Maryland Lt. Gov. Brown fights for Vets because he is one

Analysts propose trimming veterans mental health initiative
Feb 22, 2008 3:00 AM (15 hrs ago) by Len Lazarick, The Examiner
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Gov. Martin O’Malley’s administration wants $3.5 million to provide short-term mental health services for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

But legislative analysts recommend the funding be cut in half because the services are fundamentally a federal responsibility and the estimates of the veterans needing the treatment are too high.

“We still have some work to do” to get the money, said Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, an Iraq war veteran who is the administration’s point man on the veterans mental health initiative. “We’re going to work with the appropriations committees.”



The state health department estimates that there are about 15,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan living in Maryland, and about a third of them could use mental health and substance abuse services. There is a particularly high incidence of post-traumatic stress syndrome.

The Maryland Department of Veteran Affairs said there are about 4,300 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans enrolled with the federal VA health system, and there is no waiting list for services at the VA.

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My guess is there is more that has to be done and until the federal government gets their act in gear, the problem will get worse. Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and Gov. Martin O’Malley want to act now because the federal government did not act in the beginning.


From Maryland Homeless Veterans services

The HVRP program has become an integral part of the continuum of services provided by MCVET. The fundamental approach to homeless services is to provide assistance through a continuum of incremental steps that enable students to rejoin their communities as productive citizens. For the first three months, homeless veterans are placed in emergency housing where case managers help determine their needs and challenges, ensure that all benefit resources are accessed, and help them set education and employment goals. Students who suffer from mental illness or substance abuse issues begin receiving treatment. This is a critical component of the enrollment process because more than 98% of homeless veterans who enter the MCVET program have addiction problems, and more than 80% have mental disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
http://www.nchv.org/hvrp_article.cfm?id=42

Oceanside CA military not interested in PTSD forum?

San Diego County has the second largest veteran population in the nation, with approximately 252,000 former service members as well as roughly 125,000 active-duty Marines, sailors and National Guard troops, according to Tom Splitberger, the county's veterans service officer.

Forum misses intended targets

By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
County session on how to help military and their families doesn't include them

OCEANSIDE ---- There was a glaring element missing in action at a Tuesday forum on how to better serve the mental health needs of active and former members of the military and their families ---- the intended targets.

The forum sponsored by the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency was one of a series agency officials are conducting to determine how best to spend the $16 million they expect to receive from the state next year for new mental health efforts.

County officials maintained that they had notified area military bases and groups about the forum. They couldn't explain why none of the people they are aiming to serve were present at the four-hour session at the Oceanside Civic Center.


"This is an opportunity to focus specific resources for this (military) population," Alfredo Aguirre, director of the county's adult and children's mental health department, said during opening remarks.

The more than three dozen people in attendance were primarily mental health counselors and specialists, as well as veteran's advocates and people who work for agencies dealing directly with current and former service members.

The absence of military families was discussed by one of three groups that ended the day by brainstorming ways to better serve that large component of the county population. When reporting its conclusions, the group said spending some of the money to reach out to service members and their families should be considered.
click post title for the rest

Speechless!

RESPECT-Mil program used to defeat stigma of PTSD

Army Hopes Program Makes Soldiers More Apt to Get Mental Health Care

Aaron Levin


Psychiatric News

Feb 21, 2008
February 11, 2008 Issue

Psychiatrists are consulting on a plan by the U.S. Army to screen and treat soldiers for depression and PTSD in primary care settings.

The U.S. Army hopes to encourage more soldiers to seek care for mental health problems by expanding a program to detect and treat soldiers with depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in primary care clinics, backed up by consultations with psychiatrists.

The staged rollout of the program, known as RESPECT-Mil, began one year ago at the direction of the Army surgeon general and will spread to 43 clinics on 15 military bases in the U.S., Germany, and Italy over 24 months. Program leaders from 13 of the 15 bases have been trained in its function so far, and about 10 clinics have it in operation. Congress recently increased funding to expand the program further.

The service hopes to undercut the effects of stigma by providing an entry point and screening for soldiers in a setting they find more comfortable.
go here for the rest
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleid/9394

PTSD:Returning Home Homeless

Matt Renner: Returning Home Homeless
Friday, 22 February 2008, 2:14 pm
Article: Matt Renner



Returning Home Homeless

By Matt Renner
t r u t h o u t Report
Thursday 21 February 2008
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022108R.shtml


Former Hospital Corpsman Kevin Bartolata spent four years and eight months in the military. When he decided to leave, he found himself alone and with few options. He soon became hopeless and homeless, sleeping in a park in San Francisco. Through sheer persistence and help from veterans organizations, he was able to pull himself out of his desperate situation and find his way.

Around July 2004, Bartolata was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), an anxiety ailment common to military veterans that can manifest in different ways. Bartolata's condition resulted in insomnia and depression. However, the "military mentality" kept him from seeking treatment for nearly three years.

"It was like being labeled a shit bag in the military. If you went to the psychiatric ward, people said 'oh wow ... why couldn't I think of that? That would have gotten me out of work too.' It was viewed as a cop out."

Bartolata returned from Iraq in October 2004. After one month of leave, he was assigned to a medical surgical ward at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, California, a placement usually reserved for inexperienced corpsmen and those in training. Bartolata said the assignment felt like a "slap in the face," after his assignment in Iraq. He felt prepared for the responsibility of a leadership position where he could better share his experience and help train fellow corpsmen for deployment.

While he grew to value working with the Vietnam veterans he attended to at the facility, he was somewhat demoralized by the bad placement. "It was a step backwards. I didn't enjoy my time like I thought I would. I had clashes with the leadership." Bartolata began to look forward to leaving the Navy and rejoining the civilian world. He began moonlighting at a private hospital, working twelve-hour shifts on his days off from the naval hospital to save money and to prepare himself for his transition.

During his service, Bartolata earned enough money to put a down payment on a new Acura sports car. He had solid credit and his military paycheck covered the monthly payments.

He officially left the Navy on August 25, 2005. Six years after joining at the age of eighteen, Bartolata was excited about celebrating his upcoming twenty-fourth birthday with friends in Los Angeles. However, this celebration was tainted by the beginning of what would become a downward spiral.
click above for the rest

What is the new rule going to do for veterans like Bartolata? Yesterday I posted the story about Spc. Benjamin Stewart, who must have PTSD based on what he was going through. Stewart is going to spend six months locked up for not wanting to go back to Iraq. This is what he was told when he said he couldn't go back. He will receive a dishonorable discharge.

Lt. Col. Thomas Rickard told Stewart that: "Twenty years ago in Panama we would have stripped a soldier naked, beat him up, thrown him in a van and dumped him for not deploying."

The new rule of not having to prove a traumatic event happened, will not help him because the DOD did not diagnose him and sought to punish him instead. What will happen to him and what kind of justice is he getting?

More and more they go to risk their lives, have their minds traumatized in the process and then are abused by their commanders who still refuse to acknowledge PTSD is a wound. More and more they are treated like a "shit bag" because ignorance overrules facts. Shouldn't it matter that these men and women were willing to serve the nation, lay down their lives for the nation, served the nation and then were wounded for doing it?

I take great pleasure in posting the advances the DOD and the VA are making but stories like these prove they both have a lot more work ahead of them. The people of this nation cannot abandon them thinking all is well because it isn't. If we don't keep the pressure on the Congress to take action and enforce the rules of conduct, more will end up homeless, hopeless and more will take their own lives.

Death of Sgt. Gerald Cassidy caused changes at Fort Knox

Fort Knox touts improvements at unit for wounded warriors
By BRUCE SCHREINER, Associated Press Writer

Story Created: Feb 21, 2008 at 6:30 PM EST



FORT KNOX, Ky. (AP) — Staff Sgt. Gerald Gonzalez has seen plenty of changes in a special unit for wounded soldiers since arriving at Fort Knox last summer with wounds from a roadside bomb in Iraq.


Barracks at the Army post in central Kentucky are being renovated for soldiers placed in the "warrior transition unit." Staffing has been beefed up. An assistance center geared toward the wounded troops and their families has opened.

"It's a lot better now," said Gonzalez, who suffers from a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder since being wounded last May while helping escort a military convoy. "Overall, the way that we receive care has gotten better."

Still, he said, Army efforts to specially tend to the wounded soldiers remain "a work in progress."

The Army initiative has come under scrutiny following the death of Sgt. Gerald Cassidy, a member of the Indiana National Guard. Cassidy, who was in a transition unit, was found dead in his room at Fort Knox on Sept. 21, about 15 months after he was wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
go here for the rest
http://www.wsbt.com/news/indiana/15853057.html

Spc. Benjamin Stewart gets 6 months for refusing to deploy to Iraq

Soldier gets 6-month sentence for refusing to deploy to Iraq
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, February 22, 2008
VILSECK, Germany — A soldier who refused to deploy with his unit to Iraq because of a “deeply held personal belief” that he should not take a human life will spend the next six months in jail before being thrown out of the Army.

Spc. Benjamin Stewart, 25, of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, pleaded guilty Wednesday to missing movement on Jan. 7, 2008, when he was scheduled to deploy to Iraq. Stewart had already been convicted — and reduced in rank from sergeant to specialist — of being absent without leave when the bulk of the regiment deployed last summer.

Stewart told the court that he refused to deploy because of what he experienced during his last deployment to Mosul, Iraq, from 2004 to 2005.

“I saw a mother and her infant child get killed in crossfire. I saw children lose their limbs in a car bomb. One boy lost an arm and another lost both legs,” he said.
go here for the rest
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52686

This is what still happens when the military is supposed to be enlightened finally.

Lt. Col. Thomas Rickard told Stewart that: “Twenty years ago in Panama we would have stripped a soldier naked, beat him up, thrown him in a van and dumped him for not deploying.”

The piece also states that he will be given a dishonorable discharge. If this does not all sound like classic PTSD, then nothing does. Why wasn't he seen by a psychiatrist? He showed the symptoms of PTSD. Then again given what Lt. Col. Thomas Rickard had to say to him, that apparently wouldn't do much good.

Why is this still happening in the military? Why are they still thinking with dark ages mentalities? What does Rickard want to do? Go back to the time when they used to shoot PTSD soldiers for being cowards? He was close enough to that on what he said alone.

They can claim they are now doing the right thing for our wounded soldiers but this is still going on. If you want to know why so many are still not seeking help for PTSD, ask Rickard. I'm sure you'll get an ear full. I wonder how many under his command committed suicide because he is such a narrow minded fool?

Healing the psychological wounds of war

Healing the psychological wounds of war
By Andrew J. Weaver
21 Feb 2008
What must [hu]mankind be, before such a thing as war could ever be known or thought of upon earth? How shocking, how inconceivable a want must there have been of common understanding, as well as common humanity, before any two Governors, or any two nations in the universe, could once think of such a method of decision? If, then, all nations, Pagan, Mahometan [sic], and Christian, do, in fact, make this their last resort, what farther proof do we need of the utter degeneracy of all nations from the plainest principles of reason and virtue? (Doctrine of Original Sin, John Wesley, 1757).

----------

Imagine that you are driving home after church one Sunday. On the way, you witness a terrible train crash involving hundreds of victims. Bodies litter the field, blood and gore are everywhere, and you instinctively stop to help. You apply your Red Cross training and attempt to stop the bleeding. There is moaning, dying, screaming, moments out of hell. Mercifully, it ends. You get back in your car and drive home as though nothing unusual occurred. You do not talk about what happened because everyone wants to forget that it occurred. That is analogous to the experience of many Iraq combat veterans who are returning home.

As of 10 February 2008, there have been 174 British and 3,952 American soldiers killed in Iraq with an additional 29,092 Americans wounded. Whatever we think of the wars they have fought and the policies of the government that has fought them (like many church people, I have been a critic, and I have been actively opposing a Bush library at Southern Methodist University), the duty of deep pastoral and psychological concern remains.

The saying, "war is hell," only begins to describe how horrible it has been for tens of thousands in the military. War is a life-threatening experience that involves witnessing and sometimes engaging in terrifying and gruesome acts of violence. It also is, for most service personnel, a patriotic response to protect and defend their country, loved ones, values, and way of life. War is a shocking confrontation with death, devastation, and violence. It is normal for human beings to react to war's psychic trauma with profound feelings of fear, anger, grief, repulsion, helplessness, and horror, as well as with emotional numbness and disbelief.

Many soldiers are psychologically unable to leave behind the trauma of war when they return home. They struggle with a variety of severe problems that neither they nor their families, friends, or communities know how to address or understand. Even experienced military personnel may never become fully desensitized to exposure to violent death, and they remain particularly vulnerable when victims include children.

Because many veterans have not been taught how surviving trauma can affect persons, they may have trouble understanding what is happening to them. They may think it is their fault that the trauma occurred, that they are going crazy, or that there is something wrong with them, since others who were at the same place do not seem to have the same problems. They may use drugs or alcohol to escape from their feelings. They may turn away from friends and family who seem not to understand. Because thinking about a trauma and feeling endangered is upsetting, people who have experienced combat generally want to avoid all reminders. Sometimes survivors are aware of this and avoid such triggers intentionally, but many do so without realizing it. Survivors may not know what to do to get better.

Clergy and churches are in a valuable position to help with these problems. In psychological trauma, an individual's sense of order and continuity of life is shattered and questions of meaning and purpose abound. Studies have shown that religious faith is a primary coping strategy for many people, including recovering combat veterans suffering from psychological trauma. In addition to offering the natural social support of community, faith can provide a suffering person with a framework for finding meaning and perspective through a source greater than self, and it can give a sense of control over feelings of helplessness. Research has found that nurturing, non-punitive faith can enhance well-being and facilitate faster emotional recovery for many traumatized individuals.

Clergy are called upon to play a variety of roles as they help trauma survivors move through the healing process. Pastors are accessible and trusted, and through wise counsel they can aid in taking the sigma out of mental health care. Clergy are often in long-term relationships with individuals and their families, providing ongoing contacts in which they can observe changes in behavior that can assist in the assessment and treatment of veterans with PTSD. Pastors are also in a position in which they can refer veterans to mental health professionals and other support systems available through their faith communities.

go here for the rest
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/6805

Does this sound like what I've been talking about all this time?

Only comment I'll make on McCain story

Whoops! McCain fails to collect enough signatures for Indiana primary ballot
Michael Roston


Over the last month, Sen. John McCain has been steamrolling his way towards the Republican presidential nomination. But the Straight Talk Express appears to have hit a speed bump in Indiana after the senator's campaign failed to collect enough signatures to get on the state's ballot for a May 4 primary. And as the state's Republican Party and government officials fight off a challenge to McCain's placement on the ballot, the Democratic Party is accusing them of corruption.

"Despite the fact that the McCain campaign clearly failed to qualify for the ballot, Republican Attorney General Steve Carter and Republican Secretary of State Todd Rokita (who recently endorsed McCain) rubberstamped it anyway, trying to sneak McCain onto the ballot. Clearly, the Republican Culture of Corruption is alive and well within the McCain campaign," said a statement released by the DNC.
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Ok this is fair game.

The thing about if he had a crush on someone 8 years ago is nothing and none of our business, just like it was none of our business with Clinton. With McCain the only thing we should care about with this story is if she got special favors because he had an interest in her. The rest is a non-story and I won't touch it.

Don't ask me if I think he has PTSD or not, because even though he may, that does not make him "nuts" as some people have put it. His temper on the other hand is an issue. We've already had one hot head and we know where that leads to. The other thing is keeping the troops in Iraq for a hundred years is no good. We can't even take care of the wounded we have now and he has yet to seriously address any of this.

This is the only thing I have to say about McCain for now and no, I don't think he'd make a good president. He may have been up for the job 8 years ago but now he doesn't seen to be the same person.

That's my take on this and I'm sticking to it. Please stop emailing me about this.

Troops in Hawaii Tell Adm. Mullen what's on their minds

Hawaii troops grill Mullen

The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted : Thursday Feb 21, 2008 10:13:23 EST

HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii — The top-ranking official in the U.S. military held an "all hands call" at the Hickam officers club Wednesday to take service members' questions, and he got an earful.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is visiting commanders here and making a stop at Tripler Army Medical Center to see recovering troops before heading to Australia.

Many of the questions from the approximately 200 service members in attendance Wednesday had to do with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mullen was asked about short deployment notices for sailors who deploy as individual augmentees to other units, and regulations against Marines using after-market gear in place of items the Corps can't deliver on time.

A Hawaii Marine with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment asked why some deployed Marines are stuck with older M16 rifles, while officers are issued new M4 carbines.

"Marines are stuck with what's left over," the Marine said.

Mullen replied, "That's a great question, and I also got this question yesterday at [Camp] Pendleton. I haven't got a good answer yet, but I'll get you one, and I'll get this question, quite frankly, very quickly to the commandant."

A soldier asked about private contractors who are making six-figure salaries in a combat zone, and the disparity in pay received by U.S. service members.

Mullen said re-enlistment money available to the Army is hundreds of millions of dollars more than it was just a few years ago.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/gns_mullenhawaii_080221/

Thus proving what we talk about, they talk about.

North Bend Oregon Homeless Vets Need Coats

Veterans helping veterans stay warm during cold days
By Azenith Smith

NORTH BEND - Local veteran groups are working together to help other area veterans, who may be down on their luck, keep warm during these chilly, end of winter days.From now until the end of February, organizations like the Southern Oregon Veterans Outreach or SOVO are collecting used warm jackets to give to veterans in need at the VA Clinic in Roseburg that serves veterans in Coos, Curry and Douglas counties.

Coos Bay resident Jeanne Rugh, who's husband is a veteran, started the drive after learning that the clinic had many requests for them.

"Because it's been such a cold winter, the coats have been depleted," says Rugh. "That's why they need more. We are supposed to get another cold spell here."She adds, statistics show veterans make up one in four homeless people nationwide. Often times, they don't ask for help, but can always use a giving hand.

"These men and women put their life on the line for us so the least we can do is to help them where they need help," says Rugh. "If it weren't for all these veterans, where would we be? This wouldn't be America."Jackets can be dropped off at the SOVO office in Pony Village Mall as well as the Eagles Club and Driftwood Barber Shop in Coos Bay.

The plan is to deliver the jackets in March. Their goal is to collect 100 and so far, they've received about 60 jackets.

For more information or to help, call (541) 269-7922.

http://www.kcby.com/news/15821242.html

PTSD and women prisoners

How Much Progress Can We Make with Our Mothers in Prison?
Posted February 20, 2008 10:25 PM (EST)

Last month, the Department of Justice released an alarming and little known statistic: the population of women prisoners has been growing at twice the rate of men since 1980, and in 2006 it increased at its fastest clip in five years. Because women are often the bedrock of their families and neighborhoods, this trend is damaging to entire communities. We must take immediate steps not only to curb women's rising incarceration rates but also to make sure that once they are released, women have the resources they need so they don't end up back in prison

Histories of sexual and physical abuse. Forty-eight to 88 percent of women inmates suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder due to prior physical or sexual abuse. Many women also are sexually abused during their incarceration by male prison guards. Not only can these traumas lead to or worsen drug and alcohol dependencies, they can also make holding down a steady job even more difficult than it is for male ex-prisoners, due to memory problems, depression and anxiety disorders.

As of 2004, more than 300,000 children had mothers who were incarcerated. These children are six times more likely to be incarcerated at some point in their lives. If we want to decrease the number of prisoners tomorrow, we have to help the mothers of today.

click above for the rest

Ranch helps vets with post-traumatic stress get back in the saddle

Wildcatter Ranch helps war veterans ease post-traumatic pains

Ranch helps vets with post-traumatic stress get back in the saddle


09:01 PM CST on Wednesday, February 20, 2008
By MICHAEL E. YOUNG / The Dallas Morning News
myoung@dallasnews.com

GRAHAM, Texas – For Ian Anderson, a few seconds on the back of a startled cow on Wednesday summed up three days of a special gathering for U.S. veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"We'd never ridden a cow before," said the fresh-faced 27-year-old from Spokane, Wash., who was shot five times in combat in Iraq. "So I rode a cow. And it was fun."

And that was one of the key points of Project Odyssey, a fledgling program organized by the Wounded Warrior Project in association with the Department of Veterans Affairs and other veterans organizations.

Twenty-one vets from around the country came together this week at the Wildcatter Ranch, a spectacular resort atop a ridge overlooking the Brazos River in Young County, about 120 miles northwest of Dallas.

The ranch's owners, Anne and Mike Skipper, closed their business for four days to cater to the visitors.

click post title for the rest

PTSD Vet: "I was questioning God why I was alive."

Disability claims pose long wait for veterans
Wednesday, February 20, 2008 7:59 PM
By Vic LeeThere's a huge backlog of claims among returning veterans affected with brain injuries. (KGO) -- Since 2001, post-traumatic stress disorders, or PTSDs, may have tripled among U.S. combat troops. That is according to a report by the Naval Health Research Center. PTSDs and brain injuries have become signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now there's a huge backlog of claims among returning veterans.

"I don't care if someone just went into war for a day, if they saw combat, been around it, it's going to affect them," says Guido Gualco, a Gulf War veteran.

Former Marine Corporal Guido Gualco served in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia during the late 80s in Operation Desert Storm. He says they were under constant fire.

"We were receiving scuds, cluster bombs, going across mine fields, tank rounds," says Gualco.

Gualco enlisted when he was 19. He was discharged four years later in 1991. However, he was still fighting the war at home in Stanislaus County. First came anxiety attacks, then the nightmares.

"I'd be going to the local shopping center and then coming under attack. So even places that were safe in reality, but in dreams they would come under fire," says Gualco. "Doing perimeter checks around your apartment or your house. I've talked to vets and even myself, I've set up boobie traps around my windows, whatever, just to give a sense of security."

He turned to alcohol and drugs.

"You use meth to stay awake so you didn't dream or I would drink enough to be passed out where I wouldn't dream," says Gualco.

Gualco was suffering from PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, but he didn't know it. Nor he says did VA doctors who didn't diagnose his condition until 2005 -- 14 years after he was discharged. By then he was suicidal, even begging his friend to kill him.

"I was questioning God why I was alive. I didn't want to live," says Gualco.
go here for the rest and watch video too.
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/assignment_7&id=5969958

Paul Sullivan of Veterans For Common Sense is part of the report.

F-15 pilots rescued in Gulf of Mexico dies

1 of 2 F-15 pilots rescued in Gulf of Mexico dies
Pair of single-seat fighters likely collided during training, Air Force says

BREAKING NEWS

updated 23 minutes ago
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - One of the two pilots rescued from the Gulf of Mexico after their fighter jets crashed Wednesday has died, the Air Force said.

The two jets likely collided during a training exercise, but the pilots ejected and were rescued after their single-seat F-15C Eagles disappeared Wednesday afternoon off the Florida Panhandle, Eglin Air Force Base spokeswoman Shirley Pigott said.

The other pilot was reported to be in good condition.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23262052/

VA expects to see 5.8 million needing care by 2009

Peake: Rural health problems to be addressed

By Matthew Brown - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Feb 20, 2008 18:51:02 EST

BILLINGS, Mont. — Facing a barrage of complaints about veterans’ health care in rural America, the incoming secretary of Veteran Affairs pledged Wednesday to address “systemic” issues that hobble the quality and accessibility of care.

Secretary James Peake heard from a group of about 100 Montana veterans who described the Department of Veterans Affairs as a sometimes dysfunctional bureaucracy — and one particularly slow to address mental health issues.

Veterans told him they face months-long waits for appointments, arbitrary rejections of claims and 500-mile trips to receive care. Those who spoke spanned generations, including veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War and peacetime service.

“We need more doctors. And it would be nice if we could keep them for a while,” said Ernest LaFountain, who did three tours in Vietnam and now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Peake, also a Vietnam combat veteran, took the helm of the scandal-battered VA in December. He said Wednesday he wanted to “reach out to rural America” and help those veterans not getting adequate care.

“The notion that the VA is uncaring, if we have pockets of that we’re going to find it and root it out,” he said.

Peake was appointed by President Bush in the wake of widespread reports of dismal care received by troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan — problems for which Bush later apologized. The secretary was in Montana at the invitation of Sen. Jon Tester, a Democratic member of the Veterans Affairs Committee.

The number of veterans under VA’s care is expected to hit 5.8 million by 2009.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/ap_ruralhealth_080220/

Looks like the line is going to get a lot longer!

Officials: F-15s collide over Gulf of Mexico

Officials: F-15s collide over Gulf of Mexico
Story Highlights
Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard crews searching the Gulf for the pilots

F15Cs collided during training exercise, officials say

Planes were part of the 33rd Fighter Wing based at Eglin Air Force Base

Crash happened at 3 p.m. ET, about 50 miles south of Panama City, Florida

(CNN) -- A pair of F-15C fighter jets collided during a training exercise over the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, according to Air Force officials.


Two F-15 fighter jets, like the one pictured, collided over the Gulf of Mexico, the Air Force says.

Air Force search and rescue and U.S. Coast Guard crews were searching the Gulf for the pilots Wednesday afternoon. The planes were part of the 33rd Fighter Wing, a combat-flying unit based at Eglin Air Force Base.

The crash happened at about 3 p.m. ET and about 50 miles south of Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida.

The Pentagon said it was not immediately known how many crew members were missing -- although F-15Cs are single-seat jets.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/20/jetcrash/index.html

Keep them and their families in your prayers

VA Sec. Peake and Senator Tester address needs of veterans

Federal Veterans Affairs Secretary visits Billings
By TOM LUTEY
Of The Gazette Staff

Limited by staff and space, Veteran's health care services in Montana fall short, said U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who today brought U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake to Billings to meet with local veterans.

"What I'm getting at is the staff and the square footage is a big issue," Tester said. "That's not just here. It's the same in Great Falls and other places."

Tester and the secretary got a firsthand look at the tight cramped quarters of the Veterans Affairs Primary Affairs Clinic in Billings. Roughly a decade old, the King Avenue health care facility is no longer big enough to accommodate services for Billings-area veterans. Plans to relocate to a larger facility are in the works, but the VA Primary Care Center is also short on staff.

Wait time

Veterans speaking to Tester and Peake said phone calls to the VA Primary Care Center often go unanswered for half an hour. Getting in to see a counselor about war-related stress can take days.

Rural areas

Addressing veteran's care in rural areas specifically, Peake announced the creation of a rural health advisory committee to bring rural health care issues to the fore. Tester brought Peake to Montana to so the secretary could see challenges of veteran health care in rural areas first hand. Peake in turn said some areas of Montana went beyond rural and were actually frontier.

Release of medical records

The need for better mental health care was later driven home during a town hall meeting, in which the father of a suicidal Marine living in Billings pleaded for the release of his son's military records so the boy could get help. Trembling and near tears, the man barely made his request.

But this is the most troubling of all

The average time for processing claims currently is 185 days and only one in 10 claims are filed correctly.

go here for the rest

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/02/20/news/local/20-vavisit.txt

This last part is the biggest reason all veterans should seek the help of service officers to fill these claims out the right way the first time. It's too hard to know what the form is asking for half the time. While organizations like the DAV do not charge for their help, all they ask is that you consider joining them. That's all. They are not connected to the government but they know how the system works. They operate on donations. Most of them do.

Harvard Professor: VA Can Expect 800,000 Iraq and Afghanistan War Patients

Harvard Professor Bilmes: VA Can Expect 800,000 Iraq and Afghanistan War Patients and Disability Claims

Statement of Linda J. Bilmes
Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
February 13, 2008

US House of Representatives Veterans Affairs Committee
Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs

Thank you for inviting me to testify before this committee today. I am Professor Linda Bilmes, lecturer in public policy, at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. This year I have given testimony regarding veterans issues on three previous occasions: on October 24, 2007 (before the House Committee on the Budget); on May 23, 2007, before the House Veterans Affairs Committee Claims Roundtable; and on March 13th, 2007 before this subcommittee. I would like to enter copies of all three of these previous statements into the record.

Today I will discuss some of my recent research and resulting recommendations on how to improve the disability claim process. The purpose of these recommendations is to: (a) reduce the backlog of pending disability claims; (b) process new claims more quickly; and (c) to reduce the rate of error and inconsistency among claims.

I will very quickly review the context of this discussion, which I am sure is familiar to members of this subcommittee.

First, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) currently has a backlog of 400,000 pending claims and another 200,000 claims that are somewhere in the adjudication process. This backlog has nearly doubled since the 2001.

Second, VBA expects to receive an additional 800,000 to 1 million new claims during the next year. To date, 230,000 veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts have filed claims, but the majority of claims for that conflict have yet to be submitted. My own projections, based on estimates from the first Gulf War, predict that a total of 791,000 veterans from the Iraq/Afghan wars will eventually seek disability benefits. However, many veterans’ organizations have suggested that my estimates are too conservative, considering the length of deployment and the number of 2nd and 3rd deployments into this theatre. It may well be that the number of eventual claims is far higher.
go here for the rest
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9381

Hmm, and I didn't even go to college!

President Bush's VA Budget is $3 Billion Short

Vietnam Veterans of America: President Bush's VA Budget is $3 Billion Short

February 13, 2008 - "The annual exercise of debating the merits of the President's proposed budget is flawed," said John Rowan, National President of Vietnam Veterans of America, before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. "Medical Center directors should not be held in limbo as Congress adjusts this budget and misses, yet again, the start of the fiscal year.

"These public servants can be more effective and efficient managers if they are able to properly plan for the funding needed to care for their patients. We ask that you consider an immediate alternative to the broken system we currently have," Rowan said.

Rowan characterized as "inadequate" the FY'09 request for $2.34 billion more than the FY'08 appropriation. This "barely keeps up with inflation" and "will not allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to continue enhancing its physical and mental health care services for returning veterans, restore needed long-term care programs for aging veterans, or allow working-class veterans to return to their health care system."
go here for the rest
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9380

Bush can say he supports the troops, as far as their mission goes, but he sure as hell doesn't support the veterans.

"People aren't designed to be exposed to the horrors of combat repeatedly"

Casey: Deployments strain Army recruiting, retention

By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The stress of repeated deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan is beginning to show in the declining quality of Army recruits, retention of midlevel officers, desertions and other factors such as suicide, the Army's top general said Tuesday.

Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, said his primary concern is the loss of captains. The Army invests about 10 years to develop them. An effort in the fall of 2007 to entice 14,000 of them to extend their commitments fell short by about 1,300, he said.

"People aren't designed to be exposed to the horrors of combat repeatedly, and it wears on them," Casey said. "There's no question about that."

Casey commanded U.S. troops in Iraq from 2004 to 2007. Since taking the Army's top post, he has spoken about the stress of repeated deployments. He highlighted some trends that show deepening strains.
go here for the rest
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2008-02-19-casey_N.htm

Finally common sense on TBI-PTSD link

Blasts bad for brain


By BROOKES MERRITT, SUN MEDIA

It comes as no surprise to Edmonton's Master Cpl. Paul Franklin that soldiers who suffer concussions from bomb blasts are far more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder.

A study published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at more than 2,500 U.S. Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans and says soldiers knocked out by a bomb blast are almost twice as likely to suffer PTSD as soldiers who are only dazed or confused by a blast.

In turn, dazed soldiers are almost three times as likely to suffer PTSD as those who suffered no injury.

Franklin was maimed in Afghanistan in 2006, when a roadside bomb ripped through his vehicle, tore off both his legs and set his head on fire.

He didn't black out but said the explosion was massive enough to make "Swiss cheese" of his head.



"I was in a daze, just watching the world go by. A blast like that liquefies your brains, you end up losing higher functions for simple tasks. I have difficulty spelling now and I can't sleep as well as I used to."

He sees the potential for bomb blasts to lead to mental health issues, but cautioned against academics who oversimplify the correlation.

"There's potential to say the brain damage caused by a concussion alters brain chemistry and increases your risk of developing PTSD, but just seeing a blast like that is enough to make someone depressed, and those feelings can cause further anxiety disorders."

Dr. Greg Passey, a Vancouver-based PTSD expert and military veteran, said brain trauma coupled with exposure to battle events could easily lead to PTSD.
go here for the rest
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Canada/2008/02/20/4861246-sun.html

Amazing that some people think one sets off the other instead of two things happen. What is the result of a bomb blast? Bodies blown apart. If that isn't a traumatic event, nothing is.

Stunning Statement From VA Sec. Peake At Walla Walla

Secretary of VA Visits Walla Walla
By Chelsea Kopta

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James Peake speaks before a crowd at the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center. It was Peake's first formal visit to any VA hospital in the region.

Published: Feb 19, 2008 at 7:40 PM PST



WALLA WALLA -- The man responsible for the nation's veterans is now promising to help our local vets.



The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Dr. James Peake toured the Walla Walla medical center Tuesday.

It was Peake's first official visit to any VA hospitals since he was sworn in exactly two months ago to the day.

At his confirmation hearing in Washington D.C., Senator Patty Murray invited Peake to visit the local VA center in Walla Walla.


"We need to make sure that we keep learning about it because I'm not sure that that fresh PTSD is exactly the same as dealing with people from my generation," he said.

"The veterans coming back from Iraq and the Middle East situation are over-burdened with the number of tours that they've encountered," local veteran Toby Armijo said. "Yes, they are definitely going to need benefits."

go here for the rest
http://www.keprtv.com/news/15786492.html


Nothing against Peake because given what we got from Nicholson, he's a breath of fresh air. The problem is, he's the head of the VA and doesn't seem to know enough about PTSD. He's a Vietnam veteran. You'd think he would know all about PTSD but with the statement he made, it caused an alarm bell in my brain to go off.

Redeployments increase the risk of developing PTSD by 50% according to an Army report. This is the only difference between Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan. PTSD strikes 1 out of 3 exposed to the same event. With combat there are events almost everyday. The difference is not in PTSD itself but in the number of people re-exposed to traumatic events.

While Vietnam was more jungle warfare for the most part, Iraq is more urban with condescend populations. There are more people involved in these attacks between citizens and soldiers. They are witnessing a lot more horrific events on a larger scale. I truly believe this is why we are seeing so many already with deep wound PTSD. It also involves more awareness of what PTSD is.

Who can say how many Vietnam veterans could have been saved the ravages of PTSD claiming their lives from suicide had the PC been in use back then? Who can say how many would have sought treatment if the ability to develop educational videos for them existed? The media has been helping out a great deal in brining this dark secret into the awareness of the public, not just in America, but across the world. Today we are seeing hopeful signs the stigma of PTSD is eroding, the investment in research increasing and people filling the need to have support groups but there is so much more work to be done.

25 years ago, I wouldn't have thought that I would be doing this work or to the point where I can't keep up with all the news even though it's a 12 hour a day/7 days a week vocation. In all the hope I want to offer that it is possible for marriages to be saved, the numbers of homeless veterans can be decreased and veterans can heal to the point where they begin to live productive lives once more, I am compelled to caution all that unless we get caught up really fast on the demand for help, we will go from overwhelmed to beyond control. We are fast approaching that point.

The Congress can provide funds to build all the hospitals and clinics they want but that does not take care of the need today. We need veteran's centers in every city of this nation. We especially need them in rural areas of the nation where help is just too far away. We need more suicide hotlines that are not telling suicidal veterans to call back because it's the weekend. We need more support groups for them and their families. We need advocates to be put to use with the expertise to provide their knowledge to the general public on a grand scale. The DOD and the VA, as well as service organizations avoid using citizen experts instead of relying on their research.

I know people in the DAV and other service organizations who ignore me and my work, as well as the thousands of others just like me around the country, instead of using us today. Is it because they view us as competition? Is it because they doubt our work? They would be wrong on both counts. Our work has been based on decades of research from experts, as well as the fact most of us live with it on a daily basis. As for the competition thought, they do not understand our role is not to take their place but to enable more to use their services.

Our job is to provide the education and awareness of what PTSD is and then rely on the DAV and other service organizations to provide the assistance with their claims. If nothing else, our work could increase the demand for their services and increase their memberships because they would be providing a service in great need. The veterans want to know all their needs are taken with the same kind of interest as their membership is. Most members of these organizations in leadership positions are not aware of what PTSD is and they cannot provide the knowledge we have already in hand. They can no longer ignore us if they are going to be able to live up to claim they are there for the veterans.

Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.namguardianangel.blogspot.com/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

GAO: Sex assaults at West Point may be underreported

GAO: Sex assaults at West Point may be underreported

By Brendan McGarry - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Feb 19, 2008 20:12:18 EST

The U.S. Military Academy has taken steps to prevent sexual assault on campus, but student surveys indicate such incidents may be vastly underreported, according to a new government report.

West Point reported 45 sexual assaults from 2003 through 2006, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Tuesday.

That was the same as the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colo., and compares to 55 at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Taken together, the Defense Department academies reported 145 sexual assaults during the four-year period, according to the GAO report.

The Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., part of the Department of Homeland Security, recorded 12 sexual assaults during the same period, according the GAO report.

However, anonymous surveys administered in 2006 indicate about 200 female students and 100 male students at the Defense Department academies may have experienced “unwanted sexual contact” in 2005 alone, according to the GAO.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/army_westpoint_sexassault_080303w/

For Ilona Meagher the NIU shooting was personal

Most of you know of my fondness for Ilona Meagher and the work she's been doing on PTSD. She was already a hero of mine. When the NIU shooting happened, I posted about it knowing full well this would leave a lot of wounded people behind left to deal with this trauma and tragedy. A few days ago, I discovered that Ilona was attending that college. I felt ashamed I had not connected the college with her studies. I emailed her to tell her how sorry I was and that I was glad she was safe. My email must be trapped in the countless other emails she has received.

I say a few more won't hurt so please go to her site and comment on there to let her know how much you care about her and the rest of the students and faculty at NIU.

In the following she tells the story of one of the students killed, Army veteran Julianna Gehant. As always, she looks at PTSD from the point of view of a friend to those touched by it instead of a distant observer.

A Tribute to the Life of Army Veteran and NIU Student Julianna Gehant

"God seemed to have made her just what she was that she might be a blessing to others, and when the influence of her character and abilities began to be felt, removed her. These are the Mysteries, my Dear, that we cannot contemplate without astonishment, but which will nevertheless be explained hereafter, and must in the mean time be revered in silence."

-- William Cowper

In a few hours, my husband and I along with a veteran friend are attending slain NIU student and 12-year Army veteran Julianna Gehant's visitation. While I don't wish to overstate this, I was near her and the others when the incident occurred and will carry them in my heart forever.

I did not personally know Julianna, but it's been my pleasure to have met a time or two with a few of the fine members of the NIU Veterans Club (images and words from last November's NIU Veteran's Day ceremony); a few of them even helped with a class paper of mine written last semester on returning veterans seeking college degrees following service to their country.

Returning veterans are among a community's greatest assets, among their greatest citizens. In times of crises and dark and violent circumstances on our soil or abroad, they step up to defend us; it's a shame that more in our society don't realize the strong leaders our returning veterans are.
go here for the rest
http://ptsdcombat.blogspot.com/2008/02/tribute-to-life-of-army-veteran-and-niu.html

Larry Scott, VAWatchdog, clears up PTSD new rule

Leave it to Larry Scott of VAWatchdog to get to the bottom of this.

UPDATE: VA'S NEW PTSD POLICY APPLIES ONLY TO THOSE

DIAGNOSED WHILE ON ACTIVE DUTY -- VA agrees that

veterans who are diagnosed with PTSD while on active duty

should be recognized as having PTSD for VA purposes.

by Larry Scott

Yesterday it was reported that the VA had a new policy regarding proof of trauma in PTSD claims. That story here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfFEB08/nf021908-8.htm


Unfortunately, a confusing story published by the Military Times Group did not mention that the new policy applies only to those diagnosed with PTSD while on active duty.

We now have a clarification from Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Akaka's press release on this matter is here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/scva08/scva021508-1.htm

As posted earlier, it sounded too good to be true. It's a step in the right direction but leaves too many holes to be plugged up.

Personality Disorder discharges, all over 20,000 of them, along with the misdiagnosed are left with what under these new rules?

PTSD being diagnosed while active, in other words by the DOD, have not protected any of them so far. Remember the redeployed under medication for PTSD? Where does this leave them?

What about the discharged who were diagnosed with PTSD but at such low levels they are receiving zero compensation or ridiculously low compensation?

This will do nothing to reduce the backlog of claims in the VA especially if they were diagnosed after they were discharged. Then we also have to figure in those who have not been diagnosed yet but are trapped in the waiting line. How do they turn around and prove the traumatic event happened? Are they supposed to end up like the Vietnam veterans still trying to find people who will offer support for a claim?

Like I said, it's a step in the right direction but why does it have to be such a tiny baby step?

Price That's Paid: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Price That's Paid: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Tuesday, Feb 19, 2008 - 06:16 PM


By Alice Massimi
E-mail | Biography
Not all battle scars are visible.
It's estimated that as many as fifteen percent of troops returning from war suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

WSAV's Military Reporter Alice Massimi brings us the story of a former Third Infantry Division soldier who knows first hand the price of war.



Ian McCarty enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1995. Growing up in a small town in Florida Ian says he did it simply to get away. Never once did he think getting away would entail Iraq.

“It was during the very beginning of the invasion. I was with 1st BCT so we were on the front lines. We were the spearhead of the invasion,” Ian recalls.

Ian says that at first he was excited to go over, happy to be helping the people of Iraq but soon reality set in.

“My first time coming under fire, when you finally realize hey there are people out there trying to kill me and when you come very close to that it is a huge wake up call,” he recalls.

To make matters worse Ian was assigned the duty of being the casualty officer for his unit.

“It wasn't pleasant. I saw a lot of boys and young women who were you know, injured in the prime of their lives or killed and it was very heartbreaking.”

All images and emotions Ian took home with him.

“Nightmares just horrible nightmares that would just keep me up all night,” Ian explains.

click post title for the rest

The 'Inside' Story On A Mutiny In Iraq

Readers of this blog will remember the series Editor and Publisher is addressing here. It was a fantastic job of reporting what life is like in Iraq for Charlie Comopany. I just wonder what took them so long to do this?

The 'Inside' Story On A Mutiny In Iraq



By Barbara Bedway

Published: February 13, 2008 8:30 AM ET

NEW YORK When Army Times medical reporter Kelly Kennedy embedded with U.S. forces in Iraq last June, a mutiny was probably the last thing she expected to cover. But the catastrophic losses of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment that preceded the revolt -- including 14 soldiers killed, more than any other Army company sent to Iraq -- convinced Kennedy and her editors at the Gannett-owned, independent weekly to greatly expand the scope of her original assignment.

Instead of focusing on the near-miraculous efforts of the on-site medics, the 37-year-old Kennedy would instead chronicle the company's entire 15-month deployment. "Blood Brothers," the resulting four-part series that appeared in December, became "one of the single best examinations of an Iraq war deployment so far," in the words of Paul Rieckhoff, founder and executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Kennedy, herself an Army veteran, "took readers deep inside a combat unit in a way nobody else has," he observes. "She knows when an Army public affairs officer is pushing a line of b.s. and can sense when a soldier is afraid to be candid in front of a superior. Her military experience clearly gives her subjects a level of trust that they would not have with someone who had not personally served."

But it wasn't easy. "I cried a lot writing this story," admits Kennedy, who had just started following Charlie Company a few days before the June 21st IED blast that killed five of its soldiers. "They'd been great to us, hanging out the night before, doing karaoke," she recalls.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/
article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003710253

The beast PTSD can rise up years later

Columnist’s potpourri: Tying up some loose ends
By Tom Sager
Published: Monday, February 18, 2008 10:35 PM CST


War is coming home: A Vietnam veteran posted the following online comment. We should all be aware of what he is saying:

“The beast, ‘PTSD’ can lay dormant for years before it rears its ugly and sometimes deadly head. I know. I live with it 24 hours a day. There are those who will tell you it can be cured; but it can’t. It can be treated; but the longer it takes to recognize the symptoms, the more difficult it becomes to treat.

“I had a friend who was with me in Nam. His first night back to ‘the world’ he killed his wife and then blew his own brains out. Nobody knew he had a problem.


“The VA is a joke when it comes to helping the vet. A lot of the time the nearest VA hospital is 80-100 miles from the vet that needs help; and then they pump you full of pills that just keep you going. I survive on medication that leaves me like a zombie; and believe me; that is not living.

“As long as we have politicians who start these ‘wars for profit,’ we will continue to have the walking wounded (both in body and mind); and they will continue to be cast aside like so much trash.”

Regardless of our opinions about current and past wars, I hope we can all agree that this is a national disgrace. Congress has spent close to $500 billion (and counting) on the Iraq War, but can’t allocate funds to care for the casualties of past wars.

To quote the late Dr. Martin Luther King: “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
go here for the rest
http://www.therolladailynews.com/articles/2008/02/19/editorials/edit02.txt

ABC news back on Eric Hall's Story of Missing Marine

'Spider Hole' Gives Hope to Iraq Vet's Family
Mother, Volunteers Say Missing Ex-Marine With PTSD May Be Hiding in Woods of Florida
By DAVID SCHOETZ
Feb. 19, 2008

The discovery of a military-style "spider hole" that may have been used by a missing ex-Marine who is likely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder has restored hope for the combat veteran's family that he is alive.

Eric Hall, 24, disappeared on Feb. 3 in Port Charlotte, Fla. He was staying with his grandmother when he experienced what his family and authorities have described as a "combat flashback."

The Marine, who was left with a permanent limp from a 2005 bomb blast in Iraq, began walking around the house shooting an imaginary gun at imaginary enemies.

Hall then took off on his motorcycle, which later was found with engine running lying in the middle of a road in Deep Creek, near Fort Myers, on Florida's west coast.

On Monday, one of those volunteers discovered what is generally known in the military as a spider hole, a dugout camouflaged hiding place. It measured approximately 2-and-a-half feet deep, 3 feet wide and 6 feet long. Near the hole, which was in a wooded area about four miles from where the motorcycle had been found, was a Reebok footprint matching the shoes Hall was reportedly wearing when he disappeared. There was also a hole in the ground that had been used as a military-style toilet.

Tracking dogs from the Southwest Florida K-9 Search Unit were called in, a spokeswoman for the group told ABC News. Using the scent from an article of clothing provided by Hall's family, the dogs immediately alerted to Hall's track, according to Becky Hall and Ret. Army Sgt. 1st Class Tim Baker, one of the volunteers involved in the search. A truck bed liner was found near the spider hole that could have been used to hide Hall's location during the day.

"What my gut tells me is that he was experiencing Iraq," Becky Hall told ABC News, "that he's still in that mode."

go here for the rest

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=4310896&page=1

PTSD Victims No Longer Need to Prove Trauma 30 years too late

This is great but not cheering yet.

PTSD Victims No Longer Need to Prove Trauma

Kelly Kennedy


Air Force News

Feb 18, 2008

February 18, 2008 - The Veterans Affairs Department has dumped a policy requiring combat vets to verify in writing that they have witnessed or experienced a traumatic event before filing a claim for post-traumatic stress disorder, said the chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

“This change provides a fairer process for veterans with service-connected PTSD,” Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, said in a written statement. It “leaves claim adjudicators more time to devote to reducing the staggering backlog of veterans’ claims.”

In the past, a veteran has had to provide written verification — a statement from a commander or doctor, or testimony from co-workers — that he or she was involved in a traumatic situation in order to receive disability compensation for PTSD from VA. The Defense Department uses the same rules in evaluating PTSD for disability retirement pay.

In Iraq, troops joke about keeping a pen and paper on hand in case they witness a shooting or explosion or are injured themselves. That way, they can run around and have all their buddies sign a quick statement saying it really happened. The joke loses steam when a Marine has to prove he was involved in a traumatizing event when he had a hand blown off in that event, or when a soldier has to prove he watched his friends die to qualify for benefits.

The rule also slows the process as veterans wait for yet more documentation before their claims may be processed.

Akaka said he asked VA Secretary James Peake if the rule was necessary, and asked that it be removed. Peake agreed.

“I am pleased that the secretary took quick action to reverse this requirement after it was brought to his attention,” Akaka said.

In the future, veterans will be diagnosed with PTSD through a medical examination with no further proof necessary, Akaka said, adding that he’s been told that Peake has already informed VA regional offices of the decision.

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleid/9370

If you go here you'll see thousands and thousands of postings from veterans looking for others. Most of them are looking for someone to support a claim with the VA.

Vietnam Combat Area Listings (VN, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand)
U.S. Army (updated: 27 January 2008)
U.S. Marine Corps (updated: 27 January 2008)
U.S. Navy (updated: 27 January 2008)
U.S. Air Force (updated: 27 January 2008)

It is on Grunt space.
http://grunt.space.swri.edu/vetorgs.htm
While I am truly delighted this finally happened, it's 30 years too late for far too many. How many suicides could have been prevented if they had their claim for PTSD approved, provided with the compensation they need to replace the income they lost because of PTSD and had the treatment they needed? How many would have not been homeless or put into prison because of PTSD? Does this new rule include veterans of Vietnam or the Gulf War? This will go very far in reducing the number of claims backlogs and claims on appeal, but what does this do to the veterans who have been dishonorably discharged under "personality disorders" and what does it do to the veterans who have been misdiagnosed with the other illnesses PTSD resembles?

Sorry if I can't jump on the bandwagon and cheer but there are still too many questions not addressed in this release of information.

Will they review the cases of dishonorably discharged veterans who do in fact have PTSD?

Will they automatically approve claims for veterans who have been diagnosed by psychologists from the DOD, the VA as well as private doctors since a lot of veterans turn to private psychologist and psychiatrists because of the system?

If the diagnoses means an automatic approval, then will they actually do the right thing and pay back to when PTSD began to ravage their lives instead of when a claim was filed?

Will they review claims that have been turned down and veterans did not file appeals?

Will they review claims of veterans they denied the claims of only to have the veterans kill themselves and then provide the compensation they should have received to the families they left behind?

There have been too many veterans paying the price for their service and it took this new generation of combat veterans to push the system to the breaking point where they have to do something. It took Senator Akaka to take over the chairmanship to make these changes. It is a wonderful victory for the veterans of today, but there are still far too many issues the other veterans face and they all need to be included in these changes. After all, they did all serve the same nation, suffered the same wounds, only some of them suffered a lot longer.

Seattle giving a lesson in real love

Last week, it was Valentine's Day. While most people view "love" as something involving a family member or sexual partner, there is another kind of love. This kind of love is pure, asks for nothing in return as unselfishness calls them to work for the greater good. This kind of love does not stand in judgment. Does not seek blame. Does not seek anything but helping someone in need. This is a lesson in real love. The kind of love Christ spoke of.

At last, a place of her own
By Marsha King

Seattle Times staff reporter

For the first time in years, Mary Millett, 67, has a permanent roof over her head, a bathroom of her own and a door she can lock.

But after a decade spent in homeless shelters, she is finding her first weeks in a studio apartment both exhilarating and unsettling.

Millett's new digs are in a recently opened apartment building in downtown Seattle for those 55 and older who've been living in shelters, cars or on the streets.

What she's finding is that leaving a long-familiar way of life — even if it's homelessness — can be disorienting, as if something's suddenly missing.

"It's a new experience," Millett explains. "Getting your emotions in tow is the problem."

The $26 million apartment project reflects heightened concerns about the aging of the area's homeless population. Shelter and medical-clinic staffs say they are seeing more older adults with no place to go and with complex health needs that are difficult to meet.

It has 92 units, with about 20 set aside for homeless veterans. Residents pay 30 percent of their income toward rent. For most, monthly income ranges between $300 and $600. The project has a nurse, as well as case managers with expertise in geriatrics, mental health, chemical-dependence recovery and veterans issues.

go here for the rest
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004189012_homeless19m.html

I take no joy in posting about people suffering. As a matter of fact, it breaks my heart. These kind of stories, I rejoice in, celebrating the human spirit and the capacity so many in this country have in taking care of "the least among us" when it would be all to easy to just walk by them, act as if they didn't exist or worse, as if they deserved to be in the state they are in.

All across the nation, people are thinking of others and acting as if they do in fact represent Christ with compassion. These stories need to be told as much as the stories of people suffering. They show what people can do when they know there are so many others hurting. This is the best side of what the citizens of this nation can do.

Gathering Of Eagles Demonstrating At Walter Reed?

I got a heads up on this from an email. At first I thought, hope of hopes, this would be about the way our wounded troops are being treated by this administration and how the wounded veterans are being treated. I thought, finally, they get the point that they can fight all they want to keep the troops in Iraq under whatever thoughts they have, but when it comes to the way we treat our veterans, this has to go beyond politics in order to really take care of them. After all, since the entire nation is upset over the way they are being neglected, this is something we can all manage to agree on. Right? Wrong. When I read it, I got sick to my stomach. It's the same old tired lines.

There is a misunderstanding about the events of March 15th. It’s not a major thing, but I think it bears clarification.

The current GOE newsletter contains a piece about our planned “Stand Up America” rally scheduled for 3/15. In view of the fact that Eagles Up has already done a lot of planning for their rally/march, GOE has relegated itself to a supporting role on that day, and we will not have a separate event. We will, of course, join Free Republic, EU, and other pro-America organizations at the demonstration at Walter Reed Army Hospital on Friday night.

Let’s all get behind Eagles Up and make March 15th a day to remember!

GOE is concentrating its efforts on the period in April that surrounds the expected testimony of General Petraeus. The moonbats threaten to disrupt Washington with their treasonous activities, and we just won’t allow that to happen. All brother and sister organizations are invited to join us in this event!

See you next month and in April! It’ll be an Eagle springtime…
Larry Bailey

The last time someone demonstrated at Walter Reed it was the "moonbats" who were doing it because Walter Reed was scheduled to be shut down. When will these people ever get it? When will they understand that when they treat Bush as if he were some kind of God instead of holding him accountable, they are hurting the troops instead of helping them. How they can ever think it does anything for morale when they are wounded and then have to fight the government to have their wounds taken care of and to get the support they really need, shows how narrow their support really is.

Why can't they at least join the rest of this nation in trying to get them all taken care of?

Readers of this blog know how bad it is for them. They know about the suicides, the PTSD rates, the depleted uranium illnesses, the backlog of claims along with the rest of it. The problem is you won't find any of these reports on any of the sites operated by any of them. They would rather show up and demonstrate at Walter Reed because the majority of this nation wants to hold Bush accountable for what he has failed to do as Commander-in-Chief. It really is a shame because most of them are great people. They just have blinders over their eyes and cannot see what kind of support the troops, especially the wounded really need.

They would call me a "moonbat" and as a matter of fact they have. Because of the work I do, the political side I take because I am aware of all that comes with these two occupations, I am like the rest of the people they call their enemy. It doesn't matter how hard I fight for the wounded and for the veterans, if I disagree with them on other things. I'm not welcomed among them. To me the troops and the veterans come first and anyone not taking care of them is not supporting them. But they can't see it that way. It really is a shame. With them, it's all or nothing.

I tried to join several of their online groups and either got a "no thank you" or no answer at all. That was in a time when I thought they really wanted to help the troops and the veterans. After 25 years you would think they would welcome the support I could offer. After all, I keep my politics out of the PTSD work I do and focus only on them but that isn't enough for these people. Too bad they can't keep their politics out of it as well when it comes to actually living up to a grateful nation. I'll keep trying to get them to understand that the problems they face are so huge that it will take this entire nation to stand by their side to make sure they are all taken care of. One day, they may manage to see that and at least join with the rest of the nation for the sake of those we send to risk their lives. It's something we all owe them.

Fernandina Beach Florida Neighbors Reach Out To Wounded Soldier

'One big neighborhood' aids wounded soldier's family

By Michael Parnell, News-Leader

A U.S. Army soldier from Fernandina Beach faces months of recovery from injuries suffered in Iraq, but he has been buoyed by prayer and support from family, friends and even strangers, his mother said.

"I am better every day knowing that he is getting better every day," Lisa Harter said about son Taylor Harter, 20, injured last month in a bomb blast southeast of Baghdad.

"My son is well taken care of" at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., where she spent two weeks after he was wounded, Harter said. She complimented the Army for its care of her son and his family. "That place is amazing. . . . I don't think I'd want Taylor any other place."

Lisa Harter returned home to attend to her 10-year-old son and her two businesses, but plans to return Feb. 22. Taylor may be moving then from his hospital room to outpatient quarters in a cottage on the Walter Reed grounds.

His mother is comforted from the calls she receives each day from a high school classmate, U.S. Army Col. Bruce Haselden, a Fernandina Beach High graduate who works at Walter Reed. He made contact with Lisa Harter after his sister, who lives here, sent him a newspaper story about the bomb blast that injured Taylor and killed one of his crewmates in their armored vehicle when it rolled over a buried explosive device.
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http://www.fbnewsleader.com/articles/2008/02/18/around_town/00aatsoldier.txt

Rude awakening, I've become my Mother!

All the time growing up, I promised myself several things concerning my Mom. I promised myself I would never answer a question with "because I said so" instead of a real answer. Blew that one a long time ago when I gave birth to a child a lot smarter than I ever was. The other thing was that I would never tell a child of mine how hard life was for me the same way my Mother said it was on her and her family. I couldn't beat her on that anyway considering she was the first one in her family born in America after leaving Greece in a time when people were still saying Greeks were like gypsies and stole kids as well as being born in 1921. So far, I haven't done that too often with my daughter but I just did that to a person who emailed me. I've already apologized, but it brings up an interesting point. Aside from the humiliating fact I did too much research today and misread one word, making me misunderstand the point of the email.

Naturally when I read, or thought I read it in a moment of temporary senility, that someone was telling me they had a perspective of what it was like to live with a vet who had PTSD, I snapped back with a classic equal to, you don't know how easy you have it type of rant. As I was closing the email the word, "I" was clear as day instead of "if" and once I managed to close my mouth after removing my foot, I emailed her right back.

Anyway, now to the point. When Vietnam veterans came back, we didn't have support and neither did they. It was rough. Most of us wished there were support groups, communication and so way to bridge the distance across the nation for men and women who served together. It had been so long since most of them even wanted to contact each other, most had either moved away or passed away. I managed to track down one veteran my husband was stationed with. Very sad when you think they all counted on each other for their lives. Up until the 90's, there was very little on line for Vietnam Veterans. Sites like mine were sprouting up and it was great, but it took almost 20 years to get there. Today there are so many organizations out there it's a lot easier to find someone to connect to, share with and find support with.

I'm so glad that this generation has this tool to connect and find support. I really wish it was there when Vietnam veterans came home. But even us old people (feeling real old tonight) have managed to take advantage of the endless possibilities this technological genie has opened the doors to. I'm able to reach out and share knowledge as well as gain knowledge with the rest of the world.

My videos are being used all over the country but they are also in a lot of other nations. Emails come in from places I never expected like a teaching college in the Netherlands and a college in Lebanon. Still I tend to think back on being raised by my Mom, a first generation American and my Dad, a first generation American as well. His family came from Canada. He was a Korean veteran and they did in fact have it very hard. Except when he was stationed in Japan and my older brother was spoiled by the Japanese lady who came to help take care of him. I just never thought I would carry on the tradition of "if you think this is hard" but I did. The good news is that this generation can also use the same line on the next. Considering each generation creates the latest gadget to make life easier. My parents grew up without TV sets. We grew up without PC connections but had a TV. Now our kids have the PC, laptops, cell phones and there is a TV in every room.

The bad news is that people are still only human, with bodies that get wounded and minds that get wounded. Man still decides to go to war and another man will decide to fight back. Too bad technology hasn't figured out how to have wars when no one gets killed. Then when the generation of the wounded die off, there will be no more to replace them. Until then each generation has the other to reach out to and learn from. Yes, even if it means they have to hear how hard that generation had it before them. I bet my Mom is up in heaven laughing her head off saying "I told you so. You are just like me."

Extreme Makeover making over the LA Catholic Church?

Because I try to cover all the reasons of PTSD, the stories of the rapes of kids by some priests, will be part of what I post on. To get a real grip on the fact PTSD is a human condition caused by trauma, we need to learn all we can about other causes. It will help to eliminate the stigma.

When I was reading this story, it took so many unexpected turns, there is a great need to read all of it.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition Builds Priest Rape Crime Victim Rehab Centers, but in the end, it's all a dream, or is it.
by Kay Ebeling (Posted by Kay Ebeling) Page 1 of 4 page(s)
http://www.opednews.com/

As it turns out, Ty Pennington went to see Cardinal Roger Mahony about helping a rape victim begin helping others with a center for other victims of priests. Pennington wanted to help Kay Ebeling do just that.

Kay Ebeling devotes hours of time as a volunteer to a cause that's important to her. She’s a journalist who just happens to also be a victim of Catholic Priest pedophilia, so Kay produces City of Angels blog where she is determined to get out the truth, about sex crimes in the Catholic Church

.

While the Cardinal was trying to say they did all they could, one of the Extreme Makeover staffers took a look at property owned by the church and found they owned a building used in porn. You have to read the rest of this story yourself. You'd never believe it if I only took other parts out of this and there is just no way to cut down four pages to do this any kind of justice. Great work on this, that's for sure.

Eric Hall's story, so much more than missing Marine

Home from war, but no peace
By Kate Spinner
Published Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

Almost three years after an explosion ripped apart his leg and killed his best friend in Fallujah, Iraq, war still stirred in Eric Hall's mind.

He tried to ignore it, tried to hold down a steady job and tried to act like nothing was wrong. But family members say a flashback to the terror of combat sent the 24-year-old former Marine fleeing from his aunt's Deep Creek home on Feb. 3.

He has not been seen since, despite a feverish search in Charlotte County by rescue crews last weekend and dozens of volunteers this week.

Veterans advocates say Hall's disappearance is a sad example of the nation's failure to meet the needs of soldiers returning from battle in Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD.

The Department of Veterans Affairs vastly underestimated the number of PTSD patients the war would generate, according to a January report by the advocacy group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

The VA predicted 3,000 new cases in 2005. Instead, it saw 18,000, according to the new study.

The fallout: an alarming increase in veterans who have committed suicide, become homeless or disappeared.

For Hall, getting treatment for PTSD in his hometown of Jeffersonville, Ind., meant days off work, long waits and little benefit in return.

"In his heart, he didn't feel like anyone understood," said his mother, Becky Hall, who is staying with family in Deep Creek to coordinate the search for her son, who had recently relocated to Southwest Florida.

Military studies report that one-third of veterans from the current wars will return home with some sort of mental illness.

Advocates estimate that 1.5 million soldiers will fight in those wars, eventually bringing the total number of veterans in need of mental health care to 500,000.
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I keep searching for more news on Eric Hall, the missing Marine, praying that he is found and get the help he needs. There is a chance that can happen. There is a chance he joined the other 20,000 homeless veterans in Florida. There is also a chance, he may have vanished.

Re-reading this report, it is amazing how much more information is in this reporting than just a story of yet one more combat veteran suffering from PTSD and the lack of care he needed.

While some advocates are putting the figure at 500,000 veterans with PTSD from Iraq and Afghanistan joining the other combat veterans from past wars, they are not even close. 1.6 million Vietnam veterans were in what was considered heavy combat zones. There have been 1.6 million rotated in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan already. By 1978 there were 500,000 diagnosed cases of PTSD according to a study commissioned by the DAV. This is just the beginning of the numbers we will be looking at.

Advocates who have been looking at all the numbers, like me, are thinking more in the range of at least 800,000 if both occupations ended today. That's right. We have evidence to back it up.

PTSD strikes 1 out of 3, no matter what the cause. But this figure is for every traumatic event. While the depth of the wound may vary, it is a human that is struck by it. Humans are still humans even if they are trained to go to war. Taking this figure as a basis, we have to then include the fact the redeployments increase the risk of PTSD by 50% for each time back in. Vietnam didn't have very many repeat tours. Most went for one year and then that was it. These troops are going back for up to 6 or even a few cases 7th time.

While we look at the numbers from Vietnam, beginning with the 500,000, then adding in the 148,000 who sought help from 2006-2007 in an 18 month period, we're already at 648,000. Then add in the numbers who were diagnosed from the time the study was done until now. We also have to take into account how many took their own lives. Two studies attempted to do this and put the figure between 150,000 and 200,000. 300,000 ended up homeless. It's easy to see how we already surpassed that rate, but also add in the fact that with the advancement of medical trauma care, the survival rate is also a lot higher than during Vietnam. This will also add to the PTSD rates when more survive.

UK:Wounded troops finally getting better care from Army

Wounded troops finally win better care from army

A sweeping package of improvements to improve the welfare of injured British troops has been finalised to prevent a repeat of healthcare failings for soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Foreclosed homes occupied by homeless

Foreclosed homes occupied by homeless
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN, Associated Press Writer
Mon Feb 18, 5:02 AM ET



CLEVELAND - The nation's foreclosure crisis has led to a painful irony for homeless people: On any given night they are outnumbered in some cities by vacant houses, and some street people are taking advantage of the opportunity by becoming squatters.

Foreclosed homes often have an advantage over boarded-up and dilapidated houses abandoned because of rundown conditions: Sometimes the heat, lights and water are still working.

"That's what you call convenient," said James Bertan, 41, an ex-convict and self-described "bando," or someone who lives in abandoned houses.

While no one keeps numbers of below-the-radar homeless finding shelter in properties left vacant by foreclosure, homeless advocates agree the locations — even with utilities cut off — would be inviting to some. There are risks for squatters, including fires from using candles and confrontations with drug dealers, prostitutes, copper thieves or police.

"Many homeless people see the foreclosure crisis as an opportunity to find low-cost housing (FREE!) with some privacy," Brian Davis, director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, said in the summary of the latest census of homeless sleeping outside in downtown Cleveland.
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New Orleans hospital issue stirs veterans

New Orleans hospital issue stirs veterans
Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

The issue of relocating the Veterans Administration Hospital in New Orleans is a touchy one for Link Savoie, a member of the committee on veterans affairs on Gov. Bobby Jindal's transition team.

Savoie sees medical students from LSU and Tulane getting more consideration than veterans.


"When Katrina hit New Orleans, that area of the city flooded," Savoie said. "All the good equipment at the VA was on the first and second floors, so it was ruined. Now, they're talking about rebuilding the hospital near the same location."

The VA has stated it wants that similar location, instead of a move to Jefferson Parish in suburban New Orleans or elsewhere, as a convenience to the medical students. That has incensed veterans like Savoie, who sees veterans being demoted in importance.
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UK PTSD veterans suffered because of good intentions and wishing for luck

Help call for traumatised troops

PTSD symptoms can start long after the events that caused them

A Plymouth MP says more must be done to help services personnel affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Devon has about 900 military welfare cases with mental health problems, many including PTSD caused by combat.

A report released from the Defence Select Committee said identification and treatment of veterans relied too much on luck and good intentions.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/7251173.stm

Pair to hike 2,000 miles to help homeless veterans

Pair to hike 2,000 miles to help homeless veterans

By Terry Karkos , Staff Writer
Monday, February 18, 2008

JAY - After a four-year commitment with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division that included a 15-month tour in Iraq, a North Jay man and his Army buddy will head to Georgia next month on another mission.

Only this time, former Sgts. Jarad Greeley, 25, and Marshall Berry, 28, of New Hampshire, will be raising awareness and resources for the nation's homeless veterans by through-hiking more than 2,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail to Maine in four to five months.

"This may seem like a long hike, but put into perspective with the number of homeless veterans that we are trying to help, (it) seems minor," Greeley said Friday afternoon at his home off Route 4 in North Jay.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, an estimated 195,000 veterans are homeless on any given night, while nearly 400,000 experience homelessness during the course of a year.
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Sleeping in the woods, under bridges

Home in the cold
Sleeping in the woods, under bridges - count proves homeless people are out there

By Raymond Castile
Saturday, February 16, 2008 1:16 PM CST


He wears eight sweaters and a coat. The Army taught him how to survive outdoors, he says, biting into a sandwich.

"You got to dress in layers, eat meat and keep your body in shape, or you get sick out here," said Michael Myers, flashing a Veteran's Identification Card displaying his name.

Myers, 48, served seven years in the Army. He has spent the last eight years homeless.The veteran begins his day around 6 a.m. in northern St. Charles, where he often spends the night in the woods. If he has money, he buys a cup of coffee. If he is broke, he goes to SSM St. Joseph Health Center and drinks free coffee.

"They don't like that, but I don't care," he said. "I was born at St. Joseph, so I should get a lifetime of free coffee."

At 8 a.m., Myers begins searching back alleys for cans and metal scraps. By 11 a.m., he exchanges them for money at Cash's Scrap Metal and Iron on Junior Drive. Then he walks to the Salvation Army on 2140 N. Fourth St. to eat lunch at the soup kitchen.

That is where Myers sat Jan. 30, eating a sandwich in the company of other homeless men, like Terrance Marshall, 55.

"I could be sleeping outside today. I don't know," said Marshall, a Petty Officer 3rd Class who served in the U.S. Navy 1974-78.
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Most of us are one paycheck away from being homeless. Most of us try to work hard for what we have and what we need but it doesn't always matter. I ended up out of a job after working for a church for two years. I don't even get unemployment because the church didn't pay into the system. We're having to refinance our house to make up the difference in my lost income. I only worked part time so that I could do this work 12 hours a day, seven days a week. When people asked me what I did for a living, I'd laugh and tell them "I work for God and in my spare time, I work for the church." Now I'm out of a job, trying to find part time work in a recession so that I can continue my life's work. After all, we moved from Massachusetts for this reason. It just didn't work out the way I hoped it would.

I tried to get donations for the videos I do so that I wouldn't end up in the poor house on top of everything, but the donations didn't even get me even with what it cost me. The DVD drive broke and I couldn't afford to replace the PC with one that would be able to handle the workload. No one has money to donate. The people who do have money, don't donate as much as they should to charities so helping out a person like me is not even a dream anymore. Still this is not why my heart is breaking. The numbers of homeless go up and so do the numbers of billionaires in this country. I wonder what the hell they are going to do with all the money they accumulated in this lifetime when they are dead and can't take it with them? Could you imagine what could be done in this country if they would just pitch in and help people out?