Area church surprises soldier on his return from Iraq
By Matthew Ciccocioppo
Sentinel Reporter
Posted: Sunday, May 6, 2012
The congregation of St. Matthew’s United Church of Christ in Middlesex Township rallied together in support of a resident soldier’s return from Iraq Sunday morning.
Following their usual Sunday service, members of the church gathered in the Fellowship Hall to offer a warm welcome-home surprise reception for Lt. Col. Vince Lindenmeyer.
“There really is no way to describe the joy the congregation feels in Vince’s safe return,” said the Rev. Dr. Timothy Dugan of St. Matthew’s. “We’ve been praying for this, and we absolutely thank god with our whole hearts. But as a church we are also in touch with the fact that for some families, not just on this side of the pond, grief is what darkens their doors.”
Lindenmeyer returned home on Thursday from a 10-month-long tour of duty in Iraq to his wife, the Rev. Dr Cynthia Lindenmeyer, and their two children, Carley, 12, and Luke, 8.
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Monday, May 7, 2012
Meditation being studied for treatment of PTSD in veterans
Don't laugh. It does help. Reading this brought back memories of a tough Marine's reaction when I told him he needed to take up Yoga. He glared at me then asked "What's next? Knitting?" Once I explained to him that he had to teach his body to go into high gear to face combat, he had to train his body to calm down now, he gave it a try. It helped and he had his buddies go for it too.
Part of PTSD is the reaction of the body during flashbacks and nightmares. It goes into full alert and gets tense. Veterans have to get their bodies to learn how to calm down just as much as they have to work on their mind and spirit. PTSD takes over the whole veteran and not just their memories.
Part of PTSD is the reaction of the body during flashbacks and nightmares. It goes into full alert and gets tense. Veterans have to get their bodies to learn how to calm down just as much as they have to work on their mind and spirit. PTSD takes over the whole veteran and not just their memories.
Meditation being studied for treatment of PTSD in veterans
Posted: Saturday, May 5, 2012
Bloomberg News Service
WASHINGTON — Seeking new ways to treat post-traumatic stress, the Department of Veterans Affairs is studying the use of transcendental meditation to help returning veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Veterans Affairs’ $5.9 billion system for mental-health care is under sharp criticism, particularly after the release of an inspector general’s report last month that found that the department has greatly overstated how quickly it treats veterans seeking mental-health care.
VA has a “huge investment” in mental-health care but is seeking alternatives to conventional psychiatric treatment, said Scott Gould, deputy secretary of veterans affairs.
“The reality is, not all individuals we see are treatable by the techniques we use,” Gould said at a summit Thursday in Washington on the use of TM to treat post-traumatic stress suffered by veterans and active-duty service members.
By some estimates, 10 percent of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan show effects of post-traumatic stress disorder, numbers that are overwhelming the department.
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U.S. Marine killed by Afghan soldier
U.S. Marine killed by Afghan soldier
May. 7, 2012
By Chris Blake
Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan soldier killed one U.S. Marine and wounded another before being shot to death in return fire Sunday in southern Afghanistan, the latest in a series of attacks against foreigners blamed on government forces within their own ranks.
Nearly 20 such attacks this year have raised the level of mistrust between the U.S.-led coalition and their Afghan partners as NATO gears up to hand over security to local forces ahead of a 2014 deadline for the withdrawal of combat troops.
In another sign of deteriorating security, the United States is considering abandoning plans for a consulate in the country's north because the building chosen was deemed too dangerous to occupy. The United States spent $80 million on the project despite glaring security deficiencies in the former hotel, according to a copy of a document drafted by the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
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May. 7, 2012
By Chris Blake
Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan soldier killed one U.S. Marine and wounded another before being shot to death in return fire Sunday in southern Afghanistan, the latest in a series of attacks against foreigners blamed on government forces within their own ranks.
Nearly 20 such attacks this year have raised the level of mistrust between the U.S.-led coalition and their Afghan partners as NATO gears up to hand over security to local forces ahead of a 2014 deadline for the withdrawal of combat troops.
In another sign of deteriorating security, the United States is considering abandoning plans for a consulate in the country's north because the building chosen was deemed too dangerous to occupy. The United States spent $80 million on the project despite glaring security deficiencies in the former hotel, according to a copy of a document drafted by the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
read more here
Vietnam Veterans reunited after Google search
Vietnam veterans reunited in Wood County
May 7, 2012
By JEFFREY SAULTON
Parkersburg News and Sentinel
LUBECK - Charles Beagle and John Wikle, who served together in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, recently reunited after not seeing each other for about 40 years.
From 1970 to 1971, the two were members of 1st Battalion, 5th Division, Co. E, 1st Cavalry in a mortar platoon, but when they returned to the U.S. they were sent to Fort Riley, Kan., and then went their separate ways.
Wikle said they had about three months left in their tours with the military at that time. At Fort Riley they were in the 1st Division.
Beagle moved to Parkersburg where he worked for Ormet Corp., where he had worked before he was drafted, as a mechanic and later at Tri-State Roofing and Sheet Metal as a HVAC technician. Wikle went back to Clarksville, Ga., where he worked at a number of jobs, finally retiring from the Georgia Department of Corrections.
Wikle said the first time they had any contact after their discharge was about eight years ago.
"My oldest son is in the military and he was asking me questions about my service in Vietnam," he said. "One thing led to another and we started doing some searches on Google and we came up with Charles and others. We located two or three friends through Google."
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May 7, 2012
By JEFFREY SAULTON
Parkersburg News and Sentinel
LUBECK - Charles Beagle and John Wikle, who served together in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, recently reunited after not seeing each other for about 40 years.
From 1970 to 1971, the two were members of 1st Battalion, 5th Division, Co. E, 1st Cavalry in a mortar platoon, but when they returned to the U.S. they were sent to Fort Riley, Kan., and then went their separate ways.
Wikle said they had about three months left in their tours with the military at that time. At Fort Riley they were in the 1st Division.
Beagle moved to Parkersburg where he worked for Ormet Corp., where he had worked before he was drafted, as a mechanic and later at Tri-State Roofing and Sheet Metal as a HVAC technician. Wikle went back to Clarksville, Ga., where he worked at a number of jobs, finally retiring from the Georgia Department of Corrections.
Wikle said the first time they had any contact after their discharge was about eight years ago.
"My oldest son is in the military and he was asking me questions about my service in Vietnam," he said. "One thing led to another and we started doing some searches on Google and we came up with Charles and others. We located two or three friends through Google."
read more here
Veterans' charity boss indicted for using donations to fund lifestyle
Alaska war veterans' charity boss indicted for using donations to fund lifestyle
Published May 07, 2012
NewsCore
KENAI, Alaska
An Alaskan man who ran a charity raising money to send care packages to US soldiers deployed overseas has been indicted by Alaskan authorities for using donations to fund his own lifestyle, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
Prosecutors say an employee from Alaska Veteran Outreach Boxes for Heroes (AVOBH) tipped authorities off to the alleged scam run by Frank Roach, 52, of Kenai, Alaska, last October.
"The employee believed the vast majority of the donations were not being used for shipping costs but were going to the pockets of those involved in the organization," according to a statement from the State of Alaska Department of Law.
read more here
Published May 07, 2012
NewsCore
KENAI, Alaska
An Alaskan man who ran a charity raising money to send care packages to US soldiers deployed overseas has been indicted by Alaskan authorities for using donations to fund his own lifestyle, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
Prosecutors say an employee from Alaska Veteran Outreach Boxes for Heroes (AVOBH) tipped authorities off to the alleged scam run by Frank Roach, 52, of Kenai, Alaska, last October.
"The employee believed the vast majority of the donations were not being used for shipping costs but were going to the pockets of those involved in the organization," according to a statement from the State of Alaska Department of Law.
read more here
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Army probes CIB given to lt. who shot soldier
Army probes CIB given to lt. who shot soldier
Award upsets father of friendly fire victim
By Joe Gould - Staff writer Posted : Sunday May 6, 2012
The Army is investigating the awarding of a Combat Infantryman Badge to a lieutenant who fatally shot a member of his squad, Pfc. David H. Sharrett, during a 2008 friendly fire incident in Iraq.
Then-Lt. Timothy R. Hanson was awarded the badge for his service Jan. 16, 2008, according to Army orders supplied to Sharrett’s father, David Sharrett. On that day, Hanson led a squad into a fierce predawn firefight in which he mistakenly shot Sharrett. After the battle, Hanson left unhurt on a helicopter before Pfc. Sharrett was found.
“This could not have been just a horrible faux pas,” said the elder Sharrett, of Oakton, Va. “They were well aware of what had happened, and this guy was given a medal for killing my kid and leaving him to die.”
Hanson has since been promoted to captain and joined a Reserve unit in Wisconsin. He was initially given a local reprimand and last year was recommended for a harsher general officer reprimand in the Army’s third investigation of the incident.
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Award upsets father of friendly fire victim
By Joe Gould - Staff writer Posted : Sunday May 6, 2012
The Army is investigating the awarding of a Combat Infantryman Badge to a lieutenant who fatally shot a member of his squad, Pfc. David H. Sharrett, during a 2008 friendly fire incident in Iraq.
Then-Lt. Timothy R. Hanson was awarded the badge for his service Jan. 16, 2008, according to Army orders supplied to Sharrett’s father, David Sharrett. On that day, Hanson led a squad into a fierce predawn firefight in which he mistakenly shot Sharrett. After the battle, Hanson left unhurt on a helicopter before Pfc. Sharrett was found.
“This could not have been just a horrible faux pas,” said the elder Sharrett, of Oakton, Va. “They were well aware of what had happened, and this guy was given a medal for killing my kid and leaving him to die.”
Hanson has since been promoted to captain and joined a Reserve unit in Wisconsin. He was initially given a local reprimand and last year was recommended for a harsher general officer reprimand in the Army’s third investigation of the incident.
read more here
Fort Bragg female soldier Kelli Bordeaux still missing
Fort Bragg soldier disappears after night out
By Martha Waggoner
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday May 6, 2012
RALEIGH, N.C. — Kelli Bordeaux took a break from life as a soldier at Fort Bragg, N.C., to do what many 20-somethings do on a Friday night: Maybe have a few drinks, play pool and belt out some songs at a local karaoke night.
Three weeks later, the 23-year-old woman still hasn’t come home. Investigators say phone calls and text messages show nothing out of the ordinary happened that night. Their only lead? She left the bar with a man who is a registered sex offender and swears he had nothing to do with her disappearance.
Now her relatives, some of whom came to Fayetteville for the first couple weeks of the investigation and searches, have returned home, where they wait for the phone to ring with the good news that Bordeaux has been found.
“It just feels like it’s been an eternity already,” said Matt Henson, the older brother of the missing private first class.
read more here
By Martha Waggoner
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday May 6, 2012
RALEIGH, N.C. — Kelli Bordeaux took a break from life as a soldier at Fort Bragg, N.C., to do what many 20-somethings do on a Friday night: Maybe have a few drinks, play pool and belt out some songs at a local karaoke night.
Three weeks later, the 23-year-old woman still hasn’t come home. Investigators say phone calls and text messages show nothing out of the ordinary happened that night. Their only lead? She left the bar with a man who is a registered sex offender and swears he had nothing to do with her disappearance.
Now her relatives, some of whom came to Fayetteville for the first couple weeks of the investigation and searches, have returned home, where they wait for the phone to ring with the good news that Bordeaux has been found.
“It just feels like it’s been an eternity already,” said Matt Henson, the older brother of the missing private first class.
read more here
Soldier found dead in Afghan living quarters
Soldier found dead in Afghan living quarters
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday May 5, 2012
FORT RILEY, Kan. — The Army says it’s investigating the death of a Fort Riley soldier who was found unresponsive in his living quarters in Afghanistan.
Staff Sgt. Zachary Hargrove, 32, of Wichita, died Thursday at a medical facility at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Fort Riley officials said Friday the cause of death was under investigation.
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The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday May 5, 2012
FORT RILEY, Kan. — The Army says it’s investigating the death of a Fort Riley soldier who was found unresponsive in his living quarters in Afghanistan.
Staff Sgt. Zachary Hargrove, 32, of Wichita, died Thursday at a medical facility at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Fort Riley officials said Friday the cause of death was under investigation.
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Wartime stress as a defense for murder
Wartime stress as a defense for murder
By Chris Lawrence and Jennifer Rizzo
Raymond Williams had just retired and was looking forward to traveling out west with his wife and spending time with his three grandchildren. But all those plans were shattered on April 6, 2009. As Williams, 64, went to get the mail on that spring day, he was gunned down by a man he'd never met.
His wife found his body. "She said, you know 'Matt! Matt! Somebody shot Dad,'" recalled Williams' son, Matt. "It didn't register. I'm thinking, 'OK where is he now? Did they take him to the hospital? What hospital is he in?' And before I could even get another word out, she goes 'And he's dead.'" A short time earlier, the same gunman had killed a teenager and wounded a woman at a store in the same working-class town of Altoona in central Pennsylvania.
The gunman, Nicholas Horner, was a husband, a father, and a veteran soldier who had been awarded multiple medals for his service in Iraq, including a combat action badge. Less than a year after returning from combat, Horner faced two first degree murder charges and the possibility of the death penalty. "Not in a million years could I believe this was true because Nick would never, he could never hurt anyone," said Horner's mother, Karen. "I know Nick. Nick pulled the trigger, but that wasn't Nick."
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By Chris Lawrence and Jennifer Rizzo
Raymond Williams had just retired and was looking forward to traveling out west with his wife and spending time with his three grandchildren. But all those plans were shattered on April 6, 2009. As Williams, 64, went to get the mail on that spring day, he was gunned down by a man he'd never met.
His wife found his body. "She said, you know 'Matt! Matt! Somebody shot Dad,'" recalled Williams' son, Matt. "It didn't register. I'm thinking, 'OK where is he now? Did they take him to the hospital? What hospital is he in?' And before I could even get another word out, she goes 'And he's dead.'" A short time earlier, the same gunman had killed a teenager and wounded a woman at a store in the same working-class town of Altoona in central Pennsylvania.
The gunman, Nicholas Horner, was a husband, a father, and a veteran soldier who had been awarded multiple medals for his service in Iraq, including a combat action badge. Less than a year after returning from combat, Horner faced two first degree murder charges and the possibility of the death penalty. "Not in a million years could I believe this was true because Nick would never, he could never hurt anyone," said Horner's mother, Karen. "I know Nick. Nick pulled the trigger, but that wasn't Nick."
read more here
Army wife explains what happened during Skype call that changed her life
UPDATE
Capt. who died during chat was not shot: Army
By Joe Gould - Staff report
Posted : Monday May 7, 2012
An Army nurse who suddenly collapsed during a Skype video chat with his wife was not shot and foul play is not suspected in his death, Army Criminal Investigation Command said in a statement Monday.
Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark showed no alarm or discomfort before he collapsed and his wife saw a bullet hole in a closet behind him, his family said on Sunday.
But Monday, CID released a statement saying Clark’s body had no trauma beyond minor scrapes and a possible broken nose “most likely caused from Captain Clark striking his face on his desk when he collapsed.”
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Capt. who died during chat was not shot: Army
By Joe Gould - Staff report
Posted : Monday May 7, 2012
An Army nurse who suddenly collapsed during a Skype video chat with his wife was not shot and foul play is not suspected in his death, Army Criminal Investigation Command said in a statement Monday.
Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark showed no alarm or discomfort before he collapsed and his wife saw a bullet hole in a closet behind him, his family said on Sunday.
But Monday, CID released a statement saying Clark’s body had no trauma beyond minor scrapes and a possible broken nose “most likely caused from Captain Clark striking his face on his desk when he collapsed.”
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Army wife Skyping with husband sees him die, bullet hole
May 06, 2012
By Natalie DiBlasio
USA TODAY An Army wife who witnessed her husband's death during a Skype video chat said she saw a bullet hole in a closet behind him after he collapsed, the (New York) Daily News reported. Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark, stationed in Afghanistan, fell suddenly on Monday during a routine Skype conversation with his wife, Susan Orellana-Clark, the Daily News reported.
The family released a statement today describing what Orellana-Clark saw in the video feed.
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Marine missing on California and Arizona border
Valley Police Beat: Marine missing on California/Arizona border
By ELIZABETH VARIN
Staff Writer
May 5, 2012
A Marine out of Yuma was reported missing Friday afternoon after not reporting to duty, according to Imperial County Sheriff’s Office logs. The Sheriff’s Office was called in about 4 p.m. to help search the area around Senators Wash near Winterhaven for the unnamed Marine who voluntarily left Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, according to the logs.
The man, with blond hair, blue eyes, weighing about 150 pounds and 5 feet, 8 inches tall, was last seen midnight Friday and did not report to duty.
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By ELIZABETH VARIN
Staff Writer
May 5, 2012
A Marine out of Yuma was reported missing Friday afternoon after not reporting to duty, according to Imperial County Sheriff’s Office logs. The Sheriff’s Office was called in about 4 p.m. to help search the area around Senators Wash near Winterhaven for the unnamed Marine who voluntarily left Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, according to the logs.
The man, with blond hair, blue eyes, weighing about 150 pounds and 5 feet, 8 inches tall, was last seen midnight Friday and did not report to duty.
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New name for PTSD could mean less stigma?
How is it possible with over 40 of studying PTSD, they could still know so little? Do they really think changing the name again will do anything worthwhile while they are screwing up every place else? Changing the name given won't get them to seek help when the failures still exist in the DOD and the VA. It won't do any good when they are still being told by their commanders PTSD is their fault because they didn't train right with the "resiliency" training they were given. If they don't understand what it is and why they have it, then no name change will do any good. As a matter of fact it may even make things worse when they discover they have been walking around thinking they have PTSD only to be told, wait a second, we changed our minds and now it it injury instead of disorder. That'll make them feel better about getting help! Sure it will.....
New name for PTSD could mean less stigma
Washington Post
By Greg Jaffe, Published: May 5
It has been called shell shock, battle fatigue, soldier’s heart and, most recently, post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
Now, military officers and psychiatrists are embroiled in a heated debate over whether to change the name of a condition as old as combat.
The potential new moniker: post-traumatic stress injury.
Military officers and some psychiatrists say dropping the word “disorder” in favor of “injury” will reduce the stigma that stops troops from seeking treatment. “No 19-year-old kid wants to be told he’s got a disorder,” said Gen. Peter Chiarelli, who until his retirement in February led the Army’s effort to reduce its record suicide rate.
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Community comes together to give last gift from fallen soldier
This country is full of people trying to make a point and dedicating their lives to their own glory. We see them everyday on TV. What we don't see is what most of us live with. We see neighbors helping each other but the news shows everything bad. We see strangers standing in the rain, holding a flag so they can honor the body of a fallen soldier coming home. The news reports on what is bad so often we end up thinking it isn't safe to go outside our comfort zone of home, work or church. Once in a while though a news crew shows up to bring us a story like this. If you want your heart warmed this Sunday morning, here it is.
After I watched it I felt sure this is not the "last gift" but the beginning of the gifts Captain Hays left behind for everyone.
After I watched it I felt sure this is not the "last gift" but the beginning of the gifts Captain Hays left behind for everyone.
Volunteers, Students And Donors Help Deliver Fallen Soldier, Capt. Bruce Hays's Last Gift To Wife Terry Hays
Posted: 05/05/2012
Thanks to the time and money of hundreds of volunteers and well-wishers, a fallen soldier's last wish -- a gift to his beloved wife -- has been fulfilled, 9News reports.
Several years ago, Bruce Hays purchased a battered 1959 Chevrolet Apache pickup truck for his wife, Terry, as an anniversary gift.
“I used to tell Bruce about how, when we were kids, we would go to the drive-in in my dad’s Chevy Apache," Terry told Fox News. "He remembered that. He knew how much it meant to me."
Though the truck was an old wreck when he bought it, Hays had hoped that he and his wife would be able to restore it together.
But before they got the chance, Hays -- a captain in the Wyoming Army National Guard -- was deployed to Afghanistan.
Less than a month later, in September 2008, Captain Hays was killed by a roadside bomb, leaving behind his wife and their family.
He also left behind a final, uncompleted gift for his family -- that old Chevy Apache.
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Saturday, May 5, 2012
Panel to vote: Shield vets spending from cuts?
Panel to vote: Shield vets spending from cuts?
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday May 4, 2012
The House Budget Committee is poised to pass two measures on Monday to avoid across-the-board federal budget cuts in January and also restore $8 billion in previously approved defense cuts.
In the process, the committee also will move to clarify that veterans’ health care and benefits funds and administrative accounts are exempt from the across-the-board cuts during this sequester or any in the future. It also exempts Defense Department mandatory funds — used for some retirement, health care and education programs — from the automatic budget cuts.
This will not be the final word. Republicans who control the House plan to pass the two measures before Memorial Day, allowing them to claim they have presented a plan to avoid the dreaded across-the-board cuts that would require a 10 percent reduction in defense programs and an 8 percent reduction in most domestic programs. But the White House and Democratic-controlled Senate do not agree on the details.
read more here
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday May 4, 2012
The House Budget Committee is poised to pass two measures on Monday to avoid across-the-board federal budget cuts in January and also restore $8 billion in previously approved defense cuts.
In the process, the committee also will move to clarify that veterans’ health care and benefits funds and administrative accounts are exempt from the across-the-board cuts during this sequester or any in the future. It also exempts Defense Department mandatory funds — used for some retirement, health care and education programs — from the automatic budget cuts.
This will not be the final word. Republicans who control the House plan to pass the two measures before Memorial Day, allowing them to claim they have presented a plan to avoid the dreaded across-the-board cuts that would require a 10 percent reduction in defense programs and an 8 percent reduction in most domestic programs. But the White House and Democratic-controlled Senate do not agree on the details.
read more here
Who killed Iraq Veteran Yosbel Millares
Family Of Murdered Iraq War Veteran Pleads For Help In Unsolved Homicide
Reporting Peter D’Oench
MIAMI (CBS4) — Twenty-eight-year-old Yosbel Millares survived a dangerous tour of duty in Iraq. But the former U.S. Marine would not survive a shooting on the streets of Miami when he was closing up a store.
Now, four and a half years after his murder, his loved ones are asking for help in solving this crime.
“We were really close,” said his sister Magnolia Millares. “He was my youngest brother and he was such a great person. He was very humble.”
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Reporting Peter D’Oench
MIAMI (CBS4) — Twenty-eight-year-old Yosbel Millares survived a dangerous tour of duty in Iraq. But the former U.S. Marine would not survive a shooting on the streets of Miami when he was closing up a store.
Now, four and a half years after his murder, his loved ones are asking for help in solving this crime.
“We were really close,” said his sister Magnolia Millares. “He was my youngest brother and he was such a great person. He was very humble.”
read more here
Who made Justin Bieber T-shirts an Internet hit
Who made Justin Bieber T-shirts an Internet hit?
Canadians!
Toronto Star
Chantaie Allick Staff Reporter Canadians aren't known for their “laugh out loud” sense of humour, so when pictures surfaced earlier this week of soldiers on a military base striking a pose in too-tight Justin Bieber T-shirts
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Canadians!
Pete McLean, left, said the soldiers in his regiment often played jokes on each other to boost moral.
Toronto Star
Chantaie Allick Staff Reporter Canadians aren't known for their “laugh out loud” sense of humour, so when pictures surfaced earlier this week of soldiers on a military base striking a pose in too-tight Justin Bieber T-shirts
read more here
Homeless man shot 2 at Maryland church, then killed himself
Police: Homeless man shot 2 at Maryland church
By DAVID DISHNEAU
Associated Press
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (AP) - A disgruntled homeless man fatally shot a secretary and critically wounded a priest in the office of a Maryland Episcopal church after he was turned away from the food bank because of his increasingly aggressive behavior, police said Friday.
After killing Brenda Brewington, 59, and wounding the Rev. Mary-Marguerite Kohn, 62, Douglas F. Jones killed himself with the handgun in the woods where he lived near St. Peter's Episcopal Church, about 14 miles west of Baltimore, police said.
"He's been described as argumentative and belligerent, and at some point they asked him to leave and not return. If there was a motive here, we believe that may have contributed in some way," Howard County Police Department spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn said.
Brewington, of Ellicott City, was pronounced dead Thursday evening at the church after a custodian discovered the scene and called police.
Kohn, of Halethorpe, remained in critical condition Friday afternoon at Shock Trauma in Baltimore, according to police and hospital officials. She had been co-rector of the parish since 2009 and associate rector since 2003.
The incident provoked grief, anger and prayerful reflection at the opening Friday of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland's two-day annual convention in Hunt Valley, said the Right Rev. Eugene T. Sutton, bishop of Maryland.
He said the anger was directed at a society that would let a deranged man have a handgun.
"How is it that someone as mentally unstable, and who is on the edge, mentally, how does he get a gun to wreak that havoc?" Sutton said. "And of course, it's very painful for us that that violence happened in a holy place."
read more here
By DAVID DISHNEAU
Associated Press
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (AP) - A disgruntled homeless man fatally shot a secretary and critically wounded a priest in the office of a Maryland Episcopal church after he was turned away from the food bank because of his increasingly aggressive behavior, police said Friday.
After killing Brenda Brewington, 59, and wounding the Rev. Mary-Marguerite Kohn, 62, Douglas F. Jones killed himself with the handgun in the woods where he lived near St. Peter's Episcopal Church, about 14 miles west of Baltimore, police said.
"He's been described as argumentative and belligerent, and at some point they asked him to leave and not return. If there was a motive here, we believe that may have contributed in some way," Howard County Police Department spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn said.
Brewington, of Ellicott City, was pronounced dead Thursday evening at the church after a custodian discovered the scene and called police.
Kohn, of Halethorpe, remained in critical condition Friday afternoon at Shock Trauma in Baltimore, according to police and hospital officials. She had been co-rector of the parish since 2009 and associate rector since 2003.
The incident provoked grief, anger and prayerful reflection at the opening Friday of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland's two-day annual convention in Hunt Valley, said the Right Rev. Eugene T. Sutton, bishop of Maryland.
He said the anger was directed at a society that would let a deranged man have a handgun.
"How is it that someone as mentally unstable, and who is on the edge, mentally, how does he get a gun to wreak that havoc?" Sutton said. "And of course, it's very painful for us that that violence happened in a holy place."
read more here
Soldier's wife weeps over coffin at Smyrna Airport
As you look at this picture, think of how much this picture changed us.
Up until this moment, you didn't know Ashely anymore than you knew her husband but as of today, this painful moment captured by the lens of a camera has been spread across nations. The Daily Mail UK picked up on the story.
They spend their days trying to live as normal as possible with the same problems the rest of us have but for them, the families of deployed servicemen and women, they worry about what the next moment can bring.
You see them in your office answering the phone but you don't know how often they worry that phone call may be the one with the bad news.
You see them in the grocery store with a couple of kids in the shopping cart as they hold a product in their hands and think about how much their loved one loved to eat it and the rush of worry pops into their brain.
This picture reminds all of us that men and women are paying the price for all we have today along with their families. We honor them on Memorial Day but the rest of the year we just forget all about them. Pictures like this, wake us up. What will it take to keep us awake and aware of them the rest of the year?
Body of Franklin soldier Jason Edens returns home to family
May. 4, 2012
Written by
Vicky Travis
The Tennessean
The body of Army Spc. Jason K. Edens of Franklin was flown home Thursday morning, to Smyrna Airport, where about 100 people, including friends, family and members of the Patriot Guard, had gathered to pay respects.
Ashley Edens says goodbye to her husband, Cpl. Jason Edens. / Cpt. Darrin Haas / Tennessee National GuardEdens, a 2007 Franklin High School graduate and aspiring Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent, was injured on April 15 during an enemy attack on his unit in Laghaman province in Afghanistan. He died April 26 at Walter Reed Hospital in Maryland.
“He was a remarkable guy,” said Jan Edens, Jason’s stepmother, who acted as a family spokeswoman. “He was a fun guy, loved by everyone, and so sweet. … I can’t put it all into words.”
At first, the family was going to keep the arrival very private. But once their military liaison let them know people wanted to come, they decided to open it up.
read more here
Up until this moment, you didn't know Ashely anymore than you knew her husband but as of today, this painful moment captured by the lens of a camera has been spread across nations. The Daily Mail UK picked up on the story.
They spend their days trying to live as normal as possible with the same problems the rest of us have but for them, the families of deployed servicemen and women, they worry about what the next moment can bring.
You see them in your office answering the phone but you don't know how often they worry that phone call may be the one with the bad news.
You see them in the grocery store with a couple of kids in the shopping cart as they hold a product in their hands and think about how much their loved one loved to eat it and the rush of worry pops into their brain.
This picture reminds all of us that men and women are paying the price for all we have today along with their families. We honor them on Memorial Day but the rest of the year we just forget all about them. Pictures like this, wake us up. What will it take to keep us awake and aware of them the rest of the year?
Friday, May 4, 2012
Sgt. Felipe Pereira Distinguished Service Cross
No Man Left Behind. 101st Airborne Division's Distinguished Service Cross
Apr 30, 2012 by FortCampbell101
Sgt. Felipe Pereira, an infantryman with Co. A, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), found himself and his platoon in the worst of conditions in Kandahar Afghanistan, Nov. 1, 2010, but never quit fighting and never left a man behind. This is his story.
Apr 30, 2012 by FortCampbell101
Sgt. Felipe Pereira, an infantryman with Co. A, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), found himself and his platoon in the worst of conditions in Kandahar Afghanistan, Nov. 1, 2010, but never quit fighting and never left a man behind. This is his story.
Wife watches husband die in Afghanistan on Skype
Update
Army wife explains what happened
Wife saw husband, a Beaumont Army Medical Center nurse in Afghanistan, die while on Skype chat
By Hayley Kappes
El Paso Times
Posted:05/04/2012
The wife of a Beaumont Army Medical Center nurse who died Monday in Afghanistan said the incident took place while she was talking with her husband through Skype's video chat.
Army officials have not released the cause of death for Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark, 43, of Spencerport, N.Y.
A statement from the family said they are waiting for results of a military investigation.
"Bruce's wife tragically witnessed her husband's death during one of their regular Skype video chats," the statement said.
"At the time of the incident, the family was hoping for a rescue and miracle, but later learned that it was not to be," according to the family's statement.
"Although the circumstances were unimaginable, Bruce's wife and extended family will be forever thankful that he and his wife were together in his last moments."
read more here
'Horses And Heroes' Offers Veterans New Approach To Therapy
'Horses And Heroes' Offers Veterans New Approach To Therapy
Local Equine Therapy Program Works To Expand
Matt Lupoli, WESH.com
May 4, 2012
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Eight U.S. military veterans in Central Florida have taken a unique approach to therapy. They're riding horses. Over the past eight weeks, eight veterans of various ages who sustained physical injuries or post traumatic stress disorder in Iraq, Afghanistan or Vietnam meet once each week for a three-hour therapy session, thanks to the University of Central Florida, Heavenly Hoofs Therapeutic Riding Center, and S.A.D.L.E.S. Equine Therapy of Umatilla.
"This is definitely a positive, therapeutic thing for veterans and people such as myself," Navy veteran Cliff Burton said. "My comfort level has definitely changed. I can do a whole bunch of stuff. I feel good."
Dr. Manette Monroe, a UCF assistant dean and professor, hopes the schools College of Medicine can develop research that will create best practices for this relatively new form of therapy.
read more here
Local Equine Therapy Program Works To Expand
Matt Lupoli, WESH.com
May 4, 2012
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Eight U.S. military veterans in Central Florida have taken a unique approach to therapy. They're riding horses. Over the past eight weeks, eight veterans of various ages who sustained physical injuries or post traumatic stress disorder in Iraq, Afghanistan or Vietnam meet once each week for a three-hour therapy session, thanks to the University of Central Florida, Heavenly Hoofs Therapeutic Riding Center, and S.A.D.L.E.S. Equine Therapy of Umatilla.
"This is definitely a positive, therapeutic thing for veterans and people such as myself," Navy veteran Cliff Burton said. "My comfort level has definitely changed. I can do a whole bunch of stuff. I feel good."
Dr. Manette Monroe, a UCF assistant dean and professor, hopes the schools College of Medicine can develop research that will create best practices for this relatively new form of therapy.
read more here
140 European lives have been saved because troops donated organs
Troops’ donated organs save European recipients
By Gregg Zoroya
USA TODAY
Posted : Thursday May 3, 2012
After Kelly Hugo flew through a snowstorm to reach the bedside of her mortally wounded son at a U.S. Army hospital in Germany, where he had just been brought from Afghanistan, she didn’t hesitate when asked about organ donation.
“I said, ‘Oh, yes,’” the junior high school counselor recalls, memories still fresh of that December in 2010 when she last saw her son, Marine Cpl. Sean Osterman, 21, of Princeton, Minn., “because something good has to come out of something bad.”
Since 2006, about 140 European lives have been saved because organs — hearts, lungs, livers, kidneys and pancreases — were harvested from 36 U.S. service members determined to be brain dead from wounds suffered in Iraq or Afghanistan, according to statistics from the German foundation that oversees organ removal and implantation.
All casualties from combat funnel through the Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for care before being flown to the U.S.
read more here
By Gregg Zoroya
USA TODAY
Posted : Thursday May 3, 2012
After Kelly Hugo flew through a snowstorm to reach the bedside of her mortally wounded son at a U.S. Army hospital in Germany, where he had just been brought from Afghanistan, she didn’t hesitate when asked about organ donation.
“I said, ‘Oh, yes,’” the junior high school counselor recalls, memories still fresh of that December in 2010 when she last saw her son, Marine Cpl. Sean Osterman, 21, of Princeton, Minn., “because something good has to come out of something bad.”
Since 2006, about 140 European lives have been saved because organs — hearts, lungs, livers, kidneys and pancreases — were harvested from 36 U.S. service members determined to be brain dead from wounds suffered in Iraq or Afghanistan, according to statistics from the German foundation that oversees organ removal and implantation.
All casualties from combat funnel through the Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for care before being flown to the U.S.
read more here
VA mental health called "unconscionable crisis" for PTSD veterans
VA mental health hiring is flawed, critic says
By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 3, 2012
A representative of a major mental health organization blasted the Veterans Affairs Department for failing to hire therapists whom he says could ease VA staffing shortages and eliminate prolonged waiting periods for veterans in need of care.
David Kaplan, chief professional officer for the American Counseling Association, said Wednesday that VA has ignored licensed professional counselors, or LPCs, in its efforts to fill mental health vacancies in its medical system.
Requirements for LPC licensure vary from state to state, but in general, they are masters degree-level professionals with education and clinical experience in psychotherapy treatment and counseling.
“There’s an unconscionable crisis going on now with mental health treatment for those who have served our country, and the really sorry thing about this is it doesn’t have to be,” Kaplan said.
VA has 1,500 vacancies for mental health staff. It announced in April it plans to hire an additional 1,600 professionals.
But with a nationwide shortage of trained mental health workers, the department will be hard-pressed to fill its staffing needs without recruiting LPCs, Kaplan said.
read more here
By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 3, 2012
A representative of a major mental health organization blasted the Veterans Affairs Department for failing to hire therapists whom he says could ease VA staffing shortages and eliminate prolonged waiting periods for veterans in need of care.
David Kaplan, chief professional officer for the American Counseling Association, said Wednesday that VA has ignored licensed professional counselors, or LPCs, in its efforts to fill mental health vacancies in its medical system.
Requirements for LPC licensure vary from state to state, but in general, they are masters degree-level professionals with education and clinical experience in psychotherapy treatment and counseling.
“There’s an unconscionable crisis going on now with mental health treatment for those who have served our country, and the really sorry thing about this is it doesn’t have to be,” Kaplan said.
VA has 1,500 vacancies for mental health staff. It announced in April it plans to hire an additional 1,600 professionals.
But with a nationwide shortage of trained mental health workers, the department will be hard-pressed to fill its staffing needs without recruiting LPCs, Kaplan said.
read more here
Sgt. Able Felipe Duran found unresponsive in his residence
Fort Hood Public Affairs Office
Courtesy Story
FORT HOOD, Texas – Fort Hood officials have released the name of a soldier who was found unresponsive in his residence April 30 in Copperas Cove, Texas. Coryell County Justice of the Peace John Guinn pronounced him deceased the same day.
Sgt. Able Felipe Duran, 47, whose home of record is listed as Colorado Springs, Colo., entered the military in December 1992 as a signal support systems specialist, and was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, Warrior Transition Brigade, Fort Hood, since March 2011.
read more here
23 Florida WWII veterans knighted in Legion of Honor
23 Fla. veterans receive WWII honor
Posted: May 3, 2012
By Matt Sedensky
Associated Press
BOYNTON BEACH — France bestowed its highest honor Thursday upon 23 men who fought World War II’s most epic battles, liberated concentration camps and brought peace to generations, its latest effort to recognize the dwindling number of surviving veterans of their era.
The veterans were each made knights in the Legion of Honor in a ceremony at the Boynton Beach Civic Center, pinned with a medal and heralded as heroes.
“It’s so essential for the French government to say thanks,” said Gael de Maisonneuve, the consul general of France in Florida. “Your sacrifices and those of your brethren are an example for all of us.”
read more here
Posted: May 3, 2012
By Matt Sedensky
Associated Press
BOYNTON BEACH — France bestowed its highest honor Thursday upon 23 men who fought World War II’s most epic battles, liberated concentration camps and brought peace to generations, its latest effort to recognize the dwindling number of surviving veterans of their era.
The veterans were each made knights in the Legion of Honor in a ceremony at the Boynton Beach Civic Center, pinned with a medal and heralded as heroes.
“It’s so essential for the French government to say thanks,” said Gael de Maisonneuve, the consul general of France in Florida. “Your sacrifices and those of your brethren are an example for all of us.”
read more here
No trial for White Plains cop who shot Marine
No trial for White Plains cop who shot Marine
Racial slur used as a ‘distraction’; Grand jury votes not to indict Officer Anthony Carelli for shooting Kenneth Chamberlain
BY MATTHEW LYSIAK AND HELEN KENNEDY
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Thursday, May 3, 2012
A Westchester County grand jury cleared the White Plains police officer who shot and killed a 68-year-old retired Marine inside his apartment, officials announced Thursday.
The family slammed the decision as a “blatant cover up” and said it would request a Justice Department investigation.
Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore called the killing of Kenneth Chamberlain “a tragedy on many levels” — but not a crime.
“After due deliberation on the evidence presented in this matter, the grand jury found that there was no reasonable cause to vote an indictment,” she said.
The racial slur one officer flung at Chamberlain before another cop killed him was explained as an effort to “distract” him, DiFiore said.
read more here
also
Marine veteran Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. killed by police who "came to help"
Racial slur used as a ‘distraction’; Grand jury votes not to indict Officer Anthony Carelli for shooting Kenneth Chamberlain
BY MATTHEW LYSIAK AND HELEN KENNEDY
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Thursday, May 3, 2012
A Westchester County grand jury cleared the White Plains police officer who shot and killed a 68-year-old retired Marine inside his apartment, officials announced Thursday.
The family slammed the decision as a “blatant cover up” and said it would request a Justice Department investigation.
Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore called the killing of Kenneth Chamberlain “a tragedy on many levels” — but not a crime.
“After due deliberation on the evidence presented in this matter, the grand jury found that there was no reasonable cause to vote an indictment,” she said.
The racial slur one officer flung at Chamberlain before another cop killed him was explained as an effort to “distract” him, DiFiore said.
read more here
also
Marine veteran Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. killed by police who "came to help"
Marine Corps 2011 Firefighter of the Year
Area Marine is Firefighter of Year
Wendy Burton
Muskogee Phoenix, Okla.
May 3, 2012
The first in many ways to achieve the honor -- Lance Cpl. Daniel Dawson of Checotah is the Marine Corps 2011 Firefighter of the Year.
Dawson, who is stationed at Cherry Point, N.C., has been in the service for two-and-a-half years and has already set a record or two with the Marines.
No one ranked as a lance corporal or lower has ever achieved the honor, Dawson said. He is also the first person in his unit to win the award.
At 21 years old, he could be the youngest, too.
And though he's the first firefighter in his family, it's a passion for him. Dawson is the son of Leslie Putman of Checotah and Steve Dawson of Fort Smith.
read more here
Wendy Burton
Muskogee Phoenix, Okla.
May 3, 2012
The first in many ways to achieve the honor -- Lance Cpl. Daniel Dawson of Checotah is the Marine Corps 2011 Firefighter of the Year.
Dawson, who is stationed at Cherry Point, N.C., has been in the service for two-and-a-half years and has already set a record or two with the Marines.
No one ranked as a lance corporal or lower has ever achieved the honor, Dawson said. He is also the first person in his unit to win the award.
At 21 years old, he could be the youngest, too.
And though he's the first firefighter in his family, it's a passion for him. Dawson is the son of Leslie Putman of Checotah and Steve Dawson of Fort Smith.
read more here
Arizona police believe ex-Marine killed 4, himself
Arizona police believe ex-Marine killed 4, himself
Associated Press
Friday, May 4, 2012
Gilbert, Ariz. -- Police said Thursday that they believe a former Marine with ties to neo-Nazi and Minutemen groups shot four people and then killed himself in a suburban Phoenix home.
Gilbert police spokesman Sgt. Bill Balafas said that police believe Jason Todd Ready, 39, was the gunman in Wednesday's shootings in a home in Gilbert.
Ready lived in the home with a woman who was among the dead. In addition to Ready's girlfriend, the dead include the woman's daughter and granddaughter and the daughter's boyfriend, according to media reports.
read more here
Associated Press
Friday, May 4, 2012
Gilbert, Ariz. -- Police said Thursday that they believe a former Marine with ties to neo-Nazi and Minutemen groups shot four people and then killed himself in a suburban Phoenix home.
Gilbert police spokesman Sgt. Bill Balafas said that police believe Jason Todd Ready, 39, was the gunman in Wednesday's shootings in a home in Gilbert.
Ready lived in the home with a woman who was among the dead. In addition to Ready's girlfriend, the dead include the woman's daughter and granddaughter and the daughter's boyfriend, according to media reports.
read more here
Sketching veterans recovering from war, so their stories aren't lost
Sketching veterans recovering from war, so their stories aren't lost
By Chip Reid
May 3, 2012
(CBS News) For nearly 100 years, since World War I, the U.S. military has used combat artists to create a visual record of America's wars.
Among those artists in Iraq and Afghanistan was a Marine named Michael Fay.
CBS News correspondent Chip Reid reports now that he is out of the service, he is documenting America's war veterans as they fight a new battle.
Fay brought the tools of his trade -- pencils and a sketch pad -- as he visited Marine Lance Corporal Timothy Donley at Walter Reed Hospital. His mission was not only to draw Donley, but to draw him out.
Donley lost both legs and part of an arm in Afghanistan, but told Fay he's one of the lucky ones.
"You see a lot of these guys and they've got so much worse injuries," Donley said.
Fay's sketches, including names and details of what happened, have been displayed in museums around the country. He started the project 15 months ago.
read more here
By Chip Reid
May 3, 2012
(CBS News) For nearly 100 years, since World War I, the U.S. military has used combat artists to create a visual record of America's wars.
Among those artists in Iraq and Afghanistan was a Marine named Michael Fay.
CBS News correspondent Chip Reid reports now that he is out of the service, he is documenting America's war veterans as they fight a new battle.
Fay brought the tools of his trade -- pencils and a sketch pad -- as he visited Marine Lance Corporal Timothy Donley at Walter Reed Hospital. His mission was not only to draw Donley, but to draw him out.
Donley lost both legs and part of an arm in Afghanistan, but told Fay he's one of the lucky ones.
"You see a lot of these guys and they've got so much worse injuries," Donley said.
Fay's sketches, including names and details of what happened, have been displayed in museums around the country. He started the project 15 months ago.
read more here
Iraq Veteran graduates with matching gown for guide dog
For Iraq veteran, graduation day at USFSP marks the end of a long journey
By Kim Wilmath
Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, May 4, 2012
ST. PETERSBURG — Mike Jernigan slid into a seat in the front row of the classroom.
He wore a bow tie and a crisp button-down shirt. Green slacks and freshly shined brown leather shoes.
He smiled, bounced his foot on the floor.
"This," he said, "is the conclusion of an arduous journey."
It was his last class.
That journey spanned more than 10 years and thousands of miles. It took Jernigan from an aimless youth in St. Petersburg to the battlegrounds in Iraq. He's changed now, physically and in so many other ways.
He left St. Petersburg able to see, for instance, and with an uninjured brain. But he also left a frustrated 20-something, immature and unsure of himself.
Now, finally graduating from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg this weekend, Jernigan, 33, says he's a better man.
"If I could go back and do it all again," he said, "I'd do it the same."
By Kim Wilmath
Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, May 4, 2012
ST. PETERSBURG — Mike Jernigan slid into a seat in the front row of the classroom.
He wore a bow tie and a crisp button-down shirt. Green slacks and freshly shined brown leather shoes.
He smiled, bounced his foot on the floor.
"This," he said, "is the conclusion of an arduous journey."
It was his last class.
That journey spanned more than 10 years and thousands of miles. It took Jernigan from an aimless youth in St. Petersburg to the battlegrounds in Iraq. He's changed now, physically and in so many other ways.
He left St. Petersburg able to see, for instance, and with an uninjured brain. But he also left a frustrated 20-something, immature and unsure of himself.
Now, finally graduating from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg this weekend, Jernigan, 33, says he's a better man.
"If I could go back and do it all again," he said, "I'd do it the same."
The camera battery is charged, and Jernigan's cap and gown is ready — with a matching gown for his guide dog, Brittani.read more here
Soldier died of rabies?
US soldier dies of rabies after dog bite in AfghanistanWhat is the point of a story like this? The soldier's name was not in it. He was bitten last year? Supposedly he was bitten in January but in August he was sent to Fort Drum? The Army has no record?
Published May 03, 2012
NewsCore
WASHINGTON – A 24-year-old American soldier died of rabies after being bitten by a dog last year in Afghanistan, US health officials said Thursday following an investigation into the rare case.
The otherwise healthy soldier started experiencing symptoms of shoulder and neck pain and tingling sensations in his hands soon after arriving at Fort Drum, N.Y., in mid-August 2011.
His condition escalated to include nausea, vomiting, anxiety and trouble swallowing. By the time he was admitted to an emergency room, he was dehydrated and hydrophobic, meaning he developed an intense fear of drinking liquids because of the painful muscle spasms he experienced while swallowing.
"He was lucid and described having received a dog bite on the right hand during January 2011 while deployed to Afghanistan," said the report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
But an investigation by the US Army turned up no documentation of a reported bite wound or treatment, nor any record of a dog tested for rabies, according to the report.
read more here
This is from the CDC
U.S. Soldiers and Rabies: Investigations of Post-Deployment Exposures
Posted: December 6, 2011
During August, 2011 a U.S. soldier stationed at a military base in New York became ill with symptoms compatible with rabies. Onset of symptoms occurred approximately three months following active deployment in Afghanistan. Diagnostic testing confirmed rabies and characterized a variant associated with Afghani dogs. In more than 30 years, no other rabies case has resulted from exposure during active duty.
During the course of contact tracing and investigating the soldier's exposure, additional soldiers were identified with unreported animal exposures, mostly dog bites. In response to these findings, the Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) initiated a collaborative effort to identify soldiers returning from active duty abroad that may have had unreported rabies exposures. Routine exposure assessment is being included in post-deployment evaluations of soldiers and efforts are underway to identify veterans who may have had an unreported exposure in the past 18 months.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Prescriptions for antipsychotics jumped tenfold from 2002 to 2009
Medications like these numbs them and does not allow for healing. You can't heal what you can't feel.
Pentagon to limit anti-psychotic drugs for PTSD
By Patricia Kime -
Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 3, 2012
The Pentagon is moving to limit off-label use of powerful anti-psychotic drugs for post-traumatic stress disorder — a practice some say may contribute to accidental drug overdoses among troops.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Jonathan Woodson sent a letter to the services in February asking military treatment facilities to monitor prescriptions of atypical antipsychotics like risperidone and quetiapine, marketed under the brand name Seroquel.
The drugs, used to treat severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are sometimes prescribed to troops in lower doses to alleviate symptoms associated with PTSD and anxiety, including nightmares and irritability.
But when mixed with other prescriptions, they can be dangerous and sometimes fatal.
The Food and Drug Administration in 2011 added a warning label to quetiapine, saying its use with some synthetic opiates, including methadone, can increase the risk of a heart-stopping overdose.
In his letter, Woodson said the number of prescriptions for these antipsychotics jumped tenfold from 2002 to 2009, from 0.1 percent to 1 percent.
In fiscal 2010, 1.4 percent of all soldiers and 0.7 percent of Marines received prescriptions for Seroquel.
read more here
Col. Barbara Holcomb became the first registered nurse to command Landstuhl
First nurse takes command at Landstuhl
By NANCY MONTGOMERY
Stars and Stripes
Published: May 3, 2012
LANDSTUHL, Germany — Throughout Landstuhl Regional Medical Center’s long, storied past, medical doctors have almost always been in charge.
But on Thursday, Col. Barbara Holcomb became the first registered nurse – and second woman – to take command of the hospital, considered a jewel in the crown of military medicine.
“ ‘Landstuhl is such an awesome place,’ ” Holcomb, in her change-of command ceremonial speech, recalled a friend telling her when she got the news of her assignment. “ ‘They saved several of my soldiers.’ ”
Such admiration for the hospital staff’s expertise at saving the lives of wounded troops “runs deeply through many military leaders,” Holcomb said. “This is indeed an honor.”
Holcomb relieves Col. Jeffrey Clark, who served less than a year before being nominated for promotion to brigadier general and, next month, to take over as commander of the Europe Regional Medical Command. Clark will replace Brig. Gen. Nadja West, who is to become an assistant Army surgeon general.
read more here
By NANCY MONTGOMERY
Stars and Stripes
Published: May 3, 2012
LANDSTUHL, Germany — Throughout Landstuhl Regional Medical Center’s long, storied past, medical doctors have almost always been in charge.
But on Thursday, Col. Barbara Holcomb became the first registered nurse – and second woman – to take command of the hospital, considered a jewel in the crown of military medicine.
“ ‘Landstuhl is such an awesome place,’ ” Holcomb, in her change-of command ceremonial speech, recalled a friend telling her when she got the news of her assignment. “ ‘They saved several of my soldiers.’ ”
Such admiration for the hospital staff’s expertise at saving the lives of wounded troops “runs deeply through many military leaders,” Holcomb said. “This is indeed an honor.”
Holcomb relieves Col. Jeffrey Clark, who served less than a year before being nominated for promotion to brigadier general and, next month, to take over as commander of the Europe Regional Medical Command. Clark will replace Brig. Gen. Nadja West, who is to become an assistant Army surgeon general.
read more here
Fort Stewart Ex-soldier can’t recall standoff
Ex-soldier can’t recall standoff: lawyer
By Russ Bynum - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 3, 2012
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A former soldier charged with taking hostages at gunpoint inside an Army hospital in Georgia suffers from severe post-traumatic stress and has no memory of the 2010 standoff, his defense attorney said Thursday.
The attorney for Robert Anthony Quinones, 31, tried unsuccessfully to persuade a U.S. Magistrate Court judge to throw out statements the suspected gunman made to investigators — including that he planned to kill President Obama and former President Bill Clinton — on grounds that he was too mentally ill to waive his Miranda rights.
Prosecutors say Quinones was armed with an assault rifle and other firearms as he took three employees hostage at Winn Army Community Hospital on Fort Stewart on Sept. 6, 2010, and demanded mental treatment. He surrendered two hours later, and no one was harmed.
Quinones later underwent a court-ordered mental evaluation. His attorney, Karl Zipperer, said in court Thursday that the former soldier had attempted suicide, been hospitalized and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after he returned from a 15-month tour in Iraq in 2007. That diagnosis led to him being discharged from the Army.
read more here
By Russ Bynum - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 3, 2012
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A former soldier charged with taking hostages at gunpoint inside an Army hospital in Georgia suffers from severe post-traumatic stress and has no memory of the 2010 standoff, his defense attorney said Thursday.
The attorney for Robert Anthony Quinones, 31, tried unsuccessfully to persuade a U.S. Magistrate Court judge to throw out statements the suspected gunman made to investigators — including that he planned to kill President Obama and former President Bill Clinton — on grounds that he was too mentally ill to waive his Miranda rights.
Prosecutors say Quinones was armed with an assault rifle and other firearms as he took three employees hostage at Winn Army Community Hospital on Fort Stewart on Sept. 6, 2010, and demanded mental treatment. He surrendered two hours later, and no one was harmed.
Quinones later underwent a court-ordered mental evaluation. His attorney, Karl Zipperer, said in court Thursday that the former soldier had attempted suicide, been hospitalized and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after he returned from a 15-month tour in Iraq in 2007. That diagnosis led to him being discharged from the Army.
read more here
Wounded Iraq veteran, dancing star, J.R. Martinez is a new Dad
J.R. Martinez, girlfriend Diana Gonzalez-Jones welcome baby girl Lauryn Anabelle Martinez
The Iraq war vet says his daughter has 'a full head of hair and the cutest little lips'
BY CRISTINA EVERETT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, May 3, 2012
J.R. Martinez has a new little lady in his life.
The Iraq war veteran and “Dancing with the Stars” champ became a father Wednesday night when he and girlfriend Diana Gonzalez-Jones welcomed their first child together.
Baby girl Lauryn Anabelle Martinez, born in Los Angeles, weighed in at 7 lbs., 13 oz. and is 21 inches long.
“She’s already got a nickname – Belle,” Martinez, 28, told People of his daughter.
Read more
The Iraq war vet says his daughter has 'a full head of hair and the cutest little lips'
BY CRISTINA EVERETT
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, May 3, 2012
J.R. Martinez has a new little lady in his life.
The Iraq war veteran and “Dancing with the Stars” champ became a father Wednesday night when he and girlfriend Diana Gonzalez-Jones welcomed their first child together.
Baby girl Lauryn Anabelle Martinez, born in Los Angeles, weighed in at 7 lbs., 13 oz. and is 21 inches long.
“She’s already got a nickname – Belle,” Martinez, 28, told People of his daughter.
Read more
Deadly infection claims San Francisco VA lab worker
Deadly infection claims San Francisco VA lab worker
By Matt O'Brien
Bay Area News Group
Posted: 05/03/2012
State and federal health officials are investigating how a rare and virulent bacteria strain appears to have killed a young researcher at a VA hospital's infectious diseases lab in San Francisco, setting off alarms that the man's friends and fellow researchers may have also been exposed.
The 25-year-old laboratory researcher at San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center died Saturday morning shortly after asking friends to take him to the hospital. For the week and months before his death, he had been handling a bacteria linked to deadly bloodstream infections at the VA hospital's Northern California Institute for Research and Education, said Peter Melton, a spokesman for the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The man, whose name has not been released, was working with fellow researchers to develop a vaccine for a bacterial strain that causes septicemia and meningitis. Hours after he left work, however, the germ that he was studying took his own life.
"He left the lab around 5 p.m." Friday, said Harry Lampiris, chief of the VA hospital's infectious diseases division. "He had no symptoms at all."
read more here
By Matt O'Brien
Bay Area News Group
Posted: 05/03/2012
State and federal health officials are investigating how a rare and virulent bacteria strain appears to have killed a young researcher at a VA hospital's infectious diseases lab in San Francisco, setting off alarms that the man's friends and fellow researchers may have also been exposed.
The 25-year-old laboratory researcher at San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center died Saturday morning shortly after asking friends to take him to the hospital. For the week and months before his death, he had been handling a bacteria linked to deadly bloodstream infections at the VA hospital's Northern California Institute for Research and Education, said Peter Melton, a spokesman for the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The man, whose name has not been released, was working with fellow researchers to develop a vaccine for a bacterial strain that causes septicemia and meningitis. Hours after he left work, however, the germ that he was studying took his own life.
"He left the lab around 5 p.m." Friday, said Harry Lampiris, chief of the VA hospital's infectious diseases division. "He had no symptoms at all."
read more here
Wounded Warrior opens family ranch: free to all veterans
Wounded Warrior opens family ranch: free to all veterans
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Story by Sgt. Mark Cloutier
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Disabled combat veteran Bill Campbell and his wife, Domenica, opened their 14-acre farm in December, free to all military service veterans and their families. Nestled into the thick, green Capitol Forest, just off State Road 8 about 30 miles south of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, is the peaceful respite known to many as Wounded Warrior Ranch.
Bill said the ranch is a place where veterans and their families can simply drop in for a time of peace and solitude and drop out of life’s rat race at the same time - a place where regimentation and schedules are checked at the door.
“Our mission is to honor and serve our nation’s veterans and their families with gratitude and appreciation through personal experience,” Domenica said. “We want people to rest and to relax and to feel as though they are at home when they’re here.”
Read more
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Story by Sgt. Mark Cloutier
Courtesy Photo
Bill Campbell, owner of Wounded Warrior Ranch in Olympia, leads a developmentally disabled guest through a paddock on Maisey, one of the ranch's horses. WWR is free to all military service veterans and their families.
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Disabled combat veteran Bill Campbell and his wife, Domenica, opened their 14-acre farm in December, free to all military service veterans and their families. Nestled into the thick, green Capitol Forest, just off State Road 8 about 30 miles south of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, is the peaceful respite known to many as Wounded Warrior Ranch.
Bill said the ranch is a place where veterans and their families can simply drop in for a time of peace and solitude and drop out of life’s rat race at the same time - a place where regimentation and schedules are checked at the door.
“Our mission is to honor and serve our nation’s veterans and their families with gratitude and appreciation through personal experience,” Domenica said. “We want people to rest and to relax and to feel as though they are at home when they’re here.”
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Top aviators are refusing to fly F-22 Raptor
Some pilots refuse to fly F-22 Raptor fighter jet
By W.J. HENNIGAN
Los Angeles Times
Published: May 3, 2012
LOS ANGELES
Some of the nation's top aviators are refusing to fly the radar-evading F-22 Raptor, a fighter jet with ongoing problems with the oxygen systems that have plagued the fleet for four years.
At the risk of significant reprimand - or even discharge from the Air Force - fighter pilots are turning down the opportunity to climb into the cockpit of the F-22, the world's most expensive fighter jet.
The Air Force did not reveal how many of its 200 F-22 pilots, who are stationed at seven military bases across the country, declined their assignment orders. But current and former Air Force officials say it's an extremely rare occurrence.
"It's shocking to me as a fighter pilot and former commander of Air Combat Command that a pilot would decline to get into that airplane," said retired four-star Gen. Richard E. Hawley, a former F-15 fighter pilot and air combat commander at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va.
He said he couldn't remember one specific incident in his 35-year career in which a fighter pilot declined his assignment.
Concern about the safety of the F-22 has grown in recent months as reports about problems with its oxygen systems have offered no clear explanations why pilots are reporting hypoxia-like symptoms in the air. Hypoxia is a condition that can bring on nausea, headaches, fatigue or blackouts when the body is deprived of oxygen.
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By W.J. HENNIGAN
Los Angeles Times
Published: May 3, 2012
LOS ANGELES
Some of the nation's top aviators are refusing to fly the radar-evading F-22 Raptor, a fighter jet with ongoing problems with the oxygen systems that have plagued the fleet for four years.
At the risk of significant reprimand - or even discharge from the Air Force - fighter pilots are turning down the opportunity to climb into the cockpit of the F-22, the world's most expensive fighter jet.
The Air Force did not reveal how many of its 200 F-22 pilots, who are stationed at seven military bases across the country, declined their assignment orders. But current and former Air Force officials say it's an extremely rare occurrence.
"It's shocking to me as a fighter pilot and former commander of Air Combat Command that a pilot would decline to get into that airplane," said retired four-star Gen. Richard E. Hawley, a former F-15 fighter pilot and air combat commander at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va.
He said he couldn't remember one specific incident in his 35-year career in which a fighter pilot declined his assignment.
Concern about the safety of the F-22 has grown in recent months as reports about problems with its oxygen systems have offered no clear explanations why pilots are reporting hypoxia-like symptoms in the air. Hypoxia is a condition that can bring on nausea, headaches, fatigue or blackouts when the body is deprived of oxygen.
read more here
Ex-soldier charged in standoff wants VA help
Ex-soldier charged in standoff wants VA help
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 3, 2012
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A former Army soldier facing charges in a 2010 hostage standoff in southeast Georgia wants a federal judge to grant him bond so that he can get treatment from the Veterans Administration.
Robert Anthony Quinones had a hearing scheduled Thursday morning. He’s accused of taking three hostages at gunpoint at the Army hospital on Fort Stewart and demanding treatment.
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The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday May 3, 2012
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A former Army soldier facing charges in a 2010 hostage standoff in southeast Georgia wants a federal judge to grant him bond so that he can get treatment from the Veterans Administration.
Robert Anthony Quinones had a hearing scheduled Thursday morning. He’s accused of taking three hostages at gunpoint at the Army hospital on Fort Stewart and demanding treatment.
read more here
Police still have named no suspect in disappearance of Kelli Bordeaux
Missing soldier’s mom, husband ‘keeping hope alive’
Police still have named no suspect in disappearance of Kelli Bordeaux, 23
By Scott Stump
TODAY.com contributor
updated 5/2/2012
More than two weeks since the disappearance of 23-year-old Army combat medic Kelli Bordeaux, police have not named any suspects or produced any concrete leads — but her mother is still holding out hope for her safe return.
Johnna Henson, the mother of Pfc. Bordeaux, spoke with TODAY Wednesday along with the missing soldier’s husband, Mike, as the search for Kelli continues. She was last seen April 14 at Froggy Bottoms bar in Fayetteville, N.C., and was reported missing on April 16 when she did not report for duty at nearby Fort Bragg.
“Until I know differently from Detective Locklear or the Fayetteville Police Department, I am definitely keeping hope alive,’’ Henson told Savannah Guthrie, referring to Fayetteville detective Jeff Locklear. “She’s a wonderful young lady, and she needs to be with her family.’’
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Police still have named no suspect in disappearance of Kelli Bordeaux, 23
By Scott Stump
TODAY.com contributor
updated 5/2/2012
More than two weeks since the disappearance of 23-year-old Army combat medic Kelli Bordeaux, police have not named any suspects or produced any concrete leads — but her mother is still holding out hope for her safe return.
Johnna Henson, the mother of Pfc. Bordeaux, spoke with TODAY Wednesday along with the missing soldier’s husband, Mike, as the search for Kelli continues. She was last seen April 14 at Froggy Bottoms bar in Fayetteville, N.C., and was reported missing on April 16 when she did not report for duty at nearby Fort Bragg.
“Until I know differently from Detective Locklear or the Fayetteville Police Department, I am definitely keeping hope alive,’’ Henson told Savannah Guthrie, referring to Fayetteville detective Jeff Locklear. “She’s a wonderful young lady, and she needs to be with her family.’’
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Soldiers’ Bibles American religious history come alive
My Dad's bible is on my desk. My husband's bible and his Dad's bible are in my office as well. The spiritual needs of soldiers during combat has been known since the beginning of time. It has reached the point of importance so much so that atheists now want their own chaplains. This is baffling since the DOD has yet to really understand the power of spiritual healing.
Soldiers’ Bibles exhibit a walk through American history
By Chris Herlinger
Religion News Service
Published: May 2
NEW YORK — The simplicity of the exhibit — copies of the Bible resting in glass cases — can be deceptive.
But the Museum of Biblical Art’s exhibition, “Finding Comfort in Difficult Times: A Selection of Soldiers’ Bibles,” is American religious history come alive.
The exhibit showcases three dozen copies of Scriptures published for members of the U.S. Armed Forces from the Civil War onward, from leather-bound, 19th-century copies to contemporary Bibles clothed in camouflage.
But more than the Bibles themselves — on long-term loan from the American Bible Society — the exhibit tells the stories of the men and women who read them, their struggles with hardship, and the place of religion in their lives.
Given the personal histories they contain, “every scripture in the Rare Bible Collection at MOBIA has its own unique story,” said the New York museum’s executive director, Ena Heller.
Efforts to supply Bibles to American troops began in the waning years of the American Revolution. Decades later, in 1817, the one-year-old American Bible Society began supplying Bibles to the crew of the frigate USS John Adams.
During World War I, General John J. Pershing and President Woodrow Wilson penned messages that accompanied a 1917 copy of the New Testament. In his preface, Wilson, a Presbyterian elder, declared that “the Bible is the word of life” and urged soldiers to read the Scriptures and “find this out for yourselves.”
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Fort Hood recalls all Vietnam vets
Fort Hood recalls all Vietnam vets
Welcome Home Ceremony planned
Wednesday, 02 May 2012
FORT HOOD, Texas (KXAN) - The III Corps commanding general asks all Vietnam veterans to join Fort Hood in a Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home Ceremony May 21 as part of the Corps' Phantom Warrior Week.
During the ceremony, Vietnam veterans will receive the same fanfare present-day soldiers receive when they return from Iraq and Afghanistan. The veterans will parade onto Sadowski Field in front of hundreds, perhaps thousands of supporters who appreciate the sacrifices they made 50 years ago.
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Welcome Home Ceremony planned
Wednesday, 02 May 2012
FORT HOOD, Texas (KXAN) - The III Corps commanding general asks all Vietnam veterans to join Fort Hood in a Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home Ceremony May 21 as part of the Corps' Phantom Warrior Week.
During the ceremony, Vietnam veterans will receive the same fanfare present-day soldiers receive when they return from Iraq and Afghanistan. The veterans will parade onto Sadowski Field in front of hundreds, perhaps thousands of supporters who appreciate the sacrifices they made 50 years ago.
read more here
PTSD and Gambling: New Combat Vets Plagued by Troubling Addiction
Gambling: New Combat Vets Plagued by Troubling Addiction
By John H. Tucker
Thursday, May 3 2012
In 2007, having served with distinction during two deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, U.S. Air Force firefighter John Brownfield Jr. took a job as a correctional officer at the maximum-security federal prison in Florence, Colo., 40 miles south of Colorado Springs. Ten months later, prison officials caught the former senior airman smuggling tobacco to at least seven inmates at the facility and accepting at least $3,500 in payoffs. The U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado charged the 22-year-old combat veteran with bribery by a public official. Brownfield pleaded guilty.
Two years later, Sgt. Dreux Perkins returned home from a combat stint in Baghdad — his second overseas tour of duty with the U.S. Army — received his honorable discharge and went to work as a correctional officer at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution in Greenville, Ill., 50 miles east of St. Louis on Interstate 70. In May 2011 the Federal Bureau of Investigation confronted Perkins with evidence that he'd accepted at least $2,600 in payoffs for smuggling cigarettes into the prison. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois indicted the 23-year-old decorated war veteran for bribery by a federal official, two counts of wire fraud and two counts of making a false statement to a federal law officer. Perkins pleaded guilty.
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By John H. Tucker
Thursday, May 3 2012
In 2007, having served with distinction during two deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, U.S. Air Force firefighter John Brownfield Jr. took a job as a correctional officer at the maximum-security federal prison in Florence, Colo., 40 miles south of Colorado Springs. Ten months later, prison officials caught the former senior airman smuggling tobacco to at least seven inmates at the facility and accepting at least $3,500 in payoffs. The U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado charged the 22-year-old combat veteran with bribery by a public official. Brownfield pleaded guilty.
Two years later, Sgt. Dreux Perkins returned home from a combat stint in Baghdad — his second overseas tour of duty with the U.S. Army — received his honorable discharge and went to work as a correctional officer at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution in Greenville, Ill., 50 miles east of St. Louis on Interstate 70. In May 2011 the Federal Bureau of Investigation confronted Perkins with evidence that he'd accepted at least $2,600 in payoffs for smuggling cigarettes into the prison. The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois indicted the 23-year-old decorated war veteran for bribery by a federal official, two counts of wire fraud and two counts of making a false statement to a federal law officer. Perkins pleaded guilty.
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As of March 590,000 VA claims over 125 days old
Troops returning home to strained veterans-affairs system
By Rebecca Ruiz
President Obama may face challenges to deliver on his promise that the U.S. will look after troops and their families as combat operations in Afghanistan come to an end.
Fulfilling the president's promise will require the cooperation of a system that is already strained by current demand for veterans’ services and benefits.
Of the 91,000 troops currently in Afghanistan, 23,000 will return to the U.S. by the end of the summer; the remaining 68,000 will gradually come home through December 2014. Many of these veterans will immediately require mental health, disability, education, employment and medical services, but these resources are under varying degrees of strain.
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By Rebecca Ruiz
President Obama may face challenges to deliver on his promise that the U.S. will look after troops and their families as combat operations in Afghanistan come to an end.
As of March 31, the VA was considering 897,556 claims for disability benefits; nearly 590,000 of those had been pending for more than 125 days.“When you get home, we are going to be there for you when you’re in uniform and we will stay there for you when you’re out of uniform, because you’ve earned it,” he told troops at Bagram Air Base on Tuesday.
Fulfilling the president's promise will require the cooperation of a system that is already strained by current demand for veterans’ services and benefits.
Of the 91,000 troops currently in Afghanistan, 23,000 will return to the U.S. by the end of the summer; the remaining 68,000 will gradually come home through December 2014. Many of these veterans will immediately require mental health, disability, education, employment and medical services, but these resources are under varying degrees of strain.
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US Marshals arrest man in $100 million veteran charity scam
Major GOP donor arrested in $100 million veteran charity scam
By David Edwards
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The U.S. Marshal Service announced Tuesday that it had captured one of America’s Most Wanted fugitives who is accused of creating a fake charity for Navy veterans that funneled some of the $100 million collected to Republican candidates.
Between the early 2000s and 2010, a man using the alias “Bobby Thompson” collected millions from unsuspecting donors for the charity U.S. Navy Veterans Association (USNVA), which claimed to provide support for members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Officials believe that very little, if any, of the money was ever used as intended, according to the U.S. Marshal Service.
To help legitimize his charity, Thompson allegedly donated part of the ill-gotten funds to Republican candidates like former President George W. Bush, former Republican presidential candidate John McCain and House Speaker John Boehner.
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By David Edwards
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The U.S. Marshal Service announced Tuesday that it had captured one of America’s Most Wanted fugitives who is accused of creating a fake charity for Navy veterans that funneled some of the $100 million collected to Republican candidates.
Between the early 2000s and 2010, a man using the alias “Bobby Thompson” collected millions from unsuspecting donors for the charity U.S. Navy Veterans Association (USNVA), which claimed to provide support for members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Officials believe that very little, if any, of the money was ever used as intended, according to the U.S. Marshal Service.
To help legitimize his charity, Thompson allegedly donated part of the ill-gotten funds to Republican candidates like former President George W. Bush, former Republican presidential candidate John McCain and House Speaker John Boehner.
read more here
Horses give vets High Hopes for recovery
Horses give vets High Hopes for recovery
By Jennifer McDermott
Publication: The Day
Published 05/03/2012
Therapeutic riding in Old Lyme helps former soldiers cope
Old Lyme - After she rode a horse at a fast gait for the first time, Katye Zwiefka cried.
She threw her arms in the air and said, "I did it!" Zwiefka compared it to the joy she felt as a child on Christmas morning.
"It had been such a long time since I had that feeling or anything like it - just that excitement and that thrill, that joy that's untainted by the world," she said of her experience cantering last summer.
Zwiefka, who served in the Marine Corps, belongs to a women's riding group at High Hopes Therapeutic Riding. Struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, she turned to the center two years ago. She and another veteran in the group, Khaylan Widener, said bonding with the horses and the other equestrians has helped them cope with the anxiety and isolation they have felt since leaving the military.
"It's hard to make connections with people," said Zwiefka, a 30-year-old who lives in Norwich. "It's hard to feel comfortable in my skin and my surroundings and to really just enjoy the moment for what it is.
"Being here, I'm really able to do that," she said of High Hopes. "It's beautiful out here and I'm able to enjoy every moment."
Zwiefka and Widener, an Army veteran, met in counseling at the Norwich Vet Center, run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
With her new friend's encouragement, Widener began riding at the center.
read more here
By Jennifer McDermott
Publication: The Day
Published 05/03/2012
Therapeutic riding in Old Lyme helps former soldiers cope
Old Lyme - After she rode a horse at a fast gait for the first time, Katye Zwiefka cried.
She threw her arms in the air and said, "I did it!" Zwiefka compared it to the joy she felt as a child on Christmas morning.
"It had been such a long time since I had that feeling or anything like it - just that excitement and that thrill, that joy that's untainted by the world," she said of her experience cantering last summer.
Zwiefka, who served in the Marine Corps, belongs to a women's riding group at High Hopes Therapeutic Riding. Struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, she turned to the center two years ago. She and another veteran in the group, Khaylan Widener, said bonding with the horses and the other equestrians has helped them cope with the anxiety and isolation they have felt since leaving the military.
"It's hard to make connections with people," said Zwiefka, a 30-year-old who lives in Norwich. "It's hard to feel comfortable in my skin and my surroundings and to really just enjoy the moment for what it is.
"Being here, I'm really able to do that," she said of High Hopes. "It's beautiful out here and I'm able to enjoy every moment."
Zwiefka and Widener, an Army veteran, met in counseling at the Norwich Vet Center, run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
With her new friend's encouragement, Widener began riding at the center.
read more here
Iraq Veteran stabbed stopping robber
Iraq war veteran Shawn Cox stabbed in the neck while trying to stop robber
By: Rochelle Ritchie
PORT ST LUCIE, Fla. -- A Port St. Lucie man and Iraq war veteran is being hailed a hero after trying to help a woman being robbed at knife-point in a store parking lot Tuesday night.
For his efforts, Shawn Cox ended up with a stab wound to the neck. But the two victims are thankful to be alive and are hoping justice is soon served.
Marie Whitely was able to thank the man who came to her rescue.
"I just wanted to come say thank you, I couldn't do it last night I was so overwhelmed," Whitely told him.
This surveillance video shows Whitely loading groceries in her car in the parking lot of Walmart on St. Lucie West Boulevard.
That's when you see a woman sneaking up behind her.
read more here
By: Rochelle Ritchie
PORT ST LUCIE, Fla. -- A Port St. Lucie man and Iraq war veteran is being hailed a hero after trying to help a woman being robbed at knife-point in a store parking lot Tuesday night.
For his efforts, Shawn Cox ended up with a stab wound to the neck. But the two victims are thankful to be alive and are hoping justice is soon served.
Marie Whitely was able to thank the man who came to her rescue.
"I just wanted to come say thank you, I couldn't do it last night I was so overwhelmed," Whitely told him.
This surveillance video shows Whitely loading groceries in her car in the parking lot of Walmart on St. Lucie West Boulevard.
That's when you see a woman sneaking up behind her.
read more here
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Erin Brockovich Talks 'Last Call At The Oasis'
Erin Brockovich Talks 'Last Call At The Oasis' And Water Contamination Issues
The Huffington Post
By Joanna Zelman
Posted: 05/1/2012
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich recently held a roundtable discussion at The Huffington Post's offices to address water contamination challenges, the upcoming documentary "Last Call At The Oasis," and her newest endeavor to combat health concerns around the world.
"Last Call At The Oasis" focuses on the growing global water crisis, from the drying up of Lake Mead to the fight to keep herbicides from tainting drinking water. The film highlights Brockovich's newest project, mapping disease clusters around the world in partnership with Google.
Brockovich told HuffPost that this "pet project" began as she was receiving up to 50,000 emails per month from people reporting health issues in their communities, writing concerns such as: "We think it's odd that we have 18 people on our street with Hodgkins; We think it's odd that we have 15 kids on our street with leukemia; We think it's odd that we have 20 people in the community with glioblastoma brain tumors."
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The Huffington Post
By Joanna Zelman
Posted: 05/1/2012
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich recently held a roundtable discussion at The Huffington Post's offices to address water contamination challenges, the upcoming documentary "Last Call At The Oasis," and her newest endeavor to combat health concerns around the world.
"Last Call At The Oasis" focuses on the growing global water crisis, from the drying up of Lake Mead to the fight to keep herbicides from tainting drinking water. The film highlights Brockovich's newest project, mapping disease clusters around the world in partnership with Google.
Brockovich told HuffPost that this "pet project" began as she was receiving up to 50,000 emails per month from people reporting health issues in their communities, writing concerns such as: "We think it's odd that we have 18 people on our street with Hodgkins; We think it's odd that we have 15 kids on our street with leukemia; We think it's odd that we have 20 people in the community with glioblastoma brain tumors."
read more here
Spirit Airlines didn't care Vietnam Vet dying and can't fly
UPDATE
Facebook users heap baggage on Spirit Airlines after dying vet refused refund
By Joshua Rhett Miller
Published May 03, 2012
FoxNews.com
A Facebook campaign calling for a boycott of Spirit Airlines has taken off with jet-like propulsion since the carrier's denial of a refund to a dying former Marine made headlines.
The “Boycott Spirit Airlines” Facebook page has seen its number of "likes" soar in recent days, rising from roughly 700 earlier this week to more than 17,000 as of early Thursday.
The social network support has come as Jerry Meekins, a 76-year-old Vietnam veteran with terminal esophageal cancer, raised a fuss when the Florida-based airline nixed his request for a $197 refund. Meekins was going to fly to New Jersey for his daughter's surgery, but his doctor told him not to fly, citing his deteriorating health. The Facebook page blasting the much-complained-about airline already existed, but Meekins' plight has sent furious fellow veterans and concerned citizens flocking to it.
"This is a despicable act on their part," one post read. "They should have quietly returned the airfare and they could have avoided this. I will never fly this airline."
read more here
By Joshua Rhett Miller
Published May 03, 2012
FoxNews.com
A Facebook campaign calling for a boycott of Spirit Airlines has taken off with jet-like propulsion since the carrier's denial of a refund to a dying former Marine made headlines.
The “Boycott Spirit Airlines” Facebook page has seen its number of "likes" soar in recent days, rising from roughly 700 earlier this week to more than 17,000 as of early Thursday.
The social network support has come as Jerry Meekins, a 76-year-old Vietnam veteran with terminal esophageal cancer, raised a fuss when the Florida-based airline nixed his request for a $197 refund. Meekins was going to fly to New Jersey for his daughter's surgery, but his doctor told him not to fly, citing his deteriorating health. The Facebook page blasting the much-complained-about airline already existed, but Meekins' plight has sent furious fellow veterans and concerned citizens flocking to it.
"This is a despicable act on their part," one post read. "They should have quietly returned the airfare and they could have avoided this. I will never fly this airline."
read more here
Spirit Airlines' refusal to refund vet's ticket earns it an 'F' in Public Relations
By Fraser Seitel
FoxNews.com
Published May 01, 2012
Ever shake your head, ruefully, and wonder why those Occupy Wall Street rabble rousers despise corporations so virulently?
Here’s the answer: Spirit Airlines.
And here’s a better answer: Lawyers.
Spirit, of course, is the airline that has been blistered in the media for refusing a dying Vietnam veteran a $197 ticket refund, because his doctor forbade him to fly. The 76-year-old esophageal cancer sufferer, Jerry Meekins, bought a ticket on Spirit to fly from Clearwater, Fla. to visit his daughter in Atlantic City – perhaps for the last time.
But then his doctor nixed the trip. And Spirit nixed the refund.
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Fort Campbell soldier back from Afghanistan, dead from multiple gunshot wounds
UPDATE
Men Accused Of Killing Ft. Campbell Soldier Found Guilty
Fort Campbell Soldier Found Dead in Clarksville
May 2, 2012
Police in Clarksville are asking for information in the death of a Fort Campbell soldier who was found dead from gunshot wounds after giving two men a ride in his car.
The Leaf-Chronicle reports that Clarksville police found 22-year-old Taylor Hotzoglou inside his car with multiple gunshot wounds early Sunday morning.
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Man found dead Sunday remembered as kind-hearted and prone to offer favors
Police say shooting was 'cowardly' act
4:52 PM, May. 2, 2012
Written by
Allison Smith
Leaf-Chronicle
CLARKSVILLE, TENN. — Taylor Hotzoglou was the type of person who performed random acts of kindness.
He enjoyed helping almost anyone with anything, even if it was giving the last dollar out of his wallet. It was his kind heart and willingness to help that his brother, Greg, believes led to the 22-year-old’s death.
Just after midnight on Sunday, the Clarksville Police Department received a call about a possible wreck with an unresponsive victim, said Detective Michael Ulrey, who is overseeing the case.
When officers arrived, Ulrey said, they found Hotzoglou with multiple gunshot wounds. Police discovered that he had given two men a ride from his apartment at 1671 Fort Campbell Blvd. and was found dead shortly after that.
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Men Accused Of Killing Ft. Campbell Soldier Found Guilty
Fort Campbell Soldier Found Dead in Clarksville
May 2, 2012
Police in Clarksville are asking for information in the death of a Fort Campbell soldier who was found dead from gunshot wounds after giving two men a ride in his car.
The Leaf-Chronicle reports that Clarksville police found 22-year-old Taylor Hotzoglou inside his car with multiple gunshot wounds early Sunday morning.
read more here
Man found dead Sunday remembered as kind-hearted and prone to offer favors
Police say shooting was 'cowardly' act
4:52 PM, May. 2, 2012
Written by
Allison Smith
Leaf-Chronicle
CLARKSVILLE, TENN. — Taylor Hotzoglou was the type of person who performed random acts of kindness.
He enjoyed helping almost anyone with anything, even if it was giving the last dollar out of his wallet. It was his kind heart and willingness to help that his brother, Greg, believes led to the 22-year-old’s death.
Just after midnight on Sunday, the Clarksville Police Department received a call about a possible wreck with an unresponsive victim, said Detective Michael Ulrey, who is overseeing the case.
When officers arrived, Ulrey said, they found Hotzoglou with multiple gunshot wounds. Police discovered that he had given two men a ride from his apartment at 1671 Fort Campbell Blvd. and was found dead shortly after that.
read more here
IRS seeks loan taxes from family of dead Marine
IRS seeks loan taxes from family of dead Marine
By Rick Maze
Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 1, 2012
A Tennessee lawmaker is trying to protect a Marine’s parents from having to pay taxes on student loans that were waived after the Marine’s death.
Lance Cpl. Andrew Carpenter died in 2011 in Germany from injuries suffered when he was shot by a sniper in Afghanistan. The 27-year-old, who had attended college before enlisting in the Marine Corps, died with outstanding student loans from a private lender. The lender waived the debt, but family was notified by the Department of Education that the waived debt was considered as income for tax purposes.
While the survivors never expected it, IRS policy holds that forgiven debt on credit cards, personal loans and student loans is treated as income, just like wages — and taxable, just like wages.
Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., a freshman lawmaker representing Carpenter’s hometown of Columbia, Tenn., is trying to help the Carpenter family and ensure similar situations don’t happen to other military families.
“It is simply not right to require the families of deceased veterans, having already sacrificed so greatly for our country, to pay more in taxes for loans that have already been forgiven,” DesJarlais said.
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By Rick Maze
Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday May 1, 2012
A Tennessee lawmaker is trying to protect a Marine’s parents from having to pay taxes on student loans that were waived after the Marine’s death.
Lance Cpl. Andrew Carpenter died in 2011 in Germany from injuries suffered when he was shot by a sniper in Afghanistan. The 27-year-old, who had attended college before enlisting in the Marine Corps, died with outstanding student loans from a private lender. The lender waived the debt, but family was notified by the Department of Education that the waived debt was considered as income for tax purposes.
While the survivors never expected it, IRS policy holds that forgiven debt on credit cards, personal loans and student loans is treated as income, just like wages — and taxable, just like wages.
Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., a freshman lawmaker representing Carpenter’s hometown of Columbia, Tenn., is trying to help the Carpenter family and ensure similar situations don’t happen to other military families.
“It is simply not right to require the families of deceased veterans, having already sacrificed so greatly for our country, to pay more in taxes for loans that have already been forgiven,” DesJarlais said.
read more here
Camp Lejeune Marine dies after physical training
Marine dies after physical training
May 02, 2012
A Camp Lejeune Marine died Monday after conducting personal physical training, according to information from Camp Lejeune.
Staff Sgt. Carlous Perry, 30, a native of Clay, Miss. and a maintenance chief assigned to 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was rushed to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune where he was pronounced dead at 1:15 p.m.
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May 02, 2012
A Camp Lejeune Marine died Monday after conducting personal physical training, according to information from Camp Lejeune.
Staff Sgt. Carlous Perry, 30, a native of Clay, Miss. and a maintenance chief assigned to 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was rushed to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune where he was pronounced dead at 1:15 p.m.
read more here
Towels, shower items sought for Marines
Towels, shower items sought for Marines
May 1, 2012
BY BRIAN MARTINEZ /
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The city and Irvine 2/11 Marine Adoption Committee are collecting personal items for 350 welcome-home packages for Irvine's adopted Marines – the 2d Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division – out of Camp Pendleton.
The "2/11" battalion, which the city "adopted" in 2007, is returning throughout May and June from a 12-month deployment to Afghanistan. The welcome-home packages are for the battalion's single Marines, many of whom return to empty barracks without the comfort of family.
The public is invited to show support for the troops by donating towels, washcloths and men's body wash/shower gel items (Axe or Dove are the preferred brands) at Irvine Civic Center or the Lakeview Senior Center through Monday, May 7.
Items dropped off after May 7 will be used for any remaining welcome home packages and for other 2/11 Marine activities.
Information: 949-588-8014 or visit Irvine 211 Marines or 949-588-8014.
May 1, 2012
BY BRIAN MARTINEZ /
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The city and Irvine 2/11 Marine Adoption Committee are collecting personal items for 350 welcome-home packages for Irvine's adopted Marines – the 2d Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division – out of Camp Pendleton.
The "2/11" battalion, which the city "adopted" in 2007, is returning throughout May and June from a 12-month deployment to Afghanistan. The welcome-home packages are for the battalion's single Marines, many of whom return to empty barracks without the comfort of family.
The public is invited to show support for the troops by donating towels, washcloths and men's body wash/shower gel items (Axe or Dove are the preferred brands) at Irvine Civic Center or the Lakeview Senior Center through Monday, May 7.
Items dropped off after May 7 will be used for any remaining welcome home packages and for other 2/11 Marine activities.
Information: 949-588-8014 or visit Irvine 211 Marines or 949-588-8014.
MIA U.S. Army Capt. Charles Barnes will be laid to rest
Governor orders flags in Lehigh Co. to fly at half staff in honor of fallen soldier
Author: Katie Shank
Web Producer
Published On: May 01 2012
ARLINGTON, Va.
More than 40 years after his plane went missing over Vietnam, a Lehigh County soldier will finally be laid to rest.
U.S. Army Capt. Charles Barnes, a native of Fullerton, Whitehall Twp., was listed as missing in action after his Army U-21A "Ute" aircraft lost radar contact and crashed in bad weather on Mar. 16, 1969.
read more here
Soccer star strengthens bond with OEF OIF veteran Dad
Danny Cruz of D.C. United strengthens bonds with his father, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan
By Steven Goff,
As he spoke with wounded soldiers last week, his eyes tearing when told of roadside bombs and lost friends, D.C. United’s Danny Cruz thought of his father.
Al Cruz, Army sergeant first class, is stateside these days, preparing for reassignment to Illinois from Arizona. He served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan totaling more than 40 months since 2003 but was never injured.
“When I was listening to them tell their stories, I was thinking, ‘My dad was doing that,’ ” Danny, 22, said the day after a team-sponsored visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. “He was gone so long, it’s remarkable he’s okay.”
With combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, the elder Cruz, 45, doesn’t think he’ll go back. He told Danny he was proud he visited Walter Reed, saying, “You saw the war that most people don’t see.”
read more here
By Steven Goff,
(Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post) - D.C. United midfielder Danny Cruz, left, and Montreal midfielder Felipe Martins go for a header during the second half of the game at RFK Stadium.
As he spoke with wounded soldiers last week, his eyes tearing when told of roadside bombs and lost friends, D.C. United’s Danny Cruz thought of his father.
Al Cruz, Army sergeant first class, is stateside these days, preparing for reassignment to Illinois from Arizona. He served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan totaling more than 40 months since 2003 but was never injured.
“When I was listening to them tell their stories, I was thinking, ‘My dad was doing that,’ ” Danny, 22, said the day after a team-sponsored visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. “He was gone so long, it’s remarkable he’s okay.”
With combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, the elder Cruz, 45, doesn’t think he’ll go back. He told Danny he was proud he visited Walter Reed, saying, “You saw the war that most people don’t see.”
read more here
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
“Tell Ashley I love her.”
Soldiers recount 60-second attack that left them reflecting on life and death
By MARTIN KUZ
Stars and Stripes
Published: May 1, 2012
MUCHAI KALAY, Afghanistan -- Staff Sgt. Damian Remijio and Spc. Zachary Fitch lay on the ground as a grenade bounced down a pile of rocks toward them. Metal struck stone with awful clarity.
Ting … ting … ting …
Remijio spoke the words he believed would be his last.
“Tell Ashley I love her.” His girlfriend of a year. “Tell Leiah I love her.” His 3-year-old daughter.
“Tell them I’m sorry.”
The soldiers belong to Company D of the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment stationed at Combat Outpost Sabari in eastern Khost province. Their platoon came under attack during a patrol April 12 near Muchai Kalay, a maze of mud-walled homes 15 miles from Pakistan.
Earlier that afternoon, a mortar round hit 100 feet outside COP Sabari, the fourth time in two weeks that militants had targeted the base. The artillery strikes suggested the so-called fighting season of the Taliban-led insurgency had arrived in a region dominated by the Haqqani network.
read more here
By MARTIN KUZ
Stars and Stripes
Published: May 1, 2012
MUCHAI KALAY, Afghanistan -- Staff Sgt. Damian Remijio and Spc. Zachary Fitch lay on the ground as a grenade bounced down a pile of rocks toward them. Metal struck stone with awful clarity.
Ting … ting … ting …
Remijio spoke the words he believed would be his last.
“Tell Ashley I love her.” His girlfriend of a year. “Tell Leiah I love her.” His 3-year-old daughter.
“Tell them I’m sorry.”
The soldiers belong to Company D of the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment stationed at Combat Outpost Sabari in eastern Khost province. Their platoon came under attack during a patrol April 12 near Muchai Kalay, a maze of mud-walled homes 15 miles from Pakistan.
Earlier that afternoon, a mortar round hit 100 feet outside COP Sabari, the fourth time in two weeks that militants had targeted the base. The artillery strikes suggested the so-called fighting season of the Taliban-led insurgency had arrived in a region dominated by the Haqqani network.
read more here
President Obama in Afghanistan to sign security pact
Obama in Afghanistan to sign security pact
By Ben Feller
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 1, 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan — President Obama slipped into Afghanistan Tuesday night on an unannounced visit on the anniversary of the killing of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden. Obama is signing an agreement cementing a U.S. commitment to the nation after the long and unpopular war comes to an end.
The partnership spells out the U.S. relationship with Afghanistan beyond 2014, covering security, economics and governance. The deal is limited in scope and essentially gives both sides political cover: Afghanistan gets its sovereignty and a promise it won’t be abandoned, while the U.S. gets to end its combat mission but keep a foothold in the country.
The deal does not commit the United States to any specific troop presence or spending. But it does allow the U.S. to potentially keep troops in Afghanistan after the war ends for two specific purposes: continued training of Afghan forces and targeted operations against al-Qaida, which is present in neighboring Pakistan but has only a nominal presence inside Afghanistan.
read more here
By Ben Feller
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 1, 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan — President Obama slipped into Afghanistan Tuesday night on an unannounced visit on the anniversary of the killing of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden. Obama is signing an agreement cementing a U.S. commitment to the nation after the long and unpopular war comes to an end.
The partnership spells out the U.S. relationship with Afghanistan beyond 2014, covering security, economics and governance. The deal is limited in scope and essentially gives both sides political cover: Afghanistan gets its sovereignty and a promise it won’t be abandoned, while the U.S. gets to end its combat mission but keep a foothold in the country.
The deal does not commit the United States to any specific troop presence or spending. But it does allow the U.S. to potentially keep troops in Afghanistan after the war ends for two specific purposes: continued training of Afghan forces and targeted operations against al-Qaida, which is present in neighboring Pakistan but has only a nominal presence inside Afghanistan.
read more here
Soldier wrongly fired by Catholic charity for Iraq service
Jury: Soldier wrongly fired by Catholic charity for Iraq service
BY LEVI PULKKINEN,
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
A Washington National Guard sergeant was wrongly fired shortly before she deployed to Iraq, a federal jury in Seattle hearing the soldier’s civil lawsuit has ruled.
Returning its verdict late Monday, the jury found Sgt. Grace Campbell’s former employer Catholic Community Services discriminated against and wrongly fired her after learning Campbell would deploy to Iraq in 2008. The jury awarded her $485,000 in damages following a week-long trial.
read more here
BY LEVI PULKKINEN,
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
A Washington National Guard sergeant was wrongly fired shortly before she deployed to Iraq, a federal jury in Seattle hearing the soldier’s civil lawsuit has ruled.
Returning its verdict late Monday, the jury found Sgt. Grace Campbell’s former employer Catholic Community Services discriminated against and wrongly fired her after learning Campbell would deploy to Iraq in 2008. The jury awarded her $485,000 in damages following a week-long trial.
read more here
Fort Bragg won't help Staff Sgt. Joshua “Ike” Eisenhauer
Army will not intervene in Bragg shooting case
By Joe Gould
Staff writer
Posted : Monday Apr 30, 201
Fort Bragg’s top general has decided not to assume jurisdiction in the case of a troubled staff sergeant charged with shooting at cops and firefighters he thought were insurgents.
Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, the XVIII Airborne Corps commander, on Friday denied the request from Staff Sgt. Joshua “Ike” Eisenhauer’s attorney to have the Army take over his prosecution, post spokesperson Jacqueline Thomas said in an emailed statement.
read more here
also
Parents say Fort Bragg soldier charged with shooting at firefighters has PTSD
By Joe Gould
Staff writer
Posted : Monday Apr 30, 201
Fort Bragg’s top general has decided not to assume jurisdiction in the case of a troubled staff sergeant charged with shooting at cops and firefighters he thought were insurgents.
Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, the XVIII Airborne Corps commander, on Friday denied the request from Staff Sgt. Joshua “Ike” Eisenhauer’s attorney to have the Army take over his prosecution, post spokesperson Jacqueline Thomas said in an emailed statement.
read more here
also
Parents say Fort Bragg soldier charged with shooting at firefighters has PTSD
Canadian Forces suicides on the rise in 2011
Canadian Forces suicides on the rise in 2011
Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA
More Canadian soldiers committed suicide last year than at any time since the mid-1990s, according to figures released by the military on Monday.
There were a total of 20 suicides among Canadian Forces personnel in 2011 — 19 males and one female — up from a dozen in 2010.
“One suicide is too many and we have too many every year,” Gen. Walter Natynczyk, chief of the defence staff, said of the increase Monday at a Senate defence committee hearing.
The military said in a news release that while the number for 2011 is higher than in previous years, the variation can be the result of “random patterns or indicate the beginning of an upward trend.”
But Defence Minister Peter MacKay said there is “no question” that the effects of multiple deployments to Afghanistan since 2001 “have had a debilitating effect” on the mental health of Canadian troops.
The military does not release specific details about suicide deaths other than those that occur while a soldier is deployed overseas. There were two “non-hostile” deaths in Afghanistan last year, including that of Master Cpl. Francis Roy last June. Military officials ruled Roy’s death as a possible suicide. A month earlier, Bombadier Karl Manning was killed in a “non-hostile” incident, though it isn’t clear whether it was suicide.
There were also several military suicides last fall that around the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, although it is unknown if the particular date played any role in the soldiers’ decision to take their lives.
read more here
Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA
More Canadian soldiers committed suicide last year than at any time since the mid-1990s, according to figures released by the military on Monday.
There were a total of 20 suicides among Canadian Forces personnel in 2011 — 19 males and one female — up from a dozen in 2010.
“One suicide is too many and we have too many every year,” Gen. Walter Natynczyk, chief of the defence staff, said of the increase Monday at a Senate defence committee hearing.
The military said in a news release that while the number for 2011 is higher than in previous years, the variation can be the result of “random patterns or indicate the beginning of an upward trend.”
But Defence Minister Peter MacKay said there is “no question” that the effects of multiple deployments to Afghanistan since 2001 “have had a debilitating effect” on the mental health of Canadian troops.
The military does not release specific details about suicide deaths other than those that occur while a soldier is deployed overseas. There were two “non-hostile” deaths in Afghanistan last year, including that of Master Cpl. Francis Roy last June. Military officials ruled Roy’s death as a possible suicide. A month earlier, Bombadier Karl Manning was killed in a “non-hostile” incident, though it isn’t clear whether it was suicide.
There were also several military suicides last fall that around the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, although it is unknown if the particular date played any role in the soldiers’ decision to take their lives.
read more here
PTSD treatments that work never include Resiliency
Ritchie ran down the list of common "treatments" that have made the headlines but one thing stands out here. Nowhere has "resiliency" shown up in any of the suggestions about what works from articles posted on the subject. Why is that?
Last night during a conference call with Point Man International Ministries Resiliency Training came up and I had to control myself from hitting the roof on this. I pointed out that the rise in suicides, attempted suicides, calls to the Suicide Prevention Hotline along with veterans committing suicide can all be tied to this "program" that has done more harm than good.
It was introduced under Battlemind Training. While the program has some great aspects to it, the problem is, the message being delivered from the start is, PTSD is their fault for not training their minds to be tough. Yes, that is what the troops hear.
If someone told you that you could train your brain to be tough, wouldn't you think that meant you had a weak mind and not strong enough to take combat? Wouldn't you then assume after an event like a bomb blowing up some of your friends, and you couldn't get over it, that they were right and you are just not tough enough? Wouldn't you then find that notion stronger if you looked at your buddies after they went through the same thing but seem to be fine?
Would you want to talk to any of the people you were with about how it is effecting you knowing they took the same training you did but feel as if you are weaker than they are or didn't train right?
That happens all the time after the DOD has basically told them and everyone else they are with that PTSD is the fault of a weak mind.
They can claim anything they want but the end result is after over 4 years of the Battlemind approach, under different titles, it has not worked but they continue to push it. What is worse is the VA has been using the same type of response. Look at the number of suicides along with everything else and then you'll be as angry as I am about this.
DOD message has been PTSD is your fault
I've held enough Marines and soldiers in my arms as they cry and apologize for not "training" right. They didn't feel safe to talk to anyone about what they were going through because the others were "stronger" and "able to take it" when they couldn't. No one told them the rate of PTSD after an event is 1 out of 3 (some use 1 out of 5) which means not everyone ends up with PTSD after a horrific event during combat. No one told them that while they needed to heal after it, too many times they were exposed to more events piling on top of the event they just survived.
There is too much they are not being told and told too many times the wrong thing. Resiliency Training is the worst message they can hear!
PTSD: Treatments That Work
By ELSPETH CAMERON RITCHIE
May 1, 2012
The recently-issued policy on screening and treating PTSD from the Army’s Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) is dense, specific and should be helpful in advancing the field of post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis and treatment.
Last week, I posted on the change in the criteria for diagnosing PTSD. Now we’ll examine a central focus of the policy: evidence-based treatment, including cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT), exposure-based treatment, and medication.
Evidence-based treatments are ones that are proven, in scientific trials, to be effective. The American Psychiatric Association and DoD-VA have published treatment guidelines.
There are other treatments that have not been proven, but show promise. They may be called evidence-informed treatments, or promising new treatments.
A brief description of these treatments follows. More information can be found in a number of forums, including at the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Read more
Last night during a conference call with Point Man International Ministries Resiliency Training came up and I had to control myself from hitting the roof on this. I pointed out that the rise in suicides, attempted suicides, calls to the Suicide Prevention Hotline along with veterans committing suicide can all be tied to this "program" that has done more harm than good.
It was introduced under Battlemind Training. While the program has some great aspects to it, the problem is, the message being delivered from the start is, PTSD is their fault for not training their minds to be tough. Yes, that is what the troops hear.
If someone told you that you could train your brain to be tough, wouldn't you think that meant you had a weak mind and not strong enough to take combat? Wouldn't you then assume after an event like a bomb blowing up some of your friends, and you couldn't get over it, that they were right and you are just not tough enough? Wouldn't you then find that notion stronger if you looked at your buddies after they went through the same thing but seem to be fine?
Would you want to talk to any of the people you were with about how it is effecting you knowing they took the same training you did but feel as if you are weaker than they are or didn't train right?
That happens all the time after the DOD has basically told them and everyone else they are with that PTSD is the fault of a weak mind.
They can claim anything they want but the end result is after over 4 years of the Battlemind approach, under different titles, it has not worked but they continue to push it. What is worse is the VA has been using the same type of response. Look at the number of suicides along with everything else and then you'll be as angry as I am about this.
DOD message has been PTSD is your fault
I've held enough Marines and soldiers in my arms as they cry and apologize for not "training" right. They didn't feel safe to talk to anyone about what they were going through because the others were "stronger" and "able to take it" when they couldn't. No one told them the rate of PTSD after an event is 1 out of 3 (some use 1 out of 5) which means not everyone ends up with PTSD after a horrific event during combat. No one told them that while they needed to heal after it, too many times they were exposed to more events piling on top of the event they just survived.
There is too much they are not being told and told too many times the wrong thing. Resiliency Training is the worst message they can hear!
Communities need to "invest in these soldiers"
Colorado war veteran: Communities need to "invest in these soldiers"
POSTED:05/01/2012
By Nancy Lofholm
The Denver Post
MONTROSE — Tim Kenney is almost in his element behind the counter at Toads Guide Shop. Here, bits of brightly colored fly-tying fluff fill glass bins, and a blue inflatable raft reminds customers — and Kenney — of the promise of future fly-fishing trips. Kenney had been a fishing, rafting and hunting guide and a contract trapper before he, then 41, decided to join the Army National Guard. He was tired of seeing 20-somethings disproportionately losing their lives in faraway wars. He reasoned that if he served, he might be able to keep his own children — two daughters, now 20 and 18, and two younger children — from having to go to war.
So this wiry outdoorsman reported for duty at Fort Benning with a company of fresh-faced youngsters who laughed at his love of Toby Keith's hyper-patriotic songs and who couldn't fathom Kenney's unfamiliarity with iPhones.
Physically, he was strong enough from years of rowing rough waters and tramping miles in big-game tracks to keep up with the younger soldiers, even when he volunteered for a combat unit headed to a mountainous region of Afghanistan.
A few years, several rocket-propelled-grenade hits, a blown-out disc, a torn shoulder, a shrapnel strike to the face, broken teeth and a rattled brain later, he is struggling to figure out whether he will ever be able to do what he did before he became Army Spec. Tim Kenney.
read more here
POSTED:05/01/2012
By Nancy Lofholm
The Denver Post
MONTROSE — Tim Kenney is almost in his element behind the counter at Toads Guide Shop. Here, bits of brightly colored fly-tying fluff fill glass bins, and a blue inflatable raft reminds customers — and Kenney — of the promise of future fly-fishing trips. Kenney had been a fishing, rafting and hunting guide and a contract trapper before he, then 41, decided to join the Army National Guard. He was tired of seeing 20-somethings disproportionately losing their lives in faraway wars. He reasoned that if he served, he might be able to keep his own children — two daughters, now 20 and 18, and two younger children — from having to go to war.
So this wiry outdoorsman reported for duty at Fort Benning with a company of fresh-faced youngsters who laughed at his love of Toby Keith's hyper-patriotic songs and who couldn't fathom Kenney's unfamiliarity with iPhones.
Physically, he was strong enough from years of rowing rough waters and tramping miles in big-game tracks to keep up with the younger soldiers, even when he volunteered for a combat unit headed to a mountainous region of Afghanistan.
A few years, several rocket-propelled-grenade hits, a blown-out disc, a torn shoulder, a shrapnel strike to the face, broken teeth and a rattled brain later, he is struggling to figure out whether he will ever be able to do what he did before he became Army Spec. Tim Kenney.
read more here
Greedy colleges target veterans
U.S. Veterans Targeted By Marketers in College Selection Process
By SUSANNA KIM
ABC News
April 30, 2012
The Post-9/11 GI Bill offers financial support for veterans' education, leading some marketers to target vets with deceptive advertising about college opportunities and President Obama to sign an executive order on Friday to curb those abuses.
The bill was an enormous boost to Michael Dakduk, who served in the Marine Corps and is now executive director of Student Veterans of America, an organization whose mission is to provide vets in higher education and following graduation with resources and support.
Dakduk, who left active duty in 2008, said he would not have been able to pursue his bachelor's degree full-time at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
"I had such a substantial increase in benefits, I could focus solely on studies," Dakduk said.
The Las Vegas-native had previously attended community college while working part-time, with assistance from the Montgomery GI Bill.
That bill provides a monthly education benefit to active duty military members who pay $100 a month for the financial assistance.
read more here
By SUSANNA KIM
ABC News
April 30, 2012
The Post-9/11 GI Bill offers financial support for veterans' education, leading some marketers to target vets with deceptive advertising about college opportunities and President Obama to sign an executive order on Friday to curb those abuses.
The bill was an enormous boost to Michael Dakduk, who served in the Marine Corps and is now executive director of Student Veterans of America, an organization whose mission is to provide vets in higher education and following graduation with resources and support.
Dakduk, who left active duty in 2008, said he would not have been able to pursue his bachelor's degree full-time at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
"I had such a substantial increase in benefits, I could focus solely on studies," Dakduk said.
The Las Vegas-native had previously attended community college while working part-time, with assistance from the Montgomery GI Bill.
That bill provides a monthly education benefit to active duty military members who pay $100 a month for the financial assistance.
read more here
My life slapped into perspective
Usually I'll offer the "off topic" note for a post like this but in this case, it is far from it.
In all these years I've met stunning heroes I wouldn't have had a chance to meet other than the simple fact I am involved with veterans. Most of the people I meet put me to shame doing far more than I do but without a public voice. Top that off with most of them do not want attention for what they do instead of what they are doing it for. Carol Gambill is one of those quiet heroes.
Most of the time she's out with her husband Russ raising money to build a house for a combat wounded veteran so their lives can be more comfortable. Dedication beyond belief! Carol was at the Veterans Reunion in Melbourne when I made it out there on Saturday, whining about how tired I was from the party the night before. Carol, as usual, stood there with a big smile on her face telling me I needed to have some fun once in a while.
Now I read what else happened while Carol was spending time surrounded by the veterans she loves! The woman she wants to help is not a veteran as you'll read but this goes to show that people who care don't stop caring when someone outside of their "group" needs someone.
In all these years I've met stunning heroes I wouldn't have had a chance to meet other than the simple fact I am involved with veterans. Most of the people I meet put me to shame doing far more than I do but without a public voice. Top that off with most of them do not want attention for what they do instead of what they are doing it for. Carol Gambill is one of those quiet heroes.
Most of the time she's out with her husband Russ raising money to build a house for a combat wounded veteran so their lives can be more comfortable. Dedication beyond belief! Carol was at the Veterans Reunion in Melbourne when I made it out there on Saturday, whining about how tired I was from the party the night before. Carol, as usual, stood there with a big smile on her face telling me I needed to have some fun once in a while.
Now I read what else happened while Carol was spending time surrounded by the veterans she loves! The woman she wants to help is not a veteran as you'll read but this goes to show that people who care don't stop caring when someone outside of their "group" needs someone.
Russ and Carol Gambill
Homes for Our Troops Volunteers
Homes For Our Troops
Florida Veterans Network
From: Carol Gambill
Subject: My life slapped into perspective
All right. This weekend I had my life slapped into perspective. Not only did I volunteer in my typical handing out information at events regarding 'Homes for our Troops', which builds and remodels homes for the severely wounded veterans but that is another story in itself and will try to stay focused and tell you about an extraordinary lady with whom I met.
Lois Search hasn't lost the fervor for life even from problems at a very young age. A "little person" as they are called and now for whatever reason in a wheelchair. Whether she was born ridden in wheelchair was never disclosed and I wasn't about to ask. I look past that fact knowing anyone of us could have been born no different. Lois begins to speak to me with her request as I stand with a flyer in my hand in front of the 'Homes for our Troops' booth. For some reason, I quickly hide the flyer behind my back and bend down to her height of two maybe three feet to listen more intently. I realize then that she has a oxygen tube that goes into her nose for her breathing. I focus on her words and lightly swallow back the discomfort of seeing it all. I look into her kind face and can't stop having the compassion that God would want us to have. To love our brother and sister.
As she hands me cards with the information (more like computer paper cut into the size of cards) and with small hands barely able to work effectively, it makes me wonder just how it would be to cut the paper? My mind drifted in thought in how difficult it would be to just get up every morning. The difficulty of taking care of oneself, showering or bathing, dressing then getting yourself into your wheelchair.
I ask her if I could walk around with her to hand them out. She is no doubt an inspiration as we walk around... her in wheelchair and me, feeling a bit guilty because I could. I talk with Lois and ask her how she got to Wickham Park. She tells me she rode the city transit bus from her house just a couple miles away. Crazy, 'cause if it took that much effort every day I would likely be a bit disillusioned with life and become so depressed I wouldn't go anywhere. Yes, she truly made me realize what a weak person I am.
Lois and I continue handing out the pieces of paper and she never once asks for money or any food but simply asked for a one single vote. A vote on the "Mobility Awaeeness Month" link on the internet so she may be able to pursue her independence with chances of winning a new van. Amazing, the humbleness, pride that has to be held and bravery, not to just speak on your behalf but to get up every day to face struggle.
Lois, you're a special Lady!
Take a look at the youtube video Lois Search Video with Lois telling more about herself but says nothing about her spirited independence, honesty, and adversaries--only that she would truly like to win! So please don't forget to vote for Lois Search on this link: Lois Search.
She currently has 1672 votes and deadline is May 13th 2012 so lets get her that van!
Carol Gambill Author of the 'Breaking Out Series'
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