Category: National Guard

U.S. Military Service is the Strongest Predictor of Carrying Out Extremist Violence

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Felony Crime, Homicide, Military Policy, National Guard, Navy, Scandals, Stateside Death, USAF, USCG, USMC, VeteransLeave a comment

U.S. Military Service is the Strongest Predictor of Carrying Out Extremist Violence

THE TWO MEN who carried out apparent terror attacks on New Year’s Day — killing 15 people by plowing a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans, and detonating a Tesla Cybertruck outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas — both had U.S. military backgrounds, according to the Pentagon. 

From 1990 to 2010, about seven persons per year with U.S. military backgrounds committed extremist crimes. Since 2011, that number has jumped to almost 45 per year, according to data from a new, unreleased report shared with The Intercept by Michael Jensen, the research director at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, or START, at the University of Maryland.

Military service is also the single strongest individual predictor of becoming a “mass casualty offender,” far outpacing mental health issues, according to a separate study of extremist mass casualty violence by the researchers.

From 1990 through 2023, 730 individuals with U.S. military backgrounds committed criminal acts that were motivated by their political, economic, social, or religious goals, according to data from the new START report. From 1990 to 2022, successful violent plots that included perpetrators with a connection to the U.S. military resulted in 314 deaths and 1,978 injuries — a significant number of which came from the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

Read more here.

N.H. man indicted in connection with death of Air National Guard commander

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Felony Crime, Homicide, National Guard, Non Combat Death, Stateside DeathLeave a comment

Read more here: https://www.masslive.com/news/2024/10/nh-man-indicted-in-connection-with-death-of-air-national-guard-commander.html

Secrecy continues into Massachusetts military leaker Jack Teixeira’s sentencing

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Felony Crime, Military Policy, National Guard, Scandals, USAFLeave a comment

Read more from Boston Herald here: https://www.bostonherald.com/2024/10/25/secrecy-continues-into-massachusetts-military-leaker-jack-teixeiras-sentencing/

Childhood trauma linked to altered fear learning: A potential pathway to PTSD

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Child Abuse, Military Policy, National Guard, Navy, PTSD, TBI, Mental Illness, USAF, USCG, USMC, VeteransLeave a comment

Read more: www.psypost.org/childhood-trauma-linked-to-altered-fear-learning-a-potential-pathway-to-ptsd/

Veterans court offers redemption chance for former service members

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, National Guard, Navy, USAF, USCG, USMC, VeteransLeave a comment

“John Novotnak knew he needed help. The U.S. Army serviceman whose eight-year career included a tour of duty in Iraq, struggled after he was discharged from the military in 2008. Novotnak, 43, of North Huntingdon was charged in 2022 for the second time with drunken driving when he finally concluded he needed to make a lifestyle change.”

“That change came after he pleaded guilty last year and was enrolled in Westmoreland County’s Veterans Court program for former military members charged with crimes. The diversionary program allows veterans charged with what officials described as minor crimes a chance to avoid jail, receive shorter sentences or have their cases dismissed upon successful completion of the six-to-24-month program.”

“Veterans returning to civilian life can experience trauma related to their service that sometimes results in drug and alcohol addiction and criminal behavior. Nico Rogers, 35, of Greensburg said he needed the diversionary program, that includes intensive supervision, counseling and drug and alcohol treatment when necessary, to turn his life around.”

Read more: triblive.com/local/westmoreland/veterans-court-offers-redemption-chance-for-former-service-members/

RELATED LINKS:
Veterans Treatment Courts: A Second Chance for Vets Who Have Lost Their Way

Law could have made Army Reservist shooter get mental health care

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Felony Crime, Homicide, Military Policy, National Guard, Non Combat Death, PTSD, TBI, Mental Illness, Scandals, Stateside Death, SuicideLeave a comment

A Maine law could have forced the Lewiston mass shooter into psychiatric treatment. Why wasn’t it used?

Read on www.pressherald.com/2024/10/18/a-maine-law-could-have-forced-the-lewiston-mass-shooter-into-psychiatric-treatment-why-wasnt-it-used/

Cottonwood Heights woman charged with murder in the death of her National Guard husband

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Missing, National Guard, Non Combat Death, Stateside DeathLeave a comment

“According to Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, Jennifer Gledhill, 41, is facing several felonies including first-degree murder after she allegedly shot her husband, Matthew Johnson, and buried him in a shallow grave last month.”

“Documents say the missing person investigation began on Sept. 25 when the Utah National Guard called the police requesting assistance in locating Johnson after he did not come into work.”

Read on www.abc4.com/news/wasatch-front/utah-woman-charged-with-murder-in-the-death-of-her-husband/

Lantern Walk gets a military makeover

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, In Their Name, Military Policy, National Guard, Navy, Non Combat Death, Stateside Death, Suicide, USAF, USCG, USMC, VeteransLeave a comment

Oct. 19 event to shine a light on mental health struggles of veterans, active-duty service members.

This year, the Brandon Caserta Foundationand ASU’s Pat Tillman Veterans Center are teaming up for a lantern procession of their own, this one to raise awareness around the mental health struggles of veterans and active-duty service members.

“Suicide in the military is at an epidemic level, and we’re hoping this walk is a way to honor the ones we have lost, the ones who are struggling and the ones who have attempted to take their lives but are still with us,” said Teri Caserta, who along with husband Patrick started the Brandon Caserta Foundation in 2021. The foundation offers assistance, guidance, education and resources to active-duty service members, veterans and their families.

Read on news.asu.edu/20241015-local-national-and-global-affairs-lantern-walk-gets-military-makeover

More than 800 military veterans receive honorable discharges from Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” records review

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Military Policy, National Guard, Navy, Scandals, USAF, USMCLeave a comment

“The news comes a little more than a year after proactively reviewing the records of LGBTQ+ veterans who might be eligible for an honorable discharge but had not yet applied for one. The 800+ veterans receiving this relief will see their discharge papers – known as a DD-214 – automatically change to “honorable” without the burden of having to go through the military’s formal process of applying for a discharge upgrade. An honorable discharge status unlocks access to benefits that some of these veterans may have been missing out on for decades, including things like health care, college tuition assistance, VA loan programs and even some jobs.”

“In a separate effort announced in June, President Biden sought to redress some of the harms brought about by the military justice system against those suspected of homosexuality when he issued pardons for former service members convicted under a military law from years past that explicitly criminalized consensual ‘sodomy.'”

Read more: www.cbsnews.com/news/military-veterans-honorable-discharges-dont-ask-dont-tell-review/

Family members, victims of Lewiston mass shooting to take legal action against Army

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Felony Crime, Homicide, Military Policy, National Guard, Non Combat Death, PTSD, TBI, Mental Illness, Scandals, Stateside Death, SuicideLeave a comment

Attorneys say the notices summarize some of the key facts uncovered to date that support their negligence claims, including:

  • Between March and July 2023, the Army became aware that Card had suffered a severe and precipitous decline in his mental health, resulting in erratic and combative behaviors, and promised to take steps to address Card’s condition. The Army failed to act.
  • The Army, KACH and DoD knew that Card had been exposed to thousands of blast events from his work as a firearms and grenade instructor but did not investigate whether physiological damage to Card’s brain from such blast exposure was a root cause of Card’s sudden and inexplicable onset of mental illness, or otherwise determine whether Card’s illness was caused or exacerbated in the “line of duty,” as required by Army regulations.
  • In July and August 2023, the Army and KACH determined that Card’s mental illness—including paranoia, delusions, and homicidal ideations with development of a “hit list”—posed a serious risk to himself and others, but nevertheless allowed Card to return to the community without the cause of his mental illness determined or a plan for treatment, and without reporting Card under New York’s SAFE Act or Red Flag laws.
  • Although Card’s doctors released him from the hospital on the condition that he no longer have access to firearms, and the Army and KACH assured his doctors that they would remove Card’s firearms, they did not do so and left Card in possession of numerous weapons, including the AR-10 assault rifle he used to carry out the mass shooting.
  • Following Card’s release from the hospital and return to Maine, the Army and KACH failed to notify local Maine law enforcement, provide them with Card’s recent history or inform them that Card’s doctors had directed that Card be separated from his firearms.
  • In September 2023, when the Army learned that Card had threated to shoot up the military base in Saco and commit a mass shooting, the Army downplayed and minimized the threat (despite later acknowledging that it was serious and credible), and actively discouraged local law enforcement from taking decisive action.

Read more here: wgme.com/news/local/family-members-victims-of-lewiston-mass-shooting-start-process-of-suing-army-robert-card-maine-gun-violence-schemengees-bar-and-grille-just-in-time-recreation-governor-janet-mills-attorney-general-aaron-frey