New airport security procedures available for wounded warriors
By JOHN GILLIE
The News Tribune
Tacoma, Wash.
Published: July 9, 2012
The Transportation Security Administration is making a new program available for wounded and injured veterans that’s designed to make their passage through airport security screening easier and more dignified.
The program, called the Wounded Warrior-Military Severely Injured Joint Support Operations Center Program, is available around the clock at the nation’s airports, said TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers.
In order to take advantage of the program, wounded active duty military members or veterans or their representative should notify the operations center before their flights with the details of their itineraries.
read more here
Monday, July 9, 2012
Three Star General under fire for "command climate of fear and low morale"
Missile Agency Head Faulted For Leadership Cited Morale
By Tony Capaccio
Bloomberg News
Jul 9, 2012
The three-star general who heads the U.S. Missile Defense Agency told a House defense panel that his agency’s morale was “significantly higher” than average even as the Pentagon’s inspector general found he had created an “unhealthy command climate” by yelling at subordinates.
The inspector general recommended that Army Secretary John McHugh consider taking “appropriate corrective action” against agency director Lieutenant General Patrick O’Reilly, because he “engaged in a leadership style that was inconsistent” with military ethics regulations, according to a report by the watchdog office dated May 2 and released last week.
“Witnesses testified that O’Reilly’s leadership style resulted in a command climate of fear and low morale,” the inspector general found.
Reilly portrayed a different atmosphere under his leadership in agency charts sent to the House Armed Services strategic forces panel on May 30. The agency had “significantly higher satisfaction scores than the rest of federal government in training, salary, ethical conduct and diversity,” according to the summary of an employee survey sponsored last year by the White House Office of Management and Budget.
read more here
By Tony Capaccio
Bloomberg News
Jul 9, 2012
The three-star general who heads the U.S. Missile Defense Agency told a House defense panel that his agency’s morale was “significantly higher” than average even as the Pentagon’s inspector general found he had created an “unhealthy command climate” by yelling at subordinates.
The inspector general recommended that Army Secretary John McHugh consider taking “appropriate corrective action” against agency director Lieutenant General Patrick O’Reilly, because he “engaged in a leadership style that was inconsistent” with military ethics regulations, according to a report by the watchdog office dated May 2 and released last week.
“Witnesses testified that O’Reilly’s leadership style resulted in a command climate of fear and low morale,” the inspector general found.
Reilly portrayed a different atmosphere under his leadership in agency charts sent to the House Armed Services strategic forces panel on May 30. The agency had “significantly higher satisfaction scores than the rest of federal government in training, salary, ethical conduct and diversity,” according to the summary of an employee survey sponsored last year by the White House Office of Management and Budget.
read more here
Fort Bliss soldiers shot in Afghanistan, one hit 12 times
Five Fort Bliss soldiers shot in Afghanistan; one shot 12 times
By Jesse Martinez
Fort Bliss, WGHP
Thursday, July 5, 2012
KABUL — Five Fort Bliss soldiers from the 3rd Brigade 1st Armor Division were injured after a man in an Afghan army uniform opened fire outside a NATO base in eastern Afghanistan, according to Fort Bliss officials and The Associated Press.
The Associated Press reported that the U.S.-led coalition confirmed in a statement that a number of its service members were shot and wounded by a man in an Afghan army uniform Tuesday in Wardak province's Sayed Abad district. Wardak, which is located close to Kabul, is considered a Taliban hotbed and has been the scene of heavy fighting over the past year, the AP reported.
Fort Bliss officials said they soldiers are being treated and in stable condition. Although, they have not released the identities of the soldiers, FOX affiliate WGHP in Greensboro, N.C. reported Pfc. Jeremy Young of Archdale, N.C. was shot 12 times.
read more here
By Jesse Martinez
Fort Bliss, WGHP
Thursday, July 5, 2012
KABUL — Five Fort Bliss soldiers from the 3rd Brigade 1st Armor Division were injured after a man in an Afghan army uniform opened fire outside a NATO base in eastern Afghanistan, according to Fort Bliss officials and The Associated Press.
The Associated Press reported that the U.S.-led coalition confirmed in a statement that a number of its service members were shot and wounded by a man in an Afghan army uniform Tuesday in Wardak province's Sayed Abad district. Wardak, which is located close to Kabul, is considered a Taliban hotbed and has been the scene of heavy fighting over the past year, the AP reported.
Fort Bliss officials said they soldiers are being treated and in stable condition. Although, they have not released the identities of the soldiers, FOX affiliate WGHP in Greensboro, N.C. reported Pfc. Jeremy Young of Archdale, N.C. was shot 12 times.
read more here
Texas A and M students take stand against Westboro hate group
Texas A and M Students Form Human Wall To Block Westboro Baptist Church Protestors From Soldier Roy Tisdale's Funeral (PHOTOS)
Posted: 07/06/2012
Hundreds of Texas A and M students gathered this week to form a human wall around the funeral service of a soldier to protect his family from Westboro Baptist Church protesters,
KBTX.com reports
Texas A and M alum Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale died on June 28 during a training exercise at Fort Bragg, N.C. Tisdale was killed by another soldier who then fatally shot himself.
Tisdale had served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the days after the soldier's death, word spread that Westboro Baptist Church members were planning to protest Tisdale's funeral.
Described as a "homophobic and anti-Semitic hate group" by the Anti-Defamation League, Westboro Baptist Church regularly stages protests around the country.
According to KBTX.com, the group, which is based in Kansas, frequently targets military funerals because of "a belief that God punishes soldiers because of America's tolerance of gays."
read more here
Posted: 07/06/2012
Hundreds of Texas A and M students gathered this week to form a human wall around the funeral service of a soldier to protect his family from Westboro Baptist Church protesters,
KBTX.com reports
Tisdale had served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the days after the soldier's death, word spread that Westboro Baptist Church members were planning to protest Tisdale's funeral.
Described as a "homophobic and anti-Semitic hate group" by the Anti-Defamation League, Westboro Baptist Church regularly stages protests around the country.
According to KBTX.com, the group, which is based in Kansas, frequently targets military funerals because of "a belief that God punishes soldiers because of America's tolerance of gays."
read more here
UK military "Don't Bottle It Up" campaign to address Combat PTSD
Terrible legacy of a decade of war: 500 troops a month seek mental help as endless fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq takes its toll
9 July 2012
Nearly 500 military personnel a month are asking to be treated for traumatic disorders after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The impact of a decade of conflict on Britain’s hard-pressed Armed Forces is revealed in new Ministry of Defence figures.
A study of the 1,472 new cases of Servicemen and women seeking help in the first three months of the year shows some clear trends. Female personnel are twice as likely to suffer mental ill-health, and lower ranks are more vulnerable than officers.
read more here
New study reveals impact of conflicts on UK's hard-pressed Armed ForcesBy MARK NICOL
1,472 new cases of troops needing treatment in first three months of 2012
Female personnel twice as likely to suffer ill-health than male counterparts
First figures compiled since launch of MoD's 'Don't Bottle It Up' campaign
9 July 2012
Taking its toll: Earlier this year, Lance Sergeant Dan Collins (right) committed suicide over the guilt of surviving an incident in Afghanistan that killed two comrades, including Lance Corporal Dane Elson (left)
Nearly 500 military personnel a month are asking to be treated for traumatic disorders after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The impact of a decade of conflict on Britain’s hard-pressed Armed Forces is revealed in new Ministry of Defence figures.
A study of the 1,472 new cases of Servicemen and women seeking help in the first three months of the year shows some clear trends. Female personnel are twice as likely to suffer mental ill-health, and lower ranks are more vulnerable than officers.
read more here
Never too late to heal hidden war wounds
Pee Dee area Vietnam veterans seek treatment for PTSD 40 years later
Never too late to heal hidden war wounds
By: ELLEN MEDER
SCNow
Published: July 07, 2012
It has been 42 years since retired Army 1st Sgt. Cecil Stack completed two tours of duty in Vietnam. He now lives a laid-back life with his wife, Toni, in Lake City. Most days are filled with fishing and church, but from time to time certain memories weigh on his mind.
One particular story centers around a young GI from Texas whose helicopter that went into a hot LZ (a landing zone surrounded by Vietcong shooting at American troops) took a lot of rounds and flipped over.
The young man, a good friend whose last name was Williams, had half of his body caught under the burning aircraft and while Cecil and fellow soldiers worked to get him out he asked them to just shoot him and then the helicopter exploded.
“I just remember that in particular, real close, and it bothered me a long time,” Cecil says quietly. It’s a story he first recounted only two years ago.
But overall he doesn’t talk about his time deployed. In fact his family said he’s not a very talkative person at all.
Now, at 77, he’s beginning to learn how to talk about his feelings, memories and how they’ve affected him and his family.
read more here
Never too late to heal hidden war wounds
By: ELLEN MEDER
SCNow
Published: July 07, 2012
It has been 42 years since retired Army 1st Sgt. Cecil Stack completed two tours of duty in Vietnam. He now lives a laid-back life with his wife, Toni, in Lake City. Most days are filled with fishing and church, but from time to time certain memories weigh on his mind.
One particular story centers around a young GI from Texas whose helicopter that went into a hot LZ (a landing zone surrounded by Vietcong shooting at American troops) took a lot of rounds and flipped over.
The young man, a good friend whose last name was Williams, had half of his body caught under the burning aircraft and while Cecil and fellow soldiers worked to get him out he asked them to just shoot him and then the helicopter exploded.
“I just remember that in particular, real close, and it bothered me a long time,” Cecil says quietly. It’s a story he first recounted only two years ago.
But overall he doesn’t talk about his time deployed. In fact his family said he’s not a very talkative person at all.
Now, at 77, he’s beginning to learn how to talk about his feelings, memories and how they’ve affected him and his family.
read more here
Courts likely to see more vets with PTSD
Courts likely to see more vets with PTSD
July 9, 2012
By Gina Passarella
The Legal Intelligencer
When the state Supreme Court denied earlier this year an Iraq War veteran's plea to allow an insanity defense in his Altoona murder trial, Justice Seamus P. McCaffery promised a dissenting statement would follow.
He delivered late last month, with a commentary on how the court should recognize a likely increase in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, coming through the courts, while acknowledging that it's unusual for the court to be asked to weigh in on the appropriateness and legality of a "particular defense to capital murder charges."
"There is ample reason to anticipate that when members of our armed forces return from combat duty and are charged with the commission of criminal offenses, there will be an increased incidence of an accused's seeking to present an insanity defense based upon mental infirmities related to his or her military service," Justice McCaffery said in his five-page dissent in Commonwealth v. Horner.
Justice McCaffery added that there is a growing number of people returning from military service who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses that are a direct result of their military service, and who commit crimes directly attributable to the "deleterious effects of combat service."
read more here
July 9, 2012
By Gina Passarella
The Legal Intelligencer
When the state Supreme Court denied earlier this year an Iraq War veteran's plea to allow an insanity defense in his Altoona murder trial, Justice Seamus P. McCaffery promised a dissenting statement would follow.
He delivered late last month, with a commentary on how the court should recognize a likely increase in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, coming through the courts, while acknowledging that it's unusual for the court to be asked to weigh in on the appropriateness and legality of a "particular defense to capital murder charges."
"There is ample reason to anticipate that when members of our armed forces return from combat duty and are charged with the commission of criminal offenses, there will be an increased incidence of an accused's seeking to present an insanity defense based upon mental infirmities related to his or her military service," Justice McCaffery said in his five-page dissent in Commonwealth v. Horner.
Justice McCaffery added that there is a growing number of people returning from military service who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses that are a direct result of their military service, and who commit crimes directly attributable to the "deleterious effects of combat service."
read more here
Iraq War vet Jason Moon heals with music
Vet uses music to heal -- but says he's no 'hero'
MARTHA IRVINE
AP National Writer
Monday, July 9, 2012
GLENDALE, Calif. (AP) — Don't call Iraq War vet Jason Moon a hero. Don't phone him on Memorial Day or July 4th or Veterans Day to say thank you.
Instead, just listen as he strums his guitar and sings about the "things I've seen I won't forget," about the sacrifices, emotional and physical, that a warrior must bear.
It can get raw, as it did one evening in a backyard in suburban Los Angeles, a recent stop on a concert tour that has taken him all over the country.
"All this welcome home, good job, we're-so-proud-of-you bull---- is wearing thin," he said, half-singing, half-speaking, as firelight flickered on his audience's faces.
There was a brief pause, then laughter — a moment of understanding shared veteran to veteran.
To some of us, words like those — and a rejection of hero status — might sound ungrateful, even disrespectful. We live, after all, in an era when "supporting the troops" has practically become a requirement to prove one's patriotism. We put yellow ribbons on trees and magnets and stickers on our cars, or at least we used to. We talk about heroes and bravery.
Americans haven't always embraced their war veterans, so we've been determined to get it right this time.
There is, however, a sense among many of today's vets, and those who deal with them, that we often haven't done so, despite the best intentions.
"When I was in Vietnam, nobody welcomed anybody home — or they spit on you, or worse. Now everybody has a parade, or welcomes you. But it loses the impact," says Larry Ashley, a Vietnam veteran who's now a professor specializing in combat trauma at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
"It's like a pendulum. It's like we're overcompensating for a guilty conscience."
read more here
MARTHA IRVINE
AP National Writer
Monday, July 9, 2012
GLENDALE, Calif. (AP) — Don't call Iraq War vet Jason Moon a hero. Don't phone him on Memorial Day or July 4th or Veterans Day to say thank you.
Instead, just listen as he strums his guitar and sings about the "things I've seen I won't forget," about the sacrifices, emotional and physical, that a warrior must bear.
It can get raw, as it did one evening in a backyard in suburban Los Angeles, a recent stop on a concert tour that has taken him all over the country.
"All this welcome home, good job, we're-so-proud-of-you bull---- is wearing thin," he said, half-singing, half-speaking, as firelight flickered on his audience's faces.
There was a brief pause, then laughter — a moment of understanding shared veteran to veteran.
To some of us, words like those — and a rejection of hero status — might sound ungrateful, even disrespectful. We live, after all, in an era when "supporting the troops" has practically become a requirement to prove one's patriotism. We put yellow ribbons on trees and magnets and stickers on our cars, or at least we used to. We talk about heroes and bravery.
Americans haven't always embraced their war veterans, so we've been determined to get it right this time.
There is, however, a sense among many of today's vets, and those who deal with them, that we often haven't done so, despite the best intentions.
"When I was in Vietnam, nobody welcomed anybody home — or they spit on you, or worse. Now everybody has a parade, or welcomes you. But it loses the impact," says Larry Ashley, a Vietnam veteran who's now a professor specializing in combat trauma at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
"It's like a pendulum. It's like we're overcompensating for a guilty conscience."
read more here
Oviedo soldier dies in Afghanistan
UPDATE
Jacksonville-based soldier who died in Afghanistan leaves wife, 2 children
Updated: July 10, 2012
Updated: July 10, 2012
Oviedo soldier dies in Afghanistan
July 8, 2012
By Leslie Postal and David Breen
Orlando Sentinel
A U.S. Army captain from Oviedo died in Afghanistan on Friday about three months after his Army Reserve unit was mobilized.
Bruce A. MacFarlane, 46, died in Kandahar, according to the Department of Defense, which did not provide information on how he died.
He was assigned to the 1186th Transportation Company, 831st Transportation Battalion, which is based in Jacksonville.
"He was a great guy, good family guy," said Keith Marang, who lives next door and said he met MacFarlane when both families moved into their new homes in 2008. "I was just floored when I heard the news."
He said MacFarlane, befitting his military career, was clean-cut and fit and looked younger than his age. He and his wife have two children, a son and a daughter, Marang said, adding that he thought they were in their early teens. He said the family moved to Oviedo from DeLand.
A person who answered the door at the family's large, modern home Sunday afternoon said they were not available, and she was not authorized to release any information. She said she was a friend of the family, and they'd been devastated by the news.
MacFarlane, who spent 12 years on active duty, was very patriotic, with an American flag always flying from his home, his neighbor said. Several small flags and red, white and blue pinwheels decorated the flower pots at the front door Sunday, presumably from the Fourth of July holiday last week.
read more here
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Hope Is No Longer A Viable Strategy against Military Suicides
Yesterday I receive a phone call about a group trying to make a difference in the lives of our veterans and their families. I know. So many groups saying they are trying to do the same thing but not accomplishing much at all. I listened and promised I'd take a look at the site but was ready to be disappointed yet again. It seems as if today is my day to once again say I was wrong. Happily, this group seems to really have their act together.
Veterans and Families.org has a petition at National Petition to help save the lives of the men and women coming home. After all, isn't that why you're here and read this blog?
The thing that really gave me hope is that over on the sidebar the links are great but down toward the bottom are links to the books someone I know wrote. The books are by Jonathan Shay.
"You need to get treated if you're going to get treated at all. If it lasts more than 4 months, there's a good chance it's going to last a lifetime." is what Dr. Sanjay Gupta said at about 9 minutes into this video. It is something that needs to be shouted from the top of every town hall.
That is the point that needs attention from everyone. Experts have warned that after a traumatic event there is a 30 day window. If the shock has not worn off within 30 days or subsided, the survivor needs to receive treatment from a mental health professional. Now Dr. Gupta stress how serious all of this is with what he said about 4 months.
What the men and women face is more months of deployment after their traumatic event, followed by the euphoria of coming back home, expecting to "get over all of it" and doing nothing about any of it other than wait it out.
Most of the time these combat veterans end up being sent back right around the time they figure out they are not "getting over it" and may need some help, but they have a job to do, so they put their healing on hold, face more trauma in combat, piled on top of what they already survived. Yet we wonder why the numbers are so high so fast?
One of the reasons we know what we know is how long combat and PTSD has been studied, which is not 10 years, 20 years or even 30 years, but 40 years worth of research. Experts know enough to tell Vietnam veterans that is it not too late for them to get help to heal even if they cannot be cured because they can live a better life than they would have just trying to suck it up. They also warn these veterans that as they age and face retirement, untreated PTSD will get a lot worse for them. They have nothing to occupy their minds with in order to push the symptoms into the back of their minds.
There is hope for them even after 40 years just as there is hope for today's veterans to be helped to heal. We don't have to keep reading about their suffering, suicides, attempted suicides and families grieving if we all get involved and stop taking excuses for answers.
Go to the site with the above link, take a look at what they're doing and get involved.
Hope Is No Longer A Viable Strategy
UPDATE
First early intervention has already been proven a long time ago. Early research is the reason we've had crisis intervention teams showing up after disasters and mass murder. It is the reason they were ready to get to work right after the Twin Towers fell in New York. Why this article says "for the first time" is beyond me but it is a good article at least where it points out the need to have someone respond to people right after a traumatic event. Can you experience more traumatic events that the troops do in combat?
Veterans and Families.org has a petition at National Petition to help save the lives of the men and women coming home. After all, isn't that why you're here and read this blog?
The thing that really gave me hope is that over on the sidebar the links are great but down toward the bottom are links to the books someone I know wrote. The books are by Jonathan Shay.
"You need to get treated if you're going to get treated at all. If it lasts more than 4 months, there's a good chance it's going to last a lifetime." is what Dr. Sanjay Gupta said at about 9 minutes into this video. It is something that needs to be shouted from the top of every town hall.
That is the point that needs attention from everyone. Experts have warned that after a traumatic event there is a 30 day window. If the shock has not worn off within 30 days or subsided, the survivor needs to receive treatment from a mental health professional. Now Dr. Gupta stress how serious all of this is with what he said about 4 months.
What the men and women face is more months of deployment after their traumatic event, followed by the euphoria of coming back home, expecting to "get over all of it" and doing nothing about any of it other than wait it out.
Most of the time these combat veterans end up being sent back right around the time they figure out they are not "getting over it" and may need some help, but they have a job to do, so they put their healing on hold, face more trauma in combat, piled on top of what they already survived. Yet we wonder why the numbers are so high so fast?
One of the reasons we know what we know is how long combat and PTSD has been studied, which is not 10 years, 20 years or even 30 years, but 40 years worth of research. Experts know enough to tell Vietnam veterans that is it not too late for them to get help to heal even if they cannot be cured because they can live a better life than they would have just trying to suck it up. They also warn these veterans that as they age and face retirement, untreated PTSD will get a lot worse for them. They have nothing to occupy their minds with in order to push the symptoms into the back of their minds.
There is hope for them even after 40 years just as there is hope for today's veterans to be helped to heal. We don't have to keep reading about their suffering, suicides, attempted suicides and families grieving if we all get involved and stop taking excuses for answers.
Go to the site with the above link, take a look at what they're doing and get involved.
Hope Is No Longer A Viable Strategy
UPDATE
First early intervention has already been proven a long time ago. Early research is the reason we've had crisis intervention teams showing up after disasters and mass murder. It is the reason they were ready to get to work right after the Twin Towers fell in New York. Why this article says "for the first time" is beyond me but it is a good article at least where it points out the need to have someone respond to people right after a traumatic event. Can you experience more traumatic events that the troops do in combat?
Speedy intervention may stop PTSD before it begins
By Kathi Baker
Woodruff Health Sciences Center
July 9, 2012
For the first time, a behavioral intervention delivered to patients within hours of a traumatic event appears to be effective at reducing posttraumatic stress reactions (PTSR).
A study published online in the June, 2012, journal Biological Psychiatry, and conducted by Barbara Rothbaum, and her team, shows that a modified form of prolonged exposure therapy initiated within hours of a trauma reduces posttraumatic stress reactions and depression. Exposure therapy is a type of behavioral therapy in which a survivor confronts anxiety about a traumatic event by reliving it.
"PTSD is a major public health concern," says Rothbaum, professor in the Emory's —Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. "In so many people, what happens immediately after a traumatic event can make things worse or better. Right now, there are no accepted interventions delivered in the immediate aftermath of trauma."
The implications of this study are immense, she explains. "If we know what to do, then we can train emergency workers to intervene with patients on a large scale. In addition to being implemented in the emergency room, it can help on the battlefield, in natural disasters, or after criminal assaults."
read more here
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