Bragg soldier charged in weekend hit-and-run
Associated Press
April 10, 2013
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — A Fort Bragg soldier has been charged with second-degree murder and hit-and-run in the death of a motorcyclist in Fayetteville.
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Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Utah soldier helps rescue 3-year-old boy from well in Afghanistan
Utah soldier helps rescue 3-year-old boy from well in Afghanistan
By McKenzie Romero
Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, April 9 2013
Spc. Thomas Wirthlin, of Murray, and soldiers from Courage Company, 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, were called to help their Afghan allies rescue the boy Sunday, and nothing was going to deter them.
It was like trying to dig through cement, but the soldiers were prepared to work for days, Wirthlin said in a military release.
"It was our pleasure to go out and help the locals face to face," he said. "It is great getting face time this way instead of just asking questions about the Taliban. We are all the same. We all have young nieces or nephews at home the same age as this kid, so it was great to help.”
Wirthlin told family members that nearly 30 U.S. soldiers and Afghan military members worked into the night Sunday, digging for more than six hours before lowering a rope to the frightened toddler, trapped about 30 feet down. The well is located in a dangerous province, requiring some soldiers to provide security while others performed the rescue, a relative reported.
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By McKenzie Romero
Deseret News
Published: Tuesday, April 9 2013
Soldiers from both 3rd Tolai, 6th Kandak and 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment came to the aid and rescue of a 3-year-old boy who had fallen 30 feet down a well in Maiwand province April 7, 2013. Murray soldier Thomas Wirthlin was part of the rescue. (Capt. Jennifer Dyrcz, U.S. Army)MURRAY — Families on two sides of the world have something to celebrate after a team of U.S. and Afghan soldiers, including a Utah man, came together to rescue a 3-year-old boy from a well in Maiwand province, Afghanistan.
Spc. Thomas Wirthlin, of Murray, and soldiers from Courage Company, 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, were called to help their Afghan allies rescue the boy Sunday, and nothing was going to deter them.
It was like trying to dig through cement, but the soldiers were prepared to work for days, Wirthlin said in a military release.
"It was our pleasure to go out and help the locals face to face," he said. "It is great getting face time this way instead of just asking questions about the Taliban. We are all the same. We all have young nieces or nephews at home the same age as this kid, so it was great to help.”
Wirthlin told family members that nearly 30 U.S. soldiers and Afghan military members worked into the night Sunday, digging for more than six hours before lowering a rope to the frightened toddler, trapped about 30 feet down. The well is located in a dangerous province, requiring some soldiers to provide security while others performed the rescue, a relative reported.
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After suicide attempt, combat veteran finds his voice
After suicide attempt, combat veteran finds his voice
By Jeremy Schwartz
Source: Austin American-Statesman
Published: Saturday 06 April, 2013
Just before dawn, Andrew O’Brien flipped his laptop open, turned on his webcam and prepared to tell the world the most personal story of his life.
On the first try, the lump in his throat caught his voice and tears welled in his eyes. He tried again, he said, but the words kept jumbling together. His mind raced back to the night his world collapsed, to the horrible mistake he almost made.
On his fourth try, O’Brien looked into the tiny keyhole of the webcam: “So here’s the story,” he said, his voice steady now. “I snapped one day and decided to take every pill I could get my hands on.”
Four minutes and 23 seconds later, the 24-year-old finished the video. But he hesitated before uploading it to YouTube. There was a reason no other soldier he knew of had ever gone public with their suicide attempt. It’s a taboo subject in general and especially among young soldiers, who too often view talk of feelings as a sign of weakness.
For O’Brien too, a suffocating silence — the unexpressed feelings, the untold stories — had marked his return from war to his Army post in Hawaii. He came home with nightmares that had started after the night in Iraq when he disobeyed an order, looked under a tarp covering a bomb-blasted armored vehicle and saw something his mind couldn’t erase.
He kept his struggles hidden from his fellow soldiers, and even from his big brother Lee, an Army infantryman he had followed into war. O’Brien rode his pain alone, into the abyss, but unlike nearly 1,500 other active-duty service members in the past five years, he survived his suicide attempt.
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By Jeremy Schwartz
Source: Austin American-Statesman
Published: Saturday 06 April, 2013
Just before dawn, Andrew O’Brien flipped his laptop open, turned on his webcam and prepared to tell the world the most personal story of his life.
On the first try, the lump in his throat caught his voice and tears welled in his eyes. He tried again, he said, but the words kept jumbling together. His mind raced back to the night his world collapsed, to the horrible mistake he almost made.
On his fourth try, O’Brien looked into the tiny keyhole of the webcam: “So here’s the story,” he said, his voice steady now. “I snapped one day and decided to take every pill I could get my hands on.”
Four minutes and 23 seconds later, the 24-year-old finished the video. But he hesitated before uploading it to YouTube. There was a reason no other soldier he knew of had ever gone public with their suicide attempt. It’s a taboo subject in general and especially among young soldiers, who too often view talk of feelings as a sign of weakness.
For O’Brien too, a suffocating silence — the unexpressed feelings, the untold stories — had marked his return from war to his Army post in Hawaii. He came home with nightmares that had started after the night in Iraq when he disobeyed an order, looked under a tarp covering a bomb-blasted armored vehicle and saw something his mind couldn’t erase.
He kept his struggles hidden from his fellow soldiers, and even from his big brother Lee, an Army infantryman he had followed into war. O’Brien rode his pain alone, into the abyss, but unlike nearly 1,500 other active-duty service members in the past five years, he survived his suicide attempt.
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Tuesday, April 9, 2013
VA downplays claims computers being taken offline
VA downplays claims computers being taken offline
By Leo Shane III
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 9, 2013
In a memo to raters within the department’s benefits administration, officials said the Veterans Benefits Management System said the problems started Monday morning, with claims officials nationwide being unexpectedly booted from the system.
The message, first posted on the website VAWatchdog.org, instructed raters to use older processing systems until further notice. VA spokesman Randy Noller downplayed the incident, saying the problems were confined to the ratings tool aspects of VBMS, and were a result of system updates.
“This marks the 13th VBMS release, including patches, issued in the past six months,” he said.
“Occasional system issues tied to this software development approach are to be expected.”
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By Leo Shane III
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 9, 2013
$500 million-plus system ground to a halt as claims officers tried to access files. At the time, VA officials told reporters at NextGov.com that was due to a large number of new users accessing the system.WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs’ new claims processing system has been taken offline for repairs, raising more questions about the department’s long-term plans to break the claims backlog.
In a memo to raters within the department’s benefits administration, officials said the Veterans Benefits Management System said the problems started Monday morning, with claims officials nationwide being unexpectedly booted from the system.
The message, first posted on the website VAWatchdog.org, instructed raters to use older processing systems until further notice. VA spokesman Randy Noller downplayed the incident, saying the problems were confined to the ratings tool aspects of VBMS, and were a result of system updates.
“This marks the 13th VBMS release, including patches, issued in the past six months,” he said.
“Occasional system issues tied to this software development approach are to be expected.”
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Recruiter in murder-suicide was 9-year veteran
Recruiter in murder-suicide was 9-year veteran
Apr. 9, 2013
By Ben Nuckols
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A military recruiter who police say fatally shot a teenage girl he signed up for the Army Reserve before committing suicide was a nine-year veteran who had served overseas, the Army said Tuesday.
Staff Sgt. Adam Arndt, 31, was found dead of a gunshot wound Monday morning inside his Germantown, Md., home. Also dead was Michelle Miller, 17, a senior at Rockville High School.
Police believe Arndt fatally shot Miller, who was signed up to enter the Army Reserve after graduation, before killing himself. A handgun was found at the home, police said.
Miller's father, Kevin Miller, told The Associated Press on Monday night that he had not met Arndt but that his daughter had seemed “a little smitten with this guy.” He said she met him about four or five months ago.
Kevin Miller said his daughter left their Rockville home Sunday night, saying somebody in her platoon was suicidal. He said she stopped responding to his calls and text messages.
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Apr. 9, 2013
By Ben Nuckols
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A military recruiter who police say fatally shot a teenage girl he signed up for the Army Reserve before committing suicide was a nine-year veteran who had served overseas, the Army said Tuesday.
Staff Sgt. Adam Arndt, 31, was found dead of a gunshot wound Monday morning inside his Germantown, Md., home. Also dead was Michelle Miller, 17, a senior at Rockville High School.
Police believe Arndt fatally shot Miller, who was signed up to enter the Army Reserve after graduation, before killing himself. A handgun was found at the home, police said.
Miller's father, Kevin Miller, told The Associated Press on Monday night that he had not met Arndt but that his daughter had seemed “a little smitten with this guy.” He said she met him about four or five months ago.
Kevin Miller said his daughter left their Rockville home Sunday night, saying somebody in her platoon was suicidal. He said she stopped responding to his calls and text messages.
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