Fort Campbell, Ky., pays steepening price in Afghanistan
By Chris Kenning, Louisville Courier-Journal
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — It's been a lethal summer for the Fort Campbell's 101st Airborne Division, which has lost 41 soldiers in Afghanistan since March — including 33 in June and July. Nearly 400 have been wounded during that time, military officials said.
The latest losses, including two more last week, represent one of the division's bloodier periods in Afghanistan, where the fighting is increasing as President Obama's troop surge nears its peak.
By the time the 4th Brigade Combat Team deploys this month, the 101st Division's nearly 20,000 troops will represent 20% of the U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, who are battling Taliban and insurgent strongholds in advance of Obama's planned withdrawal beginning in 2011.
read more here
Fort Campbell
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Vietnam veteran Rick Hart offers basement bunker wonderland
Basement's a refuge for vets, military
By Chris Reid
MONROE - Vietnam veteran Rick Hart lives by the mantra of never leaving a fellow soldier behind.
Hart and his wife, Linda Lue Hart, have been working out of their basement for years to help send boxes of supplies to troops overseas.
Recently, they discovered a new way to contribute.
Their basement has been transformed into a wonderland of games, jukeboxes and countless novelty items and photographs. It's a space the Harts created to invite friends and neighbors over for fundraisers and parties, or for soldiers when they're in town.
"I think that my arcade games and the bar and the ambiance of this place is what attracts people down here," said Hart, a Marine veteran. "We couldn't convert some VFW or Legion hall into something like this." Hart's mission was to create a place where people could get a good deal for their money - whatever amount that may be.
The Harts hosted their most recent fundraiser on Saturday, when they invited guests to come together for fellow veteran Frank Tate. Tate, who also served in the Marine Corps during Vietnam, developed cirrhosis of the liver, a condition some doctors believed is directly linked to Agent Orange exposure, the herbicide used in Vietnam.
read more here
Basement a refuge for vets, military
By Chris Reid
MONROE - Vietnam veteran Rick Hart lives by the mantra of never leaving a fellow soldier behind.
Hart and his wife, Linda Lue Hart, have been working out of their basement for years to help send boxes of supplies to troops overseas.
Recently, they discovered a new way to contribute.
Their basement has been transformed into a wonderland of games, jukeboxes and countless novelty items and photographs. It's a space the Harts created to invite friends and neighbors over for fundraisers and parties, or for soldiers when they're in town.
"I think that my arcade games and the bar and the ambiance of this place is what attracts people down here," said Hart, a Marine veteran. "We couldn't convert some VFW or Legion hall into something like this." Hart's mission was to create a place where people could get a good deal for their money - whatever amount that may be.
The Harts hosted their most recent fundraiser on Saturday, when they invited guests to come together for fellow veteran Frank Tate. Tate, who also served in the Marine Corps during Vietnam, developed cirrhosis of the liver, a condition some doctors believed is directly linked to Agent Orange exposure, the herbicide used in Vietnam.
read more here
Basement a refuge for vets, military
Fort Lauderdale Vietnam Vet murdered in his home
2 arrested in fatal home invasion stabbing
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Police have arrested a man and woman for the home invasion and fatal stabbing of a Vietnam Veteran last week.
Hollywood Police arrested David Lee Guffey and Jessica Lyn Hazzard for the murder of Ronald J. Harrison (pictured) Monday morning. Both have been charged with one count of homicide while engaged in certain felony. Both currently sit behind bars at the Broward County Jail.
read the rest here
2 arrested in fatal home invasion stabbing
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Police have arrested a man and woman for the home invasion and fatal stabbing of a Vietnam Veteran last week.
Hollywood Police arrested David Lee Guffey and Jessica Lyn Hazzard for the murder of Ronald J. Harrison (pictured) Monday morning. Both have been charged with one count of homicide while engaged in certain felony. Both currently sit behind bars at the Broward County Jail.
read the rest here
2 arrested in fatal home invasion stabbing
5 tour veteran arrested for killing two men at party
5 tours, Master Sgt. and top that off with Chaplain's assistant. He was honorably discharged but ended up shooting two men and killing them at a party. Does any of this fit together? There has to be a lot more to this story that I'm sure will come out.
Vet accused of fatally shooting 2 at party
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Aug 24, 2010 8:28:05 EDT
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina military veteran who had served five overseas tours has been arrested and accused of killing two men.
Multiple media outlets reported that 39-year-old Leslie Todd Parvin of Columbia is charged in the deaths.
Investigators say Edgar Lopez and Pablo Gutierrez-Guzman of Columbia were shot to death at a party July 30.
go here for more
Vet accused of fatally shooting 2 at party
Veterans Remember, Survivors Relive
There are a lot of people in this country trying to suggest that PTSD is something new. It makes life easier on them to write off the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan so they won't have to care about what happens. If they believe they are criminal frauds trying to suck off the system instead of what they really are, then no one has to care about what happens to them. It happens all the time just as advocates are making headway getting rid of the stigma. What cannot be dismissed is this is not a generational problem. It is as old as man. It is not a national problem because all nations entering into warfare have had to make the choice to do the right thing or the easy thing.
We seem to be the nation sending the most into combat but that has never translated into being the first to be able to care for them when they come home. We pride ourselves on having the best military in the world but we don't seem bothered by the fact we are not the best at taking care of our veterans. We may lead in battle but we need to be able to lead in peace afterwards.
This is a great story by Lily Casura about Vietnam veterans. Change the name of the military operation and the years and you have what many of our new veterans face today. The lesson to be learned here is that if we don't take care of the newer veterans today without excuses, 30 or 40 years from now we will be paying the price for allowing them to suffer.
We seem to be the nation sending the most into combat but that has never translated into being the first to be able to care for them when they come home. We pride ourselves on having the best military in the world but we don't seem bothered by the fact we are not the best at taking care of our veterans. We may lead in battle but we need to be able to lead in peace afterwards.
This is a great story by Lily Casura about Vietnam veterans. Change the name of the military operation and the years and you have what many of our new veterans face today. The lesson to be learned here is that if we don't take care of the newer veterans today without excuses, 30 or 40 years from now we will be paying the price for allowing them to suffer.
August 23, 2010
Veterans Remember, Survivors Relive: Ken Jones on Vietnam, PTSD and Beyond
by
Lily Casura
Ken Jones, @AKVet on Twitter, is a Vietnam veteran, Ph.D. psychologist, and trail runner, with much to say to our current generation of veterans, starting with "been there, done that" -- and come to terms with it. He's a joy to "follow" on Twitter, but recently he took the time to really spell out what a few of his combat experiences, and coming to terms with their resulting PTSD, had been like. (He's also the author of two free, downloadable e-books on combat and PTSD, which are mentioned in the piece, with hyperlinks that take you to them.)
Another Twitter fan, @BillNigh, took the time to collate some of Ken's recent stream-of-consciousness utterances about being a Vietnam veteran and his own experiences with PTSD into something we can all learn from. Thanks, Bill, and thanks, Ken. Here is Bill's condensing of what Ken wrote on the Web in early August:
"Ken Jones has several chapters in his life that relate to his military tour of service. He suffered battle wounds and PTSD. Now, from a healthy place, and a giving heart, he wants to help fellow, contemporary, vets return Stateside. He offers two free ebooks to anyone interested in the combat experience and in PTSD, "Life After Combat" and "When Our Troops Come Home". Listed below is a stream of consciousness set of posts that he did recently on Twitter on Friday August 6, 2010."
Herewith Ken's reflections:
"We have a "Support Our Troops" effort going on today to get the word out on the two free e-books I wrote about combat induced PTSD. I thought I'd give you a bit of background about how these books came to be.
read more here
Veterans Remember Survivors Relive
Aftermath of Katrina, kids still suffering
Aftermath of Katrina, kids still suffering five years later. It was not just the hurricane. It was not just the flood. It was what came after that increased the damage done to their lives. Dead bodies floating. Days without any help at all. Seeing their parents in a panic not knowing what to do or where to go for help. Then came the understanding life as they have known it was gone. They ended up living in different states after losing everything they found security in. Their clothes, toys, rooms they lived in, all gone. Their friends, school, churches and neighborhood streets they knew like the back of their hands gone. It was not all gone in an instant but a progression of loss they suffered for this one extreme natural disaster.
Tens of thousands of children still affected by Hurricane Katrina
By Michelle Brandt
As you may have read about elsewhere today, Hurricane Katrina struck five years ago this week. And according to a new Children's Health Fund/Columbia University report (link to .pdf), published in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, some of the hardest-hit victims of the natural disaster and its aftermath were also the smallest. As outlined in a release today, there are still widespread mental health issues among children living in the region:[Sixty percent] of children - as many as 20,000 - displaced by Katrina either have serious emotional disorders, behavioral issues and/or are experiencing significant housing instability
One-third of children are reported to have been diagnosed with at least one mental health problem, but fewer than 50% of parents were able to access needed professional services
Children post-Katrina are 4.5 times more likely to have serious emotional disturbance than children not affected by the disaster
read more here
Tens of thousands of children
GI Pleads Guilty to Killing Army Couple
GI Pleads Guilty to Killing Army Couple
August 24, 2010
Seattle Times
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD -- A 24-year-old woman pleaded guilty Monday to killing two fellow Soldiers and kidnapping their baby in March 2008.
Army Spc. Ivette G. Davila, of Bakersfield, Calif., entered the pleas at the start of her court-martial for the fatal shootings of Staff Sgt. Timothy Miller, 27, and Sgt. Randi Miller, 25, in the couple's Parkland home.
Army prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty against Davila, in exchange for her pleas to two counts of premeditated murder and one count each of kidnapping and obstruction of justice.
A military judge, Col. Stephen R. Henley, accepted the guilty pleas after questioning Davila for nearly three hours. The plea deal means Davila will be sentenced to life in prison, but the sentencing phase of her court-martial will determine whether she will be eligible for parole.
The sentencing phase, which began Monday afternoon, is scheduled to resume Tuesday morning.
Davila shot the couple, poured muriatic acid on their bodies and then kidnapped their 6-month-old daughter, Kassidy, who was found unharmed at a base barracks.
read more here
GI Pleads Guilty to Killing Army Couple
August 24, 2010
Seattle Times
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD -- A 24-year-old woman pleaded guilty Monday to killing two fellow Soldiers and kidnapping their baby in March 2008.
Army Spc. Ivette G. Davila, of Bakersfield, Calif., entered the pleas at the start of her court-martial for the fatal shootings of Staff Sgt. Timothy Miller, 27, and Sgt. Randi Miller, 25, in the couple's Parkland home.
Army prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty against Davila, in exchange for her pleas to two counts of premeditated murder and one count each of kidnapping and obstruction of justice.
A military judge, Col. Stephen R. Henley, accepted the guilty pleas after questioning Davila for nearly three hours. The plea deal means Davila will be sentenced to life in prison, but the sentencing phase of her court-martial will determine whether she will be eligible for parole.
The sentencing phase, which began Monday afternoon, is scheduled to resume Tuesday morning.
Davila shot the couple, poured muriatic acid on their bodies and then kidnapped their 6-month-old daughter, Kassidy, who was found unharmed at a base barracks.
read more here
GI Pleads Guilty to Killing Army Couple
Nebraska Drops Case Against Westboro Member
Nebraska Drops Case Against Westboro Member
August 24, 2010
Associated Press
PAPILLION, Neb. -- Family members of a fallen U.S. servicemember expressed disappointment Monday after prosecutors and protesters from Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church reached a deal that will keep both sides out of court over actions stemming from a church member's 2007 protest of the serviceman's funeral.
The 11th-hour deal was signed Monday, the same day Shirley Phelps-Roper's trial was to begin on charges of disturbing the peace and negligent child abuse. Those charges will be dismissed in exchange for Phelps-Roper, 52, dropping a federal lawsuit against Nebraska authorities accusing them of malicious prosecution.
As part of the deal pending a judge's expected Aug. 31 approval, Phelps-Roper also agreed to remove Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov from a separate lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state's funeral protest law. Defendants in that ongoing federal suit include Republican Gov. Dave Heineman and state Attorney General Jon Bruning.
But family members and friends of the fallen Bellevue servicemember say the deal leaves them out in the cold.
"I came here today to see some justice done. This isn't right," said Randy Chaney, 44, the brother of Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey Chaney, who was 35 when he was killed in 2007 by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
go here for more
Nebraska Drops Case Against Westboro Member
August 24, 2010
Associated Press
PAPILLION, Neb. -- Family members of a fallen U.S. servicemember expressed disappointment Monday after prosecutors and protesters from Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church reached a deal that will keep both sides out of court over actions stemming from a church member's 2007 protest of the serviceman's funeral.
The 11th-hour deal was signed Monday, the same day Shirley Phelps-Roper's trial was to begin on charges of disturbing the peace and negligent child abuse. Those charges will be dismissed in exchange for Phelps-Roper, 52, dropping a federal lawsuit against Nebraska authorities accusing them of malicious prosecution.
As part of the deal pending a judge's expected Aug. 31 approval, Phelps-Roper also agreed to remove Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov from a separate lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state's funeral protest law. Defendants in that ongoing federal suit include Republican Gov. Dave Heineman and state Attorney General Jon Bruning.
But family members and friends of the fallen Bellevue servicemember say the deal leaves them out in the cold.
"I came here today to see some justice done. This isn't right," said Randy Chaney, 44, the brother of Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey Chaney, who was 35 when he was killed in 2007 by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
go here for more
Nebraska Drops Case Against Westboro Member
Care now or pay more later
Here is a lesson all nations need to take seriously. It comes from the UK. A soldier suffered more because PTSD was not taken care of early on. The UK ended up paying out a lot of money to compensate him for the suffering he went through that did not need to happen.
This happens even more here in the US. PTSD is like an infection. It gets worse when it is not treated. Treat it and it stops getting worse. The sooner it is treated, much of what the warrior is experiencing can be reversed. They can be taught to live with what cannot be reversed and make their lives better.
It is not made public since the media has a habit of jumping on the latest figures but we're over a million suffering with PTSD right now. There are more with mild PTSD still hoping they will just get over it. They are not aware the 30 warning window flew wide open a long time ago. After trauma, if suffering does not subside within 30 days, survivors are advised to seek help no matter what caused the trauma. For the servicemen and women, too often multiple traumatic events come into their lives and feed what was already done by previous events. In other words, by the time they come home, it's already often too late to realistically expect to get over it.
Mild PTSD, if treated, can leave a veteran able to function quite well. Nightmares and flashbacks may remain, but they are not as strong or as often as they would be without treatment. Most medications can be decreased or stopped once the chemical balance of the brain has been restored. They can learn to cope with what cannot be reversed. They can learn to calm down when anxiety tries to take over. They can learn to retrain themselves to remember things. They can learn how to live as a survivor.
When it is not treated, damage is done to how their mind works. Like an infection, it eats away at what is there until medical attention is provided. Healing happens as the body's natural ability is supported but there is scar tissue. The mind works pretty much the same way. Not treating PTSD allows the scars to deepen. Mild PTSD turns into full blown PTSD and then it requires a lot more treatment, changes the lives more and then ends up costing more in the long run.
On a human level they need to be treated as soon as possible but on a financial level, not treating them leads to a lifetime of financial compensation. Aside from being a moral issue, which would demand care for them, not taking care of them prevents them from going on to live with the ability to support themselves.
We can care now or pay more later. Doesn't it make more sense to treat them early on after trauma? Their lives should matter enough for all of us to do the right thing now before too much damage is done to their lives.
This happens even more here in the US. PTSD is like an infection. It gets worse when it is not treated. Treat it and it stops getting worse. The sooner it is treated, much of what the warrior is experiencing can be reversed. They can be taught to live with what cannot be reversed and make their lives better.
It is not made public since the media has a habit of jumping on the latest figures but we're over a million suffering with PTSD right now. There are more with mild PTSD still hoping they will just get over it. They are not aware the 30 warning window flew wide open a long time ago. After trauma, if suffering does not subside within 30 days, survivors are advised to seek help no matter what caused the trauma. For the servicemen and women, too often multiple traumatic events come into their lives and feed what was already done by previous events. In other words, by the time they come home, it's already often too late to realistically expect to get over it.
Mild PTSD, if treated, can leave a veteran able to function quite well. Nightmares and flashbacks may remain, but they are not as strong or as often as they would be without treatment. Most medications can be decreased or stopped once the chemical balance of the brain has been restored. They can learn to cope with what cannot be reversed. They can learn to calm down when anxiety tries to take over. They can learn to retrain themselves to remember things. They can learn how to live as a survivor.
When it is not treated, damage is done to how their mind works. Like an infection, it eats away at what is there until medical attention is provided. Healing happens as the body's natural ability is supported but there is scar tissue. The mind works pretty much the same way. Not treating PTSD allows the scars to deepen. Mild PTSD turns into full blown PTSD and then it requires a lot more treatment, changes the lives more and then ends up costing more in the long run.
On a human level they need to be treated as soon as possible but on a financial level, not treating them leads to a lifetime of financial compensation. Aside from being a moral issue, which would demand care for them, not taking care of them prevents them from going on to live with the ability to support themselves.
We can care now or pay more later. Doesn't it make more sense to treat them early on after trauma? Their lives should matter enough for all of us to do the right thing now before too much damage is done to their lives.
MoD pays out six-figure sum for soldier suffering post-traumatic stress disorder
By Ian Drury
The Ministry of Defence could be forced to pay compensation to hundreds of soldiers suffering post-traumatic stress disorder following a landmark six-figure pay-out to a former bomb disposal expert.
The soldier claimed he might not have suffered a breakdown in 2004 if military psychiatrists had diagnosed and treated his illness earlier.
The MoD fought the legal battle after insisting the ex-serviceman, who cannot be named for security reasons, had failed to lodge his claim for negligence within a three-year time limit.
But, having settled with the soldier out of court, Army chiefs face the nightmare scenario of paying out PTSD claims which could run into millions of pounds many years after sufferers have quit the military.
Read more: MoD pays out six-figure sum for soldier suffering
WWII Vet who died in prison gets national cemetery plot
Vet who died in prison gets national cemetery plot
By DAN ELLIOTT (AP)
DENVER — Some military veterans are angry that a World War II soldier who died in prison after pleading guilty to killing his wife is scheduled to be buried Tuesday in Denver's Fort Logan National Cemetery.
Raymond R. Sawyer, a former Marine from Colorado, died Aug. 11 in a Tucson, Ariz., state prison while serving 13 years for second-degree murder.
His wife, Frances A. Sawyer, was found strangled in August 1981 in Glendale, Ariz., where the couple lived. The case remained unsolved for 26 years.
In 2007, sometime after Raymond Sawyer moved to the Denver suburb of Arvada, a cold-case investigator from Glendale went to Arvada to interview him in hopes of turning up new leads, Glendale police said.
During the interview, Sawyer "broke down" and made statements about the slaying that only the killer could have known, Glendale spokesman Matt Barnett said at the time.
Sawyer was arrested and taken to Arizona. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison in 2008.
Besides citing the slaying, Sawyer's critics also say he once falsely claimed to have received the Navy Cross, the military branch's second-highest medal for valor.
read more here
Vet who died in prison gets national cemetery plot
By DAN ELLIOTT (AP)
DENVER — Some military veterans are angry that a World War II soldier who died in prison after pleading guilty to killing his wife is scheduled to be buried Tuesday in Denver's Fort Logan National Cemetery.
Raymond R. Sawyer, a former Marine from Colorado, died Aug. 11 in a Tucson, Ariz., state prison while serving 13 years for second-degree murder.
His wife, Frances A. Sawyer, was found strangled in August 1981 in Glendale, Ariz., where the couple lived. The case remained unsolved for 26 years.
In 2007, sometime after Raymond Sawyer moved to the Denver suburb of Arvada, a cold-case investigator from Glendale went to Arvada to interview him in hopes of turning up new leads, Glendale police said.
During the interview, Sawyer "broke down" and made statements about the slaying that only the killer could have known, Glendale spokesman Matt Barnett said at the time.
Sawyer was arrested and taken to Arizona. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison in 2008.
Besides citing the slaying, Sawyer's critics also say he once falsely claimed to have received the Navy Cross, the military branch's second-highest medal for valor.
read more here
Vet who died in prison gets national cemetery plot
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