New website highlights support for military families

New website highlights support for families
By Karen Jowers - Staff writer

Posted : Friday Jul 23, 2010 17:03:36 EDT

Those who devote large amounts of their time and effort to help military families now have a way to share their stories with the nation.

“As a military mom, I’ve seen firsthand how acts of kindness can improve the life of a service member,” Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, told about 1,300 people who attended the annual conference of the Military Child Education Coalition.

To showcase the efforts of those who support military families, Jill Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama have worked with the Corporation for National and Community Service to create a website dedicated to military families and veterans at http://www.serve.gov.

Biden noted that the site is a work in progress, but she urged people to share their stories about how they are supporting a military family, “whether it’s offering to mow their lawn, or bake cookies, or just go over with a movie and popcorn, or organizing a care package event in your neighborhood.”

“We want to hear your story about how you’re supporting those who serve us every day,” she told the group of teachers, counselors, administrators and other educators, military families, service and defense officials who work with military children, and members of private organizations.

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New website highlights support for families

A battle shows how US military grapples with troops in trauma

Dying faces, body bags: A battle shows how US military grapples with troops in trauma

Published July 24, 2010
Associated Press
FORWARD OPERATING BASE BOSTICK, Afghanistan (AP) — More than half a year after one of the deadliest battles ever waged by U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the men of Bravo Troop, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry are still fighting in — and with — their memories.

They cannot forget Oct. 3, 2009. On that day, 300 insurgents attacked two outposts in eastern Afghanistan manned by 72 soldiers, sparking a 12-hour fight. By nightfall, eight U.S. soldiers were dead. Three days later, the outposts were closed.

Like so many of their comrades, they suffer from mental trauma. Nearly 20 percent of the 1.6 million troops who had returned from Iraq and Afghanistan reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress or major depression, according to a 2008 study by Rand Corp.

Only slightly more than half of those sought treatment. So more and more, the army is bringing treatment to them whether they ask for it or not.

After Oct. 3, most of the 18 men in Bravo troop — part of the Army's 4th Brigade Combat Team from Fort Carson, Colo. — met with counselors. Some went voluntarily, others under orders.
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http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/07/24/dying-faces-body-bags-battle-shows-military-grapples-troops-trauma/

Daytona Beach Vietnam Vet wins battle over flag

Vietnam Veteran in Florida Wins Battle Over Display of U.S. Flag

Published July 23, 2010
FoxNews.com


A Florida Vietnam veteran who went to war with his apartment complex over the right to post an American flag in his window appears to have won a stars and stripes showdown.

Carlisle Vereen, of Daytona Beach, told Central Florida News 13 that "patriotism" led him to tape the paper flag to the inside of his apartment window last Thanksgiving. No complaints were received at the time, he said.

Joann Thompson, a manager at Manatee Bay Apartments, told FoxNews.com she gave Vereen a notice earlier this week indicating that the flag needed to be removed from the window within 24 hours or it would be disposed of by apartment officials.

The notice indicated that no signs were allowed on doors or windows, but Thompson said the flag -- which was originally made of paper -- had been replaced with a plastic version and is now in compliance with the complex's regulations.

"The issue was that it was paper and all faded and torn," Thompson said. "We didn't want this to go this far. I understand why he got upset -- he's a veteran, he's very passionate. It was not my intention to upset him."
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Vietnam Veteran in Florida Wins Battle Over Flag

Command Sgt. Major, Walter Reed official accused of falsifying military record

Walter Reed official accused of falsifying military record
From Barbara Starr , CNN Pentagon Correspondent
July 23, 2010 9:17 p.m. EDT


STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Medical brigade's senior enlisted officer claims to have attended several educational courses
Sgt. Maj. Stoney Crump may face court martial
Crump is also charged with wearing as many as 15 service ribbons he isn't entitled to wear

Washington (CNN) -- A top military official at Walter Reed Army Medical Center has been relieved of duty and charged with knowingly falsifying his personnel records.

Command Sgt. Maj. Stoney Crump, the senior enlisted officer for the Medical Center Brigade, had the "intent to deceive" when he submitted a false official record incorrectly stating that he had attended several military educational courses, according to the Army charge sheet.

Among the courses he is alleged to have attended were Reconnaissance School, Sniper School,; Drill Sergeant Course,; U.S. Army Ranger School and several Special Forces schools and courses, the Army charge sheet says.
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Walter Reed official accused of falsifying military record

5 US troops die in blasts in southern Afghanistan

5 US troops die in blasts in southern Afghanistan
By ROBERT H. REID
The Associated Press
Saturday, July 24, 2010; 7:30 AM

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Five American troops died Saturday in bombings in southern Afghanistan where international forces are stepping up the fight against the Taliban, officials said.

Four of the victims died in a single blast, NATO said in a statement without specifying nationalities nor providing further details. A fifth service member was killed in a separate attack in the south, NATO said.

U.S. officials confirmed all five were Americans. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under rules regarding casualty identification.

The latest deaths bring to 75 the number of international troops killed in Afghanistan this month, including 56 Americans.
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5 US troops die in blasts in southern Afghanistan

Crash victim's family and friends clean road as memorial to life lived

Wellington crash victim's friends to clean up roadside near site of collision with polo mogul

By Jason Schultz, The Palm Beach Post

9:46 a.m. EDT, July 22, 2010


Friends of Scott Patrick Wilson will come from far away this weekend to the site where his car was hurled into a canal following a violent collision with a Bentley driven by polo mogul John Goodman.

At least 50 people are expected to show up at 9 a.m. Saturday to clean trash from the stretch of Lake Worth Road at 120th Avenue where Wilson drowned after the Feb. 12 crash.

"It's a way of remembering Scott in a positive way," said Lili Wilson, his mother.

Wilson's father, William, said friends of Wilson's are coming from as far away as New York City and Washington, D.C., to participate.
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Wellington crash victim

House hearing returns focus to visible wounds

House hearing returns focus to visible wounds

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jul 23, 2010 10:02:30 EDT

After years of hearings and debates about the “invisible wounds of war” — the traumatic brain injuries and combat stress injuries inflicted in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones — lawmakers met Thursday to focus on the visible wounds of war, such as amputated limbs and spinal cord injuries.

Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s health panel, said these injuries often are overshadowed as the media, Congress and the Veterans Affairs Department have given a higher profile to head trauma and psychological injuries.

“I like that you highlighted that in this town, you don’t hear about the other injuries,” said Thomas Zampieri, director of government relations for the Blinded Veterans Association. He said he sees other issues that need to be addressed.

For example, while VA has hired 50 new blindness rehabilitation specialists, a promised Vision Center of Excellence keeps getting pushed back, said Thomas Zampieri, director of government relations for the Blinded Veterans Association.
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House hearing returns focus to visible wounds

If you want to make this more personal watch this video. It would really be supporting them if it didn't take an act of congress as an after thought to take care of the wounded.

2010 Weekend of Remembrance in Washington, D.C.

Honoring Service and Sacrifice
Families United is honored to invite our country's Gold Star Families—families who have lost a loved one in service to our country—to the 2010 Weekend of Remembrance in Washington, D.C. on July 23-24, 2010.

GOLD STAR FAMILIES
Gold Star Families from across the country will attend the 2010 National Weekend of Remembrance. See the weekend's events.

SUPPORTERS
Become a sponsor and honor our nation's fallen and their families.

VOLUNTEERS
We're looking for volunteers to help at the 2010 Weekend of Remembrance.
Sign-up now to volunteer!
linked from Washington Post

Soldiers and therapists speak out on PTSD and suicides

U.S. Army Suicides At All Time High, Local Soldiers, Therapists Speak Out

Posted: July 22, 2010 06:35 PM EDT


Suicides among members of the US Army are at an all time high right now. Licensed counselors say post traumatic stress disorder plays a large role in that increase. One of the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder is depression. Experts say the emotional numbness and isolation is a major contributing factor in soldier suicides but counselors say help is available.

Former Sergeant Jimmy Roberts spent 4 years with the 101st Airborne Division. He served two tours of duty in Iraq. After Roberts' first tour, he began noticing the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder.

"Once I got out and things started calming down, that's when the night mares and flashbacks and all that stuff kind of affects you," said Jimmy Roberts.

Associate Licensed Counselor Terri Norwood has 2 sons in the Army. She has studied PTSD extensively. She says PTSD symptoms include sleep issues, aggression, agitation, flashbacks and depression.
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http://www.waaytv.com/global/story.asp?s=12856472

One in nine medical discharges due to mental illness, according to Army

1 soldier in 9 exits Army for mental disorder

By Gregg Zoroya - USA Today
Posted : Thursday Jul 22, 2010 22:05:31 EDT

The number of soldiers forced to leave the Army solely because of a mental disorder has increased by 64 percent from 2005 to 2009 and accounts for one in nine medical discharges, according to Army statistics.

Last year, 1,224 soldiers with a mental illness, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, received a medical discharge. That was an increase from 745 soldiers in 2005 or about 7 percent of medical discharges that year, according to personnel statistics provided to USA Today.

The trend matches other recent indicators that show a growing emotional toll on a military that has been fighting for seven years in Iraq and nine years in Afghanistan, the Army and veterans advocates say.

“These numbers really just validate the mental health communities’ concern about multiple deployments,” says Adrian Atizado, who specializes in health issues as assistant national legislative director for Disabled American Veterans. “Mind and body are both taking a beating.”
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1 soldier in 9 exits Army for mental disorder