VCS Releases Updated War Statistics
Written by VCS
Thursday, 29 September 2011 16:43
VCS Releases "Iraq and Afghanistan War Impact Report," VA Confirms Nearly 712,000 Iraq and Afghanistan War Veteran Patients
October 1, 2011 (VCS Exclusive) - In an effort to document the severe and escalating human and financial consequences of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Veterans for Common Sense (VCS) summarizes several government reports about U.S. military service members and veterans who deployed to the Iraq - Afghanistan war zone since September 11, 2011.
When sharing our VCS quarterly report, please cite how VCS uses reports from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DoD) obtained by VCS under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The report serves as a reminder our nation remains at war.
read it here
Monday, October 3, 2011
Three Iraq veterans share their stories with big smiles
I had the pleasure of meeting some terrific veterans of the Iraq War. Christopher O'Connor, Andrew Berry and Joshua Cope, all suffered wounds from IEDs in Iraq.
Mayor Scott Vanderfrift of Ocoee showed up with his usual big smile. Anytime there is an event for the troops or our veterans, he is usually there to show support.
Cathy Haynes a military Mom took some time out of her day after going to another event to also show support. As busy as I am, she is twice as busy and does it with her heart sunk into everything she does.
Section 8 played some great tunes on their guitars.
Reporters from 13 News and FOX came to film this event and I am grateful they did. Too many times our veterans are heartsick over the lack of attention they receive from the media, so thank you very much for showing up to let them know they are really valued. Both reporters showed a great interest in our new veterans as well as the older ones.
Second swing at life
Andrew Berry passes the lessons he’s learned at Fairways for Warriors clinics onto his son, Gionni, 8.
By Megan Stokes
May 4, 2011
“It’s all in the hips, just like in the Adam Sandler movie,” Sgt. Andrew Berry told his son, Gionni, 8, who laughed at the joke before swinging his golf club in their backyard.
Berry spends many afternoons standing behind his two sons, the oldest of four, making sure they are bending their knees and keeping their eyes on the ball.
Even though he starred in all three at Colonial High School, Berry can’t play football, basketball or baseball anymore.
But he can golf.
His sacrifice
The former Army sniper was shot twice and was hit by eight IED explosions during several tours in Iraq.
The explosions caused traumatic brain injury, which has progressed to deafness in his right ear, blindness in his right eye, massive headaches and prescriptions to 15 medications, which Berry avoids taking when possible.
“I’ll be screaming in pain before I take a pain pill,” he said swigging bottled water. His meds give him dry mouth but make soda taste horrible. “I have four boys who I’m a role model for.”
He wears a brace up to his right thigh, a lingering reminder of a leg that was crushed at the ankle after he fell 14 feet, saving himself and another soldier from a burning tank that had rolled over an IED during his last tour in Iraq in 2009—10 days after he reenlisted with a goal to become an Army Ranger. Some days he needs a wheelchair, other days his walking stick – a hand-carved gift from his wife, Rebecca – will suffice.
When he got home to East Orlando, the deaths of so many of his friends overseas stirred so much anger inside him that it boiled over onto his wife and kids.
“I felt useless. I didn’t think I was smart enough to go to school and I didn’t want to do paperwork (in the Army). I was in a bad place,” he said. “But I finally manned up and got help.”
read more here
Joshua Cope
Christopher O'Connor Orlando, FL
Military Branch: Marine Corps
Fellowship Location: Orlando VA Medical Center
Christopher O’Connor grew up bouncing around the boroughs of New York City. His family later moved into the Pocono Mountains. After graduating high school, Christopher had no place to go. Eager to find some stability in his life, and motivated by the events of 9/11, Christopher enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Within six months of joining, Christopher was deployed to Fallujah, Iraq as a Machine Gun Team Leader.
He provided security for convoys and bases, patrolled the streets daily, raided homes of suspected insurgents and provided aid to locals. The day before his twentieth birthday he was hit by a remote detonated IED while patrolling on foot. The blast vaulted him ten feet in the air and left him unconscious for nearly two minutes. He was medically evacuated out of Iraq to Landstuhl, Germany and eventually Bethesda Naval Hospital in Washington, D.C. The IED explosion left him with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), other minor physical injuries and has led to the onset of PTSD. Christopher received the Purple Heart because of his injuries and was medically retired from the Marine Corps the following year.
After his discharge from the service, Christopher was left feeling confused, anxious, disappointed and lost. He missed serving his country, being with his unit and the sense of purpose the Marine Corps had provided him. Christopher’s TBI and PTSD have hindered his adjustment to civilian life, presenting legal and financial issues and withdrawal from his family and friends.
Facing homelessness, he committed himself to finding a way to overcome his injuries and continue his service at home. His immediate goals are to finish his Master’s Degree in Social Work, become a licensed clinical social worker and start a career helping veterans who have struggled with TBI and PTSD. The Mission Continues Fellowship exemplified exactly what he wanted to do for his community. He will serve with the Orlando VA Medical Center with post-9/11 veterans.
Mayor Scott Vanderfrift of Ocoee showed up with his usual big smile. Anytime there is an event for the troops or our veterans, he is usually there to show support.
Cathy Haynes a military Mom took some time out of her day after going to another event to also show support. As busy as I am, she is twice as busy and does it with her heart sunk into everything she does.
Section 8 played some great tunes on their guitars.
Reporters from 13 News and FOX came to film this event and I am grateful they did. Too many times our veterans are heartsick over the lack of attention they receive from the media, so thank you very much for showing up to let them know they are really valued. Both reporters showed a great interest in our new veterans as well as the older ones.
Anti-suicide program for Minnesota military running out of funds
Anti-suicide program for Minnesota military nears depletion
The Minnesota National Guard leads the country in the number of soldiers who have committed suicide, and a program that has been shown to successfully prevent suicides in the state's military now faces the prospect of running out of money by the end of the year.
By: Mark Brunswick, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) / MCT
MINNEAPOLIS
The Minnesota National Guard leads the country in the number of soldiers who have committed suicide, and a program that has been shown to successfully prevent suicides in the state's military now faces the prospect of running out of money by the end of the year.
With demand increasing, the program from Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota is burning through money at a rate of $50,000 to $70,000 a month, and a $500,000 appropriation from the Legislature is likely to be depleted by December or January. With funding capped and its contract not up until June, local services are likely to be stopped for anyone who doesn't have a way to pay for them, or they will be directed to a federal military call-in program answered by a phone bank from another state.
"We run a real risk of being victims of our own success," said Mary Beth Galey, senior director of counseling and adoption for Lutheran Social Service, the state's largest nonprofit social service organization. "To a great extent, we'll probably be stuck."
read more here
The Minnesota National Guard leads the country in the number of soldiers who have committed suicide, and a program that has been shown to successfully prevent suicides in the state's military now faces the prospect of running out of money by the end of the year.
By: Mark Brunswick, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) / MCT
MINNEAPOLIS
The Minnesota National Guard leads the country in the number of soldiers who have committed suicide, and a program that has been shown to successfully prevent suicides in the state's military now faces the prospect of running out of money by the end of the year.
With demand increasing, the program from Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota is burning through money at a rate of $50,000 to $70,000 a month, and a $500,000 appropriation from the Legislature is likely to be depleted by December or January. With funding capped and its contract not up until June, local services are likely to be stopped for anyone who doesn't have a way to pay for them, or they will be directed to a federal military call-in program answered by a phone bank from another state.
"We run a real risk of being victims of our own success," said Mary Beth Galey, senior director of counseling and adoption for Lutheran Social Service, the state's largest nonprofit social service organization. "To a great extent, we'll probably be stuck."
read more here
Sleeping in alley no way for a soldier to end up
Sleeping in alley no way for a soldier to end up
By Jeff Ward For The Courier-News October 2, 2011
If you haven’t already, ya gotta start reading Dave Gathman’s regular Courier-News reports. His latest on the senseless murder of homeless Elgin veteran Richard Gibbons is the kind of writing that really gets you thinking.
On the evening of Aug. 10, Gibbons, who’d most likely been drinking, was sleeping it off in the alley between the Fulton Street parking garage and the former Prairie Rock restaurant. Shelters won’t take you if you reek of alcohol.
At about 1:40 a.m., a group of men, also suspected of being inebriated, started partying on the upper deck of the parking garage, making it difficult for Gibbons to sleep. After words were exchanged, 23 year-old Chicago resident Yancarlo Garcia allegedly grabbed a 2-foot-long fire extinguisher and dropped it on the defenseless man lying 40 feet below. The blow ruptured multiple organs and broke Gibbons’ pelvis.
The injured man dialed 911 using a government-provided cellphone, but despite the best efforts of Provena Saint Joseph and Lutheran General hospitals, Gibbons died of those injuries on Sept. 4. Garcia, now charged with first-degree murder, sits in jail cell on $1 million bail.
It certainly makes you want to give up drinking, doesn’t it?
But Richard Gibbons wasn’t always homeless. By the accounts of his former common-law wife and his children, he was a talented carpenter, a charismatic man and, even though he was homeless, he worked with the Elgin Salvation Army to prevent other people from suffering a similar fate.
It was after he was drafted into the Army during the final stage of the Vietnam War that his drinking became a problem. Though she was hesitant to blame the alcoholism on the Army, Gibbons’ daughter Melissa told Gathman, “But the service really messed him up. He wouldn’t talk about it much, but the service was a time in his life that he just wanted to forget.”
read more here
By Jeff Ward For The Courier-News October 2, 2011
If you haven’t already, ya gotta start reading Dave Gathman’s regular Courier-News reports. His latest on the senseless murder of homeless Elgin veteran Richard Gibbons is the kind of writing that really gets you thinking.
On the evening of Aug. 10, Gibbons, who’d most likely been drinking, was sleeping it off in the alley between the Fulton Street parking garage and the former Prairie Rock restaurant. Shelters won’t take you if you reek of alcohol.
At about 1:40 a.m., a group of men, also suspected of being inebriated, started partying on the upper deck of the parking garage, making it difficult for Gibbons to sleep. After words were exchanged, 23 year-old Chicago resident Yancarlo Garcia allegedly grabbed a 2-foot-long fire extinguisher and dropped it on the defenseless man lying 40 feet below. The blow ruptured multiple organs and broke Gibbons’ pelvis.
The injured man dialed 911 using a government-provided cellphone, but despite the best efforts of Provena Saint Joseph and Lutheran General hospitals, Gibbons died of those injuries on Sept. 4. Garcia, now charged with first-degree murder, sits in jail cell on $1 million bail.
It certainly makes you want to give up drinking, doesn’t it?
But Richard Gibbons wasn’t always homeless. By the accounts of his former common-law wife and his children, he was a talented carpenter, a charismatic man and, even though he was homeless, he worked with the Elgin Salvation Army to prevent other people from suffering a similar fate.
It was after he was drafted into the Army during the final stage of the Vietnam War that his drinking became a problem. Though she was hesitant to blame the alcoholism on the Army, Gibbons’ daughter Melissa told Gathman, “But the service really messed him up. He wouldn’t talk about it much, but the service was a time in his life that he just wanted to forget.”
read more here
Cain: I Should've Defended Gay Soldier From Boos at Debate
To anyone still getting emails denying a soldier was booed from the audience, send them this.
Cain: I Should've Defended Gay Soldier From Boos at Debate
Published October 02, 2011
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said Sunday that he should not have stayed silent after the audience at a GOP debate booed a gay soldier serving in Iraq.
The Georgia businessman told ABC's "This Week" that it would have been "appropriate" for him to have defended the soldier. None of the candidates on stage at the Sept. 22 forum responded to the boos.
"In retrospect, because of the controversy it has created and because of the different interpretations that it could have had, yes, that probably -- that would have been appropriate," Cain said, when asked if he should have asked the audience to respect the soldier.
Cain said it wasn't immediately clear to him what had drawn the audience's scorn, adding, "I happen to think that maybe they were booing the whole 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal more so than booing that soldier."
The so-called don't ask, don't tell policy barring gays from serving openly in the military was officially lifted last month.
read more here
From combat to charges, PTSD veteran faces judge
Still fighting: After combatting insurgents in Iraq, veteran struggles with stress disorder, alcoholism
By MARK KEIERLEBER
IDS
OCT. 2, 2011
Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran Anthony Ray Halliday stood at the front of the courtroom with a straight back.
His black suit and light blue Oxford shirt were clean and wrinkle-free. His shaved head towered above his attorney, who stood to his right.
Halliday, 41, pleaded guilty in the Monroe County Circuit Court on Sept. 27 before
Judge Marc R. Kellams for driving while under the influence of alcohol on two separate
accounts.
Halliday was almost motionless, occasionally rocking forward onto the toes of his polished black dress shoes.
Halliday joined the Army in May 2003 at the age of 32. In 2007 and 2008, he served in Iraq as a sergeant of the Military Police Unit. While in Iraq, Halliday watched as fellow soldiers were killed around him. His time in combat was traumatic and life-altering, he said.
“I was a very good soldier, and I was coded to be a very good soldier,” Halliday said.
After returning from combat to the United States, Halliday said he suffered from several medical problems, including a hernia and tinnitus.
But he also suffered mentally.
After a visit to the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Indianapolis, Halliday was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in late 2009, nearly a year after he returned from Iraq.
read more here
By MARK KEIERLEBER
IDS
OCT. 2, 2011
Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran Anthony Ray Halliday stood at the front of the courtroom with a straight back.
His black suit and light blue Oxford shirt were clean and wrinkle-free. His shaved head towered above his attorney, who stood to his right.
Halliday, 41, pleaded guilty in the Monroe County Circuit Court on Sept. 27 before
Judge Marc R. Kellams for driving while under the influence of alcohol on two separate
accounts.
Halliday was almost motionless, occasionally rocking forward onto the toes of his polished black dress shoes.
Halliday joined the Army in May 2003 at the age of 32. In 2007 and 2008, he served in Iraq as a sergeant of the Military Police Unit. While in Iraq, Halliday watched as fellow soldiers were killed around him. His time in combat was traumatic and life-altering, he said.
“I was a very good soldier, and I was coded to be a very good soldier,” Halliday said.
After returning from combat to the United States, Halliday said he suffered from several medical problems, including a hernia and tinnitus.
But he also suffered mentally.
After a visit to the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Indianapolis, Halliday was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in late 2009, nearly a year after he returned from Iraq.
read more here
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Group offers barbecue, help to disabled vets
There were two reporters out there with us today. FOX was there too and the reporter was wonderful. Looking for his video but haven't seen it yet. Tomorrow I should have mine up.
Today was a really wonderful day. I had the chance to talk to Joshua Cope, a double amputee Iraq vet with a one week old baby and two other young children. I talked to Andrew Berry and Christopher O'Conner, both Iraq veterans wounded by IEDs. All of them have such great attitudes it makes you feel as if you shouldn't have a care in the world.
Ocoee Mayor Scott Vandergrift was there, as usual whenever there is anything going on for Veterans, he's sure to be there with his big smile and warmth. Cathy Haynes was there too. If you are involved with veterans in the area at all, you know who Cathy Haynes is. I think the woman works twice as hard as I do without a nap. (I need them daily)
It was wonderful to see so many young veterans spending time with, as Andrew Berry put it, older veterans with a lot to share. They understand that the DAV is there for them just as it had been for the "older" veterans when they came home around the same age as these new veterans. They also prove that one you're a veteran, you are for life and it is an outstanding family to belong to.
Today was a really wonderful day. I had the chance to talk to Joshua Cope, a double amputee Iraq vet with a one week old baby and two other young children. I talked to Andrew Berry and Christopher O'Conner, both Iraq veterans wounded by IEDs. All of them have such great attitudes it makes you feel as if you shouldn't have a care in the world.
Ocoee Mayor Scott Vandergrift was there, as usual whenever there is anything going on for Veterans, he's sure to be there with his big smile and warmth. Cathy Haynes was there too. If you are involved with veterans in the area at all, you know who Cathy Haynes is. I think the woman works twice as hard as I do without a nap. (I need them daily)
It was wonderful to see so many young veterans spending time with, as Andrew Berry put it, older veterans with a lot to share. They understand that the DAV is there for them just as it had been for the "older" veterans when they came home around the same age as these new veterans. They also prove that one you're a veteran, you are for life and it is an outstanding family to belong to.
Group offers barbecue, help to disabled vets
Jim Sursely converses with another disabled veteran at a barbecue Sunday. Sursely lost both legs and an arm in Vietnam.
By Mark Jenkins, Reporter
Last Updated: Sunday, October 02, 2011 5:55 PM
ORLANDO --
Jim Sursely has spent the last 40 years confined to a wheel chair. He lost both his legs and an arm in a land mine explosion in Vietnam.
However, that doesn't slow him down.
"What's in my heart now is my willingness to want to come out and help and welcome these young guys coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan," Sursely said.
He's helping guys like Andrew Berry and Chris O'Conner. Both of them were injured in IED explosions.
"It blasted me 10 feet in the air, knocked me unconscious for like a minute," O'Conner said.
Berry suffered damage to his leg, lower back and head. O'Conner received a traumatic brain injury and multiple shrapnel wounds throughout his body. Even after being removed from the war zone, returning home isn't easy.
read more here
Soldier Says PTSD Cost Him His Job On SWAT Team
Soldier Says PTSD Cost Him His Job
by Marcus Washington
SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. - He risked his life for our country, and even watched his friends die in combat. Now a soldier said he is without a job because of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and he said he was fired without merit.
A life as a soldier or someone protecting others from the "bad guys" has always been a dream for Chad Clinard.
"As a kid I was always playing G.I. Joe," said Clinard.
So between two deployments to Iraq, Clinard applied to work for the Robertson County Sheriff's Office.
"I got a call asking if I wanted to be a correctional officer, so I immediately jumped on that and started at the beginning of January 2006," said Clinard.
Clinard did well at the Robertson County Sheriff's Office. In the five years he was there he went from correctional officer to a member of the SWAT team.
"In trying to keep the crime rate down, trying to keep the drugs off the streets, that's where I wanted to be. I wanted to be that guy," he said.
Clinard admitted what happened in Iraq is not always easy to deal with after three of his closest friends were killed in combat.
read more here
by Marcus Washington
SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. - He risked his life for our country, and even watched his friends die in combat. Now a soldier said he is without a job because of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and he said he was fired without merit.
A life as a soldier or someone protecting others from the "bad guys" has always been a dream for Chad Clinard.
"As a kid I was always playing G.I. Joe," said Clinard.
So between two deployments to Iraq, Clinard applied to work for the Robertson County Sheriff's Office.
"I got a call asking if I wanted to be a correctional officer, so I immediately jumped on that and started at the beginning of January 2006," said Clinard.
Clinard did well at the Robertson County Sheriff's Office. In the five years he was there he went from correctional officer to a member of the SWAT team.
"In trying to keep the crime rate down, trying to keep the drugs off the streets, that's where I wanted to be. I wanted to be that guy," he said.
Clinard admitted what happened in Iraq is not always easy to deal with after three of his closest friends were killed in combat.
read more here
Ex-homeless Air Force mom backs Federal Way women's shelter
Ex-homeless Air Force mom backs Federal Way women's shelter
By ANDY HOBBS
Federal Way Mirror Editor
Oct 01 2011
A brain injury from a Mack Truck accident led to Sheila Sebron becoming a homeless single mother of two children.
Sebron had an eight-year career in the U.S. Air Force before her medical discharge. Long an advocate for the homeless, she suddenly saw things from the other side.
“I went from hospital bed to homeless,” said Sebron, a Seattle resident. “Even though I never slept on the street, I had no control of my housing.”
Homelessness affects women in a deeper way than it affects men, she said.
read more here
By ANDY HOBBS
Federal Way Mirror Editor
Oct 01 2011
A brain injury from a Mack Truck accident led to Sheila Sebron becoming a homeless single mother of two children.
Sebron had an eight-year career in the U.S. Air Force before her medical discharge. Long an advocate for the homeless, she suddenly saw things from the other side.
“I went from hospital bed to homeless,” said Sebron, a Seattle resident. “Even though I never slept on the street, I had no control of my housing.”
Homelessness affects women in a deeper way than it affects men, she said.
read more here
Hero combat medic "unqualified to be an emergency medical technician"
Ex-soldier is a hero abroad, but unemployed at home
By Drew Brooks
Staff writer
In Afghanistan, Nick Colgin was a hero.
In America, he's unemployed.
Colgin, who earned a Bronze Star as a member of Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division, has become one of the faces of the unemployed veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His efforts in finding employment became part of history when President Obama referred to him during a speech in August that focused on the need to better prepare veterans for the workforce.
When he was with the Army, then Spc. Colgin was recognized for saving the life of a French soldier who had been shot in the head and for working with other soldiers to rescue more than 40 civilians from a flood. Colgin assumed that a stellar military career would transfer to his civilian life when he left Fort Bragg and the Army in June 2008.
But reality was much crueler for Colgin once the Army rank was dropped from his last name.
A combat medic as a soldier, Colgin found himself unqualified to be an emergency medical technician in Wyoming, where he had hoped to start a new, adventurous life.
read more here
By Drew Brooks
Staff writer
In Afghanistan, Nick Colgin was a hero.
In America, he's unemployed.
Colgin, who earned a Bronze Star as a member of Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division, has become one of the faces of the unemployed veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His efforts in finding employment became part of history when President Obama referred to him during a speech in August that focused on the need to better prepare veterans for the workforce.
When he was with the Army, then Spc. Colgin was recognized for saving the life of a French soldier who had been shot in the head and for working with other soldiers to rescue more than 40 civilians from a flood. Colgin assumed that a stellar military career would transfer to his civilian life when he left Fort Bragg and the Army in June 2008.
But reality was much crueler for Colgin once the Army rank was dropped from his last name.
A combat medic as a soldier, Colgin found himself unqualified to be an emergency medical technician in Wyoming, where he had hoped to start a new, adventurous life.
read more here
Fort Bragg medic killed helping wounded in Afghanistan
Indiana soldier killed helping wounded in Afghanistan
Army medic was 2009 Chesterton High School grad
By John Byrne, Tribune reporter
October 2, 2011
Spc. James Butz became an Army medic because he wanted to help people, and his aunt said the Northwest Indiana native was doing just that when he was killed last week in Afghanistan.
Butz, 21, was rushing to the aid of two injured Marines when he was killed in Helmand province, his aunt, Joyce Wascher, said.
"They told us two Marines had been hurt, and he ran forward — without his helmet or his gun — to help them," Wascher said Saturday. Butz, of Porter, was fatally injured Wednesday when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device, according to the Department of Defense.
"I think he was just trying to respond, that's the way he was," Wascher said of her nephew, who was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division out of Ft. Bragg, N.C.
read more here
Army medic was 2009 Chesterton High School grad
By John Byrne, Tribune reporter
October 2, 2011
Spc. James Butz became an Army medic because he wanted to help people, and his aunt said the Northwest Indiana native was doing just that when he was killed last week in Afghanistan.
Butz, 21, was rushing to the aid of two injured Marines when he was killed in Helmand province, his aunt, Joyce Wascher, said.
"They told us two Marines had been hurt, and he ran forward — without his helmet or his gun — to help them," Wascher said Saturday. Butz, of Porter, was fatally injured Wednesday when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device, according to the Department of Defense.
"I think he was just trying to respond, that's the way he was," Wascher said of her nephew, who was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division out of Ft. Bragg, N.C.
read more here
Soldier returns to family and cheers
After serving a year in Iraq, a soldier is home with his family
Once he arrived, the entire airport cheered, as he made his way to hug his family for the first time in over a year
Melissa Gaona
Multimedia Journalist
6:13 p.m. EDT, October 1, 2011
ROANOKE, Va.—
The Hicklin family was at Roanoke Regional Airport staring out the window, waiting and watching for his plane to land.
Once he arrived, the entire airport cheered, as he made his way to hug his family for the first time in over a year.
Saturday was a big day for the Hicklin’s. Their soldier serving in the United States Army finished his tour in Iraq.
His mother, Betty Barber, explains how she’s been staying in touch. “When he wasn’t out on a mission, we got to talk a whole lot through Skype on the computer, through Facebook and by phone,” said Barber.
read more here
Once he arrived, the entire airport cheered, as he made his way to hug his family for the first time in over a year
Melissa Gaona
Multimedia Journalist
6:13 p.m. EDT, October 1, 2011
ROANOKE, Va.—
The Hicklin family was at Roanoke Regional Airport staring out the window, waiting and watching for his plane to land.
Once he arrived, the entire airport cheered, as he made his way to hug his family for the first time in over a year.
Saturday was a big day for the Hicklin’s. Their soldier serving in the United States Army finished his tour in Iraq.
His mother, Betty Barber, explains how she’s been staying in touch. “When he wasn’t out on a mission, we got to talk a whole lot through Skype on the computer, through Facebook and by phone,” said Barber.
read more here
3 Tour Ex-Marine arrested in Hillsborough County deputy shooting
It is by the grace of God this ended the way it did. DeVeaux is still alive after being shot at "9 or 10 times" by a Marine trained to kill. Buendia was not killed by SWAT. Some may want to just blame Buendia for all of this but that is only because they do not understand how this country has been failing the men and women we send into combat. Buendia brought the war back home inside of him.
also
Suspect in Hillsborough deputy shooting a former Marine
9 or 10 times a gun was fired by someone trained to hit what they aim at. He was close to her. She survived. Over the years veterans like Buendia have been treated like common criminals, with no care for anyone else but themselves. The veterans in this country are not about "self" or they wouldn't choose the professions they enter into. When they come home changed and challenged by where we send them, it is our responsibility to care for them. If we don't, there will be many more times when the story is repeated with a very different outcome.
Ex-Marine arrested in Hillsborough County deputy shooting
By Jessica Vander Velde and Shelley Rossetter, Times Staff Writers
In Print: Sunday, October 2, 2011
Hillsborough deputies escort former Marine Matthew Buendia, 24, at the jail on Saturday.
[OCTAVIO JONES | Times]
TAMPA — Five years ago, Matt Buendia was a Marine preparing for deployment and Lyonelle De Veaux was a new sheriff's deputy.
He focused on rising through the ranks. She aimed to help abused and neglected children.
They met on Friday, De Veaux parked under the oaks at a Carrollwood apartment complex and Buendia with a gun tucked into his waistband.
It was a routine domestic call. De Veaux, 35, met Buendia's girlfriend at the front of the complex about 10:30 p.m. Friday. The deputy asked the woman to sit in the patrol car so she could give a statement.
That's when Buendia, 24, walked up. He was too close. The deputy asked him to step back.
Instead, he whipped out a semiautomatic gun and started pumping bullets into De Veaux, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office reported.
He fired nine or 10 times, deputies say, from just a few feet away.
De Veaux spun and crouched as she backed up, trying to use her car to get some distance from Buendia — a mix of training and instinct.
Three bullets hit her — in the upper leg, lower leg and shoulder, Sheriff David Gee said. She was wearing a protective vest, but it didn't cover those areas.
As she lay on the pavement, Buendia ran back into his apartment and locked himself inside.
read more here
also
Suspect in Hillsborough deputy shooting a former Marine
9 or 10 times a gun was fired by someone trained to hit what they aim at. He was close to her. She survived. Over the years veterans like Buendia have been treated like common criminals, with no care for anyone else but themselves. The veterans in this country are not about "self" or they wouldn't choose the professions they enter into. When they come home changed and challenged by where we send them, it is our responsibility to care for them. If we don't, there will be many more times when the story is repeated with a very different outcome.
"He served three deployments in the Middle East, according to his uncle, Bob Buendia, 68, and rose to the rank of sergeant. He left the military a couple of years ago. His uncle believes Matthew started working in insurance.
When Matthew Buendia returned to the United States, his uncle spoke to him by phone. Matthew Buendia mentioned he had lost a lot of buddies overseas.
He didn't share the details, but his family could tell he was hurting, said Bob Buendia, of Texas."
The young man was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, family members say.
"I don't think he understands what had happened, to be honest with you," Matthew Buendia's father, Richard Buendia, told Bay News 9. "I feel awful. … He's a good young man, never been in any kind of problems at all."
Matthew Buendia was being seen by Veterans Affairs doctors, Bob Buendia said.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Suspect in Hillsborough deputy shooting a former Marine
Suspect in Hillsborough deputy shooting a former Marine
By JOSH POLTILOVE, THE TAMPA TRIBUNE
Published: October 01, 2011
Updated: October 01, 2011 - 4:59 PM
TAMPA --
The former Marine accused of shooting a Hillsborough County deputy three times Friday night had post-traumatic stress disorder upon his return from Iraq, his uncle said today.
"I know he had been going to the VA hospital quite a bit, and they'd been putting him off, putting him off," Bob Buendia said of his nephew, 24-year-old Matthew Lane Buendia of Carrollwood. "He'd been getting frustrated."
Deputy Lyonelle De Veaux, 35, was shot twice in the leg and once in the shoulder while responding to a domestic call at 10:22 p.m. at Matthew Buendia's apartment complex.
De Veaux, a five-year sheriff's office veteran who works in the department's District 3, was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital. She was in good condition and alert late Saturday, spending time with her family at the hospital, sheriff's spokesman Larry McKinnon said.
"Right now we believe she is doing well," Sheriff David Gee said during a 4 a.m. press conference.
read more here
By JOSH POLTILOVE, THE TAMPA TRIBUNE
Published: October 01, 2011
Updated: October 01, 2011 - 4:59 PM
TAMPA --
The former Marine accused of shooting a Hillsborough County deputy three times Friday night had post-traumatic stress disorder upon his return from Iraq, his uncle said today.
"I know he had been going to the VA hospital quite a bit, and they'd been putting him off, putting him off," Bob Buendia said of his nephew, 24-year-old Matthew Lane Buendia of Carrollwood. "He'd been getting frustrated."
Deputy Lyonelle De Veaux, 35, was shot twice in the leg and once in the shoulder while responding to a domestic call at 10:22 p.m. at Matthew Buendia's apartment complex.
De Veaux, a five-year sheriff's office veteran who works in the department's District 3, was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital. She was in good condition and alert late Saturday, spending time with her family at the hospital, sheriff's spokesman Larry McKinnon said.
"Right now we believe she is doing well," Sheriff David Gee said during a 4 a.m. press conference.
read more here
Orlando DAV Free BBQ for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans
The DAV has been getting phone calls asking "How much is it?" The answer is, it is free
NYPD: Arrest made in attempted rape foiled by Marine in Queens
NYPD: Arrest made in attempted rape foiled by Marine in Queens
BY ROCCO PARASCANDOLA
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU CHIEF
Police have arrested a man they say is the pervert who tried to sexually assault a woman alongside a Queens highway before he was scared away by a former Marine.
Kenneth King, 41, was charged with attempted rape, police said Friday afternoon.
Three people recognized King from an artist's sketch of the suspect that the NYPD released to the media after the attack Wednesday morning, police sources said.
All three called the tip in to the 109th Precinct in Flushing, and each provided King's name, the sources said.
BY ROCCO PARASCANDOLA
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU CHIEF
Police have arrested a man they say is the pervert who tried to sexually assault a woman alongside a Queens highway before he was scared away by a former Marine.
Kenneth King, 41, was charged with attempted rape, police said Friday afternoon.
Three people recognized King from an artist's sketch of the suspect that the NYPD released to the media after the attack Wednesday morning, police sources said.
All three called the tip in to the 109th Precinct in Flushing, and each provided King's name, the sources said.
The suspect dragged the woman - who had been waiting for a ride when she was accosted - into a wooded area near the highway, pinned her down and started to rip her clothes off.read more here
But ex-Marine Bryan Teichman, 31, of Fresh Meadows, Queens, who was in the area, dropping his daughter off at a babysitter's home, saw the suspect toss the woman over a highway guardrail.
Sgt. Nathan Harris Wounded Afghanistan veteran's story captured on film
Wounded Afghanistan veteran's story captured on film
Sgt. Nathan Harris, severely wounded in Afghanistan, joins photojournalist Danfung Dennis to discuss "Hell and Back Again," a film that documents their experiences in the war.
read more here
Sgt. Nathan Harris, severely wounded in Afghanistan, joins photojournalist Danfung Dennis to discuss "Hell and Back Again," a film that documents their experiences in the war.
read more here
Parents of veteran killed in Washington speak out
Parents of veteran killed in Washington speak out
Reported by: Julie Tremmel Email: julietremmel@fox23news.com
The parents of the 33-year-old Clifton Park Army veteran who died in Washington, DC earlier this week are now sharing their story.
Shenedahowa graduate Patrick Casey suffered head trauma and never regained consciousness after possibly trying to intervene in an altercation that happened outside a DC McDonald's one week ago.
Casey was a football star at Shen, and not too far down the road, was a football standout at RPI too.
His parents Paul and Gail say their son also saw serious combat action during a recent 12-month long tour to Afghanistan, even losing several friends to the horrors of war.
After his time in the military was up, he worked as a computer systems tech in Israel, making friends with dozens of people in several other countries along the way.
At 6' 4", and 275 pounds, his mom and dad admit Casey was quite an imposing figure.
As an Army Sergeant, a football star and accomplished outdoorsman, Casey may seem on the surface, intimidating. But his parents say the truth is, Patrick was just a big hearted, easy going guy who loved his family, his friends and his country.
The couple says after being overwhelmed with relief to finally watch their son come home to the U.S. safely, they never expected to lose their son like this.
So, right now, people from Israel to Troy are mourning his death.
read more here
Clifton Park native, Army vet killed in Washington, DC
Reported by: Paul Merrill Email: paulmerrill@fox23news.com
Editor: B. DiGiovanni
Print Story Published: 9/28
A Clifton Park native is dead after a bizarre incident on a Washington, DC street.
Thirty-three-year-old Patrick Casey had just finished a one-year-long tour of duty with the U.S. Army Infantry in Afghanistan.
He had moved to Washington in August to begin graduate school at George Washington University.
"When he was in Afghanistan, we thought that was the worst year of our life," says Gail Casey, Patrick's mother. "This is worse and I don't know when it stops."
Patrick died Tuesday at George Washington University Hospital in Washington.
He had been attacked outside a Washington McDonald's the previous Friday.
It was reportedly 2:00 a.m. on Friday when Patrick tried to stop three men who were causing trouble outside the restaurant.
read more here
Reported by: Julie Tremmel Email: julietremmel@fox23news.com
The parents of the 33-year-old Clifton Park Army veteran who died in Washington, DC earlier this week are now sharing their story.
Shenedahowa graduate Patrick Casey suffered head trauma and never regained consciousness after possibly trying to intervene in an altercation that happened outside a DC McDonald's one week ago.
Casey was a football star at Shen, and not too far down the road, was a football standout at RPI too.
His parents Paul and Gail say their son also saw serious combat action during a recent 12-month long tour to Afghanistan, even losing several friends to the horrors of war.
After his time in the military was up, he worked as a computer systems tech in Israel, making friends with dozens of people in several other countries along the way.
At 6' 4", and 275 pounds, his mom and dad admit Casey was quite an imposing figure.
As an Army Sergeant, a football star and accomplished outdoorsman, Casey may seem on the surface, intimidating. But his parents say the truth is, Patrick was just a big hearted, easy going guy who loved his family, his friends and his country.
The couple says after being overwhelmed with relief to finally watch their son come home to the U.S. safely, they never expected to lose their son like this.
So, right now, people from Israel to Troy are mourning his death.
read more here
Clifton Park native, Army vet killed in Washington, DC
Reported by: Paul Merrill Email: paulmerrill@fox23news.com
Editor: B. DiGiovanni
Print Story Published: 9/28
A Clifton Park native is dead after a bizarre incident on a Washington, DC street.
Thirty-three-year-old Patrick Casey had just finished a one-year-long tour of duty with the U.S. Army Infantry in Afghanistan.
He had moved to Washington in August to begin graduate school at George Washington University.
"When he was in Afghanistan, we thought that was the worst year of our life," says Gail Casey, Patrick's mother. "This is worse and I don't know when it stops."
Patrick died Tuesday at George Washington University Hospital in Washington.
He had been attacked outside a Washington McDonald's the previous Friday.
It was reportedly 2:00 a.m. on Friday when Patrick tried to stop three men who were causing trouble outside the restaurant.
read more here
Police officer wore patch under body armor in Iraq as National Guard soldier
Kennewick police officer welcomed home from Iraq
BY PAULA HORTON, TRI-CITY HERALD
KENNEWICK -- A Kennewick police officer who spent most of the past year with the National Guard in Iraq was welcomed back to work Friday with a celebration at the police station.
Officer Jeff Sagen, a patrol officer in Kennewick for five years, received a Hometown Hero Award from Kennewick Police Chief Ken Hohenberg.
"Our philosophy is not only to make sure our own city's safe, but we work very hard to contribute to the Tri-Cities' safety as a whole," Hohenberg told the Herald. "We have a lot of good federal partners too. ... Officer Sagen just took our philosophy further to another country."
Sagen was stationed for just more than nine months in Balad, which is in north central Iraq. He was with 3rd Battalion, 116th Calvary Regiment and was promoted to captain during his tour.
He kept the Kennewick Police Department close to him by wearing his KPD patch on his armor.
read more here
Sagen is one of many National Guards and Reservists around the country serving at home and then topping it off with serving wherever they are needed. They continue to risk their lives back home but receive less support than regular military service members. Active duty troops have the support of everyone in their company but when the citizen soldiers come home, they are back to work with few understanding where they've been. We need to support them more than we do and appreciate how devoted they are to their country and communities.
White House Cuts $25 Billion More From Defense to Fund VA
When it was first decided to send the troops into Afghanistan, no one thought about how to pay for any of it. Then troops were send into Iraq. Yet again, no one thought about how to pay for any of it or how long it would go on.
Now with more and more wounded entering into VA healthcare across the country, it has come to this. Budget cuts from the Department of Defense for the sake of the VA.
"The Pentagon’s latest figures through July 30 indicate the military’s spent $1.054 trillion since Sept. 11, 2001, with $704.6 billion obligated for Iraq and $323.2 billion for Afghanistan."They didn't even know how much it would cost or how long the troops would be there any more than they knew how many wounded would make it back home.
Now with more and more wounded entering into VA healthcare across the country, it has come to this. Budget cuts from the Department of Defense for the sake of the VA.
White House Cuts $25 Billion More From Defense to Fund VA
September 30, 2011
By Tony Capaccio
Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The White House has directed the Pentagon to reduce its 10-year spending plan by another $25 billion, on top of the roughly $450 billion it’s already planning to cut, according to three government officials.
The Office of Management and Budget directed the action because the White House decided to protect Veterans Administration medical funding from cuts, said one the officials. All three spoke on condition of anonymity because the change hasn’t been announced.
The reduction might mean a $1 billion cut in the pending $513 billion defense bill for fiscal 2012, said the official, who was familiar with the OMB action. The bill’s already been reduced $26 billion from the Pentagon’s original budget request, meaning about no increase from current year spending.
The OMB guidance came in early September, said one of the three sources.
A $27 billion reduction remains within the range laid out in the Budget Control Act signed into law Aug. 2. For the fiscal years beginning in 2013, the new cut would average an additional $2.5 billion a year, the official said.
The Budget Control Act has an overall cap for fiscal 2012 and 2013 that includes the Defense Department, State Department, Veterans Administration and Department of Homeland Security, so to protect this veterans funding means that all other accounts in the security budget will have to be cut that much more, said Todd Harrison, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a non-partisan budget analysis group in Washington.
read more here
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