Medal of Honor going to Native American soldier
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, February 23, 2008
WASHINGTON — A Native American soldier who fought in World War II and the Korean War will be posthumously honored with the Medal of Honor next month, White House officials announced Friday.
Retired Master Sgt. Woodrow Keeble, a South Dakota native who died in 1984, will be recognized for actions in North Korea in October 1951. According to Army records, he ignored life-threatening wounds to take out three mountainside enemy pillboxes which had pinned down a U.S. platoon.
Keeble was initially awarded a Distinguished Service Cross, a Silver Star and a Purple Heart for those actions, but members of his state’s congressional delegation have pushed for Medal of Honor recognition for him for years.
Army records say Keeble displayed “extraordinary heroism and completely selfless devotion to duty” during his assault on enemy troops in Korea.
After seeing an advance platoon was pinned down by gunfire, Keeble rushed from his support unit to the front line. He then crawled ahead to take out three enemy positions with grenades, despite intense fire trained on him as he moved along the mountainside.
go here for the rest
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52728
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Renewed Hope Eric Hall Is Still Alive
Missing Marine may have called again
Eric Hall, 24, is believed to have placed another phone call to a friend
CAROLYN QUINN, Charlotte Sun Staff Writer
7:27 p.m., Friday, February 22, 2008
The former Marine who vanished over two weeks ago during a flashback to his service in Iraq may have called an old friend a second time.
Eric Hall, 24, who left his aunt's house in Deep Creek on Feb. 3 and has not been seen since, is believed to have called a childhood friend and former girlfriend in his native Indiana after 6 p.m. Thursday. It is the second call he is believed to have made to the friend, although he did not identify himself either time.
"He is reaching out, and it just renews my efforts," said Becky Hall, Eric's mother, who came to Florida from Indiana shortly after his disappearance.
go here for the rest
linked from ICasualties.org
Eric Hall, 24, is believed to have placed another phone call to a friend
CAROLYN QUINN, Charlotte Sun Staff Writer
7:27 p.m., Friday, February 22, 2008
The former Marine who vanished over two weeks ago during a flashback to his service in Iraq may have called an old friend a second time.
Eric Hall, 24, who left his aunt's house in Deep Creek on Feb. 3 and has not been seen since, is believed to have called a childhood friend and former girlfriend in his native Indiana after 6 p.m. Thursday. It is the second call he is believed to have made to the friend, although he did not identify himself either time.
"He is reaching out, and it just renews my efforts," said Becky Hall, Eric's mother, who came to Florida from Indiana shortly after his disappearance.
go here for the rest
linked from ICasualties.org
Former Army Chaplain Chiefs Confer on Current Issues
Former Army Chaplain Chiefs Confer on Current Issues
Feb 21, 2008
BY Elizabeth M. Lorge
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 21, 2008) - As the Army's chaplaincy focuses on expanding services to wounded warriors and redeploying Soldiers, 15 former chiefs of chaplains gathered in Arlington, Va., for a "Graybeard Conference" Feb. 15 to discuss lessons learned from their tenures and relate them to the biggest concerns for today's Army.
Maj. Gen. Douglas L. Carver, the Army's current chief of chaplains, invited the former chaplains from the active Army, National Guard and Army Reserve in order to learn from their 40 years of combined experience at the helm of the chaplaincy and update them on the Army's current goals, priorities and challenges.
'
"There's a scripture in the bible that says there's nothing new under the sun, so I know that what I'm experiencing today as a leader is something that I can learn from those who have gone before me -- similar challenges that they've faced during the life and the history of the Army and the nation. I think it's also important for us to hear the collective wisdom of those who have been in this leadership position before, to hear their thoughts, their ideas, just to ensure we're doing the best we can to support our Soldiers and Families during a time of war."
click post title for the rest
Feb 21, 2008
BY Elizabeth M. Lorge
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 21, 2008) - As the Army's chaplaincy focuses on expanding services to wounded warriors and redeploying Soldiers, 15 former chiefs of chaplains gathered in Arlington, Va., for a "Graybeard Conference" Feb. 15 to discuss lessons learned from their tenures and relate them to the biggest concerns for today's Army.
Maj. Gen. Douglas L. Carver, the Army's current chief of chaplains, invited the former chaplains from the active Army, National Guard and Army Reserve in order to learn from their 40 years of combined experience at the helm of the chaplaincy and update them on the Army's current goals, priorities and challenges.
'
"There's a scripture in the bible that says there's nothing new under the sun, so I know that what I'm experiencing today as a leader is something that I can learn from those who have gone before me -- similar challenges that they've faced during the life and the history of the Army and the nation. I think it's also important for us to hear the collective wisdom of those who have been in this leadership position before, to hear their thoughts, their ideas, just to ensure we're doing the best we can to support our Soldiers and Families during a time of war."
click post title for the rest
A Local Soldier's Long Road Home: Dealing With PTSD
A Local Soldier's Long Road Home: Dealing With PTSD
POSTED: 10:38 pm EST February 22, 2008
WHEELING, W.Va. -- A local Iraq war veteran opened up to NEWS9 about the daily struggles of living with post traumatic stress disorder.
When soldiers leave the war zone, it’s not always a happy homecoming.
"When I came home the first time,” said Ryan Flowers, 25, of Moundsville, “I thought something wasn't right. I felt out of place."
Flowers is one of thousands of Iraq veterans dealing with PTSD.
He served two tours in Iraq, and his jobs included being a heavy wheel mechanic and convoy security.
Flowers’ job in convoy security required him to protect groups of civilians and war supplies.
“Making sure we could get supplies from one camp to another to support the ongoing war effort,” said Flowers.
While Flowers worked at night, his visions are clear as day.
“A night in December, we were leaving Mosul, and there was an explosion on the horizon," said Flowers. “To see an explosion come up over the horizon from that distance, it was my best friend who was in that explosion. He's OK, as OK as you can be."
go here for the rest
http://www.wtov9.com/news/15384598/detail.html
POSTED: 10:38 pm EST February 22, 2008
WHEELING, W.Va. -- A local Iraq war veteran opened up to NEWS9 about the daily struggles of living with post traumatic stress disorder.
When soldiers leave the war zone, it’s not always a happy homecoming.
"When I came home the first time,” said Ryan Flowers, 25, of Moundsville, “I thought something wasn't right. I felt out of place."
Flowers is one of thousands of Iraq veterans dealing with PTSD.
He served two tours in Iraq, and his jobs included being a heavy wheel mechanic and convoy security.
Flowers’ job in convoy security required him to protect groups of civilians and war supplies.
“Making sure we could get supplies from one camp to another to support the ongoing war effort,” said Flowers.
While Flowers worked at night, his visions are clear as day.
“A night in December, we were leaving Mosul, and there was an explosion on the horizon," said Flowers. “To see an explosion come up over the horizon from that distance, it was my best friend who was in that explosion. He's OK, as OK as you can be."
go here for the rest
http://www.wtov9.com/news/15384598/detail.html
Frank Discussion About PTSD and War Trauma
Frank Discussion About PTSD and War Trauma (VIDEO)
Tim King and Dr. Phil Leveque Salem-News.com
Two men with experience in war; one a combat soldier and physician, and one who is a present day war reporter, attempt to spread light on facts surrounding PTSD.
(SALEM, Ore.) - As increasing numbers of veterans are returning from war where they experienced direct combat situations, the number of questions about what that trauma will bring them later in life is growing too.
Dr. Phil Leveque is a WWII veteran and a physician. When he speaks about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he does so from what may be one of the most unique and qualified perspectives possible.
First he survived combat and battle injuries fighting Hitler's Nazi soldiers while the world raged at war, then he endured the hardships of the government VA healthcare system where he spent several months recovering from combat related injuries.
After that Phillip Leveque, already a college graduate, completed his master's program and attended medical school. He became a doctor who specialized in the treatment of people who had endured similar horrors of war.
Tim King joined the Marine Corps after high school, and then began a career in news broadcasting in the late 1980's. Today in addition to writing and reporting for Salem-News.com full time, he also serves as a War Correspondent.
Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 in Afghanistan embedded with the 41st Brigade Combat Team of the U.S. Army which was under the control of the Oregon Guard.
In late March, Tim will head to Baghdad, Iraq to cover the actions of Oregon National Guard soldiers on the ground.
click post title for the rest and video
I will embed the video soon.
Minnesota Marine veteran Jonathan Schulze suicide back in news
Minnesota Marine's case is part of lawsuit against VA
The suicide of Jonathan Schulze is cited in the class-action suit filed by two national veterans groups.
By KEVIN GILES, Star Tribune
Last update: February 22, 2008 - 9:23 PM
A class-action lawsuit filed by two national veterans organizations accusing the U.S. Veterans Administration of neglecting psychological fallout from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars cites the suicide of Minnesota Marine veteran Jonathan Schulze.
Schulze is one of several deceased veterans named in the suit, which a judge last month allowed to proceed and is headed for a hearing in U.S. District Court in San Francisco in March. Schulze, 25, committed suicide in January 2007 in New Prague, Minn., five days after he allegedly was turned away from the VA hospital in St. Cloud when seeking psychiatric help.
He had fought in Iraq. Medical records showed that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
His father, Jim Schulze of the Stewart, Minn., area, said Friday that attorneys for Veterans for Common Sense and a second group, Veterans United for Truth, asked his wife, Marianne, to file a declaration in support of the case.
The suicide of Jonathan Schulze is cited in the class-action suit filed by two national veterans groups.
By KEVIN GILES, Star Tribune
Last update: February 22, 2008 - 9:23 PM
A class-action lawsuit filed by two national veterans organizations accusing the U.S. Veterans Administration of neglecting psychological fallout from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars cites the suicide of Minnesota Marine veteran Jonathan Schulze.
Schulze is one of several deceased veterans named in the suit, which a judge last month allowed to proceed and is headed for a hearing in U.S. District Court in San Francisco in March. Schulze, 25, committed suicide in January 2007 in New Prague, Minn., five days after he allegedly was turned away from the VA hospital in St. Cloud when seeking psychiatric help.
He had fought in Iraq. Medical records showed that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
His father, Jim Schulze of the Stewart, Minn., area, said Friday that attorneys for Veterans for Common Sense and a second group, Veterans United for Truth, asked his wife, Marianne, to file a declaration in support of the case.
go here for the rest
These are just a few of the names from B. There are over 100 of their stories in my video Death Because They Served. If you want to read more about some of the lives lost you can go to my other blog, Screaming In An Empty Room and look for non-combat deaths. Go to www.namguardianangel.blogspot.com
Friday, February 22, 2008
PTSD:Problems should be anticipated
Our country owes it to its returning combat veterans to do all we know to help them move into an effective survivor mode. Failure to do so will be predictable! Headlines of homeless problems, domestic assaults, alcohol/drug epidemics, and legal problems for combat vets will again catch the nation's attention. Vietnam anyone?
Problems should be anticipated
February 22, 2008
By William Weitz
Recent readings of a Department of the Army news release and an editorial in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported significant increases in the suicide rate of active duty Army soldiers. The numbers showed a 20 percent increase over the prior year, despite efforts to include "more training and education programs, the hiring of more mental health professionals, and the addition of screening programs."
While acknowledging the impact of combat stress and the multiple tours of duty faced by these soldiers, there was also a shift to focusing on other issues such as financial stressors, family discord, and employment concerns as contributing to the suicide rate for these troops.
How little we have learned!
Having worked for 30 years as a military psychologist and a VA Vet Center Team Leader, it is critical not to separate environmental stressors from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. War veterans in intense combat environments develop PTSD at exceeding high rates. In Vietnam, the estimate was generally in the 30 to 40 percent range for developing combat stress and for Iraq, given the multiple tours, the rates should be much higher.
click post title for the rest
Hundreds of acinetobacter infections a year with wounded soldiers
Insurgents in the Bloodstream
Proceedings Capt. Chas Henry (Ret.) February 22, 2008
"It's why I lost my leg, so it sucks."
The assessment, from a 22-year-old Marine toughing out physical therapy on two prosthetic limbs, is laconic, matter-of-fact. Sgt. David Emery lost one leg in February 2007 when a suicide bomber assaulted the checkpoint near Haditha, Iraq, where he and fellow Marines stood guard. Military surgeons were forced to remove his remaining leg when it became infected with acinetobacter baumannii-a strain of highly resistant bacteria that since U.S. forces began fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan has threatened the lives, limbs, and organs of hundreds wounded in combat.
"They could have saved it," says Emery. "They had a rod in it, but then the bacteria was in too bad and my white blood cell count was up to 89,000-and they told my mom on a Friday that they had to take it."
Emery's mother recalls that the hazard was not confined to her son's limbs.
"He ended up getting it in his stomach," says Connie Emery, "and they tried to close his stomach back up, but when they did, the stitches ended up pulling away because the infection was taking over."
An Army infectious disease physician says the germ has spread rapidly since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began. "Prior to the war, we were seeing one to two cases of acinetobacter infection per year," remembers Lt. Col. Kimberly Moran, deputy director for tropical public health at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.
"Now that's much different. We've had hundreds of positive cultures over the last four years."
And the toll has been serious, observes Army Col. Glenn Wortmann, acting chief of infectious disease at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. "Of the infectious disease problems that have come out of the conflict," notes Dr. Wortmann, "it is the most important complication we've seen."
go here for the rest
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,162552,00.html
Proceedings Capt. Chas Henry (Ret.) February 22, 2008
"It's why I lost my leg, so it sucks."
The assessment, from a 22-year-old Marine toughing out physical therapy on two prosthetic limbs, is laconic, matter-of-fact. Sgt. David Emery lost one leg in February 2007 when a suicide bomber assaulted the checkpoint near Haditha, Iraq, where he and fellow Marines stood guard. Military surgeons were forced to remove his remaining leg when it became infected with acinetobacter baumannii-a strain of highly resistant bacteria that since U.S. forces began fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan has threatened the lives, limbs, and organs of hundreds wounded in combat.
"They could have saved it," says Emery. "They had a rod in it, but then the bacteria was in too bad and my white blood cell count was up to 89,000-and they told my mom on a Friday that they had to take it."
Emery's mother recalls that the hazard was not confined to her son's limbs.
"He ended up getting it in his stomach," says Connie Emery, "and they tried to close his stomach back up, but when they did, the stitches ended up pulling away because the infection was taking over."
An Army infectious disease physician says the germ has spread rapidly since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began. "Prior to the war, we were seeing one to two cases of acinetobacter infection per year," remembers Lt. Col. Kimberly Moran, deputy director for tropical public health at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.
"Now that's much different. We've had hundreds of positive cultures over the last four years."
And the toll has been serious, observes Army Col. Glenn Wortmann, acting chief of infectious disease at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. "Of the infectious disease problems that have come out of the conflict," notes Dr. Wortmann, "it is the most important complication we've seen."
go here for the rest
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,162552,00.html
Edward Robinson tells Maryland lawmakers what it's like to want to die
This is from the post I did earlier today. This is what some of the legislative people think about the veterans.
Now here is from the Washington Post about Maryland and the way we as a nation treat our veterans.
click post title for the rest
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.
Now here is from the Washington Post about Maryland and the way we as a nation treat our veterans.
Veterans Share Stories as Work Starts on Mental Health Bills
By Philip Rucker
Friday, February 22, 2008; Page B06
For two years, Edward Robinson was stationed at a Navy hospital in Portsmouth, Va., helping treat wounded troops returning from battle in Iraq. The experience was so emotionally taxing that when Robinson moved home to Annapolis in 2006, his life started unraveling.
Robinson tried to kill himself four times, he said in emotional testimony before a panel of Maryland legislators yesterday. The 35-year-old told lawmakers that he was hospitalized five times, and his mental illnesses grew so bad that his wife recently left him.
"The stigma of having a mental illness . . . people look at you differently. People don't want to hire you," Robinson said. The problem, he said, is that the federal government is not providing adequate care.
Thousands of veterans like Robinson live in Maryland, and state officials say the federal government is failing to connect them to mental health-care providers, a void that became clear last year amid the scandal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) has proposed legislation to close gaps in federal care for returning service members. The measures would establish a $3.5 million pilot program to help veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan navigate the federal system to obtain care for mental and behavioral health problems.
At the start of this week, O'Malley and the General Assembly paid tribute to the 20 Maryland troops who died in Iraq and Afghanistan last year.
"Our hearts go out to them and to our families," O'Malley said in a short speech. "Our promise goes out to them that we will stand by their comrades."
During a poignant ceremony Monday night on the floor of the House of Delegates, each fallen service member was honored. A delegate representing the service member's county read his or her name and date of death into the record. Then on the wooden dais, a bell tolled for each.
Lawmakers began work on the bills this week by hearing testimony from veterans such as Robinson, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D), Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary John M. Colmers and Veterans Affairs Secretary James A. Adkins.
Brown, who served as an Army reservist in Iraq, said the state government should fill the gaps to help a "very fragile cohort of veterans" in Maryland.
"In a perfect world, the federal government would help ensure the welfare and care of veterans," Brown said. But "we don't live in a perfect world."
click post title for the rest
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.
Florida Guard has sent about 9,000 troops to Iraq and Afghanistan
The Florida Guard has sent about 9,000 troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, many on repeated and ever longer deployments. They include Brevard County men and women who serve in such Central Florida-based units as the 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment and 164th Air Defense Artillery Brigade.
Our view: Preventing GI suicides
National Guard program badly needed step to stop tragic trend of Iraq-Afghanistan wars
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are bloody, brutal and have no end in sight.
The brave troops who continue fighting them have gone back on repeated combat tours, facing roadside bombs, heavily armed insurgents and terrorists.
More than 4,000 have died and 30,000 have been wounded with tens of thousands more coming home emotionally traumatized to face failed relationships, divorce, financial troubles and unemployment.
For a growing number, it's too much.
click post title for the rest
Invasion of Panama Veteran Still Has To Fight VA
Another Veteran Screwed and this Time a Kossack: Me
by Jeffersonian Democrat
Fri Feb 22, 2008 at 05:01:11 AM PST
It has taken me a few days to come to grips enough to write this up as a diary as some have suggested. I apologize upfront if my rage comes through in any way whether it is whining or hyperbole as that is not my intent and I will do my best to objectively relate the narrative of events and opinion.
First of all, let me explain how the VA determines PTSD claims:
The formula for a successful PTSD claim is simple. You need three things:
Evidence of an in-service stressor (the Combat Infantryman's Badge, combat Military Occupational Specialty, Combat awards and medals, etc. , for example, is presumptive of that)
A DIAGNOSIS of PTSD (a VA directed Compensation & Pension exam is where that will come from, based upon the records and the exam)
A "nexus" tying 1 and 2 together, for example orders placing one in combat operations and documented problems resulting from that experience
Jeffersonian Democrat's diary :: ::
Ok, quick relevant military bio. I joined the Army in 1984 and became an Airborne Infantryman, a Paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. Although I had fantasies of film school in Paris or becoming a diplomat, after I attended SERE school I reenlisted to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course at Ft. Bragg. I successfully completed the course but not without gut-wrenching hardship and sheer iron will power. I am small in stature and only 5'6, but my heart and desire were much bigger at that time. I became a weapons and tactics specialist and Special Forces soldier, commonly known as a Green Beret. I was assigned to 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) immediately after an intensive Spanish course and assigned to an ODA, which is commonly known as an "A-Team". Irrelevant to this case, I also served in the Navy after my education at University of Michigan in Russian and Eastern European Studies as a Naval Intelligence Officer, but that is another can of worms.
Now, I am not going to go into personal stressors and events here, but my little conflict was the Invasion of Panama in 1989-1990. That conflict affected me in ways I had no idea of then. They really came to full force, drastically surfacing, when the Iraq war began. Not that they were there all along, there were things I should have taken notice of. But like a good soldier, I sucked it up and suppressed it. I self-medicated with alcohol for strange feelings that I later learned were panic attacks until I became a full fledged alcoholic. At first, the VA was denying my initial claim because they said that I didn't have the stressor event, however:what the VA does in fact have, in addition to statements, is my DD214 with MOS: 18B Special Forces Weapons Sergeant, and my CIB/SSI and Expeditionary medal awarded through 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) for combat operations in Panama.
And that is a presumptive stressor, so they back-off on that. Yet I had to appeal and file a Notice of Disagreement that I filed in 2005. I had not heard back from the VA until December of 2006, when they finally asked for, and sent me the paperwork for, a VA C&P exam.
Now I had already been hospitalized three times at this point. The first time was the morning that I woke up on my balcony from being passed out, surrounded by beer bottles, and a noose around my neck tied to the railing. I thought, "Jeff Dem, maybe you need some help, hmmm?" I was a kossack also at this point.
go here for the rest
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/2/22/6057/91498
by Jeffersonian Democrat
Fri Feb 22, 2008 at 05:01:11 AM PST
It has taken me a few days to come to grips enough to write this up as a diary as some have suggested. I apologize upfront if my rage comes through in any way whether it is whining or hyperbole as that is not my intent and I will do my best to objectively relate the narrative of events and opinion.
First of all, let me explain how the VA determines PTSD claims:
The formula for a successful PTSD claim is simple. You need three things:
Evidence of an in-service stressor (the Combat Infantryman's Badge, combat Military Occupational Specialty, Combat awards and medals, etc. , for example, is presumptive of that)
A DIAGNOSIS of PTSD (a VA directed Compensation & Pension exam is where that will come from, based upon the records and the exam)
A "nexus" tying 1 and 2 together, for example orders placing one in combat operations and documented problems resulting from that experience
Jeffersonian Democrat's diary :: ::
Ok, quick relevant military bio. I joined the Army in 1984 and became an Airborne Infantryman, a Paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. Although I had fantasies of film school in Paris or becoming a diplomat, after I attended SERE school I reenlisted to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course at Ft. Bragg. I successfully completed the course but not without gut-wrenching hardship and sheer iron will power. I am small in stature and only 5'6, but my heart and desire were much bigger at that time. I became a weapons and tactics specialist and Special Forces soldier, commonly known as a Green Beret. I was assigned to 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) immediately after an intensive Spanish course and assigned to an ODA, which is commonly known as an "A-Team". Irrelevant to this case, I also served in the Navy after my education at University of Michigan in Russian and Eastern European Studies as a Naval Intelligence Officer, but that is another can of worms.
Now, I am not going to go into personal stressors and events here, but my little conflict was the Invasion of Panama in 1989-1990. That conflict affected me in ways I had no idea of then. They really came to full force, drastically surfacing, when the Iraq war began. Not that they were there all along, there were things I should have taken notice of. But like a good soldier, I sucked it up and suppressed it. I self-medicated with alcohol for strange feelings that I later learned were panic attacks until I became a full fledged alcoholic. At first, the VA was denying my initial claim because they said that I didn't have the stressor event, however:what the VA does in fact have, in addition to statements, is my DD214 with MOS: 18B Special Forces Weapons Sergeant, and my CIB/SSI and Expeditionary medal awarded through 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) for combat operations in Panama.
And that is a presumptive stressor, so they back-off on that. Yet I had to appeal and file a Notice of Disagreement that I filed in 2005. I had not heard back from the VA until December of 2006, when they finally asked for, and sent me the paperwork for, a VA C&P exam.
Now I had already been hospitalized three times at this point. The first time was the morning that I woke up on my balcony from being passed out, surrounded by beer bottles, and a noose around my neck tied to the railing. I thought, "Jeff Dem, maybe you need some help, hmmm?" I was a kossack also at this point.
go here for the rest
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/2/22/6057/91498
This is the comment I just left at the Daily Kos.
It was the same problem with Vietnam vets. My husband came home in 1971, not diagnosed until 1990, couldn't get him to go to the VA until 1993 and his claim took six years. His best friend's claim took 19 years and he was multiple tour Green Beret. My husband's nephew had a claim after coming home addicted to heroin, busted for drug deal gone bad, got his life together, had his claim approved and then committed suicide when the DOD told him his unit never existed. Veterans are dying for attention everyday. Maybe that's what they want when they turn down claims? In 1996, we were told by a VA doctor that for every 10 claims with the VA, 8 drop out because of the frustration. That means 8 less wounded veterans they have to support. Claims get tied up for years and veterans die off or fade away. You'd think we would be able to take care of the veterans if we were ever serious about being a "grateful nation" but then you'd also have to believe that fighting for the country, then being forced to fight the country would be wrong. Don't give up! You paid them up front when you were willing to lay down your life. They owe you! So do the rest of us and we had better all start acting like it by telling the government we will not stand for any of you to be treated like this any longer.
Police Link Takes A Look At Suicide By Cop
Suicide by Cop: Why?
Definition: Suicide-by-cop is a colloquial term used to describe an incident in which a suicidal individual consciously engages in life-threatening behavior(s) to the degree that it compels a police officer to respond with deadly force. In a suicide-by-cop scenario the cop is the methodology of the suicide. If it hadn't been an officer it could have been a rope, sleeping pills, a train, a knife or a handgun. If you can't kill yourself, and you really, really, really want to die, who are you going to call?
Researchers have concluded that suicides-by-cop are surprisingly more common than initially thought, and that the number of incidents is rising. The most comprehensive study to date on the incidence of suicide-by-cop, from 1987 through 1997, found that 11 percent of officer-involved shootings were suicide-by-cop incidents. In 1997, the last year of the study, the percentage of shootings identified as suicide-by-cop jumped to 25%. One researcher, in his analysis of current available literature, has suggested that the true figure may be as high as 46%. The discrepancy in these statistics may be the result of hidden suicidal ideation by the victim of any officer involved shooting. Researchers have long suspected that single-occupant car crashes, some airplane crashes and workplace fatalities involved suicidal motivation. Engaging in criminal acts may in fact involve suicidal ideation.
go here for the rest
http://www.policelink.com/training/articles/11074-suicide-by-cop-why
Definition: Suicide-by-cop is a colloquial term used to describe an incident in which a suicidal individual consciously engages in life-threatening behavior(s) to the degree that it compels a police officer to respond with deadly force. In a suicide-by-cop scenario the cop is the methodology of the suicide. If it hadn't been an officer it could have been a rope, sleeping pills, a train, a knife or a handgun. If you can't kill yourself, and you really, really, really want to die, who are you going to call?
Researchers have concluded that suicides-by-cop are surprisingly more common than initially thought, and that the number of incidents is rising. The most comprehensive study to date on the incidence of suicide-by-cop, from 1987 through 1997, found that 11 percent of officer-involved shootings were suicide-by-cop incidents. In 1997, the last year of the study, the percentage of shootings identified as suicide-by-cop jumped to 25%. One researcher, in his analysis of current available literature, has suggested that the true figure may be as high as 46%. The discrepancy in these statistics may be the result of hidden suicidal ideation by the victim of any officer involved shooting. Researchers have long suspected that single-occupant car crashes, some airplane crashes and workplace fatalities involved suicidal motivation. Engaging in criminal acts may in fact involve suicidal ideation.
go here for the rest
http://www.policelink.com/training/articles/11074-suicide-by-cop-why
WWII veteran passes away with homeless veterans in his heart
Donations may be made in his name to the New England Shelter for Homeless Veteran’s, 17 Court Street, Boston, MA 02108 or to the All Saints Church, 44 Park Ave., Whitman, MA 02382.
Herbert G. "Herb", II Corliss
Whitman, Mass
Friday, February 22, 2008
Herbert G. “Herb” Corliss, II, 85 died Wednesday, February 20th after a period failing health. He was the husband of the late Eleanor G. (Morgan) Corliss. Born and raised in Rockland he was the son of the late Levi J. and Effie (Duffett) Corliss and attended Rockland schools. Herb was a veteran of the United States Army from 1943 to 1945 and served as a Sergeant during World War II. He was awarded a Victory Medal, and a European-African Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Ribbon.
click post title for the rest to read a tiny bit about what this man accomplished in his life. He will accomplish even more for homeless veterans because of his life.
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.
click post title for the rest
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
Thursday, February 21, 2008
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
click post title for the rest
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.
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.
click post title for the rest
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.
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
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
click above for the rest
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
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
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/
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!
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
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!
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
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/
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.
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.
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?
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
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
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.
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
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