Camp Lejeune ex-Marine dying after exposures

Ruben Rosario: Ex-Marine in a fight for her life after Camp Lejeune exposure
Twin Cities
By Ruben Rosario
POSTED: 02/01/2014

Clark is among 2,282 Minnesotans and 230,918 other former Camp Lejeune residents across the nation, Puerto Rico and other regions notified so far of the water contamination by the military through letters or other communications.

Theresa Clark has Stage 4 breast cancer that has spread to other parts of her body.

Although she hasn't been given a definite prognosis, the 54-year-old Marine veteran from Elko was informed recently that there is no treatment that will reverse her condition. She now has a four-hour chemotherapy session every third week in the hope that the cancer will be kept at bay in some manner.

"I am basically dying," she told me last week.

Clark, a married mother of two who is also a grandmother, strongly believes her cancer is a direct result of exposure to toxins during the 1980s when she was stationed at USMC Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

"There is no doubt in my mind," she said. "I have no family history of it." She is hardly alone in her belief.

Up to 1 million Marine veterans, family members and others living or working at the base between 1957 and 1987 drank, showered and cooked with water contaminated by toxins linked to a variety of cancers and birth defects.
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Shadow fleet hit but budget cuts

Scout mission compromised by funding cut
By Paul McLeary
Staff writer
February 1, 2014

WASHINGTON — Army leadership is betting that an 80 percent solution to its aerial scout needs will be good enough in the coming years, as it scraps its OH-58 Kiowa helicopter fleet in favor of a manned-unmanned mixture for peering over the next ridgeline.

But according to internal Army budget documents, this hybrid concept could be running into a budgetary brick wall.

At a Jan. 14 symposium in Washington, Maj. Gen. Kevin Mangum said the service expects the RQ-7 Shadow unmanned aerial system and Apache attack helicopter will meet “about 80 percent” of the aerial scout requirement until the service decides how it will meet that mission full time in the coming years.

But according to a five-year planning document obtained by Defense News, a sister publication of Army Times, budget cuts have taken away much of the modernization funding for the Shadow fleet.

The lack of research and development funding “prevents software modifications needed to enable manned-unmanned teaming with Apache and integration of Shadow into the full spectrum CAB [combat aviation brigade],” the document said.

The documents are part of the annual weapons systems review that all programs must endure when service officials put together the program objective memorandum budgets that plan out to five years. All of the information contained in the documents is pre-decisional, since they’re concerned with fiscal years 2015-2019.
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Military Brings Spectacle, Security to Super Bowl

Military Brings Spectacle, Security to Super Bowl

By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2014 – The Defense Department will provide security and entertainment for Sunday's Super Bowl at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren said today.

The Armed Forces Color Guard featuring two percussionists, a local military chorus accompanying National Anthem singer Renée Fleming, the renowned soprano, a U.S. Army rotary-wing aircraft flyover, and deployed service member greetings, will appear during the game, which is expected to be watched by more than 100 million people around the world.

“We’re … providing military assets to the Super Bowl as part of the department’s community relations efforts,” Warren said. “It has potential recruiting benefits and it helps connect our military to America.”

Security for the open-air, 82,566-seat stadium will be robust, Warren noted.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command and National Guard personnel have been on duty since earlier this week providing security and logistical assistance, Warren said.

Warren also reported that NORAD, at the request of the Department of Homeland Security, will conduct Operation Noble Eagle air patrols in the airspace around MetLife stadium to enforce the Federal Aviation Administration’s temporary flight restrictions there.

And, approximately 400 National Guard personnel will be on state active duty or on standby to assist state and federal officials with security augmentation and civil support teams, Warren said.

Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. EST and the game will be broadcast on FOX.

Homeless Vietnam Veteran beaten to death

Dead man found in Norwood was Vietnam veteran
Boston Globe
By Evan Allen
GLOBE STAFF
FEBRUARY 01, 2014

SOMERVILLE -- The Somerville man whose battered body was found Wednesday evening dumped behind a Norwood Middle School was a Vietnam veteran who had recently listed his address as the New England Center for Homeless Veterans, state officials said Friday.

Vincent A. Lalli, 66, joined the US Navy in November 1967 and was honorably discharged in September 1971, said John Paradis, spokesman for the state Department of Veterans’ Services.

Lalli was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal with one star, Paradis said. While information about his deployment was not available, the Vietnam Service Medal is awarded only to service members who supported operations in Vietnam, a Navy official said.

A dogwalker found Lalli’s body in a wooded area behind the Dr. Philip O. Coakley Middle School on Washington Street in South Norwood at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. His death is being investigated as a homicide, and authorities have said they believe Lalli was killed elsewhere.
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Budweiser Welcomes Soldier Home to Super Bowl Fame

Jan 30, 2014
Watch the Budweiser Super Bowl XLVIII commercial "A Hero's Welcome" where we helped make one soldier's homecoming unforgettable. #Salute a Hero at Budweiser.com/Salute
Budweiser Super Bowl XLVIII -- "A Hero's Welcome
Here is the parade I filmed
Jan 9, 2014
Winter Park Florida and Budweiser welcomed home Lt. Charles Nadd in style on January 8, 2014. He flew from Afghanistan to Fort Drum and then flew to Florida arriving late due to the weather. This parade will be part of a documentary and commercial for Budweiser.

Pepsi has A Night For Heroes

Pepsi sponsored event to raise funds for Bob Woodruff Foundation. The PepsiCo Foundation to Kickoff Super Bowl Weekend with $1 Million Donation to BWF "

"Seven years ago a movement was started helping post 9-11 injured service members returning home from combat. We're proud to say that over these seven years, we've invested over $20 million dollars in programs that have reached over 1 million heroes in need."

Jon Stewart "Welcome to Super Bowl weekend in New York City. Here's whats special about tonight. With all the people we have in town for the Super Bowl, pro-ball football players, super stars , film and television stars, whats special about tonight is with all those people here, the real heroes of the night are sitting up in front. Let's give a round of applauds to the men and women serving in fighting forces."

Ret. Admiral Mike Mullen "A thousand a day come home. We're hiring 100 a day."

Blake Shelton

Camp Pendleton Marine from Orlando volunteers at homeless shelter

Marines volunteer at local homeless shelter
DIVDS
1st Marine Logistics Group
Story by Cpl. Timothy Childers
January 31, 2014

Servicemembers from Camp Pendleton and local volunteers serve food at the Bread of Life Rescue Mission in Oceanside, Calif., Jan. 28. Nine Marines and one sailor, with the help of several community volunteers, prepared and served a free dinner for local homeless and others in need at the Mission.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Timothy Childers / Released)

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Nine Marines and one sailor from Camp Pendleton joined forces with local volunteers to lend a helping hand at the Bread of Life Rescue Mission to prepare and serve a free dinner to local homeless and others in need in Oceanside, Calif., Jan. 28, 2014.

Many of the servicemembers who attended are members of the Prince Hall Masonic Society and organized the event with other civilian society members. The group volunteers their time to various community service activities in the San Diego area. This was the second occasion in which they volunteered at the Mission.

“Today we came here to give back to the homeless and needy and show the community that we are the kind of people with good hearts,” said Cpl. Andrew T. Gibson, motor transportation operator, Motor Transportation Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 1st Marine Logistics Group, who has experienced similar hardships. “It’s only right that I give back now that I’m able to,” added the 21-year-old Orlando native.
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Gulf War Veteran with PTSD killed by police in Pennsylvania

UPDATE

Investigation into Lodi police shooting of Gulf War veteran could take a year to complete
By Cynthia Hubert
Published: Friday, Feb. 14, 2014

An investigation into the fatal shooting of a Gulf War veteran by Lodi police last month could take as long as a year to complete, a department spokesman told The Sacramento Bee.

Parminder Singh Shergill, who family members said suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder that made him anxious and depressed, was walking down the street where he lived with his mother and brother when officers shot him dead last month. Police said Shergill, 43, was carrying a knife and charged officers before they opened fire, an account that witnesses interviewed by legal investigators reportedly have disputed.
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Lt. Sierra Brucia, police spokesman “If someone is charging an officer and is a moving target, the officer can’t just shoot them in the leg,” Brucia said. “You’ve got to stop the suspect’s actions, stop the threat. The center of the body is the obvious target.” While we can understand that officers have to make snap decisions all the time shooting him was not as obvious as Brucia wants it to sound. Ever hear of something called a taser? That would be very obvious when faced off with a veteran with a knife and not a gun!

Lodi police kill Iraq veteran allegedly armed with knife
Modesto Bee
BY CYNTHIA HUBERT
January 31, 2014 Updated 5 hours ago

Shergill was born in Jagapur, India, and came to America with his parents when he was about 5 years old, according to Johal. After graduating from Lodi High School, he joined the Army, serving in Germany for two years before fighting on the front lines as an infantryman in Iraq during the Gulf War, Johal said.

He began showing symptoms of PTSD after his honorable discharge from the military in 1995, his cousin said. The condition is often accompanied by severe anxiety, flashbacks and depression.

At a vigil Friday, Kulbinder Sahota comforts her mother, Sukhwinder Kaur, as she sits next to a photograph of her son, Parminder Singh Shergill, whom Lodi police fatally shot last Saturday after they said he lunged at officers with a knife. JOS EACUTE; LUIS VILLEGAS

LODI — When the aftereffects of his post-traumatic stress disorder made him very anxious, Parminder Singh Shergill, a Gulf War veteran from one of the Central Valley’s most established Sikh families, would simply start walking.

A tall, soft-spoken man who relatives said kept his problems mostly to himself, Shergill, 43, was a familiar face in the tidy Lodi neighborhood where he lived with his mother and younger brother.

Last Saturday morning, family members said, he was battling his internal demons. After an anxious discussion with his mother, they said, he left on foot into the streets of his subdivision on the north end of town.

According to his cousin, Sacramento attorney Jack Johal, Shergill’s mother called police, worried about her son’s state of mind. Lodi officers intercepted Shergill not far from his home. What happened next is a matter of dispute.

Police officials said Shergill was armed with a knife, refused to respond to orders and lunged at officers, prompting them to open fire. He died just down the block from his family’s home.
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Canadian Veterans Shafted with Closed Centers

Political Firestorm Could Impact Conservatives
Veterans Affairs Firestorm Not Slowing
NetNewsLedger
by James Murray
Posted 31 January 2014

THUNDER BAY - The federal Conservatives are being accused of being driven only by ideology.

Dan Harris, an Ontario NDP MP states, “This week’s unfortunate events involving the Minister of Veterans Affairs and tomorrow’s closing of veterans’ centres exposes the soft underbelly of this government beast, a government ruled by uncaring ideology instead of good public policy”.

The closure today of Veterans Affairs offices, including the office in Thunder Bay will, unless their is a last-minute change of heart from the Conservatives will be in effect by the end of the day.

The move has generated anger and frustration both inside the House of Commons, and with veterans. It also has had the Conservatives blaming veterans and accusing them of being driven by political ideology as well.

Politically for the Conservatives, in effect, this week has worked on a potential erosion of their core support with seniors, and with veterans.

For the Government, coming on the heels of the ‘Senate Scandal’ to have the issue of ignoring the needs of veterans, it is almost as if the Conservatives can’t get a break.

Green Party MP Bruce Hyer states, “The office in Thunder Bay will be closed on Friday, and 10 jobs will be lost. Thunder Bay has already experienced drastic cuts to Service Canada. With the huge overload of people who have been cut off EI, my staff is doing the work of Service Canada.

“Veterans from World War II, the Korean War, Bosnia and Afghanistan, many of whom have post-traumatic stress disorder, will not have any services unless they drive a full day to North Bay or Winnipeg, go on the Internet, albeit many do not have a computer, or get stuck on a 1-800 number for hours or more”.
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VA told veteran with cancer it was just hemorrhoids

When it comes to the VA it all depends on where you live, not where you served or what you need.

The new document obtained by CNN shows a worse problem than has previously been made public by the VA.

As CNN has previously reported, as many as 7,000 veterans were on a backlog list -- waiting too long for colonscopies or endoscopies -- at VA facilities in Columbia, South Carolina and Augusta, Georgia.

In some areas of the country the VA has been able to get veterans in for appointments when they should but are lousy at approving claims that get them in the door. Some states it is the opposite. Great on claims but lousy on appointments.

Americans are under the impression that it doesn't matter where our veterans live because that is the way it should be. The truth however shows all veterans are not treated equally or adequately.

Veterans dying because of health care delays
CNN Investigations
By Scott Bronstein, Nelli Black, and Drew Griffin
January 30, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
CNN has learned 19 veterans died because of delays in basic screenings
The delays occurred at VA hospitals and clinics
It took a year for veteran Barry Coates to get a colonoscopy
He is now undergoing chemotherapy for rectal cancer

(CNN) -- U.S. veterans are dying because of delays in diagnosis and treatment at VA hospitals.

At least 19 veterans have died because of delays in simple medical screenings like colonoscopies or endoscopies, at various VA hospitals or clinics, CNN has learned.

That's according to an internal document from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, obtained exclusively by CNN, that deals with patients diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and 2011.

The veterans were part of 82 vets who have died or are dying or have suffered serious injuries as a result of delayed diagnosis or treatment for colonoscopies or endoscopies.

Barry Coates is one of the veterans who has suffered from a delay in care. Coates was having excruciating pain and rectal bleeding in 2011. For a year the Army veteran went to several VA clinics and hospitals in South Carolina, trying to get help. But the VA's diagnosis was hemorrhoids, and aside from simple pain medication he was told he might need a colonoscopy.
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