Veterans of peacekeeping and humanitarian missions have expressed anger at the Australian War Memorial's refusal to put the names of their dead on the roll of honour.
There have been 48 Australians killed in ''non-warlike'' deployments since the Vietnam War.
The roll of honour records the names of Australia's war dead on bronze panels outside the Hall of Memory.
Read the entire story here.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Criminal hazing: Raped by his fellow soldiers
‘Crazy Troop’ NCOs court-martialed after initiation ritual in Iraq went too far, Army victims say
Warning: Some details of this story are graphic and may be disturbing.
FORT HOOD, Texas — Minutes after returning to his room after a long day of training Iraqi soldiers, Spc. Jarett Wright heard the door open.
Three of his fellow soldiers entered and pushed him down on the bed. Wright struggled, but the other soldiers were too strong.
Two of them — both sergeants — held him down by the shoulders. Another grabbed his legs.
Read the entire story here.
Editor's note: This article describes exactly what my son said happened to him in a sworn statement to the DOD Police. His allegation was never properly investigated. It led to his death.
Warning: Some details of this story are graphic and may be disturbing.
FORT HOOD, Texas — Minutes after returning to his room after a long day of training Iraqi soldiers, Spc. Jarett Wright heard the door open.
Three of his fellow soldiers entered and pushed him down on the bed. Wright struggled, but the other soldiers were too strong.
Two of them — both sergeants — held him down by the shoulders. Another grabbed his legs.
Read the entire story here.
Editor's note: This article describes exactly what my son said happened to him in a sworn statement to the DOD Police. His allegation was never properly investigated. It led to his death.
Leaders: hazing ‘not compatible’ with values
The cases against soldiers in C Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, out of Fort Hood, Texas, are the latest in a string of incidents that have highlighted hazing within the ranks.
At least two soldiers — Pvt. Danny Chen and Spc. Brushaun Anderson — and Marine Lance Cpl. Harry Lew are believed to have committed suicide after being hazed by fellow troops.
Eight soldiers in Chen’s unit have been charged in connection with his death; all the cases are still pending. In Anderson’s death, the battery commander, first sergeant, platoon sergeant and squad leader were found to be responsible for his maltreatment, but none of the soldiers was charged with a crime, according to Stars and Stripes. Two Marines were acquitted of hazing Lew while a third pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Read the entire story here.
At least two soldiers — Pvt. Danny Chen and Spc. Brushaun Anderson — and Marine Lance Cpl. Harry Lew are believed to have committed suicide after being hazed by fellow troops.
Eight soldiers in Chen’s unit have been charged in connection with his death; all the cases are still pending. In Anderson’s death, the battery commander, first sergeant, platoon sergeant and squad leader were found to be responsible for his maltreatment, but none of the soldiers was charged with a crime, according to Stars and Stripes. Two Marines were acquitted of hazing Lew while a third pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Read the entire story here.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Why Are We Drugging Our Soldiers?
SINCE the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there has been a large and steady rise in the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among our troops. One recent study of 289,000 Americans who served in those countries found that the rates of the disorder jumped to 22 percent in 2008 from just 0.2 percent in 2002.
Read the entire story here.
Given the duration of these wars and the length and frequency of deployments, when compared with other wars, perhaps such high rates of PTSD are not so surprising. Prolonged exposure to a perilous and uncertain combat environment might make trauma common.
But there is another factor that might be playing a role in the increasing rates of the disorder, one that has escaped attention: the military’s use of stimulant medications, like Ritalin and Adderall, in our troops.
Read the entire story here.
US Veterans kill themselves at a rate of one every 80 minutes.
A Veteran’s Death, the Nation’s Shame - New York Times
by Nicholas Kristof | April 14, 2012
HERE’S a window into a tragedy within the American military: For every soldier killed on the battlefield this year, about 25 veterans are dying by their own hands.
An American soldier dies every day and a half, on average, in Iraq or Afghanistan. Veterans kill themselves at a rate of one every 80 minutes. More than 6,500 veteran suicides are logged every year — more than the total number of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq combined since those wars began.
These unnoticed killing fields are places like New Middletown, Ohio, where Cheryl DeBow raised two sons, Michael and Ryan Yurchison, and saw them depart for Iraq. Michael, then 22, signed up soon after the 9/11 attacks.
“I can’t just sit back and do nothing,” he told his mom. Two years later, Ryan followed his beloved older brother to the Army...
Continue reading at the New York Times
--submitted by Lois Vanderbur
by Nicholas Kristof | April 14, 2012
HERE’S a window into a tragedy within the American military: For every soldier killed on the battlefield this year, about 25 veterans are dying by their own hands.
An American soldier dies every day and a half, on average, in Iraq or Afghanistan. Veterans kill themselves at a rate of one every 80 minutes. More than 6,500 veteran suicides are logged every year — more than the total number of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq combined since those wars began.
These unnoticed killing fields are places like New Middletown, Ohio, where Cheryl DeBow raised two sons, Michael and Ryan Yurchison, and saw them depart for Iraq. Michael, then 22, signed up soon after the 9/11 attacks.
“I can’t just sit back and do nothing,” he told his mom. Two years later, Ryan followed his beloved older brother to the Army...
Continue reading at the New York Times
--submitted by Lois Vanderbur
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Army Probes Drug Use By Soldiers In Afghanistan
The U.S. Army has investigated 56 soldiers in Afghanistan on suspicion of using or distributing heroin, morphine or other opiates during 2010 and 2011, newly obtained data shows. Eight soldiers died of drug overdoses during that time.
While the cases represent just a slice of possible drug use by U.S. troops in Afghanistan, they provide a somber snapshot of the illicit trade in the war zone, including young Afghans peddling heroin, soldiers dying after mixing cocktails of opiates, troops stealing from medical bags and Afghan soldiers and police dealing drugs to their U.S. comrades.
In a country awash with poppy fields that provide up to 90 percent of the world's opium, the U.S. military struggles to keep an eye on its far-flung troops and monitor for substance abuse.
But U.S. Army officials say that while the presence of such readily available opium - the raw ingredient for heroin - is a concern, opiate abuse has not been a pervasive problem for troops in Afghanistan.
"We have seen sporadic cases of it, but we do not see it as a widespread problem, and we have the means to check," said Col. Tom Collins, an Army spokesman.
The data represents only the criminal investigations done by Army Criminal Investigation Command involving soldiers in Afghanistan during those two years. The cases, therefore, are just a piece of the broader drug use statistics released by the Army earlier this year reporting nearly 70,000 drug offenses by roughly 36,000 soldiers between 2006-2011. The number of offenses increased from about 9,400 in 2010 to about 11,200 in 2011.
The overdose totals for the two years, however, are double the number that the Defense Department has reported as drug-related deaths in Afghanistan for the last decade. Defense officials suggested that additional deaths may have been categorized as "other" or were still under investigation when the statistics were submitted.
Read the entire story here.
While the cases represent just a slice of possible drug use by U.S. troops in Afghanistan, they provide a somber snapshot of the illicit trade in the war zone, including young Afghans peddling heroin, soldiers dying after mixing cocktails of opiates, troops stealing from medical bags and Afghan soldiers and police dealing drugs to their U.S. comrades.
In a country awash with poppy fields that provide up to 90 percent of the world's opium, the U.S. military struggles to keep an eye on its far-flung troops and monitor for substance abuse.
But U.S. Army officials say that while the presence of such readily available opium - the raw ingredient for heroin - is a concern, opiate abuse has not been a pervasive problem for troops in Afghanistan.
"We have seen sporadic cases of it, but we do not see it as a widespread problem, and we have the means to check," said Col. Tom Collins, an Army spokesman.
The data represents only the criminal investigations done by Army Criminal Investigation Command involving soldiers in Afghanistan during those two years. The cases, therefore, are just a piece of the broader drug use statistics released by the Army earlier this year reporting nearly 70,000 drug offenses by roughly 36,000 soldiers between 2006-2011. The number of offenses increased from about 9,400 in 2010 to about 11,200 in 2011.
The overdose totals for the two years, however, are double the number that the Defense Department has reported as drug-related deaths in Afghanistan for the last decade. Defense officials suggested that additional deaths may have been categorized as "other" or were still under investigation when the statistics were submitted.
Read the entire story here.
Former airman gets 22 years in gang beating death at Ramstein
A former airman has been sentenced to 22 years in prison in the gang-related beating death of an Army sergeant in Germany in 2005, The Associated Press reported.
Rico Williams, 34, was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington. He was convicted in November 2010 of second-degree murder in the death of Sgt. Juwan Johnson, 25.
Johnson was struck over 200 times by nine people during his July 3, 2005, initiation into the Gangster Disciples, according to trial testimony. He was found dead in his bed several hours later.
Williams, a former airman and head bouncer at Black Sounds nightclub in Landstuhl, was the self-proclaimed “governor” of the Gangster Disciples in Kaiserslautern. He began the "jumping-in" beating by punching Johnson in the face and repeatedly kicked him in the chest as he lay on the ground gasping for air, a witness testified.
Read the entire story here.
Rico Williams, 34, was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington. He was convicted in November 2010 of second-degree murder in the death of Sgt. Juwan Johnson, 25.
Johnson was struck over 200 times by nine people during his July 3, 2005, initiation into the Gangster Disciples, according to trial testimony. He was found dead in his bed several hours later.
Williams, a former airman and head bouncer at Black Sounds nightclub in Landstuhl, was the self-proclaimed “governor” of the Gangster Disciples in Kaiserslautern. He began the "jumping-in" beating by punching Johnson in the face and repeatedly kicked him in the chest as he lay on the ground gasping for air, a witness testified.
Read the entire story here.
Death Memorial
My son, PFC Robert A. Guy, a Marine, died on April 21st, 2005. He allegedly committed suicide. Which I was told two months later on the phone. He was put on Zoloft by a base doctor with no supervision. He and two other Marines were requested to guard an Iraqi detainee, he allegedly pointed his rifle at the detainees head, racked the bolt and sent the bolt home. It is a matter of record that his rifle was empty.
He denied these allegations and stated he was guilty of improper clearing procedures. So of course, he was involved in an NJP. The most he could get out of this was…1) Lose 1/2 months pay for two months. 2) Bust him down a rank, from PFC to Private. 3) Give him 45 days extra duty (which would have been suspended, due to time served in Iraq).
The day of the NJP hearing (April 21st, 2005) the Company Commander felt he wasn’t qualified to dole out punishment and passed it up the chain of command to the Battalion Commander. A 1st Sgt. allegedly told him (when he signed the paper stating he understood what had taken place), “Boy, you just signed your ass away. You’re getting a dishonorable and spending thirty years in Leavenworth.”
Later that evening he asked to see the Chaplain. He was told there was not a Chaplain on base, in order for him to speak to him they would have to get a convoy together. He was asked if it could wait until the morning. Knowing my son… not wanting to inconvience anyone and feeling he had no choice, he said “I guess so”.
Well, apparently it couldn’t. A very short time later he went into a port-a-john and blew his brains out.
Immediately all the Sgt’s were called together and told ‘to tell their men what had happened and to tell them there was a Chaplain available if anyone needed to speak to him’.
I received the ‘Field Investigation Report’ that was so full of discrepancies. It had been almost 2 years before I received the ‘Command Investigation Report’. I’ve waited so long for this report, hoping it would give me some answers. When it came, the answers were not there. It was more questions and more confusion than before. I want to get an attorney, but do not know what kind of attorney I need and where to find one. I have called everyone I can think of and all I get is a run-around. I have written a letter to the President of the United States, contacted my local Congressman, contacted both my State Senators and had my son’s story put in the newspaper. I have called numerous people affiliated with the Marine Corps and NCIS and all I get is lies, promises and people who apparently get paid to due nothing but say, “I’ll check into that and get back to you”.
So many times I’ve wanted to set fire to the Marine Corps flag, but as I told the newspaper people, “It flies for Bobby and the guys who went before him and the ones who will go after him, it damn sure don’t fly for the Corps.”
Thank you for your time and any assistance you may be able to provide.
Ann R. Guy
Chen case courts-martial to occur in North Carolina
BY ALINE REYNOLDS | Advocates and elected officials fighting for justice for Danny Chen have scored a major victory by helping persuade the U.S. Army to hold trials on U.S. soil for the eight soldiers implicated in the East Village soldier’s apparent suicide.
Last week, Army officials announced that the courts-martial, which were scheduled to begin earlier this month at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan, will instead be administered at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina. The military’s decision about the trials’ location follows months of petitioning by the New York chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA-NY) to have the trials moved to the States.
“This is a welcome victory for the community and the family,” said Elizabeth OuYang, OCA-NY president, at an April 12 press conference at the organization’s Chinatown offices. “It’ll be easier for our community to get there, and it’ll be easier for the family to get there,” she said of the trials’ East Coast location.
OuYang added, “The family deserves to be there, and the public needs to see what’s going on, in order for there to be legitimacy to this process.”
Read the entire story here.
Last week, Army officials announced that the courts-martial, which were scheduled to begin earlier this month at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan, will instead be administered at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina. The military’s decision about the trials’ location follows months of petitioning by the New York chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA-NY) to have the trials moved to the States.
“This is a welcome victory for the community and the family,” said Elizabeth OuYang, OCA-NY president, at an April 12 press conference at the organization’s Chinatown offices. “It’ll be easier for our community to get there, and it’ll be easier for the family to get there,” she said of the trials’ East Coast location.
OuYang added, “The family deserves to be there, and the public needs to see what’s going on, in order for there to be legitimacy to this process.”
Read the entire story here.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Army Releases March Suicide Data
Army Releases March Suicide Data
The Army released suicide data today for the month of March. During March, among active-duty soldiers, there were 18 potential suicides: three have been confirmed as suicides and 15 remain under investigation. For February, the Army reported 11 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, five have been confirmed as suicides and six remain under investigation. For 2012, there have been 45 potential active-duty suicides: 20 have been confirmed as suicides and 25 remain under investigation. Updated active-duty suicide numbers for 2011: 164 (164 have been confirmed as suicides and none remain under investigation).
During March, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 10 potential suicides (seven Army National Guard and three Army Reserve): four have been confirmed as suicides and six remain under investigation. For February, among that same group, the Army reported three potential suicides. Since the release of that report, one case has been added for a total of four potential suicides (four Army National Guard and no Army Reserve): three have been confirmed as suicides and one remains under investigation. For 2012, there have been 20 potential not on active duty suicides (16 Army National Guard and four Army Reserve): 13 have been confirmed as suicides and seven remain under investigation. Updated not on active duty suicide numbers for 2011: 117 (81 Army National Guard and 36 Army Reserve); 117 have been confirmed as suicides and none remain under investigation.
"One suicide is one too many. We in Army medicine have partnered with our line leaders to enhance mental health resiliency; by engaging soldiers holistically by supporting their mental, physical and spiritual well being in an effort to improve the health and wellness of the Force. We are committed to every soldier and our efforts are focused on prevention well before the individual chooses suicide as their only option," said Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, the surgeon general of the Army.
Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Trained consultants are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year and can be contacted by dialing 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or by visiting their website at http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org .
Army leaders can access current health promotion guidance in newly revised Army Regulation 600-63 (Health Promotion) at: http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r600_63.pdf and Army Pamphlet 600-24 (Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention) at http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/p600_24.pdf .
The Army's comprehensive list of Suicide Prevention Program information is located at http://www.preventsuicide.army.mil .
Suicide prevention training resources for Army families can be accessed at http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/suicide/training_sub.asp?sub_cat=20 (requires Army Knowledge Online access to download materials).
Information about Military OneSource is located at http://www.militaryonesource.com or by dialing the toll-free number 1-800-342-9647 for those residing in the continental United States. Overseas personnel should refer to the Military OneSource website for dialing instructions for their specific location.
Information about the Army's Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program is located at http://www.army.mil/csf/ .
The Defense Center for Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) Outreach Center can be contacted at 1-866-966-1020, via electronic mail at Resources@DCoEOutreach.org and at http://www.dcoe.health.mil .
The website for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is http://www.afsp.org/, and the Suicide Prevention Resource Council site is found at http://www.sprc.org/index.asp .
Source: DOD Announcement
During March, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 10 potential suicides (seven Army National Guard and three Army Reserve): four have been confirmed as suicides and six remain under investigation. For February, among that same group, the Army reported three potential suicides. Since the release of that report, one case has been added for a total of four potential suicides (four Army National Guard and no Army Reserve): three have been confirmed as suicides and one remains under investigation. For 2012, there have been 20 potential not on active duty suicides (16 Army National Guard and four Army Reserve): 13 have been confirmed as suicides and seven remain under investigation. Updated not on active duty suicide numbers for 2011: 117 (81 Army National Guard and 36 Army Reserve); 117 have been confirmed as suicides and none remain under investigation.
"One suicide is one too many. We in Army medicine have partnered with our line leaders to enhance mental health resiliency; by engaging soldiers holistically by supporting their mental, physical and spiritual well being in an effort to improve the health and wellness of the Force. We are committed to every soldier and our efforts are focused on prevention well before the individual chooses suicide as their only option," said Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, the surgeon general of the Army.
Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Trained consultants are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year and can be contacted by dialing 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or by visiting their website at http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org .
Army leaders can access current health promotion guidance in newly revised Army Regulation 600-63 (Health Promotion) at: http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r600_63.pdf and Army Pamphlet 600-24 (Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention) at http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/p600_24.pdf .
The Army's comprehensive list of Suicide Prevention Program information is located at http://www.preventsuicide.army.mil .
Suicide prevention training resources for Army families can be accessed at http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/suicide/training_sub.asp?sub_cat=20 (requires Army Knowledge Online access to download materials).
Information about Military OneSource is located at http://www.militaryonesource.com or by dialing the toll-free number 1-800-342-9647 for those residing in the continental United States. Overseas personnel should refer to the Military OneSource website for dialing instructions for their specific location.
Information about the Army's Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program is located at http://www.army.mil/csf/ .
The Defense Center for Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) Outreach Center can be contacted at 1-866-966-1020, via electronic mail at Resources@DCoEOutreach.org and at http://www.dcoe.health.mil .
The website for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is http://www.afsp.org/, and the Suicide Prevention Resource Council site is found at http://www.sprc.org/index.asp .
Source: DOD Announcement
Monday, April 16, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Trials of soldiers accused of hounding New York Army Pvt. Danny Chen being moved to U.S.
Court martials moved from Afghanistan to Ft. Bragg, N.C.
Pvt. Danny Chen’s grieving family got a reason to cheer Wednesday after the Pentagon announced it was moving the trials of eight soldiers accused of hounding the New Yorker to death from Afghanistan to the U.S.
The commander at Ft. Bragg, N.C., “has agreed to accept court-martial jurisdiction over the eight Soldiers charged in relation to the death” of Chen, Army spokesman Randy Randolph said in a statement.
Told of the decision, Chen’s parents said they were happy with the switch.
“We are very pleased to hear the news that the court martials have been transferred to the United States,” they said in a statement. “We will now have an opportunity to watch justice being brought for our son.”
Read the entire story here.
Pvt. Danny Chen’s grieving family got a reason to cheer Wednesday after the Pentagon announced it was moving the trials of eight soldiers accused of hounding the New Yorker to death from Afghanistan to the U.S.
The commander at Ft. Bragg, N.C., “has agreed to accept court-martial jurisdiction over the eight Soldiers charged in relation to the death” of Chen, Army spokesman Randy Randolph said in a statement.
Told of the decision, Chen’s parents said they were happy with the switch.
“We are very pleased to hear the news that the court martials have been transferred to the United States,” they said in a statement. “We will now have an opportunity to watch justice being brought for our son.”
Read the entire story here.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Corps Expands Urinalysis Testing To Include Prescription Drugs
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Although Hydrocodone and Benzodiazepine are prescribed to treat severe pain, and a variety of ailments such as alcohol dependence, seizures, anxiety, panic, agitation and insomnia, the Department of Defense has expanded military drug testing for these commonly abused prescription drugs.
The DoD is expanding military drug tests to adapt to current trends of prescription drug abuse, said Steven L. Butler, substance abuse prevention specialist, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
Read the entire story here.
The DoD is expanding military drug tests to adapt to current trends of prescription drug abuse, said Steven L. Butler, substance abuse prevention specialist, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
Read the entire story here.
Monday, April 09, 2012
A fog of drugs and war
"We have never medicated our troops to the extent we are doing now.... And I don't believe the current increase in suicides and homicides in the military is a coincidence," said Bart Billings, a former military psychologist who hosts an annual conference on combat stress.
Read the entire story here.
Read the entire story here.
Friday, April 06, 2012
Air Force Tries to Deal With Suicide Rate
Air Force leaders at all levels must fight the problem of suicides within the service by developing a culture of healthy airmen across the board, said the service’s top enlisted man Thursday.
“We’ve got to talk about” the problem of airman suicides openly, look at suicide rates, discuss lessons learned from suicides and even acknowledge “saves,” said Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, James Roy, during an April 5 luncheon on Capitol Hill.
“Some have said, don’t talk about it, I just throw that aside,” said Roy. “When somebody commits suicide, some people would say that I shouldn’t be sharing the [suicide] numbers the way I share them. Why not? How do I tell what happened last April or last March if I don’t show you where we are today? How do I compare the two?”
The Air Force lost 99 airmen in 2010 to suicides, 90 in 2011 and 35 so far in 2012, making suicide the service’s leading cause of death, according to slides presented by Roy during his presentation.
Read the entire story here.
“We’ve got to talk about” the problem of airman suicides openly, look at suicide rates, discuss lessons learned from suicides and even acknowledge “saves,” said Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, James Roy, during an April 5 luncheon on Capitol Hill.
“Some have said, don’t talk about it, I just throw that aside,” said Roy. “When somebody commits suicide, some people would say that I shouldn’t be sharing the [suicide] numbers the way I share them. Why not? How do I tell what happened last April or last March if I don’t show you where we are today? How do I compare the two?”
The Air Force lost 99 airmen in 2010 to suicides, 90 in 2011 and 35 so far in 2012, making suicide the service’s leading cause of death, according to slides presented by Roy during his presentation.
Read the entire story here.
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Should troops get the right to sue the US for medical malpractice?
A medically retired airman filed suit against the U.S. government Friday in Texas, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Colton Read contends military surgeons so badly botched a routine gallbladder procedure in July 2009 that his legs had to be amputated to save his life, the newspaper reported Sunday.
The case is the latest challenge to the so-called Feres Doctrine, which places strict limits on the ability of active-duty personnel to sue military doctors for medical malpractice. The 62-year-old legal precedent protects the U.S. government from being held liable for negligence suffered by troops while on duty.
The Supreme Court in June 2011 refused to hear a military medical malpractice case involving Staff Sgt. Dean Witt, who was left in a persistent vegetative state after an Air Force hospital botched what should have been a routine appendectomy in 2003.
Read the entire story here.
Colton Read contends military surgeons so badly botched a routine gallbladder procedure in July 2009 that his legs had to be amputated to save his life, the newspaper reported Sunday.
The case is the latest challenge to the so-called Feres Doctrine, which places strict limits on the ability of active-duty personnel to sue military doctors for medical malpractice. The 62-year-old legal precedent protects the U.S. government from being held liable for negligence suffered by troops while on duty.
The Supreme Court in June 2011 refused to hear a military medical malpractice case involving Staff Sgt. Dean Witt, who was left in a persistent vegetative state after an Air Force hospital botched what should have been a routine appendectomy in 2003.
Read the entire story here.
Monday, April 02, 2012
Honoring a Service Member’s Ultimate Sacrifice, Whether It Was Made on the Battlefield or Not
In a post on March 15 , Gary Farwell eloquently described how some families of our fallen military personnel are issued different types of gold star pins or not “allowed” to have gold star license tags by the states that issue them. At the heart of this issue is the memorialization of our fallen military. Gold star license tags are only the tip of the iceberg.
Far too often, we at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), hear similar stories from military families who have suffered the loss of a loved one who died while serving in the armed forces and then are denied “gold star” status because their loved ones did not die in a combat zone or were not killed in action.
When you look seriously at the issue of memorializing our fallen military members, you find many inconsistencies that inflict emotional pain on survivors. They are people like the family of Lance Cpl. Darrell Schumann of the Marine Corps, who died in Iraq in 2005 while riding in a helicopter that crashed during a sandstorm. Lance Corporal Schumann’s father, a veteran himself, has spent years questioning why a citizen board in Virginia refuses to include his son’s name on a memorial wall at the State Capitol that honors the military dead. The reason cited by the board is that Lance Corporal Schumann “didn’t die by a hostile act,” even though he was deployed in a war zone.
Read the entire story here.
Far too often, we at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), hear similar stories from military families who have suffered the loss of a loved one who died while serving in the armed forces and then are denied “gold star” status because their loved ones did not die in a combat zone or were not killed in action.
When you look seriously at the issue of memorializing our fallen military members, you find many inconsistencies that inflict emotional pain on survivors. They are people like the family of Lance Cpl. Darrell Schumann of the Marine Corps, who died in Iraq in 2005 while riding in a helicopter that crashed during a sandstorm. Lance Corporal Schumann’s father, a veteran himself, has spent years questioning why a citizen board in Virginia refuses to include his son’s name on a memorial wall at the State Capitol that honors the military dead. The reason cited by the board is that Lance Corporal Schumann “didn’t die by a hostile act,” even though he was deployed in a war zone.
Read the entire story here.
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Rulings eyed in Shaler soldier's electrocution in Iraq shower
If the lawyers on opposite sides of a federal wrongful death lawsuit agree on anything, it's that the other side is misinterpreting recent court rulings governing the liability of a private Defense contractor.
The parents of Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, a native of Shaler, are suing KBR Inc. for the Jan. 2, 2008, death of their son while he showered on a military base in Iraq maintained by the company.
Cheryl Harris and Douglas Maseth say shoddy electrical work by KBR on a pump caused their son's electrocution. KBR contends that while it had the maintenance contract for the building, the Army decided not to make the building electrically safe.
Read the entire story here.
The parents of Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, a native of Shaler, are suing KBR Inc. for the Jan. 2, 2008, death of their son while he showered on a military base in Iraq maintained by the company.
Cheryl Harris and Douglas Maseth say shoddy electrical work by KBR on a pump caused their son's electrocution. KBR contends that while it had the maintenance contract for the building, the Army decided not to make the building electrically safe.
Read the entire story here.
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