Medal of Honor to be awarded to living soldier
2nd Afghanistan war MoH announced by White House this week
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Sep 10, 2010 12:25:16 EDT
Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta will be the first living Medal of Honor recipient since the Vietnam War.
On Thursday, President Obama spoke with Giunta, who is assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, in Vicenza, Italy, to inform him that he will be awarded the nation’s highest valor award, according to the White House.
Giunta, 25, will be honored for his actions during a fierce firefight Oct. 25, 2007, in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley.
According to the White House announcement, when an insurgent force ambush split Giunta’s squad into two groups, he exposed himself to enemy fire to pull a comrade back to cover. Later, while engaging the enemy and attempting to link up with the rest of his squad, Giunta noticed two insurgents carrying away a fellow soldier. He immediately engaged the enemy, killing one and wounding the other, and provided medical aid to his wounded comrade while the rest of his squad caught up and provided security.
His courage and leadership while under extreme enemy fire were integral to his platoon’s ability defeat an enemy ambush and recover a fellow American paratrooper from enemy hands, according to the White House.
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http://www.armytimes.com
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Fort Hood assessing soldiers after suicides
Astonishing! Fort Hood soldiers discovered someone they lived with, someone they served with, someone put in the position of being responsible for their mental health, was also the person who would open fire on them and kill 13, plus wound many more. Yet with all of this, all that happened before the rampage, the commander at Fort Hood does not think this had anything to do with the rise in suicides on base.
Fort Hood is their home. Their wives go shopping with the kids. Families eat at the food court. Their kids go to school and they play at the neighbor's house. They ride their bikes and play in the parks. This was supposed to be a safe place for them with security so this one place on earth was a place they could relax without having to worry about someone trying to kill them there. That was taken away from them. All that happened before it came with the sense of betrayal by the military when someone like Hasan was not only put in position of taking care of them but that there were signs he hated them. Did the Commander of Fort Hood consider what kind of message that sent?
I did a lot of post after the shooting and one of the first ones was about issuing a warning about what was to come after all this.
But they must not agree or they wouldn't take the view they did.
Fort Hood is their home. Their wives go shopping with the kids. Families eat at the food court. Their kids go to school and they play at the neighbor's house. They ride their bikes and play in the parks. This was supposed to be a safe place for them with security so this one place on earth was a place they could relax without having to worry about someone trying to kill them there. That was taken away from them. All that happened before it came with the sense of betrayal by the military when someone like Hasan was not only put in position of taking care of them but that there were signs he hated them. Did the Commander of Fort Hood consider what kind of message that sent?
I did a lot of post after the shooting and one of the first ones was about issuing a warning about what was to come after all this.
November 5, 2009
Aftermath of Fort Hood shootings may be worse
As the news reports kept coming out today about the carnage at Fort Hood, my greatest fears were not for today, but for the next few months ahead. No one is talking about "secondary stressors" and this needs to be addressed quickly.
There are crisis teams heading there according to the press briefing by Lt. Gen. Robert Cone. This is one of the best things they can do. I spent months taking this kind of training and it is very thorough. The issue that we need to be concerned about is when there are thousands of soldiers, combat soldiers with multiple tours, many of them are dealing with mild PTSD. Mild PTSD is not that hard to cope with. They live pretty normal lives while covering up the pain they have inside. Many even cope well the rest of their lives but many do not. Like a ticking time bomb, PTSD rests waiting to strike if untreated. It waits for the next traumatic event and then mild PTSD turns into PTSD on steroids.
These are the soldiers that will need the greatest help as soon as possible.
These bases are very well secured. That makes the soldiers and their families feel safe. Think about going into combat and then making it home alive where you are supposed to be safe. Then having this happen.
I was at Fort Hood in March. I had an auto rental and even though I had a military issued ID, that was not good enough at the guard house. I had to show my rental agreement every time I drove onto the base. Even if you have a Department of Defense sticker on your car, you still have to show your military ID. That makes them feel they are safe. Then away from harm, away from combat, they end up having to face something like this from not only one of their own, but a Major and a Doctor who is supposed to be there for them, trying to kill them.
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Aftermath of fort Hood Shootings may be worse
But they must not agree or they wouldn't take the view they did.
Fort Hood assessing soldiers after suicides
By Angela K. Brown - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Sep 29, 2010 20:52:09 EDT
FORT HOOD, Texas — Thousands of soldiers stationed at Fort Hood are receiving extra visits from their superiors this week following a recent spate of suspected suicides, the Texas Army post's senior commander said Wednesday.
Fourteen suicides among soldiers stationed at Fort Hood have been confirmed so far this year. Six more are suspected, including four in the past week, according to figures released by the Army Suicide Prevention Task Force. The Army reported 11 suicides of Fort Hood soldiers in 2009, down from the previous record high of 14 in 2008.
The task force did not return calls from The Associated Press seeking the number of suicides reported at other Army bases so far this year.
Maj. Gen. William Grimsley said Wednesday that Fort Hood soldiers from the rank of sergeant and below — more than 32,000 soldiers — would be visited in their barracks or off-post homes this week to get "a better sense" of how they are doing. Their superiors also will make sure weapons privately owned by soldiers are properly registered, Grimsley said.
He said he does not know what may have caused the rash of apparent suicides, but that soldiers who take their own lives often are struggling with financial or relationship problems and multiple deployments. Grimsley said Fort Hood leaders also plan to offer more training on how to recognize and help at-risk troops.
The commander sees no correlation between the suicides and the shooting rampage last year that killed 13 and injured dozens more on the sprawling Army post, where 46,500 troops are now stationed. Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the Nov. 5 attack.
"People on the afternoon of the 5th felt their sanctuary was violated ... but the immediate aftermath of that ... is that Fort Hood is incredibly resilient and bounced back immediately," Grimsley said.
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Fort Hood assessing soldiers after suicides
Few soldiers assigned to domestic violence care finish programs at Fort Bragg
Few soldiers assigned to domestic violence care finish programs
By Greg Barnes
Staff writer
Fort Bragg sometimes orders soldiers who commit domestic violence to deploy before they have finished court-mandated programs designed to correct their abusive behavior, court and military officials said.
There are two primary programs for abusive soldiers: The county operates the RESOLVE program, and Fort Bragg oversees the Marching to Change program. Judges refer soldiers to both, and a review committee at Fort Bragg sends soldiers to the on-post program, as well.
Numbers provided by Fort Bragg and the county show that less than half of the soldiers enrolled have completed either program. A variety of reasons are listed for the failure to finish, including deployments.
In Cumberland County, District Court judges often defer prosecution for soldiers who commit domestic violence, allowing the soldiers to clear their records if they abide by the terms of their probation. Many times, those terms include the completion of the RESOLVE or Marching to Change programs.
Debby Tucker, executive director of the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence, calls the numbers "very discouraging."
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Few soldiers assigned to domestic violence care finish programs
By Greg Barnes
Staff writer
Fort Bragg sometimes orders soldiers who commit domestic violence to deploy before they have finished court-mandated programs designed to correct their abusive behavior, court and military officials said.
There are two primary programs for abusive soldiers: The county operates the RESOLVE program, and Fort Bragg oversees the Marching to Change program. Judges refer soldiers to both, and a review committee at Fort Bragg sends soldiers to the on-post program, as well.
Numbers provided by Fort Bragg and the county show that less than half of the soldiers enrolled have completed either program. A variety of reasons are listed for the failure to finish, including deployments.
In Cumberland County, District Court judges often defer prosecution for soldiers who commit domestic violence, allowing the soldiers to clear their records if they abide by the terms of their probation. Many times, those terms include the completion of the RESOLVE or Marching to Change programs.
Debby Tucker, executive director of the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence, calls the numbers "very discouraging."
read more here
Few soldiers assigned to domestic violence care finish programs
3rd ID soldier accused of shooting, killing 2 others
3rd ID soldier accused of shooting, killing 2 others
By Denise Etheridge
Special to the News
Updated: Sept. 29, 2010 10:06 a.m.
Two Fort Stewart soldiers died from gunshot wounds Friday in a non-combat incident while deployed in support of Operation New Dawn. A fellow soldier is being held in connection to the fatal shootings, and in the wounding of another soldier.
Spc. John Carrillo Jr., 20, of Stockton, Calif., and Pfc. Gebrah P. Noonan, 26, of Watertown, Conn., were fatally shot following a “verbal altercation” on Sept. 23 in Fallujah, Iraq, said U.S. military spokesman Col. Barry Johnson in an Associated Press story. The military has not released the name of a third solider who was injured in the incident.
Spc. Neftaly Platero of Houston, Texas, is suspected of shooting his fellow soldiers, Johnson said.
Carrillo and Noonan were assigned to 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. The 4th brigade deployed to Iraq in July.
“Both came to Fort Stewart in May 2010, and it was their first deployment,” said Fort Stewart spokesperson Kevin Larson.
The installation’s public affairs office referred all inquiries about Noonan and Carrillo’s deaths to U.S. Forces-Iraq, based in Baghdad.
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3rd ID soldier accused of shooting, killing 2 others
By Denise Etheridge
Special to the News
Updated: Sept. 29, 2010 10:06 a.m.
Two Fort Stewart soldiers died from gunshot wounds Friday in a non-combat incident while deployed in support of Operation New Dawn. A fellow soldier is being held in connection to the fatal shootings, and in the wounding of another soldier.
Spc. John Carrillo Jr., 20, of Stockton, Calif., and Pfc. Gebrah P. Noonan, 26, of Watertown, Conn., were fatally shot following a “verbal altercation” on Sept. 23 in Fallujah, Iraq, said U.S. military spokesman Col. Barry Johnson in an Associated Press story. The military has not released the name of a third solider who was injured in the incident.
Spc. Neftaly Platero of Houston, Texas, is suspected of shooting his fellow soldiers, Johnson said.
Carrillo and Noonan were assigned to 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. The 4th brigade deployed to Iraq in July.
“Both came to Fort Stewart in May 2010, and it was their first deployment,” said Fort Stewart spokesperson Kevin Larson.
The installation’s public affairs office referred all inquiries about Noonan and Carrillo’s deaths to U.S. Forces-Iraq, based in Baghdad.
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3rd ID soldier accused of shooting, killing 2 others
Middletown soldier, wife found slain at Fort Hood
Middletown soldier, wife found slain at Fort Hood
01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, September 30, 2010
By By Richard salit and amanda milkovits
Journal staff writers
A soldier from Middletown and his wife were found shot to death in their home at Fort Hood, Texas, in an apparent murder-suicide.
Sgt. Michael Timothy Franklin, 31, and his wife, Jessie Anne Yeager-Franklin, 29, were found dead on Sunday at the massive Army post. Franklin, a decorated soldier who served two tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom, was the latest in a series of confirmed and suspected suicides at the base.
The couple leave behind a 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son, and their grieving families. Franklin’s mother, Beverly, awoke neighbors in her apartment complex in Middletown with her screams of grief when she was notified of the deaths of her son and daughter-in-law. “It was really sad,” said neighbor Yamaris Espinet. “It hit everybody hard to find out about that.”
Officials from the Rhode Island National Guard met with the family Wednesday and later issued a statement on their behalf, saying the couple’s families remained “inconsolable.”
“Though the family may not know the final circumstances which led to this tragedy, we are mindful and proud of Michael’s devotion to his country while volunteering for two tours in Iraq, for which he received numerous awards and decorations,” the statement read, on behalf of Beverly Franklin. “We ask for our privacy and for the public to keep both our families in their prayers at this time.”
Middletown soldier, wife found slain at Fort Hood
01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, September 30, 2010
By By Richard salit and amanda milkovits
Journal staff writers
A soldier from Middletown and his wife were found shot to death in their home at Fort Hood, Texas, in an apparent murder-suicide.
Sgt. Michael Timothy Franklin, 31, and his wife, Jessie Anne Yeager-Franklin, 29, were found dead on Sunday at the massive Army post. Franklin, a decorated soldier who served two tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom, was the latest in a series of confirmed and suspected suicides at the base.
The couple leave behind a 6-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son, and their grieving families. Franklin’s mother, Beverly, awoke neighbors in her apartment complex in Middletown with her screams of grief when she was notified of the deaths of her son and daughter-in-law. “It was really sad,” said neighbor Yamaris Espinet. “It hit everybody hard to find out about that.”
Officials from the Rhode Island National Guard met with the family Wednesday and later issued a statement on their behalf, saying the couple’s families remained “inconsolable.”
“Though the family may not know the final circumstances which led to this tragedy, we are mindful and proud of Michael’s devotion to his country while volunteering for two tours in Iraq, for which he received numerous awards and decorations,” the statement read, on behalf of Beverly Franklin. “We ask for our privacy and for the public to keep both our families in their prayers at this time.”
Middletown soldier, wife found slain at Fort Hood
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