Veterans getting out of jail with help to have hope

Incarcerated vets get second chance through re-entry program
Times Leader
By Kulsoom Khan - For Times Leader
June 17, 2018

Former Marine Gene Santore had a loving family, a thriving business and “lot of money in the bank.”

He nearly lost all of it three years ago when he got arrested for a drug deal and being involved in a robbery.

Gene Santore, 58, of Clarks Summit is a former Marine. After serving some jail time for a drug-related charge in 2015, he participated in the VA’s Veteran Just Outreach Program and Lackawanna County’s treatment court for incarcerated veterans. He now serves as a mentor for the program. - Kulsoom Khan | Times Leader

The Clarks Summit resident served in the Marine corp and in the reserves for six years. He hurt his shoulder in 1989 and had eight surgeries. Santore’s doctors gave him Percocet and Oxycontin to help him deal with the pain, which eventually turned into a serious addiction and led to heroin use later on.

“I was on a 180 milligrams a day of that and after 24 years, it just doesn’t work anymore,” he said. “You resort to the next best cheaper thing, and that’s heroin.”

After spending six months in jail, Santore began participating in the VA Medical Center’s Veteran Justice Outreach program in 2015. Veterans Affairs started the initiative in 2009 and works in collaboration with Lackawanna County Veterans Treatment Court to help incarcerated veterans and those who have been recently released from prison to transition back into society.

The program helps with assistance in finding jobs, housing and repairing damaged relationships through counseling. There are currently 105 veterans participating in the program, which can last 18 months or longer.

Social workers from the VA and probation officers from Lackawanna County also work with veterans who have issues with drug and alcohol abuse to keep them off of drugs and out of prison.

“What helped me is supervision from my probation officer to my case managers down there,” said Santore while sitting outside the VA Medical Center in Plains Township. “All these people genuinely cared to help me, which I never had happen before.”
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"He's going to be free": Sea turtle named for deceased Army Ranger

"He's going to be free": Sea turtle named for deceased Army Ranger released at Virginia Beach Oceanfront
The Virginian-Pilot
By Katherine Hafner
May 19, 2017

The sea turtle was the first catch James Spray had made all day.

At the Buckroe Fishing Pier in Hampton on Monday, Spray had just about given up, when his hook snagged a juvenile Kemp’s ridley turtle – the world’s most endangered sea turtle.

In the hands of the other anglers it flopped around and struggled, but in Spray’s hands the turtle was still and calm.

It “just seemed so peaceful,” he said.

So attached did Spray become to the turtle in the days that followed, that on Friday he gathered with the Virginia Aquarium’s Stranding Response Team at the North End to release it back into the Atlantic.

For him, the turtle he dubbed Ranger Tan was more than just a peculiar catch.

Something about it connected him to his Army friend, Jason Benchimol, who died of a heroin overdose a few months ago. The name – Ranger Tan – refers to Benchimol’s status as an Army Ranger and the distinctive tan beret Rangers wear (the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center has been naming each rescued sea turtle after a Crayola crayon color). The men met in the military in 2008 and became close friends over the years.

His death “was a terrible blow,” said Spray, who added that his friend suffered from “severe” post-traumatic stress disorder after combat overseas. “He was much better than the disease.”

The two recently had undergone treatment together at the Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where Spray is living, though he owns a home in Moyock, N.C.

Inexplicably, catching Ranger Tan became a way to for him reconnect with Benchimol – there was something about the way the animal was at peace.
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My two cents:

PTSD is not now, nor has it ever been, a "disease" and that is a major problem. If you think all that is "wrong" with you came from you, then where is the hope to heal? If you know the only way you ended up with PTSD is because you survived something that could have killed you, then you know, it happened to you!

Causes of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop after a very stressful, frightening or distressing event, or after a prolonged traumatic experience.

Types of events that can lead to PTSD include:

• serious road accidents
• violent personal assaults, such as sexual assault, mugging or robbery
• prolonged sexual abuse, violence or severe neglect
• witnessing violent deaths
• military combat
• being held hostage
• terrorist attacks
• natural disasters, such as severe floods, earthquakes or tsunamis
• a diagnosis of a life-threatening condition
• an unexpected severe injury or death of a close family member or friend

They forgot to add in occupations like First Responders rushing to what the rest of us run away from!

You can only heal if you fight to take back control of your life!

PTSD Patrol

200 U.S. Marines join anti-drug effort in Guatemala

200 U.S. Marines join anti-drug effort in Guatemala
By Romina Ruiz-Goiriena
Associated Press Writers

GUATEMALA CITY – A team of 200 U.S. Marines began patrolling Guatemala's western coast this week in an unprecedented operation to beat drug traffickers in the Central America region, a U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday.

"I'd say it's extremely unique. This is the first Marine deployment that directly supports countering transnational crime in this area, and it's certainly the largest footprint we've had in that area in quite some time," said Marine Staff Sgt. Earnest Barnes at the U.S. Southern Command in Doral, Fla .

It was 50 years ago when the U.S. military last sent any significant aid and equipment into Guatemala, establishing a base to support counter-insurgency efforts during a guerrilla uprising. That movement led to 36 years of war that left 200,000 dead, mostly indigent Maya farmers. The U.S. pulled out in 1978.
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Lt. Gen. David Fridovich puts troops first ahead of pride

When you think that Lt. Gen. David Fridovich could have kept this part of his life private but decided to put the troops ahead of his privacy, that is one remarkable man! He is not a low profile serviceman who would make a good local story but someone with a lot of power to make things happen. Just coming out and talking about this will do wonders for others making them think that if he's talking about it, they can too. If he healed, they can too. If he is not ashamed, they don't have to be either.

3-star opens up about battle with addiction

Army Lt. Gen. David Fridovich says that, for years, he has regularly consumed narcotics and painkillers to deal with chronic pain — and now he’s sharing his story
By Gregg Zoroya - USA Today
Posted : Wednesday Jan 26, 2011 21:38:59 EST
TAMPA, Fla. — Standing before a packed hall of 700 military doctors and medics here, the deputy commander of the nation’s elite special operations forces warned about an epidemic of chronic pain sweeping through the U.S. military after a decade of continuous war.

Be careful about handing out narcotic pain relievers, Lt. Gen. David Fridovich told the audience last month. “What we don’t want is that next generation of veterans coming out with some bad habits.”

What Fridovich didn’t say was that he was talking as much about himself as anyone.

For nearly five years, the Green Beret general quietly has been hooked on narcotics he has taken for chronic pain — a reflection of an addiction problem that is spreading across the military. Hospitalizations and diagnoses for substance abuse doubled among members of U.S. forces in recent years. This week, nurses and case managers at Army wounded care units reported that one in three of their patients are addicted or dependent on drugs.

“This is huge for Fridovich to be willing to talk about this as a three-star general,” says Gen. Peter Chiarelli, Army vice chief of staff. “We’re finally coming clean and admitting at all levels this is an issue.”

Fridovich says narcotics altered his personality, darkened his mood and management style, and strained his 35-year marriage.

When Fridovich finally went through treatment and detoxification to reduce his drug reliance in 2008 — he still relies on weaker doses of narcotics to combat pain — his wife, Kathy, hid or destroyed more potent pain pills so he could not use them.

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3-star opens up about battle with addiction

Troops can't heal what they can't feel

Troops can’t heal what they can’t feel
January 27, 2011 posted by Chaplain Kathie
Drugs have one job and that is to get people to feel better. Antibiotics stop infections so that the body can take over and heal the wound. When it comes to PTSD, medications cover up the pain but too many times they cause more problems. When drugs are all that is used to fight PTSD, it isn’t giving troops a fair fighting chance to heal.

Army Trauma Unit’s Woes Detailed
By JAMES DAO
Published: January 26, 2011
The Army units created to provide special care for wounded soldiers after the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal continue to struggle with short staffing, inadequate training and an overabundance of prescription medications, a report by the Army inspector general’s office said.

This is from the VA

Clinician’s Guide to Medications for PTSD
What is the evidence base for the specific groups of medications used for PTSD treatment?
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI’s). These medications are the only FDA approved medications for PTSD . SSRIs primarily affect the neurotransmitter serotonin which is important in regulating mood, anxiety, appetite, and sleep and other bodily functions. This class of medication has the strongest empirical evidence with well designed randomized controlled trials (RCT’s) and is the preferred initial class of medications used in PTSD treatment (1, 2). Exceptions may occur for patients based upon their individual histories of side effects, response, and comorbidities. An example of an exception would be a PTSD patient with comorbid Bipolar Disorder. In this patient, there is a risk of precipitating a manic episode with the SSRI’s. Each patient varies in their response and ability to tolerate a specific medication and dosage, so medications must be tailored to individual needs. Research has suggested that maximum benefit from SSRI treatment depends upon adequate dosages and duration of treatment. Treatment adherence is key to successful pharmacotherapy treatment for PTSD.

I have listed many medications and warnings.
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Troops can't heal what they can't feel

Report: Vets need drug treatment, not jail

Report: Vets need drug treatment, not jail

By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Nov 5, 2009 14:25:31 EST

Treatment, not incarceration, should be the first option for veterans who commit nonviolent drug-related offenses, a group advocating alternatives to the nation’s “war on drugs” said Wednesday in a new report.

The Drug Policy Alliance report also called on government agencies to adopt overdose prevention programs and policies for vets who misuse substances or take prescription medicines, and urged “significantly expanded” access to medication-assisted therapies, such as methadone and buprenorphine, for the treatment of dependence on opioid drugs used to treat pain and mood disorders.

During a conference call with a Drug Policy Alliance representative and seven other advocates for change in the treatment of veterans, the military’s Tricare health benefits program came under fire for what a New York-based physician and specialist in drug addiction treatment called its failure to pay for veterans’ and family members’ opioid dependence treatments.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/military_veterans_drug_treatment_110509w/

Critics hit Army's treatment of drug abuse

Critics hit Army's treatment of drug abuse
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- Spec. Jeremiah Thomson didn't know what was worse: excruciating back pain from a combat explosion in Baghdad or the prescription drug addiction he developed trying to ease the suffering once home.

The Army was quick to prescribe Percocet, Vicodin, Oxycontin and similarly powerful painkillers to Thomson and other injured soldiers at Fort Leonard Wood, Thomson testified in a court-martial hearing. He's now serving a three-year sentence for illegally buying prescription drugs - the sellers included a former commanding officer in Iraq - and selling the pills to eight other soldiers.

As more troops return home with war injuries, the Army is prescribing more pain medication to treat those wounds. But a military system that relies on discipline as well as treatment is drawing fire from some prominent critics, including those inside the system.

"It's a terrible problem," said Barbara McDonald, a civilian social worker and Army drug abuse counselor, describing a recent surge in prescription drug abuse and the Army's handling of the problem.

Legal painkiller use by injured troops has increased nearly 70 percent since the start of the Iraq war six years ago, according to Army records. Surveys show that more soldiers are struggling with prescription drug addiction - and seeking help from Army doctors and counselors.
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Drug abuse an increasing problem among Afghan police, soldiers

10/05/08 MCT: Drug abuse an increasing problem among Afghan police, soldiers
If his job doesn't kill him, the heroin might. Mohammad Akbar is a first lieutenant in the highly touted Afghan National Army, considered crucial to the future of this war-torn country. But for three years, Akbar has also been a junkie...
go here for more
http://icasualties.org/oef/

Whistleblower breaks 15-year silence to allege McCain hid wife's drug abuse

Why now? Didn't the people of Arizona deserve to know what kind of person they were sending back to Washington to represent them year after year? If this was such an important story, then why be silent for 15 years? The only thing revealing this now does is show McCain as a man with a problem on his hands who didn't have a clue what to do about it. There are a lot of people across the nation facing the same problem with a family member addicted to drugs, legal or otherwise.

I make no secret of the fact I think McCain would be bad for this nation as President because of his voting record and the fact after he approved of all Bush did in office, he is now pretending he had nothing to do with any of it. Covering up, lying about his record along with Palin's record, that should be enough to alert the voters of what kind of damage he can do should he be elected. Telling blatant lies with a straight face effortlessly is not a good sign of the things he is capable of. To come out after all these years to say that he was fully aware of his wife's drug addiction is not hurtful to him, it is hurtful to his wife. She is not running for office, he is.

While this shows what went on behind what we already knew is valuable to gossip magazines, it serves no purpose to the nation. It will not take care of the veterans or the other problems this nation has. It will not stop the suffering of the poor and middle class. It just hurts someone who was hurting enough to be addicted to prescription drugs and the family.

There are a lot of families across this country doing the suffering with this issue. It would have been great if McCain had become a champion in substance abuse programs and Cindy had become an advocate for others suffering but they made the choice to not do it.

McCain has been a public figure since Vietnam and most of us are fully aware of his story, factual and otherwise. Palin, well she's new to the public's attention and her history needs to be known but Cindy, she's been in the spotlight far too long to drag all this back up now.

Whistleblower breaks 15-year silence to allege McCain hid wife's drug abuse
Nick Juliano
Published: Thursday September 11, 2008


Cindy McCain's addiction to prescription painkillers emerged into public view 14 years ago with a well-orchestrated PR campaign designed to preserve her husband's political future.

Aside from a lengthy contemporary investigation from Phoenix's alternative weekly and occasional mentions since then, the addiction back-story -- including ample questions about what John McCain knew, when he knew it and questions over whether he was complicit in the cover-up -- has gone largely untold. Until now.

Tom Gosinski, a former employee of the medical-aid charity Cindy McCain used as personal supplier of Percocet and Vicodin, is speaking out publicly for the first time.

On Wednesday, Gosinski sat down with RAW STORY and other outlets to tell his story and distribute copies of his personal journal from his time with the American Voluntary Medical Team in the last half of 1992, where he voiced ever more acute concerns and frustrations over McCain's drug use and its impact on her mood and job performance.

"My journal wasn't to trash Cindy or anything," he says. "My journal was kept b/c I came in contact w/ so many people. It was a way of keeping an ongoing biography of all the people I met, so I could refer back to it."

He says he can't buy the official McCain camp line that Cindy's drug abuse was kept from her husband, he saw and heard too much for any of their stories to make sense -- like the time Cindy was allegedly taken to the hospital after an overdose and John rushed in to berate the doctors and nurses there before moving Cindy to their secluded Sedona ranch. Then there were the Hensley family interventions and the fact that Cindy's drug abuse came to be something of an open secret among employees of the charity.

"I have always wondered why John McCain has done nothing to fix the problem," Gosinski wrote on July 27, 1992. "He must either not see that a problem exists or does not choose to do anything about it."
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