Fisher Houses ease financial burden, stress
By Clay Carey, USA TODAY
Carol Thomas had gotten used to sleeping on recliners and hospital couches every once in a while as her husband, Bobby, got treatment for kidney and heart problems at the Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital near Chicago.
But when doctors discovered cancer and had to remove Bobby's kidneys, the Glenwood, Ill., couple learned they would be in for an extended stay.
Instead of hospital couches, Carol said she now has a real bed at a home made for families such as hers while doctors work on her husband, a 64-year-old Army veteran who served in Vietnam.
That's because an organization called Fisher House opened a facility near the Illinois hospital in March — the most recently opened of 45 houses across the country that offer free lodging to veterans who have to travel more than 50 miles to get treatment at government-run Veterans Affairs hospitals, said Cindy Campbell, community liaison with the national Fisher House Foundation. Their families can stay for free, too.
"It has really been a home away from home," said Carol Thomas, 56. She has been staying there since late April. "Without them, I don't know what we would do."
read more here
Fisher Houses ease financial burden stress
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Vietnam Vets of Winston-Salem to have own bike group
Veterans start biking group
by Meghann Evans
In June, local bikers helped the Winston-Salem chapter of Rolling Thunder lead the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall into Mount Airy. Soon, Surry County’s chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America will have a biking group of its own.
Dan Hilton, who helped organize the Veterans Reunion that took place in Mount Airy in early June, explained that each chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America has its own biking club. The Granite City Chapter 1021 of the Vietnam Veterans, located in Mount Airy, now is starting a biking group.
“It’s a good idea to do it,” said Hilton.
The group will be part of Rolling Thunder, the official motorcycle club of the VVA.
Read more: Mount Airy News
Veterans start biking group
by Meghann Evans
In June, local bikers helped the Winston-Salem chapter of Rolling Thunder lead the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall into Mount Airy. Soon, Surry County’s chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America will have a biking group of its own.
Dan Hilton, who helped organize the Veterans Reunion that took place in Mount Airy in early June, explained that each chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America has its own biking club. The Granite City Chapter 1021 of the Vietnam Veterans, located in Mount Airy, now is starting a biking group.
“It’s a good idea to do it,” said Hilton.
The group will be part of Rolling Thunder, the official motorcycle club of the VVA.
Read more: Mount Airy News
Veterans start biking group
The Strength Within
There are many stories on this blog about suicides but I felt it was time to take a look back to 2007 and see that when it comes to the programs the DOD and the VA have come up with, they are not doing the job.
It's time we stopped being military deserters and started to demand the men and women serving today along with the veterans are treated with the utmost respect, dignity and care they have earned. Nothing they need should be debated. Congress spends more time of trying to find ways for what they want when it comes to contractors but far too little time when it comes to the men and women who are the military!
Ask your member of congress why they are not demanding the best care for our troops and veterans! Tell them to stop being military deserters when the troops need them after doing what congress asked of them.
It's time we stopped being military deserters and started to demand the men and women serving today along with the veterans are treated with the utmost respect, dignity and care they have earned. Nothing they need should be debated. Congress spends more time of trying to find ways for what they want when it comes to contractors but far too little time when it comes to the men and women who are the military!
Ask your member of congress why they are not demanding the best care for our troops and veterans! Tell them to stop being military deserters when the troops need them after doing what congress asked of them.
The Strength Within: One NCO's Experience with Suicide and PTSD
Sep 12, 2007
BY Elizabeth M. Lorge
Related Links
Suicide Prevention Week Stories
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Sept. 12, 2007)
In the face of rising suicide rates among Soldiers, the Army is making a renewed effort to help Soldiers at risk and educate Soldiers and leaders about the signs to look for in their battle buddies and subordinates. That education is crucial in saving Soldiers' lives, said retired 1st Sgt. Cornell Swanier. He has first-hand experience with suicide - as a prevention-education coordinator, as a noncommissioned officer who lost a Soldier and as a combat veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder who has thought about killing himself.
On Thanksgiving Day, 2002, he got the call every leader dreads. One of the Soldiers he had brought safely through a deployment to Kuwait for Operation Enduring Freedom was dead by his own hand, an event 1st Sgt. Swanier is still trying to comprehend. "I really got close to my Soldiers," he said. "I really tried to know the Soldiers, know their families, from top to bottom. It was tough on me. It's still tough on me to this day to walk in the barracks room and to see a dead Soldier. When Thanksgiving comes around, I think about that Soldier."
The specialist had been very intelligent, a model Soldier in a model section. He was a little quiet and prone to being picked on by his fellow Soldiers, but 1st Sgt. Swanier said he got along well with his section, one of the best in his company. 1st Sgt. Swanier said he felt responsible for a long time, but no one had any idea the Soldier wanted to kill himself. He even bought new speakers for his car shortly before he died. But he had planned the whole thing, bought a gun, even detailed where he wanted his ashes scattered in his suicide note.
After he died, 1st Sgt. Swanier went through all of the paperwork from the Soldier's monthly counseling sessions and couldn't find anything that would suggest suicide. 1st Sgt. Swanier had served as a prevention-education coordinator at Fort Benning, Ga., so he knew the signs to look for: Soldiers who start giving things away, whose job performance goes downhill, who isolate themselves and stop socializing and, of course, Soldiers who talk about killing themselves.
"You have to take that seriously. I'm sure that Soldier was exhibiting some signs around his roommate and fellow Soldiers, and they just didn't know it," he said. The suicide, he continued, touched everyone in the close-knit unit. "It really dragged us down, put a somber mood on the unit for some time. It took us time to move forward." The mission came first, however, and they were deployed for the initial ground war in Iraq in March 2003, a deployment that triggered 1st Sgt. Swanier's own battle with post-traumatic stress disorder and thoughts of suicide. Until a year after his return, when his father mentioned how angry he was, 1st Sgt. Swanier didn't realize how PTSD was affecting his life - he had cancelled several appointments with specialists and avoided group therapy.
"There were many sleepless nights. Depressed days. I would sit in one spot for most of the day. I would isolate and I wouldn't go out. I wouldn't talk to anybody. I wouldn't answer the telephone. I would get up in the middle of the night and make sure all my doors and windows were secured," he said. He never attempted it, but 1st Sgt. Swanier also thought about killing himself. He still does occasionally. He doesn't even like to wear neckties, although now he feels comfortable talking about it with his wife. If it hadn't been for the conversation with his father, 1st Sgt. Swanier believes he would have lost his family and ended up divorced. Instead, he joined an outpatient program at the local Department of Veterans Affairs post-traumatic stress clinic.
"When you mention the words mental health or behavioral health, there's a stigma," he said. "And I'm a first sergeant. We were coming back and that place was full of Soldiers, no leaders. And I just couldn't see myself going to behavioral health. I'm the type of person who was used to going up there and checking on Soldiers." 1st Sgt. Swanier said his wife and daughter didn't understand at first, but that their support has gotten him through his treatment. Talking to other veterans who know what he's going through also helps, he said. The Strength Within
Homeless Man Rescues Fallen American Flag
Homeless Man Rescues Fallen American Flag
Daniel Novick-KFOX News Weekend Anchor/Reporter
Posted: 3:56 pm MDT July 4, 2010
Updated: 2:04 pm MDT July 5, 2010
EL PASO, Texas -- There is typically an American flag that flies high in front of METI Inc., a federal contractor in East El Paso. But instead, the flag is lying flat inside and the flag pole is on the ground outside after a storm last Sunday.
"The wind and the rain knocked over the flag pole, causing the flag pole to lie on the parking lot overlooking Boeing Drive," said Rebecca Orozco with METI Inc.
But it is the condition in which employees found Old Glory that shocked everyone, until they checked their surveillance video.
"After watching the surveillance videos we noticed that it was a good Samaritan who we suspect was a homeless man that came to the rescue of the flag around 1:40 in the morning," Orozco told KFOX.
In the surveillance video you can see the homeless man in driving rain and wind carefully folding up the American flag military style and then placing the flag pole off to the side.
"It was an amazing experience to see that, it was very heartwarming to see that a homeless man or a good Samaritan who was walking around that area at that time of the day in the rain will come to the rescue of the U.S. flag," said Orozco.
Orozco said she wouldn't expect that kind of act in a late night storm from anyone, especially someone who has so little to give.
"Knowing that so many people have turned their back on him, he never turned his back on this country," she said.
KFOX found the man who didn't turn his back on the flag. His name is Gustus Bozarth.
"It's a small respect, folding the flag like that," said Bozarth.
He lives in the back of a warehouse just feet from the flag he saved.
go here for more
Homeless Man Rescues Fallen American Flag
Daniel Novick-KFOX News Weekend Anchor/Reporter
Posted: 3:56 pm MDT July 4, 2010
Updated: 2:04 pm MDT July 5, 2010
EL PASO, Texas -- There is typically an American flag that flies high in front of METI Inc., a federal contractor in East El Paso. But instead, the flag is lying flat inside and the flag pole is on the ground outside after a storm last Sunday.
"The wind and the rain knocked over the flag pole, causing the flag pole to lie on the parking lot overlooking Boeing Drive," said Rebecca Orozco with METI Inc.
But it is the condition in which employees found Old Glory that shocked everyone, until they checked their surveillance video.
"After watching the surveillance videos we noticed that it was a good Samaritan who we suspect was a homeless man that came to the rescue of the flag around 1:40 in the morning," Orozco told KFOX.
In the surveillance video you can see the homeless man in driving rain and wind carefully folding up the American flag military style and then placing the flag pole off to the side.
"It was an amazing experience to see that, it was very heartwarming to see that a homeless man or a good Samaritan who was walking around that area at that time of the day in the rain will come to the rescue of the U.S. flag," said Orozco.
Orozco said she wouldn't expect that kind of act in a late night storm from anyone, especially someone who has so little to give.
"Knowing that so many people have turned their back on him, he never turned his back on this country," she said.
KFOX found the man who didn't turn his back on the flag. His name is Gustus Bozarth.
"It's a small respect, folding the flag like that," said Bozarth.
He lives in the back of a warehouse just feet from the flag he saved.
go here for more
Homeless Man Rescues Fallen American Flag
Veterans struggle with life outside the military
Veterans struggle with life outside the military
By Matthew D. LaPlante
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated 32 minutes ago
He had three square meals a day, a steady paycheck, solid benefits and a job with purpose. Life in the Army wasn’t perfect, of course, but Justin Youse was content with the path he had chosen.
Then he broke his back.
Today, the 29-year-old Iraq war veteran is in constant pain. He doesn’t sleep well. He considers the Veterans Affairs medical system, which he relies on for health care, to be a frustrating, impersonal, bureaucratic behemoth. He has battled addiction, gone through a divorce and been laid off from a job.
And he’s not alone in his struggles.
A new study by The Gallup Organization indicates that while military members are generally happier and healthier than other American workers, military veterans fare worse than the general work force when it comes to their emotional and physical health, work environment and access to basic necessities.
That came as no surprise to Youse, who injured his back when he dove from the back of a troop truck under fire in 2003 and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder related to other combat experiences in Iraq.
“Once you become a veteran, you’re still dealing with everything you were dealing with when you were active duty, but all the security and camaraderie is gone,” Youse said.
If he was sick or injured in the Army, Youse said, he would simply walk into the base clinic for treatment. “Now,” he said. “It’s all about jumping through hoops. It’s like being guilty until being proven innocent. You have to prove you’ve got medical issues before they’ll give you a second glance.”
go here for more
Veterans struggle with life outside the military
By Matthew D. LaPlante
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated 32 minutes ago
He had three square meals a day, a steady paycheck, solid benefits and a job with purpose. Life in the Army wasn’t perfect, of course, but Justin Youse was content with the path he had chosen.
Then he broke his back.
Today, the 29-year-old Iraq war veteran is in constant pain. He doesn’t sleep well. He considers the Veterans Affairs medical system, which he relies on for health care, to be a frustrating, impersonal, bureaucratic behemoth. He has battled addiction, gone through a divorce and been laid off from a job.
And he’s not alone in his struggles.
A new study by The Gallup Organization indicates that while military members are generally happier and healthier than other American workers, military veterans fare worse than the general work force when it comes to their emotional and physical health, work environment and access to basic necessities.
That came as no surprise to Youse, who injured his back when he dove from the back of a troop truck under fire in 2003 and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder related to other combat experiences in Iraq.
“Once you become a veteran, you’re still dealing with everything you were dealing with when you were active duty, but all the security and camaraderie is gone,” Youse said.
If he was sick or injured in the Army, Youse said, he would simply walk into the base clinic for treatment. “Now,” he said. “It’s all about jumping through hoops. It’s like being guilty until being proven innocent. You have to prove you’ve got medical issues before they’ll give you a second glance.”
go here for more
Veterans struggle with life outside the military
$1 million for each solider per year in Afghanistan?
Congress needs to start doing some heavy soul searching before more troops they claim to support become veterans trying to deal with what no one thought of, them.
We spend a fortune on waging war no matter if you agree with it or not. We've heard all the debates and know how easily they seem to find the money for contractors but we've also heard how they have a much harder time taking care of the men and women when they come home. Now, while it costs $1 million a year to pay for them risking their lives in Afghanistan, some members of congress are saying when they come home, they are just not worth paying for. Without mentioning any names of party they happen to belong to, some members end up proving they are not supporting the troops but are in fact supporting the contractors instead.
We owe the troops of today just as much as we owe the troops of yesterday we call veterans. How can they go from being worth $1 million a year while they risk their lives and then end up being a pawn in a political game?
We need to start watching them because if any of them say they support the troops, they better be prepared to fight for them and what they need. If they don't fight for the troops and our veterans, don't bother fighting for them come election time. They have already proven what they say does not lead to what they end up really doing.
Is anyone putting a lid on spending in Afghanistan or even talking about it the same way they say any bills for the veterans needs to be paid for?
We spend a fortune on waging war no matter if you agree with it or not. We've heard all the debates and know how easily they seem to find the money for contractors but we've also heard how they have a much harder time taking care of the men and women when they come home. Now, while it costs $1 million a year to pay for them risking their lives in Afghanistan, some members of congress are saying when they come home, they are just not worth paying for. Without mentioning any names of party they happen to belong to, some members end up proving they are not supporting the troops but are in fact supporting the contractors instead.
We owe the troops of today just as much as we owe the troops of yesterday we call veterans. How can they go from being worth $1 million a year while they risk their lives and then end up being a pawn in a political game?
We need to start watching them because if any of them say they support the troops, they better be prepared to fight for them and what they need. If they don't fight for the troops and our veterans, don't bother fighting for them come election time. They have already proven what they say does not lead to what they end up really doing.
US taxpayers’ Afghan aid money buys rich Afghans’ Dubai villas
By John Byrne
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
You already might have heard that it costs the United States $1 million for each solider per year in Afghanistan, to cover the cost of the soldiers' benefits, troop transports and other material. What you might not have heard is that your hard earned taxpayer dollars are also being used to buy well-connected Afghans posh villas in Dubai.US taxpayers are also footing an enormous bill for the Pentagon's use of fuel in the landlocked nation. In 2008, the price of gasoline in the United States topped the $4 per gallon mark.
This year in Afghanistan, the price has topped $400.
read more here
US taxpayers Afghan aid money buys rich Afghans Dubai villas
Is anyone putting a lid on spending in Afghanistan or even talking about it the same way they say any bills for the veterans needs to be paid for?
Suicide reflects troubling trend among veterans
Local veteran's suicide reflects troubling trend
Orrin Gorman McClellan is among the war casualties that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has just begun to track — young men and women who served in the post-9/11 military, and killed themselves after struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and other war wounds.
LANGLEY, Island County —
Orrin Gorman McClellan grew up among the alder and cedar that cover his family's 11-acre homestead on Whidbey Island. He relished painting, music and acting, playing the star role of Toad in a local production of "The Wind in the Willows."
McClellan seemed an unlikely Army recruit. But in the post-9/11 world, he responded to talk of honor, service and camaraderie. After graduating from high school, without informing his parents, McClellan signed up for three years of active duty.
He served in Afghanistan, where he lost friends to enemy bullets, picked up the body parts of blown-up soldiers and wrestled with the emotions unleashed by combat missions.
"Have you ever felt that each word you say brings you further away from explaining yourself," he wrote in an April 30, 2005, poem in a computer journal. "Everything you create puts a sour taste in your mouth and every action you take burns you with shame."
In the fall of 2006, McClellan left the Army and came back to his Western Washington island and a strong support network eager to help him rebuild his life. But family and friends were not enough to save him.
This year, on May 18, McClellan took his life with a handgun.
go here for more
Local veterans suicide reflects troubling trend
Orrin Gorman McClellan is among the war casualties that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has just begun to track — young men and women who served in the post-9/11 military, and killed themselves after struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and other war wounds.
LANGLEY, Island County —
Orrin Gorman McClellan grew up among the alder and cedar that cover his family's 11-acre homestead on Whidbey Island. He relished painting, music and acting, playing the star role of Toad in a local production of "The Wind in the Willows."
McClellan seemed an unlikely Army recruit. But in the post-9/11 world, he responded to talk of honor, service and camaraderie. After graduating from high school, without informing his parents, McClellan signed up for three years of active duty.
He served in Afghanistan, where he lost friends to enemy bullets, picked up the body parts of blown-up soldiers and wrestled with the emotions unleashed by combat missions.
"Have you ever felt that each word you say brings you further away from explaining yourself," he wrote in an April 30, 2005, poem in a computer journal. "Everything you create puts a sour taste in your mouth and every action you take burns you with shame."
In the fall of 2006, McClellan left the Army and came back to his Western Washington island and a strong support network eager to help him rebuild his life. But family and friends were not enough to save him.
This year, on May 18, McClellan took his life with a handgun.
go here for more
Local veterans suicide reflects troubling trend
Help Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association
Many Americans do not realize that not all veterans of the Vietnam War receive benefits related to dioxins and other toxins to which they (the veterans) were exposed from roughly 1963 to 1975. These service personnel served aboard ships along the coast of Vietnam. These veterans were exposed to toxins and dioxins when they drank contaminated water that was aboard ship. They also showered in that water, ate food prepared in it and breathed air from the ventilation system that spewed toxic air. These are the same contaminates for which the armed forces who served on land are being compensated.
I am proud to report that Congressman, Bob Filner, Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, is moving ahead with promises he has made on behalf of veterans of the Vietnam War. Representative Filner's bill, HR-2254, has an overwhelming support of 256 fellow Representatives, and he is working on issues regarding the funding of this legislation. It deals with military victims of Agent Orange poisoning.
Congressman Filner has stepped up to the plate boldly on this issue, an action that many members of this 111th Congress have not yet done. His recent release of a Video to Veterans at shows him as a staunch proponent for all veteran issues, and he spent some time detailing the problems that HR-2254 is going to solve as well as his approach to how he plans to get this bill through the House. Like everything else these days, his biggest hurdle is financial. But Congressman Filner indicates he will work through those funding issues in order to get this legislation passed.
As Executive Director of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association, I stand and salute him for his past valiant efforts to pass this legislation and have great faith that he will come through for us in the end.
John Paul Rossie, Executive Director
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association
PO Box 1035
Littleton, CO 80160-1035
I am proud to report that Congressman, Bob Filner, Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, is moving ahead with promises he has made on behalf of veterans of the Vietnam War. Representative Filner's bill, HR-2254, has an overwhelming support of 256 fellow Representatives, and he is working on issues regarding the funding of this legislation. It deals with military victims of Agent Orange poisoning.
Congressman Filner has stepped up to the plate boldly on this issue, an action that many members of this 111th Congress have not yet done. His recent release of a Video to Veterans at
As Executive Director of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association, I stand and salute him for his past valiant efforts to pass this legislation and have great faith that he will come through for us in the end.
John Paul Rossie, Executive Director
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association
PO Box 1035
Littleton, CO 80160-1035
Good Samaritan Helps Wounded Soldier
Good Samaritan Helps Wounded Soldier
Posted: July 5, 2010 11:26 PM EDT
A roadside bombing in Afghanistan last month left Specialist Devon Pitz with serious injuries. His stepmother Vikki, who recently visited him at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C., says he is making progress.
"He had made four steps while I was there," said Vikki Pitz. "They've got him a special wheel-chair and use the little remote and he can wheel himself around."
To help keep his spirits up, family members have been taking turns staying with the young soldier at the hospital. After his stepmother's last trip to D.C., she returned home to Lawrence County to find a heart-felt card from a stranger.
"I've never met the woman, I just know that she saw the ad in the paper where they we're talking about him and her son was in combat. Also, she said the story touched her and she wanted to do what she could the help my family," said Pitz.
read more here
Good Samaritan Helps Wounded Soldier
Posted: July 5, 2010 11:26 PM EDT
A roadside bombing in Afghanistan last month left Specialist Devon Pitz with serious injuries. His stepmother Vikki, who recently visited him at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C., says he is making progress.
"He had made four steps while I was there," said Vikki Pitz. "They've got him a special wheel-chair and use the little remote and he can wheel himself around."
To help keep his spirits up, family members have been taking turns staying with the young soldier at the hospital. After his stepmother's last trip to D.C., she returned home to Lawrence County to find a heart-felt card from a stranger.
"I've never met the woman, I just know that she saw the ad in the paper where they we're talking about him and her son was in combat. Also, she said the story touched her and she wanted to do what she could the help my family," said Pitz.
read more here
Good Samaritan Helps Wounded Soldier
Veteran suicides: Families haunted
I don't know if I cry more for the dead after suicide or for the families left behind to wonder what they could have done to save the life before it was too late. I understand a sense of hopelessness so deep that one more day of pain seems to be more about letting in more pain than it offers a day of hope. I understand what it's like to lose someone after suicide and ask the thousand unanswerable questions wondering what else could have been done.
My husband's nephew, another Vietnam vet with PTSD, committed suicide. He knew what I did, what I knew, but he didn't want to listen any more than he wanted to talk except for a few tidbits of what happened. He blamed himself for two of his friends being blown up and then he blamed himself for everything else that came after. It all became evil to him. To this day, I still wonder what buzz word I could have used to get him forgive himself for what he thought was his fault. None of it was but he believed it so deeply, he needed to begin there and then figure out that it really wasn't his fault at all. I just didn't get the chance.
His whole family wondered what could have been done and they were angry he decided to do it instead of open up to them. Then again, they didn't know what to say or how to understand him, but they did the best they could with what they knew at the time. That's what we all need to find some comfort in. If we loved them, tried our best with what we knew based on that love, then we should find some comfort in that. We should not let that be the end of it. From that point onward, we need to learn everything we can and become devoted to making sure there will be one life saved for the one we lost, one family restored for the family we saw shattered and one more family finding they are not alone the way we thought we were.
The following is about two families left behind after suicide and it is a picture of the families across this country of the 18 families of veterans we lose to suicide everyday.
My husband's nephew, another Vietnam vet with PTSD, committed suicide. He knew what I did, what I knew, but he didn't want to listen any more than he wanted to talk except for a few tidbits of what happened. He blamed himself for two of his friends being blown up and then he blamed himself for everything else that came after. It all became evil to him. To this day, I still wonder what buzz word I could have used to get him forgive himself for what he thought was his fault. None of it was but he believed it so deeply, he needed to begin there and then figure out that it really wasn't his fault at all. I just didn't get the chance.
His whole family wondered what could have been done and they were angry he decided to do it instead of open up to them. Then again, they didn't know what to say or how to understand him, but they did the best they could with what they knew at the time. That's what we all need to find some comfort in. If we loved them, tried our best with what we knew based on that love, then we should find some comfort in that. We should not let that be the end of it. From that point onward, we need to learn everything we can and become devoted to making sure there will be one life saved for the one we lost, one family restored for the family we saw shattered and one more family finding they are not alone the way we thought we were.
The following is about two families left behind after suicide and it is a picture of the families across this country of the 18 families of veterans we lose to suicide everyday.
Veteran suicides: Families haunted
Depression follows tragedy
By Karen Nugent TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
LEOMINSTER — Kevin P. Lucey made no bones about telling a group of clergy about his loss of faith.
“God and I have not been on good terms for six years. He turned his back on my son, and I will never forgive him for that,” Mr. Lucey told the group gathered recently at the Leominster Veterans Center for a workshop on helping war veterans and their families re-adjust to daily life.
Mr. Lucey’s son, Jeff Lucey, a Marine reservist who served in the first Iraq invasion in 2003, hanged himself in the family’s basement a year after he returned to his Belchertown home. He was 23. The tragedy occurred after his family tried for months to get Jeff, a popular class clown in his high school days, treatment for what seemed an obvious case of post-traumatic stress disorder.
“People other than us should have cared,” an angry Mr. Lucey told the group. “I’m faulting the VA (Northampton VA Medical Center), I’m faulting the church, and I’m faulting God.”
Another parent took a different route.
The Rev. Cynthia Crosson-Harrington of Petersham finished seminary school, became a minister, and is a founder of the NEADS Canines for Combat Veterans program, which provides assistance dogs to veterans.
But all that followed a long period of depression after her son, James Tower, who served in Bosnia and in Iraq, died in 2003 at age 22 in what she now accepts as a suicidal gesture attributed to post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Veteran suicides Families haunted
Monday, July 5, 2010
Honorary Raleigh police officer remembered as hero at 8 years old
Honorary officer remembered as hero
Raleigh, N.C. — Raleigh police bid farewell Saturday to a friend and fellow officer. William Bunn, 8, died of a cancer called neuroblastoma Thursday.
On June 11, the Raleigh Police Department made him the city's first honorary officer, fulfilling his dream. Bunn was buried with full police honors, including a flyover by a police helicopter.
Bunn always wanted to be a police officer. He liked the cool cap, the crisp uniform, but most of all, he loved the job description.
Officer Graham Witherspoon remembered meeting Bunn last April. The two struck up a friendship when Witherspoon visited the boy's school.
"I said, 'What do officers do?' He said, 'Simple. Catch the bad guys.'"
"For him to become an officer, for him to enjoy it, was probably the proudest day of my life, in my career," Witherspoon said.
Bunn proudly carried his police badge for the last three weeks of his life. Inside his casket Saturday, he wore his police uniform.
go here for more if you want your heart warmed
http://www.wral.com/news/local/noteworthy/story/7902381/
linked from CNN
Raleigh, N.C. — Raleigh police bid farewell Saturday to a friend and fellow officer. William Bunn, 8, died of a cancer called neuroblastoma Thursday.
On June 11, the Raleigh Police Department made him the city's first honorary officer, fulfilling his dream. Bunn was buried with full police honors, including a flyover by a police helicopter.
Bunn always wanted to be a police officer. He liked the cool cap, the crisp uniform, but most of all, he loved the job description.
Officer Graham Witherspoon remembered meeting Bunn last April. The two struck up a friendship when Witherspoon visited the boy's school.
"I said, 'What do officers do?' He said, 'Simple. Catch the bad guys.'"
"For him to become an officer, for him to enjoy it, was probably the proudest day of my life, in my career," Witherspoon said.
Bunn proudly carried his police badge for the last three weeks of his life. Inside his casket Saturday, he wore his police uniform.
go here for more if you want your heart warmed
http://www.wral.com/news/local/noteworthy/story/7902381/
linked from CNN
NFL coaches meet wounded soldiers in Afghanistan
4 NFL coaches visit troops in Afghanistan
By RICHARD ROSENBLATT (AP) – 1 hour ago
As Andy Reid visited with injured soldiers in a hospital at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles couldn't get over how eager they were to return to action.
"You see guys in there, some of them missing limbs and some pretty beat up," Reid said. "These guys couldn't wait to go back out there, if they could, and fight to protect our country. It's quite an amazing thing."
Reid, John Fox of the Carolina Panthers, Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals and Brad Childress of the Minnesota Vikings met with hundreds of soldiers at the air field north of Kabul over the Fourth of July weekend.
The NFL-USO coaches tour is in its second year. Last year, five coaches visited troops in Iraq.
Watching a war unfold on TV half a world away and then suddenly being with the soldiers doing the fighting was an eye-opening experience for the coaches.
go here for more
4 NFL coaches visit troops in Afghanistan
By RICHARD ROSENBLATT (AP) – 1 hour ago
As Andy Reid visited with injured soldiers in a hospital at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles couldn't get over how eager they were to return to action.
"You see guys in there, some of them missing limbs and some pretty beat up," Reid said. "These guys couldn't wait to go back out there, if they could, and fight to protect our country. It's quite an amazing thing."
Reid, John Fox of the Carolina Panthers, Marvin Lewis of the Cincinnati Bengals and Brad Childress of the Minnesota Vikings met with hundreds of soldiers at the air field north of Kabul over the Fourth of July weekend.
The NFL-USO coaches tour is in its second year. Last year, five coaches visited troops in Iraq.
Watching a war unfold on TV half a world away and then suddenly being with the soldiers doing the fighting was an eye-opening experience for the coaches.
go here for more
4 NFL coaches visit troops in Afghanistan
Camp Pendleton Marine died in Afghanistan saving another
Camp Pendleton Marine died in Afghanistan while carrying wounded Marine
July 5, 2010 8:33 am
The body of Cpl. Larry Harris Jr., 24, a Camp Pendleton Marine killed in Afghanistan, has been returned to the U.S. and to his family in Colorado.
And the details of Harris' heroism are beginning to emerge.
Harris, a mortar man, was killed July 1 while on combat patrol in Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold. His patrol was ambushed and Lance Cpl. Jake Henry was wounded.
Harris was carrying Henry to safety outside the "kill zone." Brian Henry, the lance corporal's father, wrote on a Facebook page for family members of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment:
"He was carrying my son when he tripped an explosive device. His life was lost but my son lives.
go here for more
Camp Pendleton Marine died in Afghanistan
Kayaker says he found 46 military grave markers going back to Civil War
Kayaker says he found 46 military grave markers
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jul 5, 2010 13:03:26 EDT
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown kayaker says he found a cache of military grave markers in the Lehigh River.
Joe Brozowski said he found 46 of the small markers in shallow water near a Catasauqua bridge last month.
read more here
Kayaker says he found 46 military grave markers
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jul 5, 2010 13:03:26 EDT
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown kayaker says he found a cache of military grave markers in the Lehigh River.
Joe Brozowski said he found 46 of the small markers in shallow water near a Catasauqua bridge last month.
He said some appear to honor service dating back to the Civil War.
There are no signs of corrosion, suggesting they were dumped recently.
read more here
Kayaker says he found 46 military grave markers
Tiny spider bite nearly claims Washington man's life
Tiny spider bite nearly claims Wash. man's life
By Associated Press
PORT ANGELES, Wash. (AP) - What seemed like a minor spider bite almost turned deadly for a Port Angeles plumber.
The Peninsula Daily News reports that Joel Roberson was working on a plumbing job in May when a tiny spider bit him. A few days later, his leg had swollen to twice its size, then fevers set in. Doctors gave him antibiotics, and he improved, but he soon developed a full-body skin rash.
"One day it would be a little bit better, and so we would put off going to the doctor for another day," said his wife, Sandi Roberson.
The bite had let in Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - commonly known as MRSA.
read more here
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/97745559.html
By Associated Press
PORT ANGELES, Wash. (AP) - What seemed like a minor spider bite almost turned deadly for a Port Angeles plumber.
The Peninsula Daily News reports that Joel Roberson was working on a plumbing job in May when a tiny spider bit him. A few days later, his leg had swollen to twice its size, then fevers set in. Doctors gave him antibiotics, and he improved, but he soon developed a full-body skin rash.
"One day it would be a little bit better, and so we would put off going to the doctor for another day," said his wife, Sandi Roberson.
The bite had let in Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - commonly known as MRSA.
read more here
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/97745559.html
Navy brass targets hike in sexual assaults
Navy brass targets hike in sexual assaults
Intervention strategy mimics college efforts
By Jeanette Steele, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Originally published July 3, 2010 at 10:41 p.m., updated July 4, 2010 at 12:02 a.m.
The Navy’s top brass wants commanders to “get uncomfortable” about sexual assaults, which are happening at the rate of more than one a day and to one in five female sailors during her career — mostly at the hands of other shipmates.
“A lot of it is blue on blue, sailor on sailor,” the Navy’s No. 2 officer, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert, said during a recent speech in San Diego.
“In your Navy and my Navy, that’s, to me, totally unsatisfactory. I have a problem even talking about it. It gets me irritated,” he said.
After spending five years concentrating on supporting victims but seeing no decrease in assault numbers, the Navy’s new tactic is to get “left of the event” — the same language the Pentagon used when it concentrated on diminishing roadside bomb deaths.
They are instructing sailors to step in when something looks sinister, even if the perpetrator is of a higher rank — something, they acknowledge, that may be tough to achieve because the difference between a commander and a petty officer is woven into the basic fabric of the military.
The Navy recently held “bystander intervention” seminars in San Diego, Virginia and Hawaii. It’s a pilot program, and officials will look at the results before they roll out the seminars to the entire fleet.
read more here
Navy brass targets hike in sexual assaults
linked from Stars & Stripes
Intervention strategy mimics college efforts
By Jeanette Steele, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Originally published July 3, 2010 at 10:41 p.m., updated July 4, 2010 at 12:02 a.m.
The Navy’s top brass wants commanders to “get uncomfortable” about sexual assaults, which are happening at the rate of more than one a day and to one in five female sailors during her career — mostly at the hands of other shipmates.
“A lot of it is blue on blue, sailor on sailor,” the Navy’s No. 2 officer, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert, said during a recent speech in San Diego.
“In your Navy and my Navy, that’s, to me, totally unsatisfactory. I have a problem even talking about it. It gets me irritated,” he said.
After spending five years concentrating on supporting victims but seeing no decrease in assault numbers, the Navy’s new tactic is to get “left of the event” — the same language the Pentagon used when it concentrated on diminishing roadside bomb deaths.
They are instructing sailors to step in when something looks sinister, even if the perpetrator is of a higher rank — something, they acknowledge, that may be tough to achieve because the difference between a commander and a petty officer is woven into the basic fabric of the military.
The Navy recently held “bystander intervention” seminars in San Diego, Virginia and Hawaii. It’s a pilot program, and officials will look at the results before they roll out the seminars to the entire fleet.
read more here
Navy brass targets hike in sexual assaults
linked from Stars & Stripes
Military enlistment a popular option during recession
Military enlistment a popular option during recession
With the nation's economy suffering and unemployment hovering near 10 percent, many are remaining in uniform longer than they planned. The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines exceeded their retention goals last year and this year despite the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Army met 124 percent of its goal last year, compared with 102 percent in 2001.
With the nation's economy suffering and unemployment hovering near 10 percent, many are remaining in uniform longer than they planned. The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines exceeded their retention goals last year and this year despite the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Army met 124 percent of its goal last year, compared with 102 percent in 2001.
Talks of cutting funds for troops disgraceful
When will politicians understand that they are the people responsible for committing men and women to fight the battles they decide need to be fought? Taking care of them and their families are part of the deal considering how much they are sacrificing for our sake. Taking care of them should never, ever be part of any debate but should be a priority.
Anyone suggesting the troops are not worth the price, needs to ask themselves what part of freedom they do not want anymore. Yes, budgets have to be cut but try to start with the no-bid contracts defense contractors have received and holding them to account for every dime of tax payer funds. Considering how much of the defense budget goes to them, that seems like a perfect place to start. When it comes to the troops, lawmakers should be ashamed of the disgraceful thoughts of cutting the budget off their backs.
Anyone suggesting the troops are not worth the price, needs to ask themselves what part of freedom they do not want anymore. Yes, budgets have to be cut but try to start with the no-bid contracts defense contractors have received and holding them to account for every dime of tax payer funds. Considering how much of the defense budget goes to them, that seems like a perfect place to start. When it comes to the troops, lawmakers should be ashamed of the disgraceful thoughts of cutting the budget off their backs.
Military benefits target in cost-cutting talks
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Jul 4, 2010 10:11:52 EDT
From the left, right and center of the political spectrum, talk about drastically cutting military personnel costs is on the rise.
The $549 billion defense budget makes for a juicy target, and the $197 billion of that budget that goes to personnel costs is being attacked from all sides — even the Defense Department itself — as excessive in a time of economic malaise and belt-tightening.
The list of programs under attack includes pay raises, retired pay, health care benefits, commissaries and exchanges, and even the size of the force.
“We are very concerned about the outlook for the future,” said Joe Barnes of the Fleet Reserve Association, who is also a co-chairman the Military Coalition, a group of more than 30 military-related organizations. “We have had a lot of successes over the last 10 to 12 years, and we need to maintain them and to make further improvements.”
But, he added, “There is some pain coming.”
On the right, tea party activists and fiscal conservatives want the government to stop spending so much.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/07/army_benefits_070210w/
White House celebrates 4th with 1,200 troops and family members
Obama has Troops Over for the Fourth
July 05, 2010
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan
President Obama opened the South Lawn of the White House to more than 1,200 American servicemembers and their families yesterday for a Fourth of July celebration.
Visitors ate hot dogs and ice cream to the sounds of Dixieland jazz played by the Marine Corps Band before Obama, speaking from the bunting-adorned balcony of the White House, thanked the military families gathered for doing their part in protecting the United States.
"This is the spirit of which Adams spoke so long ago," he told them. "You are the men and women who toil to defend these states. You are patriots, and you have earned your place among the greatest generations."
read more here
Obama has Troops Over for the Fourth
July 05, 2010
Military.com
by Bryant Jordan
President Obama opened the South Lawn of the White House to more than 1,200 American servicemembers and their families yesterday for a Fourth of July celebration.
Visitors ate hot dogs and ice cream to the sounds of Dixieland jazz played by the Marine Corps Band before Obama, speaking from the bunting-adorned balcony of the White House, thanked the military families gathered for doing their part in protecting the United States.
"This is the spirit of which Adams spoke so long ago," he told them. "You are the men and women who toil to defend these states. You are patriots, and you have earned your place among the greatest generations."
read more here
Obama has Troops Over for the Fourth
UK former sergeant major wanted to go to jail instead of being a burden
Iraq war veteran: Haunted, in prison, now homeless
Karen McVeigh The Guardian, Monday 5 July 2010
John Dale has completed 20 years of military service, in Iraq – the last time in 2006 amid some of the fiercest fighting of the war – and Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland. His plan was to leave the army and join the police or fire service.
But today, aged 40, the former sergeant major and father of three children is homeless, living in a tent in the garden of the Margate house belonging to the brother of his wife, Kerry.
He had been released from prison in April, after being found not guilty of the attempted murder of Kerry. The charge, he says, came about after he lied to police so that they would lock him up, so that his family, who had watched helplessly as he fell apart, would not have to "babysit" him any more.
Dale's life began to unravel two years ago, when his regiment, the 1st Battalion, the Light Infantry, was preparing to return to Iraq on what would have been his fourth tour. He never made it. The nightmares and flashbacks he increasingly suffered but had tried to suppress, became impossible to ignore. He saw dead children everywhere. He couldn't see a way out and tried to kill himself.
read more here
Iraq war veteran Haunted in prison now homeless
Case study: Former sergeant major John Dale's life began to unravel two years ago, when 20 years of military service brought nightmares and flashbacks
Karen McVeigh The Guardian, Monday 5 July 2010
John Dale has completed 20 years of military service, in Iraq – the last time in 2006 amid some of the fiercest fighting of the war – and Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland. His plan was to leave the army and join the police or fire service.
But today, aged 40, the former sergeant major and father of three children is homeless, living in a tent in the garden of the Margate house belonging to the brother of his wife, Kerry.
He had been released from prison in April, after being found not guilty of the attempted murder of Kerry. The charge, he says, came about after he lied to police so that they would lock him up, so that his family, who had watched helplessly as he fell apart, would not have to "babysit" him any more.
Dale's life began to unravel two years ago, when his regiment, the 1st Battalion, the Light Infantry, was preparing to return to Iraq on what would have been his fourth tour. He never made it. The nightmares and flashbacks he increasingly suffered but had tried to suppress, became impossible to ignore. He saw dead children everywhere. He couldn't see a way out and tried to kill himself.
read more here
Iraq war veteran Haunted in prison now homeless
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction helps veterans with PTSD
Local program helps veterans deal with the stress from war
TUCSON - Thousands of vets returned to Arizona from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, and many will carry the war with them for months or even years.
These are the soldiers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.
For those vets, an 8 week class is being offered for free.
It's called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and we talk with 2 combat veterans from the Vietnam War who find the practice life changing.
go here for more
Local program helps veterans deal with the stress from war
TUCSON - Thousands of vets returned to Arizona from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, and many will carry the war with them for months or even years.
These are the soldiers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD.
For those vets, an 8 week class is being offered for free.
It's called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and we talk with 2 combat veterans from the Vietnam War who find the practice life changing.
go here for more
Local program helps veterans deal with the stress from war
Vt. soldier, wounded 4 years ago in Iraq, dies in Afghanistan
Vt. soldier, wounded 4 years ago in Iraq, dies in Afghanistan
By Emma Stickgold
Globe Correspondent
July 5, 2010
He was injured while serving in Iraq several years ago, his leg wounded from an improvised explosive device. But Specialist Ryan J. Grady of the Vermont Army National Guard was determined to be a career soldier, and headed back overseas in March, this time to Afghanistan.
Tweet Be the first to Tweet this!Submit to DiggdiggsdiggYahoo! Buzz ShareThis On Friday, Grady died shortly after his military vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device near Bagram Airfield.
“He was a warrior,’’ said his father, James A. Grady of West Burke, Vt. “He loved the Army.’’
At 6 feet 4 inches, Grady was “a big, friendly giant,’’ his father said.
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Vt soldier wounded 4 years ago in Iraq dies in Afghanistan
By Emma Stickgold
Globe Correspondent
July 5, 2010
He was injured while serving in Iraq several years ago, his leg wounded from an improvised explosive device. But Specialist Ryan J. Grady of the Vermont Army National Guard was determined to be a career soldier, and headed back overseas in March, this time to Afghanistan.
Tweet Be the first to Tweet this!Submit to DiggdiggsdiggYahoo! Buzz ShareThis On Friday, Grady died shortly after his military vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device near Bagram Airfield.
“He was a warrior,’’ said his father, James A. Grady of West Burke, Vt. “He loved the Army.’’
At 6 feet 4 inches, Grady was “a big, friendly giant,’’ his father said.
go here for more
Vt soldier wounded 4 years ago in Iraq dies in Afghanistan
Horse rescue group comes to Marine's aid
Horse rescue group comes to Marine's aid
By Bob Hallmark - bio email
LONGVIEW,TX (KLTV)- 23 year old Michael Attaway grew up with a boyhood dream.
"I had asked for a horse ever since I could speak really," says Attaway.
While he was serving in the Marines in Iraq, he got a letter from his father explaining a new girl named Lucy, was waiting for him.
"I was over there in Iraq, and opened up my letter, and he had all these pictures in there of Lucy and another horse and he said 'well I finally got you your horse son,'" he says.
After he got out, Attaway came home and started a family, including Lucy, but struggled financially. When Lucy had a severe leg injury, he had to face facts.
"And I was really short on money and didn't know what to do I wanted her to go to a good home. I was caught between and family and a horse I loved and really wanted to hang on to her," Attaway says.
But that's when Safe Haven Equine Rescue stepped in.
go here for more
http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12755038
By Bob Hallmark - bio email
LONGVIEW,TX (KLTV)- 23 year old Michael Attaway grew up with a boyhood dream.
"I had asked for a horse ever since I could speak really," says Attaway.
While he was serving in the Marines in Iraq, he got a letter from his father explaining a new girl named Lucy, was waiting for him.
"I was over there in Iraq, and opened up my letter, and he had all these pictures in there of Lucy and another horse and he said 'well I finally got you your horse son,'" he says.
After he got out, Attaway came home and started a family, including Lucy, but struggled financially. When Lucy had a severe leg injury, he had to face facts.
"And I was really short on money and didn't know what to do I wanted her to go to a good home. I was caught between and family and a horse I loved and really wanted to hang on to her," Attaway says.
But that's when Safe Haven Equine Rescue stepped in.
go here for more
http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12755038
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Four limbs gone, Iraq vet reclaims his life
Spirit intact, injured Iraq vet reclaims his life
'I never catch him feeling sorry for himself. I've never heard him say, 'I wish this had never happened.' '
by Lizette Alvarez
New York Times
WASHINGTON — Brendan Marrocco and his brother, Michael, were constructing a summer bucket list, to get them out and about, trying new things. A Washington Nationals game versus their beloved Yankees — sure, since they were stuck here rather than home on Staten Island. Perhaps a ride on the Metro, with its reliable elevators. Pizza: definitely.
How about going to an amusement park? Michael suggested optimistically.
“Would that really be safe?” asked Brendan, a smirk crossing his lips.
read more here
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38083693/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times/
linked from ICasualties.org
'I never catch him feeling sorry for himself. I've never heard him say, 'I wish this had never happened.' '
Then, on Easter Sunday 2009, a roadside bomb exploded under his vehicle, and he became the first veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to lose all four limbs in combat and survive.
by Lizette Alvarez
New York Times
WASHINGTON — Brendan Marrocco and his brother, Michael, were constructing a summer bucket list, to get them out and about, trying new things. A Washington Nationals game versus their beloved Yankees — sure, since they were stuck here rather than home on Staten Island. Perhaps a ride on the Metro, with its reliable elevators. Pizza: definitely.
How about going to an amusement park? Michael suggested optimistically.
“Would that really be safe?” asked Brendan, a smirk crossing his lips.
read more here
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38083693/ns/us_news-the_new_york_times/
linked from ICasualties.org
Death on Facebook:“Rest in Peace 1Lt Joe Theinert"
July 2, 2010, 3:12 pm
Death on Facebook
By MARK LARSON
They say war isn’t real until you’re getting shot at or shooting at someone, but the true reality of war doesn’t hit until you lose one of your own. This terrible knowledge is shared amongst the comrades, family and friends of some 5,517 Americans who have lost their lives fighting for their country in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past eight years. For the first time since the war began, I now regrettably count myself amongst those who personally know the terrible cost of war. A friend, First Lt. Joe Theinert of Sag Harbor, N.Y., was killed in an ambush in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, on 4 June.
I found out about this sad loss on Facebook when I noticed on my newsfeed that several of my Army friends had joined a group called “Rest in Peace 1Lt Joe Theinert, a True Hero!” I was taken aback at first, so unexpected was the news, when suddenly it struck me: I actually had heard about his death shortly after it happened when a colleague of mine mentioned that a lieutenant from 1st Battalion 71 Cavalry Regiment – one of our sister units in 1st BCT, 10th Mountain Division – had died in the south. He asked me if I knew him, but not knowing any information about who had died or what had happened, I said I didn’t, said a quick prayer for the deceased, and returned to work.
The sad reality is that soldiers die every day in Afghanistan and most of these deaths pass unnoticed within the vast majority of the Army’s ranks. Very few of us search out casualty reports to see if we may have known the deceased. I’m no different, and after hearing the news it quickly passed out of my mind. Only when I came across it on Facebook did I realize I had lost a friend.
read more here
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/death-on-facebook/
linked from ICasualties.org
Death on Facebook
By MARK LARSON
They say war isn’t real until you’re getting shot at or shooting at someone, but the true reality of war doesn’t hit until you lose one of your own. This terrible knowledge is shared amongst the comrades, family and friends of some 5,517 Americans who have lost their lives fighting for their country in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past eight years. For the first time since the war began, I now regrettably count myself amongst those who personally know the terrible cost of war. A friend, First Lt. Joe Theinert of Sag Harbor, N.Y., was killed in an ambush in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, on 4 June.
I found out about this sad loss on Facebook when I noticed on my newsfeed that several of my Army friends had joined a group called “Rest in Peace 1Lt Joe Theinert, a True Hero!” I was taken aback at first, so unexpected was the news, when suddenly it struck me: I actually had heard about his death shortly after it happened when a colleague of mine mentioned that a lieutenant from 1st Battalion 71 Cavalry Regiment – one of our sister units in 1st BCT, 10th Mountain Division – had died in the south. He asked me if I knew him, but not knowing any information about who had died or what had happened, I said I didn’t, said a quick prayer for the deceased, and returned to work.
The sad reality is that soldiers die every day in Afghanistan and most of these deaths pass unnoticed within the vast majority of the Army’s ranks. Very few of us search out casualty reports to see if we may have known the deceased. I’m no different, and after hearing the news it quickly passed out of my mind. Only when I came across it on Facebook did I realize I had lost a friend.
read more here
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/death-on-facebook/
linked from ICasualties.org
Female soldier's non-combat death among three
Iraq
Afghanistan
DOD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Morganne M. McBeth, 19, of Fredricksburg, Va., died July 2 in Al Asad, Iraq, of wounds sustained July 1 in a non-combat related incident in Khan Al Baghdadi, Iraq. She was assigned to the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13676
DOD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Johnny W. Lumpkin, 38, of Columbus, Ga., died July 2 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds sustained July 1 in a non-combat related equipment incident in Taji, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13677
Afghanistan
DOD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Sgt. 1st Class Kristopher D. Chapleau, 33, of LaGrange, Ky., died June 30 at Forward Operating Base Blessing, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13675
all reports linked from ICasualties.org
Commander’s wife banned from the brigade
There have been many complaints from people about FRG's being nothing more than a click of powerful people taking down others. The "Family Readiness Groups" on most bases are supposed to be about supporting the families of the troops, educating them on issues ranging from PTSD, TBI, their own health and yes, offering emotional support. If you think the FRG's in real life are anything like the one on Lifetime's Army Wives, you must not have talked to many real Army wives.
Aside from the stress of being married to someone being deployed over and over again along with the readjusting when they come home, there is also the issue of careers that have to be put on hold or forgotten about because of transfers, the threat of losing everything from housing to benefits if they should separate from their military spouse, domestic violence, the list goes on. Family Readiness Groups are supposed to be there to fill needs and not the ego of someone at the expense of all others. Some bases have good ones and others have them like this one.
Aside from the stress of being married to someone being deployed over and over again along with the readjusting when they come home, there is also the issue of careers that have to be put on hold or forgotten about because of transfers, the threat of losing everything from housing to benefits if they should separate from their military spouse, domestic violence, the list goes on. Family Readiness Groups are supposed to be there to fill needs and not the ego of someone at the expense of all others. Some bases have good ones and others have them like this one.
Commander’s wife banned from the brigade
By Joe Gould - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Jul 4, 2010 10:39:32 EDT
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Lt. Col. Frank Jenio was hit by an ear-splitting hourlong tirade from his commander’s wife, Leslie Drinkwine, complaining about the roster of his battalion family readiness group.
“Go ahead, and get me fired,” Jenio was heard shouting into his phone. Afterward, he emerged from a conference room, red-faced and furious, a source who was present said.
The March 2009 incident was not the last run-in between the wife of Col. Brian Drinkwine, commander of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, and one of his battalion commanders.
In January, less than a year later, Jenio and his command sergeant major Herbert Puckett were relieved of command while deployed in Afghanistan by Maj. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the 82nd Airborne’s commander. An investigation found they used “poor judgment which fostered a command climate that was not consistent with our Army values.”
Puckett said in a statement to investigators that Leslie Drinkwine later “bragged” to the rear detachment commander, “One team down, five to go.”
The confrontation between Leslie Drinkwine and Jenio was emblematic of an environment within the 4th Brigade, particularly its family readiness group, that was so toxic that it triggered an investigation by a three-star general.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/07/army_drinkwine_070410w/
Army journalist first killed in war since 9/11
Army journalist first killed in war since 9/11
By Kristin M. Hall - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jul 4, 2010 12:44:15 EDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Military officials say a Fort Campbell soldier killed in Afghanistan who was dedicated to telling the soldier’s story was the first Army journalist killed in combat since 9/11.
Staff Sgt. James P. Hunter died June 18 when a patrol he was with was struck by improvised explosive device in Kandahar.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/07/ap_journalist_killed_070410/
By Kristin M. Hall - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jul 4, 2010 12:44:15 EDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Military officials say a Fort Campbell soldier killed in Afghanistan who was dedicated to telling the soldier’s story was the first Army journalist killed in combat since 9/11.
Staff Sgt. James P. Hunter died June 18 when a patrol he was with was struck by improvised explosive device in Kandahar.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/07/ap_journalist_killed_070410/
Vietnam vet devoted post-military career to helping PTSD sufferers
'a true American hero'
Vietnam vet devoted post-military career to helping PTSD sufferers
By NATALIE JORDAN, The Daily News, njordan@bgdailynews.com
Saturday, July 3, 2010 11:15 PM CDT
Grady Pratt, lying in a bed at Greenview Regional Hospital, looked out the large window to his right. He then gazed at his wife before turning to a candy-filled bucket that read “You Are a Hero” around the rim.
“People’s attitudes towards veterans is changing,” said Pratt, a veteran of the Vietnam War who served from 1967 to 1970.
The July 4 commemoration of the United States’ independence is often celebrated with food, music and fireworks. But for veterans such as Pratt, today represents more than just barbecue and pyrotechnics - it’s a time for all Americans to remember the reasons behind the holiday: freedom and patriotism.
“People know more about war than they used to, so they’re more appreciative of soldiers now,” Pratt said in an interview last week. “They say thanks for our service now.”
read more here
http://bgdailynews.com/articles/2010/07/04/news/news1.txt
Vietnam vet devoted post-military career to helping PTSD sufferers
By NATALIE JORDAN, The Daily News, njordan@bgdailynews.com
Saturday, July 3, 2010 11:15 PM CDT
PTSD, Grady Pratt said, wasn’t recognized as a disorder until the 1980s. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 830,000 Vietnam War veterans suffered symptoms of PTSD.
“For 43 years, he’s been dealing with this,” Waldean Pratt said. “He’s still fighting it.”
Grady Pratt, lying in a bed at Greenview Regional Hospital, looked out the large window to his right. He then gazed at his wife before turning to a candy-filled bucket that read “You Are a Hero” around the rim.
“People’s attitudes towards veterans is changing,” said Pratt, a veteran of the Vietnam War who served from 1967 to 1970.
The July 4 commemoration of the United States’ independence is often celebrated with food, music and fireworks. But for veterans such as Pratt, today represents more than just barbecue and pyrotechnics - it’s a time for all Americans to remember the reasons behind the holiday: freedom and patriotism.
“People know more about war than they used to, so they’re more appreciative of soldiers now,” Pratt said in an interview last week. “They say thanks for our service now.”
read more here
http://bgdailynews.com/articles/2010/07/04/news/news1.txt
Slain Florida officers remembered at funeral
Slain Florida officers remembered at funeral; suspect denied bond
By the CNN Wire Staff
July 3, 2010 3:52 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Thousands gather to pay tribute to slain officers
NEW: Judge denies bond to alleged killer
Dontae Morris was arrested Friday
Tampa's police community relieved by arrest
(CNN) -- Hours after the arrest of a suspect, thousands of friends, family and fellow officers gathered Saturday to pay tribute to two slain Florida policemen.
An emotional funeral unfolded inside a Tampa church as suspect Dontae Morris, arrested on Friday, appeared in court for the first time. He was denied bond, CNN affiliate Bay News 9 reported, and is being held at the Hillsborough County Jail.
Morris surrendered after a third party tipped off police, said Police Chief Jane Castor. Police also arrested 22-year-old Cortnee Brantly, the woman believed to have been driving the car at the time of the shooting, Castor said.
The arrests came after a massive manhunt and were a relief, Castor said. They meant the department would be able to provide officers Jeffrey Kocab and David Curtis with the honorable tribute they deserve, Castor said.
"This has brought us a sense of closure, and I pray the arrest brings a level of peace to the families of the officers," she said.
read more here
Slain Florida officers remembered at funeral
By the CNN Wire Staff
July 3, 2010 3:52 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Thousands gather to pay tribute to slain officers
NEW: Judge denies bond to alleged killer
Dontae Morris was arrested Friday
Tampa's police community relieved by arrest
(CNN) -- Hours after the arrest of a suspect, thousands of friends, family and fellow officers gathered Saturday to pay tribute to two slain Florida policemen.
An emotional funeral unfolded inside a Tampa church as suspect Dontae Morris, arrested on Friday, appeared in court for the first time. He was denied bond, CNN affiliate Bay News 9 reported, and is being held at the Hillsborough County Jail.
Morris surrendered after a third party tipped off police, said Police Chief Jane Castor. Police also arrested 22-year-old Cortnee Brantly, the woman believed to have been driving the car at the time of the shooting, Castor said.
The arrests came after a massive manhunt and were a relief, Castor said. They meant the department would be able to provide officers Jeffrey Kocab and David Curtis with the honorable tribute they deserve, Castor said.
"This has brought us a sense of closure, and I pray the arrest brings a level of peace to the families of the officers," she said.
read more here
Slain Florida officers remembered at funeral
Will veterans ever celebrate freedom from PTSD
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington
Will veterans ever celebrate freedom from PTSD?
by
Chaplain Kathie
At a time in our history, celebrating the freedom of this nation, comes with a dark price being paid by those willing to serve her.
During all the wars this nation has fought, they arrived in uniform willingly or by lottery number, yet as the saying goes, "All gave some, some gave all" equally, side by side risking their lives for their friends and for total strangers.
Yesterday I was at the VA in Orlando with Semper Fidelis while they were serving lunch to our veterans. I was honored to be asked to offer the blessing. Having a loud voice, blessed with a big set of lungs, there was no need for a microphone.
I spoke of how in John 15, Christ talked about the greatest love was being willing to lay down your life for the sake of your friends. Our veterans were not just willing to lay down their lives for the sake of their friends, but for their neighborhoods, communities, states, the nation as a whole and for total strangers. That they were also willing to lay down their lives for all generations enjoying the freedom of this nation. I asked that the Lord bless all of them and that He holds of them within our hearts.
I listened to the stories of some of the patients talking about their service and as I listened, I noticed the sense of pride they felt fall into sadness. Maybe they were remembering friends they lost or wondering how it was they ended up forgotten by so many other people in this country. Glory days long gone but within them the spirit of a great good lives on.
The intent was not to kill, but to win for the sake of the future. They were told they had a threat to defeat, to fight against and to conquer. If all the weapons in enemy hands were laid down, they would live on because the rules of our military is to not harm the defeated in battle. We saw this throughout out history as captives were taken away to be held until the end of the wars. We saw it on film as German soldiers were taken away and we saw it when during the Gulf War, Iraqi forces raised their arms to American soldiers and they too were taken out of the battle. Getting to this day of celebration has come with a tremendous price in terms of lives and funds but we forget that when we see the fireworks, go to parties and enjoy the day they have provided for us.
The fact all come home from battle changed is forgotten while we rejoice. The fact some wage a battle within themselves still escapes us while they are not free to celebrate the freedom from painful memories. PTSD is the enemy carried away within the warrior and it does not surrender willingly. It does not give up fighting to claim the life and defeat hope. It rejoices with the captivity of character.
PTSD does not stop with just taking over the warrior but his/her family. But just as we created new weapons to fight enemies with, people across the nation are trying to find new weapons to use to defeat PTSD. Gone are the dark times when PTSD was held as some kind of secret to be kept within the family. More and more families are stepping forward to speak of the suicides and hoping, praying that one more family does not have to endure such pain alone or one more grave will not be filled with anther casualty of combat.
The military and the VA are trying to find the answers, but they will not find them looking in the wrong places and using the wrong weapons to fight against it. Medications alone do more harm than good because PTSD has been caused by a suffering soul who has seen too much for too long. The healing has to come from people knowing where the pain lives and why it came.
When this happens, when the mind-body-spirit are treated, they rejoice and the enemy they fought within themselves is taken away where it cannot harm them anymore. If we all understand this, then maybe by the next time we celebrate the independence of this nation, they can celebrate the independence from PTSD.
We have been determined to live in freedom since the founding fathers declared this nation shall be free and people were willing to die for it. To ever celebrate this day without thinking of the men and women who paid the price for it, dishonors this day. To forget about the veterans still waiting to heal dishonors them and the price they are still paying.
Chaplain Kathie
PTSD Consultant
Senior IFOC Chaplain
DAV Chapter 16 Auxiliary Chaplain
Sen. Gillibrand Seeks Better Mental Healthcare for NYS Veterans
Sen. Gillibrand Seeks Better Mental Healthcare for NYS Veterans
by Brooklyn Eagle (edit@brooklyneagle.net), published online 07-01-2010
Brooklyn Has High Number of Vets With PTSD and TBI
BROOKLYN — Brooklyn has the highest number of recent Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the city who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), according to U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s office.
Approximately 580 Brooklyn veterans who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11 suffer from PTSD, more than 540 Brooklyn vets suffer from TBI, and approximately 300 suffer from both, says Gillibrand.
Senator Gillibrand is now announcing new measures to bolster monitoring and treatment for men and women in uniform and new veterans. Her legislative agenda focuses on getting the bureaucracies at the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Veterans Administration (VA) to coordinate more effectively and work to address the stigma associated with mental health treatment by pushing for enhanced screening and better access to mental health providers.
also
by Brooklyn Eagle (edit@brooklyneagle.net), published online 07-01-2010
Brooklyn Has High Number of Vets With PTSD and TBI
BROOKLYN — Brooklyn has the highest number of recent Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the city who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), according to U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s office.
Approximately 580 Brooklyn veterans who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11 suffer from PTSD, more than 540 Brooklyn vets suffer from TBI, and approximately 300 suffer from both, says Gillibrand.
Senator Gillibrand is now announcing new measures to bolster monitoring and treatment for men and women in uniform and new veterans. Her legislative agenda focuses on getting the bureaucracies at the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Veterans Administration (VA) to coordinate more effectively and work to address the stigma associated with mental health treatment by pushing for enhanced screening and better access to mental health providers.
Senator Gillibrand’s agenda asks to improve coordination between the Veterans Administration and the Defense Department. For example, she says, “the VA and DOD currently have no shared interoperable definition of what even constitutes TBI cases, making it difficult to ensure veterans are immediately receiving effective treatment when they transfer to the VA.”
She is also asking co-sponsoring legislation to “embed” a mental health professional with every National Guard and Reserve unit to build the trust of troops and their families and help identify the onset of mental injuries.read more here
Sen. Gillibrand Seeks Better Mental Healthcare for NYS Veterans
also
Treating Returning Heroes
Nearly 8,000 veterans in New York suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Binghamton, NY (WBNG Binghamton)
About 300 of them are right here in the Southern Tier.
That number keeps growing as the wars overseas continue.
But is there enough treatment available?
Here's Action News Reporter Leigh Dana.
As the Fourth of July holiday approaches, we honor our founding Fathers fight for independence.
Our country's soldiers are currently fighting wars oversees with the goal of freeing us from terrorism.
But as they return home many are still at battle -- with themselves.
"Not all veterans, but some veterans come back from war with various problems that can range from PTSD or difficulty with family or difficulty sleeping or feeling more anxious and uncomfortable in crowds," said Dr. Allison Miller.
Dr. Miller works with veterans at the Binghamton Vet Center to help them re-integrate back into society.
read more of this here
http://www.wbng.com/news/local/97621079.html
July 4th means more to wounded warrior in Tampa
Holiday means more than just fireworks for wounded warrior
By VIN MANNIX
Gary Boggs wasn’t sure what he’d be doing Independence Day.
Maybe go on a boat. Or hang out along Channelside.
“It’s a celebration, a patriotic day,” he said from Tampa. “I just hope people realize it’s not just about fireworks.”
Boggs, 35, is a wounded warrior and volunteer spokesman for the TAMCO Foundation’s Embracing Florida’s Wounded Heroes, a nonprofit program that provides assistance to injured veterans.
According to Brig. Gen. Chip Diehl (Ret.), there are more than 1,800 wounded Florida veterans and 30 percent are severely wounded. Some are being treated at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa for brain and spinal cord injuries.
“They have lived through pain and sacrifice and all them are special to me and should be to all of us,” said Diehl, the EFWH executive director. “A lot of these kids are heroes in their 20s and ... it’s important to remember them, embrace them, tell them how much we appreciate and love them for what they did.”
Read more: Holiday means more than just fireworks for wounded warrior
By VIN MANNIX
Boggs, who’s on 100 percent disability, volunteers at Haley and mentors disabled veterans.
Gary Boggs wasn’t sure what he’d be doing Independence Day.
Maybe go on a boat. Or hang out along Channelside.
“It’s a celebration, a patriotic day,” he said from Tampa. “I just hope people realize it’s not just about fireworks.”
Boggs, 35, is a wounded warrior and volunteer spokesman for the TAMCO Foundation’s Embracing Florida’s Wounded Heroes, a nonprofit program that provides assistance to injured veterans.
According to Brig. Gen. Chip Diehl (Ret.), there are more than 1,800 wounded Florida veterans and 30 percent are severely wounded. Some are being treated at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa for brain and spinal cord injuries.
“They have lived through pain and sacrifice and all them are special to me and should be to all of us,” said Diehl, the EFWH executive director. “A lot of these kids are heroes in their 20s and ... it’s important to remember them, embrace them, tell them how much we appreciate and love them for what they did.”
Read more: Holiday means more than just fireworks for wounded warrior
Georgia fabric shields soldiers from burns
Georgia fabric shields soldiers
By Michael E. Kanell
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The difference between life and death, between third-degree burns and walking away whistling, between falling and fighting. When a burst of flame engulfs a soldier, his protection better be as close as his skin or he quickly becomes more casualty than combatant.
And in a war fought against rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs, the right defense can quickly turn a target back into an attacker.
“Four seconds is what they need to dismount a burning vehicle, to stay alive and to fight the enemy,” said Lt. Col. Mike Sloane of PEO Soldier, the U.S. Army’s acquisition organization. “It’s got to be scary to see a soldier, his uniform on fire then extinguishing itself — and the soldier continues to fight.”
To see how that can happen, you must follow a thread that leads roughly 7,000 miles from the combat zone to a tiny town 50 miles south of Atlanta.
It is in Zebulon where they are weaving protection.
read more here
Georgia fabric shields soldiers
By Michael E. Kanell
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The difference between life and death, between third-degree burns and walking away whistling, between falling and fighting. When a burst of flame engulfs a soldier, his protection better be as close as his skin or he quickly becomes more casualty than combatant.
And in a war fought against rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs, the right defense can quickly turn a target back into an attacker.
“Four seconds is what they need to dismount a burning vehicle, to stay alive and to fight the enemy,” said Lt. Col. Mike Sloane of PEO Soldier, the U.S. Army’s acquisition organization. “It’s got to be scary to see a soldier, his uniform on fire then extinguishing itself — and the soldier continues to fight.”
To see how that can happen, you must follow a thread that leads roughly 7,000 miles from the combat zone to a tiny town 50 miles south of Atlanta.
It is in Zebulon where they are weaving protection.
read more here
Georgia fabric shields soldiers
Texas National Guard soldier's home taken by HOA while he was deployed
Soldier Loses Home While Deployed
June 26, 2010
The Dallas Morning News
A Soldier serving in Iraq lost his Frisco home to foreclosure over late homeowners association dues, renewing a debate over the power of HOAs in Texas.
The case, which has boiled over to involve federal judge, a publicist and death threats, began when Michael and May Clauer lost their $315,000 home to foreclosure in May 2008 after falling behind on their association dues.
The Heritage Lakes Homeowners Association was initially owed $977.55 and sent multiple notices by certified mail demanding payment. All went unanswered, said David Margulies, spokesman for the association and its management company, Select Management.
The problem, according to a lawyer for the Clauers, was that Michael Clauer -- U.S. Army National Guard Capt. Michael Clauer -- was deployed to Iraq.
His wife, suffering from depression over her husband's absence, had let mail pile up and didn't open any of the certified letters. May Clauer and her parents owned the house mortgage-free.
go here for more
Soldier Loses Home While Deployed
June 26, 2010
The Dallas Morning News
A Soldier serving in Iraq lost his Frisco home to foreclosure over late homeowners association dues, renewing a debate over the power of HOAs in Texas.
The case, which has boiled over to involve federal judge, a publicist and death threats, began when Michael and May Clauer lost their $315,000 home to foreclosure in May 2008 after falling behind on their association dues.
The Heritage Lakes Homeowners Association was initially owed $977.55 and sent multiple notices by certified mail demanding payment. All went unanswered, said David Margulies, spokesman for the association and its management company, Select Management.
The problem, according to a lawyer for the Clauers, was that Michael Clauer -- U.S. Army National Guard Capt. Michael Clauer -- was deployed to Iraq.
His wife, suffering from depression over her husband's absence, had let mail pile up and didn't open any of the certified letters. May Clauer and her parents owned the house mortgage-free.
go here for more
Soldier Loses Home While Deployed
Michael Steele failed history, current events and the troops
This came out of the mouth of the Republican National Committee chairman? The party that is always saying how important national security is to them along with the troops? This is the man who stands at the top of their party? No wonder so many are calling for him to resign.
9-11 was used to justify whatever President Bush wanted but this war was not wanted. (Iraq is what he was accused of wanting to do.) It happened September 11, 2001 and by the following month troops were deployed into Afghanistan in retaliation. What no one seems to be asking is why no one claiming to be all about national security was not asking how this happened, right after it happened. So Steele failed this lesson on two parts. First, it was President Bush sending the troops into Afghanistan and secondly, it was not a "war of his choosing" either.
Steele cannot be that stupid to not remember so this has to be part of some kind of political game he's playing. That makes what he said even more terrible. It proved once and for all when it comes to truth and what the troops have been dying for, being wounded over and risking their lives for, none of it matters if he can't use it. He'll just change facts to meet what he wants to say.
9-11 was used to justify whatever President Bush wanted but this war was not wanted. (Iraq is what he was accused of wanting to do.) It happened September 11, 2001 and by the following month troops were deployed into Afghanistan in retaliation. What no one seems to be asking is why no one claiming to be all about national security was not asking how this happened, right after it happened. So Steele failed this lesson on two parts. First, it was President Bush sending the troops into Afghanistan and secondly, it was not a "war of his choosing" either.
Steele cannot be that stupid to not remember so this has to be part of some kind of political game he's playing. That makes what he said even more terrible. It proved once and for all when it comes to truth and what the troops have been dying for, being wounded over and risking their lives for, none of it matters if he can't use it. He'll just change facts to meet what he wants to say.
Michael Steele under fire over Afghanistan remarksThe Republican National Committee chairman is caught on video saying the conflict is a 'war of Obama's choosing' and implying that the U.S. effort is doomed. Conservatives call for his resignation.
By Michael Memoli, Tribune Washington Bureau
July 2, 2010 3:45 p.m.
Reporting from Washington — Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is facing a new test of his leadership over comments he made that appear to question America's military effort in Afghanistan.
Video footage that emerged Friday shows Steele referring to the conflict as "a war of Obama's choosing" and implying that the effort is doomed to fail.
"If he's such a student of history," Steele said, referring to President Obama, "has he not understood that, you know, that's the one thing you don't do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? Everyone who has tried, over 1,000 years of history, has failed."
go here for more
Michael Steele under fire over Afghanistan remarks
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Community rallies to replace money stolen from DAV Forget-me-not donations
Community rallies to replace money stolen from disabled vets
Daniel Tepfer, Staff Writer
Published: 11:19 p.m., Friday, July 2, 2010
FAIRFIELD -- The theft of money collected by disabled veterans outside a local supermarket has prompted an outpouring of community support to replace the stolen donations.
"It's just a heart-breaking story," said the Rev. Dr. Alida Ward of the Greenfield Hill Congregational Church.
The story unfolded Wednesday afternoon as Timothy Kelly, a local Vietnam War veteran, was collecting donations for the Fairfield chapter of the Disabled American Veterans outside the Super Stop & Shop on King's Highway Cut-off when police said 35-year-old Sean Smith, of Black Rock Turnpike, snatched the donation jar.
"I went to hand him a flower, a Forget Me Not, and he said, `Thank You,' and ran off with the donation jar," Kelly later said of the incident.
read more here
Community rallies to replace money stolen from disabled vets
Should the National Guard and Reserves merge to save money?
Guard, Reserve groups duel over merger proposal
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jul 2, 2010 13:30:07 EDT
A radical military reform proposal from the chairman of the board of the National Guard Association of the U.S. calls for the Army Reserve and Air Force Reserve to be absorbed into the National Guard as a cost-saving measure.
In an article appearing in the July issue of the National Guard Association magazine, Air Force Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, adjutant general of the Kansas National Guard, says eliminating the Army Reserve and Air Force Reserve and absorbing their people, equipment and facilities into the Guard should be considered as the Defense Department embarks on an effort to cut $100 billion from the military budget.
“What we really are talking about is the integration of two great teams,” he writes. “In the long run, the new, larger Guard would be more streamlined, with fewer headquarters, headquarters personnel and facilities. That is where we will find even more savings, which will be considerable and is what America needs.”
read more here
Guard Reserve groups duel over merger proposal
Grants available for student-veteran centers
Grants available for student-veteran centers
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jul 1, 2010 15:10:28 EDT
The Department of Education has announced that it will make grants available to 19 colleges or universities to help pay for student-veteran centers.
Thirty or more institutions of higher learning could vie for $6 million in grants, said Ray Kelley, national legislative director of AmVets, which has been pushing the idea of one-stop centers to help student veterans with admission, registration, financial aid, personal and mental health issues, and other needs.
“Our hope is that this is an idea that really takes off,” Kelley said. “This has a lot of promise for really helping veterans.”
Institutions have until Sept. 28 to apply for grants, which Education Department officials said will be awarded based on who makes the best presentation for a program to help recruit veterans, keep them in school and help them graduate. Programs that help veterans who are disabled, need help with the English language, or have been homeless also will have a better chance of being picked.
go here for more
Grants available for student veteran centers
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jul 1, 2010 15:10:28 EDT
The Department of Education has announced that it will make grants available to 19 colleges or universities to help pay for student-veteran centers.
Thirty or more institutions of higher learning could vie for $6 million in grants, said Ray Kelley, national legislative director of AmVets, which has been pushing the idea of one-stop centers to help student veterans with admission, registration, financial aid, personal and mental health issues, and other needs.
“Our hope is that this is an idea that really takes off,” Kelley said. “This has a lot of promise for really helping veterans.”
Institutions have until Sept. 28 to apply for grants, which Education Department officials said will be awarded based on who makes the best presentation for a program to help recruit veterans, keep them in school and help them graduate. Programs that help veterans who are disabled, need help with the English language, or have been homeless also will have a better chance of being picked.
go here for more
Grants available for student veteran centers
WWII vet waiting 65 years to have VA claim honored!
When innocent people are locked up but it is later found they were innocent, society demands they be paid for the injustice they received. Millions of dollars are paid to them because they didn't deserve to suffer or have their freedom taken away from them. It is the right thing to do.
So how is it that when a veteran seeks help and compensation for being wounded in service to this nation we send them away and make them fight for what society simply assumes is a debt we owe them? 65 years!
So how is it that when a veteran seeks help and compensation for being wounded in service to this nation we send them away and make them fight for what society simply assumes is a debt we owe them? 65 years!
A soldier's 65-year fight with the VA
By William R. Levesque
In Print: Saturday, July 3, 2010
It was 1945 when Tampa native Marty Redding Jr. first asked the Veterans Administration for a pension and treatment for the psychological trauma he suffered fighting in World War II.
He was 20 years old.
On Sunday, Redding will celebrate his 85th birthday — and he's still seeking benefits. "Kind of hard to believe, isn't it?" he says.
In what might be one of the longest-running benefits cases at what is now the Department of Veterans Affairs, Redding has enjoyed some measure of victory in his on-again, off-again battle. After half a century, the VA agreed to pay him a pension for post-traumatic stress starting in 1997. With other ailments, that brings his total monthly pension today to $2,800.
Now the contest is over retroactive benefits dating to 1947.
The Lakeland resident's struggle has outlasted four of his marriages and 11 U.S. presidents. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki was just 3 years old when Redding first filed a VA claim.
Delayed or improperly rejected claims at the VA "are a catastrophic problem," says Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense. "Marty should be labeled a hero for never giving up."Redding's discharge papers show that he spent more than 10 months in combat from 1944 to 1945 in Italy. He earned a Bronze Star for meritorious service.
He found that war held no romance. Forty of the 200 men in his company were killed in action, and another 45 were severely wounded, military records show.
read more here
A soldier 65 year fight with the VA
Fireworks and PTSD a matter of perception
When a PTSD veteran told his psychologist that he loves to go to the Disney Parks, she was stunned. PTSD veterans hate crowds so it didn't make sense he would really enjoy the rides, even in the dark, the crowds and strangers walking around in costumes. Then he said "it's a matter or perception." For him, Disney is all about families and most of the people there are kids under 12. Yet this same veteran can't go to a movie, sits with his back to the wall in restaurants and tries to stay out of stores as much a possible unless it's a food store. For him a grocery store is all about people being just human and filling a need to eat.
This veteran has carried PTSD inside of him since Vietnam and was tested very high for PTSD. Sleep problems, nightmares, flashbacks, twitches and all of this with heavy medications, yet he can understand the difference between what is supposed to be safe and what is unknowable. Fireworks can bother some veterans and remind them of combat. For others, while the reminders of combat are still awakened, they enjoy them. It is such a big problem for some that I added it into the video Hero After War when I try to explain what a flashback looks like along with how simple things we see everyday can become a dangerous reminder to them.
When it comes to fireworks, amusement parks and living in general, "it's a matter of perception" above anything else. Support them and try to understand why they react the way they do.
This veteran has carried PTSD inside of him since Vietnam and was tested very high for PTSD. Sleep problems, nightmares, flashbacks, twitches and all of this with heavy medications, yet he can understand the difference between what is supposed to be safe and what is unknowable. Fireworks can bother some veterans and remind them of combat. For others, while the reminders of combat are still awakened, they enjoy them. It is such a big problem for some that I added it into the video Hero After War when I try to explain what a flashback looks like along with how simple things we see everyday can become a dangerous reminder to them.
When it comes to fireworks, amusement parks and living in general, "it's a matter of perception" above anything else. Support them and try to understand why they react the way they do.
Fireworks and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Submitted: 07/02/2010
RHINELANDER - July 4th is a holiday when we celebrate our nation's birthday and those who selflessly fought for her.
But it can also be a dreaded day for some veterans, especially for someone who's been in combat warfare.
One veteran shares how this holiday can have a different meaning.
Jacob Lobermeier served his country in the Middle East as a platoon leader in combat warfare.
While he says he doesn't suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he says the effects of his experiences are long-lasting. "Things that you see, decisions that you make, friends that you've lost. And those things stay with you. You're never the same after as you were before."
And those memories can return in a split second with things like the common bang of 4th of July fireworks.
read more here
http://www.wjfw.com/stories.html?sku=20100702181841
Friday, July 2, 2010
MOAA defends military benefits to cost-cutters
The Military Officers Association had to explain to law makers what "earned by service and sacrifice" means but they should have understood this all along. This is what they were promised and what they earned. Any law maker forgetting what we owe to them should be forced to walk up to a combat veteran after his/her 3rd, 4th, 5th or more tour and explain why the government can't afford to take care of them if they need it. They should have to explain to a young wife after her husband was sent to Afghanistan with the National Guard unit again why she can't afford to take care of her family or why her husband won't have a job any more when he comes back home. Maybe they should have to tell a widow or a Mom how much the sacrifice of their solider meant to this country when the men he served with can't get what they need when they come home. Do you think these "law makers" would find it so easy to say that other law makers need to find the money to pay for it all first? This debt was owed the day they were sent into combat!
MOAA defends military benefits to cost-cutters
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jul 1, 2010 13:15:16 EDT
Current and former service members and their families understand the need for federal fiscal responsibility, but they don’t believe their benefits should be the first place the government looks when it tries to cut spending, a representative of a major military association told a federal budget commission.
Speaking Wednesday before the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, Steve Strobridge of the Military Officers Association of America said his organization “believes strongly that there is a fundamental difference between social insurance programs that are made available to every American, and programs such as military and veterans’ compensation that are earned by service and sacrifice to the nation.”
read more here
MOAA defends military benefits to cost cutters
June unemployment rates rise for veterans
June unemployment rates rise for veterans
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jul 2, 2010 12:39:16 EDT
The unemployment rate for veterans rose slightly in June, to 8 percent overall and 11.5 percent for Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans, a sign that expanding programs aimed at helping veterans find work are not working in a stagnant job market.
June employment statistics released Friday by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics show the overall unemployment rate for veterans rose slightly from 7.8 percent in May. Still, the unemployment rate for veterans remains lower than the overall national rate of 9.5 percent.
read more here
June unemployment rates rise for veterans
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jul 2, 2010 12:39:16 EDT
The unemployment rate for veterans rose slightly in June, to 8 percent overall and 11.5 percent for Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans, a sign that expanding programs aimed at helping veterans find work are not working in a stagnant job market.
June employment statistics released Friday by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics show the overall unemployment rate for veterans rose slightly from 7.8 percent in May. Still, the unemployment rate for veterans remains lower than the overall national rate of 9.5 percent.
read more here
June unemployment rates rise for veterans
Homeless vets starting new lives
Homeless vets starting new lives
By Mindy Blake - email
TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) - On any given night there are 700 homeless veterans sleeping in temporary shelters or on the streets of Tucson.
For many of them, homelessness is just one problem.
If they had a permanent place to stay, they could begin to deal with their other difficulties.
There is a place they can go for help.
It's the first step to getting out of a painful and dangerous cycle.
Navy veteran David Smith doesn't get to sit in an air conditioned room very often.
"I'm experiencing some difficulty in my life. I've been living in a wash for the past six weeks."
And before that, David lived in his pickup truck for two years.
read more here
http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=12737436
By Mindy Blake - email
TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) - On any given night there are 700 homeless veterans sleeping in temporary shelters or on the streets of Tucson.
For many of them, homelessness is just one problem.
If they had a permanent place to stay, they could begin to deal with their other difficulties.
There is a place they can go for help.
It's the first step to getting out of a painful and dangerous cycle.
Navy veteran David Smith doesn't get to sit in an air conditioned room very often.
"I'm experiencing some difficulty in my life. I've been living in a wash for the past six weeks."
And before that, David lived in his pickup truck for two years.
read more here
http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=12737436
Community steps up to find PTSD Vet's dog
A War Hero Reunites with his Dog
Two days after a Rogersville War Hero's dog disappeared, the much loved pet is back home.
Tuesday night, WAAY 31 told you about "Sam." he was a gift to wounded veteran, Jimmy Roberts, who struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, after two tours in Iraq. After our story aired, people all over Rogersville started looking for Sam. Tonight, we're happy to report he's back home.
It's the story of a War Hero, wounded in Iraq, given the gift of a Blue Heeler, to help him get through the day. The dog named Sam disappeared on Monday, but now he's back in his owner's arms. He's Jimmy best friend, he's also his therapy, as he fights Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
"I feel like things are more cheerful and lighter now, it's good to have him back," said Former Sgt. Jimmy Roberts.
read more here
http://www.waaytv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12738523
Two days after a Rogersville War Hero's dog disappeared, the much loved pet is back home.
Tuesday night, WAAY 31 told you about "Sam." he was a gift to wounded veteran, Jimmy Roberts, who struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, after two tours in Iraq. After our story aired, people all over Rogersville started looking for Sam. Tonight, we're happy to report he's back home.
It's the story of a War Hero, wounded in Iraq, given the gift of a Blue Heeler, to help him get through the day. The dog named Sam disappeared on Monday, but now he's back in his owner's arms. He's Jimmy best friend, he's also his therapy, as he fights Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
"I feel like things are more cheerful and lighter now, it's good to have him back," said Former Sgt. Jimmy Roberts.
read more here
http://www.waaytv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12738523
VA Scandal - VA Manipulates Appointment Scheduling
Thanks to Larry Scott over at VAWatchdog.org this became a story in the first place. Then Paul Sullivan over at Veterans For Common Sense.org jumped on it to get the word out to even more people. These are the heroes who track what is really happening to veterans day in and day out. Want to know how we really care, or should I say, don't really care about our veterans, read some of the work they do and then you'll know what are fairytales and what is their worst nightmare. We cannot go blindly day to day and just assume all is well with our veterans because it isn't and it won't be until the American people actually do pay attention as much as they pay attention to them coming home to their hometowns in flag draped coffins.
VA Scandal - VA Manipulates Appointment Scheduling
On June 23, 2010, veteran Larry Scott at VA Watchdog uncovered a huge VA scandal. Larry posted VA's memo descrbing 24 "tricks" or "gaming strategies" so VA would appear to help veterans get appointments fast. In fact, VA was delaying and denying medical care.
VA failed to fulfill the agency's promise to provide our veterans with prompt medical care. Instead of taking responsibility and actually improving access to care, VA is cooking the books and hoping no one will dig deeper.
VA cheated, and our veterans suffered.
Thanks go out to the investigative journalist who wrote the first news article about the VA scandal, Nora Eisenberg at AlterNet. Additional commendation goes to Kyra Phillips at CNN for making this national news. The CNN article contains a VCS statement about VA's outrageous "Cooked Appointment Books" scandal.
Vets' care hurt by bureaucratic games, memo says
By the CNN Wire Staff
July 2, 2010 12:25 p.m. EDTPaul Sullivan, from the group Veterans for Common Sense, told CNN the memo is "absolutely" symptomatic of a nationwide problem with the VA. "It's tragic (and) beyond unacceptable," he said. If VA employees are "cooking the books, (they) need to find another job."
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Memo: Veterans being denied care due to improper scheduling practices
VA employees using "gaming strategies" for better performance scores
Top VA official promises to stop denial of care
Advocate for veterans says practice is "tragic" and "unacceptable"
(CNN) -- Military veterans are being denied health care due to "inappropriate scheduling practices" at VA facilities, according to an internal memo from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The memo, written on April 26, says employees at various VA facilities often canceled veterans' appointments with doctors in order to generate better performance scores in reports to supervisors.
"In order to improve scores on assorted access measures, certain facilities have adopted use of inappropriate scheduling practices sometimes referred to as 'gaming strategies,'" the memo says.
"Example: as a way to combat Missed Opportunity rates some medical centers cancel appointments for patients not checked in 10 or 15 minutes prior to their scheduled appointment time. Patients are informed that it is medical center policy that they must check in early and if they fail to do so, it is the medical center's right to cancel that appointment."
read more here
Vets care hurt by bureaucratic games, memo says
Texas Revokes Late Senator Herring's Hero Status
Texas Revokes Late Senator’s Hero Status
July 02, 2010
El Paso Times
EL PASO -- Charles Ferguson Herring, a former state senator and U.S. attorney, no longer will be proclaimed a war hero by the state of Texas.
All references to combat valor were stripped Thursday from Herring's online biography at the Texas State Cemetery. The action came after its officials received military records contradicting Herring's claims of heroism during World War II.
Herring said he received the Navy Cross, a decoration for valor second only to the Medal of Honor; three Purple Hearts, each indicating combat injuries; and a Bronze Star, although not for valor. The biography also stated Herring left the Navy as a lieutenant commander.
Related story: Honored Texan's Medal Claims Fraudulent?
The record shows that Herring received no awards for combat valor or for being wounded. It makes no mention of a Bronze Star for service in a war zone. And it shows he left the Navy Reserve as a lieutenant junior grade, two ranks below lieutenant commander, after 10 years of service.
go here to read more
http://www.military.com/news/article/texas-revokes-late-senators-hero-status.html
July 02, 2010
El Paso Times
EL PASO -- Charles Ferguson Herring, a former state senator and U.S. attorney, no longer will be proclaimed a war hero by the state of Texas.
All references to combat valor were stripped Thursday from Herring's online biography at the Texas State Cemetery. The action came after its officials received military records contradicting Herring's claims of heroism during World War II.
Herring said he received the Navy Cross, a decoration for valor second only to the Medal of Honor; three Purple Hearts, each indicating combat injuries; and a Bronze Star, although not for valor. The biography also stated Herring left the Navy as a lieutenant commander.
Related story: Honored Texan's Medal Claims Fraudulent?
The record shows that Herring received no awards for combat valor or for being wounded. It makes no mention of a Bronze Star for service in a war zone. And it shows he left the Navy Reserve as a lieutenant junior grade, two ranks below lieutenant commander, after 10 years of service.
go here to read more
http://www.military.com/news/article/texas-revokes-late-senators-hero-status.html
Vietnam Vets have Graves' Disease to worry about after Agent Orange exposure
Link Between Agent Orange Exposure and Graves’ Disease in Vietnam Veterans
June 30, 2010 posted by Michael Leon ·
By Source:
Lois Baker
University at Buffalo
Vietnam War-era veterans exposed to Agent Orange appear to have significantly more Graves’ disease, a thyroid disorder, than veterans with no exposure, a new study by endocrinologists at the University at Buffalo has shown.
Ajay Varanasi, MD, an endocrinology fellow in the UB Department of Medicine and first author on the study, garnered first prize in the oral presentation category for this research at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists annual meeting held in Boston in April.
“Our findings show that Vietnam veterans who came in contact with Agent Orange are more likely to develop Graves’ disease than those who avoided exposure,” says Varanasi.
“The autoimmune disorder was three times more prevalent among veterans who encountered the dioxin-containing chemical. We also looked at other thyroid diagnoses, but we didn’t find any significant differences in thyroid cancer or nodules.”
go here for more
Link Between Agent Orange Exposure and Graves Disease
June 30, 2010 posted by Michael Leon ·
By Source:
Lois Baker
University at Buffalo
Vietnam War-era veterans exposed to Agent Orange appear to have significantly more Graves’ disease, a thyroid disorder, than veterans with no exposure, a new study by endocrinologists at the University at Buffalo has shown.
Ajay Varanasi, MD, an endocrinology fellow in the UB Department of Medicine and first author on the study, garnered first prize in the oral presentation category for this research at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists annual meeting held in Boston in April.
“Our findings show that Vietnam veterans who came in contact with Agent Orange are more likely to develop Graves’ disease than those who avoided exposure,” says Varanasi.
“The autoimmune disorder was three times more prevalent among veterans who encountered the dioxin-containing chemical. We also looked at other thyroid diagnoses, but we didn’t find any significant differences in thyroid cancer or nodules.”
go here for more
Link Between Agent Orange Exposure and Graves Disease
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Medal of Honor recommendation for a soldier's bravery in Afghanistan
Military recommends MoH for living recipient
By Pauline Jelinek - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jul 1, 2010 11:17:30 EDT
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say the military has sent the White House a recommendation to award the Medal of Honor to a soldier for bravery in Afghanistan, which could make him the first living recipient since the Vietnam War.
The military says the soldier ran through a hail of enemy fire to repel Taliban fighters in a 2007 battle, saving the lives of a half dozen other men. Officials spoke on the condition of anonymity and declined to name the soldier because he is still under consideration for the honor.
The nation's highest award for valor has been awarded only six times in the nine years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq — and all were awarded posthumously.
Military recommends MoH for living recipient
By Pauline Jelinek - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jul 1, 2010 11:17:30 EDT
WASHINGTON — U.S. officials say the military has sent the White House a recommendation to award the Medal of Honor to a soldier for bravery in Afghanistan, which could make him the first living recipient since the Vietnam War.
The military says the soldier ran through a hail of enemy fire to repel Taliban fighters in a 2007 battle, saving the lives of a half dozen other men. Officials spoke on the condition of anonymity and declined to name the soldier because he is still under consideration for the honor.
The nation's highest award for valor has been awarded only six times in the nine years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq — and all were awarded posthumously.
Military recommends MoH for living recipient
Protesters gather at Roseburg VA
While seeing any veteran forced to protest for the care they have already paid for is heartbreaking, maybe we need to see more protests at VA hospitals before the American public gets it. It is not that they don't care about our veterans. It's more a matter of they don't have a clue what's going on. Most simply assume veterans are taken care of after they served this country.
If you read blogs you may have encountered postings about private health insurance and the VA but what you have not read is the fact our veterans have to carry private health insurance, Medicaid or Medicare. If they have a disability rating from the VA, they will cover the care attached to the disability claim for free, but the rest is billed to insurance companies. Most of the time the insurance companies won't pay because they say it's the responsibility of the VA to cover the cost. With a claim pending or denied and on appeal, that is a claim considered "non-service connected" which means the veteran is responsible unless their income is too low to be able to afford to pay. No rating from the VA actually means that any medical need caused by service leaves the veteran S.O.L.
With all the pending claims, the private insurance companies deny claims because the doctor diagnosis cases like PTSD as service connected but the VBA denies the claim over paperwork. This happened to and is still happening to Vietnam veterans along with the new veterans. When my husband is treated for anything not attached to his claim, they bill our private insurance, which is very expensive. Before his claim was approved, the VA tried to bill our insurance but the claim was denied and we had to pay the fees. This was terrible for a couple of years until his claim was finally approved and we got most of the money back.
There are veterans across the country being denied the help they need to heal and be well after service to this country and they are suffering. Maybe if every veteran caught in the red tape flood, took to the streets and protested at the VA hospitals and clinics across the country then maybe the media may actually find their hearts and report on it so the public knows how the veterans are actually being treated or neglected. Politicians actually have the courage to stop bills for veterans by saying the congress has to pay for anything done for the veterans. They don't have a clue our veterans already paid for their care when they served with their lives on the line.
It is time the public knew exactly what was going on so if you are part of a group, paint your signs and show up in mass and let the American people know their independence they celebrate in a few days came with a heavy price you are still paying for.
If you read blogs you may have encountered postings about private health insurance and the VA but what you have not read is the fact our veterans have to carry private health insurance, Medicaid or Medicare. If they have a disability rating from the VA, they will cover the care attached to the disability claim for free, but the rest is billed to insurance companies. Most of the time the insurance companies won't pay because they say it's the responsibility of the VA to cover the cost. With a claim pending or denied and on appeal, that is a claim considered "non-service connected" which means the veteran is responsible unless their income is too low to be able to afford to pay. No rating from the VA actually means that any medical need caused by service leaves the veteran S.O.L.
With all the pending claims, the private insurance companies deny claims because the doctor diagnosis cases like PTSD as service connected but the VBA denies the claim over paperwork. This happened to and is still happening to Vietnam veterans along with the new veterans. When my husband is treated for anything not attached to his claim, they bill our private insurance, which is very expensive. Before his claim was approved, the VA tried to bill our insurance but the claim was denied and we had to pay the fees. This was terrible for a couple of years until his claim was finally approved and we got most of the money back.
There are veterans across the country being denied the help they need to heal and be well after service to this country and they are suffering. Maybe if every veteran caught in the red tape flood, took to the streets and protested at the VA hospitals and clinics across the country then maybe the media may actually find their hearts and report on it so the public knows how the veterans are actually being treated or neglected. Politicians actually have the courage to stop bills for veterans by saying the congress has to pay for anything done for the veterans. They don't have a clue our veterans already paid for their care when they served with their lives on the line.
It is time the public knew exactly what was going on so if you are part of a group, paint your signs and show up in mass and let the American people know their independence they celebrate in a few days came with a heavy price you are still paying for.
Protesters gather at Roseburg VA
ANNE CREIGHTON
The News-Review
More than 50 protesters gathered in front of the Roseburg Veterans Affairs Medical Center Monday morning to voice concerns about health care for Southern Oregon veterans.
After the local VA medical center replaced its six-bed intensive care unit with a two-bed telemetry unit last October, veterans began to fear more changes.
“People are always skeptical of services being moved,” said State Rep. Tim Freeman, R-Roseburg, who was standing among fellow protesters on Garden Valley Boulevard. “There's a certain anxiety that surrounds a change in health care.”
A press release from the Douglas County Veterans Forum said “the reduction of medical services at the VA not only degrades our veterans rights for quality and timely care in a VA environment, but impacts the livelihood of thousands of residents in our area.”
The press release also emphasized the importance of veteran health care in a facility that understands and respects their experiences and needs.
“We made a promise to our vets that we would take care of them when they went in harm's way,” said James Little, forum president, on Monday. “It's dishonorable to not give them the health care they deserve.”
read more here
Protesters gather at Roseburg VA
Program helping service women cope with PTSD
Program helping service women cope with PTSD
By: Benita Zahn
Twice this month, the Capital Region has known the sorrow of losing a soldier to war.
Many more will return home bearing the scars of battle.
Some will be the invisible wounds of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.)
For women, traditional care givers, PTSD can be especially disabling.
That's where Project Odyssey comes in.
It's a story you'll only see on News Channel 13
It's conversation and coffee with a side of toast and eggs, for these 13 female combat vets and their counselors.
Welcome to the start of the day for Project Odyssey, from which none of the women will return home unchanged.
“I see someone who came in to us Monday, not talking, very shy, not one smile, and then today I hear laughs. Can't shut them up. I see a lot of change,” said Nancy Schiliro of Project Odyssey.
Her own life changed so much by Project Odyssey that Schiliro now works for the Odyssey.
It's run by the Wounded Warriors Project and the Vet Centers, an offshoot of the V.A.
read more here
Program helping service women cope with PTSD
Here's one of my videos on female veterans
By: Benita Zahn
Twice this month, the Capital Region has known the sorrow of losing a soldier to war.
Many more will return home bearing the scars of battle.
Some will be the invisible wounds of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.)
For women, traditional care givers, PTSD can be especially disabling.
That's where Project Odyssey comes in.
It's a story you'll only see on News Channel 13
It's conversation and coffee with a side of toast and eggs, for these 13 female combat vets and their counselors.
Welcome to the start of the day for Project Odyssey, from which none of the women will return home unchanged.
“I see someone who came in to us Monday, not talking, very shy, not one smile, and then today I hear laughs. Can't shut them up. I see a lot of change,” said Nancy Schiliro of Project Odyssey.
Her own life changed so much by Project Odyssey that Schiliro now works for the Odyssey.
It's run by the Wounded Warriors Project and the Vet Centers, an offshoot of the V.A.
read more here
Program helping service women cope with PTSD
Here's one of my videos on female veterans
Family Remembers Minn. Soldier Who Died At Fort Riley
Family Remembers Minn. Soldier Who Died At Fort Riley
ST. CLOUD, Minn.
Family members are remembering a Minnesota soldier who died at a Kansas military base earlier this month as someone who loved serving his country.
Twenty-three-year-old Spc. Seth Zencius was found dead June 14 in his bunk at Fort Riley. He grew up in St. Cloud and graduated from Technical High School in 2004.
Zencius joined the U.S. Army in 2005 and served two tours of duty in Iraq.
read more here
http://wcco.com/local/family.remembers.soldier.2.1779459.html
ST. CLOUD, Minn.
Family members are remembering a Minnesota soldier who died at a Kansas military base earlier this month as someone who loved serving his country.
Twenty-three-year-old Spc. Seth Zencius was found dead June 14 in his bunk at Fort Riley. He grew up in St. Cloud and graduated from Technical High School in 2004.
Zencius joined the U.S. Army in 2005 and served two tours of duty in Iraq.
read more here
http://wcco.com/local/family.remembers.soldier.2.1779459.html
Please help me
I am in financial distress and alone.(clarification: I work alone, still happily married) While I work with many fine organizations, I am independent of them so that I can provide all of them with equal guidance.
Two and a half years ago, I had a job that supported my volunteer work with veterans but the economy hit the church so hard, the job closed down and they had to rely on volunteers. After two years on a job I loved, I was out of work and shocked to discover I couldn't get unemployment because the church didn't pay into the system.
That was when I decided to become a Chaplain. The training, insurance, communication expenses and travel caused more financial hardship, but I trusted the Lord with all of it in His hands. After over 25 years working with veterans and all these years of doing it online, there isn't much I don't know about PTSD but when it comes to finding financial support, I am dumber than dirt. I am not very good at it at all.
Since I lost my job I have found only temp jobs with a week here, two weeks there but nothing I could depend on. It is very stressful offering spiritual counseling to veterans and their families, which I am more than happy to do, but the financial stress is often more than I can carry.
What you see on this blog as I track reports around the country is only a part of what I do. There are many emails and phone calls helping veterans. When you see videos I've created to provide education and emotional support, there are countless hours putting them together. During the hours spent online there are also many hours helping organizations understand what needs the veterans face on a daily basis. Most of these groups offer nothing in return for my help simply because they are just starting up with very tiny budgets.
I am willing to carry these burdens because I don't want anyone to ever feel alone with PTSD ever again. I remember what that felt like and it breaks my heart knowing so many still feel alone. None of what we're seeing in the veterans suffering has to happen. Healing is possible no matter how long they have been living with PTSD. I plan on doing this for many more years to come but what I cannot do is to be alone and struggling to be able to pay my bills.
If you are able, please help me by making a donation into PayPal. The button is on the sidebar. It's tax deductible. If you cannot donate, please pray that God willing, someone with the means to support me helps me carry on.
Mark12:42-44
Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.
So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”
Sincerely devoted
Chaplain Kathie
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