Soldier's Family Erroneously Told He Died
Spat Among Relatives Blamed For Misinformation, Heartbreak Reporting
Jay Levine PARK FOREST, Ill. (CBS)
CBS
It was an agonizing 48 hours for a family from south suburban Park Forest. Told Tuesday morning that a loved one had died from injuries suffered in Afghanistan, they learned two days later he was still alive.
CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine has the heart-wrenching story.
Was it a mistake or something more sinister?
Residents say it's fallout from a family feud. It led to a call to Sgt. 1st Class Edgar Roberts' father and word spreading to his family that he had passed away, when he was in fact, very much alive.
"I'm just in a state of shock because one minute he's doing so good and then he's going south, and it's like, what happened?" Roberts' half-sister, Robyn Anderson, said.
Roberts, a Thornton Township High School grad, was proud to serve -- first in the regular Army, now in the National Guard -- though a recent email to Robyn admitted he was lucky to be alive.
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Soldier's Family Erroneously Told He Died
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Tennessee Marine dies in Afghanistan
Middle Tennessee Marine dies in Afghanistan
By Matt Lakin
Knoxville News Sentinel
Posted August 14, 2010
Daniel Greer spent his life in service - sometimes as a firefighter, sometimes as a Marine reservist.
He gave his life for that service a week ago. Greer, 25, of Ashland City, Tenn., died Aug. 8 in Afghanistan's Helmand province while serving with Knoxville's Delta Company of the 4th Engineer Battalion.
Greer grew up in nearby Pegram and spent most of his life there except for trips to Knoxville to drill with his unit, Ashland City Fire Chief Chuck Walker said.
"He was the typical all-American guy," Walker said. "He'd been volunteering as a firefighter since he was a teenager. His family always came first, but when he wasn't with them, he was at the fire hall or with the Marines. He loved taking care of people and serving his country."
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Middle Tennessee Marine dies in Afghanistan
By Matt Lakin
Knoxville News Sentinel
Posted August 14, 2010
Daniel Greer spent his life in service - sometimes as a firefighter, sometimes as a Marine reservist.
He gave his life for that service a week ago. Greer, 25, of Ashland City, Tenn., died Aug. 8 in Afghanistan's Helmand province while serving with Knoxville's Delta Company of the 4th Engineer Battalion.
Greer grew up in nearby Pegram and spent most of his life there except for trips to Knoxville to drill with his unit, Ashland City Fire Chief Chuck Walker said.
"He was the typical all-American guy," Walker said. "He'd been volunteering as a firefighter since he was a teenager. His family always came first, but when he wasn't with them, he was at the fire hall or with the Marines. He loved taking care of people and serving his country."
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Middle Tennessee Marine dies in Afghanistan
Former Salem selectman talks about soldier son's recovery
We can talk about the fallen, but we never seem to think of the families enough. We can talk about the wounded but still, we don't think about what happens to their families. Here's a story of just one of them and what they had to give up to take care of their son.
Former Salem selectman talks about soldier son's recovery from injuries suffered in blast
By Jillian Jorgensen
jjorgensen@eagletribune.com
SALEM — Arthur Barnes knew the call that would change his life could come at any moment. When your child is in Afghanistan, he said, you live with a constant baseline of worry.
But when that call did come last month, informing him that his son had been critically wounded and might not survive, Barnes wasn't ready for it.
"You're never really prepared for that call," he said. "You never expect it. It just sort of comes."
Sgt. Arthur Barnes IV, 30, a Salem High graduate and Vermont National Guard soldier, had been riding in a vehicle that was hit by an improvised explosive device, and was evacuated from Afghanistan to Germany. The Army tracked down his parents volunteering at Rockingham Christian Church, and told them to get to a place where they could be near a phone for the next 24 hours.
"The only way I could describe my state of mind to you is like being in a fog," Barnes said last week from Washington, D.C.
Barnes, who resigned as a Salem selectman last week, has been by his son's side at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for about six weeks now, but his journey has just
begun.
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Former Salem selectman talks about soldier son recovery
Australia honors Vietnam Veterans
Day to honour Vietnam veterans
A SERVICE will be held at Warwick's Cenotaph on Wednesday, to commemorate Vietnam Veterans Day.
All war veterans, their families, friends and members of the public are invited to attend the service which will include a catafalque party from the Warwick Cadet Unit, playing of the Last Post and Reveille and a wreath-laying ceremony.
Veterans and visitors should be at the Cenotaph in Leslie Park at 10.45am on Wednesday in order to take part in the proceedings.
Australia lost 521 men, killed during the Vietnam War between 1962 and 1972, three of whom came from Warwick.
The Vietnam War was the first war to which the Australian Government sent conscripts and 210 of them were killed.
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Day to honour Vietnam veterans
A SERVICE will be held at Warwick's Cenotaph on Wednesday, to commemorate Vietnam Veterans Day.
All war veterans, their families, friends and members of the public are invited to attend the service which will include a catafalque party from the Warwick Cadet Unit, playing of the Last Post and Reveille and a wreath-laying ceremony.
Veterans and visitors should be at the Cenotaph in Leslie Park at 10.45am on Wednesday in order to take part in the proceedings.
Australia lost 521 men, killed during the Vietnam War between 1962 and 1972, three of whom came from Warwick.
The Vietnam War was the first war to which the Australian Government sent conscripts and 210 of them were killed.
read more here
Day to honour Vietnam veterans
'Craigslist Killing' Suspect Dies From Apparent Suicide
'Craigslist Killing' Suspect Dies From Apparent Suicide
Updated: 27 minutes ago
BOSTON (Aug. 17) -- A former medical student accused of killing a masseuse he met through Craigslist apparently killed himself inside a Boston jail, where he was awaiting trial, authorities said Sunday.
Philip Markoff's body was found Sunday morning in the Nashua Street Jail after an apparent suicide, said Ed Geary, a spokesman for the Suffolk County sheriff's office. Geary said no additional information was immediately available, and an investigation had begun.
Saturday would have been Markoff's first wedding anniversary, but his nuptials were canceled after his arrest.
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Craigslist Killing Suspect Dies From Apparent Suicide
Updated: 27 minutes ago
BOSTON (Aug. 17) -- A former medical student accused of killing a masseuse he met through Craigslist apparently killed himself inside a Boston jail, where he was awaiting trial, authorities said Sunday.
Philip Markoff's body was found Sunday morning in the Nashua Street Jail after an apparent suicide, said Ed Geary, a spokesman for the Suffolk County sheriff's office. Geary said no additional information was immediately available, and an investigation had begun.
Saturday would have been Markoff's first wedding anniversary, but his nuptials were canceled after his arrest.
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Craigslist Killing Suspect Dies From Apparent Suicide
Shooting Gallery suicide followed murder of woman
Officials identify victims of murder-suicide involving Orange County gun range
By Sara K. Clarke and Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
9:37 a.m. EDT, August 15, 2010
Orange County officials are saying two deaths on Saturday were a murder-suicide, after a man shot himself at a local gun range and a woman was found dead in an apartment on Woodbury Road.
The victim was identified Sunday as Jennifer Lynn Roqueta, 21. The suspect found at the gun range was identified as Ryan Ray Scurlock, 24, Orange County Sheriff's Office said.
The sheriff's office said it had no further information to release in its ongoing investigation.
Deputies said Saturday they responded to a "shots fired" call at the Shooting Gallery gun range, near 39th Street and John Young Parkway, just after 3 p.m.
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Officials identify victims of murder suicide
By Sara K. Clarke and Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
9:37 a.m. EDT, August 15, 2010
Orange County officials are saying two deaths on Saturday were a murder-suicide, after a man shot himself at a local gun range and a woman was found dead in an apartment on Woodbury Road.
The victim was identified Sunday as Jennifer Lynn Roqueta, 21. The suspect found at the gun range was identified as Ryan Ray Scurlock, 24, Orange County Sheriff's Office said.
The sheriff's office said it had no further information to release in its ongoing investigation.
Deputies said Saturday they responded to a "shots fired" call at the Shooting Gallery gun range, near 39th Street and John Young Parkway, just after 3 p.m.
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Officials identify victims of murder suicide
Six dead, more injured when off road truck plows into crowd
Off-road truck plows into crowd in California, killing at least 6
By Leslie Tripp, CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A race truck crashes into a crowd in San Bernardino County, California
Six people are pronounced dead at the scene
Nine others are injured
See local coverage from CNN affiliates KCAL and KTLA
(CNN) -- At least six people were killed when an off-road race truck plowed into a crowd in southern California on Saturday night, authorities said.
The six were pronounced dead at the scene around 7:48 p.m. local time (10:48 p.m. ET), said Tim Franke of the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
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Off road truck plows into crowd
By Leslie Tripp, CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A race truck crashes into a crowd in San Bernardino County, California
Six people are pronounced dead at the scene
Nine others are injured
See local coverage from CNN affiliates KCAL and KTLA
(CNN) -- At least six people were killed when an off-road race truck plowed into a crowd in southern California on Saturday night, authorities said.
The six were pronounced dead at the scene around 7:48 p.m. local time (10:48 p.m. ET), said Tim Franke of the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
go here for more and video report
Off road truck plows into crowd
VA mistakes smother Post-9/11 GI Bill spouse
VA mistakes smother Post-9/11 GI Bill spouse
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Aug 14, 2010 11:38:14 EDT
An Army spouse using transferred GI Bill benefits to attend veterinary school is worried that she won’t be able to attend college this fall because of problems with overpayments.
Angela Kargus, a student at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, has a canceled check to show she repaid money she should never have received, but the Veterans Affairs Department has credited her with returning only part of the money and is threatening to withhold additional benefits unless she agrees to a repayment plan.
She has enlisted the help of Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., to try resolve the problem before the fall term begins Aug. 23.
Jenkins’ spokeswoman, Mary Geiger, confirmed that a caseworker is helping Kargus. Brownback aides did not respond to requests for information about their involvement.
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VA mistakes smother Post 9 11 GI Bill spouse
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Aug 14, 2010 11:38:14 EDT
An Army spouse using transferred GI Bill benefits to attend veterinary school is worried that she won’t be able to attend college this fall because of problems with overpayments.
Angela Kargus, a student at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, has a canceled check to show she repaid money she should never have received, but the Veterans Affairs Department has credited her with returning only part of the money and is threatening to withhold additional benefits unless she agrees to a repayment plan.
She has enlisted the help of Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., to try resolve the problem before the fall term begins Aug. 23.
Jenkins’ spokeswoman, Mary Geiger, confirmed that a caseworker is helping Kargus. Brownback aides did not respond to requests for information about their involvement.
read more here
VA mistakes smother Post 9 11 GI Bill spouse
Hundreds of PTSD soldiers likely misdiagnosed
The numbers went up for several reasons.
Publicity when people started to talk about it, what they were going through, overcoming the sense of shame because they understood it was not their fault. Families talking about it especially when a life was ended because of suicide. Families and the troops being paid attention to by the media.
Knowledge gained by mental health workers so they could understand that this was the result of multiple exposures to traumatic events.
The time span when multiple deployments caught up to them. The time span between the contributing event and the symptoms showed up. The stressor that broke the dam of emotions sending mild PTSD into full blown disorder.
Above all of this was when the military stopped trying to find a way out of approving claims that could be directly tied to combat. Hearing the military was honoring the claims of others gave them hope of being helped to heal. If they saw someone like them being helped instead of being belittled or kicked out, they were more likely to seek help as well.
Most of this work will be undone if they are still practicing cover-ups instead of honoring the service of the individuals paying the price for service.
Hundreds of PTSD soldiers likely misdiagnosed
By ANNE FLAHERTY (AP) – 42 minutes ago
WASHINGTON — At the height of the Iraq war, the Army routinely fired hundreds of soldiers for having a personality disorder when they were more likely suffering from the traumatic stresses of war, discharge data suggests.
Under pressure from Congress and the public, the Army later acknowledged the problem and drastically cut the number of soldiers given the designation. But advocates for veterans say an unknown number of troops still unfairly bear the stigma of a personality disorder, making them ineligible for military health care and other benefits.
"We really have an obligation to go back and make sure troops weren't misdiagnosed," said Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, a clinical psychologist whose nonprofit "Give an Hour" connects troops with volunteer mental health professionals.
The Army denies that any soldier was misdiagnosed before 2008, when it drastically cut the number of discharges due to personality disorders and diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorders skyrocketed.
Unlike PTSD, which the Army regards as a treatable mental disability caused by the acute stresses of war, the military designation of a personality disorder can have devastating consequences for soldiers.
Defined as a "deeply ingrained maladaptive pattern of behavior," a personality disorder is considered a "pre-existing condition" that relieves the military of its duty to pay for the person's health care or combat-related disability pay.
According to figures provided by the Army, the service discharged about a 1,000 soldiers a year between 2005 and 2007 for having a personality disorder.
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Hundreds of PTSD soldiers likely misdiagnosed
Publicity when people started to talk about it, what they were going through, overcoming the sense of shame because they understood it was not their fault. Families talking about it especially when a life was ended because of suicide. Families and the troops being paid attention to by the media.
Knowledge gained by mental health workers so they could understand that this was the result of multiple exposures to traumatic events.
The time span when multiple deployments caught up to them. The time span between the contributing event and the symptoms showed up. The stressor that broke the dam of emotions sending mild PTSD into full blown disorder.
Above all of this was when the military stopped trying to find a way out of approving claims that could be directly tied to combat. Hearing the military was honoring the claims of others gave them hope of being helped to heal. If they saw someone like them being helped instead of being belittled or kicked out, they were more likely to seek help as well.
Most of this work will be undone if they are still practicing cover-ups instead of honoring the service of the individuals paying the price for service.
After that, the annual number of personality disorder cases dropped by 75 percent. Only 260 soldiers were discharged on those grounds in 2009.
At the same time, the number of post-traumatic stress disorder cases has soared. By 2008, more than 14,000 soldiers had been diagnosed with PTSD — twice as many as two years before.
Hundreds of PTSD soldiers likely misdiagnosed
By ANNE FLAHERTY (AP) – 42 minutes ago
WASHINGTON — At the height of the Iraq war, the Army routinely fired hundreds of soldiers for having a personality disorder when they were more likely suffering from the traumatic stresses of war, discharge data suggests.
Under pressure from Congress and the public, the Army later acknowledged the problem and drastically cut the number of soldiers given the designation. But advocates for veterans say an unknown number of troops still unfairly bear the stigma of a personality disorder, making them ineligible for military health care and other benefits.
"We really have an obligation to go back and make sure troops weren't misdiagnosed," said Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, a clinical psychologist whose nonprofit "Give an Hour" connects troops with volunteer mental health professionals.
The Army denies that any soldier was misdiagnosed before 2008, when it drastically cut the number of discharges due to personality disorders and diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorders skyrocketed.
Unlike PTSD, which the Army regards as a treatable mental disability caused by the acute stresses of war, the military designation of a personality disorder can have devastating consequences for soldiers.
Defined as a "deeply ingrained maladaptive pattern of behavior," a personality disorder is considered a "pre-existing condition" that relieves the military of its duty to pay for the person's health care or combat-related disability pay.
According to figures provided by the Army, the service discharged about a 1,000 soldiers a year between 2005 and 2007 for having a personality disorder.
go here for more
Hundreds of PTSD soldiers likely misdiagnosed
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Wounded soldier husband, devoted wife offers support
Cheryl Gansner is a young wife, with all the same problems the rest of us have but she has one more additional problem few others face. A wounded husband. When they decide to serve, most of the time they don't think of what the spouse will go through while they are deployed or what other changes they have to go through when their spouse comes back home. They don't think about the fact their spouse may have to turn into nurse and therapists along with the other responsibilities they have in the marriage. We talk a lot about supporting the troops in this country and here it looks like a site that will support the families.
Wife of a Wounded Soldier Up
I am 28 years old and the wife of a severely injured soldier. I have been married to my husband, my hero, for 4 years. Throughout our 6 year relationship we were seperated over 2 years due to Operation Iraqi Freedom 1 & 5. My husband was injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) and spent 20 months rehabing at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. I am a Social Worker and Bryan now works on bomb robots. Our life has been a complete roller coaster and I decided to share with others what it is like to care for a combat wounded soldier. We are now hoping to get our life on track and start our new chapter. Click here to read my blog .
http://www.operationhomefront.net/www/highlights.aspx?id=5231
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