Battle Veterans Cruel Deadly Plague

PTSD, PTSD, PTSD, Continued: Battle Veterans Cruel Deadly Plague: Alcoholism is the Result
Dr. Phil Leveque Salem-News.com
The VA is still not taking proper care of any PTSD Vets of all wars. Alcoholism is killing hundreds of thousands because VA drugs have bad side effects and are not tolerable.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - Yes, I created the above title on purpose. I have written many stories about this; search this link salem-news.com. to read numerous articles about PTSD

I had heard of SHELL SHOCK and BATTLE FATIGUE which are “waste basket diagnoses” even before I went into the WWII Army. In 1943, I even read that there were about 15% “”Battle Neurosis” casualties in America’s invasion of N. Africa. The Army even sent a medical doctor Brigadier General to N. Africa to investigate what was wrong with those enlisted men SISSIES. Then they discovered well trained, experienced officers got it also (behind front lines?).

They began to more heavily sort out recruits at Draft Boards and up to 30% of possible recruits FAILED the mickey mouse evaluations. Furthermore a lot of Mommies Boys flunked out in Basic Training. They probably wouldn’t be suitable foxhole buddies anyhow. A lot of them got as far as the front lines. That’s where the 15% Battle Neurosis came from.

I knew that I had PTSD after 3 months as a Battalion Scout, pointman and forward observer. Those were frequently suicide missions but I was lucky.

PTSD was not named and diagnosed as such until about 1980 when Vietnam Vets started falling apart. They were perhaps the most widely studied group of Veterans ever studied. I am not saying they were any different than any other Veterans but it is a fact.
read more here
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june122010/ptsd-alcohol-pl.php

Wrong and this needs to be corrected.

By 1978 there were veteran's centers opened around the country and according to a study funded by the DAV, there were already 500,000 Vietnam veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. While the VA itself did not use the term, it was already being used around the country.





The warnings were right here and they have not changed. They have only grown larger since most of the warnings, most of the evidence and studies on PTSD done have gone ignored. Today we see repeated studies funded and too few results.
"...the number of these veterans experiencing these symptoms will climb until 1985 based on his belief of Erickson's psycholosocial developmental stages and how far along in these stages combat veterans will be by 1985."

This is also our greatest fear when we read the numbers today. We know the numbers and the need will only go up. It will go up with the numbers being deployed and exposed to traumatic events during combat. It will go up with the repeated deployments, which according to the study done by the Army a few years ago, only increases the risk by 50% for each time they go back. There is also one more factor in all of this. The time they go from shock of combat and the time they finally get help. Mild PTSD can be healed a lot better when other events in life do not add to it. In other words, the longer PTSD goes untreated, the more it infects the rest of their lives and is fed by living.

Most veterans with PTSD are not addicted to drugs or alcohol as much as they are searching to kill off feelings and calm their nerves. It becomes a part of their daily lives. It also ends up harming them to the point where all the medication in the world will provide no relief and therapy is undone by substance abuse.

Then, just like the rest of the population, there are some real drug addicts and alcoholics addicted to the chemicals just as much as they are facing the symptoms of PTSD. As with the rest of this, as bad as we think the flood of veterans seeking help for PTSD is today, the numbers will only go up when the ones with Mild PTSD can no longer cover their symptoms or deny they need help. The worst thing about all of this is the suffering they go through waiting to seek help is making PTSD worse for them and will be harder to heal.

Please read the rest of the above article. The rest is very good.

Army Lt. Michael E. McGahan's service today at St. Luke's

"Funeral services will be held at St. Luke's Methodist Church in Orlando on Saturday at 2 p.m. The McGahan family said anyone who would like to pay their respects is welcome to do so. "

Father: Fallen Soldier 'Believed In Serving His Country'
Olympia High School Grad Killed In Afghanistan

POSTED: Wednesday, June 9, 2010
UPDATED: 7:31 pm EDT June 9, 2010


ORLANDO, Fla. -- The father of a local soldier who was recently killed Afghanistan is sharing his son's story.


"He knew the dangers involved, but he was willing to serve anyway, and that's the legacy that we want to remember him by," Tim McGahan said.

McGahan's son, Michael McGahan, and his platoon were attacked by insurgents in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday. Michael McGahan, 23, was killed.

"He felt like he could make a difference, he could make things better, and that was his goal and he was pretty darn good at it," Tim McGahan said.

Tim McGahan said his son could not dodge bullets from the insurgents near the Pakistan border.
read more here
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/23848956/detail.html

Military Mental Health Probe Widens

Military Mental Health Probe Widens After NPR-ProPublica Report
06:36 pm
June 11, 2010


by T. Christian Miller, ProPublica, and Daniel Zwerdling, NPR

Responding to an investigation by ProPublica and NPR, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Friday that he would expand a hearing on soldier suicides to include a more extensive discussion of the military’s handling of traumatic brain injuries and post traumatic stress disorder.

"The recent NPR and ProPublica reports on the military's diagnosis, treatment, and tracking of traumatic brain injuries are concerning," Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said in a prepared statement.

NPR and ProPublica reported this week that the military was failing to diagnose soldiers with so-called mild traumatic brain injuries. Such injuries, also called concussions, are typically difficult to detect but can cause lasting mental and physical difficulties.

Unpublished military studies and interviews with medical officials suggest there could be tens of thousands of soldiers suffering undiagnosed traumatic brain injuries, which have been called one of the wars' signature wounds. When soldiers were diagnosed, many received little or no treatment, even at large bases such as Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.

Soldiers with traumatic brain injury often also suffer from post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, a debilitating psychological wound. Those who survive roadside blasts can suffer both a brain injury and PTSD, which can be triggered by the terror of the event.

click above link for more

Police officer gets hit by an ATV after Stanley Cup Win

A police officer gets hit by an ATV as crowds bust through barricades and chase the Stanley Cup winning Blackhawks.


Watch the full Blackhawks parade and rally!
Look here for ABC7's three-hour special report of the Blackhawks victory parade and rally in downtown Chicago.

Medevac crash victims returned home

When you read an article like this, you don't need pictures to feel it. It is a beautiful tribute to the fallen as well as those who care for them.

Medevac crash victims returned home

By Scott Fontaine - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Jun 12, 2010 10:10:44 EDT

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. — The transfer team’s steps were meticulously synchronized. Their white gloves were spotless. The flag wrapped around each case was tight, each with an identical number of stars and stripes showing.

They said little — just a few orders, barely audible over the clanging rotors of the Boeing 747. The Air Force chief of staff held a sharp salute as they walked by. The service secretary held his hand over his heart.

Four of their colleagues were killed two days earlier, when insurgents shot down their HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter during a medical-evacuation mission in southern Afghanistan. And on Friday, the fallen returned to the U.S.; their remains were met here with full honors.

The Air Force transfer team first carried the flag-draped case containing the remains of Lt. Joel C. Gentz, a combat rescue officer who enrolled in ROTC because he wanted to be a pilot and fly rescue missions, from a hydraulic lift to a waiting cargo van.

Next came the body of Tech. Sgt. Michael P. Flores, a pararescueman who had previously been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and had served overseas eight times in 12 years.

And then Staff Sgt. David C. Smith, a flight engineer who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan during his nine-year Air Force career.

And, lastly, Senior Airman Benjamin D. White, a pararescueman on his first deployment.

Their helicopter crashed in Helmand province, leaving three other airmen injured and leading to the Air Force’s deadliest day at war in more than five years. The remains of Lance Cpl. Michael G. Plank, a Marine killed in Helmand province on Wednesday, also made the trip from Germany.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/06/airforce_helo_crash_remains_061110w/

Maryland state trooper shot, killed

Maryland State Trooper Wesley Brown. (AP/Maryland State Police)

Maryland state trooper shot, killed
This post was updated at 11:30 a.m.

An off-duty Maryland state police officer was shot and killed early Friday in the parking lot of a Forestville area restaurant, police said.

Wesley Brown, 24, was shot shortly before 12:40 a.m. at the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar on Donnell Drive after an incident inside the restaurant involving a “disorderly” customer who refused to pay a bill, Col. Michael Blow told reporters.


Maryland State Trooper Wesley Brown. (AP/Maryland State Police)Brown, who was working part-time as a security officer at the Applebee's, escorted the individual outside, police said. About 30 minutes later, a gunman ambushed the trooper as he exited the restaurant. The man who disputed his bill is considered a “person of interest,” police said, but they are not limiting their search to him.

UNITED STATES ARMY 235TH ANNIVERSARY

All gave some, some gave all! This is from the Vietnam War but speaks for all of the men and women willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of this nation and her people.

UNITED STATES ARMY 235TH ANNIVERSARY
Date Signed: 6/4/2010
ALMAR Active Number: 020/10

041855Z JUN 10
UNCLASSIFIED
ALMAR 020/10
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC DMCS
SUBJ/UNITED STATES ARMY 235TH ANNIVERSARY
GENTEXT/REMARKS/

1. ON BEHALF OF MARINES SERVING AROUND THE GLOBE, IT IS MY HONOR TO RECOGNIZE OUR COMRADES-IN-ARMS AS YOU CELEBRATE THE 235TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY ON 14 JUNE. THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF THIS FINE INSTITUTION, BRAVE SOLDIERS HAVE RISEN TO EVERY TASK AND FOUGHT VALIANTLY IN THE NAME OF FREEDOM.

2. SINCE THE FOUNDING OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY, THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN WHO FILL YOUR RANKS HAVE DEFENDED OUR NATION WITH THE UTMOST COURAGE, PROFESSIONALISM, AND DEVOTION TO DUTY. THROUGH THE WHEAT FIELDS OF BELLEAU WOOD AND THE JUNGLES OF THE PACIFIC TO THE SNOW-CAPPED TAEBEK MOUNTAINS OF KOREA AND THE DUSTY STREETS OF IRAQ, MARINES AND SOLDIERS HAVE FOUGHT TOGETHER TO PRESERVE THE RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OF OUR NATION.

3. AS YOU CELEBRATE THIS YEAR, KNOW THAT ALL MARINES SALUTE YOU FOR YOUR PROUD HERITAGE, VALOR, AND HONORABLE SERVICE.

4. SEMPER FIDELIS, JAMES T. CONWAY, GENERAL, U.S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS.//

The 235th anniversary of the Army Chaplain Corps
The 235th anniversary of the Army Chaplain Corps
June 6, 8:22 AM
Nashville Christian History Examiner
Tami Kilmarx
New York, July 9th, l776--Headquarters:

“When George Washington assumed command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts, chaplains were already present for duty. Washington could count fifteen chaplains serving with the twenty-three regiments gathered around Boston. The Continental Congress gave the chaplains its official recognition on 29 July l775

“The Honorable Continental Congress having been pleased to allow a Chaplain to each Regiment, with the pay of Thirty-Three Dollars and one third dollars per month - The Colonels or commanding officers of each regiment are directed to procure Chaplains accordingly; persons of good Characters and exemplary lives - To see that all inferior officers and soldiers pay them a suitable respect and attend carefully upon religious exercises. The blessing and protection of Heaven are at all times necessary but especially so in times of public distress and danger -The General hopes and trusts, that every officer and man, will endeavor so to live, and act as becomes a Christian Soldier defending the dearest Rights and Liberties of his country.”

Signed, George Washington
click links above for more

The need for Chaplains in the Army was fully understood by General Washington. A need to give last rites to the fallen, to pray for the wounded and comfort the battle scared. This was understood 235 years ago but the lesson has not fully evolved into action equal to the demands on the men and women serving today. There are not enough Chaplains in the military today and even less ready to step up for the veterans still in need of spiritual comforting so they can heal from what was asked of them.

John McDermott's exhibition aims at healing invisible wounds in UK

John's exhibition aims at healing invisible wounds
Express & Echo
ART is always very personal, both to the artist and the viewer, so to look at some of John McDermott's paintings makes for a slightly uneasy feeling of intrusion into his mind, as his work is about his experiences in — and after — conflict.

John studied art in Glasgow before joining the Royal Navy, where he was to spend the next 27 years before settling in Exeter. He has seen conflict from two angles — mainly from being on active duty in conflicts around the world, including the Falklands, the Gulf and Bosnia, but also as a "man in the middle" as a UN observer in Cambodia in the wake of the killing fields.

It is apt, then, that his exhibition at Exeter Castle, as part of the Exeter Festival, is entitled Aftermath; he hopes it will raise awareness of the terrible problem of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among servicemen and women.

John, himself a PTSD sufferer, is passionate about getting the message across to the public that there are servicemen who have been in conflict non-stop for ten years, from the first invasion of Afghanistan, and the difficulties many of them will subsequently face in assimilating back into civilian life. "This is twice as long as the Second World War lasted," he says.


"One of the big issues we have with war-related trauma is the stigma surrounding it. We are getting better at understanding mental health, but our people are going through life-changing situations almost daily.
read more here
John McDermott exhibition aims at healing invisible wounds

DAV Chapter 16 Chaplain Lyle Schmeiser receives well deserved awards

I couldn't be more happy for this dear, sweet man!

Today, June 11, 2010 at 8:30am marked the 2010 joint opening excerise of the Disabled American Veterans Florida State Department DAV/DAVA Conference at the Orlando Lake Mary Marriot Hotel.

About 10:30am our State Director, Comrade Albert Linden from Gainesville Florida caused an quite an uproar when he began to give a long speech about this one fellow's many attributes the end result being that he presented..................................

VETERAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Presented to Lyle Schmeiser
2009-2010
Department of Florida, Inc.
ADJUTANT COMMANDER
Al Linden Jim Sursely

RARELY EVER am I at a loss for words but the surprise/shock of recieving this award was OVERWHELMING and when I was handed a mic I was not quite able to preach a sermon but I did rally around enough at least to thank them for presenting.......
(In 2007 my BELOVED Comrade Commander James E. "Jim" Sursely made the remark "Well, an 'ol Colorado farm boy comes down to Orlando Florida and makes good"!!! As I had just been elevated to the position of Florida State Department Chaplain)(That year I held the position of Chapter 16 Chaplain, the District 10 Chaplain and the Florida State Department Chaplain....all THREE of 'em at the same time!!!

Then in the afternoon session they handed me another plaque

Local Veterans Assistance Program Award
Presented to
Lyle Schmeiser
2009-2010
Department of Florida, Inc
ADJUTANT COMMANDER
Al Linden Jim Sursely

This award is for having accumulated the most volunteer hours since the DAV National Headquarters created the LVAP program October 1, 2007.....I have been credited with serving over 3800 volunteer hours. PLUS....they didn't say anything about ALLL the LONG list of "followers" I have in this program but there are about 35 and I signed up two new ones at our Chapter 16 General Membership meeting last evening.........

Our (interim) Commander Bradley A. Bouters designated me as the person to carry ALL the awards home....two that will adorn a wall in the Central Florida Chapter 16 Chaplain's Office in my home....and the rest of them go to the Chapter.
All toll there were FIVE (5) awards presented to our Chapter 16 today!!!
What an HONOR what a PRIVILEGE to serve as Chaplain, as a volunteer for the GREATEST Veterans Organization in all of America!!!
LAUS DEO...Praise be to God....!!!

God Bless America
and God Bless all that read this e-mail!!!

Chaplain Lyle Schmeiser

16 dead in Arkansas flooding

16 dead in Arkansas flooding
By the CNN Wire Staff
June 11, 2010 6:18 p.m. EDT


STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Obama orders FEMA to be in contact with local officials
36 people remain missing after campground flood
Hospital treating five flood victims
Scores could be trapped in area, authorities say
Local coverage of flash flood from KARK

(CNN) -- At least 16 people died at a federal campground in Arkansas after heavy rain and flash flooding Friday, and many more could be trapped in the area, state authorities said.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe said there's word from the Red Cross that there could have been as many as 300 people in the rugged Albert Pike campground area, a part of the U.S. Forest Service, in western Arkansas, but he said there is no registration that would show the precise number. Emergency management officials had put the death toll at 20 but revised the figure to 16 later Friday.

Nick Hofert awoke just after 2 a.m. to screams from families, some with children as young as 4, hurrying up a hill toward his cabin, looking for higher ground. He filed them into his home and went back out, trying to find those family members who were separated from the group.
read more here
16 dead in Arkansas flooding

Wounded senior airman to wed widow of comrade

Wounded senior airman to wed widow of comrade

By Charles D. Brunt - Albuquerque (N.M.) Journal via AP
Posted : Friday Jun 11, 2010 15:16:36 EDT

BOSQUE FARMS, N.M. — It is an unusual love story, forged just over four months ago in a horrific attack on a platoon of 13 U.S. troops crossing a small bridge outside the southern Afghanistan village of Ashoque.

In a matter of minutes, three soldiers and an airman, none of whom had reached his 25th birthday, were killed by two roadside bombs — one set off by the weight of a soldier stepping on a buried pressure plate, the other triggered by a hidden Taliban fighter as the rest of the platoon scrambled back across the bridge with their dead and wounded.

Among the six wounded was Air Force Senior Airman Michael Malarsie, a 22-year-old Bosque Farms man who had been in Afghanistan just four weeks when the improvised bombs went off.

Malarsie, blasted by shrapnel and gravel from the neck up by the first IED, lost his left eye immediately. Despite the best efforts of a phalanx of doctors, he never regained sight in his right eye.
read more here
Wounded senior airman to wed widow of comrade

State Department assessing damage from cables leak

State Department assessing damage from cables leak
By ROBERT BURNS (AP) – 2 hours ago
WASHINGTON — The State Department is studying what damage it may have suffered from the alleged disclosure of classified information by a U.S. soldier in Iraq.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley also says diplomatic security agents are examining one or more hard drives from the computers the soldier allegedly used to download 260,000 classified State Department cables.
read more here
State Department assessing damage from cables leak

PTSD on Trail:Iraq vet, then SWAT Cop, then robber

Atty: Minn. cop turned robber wanted to be killed
By AMY FORLITI (AP) – 1 hour ago

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis SWAT officer who held up a suburban bank and who is accused of robbing several other businesses was worried about his wife and sick daughter, and tormented by nightmares from his time fighting in Iraq, his attorney said in a court filing Friday.

Timothy Carson, 29, was so overwhelmed in the months before the January bank robbery that he "just wanted to die," so he decided to commit a robbery and end his life in a confrontation with police so his wife could get a $250,000 insurance payout, according to the document filed by federal defender Andrea George.

"His world was falling apart," she wrote.

Carson pleaded guilty in March to robbing the bank, and state prosecutors have charged him in 12 other robberies or attempted robberies that occurred in the days leading up to his arrest. Those charges are pending.

In her filing, George asked U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz to give Carson the minimum seven years in prison and five years supervised release for his guilty plea on counts stemming from the bank robbery, saying he was under a tremendous amount of stress and needs psychological treatment, not a lengthy prison sentence.

Carson joined the Marine Corps Reserves out of high school in 2000 and served with the Minneapolis-St. Paul-based 4th Marine Division for six years, including a tour in Iraq in 2004. While there, he earned several awards, including the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal — which he received for actions during a mortar attack at Camp Ramadi in May 2004.
read more here
Minn. cop turned robber wanted to be killed

also
Atty: Minn. cop turned robber wanted to be killed The Associated Press

Colonel’s Wife Accused of Harassing Soldiers

Col. Drinkwine appointed his wife to lead the brigade's official support organization, known as a Family Readiness Group, or FRG.

Colonel’s Wife Accused of Harassing Soldiers
June 11, 2010
Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer

The commander of Fort Bragg has barred the wife of an 82nd Airborne Division colonel from nearly all interaction with her husband's brigade and the unit's families after an investigation found her influence "detrimental to the morale and well-being of both."

Sworn statements from the investigation, ordered in January by Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, accuse Col. Brian Drinkwine's wife, Leslie Drinkwine, of using her husband's position as leverage to repeatedly harass and threaten Soldiers and their families.

The statements say the harassment and threats began almost as soon as Col. Drinkwine took command of the 4th Brigade Combat Team in 2008.

A follow-up to Helmick's investigation has reached the highest levels of leadership in Afghanistan. That investigation is exploring whether animosity between the Drinkwines and Col. Drinkwine's battalion commanders and their spouses ever unfairly damaged the officers' careers.
read more here

Colonel’s Wife Accused of Harassing Soldiers

Veterans Memorial toppled in Elmwood IL

Tornadoes Strike the 16th District
Saturday June 6th Tornadoes struck in the towns of Elmwood and Magnolia, Illinois in the 16th District. Sr Vice Commander Larry Stimeling and Department Membership Chairman Denise Fields went to Elmwood on Monday. We spoke with Commander Kim Davis and were happy to hear that no Legionaires had any major damage due to the storms. On Tuesday Comrade Fields went on to Magnolia where the news was just as good. No legionaires' property damaged. Sr. Vice Stimeling went back to Elmwood and attended their regular Monthly meeting. It was there that he learned that the Veterans' Memorial in Elmwood was toppled and the flagpoless and lighting fo the memorial were destroyed. The Elmwood Post is in need of our help to repair the Monument and replace the flag poles.

Since most of the businesses in Elmwood have been effected by the storm which litterally wiped out the business district in town (see above), the ability of Post 638 to locally raise funds is greatly diminished. If everyone reading this would send a donation to the Post in Elmwood, They would be well on their way to fixing the Veteran's Memorial. Our Preamble states one of the reasons we associate together is "To consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness."
Now is the time to practice what we recite every month.
Please send your individual or post donation to
American Legion % Farmers State Bank Elmwood Illinois 61529

Larry Stimeling (larrynamvet)
16th District Senior Vice-Commander
The American Legion, Department of Illinois
Webmaster 3rd Division, The American Legion, Department of Illinois
Webmaster 16th District, The American Legion, Department of Illinois
Post Adjutant and Service Officer American Legion Post #318 Morton Il

Frasier actor conned by fake fallen soldier on Twitter

Frasier actor conned by fake fallen soldier from Fife
Lauren Chalmers struck up a friendship with Kelsey Grammer on Twitter, but then pretended to have been killed in Afghanistan.
By Jennifer Crichton

10 June 2010 10:26 GMT
A young Fife woman who struck up an online friendship with Frasier actor Kelsey Grammer has been forced to apologise to him after she pretended to have died on active service in Afghanistan.

Lauren Chalmers began conversing with the comedian on Twitter last month and told him she was a soldier about to be posted to Afghanistan. She then pretended to be her own mother, posting a message to him saying she had been killed by an improvised explosive device.

The devastated actor, who had posted signed photos to her parents Kirkcaldy home as a homecoming surprise, used his own site to pay tribute to her bravery and even set up an armed forces tribute site.

However, it quickly emerged Chalmers had conducted a sick hoax from her home in Kirkcaldy and had never served in the armed forces at all.
read more here
Frasier actor conned by fake fallen soldier from Fife

Thief takes lap top of Soldier home on leave from Afghanistan

If you are in the military and think you are forgotten or not appreciated enough by the American people, here's a reminder of exactly how much you are loved. One creep stole from a soldier and his family but a lot more people showed up to help simply because he was loved and appreciated.
UPDATE to this story

Donor replaces soldier's stolen laptop
By CHARLES WEBSTER • STAFF WRITER • June 11, 2010

HOWELL — A U.S. Army soldier heading back to Afghanistan after a stay in Howell during a family emergency, who had his laptop computer stolen on Tuesday, has a brand new replacement today thanks to the generosity of a hometown retired military man and his wife, police say.
Friday morning, the retired military man's wife arrived at Howell Police headquarters with the brand new Dell Inspiron laptop computer, according to police.

"There has been a huge outpouring - it's been incredible," Detective Nancy Carroll said. "We've gotten a lot of phone calls from people offering to help."


In addition to replacing the stolen laptop, another anonymous donor is replacing the daughter's cash, Carroll said.
read the rest here
Donor replaces soldiers stolen laptop

Howell police seek return of soldier's laptop
By CHARLES WEBSTER • STAFF WRITER • June 10, 2010


HOWELL — A soldier heading back to Afghanistan after a trip here for a family emergency had the laptop computer he uses to communicate with his wife and children stolen, according to police.

The soldier and his immediate family are former Howell residents but now live in Italy where the serviceman is stationed. The soldier is currently serving with the Army in Afghanistan.


The serviceman came here on a seven-day emergency leave and took up residence at His Mercy House, a food pantry on West Farms Road in Howell, while attending to the personal matter, police said.
read more here
Howell police seek return of soldier laptop

Soldier critically wounded in Iraq ripped off by parents?

They managed to raise a son who wanted to join the military. This same son, most parents would feel grateful to have come home still alive, ended up being used to provide them with financial gain, according to the charges. Is there a word in the English language strong enough to describe such a despicable act?

Injured Soldier's Parents Charged With Stealing Son's Recovery Fund
Investigators: Lori and Michael Nault Gambled Money Meant to Pay for Son's Care
By SARAH NETTER
June 10, 2010

A Wisconsin couple who have pleaded for help in caring for their son after he was severely injured while serving in Iraq have been charged with stealing more than $100,000 meant to finance his care and rehabilitation.

Lori and Michael Nault are accused of using at least $167,000 of their 23-year-old son's money to heavily gamble at casinos in three states and fund their own household expenses, a new truck and thousands of dollars in jewelry.

Army Specialist Shane Nault, who cannot speak and requires 24-hour care, suffered catastrophic brain injuries after an IED explosion in Iraq in May 2007. Just 23 years old, he is blind and suffered strokes.

According to court documents supporting felony theft charges for both Lori and Michael Nault, they tried to cover their tracks by listing their son's assets as $35,218 when there had actually been $254,191 deposited into nine bank accounts, many of them in Shane's name.
read more here
Parents Charged With Stealing Sons Recovery Fund

When the Music Stopped Star Spangled Banner Started

When the Music Stopped...

(For those who are unaware: At all military base theaters, the National Anthem is played before the movie begins.)

This is written from a Chaplain in Iraq:

I recently attended a showing of 'Superman 3' here at LSA Anaconda. We have a large auditorium we use for movies, as well as memorial services and other large gatherings. As is the custom at all military bases, we stood to attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. All was going well until three-quarters of the way through The National Anthem, the music stopped.

Now, what would happen if this occurred with 1,000 18-22 year-olds back in the States ? I imagine there would be hoots, catcalls, laughter, a few rude comments, and everyone would sit down and yell for the movie to begin. Of course, that is, if they had stood for the National Anthem in the first place.

Here in Iraq, 1,000 Soldiers continued to stand at attention, eyes fixed forward. The music started again and the Soldiers continued to quietly stand at attention. But again, at the same point, the music stopped. What would you expect 1000 Soldiers standing at attention to do ?? Frankly, I expected some laughter, and everyone would eventually sit down and wait for the movie to start.

But No !!... You could have heard a pin drop, while every Soldier continued to stand at attention.

Suddenly,there was a lone voice from the front of the auditorium, then a dozen voices, and soon the room was filled with the voices of a thousand soldiers, finishing where the recording left off: "And the rockets' red glare, the bombs
bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave."

It was the most inspiring moment I have had in Iraq and I wanted you to know what kind of Soldiers are serving you.

Remember them as they fight for us !

Pass this along as a reminder to others to be ever in prayer for all our soldiers serving us here at home and abroad.

Many have already paid the ultimate price.

Written by Chaplain Jim Higgins LSA Anaconda is at the Ballad Airport in Iraq, north of Baghdad.

Please share only if you are so inclined.

God Bless America and all of our troops serving through out the world.

Fallen laid in mess at Arlington

Cantonrep.com / File
Scott Warner, father of fallen soldier, Heath Warner, holds a poster commemorating his son who is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Arlington probe surprises dad of Marine buried there

By Anonymous
CantonRep.com staff report
Posted Jun 10, 2010 @ 09:16 PM
Last update Jun 10, 2010 @ 09:23 PM
CANTON — Scott Warner, a Gold Star parent from Canton, heard last summer of an investigation into problems at Arlington National Cemetery but said he was still surprised by Thursday’s announcement.

The Army said at least 200 remains in Arlington may have been misidentified or misplaced, casting a shadow over what has been called America’s “sacred ground.”

Warner’s son, Marine Corps Pvt. Heath Warner, was killed in Iraq in 2006 and is buried at Arlington.

Warner said he has heard there was a problem with one grave in the section where his son is buried.

The name on that grave hasn’t been released, but Warner said he has been told that it isn’t his son’s grave.

Arlington is the most honorable place to have a loved one buried, said Warner, who visited the cemetery on Memorial Day and has plans to return soon. The fallen and their families are treated with dignity and respect.
read more here

Arlington probe surprises dad of Marine buried there

Arlington National Cemetery's top supervisors ousted in mismanagement case
The move comes after an Army inspector's general report detailing misidentified graves, poor record-keeping and improper handling of service members' remains.

About 330,000 bodies are buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

By Julian E. Barnes, Tribune Washington Bureau

June 11, 2010

Reporting from Washington — The Army ousted top supervisors of Arlington National Cemetery in the wake of a blistering report that found some graves had been mismarked and that raised questions about the Virginia burial ground's management, officials announced Thursday.

Army Secretary John McHugh said the Army inspector general's report raised questions about 211 gravesites and found unmarked graves, burial sites with the wrong headstones and improper handling of cremated remains.

"That all ends today," McHugh said.

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Arlington National Cemetery top supervisors ousted

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Anger and grief over Arlington Cemetery disaster
By Leo Shane III
Published: June 11, 2010

Army 1st Sgt. Shelly Jenkins, with the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment known as The Old Guard, places flags on the graves at Arlington National Cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day.
Jacquelyn Martin/APVeterans groups reacted quickly and harshly to news yesterday that the remains of more than 200 veterans were misplaced or lost by workers at Arlington National Cemetery, demanding immediate improvements to Amry records systems and a change in the "culture of complacency" at the hallowed site.

Shortly after the Pentagon press conference yesterday House Armed Services Committee leaders announced plans to hold hearings on the problems at Arlington. Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., noted the staff's conduct "is disgraceful and cannot be tolerated." Ranking member Buck McKeon, R-Calif., said "families demand, and most importantly, deserve to know that their loved ones are being treated with the utmost respect and decorum."
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Anger and grief over Arlington Cemetery disaster

Errors at Arlington affected 211 graves

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jun 11, 2010 16:07:39 EDT

At least 211 graves at Arlington National Cemetery — including two in the section where fallen troops from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are buried — were mismarked, missing headstones or burial cards, or were not recorded at all, according to a new internal investigation.

The investigation of operations at the nation’s most hallowed military burial ground found no criminal misconduct, but much evidence of “improper internment, trans-internment of remains — including the loss of accountability of remains — remains in graves listed as empty, unmarked gravesites, improperly marked graves and improper handling of cremains,” Army Secretary John McHugh told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday.

The Army Inspector General also concluded in its seven-month investigation that “mistakes continue to be made.”

The IG also found that rank-and-file employees, who handle an average of 27 funerals daily, were burdened in their day-to-day work by “dysfunctional management, lack of established policy and procedures, and an overall unhealthy organizational climate.”
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Errors at Arlington affected 211 graves