Update
The Air Force on Wednesday identified the American pilot killed in a crash of a Ukrainian Su-27 aircraft as Lt. Col. Seth “Jethro” Nehring, of the California Air National Guard.
Air Force confirms California guardsman killed in fighter crash in Ukraine
Stars and Stripes
Jennifer H. Svan
October 17, 2018
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – An Air National Guard member from California was killed along with a Ukrainian servicemember in a Ukrainian Su-27UB fighter crash Tuesday evening in Ukraine during a large-scale military aviation exercise, officials with U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa confirmed Wednesday.
A Sukhoi Su-27 takes off from Starokostiantyniv Air Base, Ukraine, Oct. 9, 2018 as part of the Clear Sky 2018 exercise.
CHARLES VAUGHN/AIR NATIONAL GUARD
The U.S. airman was a member of the 144th Fighter Wing, California Air National Guard, based in Fresno, Calif. The airman’s name is being withheld for 24 hours pending next of kin notification, USAFE-AFAFRICA officials said in a statement late Wednesday morning.
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For the first time, a woman is leading the largest command in the US Army
CNN
Andrea Diaz
October 16, 2018
(CNN)Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson has succeeded in breaking through a few glass ceilings in the US Army. Now she's set to break a new one.
Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson earned her pilot's license at age 16 and has flown to high rank in the Army.
For the first time in US Army Forces Command, or FORSCOM, history, a woman will be leading the largest command in the Army, representing 776,000 soldiers and 96,000 civilians.
This may be a first for the Army, but Richardson has had other firsts.
She has been with the US Army since 1986, and in 2012 she became the first female deputy commanding general for the 1st Cavalry Division, known as "America's First Team."
In 2017, she became second in command to Gen. Robert B. Abrams, when she was named the first female deputy commanding general of FORSCOM in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the US Army reported.
Now, Richardson will become the first female commanding general of the US Army FORSCOM as Abrams steps down from his post, reported CNN affiliate WTVD.
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Retired Marine dead after teen allegedly shot him by mistake
Military Times
J.D. Simkins
October 16, 2018
Joe Darius Black, Jr. was on the enlisted side before serving the rest of his 20-year career as an officer. The 48-year-old retired major was fatally struck by a round last week as he sat on his porch in South Carolina. (Index Journal)
A 17-year-old is under arrest and a retired Marine is dead after a round the teen allegedly fired from a handgun in the direction of a road sign struck the Marine in the chest as he sat on his porch on Oct. 10.
Eason Reid Gravley, of South Carolina, turned himself in to the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 13, The State newspaper reported, and has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and possession of a handgun.
Gravley was released on a $25,000 recognizance bond and placed on a curfew, the report said. Under South Carolina law, he can face up to five years in prison for the involuntary manslaughter charge.
The victim, 48-year-old retired Maj. Joe D. Black Jr., was struck in the chest after the round “passed through or by the road sign,” then traveled through a wooded area adjacent to the Marine’s house, investigators reported.
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Furious campaigners blast MoD amid fresh claims it is turning a ‘blind eye’ to veteran suicides
Portsmouth UK
Tom Cotterill
October 16, 2018
The dad-of-six, who overcame suicidal thoughts after his time in the army, said: ‘It’s a betrayal by this government to not keep track of people who lose their lives through the hidden wounds of war. ‘All of our allies do it – Germany does it, America does it, so do Australia and Canada. It’s an embarrassment that our government is failing to take action.
CAMPAIGNERS have accused bureaucrats at Whitehall of continuing to bury their hands in the sand and refusing to heed cries to do more to tackle veteran suicide rates. For the past few months, The News has been calling on the Ministry of Defence to up its game and do more for former troops traumatised by the horrors of war.
It comes after an investigation by this paper revealed no records were kept by the MoD of the number of veterans taking their lives – sparking claims the government was ‘turning a blind eye’ to the issue.But now, months after campaigners demanded changes to bring the UK in line with its allies like America and Canada – who do record veteran suicides – The News has learned the Ministry of Defence still hasn’t taken action.
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Marianna Clinic will offer Veteran care for N. Florida, S. Georgia veterans affected by Michael
October 15, 2018
A temporary clinic will be opening in Marianna to offer medical care and mental health services to veterans.
The clinic will open on Tuesday, October 16 at 4970 US 90, Marianna, Florida, 32446. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The temporary clinic will offer medical and mental health care for veterans. It will allow clinic staff, caregivers and social workers the ability to assess and assist veterans until the facility resumes full operations.
Additionally, a toll-free number, 1-800-507-4571, has been established for Veterans to get updated information on where to go for care, how to receive prescription drugs, or any other concerns they may have about their care. The phone line is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Veterans in need of Pharmacy Customer Care may call 1-855-574-7288; the toll-free number is operational 8:00 am – 4:30 pm (EST) to assist Veterans with medication.
Veteran Patients and family members who would like to access services available may park at East Side Baptist Church at 4785 Highway 90, Marianna, FL 32446 ; shuttles will be run from the church to the temporary facilities daily until the primary facility is back on line.
Marine saves choking baby at Liberty Station
10 News
Cassie Carlisle
October 15, 2018
"I did what I was trained to do I don't think I'm a hero more than anyone else would be," Lewellen said. He was thinking of his own two children while saving the baby. He has a 3-year old and a 3-week-old.
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A Marine was honored Monday at Camp Pendleton for his bravery mid-September when he saved a choking baby.
Private First Class Jonathan Lewellen was on leave after graduating boot camp before starting combat training. He was upgrading his phone at the Liberty Station Verizon store when he heard a mother screaming her son's name.
"She wasn’t hysterical but she was panicked," Verizon Store Manager Cecil Silva said. "He [Lewellen] looked and his instincts just kicked in, like he literally jumped over a desk we had, jumped over the railing, ran through the bushes and just attended to the baby."
Lewellen asked the mother if he could help, then performed CPR, and scooped mucus out of the baby's throat.
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Support for Trump is fading among active-duty troops, new poll shows
Military Times
Leo Shane
October 23, 2018
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s approval rating among active-duty military personnel has slipped over the last two years, leaving today’s troops evenly split over whether they’re happy with the commander in chief’s job performance, according to the results of a new Military Times poll of active-duty service members.
About 44 percent of troops had a favorable view of Trump’s presidency, the poll showed, compared to 43 percent who disapproved.
The results from the survey, conducted over the course of September and October, suggest a gradual decline in troops’ support of Trump since he was elected in fall 2016, when a similar Military Times poll showed that 46 percent of troops approved of Trump compared to 37 percent who disapproved. That nine-point margin of support now appears gone.
During that same period, the number of neutral respondents has dwindled from almost 17 percent to about 13 percent, suggesting political polarization inside the military community has intensified in recent years.
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'A Little Broken' - First Responders Grapple With Unseen Scars of the 2017 Fire Siege
KQED News
Sukey Lewis
October 12, 2018
Shortly after Lucas Boek joined his local fire department, he saw a veteran firefighter walk into firehouse and drop all his gear. “’That’s it, I’m done,’” Boek remembers the man saying. “’I can’t do this anymore.’ And he left.”
A Cal Fire firefighter watches for spot fires from a controlled burn at the edge of the Ranch Fire in 2018. (Anne Wernikoff/KQED)
Over the years, the incident stuck with him.
Now, Boek is sitting and talking with two other men in a Ukiah high school classroom. Between the three — medic Corey Bender, 44, and firefighters Lucas Boek, 40, and Brendan Turner, 46 — they have nearly 60 years of experience in emergency response. Sixty years of running toward car accidents, gunshots and flames.
But it’s not the physical danger of the work that these guys are talking about today.
It’s something else, something that until recently has been pretty difficult to discuss openly: their mental health. A 2017 study found that police officers and firefighters are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty. Another survey done last year by the University of Phoenix found that 85 percent of first responders have symptoms related to mental health issues.
Navy: Seabee shot and killed in southern Mississippi
Associated Press
October 15, 2018
BILOXI, Miss. — The Navy says a sailor has been shot and killed in southern Mississippi.
News outlets reported the shooting happened early Saturday morning at military housing belonging to Keesler Air Force Base.
The shooting did not take place at Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport but the Seabee served there. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class George M. Bell/Navy)
Spokesman Brian Lamar said the dead sailor was assigned to the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport.
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Veteran’s military mementos stolen, wants them back
FOX 4KC.com
October 15, 2018
MOBILE, Ala. — A Mobile veteran served our country overseas more than a decade ago, but the mementos he brought home were stolen.
Carl Sanders Jr. served for four years and had one tour in Iraq.
Most of his memories were packed up in a duffel bag, but it ended up being stolen.
“I don’t regret one second of anything I’ve done serving my country and the people I served with,” he said.
To remember that time in his life he packed up a bag filled with most of his memories. Things like an Iraqi flag and helmet he found on a mission, but most importantly his uniform.
“It’s the boots I lived in, I fought in,” Sanders said. “A soldiers boots and soldiers uniform that’s more important than anything.”
Losing those keepsakes is difficult for Sanders to swallow as he tries to never forget his military service.
“Those things actually reminded me of who I served with, where I’ve been, some of the things we’ve had to do and I don’t ever want to forget that,” Sanders said. “I don’t ever want to let that go.”
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