Thousands ride to support wounded vets
Ride raises money to improve quality of life for wounded veterans
WCVB News 5
UPDATED 6:37 PM EDT May 09, 2015
REVERE —Thousands turned out for the annual Boston Wounded Vet Bike Run on Saturday, aiming to raise money to improve the quality of life for wounded veterans returning home.
Watch NewsCenter 5's report
The ride, which started in 2011, was inspired by Cpl. Vincent Mannion Brodeur who was critically injured while serving in Iraq in 2007.
All proceeds from the first ride went to creating a handicap-accessible living space for Vincent.
Every subsequent ride has been dedicated to different disabled veterans, with money raised going toward improving quality of life for returning wounded veterans.
The ride kicks off at the Boston Harley Davidson on Squire Road in Revere and ended at Suffolk Downs. A concert and ceremony were held at Suffolk Downs following the ride.
Organizers estimated around 5,000 people participated in the event this year, with more than $100,000 raised to help wounded veterans. read more here
United States Army Sgt. Anthony Cruciotti said he spent $10,000 to turn the bike into a memorial for five of his friends who lost their lives serving their country.
Suicide prevention efforts failed big time. No matter how much money the DOD spent on prevention efforts, all 900 and some odd, the fact is there were more suicides. Did they get a clue about this? Hell no! They pushed the failed programs harder. Now they want to pretend they got that part right, at the same time they admit they got it wrong or at least it will be in the future?
If they understood suicides went up after they pushed failures like Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, then why did they push it year after year? If they had a clue as to why younger veterans commit suicide triple their peer rate after all the "prevention" training, then why didn't they end it?
Prediction can only work if they understand what the problem is, but so far, they haven't even begun to understand the problem originated with them!
Maybe they should just call Penn and Teller and save a lot of taxpayer funds and actually do something that will work to save lives!
How the Army Is Trying To Predict—and Prevent—the Next Suicide
NEXTGOV
BY FRANK KONKEL
MAY 7, 2015
There's more than just $65 million riding on a five-year effort to locate at-risk soldiers and get them the help they need before it's too late.
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, and it’s been a particularly problematic issue for the U.S. military since soldiers first mobilized overseas in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
In the U.S. Army, historically high suicide rates have more than doubled since 2001 among active duty soldiers, with 259 taking their own lives last year, according to a Pentagon report released in January.
“This is a big problem for the United States Army, it’s a big problem for the United States and it’s a big problem for the world,” Roy Wallace, assistant deputy chief of staff with the Army G-1, said Tuesday at the Government Analytics Forum in Washington, D.C.
Wallace said he believes analytics technology will succeed where various suicide prevention efforts over the years have failed: in saving soldiers’ lives.
The Army is in the midst of a five-year, $65 million effort called Army STARRS, which stands for Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Service members. The program aims to identify factors that protect or put at risk a soldier’s mental health.
With partners that include the National Institute of Mental Health, the University of Michigan and other educational institutions, Wallace said the Army is in a “huge big data operation,” analyzing some 1.1 billion data records from 39 Army and Defense Department databases looking for insights that could suggest a soldier is at elevated risk for suicide.
“What we’re trying to do is get down to predict who might commit suicide,” Wallace said.
read more here
Considering they ignored the database telling them suicides went up after they started trying to prevent them, they have a lot bigger problem dealing with awareness and reality.
Song, "The Promise" written and composed by Jack Murphy, former Redcatcher in Delta Company, 5th Battalion, 12th Infantry, 199th Light Infantry Brigade, 1969 - 1970. Dedicated to all Vietnam veterans.
Family says man found dead near Ann Arbor School was Marine Veteran
MLIVE
Ben Freed
May 8, 2015
Shawn Memmer joined the Marine Corps at the age of 17 and served for eight years, Effie Pringle said. He served in Operation Desert Storm in Iraq.
Family members have identified the body found near Ann Arbor's Pioneer High School Thursday as 53-year-old Shawn Douglas Memmer, originally from Indian River, Michigan.
Memmer's brother Shannon Pringle said he had contacted police investigating the body, which was found by contractors preparing for a controlled burn on property owned by Ann Arbor Public Schools.
An official identification has not been made, but Shawn Memmer's sister-in-law Effie Pringle said the family has been told to begin making arrangements for the body.
Effie Pringle said Shawn moved from Gaylord to Ann Arbor for treatment through the VA Hospital for PTSD and substance abuse. He had not been in contact with any family members since October, 2014. read more here
Kokomo veteran files complaint after local business turns away service dog
WTHR News Indiana
By Emily Longnecker, WTHR reporter
Updated: May 08, 2015
KOKOMO, Ind. - You wouldn't know it to look at her lounging at her owner's feet in a living room in Kokomo, but Ella, a 16-month-old shepherd mix, has a job.
"She is a hardworking service animal," explained Ella's owner Jody Mitchell.
That means, where Jody goes, Ella goes too.
"I need her. She's basically a piece of medical equipment," explained Jody.
It's Ella's job to help the 48-year-old United States Army veteran navigate the hearing loss and post-traumatic stress disorder she lives with after her military service.
"This dog has gone through a lot of extensive training," Jody said of Ella.
That training has prepared Ella to wear a service dog vest and walk down the aisles of a grocery stores or sit in restaurants right along side Jody.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, service dogs are allowed anywhere their humans and the public are allowed to go. It's federal law and has been for several years.
Under the ADA, service dogs must be harnessed, leashed or tethered, unless the devices interfere with the dog's ability to work or the person's disability prevents using such devices. read more here
Here's a few thoughts.
We need to consider there are fake service dogs popping up all over the country. Easy to buy a vest and piece of paper online. The owners of these dogs are lower than dirt. They just want to take their dogs wherever they want, whenever they want, but never, ever consider the disabled really needing them. Too selfish to think of others.
Topping that off is the fact that veterans need to stop thinking they will be welcomed everywhere. It is wrong and it needs to change but that won't happen until more veterans have been subjected to fools.
Among other things PTSD Service Dogs do is offer support for the veteran to go out in public. Not such an easy thing but situations like this cause more stress.
If you have a PTSD service dog, you can avoid this. Call ahead. Let them know you have a PTSD Service Dog and want to come into their business. If they are up on the law, they will make accommodations for you without any friction, added stress or embarrassment. Then you can feel comfortable.
If they say no, then take to social media to let others know about this business rejecting you and breaking the law. After all, you need to stand up for your rights and folks need to know what the business is all about. Plus this way, you won't have to face some stupid jerk turning what could have been a good day into a nightmare!
Lt. Col. Christine Mau becomes first woman to fly Air Force’s newest fighter jet
BY CNN WIRE
MAY 8, 2015
Lt. Col. Christine Mau puts on her helmet before taking her first flight in the F-35A at Eglin Air Force Base on May 5, 2015. (PHOTO: Staff Sgt. Marleah Robertson/U.S. Air Force)
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — The F-35 is the Air Force’s newest fighter plane, and the service says it needs some of its most experienced aviators in the cockpit of the jet.
One of them is Lt. Col. Christine Mau, who flew combat missions in the F-15 Strike Eagle in Afghanistan. This week, she became the first woman to fly the Lightning II jet.
Despite her experience in Afghanistan, Mau, the deputy commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing Operations Group at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, said completing her first flight in the F-35 was a special moment.
“It wasn’t until I was taxiing to the runway that it really struck me that I was on my own in the jet,” Mau said in an Air Force press release. “It felt great to get airborne. The jet flies like a dream.”
read more here
Dad home from Afghanistan, surprises daughter at Sanford school
News 13 Orlando
David Bodden
May 8, 2015
Sgt. 1st Class Jose Ramos hugs Mia after surprising her during a
school assembly at Liberty Christian School in Sanford Friday.
SANFORD --
A 5-year-old girl got the surprise of her life Friday morning during an early school assembly in Sanford.
Her father, Sgt. 1st Class Jose Ramos, is home after spending the last 9 months in Afghanistan. According to his wife Mari, this is Sgt. Ramos’ third tour of duty in the Middle East.
On Friday, he surprised his daughter Mia at school.
Mari said it is emotionally difficult on the family each time Jose has to leave.
“This is his third tour," Mari Ramos said. "This time [Mia] was asking for her dad all the time."
Sgt. Ramos said he would talk to his family via web cam, the last time being a few weeks prior to his homecoming.
The couple’s children, Alejandro, 11, and Mia had a hard time adjusting to dad being gone this time.
“There are many experiences that you can’t experience with him like playing sports, going to the movies and doing many other things,” Alejandro said.
read more here
GODSMACK To Team Up With U.S. Armed Forces For 'What's Next?' Single Campaign
Blabbermouth
May 8, 2015
GODSMACK has selected "What's Next?" as the next single from its sixth studio album, "1000hp". A video for the track will be released soon.
Speaking to the K-Rock radio station in Syracuse, New York earlier this week, GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna stated about "What's Next?" (see video below): "We had a small problem with the label that they kind of went behind our back and they decided to just go choose a single ['FML'] when the whole time it was supposed to be 'What's Next?' And the best part about releasing the ['What's Next?'] single is we're gonna do a whole campaign, because the lyrical content of the song is about the only thing certain is life and death, but what's next?
So we're doing a whole campaign with the U.S. military — all the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces, we're teaming together with them.
We're gonna do a whole campaign to help out homeless vets, to help out guys with PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder], all that stuff.
We're just gonna do a whole thing for an awareness level, for a bit of an inspiration." read more here
Pretty much sums up a lot of what has been going on when folks hear about a problem but don't even take the time to discover what needs to be done to help.
Sully Erna didn't even know it is PTSD. He said, "PSTD" as if it s a sexually transmitted disease. This came in at about 5:00 into the interview.
I just read the lyrics to What's Next. Not so great. Not so helpful and certainly not hopeful.
So many questions
Hoping answers somehow come to me
It's getting harder to believe
I'm trying to make sense of this matter
Knowing I can see these circumstances helping me know I know nothing
I know nothing
What is the awareness Godsmack wants to raise? Veterans know what PTSD is and what it is doing to them. Families know what it is doing to them/me.
I know the struggles and the hardships. The feelings of being alone and lost. Stumbling to find understanding but finding folks walking away from conversations. I also know what it is like to find the help to heal, save my family, restore hope and happiness and be able to twist what seem abnormal to civilians into what is normal for us.
Bet you didn't know that you can be happy even with PTSD. Bet you didn't know that no one is stuck suffering and there is a flipside to all the doom and gloom awareness hordes have been collecting millions in donation to scream about. Anyone have a clue what the hell good that is supposed to do for anyone other than themselves?
Don't get me wrong. There was a time when raising awareness was exactly what was needed since veterans were coming home suffering but no one in the civilian world knew about. That time was after Vietnam veterans came home. Yep, that's how long ago awareness started.
It isn't as if they were the first ones with the combat wounds on their body and in their minds. It happened to every generation. There is so much "awareness" now about Iraq and Afghanistan veterans that no one seems to remember that yet again, everything else has just evaporated to the point where no one knows anything and all the research they fought for is back to step one.
Sucks the life out of the room to remind someone all the money for this study and that study, this program and that project have dismissed everything that worked while pushing what failed then wondering why suicides have gone up instead of down but ignoring facts sucks the life out of far too many veterans. Time to put some truth back into what they need to be reminded of.
We have WWII veterans in their 90's still alive with PTSD and Korean veterans in their 80's along with Vietnam veterans in their 60's and 70's still alive with PTSD. Yep, ain't all doom and gloom. Some of them have been married for over 30 years including me with my own PTSD veteran.
I keep reading stories and hoping that finally someone will come up with a clue how to raise the awareness veterans actually need to be aware of only to discover it is all just more of the same smoke and mirrors tricking the eyes and picking the pockets masquerading as help.
If Godsmack really wants to help raise awareness they should start by actually becoming aware of what PTSD is at least enough to stop calling it PSTD.
Truth told I was really hoping it would be more like the one Five Finger Death Punch - Wrong Side Of Heaven especially the way it ended. That is the part that got to most veterans. Hope they still mattered!
ISIS activity prompts threat level increase at bases
CNN
By Barbara Starr, Pentagon Correspondent
Updated 12:35 PM ET, Fri May 8, 2015
Washington (CNN)
Security conditions at U.S. military bases were raised Thursday night because of growing concern of a jihadist threat in the U.S.
The move comes hours after FBI Director James Comey told reporters that there are thousands of ISIS, also known as ISIL, followers online in the U.S.
"We have a general concern, obviously, that ISIL is focusing on the uniformed military and law enforcement," Comey told reporters Thursday.
The order was signed by Admiral William Gortney, head of the U.S. Northern Command, which oversees all U.S. military installations in the continental U.S.
"We have the same concern about the potential threat posed by violent homegrown extremists," said Captain Jeff Davis, spokesman for the U.S. Northern Command, or NORTHCOM.
read more here
Marine pronounced dead after being found in Okinawa barracks
Stars and Stripes
Published: May 8, 2015
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The Marine Corps is investigating the death of a Marine who was found unresponsive in her barracks room early Friday at Camp Hansen.
The 9th Engineer Support Battalion Marine, whose name was not released pending next-of-kin notification, was pronounced dead at U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa around 1:06 a.m., according to a Marine Corps statement. read more here
Veterans who helped take victory in Europe in WWII need help
Charleston Daily Mail
by Tyler Bell, Police Reporter
May 7, 2015
“We’re just disabled vets trying to help each other,” he said. “We had to fight for this stuff to get it.”
TYLER BELL/DAILY MAIL
A.J. Brooks, a 90-year-old Army veteran of World War II, suffered from battle fatigue, what now is known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, following his service in the European Theater of the war. He now relies on the Disabled American Veterans’ van program to get to VA hospitals for care because he doesn’t drive anymore.
The world stood together in celebration 70 years ago today, when the battered remnants of Adolf Hitler’s war machine officially surrendered and the European portion of World War II ended in Allied victory.
It’s easy to forget, however, that many of the men and women who slogged through the bloody sands of Normandy and huddled together for warmth outside of Bastogne are still alive, and in their old age are increasingly in need of help.
“The thing that bothered me real bad at the time, they called it battle fatigue,” said A.J. Brooks, a 90-year-old World War II veteran living in the Lewisburg area. Brooks served in the Army’s 3rd Armored Division during the war, following the division through its campaigns in France, including the Normandy Invasion, France, Belgium and eventually Germany.
He joined when he was 17.
“I was going to whip the war by myself,” he said with a laugh.
Brooks is one of the 6,892 World War II veterans living in West Virginia, according to the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics. The majority of those veterans are upwards of 90 years old and just as susceptible to the strictures of aging as anyone else.
Brooks, like many veterans, relies on VA Medical Centers for his health care. But as he ages, he’s become reliant on others for transportation.
“I can’t drive and I don’t drive,” he said. “I always get my friend here to drive me.”
Brooks is talking about Mike Dawson, an Adjutant for Disabled American Veterans in West Virginia. Dawson, a disabled veteran himself, helped organize a van program to ferry veterans to and from VA Medical Centers statewide.
“We’re just disabled vets trying to help each other,” he said. “We had to fight for this stuff to get it.” read more here
Orange County programs give veterans a second chance
Programs designed to help vets who landed on wrong side of the law
WESH 2 News Orlando
By Michelle Meredith
UPDATED 6:21 PM EDT May 07, 2015
"This is as beneficial to me as it is to them because we all left the military with issues,” said Orange County Judge Jerry Brewer, who is a former U.S. Marine.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —Florida has the second highest number of veterans in the United States, and when those service members return home, many find themselves fighting different battles, like homelessness, unemployment and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Orange County has created two specialized programs that are designed to address the needs of veterans within the criminal justice system.
Clyde Walker went from serving his country to serving time. He said he came home from Vietnam a changed man.
“Vietnam was hell,” Walker said. “Sometimes you see your brothers with an arm gone or a leg gone. Life is totally different … for a long, long time I didn't have control of me."
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, up to 20 percent of veterans who recently returned home have PTSD.
The National Center for PTSD said 30 percent of Vietnam War veterans dealt with the disorder in their lifetime.
Whether they’re dealing with addiction or anger management, many veterans with PTSD act out in ways that land them behind bars.
“We all make mistakes. There is opportunity for recovery. I am a big believer in second chances, if you genuinely want a second chance,” Orange County Jail Chief Cornita A. Riley said.
The Orange County jail not provides dorms reserved exclusively for veterans.
The dorms house up to 30 inmates and run like the military. read more here
The VA wants stories of hope from you. This is a good idea since it seems that everyone is popping up to "raise awareness" of the "problems" veterans and families have but few are talking about hope, what works and how to get the help they need. After all, getting people upset seems to spread faster than hope.
Sorry, but hardly no one donates to charities showing happy people.
Think I'm wrong? Then think of all the ads you see everyday on TV always showing sadness and suffering.
It doesn't have to be that way and most of the time it isn't. Most of the time there is a lot of pain, suffering and struggles but then it gets a lot better. Most of our marriages are stronger because we fought together to get out of the valley. I know because I felt the same way for years when we knew what PTSD was but no one else did. Yep, my family and my friends.
Instead of having plenty of time to offer hope after over 30 years of marriage, seeing the worst of times followed by many more good years, I have to spend time on covering the heartache.
Why? Because there hasn't been enough fixed and veterans are paying for it all with their families. Unless we stop what failed, start what works, we're just not going to do what all these "charities" claim they want to do.
Think about that the next time you hear someone raise money to "raise awareness" then ask yourself what the bleep are they raising awareness for? Themselves?
How about raising up some hope for a change?
There is a lot the VA gets wrong but it isn't all bad.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2015
New VA Website Encourages Veterans to Tell Their Stories of Hope
WASHINGTON – May is Mental Health Awareness Month. To commemorate the month, theDepartment of Veterans Affairs (VA) is encouraging Veterans, along with their families and friends, to visit and chronicle their recovery journey on the website, MakeTheConnection.net.
Make the Connection is a national awareness program operated by VA aimed at reducing the negative perceptions and stigma associated with seeking mental health care. Through the Website, Veterans and their loved ones hear from hundreds of other Veterans who may be experiencing similar challenges, learn strategies for support and recovery, along with local resources available through a resource locator.
Since the launch of the Make the Connection campaign in November 2011, there have been more than 7 million visits to the website, and more than 2.8 million people have joined the Facebook community or subscribed to the YouTube channel. The resource locator on the site, with information on VA and community-based treatment services around the country, has been used more than 220,000 times.
“We all have the ability to influence a friend or loved one in a positive way – that’s why Make the Connection was created,” said VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald. “We want Veterans to tell their personal stories of mental health treatment and recovery to as many of their peers as possible. Those stories can be great sources of strength for Veterans in need of hope.”
Clerical error? Government claims living veteran is actually dead
WECT News
By: Stacey Pinno
Posted: May 04, 2015
"To prove that I am alive is just insane and it scares me to death,” Pressley said. “That at a touch of a button or because of someone's clerical error my whole life can be taken away from me and it is."
Robert Pressley reads his death letter from the VA and Department of Defense.
(Source: WECT)
WILMINGTON, NC (WECT)
Imagine opening the mail to find a letter from Veterans Affairs with the first sentence sending sympathies for your death.
That's exactly what happened to one veteran in the Wilmington area who says his life has been turned upside down because of it.
Just last week, Robert Pressley's family received letters from both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense claiming he was dead, plus two checks to help fund his burial.
"To prove that I am alive is just insane and it scares me to death,” Pressley said. “That at a touch of a button or because of someone's clerical error my whole life can be taken away from me and it is."
We reached out to each agency involved. So far, there is no clear explanation to what happened, but a mistake somewhere has now canceled Pressley's disability payment, VA healthcare and other medical insurance. read more here
