Archive for the ‘Afghanistan’ Category

Overnight Defense: US nearing halfway point of Afghanistan withdrawal | Army soldiers mistakenly raid olive oil factory | TheHill – The Hill

HappyTuesday and welcome toOvernightDefense.I'm Ellen Mitchell, and here's your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.CLICK HERE to subscribe to the newsletter.

THE TOPLINE:The U.S. military isnearly at the halfway point in pulling its forces from Afghanistanonly a month into the effort, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Tuesday.

U.S. Central Commandestimates thatit has completed between 30 to 44 percent of the entire retrograde process, Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon.

He added thatthe Defense Department has shipped roughly 300 C-17 aircraft loads of material out of Afghanistan and has turnednearly 13,000 pieces of equipment over to the Defense Logistics Agency for destruction since the withdrawal began on May 1.

A fast timeline:President Bidenin Aprilordered all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that sparked Americas longest conflict. Several reports, however, have indicated the withdrawal could be completed as soon as July.

Defense SecretaryLloyd Austinsaid Thursday that the withdrawal is slightly ahead of schedule, but he did not offer further details of the pace.

Hand it over: Washington has also officially handed over six facilities to the Afghan Ministry of Defense, according to a Centcom statement released earlier Tuesday.

Agence France-Presse reported earlier Tuesday that U.S. forces will be handing overtheir main Bagram Air Base to Afghan forces in roughly 20 days, though Kirby would not confirm the report.

Ive seen the press report on Bagram. Im obviously not going to get ahead of specific retrograde milestones, Kirby said.

He added that Bagram which was built by the Soviet Union in the 1980s andserves as the U.S. and NATO forces'biggest military facilityin Afghanistan will be turned over as part of the withdrawal, but he would not confirm the timing, citing operational security.

DEMS INTRODUCE BILL TO PROTECT TRANSGENDER MILITARY DEPENDENTS

A group of 39 House Democrats on Tuesday introduceda new billto ensure that transgender dependentof active duty service members have access to needed health care.

Led by Rep.Jimmy Panetta(D-Calif.), the Armed Forces Transgender Dependent Protection Act would prevent the Defense Department from stationing service members and their transgender dependents in states or countries that prohibit or otherwise restrict gender affirming healthcare and treatments for them.

Despite the progress that we have made in our fight for LGBTQ equality, service members and their transgender dependents continue to face hurdles that threaten their development, Panetta said in a statement announcing the bill.

Context:Republicans in more than 30 states across the country have passed or advanced legislation targeting transgender Americans, particularly students, in the past several months. Democrats and LGBT advocates have deemed such legislation as discriminatory and several lawsuits are expected to ensue.

Earlier on Tuesday, the first day of Pride Month, Florida, Gov.Ron DeSantis(R)signed a law that prohibits transgender student athletesfrom playing on teams that align with their gender identity.

A pushback:The Biden administration has taken steps to show support for LGBT rights.

President BidenJoe BidenRNC warns it will advise presidential candidates against future debates if panel doesn't make changes Washington Post issues correction on 2020 report on Tom Cotton, lab-leak theory Graham says Israel will request billion from US after Gaza war MOREin Januarysigned an executive order lifting the banon transgender service members implemented during the Trump administration.

An extra step:But the Democratic lawmakers want to make sure the Pentagon goes a step further and install protections for the dependents of service members.

Across America, Republican-led states have embarked on the discriminatory mission of legislatively outlawing medical treatment for trans Americans, House Judiciary Committee ChairmanJerry Nadler(D-N.Y.), a co-sponsor of the bill, said in a statement. Ensuring that transgender children and spouses of active duty service members can access medically necessary treatment is a question of dignity, fairness, and civil rights.

ARMY SOLDIERS MISTAKENLY RAID BULGARIAN OLIVE OIL FACTORY

U.S. soldiersaccidentally raided an olive oil factory in Bulgaria during a larger NATO exerciselast month, U.S. Army Europe and Africa revealed Tuesday.

During Exercise Swift Response 21 a drill across Estonia, Bulgaria and Romania meant to deter Russian military aggression soldiers assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade simulated seizing and securing the decommissioned Cheshnegirovo airfield in Bulgaria by entering and clearing bunkers and structures.

What went wrong: But during the course of the exercise on May 11, soldiers entered and cleared a building next to the airfield that they believed was part of the training area, but that was occupied by Bulgarian civilians operating a private business,according to an Army statement. No weapons were fired at any time during the interaction.

Apologies in order: Army officials sincerely apologize to the business and its employees, and said they are fully investigating the cause of this mistake.

The statement added that the Army would implement rigorous procedures to clearly define our training areas and prevent this type of incident in the future.

Caught on film:A video of the mistaken seizure wasposted to Twitterby Bulgarian journalist Dilyana Gaytandzhieva, who reported that the factory owner had filed a lawsuit after the mix up.

ICYMI

The Hill: Pentagon report clears use ofdrones made by top Chinese manufacturer

The Hill:Defense secretary knocks Cruz: Military will 'never be too soft'

The Hill:Russian military forming 20 new unitsto counter NATO

The Hill:Coast Guardsuspends search for 10 Cuban migrantswhose boat capsized

The Hill:Gillibrand says Schumer shouldbring military sexual assault billup for a vote

The Hill:US warshipfails to intercept ballistic missile testtarget

The New York Times: A siege, a supply run and a decent intoa decades-old battle

The Associated Press:As Russia tensions simmer,NATO conducts massive war games

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Overnight Defense: US nearing halfway point of Afghanistan withdrawal | Army soldiers mistakenly raid olive oil factory | TheHill - The Hill

16 Taliban militants dead, 8 arrested in two provinces of Afghanistan – Business Standard

At least 16 Taliban militants were killed and eight others arrested in two Afghan provinces, the country's Ministry of Defence confirmed on Monday.

In Kunduz province, five people were freed from the Taliban's clutches after Afghan National Army commandos raided a hideout in Qosh Tapa village on the outskirts of provincial capital Kunduz city on Sunday night, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying in a statement.

"The army commandos raided a Taliban hideout at midnight. During the operation, the security forces received hostile fire. They returned fire in self-defense.

"In ensuing gunfight, 12 enemy combatants were killed and eight others arrested," the statement said.

The freed people and the arrested militants were shifted to an army camp.

The Taliban hideout was destroyed and the weapons and ammunition were seized during the raid, the statement added.

In Helmand province, four militants were killed and two wounded after Afghan Air Force bombed a Taliban position in Chah-e-Angir, an area in restive Nad Ali district, on Sunday.

The Taliban have intensified attacks on provincial capitals, districts, bases and checkpoints after US President Joe Biden announced that American troops will pull out from the country by September 11, 2021 after almost 20 years.

NATO agreed to follow suit.

Almost 10,000 NATO soldiers from the Resolute Support training mission, including 2,500 soldiers from the US and around 1,100 from Germany, the two biggest contingents, are due to leave the country.

The withdrawal formally began on May 1.

--IANS

ksk/

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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16 Taliban militants dead, 8 arrested in two provinces of Afghanistan - Business Standard

Afghanistan’s women self-help groups on the COVID-19 front lines – Afghanistan – ReliefWeb

Story Highlights:

In Afghanistan, the Women Economic Empowerment Rural Development Project (WEE-RDP) is a national program that empowers rural Afghan women to mobilize into self-help groups.

These groups help their members access financial services and start small businesses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, self-help groups have also provided critical support for health and livelihoods.

The self-help groups help fight misinformation, train communities on how to prevent the transmission of the coronavirus, and provide loans for medical expenses and livelihood assistance.

BAGRAMI DISTRICT, Kabul Province On a sunny June afternoon in Qale Ahmad Khan village, the streets were deserted, unusual in Bagrami district, which is located just a short 30-minute car ride from downtown Kabul, Afghanistans capital and most populous city.

The silence is only interrupted by a lone sweet seller whose calls from his bicycle draws a few children from their homes into the street to buy a treat from their favorite traveling salesman.

Usually, on any given summer day, the streets would be busy with lifegrocers hawking ripe melons, motorbikes and cars shuttling to and from Kabul city.

But in the summer of 2020, silence had fallen over Bagrami district, as it had in villages and cities around the world. Storefronts shuttered and families remained at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While local lockdowns have been vital to stem the spread of the virus, they have had far-reaching social and economic consequences.

In Qale Ahmad Khan village, a group of 10 women gathered in a small room to hold their weekly self-help group (SHG) meeting. The agenda is always focused on the latest issues, whether it be savings and loan coordination or female empowerment. Most recently, the group has been focused on COVID-19 and solving community issues caused by the pandemic and its preventive measures.

In times like these, many in the community have turned to their local SHG,which was established in January 2019 by the Womens Economic Empowerment Rural Development Project (WEE-RDP). Operated under the Ministry of Women Affairs (MoWA), the project is a national program that empowers rural women by helping them to mobilize into SHGs, open small businesses, and access financial services.

Life-saving Information

In Kabul province, WEE-RDP has set up over 700 SHGs in Bagrami, Estalif and Chahar Asyab districts in Kabul with more than half in Bagrami district alone. To date, 36 SHGs have been set up in Qale Ahmad Khan, a village with a population of over 8,000.

As the pandemic spread, WEE-RDP responded to new community needs, through the SHGs, training 429 women and 129 men on COVID-19 preventive measures in Bagrami district in the first round. We have received trainings on how to social distance, use mask and gloves, and the benefit of different nutrients [in fruits] such as lemons, cherries, and oranges on the immune system, says Rahila Nazari, 41, a mother of five.

The training was especially valuable to Rahila when her husband fell ill with COVID-19 in June 2020. She applied what she learned from the training to properly quarantine her husband and keep herself and their children from being infected while he recovered at home.

Over the course of 2020, 54 awareness programs on COVID-19 have been carried out and 856 people trained in Bagrami district on how to social distance and wear masks and gloves, according to Hamidullah Kaliwal, 28, a WEE-RDP Field Coordinator. In all the three districts, 1,260 people (828 women and 378 men) received COVID-19 awareness during this time.

Sustainable Solutions for the Community

The SHG not only provided Rahila with vital information, it also granted her a 2,000-afghani ($26)* loan to help cover her husbands medical expenses. For 14 consecutive days he had fever that had left him motionless, and we didnt have any money to admit him to a hospital, says Rahila. So, I took the loan from the self-help group and bought him Paracetamol, cherries, lemons, oranges, and other fruits and made juices for him.

After her husbands recovery, they were faced with another dire problem. With businesses shut down due to COVID-19, Rahilas husband, a construction worker, had no work and no way to earn a living to provide for his family. I didnt have any money to feed my children, she recounts. I had only 60 afghanis [77 cents] to buy just bread for breakfast.

The SHG threw Rahila a further lifeline by helping her secure another loan and form a plan of action. I borrowed 2,000 afghanis and bought a bicycle, Rahila says. [My husband] uses the bicycle to sell goods like dishwashing liquid and powder and snacks to other residents. The plan proved a success as many people preferred not to leave their homes during these uncertain times and were happy to have a delivery service of these small goods. I am thankful to the SHG that has helped me and my family. My husband now earns 300 afghanis [$3.90] a day, which Rahila says is enough to cover their daily expenses and repay her loans in weekly installments.

Rahila says that she would have been in a difficult position without WEE-RDPs aid. If we didnt have this program in our village, we would have had to either take loans from neighbors or sell whatever we had at home for my husbands treatment.

She is grateful that the WEE-RDP came to their village and taught them that saving can create a huge difference in their lives. We didnt know much about saving at the beginning, we were spending all the earnings without giving any further thoughts about our future, she says.

Kaliwal reaffirms WEE-RDPs positive impact on the women in Qale Ahmad Khan village. We have been successful in creating a mentality among the women that saving 20 afghanis [26 cents] per week can [help] solve big problems in their lives in the future, he says.

By encouraging women to participate in society and involving them in decision-making at the local level through SHGs, communities like Qale Ahmad Khan have been able to implement targeted, sustainable, and appropriate solutions to solve community issues.

WEE-RDP promotes womens economic empowerment by encouraging and aiding financially sustainable and self-managed community institutions, which aim to improve household incomes, foster sustainable enterprises, and increase access to finance and markets. WEE-RDP will be implemented in 76 districts across all 34 provinces in Afghanistan by projects end in June 2023.

WEE-RDP is funded by the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), a multidonor trust fund managed by the World Bank on behalf of 34 donors, and International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank Groups fund for the poorest countries.

*U.S. dollar equivalents are based on the exchange rate $1 = 77 afghanis (December 2020)

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Afghanistan's women self-help groups on the COVID-19 front lines - Afghanistan - ReliefWeb

Donated by India, COVID-19 vaccines languish and may expire in Afghanistan amid misinformation, scepticism – Firstpost

A mixture of scepticism and misinformation perpetuated on social media has slowed an already under-resourced vaccination campaign in Afghanistan.

By Ruchi Kumar

Mohammad Rahmani is not a COVID-19 denier. He wears a mask and practices social distancing. But the 24-year-old software engineer from Kabul, Afghanistan is deeply skeptical of COVID-19 vaccines. Online videos created in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries, then uploaded on social media have convinced him that SARS-CoV-2 and the vaccine that protects against it are part of a large conspiracy to reduce the global population.

This kind of scepticism is common within Afghanistan, where very few residents even follow basic public health guidelines. Local physicians lament that many people mistakenly believe the COVID-19 threat is already over or that it has been greatly exaggerated. They fall for rumours like the virus will not affect Muslims, said Mohammad Sarwar Firozi, a physician and administrator within the Afghan Ministry of Public Health. There is very little awareness, and people dont realise that this virus can kill you and is killing Afghans.

In fact, COVID-19 skeptics could point to the governments statistics, which suggest just over 2,800 coronavirus deaths have occurred in the country of 38 million people. But the government has likely undercounted; a survey backed by the World Health Organisation found that roughly 10 million people nearly one third of the countrys population had been infected with the virus as of last summer. According to Firozi, 40 to 50 percent of SARS-CoV-2 tests in Kandahar Province are coming back positive. The percentage is particularly high for individuals returning from neighbouring Pakistan, which is experiencing a new wave of infections.

In February, India donated half a million doses of the AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine to Afghanistan as part of a diplomacy effort. Tragically, not long after making the donation, India suffered one of the worlds worst coronavirus outbreaks, and it is now experiencing vaccine shortages despite being home to the worlds largest producer of vaccines. (The way to hell is often paved with good intentions, wrote one former diplomat in The Times of India.) A second, slightly smaller batch of vaccines arrived in Kabul in March through COVAX, the World Health Organisation-backed programme designed to distribute vaccine doses to poorer countries.

But a mixture of scepticism and misinformation perpetuated on social media has slowed an already under-resourced vaccination campaign. As a result, doctors and officials contacted by Undark say vaccines that are desperately needed in India may soon expire in Afghanistan. The Afghan government denies this charge. Ghulam Dastagir Nazary, director of the Afghan Ministry of Public Healths immunisation campaign, confirmed that the country received 500,000 vaccine doses from the Indian government that were due to expire on 4 June. But, he said, they have already been utilised.

Of the first doses we received, we have so far administered over 80 percent, acknowledged a senior health official working on the countrys immunisation campaign. However, he shared an internal tally of available vaccine in one government department alone that showed more than 5,000 doses set to expire on 4 June. In addition, the vaccines donated through COVAX will expire on 15 July. The health official spoke with Undark on the condition of anonymity out of fear of government reprisal. We wont be surprised if they are wasted simply because people are not convinced, the official said, showing stocks of unused vaccine vials to Undarks reporter in the Afghan capital.

Afghanistans vaccine rollout started out well, said Nazary. The Ministry of Public Health prioritized health care workers, security forces, journalists, and teachers and demand was huge. But then interest tapered off after reports that the vaccine had been paused in some European countries due to a rare but potentially associated side effect: blood clotting. (The European Medicines Agency has since determined that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks.)

These legitimate reports of possible side effects soon gave way to misinformation and false rumours, said Nazary, and the countrys vaccination rate was reduced to almost zero for some weeks. In response, the government is undertaking a crisis communication management plan, he said. The Ministry of Public Health is asking other ministries, as well as the media, for help promoting the vaccine. Immunisation has also been opened to all adults, not just essential workers.

In Afghanistan, vaccination is voluntary, and Afghans must proactively seek vaccination from medical centers. Currently, with vaccine doses from India and the WHO, the country has enough to cover 3 percent of its total population, said Nazary, but health officials are struggling to administer even this amount to the public. Yet Nazary denied that there is any expected wastage: We only have 75,000 doses remaining across the country, he said, and they expire in mid-July.

When Undark showed Nazary photographs of vaccine vials with a 4 June expiration date, he insisted that no such vials exist inside the country. He did, however, say that some wastage is inevitable as part of any COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

The anonymous official who showed Undark the soon-to-expire vaccine doses agreed that some amount of wastage is to be expected because each vaccine vial contains eight to 10 doses and an opened vial is good only for a very short period of time. If a physician opens a vial but only sees, say, six patients that day, some of the vaccine will go to waste. But this type of wastage is different from what hes witnessing in the capital: vaccines at risk of exceeding their shelf life, even before theyve been opened.

In contrast to the many vaccine deniers in the country, some employees at the various government departments administering vaccines are putting together leftover shots to make whole doses and taking them to their families, the health official shared. Each vial usually has a little left over even after the 10 doses are administered, he said. Government employees are combining the leftover drops to create a full dose, then taking it to their families. They are treating these vaccines as precious lifesavers, he said. And that is how it must be, because wasting these precious lifesaving drugs that were gifted to us by India even though they needed it more is criminal.

Firozi agreed: It would be a grave injustice if these vaccines get wasted, especially when people in the donor country are suffering. People should be motivated to take these vaccines, and make Indias sacrifice worthwhile, he added. Not taking the vaccine when you have the opportunity to is an oppression to yourself and the society.

Many Afghans remain unconvinced. If the vaccine really works, then why is India givingit away to us for free when thousands of them are dying on daily basis? asked Ghulam Farooq, a 29-year-old civil servant from Kabul who has also refused to take the vaccine. He reasons that if the vaccine really worked, then India its largest producer would not be in the position it is in today.

Farooqs decision to abstain from the vaccine also arrived from claims of alleged side effects, including infertility and impact on sexual performance. I am still young and I got married only four years ago. I have two kids and I am planning to have at least a couple of more kids. I cant risk that, he explained. Anyway, this whole corona thing is propaganda by the West.

These types of conspiracy theories are rife in much of Afghan society, and range from the vaccines being a CIA project to track and target Afghans to a widespread but mistaken belief that the vaccine was made with ingredients that violate Islamic law, a serious issue in the Muslim-majority country. The claims of CIA interference and its resulting impact on immunisation campaigns have a precedent in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the United States government did, in fact, use a hepatitis B vaccination drive to track Osama Bin Laden.

In an attempt to reach a wider and largely devout Muslim population, the public health ministry has enlisted the help of prominent religious leaders to dispel some of the rumours swirling around the vaccine. After years of living in conflict, Afghans are susceptible to fake information because we tend to believe the worst, explained Mauvali Ehsanul Haq Hanafi, a religious leader who had joined the Afghan governments campaign to spread awareness of the vaccines. I have come across people with no medical or religious knowledge who are spreading wrong information that the vaccine is haram, or un-Islamic, he said, adding that their information was based on rumours. (Spreading rumours is considered sinful in Islam.)

Firozi went one step further and blamed rumour-spreaders for the COVID-19 deaths in Afghanistan. People who are spreading misinformation and influencing others to not get the vaccine are responsible for the lives we lose on a daily basis, he said. They will be answerable to God.

On the first day of Ramadan last month, the Ministry of Public Health enlisted the leadership of the countrys Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs to take the vaccines in front of the media to dispel the myth that the vaccine could impact the practice of fasting during the most holy month for Muslims.

As a deeply religious and conservative society, it isnt uncommon for Afghans to devoutly follow the words of religious leaders and community elders. Hanafi attempts to use his influence to convince the people to take the vaccine by delivering sermons, talking to other religious leaders, and using social media to encourage Afghans to get the shots. He says he is often challenged to respond to misinformation, particularly related to claims questioning the religious soundness of the vaccine. I once heard from a person saying that the vaccine consists of pork ingredients, which are forbidden in Islam, he said. I know there is no evidence to this rumour. Another person believed that because the vaccine is produced by a non-Muslim, it can have a negative impact on a believers faith.

In response, he explains that the virus does not see if one is a Muslim or a non-Muslim. There is only one thing it targets and that is the human body. Hanafi says he urges all Afghans, including religious leaders, to stop the spread of misinformation.

The anonymous official blamed the government for creating an environment of mistrust that allows such conspiracies to thrive. The leadership of the government, specifically his excellency, the president and his deputies, should have taken the vaccine in front of the media in order to convince the people of its effectiveness," the official said. "Other world leaders did so; that is how you earn your peoples trust.

Hanafi agreed, adding that the government could have done more early in the vaccine rollout. They could have used the voice of those who people listen the most to, who will be most effective in convincing people; instead they ran the campaign with artists and singers, he said referring to the choice of campaign ambassadors endorsing the vaccine. Hanafi believes that employing community elders, security officials, and more religious leaders to address concerns of the community would have been more effective. It would be grave negligence if these vaccines are wasted, he added. Islam is against wasting.

However, his appeals fail to resonate with those like Farooq, who believes that his faith will protect him better than the vaccine. I believe that if I survived so many wars, it is unlikely that this corona will kill me, he said. I have faith in God, and I know God will protect me.

Ruchi Kumar is an Indian journalist currently working in Kabul, Afghanistan, focusing on news stories from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. She has been published in Foreign Policy, The Guardian, NPR, The National, Al Jazeera, and The Washington Post, among other outlets.

This article was originally published on Undark. Read the original article.

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Donated by India, COVID-19 vaccines languish and may expire in Afghanistan amid misinformation, scepticism - Firstpost

Traveling war memorial honors veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who died by suicide – Fremont Tribune

The youthful faces look back from the Remembering Our Fallen towers, a mix of uniformed portraits and smiling snapshots of more than 5,000 lives cut short by the long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

One tower in the traveling monument to America's post-9/11 military dead looks slightly different, the photos arrayed on a deep blue background instead of white.

The blue-backed pictures are of 183 young men and women who returned from battlefield deployments to hugs and kisses from relieved parents and spouses and kids then weeks or months or years later, suffering from often invisible pain, they took their own lives.

The monuments creators, Bill and Evonne Williams of Patriotic Productions,call it the PTS tower, for post-traumatic stress. They dont use the word suicide.

Its heartbreaking to look at that tower, Bill Williams said. All of them are hard, but that one is the hardest.

Tom and Donna Nicholson of Gretna saw the towers again at the event this past weekend in Omahas Old Market, and they know that feeling well. Their son, Marine Capt. Kevin Nicholson who died Sept. 2, 2014, after four deployments to Afghanistan in five years is on the blue tower.

To see all the faces, the beautiful-looking people, Donna said. I think, What a loss. What a waste.

Remembering Our Fallen is one of the few war memorials that honors warriors who succumbed to PTS alongside those who died on the battlefield.

Candy Martin, former president of American Gold Star Mothers, is an Army veteran whose son was killed in combat in Iraq in 2007. She agrees that those who died of PTS deserve recognition, too.

We recognize that they died in service, or as a result of service, said Martin, who marched in Omahas Memorial Day parade Friday, along with the Nicholsons. Its not how your child died. We focus on continuing the service that their sons and daughters didnt finish.

We recognize that they died in service, or as a result of service, said Candy Martin, who marched in Omahas Memorial Day parade Friday, along with the Nicholsons. Its not how your child died. We focus on continuing the service that their sons and daughters didnt finish.

During the 2010s, the Williamses had created 14 traveling memorials for individual states with portraits of those killed in post-9/11 combat. From time to time, Evonne Williams said, they would get queries from Gold Star parents about including their sons and daughters who died of PTS.

When they created the national Remembering Our Fallen memorial towers in 2017, they created panels for PTS deaths as well as deaths in training accidents.

The top of the first blue panel describes post-traumatic stress: Debilitating anxiety occurring after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event; symptoms can include flashbacks, emotional detachment and jumpiness; bio-chemical changes in the brain and body.

Ross Wimer, 32, of Omaha served four years in the Marine Corps and deployed with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment famous as the Darkhorse battalion during a brutal 2010-11 deployment to Afghanistans Sangin province. The unit lost 25 dead and had 200 wounded, a higher rate than any other unit during the war.

Many Darkhorse veterans, Wimer said, have been afflicted with survivors guilt. Over the years, suicides have mounted.

Ive honestly lost count, he said.

Members of his unit reach out to one another for buddy checks, an informal way to keep tabs on fellow veterans who may be in trouble.

Wimer does see a distinction between those who died in battle and those who died later, at home, but only a slight one. Hes glad the Remembering Our Fallen towers recognize both types of casualties of war.

Its great that Bill and Evonne are doing this, he said. Their heads are in the right place.

The Williamses do not contact families of veterans who have taken their own lives because suicide remains a highly sensitive topic, but they will add the names and photos of those who died from the effects of PTS if families request them. Six of the deceased on the PTS panels are from Nebraska.

To be included in the memorial, the veteran must have served after Sept. 11, 2001, and they must have served in a combat zone.

They get lost. Their service feels like it does not count, Evonne Williams said. They deserve this.

Last years Department of Veterans Affairs annual suicide prevention report counted 6,435 veterans who took their own lives in 2018, the latest year for which statistics were available.

The numbers have risen about 6% since the Department of Veteran Affairs started counting suicides in 2005 an unhappy trend, but a far smaller increase than the 47% increase in all adult suicides in the U.S. during the same period.

In the years since, there have been aggressive campaigns by both the military and the VA to prevent suicides, and to make it easier for veterans to receive treatment for post-traumatic stress.

Still, in 2018 veterans were slightly more likely than other Americans to die by their own hand. Veterans represented 8% of the U.S. adult population but 13% of the suicides.

Well over half of the veteran suicides last year were among vets over age 55. The 18-34 age group had the smallest number of suicides (874) but the highest rate.

Tom and Donna Nicholson had no idea the pain Kevin was in when he visited them in July 2014 for what turned out to be the last time.

We were glad to have him home. We tried to do special things, Donna said.

He was only 31. They didnt see it coming.

Over the years, he had grown more subdued compared with the cheerful youth Donna described as very independent, very smart. He was active in their church and liked to memorize Bible verses, and he built models and rockets in 4-H.

Kevin graduated from high school in 2001, attending Kansas State and the University of Nebraska-Lincolnbefore transferring to the University of Nebraska at Omaha and graduating in 2007.

While at UNO, he became interested in the military and joined the Marines. He arrived as the Corps ramped up its operational tempo to support two simultaneous wars. He deployed for seven months to Afghanistan, then came home for 12 months before returning to the theater four cycles in five years.

He was pretty proud of what he did, but he never talked about it, Tom Nicholson said. They felt awkward asking, so typically they didnt.

As the deployments ground on, Donna noticed Kevin seemed distant.

I noticed changes in his eyes. There was something about his stare, she recalled.

Donna called him in mid-August 2014, just to visit. She asked him what kind of things he would like her to include in the next care package she sent him.

The conversation still disturbs her.

He just told me, I always send him junk, she said. It was hurtful I dont think he really meant it. I think he was not in a good place.

Two weeks later, the doorbell rang at the Nicholsons' Gretna home about 6 oclock one evening. Donna answered.

Three men in uniform stood on the porch.

Donna knew instantly what that meant, but she was confused. Kevin was at home in North Carolina, not in Afghanistan. She shouted her husbands name.

I knew something was wrong, Tom said.

The rest hurts too much to talk about. Tom remembers numb shock, a sense of going through the motions while planning a burial.

That was the worst week of my life, Donna said.

Learning how Kevin died hurt. It left questions, but they drew support from family and friends, and their church.

I called our siblings and others and told them what happened, Tom said. You cant just pretend he fell out of a tree.

The sun sets over headstones at Omaha National Cemetery.

They came to accept that their son suffered invisible wounds, devastating ones.

Bodies get injured arms, legs. The brain gets injured, too. You just cant see it, Tom said. You dont find out some things until its too late.

The Nicholsons also found comfort in support groups like the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), which has special groups for those whose loved ones took their own lives.

It helps being with other families who know what theyve gone through, and to tell his story. They were happy to join in Fridays Memorial Day event, which included a concert, parade and giveaways.

I just try to focus on things that bring happiness, Donna said. I dont think theres anything wrong with being happy.

The way Kevins life ended, Tom said, Is just a small part of a big picture. Id like to think that its not the biggest part of the picture.

I look at all the good he did. He served our country, Tom added. What more would he have done?

Kevin Nicholsons picture is right there on the first of the blue panels, in the top row.

One photo shows him in full battle rattle at a base in Afghanistan, eyes hidden behind dark shades and a gloved hand resting casually on the grip of his M-16 rifle. In the other hes standing in a driveway, dressed in polo and khakis.

In neither picture does he smile.

But above Kevins photos is a message:

May these Warriors, at last, Rest in Peace.

The number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255.If you are a veteran in crisis, or a person concerned about a veteran in crisis, dial the number and press 1 to connect with the veteran crisis line, available 24 hours a day. Additional information can be found at http://www.veteranscrisisline.net.

U.S. Army

Highest rank achieved: Specialist 4

Years in service: 1968-1969

Where served: Phuoc Vinh, Vietnam

U.S. Army

Highest rank achieved: Specialist 4

Years in service: 1968-1970

Where served: Vietnam

U.S. Navy

Highest rank achieved: Chief Petty Officer electricians mate

Years in service: 1940-1946

Where served: Pearl Harbor survivor, Asiatic Pacific, Bikini Atoll

U.S. Army

Highest rank achieved: T-5 Corporal

Years in service: 1943-1945

Where served: Pacific theater

U.S. Air Force

Highest rank achieved: Major

Years in service: 20

Where served: Thailand, England, Panama

U.S. Army

Highest rank achieved: Army Transport Able-Bodied Seaman/Corporal

Years in service: 1944-1946 and 1950-1952

Where served: England, Germany, France during WWII; Okinawa, Japan, during Korean War

U.S. Navy

Highest rank achieved: Seaman 1st Class

Years in service: 3 years

U.S. Air Force

Highest rank achieved: Technical Sergeant

Years in service: 1972-1992

Where served: Osan Air Base, South Korea

U.S. Army

Highest rank achieved: Sergeant

Years in service: 1970-1972

Where served: Vietnam

U.S. Army

Highest rank achieved: Colonel

Years in service: 30

Read more from the original source:
Traveling war memorial honors veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who died by suicide - Fremont Tribune