“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.'”
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A haunting note written by a former United States Air Force Academy cadet, now leading her parents to file wrongful death claims against the Academy.
“Do all that you can to make sure I am the last one,” was the chilling directive 22-year-old Cailin Foster left in her suicide note to her parents on Nov. 7, 2021.
Cailin Foster’s suicide note to her family, November 2021
Gary, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who graduated in 1990, attempted to engage with Academy leadership about what happened to his daughter. He spoke with people who were his former colleagues and friends, only to be met with what he described as people unable to comment.
When they requested a report regarding the investigation into their daughter’s death, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base sent them 159 black pages of redacted content.
1 of 159-page report regarding Cailin’s death sent to The Fosters by USAFA. Courtesy: Gary Foster
“Not one letter, word, or punctuation mark was provided. They literally gave us 159 pages like this,” said Gary in disbelief. The Fosters say Air Force Academy has yet to provide any direct documentation to them.
“In the last five years, 165 soldiers assigned to Fort Hood have died, according to the Fort Hood Public Affairs Office, which regularly released information on soldiers’ death until a 2018 decision to stop the practice. The post was an outlier in this level of transparency.
In those years, seven soldiers died by homicide, while six died in a combat zone. The deaths of 70 soldiers were ruled suicides, and on- and off-base accidents resulted in the deaths of 60 soldiers.”
“Air Force veteran Jennifer Norris believes Fort Hood’s current situation has been years in the making.
For the past decade, Norris, a trained social worker with a master’s degree in public policy, has been tracking crimes committed by and against service members and advocating for reform. She posts her research on her website, Military Justice for All.
She first focused her research on several large military bases, but after noticing a trend of Fort Hood deaths, Norris narrowed her efforts to the Texas post.
‘I didn’t set up to go after Fort Hood at all. It’s a compilation of systematic issues,’ she said.
At the end of 2017, Norris used her own money to travel from her home in Maine to Washington to meet with lawmakers. By the time she got home, Norris said she thought everyone had moved on without intending to address the problems.
‘The other bases are nothing like Fort Hood is right now,’ she said. ‘I think the anomaly with Fort Hood is that its isolated and that it’s such an economic powerhouse in the community that it’s in everybody’s best interest to protect it so they can protect themselves.’”
My Last Breath by Suzie Caballero Turner, Gold Star Family
Ft. Hood tried to cover up 2 other deaths,
When Greg and Vanessa took their last breath.
Lying to the family, wouldn’t tell them the truth,
Hoping no one would ask, their story runs smooth…
But there is a group, Gold Star Families their name,
Who knew much better, Ft. Hood is the blame.
But this is much bigger than sexual assualt you see,
This is about soldiers killing him, them, and me,
About Heroes who once fought for us,
But when one dies, we can’t make a fuss.
Don’t get me wrong, sexual assault is a crime,
And those who commit it, better do the time,
But this situation is bigger you see…
It’s about lies told when they killed me.
Told my family I put a gun to my head,
But a soldier in arms is why I am dead,
My family knows better, you’re telling a lie,
They know for a fact, that’s not how I’d die.
A medical death, how quickly you lied,
Another soldier is the reason that I died,
His corruptive lifestyle, I didn’t agree,
So he thought he’d go on and silence me.
I’m only a Sgt, take orders from command,
What they tell me to do is out of my hands,
The mission they gave me, sounds dangerous to me,
Tried to talk to command, but they just disagree.
Now the mission’s over, just like it played in my head…
So they try to blame me, because we all end up dead…
It took them a month to find me and my car,
They didn’t realize that they took this too far,
Sending my phone signals to my home state,
Hoping my family will just take the bait,
While they decide what they’re going to say
About what happened to me when i died that day.
Suicide is what you tell my wife…
Multiple stab wounds from somebody’s knife
She knows me better, knows you’re telling a lie
She knows this isn’t the way I would die…
Commander and others like treating me bad,
So I finally stood up, only got them mad,
So now I am unresponsive, face down on my bed,
Another soldier in arms is why I am dead…
Healthy as ever, pass each PT test,
Taking care of me, doing my best,
All of a sudden, I fell on the floor,
All they tell my family, “She’s not breathing any more.”
Lie to my family, not medical death,
But a coward soldier who took my last breath.
These are just a few of the hundreds of deaths,
When our own fellow soldier took us from our last breath,
It wasn’t at war, not by the other country,
But one of our own who ended my life for me.
Higher command tries to diffuse the crime,
By making up a story and not doing the time.
Lying to the family, saying stories untrue,
Making families think there’s nothing they can do.
This needs to stop, too many have died!
Too many families to whom they’ve lied!
Now it’s time to make things right!
By telling the truth and letting us fight,
Fight for our loved ones who can no longer speak,
Because the truth is all we seek!
To demand the truth about their death,
And who made them take their last breath!
They deserve respect, justice, and closure too,
So quit being a coward and do what you’re supposed to do,
Start acting like the soldier you signed up to be
So families again, can believe in humanity!
Don’t get me wrong, we can’t blame them all,
We can’t expect all of Ft. Hood to fall,
For all the corrupt cowards who led a hero to death,
And watched him as he took his final breath.
This isn’t just happening on Ft. Hood you see,
This is happening within all military,
Some of these deaths are Marines, and Navy too,
Every military branch has got quite a few…
But just like the corrupt ones, not all of them are bad…
There are also some good ones who the corrupt ones make mad..
There are many true soldiers still left you see,
Who are doing what’s right, fighting for him, her, and me,
So don’t disrespect a true soldier in any way…
Because of what corruption may have played out today.
So weed out the cowards and take them away,
Throw them in a prison for taking our loved ones that day…
“In August of 2007, Kamisha Block was killed by friendly fire while serving in Iraq – or that was what her family was told. Her family uncovered several lies by the U.S. Army and ultimately learned that Kamisha was murdered. Why did the military lie to the Block family? This is a story about domestic abuse, murder, a military cover-up, and the relentless pursuit of justice by the Block family.” –Kamisha Block, Murderific True Crime Podcast (December 8, 2019)
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh and executive producers Paul Pawlowski and David Check tell the story of First Lieutenant Clint Lorance. Watch the Official Trailer for the upcoming STARZ Original Docuseries, Leavenworth, premiering October 20 on the STARZ App. (August 28, 2019)
STARZ Overview of ‘Leavenworth’: “From executive producers Paul Pawlowski, David Check and Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh comes a controversial true-crime story that plays out in the military justice system. Clint Lorance is serving a 19-year sentence for murder at the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth. While deployed in Afghanistan in July 2012, the former lieutenant ordered fire on three local men riding a motorcycle, killing two of them and outraging his platoon. In a firsthand account of a soldier navigating the U.S. Army’s legal system, Lorance seeks to overturn his conviction, which provokes an emotional debate between supporters and detractors that rises to the national stage. As determinations on Lorance’s fate unfold, questions probe not only the merits of his conviction but analyze the system at large, and they ultimately test the balance of guilt and innocence in the inscrutable circumstances of today’s wars.”
In the News:
A New Docu-Series Follows a Controversial True Story Playing Out in the Military Justice System. -Fox 4 Now (October 22, 2019)
Jamie Lorance, Clint’s cousin, and Don Brown, lead attorney on the Lorance legal team, call on President Trump to release Clint Lorance from his 19-year prison sentence. -Fox and Friends (October 27, 2019)
The House debates the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act, which directs the VA to develop and implement a comprehensive program to reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans. The bill is named for an Iraq veteran who took his own life, and recognizes the special needs of veterans suffering from PTSD and elderly veterans who are at high risk for depression and experience high rates of suicide. -Rep Leonard Boswell (October 23, 2007)
The Number One Problem Combat Vets Will Face is Mental Health (2007):
Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense tells Armen Keteyian that the No. 1 problem facing vets of Afghanistan and Iraq will be mental health. -CBS News (November 13, 2007)
Veterans Who Get Help at VA Are Still at Risk of Suicide (2008):
CBS News first reported on the staggering number of veteran suicides in a report last year. Now, newly-released data shows that vets who get help from the VA are still at risk. -CBS (March 20, 2008)
Seven Vets Under VA’s Care Died by Suicide in Washington (2008):
They served their country honorably but after risking their life in combat abroad, coping with coming home was too much. In the last three months seven servicemen being treated by Spokane’s VA Hospital have committed suicide. -4 News Now (April 29, 2008)
Senator Patty Murray Alleges VA Cover-up of Veteran Suicide (2008):
Despite recent efforts by the Veterans Administration to prevent veteran suicide, seven have committed suicide in the Inland Northwest in the last four months and US Senator Patty Murray is calling the situation unacceptable. -4 News Now (May 1, 2008)
Katie Couric investigates an alarming trend in the U.S. military, as more and more female soldiers have come forward with tales of sexual abuse at the hands of male soldiers and superior officers. -CBS (March 17, 2009)
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 