Fallen soldier, Zack Shannon, honored by friends, strangers

Fallen soldier, Zack Shannon, honored by friends, strangers
Mar 25, 2013
Ashley Porter
WTSP.com

Dunedin, Florida-- From Tampa to Dunedin, crowds lined the streets with flags, signs, and sadness for a fallen soldier.

The reason behind their determination, waiting hours for the motorcade of Army Spc. Zack Shannon, could be summed up by the words of six-year-old Jacob Rooks: "Zack died for our freedom."

From the intersections of Clearwater to the sidewalks in front of Dunedin High School, one word resonated: hero.

Shannon was killed on March 11 in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. He was the first graduate of Dunedin High School and its JROTC program to ever be killed in action.

"Zack made a difference," says Commander Rick Schock, who taught Zack at Dunedin High School. "Zack was doing exactly what he wanted to do when he was unfortunately killed in action. He wanted to fly helicopters, he wanted to be in the Army and when I last saw him, he was very, very happy."
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Final escort of Dunedin soldier comes through Tampa today
Times Staff
Monday, March 25, 2013
Go there for wonderful video.

Feds can’t keep up with ills from 2 wars

Study: Feds can’t keep up with ills from 2 wars
By Greg Zoroya and Greg Toppo
USA Today
Posted : Wednesday Mar 27, 2013

The federal government is failing to keep pace with a torrent of ailments and issues generated by two wars for the more than 2 million Americans who served overseas since 9/11, according to a sweeping assessment by a panel of leading scientists.

The nearly 800-page study, completed over four years by the Institute of Medicine and released Tuesday, portrays a nation struggling to anticipate and understand consequences of a decade of war and grueling demands placed on its military and unprecedented kinds of wounds troops have suffered.

The Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs are trying to help, but “the response does not match the magnitude of the problems, and many readjustment needs are unmet or unknown,” says the report by the institute, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences.

The nation waged war in Iraq and Afghanistan in unprecedented ways, the study found, using a limited-size, all-volunteer force; deploying troops repeatedly for up to 15 or 18 months at a time; allowing less than a year of rest between tours; and filling the military’s ranks with historically high numbers of women, parents, National Guard troops and reservists.
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my comment

The Washington Post reported in 2006 the Army found redeployments increased risk for PTSD by 50%, but did it anyway. RAND found resilience programs do not work and among the reasons are people cannot be "trained" to be resilient plus these programs do not work in military culture. There are so many reasons but no signs the DOD has learned from them. 900 Suicide Prevention programs and record level of suicides taught them nothing.

The most frightening thing of all is that I don't even have a degree but in 2009 I came right out and warned if they pushed the Resilience Programs, suicides would go up. How scary is that when hundreds of millions of dollars has been spent on "professionals" with degrees up the wahzoo haven't figured it out yet! But then again, this was on Army Times this morning too.

Army defends battlefield social science program
By Tom Vanden Brook
USA Today Posted : Wednesday Mar 27, 2013

WASHINGTON — Army Secretary John McHugh defended the use of military social scientists on battlefields despite some initial “command, training and personnel challenges” with the program in its early years

McHugh sent a letter recently to Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., a member of the Armed Services Committee who had raised concerns with McHugh about the Human Terrain System after USA Today reported that an internal Army report had found team members falsified time sheets to inflate their pay and had engaged in racial and sexual harassment. The program, launched in 2007 with civilian social scientists, was aimed at helping commanders understand local populations and avoid antagonizing them.

Army internal reviews, including a 2010 report obtained by USA Today under the Freedom of Information Act were used to “increase oversight, improve personnel selection and enhance effectiveness,” McHugh wrote to Hunter on March 15.

Hunter said he’s not convinced the program, which cost the military $58 million in 2013, is worth the investment.

“The problem here is that the Army’s take on things overlooks an investigation that raises some serious concerns and doesn’t account for program shortcomings and criticisms,” Hunter told USA Today.
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Human Terrain Systems CGI began in Canada with Serge Godin and Andre Imbeau revenue $1.4 billion and by 2012 it was $3.7 billion.

CGI Federal, Inc., Manassas, Va., was awarded a $42,485,968 firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. The award will provide for the procurement and development of the Human Terrain System. Work will be performed in Newport News, Va., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 27, 2016. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with four bids received. The U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Eustis, Va., is the contracting activity (W911S0-11-D-0058).

Lockheed Martin MS2, Liverpool, N.Y., was awarded a $26,321,139 firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The award will provide for the modification of an existing contract to support country field service representatives. Work will be performed in Liverpool, N.Y., with an estimated completion date of July 30, 2012. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with three bids received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is the contracting activity (W15P7T-06-C-T004).

For dog lovers

K2 Solutions Corp.*, Southern Pines, N.C., is being awarded a $34,394,858 firm-fixed-priced contract for life cycle sustainment for the Marine Corps’ fleet of improvised explosive device detector dogs, including kenneling and daily care, operational training for Marine handlers, logistics support, transportation, support during overseas operations, and associated materials. The contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $91,022,617. Work will be performed in Southern Pines, N.C. (70 percent), Twentynine Palms, Calif. (20 percent), and overseas (10 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2012. If all options are exercised, work will be completed March 2014. Contract funds in the amount of $34,394,858 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured as a total small business set-aside solicitation via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with two offers received in response to the solicitation. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity (M67854-11-C-3015).

This was from 2011

Jardon and Howard Technologies, Inc., Orlando, Fla., is being awarded a $3,700,178 modification, which brings the total of all prior modifications/increments to $7,656,178, under previously awarded contract (HQ0034-10-F-2094) to provide administrative support services to the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals. Work will be performed in Arlington, Va., Woodland Hills, Calif., and Fort Meade, Md., with an estimated completion date of Sept. 28, 2015. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with three bids received. Washington Headquarters Service is the contracting activity.

This was from 2005

Jardon and Howard Technologies Inc., Orlando, Fla., is being awarded a $7,568,727 ceiling amount firm-fixed-price, time and material contract for the Military Communities and Family Policy Services to provide the technical, training and administrative support required to implement programs on a national and international basis to provide innovative options for approaching the challenges that military members and their families encounter on a daily basis. Work will be performed in Orlando, Fla., and is expected to be completed in March 2006. Contract funds in the amount of $7,568,727 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Fla., is the contracting activity (N61339-05-C-0111).

along with this one

Jardon and Howard Technologies Inc., Orlando, Fla., is being awarded a $7,087,539 ceiling amount time and material contract for the Victim Advocates, Shelter and Seriously Disabled Veterans Services which are programs and initiatives offered by Military Communities and Family Policy Services to provide counseling for the seriously injured, victim and shelter services for victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault in the military services and provide the support necessary to manage and coordinate services and internships for seriously disabled veterans, as a result of their services on Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and the Global War on Terrorism. Work will be performed in Orlando, Fla., and is expected to be completed in March 2006. Contract funds in the amount of $7,087,539 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Fla., is the contracting activity (N61339-05-C-0109).

For more contracts go here

Veterans prefer face-to-face interaction to find jobs

Hiring Our Heroes 2013: Veterans prefer face-to-face interaction to find jobs
by Kristina Puga
03/27/2013

Today, more than 500 veterans attended the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Hiring Our Heroes job fair in New York City. The program, which launched last year, is committed to hiring 500,000 veterans and military spouses by the end of 2014. So far, 108,000 have found jobs as part of the campaign in the last year.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there are currently 1.3 million Latino veterans — 308,000 of whom are from the Gulf War and have an 11.7 percent unemployment rate. This is almost two percentage points higher than non-veteran Latinos.

Ronal Arevalo, 30, was a specialist in the U.S. Army from 2003 until 2011 and has been looking for a stable job since 2012. He got to the fair bright and early and is feeling hopeful.

“I don’t have a college degree yet,” says Arevalo, who was born in Colombia, but is now a U.S. citizen residing in the Bronx, NY. “I learned leadership, discipline and can adapt to any environment thanks to the Army.”
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Ohio AG probe: Veteran service groups misused $10M

Ohio AG probe: Veteran service groups misused $10M
By LISA CORNWELL
Associated Press
March 27, 2013

CINCINNATI (AP) — A state investigation alleging more than $10 million in charitable funds held by veterans services organizations for job training and other services was misused also found that some veterans posts in Ohio set up fake career centers instead of using the money to help unemployed veterans.

The Ohio attorney general's office said an agreement between the state and the Columbus-based AMVETS Department of Ohio, Ohio AMVETS Career Center and AMVETS Department of Ohio Service Foundation requires reforms that include revamped accounting and reporting practices, written financial policies and the removal of personnel in various AMVETS offices and boards.

The probe found some of the 59 AMVETS posts in Ohio set up satellite career centers that were only "facades," amounting to little more than an "outdated computer in a corner," according to court documents filed Tuesday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court in Columbus. Some used the money intended for centers to reimburse themselves for items such as "rent" for the centers and to pay a member as a "career center coach," who often did little more than register veterans for an online course, the documents state.

Investigators who posed as veterans in need of job help said that they were often told a computer wasn't working or that a post had no career center.
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Disabled Vets at Walter Reed can't find parking?

"The lack of parking became a big issue in 2011, when 2,000 employees from the now closed Walter Reed hospital in northwest D.C. were reassigned to the Bethesda campus. There are plans to add more spaces over the next five-to-10 years."

Parking Crackdown at Walter Reed Patrols stop employees from taking spots away from patients
NBC Washington
Thursday, Mar 28, 2013

Parking at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda can be a challenge. Now, it's getting a little easier for veterans who go there for treatment but can't find a parking space. read more here