Fort Hood sergeant investigated for running prostitution ring

Pentagon investigating Fort Hood sergeant for running prostitution ring
May 14, 2013
By Tom Vanden Brook
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — A sergeant in charge of sexual assault prevention at Fort Hood is under investigation for sexual assault, the Pentagon announced Tuesday night.

The soldier, whose name has not been released, is being investigated for abusive sexual contact, pandering, assault and maltreatment of subordinates.

The soldier has been relieved of his duties and no charges have yet been filed, according to the Pentagon. He oversaw the program at the battalion level, a unit of about 800 soldiers.

The solider is being investigated for among other things forcing a subordinate into prostitution and sexually assaulting two others, according to a Capitol Hill staffer who has been briefed on the case and spoke about it on condition of anonymity.
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UPDATE
Suspect in Fort Hood prostitution ring identified

Fort Hood soldier dies after crashing motorcycle accident

Fort Hood soldier dies after crashing motorcycle into curb
ABC News 25
Posted: May 14, 2013
By John Elizondo

KILLEEN
A Fort Hood soldier is dead after he rode his motorcycle into a curb and crashed into a drainage ditch over the weekend. Police say 1st Lt. Michael Skylar-Jones Pegues died from his injuries in a wreck that occurred near the intersection of Edgefield and Robinett.

Police responded to the scene at 12:26 a.m. on Sunday after receiving a call from a witness. When officers arrived, they found the 24-year-old Pegues in a drainage ditch on the west side of Robinett.
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Ambassador said no to military offers of security in Libya, officials say

Considering General Carter Ham has never been afraid to tell the truth I believe he is telling it now. If you do not know who General Ham is, he spoke out about his own battle with PTSD so that he could help his men do the same. He did it way back in 2008!

Ambassador said no to military offers of security in Libya, officials say
By Nancy A. Youssef
McClatchy Foreign Staff
Published: May 15, 2013

CAIRO -- In the month before attackers stormed U.S. facilities in Benghazi and killed four Americans, U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens twice turned down offers of security assistance made by the senior U.S. military official in the region in response to concerns that Stevens had raised in a still-secret memorandum, two government officials told McClatchy.

Why Stevens, who died of smoke inhalation in the first of two attacks that took place late Sept. 11 and early Sept. 12, 2012, would turn down the offers remains unclear. The deteriorating security situation in Benghazi had been the subject of a meeting that embassy officials held Aug. 15, where they concluded they could not defend the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi. The next day, the embassy drafted a cable outlining the dire circumstances and saying it would spell out what it needed in a separate cable.

"In light of the uncertain security environment, US Mission Benghazi will submit specific requests to US Embassy Tripoli for additional physical security upgrades and staffing needs by separate cover," said the cable, which was first reported by Fox News.

Army Gen. Carter Ham, then the head of the U.S. Africa Command, did not wait for the separate cable, however. Instead, after reading the Aug. 16 cable, Ham phoned Stevens and asked if the embassy needed a special security team from the U.S. military. Stevens told Ham it did not, the officials said.
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Holt, Runyan call on Congress to fund efforts to prevent suicide among military

They might want to read this book before they ask for one more dime to be invested in "prevention" programs that do not work. THE WARRIOR SAW, SUICIDES AFTER WAR

Military and veteran suicides are higher even though billions are spent every year trying to prevent them. After years of research most can be connected to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD has been researched for 40 years yet most of what was known has been forgotten. Families are left blaming themselves for what they were never told. Reporters have failed to research. Congress failed at holding people accountable. The military failed at giving them the help they need. We failed to pay attention.

I talk with these veterans all the time and their families. They are pissed off and rightly so because they are not being told what they need to know. I ran out of excuses for what the DOD and the VA do not do long ago.

Holt, Runyan call on Congress to fund efforts to prevent suicide among military
May 5, 2013
By Phil Gregory

Two members of New Jersey's congressional delegation are urging the House Appropriations Committee to provide $40 million to prevent suicide among military personnel and veterans. U.S. Reps. Jon Runyan and Rush Holt say military suicides continue to rise.

During a news conference at the World War II memorial in Trenton, Holt says the funding is needed for counseling and outreach programs.

"It's not enough to say, 'If you feel suicidal, if you have problems, we have programs, give us a call.' We have to go to where the soldiers and veterans are and make sure that they know they are not alone," said Holt, a Democrat.
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This is also interesting because yet again they do not understand how bad it sounds to label "not fit to serve" on these men and women after all they wanted was to be of service.

New bill addresses suicide in the military
May 2, 2013
by Shannon Brys
Associate Editor

U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN), who was sworn in on January 3, has introduced his first bill as a member of the Senate. The bill, The Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act, would establish a pilot program in each of the military services and reserve components to integrate annual mental health assessments into a service member’s Periodic Health Assessment (PHA). The PHA is an annual review designed to determine whether a service member is “fit” to serve.

The pilot program would expand that review of fitness to include a more detailed mental health review and identify risk factors for mental illness so that service members can access preventative care. The bill would also integrate a first-line supervisor’s input, as the first-line supervisor plays an important role in a service member’s life and may be aware of relationship or financial problems but is not able to address them unless the service member speaks up.
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Triple Amputee Marine Gets Dream Wedding from Community!

Hero Marine who lost an arm and both legs in Afghanistan marries in 'dream wedding' gifted by his local community
By MARGOT PEPPERS
14 May 2013

Marine Corporal Juan Dominguez, who lost both of his legs and an arm when he stepped on an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, has been gifted a dream wedding by the residents of his local community.

At the April wedding of Corporal Dominguez and his bride Alexis, from Temecula, California, everything from the winery venue to the videography was donated by local residents and businesses, adding up to a total of $30,000 raised for the event.

And to make the day even more special, the triple amputee - who is often bound to a wheelchair - wore his new prosthetic legs, using them to walk down the aisle independently and to share a wedding dance with his new wife.
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