Railroads hire many veterans returning from war
Mark Major once led a team of soldiers in combat in Iraq. Now he leads a team of railroad employees. The difference, he says, is obvious: "I'm not getting shot at anymore."
By JOSH FUNK
Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb.
Mark Major once led a team of soldiers in combat in Iraq. Now he leads a team of railroad employees. The difference, he says, is obvious: "I'm not getting shot at anymore."
But it's the similarities between serving in the military and working for the railroad that draw Major and many other former military members to this type of work.
"For a veteran - a person who thrives off excitement, a mission and a chain of command - you tend to seek out companies like that," said Major, who has worked for Union Pacific for about two years.
As thousands of American soldiers return to the civilian workforce after service in Iraq or Afghanistan, many are finding jobs on the nation's rail lines. More than 25 percent of all U.S. railroad workers have served in the military.
Veterans have a long history of railroad work. Civil War veterans, for example, helped complete the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s. But railroad opportunities are especially welcome now because the unemployment rate for recent veterans remains higher than for the rest of the nation.
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Friday, May 10, 2013
Silver Star Marine was not good enough for Delta
Wounded Silver Star Marine had unfortunate experience on domestic flight
MAY 9TH, 2013
Military Times Battle Rattle
A wounded warrior who was awarded the nation’s third highest honor for valor last week is the same injured Marine Delta Airlines issued a public apology to in December after staff members embarrassed him on a flight.
Cpl. Christian Brown, a former squad leader with 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, was awarded the Silver Star aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., on Friday. He is credited with heroic actions during the unit’s 2011 deployment to Afghanistan.
Cpl. Christian Brown, a double amputee who sustained injuries in Afghanistan, was awarded the Silver Star on May 3 aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., for heroic actions during a 2011 deployment. In December, Delta Airlines issued a public apology to the Marine after humiliating him during a flight.
On Dec. 7, Brown responded when a designated marksman was critically wounded in the head, calling in a medevac and leading his squad to where it was safe for the helicopter to land. Under heavy fire, he carried the wounded Marine on his back the final 300 meters to the landing zone, his citation states.
Brown said the morale of his young, inexperienced team members and the life of the wounded Marine, Lance Cpl. Christopher Levy, depended on him staying cool and thinking fast. Levy died of his wounds a few days later in Germany. But Brown’s actions allowed Levy’s parents to see him one last time.
read more here
Marine double-amputee’s treatment on Delta flight angers other vets
MAY 9TH, 2013
Military Times Battle Rattle
A wounded warrior who was awarded the nation’s third highest honor for valor last week is the same injured Marine Delta Airlines issued a public apology to in December after staff members embarrassed him on a flight.
Cpl. Christian Brown, a former squad leader with 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, was awarded the Silver Star aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., on Friday. He is credited with heroic actions during the unit’s 2011 deployment to Afghanistan.
Cpl. Christian Brown, a double amputee who sustained injuries in Afghanistan, was awarded the Silver Star on May 3 aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., for heroic actions during a 2011 deployment. In December, Delta Airlines issued a public apology to the Marine after humiliating him during a flight.
On Dec. 7, Brown responded when a designated marksman was critically wounded in the head, calling in a medevac and leading his squad to where it was safe for the helicopter to land. Under heavy fire, he carried the wounded Marine on his back the final 300 meters to the landing zone, his citation states.
Brown said the morale of his young, inexperienced team members and the life of the wounded Marine, Lance Cpl. Christopher Levy, depended on him staying cool and thinking fast. Levy died of his wounds a few days later in Germany. But Brown’s actions allowed Levy’s parents to see him one last time.
read more here
Marine double-amputee’s treatment on Delta flight angers other vets
Suicide cover-up with cobwebs
Just because you didn't know something was happening doesn't mean it wasn't.
I received an email with the link to this video. The person sending it was shocked to discover it was going on. I wasn't.
Think about what could have been done in all these years if they had a single clue.
In the video you'll hear the name Dr. Ira Katz. When you listen to what he is tied to keep in mind that NAMI gave him an award after this. I resigned from NAMI Veterans Council because of it.
Here are a few more things tied to this that you didn't know about because the media dropped the ball on reporting what was happening.
Murray seeks resignation of top VA mental health official
Committee chairman accuses VA of criminal negligence
Returning Vets: Shh! Don't worry
But it gets worse. Over 22 a day now. Top that off with the fact 2012 was the worst year on record for folks in the military (including National Guards and Reservists) that keep getting forgotten about. The DOD says that the civilian population suicides have gone up too but what they fail to mention is the simple fact that while veterans are only 7% of the civilian population they are almost a quarter of the suicides.
I received an email with the link to this video. The person sending it was shocked to discover it was going on. I wasn't.
Think about what could have been done in all these years if they had a single clue.
In the video you'll hear the name Dr. Ira Katz. When you listen to what he is tied to keep in mind that NAMI gave him an award after this. I resigned from NAMI Veterans Council because of it.
Here are a few more things tied to this that you didn't know about because the media dropped the ball on reporting what was happening.
Murray seeks resignation of top VA mental health official
Committee chairman accuses VA of criminal negligence
Returning Vets: Shh! Don't worry
But it gets worse. Over 22 a day now. Top that off with the fact 2012 was the worst year on record for folks in the military (including National Guards and Reservists) that keep getting forgotten about. The DOD says that the civilian population suicides have gone up too but what they fail to mention is the simple fact that while veterans are only 7% of the civilian population they are almost a quarter of the suicides.
VA Whistleblower Ignites Firestorm Over Vets’ Illnesses
Dr. Steven S. Coughlin talked about many issues our veterans face including suicide and the lack of proper care. This is what they come home to. This is what some of us already assumed but now with his testimony, we know how much worse it all really is.
Taking care of our veterans and giving them the best possible treatment is not a political thing but it is the right thing. Remember what Washington said and ask yourself if we are even coming close to living up to it.
Taking care of our veterans and giving them the best possible treatment is not a political thing but it is the right thing. Remember what Washington said and ask yourself if we are even coming close to living up to it.
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, is directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated" -- George Washington
VA Whistleblower Ignites Firestorm Over Vets’ Illnesses
Epidemiologist says VA hid and manipulated data regarding burn pits and Gulf War syndrome
American Conservative
By KELLEY VLAHOS
May 10, 2013
It’s not every day that a scientist creates such intense drama on Capitol Hill.
But Dr. Steven S. Coughlin’s charges that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials hid, manipulated, and even lied about research pertaining to Gulf War Illness (GWI) and health problems plaguing Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are still causing fallout a month after his stunning testimony before a key House subcommittee.
“The implications of his testimony are profound,” declared Anthony Hardie, 45, a Gulf War veteran who serves on the congressionally appointed Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses (RAC).
Veterans and their advocates, as well as many in the scientific community, have long believed that the VA avoids responsibility for veterans’ care by downplaying or outright ignoring evidence linking wartime experiences—such as exposure to Agent Orange, chemical weapons, or toxic pollution—to veterans’ chronic medical issues back home.
Coughlin, a senior epidemiologist with the VA’s Office of Public Health (OPH), gave the VA’s critics what they say is a smoking gun: after conducting major surveys of 1991 Gulf War veterans and “New Generation” veterans from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan, Coughlin told the committee he quit his post in December. He claims the VA is hiding important survey results about the health of veterans and that his colleagues watered-down analysis that might have shed light on whether recent vets got sick from open-air trash-burning pits on overseas bases.
read more here
Special Report: Recovering from PTSD
Special Report: Recovering from PTSD
CBS 47
Reported by: Claudia Rodarte
May 10, 2013
American heroes... returning home from long tours of duty. Sometimes adjusting is easy, but for some... the war isn’t over. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder impacting millions of soldiers.
In this Special Report, CBS47's Claudia Rodarte shows how some veterans are learning to cope with the disorder.
Army veteran Gerardo Lozano served in the army for 8 years. While stationed in Iraq, his Humvee ran over a roadside bomb. "Just the whole shock about it kind of rattled my brain. Um, I just have those after effects," said Gerardo.
Army veteran Edgar Duenas-Flores also served in Iraq. His platoon struck multiple IEDs.
"When they go off, you just feel it. You just see stars and takes you a while to try, try to come back and figure out where you are," said Edgar.
Edgar has a bullet wound in the knee and scarring from a roadside bomb on his arm and back. But most have wounds you will never see... wounds that impact their lives and those of their families when they return home. "I'm full of scars physically, but the mental ones are the toughest ones," said Edgar.
Thousands of returning vets suffer from brain injuries and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
read more here
CBS 47
Reported by: Claudia Rodarte
May 10, 2013
American heroes... returning home from long tours of duty. Sometimes adjusting is easy, but for some... the war isn’t over. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder impacting millions of soldiers.
In this Special Report, CBS47's Claudia Rodarte shows how some veterans are learning to cope with the disorder.
Army veteran Gerardo Lozano served in the army for 8 years. While stationed in Iraq, his Humvee ran over a roadside bomb. "Just the whole shock about it kind of rattled my brain. Um, I just have those after effects," said Gerardo.
Army veteran Edgar Duenas-Flores also served in Iraq. His platoon struck multiple IEDs.
"When they go off, you just feel it. You just see stars and takes you a while to try, try to come back and figure out where you are," said Edgar.
Edgar has a bullet wound in the knee and scarring from a roadside bomb on his arm and back. But most have wounds you will never see... wounds that impact their lives and those of their families when they return home. "I'm full of scars physically, but the mental ones are the toughest ones," said Edgar.
Thousands of returning vets suffer from brain injuries and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
read more here
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