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.

After Suicide Marine's Wife Guest for State of the Union

While this is yet one more heartbreaking story of a widow left behind, it is even more so knowing all the other bills before this repeated "effort" failed. Had Congress taken the time to review what was done, failed and repeated, maybe, just maybe Justin Eldridge would be healing, instead of leaving a grieving widow.

Widow continues Marine veteran’s fight
Publication: The Day
By Deborah Straszheim
Published January 19. 2015

Joanna and Justin Eldridge are shown at a Marine Corps ball in Connecticut. Joanna Eldridge will be Sen. Richard Blumenthal's guest at Tuesday's State of the Union address in Washington. Justin Eldridge, who suffered from PTSD and took his own life in 2013 in Waterford, served in Afghanistan.
Photo courtesy of Joanna Eldridge

The widow of a U.S. Marine who took his own life after a battle with post-traumatic stress disorder, will travel to Washington, D.C., as Sen. Richard Blumenthal's guest at Tuesday's State of the Union address.

Joanna Eldridge had four young children and was caring for her 31-year-old husband, Justin Eldridge, at the time of his death in Waterford. He also had a traumatic brain injury that initially went undiagnosed. "Justin Eldridge is one of thousands of veterans who have lost their battle to invisible wounds of war," Blumenthal said in a news release issued last week. "Even as we lose another 22 veterans each day to suicide, we must not forget the spouses, children and community they leave behind."

Blumenthal is pushing for passage of the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, a bill aimed at improving mental health care and suicide prevention programs for servicemen and women.

The bill, which passed the House of Representatives last week, would evaluate suicide prevention programs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, improve coordination among veterans organizations and the VA and provide loan repayments for psychiatrists and mental health workers at the VA. The legislation would also boost community outreach and support services.
read more here

The rest of the story of Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg

UPDATE, The video on the DAV speech given by President Obama went viral since last night.

I was on a temp job yesterday and had to leave work a little early to go to a memorial service. The service was attended by mostly veterans gathered together to remember the son of one of the veterans. I was not able to watch the whole State of the Union speech President Obama gave. I won't be able to find out what else he said until much later today.

What I did see was the end. That was when President Obama talked about the troops and our disabled veterans.

Obama pointed out one of the guests, Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg. It was not the first time I heard him talk about this Army Ranger. His story was told to thousands at the DAV convention in August.

Aug 11, 2013
Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg  The Army Ranger was injured in Afghanistan in 2009 on his 10th tour of duty.

I filmed President Obama at the DAV convention and you can hear the entire 45 minutes of his speech broken up by subject.

Rightly so, Cory was given a standing ovation.

Cory Remsburg's Heartwrenching Story Draws Standing Ovation At The State Of The Union Address
The Huffington Post
By Paige Lavender
Posted: 01/28/2014

Army Ranger Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg received a standing ovation after President Barack Obama told his story during his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Remsburg, who sat next to First Lady Michelle Obama during the speech, was injured by a roadside bomb during his 10th deployment. Remsburg was in a coma for three months and partially paralyzed. Obama noted in his speech the soldier is still blind in one eye and "struggles on his left side."

"[S]lowly, steadily, with the support of caregivers like his dad Craig, and the community around him, Cory has grown stronger. Day by day, he’s learned to speak again and stand again and walk again – and he’s working toward the day when he can serve his country again," Obama said. "'My recovery has not been easy,' he says. 'Nothing in life that’s worth anything is easy.'"

"Cory is here tonight. And like the Army he loves, like the America he serves, Sergeant First Class Cory Remsburg never gives up, and he does not quit," Obama continued.
read more here

During President Obama's speech at the DAV he saved Cory's story for last part of his speech. There was the same reaction to Cory there as well. Michelle Obama talked about a Marine, Cpl. Perez and how so many risked their lives to get him to the help he needed with a live RPG in his leg.

Aug 10, 2013 First Lady Obama spoke at the DAV convention in Orlando today and told about the men and women she has met in the military and how they inspire her. She also talked about Marine Cpl. Winder Perez wounded with a live RPG in his leg. Of the Marines risking their lives to save his, of the helicopter crew risking their's and the bomb tech risking her life.

I believe they do care about the troops and our veterans. Michelle has been very active for them and their families. President Obama vowed to do whatever he could to reduce suicides. That is the most depressing thing in all of this because as more has been done for them, what is happening to them has not been met with solutions that work and no one has been held accountable. Suicides among the troops and veterans has gone up during a time when there has never been more to help them heal.

As I listened to the rest of President Obama's speech, I was waiting to hear that things were going to change for them but the speech ended and so did the lives of at least 22 veterans yesterday.

After waiting 46 years, Vietnam veteran's claim approved and heading to Washington

Vietnam vet a symbol of overcoming VA delays
Fort Lauderdale man will be in audience for Obama's State of Union address
Sun Sentinel
By William E. Gibson
Washington Bureau January 26, 2014

WASHINGTON
A Vietnam War veteran from Fort Lauderdale who suffered severe burns in combat and financial hardship back home will be watching from the House gallery Tuesday night when President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address.

Jeff Colaiacovo will represent all American service members, but especially the hundreds of thousands who endure bureaucratic snags and delays when seeking disability benefits.

His saga began 46 years ago with a mine explosion in Vietnam that left him temporarily blinded. A firefight a few months later burned a third of his body. After nearly a half-century of health problems, he began receiving $3,014 a month in disability payments this year with a boost from U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel and her staff.

Colaiacovo said he "almost fell to the floor" when Frankel, a Democrat from West Palm Beach, invited him to the Capitol to attend the president's address as her guest. "I feel so blessed," he said. "I will do whatever I can to help any vet."

For Frankel, the mother of a retired Marine, it's a chance to showcase service to constituents, especially veterans. For Colaiacovo, it's a way to signify that veterans can and should get what they deserve.
read more here

National Guardsman's Dad Going to State of Union after son's suicide

Dad of Army suicide victim going to State of Union
WBNS 10 News
By BY SETH SLABAUGH
Sunday January 26, 2014

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly is entitled to invite one guest to the State of the Union address on Tuesday.

The person Donnelly chose to give the ticket to — Farmland resident Jeff Sexton — confirms that Indiana's junior senator is serious about preventing military suicide.

Saxton's son, Army Spc. Jacob Sexton, 21, shot himself to death in October 2009 at a Muncie movie theater, where he was watching a show with his two brothers and a friend. A veteran of combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Sexton was home on a 15-day leave when he died.

"His parents are coming out for the State of the Union," Donnelly said during a visit to The Star Press on Thursday, the newspaper reported (http://tspne.ws/1e0E2pS ). "We asked them to come out and be with us for it. I think they're American heroes. His dad will watch it in the (House) chamber. I only get one ticket. His mom (Barbara) will watch it back in our offices."

Last year, Donnelly introduced the Jacob Sexton Military Suicide Prevention Act of 2013.

"His parents contacted us saying they wanted to try to be of help," Donnelly said. "This is an issue I have been working on. It's so searing and important. In 2012, we lost 349 (active) service members to suicide and 295 in combat. So we've lost more to suicide than we did to combat."

The bill would require mental health assessments to enhance detection of behaviors indicating a risk of suicide in members of the Armed Forces.

"Jacob's story was heartbreaking," Donnelly said. "I have spoken time and again on this issue ... and his family wanted to try to solve this problem, too. We met with them at Bruner's (Family Restaurant) here in Muncie, and they also came out to Washington. They don't want anybody's son or daughter to have to end their life."
read more here

This is the original report from 2009

October 14, 2009
Indiana National Guardsman committed suicide at movie theater
Spc. Jacob Sexton died because of war and because the military didn't make sure they were prepared to return home.

Guardsman home from war kills self in Ind. theater
Associated Press
7:12 p.m. CDT, October 13, 2009

MUNCIE, Ind. - The father of an Indiana National Guardsman who fatally shot himself inside a movie theater said Tuesday that the families of service members returning home from war need to closely watch them for signs of stress.

Spc. Jacob Sexton, 21, showed no signs of being suicidal before shooting himself in the head, the guardsman's father, Jeffrey Sexton of Farmland, said.

"We just need to watch these boys and the girls coming back home. Something's just not right. Too much is happening," Jeffrey Sexton told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Muncie police said Jacob Sexton had argued with theater employees on Monday night over having to show identification to see the R-rated horror comedy "Zombieland."

Twenty minutes into the film, a friend handed Sexton a 9 mm handgun, at the guardsman's request, and he then shot himself in the head, police said.

Why didn't MOH Romesha attend State of Union? Love

Here's a great Valentines Day love story!

Medal of Honor recipient declines State of the Union invite
By Stephen J. Lee Grand Forks Herald
16 minutes ago
Published: February 14, 2013

The Army veteran presented Monday with the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama made the unusual decision to decline the invitation of the first lady to sit beside her during the president's State of the Union address Tuesday night in Washington.

According to Capt. Dan Murphy of the North Dakota National Guard, who accompanied former Staff Sgt. Clint Romesha to Washington this week, the quiet hero gave up his box seat to history for reasons similar to why he quit the Army after nearly 12 years: his family and friends.

Tuesday was the 13th wedding anniversary of Romesha and his high school sweetheart, Tammy, who made the trip with him to Washington. She and their three children are the reason he left the Army in 2010, he said last month.
read more here

Obama to announce 34,000 troops to come home

Obama to announce 34,000 troops to come home
From Jake Tapper
CNN
February 12, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Sources: Obama to announce that by February 2014, 34,000 U.S. forces will be home
80% of registered voters support president's policy to end the Afghanistan war, poll shows
The White House has been considering a range of troop levels to remain in Afghanistan

(CNN) -- In his State of the Union speech Tuesday, President Obama will announce that by this time next year, 34,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan will have returned home, according to sources with knowledge of the president's speech.

The move will reduce the number of U.S. forces in the country by more than half. There are now about 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

A Washington Post poll out Tuesday morning shows that 80% of registered voters support the president's policy to end the war in Afghanistan.

In January, Obama met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Washington, where they agreed to accelerate the military transition in Afghanistan. Afghan forces will take the lead in combat missions throughout the country starting in spring, instead of midyear as was previously expected.

The White House has been considering a range of troop levels to remain in Afghanistan once the combat mission officially ends at the end of 2014, from as many as 15,000 troops to none at all.
read more here

State of Union Address Honoring Many Heroes

Medal of Honor recipient to be first lady’s guest at State of the Union
By Justin Sink
02/10/13

Former Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha, an Army veteran who will become only the fourth living service member from the Afghanistan conflict to be awarded the Medal of Honor, will be the guest of first lady Michelle Obama at Tuesday's State of the Union.

Fort Bliss soldier to be U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego's guest at State of the Union
By David Burge
El Paso Times
Posted: 02/12/2013
A Fort Bliss soldier who was wounded in Afghanistan will get to be an eyewitness to history and see President Obama's State of the Union address in person tonight.
It's a small way to thank Capt. Joshua Leone for his service, said U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Texas.

Wounded Army soldier from Oswego County to attend State of the Union address
By Mark Weiner
on February 12, 2013
Washington -- When President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address tonight, Donna Wilcox will watch it on TV with her family in Oswego County.
Her son will have an even better view: Army Spc. Ryan Wilcox, 24, will be among a special group of invitees watching the president speak in person at the U.S. Capitol.
Wilcox plans to attend the State of the Union address as a guest of Rep. Dan Maffei, D-DeWitt, who tracked down and offered his only guest ticket to the wounded veteran from New Haven in Oswego County.

Wounded Illinois soldier to be guest for State of Union address
Feb 12, 2013
Darin Copeland
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - A Purple Heart recipient from Illinois will be the guest of Assistant U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Dick Durbin at the State of the Union address.
Sgt. 1st Class Pedro Ortiz-Roman from Chicago will join the Illinois Democrat for President Barack Obama's fifth annual address before Congress.

Military guests at State of the Union

Military guests at tonight’s State of the Union
By LEO SHANE III
Published: January 24, 2012

WASHINGTON – The White House has announced its guest list for tonight’s State of the Union address.

Army Sgt. Ashleigh Berg -- Berg is from Malibu, California, and joined the United States Army in July of 2004. She has been stationed in South Korea and Germany, and has served two tours of duty in Iraq.

Retired Navy Capt. Mark Kelly -- Kelly is an American astronaut, best-selling author, and an experienced naval aviator who flew combat missions during the Gulf War. The winner of many awards, including the Legion of Merit, two Defense Superior Service Medals and two Distinguished Flying Crosses, Kelly was selected as an astronaut in 1996.

Navy Adm. William McRaven -- McRaven assumed command of the Joint Special Operations Command on June 13, 2008. Prior to assuming command, he served from June 2006 to March 2008 as commander, Special Operations Command Europe. In addition to his duties as COMSOCEUR, he was designated as the first director of the NATO Special Operations Forces Coordination Centre, where he was charged with enhancing the capabilities and inter-operability of all NATO Special Operations Forces.

Air Force Col. Ginger Wallace -- Colonel Ginger Wallace is an Air Force intelligence officer who has led airlift and intelligence operations during Operations Southern Watch, Provide Relief, Uphold Democracy, Allied Force, Enduring Freedom And Iraqi Freedom. She currently lives in McLean, Va., with her partner of over a decade, Kathy Knopf.

read more here

also

Military mentions in Obama speech were carefully phrased

Published: January 24, 2012

NPR's "It's All Politics" blog analyzed President Barack Obama's references to U.S. military operations in Tuesday's State of the Union address and concluded his words were carefully chosen.

The president didn't devote much of the speech to military issues, but he opened and closed with a tribute to the armed forces, holding out their "team" approach as an example for the rest of society. "At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down," he said, "they exceed all expectations. They're not consumed with personal ambition. They don't obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand."
read more here

Congressmen urged to invite Iraq Veterans to State of Union

Iraq vets invited to State of the Union

Posted: Jan 18, 2012

BIRMINGHAM, AL -
Congressman Spencer Bachus (AL-6) is urging Members of Congress to invite Iraq war veterans to attend next Tuesday's State of the Union Address in the U.S. Capitol.

In a bipartisan letter Wednesday, Congressman Bachus and Representatives Jeff Miller (FL), Tim Walz (MN), and Marcia Fudge (OH) asked colleagues to make a special effort to invite returning veterans to the House gallery for the Presidential address.

Bachus said his personal guest will be Noah Galloway of Alabaster, who was severely wounded in Iraq and has since become a spokesman for injured veterans.

State of the Union speech AWOL on troops and veterans

Let me make this perfectly clear from that start that President Obama has done a lot for veterans in his first two years. I know they matter to him just as much as the troops do and so do readers of this blog keeping track of all the changes at the same time you've read about how much more needs to be done. You've read about the suicides, arrests, struggles they face and too many heartbreaking stories to know all is not well for them. With Iraq and Afghanistan almost 2 million have been added to the veteran count but as they wait for the care this nation promised, their numbers have been reduced on the flip side because the care was not already waiting for them.

I understand this nation has big problems that need to be addressed. We need jobs and this I know all too well because I have been without a steady paying job since 2008. On health insurance reform we need to know that we cannot be canceled because of preexisting illnesses. This I know because it was one of my brother's greatest fears when he lost his job and less than a week later he died from a massive heart attack at the age of 56. Back in college I know the need for financial aid to help cover the cost of a college education. There is much this nation has to do and much that has been done but just as there is much to be proud of that sense of pride should accept absolutely no excuses for not taking care of our veterans.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release January 25, 2011

Remarks by the President in State of Union AddressUnited States Capitol, Washington, D.C.



Look to Iraq, where nearly 100,000 of our brave men and women have left with their heads held high. American combat patrols have ended, violence is down, and a new government has been formed. This year, our civilians will forge a lasting partnership with the Iraqi people, while we finish the job of bringing our troops out of Iraq. America’s commitment has been kept. The Iraq war is coming to an end.

Hold their heads up high? How do they do that when they come home and then have to fight to have a claim approved, wait for months or years while they have no income to live on? How do they hold their heads up high when they are able, willing and ready to work but cannot find a job? How do they do that when the rest of the nation has been able to forget all about the fact there have been two wars going on but if you ask the average American they have no clue about any of what has been going on? They did their jobs but we haven't done ours'.

We’ve also taken the fight to al Qaeda and their allies abroad. In Afghanistan, our troops have taken Taliban strongholds and trained Afghan security forces. Our purpose is clear: By preventing the Taliban from reestablishing a stranglehold over the Afghan people, we will deny al Qaeda the safe haven that served as a launching pad for 9/11.

Thanks to our heroic troops and civilians, fewer Afghans are under the control of the insurgency. There will be tough fighting ahead, and the Afghan government will need to deliver better governance. But we are strengthening the capacity of the Afghan people and building an enduring partnership with them. This year, we will work with nearly 50 countries to begin a transition to an Afghan lead. And this July, we will begin to bring our troops home.

In Pakistan, al Qaeda’s leadership is under more pressure than at any point since 2001. Their leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield. Their safe havens are shrinking. And we’ve sent a message from the Afghan border to the Arabian Peninsula to all parts of the globe: We will not relent, we will not waver, and we will defeat you.

Most of the men and women becoming veterans in the last few years entered into the military because of 9-11 but our support of them when they needed us has wavered, yet we call them heroes and brave, worthy of our praise but not our devotion.

Tonight, let us speak with one voice in reaffirming that our nation is united in support of our troops and their families. Let us serve them as well as they’ve served us -- by giving them the equipment they need, by providing them with the care and benefits that they have earned, and by enlisting our veterans in the great task of building our own nation.

Our troops come from every corner of this country -– they’re black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American. They are Christian and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim. And, yes, we know that some of them are gay. Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. And with that change, I call on all our college campuses to open their doors to our military recruiters and ROTC. It is time to leave behind the divisive battles of the past. It is time to move forward as one nation.

Saying we support our troops and their families is not the same as doing it. "Enlisting veterans in the task of building our own nation" is not taking care of the veterans unable to work. It is time the leadership of this nation devoted the full measure of our gratefulness by allowing no excuses for one single veteran having to wait for care when they did not make us wait when this nation sent them into combat.

UPDATE
This email came from IAVA

Dear Chaplain Kathie,

Last night, our nation listened closely to the President’s State of the Union address.

We heard words. We heard rhetoric. But we didn’t hear a concrete plan of action to tackle any of the most urgent issues facing new veterans and their families. Nothing on veteran unemployment. And nothing on the staggering rate of military and veteran suicides.

Not only did the President miss a chance to address our issues, he misrepresented a key fact. The President said: "Veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of the mouse.”

Unfortunately, as many vets know firsthand, this is not true. Right now, the VA does not allow vets to access their full electronic medical records online.

In the last 24 hours, we’ve heard from hundreds of IAVA Member Veterans, all expressing surprise and outrage that the President could get something so wrong in arguably the most important speech of the year.

We want people to get the facts straight. Please forward this email to your friends and family to help us get the word out.

IAVA is now pushing the White House for a public correction. We’re also advocating for a plan to make VA medical records as accessible and seamless as possible. And in a few weeks, we will launch our 2011 Policy Agenda. Improving the VA and systems like this will be one of our top priorities. And we’ll need your help.

Together in 2011, we'll make sure all veterans know that we’ve got their back.

Best,

Paul

Paul Rieckhoff
Executive Director and Founder
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)

This is where this came from.

Now, we’ve made great strides over the last two years in using technology and getting rid of waste. Veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of the mouse.

Military guests to attend State of the Union

Military guests to attend State of the Union

By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jan 27, 2010 12:37:13 EST

The two police officers who took down the alleged shooter at Fort Hood are among the six people with ties to the military community who will be seated with first lady Michelle Obama at President Obama’s State of the Union address Wednesday, a White House official said.

White House officials have provided details about the 22 guests who will be seated with Obama and Jill Biden.

In addition to police officers Kim Munley and Mark Todd, other military-related guests will include:

Retired Army Spc. Scott Vycital
Army Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Rubin
Julia Frost
Janell Kellett
read their stories here
Military guests to attend State of the Union

Honored at State of the Union in 2003 and PTSD

From the Peak of Honor to the Depths of Despair, A Soldier's Struggle with PTSD
Chris Vaughn


Star-Telegram

Jul 07, 2008
July 6, 2008 - Nate Self sat in the Capitol gallery, just two months before the invasion of Iraq, as a guest of the president and first lady during the 2003 State of the Union address.

He was a Waco boy (although he lived two years in Benbrook), a handsome Army captain, decorated with a Silver Star for valor and back home to recount the bravery of his Rangers on a 10,000-foot mountain in Afghanistan during a 15-hour fight against al Qaeda.

But Self, a devout Baptist and 1998 West Point graduate, represents more than heroism in battle.

He now also epitomizes the hidden toll that war can take. Recovering from suicidal-level post-traumatic stress from combat, Self, 32, wrote a book called Two Wars: One Hero’s Fight on Two Fronts — Abroad and Within.

His story begins in March 2002 during Operation Anaconda, launched by U.S. forces to prevent the escape of thousands of al Qaeda and Taliban fighters into Pakistan. Self led a "quick reaction force" of Rangers to the snow-capped Takur Ghar mountain to bring back a missing Navy SEAL named Neil Roberts.
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