VA under scrutiny for veteran suicides

Veterans For Common Sense would not have to sue the VA if the VA did what they should have done under Nicholson. The veterans have been paying the price for his loyalty to the administration instead of them.

VA under scrutiny for veteran suicides
Monday, March 03, 2008 9:18 PM
By Vic Lee

There is pressure on the Veterans Administration to do more to prevent suicides. The number of vets returning from Iraq and taking their own lives is reaching an epidemic level. That's what veterans groups claim and they are taking the VA to court to force it to do more.

This is the first salvo of a major class action lawsuit filed by veterans groups, challenging what they call "the failure of the VA to properly treat returning veterans."

They say there are long waiting lists for veterans who need mental health care and a huge backlog of more than 600,000 disability claims. In the meantime, veterans are said to be committing suicide in unprecedented numbers.

Former Marine Guido Gualco fought in the late 80's in Operation Desert Storm. VA doctors failed to diagnose his PTSD until 2005 -- 14 years after he was discharged. It got so bad, he begged his friend to kill him.

"I was questioning God, 'why was I alive?' I didn't want to live," says Gualco.

Army specialist Tim Chapman was a Humvee gunner in the Middle East. He was discharged after he fell into a deep depression in 2006.

"I was sitting in Roseville with my gas on the pedal and I was going to drive my car off this cliff at a truck stop," says Chapman.

Paul Sullivan heads Veterans for Common Sense. He says the VA has failed to deal with the growing problem of veteran suicides.

"There are cases around the country of veterans who said they were suicidal in front of VA employees and they were placed on waiting lists and otherwise turned away," says Sullivan.
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http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=5996940

In 2004, there were already complaints about Bush's VA budget.

In a statement issued shortly after the budget was released, Edward S. Banas Sr., commander in chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, called the VA's health care spending proposal "a disgrace and a sham."

VA officials reply that spending for health care will increase under the budget, but that tough choices had to be made because of the soaring budget deficit and limits on spending.

With two occupations producing more wounded, the VA, under Nicholson, called for a reduction in staff at the VA instead of wanting to increase them.

According to John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the VA is calling for a reduction of 540 full-time jobs in the Veterans Benefits Administration, which handles disability, pension and other claims by veterans.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A24665-2004Mar2

What we saw was the GOP taking sides with Bush on this.

Senator Larry Craig

Senator Larry E. Craig, Republican of Idaho, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, said the Department of Veterans Affairs would need more than the $30.7 billion for medical care in Mr. Bush's budget just "to maintain current levels of service" in 2006.

Mr. Craig said at a committee hearing that the White House was seeking an increase of less than one-half of 1 percent in the appropriation for veterans' medical care. He also noted that the administration wanted to save $606 million by restricting eligibility for nursing home care.

Yet at the end of the report Craig came out with this.

Mr. Craig said he detected "unanimous concern on the part of this committee that the budget has some inadequacies." The need to provide care to veterans is increasing, he said, because improvements in military medicine are saving the lives of many service members whose injuries would have proved fatal in previous wars.

Congressman Steve Buyer

Representative Steve Buyer, Republican of Indiana, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, indicated he was open to the ideas. Laura J. Zuckerman, a spokeswoman for Mr. Buyer, said he saw the proposals as a way to "bring balance, fairness and equity into the system."

The president's budget would save $293 million by reducing federal payments for state-run homes that provide veterans with long-term care. It would also save more than $100 million with a one-year hiatus in federal spending for construction and renovation of such homes.

They were looking to save money instead of looking at the best way to care for our wounded veterans.

Again looking at cutting employees instead of adding them.

Dr. Jonathan B. Perlin, acting under secretary of veterans affairs, said the medical staff of the department would be reduced by 3,700 employees under the president's budget. About 194,000 employees now provide medical care.

Nicholson was showing what he thought about the veterans he was supposed to be taking care of.

Mr. Nicholson said the budget showed a strong commitment to veterans, but he added: "We have to make tough decisions. We have to set priorities."

And then we have this from the VFW

Dennis M. Cullinan, legislative director of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, told Congress that the federal programs for state veterans' homes dated to the Civil War.

"These cuts, at a time when demand for V.A. long-term care services is on the rise with a rapidly aging veteran population, are unconscionable and reprehensible," Mr. Cullinan said.

It was Senator Akaka and Senator Patty Murray taking the side of the veterans against the GOP in charge of the budgets.

Senator Daniel K. Akaka of Hawaii, the senior Democrat on the committee, said a goal of the proposed fees and co-payments was to make it "prohibitively expensive" for some people to use V.A. clinics and hospitals, which are widely respected for quality of care. The new charges, Mr. Akaka said, would lead more than 192,000 people to drop out of the veterans health care system.

Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, said, "Serving veterans is part of the cost of war, but there's not one dime for veterans" in the $81.9 billion request that Mr. Bush sent Congress on Monday to cover the costs of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/16/politics/16vets.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

What is more tellling about the attitude is that in 2001 the APA had already called for increases in mental health care in the VA. Keep in mind this warning came a month before 9-11. Before the invasion of Afghanistan. Before the invasion of Iraq.

Psychiatric News August 3, 2001
Volume 36 Number 15
© 2001 American Psychiatric Association
APA Wants VA Budget Increased To Meet Mental Health Needs
Christine Lehmann
APA and other mental health groups are recommending that a congressional oversight committee designate funds to be used by the Department of Veterans Affairs for psychiatric research and a continuum of outpatient services.

APA urged a congressional subcommittee that oversees the Department of Veterans Affairs to allocate more funds than President George W. Bush proposed in his Fiscal 2002 budget for mental health research and services.

APA recommended that an additional $50 million of the president’s proposed $51 billion VA budget be spent on establishing two new Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Centers (MIRECCs). APA also advocated that $100 million be designated annually in Fiscal 2002 to 2004 for veterans with serious mental illness.

The House Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee heard testimony in June from mental health and veterans advocacy groups on the VA’s mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness programs. APA submitted a written statement.

The goal of the hearing was to ensure that the VA is complying with several mandates contained in a sweeping VA reform law enacted in 1996 (PL 106-262).
http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/36/15/4

The lack of attention on the needs of our veterans at a time when there are two combat operations creating more wounded is "unconscionable and reprehensible" because the cuts kept coming in staff. During a time when more was needed it turned out there were less doctors and nurses in the VA, less claims reps, than there was after the Gulf War. Think how many lives could have been saved had the VA been provided with all they needed to really take care of all the wounded.

The next time you hear the words "support the troops" consider who has really been supporting them and those who have not taken care of them. Consider who has been harming them and treating them as if they should be grateful to us instead of the other way around.
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

Veterans returning from wars find VA under strain still

Iraq War veteran Christopher M. Kreiger — at home since Thursday with wife, Melissa, and sons C.J., 6, left, and Cole, 4 — suffers from seizures and hallucinations and has been in and out of VA hospital seven times. (photo: Bill Wippert / Buffalo News)

‘Flood’ coming as soldiers return home needing care

Veterans returning from wars find VA under strain

By Lou Michel NEWS STAFF REPORTER



Another surge is putting pressure on the nation’s military.

It is the surge of veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan returning home with physical and psychological wounds, and the question is: Are the nation’s veterans hospitals equipped and staffed to handle it?

“The flood is coming,” said Patrick W. Welch, director of veterans services for Erie County. “Within the next three to five years, the flood of vets seeking help is probably going to overwhelm the VA.”

It started with a trickle. Just 61 of these newest war veterans sought help at the local VA hospital in 2003.

But in the years after, nearly 1,800 vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan went to the Buffalo VA and its seven community clinics.

Local VA officials acknowledge the growing demand, and they say they are keeping up with it and will hire 150 more people to continue what, they insist, is success in providing prompt and comprehensive health care.

The VA’s optimism is not shared by everyone.

Jeremy Lepsch, a Marine who served with an anti-terrorist unit in east Africa, says his most recent admission to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s psychiatric unit exposed him to staff shortages and overworked psychiatrists.

Dana Cushing, who served twice in Iraq and once in east Africa, says she has to make a 300-mile round-trip drive to the Syracuse VA because she can’t get timely appointments here with a women’s doctor.

And then there’s Iraq War veteran Christopher M. Kreiger.

He has several physical and psychological problems and has been in and out of the Buffalo VA Medical Center seven times. In the last six months, his condition has worsened as he suffered from mysterious seizures and hallucinations and has been unable to sleep. Kreiger was released Thursday from the hospital and says he still does not know what is ruining his health.

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http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfMAR08/nf030408-1.htm

Native Americans take pride in Medal of Honor recipient Keeble’s story

Native Americans take pride in Medal of Honor recipient Keeble’s story
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, March 5, 2008


WASHINGTON — Master Sgt. Woodrow Wilson Keeble is the first full-blooded Sioux Indian to receive the Medal of Honor, a point of pride for both his tribe and the larger Native American community.

“The history of [Native American military service] is well known to our younger generation, but probably not in mainstream America,” said Robert Holden, deputy director of the National Congress of American Indians.

“But they’ve continued a long line of warrior tradition. It’s their duty.”

Keeble was born on the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, home to the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux — on the North Dakota-South Dakota border — and spent nearly all of his pre-Army life on tribal lands. After his service in World War II and Korea, he returned there to live and work with the community.
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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=53043

2 dead, 5 injured after shooting at Wendy's near West Palm Beach

2 dead, 5 injured after shooting at Wendy's near West Palm Beach
Published Monday, March 3, 2008 at 9:14 p.m.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A 60-year-old gunman wearing a jacket and tie wordlessly opened fire inside a Wendy's during the lunchtime rush Monday, killing a firefighter who'd returned to exchange a toy and wounding five other diners.

Alburn Edward Blake of West Palm Beach then turned the gun on himself.

"This was not a robbery. He didn't demand anything," said Paul Miller, a Palm Beach County sheriff's spokesman. "Looks like this was just another random shooting like we've seen around the United States."

The 42-year-old victim, Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Lt. Rafael Vazquez, had met his wife and child at the restaurant, Deputy Fire-Rescue Chief Steve Delai said. The family had just left, but Vazquez returned to exchange a promotional toy in his child's meal and was shot in the back as he stood at the counter, Delai said.

Neighbors described Blake as a quiet man who "kept to himself." Public records show that Blake owned a maintenance and handyman company until 2003. A 1996 story in The Palm Beach Post showed that he accidentally ran over an 18-month-old girl with his van, leaving her seriously injured. The story said he had a young daughter who would now be a teenager.
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http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080303/APN/803030841

A witness said the police took out a bag of pills from his apartment. Is this another case of a known mentally ill person with guns? I don't know. No one does right now but I'm sure there will be more reports. I do know that the people who were at Wendy's will need to get some help with this. Think of what you'd be like going through something like this.

Marine puppy toss may be fake

Marine seems to hurl puppy off cliff in video
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writerPosted : Monday Mar 3, 2008 18:43:59 EST

A video that appears to show an armor-clad Marine hurling a small puppy off a cliff and joking with his buddies as it smashes against a rock-strewn desert landscape has sparked outrage online and an investigation by commanders in Hawaii.

A 22-year-old lance corporal from Seattle was named in several online postings as the “puppy killer” and accused of being a “sociopath.” A home address for the Marine was posted on several sites, with at least one urging readers to “make him pay.”
Marine Corps Times could not confirm his identity.

As the puppy flies through the air, the video’s soundtrack features a distinct yelping sound, but Dejournett said that could have been edited in afterward. She noted that the squealing sound does not diminish as the puppy appears to fade in the distance.
To some degree, she said, it doesn’t matter whether the Marines were torturing the puppy or playing with a dead animal.
“Regardless, it is horrifying and it’s not the kind of behavior that we want to see our troops engaging in,” Dejournett said.
View the video (Warning: This video may be disturbing to some viewers)

Yes Congressman Buyer we noticed what you did for seven years

Lawmakers argue for bigger veterans budget

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Mar 3, 2008 17:08:51 EST

Republican members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee — who for seven years have defended the Bush administration’s funding requests for veterans programs — now want to add $5.8 billion to the White House request for 2009.

The budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs requested by the 12 Republicans is about $2 billion more than the VA budget recommendations from the Democratic majority.

Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., the committee’s ranking minority member, said the budget requests about $2 billion to be set aside to improve GI Bill education benefits for members of the National Guard and reserve, about $2.5 billion for medical care and services, $700 million for major construction, $200 million for minor construction and $644 million for cemetery construction.

The rest of the funding would be spread among other programs, including $320 million to improve information technology, a Buyer priority.
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Veterans' Affairs Committee (Ranking Member)
Energy and Commerce Committee
Subcommittee on Health
Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality
National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus, Co-Chairman

When asked about potential compensation for veterans whose personal data was compromised by the theft of a Veterans Administration computer, Rep. Buyer told the Army Times, "How many of them would have had their identities stolen anyway?"[5]

In November, 2005 Buyer announced plans to eliminate testimony from veteran's service organizations before the annual joint session of the House and Senate Veterans Service committees, a tradition going back more than 50 years. A joint letter of protest from the four major veteran’s service organizations was hand delivered members of congress in May, 2006.[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Buyer

Yes we noticed. We noticed all of it. While you were sitting there making sure you gave Bush whatever he wanted, even if it meant soldiers and veterans would have to suffer, you made sure they came last. Even the writer of this report began with "after seven years" so yes, we all noticed.

Bob Woodruff Family Foundation Get PR Giant's Help

JWT to Volunteer Services for Bob Woodruff Family Foundation

Will Support Group That Helps Injured Service Members and Their Families
March 03, 2008: 09:00 AM EST

NEW YORK, March 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- JWT, the largest advertising agency in the U.S. and the fourth largest in the world, announced today that it will volunteer its broad marketing expertise to support the Bob Woodruff Family Foundation (BWFF), a nonprofit organization that raises awareness of the devastation caused by the "hidden injuries of war", traumatic brain injury (TBI) and combat stress.

Bob Woodruff, an ABC News anchor, was nearly killed in a roadside bomb attack while reporting from Iraq in January 2006. The Woodruff Family launched BWFF to help service members, veterans and their families as they navigate their road to recovery and reintegration back into their local communities.

"JWT has a long history of working with the U.S. Marine Corps, and we're honored to rally behind the BWFF," says JWT chairman and CEO Bob Jeffrey. "This is a chance to use our resources for the greater good and to give back to those brave men and women who sacrifice everything in the line of duty."

JWT has handled the U.S. Marine Corps account since 1946; founder James Walter Thompson was a Marine Corps veteran.
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UK fight is on to give medal for PTSD wounds!!

Falklands surgeon Rick Jolly backs medal fight
By Jeff Pickett 3/03/2008

A hero doctor of the Falklands war who continued to fight for troops when he returned home backed the Mirror medal campaign last night.

Surgeon Captain Rick Jolly, 62, was the only serviceman to be decorated by both sides after the conflict. He was also part of a veterans' group which urged the Government to recognise soldiers with posttraumatic stress disorder.

He believes a medal to recognise troops killed or hurt in Afghanistan and Iraq would be a great morale-booster.

He said: "The principle of an award is a good one although it must be extended to those injured or killed in other conflicts.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/03/03/
falklands-surgeon-backs-medal-fight-89520-20338711/


As generals dither, MPs will demand new medal for heroes
EXCLUSIVE
By Bob Roberts And Chris Hughes 26/02/2008
Britain's top military brass will come under ferocious attack today for refusing to award a new medal to the country's most courageous soldiers.
In a historic Parliamentary debate, MPs from all political parties will say the campaign for a new honour to recognise dead and injured servicemen has been held up by the generals for too long.
And they will say it is wrong for the heads of the armed forces to block a new medal for ordinary troops when they are happy to take honours for themselves.
Former military chiefs will also express their disgust at the refusal of today's generals to award the new medal.
Advertisement
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Ex commander of British Armed Forces in Afghanistan, Colonel Richard Kemp says he is disgusted the top brass are out of touch.
"I never thought I would say this, but it is beginning to appear that the politicians are more attuned to the needs of our fighting men and women than are the generals," he told the Mirror, which has long campaigned for the medal.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has backed the idea of a British equivalent to an American Purple Heart which is awarded to all dead and wounded service personnel.
Soldiers across the ranks and politicians of all parties have backed the Mirror's campaign. But Chief of the General Staff Sir Richard Dannatt and his deputy Sir Timothy Granville-Chapman are dithering, claiming a new medal for the wounded would be "divisive" amongst soldiers.
Labour MP Kevan Jones who called for the debate is expected to tell Parliament they should not be receiving their own honours while refusing them for others.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/02/26/
as-generals-dither-mps-will-demand-new-medal-for-heroes-89520-20331967/



Hero Victoria Cross Gurkha soldiers back Daily Mirror medal campaign
Number of MPs backing Daily Mirror medal campaign reaches 303
MPs tell PM Gordon Brown 'give soldiers award they deserve'
Soldiers' families demand medals for their fallen heroes

I'm not the only one calling for this,,,,,,,when will we begin a push for this here too?

Who Will Stand new video on impact of PTSD with Clint Holmes

Photo may be used in documentary
Monday, March 3, 2008
By Clint Confehr


An image of Christian Golczynski, published here nearly a year ago, may be used in a documentary and music video to illustrate psychological impacts of war on Americans.

The photograph, by now-retired Times-Gazette editor Kay Rose, portrays the son of slain Staff Sgt. Marc Golczynski, who grew up in Lewisburg. Her photo shows an 8-year-old boy receiving the American flag that had been draped across his father's coffin at Wheel Cemetery.

Phil Valentine of his own Red Live production company in Las Vegas, Nev., explained he wanted to use the picture in a music video for "Who Will Stand" as sung by Clint Holmes, and as an image during a documentary that explores issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

An early cut of the music video may be seen at www.whowillstand4us.com. The site did not yet include the photograph by Rose when viewed early this week. Valentine said he hoped to reach Marc Golczynski's widow Heather in Maryland, and/or his parents here in Tennessee. Henry Golczynski is a Murfreesboro businessman. Marc's mother, Elaine Huffines, teaches science at Forrest High School.

Rose agreed that the photo should be available for the Red Live productions so long as it wasn't used to advocate or oppose the war, she said Sunday. The Times-Gazette has had a policy of sharing its images with other media that acknowledge the source. Valentine has agreed to that.

The director's videos are avoiding any "political spin," he said, by focusing on what the documentary reveals from speaking with soldiers, Marines, their families and doctors.

"It's such a powerful photograph," Valentine said Friday. "People see it and it brings things together; the pain and sacrifice that the families go through."

The sacrifice of families of soldiers and Marines was recognized late last year in Lewisburg where the Golczynskis, Huffines and survivors of Todd Nunes and David Heirholzer were honored by the Elks Club where members expressed their respect for what survivors experience.

"It was a very emotional moment," Rose said of that afternoon of April 4 in the Wheel Cemetery. "I left in tears and I didn't know the family."
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http://www.t-g.com/story/1315445.html

Army to Release Anti-Suicide Film

Army to Release Anti-Suicide Film
Last Update: 6:32 am

Film Aims to Lower Soldier Suicide 3/2/08

Oswego County, New York (WSYR-TV) - The Army is releasing an interactive video in April aimed at curbing the soldier suicide rate. It’s the highest it’s been in more than twenty years. That’s just among active soldiers. There have also been a staggering number of suicides among veterans home from the war, who are dealing with post traumatic stress disorder.

Joe Godfrey from Oswego County says he doesn’t think the video will work. Godfrey knows far more about post traumatic stress disorder than any father should.

His son, Joe, came home from Iraq at the end of 2004 a different man. He couldn't sleep, was afraid of the dark and started drinking despite being on a slew of medications.

“He was always afraid that someone was out to get him,” Godfrey says.

Joe knew he needed help but didn't get it from the VA in time. Joe was killed outside a bar in Oswego a few months later. His father believes that he ended up dying as a result of the fact that he couldn’t get treatment in a timely manner.

Godfrey's other son, Justin, will be leaving for Iraq this summer – on his third tour.
“You make it through the first time, then the second time was when his brother was killed. Now, he’s going back a third time. Every time you go back, you're bucking the odds, you know?” Godfrey says.
go here for the rest

http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story.aspx?
content_id=8143c4df-7ec4-4c1f-919a-dd5d7f59c70b

Maj. General Clara Hawley-Bowland, woman in charge!

Military medicine

By NOELLE STRAUB
Star-Tribune Washington bureau
Saturday, March 1, 2008 11:20 PM MST

WASHINGTON -- In 2005, while commander of the Europe Regional Medical Command, Carla Hawley-Bowland received an e-mail asking general officers to reply if a child of theirs had deployed to Iraq, because Newsweek magazine was doing a story on military families.

What the e-mail failed to mention, because it didn't seem necessary, was that they were looking for dads.

"They didn't say it was a Father's Day article, but they didn't know that they had a female general that had kids," the Casper native recalled recently. "I don't know if I'm the first one to have kids, but there's very few of us."

Her son Scott had deployed to Iraq in 2003-04, serving as a medic at a battalion aid station at the Fallujah airfield. She replied to the e-mail, and she and her son were included in the article.

Now a two-star major general, Hawley-Bowland in December took command of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the U.S. Army's North Atlantic Regional Medical Command.

Hawley-Bowland is the first female physician who has risen to the rank of general. "We've had nurses and medical service corps female generals, but not a doc," she said. "So I'm the first one there."

She has found the Army to be very fair to women when it comes to career progression.

"I don't think I was ever discriminated against," she said. "There were individuals you always had issues with like anybody else does, but as a whole, as an institution, I felt that actually, in comparing what my career would have been in academic medicine and that of the civilian sector, I progressed probably 10 years faster in the military than I would have in the civilian sector."

Asked if female officers ever tell her she inspired them, she laughed and said, "Yeah, and there's some that say, 'We're glad you made general so we don't have to do it, Carla.'"

"I don't know," she added. "I've just done the jobs they gave me, and had fun and just kept doing it. Never saw a reason to change."
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Army Spc. Russell Johnson Bronze Star V

As with other soldiers in Iraq and other wars, Johnson still had some intangible reminders of the trauma of war. A soldier may leave the war, but the war does not always leave the soldier.

"When he first came home, he was having nightmares," said Harold Johnson, Russell's father. "He was taking medication."

Deltona soldier decorated for saving comrade

BEACON PHOTO COURTESY SPC. RUSSELL JOHNSON

Honored for heroism —U.S. Army Spc. Russell Johnson receives the Bronze Star with a V for valor, along with a certificate for his heroic service in rescuing a fellow soldier from a burning vehicle during an attack in Iraq last spring. He was decorated Jan. 19 at Fort Hood, Texas, home of the 1st Cavalry Division. Johnson's family lives in Deltona.

Published 2-29-2008

By Al Everson
BEACON STAFF WRITER

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

— John 15:13


June 3, 2007, is a day Army Spc. Russell Johnson will never forget.

While Americans at home were enjoying their Sunday, Johnson had to act quickly to save a fellow soldier when their Bradley fighting vehicle was heavily damaged by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.

For that act of gallantry, the Deltona GI would win the Bronze Star, one of America's highest honors for bravery in battle. His Bronze Star also has a "V" for valor.

"We were out on our second patrol of the day, and we kept passing this one checkpoint. My Bradley was hit by an IED [improvised explosive device]. The Bradley was burning. I drove the Bradley about 100 meters outside the kill zone," Johnson told The DeLand-Deltona Beacon.

He was serving in the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division, and the division was about halfway through its 15-month deployment in Iraq.

Of the three soldiers in the flaming vehicle, Johnson was the only one not hurt. The machine-gunner was injured by the blast that had killed their commander.

Johnson had to act quickly amid multiple dangers: The Bradley fighting vehicle was ablaze, and the machine-gun ammunition was "cooking off" as the flames came into contact with the bullets. There was also hostile fire from Iraqi insurgents.

To save the gunner, Spc. Robert Cresanto, Johnson lifted the body of his dead commander, Sgt. Caleb Christopher, off Cresanto, and pulled Cresanto out of the Bradley.

go here for the rest
http://www.beacononlinenews.com/dailyitem.php?itemnum=643

Veteran sues VA so they will get it right for others

Cancer-fighting vet sues the VA after failing to ID tumor
Darryl E. Owens | Sentinel Staff Writer
March 1, 2008
An Ormond Beach veteran faces an uncertain future after doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Daytona Beach missed a cancerous tumor on his chest X-ray, a mistake for which military officials have apologized.

Ted Schrolucke, 63, who served in Germany for the U.S. Army from 1965 to 1967, has filed a $200,000 claim against the VA. The complaint says doctors at the William V. Chappell Jr. VA Outpatient Clinic failed to diagnose a late-stage mass in his right lung that had developed from a previous bout he had with colon cancer.

VA officials earlier this month admitted the error and offered its apologies in a memo it sent to Schrolucke.

But he wanted more than a concession and a mea culpa. He wanted to give other vets a warning that an incorrect diagnosis could happen to them. But the VA handles such matters internally, he was told, so he went public.

"Veterans are walking in there every day getting X-rays and sitting down with doctors and are told everything is OK," he said. "I want them to fix this."

Schrolucke's problems began in August 2005, when he turned to the VA to cover his medications and care until his wife could add him to her insurance plan. His own private policy had become too expensive, he said.

In his VA paperwork, he noted his 2002 colon-cancer diagnosis. Doctors took X-rays, and Schrolucke "walked out of there feeling cancer-free."

In March 2006, under his wife's insurance plan, he visited a non-VA doctor. A blood test suggested cancer, and a repeat of the test six weeks later proved more telling. Scans showed "a big tumor on my right lung," Schrolucke said.
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Bill to highlight female veterans

Bill to spotlight issues for female veterans

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Mar 1, 2008 8:11:43 EST

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is expected to announce legislation next week aimed at increasing the focus on female veterans at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities.

Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began, Murray has spent many hearings questioning VA officials about female veterans with histories of sexual trauma, whether research has been done to determine their health needs and whether VA hospitals are so focused on men’s health issues that women get left behind.

Though VA officials say they are conducting a survey on women’s experiences at their facilities, as well as offering programs specifically for women, proponents of the proposed bill say it would target areas VA has not addressed. It follows a similar House bill proposed by Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., and Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla.

Murray’s bill will ask for:

• Assessment and treatment of women who have suffered sexual trauma in the military.

• More use of evidence-based treatment for women — particularly in areas such as post-traumatic stress disorder, where responses may be different or involve different issues than it does for men.

• A long-term study on gender-specific health issues of female veterans.

“One of the things we started to see early on is that there’s a lot we don’t know,” said Joy Ilem, assistant national legislative director for Disabled American Veterans.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/military_femalevets_health_022908w/

VAWatchdog takes on Sally Satel and AEI over PTSD

THINK-TANKER SATEL PUSHES "TREATMENT FIRST"
LEGISLATION FOR PTSD VETS -- "Treatment First Act"
would urge vets with mental health issues not to file
for VA disability but seek treatment instead.

Dr. Sally Satel of the American Enterprise Institute

by Larry Scott

Dr. Sally Satel is a psychiatrist, paid mouthpiece and think-tanker for the American Enterprise Institute. And, she's back in the news pushing her agenda to marginalize PTSD veterans.
This time she's joined by two old friends, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID). Burr is the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Craig was the Ranking Member until the Republican party removed him after he got caught playing tappy-toes with an undercover cop in an airport men's room.

Burr has introduced a bill (S. 2573) titled Veterans Mental Health Treatment First Act. Craig is the only cosponsor of the bill.

Now, Satel, who is not known for her love of veterans or her ability for rational thought, has decided that "Treatment First" is a must for veterans with mental health issues. (For background on Sally Satel, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here... http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.php?q=satel&op=and )

Satel's basic premise is: Work will set you free. Seems to me I've heard that someplace. Satel says, "By abandoning work, the veteran deprives himself of its therapeutic value: a sense of purpose..."
Satel's web site is here... http://www.sallysatelmd.com/

Satel's email is... satel@sallysatelmd.com

The "Treatment First Act" will give a small allowance to vets with mental health problems who forego filing a VA disability compensation claim and enter treatment.

The "Treatment First Act" is just a way for the VA to save money by conning veterans into delaying filing a claim. Even if the veteran goes into treatment, and then a year later files a claim, a lot of money has been saved.

Also, this program would cause a shift in attitude at the Veterans' Benefits Administration (VBA) that handles claims. If a vet does not go into the program and just files a claim, it would be easy for a claims person at VBA to feel that the vet doesn't want to "get better" and then deliberately mishandle the claim, causing delays in compensation.

Below you will find two pieces of information. First is the Sally Satel opinion piece from The Wall Street Journal. Second is the Veterans Mental Health Treatment First Act as posted on Thomas.
Satel opinion here...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120399050749092455.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

go here back to VAWatchdog

http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfFEB08/nf022708-1.htm

Empty Casing, Testament of a soldier with PTSD

Testament of 'an honest man and a soldier'
PATRICK RENGGER

March 1, 2008

EMPTY CASING

By Fred Doucette

Douglas & McIntyre,

256 pages, $34.95

It has been said with some truth that in war there are no unwounded soldiers. Yet the nature of those wounds, particularly the psychological ones, and their effect on the lives of the men (and increasingly, the women) involved are as different and multitudinous as the individuals.

Whether you call it battle fatigue, shell shock, PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) or OSI (operational stress injury), the mental trauma that can occur in conflict areas is still barely understood. It is often governed, particularly in the military, by ignorance and hidden by a culture of macho denial. Why some are affected, while others remain apparently uninjured, by the same circumstances remains largely a mystery. In Empty Casing, Fred Doucette tells the story of one soldier, Doucette himself, who rises through the ranks of the Canadian army until, faced with the extraordinary stresses and particular viciousness of the Bosnian conflict, he finally succumbs to mental injury and is ultimately medically discharged from the army.

The story Doucette tells is, in many ways, a quite ordinary soldier's tale, filled with the small struggles and triumphs of life in the military and family life, and the business and boredom of professional soldiering. And yet, its very ordinariness is partly what makes it compelling. When Doucette is finally posted to Bosnia as a United Nations Monitoring Officer, everything changes. In Bosnia, Doucette is sent to Sarajevo in the midst of the siege, a posting that Doucette, whose previous UN tours of Cyprus were his only experience of war, didn't really want. He comforts himself with the thought that it couldn't be that bad, adding, "I could not figure out why all the military observers who had been 'in country' kept wishing me luck."
go here for the rest

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4742487410373715914

Is one week in Iraq worth a year of veterans care?

It is the Least We Can Do for Their Sacrifice: One Week of War Spending
Posted February 29, 2008 10:13 AM (EST)


Senator Jim Webb has reintroduced an updated version of what he has dubbed "21st Century GI Bill" framed on the wildly successful GI Bill from World War II. With this war dragging on for six and one half years and our troops involuntary serving tour after tour, it is the least we can do for them. There are many other issues that we need to address to help our returning troops but this is a broad based program that will give a hand to all the troops who have served since 9/11.




Webb is co-sponsoring this bill with Senator Hagel and Senator Lautenberg and yesterday they got the important support of moderate Republican John Warner. His support will hopefully give cover for other Republicans to vote for this measure. For any of those who claim that it is too expensive, consider this: The estimated yearly cost for this program is $2 billion -- equivalent to one week of spending on this war.

Long established veteran groups, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and new veteran groups such as Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) have endorsed this legislation.

Many of us have fathers who took advantage of the World War II GI bill. My father did and has told me stories of how crowded the universities were after World War II with veterans, many who may not have otherwise gone to college, taking advantage of a program that they earned. According to Senator Webb's research, out of a war time veteran population of 15 million, approximately 7.8 million took advantage of the program. Webb also claims that for every dollar invested in the WWII program, seven dollars were generated. This was a program that educated that greatest generation and helped build the base for the country we live in today. It was the WWII GI bill generation of engineers and scientists that built our space program, put men on the moon, developed the transistor and laid the basis for the digital computer.
click above for the rest

16,269 exposed to chemicals not notified of health issues?

The Pentagon hired a contractor to try to identify more veterans, but GAO found the project lacked sufficient oversight. For example, in 2007, a contractor identified 2,300 people exposed to biological tests at Fort Detrick, Md., in “Operation Whitecoat,” which ran from the early 1950s to the early 1970s.

VA, DoD urged to find chemical-exposed vets

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Mar 1, 2008 7:56:47 EST

The Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department must work harder to find tens of thousands of veterans involved in military chemical and biological weapons tests since World War II, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report.

“As this population becomes older, it will become more imperative for DoD and VA to identify and notify these individuals in a timely manner because they might be eligible for health care or other benefits,” according to the GAO report.

The classified tests exposed people to various agents. Some were simulated, but many were not. The list included blister and nerve agents, biological agents, PCP and LSD, in a series of tests over several decades known as “Project 112.”

According to the GAO, the military also exposed healthy adults, psychiatric patients and prison inmates in the experiments.

In some cases, service members volunteered for the tests but were misled about what they would be asked to do.

“Precise information on the number of tests, experiments and participants is not available, and the exact numbers will never be known,” the GAO report states.

Still, in 1993, the Defense Department began trying to find as many as it could. They identified almost 6,000 veterans and 350 civilians who may have been exposed. That search effort ended in 2003.

But in a 2004 study, GAO said the Pentagon should review further data and see if it would be feasible to find more people who may have been exposed.

Defense officials decided that looking further would not yield significant results, but GAO said that decision was “not supported by an objective analysis of the potential costs and benefits,” and that the Pentagon had not documented the criteria for its decision.

Since 2003, the Institutes of Medicine as well as other non-military agencies have found 600 more people.

GAO found that the Defense Department efforts in this area lack consistent objectives and adequate oversight, and officials have not used information gained from previous research that identified exposed people. GAO also aid the process lacks transparency because it has not kept Congress and veterans groups informed of its progress.

VA officials sent letters to only 48 percent of the names provided by the Pentagon because those were the only ones for whom they could find addresses. At least 16,269 known to be living still need to be notified.

Some records have been lost or destroyed, but GAO said VA does not work with the Social Security Administration or the Internal Revenue Service to obtain contact information for veterans.

go here for the rest

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/03/military_chemicalweapons_tests_022908w/

A couple of things really wrong with this aside from the obvious. The VA can and does work with the IRS and Social Security when it involves the ability to collect for treatment classified as "non-service connected" and they did this in the 90's at least because they kept taking our tax refund until my husband's claim was approved. The Pentagon also must work with the IRS and Social Security because they managed to track down the National Guardsman they are sending to jail because he had income from a private job while part of the time he was deployed to Iraq. In other words, when they want to find you, they do.

PTSD:Some Returning Troops Rely on Local Services, Not Military

MENTAL HEALTH CARE
Va. Braces for Veterans' Needs
Some Returning Troops Rely on Local Services, Not Military
By Chris L. Jenkins
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 1, 2008; Page B10

Virginia officials are preparing for a sharp increase in requests for community mental health services from troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and they are concerned that the system will be overwhelmed.

Mental health experts and officials said they are seeing a growing number of recently returned military personnel with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other ailments seeking services from behavioral health clinics.

But with a waiting list of about 5,700 for community mental health services, many officials are concerned that the state will not be able to adequately serve the veterans and family members going to these clinics, operated by what are known as community services boards.

State officials said they are preparing for a 15 percent increase over the next decade in people seeking services from the state's mental health network, especially in emergency situations. That does not include family members who might need counseling. The issue is of particular concern in Virginia because the state has the third highest number of military service members in the country, behind California and Texas.

"This is a population that we're going to have to think about for some time," said James Reinhard, commissioner of the state Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services. "We're concerned and believe that [the population] is going to clearly have an impact on our services."
click post title for the rest

Staff Sgt. Steven Vickerman died of wounds but won't be counted

How many more will it take before all of them get help? How many more will die because this nation decided they could wait before help was available for all who needed it?

Carole and Richard Vickerman visit their son's grave Feb. 28, 2008 at the Rockland Cemetery in Sparkill, two days after his funeral. Their son, Staff Sgt. Steven Vickerman, who suffered from post traumatic stress disorder

For Palisades native, war trauma ends in suicide
Video by Angela Gaul
“We’re still in shock. Our son was a proud Marine. He served his country honorably and we don’t know what happened to him,” said Carole Vickerman, who buried her son Feb. 26, 2008 at Rockland Cemetery.

Video

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080229/VIDEO01/80229043/0/rss01

For Palisades native, war trauma ends in suicide
By Hannan Adely • The Journal News • March 1, 2008



PALISADES - After two tours in Iraq with the Marine Corps Reserve, Steven Vickerman tried to resume a normal life at home with his wife, but he could not shake a feeling of despair.

His parents, Richard and Carole Vickerman of Palisades, went to visit him at a veterans hospital after he suffered a mental breakdown; they were in disbelief. The funny and adventurous baby brother had become sullen, withdrawn and full of anxiety. Vickerman, who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, killed himself Feb. 19.


"We're still in shock. Our son was a proud Marine. He served his country honorably, and we don't know what happened to him," said Carole Vickerman, who buried her son Tuesday at Rockland Cemetery in Sparkill.

As soldiers return from service in Iraq and Afghanistan, many are unprepared to deal with the anxiety and depression stemming from their experiences in war. Some seek help from the Veterans Health Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, but become frustrated by paperwork and long waits for counseling and care. Others feel too proud or embarrassed to seek help at all, or believe they can tough it out with time. Despair drives many to take their own lives, according to reports and experts.

The Veterans Health Administration estimated in a May 2007 report that 1,000 suicides occurred per year among veterans who received care within the VHA and as many as 5,000 per year among all veterans. At the same time, the number of returning veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder is surging, according to studies and veterans advocacy groups.

Families like the Vickermans often feel overwhelmed by the guilt and helplessness that surrounds post-traumatic stress disorder. The Vickermans wanted to help their son but did not know where to look for support services or how to deal with the effects of the illness.

The VA, they believed, had failed their son. The services available, they said, were insufficient, and the government should do more to address the issue for returning war vets.

"There should be something that can be done, not only for the proud soldiers but also for their families," Carole Vickerman said. "When you hear the word 'stress,' it sounds so innocuous. It's not stress; it's a killer."

Steven Vickerman, a Tappan Zee High School graduate, enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1998. A whiz at technical jobs and an electrician by trade, the staff sergeant served as a small arms technician with Marine Aircraft Group 49, Detachment B, at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh.

His first tour in Iraq was interrupted when he returned home to be with his older brother, who was dying of a brain tumor. Robert died at age 35. Vickerman served a second tour and was honorably discharged in 2005.

About two weeks ago, Vickerman's wife went on a business trip in New York City and could not reach her husband by phone. The Vickermans also could not reach him.

They called his therapist, who was scheduled to see him on a Wednesday, but Vickerman missed his appointment. The therapist called police, who found Vickerman dead at his home, where he had hanged himself.
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008803010370

Staff Sgt. Steven Vickerman died of a combat wound. Yet his death will not be counted as a price paid by those we send. None of the thousands of others wounded will be counted when this nation let them down and they lost their battle with the enemy that followed them home.

While they are deployed with the rest of their unit, they have the men and women they serve with watching their backs. If they are wounded by a bullet, the others try to rescue them. If they are blown up, the rest of their unit using everything they have to save their lives. Yet when they are wounded by PTSD, all the rules are broken, the sense of urgency to act to save their lives is ignored and some are even attacked for being wounded in this way.

When they come home, their military family is no where to be found as they return to their families back home. They try to cope, adjust, get on with their lives, but for some it is impossible when they try to seek help with the DOD or the VA. They feel they are battling this enemy alone.

Vickerman will be added as a number but not part of the honorably deceased names when monuments of the sacrifice are built. His wound did not come with a Purple Heart. Vickerman is just one more of the thousands of others who died because they were wounded.

There is a great debate going on that you do not hear about within the units of those who commit suicide while deployed. Some feel as if the suicide is nothing to honor while others see it as a true wound and the death should be just as honored as the life lived. Those who want to honor it as equally as a bullet or bomb death, see PTSD as another wound. Why can't the rest of them?

What will it take for this nation to add these names, these lives, these stories into the history books of war? What will it take this nation to stop separating PTSD wounds from the rest of the wounds the men and women serving this nation suffer from?

If they really wanted to end the stigma of PTSD the best place to start is to fully acknowledge PTSD for what it is and that's a combat wound.

My husband will be wounded for the rest of his life and his service, his acknowledged risk of life ended in 1971, but the real risk to his life is an ongoing battle. He fights to stay alive everyday by taking his medication and going for therapy. It all works to keep him stabilized. He is not alone. There are hundreds of thousands of other Vietnam veterans like him, Korean veterans, Gulf War veterans and now this new generation of Afghanistan and Iraq veterans. Our family is not alone and neither are the rest of the families like Vickerman's family. We all care for the wounded as if their lives depended on it because they do. To us, they are wounded by combat, wounded by their service to this nation and they should be regarded as what they are. The time to stop separating this wound from all the other wounds should have ended as soon as we understood what PTSD was. A wounded caused by trauma.

There is nothing more traumatic than combat or the events involved with combat operations. They would not have been wounded if they did not go. They would not have nightmares and flashbacks of the horror if they were not sent. We need to acknowledge this and honor it.



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

Herseth Sandlin discusses mental health issues for vets

Herseth Sandlin discusses mental health issues for vets
By Peter Harriman
pharrima@argusleader.com
PUBLISHED: February 29, 2008

The U.S. faces a looming mental health crisis associated with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to comments made during a roundtable discussion with Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin today.

Herseth Sandlin says she is frustrated that Congress and high ranking veterans health officials are not doing more creative thinking to deal with it.

In a 90-minute session covering education benefits, timely payments and various other issues for recent military veterans, more than an hour was devoted to anecdotes about shortcomings in the delivery of mental health services, suggestions how to improve it, and Herseth Sandlin’s inquiries to participants.

Afterwards she said “the focus needs to be on the vet not on the system.” While a veterans health care system concentrated in VA facilities works well for things like getting veterans access to prescription drugs, “with mental health we’ve got to think outside the box and utilize the resources we’re going to make available in Washington to greatest effect,” she said.
click post title for the rest

Walz works to ensure quality oversight at VA

February 29, 2008
Walz works to ensure quality oversight at VA
While the three Republican candidates have been squabbling in their quest to be able to be their party's nominee, Representative Walz has been in Washington D.C. doing his job. One of his committee assignments is on the House Veterans Affairs committee.

Here's a press release from his office about the congressman's efforts to adequately fund VA'swatchdog agency, the Office of the Inspector General:

This week, Congressman Walz continued the fight to ensure quality care and oversight at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by pushing to adequately fund the VA's watchdog agency known as the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

Walz, who organized the effort with the support of several of his House colleagues, said that the VA OIG monitors VA spending and contracts to make sure the taxpayers' money is being spent wisely. The OIG also evaluates VA clinics and reports any substandard care.

Walz and his colleagues sent a bipartisan letter to the Chairman of the Budget Committee, asking him to reject the budget cuts requested by the Bush Administration for the VA OIG.

"Last year, the Democratic-led Congress increased the budget for the VA's watchdog and in doing so, expanded its oversight and ability to protect our veterans," said Walz, a 24 year veteran of the National Guard. "This year, the President's budget request asked Congress to cut employees from the VA's watchdog office and reduce its ability to stop fraud and waste at the VA. That's unacceptable."

Walz said that the VA OIG provides a return of $11 for every $1 invested. By reviewing contracts between the VA and private businesses hired to assist our veterans, the OIG ensures that veterans are receiving the highest level of care from these contractors.

At a Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee hearing on January 29, representatives from the VA OIG testified that with more funding, their office would be able to more effectively evaluate the quality of care at VA facilities across the country. In short, the experts said, increased funding for the OIG would improve care at the VA, which all veterans deserve.

Walz concluded, "It makes no sense to cut funds from an office that both saves the government money and protects America's veterans. Our soldiers served this country with honor and distinction. We owe them nothing less than the highest quality care and the Office of the Inspector General is a key player in making sure that happens."


Posted by Ollie Ox on February 29, 2008
http://www.bluestemprairie.com/a_bluestem_prairie/2008/02/walz-works-to-e.html

Training reflects reality for combat vets

Training reflects reality for combat vets
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Friday, February 29, 2008


HOHENFELS, Germany — A training scenario in which a “car bomb” blew up a bus load of Iraqi civilians was nothing new to some of the 18th Engineer Brigade soldiers involved in cleaning up the mess.

Many of the soldiers participating in the training at Hohenfels Joint Multinational Readiness Center are combat veterans who have responded to real mass casualty events in Iraq.

“I can’t count how many times I’ve seen it,” said 370th Engineer Company soldier Spc. Merit Draven, 28, of Sonora, Calif.

During this predeployment training, Draven helped treat simulated wounds that ranged from mutilating blast injuries to amputations and abdominal wounds. But, he added, he’s seen worse.

“I have seen 40 or 50 people (injured) at a time from suicide bombers and IEDs (improvised explosive devices),” he said.

Sgt. Maj. Jeffrey Mann, of the 54th Engineer Battalion, said his unit took 14 casualties in a rocket attack on Camp Ramadi in March 2006.

“I was one of them. I had shrapnel wounds,” said the 40-year-old Camarillo, Calif., native, adding that soldiers who helped him and other victims did an outstanding job and everyone who got hurt in the blast survived.

Maj. Damon Knarr, 32, of Merritt Island, Fla., a JMRC observer controller training the engineers, said the car-bomb scenario was a surprise thrown into a route-clearance training mission.

“The VBIED (vehicle borne improvised explosive device) went off in front of their convoy while they were doing route clearance. There were four civilians killed and 10 wounded,” he said.
go here for the rest
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52942

PTSD support for spouses

PTSD support for spouses
By Terri Barns, Special to Stars and Stripes
Scene, Sunday, March 2, 2008



In Spouse Calls blogger comments, one issue comes up more often than any other: Post traumatic stress disorder. Last week’s column included some of those comments from spouses with first- hand experience on the subject.

These messages are significant, both for their individuality and their similarities. Each spouse who watches a loved one suffer through the after- effects of combat has a unique experience, but there are also common feelings and frustrations:

• “This is not the person I married.”

• “He says he doesn’t want to be married any more.”

• “There is so much anger.”

• “Why is he kind to everyone but me?”

• “Am I the only one?”

I point out these similarities not to minimize the individuality of each experience, but to offer an answer to the last question: You are not alone.

There are so many questions I cannot answer, but I can point out resources for help and encouragement.

Operation Homefront is an organization created to meet needs within the military community. Meredith Leyva, a military spouse who founded the organization in 2001, recently announced an Operation Homefront program for spouses of wounded veterans.
go here for the rest
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=140&article=52956&source=rss

Boston Red Sox at Walter Reed

New perspective: Sox shortstop Julio Lugo chats with retired Sgt. 1st Class Roland Paquette during Wednesday’s visit to Washington’s Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Hospital visit good for Sox’ health
FORT MYERS - Though flying to Washington to meet with President Bush on Wednesday and then heading back to Florida the same day was a grind, the trip gave the Red Sox [team stats] valuable perspective on their place in the grand scheme of things.

All it took was a visit to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and speaking with wounded veterans of the United States’ war in Iraq.

“I think the most important part of the trip - you can ask anyone who went on it - was visiting the hospital,” said Josh Beckett [stats] yesterday. “I got to hear several stories, and as terrible as those stories are, it’s something like that that you get to hear that puts everything in perspective for you and makes you realize how fortunate we are to have people like that who are willing to do stuff like that. Those are heroes.”

click post title for the rest

Spc. Gavin Sibayan, Hero, Purple Heart and PTSD along with TBI

When you read stories about heroes, you usually hear of their bravery, their dedication to the country and the men and women they serve with. You usually also hear about awards they are given in recognition of their extraordinary actions. What we do not hear often enough is the word "hero" put with PTSD. We never hear of PTSD in a story associated with the Purple Heart. PTSD is a wound the military does not like to associate with the other wounds. You know the kind of wounds they like. Bullet wounds, bomb wounds, head injuries they can see with their eyes, but they don't like to acknowledge TBI or PTSD. In this story, you have all of this.

Soldier Receives Purple Heart

Updated: Feb 29, 2008 05:40 PM EST

By Samantha Anderson
s.anderson@krdo.com

FORT CARSON - It's one of the most recognized and respected medals awarded to members of the U.S. Armed forces. It's also one, that more often than not, is given to a soldier's family and rarely gets pinned on the soldiers themselves.

27-year-old Specialist Gavin Sibayan received a Purple Heart medal Friday morning.

He was honored for his bravery in Iraq. He was deployed in 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In September of 2007, the convoy he was on was hit by an explosive device. "I got hit with shrapnel, I was in the gun, got knocked out for 30 minutes, woke up covered in blood," describes Specialist Sibayan. When he awoke, he got right back up and continued fighting.

Specialist Sibayan now suffers from TBI, PTSD and hip dislocation. He returned home to his wife Stephanie and his son at the end of September and has been in recovery every since.

Specialist Sibayan is currently assigned to the Warrior Transition Battalion at Fort Carson.

http://www.krdo.com/Global/story.asp?S=7948236

Specialist Sibayan, showed great courage by coming out of being unconscious and continuing to fight. He was wounded and deserves the Purple Heart but he should probably receive a Silver Star along with it or at least a Bronze Star for this kind of action.

What I believe he should get is a medal for bravery speaking out on the fact he's also been diagnosed with PTSD. So many, especially the attitude reported from Fort Carson in the past, want to pass off the PTSD wounded as being anything other than brave. They fail to see the courage these men and women exhibit when they continue to fight battles while already wounded by PTSD. Imagine the kind of courage that takes to be willing to keep doing their jobs knowing what doing their jobs are doing to their minds.

They keep going although they know each day, each new traumatic event will increase the hell already waging a battle in their minds. When they are able to sleep, they know they will find no peace in their dreams when sleep only allows the enemy to awaken in the darkness of their dreams.

Most of them will never speak of the wound eating away at them until they are out of danger and not necessary for the rest of the unit. They will seek help, if they seek it at all, when they are home. Why can't the military command see the kind of courage that takes? Why can't they see that if they get these men and women into treatment as soon as possible, they will be able to retain that kind of hero? There is nothing to be ashamed of. They are nothing to be ashamed of. They are a rarity. What will it take for the commanders to figure out that when they commit suicide, they do it when they are not fighting a battle with the rest of their brothers, but fighting a private battle by themselves?

Stoughton Fire Capt. Doug Campbell in Iraq and shafted by town

"I went on active duty in 2001 and served overseas -- same scenario. The town did zero for me. They said they did something -- they did zero," said firefighter Joe Vister.


Firefighters Say Town Being Unpatriotic
Captain's Benefits Altered While Serving Overseas

POSTED: 5:47 pm EST February 29, 2008

STOUGHTON, Mass. -- More than 100 firefighters from across the state protested Friday in Stoughton on behalf of Fire Capt. Doug Campbell, who is serving in Iraq.

NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper reported that the union says the town is being cheap and unpatriotic in regard to Campbell's pay while he's away, but town officials say that couldn't be further from the truth.
go here for the rest

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/15453839/detail.html

Vietnam Vet finally gets paid what he was owed, thanks to a reporter

Vietnam vet finally gets benefits

HALFMOON - More than four years of delay and red tape has finally been cut for a Halfmoon veteran facing foreclosure.

Joseph Tannenbaum has been paid more than $60,000 in back benefits.

There doesn't seem to be any question the Vietnam vet deserved the increased benefits. But for nearly five years the Veterans Administration wasn't paying them.

The health battles began for Army PFC Tannenbaum in Vietnam where he lost his left leg. Then it was 15 months recovery in Valley Forge Army Hospital.

As he aged health problems developed. A stroke in 1999 paralyzed his left side. His $1,700 monthly disability check covered less and less.

Tannenbaum was entitled to double that amount, but from 2003 until just a few weeks ago the federal government was not paying.

Tannenbaum says the problem was the bureaucracy of the VA's regional office.

Finally, after help from a newspaper reporter and Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, Tannenbaum got his back benefits.

"A lot of our veterans, both from these wars, Iraq and Afghanistan and previous wars, have been having trouble with the VA system. Because the VA system is backlogged. There's extraordinary amounts of paperwork, long waits and inefficiencies in the system," Gillibrand said.

The congresswoman believes there are other vets in the area with similar problems not receiving the benefits they're entitled to. She urges them to contact her office.
http://wnyt.com/article/stories/S363603.shtml?cat=300

The reporter is a hero in this but they don't say who it was. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand was too.

Frankie Duzant Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity

Franklyn "Frankie" Duzant, 42, was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the slayings of his wife and son in June 2006.

(RED HUBER, ORLANDO SENTINEL / February 27, 2008)

Seminole man who hacked wife, son to death with sword found not guilty by reason of insanity

Amy L. Edwards Sentinel Staff Writer
February 28, 2008

SANFORD - The Seminole County man who hacked his 11-year-old son and wife to death with a sword was declared not guilty by reason of insanity on Wednesday and ordered to be sent to a secure mental hospital.

Circuit Judge Donna McIntosh ruled that Franklyn "Frankie" Duzant, 42, must be confined for public safety but is too mentally ill to be held legally responsible for the killings in 2006. She described him as "manifestly dangerous to himself and to others."Duzant, who had agreed to forgo a jury trial, was expressionless during the hourlong hearing, wearing a jumpsuit and handcuffs. Other than answering the judge's questions with a "Yes, ma'am," he said nothing.

The disabled Army veteran beheaded wife Evangeline "Gigi" Duzant inside their Lake Mary-area home on June 16, 2006. Neighbors then watched in horror as Duzant's son, Nico, ran frantically out of the house to escape his father.

As Nico ran across the street toward neighbors, Duzant caught up with the boy and slashed him to death with a sword. It was Nico's birthday.

Four mental-health experts -- two hired by the state and two for the defense -- agreed that Duzant was hallucinating and insane when he killed his family.

After his arrest, Duzant told psychologists and psychiatrists he thought his wife was going to be kidnapped, taken to West Virginia and raped. Duzant also thought attackers planned to abduct and torture Nico.

click post title for the rest

Readers of my other blog, Screaming In An Empty Room at www.namguardianangel.blogspot.com are aware of this story. This is justice. He is a Gulf War vet and yes, they developed PTSD along with a lot of other issues you never seem to hear about. For more on this story, go to the other blog and search his name. There's about four other stories on this there.

Case of puppy love for Marines

Captain Jamisen Fox with the puppies. They look a lot different today. They are mostly white.

Seven Pendleton Marines to be reunited with Iraq canines

By Susan Shroder
UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM

2:04 p.m. February 29, 2008




SAN DIEGO – Call it another case of canine crush in Iraq.
Seven mixed-breed puppies who won the hearts of Camp Pendleton Marines deployed in Iraq are headed to San Diego and will be reunited with their in-love leathernecks in mid-March.

The puppies were on a United Airlines flight that landed in Washington, D.C., at 6:40 a.m. Thursday. They're spending some time on the ground with a caregiver before being flown to Lindbergh Field, where they are expected to arrive Saturday or Sunday, said Patty Brooks, spokeswoman for the Rancho Coastal Humane Society.

The Encinitas-based humane society is assisting the Marines in bringing the 14-week-old puppies to San Diego.

But don't think about adopting one. They're already spoken for by the Marines, who are part of a team training Iraqis to protect that country's borders.
go here for the rest
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20080229-1404-bn29pups.html

Since when did Sally Satel care about PTSD veterans?

Since when did Sally Satel care about PTSD veterans?

A Helping Hand for Vets With PTSD

Sally Satel


The Wall Street Journal

Feb 29, 2008


February 26, 2008 - Imagine you are a young soldier wounded in Iraq. Your physical injuries heal, but your mind remains tormented. You are flooded with memories of the bloody firefight you survived, you can't concentrate, and sudden noise makes you jump out of your skin. At 23 years old, you are about to be discharged from the military, afraid you'll never again be able to hold a job or fully function in society.

For the thousands of young men and women who apply for disability benefits upon return from Iraq and Afghanistan, these fears are becoming a reality.

When a veteran files a psychiatric disability claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), an examiner is assigned to determine the extent of incapacitation. As part of the assessment, the examiner requests a psychiatric evaluation to obtain the veteran's diagnosis. Once the veteran is diagnosed with a service-related mental condition (typically depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or another anxiety disorder) the claims examiner assigns a disability rating.

The most severe level for a veteran leaving service is 100%. But even a 50% rating denotes significant impairment (e.g., "difficulty in understanding complex commands"), according to the Veterans Benefits Administration.
click post title for the rest


http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleid/9456

From Aug. 15, 2006
BRAVO LARRY SCOTT,,,,FROM VA WATCHDOGDISSING PTSD VETERANS HAS BECOME A LIFESTYLE FOR DR. SALLYSATEL -- And, she's at it again in her latest "think-tank" article --"...new compensation awards will coincide with the retirement years..." --"...how to distinguish between...those who are seeking a free ride..." --"...some veterans' advocates...remain too ready...[for the] quickreach for the disability claims form..."Dr. Sally is on a roll again!In her latest article for the American Enterprise Institute "think-tank" she uses innuendo and negative buzz words to paint veterans with PTSD as losers, liars or both.Background here...


http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%20newsflashes%20MAR%2006/
newsflash03-19-2006-4.htm
MAR%2006/newsflash03-19-2006-4.htm

Latest story here... http://www.aei.org/publications/filter.all,pubID.24781/pub_detail.aspfilter.all,pubID.24781/pub_detail.asp

Stressed out VetsBelieving the Worst about Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
By Sally Satel, M.D.
"Dear Dr. Satel: You are an ideologically constipated coward." So begins one of several dyspeptic communications I've received recently from Vietnam veterans and others.

What provoked their ire was a remark of mine quoted in the Washington Post on June 20.

Under the headline "Iraq War May Add Stress for Past Vets; Trauma Disorder Claims at New High," the article suggested that the current war is responsible for a surge in disability compensation among veterans' ranks.While I do agree that current news coverage may prompt anxiety, sleeplessness, and distressing memories among veterans who have led productive lives since leaving Vietnam, I told the Post I was "skeptical" that veterans who had functioned well for three decades would now be permanently incapacitated.

My sentiments are unpopular--you "right-wing, bloviating [expletive deleted] pseudo-psychiatrist," wrote another reader on his blog--but my point is actually an encouraging one. That is, even if veterans are undone by news and footage of fighting in Iraq, few are likely to endure a subsequent lifetime of chronic anguish or dysfunction of the kind that requires long-term disability entitlement............
http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%20newsflashes%20AUG%2006/newsflash08-15-2006-4.htm

Aug. 31, 2006
RIDE, SALLY, RIDE -- Dr. Sally Satel continues to ride PTSD veterans.From Slate.com: "Once a [veteran] receives a monthly check...hismotivation to hold a job wanes." --- "...a lingering threat areclinicians who are too quick...to reach for thepermanent disability claims form."go to VA Watchdog and read the rest of what this witch says.
http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%20newsflashes%20AUG%2006/newsflash08-30-2006-1.htm

For her information, as if she wants any real information when she can just keep claiming what she has in her own mind, no matter if it is based in fact or not. Let me tell you the story of a man named Jack who came home from Vietnam and went to work while his father told him to get over the clear signs of PTSD.He came home in 1971. He went to work, got married and separated more times than he can remember by the time we met. He still worked, off and on, as much as he could. Each job he applied for he looked for one thing, if he would have to spend his work time with anyone or not. He only applied when he would be able to be alone.In 1990 he was diagnosed by a private psychologist, who apparently was well informed regarding PTSD unlike Satel. The days of being unable to get off the couch because of nightmares hitting too hard followed by flashbacks were not enough to cause him to want to stop working. He wanted to work. He felt he was doing something with his life.

Finally in 1993, he agreed to go to the VA since they were the experts in PTSD. He was again diagnosed with PTSD and in the 98% range. He still wanted to work. This was followed by six years of claims and appeals. Once the VA diagnosed him with service connected PTSD, our private health insurance would no longer cover him for any mental health treatment. He was told it was the responsibility of the government.He was finally awarded disability from the VA for PTSD in 1999. Once this was finally given, he was able to file for protection from losing his job under Family and Medical Leave Act. He kept trying while his condition got worse. He still wanted to work no matter what his VA doctors told him about the added stress level to his condition. He kept trying. He ended up taking early retirement because of his disability.Jack is not unique, except to me, and like all others in the VA system, they make treatment impossible without an approved service connected disability rating. He made a lot more money working than he is on VA disability.

Now Satel can make any kind of outrageous claim she wants but we know what is reality. We know what it is when we live with it everyday of our lives. For her to claim this is an easy thing for any veteran proves she knows nothing about those who suffer with PTSD. One of the biggest things to these veterans is denial. They would rather do anything other than to admit they have PTSD. For her to slander any veteran claiming they get a free ride is beyond incompetence. She needs to have her credentials revoked. Satel should be brought before a committee to answer for the damage she has done to those with PTSD.I am sick and tired of fighting to get our veterans into treatment while Satel gets to harm them. There are too many Satels in positions supposedly seeking to help veterans and doing nothing but harm to them instead. These people need to be forced out the jobs they clearly have no business being in.

Crime takes heavy toll on legal minds

Crime takes heavy toll on legal minds

Lawyers are particularly at risk from mental health problems.
Lynnette Hoffman reports
March 01, 2008
SEAN Brown still remembers the details a decade on. From the horrific sequence of events right down to the specific type of bullets that were used; how many there were, where they went in, how long it took the victim to die.

Brown (not his real name) wasn't a witness, nor was he on the ground at the crime scene, but plenty of grisly stories have been embedded in his memory in 20-odd years as a senior crown prosecutor.

Brown has "seen a lot" over the span of his career, a career that has required him to immerse himself in the intricate circumstances of violent death and homicides, brutal rapes, war crimes, you name it. The sum total of all that, he says, is "not very healthy".

New research from Macquarie University, to be published in the international journal Traumatology, has found that criminal law work can have profoundly damaging psychological effects.

By and large, Brown has been rather fortunate in that regard. He has not suffered a debilitating depression, nor has he felt the need to seek professional assistance for mental health issues, or fallen into a pattern of abusing alcohol or drugs.

But that's not to say the work hasn't taken its toll. His dreams are sometimes affected, as are his relationships. "I tend to get moodier with my family and become more difficult to get on with at home," he says.

At 58, Brown has been married and divorced three times, and while it's difficult to blame one factor, he feels his work has played some sort of role in it all.

In the new study, researcher and senior clinical and forensic psychologist Lil Vrklevski -- herself a lawyer -- compared the mental health and wellbeing of 50 solicitors who work with traumatised clients, namely criminal defence lawyers and prosecutors, with that of 50 solicitors (conveyancers and academics) who work with non-traumatised clients.

The study found that criminal lawyers are nearly twice as likely to seek professional assistance to cope with work related distress: 36 per cent of the sample of criminal lawyers sought professional help for that reason, compared with just 20 per cent of the sample of other solicitors.

Likewise, criminal law solicitors are much more prone to developing depression, stress and vicarious trauma, where professionals who are indirectly exposed to trauma begin to take on some of the same symptoms as the person who actually experienced it, such as increased depression or anxiety.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23292980-23289,00.html

When you read it and know what some go through without ever being involved in traumatic events, but touched by them after the fact, you may understand how PTSD can and does strike combat forces.

VA Taps $37 Million for Homeless Grants

VA Taps $37 Million for Homeless Grants


Peake: Applications Being Accepted from Local Providers


WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is designating $37 million to fund at least 2,250 new transitional housing beds by giving grants to local providers.


"This is the largest one-time designation of funds for the homeless program in VA's history," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. "This is a great opportunity for community organizations to join VA in its mission of eradicating chronic homelessness among veterans."


The grants are intended to offset the operating expenses for transitional housing facilities operated by state and local governments, Indian tribal governments, and faith-based and community-based organizations that are capable of providing supported housing and supportive services for homeless veterans.


VA began its national effort to eradicate chronic homelessness 20 years ago by providing $5 million for a pilot program to support contract residential care and to create domiciliary care for homeless veterans in San Diego.
go here for the rest
http://sev.prnewswire.com/aerospace-defense/20080228/DC1531028022008-1.html

Help available to homeless vets, but they must want it first

Help available to homeless vets, but they must want it first
Part 2 of a two-part series
By Carissa Marsh Special to the Acorn


For five years in the '60s Frank Mastre served his country as an active duty member of the United States military- and for the last five years Frank Mastre has been homeless.

At age 58, he wears a long gray beard, and his kind but tired face reveals a sense of both sadness and strength.

"Being homeless is terrible," said Mastre, a Vietnam combat veteran. "Not being able to afford food is ridiculous. You're like a dog. Everyone needs the basics- food, shelter, that sort of thing."

Mastre- who said he became homeless following a costly divorce- ran away from home at 15 and lied about his age to join the military.

"Times were different back then. There was a real push to join the service, to be a good American," he said. "I knew I had an obligation to my country, my neighborhood and my town."

Mastre went to Vietnam in 1965, serving in the Marines as a special operations "ground pounder." Like so many soldiers, he faced death on a daily basis, taking part in several parachute drops behind enemy lines.

And as a member of the United States Air Force, in 1969 he took part in the bloody conflict later known as "The Battle of Hamburger Hill."

Mastre is just one of dozens of homeless veterans in Ventura County and one of several in Simi Valley.

Cathy Brudnicki, executive director of the county's Homeless and Housing Coalition, said a recent survey they conducted shows that Mastre's story is not an isolated event.

"This count is representative of our community," she said.

The survey found that nearly 15 percent of the county's homeless population are veterans. Nationally, 25 percent of people living on the streets are veterans, with more than 20,000 in Los Angeles alone.

And most, like Mastre, are Vietnam veterans.
go here for the rest
http://www.simivalleyacorn.com/news/2008/0229/Front_Page/005.html

Sgt. Dustin Thorson, Hero's Actions Stun Tinker Air Force Base

Iraq War Hero's Actions Stun Tinker Air Force Base, Attorney
Augie Frost


The Oklahoman (Oklahoma)

Feb 28, 2008

February 27, 2008 - Oklahoma - Dustin Thorson was a decorated war veteran and community leader the day he killed his two children and turned the gun on himself at his home on Tinker Air Force Base.

The U.S. Army honored Thorson in 2006 with the Joint Commendation Medal for aiding coalition forces in capturing the No. 10 most wanted terrorist in Iraq, according to a Nov. 22, 2006, issue of Tinker Take Off, the base newspaper.

His military career, status in the community and a lot of other things ended Monday with him lying dead in the same bedroom as his two children, ages 9 and 4.

All had suffered gunshot wounds to their heads.

The children had also been shot in the chest and died instantly, officials said.

"Am I surprised? Absolutely,” said Thorson's attorney, Matthew Tate Wise. "His thing is, he made it over and over again that he loved his kids. He's done all kinds of amazing things for the military, so that makes it even more unbelievable.”

Identified in the newspaper as an Air Force technical sergeant, Thorson's computer skills helped find the wanted terrorist in Iraq by hacking into computers, cell phones and other electronic devices.

He was assigned to the 752nd Communications Squadron, but was sent to Iraq and was embedded with the U.S. Army's 172nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division operating out of Baghdad, the newspaper said.

He initially shipped to Iraq to fix computers and printers, but was reassigned as a communications specialist to an Army warfare group because of his ability to hack into enemy communication devices, the newspaper said.

His transition from an Air Force technical guru into an embedded assignment with the Army led to him being nicknamed "Sponge Bob,” for his ability to soak up knowledge from his new comrades in the Army, the newspaper said.

Thorson helped track the terrorist by tracing a cell phone.
go here for the rest
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9442