PTSD, Puppies and Misplaced Values - We're Having the Wrong Conversation

June 13, 2008
PTSD, Puppies and Misplaced Values - We're Having the Wrong Conversation, America
Now that media coverage of SSgt. Travis Twiggs -- the five times-deployed Marine and gen-u-ine American hero who killed himself recently after a protracted and unsuccessful fight with PTSD -- has safely faded from view, America can go back to talking about what really interests it like the Marine tossing the puppy off the cliff in Hawaii. Here's a great quotable quote from Kathie Costos, a senior chaplain with the International Federation of Chaplains and a longtime, tireless advocate for veterans with PTSD, both personally and professionally on her blog, WoundedTimes, linked here. After noting that a mention of the news update on "that jerk" with the puppy toss sent blog traffic sky-high, Costos said, most quotably -- "I hate the fact a puppy toss gets more attention than a Marine killing himself because the DOD and the VA won't do what they are supposed to do." Amen, sistah. (I don't believe that she's talking about the Twiggs case there, specifically, but just in general.)
go here for more

http://www.healingcombattrauma.com/2008/06/
misplaced-values---were-having-the-wrong-conversation.html

Marines disciplined over puppy-tossing video

2 Marines disciplined over puppy-tossing video
Story Highlights
Lance Cpl. David Motari faces removal; Sgt. Crismarvin Banez Encarnacion punished

Video surfaced March 3 on YouTube showing a Marine tossing a puppy over a cliff

The Marines condemned the incident, calling it "shocking and deplorable"

CNN) -- The U.S. Marine Corps has disciplined two Marines over a videotape that showed a Marine throwing a puppy over a cliff, the military said Wednesday.


YouTube.com removed the video for violating the Web site's terms of use.

Officials did not specify the role that each man played in the incident, which received international attention after a video of it appeared on YouTube.com March 3.

Lance Cpl. David Motari is being processed for removal for his role, the Marine Corps said, and Sgt. Crismarvin Banez Encarnacion also has been punished.

The video shows someone throwing a black-and-white puppy off a rocky cliff. The dog makes a yelping sound as it flies through the air.

"That's mean. That was mean," someone off-camera is heard saying.

YouTube removed the video about a day after it was posted, "due to terms of use violation," the site said.

The Marines were quick to condemn the video when it surfaced, calling it "shocking and deplorable."

Marine officials said the disciplinary action followed a thorough investigation, according to a statement that the Marine Corps Base Hawaii released Wednesday.

"The actions seen in the Internet video are contrary to the high standards we expect of every Marine and will not be tolerated," the statement said.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/11/marine.puppy/index.html

Marine Corps still investigating puppy tossing video

Marine Corps still investigating puppy tossing video




Associated Press
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
April 28, 2008


HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) — It’s been nearly two months since a video appeared on the Internet showing a U.S. Marine tossing what appeared to be a live puppy into a ravine.

The Marine Corps says it’s still investigating, with no charges and no disciplinary action so far.

A new statement from Marine Corps Base Hawaii calls the video “appalling, deplorable and contrary to the high standards we expect of every marine at home and abroad.”

The corps says it first learned of the video appearing on the Web site YouTube on March 3.

The statements says the investigation will confirm authenticity of the video and identify those responsible.

The announcement says the vast majority of Marines conduct their duties with honor and compassion. It cites numerous incidents of Marines adopting pets.
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080428/VALLEYNEWS/25643527

American Troops Going Insane video

After I watched this yesterday, I had to struggle with if I should post it or not. Too many will take it as a slam against the troops instead of thinking about all of this. I also do not want to publicize behavior like this. Yet the more I thought about publishing it out of draft form, the more I knew it had to be done. There are not enough qualified people joining the military and we've all read the reports about the requirements being dropped to allow people with criminal records to join as well as gang members. More and more high school drop outs have been allowed to join. I'm wondering if the soldiers in this videos are part of those groups or not. Videos and actions like this are part of the overall judgment of the military, just as when the contractors were going on shooting rampages in Iraq. Their actions caused the Iraqi people to take out their anger against the troops. Something has to be done to stop this from spreading while the troops are in Iraq. I don't know what the answer is but if no one is aware of the problem, there will be no answers even looked for.


From April 20, 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq5_vG3cYGM
American Troops Going Insane--www.freedomfighterradio.net

I just finished watching this. A friend sent it to me knowing what I do with PTSD and she was under the impression I would be deeply troubled. She was right.

The fact the soldiers on video are having Iraqi children repeat things after them like F---Iraq, doing even worse to Iraqi men, among other things is very troubling because the Iraqi people know they some of them are doing this. The most troubling part is that they thought is was worthy of capturing on tape. Stress can make them do a lot of what is seen on the video but there is no excuse of it because it puts them into even greater danger. Did they think that there will be some Iraqis seeing this who happen to speak English? Toward the end of this video there is the Marine captured on tape doing the puppy toss off a cliff. Are they all part of the same unit? How many more of these videos are going to surface before the military brass gets to the bottom of any of this? If these soldiers are so stressed out they lost all sensibility, then they need to be sent back home and get some care for their state of mind.


This is just part of what I'm talking about:

The Army doubled the number of waivers it issued to allow convicted felons to enlist between 2006 and 2007, while felony waivers issued to Marine recruits increased by nearly 70 percent, according to newly released numbers from the Pentagon.

The House Oversight Committee released the Department of Defense statistics Monday, and requested more explanation for the increase in criminals who have been allowed into the military's ranks. The Army issued 511 waivers in 2007, compared to 249 in 2006. The Marine Corps issued 350 waivers last year compared to 208 the year before.
go here for more
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Army_doubled_felony_waivers_for_recruits_0421.html

Marine puppy toss number one draw on PTSD blog? WTF

My feed burner traffic report from today.
Traffic Source visits Trend
Search for "marine puppy" 153 +147%
Search for "marine puppy fake" 44 +529%
Search for "marine puppy toss" 37 +270%
Search for "puppy toss" 28 +600%

What is wrong with people in this country? A few minutes on YouTube with a jerk tossing a puppy over a cliff and I get these kinds of hits, but when I cover PTSD and what it's doing to our troops and veterans, the counts are a lot lower. I labor over videos to provide support and information on PTSD yet the top hit I get is 100 a day on Hero After War but most of them are only about 20 a day. Yet a video like this, pulled in millions in a day?

What does this say about how we feel about our troops and our veterans when they are so easy to ignore unless they do something drastically different, stupid, evil or disgusting? What does it say about us that if the media reports on some of our veterans committing crimes makes the headlines but when they commit suicide because they are not being taken care of, gets buried? Most of these reports are so scattered and buried beneath the sports section that they get very little attention. You would think their life would be worth so much more. Yet reporters have to contact advocates for reports on suicides and attempted suicides so they can try to make a name for themselves.

I get alerts on several subjects. One of them is veterans. What I find is that we use the term "veteran" far too often to describe a person who has experience and usually it's a sports figure. PR firms hire "veterans" away from other firms. They don't hire real veterans. I just don't get it. Why should it take someone pulling a stunt like this puppy toss to draw attention to a PTSD blog? I have to tell you that if you came here to read the story about this, then I really feel sorry for you. Your ignorance is blinding you to the real story here!

Was Killing the Puppy a Way of Coping for One Marine?

The U.S. Marine filmed throwing a crying puppy off a cliff may have been trying to prove his strength or bravery, several mental health professionals told ABCNEWS.com. The Marine's identity has yet to be confirmed but the United States Marine Corps has launched a full investigation and deemed his actions as "deplorable." (ABCNEWS.com)

Was Killing the Puppy a Way of Coping for One Marine?
Stressful Environment May Have Contributed to Marine Apparently Tossing a Dog to His Death
By EMILY FRIEDMAN
March 5, 2008

Many war-weary veterans of the Iraq War take kindly to the animals they meet abroad — some of them have even gone to great expense and trouble to bring dogs back home with them at the end of their tours of duty.

What, then, provoked one U.S. Marine to let himself be videotaped apparently flinging a yelping puppy over a cliff, bursting into laughter at the sound of the animal's body hitting the ground below? The tape of the apparent incident has rocketed around the Internet, provoking a firestorm of criticism.

The motivation for such an act, if it did indeed occur, may be as complex and deep as the U.S. war that has dragged on for more than four years, experts told ABCNEWS.com. Chief among them: Having to live with the constant fear of being injured or killed might have led this Marine to take his aggression out on a defenseless animal, several psychologists said.
go here for the rest
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4387128&page=1

Linked from ICasualties.org

Knowing Marines, they will make sure they find out who did this. This is not what they stand for. I still think this could be fake. What if it wasn't a Marine but someone dressed up like one instead?