Members of Congress Shocked About VA When They Were There All Along?

VA audit: Overworked Seattle office didn’t read mail, told veterans they’d lose benefits
The News Tribune
BY ADAM ASHTON
Staff writer
October 2, 2015

Dozens of West Coast military veterans incorrectly received letters indicating they’d lose unemployment benefits after an overworked Department of Veterans Affairs office in Seattle lost track of records the veterans had submitted, according to a VA Inspector General report released this week.

The mail audit stemmed from a complaint that suggested about 1,000 pieces of unread mail from veterans were being stored indefinitely in a yellow bucket without a response from employees assigned to evaluate benefits claims.

In some cases, the complaint alleged, veterans were told they’d lose unemployment benefits because they had not returned information to the office in a timely manner even though they had met their deadlines.

The unemployment benefits are given to veterans who can’t hold a job because of a service-connected disability.

Auditors who visited the Seattle office in April did not find a bucket loaded with unread letters, as had been alleged in the complaint. However, they did talk to employees who were familiar with it and called it the “yellow bucket project.”

They also took a sampling of 132 employment questionnaires and determined that a fifth of the veterans had been sent letters indicating a reduction or cancellation of benefits, even though they’d mailed forms that should have allowed them to continue receiving money.
read more here

WOW seems really shocking! That is until you are reminded of how long all of this has been going on.

These came out in 2012

VA office stacked 37,000 files on cabinets after running out of storage
NBC News
Tuesday Aug 14, 2012

Staff at the office began having trouble storing files in 2005 when that location, as part of a national initiative, started collecting and processing disability claims prior to a service member's discharge. The office was one of two regional centers in the country to handle such cases, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Staff tried to transfer or retire 50,000 files in recent years, as well request more storage space. The office was denied extra room because of a lack of money and few external storage options.

Veterans Wait for Benefits as Claims Pile Up
New York Times
By JAMES DAO
SEPT. 27, 2012

Numbers tell the story. Last year, veterans filed more than 1.3 million claims, double the number in 2001. Despite having added nearly 4,000 new workers since 2008, the agency did not keep pace, completing less than 80 percent of its inventory.

This year, the agency has already completed more than one million claims for the third consecutive year. Yet it is still taking about eight months to process the average claim, two months longer than a decade ago. As of Monday, 890,000 pension and compensation claims were pending.

But as you can see, that didn't end the wait for veterans.

Answers demanded after vets’ disability claims found in cabinet
San Francisco Chronicle
By Vivian Ho
April 21, 2015

One number will hang over a congressional hearing Wednesday looking into mismanagement at a U.S. Veterans Affairs regional office in Oakland: 13,184.

That’s the number of compensation and disability claims that were found in 2012, wrongfully stashed in a filing cabinet — some dating to the mid-1990s and many unprocessed. But what the number represents remains the source of fierce debate.

Back in 2008 members of Congress were "shocked" and said they were doing something about it. Oh but that was when there were 879,291 VA claims in the backlog.

The Senate version also includes an amendment that offers $50 million to speed up the processing of disability claims. It would pay for pilot programs to reduce the average waiting time -- which currently is six months -- for rulings on claims.

As of March, the VA reported 879,291 claims were in backlog from the same time last year.

Cullinan says, “This is just the first step in the VA funding process. It gives broad outlines of spending for the Department which the Appropriations Subcommittees will use to find specific amounts and tasks within the VA. The process is not complete until the president signs the Appropriations Bill.” The Federal government’s 2009 fiscal year begins Oct. 1, 2008.

Around the same time contractors were taking over processing claims, like Lockheed Martin as in this report from Army Times

And of the original 133,057 potentially eligible veterans, 8,763 died before their cases could be reviewed for retroactive payments, according to the report.

In February, the backlog was said to be “more than 39,000” cases. Jonas said she had been assured that the backlog would be cleared by April. That did not happen, according to the subcommittee report, because Lockheed Martin, the contractor hired in July 2006 to compute the complex retroactive pay awards, had difficulty making the computations fast enough to eliminate the backlog quickly. The complexity of the computations also hindered Lockheed Martin’s ability to develop software to automate the process.

Murray was asking about VA's response to suicides back in 2008

In asking Peake about what the VA is doing to reach out to struggling veterans who may not know about VA resources available to them, Murray referenced a VA study that found that Guard or Reserve members accounted for 53 percent of the veteran suicides from 2001, when the war in Afghanistan began, through the end of 2005. The study was made public yesterday in an Associated Press story.

As you can find more on your own with a simple Google search result, nothing should shock members of congress anymore since most of them have been there all along.

Religious Freedom Fight On Marine Base

'God Bless The Military' Sign Sparks Religious Freedom Fight On Marine Base
If the sign isn't removed, a group demands more signs, including one saying, "There is no god...We have each other."
HuffPost Hawaii
Chris D'Angelo
Associate Editor
October 1, 2015

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF MILITARY RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOUNDATION

A large sign was erected on a Hawaii military base in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with the message, "God bless the military, their families and the civilians who work with them."

Now, 14 years later, a nonprofit religious rights group is demanding it be removed, claiming it violates the Constitution.

"For now, at least, the sign is still there. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation followed up its initial demand with a second on Wednesday -- saying that if the sign is not removed, six more signs should be erected to satisfy Jewish, Muslim, Norse Religious Faith, atheist, agnostic, humanist, secularist, Hindu and Wiccan U.S. Marine clients.

The additional signs, as depicted in the photo illustration below, would contain the same message, but start with "Yehweh bless," "Allah bless," "Odin bless," "Vishnu bless" and "Goddess bless." Another would begin, "There is no god to bless" and end with "We have each other."

The Marine complainants, according to the Marine Corps Times, include at least 21 Protestants, while it was "not immediately clear how many of them are Vikings."
read more here

Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller "I buried three women in Iraq"

New Marine commandant: ‘Personally insulting’ to talk about women in combat
Washington Post
Thomas Gibbons
October 2, 2015

“The Marines who were a part of the GCITF did a great a job…they worked their tails off,” said Neller. “The people that made it to the end deserve our gratitude for their discipline and strength and fortitude to make it to the end.”

Newly instated Marine Commandant Gen. Robert Neller made some pointed comments regarding women in combat Thursday, following a public back and forth between the Marine Corps and the Secretary of the Navy over whether the Marine Corps would allow women into previously closed ground combat roles.

“This has nothing to do about women in combat,” Neller said to a theater full of Marines at Marine Base Quantico in Virginia.“I buried three women in Iraq in 2006 and they died alongside 311 men.”

“To me its personally insulting to talk about women in combat. Women have been in combat,” he added.

Neller was dismissing the idea that including women in combat was anything new, and he made sure to point out that the debate was about women being directly assigned to positions in ground combat units such as the infantry.
read more here

Female Blue Angel Forgotten About by San Diego Union Tribune

It appears San Diego Union Tribune can't use their own records when they reported the "first woman to wear Blue Angels" back in 2010 and it was Navy Lt. Cmdr. Amy Redditt Tomlinson

First woman to wear Blue Angels number
San Diego Union Tribune
By Jeanette Steele
Sept. 30, 2010

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Amy Redditt Tomlinson, Blue Angels No. 8, grew up knowing how to pronounce Batiquitos Lagoon and where to find the best North County surf breaks.

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Amy Tomlinson — U.S. Navy

She was a Carlsbad girl and a 1996 graduate of San Dieguito High School.

She’s also the first woman ever to wear a Blue Angels number, one of eight coveted positions on the Navy’s elite flying team.

Just no words other than WTF were they thinking?

Marine woman flies Blue Angels to new heights
First female pilot on team performs this weekend at Miramar Air Show
San Diego Union Tribune
By Gretel C. Kovach
Oct. 1, 2015

Higgins downplays her fame as the “Lady Blue Angel.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m a celebrity. No way. I’m a Marine,” she said in an interview before the San Diego show.

Marine Capt. Katie Higginsis the first female pilot with the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, or Blue Angels. The Severna Park, Md., native, is now the newest pilot of "Fat Albert," a C-130 Hercules flown by the Blue Angels. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Olivia G. Ortiz/Released)

Becoming the first woman to perform as a Blue Angels pilot has definitely been a high point for Capt. Katie Higgins. It is an honor to wear the famous blue and gold flight suit, she said, but it might surprise some people to learn that it hasn’t been the pinnacle of her career as a Marine aviator.

Higgins will be sitting in the left seat of the cockpit this weekend when she makes her debut at the Miramar Air Show, serving as flight commander of the team’s “Fat Albert” C-130 support plane. During more than 50 performances across the country so far this year, she has been mobbed by fans who appreciate how she #flieslikeagirl with the Blue Angels. read more here

The Thunderbirds were ahead of the Blue Angels back in 2005

Capt. Nicole "Fifi" Malachowski at a deployed location in Southwest Asia. She's the first female demonstration pilot on a U.S. military high performance jet team, the Thunderbirds. [USAF photo ]

June 17, 2005 (by Lieven Dewitte) - The U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron,"Thunderbirds," have announced their new pilots for the 2006 demonstration season which includes the first female demonstration pilot in the 52 year history of the Thunderbirds.

Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho Responds to Media Manipulation Charge

3-stars respond to allegations of media manipulation
Army Times
By Kevin Lilley, Staff writer
October 1, 2015

"The primary purpose of the FOIA act is to find out what the government is up to,” Hodes said. “Nowhere does it say the government should be spinning what they’re up to. … The facts speak for themselves.”

The three-star generals at the center of a recent New York Times piece that alleges the service attempted to manipulate media coverage of medical issues have taken issue with the reporting — specifically, the Army's reporting.

In statements to the newspaper and to Army Times, both Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho, the Army's surgeon general, and Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy, found fault with the Army-produced executive summary of their Sept. 17 meeting at the Pentagon. That summary was leaked to The New York Times, which quoted from the material in its Tuesday report.

Per the summary, Horoho recommended that Caslen not provide the newspaper with West Point concussion statistics requested under the Freedom of Information Act until her office published a related article that would include some of the data. She relayed an account of a prior media FOIA request where coverage was softened by a media event days before the data release.

"Timing is everything with this stuff," the summary reads.

Through a spokesman, Horoho denied ever advising anyone to delay the FOIA request. Caslen, in a statement initially provided to The New York Times and excerpted in the initial report, said "a member of my staff inaccurately portrayed my discussion with Lt. Gen. Horoho" and took responsibility for allowing the document to be "distributed without my review." read more here

Report Alleges Army Surgeon General Tried to Cover Up Concussion Data

Camp Pendleton Marines Honor Navajo Code Talkers

Navajo Code Talkers return to the Blue Diamond 
DVIDS
Story by Cpl. Demetrius Morgan
October 2, 2015

Major Gen. Daniel O’Donohue, commanding general, 1st Marine Division, pays respect to retired Navajo Code Talkers during a tour with the Navajo Nation aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Sept. 28, 2015. Navajo Code Talkers were first put into action during World War II in early 1942 to establish an undecipherable code which could be used in combat environments to communicate sensitive information. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Demetrius Morgan/RELEASED)

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Retired Marines who served as Navajo Code Talkers during World War II and members of the Navajo Nation visited the 1st Marine Division during a tour aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Sept. 28, 2015.

Marines with the division hosted a ceremony to honor the code talkers for their pivotal service World War II.

“It’s an honor to have you here today,” said Maj. Gen. Daniel O’Donohue, the commanding general of the division. “The Navajo nation provided a duty that no one else could at that time. You humble us by returning to the division. The sacrifices you made we can’t even imagine and your legacy and your spirit live on.”

Navajo Code Talkers were first put into action in early 1942 to establish an undecipherable code, which could be used in combat environments to communicate sensitive information.

The Navajo code was selected because of its difficulty and obscurity and was deciphered by enemies of that time. This allowed commanders to issue out commands securely in the heat of battle against the imperial Japanese enemies. The code remained secret until it was declassified in 1968.
read more here

They Finally Figured Out Pentagon Suicide Prevention Office in Disarray

Report: Pentagon suicide prevention office in disarray
Military Times
By Patricia Kime, Staff writer
October 2, 2015

The Pentagon’s suicide prevention office lacks clear guidance and authority to develop and execute effective programs, leaving a vacuum that the military services filled with their own, often inconsistent programs, a new Defense Department Inspector General report says.

Defense Suicide Prevention Office logo

(Photo: Defense Department)

The Defense Suicide Prevention Office, or DSPO, was established in 2011 to develop and implement suicide prevention policies, programs and surveillance across the force, with any eye toward promoting resilience, mental fitness and suicide awareness and prevention.

But from its inception, the office had a confusing governing structure and alignment of responsibilities under different committees within the office of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, resulting in “less than effective DoD strategic oversight" that hampered implementation of suicide prevention programs, according to the report released Wednesday.

According to Pentagon data, 130 active-duty troops died by suicide from January through June this year, along with 89 reserve members and 56 National Guard members.

Last year, 273 active-duty personnel, 170 reservists and 91 Guardsmen took their own lives.

Military suicides rose steadily from 2006 to 2009 before leveling off for two years. They then increased sharply in 2012, peaking at a high of 321 active-duty, 192 reserve and 130 Guard deaths.
read more here

Military suicides remain constant despite Pentagon efforts
Stars and Stripes
By Heath Druzin
Published: October 2, 2015

WASHINGTON — Despite an ongoing Pentagon campaign to combat suicide, the numbers of troops who killed themselves held steady in the first half of 2015, with active duty numbers down and reserve numbers up over the same period last year, according to the most recent Department of Defense statistics.

The Defense Department quarterly statistics, released Wednesday, show 219 troops took their lives in the first half of this year, as compared to 223 in the first half of 2014. Military suicides are down 8 percent from the first half of 2013, when there were 238.

For this year, the number of suicides breaks down to 130 among active duty troops and 89 among the Reserves and National Guard. That represents a 9 percent drop for active duty troops and a 10 percent rise for reserve troops over the same period last year.
read more here

I left this comment

Why? How about you start with Comprehensive Soldier Fitness? Suicides went up after this started. How did they expect telling soldiers they could train their brains to be mentally tough would work when that meant they were weak if they suffered? It fed the stigma. Plus add in another fact that there are less serving since 2012 and you'll begin to understand how huge this issue is. Veteran suicides went up for OEF and OIF generation as well. They are triple their civilian peer rate. They were trained to suffer in silence too!

Getting Back to Basics For PTSD Veterans

There was a group raising awareness on PTSD when hardly no one else was doing it. They really were not as interested in talking about the problem as much as they were trying to lead the way to living a better life and healing. It began in Seattle Washington with a simple act of kindness from a Police Officer names Bill Landreth. After all, he was a veteran too and understood what the minority of the population faced.

Bill was noticing he was arresting more and more of his fellow veterans and decided to do something about it. He met them in coffee shops, then in small groups. Veterans understood veterans and it was the best way for them to get help. They got it from each other much like they depended on each other to stay alive in combat. It was 1984 and Point Man International Ministries began with a simple fact. Veterans should help other veterans and their families should help other families in small groups.

Bill passed away and Chuck Dean expanded the vision as well as the mission of Point Man.

Chuck Dean, publisher of a Veterans self help newspaper, Reveille, had a vision for the ministry and developed it into a system of small groups across the USA for the purpose of mutual support and fellowship. These groups are known as Outposts. Worldwide there are hundreds of Outposts and Homefront groups serving the families of veterans.

Down Range: To Iraq and Back 1st Edition
by Bridget C. Cantrell (Author), Chuck Dean (Author)

There are some things people don’t get over easily pain from the past is one of them.

Trauma changes people: It changes values, priorities, worldviews, and most of all …it changes how we relate to others.

Painful, life-threatening experiences take people beyond the normal day-to-day life, leaving them stuck behind defensive walls that keep them from re-entering the world they have always known as “home”.  So how does it happen? How do we lose the loving closeness with those around us? And better yet, how do we re-gain what pain has robbed us of? "Down Range” is not only a book explaining war trauma, it is required reading for anyone seriously interested about how to make healthy transitions from war to peace. Bridget C. Cantrell, Ph.D. and Vietnam veteran, Chuck Dean have joined forces to present this vital information and resource manual for both returning troops and their loved ones. Here you will find answers, explanations, and insights as to why so many combat veterans suffer from flashbacks, depression, fits of rage, nightmares, anxiety, emotional numbing, and other troubling aspects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Anyway, that is why I am part of Point Man. Over 30 years of living with and researching PTSD, this group is one of the best things going, or should I say, still going on.

Raising awareness constantly grates on my nerves. What are they trying to raise awareness of? The problem? Veterans already know all about that. They know why they take their own lives far better than anyone else ever could. They know all the problems that pound them down but what they don't know is how to heal and find help to get back up again. Point Man is there for that, and honestly, there because it works. This is PTSD basic training and so is what the Tucson VA seems to be doing. Getting back to the basic idea of veterans helping veterans and helping them.

Veterans helping veterans are key to VA mental health care
Tucson Now News
By Barbara Grijalva
Oct 02, 2015

TUCSON, AZ

"The VA says veterans who have sought and benefited from mental health treatment are role models and mentors, showing other veterans there is hope, and helping remove the stigma some associate with seeking care." Dewayne Raulerson

"Been there. Done that."

It can be something we say to brush someone off.

But when it's one military veteran talking with another veteran who needs mental health treatment, it can be a lifeline.

In conjunction with next week's Mental Illness Awareness Week, the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System held it's annual Mental Health Recovery Fair on Friday, Oct. 2.

The fair is intended to highlight services available for veterans, but what's considered most important is hearing from the veterans themselves.

Lisa Conrad is an Air Force veteran and a patient and volunteer at the VA in Tucson.

"I was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. I was also diagnosed with depression," Conrad said.

But Friday, Conrad was performing on stage, playing the ukulele and singing at the VA event.
read more here

That is just an example of what is needed. Bill was a Vietnam veteran and so is Chuck. That generation came home and fought for everything done on PTSD. That's how long all of this has been going on so it is ever more heartbreaking to see what is happening today. There has never been a time like this with everyone talking about PTSD, raising money to "raise awareness" yet all of these "efforts" are producing more tragic outcomes. The simple basics were replaced by publicity seekers trying to get attention for themselves. Just take a look on Facebook and see what I mean. These veterans don't need quick answers, they need real ones. They don't need a Tweet in response to what they are going through, they need hours of our undivided attention.

Some Veteran Centers are linking up with Point Man because they do really know what veterans need to know. They can heal!

Healing PTSD has to be in 3 parts, mind-body-spirit. The last part is the worst part to leave out. PTSD hits where emotions live. Most folks believe that is also the place where the soul lives. Leave out healing the soul and veterans just get by. Heal the soul and you heal not just one life but many.

Veterans have one goal when they begin to heal. They want to help other veterans get out of the minefield in their mind so they stop sacrificing their futures to pain.

Florida Iraq Veteran With Service Dog Got Boot From Nerw York Tavern on the Green

Iraq vet: Tavern on the Green booted me over my service dog 
New York Post
By Julia Marsh
October 3, 2015

Tavern on the Green Photo: Robert Miller

Tavern on the Green refused to serve an Iraq war veteran who brought along her service dog — saying it allows only dogs that accompany blind people, according to a new lawsuit.

Florida resident Yvette Coley made reservations at the Central Park landmark for herself, her mother and two daughters. But when she showed up with her pooch Goldie they were turned away, according to the Manhattan Supreme Court suit.
read more here

Siege of Vicksburg Confederate Soldier Laid to Rest After 152 Years

Confederate soldier gets proper funeral 152 years after he died 
By The Associated Press
 October 01, 2015

More than 150 years after his death, Pvt. Preston C. Wall has finally gotten a proper funeral.

John C. Pemberton Camp of Sons of Confederate Veterans members Wayne McMaster and Bryan Skipworth unveil the tombstone of Pvt. Preston C. Wall, during a funeral ceremony, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 in Vicksburg, Miss. The Confederate soldier from Company C of the Missouri Infantry, died June 29, 1863, during the Siege of Vicksburg.
(Josh Edwards/The Vicksburg Evening Post via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT (Josh Edwards)

The Vicksburg Post reports Wall, a Confederate soldier from Company C of the Missouri Infantry, died June 29, 1863, during the Siege of Vicksburg.

He was 23, but was already a seasoned combat veteran. Wall was never married and left behind no descendants.

John C. Pemberton Camp of Sons of Confederate Veterans recently put up a stone in Cedar Hill Cemetery in his honor and formally unveiled the white granite stone Tuesday during a private ceremony with the family.

"It's just nice to have a family member that finally has a marker and some way of memorializing him. We're celebrating the life Preston had," said John Wall of Washington, a descendant of one of Preston Wall's brothers.

More than 5,000 Confederate soldiers are buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery, though most were buried in mass graves. There were nearly 20,000 Confederate and Union soldiers listed as missing dead or wounded during the Siege of Vicksburg.
read more here

Fake Camp Pendleton Marine Can't Keep Story Straight

Fake Marine vet caught trying to get discount on pepper spray
Popular Military
By Michele Katz
October 1st, 2015

He claims he was a Gunnery Sgt. stationed at Camp Pendleton.

But when confronted with more probing questions, it becomes clear that the man being recorded on this cell phone video is stealing valor.

When asked if he was retired, the man claimed he was “Section A: medically discharged.”

“You were a gunnery Sgt. over there, what pay grade is that?”

“It’s a G9,” the man says.

The person recording the exchange, later identifies himself as an Army veteran but initially tells the man he’s doing a school project — some documentaries –and asks, “Do you mind if I record this?”

While the conversation continues for a while after that, the man first says that he can’t talk on camera because he’s in “private contracting.” He goes on to say that he works ‘private security’ for non-profit organizations.

Then, pointing to his clothes, says “These are ACU’s.”

The soldier who posted the video on YouTube wrote: “Caught this POS in a tobacco store in Orange, CA trying to get a discount on pepper spray because he apparently was a purple heart recipient, gunny sergeant, recon, about to deploy.”

Apparently the man who was stopped on the sidewalk, graduated with a psych degree from Cal State, and went to officer training school.

“You got gunnery Sgt. in a year,” the service member asks. “I was only in Marine Corps for a year made it out of boot… was supposed to get Lieutenant – I went to basic OCS.”
read more here

From September 8, 2015
This was filmed by an Army Officer, and his wife Michelle, he noticed a guy that seemed out of place in a Marine Corps uniform. His wife posted a photo to our FB page and asked if he looked out of place, he threw up a lot of red flags. They confronted him, and he admitted he was a fake. said he was attending a wedding.


This one is from September 11, 2015

This guy claimed he was a member of 7th Special Forces Group, he was confronted by several current military members. He was also wearing several badges, including a CIB. It would seem he was getting discounts or free drinks, several national chains give free drinks to military in uniform.

Oregon Hero Thought of Others While Being Shot

UPDATE
Former JBLM soldier emerges as hero in campus shooting
Seattle Times
By Hal Bernton
Seattle Times staff reporter
Originally published October 2, 2015

Chris Mintz, surivor of the Umpqua Community College shooting, Thursday, was shot seven times. Mintz, 30, is an Army veteran who lived in Tacoma about 10 years ago while stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, according to Mintz’s brother. (Family of Chris Mintz)

An Army veteran who once served at Joint Base Lewis McChord is emerging as a hero who tried to protect classmates in the shooting rampage that took place at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore.

Christopher Mintz, 30, was shot multiple times and suffered wounds to both legs, his stomach and back but is now recovering at an Oregon hospital, according to his cousin, Derek Bourgeois, who says he spoke briefly with Mintz Thursday evening after surgery.

“He said he wished he could have saved just more people,” Bourgeois told The Seattle Times. “He was just out of surgery and struggling to get out a few words.”
read more here

Oregon shooting hero tells gunman, 'It's my son's birthday today' 
CNN
By Don Melvin
October 2, 2015

(CNN)When Chris Mintz heard gunfire at Oregon's Umpqua Community College on Thursday, his thoughts were not of himself.

Instead, he thought first of protecting others.

Then he thought of his 6-year-old son, Tyrik.

Nine people were killed when a gunman opened fire at the College on Thursday. Nine others were injured.

When the shooting broke out, Mintz, 30, an military veteran and a former high school football player in Randleman, North Carolina, tried to save the lives of others.

"Tries to block the door to keep the gunman from coming in," his aunt, Wanda Mintz, told Fox 8, a CNN affiliate in High Point, North Carolina.

"Gets shot three times," his aunt said. "Hits the floor."

"Looks up at the gunman and says, 'It's my son's birthday today,' " his aunt said.

Still, there was no mercy. The gunman shot Mintz again. It's not yet clear exactly how many more times, but both his legs are broken, said family members who talked to him by phone on his way into surgery.
read more here

6 US Troops Among 11 Dead in C-130 Crash

Pentagon Identifies Airmen Killed in C-130 Crash in Afghanistan

The airmen killed were

Capt. Jonathan J. Golden, 33, of Camarillo, California

Capt. Jordan B. Pierson, 28, of Abilene, Texas

Staff Sgt. Ryan D. Hammond, 26, of Moundsville, West Virginia

Senior Airman Quinn L. Johnson-Harris, 21, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Senior Airman Nathan C. Sartain, 29, of Pensacola, Florida

Airman 1st Class Kcey E. Ruiz, 21, of McDonough, Georgia

UPDATE

Two airmen from Hanscom Air Force Base killed in Afghanistan
Boston Herald
Zuri Berry, Matt Stout
October 2, 2015

Two airmen deployed from Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Mass., died when their aircraft crashed in Afghanistan yesterday, according to the base commander.

"This is a devastating day for our Air Force and for Hanscom Air Force Base," said Col. Michael A. Vogel, base commander, in a statement. "Our hearts are heavy with sorrow as we grieve with and for the families of these brave Airmen."

Six serviceman died in the crash yesterday shortly after takeoff from Jalalabad Airfield in Afghanistan. The four other men who died were deployed from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas. The two men from Hanscom who were killed were in the 66th Security Forces Squadron and were in the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing in Afghanistan, which regularly deploys to assist with security operations around the globe, according to the base.
read more here

Reminder in case you forgot there are still troops in Afghanistan

About 9,500 U.S. service members remain in Afghanistan after the administration's decision earlier this year to keep a larger U.S. force size on the ground to help the Afghan government solidify security gains.

6 US Troops Among 11 Dead in C-130 Crash in Afghanistan
Stars and Stripes
Josh Smith
October 2, 2015

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Six U.S. service members and five contractors were killed in a C-130 crash at Jalalabad Airport in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said late Thursday.

The crash, which occurred just after midnight Friday Afghanistan time, involved a C-130J assigned to the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, which is part of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing.

The airport at Jalalabad, located about 100 miles east of Kabul, is used only for military and United Nations flights.

In a post online, the Taliban claimed they had shot down the aircraft, killing 15 "invaders" plus several Afghan "hirelings."

However, U.S. Air Force Maj. Tony Wickman, a spokesman for the 455th said, "With high confidence, it does not appear at this time that enemy fire was a factor in the aircraft crash. We have first responders on scene working at the crash site doing recovery operations, so I can't give you information on casualties on the ground. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident."

Wickman said the crash occurred immediately after takeoff. "The aircraft crash site is contained wholly within the confines of the airfield," he told Stars and Stripes.
read more here

UK Veteran Charge, Promised Money Would Go to Veteran--Himself

Ex-soldier 'kept money raised for Help for Heroes' 
BBC
October 1, 2015

A former soldier asked for donations for endurance challenges but kept money raised for himself, a court has heard. Mike Buss, 41, from Highworth near Swindon, is accused of defrauding the charity Help for Heroes out of more than £23,000 between 2009 and 2011.

Swindon Crown Court heard before becoming an endurance athlete, Mr Buss spent 10 years in the Army and lectured at St Joseph's College in the town. Mr Buss denies one count of theft and one of fraud by false representation.

The ex-Green Jacket's fundraising activities took place mainly in and around Swindon and Highworth. They included running on a treadmill for 24 hours in Swindon's Brunel Centre, and running 100 marathons in 100 days. read more here

Minnesota National Guardsman Found Dead At Hibbing Armory

Police investigate death of soldier in Hibbing armory 
Star Tribune
By Mark Brunswick
SEPTEMBER 30, 2015

Hibbing police are investigating the possible suicide of a Minnesota National Guard soldier whose body was found Monday in the Hibbing armory.

The Minnesota National Guard identified the soldier as Staff Sgt. Ryan Esala, 43, of Virginia, Minn., who served for more than 26 years. 

Published reports indicate that a weapon was near the body.
read more here