Veterans' Affairs social workers face "burnout"
By Kevin Dougherty,
Montreal Gazette July 20, 2010
QUEBEC - Canada's soldiers returning home from the war in Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder face new obstacles because of caregiver burnout at Veterans' Affairs, the federal department charged with caring for them.
Magali Picard, vice president of the union representing Veterans' Affairs employees, told reporters Tuesday that DVA social workers have a case load of 40 clients, compared with a case load of 20 in a provincial CLSC community clinic.
And in the Quebec City office, serving the Valcartier Canadian Forces Base, while department norms say there should be 24 social workers, there are 16.
"Several have left for professional burnout," Picard said.
That means soldiers, suffering from PTSD, can wait four months before seeing a social worker, a necessary step in getting them back into society and back on the labour market.
Read more: Veterans Affairs social workers face burnout
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Marine Sgt. Peter Louis Kastner didn't want to live another day
Marine Sgt. Peter Louis Kastner didn't want to live another day
by
Chaplain Kathie
Some high school kids spend their last year, hitting the books with plans to go to college. Some think of their last days of having to pass tests and getting whatever job they can get. For others, they spend this last year preparing to join the best minority group in the nation, serving in the military.
They are fully aware of the sacrifices they will have to make in order to serve. They prepare their bodies and their minds training while suspending their sense of "self" for the sake of the greater good. They know they will have to leave their families and friends, often traveling away from home for the first time. They know they can be sent into combat just as much as they are aware, they may never walk through their doorway again.
Marine Sgt. Peter Louis Kastner was a veteran of war by the time he took his own life at the age of 25. He would have been aware, with two wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan when he graduated high school, that being deployed was almost guaranteed. Yet he was still willing. Few know what it is like to be willing to risk your life for your country and perhaps that's the biggest problem this nation has.
Afghanistan has been an ongoing operation since 2001 and Iraq, since 2003. Most Americans have forgotten that men and women are still sacrificing their lives but they are ready to complain about the price tag. Ask someone on the street if they know how many are serving in Iraq and they are shocked there are troops still there. Ask someone if they know how many died in Afghanistan this year and they have no clue.
This attitude of ignorance is carried on when they come home. While people care about the troops, they don't know about the suicides of soldiers going up every year or the fact this is the first month the Marines have reported a slight decline in the numbers of suicides committed by Marines. They know even less about the fact we lose 18 veterans a day to suicide. While tax money pays for programs and care by the VA, they simply assume all veterans are taken care of. They are unaware of the flood of calls into the VA's Suicide Prevention Hotline.
There is an important fact most of us miss. How does it ever get so bad that 10,000 lives are being saved at the same time we see so many die by their own hand? How does it get so bad that in three years 260,000 calls were made to the hotline?
These are people who were willing to sacrifice their lives serving. Nothing selfish or weak about any of them. How do we let it get so bad for them when they come home so many end up on the brink of deciding to pull the trigger or give it another day? They survived the worst man can do in combat with other people trying to kill them and their buddies and having to kill in return. They know what it is like to escape the bomb in the road and the bullet in the air. What they don't know is how to survive being back home.
The families left behind had spent a year worrying about the doorbell ringing knowing any day it could happen to someone they loved. What they didn't know was after the homecoming and rejoicing, they still had to worry about the doorbell, plus a phone call, plus coming back home to find they really never came home from combat all the way. Families prepared themselves to have to make funeral arrangements when they were deployed, but never thought about it after they came home.
The simple fact is, no matter how many years PTSD and combat has been researched, no matter how much money funds the research, very little has been accomplished in addressing this military crisis. Congress, the DOD and the VA love to ask questions, but they ask the same questions to the same group of people and get the same answers.
The Suicide Prevention Hotline is only in place because there were law suits filed by Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth. There was the
Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Bill and people stood up after they suffered a loss too great to just move on.
Yet for all the efforts, all the people trying to make a difference there had to be this many lives on the brink of being lost forever. We cannot restore life to any of them, but we can count them and honor them. We cannot replace the lives lost, but we can stop the numbers from growing and save the lives of others. This can only happen when the American people demand words of actions result in less loss of ever reaching the point where they feel they have to call a suicide prevention hotline to live another day.
by
Chaplain Kathie
Some high school kids spend their last year, hitting the books with plans to go to college. Some think of their last days of having to pass tests and getting whatever job they can get. For others, they spend this last year preparing to join the best minority group in the nation, serving in the military.
They are fully aware of the sacrifices they will have to make in order to serve. They prepare their bodies and their minds training while suspending their sense of "self" for the sake of the greater good. They know they will have to leave their families and friends, often traveling away from home for the first time. They know they can be sent into combat just as much as they are aware, they may never walk through their doorway again.
Marine Sgt. Peter Louis Kastner was a veteran of war by the time he took his own life at the age of 25. He would have been aware, with two wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan when he graduated high school, that being deployed was almost guaranteed. Yet he was still willing. Few know what it is like to be willing to risk your life for your country and perhaps that's the biggest problem this nation has.
Afghanistan has been an ongoing operation since 2001 and Iraq, since 2003. Most Americans have forgotten that men and women are still sacrificing their lives but they are ready to complain about the price tag. Ask someone on the street if they know how many are serving in Iraq and they are shocked there are troops still there. Ask someone if they know how many died in Afghanistan this year and they have no clue.
This attitude of ignorance is carried on when they come home. While people care about the troops, they don't know about the suicides of soldiers going up every year or the fact this is the first month the Marines have reported a slight decline in the numbers of suicides committed by Marines. They know even less about the fact we lose 18 veterans a day to suicide. While tax money pays for programs and care by the VA, they simply assume all veterans are taken care of. They are unaware of the flood of calls into the VA's Suicide Prevention Hotline.
VA’s Suicide Hotline
10000 Rescues and Counting
Someone to Listen — VHA Health Science Specialist and Suicide Lifeline Responder Melissa Rath talks with a caller. (VA staff photo)
The Department of Veterans Affairs National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is on track to record its 10,000th rescue — an achievement likely to occur some time around the Fourth of July. That’s 10,000 Veterans who would not be here today had they not called the VA Lifeline and talked to a trained responder — a responder who deemed it necessary to take immediate action to save the caller’s life.
“These are people who call us, but they’ve already taken pills, or they have a gun in their hands, or they’re standing on a bridge,” explained Jan Kemp, VA’s National Suicide Prevention Coordinator. “These are the calls where we can’t wait. We call emergency services right away.”
VA’s Lifeline crisis center, which opened in July 2007, is staffed 24/7 by 20 responders, social workers, health technician assistants and counselors who handle 15 phone lines and three chat lines. The center, located in Canandaigua, N.Y., has received about 260,000 calls during its three years in existence.
“A lot of our callers just want information regarding mental health and other services available to them at their local VA hospital,” Kemp explained. “But some of the calls are more urgent. The person is clearly distressed. We try to provide them with immediate assistance...we’ll send someone out to their house to do a wellness check-up.”
click link above for more
There is an important fact most of us miss. How does it ever get so bad that 10,000 lives are being saved at the same time we see so many die by their own hand? How does it get so bad that in three years 260,000 calls were made to the hotline?
These are people who were willing to sacrifice their lives serving. Nothing selfish or weak about any of them. How do we let it get so bad for them when they come home so many end up on the brink of deciding to pull the trigger or give it another day? They survived the worst man can do in combat with other people trying to kill them and their buddies and having to kill in return. They know what it is like to escape the bomb in the road and the bullet in the air. What they don't know is how to survive being back home.
Former Marine from Camp Pendleton found dead in Yellowstone Park, an apparent suicide
July 20, 2010 2:52 pm
A former Marine sergeant from Camp Pendleton who served two combat tours in Iraq has been found dead in Yellowstone Park, an apparent suicide, park officials said Tuesday.
The body of Peter Louis Kastner, 25, was found in a remote part of the sprawling park. An autopsy revealed that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said. He had been missing since May 31.
His parents told park officials that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had twice been injured by roadside bomb explosions. His medals include the Combat Action Ribbon awarded to troops who have been under enemy fire.
read more here
Former Marine from Camp Pendleton found dead in Yellowstone Park
The families left behind had spent a year worrying about the doorbell ringing knowing any day it could happen to someone they loved. What they didn't know was after the homecoming and rejoicing, they still had to worry about the doorbell, plus a phone call, plus coming back home to find they really never came home from combat all the way. Families prepared themselves to have to make funeral arrangements when they were deployed, but never thought about it after they came home.
The simple fact is, no matter how many years PTSD and combat has been researched, no matter how much money funds the research, very little has been accomplished in addressing this military crisis. Congress, the DOD and the VA love to ask questions, but they ask the same questions to the same group of people and get the same answers.
The Suicide Prevention Hotline is only in place because there were law suits filed by Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth. There was the
Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Bill and people stood up after they suffered a loss too great to just move on.
Yet for all the efforts, all the people trying to make a difference there had to be this many lives on the brink of being lost forever. We cannot restore life to any of them, but we can count them and honor them. We cannot replace the lives lost, but we can stop the numbers from growing and save the lives of others. This can only happen when the American people demand words of actions result in less loss of ever reaching the point where they feel they have to call a suicide prevention hotline to live another day.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Fort Bliss 24 year old soldier kills himself as police arrive to save him
Bliss soldier kills himself in police standoff
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 20, 2010 15:21:52 EDT
EL PASO, Texas — A soldier died after shooting himself in the chest during a standoff with local police, authorities said.
Robert Nichols, 24, shot himself Monday night, El Paso police spokesman Mike Baranyay said. Nichols was taken to William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss, where he later died.
Baranyay said police went to Nichols’ northeast El Paso home after getting a call about a suicide in progress. After officers heard several gunshots from inside the home, Nichols came out and later shot himself as police looked on, police said.
Details of Nichols’ Army service were not available Tuesday afternoon. Fort Bliss officials said military authorities have investigated three other suspected suicides involving soldiers from the post this year.
Bliss soldier kills himself in police standoff
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 20, 2010 15:21:52 EDT
EL PASO, Texas — A soldier died after shooting himself in the chest during a standoff with local police, authorities said.
Robert Nichols, 24, shot himself Monday night, El Paso police spokesman Mike Baranyay said. Nichols was taken to William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss, where he later died.
Baranyay said police went to Nichols’ northeast El Paso home after getting a call about a suicide in progress. After officers heard several gunshots from inside the home, Nichols came out and later shot himself as police looked on, police said.
Details of Nichols’ Army service were not available Tuesday afternoon. Fort Bliss officials said military authorities have investigated three other suspected suicides involving soldiers from the post this year.
Bliss soldier kills himself in police standoff
Oregon Attorney General wants to shut down Veterans of Oregon nonprofit
A few things to think about here. I am a non-profit but I do not give things or money away to veterans. I give them my time, so my expenses are very low. That is why I do not do the usual fundraising. I need money to cover the hours and the expenses but that's it. Charities on the other hand claiming to do things for veterans, like feed them, put clothes on their backs, give them shelter or provide things for them, they need to spend the money on them and not themselves.
They do not need to spend it all but they do have to account for where the money goes.
As for me, I'm in the hole every month paying out of pocket more than comes in.
They do not need to spend it all but they do have to account for where the money goes.
As for me, I'm in the hole every month paying out of pocket more than comes in.
Oregon Attorney General wants to shut down Veterans of Oregon nonprofit
Published: Monday, July 19, 2010
Julie Sullivan, The Oregonian
Oregon's Attorney General wants a popular nonprofit that awards honorary medals to military veterans shut down for deceiving donors.
John Kroger said that Veterans of Oregon telemarketers told donors their money would feed, house and provide medical care for homeless and ill vets. Instead, 80 percent of the cash raised over two years -- about $500,000 -- went to the Michigan telemarketing firm making the calls.
The Department of Justice has sued the nonprofit veterans group and its for-profit fundraiser, Associated Community Services, saying it "spent nothing or only token amounts on the programs described" in solicitations. The state alleges that much of the remaining 20 percent went to founder John Neuman and his associates' expenses for the $6 medals and travel to award ceremonies.
read more here
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/post_114.html
New worries for Afghanistan veterans, toxic dust
Study finds toxic metals in dust in Afghanistan
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 20, 2010 8:21:19 EDT
Here’s another thing to worry about when you deploy: toxic dust.
A new Navy study suggests that dust from Afghanistan contains metals that may cause respiratory problems and brain damage.
“Afghanistan sand produces neurotoxicity … with potential adverse health effects to our soldiers,” according to a briefing of the study presented at a medical conference in June in Portland, Ore.
The Navy conducted the study in response to anecdotal concerns that the dust and dust storms common in the Middle East may be harmful. The dust samples were taken from Forward Operating Base Salerno near Khost, which was selected because of its relative isolation with no nearby industry that could skew results.
A close analysis of the Afghan dust found traces of manganese, a toxic chemical known to cause Parkinson’s-like symptoms. Other metals found in the sand include silicon, iron, magnesium, aluminum and chromium.
Those metals, if trace elements are inhaled, can travel through the bloodstream to the brain and other organs, according to the study.
read more here
Study finds toxic metals in dust in Afghanistan
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jul 20, 2010 8:21:19 EDT
Here’s another thing to worry about when you deploy: toxic dust.
A new Navy study suggests that dust from Afghanistan contains metals that may cause respiratory problems and brain damage.
“Afghanistan sand produces neurotoxicity … with potential adverse health effects to our soldiers,” according to a briefing of the study presented at a medical conference in June in Portland, Ore.
The Navy conducted the study in response to anecdotal concerns that the dust and dust storms common in the Middle East may be harmful. The dust samples were taken from Forward Operating Base Salerno near Khost, which was selected because of its relative isolation with no nearby industry that could skew results.
A close analysis of the Afghan dust found traces of manganese, a toxic chemical known to cause Parkinson’s-like symptoms. Other metals found in the sand include silicon, iron, magnesium, aluminum and chromium.
Those metals, if trace elements are inhaled, can travel through the bloodstream to the brain and other organs, according to the study.
read more here
Study finds toxic metals in dust in Afghanistan
SEAL killed in BASE-jumping attempt lost his balance
SEAL killed in BASE-jumping attempt lost his balance
Investigators said they believe the Navy SEAL who died after falling from a cell-phone tower lost his balance and couldn't trigger his parachute. Tyler S. Stimson, a petty officer first class assigned to a Virginia Beach-based SEAL team, died Friday when his parachute failed to open properly.
Investigators said they believe the Navy SEAL who died after falling from a cell-phone tower lost his balance and couldn't trigger his parachute. Tyler S. Stimson, a petty officer first class assigned to a Virginia Beach-based SEAL team, died Friday when his parachute failed to open properly.
Veterans can have seizures decades after a head injury
Veterans can have seizures decades after a head injury, study finds
It's unclear what can trigger the post-traumatic epilepsy, which can hit up to 35 years after a penetrating head wound. The long-term study looks at Vietnam veterans.
By Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times
July 20, 2010
Soldiers who suffered brain injuries can develop seizures decades — as long as 35 years — after the initial injury, researchers have found.
A study published Tuesday in the journal Neurology found that among a group of 199 Vietnam veterans, about 13% developed post-traumatic epilepsy more than 14 years after they had suffered a penetrating head wound, such as a gunshot injury or shrapnel that entered brain tissue. Penetrating head injuries are generally linked with a higher risk for epilepsy than other types of head injuries, such as concussions.
Among the veterans, who are part of a long-term investigation called the Vietnam Head Injury Study, the overall rate of post-traumatic epilepsy was about 44%, consistent with similar military groups.
It is unclear what's responsible for the triggering of seizures so many years after a penetrating head injury, said study coauthor Jordan Grafman, chief of the Cognitive Neuroscience Section of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Md.
read more here
Veterans can have seizures decades after a head injury
It's unclear what can trigger the post-traumatic epilepsy, which can hit up to 35 years after a penetrating head wound. The long-term study looks at Vietnam veterans.
By Jeannine Stein, Los Angeles Times
July 20, 2010
Soldiers who suffered brain injuries can develop seizures decades — as long as 35 years — after the initial injury, researchers have found.
A study published Tuesday in the journal Neurology found that among a group of 199 Vietnam veterans, about 13% developed post-traumatic epilepsy more than 14 years after they had suffered a penetrating head wound, such as a gunshot injury or shrapnel that entered brain tissue. Penetrating head injuries are generally linked with a higher risk for epilepsy than other types of head injuries, such as concussions.
Among the veterans, who are part of a long-term investigation called the Vietnam Head Injury Study, the overall rate of post-traumatic epilepsy was about 44%, consistent with similar military groups.
It is unclear what's responsible for the triggering of seizures so many years after a penetrating head injury, said study coauthor Jordan Grafman, chief of the Cognitive Neuroscience Section of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Md.
read more here
Veterans can have seizures decades after a head injury
Veterans Of Iraq, Afghanistan Wars Becoming Homeless
I am really wondering what happened to our attitude. It seems as if we're always taking sides politically but not taking sides for truth or doing the right thing. Democrats and Republicans face off and all we hear is "the deficit" from the same people responsible for how we got here, now all of a sudden so concerned about the bill.
Yesterday I posted how Paul Krugman ended up finally talking about the budget that runs this country being done a year ahead of time. Yes, I was and still am furious about this hitting the press the day after I raised it on Linkedin, mind you in the exact order I presented it. The budget followed by TARP. I was taking a look at the budgets from President Bush and President Obama when it came to taking care of our veterans, when I was reminded of the fact these budgets are done a year ahead. Noticing that for all the posts going back and forth on Linkedin failed to mention this fact, I posted about it. I thought it was important to remind people that this is in fact Obama's first budget we're living with. In all of this, it also shows how far we've come in such a short time of his presidency simply because he cared to lead the way.
We have a long way to go to make up for years of whining from some "conservative" congress members suddenly thinking about spending when in fact, up until this year, the price tag for Iraq and Afghanistan were not included in the budget, thus easily hidden from the public. Obama put this spending into his budget, where it should have been all along. Now these same "conservatives" are whining about spending?
They complain about extending unemployment, but they never stop to think about the people needing help just to survive. They certainly don't think of the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan being included in the ranks of the unemployed. Just as with homeless veterans, they were forgotten about until 2007 after the watchdogs of the people took control over the committees. Yes, spending has gone up but it is not just it has gone up we need to notice. It is why spending has gone up that should matter to all of us.
These are not tax cuts for the wealthy, so the "conservative" congress members complain at the same time they want unfunded tax cuts for the wealthy to continue unfunded. They did not demand accountability or limit any spending for Iraq and Afghanistan but now they are in the budget, well, they don't put any of this in the big picture at the same time they are whining about not wanting the defense budget cut, but these same people said that they didn't want to increase the pay for the troops. Amazing what is avoided.
Today on the Today Show, Matt Laur was talking to Newt Gingrich about the deficit. Apparently Laur is unaware of the real workings of this country and fell into the rant from the "conservative" talkers ignoring what happened when and why.
The facts are online and all you have to do is look up the budget and what year it really started. Things are bad right now but allowing claims to just become truth is wrong. As you listen to the talkers on TV and radio, have some curiosity and look into what the truth really is because if you don't, this will be the government you may deserve for ignoring the truth, but it is not the government the veterans or the troops deserve when they are the ones willing to fight and die for it, while you can't be bothered to find out who is telling the truth.
I know you care or you wouldn't be in this blog so please, demand some honesty from all our elected and from the media even more. This isn't about being a member of one party or another, it's about being a member of this same country and wanting what is best for our future. We can't get there from here as long as truth is ignored. The next time you hear any political figure talk about the deficit and how they don't want to spend money, take a look at what they do want to spend money on and then think about the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan coming home ending up without jobs and becoming homeless.
Yesterday I posted how Paul Krugman ended up finally talking about the budget that runs this country being done a year ahead of time. Yes, I was and still am furious about this hitting the press the day after I raised it on Linkedin, mind you in the exact order I presented it. The budget followed by TARP. I was taking a look at the budgets from President Bush and President Obama when it came to taking care of our veterans, when I was reminded of the fact these budgets are done a year ahead. Noticing that for all the posts going back and forth on Linkedin failed to mention this fact, I posted about it. I thought it was important to remind people that this is in fact Obama's first budget we're living with. In all of this, it also shows how far we've come in such a short time of his presidency simply because he cared to lead the way.
We have a long way to go to make up for years of whining from some "conservative" congress members suddenly thinking about spending when in fact, up until this year, the price tag for Iraq and Afghanistan were not included in the budget, thus easily hidden from the public. Obama put this spending into his budget, where it should have been all along. Now these same "conservatives" are whining about spending?
They complain about extending unemployment, but they never stop to think about the people needing help just to survive. They certainly don't think of the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan being included in the ranks of the unemployed. Just as with homeless veterans, they were forgotten about until 2007 after the watchdogs of the people took control over the committees. Yes, spending has gone up but it is not just it has gone up we need to notice. It is why spending has gone up that should matter to all of us.
These are not tax cuts for the wealthy, so the "conservative" congress members complain at the same time they want unfunded tax cuts for the wealthy to continue unfunded. They did not demand accountability or limit any spending for Iraq and Afghanistan but now they are in the budget, well, they don't put any of this in the big picture at the same time they are whining about not wanting the defense budget cut, but these same people said that they didn't want to increase the pay for the troops. Amazing what is avoided.
Today on the Today Show, Matt Laur was talking to Newt Gingrich about the deficit. Apparently Laur is unaware of the real workings of this country and fell into the rant from the "conservative" talkers ignoring what happened when and why.
from April 10, 2009
He said war spending will be included in the regular budget starting in 2010, which would end the Bush administration's practice of paying for the wars with supplemental spending bills that increase federal debt.
http://mediamatters.org/research/200904100002
In the last 10 years, the defense budget has almost doubled to $549 billion, and in real terms baseline defense spending “is now higher than at the height of the Reagan buildup, and total defense spending now exceeds what we spent any time since World War II.” As Ryan has said, “you know the current Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, he’s going a pretty good job of identifying obsolete weapons systems that are costing tens of billions of dollars that aren’t needed.” Now if only he could get Congress to go along.
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/07/08/isakson-palin-defens/
Feb. 2010
Obama's budget deficits to rise from wars, recession
Among his new proposals: $100 billion in tax cuts and credits for small businesses and spending on infrastructure to create jobs and increase wages.
Even with the added boost, the White House forecasts slow progress from the current unemployment rate of 10 percent. Christina Romer, the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, forecasts that the jobless rate would drop to 9.8 percent this year, 8.9 percent in 2011 and 7.9 percent in 2012.
The president also proposed other spending increases for the next fiscal year, including:
$48 billion for veterans' medical care, an 8 percent increase.
$53 billion for homeland security, a nearly 4 percent increase, including money for 1,000 advanced imaging technology machines for airport passengers, new explosives detection equipment for baggage and more federal marshals aboard international flights.
$310 million to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including $273 million to buy a state prison at Thomson, Ill., for those detainees who won't be released or transferred to other countries.
Obama also urged Congress to take steps that he said would shave $1.2 trillion off the deficit over the next 10 years:
Freezing overall spending for three years for some federal departments and programs outside of national security, Medicare and Social Security.
Slapping a fee on big banks.
Ending subsidies for oil, gas and coal production.
Cutting or eliminating 120 programs.
Read more: Obama Deficits To Rise
The facts are online and all you have to do is look up the budget and what year it really started. Things are bad right now but allowing claims to just become truth is wrong. As you listen to the talkers on TV and radio, have some curiosity and look into what the truth really is because if you don't, this will be the government you may deserve for ignoring the truth, but it is not the government the veterans or the troops deserve when they are the ones willing to fight and die for it, while you can't be bothered to find out who is telling the truth.
Veterans Of Iraq, Afghanistan Wars Becoming Homeless
Miri Marshall-Weekend Anchor/Weathercaster/News Reporter
Posted: 8:55 pm MDT July 19, 2010
Updated: 9:39 pm MDT July 19, 2010
EL PASO, Texas -- He was only 22-years-old and looking for a better life. James Schauer thought the Army was the answer.
“I figured it would be a good opportunity to actually get something done,” Schauer said.
After he joined the military based in Illinois in 2002, he served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. But when he left the military in 2006, he had no idea that he would go from hero to homeless.
“The first thing that went through my mind was basic necessities. I’m going to need shelter. I’m going to need to eat. I’m going to need to drink,” he told KFOX.
read more here
http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/24318063/detail.html
I know you care or you wouldn't be in this blog so please, demand some honesty from all our elected and from the media even more. This isn't about being a member of one party or another, it's about being a member of this same country and wanting what is best for our future. We can't get there from here as long as truth is ignored. The next time you hear any political figure talk about the deficit and how they don't want to spend money, take a look at what they do want to spend money on and then think about the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan coming home ending up without jobs and becoming homeless.
Fox Chapel Veteran Fights For PTSD Treatment
PITTSBURGH
KDKA
Veterans from wars extending back to Vietnam have complained of post-traumatic stress and complained as well that they haven't been able to get treatment.
It appears that the Veterans Administration is listening to stories like that of Matt Drudnok who went to war shortly after graduating from Fox Chapel High School six years ago.
"You think about the events that happened and you just run them through your head over and over and over again," he said.
After two tours of duty in Iraq, Drudnok is back in Pittsburgh, but even though he's left the war, the war hasn't left him.
Back in 2007, Drudnok was in the thick of it in Fallujah, Ramadi and Tikrit. His mission was to unearth and disarm improvised explosive devices when his vehicle was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade.
"I came to over the steering wheel slumped over and there was still dust settling and there were still people getting away," he said.
read the rest of this here
http://kdka.com/local/Veterans.Administration.PTSD.2.1813588.html
Officer, suspect shot at house
Officer, suspect shot at house
Goose Creek domestic call turns violent, authorities say
BY PAUL BOWERS and ANDY PARAS, The Post and Courier
Goose Creek — A city police officer was critically wounded Monday night while responding to a domestic disturbance call and other officers shot the gunman in an ensuing firefight, authorities said.
Two other people at the residence were injured at some point during the incident, which lasted only a few minutes.
Around 8:30 p.m., dispatchers received a report of a domestic disturbance at 111 Iris St., said Lt. Karen Nix, city police spokeswoman.
When the police officer arrived, she said, a man wielding a shotgun came out on the porch and fired several times. The officer was hit at least once, she said.
Other officers arrived at the scene and shots were exchanged with the gunman, she said.
read more here
Officer, suspect shot at house
Goose Creek domestic call turns violent, authorities say
BY PAUL BOWERS and ANDY PARAS, The Post and Courier
Goose Creek — A city police officer was critically wounded Monday night while responding to a domestic disturbance call and other officers shot the gunman in an ensuing firefight, authorities said.
Two other people at the residence were injured at some point during the incident, which lasted only a few minutes.
Around 8:30 p.m., dispatchers received a report of a domestic disturbance at 111 Iris St., said Lt. Karen Nix, city police spokeswoman.
When the police officer arrived, she said, a man wielding a shotgun came out on the porch and fired several times. The officer was hit at least once, she said.
Other officers arrived at the scene and shots were exchanged with the gunman, she said.
read more here
Officer, suspect shot at house
From Bible to bullets, mentally ill man killed by police
Oak Ridge resident shot, killed by police
Man was alledgedly holding knife as he approached officers
By Bob Fowler
Knoxville News Sentinel
Posted July 20, 2010
OAK RIDGE — With four Bibles bookmarked and opened nearby, plus a black velvet painting of Jesus Christ on the hood of his car, Rodney Eugene Harris was “conversing with the Lord” Sunday afternoon, a neighbor said.
Harris, 48, was walking up and down Hillside Road in front of his home, “looking up in the sky and talking,” Scott McGuire said.
Minutes later, the man neighbors said everyone knew had mental problems was lying mortally wounded in a neighbor’s yard, shot several times by police.
Oak Ridge Police Chief David H. Beams said Harris was advancing toward four officers, large knife in hand, and refusing repeated commands to drop the weapon.
Harris had just stabbed a police dog and yanked an embedded Taser barb out of his body that had been fired by one officer in a bid to subdue him, Beams said.
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Oak Ridge resident shot, killed by police
Man was alledgedly holding knife as he approached officers
By Bob Fowler
Knoxville News Sentinel
Posted July 20, 2010
OAK RIDGE — With four Bibles bookmarked and opened nearby, plus a black velvet painting of Jesus Christ on the hood of his car, Rodney Eugene Harris was “conversing with the Lord” Sunday afternoon, a neighbor said.
Harris, 48, was walking up and down Hillside Road in front of his home, “looking up in the sky and talking,” Scott McGuire said.
Minutes later, the man neighbors said everyone knew had mental problems was lying mortally wounded in a neighbor’s yard, shot several times by police.
Oak Ridge Police Chief David H. Beams said Harris was advancing toward four officers, large knife in hand, and refusing repeated commands to drop the weapon.
Harris had just stabbed a police dog and yanked an embedded Taser barb out of his body that had been fired by one officer in a bid to subdue him, Beams said.
go here for more
Oak Ridge resident shot, killed by police
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