Air Force Team Reaches Everest Summit

Air Force Team Reaches Everest Summit
May 23, 2013
Seattle Times
by Hal Bernton

SEATTLE _ Even after repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Maj. Robert Marshall, an Air Force Special Operations pilot from Mercer Island, Wash., has rarely been content to stay at home.

Instead, he has hungered to climb mountains.

On Monday, Marshall was one of four active-duty airmen to climb to the summit of Mount Everest.

The ascent was the final climb in the USAF 7 Summits Challenge, co-founded by Marshall in 2005, which has sent Air Force climbing teams to the top of the highest peaks on every continent to honor fallen comrades and raise money for military charities. Marshall climbed six of the peaks, forced to retreat from Mount McKinley when he was called back from leave because of an upcoming deployment.

Once on top of Everest, he took off his oxygen mask to repeat a ritual begun on earlier peaks he had summited.

"I dropped down and did 30 push-ups," Marshall said in a satellite-phone interview Wednesday evening. "Everyone else on the summit was giving me a strange look, like 'What's this guy on?'"
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WWII Medal of Honor Hero Vernon McGarity passed away at 91

Medal of Honor Recipient Vernon McGarity Dies
May 24, 2013
Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Former World War II Army squad leader and Medal of Honor recipient Vernon McGarity has died at age 91, a funeral home said Thursday.

McGarity died of cancer on Tuesday night in Memphis, said Taylor Loeffel, a spokeswoman for Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery. Funeral services were set for Saturday.

President Harry Truman awarded the Medal of Honor to McGarity in October 1945.

According to the U.S. Army Center of Military History, McGarity was a Technical Sergeant in the 393d Infantry, 99th Infantry Division, during World War II.
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Florida Veterans Foundation has new Deputy Director from Winter Park

Last week I drove out to Merritt Island for a meeting at Brevard Veterans Memorial Center. Dr. William Vagianos nominated me to be his Deputy Director of District 5 serving East Central Florida. I was astonished by the group gathered together to make Florida better for our veterans. Considering Florida and Texas are only behind California for having the most veterans, the work Florida Veterans Foundation does is in high demand.

Florida Veterans Foundation
In 2008, the Florida Legislature established the Florida Veterans Foundation as a Direct Support Organization to the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs (FDVA).

As a Direct Support Organization, the Foundation is incorporated as a not for profit corporation under chapter 617, Florida Statutes, to provide assistance, funding and support for the FDVA in carrying out its mission of veterans' advocacy.

The Foundation operates for the direct and indirect benefit of the veterans of Florida, the FDVA, and veteran service organizations. The Florida Veterans Foundation is also a non-profit organization operating for charitable and educational purposes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code to:

Educate the public about the needs of veterans; and,
Promote and aid charitable activities for the support of the livelihood and general welfare of Florida-resident veterans.

Mission

The Florida Veterans Foundation serves, supports, and advocates for Florida veterans to improve their well being.

The Florida Veterans Foundation:
Serves Florida veterans and their families by providing direct services and partnering with state and local governments, veteran service organizations, and educational institutions to improve their physical, financial, mental, emotional, and social well being;
Supports the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs’ mission of advocacy; and,
Advocates for Florida veterans by educating the public and governmental entities to increase awareness on veteran-related issues.

This morning I accepted the nomination, humbly because when you go to the link and see the people involved in this work, you'll know why.

Military suicide rate still high despite hard fight to stem deaths

Reporters have a choice to make. They can just keep repeating what they are told as if nothing has been done before or they can actually learn what has been causing these suicides. Then maybe, just maybe, we can save some lives instead of losing more every month.

My comment on this article should be read first, then get angry.
It would be a lot more helpful if reporters managed to tell the truth on the over 900 suicide prevention programs that do little good especially after the troops have been brainwashed into being "resilient" because they end up thinking PTSD is their fault. This program made all of this worse and then I have to undo the damage done when they call me from the ledge. What is even more heartbreaking is when I get a call from a Mom when it is too late and she is blaming herself for what no one ever told her. No one is held accountable and congress just keeps putting more and more money into what is causing most of this suffering.

One every 18 hours: Military suicide rate still high despite hard fight to stem deaths
By Bill Briggs
NBC News contributor
May 24, 2013

Amid a raft of Pentagon initiatives to slow its suicide crisis, a new Army report Thursday showed the pace of self-inflicted deaths among soldiers — and all service members — has barely budged so far this year from the record rate the military suffered during 2012.

Through April, the U.S. military has recorded 161 potential suicides in 2013 among active-duty troops, reservists and National Guard members — a pace of one suicide about every 18 hours. The Army, the largest contingent of the armed forces, sustained 109 reported suicides during the first four months, according its latest report.

Last year, when self-inflicted military deaths outstripped the number of troops killed in combat, there was one suicide every 17 hours among all active-duty, reserve and National Guard members, according to figures gathered from each branch.

"We are still continuing to fight this problem with the same intensiveness," said Cynthia O. Smith, a Pentagon spokeswoman. "We are still focused on preventing suicides from occurring in the Department of Defense. We are doing everything we can to ensure that service members are getting the proper health care they need to prevent this type of event from happening.
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April Army Suicides bring totals to 109 for 2013

Army Releases April 2013 Suicide Information
The Army released suicide data today for the month of April 2013. During April, among active-duty soldiers, there were 11 potential suicides: one has been confirmed as a suicide and 10 remain under investigation.

For March 2013, the Army reported 10 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers; 6 have been confirmed as suicides and 4 are under investigation.

For 2013, there have been 52 potential active-duty suicides: 22 have been confirmed as suicides and 30 remain under investigation.

Updated active-duty suicide numbers for 2012: 184 (159 have been confirmed as suicides and 25 remain under investigation).

During April 2013, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 16 potential suicides (13 Army National Guard and 3 Army Reserve): none have been confirmed as suicides and 16 remain under investigation. For March 2013, among that same group, the Army reported 12 potential suicides; however, subsequent to the report, another case was added bringing March’s total to 13 (9 Army National Guard and 4 Army Reserve): none have been confirmed as suicides and 13 cases remain under investigation.

For 2013, there have been 57 potential not on active duty suicides (36 Army National Guard and 21 Army Reserve): 21 have been confirmed as suicides and 36 remain under investigation.

Updated not on active duty suicide numbers for 2012: 140 (93 Army National Guard and 47 Army Reserve); 138 have been confirmed as suicides and two remain under investigation.

Read this book to know how it got this bad and then do something about it! THE WARRIOR SAW, SUICIDES AFTER WAR puts it all together so you know where we are, how we got here and what can be done about it. Every report in this book contains the source and they are taken from news and government reports. None of this had to happen if the American people knew what they were doing.