Four Years, 20,300 Military Sexual Assaults?

More Than 20K Alleged Sex Assaults at Military Bases Over 4 Years: DoD

Military.com

Richard Sisk

November 17, 2017

More than 20,300 allegations of sexual assaults at military installations worldwide have been reported over the last four years, the Defense Department said Friday.

In a report listing the bases for each service, DoD's Sexual Assault and Prevention Office (SAPRO) said that Army installations received a total of 8,284 allegations of sexual assault from fiscal 2013 through fiscal 2016; the Navy, 4,788; the Marine Corps ,3,400; and the Air Force, 3,876.

The Army post with the most reports of sexual assaults in fiscal 2016 was Fort Hood, Texas, with 199; the most in the Navy in fiscal 2016 was Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, with 270; and the most in the Marine Corps that year was 169 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

In the Air Force, the installation with the most allegations of sexual assault in fiscal 2016 was the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, with 44 reports.

In fiscal 2016, there were 24 reports of sexual assault at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and 24 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, SAPRO said.

The total of 20,348 reports of sexual assaults for the four years included both "restricted" and "unrestricted" allegations, SAPRO said.

read more here

I'm sure Congress will take this seriously again. Just like they have done over the last ten years!

Florida Wants to be Veterans Retirement Haven

Florida Among Top States Competing For Military Retirees

WLRN News

Bobbie O'Brien

November 17, 2017

"I was one of the first into Afghanistan, then to Iraq and then Africa. So I’ve been around the world," Neil said. "And luckily for me, the headquarters of Special Operations is in Tampa when I decided where I should retire to, I chose my last assignment as Tampa, Florida MacDill Air Force Base so it naturally fit."

Former Green Beret Scott Neil points to the framework for the glass wall that will separate the American Freedom Distillery from the restaurant under construction.BOBBIE O'BRIEN / WUSF PUBLIC MEDIA 

States are competitive whether they’re vying to keep their military bases or to attract new corporate headquarters. And now, there’s a new tug of war over military retirees who come with pensions, health care and are a proven workforce.

Florida, already a retirement haven, is adding veteran specific programs to entice even more military retirees to the Sunshine State.

"It means that if you are processing out of the military and you want to build your business here in Florida – we’re going to waive the application fees on almost every occupational license that’s out there," said Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam at a business conference last year. "It means if you’re applying for a concealed weapons license, you’re going to go to the front of the line and it’s going to be expedited in less than two weeks."

Florida officials like to brag that they’re the most veteran friendly state in the nation. So, there’s no ambivalence – if you’re retiring military – Florida Wants You!
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UK:Thirty years on has anything really changed for our firefighters?

Kings Cross fire: Thirty years on has anything really changed for our firefighters?

The Telegraph UK
Cara McGoogan
November 18, 2017

For ten years, Roger Kendall couldn’t go into the underground. He worked at a fire station in Soho, but would travel on foot or by motorbike - never on the Tube. For him, it hadn't felt safe since November 18, 1987, when, in the middle of rush hour, flames tore through the underground station at Kings Cross.

The Soho fire brigade a few months after Colin Townsley's death (Kendall fourth from the right) CREDIT:CITY ABLAZE/MARTIN POWELL

"I felt ill and started sweating any time I went near the underground, so I wouldn't go on it," says Kendall. "I avoided it, it didn't feel safe. It took me over 10 years to get back on an underground train."

The former firefighter was one of the first on the scene at the devastating Kings Cross fire, in which 31 people died and 100 were injured. On that night, 30 years ago today, he watched countless people be engulfed in smoke and found himself saying goodbye to his boss - and role model.

After the blaze eased, Kendall’s firefighters started to emerge from the underground. He noticed a number of them had urinated themselves out of fear. What he didn’t see, though, was Townsley.

“Before the flash happened he’d obviously read signs in the pattern of the smoke that something was going to happen, because he sent back the guys he was with,” Kendall recalls. “He was found with his arms around two people he was trying to rescue.” 

Townsley had died, aged 45, leaving behind a wife and two teenage daughters. “It was just devastating,” says Kendall.

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Dentist Didn't Want Veteran to Wait, So He Paid the Bill

Dentist pays $15,000 bill for military veteran's dental work

FOX 35 News

November 17, 2017

Instead of waiting months for the paperwork to go through the VA, Dr. Nguyen wanted to help him immediately and cease his pain. So, he took care of the bill and went to work.

HOUSTON, Tx. - Most of us don’t look forward to going to the dentist, but this story could relieve some fears about your next visit.

When retired Staff Sergeant David Tyler Harmon and dentist, Dr. David Nguyen, met at their local gym, Harmon decided to book a cleaning. He had no idea it would turn into two weeks of dental work. He also didn’t know about the kindness in his new dentist’s heart.

"I came in for a cleaning, and he's like, 'My goodness!'" Harmon told FOX 26. "And I start telling him all the pain I'm in."

"All veterans are heroes," said Dr. Nguyen. "They give up so much for this country, and whatever I can do just to help him out a little bit, it's all worth it to me." read more here

Homeless Vietnam Veteran, after serving his country for 34 years!

Want to know what good reporters can do?

Start with this Vietnam veteran, who also happens to be post-9-11 veteran.

"Homeless, after serving his country for 34 years. He was part of the last Vietnam War draft in 1971 and was called back into full active duty after 9-11. Due to age, he was forced to retire in 2012 and decided to go back to school on a G.I. Bill."

He didn't give up afterwards. He had ambition enough to go back to college, but the VA messed up his claim.

"The debt piled up. The V.A. eventually decided that not only was it not going to pay Harold, but it had mistakenly overpaid him $15,000 and wanted that money back. Harold couldn't pay, so the V.A. turned him over to the Department of the Treasury, which now wanted $20,000. Harold dropped out of school, lost everything and had to sneak onto his old boat to sleep because he couldn't afford the slip fees."

There is a happy ending to this story and you can read it here! NewsChannel 3 Investigates by C. J. Ward

Seven Deployments Veteran Finds Solace with Service Dog

Navy veteran with amnesia and PTSD finds solace in service dog

WMTV 15 News

By Alissa Harrington 
Nov 14, 2017

LEXINGTON, Neb. (KSNB) -- 

Imagine waking up one day thinking it is 1994, but it is actually the year 2009.

That's what happened to Buf Kloppenborg, a Navy veteran from Nebraska. Luckily, a service dog has helped Kloppenborg tremendously in getting through his amnesia and severe PTSD, but now he's in need of a new dog and is look for the help of the community.

"I pull over to get some sleep and the next thing I know, I wake up and it's 2009, and I'm driving a Jeep that's not mine," Kloppenborg recalls, describing the night that when his world changed.

In 2009, the Navy Corpsman woke unable to recall the last 14 years of his life, including the last 4 out of 7 military deployments.
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Amy Grant and Vince Gill Share Healing PTSD With Music

How these veterans are using music to win the fight against PTSD
The Tennessean
USA Today
Jake Lowary
November 16, 2017

Music therapy isn't really a secret, but it's one of a litany of new treatment programs like meditation breathing, medical marijuana and cannabinoid oil, that are attracting attention and support that just a few years ago would have been cast aside.

Deep in the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee, on land owned by two of country and gospel music’s most-acclaimed stars, is one of the most recent examples of how American veterans are taking control of their battle against their own demons.

Michael Smith, Danny Williams and Howard Spier are among the dozen gathered here on an unusually hot, early October day. Each are veterans who have fought for their country, but are now using music to overcome the stress they brought home from war.

With them on Amy Grant and Vince Gill’s secluded farm in Williamson County are songwriters associated with some of the biggest country hits, like Bob Regan, who are helping the veterans write the latest versions of country songs to help them cope and move beyond their struggles.

They stayed here for a few days, fully immersing themselves in the experience organized by Challenge America, which supports extending arts programs to under-served communities.

Veterans, still conflicted, see a bright future
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Veteran Survived Final Deployment, But Not Suicide

Fighting veteran suicide gets personal

The Mountaineer

Kyle Perrotti

November 17, 2017

When Sgt. Jared Best reenlisted to go to Afghanistan after having already done a tour in Iraq, he did so to be there for his guys, many of whom were inexperienced in combat.

But he never realized the toll that final deployment would take on him.

Patti and Hugh Best, although still grieving, have begun the search for a solution to the problem of veteran suicides that they say is plaguing this country.

When Best finally got out of the Army and returned to Haywood County to tend his family’s farmland in Crabtree, he learned just how hard it can be to adjust to civilian life, and how hard it can be to forget the things he’d experienced. 

Last New Year’s Eve, alone and with too much time to think, the 26-year-old took his own life with a gun.
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"He felt he was unworthy" and took his own life after 2 tours in Iraq

Kansas veterans: 'This is an emergency'

KWCH 12 News
November 16, 2017

“We lost more men after combat than during combat...something new has to be done!” says Steven who served with Norman.

WICHITA, Kan. A Kansas veteran commits suicide five days after the birth of his little girl, and the men he served with are ready to take action.

The people who knew Norman Worden call him a hero, a loving father and husband. He was a man who would die for the brothers he served with in Iraq. But on the inside, Norman was fighting a battle few can understand.

“He felt he was unworthy and didn't deserve a lot of things. I would say he was a hero and he would tell me I’m far from that. I'm not a hero,” says his wife Jordahn.

It was a feeling that despite his many attempts to get help, would lead Norman to take his life inside his Larned home.

He leaves behind his wife, three boys and a newborn daughter. “Right before his suicide, it was surprising to me. I thought he was doing well and was excited about our daughter, like there were no signs of anything,” says Jordahn fighting back tears.

The men he served with in the 714th on two tours in Iraq are asking how many more like Norman have to die before something else is done.
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Florida Veteran Committed Suicide On Veterans Day

Winter Garden group's walk to raise awareness about veteran suicides to have fresh meaning
WFTV 9 News
by: Ken Tyndall
Updated: Nov 16, 2017

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. - Veterans and volunteers inside the American Legion Post 63 in Winter Garden were getting ready Thursday for a weekend walk aimed at raising awareness about the epidemic of veteran suicides.

The walk was postponed in September because of Hurricane Irma and many will take to the road Saturday with heavy hearts, wondering if one of their own would be participating had the event gone on as originally planned.

Just days ago, a Winter Garden veteran took his own life and many of the awareness walk's organizers knew him personally.

"He was a member of this local community, and more than likely would have been at this event," Kurt Gies said. "And he would have seen what we're doing and the awareness that we're trying to bring.

"I don't know if it would have stopped him, but it may have."read more here

Ashley Moir said she knows over 34 veterans who have committed suicide. The veteran in this report committed suicide on Veterans Day. He was a part of this group. She says that there isn't a lot you can do unless you know them. 

Anyone else see the problem with this? What good does it do to a veteran needing hope to hear about a number that is not even close to the truth?

I am sure they are heartbroken and wondering what they could have said, or done differently. I am sure they have regrets. I know I do, or should say, still do after 17 years when we lost my husband's nephew.

The difference was that I knew everything I needed to know back then. I knew what it was, why he had it and what he needed to do to heal. I knew the numbers, facts and researched it long enough, to change the rest of his life. The problem is, I did not know the one thing that could have saved him. How to get him to listen.

So how do we get people to listen when they cannot hear they are wrong? How do we get them to care enough to know what they need to in order to help veterans taken back control of their lives instead of taking them?

The only way to do it is to tell the truth and then do the work it takes to get them to understand they already survived the worst that PTSD could do when they survived the trauma that started it.

The sound of silence will keep trapping them if we cannot hear their cries!