Sergeant Major Of The Army Spends Day With Soldiers In Baghdad
By Alan Quartemont - Jambalaya & Midday News Anchor
March 17 2008
BAGHDAD – In what must have seemed like a sense of déjà vu, Sergeant Major of the Army Kenneth Preston returned once again to pay his regards March 16 to the Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division and Multi-National Division – Baghdad.
It was merely 20 months ago when Preston last visited the 4th Inf. Div. when it also served as the headquarters element for MND-B during Operation Iraqi Freedom 05-07. He also paid a brief visit with MND-B troops during the USO tour in December.
As was the case July 11, 2006, he began his visit at the MND-B headquarters building on Camp Liberty, which culminated his two-day trek of visiting Soldiers in the greater Baghdad area.
“I get over here about four to five times a year,” said Preston. “The trip provides a great opportunity to speak with the Soldiers and the leaders on the ground. It provides us tremendous first-hand feedback on how things are going. My goal is to sit down, talk with Soldiers and to hear what concerns they have on their minds. We are proud of the missions that you have done, and the missions that you do every day.”
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Have problems with VA claim for PTSD? Contact VCS
Mar. 18: Special VCS Lawsuit Update - Please Contact Our Attorneys About VA Problems Related to PTSD Care and Claims
Paul Sullivan, Executive Director, VCS
Veterans for Common Sense
Mar 18, 2008
Dear VCS members,
I am writing to update you about our class action lawsuit, Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. We are challenging the VA's failure to provide prompt mental health care to veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and VA’s failure to promptly and accurately process disability compensation claims for PTSD.
The week of March 3, the judge held a hearing about the quality and timeliness of mental health care given to suicidal veterans. After four days of testimony, the judge ordered a full trial on all of our issues to start on April 21, 2008. This is a very quick timeline, and we hope this means that we will receive a final decision from the judge in the next few months.
In order to put on our strongest case, VCS and our attorneys need your help in the next few days. The attorneys for VA challenged our right as a group to sue VA.
We need our VCS veteran members to contact us if they have either of these two problems
• You are diagnosed with PTSD and have experienced problems getting timely VA mental health care for their PTSD or for potential suicide.
• You filed a VA claim for PTSD and have problems getting your PTSD disability compensation claim approved by VA.
If you are a veteran with either of these specific types of problems, then please send VCS a new email with your contact information in the next several days, even if you already sent one in the past. VCS will then forward your information to our attorneys.
If you are willing to talk to our attorneys about your problems with the VA, then I strongly encourage you to contact our attorneys directly in the next few days. Our attorneys need to show the judge that the problems we are complaining about are system-wide problems and not just isolated to a few veterans.
Our attorneys have been working on this case for more than a year. I have met them all, and they are friendly and understanding when it comes to speaking with veterans and families about confidential issues. Your participation now could make a huge difference in the lives of the hundreds of thousands of veterans fighting with the VA for many years.
Danny Brome, dbrome@dralegal.org
Kasey Corbit, kcorbit@dralegal.org
Disability Rights AdvocatesPhone: (510) 665-8644
Fax: (510) 665-8511TTY: (510) 665-8716
www.dralegal.org
For information about our class lawsuit, please go to this web site: www.veteransPTSDclassaction.org
Paul Sullivan, Executive Director, VCS
Veterans for Common Sense
Mar 18, 2008
Dear VCS members,
I am writing to update you about our class action lawsuit, Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. We are challenging the VA's failure to provide prompt mental health care to veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and VA’s failure to promptly and accurately process disability compensation claims for PTSD.
The week of March 3, the judge held a hearing about the quality and timeliness of mental health care given to suicidal veterans. After four days of testimony, the judge ordered a full trial on all of our issues to start on April 21, 2008. This is a very quick timeline, and we hope this means that we will receive a final decision from the judge in the next few months.
In order to put on our strongest case, VCS and our attorneys need your help in the next few days. The attorneys for VA challenged our right as a group to sue VA.
We need our VCS veteran members to contact us if they have either of these two problems
• You are diagnosed with PTSD and have experienced problems getting timely VA mental health care for their PTSD or for potential suicide.
• You filed a VA claim for PTSD and have problems getting your PTSD disability compensation claim approved by VA.
If you are a veteran with either of these specific types of problems, then please send VCS a new email with your contact information in the next several days, even if you already sent one in the past. VCS will then forward your information to our attorneys.
If you are willing to talk to our attorneys about your problems with the VA, then I strongly encourage you to contact our attorneys directly in the next few days. Our attorneys need to show the judge that the problems we are complaining about are system-wide problems and not just isolated to a few veterans.
Our attorneys have been working on this case for more than a year. I have met them all, and they are friendly and understanding when it comes to speaking with veterans and families about confidential issues. Your participation now could make a huge difference in the lives of the hundreds of thousands of veterans fighting with the VA for many years.
Danny Brome, dbrome@dralegal.org
Kasey Corbit, kcorbit@dralegal.org
Disability Rights AdvocatesPhone: (510) 665-8644
Fax: (510) 665-8511TTY: (510) 665-8716
www.dralegal.org
For information about our class lawsuit, please go to this web site: www.veteransPTSDclassaction.org
3.2 Billion heading into veterans care but will it be enough?
U.S. Senate Passes Budget Resolution with Billions More for Veterans
By Kawika Riley, 3/17/2008 8:19:48 AM
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2009 passed the U.S. Senate early this morning. It included an authorization for another historic increase for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, actively advocated for the increase and voted to support final passage. The Budget Resolution includes $3.2 billion above the Administration’s request for veterans’ programs, and will serve as a blueprint as Congress works to draft the Fiscal Year 2009 VA appropriations bill.
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By Kawika Riley, 3/17/2008 8:19:48 AM
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2009 passed the U.S. Senate early this morning. It included an authorization for another historic increase for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, actively advocated for the increase and voted to support final passage. The Budget Resolution includes $3.2 billion above the Administration’s request for veterans’ programs, and will serve as a blueprint as Congress works to draft the Fiscal Year 2009 VA appropriations bill.
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Senator Murray wants to know Peake's words turn to action
Veterans also asked Murray for her take on James Peake, the new Veteran Affairs secretary. Peake, sworn into the office in December, appears to be sympathetic to veterans' causes, but Murray said she's not yet convinced his words will translate into action.
"I'm holding his feet to the fire."
Sen. Murray hears veterans' concerns during local stop
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 6:22 AM PDT
By Stephanie Mathieu
Local veterans told a key lawmaker on Monday that they need quicker access to health care, more beds in veteran hospitals and more rural veteran clinics.But U.S. Sen. Patty Murray said she was most shocked to learn 1,100 veterans in Cowlitz County are homeless or living in transitional housing."That's appalling," she said.
Murray, a member of the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee for 14 years, listened for an hour to local vets at the Cowlitz County Administration building, hoping to relay their stories to lawmakers in Washington, D.C.Transportation is a huge problem, the veterans panel said. Many must commute to Seattle or Vancouver to take advantage of veteran care."
The distance, the travel is extraordinary," said Wendy Carolan, chairwoman of the Lewis County Veteran Advisory Board. "It's a problem of being able to get our veterans to where the services are being provided."A mobile veterans clinic that visited rural areas, such as Long Beach, was discontinued, said Ray Palmer, a veteran from Pacific County. "It was a great thing for older veterans," Palmer said. "Just getting to (Interstate 5) is a chore."
go here for the rest
http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/03/18/area_news/10163302.txt
Senator Obama hears from group of veterans
“The notion that you wouldn’t have services available to you is inexcusable,” Obama said, adding that the military should start the process of treating soldiers suspected of post-traumatic stress disorder “before you are discharged.”
Obama addresses vets on drinking age, PTSD
By Tom Raum - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Mar 18, 2008 7:45:51 EDT
SCRANTON, Pa. — Democrat Barack Obama on Monday promised Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans help with their grievances — save one.
“I know it drives you nuts. But I’m not going to lower the drinking age,” the presidential candidate said.
Army veteran Ernest Johnson, 23, of Connecticut, said one of the things that peeved him before he turned 21 was that he couldn’t come home and drink a beer — even though he was old enough to serve in the armed services and die for his country.
Obama told Johnson he sympathized, but that setting the legal drinking age at 21 had helped reduce drunken driving incidents and should remain.
The Illinois senator was taping a round-table discussion with eight veterans that is to be broadcast by MTV on the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war.
Howard Noel, 28, of New York City, told Obama he “looked at the military as a good thing” when he enlisted. But when he returned, he said he was scorned by friends and, for a while, was homeless.
Seven of the eight veterans raised their hands when Obama asked who had suffered emotional or mental problems as a result of their service.
go here for the rest http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_obamadrinking_031708/
Sgt. Kristofer Goldsmith another face of PTSD
March 17, 2008
The War That Never Ends
Iraq Veterans Against the War’s ‘Winter Soldier’ hearings revealed the awful truths of the occupation and the ongoing struggle for those who have returned home.
By Jacob Wheeler
Last Memorial Day, Sgt. Kristofer Goldsmith tried to kill himself. He had just been stop-lossed along with 80,000 other soldiers as part of the surge of U.S. forces to be sent to Iraq in the Bush administration’s last-ditch attempt at victory. Goldsmith already suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), though Veterans Affairs (VA) refused to diagnose him. His contract with the army was almost up, and he couldn’t bear the thought of an 18-month deployment.
Like the dozens of disgruntled veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who testified at the Iraq Veterans Against the War’s (IVAW) emotional and groundbreaking “Winter Soldier” hearings, held from March 13-16 at the National Labor College near Washington D.C., Goldsmith had enlisted as a proud American eager to defend his country and trusting of the government that would send him into battle. Goldsmith hails from Long Island, and a day after watching smoke pour out of the collapsed World Trade Center towers, he had told friends that he “wanted to kill everyone in the Middle East.”
Goldsmith arrived in the sprawling ghetto of Baghdad’s Sadr City at age 19. He admits to following the command of his superiors and taking photos of unearthed dead bodies, more as war trophies than as evidence. “The images of dead bodies are burned into my memory,” Goldsmith said. His unit harassed the local population, and stopped cars, even as someone’s wife was going into labor in the back seat. And one day he trained his weapon on a six-year-old Iraqi boy pointing a stick at him as if it were an AK-47. “We were so desensitized. … The U.S. government put me in that position,” he said. “It took a lot of thinking not to kill the boy that day.”
Veterans like Kristofer Goldsmith discovered first-hand how the government sent them ill-prepared into a war under false pretenses, changed their rules of engagement with every deployment, brainwashed them into dehumanizing the Iraqi population, and brought them home without adequate means of caring for those for whom the war still rages on.
go here for the rest
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3585/
The War That Never Ends
Iraq Veterans Against the War’s ‘Winter Soldier’ hearings revealed the awful truths of the occupation and the ongoing struggle for those who have returned home.
By Jacob Wheeler
Last Memorial Day, Sgt. Kristofer Goldsmith tried to kill himself. He had just been stop-lossed along with 80,000 other soldiers as part of the surge of U.S. forces to be sent to Iraq in the Bush administration’s last-ditch attempt at victory. Goldsmith already suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), though Veterans Affairs (VA) refused to diagnose him. His contract with the army was almost up, and he couldn’t bear the thought of an 18-month deployment.
Like the dozens of disgruntled veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who testified at the Iraq Veterans Against the War’s (IVAW) emotional and groundbreaking “Winter Soldier” hearings, held from March 13-16 at the National Labor College near Washington D.C., Goldsmith had enlisted as a proud American eager to defend his country and trusting of the government that would send him into battle. Goldsmith hails from Long Island, and a day after watching smoke pour out of the collapsed World Trade Center towers, he had told friends that he “wanted to kill everyone in the Middle East.”
Goldsmith arrived in the sprawling ghetto of Baghdad’s Sadr City at age 19. He admits to following the command of his superiors and taking photos of unearthed dead bodies, more as war trophies than as evidence. “The images of dead bodies are burned into my memory,” Goldsmith said. His unit harassed the local population, and stopped cars, even as someone’s wife was going into labor in the back seat. And one day he trained his weapon on a six-year-old Iraqi boy pointing a stick at him as if it were an AK-47. “We were so desensitized. … The U.S. government put me in that position,” he said. “It took a lot of thinking not to kill the boy that day.”
Veterans like Kristofer Goldsmith discovered first-hand how the government sent them ill-prepared into a war under false pretenses, changed their rules of engagement with every deployment, brainwashed them into dehumanizing the Iraqi population, and brought them home without adequate means of caring for those for whom the war still rages on.
go here for the rest
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3585/
States Step Up with War Vet Aid
States Step Up with War Vet Aid
Mclatchy -Tribune News Service March 17, 2008
FORT KNOX, Ky. - In the complicated world of military and veterans' benefits, in which returning warriors face a bewildering array of complicated and sometimes conflicting directions, Wally Kotarski is a middleman.
One morning last week, with a fresh coating of snow covering the U.S. Army base in Fort Knox, Kotarski met with a soldier recently back from Iraq. The soldier had such a debilitating case of post-traumatic stress disorder that his squad leader was ushering him around.
Kotarski explained the range of services and benefits that the soldier could - and should - receive once he's discharged from the Army. He tracked down the address of a Vet Center, operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, in the soldier's neighborhood in Brooklyn. When the soldier goes home, one of Kotarski's colleagues will make sure that somebody in New York gets the veteran to the center.
Kotarski, who served in the Army for 20 years, works for the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, participating in a new program that's designed to ensure that soldiers don't fall through the cracks.
As troops stream home from Iraq and Afghanistan, and as the VA and military systems restructure their benefits and services, states increasingly are stepping in to help service members navigate the process and get on with their lives five years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Citizen soldiers from various states' National Guard and Army Reserve units make up a substantial portion of Iraq forces, and soldiers are doing repeat deployments. Many come back with deep psychological problems on top of their physical wounds.
States, as well as nonprofit organizations such as the American Legion, have long played a role in helping veterans. Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan started, however, some states have boosted their efforts, worried that the federal government is overwhelmed or otherwise unable to tend to returning soldiers quickly enough.
"We don't think that the VA is going to come through for our veterans in a timely fashion, and these are problems we see now," said Linda Schwartz, who heads the state veterans department in Connecticut. "If the VA catches up with us, good. If not, we have to take care of our people."
Around the country, state veterans departments spend more than $4 billion a year on benefits and services, according to Leslie Beavers, the head of Kentucky's program and a former president of a national association of state VA directors.
Each state has its own programs. Some run nursing homes for older vets and provide cemetery space in case there are no nearby federal VA cemeteries. Many provide assistance to veterans in applying for federal VA disability benefits.
In recent years, state programs have increased those efforts, both in money spent and in hands-on services. In Kentucky, Beavers said his state program had grown to $44 million a year, up from $17 million in 1998.
In Washington state, director John Lee said his two-year budget had jumped to $111 million, from $70 million at the start of the Iraq war. In Massachusetts, the budget has nearly doubled in the past five years, to a proposed $50 million for the next fiscal year.
The combined spending by state programs is dwarfed by the federal VA budget, which also is expanding rapidly and is proposed to top $90 billion next fiscal year for health-care and disability benefits, among other functions.
The state efforts, however, are driven by the belief that some veterans still slip through the cracks, and the fact that navigating the federal VA is daunting for the average person.
"We have a great VA system, but it's also time-consuming and incredibly complicated," Lee said. "We need somebody to be an advocate for the veteran."
go here for the rest
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,164093,00.html
Mclatchy -Tribune News Service March 17, 2008
FORT KNOX, Ky. - In the complicated world of military and veterans' benefits, in which returning warriors face a bewildering array of complicated and sometimes conflicting directions, Wally Kotarski is a middleman.
One morning last week, with a fresh coating of snow covering the U.S. Army base in Fort Knox, Kotarski met with a soldier recently back from Iraq. The soldier had such a debilitating case of post-traumatic stress disorder that his squad leader was ushering him around.
Kotarski explained the range of services and benefits that the soldier could - and should - receive once he's discharged from the Army. He tracked down the address of a Vet Center, operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, in the soldier's neighborhood in Brooklyn. When the soldier goes home, one of Kotarski's colleagues will make sure that somebody in New York gets the veteran to the center.
Kotarski, who served in the Army for 20 years, works for the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, participating in a new program that's designed to ensure that soldiers don't fall through the cracks.
As troops stream home from Iraq and Afghanistan, and as the VA and military systems restructure their benefits and services, states increasingly are stepping in to help service members navigate the process and get on with their lives five years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Citizen soldiers from various states' National Guard and Army Reserve units make up a substantial portion of Iraq forces, and soldiers are doing repeat deployments. Many come back with deep psychological problems on top of their physical wounds.
States, as well as nonprofit organizations such as the American Legion, have long played a role in helping veterans. Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan started, however, some states have boosted their efforts, worried that the federal government is overwhelmed or otherwise unable to tend to returning soldiers quickly enough.
"We don't think that the VA is going to come through for our veterans in a timely fashion, and these are problems we see now," said Linda Schwartz, who heads the state veterans department in Connecticut. "If the VA catches up with us, good. If not, we have to take care of our people."
Around the country, state veterans departments spend more than $4 billion a year on benefits and services, according to Leslie Beavers, the head of Kentucky's program and a former president of a national association of state VA directors.
Each state has its own programs. Some run nursing homes for older vets and provide cemetery space in case there are no nearby federal VA cemeteries. Many provide assistance to veterans in applying for federal VA disability benefits.
In recent years, state programs have increased those efforts, both in money spent and in hands-on services. In Kentucky, Beavers said his state program had grown to $44 million a year, up from $17 million in 1998.
In Washington state, director John Lee said his two-year budget had jumped to $111 million, from $70 million at the start of the Iraq war. In Massachusetts, the budget has nearly doubled in the past five years, to a proposed $50 million for the next fiscal year.
The combined spending by state programs is dwarfed by the federal VA budget, which also is expanding rapidly and is proposed to top $90 billion next fiscal year for health-care and disability benefits, among other functions.
The state efforts, however, are driven by the belief that some veterans still slip through the cracks, and the fact that navigating the federal VA is daunting for the average person.
"We have a great VA system, but it's also time-consuming and incredibly complicated," Lee said. "We need somebody to be an advocate for the veteran."
go here for the rest
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,164093,00.html
Caring for the families of wounded warriors
From Sgt. Samuel Nichols, USMC blog
Common sense and compassion is desperately needed in this country right now for their sake. It doesn't matter which side of the occupation of Iraq you may take because both sides feel they are fighting for the troops. So why don't we when it matters the most to them? Why doesn't the right and the left come together on wounded issue?
This boggles my mind constantly. I cannot understand how groups like Gathering of Eagles can mobilize against Code Pink and visa versa regarding the occupation of Iraq but they cannot mobilize the same show of force to make sure our Congress does whatever it will take to care for the wounded. The troops will not come home from Iraq tomorrow or anytime this year. This Bush has made perfectly clear. He has absolutely no intentions of even discussing it. What we do know is that tomorrow there will be more wounded needing help. There will be more wounded until the troops are out of Iraq and Afghanistan. They need to be the priority of all Americans. We ask so much of them and yet find it too difficult to fight for them.
I'm tired of fighting the right because I happen to be on the other side of the issue. I do not agree with some who calls for immediate withdrawal, but I call for a wise withdrawal. There needs to be plans, well formulated plans in place immediately to have this mess ended as soon as possible. The troops have done and are doing all they can but the rest of the steps needed for Iraq are not being done. Years ago the military leadership stated clearly Iraq cannot be made secure by the military alone, yet we ignore the fact the men and women deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are the ones risking their lives and dying as well as returning home wounded. They need us. Plain and simply, they need us to make sure Congress takes care of them and does whatever it takes to accomplish this mission with absolutely no excuses.
We can debate all we want about Iraq but we cannot debate about the needs of the men and women who were willing to serve this nation. At this perilous time for them, we either stand up for them or we ignore them because we have an agenda to prove that we are right and the other side is wrong. When it comes to them both sides need to be for them when they need us.
Testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs: Sometimes I wonder if our government leaders ever hear of the hardships and trials our military families endure when our troops are at war. Can they even fathom the sacrifice the spouses and family of our wounded warriors go through when these brave warriors come back from Iraq or Afghanistan with missing limbs, PTSD or traumatic brain injury? Are they aware of the financial burden on the families—not just the wife, but the mother and father–brothers and sisters? Do they care about the mental anguish that is involved in seeing our son’s come back with disabilities that may be with them the rest of their lives? And most importantly—do they understand their moral obligation to ensure the wounded warriors (and their families) have everything they need to care for their medical (mental and physical) needs?
go here for the rest
http://tneria01.wordpress.com/2008/03/17/caring-for-the-families-of-wounded-warriors/
Common sense and compassion is desperately needed in this country right now for their sake. It doesn't matter which side of the occupation of Iraq you may take because both sides feel they are fighting for the troops. So why don't we when it matters the most to them? Why doesn't the right and the left come together on wounded issue?
This boggles my mind constantly. I cannot understand how groups like Gathering of Eagles can mobilize against Code Pink and visa versa regarding the occupation of Iraq but they cannot mobilize the same show of force to make sure our Congress does whatever it will take to care for the wounded. The troops will not come home from Iraq tomorrow or anytime this year. This Bush has made perfectly clear. He has absolutely no intentions of even discussing it. What we do know is that tomorrow there will be more wounded needing help. There will be more wounded until the troops are out of Iraq and Afghanistan. They need to be the priority of all Americans. We ask so much of them and yet find it too difficult to fight for them.
I'm tired of fighting the right because I happen to be on the other side of the issue. I do not agree with some who calls for immediate withdrawal, but I call for a wise withdrawal. There needs to be plans, well formulated plans in place immediately to have this mess ended as soon as possible. The troops have done and are doing all they can but the rest of the steps needed for Iraq are not being done. Years ago the military leadership stated clearly Iraq cannot be made secure by the military alone, yet we ignore the fact the men and women deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are the ones risking their lives and dying as well as returning home wounded. They need us. Plain and simply, they need us to make sure Congress takes care of them and does whatever it takes to accomplish this mission with absolutely no excuses.
We can debate all we want about Iraq but we cannot debate about the needs of the men and women who were willing to serve this nation. At this perilous time for them, we either stand up for them or we ignore them because we have an agenda to prove that we are right and the other side is wrong. When it comes to them both sides need to be for them when they need us.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Women of the United States Armed Forces
From DAV magazine March/April Issue
By Dave Autry
"With more women answering the call to duty, more women veterans need timely access to health care and other earned benefits and services when they return"
"More than 182,000 women have served in Iraq, Afghanistan and the surrounding region-about 11% of U.S. troops deployed, according to the Pentagon. That far surpasses the number 7,500 women who served in Vietnam and the nearly 41,000 deployed during the Gulf War."
What is the most shocking is this;
"The VA reports that 20 percent of women seeking its care since 2002 showed symptoms of military sexual trauma.
If you are a woman warrior, please consider joining this group.
Welcome Women of the United States Armed Forces
(Army/Navy/Air Force/Marines/Coast Guard - Reserve and National Guard)
National Summer Meeting
Please click on the National Summer Meeting hyperlink above for information on how to register and Hotel information.
Welcome to The United Female Veterans of America, Inc. (UFVA) website.
This organization is a non-profit veterans organization. We were formed in May 2006 out of a necessity to bring women veterans together in a unified organization.
Our Vision
To support the women of today's Armed Forces
To keep alive the heritage and legacy of the women who pioneered the way
Our Purpose
To uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America
To safeguard the principles of freedom, liberty and justice for all
To promote the cause of peace and goodwill among nations
To maintain the freedom of our country
To preserve the fundamentals of democracy
To support the friendship and associations of all veterans
To dedicate ourselves to the cause of mutual assistance to all veterans
Our Objectives
Promote the general welfare of all veterans in hospitals or wherever the need exists
Provide informational publications about veterans service and support
Promote our military history and heritage within the military, in our schools and in our community
Support general education and civic interest programs for the betterment of our communities
Our Dream
That no veteran ever spends another day without a friend, a home, a family, a meal, a job, a healthy mind and body and a heartfelt thanks for their sacrifices for our country.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Organizational Profile
The United Female Veterans of America, Inc. is an active member of the communities where we work and live. To this end, we have developed a service support program of financial aid and manpower that includes:
Veterans Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Rehabilitation Centers
Homeless Veterans with Dependants Initiative
Veterans Education and Training Centers - Nationwide
Veterans Events - i.e.; Memorial Day, Veterans' Day, 9/11 Memorial Service; Vietnam Moving Wall, Veterans Muster, African-American Medal of Honor Memorial Ceremonies; Veterans' Stand-downs
Community projects - i.e.; Suited to Succeed, The Sharing Table, Martha's Meals, Meals on Wheels, Golden Diners
We belong to the Chamber of Commerce in each county that we have a chapter.
Our Membership is comprised of women who have served and/or are serving in the United States Armed Forces. This includes the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard (Active duty, Reserve and National Guard).
http://www.ufva.us/
You need all the support you can get and there are very few groups just for female veterans.
Who would have thought that during the Civil War a woman would be awarded The Medal of Honor? When we think of those days, we tend to zero in on Scarlet O'Hara of Gone With the Wind, not a real hero who was so far ahead of her time, she became an icon in days where women were a little more worthy than a horse.
The Medal of Honor - the nation's highest award.
Dr Mary Walker, a surgeon in the Civil War, was awarded the nation's highest honor by President Andrew Johnson. The citation reads, in part:
"Whereas it appears from official reports that Dr. Mary E. Walker, a graduate of medicine, has rendered valuable service to the government, and her efforts have been earnest and untiring in a variety of ways, and that she was assigned to duty and served as an assistant surgeon in charge of female prisoners at Louisville, KY., under the recommendation of Major-Generals Sherman and Thomas, and faithfully served as contract surgeon in the service of the United states, and has devoted herself with much patriotic zeal to the sick and wounded soldiers, both in the field and hospitals, to the detriment of her own health, and has endured hardships as a prisoner of war four months in a southern prison while acting as contract surgeon...."
Most decorated
Colonel Ruby Bradley is America's most decorated military woman. She served in WWII - and was a POW for 37 months in a Japanese prison camp. Later she was a frontline U.S. Army nurse in Korea on the day 100,000 Chinese soldiers overran American troops and started closing in on her hospital tent. Col. Bradley has earned 34 medals and citations for bravery, including two Bronze stars. She retired from the Army in 1963, but remained a nurse all her working life.
According to Arlington National Cemetery upon the death of Col. Bradley in 2002 at age 94 -
"On December 1, 1999, then 91 years of age, Col. Ruby Bradley received more than a dozen military awards to replace those she had lost over the years. She is the nation's most highly-decorated female veteran. Senator Rockefeller presented the medals and ribbons to Bradley, a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, who lives in Spencer, West Virginia. She was a U.S. Army nurse and a POW for two years in the Philippines and was known as the "Angel in Fatigues" at Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila.
The replacement awards reportedly included the Legion of Merit medals, the Bronze Star, two Presidential Emblems, the Meritorious Unit Emblem, The American Defense Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Army Occupational Medal with Japan clasp, three Korea Service medals, the Philippine Liberation Medal, the Philippine Independence Ribbon and the United Nations Service Medal.
http://userpages.aug.com/captb...
Three women have been awarded Silver Stars
Spc. Monica Lin Brown from Lake Jackson Texas of 82 Air borne stands guard at a forwarded operating base in Khost, Afghanistan, Saturday, March 8, 2008. Brown, will be the second female soldier awarded the Silver Star since World War II, for her role in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) She was 19 when the award was presented and only 18 when she earned it.
Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester is the first female soldier since World War II to receive the Silver Star medal for valor in combat.
Photo Credit: By Spec. Jeremy D. Crisp -- Defense Department Via Associated PressRelated Article
Mary Roberts Wilson was the first woman to be awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in combat for her action during the battle of Anzio during World War II. With her Army evacuation hospital under German shellfire, Wilson continued supervising her nursing staff of 50, allowing the hospital to continue functioning. Tom Brokaw devoted an entire chapter to Wilson's exploits in his best-selling paean to World War II-era Americans, The Greatest Generation.
With records to prove their bravery, this is what women in the military still face.
Female Veterans Decry Institutional Sexism in Military
Veterans Decry Institutional Sexism in Military
By Liliana Segura, AlterNet. Posted March 17, 2008.
Gender panel at Winter Soldier conference suggests pattern of condescending to outright sexist behavior in the armed forces.
"I joined the military to defend my country, not my integrity and self-worth." So said an eight-year veteran of the National Guard named Abby Hiser on day three of the Winter Soldier hearings outside Washington D.C. Speaking at a packed morning session titled "Divide to Conquer: Gender and Sexuality in the Military," her fellow panelists were mostly female vets slated to address everything from the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy to sexual assault within the ranks. But rather than personal recollections of sexual humiliation or violence -- and in sharp contrast to horror stories told by previous speakers describing their slaughter of Iraqi civilians -- the testimonials that morning revealed more about the kind of institutional sexism that, as an intractable power dynamic, defines the lives of women in uniform.
As soldiers, then as veterans, and, even now, as members of the anti-war movement, women in the military are still fighting to be taken seriously. "It's hard to be a veteran of the war and a woman," said Iraq vet Patty McCann. "... A lot of times my experience gets boiled down to what I experienced as a woman -- and I don't get to talk about some of the things that I experienced as a soldier."
Wendy Barranco couldn't agree more. Trained as a combat medic and deployed in Tikrit between October 2005 and July 2006, she worked in a medical unit where the gender ratio was "about 50/50," mostly male doctors and female nurses. ("A traditional hospital setting," she joked.) On the panel, she had described being sexually harassed nearly every single day of her deployment by a high-ranking surgeon who had fulfilled her request to be moved to the operating room. Feeling she owed him something in return, "this person would catch me alone or push up against me," she said -- but he stopped short of getting too physical. As she put it, "he knew exactly what he was doing."
Wendy never reported him -- "I knew command wasn't going to do anything about it, so there was no point" -- in no small part because it would end up being her word against his. Besides, she said, "are they gonna get rid of the guy whose making decisions and saving lives, or me, the disposable specialist?"
On the panel, describing the dread she felt going to work every day knowing that she had to be constantly watching her back, Wendy had briefly broken down, frustrated, muttering, "I hate to be the girl." Later, when asked about the sense that she was viewed first as a woman rather than a soldier, she said, "it's definitely true."
"You're seen as, like, the 'weight,'" she said. "The weakly being." Even in its less egregious forms, sexist attitudes were often the norm. "There's a sense of, oh, now we've got a woman, now I've gotta pick up her baggage and mine." Yet it was rarely discussed. Wendy called the sexist power dynamic in the military "the big pink elephant in the room."
Fellow veteran and Iraq Veterans Against the War member Jen Hogg agreed that the attitude of male soldiers could range from condescending to outright sexist. As a mechanic on reserve duty, she often had to work with cumbersome equipment that invited perceptions that she was weaker and less capable. If male soldiers tried to help, "they weren't trying to be rude" -- but it did play into a power dynamic that leaves female soldiers treated like second-class citizens.
go here for the rest
http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/79877/
By Liliana Segura, AlterNet. Posted March 17, 2008.
Gender panel at Winter Soldier conference suggests pattern of condescending to outright sexist behavior in the armed forces.
"I joined the military to defend my country, not my integrity and self-worth." So said an eight-year veteran of the National Guard named Abby Hiser on day three of the Winter Soldier hearings outside Washington D.C. Speaking at a packed morning session titled "Divide to Conquer: Gender and Sexuality in the Military," her fellow panelists were mostly female vets slated to address everything from the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy to sexual assault within the ranks. But rather than personal recollections of sexual humiliation or violence -- and in sharp contrast to horror stories told by previous speakers describing their slaughter of Iraqi civilians -- the testimonials that morning revealed more about the kind of institutional sexism that, as an intractable power dynamic, defines the lives of women in uniform.
As soldiers, then as veterans, and, even now, as members of the anti-war movement, women in the military are still fighting to be taken seriously. "It's hard to be a veteran of the war and a woman," said Iraq vet Patty McCann. "... A lot of times my experience gets boiled down to what I experienced as a woman -- and I don't get to talk about some of the things that I experienced as a soldier."
Wendy Barranco couldn't agree more. Trained as a combat medic and deployed in Tikrit between October 2005 and July 2006, she worked in a medical unit where the gender ratio was "about 50/50," mostly male doctors and female nurses. ("A traditional hospital setting," she joked.) On the panel, she had described being sexually harassed nearly every single day of her deployment by a high-ranking surgeon who had fulfilled her request to be moved to the operating room. Feeling she owed him something in return, "this person would catch me alone or push up against me," she said -- but he stopped short of getting too physical. As she put it, "he knew exactly what he was doing."
Wendy never reported him -- "I knew command wasn't going to do anything about it, so there was no point" -- in no small part because it would end up being her word against his. Besides, she said, "are they gonna get rid of the guy whose making decisions and saving lives, or me, the disposable specialist?"
On the panel, describing the dread she felt going to work every day knowing that she had to be constantly watching her back, Wendy had briefly broken down, frustrated, muttering, "I hate to be the girl." Later, when asked about the sense that she was viewed first as a woman rather than a soldier, she said, "it's definitely true."
"You're seen as, like, the 'weight,'" she said. "The weakly being." Even in its less egregious forms, sexist attitudes were often the norm. "There's a sense of, oh, now we've got a woman, now I've gotta pick up her baggage and mine." Yet it was rarely discussed. Wendy called the sexist power dynamic in the military "the big pink elephant in the room."
Fellow veteran and Iraq Veterans Against the War member Jen Hogg agreed that the attitude of male soldiers could range from condescending to outright sexist. As a mechanic on reserve duty, she often had to work with cumbersome equipment that invited perceptions that she was weaker and less capable. If male soldiers tried to help, "they weren't trying to be rude" -- but it did play into a power dynamic that leaves female soldiers treated like second-class citizens.
go here for the rest
http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/79877/
Former Marine Scott Carey Slipping through the cracks
Slipping through the cracks
Former Marine Scott Carey came home from Iraq after being shot and hit with shrapnel with a case of post-traUmatic stress disorder that drove him to self medicate and ultimately get in trouble with the law. Until his legal problems Carey did not get much treatment for the disorder but now uses counseling resources from the V.A. Hospital. - News-Record photo by Nathan Payne
By BRANTLEY HARGROVE, News-Record Writer
Published: Saturday, March 15, 2008 10:36 PM MDT
The yellow ribbons came down and the roses wilted. The rah-rah ebbed and the flags held in the hands of a row of other proud veterans who fought other wars stopped fluttering. The “welcome home, soldier” celebrations ended. There were no more slaps on the back.
Life for everyone else went back to normal. It followed the normal rhythms of the everyday, the mundane, even the complacent or ambivalent, half a world away from the Middle East.
But the euphoria of making it home alive dissipated for Scott Carey after he returned from Iraq in the spring of 2003.
While everyone else went about the day-to-day, he tried to figure out what exactly that meant for him. The former Marine Corps combat engineer caught a bullet through both elbows and his left hip in Iraq. While he was waiting to be evacuated, a mortar detonated nearby and shrapnel pierced his back.
Life as he knew it ended before that day, though. The things he’d seen came home, too. He looked death in the face in the form of improvised explosive devices he routinely cleared. That hyper-alert awareness that evolved inside him — an adaptation in combat — became a liability in civilian life.
How does one shift from fifth gear to first, where such behavior is seen as paranoia, not caution?
It changed him, body and mind. The skinny private first class became more lineman than lean soldier in the years after his return. Wearing a camouflage UFC T-shirt and a camouflage cap covering close-cropped hair, Carey has eyes that are both melancholy and direct at times.
For six months he was a VA inpatient on a heavy regimen of anti-depressants — about 1,300 milligrams of Seroquel for his anxiety and depression, and Trazadone for sleep. He felt like he was losing sight of himself in the drugs.
After his medical discharge at the beginning of 2005, Carey didn’t want to be thought of as a pill-popper, a mental health stigma the VA and the military are trying to turn on its head. The rationale among soldiers is if you make it out alive, you can take care of yourself afterward. You should rely on your combat buddies, not some head shrinker who wasn’t there, who doesn’t understand. But his buddies scattered to the four winds to reclaim their own lives. There was no one around who understood.
He wasn’t a part of that family that gave him place and purpose. It’s a common theme among vets. Many still in the service will keep it together, vets say. That military structure girds their traumatized minds. When it’s gone, they crumble.
“When I got medically discharged, it was like ... they took me away from something I was good at.”
For them, the hardest part is just asking for help.
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HOW TO FIND HELP- If you or someone you know is having a hard time dealing with combat experiences, help is out there.-
Leon Chamberlain is the advocate for vets in the northern part of Wyoming, and he can find you help. He can be reached at (307) 359-2430.-
The number for the VA clinic in Gillette is 685-0676.-
The number for the VA Medical Center in Sheridan is (307) 672-3473.
Many Returning Troops Struggle To Reconnect
Many Returning Troops Struggle To Reconnect
By LISA CHEDEKEL Courant Staff Writer
March 16, 2008
From a distance, the more than 11,000 state residents who have returned from war in the past five years have disappeared seamlessly into the Connecticut landscape — back to colleges, spouses, civilian or military jobs.
But up close, the transition has not been so smooth.
A first-ever survey of returning state troops shows that at least one-quarter of them meet the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, while many cite problems with a spouse or partner and difficulties "connecting emotionally with family" as major concerns.
A state mental health hot line has fielded more than 300 calls for assistance from Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their family members in the past nine months. Recently, the state veterans' affairs commissioner has begun working with the courts to ensure that increasing numbers of recently returned troops who are arrested for domestic violence, drunken driving or other offenses are flagged and referred to counseling programs.
"There's a lot of real high risks here — not only for the military members themselves, but for their families," said Linda Schwartz, commissioner of the state Department of Veterans' Affairs. "We have people in almost every town in our state who have served deployments, and the VA is just not going to be able to get to them all. We have to do more to reach out to them … to catch them when they fall."
Preliminary findings of a survey sent to 1,000 Connecticut troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan — more than half in the National Guard or reserves — found that about 19 percent met criteria indicating they are at risk of traumatic brain injury, while at least 24 percent met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Schwartz said the percentage of troops who are experiencing symptoms of PTSD is likely higher than the rate captured in the survey, which used strict criteria.
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http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ptsdvets0316.artmar16,0,6961936.story
By LISA CHEDEKEL Courant Staff Writer
March 16, 2008
From a distance, the more than 11,000 state residents who have returned from war in the past five years have disappeared seamlessly into the Connecticut landscape — back to colleges, spouses, civilian or military jobs.
But up close, the transition has not been so smooth.
A first-ever survey of returning state troops shows that at least one-quarter of them meet the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, while many cite problems with a spouse or partner and difficulties "connecting emotionally with family" as major concerns.
A state mental health hot line has fielded more than 300 calls for assistance from Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their family members in the past nine months. Recently, the state veterans' affairs commissioner has begun working with the courts to ensure that increasing numbers of recently returned troops who are arrested for domestic violence, drunken driving or other offenses are flagged and referred to counseling programs.
"There's a lot of real high risks here — not only for the military members themselves, but for their families," said Linda Schwartz, commissioner of the state Department of Veterans' Affairs. "We have people in almost every town in our state who have served deployments, and the VA is just not going to be able to get to them all. We have to do more to reach out to them … to catch them when they fall."
Preliminary findings of a survey sent to 1,000 Connecticut troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan — more than half in the National Guard or reserves — found that about 19 percent met criteria indicating they are at risk of traumatic brain injury, while at least 24 percent met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. Schwartz said the percentage of troops who are experiencing symptoms of PTSD is likely higher than the rate captured in the survey, which used strict criteria.
go here for the rest
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ptsdvets0316.artmar16,0,6961936.story
Tampa's VA hospital reaches out to Iraq, Afghanistan veterans
Frank King of Altamonte Springs holds his 7-month-old daughter, Raynah, as he gets information Saturday during a Welcoming Home Day at the Sun Dome in Tampa. The event was sponsored by the James A. Haley VA Medical Center for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Tampa's VA hospital reaches out to Iraq, Afghanistan veterans
By Jessica Vander Velde, Times Staff Writer
Published Saturday, March 15, 2008 11:09 PM
TAMPA — Iraq war veteran Ken Guillion's back still hurts, even though he stopped carrying heavy .50-caliber machine guns in the Army more than a year ago.
The 29-year-old former gunner wants to start physical therapy for his chronic back pain, but the waiting list was too long at the Veteran Affairs hospital near his home in Indiana.
He's more hopeful about Tampa's services. Although he just moved to the city a week ago, he was at James A. Haley VA Medical Center's "Welcome Home America's Heroes" event Saturday to gather information about medical care he's eligible to receive.
"She pushed me to come," he said, smiling, as he pointed to his fiancee, Linda Rondon.
In a nationwide effort to reach more veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has asked its hospitals to hold welcome back events.
Only about 30 percent of veterans go to VA hospitals, and that needs to change, said Seamless Transition coordinator Steve Preston. "We'd like it at 100 percent," he said.
It's his job to help transfer veterans from military hospitals to VA hospitals.
Tampa's VA Medical Center's chief of staff, Edward Cutolo Jr., said that even though troops are told about VA services when they leave the military, many don't remember the information when they need it.
go here for the rest
http://www.tampabay.com/news/military/veterans/article419066.ece
If you live in Central Florida, join the walk the Veterans For Common Sense is doing on the 30th of March for the men and women we all claim to support. I'm going!
Siesta Key Beach walkathon for Haley House
Veterans to benefit from walkathon
By LESLIE FEINBERG CORRESPONDENT
The Florida Veterans for Common Sense (FVCS) have organized a walkathon to benefit wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan on Siesta Key Beach on March 30.The hospital receives more seriously injured veterans, with staff specializing in the treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries. Since patients often need several months of treatment, their families are left to handle the cost of hotels and living expenses during their recovery.
The Haley House in Brandon helps the friends and families of patients who live more than 50 miles from the Haley House and qualify for aid based upon income with living arrangements as well as the recently completed "Comfort Center," complete with full kitchen, washer and dryer, and a TV and game area.
Volunteers at Haley House have found a marked difference in a patient's recovery with the presence of their loved ones, providing them with the necessary support system to significantly cut down on their recovery time.
As Harry Stimmel, FVCS board member and co-creator of the walkathon said, "If the parents live in Oklahoma, and they don't have much money, we're providing them with some kind of facility so they can visit the veteran ... it can make all the difference."
As a display of their faith in the Haley House Fund and the support that it provides to veterans and their families, each member donates the cost of a room to Haley House on his own birthday every year.All of the local members of the Florida Veterans for Common Sense plan to participate in the walk, as well as many of the Haley House staff.
INTERESTED?
To participate in the walk, make a per-mile pledge or to make a direct donation, contact retired Air Force Lt. Col. Len Gumley, FVCS board member, at (941)927-0777, or mail it to him at 5408 Eagles Point Circle, Sarasota, FL 34231.
All funds raised by the walkathon will go to the Haley House Fund, which was created in 2004 to provide facilities for the visiting loved ones of veterans being treated by the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital.
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9568
Vietnam's veterans ponder what the future holds for today's warriors
"I don't relate," said Mary Jane Shipley of her post-traumatic stress disorder and flashbacks, 40 years after serving as a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital nurse during the Vietnam war. "Nurses see profound loss day after day," she said. (Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune)
Vietnam's veterans ponder what the future holds for today's warriors
By Matthew D. LaPlante
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 03/16/2008 05:35:20 AM MDT
Five years and more than 1 million deployments later, the fog of war remains every bit as thick as it was when the United States invaded Iraq.
But with a strong majority of Americans calling for an end to the war, with the U.S. military stretched perilously thin and with some recent, albeit tenuous, indications that security in Iraq has improved, the years ahead appear to promise fewer deployments, if not outright retreat.
Yet for many of those who return, the war will not be over.
And no one knows better what the future holds for today's veterans than those who returned from another horrible fight, more than three decades ago.
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http://www.sltrib.com/contents/ci_8577838
Sunday, March 16, 2008
David Streeter Defends The Castle After Iraq
His Home Is The Castle
JAY CONNER/staff
David Streeter works at The Castle in Ybor City. He is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in Iraq.
By HAROLD VALENTINE, The Tampa Tribune
Published: March 15, 2008
Updated: 03/13/2008 07:23 pm
TAMPA - When he came home from Iraq, Paula Streeter's son had a habit of driving in the middle of the road "because he didn't want to get blown up" by roadside bombs, she said.
But that was only when he was willing to leave the house.
After serving 10 months in Iraq as an Army military policeman, David Streeter, 23, was diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress syndrome and was honorably discharged May 30, 2005. He returned home to live with his parents in Citrus Park and then spent the next six months in his bed with a severe loss of appetite.
"He was always boney," said Tim Fisher, Streeter's friend since seventh grade at Davidsen Middle School. "But he got down to 130" pounds. Streeter is 6 feet tall.
Fisher said Streeter wasn't the same person. Fisher tried to take him to a few rock concerts, and his demeanor would improve for a short time, "but it was too soon."
"My psychologist told me I need to force myself to do this stuff," Streeter said. "Otherwise, I'd end up being a hermit the rest of my life."
Streeter said he has been receiving treatment at the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa since he came home. But he said he knows other soldiers who have returned from Iraq with similar problems and are not getting treatment.
Copyright TBO.com Staff
Citrus Park resident David Streeter is an Iraq war veteran who suffers from post traumatic stress disorder. Streeter, who has been visiting a psychologist and psyciatrist for several months, says his "new platoon" is at a club in Ybor City where he now works; fellow employees there have finally helped him feel normal again. This is a COPY of a photo of Streeter in uniform. PHOTO PROVIDED BY DAVID STREETER
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Nun-sense Nun hopes to help soldiers victimized by war
McCLATCHY-TRIBUNE PHOTO
Soldiers can face a variety of woes - taken home with them - because of what they've seen, done and endured.
Them Bones
Nun hopes to help soldiers victimized by war
By MARVIN READ
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
It seems a strange job for a Catholic nun, but a member of the Sisters of Charity is in Pueblo this weekend to find and work with veterans who have been traumatized by their war experiences.
Sister Kateri Koverman hopes to be contacted by veterans or active members of the reserves or National Guard who have served in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Her pilot project is aimed at a relatively small group that also includes those who have been dishonorably discharged and military women.
She'll be in Pueblo from 2 to 6 p.m. today, at the Robert Hoag Rawlings Library. She's be in town Sunday, too, and may be contacted at 513-366-4426, or via e-mail at aboveashes@aol.com.
She will be trying to contact veterans in the Colorado Springs area later this month.
She hopes to provide, through her seven-year-old agency, called Them Bones Veteran Community, couples and group psycho-education as well as therapy "for the common good of veterans, their family units and the civic community."
Additionally, she hopes to submit a grant proposal by March 21 to fund the no-fee outreach program in Pueblo, El Paso and Fremont counties, three areas where, she said, many of those who have served at Fort Carson might live. She is aiming for a start-up grant of $20,000 from a private organization.
go here for the rest
http://www.chieftain.com/life/1205643600/1
Canada's Soldiers:Soldier On doesn't cut it anymore
Health officials fear rising troop death toll could add to emotional issues
Each death on the dusty roads and battlefields of Afghanistan creates a new group of soldiers who must cope with the loss of a friend and comrade.
Those left behind often talk about the need to "soldier on," and they resolve to use the death as a point of pride to complete Canada's mission to help secure Afghanistan for future generations.
Health-care officials worry that when soldiers return home from overseas, they can have difficulties including sleeplessness, nightmares and other symptoms that can affect their day-to-day lives.
The loss of a fellow soldier can be particularly frustrating, says Dr. Harvey Smith, who runs a clinic in Calgary dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
"It's more than just the trauma or violent loss of a comrade. There's a sense of responsibility for your partner that goes along with that," explains Smith, a psychologist who spent 20 years in the military.
"You'll find people will question what they could have done or should have done differently and so it's more than just the loss, it's the feeling of responsibility for their co-worker or their buddy."
Eighty Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan. Earlier this week, Bombardier Jeremie Ouellet was found dead in his sleeping quarters at Kandahar Airfield .
A feeling of numbness, along with anger and an inability to cope, is a common symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. Once known as shell shock, its sufferers were originally viewed as cowards. But that has changed dramatically over the past 10 years, and it's now accepted that psychological wounds are debilitating and can ruin a life.
"For a normal soldier, you see their pride in what they do and their focus on the mission," says Smith, who manages the Carewest Operational Stress Injury clinic, which treats military veterans suffering from the disorder.
"We see the ones for whom things are not going well. Stress and trauma takes its toll on people and on good soldiers, too, who are really skilled, proud, capable people."
Canada's combat mission means a growing number of soldiers will probably be forced to battle not only post-traumatic stress, but a range of mental disorders, says a Winnipeg psychiatrist who researches mental health problems in the Canadian Forces.
Dr. Jitender Sareen was the lead author of a 2007 study that found 31 per cent of Canadian soldiers have symptoms of a mental disorder - ranging from depression to post-traumatic stress and substance abuse. (The website for the Canadian Mental Health Association says 20 per cent of Canadians will personally experience a mental illness in their lifetime, and other estimates put the figure closer to 25 per cent.)
click post title for the rest
Each death on the dusty roads and battlefields of Afghanistan creates a new group of soldiers who must cope with the loss of a friend and comrade.
Those left behind often talk about the need to "soldier on," and they resolve to use the death as a point of pride to complete Canada's mission to help secure Afghanistan for future generations.
Health-care officials worry that when soldiers return home from overseas, they can have difficulties including sleeplessness, nightmares and other symptoms that can affect their day-to-day lives.
The loss of a fellow soldier can be particularly frustrating, says Dr. Harvey Smith, who runs a clinic in Calgary dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
"It's more than just the trauma or violent loss of a comrade. There's a sense of responsibility for your partner that goes along with that," explains Smith, a psychologist who spent 20 years in the military.
"You'll find people will question what they could have done or should have done differently and so it's more than just the loss, it's the feeling of responsibility for their co-worker or their buddy."
Eighty Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan. Earlier this week, Bombardier Jeremie Ouellet was found dead in his sleeping quarters at Kandahar Airfield .
A feeling of numbness, along with anger and an inability to cope, is a common symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. Once known as shell shock, its sufferers were originally viewed as cowards. But that has changed dramatically over the past 10 years, and it's now accepted that psychological wounds are debilitating and can ruin a life.
"For a normal soldier, you see their pride in what they do and their focus on the mission," says Smith, who manages the Carewest Operational Stress Injury clinic, which treats military veterans suffering from the disorder.
"We see the ones for whom things are not going well. Stress and trauma takes its toll on people and on good soldiers, too, who are really skilled, proud, capable people."
Canada's combat mission means a growing number of soldiers will probably be forced to battle not only post-traumatic stress, but a range of mental disorders, says a Winnipeg psychiatrist who researches mental health problems in the Canadian Forces.
Dr. Jitender Sareen was the lead author of a 2007 study that found 31 per cent of Canadian soldiers have symptoms of a mental disorder - ranging from depression to post-traumatic stress and substance abuse. (The website for the Canadian Mental Health Association says 20 per cent of Canadians will personally experience a mental illness in their lifetime, and other estimates put the figure closer to 25 per cent.)
click post title for the rest
Army probe finds failures in care at Fort Knox unit
LEFT BEHIND: Melissa Cassidy (left) and her mother-in-law, Kay McMullen, want changes in how wounded soldiers are cared for so Sgt. Gerald Cassidy's death while in the Army's care will not be in vain. Abbey, 5, and Isaac, 3, also survive their father, who was 31.
SPECIAL REPORT
A soldier's death, a family's fight
Army probe finds failures in care at Fort Knox unit
By Maureen Groppe
Star Washington Bureau
FORT KNOX, KY. -- When Sgt. Gerald Cassidy died alone from a prescription drug overdose at the Army's Warrior Transition Unit here, at a facility set up expressly to help wounded soldiers, he had more than 600 prescription pills in his room.
His body was found Sept. 21 in a chair in his room, after he had missed required morning and afternoon check-in for three days.
A sergeant was supposed to have taken attendance and tracked down anyone not present.
Instead, the sergeant ignored Cassidy's absence the first afternoon, missed the next daily check-in with car trouble and the following day marked Cassidy present even though he wasn't.
Cassidy was found dead more than eight hours after his wife, Melissa, began calling Fort Knox in an escalating panic on Sept. 21.
Finally, after she called at 6 p.m. and told a sergeant that she was getting ready to drive down from Westfield to look for her husband herself, the sergeant checked Cassidy's room.
Two hours later, Melissa was told over the telephone that her husband had been found dead in his small room. Four hours after that, about midnight, an Army chaplain arrived at Melissa's home.
The Army pronounced Cassidy's death an accidental overdose. The 31-year-old soldier took too many prescription drugs that, in combination, suppressed his respiratory system. In his system were methadone, the antidepressant citalopram, multiple opiates, a tranquilizer and a hypertension drug.
These and other details about how Cassidy lived his last few days and how he died were revealed recently by his wife and mother in an interview with The Indianapolis Star.
Cassidy's family also provided to The Star key documents from the Army's investigation of his death that had not previously been released and shared some notes Cassidy wrote at Fort Knox about his anxiety over loud noises and lack of sleep and his concern for the impact of his illness on his family.
The family says it is speaking out in hopes that greater public awareness will help other soldiers get better treatment.
The family found an ally in Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, who is calling for numerous changes in the way the military handles mental health services for wounded soldiers.
"The pain is never going to go away," said Cassidy's mother, Kay McMullen, Carmel. "You've got to do something then to change the outcome for other people."
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Mental health care hit and miss, troops say
Mental health care hit and miss, troops say
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Mar 16, 2008 8:28:34 EDT
Service members told Congress Friday that mental health care for post-traumatic stress disorder is good — if they can get it.
In one case, a suicidal soldier asked for help and got it. In another, a soldier deployed to Iraq asked for help, and when he didn’t get it, he killed himself.
While military surgeons general told the House Armed Services personnel subcommittee about new programs designed to provide a safety net to catch troops with mental disorders, they also talked about issues that still must be addressed — recruiting and retaining mental health providers, ensuring leaders understand suicide, and finding proper treatment for PTSD.
“I think we are grappling with this about as hard as we can,” said S. Ward Casscells, assistant defense secretary for health affairs. He said the Defense Department is working to improve screening, implementing more resiliency training — teaching troops to be mentally strong as well as physically strong — and figuring out how to define and treat PTSD.
“Treatment is a struggle,” Casscells said. “We don’t know very well what treatments work.”
go here for the rest
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/03/military_mentalhealth_031408w/
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Mar 16, 2008 8:28:34 EDT
Service members told Congress Friday that mental health care for post-traumatic stress disorder is good — if they can get it.
In one case, a suicidal soldier asked for help and got it. In another, a soldier deployed to Iraq asked for help, and when he didn’t get it, he killed himself.
While military surgeons general told the House Armed Services personnel subcommittee about new programs designed to provide a safety net to catch troops with mental disorders, they also talked about issues that still must be addressed — recruiting and retaining mental health providers, ensuring leaders understand suicide, and finding proper treatment for PTSD.
“I think we are grappling with this about as hard as we can,” said S. Ward Casscells, assistant defense secretary for health affairs. He said the Defense Department is working to improve screening, implementing more resiliency training — teaching troops to be mentally strong as well as physically strong — and figuring out how to define and treat PTSD.
“Treatment is a struggle,” Casscells said. “We don’t know very well what treatments work.”
go here for the rest
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/03/military_mentalhealth_031408w/
War's legacy: Its human toll
War's legacy: Its human toll
By Philip Dine
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
03/16/2008
WASHINGTON --As the Iraq war ends its fifth year, a dominant legacy of the conflict has turned out to be the human toll on those who have fought it.
The nature and sheer extent of American casualties — officially in the tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands have sought medical help — has caught the U.S. government off guard.
From wounded soldiers who faced dilapidated conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to troops whose mental problems have been overlooked, Iraq veterans have paid the price
"The government was not ready for the casualties to come home," says Brad Trower, 29, a Marine Corps veteran from High Ridge who was injured twice in his tour in Iraq.
When Trower returned to St. Louis in 2005, suffering from traumatic brain injury after two vehicles he was riding in were blown up within a month of his arrival, he got "zero response" initially from local Veterans Affairs officials, though he is now doing well.
Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, says the nation has failed to heed the lessons of Vietnam, a war whose veterans constitute half of the 400,000 people sleeping on America's streets tonight.
Though the number of veterans today is smaller, the percentage of veterans who become homeless, commit suicide or face other social problems, partly because of a lack of treatment, is similar to that of the Vietnam era, Filner says.
click post title for the rest
By Philip Dine
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
03/16/2008
WASHINGTON --As the Iraq war ends its fifth year, a dominant legacy of the conflict has turned out to be the human toll on those who have fought it.
The nature and sheer extent of American casualties — officially in the tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands have sought medical help — has caught the U.S. government off guard.
From wounded soldiers who faced dilapidated conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to troops whose mental problems have been overlooked, Iraq veterans have paid the price
"The government was not ready for the casualties to come home," says Brad Trower, 29, a Marine Corps veteran from High Ridge who was injured twice in his tour in Iraq.
When Trower returned to St. Louis in 2005, suffering from traumatic brain injury after two vehicles he was riding in were blown up within a month of his arrival, he got "zero response" initially from local Veterans Affairs officials, though he is now doing well.
Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, says the nation has failed to heed the lessons of Vietnam, a war whose veterans constitute half of the 400,000 people sleeping on America's streets tonight.
Though the number of veterans today is smaller, the percentage of veterans who become homeless, commit suicide or face other social problems, partly because of a lack of treatment, is similar to that of the Vietnam era, Filner says.
"We know how to deal with it," he says, "but we apparently don't want to deal with it."
click post title for the rest
Michael Broas helping veterans heal
Michael Broas was deployed to the central highlands of South Vietnam for about a year.
By AMY REININK
Sun staff writer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He spotted the stack of radios and fought the urge to fall to his knees.
Continue to 2nd paragraph He reeled from the flashbacks. He wept. Then, Michael Broas of Micanopy, who turns 60 this year, looked to the other Vietnam veterans on the trip for support, and started to heal.
Broas served roughly a year with the 4th Infantry Division, 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Unit in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970. He spent several weeks alone in a bunker, manning radios like the ones he saw in Vietnam's presidential palace last October on his return trip to the country where he once fought.
Broas said making the return trip with a group mostly composed of fellow veterans helped complete a healing process that should have started in 1970, but instead began in 1995, when he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after self-medicating for years with drugs and alcohol.
Years of therapy helped. But the return trip allowed for something different. "Upon returning home, I felt I had this burden lifted off me, and felt peace in a way I never had experienced before," Broas said. "Going back brought me closer to memories that had been stuffed away for years. But now I have a whole new set of memories to overlay the first set."
Broas found the trip so therapeutic, he hopes to take other veterans back to Vietnam to find the same sense of closure.
Broas' informal program would follow in the footsteps of many others that encourage veterans to revisit the countries they once fought in, and his trip last October follows those made by a host of other veterans who have sought peace by returning to the places that haunt them.
go here for the rest
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080315/NEWS/803150332/1002/NEWS
Army Staff Sgt. Scott Snyder gets hope from Illinois Warrior Assistance Program
Local soldier struggles with PTSD
Posted: March 15, 2008 03:17 PM EDT
Quad Cities -- Three years after returning from Iraq, Army Staff Sgt. Scott Snyder was watching a war movie when he dropped to his knees because of a flashback. Snyder was eventually diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Snyder had wanted to join the military since he was only 19 years of age. He volunteered to be a part of the first troups on the ground in Iraq.
"I was ecstatic. I was excited so it was equivalent of athletes going into the Olympics," said Snyder
He returned from Iraq in 2004, but was unable to escape the atrocities of war. While watching a war movie in his living room, Snyder dropped to his knees only seconds into the film.
"I could hear and see and smell Iraq, and I was no longer in my living room."
Snyder was eventually diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He received treatment, but originally did not have the option for a support group until he learned about the Illinois Warrior Assistance Program.
"I feel much more positive and hopeful today than I did several months ago."
The program provides counseling services, brain screenings, and a 24-hour help line for soliders and war veterans.
http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=8021670
Posted: March 15, 2008 03:17 PM EDT
Quad Cities -- Three years after returning from Iraq, Army Staff Sgt. Scott Snyder was watching a war movie when he dropped to his knees because of a flashback. Snyder was eventually diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Snyder had wanted to join the military since he was only 19 years of age. He volunteered to be a part of the first troups on the ground in Iraq.
"I was ecstatic. I was excited so it was equivalent of athletes going into the Olympics," said Snyder
He returned from Iraq in 2004, but was unable to escape the atrocities of war. While watching a war movie in his living room, Snyder dropped to his knees only seconds into the film.
"I could hear and see and smell Iraq, and I was no longer in my living room."
Snyder was eventually diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He received treatment, but originally did not have the option for a support group until he learned about the Illinois Warrior Assistance Program.
"I feel much more positive and hopeful today than I did several months ago."
The program provides counseling services, brain screenings, and a 24-hour help line for soliders and war veterans.
http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=8021670
When combat comes home
Ray Parrish (back to camera), of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, talks with Sonia Diaz at Governors State University during a training session for facilitators to help veterans.
(Art Vassy/SouthtownStar)
When combat comes home
Many veterans don't address psychological trauma they carry after returning home from battle, but there is help
March 16, 2008
By Michael Drakulich, Staff writer
For more than 30 years, Joe Kelbus has been making sure his camp is secure.
Since being discharged from the Army in 1968, the Vietnam veteran for years - and still at times now - gets up in the middle of the night to make sure all the doors in his Orland Park home are locked.
Sometimes he sits at the kitchen table at 3 a.m. staring out the window, making sure everything is safe. They are the same habits he learned in the 1st Cavalry Division during his two-year enlistment.
When Kelbus returned home from Vietnam, he couldn't shake the habits. It seemed a little strange to his wife, but not alarming. She wrote off his rather rigid behavior to just being stubborn.
Kelbus realized it wasn't just stubbornness or habit after he got together with several of his combat buddies a few years ago. When the group reminisced about their time in Vietnam, Kelbus couldn't recall many of the events they talked about even though he took part.
"I didn't remember. My buddies had to show me photos to prove to me that I was there," Kelbus said.
His buddies urged him to seek treatment, saying he had suppressed his memories. After doing so, Kelbus was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder with suppressed amnesia. The rigid behavior his wife thought was just stubbornness actually was a symptom.
Dan Casara stands in his memoribilia room. Casara is an Army vet who served in Iraq until September 2006 when his tank ran over an roadside bomb and his leg was injured. Casara took advantage of a new state program meant to diagnose and treat post-traumatic stress disorder. (Jason Han/ SouthtownStar)
New generation
Now there also is a new generation of war veterans needing assistance, such as Dan Casara, a University Park veteran severely injured during a bomb blast in Iraq.
In addition to other injuries, Casara was diagnosed with a rather severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder and a mild case of traumatic brain injury.
Doctors have become more familiar with psychological and brain disorders veterans may face when returning from combat. They have learned more about the consequences of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury since the Korean and Vietnam wars.
go here for the rest
http://www.southtownstar.com/news/842849,031608vetcounsel.article
Human Toll - Up to 700,000 U.S. Casualties Expected from Iraq and Afghanistan
Mar. 16: War's Legacy, Its Human Toll - Up to 700,000 U.S. Casualties Expected from Iraq and Afghanistan Conflicts
Of the 1.7 million service members with recent combat experience, some 800,000 are now veterans entitled to VA health care and benefits. Of those, 300,000 have had treatment; 40 percent were diagnosed with a mental health problem, more than half with PTSD, according to Veterans Affairs figures released as a result of a lawsuit by Veterans for Common Sense, a nonpartisan veterans advocacy group. Paul Sullivan, the group's executive director, says the patient figure could eventually reach 700,000. A recent Harvard University study says taxpayers' cost for the care of injured veterans will run up to $700 billion.
click above for the rest and keep in mind this is just the start of all of this.
Of the 1.7 million service members with recent combat experience, some 800,000 are now veterans entitled to VA health care and benefits. Of those, 300,000 have had treatment; 40 percent were diagnosed with a mental health problem, more than half with PTSD, according to Veterans Affairs figures released as a result of a lawsuit by Veterans for Common Sense, a nonpartisan veterans advocacy group. Paul Sullivan, the group's executive director, says the patient figure could eventually reach 700,000. A recent Harvard University study says taxpayers' cost for the care of injured veterans will run up to $700 billion.
click above for the rest and keep in mind this is just the start of all of this.
Siesta Key Beach walkathon for Haley House
Veterans to benefit from walkathon
By LESLIE FEINBERG CORRESPONDENT
The Florida Veterans for Common Sense (FVCS) have organized a walkathon to benefit wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan on Siesta Key Beach on March 30.
The hospital receives more seriously injured veterans, with staff specializing in the treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries. Since patients often need several months of treatment, their families are left to handle the cost of hotels and living expenses during their recovery.
The Haley House in Brandon helps the friends and families of patients who live more than 50 miles from the Haley House and qualify for aid based upon income with living arrangements as well as the recently completed "Comfort Center," complete with full kitchen, washer and dryer, and a TV and game area. Volunteers at Haley House have found a marked difference in a patient's recovery with the presence of their loved ones, providing them with the necessary support system to significantly cut down on their recovery time.
As Harry Stimmel, FVCS board member and co-creator of the walkathon said, "If the parents live in Oklahoma, and they don't have much money, we're providing them with some kind of facility so they can visit the veteran ... it can make all the difference."
As a display of their faith in the Haley House Fund and the support that it provides to veterans and their families, each member donates the cost of a room to Haley House on his own birthday every year.
All of the local members of the Florida Veterans for Common Sense plan to participate in the walk, as well as many of the Haley House staff.
By LESLIE FEINBERG CORRESPONDENT
The Florida Veterans for Common Sense (FVCS) have organized a walkathon to benefit wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan on Siesta Key Beach on March 30.
The hospital receives more seriously injured veterans, with staff specializing in the treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries. Since patients often need several months of treatment, their families are left to handle the cost of hotels and living expenses during their recovery.
The Haley House in Brandon helps the friends and families of patients who live more than 50 miles from the Haley House and qualify for aid based upon income with living arrangements as well as the recently completed "Comfort Center," complete with full kitchen, washer and dryer, and a TV and game area. Volunteers at Haley House have found a marked difference in a patient's recovery with the presence of their loved ones, providing them with the necessary support system to significantly cut down on their recovery time.
As Harry Stimmel, FVCS board member and co-creator of the walkathon said, "If the parents live in Oklahoma, and they don't have much money, we're providing them with some kind of facility so they can visit the veteran ... it can make all the difference."
As a display of their faith in the Haley House Fund and the support that it provides to veterans and their families, each member donates the cost of a room to Haley House on his own birthday every year.
All of the local members of the Florida Veterans for Common Sense plan to participate in the walk, as well as many of the Haley House staff.
INTERESTED?
To participate in the walk, make a per-mile pledge or to make a direct donation, contact retired Air Force Lt. Col. Len Gumley, FVCS board member, at (941)927-0777, or mail it to him at 5408 Eagles Point Circle, Sarasota, FL 34231.
All funds raised by the walkathon will go to the Haley House Fund, which was created in 2004 to provide facilities for the visiting loved ones of veterans being treated by the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital.
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9568
100% torture victims develop PTSD
Detainee's Suit Says Abuse was Videotaped
Lawyers for a detainee held at the Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., allege in court papers to be filed today that their client was systematically abused and that he was told there were cabinets full of videotapes depicting his treatment at the hands of the FBI and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Editorial Column: NO MORE: No Torture. No Exceptons.
The unifying message of the articles that follow is, simply, Stop. In the wake of September 11, the United States became a nation that practiced torture.
One of the facts learned while I was in training is that 100% of torture victims will develop PTSD according to the IFOC. We put people on trial for torture and now there are some in this country thinking it's ok to torture. It is never ok.
There has been a lot of talk about needing answers right away to save lives. A scenario has been raised that if you know an attack is coming, you need to know when and where to prevent it. Given the fact that the person being tortured is either hell bent on attack being carried out, or has no real information, they want the torture to stop. They will say anything to make it stop. How do you know they are telling the truth? McCain said he lied while being tortured to make it stop. Others have said they said anything they thought would work and stop the torture. Most experts agree that torture does not work. Aside from that, when was it suddenly thought of as being a tool this nation would use against anyone when we used to put people who did it in trial?
Judge Rules to Try Three Soldiers for Murder
Judge Rules to Try Three Soldiers for Murder
Updated: March 15, 2008 11:34 AM EDT
COLORADO SPRINGS (AP) - An El Paso district judge has ruled there is enough evidence to try two former Fort Carson soldiers and on soldier who is still in the Army with the alleged murder of a fellow Iraq veteran.
Kevin Shields was shot in the face after a night of drinking Nov. 30, his 24th birthday, reported by a local newspaper.
The two former soldiers are Edward Bressler, 25, Kenneth Lee Eastridge, 24. Fort Carson spokesman Doug Rule said Pfc. Bruce Alan Bastien Jr., 21, had been scheduled for a medical discharge but that was frozen pending the outcome of this case.
Bastien and Bressler also are charged with the robbery and murder of Pft. Robert James. They were scheduled to enter pleas Friday but their lawyers requested a delay.
Updated: March 15, 2008 11:34 AM EDT
COLORADO SPRINGS (AP) - An El Paso district judge has ruled there is enough evidence to try two former Fort Carson soldiers and on soldier who is still in the Army with the alleged murder of a fellow Iraq veteran.
Kevin Shields was shot in the face after a night of drinking Nov. 30, his 24th birthday, reported by a local newspaper.
The two former soldiers are Edward Bressler, 25, Kenneth Lee Eastridge, 24. Fort Carson spokesman Doug Rule said Pfc. Bruce Alan Bastien Jr., 21, had been scheduled for a medical discharge but that was frozen pending the outcome of this case.
Bastien and Bressler also are charged with the robbery and murder of Pft. Robert James. They were scheduled to enter pleas Friday but their lawyers requested a delay.
The story behind the reporting on Walter Reed
March 15, 2008...2:29 pm
‘Creating An Investigative Narrative’
I’m here at the Nieman narrative journalism conference in Boston, sitting in on this morning’s keynote speech, “Creating An Investigative Narrative,” with Washington Post writers Anne Hull and Dana Priest. They are explaining the story behind their award winning Walter Reed series. It’s my first time blogging live from a conference, so bear with me. Feedback is welcome.
Some notes from their talk:
Hull and Priest focused on the army’s neglect and the treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital. Neither of them were prepared for the reaction, they said. They received hundreds of e-mails in response to the series.
“For the first time in my life I realized the true power we have as journalists to create change.” –Anne
click post title for the rest
‘Creating An Investigative Narrative’
I’m here at the Nieman narrative journalism conference in Boston, sitting in on this morning’s keynote speech, “Creating An Investigative Narrative,” with Washington Post writers Anne Hull and Dana Priest. They are explaining the story behind their award winning Walter Reed series. It’s my first time blogging live from a conference, so bear with me. Feedback is welcome.
Some notes from their talk:
Hull and Priest focused on the army’s neglect and the treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital. Neither of them were prepared for the reaction, they said. They received hundreds of e-mails in response to the series.
“For the first time in my life I realized the true power we have as journalists to create change.” –Anne
click post title for the rest
Surge in Iraq did not include mental health workers
Bill Would Reward Mental Health Workers In Military
By MATTHEW KAUFFMAN Courant Staff Writer
March 15, 2008
Clinical psychologists could collect six-figure bonuses for enlisting — or staying — in the Armed Forces under legislation proposed to address high rates of suicide and a critical shortage of mental health workers in the military.
The legislation, proposed Friday by U.S. Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., would offer extra money to a variety of behavioral health professionals and extend "critical skills" bonuses to psychologists and social workers who join the military, and to psychiatrists, social workers and mental health nurses who agree to stay in uniform. The Armed Forces Mental Health Professionals Recruitment and Retention Enhancement Act of 2008 would also expand scholarships and other special-pay programs for mental health workers.
Professionals with a doctorate in psychology who agree to serve as military officers for four years would be eligible for bonuses of as much as $100,000 each year under the proposed law. The legislation would also authorize bonuses as high as $25,000 a year for high-ranking mental health workers in the military who agree to extend their duty two to four years beyond their required commitment.
While the bulk of this report was about the bonus for mental health workers, on thing stood out.
Why would they send in more men and women and not more mental health workers to take care of them? You would think there would have been such a huge surge in training that they would have had plenty to go around. After all, the reports coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan have been only increasing in incidences as the years go by. They have had plenty of time to address this vital component of the armed forces but they didn't.
Yesterday my husband and I went to the TITUSVILLE Warbird Airshow. There were a lot of vendors selling military stuff and food. At one booth, I was looking for something that had "Chaplain" on it. I asked the woman if she had anything besides the car magnet I had in my hand with "pray for the troops" on it. The man with her pulled out a license plate frame with "military chaplain" on it. I'm not a military chaplain so that was out. He said, "Why don't you go to some of the recruiting booths and sign up. They need you badly." Considering that working with the veterans has been what I feel called to do, that option was not for me. As we walked away, I began to think that this man knew how bad it was for the troops and the dire need for the troops yet the military itself seemed to have been the lasts ones to be clued in.
When you talk to regular people about PTSD, they look at you as if you have two heads. How is this still possible? Do they read newspapers or watch the news? Do they pay attention at all? If we, as citizens, fail to pay attention then the people in charge will not feel compelled to do the right thing. They will feel they can get away with ignoring the problem. Up until the last couple of years, that is exactly what has happened. It's time to stop taking baby steps and strap on the roller-blades. They are dying for our attention.
By MATTHEW KAUFFMAN Courant Staff Writer
March 15, 2008
Clinical psychologists could collect six-figure bonuses for enlisting — or staying — in the Armed Forces under legislation proposed to address high rates of suicide and a critical shortage of mental health workers in the military.
The legislation, proposed Friday by U.S. Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., would offer extra money to a variety of behavioral health professionals and extend "critical skills" bonuses to psychologists and social workers who join the military, and to psychiatrists, social workers and mental health nurses who agree to stay in uniform. The Armed Forces Mental Health Professionals Recruitment and Retention Enhancement Act of 2008 would also expand scholarships and other special-pay programs for mental health workers.
Professionals with a doctorate in psychology who agree to serve as military officers for four years would be eligible for bonuses of as much as $100,000 each year under the proposed law. The legislation would also authorize bonuses as high as $25,000 a year for high-ranking mental health workers in the military who agree to extend their duty two to four years beyond their required commitment.
Lieberman and Boxer also introduced legislation Friday that would establish an independent Defense Department board to investigate all suicides by service members, and would require the department to maintain a military-wide database of suicides and attempted suicides.
Suicides are typically investigated by the individual military branches, each of which keeps its own data and makes reports.click post title for the rest
While the bulk of this report was about the bonus for mental health workers, on thing stood out.
About 200 psychologists and other behavioral health providers are deployed in Iraq, a number that has remained constant despite last year's troop surge.
Why would they send in more men and women and not more mental health workers to take care of them? You would think there would have been such a huge surge in training that they would have had plenty to go around. After all, the reports coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan have been only increasing in incidences as the years go by. They have had plenty of time to address this vital component of the armed forces but they didn't.
Yesterday my husband and I went to the TITUSVILLE Warbird Airshow. There were a lot of vendors selling military stuff and food. At one booth, I was looking for something that had "Chaplain" on it. I asked the woman if she had anything besides the car magnet I had in my hand with "pray for the troops" on it. The man with her pulled out a license plate frame with "military chaplain" on it. I'm not a military chaplain so that was out. He said, "Why don't you go to some of the recruiting booths and sign up. They need you badly." Considering that working with the veterans has been what I feel called to do, that option was not for me. As we walked away, I began to think that this man knew how bad it was for the troops and the dire need for the troops yet the military itself seemed to have been the lasts ones to be clued in.
When you talk to regular people about PTSD, they look at you as if you have two heads. How is this still possible? Do they read newspapers or watch the news? Do they pay attention at all? If we, as citizens, fail to pay attention then the people in charge will not feel compelled to do the right thing. They will feel they can get away with ignoring the problem. Up until the last couple of years, that is exactly what has happened. It's time to stop taking baby steps and strap on the roller-blades. They are dying for our attention.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Green Recovery for Transitioning Veterans
Features: Green Recovery for Transitioning Veterans: We Can’t Do it Alone
Posted on March 13, 2008 by editor
Ask not what your Soldier can do for you; but what you can do for your Soldier.
By Paul Newell, Green Recovery
According to CBS News, 120 combat veterans (home for 8 months or less) committed suicide in 2005 every week. This is unacceptable! www.GreenRecovery.org was created because of the unacceptable conditions and futures that Soldiers face upon returning home from deployment.
In January of 2007, I saw a report on CNN that became the catalyst to start Green Recovery. The article was a story about a homeless Desert Storm Veteran that had been wounded on disability and living in his car. This story was so compelling to me that I launched www.greenrecovery.org - a non-profit, grass-roots organization that has been built specifically to assist Veterans decompressing from their Military tour responsibilities in a neutral environment. I am dedicating five years of my direct efforts to ensure that Green Recovery is a wholly effective support organization dedicated to and available to any Veteran in need of an effective healing process.
GreenRecovery.org gives returning soldiers the chance to use time in solitude to reunite with themselves first and then to sort through their personal traumas without any outside interference or added hardships returning soldiers typically face when returning from the war. These Soldiers deserve a chance to regain a foothold before reintegration.
GreenRecovery.org has designed a series of personalized tours that adjust to their instinctive values and actions by allowing them to reassess and readjust their personal resources now that they are home. The tours are designed to allow the Veteran a chance to disengage from the highly motivated, super-charged mind and body that has been generated by Military training and in-field experience and regain control of their lives again through their personal resources. This type of setting I offer at Green Recovery is very necessary to stop any further damage.
There are no out-of-pocket costs to returning Veterans. It is my honor and duty to give what I can to help veterans recover and reintegrate at their own pace. I feel a duty to help out where I can for their safe return and successful reintegration and I offer veterans an opportunity to do this protected by the remote and peaceful surroundings of British Columbia's wilderness where our locations are strictly classified. I encourage veterans to take this time for yourself before you decide what to do next. Stay as long as you need to. Come to Green Recovery and recover with others who have been where you were and can offer you the support and understanding needed to heal. All Veterans are welcome to inquire.
go here for the rest
http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2914
Posted on March 13, 2008 by editor
Ask not what your Soldier can do for you; but what you can do for your Soldier.
By Paul Newell, Green Recovery
According to CBS News, 120 combat veterans (home for 8 months or less) committed suicide in 2005 every week. This is unacceptable! www.GreenRecovery.org was created because of the unacceptable conditions and futures that Soldiers face upon returning home from deployment.
In January of 2007, I saw a report on CNN that became the catalyst to start Green Recovery. The article was a story about a homeless Desert Storm Veteran that had been wounded on disability and living in his car. This story was so compelling to me that I launched www.greenrecovery.org - a non-profit, grass-roots organization that has been built specifically to assist Veterans decompressing from their Military tour responsibilities in a neutral environment. I am dedicating five years of my direct efforts to ensure that Green Recovery is a wholly effective support organization dedicated to and available to any Veteran in need of an effective healing process.
GreenRecovery.org gives returning soldiers the chance to use time in solitude to reunite with themselves first and then to sort through their personal traumas without any outside interference or added hardships returning soldiers typically face when returning from the war. These Soldiers deserve a chance to regain a foothold before reintegration.
GreenRecovery.org has designed a series of personalized tours that adjust to their instinctive values and actions by allowing them to reassess and readjust their personal resources now that they are home. The tours are designed to allow the Veteran a chance to disengage from the highly motivated, super-charged mind and body that has been generated by Military training and in-field experience and regain control of their lives again through their personal resources. This type of setting I offer at Green Recovery is very necessary to stop any further damage.
There are no out-of-pocket costs to returning Veterans. It is my honor and duty to give what I can to help veterans recover and reintegrate at their own pace. I feel a duty to help out where I can for their safe return and successful reintegration and I offer veterans an opportunity to do this protected by the remote and peaceful surroundings of British Columbia's wilderness where our locations are strictly classified. I encourage veterans to take this time for yourself before you decide what to do next. Stay as long as you need to. Come to Green Recovery and recover with others who have been where you were and can offer you the support and understanding needed to heal. All Veterans are welcome to inquire.
go here for the rest
http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2914
Still no safety net for soldiers
Military Mental Health Policies Examined
By JIM ABRAMS – 1 day ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chris Scheuerman believes the military he served for 20 years failed his Army son Jason, who shot himself to death in his Iraq barracks almost three years ago.
Carefully choosing his words before a hushed congressional audience Friday, the father spoke of how the 20-year-old private's superiors largely ignored the soldier's signs of distress and his family's expressions of alarm in the days leading up to his suicide.
"I do not believe there is a safety net right now for those who fall through," Scheuerman, a veteran with service in Army medicine, told a House Armed Services subcommittee.
Scheuerman was one of several people who testified about their experiences with the military's mental health system. Military personnel, facing prolonged warfare and lengthy deployments, are under particular stress these days.
Army Chief Warrant Officer Richard Gutteridge, an Iraq war veteran treated for post-traumatic stress disorder, spoke of the military's prejudices toward service members with mental health problems. "PTSD sufferers are lepers without lesions," he said.
At the same time, Gutteridge and others cited improvements in the military's responses to the high levels of mental health problems and brain injuries among those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Dr. S. Ward Casscells, assistant defense secretary for health affairs, and the surgeons general of the Army, Navy and Air Force also efforts to help address psychological issues. Steps include recruiting more mental health professionals, providing prompt care and extending outreach programs to military personnel and their families.
The military is "charging their battle buddies, enlisted leaders and their company commanders to identify people who are struggling," Casscells said. "Early detection is important."
Rep. Susan Davis, who heads the military personnel committee, urged further improvements.
Mental health "weighs heavily upon the readiness of our force, our ability to retain combat veterans and our obligation to care for those who volunteer to serve our nation," said Davis, D-Calif.
By JIM ABRAMS – 1 day ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chris Scheuerman believes the military he served for 20 years failed his Army son Jason, who shot himself to death in his Iraq barracks almost three years ago.
Carefully choosing his words before a hushed congressional audience Friday, the father spoke of how the 20-year-old private's superiors largely ignored the soldier's signs of distress and his family's expressions of alarm in the days leading up to his suicide.
"I do not believe there is a safety net right now for those who fall through," Scheuerman, a veteran with service in Army medicine, told a House Armed Services subcommittee.
Scheuerman was one of several people who testified about their experiences with the military's mental health system. Military personnel, facing prolonged warfare and lengthy deployments, are under particular stress these days.
Army Chief Warrant Officer Richard Gutteridge, an Iraq war veteran treated for post-traumatic stress disorder, spoke of the military's prejudices toward service members with mental health problems. "PTSD sufferers are lepers without lesions," he said.
At the same time, Gutteridge and others cited improvements in the military's responses to the high levels of mental health problems and brain injuries among those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Dr. S. Ward Casscells, assistant defense secretary for health affairs, and the surgeons general of the Army, Navy and Air Force also efforts to help address psychological issues. Steps include recruiting more mental health professionals, providing prompt care and extending outreach programs to military personnel and their families.
The military is "charging their battle buddies, enlisted leaders and their company commanders to identify people who are struggling," Casscells said. "Early detection is important."
Rep. Susan Davis, who heads the military personnel committee, urged further improvements.
Mental health "weighs heavily upon the readiness of our force, our ability to retain combat veterans and our obligation to care for those who volunteer to serve our nation," said Davis, D-Calif.
Kickbacks, weapons and suicide: the US Army's battle with corruption
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
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
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.”
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