Sunday, January 8, 2012

Fort Carson soldier left suicide note on Facebook

Soldier wrote Facebook suicide note before Springs crash
January 07, 2012 11:00 AM
JAKOB RODGERS
THE GAZETTE
Fort Carson Pvt. Jordon DuBois visited Facebook a little more than an hour before he was killed Thursday in a Colorado Springs crash.

The 20-year-old wrote a message. “I’m goin to kill myself this is my last post ever ill will miss u all…” he wrote at 5:49 p.m. Then he posted a picture of himself.

By 7:09 p.m., DuBois was dead.

The Army on Saturday confirmed DuBois’s death. Colorado Springs police have said they suspect suicide in the crash, but haven’t finished an investigation.

DuBois, a soldier with less than a year in the Army who’d never seen combat, died when his speeding truck veered into a streetlight, a metal-and-concrete bus bench and slammed though several landscaping boulders. The battered truck came to rest at the base of a tree off Westmeadow Drive in a quiet neighborhood at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain.

There is no sign DuBois braked or turned the wheel to avoid the obstacles.

“At this point, it doesn’t appear there was anything he was trying to avoid,” said Colorado Springs police Sgt. Robert Weber, on Thursday evening.
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Original report

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Ind. Guard says 4 GIs killed in Afghanistan

Ind. Guard says 4 GIs killed in Afghanistan
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Jan 7, 2012 15:41:36 EST
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana National Guard on Saturday said four Indiana guardsmen were killed in action in Afghanistan.

A National Guard statement said the soldiers were members of the 713th Engineer Company, headquartered in Valparaiso, and were conducting combat route clearance operations.

The statement does not indicate how the men died or where they died in Afghanistan.

The Guard identified the fallen soldiers as:

• Staff Sgt. Jonathan M. Metzger of Indianapolis.

• Spc. Brian J. Leonhardt of Merrillville, Ind.

• Spc. Christopher A. Patterson of Aurora, Ind.

• Spc. Robert J. Tauteris Jr. of Hamlet, Ind.

The Pentagon had not formally announced the casualties as of late Saturday afternoon.

In a statement, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said that he was informed of the guardsmen’s deaths Saturday morning and that he’s praying for their families.
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Bogus House Raffle Sparks Outrage

Bogus House Raffle Sparks Outrage

Vietnam Veterans react to embezzlement case

Hear what Vietnam veterans think about the Kavanaugh embezzlement case
Kavanaugh accused of stealing $40,000 earmarked for veterans and their families

Justin Williams
FOX6 Reporter
5:18 p.m. CST, January 6, 2012

WITI-TV, MILWAUKEE—
Veterans continue to share strong reactions to word of the accusations against Kevin Kavanaugh, who is accused of stealing more than $40,000 from organizations that distribute money to veterans.

Vietnam veterans meeting at Dry Hootch Coffee House aren't at a loss for words just one day after Milwaukee County DA John Chisholm announced embezzlement charges against Kavanaugh.

Veteran Dennis Pawlak says, "With the veterans' funds being used therefore misused, I really don't like that. Anything with the veterans, you know, because I'm a very conscious veteran and I'm a proud veteran."
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Young vets’ jobless rate rises to 13.3 percent

Young vets’ jobless rate rises to 13.3 percent
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jan 6, 2012 9:35:14 EST
Young veterans continue to have problems finding jobs even as the overall economy is improving, according to Friday’s employment situation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The national unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent in December and 200,000 jobs were created, continuing a trend of slow but steady improvement since August.

However, for Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans — those separated from active duty since Sept. 11, 2001 — the jobless rate for December was 13.3 percent. That is greater than the 11.7 percent unemployment rate for this generation of veterans recorded in December 2010 and also greater than the 11.1 percent reported for November 2011.

Month-to-month differences in the unemployment rate for veterans could result from the fact that veterans make up a small part of the overall employment survey, but the trend still shows that young veterans are having a much harder time than non-veterans and older veterans in finding work.
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