Here is a chance to help raise both NAMI’s profile and public awareness of the mental health needs of veterans-- in PEOPLE magazine.
NAMI Montana executive director Mat Kuntz, who is featured in the latest NAMI Advocate cover story www.nami.org/obama has been nominated to be one of PEOPLE Magazine’s “All-Stars Among Us,” representing Americans who have gone “above and beyond to serve their community.”
Earlier this year, he was selected to ride President’s Obama’s inaugural train as an “ordinary American” who has done “extraordinary things,” through advocacy for veterans.
Nominees for PEOPLE’s “All-Stars Among Us” are grouped under the names of major league baseball teams. The top vote-getter for each team will be honored at the MLB 2009 All-Star Game, July 13-15, in St. Louis. The person with the most votes overall will be featured in PEOPLE Magazine. To cast your ballot:
Visit the PEOPLE All-Star Web site.
Select the Pittsburgh Pirates emblem
Vote for Matt.
It’s that simple. Please spread the word to your networks. Each person can also vote up to 25 times in multiple visits (Yes, it’s allowed). Balloting ends on June 24. Mattt may be a long-shot, but someone has to win!
Showing posts with label Matt Kuntz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt Kuntz. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
NAMI Montana executive director Mat Kuntz nominated to All Stars
Sent from member of NAMI
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Montana National Guard's proactive PTSD program becoming national model
Montana National Guard's proactive PTSD program becoming national model
By ERIC NEWHOUSE • Tribune Projects Editor • March 1, 2009
HELENA — Two years after former Army Spc. Chris Dana committed suicide after struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, the Montana National Guard is spending approximately half a million dollars a year to make combat deployments easier for its soldiers and their families.
The Montana Guard's Yellow Ribbon program has become a model that the rest of America should adopt, said U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.
"We're getting terrific responses to the program from the families of our soldiers, but also some great suggestions," said Col. Jeff Ireland, chief of manpower and personnel for the Montana Guard. "For instance, we were told it would be useful to have a special breakout session for spouses.
Ireland said officials believe the session was a great idea.
"We plan to act on it and other suggestions until we meet all the needs we're aware of," he added.
With the approval and funding of the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C., the Montana National Guard is adding five positions and spending approximately $500,000 to fund the Yellow Ribbon program, Ireland said.
The core of the program is twofold: mental health assessments every six months after deployment and crisis response teams that can be activated immediately to check out concerns about the emotional wellbeing of a soldier.
"The genius of the Montana screening model is that it happens every six months," Matt Kuntz, Dana's stepbrother, told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee last week during testimony in Washington.
click link for more
By ERIC NEWHOUSE • Tribune Projects Editor • March 1, 2009
HELENA — Two years after former Army Spc. Chris Dana committed suicide after struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, the Montana National Guard is spending approximately half a million dollars a year to make combat deployments easier for its soldiers and their families.
The Montana Guard's Yellow Ribbon program has become a model that the rest of America should adopt, said U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont.
"We're getting terrific responses to the program from the families of our soldiers, but also some great suggestions," said Col. Jeff Ireland, chief of manpower and personnel for the Montana Guard. "For instance, we were told it would be useful to have a special breakout session for spouses.
Ireland said officials believe the session was a great idea.
"We plan to act on it and other suggestions until we meet all the needs we're aware of," he added.
With the approval and funding of the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C., the Montana National Guard is adding five positions and spending approximately $500,000 to fund the Yellow Ribbon program, Ireland said.
The core of the program is twofold: mental health assessments every six months after deployment and crisis response teams that can be activated immediately to check out concerns about the emotional wellbeing of a soldier.
"The genius of the Montana screening model is that it happens every six months," Matt Kuntz, Dana's stepbrother, told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee last week during testimony in Washington.
click link for more
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Montana Model for Assessing Returning Vets for PTSD and TBI
Before Barack Obama became President, he met with Matt Kuntz because he heard about the great work the Montana National Guard was doing to prevent suicides and address PTSD. President Obama gave me the most hope I've ever had the PTSD will be taken seriously, finally, and that the DOD and the VA will be given what they need to address it. Readers of this blog know this is one of the biggest reasons I supported him and still do.
We talk a lot about the death count when wars are going on but we hardly mention the true tally when they come home wounded by what they went through. So far, no other president has taken any of this untold price paid seriously enough. Had any of them been as involved in PTSD, there would be very few suicides of veterans, no veteran being discharged under Personality Disorder or other misdiagnoses, no veteran turned away when they seek help and total public awareness of what PTSD is. PTSD is a killer and it is time it was treated like the enemy instead of the men and women it wounds.
We talk a lot about the death count when wars are going on but we hardly mention the true tally when they come home wounded by what they went through. So far, no other president has taken any of this untold price paid seriously enough. Had any of them been as involved in PTSD, there would be very few suicides of veterans, no veteran being discharged under Personality Disorder or other misdiagnoses, no veteran turned away when they seek help and total public awareness of what PTSD is. PTSD is a killer and it is time it was treated like the enemy instead of the men and women it wounds.
Barack Talks to Vets in Billings
By Zach in Helena - Aug 28th, 2008 at 1:52 pm EDT
Senator Obama spoke to a group of veterans and military families yesterday at Riverfront Park in Billings. He spoke at length on the failures of the current administration to take care of the nation’s veterans, before taking questions from the audience on a variety of issues. You can watch his remarks about veterans, energy, and the VA system here.
What's going on right now, the simple fact is we're not doing right by our veterans. Not here in Montana, and not anywhere in the United States, and I want you to know that one of the reasons I'm running for president of the United States is because I want to make sure that today's veterans are treated like my grandfather was, when he came home, he got the GI Bill and was able to go to college and got FHA loans to go to school and was treated with honor. As President I'm going to make sure that the VA system in Montana gets the oversight, direction, and resources it needs to do the job. [Watch the video]
Before he spoke, Senator Obama talked privately with the family of Spc. Chris Dana, a Montana National Guard veteran who suffered from Posttraumatic stress disorder and committed suicide in 2007, shortly after returning from Iraq. His stepbrother, Matt Kuntz, has became an advocate for better treatment of PTSD.
Montana Model for Assessing Returning Vets for PTSD and TBI
Wednesday 18 February 2009
by: Eric Newhouse, t r u t h o u t Perspective
Montana is becoming a model state for assessing its returning combat vets for PTSD and TBI.
Following the suicide two years ago of a recently deployed combat vet, Montana has become a model for accessing and assisting veterans who show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). While the plan doesn't go nearly far enough, it's one that I understand the Obama administration is seriously considering for nationwide implementation - and it would be an excellent first step.
Montana's reforms started after Chris Dana, a specialist with the 163rd Infantry of the Montana National Guard, returned from combat, began isolating himself from family and friends, and quit attending Guard drills. His commanders told him to get his act together or they'd run him out of the Guard. Dana received a less-than-honorable discharge a few months later and put a bullet through his brain on March 4, 2007. That occurred as I was flying to New York City to help judge the Pulitzer Prizes at Columbia University; after I got back to Montana, I've covered this story ever since.
In a highly patriotic state - Montana has the second-highest ratio of vets in its population, trailing only Alaska - Dana's suicide was an outrage. His stepbrother Matt Kuntz, a former Army officer and attorney in Helena, stirred the pot with angry guest editorials in Montana's newspapers.
"I may sound pretty damn angry and bitter, and I am," Kuntz told me at the time. "We should have fixed this before. And the clock is ticking. If you think there aren't people out there right now staring at their guns, you're wrong."
Stung by the public reaction, Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Adjutant General Randy Mosley convened a panel, solicited suggestions for reform, and adopted them all within about 15 months. Many of the reforms broke new ground within the National Guard Bureau because they set a new standard. They also cost more money to implement.
Probably most important was that soldiers returning from deployment receive a mental health assessment every six months for the first two years after their return. Counselors probe for signs of stress, including anxieties, sleep disorders, family problems and excessive alcohol use. It's a mandatory requirement, so it reduces the stigma of a soldier reaching out for help with an emotional disorder. And it recognizes that many soldiers don't begin to experience the symptoms of PTSD or TBI until they've been home for six months to a year.
Second was the creation of crisis response teams made up of unit officers, NCOs, personnel officers and a chaplain. When a soldier quits coming to drill, they're activated to find out why and provide help. They can also respond to concerns voiced by family members of other soldiers.
In addition to that, TriWest Healthcare has provided the funding to station counselors with the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard during their drill weekends. They're on hand to talk with personnel and observe. The theory is that soldiers feel more comfortable talking with counselors in a less formal setting, and it seems to be working because TriWest has recently renewed its one-year pilot program.
click link for more
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thankful for the Montana National Guard and Major General Randy Mosley
I am thankful for President Elect Obama going to meet with Matt Kuntz and see the outstanding work being done there to help the Guardsmen with PTSD. Major General Mosley is also a hero in my book. Because of the suicide of Chris Dana, they are moving mountains out of the way and came up with their own program. Here are just a few of the stories on the work being done. Click the links if you want to read more.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Obama promises to repeat Montana's National Guard PTSD work nation wide
Obama Pledges Nationwide Use of PTSD Program
Eric Newhouse
Great Falls Tribune
Aug 28, 2008August 28, 2008 - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama promised Wednesday to expand Montana's pilot program to assess the mental health of combat vets nationwide, if elected.The Montana National Guard has developed a program to check its soldiers and airmen for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder every six months for the first two years after returning from combat, then once a year thereafter. The program exceeds national standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense.The pilot program was created in response to the suicide of former Army Spc. Chris Dana of Helena, who shot himself on March 4, 2007, days after being given a less-than-honorable discharge because he could no longer handle attending drills following a tour in Iraq."He (Obama) told me he understood why we need to have additional screenings for PTSD," said Matt Kuntz, Dana's stepbrother, who was among a small group invited to meet with Obama on Wednesday in Billings. "And he told me when he is elected president, he will implement Montana's pilot program nationwide."Kuntz, who recently gave up his job as a lawyer in Helena to advocate for the mentally ill and their families, said he was invited to brief Obama on how Montana had become a national model for assessing the mental health of its combat vets.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Matt Kuntz of Montana NAMI took up PTSD cause after death of stepbrother
Fighting for proper care - State NAMI head took up cause after losing stepbrother to PTSD, suicideBy MARTIN J. KIDSTON of the Helena Independent RecordHELENA - As a child, Matt Kuntz lost a friend to an eating disorder. When he entered Capital High School as a teen, he lost classmates to suicide.Mental illness had always been there; it was always something he'd seen. But it wasn't an issue Kuntz stopped to consider for very long.Then last spring, he watched helplessly as his stepbrother, Chris Dana, lost a battle with post-traumatic stress disorder and ended his life in suicide. That, Kuntz said, changed everything.More than 17 months into his unplanned but energetic campaign to improve mental health care in Montana, Kuntz is working to change the way mental illness is perceived by the public.
Spc. Chris Dana's story told to Obama by step brother
Stepbrother tells guardsman's story to Obama Helena soldier took his own life after tour of duty in IraqBy LAURA TODEOf The Gazette StaffMontana National Guard Spc. Chris Dana will never know the impact his life and ultimately his death may someday have on the lives of veterans nationwide.Dana took his life in March 2007, less than two years after returning from a tour in Iraq. His family believes he was a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder, brought on by his combat experience.Since Dana's death, his stepbrother Matt Kuntz has campaigned for more awareness of the costs of untreated post-traumatic stress syndrome in Iraq war veterans.Wednesday, he was invited to meet with Sen. Barack Obama to share the message he's been spreading statewide for more than a year. At a quiet picnic table at Riverfront Park, Obama sat across from Kuntz, his wife, Sandy, and their infant daughter, Fiona. click post title for more
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Montana National Guard Maj. Gen. Randy Mosley moving mountains
I think I have a crush on Maj. Gen. Randy Mosley of the Montana National Guard. I love to post about what he is doing on PTSD. Spc. Chris Dana's suicide caused massive changes instead of just talking about "doing something" and much of it is owed to Mosley. I think above all, the frustration that comes with the fact taking care of the troops and the citizen soldiers should have been a guarantee. With some of the best minds in this country when it comes to waging war, you'd think they'd be able to put that kind of brain power behind taking care of the wounded caused by war, but they didn't think of any of this. The warriors are the ones who have been paying for it simply because they survived. I know I've been proven wrong before when I found hope in what some commanders have said they would do only to find they have done nothing more than talk about it but this time, Mosley has earned it already.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Montana National Guard, Picking Up The Pieces
Picking up the Pieces (PDHRA)
This is the link to the video the Montana National Guard is showing. I've been posting about it for a couple of days now and it is very important that it not only be seen, but duplicated across the country.
Guard stresses PTSD symptoms at meetingsBy ERIC NEWHOUSE • Tribune Projects Editor • May 21, 2008
LEWISTOWN — Montana's National Guard expanded its PTSD outreach efforts this week, hosting a series of 20 public meetings in armories across the state.As part of its effort to familiarize the public — and veterans in particular — with post-traumatic stress disorder, it played a video produced at Fort Harrison entitled "Picking Up the Pieces." That had Tiffany Kolar wiping her eyes."It raised a lot of questions for me," Kolar said after Monday night's meeting. "I have a brother who served with the Idaho National Guard and who later committed suicide. Now I'm learning a lot about what must have been happening."
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Obama promises to repeat Montana's National Guard PTSD work nation wide
Obama Pledges Nationwide Use of PTSD Program
Eric Newhouse
Great Falls Tribune
Aug 28, 2008August 28, 2008 - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama promised Wednesday to expand Montana's pilot program to assess the mental health of combat vets nationwide, if elected.The Montana National Guard has developed a program to check its soldiers and airmen for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder every six months for the first two years after returning from combat, then once a year thereafter. The program exceeds national standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense.The pilot program was created in response to the suicide of former Army Spc. Chris Dana of Helena, who shot himself on March 4, 2007, days after being given a less-than-honorable discharge because he could no longer handle attending drills following a tour in Iraq."He (Obama) told me he understood why we need to have additional screenings for PTSD," said Matt Kuntz, Dana's stepbrother, who was among a small group invited to meet with Obama on Wednesday in Billings. "And he told me when he is elected president, he will implement Montana's pilot program nationwide."Kuntz, who recently gave up his job as a lawyer in Helena to advocate for the mentally ill and their families, said he was invited to brief Obama on how Montana had become a national model for assessing the mental health of its combat vets.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Matt Kuntz of Montana NAMI took up PTSD cause after death of stepbrother
Fighting for proper care - State NAMI head took up cause after losing stepbrother to PTSD, suicideBy MARTIN J. KIDSTON of the Helena Independent RecordHELENA - As a child, Matt Kuntz lost a friend to an eating disorder. When he entered Capital High School as a teen, he lost classmates to suicide.Mental illness had always been there; it was always something he'd seen. But it wasn't an issue Kuntz stopped to consider for very long.Then last spring, he watched helplessly as his stepbrother, Chris Dana, lost a battle with post-traumatic stress disorder and ended his life in suicide. That, Kuntz said, changed everything.More than 17 months into his unplanned but energetic campaign to improve mental health care in Montana, Kuntz is working to change the way mental illness is perceived by the public.
Spc. Chris Dana's story told to Obama by step brother
Stepbrother tells guardsman's story to Obama Helena soldier took his own life after tour of duty in IraqBy LAURA TODEOf The Gazette StaffMontana National Guard Spc. Chris Dana will never know the impact his life and ultimately his death may someday have on the lives of veterans nationwide.Dana took his life in March 2007, less than two years after returning from a tour in Iraq. His family believes he was a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder, brought on by his combat experience.Since Dana's death, his stepbrother Matt Kuntz has campaigned for more awareness of the costs of untreated post-traumatic stress syndrome in Iraq war veterans.Wednesday, he was invited to meet with Sen. Barack Obama to share the message he's been spreading statewide for more than a year. At a quiet picnic table at Riverfront Park, Obama sat across from Kuntz, his wife, Sandy, and their infant daughter, Fiona. click post title for more
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Montana National Guard Maj. Gen. Randy Mosley moving mountains
I think I have a crush on Maj. Gen. Randy Mosley of the Montana National Guard. I love to post about what he is doing on PTSD. Spc. Chris Dana's suicide caused massive changes instead of just talking about "doing something" and much of it is owed to Mosley. I think above all, the frustration that comes with the fact taking care of the troops and the citizen soldiers should have been a guarantee. With some of the best minds in this country when it comes to waging war, you'd think they'd be able to put that kind of brain power behind taking care of the wounded caused by war, but they didn't think of any of this. The warriors are the ones who have been paying for it simply because they survived. I know I've been proven wrong before when I found hope in what some commanders have said they would do only to find they have done nothing more than talk about it but this time, Mosley has earned it already.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Montana National Guard, Picking Up The Pieces
Picking up the Pieces (PDHRA)
This is the link to the video the Montana National Guard is showing. I've been posting about it for a couple of days now and it is very important that it not only be seen, but duplicated across the country.
Guard stresses PTSD symptoms at meetingsBy ERIC NEWHOUSE • Tribune Projects Editor • May 21, 2008
LEWISTOWN — Montana's National Guard expanded its PTSD outreach efforts this week, hosting a series of 20 public meetings in armories across the state.As part of its effort to familiarize the public — and veterans in particular — with post-traumatic stress disorder, it played a video produced at Fort Harrison entitled "Picking Up the Pieces." That had Tiffany Kolar wiping her eyes."It raised a lot of questions for me," Kolar said after Monday night's meeting. "I have a brother who served with the Idaho National Guard and who later committed suicide. Now I'm learning a lot about what must have been happening."
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Obama win also means PTSD work gets new hero
This is one of the biggest reasons I am so delighted that Senator Obama will be President Obama. In August, he visited the Montana National Guard because he heard about the great work they were doing on PTSD. He was so impressed that he promised to take their program nationally.
Up until now, PTSD has only recently become a hot topic. President Bush surrounded himself with people who either had no clue what PTSD was or denied it was real. This prevented years of research not being done and programs that could have been created sooner, to not even be dreamt of. Thousands of our veterans and troops, guardsmen and reservists died as a result, not by enemy hands but because of the enemy within them.
Military families and veteran families have a new hero coming to fight for them and I'm sure when you get to know exactly how much he does care, plans to act, you will feel the same way too. He's been on the Veterans Affairs Committee and has paid attention to all that is going on
Up until now, PTSD has only recently become a hot topic. President Bush surrounded himself with people who either had no clue what PTSD was or denied it was real. This prevented years of research not being done and programs that could have been created sooner, to not even be dreamt of. Thousands of our veterans and troops, guardsmen and reservists died as a result, not by enemy hands but because of the enemy within them.
Military families and veteran families have a new hero coming to fight for them and I'm sure when you get to know exactly how much he does care, plans to act, you will feel the same way too. He's been on the Veterans Affairs Committee and has paid attention to all that is going on
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Obama promises to repeat Montana's National Guard PTSD work nation wide
Obama Pledges Nationwide Use of PTSD Program
Eric Newhouse
Great Falls Tribune
Aug 28, 2008
August 28, 2008 - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama promised Wednesday to expand Montana's pilot program to assess the mental health of combat vets nationwide, if elected.The Montana National Guard has developed a program to check its soldiers and airmen for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder every six months for the first two years after returning from combat, then once a year thereafter. The program exceeds national standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense.
The pilot program was created in response to the suicide of former Army Spc. Chris Dana of Helena, who shot himself on March 4, 2007, days after being given a less-than-honorable discharge because he could no longer handle attending drills following a tour in Iraq."He (Obama) told me he understood why we need to have additional screenings for PTSD," said Matt Kuntz, Dana's stepbrother, who was among a small group invited to meet with Obama on Wednesday in Billings. "And he told me when he is elected president, he will implement Montana's pilot program nationwide."Kuntz, who recently gave up his job as a lawyer in Helena to advocate for the mentally ill and their families, said he was invited to brief Obama on how Montana had become a national model for assessing the mental health of its combat vets.
Besides the additional screenings, the Montana National Guard has developed crisis response teams that include a chaplain to investigate behavioral problems among its troops, and TriWest Healthcare pays to have four part-time counselors on hand to talk with soldiers and airmen during weekend drills.After the briefing, Obama spent about 20 minutes telling several hundred veterans and their families that, if elected as president, he will be committed to meeting their needs.
go here for morehttp://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/11028
Monday, October 6, 2008
Matt Kuntz of Montana NAMI took up PTSD cause after death of stepbrother
Fighting for proper care - State NAMI head took up cause after losing stepbrother to PTSD, suicide
By MARTIN J. KIDSTON of the Helena Independent Record
HELENA - As a child, Matt Kuntz lost a friend to an eating disorder. When he entered Capital High School as a teen, he lost classmates to suicide.
Mental illness had always been there; it was always something he'd seen. But it wasn't an issue Kuntz stopped to consider for very long.
Then last spring, he watched helplessly as his stepbrother, Chris Dana, lost a battle with post-traumatic stress disorder and ended his life in suicide. That, Kuntz said, changed everything.
More than 17 months into his unplanned but energetic campaign to improve mental health care in Montana, Kuntz is working to change the way mental illness is perceived by the public.
“We've got an opportunity right now to help develop a system that takes better care of Montana's mentally ill,” he said recently at a downtown Helena cafe. “I think there are a lot of challenges that need to be met. But people are working hard. There's no doubt about that.”
The former Army infantry officer who became a lawyer but quit his practice to serve as executive director of the Montana chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness admits his road has been a strange one.
He adds that his new position with NAMI wasn't something he saw coming. Yet the timing was right and change was needed, and since last March, change is what he's been fighting to achieve.
Kuntz praised the system implemented by the Montana National Guard this summer in response to Dana's death. In less than two years, the Guard revamped its entire post-combat environment and adjusted the way it works with soldiers returning from deployment.
That effort began in March 2007, when Dana shot himself after returning home with the Montana National Guard from Iraq.
In the day's following his death, Kuntz began pushing for change within the service. He met with the press, wrote several op-ed pieces for newspapers, called the governor's office and stayed abreast of the progress.
“The night before I wrote my first letter, I felt really sad and defeated,” Kuntz said. “I didn't want Chris to die in vain, and I didn't want to read about other people in the paper. I just hoped the people would respond.”
During a Memorial Day celebration at Fort Harrison last summer, a service member approached Kuntz and told him not to worry - told him the problems would be fixed. It was then, he knew, that things would finally begin to change.
go here for more
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/10/06/news/local/news05.txt
By MARTIN J. KIDSTON of the Helena Independent Record
HELENA - As a child, Matt Kuntz lost a friend to an eating disorder. When he entered Capital High School as a teen, he lost classmates to suicide.
Mental illness had always been there; it was always something he'd seen. But it wasn't an issue Kuntz stopped to consider for very long.
Then last spring, he watched helplessly as his stepbrother, Chris Dana, lost a battle with post-traumatic stress disorder and ended his life in suicide. That, Kuntz said, changed everything.
More than 17 months into his unplanned but energetic campaign to improve mental health care in Montana, Kuntz is working to change the way mental illness is perceived by the public.
“We've got an opportunity right now to help develop a system that takes better care of Montana's mentally ill,” he said recently at a downtown Helena cafe. “I think there are a lot of challenges that need to be met. But people are working hard. There's no doubt about that.”
The former Army infantry officer who became a lawyer but quit his practice to serve as executive director of the Montana chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness admits his road has been a strange one.
He adds that his new position with NAMI wasn't something he saw coming. Yet the timing was right and change was needed, and since last March, change is what he's been fighting to achieve.
Kuntz praised the system implemented by the Montana National Guard this summer in response to Dana's death. In less than two years, the Guard revamped its entire post-combat environment and adjusted the way it works with soldiers returning from deployment.
That effort began in March 2007, when Dana shot himself after returning home with the Montana National Guard from Iraq.
In the day's following his death, Kuntz began pushing for change within the service. He met with the press, wrote several op-ed pieces for newspapers, called the governor's office and stayed abreast of the progress.
“The night before I wrote my first letter, I felt really sad and defeated,” Kuntz said. “I didn't want Chris to die in vain, and I didn't want to read about other people in the paper. I just hoped the people would respond.”
During a Memorial Day celebration at Fort Harrison last summer, a service member approached Kuntz and told him not to worry - told him the problems would be fixed. It was then, he knew, that things would finally begin to change.
go here for more
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/10/06/news/local/news05.txt
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Obama talks about Montana National Guard at Columbia University
Columbia University Presidential Forum
LIVE VIDEO: Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain make a joint appearance at Columbia University to discuss civic engagement in the post 9/11 world.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/22886841#22886841
At about half way through Senator Obama's question and answer session, he brings up the Montana National Guard and their PTSD program. I know I must be boring some readers with this but it is one of the best programs in the country.
Obama promises to repeat Montana's National Guard PTSD work nation wide
Obama Pledges Nationwide Use of PTSD ProgramEric Newhouse
Great Falls Tribune
Aug 28, 2008 - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama promised Wednesday to expand Montana's pilot program to assess the mental health of combat vets nationwide, if elected.The Montana National Guard has developed a program to check its soldiers and airmen for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder every six months for the first two years after returning from combat, then once a year thereafter. The program exceeds national standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense.The pilot program was created in response to the suicide of former Army Spc. Chris Dana of Helena, who shot himself on March 4, 2007, days after being given a less-than-honorable discharge because he could no longer handle attending drills following a tour in Iraq.
"He (Obama) told me he understood why we need to have additional screenings for PTSD," said Matt Kuntz, Dana's stepbrother, who was among a small group invited to meet with Obama on Wednesday in Billings. "And he told me when he is elected president, he will implement Montana's pilot program nationwide."Kuntz, who recently gave up his job as a lawyer in Helena to advocate for the mentally ill and their families, said he was invited to brief Obama on how Montana had become a national model for assessing the mental health of its combat vets.
click above for more
I've done a lot of posts on the Montana National Guards program.
http://woundedtimes.blogspot.com/search?q=Montana+National+Guard
The other point Senator Obama made, aside from how good this program is, is that Chris Dana's brother gave up his career to take on the cause of PTSD suicides and do something about it. Obama said that he never asked Matt if he was a Democrat or a Republican and he didn't care. All he cared about was that there was a need and Matt stepped up to fill that need.
Now, wouldn't it be great if we all managed to do that?
I am very grateful to Obama for going to Montana to talk to the family of Chris Dana and find out what kind of great work can be done. I was really excited when I read about this knowing that his attention would lead to national attention on this. Now, with this national spotlight on him tonight on MSNBC, I'm sure there will be.
Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
"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
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Obama promises to repeat Montana's National Guard PTSD work nation wide
Obama Pledges Nationwide Use of PTSD Program
Eric Newhouse
Great Falls Tribune
Aug 28, 2008
August 28, 2008 - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama promised Wednesday to expand Montana's pilot program to assess the mental health of combat vets nationwide, if elected.
The Montana National Guard has developed a program to check its soldiers and airmen for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder every six months for the first two years after returning from combat, then once a year thereafter. The program exceeds national standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense.
The pilot program was created in response to the suicide of former Army Spc. Chris Dana of Helena, who shot himself on March 4, 2007, days after being given a less-than-honorable discharge because he could no longer handle attending drills following a tour in Iraq.
"He (Obama) told me he understood why we need to have additional screenings for PTSD," said Matt Kuntz, Dana's stepbrother, who was among a small group invited to meet with Obama on Wednesday in Billings. "And he told me when he is elected president, he will implement Montana's pilot program nationwide."
Kuntz, who recently gave up his job as a lawyer in Helena to advocate for the mentally ill and their families, said he was invited to brief Obama on how Montana had become a national model for assessing the mental health of its combat vets.
Besides the additional screenings, the Montana National Guard has developed crisis response teams that include a chaplain to investigate behavioral problems among its troops, and TriWest Healthcare pays to have four part-time counselors on hand to talk with soldiers and airmen during weekend drills.
After the briefing, Obama spent about 20 minutes telling several hundred veterans and their families that, if elected as president, he will be committed to meeting their needs.
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/11028
Eric Newhouse
Great Falls Tribune
Aug 28, 2008
August 28, 2008 - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama promised Wednesday to expand Montana's pilot program to assess the mental health of combat vets nationwide, if elected.
The Montana National Guard has developed a program to check its soldiers and airmen for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder every six months for the first two years after returning from combat, then once a year thereafter. The program exceeds national standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense.
The pilot program was created in response to the suicide of former Army Spc. Chris Dana of Helena, who shot himself on March 4, 2007, days after being given a less-than-honorable discharge because he could no longer handle attending drills following a tour in Iraq.
"He (Obama) told me he understood why we need to have additional screenings for PTSD," said Matt Kuntz, Dana's stepbrother, who was among a small group invited to meet with Obama on Wednesday in Billings. "And he told me when he is elected president, he will implement Montana's pilot program nationwide."
Kuntz, who recently gave up his job as a lawyer in Helena to advocate for the mentally ill and their families, said he was invited to brief Obama on how Montana had become a national model for assessing the mental health of its combat vets.
Besides the additional screenings, the Montana National Guard has developed crisis response teams that include a chaplain to investigate behavioral problems among its troops, and TriWest Healthcare pays to have four part-time counselors on hand to talk with soldiers and airmen during weekend drills.
After the briefing, Obama spent about 20 minutes telling several hundred veterans and their families that, if elected as president, he will be committed to meeting their needs.
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/11028
Spc. Chris Dana's story told to Obama by step brother
Stepbrother tells guardsman's story to Obama
Helena soldier took his own life after tour of duty in Iraq
By LAURA TODE
Of The Gazette Staff
Montana National Guard Spc. Chris Dana will never know the impact his life and ultimately his death may someday have on the lives of veterans nationwide.
Dana took his life in March 2007, less than two years after returning from a tour in Iraq. His family believes he was a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder, brought on by his combat experience.
Since Dana's death, his stepbrother Matt Kuntz has campaigned for more awareness of the costs of untreated post-traumatic stress syndrome in Iraq war veterans.
Wednesday, he was invited to meet with Sen. Barack Obama to share the message he's been spreading statewide for more than a year. At a quiet picnic table at Riverfront Park, Obama sat across from Kuntz, his wife, Sandy, and their infant daughter, Fiona.
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Helena soldier took his own life after tour of duty in Iraq
By LAURA TODE
Of The Gazette Staff
Montana National Guard Spc. Chris Dana will never know the impact his life and ultimately his death may someday have on the lives of veterans nationwide.
Dana took his life in March 2007, less than two years after returning from a tour in Iraq. His family believes he was a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder, brought on by his combat experience.
Since Dana's death, his stepbrother Matt Kuntz has campaigned for more awareness of the costs of untreated post-traumatic stress syndrome in Iraq war veterans.
Wednesday, he was invited to meet with Sen. Barack Obama to share the message he's been spreading statewide for more than a year. At a quiet picnic table at Riverfront Park, Obama sat across from Kuntz, his wife, Sandy, and their infant daughter, Fiona.
click post title for more
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