Vietnam veteran seeks lost statuette that saved his life
KXTV
George Warren
March 5, 2014
LODI, Calif. - Former Air Force pilot Phil Litts earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for one of his many combat missions in Vietnam, but says the more precious memento of that day is a statuette of the Baby Jesus in his breast pocket that caught a bullet fired from the ground.
"The bullet would have gone right through my heart," Litts said.
Litts was a forward air controller flying out of Da Nang and Tam Ky in 1970. He said the lucky statuette was given to him by an older cousin who had carried in in World War II.
The 70-year-old brought the medal and statuette with him Jan. 14 to the Denny's on Harbor Boulevard in West Sacramento where he was meeting his friend, the well-known cartoonist Morrie Turner, who died a week later.
Litts said he and Turner were sharing war stories over breakfast. As they left, he placed the items on the roof of his car as he helped Turner with a wheelchair - then drove away.
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Thursday, March 6, 2014
PTSD on Trial, Marine Iraq veteran sent to get help
Iraq flashbacks led veteran to pull gun on wife in 'Daddy, don't shoot Mommy' case, lawyer says
Lehigh Valley Live
By Sarah Cassi
March 05, 2014
A Lower Milford Township veteran accused of pointing a gun at his wife and threatening to kill her in front of their son -- leading the child to say, "Daddy, don't shoot Mommy" -- was suffering from flashbacks of his tour in Iraq, his defense attorney said today.
Jay Raymond Landis Jr. served with the U.S. Marine Corps and has post-traumatic stress disorder, attorney John Waldron said.
Landis was drinking and had flashbacks of his tour, Waldron said, the night Landis is accused of threatening to kill Jody Lee Mauzey. Mauzey was in their son's room at the time and the child woke up and said, "Daddy, don't shoot Mommy," records say. Mauzey ran barefoot through the snow to a neighbor's house where she called police, records say.
Today, Landis, of the 1000 block of Standard Lane in the township, gave up his right to a preliminary hearing before District Judge Jacob Hammond in Central Court on charges of making terroristic threats, false imprisonment, simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment.
Waldron and Assistant District Attorney Steven Luksa agreed that Landis, who is in Lehigh County Prison in lieu of $500,000 bail, should be released on unsecured bail to a Veterans Affairs inpatient rehabilitation program for drug and alcohol in Wilkes-Barre. The judge made it a condition of bail.
If he completes that program, Landis would be sent to a post-traumatic stress disorder program in Coatesville, Pa., Luksa said. As part of the PTSD program, Landis would transition to moving home with his wife and son, Luksa said. If Landis does not complete the programs, he would go back to jail, Luksa said.
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Lehigh Valley Live
By Sarah Cassi
March 05, 2014
A Lower Milford Township veteran accused of pointing a gun at his wife and threatening to kill her in front of their son -- leading the child to say, "Daddy, don't shoot Mommy" -- was suffering from flashbacks of his tour in Iraq, his defense attorney said today.
Jay Raymond Landis Jr. served with the U.S. Marine Corps and has post-traumatic stress disorder, attorney John Waldron said.
Landis was drinking and had flashbacks of his tour, Waldron said, the night Landis is accused of threatening to kill Jody Lee Mauzey. Mauzey was in their son's room at the time and the child woke up and said, "Daddy, don't shoot Mommy," records say. Mauzey ran barefoot through the snow to a neighbor's house where she called police, records say.
Today, Landis, of the 1000 block of Standard Lane in the township, gave up his right to a preliminary hearing before District Judge Jacob Hammond in Central Court on charges of making terroristic threats, false imprisonment, simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment.
Waldron and Assistant District Attorney Steven Luksa agreed that Landis, who is in Lehigh County Prison in lieu of $500,000 bail, should be released on unsecured bail to a Veterans Affairs inpatient rehabilitation program for drug and alcohol in Wilkes-Barre. The judge made it a condition of bail.
If he completes that program, Landis would be sent to a post-traumatic stress disorder program in Coatesville, Pa., Luksa said. As part of the PTSD program, Landis would transition to moving home with his wife and son, Luksa said. If Landis does not complete the programs, he would go back to jail, Luksa said.
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Blaming the troops is easy way out
Blaming the troops is easy way out
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
March 6, 2014
How did this headline "Nearly 1 in 5 had mental illness before enlisting in Army, study says The study raises questions about the military's screening of recruits. Another study looks at rising suicide rates among soldiers" end up being all that is reported? Because they didn't care about what the rest of the story was. It was just a lot easier to leave people thinking a large percentage of the troops were already mentally ill than it was to discover the truth.
DD 2795, Pre-Deployment Health Assessment, May 1999
Department of Defense
INSTRUCTION
NUMBER 6490.12 February 26, 2013 Incorporating Change 1, Effective October 2, 2013 USD(P and R)
Mental Health Assessments for Service Members Deployed in Connection with a Contingency Operation See Enclosure 1
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
March 6, 2014
How did this headline "Nearly 1 in 5 had mental illness before enlisting in Army, study says The study raises questions about the military's screening of recruits. Another study looks at rising suicide rates among soldiers" end up being all that is reported? Because they didn't care about what the rest of the story was. It was just a lot easier to leave people thinking a large percentage of the troops were already mentally ill than it was to discover the truth.
Description
The Pre-Deployment Health Assessment (Pre-DHA), DD 2795, is a two-part comprehensive health screening required by all Soldiers and Department of the Army (DA) Civilians deploying in support of any contingency operation to a location outside the Continental United States (OCONUS) without a fixed Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) for a period of 30 days or more. This assessment is comprised of physical and mental health questions aimed at determining the medical readiness of any individual scheduled for an upcoming deployment.
The Pre-DHA must be completed within 60 days prior to deployment. Part 1 of the Pre-DHA consists of a self-assessment questionnaire and can be accessed online through the My Medical portion of AKO under the Self Service tab. Part 2 is completed through a one-on-one confidential interview with a qualified health care provider. The Pre-DHA is not complete until it is signed by a health care provider.
For OCONUS deployments of less than 30 days, OCONUS deployments to areas with fixed U.S. MTFs, and CONUS deployments, it is the operational commander’s decision whether a DD 2795 is required. USCENTCOM encourages personnel traveling to the theater for 15 or more days to complete a DD 2795 and those who travel frequently to complete at least one DD 2795 each year.
DD 2795, Pre-Deployment Health Assessment, May 1999
INSTRUCTION
NUMBER 6490.12 February 26, 2013 Incorporating Change 1, Effective October 2, 2013 USD(P and R)
Mental Health Assessments for Service Members Deployed in Connection with a Contingency Operation See Enclosure 1
1. PURPOSE. This instruction, in accordance with the authority in DoD Directive 5124.02 (Reference (a)):The truth is, they were tested and retested and retested. The truth is billions have been spent on "prevention" "mental health" and the list goes on but in the end, suicides increased and they can't explain any of this because they will hold no one accountable for any of this. Blaming the troops is just easier than investigating what the truth is.
a. Establishes the policy for person-to-person deployment mental health assessments for each member of the Military Services deployed in connection with a contingency operation according to Section 1074m of Title 10, United States Code (Reference (b)).2. APPLICABILITY. This instruction applies to OSD, the Military Departments, (including the Coast Guard at all times, including when it is a Service in the Department of Homeland Security by agreement with that Department), the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff, the combatant commands, the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, the Defense Agencies, the DoD Field Activities, and all other organizational entities within the DoD.
b. Implements policy for serial deployment mental health assessments in accordance with the Secretary of Defense Memorandum (Reference (c)).
c. Incorporates and cancels Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (ASD(HA)) Memorandum (Reference (d)) and Directive-type Memorandum 11-011 (Reference (e)).
3. POLICY. It is DoD policy that person-to-person deployment mental health assessments be conducted for each Service member deployed in connection with a contingency operation, subject to the limited exceptions provided in this instruction. The mental health assessments will be conducted during four time frames in a consistent manner across the Military Services and will be administered at least 90 days apart:
a. Within 120 days before the estimated date of deployment.4. RESPONSIBILITIES. See Enclosure 2. 5. PROCEDURES. See Enclosure 3.
b. Between 90 and 180 days after return from deployment.
c. Between 181 days and 18 months after return from deployment.
d. Between 18 and 30 months after return from deployment.
6. RELEASABILITY. Unlimited. This instruction is approved for public release and is available on the Internet from the DoD Issuances Website at http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives.
7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This instruction:
a. Is effective February 26, 2013.
b. Must be reissued, cancelled, or certified current within 5 years of its publication to be considered current in accordance with DoD Instruction (DoDI) 5025.01 (Reference (f)).
c. If not, it wWill expire effective February 26, 2023 and be removed from the DoD Issuances Website if it hasn’t been reissued or cancelled in accordance with Reference (f).
Fort Bragg General to plead guilty on 3 charges
Lawyer: General accused of sex crimes to plead to some of the lesser charges
CNN
By Greg Botelho
March 6, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
In 2012, Brig. Gen. Jeffery Sinclair was charged with "sodomy ... by force"
The military says he had porn, pulled rank to coerce and threaten female troops
Sinclair's lawyer blasts what he calls "pathetically weak assault charges"
His military trial is set to begin Thursday
(CNN) -- Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair -- once one of the U.S. Army's top commanders in Afghanistan and accused of "sodomy ... by force" and other military crimes -- is to set to plead guilty Thursday to some charges but not the most serious levied against him, his lawyer said.
Sinclair will plead guilty on three of the eight charges he's facing in military court, according to the office of lawyer Richard Scheff. These include "wrongfully engaging in ... inappropriate relationships" with three women soldiers from 2009 to 2012 overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany as well as domestically at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Fort Hood, Texas.
He'll also admit to having requested and possessed "pornographic and sexually explicit photographs and movies," having "sexually explicit communications with a female Army captain, and trying "to engage in an inappropriate relationship" with another woman. And the brigadier general will plead guilty to impeding the investigation into him by deleting nude photographs and an e-mail account, his lawyer said.
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CNN
By Greg Botelho
March 6, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
In 2012, Brig. Gen. Jeffery Sinclair was charged with "sodomy ... by force"
The military says he had porn, pulled rank to coerce and threaten female troops
Sinclair's lawyer blasts what he calls "pathetically weak assault charges"
His military trial is set to begin Thursday
(CNN) -- Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair -- once one of the U.S. Army's top commanders in Afghanistan and accused of "sodomy ... by force" and other military crimes -- is to set to plead guilty Thursday to some charges but not the most serious levied against him, his lawyer said.
Sinclair will plead guilty on three of the eight charges he's facing in military court, according to the office of lawyer Richard Scheff. These include "wrongfully engaging in ... inappropriate relationships" with three women soldiers from 2009 to 2012 overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany as well as domestically at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Fort Hood, Texas.
He'll also admit to having requested and possessed "pornographic and sexually explicit photographs and movies," having "sexually explicit communications with a female Army captain, and trying "to engage in an inappropriate relationship" with another woman. And the brigadier general will plead guilty to impeding the investigation into him by deleting nude photographs and an e-mail account, his lawyer said.
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Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Senator Pryor about to discover best way to lose election
Sen. Pryor Hit for Saying Foe – a Decorated Vet – Has ‘Sense of Entitlement’
ABC News
By Arlette Saenz
Mar 5, 2014
Republicans and a veterans group have pounced on a comment by Arkansas Democrat Sen. Mark Pryor that his Republican opponent feels a “sense of entitlement” because he served in the military.
Pryor, one of the country’s most vulnerable Democrats, is being challenged by Rep. Tom Cotton, an Army veteran who earned a Bronze Star Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, and Ranger Tab during deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“This is a sad display of arrogance from a career politician who has been seeking office for more than two decades and an insult to everyone who has served,” said David Ray, spokesman for Cotton’s campaign.
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ABC News
By Arlette Saenz
Mar 5, 2014
Republicans and a veterans group have pounced on a comment by Arkansas Democrat Sen. Mark Pryor that his Republican opponent feels a “sense of entitlement” because he served in the military.
Pryor, one of the country’s most vulnerable Democrats, is being challenged by Rep. Tom Cotton, an Army veteran who earned a Bronze Star Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, and Ranger Tab during deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“This is a sad display of arrogance from a career politician who has been seeking office for more than two decades and an insult to everyone who has served,” said David Ray, spokesman for Cotton’s campaign.
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