Fort Bragg soldier, double-leg amputee, recovers after being injured by alleged drunken driver
WTVD News
Nicole Carr
February 25, 2014
FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- Walter Reed National Military Medical Center has been home to Army Sgt. Maj. Jeremy Bruns and his wife Jenny since late 2012.
Each day, Bruns takes one more step. He learns one more lesson, and he's inspired by his fellow servicemen and women recovering from injuries sustained on the battlefield.
Bruns, a Special Operations soldier out of Fort Bragg, has been deployed nine times, including multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It's very tough to learn how to walk again," Bruns said during a February workout in Walter Reed's Military Advanced Training Center. "Something you take for granted after mastering it 40 years ago, and then you start all over."
But the 42-year-old double leg amputee and partial hand amputee's injuries are not a result of war.
They're a result of a drunk driver.
On Nov. 10, 2012 the Fort Bragg soldier was attaching his kayak to the back of his pickup truck in front of his Calamar Drive home in Fayetteville. Around 10 a.m., his neighbor Rhonda Renee Sutton Bryant would come speeding down the residential street at 45 miles per hour, on the wrong side of the road. Bruns was pinned between Bryant's hood and his bumper for nearly an hour.
"She didn't stop when she hit me," Bruns recalled.
read more here
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
PTSD service dog found dead
El Paso Army veteran's PTSD service dog found dead in Nacogdoches Co.
KTRE.com
By Donna McCollum
Posted: Feb 25, 2014
NACOGDOCHES COUNTY, TX (KTRE)
A Nacogdoches County resident found a former Army sergeant's beloved post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) service dog lying dead in a ditch near the Lilly Grove Baptist Church on FM 1638.
Shonyo, a female blue-nose pit bull, had apparently been run over.
The person who found Shonyo took the dog's collars and attempted to contact her owner, Jaclyn O'Shea. However, he was unsuccessful. After word about the missing dog started to spread, the man contacted the Nacogdoches County Sheriff's Office Tuesday morning.
Nacogdoches County Sheriff Jason Bridges called O'Shea to give her the bad news. The sheriff had one of his deputies go with O'Shea and her boyfriend, Doug Murray, to pick up Shonyo's body.
O'Shea and Murray said they are grateful for the way East Texans responded to their needs. The couple said they now believe in the humanity of others, and that they were overwhelmed by the number of times their story was shared on social media.
The couple has been contacted by people from all over wanting to help or even provide Jaclyn with a replacement dog.
In a previous East Texas News story, O'Shea explained Shonyo's name.
"She's named after my late husband, who was also a veteran," O'Shea said. "He committed suicide about 10 months ago, right when I got her. And she's been snapping me out of my issues that I've had."
read more here
KTRE.com
By Donna McCollum
Posted: Feb 25, 2014
NACOGDOCHES COUNTY, TX (KTRE)
A Nacogdoches County resident found a former Army sergeant's beloved post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) service dog lying dead in a ditch near the Lilly Grove Baptist Church on FM 1638.
Shonyo, a female blue-nose pit bull, had apparently been run over.
The person who found Shonyo took the dog's collars and attempted to contact her owner, Jaclyn O'Shea. However, he was unsuccessful. After word about the missing dog started to spread, the man contacted the Nacogdoches County Sheriff's Office Tuesday morning.
Nacogdoches County Sheriff Jason Bridges called O'Shea to give her the bad news. The sheriff had one of his deputies go with O'Shea and her boyfriend, Doug Murray, to pick up Shonyo's body.
O'Shea and Murray said they are grateful for the way East Texans responded to their needs. The couple said they now believe in the humanity of others, and that they were overwhelmed by the number of times their story was shared on social media.
The couple has been contacted by people from all over wanting to help or even provide Jaclyn with a replacement dog.
In a previous East Texas News story, O'Shea explained Shonyo's name.
"She's named after my late husband, who was also a veteran," O'Shea said. "He committed suicide about 10 months ago, right when I got her. And she's been snapping me out of my issues that I've had."
read more here
Soldier refuses to salute flag then brags on Instagram
UPDATE
Fort Carson Investigating Viral Soldier Picture
Soldier flagrantly avoids flag salute, sets off online outrage
Army Times
By Tony Lombardo
Staff writer
February 25, 2014
A female soldier who hid in her car to avoid saluting the flag — and then flaunted it on Instagram — is the latest service member to come under attack via social media and be accused of dishonoring her service.
Pfc. Tariqka Sheffey, whose Instagram handle is “sheffeynation,” posted a selfie with a caption that reads:
The image was distributed via Facebook and also sent to Army Times. Angry service members, Gold Star mothers and spouses have called for the soldier’s removal from service.
“Any soldier who refuses to salute the flag is in the military for the wrong reason, and should be removed by dishonorable discharge with loss of all benefits,” one Facebook commenter said. “If they won’t salute it, they damn sure won’t fight for it.”
read more here
Fort Carson Investigating Viral Soldier Picture
Army Times
By Tony Lombardo
Staff writer
February 25, 2014
A female soldier who hid in her car to avoid saluting the flag — and then flaunted it on Instagram — is the latest service member to come under attack via social media and be accused of dishonoring her service.
Pfc. Tariqka Sheffey, whose Instagram handle is “sheffeynation,” posted a selfie with a caption that reads:
“This is me laying back in my car hiding so I don’t have to salute the 1700 flag, KEEP ALL YOUR ‘THATS SO DISRESPECTFUL/HOWRUDE/ETC.’ COMMENTS TO YOURSELF cuz, right now, IDGAFFFF.”
The image was distributed via Facebook and also sent to Army Times. Angry service members, Gold Star mothers and spouses have called for the soldier’s removal from service.
“Any soldier who refuses to salute the flag is in the military for the wrong reason, and should be removed by dishonorable discharge with loss of all benefits,” one Facebook commenter said. “If they won’t salute it, they damn sure won’t fight for it.”
read more here
Therapist Stole Valor of Heroes
Man accused of posing as a veteran
WFSB News
By Joseph Wenzel IV, News Editor
By Eric Parker
Posted: Feb 24, 2014
BRIDGEPORT, CT (WFSB)
Earlier this month the I-Team exposed a local therapist who was posing as a member of the United States Army Special Forces.
The investigation by I-Team is being used by a state representative from Bridgeport, who wants to change state law.
State Rep. Jack Hennessy said he can sum up the need for the stolen valor bill he's supporting at the Connecticut General Assembly in two words: Greg Banks.
"It just robs the valor of the men and woman who wear the uniform," Hennessy said.
Hennessy added that the allegations involving Banks were "very much" upsetting.
The bill existed before the I-Team exposed the counselor who's been posing as a member of the United States Army Special Forces. Hennessy cited the investigation by the I-Team as an example of why it's needed.
The I-Team first got a tip about a man named Greg Banks showing up at the Danbury Mason's Lodge in uniform, sporting a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Members said Banks was bragging about his work for the United States Army Special Forces, but the investigation by the I-Team showed he's never served his country.
Continue reading >>
The Pentagon told the I-Team they have no record of a Gregory C. Banks. When the I-Team uncovered his divorce records, the station found that he mentioned nothing about military service there either.
However the I-Team did find his license as a professional counselor, and it was clear those who knew him in that role had heard his military tales.
When I-Team talked to people at the counseling office for Banks in Farmington, they insisted he was a member of the United States Army Special Forces, a job so secret they asked us to not to report about it.
Banks said on his website that he specializes in treating child and adult patients, specifically those with traumatic experiences and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The I-Team met Hennessy at the Port 5 Naval veterans in his hometown of Bridgeport. He's a new member and he showed the station around their museum where among other displays they have actual versions of the medals Banks wears on his phony uniform.
"When I was a Ranger, I knew that I could be called by my country to go into a combat zone to give up my life and I was willing to do that," Hennessy said. "To have people who have not been in the military to pose as that, it takes away from the people who have actually made their commitment and some the ultimate commitment giving their lives." read more here
WFSB News
By Joseph Wenzel IV, News Editor
By Eric Parker
Posted: Feb 24, 2014
BRIDGEPORT, CT (WFSB)
Earlier this month the I-Team exposed a local therapist who was posing as a member of the United States Army Special Forces.
The investigation by I-Team is being used by a state representative from Bridgeport, who wants to change state law.
State Rep. Jack Hennessy said he can sum up the need for the stolen valor bill he's supporting at the Connecticut General Assembly in two words: Greg Banks.
"It just robs the valor of the men and woman who wear the uniform," Hennessy said.
Hennessy added that the allegations involving Banks were "very much" upsetting.
The bill existed before the I-Team exposed the counselor who's been posing as a member of the United States Army Special Forces. Hennessy cited the investigation by the I-Team as an example of why it's needed.
The I-Team first got a tip about a man named Greg Banks showing up at the Danbury Mason's Lodge in uniform, sporting a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Members said Banks was bragging about his work for the United States Army Special Forces, but the investigation by the I-Team showed he's never served his country.
Man accused of posing as decorated special forces soldier
A man has claimed to be a major for the special forces in the United States Army and received awards for his service.
However, an investigation by Eyewitness News shows that no records of the man's military service, so the I-team went to look for answers.
The Pentagon told the I-Team they have no record of a Gregory C. Banks. When the I-Team uncovered his divorce records, the station found that he mentioned nothing about military service there either.
However the I-Team did find his license as a professional counselor, and it was clear those who knew him in that role had heard his military tales.
When I-Team talked to people at the counseling office for Banks in Farmington, they insisted he was a member of the United States Army Special Forces, a job so secret they asked us to not to report about it.
Banks said on his website that he specializes in treating child and adult patients, specifically those with traumatic experiences and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The I-Team met Hennessy at the Port 5 Naval veterans in his hometown of Bridgeport. He's a new member and he showed the station around their museum where among other displays they have actual versions of the medals Banks wears on his phony uniform.
"When I was a Ranger, I knew that I could be called by my country to go into a combat zone to give up my life and I was willing to do that," Hennessy said. "To have people who have not been in the military to pose as that, it takes away from the people who have actually made their commitment and some the ultimate commitment giving their lives." read more here
Veterans Still Reluctant to Seek Mental Health Assistance
Dr. Joel Vogt said "They don't want to be viewed as being weak and needing help." That sums up the problem Comprehensive Soldier Fitness caused. Once the troops were told they could become mentally tough with this "training" they figured they didn't train right and were mentally weak. Less than half seek help as veterans even after all the years, all the money and all the suicides.
Veterans Reluctant to Seek Mental Health Assistance
WBOY News
By Jim Sannes, Reporter
Posted: Feb 24, 2014
According to a January report from Veteran's Affairs, of the service members that seek assistance from the program, more than half will be diagnosed with a mental health disorder.
But beyond those, there are many that never even seek help for their mental health. This could be due to the mentality of many in the service.
"Veterans are trained to complete the mission and disregard their own personal feelings," said Marc Lockett, the OEF/OIF/OND Coordinator for the Clarksburg V.A. Medical Center.
While many of the strains of war are obvious to an outside observer, there are still many that lurk beneath the surface, possibly even out of the recognition of the veterans themselves.
Dr. Joel Vogt, a psychiatrist at the center, said that many of the same characteristics that are helpful in combat may cause problems at home. He said this includes over-vigilince and over-aggressiveness.
read more here and watch video report
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