Navy Identifies SEAL Lost at Sea During Training

The Navy identified the SEAL commando who was lost at sea last week during training off Kaena Point as Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Matthew John Leathers of Woodland, Calif.

The Coast Guard said it suspended its search for Leathers Sunday after "exhaustive efforts" to locate the 33-year-old, who went missing during an open-ocean training exercise last Tuesday.

Read the entire story here.

Navy: 2 divers die during Maryland diving op

Actually, there have been three Navy diver deaths in the past month.

Read the entire story here.

UK Non-combat Death Investigation

Soldier Michael Maguire shot in non-combat zone while training, inquest told

Michael Maguire was hit in the head by a stray bullet from 1km away at the Castlemartin range

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Related Stories

• Soldier's death from stray bullet

A soldier died after being shot in the head in a non-combat zone on a training range in Pembrokeshire, an inquest has heard.

January 2013 Suicide Information

Army Releases January 2013 Suicide Information

The Army released suicide data today for the month of January 2013. During January, among active-duty soldiers, there were 19 potential suicides: two have been confirmed as suicides and 17 remain under investigation. For December 2012, the Army reported seven potential suicides among active-duty soldiers; however, subsequent to the report, another case was added bringing December's total to eight: five have been confirmed as suicides and three are under investigation.

During January, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 14 potential suicides (six Army National Guard and eight Army Reserve): One has been confirmed and 13 are still under investigation. For December 2012, among that same group, the Army reported 15 potential suicides; since the release of that report, one case has been added for a total of 16 (11 Army National Guard and five Army Reserve): nine have been confirmed and seven cases remain under investigation.

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, verbatim

Dead woman found near Carson was a soldier

DENVER — A 28-year-old Army corporal from Fort Riley, Kan., was found dead amid blood and flower petals in a Colorado motel room, apparently after a Valentine’s Day quarrel with her soldier boyfriend, according to a court document released Tuesday.

The body of Cpl. Kimberly Walker was found Sunday in Colorado Springs, police said. Army Sgt. Montrell Lamar Anderson Mayo, who is stationed at Fort Carson outside Colorado Springs, surrendered later that day to police in Greenville, N.C.

Read the entire story here.

Death Memorial

2nd Lieutenant Kirk Charles Vanderbur, USMCR

 

December 28, 1967 – February 16, 1992

 

Kirk was shot in 2 places, in the stomach with his shotgun and in the head with his rifle. There were two different weapons. A Spas 12 was discharged into the abdomen at an upward angle and a Ruger-Mini 14 rifle with a bullpup stock (.223) shot between the eyes.

 

There was no gunshot residue on his hands but it was said that both shots were at close range. Both weapons were 10 feet apart. There was no homicide investigation. Yet it got tagged with suicide as the cause of death.

The scene at the time of death was located at a shooting range at Hubert, NC; therefore the first investigation was done outside the military installation where he was stationed. Because of the inconsistencies in both the NCIS and Sheriff Ed Brown investigations, the Vanderbur’s asked the help of a Doctor Thomas L. Bennett, their home State of Iowa Medical Examiner. Bennett had originally agreed to do a second autopsy for Gene and Lois; however, Kirk’s body was released without an examination.

Since these sites are public by virtue of the fact that they are on the Internet to be accessed by those people who need them, as is our site, we have provided them for your further study of injustice at work and for your further finding that the death of Kirk Charles Vanderbur was not in vain.
We asked Lois if she would be willing to submit the story of her son Kirk. Her reply was that the story has already been written and she gave us permission to use the information that has been written as the basis for this story.

By now you will have read the story in our History pages about how Untill We Have Answers was started and that Lois Vanderbur was a hard working member of that group. Her devastation,
frustration and motivation came from having been notified that her son, Kirk had committed suicide while stationed at Camp Lejeune NC and she and her husband always knew this was not the truth! Lois turned around that black mark on her heart – and her son’s integrity. She and Kirk served as a major cornerstone to the legislation that came out of what she and other members of UWHA made happen. Thanks for the following legislations: 1185, 2187 and 5505.10.

Kirk’s death ended up being a double loss for he had wanted to be an organ donor.

 

If you have any information about this case, please contact me through this website

Petition

Hello!
I've started the petition "President Obama and the Department of Defense: Properly investigate military non-combat deaths" and need your help to get it off the ground.
Will you take 30 seconds to sign it right now? Here's the link:
http://www.change.org/petitions/president-obama-and-the-department-of-defense-properly-investigate-military-non-combat-deaths
Here's why it's important:
Military members' non-combat deaths are not being properly investigated and this is an unacceptable insult to their national service and memories.

You can sign my petition by clicking here.
Thanks!

Disadvantage in Court: Soldier’s family calls for prosecution against judge

Legal successors of army Lieutenant Artak Nazaryan are demanding criminal prosecution against judge Samvel Mardanyan, chairman of Tavush province’s general jurisdiction court, presiding in Nazaryan’s case ongoing since 2010.        

Read the entire story here.

Death Memorial

Cpl. Andrew White, USMC

 

Our youngest son, Cpl. Andrew White, USMC, was home from Iraq five days when his older brother, SSgt. Robert F. White, 82nd ABN US ARMY, was killed in action in Afghanistan on September 26, 2006.

On 12 February 2008, Andrew died while being treated by the VA for PTSD. He was taking 60 mg. Paxil, 4 mg. of Klonopin, and 1600 mg. of Seroquel. He died in his sleep.
Since then, his mother and I have been on a mission to find answers so that no other family will suffer these losses while their loved ones are being treated for PTSD.

With the help of several new friends, we have found that at least 57 others have died in similar circumstances — some from these same meds, while other deaths are still under investigation.
If you know of any families that have lost loved ones while taking these meds, please contact us through this website. We have been to Congress with our story and the stories of at least eight other families (five in West Virginia). Our goal is threefold:

1. Collect the stories of other soldiers who have died from meds while being treated for PTSD.
2. Lobby Congress to force the DOD and VA to use less medication and more counseling for PTSD, and
3. Lobby for an in-depth investigation into why the VA and DOD continues to prescribe the lethal mix of antidepressants, antipsychotics and pain killing drugs.

Stan and Shirley White, Cross Lanes WV

To contact the Whites, email us and we’ll forward your message.

Death Memorial

Seaman Adam J. Palecco

Seaman Adam Palecco, Camp Hansen, Okinawa. ” Seaman Adam Palecco, USN, 21, of New Jersey was brutally murdered on February 2, 2005, by three service members who had been falsely told that Adam was going to testify against them regarding their participation in a theft ring. This false information was made up by a military officer who has yet to be held responsible, despite all the family’s efforts for accountability by the military.”

Army Relases December 2012 and Calendar Year 2012 Suicide Information

The Army released suicide data today for the month of December and calendar year 2012. During December, among active-duty soldiers, there were seven potential suicides: three have been confirmed as suicides and four remain under investigation. For November, the Army reported 12 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers: four have been confirmed as suicides and eight remain under investigation. For 2012, there have been 182 potential active-duty suicides: 130 have been confirmed as suicides and 52 remain under investigation. Active-duty suicide number for 2011: 165 confirmed as suicides and no cases under investigation. During December, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 15 potential suicides (10 Army National Guard and five Army Reserve): four have been confirmed as suicides and 11 remain under investigation. For November, among that same group, the Army reported 15 potential suicides (12 Army National Guard and three Army Reserve): 10 have been confirmed as suicides and five remain under investigation. For 2012, there have been 143 potential not on active-duty suicides (96 Army National Guard and 47 Army Reserve): 117 have been confirmed as suicides and 26 remain under investigation. Not on active-duty suicide numbers for 2011: 118 (82 Army National Guard and 36 Army Reserve) confirmed as suicides and no cases under investigation. "The Army continues to take aggressive measures head-on to meet the challenge of suicides as every loss of life impacts our family," said Lt. Gen. Howard Bromberg, deputy chief of Staff, Manpower and Personnel. "In spite of the increased loss of life to suicide, with calendar year 2012 being our highest on record, the Army is confident that through our continued emphasis in the services, programs, policies, and training that support our Army family, we will overcome this threat to our Force. We've expanded the Strong Bonds Program to strengthen relationships and family bonds; broadened our training scope by certifying over three thousand additional suicide prevention trainers in the Ask, Care, Escort suicide intervention program; revised Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program to include family members (CSF2); increased our volume and availability of behavioral health services; and conducted an Army-wide stand down during Suicide Prevention Month to promote increased leaders' awareness and involvement. Additionally, the Army will launch its Ready and Resilient Campaign to guide our efforts to improve resilience and readiness, provide quality care, and improve the effectiveness of the programs and services to ensure comprehensive care of our soldiers, civilians and family members." 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, verbatim Vet Suicides Underestimated, Skewed by State Data