Was it a slow news day?

This was on Army Times under premium content.

Company vows to return evicted soldier’s property
By Joe Gould
Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Aug 2, 2012

The landlord who evicted a hospitalized soldier from Fort Hood, Texas, and is accused of selling and trashing the soldier’s belongings, is reversing course, supporters said.

Tommy Atha has promised to reunite Sgt. Mark Porrazzo with his belongings after Porrazzo’s platoon leader posted an open letter about the situation on the pro-soldier Guardian of Valor website. ...

I went to the website for Guardian of Valor and found this posted on July 29, 2012.

Real Estate Agency Evicts Hospitalized Soldier
Posted on July 29, 2012 by Bulldog1

WE ARE ASKING THAT EVERYONE STAND DOWN FROM CONTACTING THE REAL ESTATE AGENCY. AS WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED THEY ARE WORKING WITH THE FAMILY AND THE SOLDIERS CHAIN OF COMMAND. THE SOLDIER WILL RECEIVE HIS BELONGINGS BACK, AND THE FAMILY IS HANDLING IT FROM THIS POINT FORWARD. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT THE SOLDIER, THE SISTER HAS SETUP A SITE FOR YOU TO SEND LETTERS ETC. YOU CAN FIND IT IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. SINCE OUR GOAL HAS BEEN ACHIEVED, ENSURING THE SOLDIER WAS TAKEN CARE OF, THEIR WILL BE NO MORE UPDATES TO THIS STORY.

THANKS TO THE REAL ESTATE COMPANY FOR COMING FORWARD AND HELPING US OUT WITH THIS.

So this left me with a couple of questions. What makes this story "premium" and why did they report it after the site they referenced asked people to calm down and stop contacting the real estate agent? I go on Army Times a couple of times a day and this morning was the first time I saw this. Granted I usually don't click on the premium section, but I doubt I would have missed this story this long. Anyway, August 2, 2012 must have just been a slow news day for them but I don't remember it ever being a slow day for them.

National Guard and Reservists’ Disability Claims from Iraq and Afghanistan Wars More Likely to be Denied by VA

From Veterans For Common Sense

Last night, VCS released our latest VA Fact Sheet. VA now reports that
there are more than 300,000 new disability claims among Iraq and
Afghanistan war veterans. Last month, VA reported nearly 350,000
unexpected veteran patients from the two wars.

The Army Times wrote an excellent article about the enormous and
disturbing discrepancies in disability activity among Iraq and
Afghanistan war veterans when comparing veterans from the National Guard
and Reserve with veterans from Active Duty:
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleid/11288


Due to a large number of requests from Congressional staff, we are
attaching the superb and informative graphics published by the Army
Times.

There are two new and important points from our latest VA Fact Sheet:

1. More than 50,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans' claims remain
pending and incomplete due to VA's enormous claims backlog.

2. Only half of the veterans diagnosed with PTSD by VA receive
disability compensation for PTSD from VA.

Thank you for your continued interest in the consequences of the Iraq
and Afghanistan wars.

Best, Paul.

Paul Sullivan
Executive Director
Veterans for Common Sense
Post Office Box 15514
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 558-4553
Paul@VeteransForCommonSense.org
www.VeteransForCommonSense.org

Sep 30, VCS in the News: National Guard and Reservists’ Disability Claims from Iraq and Afghanistan Wars More Likely to be Denied by VA

Rick Maze
Army Times
Sep 29, 2008

October 8, 2008 edition - National Guard and reserve members are more likely than active-duty Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans to have disability claims denied and more likely to receive the lowest possible disability ratings — even though they are only half as likely to file claims in the first place.

An analysis of benefits claims prepared by Veterans for Common Sense, based on data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, shows Guard and reserve members who served in Iraq or Afghanistan are twice as likely to have a veterans’ disability claim denied as other veterans of the same operations.

The higher rate of denials and low ratings among reservists do not appear to be the result of filing frivolous claims. Forty-five percent of active-duty veterans of the two ongoing operations filed disability claims, compared with 23 percent of Guard and reserve members who deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, said Paul Sullivan, executive director of the nonprofit veterans’ group.

Sullivan said he is unsure what has caused “such an enormous discrepancy” but thinks Congress and veterans deserve an answer. “With 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans filing a claim [with the Veterans Affairs Department] so far, we owe it to our veterans to make sure their claims are adjudicated completely, accurately, quickly and fairly,” Sullivan said.

click above link for more

This is what we should have heard last night in the VP debate since both Palin and Biden have sons in the Guards. You would think it would be an important issue to both of them enough to have been mentioned.

Blood Brothers of Charlie Company

Eye Witness To The Horrors Of War
Reporter Shares First Person Account Of The Origins of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

June 25, 2008


CBS) CBS News has reported extensively on the mental and physical health of American service members fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and the many veterans who have returned home. We have chronicled the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, an increase in veteran suicides and a VA system grappling to deal with the big issues. We recently had the opportunity to hear first hand from a colleague who is looking to answer one fundamental question about war: what does it actually take to trigger PTSD?

Kelly Kennedy is a health reporter for Army Times. A former soldier who served in the first Gulf War and Mogadishu, Somalia, she embedded last summer as a journalist with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry in Adhamiyah, Iraq - a neighborhood in Baghdad. Even though Kennedy says she doesn’t have post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from her trip, she says she understands how the emotional repercussions of war could develop into a full-blown disorder.

Kennedy is the author of a four-part series called Blood Brothers, a you-are-there account of the daily struggle to hunt insurgents, dodge roadside bombs-- often hitting them-and treat the physical and emotional wounds of the soldiers in the hardest hit unit since Vietnam.

"I was numb," is how Kennedy describes readjusting to life after Iraq. "I remember talking to the guys about how you have to feel things or else things are going to get worse. If you can tell the stories enough times, then the details won't have as much an effect on you as they would the first time you tell the story."


She says in the weeks following her return she was distracted, not paying attention and driving through stop signs and red lights. She says she knows from experience how easy it is for servicemen to return home and "shut down" because communicating those experiences can be too difficult and stressful.

For every one soldier, who leaves Iraq with no PTSD symptoms, there are five soldiers who suffer from PTSD or major depression - according to a study from the Rand Corporation.

Kennedy spoke with CBS News investigative producer Michael Rey and summer intern, Kim Lengle, who produced the video.



By Michael Rey
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
go here to watch this video
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/25/cbsnews_investigates/main4207662.shtml

Politico gives W.P credit day later after Army Times reported story

Obama Demands VA Investigation Into PTSD Diagnoses
By Daniel W. Reilly

May 16, 2008
(The Politico) Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is demanding an investigation into reports that a supervisor at a Texas Veterans' Affairs facility told staff members to refrain from diagnosing returning war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder in order to reduce costs.

On Friday, Obama sent a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake expressing his "serious concerns" over the reports and demanding an investigation.

The Washington Post broke the story on Friday, which included emails from Dr. Norma Perez suggesting to her staff members that they "refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out," because of the increasing costs of treating the disorder.

"Simply put, Ms. Perez's email is outrageous," Obama wrote in the letter. "As you well know, PTSD is the most prevalent mental disorder afflicting our returning...veterans."

"In order to receive their deserved benefits, these brave men and women must endure a long and arduous process. To hear that a VA official is promoting misdiagnoses of soldiers to save money is unacceptable and is tantamount to fraud. "

Peake issued a statement on the matter, saying that Perez's email was "inappropriate" and did not reflect VA policy.

"Too many veterans see the VA as a bureaucracy with the singular goal of denying services and benefits to veterans," said Obama. "This recent incident merely serves to promote that impression."

The Democratic presidential hopeful gave Peake a deadline of May 23 to inform him if the department will open an investigation.

Obama, who is a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, also wrote a letter to committee chairman Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) asking him to look into the matter.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/16/politics/
politico/thecrypt/main4103492.shtml

If the Washington Post broke the story on Friday, then how did I post it Thursday and Army Times was where I got it from?

Thursday, May 15, 2008

PTSD in troops dismissed to save money! Was it worth it?
I am posting this is very large type so that no one misses a single word of this.
Four who committed suicide so that the government could save money! Many more each week did the same thing. Over 12,000 a year tried to.
VA Secretary James Peake acknowledged in a statement that the e-mail did come from a VA facility, but said it’s not official policy.

“A single staff member, out of VA’s 230,000 employees, in a single medical facility sent a single e-mail with suggestions that are inappropriate and have been repudiated at the highest level of our health-care organization,” he said. “The employee has been counseled and is extremely apologetic.”

VoteVets.org and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a Freedom of Information Act request May 14 asking VA for all documents relating to PTSD, said Naomi Seligman Steiner, spokeswoman for the latter group.

“We’re not head-hunting,” Friedman said. “There are a lot of great people who work at VA who have helped me and my friends. We had to file the FOIA to get to the bottom of this. Is it from the head of the VA? The presidential administration? Or individual hospitals? I would like to know where this directive is coming from.”

Peake said his staff “works hard” to make sure mental health issues are accurately diagnosed.

“VA’s leadership will strongly remind all medical staff that trust, accuracy and transparency is paramount to maintaining our relationships with our veteran patients,” he said. “We are committed to absolute accuracy in a diagnosis and unwavering in providing any and all earned benefits. PTSD and the mental health arena is no exception.” http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/military_va_adjustmentdisorder_051508w/