Thursday, June 3, 2010

Soldiers at risk of getting hooked on heroin

Soldiers at risk of getting hooked on heroin
By Michael Edwards
The revelation that an Australian soldier serving in Afghanistan may have overdosed on drugs comes as no surprise to addiction experts.

One even says a risk of sending soldiers to Afghanistan is that some of them are going to become heroin dependent.

A senior lawyer is set to conduct an official inquiry into how the experienced Australian commando suffered a suspected overdose nearly a week ago.


A bottle of pills and white powder were found in the soldier's room.

He was found unconscious and unresponsive in his room in Tarin Kowt in Uruzgan province last Friday and remains in a serious condition in a military hospital in Germany.

Australian soldiers already face random drug testing, but now there will be testing of the entire Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan.

"Life is unbearable," he said. "You don't know whether you're going to be alive in 10 minutes' time or not.

"Life has very few pleasures; you're very uncomfortable, it's either very hot or very cold, the food's pretty awful, the ever-present smell of death and you see some of your closest buddies die before your eyes.

"So life is really unbearable and heroin's cheap."

Afghanistan produces 93 per cent of the world's opium, the key ingredient of heroin.

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Soldiers at risk of getting hooked on heroin

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Korean War veteran talks about the forgotten war

Korean War veteran wishes for comfort of forgetting the "Forgotten War"
Reported By: Steve Nunez

TUCSON, AZ (KGUN - TV) - For one Tucson war veteran, who fought in two wars, Memorial Day also marks a day to look to the future and not so much to the deadly past. The memories of bloodshed remain constant for 77-year old Alex Romero.

Romero first fought in the Korean War in 1951. But today, he wishes for the comfort of forgetting. Romero said, "I don't want to remember what happened. I never want to remember what happened in those years. I do not want to remember names."

Nine On Your Side's Steve Nunez asked Romero, "How come?" Romero responded, "Because (paused) because they were the ones that made me what I am. I hope you understand that."

And similar to the "Forgotten War," Romero also fought in Vietnam. It's also a war many would like to forget. Romero compares these wars to the often forgotten contributions Mexican-American's, just like him, have made in fighting for our country.

Romero said, "Ohhh, i got an article like that (placing his thumb and index finger about an inch apart). Oh, this sargeant was wounded in Korea and Vietnam, that much (again placing his thumb and index finger about an inch apart) you know. There was no recognition.
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http://www.kgun9.com/Global/story.asp?S=12571985

Wounded soldier gets 8 surgeries and bill for lost gear?

Oregon soldier shot - then billed

by Pat Dooris

kgw.com

Posted on June 1, 2010 at 5:50 PM

Updated today at 10:28 AM


The U.S. Army is demanding a 33-year-old former Oregon National Guard soldier shot in Iraq, turn in his gear or pay for it.

But Gary Pfleider said he has no idea where the gear is -- he was busy trying to survive.

Back on September 24, 2007, Pfleider sat on an open truck as it began a routine mission. Suddenly, a sniper's bullet hit his left thigh.

"I remember the sound of the bullet hitting my flesh, the smell of it, then me grabbing my grabbing my leg. After that I was out for about 16 hours," said Pfleider.

He was rushed to hospitals in Germany and eventually the U.S. Eight surgeries later, he is able to walk but wears a brace and uses a cane for balance.

Last May, the government sent him a letter demanding he either turn in items he believes were left behind in Iraq or pay more than $3,000.
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Oregon soldier shot then billed

Vietnam veteran says marriage is casualty of war

Vietnam veteran says marriage is casualty of war
June 01, 2010 7:03 AM
Wendy Victora
Daily News
CRESTVIEW -- Freddie Cavett has lived alone for most of the past decade. You could say his marriage was a casualty of the Vietnam War.

He came back from a year-long stint there as a changed man – an angry man – according to his ex-wife Linda.

They stayed married more than 30 years, living apart for a time before finally divorcing in 2007. Freddie and Linda still see each other almost every day.

“It got to be where I could hardly stand to be around him when he was in his crazy places,” says Linda, a licensed mental health counselor whose clients include other veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. “I wish I could have done better with that.”

On his dining room table, Freddie has piled photo albums and binders of all of the documents relating to his military career. He was active duty for 7 years and an active reservist for 20 more.

They are a roadmap for this man, who struggles to create any kind of a timeline of his life.

Linda, who remembers everything, fills in the blanks.
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Vietnam veteran says marriage is casualty of war

4Troops: Live from the Intrepid


Wednesday, June 2 at 9:30 p.m.

4Troops: Live from the Intrepid

4Troops are a new pop vocal group made up of United States combat veterans who served on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their new concert special, filmed aboard the USS Intrepid, features the group performing standards like “Amazing Grace,” pop hits like “You Raise Me Up” and new gems, including 4Troops’ own “For Freedom.”

Ceremony pays tribute to soldier, other military heroes


Sgt. Randy Haney, who was 27 when he was killed in September 2009 in Afghanistan. He is holding his son, Austin, and his daughter, Aubry. (COURTESY OF FAMILY / May 31, 2010)



Ceremony pays tribute to soldier, other military heroes
Staff Sgt. Randy Haney was killed in Afghanistan
By Susan Jacobson, Orlando Sentinel

10:26 p.m. EDT, May 31, 2010
For many people, Memorial Day was a day off to relax, shop or have a family barbecue.

For friends and relatives of Staff Sgt. Randy Haney, it was a time to remember the fallen hero who left behind a wife and two young children when he was killed in Afghanistan last September.

On Monday morning, about 100 friends, family and community members attended a rededication of Orange County's War Memorial at the courthouse, where Haney was honored. It was among more than a dozen in Central Florida during the weekend that honored those who gave their lives in military service.

Haney's father-in-law, Andrew Alexopoulos of Fort Lauderdale, attended the downtown Orlando ceremony.

"He gave the ultimate sacrifice — his life — for his family and his country," Alexopoulos said.

Haney was 27, a military police officer and on his third tour of duty in the Middle East when his convoy was attacked by guns and rocket-propelled grenades in Nangarhar Province. He was inspired to join the Army when he visited Ground Zero three months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Alexopoulos said.
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Ceremony pays tribute to soldier

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Troops in Afghanistan, Iraq mark Memorial Day

Troops in Afghanistan, Iraq mark Memorial Day

By Heidi Vogt - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 1, 2010 11:24:14 EDT

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — U.S. forces serving in Afghanistan and Iraq remembered friends and colleagues Monday in solemn Memorial Day ceremonies to commemorate all of their nation’s war dead.

As some soldiers paused, violence raged on in both places.

In Afghanistan, U.S.-led NATO forces launched airstrikes against Taliban insurgents who had forced government forces to abandon a district in Nuristan, a remote province on the Pakistan border. NATO also said it killed one of the Taliban’s top two commanders in the insurgent stronghold of Kandahar in a separate airstrike.

At the sprawling Bagram Air Field, the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan, about 400 soldiers in camouflage uniforms and brown combat boots stood at attention for a moment’s silence as Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of some 94,000 U.S. troops in the country, led the ceremony.

A bugler played taps and a color guard displayed the U.S. flag and the flags of units serving in eastern Afghanistan where the base is located, about 30 miles north of Kabul.

A steel construction beam from the World Trade Center destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks was unveiled, with the inscription “WTC 9 11 01”. The beam was donated by citizens’ group the Sons and Daughters of America of Breezy Point, a suburb in Queens, New York, where 29 victims of the Sept. 11 attacks lived, according to a letter read out at the ceremony.
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Troops in Afghanistan, Iraq mark Memorial Day

Did you honor or enjoy Memorial Day weekend?


Did you honor or enjoy Memorial Day weekend?

by
Chaplain Kathie

Many good friends talked about what they did this weekend. BBQ food, lots of beer, pool parties and having fun. Not many of them really remembered what Memorial Day weekend is for. This is not unusual considering how few have anyone in their families serving today or have served at one time or another. Forgetting what Memorial Day is for used to get me angry but now, I actually feel sorry for them, for what they are missing out on and for the kind of people they will never know. I don't have the ability to ignore Memorial day and I wouldn't trade with them for a second.

Friday I flew into Washington, took a cab to Walter Reed so that I could have a tour and meet some of our wounded. As tired as I was, thinking my legs would never carry me room to room, one after another rejuvenated me with how inspirational they all are. Young men and women healing from wounds and trying to learn to do things all over again at the same time they worry about their brothers and sisters still deployed and not regretting a second of their service.


When I arrived at the hotel, there were the Nam Knight patches everywhere.


One of them became a Prospect Saturday before the ride.



Hundreds of Nam Knights and their wives headed off to the Wall Saturday morning. The local police did a fantastic job making sure the roads were safe for us and no one tried to cut off the huge pack.






We met at the Wall for a ceremony and prayer, heard taps played and everyone walking near us stopped, took off their hats and waited in silence.



From the Wall we went to the Law Enforcement Memorial for another service. The some of the members went to Maryland while some of us from Orlando went to revisit the Wall. We wanted to be able to get a couple of etchings after all these years. Last year we didn't get close to the Wall but this year, we were finally able to touch it. Standing there everything else in our lives left our minds. All the problems, all the things we have to be concerned about vanished and all we could think about were the lives lost. We went to the statue of the three "grunts" but it was enclosed in a box for renovation. We went to the memorial for the women, also called the Nurses monument.



From there we went to the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean Memorial and to the WWII Memorial.

Back at the hotel there was time to relax and party. Most of them needed to break the emotional time of the day and they cut loose. Everyone was welcomed to join in and there was dancing in the street, laughing, hugging and just enjoying the company of this extended family.

Sunday came and my husband headed off to Massachusetts giving me time to sit and talk with hotel guests. I had a late flight back home and was not going on the Rolling Thunder Ride without him. There was a couple sitting near me and we began to talk. They are the parents of the Marine who stands saluting the Rolling Thunder parade/pilgrimage.



Staff Sgt. Tim Chambers



Staff Sgt. Tim Chambers has been doing this for eight years. His parents told me that he was recovering from having pneumonia just two weeks ago. Today I found out that on Saturday, he traveled to Maryland for the BBQ with the Knights and then even sang a song, reportedly, doing a great job. His parents told me that Tim saves his leave every year. He came from Camp Pendleton to make sure he was there, as he puts it, to honor those who sacrificed for him. Amazing! One generation thanking the other and then being thanked in return.

The Commander of Camp Pendleton must understand how much this means especially to Vietnam veterans. After they were pushed away from everyone, everywhere, to have this kind of tribute means a great deal. The Vietnam veterans came home, treated badly, to say the least, but were determined to make sure no generation of veterans would ever, ever leave another generation behind. Tim understands this and they mean a great deal to him.

The Rolling Thunder Story
In the fall of 1987, in a little diner, in Somerville, New Jersey, two Vietnam veterans met to discuss their personal concerns about the prisoners of war (POW) and missing in action (MIA) from the Vietnam War. Having honorably served their country, and having taken an oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies..." and to "bear true faith and allegiance to same," they were deeply troubled by the abhorrent neglect of attention given to those who did not make it out with their lives or their freedom. These two veterans discussed the more than 10,000 reported sightings of live Americans living in dismal captivity. Intelligence reports of these sightings were generally ignored by the government and mainstream press. Artie Muller and Ray Manzo were these two veterans.



One more reason why Staff Sgt. Chambers salute means so much to Rolling Thunder as well as the Nam Knights.

There were many stories about tough, leather wearing bikes being brought to tears just seeing him standing there with his salute to them. One young girl who just lost her Dad went over to him with tears in her eyes and told Tim how her Dad died. He pointed to the flowers at his feet and told her they were for her Dad and all the others who died. He talked to her until she was able to smile again. Over the years, there were many stories of how emotionally healing it is for these veterans to see Tim. This year I heard there was a Soldier standing there as well. A wonderful tribute on this very solemn day.

I got back home on Sunday night and then Monday morning headed out to another Memorial service at Glen Haven Memorial Park in Winter Park FL.

Chaplain of the Florida National Guards, Maj. Anthony Clark gave the invocation and then really came the need for tears. Bud Hedinger of 540WFLA introduced the story of Staff Stg. Robert James Miller nominated for the Medal of Honor.


Army Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller
Died January 25, 2008 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom

24, of Oviedo, Fla.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Jan. 25 in Barikowt, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when he encountered small-arms fire while conducting combat operations.
Former University of Iowa student killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa — A former University of Iowa student was killed during combat operations in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced on Saturday.

Army Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller died in Barikowt, Afghanistan. He suffered wounds during small-arms fire, according to the Department of Defense press release.

Robert Miller’s mother, Maureen Miller, of Oviedo, Fla., told The Gazette of Cedar Rapids that her son had attended the University of Iowa for one year before leaving school to enlist in the Army Special Forces.

She declined further comment, the newspaper reported. A phone message from The Associated Press was not immediately returned.

Miller worked in Special Forces as a weapons sergeant. He was assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group Airborne, which was based in from Fort Bragg, N.C.

According to the Department of Defense, he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2006 and awarded with the Army Commendation Medal with Valor for courage in the face of the enemy.

He was awarded eight other medals while in service, including the Army Good Conduct Medal, two Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development ribbons, the Ranger Tab and Special Forces Tab.

During his deployment in Afghanistan, Miller earned a promotion to staff sergeant.

Miller was born Oct. 14, 1983 in Harrisburg, Pa. He enlisted in the Army as a special forces candidate on August 2003, and became a Green Beret in 2005.

Miller is survived by his parents, Philip and Maureen Miller; brothers Thomas, Martin and Edward; and sisters Joanna, Mary, Therese and Patricia, all of Oviedo, Fla.


Fallen Green Beret gets battlefield salute

Staff report

Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller, who was killed in action Friday in Afghanistan, was honored by hundreds of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who lined the tarmac and roadway at Bagram Airfield on Sunday to pay their last respects.

Miller was a member of A Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne).

According to a press release from U.S. Army Special Operations Command, he was killed by Taliban fighters as he protected his fellow Operational Detachment Alpha soldiers during combat operations near the Pakistan border.

The firefight took place near the village of Barikowt in the Nari district in Afghanistan’s Konar province during a security patrol with Afghan border police in the Chenar Khar Valley, the release said.

On Sunday, Miller’s flag-draped casket was carried in a tactical vehicle to a waiting Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft, and as the vehicle passed the line of his uniformed comrades, each stood at attention and saluted him for the last time.

Soldiers from Special Operations Task Force 33 formed a cordon leading to the ramp as his brothers in arms serving as pallbearers escorted Miller’s remains into the aircraft’s empty cargo area, the release said.

“He was always quick to volunteer and never thought it should be any other way. On numerous occasions when the Detachment was faced with a difficult task, Robby would just stand up and say, ‘I got this one, I’ll do it, send me,’” Capt. John Bishop of Special Operations Task Force 33 and Miller’s former detachment commander, said at the ceremony.

The release stated that on Jan. 25 Miller was leading a team of Afghan security forces and other coalition soldiers during a combat reconnaissance patrol in Konar Province, near the Pakistan border when insurgents hiding in a structure attacked Miller’s team.

A fellow teammate called for close-air support to drop ordnance on the insurgent position, which momentarily disrupted the attack. But when the combined patrol moved toward the structure to check for any remaining enemy threats, the insurgents again fired using heavy weapons.

Miller’s team captain was seriously wounded within the first minutes of the attack, and while he was being moved to safety, Miller returned fire, remaining at the front of the patrol to lay down suppressive fire on several enemy positions.

Even while injured by direct enemy small arms and machine gun fire, Miller continued to fire his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon and grenades to suppress enemy fire and protect his teammates, who gained cover and also returned fire.

Miller, who was one of eight brothers and sisters, enlisted as a Special Forces trainee on Aug. 14, 2003, according to the release.

He graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course on Sept. 26, 2004, and the Special Forces Weapons Sergeant Course Mar. 4, 2005.

During his last deployment to Afghanistan from August 2006 to March 2007, Miller received two Army Commendation Medals for Valor for his courage under fire, the Army release said.

Miller returned to Afghanistan for his second tour in October 2007, where he served as a weapons sergeant for his team.



There were so many reminders of people doing extraordinary things and the others going off to enjoy themselves instead of knowing what and who this day is for, will never know what they were missing. If they think they have problems, they will never know what it is like to see them fade away in front of the Vietnam Memorial Wall. If they think they are tied or sore, they will never know what it's like to shake the hand of a young soldier in a hospital bed recovering at the same time he says he wants to go back or hear a young female MP missing a leg to say how lucky she feels to be alive. They will spend their days thinking of their own lives, their own problems and never once know what it's like to stand near a hero who was unselfish and risked their lives for all the other things we get to enjoy. Like a day to honor the fallen who gave all.

Maybe it will dawn on them as July 4th comes why we get to celebrate that day as well, but I doubt it.

Orlando VA plans to build a memorial


A 3D model of the new Orlando VA Medical Center at Lake Nona. A local veterans group will announce a fund-raising campaign to create a Central Florida Veterans Memorial Park adjacent to the new VA hospital. (CENTRAL FLORIDA VETERANS MEMORIAL, Orlando Sentinel / September 8, 2009)


As VA med center design revealed, veterans plan memorial park
A sneak peek today at the design of the $665 million Orlando VA Medical Center at the emerging "medical city" at Lake Nona will also include a major announcement just in time for Memorial Day: a plan to build an adjacent park honoring Central Florida's fallen veterans.

During the unveiling this morning at Orlando City Hall of a 3-D model of the 65-acre Veterans Affairs medical campus, a local veterans group will announce a fundraising campaign to create a memorial park for the approximately 1,100 Central Florida service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

The group hopes to raise $4.5 million — half of which will be used to construct the 4-acre park and the other half for maintenance and upkeep.

"This park will serve as a reminder to other veterans and the general public that this country is not free by accident," said Lt. Col. Earle L. Denton, a decorated veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars and a vice president of the Central Florida Veterans Memorial Park Foundation. "Everybody today needs to know what's happened in the past in order to enjoy the freedoms they have today."
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As VA med center design revealed

Marine honors the fallen

Local Marine honors the fallen
By Shaun Bishop


Daily News Staff Writer


The gold-colored rubber bracelet on Lance Cpl. Donnie Salas' right wrist serves as a remembrance for his friend, Eric Ward.

In bold red letters, the bracelet bears the name of Ward, who served with Salas in the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines Regiment in southern Afghanistan.

Ward, a 19-year-old lance corporal from Redmond, Wash., was killed by an improvised explosive device, or IED, in February. "Always in our hearts," the bracelet reads.

On Monday — two days after Salas returned to the Bay Area from a seven-month deployment in Afghanistan — he sat in the living room of his East Palo Alto home, reflecting on the need to remember the fallen.


Salas, 19, plans to get a tattoo this week memorializing Ward and another friend — Jacob Ross, 19, of Gillette, Wyo., a member of the same battalion who was shot and killed in March.

"Now (Memorial Day) has way deeper meaning to me, because now I'm considered a 'vet ' — and it's to honor the fallen," said Salas, humble and stoic but occasionally flashing a smile during an hourlong interview. "I figure we should honor them."

Salas' return home Saturday morning came after an intense tour of duty in Helmand Province, a Taliban stronghold on the border of Pakistan. Before touching down in the Bay Area, he received two weeks of training for post-traumatic stress disorder at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base in North Carolina.
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Local Marine honors the fallen