We’ve had to fight for everything...
By Jo Davison
Published on Wednesday 5 October 2011 02:58
Every day for months, she had sat by the bedside of her unconscious soldier son, willing him to prove the doctors wrong.
His dreadful wounds, inflicted by a land mine just days before he was due to finish his tour of duty and fly home, were slowly mending.
Ben had suffered 37 injuries but the extent of the damage to his brain was still unknown.
Doctors had warned mother of three Diane Dernie her son would probably have no meaningful brain function, but she refused to believe them.
After all, he had come this far. And no other soldier had endured so many injuries and lived.
She thought the family’s prayers had been answered when, months into his recovery, he began to open his eyes. “But when I looked into them, it was so scary; there was absolutely nothing there,” she recalls.
Still, she clung to hope. And one day, when a nurse asked him to look over towards his mother, Diane watched his eyes move towards hers and for a moment, saw in them a glimpse of recognition.
Elated, she turned to the doctors. But they delivered a crushing blow. It meant nothing, they said. He could not have looked into her eyes – because they believed Ben was also blind.
For the first time since an Army official had arrived on her doorstep to tell her Ben had been severely injured on September 12 2006, Diane broke down and her thoughts turned to suicide.
She admits: “It was too much – the last blow. I thought there was nothing for Ben to carry on for.
“I decided I would end it for him, then take my own life because it wasn’t worth anything without him in it.”
read more here
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Mom of UK wounded soldier says "We’ve had to fight for everything"
When will governments actually value the men and women willing to die for them? They wouldn't need to have wounds taken care of if they didn't serve so what's the problem?
VA direct deposit missing from veteran's account
Disabled veteran blames VA for losing check
Sean Dieterich - The Independent
LAKESIDE — Paul Blecke says he got his perseverance from his time in the United States Marine Corps. And he says that is why he cannot stop fighting in the face of losing everything he has.
Blecke, 62, did not get his monthly disability check from the Veterans Administration (VA), but said he is getting no help in recovering those lost funds. Without it, he said he cannot pay his bills and will more than likely end up back on the street.
Blecke served in the Marines from 1967 to 1968 and again from 1970 to 1972. He served in Vietnam with the 7th Marine regiment, stationed near a demilitarized zone. During his combat tours he suffered injuries to his legs which rendered him disabled. Blecke also serves as a chaplain for Disabled American Veterans.
Blecke has lived in the White Mountains off-and-on for the last 10 years, most recently at Apple Tree Apartments. He said he is 100 percent disabled, due to his injuries and his post-traumatic stress disorder, and gets $2,673 a month from the government. He said he has direct deposit set up through the Bank of America, where the checks are automatically deposited into his account on the first of every month.
September, Blecke said, was the first month the money did not show up in his account. Instead, he said it ended up with a bank in Maryland. He said it is the first problem he has had with direct deposit in 15 years, but the VA is not doing much to rectify the problem. He said they have repeatedly tracked the check and continue to blame him for the mistake.
read more here
Sean Dieterich - The Independent
LAKESIDE — Paul Blecke says he got his perseverance from his time in the United States Marine Corps. And he says that is why he cannot stop fighting in the face of losing everything he has.
Blecke, 62, did not get his monthly disability check from the Veterans Administration (VA), but said he is getting no help in recovering those lost funds. Without it, he said he cannot pay his bills and will more than likely end up back on the street.
Blecke served in the Marines from 1967 to 1968 and again from 1970 to 1972. He served in Vietnam with the 7th Marine regiment, stationed near a demilitarized zone. During his combat tours he suffered injuries to his legs which rendered him disabled. Blecke also serves as a chaplain for Disabled American Veterans.
Blecke has lived in the White Mountains off-and-on for the last 10 years, most recently at Apple Tree Apartments. He said he is 100 percent disabled, due to his injuries and his post-traumatic stress disorder, and gets $2,673 a month from the government. He said he has direct deposit set up through the Bank of America, where the checks are automatically deposited into his account on the first of every month.
September, Blecke said, was the first month the money did not show up in his account. Instead, he said it ended up with a bank in Maryland. He said it is the first problem he has had with direct deposit in 15 years, but the VA is not doing much to rectify the problem. He said they have repeatedly tracked the check and continue to blame him for the mistake.
read more here
Recently Married Fort Bliss Soldier Dies In Car Crash
Recently Married Soldier Dies In Car Crash
Pregnant Wife Is In Hospital
October 5, 2011
EL PASO, Texas -- A soldier dies in a car crash and his pregnant wife is in the hospital.
Tyon Smith, 21, was a Fort Bliss Soldier. Smith recently married Destiny Evans Smith who is 7 months pregnant.
Tuesday night Tyon Smith died after losing control of his pickup truck. The accident happened at Leigh Fisher Boulevard and Founders Boulevard. Police were called out around 8:20 p.m.
Smith’s Dodge Ram was flipped onto its side and Smith had been ejected over 50 feet from the truck. He was taken to University Medical Center where he died.
read more here
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Mom takes down robber at ATM
Mother Takes Down Robbery Suspect
John Meekin Wrestled To Ground While Fleeing
POSTED: 5:06 pm EDT October 5, 2011
OCALA, Fla. -- An Ocala mother wrestled and held a robbery suspect who was trying to flee from police.
It started Monday evening with Warren Kinsella, 55, who was withdrawing money from an automated teller machine near Ocala.
Investigators with the Marion County Sheriff's Office said John Meekin, 35, approached Kinsella on his bike, drew a gun and demanded money.
"I said no," Kinsella said. "I've got to pay bills with my money."
Kinsella retired from the Army and was a former military policeman. He said he shoved the bike out of the way and fled before following Meekin in his truck Kinsella said the gunman even shot at him but missed.
read more here
John Meekin Wrestled To Ground While Fleeing
POSTED: 5:06 pm EDT October 5, 2011
OCALA, Fla. -- An Ocala mother wrestled and held a robbery suspect who was trying to flee from police.
It started Monday evening with Warren Kinsella, 55, who was withdrawing money from an automated teller machine near Ocala.
Investigators with the Marion County Sheriff's Office said John Meekin, 35, approached Kinsella on his bike, drew a gun and demanded money.
"I said no," Kinsella said. "I've got to pay bills with my money."
Kinsella retired from the Army and was a former military policeman. He said he shoved the bike out of the way and fled before following Meekin in his truck Kinsella said the gunman even shot at him but missed.
read more here
Colonial State Road 50 open after standoff ends
S.R. 50 standoff over, man in custody
By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
4:37 p.m. EDT, October 5, 2011
A man armed with a gun sparked a standoff with Orange County deputies near the Brevard County line on Wednesday afternoon, blocking State Road 50 for several hours.
The situation shut down the roadway at the St. Johns River, where the man was threatening to harm himself inside a pickup truck, officials said.
He surrendered without violence just after 2 p.m., about three hours after the standoff was initially reported.
read more here
By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
4:37 p.m. EDT, October 5, 2011
A man armed with a gun sparked a standoff with Orange County deputies near the Brevard County line on Wednesday afternoon, blocking State Road 50 for several hours.
The situation shut down the roadway at the St. Johns River, where the man was threatening to harm himself inside a pickup truck, officials said.
He surrendered without violence just after 2 p.m., about three hours after the standoff was initially reported.
read more here
Florida Vets to See Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Bill?
Vets to See Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Bill?
Florida's home to more than 1-point-6 million military veterans. Many of them have served multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan
Reporter: Troy Kinsey
Email Address: news@wctv.tv
Tallahassee, FL -- October 4, 2011 --
Florida's home to more than 1-point-6 million military veterans. Many of them have served multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. And all too often, the difficult process of adjusting to life back home can lead to a life of crime. Now, state lawmakers have a plan to prevent that from happening.
Home from the battlefield...And life should be easier for veterans of of the war on terror. But for thousands... The war rages on in the form of post traumatic stress. Having served back-to-back tours of duty in iraq, state representative Jeff Brandes knows all too well. Post-traumatic stress disorder can take a heavy toll.
"Even within the same unit, you might have soldiers who have experienced the exact same things, but are having much more challenging situations in dealing with it when they return back home," said, Republican representative, Jeff Brandes.
That's why Brandes is taking a hard look at a bill that would let veterans with combat-related psychological disorders avoid going to prison.
read more here
Florida's home to more than 1-point-6 million military veterans. Many of them have served multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan
Reporter: Troy Kinsey
Email Address: news@wctv.tv
Tallahassee, FL -- October 4, 2011 --
Florida's home to more than 1-point-6 million military veterans. Many of them have served multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. And all too often, the difficult process of adjusting to life back home can lead to a life of crime. Now, state lawmakers have a plan to prevent that from happening.
Home from the battlefield...And life should be easier for veterans of of the war on terror. But for thousands... The war rages on in the form of post traumatic stress. Having served back-to-back tours of duty in iraq, state representative Jeff Brandes knows all too well. Post-traumatic stress disorder can take a heavy toll.
"Even within the same unit, you might have soldiers who have experienced the exact same things, but are having much more challenging situations in dealing with it when they return back home," said, Republican representative, Jeff Brandes.
That's why Brandes is taking a hard look at a bill that would let veterans with combat-related psychological disorders avoid going to prison.
read more here
Criminal Minds show with PTSD as topic Dorado Falls
Tonight on Criminal Minds: 7.03 "Dorado Falls"
Written By emma fraser
October 5th, 2011
The BAU team head to Charlottesville, Virginia tonight to investigate a mass murder at an Internet-security company. They find that the clues lead them to a suspect who is not a typical serial killer. In the sneak peek for "Dorado Falls" that can be seen below, Emily (Paget Brewster) has to complete recertification training with a familiar face as her trainer. Warning light spoilers ahead.
So what is it about this unsub that makes him different from a typical serial killer? It would appear that Navy Veteran Luke Dolan (guest star Max Martini: Revenge, The Unit) may be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which not only results in him killing his own parents but believing that he is on some kind of bigger mission. This sounds somewhat reminiscent of the season 2 episode "Distress" which featured a Veteran who also suffered from PTSD from his time in Somalia, and who also went on a seemingly random killing spree. Not that I think that this new episode will be a carbon copy of this previous one and I'm sure it will explore other factors about PTSD.
read more here
Written By emma fraser
October 5th, 2011
The BAU team head to Charlottesville, Virginia tonight to investigate a mass murder at an Internet-security company. They find that the clues lead them to a suspect who is not a typical serial killer. In the sneak peek for "Dorado Falls" that can be seen below, Emily (Paget Brewster) has to complete recertification training with a familiar face as her trainer. Warning light spoilers ahead.
So what is it about this unsub that makes him different from a typical serial killer? It would appear that Navy Veteran Luke Dolan (guest star Max Martini: Revenge, The Unit) may be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which not only results in him killing his own parents but believing that he is on some kind of bigger mission. This sounds somewhat reminiscent of the season 2 episode "Distress" which featured a Veteran who also suffered from PTSD from his time in Somalia, and who also went on a seemingly random killing spree. Not that I think that this new episode will be a carbon copy of this previous one and I'm sure it will explore other factors about PTSD.
read more here
Combat Veteran Back Home, and Homeless
October 5, 2011, 12:48 PM
Back Home, and Homeless
By MATT FARWELL
This was my life. I was two weeks shy of my 28th birthday, unemployed, broke, thousands of miles from my family, watching the weather forecast to see how uncomfortable sleeping outside would be that night. Whatever the prediction, I could handle it. Four and a half years in the Army, including 16 months as an infantryman in eastern Afghanistan, provided plenty of skills with no legal application in the civilian world. It was, however, wonderful preparation for being homeless.
read more here
Back Home, and Homeless
By MATT FARWELL
Not too long after that, when my friends in my old unit were rotating back, I started to crack a bit. That year the Taliban killed two of my friends, Staff Sgt. Esau I. DeLaPena-Hernandez, 25, and Sgt. Carlie M. Lee III, 23. The next year a helicopter crash killed my brother, Chief Warrant Officer Gary Marc Farwell. As my last real duty in the Army, I escorted his body home from Germany, wearing a dress uniform and saluting his casket in Atlanta and Salt Lake City as it was loaded and unloaded from the commercial airliner.Mid-June, 2011: I find myself alone in a dark wooded park tucked between million-dollar houses south of Stanford University, looking for a spot in the bushes to stash my bags. Until that morning I’d been living in a cheap weekly-rate motel in Palo Alto. Before checkout, knowing I couldn’t afford the $48 fee for another night, I laid out my stuff on the bed. Over the cigarette burns on threadbare sheets, I scrounged for quarters, dimes and nickels. There was enough for an extra value meal at Taco Bell. I divided everything else I had between three bags; an olive-drab backpack my brother used in the Army Rangers, a black duffel I bought at Goodwill and a satchel for my laptop.
This was my life. I was two weeks shy of my 28th birthday, unemployed, broke, thousands of miles from my family, watching the weather forecast to see how uncomfortable sleeping outside would be that night. Whatever the prediction, I could handle it. Four and a half years in the Army, including 16 months as an infantryman in eastern Afghanistan, provided plenty of skills with no legal application in the civilian world. It was, however, wonderful preparation for being homeless.
read more here
Congress debt fights hold up Hiring Heroes Act of 2011
Veterans employment legislation faces delays
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Oct 4, 2011 16:55:03 EDT
Congress is finding it hard to pass jobs-creating legislation for veterans by Veterans’ Day.
There is bipartisan support for a veterans employment package — with details to be determined — but passage has not been a top priority in Congress, making it difficult for a compromise to be signed into law by Nov. 11, the nominal deadline set by supporters of the legislation.
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which has increasingly complained that the Obama administration and Congress are not doing enough to help unemployed veterans, announced in March that it viewed Nov. 11 as a deadline for the government to reduce the number of jobless veterans.
Lawmakers interpreted this as a deadline for passage of legislation that would reduce the jobless rate in the future, not by Veterans Day — and even that deadline may not be met.
The Democratic-controlled Senate has been sitting since July 18 on the Hiring Heroes Act of 2011, a comprehensive package of employment and training provisions passed by the Senate Veterans’ Committee on July 7. The bill, S 951, was set aside during fights involving the debt ceiling and deficit reduction, overhaul of patent laws and an effort to prevent shutdown of the entire federal government at the start of the fiscal year.
read more here
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Oct 4, 2011 16:55:03 EDT
Congress is finding it hard to pass jobs-creating legislation for veterans by Veterans’ Day.
There is bipartisan support for a veterans employment package — with details to be determined — but passage has not been a top priority in Congress, making it difficult for a compromise to be signed into law by Nov. 11, the nominal deadline set by supporters of the legislation.
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which has increasingly complained that the Obama administration and Congress are not doing enough to help unemployed veterans, announced in March that it viewed Nov. 11 as a deadline for the government to reduce the number of jobless veterans.
Lawmakers interpreted this as a deadline for passage of legislation that would reduce the jobless rate in the future, not by Veterans Day — and even that deadline may not be met.
The Democratic-controlled Senate has been sitting since July 18 on the Hiring Heroes Act of 2011, a comprehensive package of employment and training provisions passed by the Senate Veterans’ Committee on July 7. The bill, S 951, was set aside during fights involving the debt ceiling and deficit reduction, overhaul of patent laws and an effort to prevent shutdown of the entire federal government at the start of the fiscal year.
read more here
"War Vet Village," where battled scarred vets can heal
Oct 4, 2011
"War Vet Village," where battled scarred vets can heal
"Once a Marine, always a Marine." It's not just a slogan. For most of our vets, war is with them forever. But there's a farm in Scott County where vets are helping vets find peace.
Posted: 8:37 PM Oct 4, 2011
Reporter: Kate Burgess
ONEIDA, Tenn. (WVLT)--"Once a Marine, always a Marine." It's not just a slogan. For most of our vets, war is with them forever. Battered and broke, many suffer from depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and have trouble transitioning to life at home. But there's a farm in Scott County where vets are helping vets heal wounds and find peace.
That's where you'll find Shawn Welch, who fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
He remembered the war as "a mixture of excitement, terror, and fun."
A mixture, a rush, he craved after he got home.
"First things I got involved with were things that sped me up. Got me the excitement of war, such as cocaine. It progressed and I realized I was in a lot of pain as well, so I started to get involved in pain killers and heroin."
Adding to the grief he already felt.
"I have really bad back pain. I suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. And I have some kind of unknown stomach condition."
read more here
"War Vet Village," where battled scarred vets can heal
"Once a Marine, always a Marine." It's not just a slogan. For most of our vets, war is with them forever. But there's a farm in Scott County where vets are helping vets find peace.
Posted: 8:37 PM Oct 4, 2011
Reporter: Kate Burgess
ONEIDA, Tenn. (WVLT)--"Once a Marine, always a Marine." It's not just a slogan. For most of our vets, war is with them forever. Battered and broke, many suffer from depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and have trouble transitioning to life at home. But there's a farm in Scott County where vets are helping vets heal wounds and find peace.
That's where you'll find Shawn Welch, who fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
He remembered the war as "a mixture of excitement, terror, and fun."
A mixture, a rush, he craved after he got home.
"First things I got involved with were things that sped me up. Got me the excitement of war, such as cocaine. It progressed and I realized I was in a lot of pain as well, so I started to get involved in pain killers and heroin."
Adding to the grief he already felt.
"I have really bad back pain. I suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. And I have some kind of unknown stomach condition."
read more here
PTSD a very real concern for Boise doctors as troops come home
PTSD a very real concern for Boise doctors as troops come home
By Eric Fink
CREATED OCT. 4, 2011
As hundreds of soldiers from Idaho's Army National Guard's 116th Calvary Brigade Combat team share an emotional homecoming with their families, some soldeirs are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan only to start more personal battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
According to doctors and mental health professionals at the Boise VA medical center, PTSD is more prevalent in men and women who have completed multiple tours of duty.
"With more deployments, you're exposed to more trauma, more combat stressors," Sue Hicks, a Treasure Valley licensed clinical soccial worker said. "PTSD is a normal reaction to abnormal events. People are being exposed to combat which are very serious, extreme situations.
read more here
By Eric Fink
CREATED OCT. 4, 2011
As hundreds of soldiers from Idaho's Army National Guard's 116th Calvary Brigade Combat team share an emotional homecoming with their families, some soldeirs are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan only to start more personal battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
According to doctors and mental health professionals at the Boise VA medical center, PTSD is more prevalent in men and women who have completed multiple tours of duty.
"With more deployments, you're exposed to more trauma, more combat stressors," Sue Hicks, a Treasure Valley licensed clinical soccial worker said. "PTSD is a normal reaction to abnormal events. People are being exposed to combat which are very serious, extreme situations.
read more here
More OEF OIF have no religious affiliation
This is stunning. At a time in our history when combat veterans need to heal spiritually and emotionally, fewer of them have ties to a faith base. This is a sad commentary on how the churches have failed to reach out to them to let them know they are forgiven, for whatever they believe they need forgiveness for and above all, they are loved.
The best healing comes from addressing the spiritual issues of combat. Considering families are fractured, dealing with a lot of stress from repeated deployments and financial stress, this is the worst time to leave them with no spiritual help.
One in three view the wars as a waste according to the poll from Pew research. They also say they are proud of their service, as they should be because when they were in combat, they were fighting for each other. They also say that the general public has little understanding adding to their hurt. Considering how little coverage they receive it is hard to imagine they would feel otherwise. The rest you can read for yourself, but unless we focus on these factors, we will see more and more heartaches in more and more families that did not need to happen.
The best healing comes from addressing the spiritual issues of combat. Considering families are fractured, dealing with a lot of stress from repeated deployments and financial stress, this is the worst time to leave them with no spiritual help.
One in three view the wars as a waste according to the poll from Pew research. They also say they are proud of their service, as they should be because when they were in combat, they were fighting for each other. They also say that the general public has little understanding adding to their hurt. Considering how little coverage they receive it is hard to imagine they would feel otherwise. The rest you can read for yourself, but unless we focus on these factors, we will see more and more heartaches in more and more families that did not need to happen.
Poll: 1 in 3 Vets Sees Iraq, Afghan Wars as WastesThis is from CNN
October 05, 2011
Associated Press
by Robert Burns
WASHINGTON -- One in three U.S. veterans of the post-9/11 military believes the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were not worth fighting, and a majority think that after 10 years of combat America should be focusing less on foreign affairs and more on its own problems, according to an opinion survey released Wednesday.
The findings highlight a dilemma for the Obama administration and Congress as they struggle to shrink the government's huge budget deficits and reconsider defense priorities while trying to keep public support for remaining involved in Iraq and Afghanistan for the longer term.
Nearly 4,500 U.S. troops have died in Iraq and about 1,700 in Afghanistan. Combined war costs since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have topped $1 trillion.
The poll results presented by the Pew Research Center portray post-9/11 veterans as proud of their work, scarred by warfare and convinced that the American public has little understanding of the problems that wartime service has created for military members and their families.
The survey also showed that post-9/11 veterans are more likely than Americans as a whole to call themselves Republicans and to disapprove of President Obama's performance as commander in chief.
They also are more likely than earlier generations of veterans to have no religious affiliation.
read more here
Poll finds pride in military, but not for Afghanistan, Iraq wars
By Moni Basu, CNN
updated 9:26 AM EST, Wed October 5, 2011
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Only one-third of post-9/11 veterans say the wars have been worth the costs
Four in 10 vets say they had a hard time adjusting back to life after war
Veterans say civilians don't understand their problems; the public agrees
Both military and nonmilitary respondents oppose a return of the draft
A U.S. soldier secures a landing zone for a Blackhawk helicopter in the Shigal district center in Kunar province, Afghanistan.(CNN) -- America marks the 10th anniversary this week of the Afghanistan conflict, the longest running war in the nation's history. And since the first U.S. troops headed to the mountains and valleys of the Hindu Kush in October 2001, the United States entered yet another war in Iraq.
"These wars, this time period has been unique in our history," said Paul Taylor, one of the authors of a study published Wednesday by the Pew Research Center. "This has been the longest period of sustained conflict in our history and the fight has been carried by the smallest share."
While Americans remain supportive of their all-volunteer military (only one half of 1% of the population has been on active duty service in the past decade), the length of the conflicts has reshaped attitudes toward war and sacrifice, the survey found.
"The ambivalence that many post-9/11 veterans feel about their military mission has a parallel in the mixture of benefits and burdens they report having experienced since their return to civilian life," the report said.
On top of that, veterans -- 84% -- said most Americans do not understand the myriad problems they and their families have had to face including long separations, physical and psychological injuries and stress. Some 71% of the public agreed.
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Unfriendly skies to disabled veteran at Virginia Airport
Disabled Veteran Reportedly Claims Discrimination at Virginia Airport
Published October 03, 2011
FoxNews.com
A disabled Army veteran was reportedly not allowed to be aboard a plane last week in Virginia because she uses a walker.
Kathleen Wood told MyFoxBoston.com she was not allowed to board a shuttle at Reagan National Airport in Virginia last week as she returned to Walpole, Mass., from a vacation in Florida. Wood and her husband had to change flights in Virginia and had just 30 minutes to do so.
Wood, who suffers from lupus, also has a permanent back injury from a fall she took 12 years ago while serving in the Army. She tried to change gates along with the rest of the passengers, but a U.S. Airways employee refused to let her do so because of her walker.
read more here
Published October 03, 2011
FoxNews.com
A disabled Army veteran was reportedly not allowed to be aboard a plane last week in Virginia because she uses a walker.
Kathleen Wood told MyFoxBoston.com she was not allowed to board a shuttle at Reagan National Airport in Virginia last week as she returned to Walpole, Mass., from a vacation in Florida. Wood and her husband had to change flights in Virginia and had just 30 minutes to do so.
Wood, who suffers from lupus, also has a permanent back injury from a fall she took 12 years ago while serving in the Army. She tried to change gates along with the rest of the passengers, but a U.S. Airways employee refused to let her do so because of her walker.
read more here
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
'Dancing With The Stars': J.R. Martinez Brings The Tears
'Dancing With The Stars': J.R. Martinez Brings The Tears
Ricki Lake nabs the season's highest score so far with emotional rumba.
By Kelley L. Carter
J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff
War hero Martinez picked the year he was injured in Iraq when he drove over a landmine. He shared the story of when he first looked at his face after his accident and talked about how he started to blame himself and question how his life had turned upside down. He said it was a tough time in his life and didn't think there was anyone who could understand the pain he was going through. He picked Tim McGraw's "If You're Reading This" for his rumba and said there are a lot of families that don't get a second chance. His dance was in tribute to the men and women who didn't make it home. The judges and the audience (judging by the long applause) found the dance to be beautiful and moving. "Heroes are normal people. Tonight, you did something extraordinary: You touched us all. That was one of the most profound, honest dances I've ever seen," Inaba said. 26/30
read more here
Ricki Lake nabs the season's highest score so far with emotional rumba.
By Kelley L. Carter
J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff
War hero Martinez picked the year he was injured in Iraq when he drove over a landmine. He shared the story of when he first looked at his face after his accident and talked about how he started to blame himself and question how his life had turned upside down. He said it was a tough time in his life and didn't think there was anyone who could understand the pain he was going through. He picked Tim McGraw's "If You're Reading This" for his rumba and said there are a lot of families that don't get a second chance. His dance was in tribute to the men and women who didn't make it home. The judges and the audience (judging by the long applause) found the dance to be beautiful and moving. "Heroes are normal people. Tonight, you did something extraordinary: You touched us all. That was one of the most profound, honest dances I've ever seen," Inaba said. 26/30
read more here
Combat veteran hospitalized after pulling knife on grandfather at breakfast
Man hospitalized after pulling knife on grandfather at breakfast
Filed by Chronicle-Telegram Staff October 4th, 2011 in Top Stories.
LORAIN — The breakfast shift at a West Erie Avenue restaurant was interrupted Sunday morning when a patron pulled a knife on his grandfather, according to a police report.
The family of the patron blamed the episode on post-traumatic stress disorder, which the family said he has suffered from since recently returning from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq with the Marines.
When officers arrived at Pete’s Family Restaurant, 2405 W. Erie Ave., they discovered the grandfather lying on top of his 25-year-old grandson underneath a table.
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Filed by Chronicle-Telegram Staff October 4th, 2011 in Top Stories.
LORAIN — The breakfast shift at a West Erie Avenue restaurant was interrupted Sunday morning when a patron pulled a knife on his grandfather, according to a police report.
The family of the patron blamed the episode on post-traumatic stress disorder, which the family said he has suffered from since recently returning from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq with the Marines.
When officers arrived at Pete’s Family Restaurant, 2405 W. Erie Ave., they discovered the grandfather lying on top of his 25-year-old grandson underneath a table.
read more here
Man Accused of Impersonating Marine Refuses Plea Deal
Man Accused of Impersonating Marine Refuses Plea Deal
October 03, 2011
Press Democrat|by Paul Payne
A Santa Rosa man charged with impersonating a Marine Corps combat veteran and defrauding his wife's 97-year-old grandfather rejected a plea bargain Friday and appears headed to trial.
Paul Alexander Tart, 29, was promised a five-year county jail sentence for his plea to a single count of elder financial abuse with an enhancement for taking more than $65,000, prosecutors said.
But he would not accept the deal, said his lawyer, Amy Chapman.
read more here
October 03, 2011
Press Democrat|by Paul Payne
A Santa Rosa man charged with impersonating a Marine Corps combat veteran and defrauding his wife's 97-year-old grandfather rejected a plea bargain Friday and appears headed to trial.
Paul Alexander Tart, 29, was promised a five-year county jail sentence for his plea to a single count of elder financial abuse with an enhancement for taking more than $65,000, prosecutors said.
But he would not accept the deal, said his lawyer, Amy Chapman.
read more here
Remains of 3 GIs missing since 1969 identified
Remains of 3 GIs missing since 1969 identified
Staff report
Posted : Monday Oct 3, 2011 14:37:03 EDT
The Pentagon on Monday said it had identified the remains of three soldiers who had been missing in action for more than 40 years. The remains will be buried later this week at Arlington National Cemetery.
The soldiers were identified as:
• Master Sgt. Charles V. Newton of Canadian, Texas.
• Sgt. 1st Class Douglas E. Dahill of Lima, Ohio.
• Sgt. 1st Class Charles F. Prevedel of St. Louis.
The soldiers went missing April 17, 1969, after being ambushed while on a reconnaissance patrol in Quang Nam province, Vietnam, near the Laos border.
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Staff report
Posted : Monday Oct 3, 2011 14:37:03 EDT
The Pentagon on Monday said it had identified the remains of three soldiers who had been missing in action for more than 40 years. The remains will be buried later this week at Arlington National Cemetery.
The soldiers were identified as:
• Master Sgt. Charles V. Newton of Canadian, Texas.
• Sgt. 1st Class Douglas E. Dahill of Lima, Ohio.
• Sgt. 1st Class Charles F. Prevedel of St. Louis.
The soldiers went missing April 17, 1969, after being ambushed while on a reconnaissance patrol in Quang Nam province, Vietnam, near the Laos border.
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Rogers served five years in the Army as a military police officer killed by police
Funeral held Monday for father shot by police
NWCN.com
Posted on October 3, 2011
MEDICAL LAKE, Wash.—The family of James Rogers laid his body to rest Monday after he was shot and killed by Spokane Police September 26th.
Roger was buried at the Washington State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake after a funeral service, but they are still dealing with a mix of emotions about how he died.
Authorities say a search warrant shows Rogers had a suicide note along with criminal citations and a military baseball hat inside his van.
Rogers’ father still wonders if he could have prevented his son’s death.
"I wish I would have had five more minutes to get there, so I could have hopefully talked him out of that van," Alonzo Rogers said.
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by KREM.com and Shawn ChitnisRogers served five years in the Army as a military police officer.
NWCN.com
Posted on October 3, 2011
MEDICAL LAKE, Wash.—The family of James Rogers laid his body to rest Monday after he was shot and killed by Spokane Police September 26th.
Roger was buried at the Washington State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake after a funeral service, but they are still dealing with a mix of emotions about how he died.
Authorities say a search warrant shows Rogers had a suicide note along with criminal citations and a military baseball hat inside his van.
Rogers’ father still wonders if he could have prevented his son’s death.
"I wish I would have had five more minutes to get there, so I could have hopefully talked him out of that van," Alonzo Rogers said.
read more here
DOD offers worst advice to prevent military suicides
Is going to the gym a good idea when you have PTSD? Sure it is because when you take care of all of you, body, mind and soul, you heal. The problem comes when the DOD offers advice to go to the gym and get away from the platoon. That is the very reason why the National Guards and Reservists have a harder time when they come back. The lack of support from others is their biggest problem. They need to be with others who understand and they can trust. The other bad advice is to tell them to "keep busy" but this only gets them to avoid the issue itself. Being busy helps to heal but staying too busy to address healing makes it worse.
When it comes to families, too often they have no clue what is going on with the soldier. We also have to face the fact there are many without a close family tie. The men and women they serve with are their family so telling them to get away from them is the worst thing to say but it must sound good in their own minds.
When it comes to families, too often they have no clue what is going on with the soldier. We also have to face the fact there are many without a close family tie. The men and women they serve with are their family so telling them to get away from them is the worst thing to say but it must sound good in their own minds.
News: Importance of suicide prevention
1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division
Story by Spc. Bailey Jester Follow This Journalist
COS KALSU, Iraq – The number of suicides in the military for the month of August was lower than it was last year.
According to stripes.com, since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, more than approximately 1,100 soldiers have taken their own lives.
“Be aware of each other and take care of each other,” advises Ansted, W.Va., native, Capt. Mary Markivich, attached to the 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division as the officer in charge of the Combat Stress Clinic. “Pay attention to their mood, socializing and sleeping habits.”
Markivich says there have been confirmed suicides in the month of August, but overall this year has been lower than past years.
Make time for socializing and make sure to stay connected to loved ones a couple ways to keep busy and spirits up, suggested Markivich.
“We encourage our Soldiers to take personal time,” explained Sgt. 1st Class Wesley Ramon, the first sergeant of Company D, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.
“Take time away from the platoon and read a book, contact family or go to the gym.”
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Home Depot Celebration of Service gives 1.5 million more for veterans
The Home Depot Foundation Announces $1.5 Million in New Grants to Nonprofits Serving Veterans
Fourth of Weekly Grant Announcements Totaling $9 Million Being Announced from September 11 - Veterans Day
(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) Atlanta, GA - October 3, 2011 - As part of its “Celebration of Service” initiative to honor U.S. military veterans, The Home Depot® Foundation today announced $1.55 million in grants to nonprofits dedicated to addressing the critical housing needs of U.S. military veterans. Today’s grant recipients assist more than 8,000 veterans on an annual basis with housing and other supportive services. Volunteers of America (VOA) is receiving a grant to fund programs at 11 locations nationwide; and Veterans’ Homestead and Affordable Housing and Services Collaborative are receiving funding to serve veterans in Massachusetts and throughout the New England area. In addition to receiving funding, each nonprofit will also be supported by Team Depot, the Company’s associate-led volunteer force.
Each Monday between September 11 and Veterans Day (November 11), The Home Depot Foundation is announcing approximately $1 million in grants to veterans’ initiatives for a total of $9.1 million. Grants announced during “Celebration of Service” are part of The Home Depot Foundation’s commitment of $30 million over three years to veterans’ housing needs. Learn more about the grants announced thus far.
“The Home Depot Foundation is committed to ensuring that every veteran has a safe place to call home, and the high quality services provided by nonprofits are essential to fulfilling that goal,” said Kelly Caffarelli, president, The Home Depot Foundation. “We are extremely impressed with the ability of VOA, Veterans’ Homestead and Affordable Housing Services to change and improve the lives of those who have served our country, and we hope that our funding and volunteer assistance will allow them to assist more veterans and their families every year.”
Volunteers of America, $750,000, Locations Nationwide
Volunteers of America Florida, $250,000
Veterans’ Homestead, Inc., $300,000, New England Area and Puerto Rico
The Affordable Housing and Services Collaborative, $250,000 Boston, MA
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Fourth of Weekly Grant Announcements Totaling $9 Million Being Announced from September 11 - Veterans Day
(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) Atlanta, GA - October 3, 2011 - As part of its “Celebration of Service” initiative to honor U.S. military veterans, The Home Depot® Foundation today announced $1.55 million in grants to nonprofits dedicated to addressing the critical housing needs of U.S. military veterans. Today’s grant recipients assist more than 8,000 veterans on an annual basis with housing and other supportive services. Volunteers of America (VOA) is receiving a grant to fund programs at 11 locations nationwide; and Veterans’ Homestead and Affordable Housing and Services Collaborative are receiving funding to serve veterans in Massachusetts and throughout the New England area. In addition to receiving funding, each nonprofit will also be supported by Team Depot, the Company’s associate-led volunteer force.
Each Monday between September 11 and Veterans Day (November 11), The Home Depot Foundation is announcing approximately $1 million in grants to veterans’ initiatives for a total of $9.1 million. Grants announced during “Celebration of Service” are part of The Home Depot Foundation’s commitment of $30 million over three years to veterans’ housing needs. Learn more about the grants announced thus far.
“The Home Depot Foundation is committed to ensuring that every veteran has a safe place to call home, and the high quality services provided by nonprofits are essential to fulfilling that goal,” said Kelly Caffarelli, president, The Home Depot Foundation. “We are extremely impressed with the ability of VOA, Veterans’ Homestead and Affordable Housing Services to change and improve the lives of those who have served our country, and we hope that our funding and volunteer assistance will allow them to assist more veterans and their families every year.”
Volunteers of America, $750,000, Locations Nationwide
Volunteers of America Florida, $250,000
Veterans’ Homestead, Inc., $300,000, New England Area and Puerto Rico
The Affordable Housing and Services Collaborative, $250,000 Boston, MA
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More wounded coming home, Tampa VA cuts jobs?
More answers needed from Haley VA Medical Center on its budget
In Print: Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The platitudes coming from the mouthpiece at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center about the hospital's financial challenges are just short of, "Don't worry, be happy." That sort of arrogant, condescending attitude should not sit well with veterans and other taxpayers. Haley is a public hospital funded with public money to provide top-quality care for veterans, and it should be more transparent about its budget woes and their impact on patients.
The Department of Veterans Affairs sent the Tampa hospital $28.7 million in cash from VA reserves to cover a shortfall once estimated as high as $47.5 million, the Times' William R. Levesque reported Sunday. Haley needs that much cash to balance its books at the end of the fiscal year, even after spending cuts that included reducing lab services by $1.5 million and cutting staff through attrition by 111 positions. There are serious issues here that deserve more transparent treatment than a canned statement from VA spokeswoman Mary Kay Hollingsworth that Haley "will continue to improve efficiencies and reduce costs.''
Members of Congress are getting no better treatment as they seek information. The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee sent a letter last month to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki about the Tampa hospital's budget issues. Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., and ranking member Richard Burr, R-N.C., expressed concern that Haley's cuts "could have an adverse impact on patient care quality.'' They have yet to receive an answer.
read more here
In Print: Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The platitudes coming from the mouthpiece at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center about the hospital's financial challenges are just short of, "Don't worry, be happy." That sort of arrogant, condescending attitude should not sit well with veterans and other taxpayers. Haley is a public hospital funded with public money to provide top-quality care for veterans, and it should be more transparent about its budget woes and their impact on patients.
The Department of Veterans Affairs sent the Tampa hospital $28.7 million in cash from VA reserves to cover a shortfall once estimated as high as $47.5 million, the Times' William R. Levesque reported Sunday. Haley needs that much cash to balance its books at the end of the fiscal year, even after spending cuts that included reducing lab services by $1.5 million and cutting staff through attrition by 111 positions. There are serious issues here that deserve more transparent treatment than a canned statement from VA spokeswoman Mary Kay Hollingsworth that Haley "will continue to improve efficiencies and reduce costs.''
Members of Congress are getting no better treatment as they seek information. The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee sent a letter last month to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki about the Tampa hospital's budget issues. Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., and ranking member Richard Burr, R-N.C., expressed concern that Haley's cuts "could have an adverse impact on patient care quality.'' They have yet to receive an answer.
read more here
VA lacks resources to deal with mental health, survey finds
VA lacks resources to deal with mental health, survey finds
By Steve Vogel
Tuesday, October 4, 12:00 AM
A survey of social workers, nurses and doctors working for the Department of Veterans Affairs finds that more than 70 percent of respondents think the department lacks the staff and space to meet the needs of growing numbers of veterans seeking mental health care.
More than 37 percent of the 272 respondents say they cannot schedule an appointment in their clinics for a new patient within the 14-day standard mandated by the department, according to the survey, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post.
The survey was requested by the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs after a hearing this summer at which veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues described long waits for treatment that could raise the risk of suicide. On average, 18 veterans commit suicide every day, according to the VA.
“The sad truth is that veterans who call to get a VA appointment have at least made the decision to reach out to VA for help,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chairwoman of the committee, wrote in a letter sent Monday to the VA. “That is the critical step in accessing care, and it is not acceptable to have veterans, who have stepped up and shown the courage to ask for help, be denied that care.”
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By Steve Vogel
Tuesday, October 4, 12:00 AM
"Last year, more than 1.2 million veterans were treated by the VA for a mental health problem, including 408,000 with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. By comparison, 934,000 were treated for mental health problems four years earlier."
A survey of social workers, nurses and doctors working for the Department of Veterans Affairs finds that more than 70 percent of respondents think the department lacks the staff and space to meet the needs of growing numbers of veterans seeking mental health care.
More than 37 percent of the 272 respondents say they cannot schedule an appointment in their clinics for a new patient within the 14-day standard mandated by the department, according to the survey, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post.
The survey was requested by the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs after a hearing this summer at which veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues described long waits for treatment that could raise the risk of suicide. On average, 18 veterans commit suicide every day, according to the VA.
“The sad truth is that veterans who call to get a VA appointment have at least made the decision to reach out to VA for help,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chairwoman of the committee, wrote in a letter sent Monday to the VA. “That is the critical step in accessing care, and it is not acceptable to have veterans, who have stepped up and shown the courage to ask for help, be denied that care.”
read more here
Family talks about ex-Marine charge with shooting deputy and PTSD
This story has so many twists and turns it is hard to keep up. First we have this to contradict what the spokesman from Tampa VA had to say about staff. More wounded coming home, Tampa VA cuts jobs This was said later in the article below. Next twist comes from Buendia's girlfriend. Some may be stunned that she said Buendia had a PTSD episode when he attacked her, but that is only if they don't have a clue what combat PTSD does to someone. Thankfully she understands why he did what he did, which has been known by other significant others since wars began. We can be ignorant and simply blame them or we can be informed and know the help they need just isn't there. It is our fault for allowing all of this to go on as long as it has without the proper response to it. We will keep reading more and more stories about domestic violence, crimes and suicides until everyone is doing everything possible to address it. Cutting staff at the very hospital Buendia was treated by opened the door for more needless suffering.
Then we have the Deputy shot while responding to the domestic violence call. More and more law enforcement officers are responding to crisis situations that didn't need to happen, risking their lives facing off with combat veterans suffering from where they've been. The truth is hard to take but what makes it worse is the fact all of this could have been avoided if the DOD and the VA were prepared ahead of time to address the psychological impact of repeated deployments. The Army released a study in 2006 about the increased risk of PTSD but the DOD and the VA did not gear up to take care of the men and women we sent accordingly.
Suspect in Hillsborough deputy shooting a former Marine
3 Tour Ex-Marine arrested in Hillsborough County deputy shooting
Then we have the Deputy shot while responding to the domestic violence call. More and more law enforcement officers are responding to crisis situations that didn't need to happen, risking their lives facing off with combat veterans suffering from where they've been. The truth is hard to take but what makes it worse is the fact all of this could have been avoided if the DOD and the VA were prepared ahead of time to address the psychological impact of repeated deployments. The Army released a study in 2006 about the increased risk of PTSD but the DOD and the VA did not gear up to take care of the men and women we sent accordingly.
PTSD raised in shooting of deputy
By HOWARD ALTMAN
The Tampa Tribune
Published: October 04, 2011
TAMPA --
Friday night, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Matthew Lane Buendia began beating up his girlfriend after an argument. Investigators said he tackled her as she tried to flee, punched her, slammed her head on the floor, grabbed her by the throat and slapped the phone away when she tried calling 911.
When Deputy Lyonelle De Veaux, 35, responded, Buendia shot her twice in the leg and once in the shoulder, the sheriff's office said. De Veaux, a five-year veteran of the sheriff's office, was recuperating in the hospital Monday after surgery to remove a bullet from her shoulder.
Buendia is a former Marine who served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. His family said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and wasn't getting adequate treatment.
The argument that Buendia's actions can be at least partially attributed to post-traumatic stress disorder divides some local therapists. One calls that rationale "overblown;" another says that Buendia might not even have realized he was shooting at a deputy.
The former Marine has an unexpected defender.
"It's hard to explain," his girlfriend posted Sunday when asked by a friend whether she and Buendia had been fighting. "He was having a really bad Ptsd episode."
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Family says former Marine accused of shooting Hillsborough County Deputy suffers from PTSD
By: Sarina Fazan
TAMPA - Matthew Buendia's family describe him as a proud Marine, joining the service after graduating Leto High School and serving three consecutive tours in Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We don't know what it does to you," Matthew's older brother Zach said.
Matthew Buendia had been home for about a year and half and Zach could sense something was not the same.
"I know he had PTSD issues."
Zach said his brother was trying to get help through the VA hospital. Because of strict privacy laws, James A. Haley Veterans Hospital could not confirm if Buendia was a patient.
But Dr. Carri-Ann Gibson, who specializes in combat veterans going through Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), said they are seeing more and more patients suffering from PTSD.
"Our staff has more than doubled."
While Dr. Gibson could not comment directly on the Buendia case, she stressed it's a real illness that needs to be treated.
"It's a real disorder that people have," Dr. Gibson said. "People with PTSD may misperceive their environment, so they may respond to potential threats or there may not be a threat and they may perceive a threat."
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Suspect in Hillsborough deputy shooting a former Marine
3 Tour Ex-Marine arrested in Hillsborough County deputy shooting
Monday, October 3, 2011
Remains of Local Soldier Missing from Vietnam War Identified
Remains of Local Soldier Missing from Vietnam War Identified
FOX2now.com
4:18 p.m. CDT, October 3, 2011
(KTVI - FOX2now.com)—
The remains of a local soldier, missing in action from the Vietnam War, will be laid to rest.
Sgt. 1st Class Charles F. Prevedel of St. Louis, Mo., of the U.S. Army, has been identified and returned to his families for burial with full military honors.
Sgt. Prevedel will be buried on Oct. 5 at Arlington National Cemetery.
On April 17, 1969, Prevedel was on a long-range reconnaissance patrol operating in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, near the border of Laos.
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FOX2now.com
4:18 p.m. CDT, October 3, 2011
(KTVI - FOX2now.com)—
The remains of a local soldier, missing in action from the Vietnam War, will be laid to rest.
Sgt. 1st Class Charles F. Prevedel of St. Louis, Mo., of the U.S. Army, has been identified and returned to his families for burial with full military honors.
Sgt. Prevedel will be buried on Oct. 5 at Arlington National Cemetery.
On April 17, 1969, Prevedel was on a long-range reconnaissance patrol operating in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, near the border of Laos.
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Pentagon draws flak for rarity of Medal of Honor
Pentagon draws flak for rarity of MoH
Services say they’re ‘satisfied’ with numbers, even though today’s veterans get 10 times fewer top medals
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Oct 3, 2011 13:54:34 EDT
Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn “Al” Cashe was in the gunner’s turret when a massive roadside bomb struck his Bradley fighting vehicle.
As the vehicle went up in flames, small-arms fire began to rain down. A ruptured fuel cell spewed gasoline, soaking Cashe’s uniform as the flames spread.
Cashe didn’t run.
Instead, he dragged a burning soldier from the driver’s hatch and extinguished the fire that was gripping the driver’s clothes.
Then he went to the back of the vehicle and crawled into a troop compartment that was engulfed in flames — and stayed inside until he had helped pull six soldiers from the vehicle.
Cashe saved seven lives that day, Oct. 17, 2005, while sustaining second- and third-degree burns all over his body. He died several weeks later.
For the Army, that was enough to merit a Silver Star — but not a Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for military valor.
Cashe’s courageous actions are at the heart of a growing debate about whether the Pentagon is shortchanging today’s troops on the medals that were bestowed far more frequently in past wars.
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Services say they’re ‘satisfied’ with numbers, even though today’s veterans get 10 times fewer top medals
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Oct 3, 2011 13:54:34 EDT
Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn “Al” Cashe was in the gunner’s turret when a massive roadside bomb struck his Bradley fighting vehicle.
As the vehicle went up in flames, small-arms fire began to rain down. A ruptured fuel cell spewed gasoline, soaking Cashe’s uniform as the flames spread.
Cashe didn’t run.
Instead, he dragged a burning soldier from the driver’s hatch and extinguished the fire that was gripping the driver’s clothes.
Then he went to the back of the vehicle and crawled into a troop compartment that was engulfed in flames — and stayed inside until he had helped pull six soldiers from the vehicle.
Cashe saved seven lives that day, Oct. 17, 2005, while sustaining second- and third-degree burns all over his body. He died several weeks later.
For the Army, that was enough to merit a Silver Star — but not a Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for military valor.
Cashe’s courageous actions are at the heart of a growing debate about whether the Pentagon is shortchanging today’s troops on the medals that were bestowed far more frequently in past wars.
read more here
Recognition sought for soldier’s heroic acts
By LEO SHANE III
Stars and Stripes
Published: October 2, 2011
WASHINGTON — When the roadside bomb detonated, it ripped through the fuel tank of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and ignited like napalm. The seven men seated inside were knocked unconscious and had no chance to escape the fire.
But the gunner, Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, managed to crawl out of the burning wreckage. Wounded and drenched in diesel fuel, he pulled the Bradley’s driver from his seat before the flames reached there, dragging him to safety.
And then he went back.
The 16-year Army veteran had seen a dozen of his men die on that tour in Iraq, and he couldn’t bear to lose another. His uniform caught fire as he desperately tried to open the Bradley’s hatch.
By the time he got in, all he had on was his body armor and helmet, the rest of his uniform in ashes or seared to his skin. With help, he carried one of his dying men out of the fire and back to horrified medics trying to triage their charred colleagues.
And then he went back.
Soldiers couldn’t tell what rounds pinging off the Bradley were from insurgents’ weapons and which ones were from their own ammunition ablaze in the vehicle. As he reached the next soldier, Cashe tried to douse the fire on his uniform, only to realize that his own skin was peeling off from the heat. As another soldier helped pat out the flames, Cashe moved the next wounded friend to safety.
And then he went back.
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Sister fights to win Medal of Honor for deceased brother
February 04, 2011|By Darryl E. Owens, COMMENTARY
It's a label overused to knight everyone from athletes with long rap sheets to miners who survived a cave-in without going postal.
Hero.
There's less ambiguity on the battlefield, where real heroes earn the Medal of Honor for "gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of one's own life above and beyond the call of duty."
In September, a soldier from Oviedo became the third recipient of the award for valor in Afghanistan. But another Oviedo soldier is deserving, too. His name: Army Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn "Al" Cashe.
Maureen Miller, who knows a little something about heroes, thinks Cashe merits strong consideration. Last month, hundreds at All Faiths Memorial Cemetery watched as a special marker — signifying a Medal of Honor recipient — was placed at the grave of the woman's son, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Miller. He was killed Jan. 25, 2008, in Afghanistan after drawing enemy fire and taking on ambushers so his teammates could find cover.
The same distinction has so far eluded Cashe, a 1988 Oviedo High graduate, frustrating his sister who's on a mission to see her baby brother properly honored.
Cashe's story adds kindling to the hot debate about whether the Pentagon is shortchanging today's heroes, considering that fewer Medals of Honor have emerged from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan than any of America's other major conflicts.
On Oct. 20, 2005, when Kasinal Cashe White and her family arrived at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas, all she knew was that her brother had been burned. Badly.
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HAND AMPUTEE DEPLOYS TO SET EXAMPLE FOR WOUNDED WARRIORS
There are stories I read and think it is too impossible to be true especially when the stories come in emails. This is one of those times. I received an email with a picture of a Marine with one regular hand and one mechanical hand with the story of him still serving. I couldn't believe it so I tracked the story down and found the original story. If you have seen the email with "This Marine fights for you with one hand" it is true. Here's the story and it is even better than what was in the email.
BACK TO WORK: HAND AMPUTEE DEPLOYS TO SET EXAMPLE FOR WOUNDED WARRIORS
PATROL BASE FIRES, HELMAND PROVINCE, AF - (09.08.2011)
STORY BY CPL. BENJAMIN CRILLY
SGT. RICARDO RAMIREZ, A COMBAT REPLACEMENT FOR 1ST BATTALION, 5TH MARINE REGIMENT, WADES THROUGH AN IRRIGATION CANAL TO MOVE INTO A NIGHT OBSERVATION POST IN SANGIN, AFGHANISTAN, AUG. 5. IN FEBRUARY OF 2006, RAMIREZ WAS WOUNDED IN ACTION WHILE SERVING IN IRAQ WITH 3RD BN., 5TH MARINES AND TWO YEARS LATER BECAME THE FIRST HAND-AMPUTEE TO RE-ENLIST IN THE MARINES CORPS. SINCE THEN THE MULTIPLE-TOUR COMBAT VETERAN OF BOTH IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN HAS SERVED AS AN URBAN WARFARE INSTRUCTOR, ATTENDED THE PRE-SNIPER COURSE AT DIVISION SCHOOLS AND STAYED CLOSE TO HIS INFANTRY ROOTS. (PHOTO BY CPL. BENJAMIN CRILLY)"The word came out that noncommissioned officers were needed as combat replacements," said combat replacement for 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Sgt. Ricardo Ramirez. "Guys with experience who wanted to help out our brothers in Sangin."
Ramirez, a veteran of Iraq, fit the description, answered the call and volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan. His previous combat experience shows right off the bat, and is one of the first things people notice about the warrior.
He only has one hand.
In February of 2006, Ramirez was wounded in action while serving in Iraq with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment and two years later became the first hand-amputee to re-enlist in the Marines Corps. Since then he has served as an urban warfare instructor to train other Marines, attended a pre-sniper course to pursue a life goal, and his present service demonstrates a continued refusal to leave his infantry roots. The example has been set for other wounded warriors: fight for it and you’ll get it.
"When I first got to 1st Platoon I happened to be sitting in the (combat operation center) when I heard Marines on post," recalled Ramirez. "It came over the radio 'Hey we just got our combat replacements and damn! One of them is missing a hand’ and then all you hear is 'What? Are you serious?'"
The Commandant of the Marine Corps annulled would-be skeptics, of his ability to return to the battlefield, by granting Ramirez's requests to re-enlist and ordered him to full-duty status.
read more here
Ghosts of Iraq war still haunt RI veteran struggling with PTSD
Ghosts of Iraq war still haunt RI veteran struggling with PTSD / Video
10:29 AM EDT on Monday, October 3, 2011
By G. Wayne Miller
Journal Staff Writer
By March 2008, John DiRaimo had been home from Iraq for nearly two years.
Still an active member of the Rhode Island Army National Guard, he was living in a Cranston apartment and periodically visiting the Providence VA Medical Center for treatment of what he now understood was PTSD. He was not fully complying with the terms of his care, and his life had become unbearable.
His nightmares continued and sometimes, in his bedroom in the middle of the night, he saw the apparition of a young Iraqi girl who may have been tortured and killed by Saddam Hussein’s forces, her mutilated body buried in a distant part of what became the U.S. camp at Ar Ramadi, where DiRaimo was based.
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10:29 AM EDT on Monday, October 3, 2011
By G. Wayne Miller
Journal Staff Writer
By March 2008, John DiRaimo had been home from Iraq for nearly two years.
Still an active member of the Rhode Island Army National Guard, he was living in a Cranston apartment and periodically visiting the Providence VA Medical Center for treatment of what he now understood was PTSD. He was not fully complying with the terms of his care, and his life had become unbearable.
His nightmares continued and sometimes, in his bedroom in the middle of the night, he saw the apparition of a young Iraqi girl who may have been tortured and killed by Saddam Hussein’s forces, her mutilated body buried in a distant part of what became the U.S. camp at Ar Ramadi, where DiRaimo was based.
read more here
VCS Releases Updated War Statistics
VCS Releases Updated War Statistics
Written by VCS
Thursday, 29 September 2011 16:43
VCS Releases "Iraq and Afghanistan War Impact Report," VA Confirms Nearly 712,000 Iraq and Afghanistan War Veteran Patients
October 1, 2011 (VCS Exclusive) - In an effort to document the severe and escalating human and financial consequences of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Veterans for Common Sense (VCS) summarizes several government reports about U.S. military service members and veterans who deployed to the Iraq - Afghanistan war zone since September 11, 2011.
When sharing our VCS quarterly report, please cite how VCS uses reports from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DoD) obtained by VCS under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The report serves as a reminder our nation remains at war.
read it here
Written by VCS
Thursday, 29 September 2011 16:43
VCS Releases "Iraq and Afghanistan War Impact Report," VA Confirms Nearly 712,000 Iraq and Afghanistan War Veteran Patients
October 1, 2011 (VCS Exclusive) - In an effort to document the severe and escalating human and financial consequences of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Veterans for Common Sense (VCS) summarizes several government reports about U.S. military service members and veterans who deployed to the Iraq - Afghanistan war zone since September 11, 2011.
When sharing our VCS quarterly report, please cite how VCS uses reports from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DoD) obtained by VCS under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The report serves as a reminder our nation remains at war.
read it here
Three Iraq veterans share their stories with big smiles
I had the pleasure of meeting some terrific veterans of the Iraq War. Christopher O'Connor, Andrew Berry and Joshua Cope, all suffered wounds from IEDs in Iraq.
Mayor Scott Vanderfrift of Ocoee showed up with his usual big smile. Anytime there is an event for the troops or our veterans, he is usually there to show support.
Cathy Haynes a military Mom took some time out of her day after going to another event to also show support. As busy as I am, she is twice as busy and does it with her heart sunk into everything she does.
Section 8 played some great tunes on their guitars.
Reporters from 13 News and FOX came to film this event and I am grateful they did. Too many times our veterans are heartsick over the lack of attention they receive from the media, so thank you very much for showing up to let them know they are really valued. Both reporters showed a great interest in our new veterans as well as the older ones.
Second swing at life
Andrew Berry passes the lessons he’s learned at Fairways for Warriors clinics onto his son, Gionni, 8.
By Megan Stokes
May 4, 2011
“It’s all in the hips, just like in the Adam Sandler movie,” Sgt. Andrew Berry told his son, Gionni, 8, who laughed at the joke before swinging his golf club in their backyard.
Berry spends many afternoons standing behind his two sons, the oldest of four, making sure they are bending their knees and keeping their eyes on the ball.
Even though he starred in all three at Colonial High School, Berry can’t play football, basketball or baseball anymore.
But he can golf.
His sacrifice
The former Army sniper was shot twice and was hit by eight IED explosions during several tours in Iraq.
The explosions caused traumatic brain injury, which has progressed to deafness in his right ear, blindness in his right eye, massive headaches and prescriptions to 15 medications, which Berry avoids taking when possible.
“I’ll be screaming in pain before I take a pain pill,” he said swigging bottled water. His meds give him dry mouth but make soda taste horrible. “I have four boys who I’m a role model for.”
He wears a brace up to his right thigh, a lingering reminder of a leg that was crushed at the ankle after he fell 14 feet, saving himself and another soldier from a burning tank that had rolled over an IED during his last tour in Iraq in 2009—10 days after he reenlisted with a goal to become an Army Ranger. Some days he needs a wheelchair, other days his walking stick – a hand-carved gift from his wife, Rebecca – will suffice.
When he got home to East Orlando, the deaths of so many of his friends overseas stirred so much anger inside him that it boiled over onto his wife and kids.
“I felt useless. I didn’t think I was smart enough to go to school and I didn’t want to do paperwork (in the Army). I was in a bad place,” he said. “But I finally manned up and got help.”
read more here
Joshua Cope
Christopher O'Connor Orlando, FL
Military Branch: Marine Corps
Fellowship Location: Orlando VA Medical Center
Christopher O’Connor grew up bouncing around the boroughs of New York City. His family later moved into the Pocono Mountains. After graduating high school, Christopher had no place to go. Eager to find some stability in his life, and motivated by the events of 9/11, Christopher enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Within six months of joining, Christopher was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq as a Machine Gun Team Leader.
He provided security for convoys and bases, patrolled the streets daily, raided homes of suspected insurgents and provided aid to locals. The day before his twentieth birthday he was hit by a remote detonated IED while patrolling on foot. The blast vaulted him ten feet in the air and left him unconscious for nearly two minutes. He was medically evacuated out of Iraq to Landstuhl, Germany and eventually Bethesda Naval Hospital in Washington, D.C. The IED explosion left him with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), other minor physical injuries and has led to the onset of PTSD. Christopher received the Purple Heart because of his injuries and was medically retired from the Marine Corps the following year.
After his discharge from the service, Christopher was left feeling confused, anxious, disappointed and lost. He missed serving his country, being with his unit and the sense of purpose the Marine Corps had provided him. Christopher’s TBI and PTSD have hindered his adjustment to civilian life, presenting legal and financial issues and withdrawal from his family and friends.
Facing homelessness, he committed himself to finding a way to overcome his injuries and continue his service at home. His immediate goals are to finish his Master’s Degree in Social Work, become a licensed clinical social worker and start a career helping veterans who have struggled with TBI and PTSD. The Mission Continues Fellowship exemplified exactly what he wanted to do for his community. He will serve with the Orlando VA Medical Center with post-9/11 veterans.
Mayor Scott Vanderfrift of Ocoee showed up with his usual big smile. Anytime there is an event for the troops or our veterans, he is usually there to show support.
Cathy Haynes a military Mom took some time out of her day after going to another event to also show support. As busy as I am, she is twice as busy and does it with her heart sunk into everything she does.
Section 8 played some great tunes on their guitars.
Reporters from 13 News and FOX came to film this event and I am grateful they did. Too many times our veterans are heartsick over the lack of attention they receive from the media, so thank you very much for showing up to let them know they are really valued. Both reporters showed a great interest in our new veterans as well as the older ones.
Anti-suicide program for Minnesota military running out of funds
Anti-suicide program for Minnesota military nears depletion
The Minnesota National Guard leads the country in the number of soldiers who have committed suicide, and a program that has been shown to successfully prevent suicides in the state's military now faces the prospect of running out of money by the end of the year.
By: Mark Brunswick, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) / MCT
MINNEAPOLIS
The Minnesota National Guard leads the country in the number of soldiers who have committed suicide, and a program that has been shown to successfully prevent suicides in the state's military now faces the prospect of running out of money by the end of the year.
With demand increasing, the program from Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota is burning through money at a rate of $50,000 to $70,000 a month, and a $500,000 appropriation from the Legislature is likely to be depleted by December or January. With funding capped and its contract not up until June, local services are likely to be stopped for anyone who doesn't have a way to pay for them, or they will be directed to a federal military call-in program answered by a phone bank from another state.
"We run a real risk of being victims of our own success," said Mary Beth Galey, senior director of counseling and adoption for Lutheran Social Service, the state's largest nonprofit social service organization. "To a great extent, we'll probably be stuck."
read more here
The Minnesota National Guard leads the country in the number of soldiers who have committed suicide, and a program that has been shown to successfully prevent suicides in the state's military now faces the prospect of running out of money by the end of the year.
By: Mark Brunswick, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) / MCT
MINNEAPOLIS
The Minnesota National Guard leads the country in the number of soldiers who have committed suicide, and a program that has been shown to successfully prevent suicides in the state's military now faces the prospect of running out of money by the end of the year.
With demand increasing, the program from Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota is burning through money at a rate of $50,000 to $70,000 a month, and a $500,000 appropriation from the Legislature is likely to be depleted by December or January. With funding capped and its contract not up until June, local services are likely to be stopped for anyone who doesn't have a way to pay for them, or they will be directed to a federal military call-in program answered by a phone bank from another state.
"We run a real risk of being victims of our own success," said Mary Beth Galey, senior director of counseling and adoption for Lutheran Social Service, the state's largest nonprofit social service organization. "To a great extent, we'll probably be stuck."
read more here
Sleeping in alley no way for a soldier to end up
Sleeping in alley no way for a soldier to end up
By Jeff Ward For The Courier-News October 2, 2011
If you haven’t already, ya gotta start reading Dave Gathman’s regular Courier-News reports. His latest on the senseless murder of homeless Elgin veteran Richard Gibbons is the kind of writing that really gets you thinking.
On the evening of Aug. 10, Gibbons, who’d most likely been drinking, was sleeping it off in the alley between the Fulton Street parking garage and the former Prairie Rock restaurant. Shelters won’t take you if you reek of alcohol.
At about 1:40 a.m., a group of men, also suspected of being inebriated, started partying on the upper deck of the parking garage, making it difficult for Gibbons to sleep. After words were exchanged, 23 year-old Chicago resident Yancarlo Garcia allegedly grabbed a 2-foot-long fire extinguisher and dropped it on the defenseless man lying 40 feet below. The blow ruptured multiple organs and broke Gibbons’ pelvis.
The injured man dialed 911 using a government-provided cellphone, but despite the best efforts of Provena Saint Joseph and Lutheran General hospitals, Gibbons died of those injuries on Sept. 4. Garcia, now charged with first-degree murder, sits in jail cell on $1 million bail.
It certainly makes you want to give up drinking, doesn’t it?
But Richard Gibbons wasn’t always homeless. By the accounts of his former common-law wife and his children, he was a talented carpenter, a charismatic man and, even though he was homeless, he worked with the Elgin Salvation Army to prevent other people from suffering a similar fate.
It was after he was drafted into the Army during the final stage of the Vietnam War that his drinking became a problem. Though she was hesitant to blame the alcoholism on the Army, Gibbons’ daughter Melissa told Gathman, “But the service really messed him up. He wouldn’t talk about it much, but the service was a time in his life that he just wanted to forget.”
read more here
By Jeff Ward For The Courier-News October 2, 2011
If you haven’t already, ya gotta start reading Dave Gathman’s regular Courier-News reports. His latest on the senseless murder of homeless Elgin veteran Richard Gibbons is the kind of writing that really gets you thinking.
On the evening of Aug. 10, Gibbons, who’d most likely been drinking, was sleeping it off in the alley between the Fulton Street parking garage and the former Prairie Rock restaurant. Shelters won’t take you if you reek of alcohol.
At about 1:40 a.m., a group of men, also suspected of being inebriated, started partying on the upper deck of the parking garage, making it difficult for Gibbons to sleep. After words were exchanged, 23 year-old Chicago resident Yancarlo Garcia allegedly grabbed a 2-foot-long fire extinguisher and dropped it on the defenseless man lying 40 feet below. The blow ruptured multiple organs and broke Gibbons’ pelvis.
The injured man dialed 911 using a government-provided cellphone, but despite the best efforts of Provena Saint Joseph and Lutheran General hospitals, Gibbons died of those injuries on Sept. 4. Garcia, now charged with first-degree murder, sits in jail cell on $1 million bail.
It certainly makes you want to give up drinking, doesn’t it?
But Richard Gibbons wasn’t always homeless. By the accounts of his former common-law wife and his children, he was a talented carpenter, a charismatic man and, even though he was homeless, he worked with the Elgin Salvation Army to prevent other people from suffering a similar fate.
It was after he was drafted into the Army during the final stage of the Vietnam War that his drinking became a problem. Though she was hesitant to blame the alcoholism on the Army, Gibbons’ daughter Melissa told Gathman, “But the service really messed him up. He wouldn’t talk about it much, but the service was a time in his life that he just wanted to forget.”
read more here
Cain: I Should've Defended Gay Soldier From Boos at Debate
To anyone still getting emails denying a soldier was booed from the audience, send them this.
Cain: I Should've Defended Gay Soldier From Boos at Debate
Published October 02, 2011
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said Sunday that he should not have stayed silent after the audience at a GOP debate booed a gay soldier serving in Iraq.
The Georgia businessman told ABC's "This Week" that it would have been "appropriate" for him to have defended the soldier. None of the candidates on stage at the Sept. 22 forum responded to the boos.
"In retrospect, because of the controversy it has created and because of the different interpretations that it could have had, yes, that probably -- that would have been appropriate," Cain said, when asked if he should have asked the audience to respect the soldier.
Cain said it wasn't immediately clear to him what had drawn the audience's scorn, adding, "I happen to think that maybe they were booing the whole 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal more so than booing that soldier."
The so-called don't ask, don't tell policy barring gays from serving openly in the military was officially lifted last month.
read more here
From combat to charges, PTSD veteran faces judge
Still fighting: After combatting insurgents in Iraq, veteran struggles with stress disorder, alcoholism
By MARK KEIERLEBER
IDS
OCT. 2, 2011
Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran Anthony Ray Halliday stood at the front of the courtroom with a straight back.
His black suit and light blue Oxford shirt were clean and wrinkle-free. His shaved head towered above his attorney, who stood to his right.
Halliday, 41, pleaded guilty in the Monroe County Circuit Court on Sept. 27 before
Judge Marc R. Kellams for driving while under the influence of alcohol on two separate
accounts.
Halliday was almost motionless, occasionally rocking forward onto the toes of his polished black dress shoes.
Halliday joined the Army in May 2003 at the age of 32. In 2007 and 2008, he served in Iraq as a sergeant of the Military Police Unit. While in Iraq, Halliday watched as fellow soldiers were killed around him. His time in combat was traumatic and life-altering, he said.
“I was a very good soldier, and I was coded to be a very good soldier,” Halliday said.
After returning from combat to the United States, Halliday said he suffered from several medical problems, including a hernia and tinnitus.
But he also suffered mentally.
After a visit to the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Indianapolis, Halliday was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in late 2009, nearly a year after he returned from Iraq.
read more here
By MARK KEIERLEBER
IDS
OCT. 2, 2011
Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran Anthony Ray Halliday stood at the front of the courtroom with a straight back.
His black suit and light blue Oxford shirt were clean and wrinkle-free. His shaved head towered above his attorney, who stood to his right.
Halliday, 41, pleaded guilty in the Monroe County Circuit Court on Sept. 27 before
Judge Marc R. Kellams for driving while under the influence of alcohol on two separate
accounts.
Halliday was almost motionless, occasionally rocking forward onto the toes of his polished black dress shoes.
Halliday joined the Army in May 2003 at the age of 32. In 2007 and 2008, he served in Iraq as a sergeant of the Military Police Unit. While in Iraq, Halliday watched as fellow soldiers were killed around him. His time in combat was traumatic and life-altering, he said.
“I was a very good soldier, and I was coded to be a very good soldier,” Halliday said.
After returning from combat to the United States, Halliday said he suffered from several medical problems, including a hernia and tinnitus.
But he also suffered mentally.
After a visit to the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Indianapolis, Halliday was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in late 2009, nearly a year after he returned from Iraq.
read more here
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Group offers barbecue, help to disabled vets
There were two reporters out there with us today. FOX was there too and the reporter was wonderful. Looking for his video but haven't seen it yet. Tomorrow I should have mine up.
Today was a really wonderful day. I had the chance to talk to Joshua Cope, a double amputee Iraq vet with a one week old baby and two other young children. I talked to Andrew Berry and Christopher O'Conner, both Iraq veterans wounded by IEDs. All of them have such great attitudes it makes you feel as if you shouldn't have a care in the world.
Ocoee Mayor Scott Vandergrift was there, as usual whenever there is anything going on for Veterans, he's sure to be there with his big smile and warmth. Cathy Haynes was there too. If you are involved with veterans in the area at all, you know who Cathy Haynes is. I think the woman works twice as hard as I do without a nap. (I need them daily)
It was wonderful to see so many young veterans spending time with, as Andrew Berry put it, older veterans with a lot to share. They understand that the DAV is there for them just as it had been for the "older" veterans when they came home around the same age as these new veterans. They also prove that one you're a veteran, you are for life and it is an outstanding family to belong to.
Today was a really wonderful day. I had the chance to talk to Joshua Cope, a double amputee Iraq vet with a one week old baby and two other young children. I talked to Andrew Berry and Christopher O'Conner, both Iraq veterans wounded by IEDs. All of them have such great attitudes it makes you feel as if you shouldn't have a care in the world.
Ocoee Mayor Scott Vandergrift was there, as usual whenever there is anything going on for Veterans, he's sure to be there with his big smile and warmth. Cathy Haynes was there too. If you are involved with veterans in the area at all, you know who Cathy Haynes is. I think the woman works twice as hard as I do without a nap. (I need them daily)
It was wonderful to see so many young veterans spending time with, as Andrew Berry put it, older veterans with a lot to share. They understand that the DAV is there for them just as it had been for the "older" veterans when they came home around the same age as these new veterans. They also prove that one you're a veteran, you are for life and it is an outstanding family to belong to.
Group offers barbecue, help to disabled vets
Jim Sursely converses with another disabled veteran at a barbecue Sunday. Sursely lost both legs and an arm in Vietnam.
By Mark Jenkins, Reporter
Last Updated: Sunday, October 02, 2011 5:55 PM
ORLANDO --
Jim Sursely has spent the last 40 years confined to a wheel chair. He lost both his legs and an arm in a land mine explosion in Vietnam.
However, that doesn't slow him down.
"What's in my heart now is my willingness to want to come out and help and welcome these young guys coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan," Sursely said.
He's helping guys like Andrew Berry and Chris O'Conner. Both of them were injured in IED explosions.
"It blasted me 10 feet in the air, knocked me unconscious for like a minute," O'Conner said.
Berry suffered damage to his leg, lower back and head. O'Conner received a traumatic brain injury and multiple shrapnel wounds throughout his body. Even after being removed from the war zone, returning home isn't easy.
read more here
Soldier Says PTSD Cost Him His Job On SWAT Team
Soldier Says PTSD Cost Him His Job
by Marcus Washington
SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. - He risked his life for our country, and even watched his friends die in combat. Now a soldier said he is without a job because of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and he said he was fired without merit.
A life as a soldier or someone protecting others from the "bad guys" has always been a dream for Chad Clinard.
"As a kid I was always playing G.I. Joe," said Clinard.
So between two deployments to Iraq, Clinard applied to work for the Robertson County Sheriff's Office.
"I got a call asking if I wanted to be a correctional officer, so I immediately jumped on that and started at the beginning of January 2006," said Clinard.
Clinard did well at the Robertson County Sheriff's Office. In the five years he was there he went from correctional officer to a member of the SWAT team.
"In trying to keep the crime rate down, trying to keep the drugs off the streets, that's where I wanted to be. I wanted to be that guy," he said.
Clinard admitted what happened in Iraq is not always easy to deal with after three of his closest friends were killed in combat.
read more here
by Marcus Washington
SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. - He risked his life for our country, and even watched his friends die in combat. Now a soldier said he is without a job because of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and he said he was fired without merit.
A life as a soldier or someone protecting others from the "bad guys" has always been a dream for Chad Clinard.
"As a kid I was always playing G.I. Joe," said Clinard.
So between two deployments to Iraq, Clinard applied to work for the Robertson County Sheriff's Office.
"I got a call asking if I wanted to be a correctional officer, so I immediately jumped on that and started at the beginning of January 2006," said Clinard.
Clinard did well at the Robertson County Sheriff's Office. In the five years he was there he went from correctional officer to a member of the SWAT team.
"In trying to keep the crime rate down, trying to keep the drugs off the streets, that's where I wanted to be. I wanted to be that guy," he said.
Clinard admitted what happened in Iraq is not always easy to deal with after three of his closest friends were killed in combat.
read more here
Ex-homeless Air Force mom backs Federal Way women's shelter
Ex-homeless Air Force mom backs Federal Way women's shelter
By ANDY HOBBS
Federal Way Mirror Editor
Oct 01 2011
A brain injury from a Mack Truck accident led to Sheila Sebron becoming a homeless single mother of two children.
Sebron had an eight-year career in the U.S. Air Force before her medical discharge. Long an advocate for the homeless, she suddenly saw things from the other side.
“I went from hospital bed to homeless,” said Sebron, a Seattle resident. “Even though I never slept on the street, I had no control of my housing.”
Homelessness affects women in a deeper way than it affects men, she said.
read more here
By ANDY HOBBS
Federal Way Mirror Editor
Oct 01 2011
A brain injury from a Mack Truck accident led to Sheila Sebron becoming a homeless single mother of two children.
Sebron had an eight-year career in the U.S. Air Force before her medical discharge. Long an advocate for the homeless, she suddenly saw things from the other side.
“I went from hospital bed to homeless,” said Sebron, a Seattle resident. “Even though I never slept on the street, I had no control of my housing.”
Homelessness affects women in a deeper way than it affects men, she said.
read more here
Hero combat medic "unqualified to be an emergency medical technician"
Ex-soldier is a hero abroad, but unemployed at home
By Drew Brooks
Staff writer
In Afghanistan, Nick Colgin was a hero.
In America, he's unemployed.
Colgin, who earned a Bronze Star as a member of Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division, has become one of the faces of the unemployed veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His efforts in finding employment became part of history when President Obama referred to him during a speech in August that focused on the need to better prepare veterans for the workforce.
When he was with the Army, then Spc. Colgin was recognized for saving the life of a French soldier who had been shot in the head and for working with other soldiers to rescue more than 40 civilians from a flood. Colgin assumed that a stellar military career would transfer to his civilian life when he left Fort Bragg and the Army in June 2008.
But reality was much crueler for Colgin once the Army rank was dropped from his last name.
A combat medic as a soldier, Colgin found himself unqualified to be an emergency medical technician in Wyoming, where he had hoped to start a new, adventurous life.
read more here
By Drew Brooks
Staff writer
In Afghanistan, Nick Colgin was a hero.
In America, he's unemployed.
Colgin, who earned a Bronze Star as a member of Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division, has become one of the faces of the unemployed veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His efforts in finding employment became part of history when President Obama referred to him during a speech in August that focused on the need to better prepare veterans for the workforce.
When he was with the Army, then Spc. Colgin was recognized for saving the life of a French soldier who had been shot in the head and for working with other soldiers to rescue more than 40 civilians from a flood. Colgin assumed that a stellar military career would transfer to his civilian life when he left Fort Bragg and the Army in June 2008.
But reality was much crueler for Colgin once the Army rank was dropped from his last name.
A combat medic as a soldier, Colgin found himself unqualified to be an emergency medical technician in Wyoming, where he had hoped to start a new, adventurous life.
read more here
Fort Bragg medic killed helping wounded in Afghanistan
Indiana soldier killed helping wounded in Afghanistan
Army medic was 2009 Chesterton High School grad
By John Byrne, Tribune reporter
October 2, 2011
Spc. James Butz became an Army medic because he wanted to help people, and his aunt said the Northwest Indiana native was doing just that when he was killed last week in Afghanistan.
Butz, 21, was rushing to the aid of two injured Marines when he was killed in Helmand province, his aunt, Joyce Wascher, said.
"They told us two Marines had been hurt, and he ran forward — without his helmet or his gun — to help them," Wascher said Saturday. Butz, of Porter, was fatally injured Wednesday when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device, according to the Department of Defense.
"I think he was just trying to respond, that's the way he was," Wascher said of her nephew, who was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division out of Ft. Bragg, N.C.
read more here
Army medic was 2009 Chesterton High School grad
By John Byrne, Tribune reporter
October 2, 2011
Spc. James Butz became an Army medic because he wanted to help people, and his aunt said the Northwest Indiana native was doing just that when he was killed last week in Afghanistan.
Butz, 21, was rushing to the aid of two injured Marines when he was killed in Helmand province, his aunt, Joyce Wascher, said.
"They told us two Marines had been hurt, and he ran forward — without his helmet or his gun — to help them," Wascher said Saturday. Butz, of Porter, was fatally injured Wednesday when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device, according to the Department of Defense.
"I think he was just trying to respond, that's the way he was," Wascher said of her nephew, who was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division out of Ft. Bragg, N.C.
read more here
Soldier returns to family and cheers
After serving a year in Iraq, a soldier is home with his family
Once he arrived, the entire airport cheered, as he made his way to hug his family for the first time in over a year
Melissa Gaona
Multimedia Journalist
6:13 p.m. EDT, October 1, 2011
ROANOKE, Va.—
The Hicklin family was at Roanoke Regional Airport staring out the window, waiting and watching for his plane to land.
Once he arrived, the entire airport cheered, as he made his way to hug his family for the first time in over a year.
Saturday was a big day for the Hicklin’s. Their soldier serving in the United States Army finished his tour in Iraq.
His mother, Betty Barber, explains how she’s been staying in touch. “When he wasn’t out on a mission, we got to talk a whole lot through Skype on the computer, through Facebook and by phone,” said Barber.
read more here
Once he arrived, the entire airport cheered, as he made his way to hug his family for the first time in over a year
Melissa Gaona
Multimedia Journalist
6:13 p.m. EDT, October 1, 2011
ROANOKE, Va.—
The Hicklin family was at Roanoke Regional Airport staring out the window, waiting and watching for his plane to land.
Once he arrived, the entire airport cheered, as he made his way to hug his family for the first time in over a year.
Saturday was a big day for the Hicklin’s. Their soldier serving in the United States Army finished his tour in Iraq.
His mother, Betty Barber, explains how she’s been staying in touch. “When he wasn’t out on a mission, we got to talk a whole lot through Skype on the computer, through Facebook and by phone,” said Barber.
read more here
3 Tour Ex-Marine arrested in Hillsborough County deputy shooting
It is by the grace of God this ended the way it did. DeVeaux is still alive after being shot at "9 or 10 times" by a Marine trained to kill. Buendia was not killed by SWAT. Some may want to just blame Buendia for all of this but that is only because they do not understand how this country has been failing the men and women we send into combat. Buendia brought the war back home inside of him.
also
Suspect in Hillsborough deputy shooting a former Marine
9 or 10 times a gun was fired by someone trained to hit what they aim at. He was close to her. She survived. Over the years veterans like Buendia have been treated like common criminals, with no care for anyone else but themselves. The veterans in this country are not about "self" or they wouldn't choose the professions they enter into. When they come home changed and challenged by where we send them, it is our responsibility to care for them. If we don't, there will be many more times when the story is repeated with a very different outcome.
Ex-Marine arrested in Hillsborough County deputy shooting
By Jessica Vander Velde and Shelley Rossetter, Times Staff Writers
In Print: Sunday, October 2, 2011
Hillsborough deputies escort former Marine Matthew Buendia, 24, at the jail on Saturday.
[OCTAVIO JONES | Times]
TAMPA — Five years ago, Matt Buendia was a Marine preparing for deployment and Lyonelle De Veaux was a new sheriff's deputy.
He focused on rising through the ranks. She aimed to help abused and neglected children.
They met on Friday, De Veaux parked under the oaks at a Carrollwood apartment complex and Buendia with a gun tucked into his waistband.
It was a routine domestic call. De Veaux, 35, met Buendia's girlfriend at the front of the complex about 10:30 p.m. Friday. The deputy asked the woman to sit in the patrol car so she could give a statement.
That's when Buendia, 24, walked up. He was too close. The deputy asked him to step back.
Instead, he whipped out a semiautomatic gun and started pumping bullets into De Veaux, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reported.
He fired nine or 10 times, deputies say, from just a few feet away.
De Veaux spun and crouched as she backed up, trying to use her car to get some distance from Buendia — a mix of training and instinct.
Three bullets hit her — in the upper leg, lower leg and shoulder, Sheriff David Gee said. She was wearing a protective vest, but it didn't cover those areas.
As she lay on the pavement, Buendia ran back into his apartment and locked himself inside.
read more here
also
Suspect in Hillsborough deputy shooting a former Marine
9 or 10 times a gun was fired by someone trained to hit what they aim at. He was close to her. She survived. Over the years veterans like Buendia have been treated like common criminals, with no care for anyone else but themselves. The veterans in this country are not about "self" or they wouldn't choose the professions they enter into. When they come home changed and challenged by where we send them, it is our responsibility to care for them. If we don't, there will be many more times when the story is repeated with a very different outcome.
"He served three deployments in the Middle East, according to his uncle, Bob Buendia, 68, and rose to the rank of sergeant. He left the military a couple of years ago. His uncle believes Matthew started working in insurance.
When Matthew Buendia returned to the United States, his uncle spoke to him by phone. Matthew Buendia mentioned he had lost a lot of buddies overseas.
He didn't share the details, but his family could tell he was hurting, said Bob Buendia, of Texas."
The young man was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, family members say.
"I don't think he understands what had happened, to be honest with you," Matthew Buendia's father, Richard Buendia, told Bay News 9. "I feel awful. … He's a good young man, never been in any kind of problems at all."
Matthew Buendia was being seen by Veterans Affairs doctors, Bob Buendia said.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Suspect in Hillsborough deputy shooting a former Marine
Suspect in Hillsborough deputy shooting a former Marine
By JOSH POLTILOVE, THE TAMPA TRIBUNE
Published: October 01, 2011
Updated: October 01, 2011 - 4:59 PM
TAMPA --
The former Marine accused of shooting a Hillsborough County deputy three times Friday night had post-traumatic stress disorder upon his return from Iraq, his uncle said today.
"I know he had been going to the VA hospital quite a bit, and they'd been putting him off, putting him off," Bob Buendia said of his nephew, 24-year-old Matthew Lane Buendia of Carrollwood. "He'd been getting frustrated."
Deputy Lyonelle De Veaux, 35, was shot twice in the leg and once in the shoulder while responding to a domestic call at 10:22 p.m. at Matthew Buendia's apartment complex.
De Veaux, a five-year sheriff's office veteran who works in the department's District 3, was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital. She was in good condition and alert late Saturday, spending time with her family at the hospital, sheriff's spokesman Larry McKinnon said.
"Right now we believe she is doing well," Sheriff David Gee said during a 4 a.m. press conference.
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By JOSH POLTILOVE, THE TAMPA TRIBUNE
Published: October 01, 2011
Updated: October 01, 2011 - 4:59 PM
TAMPA --
The former Marine accused of shooting a Hillsborough County deputy three times Friday night had post-traumatic stress disorder upon his return from Iraq, his uncle said today.
"I know he had been going to the VA hospital quite a bit, and they'd been putting him off, putting him off," Bob Buendia said of his nephew, 24-year-old Matthew Lane Buendia of Carrollwood. "He'd been getting frustrated."
Deputy Lyonelle De Veaux, 35, was shot twice in the leg and once in the shoulder while responding to a domestic call at 10:22 p.m. at Matthew Buendia's apartment complex.
De Veaux, a five-year sheriff's office veteran who works in the department's District 3, was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital. She was in good condition and alert late Saturday, spending time with her family at the hospital, sheriff's spokesman Larry McKinnon said.
"Right now we believe she is doing well," Sheriff David Gee said during a 4 a.m. press conference.
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Orlando DAV Free BBQ for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans
The DAV has been getting phone calls asking "How much is it?" The answer is, it is free
NYPD: Arrest made in attempted rape foiled by Marine in Queens
NYPD: Arrest made in attempted rape foiled by Marine in Queens
BY ROCCO PARASCANDOLA
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU CHIEF
Police have arrested a man they say is the pervert who tried to sexually assault a woman alongside a Queens highway before he was scared away by a former Marine.
Kenneth King, 41, was charged with attempted rape, police said Friday afternoon.
Three people recognized King from an artist's sketch of the suspect that the NYPD released to the media after the attack Wednesday morning, police sources said.
All three called the tip in to the 109th Precinct in Flushing, and each provided King's name, the sources said.
BY ROCCO PARASCANDOLA
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU CHIEF
Police have arrested a man they say is the pervert who tried to sexually assault a woman alongside a Queens highway before he was scared away by a former Marine.
Kenneth King, 41, was charged with attempted rape, police said Friday afternoon.
Three people recognized King from an artist's sketch of the suspect that the NYPD released to the media after the attack Wednesday morning, police sources said.
All three called the tip in to the 109th Precinct in Flushing, and each provided King's name, the sources said.
The suspect dragged the woman - who had been waiting for a ride when she was accosted - into a wooded area near the highway, pinned her down and started to rip her clothes off.read more here
But ex-Marine Bryan Teichman, 31, of Fresh Meadows, Queens, who was in the area, dropping his daughter off at a babysitter's home, saw the suspect toss the woman over a highway guardrail.
Sgt. Nathan Harris Wounded Afghanistan veteran's story captured on film
Wounded Afghanistan veteran's story captured on film
Sgt. Nathan Harris, severely wounded in Afghanistan, joins photojournalist Danfung Dennis to discuss "Hell and Back Again," a film that documents their experiences in the war.
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Sgt. Nathan Harris, severely wounded in Afghanistan, joins photojournalist Danfung Dennis to discuss "Hell and Back Again," a film that documents their experiences in the war.
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Parents of veteran killed in Washington speak out
Parents of veteran killed in Washington speak out
Reported by: Julie Tremmel Email: julietremmel@fox23news.com
The parents of the 33-year-old Clifton Park Army veteran who died in Washington, DC earlier this week are now sharing their story.
Shenedahowa graduate Patrick Casey suffered head trauma and never regained consciousness after possibly trying to intervene in an altercation that happened outside a DC McDonald's one week ago.
Casey was a football star at Shen, and not too far down the road, was a football standout at RPI too.
His parents Paul and Gail say their son also saw serious combat action during a recent 12-month long tour to Afghanistan, even losing several friends to the horrors of war.
After his time in the military was up, he worked as a computer systems tech in Israel, making friends with dozens of people in several other countries along the way.
At 6' 4", and 275 pounds, his mom and dad admit Casey was quite an imposing figure.
As an Army Sergeant, a football star and accomplished outdoorsman, Casey may seem on the surface, intimidating. But his parents say the truth is, Patrick was just a big hearted, easy going guy who loved his family, his friends and his country.
The couple says after being overwhelmed with relief to finally watch their son come home to the U.S. safely, they never expected to lose their son like this.
So, right now, people from Israel to Troy are mourning his death.
read more here
Clifton Park native, Army vet killed in Washington, DC
Reported by: Paul Merrill Email: paulmerrill@fox23news.com
Editor: B. DiGiovanni
Print Story Published: 9/28
A Clifton Park native is dead after a bizarre incident on a Washington, DC street.
Thirty-three-year-old Patrick Casey had just finished a one-year-long tour of duty with the U.S. Army Infantry in Afghanistan.
He had moved to Washington in August to begin graduate school at George Washington University.
"When he was in Afghanistan, we thought that was the worst year of our life," says Gail Casey, Patrick's mother. "This is worse and I don't know when it stops."
Patrick died Tuesday at George Washington University Hospital in Washington.
He had been attacked outside a Washington McDonald's the previous Friday.
It was reportedly 2:00 a.m. on Friday when Patrick tried to stop three men who were causing trouble outside the restaurant.
read more here
Reported by: Julie Tremmel Email: julietremmel@fox23news.com
The parents of the 33-year-old Clifton Park Army veteran who died in Washington, DC earlier this week are now sharing their story.
Shenedahowa graduate Patrick Casey suffered head trauma and never regained consciousness after possibly trying to intervene in an altercation that happened outside a DC McDonald's one week ago.
Casey was a football star at Shen, and not too far down the road, was a football standout at RPI too.
His parents Paul and Gail say their son also saw serious combat action during a recent 12-month long tour to Afghanistan, even losing several friends to the horrors of war.
After his time in the military was up, he worked as a computer systems tech in Israel, making friends with dozens of people in several other countries along the way.
At 6' 4", and 275 pounds, his mom and dad admit Casey was quite an imposing figure.
As an Army Sergeant, a football star and accomplished outdoorsman, Casey may seem on the surface, intimidating. But his parents say the truth is, Patrick was just a big hearted, easy going guy who loved his family, his friends and his country.
The couple says after being overwhelmed with relief to finally watch their son come home to the U.S. safely, they never expected to lose their son like this.
So, right now, people from Israel to Troy are mourning his death.
read more here
Clifton Park native, Army vet killed in Washington, DC
Reported by: Paul Merrill Email: paulmerrill@fox23news.com
Editor: B. DiGiovanni
Print Story Published: 9/28
A Clifton Park native is dead after a bizarre incident on a Washington, DC street.
Thirty-three-year-old Patrick Casey had just finished a one-year-long tour of duty with the U.S. Army Infantry in Afghanistan.
He had moved to Washington in August to begin graduate school at George Washington University.
"When he was in Afghanistan, we thought that was the worst year of our life," says Gail Casey, Patrick's mother. "This is worse and I don't know when it stops."
Patrick died Tuesday at George Washington University Hospital in Washington.
He had been attacked outside a Washington McDonald's the previous Friday.
It was reportedly 2:00 a.m. on Friday when Patrick tried to stop three men who were causing trouble outside the restaurant.
read more here
Police officer wore patch under body armor in Iraq as National Guard soldier
Kennewick police officer welcomed home from Iraq
BY PAULA HORTON, TRI-CITY HERALD
KENNEWICK -- A Kennewick police officer who spent most of the past year with the National Guard in Iraq was welcomed back to work Friday with a celebration at the police station.
Officer Jeff Sagen, a patrol officer in Kennewick for five years, received a Hometown Hero Award from Kennewick Police Chief Ken Hohenberg.
"Our philosophy is not only to make sure our own city's safe, but we work very hard to contribute to the Tri-Cities' safety as a whole," Hohenberg told the Herald. "We have a lot of good federal partners too. ... Officer Sagen just took our philosophy further to another country."
Sagen was stationed for just more than nine months in Balad, which is in north central Iraq. He was with 3rd Battalion, 116th Calvary Regiment and was promoted to captain during his tour.
He kept the Kennewick Police Department close to him by wearing his KPD patch on his armor.
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Sagen is one of many National Guards and Reservists around the country serving at home and then topping it off with serving wherever they are needed. They continue to risk their lives back home but receive less support than regular military service members. Active duty troops have the support of everyone in their company but when the citizen soldiers come home, they are back to work with few understanding where they've been. We need to support them more than we do and appreciate how devoted they are to their country and communities.
White House Cuts $25 Billion More From Defense to Fund VA
When it was first decided to send the troops into Afghanistan, no one thought about how to pay for any of it. Then troops were send into Iraq. Yet again, no one thought about how to pay for any of it or how long it would go on.
Now with more and more wounded entering into VA healthcare across the country, it has come to this. Budget cuts from the Department of Defense for the sake of the VA.
"The Pentagon’s latest figures through July 30 indicate the military’s spent $1.054 trillion since Sept. 11, 2001, with $704.6 billion obligated for Iraq and $323.2 billion for Afghanistan."They didn't even know how much it would cost or how long the troops would be there any more than they knew how many wounded would make it back home.
Now with more and more wounded entering into VA healthcare across the country, it has come to this. Budget cuts from the Department of Defense for the sake of the VA.
White House Cuts $25 Billion More From Defense to Fund VA
September 30, 2011
By Tony Capaccio
Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The White House has directed the Pentagon to reduce its 10-year spending plan by another $25 billion, on top of the roughly $450 billion it’s already planning to cut, according to three government officials.
The Office of Management and Budget directed the action because the White House decided to protect Veterans Administration medical funding from cuts, said one the officials. All three spoke on condition of anonymity because the change hasn’t been announced.
The reduction might mean a $1 billion cut in the pending $513 billion defense bill for fiscal 2012, said the official, who was familiar with the OMB action. The bill’s already been reduced $26 billion from the Pentagon’s original budget request, meaning about no increase from current year spending.
The OMB guidance came in early September, said one of the three sources.
A $27 billion reduction remains within the range laid out in the Budget Control Act signed into law Aug. 2. For the fiscal years beginning in 2013, the new cut would average an additional $2.5 billion a year, the official said.
The Budget Control Act has an overall cap for fiscal 2012 and 2013 that includes the Defense Department, State Department, Veterans Administration and Department of Homeland Security, so to protect this veterans funding means that all other accounts in the security budget will have to be cut that much more, said Todd Harrison, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a non-partisan budget analysis group in Washington.
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