The Christophers' Special Awards to Capt. Scotty Smiley, First Blind Active-Duty Army Officer, and Shannon Hickey, Young Activist for the Homeless
Capt. Smiley, commander of Warrior Transition Unit for ailing or wounded soldiers at West Point, to receive 2011 Christopher Leadership Award; Hickey, 21, founder of ministry serving poor and homeless which was inspired by 9/11 victim, Father Mychal Judge, to get 2011 James Keller Award
NEW YORK, April 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- (http://www.myprgenie.com) -- Capt. Scotty Smiley, the U.S. Army's first blind active-duty officer, and Shannon Hickey, a 21-year old college student who, at age 11, was inspired to help provide for the poor and homeless by the example of Father Mychal Judge, the New York City Fire Dept. Chaplain killed in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, will both receive special Awards at the 62nd annual Christopher Awards ceremony in New York City on Thursday, May 19th.
Capt. Smiley, who was nearly killed while leading his platoon on patrol in Iraq in 2005, will receive the Christopher Leadership Award for his exemplary courage and leadership in the face of adversity. He opted not to retire from the Army, as is customary after a life-changing injury, but instead fought to regain his health and went on to command the Warrior Transition Unit for ailing or wounded soldiers at West Point. Hickey will receive the 2011 James Keller Award for founding Mychal's Message, a ministry that serves the poor and homeless, and which has taught many teens about the problem of homelessness in society.
The Christopher Leadership Award recognizes individuals whose work, actions and example serve as a guiding light to those in and out of public life, and inspires others to lead lives that make a difference for the good. This year's winner barely survived the shrapnel and debris that pierced his eyes and brain following a car bomb attack in Iraq. Crushed by the news he would never see again, Captain Smiley at first questioned his faith and his belief in God.
During his recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Army pressured his wife to follow standard procedure by signing papers that would "medically retire" her husband, since it was accepted wisdom that blind people couldn't serve in the Army. She resisted, believing her husband might still have a future within the Army he loved.
After tremendous physical, emotional and spiritual struggles, Capt. Smiley came to terms with his new reality and successfully fought to stay on active duty. Along with teaching leadership at West Point, he also earned an MBA from Duke University with assistance from his wife and a dedicated tutor, and wrote an autobiography, "Hope Unseen."
With the vast number of American servicemen and women returning from war with serious injuries, his job is of critical importance as is the example he is setting. He remains committed to living a life of service to others and admits his trust in God has been taken to new levels.
read more here
The Christophers' Special Awards
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Soldier and veteran suicides, "You don't always see it coming,"
No one sees the bullet coming. It travels too fast. No one sees the bomb planted in a road. It is covered up. Sometimes we can see when a veteran or soldier is in trouble, but sometimes you can't understand how fast they can change or how deeply they are hurting. Sometimes there are signs they are thinking about it. When they give away things they cared about as if they just don't matter anymore. When they seem as if they don't care about anyone in their lives, stop talking about anything in the future as if they have no hope for tomorrow and when you look into their eyes the "life" seems to be gone. Other times, they cover up the pain so well that you may think they are doing better, until the phone call comes or the knock on the door shatters all hope you had for them.
ILLINOIS SPOTLIGHT: Sycamore veteran raises awareness of soldier suicides
CAITLIN MULLEN The (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle
First Posted: April 26, 2011
SYCAMORE, Ill. — Laurie Emmer wants everyone to know Clay Hunt's name.
Sycamore resident Emmer, 48, a member of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), recently spent time in Washington, D.C., as part of Storm the Hill, where members of IAVA spoke with legislators about their agenda for the year and what they'd like to see addressed through legislation.
It's the second consecutive year Emmer, commander of Sycamore VFW Post 5768, has been chosen to attend. She served more than 23 years in the Army, spending most of her time in the 82nd Airborne Division.
The group spent most of this year's trip focusing on veteran unemployment. But news received on their last day in Washington - of a fellow veteran's suicide - shocked group members and inspired them to change direction.
Hunt, who also was an IAVA member, was a 28-year-old Marine from Houston who served two tours of duty. He struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder but was an advocate for veterans and remained active with various charity groups. He was the last person his IAVA friends expected to succumb to extreme depression, Emmer said.
Hunt killed himself March 31.
"You don't always see it coming," Emmer said.
read more here
Sycamore veteran raises awareness of soldier suicides
Monday, April 25, 2011
Former Army chaplain in Iraq tries new role at home in Alabama
Former Army chaplain in Iraq tries new role at home in Alabama
JIMMY SMOTHERS The Gadsden Times
First Posted: April 25, 2011
GADSDEN, Ala. — He once was the subject of a television documentary that was broadcast over the Military Channel, and about the same time stories about him were published in some of the nation's larger newspapers. That was three years ago as he was winding up 27 months of duty during several deployments as an Army chaplain to U.S. military forces in Iraq.
Today, he is no longer in the military nor pastors a church, but still has a "flock" in a secular way. "The only "preaching' I do these days is therapy," Chuck Popov said, referring to his therapy group as his congregation.
Popov was a major when he left the service after 15 years. He once was an Army chaplain in the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, known as the Wolfhounds. He recently was back on base at Fort Benning, Ga., where he had once trained for deployment and where he later served as a brigade chaplain. This time he was serving his country in another role, helping military families live with — even if they don't understand — the horrors of war.
Over a period of five years, 2003-2007, Popov said he was deployed "quite often, and never got enough time back home to get it out of my system."
During one 15-month deployment, in one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq at the time, his unit had 18 killed and 300 wounded.
Popov said there were many medics but only one surgeon at the battalion aid station, and one of his duties was to help carry off the dead and write letters home to their families.
He talked about opening the body bag of a young soldier who had been killed and seeing that he was still clutching the cross he wore on a chain around his neck.
"I could just see him saying the rosary and clutching the cross, praying that he wouldn't die," Popov said. "I opened another body bag and the body of a very good friend was staring up at me."
read more here
Former Army chaplain in Iraq tries new role at home in Alabama
JIMMY SMOTHERS The Gadsden Times
First Posted: April 25, 2011
GADSDEN, Ala. — He once was the subject of a television documentary that was broadcast over the Military Channel, and about the same time stories about him were published in some of the nation's larger newspapers. That was three years ago as he was winding up 27 months of duty during several deployments as an Army chaplain to U.S. military forces in Iraq.
Today, he is no longer in the military nor pastors a church, but still has a "flock" in a secular way. "The only "preaching' I do these days is therapy," Chuck Popov said, referring to his therapy group as his congregation.
Popov was a major when he left the service after 15 years. He once was an Army chaplain in the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, known as the Wolfhounds. He recently was back on base at Fort Benning, Ga., where he had once trained for deployment and where he later served as a brigade chaplain. This time he was serving his country in another role, helping military families live with — even if they don't understand — the horrors of war.
Over a period of five years, 2003-2007, Popov said he was deployed "quite often, and never got enough time back home to get it out of my system."
During one 15-month deployment, in one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq at the time, his unit had 18 killed and 300 wounded.
Popov said there were many medics but only one surgeon at the battalion aid station, and one of his duties was to help carry off the dead and write letters home to their families.
He talked about opening the body bag of a young soldier who had been killed and seeing that he was still clutching the cross he wore on a chain around his neck.
"I could just see him saying the rosary and clutching the cross, praying that he wouldn't die," Popov said. "I opened another body bag and the body of a very good friend was staring up at me."
read more here
Former Army chaplain in Iraq tries new role at home in Alabama
U.S. Army Reserve nurse killed in Afghanistan
Jamestown family mourns loss of soldier killed in Afghanistan
By Keith Gushard
Meadville Tribune
MEADVILLE — Mike McClimans of Jamestown was asleep at home when his phone rang just after 7 a.m. Saturday.
“He said to me, ‘Mr. McClimans, I’m Maj. Scott North and I’m outside your door,’ ” McClimans said, his voicing quivering slightly.
McClimans knew what the call meant.
“I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ He said, ‘No sir, I’m not.’ ”
North was there to inform him that McClimans’ son, Capt. Joshua McClimans, 30, a registered nurse serving with the U.S. Army Reserve, had been killed in action in Afghanistan.
Capt. McClimans apparently had left his living quarters to begin a 12-hour shift at a hospital when he was shot.
read more here
Jamestown family mourns loss of soldier killed in Afghanistan
By Keith Gushard
Meadville Tribune
MEADVILLE — Mike McClimans of Jamestown was asleep at home when his phone rang just after 7 a.m. Saturday.
“He said to me, ‘Mr. McClimans, I’m Maj. Scott North and I’m outside your door,’ ” McClimans said, his voicing quivering slightly.
McClimans knew what the call meant.
“I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ He said, ‘No sir, I’m not.’ ”
North was there to inform him that McClimans’ son, Capt. Joshua McClimans, 30, a registered nurse serving with the U.S. Army Reserve, had been killed in action in Afghanistan.
Capt. McClimans apparently had left his living quarters to begin a 12-hour shift at a hospital when he was shot.
read more here
Jamestown family mourns loss of soldier killed in Afghanistan
Female veterans get their own VFW Post!
Vets start female-focused VFW post
By Matthew Daneman - USA Today
Posted : Monday Apr 25, 2011 6:21:44 EDT
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Marlene Roll is used to standing out in a crowd.
The former Army reservist joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1991 shortly after returning from a deployment in the Middle East during the Persian Gulf War. She quickly found that attracting fellow female military veterans to the male-dominated VFW was no easy task.
As Roll rose through the ranks of the VFW, and post after post asked her for advice on attracting female members, she decided maybe a different approach was needed.
“I thought the only way to bring them in was give them a post of their own,” said Roll, chief of staff for the New York state VFW and women veterans chairwoman for the national VFW.
And so, Roll went to work organizing what has become the nation’s only VFW post founded by and targeting the needs of women.
Men often wear their military backgrounds almost literally on their sleeve, with jackets or hats proclaiming their veteran statuses, Roll said.
“But not in the female world. A lot of them didn’t even know they were veterans and eligible for the VFW,” said Roll, 46, of Alden, N.Y. “And a lot of them shifted gears when they came back — ‘I’m a mom, I’m a business woman.’”
The VFW has a membership of 1.6 million, with membership typically being men ages 60 and up, said Jerry Newberry, VFW director of communications.
read more here
Vets start female-focused VFW post
By Matthew Daneman - USA Today
Posted : Monday Apr 25, 2011 6:21:44 EDT
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Marlene Roll is used to standing out in a crowd.
The former Army reservist joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1991 shortly after returning from a deployment in the Middle East during the Persian Gulf War. She quickly found that attracting fellow female military veterans to the male-dominated VFW was no easy task.
As Roll rose through the ranks of the VFW, and post after post asked her for advice on attracting female members, she decided maybe a different approach was needed.
“I thought the only way to bring them in was give them a post of their own,” said Roll, chief of staff for the New York state VFW and women veterans chairwoman for the national VFW.
And so, Roll went to work organizing what has become the nation’s only VFW post founded by and targeting the needs of women.
Men often wear their military backgrounds almost literally on their sleeve, with jackets or hats proclaiming their veteran statuses, Roll said.
“But not in the female world. A lot of them didn’t even know they were veterans and eligible for the VFW,” said Roll, 46, of Alden, N.Y. “And a lot of them shifted gears when they came back — ‘I’m a mom, I’m a business woman.’”
The VFW has a membership of 1.6 million, with membership typically being men ages 60 and up, said Jerry Newberry, VFW director of communications.
read more here
Vets start female-focused VFW post
Mother remembers night tornado struck, injured son at Camp Lejeune
Mother remembers night tornado struck, injured son
April 24, 2011 11:38 AM
HOPE HODGE
One moment, Kelsey Salerno had reached into the crib of her 23-month old son Evan to comfort him against a coming storm. The next, she had been hurled away from the crib and buried under sheetrock, and the baby had disappeared.
That is how Salerno, 21, remembers experiencing the April 16 tornado that tore through sections of Camp Lejeune housing, leaving the Salernos’ house a pile of rubble in its wake.
“I was just barely touching (Evan) when it sounded like a freight train,” she said. “I look over and the window is busted. I see the curtain is blowing and there’s glass everywhere, and all of a sudden I get thrown to a corner of the bedroom. I’m tumbling, all of a sudden I’m rolling and rolling and all I see is gray; that’s all that I can see.”
Salerno’s husband, Seaman Jesse Salerno, a corpsman with 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, had returned from his first deployment in August and was now training for a May deployment in California. High school sweethearts from Charleston, S.C., the Salernos had known that life as a military family would not be easy, but they had never realized one of their greatest trials would come in the form of a Carolina tornado.
“You know, I’ve lived on the coast my whole life,” Kelsey Salerno said. “I know more about hurricanes than anything else. But I never thought I’d have to deal with a tornado.”
But when she was ripped away from her son, instinct was more powerful than experience.
read more here
Mother remembers night tornado struck, injured son
April 24, 2011 11:38 AM
HOPE HODGE
One moment, Kelsey Salerno had reached into the crib of her 23-month old son Evan to comfort him against a coming storm. The next, she had been hurled away from the crib and buried under sheetrock, and the baby had disappeared.
That is how Salerno, 21, remembers experiencing the April 16 tornado that tore through sections of Camp Lejeune housing, leaving the Salernos’ house a pile of rubble in its wake.
“I was just barely touching (Evan) when it sounded like a freight train,” she said. “I look over and the window is busted. I see the curtain is blowing and there’s glass everywhere, and all of a sudden I get thrown to a corner of the bedroom. I’m tumbling, all of a sudden I’m rolling and rolling and all I see is gray; that’s all that I can see.”
Salerno’s husband, Seaman Jesse Salerno, a corpsman with 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, had returned from his first deployment in August and was now training for a May deployment in California. High school sweethearts from Charleston, S.C., the Salernos had known that life as a military family would not be easy, but they had never realized one of their greatest trials would come in the form of a Carolina tornado.
“You know, I’ve lived on the coast my whole life,” Kelsey Salerno said. “I know more about hurricanes than anything else. But I never thought I’d have to deal with a tornado.”
But when she was ripped away from her son, instinct was more powerful than experience.
read more here
Mother remembers night tornado struck, injured son
War, Wives and a Near Suicide
Reading this, all I could think about was some friends. The same thing happened to them but we don't want to talk about any of this. We don't want to talk about the fact some of these "Army Wives" spent years in college, got degrees and then discovered none of it does any good when you are tied to military because the person you fell in love with belongs to the government. They go where they are sent for as long as they are told to stay. This means the families go with them. Kids end up in different schools but they are surrounded by other kids with the same stories. For a spouse, jobs are hard to get no matter how much they have to pay back in student loans.
A friend of mine became a lawyer. She was married to a helicopter pilot. She had a couple of kids to take care of but part of her wanted to practice law. Unable to join a firm because they could end up moving with a transfer, she had a lot more to worry about than just his deployments. She had to worry about all of it including her own future.
One of the other things we don't talk about is the other sword hanging over their heads. Like with all marriages, there is always the chance of a spouse falling out of love with them and in love with someone else. When they get divorced they lose all of it. They have to find another place to live and pick up the pieces of their past civilian lives.
My friend ended up divorced and alone to raise her kids. She didn't have many friends outside of military and her family was not close leaving her basically alone wondering what all the years of sacrificing for the military was for.
When you read this story, understand that it happens all the time. It is a serious issue they face all the time.
A friend of mine became a lawyer. She was married to a helicopter pilot. She had a couple of kids to take care of but part of her wanted to practice law. Unable to join a firm because they could end up moving with a transfer, she had a lot more to worry about than just his deployments. She had to worry about all of it including her own future.
One of the other things we don't talk about is the other sword hanging over their heads. Like with all marriages, there is always the chance of a spouse falling out of love with them and in love with someone else. When they get divorced they lose all of it. They have to find another place to live and pick up the pieces of their past civilian lives.
My friend ended up divorced and alone to raise her kids. She didn't have many friends outside of military and her family was not close leaving her basically alone wondering what all the years of sacrificing for the military was for.
When you read this story, understand that it happens all the time. It is a serious issue they face all the time.
April 25, 2011, 8:26 AM
War, Wives and a Near Suicide
By ALISON BUCKHOLTZ
“If you are reading this, you should know that I am dead,” began the blog of a 27-year-old Army wife named Jessica Harp. “At least I hope I’m dead,” she added. “It would be awful to fail at your own suicide.”
The entry, posted to the blog “(Mis)Adventures of an Army Wife” on April 11, was titled “A Final Goodbye.” Its broad outlines, though not dramatic conclusion, are recognizable to many in the post-9/11 generation of military spouses. In 4,100 words, Ms. Harp chronicled her husband’s severe depression after his unit’s deployment to Afghanistan in 2009, and her own subsequent depression, for which she sought counseling and medication.
After her husband’s return and their cross-country move to Fort Jackson, S.C., so he could attend an eight-month officers’ course, she was told she could not join the base’s family support group because her husband was only a student there. She tried to put to use her master’s degree in financial counseling, but was told she was unemployable because she would be leaving the area before the year’s end. Her husband’s erratic behavior, coupled with his drinking, convinced her that he was an alcoholic, and she encouraged him to get help.
“The doctor immediately put him on antidepressants and sleeping pills,” she recounts. “And that was it. No counseling. No getting to the root cause of the issue. Just drugs.” She writes that he mixed his prescriptions with alcohol and at times became violent.
As their marriage deteriorated, Ms. Harp realized her husband was involved with another woman. Ms. Harp checked herself into the hospital because of suicidal thoughts, and her husband left her. She felt that the military community, for which she had given up her career and her independence, had abandoned her as well. “I wish he had just died in combat,” she writes. “If he had died, I would have been surrounded with so much support that I wouldn’t have known what to do with it. Instead, he has discarded me on the side of the road like a piece of rubbish, and the Army ‘family’ has shrugged its shoulders and said, ‘Well, he doesn’t want you anymore. There’s nothing we can do about it.’ ”
read more here
War, Wives and a Near Suicide
Alligator invites himself into Palmetto home
Off topic but part of life in Florida
Alligator invites himself into Palmetto home
(Photo/Jimmy Pollack) Seeing the gator was quite a shock for homeowner Alexis Dunbar, who had just walked in her front door.
PALMETTO --
A Manatee County woman got quite a surprise Saturday when she found a 6-foot alligator in her house.
Seeing the gator was quite a shock for homeowner Alexis Dunbar, who had just walked in her front door.
"I look to the right," she said. "And there's an alligator in my guest bedroom."
Dunbar immediately got out of the house, and became concerned for her pets.
see more pictures and read more here
Alligator invites himself into Palmetto home
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Why Are We Throwing Traumatized Vets in Jail for Calling 911
Why Are We Throwing Traumatized Vets in Jail for Calling 911?
Joe Bangert is being jailed for doing exactly what he was trained to do: calling for backup when he feels threatened.
April 21, 2011
On March 4, 2011, the Honorable J. Thomas Kirkman, addressed the defendant in Barnstable Massachusetts' Second District Court: "Mr. Bangert, I see that you served your country honorably. It's time to do that again. I'm asking you to serve your country honorably again by (spending) nine months in the house of correction." And the gavel came down.
Joe's crime? Calling 911.
Joe Bangert is being punished for doing exactly what he was trained to do: calling for backup when he feels threatened. The problem is that, since September 11, it's not always clear to him whether the threat is coming from outside or inside. His PTSD keeps him constantly on full alert, trying to keep everything and everyone out beyond what vets call the "kiss me/kill me" range.
No question about it: Joe can be a civic nightmare. When he's upset, things get messy, rules get broken. But that should come as no surprise. We have studies going back 100 years connecting wartime experiences with traumatic injuries that lead to criminal behaviors.
read more here
Why Are We Throwing Traumatized Vets in Jail for Calling 911
Joe Bangert is being jailed for doing exactly what he was trained to do: calling for backup when he feels threatened.
April 21, 2011
On March 4, 2011, the Honorable J. Thomas Kirkman, addressed the defendant in Barnstable Massachusetts' Second District Court: "Mr. Bangert, I see that you served your country honorably. It's time to do that again. I'm asking you to serve your country honorably again by (spending) nine months in the house of correction." And the gavel came down.
Joe's crime? Calling 911.
Joe Bangert is being punished for doing exactly what he was trained to do: calling for backup when he feels threatened. The problem is that, since September 11, it's not always clear to him whether the threat is coming from outside or inside. His PTSD keeps him constantly on full alert, trying to keep everything and everyone out beyond what vets call the "kiss me/kill me" range.
No question about it: Joe can be a civic nightmare. When he's upset, things get messy, rules get broken. But that should come as no surprise. We have studies going back 100 years connecting wartime experiences with traumatic injuries that lead to criminal behaviors.
read more here
Why Are We Throwing Traumatized Vets in Jail for Calling 911
Don't be fooled by some collecting for veterans
There is the
Disabled Veterans Foundation
Then there is Disabled Veterans National Foundation
This all has people very confused because when they hear Disabled Veterans, they think DAV.org
The DAV does not dress up in a costume. I call it that because there are people collecting money in uniform but when asked, they say they are not a veteran but paid to collect on streets.
Disabled American Veterans, the DAV known nationally for what they've been doing for disabled veterans since,
It is totally up to you if you want to give to these other groups or not but don't think your giving money to the DAV when it is going to one of the other groups.
Near my home they have been collecting all weekend. One told me he was a disabled vet, then when I asked him "who are you with" he said Disabled American Veterans Foundation but he wasn't. I told him I was with the Auxiliary, then he said, "Oh no, not that one" but this isn't new. If they can give you a fast answer so you'll drop a buck into the bucket, you'll drive away thinking you just donated to the DAV. He was with the Disabled Veterans Foundation. The names are so close that people can't tell them apart but the veterans can. They know how much work the DAV does for them and how long they've been doing it.
Disabled Veterans Foundation
Then there is Disabled Veterans National Foundation
This all has people very confused because when they hear Disabled Veterans, they think DAV.org
The DAV does not dress up in a costume. I call it that because there are people collecting money in uniform but when asked, they say they are not a veteran but paid to collect on streets.
Disabled American Veterans, the DAV known nationally for what they've been doing for disabled veterans since,
"Incorporated in 1931, the Disabled American Veterans National Service Foundation was set up to assist in raising funds for the service initiatives of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) National Organization. The Foundation initially served to ensure that the DAV’s National Service Program and other service initiatives would always be available should the DAV National Organization suffer a downturn in its financial health. Over the years, the Foundation’s role has grown and changed as the times and the needs of veterans and DAV service programs at all levels have changed.
From the outset, the Foundation has continued its identity as a separate nonprofit organization, maintaining its primary focus on direct services for veterans who come home from military service sick or injured. In this way, it has become a strong partner of the DAV in our mission to build better lives for America’s disabled veterans and their families."
It is totally up to you if you want to give to these other groups or not but don't think your giving money to the DAV when it is going to one of the other groups.
Near my home they have been collecting all weekend. One told me he was a disabled vet, then when I asked him "who are you with" he said Disabled American Veterans Foundation but he wasn't. I told him I was with the Auxiliary, then he said, "Oh no, not that one" but this isn't new. If they can give you a fast answer so you'll drop a buck into the bucket, you'll drive away thinking you just donated to the DAV. He was with the Disabled Veterans Foundation. The names are so close that people can't tell them apart but the veterans can. They know how much work the DAV does for them and how long they've been doing it.
Bachmann settles "birth issue" too late for Maj. Gen. Karl Horst
Correction:
To replace Horst with Lakin. The change of mind of Bachmann came too late when Horst had to approve the sentence of Lakin. Totally embarrassed over this misplaced name.
To replace Horst with Lakin. The change of mind of Bachmann came too late when Horst had to approve the sentence of Lakin. Totally embarrassed over this misplaced name.
Because of people like Michele Bachmann getting attention for accusing President Obama of not being a natural born citizen, there were a lot of people paying the price for what this "congresswoman" told them. People like Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin believed it and it cost him his career and freedom.
Military affirms Army birther’s sentence
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Apr 22, 2011 13:49:00 EDT
FORT MEADE, Md. — The commander of the Military District of Washington is affirming the six-month prison sentence of an Army doctor who disobeyed deployment orders because he doubted President Barack Obama’s eligibility to serve as commander-in-chief.
A spokeswoman said Friday that Army Maj. Gen. Karl Horst has approved the findings and sentence of Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin’s court-martial in December.
Lakin was sentenced to six months at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for refusing to go to Afghanistan.
In online videos posted on YouTube, Lakin aligned himself with the so-called “birther” movement that questions whether Obama is a natural-born citizen, as the Constitution requires for presidents.
Lakin’s sentence also includes dismissal from the armed services.
Now with the same evidence she had since the beginning about President Obama's place of birth being Hawaii, now she says "it's settled" but it is too late to undo the damage done.
"Not proud of lack of care our vets are receiving now"
There is only one "one size fits all" therapy for veterans and that is we do all we can to give them what they need. If a tiny program works for these veterans, do it. Don't find excuses to cut something that is helping them heal. Doing all we can is therapy for them because we prove they do matter. Cutting programs tells them they are not worth the price.
End of VA program spurs protests
Posted: April 22, 2011
By Ann Marie Bush
THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
The elimination of a program at the Colmery-O'Neil VA Medical Center has some people concerned about the possibility of cuts to other veterans’ programs.
"The bottom line is the VA has closed some very important clinics," said Marvella Kreipe, of Tecumseh.
At issue in this case is the lapidary program, where rock cutting and polishing took place.
Kreipe and her husband, Bill, a Vietnam veteran, were two of six people protesting cuts outside of the VA hospital Thursday afternoon.
Georgia and James Bent, of Quenemo, also held signs protesting the closure of the lapidary program and the possible closure of other programs.
James Bent, who served in the Kansas National Guard, has had a lot of improvement during his time in the lapidary program, Georgia Bent said. James returned from Iraq a few years ago.
"My husband was in the military for over 20 years," Georgia wrote in an email. "He and I are both proud of that. What we are not proud of is the lack of care our vets are receiving now. My husband is not the same man he was prior to spending a year in Iraq. It has taken many, many months of counseling and treatment programs to get him where he is able to function normally."
read more here
End of VA program spurs protests
Female Army Vet, released from PTSD program, committed suicide at shooting range
TAYLOR: Iowa woman recently released from post-traumatic stress disorder treatment program
Published: Saturday, April 23, 2011
By Rene Cizio
TAYLOR — A 38-year-old Iowa woman killed herself Wednesday at Top Gun Shooting Sports, 16725 Racho Road.
Police said Army veteran Wendy Torrey had been released recently from a post-traumatic stress disorder treatment program at the Battle Creek Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Police said Torrey went to the range at about 1 p.m., rented a semiautomatic handgun and shot at targets for awhile. Surveillance video shows that she stopped firing at the target and shot herself in the head.
read more here
Iowa woman recently released
Published: Saturday, April 23, 2011
By Rene Cizio
TAYLOR — A 38-year-old Iowa woman killed herself Wednesday at Top Gun Shooting Sports, 16725 Racho Road.
Police said Army veteran Wendy Torrey had been released recently from a post-traumatic stress disorder treatment program at the Battle Creek Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Police said Torrey went to the range at about 1 p.m., rented a semiautomatic handgun and shot at targets for awhile. Surveillance video shows that she stopped firing at the target and shot herself in the head.
read more here
Iowa woman recently released
Ignored sacrifices
If you search Google images for Easter, there are 20,700,000 results to find. This was the first picture and up until page 11 in the results, it was all about colored eggs and the Easter Bunny.
Much like Christmas being all about Santa, Easter has been taken over and has taken away Christ. This image showed up on page 11.
If you go to church, Christmas is all about the birth of Christ. At least that's the day Christians celebrate it but when you look back to why they decided on December 25, discovering this day is not really a holy day to most of the world, is not that big of a shock. The trees, holly and celebrations were tied to old traditions of celebrating the Winter Solstice and had nothing to do with the birth of the Son of God. It was all about what was in it for the people. The early Christian church couldn't get the people to stop celebrating, so they decided to tie the celebrating to Christ.
Easter has been one more time during the year when people do more celebrating than honoring the willingness of Christ to sacrifice His life for the sake of humanity. We ignore His life, how He lived and what He did, pretend that the crucifixion was a failure instead of a known outcome predicted 700 years before it happened as much as we forget He had a choice that day to walk away or fulfill God's mercy. When plain humans have a choice of thinking of themselves or of others, we seem to find it easier to accept self interest above sacrifice. Most want to know what's in if for them.
We ignore sacrifices everyday. Volunteering is considered to be done by people not good enough to be paid for what they do. High school graduates entering into the military are thought of as doing it just because they can't find a job or can't afford college. Sacrifices for the sake of someone else are reasons to find excuses to dismiss what some do for the sake of others. It makes us feel better about ourselves when we do nothing for anyone else.
We ignore Christ and forget about God until we need something from them. We ignore the men and women serving in the military until we need them to do something for the country and what they do better end soon after it begins or we lose interests, then complain about how much what they are doing is costing us. We ignore volunteers until something is not being done and then we wonder why no one is showing up to feed the hungry, help someone in need or even hold a door for us when our hands are full.
When the world turns selfish, we wonder why, until another disaster hits and suddenly they show up again. It is not that they stopped doing things for other people. We stopped looking for them.
If you go to church, Christmas is all about the birth of Christ. At least that's the day Christians celebrate it but when you look back to why they decided on December 25, discovering this day is not really a holy day to most of the world, is not that big of a shock. The trees, holly and celebrations were tied to old traditions of celebrating the Winter Solstice and had nothing to do with the birth of the Son of God. It was all about what was in it for the people. The early Christian church couldn't get the people to stop celebrating, so they decided to tie the celebrating to Christ.
Easter has been one more time during the year when people do more celebrating than honoring the willingness of Christ to sacrifice His life for the sake of humanity. We ignore His life, how He lived and what He did, pretend that the crucifixion was a failure instead of a known outcome predicted 700 years before it happened as much as we forget He had a choice that day to walk away or fulfill God's mercy. When plain humans have a choice of thinking of themselves or of others, we seem to find it easier to accept self interest above sacrifice. Most want to know what's in if for them.
We ignore sacrifices everyday. Volunteering is considered to be done by people not good enough to be paid for what they do. High school graduates entering into the military are thought of as doing it just because they can't find a job or can't afford college. Sacrifices for the sake of someone else are reasons to find excuses to dismiss what some do for the sake of others. It makes us feel better about ourselves when we do nothing for anyone else.
We ignore Christ and forget about God until we need something from them. We ignore the men and women serving in the military until we need them to do something for the country and what they do better end soon after it begins or we lose interests, then complain about how much what they are doing is costing us. We ignore volunteers until something is not being done and then we wonder why no one is showing up to feed the hungry, help someone in need or even hold a door for us when our hands are full.
When the world turns selfish, we wonder why, until another disaster hits and suddenly they show up again. It is not that they stopped doing things for other people. We stopped looking for them.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Reporter ignores more important story
This is what the headline was.
Ex-Marine beats wife during divorce hearing
They focused on the fact this man was a Marine. Was that just an easier headline for them to use than the fact this woman tried to get a restraining order against her husband but it was denied before this even happened? Where was her protection?
When women are afraid in their own home, it is about as bad as it gets, but for too many the nightmare comes when they try to get someone to protect them. Why was it denied? Who denied it?
We cover a lot of stories on veterans but one that does not get enough attention is the simple fact that some of the veterans coming back are living on anger because they did not get the help they needed. This is a price being paid all too often.
When families are dealing with PTSD veterans, it makes it harder to live with some of them. Keep in mind that most do not abuse their families, but as we've read too many times, some do. The first thing families need to do is find a safe place to live and then try to get their spouse help from a distance.
I don't know if Gonzalez has PTSD or not but I do know this woman tried to get protection from him and this is the result of her not getting it. So why was this a bigger story as an ex-Marine beating his wife in court than the fact the court refused to help her be save in the first place?
Ex-Marine beats wife during divorce hearing
They focused on the fact this man was a Marine. Was that just an easier headline for them to use than the fact this woman tried to get a restraining order against her husband but it was denied before this even happened? Where was her protection?
Wife speaks about court attack
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A mother of two came on camera to talk about a brutal beating by her husband that unfolded in front of a judge.
The incident occurred at the Broward County Courthouse, last Friday.
Caty Scott-Gonzalez was at the final court hearing for her divorce from her husband, Paul Gonzalez. Scott-Gonzalez said her husband blind-sided her inside the private chambers of Judge Ronald Rothschild. As Gonzalez began beating his wife, a dozen bailiffs rushed in to subdue him.
The victim said, "They had to Tase him twice in order to remove him from me."
Scott-Gonzalez was beaten so badly, she fell unconscious. "The first blow to my face knocked me out, so I don't really remember anything," she said. "I just had a bad feeling, but I thought that the place that I was in, that there was nothing that could happen to me, and I was wrong."
Gonzalez has been charged with felony battery. The ex-Marine remains in jail on $1 million bond. During Gonzalez's appearance in bond court, the judge said, "Rarely in my career have I ever set a bond in this amount or even approaching it, but the allegations are indeed extremely serious and shocking."
According to Scott-Gonzalez, she tried to tell others that her husband could be violent at times. The battered wife said she attempted to get a restraining order against her husband; however, her request was denied.
click link above for more
When women are afraid in their own home, it is about as bad as it gets, but for too many the nightmare comes when they try to get someone to protect them. Why was it denied? Who denied it?
We cover a lot of stories on veterans but one that does not get enough attention is the simple fact that some of the veterans coming back are living on anger because they did not get the help they needed. This is a price being paid all too often.
When families are dealing with PTSD veterans, it makes it harder to live with some of them. Keep in mind that most do not abuse their families, but as we've read too many times, some do. The first thing families need to do is find a safe place to live and then try to get their spouse help from a distance.
I don't know if Gonzalez has PTSD or not but I do know this woman tried to get protection from him and this is the result of her not getting it. So why was this a bigger story as an ex-Marine beating his wife in court than the fact the court refused to help her be save in the first place?
Military faces challenge to malpractice shield Feres
Military faces challenge to malpractice shield
(AP)
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Veterans, military families and others who oppose a decades-old law that shields military medical personnel from malpractice lawsuits are rallying around a case they consider the best chance in a generation to change the widely unpopular protection.
The U.S. Supreme Court has asked for more information from attorneys and will decide next month whether to hear the case of a 25-year-old noncommissioned officer who died after a nurse put a tube down the wrong part of his throat.
If the law is overturned, it could expose the federal government to billions of dollars in liability claims. That makes it highly unlikely a divided Congress desperate to cut expenses will act on its own to change what's called the Feres Doctrine, a 1950 Supreme Court ruling that effectively equates injuries from medical mistakes with battlefield wounds.
The court case involves the death of Air Force Staff Sgt. Dean Patrick Witt, who was hospitalized in 2003 for what should have been a routine appendectomy at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif. Following surgery, a nurse anesthetist inserted a breathing tube into his esophagus instead of his trachea or airway, depriving his brain of oxygen. Witt, of Oroville, Calif., died once his family removed him from life support three months later.
The nurse admitted her mistake and surrendered her state license. Federal courts denied the legal claim by Witt's widow, saying their hands were tied by the Feres Doctrine. Witt's family appealed, aiming to help other service members who get hurt in military hospitals.
"We labored on this for a long, long time, and we decided that the right thing to do here was to protect the rights of other people who go into the military and are signing away their rights to get good health care in the military system," said Witt's brother-in-law, Carlos Lopez, of Salt Lake City. "So we're hoping, we're praying, that his case could be the one that changes everything."
The Feres (pronounced FEHR-es) ruling grew out of the Federal Tort Claims Act of 1946, which allowed lawsuits against the government for negligent acts under certain circumstances. Initially the law was interpreted to forbid lawsuits by military personnel and their families only for combat-related injuries and deaths, but the decision in Feres vs. United States — involving a soldier who died in a barracks fire — widened that exclusion to bar any lawsuits over injuries "incident to military service."
read more here
Military faces challenge to malpractice shield
(AP)
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — Veterans, military families and others who oppose a decades-old law that shields military medical personnel from malpractice lawsuits are rallying around a case they consider the best chance in a generation to change the widely unpopular protection.
The U.S. Supreme Court has asked for more information from attorneys and will decide next month whether to hear the case of a 25-year-old noncommissioned officer who died after a nurse put a tube down the wrong part of his throat.
If the law is overturned, it could expose the federal government to billions of dollars in liability claims. That makes it highly unlikely a divided Congress desperate to cut expenses will act on its own to change what's called the Feres Doctrine, a 1950 Supreme Court ruling that effectively equates injuries from medical mistakes with battlefield wounds.
The court case involves the death of Air Force Staff Sgt. Dean Patrick Witt, who was hospitalized in 2003 for what should have been a routine appendectomy at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif. Following surgery, a nurse anesthetist inserted a breathing tube into his esophagus instead of his trachea or airway, depriving his brain of oxygen. Witt, of Oroville, Calif., died once his family removed him from life support three months later.
The nurse admitted her mistake and surrendered her state license. Federal courts denied the legal claim by Witt's widow, saying their hands were tied by the Feres Doctrine. Witt's family appealed, aiming to help other service members who get hurt in military hospitals.
"We labored on this for a long, long time, and we decided that the right thing to do here was to protect the rights of other people who go into the military and are signing away their rights to get good health care in the military system," said Witt's brother-in-law, Carlos Lopez, of Salt Lake City. "So we're hoping, we're praying, that his case could be the one that changes everything."
The Feres (pronounced FEHR-es) ruling grew out of the Federal Tort Claims Act of 1946, which allowed lawsuits against the government for negligent acts under certain circumstances. Initially the law was interpreted to forbid lawsuits by military personnel and their families only for combat-related injuries and deaths, but the decision in Feres vs. United States — involving a soldier who died in a barracks fire — widened that exclusion to bar any lawsuits over injuries "incident to military service."
read more here
Military faces challenge to malpractice shield
Friday, April 22, 2011
After over 60 years, Daytona Beach soldier's remains are coming home
Many people do not know how many were not accounted for after Korea.
Here is one more story I came across that will warm your heart a bit more. It is about the Vietnam War and a group of veterans, police and firefighters making a difference.
KOREAN UNACCOUNTED FOR
(Bodies not identified/bodies not recovered) 8,176
Prisoner of War 2,045
Killed in Action 1,794
Missing in Action 4,245
Non-battle 92
Total: 8,176
After over 60 years, Daytona Beach soldier's remains are coming home
By Jason Wheeler, Volusia County Reporter
Last Updated: Friday, April 22, 2011 2:58 PM
DAYTONA BEACH --
The son of a U.S. soldier, killed during the Korean War, is getting ready to lay his father to rest -- 61 years after he died.
Sergeant First Class James Caldwell's remains were were excavated from a mass grave by the North Korean government in the 90's, and turned over to the U.S.
DNA helped identify the remains at the POW-MIA Accountability Center.
Johnston Caldwell was a toddler when his father disappeared in 1950.
For Caldwell, he and his sister said their goodbyes years ago.
"I lost my dad when I was a kid, only 4 1/2 years of age," Johnston Caldwell said. "I never got to know that much about him except what my mother told me, so we kind of buried him a long time ago."
James Caldwell's remains are being flown to Volusia County on Monday. They will be met by a full military honor guard, as well as the president of the local Korean War Veterans Assocation, Robert McGuire.
According to McGuire, Caldwell's family is lucky. Many more families are still waiting for word of their loved ones.
read more here
Daytona Beach soldier's remains are coming home
Here is one more story I came across that will warm your heart a bit more. It is about the Vietnam War and a group of veterans, police and firefighters making a difference.
KIA Man’s Dog Tag Returned to Family by Nam Knights
Biker group returns fallen soldier’s dog tag
By AUDREY PARENTE, Staff writer
March 10, 2011 – DAYTONA BEACH — At 16, Darlene Woodruff looked up to her soldier cousin, Army Sgt. Robert Melvin Fletcher, who wrote letters to her from the jungles of Vietnam.
The thought of him not coming home never crossed her mind. But on Mother’s Day in 1968, she learned of his death.
“I remember thinking — wondering — what kind of things he had faced over there as such a young man,” Woodruff said. “I remember thinking he had done something far greater than I had done or would ever do.”
More than four decades later, as part of an annual Bike Week party Thursday morning, she learned how her cousin died.
At a special ceremony at the Veterans of Foreign War Post 1590, she watched her sister, Sharron Blais, clutch his dog tag and hug the soldier in whose arms he died.
The former soldier, retired steelworker Clifford William Searcy Jr., found his way to Daytona Beach and Fletcher’s family as part of a chain of events that began in 1998 when a Wall Street trader bought a sack of 100 dog tags from a Vietnamese peasant. The journey ended with Searcy telling Woodruff and Blais the story of their cousin’s final moments.
read more here
KIA Man’s Dog Tag Returned to Family by Nam Knights
JP Morgan and Chase will pay $26 Military Foreclosure Claims
Bank Settles Military Foreclosure Claims
April 22, 2011
Stars and Stripes|by Bill Murphy Jr.
Banking giant JPMorgan Chase and Co., which admitted earlier this year that it had improperly overcharged thousands of military families on their mortgages and foreclosed on the homes of servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan, will pay $26 million to settle the class action lawsuit that brought the activity to light.
Marine Capt. Jonathan Rowles and his wife, Julia, filed the suit, which accused Chase of ignoring the protections they were due under a federal law known as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
“We are sorry and regret the mistakes our firm made on mortgages for members of the military, and we’d like to thank Capt. and Mrs. Rowles for helping us address them,” Chase's chief administrative officer, Frank Bisignano, said in a statement announcing the deal. “We hold ourselves accountable and responsible for these mistakes, and fixing them is just the beginning of a new way forward with the military and veteran community as we make serving them a core part of how we operate our business every day."
“My family and I thank Chase for resolving this matter,” Capt. Rowles said in the same statement.
“It is our hope that this settlement will result in greater attention by the entire financial services industry to the nation’s laws that protect our military families."
read more here
Bank Settles Military Foreclosure Claims
April 22, 2011
Stars and Stripes|by Bill Murphy Jr.
Banking giant JPMorgan Chase and Co., which admitted earlier this year that it had improperly overcharged thousands of military families on their mortgages and foreclosed on the homes of servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan, will pay $26 million to settle the class action lawsuit that brought the activity to light.
Marine Capt. Jonathan Rowles and his wife, Julia, filed the suit, which accused Chase of ignoring the protections they were due under a federal law known as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
“We are sorry and regret the mistakes our firm made on mortgages for members of the military, and we’d like to thank Capt. and Mrs. Rowles for helping us address them,” Chase's chief administrative officer, Frank Bisignano, said in a statement announcing the deal. “We hold ourselves accountable and responsible for these mistakes, and fixing them is just the beginning of a new way forward with the military and veteran community as we make serving them a core part of how we operate our business every day."
“My family and I thank Chase for resolving this matter,” Capt. Rowles said in the same statement.
“It is our hope that this settlement will result in greater attention by the entire financial services industry to the nation’s laws that protect our military families."
read more here
Bank Settles Military Foreclosure Claims
Scientists make breakthrough in understanding stress related disorders again
Most enter into the military right out of high school. This region of the brian is not fully developed until the age of 25. So there you have part one of the reason so many young veterans never leave combat behind and why they grow old fighting battles in their minds.
The problem I'm having right now is this study was even done in the UK when it was already known years ago. This is one more reason why there has been no real new research done.
I've been involved with PTSD since 1982 when I met my Vietnam Vet husband. Over the years there isn't much I have not read simply because my life was involved as his wife. This wasn't just research to me. It was my life so it mattered a great deal. Over all these years I've gone to more conferences and taken training to the point where I cannot remember all of them unless I search my book case and storage boxes for the information I brought back home. I can tell you for a fact this information has been out there for several years but it did not come from studying members of the military. It came from research done on civilians.
What this does not include is the answer as to why the average rate of humans exposed to trauma and ending up with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is one out of three and not 100%. The answer is in how we are all different.
Some people are selfish thinking about themselves and their own needs more than others. Some are compassionate enough that they put other people ahead of themselves. Some are in between these two groups. PTSD strikes those who are able to feel more deeply than others. They not only walk away with their own pain but they take upon themselves the pain of others.
They want to develop a drug that blocks proteins without ever understanding why PTSD strikes in the first place. They don't understand why the exposures to traumatic events increase the risk of PTSD even in the subjects that fall into the "self" group. They ignore the increased levels of police officers over firefighters and the military higher than anyone else. Police and military members are not only exposed to more events but they also participate in the events with violence. Their PTSD is much different than simply surviving the event itself. Firefighters respond after the fire and they develop PTSD as well but as with civilians, it is a different type of wound they carry with them.
Until researchers understand what is behind it, they will not make any real contributions to healing it. Repeating studies that were already done is a waste of time.
Scientists make breakthrough in understanding stress
A team of neuroscientists has made a breakthrough in understanding how the brain responds to traumatic events.
The discovery could lead to new treatments for stress-related psychiatric disorders.
Dr Robert Pawlak, from the University of Leicester, said: "It was known certain individuals are more susceptible to detrimental effects of stress.
"However, the reasons were not clear."
Researchers, led by Dr Pawlak, found that the emotional centre of the brain – the amygdala – reacts to stress by increasing production of the protein neuropsin.
This triggers a series of chemical reactions including activating a gene that determines the stress response.
Blocking those proteins reduced stress levels.
Dr Pawlak said: "We are tremendously excited about these findings. Our discovery opens new possibilities for the prevention and treatment of stress-related psychiatric disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder."
Scientists make breakthrough in understanding stress
The problem I'm having right now is this study was even done in the UK when it was already known years ago. This is one more reason why there has been no real new research done.
I've been involved with PTSD since 1982 when I met my Vietnam Vet husband. Over the years there isn't much I have not read simply because my life was involved as his wife. This wasn't just research to me. It was my life so it mattered a great deal. Over all these years I've gone to more conferences and taken training to the point where I cannot remember all of them unless I search my book case and storage boxes for the information I brought back home. I can tell you for a fact this information has been out there for several years but it did not come from studying members of the military. It came from research done on civilians.
What this does not include is the answer as to why the average rate of humans exposed to trauma and ending up with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is one out of three and not 100%. The answer is in how we are all different.
Some people are selfish thinking about themselves and their own needs more than others. Some are compassionate enough that they put other people ahead of themselves. Some are in between these two groups. PTSD strikes those who are able to feel more deeply than others. They not only walk away with their own pain but they take upon themselves the pain of others.
They want to develop a drug that blocks proteins without ever understanding why PTSD strikes in the first place. They don't understand why the exposures to traumatic events increase the risk of PTSD even in the subjects that fall into the "self" group. They ignore the increased levels of police officers over firefighters and the military higher than anyone else. Police and military members are not only exposed to more events but they also participate in the events with violence. Their PTSD is much different than simply surviving the event itself. Firefighters respond after the fire and they develop PTSD as well but as with civilians, it is a different type of wound they carry with them.
Until researchers understand what is behind it, they will not make any real contributions to healing it. Repeating studies that were already done is a waste of time.
It took a Vietnam Vet 28 years to have VA claim approved
You may read this and say "it's great" but when you think about the hell they go through between filing a claim and finally seeing the day it is honored, you'd know how high the price was. It eats away at them when they see everything they have slip away and it seems no one gives a damn.
Local veteran wins 28-year-long battle for disability and medical benefits with the help of Sen. Gillibrand
Published: Thursday, April 21, 2011
By PAUL POST
ppost@saratogian.com
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Vietnam veteran Roger Lefco has finally won a 28-year battle to obtain disability and medical benefits.
The 68-year-old Stillwater resident has obtained $42,000 in retroactive benefits and will get an additional $2,600 in monthly Veterans Administration benefits going forward.
He was forced to leave his job 10 years ago because of war-related post-traumatic stress disorder and has been out of work ever since.
"There is hope for New York veterans," he said. "They should never give up and keep on fighting for what they deserve."
Lefco served in Vietnam from 1963 to 1966, where he picked up fuel, bombs and explosives for delivery to his own base at Phu Bai. In 1970, he went to work for New York Telephone Co. where he stayed until December 2001, when PTSD forced him to leave his job.
Lefco filed his first claim for VA benefits in 1983. However, at that time, veterans were required to document specific incidents that might have triggered the disorder.
read more here
Local veteran wins 28-year-long battle
Judge Robert Russell and Veterans Treatment Court Honored
Legislature Honors Judge Robert Russell and Veterans Treatment Court
By WKBW News
April 20, 2011
Updated Apr 20, 2011 at 2:00 PM EDT
Buffalo, NY – ( release) The Erie County Legislature honored Judge Robert Russell and his vision and leadership in creating the nation’s first Veteran Treatment Court in Buffalo.
Legislator Daniel Kozub drafted the Proclamation that was read on the floor of the Legislature at a regular session on April 14, 2011. In it he thanked Judge Russell for forming the first ever veterans treatment court in the nation in January of 2008. Since that time the program has been copied in counties throughout the United States.
read more here
Legislature Honors Judge Robert Russell
By WKBW News
April 20, 2011
Updated Apr 20, 2011 at 2:00 PM EDT
Buffalo, NY – ( release) The Erie County Legislature honored Judge Robert Russell and his vision and leadership in creating the nation’s first Veteran Treatment Court in Buffalo.
Legislator Daniel Kozub drafted the Proclamation that was read on the floor of the Legislature at a regular session on April 14, 2011. In it he thanked Judge Russell for forming the first ever veterans treatment court in the nation in January of 2008. Since that time the program has been copied in counties throughout the United States.
read more here
Legislature Honors Judge Robert Russell
As many as one-third of U.S. military veterans suffering
If you doubted the "one out of three" percentage I usually use, when you read about "experts" saying the figure is a lot less, here is more proof supporting the percentage that has been used for over 30 years by experts working on PTSD before it was "newsworthy" and the media only focused on Vietnam Vets going to jail.
They self-medicate because they are not getting what they need, not getting support enough to seek help still and yes, still being treated as if they "owe" us anything when they have to fight the VA for disability ratings and treatment.
Vets substance abuse, mental illness link
Published: April 20, 2011 at 11:17 PM
NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 20 (UPI) -- As many as one-third of U.S. military veterans who suffer from mental health disorders also have substance use disorders, researchers say.
Study leader Dr. Ismene Petrakis of Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., used data from the Department of Veterans Affairs to examine rates of substance use disorders among veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. They checked those who were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychiatric disorders.
Read more:
Vets substance abuse, mental illness link
They self-medicate because they are not getting what they need, not getting support enough to seek help still and yes, still being treated as if they "owe" us anything when they have to fight the VA for disability ratings and treatment.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Col. Parker Schenecker says "Wife was ‘sick’ when she killed kids"
Colonel: Wife was ‘sick’ when she killed kids
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 21, 2011 15:51:06 EDT
TAMPA, Fla. — The husband of a woman who admitted killing her two teenage children says his wife suffered from mental illness since before they were married and likely had substance-abuse issues.
Still, Army Col. Parker Schenecker said, he never suspected his wife Julie would harm their children. Schenecker talked to People magazine for an issue that will be on newsstands Friday.
Julie Schenecker, 50, planned and carried out the fatal shootings of her 16-year-old daughter, Calyx, and 13-year-old son Beau, in January, police said.
read more here
Wife was ‘sick’ when she killed kids
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 21, 2011 15:51:06 EDT
TAMPA, Fla. — The husband of a woman who admitted killing her two teenage children says his wife suffered from mental illness since before they were married and likely had substance-abuse issues.
Still, Army Col. Parker Schenecker said, he never suspected his wife Julie would harm their children. Schenecker talked to People magazine for an issue that will be on newsstands Friday.
Julie Schenecker, 50, planned and carried out the fatal shootings of her 16-year-old daughter, Calyx, and 13-year-old son Beau, in January, police said.
read more here
Wife was ‘sick’ when she killed kids
Army "promises" change in the way National Guards-Reservists are treated
Wyden: Army Vows to Improve Guard Treatment
Changes Outlined Involving irag, Afghanistan Returnees
From KTVZ.COM News Sources
WASHINGTON -- Responding to concerns raised over the past year, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.),said Wednesday the Army has announced changes aimed at improving the treatment of National Guard and Reserve troops returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The changes announced in documents provided to Wyden’s office include ensuring each soldier receives proper medical care, improving communication about entitlements and benefits and greater access to medical care following demobilization.
The changes also include keeping Guard and Reserve leaders with their units at demobilization stations until each soldier receives the care and resources they have earned
“For more than a year now, we have been concerned that the Army was treating National Guard and Reserve troops differently by sending them home too quickly following demobilization and not informing them or providing them with the medical care they needed and deserved following a combat deployment,” Wyden said.
“The Department of Defense has acknowledged that the treatment of these troops was not what it should be. Now the military has taken steps to improve the situation. They deserve a great deal of credit for recognizing these problems and taking steps to fix them.”
"Our National Guard and Reserve men and women have served this nation honorably and with distinction," said Schrader. "They deserve, and are frankly entitled to, the same consideration during and after demobilization as Active Component service members. Being provided misinformation two hundred miles from the nearest Military Treatment Facility is not acceptable."
Under the new policies, the demobilization process for Guard and Reserve soldiers will be extended to up to 14 days rather than the previous five- to seven-day limit. This change addresses complaints that troops were being rushed off active duty too quickly and before their medical issues were properly identified and resolved. Another change includes making it easier to admit Guard and Reserve troops into the Warrior Transition Unit for medical treatment.
read more here
Army Vows to Improve Guard Treatment
Changes Outlined Involving irag, Afghanistan Returnees
From KTVZ.COM News Sources
WASHINGTON -- Responding to concerns raised over the past year, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.),said Wednesday the Army has announced changes aimed at improving the treatment of National Guard and Reserve troops returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The changes announced in documents provided to Wyden’s office include ensuring each soldier receives proper medical care, improving communication about entitlements and benefits and greater access to medical care following demobilization.
The changes also include keeping Guard and Reserve leaders with their units at demobilization stations until each soldier receives the care and resources they have earned
“For more than a year now, we have been concerned that the Army was treating National Guard and Reserve troops differently by sending them home too quickly following demobilization and not informing them or providing them with the medical care they needed and deserved following a combat deployment,” Wyden said.
“The Department of Defense has acknowledged that the treatment of these troops was not what it should be. Now the military has taken steps to improve the situation. They deserve a great deal of credit for recognizing these problems and taking steps to fix them.”
"Our National Guard and Reserve men and women have served this nation honorably and with distinction," said Schrader. "They deserve, and are frankly entitled to, the same consideration during and after demobilization as Active Component service members. Being provided misinformation two hundred miles from the nearest Military Treatment Facility is not acceptable."
Under the new policies, the demobilization process for Guard and Reserve soldiers will be extended to up to 14 days rather than the previous five- to seven-day limit. This change addresses complaints that troops were being rushed off active duty too quickly and before their medical issues were properly identified and resolved. Another change includes making it easier to admit Guard and Reserve troops into the Warrior Transition Unit for medical treatment.
read more here
Army Vows to Improve Guard Treatment
Another insult to 9-11 first responders, screening by FBI
Before you hit the roof, you need to know who to thank on this one. Here you go.
For the last 9 years all we've heard them say is 9-11 this and that. They started two wars using 9-11. They used the troops, they ignored veterans, they made the first responders wait all this time for help after they voted against taking care of their healthcare needs and now this!
"The provision was added in an amendment by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) during the heated debate over the bill in the House Energy and Commerce Committee last May.
Sept. 11 responders in the committee room at the time mostly shook their heads at the move, which Democrats accepted on a voice vote after battling to bar other amendments on abortion and immigration that might have killed the bill."
For the last 9 years all we've heard them say is 9-11 this and that. They started two wars using 9-11. They used the troops, they ignored veterans, they made the first responders wait all this time for help after they voted against taking care of their healthcare needs and now this!
9/11 Responders To Be Warned They Will Be Screened By FBI's Terrorism Watch List (EXCLUSIVE)
First Posted: 04/21/11
Michael McAuliff
mike.mcauliff@huffingtonpost.com
WASHINGTON -- A provision in the new 9/11 health bill may be adding insult to injury for people who fell sick after their service in the aftermath of the 2001 Al Qaeda attacks, The Huffington Post has learned.
The tens of thousands of cops, firefighters, construction workers and others who survived the worst terrorist assault in U.S. history and risked their lives in its wake will soon be informed that their names must be run through the FBI’s terrorism watch list, according to a letter obtained by HuffPost.
Any of the responders who are not compared to the database of suspected terrorists would be barred from getting treatment for the numerous, worsening ailments that the James Zadroga 9/11 Health And Compensation Law was passed to address.
It’s a requirement that was tacked onto the law during the bitter debates over it last year.
The letter from Dr. John Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, informs medical providers and administrators that they should begin letting patients know before the new program kicks in this July.
“This is absurd,” said Glen Kline, a former NYPD emergency services officer. “It’s silly. It’s stupid. It’s asinine.”
“It’s comical at best, and I think it’s an insult to everyone who worked on The Pile and is sick and suffering from 9/11,” said John Feal, a former construction worker who lost half a foot at Ground Zero and runs the advocacy group Fealgood Foundation.
read more here
9/11 Responders To Be Warned
Decorated Vietnam Vet sues Army over discharge
John Shepherd is not alone. He has plenty of company. When we acknowledge that it is still going on today, even with what we know about PTSD, you need to remember it was a lot worse for the Vietnam Vets when no one knew anything.
Vietnam veteran with Bronze star and 2004 PTSD diagnosis sues Army over discharge
JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN Associated Press
First Posted: April 21, 2011 - 11:02 am
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A Vietnam veteran who received the Bronze Star and later was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder filed a federal lawsuit Thursday trying to get the Army to modify his other-than-honorable discharge so that his sacrifice will be recognized and he can get disability benefits.
John Shepherd, a 63-year-old New Haven resident, says he battled alcoholism and struggled to stay employed for 40 years, but was not diagnosed with PTSD until 2004.
"My other-than-honorable discharge has made me feel deeply ashamed for many years," Shepherd said in a statement. "I hope this lawsuit can finally change that."
An Army spokesman says the service does not comment on pending lawsuits.
In 1969, Shepherd served a combat tour in the Mekong Delta, participating in patrols and search-and-destroy missions. The Army awarded him with a Bronze Star after his unit came under intense fire and Shepherd rushed toward an enemy bunker, entered it and threw a grenade that killed several enemy soldiers, according to the lawsuit.
Shepherd developed symptoms of PTSD after blowing up the enemy bunker and later witnessing the gruesome deaths of several comrades, according to his lawsuit. Shepherd also witnessed the killing of his commanding officer, who was reaching down to pull Shepherd out of a ditch when he was shot multiple times.
read more here
Vietnam Vet sues Army
Jonathan Shay to receive Salem Award for work with veterans
DR. JONATHAN SHAY: RECIPIENT OF THE 19th ANNUAL SALEM AWARD FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
DR. JONATHAN SHAY: ADVOCATING FOR VETERANS
Dr. Jonathan Shay’s work has been instrumental in building public awareness and acceptance of post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD as a serious and bona fide war injury, and his focus on how the military can reduce the incidence of such injury has been influential within the services.
From 1987 to 2008, he was a staff psychiatrist at the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Boston. Treating approximately 200 Vietnam veterans during that period, he became deeply knowledgeable about the psychological trauma that these men had experienced during the war and that they were still reliving.
In 1994 he published Achilles In Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character, and in 2002, Odysseus In America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming. The books form a comprehensive description of the specific nature of catastrophic war experiences, and how they combine with a number of other critical factors to produce PTSD in soldiers and veterans.
In particular, the books explore the effects on individual human character that disabling psychiatric wounds cause. PTSD can and does afflict anybody, including the strongest, bravest, and most capable among us.
Because of Shay’s work and the work of others, the more than six million troops who have served in combat since the beginning of the Vietnam War can now seek treatment for PTSD, though many continue to fear that the stigma will affect their careers.
Rigorous studies conducted in the late 1980’s showed that approximately 36 percent of male Vietnam combat veterans still suffered from PTSD. That translated to roughly 250,000 men with severe psychological injuries still alive in 1990.
Untreated PTSD results in on-going emotional pain and suffering, difficulty with families and jobs, self-destructive and criminal behavior, homelessness, and incarceration of veterans at rates disproportionate to their presence in the population.
Dr. Shay has worked closely with the military to implement reforms both in the training of soldiers and in the practices and policies used in actual deployment. He has collaborated with General James Jones, the past commandant of the Marines, and Major General James Mattis of the Marines.
In 1999 to 2000, he performed the Commandant of the Marine Corps Trust Study, and in 2001 he was Visiting Scholar-at-Large at the US Naval War College. From 2004 to 2005 he was Chair of Ethics, Leadership, and Personnel Policy in the Office of the US Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, and in the spring of 2009 he was the Omar Bradley Chair of Strategic Leadership at the US Army War College. In 2007 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
Like those who spoke out against the Witch Trials in 1692, it is Dr. Shay’s voice and the voice of others speaking out against injustice that have changed the way that both the public and the military treat a group of citizens, in this case American troops who suffer from PTSD, both while in active duty and after. Through his work, Dr. Shay has helped make it possible for those who serve in the military and others in the path of war with PTSD to be offered treatment so that they have an opportunity to lead a full life.
go here for more
Salem Award/
DR. JONATHAN SHAY: ADVOCATING FOR VETERANS
Dr. Jonathan Shay’s work has been instrumental in building public awareness and acceptance of post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD as a serious and bona fide war injury, and his focus on how the military can reduce the incidence of such injury has been influential within the services.
From 1987 to 2008, he was a staff psychiatrist at the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Boston. Treating approximately 200 Vietnam veterans during that period, he became deeply knowledgeable about the psychological trauma that these men had experienced during the war and that they were still reliving.
In 1994 he published Achilles In Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character, and in 2002, Odysseus In America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming. The books form a comprehensive description of the specific nature of catastrophic war experiences, and how they combine with a number of other critical factors to produce PTSD in soldiers and veterans.
In particular, the books explore the effects on individual human character that disabling psychiatric wounds cause. PTSD can and does afflict anybody, including the strongest, bravest, and most capable among us.
Because of Shay’s work and the work of others, the more than six million troops who have served in combat since the beginning of the Vietnam War can now seek treatment for PTSD, though many continue to fear that the stigma will affect their careers.
Rigorous studies conducted in the late 1980’s showed that approximately 36 percent of male Vietnam combat veterans still suffered from PTSD. That translated to roughly 250,000 men with severe psychological injuries still alive in 1990.
Untreated PTSD results in on-going emotional pain and suffering, difficulty with families and jobs, self-destructive and criminal behavior, homelessness, and incarceration of veterans at rates disproportionate to their presence in the population.
Dr. Shay has worked closely with the military to implement reforms both in the training of soldiers and in the practices and policies used in actual deployment. He has collaborated with General James Jones, the past commandant of the Marines, and Major General James Mattis of the Marines.
In 1999 to 2000, he performed the Commandant of the Marine Corps Trust Study, and in 2001 he was Visiting Scholar-at-Large at the US Naval War College. From 2004 to 2005 he was Chair of Ethics, Leadership, and Personnel Policy in the Office of the US Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, and in the spring of 2009 he was the Omar Bradley Chair of Strategic Leadership at the US Army War College. In 2007 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
Like those who spoke out against the Witch Trials in 1692, it is Dr. Shay’s voice and the voice of others speaking out against injustice that have changed the way that both the public and the military treat a group of citizens, in this case American troops who suffer from PTSD, both while in active duty and after. Through his work, Dr. Shay has helped make it possible for those who serve in the military and others in the path of war with PTSD to be offered treatment so that they have an opportunity to lead a full life.
go here for more
Salem Award/
A year after Deepwater Horizon explosion, 3 survivors still struggling
This happened after one traumatic event in their lives. For all the veterans out there still finding it hard to accept the reality of PTSD in them, count the number of times your life was on the line and then wonder no more. You were just a human before you went into combat, still human during it and still human after it. You saw more, did more and endured more hardship than anyone else, so there is nothing to be ashamed of unless you think your ability to feel things deeply is wrong.
A year after Deepwater Horizon explosion, 3 survivors still struggling
By Chuck Hadad, CNN
April 21, 2011 5:34 a.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Survivors say the scars from the disaster have taken their lives away
Medical records: Survivors have been diagnosed with multiple mental issues
One says he wakes up screaming from nightmares
Transocean says its focus is on providing support for employees
(CNN) -- For some survivors of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, escaping the inferno of the doomed rig made them feel like they'd cheated death.
But living with the scars of what they witnessed that night, and the memory of the 11 men who perished when the rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana a year ago, has in many ways taken their lives away.
"I remember feeling invincible when it first happened. I remember driving in my truck on the way home after the rig exploded and (I) pushed the gas (pedal) to the floor and never let off it," says Daniel Barron.
But the high Barron felt from surviving didn't last long.
"You have that guilty conscience of, 'Okay, I made it, that's great, but then these guys didn't.' Was there something I could have done to save more people?"
read more here
A year after Deepwater Horizon explosion
Life after war not easy for Iraq, Afghanistan veterans
Life after war not easy for Iraq, Afghanistan veterans
By Lauren Adkins
Contributing Reporter
Published: Thursday, April 21, 2011
When we think of soldiers who die in battle, we often think of those who die fighting for our country on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq.
We usually don't think about soldiers who survive their tours only to succumb to internal battles caused by .
Suicide among United States military veterans increased by 26 p e r c e n t from 2005 to 2007 and have continued to rise. Of the 30,000 s u i c i d e s committed in this c o u n t r y each year, fully 20 percent of them are veterans. This means that on average about 18 veterans commit suicide each day, according to new statistics released by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
SHSU has a growing veteran's population, with about 600 students drawing VA college benefits and another 200 dependents who use benefits, according to Kathy Hudson, who is the coordinator at the Veterans Resource Center.
The VA states that the spike in the suicide rate can most clearly be attributed to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the high amount of veterans returning to the United States with PTSD.
Tri-County Services, a mental health service agency covering Walker County, received a grant in 2010 to form local support groups for veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Military veteran Ryan Leonard, who works for Tri-County Services, said that the groups are not led by professional counselors or psychiatrists. They are led by guys who have "been there." The groups meet for one hour on weeknights on the SHSU campus and in Conroe.
"We haven't had much success in the groups so far," Leonard said. "I mean the guys just don't seem interested in the groups. They will come right out and say that they have PTSD, but when asked if they're interested in support groups, they claim to be fine, but always seem to know of someone else who they think would benefit. Part of this is because of the way soldiers are trained today."
Leonard left for basic training in June 2003 and was thrown into a soldier's harsh reality. He was trained to forget about his problems and focus on the mission at hand. Things that would be viewed as necessities such as water, lunch and sleep were considered a "crutch."
While Leonard knew that he and his fellow soldiers were being trained to do what they volunteered for, he said he feels that veterans are all too often prepared for what they are going to face in battle but not what they will face when they enter back into life as a civilian.
The problems that were ignored for so long do not just go away. All too often they resurface, dramatically changing a veteran's life.
read more here
Life after war not easy for Iraq, Afghanistan veterans
By Lauren Adkins
Contributing Reporter
Published: Thursday, April 21, 2011
When we think of soldiers who die in battle, we often think of those who die fighting for our country on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq.
We usually don't think about soldiers who survive their tours only to succumb to internal battles caused by .
Suicide among United States military veterans increased by 26 p e r c e n t from 2005 to 2007 and have continued to rise. Of the 30,000 s u i c i d e s committed in this c o u n t r y each year, fully 20 percent of them are veterans. This means that on average about 18 veterans commit suicide each day, according to new statistics released by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
SHSU has a growing veteran's population, with about 600 students drawing VA college benefits and another 200 dependents who use benefits, according to Kathy Hudson, who is the coordinator at the Veterans Resource Center.
The VA states that the spike in the suicide rate can most clearly be attributed to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the high amount of veterans returning to the United States with PTSD.
Tri-County Services, a mental health service agency covering Walker County, received a grant in 2010 to form local support groups for veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Military veteran Ryan Leonard, who works for Tri-County Services, said that the groups are not led by professional counselors or psychiatrists. They are led by guys who have "been there." The groups meet for one hour on weeknights on the SHSU campus and in Conroe.
"We haven't had much success in the groups so far," Leonard said. "I mean the guys just don't seem interested in the groups. They will come right out and say that they have PTSD, but when asked if they're interested in support groups, they claim to be fine, but always seem to know of someone else who they think would benefit. Part of this is because of the way soldiers are trained today."
Leonard left for basic training in June 2003 and was thrown into a soldier's harsh reality. He was trained to forget about his problems and focus on the mission at hand. Things that would be viewed as necessities such as water, lunch and sleep were considered a "crutch."
While Leonard knew that he and his fellow soldiers were being trained to do what they volunteered for, he said he feels that veterans are all too often prepared for what they are going to face in battle but not what they will face when they enter back into life as a civilian.
The problems that were ignored for so long do not just go away. All too often they resurface, dramatically changing a veteran's life.
read more here
Life after war not easy for Iraq, Afghanistan veterans
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Sgt. Linda Lamou Pierre of Immokalee Florida among 5 killed in Afghanistan
5 soldiers killed in suicide attack identified
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Apr 19, 2011 19:48:35 EDT
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — The Defense Department on Tuesday released the names of five soldiers killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan last weekend.
The victims were:
• Capt. Charles E. Ridgley Jr., 40, of Baltimore, who was assigned to the 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
• Sgt. 1st Class Charles Lewis Adkins, 35, of Sandusky, Ohio.
• Staff Sgt. Cynthia Renea Taylor, 39, of Columbus, Ga.
• Sgt. Linda Lamou Pierre, 28, of Immokalee, Fla.
• Spc. Joseph Brian Cemper, 21, of Warrensburg, Mo.
Adkins, Taylor, Pierre and Cemper were assigned to Fort Campbell.
The Army said that the soldiers were killed by an Afghan solider working as a Taliban sleeper agent who set off multiple grenades in the Nangarhar province.
5 soldiers killed in suicide attack identified
Congressman Mica fights for St. Augustine homeless veterans
Mica blames bureaucracy for delays in accreditation
April 19, 2011
U.S. Rep. John L. Mica held an emergency meeting of state VA and other leaders today, April 19th, at 3:30 p.m. in St. Augustine City Hall, where he tells Historic City News Editor Michael Gold that he wants answers regarding the delay in getting proper accreditation for the Clyde E. Lassen State VA Nursing Home.
Mica voiced his concern today to Veterans Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, “To resolve this outstanding matter and to prevent any further veterans from being turned away.”
The new Clyde E. Lassen State VA Nursing Home, which opened this past September, will help homeless veterans in the region and will also provide much needed counseling and long-term medical care for those who have served our nation.
“It is a shame that it has taken nearly seven months for the new state VA nursing home in St. Augustine to become fully accredited,” said Mica. “St. Johns County is home to over 17,000 veterans — and growing.”
read more here
Mica blames bureaucracy for delays in accreditation
April 19, 2011
U.S. Rep. John L. Mica held an emergency meeting of state VA and other leaders today, April 19th, at 3:30 p.m. in St. Augustine City Hall, where he tells Historic City News Editor Michael Gold that he wants answers regarding the delay in getting proper accreditation for the Clyde E. Lassen State VA Nursing Home.
Mica voiced his concern today to Veterans Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, “To resolve this outstanding matter and to prevent any further veterans from being turned away.”
The new Clyde E. Lassen State VA Nursing Home, which opened this past September, will help homeless veterans in the region and will also provide much needed counseling and long-term medical care for those who have served our nation.
“It is a shame that it has taken nearly seven months for the new state VA nursing home in St. Augustine to become fully accredited,” said Mica. “St. Johns County is home to over 17,000 veterans — and growing.”
read more here
Mica blames bureaucracy for delays in accreditation
2nd sailor found dead aboard Enterprise
2nd sailor found dead aboard Enterprise
By Hugh Lessig, hlessig@dailypress.com
April 19, 2011
A sailor aboard the USS Enterprise was found dead Tuesday, and the death is under investigation, the Navy reported.
The sailor was not identified and no other details were released. However, the Navy said it has notified the sailor's family and sends condolences.
It is the second time in about a month that a sailor has been found dead aboard the ship, which is currently in the Arabian Gulf.
Petty Officer First Class Vincent A. Filpi III, 41, died March 22 in a non-combat related incident, the Defense Department previously reported. He was an aviation ordnance man and had enlisted in the Navy in 1992. He had been on the Enterprise since 2009.
read more here
2nd sailor found dead aboard Enterprise
By Hugh Lessig, hlessig@dailypress.com
April 19, 2011
A sailor aboard the USS Enterprise was found dead Tuesday, and the death is under investigation, the Navy reported.
The sailor was not identified and no other details were released. However, the Navy said it has notified the sailor's family and sends condolences.
It is the second time in about a month that a sailor has been found dead aboard the ship, which is currently in the Arabian Gulf.
Petty Officer First Class Vincent A. Filpi III, 41, died March 22 in a non-combat related incident, the Defense Department previously reported. He was an aviation ordnance man and had enlisted in the Navy in 1992. He had been on the Enterprise since 2009.
read more here
2nd sailor found dead aboard Enterprise
PTSD? They have an app for that too!
A New Way to Serve Our Veterans
By Secretary Eric K. Shinseki , Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Some of the most important programs our department provides are mental health services. I am pleased to announce that VA and the Department of Defense (DoD) have launched the PTSD Coach – our first in a suite of jointly developed mobile smartphone applications (apps) for mental health.
When speaking with Veterans living with PTSD, we were told that they wanted and needed a convenient way to learn more about the services and resources available to them, as well as an app that could help them manage symptoms of PTSD at any given moment. The PTSD Coach is a cutting edge app which provides information and tools that Veterans and service members can use to cope with their PTSD symptoms any moment of the day—24/7.
This new tool is useful for anyone who is receiving treatment for PTSD. It is also an anonymous resource that will be important for Veterans and service members, who may not be in treatment now, but who may be seeking quick, accessible information about PTSD. It’s available now on iTunes and will be online soon for Android phones, as well. I recommend it for anyone, who wants to learn more about PTSD, and we’ll look forward to introducing additional apps over the course of the coming year. This is just one more way that VA and DoD are working together to provide 21st Century tools for the men and women who are serving, and have served, our great Nation.
A New Way to Serve Our Veterans
By Secretary Eric K. Shinseki , Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Some of the most important programs our department provides are mental health services. I am pleased to announce that VA and the Department of Defense (DoD) have launched the PTSD Coach – our first in a suite of jointly developed mobile smartphone applications (apps) for mental health.
When speaking with Veterans living with PTSD, we were told that they wanted and needed a convenient way to learn more about the services and resources available to them, as well as an app that could help them manage symptoms of PTSD at any given moment. The PTSD Coach is a cutting edge app which provides information and tools that Veterans and service members can use to cope with their PTSD symptoms any moment of the day—24/7.
This new tool is useful for anyone who is receiving treatment for PTSD. It is also an anonymous resource that will be important for Veterans and service members, who may not be in treatment now, but who may be seeking quick, accessible information about PTSD. It’s available now on iTunes and will be online soon for Android phones, as well. I recommend it for anyone, who wants to learn more about PTSD, and we’ll look forward to introducing additional apps over the course of the coming year. This is just one more way that VA and DoD are working together to provide 21st Century tools for the men and women who are serving, and have served, our great Nation.
A New Way to Serve Our Veterans
Fallen airman's daughter send cookies and love to the troops
Her Girl Scout cookie project wins praise from top general
By Meg Jones of the Journal Sentinel
Waukesha - Mackenzie Frost's dad loved Girl Scout cookies, especially peanut butter sandwiches.
When U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher Frost was deployed to Iraq, he received Girl Scout cookies in the mail and even sent a photo of himself holding up a cookie. So when 8-year-old Mackenzie sold Girl Scout cookies this year for the first time as a Brownie, she asked her customers if they would be willing to donate boxes of cookies to send to troops in Iraq.
The second-grader wrote a note for each package introducing herself, explaining which Brownie troop she belonged to and how she came up with the idea. She also told the U.S. service members in Iraq that the cookies were a great way to remember her dad.
Christopher Frost was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq in March 2008 when Mackenzie was 5.
Touched by her heartfelt letter, as well as the 600 boxes of Girl Scout cookies sent by Mackenzie and the rest of the girls in Waukesha Brownie Troop 2653, the U.S. service members decided to say thank you the best way they knew how.
They sent her a care package.
And on Tuesday afternoon, in front of her classmates at Hawthorne Elementary School in Waukesha, Mackenzie was presented with gifts sent from troops in Iraq - a U.S. flag flown over Iraq in Christopher Frost's memory, a large framed photo collage and a video greeting from a three-star Army general who is deputy commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.
read more here
Girl Scout cookie project wins praise from top general
By Meg Jones of the Journal Sentinel
Waukesha - Mackenzie Frost's dad loved Girl Scout cookies, especially peanut butter sandwiches.
When U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher Frost was deployed to Iraq, he received Girl Scout cookies in the mail and even sent a photo of himself holding up a cookie. So when 8-year-old Mackenzie sold Girl Scout cookies this year for the first time as a Brownie, she asked her customers if they would be willing to donate boxes of cookies to send to troops in Iraq.
The second-grader wrote a note for each package introducing herself, explaining which Brownie troop she belonged to and how she came up with the idea. She also told the U.S. service members in Iraq that the cookies were a great way to remember her dad.
Christopher Frost was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq in March 2008 when Mackenzie was 5.
Touched by her heartfelt letter, as well as the 600 boxes of Girl Scout cookies sent by Mackenzie and the rest of the girls in Waukesha Brownie Troop 2653, the U.S. service members decided to say thank you the best way they knew how.
They sent her a care package.
And on Tuesday afternoon, in front of her classmates at Hawthorne Elementary School in Waukesha, Mackenzie was presented with gifts sent from troops in Iraq - a U.S. flag flown over Iraq in Christopher Frost's memory, a large framed photo collage and a video greeting from a three-star Army general who is deputy commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.
read more here
Girl Scout cookie project wins praise from top general
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Medal of Honor recipient Sammy L. Davis speaks at Fort Benning
MEDIA ADVISORY
April 15, 2011
FORT BENNING, Ga. – Medal of Honor recipient Sammy L. Davis will address an audience of Fort Benning Soldiers at 1 p.m. April 19 in Pratt Hall.
Davis was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on Nov. 18, 1967 in Vietnam while serving as a cannoneer at a remote fire support base.
Davis’ fire support base, under heavy mortar attack, was simultaneously attacked by a battalion- sized ground assault which came within 25 meters of friendly lines.
Davis was providing covering fire as his artillery gun crew attempted to fire. An enemy recoilless rifle round scored a direct hit on his crew’s artillery piece, Davis was blown into a foxhole and set the artillery piece on fire.
Despite being seriously injured and disregarding enemy gunfire aimed at his position, Davis managed to fire the artillery gun five times. He then seized an air mattress, and despite his inability to swim, made his way across a river to rescue three wounded Soldiers on the far side. While the most seriously wounded Soldier was helped across the river, Davis protected the other two, standing upright and firing into dense vegetation to prevent the Viet Cong forces from advancing, until he could pull the wounded Soldiers back across.
Refusing medical attention, he then joined another artillery crew which fired at the Viet Cong forces until they broke contact and fled.
There will be a brief media opportunity at the conclusion of Davis’ presentation.
The Medal of Honor is the nation’s highest military award, presented for gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States.
Media interested in attending this event should contact the Public Affairs Office during duty hours to coordinate a media escort to Pratt Hall.
Michelle Obama, Jill Biden talk about Military families on the View
Michelle Obama, Jill Biden talk military families, other issues, on 'The View'
By: CNN Political Producer Shannon Travis
Washington (CNN) – First lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, appeared on ABC's "The View" on Monday to talk about the challenges military families face and urged Americans to do more to support them.
And since the show is known for casual chats, Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Biden also discussed other subjects, such as how each woman reacts to political criticism of their husbands, the upcoming presidential race – even how President Obama, as a dad, is handling his oldest daughter's becoming a teenager.
Most of the talk focused on support for military families. In the audience were service members and their families, some of whom explained the challenges they face as they serve abroad while loved ones must care for family matters at home.
The issue is one that Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Biden have long been passionate about. Last week, the first lady and Mrs. Biden visited four states, in two days, to raise awareness about the needs of families of military service members.
"We're trying to expand public awareness. Because our military families sacrifice so much for us," the first lady said. "And most Americans are probably like I was. Not really recognizing the sacrifices and the challenges that these families make."
Obama said that the focus on the campaign, titled "Joining Forces: Taking Action to Serve America's Military Families," will be on employment, mental health and wellness for troops and their families and education.
Mrs. Biden urged Americans to commit to acts of kindness.
"Go to your schools or your churches or your communities and find out [who] the families who are," she said.
read more here
Michelle Obama, Jill Biden
By: CNN Political Producer Shannon Travis
Washington (CNN) – First lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, appeared on ABC's "The View" on Monday to talk about the challenges military families face and urged Americans to do more to support them.
And since the show is known for casual chats, Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Biden also discussed other subjects, such as how each woman reacts to political criticism of their husbands, the upcoming presidential race – even how President Obama, as a dad, is handling his oldest daughter's becoming a teenager.
Most of the talk focused on support for military families. In the audience were service members and their families, some of whom explained the challenges they face as they serve abroad while loved ones must care for family matters at home.
The issue is one that Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Biden have long been passionate about. Last week, the first lady and Mrs. Biden visited four states, in two days, to raise awareness about the needs of families of military service members.
"We're trying to expand public awareness. Because our military families sacrifice so much for us," the first lady said. "And most Americans are probably like I was. Not really recognizing the sacrifices and the challenges that these families make."
Obama said that the focus on the campaign, titled "Joining Forces: Taking Action to Serve America's Military Families," will be on employment, mental health and wellness for troops and their families and education.
Mrs. Biden urged Americans to commit to acts of kindness.
"Go to your schools or your churches or your communities and find out [who] the families who are," she said.
read more here
Michelle Obama, Jill Biden
Attempted robbery at Allied Veterans Internet Café leaves one dead
Suspected robber shot dead in Apopka
By Anika Myers Palm, Orlando Sentinel
7:01 a.m. EDT, April 19, 2011
A man who may have been trying to rob an Internet café was shot dead early today in Apopka
Gary Bryant, 21, was one of two men who walked into the Allied Veterans Internet Café at 3030 East Semoran Boulevard about 1 a.m., according to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.
When the men entered the building, one of them immediately became involved in an altercation with a security guard.
One of the robbers fired a shot at the security guard, who in turn fired a round and struck Bryant in the back.
Just before leaving the scene in an older model tan Oldsmobile, one of the robbers fired several gunshots into the business.
read more here
Suspected robber shot dead in Apopka
By Anika Myers Palm, Orlando Sentinel
7:01 a.m. EDT, April 19, 2011
A man who may have been trying to rob an Internet café was shot dead early today in Apopka
Gary Bryant, 21, was one of two men who walked into the Allied Veterans Internet Café at 3030 East Semoran Boulevard about 1 a.m., according to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.
When the men entered the building, one of them immediately became involved in an altercation with a security guard.
One of the robbers fired a shot at the security guard, who in turn fired a round and struck Bryant in the back.
Just before leaving the scene in an older model tan Oldsmobile, one of the robbers fired several gunshots into the business.
read more here
Suspected robber shot dead in Apopka
Military had better be ready after tornadoes for mental healthcare
700 from Fort Bragg are getting ready to deploy into Afghanistan.
How many are still deployed with this going on back home?
When you remember the shootings at Fort Hood, what you may not have noticed was the increase in mental healthcare demands. Their safety was taken away from them. The tornadoes brought one more kind of trauma beyond combat and the military had better be ready for what will follow from military families in crisis and needing help.
Bragg deals with aftermath of tumultuous stormsImagine packing to leave your family after the tornadoes. Then imagine you will spend a year worrying about them on top of your own life.
Staff report
Posted : Sunday Apr 17, 2011 18:16:38 EDT
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Fort Bragg officials announced on Facebook that the base will operate on a two-hour delay on Monday except for adverse weather personnel, who are to report at normal duty hours or as directed. Civilian employees and schools will also operate on a two-hour delayed schedule.
The base remained closed Sunday except for key and essential personnel after severe weather damaged buildings and cut off power to the installation Saturday.
There are no reports of loss of life or significant injuries on post, according to a statement posted to Fort Bragg’s Facebook page Saturday night. Power was restored to the majority of the base late Sunday morning, officials said in a statement. Progress Energy utility crews were working to restore power to the Linden Oaks community and Simmons Army Airfield.
read more here
Bragg deals with aftermath of tumultuous storms
Camp Lejeune homes destroyed and damaged by tornado
Onslow County tornado damage, Camp Lejeune homes destroyed
By CHRIS BROWN
Published: April 16, 2011
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Base officials say 10 to 12 homes were destroyed, 40 to 60 homes were significantly damaged and 40 to 60 more homes have suffered minor damage including broken windows, siding, gutters and trees in the yard. A 23-month old child was flown to Pitt Memorial Hospital Saturday night and is still listed in critical condition with multiple trauma related injuries.
read more here
Camp Lejeune homes destroyed and damaged by tornado
How many are still deployed with this going on back home?
When you remember the shootings at Fort Hood, what you may not have noticed was the increase in mental healthcare demands. Their safety was taken away from them. The tornadoes brought one more kind of trauma beyond combat and the military had better be ready for what will follow from military families in crisis and needing help.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Dr. Keith Ablow using hero's suicide for attention?
The story of Clay Hunt and his family came out April 8. It has been a very big story online with most sites picking up his story out of heartache. Ten days later, it seem Dr. Keith Ablow decided to write something but added nothing to the story of Clay Hunt or to his life. Had he wanted to just write a story on "survivor's guilt" then he should have left this Marine out of his story. Had Ablow known about the reports already done on Clay, he would have known how much pain he was carrying and why it was there.
Perhaps some of these questions? This is what this article was all about. Guess work, adding nothing new, not talking to the family or adding anything that could help but he had to drag Hunt into this from the beginning.
Survivor's Guilt Haunting the Military
By Dr. Keith Ablow
Published April 18, 2011
FoxNews.com
On March 31, 2011, Clay Hunt, a 28-year-old Marine veteran who had served with great honor in Iraq and Afghanistan, receiving a Purple Heart, finally succumbed to the psychological fallout of that service, killing himself in his Sugar Land, Texas, apartment.
Hunt, a leading voice in helping other veterans get psychological help, had struggled publicly with the demons of war, especially the loss of four friends in his platoon.
“Two were lost in Iraq, and the other two were killed in Afghanistan,” his mother, Susan Selke, told the Houston Chronicle. “When that last one went down, it just undid him.”
Perhaps some of these questions? This is what this article was all about. Guess work, adding nothing new, not talking to the family or adding anything that could help but he had to drag Hunt into this from the beginning.
Perhaps some of these questions plagued Clay Hunt. Maybe they plagued many of the other veterans who have taken their lives after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe many are more hobbled by guilt than by terror, awakened in the night not by flashbacks to their own near-death experiences, but to the deaths of others; not by terror, but by guilt—by the very fact that they somehow do not deserve to be alive, even that others died because of something lacking in them.
read more here
Survivor's Guilt Haunting the Military
Camp Lejeune homes destroyed and damaged by tornado
Onslow County tornado damage, Camp Lejeune homes destroyed
By CHRIS BROWN
Published: April 16, 2011
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Base officials say 10 to 12 homes were destroyed, 40 to 60 homes were significantly damaged and 40 to 60 more homes have suffered minor damage including broken windows, siding, gutters and trees in the yard. A 23-month old child was flown to Pitt Memorial Hospital Saturday night and is still listed in critical condition with multiple trauma related injuries.
read more here
Onslow County tornado damage
By CHRIS BROWN
Published: April 16, 2011
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Base officials say 10 to 12 homes were destroyed, 40 to 60 homes were significantly damaged and 40 to 60 more homes have suffered minor damage including broken windows, siding, gutters and trees in the yard. A 23-month old child was flown to Pitt Memorial Hospital Saturday night and is still listed in critical condition with multiple trauma related injuries.
read more here
Onslow County tornado damage
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Soldier home from Afghanistan wins $250,000
Soldier home from Afghanistan wins $250,000
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Apr 16, 2011 10:11:29 EDT
ATLANTA — An Army veteran in Georgia won $250,000 playing the lottery just days before his return to Afghanistan.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Gregg Curry bought a winning Georgia Lottery Cool Cash ticket in Fayetteville.
He was home for two weeks from Bagram Airfield, where he has been stationed for the past seven months.
The 47-year-old father of three and a master sergeant with the Third U.S. Army Forces Central Command, is scheduled to return to Afghanistan Monday.
Curry told lottery officials that he plans to use his $250,000 to pay bills and take a vacation after he returns from the Mideast
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Apr 16, 2011 10:11:29 EDT
ATLANTA — An Army veteran in Georgia won $250,000 playing the lottery just days before his return to Afghanistan.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Gregg Curry bought a winning Georgia Lottery Cool Cash ticket in Fayetteville.
He was home for two weeks from Bagram Airfield, where he has been stationed for the past seven months.
The 47-year-old father of three and a master sergeant with the Third U.S. Army Forces Central Command, is scheduled to return to Afghanistan Monday.
Curry told lottery officials that he plans to use his $250,000 to pay bills and take a vacation after he returns from the Mideast
Counselors told not to treat PTSD and suicide?
Missoula therapist fights human resources firm over confidentiality, PTSD treatment for soldiers
By BETSY COHEN of the Missoulian
Outraged by a change in a counseling contract that provides mental health care to military personnel and their families, a Missoula therapist is waging a one-person war to defend soldiers' rights.
Taking on this battle is David Stube, a licensed clinical counselor who is fighting Ceridian, a global human resources firm that is contracted with the U.S. Department of Defense to provide psychological health services to soldiers.
The issue came to light in January when Ceridian sent a letter to counselors it contracts with in all 50 states. The letter asked those professionals to sign an addendum that not only waives doctor-patient confidentiality, but also forces counselors to agree not to provide counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, addiction issues, or violent or suicidal behavior.
Stube refused to sign the addendum and believes Ceridian's new requirements and the Defense Department's acceptance of those changes are unethical. Now, a few months into the fray, he's recruited and gained support from Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.
"If you are a soldier or in a soldier's family, this means you can no longer be counseled for these conditions, even though all military websites refer all soldiers to Ceridian MilitaryOne Source counselors for these exact issues," Stube said. "The websites neglect to tell the soldiers that the counselors have agreed to not treat PTSD, depression, addiction issues and problems with dangerous angry behavior.
"Furthermore, if the counselor does not post their clinical notes after each session on the Ceridian website within three days after seeing the soldier, the counselor will not be paid," Stube said.
read more here
Missoula therapist fights human resources firm
By BETSY COHEN of the Missoulian
Outraged by a change in a counseling contract that provides mental health care to military personnel and their families, a Missoula therapist is waging a one-person war to defend soldiers' rights.
Taking on this battle is David Stube, a licensed clinical counselor who is fighting Ceridian, a global human resources firm that is contracted with the U.S. Department of Defense to provide psychological health services to soldiers.
The issue came to light in January when Ceridian sent a letter to counselors it contracts with in all 50 states. The letter asked those professionals to sign an addendum that not only waives doctor-patient confidentiality, but also forces counselors to agree not to provide counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, addiction issues, or violent or suicidal behavior.
Stube refused to sign the addendum and believes Ceridian's new requirements and the Defense Department's acceptance of those changes are unethical. Now, a few months into the fray, he's recruited and gained support from Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.
"If you are a soldier or in a soldier's family, this means you can no longer be counseled for these conditions, even though all military websites refer all soldiers to Ceridian MilitaryOne Source counselors for these exact issues," Stube said. "The websites neglect to tell the soldiers that the counselors have agreed to not treat PTSD, depression, addiction issues and problems with dangerous angry behavior.
"Furthermore, if the counselor does not post their clinical notes after each session on the Ceridian website within three days after seeing the soldier, the counselor will not be paid," Stube said.
read more here
Missoula therapist fights human resources firm
Marine attacked at zoo, fought back
Marine released following stabbing arrest
A Marine, who was arrested for stabbing a man in Waikiki, was released after prosecutors decided not to charge him.
Just after midnight Saturday, police say a group approached the Marine near the Honolulu Zoo, and tried to rob him of his beer.
When the marine said no, police say the group then attacked him.The marine fought back and stabbed one of the group's members.
read more here
Marine released following stabbing arrest
A Marine, who was arrested for stabbing a man in Waikiki, was released after prosecutors decided not to charge him.
Just after midnight Saturday, police say a group approached the Marine near the Honolulu Zoo, and tried to rob him of his beer.
When the marine said no, police say the group then attacked him.The marine fought back and stabbed one of the group's members.
read more here
Marine released following stabbing arrest
Afghan soldier "sleeper agent" blamed for killing 3 US soldiers and 5 others
NATO: 3 service members killed in Afghanistan
(AP) – 4 hours ago
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Three more NATO service members were killed in attacks in Afghanistan on Saturday, the international coalition said, making a total of eight killed on one of the deadliest days for NATO troops this year.
The three deaths announced Sunday came from two separate bomb attacks in the south on the same day that five NATO service members were killed in a suicide bombing by a Taliban sleeper agent at a U.S. base in the east.
NATO officials have said they expect a particularly violent spring and summer in Afghanistan as insurgents try to pour back into areas taken over by international troops over the winter.
Fighting usually increases in Afghanistan as the weather warms and insurgents climb back over the mountainous border with Pakistan. This year, NATO has pushed further into Taliban strongholds in the south and has said their goal is to hold these areas so that militants cannot re-establish themselves.
The next couple months are particularly key for the United States, because President Barack Obama has pledged to start drawing down troops in July.
The suicide attack in eastern Laghman province also killed four Afghan soldiers and an interpreter. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing and spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said Sunday that the soldier was a sleeper agent who had been in the army for years and had been in contact with Taliban operatives for "a long time."
read more here
3 service members killed in Afghanistan
(AP) – 4 hours ago
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Three more NATO service members were killed in attacks in Afghanistan on Saturday, the international coalition said, making a total of eight killed on one of the deadliest days for NATO troops this year.
The three deaths announced Sunday came from two separate bomb attacks in the south on the same day that five NATO service members were killed in a suicide bombing by a Taliban sleeper agent at a U.S. base in the east.
NATO officials have said they expect a particularly violent spring and summer in Afghanistan as insurgents try to pour back into areas taken over by international troops over the winter.
Fighting usually increases in Afghanistan as the weather warms and insurgents climb back over the mountainous border with Pakistan. This year, NATO has pushed further into Taliban strongholds in the south and has said their goal is to hold these areas so that militants cannot re-establish themselves.
The next couple months are particularly key for the United States, because President Barack Obama has pledged to start drawing down troops in July.
The suicide attack in eastern Laghman province also killed four Afghan soldiers and an interpreter. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing and spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said Sunday that the soldier was a sleeper agent who had been in the army for years and had been in contact with Taliban operatives for "a long time."
read more here
3 service members killed in Afghanistan
When faith crashes
I haven't felt I've been living up to the title of Chaplain for a long time. I haven't lost faith in God or questioned the love of Christ, but I lost faith in people. When too many people turn their backs on others, it is almost impossible to look for the goodness in others.
Last night I went with ten other members of Valencia College Veteran's Council to a homeless shelter run by Coalition for the Homeless. We served meals and smiles to 290 men and women. The words of Christ rang in my ears.
Then the voices I've heard from the few getting attention in this country took over. The people who claim to be so concerned with the debt of this nation, pretending passing on the debt to our kids is more tragic than taking care of the least among us has made me doubt the suffering today matter at all.
Their voices of not wanting to make sure everyone has access to healthcare while conditions that could have been treated early end up causing death ignored by their hearts. They say they don't want to be forced to get health insurance but they never seem to have an answer for what will happen and who will be expected to pay when they get cancer or need a transplant to save their lives. Many of them have government health insurance in the form of Medicare and Medicaid but they don't seem to want anyone else to have it.
My cousin passed away Wednesday after spending two months in the hospital. She had decided, for whatever reason, to not go for checkups. In December, it was clear she something was going on inside of her body. Two months later, she was in enough distress that she finally went to the doctor. Her liver was failing, she had heart problems and no one knew what caused any of it. Then her kidneys shut down. Checkups might have been able to catch these problems in the beginning but by the time she went, it was too late.
She wasn't one of the people without health insurance. She had it but decided she didn't want to use it. How many people in this country saying they don't want to be forced to have health insurance any more than they want other people to have it, ever thought about the day when they are suddenly unhealthy? Do they plan on losing everything they have to pay for their care? Do they plan on other people paying for it? Do they plan on just ending up on pubic assistance then?
Here in Florida we have cut after cut for what regular people need but at the same time the folks wanting these cut backs scream about giving to the rich and what they need. Yet 290 showed up for a meal and a place on the floor to sleep. Some of them were in wheel chairs. Some of them were clearly veterans with metal where their legs used to be and the scars they carry are deep inside of them. They risked their lives for this country, ended up paying a very high price for it and then ended up paying more back home.
The folks wanting to cut 1.3 million veterans from getting healthcare from the VA never consider that most of these veterans have unapproved claims for wounds they suffered in combat and no one cared enough to make sure they got what they needed when they came home before they just gave up.
When you see and read so much suffering and then hear what people are unashamed to say, it is very hard to hang onto any kind of faith in man when they are so unkind.
But last night, when I went to bed, the sadness I felt at the shelter was replaced with the knowledge that as the "conservatives" end up with all the media attention, the people showing up to help others are doing God's work and there are a lot more of them than the people getting the attention of the media these days and there is great hope in that.
I used to work as the Circulation manager of a newspaper. There was a saying that "if it bleeds, it leads" and the "conservatives" have proven that fact. They get the attention for bleeding help for the needy dry and the others showing up to help are totally ignored.
So, faith restored in the goodness of ignored outnumbering the greedy, Palm Sunday is not going to feel empty to me. Some of us did learn from Christ but others, well, they must still be looking for the Easter Bunny instead.
Matthew 25
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Then the voices I've heard from the few getting attention in this country took over. The people who claim to be so concerned with the debt of this nation, pretending passing on the debt to our kids is more tragic than taking care of the least among us has made me doubt the suffering today matter at all.
Their voices of not wanting to make sure everyone has access to healthcare while conditions that could have been treated early end up causing death ignored by their hearts. They say they don't want to be forced to get health insurance but they never seem to have an answer for what will happen and who will be expected to pay when they get cancer or need a transplant to save their lives. Many of them have government health insurance in the form of Medicare and Medicaid but they don't seem to want anyone else to have it.
My cousin passed away Wednesday after spending two months in the hospital. She had decided, for whatever reason, to not go for checkups. In December, it was clear she something was going on inside of her body. Two months later, she was in enough distress that she finally went to the doctor. Her liver was failing, she had heart problems and no one knew what caused any of it. Then her kidneys shut down. Checkups might have been able to catch these problems in the beginning but by the time she went, it was too late.
She wasn't one of the people without health insurance. She had it but decided she didn't want to use it. How many people in this country saying they don't want to be forced to have health insurance any more than they want other people to have it, ever thought about the day when they are suddenly unhealthy? Do they plan on losing everything they have to pay for their care? Do they plan on other people paying for it? Do they plan on just ending up on pubic assistance then?
Here in Florida we have cut after cut for what regular people need but at the same time the folks wanting these cut backs scream about giving to the rich and what they need. Yet 290 showed up for a meal and a place on the floor to sleep. Some of them were in wheel chairs. Some of them were clearly veterans with metal where their legs used to be and the scars they carry are deep inside of them. They risked their lives for this country, ended up paying a very high price for it and then ended up paying more back home.
The folks wanting to cut 1.3 million veterans from getting healthcare from the VA never consider that most of these veterans have unapproved claims for wounds they suffered in combat and no one cared enough to make sure they got what they needed when they came home before they just gave up.
When you see and read so much suffering and then hear what people are unashamed to say, it is very hard to hang onto any kind of faith in man when they are so unkind.
But last night, when I went to bed, the sadness I felt at the shelter was replaced with the knowledge that as the "conservatives" end up with all the media attention, the people showing up to help others are doing God's work and there are a lot more of them than the people getting the attention of the media these days and there is great hope in that.
I used to work as the Circulation manager of a newspaper. There was a saying that "if it bleeds, it leads" and the "conservatives" have proven that fact. They get the attention for bleeding help for the needy dry and the others showing up to help are totally ignored.
Colossians 1 13
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves
So, faith restored in the goodness of ignored outnumbering the greedy, Palm Sunday is not going to feel empty to me. Some of us did learn from Christ but others, well, they must still be looking for the Easter Bunny instead.
Matthew 11
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
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