Note to Adm. Mullen, tap into what we know to stop playing taps for suicides

Adm. Mullen, I really believe you care but it's time you started to talk to people who have been taking care of these veterans all along and stop making the same mistakes. Studies have been done to death. Mistakes repeated because the only people who learned from them are not being heard. If you really want to know what to do, talk to the people who have done it and got it right. Vietnam veterans and their families are ready and willing to help you save the lives of the troops but no one has been interested in what we have to say.

Military Update:
Community effort needed to heal war wounds
By Tom Philpott, Special to Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, September 19, 2009
The profound strain of eight years of war on the volunteer force permeated a day-long conference of military leaders, policymakers, health experts and family advocates as they shared ideas to address the "unseen injuries" of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

A theme struck by many participants, including Navy Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, was that government must seek greater involvement from communities across the country to support wounded warriors, traumatized veterans and damaged military families.

Mullen expressed concern over rising numbers of homeless veterans, slow expansion of a pilot program to streamline the disability evaluation system and a lack of solutions from medical research for timely diagnosis and treatment of PTSD and traumatic brain injury.

Just a week ago, she said, Kevin signaled that he wanted to take his own life by hanging. She called the VA hospital for help.

"Days went by and nobody called me." Finally, she confronted VA doctor at a social event "and said, ‘Look, you guys have to help us … I’m not trained. I’m not a nurse. I’m not a neurosurgeon. I’m not a psychologist. I’m not a therapist. I’m just a mom. And I don’t have any help with this.’"

Leslie told the forum, "It’s a very sad thing that this country — your Army or your VA or whatever — has let us down so incredibly. And I am asking you to step up to the plate and take care of somebody who went over there and did what you asked him to do."

Forum attendees gave her a standing ovation in support for what she and her son have sacrificed and endured. Asked later to list any part of the system that has worked well, Leslie praised the help she has received through her advocate in VA’s Federal Recovery Coordinator Program.
read more here
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=64857