This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Veterans Issues

  • 126,000 service members in crosshairs for separation as DoD’s ‘deploy or get out’ policy takes effect

    126,000 service members in crosshairs for separation as DoD’s ‘deploy or get out’ policy takes effect

    Army Command Sgt. Maj. Craig Owens, of the 200th Military Police Command, leads a team-building ruck march while wearing protective masks in Scottsdale, Ariz., Sept. 16, 2017, as part of a larger event to discuss ways to increase readiness to deploy. (Master Sgt. Michel Sauret/Army)

    The Pentagon’s hard line on troop readiness took effect Monday, and 126,000 service members now find themselves on a path to separation if they do not become deployable in the next 12 months.

    “Deploy or get out” was an early policy priority of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to improve the overall readiness of U.S. military forces. It was formalized in February and gave the services until Oct. 1 to be ready to begin holding troops accountable. Those intervening months also gave troops time to prepare, to get rid of administrative, legal or medical blocks that may have previously kept them in a non-deployable status.

    “Excluding trainees, approximately 6 percent (126,000) of the total force — active duty, National Guard and Reserve — were non-deployable as of Aug. 31, 2018,” DoD said in a statement to Military Times. “This includes temporary as well as permanent non-deployable service members. The reasons vary, but they are predominantly medical.”

    Of that 126,000 total, 66,000 are non-deployable due to illness or injury, DoD said.

    Of that 126,000 total, 24,000 are considered permanently non-deployable and were pending a disability evaluation that could lead to the service member’s transition out of the military, DoD said.

    The sick, lame and lazy should have been gone a long time ago.  Seems to be taking a long time to purge the non-hackers from active duty.  I am sure they are all victims of something or another.   The entire article is HERE.

     

  • When they start pimping out the corpse of a dead veteran for votes…everyone should lose.

    When they start pimping out the corpse of a dead veteran for votes…everyone should lose.

    The corpse of Jason Simcakoski seems to be popular fodder for political grazing these days.  Jason died in 2014 while in the care of the VA.  Now,  Leah Vukmir and Tammy Baldwin are using his death in their respective campaign adds.

    The parents and widow of a Marine veteran who died at the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center appear in a pair of television ads that debuted Thursday praising Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and calling attacks against her “shameful.”

    The spots are an attempt by Baldwin to counter one of the main criticisms of her lodged by Republican opponent Leah Vukmir and conservative groups. Vukmir has charged that Baldwin failed to respond quickly enough to the crisis at Tomah, where veterans were being over-prescribed opioids leading up to the death of Jason Simcakoski in 2014.

    Simcakoski’s parents are in one new Baldwin ad and his widow is in another. In both, they praise Baldwin for working with them to enact a law that toughened opioid prescription guidelines. They also call for attacks against Baldwin on Tomah to stop.

    “When I see these attack ads against Tammy Baldwin, using Jason’s death, I think it’s shameful,” his widow Heather says in one ad. “Tammy has literally been there with us every step of the way for three years. She’s the one helping us do right by our veterans.”

    It’s not bad enough that two politicians are using his death for political gain…now his widow and parents have jumped into the ring.

    In an ad released Wednesday, Vukmir attacked Baldwin over her response to the Tomah crisis. It was the latest in a series of spots by her and conservative groups that have spent millions attacking Baldwin on the issue.

    “You knew about the opioid crisis at the Tomah VA and you did nothing,” Vukmir said in the ad.

    Baldwin’s office heard from a whistleblower about concerns at Tomah in March 2014. It received a report in August 2014 about its 2½-year investigation into Tomah that cited concerns over the prescription of opioids at the facility, which is about 100 miles northwest of Madison.

    Simcakoski died the day after Baldwin’s office received the report.

    The family of Jason Simcakoski became effective activists and were instrumental in passing the  Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act.  They were also awarded $2.3 million.  The practice of treating veterans at “Pill Factories” needed to be addressed.

    Everyone is diminished when they are drawn into petty political fights.  Vukmir and Baldwin are political parasites feeding on the dead corpse of a veteran.  Shame on his family for jumping into this fight.  Vukmir needs to STFU and Baldwin lacks the dignity to ask this family to stay out of this petty fight.  The lawyers were all paid, the family was paid, even the doctor that was in charge of Simcakoski managed to get his back pay.  Now, these two political hacks seek to profit from his death.

    I hope my family has the dignity not to pimp out my corpse.    Maybe one day they will all find the dignity to let my brother rest in peace.

  • Army Veteran brainwashed into Citizenship.

    Army Veteran brainwashed into Citizenship.

    Army veteran Fabian Rebolledo returned to the U.S. Wednesday after he was deported to Mexico in 2012. (AP )

    I have looked into a few of these. “Veterans who have been deported” cases.  I am sure there are exceptions but they all seem to have valid reasons for being sent out of the country.  “Being a Veteran” does not absolve an individual from his civic and legal responsibilities.

    A U.S. military veteran who was deported to Mexico six years ago walked back across the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday proudly wearing his Army uniform and maroon beret to reunite with his family.

    Anxious to greet Fabian Rebolledo, 43, across the border in San Diego were his parents, siblings and 18-year-old son, The Los Angeles Daily News reported.

    Rebolledo was first deported to Mexico in 2010 after authorities said he cashed a $750 check they believed to be forged. He insisted he received the check for construction work he performed and didn’t know it was fraudulent.

    He reentered the country and in 2012, immigration officers picked him up at his parents home and he was deported again.

    His battle with the U.S. immigration system received help from the University of California, Irvine Immigrant Rights Clinic and other advocacy groups.

    “We fought for this Constitution, not only for our own families but for everybody in the United States so they can walk free,” Rebolledo said. “There are a lot of veterans out there that need our help.”

    Yes, yes, yes, there are Victim Veterans everywhere.  Cashing a forged check and then re-entering the country illegally should be all forgotten about because he is a Veteran.  Most of the cases I have looked into involve drug crimes…we should look the other way for that too I guess.

    The Daily News reported Rebolledo dropped out of college to work before he joined the Army.  A recruiter “brainwashed” him into thinking he would automatically become a citizen, he told reporters.

    My recruiter told me that I didn’t have to die in a steel mill or a coal mine, he said if I was lucky enough I would die far away from all that in some country I could probably not pronounce.   So Rebolledo was ‘brainwashed’ by the Army but enjoys using his service for special treatment.  I always find this special kind of Veteran Pride a bit shallow.

     

  • Enough is enough already.

    Enough is enough already.

    How many Veteran Charities are there?  Would you say 1,500?  Maybe 15,000 or more?   According to the IRS there are more than 40,000 Veteran Charities.  At what point will we as a Veteran community tell people to knock it off already?

     

    Link HERE

    This does not include the myriad of Local, State and Federal government organizations who support Veterans.  It seems that there is a constant roll out of new programs to assist Veterans these days, even the Shitbirds.

    The Veterans Health Administration in 2017 offered to treat vets who don’t normally qualify for care because they earned a less-than-honorable discharge. Almost no one used the program.

    Now veterans’ groups are hoping a change in the program will help that group of veterans when they struggle with thoughts of suicide.

    Roadside Bomb

    At his home outside San Diego, former Marine Lance Cpl. Josh Onan keeps some photographs next to his TV. The photos are from his days as a Marine. In 2006, he was in Ramadi, Iraq when his Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb.

    “I remember laying down in the truck. Waking up, there is dust and debris all over me,” Onan said. “And there was an Iraqi colonel, who is sitting in the truck with us and he’s just screaming, screaming and I don’t understand what he’s saying. So, that’s when I realized, ‘Oh here we go, something big is happening.’”

    During the next year, Onan would be in and out of trouble: small infractions, which he chalks up to the amount of medication prescribed for his head injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. Then, while on leave, he was caught with a small amount of cocaine. That was it. He was kicked out of the Marines.

    Onan looks at a picture of himself in his battle gear.

    “I’m 32 years old now, and this guy is 20, and I look up to this guy,” he said. “I know it’s me but I miss everything about him. Sometimes it’s hard to find this guy.”

    Onan is one of the thousands of veterans who have other-than-honorable discharges. They don’t typically qualify for VA benefits, even though vets like Onan have a high suicide rate.

    To address that, the VA last summer started a new program: this group of veterans can come into the VA and be treated for mental health issues at least for 90 days.

    KPBS asked the VA how many people used the program in the first year. The VA figures show nationally 115 veterans used the program. Advocates said the number is a fraction of the veterans who would now qualify for mental health care. Twenty-five of those patients were in San Diego.

    “They came in saying they had an urgent need and they were evaluated and received care for that urgent need whether it was a substance use disorder or suicidal thoughts,” said Dr. Neal Doran, of VA San Diego.   Article HERE

    So now the VA has the mandate to search out and identify the people who could not manage to honorably complete their military service.  Everyone should join the military for at least a few days so they will be taken care of for the rest of their lives.  All any veteran has to do is say they have thoughts of canceling their birthday and the sky will open up.   I would debunk the “22 A Day” myth again but why bother people with facts when they have already made up their minds.

    While a certain Jew-ish Lawyer type keeps stuffing his pockets with money donated by gullible denigrates, the people he tends to attack are stuck in the trenches trying to deal with these problems in real time.

    Chaplains discuss their history and experiences working with suicide cases at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Feb. 11, 2015.

    Article HERE

    Honestly, with all the VSO’s and Charities out there…one would think enough is enough already.

  • Exoskeleton helps spinal cord and stroke victims walk again

    exo suit

    Fox News Link

    31-year-old Laquan Taylor was told he would never walk again. But with the help of an exoskeleton suit donated by SoldierStrong, he is getting his sense of independence back.

    Most of us take it for granted, but when a paralyzed veteran stood up and walked today, it was like a miracle had changed his world.

    Laquan Taylor was shot numerous times by a carjacker.

    “I was in a vegetative state. I was told I would never walk again,” said the 31-year-old Navy veteran.

    But he’s proving them wrong with the use of new technology: An exoskeleton suit.
    “It allows me to stand. It gives me the sense of confidence again without falling or having issues,” he explained.

    With some help from his physical therapist, Taylor stood and walked across a room at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa.

    The Ekso GT exoskeleton was donated to the hospital by SoldierStrong, a group that had already donated 16 exoskeletons across the country at a cost of more than $100,000 each.

    “I’ve seen this a hundred times now and every time is special. You see the smile on their face, their eyes light up,” said Chris Meek, co-founder of SoldierStrong.
    Dr. Kevin White, a spinal cord injury specialist, says he expects the devices will become cheaper.

    “This is going to be commonplace in a short period of time. As years go by this technology gets better and better.”

    He says the exoskeleton donated today can help people with full or partial paralysis. It’s FDA approved for both spinal cord injuries and stroke.

    LaQuan says the exoskeleton has accelerated his therapy and improved his outlook. “It gives you your sense of independence back.”

    SoldierStrong has partnered with some of America’s most advanced medical technology companies to make their devices accessible to returning veterans. The SoldierStrong SoldierSuit is comprised of several state-of-the-art rehabilitation and powered prosthetic technologies that address a variety of combat and non-combat related disabilities. Read more about them here:

    Soldier Strong Link

  • Frederick Mendoza’s death sentence vacated because of PTSD.

    Frederick Mendoza’s death sentence vacated because of PTSD.

     

    From a 2008 article

    Rita Kremberg, originally from New York, lived in Las Vegas for about nine years with her husband, who died in 2002. They didn’t have any children but a friend testified that Kremberg and her husband had been active in raising money for medical centers for kids. Her friend, Gene Fogleman, said Kremberg was afraid of the crime in New York City and thought she’d be safer in Las Vegas.

    Kremberg was found dead at her apartment on March 3, 2007. She was naked from the waist down and had multiple stab wounds. Her attacker didn’t steal anything from her apartment.

    Las Vegas detectives found Mendoza’s fingerprints on a liquor bottle found inside Kremberg’s apartment. Mendoza denied knowing Kremberg or ever being in her apartment when homicide detectives asked him about it. He had lived at the Destination Senior Living facility about three months.  Mendoza’s DNA was found under Kremberg’s fingernails and on her genitals, said county prosecutor Robert Daskas.

    Daskas also told the jury that Mendoza had a prior conviction for a sexual crime in Las Vegas. In 1977, he met a woman at a hotel bar, followed her to her hotel room, choked her and raped her, Daskas said.  The victim in the case wanted to press charges against Mendoza because she believed he would kill the next time, Daskas said.

    Mendoza pleaded guilty to battery with the intent to commit rape in 1978 and was out of prison by 1979.

    Now a Judge has vacated his death sentence because he caught the PTSD in the NAM.

    A Las Vegas judge on Thursday vacated the death penalty for a Vietnam War veteran who raped and killed a 68-year-old woman more than 10 years ago.  Frederick Mendoza, now 71, pleaded guilty in 2008 in the slaying of Rita Kremberg. But he immediately appealed his sentence, which was handed down by a jury after a penalty hearing.  Under a deal with prosecutors made this month, Mendoza agreed that he would waive any challenge to his conviction and not appeal a sentence of life without parole.

    Mendoza had post-traumatic stress disorder after serving more than 18 months as a Marine in Vietnam, said his lawyer, Jamie Resch, who called the jury’s sentence “fundamentally unreliable.”

    If lawyers either wearing a robe or not decide these things, why waist the time of 12 citizens who are “fundamentally unreliable.”

    “This hard-fought and extremely rare agreement helps treat a combat veteran fairly and protects the state’s interest by ensuring Mr. Mendoza lives out his remaining days in prison,” said Resch, who had not spoken with Mendoza since District Judge Michael Villani signed off on the agreement. “I’m certain he’s very happy with this. He’s older and just wants to live out his days with the most freedom he can as an inmate.”

    Can I get a show of hands…how many people care about what Mendoza wants?  It’s because of lawyers in robes like Mikey Villani that this animal was let back on the streets after a year in the 70’s.   A jury of his peers said the man should have been executed years ago, he should have no say in anything at this point.  PTSD is no excuse for any crime.

    Kremberg was sexually assaulted and stabbed 18 times by Mendoza, and her throat was slit with a steak knife in March 2007, authorities said. The two were residents at Destinations Spring Valley, a senior-living facility near Jones Boulevard and Flamingo Road.

     

     

  • Retired Navy SEAL questions Wisconsin American Legion commitment to ferreting out valor thieves

    Retired Navy SEAL questions Wisconsin American Legion commitment to ferreting out valor thieves

    The Wisconsin State Journal reports that Derrick Van Orden, a retired Navy SEAL, planned to question the Wisconsin American Legion Department about their commitment to ferreting out valor thieves when his time to speak at a state convention was yanked.

    Derrick Van Orden, a 26-year military veteran and resident of Butternut in northern Wisconsin, pointed to two veterans in particular who were allowed to serve as state Legion officials — including one who served as a state commander — despite having lied about or misrepresented the extent of their service.

    Van Orden said he was the one who let the state Legion know its then-historian, Howard “Gordy” Clewell, had exaggerated his service during the Vietnam era by claiming to have been in Special Forces. He had actually been stationed in Germany as a social worker.

    Clewell resigned, and we discussed him last month. His wife, now the commander of the Wisconsin Department claims that she is kicking his ass to the curb in a divorce.

    Van Orden also gave the organization documents that prove that their former state commander Robert Oliver, who died in 2011, was dishonorably discharged which disqualified him from membership in the Legion.

    Van Orden points to a variety of groups that seek to expose those who are lying about their service or falsely claiming to be veterans and says it’s likely many Legion members are among the fraudsters.

    Most recently a Legion member since 2014, Van Orden said his broader goal is to ensure Legion members who aren’t being truthful about their pasts don’t undermine the organization’s ability to help younger veterans cope with the trauma they’ve experienced during wartime.

    “I take this super seriously,” he said, pointing to veterans he’s known who have been killed in combat or committed suicide. “That is the beginning and end of my agenda.”

    We’ve done our share of exposing members of the American Legion who have lied about their service, as well as members of the VFW and Disabled American Veterans – all are organizations to which I am proudly a Life Member.

    The American Legion has been instrumental in our battle against valor thieves. They shouldered much of our legal battle in Florida last year. While the Legion has some problems with commands below the National level, overall, they’ve been doing a great job in supporting us in our efforts.

    Amber Nikolai, state adjutant of the Wisconsin American Legion, said she has a lot of respect for Van Orden but his presentation was canceled only a few hours before he was to give it because it wasn’t appropriate for the convention, which was marking the department’s 100th anniversary.

    “It is important and we want to address the issues,” she said. “It’s just that this isn’t the forum.”

    When I first started on this quest to rid the country of military fakes, I battled with the VSOs almost as much as I did with the fakes, but that culture in VSOs is shifting more to my point-of-view. They are magnitudes better than they used to be. The Legion has been leading that shift among the VSOs.

    It’s been my experience that many of these phonies joined the organizations before the internet and before Jug Burkett’s book which opened all of our eyes to the size of the problem. By that time, many were ensconced in their organizations. Now it takes a crowbar to pry them out of their dark corners.

  • Labor Department awards $47 million in grants to employ homeless veterans

    The Department of Labor send us their press release announcing an award of $47,600,000 in grants to help employ homeless veterans;

    “While serving in the military, veterans learn many skills desired in today’s workforce,” said [U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander] Acosta. “These grants will help thousands of homeless veterans reintegrate themselves into society and secure good jobs.”

    Funds are being awarded on a competitive basis to state and local workforce investment boards; local public agencies and nonprofit organizations; tribal governments; and faith-based and community organizations. Homeless veterans may receive occupational skills training, apprenticeship opportunities, and on-the-job training, as well as job search and placement assistance.

    By the way, the unemployment rate for veterans in June was 3.3%. I figure that I should mention it, since the media has been reasonably silent on the issue recently.