Nadia McCaffrey Talks About Foundation Dedicated to Veterans

Nadia has been a hero for veterans for a long time now. I don't know how she does it. If you are on Facebook, you know she never stops. If CNN is looking for one more Hero to honor, she's it!

Nadia McCaffrey Talks About Foundation Dedicated to Veterans
January 20, 2012

CORPUS CHRISTI (Kiii News) -
A mother who lost her son to the war in Iraq is now dedicating her life to helping all veterans who are returning back to civilian life, specifically those who are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Nadia McCaffrey has been interviewed by the likes of Larry King and Good Morning America because of her mission. Friday, she was in Corpus Christi to be recognized by the Peace Tree Project of South Texas.

Her mission is to help those who are returning from war, to give them therapy. The Gold Star mother even invites veterans to stay at her home, a place where they can readjust to life and get the counseling they need.

"I cook for them, I take care of them until they feel confident enough, counseling benefits, go to school when they are ready," says McCaffrey.

Nadia began a foundation in 2006 named after her son Patrick McCaffrey and since then has had 27 veterans, men and women stay at her home. McCaffrey's son Patrick was killed in Iraq.

Since then she's been all over the country to speak about her him, but she also started to get calls from his unit and started to realize they were in trouble coming home. Many, she says suffer from trauma they experienced overseas, and PTSD.

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UK soldiers go hungry, refuse to eat the ‘disgusting’ food

Soldiers declare war on 'healthy' rations and go into battle in Afghanistan on empty stomachs
By IAN DRURY
21st January 2012

Napoleon famously declared that an Army marches on its stomach.

But soldiers serving in Afghanistan are going into battle hungry because they refuse to eat the ‘disgusting’ food in their revamped ration packs.

Troops are unhappy that ‘good old British’ meals such as sausage and beans and Lancashire hotpot have been replaced by salads, muesli and strawberry porridge.
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Sex Crimes By Soldiers Up 97 Percent In Five Years

When you read this keep in mind that there are more women serving in the military and that the military has been trying to get these crimes reported, or at least, that is what they have been saying for a long time. Those two factors have reports up but as this article points out, most still go unreported and the criminals get away with it. Sex crimes are committed by criminals and there should be a no tolerance policy. The vast majority of our armed forces serve with honor and dignity. That portion of the members of the military should make sure these criminals are charged and kicked out.

Womens Memorial

U.S. Army: Sex Crimes By Soldiers Up 97 Percent In Five Years

John Rudolf
1/20/12

Maj. Gen. Mary Kay Hertog, of the Air Force, and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta addressed the problem of sexual assaults in the military at a Pentagon press briefing this week.

Military leaders vowed this week to curb sexual assaults by and against U.S. soldiers after the release of a new report revealing that violent sex crimes committed by Army personnel nearly doubled since 2006. The majority of reported sex crimes occurred on U.S. soil, the Army said.

A U.S soldier committed a violent sex crime every six hours and 40 minutes in 2011, a rate far above that of the general population, the report found.

"This is unacceptable. We have zero tolerance for this," Gen. Peter Chiarelli, Army vice chief of staff, said at a press conference Thursday. "Army leaders take sexual assault seriously."

Chiarelli said the Army was confronting the problem by stepping up surveillance of barracks and cracking down on drug and alcohol abuse, a key factor in sexual assault.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also addressed the issue of sexual abuse within the military this week, announcing that the Pentagon was creating a database to track offenders and would provide increased funding to train sex crime investigators.
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Arrest of Phila. teen in brutal beating of Vietnam vet

Arrest of Phila. teen in brutal beating of Vietnam vet
By Crimesider Staff
January 20, 2012

(CBS) PHILADELPHIA - An arrest has been made in the vicious beating of a Vietnam veteran, say Philadelphia police.

CBS Philly reports that 64-year-old Edward Schaefer, who had lost an eye while serving his country, was violently beaten by a group of teens on a city street on Tuesday, while waiting for his wife to get off of a bus.

"These animals are specializing on our elderly people out here and a gentleman who served our country," Lt. George McClay said.

He said authorities have had a lot of tips.

"We had a lot of help from juvenile probation, the school district police and a lot of citizens," said McClay.

The victim Schaefer was walking to meet his wife at the bus stop when he was approached from behind. McClay said one of the teen suspects began attacking him and at least one other in the group of juveniles joined in.

The suspects fled by foot, when a passerby, Donald Jones, came to Schaefer's rescue.
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Disabled Vietnam Veteran Beaten

Citizens ignore struggle veterans go through everyday

Veterans’ struggle
By Anna Fifield
January 20, 2012
US soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan face unemployment, isolation and indifference as they try to find their way back into society

Joe McDonald (left) and Jesse Llamas: McDonald served in Iraq. Military role: squadron fire support officer, US Army. Llamas served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Military role: vehicle mechanic, US Army

In the car park of FedExField, a sports stadium in Maryland, just before Christmas, thousands of military types gathered for a curious American tradition: the tailgate. As the army and navy academies’ football teams prepared to confront each other inside the stadium, row upon row of SUVs lined up outside. Commanding top real estate in the parking lot, hundreds of veterans associated with a group called Team Red, White & Blue (Team RWB) ate pulled pork cooked on a barbecue so huge it was towed in, filled their plastic cups from beer kegs and, between banter, watched the game on a TV set up on make-shift tables.

The toll of this decade of combat is now well known: the lost limbs, the brain injuries, the deaths. The separations from spouses, children and normal life. More than 6,000 dead, 30,000-plus life-altering wounds, untold numbers with post-traumatic stress disorder. Suicide now claims more lives than combat – about 18 a day, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Veterans comprise 9 per cent of the total population but 15 per cent of the homeless. From The Odyssey – the original returning veteran story – onwards, society has always recognised that service members are out of sorts when they come home from war. But what is seldom recognised is how different things are this time around.

A recent Pew Research Center study underscored the disconnect. Only one-third of those aged 18 to 29 surveyed said they had a family member who had served, while an astounding 84 per cent of veterans said civilians had little or no understanding of the military.
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