Never forgotten, never alone: The Wounded Blue is protecting law enforcement from gaps in help

Just The News is airing two special Memorial Day episodes of its flagship program, “Just The News, No Noise,” highlighting the critical assistance law enforcement need when injured in the line of duty, coupled with the challenges of veterans during and after service. The two-night special, airing Friday and Monday, is in partnership with the charitable advocacy group “The Wounded Blue”, with the Memorial Day episode also highlighting America’s veterans who often leave the armed forces and serve their nation at home as law enforcement. 
Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Doug Collins joined the program to talk about some of the changes under the Trump administration, particularly the backlog of veterans needing help, the processing time and the number of clinics.
“We’ve focused on lowering the backlogs from historic highs of 260,000+, when I first got in, to a 125 day backlog that’s now in the low 70s, and we’re going even further down from 137 days to 77 days of completion,” Collins told Just The News.
“And we’re making that even easier. We’re adding 35 more clinics, which has made our wait times go down. We’re doing the things that we need to do to take care of veterans.”
The episodes will help raise awareness about veterans’ issues and wounded police officers and the challenges they face in getting adequate care without having a program like the Veteran’s Administration (VA) to help them.
Law enforcement suffers great risk
Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., joined the show to discuss both law enforcement and veterans’ issues. 
Evans warned the audience, “The average American man gets their first heart attack at the age of 65. Unfortunately, for police officers, because of the stress, the cortisol, the lack of sleep, the weird sleep, if they’ve got to work the night shift, police officers get their first heart attack at an average age of 46, 19 years earlier.”
Evans served 12 years in the U.S. Army and Colorado Army National Guard, reaching the rank of Captain. 
A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot and military intelligence officer, he deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and later commanded aviation assets for wildfire response and search-and-rescue missions in Colorado. 
He joined the Arvada Police Department in 2011 while in the Guard, serving over a decade as an officer, sergeant, and lieutenant before retiring in 2022 to run for Congress. 
Chris Gregorio
The episode also highlighted veteran and police officer Chris Gregorio, who served over 23 years in the U.S. Army, with 8½ years on active duty and 15 years in the Reserves. 
Gregorio worked as a Military Working Dog Handler and deployed to Kosovo in 1999, and Afghanistan in 2002.
He told Just The News, “I’m not unique. It’s an honor and it’s a blessing to be able to serve. It’s a privilege, frankly. I joined the army at 17 years old, did about eight and a half years of active duty. I was blessed to be a dog handler for a military working dog.”
He has served as a law enforcement officer since 2004 and currently holds the rank of Sergeant in the Pacific Northwest. He has approximately 22 years of experience in policing. Gregorio has been with The Wounded Blue since 2021.
Bob Bemis
Bob Bemis is another American hero whose life of service spans the military and law enforcement. 
A former Marine Military Police officer who served as one of President Ronald Reagan’s bodyguards, Bemis later became a Pennsylvania State Trooper with over 30 years of experience. 
He spent more than a decade training officers in safety, self-defense, and civil disorder tactics.While assisting a burning vehicle, he was tragically struck when a truck hit his patrol car, running him over and leaving him paralyzed from the knees down and blind in one eye. 
Now under the care of spine specialist Dr. Jazini, who was featured on Friday’s episode, Bemis was honored in 2024 by The Wounded Blue with the Order of the Blue Heart.
In his inspiring book, “Forged in Scars & Stripes”, he explores the true meaning of service and credits the love of family, friends, medical professionals, and the law enforcement brotherhood for giving him strength and renewed purpose.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Tim Putney
Wichita Falls law enforcement officer Tim Putney joined the show as well, shortly after undergoing transformative surgery by Dr. Ehsan Jazini, who was featured on Friday’s episode of “Just The News, No Noise,” as a specialist spine surgeon who has performed surgery on dozens of first responders and service members. 
Putney told Just The News, “I was continuously having issues with my spine, it was one thing after another, and I was still having issues with workers’ comp.”
“And then I received a phone call from (The Wounded Blue founder) Randy Sutton saying, “Hey, we have a surgeon in Virginia that a donor is willing to pay for, and he’s like, ‘I don’t like seeing you like this.’ He said, ‘Would you be willing to go out there to see if they can do anything for you?'”
Jazini told Putney that if he could give him 30 days, he’d perform three surgeries, and he believed he could fit it. Putney had been waiting for relief for eight years at the time, so he made the trip and received the surgeries from Jazini. 
“Here I am a year after the surgery, able to walk”
Prior to the surgeries, Putney was using a cane or a wheelchair but on the air Monday night said, “And here I am a year after the surgery, able to walk.”
The surgery came after years of pain and mobility issues from a severe on-duty injury in 2017 that left him in chronic pain and forced him to abandon active hobbies.  
Putney, who is also supported by The Wounded Blue, was connected with Jazini and, as a result, can now continue his career as a Detective Sergeant while serving as the group’s Director of Peer Support. 
He and his family endured significant emotional and lifestyle challenges, but he now helps other injured officers navigate similar struggles.
For those interested in donating to this cause, visit Donatetotheblue.com.

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