Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Bannister passed away

UPDATE

Coroner releases cause of death for Army general who died while on leave
Major General Jeffrey Bannister, 57, who was on transition leave in Lake Murray, died Sunday due to natural causes, coroner Margaret Fisher said.

Retiring Army general dies while on leave in South Carolina
STARS AND STRIPES
By DENISSE RAUDA
Published: May 30, 2018

The Rome, Ga., native served in Iraq and led divisions at Ft. Carson, Colo. He commanded the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y., from 2015 until May of last year. His time there included an 11-month deployment to Afghanistan.

An Army general died Sunday while on leave in South Carolina and his death is being investigated, according to a statement from Shaw Air Force Base.

Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Bannister, 57, was on the verge of retirement and on transition leave when he died at Lake Murray near Columbia, S.C., base officials told WIS-TV.

Bannister, who served in the Army for 34 years, was assigned to Shaw as a special project officer for the Chief of Staff of the Army, the report said.
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Retired Military Working Dogs received Medal of Courage

These four military dogs just received the nation’s highest honor
Military Times
By: Charlsy Panzino
9 minutes ago

Four veterans were honored with Medal of Courage awards on Capitol Hill on May 22.

Army veteran Dennis Dow with Jag, from left, Marine veteran Kevin Zuniga with Taker, Air Force veteran Micah Jones with Summer and Taba, who was adopted by a former K-9 police dog handler and his family. (American Humane)

They didn’t give any speeches, but not just because they were humble — the four vets are retired military working dogs.

The American Humane Lois Pope K-9 Medal of Courage is the highest honor for military dogs that displayed extraordinary valor and service to their country.

“These remarkable dogs have given us their best,” veterans advocate Lois Pope said at the ceremony. “They have put their own lives on the line to protect us, to defend us, and to save us.”
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Man arrested for murder of missing veteran Stan Norman

UPDATE

Friendship, torture and murder - military veteran accused of killing another vet ABC 13 News
Those in the American Legion Riders motorcycle group are stunned by the details of Norman's murder and that a fellow veteran and rider may have done it.
The two were seen drinking together at a bar the night the murder took place.

Suspect arrested for murder of missing Vietnam veteran Stan Norman
The Union
Liz Kellar
May 27, 2018

On Sunday night, law enforcement arrested Sean Bryant — the man last seen with missing veteran Stan Norman — for his murder.

Bryant has been in custody in county jail since mid-May, when he was arrested at a residence on Sadie D Drive in Cascade Shores. At the time, Bryant, 51, was charged with manufacturing a controlled substance, threatening a crime with the intent to terrorize and inflicting corporal injury, all felonies.

After human bones were discovered in a burn pile on the property, and after interviews with witnesses, Bryant was re-booked on charges of murder and torture, and likely will be arraigned Tuesday in Nevada County Superior Court.

Norman was last seen after he went with friends to McGee's in Nevada City April 14 and was positively identified at Bonanza Market in Nevada City that night. He then reportedly went to Bryant's home in Grass Valley. No one reported seeing him since the early hours of April 15.
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Sending disabled veterans away from the VA is not good for them

If you still think sending disabled veterans away from the VA is good for them, think again. After all, they should never, ever be treated like the rest of us. Especially when the same politicians tell us how lousy our healthcare system is!

(Gee, wonder why they forget about that part?)

Viewpoints: In Commitment To Veterans’ Special Needs, Be Wary Of Using Private Doctors

Editorial pages focus on these and other health care issues.

San Francisco Chronicle: Protect The Services Needed By Those Who ServedVeterans like me need managed, culturally competent medical care, in a safe community that respects them. Private doctors do not understand the complexity of service-related health problems. (Howard L. Hibbard and Marcela Davison Avilés, 5/25)

Boston Globe: For Many Vets, The War Goes OnIn the course of my active military career, I had troops under my command on three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. I have lost more of my soldiers to suicide than I lost in combat. That may sound shocking to you — it is shocking to me. But I have yet to meet a veteran of Iraq or Afghanistan who doesn’t know someone who took their own life. That is staggering. I can recite the numbers. An estimated 20 veterans commit suicide every day, losses that are piled upon the nearly 7,000 US troops that have been killed in our ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Jack Hammond, 5/28)

Eddison Hermond National Guardsman and Air Force Veteran found

National Guard member, Air Force veteran found dead in Patapsco River, police say
WJLA News
Stephen Pimpo Jr
May 29, 2018

Eddison Hermond. (Photo, Howard County Police)

BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. (ABC7) — The body of the Air Force veteran and National Guard member who went missing during Sunday's floods, was found in the Patapsco River Tuesday, according to authorities.

Howard County Police say searchers found the body of 39-year-old Eddison Hermond in the river just across the Baltimore County line.
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