Friend calls dog mauling defendant a good father
January 31, 2012 8:55 PM
LINDELL KAY - DAILY NEWS STAFF
A colleague of a Camp Lejeune lance corporal charged with negligent child abuse after his toddler son was mauled by a dog last year said Tuesday that his comrade was a good father, faithful friend and squared-away Marine.
Brennan Michael Listle, 21, of Horse Shoe Bend, is on trial for charges from the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office of felonious negligent child abuse causing serious bodily injury and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, a misdemeanor.
Assistant District Attorney J. B. Askins and arresting authorities contend that Listle left his 22-month-old son to play in their fenced-in backyard where two dogs were kept while he socialized and smoked a cigarette in the front yard with friends.
One of those friends, Marine Cpl. Johny Endsley — who testified Tuesday — told The Daily News during a break in the trial that Listle loved his son and didn’t deserve to lose his military career over a tragic accident.
“Brennan is a loving and caring father,” Endsley said outside the Onslow County Courthouse on Tuesday morning. “I wish I had a father that loved his son as much.”
read more here
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Orlando Lake Nona VA hospital opening delayed to mid-2013
VA hospital opening delayed to mid-2013
By Marni Jameson and Mark K. Matthews, Orlando Sentinel
9:13 p.m. EST, January 31, 2012
Thousands of veterans who have been waiting years for a VA Medical Center to open in Central Florida will have to wait even longer.
Construction delays and design errors have pushed the opening of the new $665 million medical center from October to the summer of 2013 — at the earliest, VA officials told the Sentinel on Tuesday.
"I was really sorry to hear there's a delay because we need that hospital so badly for the veterans in all the six counties," said Earle Denton, an Orlando veteran and member of the Orange County Veterans' Council. "We had sort of planned for that whole thing to be ready in October."
Hospital officials blamed several factors, including mistakes in the original plans, changes in medical equipment and issues with the contractor. Others familiar with the project say roof leaks are also a concern.
Though no official date for completion has been agreed upon, the VA is "working collaboratively with the prime contractor to get construction completed as soon as practicable," said the statement.
Brasfield & GorrieÖ is the main contractor on the VA hospital, the largest player in the emerging Lake Nona Medical City complex. With 1.2 million square feet, the hospital is one of the biggest government projects ever built in Central Florida. Principals from the firm did not return repeated requests for comment.
When completed, the 300-bed facility will serve Central Florida's 400,000 veterans, who comprise the nation's most active VA system but have no hospital.
read more here
By Marni Jameson and Mark K. Matthews, Orlando Sentinel
9:13 p.m. EST, January 31, 2012
Thousands of veterans who have been waiting years for a VA Medical Center to open in Central Florida will have to wait even longer.
Construction delays and design errors have pushed the opening of the new $665 million medical center from October to the summer of 2013 — at the earliest, VA officials told the Sentinel on Tuesday.
"I was really sorry to hear there's a delay because we need that hospital so badly for the veterans in all the six counties," said Earle Denton, an Orlando veteran and member of the Orange County Veterans' Council. "We had sort of planned for that whole thing to be ready in October."
Hospital officials blamed several factors, including mistakes in the original plans, changes in medical equipment and issues with the contractor. Others familiar with the project say roof leaks are also a concern.
Though no official date for completion has been agreed upon, the VA is "working collaboratively with the prime contractor to get construction completed as soon as practicable," said the statement.
Brasfield & GorrieÖ is the main contractor on the VA hospital, the largest player in the emerging Lake Nona Medical City complex. With 1.2 million square feet, the hospital is one of the biggest government projects ever built in Central Florida. Principals from the firm did not return repeated requests for comment.
When completed, the 300-bed facility will serve Central Florida's 400,000 veterans, who comprise the nation's most active VA system but have no hospital.
read more here
FBI begins "Wounded Warrior" program with dog named Oprah
FBI begins "Wounded Warrior" program
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Shirleen Allicot , Shirleen Allicot
CENTER CITY - January 31, 2012 (WPVI) -- A dog at FBI headquarters is not the most peculiar sight, but this particular one in the above photo is.
This dog belongs to Sgt. William Pagan. Sgt. Pagan is one of the first interns chosen for the FBI's pilot program "Wounded Warrior."
It's designed to help soldiers injured overseas find new, potential career paths and a new purpose.
The yellow lab he calls Oprah is helping with something else.
"I was diagnosed with PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," Sgt. Pagan said.
read more here
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Shirleen Allicot , Shirleen Allicot
CENTER CITY - January 31, 2012 (WPVI) -- A dog at FBI headquarters is not the most peculiar sight, but this particular one in the above photo is.
This dog belongs to Sgt. William Pagan. Sgt. Pagan is one of the first interns chosen for the FBI's pilot program "Wounded Warrior."
It's designed to help soldiers injured overseas find new, potential career paths and a new purpose.
The yellow lab he calls Oprah is helping with something else.
"I was diagnosed with PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," Sgt. Pagan said.
read more here
Fort Campbell PTSD service dog euthanized after killing child
Dog That Killed Six-Year-Old Boy Euthanized
Posted: Jan 31, 2012
OAK GROVE, Ky. - A dog that attacked and killed a six-year-old boy in southern Kentucky has been euthanized.
The small German Shepherd mauled the young boy at a home in Oak Grove on Sunday afternoon.
The boy and his family were visiting a Fort Campbell soldier's home, where the dog had been trained to help that soldier with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
read more here
Posted: Jan 31, 2012
OAK GROVE, Ky. - A dog that attacked and killed a six-year-old boy in southern Kentucky has been euthanized.
The small German Shepherd mauled the young boy at a home in Oak Grove on Sunday afternoon.
The boy and his family were visiting a Fort Campbell soldier's home, where the dog had been trained to help that soldier with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
read more here
This Ain’t Hell blogger alerts Stars and Stripes duped by Army sergeant’s war claims
Stars and Stripes duped by Army sergeant’s war claims
By MARTIN KUZ
Stars and Stripes
Published: January 31, 2012
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — An Army reservist in Afghanistan with the 425th Civil Affairs Battalion who told Stars and Stripes that he deployed during the Vietnam War has come under military investigation for apparently lying about his prior combat service.
Staff Sgt. Larry Marquez, a civil affairs specialist, stated that he deployed to Cambodia in 1973 after enlisting at age 17 with his parents’ consent.
A story about Marquez ran under the headline “Vietnam vet joins ‘today’s war’ ” in Jan. 13 editions of Stars and Stripes and was also published on the newspaper’s website.
Stars and Stripes failed to perform basic fact-checking to verify any of Marquez’ claims about his service record. The newspaper was alerted to inconsistencies in Marquez’s account by a blogger, Jonn Lilyea, who runs the military blog “This Ain’t Hell.”
Lilyea raised questions about whether Marquez, whose current age Stars and Stripes reported as 55, would have been too young to serve during the Vietnam War. Lilyea also questioned the timing of Marquez’ alleged year-long deployment in Cambodia, given that most U.S. troops were withdrawn from Cambodia by the end of 1970 and from Vietnam in 1973.
read more here
By MARTIN KUZ
Stars and Stripes
Published: January 31, 2012
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — An Army reservist in Afghanistan with the 425th Civil Affairs Battalion who told Stars and Stripes that he deployed during the Vietnam War has come under military investigation for apparently lying about his prior combat service.
Staff Sgt. Larry Marquez, a civil affairs specialist, stated that he deployed to Cambodia in 1973 after enlisting at age 17 with his parents’ consent.
A story about Marquez ran under the headline “Vietnam vet joins ‘today’s war’ ” in Jan. 13 editions of Stars and Stripes and was also published on the newspaper’s website.
Stars and Stripes failed to perform basic fact-checking to verify any of Marquez’ claims about his service record. The newspaper was alerted to inconsistencies in Marquez’s account by a blogger, Jonn Lilyea, who runs the military blog “This Ain’t Hell.”
Lilyea raised questions about whether Marquez, whose current age Stars and Stripes reported as 55, would have been too young to serve during the Vietnam War. Lilyea also questioned the timing of Marquez’ alleged year-long deployment in Cambodia, given that most U.S. troops were withdrawn from Cambodia by the end of 1970 and from Vietnam in 1973.
read more here
Army Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho says "We must do better"
Army surgeon general: ‘We must be better’
By Joe Gould - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jan 31, 2012 11:59:56 EST
Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho, named to the post in December, said in her first major policy speech that Army medicine must embrace the Internet, social media and other new technology to maximize their influence on patients’ health decisions.
She called on health professionals to focus beyond patient visits, which equate to 100 minutes annually and a small fraction of their lives.
“World-class health care is what we do, but we have to focus on health, the other 99 percent of the patients’ lives, to improve their health,” she said Tuesday at the Military Health System Conference in National Harbor, Md.
Horoho is the first woman and nurse corps officer to be named Army surgeon general.
read more here
By Joe Gould - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jan 31, 2012 11:59:56 EST
ARMY Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho is the Army's new surgeon general.The new Army surgeon general called on military medical professionals to do better, citing high numbers of soldiers who are not ready to serve for medical reasons, as well as Army suicide and sexual assault statistics.
Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho, named to the post in December, said in her first major policy speech that Army medicine must embrace the Internet, social media and other new technology to maximize their influence on patients’ health decisions.
She called on health professionals to focus beyond patient visits, which equate to 100 minutes annually and a small fraction of their lives.
“World-class health care is what we do, but we have to focus on health, the other 99 percent of the patients’ lives, to improve their health,” she said Tuesday at the Military Health System Conference in National Harbor, Md.
Horoho is the first woman and nurse corps officer to be named Army surgeon general.
read more here
Murder Defendant: Navy Husband 'Didn't Deserve To Die'
Murder Defendant: Navy Husband 'Didn't Deserve To Die'
Jennifer Trayers Charged In Death Of Lt. Cmdr. Frederick Trayers
January 31, 2012
UPDATED: 9:16 pm PST January 31, 2012
SAN DIEGO -- A woman accused of fatally stabbing her unfaithful Navy physician-husband in bed after he took sleep medication testified on Tuesday she doesn't remember plunging a military knife into his chest, saying "he didn't deserve to die."
Prosecutors are seeking a first-degree murder conviction against Jennifer Trayers in the Dec. 4, 2010, death of 41-year-old Lt. Cmdr. Fred Trayers.
read more here
Jennifer Trayers Charged In Death Of Lt. Cmdr. Frederick Trayers
January 31, 2012
UPDATED: 9:16 pm PST January 31, 2012
SAN DIEGO -- A woman accused of fatally stabbing her unfaithful Navy physician-husband in bed after he took sleep medication testified on Tuesday she doesn't remember plunging a military knife into his chest, saying "he didn't deserve to die."
Prosecutors are seeking a first-degree murder conviction against Jennifer Trayers in the Dec. 4, 2010, death of 41-year-old Lt. Cmdr. Fred Trayers.
read more here
Chiarelli, who championed welfare of soldiers, retires as Army vice chief
Chiarelli, who championed welfare of soldiers, retires as Army vice chief
By CHRIS CARROLL
Published: January 31, 2012
WASHINGTON – Gen. Peter Chiarelli retired Tuesday, stepping aside as Army vice chief of staff but insisting that in civilian life he’d continue working to improve care for what he called “the signature wounds of this war” – post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury.
Chiarelli, 61, who was honored in a ceremony at Joint Base Meyer-Henderson Hall, Va., led a task force to cut down the rising rate of soldier suicides and pushed to improve diagnosis and treatment for troops with invisible injuries.
“When former [Defense] Secretary [Robert] Gates promoted Pete to that post, he said that he knew that as long as there was a single soldier in harm’s way, as long as there was a single Army family in need, Pete would not rest,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said. “And for more than three years as vice chief of staff, Pete has not rested.”
Chiarelli said that while progress has been made – including a slight reduction in the overall Army suicide rate – work healing the strains of 10 years of war is far from over.
“We must, must, must continue” the efforts now in place, he said Tuesday.
read more here
By CHRIS CARROLL
Published: January 31, 2012
WASHINGTON – Gen. Peter Chiarelli retired Tuesday, stepping aside as Army vice chief of staff but insisting that in civilian life he’d continue working to improve care for what he called “the signature wounds of this war” – post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury.
Chiarelli, 61, who was honored in a ceremony at Joint Base Meyer-Henderson Hall, Va., led a task force to cut down the rising rate of soldier suicides and pushed to improve diagnosis and treatment for troops with invisible injuries.
“When former [Defense] Secretary [Robert] Gates promoted Pete to that post, he said that he knew that as long as there was a single soldier in harm’s way, as long as there was a single Army family in need, Pete would not rest,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said. “And for more than three years as vice chief of staff, Pete has not rested.”
Chiarelli said that while progress has been made – including a slight reduction in the overall Army suicide rate – work healing the strains of 10 years of war is far from over.
“We must, must, must continue” the efforts now in place, he said Tuesday.
read more here
Two Pendleton Marines chosen for trip to Super Bowl
MILITARY: Two Pendleton Marines chosen for trip to Super Bowl
By MARK WALKER
Posted: Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Two Camp Pendleton Marines and their spouses are attending Sunday's Super Bowl in Indianapolis as guests of News America Marketing.
Master Sgt. David Jarvis and Sgt. Sheena Adams were selected by the Marine Corps' top enlisted man for the trip to Super Bowl XLVI.
Adams and Jarvis are being flown to Indianapolis as guests of New America Marketing, which publishes the Sunday coupon insert SmartSource Magazine.
Adams earned a second Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and Combat Action Ribbon during a deployment to Afghanistan as a member of a female engagement team working with Afghan women in the Helmand province.
She is a now a lead instructor and adviser for female engagement teams in training at Camp Pendleton.
Her husband, Chad, is joining her on the trip to the big game and a variety of other events, including a tailgate party and kickoff party on Friday evening.
Doing the same is Jarvis, whose wife and fellow Marine, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Tina Jarvis is also making the trip.
Jarvis was awarded the Silver Star and the Bronze Star with a Combat Action Ribbon for his actions in Afghanistan, which included more than 70 combat patrols and 40 direct engagements with insurgent forces.
read more here
By MARK WALKER
Posted: Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Two Camp Pendleton Marines and their spouses are attending Sunday's Super Bowl in Indianapolis as guests of News America Marketing.
Master Sgt. David Jarvis and Sgt. Sheena Adams were selected by the Marine Corps' top enlisted man for the trip to Super Bowl XLVI.
Adams and Jarvis are being flown to Indianapolis as guests of New America Marketing, which publishes the Sunday coupon insert SmartSource Magazine.
Adams earned a second Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and Combat Action Ribbon during a deployment to Afghanistan as a member of a female engagement team working with Afghan women in the Helmand province.
She is a now a lead instructor and adviser for female engagement teams in training at Camp Pendleton.
Her husband, Chad, is joining her on the trip to the big game and a variety of other events, including a tailgate party and kickoff party on Friday evening.
Doing the same is Jarvis, whose wife and fellow Marine, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Tina Jarvis is also making the trip.
Jarvis was awarded the Silver Star and the Bronze Star with a Combat Action Ribbon for his actions in Afghanistan, which included more than 70 combat patrols and 40 direct engagements with insurgent forces.
read more here
Afghan Soldier Kills U.S. Marine in Helmand Province Shooting
Afghan Soldier Kills U.S. Marine in Helmand Province Shooting
By Eltaf Najafizada - Feb 1, 2012
An Afghan soldier shot dead a U.S. Marine in the southern province of Helmand, the latest in a series of incidents that have raised tensions between local and foreign troops.
The Afghan army soldier opened fire at close range as he and the Marine guarded a joint operating base at about 12:30 a.m. today, General Sayed Malook, a corps commander based in Helmand, said by phone. The U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, confirmed one of its soldiers was shot dead by an individual wearing an Afghan uniform.
read more here
By Eltaf Najafizada - Feb 1, 2012
An Afghan soldier shot dead a U.S. Marine in the southern province of Helmand, the latest in a series of incidents that have raised tensions between local and foreign troops.
The Afghan army soldier opened fire at close range as he and the Marine guarded a joint operating base at about 12:30 a.m. today, General Sayed Malook, a corps commander based in Helmand, said by phone. The U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, confirmed one of its soldiers was shot dead by an individual wearing an Afghan uniform.
read more here
Congress members want answers on Lejeune toxic water report
Congress members want answers on Lejeune report
January 31, 2012 4:47 PM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAMP LEJEUNE — Three members of Congress from North Carolina, along with lawmakers from other states, are worried that information left out of a new report on water contamination at Camp Lejeune could set a troubling precedent for future research on the subject.
The three sent a letter to Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asking why an affiliated agency blacked out information in its Jan. 19 report on the location of water systems used on the base that houses Marines.
The Marine Corps said that was sensitive national security information. The lawmakers are concerned that the agency was too willing to leave out the information, and that future data about contaminated water could be kept from the public without a valid reason.
"An open and transparent process is essential to this scientific endeavor and it is particularly important for the ongoing and future studies on Camp Lejeune's water contamination," Sen. Kay Hagan, Sen. Richard Burr and U.S. Rep. Brad Miller said in the letter that was also signed by lawmakers in Florida and Michigan.
read more here
January 31, 2012 4:47 PM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAMP LEJEUNE — Three members of Congress from North Carolina, along with lawmakers from other states, are worried that information left out of a new report on water contamination at Camp Lejeune could set a troubling precedent for future research on the subject.
The three sent a letter to Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asking why an affiliated agency blacked out information in its Jan. 19 report on the location of water systems used on the base that houses Marines.
The Marine Corps said that was sensitive national security information. The lawmakers are concerned that the agency was too willing to leave out the information, and that future data about contaminated water could be kept from the public without a valid reason.
"An open and transparent process is essential to this scientific endeavor and it is particularly important for the ongoing and future studies on Camp Lejeune's water contamination," Sen. Kay Hagan, Sen. Richard Burr and U.S. Rep. Brad Miller said in the letter that was also signed by lawmakers in Florida and Michigan.
read more here
Marines in wreck remain hospitalized
Marines in wreck remain hospitalized
January 31, 2012 5:28 PM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Two Camp Lejeune Marines remained hospitalized in Greenville Tuesday following a weekend wreck in Jones County.
Lance Cpl. Igor Teterin was listed in fair condition and Lance Cpl. David VanDyne was listed in critical condition at Vidant Medical Center, formerly Pitt Memorial Hospital, as of Tuesday afternoon.
Both Marines are with Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, according to information provided by 22nd MEU spokesman Capt. Binford Strickland.
read more here
January 31, 2012 5:28 PM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Two Camp Lejeune Marines remained hospitalized in Greenville Tuesday following a weekend wreck in Jones County.
Lance Cpl. Igor Teterin was listed in fair condition and Lance Cpl. David VanDyne was listed in critical condition at Vidant Medical Center, formerly Pitt Memorial Hospital, as of Tuesday afternoon.
Both Marines are with Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, according to information provided by 22nd MEU spokesman Capt. Binford Strickland.
read more here
Disgraceful pot group uses POW-MIA flag for their own!
UPDATE
Pro-pot vets group changes name but keeps logo
By Rick Maze - Times staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 1, 2012
Veterans For Weed is becoming Veterans For Weed United in a retreat after the nation’s largest organization for combat veterans raised objections to the use of the acronym VFW.
“We have chosen to remove all current artwork using the VFW sign,” said a statement on the group’s website. “We respect the Veterans of Foreign Wars and apologize for any inconvenience this caused them with the similar abbreviation.”
However, the VFWU group — which it now wants to be known as — isn’t backing down from appropriating a modified version of a POW/MIA logo as a symbol of its campaign.
Veterans of Foreign Wars, which owns the copyright to the acronym VFW, sent a cease-and-desist order to the Milwaukee-based pro-pot organization demanding it stop using the name.
Joe Davis, a spokesman for Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the marijuana group has taken a small step.
“We would prefer their new acronym be something different, like VWU (Veterans for Weed United) but at least it helps eliminate some confusion,” Davis said.
Davis added that continuing to use the POW/MIA logo is wrong.
read more here
Pro-pot vets group changes name but keeps logo
By Rick Maze - Times staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 1, 2012
Veterans For Weed is becoming Veterans For Weed United in a retreat after the nation’s largest organization for combat veterans raised objections to the use of the acronym VFW.
“We have chosen to remove all current artwork using the VFW sign,” said a statement on the group’s website. “We respect the Veterans of Foreign Wars and apologize for any inconvenience this caused them with the similar abbreviation.”
However, the VFWU group — which it now wants to be known as — isn’t backing down from appropriating a modified version of a POW/MIA logo as a symbol of its campaign.
Veterans of Foreign Wars, which owns the copyright to the acronym VFW, sent a cease-and-desist order to the Milwaukee-based pro-pot organization demanding it stop using the name.
Joe Davis, a spokesman for Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the marijuana group has taken a small step.
“We would prefer their new acronym be something different, like VWU (Veterans for Weed United) but at least it helps eliminate some confusion,” Davis said.
Davis added that continuing to use the POW/MIA logo is wrong.
read more here
I cannot put into words the depth of what I am feeling right now. There are just no words for this disgraceful act!
Pro-Pot Group Criticized Over Use of VFW Name, POW Flag
February 01, 2012
Stars and Stripes
by Leo Shane III
Pro-Pot Group Appropriates VFW Name, POW Flag
WASHINGTON -- The Veterans of Foreign Wars does not support and is in no way connected with Veterans For Weed, even though both are using the VFW acronym. Now, officials from the traditional VFW are warning leaders of the stoner VFW they’ll sue if they don’t stop riding their coattails.
On Monday, the real VFW (they’ve held the copyright on the acronym for more than six decades) sent the Milwaukee-based pro-marijuana group a cease-and-desist letter, calling their use of the acronym misleading and illegal. Officials said they’ll move ahead with more serious legal action if the other guys don’t drop the three-letter name on all communications, websites and other products.
Veterans for Weed has also drawn criticism in recent days for posting a doctored version of the POW/MIA logo, this time with the words “POT POW” and “Semper High” and a silhouette of a servicemember smoking. The logo, created for the National League of POW/MIA Families, is not copyrighted, but is revered by many in the veterans and military community.
Officials from that group have also requested the picture be taken down, calling on the pro-pot group to do “what is right and responsible.”read more here
Murder for hire "once great soldier" faces death penalty
What happened to turn a man from "great soldier" into what Sher is accused of becoming? Did combat change him that much or was this part of his character all along?
There are criminals who never once cared about someone else. We are never shocked when they murder someone. Read any newspaper and you'll find a lot more stories about civilians committing murder than you do about veterans. These men and yes, even some female veterans, were willing to die for the sake of someone else so when one of them takes a life back home, it leaves us all wondering what happened to change them that much.
There have been a lot of reports tying PTSD to crimes, which could have had something to do with the way this man thinks but the fact is, with hundreds of thousands of veterans with PTSD, you don't read about them simply because they never cause any trouble at all.
There are criminals who never once cared about someone else. We are never shocked when they murder someone. Read any newspaper and you'll find a lot more stories about civilians committing murder than you do about veterans. These men and yes, even some female veterans, were willing to die for the sake of someone else so when one of them takes a life back home, it leaves us all wondering what happened to change them that much.
There have been a lot of reports tying PTSD to crimes, which could have had something to do with the way this man thinks but the fact is, with hundreds of thousands of veterans with PTSD, you don't read about them simply because they never cause any trouble at all.
Murder-For-Hire Suspect Faces Death Penalty
Josiah Sher Accused Of Killing Robert Rafferty, Amara Wells
Written By Kim Ngan Nguyen, Web Editor
January 31, 2012
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. -- Prosecutors will be pursuing the death penalty against an Army veteran accused of killing two people in a Douglas County home last February, the district attorney announced Tuesday.
The case against Josiah Sher will be among the state's few death penalty cases.
Sher, 26, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges. However, in videotaped testimony played in a Douglas County District courtroom in August, Sher admitted he killed Robert Rafferty and Amara Wells for $15,000.
Christopher Wells, Amara Wells' estranged husband, is accused of hiring three of his former coworkers -- Sher, Matthew Plake and Micah Woody -- to kill the pair.
Sher Once Called 'Great Soldier' In Army Reserves
Sher said on the videotape that he was high on cocaine at the time of the killings and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in the military.
Sher was called a "great soldier" who served in Iraq and Afghanistan during eight years with the U.S. Army Reserve, a military official told 7NEWS last March.
Sher earned high marks as an "aircraft structural repairer" working on military helicopters, said Capt. Malisa Hamper, spokeswoman for the Army Reserve's 11th Aviation Command, a helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft unit based at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
"He's been a great soldier," Hamper said of Sher last spring. "He's done great things for the Reserves."
"He was just really great in his performance (reviews)," she said, referring to Sher's extensive skill on repairing and maintaining aircraft. "He's constantly strived to learn more about his job and learn other duties."
read more here
More than 500 people wait on tarmac for fallen Marine to come home
Hundreds salute fallen Pendleton Marine
Jan. 31, 2012
LAKE FOREST - Hundreds of firefighters and law enforcement officers on Tuesday waved flags from freeway bridges from Los Alamitos to Laguna Hills saluting a procession carrying the remains of Cpl. Christopher G. Singer, a Marine killed in Afghanistan on Jan. 21.
The procession of more than 200 vehicles followed a Hero Mission – a ceremony that marks the return of an American service member killed in action – at the Joint Forces Training Base at Los Alamitos.
Singer's family – including his wife, Brooke, 21, his father, Greg Singer, and his mother, Marlene Shaw – was escorted to the plane as the coffin was lowered.
More than 500 people stood on the tarmac and paid their respects. Honoring Our Fallen, a nonprofit group, will give Singer's 2-year-old daughter, Briyana, birthday and Christmas gifts until she is 18, said founder Laura Herzog.
Singer, 23, was killed while conducting operations in the Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Twentynine Palms-based 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion, an element of Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Division. Singer was born in San Diego and grew up in Lake Forest and Temecula.
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A member of the Patriot Guard dabs his eyes as the body of Marine Cpl. Christopher G. Singer returns to Southern California in what is called a Hero Mission ceremony at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos.
REED SAXON, AP
Jan. 31, 2012
Family members weep over the casket as the body of Marine Cpl. Christopher G. Singer returns to Southern California in what is called a Hero Mission ceremony at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. Singer, 23, died in combat in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on Jan. 21.By ERIKA I. RITCHIE / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
REED SAXON, AP
LAKE FOREST - Hundreds of firefighters and law enforcement officers on Tuesday waved flags from freeway bridges from Los Alamitos to Laguna Hills saluting a procession carrying the remains of Cpl. Christopher G. Singer, a Marine killed in Afghanistan on Jan. 21.
The procession of more than 200 vehicles followed a Hero Mission – a ceremony that marks the return of an American service member killed in action – at the Joint Forces Training Base at Los Alamitos.
Singer's family – including his wife, Brooke, 21, his father, Greg Singer, and his mother, Marlene Shaw – was escorted to the plane as the coffin was lowered.
More than 500 people stood on the tarmac and paid their respects. Honoring Our Fallen, a nonprofit group, will give Singer's 2-year-old daughter, Briyana, birthday and Christmas gifts until she is 18, said founder Laura Herzog.
Singer, 23, was killed while conducting operations in the Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Twentynine Palms-based 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion, an element of Camp Pendleton's 1st Marine Division. Singer was born in San Diego and grew up in Lake Forest and Temecula.
read more here
Maine Bill would create alternative sentencing court specifically for veterans
Bill would create alternative sentencing court specifically for veterans
By Eric Russell, BDN Staff
Posted Jan. 31, 2012, at 5:03 p.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — Last November, a day before Justin Crowley-Smilek was shot and killed by police, the 28-year-old Farmington native and U.S. Army Ranger who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder appeared before a judge.
Earlier that year, Crowley-Smilek was charged with assault and cultivation of marijuana. The judge, likely sensing that the young man’s diagnoses contributed to those crimes, ordered him to undergo a full psychological evaluation. His family said it was welcome news because they had been trying to get Crowley-Smilek help for months since his return from Afghanistan.
Crowley-Smilek never made it to that evaluation.
In a bizarre incident outside the Farmington police station, Crowley-Smilek approached an officer in a threatening manner while wielding a knife. The officer fired several shots, one of which killed Crowley-Smilek.
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He wanted to die Thursday, November 24, 2011
By Eric Russell, BDN Staff
Posted Jan. 31, 2012, at 5:03 p.m.
AUGUSTA, Maine — Last November, a day before Justin Crowley-Smilek was shot and killed by police, the 28-year-old Farmington native and U.S. Army Ranger who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder appeared before a judge.
Earlier that year, Crowley-Smilek was charged with assault and cultivation of marijuana. The judge, likely sensing that the young man’s diagnoses contributed to those crimes, ordered him to undergo a full psychological evaluation. His family said it was welcome news because they had been trying to get Crowley-Smilek help for months since his return from Afghanistan.
Crowley-Smilek never made it to that evaluation.
In a bizarre incident outside the Farmington police station, Crowley-Smilek approached an officer in a threatening manner while wielding a knife. The officer fired several shots, one of which killed Crowley-Smilek.
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He wanted to die Thursday, November 24, 2011
Fort Drum wounded soldier admits killing infant he wanted to adopt
NY soldier from RI who was wounded on Afghan tour admits killing infant he was trying to adopt
By Associated Press, Published: January 31
WATERTOWN, N.Y. — A Fort Drum soldier wounded in Afghanistan in 2009 admitted Tuesday that he killed a 4-month-old girl he and his wife were trying to adopt by banging her head against a hard surface and throwing her into a crib.
Jeffrey Sliker, a native of Middletown, R.I., could get 15 years to life in prison at sentencing on March 14 — almost a year after his arrest at the couple’s home near the military post in northern New York.
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By Associated Press, Published: January 31
WATERTOWN, N.Y. — A Fort Drum soldier wounded in Afghanistan in 2009 admitted Tuesday that he killed a 4-month-old girl he and his wife were trying to adopt by banging her head against a hard surface and throwing her into a crib.
Jeffrey Sliker, a native of Middletown, R.I., could get 15 years to life in prison at sentencing on March 14 — almost a year after his arrest at the couple’s home near the military post in northern New York.
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East Long Island Police Pipe and Drums going to Walter Reed
East End Police Pipe Band Performs for Veterans
Members of the Eastern Long Island Police Pipes and Drums were in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
By Erica Jackson
January 31, 2012
"We wanted to show them that we appreciate their sacrifices," said Kevin Gwinn, the founder and drum major of the band.
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Members of the Eastern Long Island Police Pipes and Drums were in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
By Erica Jackson
January 31, 2012
Credit Mike Tessitore
To show their appreciation, 35 members of the Eastern Long Island Police Pipe and Drums band headed to Washington, D.C., on Friday to perform at the Walter Reed Hospital for wounded veterans."We wanted to show them that we appreciate their sacrifices," said Kevin Gwinn, the founder and drum major of the band.
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Wounded combat medic's love story ended too soon
Wounded Warrior, Married in Mesquite, Dies
Posting Date: 01/31/2012
By John Taylor
Hardin spent two years in the hospital and was forced to undergo 32 surgeries and a lengthy, painful rehabilitation. During his recovery, Hardin met Lillian May who cared for him through the painful times. Over the course of two years Hardin was receiving medical treatments, the couple fell in love.
In August, 2009, Hardin proposed to May but the reality was he was severely injured including injuries to both arms, a fused wrist and loss of fingers. He also had several pieces of shrapnel in his brain which were inoperable. After being medically retired from the military, he was without a job.
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Posting Date: 01/31/2012
By John Taylor
Slightly more than a year has passed since the storybook wedding in Mesquite of former Army medic Kevin Hardin to the woman who cared for him at Walter Reed Army Hospital after he was severely injured when a rocket propelled grenade slammed into his Humvee during combat operations in Samarra, Iraq in 2007.Army medic Kevin Hardin died Jan. 22 ofinjuries sustained in Iraq. He and his wifeLillian received a storybook wedding a year agothanks to the Eureka and the Mesquitecommunity. Photo provided.
Hardin spent two years in the hospital and was forced to undergo 32 surgeries and a lengthy, painful rehabilitation. During his recovery, Hardin met Lillian May who cared for him through the painful times. Over the course of two years Hardin was receiving medical treatments, the couple fell in love.
In August, 2009, Hardin proposed to May but the reality was he was severely injured including injuries to both arms, a fused wrist and loss of fingers. He also had several pieces of shrapnel in his brain which were inoperable. After being medically retired from the military, he was without a job.
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Sgt. Adam Page Surprises Daughter At School On Birthday
Sergeant Adam Page, Military Dad, Surprises Daughter At School On Birthday (VIDEO)
When Bailey Page, a 6-year-old girl from Salt Lake City, Utah, told her classmates that all she wanted for her birthday was her dad to come home from Afghanistan, she could never have guessed her wish would come true so quickly.
As she continued her show-and-tell, Bailey's father, Sgt. Adam Page, walked into the classroom and swooped his very surprised daughter into his arms, Utah's Fox 13 news reports.
As she tried to clear the tears from her eyes, Bailey exclaimed, "that's my only birthday present I wanted is you," KSL reports.
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When Bailey Page, a 6-year-old girl from Salt Lake City, Utah, told her classmates that all she wanted for her birthday was her dad to come home from Afghanistan, she could never have guessed her wish would come true so quickly.
As she continued her show-and-tell, Bailey's father, Sgt. Adam Page, walked into the classroom and swooped his very surprised daughter into his arms, Utah's Fox 13 news reports.
As she tried to clear the tears from her eyes, Bailey exclaimed, "that's my only birthday present I wanted is you," KSL reports.
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