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WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2008 – Navy Corpsman Daniel “Doc” Jacobs didn’t know he suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. But he knew he had a problem. “I actually almost ended up killing myself because of it,” Jacobs said. He woke up one morning in late 2006 in a pool of his own urine and sweat after mixing his prescription medications with alcohol. He had blacked out and remembered nothing after the first couple of beers, Jacobs said. Jacobs turned 21 that year and was recovering from the blast of a roadside bomb in Iraq and still was using a...

Following our mission, the Board of Directors has established the Silver Star Families of America Commendation Award. This award is to be given to an individual or organization that has had an exceptionally positive impact on our wounded and ill by:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2008 – The Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment’s Call Center is dedicated to helping wounded Marines and their families with various issues and referral assistance. Navy Cmdr. William Tanner, the Wounded Warrior Regiment’s regimental surgeon, said the call center is operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “Any Marines [or] sailors that have served with Marines, and their families, [and] have questions and need help can call into the center,” Tanner said Nov. 6 on the “DotMilDocs” radio program on BlogTalkRadio.com. The call center’s mission is to provide support through distribution of information, resources, advocacy...

NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2008 – Before the first dancing reindeer set a tap-shoe-clad hoof on Radio City Music Hall’s stage for a special performance yesterday, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff acknowledged some VIPs in the audience. Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, applauds a group of wounded warriors in the audience at New York's Radio City Music Hall on Nov. 8, 2008. The 25 warriors were joined by nearly 5,000 other servicemembers and their families for a special preview of the theater’s "Christmas Spectacular," featuring the Rockettes....

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2008 – The grey sky had been trying to hold back the rain forecasters had promised yesterday, but it couldn’t stave off the drops any longer as wounded servicemembers worked to check their tears during a ceremony at Ground Zero here, where the twin towers of the World Trade Center stood until Sept. 11, 2001. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff, presents a flag flown over Ground Zero in New York to Army Sgt. Joel Dulashanti after a brief ceremony at the site for a group of wounded veterans. The ceremony...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2008 – The detonation of a large roadside bomb near Baghdad on May 3, 2005, caused enough damage to Army Sgt. Robert Bartlett’s body to cost him his life -- and it did, at least temporarily. Then-Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey, left, and his wife, Mary, meet with Army Sgt. Robert Bartlett, center, and Army Cpl. Todd Bishop. The soldiers were recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital in Washington. Both were injured by a roadside bomb near Baghdad on May 3, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Carmen L. Burgess  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2008 – A bomb disguised as a cigarette stand on the side of an Iraqi highway ended up claiming Army Sgt. Robert M. Price III’s right leg below the knee Jan. 14, 2007, but it didn’t take away his will to succeed. Price was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division’s 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion out of Fort Hood, Texas, when he deployed to Iraq for the second time in October 2006 as part of Task Force Iron Claw, a team of engineers with the sole mission of keeping Iraq’s streets clear of roadside bombs. “It’s...

11/5/2008 - SAN ANTONIO (AFNS) -- Looking in the mirror, Marine Capt. Ryan Voltin couldn't get past his ears. Not that they were strange looking, but that they were there at all. He just wasn't used to seeing them. The AH-1 Cobra pilot lost his when the helicopter he was flying erupted in flames during a training accident last year. The fire severely burned the captain's face -- to the point that his ears simply dissolved. "I was conscious the entire time," he said. "And I remember thinking that I shouldn't be alive." But, he was, because of the quick...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2008 – Navy Adm. Mike Mullen didn’t like the way wounded Vietnam veterans were treated when he first entered the service in 1968, and he is working to ensure that America’s wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan get the care and help they need and deserve. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during a Pentagon Channel podcast interview yesterday that as one of the leaders of the U.S. military, he is passionate “about seeing to the needs of those who are wounded – who have sacrificed so much, whose lives have been changed so...

FORT DETRICK, Md., Oct. 30, 2008 – In most ways, Army Capt. Alex Houston is like any other Army commander. Army Capt. Alex Houston, 21st Signal Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company commander, talks with soldiers at Fort Detrick, Md. Houston lost his left hand in Iraq, but continues to serve. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. He comes to work here every day ready to lead and set the standard for the soldiers who work for him. He diligently performs all of his administrative duties as the 21st Signal Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company commander, and...

Today it was announced that the Silver Star Families of America will honor any military working dog that has been wounded in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOfKRlaFVSs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOfKRlaFVSs

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2008 – Operation Life Transformed honored six scholarship recipients, including the recipient of the 100th “Caregivers of War Wounded Training Scholarship,” during its “Celebrate 100” reception held here recently. Operation Life Transformed provides education and resources to wounded-warrior caregivers and military spouses through private and corporate entities. Its focus is to enable caregivers and military spouses to create a portable lifestyle. “Forty-three percent of our applicants are moms and dads that move across several states [and] give up their jobs so that they can sit bedside with the loved one,” said Tania Mercurio, chief executive officer...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2008 – The Defense Department is a strong supporter of the federally managed AbilityOne program, which works with private and public groups to provide goods and services to the government and jobs for the blind and other people who have severe disabilities, including wounded veterans. “As the largest customer of this program, the Department of Defense has a responsibility and a tremendous opportunity to increase support by procuring more goods and services provided by the AbilityOne program,” John J. Young Jr., undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, stated in a March 24 memorandum. AbilityOne,...

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 2, 2008 – Army Staff Sgt. Michael Fradera had never even been on a sailboat before an improvised explosive device in Baghdad blasted away both of his legs during the early days of the troop surge in Iraq. Kevin Wixom, captain of B-Quest II, shows Army Staff Sgt. Michael Fradera how to steer the vessel through San Diego Harbor during the National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic. DoD photo by Donna Miles  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. But yesterday, the former 1st Infantry Division soldier, now medically retired from the Army, was the king of San...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2008 – Wounded servicemembers and their families in San Diego will have a second “home away from home” during the recovery process when Naval Medical Center San Diego celebrates the grand opening of Fisher House II on Oct. 3. Fisher House II, the second Fisher House facility serving Naval Medical Center San Diego, stands ready for its Oct. 3, 2008, grand opening. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Fisher Houses provide respite and accommodations for families of active and retired military patients who have been admitted for medical care. “This facility represents the...

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 1, 2008 – More than 50 recently wounded veterans, including troops being processed through the disability evaluation system, are experiencing the healing power of recreation here through the first National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic Pilot Program. Marine Cpl. Sherman Watson (left), who suffered a traumatic brain injury in Iraq, and Eric McDaniel Jr., a former Army sergeant who suffered a stroke in training at Fort Bragg, N.C., participate in track and field events during the National Veterans Summer Sports Clinic in San Diego. Department of Veterans Affairs photo by Gene Davies  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2008 – President Bush visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center here today to pay respects to wounded soldiers and their families, and to the medical personnel who care for the injured. After his visit, Bush commented on the paradoxical human conditions produced by combat wounds. “On the one hand, you see the horrors of war; on the other hand, you see the courage of the people that have volunteered to serve,” he said. “I marvel when I come to Walter Reed. I marvel at the fact that people say to me, ‘Mr. President, I'd do it...

A wounded soldier home from Afghanistan on sick leave was forced to spend the night in his car after a hotel refused him a room. Corporal Tomos Stringer was told by staff at Metro Hotel, in Woking, that it was company policy not to accept members of the armed forces as guests. The 24-year-old had travelled to the Surrey town to help with funeral preparations for a friend killed in action. It was so late that Cpl Stringer, who had broken his wrist jumping off an Army truck as it was attacked, had no choice but to bed down in...