Welcome home, Stephen
Navy Cmdr. Perry Cockerell congratulates his son, Stephen, who graduated from Navy boot camp in 2005. He served the Navy honorably for four years in Japan. He's back home, as a civilian, with lots of great GI Bill benefits for college. Smart kid.
Memorial Day comes with mixed emotions for me. Of course we need a day set aside to reflect on our fallen warriors. I think it’s also a time to show gratitude for the warriors who made it home. And for those left behind to mow the yard, pay the bills, raise the family. They count too.
Warriors like my stepson, Stephen Cockerell, who just finished a four-year enlistment on the USS Juneau and USS Denver, both LCDs in Sasebo, Japan. So this Memorial Day weekend we’re throwing Stephen, a Petty Officer 3rd Class, a homecoming party with all the family around.
I’m sure the family will be impressed. The Navy delivered a fine, healthy man of 24 years. Someone who thinks through politics, who tries to understand all sides before drawing a conclusion. Stephen’s good manners come easily now and he came home with just one small tattoo.
Yes, Stephen made it home. But my brother, Kyle Seitsinger, did not make it home. He was three weeks into his first tour to Afghanistan when he and several other soldiers came upon a Soviet-era weapons cache. In one big explosion, Kyle and six of his comrades perished. In an almost prophetic move, Kyle happened to be videotaping their cache find in the cave, so their last conversations are captured forever – along with some relief that these guys never knew what hit them.
Kyle was 11 hours away from getting a double bachelor’s degree in journalism and Spanish. He had a nose for news and his passion to become a journalist made me remember all the reasons I love this business. Kyle would’ve made a darn good reporter too.
Kyle was killed on Jan. 29, 2004, not on Memorial Day, but a fallen warrior nonetheless. He was just shy of 30.
My father, Ted Owens (far right), huddles with his Marine buddies in Korea.
My father was exactly 30 - and I was 2 - when he was killed on Memorial Day. Ted Owens was a likeable guy, I’m told. Like James Dean, my father was cool. He had served as a Marine during the Korean War and, frankly, couldn’t wait to get out of the Marines. Ted was quite handsome and truly a character. My uncle, Leon Elliott, tells me the same stories whenever I ask. He was my dad’s best pal, after all.
Still, 30 is too young to die in a car wreck.
This Memorial Day, as we celebrate Stephen’s safe homecoming, I’ll have a couple other folks on my mind as well. I bet that’s true for a lot of us.
One of our own. What went wrong?
Sgt. John M. Russell, 44.
Wilburn Russell, father of Sgt. John Russell, left, and John Michael Russell II, son of Sgt. John Russell, right, speak to members of the media. Photo taken by CHRIS JENNINGS / HERALD DEMOCRAT
Born in Oklahoma City; parents and 20-year-old son reside in Sherman, Texas.
Entered Army National Guard in 1988.
Went active duty with the U.S. Army in 1994.
Stationed in Bamberg, Germany with spouse.
Predictable medals and commendations.
Six weeks until the end of his THIRD tour in Iraq.
Commanding officer ordered mental health consult at
May 11- Five Army soldiers are shot and killed inside the clinic.
Sgt. Russell is charged with their murders.
Why?
The Herald-Democrat in the Texoma area printed a lengthy article quoting Sgt. Russell’s father and son here.
When the worst happens
Soldiers call it “fragging” when one of them harms his pr her own troops. Just about everyone who publicly commented on an extreme example in Iraq yesterday used a different word: tragic.
A soldier being treated for combat stress shot and killed five of his fellow soldiers at the stress clinic where they had sought help. The soldier has been taken into custody, according to The Associated Press.
So what’s more heartbreaking than war itself? Deliberate friendly-fire killings, along with suicides, are the worst to grapple with. How do you reconcile sending someone to war, where they end up so damaged that they kill each other or themselves? Several suicides are prevented each day among troops in war zones. Each day.
Here’s an excerpt from an AP story:
An estimated five soldiers in Iraq try to commit suicide each day. Between September last year and last month, more US troops, 72, died from accidents, illness or suicide than from combat, 67.
Do we yet understand the high emotional toll this war is costing our warriors? Troops must go through mandatory debriefings meant to screen for mental health issues, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, rage and so on. Thing is, if a soldier really wants to hide the symptoms, he or she usually can. The help is out there, but only for those who want it and ask for it – getting to that point in this gung-ho, tough-it-out military is tough indeed.
I’ve written about PTSD and the emotional fallout of war, so there’s no need to repeat myself - but I encourage you to go to my earlier posts on this topic.
I believe the Army has it the roughest in the war zones, with the Marines a close second. As a Navy commander once told me, “For the Army, it’s supposed to suck.” They get the toughest jobs, sleep in the shabbiest of quarters and must respond and react to a very rigid command.
With the war in Afghanistan ramping up, I fear that we’ll see more of our finest go berserk like this, killing comrades they’re meant to protect. I just hope the public gets how serious of a problem this is and does more than just call them heroes, if and when they make it home.
Op: Military Kids – two cool freebies in OKC
If you’re in the military, then you know how generous Americans are in recognizing the duties of the military and their families — and in how often communities, businesses and celebrities give away their time and wares for us. Here’s something from Operation: Military Kids that just came out today:
Operation: Military Kids program gears up for two special events
Oklahoma families of military personnel need to mark their calendars for two exciting upcoming events.
Sponsored by Operation: Military Kids – a grant-funded program through the various military branches in collaboration with 4-H- military families will have the opportunity to participate in OMK Day at Frontier City on May 30 and Science Museum OMK Camp-In on June 12.
Ryan Moehle, Oklahoma 4-H OMK coordinator, said he is excited to be able to offer these events for Oklahoma’s military families.
“The mission of 4-H OMK is to reach and support children and families in Oklahoma that are geographically dispersed,” Moehle said. “The event at Frontier City will be a great opportunity for these families.”
The first 400 guests will receive free admission to the amusement park, as well as a ticket for a free lunch. All other military families will receive tickets at the discounted price of $13.50 per person. All park attractions will be available. Raven-Symone´, known for her roles on “The Cosby Show” and “That’s So Raven,” will perform a free concert that evening.
In addition to the park attractions, Moehle said they will provide a resource fair for the families so they will be able to see what resources are available in the area.
“We’re also planning do to a forensic science activity which should be a lot of fun for the kids,” said Jeff Sallee, 4-H science and technology specialist.
Frontier City opens at 10:30 a.m. and tickets may be purchased only upon arrival at the park. No advance tickets will be available. Look for the OMK booth to purchase tickets. There will be 4-H Ambassadors on site to welcome families for the day of fun. Parking is free, but participants will need to inform the parking attendant they are with OMK and be prepared to show military identification.
The Science Museum OMK Camp-In in Oklahoma City on June 12 promises to be a night of fun and adventure for everyone involved. The Science Museum was formerly known at the Omniplex.
“The camp-in promises to be a night full of fun and fiery explosions,” Moehle said. “Museum staff will be on hand to give demonstrations of different chemical and physical reactions called SCIENCE LIVE!”
Campers will have the opportunity to see “Fly Me to the Moon” in the Dome Theater. This movie is about three spirited pre-teens who take an incredible space mission on the first manned mission to the moon. This animated 3-D show features stunning footage from Apollo 11.
Following the movie in the Dome Theater, participants will experience the planetarium show before exploring the rest of the museum.
The camp-in does require pre-registration of $10 per child and $12 per adult. However, the maximum cost is $40 per family regardless of the number of individuals in the family. All youth must have a legal guardian present and stay the night with them at the camp-in. Registration is due by May 22.
The camp-in begins at 6:30 p.m. and participants are encouraged to eat dinner before arriving. Also, campers are welcome to bring their own snacks and drinks for the evening. Breakfast will be provided before camp ends at 8 a.m.
“Individuals who are spending the night should plan to bring a sleeping bag,” said Justin McConaghy, Cleveland County Extension Educator.
“We’ve been getting very positive feedback from military audiences about OMK and we’re really excited to be able to offer these special events for our military families,” Moehle said.
For more information about either of these events, contact Moehle at 405-744-8885, or to learn more about other 4-H activities, visit the 4-H Web site at http://oklahoma4h.okstate.edu. You also may contact McConaghy at 405-321-4774.
OMK also will be hosting two more events later in the summer, including OMK Day at the Tulsa Zoo on Aug. 8, and OMK Day at OSU on Aug. 12, details of those events will soon be available online.
More information about Oklahoma 4-H Operation: Military Kids available at www.operationmilitarykids.org.
Should it stay or go?
OK, so I’ve got to ask: What do you think of hte latest Navy working uniform (pictured below)?
Personally, I don’t like it. The women’s version looks too much like the Marines (no offense to the jarheads, who have the best dress uniform with that killer red stripe down the pantleg).
The Navy has goofed before in changing its uniform. In the ’70s they introduced a uniform that had no more character or tradition than the average bus drivers’ uniform. Fortunately, they nixed the bus driver look and brought back the crackerjack (sailor’s tie and bell bottoms) that we all know and love.
BDUs have taken on many shapes and colors in the last 10 years and I like those improvements. Digitizing the green cammies iwas way cool. And the desert cammies — well, they blend.
The nice thing about having various camouglage versions is the branches can distinguish themselves from one another, if they so choose. But now the Navy has it’s haze grey and blue digitized version that’s just starting to surface. The jury is still out on this one — but that’s for a different day.
So here’s the newest Navy uniform – thumbs up or down?
Latest Navy working uniform - should it stay or go?
It takes a village – our village
Sometimes it’s hard to reconcile the military I know with the military that I keep hearing about.
I’m talking about the treatment of troops, in particular Iraq and Afghanistan veterans returning home all messed up after experiencing some pretty unspeakable things, in combat and out.
If you’re lucky, and with the right commanding officer, you can come home with a rack of medals and promising career. But too many of our “grunts” do not make it that far. They’re doing the dirty work; they’re exposed to the ugliness, most of them are young and unedycated. They left home with an intact mind, an important mission and a supportive community behund then. They return troubled, angry and dysfunctional. Now what?
What is the military that put them in combat supposed to do for them once they’re no longer deployable?
There’s no question that the military has resources for troubled troops, many of them unemployable, suffering from PTSD, relationship problems,, the whole gamut of it of baggage that any war vet understamds.
Our military has learned a lot about taking care of the war’s wounded in the last several years. An entire army of psychologists, counselors, and resources are available for the asking. But still, too many of our troops fall through the cracks. And remember these danaged “heroes” come home to you and me and our neighborhoods and they’ll need our help as well.
I’m not even so sure the military is the right source to solve these problems. Certainly they shouldn’t ignore them and absolutely they should provide funding to help heal them, But in the long run, after the disabililty battle has been fought and (hopefully) a treatnent plan is in place, it comes down to us Americans at home to help our troops assimilate back into society and get the help they need. In short, it takes a village
For some powerful insight into what our damaged troops are enduring, go to the following two stories by Kelly Kennedy at the Army Times. Kelly and I are are both Ochberg fellows with the Dart Society and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma.
Read Kelley’s stories here (I challenge you to read them without dropping your jaw once):
http://www.militaryconnection.com/articles/health/ptsd-victim-booted-misconduct.html
http://www.militaryconnection.com/articles/health/ptsd-victim-booted-misconduct.html
Also, these stories were written in the last couple months. In other words, the problems persist, even still.
So once we put the welcome banners away, let’s remember, our job to help these veterans become functional members of society again has only just begun.
Turbans and beards? Not in my military
- Capt. Kamaljit Singh Kalsi (right), a doctor, and 2nd Lt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan, a dentist, are appealing to the Army to allow them to continue to wear their beards, long hairÊand turbans, asÊmandated by their Sikh faith, though it would violate Army regulations. Courtesy of Sihk Coalition/Army Times
So let me get this straight: two U.S. Army officers, who happen to be devout Sikhs ( a Hindu-based religion) are now fighting the Army on religious grounds in order to wear head turbans , longer hair and beards while in uniform.
They argue that they shouldn’t be forced to choose between serving their country and abiding by their religion. See the full story here.
The Army’s answer, so far, has been a flat-out “no” and I hope it stays that way. Here’s why: These two soldiers, Capt. Kamaljeet Kalsi, a physician, and 2nd Lt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan, a dentist, knew the Army had strict uniform requirements when they signed up. Nobody gets special treatment, especially officers who are supposed to set the example for their lower-ranking peers.
The officers s argue that their recruiter(s) told them it was OK to wear turbans and beards while in uniform - yet recruiters aren’t the final authority on that policy. My guess is that their recruiter(s) were so anxious to bring in hard-to-get medical personnel that they overstated the Army’s leniency on uniforms, or maybe they deliberately misled the recruits to get them to sign up.
I also find it interesting that this issue comes up only after that the Army has presumably paid the full cost of their medical training. The officers point out that nobody complained about their religious garb during the several years they spent in medical school.
But now they’re expected to serve on active duty, wearing the uniform of their rank. That includes head gear and a clean-shaven face (moustaches are allowed).
That’s how it should be. I’ve yet to see the military cut anyone slack in wearing a uniform, with the exception of a different shoe after foot surgery or some similar temporary arrangenent,
In my mind, requiring these officers to wear the uniform is not tantamount to cutting them off from their religious beliefs. They can still practice their religion and wear turbans on their own time. As for the beards, well, the military hasn’t allowed beards for the last century or so. These officers must have known that when they chose to volunteered. If wearing a beard was so important to them, they should have investigated that possibility before signing up. I’m sure they noticed that no one else in the Army has a beard.
A lot of us in the military would like to tweak our uniform here and there but the bottom line is we are one team, one fight — and that goes for looking alike too.
Lt. Col. William “Bogus” Russell
OK, this is wrong on so many levels. I got an e-mail from “Lt. Col. William Bill Russell of the US Military (MARINE).” First off, no Marine identifies himself as a Marine in parentheses. That’s just crazy. And where are the quotes around “Bill?”
That’s the minor stuff. Believing that a Marine would confide in some anonymous e-mail recipient is way unbelievable, period.
I bet y’all will find plenty of reasons to pick at this e-mail, so I’ll just show it to you. Here goes:
Hello,
My name is Lt.Col. William Bill Russell, of the US Military (MARINE) here in Ba’qubah in Iraq, and a citizen of the United States of America. Iraq. We are always targets of various attacks insurgents everyday and car bombs. When will this war end? No one can tell and that is why I am contacting you and I hope I can confide in you?
We (Soldiers) managed to move funds belonging to Saddam Hussein’s family in 2003. The total amount is US$25Million in cash, mostly 100 dollar bills, this money has been kept somewhere outside Baghdad for sometime but with the speculated troop withdrawal by President BARRACK OBAMA, we are afraid that the money will be discover. Hence, we want to move this money to you for safe keeping and nvestment purpose pending when our assignment here is over.
You can visit this weblink to read about events that took place :news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm
we are ready to compensate you with good percentage (20%) of the funds, No strings attached, just for you to help us move the money out of Iraq. Iraq is a war zone, so we plan on using Bank to Bank transfer or diplomatic means in shipping the money out as military cargo using diplomatic immunity.
If you are interested, I will send you the full details, my job is to find a good partner that we can trust and assist us to invest the funds into some lucrative investments. Can I trust you? But I can assure you the whole process is simple and we need you to make it as a confidential matter.
I am giving you all the trust and I believe that with the help of God, we will successfully transfer this money out of Iraq. Also I am optimistic of meeting with you soonest to solidify our relationship
Please do not disclose this deal to anybody as to protect my duty with the US Marine; we must keep a low profile at all times. More details as regard the transfer I will get across to you as soon as I hear from you.
I look forward to your reply and co-operation.
Regards,
Lt. Col. William Bill Russell
I won’t insult your intelligence by pointing out all the erroneous errors in this obviously bogus e-mail. I just want to point out how annoyed I am that these foreign swindlers think they can mimic our military – a brand we know and trust – in order to prey on our pocketbooks.
I think I’ll reply to this character and nibble on his bait. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Taking it to the extreme
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe expresses an awful lot of outrage toward the Security and its “Intelligence and Assessment Report on Radical Extremism in the United States.” A good chunk of Inhofe’s anger is directed at what he perceives as an insult to our retuning vets who have served honorably in Iraq and Afghanistan. Click here to read his letter to DHS.
The DHS report suggests that disgruntled vets are prime recruiting targets of radical extremists because of their military skills. Of course extremists would want to recruit our vets. How successful they’ll be remains to be seen.
As a veteran myself, I do not take offense at DHS acknowledging that some disillusioned vets may be vulnerable to the recruiting efforts of radical extremists. Here’s why:
The military is way more than a job. For many, it becomes an identity. It’s a source of income, of stature, of camaraderie. The military is its own distinct culture, one with strong values, altruistic goals and a life-and-death trust level. Detaching from the military with a disillusioned, disgruntled mindset must be a lonely feeling. Gone are a rock-solid support system and all the safety nets the military provides.
Yes, leaving the military on bad terns must be a jarring blow indeed.
So is it really such a stretch to see where someone who unhappily leaves the military – who loses the structure and leadership and peer-pressure the military provides – might adopt the extreme views of others with a new goal in mind?
Timothy McVeigh filled his void with such views. So did his cohort, Terry Nichols – and, by the way, those two met and served together in the Army.
I appreciate Sen. Inhofe’s concern over sullying the reputations of veterans. But let’s not bury our head in the sand in the name of honoring the military.
Perhaps if we’d been less shocked when two Army veterans paired up to bomb the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, our history would be much different.
One stinkin’ apple
What a yo-yo week this has been. On one hand, there’s the Navy’s spectacular rescue of Richard Phillips from Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Then yesterday, a former Navy yeoman was sentenced in an identity theft scam in Fort Worth, Texas. Click here for the story in Tuesday’s Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
This was no small-potato scam. And my husband and I were among the victims.
Cora Dixon spent years stealing the identities of her shipmates. For that, she got 15 years and was discharged under “less than honorable” conditions. Let’s just call it what it is: bad conduct. Way bad.
In an odd twist, I drilled for months in the same office with Ms. Dixon, all the while knowing she was being investigated for swiping my identity. She hardly spoke as she sat behind the receptionist desk wearing her Navy winter blues. Now she’ll wear an entirely different uniform.
Ms. Dixon and her cohorts deliberately targeted mobilized reservists, which is when we’re most financially vulnerable, unaware or unable to fix things that go awry.
For instance, while I was on the USS Blue Ridge in Yokosuka, Japan, in August 2005, my ATM Visa card stopped working. Fortunately it happened toward the end of my three-week tour because I had no access to cash and no idea why.
Turns out, Bank of America had detected suspicious behavior and blocked use of the card. When I got home, I learned that someone charged hundreds of dollars while gambling online.
Our first ID theft experience came when someone went on a check-writing spree using our account. The damage was in the thousands. Bank of America took the financial hit on that one, but it took substantial time and effort to close the account and start fresh. Just re-establishing direct deposits and automatic payments was huge.
Also, in 2004, some guy was caught trying to cash a check at a Dallas grocery store using a driver’s license in my husband’s name.
Financial hiccups such as these happened repeatedly over the last several years. We always wondered why - now we know.
We were also lucky. Either we caught the irregularities, or the bank did, before too much damage was done. We didn’t lose any money, since the incidents were clearly fraudulent. What we did lose was time. And, of course, trust.
Ms. Dixon was not a true shipmate. She’s an anomaly in what is otherwise a trustworthy organization. No wish of “fair winds and following seas” for her.
Just good riddance.
