Vets displaced after mold discovered at VA Center
Patients to be relocated during clean-up process
The Journal West Virginia
By Jenni Vincent
August 27, 2013
MARTINSBURG - One hundred seventy-six Veterans Affairs Medical Center patients - men and women who are in residence as they go through various treatment programs such as substance abuse and post traumatic stress disorder -are now being relocated because mold was found in individual air-conditioning units where they stay, officials said Monday.
In a press release, VA officials said the mold abatement process in the facility's domiciliary is expected to take about 60 days.
The decision was made to remove patients because "the safety of our veterans, visitors and staff is paramount in all that we do," chief of staff Dr. Jonathan Fierer said in the release.
read more here
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
WWII vet, 88, fought back against teens who beat him to death
Delbert Belton Murder Update
WWII vet, 88, fought back against teens who beat him to death, police say
CBS
Erin Donaghue
August 26, 2013
(CBS) SPOKANE, Wash. -- World War II veteran Delbert Belton may have fought back against the two teens suspected of beating him to death outside a Spokane, Wash. Ice-A-Rena, police said in a news conference Monday morning, reports CBS affiliate KREM.
Belton, who was shot in the leg during the Battle of Okinawa, was killed during an apparent robbery Wednesday outside the Eagles Ice-A-Rena. Authorities say two young men attacked Belton in his car outside the arena as he was waiting for a friend.
"Our information is that the individual fought back and that may have made this, you know, a worse situation," said Spokane Police Chief Frank Straub in a press conference Monday morning. "I'm not being critical of Mr. Belton, we certainly encourage individuals to fight back, and he should have. But it shouldn't have happened to begin with."
The victim's daughter-in-law said Belton was hit with "big heavy flashlights" and doctors told her he was bleeding from all parts of his face, reports the station.
After identifying two suspects, police arrested two 16-year-old males. One turned himself in to authorities Thursday, a second was arrested early Monday in a Spokane basement apartment. Both teens are charged with first-degree robbery and first-degree murder. They will be tried as adults, reports the Los Angeles Times, and are being held in lieu of $2 million bail.
Tips from the community and the second suspect's family helped police hone in on his location, he said.
read more here
WWII vet, 88, fought back against teens who beat him to death, police say
CBS
Erin Donaghue
August 26, 2013
(CBS) SPOKANE, Wash. -- World War II veteran Delbert Belton may have fought back against the two teens suspected of beating him to death outside a Spokane, Wash. Ice-A-Rena, police said in a news conference Monday morning, reports CBS affiliate KREM.
Belton, who was shot in the leg during the Battle of Okinawa, was killed during an apparent robbery Wednesday outside the Eagles Ice-A-Rena. Authorities say two young men attacked Belton in his car outside the arena as he was waiting for a friend.
"Our information is that the individual fought back and that may have made this, you know, a worse situation," said Spokane Police Chief Frank Straub in a press conference Monday morning. "I'm not being critical of Mr. Belton, we certainly encourage individuals to fight back, and he should have. But it shouldn't have happened to begin with."
The victim's daughter-in-law said Belton was hit with "big heavy flashlights" and doctors told her he was bleeding from all parts of his face, reports the station.
After identifying two suspects, police arrested two 16-year-old males. One turned himself in to authorities Thursday, a second was arrested early Monday in a Spokane basement apartment. Both teens are charged with first-degree robbery and first-degree murder. They will be tried as adults, reports the Los Angeles Times, and are being held in lieu of $2 million bail.
Tips from the community and the second suspect's family helped police hone in on his location, he said.
read more here
Lifetime cost of care of wounded
Lifetime cost of care of wounded
No agency has calculated for higher survival rates, longer tours of duty, multiple injuries.
NEWS21 PROJECT
Jessica Wilde
POSTED: Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Jerral Hancock wakes up every night in Lancaster, Calif., around 1 a.m., dreaming he is trapped in a burning tank. He opens his eyes, but he can't move. He can't get out of bed. He can't get a drink of water. Hancock, 27, joined the Army in 2004 and went to Iraq, where he drove a tank.
On Memorial Day 2007 - one month after the birth of his second child - Hancock drove over an IED. Just 21, he lost an arm and the use of both legs, and now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Department of Veterans Affairs pays him $10,000 every month for his disability, his caretakers, health care, medications and equipment.
No government agency has calculated fully the lifetime cost of health care for the large number of post-9/11 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with life-lasting wounds. But it is certain to be high, with the veterans' higher survival rates, longer tours of duty, and multiple injuries, plus the anticipated cost to the VA of reducing the wait times for medical appointments and reaching veterans in rural areas.
As veterans age, their injuries worsen, said Linda Bilmes, a professor in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and coauthor of The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict. The same long-term costs seen in previous wars are likely to be repeated to a much larger extent. Post-9/11 veterans in 2012 cost the VA $2.8 billion of its $50.9 billion health budget for all of its annual costs, records show. And that number is expected to increase by $510 million in 2013, according to the VA budget.
read more here
No agency has calculated for higher survival rates, longer tours of duty, multiple injuries.
NEWS21 PROJECT
Jessica Wilde
POSTED: Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Army veteran Jerral Hancock , 27. As veterans age, says one analyst, their injuries worsen.
JESSICA WILDE / News21
Jerral Hancock wakes up every night in Lancaster, Calif., around 1 a.m., dreaming he is trapped in a burning tank. He opens his eyes, but he can't move. He can't get out of bed. He can't get a drink of water. Hancock, 27, joined the Army in 2004 and went to Iraq, where he drove a tank.
On Memorial Day 2007 - one month after the birth of his second child - Hancock drove over an IED. Just 21, he lost an arm and the use of both legs, and now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Department of Veterans Affairs pays him $10,000 every month for his disability, his caretakers, health care, medications and equipment.
No government agency has calculated fully the lifetime cost of health care for the large number of post-9/11 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with life-lasting wounds. But it is certain to be high, with the veterans' higher survival rates, longer tours of duty, and multiple injuries, plus the anticipated cost to the VA of reducing the wait times for medical appointments and reaching veterans in rural areas.
As veterans age, their injuries worsen, said Linda Bilmes, a professor in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and coauthor of The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict. The same long-term costs seen in previous wars are likely to be repeated to a much larger extent. Post-9/11 veterans in 2012 cost the VA $2.8 billion of its $50.9 billion health budget for all of its annual costs, records show. And that number is expected to increase by $510 million in 2013, according to the VA budget.
read more here
Widow of Hasan murder victim talks of what he put her through
Hasan's Ft. Hood sentencing: Widow relives the hours of not knowing
Chicago Tribune
Molly Hennessy-Fiske
August 26, 2013
FT. HOOD, Texas – Like so many other Army wives, when Angela Rivera heard there had been a shooting at this central Texas post four years ago, the first thing she did was call her husband’s cell phone.
And like so many others, there was no answer.
On Monday, testifying at the sentencing of the man convicted of murder in the mass shooting, Rivera relived the uncertain hours of Nov. 5, 2009.
There were 13 dead and more than 30 wounded that afternoon. But no names had been released. Rivera had no way of knowing if they included her husband, Maj. L. Eduardo Caraveo.
She watched the news at her home in Woodbridge, Va., hoping for clues. It was no help.
“They just kept repeating the same thing: 13 dead,” Rivera said Monday as she sat on the stand, her long brown hair loose around the shoulders of her fitted black dress as she faced the man responsible.
As Rivera recounted the events that followed, how she slowly watched the life she had built unravel, her brown eyes filled with tears.
read more here
Chicago Tribune
Molly Hennessy-Fiske
August 26, 2013
FT. HOOD, Texas – Like so many other Army wives, when Angela Rivera heard there had been a shooting at this central Texas post four years ago, the first thing she did was call her husband’s cell phone.
And like so many others, there was no answer.
On Monday, testifying at the sentencing of the man convicted of murder in the mass shooting, Rivera relived the uncertain hours of Nov. 5, 2009.
There were 13 dead and more than 30 wounded that afternoon. But no names had been released. Rivera had no way of knowing if they included her husband, Maj. L. Eduardo Caraveo.
She watched the news at her home in Woodbridge, Va., hoping for clues. It was no help.
“They just kept repeating the same thing: 13 dead,” Rivera said Monday as she sat on the stand, her long brown hair loose around the shoulders of her fitted black dress as she faced the man responsible.
As Rivera recounted the events that followed, how she slowly watched the life she had built unravel, her brown eyes filled with tears.
read more here
Marine wife competes with choir on ‘America’s Got Talent’
Local Marine wife competes with choir on ‘America’s Got Talent’
Sun Journal North Carolina
By Drew C. Wilson
Havelock News
August 26, 2013
HAVELOCK— Jennie Beverly remembers the moment the American Military Spouses Choir stepped onto the stage to audition for the TV show “America’s Got Talent” in Chicago.
“As soon as we announced who we were, the people were chanting ‘USA’ and all of this, and it was just a mind-blowing experience to feel all of the joy, the pride, the happiness that people felt,” Beverly said.
The crowd hadn’t even heard the group sing a note yet.
“It just made us very emotional and we got a standing ovation after the audition and we went straight through,” Beverly said.
Beverly, a 27-year-old mother of two, is married to Staff Sgt. Byron Beverly, an MV-22 Osprey aviation mechanic at Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204 at New River.
Her husband is an 11-year Marine who has spent much of his career at Cherry Point before a recent transfer.
He said he and the couple’s two young children have been sitting around the television to watch each performance.
read more here
Sun Journal North Carolina
By Drew C. Wilson
Havelock News
August 26, 2013
HAVELOCK— Jennie Beverly remembers the moment the American Military Spouses Choir stepped onto the stage to audition for the TV show “America’s Got Talent” in Chicago.
“As soon as we announced who we were, the people were chanting ‘USA’ and all of this, and it was just a mind-blowing experience to feel all of the joy, the pride, the happiness that people felt,” Beverly said.
The crowd hadn’t even heard the group sing a note yet.
“It just made us very emotional and we got a standing ovation after the audition and we went straight through,” Beverly said.
Beverly, a 27-year-old mother of two, is married to Staff Sgt. Byron Beverly, an MV-22 Osprey aviation mechanic at Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204 at New River.
Her husband is an 11-year Marine who has spent much of his career at Cherry Point before a recent transfer.
He said he and the couple’s two young children have been sitting around the television to watch each performance.
read more here
Why do some hate heroes?
Yesterday Ty Carter had the Medal of Honor placed around his neck. The White House released the full ceremony on YouTube.
While the ceremony was well deserved, it was met with disrespect from too many people leaving comments. That bothers me. It bothers most of the people I know. How is it that some have no clue why they should separate the war fighters from the politicians? The war fighters do not start wars. They do not get to decide what nation to go into so even now as there is talk of military action in Syria, the decision is being made by politicians while the plans are being made by military brass.
We get to sit in our living rooms listening to reporters talk about taking action as if there will not be any repercussions. Simply they push for the US to do something never contemplating what will come next. CNN has been pushing for action for months as they show report after report but we only know what they tell us. It is not that it is all too complicated for our brains to deal with. We just never take military action seriously enough to pay more attention.
The first rule of war should always begin with a question. Is it necessary? That should be followed up with "What will it take to obtain the result the politicians want?" This must include the price the war fighters will pay and has to include taking care of the wounded.
That didn't happen after any war including Afghanistan and Iraq. The DOD and the VA were slow to respond to the crisis disabled veterans faced. They suffered. We complained. Then most Americans went back to ignoring them. They suffered more because we stopped caring. Too much for our little brains to deal with when we had reality TV shows to watch and contestants on talent shows to vote for.
Mindless people leave comments attacking the troops and Obama on this video from The White House. One left a comment that captures the type of postings going on.
Think about that for a second. First this person writes that the NSA and CIA are killing Americans then goes on to the say a lot of other really stupid things, which is this person's right under free speech but not free from ridicule. None of us are given the right to say whatever we want and not be subject to someone else's opinion. If this person really believed any of that it would be really stupid to post it on the White House YouTube page.
The comments left on this are one more reminder of how people don't have a clue what they are talking about but seem to want to say it wherever they want.
Ty Carter earned the Medal of Honor risking his life for someone else. The truth is, they are all risking their lives for the sake of the men and women they are with. Ty wanted to talk about PTSD and military suicides so that he can save lives but the jerks leaving comments had a different agenda. The opportunity to talk about PTSD for too many veterans is lost because jerks feel free to slam the very people making sure they retain their rights to say whatever they want.
President awards Staff Sergeant Ty M. Carter, U.S. Army, the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions while serving as a cavalry scout with Bravo Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, during combat operations in Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province, Afghanistan on October 3, 2009. Staff Sergeant Carter is the fifth living recipient to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. August 26, 2013.
While the ceremony was well deserved, it was met with disrespect from too many people leaving comments. That bothers me. It bothers most of the people I know. How is it that some have no clue why they should separate the war fighters from the politicians? The war fighters do not start wars. They do not get to decide what nation to go into so even now as there is talk of military action in Syria, the decision is being made by politicians while the plans are being made by military brass.
We get to sit in our living rooms listening to reporters talk about taking action as if there will not be any repercussions. Simply they push for the US to do something never contemplating what will come next. CNN has been pushing for action for months as they show report after report but we only know what they tell us. It is not that it is all too complicated for our brains to deal with. We just never take military action seriously enough to pay more attention.
The first rule of war should always begin with a question. Is it necessary? That should be followed up with "What will it take to obtain the result the politicians want?" This must include the price the war fighters will pay and has to include taking care of the wounded.
That didn't happen after any war including Afghanistan and Iraq. The DOD and the VA were slow to respond to the crisis disabled veterans faced. They suffered. We complained. Then most Americans went back to ignoring them. They suffered more because we stopped caring. Too much for our little brains to deal with when we had reality TV shows to watch and contestants on talent shows to vote for.
Mindless people leave comments attacking the troops and Obama on this video from The White House. One left a comment that captures the type of postings going on.
caddy thunder 6 hours ago
How is Obama getting away with Treason? The United States government is using the NSA and the CIA to murder an estimated 13 million Americans at this very moment using Directed energy weapons from satellite and Electronic mind control to rape American children to suit the illuminati's needs. Obama is using Monarch programming for "child trafficking" in order to produce child porn and produce presidential prostitutes. Obama is a pedophile and he is raping and murdering children right now.
Think about that for a second. First this person writes that the NSA and CIA are killing Americans then goes on to the say a lot of other really stupid things, which is this person's right under free speech but not free from ridicule. None of us are given the right to say whatever we want and not be subject to someone else's opinion. If this person really believed any of that it would be really stupid to post it on the White House YouTube page.
The comments left on this are one more reminder of how people don't have a clue what they are talking about but seem to want to say it wherever they want.
Kathie Costos DiCesare 14 minutes ago
It is because they see things in simple terms. If they think the war is bad, then they blame the war fighters. If they can look past their own nose then they discover the truth. Politicians start wars but when you ask them why they were willing to die, the honest answer is, they did it for each other. It is easier to ignore what the troops go through if they disagree with the cause. They never stop to think many do not believe in why they have to fight but do it for each other.
Ty Carter earned the Medal of Honor risking his life for someone else. The truth is, they are all risking their lives for the sake of the men and women they are with. Ty wanted to talk about PTSD and military suicides so that he can save lives but the jerks leaving comments had a different agenda. The opportunity to talk about PTSD for too many veterans is lost because jerks feel free to slam the very people making sure they retain their rights to say whatever they want.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Afghan battle hero Ty Michael Carter receives Medal of Honor
Afghan battle hero Ty Michael Carter receives Medal of Honor
NBC News
By Daniel Arkin, Staff Writer
August 26, 2013
President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ty Michael Carter on Monday afternoon, making the cavalry scout only the fifth living service member from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan to receive the nation’s highest award for courage.
Carter, 33, appeared reflective and at times smiled bashfully as Obama recognized him for his “conspicuous gallantry” in the dramatic Battle of Kamdesh, a day-long firefight with Taliban militants at a remote Afghan outpost near the Pakistan border.
Early in his remarks in the White House’s East Room, Obama turned to Carter’s young children and said: “If you want to know what a true American hero looks like, then you don’t have to look too far.”
President Obama awards Staff Sergeant Ty M. Carter, U.S. Army, the Medal of Honor for "conspicuous gallantry" during a day-long firefight with Taliban militants at a remote Afghan outpost near the Pakistan border.
The quick-moving staff sergeant braved a blizzard of bullets to take out Taliban fighters and rescue a wounded brother-in-arms during the Oct. 3, 2009, clash, which left eight American soldiers dead and wounded more than 25 others, according to the Army’s official account of the event. It was the deadliest day for U.S. forces in the war effort that year.
go here for more
NBC News
By Daniel Arkin, Staff Writer
August 26, 2013
President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ty Michael Carter on Monday afternoon, making the cavalry scout only the fifth living service member from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan to receive the nation’s highest award for courage.
Carter, 33, appeared reflective and at times smiled bashfully as Obama recognized him for his “conspicuous gallantry” in the dramatic Battle of Kamdesh, a day-long firefight with Taliban militants at a remote Afghan outpost near the Pakistan border.
Early in his remarks in the White House’s East Room, Obama turned to Carter’s young children and said: “If you want to know what a true American hero looks like, then you don’t have to look too far.”
President Obama awards Staff Sergeant Ty M. Carter, U.S. Army, the Medal of Honor for "conspicuous gallantry" during a day-long firefight with Taliban militants at a remote Afghan outpost near the Pakistan border.
The quick-moving staff sergeant braved a blizzard of bullets to take out Taliban fighters and rescue a wounded brother-in-arms during the Oct. 3, 2009, clash, which left eight American soldiers dead and wounded more than 25 others, according to the Army’s official account of the event. It was the deadliest day for U.S. forces in the war effort that year.
go here for more
Medal of Honor Hero Staff Sgt. Ty Carter talks about having PTSD
Staff Sgt. Ty Cater knows what it is like to wake up with PTSD because of combat. He also knows what it is like to be on the road to healing it. He wants to help others because he understands the pain they are in.
Number of domestic violence incidents involving veterans on the rise
More proof that what the DOD has been doing on PTSD doesn't work and the families are clueless on what to do to help.
Number of domestic violence incidents involving veterans on the rise
FOX 6 Milwaukee
By Chip Brewster
August 25, 2013
MILWAUKEE (WITI) — There are tens of thousands of domestic abuse incidents every year in southeastern Wisconsin. As wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down, the number involving veterans is growing.
“I`ve been officially diagnosed with PTSD, explosive anger disorder, high anxiety,” Frankie Torres said.
Torres is among a growing number of veterans afflicted with mental illness. As a U.S. Marine, he witnessed a lot of violence during his two deployments to Iraq. He remembers one day in particular.
“We were approximately, let`s use the word, six blocks away when an explosion went off that you could feel underneath our feet and I mean just a huge explosion and it took out — two of our Marines were KIA that day and two of them were severely injured,” Torres said.
When he came home, he was a different person — reacting to life in a different way.
“Just being overly aggressive, maybe car broke down, wife didn`t cook something, child, children were outside arguing, many, many small things. It really wasn`t an actual big event that triggered this. It was more multiple small triggers that were just building and building until I reacted in a negative manner,” Torres said.
That “negative manner” was an act of domestic violence in 2010.
read more here
Another PTSD veteran kicked out for having a service dog
A protest against the diner turned into a PTSD Awareness Event and lesson in forgiveness.
UPDATE From NECN
Fallout for diner grows after veteran, service dog denied
August 27, 2013
(NECN: Katelyn Tivnan) - It's no surprise conversations at this Oxford, Mass. coffee shop surround recent controversy at nearby Big I's diner.
Over the weekend, the eatery's owner kicked out veteran James Glaser and his service dog.
The story has spread around town and beyond.
“You got someone with a service dog,” said Air Force veteran Ron McGrath. “Legal, you should have accepted him and not made a big deal out of it. Now he's being very belligerent about it so he gets what he deserves.”
After the Iraq veteran was kicked out of Big I's for bringing his service dog inside, he posted it to Facebook.
The post already has more than 20,000 shares and is still growing.
read more here
UPDATE
Apology served at diner that refused service dog
LESSON LEARNED ABOUT PTSD
By Kim Ring
TELEGRAM and GAZETTE STAFF
August 27, 2013
OXFORD — Big I's restaurant owner Russell Ireland says he has learned his lesson.
And since James Glaser, an Air Force veteran, thought the owner of Big I's restaurant on Main Street needed a little education about post-traumatic stress disorder and the use of service dogs to treat it, everyone involved should satisfied.
But they're not.
On Tuesday, Mr. Ireland apologized on the radio during WAAF's "Hillman Morning Show" after some of the hosts questioned him about tossing Mr. Glaser and Jack, his service dog, out of the restaurant on Saturday. He apologized again in a telephone interview. He has said he just didn't believe that the small dog could possibly be a service animal.
Mr. Ireland said Tuesday he's not contrite because of threats on social media or harassing calls to his business but because he has new understanding of Mr. Glaser's situation since a few veterans have come in or called and kindly explained to him some things he didn't know.
"I learned a lot about PTSD since this happened and I'm still learning even more," he said. "I understand the whole PTSD thing and the dogs a lot better that I did prior to this."
read more here
UPDATE From NECN
Fallout for diner grows after veteran, service dog denied
August 27, 2013
(NECN: Katelyn Tivnan) - It's no surprise conversations at this Oxford, Mass. coffee shop surround recent controversy at nearby Big I's diner.
Over the weekend, the eatery's owner kicked out veteran James Glaser and his service dog.
The story has spread around town and beyond.
“You got someone with a service dog,” said Air Force veteran Ron McGrath. “Legal, you should have accepted him and not made a big deal out of it. Now he's being very belligerent about it so he gets what he deserves.”
After the Iraq veteran was kicked out of Big I's for bringing his service dog inside, he posted it to Facebook.
The post already has more than 20,000 shares and is still growing.
read more here
UPDATE
Apology served at diner that refused service dog
LESSON LEARNED ABOUT PTSD
By Kim Ring
TELEGRAM and GAZETTE STAFF
August 27, 2013
OXFORD — Big I's restaurant owner Russell Ireland says he has learned his lesson.
And since James Glaser, an Air Force veteran, thought the owner of Big I's restaurant on Main Street needed a little education about post-traumatic stress disorder and the use of service dogs to treat it, everyone involved should satisfied.
But they're not.
On Tuesday, Mr. Ireland apologized on the radio during WAAF's "Hillman Morning Show" after some of the hosts questioned him about tossing Mr. Glaser and Jack, his service dog, out of the restaurant on Saturday. He apologized again in a telephone interview. He has said he just didn't believe that the small dog could possibly be a service animal.
Mr. Ireland said Tuesday he's not contrite because of threats on social media or harassing calls to his business but because he has new understanding of Mr. Glaser's situation since a few veterans have come in or called and kindly explained to him some things he didn't know.
"I learned a lot about PTSD since this happened and I'm still learning even more," he said. "I understand the whole PTSD thing and the dogs a lot better that I did prior to this."
read more here
Police: Oxford restaurant owner kicks out war vet, service dog
FOX Boston
Aug 25, 2013
OXFORD, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) – A disabled Iraq war veteran is asking patrons of Big I's in Oxford to boycott the restaurant after the owner allegedly yelled profanities at him when he walked in with his service dog.
On Saturday morning, James Glaser, who suffers from PTSD, and his service dog "Jack" went to the Big I's located at 578 Main St. for something to eat; however, when they arrived, they were not welcomed warmly by the restaurant's cook and owner.
read more here
VA system ill-prepared for residual effects of war
This only tells part of the story.
But there is so much more to it.
As people playing some kind of political game scream for heads to roll now, others were screaming back in the early years of the two wars when the VA was not prepared or properly funded.
In February of 2005 the GAO said PTSD among returning Vets could overwhelm the VA. But that was only supported by over 30 years of research done on PTSD. The fact that the stigma associated with PTSD is still as strong as it was when nothing was being done should prove to anyone that the money spent, the years wasted on claims made by the DOD and the VA are worthless. Consider the numbers on veteran suicide statistics we already knew back in 2005. We had enough data on Vietnam veterans to know what was coming, or at least, we should have, but didn't put the data to good use. Vietnam veteran suicides were between 150,000 and 200,000.
In 2006 as the numbers grew the Pentagon denied the crisis situation even though US army suicides in Iraq three times the usual rate. Yet as bad as this was as soon as they were forced to do something, they turned around and spent billions of programs that RAND Corp found did not fit with military culture. The evidence proved RAND right and the DOD wrong. The VA proved RAND right as well when this was released.
So as Paul Harvey used to say, now you know the rest of the story. What veterans and the troops have been dealing with kept getting worse no matter how much real data was out there. Pretending it didn't happen and no one knew what was coming will make it worse tomorrow.
Back Home: VA system ill-prepared for residual effects of war
News21
By Staff
August 25, 2013
Editor’s Note: This story is part of the News21 multi-media project, “Back Home: The Enduring Battles Facing Post-9/11 Veterans.” Twenty-six News21 fellows from 12 universities conducted an investigation over 10 weeks under the leadership of ASU Cronkite School professors Jacquee Petchel and Len Downie.
In the 12 years since American troops first deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, more than 2.6 million veterans have returned home to a country largely unprepared to meet their needs. The government that sent them to war has failed on many levels to fulfill its obligations to these veterans as demanded by Congress and promised by both Republican and Democratic administrations, a News21 investigation has found.
Many of these combat veterans, returning from war with what will be lifelong illnesses and disabilities, are struggling to get the help they were promised in the form of disability payments, jobs, health care and treatment for such afflictions as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, physical disabilities and military sexual trauma.
But there is so much more to it.
As people playing some kind of political game scream for heads to roll now, others were screaming back in the early years of the two wars when the VA was not prepared or properly funded.
November 27, 2005
SECRETIVE VA LAUNCHES NEW PTSD REVIEW
By Larry Scott
Just six days after canceling one PTSD review, the VA "sneaks in" another - Culture of secrecy makes agency designed to help veterans their biggest foe. Over the past year, the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA), led by Secretary Jim Nicholson, has turned a deaf ear to veterans and quietly made numerous decisions designed to strip veterans of benefits and compensation.
Secretary Nicholson came to the VA with no understanding of veterans' advocacy and no experience in the healthcare sector. He had been Chairman of the Republican National Committee and Ambassador to the Vatican. As one pundit put it, "Jim Nicholson can write a good political bumper sticker and knows how to kiss the Pope's ring. That's about it."
But, with Secretary Nicholson at the VA helm, veterans have come to feel isolated from the agency's decision making processes. And, recent developments have done nothing quell that uneasy feeling.
Earlier this year, veterans were surprised by the VA's "second signature required" (SSR) policy. SSR applied to approved claims for many "high-dollar" disabilities and stipulated that the claim be re-approved by another VA staffer. However, if the claim was denied by the first staffer, there was no second review.
Veterans' groups claimed that a SSR policy should apply to all claims for any condition whether they were approved or denied. The fact that the VA chose to apply SSR to disabilities with "high-dollar" compensation was proof to many veterans that the agency was just trying to save money by denying benefits.
In February of 2005 the GAO said PTSD among returning Vets could overwhelm the VA. But that was only supported by over 30 years of research done on PTSD. The fact that the stigma associated with PTSD is still as strong as it was when nothing was being done should prove to anyone that the money spent, the years wasted on claims made by the DOD and the VA are worthless. Consider the numbers on veteran suicide statistics we already knew back in 2005. We had enough data on Vietnam veterans to know what was coming, or at least, we should have, but didn't put the data to good use. Vietnam veteran suicides were between 150,000 and 200,000.
In 2006 as the numbers grew the Pentagon denied the crisis situation even though US army suicides in Iraq three times the usual rate. Yet as bad as this was as soon as they were forced to do something, they turned around and spent billions of programs that RAND Corp found did not fit with military culture. The evidence proved RAND right and the DOD wrong. The VA proved RAND right as well when this was released.
Number of troops needing help threatens to overwhelm Veterans Administration
Kansas City Star
May 02, 2006
The number of troops back this year from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder could be five times higher than the Department of Veterans Affairs predicted.
Instead of 2,900 new cases that it reported in February to a veterans advocate in Congress, the increase could be 15,000 or more, according to the VA.
At the Kansas City VA Medical Center, only nine vets from current combat were diagnosed with PTSD in 2004.
Last year, it was 58. In just the first three months of fiscal 2006, the hospital saw 72.
“It’s absolutely incredible,” said Kathy Lee, at the Missouri Veterans of Foreign Wars.
A former Army nurse in Vietnam who works at the hospital, Lee said, “Every single Iraq vet who comes in, I give them a list and say, ‘How many of these (PTSD) symptoms do you have?’ It’s almost nine out of 10.”
A top VA mental health official said it was difficult to predict the number of new PTSD cases because of unknown factors like the troop discharge rate and how many veterans will use the VA.
So as Paul Harvey used to say, now you know the rest of the story. What veterans and the troops have been dealing with kept getting worse no matter how much real data was out there. Pretending it didn't happen and no one knew what was coming will make it worse tomorrow.
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