AMERICA'S HEROES
Army Supports Wounded Warriors' Children
(NAPSI)-Children face significant challenges when a soldier returns from war with severe injuries. After the stress of parents' deployment, the recovery process can last for years, deeply affecting children.
Sometimes they have to travel to the hospital where the parents recover, changing schools and leaving their friends behind. Sometimes they watch their parents learn to walk or talk all over again. Sometimes their parents are angry and anxious as they cope with the post-traumatic stress that often follows combat.
The U.S. Army recognizes the impact of these challenges and is taking proactive steps to help families.
Each year, the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program (AW2) hosts a symposium where wounded soldiers, veterans and their families gather to prioritize the top challenges facing the wounded warrior community. During the weeklong event, the children ages 6 to 17 attend Operation Purple®, an urban adventure camp hosted by the National Military Family Association.
"For the first time, I didn't feel alone," said 12-year-old Savannah Cramblett, whose mother sustained significant injuries while on active duty in Iraq. "My friends at school don't understand what my family is going through, but the kids at Operation Purple® camp did. I enjoyed the horseback riding, trip to Sea World and even swimming. These are memories, I will never forget."
read more here
http://www.napsnet.com/articles/64235.html
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Battle Company: Loving Life, Making War
Battle Company: Loving Life, Making War
By A. O. SCOTT
Published: June 25, 2010
“Restrepo,” a documentary that sticks close to a company of American soldiers during a grueling 14-month tour of duty in an especially dangerous part of Afghanistan, is an impressive, even heroic feat of journalism. Not that the filmmakers — Sebastian Junger, an adventurous reporter perhaps best known as the author of “The Perfect Storm,” and Tim Hetherington, a photographer with extensive experience in war zones — call attention to their own bravery. They stay behind the portable high- and standard-definition video cameras, nimble flies on a wall that is exposed to a steady barrage of bullets.
Hanging out with the members of Battle Company in their hilltop outposts in the Korangal Valley between May 2007 and July 2008, Mr. Junger and Mr. Hetherington recorded firefights, reconnaissance missions, sessions of rowdy horseplay and hours of grinding boredom. Afterward, when the tour was done, the filmmakers conducted interviews in which the soldiers tried to make sense of what they had done and seen. There is nothing especially fancy or innovative here, just a blunt, sympathetic, thorough accounting of the daily struggle to stay alive and accomplish something constructive.
read more here
Loving Life Making War
By A. O. SCOTT
Published: June 25, 2010
“Restrepo,” a documentary that sticks close to a company of American soldiers during a grueling 14-month tour of duty in an especially dangerous part of Afghanistan, is an impressive, even heroic feat of journalism. Not that the filmmakers — Sebastian Junger, an adventurous reporter perhaps best known as the author of “The Perfect Storm,” and Tim Hetherington, a photographer with extensive experience in war zones — call attention to their own bravery. They stay behind the portable high- and standard-definition video cameras, nimble flies on a wall that is exposed to a steady barrage of bullets.
Hanging out with the members of Battle Company in their hilltop outposts in the Korangal Valley between May 2007 and July 2008, Mr. Junger and Mr. Hetherington recorded firefights, reconnaissance missions, sessions of rowdy horseplay and hours of grinding boredom. Afterward, when the tour was done, the filmmakers conducted interviews in which the soldiers tried to make sense of what they had done and seen. There is nothing especially fancy or innovative here, just a blunt, sympathetic, thorough accounting of the daily struggle to stay alive and accomplish something constructive.
read more here
Loving Life Making War
Lakeland Florida gunfight leaves two deputies wounded, suspect dead
Lakeland gunfight leaves two deputies wounded, suspect dead
By Danny Valentine, Times Staff Writer
Posted: Jun 25, 2010 05:55 AM
LAKELAND — Two Polk County sheriff's deputies were shot multiple times in an early-morning gunfight with a suspected prowler Friday.
The unidentified suspect was killed but the two deputies are expected to recover, authorities said.
Deputy Paul Fairbanks III, 58, was shot in the stomach and left arm and was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center for surgery.
Deputy Michael Braswell, 32, was shot in the extremities, deputies said. He was taken to the same hospital for treatment.
Both deputies were wearing bullet-proof vests.
read more here
Lakeland gunfight leaves two deputies wounded
By Danny Valentine, Times Staff Writer
Posted: Jun 25, 2010 05:55 AM
LAKELAND — Two Polk County sheriff's deputies were shot multiple times in an early-morning gunfight with a suspected prowler Friday.
The unidentified suspect was killed but the two deputies are expected to recover, authorities said.
Deputy Paul Fairbanks III, 58, was shot in the stomach and left arm and was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center for surgery.
Deputy Michael Braswell, 32, was shot in the extremities, deputies said. He was taken to the same hospital for treatment.
Both deputies were wearing bullet-proof vests.
read more here
Lakeland gunfight leaves two deputies wounded
Family mourns loss of son, a Marine
Family mourns loss of son, a Marine
Updated: Friday, 25 Jun 2010, 5:49 PM EDT
Published : Friday, 25 Jun 2010, 5:49 PM EDT
Lorey Schultz
Posted by: Eli George
NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) - A dedicated Marine from North Tonawanda has made his final journey home. The body of Lance Corporal Timothy Serwinowski arrived at the Niagara Falls Air Base Friday morning as his heartbroken family looked on.
The body of Marine Lance Cpl. Timothy Serwinowski arrived, the latest casualty of war. Friday morning, he returned home to a hero's welcome. His heartbroken family linked arms and huddled close as fellow Marines carried his flag draped casket; his dog tag hung loosely. It was an emotional moment for everyone at the air base.
Patriot Guard Riders of NY member Joseph Shiah said, "It's getting more difficult. Every one is difficult. The Ride Captains get to know the families well, and it's like they're part of our family."
The 21-year-old North Tonawanda native was on patrol in Afghanistan Monday when fatally wounded by a sniper's bullet.
read more here
http://www.wivb.com/dpp/military/Family-mourns-loss-of-son-a-Marine
Updated: Friday, 25 Jun 2010, 5:49 PM EDT
Published : Friday, 25 Jun 2010, 5:49 PM EDT
Lorey Schultz
Posted by: Eli George
NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) - A dedicated Marine from North Tonawanda has made his final journey home. The body of Lance Corporal Timothy Serwinowski arrived at the Niagara Falls Air Base Friday morning as his heartbroken family looked on.
The body of Marine Lance Cpl. Timothy Serwinowski arrived, the latest casualty of war. Friday morning, he returned home to a hero's welcome. His heartbroken family linked arms and huddled close as fellow Marines carried his flag draped casket; his dog tag hung loosely. It was an emotional moment for everyone at the air base.
Patriot Guard Riders of NY member Joseph Shiah said, "It's getting more difficult. Every one is difficult. The Ride Captains get to know the families well, and it's like they're part of our family."
The 21-year-old North Tonawanda native was on patrol in Afghanistan Monday when fatally wounded by a sniper's bullet.
read more here
http://www.wivb.com/dpp/military/Family-mourns-loss-of-son-a-Marine
New details on toxic water at Camp Lejeune
Lejeune details under new study
BY BARBARA BARRETT - Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON -- A congressional oversight committee has begun looking into new details about historic water contamination at Camp Lejeune.
Investigators in the House Science and Technology Committee have requested hundreds of documents from the state of North Carolina that include details about underground storage tanks buried across the Marine base in past decades. The tanks contained fuel, tricholorethylene (TCE) and other chemicals.
Some of the storage tanks leaked into the groundwater, including some buried about 300 feet from a drinking well. The well was found in 1984 to be contaminated with benzene, a fuel component and a human carcinogen. It was closed in December 1984.
McClatchy has obtained the state of North Carolina documents and reported Friday that federal scientists have learned of the leaking fuel tanks near the historic well as they, too, work to understand the health effects of decades of contamination across the Marine base.
The tanks were buried beneath a former refueling station known as Building 1115; they were removed in 1993.
"That water was stunningly contaminated," said U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, chairman of the oversight panel on the science and technology committee. "It was stunningly toxic, and the fact that Marines and their families drank that water for 30 years is inexcusable."
Read more: Lejeune details under new study
BY BARBARA BARRETT - Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON -- A congressional oversight committee has begun looking into new details about historic water contamination at Camp Lejeune.
Investigators in the House Science and Technology Committee have requested hundreds of documents from the state of North Carolina that include details about underground storage tanks buried across the Marine base in past decades. The tanks contained fuel, tricholorethylene (TCE) and other chemicals.
Some of the storage tanks leaked into the groundwater, including some buried about 300 feet from a drinking well. The well was found in 1984 to be contaminated with benzene, a fuel component and a human carcinogen. It was closed in December 1984.
McClatchy has obtained the state of North Carolina documents and reported Friday that federal scientists have learned of the leaking fuel tanks near the historic well as they, too, work to understand the health effects of decades of contamination across the Marine base.
The tanks were buried beneath a former refueling station known as Building 1115; they were removed in 1993.
"That water was stunningly contaminated," said U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, chairman of the oversight panel on the science and technology committee. "It was stunningly toxic, and the fact that Marines and their families drank that water for 30 years is inexcusable."
Read more: Lejeune details under new study
Former Marine Recalls Feeling Forgotten On 60th Anniversary of Korean War
On 60th Anniversary of Korean War, Former Marine Recalls Feeling 'Forgotten'
Written by Jennifer Moore
Friday, 25 June 2010
The Korean War began 60 years ago Friday when North Korea invaded the South.
President Truman was in his home in Independence, Missouri, when his Secretary of State delivered the news. Within a few short weeks, US Troops were preparing to come to the defense of South Korea, even though war was never officially declared. One soldier who was among them was a young Marine by the name of Clifford Auberry. On Friday, he joined KSMU's Jennifer Moore by phone in Springfield.
Auberry went to Korea just a few months after the invasion in 1950, and he stayed through 1951.
"Well, I was a Marine, and I was pretty proud to go over there. But I felt like we were forgotten over there," he said.
"We didn't have equipment. We didn't have food. And other than our folks, we didn't hear from anybody," Auberry said.
He made two major landings in amphibious tanks, and said South Korea was "pretty well shot up" by the time US troops got there.
I asked him what emotions he feels when he hears the Korean War referred to as the "Forgotten War."
"Well, it's not very good emotions. We felt that way when we were over there. Only our families seemed to be the only ones who knew we were in Korea. And they said it wasn't really a war, that it was a police action," he recalls.
read more here
http://www.ksmu.org/content/view/6882/2/
Written by Jennifer Moore
Friday, 25 June 2010
The Korean War began 60 years ago Friday when North Korea invaded the South.
President Truman was in his home in Independence, Missouri, when his Secretary of State delivered the news. Within a few short weeks, US Troops were preparing to come to the defense of South Korea, even though war was never officially declared. One soldier who was among them was a young Marine by the name of Clifford Auberry. On Friday, he joined KSMU's Jennifer Moore by phone in Springfield.
Auberry went to Korea just a few months after the invasion in 1950, and he stayed through 1951.
"Well, I was a Marine, and I was pretty proud to go over there. But I felt like we were forgotten over there," he said.
"We didn't have equipment. We didn't have food. And other than our folks, we didn't hear from anybody," Auberry said.
He made two major landings in amphibious tanks, and said South Korea was "pretty well shot up" by the time US troops got there.
I asked him what emotions he feels when he hears the Korean War referred to as the "Forgotten War."
"Well, it's not very good emotions. We felt that way when we were over there. Only our families seemed to be the only ones who knew we were in Korea. And they said it wasn't really a war, that it was a police action," he recalls.
read more here
http://www.ksmu.org/content/view/6882/2/
Paws for Vets founder knew what PTSD felt like
Michele Malloy lost her 11 week old grandson when he died suddenly. That trauma changed everything she was feeling inside, as well as her outlook on the future. In a way, she ended up knowing what PTSD feels like. She also did something about it after discovering something that helped her heal. She started Paws for Vets because she knew what pain felt like.
That's really the biggest point here. We can all understand what the veterans are going through by remember what we felt like after a life altering event in our own lives.
A family member dying suddenly.
A life threatening event, an accident or the worry of having medical diagnosis like cancer.
One minute your life is pretty much laid out and your have your routine. You get up at the same time every morning and start your day the same way everyday. The people in your life are always expected to be there doing what they always do. Each day, there are parts of our lives we just expect to be there but when suddenly the routine and "normal" parts of our lives are gone, it is shocking and traumatic. Everything inside of skin is put into a tailspin because you know nothing will ever be the same way again.
Well, this is what PTSD begins with. Life changing events that are extreme and usually multiple events piled one on another. When you are a combat veteran, you have the usual things happen just like everyone else, but you also have to try to heal from the events that happen in war. Michele Malloy is one of those rare people able to take their own pain and do some good for others.
For wounded warriors, Orlando nonprofit brings healing on a leash
By Kate Santich, Orlando Sentinel
June 26, 2010
By the time Jason Jensen returned from his last deployment in Iraq, he already knew something was wrong. Physically, the marine had escaped the sniper fire and roadside bombing attempts that punctuated daily life, but he was not the same man who had enlisted at age 29.
Now 44, he was edgy, anxious and hyper-vigilant. He could never let himself relax, and he had no patience for the petty grievances his subordinates would bring to him. For that matter, he didn't want to deal with people at all, sometimes even his own wife and children.
Then he met Yahtzee, a 2-year-old German shepherd.
"I wasn't really a dog person," Jensen admits. "But Yahtzee has been a real blessing. Just being around him calms me down."
Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and anger issues, Jensen is one of a handful of soldiers being helped by a new nonprofit organization founded by an Orlando woman. Paws for Vets is her grassroots attempt to provide psychiatric service dogs, canine trainers and supplies to servicemen and women in need — to share with them the same profound healing a pup named Ginger once brought her.
read more here
Orlando nonprofit brings healing on a leash
That's really the biggest point here. We can all understand what the veterans are going through by remember what we felt like after a life altering event in our own lives.
A family member dying suddenly.
A life threatening event, an accident or the worry of having medical diagnosis like cancer.
One minute your life is pretty much laid out and your have your routine. You get up at the same time every morning and start your day the same way everyday. The people in your life are always expected to be there doing what they always do. Each day, there are parts of our lives we just expect to be there but when suddenly the routine and "normal" parts of our lives are gone, it is shocking and traumatic. Everything inside of skin is put into a tailspin because you know nothing will ever be the same way again.
Well, this is what PTSD begins with. Life changing events that are extreme and usually multiple events piled one on another. When you are a combat veteran, you have the usual things happen just like everyone else, but you also have to try to heal from the events that happen in war. Michele Malloy is one of those rare people able to take their own pain and do some good for others.
Michele Malloy, who founded Paws for Vets, holds Ginger. "From the moment I got her — from the moment even that I knew about her — I started feeling better, " says Malloy, who was in despair after the death of an infant grandson. (GEORGE SKENE, ORLANDO SENTINEL / June 24, 2010)
For wounded warriors, Orlando nonprofit brings healing on a leash
By Kate Santich, Orlando Sentinel
June 26, 2010
By the time Jason Jensen returned from his last deployment in Iraq, he already knew something was wrong. Physically, the marine had escaped the sniper fire and roadside bombing attempts that punctuated daily life, but he was not the same man who had enlisted at age 29.
Now 44, he was edgy, anxious and hyper-vigilant. He could never let himself relax, and he had no patience for the petty grievances his subordinates would bring to him. For that matter, he didn't want to deal with people at all, sometimes even his own wife and children.
Then he met Yahtzee, a 2-year-old German shepherd.
"I wasn't really a dog person," Jensen admits. "But Yahtzee has been a real blessing. Just being around him calms me down."
Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and anger issues, Jensen is one of a handful of soldiers being helped by a new nonprofit organization founded by an Orlando woman. Paws for Vets is her grassroots attempt to provide psychiatric service dogs, canine trainers and supplies to servicemen and women in need — to share with them the same profound healing a pup named Ginger once brought her.
read more here
Orlando nonprofit brings healing on a leash
Friday, June 25, 2010
BP Oil claims one more life after Captain committed suicide
Family: Oil disaster devastated captain who committed suicide
By Rich Phillips, CNN
June 25, 2010 1:49 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Authorities: 55-year-old boat captain committed suicide
Allen Kruse had been helping with BP cleanup for past two weeks
Captain did not leave note, but relatives say oil disaster devastated him
Orange Beach, Alabama (CNN) -- On Thursday evening, a boat returned to its dock without its captain -- his vibrant personality and smile gone. On the dock was a wreath memorializing the Gulf fisherman known as "Rookie."
His family and friends say "Rookie," whose real name was Allen Kruse, was stressed beyond belief by the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf. On Thursday, a coroner ruled his sudden, tragic death a suicide.
Kruse, 55, a charter boat captain who had been hired by BP to help clean Gulf waterways and render them safe, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Wednesday on board one of his own vessels.
"Most definitely a suicide," said Rod Steade Sr., deputy coroner for Baldwin County, Alabama. "No question about it."
Kruse shot himself with his own gun, kept on board his boat, which was also named "Rookie." He sent two of his deckhands on an errand before killing himself. He did not leave a note, and none of his friends suspected he would do something so extreme.
read more here
Oil disaster devastated captain who committed suicide
By Rich Phillips, CNN
June 25, 2010 1:49 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Authorities: 55-year-old boat captain committed suicide
Allen Kruse had been helping with BP cleanup for past two weeks
Captain did not leave note, but relatives say oil disaster devastated him
Orange Beach, Alabama (CNN) -- On Thursday evening, a boat returned to its dock without its captain -- his vibrant personality and smile gone. On the dock was a wreath memorializing the Gulf fisherman known as "Rookie."
His family and friends say "Rookie," whose real name was Allen Kruse, was stressed beyond belief by the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf. On Thursday, a coroner ruled his sudden, tragic death a suicide.
Kruse, 55, a charter boat captain who had been hired by BP to help clean Gulf waterways and render them safe, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Wednesday on board one of his own vessels.
"Most definitely a suicide," said Rod Steade Sr., deputy coroner for Baldwin County, Alabama. "No question about it."
Kruse shot himself with his own gun, kept on board his boat, which was also named "Rookie." He sent two of his deckhands on an errand before killing himself. He did not leave a note, and none of his friends suspected he would do something so extreme.
read more here
Oil disaster devastated captain who committed suicide
June 27 National Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day
Senate passes PTSD Awareness Day resolution
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jun 25, 2010 11:04:53 EDT
BISMARCK, N.D. — The Senate has passed a resolution designating June 27 as National Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day.
The resolution was authored by Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
Conrad said the stress of war might create wounds for soldiers that are less visible than others but are no less real. PTSD symptoms include anxiety, anger and depression.
Conrad said more must be done to educate troops, veterans, families and communities about the disorder and the resources and treatments available.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/06/ap_ptsd_awareness_day_062510/
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jun 25, 2010 11:04:53 EDT
BISMARCK, N.D. — The Senate has passed a resolution designating June 27 as National Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day.
The resolution was authored by Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
Conrad said the stress of war might create wounds for soldiers that are less visible than others but are no less real. PTSD symptoms include anxiety, anger and depression.
Conrad said more must be done to educate troops, veterans, families and communities about the disorder and the resources and treatments available.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/06/ap_ptsd_awareness_day_062510/
Researchers delve into neural roots of courage
Snakes on the Brain
Researchers delve into neural roots of courage.
Posted: June 24, 2010
By Laura Sanders, Science News
Researchers now can say what would happen in Samuel L. Jackson’s brain if he really were to confront snakes on a plane. In a terrifying sequel to that movie scenario, researchers convinced volunteers to bring a slithery serpent within centimeters of their heads while they lay trapped in a brain scanner.
The experiment, published June 24 in Neuron, allowed researchers to watch brain activity as people chose to quell their fear and bring the snake closer to their heads, offering a glimpse into the courageous brain. Understanding how the brain chooses to overcome fearful impulses may help scientists treat people with phobias, panic disorders or PTSD.
“This is a breakthrough study that will set the stage for a whole new area of work related to the brain and fear,” says neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux of New York University, who was not involved in the research.
Scientists have figured out much of what happens in the brain during fear, LeDoux says, but almost nothing is known about the ability to overcome the reaction.
read more here
Snakes on the Brain
Researchers delve into neural roots of courage.
Posted: June 24, 2010
By Laura Sanders, Science News
Researchers now can say what would happen in Samuel L. Jackson’s brain if he really were to confront snakes on a plane. In a terrifying sequel to that movie scenario, researchers convinced volunteers to bring a slithery serpent within centimeters of their heads while they lay trapped in a brain scanner.
The experiment, published June 24 in Neuron, allowed researchers to watch brain activity as people chose to quell their fear and bring the snake closer to their heads, offering a glimpse into the courageous brain. Understanding how the brain chooses to overcome fearful impulses may help scientists treat people with phobias, panic disorders or PTSD.
“This is a breakthrough study that will set the stage for a whole new area of work related to the brain and fear,” says neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux of New York University, who was not involved in the research.
Scientists have figured out much of what happens in the brain during fear, LeDoux says, but almost nothing is known about the ability to overcome the reaction.
read more here
Snakes on the Brain
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)