LAPD officer killed by bomb in Afghanistan

LAPD officer killed by bomb in Afghanistan

Associated Press
10/20/10 10:05 AM EDT
LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles police officer serving in Afghanistan has been killed by a roadside bomb.

Marine Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Cullins died Monday.

The 28-year-old reservist was an explosive ordinance disposal officer.

Read more at the Washington Examiner:
LAPD officer killed by bomb in Afghanistan

Drop FOX

I feel for my friends who still watch FOX. They are bright people and they care about this country as much as I do but they remain uninformed because they watch FOX. Now it looks as if Beck is behind employees being a target by a deluded thug who credits Beck with inspiring him.

Still the biggest issue I have with FOX is that they show no care for the troops or our veterans. If they cared at all, they would take the lead and report on what has been happening since they were deployed into Afghanistan and Iraq. They would take the lead on finding programs and support for PTSD and TBI research, suicide prevention and holding the military leadership accountable for the rise in suicides and attempted suicides. There is so much they can do because of the viewers they have but they refuse to. I refuse to watch FOX.


From Media Matters

What has Glenn Beck's response been to the revelation that his false and paranoid attacks on the Tides Foundation inspired viewer Byron Williams to target Tides employees for death?

Doubling down.

Beck dedicated his Friday night Fox News show to yet another extended attack on the Tides Foundation, accusing the progressive institution of subverting churches, turning children against their parents and spreading "anti-human" theories.

A week ago we told you the story of Williams, who was incited by the conspiracy theories of right-wing media figures to try and assassinate employees of the progressive Tides Foundation and the ACLU. The same lies and smears that Williams said "blew my mind" go on every day at Fox.

Instead of recognizing the danger and taking appropriate action, Fox News is allowing and encouraging Beck's violent rhetoric, abdicating the responsibility the public expects of a powerful broadcaster. That is why targeting Glenn Beck's advertisers is no longer enough -- we need to hold the entire network accountable.
read more here
Tell major advertisers it's time to drop Fox.

James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital "conditions are horrible" says wounded soldier's stepfather

Injured Cape Coral soldier to remain in Tampa for now
Surgery keeps Kent in Tampa, out of D.C.
BY DENES HUSTY III • DHUSTY@NEWS-PRESS.COM • OCTOBER 20, 2010


A wounded Cape Coral soldier can’t be transferred immediately from a Tampa veterans’ hospital, where his family describes conditions as “deplorable” because he had surgery there Tuesday.

The procedure to remove Army Pfc. Corey Kent’s infected gallbladder was successful, said his stepfather, Dan Ashby.

Kent asked to be transferred from Walter Reed Medical Center near Washington three weeks ago to be nearer his family, Ashby said.

Now Kent, 22, “cannot wait to get out of there. He’s regressed. The conditions are horrible. The place is dirty” and he wants to go back to Walter Reed, said Ashby, 40.

However, he said Kent can’t be transferred until at least late next week because of his recuperation and the arranging of a military flight, Ashby said.
read more here
Injured Cape Coral soldier to remain in Tampa for now

54 Regional Veterans Day Observances

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Designates

54 Regional Veterans Day Observances

WASHINGTON - Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced
today the designation of 54 regional Veterans Day observances. These
sites are recognized as model events for the observance of Veterans Day
on November 11.

"On Veterans Day we celebrate the lives and legacy of America's 23
million living Veterans," said Shinseki. "From the National Veterans
Day observance to regional celebrations nationwide, I encourage all
Americans to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank our Veterans
for their service."

Shinseki is Chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee, which is
comprised of representatives from 41 organizations dedicated to serving
and supporting America's Veterans. Founded in 1954, the committee's
mission is to promote the observance of Veterans Day nationwide. Each
year, the committee recognizes regional observances - including parades,
ceremonies and concerts - that are dedicated to celebrating and honoring
America's Veterans of all eras.

The 2010 Veterans Day Regional Sites are:
Birmingham, Mobile, and Montgomery, Ala.;
Phoenix, Ariz.;
Palm Springs and Sacramento, Calif.;
Loveland, Colo.;
Hartford, Conn.;
New Castle, Del.;
Brevard Community College-Coco Campus, and Weirsdale, Fla.;
Atlanta and Dawson County, Ga.;
Emporia, Leavenworth and Valley Center, Kan.;
Bossier-Shreveport,
Bossier City and Slidell, La.;
Brunswick, Md.;
Sherborn, Mass.;
Detroit, Farmington Hills, Mason, and Lansing, Mich.;
Inver Grove Heights, Minn.,
Biloxi and Kosciusko, Miss.;
St. Louis, Mo.;
Northfield, N.J.;
New York, N.Y.;
Charlotte, Fayetteville, Morehead City and Warsaw, N.C.;
Columbus and North Olmsted, Ohio;
Ponca City, Okla.;
Albany and Portland, Ore.;
Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Penn.;
North Charleston, S.C.;
Gatlinburg and Nashville, Tenn.;
Austin, Bonham, Dallas and Houston,
Texas; Virginia Beach, Va.;
Auburn, Port Angeles, Vancouver and West
Richland, Wash.;
and Milwaukee, Wis.

For more information about the Veterans Day regional site program,
including an application for the 2011 observance, log onto the Veterans
Day Web site at http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/regsites.asp.

PTSD defense may delay murder trial of Iraq vet

PTSD defense may delay murder trial of Iraq vet

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 19, 2010 13:28:36 EDT

HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. — The post-traumatic stress disorder defense being raised by an Iraq war veteran will likely postpone his double-murder trial to sometime after the second anniversary of the sandwich shop robbery at the center of the case.
read more here

PTSD defense may delay murder trial of Iraq vet

Nurse testifies 3 soldiers not afraid facing Hood gunman

Nurse: 3 soldiers not afraid facing Hood gunman

By Angela K. Brown - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 19, 2010 13:52:58 EDT

FORT HOOD, Texas — Three young soldiers showed no fear and didn’t try to hide in the face of certain death as a lone gunman approached them during a deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood, a civilian nurse testified at a military hearing Tuesday.

“All three of these kids just stood their ground. They didn’t flinch. They weren’t afraid of him,” Theodore Coukoulis told the Article 32 hearing. “All three looked directly at the shooter. They were looking at death and they knew it.”

read more here
3 soldiers not afraid facing Hood gunman

Pentagon shooting isolated incident

Pentagon shooting isolated incident, police say

By Pauline Jelinek - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 19, 2010 15:53:25 EDT

WASHINGTON — Someone fired shots at the Pentagon early Tuesday in what security officials described as “a random event.”

No one was injured in the pre-dawn incident in which shots were fired into two windows at the sprawling Defense Department complex.

Steven Calvery, director of the civilian Pentagon Force Protection Agency, told reporters that a number of his officers reported hearing five to seven shots fired at about 4:55 a.m. local time near the south parking lot of the Pentagon. The Pentagon building and the roads leading it were briefly shut down as officers did an initial sweep of the area.

An internal search of the Pentagon found fragments of two bullets still embedded in two windows — one on the third floor and one on the fourth. The bullets had shattered but did not penetrate the windows, Calvery said. The windows were part of offices that are being renovated and they were unoccupied at the time.

read more here
Pentagon shooting isolated incident

Staff Sgt. Giunta to receive Medal of Honor

Giunta to receive Medal of Honor on Nov. 16

By William Petroski - The Des Moines (Iowa) Register
Posted : Tuesday Oct 19, 2010 12:27:45 EDT

DES MOINES, Iowa — The White House announced Monday that Army Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta of Hiawatha will be awarded the Medal of Honor on Nov. 16 by President Obama.

read more here
Giunta to receive Medal of Honor

HBO Wartorn documetary on PTSD from 1861 to 2010

HBO DOCUMENTARY WARTORN: 1861-2010, EXPLORING COMBAT AND POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS, DEBUTS ON VETERANS DAY, NOV. 11

James Gandolfini Executive Produces



Civil War doctors called it hysteria, melancholia and insanity. During the First World War it was known as shell-shock. By World War II, it became combat fatigue. Today, it is clinically known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a crippling anxiety that results from exposure to life-threatening situations such as combat.

With suicide rates among active military servicemen and veterans currently on the rise, the HBO special WARTORN 1861-2010 brings urgent attention to the invisible wounds of war. Drawing on personal stories of American soldiers whose lives and psyches were torn asunder by the horrors of battle and PTSD, the documentary chronicles the lingering effects of combat stress and post-traumatic stress on military personnel and their families throughout American history, from the Civil War through today's conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The HBO Documentary Films presentation debuts on Veterans Day, THURSDAY, NOV. 11 (9:00-10:15 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Other HBO playdates: Nov. 11 (3:25 a.m.), 14 (3:30 p.m.), 18 (10:30 a.m., 12:10 a.m.), 22 (noon, 7:30 p.m.), 27 (noon ET/12:30 p.m. PT) and 29 (4:45 a.m.), and Dec. 7 (10:00 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Nov. 13 (7:45 a.m.) and 24 (8:00 p.m.)

Executive produced by James Gandolfini (HBO's "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq"), WARTORN 1861-2010 is directed by Jon Alpert and Ellen Goosenberg Kent and produced by Alpert, Goosenberg Kent and Matthew O'Neill, the award-winning producers behind the HBO documentary "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq." Alpert and O'Neill also produced and directed the HBO documentaries "Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery" and the Emmy(R)-winning "Baghdad ER." The documentary is co-produced by Lori Shinseki.


Bookended by haunting montages of emotionally battered American soldiers through the years, WARTORN 1861-2010 explores the very real wounds that occur as a result of combat stress, or PTSD. Among the segments of the film are:

Angelo Crapsey: In 1861, 18-year-old Angelo Crapsey enlisted in the Union Army. His commanding officer called him the "ideal of a youthful patriot." In letters sent over the course of two years, Crapsey's attitude toward the Civil War darkened after he experienced combat and witnessed the deaths of countless soldiers, including several by suicide. By 1863, Crapsey, was hospitalized, feverish and delirious; eventually he was sent home to Roulette, Pa. Becoming paranoid and violent, he killed himself in 1864 at age 21. His father John wrote, "If ever a man's mental disorder was caused by hardships endured in the service of his country, this was the case with my son." A postscript reveals, "After the Civil War, over half of the patients in mental institutions were veterans."

Noah Pierce: More than a century after Crapsey's suicide, 23-year-old Noah Pierce got in his truck, put a handgun to his head, placed his dog tag next to his temple and shot himself. Pierce's mother Cheryl recalls how her son changed following two tours of Iraq, showing a photo of him "filled with hate and disillusionment." Cheryl Pierce says, "The United States Army turned my son into a killer," adding, "They forgot to un-train him." In a letter he left in the truck, Pierce wrote, "I'm freeing myself from the desert once and for all I have taken lives, now it's time to take mine."

Gen. Ray Odierno: In Baghdad, James Gandolfini meets with Gen. Ray Odierno, Commander of Allied Forces in Iraq, who says that 30% of service men and women report symptoms of PTSD and explains how Vietnam helped inform today's understanding of combat trauma. "Nobody is immune," says Odierno, relating how his own enlisted son lost his left arm when a rocket-propelled grenade ripped through his vehicle, killing the driver. Later, at nearby Camp Slater, Gandolfini visits with U.S. Army Sgt. John Wesley Matthews, who speaks candidly about his bouts of depression, reliance on sleeping pills and contemplation of suicide.

Read more: Breaking News - HBO Documentary "Wartorn: 1861-2010," Exploring Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress, Debuts on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 | TheFutonCritic.com HBO DOCUMENTARY WARTORN

"Must you carry the bloody horror of combat in your heart forever?" - Homer, "The Odyssey"

William Fraas Jr.: Two years after his return from the current Iraq conflict, Billy Fraas is trapped by memories, transfixed by computerized photos taken over 29 months and three tours of duty. The leader of a reconnaissance team, he was sent home after PTSD symptoms surfaced, and his leg still shakes uncontrollably when he sits at the computer. Fraas' wife Marie is frustrated by what's become of her husband. "Even though he wasn't shot," she says, "he still died over there." Adds Fraas, "I've seen humanity at its worst. And I struggle with that on a daily basis."

Herbert B. Hayden: In 1921, Col. Herbert Hayden's Atlantic Monthly story "Shell-Shocked and After" described the "perfect hell" of being sent to the front in WWI. His nightmare continued even after he returned home six months later "back and yet not back at all." Suicidal, Hayden checked into Walter Reed Hospital, "searching for a spark in the emptiness," but found only newspaper clippings of tormented ex-soldiers who were not being cared for. "What was wrong with my country?" he asked.

Nathan Damigo: In San Jose, Marine Lance Cpl. Nathan Damigo got a hero's welcome when he returned home from Iraq. A month later, he was arrested for attacking a Middle Eastern taxi driver at gunpoint. As his mother Charilyn explains, Damigo was drunk and confused, and went into "combat mode" as he assaulted the cabbie. After a final night of freedom, Damigo makes a court appearance where he is sentenced to six years in jail. "They took him when he was 18 and put him through a paper shredder," says his heartbroken mother. "We get to try to put all the pieces back together. Sometimes they don't go back together."

Jason Scheuerman: A member of the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq, Scheuerman grew up in a family of soldiers. His father Chris recalls how Jason went to see an Army psychiatrist, and filled out a questionnaire admitting that he had thought about killing himself. After a ten-minute evaluation, he was told to "man up" and was ordered back to his barracks to clean his weapon. Instead, he shot himself. "It's not just the soldier that's in combat that comes down with PTSD," says Chris Jr., who served in Afghanistan. "It's the entire family."

Akinsanya Kambon: Marine combat illustrator Kambon served as a corporal in Vietnam for nine months. "The Marine Corps teaches you to be like an animal," he says, adding he turned into "a mad dog." One of his nightmarish drawings is of a soldier, eyes still flickering, whose lower torso is blown away. "It's one of the images that I wake up screaming about," he says, "but it won't go away."

Fort Campbell preps for screening returning troops

Fort Campbell preps for screening returning troops

Oct 15, 2010

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — While most of the 101st Airborne Division is in Afghanistan, preparations are already under way to identify those soldiers who will return home suffering from combat stress and mild brain injuries.

Suicides at Fort Campbell spiked last year after troops began returning home and increases in the Army's overall suicide rate is one reason installations like this one screen troops at such lengths. The Army is also adjusting their rules on the medical privacy of soldiers, a move officials hope will reduce stigma.

Soldiers will step off planes starting in January at Fort Campbell and face a battery of medical tests and interviews at a converted gymnasium. Underneath the basketball hoops, the one-stop shop for medical needs will become a triage point for hundreds of soldiers a day.

Medical officers with Army Surgeon General's office came to Fort Campbell this week to see the process for returning troops as some will struggle to resume their daily lives after a long and dangerous year of war.

Col. Rebecca Porter, chief of behavioral health under the surgeon general, said with soldiers serving repeated deployments, it's critical to "get their psychological, emotional and personal health in shape."

Some of the questions they'll face involve their marriages or their children, whether they have feelings of depression or stress or difficulty sleeping. They will also be assessed for mild head injuries.

"Initially several years ago soldiers were very resistant to it and felt like they were taking survey after survey," Porter said. "But that's why we have face-to-face interviews ... to look you in the eye and say, 'Are you really OK?'"
read more here
Fort Campbell preps for screening returning troops