Army soldier shot at San Bernardino homecoming to be moved
Melissa Pinion-Whitt, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/18/2012
SAN BERNARDINO - The military is planning to soon move Army Spc. Christopher Sullivan to a facility specializing in treating wounded soldiers.
Sullivan, 22, has been hospitalized since Dec. 23 after he was shot at his welcome-home party in San Bernardino. His division at Fort Campbell, Ky., has been waiting for his condition to improve.
He remained on life-support Wednesday, his mother, Suzanne, said.
"He was in pretty bad shape," said Lt. Col. Frank Garcia with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell. "I know there were some concerns from the doctor about moving him."
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
Citizenship Changes Bittersweet for Deported Vets
Citizenship Changes Bittersweet for Deported Vets
January 19, 2012
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan
Former Army Spc. Hector Barajas sat at his computer in Rosarito Beach, Mexico. He logged into Facebook. He uploaded a photo of servicemembers celebrating their new U.S. citizenship in the White House Rose Garden, where they’d been sworn in.
“Interesting acknowledgment of service, loyalty and commitment to the U.S. and the change in [immigration laws] since 2001,” Barajas wrote. “What about those that have been forgotten or banished? Why do they not count?”
As pleased as he was to see the government pulling out all the stops to help foreign-born servicemembers become citizens, Barajas couldn’t help but feel down. The Mexican-born, U.S.-raised vet is among the thousands of so-called “banished veterans,” booted from the U.S. because of a law he and many others didn’t know existed until it was too late.
The 1996 law strips legal residents of their green cards and orders they be deported if they’re convicted of any number of crimes – from serious, violent felonies to possession of small amounts of marijuana – making no allowance to how long they’ve been in the U.S. or whether they’ve served in the military.
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January 19, 2012
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan
Former Army Spc. Hector Barajas sat at his computer in Rosarito Beach, Mexico. He logged into Facebook. He uploaded a photo of servicemembers celebrating their new U.S. citizenship in the White House Rose Garden, where they’d been sworn in.
“Interesting acknowledgment of service, loyalty and commitment to the U.S. and the change in [immigration laws] since 2001,” Barajas wrote. “What about those that have been forgotten or banished? Why do they not count?”
As pleased as he was to see the government pulling out all the stops to help foreign-born servicemembers become citizens, Barajas couldn’t help but feel down. The Mexican-born, U.S.-raised vet is among the thousands of so-called “banished veterans,” booted from the U.S. because of a law he and many others didn’t know existed until it was too late.
The 1996 law strips legal residents of their green cards and orders they be deported if they’re convicted of any number of crimes – from serious, violent felonies to possession of small amounts of marijuana – making no allowance to how long they’ve been in the U.S. or whether they’ve served in the military.
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"The Dark Horse" Marines focus of how to ease combat stress
This is one of the best things they could do.
War's Lessons Being Applied to Ease Combat Stress
January 19, 2012
Associated Press
by Julie Watson
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- When the Marine unit that suffered the greatest casualties in the 10-year Afghan war returned home last spring, they didn't rush back to their everyday lives.
Instead, the Marine Corps put them into a kind of decompression chamber, keeping them at Camp Pendleton for 90 days with the hope that a slow re-entry into mundane daily life would ease their trauma.
The program was just one of many that the military created as it tries to address the emotional toll of war, a focus that is getting renewed attention as veterans struggling to adjust back home are accused of violent crimes, including murder.
While veterans are no more likely to commit such crimes than the general population, the latest cases have sparked a debate over whether they are isolated cases or a worrying reminder of what can happen when service members don't get the help they need.
"This is a big focus of all the services, that we take care of our warriors who are returning because they have taken such good care of us," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said, pointing out that tens of thousands of veterans return home to lead productive lives.
Some, however, fall on hard times, getting into trouble with the law. Others quietly suffer, with their families and friends trying to pull them out of a depression.
Few units know war's pain more than the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. The Camp Pendleton battalion nicknamed "The Dark Horse" lost 25 members in some of the heaviest fighting ever seen in Afghanistan. More than 150 Marines were wounded. More than a dozen lost limbs.
The Marine Corps brass, concerned about the traumatic deployment's fallout, ordered the entire 950-member unit to remain on the Southern California base after it returned home. The 90 days was the same amount of time crews aboard war ships usually spend upon returning home.
During that time, the Marines participated in a memorial service for their fallen comrades. They held barbecues and banquets, where they talked about their time at war. Before the program, troops would go their separate ways with many finding they had no one to talk to about what they had just seen.
Mental health professionals are monitoring the group, which has since scattered. They say it is too early to tell what kind of impact keeping them together made. Combat veterans believe it likely will help in the long run. The Marines have ordered combat units since then to stick together for 90 days after leaving the battlefield.
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Zion Marine takes a long walk back home
Zion Marine takes a long walk back home
BY DAN MORAN
January 18, 2012
ZION — Seven months after an explosion in Afghanistan took both his legs and his left hand, Larry Bailey completed the road back to his parents’ home on Wednesday — walking the final 20 feet on his own.
Ignoring the wheelchair that his father, Larry Sr., had assembled behind him, Bailey clutched a cane and worked his way from the family SUV into his garage, stepping carefully along a driveway that had been cleared of snow and ice.
Later, relaxing with friends and family in his basement, Bailey admitted that he wasn’t sure how that last walk home was going to play out after weeks and months of physical therapy at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
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BY DAN MORAN
January 18, 2012
ZION — Seven months after an explosion in Afghanistan took both his legs and his left hand, Larry Bailey completed the road back to his parents’ home on Wednesday — walking the final 20 feet on his own.
Ignoring the wheelchair that his father, Larry Sr., had assembled behind him, Bailey clutched a cane and worked his way from the family SUV into his garage, stepping carefully along a driveway that had been cleared of snow and ice.
Later, relaxing with friends and family in his basement, Bailey admitted that he wasn’t sure how that last walk home was going to play out after weeks and months of physical therapy at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
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Tank Chief charged in "friendly fire" death of Lance Cpl. Benjamin Schmidt
Tank Chief Is Charged in Death Of Marine
BY MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS
The military has charged a U.S. tank commander with negligent homicide and other offenses in the friendly fire death of a fellow Marine during a firefight in Afghanistan last year, a rare move that opens the door for a possible court martial.
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BY MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS
The military has charged a U.S. tank commander with negligent homicide and other offenses in the friendly fire death of a fellow Marine during a firefight in Afghanistan last year, a rare move that opens the door for a possible court martial.
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