OSHA issues 19 notices to St. Cloud VA

OSHA issues 19 notices to St. Cloud VA
Jan. 18, 2012

Written by
Frank Lee

The St. Cloud VA Health Care System was issued notices by the Labor Department for unsafe and unhealthful working conditions after a July inspection, it was announced Wednesday.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 19 notices after a combined health and safety inspection as part of OSHA’s Federal Agency Targeting Inspection Program.

“The St. Cloud Veterans Affairs Health Care System failed to properly ensure the facility was in compliance with established safety and health procedures,” said Mark Hysell, director of OSHA’s Eau Claire Area Office in Wisconsin.

Eight repeat safety violations involved failing to: provide guardrails on open-sided platforms; keep exit routes free and unobstructed; implement and train workers in lockout procedures to control hazardous energy; provide training on specific powered industrial trucks; provide workers with the necessary personal protective equipment for exposure to electrical shock and arc flash hazards; and more.
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CNN needs to report on military heroes more than bad reports

CNN needs to report on military heroes more than bad reports
by
Chaplain Kathie

When I wrote about CNN took the easy way out on reporting Veterans with PTSD because they focused on two recent reports of headline grabbing veterans, I was deeply troubled by this

"A coincidence -- two recent high-profile cases? Or a sign of an increase in hostile behavior as U.S. troops complete their withdrawal from Iraq, similar to that seen when U.S. troops returned home from the Vietnam War?"

What CNN did not point out was this simple fact.

1.2 million veterans sought mental healthcare in 2011
January 15, 2012
Wait time critical in VA care for mental health
St. Cloud Times
Written by
Frank Lee

The number of veterans seeking mental health care has increased since 2006 from about 900,000 to 1.2 million last year, according to a Government Accountability Office study.

With all of these veterans seeking mental health help, how is it that CNN sought out "experts" that never seemed to be able to mention this very simple fact while reporting on these two cases?

That's the biggest problem in the fight to end the stigma of PTSD. As with Vietnam veterans coming home with PTSD, some did get into trouble, were arrested and locked up. Some were killed by police officers. Some ended up making the headlines as well but most of them came home suffering in silence while doing the best they could to adapt back to civilian life. They did all of this while reading reports about "crazy Vietnam veterans" and being told they were all someone to be afraid of. No matter what was being said about them many carried on their fight to make sure that "no other veteran would be left behind" and they managed to get this nation to come up with compensation and programs to treat their combat PTSD. It is because of them psychologist and mental health workers began helping average people.

Back then, all the general public knew was what was reported in their local papers and seen on news stations. It was all local. Now there are three major 24-7 cable news stations, FOX, CNN and MSNBC but while they should be reporting on every kind of story about our veterans, they seem to be only interested in reporting on them getting into trouble. Now there is the Internet connecting people across the globe so that anyone with an interest in finding out what is going on in another part of the country, they find it. A small town newspaper reporting on one of their veterans can be read about by everyone. Usually the attention grabbers are bad reports, or at least it seems that way but if this blog is any indication of what people really want to read about this is one of them.


"For those I love I will sacrifice" is the most popular post on this blog with 28,789 Pageviews. The next most popular one is 12,970 Pageviews for Marine Lance Cpl. William Kyle Carpenter, hero Marine honored While I post about the bad reports as well as the good, no other posts have come close to these two.

I've been thinking about this for a long time and can only come to one conclusion. The popularity of these stories is because the general public never seems to be made aware they exist while watching or reading news coverage where they live. While they can find out about candidates running for the Presidency and what they are doing in a different state, since that is all the national media seems interested in covering, they cannot find out about veterans the same way unless they are in trouble. They have to spend the time searching for these stories while the national media stations take the easy way out and end up supporting the fear the general public has toward veterans.

The following are reports on this blog from the first 14 days of 2012 that are positive ones. While I do cover the bad reports along with the good it would be real reporting for the national news stations to do the same. That way the general public would finally understand that most veterans never stop giving back and want to do more for this country no matter what price they had to pay for what they've already done.

After reading these you'll understand why, even after tracking all these reports, there is no other group I'd rather spend my time with and on. I just wish that CNN could do the same. While they celebrate heroes every year, they never seem to be willing to spend the time to report on our veteran heroes making a difference everyday.

Caught on video: Unemployed Iraq Vet stops bullies on bus
Iraq war vet stands up to bullies on Lacey bus
by TONYA MOSLEY / KING 5 News
January 1, 2012
Posted on December 31, 2011 at 5:10 PM

LACEY, Wash. - Jim Hardie doesn't really see himself as much of a hero.

"I really don't feel like I have any more value than anybody else,” he said.

He's a family man with an eight-year run in the Marine Corps. But for the last two years he’s been riding the bus in search of a job.

Last week after a full day of searching, Jim sat across from three guys he felt were being disrespectful to everyone on the bus.

West Virginia Air National Guard female medic earns Bronze Star for Valor


W.Va. flight medic receives medal for bravery in Afghanistan
By Travis Crum
January 1, 2012

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Nicole Hopkins, a flight medic from West Virginia, said she would never forget the day she left Afghanistan with severe injuries received during a dangerous mission in one of the war's deadliest months.

She vividly remembers looking out her flight's window during her return trip at another plane carrying coffins draped in American flags.

"What I thought most about during that flight home was the guy we picked up that day, Sgt. Matthew Weikert," Hopkins said. "He was flying back to the states the same time as me, only he wasn't flying home injured."

Hopkins, a 35-year-old staff sergeant with the West Virginia Air National Guard, was presented the Bronze Star with Valor last month for her bravery during missions to rescue injured soldiers in July 2010.

Military veterans create Tampa charities to help troops

By HOWARD ALTMAN
The Tampa Tribune
Published: January 02, 2012

They were both in the Navy.

They are both named Bob.

And now they spend their days helping out those who serve by running two of Tampa Bay's biggest military charity organizations.

Bob Silah served 27 years, retiring as a captain in 1989.

An active member of the Tampa chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, he regularly kept in touch with the local military community, especially the folks at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital.

In 2004, he got a call from a doctor there.

"They said they had more and more patients coming in and they needed help, especially with their families," said Silah, who came up with an idea to help.

He created Operation Helping Hand that May.

Veteran dies saving employee from gunman
Family, friends remember Carter’s kindness
SHEILA HAGAR
WALLA WALLA UNION-BULLETIN
January 3, 2012
MILTON-FREEWATER - Everyone knew Rob Carter, friends and family of the Milton-Freewater native said Saturday.

Carter, 58, died Friday doing just what he was known for - cherishing and protecting those he loved. When a gunman entered Carter's business shop, Carter threw himself over his employee to shield her from gunfire, McKenzie Marly said.

That's how her father did things, she explained. "He took care of everyone."

Cecil "Rob" Carter was born to Ray and Kathy Carter on July 18, 1953. He and his brothers, Alan and Cliff, found plenty of trouble to get into, much of it fights among themselves, Marly, 33, said, reciting family legend. "But if anyone messed with any one of them, you had to deal with ‘The Carter Boys.' That's what they were known as. But they were brothers in every way."

USO Sailor Of Year Killed In Afghanistan Standing In For Wounded Bomb Tech
U-T: USO Sailor Of Year Killed In Afghanistan
January 4, 2012
Chad Regelin Killed Monday

Jeanette Steele, U-T San Diego
SAN DIEGO -- When Navy bomb disposal technician Chad Regelin was named 2011 USO sailor of the year, he couldn’t make it to the October gala in Washington, D.C.

He was in Afghanistan, standing in for a wounded bomb technician.

That job took his life Monday. Regelin, a 24-year-old sailor assigned to a San Diego unit, was killed during combat operations with a Marine Corps special operations company in Helmand province, Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced.

His brother Ryan said the sailor was on foot patrol when an explosion occurred. Regelin went to check it out and a second bomb, detonated via a wire, went off.

Gainesville Florida woman lost 84 pounds to become a soldier
Woman Loses 84 Pounds to Become Soldier

Army News Service
by Cynthia Rivers-Womack, USAREC
January 04, 2012
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Allison Scarbrough will officially change jobs Jan. 3, 2012, from retail cashier to Health Care Specialist in the U.S. Army. But the change has not been easy.

In May 2010, then 20-year-old Scarbrough walked into the Gainesville recruiting station ready to become a Soldier. This was a brave move for her because before she could enlist two things had to happen. Weighing 240 pounds, the 5-foot-5-inch Scarborough had to lose 84 pounds -- and keep the weight off -- before she would be eligible to enlistment. But for the motivated Scarborough, failure was not an option.

Decorated marine forgives DUI driver who nearly killed him
January 6, 2012

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A woman who was drunk when she hit a decorated Marine from behind on his motorcycle, leaving him with critical injuries that doctors initially thought would kill him, was sentenced Friday to four years and four months in prison.

Jessica Marie Bloom, 22, pleaded guilty Nov. 8 to felony charges of DUI causing injury and hit-and-run.

The crash left Gunnery Sgt. David W. Smith with numerous injuries, including a partial decapitation, lacerated kidney, lacerated liver and bleeding on the brain.

Smith, a Bronze Star recipient for valor, was comatose for two days, paralyzed completely for two of three days and on life support for 10 days.

Point Man shows the way to what faith can do
January 8, 2012

Point Man started with and for Vietnam Veterans.
Since 1984, when Seattle Police Officer and Vietnam Veteran Bill Landreth noticed he was arresting the same people each night, he discovered most were Vietnam vets like himself that just never seemed to have quite made it home. He began to meet with them in coffee shops and on a regular basis for fellowship and prayer. Soon, Point Man Ministries was conceived and became a staple of the Seattle area. Bills untimely death soon after put the future of Point Man in jeopardy.

However, Chuck Dean, publisher of a Veterans self help newspaper, Reveille, had a vision for the ministry and developed it into a system of small groups across the USA for the purpose of mutual support and fellowship. These groups are known as Outposts. Worldwide there are hundreds of Outposts and Homefront groups serving the families of veterans.

PMIM is run by veterans from all conflicts, nationalities and backgrounds. Although, the primary focus of Point Man has always been to offer spiritual healing from PTSD, Point Man today is involved in group meetings, publishing, hospital visits, conferences, supplying speakers for churches and veteran groups, welcome home projects and community support. Just about any where there are Vets there is a Point Man presence. All services offered by Point Man are free of charge.

Cancer survivor credits Army's help
January 8, 2012
Sgt. 1st Class Ana Carrizo Cancer survivor credits Army's help

Written by
Laura Ungar
The Courier-Journal

Army Sgt. 1st Class Ana Carrizo is surviving breast cancer while her mother is dying of the disease.

Carrizo, 43, said she found her cancer early, thanks to an Army program that electronically reminds soldiers to get medical screenings. But her 69-year-old mother, Ruth Turner, who lives in Panama, found her disease late, and now it’s considered terminal.

“If I was not reminded to do the checks, I probably wouldn’t have found the cancer,” said Carrizo, who was diagnosed in December 2009. “Being female in the military, I think they do a great job … taking care of us.”

Last Vietnam veteran in Florida Air National Guard retires
Written by Master Sgt. Thomas Kielbasa
January 8, 2012
Feature Stories
Command Chief Master Sgt. Charles Wisniewski completes 41 years of military service

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (Jan. 8, 2012) – The last Vietnam veteran in the Florida Air National Guard is retiring and ending a more than 40 year military career.

State Command Chief Master Sgt. Charles Wisniewski, who served in Southeast Asia with the U.S. Air Force in 1972-1973, was honored during a retirement ceremony at the Florida National Guard Headquarters Jan. 6.

“Today really marks the end of an era,” said Adjutant General of Florida Maj. Gen. Emmett Titshaw Jr. during the ceremony. “When we say goodbye to (Wisniewski) today, we say goodbye to the last Vietnam veteran in the Florida Air National Guard. That is a milestone.”

Wisniewski, 59, joined the Air Force in 1971 and served as a weapons technician at Utipoa Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand. During his year in Thailand he helped load B-52 bombers flying into Vietnam on bombing missions, including during the famed Operation Linebacker II in late 1972.

Soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan wars reflect on coming home to NYC and transition to civilian life
Bronx Army vet says more aid available now from Veterans Administration

BY CORINNE LESTCH
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Tuesday, January 10 2012
When Sandra Rolon came home to the Bronx from her first U.S. Army deployment in Iraq in 2005, she was desolate and despondent.

The Mott Haven native was left homeless with two daughters to raise, and there were few services.

“I went to one or two meetings for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” she said. “There wasn’t anything at all.”

When she returned after her second round of duty--during which she helped close down the Camp Bucca detention facility in 2009--everything had changed.

“I got a call from the (James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the Bronx) the same day my orders ended,” said Rolon, 53. “They were directly calling all these soldiers, letting them know, ‘you have five years of medical coverage if you want to exercise that benefit.’”

Now, Rolon helps lead Military Women in Power, which operates out of the Bronx VA hsopital, and she said there has been a surge of interest in the group since the last troops returned to American soil in December.

Maj. Thomas B. Bryant sings for betterment of troops
Third Army soldier sings for betterment of troops
January 10, 2012
13th Public Affairs Detachment
Story by Cpl. Christopher Calvert

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – For many, singing offers an outlet to express one’s feelings. Troops often find singing helps pass the time during a deployment while building esprit de corps among members of a unit. For one Third Army soldier, singing is more than just a hobby; it’s a way to help his fellow brothers and sisters in arms.

Maj. Thomas B. Bryant, Third Army/ARCENT Logistics, deputy plans chief and Silver Creek, Miss., native, grew up singing his entire life.

“I’m the son of a preacher,” said Bryant. “I’ve been singing pretty much all of my life. It’s just been one of those things God has blessed me with. I like to make people feel what I’m feeling, and singing helps me accomplish this.”

When Bryant graduated from high school, he felt compelled to join the U.S. Army Reserves and serve his country like his father did before him, he said.

Lance Cpl. Donald Hogan to be posthumously awarded Navy Cross
Marine from Camp Pendleton to be awarded Navy Cross posthumously
January 10, 2012
The secretary of the Navy next week will present the Navy Cross to the family of a Marine from Camp Pendleton killed while saving the life of other Marines in Afghanistan, officials announced Tuesday.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is set to present the medal Jan. 17 to the family of Lance Cpl. Donald Hogan in a ceremony at Camp Pendleton. The Navy Cross is second only to the Medal of Honor for combat bravery by Marines or sailors.

Hogan, 20, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, was killed Aug. 26, 2009, by a buried explosive device after pushing a Marine to safety and yelling warnings to other Marines. Hogan was on a walking patrol in Helmand province, long a Taliban stronghold.


According to the Navy Cross citation, Hogan spotted a trigger wire for a buried bomb and hurled himself into the body of the nearest Marine to push him away from the imminent blast.

Triple amputee soldier wants to stay in Army!
US soldier who lost legs in Afghan blast wants to stay on active duty
January 11, 2012
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.

Veteran Uses His Disability Check To House Homeless Veterans
Shane D'Onofrio, N.M. Veteran, Uses His Disability Check To House Homeless Veterans
January 12, 2012
It's an understatement to say that Navy veteran Shane D'Onofrio would give the shirt off his back for his fellow servicemen.

The Rio Rancho, N.M. veteran actually dedicates his income to vets in need, according to KOAT.com.

D'Onofrio reinvests his disability check -- about $1,700 each month -- back into What Would U Give, a nonprofit he started a few years ago designed to help other disabled veterans get off the streets while building community development and helping veterans achieve their after-military life goals.

90 year old WWII veteran still doing her part to help the troops
January 13, 2012
WWII vet still doing her part to help the troops

By Arline A. Fleming/Special to the Independent



NARRAGANSETT — Doris Blaney might be 90 years old, but she is hardly an idle nonagenarian.

In addition to knitting items to sell at the South Kingstown Farmers Market and being an active member of the Washington County VFW Post 916, she decided that when it came time to donate to the state-wide project for the Ladies Auxiliary of the VFW, offering an average donation wouldn’t be enough.

This year’s cause, Suicide Prevention in the Military, just felt more important to her than that.

“I was a Marine during World War II and it just hit home, so I decided we should do something as big as we can possible do.”

Blaney decided to organize a fund-raiser to make a significant donation and raise some awareness in the process, and when she announced her intention to her five grown children, her 12 grandchildren, her great-grandchildren and other relatives and friends, “they all jumped in with both feet,” she said.

Super heroes get PTSD too
January 14, 2012
After all these years some people still think that cowards and criminals are the only veterans claiming PTSD. That if they have PTSD, they are dangerous. What can we expect when the only time they make the news is when they are arrested or killed in a police standoff? While we read other reports here, the general public has no clue what it is really like for any of them.

Here's a story you should pass onto anyone you think needs an attitude adjustment. Read about Sgt. Rieman and what he did to earn his Silver Star. If this isn't courage, nothing is.

Silver Star Recipient Talks About His PTSD at Free Symposium

Posted Fri, Jan 13, 2012

By Bobbie O'Brien
SARASOTA
Sgt. Tommy Rieman was awarded a Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and courage under fire while serving in Iraq. But, he will do something that takes as much courage this Saturday in Sarasota. He will discuss living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The free symposium will start with a documentary that features the soldier and others struggling with PTSD and examines the military culture that stigmatizes mental health.

Rieman survived 11 wounds while guiding his team through multiple attacks in Iraq December 2003 and President Bush recognized his bravery.

“Tommy Rieman was a teenager pumping gas in Independence, Kentucky when he enlisted in the U.S. Army,” Pres. Bush said. “He was on a recognizance mission in Iraq when his team came under heavy enemy fire. For his exceptional courage, Sgt. Rieman was award the Silver Star. He has earned the respect and gratitude of our entire country.”

And Rieman is proud of his country and the Army. So much so, he agreed to be a part of the Army's video program called Real Heroes. But while on his second tour in Iraq, his situation changed and he considered suicide.

U.S. sailors help rescue 68 people on raft in Mediterranean Sea

U.S. sailors help rescue 68 people on raft in Med
By GEOFF ZIEZULEWICZ
Stars and Stripes
Published: January 17, 2012
NAPLES, Italy — A Navy aircrew over the weekend helped rescue 68 people adrift on a raft in the Mediterranean Sea, more than 80 miles off the coast of Malta.

The sailors, members of Hawaii-based Patrol Squadron 47 and working out of Sicily’s Naval Air Station Sigonella, received a distress call from Maltese authorities just before sunset on Saturday, according to a Navy release. The sailors, at Sigonella for a six-month rotation, boarded a P-3 Orion aircraft, scouring a 30-by-60-nautical-mile area.

The crew spotted a drifting raft that was empty and continued the search, said the crew’s commander, Navy Lt. Nicholas Warack.

“It was essential for us to get assistance to those people,” Warack said Tuesday.

Now flying in darkness, the crew spotted a rubber raft carrying 68 men, women and children of Somali origin, the release said.
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Military amputees inspire through softball

Military amputees inspire through softball
BY MITCH STACY
Associated Press
Jan 19, 7:44 AM EST

PLANT CITY, Fla. (AP) -- When a roadside bomb in Afghanistan shredded Marine Lance Cpl. Josh Wege's legs in 2009, the former high school baseball star wondered if he would even survive - let alone walk, run or play ball again.

But on a recent Saturday afternoon, a crowd at a Tampa-area stadium watched him drill a pitch from former U.S. Olympic softballer Jennie Finch over an outfielder's head and use his high-tech prosthetic legs to run out a triple - finishing with a belly-flop slide into third base. His Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team crushed an all-star squad that included former pro and college players 23-8.

Wege, 22, plays first base for the barnstorming bunch of Army and Marine combat veterans, most of whom rely on prosthetic limbs. Corporate sponsorships have allowed the team to travel around the country playing local teams for charity, amassing a 14-13 record going into a game Sunday against a team of first responders in Orange County, Calif. And their schedule is growing, with 75 games already booked for 2012.

All of the infielders are missing at least one of their legs. Two of the outfielders use those special carbon-fiber running legs, the ones that look like upside-down question marks, for speed. One outfielder is missing a hand, and the right-fielder plays without his entire left arm and shoulder.
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GOP candidates vie for military votes

GOP candidates vie for military votes
By Brian Bakst - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jan 18, 2012 9:51:36 EST
BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. — Mitt Romney has ex-POW John McCain vouching for him. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum highlights his time on the Senate Armed Services Committee. And former House Speaker Newt Gingrich frequently calls himself an “Army brat” who grew up on military bases.

Although Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Texas Rep. Ron Paul are the only GOP candidates to have worn a military uniform, all of the Republican presidential contenders are emphasizing their military ties these days in a state that’s home to 413,000 veterans and eight military bases, with thousands of people on active duty.

“My purpose in life was to never be the president of the United States,” Perry says as he campaigns ahead of South Carolina’s primary Saturday. “My purpose has always been to serve my country and my state whenever they need or they call. That’s our duty as Americans.”

Perry’s days as an Air Force pilot in the 1970s and his father’s B-17 tail-gunner missions in World War II are staples of his South Carolina message as he looks to right his struggling campaign.

Paul, a flight surgeon in the 1960s who made his name as an antiwar congressman, is filling mailboxes with five-page letters that include a picture of him as a young draftee in a full-brimmed Air Force hat. “Let me begin by telling you that the troops know first and foremost that I am one of them,” he writes.

There’s a reason for the intensive courting: As long as South Carolina has been instrumental in deciding GOP nominees, the state’s voters have rewarded candidates with military service. Every GOP primary winner since Ronald Reagan in 1980 has been a veteran.
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