'BUCKWILD' STAR SHAIN GANDEE DEAD AT 21

'BUCKWILD' STAR SHAIN GANDEE DEAD AT 21
TMZ
April 1, 2013

"Buckwild" Star Shain Gandee was found dead in a vehicle in West Virginia this morning ... 31 hours after the 21-year-old MTV reality star had been reported missing, this according to law enforcement.

According to officials, Gandee, his 48-year-old uncle David Gandee, and a third unidentified body were discovered dead in the vehicle in Sissonville, West Virginia.

As we previously reported ... Shain was last heard from around 3 AM on Sunday morning, when he and his uncle David told people they planned to go 4-wheeling.
Read more

Airman Strives to Become Pro Fighter

Airman Strives to Become Pro Fighter
Jan 04, 2013
Air Force News
by Senior Airman Micaiah Anthony

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- Most people dream of getting rich, or houses with white picket fences, but one Airman's dream is to be locked in a blood-stained steel cage with a professional mixed martial artist.

For most, this would be a nightmare. However, for Staff Sgt. Jeremy Caudillo, the 2nd Force Support Squadron fitness center supervisor here, his dream of becoming a professional MMA fighter is about to become reality.

"This has been a big dream of mine," said Caudillo. "My goal is to be the Ultimate Fighting Championship champion. I feel like MMA is my destiny."

Caudillo began his fighting career as a wrestler in high school and college. It wasn't until one of his deployments that he decided to pursue a career in MMA.

"I got interested in MMA when I was deployed to Afghanistan," said Caudillo. "I saw a few Soldiers and some other guys doing combatives and Jiu-jitsu, so I asked if I could partake. I started training with them and it really started my career in MMA."

After Caudillo returned from his deployment, he joined an MMA gym and started competing in local amateur fights. His success in the ring attracted the attention of MTV's reality show 'Caged.'
read more here

The Vietnam vet who thinks MTV can make the world a better place

The Vietnam vet who thinks MTV can make the world a better place

Bill Roedy runs MTV in 162 countries and hopes to unite people through music, with help from Fidel and Bono. Ian Burrell reports

Bill Roedy is the international statesman who never got voted out of office. To step into his London office is to enter a museum filled with artefacts featuring the global leaders, world-changing events, natural disasters and cultural icons that have characterised the past two decades. Every photograph, painting and ornament relates to the media career of this tough-looking Vietnam veteran, the chairman and chief executive of MTV Networks International.


"That's Shanghai, Sarajevo, there's Bono, that's our trip to Cuba where we had a couple of meetings with Fidel," he says pointing to a large photo of the Cuban leader with Ernest Hemingway, actually autographed by Castro. "I've met Shimon Peres a few times over the years. There are the Rolling Stones. Warren Buffett, who gave me poker tips. There's the Dalai Lama..."

Roedy, who oversees MTV's output in 162 countries and 33 languages, resists the suggestion that he has the role of a globe-trotting ambassador – "I don't know if I would take it that seriously" – but then says: "I have met over 30 heads of state and seven or eight Nobel prize winners."

Another photograph shows him on a recent trip to Afghanistan, holding aloft his BlackBerry alongside an Afghan solider posing with an AK47. Trained at the elite West Point military academy, Roedy is a former airborne Ranger who later specialised in deactivating nuclear missile bases. The soldier's life is behind him now, but he still has battles on his hands.
read more here
The Vietnam vet who thinks MTV can make the world a better place Independent

MTV Returns to Duty and still focusing on our troops

MTV’s “Return to Duty”, a documentary honoring young veterans and active duty servicemen and women that will follow “The Real World: Brooklyn’s” Ryan Conklin as he returns to the battlefields of Iraq for a second tour of duty. “Return to Duty” airs on Veteran’s Day, Wednesday, November 11, at 9pm ET/PT.


MTV’S “RETURN TO DUTY” TAKES AN EMOTIONAL JOURNEY WITH “THE REAL WORLD: BROOKLYN’S” RYAN CONKLIN AS HE RETURNS TO THE BATTLEFIELDS OF IRAQ



One-Hour Documentary Premieres On MTV Veteran’s Day,

Wednesday, November 11 at 9PM ET/PT



MTV, MTV2 and mtvU to Celebrate Millennial Veterans’ Service, Connect Them to Resources, and Empower Young Civilians to Support their Peers



New York, NY (October 28, 2009) –MTV will honor young veterans and active duty servicemen and women this Veteran’s Day with the premiere of “Return to Duty” -- Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 9 pm ET/PT on MTV, and at 11 pm ET/PT on MTV2 – along with a suite of special programming and links to Veterans resources across all of its platforms. Viewers of “The Real World: Brooklyn” vividly remember the emotional moment when cast member and Army vet Ryan Conklin was unexpectedly recalled for a second tour of duty in Iraq. And now, Ryan himself takes us through the year since that day. In “Return to Duty”, we go to Ryan's hometown of Gettysburg as he prepares to go back to Iraq, and as he once again has to say good-bye to his family. Once in Iraq and back on parole through the streets of Baghdad, Ryan shows us a view of the war that's different than anything we've seen before.



Recently, MTV research revealed that 74 percent of young people ages 18-29 personally know someone who has fought in Iraq or Afghanistan. With this in mind, MTV, MTV2 and mtvU are featuring a number of public service announcements, short-form features and resources as part of an ongoing commitment to support our newest generation of veterans. This content will focus on the difficult transition these men and women face as they come home to civilian life and how their civilian counterparts can help make this adjustment easier.



Veteran’s Day Programming Includes:



Return To Duty (9 pm ET/PT on MTV; 11 pm ET/PT on MTV2) - Return to Duty is Ryan’s gritty and very personal document of his return as a patrol gunner to the sweltering streets of Baghdad. Equipped with his own video camera, and the addition of a camera crew embedded with his unit, it’s a soldier’s view of America’s changing military presence in the long war in Iraq. His very close-knit family back home must cope with the fear and absence of their son fighting overseas once again; while his new found relationship with Real World: Brooklyn roommate Baya is put to a critical test.



Today’s Student Vets: From War to College (Airing on MTV, MTV2, and mtvU) - Rich, a young veteran, attends a University in Manhattan after his military tour abroad and talks candidly about the difficulties he’s faced since returning to campus - from emotional to academic. This short-form feature will follow Rich and two other young veterans as they make the challenging transition back into college life, delving into the emotional struggles they face, and how civilian students can play a role in helping them adjust back into civilian life. This feature, sponsored by the McCormick Foundation, will be released as part of mtvU and The Jed Foundation’s Peabody Award-winning “Half of Us” campaign, which works to fight the stigma around mental health and encourage help-seeking among college students across the country. Veterans and students can access the campaign’s Veterans resource center at www.halfofus.com/veterans



Public Service Announcements (Airing on MTV, MTV2 and mtvU)– In partnership with the Bob Woodruff Foundation, mtvU’s Half of Us campaign is releasing three new PSAs addressing the emotional struggles college veterans face when returning to campus and how civilian students can play a role in easing that transition. To view the public service announcements, please head to http://www.halfofus.com/video/.



Brave.MTV.com – All of MTV’s Veterans-related programming will drive viewers to this comprehensive action center, where Vets can access resources, civilians can get involved and support America’s young veterans, and anyone can check out MTV’s acclaimed veterans programming, including “Kanye West: Homecoming” and “A Night for Vets: An MTV Concert for the BRAVE.” The site connects Veterans to online support systems from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) the country’s first and largest nonpartisan, non-profit for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The website also offers a broad range of resources, including information on how to use the new GI Bill, and for those enrolled in college a pathway to join the Student Veterans of America. Civilians are offered opportunities to sign MTV’s B.R.A.V.E. petition -- to ensure our returning veterans get the support they need – and to get involved in Vets-related service projects and more.



IAVA’s Third Annual Heroes Gala- Additionally, the network will be deeply involved with IAVA’s Third Annual Heroes Gala. Here, MTV networks will be honored with the 2009 IAVA Civilian Service Award for stewarding programming showing the true face of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan and highlighting the opportunities and challenges facing new veterans.



MTV.com - For exclusive video blogs and photos of Ryan and his family, including never before seen video from Iraq, check out www.returntoduty.mtv.com. The site also allows viewers to watch the full season of The Real World: Brooklyn and view photos of the cast.



“Return To Duty” was created for MTV by Bunim-Murray Productions. Jon Murray and Jim Johnston serve as Executive Producers of “Return To Duty.” Jacquelyn French is the MTV executive overseeing the project.

DJ Am's 'Gone Too Far' premieres tonight on MTV

DJ Am's 'Gone Too Far' premieres tonight on MTV:
Watch the trailer and decide if you will tune in
October 12, 10:13 AM
The show that many people believe will be DJ Am's lasting legacy premieres tonight on MTV. 'Gone Too Far' is a special series that features the late DJ AM (also known as Davind Goldstein) helping eight drug addicts across the country get their lives back.

DJ AM tragically died of an accidental drug overdose on August 25. During his adult life, he had battled drug addiction. He survived a plane crash in September of 2008 that took the lives of four of his friends, which led to DJ AM experiencing Survivor's Guilt as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He began using drugs again after the plane crash, starting with painkillers and then moving on to stronger drugs until it ultimately killed him.

'Gone Too Far' is not for the faint at heart. It is dark, it is filled with a real look at how drug addicts think and act. There is graphic drug use in the show ranging from shooting heroin to smoking a crack pipe. The addicts are high. Viewers will see the destruction that comes along with drug addiction as families plead with their loved ones to seek help.
read more here
DJ Ams Gone Too Far premieres tonight on MTV

'The Real World': Ryan Conklin talks about getting called back to Iraq"

'The Real World': Ryan Conklin talks about getting called back to Iraq
07:46 AM PT, Mar 18 2009
"The Real World: Brooklyn's" Ryan Conklin is only 23, but he's preparing to serve his second tour of duty in Iraq. He first enlisted after 9/11, when he was just 17, and several times since has narrowly escaped with his life. He also experienced the death of a close friend.
On tonight's episode, Conklin will get the call back into action, which he describes as devastating. (He's scheduled to go back on April 15.) Last week, he phoned in from Camp Shelby, Miss., where he's training with other military members of the Individual Ready Reserve, to explain how he's adjusted to the unexpected situation and why he feels lucky to have been selected to be on the umpteenth iteration of an MTV reality show.

click link for more

Real World looks at real cost to warriors

Why is it that MTV seems to be doing the best job of showing the real cost of combat on our soldiers? How is it that this music station is doing the bulk of the heavy reporting when the "news" stations offer basically nothing? They are covering PTSD and TBI, but CNN and MSNBC have pretty much ignored it except for a few reports here and there but FOX has totally ignored it. Some of the other national stations, CBS, NBC and ABC have done some work on these two signature wounds but it seems as if I'm posting a lot more about what MTV is doing. They are putting the "real news" stations to shame and it's very telling of the audiences they reach. Most of the MTV viewers are deeply involved in what is going on in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as paying attention to what happens to our warriors when they come home. The rest of the nation is detached from all of it focusing on their own problems as if Iraq and Afghanistan are not worthy of their attention. Pretty appalling. I wish the others would finally wake up and notice that the men and women serving, paying the price have a great deal to do with the way this nation will be when they come of age and hold power in decision making. After all, that's exactly what happened after every war. The warriors kept serving but within the war rooms of politics instead of battlefields of foreign lands.

We have this generation falling apart. What Americans must understand is that as this generation of warriors falls down, they take with them the future of the next generation just as the Vietnam veterans came home and suffered in silence and their children carried the burden their fathers passed onto them.

Congratulations MTV for putting the spotlight once again on the plight of our troops and our veterans.

Commercial on PTSD w/ NJ Veteran wins Addy award

Commercial on PTSD w/ NJ Veteran wins Addy award
by: Jason Springer
Mon Mar 16, 2009 at 04:00:00 PM EDT
Here's the story of a New Jersey Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, who is now an award winner that is making a difference and getting recognition for the work he is doing:
Bryan Adams, a 24-year-old Army veteran, didn't know he had PTSD when he came home from a year-long tour in Iraq in 2004. Adams settled back in with his family near Camden, New Jersey, and went through his days much like he did before he joined the Army. He enrolled in the local community college, hung out with his friends and dated girls.
Slowly, though, the Purple Heart recipient started to transform into a different person. "My friends and I would all go out, and I'd flip out on my friends and their girlfriends," Adams told MTV News. "Just saying really mean stuff that I didn't even know I was saying. I had relationship problems, too, with a couple of different girlfriends. I was mean."
click link for more

One Iraq War Veteran Shares Her Thoughts On ‘Concert For The BRAVE’

One Iraq War Veteran Shares Her Thoughts On ‘Concert For The BRAVE’
MTV.com - USA

Published by MTV News on Monday, October 27, 2008 at 11:57 am.
Shameeka Gray, one of the Iraq war vets featured in “Choose or Lose & Kanye West Present: Homecoming” this summer, also had a chance to attend “A Night for Vets: An MTV Concert for the BRAVE” last week. Here’s what she thought about the event.

I would first like to say on behalf of myself and all veterans, thank you to MTV and all the participants for making this event very touching and memorable. The performances and messages from the artists and entertainers were great. I would also like to thank the individuals and organizations out there that have implemented and developed ways to help our veterans.

There were many issues that were brought to the world’s attention, such as homelessness, veteran benefits, unemployment and health care, which are all rising challenges among veterans in America. The veterans that shared their stories brought awareness to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries (TBI), disabilities many veterans encounter that take a toll on their daily lives.
click link for more and for video

Join us: CNN & MTV honor the vets

Join us: CNN & MTV honor the vets

Posted: 10:35 PM ET
Program Note: 3 out of 4 young people know someone who is currently serving or has served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Anderson helps MTV shine a light on issues facing young veterans… A special hour you don’t want to miss.
‘Back From The Battle’ airs Saturday and Sunday 8p ET
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/24/join-us-cnn-mtv-honor-the-vets/

For Veterans, Finding Out The Facts About PTSD Is Half The Battle

I've taken a great interest in what MTV is doing on PTSD and I think it's fantastic.

Meaning

Literal meaning. That literal meaning may be misinterpreted somewhat as this phrase is commonly misreported as 'music has (or occasionally 'hath') charms to soothe the savage beast'. In fact, at the time of writing (Nov 2006) there are twice as many hist for the incorrect version of the phrase as for the correct one.

Origin

The phrase was coined by William Congreve, in The mourning bride, 1697:

Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
I've read, that things inanimate have mov'd,
And, as with living Souls, have been inform'd,
By Magick Numbers and persuasive Sound.
What then am I? Am I more senseless grown
Than Trees, or Flint? O force of constant Woe!
'Tis not in Harmony to calm my Griefs.
Anselmo sleeps, and is at Peace; last Night
The silent Tomb receiv'd the good Old King;
He and his Sorrows now are safely lodg'd
Within its cold, but hospitable Bosom.
Why am not I at Peace?

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/252000.html

Admittedly, I do not watch MTV, because at my age it's not my type of music. I still enjoy the songs I grew up with as much as the newer generation enjoys their own music. We have a new generation of veterans fighting the battles against PTSD, much like all other generations did, so it is very important that programs from their own media are provided.

What I've found is that no matter how much I write, post on their stories or try to reach out, the most successful avenue has been through the videos I make. Music, pictures combined with the messages are quick and penetrating, plus a lot easier to get through than a blog post or a book.

MTV has accomplished a fantastic thing with what they're doing because the sooner PTSD is addressed, the better the recovery rate. Most of them will not watch the news or view documentaries. Their lifestyles limit how much research they are willing to do. The information has to be brought to them. This generation is far ahead of where the older generations were on PTSD because of communication outside the traditional ways and it's a good thing.

When young veterans turn on MTV for the videos of background music, they are provided with knowledge that was not available before. When they turn on their computers they are provided with a connection to the rest of the nation along with the rest of the world. They are able to understand they have plenty of company dealing with this wound, find support, find ideas by how others are getting along, new treatments but above all, they are finding hope.

I truly believe that if there were programs like what MTV is doing when men like my husband came home from Vietnam, we wouldn't have lost so many to suicide, we wouldn't have had so many going through serial marriages, ending up homeless and forgotten. The survivors wouldn't have been suffering all these years without a clue what was wrong with them and years would not have been wasted when they could have been healing. I applaud MTV for their efforts because PTSD is not an easy topic to cover. It tugs at your heart. It's easier to just ignore it but ignorance is deadly for them. I really hope that MTV does more of this kind of programming so that they provide a service that reaches the troops and the younger veterans. It will also help them understand their own parents.
Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
International Fellowship of Chaplains
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.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

For Veterans, Finding Out The Facts About PTSD Is Half The Battle

Published by Kim Stolz on Friday, October 24, 2008 at 8:00 am.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is an illness that most people have a surface knowledge of, at best, even though its earliest reports date back to 6th century B.C. In the post-Vietnam War era, it made a more frequent appearance in the media, as combat veterans returned home and struggled with anger, insomnia, hyper-vigilance and flashbacks, among other symptoms. Since then, some people owe their knowledge on the subject to Oliver Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July,” or even the current presidential election, as political pundits have accused John McCain of being unfit to run the country because he may have been traumatized by his POW experience.

But what do we really know about it? How close have most of us ever been to someone suffering from the disorder?

(Watch Iraq veteran Bryan Adams’ story after the jump.)


Last week, I had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with 24-year-old Iraq war veteran Bryan Adams, who has not only had an intense struggle with PTSD, he has overcome its obstacles and turned his life around. There were many factors that were strong contributors to the healing process for Adams, a sophomore at Rutgers University at Camden. The underlying theme in all of them, though, was the recognition and understanding that he is not alone. (Learn about veterans’ issues and sign the petition for BRAVE, the Bill of Rights for American Veterans, here.)

The aspect of my interview with Bryan that stuck with me most was his openness about everything from his injury to his struggle with PTSD and the other obstacles he faced along the way. He talked about the challenges he encountered personally. “With a couple of my girlfriends, I was just mean, forceful, I guess you could say,” Bryan admitted. He also talked about his frustration and anger with his classmates, whose conversations and interests he could not relate to. As Bryan explained, “I felt very isolated. … I had been through all this stuff, and [my friends] can’t even begin to imagine what it was like. They try, you know, but it’s just hard to convey.”
click link for more
Here is the link to sign for BRAVE Petition. I just signed it. Why don't you?
http://think.mtv.com/Issues/politics/

Young Veterans Tell Their Stories, Support BRAVE Petition

Oct 24 2008 8:00 PM EDT

Young Veterans Tell Their Stories, Support BRAVE Petition
MTV.com - USA
'[The government doesn't] care about you if you're not on contract,' one veteran says at 'A Night for Vets' concert.
By Chris Harris

NEW YORK — Jeans Cruz sits in a chair at the Nokia Theatre as M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" blares through the speakers of the venue's PA system. He's an unassuming, stylishly dressed guy who smiles at passersby when his eyes meet theirs.

You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but Cruz — who has been out of the service for more than three years — was the man who pulled Saddam Hussein from the dark, narrow hole he'd been hiding in beneath a two-room mud shack on a sheep farm in Iraq.

"When we found the hole, it was covered by what looked like a cinder block, but it was actually made of foam," Cruz recalls, thinking back to December 13, 2003. "I was ordered to toss a flash grenade down into the hole, but I didn't want to. But it was my job — I had to do what I was told."

Looking down into the dark abyss, Cruz — who spent close to two years in Iraq — had no idea what was at the bottom. He feared there would be explosives, and worried the flash grenade — designed to daze and deafen a suspect — would ignite them, killing him and his unit.

"I threw it down there and kissed my ass goodbye," he says. "Then I went down into the hole, and the smell was horrible; there was a hole in the floor he had been using for a bathroom. Saddam had been down there for two straight weeks. When I got down there, he was holding an AK-47, so we handcuffed him and brought him to the surface."

When he returned home from service, he was heralded as a hero. But these days, he's hampered by debt, including medical costs.
click link for more

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Gives One Iraq Veteran A New Mission

Oct 24 2008 8:04 AM EDT

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Gives One Iraq Veteran A New Mission
After being diagnosed, Bryan Adams decided to help fellow vets recognize the symptoms of PTSD.
By Joseph Patel, with reporting by Kim Stolz

The weight of the wars the United States is fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq lies heaviest on the young soldiers in combat. But the perils of war are not just felt on the battlefield. From 2003 to 2007, 40,000 returning veterans were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to CNN.

Everyone with PTSD experiences the condition differently, and quite often they don't even recognize they have it right away. Bryan Adams, a 24-year-old Army veteran, didn't know he had PTSD when he came home from a year-long tour in Iraq in 2004. Adams settled back in with his family near Camden, New Jersey, and went through his days much like he did before he joined the Army. He enrolled in the local community college, hung out with his friends and dated girls.


Slowly, though, the Purple Heart recipient started to transform into a different person. "My friends and I would all go out, and I'd flip out on my friends and their girlfriends," Adams told MTV News. "Just saying really mean stuff that I didn't even know I was saying. I had relationship problems, too, with a couple of different girlfriends. I was mean."

(Read more about Bryan Adams and what he's doing to help other vets with PTSD in the MTV Newsroom blog.)

Not only were Adams' relationships deteriorating, he was also drinking heavily. He would cut class and hang out at a local bar. He said he would sometimes drive drunk and often at speeds that were well beyond the limit. He got into a couple of car accidents and was arrested on a DUI charge. "I just didn't care at all," he admitted.
go here for more
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1597801/20081023/story.jhtml

Bill Of Rights For American Veterans

Oct 20 2008 8:04 AM EDT

Bill Of Rights For American Veterans: Breaking Down The Petition's Calls To Action
The BRAVE petition urges the next president to support veterans' key issues.
By Andrew Millard

With Election Day right around the corner, there's one issue that, no matter how you define yourself politically, we can all agree on: Veterans deserve the best care and support possible.

That's why MTV has teamed up with vet organizations around the country to introduce the Bill of Rights for American Veterans (BRAVE), a petition urging the next president to raise awareness and support veterans' issues, such as employment, health care, homelessness and education.


The BRAVE petition makes five specific calls to action:

1. Properly Diagnose and Treat Mental-Health Issues

Some troops come home from the battlefields with scars not visible to the naked eye. Many return with intense emotional or mental challenges, like post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

One former Marine currently suffering from PTSD is Justin LaPree, who served two seven-month tours in Iraq. In 2003, he was part of the initial Iraq invasion, and in 2004, he was stationed in Fallujah, an area that saw some of the heaviest fighting and casualties. He was diagnosed with PTSD after his second tour.

Though he's been a civilian since 2005, he's still in recovery. With a lot of courage, Justin has managed to land a successful job in finance and is a major contributor to the Wounded Warrior Project, a program designed to raise awareness for injured servicemen and -women across the country. By signing the BRAVE petition, LaPree believes the transition will be much easier for many veterans dealing with brain injuries.

"It is extremely important for veterans to get this help so they can make the transition from the war zone to the civilian sector," he said. "This disease ... can take over your life with the use of alcohol and drugs and lead you down a road of hopelessness and despair. All veterans need to know that there is help available out there, and all you have to do is ask."

2. Prevent Homelessness Among Veterans
3. Give Disabled Vets the Benefits They Deserve
4. Veterans Hospitals Need to Be Fully Funded
5. Pay The Troops for the Work They Do
go here for all of this
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1597405/20081017/story.jhtml

Iraq War Vet Talks About The Raid That Landed Him On The New York Times'

Aug 18 2008 8:00 AM EDT

Iraq War Vet Talks About The Raid That Landed Him On The New York Times' Front Page'This is something I'll be able to show my grandchildren and talk to them about,' Lorenzo Zarate says.
By Michelle Rabinowitz

During the early days of the war in Iraq, 24-year-old Lorenzo Zarate helped detain one of Saddam Hussein's former security guards and found millions of U.S. dollars in the home of the former dictator's daughter. But it was a more routine raid that landed the former Army infantryman on the cover of The New York Times.

"There had been a lot of roadside bombs going off around us lately, and an informant told us who the guy was and where he lived," he said.

(If Zarate's name looks familiar, it's because the vet had a chance to meet Kanye West during the MTV News special "Choose or Lose & Kanye West Present: Homecoming." Watch their surprise meeting here.)

So on the night of December 11, 2003, Zarate and some other members of the Army's 4th Infantry Division raided an unassuming house in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown.

"We busted down the door, and at first we didn't find anything," he said. "But then we got out the metal detectors and started searching the house and the yard. That's where we found it all. I'd say about 200 pounds of explosives."

That night, Zarate's unit seized a huge arsenal of weapons and arrested three men who were believed to be leaders of an insurgent cell, according to The Associated Press. It was his job to guard one of the men while the rest of the unit finished up the search.

"In the back of my mind, I'm thinking, 'This guy is responsible for killing friends of mine,' " he said. "My buddies are not here, and this guy is here. What should I do with that? I was ready to shoot him."

Zarate is back home in Austin, Texas, now. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and can't work until his doctors are sure his treatment is working. Talking about the night that photograph was taken has helped him deal with what he witnessed, he said.
go here for more http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1592921/20080815/id_0.jhtml
linked from Veterans for Common Sense

NAMI and MTV looking for PTSD veterans

Received from email

MTV True Life: I Have Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

This hour-long MTV documentary will chronicle the lives of three young veterans of the Iraq War who have Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. It will follow them for approximately five months as they attempt to treat or live with the disorder.
We will film and tell these stories with the utmost respect for the veterans and their families. The documentary has no political agenda whatsoever; our goal is to describe PTSD to our young audience and inform them through our subjects' stories.
About True Life:
True Life is a documentary series that's been on MTV for 10 years. Each episode of "True Life" is about a different topic. Most of the topics have some global, social or personal importance, like this one. Some of them are about youth culture, like episodes about gamers or cheerleaders. All episodes aim to tell deeply personal stories. There is no host, reporter or narrator. The young people tell their own stories in their own voices.
Our goal is to put young people across the country in our subjects' shoes. We hope that by portraying our subjects' lives, we will help young people understand complex issues.
Who We're Looking For
We're looking for veterans of the Iraq War who appear to be 28 years old or younger and have either been diagnosed with PTSD or have symptoms of PTSD. We're looking for veterans who are willing to share their struggle with PTSD with a national audience.
How We Make "True Life" & How We'll Film This Episode
Once we've determined whom we're going to follow, we begin filming them at moments and events that are important to their story. We don't film them all the time and everywhere – we try to select dates that are relevant to their struggle with PTSD. We try to be as unobtrusive as possible by filming with only a two-person crew and a small digital video camera. Our goal is for people to forget we're even there. We don't influence our subject in any way. We typically film between 25 and 35 hours of each person we're following. We'll get those hours two or three days at a time over the course of three to four months. Our subjects can stop filming if they're uncomfortable or if there's a problem. We edit the stories ourselves, with input from executives at MTV. The executives never ask us to include anything that isn't thoroughly fact-checked.
Punched in the Head Productions
We are a small independent production company that's been contracted by MTV to produce certain episodes of "True Life." We're usually asked to produce the more "weighty" episodes, like "I'm Home from Iraq," "I Have Autism" and "I Have Schizophrenia." Many of our previous episodes are online at truelife.mtv.com in the "Videos" section of the site.
Contact Information
If you or someone you know is interested in speaking with us about participating in this documentary, please contact us at:
ptsd@mtvn.com or tlptsd@gmail.com
718-422-0706
Please include your name, contact information, and a description of your story. Please tell us about your military experience and your current military status. Please tell us if you've been diagnosed or treated for PTSD.


Christine Armstrong
Media Relations Associate
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)

christinea@nami.org

Back From the War and on MTV’s Radar

Back From the War and on MTV’s Radar
New York Times - United States
By BRIAN STELTER
Published: July 28, 2008

Lorenzo Zarate sits on a couch and plays an Xbox game while a cameraman films him. Mr. Zarate, an aspiring rapper, thinks he is being featured in an MTV news segment.

Then Kanye West comes to the door. Once the surprise subsides and the two men settle down in the living room, the talk turns to “before I went” and “when I got back.” Mr. Zarate, 24, is a veteran of the Iraq war who suffers from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. He is also a member of MTV’s core young demographic of teenagers and 20-somethings.

A recent MTV survey showed that nearly 70 percent of that demographic knew someone who had served in Iraq. “In some ways we think it’s the defining issue of this generation,” said Ian Rowe, vice president for public affairs and strategic partnerships at MTV.

With that in mind MTV is reinvigorating its get-out-the-vote campaign, “Choose or Lose,” even though it has scaled back its news and documentary programming in recent years. MTV plans to cover the 2008 election largely by spotlighting a few of the roughly 1.6 million Americans who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Mr. Zarate’s story will be featured in “Homecoming,” an hourlong special about veterans presented by “Choose or Lose” and Mr. West on Monday night at 10.

In “Homecoming” Mr. West and an MTV correspondent, Sway Calloway, show up at the homes of three veterans and surprise them with gifts. Mr. West participated despite saying in the fall, after being overlooked at the MTV Video Music Awards, that he would never again appear on the channel.

click above for more

Clinton and Obama Answer Young Veterans

Clinton and Obama Answer Young Veterans
I just finished watching an hour-long MTV roundtable in which Senators Obama and Clinton each spent half an hour talking to eight veterans under 30 years of age. This is first time I can remember in a political campaign that young veterans were looked at not as a prop for some National Security Theater, but rather as piece of the greater youth constituency with a distinct set of needs and concerns.

The event was slightly overproduced at times (the stories of the veterans were dramatic enough without the re-enactments), but it was honestly one of the best discussions of the campaign thus far on what it really means to support the troops (beyond buying a yellow ribbon) and just what the hell we're actually trying to accomplish in Iraq.

One thing in particular that shook me was the veterans' ages and the amount of time they've spent on active duty in Iraq. One of the veterans, who had a Purple Heart along with another medal, was just 22 years old and had spent 27 months in Iraq. That's more than 2 years out of 22 spent fighting in Iraq. That's astonishing and totally incomprehensible to me.

Hot topics were PTSD (7 of the 8 participants were diagnosed), homelessness and other transitional issues for soldiers reentering the civilian population, as well as some talk about the US strategy on the ground. Both Clinton and Obama talked about the need to fully fund the VA, provide job training and health care for veterans, remove the stigma around PTSD (in and out of the service), and some of the challenges in doing so.
go here for the rest
http://futuremajority.com/node/1052

MTV interviews Paul Rieckhoff of IAVA

2nd Lieutenant Jenna Grassbaugh, whose husband was killed in Iraq, honors veterans at Arlington National Cemetery

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Nov 12 2007 4:34 PM EST

On Veterans Day, A Sobering Look At The Iraq War's Toll


Although average U.S. soldier in Iraq is older than average Vietnam soldier, those being killed and injured are disproportionately young.
By Gil Kaufman

Monday (November 12) marks the observed Veterans Day — and also the 25th anniversary of the dedication of "The Wall," the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. And on the holiday, the enduring toll the battle in Iraq has taken on American troops can be summed up by one phrase: the Invisible War.

That's how Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and author of the Iraq memoir "Chasing Ghosts," refers to the war that has been raging since 2003 and has had a startlingly different effect on veterans returning than the war it's most often compared to, Vietnam.

"This is not a drafted army, it's a professional force, so folks are staying in longer, they're older and they're more likely to have families," he said of the average age of Iraq warriors, which is around 27. "But those who are being killed and injured are disproportionately young — the people you played soccer with and went to high school with."

Another reason Rieckhoff calls the Iraq war "invisible" is that while 12 percent of the U.S. population served in World War II, less than 1 percent have suited up for Iraq. "The numbers are less in terms of casualties [than Vietnam or World War II], because the numbers overall are smaller. That means less people are being impacted, so our generation is uniquely disconnected from the war and how it's affecting veterans."
click post title for the rest