Medal of Honor recipient saved lives, now has GoFundMe for his family

UPDATE Ronald Shurer, Medal of Honor recipient who saved lives in Afghanistan, dies at 41

Former Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Shurer II, who received the Medal of Honor in 2018 for braving heavy gunfire to save lives in Afghanistan, has died of cancer. He was 41.

Miranda Shurer said her husband died Thursday in Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. She said he was diagnosed with cancer three years ago.
read it here on CBS News

Trump Awards Medal of Honor to His Own Secret Service Agent
Military.com
By Matthew Cox
1 Oct 2018

A decade later, Shurer is fighting another battle -- this time with stage 4 lung cancer. More than 500 people have joined his cause and are attempting to raise $100,000 for his family through a gofundme account.

President Donald Trump on Monday awarded the Medal of Honor to former Army Staff Sgt. Ronald Shurer II, a Secret Service agent who is now fighting a battle with cancer.

Associated Press

"Today is a truly proud and special day for those of us here in the White House because Ron works right here alongside of us on the Secret Service counter-assault team; these are incredible people," Trump told a crowded room filled with Shurer's family, fellow soldiers and Army senior leaders. The assault force encountered no enemy activity during the 1,000-foot climb to their objective, but as the lead element approached the target village, "roughly 200 well-trained and well-armed terrorists ambushed the American and Afghan forces," he said.

Shurer, the mission's only medic, immediately began treating wounded. He then sprinted and climbed through enemy fire to reach several of his teammates who were pinned down on a cliff above.
read more here

How is your state doing on Veteran Suicides?

The Department of Veterans Affairs data on veteran suicide for 2016. How is your state? Considering Florida and Texas tie for 1st place, it is interesting to see what other states are reporting. 

The challenge for reporters is to actually read the report this time, and they stop the slogan of "22 a day" since that number has been proven to be false. The VA warned about it being taken from limited data from just 21 states. Yet reporters must have thought, "hey that sounds good to me" so they pushed it. They still are. Check your state and then get an eyeopener at the end.

The challenge for us is, discovering how many veterans charities are in your state claiming to be "raising awareness" at the same time?

ALABAMA

An estimated 34.2 Alabama veterans per 100,000 died by suicide in 2016, compared to the national veteran suicide rate of 30.1 per 100,000. Among the civilian population, the national suicide rate drops to 17.5.

The state of Alabama boasts a higher percentage of its population as veterans. In 2016, the VA found 9.8 percent of the adult population of Alabama to be veterans, compared to 6.6 percent nationally. A total of 373,761 veterans live in our state. WAFF 48 News

128

ALASKA

17

ARIZONA

227

ARKANSAS

79

CALIFORNIA

490

COLORADO

175

CONNECTICUT

36

DELAWARE

24

WASHINGTON DC

LESS THAN10

FLORIDA 

530

GEORGIA 

202

HAWAII

11

IDAHO

58

ILLINOIS

162

INDIANA

70

IOWA

64

KANSAS

60

KENTUKY

108

LOUISIANA

75

MAINE

29

MARYLAND

67

MASSACHUSETTS

68

MICHIGAN

159

MINNESOTA

95

MISSISSIPPI

50

MISSOURI

154

MONTANA

42

NEBRASKA

27

NEVADA

According to the latest data released by the U.S. Department of Veterans affairs., Nevada's veteran suicide rate is also significantly higher than the national rate. 8 News Las Vegas

The vast majority are men of all ages. The local V.A. Hospital in North Las Vegas helps more than 60,000 military members. About 20,000 of them seek mental health treatment.

107

NEW HAMPSHIRE

33

NEW JERSEY

67

NEW MEXICO

71

NEW YORK

153

NORTH CAROLINA

184

NORTH DAKOTA

16

OHIO

245

OKLAHOMA

110

OREGON

122

Oregon advocates target alarming veteran suicide rate

One such tragedy happens in Oregon every 3 days

PENNSYLVANIA

263

PUERTO RICO

LESS THAN10

RHODE ISLAND

16

SOUTH CAROLINA

120

SOUTH DAKOTA

18

TENNESSEE

156

TEXAS

530

UTAH

59

VERMONT

25

VIRGINIA

196

WASHINGTON

174

WEST VIRGINIA

50

WISCONSIN

132

WYOMING

23

Right now they are jumping on the "decrease" in suicides while not mentioning the fact the number of veterans living at the time, has gone down every year. The rate has gone up until 2016 when it went down by only .4%.

Do not let them get away with pushing a slogan this time too. If not, then what do you think the next report will look like? 

Motorcycle accident claimed life of Camp Lejeune Marine

Camp Lejeune Marine killed in motorcycle accident
WITN NBC News
September 30, 2018

SNEADS FERRY, N.C. (WITN) - A Camp Lejeune Marine was killed in a motorcycle accident Saturday evening, Highway Patrol Troopers said.

The accident happened along Old Folkstone Road near Scuba Drive in Sneads Ferry around 5:55 p.m., Trooper Adam Hostinsky said.

The motorcyclist, Trevor Richardet, 19, had been traveling east on Old Folkstone Road at a high rate of speed when a pick-up truck pulled out of a driveway in front of him, Hostinsky said.
read more here

250,000 radiology orders at VA canceled?

‘I knew something was not right’: Mass cancellations of diagnostic test orders at VA hospitals draw scrutiny
USA TODAY
Donovan Slack
Oct. 1, 2018

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Radiology technologist Jeff Dettbarn said he knew something was wrong at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, when a patient arrived in February 2017 for a CT scan, but the doctor’s order for it had been cancelled.

“To have a patient show up for a scan and not have an order – you’re like, ‘What the heck is going on?’” he told USA TODAY in an interview.

Dettbarn started collecting cancellation notices for diagnostic procedures such as CT scans, MRIs and ultrasounds.

“I knew something was not right,” he said. “Because none of them were cancelled by a physician.”

Cancellations of more than 250,000 radiology orders at VA hospitals across the country since 2016 have raised questions about whether – in a rush to clear out outdated and duplicative diagnostic orders – some facilities failed to follow correct procedures. At issue is a concern over whether some medically necessary orders for CT scans and other imaging tests were cancelled improperly.

The VA inspector general is now auditing mass cancellations at eight VA medical centers “to determine whether VA processed radiology requests in a timely manner and appropriately managed canceled requests,” VA Inspector General Michael Missal said.

Those hospitals are in Tampa and Bay Pines, Florida; Salisbury, North Carolina; Cleveland; Dallas; Denver; Las Vegas; and Los Angeles.
read more here

Why are we seeing higher number of suicides and lower numbers in the veteran population?

According to the news reports, the number of veterans committing suicide has gone down...so why are we seeing this in the report itself? The following came from National Suicide Data Report Appendix.

Why are we seeing higher number of suicides and lower numbers in the veteran population?

Why are we seeing higher rates than we did in 2005, and year afterwards? It is millions less veterans and hundreds more suicides.

This requires action from all of us!

Find out what you can do to save their lives and actually prevent suicides because frankly, we had better results before everyone was reminding them that far too many took their own lives instead of helping them to #TakeBackYourLife and heal. Look at the years, and all the numbers to better understand that when the say "down slightly" it depends on what else went down with it.

Go to this publication from the VA and find out how to help them help veterans. The VA is not the enemy and we need to stop treating it like it was. If they are failing at something, help them fix it. If they are succeeding at something, help them expand it!

Remember, veterans are not civilians and the VA being there for them was part of the deal...so why didn't we commit to them too?

Reaching all Veterans to prevent suicide will take the entire community.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is on a mission to end suicide among Veterans in communities across America. Approximately 14 of the 20 Veterans who die by suicide each day are not receiving care from the Veterans Health Administration. We need your help to reach them. We invite you to share your insights, experiences, and resources to shape public health initiatives that support Veterans at risk. One Veteran suicide is one too many. It’s time to act — Are you with us? VA works with hundreds of organizations and corporations at the national and local levels, including Veterans Service Organizations, to raise awareness about its suicide prevention programs. These partners have regular contact with Veterans as well as active duty Servicemembers, Reservists, National Guard members, and their families. By reaching out to help, communities can send the message that they value these individuals and their service.

Organized events are a great way for our partners to advance this critical national goal of ending Veteran suicide. By promoting Veteran-focused resources in your community at events such as job fairs and wellness expos, you can help us reach all Veterans. Connecting with fellow Veterans to spread the word about valuable mental health and suicide prevention resources makes Veteran wellness a community priority.

Veterans, family members, and care providers can initiate a free and confidential conversation with an experienced and caring VA responder by calling the Veterans Crisis Line. 

If you are concerned about the safety and well-being of a Veteran, call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1. 

Chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat to get support anonymously. 

A text message can also be sent to 838255 to connect to a VA responder. 

These resources can be used even if a Veteran is not registered with VA or enrolled in VA health care.

Veteran suicide is preventable, and suicide prevention is everyone’s business. Thank you for helping to prevent and end Veteran suicide. Visit www.va.gov/nace/myVA/ for more information.

Recent news reports
Oregon

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the suicide rate for veterans in Oregon in 2015, the most recent year data is available, was 37.2 percent, which was more than double the national average among non-veterans.

That year alone, 118 Oregon veterans committed suicide.

“It really kind of haunts you,” Julie Terry said, whose brother, Will Naugle, committed suicide in 2017. “There’s a lot of ‘what could I have done?’ or ‘Is there something that could have changed it?’”

Tennessee

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has released a data sheet from 2016 that details the suicide rate of veterans in Tennessee, compared to the veteran suicide rates in the southern region and the nation; as well as the general suicide rates in Tennessee, the southern region, and the nation.

18-34: 26
35-54: 38
55-74: 66
75+: 26