Locked and loaded diaries

Teri and Patrick, founders of The Brandon Act and The Brandon Caserta foundation will be discussing the recent firings of Navy commanders. The Navy rarely explains why firings happen. They seem to pick and choose who they want to fire and the one commander who should be fired isn't. The Commander of the USS George Washington, Brent Gaut and his entire chain of command. We want to know why.

USMC PFC Tyler Cox of Dike, Iowa, died "unexpectedly" at Camp Lejeune, NC April 29, 2020, of a "training accident." Truth be told, his mother, Sara Cox, received a phone call days later from his company commander stating that Tyler was shot in the back of the head at the weapons range. He retracted his statement, and NCIS stepped in and said he was shot point-blank in the temple. Yet again, the story changed, and they claimed that 19-year-old PFC Tyler Cox shot himself in the forehead with a long rifle. The investigation was completed and closed within two months. That is expedient for any wrongful death in the military. His chain of command never personally contacted the family after the initial phone call. The unit was put on a gag order. No one was allowed to talk to the parents. WHY? If it was only a suicide? There was never even a memorial service for this young Marine. This young man was a victim of negligent homicide, and his legacy was disrespected by the United States Maine Corps. This military branch has been losing an average of one Marine a month on US soil due to "training accidents." This was no accident. The weapons range leadership put these Marines in a circle with loaded weapons pointing at one another and their was a discharge that went straight into Tylers temple. No one was held accountable. This was a yet, another complete coverup by the USMC.

Margie Taylor's son, Fort Hood Spc. Joey Lenz, 32, a tactical power generation specialist assigned to the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, was found dead in his barracks room on the morning of Feb. 1. 2022. Lenz, 32, who enlisted in 2017, was expected to leave the Army in mid-March. “He already had a job, he was happy, everything was good, and then he died,” she said. His mother said her son enjoyed his Army life, that he didn't want to leave, but he was being “pushed out.” Since his death, Taylor learned her son was being bullied and targeted by a captain who has since been moved. Taylor said Lenz's staff sergeant and the lieutenant colonel were also moved in recent weeks. Between Christmas, when her son visited her in Conroe, Texas for the holiday, and his death on Feb. 1st, Taylor was told her son has prescribed four medicines: Trazadone, Cyclobenzaprine, Fluoxetine, and Propranolol leading her to believe a drug reaction known as serotonin syndrome may have contributed to his death. During a memorial for Lenz at Fort Hood in February, Taylor said she met privately with over 30 soldiers who wanted to share happy memories of her son. "They said you need to get justice for Joey. They said, ‘We know he didn't just die. There's something going on and they overmedicate here.' Taylor said she was informed by Fort Hood CID Special Agent in Charge Maria Thomas that CID had completed its investigation and that her son had died of “mixed drug interaction.” “I believe there is more to the story,” Taylor said.

Since he was a little boy, Evan Bath knew he wanted to be a Marine. Sadly, that dream was only realized for one year. On July 30, 2020, Evan was one of eight Marines. A sailor from the Battalion Landing Team 1/4 of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit who drowned as their assault amphibious vehicle sunk near California's San Clemente Island coast during a training exercise ahead of deployment. The Marine Corps released its investigation into the training accident that led to their deaths. The 1,743-page report cites numerous failures, from maintenance to leadership to not following policies and procedures.The losses started months before their deaths. The investigation determined the 34-year-old vehicle that the troops used had several maintenance problems. As a result, when the vehicles were given to the platoon as the unit was assigned to the 15th MEU, most of them were “in horrible condition,” not fit for operations, and needed repair. We talked to his mother, Aleta Bath- One of Aleta's most essential questions was why procedures were not being followed and why there was such a rush to do a waterborne exercise for which the troops were not properly trained. She tells us about the lack of proper accountability and how the USMC tried to pin it on the lowest ranking man.

LCpl Ronald Valentin was found murdered almost three and a half years ago in a ditch 200 feet away from a Sergeant's barracks where he attended a party on the Labor Day weekend at a Marine base in Okinawa, Japan on September 6th, 2018. He had been missing for five days before his roommate reported him missing. Once it was made aware, his body was found very quickly but so badly decomposed it couldn't be identified by physical markers, only by his dental records. The family have a closed casket funeral and never personally identified him in person, only by video of a tattoo. When they received his body from the Marines at the airport it was revealed that they had THE WRONG BODY and the wrong casket. They did the entire bereavement for the wrong body; LCpl Ronald Valentin never got his bereavement the right way. It has been almost THREE AND HALF YEARS, and they still have no answers, no justice. The cause of death was BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA to the back of his head. NCIS says the case is still ongoing after almost three and half years! No one saw anything, and the cameras in the area "weren't working" per usual. There is plenty of evidence, and the NCIS is dragging its feet. The Marines and NCIS aren't able to hold anyone accountable.

On July 30, 2020, a platoon of AAVs (assault amphibious vehicles) carrying a company of infantry Marines left San Clemente Island, California, on its way to the transport dock Somerset after completing a training raid. While on San Clemente Island, they refilled the vehicle with oil and set off again, but the leak eventually caused the transmission to seize on the return trip. This kicked off a chain of events that ultimately led to the vehicle sinking. Maintenance oversights, lack of ambiguous training requirements, and a failure to regularly perform pre-deployment evaluations contributed to the summer 2020 amphibious assault vehicle sinking that resulted in the drowning deaths of those eight Marines and one sailor. Those marines should have never been there. They were untrained, without the oversight of leadership or safety boats. How many deaths need to happen before Congress steps in???? "They sent them to their deaths, this was murder" In this episode, we talk to the mother of Lance Cpl. Chase D. Sweetwood, 18, of Portland, Oregon, a rifleman-Christiana Sweetwood. She tells us of the negligence, lies, incompetence, and utter disrespect she experienced with the USMC. You're not gonna believe this one, Diaries Fans.

In this episode, we talk to Tonya Ogrefe-Neal, the mother of Army Specialist Mason Webber, 22, from Marion, Iowa. S died from injuries sustained while conducting maintenance on a Bradley Fighting Vehicle on September 5, 2019, at Fort Hood, Texas. SPC Webber entered the Army in March 2018 as a Bradley Fighting Vehicle system maintainer. He was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood in August 2018. He was a son, husband, and father of a daughter born less than two months after he died. Gold Star mom Tonya said, “He was more than just a Soldier. Mason was first, and he was very proud to serve his country. He was always wearing that smile no matter what was going on in his life.”

Army Private Richard Halliday was last seen in his Fort Bliss barracks room on July 23, 2020. Halliday's parents suspect foul play and a cover-up regarding their son's disappearance. More than 240 interviews, 71 subpoenas, and six search warrants on emails, telephone numbers, social media accounts, and financial institutions associated with Halliday have been conducted as part of the investigation into his disappearance. In this episode, we sit with his mother Patricia Halliday who posts on Facebook live almost daily about Richard and her dealings with Fort Bliss Army officials. Halliday, now 22, is 5 feet, 9 inches tall, and weighs 162 pounds. He was last seen wearing a charcoal gray zip-up hoodie, a gray T-shirt, gray or turquoise cargo shorts, and dark gray running shoes with red, yellow, and white paint stains.

When Army PV2 Gregory Wedel Morales vanished in August 2019, he was labeled a deserter. Kim Wedel last spoke to her son on August 19, 2019, when he called and asked her to lend him some gas money. That day was the last time he was seen alive driving off base in his black 2018 Kia where he went to a club to meet up with some friends. It took nine months for the Army to offer a reward for information relating to his disappearance. Less than a week after the reward was raised to $25,000 they received a tip that led officers to his skeletal remains. Kim feels the Army did not do enough to find Gregory-He was listed as AWOL and a deserter. When in fact he was deceased. Has the Army given up on our Soldiers? Or just FORT HOOD?

SPC Enrique Roman-Martinez had his head removed from his body while camping on an LSD fueled trip with seven fellow Soldiers from Ft Bragg. However, none of them have been arrested for his murder. FT Bragg CID closed the case 18 months later, citing no evidence. Then, three months after these same Soldiers are being prosecuted with a slew of charges NOT related to his murder. What is the holy hell is going on in the 82nd Airborne Division??? Not justice, that's for sure! Join us as we talk to Enrique's baby sister Griselda who stood up to leadership at FT Bragg and demanded they do their job! She truly is a hero.

St Patty's day 2007 should have been a fun night for Corporal Christopher Ferguson and his battle buddies, as they had just returned from a deployment to Iraq. But unfortunately for him, Christopher would be dead seven days later. He had "fallen, been pushed, or jumped" from a 3rd story apartment balcony off the post. However, CID on FT Hood took the case from Killeen PD. The family was never approached by CID, Christophers unit, or anyone else. The Soldiers at the party were on a gag order. Christopher's death was never investigated. No authority took responsibility. Christopher's death was ruled an accident. It was reopened in 2020 by KPD, pending medical records. It was closed again just last week with no explanation. This was a blatant coverup by FT HOOD. Please join us as Christopher's sister tells his story.

Pv2 Caleb Smither was left to die in his barracks room on Ft Bragg only seven weeks and 4 days after reporting to base-his first duty station. After hitting his head on a vehicle in the motor pool. Pv2 Smither was turned away from Womack Army medical center 3 times. After being given a sedative and pain meds, he was put on quarters. Pv2 Caleb Smither died on the floor of his barracks room because no one checked on him. Womack failed this Soldier. His chain of command failed him. Who doesn't check on a brand spanking new troop who had to come to the formation with NVG's on because he was in so much pain? He lie in his room for 5 days before someone finally opened his door. Before that, Soldiers on his floor sprayed Febreeze around his door! But no one was held accountable. This is medical malpractice. This is negligent homicide.

In week two of Locked and Loaded Diaries, we talked with our own Teri Caserta and her husband, Patrick, about their son Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Caserta, age 21, who took his own life on June 25, 2018. Brandon was constantly being harassed and bullied by a toxic command whose only mission was the mission and not the Sailors. AEAN Caserta had a brief career with the Navy, and it didn't turn out the way he had hoped. He had failed Special Warfare Training and was transferred into a new career field. And then, unexpectedly, Brandon broke his collarbone in a bicycle accident, negatively impacting his Navy career. "Brandon's supervisor called subordinates his “bitches,” referred to the chiefs as “douchebags” and “dumbasses” behind their backs, and “treated workers worse than garbage” and “like dogs.” –Military.com (June 8, 2019) This one is long, folks. Buckle up! SHOW LESS

My name is Kimberly Walker, and I'm an Army Veteran. I have created a new video podcast, LOCKED AND LOADED DIARIES, along with my battle buddies and Gold Star Mothers, Teri Myhre Caserta and Heather Hedge Baker. We have created a podcast that addresses non-combat deaths in the military. According to a congressional research service dated May 2021, from 2006-to 2021, 75% of military deaths were non-combat. Meaning only 25% of deaths happened due to a combat situation. 93% of these non-combat deaths happened on US Soil. Suicides, homicides, homicides by suicide, neglect, overdoses, and fatalities don't make sense. So what the hell is happening in the US military??? We will talk to Gold Star families. The families who were left behind. They will tell us their stories, the impact these deaths left on them, and the lack of transparency, respect, and justice they received from the military. Please join us on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform every week to hear a new story. Please follow us on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. www.usmilitarylockedandloaded.com