Dakota Meyer blasts Army brass in new book
By Dan Lamothe
Staff writer
Army Times
Posted : Monday Aug 20, 2012
WEST MILFORD, N.J. — During one of the Afghan war’s ugliest battles, Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer was nearly taken prisoner at gunpoint but fended off his would-be captor by beating him to death with a baseball-sized rock, according to the Marine’s forthcoming book.
That is among several revelations in “Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War.” It chronicles the disastrous Sept. 8, 2009, battle in Ganjgal, a mountainside village in Kunar province where U.S. Marines and soldiers, and their Afghan counterparts, were pinned down under fire for hours. The book, due to be released Sept. 25, is co-authored by Meyer and Bing West, a best-selling writer and former Marine infantryman.
Throughout the book, Meyer, a sergeant in the Marine Corps Individual Ready Reserve, takes aim at several targets — especially the Army officers he blames for allowing members of his team to die that day. He describes perceived flaws in the mission’s planning, outlines how officers at a nearby base refused to send help and questions why an Army captain who fought alongside him, Will Swenson, still hasn’t received any valor award despite being recommended for the Medal of Honor nearly three years ago.
read more here
Monday, August 20, 2012
Fort Hood soldiers have to worry about budget cuts on top of everything else
Fort Hood looks at sequestration
Staff report
Army Times
Posted : Monday Aug 20, 201
Ongoing reductions to the active Army and the possibility of even deeper cuts from sequestration were among soldiers’ top concerns during a two-hour town hall conducted by leaders at III Corps and Fort Hood, Texas.
Lt. Gen. Don Campbell, commanding general of III Corps and Fort Hood, said he is optimistic that the installation will not see dramatic changes because of its status as a premier Army post.
“I don’t believe you’ll see a large number of cuts at Fort Hood,” he said. “We have received no guidance on sequestration, and until we receive guidance, we will continue to evaluate the situation with Forces Command and the Department of the Army.”
Fort Hood is one of the Army’s largest installations and is home to the 1st Cavalry Division.
The town hall took place Aug. 14, and leaders fielded more than 200 questions via Facebook and phone. In addition to budget cuts, other issues of concern to soldiers and their families included housing and traffic congestion.
Sequestration, however, was one of the hottest topics during the town hall, with soldiers concerned about the impact of across-the-board defense cuts that could begin in January if Congress and the White House fail to agree on a deficit reduction plan.
The looming $500 billion in defense cuts – which would happen in addition to cuts that are already being made – could slash everything from personnel to programs and health benefits.
read moe here
Staff report
Army Times
Posted : Monday Aug 20, 201
Ongoing reductions to the active Army and the possibility of even deeper cuts from sequestration were among soldiers’ top concerns during a two-hour town hall conducted by leaders at III Corps and Fort Hood, Texas.
Lt. Gen. Don Campbell, commanding general of III Corps and Fort Hood, said he is optimistic that the installation will not see dramatic changes because of its status as a premier Army post.
“I don’t believe you’ll see a large number of cuts at Fort Hood,” he said. “We have received no guidance on sequestration, and until we receive guidance, we will continue to evaluate the situation with Forces Command and the Department of the Army.”
Fort Hood is one of the Army’s largest installations and is home to the 1st Cavalry Division.
The town hall took place Aug. 14, and leaders fielded more than 200 questions via Facebook and phone. In addition to budget cuts, other issues of concern to soldiers and their families included housing and traffic congestion.
Sequestration, however, was one of the hottest topics during the town hall, with soldiers concerned about the impact of across-the-board defense cuts that could begin in January if Congress and the White House fail to agree on a deficit reduction plan.
The looming $500 billion in defense cuts – which would happen in addition to cuts that are already being made – could slash everything from personnel to programs and health benefits.
read moe here
Wyoming National Guard repeating "resiliency" failure
This is stunning! First, Resiliency Training is not new and it began under Battlemind. This is and has been a failure because by the time they get to the good parts of this "plan" the soldiers have stopped listening. They were told they could train their brains to be "mentally tough" which ends up telling them they are weak. It tells them that if they end up with PTSD, it is their fault because the didn't train right so when they look at the others they were with when the trauma hits them but not their buddies, they believe it is their fault. The suicide numbers, attempted suicides and the "deaths still under investigation" are proof of that. The fact that less than half of the soldiers needing help actually ask for it after all these years proves that one too.
Military Suicide Numbers Climb, Wyo Guard Seeks Solutions
By: Karen Snyder
Suicide statistics for the military are sobering. The Associated Press reports that, so far this year, more soldiers have died by their own hand than in combat in Afghanistan.
New techniques for working with soldiers are being offered now, that, according to Wyoming National Guard Public Affairs Officer, Lt. Col. Samuel House, are designed to give soldiers and their families new tools to deal with adversity and combat stress.
It’s called “Resiliency Training” and House says the Wyoming Guard is working to train the trainers and bring it here to Wyoming.
read more here
Georgia National Guard officer "mayor" in Afghanistan
Former Ga. officer keeps peace in Afghanistan
BY JOE JOHNSON
THE ATHENS BANNER-HERALD
ATHENS, Ga. -- He once helped keep the peace locally as an Athens-Clarke police officer. Now, Todd Perkins makes sure things run smoothly as a "mayor" in Afghanistan.
That's the title the Georgia National Guard lieutenant colonel was given as garrison commander of New Kabul Compound.
Like a mayor, the 41-year-old Oconee County resident's main job is to make sure the about 1,000 people living at the fortified outpost within Afghanistan's capital city are kept safe and receive essential services.
"We make quality of life improvements and we manage facilities that belong to the government, which I guess the mayor has a role in that kind of stuff," Perkins said during a satellite telephone interview last week.
A native of Florida, Perkins joined that state's National Guard while attending the University of Florida, where he earned a bachelor's degree. He followed up with a master's degree in public administration at Piedmont College. Perkins was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Guard in 1992.
read more here
BY JOE JOHNSON
THE ATHENS BANNER-HERALD
ATHENS, Ga. -- He once helped keep the peace locally as an Athens-Clarke police officer. Now, Todd Perkins makes sure things run smoothly as a "mayor" in Afghanistan.
That's the title the Georgia National Guard lieutenant colonel was given as garrison commander of New Kabul Compound.
Like a mayor, the 41-year-old Oconee County resident's main job is to make sure the about 1,000 people living at the fortified outpost within Afghanistan's capital city are kept safe and receive essential services.
"We make quality of life improvements and we manage facilities that belong to the government, which I guess the mayor has a role in that kind of stuff," Perkins said during a satellite telephone interview last week.
A native of Florida, Perkins joined that state's National Guard while attending the University of Florida, where he earned a bachelor's degree. He followed up with a master's degree in public administration at Piedmont College. Perkins was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Guard in 1992.
read more here
Kid Rock helps Afghan war vet get house
Kid Rock helps Afghan war vet get house
Posted : Monday Aug 20, 2012
MACOMB TOWNSHIP, Mich.
Kid Rock has helped surprise an injured soldier with a new, custom-built home that the musician helped finance.
Rock and others were on hand Saturday to present the suburban Detroit house to Army Sgt. Davin Dumar and his wife, Dana. Dumar was released Friday from a military hospital.
Dumar lost a leg and injured his arm in Afghanistan in 2011.
read more here
Posted : Monday Aug 20, 2012
MACOMB TOWNSHIP, Mich.
Kid Rock has helped surprise an injured soldier with a new, custom-built home that the musician helped finance.
Rock and others were on hand Saturday to present the suburban Detroit house to Army Sgt. Davin Dumar and his wife, Dana. Dumar was released Friday from a military hospital.
Dumar lost a leg and injured his arm in Afghanistan in 2011.
read more here
Vietnam Vet Run draws large crowds
Vietnam Vet Run draws large crowds
August 18, 2012
AMANDA WILCOX
DAILY NEWS STAFF
More than 200 bikers signed up to ride at the Vietnam Vet Run Saturday, but organizers said before the run that they expected even more to show up at the last minute.
“We’ve got riders that just got here that rode 1,200 miles to be here,” Pat Walker, an organizer of the event, said just 10 minutes before kickstands were scheduled to go up. “I’m so impressed and I’m very, very grateful to everybody for coming and being a part of it.”
Walker said the turnout for the run was incredible, and they’re pretty sure they’ll meet their goal and be able to complete the Vietnam Veteran Memorial near downtown Jacksonville this year, but they won’t know for sure until it’s all over Sunday evening.
“A lot of people want us to do it anyway (next year),” Walker said. “Because this is a place where the brothers can get together and just ride.”
Second to the run, the traveling Vietnam War Dog Memorial drew more attention than any of the other booths. With hundreds of kennel signs strewn across the floor to resemble just a fraction of the dogs lost during the war, people couldn’t help but stop and stare.
read more here
August 18, 2012
AMANDA WILCOX
DAILY NEWS STAFF
More than 200 bikers signed up to ride at the Vietnam Vet Run Saturday, but organizers said before the run that they expected even more to show up at the last minute.
“We’ve got riders that just got here that rode 1,200 miles to be here,” Pat Walker, an organizer of the event, said just 10 minutes before kickstands were scheduled to go up. “I’m so impressed and I’m very, very grateful to everybody for coming and being a part of it.”
Walker said the turnout for the run was incredible, and they’re pretty sure they’ll meet their goal and be able to complete the Vietnam Veteran Memorial near downtown Jacksonville this year, but they won’t know for sure until it’s all over Sunday evening.
“A lot of people want us to do it anyway (next year),” Walker said. “Because this is a place where the brothers can get together and just ride.”
Second to the run, the traveling Vietnam War Dog Memorial drew more attention than any of the other booths. With hundreds of kennel signs strewn across the floor to resemble just a fraction of the dogs lost during the war, people couldn’t help but stop and stare.
read more here
Vietnam Veteran opens home to fellow veterans
Vietnam vet opens his Bellingham home, shoreline, to fellow veterans
By Jessica Trufant
Daily News staff
Milford Daily News
Posted Aug 19, 2012
BELLINGHAM
Disabled veteran Dennis Auger realizes how lucky he is to live along the shore of Lake Hiawatha.
So Auger opens his home to other disabled servicemen and women who are not quite as lucky, and each summer he hosts a day of fishing and barbequing for the patients of the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in Brockton.
"For years we used to go into the hospital, and then my friend Mick said, ‘Why don’t you do something at your house? You have the lake and the sand,’ so we started hosting it here, and it’s the eighth year," said Auger, who served in the U.S. Coast Guard and was injured during the Vietnam War.
Mickey Emery, an Army veteran also hurt in Vietnam, died in 2010, but Auger on Saturday carried on the cookout tradition in honor of his friend.
read more here
By Jessica Trufant
Daily News staff
Milford Daily News
Posted Aug 19, 2012
BELLINGHAM
Disabled veteran Dennis Auger realizes how lucky he is to live along the shore of Lake Hiawatha.
So Auger opens his home to other disabled servicemen and women who are not quite as lucky, and each summer he hosts a day of fishing and barbequing for the patients of the Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center in Brockton.
"For years we used to go into the hospital, and then my friend Mick said, ‘Why don’t you do something at your house? You have the lake and the sand,’ so we started hosting it here, and it’s the eighth year," said Auger, who served in the U.S. Coast Guard and was injured during the Vietnam War.
Mickey Emery, an Army veteran also hurt in Vietnam, died in 2010, but Auger on Saturday carried on the cookout tradition in honor of his friend.
read more here
'My Son Trained Somebody to Murder Him'
'My Son Trained Somebody to Murder Him'
Aug 20, 2012
Military.com
by Richard Sisk
The grief-stricken father of a slain Marine lashed out at the U.S. training policies with the Afghan National Security Forces. His son’s death became one of many recent insider attacks leading to high-level meetings between U.S. and Afghan leader to re-evaluate their training methods.
“At the end of the day, what happened is my son trained somebody to murder him,” Greg Buckley Sr. said at the funeral Saturday for Lance Cpl. Gregory T. Buckley, 21, of Oceanside, N.Y., according to a CBS report.
The Afghan recruits “come in, they say, ‘We want to be police officers,’ and we hand them a blue uniform and hand them an AK-47? That’s insane,” the father told CBS as he stood surrounded by family and friends wearing buttons with a picture of his fallen son in uniform.
“If my son died on the battlefield, I would’ve been -- maybe been -- able to accept that, but instead they killed him inside the gym,” said Buckley Sr., according to CBS.
Buckley; Staff Sgt. Scott E. Dickinson, 29, of San Diego, Calif.; and Cpl. Richard A. Rivera Jr., 20 of Ventura, Calif., were shot to death on Aug. 10 while they worked out at a base gym in the southwestern Helmand province.
read more here
Aug 20, 2012
Military.com
by Richard Sisk
The grief-stricken father of a slain Marine lashed out at the U.S. training policies with the Afghan National Security Forces. His son’s death became one of many recent insider attacks leading to high-level meetings between U.S. and Afghan leader to re-evaluate their training methods.
“At the end of the day, what happened is my son trained somebody to murder him,” Greg Buckley Sr. said at the funeral Saturday for Lance Cpl. Gregory T. Buckley, 21, of Oceanside, N.Y., according to a CBS report.
The Afghan recruits “come in, they say, ‘We want to be police officers,’ and we hand them a blue uniform and hand them an AK-47? That’s insane,” the father told CBS as he stood surrounded by family and friends wearing buttons with a picture of his fallen son in uniform.
“If my son died on the battlefield, I would’ve been -- maybe been -- able to accept that, but instead they killed him inside the gym,” said Buckley Sr., according to CBS.
Buckley; Staff Sgt. Scott E. Dickinson, 29, of San Diego, Calif.; and Cpl. Richard A. Rivera Jr., 20 of Ventura, Calif., were shot to death on Aug. 10 while they worked out at a base gym in the southwestern Helmand province.
read more here
Lingering casualties of war, PTSD and suicides
Lingering casualties of war
BY JOSEPH KOHUT
TIMES-SHAMROCK WRITER
Published: August 20, 2012
Even before his twin brother committed suicide in December 2010, former Army Staff Sgt. Earl Granville never liked the holidays.
While getting ready for a party at his girlfriend's workplace, Earl received a call from his mother telling him the news, Staff Sgt. Joseph Granville was dead by his own hand.
It hit him like a brick, throwing him to the floor in a flurry of shock and disbelief and, while the event deepened his aversion to the holiday season, he said the event brought his family closer than ever before.
"We still exchanged gifts but we were more glad to be with each other than ever before," Earl said.
Earl Granville, believed Joe had a "touch" of post-traumatic-stress disorder, a condition behind a deadly epidemic sweeping the nation.
Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that one veteran commits suicide every 80 minutes.
Iraq and Afghanistan veteran suicides represent 20 percent of total suicides in the United States, though only one percent of Americans have served in either war.
The Department of Defense has made it a top priority to identify and prevent suicides, but the numbers are stark.
Suicides among active-duty servicemen and women increased by 87 percent from 2001 to 2011, the Department of Defense reports.
Within the Army alone, there has been a more than 200 percent increase in the 10-year period, from 52 suicides in 2001 to 165 in 2011. In the first seven months of this year, the Army reported there have been 66 confirmed active-duty suicides, with 50 remaining under investigation.
Dr. John McGrail, a former Coast Guard officer and clinical hypno-therapist, said military culture tends to impede motivation to receive help. He said soldiers expect themselves to "suck it up" when troubled and avoid help, believing it to be a sign of weakness.
"Given our society's and the military's culture and traditional attitude toward seeking help for mental heath issues, many of these men and women are both afraid to seek help, and are surrounded by people back home that simply cannot comprehend what it is they are going through," Dr. McGrail said.
"Eventually it becomes such a burden that they see no alternative but to end their own lives."
read more here
BY JOSEPH KOHUT
TIMES-SHAMROCK WRITER
Published: August 20, 2012
Even before his twin brother committed suicide in December 2010, former Army Staff Sgt. Earl Granville never liked the holidays.
While getting ready for a party at his girlfriend's workplace, Earl received a call from his mother telling him the news, Staff Sgt. Joseph Granville was dead by his own hand.
It hit him like a brick, throwing him to the floor in a flurry of shock and disbelief and, while the event deepened his aversion to the holiday season, he said the event brought his family closer than ever before.
"We still exchanged gifts but we were more glad to be with each other than ever before," Earl said.
Earl Granville, believed Joe had a "touch" of post-traumatic-stress disorder, a condition behind a deadly epidemic sweeping the nation.
Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that one veteran commits suicide every 80 minutes.
Iraq and Afghanistan veteran suicides represent 20 percent of total suicides in the United States, though only one percent of Americans have served in either war.
The Department of Defense has made it a top priority to identify and prevent suicides, but the numbers are stark.
Suicides among active-duty servicemen and women increased by 87 percent from 2001 to 2011, the Department of Defense reports.
Within the Army alone, there has been a more than 200 percent increase in the 10-year period, from 52 suicides in 2001 to 165 in 2011. In the first seven months of this year, the Army reported there have been 66 confirmed active-duty suicides, with 50 remaining under investigation.
Dr. John McGrail, a former Coast Guard officer and clinical hypno-therapist, said military culture tends to impede motivation to receive help. He said soldiers expect themselves to "suck it up" when troubled and avoid help, believing it to be a sign of weakness.
"Given our society's and the military's culture and traditional attitude toward seeking help for mental heath issues, many of these men and women are both afraid to seek help, and are surrounded by people back home that simply cannot comprehend what it is they are going through," Dr. McGrail said.
"Eventually it becomes such a burden that they see no alternative but to end their own lives."
read more here
Vietnam vets find war returns when they retire
Vietnam vets find war returns when they retire
By Denise Crosby
Chicago Sun-Times Media
August 20, 2012
Dave Bee led a squadron of Marines through the bloodiest year of the Vietnam War — including the surprise Tet Offensive in 1968. After the war, he moved forward, beyond the horrors of conflict, devoting himself to raising a family, working in the maintenance department at West Aurora High School and doing lots of charity work.
But, like an increasing number of veterans, when Bee retired, the memories of war returned. No longer preoccupied with the business of everyday working life, Bee began experiencing flashbacks from his “14 months in hell.”
Suddenly, this social, outgoing man was struggling with depression. He became increasingly withdrawn from the activities that had given him such pleasure, unable to share his feelings even with his tight-knit family.
“He just never talked about it,” says his 28-year-old son Charlie. “I know how Pops is.
He didn’t want to burden others.”
Bee’s first flashbacks were triggered while playing Santa Claus. There was something about seeing the severely disabled kids on the ground that created images of fallen comrades of long ago. It hit so fast, Bee sent a letter to the Hope Wall School in Aurora giving up his role as St. Nick because of “circumstances beyond my control.”
It’s easy to “push these bad memories to the back of your mind when you’re busy,” Bee says. But when you suddenly have all this time on your hands, “it hits you in the face.”
read more here
By Denise Crosby
Chicago Sun-Times Media
August 20, 2012
Dave Bee led a squadron of Marines through the bloodiest year of the Vietnam War — including the surprise Tet Offensive in 1968. After the war, he moved forward, beyond the horrors of conflict, devoting himself to raising a family, working in the maintenance department at West Aurora High School and doing lots of charity work.
But, like an increasing number of veterans, when Bee retired, the memories of war returned. No longer preoccupied with the business of everyday working life, Bee began experiencing flashbacks from his “14 months in hell.”
Suddenly, this social, outgoing man was struggling with depression. He became increasingly withdrawn from the activities that had given him such pleasure, unable to share his feelings even with his tight-knit family.
“He just never talked about it,” says his 28-year-old son Charlie. “I know how Pops is.
He didn’t want to burden others.”
Bee’s first flashbacks were triggered while playing Santa Claus. There was something about seeing the severely disabled kids on the ground that created images of fallen comrades of long ago. It hit so fast, Bee sent a letter to the Hope Wall School in Aurora giving up his role as St. Nick because of “circumstances beyond my control.”
It’s easy to “push these bad memories to the back of your mind when you’re busy,” Bee says. But when you suddenly have all this time on your hands, “it hits you in the face.”
read more here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)