won't heal you. How could it if you think God did it to you?

This is the kind of struggle we all have to go through no matter what group you belong to. We all wonder if God is out to get us or God is watching over us. It all comes down to how you view God. Christ can not only heal PTSD, He can prevent it because it all comes down to what your perception is on life. If you believe you survived something because God was watching over you, then you are not about to feel abandoned. If you believe you've just been judged and God is punishing you then you are not about to be feeling forgiven.

The job of a Chaplain is to be there to help other people see that they are loved and cared for and to help them understand there is nothing they cannot be forgiven for. The hard part is getting people to forgive themselves for whatever they feel they need to be forgiven for. Sometimes they need to change from survivors guilt into survivors blessing before this can happen but that's the job of a Chaplain supposedly fully able to understand the basic message of what Christ came to give. We're loved.

DAV gets million dollar grant from Harley Davidson

Harley-Davidson Foundation Presents $1 Million Grant to Disabled American Veterans

ATLANTA, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) yesterday announced the awarding of a second $1 million grant from the Harley-Davidson Foundation, Inc. to the non-profit organization, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). Harley-Davidson's relationship with the DAV dates to 2006, when the Harley-Davidson Foundation made a prior $1 million grant to the organization. The new grant announced yesterday at the DAV National Convention in Atlanta is designated for continued funding of the DAV's Mobile Service Office (MSO) program over the next four years.

"We are proud to continue our relationship with the DAV and help the organization support veterans of all generations," said Gail Lione, President, Harley-Davidson Foundation. "Veterans have always been important members of the Harley-Davidson family and partnering with the DAV is an ideal way to support them and recognize their contributions to our country."

The DAV MSO program increases veterans' accessibility to benefits by literally putting service offices on the road. Since 2007, this program sponsored by Harley-Davidson -- dubbed Harley's Heroes® -- has visited thousands of sites across the United States, providing important counseling and assistance to help tens of thousands of veterans secure the benefits to which they are entitled from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, and other government agencies.

"Harley-Davidson not only represents freedom and patriotism, the Company backs up its brand and generously supports those brave men and women whose sacrifices protect our nation," said DAV National Adjutant/CEO Arthur H. Wilson. "Through the support of the Harley-Davidson Foundation, DAV representatives have visited nearly 300 dealerships across the nation on the Harley's Heroes tour, delivering free benefits assistance to disabled veterans and their families through our Mobile Service Office program. It's hard to put into words just how much the Harley's Heroes program has meant to thousands of sick and wounded heroes."

Founded in 1920 by disabled veterans returning from World War I, the DAV has continually represented the unique interests of the men and women who bear the wounds and scars of war. Through their network of 110 National Service Offices, 10 mobile service offices, and Transition Service Officers at more than 100 military installations, the 1.2 million member DAV builds better lives for all America's disabled veterans and their families. In 2009, DAV represented nearly a quarter of a million veterans and their families in their claims for VA benefits, obtaining for them nearly $4.5 billion in new and retroactive benefits.

To learn more about Harley-Davidson's support of veterans, visit, www.harley-davidson.com, including the "Salute to Veterans" page.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. is the parent company for the group of companies doing business as Harley-Davidson Motor Company (HDMC), Harley-Davidson Financial Services (HDFS), Buell Motorcycle Company (Buell), and MV Agusta. The Harley-Davidson Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization supporting the communities in which the Company has facilities and selected national causes including veteran's initiatives.


SOURCE Harley-Davidson, Inc.

Who said we can't prevent suicides in the military?

I am dumbfounded! I don't know where someone as smart and well educated as this man is got the idea we can't stop suicides, but he has it and has just put nails in more coffins.

Michael Blumenfield, M.D.Sidney E. Frank Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, New York Medical College
Posted: August 2, 2010 11:36 AM
We Can't Prevent Suicides and PTSD in the Military
The latest information released by the U.S. Army reveals that last year American soldiers attempted suicide at the rate of about 5/day. There were 160 successful suicides last year and during June the rate was 1/day. Military research has reported that one in ten Iraq veterans may develop a severe case of PTSD.

As statistics such as these continue to emerge there is a continued outcry that something should be done about it. A report issued by the U.S. Army mistakenly minimized the fact that these psychological casualties are a result combat and the realities of war. The Army review concluded "simply stated, we are often more dangerous to ourselves than the enemy." It went on to say that commanders have failed to identify and monitor soldiers prone to risk taking behavior and as a result suicides among soldier have soared. This is a misguided view that somehow if we did the right thing we could prevent these events.

We haven't been able to prevent the increasing number of Americans being killed by IEDs. War is hell and soldiers get killed. We train them the best way that we know how, but inevitably soldiers die when there is a war.
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Blumenfield is half right by brining up the fact we have not stopped them and the numbers have gone up but he's missing a really important point and that is, what they have been doing has not stopped them but it is not impossible to do.

Look at the figures from the Suicide Prevention Hotline.

FOR EMBARGOED RELEASE Media Contact: SAMHSA Press Office 12:01 am Thursday, May 27, 2010 240-276-2130
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Network Answers Two Millionth Call
National Network of Local Crisis Centers Continues to Help More Callers in Emotional Distress or Suicidal Crisis through its Toll-free, 24-hour Hotline
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline) 1-800-273-TALK (8255), a network of crisis call centers located throughout the nation, has answered its two millionth call since its launch on January 1, 2005. Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Lifeline currently responds to an average of more than 1,800 calls a day or 54,000 calls per month.
read more of this here
SAMHSA Press Office

This should be one of the biggest news stories when it comes to suicide prevention and any reports on the military but it isn't. Why is it so important? Because 54,000 veterans and their families are reaching the point of calling a suicide prevention hotline each month in the first place! Two million? Yet the media ignores this? The numbers of suicides and attempted suicides have gone up since 2005 but two million reached out for help? Serious problem here folks!

It's not impossible to do but the way the military is doing it won't get them there from here. To have "Michael Blumenfield, M.D. Sidney E. Frank Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, New York Medical College" say they can't be prevented tossed in failure as an option. Considering the way the DOD has been addressing PTSD and the VA has been attempting to along with congress, it was not a hard leap for him to make but he needed to think beyond what has been failing and jump on what is possible.

They keep listening to the same experts telling them the same "solutions" when no one is asking any of these "experts" why the hell what they are suggesting has not worked before! If this guy throws his hands up and surrenders on suicide prevention, then what hope is there? We can't save them all. I know that as well as anyone else because I've failed when it mattered to my own family and my husband's nephew committed suicide. I couldn't save him but I've saved others. It is possible to at least save a hell of a lot more than we have but repeating the same mistakes cost too many their lives. Giving up will cost even more.

Families key to suicide prevention in the National Guard

Families key to suicide prevention in the National Guard
Staff Sgt. Blair Heusdens
Florida National Guard



ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., (7/27/10) - The National Guard faces unique challenges in tackling suicides.

Where Soldiers on active duty have access to military healthcare and the constant support of peers and leaders, National Guard Soldiers spend just one weekend a month with their unit, making it difficult to track changes in behavior and mood.

Families serve as a vital link for identifying suicidal behavior and tendencies in National Guardsmen, according to the Florida Guard's psychological health expert.

"Often, the most important person in suicide prevention is the family member," said Stephanie Lincoln, the director of Psychological Health for the Florida National Guard. "I'm not - and the leadership is not - with the Soldier 24/7 or in contact with them every day."

Suicide is a problem that continues to plague the U.S. military at all levels; though not all trends are as clear-cut as one might think. According to data from Lincoln, the Army's suicide rate for the month of June hit 32, are cord since the beginning of the overseas contingency operations in 2001.

As of July of this year, the Army National Guard reported 58 suicides,already nearing the 64 suicides in 2009.

The reasons may surprise some, however. A majority of the Guardsmen who commit suicide - 32 out of 58 in 2010 - have never deployed. In contrast, 56of the 77 suicides among active duty Soldiers this year were Soldiers who had previously been deployed.

Those most at risk in the Army National Guard are males between the ages of 20-24 who have served for about two years. Although the reasons behind many suicides will never be known, it is clear that there are differences among the active and reserve components when it comes to suicides.
read more here
http://www.ng.mil/news/archives/2010/07/073010-Families.aspx


Maybe if you watch this video you'll have a better idea why we all have to get involved.

Rolling Stone General McChrystal story not over yet

Army probing McChrystal staff over Rolling Stone interview

By NANCY A. YOUSSEF
McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Army inspector general is investigating whether aides to former Afghanistan commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal were insubordinate when they made a series of derogatory comments about top civilian leaders to a Rolling Stone reporter, McClatchy Newspapers has learned.

The investigation comes as the Pentagon grapples with how much access the reporter who wrote the piece, Michael Hastings, should have to troops. Hastings was banned from a scheduled embed this September in Afghanistan for being untrustworthy, Col. David Lapan, the director of the Pentagon press office, said Tuesday.

Last month, however, the Army granted Hastings an interview with forces he'd embedded with previously in Afghanistan, saying it saw no harm.

The IG investigators have finished questioning officials and are completing the investigation, Army officials told McClatchy. The officials confirmed the investigation but wouldn't say who asked for it or specify what its scope is. The investigation began shortly after McChrystal was relieved of his command in June.



Read more: Army probing McChrystal staff over Rolling Stone interview

Also on this

Rolling Stone writer denied embed permission

By Anne Gearan - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Aug 4, 2010 7:51:35 EDT

WASHINGTON — The author of the Rolling Stone article that ended the military career of Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former top commander in Afghanistan, has been denied permission to join U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

Defense Department spokesman Col. David Lapan told reporters that freelance writer Michael Hastings was rebuffed when he asked to accompany, or “embed,” with American forces next month.

The rejection came as the Pentagon ramped up an internal investigation into the circumstances behind some of the most salacious material Hastings used in his article in Rolling Stone. The Army inspector general is interviewing current and former McChrystal aides, the Associated Press has learned.
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Rolling Stone writer denied embed permission

Party turned deadly after gunman opened fire

Indianapolis woman shot dead at party at her home
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 3, 2010 2:45 p.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Barbara Johnson, 37, was killed at her Indianapolis home
Police are processing a vehicle they say may have been used in the shooting
A police spokesman tells CNN affiliate WISH "it could've been a lot worse"
Police are still searching for the suspect who fired an assault rifle into a crowded party
(CNN) -- The morning after a masked gunman killed two people and wounded six more at a party, police in Indianapolis, Indiana, were still on the scene investigating, authorities said Tuesday.

Indianapolis police said the victims were Barbara Johnson, 37, who lived at the home where the shots were fired, and Charles Mays, 54, also of Indianapolis.

Investigators had found two cars that may be related to the incident, Indianapolis police Lt. Jeff Duhamell said Tuesday.
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Indianapolis woman shot dead at party at her home

Hartford Distributors employees grieve together after shooting

Employees in workplace shooting still reeling over 'senseless act'
By the CNN Wire Staff
August 4, 2010 2:10 a.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Company officials meeting Wednesday with employees "to grieve and to come together"
Girlfriend of suspected shooter says he complained of racial harassment
Union says there was no filed complaint alleging racism
Suspect had just left disciplinary meeting, police chief says
For more on this story, go to CNN affiliates WTNH and WFSB.

Manchester, Connecticut (CNN) -- As police investigate the deadly shooting spree at Hartford Distributors and prepare to identify its victims, the company will meet Wednesday with employees, some of whom have been with the company for more than 30 years.

"They want to meet in private, an opportunity for people to grieve and to come together and to address the remainder of their family members, meaning their employees," said James Battaglio, a spokesman for the family that owns the business.

Omar Thornton, 34, walked into a room early Tuesday at the beverage distributorship where he worked in Manchester, Connecticut. Company and union officials played a video. He calmly watched images that purportedly showed him stealing from a truck.
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Employees in workplace shooting