Her bronze is as good as gold at Bedford VA
Sentinel and Enterprise
By Katie Lannan
BEDFORD -- With neuromuscular disease limiting the use of his hands, Army veteran Ed Ackerson couldn't grip Natalie Dell's Olympic bronze medal when she passed it around to patients at the Edith Nourse Rogers Veterans Administration Hospital on Thursday.
So Dell, a rower on the U.S. women's quadruple sculls team, took the medal from around her neck and placed it around Ackerson's.
"You're going to insist on taking this back now, aren't you?" said Ackerson, 62, looking down the medal.
"I'll fight you for it, sir," Dell joked.
A mental-health researcher at the hospital, Dell, a Cambridge resident, was welcomed back to her workplace Thursday after two years telecommuting from New Jersey while training for the Olympics.
Her return as an Olympic medalist is a point of pride for the VA, said acting hospital Director Christine Croteau.
"We have world-class health care, world-class research and now, a world-class athlete," Croteau said.
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Saturday, August 25, 2012
Veterans Administration Workers Sing 'Beat It'
Veterans Administration Workers Sing 'Beat It' In Latest Government Conference Embarrassment
Michael McAuliff
Posted: 08/24/2012
WASHINGTON -- The latest government conference scandal involving the Department of Veterans Affairs got more embarrassing Friday when a video surfaced of human resources workers delivering a tin-eared rendition of Michael Jackson's "Beat It."
House committees had already been investigating a pair of VA conferences that took place last July and August in Orlando and cost some $5 million, and earlier this week released a clip parodying General Patton.
From FEDLINE
Michael McAuliff
Posted: 08/24/2012
WASHINGTON -- The latest government conference scandal involving the Department of Veterans Affairs got more embarrassing Friday when a video surfaced of human resources workers delivering a tin-eared rendition of Michael Jackson's "Beat It."
House committees had already been investigating a pair of VA conferences that took place last July and August in Orlando and cost some $5 million, and earlier this week released a clip parodying General Patton.
So far, the office of Inspector General George Opfer has not found a strong case for Issa's claim.
"A series of interviews have uncovered questionable activities and we have notified both the Secretary and Congress of these issues," said a statement released by the IG's office. "We continue to review documents and conduct interviews. To date, all indications are that the conferences were for legitimate training purposes."
read more here
From FEDLINE
New DVD Features Yoga By Veterans, For Veterans
New DVD Features Yoga By Veterans, For Veterans
by: yogaactivist
August 24, 2012
Daniel Hickman has taught yoga to amputees at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for five years. Through yoga and meditation, he works to help combat veterans cope with phantom limb pain and post-traumatic stress disorder. Yoga is now often used to complement traditional medical treatment for trauma survivors.
Through his dedication to working with this population, Hickman has created an 80-minute DVD for veterans to share the stress-relieving benefits of yoga–improved sleep, mindfulness, improved circulation, body awareness, and pain relief. The VetsYoga DVD features two beginner yoga sessions demonstrated by veterans who have experienced post-traumatic stress disorder and found healing through yoga.
“I found that yoga and meditation helped me respond better to traditional therapies,” said Sgt. Hugo Patrocinio, one of the veterans in the video. “Hopefully other veterans can use this DVD to help themselves heal.”
read more here
by: yogaactivist
August 24, 2012
Daniel Hickman has taught yoga to amputees at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for five years. Through yoga and meditation, he works to help combat veterans cope with phantom limb pain and post-traumatic stress disorder. Yoga is now often used to complement traditional medical treatment for trauma survivors.
Through his dedication to working with this population, Hickman has created an 80-minute DVD for veterans to share the stress-relieving benefits of yoga–improved sleep, mindfulness, improved circulation, body awareness, and pain relief. The VetsYoga DVD features two beginner yoga sessions demonstrated by veterans who have experienced post-traumatic stress disorder and found healing through yoga.
“I found that yoga and meditation helped me respond better to traditional therapies,” said Sgt. Hugo Patrocinio, one of the veterans in the video. “Hopefully other veterans can use this DVD to help themselves heal.”
read more here
Parents believe remains found in Montana are Noah Pippin
UPDATE August 27, 2012
Missing Marine Noah Pippin likely died of exposure
Missing Marine Noah Pippin likely died of exposure
Remains found in Montana wilderness area where Iraq war veteran was last seen in 2010
By Associated Press
About a month before he was last seen, Noah Pippin quit his job with the Los Angeles Police Department. He later went to visit his family in Michigan and told them he was heading back west to serve with the California National Guard.
KALISPELL, Mont. — Human remains have been found in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in northwest Montana, where a team has been searching for an Iraq war veteran who disappeared two years ago, a sheriff said Friday.
The parents of Noah Pippin released a statement Friday saying Lewis and Clark County sheriff’s and coroner’s officials told them remains had been found in the Burnt Creek area.
Authorities haven’t confirmed the identity of the remains yet, but Mike and Rosalie Pippin said there is a strong likelihood they belong to their son.
A search party of border agents, search and rescue officials, a sheriff’s deputy and volunteers found the remains and planned to bring them back to the state crime lab in Missoula. Coroner M.E. “Mickey” Nelson said it could be several days or even weeks before the body can be positively identified.
“There was enough circumstantial evidence that I felt comfortable, and I informed the family, that their loved one has been located, based on preliminary indicators and circumstantial things we found,” Nelson said. He declined to elaborate on what was found.
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Disabled veteran with PTSD acquitted of felony
Afghan war veteran Eric Braman acquitted of felony charge, guilty of misdemeanor
Aug 24, 2012
Written by
Sophia Voravong
When troubled veterans put selves, others at risk, special court could be the answer For nearly a full year, Eric S. Braman said he had no nightmares or dreams about the four months he served in Afghanistan in 2010 — a tour of duty that ended early when the U.S. Army specialist lost his lower right leg on Aug. 28 in a rocket-propelled grenade attack.
Then came Aug. 27, 2011, when Braman got into a heated confrontation with another man outside a Lafayette bar and a small crowd gathered around them. Something snapped, and he fired two gunshots — one into the air, the other into the ground — and slightly injured a passer-by.
“Everyone started walking toward me. Then it was like ... flashback,” Braman told Lafayette police investigators in a recorded statement. “I’m going to run until I can’t run anymore.”
A Tippecanoe Superior Court 5 jury was likely sympathetic to his plight.
On Friday afternoon, following a two-day trial, jurors acquitted Braman of the most serious charge he faced: criminal recklessness while armed with a deadly weapon, a Class D felony.
read more here
Parade canceled after soldier arrested-support was not canceled
Parade will welcome home injured soldier
Aug 24, 2012
Written by
Sophia Voravong
When troubled veterans put selves, others at risk, special court could be the answer For nearly a full year, Eric S. Braman said he had no nightmares or dreams about the four months he served in Afghanistan in 2010 — a tour of duty that ended early when the U.S. Army specialist lost his lower right leg on Aug. 28 in a rocket-propelled grenade attack.
Then came Aug. 27, 2011, when Braman got into a heated confrontation with another man outside a Lafayette bar and a small crowd gathered around them. Something snapped, and he fired two gunshots — one into the air, the other into the ground — and slightly injured a passer-by.
“Everyone started walking toward me. Then it was like ... flashback,” Braman told Lafayette police investigators in a recorded statement. “I’m going to run until I can’t run anymore.”
A Tippecanoe Superior Court 5 jury was likely sympathetic to his plight.
On Friday afternoon, following a two-day trial, jurors acquitted Braman of the most serious charge he faced: criminal recklessness while armed with a deadly weapon, a Class D felony.
read more here
Parade canceled after soldier arrested-support was not canceled
Parade will welcome home injured soldier
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