Col. Kevin P Landers Landers abandons daughters- then troops in Afghanistan

So let me continue with where I ended phone conversations with Melody in 2007.

I had lost all connections with my children once again. Melody went on a rampage against me and per usual, lied to try to discredit me.

At that point, I really did not care what Melody or Kevin had to say about me. I just missed my children very much and my sadness ran very deep.

I did not have the fortitude, means or health at this time to go back to the states and fight Kevin.

I did not have the money it would take to go up against a military officer and all his lies. I had to try to survive and keep myself alive and healthy because I knew one day I would have to face him and Melody again.

So, I made a life for myself here in Mexico. As weak as I was with sadness, I was that much stronger with determination to find my children. I surrounded myself with positive people that lifted me up as needed. Counseling was a mainstay for me and helped me tremendously. I was not going to give myself up to Kevin’s hateful games. I knew I was going to have to be strong for my kids. Then one day, my strength was tested once again.

I had received a message from Kevin in August 2008 regarding A. He told me that A wanted to live with me here in Mexico. I was thrilled. But, once again, I was astonished on how Kevin’s hate for me overshadowed any care he had for our children. Kevin agreed that he would send all of A's paperwork, which included her birth certificate, medical records, military id etc. A came to John and me with a carry on back pack…no clothing, no personal items, NOTHING.  She also had her passport that was required when she crossed the border. I had instructed Kevin to have A's “tourist/visit visa” stamped for 180 days (just in case there were any paperwork delays/omissions). Kevin had it stamped for ½ the request….a 90 day tourist visa. A looked very sad and beaten down. After she adjusted, I asked her where all of her other belongings were. She told me that Melody had emptied a suitcase that A loaded with most of her belongings and Melody told A that she did not deserve anything but the clothes on her back. This can be confirmed by A and J who was also present. A also told me that J was not allowed to say goodbye to her and was banished to his bedroom by Melody. Recall the prior Blog entry where Justin sneaked a note to me- this is the timeframe). So, to not upset Amanda further, I told her that I would take care of what she needed. Meanwhile, I had to go into battle with Kevin once again. Kevin refused to send all of Amanda’s proper paperwork. He was playing a control game. He knew A only had 90 days here in Mexico. He calculated that if I could not get her registered with the embassy within 90 days, she’d be considered illegal. When Kevin and Melody refused my phone calls and refused my request for cooperation with providing her birth certificate & medical records (medical records had been purged of 2005 thru this timeframe). In an effort to secure A legally, I had to involve the military. I was instructed to contact the working IG Capt. Daniel Parker. I was also in contact with Maj. General Mark Graham who was the active general on Fort Carson at this time. The “90 day visa” made sense as Kevin refused to send me Amanda’s birth certificate unless I would agree to take physical custody of my 15 year old daughter M. M had already requested to remain in the USA as she was dedicated to her father and had been named a 1^st team High School all-state soccer player as a 9^th grader. She did not want to be forced into Mexico with me. Note that at this point my other 3 children had always wanted to be with me and Kevin prevented this request. Now, the only child that wanted to remain with him was being forced out by her father and he, Kevin, was using 12 year old Amanda as a pawn to have me force M to Mexico or he “will yank A here –USA- so fast it’ll make your skank head spin”).  To the sadness and disappointment of A and me, Kevin pulled her back away from me once again. It was a mean, hateful game at the expense of his youngest daughter A. She was pulled back in November on the 88^th day of her 90 day visa. Kevin never intended on providing a birth certificate and he would have had to have revisions made to the custody order. Upon pulling A back in late November, he would by Christmas 2008 have both girls forced out of his home and placed in state facilities. God forbid if this father would allow his children to be with the mother they loved. When M was faced with institution or mom, she too chose mom. But LtCol. Kevin Paul Landers, Sr. said “no”. He chose to have the siblings separated and at age 12 & 15, placed apart from each other.

I lost contact with the only child I had not hugged in 2 ½ years once again. I have several hateful emails from both Kevin and Melody claiming that A was fine and that I did not deserve contact with her. I have dated, hateful emails by Melody stating my children wanted no contact with me. I found out later that A was not even living with them. I will post them if necessary.

"Isolation is the key to manipulation"

I was very worried about all of my children at this point. If Kevin played this hateful game with one child, I knew that he was torturing our other children with his control games.

A year had past and then I received yet another email from Kevin. I do have a saved copy of hateful words against his daughter. He basically stated that A once again demanded to be with me and had no desire to return back home. But the truth of this is, that after 1 year of me demanding that someone listen to my daughter’s plea to be with me, Kevin was forced to cooperate with me by encouragement from General Perkins, who had taken Ft. Carson command   when handed over by his predecessor General Graham the year before. I believe numerous emails to Kevin’s superiors (like the one written November 20, 2009…see below) caused Kevin to allow Amanda to be with me:

Gen. Perkins,

Please “encourage” Lt. Col. Kevin P. Landers commander of the 4^th Engineers to address the legal matters involving his 17 year old daughter Megan. The attached order states that each of our 4 children has the legal right to choose which parent they desire to be the custodial parent. 3 of the 4 have voiced the desire for that parent to be me. The 14 year old executed this right in August 2008, yet through much “encouragement” involving your predecessor, Gen Graham, Lt. Col. Landers finally cooperated after not doing so for over 1 year. I am ready to petition the court system and disrupt Lt. Col. Landers assignment- I do not believe that is necessary. Kevin Landers has a 17 year old daughter that he sent to Job Corp in December 2008 and he continues to “leave her alone”. She has told her father she desires to be in my care and he has said no. This is not a situation where it is either me or him. It is NO ONE –vs- ME. He is not communicating with me in an effort to isolate our 17 year old and keep her “alone” until she is 18 yrs.

I do believe this helped bring A to me once again. When A came the second time, she told me that when her father brought her back to Colorado the year prior, she was sent away in December to a facility. He had no contact with her for 6 months. False claims made by Melody that A was a drug abuser kept her there for some time, but when the insurance ran out at Merridel Treatment Center Texas, Kevin contacted me. I did find out much later that a counselor at Merridell knew that Melody was lying and encouraged Kevin to send A to me. Please keep in mind that this entire time Kevin and Melody were telling everyone that I was a felon running from the law in Mexico. No court of law would grant me custody of any child if these allegations were true.  So, as the above email shows, I was fighting for ALL 3 of my minor children. This brings me to my battle for Megan.

I found out M had been admitted to place called Cedar Springs Center Colorado by lies construed by Melody stating that Megan & Amanda were drug users. This is what A told me in detail:

Melody had taken both M and me (A) to the police. This happened on several occasions as apparently Melody had some friends that worked there. On this particular occasion, A was being questioned by one of the police officers in a room as Melody observed. M was in a separate part of the police station also being questioned. When A was done with her interrogation, she told me she could see M in the distance but Melody would not let her go to M. A watched M being escorted out of the station and did not see where she went. When Melody put A in her car, there was an ambulance in front of them and Melody told A to wave goodbye to her sister because she would never see her again. Melody told A that M had tried to kill herself in a jail cell…just hateful mind manipulation by Melody.  A told me that she started to cry because she did not now if M was alive or dead and that Melody told her to shut up or she was going to put her away too. Melody followed through with her threat a week later. That was the last time A or M saw each other in over 3 years. This story will be confirmed by the Landers children.

While at Cedar Springs, M “tested clean” and it was established by the facility that Megan did not have a drug problem. Therefore, M was going to be released into her father’s/Melody’s care. M refused to go home to her father and/or Melody. M wanted to come to me, but Cedar Springs did not try to contact me even though everyone in the states knew where I lived. It was suggested by M counselor that she may want to go to a program called Job Corps. So, Megan and her counselor talked about different goals M had and found a Job Corps that suited M’s educational goals. M chose Job Corps in Anaconda, Montana. It was suggested to Kevin by Cedar Springs that he agree to send Megan to me or allow her to attend this Job Corp facility. Kevin agreed to send her away to Job Corps. I did not find M until about a year after she was at Job Corps. Amanda helped me find M via teenagers that they both hung out with in the past. I had to battle Job Corps in an effort to have contact with M. Although Job Corps had no documentation to back claims of “no contact by me/the mother” they told me that I was not allowed contact because of a “No Contact Order” by Cumberland County court system in Fayetteville, NC. I asked them to send me a copy of that order as I never received an order from the courts. Cheryl McNeil, the head counselor at Anaconda Job Corps was quite abrasive and uncooperative when I tried to communicate with her. So, I contacted Ray Ryan the active head director and he also ignored my request to speak to M. So, I contacted the Montana state senator’s office of Jon Tester and connected with Erik Lylund who was the field representative and actively helped me clear up all the false allegations about a “No Contact Order”. This is the final email sent on Oct. 1, 2009 to Job Corps before I was able to finally speak to my daughter M:

Cheryl,

I look forward to speaking with you next week.
On the order that John Baker forwarded you, there is a contact name at "Clerk of Superior Court"...a Katherine Valdez. I called 910 678 2902, "Bonnie" pulled my file and did not see a "No Contact" order. She also stated that the August 7, 2009 order is the most recent and would allow me to have contact with any of my 4 children and Kevin has the right to any information/contact of any children I have i.e. Amanda.
Bonnie suggested I Contact: Civil Representative, Clerk of Court, Cumberland County, PO Box 363, Fayetteville NC. And put to the ATTN: Civil Vault.
John said you were a Paralegal, so perhaps this makes sense to you. I am sending a money order to have the  file "exhumed" just to make sure I address any supposed orders that the file 05 CVD 3453 did not super cede. Please stay in touch with me, and I would like to know if you have viewed an "order" that prevents my contact with Megan. When this is cleared up, and I am permitted to speak with Megan, please be assured that I want to receive information concerning my daughter's success and perhaps struggles at your facility. Thank you for taking an interest in Megan....she has experienced much disappointment in her life. I will adhere to any "restrictions" placed on Megan by your facility, however I strongly object to Melody’s request of "No Contact" (Melody Morrison Wilson Landers is a non-custodial step-parent).

Catherine Ann Landers

484-885-2443

I finally got to hear M’s voice for the first time in 3 years as did Amanda. It was a very tearful, joyous moment for all of us. M told me that she knew I was battling to talk to her because everyone at Job Corps was talking about it (students and faculty). M was worried that it would not happen because she feared the persecution by her father and step-mother Melody. I reassured her that they would not be able to hurt her anymore. Hence, for the next year I took care of all of M’s monetary needs and encouraged her to complete the Job Corps program. I did this because I knew that Kevin would not hand her over to me without a battle and M had been through enough. As per Kevin’s hate, he had no contact with M the entire 2 years that she lived at Job Corps. There were numerous pleads by Megan with her dad to love her, call her, write her; pleads to approve holiday leave so she didn’t have to spend Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. locked down at Job Corps. M spent every day at Job Corps for 2 solid years. No calls, no presents, nothing from her father Kevin. He had turned his heart away from the one child that stood by him through our entire divorce process. M excelled at Job Corps and completed their program 7 months prior to her 18^th year birthday. She received her diploma and was encouraged to contact her father and have him allow her to leave Job Corp and enter college for the upcoming June quarter. At 17 she needed his permission. He did respond to being contacted by Job Corps and told them “NO. Not until she’s 18”. I agreed to take M in once again and Kevin refused. This father wanted her to sit idle for 7 additional months instead of attending a university and/or accompanying me. He IS a hateful human being.

So, at this point in my life, A is with me and John and doing very well. We are all in contact with M and hence now 3 of my 4 children are safe for the most part. K is in New Jersey, M is safe in Montana, and A is here in Mexico. Now my focus shifts to my baby J who remains within his father and step-mother’s web in the USA.

By the time M was able to hug her sister and I (see link  below of our very emotional reunion with M here in Mexico) it had been almost 5yrs. M nor K have seen their little brother in 8 years. J is 16 years old. Please video link below:

Mother reunites daughters after father seperates Megan & Amanda for numerous years

I want all readers to keep in mind the hateful behavior by Kevin and his wife Melody.  I know all of you are scratching your heads and asking “Why?” Here are 4 innocent kids that did not deserve the hell that they went through in my marriage to Kevin. 4 innocent kids that did not have a choice when Lt. Col. Kevin Landers put his foot down as their commanding father. 4 innocent kids that were bribed, degraded, and manipulated to not show love for me - their mother. 4 innocent kids that had to live with the unstable behavior by Melody Wilson Landers because that is who their father chose to have run the household while he deployed. Now, 3 of the 4 young adult children have been abandoned by their father. Why? Because they show their love for me. I hurt for the kids. Not because they now despise their father, but because Kevin has the choice to be a loving father and he chooses hatred for me over love for the children he so desperately fought for in Cumberland County courts. This is a man that chooses not to love. He puffs his chest out and wraps his arms under his armpits to show off his biceps to try to intimidate. But quite honestly, no one respects him. Not anymore. His reputation precedes him as a “leader” anywhere he goes. Here is an article that I saved concerning his leaving his troops behind in Afghanistan. To my knowledge, it was his last deployment. And, in my opinion, the action that has brought his career as an advancing US Army officer to a unexpected halt. My Blog and voice does not harm his career. His behavior creates his downfall. Take time to read comments his soldiers make concerning his leadership. Amazingly, in 2007 a fellow troop warned that Kevin’s troops would be abandoned by their leader- Lt. Col. Kevin Paul Landers, Sr. This shows that if a man cannot lead his family with dedication and love, he cannot lead anywhere - this includes leading soldiers in the military. Please read all 23 comments from these soldiers’ wives and family members in regards to Lt. Col. Kevin Landers who abandoned his troops in an effort to arrive in Ft. Carson 2 weeks before his troops and then you decide what kind of officer/man he is.

Lt. Col. Kevin Paul Landers abandonement of troops in war zone

Rest…Return…Regroup