Disabled vet wins war over VA blunder
By LINDSAY WISE
Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 25, 2010, 11:14PM
John Paul Scott wasn't sure he'd heard correctly.
"It's in the computer system that you're deceased," repeated an official from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
"What are you talking about?" Scott asked.
The 39-year-old Army veteran from Houston had been calling the VA's hotline twice a day for weeks to check the status of his disability claim. This time, on July 12, the VA official who answered the phone informed Scott he would no longer be receiving benefits because, according to VA records, he had passed away in April.
Scott suffers from vision problems traced to his service in the first Gulf War. In 2008, the VA had cut his monthly disability check by $2,000. Scott appealed. On June 25, he had finally won.
Now a bureaucratic blunder meant that Scott faced a Kafkaesque dilemma: As far as the VA was concerned, he was dead. His disability payments instantly halted. His medical prescriptions stopped. Scott, already in dire financial straits after the reduction in his benefits two years ago, feared he would end up on the street.
First thing the next morning, Scott went to the Houston VA Regional Office on Almeda Road and spoke to a woman at the front desk. Scott gave the woman three forms of ID and filled out a form: "I was told by the Department of Veterans Affairs that someone entered in their computer I was deceased," he wrote. "I am not. Please reinstate my benefits immediately. Thanks, John Paul Scott."
read more here
Disabled vet wins war over VA blunder
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Staff sgt. sentenced for mistreating Marines
Staff sgt. sentenced for mistreating Marines
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Aug 26, 2010 8:24:45 EDT
NORFOLK, Va. — A Marine staff sergeant is spending one year in confinement after pleading guilty to mistreating 17 male subordinates at a Chesapeake training facility.
Staff Sgt. James McCoy was the noncommissioned officer in charge of a training company at the Navy's Northwest Annex. He oversaw Marines waiting to begin a security training course at the base and injured Marines waiting to return to duty or be processed out of the service.
read more here
Staff sgt. sentenced for mistreating Marines
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Aug 26, 2010 8:24:45 EDT
NORFOLK, Va. — A Marine staff sergeant is spending one year in confinement after pleading guilty to mistreating 17 male subordinates at a Chesapeake training facility.
Staff Sgt. James McCoy was the noncommissioned officer in charge of a training company at the Navy's Northwest Annex. He oversaw Marines waiting to begin a security training course at the base and injured Marines waiting to return to duty or be processed out of the service.
read more here
Staff sgt. sentenced for mistreating Marines
Army ends GED program for aspiring soldiers
Army ends GED program for aspiring soldiers
By Susanne M. Schafer - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Aug 26, 2010 8:42:49 EDT
FORT JACKSON, S.C. — The Army is ending a program that helped nearly 3,000 high school dropouts earn high school equivalency certificates and become soldiers.
The GED pilot program known as the Army's prep school started here in summer 2008, when the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan left the service scrambling to find soldiers. But since then, with the economy in a downward spiral and jobs hard to come by, more people with diplomas have been enlisting.
In 2008, 82.8 percent of people who enlisted for active duty were high school graduates. That number jumped to 94.6 percent in 2009.
read more here
Army ends GED program for aspiring soldiers
By Susanne M. Schafer - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Aug 26, 2010 8:42:49 EDT
FORT JACKSON, S.C. — The Army is ending a program that helped nearly 3,000 high school dropouts earn high school equivalency certificates and become soldiers.
The GED pilot program known as the Army's prep school started here in summer 2008, when the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan left the service scrambling to find soldiers. But since then, with the economy in a downward spiral and jobs hard to come by, more people with diplomas have been enlisting.
In 2008, 82.8 percent of people who enlisted for active duty were high school graduates. That number jumped to 94.6 percent in 2009.
read more here
Army ends GED program for aspiring soldiers
1st Lt. Paul G. Magers and Chief Warrant Officer Donald L. Wann MIA no more
1st lt. killed in Vietnam remains returned
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Aug 26, 2010 8:38:22 EDT
BILLINGS, Mont. — The remains of a Billings soldier whose helicopter was shot down during the Vietnam War have been returned to Montana.
The remains of Army 1st Lt. Paul G. Magers, which had been missing for nearly four decades, were returned in a flag-draped casket Wednesday as family members gathered at the Billings airport to pay their respects.
A vigil service will be held Thursday, and a memorial Mass will be celebrated Friday in Billings. Burial will follow with full military honors at Yellowstone County Veterans Cemetery in Laurel.
Magers was killed June 1, 1971, when the AH-1 Cobra helicopter he was flying in was shot down in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. Also killed in the crash was Chief Warrant Officer Donald L. Wann, of Shawnee, Okla.
The men's remains were identified in March through DNA testing.
1st lt killed in Vietnam remains returned
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Aug 26, 2010 8:38:22 EDT
BILLINGS, Mont. — The remains of a Billings soldier whose helicopter was shot down during the Vietnam War have been returned to Montana.
The remains of Army 1st Lt. Paul G. Magers, which had been missing for nearly four decades, were returned in a flag-draped casket Wednesday as family members gathered at the Billings airport to pay their respects.
A vigil service will be held Thursday, and a memorial Mass will be celebrated Friday in Billings. Burial will follow with full military honors at Yellowstone County Veterans Cemetery in Laurel.
Magers was killed June 1, 1971, when the AH-1 Cobra helicopter he was flying in was shot down in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. Also killed in the crash was Chief Warrant Officer Donald L. Wann, of Shawnee, Okla.
The men's remains were identified in March through DNA testing.
1st lt killed in Vietnam remains returned
Agent Orange Update
Agent Orange Update
Shinseki to defend new Agent Orange rules
Veterans groups praised the Department of Veterans Affairs last year when officials announced they would add three new diseases to the list of "presumptive illnesses" connected to the use of the Vietnam-era defoliant Agent Orange. But senators concerned about the cost and precedent of such a change put a 60-day hold on money related to the change, and have asked the VA for more information on why Agent Orange claims should be expanded.
On Tuesday, in a speech before the Veterans of Foreign Wars, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said he's happy to defend the decision. "It was the right decision, and the President and I are proud to finally provide this group of Veterans the care and benefits they have long deserved."
The rules regarding the new recognized illnesses -- Parkinson’s Disease, Hairy Cell and other types of chronic, b-cell leukemia, and Ischemic Heart Disease — could open up veterans benefits to 250,000 more Vietnam-era veterans and cost the VA another $13.4 billion over the next 18 months.
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., has publicly questioned whether scientific research supports including the three new diseases with other Agent Orange exposure conditions, and if the VA is unnecessarily committing billions in compensation payments for problems that are often simply the result of aging.
But Shinseki said he's "happy" to explain the rationale behind the move, and confident lawmakers will support the change. The hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee is set for Sept. 23.
Veterans-For-Change will continue to monitor closely the situation and report any new developments and we strongly urge you to call your Senators and Congressman toll free at 866-272-6622 and politely insist they support Secretary Shinseki’s decision and allow the rule to be finalized immediately.
If you’re able to make the call, please send an E-Mail to: jim.davis@veterans-for-change.com and let us know their response.
Veterans-For-Change Needs Your Support
On behalf of Veterans-For-Change I’d like to request your help in supporting three very important programs we have.
Our first program is our Emergency Financial Assistance program which was developed to help Veterans and their families on a one time bases with utilities, rent, clothing, etc.
Our Second program is a small college tuition assistance program for the children of Veterans. We’d be awarding financial grant assistance of up to $200 to the top three competitors in an annual essay contest.
Our third program is an award program for Veterans, their spouse and children who are ill to due their service or by no fault of their own being family members of a Veteran. And it’s our special way of saying thank you for your service to our Country.
The Annual Fund provides funding to range of vital areas, including those names above and for operations, resources and potential new programs. These donations are critical to maintain the standing that Veterans-For-Change has held as well as make strong forward strides.
Our organization directors are dedicating their time, energy and enthusiasm to work for this cause, and all do this as a volunteer so 97% of every dollar goes back to the Veteran community.
We request your support by considering a donation to Veterans-For-Change.
If you decide to contribute, please send your donation to
Director of Annual Fund
Address
Many of you know that over the past year or so we’ve done our level best to provide assistance to veterans and their families when in need. And as with most small non-profit groups, we’re no different and always have a need for financial assistance.
If you’re able to contribute $25, $50, $100 or more, please click HERE to be taken direct to the PayPal site!
For those who contribute $25, you will be given a Veterans-For-Change E-Mail address for one year. Those at the $50 level an E-Mail address for five years and those at the $100 level a lifetime E-Mail address. And I’d like to thank you all in advance for your continued support!
If everyone receiving this newsletter were to just donate a single $1 bill, we’d meet our goal and fast and would be able to continue to serve the some 5,000-9,000 veterans and widows per month! We could really use your support!
If you’re interested in advertising in our weekly newsletter, click HERE and send us an E-Mail for further details.
We’re also desperately looking for someone who has talent in the field of writing Grant Proposals which we can submit to corporations and grant foundations to assist in our operations and continued support to veterans and their families.
If you have such a talent and can donate your time and talents, please click HERE and send me an E-Mail.
We also have the chance to purchase a copy of the National Association Uniformed Services nationwide membership register for $125, and to join Starthmore’s Who’s Who for $49.95, both would give VFC opportunities to network with other veterans, veteran organizations, and thousands of fortune 500 and 1000 corporations and grant foundations to secure funding for continued operations of Veterans-For-Change. Your donations could open these doors for us.
If you’d prefer to send a check or money order, please send an E-Mail to: Jim.davis@veterans-for-change.com for instructions.
You can also help by book marking and visiting Newsvine frequently: http://jdavis92840.newsvine.com/
VFC earns money on every article a comment and vote that is posted. So visit frequently for things not always in the newsletter, comment and click on comment & vote.
Veterans-For-Change operates under National Faith Based Coalition Disabled Veterans Enterprises
Tax ID #84-1285120
Shinseki to defend new Agent Orange rules
Veterans groups praised the Department of Veterans Affairs last year when officials announced they would add three new diseases to the list of "presumptive illnesses" connected to the use of the Vietnam-era defoliant Agent Orange. But senators concerned about the cost and precedent of such a change put a 60-day hold on money related to the change, and have asked the VA for more information on why Agent Orange claims should be expanded.
On Tuesday, in a speech before the Veterans of Foreign Wars, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said he's happy to defend the decision. "It was the right decision, and the President and I are proud to finally provide this group of Veterans the care and benefits they have long deserved."
The rules regarding the new recognized illnesses -- Parkinson’s Disease, Hairy Cell and other types of chronic, b-cell leukemia, and Ischemic Heart Disease — could open up veterans benefits to 250,000 more Vietnam-era veterans and cost the VA another $13.4 billion over the next 18 months.
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., has publicly questioned whether scientific research supports including the three new diseases with other Agent Orange exposure conditions, and if the VA is unnecessarily committing billions in compensation payments for problems that are often simply the result of aging.
But Shinseki said he's "happy" to explain the rationale behind the move, and confident lawmakers will support the change. The hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee is set for Sept. 23.
Veterans-For-Change will continue to monitor closely the situation and report any new developments and we strongly urge you to call your Senators and Congressman toll free at 866-272-6622 and politely insist they support Secretary Shinseki’s decision and allow the rule to be finalized immediately.
If you’re able to make the call, please send an E-Mail to: jim.davis@veterans-for-change.com and let us know their response.
Veterans-For-Change Needs Your Support
On behalf of Veterans-For-Change I’d like to request your help in supporting three very important programs we have.
Our first program is our Emergency Financial Assistance program which was developed to help Veterans and their families on a one time bases with utilities, rent, clothing, etc.
Our Second program is a small college tuition assistance program for the children of Veterans. We’d be awarding financial grant assistance of up to $200 to the top three competitors in an annual essay contest.
Our third program is an award program for Veterans, their spouse and children who are ill to due their service or by no fault of their own being family members of a Veteran. And it’s our special way of saying thank you for your service to our Country.
The Annual Fund provides funding to range of vital areas, including those names above and for operations, resources and potential new programs. These donations are critical to maintain the standing that Veterans-For-Change has held as well as make strong forward strides.
Our organization directors are dedicating their time, energy and enthusiasm to work for this cause, and all do this as a volunteer so 97% of every dollar goes back to the Veteran community.
We request your support by considering a donation to Veterans-For-Change.
If you decide to contribute, please send your donation to
Director of Annual Fund
Address
Many of you know that over the past year or so we’ve done our level best to provide assistance to veterans and their families when in need. And as with most small non-profit groups, we’re no different and always have a need for financial assistance.
If you’re able to contribute $25, $50, $100 or more, please click HERE to be taken direct to the PayPal site!
For those who contribute $25, you will be given a Veterans-For-Change E-Mail address for one year. Those at the $50 level an E-Mail address for five years and those at the $100 level a lifetime E-Mail address. And I’d like to thank you all in advance for your continued support!
If everyone receiving this newsletter were to just donate a single $1 bill, we’d meet our goal and fast and would be able to continue to serve the some 5,000-9,000 veterans and widows per month! We could really use your support!
If you’re interested in advertising in our weekly newsletter, click HERE and send us an E-Mail for further details.
We’re also desperately looking for someone who has talent in the field of writing Grant Proposals which we can submit to corporations and grant foundations to assist in our operations and continued support to veterans and their families.
If you have such a talent and can donate your time and talents, please click HERE and send me an E-Mail.
We also have the chance to purchase a copy of the National Association Uniformed Services nationwide membership register for $125, and to join Starthmore’s Who’s Who for $49.95, both would give VFC opportunities to network with other veterans, veteran organizations, and thousands of fortune 500 and 1000 corporations and grant foundations to secure funding for continued operations of Veterans-For-Change. Your donations could open these doors for us.
If you’d prefer to send a check or money order, please send an E-Mail to: Jim.davis@veterans-for-change.com for instructions.
You can also help by book marking and visiting Newsvine frequently: http://jdavis92840.newsvine.com/
VFC earns money on every article a comment and vote that is posted. So visit frequently for things not always in the newsletter, comment and click on comment & vote.
Veterans-For-Change operates under National Faith Based Coalition Disabled Veterans Enterprises
Tax ID #84-1285120
Department of Defense Deploys Muppets
AUGUST 26, 2010
The Muppets' Military Mission
By LAURA LANDRO
It's a Muppet family picnic in the park, but Elmo is sad and confused: His Uncle Jack won't be there, because he's dead, and Elmo can't quite grasp that he's never coming back. For Elmo's moptop cousin Jesse, it's hard to even talk about the loss: Jack was her dad.
The story line may seem highly unusual for "Sesame Street," but when Elmo and friends aren't on their day job being cute, colorful and cuddly, they've taken on another mission: helping children of military families struggling with loss, grief and fear.
With some deep-pocketed sponsors like Wal-Mart, Sesame Workshop has been steadily expanding a program called "Talk, Listen, Connect" aimed at kids of all ages, including the youngest and most vulnerable. More than two million U.S. children have been affected directly by a parent's military wartime deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan; 40% of these children are younger than 5 years old.
According to the Defense Department, in the past 8½ years more than 12,000 military children have experienced the death of a parent. Research shows that even the toll of military deployments is steep; a study last year by the Rand Corp. found that children in military families were more likely to report anxiety than children in the general population, and that the longer a parent had been deployed in the previous three years, the more likely their children were to have difficulties in school and at home.
read more here
The Muppets Military Mission
The Muppets' Military Mission
By LAURA LANDRO
It's a Muppet family picnic in the park, but Elmo is sad and confused: His Uncle Jack won't be there, because he's dead, and Elmo can't quite grasp that he's never coming back. For Elmo's moptop cousin Jesse, it's hard to even talk about the loss: Jack was her dad.
The story line may seem highly unusual for "Sesame Street," but when Elmo and friends aren't on their day job being cute, colorful and cuddly, they've taken on another mission: helping children of military families struggling with loss, grief and fear.
With some deep-pocketed sponsors like Wal-Mart, Sesame Workshop has been steadily expanding a program called "Talk, Listen, Connect" aimed at kids of all ages, including the youngest and most vulnerable. More than two million U.S. children have been affected directly by a parent's military wartime deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan; 40% of these children are younger than 5 years old.
According to the Defense Department, in the past 8½ years more than 12,000 military children have experienced the death of a parent. Research shows that even the toll of military deployments is steep; a study last year by the Rand Corp. found that children in military families were more likely to report anxiety than children in the general population, and that the longer a parent had been deployed in the previous three years, the more likely their children were to have difficulties in school and at home.
Gary Knell, president of Sesame Workshop, says the initial inspiration came from a story he read on a train five years ago about a family that lost its home because it fell behind on mortgage payments while the father was deployed in Iraq. "I just was so sick of seeing all these 'support the troops' posters when we were allowing things like this to happen," he says. The needs of military families also struck a chord with Sesame Workshop Executive Vice President Sherrie Westin, whose brother is an Army reserve officer now serving in Afghanistan.
read more here
The Muppets Military Mission
Former Berwyn Heights mayor returns from Iraq deployment
Former Berwyn Heights mayor returns from Iraq deployment
By David Hill
The Gazette
Thursday, August 26, 2010
When former Berwyn Heights mayor Brad Jewitt was deployed to Iraq in 2009, he expected to miss his family and home town but felt comfortable making the sacrifice.
"Many of my peers have served multiple tours in Iraq or Afghanistan," said Jewitt, 40, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. "I was really at peace with the idea of going, because it was my turn so someone else wouldn't have to go again."
Jewitt -- a Marine reservist who served as mayor in 2003, as a Town Council member in 2002 and as mayor pro tem from 2006 to 2008 -- returned home Aug. 1, after a scheduled one-year tour of duty. His return coincidentally came during the same month that defense officials withdrew all major combat units from Iraq.
read more here
Former Berwyn Heights mayor returns from Iraq deployment
By David Hill
The Gazette
Thursday, August 26, 2010
When former Berwyn Heights mayor Brad Jewitt was deployed to Iraq in 2009, he expected to miss his family and home town but felt comfortable making the sacrifice.
"Many of my peers have served multiple tours in Iraq or Afghanistan," said Jewitt, 40, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. "I was really at peace with the idea of going, because it was my turn so someone else wouldn't have to go again."
Jewitt -- a Marine reservist who served as mayor in 2003, as a Town Council member in 2002 and as mayor pro tem from 2006 to 2008 -- returned home Aug. 1, after a scheduled one-year tour of duty. His return coincidentally came during the same month that defense officials withdrew all major combat units from Iraq.
read more here
Former Berwyn Heights mayor returns from Iraq deployment
Australian Veterans Beware of Scam
I get a lot of email updates about what is going on with Australian Veterans and this one really needs to be paid attention to. If you know a veteran in Australia, please let them know about this.
Hi Kathie,
I have just been advised by DVA Cairns that some people are scamming mainly ex National serviceman. The ex serviceman is initially sent a letter advising them that they are entitled to Service pension and to contact the author. Once they do this they are then sent a letter with AMF (not used for many years) headed paper asking for bank details to put the service pension into, date of birth and other personal information. Their bank accounts are then cleaned out. Please advise as many others as possible of this scam.
Cheers
John King JP (Qual) Advocate
Pensions, Advocacy & Welfare Services RSL (Queensland Branch)
John.King@rslqld.org
www.rslqld.org
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
"They just threw a bunch of pills at me" Marine said after seeking help for PTSD
"They just threw a bunch of pills at me," seems to happen a lot more than ever before. Stories like this below have a habit of giving the message that they will not receive what they need to get better and back on duty if that's what they want or onto other futures. We tell them to watch the backs of their brothers but then when they do, it does not always work.
We tell them to get help and they try to but the help they need just isn't there. We tell them to call the suicide prevention hotline and they do. Over 2 million calls into the phone lines but no one was wondering why so many would reach the point where they felt the need to call in the first place when we've been reading claims about how the Army, the Marines, the Air Force and the Navy have taken all of this seriously. We read about Congressional hearings and money pouring into programs to help the servicemen and women but what we don't see are results that work. Great programs sprout up across the country but then soon they turn into running out of funding or just too overloaded to do as much good.
Popular charities make claims they are taking care of the veterans, claiming to be working on PTSD but when you do some checking to see what they are actually doing, there isn't much being done at all other than tugging at our heartstrings so they get our money. Over the years I've actually asked supporters of some of the groups making claims so that I would get some specifics on their programs but either I didn't get an answer at all or it was too vague to really matter. Then there are the claims coming in with programs claiming they have the "cures" to PTSD which should leave all of us scratching our heads because if they really did have cures, then the military would be jumping all over them because after all, there are millions of dollars tied up in training the men and women they send into combat, millions more in equipment and they know if they are not healed, ready to go back on duty, it will cost them a lifetime of care.
Finding the answer to restoring mental health means a lot more than just doing the right thing.
Marines pour resources into mental health care
By KEVIN MAURER and JULIE WATSON
Associated Press Writers © 2010 The Associated Press
Aug. 25, 2010, 3:21PM
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — They have been in harm's way for years in two countries, in a branch of the military where toughness and self-reliance have been especially prized for generations. Now the Marines are struggling against an enemy that has entrenched itself over nearly a decade of war: mental illness.
Marines stressed from repeated tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan are seeking help like never before, and their suicide rate is the highest in the military after doubling in just the past three years. Even with more mental-health professionals sent to bases to help, they have had trouble keeping up with demand.
There have been times when staff at Camp Lejeune's base hospital faced a choice of either staying with a Marine through lengthy treatment or leaving a case midstream to be able to keep up with the deluge of new patients.
"We couldn't see people as frequently as we wanted to and to see them as much as we wanted to would mean not getting another Marine an initial evaluation," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca Webster, the hospital's head of mental health.
More than 1,100 members of the armed forces killed themselves from 2005 to 2009, and suicides have been on the rise again this year. The sharpest increases have been in the Army and Marine Corps, the services most stretched by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
One 23-year-old Marine recently treated for post traumatic stress disorder at Camp Lejeune said he felt processed by the system rather than properly treated. The Marine, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said that after his diagnosis he was relegated to short appointments during which mental health specialists did little more than check his dosages.
"They just threw a bunch of pills at me," he said.
Mike Sloan, a California veteran who counsels troubled Marines, said commanders should be doing more to reach out to Marines in trouble and get them help. He said the military still faces a huge challenge in changing a mindset that encourages troops to be tough and handle problems on their own.
"We people don't listen in the armed forces," said Sloan, who helped start a nonprofit veterans group in Oceanside, Calif., a community that borders Camp Pendleton. "I am positive combat stress and PTSD are caused by leadership failures."
read the rest here
Marines pour resources into mental health care
Sloan cited a case in June in which a Marine alerted Camp Pendleton officials after seeing a disturbing message on a fellow Marine's Facebook page.
A Camp Pendleton spokesman, 1st Lt. Ken Kunze, said the Marine's command — not mental health providers — contacted the young man. He told them he was fine and was driving off base, heading home to Michigan.
The next day, the Marine was found dead, hanging from an observation tower on base, Kunze said. His family complained that not enough was done to prevent the suicide, and the Marine Corps is investigating the case.
We tell them to get help and they try to but the help they need just isn't there. We tell them to call the suicide prevention hotline and they do. Over 2 million calls into the phone lines but no one was wondering why so many would reach the point where they felt the need to call in the first place when we've been reading claims about how the Army, the Marines, the Air Force and the Navy have taken all of this seriously. We read about Congressional hearings and money pouring into programs to help the servicemen and women but what we don't see are results that work. Great programs sprout up across the country but then soon they turn into running out of funding or just too overloaded to do as much good.
Popular charities make claims they are taking care of the veterans, claiming to be working on PTSD but when you do some checking to see what they are actually doing, there isn't much being done at all other than tugging at our heartstrings so they get our money. Over the years I've actually asked supporters of some of the groups making claims so that I would get some specifics on their programs but either I didn't get an answer at all or it was too vague to really matter. Then there are the claims coming in with programs claiming they have the "cures" to PTSD which should leave all of us scratching our heads because if they really did have cures, then the military would be jumping all over them because after all, there are millions of dollars tied up in training the men and women they send into combat, millions more in equipment and they know if they are not healed, ready to go back on duty, it will cost them a lifetime of care.
Finding the answer to restoring mental health means a lot more than just doing the right thing.
Marines pour resources into mental health care
By KEVIN MAURER and JULIE WATSON
Associated Press Writers © 2010 The Associated Press
Aug. 25, 2010, 3:21PM
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — They have been in harm's way for years in two countries, in a branch of the military where toughness and self-reliance have been especially prized for generations. Now the Marines are struggling against an enemy that has entrenched itself over nearly a decade of war: mental illness.
Marines stressed from repeated tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan are seeking help like never before, and their suicide rate is the highest in the military after doubling in just the past three years. Even with more mental-health professionals sent to bases to help, they have had trouble keeping up with demand.
There have been times when staff at Camp Lejeune's base hospital faced a choice of either staying with a Marine through lengthy treatment or leaving a case midstream to be able to keep up with the deluge of new patients.
"We couldn't see people as frequently as we wanted to and to see them as much as we wanted to would mean not getting another Marine an initial evaluation," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca Webster, the hospital's head of mental health.
More than 1,100 members of the armed forces killed themselves from 2005 to 2009, and suicides have been on the rise again this year. The sharpest increases have been in the Army and Marine Corps, the services most stretched by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
One 23-year-old Marine recently treated for post traumatic stress disorder at Camp Lejeune said he felt processed by the system rather than properly treated. The Marine, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, said that after his diagnosis he was relegated to short appointments during which mental health specialists did little more than check his dosages.
"They just threw a bunch of pills at me," he said.
Mike Sloan, a California veteran who counsels troubled Marines, said commanders should be doing more to reach out to Marines in trouble and get them help. He said the military still faces a huge challenge in changing a mindset that encourages troops to be tough and handle problems on their own.
"We people don't listen in the armed forces," said Sloan, who helped start a nonprofit veterans group in Oceanside, Calif., a community that borders Camp Pendleton. "I am positive combat stress and PTSD are caused by leadership failures."
read the rest here
Marines pour resources into mental health care
Report urges new office for suicide prevention
Report urges new office for suicide prevention
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Aug 25, 2010 9:14:15 EDT
The Defense Department should investigate military suicides more thoroughly and create a new top-level Pentagon office for suicide prevention, according to a new report from a congressional task force.
The military should “pattern suicide investigations on aviation accident investigations, and use the safety investigation process as a model to standardize suicide investigations,” said Bonnie Carroll, co-chair for the task force Congress created last year to examine the spike in military suicides.
The task force’s 14 members — seven military members and seven civilians — spent a year visiting installations and studying military suicides and the efforts in place to prevent them.
Their report, released Tuesday, includes 76 specific recommendations that include increasing troops’ dwell time, adding full-time suicide prevention coordinators and putting suicide prevention elements into broader military education programs.
A new office under the Office of the Secretary of Defense should help coordinate the tracking of suicides and the standardization of suicide prevention efforts, the report said.
read more here
Report urges new office for suicide prevention
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