State of Union Obama Forgot Spec. Chris Dana

Watched Criminal Minds Because of Wounded Minds
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 13, 2016

Last night when President Obama delivered his final State of the Union, I was watching a rerun of Criminal Minds. I just couldn't watch another speech on what shape this union is in.

Considering this whole bunch of politicians has basically said they cannot fix anything. The worst thing is, with President Obama in his last year in office, he hasn't fixed the one thing I really hoped he would have. Suicides in the military and in the veterans community have gone up. So far, POTUS stands for Pretend Outrage To Up Spending.

For all the billions gone into reducing suicides, they ended up reducing the number of veterans surviving combat but not being home.

Every time I think about all the speeches and claims of making "efforts" to prevent suicides, this bit from Blazing Saddles echoes in my head. Governor William J. Le Petomane: We've gotta protect our phoney baloney jobs, gentlemen! and that is exactly what all of them have done because they think we're too dumb to have noticed.

Too dumb to notice that this same bunch of folks elected to fix stuff managed to pull off a fake town with a tollgate.

They tell us that the Affordable Care Act is bad and voted too many times to kill it because it wasn't working for the American people, then they turned around saying veterans should go into that mess as well since the VA was not working right. OK, but they never managed to explain how they didn't fix the VA since they had jurisdiction over it since 1946 or how they didn't fix the issues with the ACA.

We paid the bill with taxes and mortuary fees.

This same bunch wrote bills and rules, plus spent money to fund them while they told us the troops and veterans needed help to survive. Knowing we'd never complain about spending money on them, they just repeated the same failed bills they wrote before. Not sure how they didn't end up with writers cramp to go along with their writer's block void of original ideas.

And that takes us back to President Obama and a speech he gave back in 2008. Well, not so much a speech as it was a promise.

Running for the nomination, then Senator Obama found out about Montana National Guardsman Spec. Chris Dana committing suicide.

Chris Dana came home from the war in Iraq in 2005 and slipped into a mental abyss so quietly that neither his family nor the Montana Army National Guard noticed.

He returned to his former life: a job at a Target store, nights in a trailer across the road from his father's house. When he started to isolate himself, missing family events and football games, his father urged him to get counseling. When the National Guard called his father to say that he'd missed weekend duty, Gary Dana pushed his son to get in touch with his unit.

''I can't go back. I can't do it,'' Chris Dana responded.

Things went downhill from there. He blew though all his money, and last March 4, he shot himself in the head with a .22-caliber rifle. He was 23 years old.

With the press reporting on every move he made, he managed to get away from them for a bit and went to go meet with Dana's stepbrother.

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.

Kuntz was heavy with emotion, but hopeful and eager to share Dana’s story, and tell the senator about his work to ensure other Montana veterans aren’t suffering from the same condition that made his step-brother take his life.

So Obama made another speech

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, speaking Wednesday in Billings, faulted Republican leaders for chronically underfunding veteran services for troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I have some significant differences with McCain and George Bush about the war in Iraq,” Obama said. “But one thing I thought we'd agree to is when the troops came home, we'd treat them with the honor and respect they deserve.”

Several trends indicate veterans are not getting the health care and other benefits they need to succeed at home, Obama told a group of around 200 people during an invitation-only morning listening session in Riverfront Park.

Followed by this,

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.

But speeches and promises didn't really amount to much after Obama was in fact elected. This was reported in 2009. Army official: Suicides in January 'terrifying'

Last week, in releasing the report that showed a record number of suicides in 2008, the Army said it soon will conduct servicewide training to help identify soldiers at risk of suicide.

The program, which will run February 15 through March 15, will include training to recognize behaviors that may lead to suicide and instruction on how to intervene. The Army will follow the training with another teaching program, from March 15 to June 15, focused on suicide prevention at all unit levels.

The 2008 numbers were the highest annual level of suicides among soldiers since the Pentagon began tracking the rate 28 years ago. The Army said 128 soldiers were confirmed to have committed suicide in 2008, and an additional 15 were suspected of having killed themselves. The statistics cover active-duty soldiers and activated National Guard and reserves.

The Army's confirmed rate of suicides in 2008 was 20.2 per 100,000 soldiers. The nation's suicide rate was 19.5 per 100,000 people in 2005, the most recent figure available, Army officials said last month.

Suicides for Marines were also up in 2008. There were 41 in 2008, up from 33 in 2007 and 25 in 2006, according to a Marines report.

In addition to the new training, the service has a program called Battlemind, intended to prepare soldiers and their families to cope with the stresses of war before, during and after deployment. It also is intended to help detect mental-health issues before and after deployments.

Battlemind was followed by another miserable failure called Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, predicted to so poorly researched it would in fact increase suicides by feeding the stigma at the same time failing to provide any kind of understanding what PTSD is.

It got worse for service members along with veterans at the same time everyone was heading to the feeding trough to get what they could without ever having to explain or account for anything when suicides went up. Heck, they even got away with it when the number of servicemembers went down but suicides didn't follow with the flow out.

Oh, ya, but wait, wait this gets even better. All that training ended up leaving the OEF and OIF veterans triple their peer rate for suicides, yet not one single fine had to be repaid to the tax payers or to the families when they had to pay for funerals every year.

Now maybe you know why I would rather watch a rerun of Criminal Minds instead of spending one more second on yet one more President leaving office without living up to the promises he made running to get into the chair as Commander-in-Chief.

President Obama is leaving office without holding any of the Joint Chiefs accountable for any of this! Hey, heard congress is writing another bill for "prevention" so I bet he'll sign that one too without ever once wondering why nothing has worked in all these years he's had the time to do it.

Senator-Iraq Veteran Blames Plagiarism on Combat PTSD?

Senator John Walsh has turned a unique situation into a scandal. Having managed to become the Montana Senator, after combat and after being hit by PTSD, he was an outstanding example of what is possible for all of our veterans. Now it appears he wants to use having PTSD as an excuse for plagiarism. He should have simply offered a heartfelt apology instead of using it as an excuse. He can still turn this around if he stops listening to his political advisors and starts listening to veterans with PTSD about what he can do for them.

Montana senator says he was being treated for PTSD when he used unattributed work in thesis
Senator says he had PTSD when he wrote thesis
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jul 23, 2014

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Sen. John Walsh of Montana said Wednesday his failure to attribute conclusions and verbatim passages lifted from other scholars' work in his thesis to earn a master's degree from the U.S. Army War College was an unintentional mistake caused in part by post-traumatic stress disorder.

The apparent plagiarism first reported by The New York Times was the second potentially damaging issue raised this year involving the Democrat's 33-year military career, which has been a cornerstone of his campaign to keep the seat he was appointed to in February when Max Baucus resigned to become U.S. ambassador to China.

National Democrats said Wednesday they remained "100 percent behind Sen. Walsh" in his campaign against Republican Rep. Steve Daines.

Walsh told The Associated Press when he wrote the thesis, he had PTSD from his service in Iraq, was on medication and was dealing with the stress of a fellow veteran's recent suicide.

"I don't want to blame my mistake on PTSD, but I do want to say it may have been a factor," the senator said. "My head was not in a place very conducive to a classroom and an academic environment."

Walsh submitted his thesis, titled "The Case for Democracy as a Long Term National Strategy," to earn his Master of Strategic Studies degree in 2007, nearly two years after he returned from Iraq and about a year before he became Montana's adjutant general overseeing the state's National Guard and Department of Military Affairs.

The paper includes a series of unattributed passages taken from the writings of other scholars.
read more here

Montana National Guardsman remind folks of second class Army

Paralyzed veteran defends Sen. John Walsh (D-Mont.) in new ad
Washington Post
BY SEAN SULLIVAN
June 19, 2014

Sen. John Walsh (D-Mont.) released a new TV Thursday in which a retired soldier who served under Walsh's command in Iraq defends his military record against Republican attacks that note Walsh was reprimanded by the U.S. Army.

In the commercial shared with Post Politics, retired Staff Sgt. John Bennett, who was paralyzed from the waist down after taking sniper fire, vouches for Walsh, who he says "went to bat for us."

Walsh is a former adjutant general of the Montana National Guard who led more than 700 soldiers in Iraq from 2004 to 2005. Bennett served under his command in Iraq.
read more here

Montana National Guard couple deploy together for third time

Husband, wife deploy together for the 3rd time with MT Guard
Posted: Apr 15, 2013
KPAX News

HELENA - The Montana National Guard's 1-189 deployed from Helena for Fort Hood, Texas a few weeks ago, with part of the battalion is receiving special training in Fort Bliss, including one married couple who are sharing their third deployment together.

Theirs isn't a typical love story. They're both deployed with the first of the 1-189 General Support Aviation Battalion.

"Circumstances kind of just brought us together and we've been together ever since," said Staff Sergeant Cheyne Unckles, a crew chief with the 1-189.

The Unckles were married in 2011. Cheyne works as a helicopter crew chief and Tova is in quality control.

"I used to see helicopters everywhere I went, so now I'm doing exactly what I wanted to do as a kid," said Cheyne.

Tova has a more practical reason. "For the education benefits, so I could go to school," said Staff Sergeant Tova Unckles.

It's been less than a year since finishing their last deployment and again they've left behind their two boys, Kendrick who is eight, and Kai, who is six.
read more here

Montana National Guard "nonexistent suicide-awareness plan"

Veteran: 'I just always hoped that I would be in that freak car accident'
Billings Gazette
10 hours ago
By Cindy Uken

When Casey Elder enlisted in the Montana Army National Guard as a 17-year-old, she was not impressed with the organization’s nearly nonexistent suicide-awareness plan.

She and her friends called it a joke.

She recalls attending a short class during basic training on how to recognize the warning signs of depression and suicide and how to report it. She recalls no specific training prior to her deployment to Iraq, where she worked as a gunner for security envoys, armed with an M249 squad automatic weapon, an M16 and pistol.

While helping rebuild Baghdad’s police departments, her Humvee was struck by a roadside bomb. She suffered permanent nerve damage in her wrist, elbow and shoulder. She suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

When she arrived home, Elder, now 28 and living in Billings, said there was a little more talk about suicide awareness and prevention during a one-hour PowerPoint program and she was handed an 800 number to call.

“That’s about the extent of it,” she said.

Once Elder left the Guard, she became separated from those with whom she deployed and others in the military. She did not talk to her fellow service members and became despondent.

“I never wanted to take my own life, but I did struggle with wanting to be dead and not having to deal with the struggles, the PTSD and the brain injury,” Elder said. “I just always hoped that I would be in that freak car accident.”
read more here

Seven of the men who deployed to Iraq with Ryan Ranalli have committed suicide

Veterans twice as likely to commit suicide as civilians

Veterans twice as likely to commit suicide as civilians

Veterans twice as likely to commit suicide as civilians
Billings Gazette
7 hours ago
By Cindy Uken

They return from war traumatized.

They have survived the grinding stress of being in constant danger. They have seen the worst. Some have injuries that will never heal.

To stay alive, they have learned to trust no one and to never show weakness.

It’s something they don’t want to talk about.

And it’s killing them.

Veterans commit suicide at a rate that is twice the national average. In fact, the annual military death toll from suicides has for several years exceeded the number killed on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

For some returning vets, their injuries are obvious. Many others struggle with unseen wounds like post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries.

But, it’s not just combat vets. In 2010, at least 54 percent of U.S. military suicides had no history of deployment and 89 percent had no combat experience, according to the U.S. Department of Defense’s one-year-old Suicide Prevention Office.

Even for healthy veterans, returning home isn’t always a relief. Many miss the structure of military life and the companionship of their comrades. They find themselves competing for jobs with younger workers who have more up-to-date training. And some return to relationships that have withered or even broken in their absence.

It can all be too much.

In Montana, where nearly 10 percent of the population has served in the military, at least 460 veterans committed suicide between 2002 and 2011, according to the Montana Department of Health and Human Services.

“We go to war to protect ourselves and to give our kids, our grandkids and ourselves the lifestyle we have every day,” said Kellie Lafave, an RN and suicide prevention coordinator for VA Montana since 2005. “Sometimes we don’t want to think about the consequences of what we ask people to do in order to make that happen.”

The rate of suicides among veterans in Montana reflects the state’s high rate.
read more here

Seven of the men who deployed to Iraq with Ryan Ranalli have committed suicide

Montana National Guard non-existant suicide prevention plan

Seven of the men who deployed to Iraq with Ryan Ranalli have committed suicide

Right now I'm struggling trying to figure out the best post title to do this report justice. Too many parts of this story that need to be paid attention to and yet I'm wondering why we still have to read stories like this after all these years.

Veteran: 'You're taught in the military that you don't ask for help'
Billings Gazette
8 hours ago
By Cindy Uken

“You’re taught in the military that you don’t ask for help,” Ranalli said. “If you do, it’s a sign of weakness, especially in the infantry, to talk to somebody or to ask for help. You’re looked down upon. It’s just kind of beat into you. You’re supposed to be self-sufficient.”

HELENA — Seven of the men who deployed to Iraq with Ryan Ranalli have committed suicide. The latest killed himself in August.

Ranalli, a retired U.S. Army sergeant, saw how the deaths gutted family members.

Despite struggling with the demons of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, Ranalli, 33, vowed that suicide would never be an option.

Yet about 9 p.m. on April 8, an angry and drunken Ranalli mumbled something to his wife, “I love you,” or “You know I will always love you” and sought refuge in the family’s garage.

There, the 200-pound, 6-foot, 3-inch veteran grabbed a parachute cord, wrapped it around his neck and slung it over a beam.

His horrified wife, Jamie, placed a frantic call to his parents who live two minutes away and then went to the garage to be with her husband of two years.

“I thought if I was standing there he wasn’t going to do anything,” Jamie said, choking back tears.

Ranalli’s father cut the cord to rescue his son.

He was transported immediately to the VA hospital.

The drunken episode was the first in about two years.

“I didn’t ever expect that to happen,” Jamie said. “That’s never been him. In my heart I don’t believe it was a serious attempt. I believe it was a cry for help. I believe he was just so overloaded with the feelings and the emotions. Of course, the drinking didn’t help any of that. I believe he was screaming to get him somewhere where he could unload all of this.”

Ranalli remembers nothing of that night, but recalls with precision the events that led to his alcohol-fueled decision.

He was a squad leader with the 502nd Infantry Brigade in March 2003 when it headed the 101st Airborne’s combat air assault into Iraq. The ninth anniversary of the invasion triggered memories of dates when comrades were killed and of defining firefights and battles. He recalled vivid images of combat, images he had suppressed and never discussed.
read more here

In 2007 I asked Why Isn't the Press on a Suicide Watch? Within the list of names was Spc. Chris Dana of the Montana National Guard. His death caused people to take action. Before President Obama was elected the first time, he met with Dana's stepbrother.

August 28, 2008

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.

All these later, I am still collecting stories of deaths that didn't need to happen and still asking why the press in not on suicide watch. If I can find these stories in small press outlets, so can they but they just don't bother to.

There is another report from the Billings Gazette released today.

Montana National Guard non-existing suicide prevention plan

Accountability AWOL on Military Suicides

Accountability AWOL on Military Suicides
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
December 10, 2012
Can all military suicides be attributed to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? No, but in order to answer that question honestly, you first have to know what PTSD is.

PTSD is an invader. It comes to 1 out of 3 people exposed to the same traumatic event. Some use one 1 of 5, but the longterm research has supported the 1 out of 3.) The American Psychological Association defines trauma this way.

"Trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape or natural disaster. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical. Longer term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea. While these feelings are normal, some people have difficulty moving on with their lives. Psychologists can help these individuals find constructive ways of managing their emotions."

We can acknowledge that civilians can end up with PTSD without going to war but the DOD has a problem acknowledging that when a soldier has not gone yet. One person's "trauma" may not be so bad for others exposed to the same thing. While all military suicides cannot be connected to the trauma of experiencing combat, they are all connected to the loss of hope that the next day will be better than today.

The military points out that some of the servicemen and women committed suicide without ever deploying. They avoid the fact that training itself can be very traumatic for some of these young men and women. They are broken down to be trained, push their bodies past where they have on their own. They are enduring so many changes that the reality of what they just committed to can in itself be too traumatic to handle. They also hear about others serving in combat not only being shot at and killed, but blown up by an IED, being burned, losing limbs and suffering from traumatic brain injuries. When the DOD says "they were not deployed" you need to remember most of them were just kids right out of high school and the fear, the loss of hope was as real to them as being in combat itself. The days of thinking war was like a computer game ended when they arrived into harsh reality world.

Then they avoid the fact that less than half of the military personnel needing help for PTSD seek it. The stigma is just about as strong as their desire to go home after deployment. The other factor is another part of the training they receive sold as making them "resilient" and training their brains to be mentally tough enough to handle combat. This translates into their minds that if they should end up with PTSD it is their fault for being weak minded and not training right. It started with "Battlemind" and evolved into "Resiliency Training."

Unless this program is taken apart we will see more suicides.

I believe the members of the House and Senate do care about our troops and are saddened by the rise in military suicides but they have shown little evidence they have learned from all these years of research.

The best example of this was the speech Senator Max Baucus when he talks about the number of suicide from Montana.

If you just watch this video, knowing nothing, you will think they may just have gotten active addressing suicides, but you'd be totally wrong.

The fact is Montana has been trying to do something about military suicides since 2008. Spc. Chris Dana of the Montana National Guard committed suicide. In August of 2008 while still a Senator, President Obama traveled to Montana to meet with Dana' stepbrother, Matt Kuntz, who became a advocate for PTSD treatment programs to prevent more like Dana taking their own lives.

Rise of Military Suicides Driven By More Than War
By John M Donnelly
Roll Call Staff
Dec. 9, 2012

An emotional Max Baucus took to the Senate floor recently to talk about an article in his home state’s top newspaper that he said “hit me in the gut.”

Montana leads the nation in suicides per capita, the article said. And many of them were military personnel and veterans. Baucus then told of the 2007 suicide of an Iraq War veteran of multiple tours who had been affected by post-traumatic stress disorder.

Before taking his life, he told a relative he feared returning to Iraq because he thought he would be killed.

“That caused him to be very depressed, and it caused his suicide,” Baucus said.

The six-term Democrat was on the floor to tout the latest initiative an alarmed Congress has adopted to combat the rising numbers of military suicides. For 2012, the Pentagon has reported a record number — 320 suicides, or nearly one a day. That’s double the number of suicides in 2001, before more than a decade of war began.

The pressures of combat on soldiers has undoubtedly contributed to the problem.

However, military statistics reveal that most of the service members who killed themselves in recent years never deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. And of those who went to war, most of those who took their own lives never saw combat.
read more here

So now you have some background on what I've been tracking all these years. While reporters can just take what they claim and never look back on what they said long ago, it renders the article useless because nothing changes no matter how many Bills the Congress passes, speeches they give and hearings they hold. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in suicide prevention only to discover it is all getting worse yet no one is being held accountable. Thousands of our veterans are dead! Don't you think the Congress should be wondering why after all they "tried" to do produced these deplorable results?

Senator Baucus sponsored another military suicide prevention bill

Senator Baucus sponsored another military suicide prevention bill
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
December 2, 2012

Don't count me among the people thinking another suicide prevention bill is a good thing. Some people in this country may be really hopeful over this but for me, I've been tracking all of this too long to gain any hope when they show no signs of changing anything.

In 2008 when most people in this country focused on the election of President Obama as the "first black President" in good ways as well as bad ways, I was focused on PTSD and military suicides.

For me that was the issue that matter to me the most.

In May of 2008 I broke my own rule about posting an entire report when I posted U.S. must battle against stigma of mental war wounds because all too often important reports are lost in the archives of newspapers. This one came out of The Billings Gazette. I just checked the link and it is not working, much like the rest of the things I hoped for have not worked.

Senator Max Baucus sponsored another suicide prevention bill along with Senator Tester. In his speech, Senator Baucus mentioned what Montana has been doing to get ahead of military suicides. It made me cry.

Baucus Secures Military Suicide Prevention Program in National Defense Bill
Senator Continues Longstanding Battle Against PTSD
Posted: Thursday, November 29, 2012

(Washington, D.C.) - Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus secured an amendment to the National Defense Reauthorization bill that will create a comprehensive and standardized suicide prevention program for military service members. This is the latest step in Baucus' longstanding efforts to address Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury. Baucus took to the Senate floor today to raise awareness of the need to provide mental health care and support for troops and veterans. The Amendment was also co-sponsored by Montana Senator Jon Tester.

"When duty calls, Montanans answer proudly. This is about taking care of these men and women, just as they have taken care of us. These people have put their lives on the line in the name of freedom. And we have a responsibility to do everything we can to help them return to their families and lives back home," Baucus said on the Senate floor today.

"Montana's military men and women make tremendous sacrifices on the battlefield, but too often they return home with wounds unseen," Tester said. "This measure makes sure we live up to our responsibilities to them and puts everyone on the same page when it comes to making sure our hard-working men and women get the care they earned."

Baucus also inserted a provision in the 2010 Defense Authorization bill that implemented a successful PTSD screening program at the Montana National Guard nationwide. This year's defense bill builds on that provision and advances Baucus' efforts to get Montana veterans and service members get the mental health care they deserve.

The amendment passed the week is known as the Mental Health ACCESS Act. The provision will:

·Create a comprehensive, standardized suicide prevention program within the Department of Defense;
·Expand eligibility for VA mental health services to family members of veterans;
·Create more peer to peer counseling opportunities; and
·Require the VA to establish accurate and reliable measures for mental health services.

This is who Senator Baucus was talking about.

What They Found in the Wastebasket
Suicide shocks Montana into assessing vets' care
Chris Adams
McClatchy Newspapers

HELENA, Mont. — Chris Dana came home from the war in Iraq in 2005 and slipped into a mental abyss so quietly that neither his family nor the Montana Army National Guard noticed.

He returned to his former life: a job at a Target store, nights in a trailer across the road from his father's house.

When he started to isolate himself, missing family events and football games, his father urged him to get counseling. When the National Guard called his father to say that he'd missed weekend duty, Gary Dana pushed his son to get in touch with his unit.

"I can't go back. I can't do it," Chris Dana responded.

Things went downhill from there. He blew though all his money, and last March 4, he shot himself in the head with a .22-caliber rifle. He was 23 years old.

As Gary Dana was collecting his dead son's belongings, he found a letter indicating that the National Guard was discharging his son under what are known as other-than-honorable conditions. The move was due to his skipping drills, which his family said was brought on by the mental strain of his service in Iraq.

The letter was in the trash, near a Wal-Mart receipt for .22-caliber rifle shells.

All across America, veterans such as Chris Dana are slipping through the cracks, left to languish by their military units and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The link to the above story still work so you'll be able to read the rest of this report.

Back then they were not reporting military suicide numbers. Think Progress has this military suicide report still up on their site. Take a look at what the numbers turned out to be when the DOD actually had to start reporting the suicides.

Did you see how the numbers went up? I had such high hopes in 2008 when President Obama was elected because unlike McCain, he was paying attention to military suicides and PTSD. I still think he cares but with cold hard facts proving what they have been doing since 2008 have not worked at all, repeating another bill based on the same thing is heartbreaking.

Here are some facts you should know. These reports are from my blog.

Suicide death of Spc. Chris Dana causes change in Montana National Guard
Montana Guard confronts post-combat stress head-on in wake of suicide
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
Tribune Projects Editor

HELENA — Montana's National Guard is becoming a model of how to help service members adjust to post-combat stress.

"Montana has gone beyond the level of other states in the country, and I applaud that," said Capt. Joan Hunter, a U.S. Public Service officer who was recently designated the director of psychological health for the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C.

"They saw an emergency need, studied the problems and make some significant improvements," Hunter said Friday.

State Adjutant General Randy Mosley said that the effort stems from a former Montana soldier who didn't get the help he needed and who killed himself a year ago.

"We want to make sure we're doing everything we can to help our people and their families pick up the pieces for the problems that may have begun during their deployment in Iraq," Mosley said last week.

"The Guard has done an unbelievable job in changing," said Matt Kuntz, a Helena attorney and stepbrother of the late Spc. Chris Dana, who killed himself March 4, 2007.

In Billings, Obama blames GOP for veteran troubles
By TOM LUTEY
Billings Gazette

BILLINGS - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, speaking Wednesday in Billings, faulted Republican leaders for chronically underfunding veteran services for troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I have some significant differences with McCain and George Bush about the war in Iraq,” Obama said. “But one thing I thought we'd agree to is when the troops came home, we'd treat them with the honor and respect they deserve.”

Several trends indicate veterans are not getting the health care and other benefits they need to succeed at home, Obama told a group of around 200 people during an invitation-only morning listening session in Riverfront Park.

Armed services veterans are seven times more likely to be homeless than Americans who don't serve. In Montana, roughly half the veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder go untreated for the psychological condition, Obama said.

Before speaking, the candidate met for several minutes with the family of Spec. Chris Dana, a Montana National Guard veteran suffering from PTSD who committed suicide in March 2007, several months after returning from Iraq. Dana's stepbrother, Matt Kuntz, became a vocal advocate for better treatment of PTSD after Dana's death.

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.

Obama win also means PTSD work gets new hero
November 5, 2008
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.

I still think he's paying attention but the problem is the experts the congress has been listening to have not provided the relief these veterans need but instead of doing something differently, they repeat the same thing hoping for different results and leaving more and more families grieving by a graveside and blaming themselves.

Romney has a "specific" problem

Romney has a "specific" problem
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
August 21, 2012


I don't like political emails from either side. I usually hit delete unless it involves veterans.

At first I thought this was some kind of yet another political attack against Romney coming from the opposition but I followed where the article came from and found it on USA Today.

Linked from Daily Kos is this.

Romney, Ryan fault Obama on Afghanistan
By Jackie Kucinich
USA TODAY
Aug 20, 2012

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and his running mate, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, criticized President Obama Monday for his handling of the war in Afghanistan during a town hall-style event here that offered a rare opportunity during this campaign season to talk about the ongoing conflict.

"I have a very pressing question to ask you," the man said. "If you guys take over Washington, what are you going to do about this damn mess in Afghanistan?"

Romney, who has been critical of the president for not defining the mission of the war in Afghanistan, pledged to "communicate to the American people" about the cause and goals of any conflict while troops are in harm's way.

"I can tell you this, when I become commander in chief if I'm so lucky, I will address the American people about these issues," which Obama has not done, Romney said. "With regards to Afghanistan, I will do everything in my power to transition from our military to their military as soon as possible, bring our men and women home and do so in a way consistent with our mission, which is to keep Afghanistan from being overrun by a new entity that would allow Afghanistan to be a launching point for terror again like it was on 9/11."
read more here

Let's get honest here. No one running for office of any kind knows everything about everything. Romney isn't even aware that Obama does have plans for Afghanistan and even has a date to get the troops back home. While it would be wonderful if he also had a plan to stop Afghans from pretending to be on the troops side then blowing them away would be a great thing to do, Romney either lied or didn't know. That is why they hire experts on every subject to advise them. Case in point is when President Obama was running for office, he was well aware of military suicides because he had an advisor telling him what was going on. He traveled very quietly to the Montana National Guard because of what they were doing to address suicides.

Spc. Chris Dana's story told to Obama by step brother
August 28, 2008

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.

I was very impressed he knew that at the time, the Montana National Guard had the best program going on. It was my job to know since I track all of this across the country focusing on Combat PTSD and military suicides. I couldn't figure out how Obama knew. Then it dawned on me that he had found the right experts to find out what was going on. He was also on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee proving he did care. After all his Grandfather was a veteran.

There is no way anyone could know without getting the right advice. That seems to be Romney's biggest problem. He isn't specific about anything. He is smart of he wouldn't have made so much money. So how can this smart guy with a lot of money fail when it comes to getting advice on what he should do to straighten out all the problems this country has. It is not that Romney is new to how things get done since he's been running for President over and over again. Does he even know Ryan's budget calls for the VA budget to be cut by $11 billion? Or that it also calls for privatizing it?

If he does have a plan then the voters need to know what it is specifically! If he doesn't have plans for all of this mess, then voters need to know especially this close to the day they have to decide who should run this country next. If Romney hasn't hired the right people to advise him after all this time, who will he hire if he gets the job he's going after? Will it be more of the same of either bad advice or no advice at all?

New program aimed to help Montana vets deal with PTSD

New program aimed to help MT vets deal with PTSD
Posted: Nov 13, 2011 11:14 PM by Amanda Venegas

BILLINGS - With so many service members returning home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, post traumatic stress disorder is a reality for some of these veterans. Senator Jon Tester, D- Mont., says a new program called Access Received Closer to Home, or ARCH, will now take place in Billings and in Anaconda.

A.R.C.H. will allow veterans to use their healthcare benefits to receive medical care in facilities closer to where they live. According to Senator Tester, the program will allow veterans to get care faster and reduce the number of patients waiting to get treatment.
read more here

Manhunt for militiaman who vowed to fight Guard

Manhunt for militiaman who vowed to fight Guard
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jun 13, 2011 13:52:41 EDT
MISSOULA, Mont. — A manhunt was on Monday in the northwestern Montana woods for a former militia leader who authorities say fired on deputies and previously told police “he wasn’t going to be taken down like last time.”

Police have been searching for David Burgert since Sunday morning, after he fled in his Jeep when officers stopped to make a check on a vehicle at a picnic site near Lolo on U.S. Highway 12.

Burgert is the former leader of a Flathead County militia group known as Project 7, named for the number “7” on Flathead County license plates. Project 7 allegedly plotted to assassinate local officials, go to war with the National Guard and overthrow the federal government.
read more here
Manhunt for militiaman who vowed to fight Guard

Montana lets National Guards know they are really welcomed home

National Guard soldiers honored in Missoula
Posted: Mar 6, 2011 5:55 PM by Allyson Weller (KPAX News)

MISSOULA- The Montana National Guard honored more than 30 soldiers from the 230th Vertical Engineer Company based out of Hamilton at the Freedom Salute Ceremony.

The event took place at the Hilton Garden Inn in Missoula and welcomed back Montana soldiers who returned from combat in Afghanistan in January. The purpose of the ceremony was not only to honor them, but to help with the transition from soldier to civilian.

"This event is actually the capstone for the last two years that we have trained, were deployed, were re-deployed, and we've started to integrate back into the community and with our families," said Captain Candice Griffith.

"This is pretty important because they've had a lot of problems in the past where they have had suicide and they've had divorcees and problems within families," said Specialist Farrah Warner.

The Montana National Guard holds events 30 days, 60 days and 90 days after soldiers return home to help them integrate back into civilian life.
read more here
National Guard soldiers honored in Missoula

Montana National Guard gets support from Austalia

Here are just a few stories covered over the years on the Montana National Guard. This is something the cable news does not cover but is very important in the fight to save their lives. There are over 30 posts on the Montana National Guard's efforts to save the men and women we sent into combat.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Why Montana National Guard is taking PTSD head on


Monday, December 1, 2008

The death of Chris Dana changed Montana National Guard

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Obama win also means PTSD work gets new hero

Yellow ribbon program supports Montana National Guard
By Louisa Barber

Sidney Herald
Published on Sunday, September 19, 2010 7:09 AM MDT
They served this country, and they won’t be forgotten for it. Not through the Montana Yellow Ribbon Program, a year-old program dedicated to assisting the state’s Army National Guard soldiers through deployment.

On tour throughout the state, representatives of the National Guard visited Sidney for a luncheon and meeting in an attempt to reach out to the public to earn its support of its members. “Ultimately, this is the way to see success,” Ryan Luchau, outreach and marketing coordinator, said.

The Montana Yellow Ribbon Program, created in January 2009, is geared to assist service members and families going through deployment or those recently returned from a deployment. The program stemmed from reintegration issues and includes a three-step process. First is the pre-deployment academy in which soldiers and their families go through a workshop to discuss what to expect during and after deployment.

The second phase takes place during deployment. Families left behind are offered support through activities and training for when their loved one returns. It also includes monthly morale checks with returning soldiers and identifying at-risk service members. Being prepared and aware of who families can call to get assistance is a great asset.

The third phase is conducted once the service member returns and includes two steps: the 30-day post-deployment, which is re-establishing connection with family, the employer and the community, and the 60-day post-deployment which focuses on discussing problems, going through anger and stress management as well as suicide prevention.
read more here
Yellow ribbon program supports Montana National Guard

PTSD is a huge trust test that we have failed

PTSD is a huge trust test that we have failed
by
Chaplain Kathie

There are many things being done to address PTSD that were not being done when other veterans came home from combat. What it took to accomplish this is someone had to care about doing something about it instead of watching them suffer. PTSD is not new. It's what happens to one out of three humans after traumatic events. It has been around as long as man has walked this planet and will be around until the end of our existence here. We cannot control other people. We cannot control nature. We cannot stop all wars any more than we can stop all criminals from deciding they are of more value than anyone else. We cannot prevent all fires, car accidents, plane crashes, drowning deaths or anything else that has been proven to induce PTSD. What we can do is prevent what comes after. For what we cannot prevent, we can alleviate the hell after the trauma.

First look at the different types of trauma. Some are caused by nature and survivors have a little easier time making peace with it because there is no one to blame for it. They thank God they survived as they mourn the loss of those who did not. Some will walk away thinking God did it to them as some sort of punishment and they will have a harder time healing from it. It also gets harder to heal if what came after trauma was more suffering. As with Katrina, they survived the hurricane but then saw help delayed, bodies in the streets, families separated into different states and the list goes on. Much of what is happening in Haiti since the earthquake is worse for them than the earthquake itself. It will take much longer time to heal and a lot more effort to help them heal because of the aftermath.

A survivor of fires caused by nature will recover more easily than one caused by the acts of a person. The list goes on. What is harder to recover from is when someone else caused the traumatic event or made it worse.

This is why combat takes such a heavy toll on the men and women we send. Wars are all caused by man and they witness what man is capable of doing to man. The goal of war is to defeat and destroy what cannot be defeated. The terrorists actions we've seen have been done in order to cause as much suffering as possible because they know the survivors will suffer after constantly looking over their shoulder wondering when the next act of violence will strike. They have no control over what other people do. They operate under no rules. Civilians are their favorite target, men, women and children. The military has rules and while they train to take out "bad guys" they do not intend to take out civilians. With Iraq and Afghanistan, much like Vietnam, there were no clear targets to take out. Someone can appear to be just minding their own business only to turn around and blow themselves up. These unbelievable actions take hold. The soldiers know they cannot trust what they see and are forever changed by their experiences.

When they come home, if there is more suffering inflicted because there is only judgment against them, belittling when try to open up about what is going on inside of them or they are handed pills instead of help, it adds to their loss of trust. When their families, the people they are supposed to be able to trust, turn against them because they don't understand why they act the way they do, it adds to their loss of trust. When they turn to the government, the DOD or the VA, for help, are responded with delayed claims being processed or a series of denials and appeals, this adds to the loss of trust. When they do end up going to a mental health provider with no idea what PTSD is, this makes PTSD worse and they lose trust yet again.

PTSD is a huge trust test that we have failed.

There is also the spiritual aspect involved when some will survive traumatic events, especially in combat, then believe God has abandoned them, judged them and have left them on their own to suffer. With little ability to trust another human, the loss of ability to trust God removes hope. If a soldier turns to a military Chaplain with no understanding of what PTSD is, then it makes it all worse, yet if they have a full knowledge, there is great healing possible, restoring faith in God's compassion and also restoring faith in man knowing someone cares enough to help.

Friday I attended a conference, Clinical Issues for Clinicians Working With OEF and OIF Veterans and their Families. The people attending were from all walks, psychiatrists, psychologist, social workers, veterans and me. All of us trying to make lives better for our veterans. Some of the questions came from psychologists addressing the issue of patients saying they do not believe in God. When people survive combat, or any other traumatic event, most of the time it is not a matter of they never believed in God, but lost the ability to believe. Mental health providers need to ask if the patient believe in God before or never had reason to believe and then take it from there instead of just assuming they never did. The spiritual aspect is vital to healing PTSD especially if the patient had faith before because they are now dealing with the loss of the faith they always had before.

There are conferences all over the country trying to get ahead of what combat is doing to our veterans so that finally the suicide rate will go down instead of up because we know it will take buddies, the chain of command, chaplains and the mental health workers while they are still enlisted, but it will also take the VA, doctors, social workers, nurses, claims processors, communities, clergy and especially families to help these veterans heal. The knowledge gained by all will help restore trust in the combat veteran and thus, help them heal.

This is what the Montana National Guard is doing with their Yellow Ribbon Program. They are putting together an army of people to help these veterans heal. They understand it is not just a matter of welcoming them back home and then assume they are finally safe. We lose more after combat than during it. The Montana National Guard managed to think outside the box and it appears to be working.

Coming home is the moment that troops deployed abroad dream about, but it's also a traumatic moment because soldiers are changed by combat. The Montana National Guard's Yellow Ribbon program is designed in part to help soldiers reintegrate into their families, their jobs and their communities. (PHOTO COURTESY OF MONTANA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD)

Montana model for PTSD detection to face first major test
By ERIC NEWHOUSE • Tribune Projects Editor • January 24, 2010
One of the largest troop deployments in the state since World War II will test the Montana model for combat stress assessment and treatment over the next couple of years.

It is a particularly important test because Montana's model of preparing families for deployment, assessing soldiers for post-traumatic stress disorder and mobilizing crisis response teams to help traumatized soldiers has become the nation's model.

"This would have been great stuff to have had on my first deployment," said Lt. Col. Ryck Cayer, commander of the 219th RED HORSE, who is facing his fourth tour of duty abroad. "I wish I'd had this kind of knowledge going in the first time."

The National Guard's determination to take better care of its soldiers who deploy was a result of the suicide of a former infantryman, Chris Dana from Helena, in March 2007.

Dana was one of approximately 700 soldiers from the 163rd Infantry who served in Iraq in 2004-05. Once he returned home, he began isolating himself. When he could no longer handle Guard drills, he received a less-than-honorable discharge and shot himself a few days later.

In a state with one of the nation's highest percentages of veterans per capita, Dana's death spurred calls for reform, which the Guard responded to immediately.

Among the Yellow Ribbon briefings are several on PTSD, alerting soldiers and their families of the danger signs such as hyper-vigilance, irritability, nightmares, flashbacks and excessive reliance on alcohol or drugs, as well as how to seek help if a service member displays those signs.

To make sure service members don't drop through the cracks, the Montana National Guard set up a system under which all service members returning from combat receive a mental health assessment — not just a self-report questionnaire — every six months for the first two years after their return.

"We've had problems with suicide and depression previously," Reiman said. "Combat is a new thing for many of these soldiers, and there's a lot of stress. It's a great benefit for returning airmen to provide an avenue to get them help.

"We can't judge them," he added. "We just have to give them help."

"Of the hundreds of guys that I talked with, every one of them had symptoms, things like hypersensitivity and irritability," he said. "And we had policemen and firemen and EMTs (emergency medical technicians) whose previous experiences may have contributed to their PTSD."
read more here
Montana model for PTSD detection to face first major test

So far with the suicides of veterans as well as active duty, we have failed this test of trust. The good news is, at least many are trying to change what has been done wrong with knowledge and a true understanding of how to help.

Montana Roundtable looks to boost care for vets

Roundtable looks to boost care for vets
By PETER JOHNSON • Tribune Staff Writer • November 12, 2009
Montana is the model for broader mental health screening for war veterans, but the state needs to do more to meet their other health and employment needs.

Those were some of the major points made in two back-to-back Veterans Day panel discussions led by U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.

About 25 people attended the nearly three-hour session in the Civic Center Commission Chambers.

Baucus said he is "deeply troubled" by the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and the increase in suicides among veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

He praised the Montana National Guard for creating a model program requiring more frequent mental health screenings for returning veterans.

Baucus successfully carried a federal bill that will require that system to be used nationwide.

He said veterans face other issues, including chronic claims backlogs, underfunded facilities, bureaucratic red tape and a lack of access to facilities in rural areas.

Susan Fuehrer, acting director for the Veteran Administration Montana Healthcare System, said the VA treated 31,744 Montana veterans last year, and is seeking to expand its service. Plans call for a 24-bed inpatient mental health center at Fort Harrison near Helena, veterans centers in Great Falls and Kalispell, and expanded rural health treatment in Plentywood and Hamilton.

Additionally, Buck Richardson, minority veteran program coordinator for the Rocky Mountain states, is trying to line up more veteran representatives on Indian reservations to help Native American vets learn about health benefits. He also hopes to arrange for more traveling psychologists to help provide screenings for PTSD.
read more here
Roundtable looks to boost care for vets

President Obama kept his promise on PTSD

When President Obama was running for the office, he made a trip to the Montana National Guard to take a look at the program they came up with to address suicides. Keep in mind that while I track this all day long everyday, then Senator Obama had a lot of other things to pay attention to. I knew this was one of the best programs out there, but so did Obama. That told me something right there. The man not only cared but was paying attention. He paid attention so much that he told the brother of Chris Dana, who committed suicide, that he would make sure this program went national if he ended up elected. President Obama just kept his promise with this.

Vet counseling programs national models

The Associated Press - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Oct 29, 2009 7:41:50 EDT

CONCORD, N.H. — Two veterans counseling measures based on New Hampshire programs have been signed into law.

The suicide prevention amendment was sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Congressman Paul Hodes. It requires that the Department of Defense establish a program to provide National Guard members and reservists, their families, and communities with training in suicide prevention and counseling in response to suicide.

The Yellow Ribbon Plus amendment, also sponsored by Shaheen, calls on the department to identify lessons learned from programs such as one in New Hampshire that identified the need for more personalized counseling and support services for National Guard and reservists and their families.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/ap_veterans_counseling_102909/

Vet-to-vet counseling available in Montana

Vet-to-vet counseling available in Montana
8/22/2009, 12:27 p.m. EDT
The Associated Press

(AP) — FORT HARRISON, Mont. - In a large, sparsely populated state like Montana, it can be difficult to make sure that returning war veterans get all the help they need.

Ryan Ranalli joined the Army in 2001 and was part of the 2003 invading force into Iraq. He was eventually "med-boarded" home and struggled with anger, anxiety and alcohol.

Vet-to-vet counseling was helpful, despite some initial uncertainty on Ranalli's part.


"When I finally got back here, I came to a (vet-to-vet) meeting, and when I first walked into it, I thought I was at a retirement home," he told the Independent Record in Helena. "Regardless of the generation gap, those guys were in combat and I was in combat. I can come to them with whatever problems I have, and they can relate to it."

The shared experience makes a difference, Ranalli said.

"These guys really understand what I was feeling, and what I'm still going through right now," he said. "PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) is hard for people who don't have it to relate to it. The people closest to us, we push them away."
read more here
Vet to vet counseling available in Montana

Montana National Guard's PTSD Testing Program Going National

Montana National Guard's PTSD Testing Program Going National

By KFBB News Team
Story Published: Jun 26, 2009 at 5:50 PM MDT



Story Updated: Jun 26, 2009 at 5:50 PM MDT

A program that started in Montana to help soldiers cope with the stress of war is now going national.

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) says legislation modeled after the Montana National Guard's screenings for post-combat stress injuries and suicidal tendencies in returning troops has been included in this year's defense authorization bill.

"We in Montana have raised the bar very high and we have set very high standards for in-person interviews for men and women when they come home to make sure they are okay," said Baucus. "This legislation gets the rest of the nation up to Montana's high standards so that our men and women when they come home are treated with the very best care."

An estimated 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders and the Army's suicide rate has increased every year since the Iraq War began in 2003.
go here for video
http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/49254727.html

NAMI Montana executive director Mat Kuntz nominated to All Stars

Sent from member of NAMI

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!