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Sunday, November 4, 2007

Ft. Carson takes wounds seriously with Graham in charge

I've been wondering why there has been such a huge change in reports coming out of Fort Carson. It has to be Maj. General Graham.

Ft. Carson general's top priority is care
Maj. Gen. Mark Graham is reaching out to experts to help provide services for soldiers experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, brain injuries and other "soldiering issues."
By Erin Emery
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 11/04/2007 01:12:17 AM MST


FORT CARSON — In the six weeks that Maj. Gen. Mark Graham has been the top general at Fort Carson, his mantra has been clear: Provide the best care possible for soldiers returning from Iraq.

Graham announced Friday he is expanding the Warrior and Family Community Partnership program and is asking experts locally and nationally to offer recommendations to Fort Carson on how to provide comprehensive care for soldiers and families.

"We do a lot of work here with post-traumatic stress disorder, mild traumatic brain injury and also other soldiering issues and challenges that we're having because of the war on terror with our soldiers and families," Graham said. "We care about soldiers."

Graham, a father of three, lost two sons within a year. His son Kevin took his own life in 2003 and 2nd Lt. Jeff Graham died of injuries caused by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2004.

Graham said Fort Carson will team up with civilians in the Pikes Peak Region and "also to Denver and beyond to bring in health-care professionals ... educators, chaplaincy, other folks around the nation to find the best and the brightest. Who's out there? Who is making great progress in this area because, as you know, this is a hard solution."
go here for the rest
http://origin.denverpost.com/news/ci_7364126







Graham, a veteran of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, rose through the ranks as an artillery officer. His ties to the National Guard and Reserve run deep and include his service as the first activeduty colonel to command a National Guard brigade.
Fort Carson getting new commander this spring from Texas
Gazette, The (Colorado Springs)

Fort Carson will get a new commanding general this spring, the Pentagon said Friday.
Brig. Gen. Mark A. Graham will command Division West and Fort Carson when he arrives in a few weeks. He takes over from Maj. Gen. Robert W. Mixon Jr., who has commanded Fort Carson for two years.
Graham is now the deputy commander of U.S. Army North at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where he helps direct the Army's response to terrorist attacks and natural disasters. That mission falls under U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs.
His new command, Division West, is responsible for the training of National Guard and Army Reserve forces west of the Mississippi River. He'll also oversee Fort Carson's growth -- including the addition of 10,000 soldiers by 2010 and an estimated $1.7 billion in construction.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20070407/ai_n18995604


It makes an enormous difference in the lives of the troops when they have a leader caring about the state of their lives. Graham must be able to see a wound for what it is and nothing to be ashamed of. The men and women in his command stand a greater chance of recovery and the ability to stay in the service because he is taking PTSD seriously. The families of the returning forces will be able to gain greater support and understanding because of this. Graham, and all the other leaders out there, are saving the lives and the futures of our wounded warriors because they opened their eyes. Wouldn't it be wonderful if every commander took action to heal this wound as soon as possible? Ignoring it, dismissing it, failing to get educated what it is, turns PTSD into one more enemy that kills. Treating it, helping them heal from it, defeats another enemy of the armed forces.

One of the benefits of the military taking action on PTSD, aside from helping the troops, is that it also helps the general population realize that PTSD is nothing to be ashamed of and they can be helped to heal.

I say bravo Maj. General Graham. I'm glad you're turning Fort Carson around.

Kathie Costos

Namguardianangel@aol.com

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

6 comments:

  1. My daughter took her life. Her suicide thoughts WERE reported and totally ignored. The army denied all knowledge of this and now my only child is gone. How many of our loved ones are going to have to die before the army stops calling these wonderful people weak and worthless? My daughter was told she was a worthless soldier, but yet was awarded medals for her achievements. She was a combat medic and loved training soldiers, but could not take the abuse.

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  2. I am so sorry about your daughter. It happens too often and needlessly. I have to admit that this post was done when I was hopeful about Graham but have since changed my view of him and what he said he wanted to do. There have been other posts on Carson since this.

    All these years since veterans like my husband came back from Vietnam, they could have done so much more, but attitude is still there in a lot of the brass. "It's your fault" "Suck it up" on and on it goes while there should be zero tolerance of this kind of attitude. The sexual abuse and crimes against women is still be replied with "boys will be boys" instead of arresting them and charging them with the crimes they commit. I cannot tell you how deeply sorry I am for you and for all the families.

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  3. I think something should be done about it. Why should my daughter's life and many like her just be pushed aside as "whatever" and these so called leaders left to do this to others like her? I am going to try and do something about it. What would they do without soldiers who were willing to fight for our country. It is so very sad that people like the ones that ignored my daughter are soldiers. No compassion at all. They will be judged according to their works.

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  4. I can only imagine how painful this must be, but it is a repeat of Vietnam. By 1986 117,000 of them committed suicide. They were followed by a lot more. The last attempt to count them put the suicides of Vietnam veterans at over 200,000. I am hopeful so many have been speaking out on the suffering of our veterans, speaking out on what PTSD is and how the government has been letting them down. The families of the veterans who took their own lives, are doing a heroes deed by speaking out. The more you all tell their stories, the more lives can be saved the sooner. Because of you, there will be less than the PTSD deaths Vietnam caused instead of more.

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  5. There is a brief 2 minute video of Graham talking about PTSD on the VFRG site and, on there, he shares about his son. What really kills me is that, my husbands own commander made a joke of my husband having PTSD in front of all the other soldiers during PT. My husband has served 19 years and on his 3rd tour but, his commander belittled and dishonored him with his jokes. My husband does not have PTSD but, regardless, as a commander, if he seen it fit that my husband did have PTSD, he should have taken action to help and not joke about it. Peoples lives are on the line fighting this war but, I guess when you reach a certain rank, you think you can say and do whatever you please. In my eyes, this commander is not a leader if his soldiers lives is nothing but a crack up.

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  6. Hi Lani,
    This is an old post. Ever since this post of hope, I've regretted having giving Graham any kind of positive publicity. There have been several posts since this one. Graham has done very little to change the attitude on his own base.
    There have been three generals that came out, admitted they have PTSD and have sought help for it. These are the real heroes in all of this. Because they had the courage, saw the need to speak out to remove the stigma and crappy attitude too many leaders still hold, the same now falls on them and not the wounded. Ignorance is no longer acceptable by leadership. Sooner or later they will all discover they are regarded as dinosaurs, oblivious, unthinking and incapable of learning anything. These closed minded "leaders" have done more damage to their own troops than the enemy ever could have imagined.

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