Military Honors Funeral For Panhandle Veterans

Now maybe you'll understand why it is so important for families to learn all they can about PTSD and how to help their veterans heal.

"Research indicates that those who served in the late Vietnam and post-Vietnam era are at greatest risk of homelessness. War-related disabilities or disorders often contribute to veteran homelessness, including physical disabilities, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, depression and anxiety, and addiction. Their circumstances often create homelessness and isolation from family."

Lost Panhandle Veterans...To be given Military Honors 
My High Plains 
Posted: Apr 17, 2017

AMARILLO, TX - (PRESS RELEASE)

On April 21, 2017 at 10 am, the cremains of 4 Panhandle Veterans from Potter and Carson counties will be laid to rest and given a full National Military Honors Funeral Ceremony and burial at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.

The motorcade will be accompanied by the Patriot Guard motorcycle escort from Amarillo to San Antonio with stops along the way and local recognition at each stop in route to the National Cemetery.

The silent and untold story, to this point, is that each of these honored veterans were homeless, forgotten and unclaimed. It is a disheartening reality of our society that to many of our soldiers suffer from a number of debilitating effects of war and service to our country and for whatever reason life has thrown them a curve ball and they find themselves living in shelters, on the streets, park benches and alleys of our cities and towns.

A 2016 study indicates that 1.4 million veterans are at risk of homelessness. This may be due to poverty, overcrowding in government housing, and lack of support networks. Research indicates that those who served in the late Vietnam and post-Vietnam era are at greatest risk of homelessness. War-related disabilities or disorders often contribute to veteran homelessness, including physical disabilities, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury, depression and anxiety, and addiction. Their circumstances often create homelessness and isolation from family.

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PTSD Army Veterans in Connecticut Sue Over Bad Discharges...And Treatment

Lawsuit: Army should factor PTSD in discharge decisions
Associated Press
April 17, 2017

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A federal lawsuit alleges the U.S. Army has issued less-than-honorable discharges for potentially thousands of service members without adequately considering the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions.

Two Army veterans from Connecticut who served in Iraq and Afghanistan say in the lawsuit filed Monday in New Haven that they were wrongly denied honorable discharges.

They say a review board set up to give veterans a second chance often doesn't do an adequate job in considering PTSD and related conditions. Acting Army Secretary Robert Speer is named as the defendant.
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Billionaire Pushes Veterans Court California Expansion With Own Funds

Billionaire’s transformation from real estate to criminal justice reform
San Francisco Chronicle
By Laurel Rosenhall
April 16, 2017

Almost half the counties in California have veterans courts. Hughes wants to see them expand statewide and has offered to pay $100,000 to cover half the cost of the study.

A cattle-ranching billionaire headed into Gov. Jerry Brown’s office the other day with redemption on his mind.

Redemption for prisoners who wind up behind bars because their own tortured childhoods led them to lives of crime. Redemption for veterans who bring home wartime scars that cause addiction and violence. And redemption, perhaps, even for himself — born into privilege, born again as a Christian, and determined to make a difference with his wealth.

“If you listen to the stories of the men and women who have been incarcerated, it’s horrible what they’ve been through,” B. Wayne Hughes Jr. said as he stood outside Brown’s office.

“And when you look at the amount of money we’re spending ... we’re getting horrible results. All we’re doing is making better criminals.”

Hughes, 58, was in Sacramento to lobby for a bill he’s backing to help veterans who have committed low-level crimes. It’s a noncontroversial bill with a small price tag, so his meetings in the state Capitol weren’t so much about making a hard sell. Instead, they marked one more step in Hughes’ transformation from Republican real estate magnate to Libertarian advocate for criminal justice reform.

The rancher, whose father founded the Public Storage company, gave nearly $1.3 million to Proposition 47, the 2014 ballot measure that turned nonviolent property and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, allowing some prisoners to be released. He also helps fund a prison ministry and runs a ranch near Paso Robles that provides faith-based mental health treatment for veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress.

Hughes’ interest in helping the downtrodden began when he came to Christianity about 20 years ago and evolved when he met Chuck Colson, the former Nixon administration official who pleaded guilty to Watergate crimes.
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Nebraska National Guard Soldiers Deploy Again

Nebraska National Guard soldier prepares to leave wife and kids as he deploys
KETV 7 ABC News
James Wilcox
April 16, 2017

OMAHA, Neb.
Amid the crowd at Alfonzo W. Davis Middle School, there are soldiers ready to serve their country. There's also a father preparing to leave his family.

"I've been to Iraq twice, and that's actually where Sherri and I met," said Staff Sergeant Gale Maberry, with the Nebraska National Guard.

He met his wife while deployed overseas. Both were serving with the Nebraska National Guard.

Sherri Maberry said, "We were friends throughout the deployment. We started dating when we got back. Over ten years and two little ones later now."

Their kids are three-year-old Brianna and 10-month-old Matthew.

"The first steps, the first teeth. All these things I'm going to miss with these kids," said Staff Sgt. Maberry.

He'll miss both their birthdays while he's deployed to Cuba. It's his third deployment, but his first since they've been born.

"I worry about my wife. She's going to be home with these two little ones by herself, trying to take care of them," he said.

He's one of 50 Nebraska National Guard soldier's with the Omaha-based 402nd Military Police Battalion that'll spend nearly a year at Guantanamo Bay.
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Deported Veterans May Come Back to US After Pardon

CA governor's pardon could help 3 deported veterans return to US
CNN
By Nicole Chavez
April 16, 2017

(CNN)Hector Barajas is constantly dreaming about the day he'll return to the United States legally.

On the eve of Easter, California Gov. Jerry Brown granted Barajas and two other veterans full pardons for crimes they committed before being deported to Mexico.

Brown granted a total of 72 pardons and seven commutations Saturday.

A pardon is usually granted to individuals who have demonstrated "exemplary behavior and have lived productive and law-abiding lives following their conviction," the governor's office said in a statement.

The pardons could open a pathway for the men to come back to the United States, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of California.

A veteran without US citizenship can be deported if convicted of various crimes. When the men's public records are cleared, an immigration judge could revisit their cases and halt their deportations, allowing them to return as lawful permanent residents, also known as green card holders.

"Oh my God, this is huge. The process will be easier for me to go home to my family," Barajas said in a Facebook live video.
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