Air Force Dad Gets Warm Welcome Home From Baby in Glasses

WATCH: BABY SEES DAD FOR FIRST TIME WITH GLASSES AFTER EMOTIONAL MILITARY HOMECOMING
ABC 7 News
Jennifer Matarese
March 13, 2017

NEW YORK (WABC) -- A baby boy in upstate New York is melting hearts after a video captured him seeing his father for the first time with glasses after a two-month deployment.

9-month-old Reagan had just gotten his new glasses right after his father, Brandon Caldwell, was deployed to Antarctica. Captain Caldwell has served in the Air Force for a decade.

Reagan's mother, Amanda, took the video of the happy reunion and was delighted that she got this emotional moment on camera. In fact, she said that Brandon was worried that Reagan might not remember him. That was certainly not the case!
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Army Captain Chaplain Received Soldier's Medal

‘Warrior’ chaplain honored for taking down machete-wielding suicidal soldier 
Ledger Enquirer 
Chuck Williams 
March 14, 2017

“Here is where the truth comes in,” Christensen said. “Nothing but fear, and I believe the work of of the Holy Spirit, moved me into a position where I could physically control the soldier.”

The black cross patch on the right side of Capt. Matthew C. Christensen’s U.S. Army uniform tells a story.

It’s where Army meets religion.

Two years ago, during his previous assignment in Alaska, the chaplain was forced into a situation where he had to act quickly with the fight-or-die instincts of a soldier. It was another place where Army meets religion.

Christensen, a 43-year-old Montana native, defused a potential deadly situation by unarming a machete-wielding soldier during a suicide attempt that was on the verge of turning into multiple homicides. Tuesday morning at Fort Benning, Christensen, who served as a Lutheran pastor before becoming an active duty chaplain seven years ago, was awarded the Soldier’s Medal, the Army’s highest honor for valor in a non-combat situation.
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Sgt. First Class Brian Mancini Lost His Own Battle

Hundreds pay their respects to founder of Honor House veterans organization
FOX 10 News
Linda Williams
March 14, 2017

Earlier this month, the man who helped so many took his own life. While shocked, veterans say his death has galvanized them to continue the fight SFC Mancini was so dedicated to.

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - An Iraq war veteran who made it his life's mission to help other troops returning from war has died. Brian Mancini co-founded Honor House, a place where wounded veterans could go for therapy and counseling. But sadly, the man who helped so many others heal couldn't find peace himself.

A retired Sgt. First Class, Mancini was just 38 years old and he left the Honor House organization he founded a year ago.

Mancini, who had two Purple Hearts, worked tirelessly to save veterans who were hurting. On Tuesday, the community came to salute, honor and thank him. With the Patriot Guard standing by, hundreds crowded into the Christ Church of the Valley to say goodbye to the Army veteran. Many here call him hero.

His family is devastated, but also his fellow veterans. He may not have served with them, but they say he saved their lives once they came home mentally and emotionally wounded.

"Brian literally met with me five to seven times a week, gave me a healing, counseled me, he pulled me away from the abyss so many times," said Budd Gilbert, a veteran.
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Sergeant First Class (US Army) Brian Mancini, Veteran Iraqi Freedom, Honor House
Sergeant First Class (US Army) Brian Mancini, Veteran Iraqi Freedom, Honor House from Herbert Hitchon on Vimeo.

VA Lists Disabilities for Camp Lejeune Marines-Families

VA’s rule establishes presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure to contaminants in water supply at Camp Lejeune 

VA to provide disability benefits for related diseases

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) regulations to establish presumptions for the service connection of eight diseases associated with exposure to contaminants in the water supply at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, are effective as of today.

“Establishing these presumptions is a demonstration of our commitment to care for those who have served our nation and have been exposed to harm as a result of that service,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Dr. David J. Shulkin. “The Camp Lejeune presumptions will make it easier for those Veterans to receive the care and benefits they earned.”

The presumption of service connection applies to active-duty, reserve and National Guard members who served at Camp Lejeune for a minimum of 30 days (cumulative) between Aug. 1, 1953, and Dec. 31, 1987, and are diagnosed with any of the following conditions:

Adult leukemia

Aplastic anemia and other myelodysplastic syndromes

Bladder cancer

Kidney cancer

Liver cancer

Multiple myeloma

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Parkinson’s disease

The area included in this presumption is all of Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River, including satellite camps and housing areas.

This presumption complements the health care already provided for 15 illnesses or conditions as part of the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012. The Camp Lejeune Act requires VA to provide health care to Veterans who served at Camp Lejeune, and to reimburse family members or pay providers for medical expenses for those who resided there for not fewer than 30 days between Aug. 1, 1953, and Dec. 31, 1987.

Wounded Times Dog Days

It seems most of Wounded Times Google+ posts over the last couple of days have been about dogs. (Gee, no shocker there)

How a dog named 'Harbaugh' helped a Michigan veteran fight PTSD

Skydiving Dogs

Dropping into action Dogs are also trained to rappel from helicopters. “That is the most effective tool against poaching ever used and it’s low technology, it’s low cost compared to other technologies. And it works,” Holtshyzen says

‘Puppy Love’ Turning Out To Be Great Way To Help Vets With PTSD

March 13, 2017 

On National K9 Veterans Day, Salute Military Working Dogs

Monday, March 13, marks National K9 Veterans Day, a day to honor and commemorate the service and sacrifices of American military and working dogs throughout history. According to American Humane, it was 75 years ago today that the U.S. Army first established the War Dog Program, or “K9 Corps,” to train man’s best friend to become the military’s best canine asset. The dogs of war who have served alongside soldiers throughout history aren’t just good dogs — they’re great dogs.

Veteran who served in Afghanistan gets reunited with service dog after 5 years