Kickbacks, weapons and suicide: the US Army's battle with corruption
The disappearance of 200,000 US-supplied weapons in Iraq exposes a massive web of corruption among military personnel and contractors.
On the lookout
Mar 15, 2008 Ed Blanche
Major Gloria D. Davis of the US Army was buried in Washington's Arlington Cemetery, the last resting place of many of America's military heroes, on December 23, 2006. But the 47-year-old Davis, of Missouri, an 18-year army veteran, did not perish fighting her country's enemies.
Instead, the US Army said, she died in "a non-combat-related incident" in Iraq. In fact, Gloria Davis put a bullet in her brain on December 12 in her quarters in the sprawling US military base at Baghdad International Airport. The previous day she had confessed to military investigators that she had taken $225,000 in bribes in 2004-05 from a US defense contractor that operated warehouses across Iraq where the US military stored automatic weapons and other equipment.
US authorities believe that the company that Major Davis identified, Lee Dynamics International, is part of a massive web of corruption involving military personnel and contractors across Iraq. She told army investigators she received the bribes through a Thai bank account and then deposited the money in US and Swiss accounts.
At the heart of an ever-widening investigation by a posse of US agencies is a mushrooming scandal in Iraq that has seriously eroded US credibility in the Middle East - the disappearance in 2004-05 of some 190,000 US-supplied weapons intended for Iraqi security forces and which the US Army cannot account for. There is evidence that some of the missing 110,000 AK-47 assault rifles and 80,000 pistols, including Austrian-made 9mm Glock automatic pistols, ended up in the hands of anti-US insurgents and sectarian death squads that have killed thousands of Iraqis. The scandal over the weapons, and swelling evidence of massive corruption by US officials in the war zone, has reached into the upper echelons of the State Department, greatly embarrassing the Bush administration and underlining the chaotic and often inept US management of the conflict.
go here for the rest
http://www.kippreport.com/article.php?articleid=1056&day=7
Saturday, March 15, 2008
News: VVA Calls for $5 Billion More for Health Care and Better Outreach
News: VVA Calls for $5 Billion More for Health Care and Better Outreach
Posted on March 08, 2008 by editor
VVA praised and damned Congress for actions taken and not taken and hit on legislation that could make a huge difference for veterans
by Vietnam Veterans of America
In testimony before a joint session of the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs, VVA National President John Rowan both praised and damned Congress for actions taken and not taken, and hit on legislation that, if enacted, could make a huge difference in the lives of veterans and their families.
"Congress deserves our thanks for the significant increases in appropriations for veterans health care in the current fiscal year, although you must exercise stringent oversight to ensure that the funding goes to where it's supposed to go," Rowan said. "And we hope you will be firm in adding the $5.24 billion that VVA believes is needed for FY'09, part of which would enable so-called 'higher income' veterans to enroll in the VA healthcare system.
"Still, we remain staunch in our advocacy for the passage of an assured funding bill that would end the annual wrangling over veterans healthcare funding," Rowan said. "We have endorsed H.R. 2514 and companion legislation in the Senate, S. 331, and we again urge you to give these your consideration particularly now, at a time when the VA should be anticipating an influx of 100,000 new veterans during the next fiscal year." (continued...)
http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2909
I find it very odd that with all the people in this country, there are not more people in this country taking action for the sake of the veterans and the troops who will become veterans. How can this still fail to touch the minds and hearts of all the American people? When will every single man and woman in this country pay attention to what is going on and make sure the veterans do their fighting in combat and not here when they have to fight the VA to have their own needs taken care of?
I became a Chaplain in order to serve the veterans better. After being out here on my own, investing most of my free time on their needs, and then most of my day on them, I needed to find people of like mind because there are just not enough people taking the time to care with action. I'm not saying that everyone should throw away their careers but how much time does it take to make a phone call? How much time does it take to write a letter or send an email? How much time does it take to write a letter to the editor of their local newspaper? It takes very little time but can make a world of difference to each and every one of them along with their families.
Outreach work is very important but as we try to get them into the help they need to heal, we are finding there are very few places to send them because nothing was ready for them. Changes are coming but they will take time to filter in and take care of more veterans but what will happen to the veterans we are getting through to who need help but have up until now been reluctant to seek it? What happens to them when they are up against a sea of other veterans needing help?
There is so much that needs to be done for them and all of us had better hurry up and do it. If we don't, we will prove the words "grateful nation" are just two words we like to use just like "support the troops" instead of actually doing it.
Posted on March 08, 2008 by editor
VVA praised and damned Congress for actions taken and not taken and hit on legislation that could make a huge difference for veterans
by Vietnam Veterans of America
In testimony before a joint session of the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs, VVA National President John Rowan both praised and damned Congress for actions taken and not taken, and hit on legislation that, if enacted, could make a huge difference in the lives of veterans and their families.
"Congress deserves our thanks for the significant increases in appropriations for veterans health care in the current fiscal year, although you must exercise stringent oversight to ensure that the funding goes to where it's supposed to go," Rowan said. "And we hope you will be firm in adding the $5.24 billion that VVA believes is needed for FY'09, part of which would enable so-called 'higher income' veterans to enroll in the VA healthcare system.
"Still, we remain staunch in our advocacy for the passage of an assured funding bill that would end the annual wrangling over veterans healthcare funding," Rowan said. "We have endorsed H.R. 2514 and companion legislation in the Senate, S. 331, and we again urge you to give these your consideration particularly now, at a time when the VA should be anticipating an influx of 100,000 new veterans during the next fiscal year." (continued...)
http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2909
I find it very odd that with all the people in this country, there are not more people in this country taking action for the sake of the veterans and the troops who will become veterans. How can this still fail to touch the minds and hearts of all the American people? When will every single man and woman in this country pay attention to what is going on and make sure the veterans do their fighting in combat and not here when they have to fight the VA to have their own needs taken care of?
I became a Chaplain in order to serve the veterans better. After being out here on my own, investing most of my free time on their needs, and then most of my day on them, I needed to find people of like mind because there are just not enough people taking the time to care with action. I'm not saying that everyone should throw away their careers but how much time does it take to make a phone call? How much time does it take to write a letter or send an email? How much time does it take to write a letter to the editor of their local newspaper? It takes very little time but can make a world of difference to each and every one of them along with their families.
Outreach work is very important but as we try to get them into the help they need to heal, we are finding there are very few places to send them because nothing was ready for them. Changes are coming but they will take time to filter in and take care of more veterans but what will happen to the veterans we are getting through to who need help but have up until now been reluctant to seek it? What happens to them when they are up against a sea of other veterans needing help?
There is so much that needs to be done for them and all of us had better hurry up and do it. If we don't, we will prove the words "grateful nation" are just two words we like to use just like "support the troops" instead of actually doing it.
DAV Conference Provides Valuable Insight
DAV Conference Provides Valuable Insight
The Tampa Tribune
Published: March 15, 2008
The National Disabled American Veterans had delegates from every state, including Hawaii, in Washington, D.C. at its mid-winter legislative and benefits protection conference to impact its legislative agenda upon the 29-member House and Senate Veterans Committee March 2-5. John Houyou, on the state DAV line to become Florida DAV state commander in two years; and Deron Mikal, DAV Florida department service officer, represented Hernando County Disabled American Veterans Chapter 67 at State Road 50 representing the state of Florida DAV and its 14 delegates.
Teams from each state visited their House and Senate representative to press upon them issues in the DAV independent budget that stress line item priorities to create sufficient, timely, predictable and sustainable funding guaranteeing the long-term viability and vitality of the VA health care system as well as assuring fair, just and expeditious action for compensation to those more than 300,000 wounded warriors of Iraq and Afghanistan and the more than 311,000 of these young veterans with nervous-anxiety disorders and lingering illnesses specific to their service in those combat zones.
In addition, efforts to recognize that some 52 percent of those in uniform in Iraq and Afghanistan are represented from our National Guard and Reserve forces, our DAV urged more VA benefits for access to burial in national cemeteries, compensation for not only injuries but also diseases and long-term VA health care. Many from our home guards have been deployed two and three tours to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Naturally, our DAV teams urged mandatory funding for VA health care and discretionary funding for scores and hundreds of considerations that are necessary to keep abreast of demanding priorities in efforts our service officers can assert in claims for compensation and pension. Steven Lucas, director of the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, assured that parking garages, new bed towers and expanding budget priorities have been approved for construction in the near future at the Tampa Medical Center, this in his remarks at the 10th anniversary celebration March 7 at the Brooksville Pinebrook VA outpatient clinic serving more than 26,000 visits in 2007 alone with expanding staff and services.
Budget priorities in the DAV independent budget recommended $50.2 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, some $4.6 billion over last year, $3 billion over the president's request. DAV recommended $41.2 billion for its medical care budget, $1.6 billion above the administration's request. The independent budget recommended $555 million for medical and prosthetic research over the administration's request of $442 million. Significant is the DAV recommendation for benefits processing to manage the projected increase in new claims, reduce the out-of-control claims backlog and improve the quality of processing claims asking $1.99 billion over the $1.70 billion for the General Operating Expenses account. Finally, the DAV recommended some $2.1 billion for FY 2009 over the $1.1 billion above the administration's request.
The VA's budget can be understood in simple terms by comparing Florida's budget of close to $50 billion annually. Understand that there are about 23.8 million living veterans, 7.5 percent of whom are women. There are about 37 million dependents (spouses and dependent children) of living veterans and survivors of deceased veterans. Together, they represent 20 percent of the U.S. population. Most veterans living today served during times of war. The Vietnam Era veteran, about 7.9 million, is the largest segment of the veteran population.
Our DAV teams came home encouraged that their efforts on Capitol Hill were met with positive responses by their representatives in both the House and the Senate. Hernando's DAV Chapter membership approved and sponsored its representatives for lodging, fuel and food totaling $700.
Deron Mikal
DAV service officer
Brooksville
http://www2.hernandotoday.com/content/2008/
mar/15/ha-dav-conference-provides-valuable-insight/
The Tampa Tribune
Published: March 15, 2008
The National Disabled American Veterans had delegates from every state, including Hawaii, in Washington, D.C. at its mid-winter legislative and benefits protection conference to impact its legislative agenda upon the 29-member House and Senate Veterans Committee March 2-5. John Houyou, on the state DAV line to become Florida DAV state commander in two years; and Deron Mikal, DAV Florida department service officer, represented Hernando County Disabled American Veterans Chapter 67 at State Road 50 representing the state of Florida DAV and its 14 delegates.
Teams from each state visited their House and Senate representative to press upon them issues in the DAV independent budget that stress line item priorities to create sufficient, timely, predictable and sustainable funding guaranteeing the long-term viability and vitality of the VA health care system as well as assuring fair, just and expeditious action for compensation to those more than 300,000 wounded warriors of Iraq and Afghanistan and the more than 311,000 of these young veterans with nervous-anxiety disorders and lingering illnesses specific to their service in those combat zones.
In addition, efforts to recognize that some 52 percent of those in uniform in Iraq and Afghanistan are represented from our National Guard and Reserve forces, our DAV urged more VA benefits for access to burial in national cemeteries, compensation for not only injuries but also diseases and long-term VA health care. Many from our home guards have been deployed two and three tours to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Naturally, our DAV teams urged mandatory funding for VA health care and discretionary funding for scores and hundreds of considerations that are necessary to keep abreast of demanding priorities in efforts our service officers can assert in claims for compensation and pension. Steven Lucas, director of the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital, assured that parking garages, new bed towers and expanding budget priorities have been approved for construction in the near future at the Tampa Medical Center, this in his remarks at the 10th anniversary celebration March 7 at the Brooksville Pinebrook VA outpatient clinic serving more than 26,000 visits in 2007 alone with expanding staff and services.
Budget priorities in the DAV independent budget recommended $50.2 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, some $4.6 billion over last year, $3 billion over the president's request. DAV recommended $41.2 billion for its medical care budget, $1.6 billion above the administration's request. The independent budget recommended $555 million for medical and prosthetic research over the administration's request of $442 million. Significant is the DAV recommendation for benefits processing to manage the projected increase in new claims, reduce the out-of-control claims backlog and improve the quality of processing claims asking $1.99 billion over the $1.70 billion for the General Operating Expenses account. Finally, the DAV recommended some $2.1 billion for FY 2009 over the $1.1 billion above the administration's request.
The VA's budget can be understood in simple terms by comparing Florida's budget of close to $50 billion annually. Understand that there are about 23.8 million living veterans, 7.5 percent of whom are women. There are about 37 million dependents (spouses and dependent children) of living veterans and survivors of deceased veterans. Together, they represent 20 percent of the U.S. population. Most veterans living today served during times of war. The Vietnam Era veteran, about 7.9 million, is the largest segment of the veteran population.
Our DAV teams came home encouraged that their efforts on Capitol Hill were met with positive responses by their representatives in both the House and the Senate. Hernando's DAV Chapter membership approved and sponsored its representatives for lodging, fuel and food totaling $700.
Deron Mikal
DAV service officer
Brooksville
http://www2.hernandotoday.com/content/2008/
mar/15/ha-dav-conference-provides-valuable-insight/
Cpl. Kevin S. Mowl, born a hero, died a hero
DEAN J. KOEPFLER/THE NEWS TRIBUNEEmotions flood Staff Sgt. Kenneth Hoffman on Friday at the new North Fort Lewis Chapel during at a memorial for Cpl. Kevin S. Mowl, who died last month from injuries he suffered last year in Iraq.
Another Soldier gone Corporal was loved, admired by many
MICHAEL GILBERT; mike.gilbert@thenewstribune.com
Published: March 15th, 2008 01:00 AM
Fort Lewis paid its respects Friday to a soldier who struggled for seven months to overcome wounds he suffered when a bomb hit his Stryker vehicle last August.
It was a horrific blast, soldiers said. Three men on the truck died instantly, and four others were critically injured, including Cpl. Kevin S. Mowl.
The 22-year-old from Pittsford, N.Y., was evacuated to the United States and fought to recover from a traumatic brain injury and other wounds at Bethesda Naval Medical Center.
But the injuries proved too much. Although his family expressed opti- mism about his recovery in their Web diary, Mowl suffered a reversal and died Feb. 25 of septic shock following one of many surgeries he endured.
His unit, the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, gathered for a memorial ceremony Friday at the new North Fort Lewis Chapel, along with his parents, Harold and Mary, and sister Carlene, from New York.
“We visited Kevin here at the base about three times before he was deployed into Iraq,” said Harold Mowl, speaking through a sign-language interpreter.
“We have many good memories of him while we visited here,” he said, “and we have very good memories of our lives with him.”
Mowl is the superintendent of the Rochester, N.Y., School for the Deaf, where the soldier was a beloved visitor during midtour leave last year. Growing up as the hearing son of deaf parents, he knew sign language and told students at the school about his travels and experiences in the Army.
go here for the rest
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/309754.html
In most of their stories you see that they were doing something good for people even before they put on their uniform and most of the time, they were doing it when they were out of their uniform too.
“He was thinking about going back to teaching, or getting into some area where he could help with world peace and conflict resolution,” Mowl said. “He was thinking about both of those options, but either way he probably would have gone back to school.”
Congress Adds $3.2 Billion to Bush's VA Budget for 2009
Congress Adds $3.2 Billion to Bush's VA Budget for 2009
Sen. Daniel Akaka and Rep. Bob Filner
House Committee on Veterans Affairs
Mar 14, 2008
Article 1 of 2: Chairman Filner Lauds Passage of Budget
March 13, 2008, Washington, D.C. – House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) released the following statement today on the passage of a Democratic budget by the House of Representatives: “The Democratic budget resolution passed today by the House of Representatives builds on the historical funding increases for veterans programs last year, recognizes the needs faced by America’s veterans today, and invests in our veterans for tomorrow. In this time of war, as we continue to send men and women into harm’s way, we must be committed and prepared to fully provide the resources to care for these heroes upon their return – and this budget does that.”
go here for the rest
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9565
also
Democrats, Veterans Discuss How Budget Serves Nation's Service Members
Senators Daniel Akaka, Charles Schumer and Patty Murray and Representatives Bob Filner and Chet Edwards joined veterans in a press conference today to discuss how the Democrats’ budget will help improve the quality of life for our nation’s veterans. Democrats have a fiscally responsible plan to restore military readiness, honor our commitment to troops and veterans, and enhance national security.
Sen. Daniel Akaka and Rep. Bob Filner
House Committee on Veterans Affairs
Mar 14, 2008
Article 1 of 2: Chairman Filner Lauds Passage of Budget
March 13, 2008, Washington, D.C. – House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) released the following statement today on the passage of a Democratic budget by the House of Representatives: “The Democratic budget resolution passed today by the House of Representatives builds on the historical funding increases for veterans programs last year, recognizes the needs faced by America’s veterans today, and invests in our veterans for tomorrow. In this time of war, as we continue to send men and women into harm’s way, we must be committed and prepared to fully provide the resources to care for these heroes upon their return – and this budget does that.”
go here for the rest
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9565
also
Democrats, Veterans Discuss How Budget Serves Nation's Service Members
Senators Daniel Akaka, Charles Schumer and Patty Murray and Representatives Bob Filner and Chet Edwards joined veterans in a press conference today to discuss how the Democrats’ budget will help improve the quality of life for our nation’s veterans. Democrats have a fiscally responsible plan to restore military readiness, honor our commitment to troops and veterans, and enhance national security.
San Bernardino Vet Center Tries To Dump Vietnam Vet
Greg Vojtko / The Press-Enterprise
Phil Garcia, 60, a counselor to veterans and a disabled combat veteran, says the Veterans Administration is trying to force him to retire because he's refused to cut the number of Vietnam-era vets under his care to make way for Iraq War returnees.
Veterans counselor says he is being pressed to retire over caseloads; VA denies it
10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, March 12, 2008
By RICHARD BROOKSThe Press-Enterprise
A disabled combat veteran-turned-veterans counselor in San Bernardino is accusing the Department of Veterans Affairs of pressuring him to retire because he refused to drop Vietnam-era patients to make room for Iraq war returnees.
"I said I will not cut the (counseling) groups," said Phil Garcia, a former Army paratrooper whose right shoulder was shot up in Vietnam.
A VA official acknowledged that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are increasing the workload for counselors. But she denied making any attempt to slash counseling for Vietnam vets.
"I never implied or stated that services need to be cut for Vietnam veterans. I have no idea what reference he's making," said Joan O. Smith, the VA's associate regional manager for counseling. "We need those support groups."
Many of Garcia's patients have spent the past two weeks picketing outside the San Bernardino Vet Center on Hospitality Lane, saying that the fundamental problem is there is only one veterans center in San Bernardino County dedicated solely to counseling for post-traumatic stress and other readjustment issues.
Dozens of placard-carrying veterans from World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars say they steadfastly support Garcia.
"He's the best counselor at this vets center," said former Army paratrooper Steve Dedeaux, a Vietnam vet. "Most of the counseling groups are packed, and it's because of Phil.
"It's easier for a combat veteran to open up to someone with combat experience," Dedeaux added. "Now they're taking him away from us. That doesn't make sense."
Smith insisted that no attempt is being made to force Garcia to retire.
"There is a personnel action, but I can't comment on it," Smith said.
She acknowledged that the workload in San Bernardino County may warrant additional counselors and at least one more office.
"We're looking to possibly open another there. We're doing a needs assessment," she said. "We recognize that it is a very large area."
According to Garcia's figures, the San Bernardino Vet Center had 7,844 counseling visits by about 700 veterans during the past fiscal year, up 24 percent from the 6,313 visits in fiscal year 2003.
Of those visits, he handles about half the counseling, he said.
click post title for the rest
Linked from Veterans For Common Sense
If you think this isn't happening, it is. Vietnam Veterans are being pushed back and pushed out to make room. After all, there isn't enough room for the new veterans the national media seem to be focused on and the pressure is on to take care of them. The media can't seem to care about all veterans equally.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Afghanistan isn't romantic and neither is Iraq
Today President Bush was speaking to troops in Afghanistan and he seemed to be under the impression combat was romantic. He must have been watching too many old movies when the hero always survived, wiped out the enemy and got the "girl" in the end. He has to be in deep denial what a tremendous price those who serve pay everyday while they serve under him as Commander-in-Chief.
I wanted to see if the figures on PTSD with Marines was as bad as they were or have become worse. While the figures are not good indicating they have gotten worse, as predicted by the study the Army did on the risk associated with redeployments, I managed to find some hope. I found this on a Marine site. The question is, how many are really reading it? How many are using the links provided? Do they even know it's there?
There have been some famous cases like Joshua Omvig, Jonathan Schulze and the recent one of Steven Vickerman,
but did you know about these?
There are more. These are just a tiny bit of the Marines paying the price for the attitude of commanders, the attitude of their brothers and the mind set of the general public. Marines are supposed to suck it up, get over it, or they are kicked out.
Normally I don't like to post an entire article but this one was so reliant to the information that needs to be known, there was no place to cut it.
Yet according to the Maines, they were already working on this in 2005.
There is a lesson to be learned here. While the military trains them all so quickly to kill, they better figure out how to quickly train them to begin to heal.
When regular people are training to take care of trauma victims as well as rescue workers, there is a golden gate of opportunity to begin to tackle what the people went through. While we think of a debrief as what a police officer does after action and talks about tactical things, there is another kind. A debrief is also to address what the person had to deal with, the emotional responses and issue they must cope with, face and begin to heal. In other words, get it out of their mouths before they lock it away in their brains. While we can do this in normal life with abnormal events, we need to begin to ask why the military wouldn't be doing the same thing knowing what works and what does not work. Telling a Marine to get over it, suck it up or suffer for being human is leading to more coffins being filled that would not have to ordered for many more years. The Marine could be treated early after the trauma and returned to duty without the ravages of what they go through begins eating them up alive. It's time to get serious about PTSD before it's too late. Given what was being talked about in 2005, the Marines have not advanced far enough to prove they understand the ramifications of inaction. It's clear the President has not even come close to understanding what any of those who serve under him really have to deal with. It is nothing even close to what he thinks it is.
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
I wanted to see if the figures on PTSD with Marines was as bad as they were or have become worse. While the figures are not good indicating they have gotten worse, as predicted by the study the Army did on the risk associated with redeployments, I managed to find some hope. I found this on a Marine site. The question is, how many are really reading it? How many are using the links provided? Do they even know it's there?
Mental Health Problems
Overview What to Look For What to Do What to Avoid What to Expect Troubleshooting Marine Not Getting Along With Others
Overview
A Marine having trouble getting along with peers at work may be angry or dissatisfied with his work situation or peers; or may be upset about something outside of work entirely. There may be relationship or financial problems. It may be a personality conflict within the unit or maladaptive personality traits in that Marine. It may be a more serious mental health problem, or something that could become one if not treated early. In any case, problems getting along with others in the unit are a red flag that something needs to be done. Getting help before the problem becomes too big can get a disruptive Marine back on track and help the unit perform well again.
What to Look For
Not getting along with others.
Pushing others' buttons.
Disrupting the workplace.
Angry outbursts.
Defiant attitude.
Fighting.
Passive-aggressive behavior (e.g. “forgetting" to do things).
Malicious compliance (overdoing basic tasks following the “letter of the law” to a harmful degree.)
What to Do
The first line of action should be at the lowest and simplest level possible to get your Marine back on track, and then take further actions as needed. Unless you feel the Marine is at risk for hurting himself or others, first see if he has a problem you can solve through leadership and listening. Here are some things you can do if one of your Marine seems to be having a mental health issue:
Observe the Marine and see what you think may be the problem.
Privately and directly ask how the Marine is doing at a time that maximizes the Marines likelihood to talk.
Use active listening skills so that the Marine will open up.
If reluctant to talk, help the Marine understand that you are concerned about what you see and you want to help.
Listen closely for what may be the underlying problems.
Suggest some possibilities (sounds like you are having problems with…).
If you think the Marine might be suicidal, take appropriate action.
If a problem is identified, ask if the Marine would like some help with it and what type of help would be useful.
In order to reduce the stigma of asking for help, it is recommended that you initially refer your Marine to someone other than mental health, unless you feel they are at risk of harming themselves or others.
In many cases, formal mental health intervention is not necessary. The Marine may respond well to leadership concern at the small unit level. Changes that may be helpful:
Changing the work environment or climate.
Increasing leadership skills of supervisors
Reinforce or acknowledge good work done by the Marine
Increase availability of unit leaders to talk with Marines who may be having trouble adjusting to a new duty station, having problems at home, relationship issues, or financial problems, etc.
When problems are beyond the scope of unit leaders to handle referrals can be made to the unit chaplain, Marine and Family Services or to mental health.
What to Avoid
The idea is for leaders to let their Marines know they are safe and in good hands if they ask for help. If you can communicate your genuine concern for your Marines they will tell their fellow Marines that seeing you was the right thing to do and that you had their best interests in mind. Here are some things to avoid that might destroy their trust, close the lines of communication, or deter other Marines from asking for help in the future:
Minimizing or not taking the problem seriously. Saying “is that all?”
Overreacting to the problem.
Giving simplistic advice. Saying “all you have to do is…”
Telling the Marine to “suck it up,” or “get over it.”
Keeping the problem to yourself rather than getting the appropriate chain of command involved.
Telling personnel who do not have to know, making the problem a source of unit gossip.
Ignoring the problem and hoping it will go away.
Delaying a necessary referral for more specialized help.
What to Expect after Taking Action
Most Marines will respond positively to unit leaders taking an interest in their problems if it is done with their best interests in mind.
The Marine will get assistance from the agency to which they were referred, and that agency will send them to the next higher level of intervention if needed, such as a mental health clinic.
Agencies above the level of a rest and recuperation unit may not give feedback to the command on the Marine's progress unless the Marine specifically gives them permission to do so.
The Marine should be willing to keep leaders apprised of general progress with the problem so far as it affects unit readiness, but is not obligated to divulge every detail.
Troubleshooting
Marine does not endorse a problem: In order to help a Marine who is reluctant to disclose a problem you may want to reassure the Marine, convincingly and genuinely, that you have the best of intentions and only want to help. You want to see the Marine get better not only because you are concerned about what you have seen and heard, but also because you want the Marine to take care of the problem before the problem gets out of hand and starts affecting performance as well as the readiness of the unit. Emphasize to the Marine that you are all in this together. When one Marine hurts the whole unit hurts. Therefore, it is important for you to make sure that the Marine is doing well and not just having to suck it up. You may also want to emphasize that getting help is a sign of strength and loyalty to the unit because they are making sure that they are ready to be there for fellow Marines and would want fellow Marines to do the same. If the Marine continues to be reluctant in disclosing the problem reinforce that you are always available to talk if they should change their mind.
Marine gets angry when asked about his problem: If the Marine gets angry when asked about the problem it may be due to several factors. For example, the Marine may be ashamed of having the problem noticed, resentful due to feelings that the unit is the problem, or may feel that nobody can understand or help with the problem. The Marine may also place blame on themselves for the problem or perhaps feel guilty for not getting a grip on life. Take this opportunity to turn the emotion toward getting help. The trick is to get the Marine to endorse frustration and sadness and realize that problem solving is not a solo operation. Keep the focus on what your Marine is feeling. Do not accuse the Marine of not giving 100 % this will only increase anger. Say, “you seem really angry about…” to show your understanding and promote discussion. If you can get the Marine to endorse the anger, you can probably get acknowledgment that help would be welcomed. In order to get the Marine to accept help from the command the Marine will need to trust that the command is truly interested in helping. Good listening will go a long way toward building this trust.
Marine does not want help: In this case the Marine has endorsed that there is a problem, does not want help. He may or may not say why, but it is probably because he does not want other people in his business, or he is afraid of what will happen if he seeks help. Reassure the Marine, convincingly and genuinely, that you have his best interests in mind. You want to see him get better not only because you are concerned about what you have seen and heard, but also because you want him to take care of the problems before they get big enough to start affecting his performance and career, as well as the readiness of the unit. Stress that you are all in this together - when one Marine hurts the whole unit hurts, so it is in their best interests to make sure he is doing well and not just having to suck it up. You may also want to stress that getting help is a sign of strength and loyalty to the unit, by making sure he is there for them. He would want his fellow Marines to do the same.
Marine agrees to get help but does not follow through: Sometimes a Marine will agree to get help, but for any number of reasons may not follow through. The Marine may decide the problem is not bad enough and can fix it alone. The Marine may have agreed to get help just to get out of your office, or may have genuinely forgotten the time of the appointment. In any case the solution is to put the responsibility onto the Marine to get the needed help. Emphasize that you genuinely want to see your Marine get better, and listen to any concerns shared. Offer again to help. If there is resistance to your help, emphasize that the bottom line is performance, and that it is ultimately the Marine's responsibility to take advantage of all the help that is offered so that the problem does not start to affect performance. Be sure the Marine understands that letting the problem fester and get worse is what will negatively affect progression.
Marine does not get better after getting help: In some cases a Marine may get help but still not improve. This may be because the Marine is not motivated to improve, because the Marine's needs are different, because more intensive intervention is needed, or because there is a more serious problem such as a personality disorder or mental illness. If you are not having any success at the small unit level, and you feel like you have given it a good effort, and the Marine should be referred to a professional with more specialized expertise. In cases of adjustment problems, the Chaplains or Marine and Family Services have counselors who can usually get to the root of the problem. If not, they will recognize that the problem is more serious, such as clinical depression or anxiety, and will refer them for mental health evaluation and treatment. If after mental health intervention the Marine is still not getting better, and the Marine is still a problem for their unit, mental health will usually contact the command with a recommendation for administrative action.
Marine seems mentally ill or suicidal but refuses evaluation: See Command Directed Evaluation.
http://www.usmc-mccs.org/LeadersGuide/Emotional/MHProblems/
notgettingalong.htm
There have been some famous cases like Joshua Omvig, Jonathan Schulze and the recent one of Steven Vickerman,
March 1, 2008
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.
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008803010370
but did you know about these?
“Suicide by cop”: Marine provokes police shootout to avoid return to Iraq
By Kevin Kearney and John Andrews
15 January 2005
On January 8, 19-year-old Andres Raya, a US marine, killed one police officer and seriously wounded another before being shot dead in his hometown of Ceres, a small agricultural community near Modesto in northern California. The apparent motive was Raya’s determination not to return to duty in Iraq.
Raya, who fought in Fallujah last spring, returned from Iraq in September for a holiday visit. His mother, Julia Cortez Raya, told the Modesto Bee, “He came back different.”
Raya complained several times to his family that he did not want to return to Iraq. On January 2, Raya reported to Camp Pendleton to reunite with his unit. Last Saturday, January 8, Raya said he was stepping out to get something to eat and never returned. A day later he was back in Ceres with an SKS assault rifle, a Chinese version of the weapon he was trained to use in the military.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/jan2005/mode-j15.shtml
Fall from I-5 overpass believed to be a Marine suicide
By: North County Times Saturday, August 18, 2007 10:21 PM PDT ∞
OCEANSIDE ---- Authorities say a man's fall from an overpass at Camp Pendleton on Saturday night was believed to be a suicide.
California Highway Patrol officials said the man, who fell from the Basilone Road overpass onto Interstate 5, was likely a local Marine.
At 6:27 p.m., CHP got word of a man sitting on the ledge of the overpass with his back to the traffic, according to dispatch logs.
Witnesses reported that the man slowly leaned backward off the bridge and fell onto a trailer towed by a pickup truck. He fell again into the roadway and was soon struck by another car, officials said.
The man, whose name has not been released, was declared dead at the scene. Authorities said he left a car on the bridge.
Freeway lanes were temporarily closed, backing up traffic for about six miles, officials said.
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08/19/news/coastal/22_15_228_18_07.txt
Marine's death may have been suicide
Updated: Feb 6, 2008 11:25 PM EST
Lance Corporal Johnathon Goffred
Greenwood - Investigators are looking into whether a Marine from Greenwood took his own life.
A military spokesman told the Daily Journal in Johnson County that circumstances of Lance Corporal Johnathon Goffred's death indicate he took his own life, but his death has not been ruled a suicide.
The 22-year-old Center Grove graduate was found dead in his barracks in California last month. His funeral was held Tuesday.
http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=7835248
Wrongful death suit filed against VA in Mass. soldier’s suicide
By Associated Press
Thursday, July 26, 2007 - Added 232d 10h ago
WASHINGTON - The family of an Iraq war veteran from Massachusetts filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson of negligence in the suicide death of their son.
The lawsuit says the VA is to blame for the death of 23-year-old Jeffrey Lucey, a Marine who killed himself in June 2004 after he allegedly was denied mental health care following a tour in Iraq.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1013554
There are more. These are just a tiny bit of the Marines paying the price for the attitude of commanders, the attitude of their brothers and the mind set of the general public. Marines are supposed to suck it up, get over it, or they are kicked out.
Troubled troops in no-win plight
Former Marine sniper Chris Packley works on a highway construction project in Lansing, Illinois. By John Zich, USA TODAY
Chris Packley returned from Fallujah in 2004 a top marksman on a sniper team showcased in the Marine Corps Times for its 22 kills.
"I was exceptionally proud of that Marine," says Gunnery Sgt. Scott Guise, his former team leader.
He also came home with flashbacks ? memories of his friend, Lance Cpl. Michael Blake Wafford, 20, dying on the battlefield. Packley says he smoked marijuana to try to escape the images. He also left the base without permission. "I wanted out," Packley says.
Last year he got his wish and was expelled from the Marine Corps. As a consequence, he lost access to the free counseling and medication he needed to treat the mental wounds left from combat, according to Packley, his former defense lawyer and documents from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Scores of combat veterans like Packley are being dismissed from the Marines without the medical benefits needed to treat combat stress, says Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, who supervises the legal defense of Marines in the western USA, including here at Camp Pendleton.
When classic symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) arise ? including alcoholism and drug abuse ? the veterans are punished for the behavior, Vokey says. Their less-than-honorable discharges can lead to a denial of VA benefits. Vokey calls it a Catch-22, referring to the no-win situation showcased in Joseph Heller's 1961 satirical war novel Catch-22.
"The Marine Corps has created these mental health issues" in combat veterans, Vokey says, "and then we just kind of kick them out into the streets."
Characters in Catch-22 were caught in a contradiction. They could be relieved of dangerous flying missions if crazy. But if they claimed to be crazy, they were deemed sane for trying to avoid danger and had to keep flying.
In Iraq, Marines who perform well in combat can be lauded for it. But if they develop PTSD, they can be punished for stress-related misconduct, kicked out of the military and denied treatment for their illness.
In recent months, the Marine Corps has begun investigating the matter, identifying 1,019 Marines who may fall into this group since the war in Iraq began. All served at least one year in the Marines and one tour overseas before being discharged for misconduct.
"We're digging down into the data sources we have to try and come up with answers," says Navy Capt. William Nash, who coordinates the Marine Corps' combat stress programs. "That it happens at all is obviously not ideal."
He says each case will be examined to learn whether the Marine suffered combat stress and whether that might have contributed to the misconduct.
The results could help the Marine Corps flag combat-stressed Marines and help them avoid getting into trouble, Nash says.
More aggressive about PTSD
The military has moved more aggressively in this war to educate and treat combat stress than in previous conflicts. Mental health teams have been sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. Soldiers and Marines are asked about their mental and physical health before and after their tours.
A 2004 Army study showed that about 17% of combat troops suffer PTSD, a rate comparable with Vietnam-era stress among such troops, says Joseph Boscarino, a senior investigator with the Geisinger Center for Health Research in Danville, Pa., who has conducted extensive PTSD research on Vietnam veterans.
Vokey and his lawyers say they are convinced, based on reviews of medical records, that combat stress was a major factor in the misconduct cases. They argue that either the Pentagon or VA should revise its policies so that these combat veterans are not stripped of the medical care they need to get better.
"People would be appalled if the guy came back and he had lost a leg, lost a limb, and then we say, 'Oh, you had a DUI (driving under the influence), so you're going to have to give your prosthetic back,' " says Marine Capt. James Weirick, a former member of Vokey's staff. "But to a great extent, we're doing that with these people."
Packley, 24, received an other-than-honorable discharge. According to a VA document Packley's mother, Patricia, shared with USA TODAY, the department acknowledges he has PTSD but denied him benefits in July.
"You go to war and they can't even help you with the problems you get from it," says Packley, who now does state highway construction in Joliet, Ill.
He says he has been off anti-anxiety, anti-depression and sleep medications for months because he cannot afford it. "I'm just so stressed," he says. "It doesn't take much to get me almost panic-stricken anymore."
Heroes in trouble
Marine Capt. Mike Studenka, who supervises a law office located amid infantry battalions at Camp Pendleton, says he sees about 40 Marines each month who are in trouble. About a third fit the profile of combat veterans with impressive records who suddenly have drug or alcohol problems and face dismissal and loss of benefits.
"You have guys coming in this building who are, no question about it, heroes in everything that they have done in the past," Studenka says. "You have them saying, 'I just need to get out. I want out.' That breaks your heart."
The Marine Corps says post-traumatic stress disorder is no legal defense to misconduct and that discipline must be maintained.
"PTSD does not force anyone to do an illegal act," Nash says. "The consequences to the Marine Corps of not upholding those standards of behavior would be a much greater tragedy. It would dishonor all those Marines who have been injured by the stress of war but who have not broken the rules."
Marines, sailors, soldiers and airmen who get in trouble can receive one of four discharges. The lightest is a general discharge, often described as "under honorable conditions," in which recipients remain eligible for most VA benefits.
More serious misconduct can lead to an other-than-honorable discharge or, worse, a bad conduct discharge. A serious felony results in a dishonorable discharge.
The law prohibits a veteran from receiving the full spectrum of VA benefits ? such things as health care, insurance and home loans ? in certain cases, such as those involving deserters, conscientious objectors or those who receive dishonorable discharges.
But the VA has discretion to grant full benefits in other-than-honorable or bad conduct discharge cases. It can still deny them if the agency decides the underlying misconduct was "willful and persistent," a largely subjective decision, VA official Jack McCoy says.
Statistics from 1990 through September show that about eight out of 10 veterans who received bad-conduct discharges were turned down when they sought benefits, McCoy says.
Few exceptions
Even if the full package of benefits is denied, the VA can still grant health care for specific war-related injuries such as PTSD. Gary Baker, director of the VA's health eligibility center, says that in his 20 years of experience he has seen this exception granted fewer than six times.
The VA offers temporary counseling, but no medication, for veterans who are appealing their discharges. Counseling ends if the appeal fails. Vokey argues that the VA could relax its practices and treat veterans who are discharged for PTSD-related misconduct.
Mental health experts say this problem almost certainly occurred in prior wars. But combat-induced mental disorders and how they may contribute to bad behavior were not as well understood.
The issue exists today in the Army but to a lesser degree, says Army Lt. Col. John Wells, a former supervising defense lawyer. Combat-stress cases involving misconduct are handled in informal ways that often do not lead to a loss of benefits, Wells says.
The Marine Corps, by comparison, prides itself on its strict standards.
"We take discipline infraction very seriously," says Lt. Col. Scott Fazekas, a Marine Corps spokesman. It prosecutes about the same number of troops as the Army each year for misconduct, though it is only one-third the Army's size.
The Marine Corps also does a disproportionate share of fighting and dying in Iraq, making up 20% of U.S. ground forces while suffering 30% of the casualties. More than 10% of American troops who died in Iraq were Marines from Camp Pendleton, which has lost almost 300, more than any other military base.
Marine Corps statistics, though incomplete, show PTSD cases doubled from about 250 in 2003 to 596 in 2004, and then doubled again to 1,229 in 2005.
Although Marine Corps officials say the service has come a long way in recognizing and treating PTSD, they acknowledge that it still struggles to provide treatment resources and to overcome the stigma against those who suffer mental health problems.
"There might be some commanders out there who aren't really willing to accept that there is such a thing as post-traumatic stress syndrome," says Marine Col. Hank Donegan, a military intelligence officer at Pendleton.
Vokey and his staff agree that many troubled Marines should leave the Marine Corps, for their sake and that of the Corps. To strip them of benefits is wrong, they say. "It seems to me our country has bought that problem and we ought to fix it as best we can," says Melissa Epstein, a Los Angeles lawyer and former Marine captain on Vokey's staff.
A medal winner's trauma
One of those PTSD cases involved Ryan Birrell, 24, who served as a sergeant with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. After his second tour, in 2004-05, he received the Bronze Star with a "V" for combat heroism.
The citation described five separate episodes of valor, including one morning in February 2005 when Birrell organized the defense of a fog-shrouded observation post in Husaybah that came under multiple attacks by insurgents and suicide car-bombers. A wounded Birrell rallied his troops, tended to casualties and directed fire, often while exposed to enemy gunfire.
"Sgt. Birrell reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest tradition of the Marine Corps," his citation reads.
After coming home, Birrell took an assignment earlier this year as a drill instructor at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, and his life began to fall apart.
Diagnosed with PTSD, he suddenly demanded a divorce from his wife, abused alcohol and methamphetamine and left his base without permission, say Birrell and Weirick, then his lawyer.
Kicked out of the Marine Corps with an other-than-honorable discharge, he lived in Tijuana, Mexico, for months, often homeless.
"What brought me down there was how the streets were kind of like being in Iraq ? that kind of turmoil-type stuff," Birrell says now.
Birrell says that in Tijuana, he could fill his head with thoughts of where to find food or shelter.
Growing tired of that life, he finally called his parents and they brought him to their home in Las Vegas last month. "Life is great," says his mother, Kim Lukas, who says she's ecstatic to have him home again.
For Birrell, who now lives in Torrance, Calif., insomnia is back. "When I do sleep," he says, "I'm constantly waking up from dreams, constantly tired throughout the day." His nightmares are of war. He visited VA offices Tuesday asking for benefits despite his other-than-honorable discharge. Birrell says he needs treatment for his PTSD. Weirick fears they will turn him down regardless of his battlefield heroism.
Lukas says that makes her angry. "He's done two tours over there, and God knows how many lives he's saved," she says. He's going to need the care."
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY
(Copyright 2006 by USA Today. All Rights Reserved.)
Last Updated: 11/2/2006 12:21:48 PM
http://www.kare11.com/news/health/health_article.aspx?storyid=138190
Normally I don't like to post an entire article but this one was so reliant to the information that needs to be known, there was no place to cut it.
Yet according to the Maines, they were already working on this in 2005.
NCOs learn to combat stress abuse
Aug. 22, 2005; Submitted on: 08/25/2005 06:11:08 PM ; Story ID#: 200582518118
By Staff Sgt. Maria C. Villanueva, MCAS Miramar
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. (Aug. 22, 2005) -- Eight noncommissioned officers from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar represented the air station at the 2005 NCO Substance Abuse Prevention Symposium sponsored by Marine Corps Community Services in Dallas Aug. 16 though 18.
The symposium, the first ever to be offered to NCOs Corpswide, helps junior leaders identify and possibly prevent Marines from turning to mind-altering substances, especially upon return from a combat zone.
The NCOs, the first Marines usually in positions to best identify troops at risk, spent the three days learning how to identify factors that can contribute to substance abuse and programs available to deter and assist those who are at risk.
Helping Marines who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was a common concern for most of the NCOs who attended the symposium, some of whom have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan as many as three times in two years.
According to statistics provided by the MCCS Prevention and Intervention Team, there is a 97 percent increase in Marines displaying dependency symptoms to substances like drugs and alcohol. The same statistics also show that those returning from combat zones are more likely to fall into these dependencies without knowing there are programs to assist them.
After serving in Iraq, Cpl. William G. Pollard, finance clerk, MCAS Miramar, noticed his best friend, another Marine, turned to alcohol to deal with domestic issues that arose while the two were deployed. Pollard said the resources that he received at the conference could have better helped him deal with his friend when the situation occurred.
"He was getting into a lot of trouble because of alcohol," said Pollard, a native of Aiken, S.C. "I could have been able to talk to him better and get him help at a lower level."
Sergeant Pablo P. Torrez, motor transport mechanic, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, spent six months in Iraq and saw first hand the effects of combat stress on himself, his fellow Marines and overall mission readiness.
Torrez, a native of Keller, Texas, recently helped a fellow Marine deal with readjusting to garrison life after returning from combat. As a direct result of his intervention, Torrez saved the Marine's life.
"(PTSD) is something we should all focus on now," said Torrez. "In the future, I wouldn't second guess myself about getting anyone help."
go here for the rest
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/ac95bc775efc34c
685256ab50049d458/d9c474cc4f8682f2852570680079de90?OpenDocument&Highlight=2,PTSD
There is a lesson to be learned here. While the military trains them all so quickly to kill, they better figure out how to quickly train them to begin to heal.
When regular people are training to take care of trauma victims as well as rescue workers, there is a golden gate of opportunity to begin to tackle what the people went through. While we think of a debrief as what a police officer does after action and talks about tactical things, there is another kind. A debrief is also to address what the person had to deal with, the emotional responses and issue they must cope with, face and begin to heal. In other words, get it out of their mouths before they lock it away in their brains. While we can do this in normal life with abnormal events, we need to begin to ask why the military wouldn't be doing the same thing knowing what works and what does not work. Telling a Marine to get over it, suck it up or suffer for being human is leading to more coffins being filled that would not have to ordered for many more years. The Marine could be treated early after the trauma and returned to duty without the ravages of what they go through begins eating them up alive. It's time to get serious about PTSD before it's too late. Given what was being talked about in 2005, the Marines have not advanced far enough to prove they understand the ramifications of inaction. It's clear the President has not even come close to understanding what any of those who serve under him really have to deal with. It is nothing even close to what he thinks it is.
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
Thursday, March 13, 2008
James Fayard, born a hero, died a hero
Ex-soldier among 4 dead in bank dispute
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Mar 14, 2008 10:44:09 EDT
MCCOMB, Miss. — His friends and family say James Fayard was the kind of man who was compelled to help others, especially those in distress. That admirable quality cost him his life.
Robert Lanham, armed with a gun Wednesday, walked into Regions Bank in McComb where his ex-wife worked. Lanham fatally shot Fayard and bank manager Ronnie Larrimore, then took his ex-wife hostage and fled in a truck, McComb Police Chief Billie Hughes said.
Lanham and his ex-wife, Rachel J. Lanham, were later found dead.
“It wasn’t a bank robbery. It was a domestic situation,” McComb Police Chief Billie Hughes said.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_bankshooting_031308/
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Mar 14, 2008 10:44:09 EDT
MCCOMB, Miss. — His friends and family say James Fayard was the kind of man who was compelled to help others, especially those in distress. That admirable quality cost him his life.
Robert Lanham, armed with a gun Wednesday, walked into Regions Bank in McComb where his ex-wife worked. Lanham fatally shot Fayard and bank manager Ronnie Larrimore, then took his ex-wife hostage and fled in a truck, McComb Police Chief Billie Hughes said.
Lanham and his ex-wife, Rachel J. Lanham, were later found dead.
“It wasn’t a bank robbery. It was a domestic situation,” McComb Police Chief Billie Hughes said.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_bankshooting_031308/
A Third of Military Women Surveyed Say They Suffer Sexual Harassment
Military women report harassment
A Third of Military Women Surveyed Say They Suffer Sexual Harassment
PAULINE JELINEK
AP News
Mar 14, 2008 14:33 EST
One-third of women in the military and 6 percent of men said they were sexually harassed, according to the latest Pentagon survey on the issue.
The figure for women was worse than the previous finding several years ago but better than a similar survey taken in 1995, the Defense Department said in a report Friday. The Defense Manpower Data Center said it compiled the data from a survey of 24,000 people in 2006.
A separate report on sexual assaults showed that fewer cases were reported among military personnel in 2007 after years of significant increases.
There were 2,688 sexual assaults reported last year by people in uniform, the figures showed. That was down about 9 percent from the 2,947 reported the year before.
Officials said some changes in the method of reporting data made it difficult to compare numbers year to year. In 2005, there were about 2,400 sexual assaults reported.
click post title for the rest
A Third of Military Women Surveyed Say They Suffer Sexual Harassment
PAULINE JELINEK
AP News
Mar 14, 2008 14:33 EST
One-third of women in the military and 6 percent of men said they were sexually harassed, according to the latest Pentagon survey on the issue.
The figure for women was worse than the previous finding several years ago but better than a similar survey taken in 1995, the Defense Department said in a report Friday. The Defense Manpower Data Center said it compiled the data from a survey of 24,000 people in 2006.
A separate report on sexual assaults showed that fewer cases were reported among military personnel in 2007 after years of significant increases.
There were 2,688 sexual assaults reported last year by people in uniform, the figures showed. That was down about 9 percent from the 2,947 reported the year before.
Officials said some changes in the method of reporting data made it difficult to compare numbers year to year. In 2005, there were about 2,400 sexual assaults reported.
click post title for the rest
Soldier's wife charged with starving 11 month old daugter to death
Army wife charged with starving daughter
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Mar 14, 2008 5:57:28 EDT
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The wife of a soldier deployed in Iraq is charged with killing their 11-month-old daughter after the infant was found starved to death in their littered home on the Army post Fort Leonard Wood, authorities said.
The child was found dead in her mother’s arms last month, federal prosecutors said.
Kristin Marie Phillips, 33, of Fort Leonard Wood, was charged with killing her daughter — the federal equivalent of a murder charge.
A spokesman for the U.S. prosecutor said Phillips would be facing at least a life sentence if convicted. Prosecutors have not reached a decision on whether to pursue the possible maximum penalty of death.
Three other children, from ages 2 to 13, were also in the home and have since been placed in the custody of the Missouri Department of Social Services.
Phillips’ husband is a soldier who was deployed to Iraq at the time of the girl’s death but has since returned to Fort Leonard Wood. Prosecutors did not release his name.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_babykilled_031308/
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Mar 14, 2008 5:57:28 EDT
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The wife of a soldier deployed in Iraq is charged with killing their 11-month-old daughter after the infant was found starved to death in their littered home on the Army post Fort Leonard Wood, authorities said.
The child was found dead in her mother’s arms last month, federal prosecutors said.
Kristin Marie Phillips, 33, of Fort Leonard Wood, was charged with killing her daughter — the federal equivalent of a murder charge.
A spokesman for the U.S. prosecutor said Phillips would be facing at least a life sentence if convicted. Prosecutors have not reached a decision on whether to pursue the possible maximum penalty of death.
Three other children, from ages 2 to 13, were also in the home and have since been placed in the custody of the Missouri Department of Social Services.
Phillips’ husband is a soldier who was deployed to Iraq at the time of the girl’s death but has since returned to Fort Leonard Wood. Prosecutors did not release his name.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_babykilled_031308/
Soldier killed in standoff after taking ex-girlfriend hostage
Soldier killed in standoff after taking ex-girlfriend hostage
By David Rising - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Mar 14, 2008 11:07:59 EDT
BERLIN — A U.S. soldier was fatally shot in a confrontation with German police after taking his ex-girlfriend hostage, police said Friday.
The 30-year-old soldier, stationed in Schweinfurt, tied up his ex-girlfriend in her apartment in the southern town of Koenigsberg and threatened her with violence, police spokesman Karl-Heinz Schmitt said.
She managed to escape and alert police, who then started a hunt for the soldier and used a helicopter with a thermal camera to locate him near the apartment at about 11 p.m. Thursday.
Police commandos found and confronted the soldier, who threatened them with an M4 rifle, according to a police statement.
“During the attempt to arrest the armed man, officers were threatened with the weapon” and police opened fire, the statement said.
The soldier was critically injured, and rushed to a Schweinfurt hospital. Emergency surgery was performed, but he died several hours later, police said.
The M4 rifle had only half a magazine when impounded, but it was not immediately clear whether he had fired it, police said.
The investigation also has determined that the M4 had been legally in the soldier’s possession during the day but that he had not followed regulations requiring him to turn it in in the evening, police said.
Prosecutors in nearby Bamberg said there were no grounds to open an investigation of the police involved.
“The officer had to assume that the suspect would shoot at him with the weapon,” police said.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_germanykilled_031408/
By David Rising - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Mar 14, 2008 11:07:59 EDT
BERLIN — A U.S. soldier was fatally shot in a confrontation with German police after taking his ex-girlfriend hostage, police said Friday.
The 30-year-old soldier, stationed in Schweinfurt, tied up his ex-girlfriend in her apartment in the southern town of Koenigsberg and threatened her with violence, police spokesman Karl-Heinz Schmitt said.
She managed to escape and alert police, who then started a hunt for the soldier and used a helicopter with a thermal camera to locate him near the apartment at about 11 p.m. Thursday.
Police commandos found and confronted the soldier, who threatened them with an M4 rifle, according to a police statement.
“During the attempt to arrest the armed man, officers were threatened with the weapon” and police opened fire, the statement said.
The soldier was critically injured, and rushed to a Schweinfurt hospital. Emergency surgery was performed, but he died several hours later, police said.
The M4 rifle had only half a magazine when impounded, but it was not immediately clear whether he had fired it, police said.
The investigation also has determined that the M4 had been legally in the soldier’s possession during the day but that he had not followed regulations requiring him to turn it in in the evening, police said.
Prosecutors in nearby Bamberg said there were no grounds to open an investigation of the police involved.
“The officer had to assume that the suspect would shoot at him with the weapon,” police said.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_germanykilled_031408/
Will more women vets be homeless?
Will more women vets be homeless?
by Erin G. Edwards and Hallie D. Martin Mar 12, 2008
Deanna Mackey hears stories of homelessness from female veterans.
One Iraq veteran got married a few days before she was deployed, but when she returned 18 months later everything was gone.
Her house, her possessions, her husband were all gone.
She was homeless.
Another Iraq veteran who called Mackey was floating from family member to family member with her pre-teen daughter.
That veteran was not only suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and a brain injury; she was horribly maimed in a fire.
Except for her daughter, her family didn’t understand what she was going through and couldn’t look at her. Every time she’d go and look at an apartment, people would take one look at her and then say the apartment was no longer available.
The small number of female veterans who call Mackey are not alone and reflect the ongoing issue of homeless female veterans.
Homelessness is a growing issue for female veterans, and experts aren’t sure how it’s going to turn out with female vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mackey, director of the Homeless and Disabled Program at The Prince Home at Manteno, said she gets desperate calls in the moment of crisis from female veterans who are victims of domestic violence.
All Mackey can do is encourage them to fill out an application for The Prince Home, which opened Feb. 25 and is the first state-run treatment program for homeless and disabled veterans.
If the callers are from out-of-state, and many callers are, The Prince Home can’t accept them because they have to take care of homeless veterans in Illinois first.
“We deal with issues to help decrease the likelihood of them becoming homeless again,” Mackey said about the intensive, nine-month therapy program. “It’s not a shelter where they just come and flop, it’s a place where they are actively working on whatever their challenges are.”
click post title for the rest
by Erin G. Edwards and Hallie D. Martin Mar 12, 2008
Deanna Mackey hears stories of homelessness from female veterans.
One Iraq veteran got married a few days before she was deployed, but when she returned 18 months later everything was gone.
Her house, her possessions, her husband were all gone.
She was homeless.
Another Iraq veteran who called Mackey was floating from family member to family member with her pre-teen daughter.
That veteran was not only suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and a brain injury; she was horribly maimed in a fire.
Except for her daughter, her family didn’t understand what she was going through and couldn’t look at her. Every time she’d go and look at an apartment, people would take one look at her and then say the apartment was no longer available.
The small number of female veterans who call Mackey are not alone and reflect the ongoing issue of homeless female veterans.
Homelessness is a growing issue for female veterans, and experts aren’t sure how it’s going to turn out with female vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mackey, director of the Homeless and Disabled Program at The Prince Home at Manteno, said she gets desperate calls in the moment of crisis from female veterans who are victims of domestic violence.
All Mackey can do is encourage them to fill out an application for The Prince Home, which opened Feb. 25 and is the first state-run treatment program for homeless and disabled veterans.
If the callers are from out-of-state, and many callers are, The Prince Home can’t accept them because they have to take care of homeless veterans in Illinois first.
“We deal with issues to help decrease the likelihood of them becoming homeless again,” Mackey said about the intensive, nine-month therapy program. “It’s not a shelter where they just come and flop, it’s a place where they are actively working on whatever their challenges are.”
click post title for the rest
Illinois Warrior Veterans Program
HUD and VA funds more beds for homeless vets
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is expected to announce in the coming weeks funding for 10,000 permanent housing units for veterans.
The Dept. of Veterans Affairs hopes the new housing will contribute to less homeless veterans.
On March 6, the VA reported a 21 percent drop in homelessness last year.
The drop, from 195,000 homeless vets to 154,000, is attributed to improved coordination of federal and local efforts.
“This is designed to take down the barrier for vets seeking services,” said Pete Dougherty, director of homeless programs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The VA will also provide case management so vets can take advantage of health care, benefits, rehabilitation and education.
The project will cost HUD $75 million and the VA $30 million.
The 10,000 units are designed to accommodate veterans and their families, which will help many of the returning female veterans who are single mothers and may not have anywhere else to go.
“It’s tough to serve family and children,” Dougherty said. “But when we partner with community, it gives us an opportunity to make vets feel comfortable while the family gets service.”
The biggest difference between this program and past ones was how homeless veterans got the housing. Previously, they had to apply and go on a list, but the VA will identify the veterans who need housing.
“We already know who to work with and what their needs are,” Dougherty said.
The VA also announced an additional $35 million for transitional programs and beds for the homeless on Feb 28.
Cops back from the war
10-8: Life on the Line
with Charles Remsberg
Exclusive: Cops back from the war: What problems do they pose?
By Chuck Remsberg, Senior PoliceOne Contributor
Part 1 of a 3-part series
Thousands of American law enforcement officers have been called to military service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and authorities are increasingly focusing attention on how well some of those can reintegrate into domestic policing once they return home.
Isolated instances of serious problems have made headlines, raising concerns about potentially persistent negative effects of combat experience.
• In Texas, an officer recently back from reservist deployment to Iraq, opened fire on a suspect who was running through a crowded shopping center. The rounds narrowly missed the officer’s partner and one lodged in a van occupied by two children. “Everyone believes he should not have fired,” the officer’s attorney told USA Today. “His assessment of the threat level was wrong. He was assessing as if he was back in the military, not [as] a police officer.”
• In Georgia, an officer who’d served in Iraq with the National Guard was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He was part of a misdirected drug raid in which an elderly woman was killed. His lawyer says he was undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition afflicting a significant percentage of returning vets.
• In Nevada, a trooper who’d been in Iraq as an Army Guardsman, pleaded guilty to felony reckless driving and was sentenced to 2 to 12 years. According to the New York Times, he was driving 118 mph when he slammed into another car, killing four people and critically injuring another.
No one claims that all—or even a majority—of post-deployment veterans are menaces to society once they pin a badge back on and resume patrol duties. But by the same token, says Dr. Stephen Curran, a Maryland psychologist who counsels officers, “You can’t just put people back in [law enforcement] jobs, give them their guns and expect that things are going to be fine. Getting back into the flow of things is a challenge.”
Most manage the transition successfully. For others, the struggle can be more problematic.
To explore the issues involved in LEOs returning from combat zones, Dr. Beverly Anderson, clinical director and administrator of the Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Police Employee Assistance Program, convened a unique, invitation-only symposium at the department’s training academy. More than 200 police and mental health professionals representing 73 federal, state, county and city agencies in seven states attended to hear a panel of experts explain the harsh realities of returning to life stateside. PoliceOne was the only communications agency invited.
Drawing on the panel’s presentations, Part 1 of this exclusive series examines the roots of post-deployment adjustment problems. Part 2 will explore the challenges these present to officers, their families and their departments when they come home. In part 3, we’ll look at measures knowledgeable observers believe are necessary to assure a successful transition back to the streets.
click post title for the rest
After 4 days of training to become a Chaplain, one of the biggest things that was made quite clear is the fact police officers are just like the rest of the humans on the planet. They get angry, scared, sad and have the same emotions we all do. What we think sets them apart is that they take most of it and "stuff it inside their brains" instead of dealing with it. They do that because they think they are supposed to always be in control or situations, their actions and their emotions. To be honest, most of us think they are supposed to be a cut above the rest of us. In many ways, they are but they are still human. These men and women are trained to take someone down and many times that will end up killing someone in the line of duty.
Soldiers are not trained to stop someone or take them down. They are trained to kill. What they are not trained to do is to cope with what comes after they do. They are not trained to deal with the carnage, women killed or kids killed. They are not trained to see their friends killed either. You cannot train them for that but what you can do is help them cope with it after.
There is more we'll get into as the weeks go on and I attempt to share what I've learned this week. The test is tomorrow and I pray that I've learned enough to pass. I'm not very good with testing. Check back tomorrow night and I'll let you know if I passed the test. If I do, on Saturday there is a big post in the works to share more of what I've been made more aware of. Working with PTSD veterans all these years gave me some insight to what regular people go through but nothing came close to what I've learned this week.
with Charles Remsberg
Exclusive: Cops back from the war: What problems do they pose?
By Chuck Remsberg, Senior PoliceOne Contributor
Part 1 of a 3-part series
Thousands of American law enforcement officers have been called to military service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and authorities are increasingly focusing attention on how well some of those can reintegrate into domestic policing once they return home.
Isolated instances of serious problems have made headlines, raising concerns about potentially persistent negative effects of combat experience.
• In Texas, an officer recently back from reservist deployment to Iraq, opened fire on a suspect who was running through a crowded shopping center. The rounds narrowly missed the officer’s partner and one lodged in a van occupied by two children. “Everyone believes he should not have fired,” the officer’s attorney told USA Today. “His assessment of the threat level was wrong. He was assessing as if he was back in the military, not [as] a police officer.”
• In Georgia, an officer who’d served in Iraq with the National Guard was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He was part of a misdirected drug raid in which an elderly woman was killed. His lawyer says he was undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition afflicting a significant percentage of returning vets.
• In Nevada, a trooper who’d been in Iraq as an Army Guardsman, pleaded guilty to felony reckless driving and was sentenced to 2 to 12 years. According to the New York Times, he was driving 118 mph when he slammed into another car, killing four people and critically injuring another.
No one claims that all—or even a majority—of post-deployment veterans are menaces to society once they pin a badge back on and resume patrol duties. But by the same token, says Dr. Stephen Curran, a Maryland psychologist who counsels officers, “You can’t just put people back in [law enforcement] jobs, give them their guns and expect that things are going to be fine. Getting back into the flow of things is a challenge.”
Most manage the transition successfully. For others, the struggle can be more problematic.
To explore the issues involved in LEOs returning from combat zones, Dr. Beverly Anderson, clinical director and administrator of the Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Police Employee Assistance Program, convened a unique, invitation-only symposium at the department’s training academy. More than 200 police and mental health professionals representing 73 federal, state, county and city agencies in seven states attended to hear a panel of experts explain the harsh realities of returning to life stateside. PoliceOne was the only communications agency invited.
Drawing on the panel’s presentations, Part 1 of this exclusive series examines the roots of post-deployment adjustment problems. Part 2 will explore the challenges these present to officers, their families and their departments when they come home. In part 3, we’ll look at measures knowledgeable observers believe are necessary to assure a successful transition back to the streets.
click post title for the rest
After 4 days of training to become a Chaplain, one of the biggest things that was made quite clear is the fact police officers are just like the rest of the humans on the planet. They get angry, scared, sad and have the same emotions we all do. What we think sets them apart is that they take most of it and "stuff it inside their brains" instead of dealing with it. They do that because they think they are supposed to always be in control or situations, their actions and their emotions. To be honest, most of us think they are supposed to be a cut above the rest of us. In many ways, they are but they are still human. These men and women are trained to take someone down and many times that will end up killing someone in the line of duty.
Soldiers are not trained to stop someone or take them down. They are trained to kill. What they are not trained to do is to cope with what comes after they do. They are not trained to deal with the carnage, women killed or kids killed. They are not trained to see their friends killed either. You cannot train them for that but what you can do is help them cope with it after.
There is more we'll get into as the weeks go on and I attempt to share what I've learned this week. The test is tomorrow and I pray that I've learned enough to pass. I'm not very good with testing. Check back tomorrow night and I'll let you know if I passed the test. If I do, on Saturday there is a big post in the works to share more of what I've been made more aware of. Working with PTSD veterans all these years gave me some insight to what regular people go through but nothing came close to what I've learned this week.
Eric Hall: Suffering from PTSD
Suffering from PTSD
By Nick Spinetto, WINK News
Story Created: Mar 12, 2008 at 7:44 PM EDT
Story Updated: Mar 12, 2008 at 10:24 PM EDT
LEE COUNTY, Fla. - Eric Hall's family says he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The syndrome makes soldiers think they're still in combat and can be difficult to overcome.
A lot of veterans develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. According to the Department of Veteran Affairs 20 out of every 100 soldiers get the disorder.
WINK News found a Cape Coral man struggling with PTSD. He says fighting this disorder can be a tougher battle than fighting in combat.
"It's extremely difficult," said Pete Nicholsen.
At 24, Nicholsen junior is a war veteran. He's served two tours in Iraq and couldn't wait to come home. Home for almost threes years now, he still can't escape memories of the war.
"You may have palm fronds out by your street. The average person sees it as palm fronds, I see it as a roadside bomb," Nicholsen said.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can occur after experiencing a traumatic event.
For soldiers it can be a number of things.
go here for the rest
http://www.winknews.com/news/local/16626196.html
By Nick Spinetto, WINK News
Story Created: Mar 12, 2008 at 7:44 PM EDT
Story Updated: Mar 12, 2008 at 10:24 PM EDT
LEE COUNTY, Fla. - Eric Hall's family says he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The syndrome makes soldiers think they're still in combat and can be difficult to overcome.
A lot of veterans develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. According to the Department of Veteran Affairs 20 out of every 100 soldiers get the disorder.
WINK News found a Cape Coral man struggling with PTSD. He says fighting this disorder can be a tougher battle than fighting in combat.
"It's extremely difficult," said Pete Nicholsen.
At 24, Nicholsen junior is a war veteran. He's served two tours in Iraq and couldn't wait to come home. Home for almost threes years now, he still can't escape memories of the war.
"You may have palm fronds out by your street. The average person sees it as palm fronds, I see it as a roadside bomb," Nicholsen said.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can occur after experiencing a traumatic event.
For soldiers it can be a number of things.
go here for the rest
http://www.winknews.com/news/local/16626196.html
Marine Eric Hall's family seeks PTSD Awareness
Becky and Kevin Hall, parents of Eric Hall, address the media with Eric's brother Justin, center, and confirm that the human remains found in a culvert on Sunday were those of their son Wednesday, March 12, 2008.Sarasota Herald Tribune photo by JASON MCKIBBEN
Parents Of Marine Found Dead Seek PTSD Awareness
By John Davis
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Published: March 12, 2008
Becky and Kevin Hall addressed the media in front of the Deep Creek home where their son, Eric, was living when he disappeared. The Halls and Eric's brother, Justin, came out at 12:20 p.m. to speak in front of eight television crews and other media.
Kevin Hall talked about his son's injury in Iraq, which required 17 to 20 surgeries, noting that, regardless of their opinion on the war, "it seems like the American people is in favor of the warriors."
"Being his advocate, I tried to do the best that I could do."
Eric Hall
"He was on pain medication for a long time."
"Supposedly when the mind-changing, altering drugs are not there, the bad dreams start to come back."
Kevin Hall talked about a vehicle wreck Eric caused in Indiana when he hallucinated a road block in front of the jeep he was driving.
"I'm almost positive now that there was several other episodes that I'm not aware of.
"It would come and go. He would have real good days. He would have bad days.
"He was hurt in Fallujah. He was carried off the battlefield."
Kevin related how Eric Hall passed through hospitals in Iraq and Germany before returning to the United States.
"PTSD is real. Believe me. Everybody believe me.
"The motorcycle was still running, by the way. It was not wrecked."
Kevin Hall said he thinks his son stopped the motorcycle to smoke a cigarette, and that the cigarette caused a brushfire that Eric tried to escape by crawling into the culvert, where the 24-year-old succumbed to smoke inhalation. Kevin Hall thinks that water pushed his son's body about 60 yards into the culvert, where Eric's Hall remains were found.
"He was overwhelmed by smoke in that pipe.
"When we found a body, we pretty much knew it was him."
To other parents of soldiers returning from Iraq: "Even though your child didn't get hurt, he's traumatized.
click post title for the rest
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Canadian Soldier Bombardier Jeremie Ouellet, 22 Non-combat death
Canadian soldier found dead at air field was non-combat: officials
Matthew Fisher, Canwest News Mideast Correspondent
Published: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Canadian military officials announced the "non-combat" death of a Canadian soldier Tuesday, bringing to 80 the number of soldiers who have died in Afghanistan since the first troops arrived in early 2002. One diplomat has also died.
Bombardier Jeremie Ouellet, 22, was part of the 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery CFB Shilo in Manitoba, and was found in a room at the Kandahar Airfield, said Brig.-Gen Guy Laroche. Ouellet was a native of Matane, Que.
"The soldier's death is not related to combat," said Laroche, saying no other information would be released, but the death is under investigation.
click post title for the rest
Matthew Fisher, Canwest News Mideast Correspondent
Published: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Canadian military officials announced the "non-combat" death of a Canadian soldier Tuesday, bringing to 80 the number of soldiers who have died in Afghanistan since the first troops arrived in early 2002. One diplomat has also died.
Bombardier Jeremie Ouellet, 22, was part of the 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery CFB Shilo in Manitoba, and was found in a room at the Kandahar Airfield, said Brig.-Gen Guy Laroche. Ouellet was a native of Matane, Que.
"The soldier's death is not related to combat," said Laroche, saying no other information would be released, but the death is under investigation.
click post title for the rest
PTSD Ghosts:They sit around his bed and stare at him
Living with the traumas of war
By Matt Precey
BBC News
An increasing number of British servicemen are seeking help
If Corporal John Meighan has not been taking his sleeping pills, the dead Iraqi soldiers come to visit.
They sit around his bed and stare at him.
"One of them used to come up to my face but he had lips and no eyes, just sockets and they were badly burnt", he recalls.
Without the sleeping tablets, the British serviceman would be up several times a night with these nightmares - often waking up screaming.
Cpl Meighan had 10 tours of duty during his 14 years in the army.
He witnessed the consequences of allied bombing on the so-called Highway of Death, the road out of Kuwait City where retreating Iraqi columns were decimated during the first Gulf War.
It was when he returned home from this campaign that the nightmares began.
He is one of the 260 regular clients of retired Sqn Ldr Steve Pettitt, the east of England's Welfare Officer for Combat Stress, the ex-services mental welfare charity.
go here for the rest
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7289564.stm
By Matt Precey
BBC News
An increasing number of British servicemen are seeking help
If Corporal John Meighan has not been taking his sleeping pills, the dead Iraqi soldiers come to visit.
They sit around his bed and stare at him.
"One of them used to come up to my face but he had lips and no eyes, just sockets and they were badly burnt", he recalls.
Without the sleeping tablets, the British serviceman would be up several times a night with these nightmares - often waking up screaming.
Cpl Meighan had 10 tours of duty during his 14 years in the army.
He witnessed the consequences of allied bombing on the so-called Highway of Death, the road out of Kuwait City where retreating Iraqi columns were decimated during the first Gulf War.
It was when he returned home from this campaign that the nightmares began.
He is one of the 260 regular clients of retired Sqn Ldr Steve Pettitt, the east of England's Welfare Officer for Combat Stress, the ex-services mental welfare charity.
go here for the rest
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7289564.stm
Army to Establish 'Warrior Transition Units'
Army to Establish 'Warrior Transition Units'
Army News Service Gary Sheftick and Franz Holzer October 09, 2007
Warrior Transition Units at Center of Army Medical Action Plan
WASHINGTON - The Army is establishing 32 "Warrior Transition Units" at major installations across the force to streamline care for wounded Soldiers.
The new units are the centerpiece of the Army Medical Action Plan headed up by Brig. Gen. Mike Tucker. His AMAP team went to work in June and identified about 150 items in the system that needed improving, he said during a panel presentation today at the annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army.
Better housing for wounded Soldiers was one of the improvements. The Army has allocated $173.5 million in Operations and Maintenance funding and another $1.2 billion in Military Construction funds for Warrior Transition Unit facilities and projects, said Maj. Gen. John MacDonald of the Installation Management Command.
"The Army is putting its money where its mouth is," Maj. Gen. MacDonald said. "...So that we have close to the hospitals a set of barracks that is accessible."
More Wounded Warrior News
The new Warrior Transition Units will do much more than replace Medical Hold Companies, said the Army's acting Surgeon General, Maj. Gen. Gale S. Pollock. She said the units will combine what used to be separate structures for the active and reserve components and bring a new level of care to all patients.
Prior to the creation of the WTUs, most active-component Soldiers requiring complex treatment remained assigned to their parent units or to a rear detachment. Some were assigned or attached to Medical Hold Companies overseen by the Army Medical Command. Reserve Component Soldiers were managed differently, attached to Medical Hold-Over Companies overseen by the Army Installation Management Command.
go here for the rest
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,152058,00.html
Army News Service Gary Sheftick and Franz Holzer October 09, 2007
Warrior Transition Units at Center of Army Medical Action Plan
WASHINGTON - The Army is establishing 32 "Warrior Transition Units" at major installations across the force to streamline care for wounded Soldiers.
The new units are the centerpiece of the Army Medical Action Plan headed up by Brig. Gen. Mike Tucker. His AMAP team went to work in June and identified about 150 items in the system that needed improving, he said during a panel presentation today at the annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army.
Better housing for wounded Soldiers was one of the improvements. The Army has allocated $173.5 million in Operations and Maintenance funding and another $1.2 billion in Military Construction funds for Warrior Transition Unit facilities and projects, said Maj. Gen. John MacDonald of the Installation Management Command.
"The Army is putting its money where its mouth is," Maj. Gen. MacDonald said. "...So that we have close to the hospitals a set of barracks that is accessible."
More Wounded Warrior News
The new Warrior Transition Units will do much more than replace Medical Hold Companies, said the Army's acting Surgeon General, Maj. Gen. Gale S. Pollock. She said the units will combine what used to be separate structures for the active and reserve components and bring a new level of care to all patients.
Prior to the creation of the WTUs, most active-component Soldiers requiring complex treatment remained assigned to their parent units or to a rear detachment. Some were assigned or attached to Medical Hold Companies overseen by the Army Medical Command. Reserve Component Soldiers were managed differently, attached to Medical Hold-Over Companies overseen by the Army Installation Management Command.
go here for the rest
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,152058,00.html
Heroes on the Homefront: Overcoming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Heroes on the Homefront: Overcoming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
March 10, 2008 12:17 AM EDT
Heroes on the Homefront: Overcoming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Local service members return from Iraq and Afghanistan with wounds, some, invisible to theeye. We take a look at the silent Post Traumatic Stress Disorder plaguing many men and women in uniform returning from war.
"Everywhere I went for quite a while, I was on edge."
A feeling of hyper-arousal is one of the many signs of the growing anxiety disorder PTSD. One marine wished to remain anonymous, but agreed to talk to us about his battle with post-traumatic stress since returning from Iraq.
"Well I definitely felt like an outsider, not because of the people around me, but because of the experiences I had, I felt out of place."
Doctors say PTSD stems from experiencing life-threatening trauma - a common occurrence for those fighting overseas.
Veterans Affairs psychiatrist Ahsan Naseem said, "Their chances of developing the disorder keep increasing because they've been re-traumatized all the time."
In a report released this week, the Army says one in four soldiers on repeat tours of duty screened positive for anxiety, depression or other mental health issues. The symptoms must persist for more than a month to be considered PTSD, but the signs can take much longer to arise.
Buffalo County Veterans Service Officer William Williams said, "They don't always feel symptoms when they first come home. They're just relieved to be home."
go here for the rest
http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=7989806
March 10, 2008 12:17 AM EDT
Heroes on the Homefront: Overcoming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Local service members return from Iraq and Afghanistan with wounds, some, invisible to theeye. We take a look at the silent Post Traumatic Stress Disorder plaguing many men and women in uniform returning from war.
"Everywhere I went for quite a while, I was on edge."
A feeling of hyper-arousal is one of the many signs of the growing anxiety disorder PTSD. One marine wished to remain anonymous, but agreed to talk to us about his battle with post-traumatic stress since returning from Iraq.
"Well I definitely felt like an outsider, not because of the people around me, but because of the experiences I had, I felt out of place."
Doctors say PTSD stems from experiencing life-threatening trauma - a common occurrence for those fighting overseas.
Veterans Affairs psychiatrist Ahsan Naseem said, "Their chances of developing the disorder keep increasing because they've been re-traumatized all the time."
In a report released this week, the Army says one in four soldiers on repeat tours of duty screened positive for anxiety, depression or other mental health issues. The symptoms must persist for more than a month to be considered PTSD, but the signs can take much longer to arise.
Buffalo County Veterans Service Officer William Williams said, "They don't always feel symptoms when they first come home. They're just relieved to be home."
go here for the rest
http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=7989806
IAVA Testifies Before HVAC Subcommittee on Health
March 11, 2008
IAVA Testifies Before HVAC Subcommittee on Health
Filed under: Mental Health, IAVA in DC, Testimony — Todd Bowers @ 3:54 pm
Today, I testified before the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health on the issue of substance abuse and co-morbid disorders.
Among the hundreds of thousands of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with a mental health injury, a small but significant percentage is turning to alcohol or drugs in an effort to self-medicate. Veterans’ substance abuse problems, therefore, cannot and should not be viewed as distinct from mental health problems.
According to the VA Special Committee on PTSD, at least 30 to 40% of Iraq veterans, or about half a million people, will face a serious psychological injury, including depression, anxiety, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Data from the military’s own Mental Health Advisory Team shows that multiple tours and inadequate time at home between deployments increase rates of combat stress by 50%.
We are already seeing the impact of these untreated mental health problems. Between 2005 and 2006, the Army saw an almost three-fold increase in “alcohol-related incidents,” according to the DOD Task Force on Mental Health. The VA has reported diagnosing more than 48,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with drug abuse. That’s 16% of all Iraq and Afghanistan veteran patients at the VA. These numbers are only the tip of the iceberg; many veterans do not turn to the VA for help coping with substance abuse, instead relying on private programs or avoiding treatment altogether.
go here for the rest
http://www.iava.org/blog/2008/03/11/iava-testifies-before-hvac-subcommittee-on-health
IAVA Testifies Before HVAC Subcommittee on Health
Filed under: Mental Health, IAVA in DC, Testimony — Todd Bowers @ 3:54 pm
Today, I testified before the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health on the issue of substance abuse and co-morbid disorders.
Among the hundreds of thousands of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with a mental health injury, a small but significant percentage is turning to alcohol or drugs in an effort to self-medicate. Veterans’ substance abuse problems, therefore, cannot and should not be viewed as distinct from mental health problems.
According to the VA Special Committee on PTSD, at least 30 to 40% of Iraq veterans, or about half a million people, will face a serious psychological injury, including depression, anxiety, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Data from the military’s own Mental Health Advisory Team shows that multiple tours and inadequate time at home between deployments increase rates of combat stress by 50%.
We are already seeing the impact of these untreated mental health problems. Between 2005 and 2006, the Army saw an almost three-fold increase in “alcohol-related incidents,” according to the DOD Task Force on Mental Health. The VA has reported diagnosing more than 48,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with drug abuse. That’s 16% of all Iraq and Afghanistan veteran patients at the VA. These numbers are only the tip of the iceberg; many veterans do not turn to the VA for help coping with substance abuse, instead relying on private programs or avoiding treatment altogether.
go here for the rest
http://www.iava.org/blog/2008/03/11/iava-testifies-before-hvac-subcommittee-on-health
VA leaves Pasco Vietnam veterans group feeling abandoned
Marine Charlie Kelley, 64, says it is a slap in the face the way the VA treats Vietnam War vets like him needing care for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
VA leaves Pasco Vietnam veterans group feeling abandoned
Eleven Vietnam vets in group therapy feel abandoned when the VA breaks them up.
By William R. Levesque, Time Staff Writer
Published March 11, 2008
They returned from an unpopular war without band or bunting. Ugly jungle memories followed them home from Vietnam.
In New Port Richey, 11 Vietnam veterans met weekly for three years to help each other cope. They bonded, helping each other live with the war's aftereffects and struggles of everyday life. But in a scene that some veteran advocates say is being played out across the nation, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs counselor abruptly broke up the group in November, leaving the men stunned.
Members - called Group 11 by the VA - say they were told by the counselor that the VA was simply overwhelmed with the ever-increasing numbers of veterans needing care for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
"I feel absolutely betrayed," said Charlie Kelley, a 64-year-old Tampa Bay-area resident, former combat Marine and group member. "When we came back from Vietnam, we were ostracized. We did our duty but instead of gaining respect, we lost it. The same thing is happening again. It's a slap in the face."
VA regional spokesman John Pickens denied the agency was overwhelmed. Instead, he said what happened to Group 11 eventually happens to all therapeutic groups.
"At some point, you move on to other types of therapy," Pickens said. "It's got nothing to do with resources. It's a clinical decision."
Pickens said the 11 veterans were offered options, including different therapy sessions. Some were offered one-on-one therapy, he said.
But Kelley said one of the two groups meets only twice a month, and the other starts at 8 a.m., a bad time for men suffering from sleep disorders. In both cases, he said, other members would have a hard time opening up to strangers, their group bond lost.
Group 11 now meets privately at a Pasco restaurant without a counselor. But some of the men say they feel lost and PTSD symptoms - sleeplessness, depression, anxiety, anger, coping skills, among others - are worse.
"What the VA did is immoral," said Kelley, who hopes publicity will lead a counselor to volunteer services for Group 11.
go here for the rest
http://www.sptimes.com/2008/03/11/Pasco/VA_leaves_Pasco_Vietn.shtml
The VA has to stop pitting veterans against veterans. While they try to find room for the new generation, they are pushing older ones out of the way. Why is this happening? When did one become of more value than the other? I'm not saying they shouldn't be moving heaven and earth to take care of the new veterans but they cannot do it at the cost to the older ones. They need to find room for all of them and the funding to do it.
This group of veterans found what worked for them because they are still alive and still supporting each other. It works for them. Why mess with what is working for them? The goal of treating veterans who are chronic is to keep them stabilized. They will never be cured of it. The Vietnam veterans are the example of why treatment as early as possible is a life and death matter. The sooner they are treated the sooner PTSD stops getting worse. For Vietnam Vets, too much time went by without them getting any help. If we can keep them stabilized, that is a miracle. The fact this group has come to depend on each other needs to be taken seriously.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Fort Bliss nurse accused of giving patients Hepatitis C
Bliss nurse accused of giving patients hepatitis
By Alicia A. Caldwell - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Mar 11, 2008 7:43:02 EDT
EL PASO, Texas — A former Army hospital employee is accused of infecting at least three patients with hepatitis C, federal authorities said Monday.
Jon Dale Jones, a 45-year-old former nurse anesthetist at William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss, was arrested Thursday in Miami. He was indicted last month on three counts each of assault, aggravated assault, and possession of a controlled substance by fraud.
Jones was released from jail after posting 5 percent of his $200,000 bond.
His Miami lawyer, Edward O’Donnell, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Monday.
Federal prosecutors say Jones infected at least three patients with Hepatitis C, a blood-borne disease that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer, while siphoning drugs from them during surgeries at the Army hospital in 2004.
Jones, a civilian, is also accused of stealing the drug fentanyl, a powerful painkiller often used for anesthesia, from the three patients.
It’s not clear how or why he infected them.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_hepatitis_031108/
By Alicia A. Caldwell - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Mar 11, 2008 7:43:02 EDT
EL PASO, Texas — A former Army hospital employee is accused of infecting at least three patients with hepatitis C, federal authorities said Monday.
Jon Dale Jones, a 45-year-old former nurse anesthetist at William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss, was arrested Thursday in Miami. He was indicted last month on three counts each of assault, aggravated assault, and possession of a controlled substance by fraud.
Jones was released from jail after posting 5 percent of his $200,000 bond.
His Miami lawyer, Edward O’Donnell, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Monday.
Federal prosecutors say Jones infected at least three patients with Hepatitis C, a blood-borne disease that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer, while siphoning drugs from them during surgeries at the Army hospital in 2004.
Jones, a civilian, is also accused of stealing the drug fentanyl, a powerful painkiller often used for anesthesia, from the three patients.
It’s not clear how or why he infected them.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_hepatitis_031108/
Cops: Army vet confesses to shooting student Lauren Burk
Cops: Army vet confesses to shooting student
By Desiree Hunter - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Mar 11, 2008 11:05:27 EDT
AUBURN, Ala. — An Iraq war veteran who was given a bad-conduct discharge in 2006 told police he tried to rape an Auburn University student her before he shot her, according to documents read in court Monday as several thousand of her peers gathered for a memorial service.
Suspect Courtney Lockhart, 23, described verbally and in writing how he abducted 18-year-old Lauren Burk from the university, robbed her, drove her around, told her to take her clothes off and shot her with a handgun, according to court documents. He also described driving the car back to campus and setting it on fire.
His attorneys, including Joel Collins, could not be reached for comment after business hours Monday.
At the memorial service, an estimated 6,000 students gathered in the basketball arena to remember Burk, a freshman from Marietta, Ga., who was found on a roadside about 5 miles from the university. Her car was later found ablaze in a campus parking lot.
“Her smile was contagious, all of us know that, and she could brighten a room,” said Alison Penuel, president of the Delta Gamma sorority at Auburn, which Burk joined in August. “She touched all of us in a special way.”
When Penuel began struggling to speak through tears, Auburn President Jay Gogue got up and put his arm around her to help her finish. Sniffles and crying could be heard in the auditorium between speakers.
Lockhart was arrested Friday in Phenix City after a chase. Auburn police said he was linked to the Burk case by a photograph and other evidence that has not been disclosed.
Lockhart served with the Army in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 and was court-martialed, sentenced to confinement and given a bad conduct discharge in December 2006 for charges including assault, military officials have said.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_auburn_031108/
By Desiree Hunter - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Mar 11, 2008 11:05:27 EDT
AUBURN, Ala. — An Iraq war veteran who was given a bad-conduct discharge in 2006 told police he tried to rape an Auburn University student her before he shot her, according to documents read in court Monday as several thousand of her peers gathered for a memorial service.
Suspect Courtney Lockhart, 23, described verbally and in writing how he abducted 18-year-old Lauren Burk from the university, robbed her, drove her around, told her to take her clothes off and shot her with a handgun, according to court documents. He also described driving the car back to campus and setting it on fire.
His attorneys, including Joel Collins, could not be reached for comment after business hours Monday.
At the memorial service, an estimated 6,000 students gathered in the basketball arena to remember Burk, a freshman from Marietta, Ga., who was found on a roadside about 5 miles from the university. Her car was later found ablaze in a campus parking lot.
“Her smile was contagious, all of us know that, and she could brighten a room,” said Alison Penuel, president of the Delta Gamma sorority at Auburn, which Burk joined in August. “She touched all of us in a special way.”
When Penuel began struggling to speak through tears, Auburn President Jay Gogue got up and put his arm around her to help her finish. Sniffles and crying could be heard in the auditorium between speakers.
Lockhart was arrested Friday in Phenix City after a chase. Auburn police said he was linked to the Burk case by a photograph and other evidence that has not been disclosed.
Lockhart served with the Army in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 and was court-martialed, sentenced to confinement and given a bad conduct discharge in December 2006 for charges including assault, military officials have said.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_auburn_031108/
Eric Hall, Missing Marine, Family identifies body
Family identifies body of missing Iraq vet
Kate Spinner
The family of Eric Hall, the 24-year old Iraq war veteran who went missing last month, has stopped searching for him and is ready to take their son home.
Becky Hall, Eric Hall's mother, said she is certain the body found deep within a culvert Sunday at the end of Partin Drive and Highlands Road in Charlotte County was her son's.
The family is still waiting for the medical examiner's confirmation, but is going ahead with plans for a memorial on Thursday.
The Hall family will hold a press conference at noon on Wednesday to allow members of the press to ask questions of the family.
On Thursday at 12 p.m., a memorial for Hall will be held at Faith Lutheran Church in Punta Gorda. The memorial will be open to the public.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080311/BREAKING03/78346665
Pray for his family.
Chaplain training still
Day two of Chaplain training and it's going well. The IFOC, International Fellowship of Chaplains is doing amazing work all over the country. Now I know why.
They are about taking care of hurting people, filling needs in times of crisis and putting the person above all else.
This is what Chaplains are supposed to be doing. This is what I believe I was called to do over 25 years ago when I met my husband Jack. Who knows? Maybe I was called to do this all my life but as a Greek Orthodox, something like this was never even known. Greeks tend to think that women cannot or should not act as any kind spiritual leaders in the communities. Since I've been doing this anyway, it seemed like the next logical step to take.
I know I will learn a lot about what the Chaplains do in general but I plan to stay focused on trauma.
Sorry that I haven't had much time to keep up on the news coming out this week, but Saturday, life goes back to normal for me. The only difference is, if I pass the test, I'll be posting as a Chaplain.
Say a prayer for me that I make it.
They are about taking care of hurting people, filling needs in times of crisis and putting the person above all else.
To see chaplains who are trained professionals providing meaningful, life changing service to the communities in which they live through involvement in every sector of community life, be it health and welfare, education, transitional living, emergency service and governmental support.
We believe that God has called and inspired ministry in the workplace. As Chaplains who minister in the areas of Critical Incident, Grief and Loss, and Trauma as well as the Spiritual needs of those whom we serve, we believe that professionalism is essential in both the religious and secular areas of our ministry. We will endeavor to prepare ourselves Morally, Spiritually, and Educationally in order to present ourselves in the role of professional and compassionate ministers of God .We must, and will, maintain the highest standards and accountability.
http://www.ifoc.org/
This is what Chaplains are supposed to be doing. This is what I believe I was called to do over 25 years ago when I met my husband Jack. Who knows? Maybe I was called to do this all my life but as a Greek Orthodox, something like this was never even known. Greeks tend to think that women cannot or should not act as any kind spiritual leaders in the communities. Since I've been doing this anyway, it seemed like the next logical step to take.
I know I will learn a lot about what the Chaplains do in general but I plan to stay focused on trauma.
Sorry that I haven't had much time to keep up on the news coming out this week, but Saturday, life goes back to normal for me. The only difference is, if I pass the test, I'll be posting as a Chaplain.
Say a prayer for me that I make it.
Pill used to "protect" Gulf War Vets suspected in illness
Pesticides, Nerve-Gas Pills Tied to Gulf War Illness (Update1)
By Rob Waters
March 10 (Bloomberg) -- A pill given to U.S. soldiers to help protect them against nerve gas, and pesticides sprayed in the air and used to treat their clothes, may have triggered the cluster of symptoms known as Gulf War illness, a study found.
Scientists, U.S. government officials and veterans' groups have long debated why tens of thousands of soldiers who served in the Gulf War in 1991 developed a cluster of symptoms that became known as Gulf War illness. The symptoms include chronic fatigue, headaches, dizziness, loss of muscle control, memory and attention problems, and muscle and joint pain.
For many years, U.S. officials contended that Gulf War symptoms were caused by psychological stress, not chemical exposure. Today's review of more than 20 studies, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, led to the ``ineluctable conclusion'' that the high rate of symptoms in the soldiers was due to their exposure to any or all of the toxins, said study author Beatrice Golomb of the University of California, San Diego.
``This provides triangulating evidence from inside and outside the Gulf War arena supporting the causal connection'' of the chemicals to the soldiers' syndrome, Golomb said in a telephone interview on March 7.
The key ingredient is acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, or AChEis, which act in the body to blunt the effect of an enzyme that regulates a brain chemical called acetylcholine. That substance helps neurons to fire. When the enzyme that regulates this chemical is blocked by an inhibitor, it causes the neurons to fire excessively, Golomb says.
go here for the rest
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=ahNEhgssqjkM&refer=home
By Rob Waters
March 10 (Bloomberg) -- A pill given to U.S. soldiers to help protect them against nerve gas, and pesticides sprayed in the air and used to treat their clothes, may have triggered the cluster of symptoms known as Gulf War illness, a study found.
Scientists, U.S. government officials and veterans' groups have long debated why tens of thousands of soldiers who served in the Gulf War in 1991 developed a cluster of symptoms that became known as Gulf War illness. The symptoms include chronic fatigue, headaches, dizziness, loss of muscle control, memory and attention problems, and muscle and joint pain.
For many years, U.S. officials contended that Gulf War symptoms were caused by psychological stress, not chemical exposure. Today's review of more than 20 studies, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, led to the ``ineluctable conclusion'' that the high rate of symptoms in the soldiers was due to their exposure to any or all of the toxins, said study author Beatrice Golomb of the University of California, San Diego.
``This provides triangulating evidence from inside and outside the Gulf War arena supporting the causal connection'' of the chemicals to the soldiers' syndrome, Golomb said in a telephone interview on March 7.
The key ingredient is acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, or AChEis, which act in the body to blunt the effect of an enzyme that regulates a brain chemical called acetylcholine. That substance helps neurons to fire. When the enzyme that regulates this chemical is blocked by an inhibitor, it causes the neurons to fire excessively, Golomb says.
go here for the rest
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=ahNEhgssqjkM&refer=home
Pvt. Ashley Baker's Commander denies knowing he was suicidal
Commanding officer denies knowing soldier was suicidal
Posted Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:50pm AEDT
The commanding officer of the battalion of an Australian soldier who killed himself in East Timor last year has denied the Army knew he was suicidal.
Major Richard Niessl this afternoon told a military inquiry into Private Ashley Baker's death that he displayed no signs of being mentally unstable or depressed.
Major Niessl's comments were in response to earlier evidence that suggested the Army held concerns about Private Baker's state of mind before he was deployed to East Timor.
Major Niessl said Private Baker was not struggling in the Army and was a soldier with potential and was always cheerful.
He said if any soldier showed signs of mental illness they would not be deployed for duty or would be sent home from operations.
The inquiry continues tomorrow.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/11/2186872.htm?section=australia
Posted Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:50pm AEDT
The commanding officer of the battalion of an Australian soldier who killed himself in East Timor last year has denied the Army knew he was suicidal.
Major Richard Niessl this afternoon told a military inquiry into Private Ashley Baker's death that he displayed no signs of being mentally unstable or depressed.
Major Niessl's comments were in response to earlier evidence that suggested the Army held concerns about Private Baker's state of mind before he was deployed to East Timor.
Major Niessl said Private Baker was not struggling in the Army and was a soldier with potential and was always cheerful.
He said if any soldier showed signs of mental illness they would not be deployed for duty or would be sent home from operations.
The inquiry continues tomorrow.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/11/2186872.htm?section=australia
Private Ashley Baker:Inquiry into soldier's death continues
Inquiry into soldier's death continues
March 12, 2008 04:08am
A MILITARY inquiry continues today into the death of an Australian soldier found dead from a gunshot wound in his Dili barracks last year.
Private Ashley Baker, 19, was found dead inside a locked toilet cubicle on November 5 last year.
The inquiry yesterday heard the Australian Defence Force (ADF) had not told the soldier's parents about the details of their son's death almost a month after he shot himself while on duty in East Timor.
The Queenslander was found lying on the floor with his rifle between his legs inside a blood splattered toilet block, but no suicide note or farewell letter was found.
About two hours earlier, the soldier had been reprimanded for leaving his rifle unsecured overnight at the Australian helicopter base in Dili, the ADF commission of inquiry has heard.
Senior Sergeant Virginia Nelson, who coordinated the Queensland Police Inquiry into his death for the state coroner, yesterday told the commission she interviewed the private's family on December 2, almost a month after the shooting.
click post title for the rest
March 12, 2008 04:08am
A MILITARY inquiry continues today into the death of an Australian soldier found dead from a gunshot wound in his Dili barracks last year.
Private Ashley Baker, 19, was found dead inside a locked toilet cubicle on November 5 last year.
The inquiry yesterday heard the Australian Defence Force (ADF) had not told the soldier's parents about the details of their son's death almost a month after he shot himself while on duty in East Timor.
The Queenslander was found lying on the floor with his rifle between his legs inside a blood splattered toilet block, but no suicide note or farewell letter was found.
About two hours earlier, the soldier had been reprimanded for leaving his rifle unsecured overnight at the Australian helicopter base in Dili, the ADF commission of inquiry has heard.
Senior Sergeant Virginia Nelson, who coordinated the Queensland Police Inquiry into his death for the state coroner, yesterday told the commission she interviewed the private's family on December 2, almost a month after the shooting.
click post title for the rest
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