Suspicious death at University of Central Florida
By Susan Jacobson, Orlando Sentinel
3:38 p.m. EDT, August 20, 2010
University of Central Florida officials are investigating a suspicious death that just occurred in one of the parking lots.
Officials think it may have been a suicide.
The deceased person was found in a car in the Apollo parking lot, officials said. Details are still emerging.
Suspicious death at University of Central Florida
Friday, August 20, 2010
DOD might hire more mental health professionals
DOD might hire more mental health professionals
By Jeff Schogol
Stars and Stripes
Published: August 20, 2010
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Defense Department may hire more mental health professionals and other health care providers as part of its response to last year’s shooting at Fort Hood.
Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 29 others when he allegedly opened fire at the Texas base’s Soldier and Family Readiness Center in November 2009. Afterward, Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered an independent review into mental health issues as well as procedures of assessing personnel performance and facility security.
The Defense Department addressed some of the panel’s recommendations in April. It responded to the rest on Friday.
“The demand for support from caregivers in general, and from mental healthcare providers in particular, is increasing and appears likely to continue to increase due to the stress on military personnel and their families from our high operational tempo and repeated assignments in combat areas,” a follow-up review found.
Accordingly, the department may ask for health care providers in November, according to the response document. It did not say how many people might be hired.
The independent review also found that the Defense Department procedures for identifying warning signs of violent tendencies or radicalization are outdated, so the department will issue commanders and civilian supervisors interim guidance on how to identify internal threats.
Officials also will conduct three formal studies to “deepen our understanding of internal threats and refine guidance contained in the interim message,” the response said. Those findings will become part of department programs by September 2011.
read more here
DOD might hire more mental health professionals
Maybe now you'll understand why anyone claiming to be an expert on PTSD claiming our veterans are criminals and frauds should be held accountable for what he says.
When psychiatrists attack PTSD veterans, we all suffer
By Jeff Schogol
Stars and Stripes
Published: August 20, 2010
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Defense Department may hire more mental health professionals and other health care providers as part of its response to last year’s shooting at Fort Hood.
Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 29 others when he allegedly opened fire at the Texas base’s Soldier and Family Readiness Center in November 2009. Afterward, Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered an independent review into mental health issues as well as procedures of assessing personnel performance and facility security.
The Defense Department addressed some of the panel’s recommendations in April. It responded to the rest on Friday.
“The demand for support from caregivers in general, and from mental healthcare providers in particular, is increasing and appears likely to continue to increase due to the stress on military personnel and their families from our high operational tempo and repeated assignments in combat areas,” a follow-up review found.
Accordingly, the department may ask for health care providers in November, according to the response document. It did not say how many people might be hired.
The independent review also found that the Defense Department procedures for identifying warning signs of violent tendencies or radicalization are outdated, so the department will issue commanders and civilian supervisors interim guidance on how to identify internal threats.
Officials also will conduct three formal studies to “deepen our understanding of internal threats and refine guidance contained in the interim message,” the response said. Those findings will become part of department programs by September 2011.
read more here
DOD might hire more mental health professionals
Maybe now you'll understand why anyone claiming to be an expert on PTSD claiming our veterans are criminals and frauds should be held accountable for what he says.
When psychiatrists attack PTSD veterans, we all suffer
Maj. Nathlon Jackson awarded Soldier's Medal after she rushed into burning house
National Guard Soldier Receives Soldier’s Medal
by Petty Officer Second Class William Selby
U.S. Army Maj. Nathlon Jackson was faced with a situation that required her to go above and beyond her duties in the Army National Guard.
It was a situation in which the average person may not have reacted the way she did.
Jackson, a section chief for the Army Guard’s enlisted policy branch, was walking from the readiness center to her car when she saw smoke coming from a house.
“As I walked over to the house, I could smell that something was burning, rather than just it being smoke from a pot burning in the kitchen,” she said.
“I opened the mail slot with my hand and started to yell inside ‘hello, hello’ to see if anyone was home.”
One of the neighbors quickly ran over to Jackson and provided her a key to the house and told her that someone was in the house.
Jackson immediately reacted and went in the burning house, proceeding up to the bedroom where she found and rescued Shirley Rollins.
read more here
National Guard Soldier Receives Soldiers Medal
by Petty Officer Second Class William Selby
U.S. Army Maj. Nathlon Jackson was faced with a situation that required her to go above and beyond her duties in the Army National Guard.
It was a situation in which the average person may not have reacted the way she did.
Jackson, a section chief for the Army Guard’s enlisted policy branch, was walking from the readiness center to her car when she saw smoke coming from a house.
“As I walked over to the house, I could smell that something was burning, rather than just it being smoke from a pot burning in the kitchen,” she said.
“I opened the mail slot with my hand and started to yell inside ‘hello, hello’ to see if anyone was home.”
One of the neighbors quickly ran over to Jackson and provided her a key to the house and told her that someone was in the house.
Jackson immediately reacted and went in the burning house, proceeding up to the bedroom where she found and rescued Shirley Rollins.
read more here
National Guard Soldier Receives Soldiers Medal
Coverage of Iraq exit shows networks' differences
Coverage of Iraq exit shows networks' differences
By DAVID BAUDER (AP)
NEW YORK — Nowhere was the difference between the cable news networks on starker display than in prime-time coverage on the night the last American combat brigade left Iraq following a war that started seven years and five months ago.
MSNBC devoted its entire prime-time footprint to the story, with Richard Engel riding with the troops in a specially equipped vehicle and host Rachel Maddow based in Baghdad. Keith Olbermann anchored the coverage from a New York studio.
Fox News Channel devoted just under 10 minutes to the story, much of it during Shepard Smith's 7 p.m. newscast. The network spent 45 minutes discussing the potential construction of an Islamic cultural center near ground zero, while that story wasn't mentioned on MSNBC at all. CNN, meanwhile, spent an hour on each story.
The news decisions led critics of Fox and MSNBC to suggest politics was at play in the coverage decisions.
Engel had been embedded with the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, the last combat brigade in Iraq. Since President Barack Obama had said combat units would leave by Aug. 31, Engel was closely tracking the exit time with an eye toward providing live coverage, said Phil Griffin, NBC News executive in charge of MSNBC.
read more here
Coverage of Iraq exit shows networks differences
Also on this from CBS
Petraeus Talks about Challenges in Iraq
In Interview with Katie Couric, Gen. Petraeus Says, 'We Are Not Leaving'
By Katie Couric
(CBS) Today, 150 soldiers from the Fourth Stryker Brigade were welcomed home to Washington State. Last night, other members of the Fourth crossed into Kuwait - the last full combat brigade to leave.
For now, there are still 6,000 American combat troops in Iraq. But they'll leave by the end of the month. The U.S. will maintain a presence of 50,000 non-combat troops - to train Iraqi forces.
General David Petraeus was once the top U.S. Commander in Iraq; now he's the top commander in Afghanistan. CBS Evening News Anchor Katie Couric asked him about the changing mission there.
"Having been in Iraq with you, I have to ask you now that the combat troops are leaving Iraq, is this the right time?" Couric asked.
"I mean you have an uptick in violence - 61 recruits were killed - lots wounded. There's no clearly formed government. The head of Iraqi military says it won't be until 2020 until they can really provide security for the country. Is this a success?"
"Well, first of all we are not leaving," Gen. Petraeus replied. "There are 50,000 U.S. troops that are remaining in Iraq albeit in a support role rather than a leading combat role. But that's an enormous capability."
read more of this here
Petraeus Talks about Challenges in Iraq
By DAVID BAUDER (AP)
NEW YORK — Nowhere was the difference between the cable news networks on starker display than in prime-time coverage on the night the last American combat brigade left Iraq following a war that started seven years and five months ago.
MSNBC devoted its entire prime-time footprint to the story, with Richard Engel riding with the troops in a specially equipped vehicle and host Rachel Maddow based in Baghdad. Keith Olbermann anchored the coverage from a New York studio.
Fox News Channel devoted just under 10 minutes to the story, much of it during Shepard Smith's 7 p.m. newscast. The network spent 45 minutes discussing the potential construction of an Islamic cultural center near ground zero, while that story wasn't mentioned on MSNBC at all. CNN, meanwhile, spent an hour on each story.
The news decisions led critics of Fox and MSNBC to suggest politics was at play in the coverage decisions.
Engel had been embedded with the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, the last combat brigade in Iraq. Since President Barack Obama had said combat units would leave by Aug. 31, Engel was closely tracking the exit time with an eye toward providing live coverage, said Phil Griffin, NBC News executive in charge of MSNBC.
read more here
Coverage of Iraq exit shows networks differences
Also on this from CBS
Petraeus Talks about Challenges in Iraq
In Interview with Katie Couric, Gen. Petraeus Says, 'We Are Not Leaving'
By Katie Couric
(CBS) Today, 150 soldiers from the Fourth Stryker Brigade were welcomed home to Washington State. Last night, other members of the Fourth crossed into Kuwait - the last full combat brigade to leave.
For now, there are still 6,000 American combat troops in Iraq. But they'll leave by the end of the month. The U.S. will maintain a presence of 50,000 non-combat troops - to train Iraqi forces.
General David Petraeus was once the top U.S. Commander in Iraq; now he's the top commander in Afghanistan. CBS Evening News Anchor Katie Couric asked him about the changing mission there.
"Having been in Iraq with you, I have to ask you now that the combat troops are leaving Iraq, is this the right time?" Couric asked.
"I mean you have an uptick in violence - 61 recruits were killed - lots wounded. There's no clearly formed government. The head of Iraqi military says it won't be until 2020 until they can really provide security for the country. Is this a success?"
"Well, first of all we are not leaving," Gen. Petraeus replied. "There are 50,000 U.S. troops that are remaining in Iraq albeit in a support role rather than a leading combat role. But that's an enormous capability."
read more of this here
Petraeus Talks about Challenges in Iraq
Gulf War Hero Arrested by VA Cops for Helping Fellow Veteran
Gulf War Hero Arrested by VA Cops for Helping Fellow Veteran, Now is Criminally Harassed
By Glenn McBride for Salem-News.com
Gulf War hero arrested by VA cops for helping fellow veteran, now is criminally harassed.
(ROANOKE, Va.) - I embarrassed the Roanoke Virginia VARO back in April of this year, and they have been gunning for me every since. Here is the Fox News story.
I went in to the Roanoke VARO on Tuesday the 17th of August 2010 and a veteran asked me for advice as he heard me talking to my friend about his VA problems. I assisted the veteran in filing a 4138 requesting a copy of his entire C&P file from the VARO. Within minutes I was arrested by 3 armed federal protective service guards and 2 level 8 VA managers. The charge was solicitation.
I would appreciate the opportunity to get this into the media. If veterans are not free to speak to each other about their VA claims while on VA property, do we really have freedom of speech?
read more here
Gulf War Hero Arrested by VA Cops for Helping Fellow Veteran
By Glenn McBride for Salem-News.com
Gulf War hero arrested by VA cops for helping fellow veteran, now is criminally harassed.
(ROANOKE, Va.) - I embarrassed the Roanoke Virginia VARO back in April of this year, and they have been gunning for me every since. Here is the Fox News story.
I went in to the Roanoke VARO on Tuesday the 17th of August 2010 and a veteran asked me for advice as he heard me talking to my friend about his VA problems. I assisted the veteran in filing a 4138 requesting a copy of his entire C&P file from the VARO. Within minutes I was arrested by 3 armed federal protective service guards and 2 level 8 VA managers. The charge was solicitation.
I would appreciate the opportunity to get this into the media. If veterans are not free to speak to each other about their VA claims while on VA property, do we really have freedom of speech?
read more here
Gulf War Hero Arrested by VA Cops for Helping Fellow Veteran
Colbert to honor troops returning from Iraq
Colbert to honor troops returning from Iraq
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Aug 20, 2010 8:11:22 EDT
NEW YORK — Stephen Colbert is dusting off his camouflage suit.
The comedian will broadcast two special episodes of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” to celebrate the end of combat operations in Iraq and to honor returning troops.
On Sept. 8 and 9, the show will fill its audience with Iraq War veterans and active-duty service members. Others will be beamed in via satellite from Iraq, Afghanistan and Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
“The Colbert Report,” which likes to parody over-the-top cable news graphics, is calling the episodes “Been There, Won That: The Returnification of the American-Do Troopscape.”
Guests will include Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Jim Webb and the U.S. military commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno.
read more here
Colbert to honor troops returning from Iraq
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Aug 20, 2010 8:11:22 EDT
NEW YORK — Stephen Colbert is dusting off his camouflage suit.
The comedian will broadcast two special episodes of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report” to celebrate the end of combat operations in Iraq and to honor returning troops.
On Sept. 8 and 9, the show will fill its audience with Iraq War veterans and active-duty service members. Others will be beamed in via satellite from Iraq, Afghanistan and Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
“The Colbert Report,” which likes to parody over-the-top cable news graphics, is calling the episodes “Been There, Won That: The Returnification of the American-Do Troopscape.”
Guests will include Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Jim Webb and the U.S. military commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno.
read more here
Colbert to honor troops returning from Iraq
Withdrawal Reports Anger Families and Soldiers
What is this all about? Every article I read and the MSNBC report covering the troops crossing the boarder of Kuwait stated clearly that 50,000 troops would be remaining in Iraq as "advisors" and support. Not one report I read said that they were all coming home. If the soldiers and families are angry over reports that came out what is behind it? The deadline for all combat troops to be out of Iraq was this month and the deadline for all troops to be out of Iraq is next year. Is it because the American public has not been interested in paying attention to any of this?
Combat operations have ended. The troops were no longer taking the lead in combat operations and the Iraqis have been responsible depending on the troops for help. No one has said there is no longer any danger for our troops in Iraq but it has been reduced. Take a look at the numbers and know what the truth is.
The combat operations have been over for a while now but we still lost lives and now that the combat forces have been withdrawn we still need to hold all the others there in our prayers. We still lost 46 this year and they are still in danger just traveling in Iraq. So what is behind this report? How can soldiers' families not know the difference between "combat" operations and troops still there? We still have about 50,000 troops stationed in Germany but they are not on combat missions in Germany. If anyone does not understand this, they have not been paying attention enough to know the difference.
Combat brigades in Iraq under different name
As the final convoy of the Army’s 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Lewis, Wash., entered Kuwait early Thursday, a different Stryker brigade remained in Iraq.
Combat operations have ended. The troops were no longer taking the lead in combat operations and the Iraqis have been responsible depending on the troops for help. No one has said there is no longer any danger for our troops in Iraq but it has been reduced. Take a look at the numbers and know what the truth is.
Iraq
2003 486
2004 849
2005 846
2006 822
2007 904
2008 314
2009 149
2010 46
Total 4416
Afghanistan
2001 12
2002 49
2003 48
2004 52
2005 99
2006 98
2007 117
2008 155
2009 317
2010 286
Total 1233
http://www.icasualties.org/
The combat operations have been over for a while now but we still lost lives and now that the combat forces have been withdrawn we still need to hold all the others there in our prayers. We still lost 46 this year and they are still in danger just traveling in Iraq. So what is behind this report? How can soldiers' families not know the difference between "combat" operations and troops still there? We still have about 50,000 troops stationed in Germany but they are not on combat missions in Germany. If anyone does not understand this, they have not been paying attention enough to know the difference.
Withdrawal Reports Anger Families and Soldiers Fighting in Iraq
Recent reports have been touting the end of combat operations in Iraq, saying the last of the combat troops have left, but the reports are angering some of the tens of thousands of troops who are still there and will remain there.
Posted: 11:04 AM Aug 19, 2010
Reporter: Leslie Fichera
Recent reports have been touting the end of combat operations in Iraq, saying the last of the combat troops have left, but the reports are angering some of the tens of thousands of troops who are still there and will remain there.
Just Thursday morning, Capt. Christopher Ophardt, spokesman for the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, said the last of the unit's vehicles were crossing the border into Kuwait. Reports from the U.S. Military say the last U.S. brigade officially classed as a combat unit formally handed over responsibilities to its Iraqi counterparts on August 7, but U.S. troops have been steadily flowing out of the country on transport aircraft and by road for a year.
However, tens of thousands of troops remain in Iraq, including thousands of Fort Carson soldiers.
11 News has received feedback from Fort Carson soldiers and families saying these reports are upsetting and are not representative of the fight that is far from over in Iraq.
Kiera Defaria's father will see her first day of kindergarten only by clicking on a video link on Facebook. Staff Sergeant Wagner Defaria is a 3rd Brigade Combat Team soldier from Ft. Carson currently in southern Iraq.
Michelle Defaria, who works for KKTV, is Wagner's wife and thought recent reports of the troop draw-down might end her husband's fourth deployment early.
"I thought, he's on a plane," she said. "Oh my God, he's coming home."
Now she's dismayed and disgruntled that those reports could mislead the American public, and she's not alone.
The assignment for thousands of soldiers is not over.
read more here
Withdrawal Reports Anger Families and Soldiers
Combat brigades in Iraq under different name
As the final convoy of the Army’s 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Lewis, Wash., entered Kuwait early Thursday, a different Stryker brigade remained in Iraq.
When psychiatrists attack PTSD veterans, we all suffer
Matthew Magdzas, a 23-year-old Wisconsin National Guard soldier who earned a combat badge in the Iraq war, shot and killed his pregnant wife, their 13-month-old daughter Lila, and their three dogs before turning the gun on himself. You can read the rest of this story just posted today on this blog. Wisconsin National Guard Iraq war vet kills pregnant wife, daughter, dogs and self We may never know if he went to the VA for help with what has been one of the biggest health problem for combat veterans. Too many do not seek help for PTSD. Many others do seek help but do not receive what they need. Suicide numbers go up every year in every branch of the military but you won't read that from this "expert" on PTSD. Dr. Daniel Carlat didn't seem to be bothered with that tiny detail in his rant on how veterans are ripping off taxpayers.
Dr. Daniel Carlat didn't seem to think it was important to mention the fact the Suicide Prevention Hotline has received over two million calls either. Looks like he didn't think many things were important to mention at all. He did mention Vietnam veterans but didn't seem to think it was necessary to include in on his figures out of the air that according to a study released by the Disabled American Veterans, oh by the way, published work, Readjustment Problems Among Veterans, The Etiology of Combat Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by Jim Goodwin, Psy.D included a study by Dr. John Wilson, Forgotten Warrior Project, stating that by 1978 there were 500,000 Vietnam veterans with PTSD also predicting the numbers would go up over the following ten year period.
It must have also not been worth mentioning the fact that one out of three is the customary number used on survivors of traumatic events, so the numbers were seeing are more a reflection of being a human exposed to traumatic events. He did manage to point out there are other survivors of traumatic events changed by them. Curiously he didn't seem to find it of any value to mention that during combat, it is not just one event but multiple events, any more than he found it of importance to mention that the Army has already clearly said redeployments increase the risk of PTSD by 50% but has continued the practice of redeploying men and women over and over again, often even after a diagnosis of PTSD has also been severe enough to require medications.
This "expert" managed to also attack the veterans seeking help for mild PTSD, which is really the best time to seek help so that PTSD does not get worse. The "sooner the better" advice is what comes from experts on PTSD because if they seek therapy when it is mild, it prevents what we see when is all comes crashing down around them, would prevent a lifetime of suffering and thus a lifetime of compensation from the "tax payers" this doctor seems to be more worried about.
He didn't mention the fact that PTSD does not even require someone to be involved in a firefight but can strike when someone sees the aftermath of it. For heaven's sake, there were cases during the Vietnam war of people working in the motor pool with PTSD because they had to keep seeing what was left over. Average citizens have been changed from just seeing a fatal car crash and we cannot forget that people in New York ended up with PTSD who were no where near the Twin Towers when they were hit or when they came down. But the "expert" doesn't seem to mention these things either.
I am wondering why this doctor would want to join the list of the few, like Dr. Sally Satel, attacking veterans instead of helping them heal? Would you want to go to see someone with more interest in proving a point while avoiding 40 years of research from some of the real experts on PTSD and the military? There are people out there with a point to make instead of solutions to find. When they attack veterans after all these years of people working very hard to eliminate the stigma of admitting help is needed, they support the people standing in the way of help being delivered. They fuel the propaganda that suddenly we have an influx of self-serving veterans suddenly looking for a hand out and apparently were willing to risk their lives to obtain it.
We have an all volunteer force unlike Vietnam and all other wars. None of this generation of veterans were forced to join so that would mean they would have to have either planned on going into combat so they could get a VA check for the rest of their lives, or suddenly turned into criminals committing fraud. That is what this all boils down to. That is what these men and women have been accused of just now in this rant by a "expert" on PTSD who seems to think a lot of things are just not worth mentioning. If he mentioned anything that had to do with what you've been reading on this blog for the last three years (as of today, three years old and over 10,000 post) then it wouldn't support his agenda of destroying the reputation of thousands of veterans the rest of us have been trying to help.
I've learned what I know from living with PTSD in my own home, and I am able to help others because of real experts that have been working on PTSD for over 40 years with only one agenda compelling them to do what they do. They want to heal. They don't want to attack or accuse veterans of being criminals. They don't want to eliminate facts from what they publish because they simply don't fit in with their own questionable agenda.
So there will be no misunderstanding on why I am so angry about this, I broke my own rules about just posting part of a piece and posted the either thing. This article needs to be submitted in entirety without the possibility of it vanishing so that no one can find it later.
He is quoting Hopewell from Fort Hood which is the same Fort that thought having Dr. Hasan treat soldiers at Fort Hood was a good idea. He is the one accused of shooting a lot of them plus being in control of the mental health of many of the soldiers he already said he hated. There have been a few writing pieces on PTSD fakes but the reports have been few against the stone carved reality.
Maybe he should travel to one of the Stand Down operations going on across the country and talk to some of the homeless veterans suffering from self-medicating because they didn't get the help they needed or felt as if they didn't deserve any help to keep them from living in the woods or sleeping in cardboard boxes? Maybe he should talk to the widows of Vietnam veterans left behind to overcome the fact their husbands died because they served in Vietnam? Maybe he should talk to the kids who had to grow up wondering what happened to their Dads when they had to leave the family because PTSD was eating them alive but no one knew what it was?
Maybe he should talk to some of these veterans unable to work anymore because PTSD does not allow them to sleep and when they are medicated to sleep, they are unable to work but could have made a lot more money working instead of suffering?
There are so many things he is missing but he's an "expert" so he gets to be on AOL health and the experts trying to help instead of accusing veterans of being criminals are not? I have a list of experts I could give to AOL if they want them but their only agenda is healing.
Dr. Daniel Carlat didn't seem to think it was important to mention the fact the Suicide Prevention Hotline has received over two million calls either. Looks like he didn't think many things were important to mention at all. He did mention Vietnam veterans but didn't seem to think it was necessary to include in on his figures out of the air that according to a study released by the Disabled American Veterans, oh by the way, published work, Readjustment Problems Among Veterans, The Etiology of Combat Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by Jim Goodwin, Psy.D included a study by Dr. John Wilson, Forgotten Warrior Project, stating that by 1978 there were 500,000 Vietnam veterans with PTSD also predicting the numbers would go up over the following ten year period.
It must have also not been worth mentioning the fact that one out of three is the customary number used on survivors of traumatic events, so the numbers were seeing are more a reflection of being a human exposed to traumatic events. He did manage to point out there are other survivors of traumatic events changed by them. Curiously he didn't seem to find it of any value to mention that during combat, it is not just one event but multiple events, any more than he found it of importance to mention that the Army has already clearly said redeployments increase the risk of PTSD by 50% but has continued the practice of redeploying men and women over and over again, often even after a diagnosis of PTSD has also been severe enough to require medications.
This "expert" managed to also attack the veterans seeking help for mild PTSD, which is really the best time to seek help so that PTSD does not get worse. The "sooner the better" advice is what comes from experts on PTSD because if they seek therapy when it is mild, it prevents what we see when is all comes crashing down around them, would prevent a lifetime of suffering and thus a lifetime of compensation from the "tax payers" this doctor seems to be more worried about.
He didn't mention the fact that PTSD does not even require someone to be involved in a firefight but can strike when someone sees the aftermath of it. For heaven's sake, there were cases during the Vietnam war of people working in the motor pool with PTSD because they had to keep seeing what was left over. Average citizens have been changed from just seeing a fatal car crash and we cannot forget that people in New York ended up with PTSD who were no where near the Twin Towers when they were hit or when they came down. But the "expert" doesn't seem to mention these things either.
I am wondering why this doctor would want to join the list of the few, like Dr. Sally Satel, attacking veterans instead of helping them heal? Would you want to go to see someone with more interest in proving a point while avoiding 40 years of research from some of the real experts on PTSD and the military? There are people out there with a point to make instead of solutions to find. When they attack veterans after all these years of people working very hard to eliminate the stigma of admitting help is needed, they support the people standing in the way of help being delivered. They fuel the propaganda that suddenly we have an influx of self-serving veterans suddenly looking for a hand out and apparently were willing to risk their lives to obtain it.
We have an all volunteer force unlike Vietnam and all other wars. None of this generation of veterans were forced to join so that would mean they would have to have either planned on going into combat so they could get a VA check for the rest of their lives, or suddenly turned into criminals committing fraud. That is what this all boils down to. That is what these men and women have been accused of just now in this rant by a "expert" on PTSD who seems to think a lot of things are just not worth mentioning. If he mentioned anything that had to do with what you've been reading on this blog for the last three years (as of today, three years old and over 10,000 post) then it wouldn't support his agenda of destroying the reputation of thousands of veterans the rest of us have been trying to help.
I've learned what I know from living with PTSD in my own home, and I am able to help others because of real experts that have been working on PTSD for over 40 years with only one agenda compelling them to do what they do. They want to heal. They don't want to attack or accuse veterans of being criminals. They don't want to eliminate facts from what they publish because they simply don't fit in with their own questionable agenda.
So there will be no misunderstanding on why I am so angry about this, I broke my own rules about just posting part of a piece and posted the either thing. This article needs to be submitted in entirety without the possibility of it vanishing so that no one can find it later.
PTSD, Iraqi Veterans and the Fleecing of the American Taxpayer
By Dr. Daniel Carlat
Aug 19th 2010 4:19PM
Categories: Experts
Before I go on a rant about the latest scandal of over-diagnosis in psychiatry, I want to make one thing clear right off the bat. Post traumatic stress disorder, often referred to as PTSD, is a real condition that can cause tremendous suffering and disability. I've treated plenty of PTSD patients, and I have listened to the horrifying details of experiences that would completely undo any of us. Seeing your best buddy disintegrate in front of you, being brutally raped or watching a hurricane swallow up everything you own -- these are the engines of PTSD, and the consequences are months or years of flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety attacks, suicidal ideation and, when PTSD is at its worst, an inability to function in society.
But as with any psychiatric illness, there are those who suffer the most severe versions of the disease, and then there are the vast majority on the diagnostic edges -- those who might formally qualify for the diagnosis, but whose suffering is relatively mild, and who are likely to completely recover with a short course of treatment or simply with the passage of time. In addition, unfortunately, there are those who suffer no disorder at all and simply fake the symptoms in order to win a lifetime of taxpayer-funded disability checks. Nobody knows how common malingered PTSD symptoms are, but one forensic psychiatrist has estimated that they may be as high as 50 percent of all "cases."
Enter the Army's recently released figures apparently showing that the rate of PTSD diagnoses among Iraqi vets has skyrocketed, from about 7,000 in 2006 to 14,000 in 2008. We are now seeing estimates that up to 35 percent of all Iraqi vets will go on to develop PTSD. But according to Maj. C. Alan Hopewell, an Army neuropsychologist and head of the Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic at Fort Hood, Texas, the PTSD diagnosis is "abused and overused." In an Associated Press article, Hopewell explained that of the thousands of troops he saw as part of the 785th Medical Company (Combat Stress Control), only about a third had genuine PTSD. The others had either "general adjustment problems" or were reacting to troubles on the home front, such as marital or financial issues.
We've seen this problem before. A 1983 study conducted by the government estimated that about 30 percent of Vietnam vets (or 1 million men) had PTSD. The trouble is, only about 300,000 of them had been engaged in direct combat. For a variety of reasons -- including attractive disability benefits, an expanding VA bureaucracy and overly eager psychiatrists -- PTSD was vastly over-diagnosed during that conflict. This is yet another lesson from Vietnam that we have refused to learn.
Diagnosing and treating true suffering is what we should be doing. Instead, we are creating an army of the disabled, and we as a society will be paying the price for decades to come.
He is quoting Hopewell from Fort Hood which is the same Fort that thought having Dr. Hasan treat soldiers at Fort Hood was a good idea. He is the one accused of shooting a lot of them plus being in control of the mental health of many of the soldiers he already said he hated. There have been a few writing pieces on PTSD fakes but the reports have been few against the stone carved reality.
but whose suffering is relatively mild, and who are likely to completely recover with a short course of treatment or simply with the passage of time.This part is true in a lot of cases if it is treated when PTSD is mild or soon after the event. That means the military would have to respond the same way crisis teams respond to civilians. Right after or soon after it happens and then not have them re-exposed to more trauma.
For a variety of reasons -- including attractive disability benefits, an expanding VA bureaucracy and overly eager psychiatrists -- PTSD was vastly over-diagnosed during that conflict.Just what part of the WWII and older veterans did he not read about? Wonder if he ever watched Ken Burns The War about the interviews done with WWII veterans talking about Shell-Shock? Pointing out the fact that Vietnam veterans changed the rules is true but that was because they refused to come home, suffering in silence and killing themselves!
A 1983 study conducted by the government estimated that about 30 percent of Vietnam vets (or 1 million men) had PTSD.Which study is he talking about? There have been many in the last 40 years! We have the one above I posted on that said 500,000! Most of the advances coming out in mental health happened because Vietnam veterans got the government to act. We know how to respond to trauma now. We know that intervention and debriefing wards off a lot of what PTSD can do to civilians and the fact that there is a 30 day window they need to be aware of so they get help as soon as the fact they are not "getting over it" becomes a problem.
Maybe he should travel to one of the Stand Down operations going on across the country and talk to some of the homeless veterans suffering from self-medicating because they didn't get the help they needed or felt as if they didn't deserve any help to keep them from living in the woods or sleeping in cardboard boxes? Maybe he should talk to the widows of Vietnam veterans left behind to overcome the fact their husbands died because they served in Vietnam? Maybe he should talk to the kids who had to grow up wondering what happened to their Dads when they had to leave the family because PTSD was eating them alive but no one knew what it was?
Maybe he should talk to some of these veterans unable to work anymore because PTSD does not allow them to sleep and when they are medicated to sleep, they are unable to work but could have made a lot more money working instead of suffering?
There are so many things he is missing but he's an "expert" so he gets to be on AOL health and the experts trying to help instead of accusing veterans of being criminals are not? I have a list of experts I could give to AOL if they want them but their only agenda is healing.
Wisconsin National Guard Iraq war vet kills pregnant wife, daughter, dogs and self
How do you read a story like this and not cry? Imagine being the Mom of April Oles-Magdzas going to visit the way she most likely did many times before, but instead of your granddaughter rushing to hug "Grandma" the house is silent because everyone in that house is dead. But don't stop there. Imagine your daughter was anticipating bringing another life into the family. Then imagine the kind of pain that must have lived in that house to cause the death of everyone in it including the family dogs.
Family, friends, fellow National Guardsmen, everyone these people knew will be in shock for a very long time and wondering why it happened. The police having to respond will hang onto the memories of what they walked into. The rest of the country should be asking the same thing. Why are combat veterans still reaching the point of no-return when they are back home and should be safely living out the rest of their lives in peace? Why are families still destroyed? Why are innocent people still paying the price of combat?
Family, friends, fellow National Guardsmen, everyone these people knew will be in shock for a very long time and wondering why it happened. The police having to respond will hang onto the memories of what they walked into. The rest of the country should be asking the same thing. Why are combat veterans still reaching the point of no-return when they are back home and should be safely living out the rest of their lives in peace? Why are families still destroyed? Why are innocent people still paying the price of combat?
Iraq war vet kills pregnant wife, daughter, self
By TODD RICHMOND (AP)
MADISON, Wis. — April Oles-Magdzas was due to give birth to her second daughter Wednesday, a little more than a year after she and her Iraq war veteran husband became new parents.
But when Oles-Magdzas' mother showed up that day at the couple's home in Superior, she found the entire family dead of an apparent murder-suicide.
Superior police said Thursday that Matthew Magdzas, a 23-year-old Wisconsin National Guard soldier who earned a combat badge in the Iraq war, shot and killed his pregnant wife, their 13-month-old daughter Lila, and their three dogs before turning the gun on himself.
Investigators believe the killings occurred Tuesday afternoon, but like friends of the couple, they are still wondering why.
Police Capt. Chad La Lor told The Associated Press that Magdzas did not leave behind a suicide note, and that investigators have found no evidence the couple had money problems or was unduly stressed by the pending birth of their daughter. There was no indication either had been unfaithful.
La Lor said investigators plan to subpoena Magdzas' military medical records to see if he had complained of or been treated for signs of post traumatic stress disorder.
Lt. Col. Jackie Guthrie, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin National Guard, said the military can not disclose Magdzas' health records to the public.
read more here
Iraq war vet kills pregnant wife daughter self
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tampa soldier honored with military-style procession
Tampa soldier honored with military-style procession; funeral is Saturday
By Kim Wilmath, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Thursday, August 19, 2010
BRANDON
One day in June, Annette Cuzzupe-Kirk popped into her car stereo a CD of songs her Army medic son gave her before he left for Afghanistan.
"Use this to remember me," was written on the front.
Cuzzupe-Kirk thought her son meant until he got back home.
But when she heard the lyrics, she quickly shut off the music.
"I just promised myself that I was not going to listen to it anymore unless I absolutely had to," she said.
She'll hear it again Friday night at a memorial service for her son, 23-year-old Paul O. Cuzzupe II, who died in combat on Aug. 8. The selections include Tom Petty's Free Falling, Jim Croce's I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song, and a track that made Mrs. Cuzzupe-Kirk wince: Thrice's Come All You Weary.
The Army flew his body home to Tampa on Wednesday, in a casket draped with an American flag.
read more here
Tampa soldier honored with military style procession
By Kim Wilmath, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Thursday, August 19, 2010
BRANDON
One day in June, Annette Cuzzupe-Kirk popped into her car stereo a CD of songs her Army medic son gave her before he left for Afghanistan.
"Use this to remember me," was written on the front.
Cuzzupe-Kirk thought her son meant until he got back home.
But when she heard the lyrics, she quickly shut off the music.
"I just promised myself that I was not going to listen to it anymore unless I absolutely had to," she said.
She'll hear it again Friday night at a memorial service for her son, 23-year-old Paul O. Cuzzupe II, who died in combat on Aug. 8. The selections include Tom Petty's Free Falling, Jim Croce's I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song, and a track that made Mrs. Cuzzupe-Kirk wince: Thrice's Come All You Weary.
The Army flew his body home to Tampa on Wednesday, in a casket draped with an American flag.
read more here
Tampa soldier honored with military style procession
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