US soldier who lost legs in Afghan blast wants to stay on active duty
By msnbc.com staff
A U.S. soldier who lost both legs and an arm from an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Afghanistan wants to stay on active duty, if the military will have him, according to a report on the Army website.
Pfc. Kyle Hockenberry, 19, nearly lost his life in the June 2011 blast in Haji Ramuddin that killed Pfc. Nick Hensley.
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Troubles haunted soldier killed in confrontation with troopers
Troubles haunted soldier killed in confrontation with troopers
Posted: Jan 10, 2012
By David Whisenant, Salisbury Bureau Reporter
STATESVILLE - To his fellow soldiers, Bill Miller was the kind of guy who would do anything for you. He was generous and hardworking.
But now many are saying that Miller was fighting some personal demons, and that those problems may have played a role in his fatal confrontation with state troopers on Sunday morning.
Troopers had confronted Miller at the home of his former girlfriend on Sain Road, east of Statesville. They say that moments earlier, Miller had driven his car off the road and through a neighbor's yard.
When they arrived at the house, they found Miller with a gun. They say he refused to obey their orders to put the gun down, and when an Iredell County deputy tried to use a Taser to subdue him, they say Miller started shooting. The troopers and the deputy returned fire, killing Miller.
Miller served with an Army National Guard unit based in Salisbury where he was a mechanic on the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
On Tuesday family and friends say two tours of duty in Iraq and several other problems had been haunting Bill Miller for years. A check of court records in Iredell County found several charges, including three for driving while impaired.
Prior to his second deployment there were charges of reckless driving and hit and run that were dismissed when Miller pleaded guilty to driving while impaired. Civil records show that Miller and his wife separated in 2005 but got divorced in 2006 with his ex wife claiming Miller didn't provide for one of the couple's sons while he was deployed in Iraq on his first tour.
Miller lost his house, a van, and a boat in the divorce.
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Iraq Vet home just 4 days is dead
Posted: Jan 10, 2012
By David Whisenant, Salisbury Bureau Reporter
STATESVILLE - To his fellow soldiers, Bill Miller was the kind of guy who would do anything for you. He was generous and hardworking.
But now many are saying that Miller was fighting some personal demons, and that those problems may have played a role in his fatal confrontation with state troopers on Sunday morning.
Troopers had confronted Miller at the home of his former girlfriend on Sain Road, east of Statesville. They say that moments earlier, Miller had driven his car off the road and through a neighbor's yard.
When they arrived at the house, they found Miller with a gun. They say he refused to obey their orders to put the gun down, and when an Iredell County deputy tried to use a Taser to subdue him, they say Miller started shooting. The troopers and the deputy returned fire, killing Miller.
Miller served with an Army National Guard unit based in Salisbury where he was a mechanic on the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
On Tuesday family and friends say two tours of duty in Iraq and several other problems had been haunting Bill Miller for years. A check of court records in Iredell County found several charges, including three for driving while impaired.
Prior to his second deployment there were charges of reckless driving and hit and run that were dismissed when Miller pleaded guilty to driving while impaired. Civil records show that Miller and his wife separated in 2005 but got divorced in 2006 with his ex wife claiming Miller didn't provide for one of the couple's sons while he was deployed in Iraq on his first tour.
Miller lost his house, a van, and a boat in the divorce.
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Iraq Vet home just 4 days is dead
Whistle-blowers sue VA, claim reprisal
Whistle-blowers sue VA, claim reprisal
By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jan 11, 2012 10:05:24 EST
After Wilmington, Del., VA Medical Center therapist Michelle Washington decided to testify before Congress last November about treatment delays at her facility, she said she received her first-ever negative performance review and was demoted.
Six civil lawsuits filed by a D.C.-based law firm against the Veterans Affairs Department show that Washington isn’t alone. The Employment Law Group has filed claims on behalf of VA whistle-blowers who allege they were fired or harassed for speaking out about problems affecting patient care.
The suits allege that from Northport, N.Y., to Houston, employees were pressured to cover up mistakes, rush patients through care or practice in dangerous working conditions.
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By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jan 11, 2012 10:05:24 EST
After Wilmington, Del., VA Medical Center therapist Michelle Washington decided to testify before Congress last November about treatment delays at her facility, she said she received her first-ever negative performance review and was demoted.
Six civil lawsuits filed by a D.C.-based law firm against the Veterans Affairs Department show that Washington isn’t alone. The Employment Law Group has filed claims on behalf of VA whistle-blowers who allege they were fired or harassed for speaking out about problems affecting patient care.
The suits allege that from Northport, N.Y., to Houston, employees were pressured to cover up mistakes, rush patients through care or practice in dangerous working conditions.
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After combat, new challenge in driver's seat
After combat, new challenge in driver's seat
By James Dao
New York Times
Posted: 01/10/2012 05:47:32 PM PST
PALO ALTO -- Before going to war, Susan Max loved tooling around Northern California in her maroon Mustang. A combat tour in Iraq changed all that.
Back home, Max, an Army reservist, found herself avoiding cramped parking lots without obvious escape routes. She straddled the middle line, as if bombs might be buried in the curbs. Gray sport-utility vehicles came to remind her of the unarmored vehicles she rode nervously through Baghdad in 2007, a record year for U.S. fatalities in Iraq.
"My whole driving behavior changed," Max, 63, said. "I live in a state of anxiety when I'm driving."
For thousands of combat veterans, driving has become an ordeal. Once their problems were viewed mainly as a form of road rage or thrill seeking. But increasingly, erratic driving by returning troops is being identified as a symptom of traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD -- and coming under greater scrutiny amid concerns about higher accident rates among veterans.
The insurance industry has taken notice. In a review of driving records for tens of thousands of troops before and after deployments, USAA, a leading insurer of active-duty troops, discovered that auto accidents in which the service members were at fault went up by 13 percent after deployments. Accidents were particularly common in the six months after an overseas tour, according to the review, which covered the years 2007-10.
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By James Dao
New York Times
Posted: 01/10/2012 05:47:32 PM PST
PALO ALTO -- Before going to war, Susan Max loved tooling around Northern California in her maroon Mustang. A combat tour in Iraq changed all that.
Back home, Max, an Army reservist, found herself avoiding cramped parking lots without obvious escape routes. She straddled the middle line, as if bombs might be buried in the curbs. Gray sport-utility vehicles came to remind her of the unarmored vehicles she rode nervously through Baghdad in 2007, a record year for U.S. fatalities in Iraq.
"My whole driving behavior changed," Max, 63, said. "I live in a state of anxiety when I'm driving."
For thousands of combat veterans, driving has become an ordeal. Once their problems were viewed mainly as a form of road rage or thrill seeking. But increasingly, erratic driving by returning troops is being identified as a symptom of traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD -- and coming under greater scrutiny amid concerns about higher accident rates among veterans.
The insurance industry has taken notice. In a review of driving records for tens of thousands of troops before and after deployments, USAA, a leading insurer of active-duty troops, discovered that auto accidents in which the service members were at fault went up by 13 percent after deployments. Accidents were particularly common in the six months after an overseas tour, according to the review, which covered the years 2007-10.
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Camp Shelby using video to prevent military suicides
Preventing Soldier Suicides
Posted: Jan 10, 2012
Camp Shelby, MS (WDAM) - Suicide rates in the military have been rising for the past six years, but folks at Mississippi's Camp Shelby are trying an inventive new method to combat that trend.
They've made a video.
With the base as their stage, and the soldiers as actors, they're considering it a success.
"Everyone was a little bit nervous. We're soldiers by trade, so we're not starring in our first Hollywood debut," said Major Deidre Musgrave, Camp Shelby public affairs officer.
Soldiers from the base star in the 23 minute video they have produced; an attempt to make suicide a subject to talk about, rather than one that is taboo.
"You can see training videos all day long - it's getting the information out. But when you put a home base, or a hometown touch to it," said Staff Sergeant Jeannie Whaley. "They start paying more attention,"
The movie is geared toward soldiers specifically, and the problems they can sometimes have to deal with all at once.
Problems at home, being a parent, a new marriage, the stress of leaving home suddenly, and the pressures of being a soldier away from home.
At some moment in the video staff say soldiers laugh at a little bit because they may recognize an officer playing a character, but the staff say that's a good sign - it means they're paying attention.
Suicide among soldiers has been rising for the last six years.
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Posted: Jan 10, 2012
Camp Shelby, MS (WDAM) - Suicide rates in the military have been rising for the past six years, but folks at Mississippi's Camp Shelby are trying an inventive new method to combat that trend.
They've made a video.
With the base as their stage, and the soldiers as actors, they're considering it a success.
"Everyone was a little bit nervous. We're soldiers by trade, so we're not starring in our first Hollywood debut," said Major Deidre Musgrave, Camp Shelby public affairs officer.
Soldiers from the base star in the 23 minute video they have produced; an attempt to make suicide a subject to talk about, rather than one that is taboo.
"You can see training videos all day long - it's getting the information out. But when you put a home base, or a hometown touch to it," said Staff Sergeant Jeannie Whaley. "They start paying more attention,"
The movie is geared toward soldiers specifically, and the problems they can sometimes have to deal with all at once.
Problems at home, being a parent, a new marriage, the stress of leaving home suddenly, and the pressures of being a soldier away from home.
At some moment in the video staff say soldiers laugh at a little bit because they may recognize an officer playing a character, but the staff say that's a good sign - it means they're paying attention.
Suicide among soldiers has been rising for the last six years.
read more here
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