Camp Pendleton Marines Death Under Investigation

Officials Investigating Death of Marine at Reconnaissance Course

Military.com
by Hope Hodge Seck
9 Sep 2017

Marine Corps officials have yet to determine the cause of death for a private first class who was found unresponsive during a training event last month at Camp Pendleton, California.

Michael P. Giannattasio (Photo courtesy Modetz Funeral Homes)

Pfc. Michael P. Giannattasio had been attending the Basic Reconnaissance Course at School of Infantry West, a physically demanding training course required for those who want to join the elite ranks of reconnaissance Marines.

He was discovered unconscious during a land navigation training event Aug. 30, according to a spokesman from Marine Corps Training and Education Command, Capt. Joshua Pena.

The San Diego Union-Tribune first reported Giannatasio's death.

Giannatasio, 22, was from Armada, Mich. According to a published obituary, he was the fourth of eight children.
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Evacuation orders for Central Florida counties

WESH 2 News
Check here for updates

BREVARD COUNTY:

Brevard County officials have announced a mandatory evacuation order for residents living in Merritt Island and some mainland low-lying areas along the Indian River Lagoon.

The order for people living in Evacuation Zone A begins at 3 p.m. Friday.

In addition, people who live in mobile or manufactured homes or in other flood-prone areas are also vulnerable and should evacuate, whether on the mainland or the barrier islands, county officials said.

Residents who do not plan to stay in public shelters are encouraged to stay with family or friends on the mainland, and to evacuate tens of miles rather than hundreds of miles, as traffic on highways and interstates is likely to be heavier.

FLAGLER COUNTY:

Flagler County has issued a mandatory evacuation order effective at 7 a.m. Saturday for the following areas:

Evacuation Zone A includes everything east of the Intracoastal including Marineland, Hammock, Flagler Beach along A1A.

Evacuation Zone F is in western Flagler County and includes areas near Dead Lake - St. Johns Park and the Haw Creek Basin - as the St. Johns River, which feeds Dead Lake.

Low-lying areas subject to flooding, as well as for those who live in mobile homes, recreational vehicles, and trailers.

Individuals with special medical needs, due to the potential loss of power.

There is a mandatory evacuation for nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Flagler County zones A,B,C and F.

Flagler County announced a voluntary evacuation for residents and said evacuation zones A, B, C and F (not Palm Coast alphabet sections) should consider leaving the area ahead of Hurricane Irma.

The county has also expanded their voluntary evacuation to include residents who live in a mobile home, a recreational vehicle, a trailer or an unsafe structure that is not rated to withstand strong winds.

Evacuation Zone A : Everything east of the Intracoastal including Marineland, Hammock, Flagler Beach along A1A.

Evacuation Zone B: neighborhoods along Colbert Lane to the south, all of the C section and the F section east of Florida Park Drive and the F section east of Palm Harbor Parkway. This zone also includes the area east of Old Kings Road, south of State Road 100 including Bulow and its adjacent neighborhood, Grand Haven and western Flagler Beach.

Evacuation Zone C: Woodlands area of Palm Coast

Evacuation Zone F: Areas near Dead Lake, St. Johns Park and the Haw Creek basin, as the St. Johns River, which feeds Dead Lake is tidal.

The Flagler Beach Police Department is asking residents to stop by for a placard that can help with post storm recovery if residents plan to evacuate.

SEMINOLE COUNTY:

No voluntary or mandatory evacuation notice has been posted by Seminole County at this time.

ORANGE COUNTY:

Orange County mayor Teresa Jacobs issued a mandatory evacuation notice to all residents living in mobile homes in Orange County.

Officials are encouraging residents to stay with family or make their way to shelters which will open at 9 a.m. Saturday.

MARION COUNTY:

Marion County has issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents living in mobile homes and modular-type homes.

Residents are urged to evacuate those homes by 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept 9.

Evacuees are encouraged to first seek shelter with family or friends living in a site-built home. If that option is not available, you can check the list of shelters by clicking here.

VOLUSIA COUNTY:
Volusia County is asking residents on the beachside, in low-lying areas, and in RVs, mobile or manufactured homes are asked at this time to evacuate voluntarily. If you are uncomfortable in your home, you also are encouraged to evacuate.

Florida Hospital
Florida Hospital Oceanside is an 80-bed facility located beachside in Ormond Beach on A1A. This facility will evacuate 31 patients to Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach on Friday, September 8. The emergency department at this facility is also expected to close, however the exact time has not yet been determined.

• Florida Hospital New Smyrna is a 112-bed facility located in New Smyrna Beach, a few short blocks from the Intracoastal Waterway. This facility will evacuate approximately 50 patients to Florida Hospital DeLand in DeLand and Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City on Friday, September 8. The entire hospital will be closed and the emergency department at this facility will be closed to patients as of noon on Saturday, September 9.

• The ERs will be open and available for patients in emergency medical situations at:

◦ Florida Hospital DeLand in DeLand
◦ Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City
◦ Florida Hospital Flagler is Palm Coast
◦ Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach

• All procedures, diagnostic testing and outpatient appointments scheduled for Monday, September 11 are cancelled and will need to be rescheduled for future dates.

• All freestanding Florida Hospital outpatient facilities and employed physician offices will be closed on Monday, September 11. Depending on the storm's track and localized impact, these facilities and offices plan to assess any damages on Tuesday, September 12 to evaluate reopening.

OSCEOLA COUNTY:

Residents in low-lying areas or in modular and mobile homes are officially advised to evacuate to safer accommodations, including shelters or staying with family or friends.

LAKE COUNTY:

Lake County has issued a voluntary evacuation order in Astor and Lake George.

Officials are asking the residents of those areas to safely self-evacuate by Saturday afternoon. Lake County has 13 emergency shelters that will open at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Sept 9.

The closest emergency shelters to Astor are Spring Creek Elementary, 44440 Spring Creek Road, Paisley and Umatilla Elementary, 40

1 Lake St., Umatilla. Both shelters are pet-friendly and Umatilla can also accommodate special needs persons.

More shelters 

You have to admit that Gov. Scott has done a fabulous job keeping all of us up to date on what is going on. He's on TV several times a day giving updates!

September 10th, 2017
Gov. Rick Scott: I’m not sparing any resources during Hurricane Irma
Florida Gov. Rick Scott tells TODAY that he’s extremely worried about the storm surges hitting Florida from Hurricane Irma. “It’s hard to believe anybody will survive it,” he says. Scott says he’s not sparing any resources to protect people from the storm.

Iraq Veteran and Service Dog Not Welcomed? Seriously!

Wounded veteran says California restaurant refused entry to dog

Fox News
Published September 08, 2017

A vision-impaired veteran claims he was wronged by a California restaurant after they refused to let his dog join him for dinner.

Readen Clavier, an Iraq War veteran who suffered head injuries when his vehicle was hit by an IUD in Balad, told KTVU that he was denied a meal at Inchin’s Bamboo in San Mateo because the employees didn’t want his comfort dog, Cole, sitting under the table.

“[They said] you can’t have a pet in here,” Clavier told KTVU. “I’m like, he’s not a pet, he’s a service animal.”

According to Clavier, the restaurant offered to seat him outside in a covered patio instead, but he simply opted to dine elsewhere.

KTVU reached out to the manager of the restaurant, who confirmed that Clavier and his dog were indeed offered a seat outside. He also says that he personally spoke with Clavier at the time of the incident, but suggested that Clavier didn’t actually need the dog for service reasons.

“He was speaking to me and to another lady,” said the Inchin’s manager. “And nobody was blind and everything [was recorded] on the camera."
read more here

Stolen Valor to Grow Pot?

Oklahoma Vice: Veterans say pot grower lied about service in Iraq

News OK

Brianna Bailey

September 8, 2017

Command Sgt. Maj. Jared Worley of the  Kansas National Guard drove about three hours from Kansas to refute Constuble's claims about his military service at trial.On the witness stand, Worley testified that, Constuble spent less than two months in Iraq before he was found unfit for service and was sent home.

A Bartlesville man who claimed he grew marijuana to treat post traumatic stress disorder has spent much of the past decade lying about his time in Iraq, according to veterans who served with him.

Austin Eugene Constuble, 31,  told Oklahoma Vice he was forced to kill a special-needs child who insurgents strapped with an artillery shell in Iraq. He said he rescued bleeding children from a bombed out school. He also claimed he had been shot at and was injured by a roadside bomb.

None of those things are true.  

A jury in Washington County this week found Constuble guilty of cultivating marijuana at his grandmother's house and recommended a three year prison sentence.  

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Vietnam Veterans Take Honor Flight With Dignity and Grace

Austin veterans head to D.C. to visit war memorials

FOX 7 News
RaeAnn Christensen
September 8, 2017

“When we saw what happened with these veterans when they saw the wall and when they etched their buddies name off the wall, it was unbelievable, it was a very powerful and painful but a healing experience.” Dulen Lee

There was a long overdue proper send off at the Austin airport Friday morning as more than 100 veterans took off for Washington, D.C. It was part of Honor Flight Austin and was extra special because it was the largest group to go so far and they all served in the Vietnam War.

The vets were met with cheers, smiles, waves, some tears, and many thank yous.

“It's very nice to get recognized because we did not get recognition in the 1970s and 60s,” said veteran Dulen Lee. Lee was one of the many who served in the Vietnam War, considered one of the most controversial wars. Many were not well received when they made their way back home.

“People stayed away from you or insulted you one of the two,” he said.

Lee is part of the group from the Austin area that will be visiting at our Nation’s Capital. But there's one memorial for them in particular, that has special meaning, the one built in their honor.
read more here

Floridians Forget Calm Before Storm--Get Busy Now!

If you live on the West Coast of Florida, get out!

Tracking Irma City by City

weather.com
Meteorologist Ari Sarsalari looks a the specific cities in Florida where Irma will have the worst impacts. 

The Worst-Case Hurricane Irma Scenarios For Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville
Tampa Bay

The center of Hurricane Irma's forecast path, the most likely forecast track, now introduces the chance of the eyewall of Irma raking across part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg metro area.

Fortunately, it looks like Irma won't be the worst-case scenario for storm surge that area residents fear.

For that to happen, the center would have to track in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, then make landfall north of Pinellas County. This would not only bring destructive eyewall winds to much of the metro area, but would also drive a catastrophic storm surge into Tampa Bay.

The so-called Tarpon Springs Hurricane made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in October 1921. According to an NWS model simulation, this hurricane likely drove a 9 to 11-foot surge into Hillsborough Bay, including downtown Tampa, as well as Old Tampa Bay.

At the time, it was the most destructive hurricane in the region since an 1848.

Hurricane Irma now Category 4, shifts west creating 'very dangerous situation' for SW Florida
ABC News
By MORGAN WINSOR JULIA JACOBO DAVID CAPLAN
Sep 9, 2017

Just hours after Hurricane Irma strengthened Friday night to a Category 5 storm as it made landfall on Cuba, the monster storm went back to a Category 4 storm around 5 a.m. Saturday, the National Hurricane Center announced.

Its maximum sustained winds decreased to 155 mph, but the storm remains strong as it moves closer to South Florida at a speed of 12 mph. As of 5 a.m., it was 245 miles southeast of Miami. Just three hours earlier, it was 275 miles south-southeast of the city.

The storm's track has shifted slightly to the west, creating a "very, very dangerous situation for western Florida," says ABC News meteorologist Daniel Manzo. Major hurricane conditions will slam communities on Florida's west coast, including Naples and Fort Myers, he added. Landfall may also occur as far north as Tampa as a strong Category 3 hurricane.
read more here

If you live in a mobile home, get out!

Hurricane Irma: Thousands living in S. Florida mobile homes face greater threat

Rodrigo Felipe's home is an old trailer he shares with five others in Immokalee, directly in Hurricane Irma's predicted path up the middle of Florida.

He wants to get out of the storm's way, but he doesn’t have a car or money to evacuate. Like tens of thousands of residents in Irma's way who live in mobile homes that likely can't withstand the storm's force, Felipe sought shelter elsewhere.

Many of Florida's mobile home residents are immigrants, including those who are undocumented. Felipe, a farmworker from Guatemala, worries that he and others who are undocumented won't have a place to go.

“I don’t know where we are going because we don’t have documents,” he said. 

If you can't get out, get busy now!

For mobile homes, get out of them and get to a friend's house or shelter. 

Get a backpack for everyone ready. 

Find a ladder to get to your roof.

Make a check list of what you have to have.

Print a list of shelters with how to get there and put it in a plastic bag. You can't read it if it gets wet. You may not have cell service, so you need to do some things the old fashion way.

Charge cell phones!

*IDs, birth certificates, policy numbers or at least put phone numbers into your cell phone for everyone you have to notify besides family and friends.

**banks **pharmacy **insurance company 

*Medicine, put them in plastic bags to protect them.
*Cell phone chargers for when you get to a power supply. Put them in a plastic bag. Keep in mind that not all chargers will fit yours.
*Water bottles, pre-freeze a few before you pack them and have to head to the roof. 
*Get pool floats blown up and attach a rope in case someone falls off. They can also help if you have dogs that can't get to the roof.
*Find anything that will float and know where it is.

Pick an area of your home to hide in like an interior closet. Put flashlights, water and battery operated radio along anything you can put against a door like a mattress.

Here is an official list

Basic Disaster Supplies Kit

To assemble your kit, store items in airtight plastic bags and put your entire disaster supplies kit in one or two easy-to-carry containers such as plastic bins or a duffel bag.

A basic emergency supply kit could include the following recommended items:

• Water - one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
• Food - at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
• Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert
• Flashlight
• First aid kit
• Extra batteries
• Whistle to signal for help
• Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Manual can opener for food
• Local maps
• Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery

UK:Amputee Afghanistan Veteran "Couldn't Prove Disability" Without a Card?

War hero blown up in Afghanistan barred from boarding train 'because he couldn't prove disability' 
The Herald 
Miles O'Leary 
September 8, 2017

Andy, who holds the record for being the world’s fastest single leg amputee, said having to prove his disability was quite disheartening.

Andy Grant was led away because he couldn't produce his disability railcard

An amputee war hero blown up in Afghanistan was barred from boarding a train and escorted by police from the station after being unable to 'prove' his disability.

Former Royal Marine Andy Grant was injured in an explosion in Afghanistan in February 2009 and had his right leg amputated in November 2010.

The 28-year-old, who now has a prosthetic leg, was left in total disbelief after a member of Virgin Trains staff asked him: "How do we know you're even disabled?" when he was unable to produce his disability railcard.

The 28-year-old, who now has a prosthetic leg, was left in total disbelief after a member of Virgin Trains staff asked him: "How do we know you're even disabled?" when he was unable to produce his disability railcard.
read more here

Marine MP Led Patriots Onto Field

Maine veteran experiences thrill of carrying flag at Patriots opener

Bangor Daily News
Ryan McLaughlin
September 9, 2017

Like a lot of New England Patriots fans from Fort Kent to Stamford, Connecticut, Michael Flanagan was hoping for a different outcome than the shocking one the Kansas City Chiefs served up on Thursday night.

Contributed Photo | BDN

Sanford native Michael Flanagan poses with New England Patriots mascot Pat Patriot at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Thursday evening. Flanagan, a U.S. Marine veteran, led the Patriots onto the field prior to their game carrying a U.S. flag.

But the Sanford native and 18-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps experienced a thrill that made the final score somewhat irrelevant.

Flanagan, who is currently stationed with the Navy’s ROTC program at the University of Maine, was one of four military personnel selected to lead the Patriots onto the field carrying a U.S. flag. The longtime Patriots fan was chosen to represent the Marines for Thursday’s season-opener, which featured a speech from actor Mark Wahlberg and the unveiling of the Patriots’ fifth championship banner.

“It was a once in a lifetime opportunity” said Flanagan, who has enjoyed multiple jobs in the Marines but most of his service has been as a Military Police officer.

He did two tours in Iraq as a military officer, and went back to the University of Mississippi to earn a law enforcement degree and remained in the military police field.
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Tens of Thousands Military Personnel Ready to Risk Everything for Us in Florida

Tens of thousands of military personnel prepping for Hurricane Irma
USA Today
Kevin Robinson
Pensacola News Journal
September 8, 2017

All told, the National Guard Bureau has identified approximately 30,000 troops, 4,000 trucks, 100 helicopters and air evacuation crews that are standing by for Hurricane Irma support.

PENSACOLA, Fla. — As hundreds of thousands of Floridians trek north to escape Hurricane Irma, tens of thousands of military personnel are heading south to prepare for rescue and recovery efforts.

Army Lt. Col. Jamie Davis, a spokesman for the Pentagon, said Friday afternoon it was too early yet to know where and how much support Florida would need in the wake of the historic storm, but he said Department of Defense assets would be "very ready and willing to assist if called upon."

The Department of Defense reported it has identified several possible bases to serve as staging areas for post-Irma support operations on the East Coast — including Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.; Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.; Fort A.P. Hill, Va.; Moody Air Force Base, Ga.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; and Robins Air Force Base, Ga.

“Right now, majority of this is preparation,” Davis said. “We’re identifying where bases are and ideal possible bases, but until things actually shift we can’t actually respond.”
read more here

Please keep in mind that as these men and women ready to risk their lives to help us here in Florida, have left their own families, homes and concerns, to take care of total strangers! Please include all our responders in your prayers.

Whenever I hear a siren I pray, "Father, please watch over them!" because they are always watching over us!

Texas Physician Volunteers Sleep on Clinic Floors to Care for Harvey Survivors

Mosquitoes, Medicine and Mold: Texas Battles Post-Harvey Health Issues
NBC News
by MAGGIE FOX
September 9, 2017

Zika mosquito 'heaven'

So far, there's no big epidemic to cope with. The Harris County Health Department had to squelch rumors that plague was being spread by flood waters. Plague is carried by fleas, not in water.

Dr. Luke LeBas works on a patient at Code 3 ER and Urgent Care in Rockport, Texas. For-profit and free clinics alike across southeast Texas are struggling to cope with a deluge of patients after Harvey's floods devastated communities. Danado Saltarelli, RN / Courtesy Dr. Luke LeBas

Dr. Carrie de Moor has a nasty cough, and she’s not sure if it's allergies or one of the common respiratory infections that have been spreading since Hurricane Harvey hit southeast Texas late last month.

She's been sleeping in a trailer adjacent to her free-standing emergency room and urgent care clinic in Rockport, Texas, which was devastated by Harvey’s winds and flood waters. The clinic had only been open for two weeks when Harvey hit. De Moor is home in Dallas now for a few days with her children but will soon head back to the clinic, which is overwhelmed by people crowding in for stitches, tetanus shots, ear infections and skin rashes.

"We were seeing numbers outpacing anything we were prepared to take care of," said de Moor, an ER physician who is CEO of Code 3 ER and Urgent Care.

Physician volunteers have been cramming into the trailer and sleeping on the clinic floors as they tend to as many as 90 patients a day.
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