First Lady's Trip to Camp Pendleton Sparks GOP Criticism

This is a pretty appalling thing to do considering Michelle Obama has been visiting bases since the beginning, even before she became First Lady and has taken and active interest in meeting with Military Families! When political figures do something wrong, then yes, complain but when they do something good, for the right reasons, at least be honest if you have to say anything at all.

Denis Poroy, AP
First lady Michelle Obama speaks to troops and their families during a visit to Camp Pendleton on Sunday.

First Lady's Trip to Camp Pendleton Sparks GOP Criticism
Julie Watson

AP
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (June 13) -- After meeting with wounded Marines, first lady Michelle Obama told thousands of troops and their families Sunday that she is launching a national challenge to Americans to find ways to support them.

Since her husband took office, Obama has been visiting bases across the country as part of her mission to improve the quality of life for military families. She called Camp Pendleton and the surrounding Southern California cities a model for community support of troops.

But California Republicans called the event a publicity stunt to help Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who is running for a fourth term and has been criticized by opponents for not doing enough to support troops. President Barack Obama flew to California last month to support Boxer's fundraising efforts for her campaign.

The first lady said she came to Camp Pendleton for a simple reason: "To help the rest of our country better understand and appreciate the incredible service of you and your families, and to make sure your voices are heard back in Washington and that your needs are met."
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First Lady Trip to Camp Pendleton Sparks GOP Criticism

for the rest of this story, this is what else went on

First lady at Pendleton: Take care of families
By Gretel C. Kovach,
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER


CAMP PENDLETON — First lady Michelle Obama brought her national call to action on behalf of military families to Camp Pendleton on Sunday, where she challenged each American to find a way to support service members and their loved ones.

Obama met privately with injured service members and their families at the Marine Corps base and then addressed a crowd of about 3,500 — most of them troops from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force headquartered at the base near Oceanside.

“Given all that you and your family do to take care of America, America needs to take care of you,” she said. “Not just now, but for decades to come.”

The Camp Pendleton visit was one in a series of appearances by Obama to highlight one of her signature issues as first lady — the challenges military families continue to face during nearly a decade at war.
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First lady at Pendleton

UConn wants to know why you're angry?

Actually if they come up with ways to help you control your anger that would be a good thing but unless they are planning on addressing the spiritual side of PTSD, they will not be able to find the best way to treat it. Much like AA works on the spiritual issues, when ex-active-alcoholics stop drinking without addressing it, they end up being what is called a "dry drunk" and usually remain pretty nasty.

PTSD hits the emotional part of the brain and this should be directly tied to the spiritual life of anyone they treat. Without it, they are receiving only a third of the help they need. They need to be treated body, mind and soul.

Anger keeps soldiers alive and keeps them going long after their bodies are too tired to move. It keeps them alert long after they want to fall asleep. This emotion was part of the reason they survived and it is the strongest one even when they come home and cannot "get over it" when they have nothing else to fight against accept what is happening inside of them.

UConn seeks participants for study of PTSD, anger problems
Published 06/14/2010 12:00 AM

Men who served in the military in Afghanistan or Iraq are being sought for a University of Connecticut study comparing two treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder and anger problems.

An estimated 2,500 or more male Connecticut military personnel and veterans may require help with PTSD and anger problems, according to a UConn news release.
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UConn seeks participants for study of PTSD

Author claims Post-traumatic stress disorder claims are just an excuse

It would be a great joy for this man to face some of the Vietnam Veterans and tell them this bit of news. Think of how much better they would feel to know they were faking all along so many years after they were in fact out of the military! I am sure this is really making sense to this person but to the rest of the world, he would be equal to the cavemen thinking fire was a bad thing. People like this are part of the reason we are not as far ahead on PTSD help than we are. They love to stand in the way of the help they need without ever once thinking of how many of the PTSD veterans would love to stay in the military and be healed instead of being jerked around like this and once again being blamed for what combat did to them. What's this person's excuse for the survivors of other kinds of trauma with PTSD? The people in New York after 9-11 would be trying to get out of what? PTSD goes back to the start of recorded history. What were they trying to "get out of?"

Post-traumatic stress disorder claims are just an excuse to quit the army, says best-selling SAS author Andy McNab
Former SAS soldier Andy McNab tells a Howard League for Penal Reform inquiry that lack of education is the real reason for the large number of ex-servicemen in prison
Jamie Doward The Observer, Sunday 13 June 2010

One of Britain's best-known soldiers has dismissed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among the armed forces as little more than an excuse for recruits to leave the service early.

Andy McNab, the former SAS soldier now turned best-selling author, said servicemen and women "were very resilient" and that the perception that significant numbers of them suffered PTSD was wrong.

McNab, who spent the best part of two decades in the army, said there was a trend for armed forces personnel wanting to leave before the end of their contract to claim they had PTSD in order to obtain a medical discharge and a pension.
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Post-traumatic stress disorder claims are just an excuse

Video shrinks distance to mental health care

Five years ago when I started to make the videos on PTSD, it was with the understanding that the only way to reach people was by being where they are and not where I want them to be. Face to face is uncomfortable for many people, especially PTSD veterans used to being the ones others depend on and not easy to accept they need help from time to time as well. Online provides anonymity so they can open up without feeling as if their deepest, darkest secrets will end up leaving them vulnerable. I get a lot further getting them to understand what PTSD is and why they are going through most of it by emails and with using the videos than I ever could over the phone or in person. Not to say these are not useful approaches, but while they are fine for some people, most find it easier to open up with emails.

Now it seems as if the military has caught onto this approach. Give An Hour has been doing it online and many other groups have been following the same line of therapy. Put it this way, if it's easier to get them to understand what PTSD is online then it is also easier to treat them online too.

A majority of soldiers surveyed said they preferred that the person screening them was far away and that it heightened the sense of confidentiality, Venezia said.

“There’s some freedom, when you’re on the computer, to be who you want to be, who you are, and not necessarily have to feel uncomfortable about sitting 5 feet away from a provider,” she said. “And you don’t have to worry about going to the commissary and bumping into the guy you just told your deepest darkest secrets to.”

Video shrinks distance to mental health care

By Joe Gould - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Jun 13, 2010 10:32:16 EDT

When the soldiers of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, entered the post-deployment processing site, they sat down in a private room and had “face-to-face” conversations with mental health professionals thousands of miles away via video conference.

The Virtual Behavioral Health Program was part of a limited pilot program within Western Regional Medical Command. However, a senior Army leader said he would like the Army to explore and expand use of the technology, and he is not alone: The Veterans Affairs Department and the Defense Department’s National Center for Tele-health and Technology are studying how tele-mental health care might work.

Proponents see it as a means to address rising numbers of soldiers with PTSD, ease the stigma attached to mental health issues and bridge gaps between troops at rural posts and doctors in urban facilities.

“If I had my way, I wanted to provide this particularly for the Reserve components, so that you can do it from your home,” said Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army vice chief of staff. “So when Mrs. Chiarelli thought Mr. Chiarelli was having a rough time, and she couldn’t get him to go in, she could get him to do a session like this from his own home. What a stigma beater that is.”
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Video shrinks distance to mental health care

Baltimore cop who allegedly murdered Marine goes missing

Baltimore cop who allegedly murdered Marine goes missing

By Stephen Janis
Saturday, June 12th, 2010

A cop who shot an Iraqi war vet nine times at point blank range last weekend for making a pass at his female companion has been charged with murder.

The problem is, no one can find him.

Authorities in Baltimore issued an arrest warrant Friday evening charging Baltimore police officer Gahiji A. Tshamba with first degree murder in connection with the death of former marine Tyrone Brown.

But efforts to locate the 15-year veteran have been unsuccessful, leading investigators to consider the possibility Tshamba may have absconded rather than face murder charges and possible jail time.

“We have been to several places where he is known to live and he was not there,” a Baltimore police officer speaking on condition of anonymity told Raw Story Saturday morning.
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Baltimore cop who allegedly murdered Marine goes missing

EMT and PTSD

EMT Sounds Alarm About PTSD
Written for the Web by CBS4 Special Projects Producer Libby Smith Reporting
Dr. Dave Hnida AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)



Lights and sirens are a sure sign that tragedy has struck. In many cases it's the first responders that get the worst shock.

"If you come upon a scene where people's bodies are maimed, you feel a sense of tremendous horror; and often times helplessness, especially if there is a family member standing by begging you to save their loved one," said Dr. Neil Weiner, Director of Clinical Services at the Depression Center at the University of Colorado Denver.

Michael Ferrara is a first responder in the mountains. During his 28-year career he's seen a lot of horror and he says it's taken a heavy toll.

"I had what I was calling slide shows in my head. Hundreds and hundreds of slides that would run in my head of pictures of horrible, horrible things," Ferrara told CBS4.

"Because these images of the trauma are imprinted so much on their minds, they develop flash backs, intrusive recollections and nightmares that really keep the trauma alive," Weiner added.

For Ferrara the trauma lived for years. He says PTSD became debilitating.
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http://cbs4denver.com/health/emergency.workers.PTSD.2.1747845.html

PTSD Hits National Guard Soldiers Harder

PTSD Hits National Guard Soldiers Harder: Study
National Guard Soldiers Have Higher Rates of Mental Health Problems Than Others

By KRISTINA FIORE
MedPage Today Staff Writer
June 13, 2010


After combat duty in Iraq or Afghanistan , members of the National Guard appear to have higher rates of mental health problems than those in the Active Component, researchers have found.

Over 20 percent of service members report psychological distress.Rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with serious functional impairment increased from about 7 percent to more than 12 percent over a nine-month period, compared with only about a 1 percent increase among those in the Active Component, according to Jeffrey Thomas of Walter Reed Army Institute in Silver Spring, Md. and colleagues.

The researchers reported their findings in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

"The emergence of differences ... likely does not have to do with the differences in the health effects of combat, but rather with other variables related to readjustment to civilian life or access to health care," they wrote.
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PTSD Hits National Guard Soldiers Harder

Vietnam Wall exhibit heals old wounds say veterans

Vietnam Wall exhibit heals old wounds, say veterans
by Mondee Tilley



Read more: Mount Airy News - Vietnam Wall exhibit heals old wounds say veterans


Since the arrival of the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall on Thursday, at least 6,000 veterans have stopped by to pay tribute, according to Don Belle, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America group, who worked to bring the wall here.

“Most people thought it couldn’t be done. But not only did we do it, but this has brought healing to those who have been able to stop by and see the wall,” said Belle Saturday afternoon.

Gary Wagoner, a member of the VVA group, said seeing the wall and all of the veterans who have been touched by it has brought healing.

“This has been a healing process,” Wagoner said.


Read more: Mount Airy News - Vietnam Wall exhibit heals old wounds say veterans

Pipe bomb, weed found outside Mass. VA hospital

Pipe bomb, weed found outside Mass. VA hospital
(AP) – 10 hours ago

BEDFORD, Mass. — Police detaining a man on an outstanding warrant outside a Massachusetts veterans affairs hospital got a surprise when the man's friend handed them a pipe bomb.

Police Sgt. Michael Cloutier says Sean Carney and Christopher McDonald arrived at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford, where one was planning to attend a detox program Friday.
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Pipe bomb, weed found outside Mass. VA hospital

Battle Veterans Cruel Deadly Plague

PTSD, PTSD, PTSD, Continued: Battle Veterans Cruel Deadly Plague: Alcoholism is the Result
Dr. Phil Leveque Salem-News.com
The VA is still not taking proper care of any PTSD Vets of all wars. Alcoholism is killing hundreds of thousands because VA drugs have bad side effects and are not tolerable.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - Yes, I created the above title on purpose. I have written many stories about this; search this link salem-news.com. to read numerous articles about PTSD

I had heard of SHELL SHOCK and BATTLE FATIGUE which are “waste basket diagnoses” even before I went into the WWII Army. In 1943, I even read that there were about 15% “”Battle Neurosis” casualties in America’s invasion of N. Africa. The Army even sent a medical doctor Brigadier General to N. Africa to investigate what was wrong with those enlisted men SISSIES. Then they discovered well trained, experienced officers got it also (behind front lines?).

They began to more heavily sort out recruits at Draft Boards and up to 30% of possible recruits FAILED the mickey mouse evaluations. Furthermore a lot of Mommies Boys flunked out in Basic Training. They probably wouldn’t be suitable foxhole buddies anyhow. A lot of them got as far as the front lines. That’s where the 15% Battle Neurosis came from.

I knew that I had PTSD after 3 months as a Battalion Scout, pointman and forward observer. Those were frequently suicide missions but I was lucky.

PTSD was not named and diagnosed as such until about 1980 when Vietnam Vets started falling apart. They were perhaps the most widely studied group of Veterans ever studied. I am not saying they were any different than any other Veterans but it is a fact.
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http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june122010/ptsd-alcohol-pl.php

Wrong and this needs to be corrected.

By 1978 there were veteran's centers opened around the country and according to a study funded by the DAV, there were already 500,000 Vietnam veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. While the VA itself did not use the term, it was already being used around the country.





The warnings were right here and they have not changed. They have only grown larger since most of the warnings, most of the evidence and studies on PTSD done have gone ignored. Today we see repeated studies funded and too few results.
"...the number of these veterans experiencing these symptoms will climb until 1985 based on his belief of Erickson's psycholosocial developmental stages and how far along in these stages combat veterans will be by 1985."

This is also our greatest fear when we read the numbers today. We know the numbers and the need will only go up. It will go up with the numbers being deployed and exposed to traumatic events during combat. It will go up with the repeated deployments, which according to the study done by the Army a few years ago, only increases the risk by 50% for each time they go back. There is also one more factor in all of this. The time they go from shock of combat and the time they finally get help. Mild PTSD can be healed a lot better when other events in life do not add to it. In other words, the longer PTSD goes untreated, the more it infects the rest of their lives and is fed by living.

Most veterans with PTSD are not addicted to drugs or alcohol as much as they are searching to kill off feelings and calm their nerves. It becomes a part of their daily lives. It also ends up harming them to the point where all the medication in the world will provide no relief and therapy is undone by substance abuse.

Then, just like the rest of the population, there are some real drug addicts and alcoholics addicted to the chemicals just as much as they are facing the symptoms of PTSD. As with the rest of this, as bad as we think the flood of veterans seeking help for PTSD is today, the numbers will only go up when the ones with Mild PTSD can no longer cover their symptoms or deny they need help. The worst thing about all of this is the suffering they go through waiting to seek help is making PTSD worse for them and will be harder to heal.

Please read the rest of the above article. The rest is very good.