One of the Gold Star mothers who signed an open letter to Donald Trump says the GOP presidential candidate's criticism of Humayun Khan's mother was "out of place."
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Nadia McCaffrey Gold Star Mom On Trump Attacking Another Mom
Nadia McCaffrey is a friend of mine and has been a champion for military, veterans and families ever since her son Patrick was killed in action. Very, very proud of her.
Not Enough Senators Aware of History of Suicides
Update:
Glad some report is paying attention to all of this.
It is about time someone brought out the worst part of all of this proving what we already knew.
Suicide Mission
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 3, 2016
There were plenty of excuses when troops came home after all wars needing help to heal but after surviving combat, they could not survive being back home. We talked about all of it in whispers, that is when we were not suffering in silence. No one understood and the media did not care, so the American public didn't either.
It is still happening now when 65% of the suicides within the veterans community end the lives of those over the age of 50. The press has younger veterans thinking it is all about their generation and all these problems never happened before. The truth is, as more and more is being done, there are more and more ending their own lives. I know, big shocker there since the VA reported suicides at 22 a day and now they report it is 20 a day.
In the report from the VA there is a chart showing that in 1999 they had the numbers the same but once digging was done, it turned out we also had about 7 million more veterans in the country at the time according to the US Census reports.
Why aren't those Senators demanding answers from everyone?
How about they start with the military paying billions in awareness and prevention when the younger generation of veterans commit suicide triple their civilian peer rate after all that "training" was provided to them? After all, you'd think the Senators would find it important enough considering the military also had to admit that training was not even good enough to keep non-deployed from committing suicide, so the chances of keeping those with multiple deployments alive back home were slim to none.
How about they question the fact that the Army released a study on re-deployments showing that each one increased the risk of PTSD by 50% all the way back in 2006, yet kept doing them anyway?
How about they pay attention to the fact that after all the training started, suicide increased and kept increasing even after the number of enlisted went down? Seems that would be a good thing to have answers for if they really think that "one is too many suicides."
How about they get answers from all the charities popping up all over the country raising money so they can raise awareness that veterans are still killing themselves instead of healing? How the hell can telling them something they already know do any of them any good? While we're on the subject, why should they make their living off the suicides in the first place?
Veterans are not being told what they need to know, where they can go for help and their families are still left clueless yet folks are making a lot of money for nothing getting any better.
Brandon Ketchum tried to get help from the VA and did not get it. He turned to Facebook to say goodbye. Why couldn't he turn to any of the charities and groups out there doing pushups, taking walks and doing interviews with the press? Why couldn't he turn to all the folks that were supposed to be made aware of what those charities claimed they were doing?
What is it going to take for this country to wake up and understand that veterans had better chances of staying alive with bullets and bombs than they do now and that is the most deplorable thing of all.
When they heal the first thing they want to do is share it with other veterans and be there for them so they can heal too. That is after they get over being pissed off they tried to commit suicide because no one told them what they actually needed to hear so they could live and go on a stop suicide mission of their own.
Glad some report is paying attention to all of this.
Veteran suicide rate rose by nearly 30 percent since 2001: VA report
It is about time someone brought out the worst part of all of this proving what we already knew.
Suicide Mission
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 3, 2016
Brandon Ketchum served three tours of duty overseas. He deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. He’d been struggling with PTSD and substance abuse so he made an emergency appointment at the Iowa City VA Medical Center on July 7th. Afterward, he posted on social media about not being admitted even though he requested it and explained to a doctor that he felt his safety and health were in jeopardy. His family thinks he might still be here today had he gotten the help he was looking for.Three Senators want answers. Joni Ernst, Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson are acting as if nothing like this happened before, even though they should all know better. Everyone should know better after all these years, but it has all gotten worse.
There were plenty of excuses when troops came home after all wars needing help to heal but after surviving combat, they could not survive being back home. We talked about all of it in whispers, that is when we were not suffering in silence. No one understood and the media did not care, so the American public didn't either.
It is still happening now when 65% of the suicides within the veterans community end the lives of those over the age of 50. The press has younger veterans thinking it is all about their generation and all these problems never happened before. The truth is, as more and more is being done, there are more and more ending their own lives. I know, big shocker there since the VA reported suicides at 22 a day and now they report it is 20 a day.
In the report from the VA there is a chart showing that in 1999 they had the numbers the same but once digging was done, it turned out we also had about 7 million more veterans in the country at the time according to the US Census reports.
Why aren't those Senators demanding answers from everyone?
How about they start with the military paying billions in awareness and prevention when the younger generation of veterans commit suicide triple their civilian peer rate after all that "training" was provided to them? After all, you'd think the Senators would find it important enough considering the military also had to admit that training was not even good enough to keep non-deployed from committing suicide, so the chances of keeping those with multiple deployments alive back home were slim to none.
How about they question the fact that the Army released a study on re-deployments showing that each one increased the risk of PTSD by 50% all the way back in 2006, yet kept doing them anyway?
How about they pay attention to the fact that after all the training started, suicide increased and kept increasing even after the number of enlisted went down? Seems that would be a good thing to have answers for if they really think that "one is too many suicides."
How about they get answers from all the charities popping up all over the country raising money so they can raise awareness that veterans are still killing themselves instead of healing? How the hell can telling them something they already know do any of them any good? While we're on the subject, why should they make their living off the suicides in the first place?
Veterans are not being told what they need to know, where they can go for help and their families are still left clueless yet folks are making a lot of money for nothing getting any better.
Brandon Ketchum tried to get help from the VA and did not get it. He turned to Facebook to say goodbye. Why couldn't he turn to any of the charities and groups out there doing pushups, taking walks and doing interviews with the press? Why couldn't he turn to all the folks that were supposed to be made aware of what those charities claimed they were doing?
What is it going to take for this country to wake up and understand that veterans had better chances of staying alive with bullets and bombs than they do now and that is the most deplorable thing of all.
When they heal the first thing they want to do is share it with other veterans and be there for them so they can heal too. That is after they get over being pissed off they tried to commit suicide because no one told them what they actually needed to hear so they could live and go on a stop suicide mission of their own.
Veterans Try To School Trump On Purple Heart
Big difference between courage and ego, between sacrifice and swallowing pride. Trump's lack of respect for the wounded must leave him wondering why everyone is so upset.
Double Amputee Veteran Tammy Duckworth Blasts Trump for Joking About How Easy it Was to Get Purple Heart
People
Char Adams
August 3, 2016
Donald Trump is facing rebukes from military veterans again – this time for making a joke about how easy it is to get a Purple Heart after a veteran handed him one as a gift at a rally on Tuesday.
Illinois Rep. Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who lost both of her legs when her helicopter was shot down in 2004, led the way, posting a photo of herself in a hospital bed wearing the medal on her gown.
"This is how one usually looks when you are awarded a Purple Heart. Nothing easy about it," Tammy DuckworthShe was joined by other veterans who posted pictures with their Purple Hearts, medals awarded only to servicemen and women who are wounded or killed in uniform.
read more here
What if Capt. Khan's Mom Was Your Mom?
Massachusetts Congressman, Veteran Lashes Out at Donald Trump
Beacon Hill Patch
By Alison Bauter (Patch Staff)
August 2, 2016
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton had harsh words for Trump in light of the GOP nominee's attacks on Gold Star Khan family.
Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton had those and other withering words for Donald Trump Tuesday, joining a bipartisan barrage of condemnation in the wake of the Republican presidential nominee's comments toward a family whose son died serving in Iraq.
Trump has been taking heavy fire since critiquing Khizr and Ghazala Khan, Gold Star parents of Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed while serving in Iraq by a car bomber. Khizr Khan spoke against the GOP nominee at this year's Democratic National Convention, prompting harsh words in return from Trump.
Khan and his wife have both condemned Trump, saying he "knows nothing of sacrifice."
read more here
Beacon Hill Patch
By Alison Bauter (Patch Staff)
August 2, 2016
"As a veteran, I can't imagine what it would be like if Donald Trump treated my mom that way." Rep. Seth Moulton
Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton had those and other withering words for Donald Trump Tuesday, joining a bipartisan barrage of condemnation in the wake of the Republican presidential nominee's comments toward a family whose son died serving in Iraq.
Trump has been taking heavy fire since critiquing Khizr and Ghazala Khan, Gold Star parents of Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed while serving in Iraq by a car bomber. Khizr Khan spoke against the GOP nominee at this year's Democratic National Convention, prompting harsh words in return from Trump.
Khan and his wife have both condemned Trump, saying he "knows nothing of sacrifice."
read more here
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Fort Sill Commander Found Dead Days Between Posts
Former Fort Sill commander found dead Sunday in Alabama
NewsOK
Silas Allen by Silas Allen
Published: August 2, 2016
Maj. Gen. John Rossi, the former commanding general at Fort Sill, died Sunday at a U.S. Army installation in Alabama, officials said.
Rossi, 55, was found dead Sunday at Redstone Arsenal, an Army installation near Huntsville, Ala., officials at the post said.
Rossi left Fort Sill last month to head up the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command at Redstone Arsenal. John Cummings, a Redstone Arsenal spokesman, said Rossi arrived on post about a week before his death, but hadn't taken command of the missile defense command.
Rossi's cause of death remains under investigation, officials said.
A native of Long Island, N.Y., Rossi graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in 1983 and was commissioned as an air defense artillery officer.
He served in South Korea, Germany, Iraq and southwest Asia, as well as several assignments in the United States, before coming to Fort Sill in 2014. He remained at the southwest Oklahoma post until he relinquished command at a ceremony last month.
read more here
NewsOK
Silas Allen by Silas Allen
Published: August 2, 2016
Maj. Gen. John Rossi, the former commanding general at Fort Sill, died Sunday at a U.S. Army installation in Alabama, officials said.
Rossi, 55, was found dead Sunday at Redstone Arsenal, an Army installation near Huntsville, Ala., officials at the post said.
Rossi left Fort Sill last month to head up the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command at Redstone Arsenal. John Cummings, a Redstone Arsenal spokesman, said Rossi arrived on post about a week before his death, but hadn't taken command of the missile defense command.
Rossi's cause of death remains under investigation, officials said.
A native of Long Island, N.Y., Rossi graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in 1983 and was commissioned as an air defense artillery officer.
He served in South Korea, Germany, Iraq and southwest Asia, as well as several assignments in the United States, before coming to Fort Sill in 2014. He remained at the southwest Oklahoma post until he relinquished command at a ceremony last month.
read more here
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