Maj. Gen. David G. Perkins to replace Graham at Fort Carson

Lord I hope that Perkins is better for the troops than Graham was. With all the problems coming out of Fort Carson before and after Graham was in command, they need all the help they can get. With Graham, no matter what he said, there were still troops with PTSD being betrayed by their commanders and that comes from leadership. If the man in charge sets the tone of no tolerance for the mistreatment of our troops, the rest have to follow along or be held accountable. They deserve so much more than they've been getting in the military and when they become veterans.

Officer in Iraq to be new Carson commander

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Apr 21, 2009 16:20:33 EDT

FORT CARSON, Colo. — The new commander of Fort Carson will be Maj. Gen. David G. Perkins, currently a deputy chief of staff with the Multinational Force in Iraq.

Perkins replaces Maj. Gen. Mark A. Graham, who will become a deputy chief of staff for the Army Forces Command at Fort McPherson, Ga.

The Army said Tuesday a change of command ceremony will take place in August. The day hasn’t been set.

Perkins will also be commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division, which is moving from Fort Hood, Texas, to Fort Carson.

Perkins also served at Fort Carson in 1992-95, when he held the rank of major. He commanded a brigade from Fort Stewart, Ga., in Iraq from July 2001 until June 2003.

He’s been awarded the Silver Star and other medals.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/04/ap_carson_commander_042109/

A General's Personal Battle

I don't know what to make out of this story. Is it that Maj. Gen. Graham has awakened to the fact what they've been doing at Carson has been all wrong or is this more of a selling job as if the military finally gets it? Suicides and attempted suicides go up every year and we keep hearing how the military is taking all of this very seriously. If they were doing the right research and making the right decisions, the numbers would have gone down instead of up. Personality Disorder discharges would have stopped and they would have been treated instead of kicked out of the military. Warrior Transition Units would not be punishing the wounded for not showing up for formation. PTSD wounded would not be redeployed with medications but no therapy right back to where they were wounded in the first place.

Experimenting? How many more years will it take to "experiment" with the wounded before they have a clue what it is? Ten? Twenty? Over thirty? That is what we're talking about here. It's been over 30 years since the term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was used in a study commissioned by the DAV. It has not changed because humans have not changed. We've been reading the same reports and the same studies since the 70's.

The best program out there was done by the Montana National Guard and if any general were really serious about getting this right, they would take a look at how they are doing it and then use it. It would save time, save money, but above all, save the lives of the men and women that made it back home but could not survive the wound.

A General's Personal Battle
The military is facing a sharp spike in suicides, and Maj. Gen. Mark Graham is leading the fight to reduce them. His mission is close to the heart: His own son, a young ROTC cadet, killed himself six years ago.

By YOCHI J. DREAZEN
Fort Carson, Colo.

Maj. Gen. Mark Graham is on the frontlines of the Army's struggle to stop its soldiers from killing themselves. Through a series of novel experiments, the 32-year military veteran has turned his sprawling base here into a suicide-prevention laboratory.


One reason: Fort Carson has seen nine suicides in the past 15 months. Another: Six years ago, a 21-year-old ROTC cadet at the University of Kentucky killed himself in the apartment he shared with his brother and sister. He was Kevin Graham, Gen. Graham's youngest son.

After Kevin's suicide in 2003, Gen. Graham says he showed few outward signs of mourning and refused all invitations to speak about the death. It was a familiar response within a military still uncomfortable discussing suicide and its repercussions. It wasn't until another tragedy struck the family that Gen. Graham decided to tackle the issue head on.

"I will blame myself for the rest of my life for not doing more to help my son," Gen. Graham says quietly, sitting in his living room at Fort Carson, an array of family photographs on a table in front of him. "It never goes away."

Suicide is emerging as the military's newest conflict. For 2008, the Pentagon has confirmed that 140 soldiers killed themselves, the highest number in decades.

At a Senate hearing last week, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff, told lawmakers that 48 soldiers have already committed suicide in 2009. The figure puts the Army on pace for nearly double last year's figure. "I, and the other senior leaders of our Army, readily acknowledge that these current figures are unacceptable," Gen. Chiarelli said at the hearing.

Beyond Fort Carson, the Army has launched a broad push to reduce the incidence of suicide. Over the next four months, all soldiers in the Army will receive additional training on suicide prevention and broader mental health issues. The Marine Corps, which is also being hit hard by suicide, will give all Marines similar training this month. In February and March, the Army for the first time ever excused units from their normal duties so, one by one, they could learn new ways of trying to identify soldiers in need of help.
go here for more
A General's Personal Battle

Fort Carson looks at plans for PTSD and TBI

When Graham took over Fort Carson, I had high hopes, but since that day there have been too many reports of PTSD wounded being treated like, well, crap. I really hope he finally gets it and what he had to say about taking care of PTSD wounded is not just more empty words.

JANUARY 29, 2009

Fort Carson's top commander talks about mental-health care, classrooms and more
In general's terms

by Anthony Lane

The Army and its Mountain Post were taking heat in the form of allegations from combat veterans, who said they were being punished, ignored or even discharged as they struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological traumas. The Army soon calmed that furor, largely thanks to Fort Carson rolling out the promise of enhanced screening to identify soldiers with PTSD symptoms.

Another issue, however, has flared: In 2008, a string of local homicides and other violence tied to combat veterans from a single 4th Infantry Division brigade made national news. Then-U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, now secretary of the Interior, called for a task force to seek explanations for the violence.

It's been rough publicity for a post that's only getting bigger in this community, the result of an Army realignment plan announced in 2005. The 4th ID, which had been based at Fort Carson from 1970 to 1995 before moving to Fort Hood, Texas, is bringing thousands of soldiers and their families back to Colorado Springs and the region.

Three of the 4th ID's brigades are already here. The final brigade and division headquarters will return from Iraq to Texas in coming weeks, then make the move to Fort Carson as schools let out and through the coming summer. Combined with an additional aviation unit, Fort Carson should see 5,500 new soldiers by fall. Counting spouses and children, that should add up to about 10,000 new residents for Colorado Springs and the region this year.

Beyond that influx, the Bush administration's "Grow the Army" plan calls for other additions, including a fifth brigade for the 4th ID, which will bring 3,400 more soldiers to the post by 2011. All told, Fort Carson, which now has about 18,000 soldiers, should grow to nearly 30,000 by 2013, with as many as 45,000 of their family members living in the area.

Indy: How will you handle the increased demand for medical care that Fort Carson growth will bring?

MG: We're doing a few things. One, we're expanding our hospital. Plus, we're also renovating our emergency services area in the hospital to make it more modern and increase its capacity. We also are working on a TBI [traumatic brain injury] clinic. We're continuing to work PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder], behavioral health and TBI very closely.

Indy: Has the approach changed for soldiers getting mental health care?

MG: We want to make sure soldiers know it's a sign of strength, not weakness, to come forward and get help. We have seen that our medical professionals can give them help, but we've got to get them to come forward. That's why you have an increased number of soldiers that we're showing to have PTSD. The earlier they come forward, the sooner the medical professionals can start helping them get better. click link for more

Decorated Iraq Veteran dies in standoff after sheriff's deputies

One more case of not enough being done fast enough to save their lives.

Suicide victim in standoff was vet, soldier at Carson
January 20, 2009 - 8:16 PM
TOM ROEDER and CARLYN RAY MITCHELL
THE GAZETTE
The man who shot himself to death during a standoff with El Paso County sheriff's deputies early Saturday was identified Tuesday as Army Spc. Larry Applegate, 27, a decorated Iraq war veteran stationed at Fort Carson.

Deputies responded to a domestic violence call at Applegate's home, 6830 Harding Drive, late Friday and found Applegate's wife outside saying her husband was in the house firing rifles.

The gunfire continued for the better part of an hour and when it ended, the SWAT team found Applegate dead inside.

Applegate, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., was a twice-deployed Iraq war veteran awarded the Purple Heart and Army Commendation Medal with Valor.

He joined the Army in 2004.

The suicide left Fort Carson officials grieving and looking for answers, the post's commander, Maj. Gen. Mark Graham said Tuesday night.

Graham, who lost a son to suicide has been a leading proponent of Army suicide-prevention efforts and is hosting a pilot program for prevention training at the post this week.

"We have to let them know that it's a sign of strength not weakness to come forward and seek help," he said.

The soldier was in the post's Warrior Transition Unit, which is designed to assist soldiers with war-related medical or mental health problems.

"He was a good, young soldier," Graham said. "Just a good young soldier. It's tragic. We're all taking it hard." click link for more

Grim memories for Fort Carson soldier

Grim memories for Fort Carson soldier
Army Pfc. Spencer Offenbacker saw death in Iraq — lots of it, he says. When he returned home a changed man, his battle with the Army had only begun.
By Erin Emery
The Denver Post

The photos on Pfc. Spencer Offenbacker's laptop are gruesome: a severed Iraqi head; bugs crawling over a decaying body; a human skeleton in a pile of garbage.

Offenbacker, 25, a Fort Carson soldier, said he took the pictures to document how he and other Fort Carson soldiers picked up dead bodies near smoking piles of trash in the bombed- out streets of Baghdad.

An infantryman, Offenbacker said he kicked in doors during raids, had the most confirmed kills of any soldier in his unit and was exposed to at least eight improvised explosive devices.

The Army now disputes the amount of combat Offenbacker saw. But Offenbacker did receive an Army Commendation Medal for raiding an Iraqi home and rushing an al-Qaeda target. Offenbacker and another soldier subdued the man, who was reaching for an AK-47 rifle under his pillow.

When he returned to Fort Carson on Dec. 20, Offenbacker filled out a post-deployment checklist about his experiences in Iraq. He indicated that he had nightmares and had been exposed to IED blasts. It was five months later that he was evaluated for those issues by an Army doctor — and that was only after he sought help for drinking from Veterans Affairs doctors.

His troubles weren't all related to Iraq. Offenbacker had a disintegrating marriage. He began divorce proceedings a few days after he got home. Their daughter, Emma, now 4, was staying with Offenbacker's parents in Arkansas while he was deployed.

In mid-January, Offenbacker returned to his hometown for a 30-day leave. He was in bad shape when he arrived.

"He was shaking," said his father, also named Spencer Offenbacker. "He could not understand us. Sometimes, he would forget conversations we had with him only 10 minutes prior. He was very quiet and did not want to talk very much and was getting more agitated and depressed as the days went by. His alcohol abuse was prevalent."


His father took him to a VA clinic in Arkansas because he thought he was drinking
too much. Offenbacker told a VA doctor that he had been shot at numerous times, picked up bodies and saw six people get killed. Offenbacker said he had post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury due to "getting blown up a million times," medical records show.

Health records from Iraq show he was treated twice in theater for possible head injuries.

After returning to Colorado in late February, Offenbacker said he sought help at Fort Carson, but his superiors "blew him off" and marked him a problem soldier.

He was drinking up to "a handle of Jack Daniels" — a half-gallon — a day. He was too drunk to wake up in the morning and he missed several morning formations and physical training.

In April, unable to cope, Offenbacker went AWOL, back to Arkansas, where his parents noticed he was having suicidal thoughts. He checked into a VA clinic and enrolled in a rehabilitation program. Three weeks into the five-week program, Offenbacker was sent to jail.

A friend had a minor traffic accident and Offenbacker was a passenger in the car.

When police checked for warrants, the Army had issued one for Offenbacker being AWOL. The soldier came back to Colorado in handcuffs and shackles May 28. He was sent to the barracks, where a non-commissioned officer was to watch over him. He went AWOL again.

On July 3, Maj. Gen. Mark Graham, commander of Fort Carson, allowed Offenbacker to be discharged from the Army "under honorable conditions."

In an interview, Graham said that "after I stood back and looked at the whole thing, I thought that the discharge should be a different level of characterization. That's why I gave him a different level of discharge."
go here for more
http://www.denverpost.com/previous2/home/ci_10394676

Loss of sons shaped outlook of Fort Carson CO

Loss of sons shaped outlook of Fort Carson CO

By Erin Emery - The Denver Post via AP
Posted : Monday Mar 10, 2008 11:37:43 EDT

FORT CARSON, Colo. — On the underside of the two stars that rest on each shoulder of Fort Carson’s top general, the names “Kevin” and “Jeff” are engraved.

This is one way Maj. Gen. Mark Graham honors his sons, two young men who did not live long enough to see their father pin on those stars.

Second Lt. Jeff Graham, 23, died Feb. 19, 2004, when a roadside bomb exploded in Kalidiyah, Iraq, while the young leader protected his platoon.

Kevin Graham, 21, a top ROTC cadet at the University of Kentucky, hanged himself June 21, 2003, from a ceiling fan in his apartment. No one saw the lethality of his depression.

“They both fought different enemies,” Graham said during a recent interview.

For a man who is not sure why he joined the military more than 30 years ago, no general in today’s Army has a more intimate understanding of war’s hardships and the mental health issues that follow than Fort Carson’s commander.

Not a day goes by that he doesn’t think about his sons. Their loss, he said, has made him a more compassionate officer.

“The easy thing would be to curl up in a corner and do nothing and not get out of bed in the morning,” Graham said. “Getting up some days is real hard, and most people never see it because I put a smile on my face usually. That’s the way I was.

“Happy is different now than it ever was before.”

Back in June 2003, as he and his wife, Carol, drove away from Kevin’s funeral, Graham told her: “We can either let this be the tragic, horrible book of our life, or we can make it one bad chapter in the book of our life.”

When they lost Jeff, they added a second bad chapter.

Now they are trying to change the story.

Carol Graham spends countless hours talking to people about suicide. She is a national board member of Suicide Prevention Action Network.

Commissioned a second lieutenant in 1977, Mark Graham served in Desert Storm and years later led the military’s evacuation effort of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

In 2006 and 2007, Fort Carson had been under fire for its treatment of wounded soldiers. Veterans’ advocacy groups claimed too many soldiers were not receiving good care. They claimed soldiers were being discharged for infractions such as drug use and going AWOL after they were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_markgraham_030908/

This is a great story about Graham and his wife. The problem is, what is really going on at Carson and why is not addressed in this report. Soliders sent back no matter what the wound is, no matter if they have PTSD or not, does not fit into this story of a father who understands depression and loss. So what is it? What is behind the wounded being sent back to Iraq and Afghanistan? Why is this still happening at Carson of all places if Graham understands? I'm sure the investigation will answer these questions. I hope they get answered soon.

Dark Cloud Hangs Over Fort Carson

There is a dark cloud hanging over Fort Carson along with Fort Drum and Fort Hood. The culture of use and abuse the wounded may finally be coming to an end as investigations into the conduct of the generals begins.

Soldiers seek Ft. Carson deployment probe
The Army will be asked to investigate generals for deploying ailing GIs.
By Erin Emery
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 03/07/2008 12:01:55 PM MST
Secretary of the Army Pete Geren will be asked today to convene a panel of officers to investigate "Army policies and practices which permit the deployment of medically unfit soldiers."

Spec. Bryan Currie, 21, of Charleston, S.C., will ask Geren to convene a Court of Inquiry — a rarely used administrative fact-finding process — to investigate top generals at Fort Carson; Fort Drum, N.Y.; and Fort Hood, Texas.

A Court of Inquiry is composed of at least three high-ranking military officers and can subpoena civilians. Geren can refuse the request.

"It's very important for the Army and very important for my clients. This is an investigation that is long overdue," said Louis Font, a Boston attorney who represents Currie and Spec. Alex Lotero, 21, a Fort Carson soldier from Miami.

The request says the Court of Inquiry should "investigate the extent to which the (generals) have been derelict in failing to provide for the health and welfare of wounded soldiers."

Font and Citizen Soldier, a veterans advocacy group, plan a news conference today in Watertown, N.Y. Copies of the request will be provided to the House Armed Services Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee, Font said.

Maj. Gen. Mark Graham, commander of Fort Carson since September 2007, said: "We have caring and competent commanders who make these decisions every day. I'm confident in our Soldier Readiness Processing site here at Fort Carson."
For the rest go here
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_8483271

I cannot begin to say how disappointed I am in Graham. When he took over Fort Carson, there seemed to be so much hope for things to turn around. He appeared to understand what PTSD was and what needed to be done. At least, what he said gave that impression. This is all just more of the same. More commanders too unable to become educated enough to understand this wound for what it is. More commanders who are not ashamed of the fact they are being seen as just too pig headed to learn facts. Far too many of them retain the mentality of blaming the wounded instead of seeing the wound. The rest of this is just part of what the people in his command are up against. I just hope this wakes them all up enough to finally come to terms with the reality of this wound before it's too late for more.
This is just some of the report.

"Not full-mission capable"
The request for the Court of Inquiry says the panel should be assembled on behalf of Currie and four Fort Carson soldiers. They include:

• Lotero, a soldier diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder "who was subjected to ridicule and threats for seeking medical attention." He said his commanders took his medications away from him, saying it was for his own safety. Lotero had received a 30 percent disability rating at Fort Carson for PTSD and traumatic brain injury. In June, three weeks before he was to leave the Army with a medical retirement, he deserted because he said harsh treatment from commanders made him feel as if he would harm himself or others. He was apprehended in Florida on Feb. 1 and spent 29 days in jail. He's now back at Fort Carson in a Warrior Transition Unit. He will undergo a new medical board process after his legal issues are settled



• Master Sgt. Denny Nelson, who had a severe foot injury and was deployed to Kuwait. A physician in Kuwait urged in an e-mail to the brigade surgeon that Nelson be sent back to the United States: "This soldier should NOT have even left CONUS (the U.S.). . . . In his current state, he is not full-mission capable, and in his current condition is a risk to further injury to himself, others and his unit."

• An unnamed Fort Carson soldier who was deployed from Cedar Springs psychiatric hospital in Colorado Springs before he could finish a 28-day treatment program for alcoholism. An Army e-mail, dated Dec. 14, 2007, shows the soldier was taking psychiatric medications, pending a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, "but that information was not passed on" before he was discharged.

• Staff Sgt. Chad Barrett, 35, a Fort Carson soldier from Saltville, Va., who died in Iraq on Feb. 2. The Army is investigating the cause of his death. "He allegedly was found not deployable by military medical personnel, but he was deployed anyway and reportedly committed suicide in Iraq in February 2008," the request says. Barrett's wife, Shelby, who lives in Fountain, said Thursday that she does not believe her husband killed himself. She said she believes he died of a heart-related ailment, a condition that runs in his family.

Currie said he served with the 10th Mountain Division for 10 months in Afghanistan. He was driving a vehicle that was blown up by a roadside bomb and suffered combat-related injuries, including post-traumatic stress disorder.

He returned with his unit to Fort Polk, La., but he said his commanders harassed him for being injured.

"I suffer from physical injuries incurred in combat. Military medical personnel found that I am not deployable. My commanders, however, disregarded the medical findings," Currie says in the request. "Also, I sought medical attention for PTSD but was rebuffed."

Currie left Fort Polk, La., and is considered to be AWOL from the Army. He plans to turn himself in today at Fort Drum, where the general who commands the 10th Mountain Division is stationed.

Screening for Redeployment Passes Muster
This is from yesterday's post


Erin Emery


Denver Post

Mar 06, 2008

March 6, 2008 - Fort Carson, CO — A month-long investigation by Fort Carson's inspector general has found that screening processes for soldiers returning to war are sound, according to Maj. Gen. Mark Graham, commanding general at Fort Carson.

The investigation found that a lag in paperwork prompted Fort Carson in January to report that 79 soldiers who were deemed medical "no-gos" at a screening site were deployed, though the actual number was much lower.

The inspector general's report focused on the base's Soldier Readiness Processing (SRP) site and did not address decisions by commanders to send injured troops, called "borderline" by a brigade surgeon, into war zones.

"The process of the SRP works fine, and the commander is the one who makes the decision on whether the soldier deploys or not," Graham said. "I'm convinced that the process is good."
go here for the rest
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9492

Fort Carson Soldier Pulled Out Of Hospital To Redeploy

Fort Carson Forcibly Removed Soldier from Mental Hospital and Deployed Him to Iraq War

Erin Emery


Denver Post

Feb 10, 2008

Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, was outraged. "If he's an inpatient in a hospital, they should have never taken him out. The chain of command needs to be held accountable for this. Washington needs to get involved at the Pentagon to make sure this doesn't happen again. "First, we had the planeload of wounded, injured and ill being forced back to the war zone. And now we have soldiers forcibly removed from mental hospitals. The level of outrage is off the Richter scale."

Ill GI says he was deployed from hospital

Februray 10, 2008 - A Fort Carson soldier who says he was in treatment at Cedar Springs Hospital for bipolar disorder and alcohol abuse was released early and ordered to deploy to the Middle East with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

The 28-year-old specialist spent 31 days in Kuwait and was returned to Fort Carson on Dec. 31 after health care professionals in Kuwait concurred that his symptoms met criteria for bipolar disorder and "some paranoia and possible homicidal tendencies," according to e-mails obtained by The Denver Post.

The soldier, who asked not to be identified because of the stigma surrounding mental illness and because he will seek employment when he leaves the Army, said he checked himself into Cedar Springs on Nov. 9 or Nov. 10 after he attempted suicide while under the influence of alcohol. He said his treatment was supposed to end Dec. 10 but his commanding officers showed up at the hospital Nov. 29 and ordered him to leave.

"I was pulled out to deploy," said the soldier, who has three years in the Army and has served a tour in Iraq.

Soldiers from Fort Carson and across the country have complained they were sent to combat zones despite medical conditions that should have prevented their deployment.

Late last year, Fort Carson said it sent 79 soldiers who were considered medical "no-gos" overseas. Officials said the soldiers were placed in light-duty jobs and are receiving treatment there. So far, at least six soldiers have been returned.
go here for the rest
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9321

When Maj. Gen. Mark Graham took over command of Fort Carson, I had high hopes the problems at Carson would addressed and corrected. With this, those hopes are gone. I wanted to see what Graham had to say about all of this since he stated he would correct the problems at Carson. I found this.

From CBS

AP) Seventy-nine injured soldiers were pressed into war duty last month as the U.S. Army struggled to fill its ranks, but most were assigned to light-duty jobs within limits set by doctors, two Army leaders said. The Denver Post, quoting internal Army e-mails and a Fort Carson soldier, reported that troops had been deployed to Kuwait en route to Iraq while they were still receiving medical treatment for various conditions.

Fort Carson's top general Maj. Gen. Mark Graham said most of the 79 soldiers remain in Iraq, while about a dozen are in Kuwait, the newspaper reported in Friday editions. A few returned to the United States because of inadequate rehabilitation available in theater, Graham said. Graham said he has asked Fort Carson's inspector general to investigate whether proper procedures were followed in sending the soldiers into war zones. Congressional investigators also are reviewing allegations that medically unfit soldiers have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to shore up lagging troop numbers.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/19/national/main3731718.shtml

A fraction of hope returned with this but it is shaky at best. Wouldn't Graham have given orders when he took over Carson to make sure this kind of thing would never even be considered? Wouldn't Graham have enforced the attitude the wounded are wounded and should be treated accordingly? How could he leave open to interpretation pulling a soldier out of the hospital to redeploy them when they were already wounded? Graham, Fort Carson and the DOD have a lot to answer for. This is disgusting and disgraceful.

The other issue is are they now diagnosing soldiers with bipolar disorder instead of PTSD?

Tragedy Made Changes At Fort Carson

Over the years I've done a lot of posts associated with Fort Carson. When I did a post about the changes being made at Carson to address the way combat wounded with PTSD are treated, I had no idea why this was happening but I did think it had to do a lot with the new commander, Mark Graham. It turns out his son Kevin was a combat casualty of PTSD. How could anyone at Carson or any other base ignore PTSD after this?

A son dies by his own hand, or so they say. Kevin Graham came home from combat with the enemy in his soul. He had PTSD. He hung himself. People will pass off this kind of death as if it should not count in with the price of war paid by those who serve. Some think it should be a thing of shame, a secret kept by the family and friends.

The only shame belongs to the rest of this nation who allow so many to commit suicide when they know what to do to save their lives. End the stigma and you end the hopelessness. End the silence and you end the barrier of them opening up to get the help they need. Fully fund the VA and open clinics across the nation and you help to heal them. Involve the communities to embrace them as wounded by what they were asked to do and you save their lives.

Our Son died on his own battlefield. He was killed in action fighting a civil war. He fought against adversaries that were as real to him as he casket is real to us. They were powerful adversaries. They took toll of his energies and endurance. They exhausted his last vestiges of his courage and strength. At last these adversaries overwhelmed him and it appeared he had lost the war. But did he?

I see a host of victories he has won.For one thing, he has won our admiration because even if he lost the war, we give him credit for his bravery on the battlefield. And we give him credit for the courage and pride and hope that he used as his weapons as long as he could. We shall remember not his death but his daily victories gained through his kindness and thoughtfulness, his love for family and friends, animals, books and music, for all things beautiful and honorable. We shall remember not his last day of defeat but we shall remember the many days he was victorious over the overwhelming odds. We shall remember not the many years we thought he had left, but the intensity with which he lived the years he had.

Only God knows what this child of his suffered in the silent skirmishes that took place in his soul. But our consolation is that God does know and understands.

http://grahammemorial.com/_wsn/page3.html

MAJOR GENERAL MARK GRAHAM
Commanding GeneralDivision West, First Army and Fort CarsonFort Carson, Colorado 80913Major General Mark Graham became the commander of Division West and Fort Carson on 14September 2007. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Field Artillery on 22 December 1977 at Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky. Following the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course, Major General Graham was assigned to the 1-2nd Field Artillery, 8th Infantry Division, Baumholder, Germany.

During this assignment, he served as a FIST Chief, Fire Direction Officer, Battery Executive Officer and Battalion Special Weapons Officer. Major General Graham has served in command and staff positions throughout the Army in the United States and overseas. His command assignments include: C Battery, Staff and Faculty Battalion, Field Artillery School Brigade, A Battery, 2-18th Field Artillery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma; 1-17th Field Artillery, Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Division Artillery, 40th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Los Angeles, California; 3rd Battlefield Coordination Detachment-Korea; and Deputy Commander/Assistant Commandant, U.S. Army Field Artillery Center and School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma.go here for the rest

http://www.carson.army.mil/Fort%20Carson/cg_bio.html

This site has been established to tell the story of two brothers, inseparable in life and now together again in death.Our goal is for others to know Jeff & Kevin better. Additionally we hope to help you or others that suffer from depression, a dark road where illness can lead to death.

QPR (Question, Persuade. Refer)
SPAN USA (Suicide Prevention Action Network)
JED FoundationHOPES
Suicide Prevention Care Fund
American Society of Suicidology
http://www.grahammemorial.com/

If we are ever going to remove the stigma it has to begin with it being personal. When the families speak out on what their members go through, others can see how they would feel if it happened in their own family.

Silence makes it all seem as if there is something to hide or something to be ashamed of. These are the same men and women so brave, so committed to this nation, so honorable they were willing to lay down their lives, so patriotic they were willing to set their own personal wealth aside that they enlisted in the military. Most will do their duty for however long they are needed to be deployed, return home, rationally out of danger from the enemy, yet find their battles did not end. While they are no longer in danger from the bombs or the bullets, they kill themselves. How could that be cowardly? How could that be a "preexisting condition" or a "personality disorder" suddenly being a reason to discharge them?Every civilization has recorded combat wounds of the mind and spirit since the beginning of recorded time. This is not new.

This has not changed since man first went into combat against others. So how in this century are we still finding it so hard to talk about? How is it that there are still so many in this nation dismissing it, minimizing it and attacking it? How can they go from being regarded as a hero one day and coward the next day? PTSD is a wound but we are the reason the wound is untreated. How many more can we lose after combat than we do during it and when the hell are they all going to be counted as a price of war? When will we treat their wounds instead of burying them? Go and watch Death Because They Served and then tell me what can possibly still be in your own brain that you cannot grasp how serious all of this is?

Major General Mark Graham and his wife are doing something about this. What are you doing?

Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.namguardianangel.blogspot.com/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

Fort Carson Commander wants a network of caregivers

Commander wants a network of caregivers
By TOM ROEDER
THE GAZETTE
December 17, 2007 - 12:00AM


Fort Carson’s top general says his post is ready for the growth ahead and is focusing on caring for soldiers coming home now.

Maj. Gen. Mark Graham, who took command of the post this fall, has set his top priority as building a network of Army and civilian caregivers who can address the needs of soldiers and their families as the post deals with continued wartime deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

With the post expecting 4,000 soldiers back from Iraq combat in the next month, Graham said he recognizes that all of his soldiers will come home changed men and women and that some of them will have what is becoming the signature disease of this war: post-traumatic stress disorder.

“PTSD is like a hurricane,” Graham said. “If you’re in the path, it doesn’t matter who you are, it hits you.”
http://www.gazette.com/articles/soldiers_30975___article.html/graham_post.html

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