The honorees of this year’s run are U.S. Marine Sgt. Steve Tovet and U.S. Navy Corpsman HM1 Kelly Smith.
Saturday, January 20, 2018
Hundreds of bikers took over roads in Florida...on charity ride!
Today, hundreds of bikers got together to ride from Seminole Harley Davidson in Sanford Florida, to Ace Cafe in downtown Orlando.
SUICIDE AWARENESS STARTS WHEN THEY STOP THE STUNTS
If you could hear me screaming right now, your windows would break, much like hope is being shattered all over the country!
Out of Nebraska, The Grand Island Independent gave the headline to another stunt. Oh, no, not pushups, not running in shorts or jumping into freezing water. It isn't yet another run to nowhere with everyone smiling, pretending to be doing something meaningful other than contributing to the problem...along with groups who never seem to have to explain the lack of results, anymore than they have to explain what the money is for. Oh, no, this time it is getting a tattoo!
The worst part of all is that the "effort" started with a Vietnam veteran's adult child. I thought great, finally someone was making into a news report and actually addressing the largest group of veterans committing suicide. After all, 65% of the suicides the VA knows about are over the age of 50, and among that demographic, the largest group of them are Vietnam veterans. All that should really be important when this is supposed to be about saving lives. Right? Evidently not.
As for the quoted "22" there was this.
"It’s a number that is out there that is needing to come down," said Will Wilson, owner of Babalu’s.
The problem with that is, that number came from the VA report with just 21 states contributing limited data. Combat PTSD Wounded Times, however, managed to actually prove that number is not even close. Not only do they have a lot of work to do to get that number below "22" but to even play catchup to the number the rest of us know. Much closer to over 70 a day, but even as much as we know, we will never know the true number. Too many variables all of these quoters of numbers should have known, if it really meant that much to them.
I had a conversation with a 33 year old Marine veteran yesterday. He said it has more to do with laziness. They spend so much time promoting what they want to do, they never seem to bother discovering what it needed, necessary, or even done before.
If you have a real desire to change the outcome, DO YOUR RESEARCH and STOP THE STUNTS!
The only number families care about is the 1 in their family.
But hey, get a tattoo carved into your body while more of those family members are getting a name carved into a headstone. That's ok, you can always show them the tattoo you got because you cared so much!
Out of Nebraska, The Grand Island Independent gave the headline to another stunt. Oh, no, not pushups, not running in shorts or jumping into freezing water. It isn't yet another run to nowhere with everyone smiling, pretending to be doing something meaningful other than contributing to the problem...along with groups who never seem to have to explain the lack of results, anymore than they have to explain what the money is for. Oh, no, this time it is getting a tattoo!
The worst part of all is that the "effort" started with a Vietnam veteran's adult child. I thought great, finally someone was making into a news report and actually addressing the largest group of veterans committing suicide. After all, 65% of the suicides the VA knows about are over the age of 50, and among that demographic, the largest group of them are Vietnam veterans. All that should really be important when this is supposed to be about saving lives. Right? Evidently not.
The event is personal for both Will and Jeri as Jeri’s father is a Vietnam War veteran and Will’s parents both served in the U.S. Air Force.It also must have not been important to mention who, or what, would be there when the veterans in crisis would walk through those doors.
"Just knowing kind of the struggles my dad went through with his mental health and also being a member of the VFW here in town, I’ve seen kind of a disconnect with our community and that population," Jeri said. "So (we’re) just trying to bring more awareness to the population of veterans and active service men and women. ... If we can provide a safe place for them to come when they’re not feeling so well, that’s what our doors are open for."
As for the quoted "22" there was this.
"It’s a number that is out there that is needing to come down," said Will Wilson, owner of Babalu’s.
The problem with that is, that number came from the VA report with just 21 states contributing limited data. Combat PTSD Wounded Times, however, managed to actually prove that number is not even close. Not only do they have a lot of work to do to get that number below "22" but to even play catchup to the number the rest of us know. Much closer to over 70 a day, but even as much as we know, we will never know the true number. Too many variables all of these quoters of numbers should have known, if it really meant that much to them.
I had a conversation with a 33 year old Marine veteran yesterday. He said it has more to do with laziness. They spend so much time promoting what they want to do, they never seem to bother discovering what it needed, necessary, or even done before.
If you have a real desire to change the outcome, DO YOUR RESEARCH and STOP THE STUNTS!
The only number families care about is the 1 in their family.
But hey, get a tattoo carved into your body while more of those family members are getting a name carved into a headstone. That's ok, you can always show them the tattoo you got because you cared so much!
Vietnam veteran Charles Payne is a true child of the Sixties
Tracking the life of a free spirit
Sauk Valley
Andrea Mills
January 19, 2018
STERLING – Charles Payne is a true child of the Sixties: He’s a Vietnam veteran still struggling with the after-effects of the war, a multimedia artist, and a witch (of the white, or good, variety).
“I wasn’t wounded by bullets, but by Agent Orange,” the impish 73-year-old said. “And then here I am. Still plugging away. My eyes are deteriorating, but my spirit isn’t.”
The former California resident, who also battles PTSD, has been a free spirit all of his life, even before volunteering for the Army in October 1967.
read more here
Sauk Valley
Andrea Mills
January 19, 2018
STERLING – Charles Payne is a true child of the Sixties: He’s a Vietnam veteran still struggling with the after-effects of the war, a multimedia artist, and a witch (of the white, or good, variety).
“A Vietnam veteran straightened me out. Survival guilt: If my buddies could come out of the grave, they’d kick my butt up between my shoulder blades for letting their deaths screw my head up. They didn’t die for that.”It’s the latter two aspects of his life – the artistry and the spirituality – that have helped Payne cope the past 50 years with the former.
“I wasn’t wounded by bullets, but by Agent Orange,” the impish 73-year-old said. “And then here I am. Still plugging away. My eyes are deteriorating, but my spirit isn’t.”
The former California resident, who also battles PTSD, has been a free spirit all of his life, even before volunteering for the Army in October 1967.
read more here
North Ogden Utah without Mayor...he got deployed
Hundreds say goodbye to North Ogden mayor ahead of Afghanistan deployment
Good4Utah
Rosie Nguyen
January 19, 2018
NORTH OGDEN (News4Utah) - Hundreds of residents lined the streets of North Ogden to show their appreciation and wave goodbye to Mayor Brent Taylor Friday morning.
North Ogden Police escorted Mayor Taylor and his family around town before he headed to the airport. The schools he stopped by included Bates Elementary, North Ogden Elementary, Green Acres Elementary, North Ogden Junior High, and Majestic Elementary.
Madilyn Erekson, a 5th grader at Bates Elementary got the chance to meet the mayor for a school project. She calls him a hero.
"I was happy for him, but I was kind of upset because we won't be able to see him for a year," said Madilyn.
One week after he was sworn into office for a second term, Mayor Taylor announced on Facebook Live that he would be training the Afghan Commando Battalion. City officials said this is the first known time in Utah history that a mayor deploys for wartime service.
read more here
Good4Utah
Rosie Nguyen
January 19, 2018
NORTH OGDEN (News4Utah) - Hundreds of residents lined the streets of North Ogden to show their appreciation and wave goodbye to Mayor Brent Taylor Friday morning.
North Ogden Police escorted Mayor Taylor and his family around town before he headed to the airport. The schools he stopped by included Bates Elementary, North Ogden Elementary, Green Acres Elementary, North Ogden Junior High, and Majestic Elementary.
"I was happy for him, but I was kind of upset because we won't be able to see him for a year," said Madilyn.
One week after he was sworn into office for a second term, Mayor Taylor announced on Facebook Live that he would be training the Afghan Commando Battalion. City officials said this is the first known time in Utah history that a mayor deploys for wartime service.
read more here
Florida National Guard soldier killed, 5 injured in crash
UPDATE
Florida National Guard soldier killed in chain reaction crash, 5 others injured in Sebring
WFLA 8 NBC News
By Corey Davis and WFLA Web Staff
Published: January 19, 2018
SEBRING, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida National Guard solider is dead and five others were injured after a chain reaction crash involving military vehicles in Sebring, according to officials.
The Sebring Police Department was called to the intersection of US 27 and Hammock Road shortly before 1 p.m.
A preliminary investigation revealed three Palletized Load System (PLS) vehicles, which are assigned to a National Guard unit out of Miami, collided in a chain reaction crash, according to officials.
Officials said the convoy was traveling north on the highway when the third vehicle failed to stop for a red light in time and hit the second vehicle, officials said.
The driver of the third vehicle sustained fatal injuries, according to investigators.
Officials said the passenger had to be extricated from the damaged vehicle.
According to officials, the passenger and four others were taken to area hospitals. Police said they suffered non-life threatening injuries.
read more here
Florida National Guard identifies soldier killed in military vehicle crash
In a Facebook post Saturday afternoon, the Florida National Guard said Spc. Luis E. Garcia, from the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team's Company G Forward Support Company was killed in the crash.
WFLA 8 NBC News
By Corey Davis and WFLA Web Staff
Published: January 19, 2018
SEBRING, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida National Guard solider is dead and five others were injured after a chain reaction crash involving military vehicles in Sebring, according to officials.
A preliminary investigation revealed three Palletized Load System (PLS) vehicles, which are assigned to a National Guard unit out of Miami, collided in a chain reaction crash, according to officials.
Officials said the convoy was traveling north on the highway when the third vehicle failed to stop for a red light in time and hit the second vehicle, officials said.
The driver of the third vehicle sustained fatal injuries, according to investigators.
Officials said the passenger had to be extricated from the damaged vehicle.
According to officials, the passenger and four others were taken to area hospitals. Police said they suffered non-life threatening injuries.
read more here
VA Hiring...In other news, Government shut down?
VA Begins Using Expedited Hiring Authority to Fill Array of Critical Positions
Government Executive
By Eric Katz
January 18, 2018
The Veterans Affairs Department is opening up an array of job vacancies to a more expedited hiring process, using a new authority to fill longstanding openings.
VA has received approval to move forward with direct hiring for 15 occupations deemed critical, the department’s secretary told senators at a hearing on Wednesday. He received authority to do so when President Trump signed the 2017 VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in August, which tasked VA with using the quicker hiring process for positions with a “severe shortage of candidates.” The department has since worked with the Office of Personnel Management to approve the 15 positions.
Those are: accountants, biomedical equipment support specialists, boiler plant operators, general engineers, specialists for the veterans crisis line, health technicians, histopathology technicians, human resources assistants and specialists, information technology specialists, personnel security specialists, police officers, realty specialists, utility systems operators and repair specialists. The direct hire authority applies to those positions throughout the country.
read more here
Government Executive
By Eric Katz
January 18, 2018
VA hired a total of 40,000 people in 2017, but due to attrition and turnover the department saw a net gain of just 8,300 employees. While Secretary David Shulkin praised VA for that onboarding total, it is actually slightly below the number of net employees it gained annually over the last five years and the department maintains 35,000 vacancies.
The Veterans Affairs Department is opening up an array of job vacancies to a more expedited hiring process, using a new authority to fill longstanding openings.
VA has received approval to move forward with direct hiring for 15 occupations deemed critical, the department’s secretary told senators at a hearing on Wednesday. He received authority to do so when President Trump signed the 2017 VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in August, which tasked VA with using the quicker hiring process for positions with a “severe shortage of candidates.” The department has since worked with the Office of Personnel Management to approve the 15 positions.
Those are: accountants, biomedical equipment support specialists, boiler plant operators, general engineers, specialists for the veterans crisis line, health technicians, histopathology technicians, human resources assistants and specialists, information technology specialists, personnel security specialists, police officers, realty specialists, utility systems operators and repair specialists. The direct hire authority applies to those positions throughout the country.
read more here
Friday, January 19, 2018
Canada:Firefighter treated for PTSD and seizures
Fort McMurray firefighter battling little-known condition brought on by extreme trauma
Doctors accused Nathan Koops of faking his seizures before it was finally diagnosed as PNES
CBC News
By David Thurton
Posted: Jan 19, 2018
Nathan Koops would convulse violently in front of his wife, their five-year-old son and newborn daughter.
One seizure struck while Koops was walking home with son Owen from the grocery store. It left him paralyzed on the sidewalk as Owen ran home to get help.
"Everything in my body wanted to move inwards," Koops said. "My arm would move in. My arm would curl in and the muscles would contract. My leg would do the same thing. My body would arch. And it felt like it would be pushed past its bounds."
Along with these sudden seizures, Koops had begun to be tormented by panic attacks, night terrors and head jerks.
The 32-year-old was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but a therapist suspected he also suffered from a condition not known to many professionals — PNES, or psychogenic non-epileptic seizures.
read more here
Doctors accused Nathan Koops of faking his seizures before it was finally diagnosed as PNES
CBC News
By David Thurton
Posted: Jan 19, 2018
Nathan Koops would convulse violently in front of his wife, their five-year-old son and newborn daughter.
One seizure struck while Koops was walking home with son Owen from the grocery store. It left him paralyzed on the sidewalk as Owen ran home to get help.
"Everything in my body wanted to move inwards," Koops said. "My arm would move in. My arm would curl in and the muscles would contract. My leg would do the same thing. My body would arch. And it felt like it would be pushed past its bounds."
Along with these sudden seizures, Koops had begun to be tormented by panic attacks, night terrors and head jerks.
The 32-year-old was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but a therapist suspected he also suffered from a condition not known to many professionals — PNES, or psychogenic non-epileptic seizures.
read more here
Salt Lake VA therapist got veteran to jump from perfectly good plane
VA therapist helps dying Veteran complete bucket list
VAntage Point US Department of Veterans Affairs
Jill Atwood
January 18, 2018
The sky is the limit
With help from VA Recreation Therapist Lili Sotolong, left, Veteran Kenneth Augustus was able to scratch skydiving from his bucket list.
Army Veteran Kenneth Augustus loved adventure. He loved to rock climb, and scuba dive, and always had a longing for falling hundreds of feet per second from an airplane.
VA Salt Lake City Recreation Therapist Lili Sotolong knew skydiving was a lofty goal considering his condition, but she was determined to make that dream come true.
“I got a call out of the blue to come work with this Veteran,” Lili said. “I was told he only had a few months to live but when I got there he was beyond positive, and so easy to work with. He had made peace with what was happening to him and was really preparing himself for the inevitable; he just had some things he wanted to experience first.”
Lili made several calls and finally arranged the jump through two very generous community partners: Skydive Utah and the Elks Lodge. It was go time!
“He got to jump with his brother and his son, and they wanted me to do it with them! We had a group hug and were all fist-pumping in the plane prior to the jump. It really was an extraordinary experience.”
read more here
VAntage Point US Department of Veterans Affairs
Jill Atwood
January 18, 2018
The sky is the limit
Army Veteran Kenneth Augustus loved adventure. He loved to rock climb, and scuba dive, and always had a longing for falling hundreds of feet per second from an airplane.
VA Salt Lake City Recreation Therapist Lili Sotolong knew skydiving was a lofty goal considering his condition, but she was determined to make that dream come true.
“I got a call out of the blue to come work with this Veteran,” Lili said. “I was told he only had a few months to live but when I got there he was beyond positive, and so easy to work with. He had made peace with what was happening to him and was really preparing himself for the inevitable; he just had some things he wanted to experience first.”
Lili made several calls and finally arranged the jump through two very generous community partners: Skydive Utah and the Elks Lodge. It was go time!
“He got to jump with his brother and his son, and they wanted me to do it with them! We had a group hug and were all fist-pumping in the plane prior to the jump. It really was an extraordinary experience.”
read more here
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