Vets charity accused of illegal accounting
By David Fitzpatrick and Drew Griffin
CNN Special Investigations Unit
August 9, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Charity's officers were "lining their pockets," attorney general says
California sues Help Hospitalized Veterans, accusing it of misspending donors' money
The state seeks $4 million in penalties for solicitations it calls misleading
The charity's president says it "looks forward to the chance to tell its story"
Winchester, California
(CNN) -- California authorities are taking a controversial veterans' charity to court, accusing it of paying officers "excessive" salaries and making "imprudent" loans, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, to a leading conservative activist's company.
In a civil lawsuit announced Thursday, the state attorney general's office asked a judge to remove the president and the entire board of directors of Help Hospitalized Veterans. The complaint asks for the board and president to pay more than $4 million in penalties to compensate for "misrepresentations" in solicitations by the charity.
The charity "has helped some veterans," Attorney General Kamala Harris told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360." But she said nearly two-thirds of its revenue went to overhead, and the officers named in the complaint "have basically been lining their pockets off the compassion that Americans have for our veterans and servicemen and women."
"They have really tugged, I think, at the heartstrings of Americans who want to help our veterans," Harris said. "And, instead, they've had gulf club memberships and condominiums, and they've been lining their pockets -- their personal pockets."
The complaint accuses the charity -- which reported more than $31 million in donations in 2010 -- of making false statements on its tax filings, paying "excessive" compensation, using donors' funds to buy a country club membership and a suburban Washington condominium, and unlawfully diverting money to start another nonprofit.
read more here
Friday, August 10, 2012
Three soldiers killed by man in an Afghan uniform
Official: Man in Afghan security uniform kills 3 US troops
By Chelsea J. Carter and Masoud Popalzai
CNN
updated 8:31 AM EDT, Fri August 10, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Six civilians died when a vehicle struck a mine
A man in an Afghan uniform shot and killed three U.S. troops in Helmand province Friday
A suicide bomb attack killed five people in Afghanistan's Kunar province Wednesday
Among the dead: senior members of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A man in an Afghan military uniform killed three U.S. troops Friday in southern Afghanistan, the latest in a series of assaults against NATO soldiers by Afghans clad in security force garb.
The man opened fire on the troops in the volatile Helmand province, said Maj. Lori Hodge, a spokeswoman for the International Assistance Security Force. Hodge did not immediately provide details about the attack, one of a handful in recent weeks to target NATO troops.
In the strikes, known as "green-on-blue" attacks, Afghan security forces or militants dressed as local police or soldiers target coalition troops.
Coalition forces have been working to address the problem. Gen. John Allen, commander of the NATO-led force, has said "an erosion of trust" has emerged from the attacks.
Speaking in March, he said that the systems the Afghans and coalition had put in place to help prevent these attacks were having an effect. read more here
By Chelsea J. Carter and Masoud Popalzai
CNN
updated 8:31 AM EDT, Fri August 10, 2012
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Six civilians died when a vehicle struck a mine
A man in an Afghan uniform shot and killed three U.S. troops in Helmand province Friday
A suicide bomb attack killed five people in Afghanistan's Kunar province Wednesday
Among the dead: senior members of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A man in an Afghan military uniform killed three U.S. troops Friday in southern Afghanistan, the latest in a series of assaults against NATO soldiers by Afghans clad in security force garb.
The man opened fire on the troops in the volatile Helmand province, said Maj. Lori Hodge, a spokeswoman for the International Assistance Security Force. Hodge did not immediately provide details about the attack, one of a handful in recent weeks to target NATO troops.
In the strikes, known as "green-on-blue" attacks, Afghan security forces or militants dressed as local police or soldiers target coalition troops.
Coalition forces have been working to address the problem. Gen. John Allen, commander of the NATO-led force, has said "an erosion of trust" has emerged from the attacks.
Speaking in March, he said that the systems the Afghans and coalition had put in place to help prevent these attacks were having an effect. read more here
Wounded Times 5th Year of tracking PTSD
Vets center healing invisible wounds from different wars
East Valley Tribune
August 10, 2007
New Mesa Vets center healing invisible wounds
Mary K. Reinhart, Tribune
For Mike Saye and Daryl Cox, it was the Iraq War that unearthed the horrors of combat. The Vietnam veterans struggled for nearly 30 years with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, but never sought help until young Americans started fighting, and dying, in the Middle East.
They were gathered Thursday at a new Veterans Readjustment Center near Fiesta Mall in Mesa, getting help for their own demons and hoping to give younger veterans the benefit of their experience.
“It triggered everything in me. I started dreaming about it again,” Saye, of Mesa, said of the Iraq War.
“I was a candidate for PTSD for years and years, but I thought I could handle it,” he said, even as he struggled through four marriages and some 30 jobs.
“But I can’t, and they can’t either. I don’t want them to wait as long as I did to get help.”
Though a trickle of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are finding their way to the new center, team leader Patrick Ryan knows many more are out there.
“We’re certainly trying to do outreach, but we’d like to see more of them,” Ryan said.
“The stigma is not what it used to be, but it’s still there.”
Five years later, there are 15,873 posts to go with it. 1,983 posts have the label Combat and PTSD. 4,051 have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. These remind me of how many veterans are suffering more after combat when almost everyone assumed the danger to their lives ended when they came home. 607 posts have the label military suicides. These are the ones that break my heart the most. Had the DOD and the VA managed to use the research available in the last 40 years, there would be very few reports of military suicides and a lot less attempting it. There would be many more reports on veterans healing and less reports on their suffering.
Wounded Times has managed to be viewed almost 700,000 times and I want to thank my readers for trusting this work.
I am not perfect and most of my followers and subscribers keep me on my toes. You make sure I know the latest news coming out so that I don't miss much. Being a "one woman" operation, it has been rough to do this and I couldn't do it without you.
I promise to keep this blog going for as long as it is needed to provide veterans with a one source place to find out what is happening to other veterans. I promise to keep politics out of this only posting on politicians either doing something for you or against you. You deserve the truth no matter what party they belong to.
I am asking for your help in return. Please pass on the news you find here so that others know what is going on. If you can afford a couple of dollars to donate, that would be great since I don't make much money off the advertising on this site and don't have a clue how to find financial support. I lose a couple of thousand dollars a year paying for equipment, programs and traveling to film, but it is more the time it takes to do this work. I put in on average 70 hours a week since I publish everyday, emails and phone calls come in and I can't find a part time job to make up for the lost income. We're suffering financially.
It irks me that some group out there is raking in millions a year doing less than I'm doing except they give out backpacks and pay for a great PR campaign but I have to worry about paying for gas and keeping the cable company paid.
What I do doesn't cost much at all and never will.
Matthew 10:8
New International Version (NIV)
8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.
Freely you have received; freely give.
Thank you very much for staying with me all these years.
Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
Editor and Publisher
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Do PTSD researchers get paid to repeat studies?
Gene Associated With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Found By Boston Researchers
Editor's Choice
Main Category: Anxiety / Stress
Also Included In: Genetics; Mental Health; Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 09 Aug 2012
A study published online in Molecular Psychiatry reports that researchers have discovered a new gene that is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The findings suggest that retinoid-related orphan receptor alpha (RORA) is involved in protecting brain cells from the damaging effects of stress and that it could also play a role in developing PTSD.
PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that is characterized by serious changes in behavioral, cognitive, emotional and psychological functioning after experiencing a psychologically traumatic event. According to earlier research, around 8% of the U.S. population will develop PTSD at some time in their life. This figure is considerably higher amongst veterans, with as many as 1 in 5 veterans suffering from PTSD. Earlier genome wide-association studies (GWAS) have associated the RORA gene to other psychiatric conditions, such as bipolar disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression and autism.
read more here
Almost like this announcement in May
And this one in January
Oh, come on now. They have been "discovering" the link going back to 2008 on this blog alone.
Editor's Choice
Main Category: Anxiety / Stress
Also Included In: Genetics; Mental Health; Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 09 Aug 2012
A study published online in Molecular Psychiatry reports that researchers have discovered a new gene that is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The findings suggest that retinoid-related orphan receptor alpha (RORA) is involved in protecting brain cells from the damaging effects of stress and that it could also play a role in developing PTSD.
PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that is characterized by serious changes in behavioral, cognitive, emotional and psychological functioning after experiencing a psychologically traumatic event. According to earlier research, around 8% of the U.S. population will develop PTSD at some time in their life. This figure is considerably higher amongst veterans, with as many as 1 in 5 veterans suffering from PTSD. Earlier genome wide-association studies (GWAS) have associated the RORA gene to other psychiatric conditions, such as bipolar disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression and autism.
read more here
Almost like this announcement in May
Memory gene may fuel PTSD
May 14th, 2012
CNN
Dr. Sanjay Gupta
A vivid memory can be an asset if you're studying for an exam or trying to recall the details of a conversation, but that aptitude may backfire when it comes to forming long-term responses to emotional trauma.
In a new study, Swiss researchers have found that a certain gene associated with a good memory - and in particular, the ability to remember emotionally charged images - is also linked to an increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among survivors of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
click link for more
And this one in January
Researchers now looking at PTSD link in DNA?
Veterans taking part in massive DNA project
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Carolyn Johnson
PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) -- Bay Area veterans are answering the call to help with a massive research project and when it is up and running, it could provide new answers for some difficult-to-treat conditions.
click link for more
Oh, come on now. They have been "discovering" the link going back to 2008 on this blog alone.
Scientists find why bad memories stay with us
Glue that makes bad memories stick may help with Alzheimer's, study says
By Andrea Thompson
updated 2 hours, 25 minutes ago
Scientists may have found the glue that keeps fearful memories stuck in the brain, a discovery that could be useful in new treatments for Alzheimer's disease and post-traumatic stress disorder.
That glue seems to be a protein that is key to maintaining the structure of cells and also is essential to embryonic development, a new study suggests.
The protein, called beta-catenin, transmits early signals in species ranging from flies to frogs to mice that separate an embryo into front and back or top and bottom. It also acts like Velcro, fastening a cell's internal skeleton to proteins on its external membranes that in turn connect them to other cells.
click link for more.
Canadian Military Suicide study supports depression-suicide link
Major depression drives suicidal thinking in soldiers and vets, new Canadian study shows
Sharon Kirkey
2 hours ago
Soldiers and veterans seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder should be screened closely for major depression, say the authors of a new Canadian study that shows depression is the single greatest driver of suicidal thinking.
Appearing in this month’s issue of The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, the study of 250 actively serving Canadian Forces, RCMP members and veterans comes as record numbers of suicides are occurring among American troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, and as the number of suicides reported among Canadian Forces personnel last year reached its highest since 1995.
In vets diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, about half also experience symptoms of major depressive disorder at some point in their lives, the authors of the new study write.
But “the task of predicting which people may be at an increased risk of completing suicide is a complex and challenging care issue,” they said.
read more here
Sharon Kirkey
2 hours ago
Soldiers and veterans seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder should be screened closely for major depression, say the authors of a new Canadian study that shows depression is the single greatest driver of suicidal thinking.
Appearing in this month’s issue of The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, the study of 250 actively serving Canadian Forces, RCMP members and veterans comes as record numbers of suicides are occurring among American troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, and as the number of suicides reported among Canadian Forces personnel last year reached its highest since 1995.
In vets diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, about half also experience symptoms of major depressive disorder at some point in their lives, the authors of the new study write.
But “the task of predicting which people may be at an increased risk of completing suicide is a complex and challenging care issue,” they said.
read more here
Vietnam Veteran's medals replaced after originals lost to hurricane Katrina
Vet receives new Purple Heart, other medals lost during Katrina
Posted: Aug 09, 2012
By Charles Herrington
WDAM News
Courtesy: Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center Public Affairs Office
CAMP SHELBY, MS (WDAM)
A Hattiesburg Vietnam veteran who lost his Purple Heart and other service medals in Hurricane Katrina has had them replaced, thanks to Congressman Steven Palazzo.
Navy veteran Michael Risley was presented with the Military Order of the Purple Heart at Camp Shelby Thursday morning.
He originally received the medal for wounds he suffered in Vietnam in 1968.
read more here
Posted: Aug 09, 2012
By Charles Herrington
WDAM News
Courtesy: Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center Public Affairs Office
CAMP SHELBY, MS (WDAM)
A Hattiesburg Vietnam veteran who lost his Purple Heart and other service medals in Hurricane Katrina has had them replaced, thanks to Congressman Steven Palazzo.
Navy veteran Michael Risley was presented with the Military Order of the Purple Heart at Camp Shelby Thursday morning.
He originally received the medal for wounds he suffered in Vietnam in 1968.
read more here
Vietnam Veteran killed saving granddaughter from thieves
Vietnam Veteran and grandfather dies saving 12-year-old granddaughter from thieves
Detroit Police are still searching for suspects
By: Kim Russell
DETROIT (WXYZ) - Detroit Police are searching for the thieves who barged into a house full of children, beat a 16-year-old with a baseball bat, then shot and killed a grandfather.
“He jumped in front of a bullet for his 12-year-old granddaughter,” said Melissa Villneff, the daughter of the man killed.
She and her brother Michael Villneff describe their father as a hero. They say 62-year-old John Villneff was a Vietnam Veteran who received two Purple Hearts. He had one son, two daughters, and 12 grandchildren.
He lived next door to his daughter’s house on Rutland on the city’s west side. His adult children were out enjoying a Tigers game. His grandchildren, who are between the ages of 10 and 16 were at home together Wednesday night when young men with guns and a bat came to their home.
Relatives say the young men attacked the 16-year-old, hitting him in the head with a baseball bat. They demanded what was inside a safe at the home. They soon learned the safe contained almost nothing of value. They then stole a Wii and an Xbox.
A 12-year-old girl at the home managed to take pictures of the suspects as they committed their crime. She then ran from the home towards her grandfather’s home next door. He came out to see what was wrong. The war veteran saw armed men coming for her, covered her, and pushed her into the safety of his home as he was shot.
He died at his home.
“I didn’t get to tell him I love him,” said Michael Villneff. “He is a hero.”
read more here
Detroit Police are still searching for suspects
By: Kim Russell
DETROIT (WXYZ) - Detroit Police are searching for the thieves who barged into a house full of children, beat a 16-year-old with a baseball bat, then shot and killed a grandfather.
“He jumped in front of a bullet for his 12-year-old granddaughter,” said Melissa Villneff, the daughter of the man killed.
She and her brother Michael Villneff describe their father as a hero. They say 62-year-old John Villneff was a Vietnam Veteran who received two Purple Hearts. He had one son, two daughters, and 12 grandchildren.
He lived next door to his daughter’s house on Rutland on the city’s west side. His adult children were out enjoying a Tigers game. His grandchildren, who are between the ages of 10 and 16 were at home together Wednesday night when young men with guns and a bat came to their home.
Relatives say the young men attacked the 16-year-old, hitting him in the head with a baseball bat. They demanded what was inside a safe at the home. They soon learned the safe contained almost nothing of value. They then stole a Wii and an Xbox.
A 12-year-old girl at the home managed to take pictures of the suspects as they committed their crime. She then ran from the home towards her grandfather’s home next door. He came out to see what was wrong. The war veteran saw armed men coming for her, covered her, and pushed her into the safety of his home as he was shot.
He died at his home.
“I didn’t get to tell him I love him,” said Michael Villneff. “He is a hero.”
read more here
Some returning veterans struggle with driving
Auto anxiety: Some returning veterans struggle with driving
CBS News
By Lee Woodruff
August 9, 2012
(CBS News) Veterans have many difficulties readjusting to civilian life. Thousands of them have trouble with the simplest things, such as driving a car.
It can be a terrifying ordeal for some vets.
Former Marine Sgt. Eric Campbell has knee braces, the obvious physical evidence of his two tours of duty in Iraq. Less obvious are the psychological effects of those experiences. But they are there.
Recalling a moment from one of his tours, Campbell said, "This van started coming down the road toward our roadblocks and our translators were translating, 'Stop, stop, stop your vehicle.' We ended up firing on this van. There was a dad driving, a mother in the passenger seat, the pregnant sister of the mother, and two children. The only one that survived was the pregnant sister."
Events like that have left Campbell with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. After fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom he's lost some of his own. Anxiety has made it impossible for him to drive. "I would hit potholes and it would throw me into a flashback."
Campbell and his fiancee Amy live 20 miles outside of Fresno, Calif., in a tiny trailer they share with her three kids and two of his own. His inability to drive puts an increased burden on her, and makes a difficult situation, worse.
Campbell is one of more than 200,000 vets who've sought treatment for PTSD. Roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan made driving treacherous in those war zones and back home veterans have to navigate a new set of hazards.
read more here
CBS News
By Lee Woodruff
August 9, 2012
(CBS News) Veterans have many difficulties readjusting to civilian life. Thousands of them have trouble with the simplest things, such as driving a car.
It can be a terrifying ordeal for some vets.
Former Marine Sgt. Eric Campbell has knee braces, the obvious physical evidence of his two tours of duty in Iraq. Less obvious are the psychological effects of those experiences. But they are there.
Recalling a moment from one of his tours, Campbell said, "This van started coming down the road toward our roadblocks and our translators were translating, 'Stop, stop, stop your vehicle.' We ended up firing on this van. There was a dad driving, a mother in the passenger seat, the pregnant sister of the mother, and two children. The only one that survived was the pregnant sister."
Events like that have left Campbell with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. After fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom he's lost some of his own. Anxiety has made it impossible for him to drive. "I would hit potholes and it would throw me into a flashback."
Campbell and his fiancee Amy live 20 miles outside of Fresno, Calif., in a tiny trailer they share with her three kids and two of his own. His inability to drive puts an increased burden on her, and makes a difficult situation, worse.
Campbell is one of more than 200,000 vets who've sought treatment for PTSD. Roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan made driving treacherous in those war zones and back home veterans have to navigate a new set of hazards.
read more here
Social media creates spokesmen at Camp Lejeune
Social media creates spokesmen
August 9, 2012
Camp Lejeune Globe
Lance Cpl. Jackeline M. Perez Rivera
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
Marines use social media the same way everybody else does, said Sgt. Mark Fayloga, Headquarters Marine Corps head of Social Media. Through Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Hi5, MySpace, Flickr, Reddit and many more, Marines connect and interact with people and ideas across a wide variety of avenues.
Social media gives people numerous ways to share any detail of their lives. The military community has used those resources to blog about their wartime experiences. YouTube videos have landed Marines dates and brought smiles back home through groups’ renditions of popular songs matched to complicated choreography.
Questions can be posted and answered by not only everyone in the Marines’ social network, but their friends’ social networks as well. They can find people willing to share their experience about a duty station, a job or a temporary additional billet such as recruiter or Drill Instructor.
“(With social media) you can be the voice of the Marine Corps,” said Fayloga. “You can share your story.”
Social media can serve as a soapbox to present information and opinions, or it can provide an interactive experience to can help clarify misinformation.
However, it’s very important to cite sources, said Capt. Joshua Smith, the Deputy Public Affairs Officer of Marine Corps Installation East – Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. Without proper citation it’s just an opinion, he added.
Social media can also make anyone a micro-journalist, said Smith.
read more here
August 9, 2012
Camp Lejeune Globe
Lance Cpl. Jackeline M. Perez Rivera
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
Marines use social media the same way everybody else does, said Sgt. Mark Fayloga, Headquarters Marine Corps head of Social Media. Through Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Hi5, MySpace, Flickr, Reddit and many more, Marines connect and interact with people and ideas across a wide variety of avenues.
Social media gives people numerous ways to share any detail of their lives. The military community has used those resources to blog about their wartime experiences. YouTube videos have landed Marines dates and brought smiles back home through groups’ renditions of popular songs matched to complicated choreography.
Questions can be posted and answered by not only everyone in the Marines’ social network, but their friends’ social networks as well. They can find people willing to share their experience about a duty station, a job or a temporary additional billet such as recruiter or Drill Instructor.
“(With social media) you can be the voice of the Marine Corps,” said Fayloga. “You can share your story.”
Social media can serve as a soapbox to present information and opinions, or it can provide an interactive experience to can help clarify misinformation.
However, it’s very important to cite sources, said Capt. Joshua Smith, the Deputy Public Affairs Officer of Marine Corps Installation East – Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. Without proper citation it’s just an opinion, he added.
Social media can also make anyone a micro-journalist, said Smith.
read more here
Combat Medic listed as AWOL turned himself in
Army Specialist Catalino Rodriguez of Aberdeen, Md.,Turns Himself In After Being AWOL For Two Years
Written by
Surae Chinn
WUSA9.com
Aug 9, 2012
BETHESDA, Md. (WUSA) -- An Aberdeen, Maryland soldier who went AWOL (Away Without Leave) two years ago has decided to turn himself in.
Army Specialist Catalino Rodriguez says he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD and major depression. He has emerged from hiding in his mother's basement.
"It's a nightmare. A two year nightmare. I don't want to do this anymore," he said.
He said he fell into a dark place after a 15 month deployment as a combat medic in Iraq.
He further spiraled into mental illness when he learned he would be deployed to Afghanistan.
"I felt the demons that were in my head," he said. "I felt I was not prepared to go to Afghanistan. Being a medic, I was fearful of my personal demons getting in the way in how I would treat a battle buddy."
He sought help, but he says the military's solution only masked the problem.
"The only thing they gave me was medication, medication, medication," Rodriquez said.
read more here
Written by
Surae Chinn
WUSA9.com
Aug 9, 2012
BETHESDA, Md. (WUSA) -- An Aberdeen, Maryland soldier who went AWOL (Away Without Leave) two years ago has decided to turn himself in.
Army Specialist Catalino Rodriguez says he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD and major depression. He has emerged from hiding in his mother's basement.
"It's a nightmare. A two year nightmare. I don't want to do this anymore," he said.
He said he fell into a dark place after a 15 month deployment as a combat medic in Iraq.
He further spiraled into mental illness when he learned he would be deployed to Afghanistan.
"I felt the demons that were in my head," he said. "I felt I was not prepared to go to Afghanistan. Being a medic, I was fearful of my personal demons getting in the way in how I would treat a battle buddy."
He sought help, but he says the military's solution only masked the problem.
"The only thing they gave me was medication, medication, medication," Rodriquez said.
read more here
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