Veterans' Remorse

We are all familiar with the term "buyer's remorse" because most of us have regretted buying something at one time or another in our lives. We believed what the salesman told us. We believed we were getting a good deal. We believed we really "needed" it to be happy or to make our lives more comfortable. After the rush of feeling giddy subsides the consequences of being wrong set in. What we thought we were getting turned out to be more costly than it was worth.

What about doer's remorse? When you do something because you believe it is the right thing to do then end up paying for it afterwards, you forget about the good feeling doing it gave you in return and become reluctant to do anything for anyone after that. The expression "no good deed goes unpunished" pops into your head. This feeling I know all too well and I can tell you it sucks the impulse to act right out of me.

There is a more deeper sense of remorse and it is something that comes after buyer's remorse as well as doer's remorse. They believed the price they were paying was worth it just as they believed the receivers of their selfless act would appreciate what they had done. There is "Soldier's Remorse" when they regret what they had to do.

The memory shall forever plague the soldier’s conscience

soul to have killed from necessities cause

This is from "Soldier's Remorse" A Poem by Richard J. Panizza I found online.

Remorse is an emotional expression of personal regret felt by a person after he or she has committed an act which they deem to be shameful, hurtful, or violent. Remorse is closely allied to guilt and self-directed resentment. When a person regrets an earlier action or failure to act, it may be because of remorse or in response to various other consequences, including being punished for the act or omission. In a legal context, the perceived remorse of an offender is assessed by Western justice systems during trials, sentencing, parole hearings, and in restorative justice. However, it has been pointed out that epistemological problems arise in assessing an offender's level of remorse.
A person who is incapable of feeling remorse is often labeled a sociopath (US) or psychopath (UK) - formerly a DSM III condition. In general, a person needs to be unable to feel fear, as well as remorse in order to develop psychopathic traits.

Yet it is not as simple as remorse for the people killed in war or what they had to do. It is more pain inflicted when they come home and are forgotten by the rest of the country and abandoned by the government at the same time they are the ones in need of help. It cuts even deeper when they turn to spiritual leaders seeking to heal their souls but their cries for help are ignored. They wonder where God is or if there is a God at all when so much evil is allowed to go on. So many questions pop into their minds. "How could a loving God allow so much?" "Why did God let it happen?" "Why did God let my friend die?" "Why did God let me live?"

Telling a combat veteran what they had to do was not their fault does not work. They have convinced themselves it was. Even if you can get them to understand it was either kill or be killed, you still have to get them past the rest of what came into their lives. Veterans' Remorse comes with all of the above but the pain is increased when no one seems to care. They try to get over it first, then discovering it is only getting worse, they finally turn to the government for help. When they are faced with months or years of waiting for a claim to be approved, denials from the VA basically calling them a liar because they did not prove their claim, more battles to prove it and have the claim approved, they regret more.

They went where they were sent and did what they were told to do. They put their lives on the line and each day prepared themselves with the knowledge it could be their last day. They survive, come home and just when they think their suffering has come to an end, they discover they still have to fight for their lives as they see their families fall apart, incomes vanish while bills pile up and friends forget about them.

The reason they went had not changed. The completion of their duty was still done. What had changed was them. The shock of service being disregarded changed them more. Instead of saying with pride, "I'm a combat veteran" they say these words with remorse because the country did not pay them back for all they did for us.

We do not take care of their wounds or readily replace the incomes they lost because they can no longer work. We do not help their families to take care of them. We do not make sure there is a place for all veterans to go so they will not be alone or sleeping in the streets. We do not make sure they all have clothes to keep them warm or dry any more than we make sure they have food in their stomachs. Whatever remorse they carry home, we add to it instead of helping them feel the appreciation they truly earned.

Sgt. Robynn Murray film show healing PTSD is possible

There is no curing PTSD yet but there is healing it. We need to stop dwelling on what is not possible until some researcher comes out with a proven cure and start to focus on what is possible right now. Healing is possible. Making lives better is possible. Saving families from falling apart because they don't understand PTSD, is possible. When we take care of veterans with PTSD along with their families, we as reduce the homeless veterans population, the attempted suicides and the successful ones.

"Give a man a fish and feed him for a day or teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime" is what we're talking about. We need to take care of the basic needs while we teach them to live.

Learning, healing process

By JOSH STILTS / Reformer staff

Monday March 21, 2011
BRATTLEBORO -- As the film ended and the credits rolled, the audience rose and erupted in applause. The adoration didn’t cease until Sgt. Robynn Murray and Academy Award-Nominated filmmaker Sara Nesson had made it to the front of the New England Youth Theatre and were standing there for a full 30 seconds.

"It took tremendous guts to be on the front lines, but it also took an equal amount to expose yourself like this," one woman said. "You should be honored."

As part of the 20th anniversary Women’s Film Festival, Nesson and her film "Poster Girl," the story of Murray’s struggle to adapt to civilian life and post-traumatic stress disorder, was shown to a packed house with a question-and-answer session, Sunday.

"I’m so grateful you got through this and I’m so sorry we sent you over there," an audience member said. "(This film) is a challenge to us to stop these wars and stop sending people over there to be traumatized."

On her first tour, Murray served her country proudly, operating a machine gun atop military vehicles during convoys as part of the 403rd Civil Affairs Battalion unit serving in Iraq. She was gone for two years and said she suffered panic attacks that didn’t stop when she returned in 2005.

"How could someone go to Iraq and not come back without post-traumatic stress disorder?" one man asked Murray after the film. She explained that often soldiers don’t talk about what’s ailing them, especially as they’re about to return home, because the military may deem it necessary that they receive treatment before being released.

Before the film was screened, Nesson and Murray toured the Uniformed Service Program, which helps emergency service workers who suffer from PTSD, at the Brattleboro Retreat.
read more here
Learning, healing process

Two Tour Iraq Marine Veteran foreclosed on needs your help

Our hearts break every time we read about a homeless veteran. If you are like me, you always wonder how to help or what can be done to prevent them from becoming homeless. Well, here's a way to prevent one of them from becoming homeless. You can donate to save his apartment after the mortgage company kicked him out of his home.

If there are any lawyers you know about, pass this onto them so maybe he can get some help legally to get his house back.

A Voice of the Veterans


Sunday, March 20, 2011



All Hands on Deck

Veterans-For-Change is in need your help today to help another Veteran who came to us a week ago asking for help.

Marine GySgt. Don Rubin served two tours of duty in Iraq and was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in September 2010 was one of the victims of the illegal mortgage banking foreclosures completely against the moratorium issued, lost his home he’d scrimped and saved to buy.

Don had maxed out all of his credit to save his home before the battle was lost, then creditor lawsuits started piling up on him and everything backfired on him.

Three weeks ago most of the creditors had gotten court orders to garnish his bank accounts leaving him with nothing and the next check coming in won’t be till sometime between the 1st & 3rd of the month.

Don has been living in a studio apartment since November and has been served an eviction notice.

After verification of Veteran Status, court garnishments, etc. we spoke with Don’s landlord and have negotiated for 3 additional days to allow our readers and members a chance to assist this Veteran.

Thankfully his studio apartment rent is relatively low so I come to you to ask your help to raise the $300 rent money needed and help keep this Veteran from losing his apartment.

As you know I’m sure we already have well over 140,000 homeless Veterans, with your help we can prevent one more from being in the same position.

We need to try and raise the $300 to help this Veteran as quickly as possible.

If you’re able to make a tax deductible donation of $25, $50, $100 or more, please click HERE to be taken direct to the PayPal site or copy and paste the link below!

PAYPAL LINK

Thank you in advance for your kind consideration.

War is hell even if you survive

We were not asked to sacrifice anything. Not our money. Not our time to pay attention and not even asked to sacrifice our prayers. The general public was told to go shopping and the rich, well, they were told to keep more of their money and do whatever they wanted with it. War was important enough to start but not enough to fund. What kind of a message do you think this sent to the troops?
The deficit is estimated at $1.27 trillion in 2011 -- down from a record $1.56 trillion in the current year.

How much is the war in Iraq costing us? wrote By John W. Schoen Senior Producer for MSNBC answer desk in October 2006.

Pretending Iraq and Afghanistan wars had nothing to do with this, is about as irrational as the politicians can get but then saying the budget for the VA needs to be cut instead of increased is just insane.


Then there are future costs that don’t show up in current appropriations, like the money needed to replace equipment that's wearing out faster that it would if wasn’t being used in combat. And, since the government is running deficits — and borrowing to make up the difference — at least some of the interest on the national debt has to be added to the Iraq war bill.
If you add these costs, and others, to the total tab, the cost of the war has jumped from $4.4 billion to $7.1 billion a month since the 2003 fiscal year, according to a paper co-authored in January by Columbia University professor and Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, an outspoken critic of the war. The paper estimates the total cost could top $1 trillion.

Now they can use the debt to excuse everything they want to do except admit they have no conscience at all. We've heard all their excuses for wanting to cut the debt rich people should be paying at the same time they want to cut everything every other American needs to survive but when they go after the wounded they created, they go too far.

None of them cared about the men and women sent to risk their lives. While Iraq and Afghanistan were important enough to send men and women to risk their lives, up until last year, they were not important enough to put them in the budget. Now politicians want to pretend they give a crap about the debt they contributed to. The President decides to send troops into combat but with the approval of congress and it is up to congress to find the money to pay for wars and wounded.

"Thank goodness at least Congress supports our troops, you say. Remember all those yellow ribbons? Well, some members do and some don’t, depending on their political affiliation. The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America’s report card shows that 91 of the 94 lawmakers getting an “A” for helping vets were Democrats. Of the 154 receiving a “D” or “F,” 142 were Republicans. Public praise on camera doesn’t necessarily correlate with votes for financial support on the House or Senate floors." Bill Collins

Eight years after troops were sent into Iraq for "six days, six weeks, I doubt six months" according to Donald Rumsfeld, they are still there. According to ICasualties.org there have been 4,440 US deaths in Iraq with 10 killed this year. Fast approaching ten years in Afghanistan, there have been 1,505 US troops killed with 59 this year.

03/18/11 WaPo:8 years after invasion , Iraq, US eyeing whether American forces will stay past year’s end
The American invasion of Iraq was supposed to take only a few months: a quick blitz to depose dictator Saddam Hussein, find and dismantle weapons of mass destruction and go home.

No one wanted to pay for Afghanistan or Iraq. We were told that the invasion and occupation of Iraq would pay for itself and that was fine with the American people but it didn't. No one planned on taking care of any of the wounded these two wars would create. Now they act as if they are surprised people were wounded in war. Some politicians have gone so far as to say the VA budget needs to be cut because, after all, we have a deficit and "we shouldn't pass on the debt to our kids" but they are so accomplished at spinning things around to get what they want, they forget we also have a debt to the kids we send to fight our battles in combat. They forget that for all their whining now about the debt, none of them wanted either war in the budget ahead of time. None of them wanted a true accounting on the price tag in terms of dollars, lives or wounded any more than they wanted a true accounting from the defense contractors spending the money in the first place. Anyone in the media asking any of these people about any of this?
read more here
War is hell even if you survive

Suicide hotline just now available for deployed soldiers?

What? What did they have before this if they couldn't call in the crisis line already?

Suicide hotline available for deployed soldiers
Staff report
Posted : Saturday Mar 19, 2011 8:26:34 EDT
Access to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has been extended to soldiers and Army civilians serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.

The Lifeline, operated by the Health and Human Services Department, is a toll-free, 24-hour, confidential crisis intervention hotline.

Credentialed consultants offer support and solutions to anyone in crisis or emotional distress, including soldiers and family members in overseas locations.
read more here
Suicide hotline available for deployed soldiers

Forty-eight Marines from Camp Pendleton deploy to Japan

Specialists from Camp Pendleton deploy to Japan
March 19, 2011 | 3:32 pm
Forty-eight Marines from Camp Pendleton -- specialists in the detection and decontamination of nuclear and radiological hazards -- have deployed to Japan for the relief effort.

The Marines are part of a unit trained on how to discern the effects of chemical, nuclear, biological and radiological warfare agents and how to mitigate those effects.

-- Tony Perry in San Diego

Valley Vets Concerned about Misdiagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Valley Vets Concerned about Misdiagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Reported by: Gary Parker

HARLINGEN - Post-traumatic stress disorder is a silent killer for many soldiers coming home.

The battle for veteran Fred Rendon really began when he came home. Rendon suffers from the PTSD.

"I didn't like to be around people anymore. I wasn't comfortable at home; I was always on edge. I was depressed all the time. I mean but this is constant,” says Rendon.

Rendon served in Vietnam for a year. He saw death and carnage. Those images didn't stop when he came home in 1967. Rendon was paranoid. He didn't like going into public places. That included restaurants.

"A great concern of mine was the silverware: if I need it, could I kill somebody, could I kill somebody with the silverware if they attacked me,” says Rendon.

Rendon knew something was wrong. VA doctors didn't diagnose him with PTSD until 1996, almost 30 years after serving in Vietnam. PTSD is diagnosed on a scale, the greater the disorder, the higher the VA benefits. The scale goes up to 100 percent.

Rendon was initially diagnosed with 10 percent PTSD. He received minimal benefits. He claims that kept him from having enough money to get proper treatment. He tells us the suffering is the same regardless of the percentage.

read more here
Valley Vets Concerned about Misdiagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Proof that miracles are possible when communities act to help their own

When there is a problem, a need, we can be so focused on the problem itself that we cannot expand our view into what is possible to fix the problem or fill the need.

When it comes to what the "government" should do, if we settle for what they are not doing, then we do not see what we can do. The people of First Baptist of Orlando just proved what is possible when they raised $5.6 million for Orlando's homeless kids after the report came out on 60 Minutes. They could have settled for complaining about what legislators have not done. They could have settled on business keeping their profits instead of hiring. There are a lot of targets they could have pointed at but they looked within themselves to see what they could do in their own community.

Now this lesson learned is being expanded to help homeless veterans. There is much we can do if we look at what is possible with caring hearts.

"Proof that miracles are possible when communities act to help their own. Cute little kids are inherently sympathetic. But homeless vets — many of whom are stricken with post traumatic stress, traumatic brain injuries, addictions and disabilities — are often just as vulnerable.

And no less deserving, given their sacrifice.

They shouldn't have to cross their fingers and hope that Uncle Sam decides to be generous.

If you don't want Congress to make cuts to the housing-voucher program for homeless veterans, contact:

U.S. Rep. Sandra Adams at 202-225-2706 or https://adams.house.gov/contact-me/email-me

U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster at 202-225-2176 or contact.webster@mail.house.gov"

Mobilize to help vets
Church's outpouring shows the community can act to end homelessness among GIs.

12:00 a.m. EDT, March 19, 2011


As Congress wrestles with a record deficit, lawmakers face some difficult choices.

We understand that some social programs might have to be scaled back.

But we're thunderstruck at the idea that a modest program to assist homeless veterans might get hacked by the budget axe. The target is a program that provides displaced vets with a voucher to pay for public housing and address medical care and counseling.

Lawmakers say the joint program of the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs is ripe with savings for the 2011 federal budget. A cool $75 million for the taking.

That is, if legislators take away 10,000 vouchers. The cuts that would hit Florida — home to the nation's second-largest homeless veteran population — especially hard.

Shredding a program that helps reboot the lives of troubled veterans is especially coldhearted. And hypocritical, given the flag-waving, patriotic tone of last year's congressional campaigns. Not to mention, it'd throw a wrench into the VA's noble, if Pollyannaish, goal of ending veteran homelessness by 2015.

In contrast, congregants at First Baptist of Orlando this past weekend demonstrated that need sometimes can't wait on government intervention. Challenged by a guest speaker to help homeless local kids spotlighted recently on "60 Minutes," the church dug deep and came up with a remarkable $5.6 million outpouring.

Proof that miracles are possible when communities act to help their own.

read more here
Mobilize to help vets

War with Libya? Will Congress get it right this time?

This may be the first steps taken leading up to troops being sent into Libya. Let's pray that doesn't happen. The last thing we need is one more war to fight. The last thing the troops need is one more time congress does not debate sending them with all seriousness.

When the military was deciding how many troops to send into Afghanistan, congress was not debating any of it. They sure didn't debate how to take care of the wounded. No one thought about them. As the clock ticked and more died, more were wounded, the VA was not driven to increase staff any more than their budget was increased. Then came sending more troops into Iraq. Again, congress fell flat on their face squashing debate as being "anti-military" with some demanding they fully support the President in order to support the troops. Again, no one in congress demanded the VA be ready to take care of the wounded another war would create.

The men and women we sent are the ones paying the price. The American people were asked to contribute nothing toward the war efforts considered so vital to our security, billions were spent waging the wars. We ended up with a detached citizenry.

Today if you ask the average person about Iraq, they think all the troops are out of there. If you ask them about Afghanistan, all they will say is that it needs to end. Hardly no one knows how many died, were wounded or committed suicide because of combat. Even less know how many have PTSD and how many families are falling apart because of it.

Now there is talk about another military action in Libya. The no-fly zone could very well be the beginning of war since Moammar Gadhafi has shown very little interest in what his own people want or the rest of the world will tolerate. It is very unlikely a no-fly zone will be the end of this. Will congress do the right thing this time? Will they make sure this is the last option? Will they make sure the plans are in place ahead of time? Will they make sure contractors are held accountable? Will they make sure the DOD and the VA are ready to take care of the wounded another war will create? Will the American people be asked to sacrifice anything instead of just military families?

Prompt military moves afoot over Libya
By the CNN Wire Staff
March 18, 2011 8:23 a.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: French official says action could begin in several hours
NEW: Britain says it's starting preparations to deploy aircraft
NEW: Gadhafi quoted as saying "I'm going to win"

(CNN) -- Military action against the Moammar Gadhafi regime could begin in the coming hours, a French government spokesman said on Friday, hours after the U.N. Security Council authorized the use of force to protect besieged civilians in Libya.

Speaking in an interview with RTL radio, Francois Baroin said France plans to participate in what he described as "swift" efforts.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain has started preparations to deploy aircraft, and "in the coming hours" they will move to air bases where they will be positioned for any "necessary action."

One Libyan official, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim, said the Gadhafi regime supports a cease-fire. But a defiant Gadhafi, in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro on Friday sloughed off the threat of an attack, saying, "I'm going to win because the people are with me."
The decisive Security Council move comes after weeks of civil war between the Gadhafi regime and opposition forces, a conflict spurred by an anti-government uprising and regime violence against civilians -- which the U.N. resolution cites as "outrageous."

Breaking down a no-fly zone over Libya Libya reacts to no-fly zone Libyan amb. still hopeful for airstrikes UN okays no-fly zone in Libya

The council Thursday night voted 10 to 0 with five abstentions to authorize "states to take all necessary measures to protect civilians" and it imposed a no-fly zone, banning all flights in Libyan airspace, with exceptions that involve humanitarian aid and evacuation of foreign nationals.
read more here
Prompt military moves afoot over Libya

Female soldiers' suicide rate triples when at war

Female soldiers' suicide rate triples when at war
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY
The suicide rate for female soldiers triples when they go to war, according to the first round of preliminary data from an Army study.

The findings, released to USA TODAY this week, show that the suicide rate rises from five per 100,000 to 15 per 100,000 among female soldiers at war. Scientists are not sure why but say they will look into whether women feel isolated in a male-dominated war zone or suffer greater anxieties about leaving behind children and other loved ones.

Even so, the suicide risk for female soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan is still lower than for men serving next to them, the $50 million study says.

Findings also show that marriage somehow helps inoculate male and female soldiers from killing themselves while they are overseas. Although these death rates among GI's who are single or divorced double when they go to war, the rate among married soldiers does not increase, according to the study.

Scientists say they hope these and other findings will help them tease out protective social patterns — such as, for example, that sense in a marriage of mattering to someone else — that can be encouraged or instilled in all soldiers to lower the risk of suicide.

"One of the big things we're interested in now is digging into this marriage thing and saying, 'What is it you get, by being married? And how could we put it in a bottle so we can give it to everybody, whether or not they're married?" says Ronald Kessler, a psychiatric epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School who is working on the project.
read more here
Female soldiers' suicide rate triples when at war

Mom of fallen Guardsman needs help fighting Westboro

Patty Sourivong thought she heard the worst words when she was told her son was killed serving in Iraq. Then came news that Westboro was going to to picket the funeral. This meant her son was selected as a target. They don't protest every military funeral. They pick the ones they think will get them the most attention. It also meant that Westboro stalked the family, showing up at the funeral.

The Westboro Group has lawyers that can fight any legal battle for free. Some of them are lawyers. They manage to be protected under free speech and as a "church" so the law protects whatever they do more than they protect the families they target. There is so much wrong here it is hard to know where to begin.

Free speech is important and needs to be defended, no matter what people want to say, but this isn't about free speech. No one has tried to silence them, even though most people in this country wish they would stop. What this is about is forcing families to listen to them, see their signs at the moment they are trying to bury someone they love.

Mother of fallen 'Ironman' soldier fighting ruling on funeral protests

By MARK CARLSON, mark.carlson@sourcemedia.net
Thursday, March 17, 2011

IOWA CITY --- The mother of a fallen soldier wants the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling that permits protesters outside military funerals. Patty Sourivong said she is launching a campaign to collect signatures from others who, like her, don't support the ruling.

"Everyone who signs it is a voice for those soldiers," she said.

The ruling was in favor of members of the Westboro Baptist Church, who have protested at hundreds of military funerals nationally. The group says the casualties are God's way of punishing America for tolerating homosexuality.

Spc. Kampha Sourivong, an Iowa City West High School graduate and a member of the Iowa Army National Guard 1st Battalion 133rd Infantry "Ironman Battalion," headquartered in Waterloo, was killed by enemy fire while serving in Iraq in 2006. Members of the church traveled from Kansas to picket at his funeral.

"They're just plain heartless," his mother said. "Who goes to a service or a gravesite to picket somebody?"
read more here
Mother of fallen Ironman soldier fighting ruling on funeral protests

The rest of us have the right to listen or walk away. We have the right to read something or avoid it. The court managed to protect kids from having to see x-rated magazines by passing laws but they can't manage to pass a law to protect families during a funeral? Free speech only means something when people are also free to listen or not. Being forced to listen to it during a funeral with a captive audience is not free speech. Sourivong needs all the help she can get to fight for all the other families to come so they won't have to feel her pain.

Are wounded National Guardsmen being treated differently?

1st Lt. David Inbody's Dad says they are. We send them to go to war just like regular military members but National Guards/Reservists, the citizen soldiers end up being treated differently back home. They end up being deployed, taken away from their regular jobs and families and then they come home expected to just adapt back, picking up where they left. Now we are made aware of the conditions they face when they are wounded and in military hospitals.

Father says soldier son was forgotten
Perry demands better tracking of wounded Guardsmen

Updated: Thursday, 17 Mar 2011, 7:45 PM CDT
Published : Thursday, 17 Mar 2011, 3:22 PM CDT

Erin Cargile
AUSTIN (KXAN) - A Hays County father said the Texas Army National Guard needs to do a better job of tracking wounded warriors.

KXAN Austin News has been following 1st Lt. David Inbody's road to recovery since he was injured in Afghanistan in July 2010. He lost his right foot when his convoy hit a roadside bomb. He was flown to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C., for surgery before being transferred to Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio where he was fitted with a prosthetic foot.

During David's stay at Walter Reed, his father immediately picked up on a few things.

"Things that the Army was doing for it's regular personnel weren't happening for the guardsmen," said Don Inbody.

For example, Don noticed a commander of an Airborne unit putting displaying special patches on an injured soldiers hospital room door. He mentioned it to two Texas National Guard General's when they came by to visit.

"They both assured me they would get that sorted out in a hurry -- never happened," said Don. "My thinking is if you can't do the little things, what's going on with the big things?"
read more here
Father says soldier son was forgotten

Wounded veteran gives Purple Heart to Giffords

Wounded veteran gives Purple Heart to Giffords


Posted: Mar 17, 2011 1:54 PM

Web Producer: Layla Tang

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - A veteran wounded while fighting in Iraq has given his Purple Heart to U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head January 8 in an assassination attempt.

Al Lee, a Sierra Vista resident, was awarded the Purple Heart after being injured in Fallujah, Iraq, in September 2003.
read more here
Wounded veteran gives Purple Heart to Giffords

Westboro "pastor's" son says kids were abused

Added On March 16, 2011
HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell talks with Nate Phelps, the son of the pastor who founded the Westboro Baptist Church.



Also
Gold Star Mom
Woman asks justices to reconsider Westboro case
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Mar 17, 2011 4:03:35 EDT
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Iowa City mother of a soldier whose funeral was picketed by members of a Kansas church wants the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling that such protests are constitutionally protected.

Patty Sourivong has started a petition campaign. She says she has no lawyer and knows that persuading the court to take another look at its 8-1 ruling earlier this month is a long shot.
Woman asks justices to reconsider Westboro case

And also today

Hearing for vet accused of Westboro stalking
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Mar 17, 2011 9:06:18 EDT
WICHITA, Kan. — The attorney for a disabled Army veteran accused of stalking members of a Topeka church says his client will not waive a hearing at which the government must present evidence supporting the charges.
McPherson — who lost both legs while serving in Afghanistan — is charged with felony conspiracy to commit aggravated battery and five misdemeanors.
read more here
Hearing for vet accused of Westboro stalking

"We've got a grieving department" at Orange County Sheriff's Office

OCSO: Deputy On Duty Collapses, Dies

Rescue Workers Called To YMCA Aquatic Center

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Orange County Sheriff's Office officials said a deputy died while on the job at the YMCA Aquatic Center Wednesday evening.

"We've got a grieving department, I've got personnel here that are really shaken up, we've got a wife here that's really shaken up," Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said.

OCSO Deputy Michael Erickson
OCSO identified the deputy as homicide investigator Deputy First Class Michael Erickson.
Officials said the sheriff's office received a 911 call at about 4:30 p.m., after Erickson collapsed at the YMCA Aquatic Center.

Fire Rescue arrived at the scene and transported the deputy to Dr. Phillips Hospital. OCSO officials said that despite the best efforts of rescue workers, Erickson passed away.
"Deputy Erickson proudly served the Orange County Sheriff's Office since January of 1998," the OCSO said in a news release. "He leaves behind a loving wife, and two sons. Please keep his family, friends and co-workers in your thoughts and prayers."

OCSO Deputy Sebastian Diana
Sebastian Diana, 40, died on Sunday from an illness he contracted five years ago while performing CPR on a baby, OCSO officials said.

"In less than a week's time the Orange County Sheriff's Office is mourning the untimely death of two of its finest officers," the OCSO said in a news release.

Diana's memorial service will be this weekend. Erickson's has not been announced.
read more here
http://www.wesh.com/news/27219627/detail.html

One tough Marine, declared dead three times survived Vietnam

This sounded like a good story as it was but when I read this Marine was declared dead three times, it turned into an amazing story.

Charles “Graves” Roth made sure this Marine stayed alive after he was told three times Gil Hernandez was dead at Graves Registration. He not only lived long enough to make it back home, after 43 years, he met the man who saved his life.

A Maine meets the man who saved his life 43 years ago.

Published: Wednesday, March 16, 2011
By Anne Neborak

For many the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall is a place to commemorate the dead for Charles “Graves” Roth, age 62 of Collingdale each year he would visit the Wall remembering those who died during the Tet Offensive and his best friend Robert L. Stanek who died on Feb. 4, 1968.


But on this breezy day on March 7, it was a day to celebrate life. Today he would meet the Marine whose life he had miraculously saved forty-three years ago.


Roth was in Graves Registration where he tended to over 2,700 bodies of the fallen soldiers, children and even military dogs in Vietnam. He would retrieve bodies during the day repelling out of helicopters and spend his nights preparing the dead for their trip home. He and another Marine would fingerprint the soldiers and then put them in body bags.

Roth began hollering “this Marine is alive” They continued working on Hernandez and found a faint pulse. Amazingly, Hernandez was pronounced dead three times before being sent to Japan for treatment. His injuries were so massive he never would have survived the plane ride home to the states.
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Maine meets the man who saved his life 43 years ago

General Petraeus reveals that son served in Afghanistan

Petraeus reveals that son served in Afghanistan
– Wed Mar 16, 7:09 pm ET
WASHINGTON – Challenged by a congressman to "be honest" about how long American troops might have to fight in Afghanistan, Army Gen. David Petraeus revealed that he has a personal stake in ensuring that the U.S. war objectives are met — his son, Stephen, whose recent combat tour was kept "very quiet."

In an emotional exchange with Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., Petraeus said "if I ever felt that we couldn't achieve our objectives," he would be "very forthright" not only with his superiors in the military chain of command but also with President Barack Obama and members of the Congress.

Noting that Obama has said the U.S. will have combat troops out by the end of 2014, with the Afghan government in position to provide its own security, a skeptical Jones said he could imagine a senior military leader coming before Congress in 2015 and pleading for more time and more sacrifice.

"You know, 15, 16, 17 years, for God sakes, how much more can we take, how much more can we give treasure and blood?" Jones asked.

Petraeus replied: "I may not be at this table, probably won't be, in 2015, but I'll tell you that my son is in uniform, and Lieutenant Petraeus just completed a tour in Afghanistan, which thankfully we were able to keep very quiet, and left in November after serving as an infantry platoon leader. We're very proud of what he did. He thinks he was doing something very important."

His son, 2nd Lt. Stephen Petraeus, served in Afghanistan as a member of Alpha Company, 3rd Platoon, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.

At first I thought this was just one more of our elected suddenly saying that Afghanistan is not worth it. I was wrong. It seems that Congressman Jones has been saying something as serious as war needs serious debate for a long time.

JONES REGISTERS DISAPPOINTMENT WITH HOUSE DEBATE

Washington, D.C., Jun 16, 2006 - In a House vote today, Third District Representative Walter B. Jones (R-NC) registered a “present” vote on H. Res. 861, a resolution dealing with the ongoing conflict in Iraq and the Global War on Terror. The House vote followed yesterday’s full day of debate on the resolution.

“Without question, I fully support our nation’s efforts to win the Global War on Terror,” Congressman Jones said today. “And I, like all of my colleagues in Congress, will always support the brave men and women of our military.”

“What I have encouraged in the months leading up to this week’s debate was a day set aside for a wide-ranging discussion of our campaign in Iraq, including serious consideration of issues such as the status of Iraqi infrastructure, the Iraqi economy and the training of Iraqi troops.”

“I could not vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on H. Res. 861 today because a resolution to merely “declare that the United States will prevail” in a “noble struggle” misses the point. A ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote would have legitimized an effort to effectively avoid the subject,” Jones said.

“I have done everything in my ability, as one member of Congress, to encourage a serious debate – including an appearance with colleagues before the House Rules Committee to appeal for a less restrictive format for debate,” Jones said. “The House debate should have offered an opportunity to vote on a variety of proposals on what should be the way forward in Iraq. Unfortunately, we have yet to have that discussion or debate.”

“We owe it to the 130,000 men and women of our military who are serving in Iraq to have a serious discussion on a full range of issues – not just a political match with two parties retreating to their respective corners with prepared talking points and rhetoric. When the House of Representatives conducts a “debate” in which one side does nothing but launch an offensive attack and one side does nothing but defend, it is not what our men and women in uniform need.”

“It is disappointing that neither party has distinguished itself in its handling of this issue,” Jones said. “To some extent, both parties participating in this debate have unfortunately put their political interests above the interests of the troops.”

For additional information or to schedule an interview with Congressman Walter B. Jones please contact Kathleen Joyce at (202) 225-3415.

There was very little debate before troops were sent into Afghanistan in 2001 and even less debate about sending them into Iraq. The lives of the men and women sent should have been taken far more seriously just as taking care of them when they came home should have been planned out. It seems Jones cared. Did your congressman care or was it all about politics back then? Look them up and what their votes were and find their speeches to learn about what they really care about.

PSA on Suicide Prevention for Veterans

VA Launches New PSA on Suicide Prevention for Veterans

Confidential Crisis Line Provides 24/7 Access to Help

WASHINGTON (March 15, 2011)- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is
reaching out to Veterans in crisis and their families in a new public
service announcement to raise awareness about suicide prevention
resources, such as the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

"As more Veterans return from Iraq and Afghanistan, the critical need
for mental health care is rising," said Sonja V. Batten, assistant
deputy chief patient care services officer for mental health. "VA is
increasing its efforts to reach out to Veterans in need and their
families, to inform them about available services and programs."

The new television spot encourages Veterans in crisis to call the crisis
hotline number at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and then push 1 on their
telephone keypad to reach a trained VA mental health professional who
can assist the Veteran 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"Suicide is preventable," said Batten. "Every Veteran suicide is tragic
and regardless of the numbers or rates, one Veteran suicide is too many.
We feel the responsibility to continue to spread the word throughout the
nation that suicide prevention is everyone's business."

So far, more than 379,000 people have called the hotline, and more than
200,000 of these callers have identified themselves as Veterans, family
members or friends of Veterans. The hotline has led to more than 13,000
rescues of actively suicidal Veterans.

The hotline also operates an online Veterans Chat program, which
provides Veterans, their families and friends with the ability to
communicate anonymously online in real-time with a trained VA mental
health professional. Veterans Chat can be accessed through the National
Suicide Prevention Lifeline


Through the hotline and Veterans Chat, VA can connect Veterans and their
families with important services, including suicide prevention
coordinators, as well as general inpatient and outpatient psychiatric
services at VA medical centers and community-based outpatient clinics.

The hotline, which is part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline,
was started in 2007 as a partnership between VA and the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The PSA can be viewed at PSA on Suicide Prevention for Veterans

Family of Kenneth Guy Ellis III calls for better training after police shooting

Here is the story.

Iraq veteran fatally shot by APD
by Patrick Hibbard; Managing Editor
Volume 15, Issue 17
January 19, 2010

Kenneth Guy Ellis III died Wednesday, Jan. 13 after being fatally shot by an Albuquerque Police Department (APD) detective. The APD has disclosed to various news agencies that Ellis was pulled over in the 7-11 parking lot at Eubank and Constitution because the corvette he was driving did not match the license plate that was on it. Ellis had been struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) since he was injured while serving with the Army Infantry in Iraq.

He had previously described the incident to his sister, Krissy Ellis-Encinio, wherein his unit was assigned to paint over graffiti “for two days in a row and were sent back for a third.” As Ellis and his unit – including his close friend Wes whom he had met at basic training – were approaching a site, Wes stepped on an Improvised Explosive Devise and was blown up. Ellis received shrapnel in his leg and was eventually medically discharged for his injuries. “Half his unit was taken out. He managed to drag himself to a radio and call for help. The next thing he remembers is waking up in the hospital.”

“My son was a hero, he served his country well. I truly wish that our country could have served him as well as he served them,” said Annelle Wharton, Ellis’ mother. Both Ellis’ mother and sister noted that they had continually sought help for him, but could not do anything unless he consented. His sister said, “If he’s an [active] soldier and he says he wants to go home they won’t let him. But once he’s discharged, they say ‘goodbye, go home.’ They force him to stay and fight, but they wouldn’t force him into treatment.” She took him to the VA for treatment, but he said he wasn’t suicidal or homicidal and “they said ‘I’m sorry, ma’am, there’s nothing we can do for you.” Ellis-Encinio hopes for the day when the families of veterans can find unity of purpose: “We need to all get together and change this. We need to be able to make choices for them because they are unable to make choices for themselves.” Both mother and sister also note that vets are reluctant to seek or agree to help because of the “Macho” attitude they learn in the military.
read more here
Iraq veteran fatally shot by APD

All he had to do was claim he was not "suicidal or homicidal" so the VA couldn't take him in when he was clearly in crisis to his family. That is the biggest problem of all when the families are on the front lines when they come home. Families are the first to notice changes in veterans but if they somehow manage to get the veterans to go for help and no one will listen to them, it is easy for the veteran to hide what is really going on. Most of the time they don't want to admit how much pain they are in to anyone, especially themselves.

After all, they survived the worst conditions in combat, so back home should be nothing to complain about to them. Maybe they just expect they will be able to just get over it. Maybe they think they are hiding it but the families always know something is wrong even if they don't know what it is.

Ellis, like so many others, survived bombs and bullets in combat but could not survive being back home and this is clearly wrong. There needs to be more done to save the lives of those who serve us.

The difference now is we know what to do living with PTSD

If the conference in Boston produced only one thing, this is it.

“We have good days and we have bad days,’’ she said. “The difference now is we know what to do.’’ Sheri Hall

Her husband served two tours in Iraq as a Major. He was worried about his career and what seeking help would do to it, so he avoided going to a psychiatrist. His wife made sure he did. She didn't just stand by him. She stood up for him when he needed help.

For too many wives they fail at doing their duty. That is exactly what it is when they are married to veterans of combat.

It is hard on families when they get deployed but it should never be harder when they come back home. During deployment, families say they have enough to worry about and they use this as an excuse to not become informed about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Some are under the delusion that after a first tour, the return went well, so all other wills. What they are unwilling to understand is that more they are exposed to traumatic events in combat, the higher the risk of PTSD setting in.

If they are aware of the signs of PTSD, they know what they are seeing and they are the first to see the changes. Without knowledge, they don't have a clue what is behind the changes. Families can make coming home worse or families can save their lives. The choice is ours. They learn how to fight, but it is our duty to help them learn how to live after.

Boston conference focuses on military suicide prevention
VA reaches out via social media

Associated Press / March 16, 2011

Army Major Ed Pulido knows what it’s like to feel the despair that comes with losing a limb and knowing his military career was over.

Pulido, who had a traumatic brain injury and lost his left leg after his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Iraq, would lie in bed and wonder when the night terrors would end, how he would support his family, and whether he would ever feel like himself again.

Pulido’s mother sought help for him, and now he is seeking help for others like him.

The retired serviceman is speaking to veterans this week at the third annual suicide prevention conference sponsored by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The conference, called “All the Way Home,’’ is focusing on finding ways to prevent military suicides by removing the stigma of seeking mental health counseling and mustering stronger support throughout the community.
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Boston conference focuses on military suicide prevention

Do I sound angry? I am. Back when I met my husband, he had been home for 11 years and no one helped him. No one understood what Vietnam was doing to him. There was nothing available for anyone to learn from. The Internet did not really start up until the 90's so the support and the lifeline depended on finding other veterans. Most of their families didn't know what any of this was about. There was no support for me or my family.

My own family said I needed to get a divorce because what I was learning from clinical books was nearly impossible to explain to them. The news didn't cover any of it unless a Vietnam veteran was arrested but families like mine were still falling apart and too many had to bury their veteran because of suicide. We'd read the obituary of a veteran, see the words "died suddenly" and then the whispers would start that it was suicide. Families were left to wonder what they could have done to have their veteran live on and they eventually blamed themselves.

I knew what PTSD was early on and I understood why he acted the way he did but even understanding it did not make it easy. It was hard. As hard as it was knowing it, it made me more aware of how impossible it was to stay on wives without a clue. They had absolutely no tools to help them help their husbands.

Back then they had excuses that were real. Now no family has any excuse other than not wanting to know.

PTSD and suicides are all over the Internet. I know because I track them across the country and you've read most of the reports here. Brave families come forward and talk about what happened. They join groups online to support others. Veterans have been telling their own stories to help other veterans. They know what it is like to have PTSD but more, they want to share what it is like to survive it and heal. Wives want to make it easier for others to understand what it took them years to learn so the newer wives won't have to waste time searching instead of finding the answers.

The job of the families is to do all they can for the veteran but the time to look only at the military the VA for exclusive blame ended a long time ago. While they have been falling down on the job of doing all that is possible to help the veterans, the families share blame when they refused to learn.

Stunned by the response from too many younger wives telling me "I have enough to worry about when he's deployed so I don't want to worry about what may not happen." it made me wonder what wives like me would have given back in the 80's for a tenth of this support to have been there. Friends of mine have been married for 20, 30 and 40 years because they cared enough to make mistakes and learn from them. While half of average marriages end in divorce, these marriages survived with PTSD because the spouse was committed to the veteran and the veteran was committed to their spouse. We tried, made mistakes and learned from them so that our lives would be better and our families would be stronger.

Can we save all of them? No, sadly no, we can't. There were a lot of suicides even with knowing what PTSD was. It happened in my own family with the suicide of my husband's nephew. Everyone including his girlfriend, a psychologist, did all we could but we couldn't heal his pain enough. While we may always wonder what else we could have done, at least we know we did the best we could with the knowledge we had. We can save a lot more of them than we are now and we can save a lot more families from falling apart.

The choice is either this fight is worth it or it isn't. Do we love them enough to learn or don't we? Do we feel they are worth the time to learn what we need to do to help them or don't we? Sheri Hall made the choice to learn so that she could help her husband. What if she didn't?

FBI searching for killer of Afghanistan Veteran-armored car guard

Armored Car Guard Killed After Tour In Afghanistan

Armored Car Guard Killed During Robbery ID'd
March 16, 2011


DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. -- The FBI has released surveillance photos in hopes that someone will come forward with information on the men responsible for shooting and killing an armored car guard outside a Kroger grocery store Tuesday.

The guard has been identified as Garry Castillo, 32, of Lawrenceville, police said.

Channel 2’s Ryan Young learned that Castillo had just returned from a tour in Afghanistan.
Family members told Young on Wednesday that Castillo has an 8-year-old son.

The FBI is renewing its plea for people to come forward with information in the shooting.
read more here
Armored Car Guard Killed After Tour In Afghanistan

Disabled Marine Vet sues insurance company and wins

Paraplegic Marine Awarded $19 Million in Fight Against Insurance Company
Insurance Company only agreed to pay for 19 of 109 days he spent in the hospital, a lawyer said.
Updated 5:45 PM PDT, Wed, Mar 16, 2011

A paraplegic former Marine from Westminster was awarded more than $19 million in punitive damages in his lawsuit against an insurance company that denied him full coverage while hospitalized after breaking a leg, his attorney said.

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury deliberated less than two hours before finding in favor of 57-year-old Thomas Nickerson, who sued Stonebridge Life Insurance Co. for breach of contract in January 2009.

The same jury previously awarded Nickerson more than $65,000 in compensatory damages, most of it for emotional distress.
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Paraplegic Marine Awarded 19 Million

Veterans fund founded in 1961 headed for bankruptcy

Veterans fund headed for bankruptcy?
March 16, 2011
By Matt Hrodey
Gov. Scott Walker and the Department of Veterans Affairs are at odds over how to correct the predicted bankruptcy of the state’s Veterans Trust Fund. The fund, the primary source of state funding for veterans programs in Wisconsin, is expected to go broke in 2013. Walker wants to grab savings from lower benefit costs for workers at the state’s two veterans nursing homes to prop up the Trust Fund and has proposed privatizing one home. Veterans Affairs officials object to both plans.

The budget repair bill, signed by Walker last week, paves the way for the state to realize large savings in state employee benefits by increasing employee contributions to pension and health insurance coverage. Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie said on Tuesday this will save the veterans homes about $13 million in the 2011-13 biennium, a portion of which could be used to keep the Trust Fund afloat. Walker’s 2011-13 budget calls for a change in state law that would allow the department to make such a transfer of funds.

The Trust Fund – founded in 1961 and periodically replenished with injections of state funding – hasn’t received such an infusion since 1988, according to a department report. The department requested about $2.9 million in additional funding to sustain the fund through the 2011-13 biennium, saying that was the “bare minimum,” but Walker denied the request.

The fund pays for an array of programs providing loans, health care grants and job training to veterans. It also provides funding for the state’s Military Honors Funeral Program, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum and the state’s three veterans cemeteries.

In a letter veterans Secretary Ken Black wrote to Walker earlier this week, he says that at a time “of unprecedented need in the veterans community, the budget proposal does not fix the structural deficit in the Veterans Trust Fund.”

The fund balance has wavered between about $20 million and $30 million going back to fiscal year 2004, but the fund is projected to contain just $13 million by the end of fiscal year 2011 (June 30).
read more here

Veterans fund headed for bankruptcy

Mild brain injury could soon rate Purple Heart

Mild brain injury could soon rate Purple Heart
By Andrew deGrandpre and Richard Sandza - Staff writers
Posted : Tuesday Mar 15, 2011 18:27:36 EDT
More U.S. troops who sustain combat-related brain injuries could soon be eligible for the Purple Heart.

Senior military leaders at the Pentagon are considering individual service proposals to change the guidelines for awarding the medal to troops who sustain mild traumatic brain injuries or concussions, Military Times has learned. The Purple Heart recognizes U.S. military personnel wounded or killed by enemy action.

It’s not immediately clear whether any new guidelines would allow for Purple Hearts to be awarded retroactively.

Officials from all four services are scheduled to meet this week with Dr. Clifford Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, to discuss the recommended changes, said Army Lt. Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli, who is leading the Army’s initiative.

“Up to now, he thinks soldiers have received concussions and not received Purple Hearts as they should,” Warren said.

Marine Commandant Gen. Jim Amos ordered the Marine Corps’ review to account for new research indicating the severity of a head wound is not necessarily linked to being knocked unconscious on the battlefield, as current Purple Heart criteria dictate, Marine officials said, noting that in some cases, the long-term effects can be far worse.

The issue, Warren said, is “what is a concussion?” The regulation, he said, awards Purple Hearts for concussions, but “do you have to be knocked out? Does your head have to bleed?”

Marine officials would not discuss details of their proposal.

Since 2000, more than 202,000 U.S. troops have been diagnosed with some form of TBI, according to Defense Department data. Most — more than 150,000 cases — were classified as “mild.” Annual numbers have risen in step with the proliferation of improvised explosives as the weapon of choice among insurgents targeting U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Nearly 31,000 suffered a brain injury last year alone.
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Mild brain injury could soon rate Purple Heart

Home should never be more dangerous than war

Think about that. 18 veterans committed suicide today. They survived combat but could not survive back home. Pretty horrible when you think about what they faced in combat knowing they made it back home but died because of combat.

After months of the most intense training getting civilians to adapt into soldiers, they are baptized by combat and in that moment, they are no longer the same person. They are transformed by the most intense violence known to man.

For a year or more they adapt to the constant threat of dying knowing each day can be their last. They witness death of friends and of other people. Civilians they were sent to save as well as others they were sent to defeat die in front of their eyes.

Combat becomes normal to the person they have just become. This is why combat veterans keep saying they want to go back.

Last night I was talking to a daughter of a Vietnam veteran. He had three tours of Vietnam. He never talked about any of it. His wife told him after his third tour that had to be the end of it or she wanted a divorce. She couldn't take the constant fear and the months apart. He was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and died because of what it did to his body. One more thing we never talk about. PTSD damages the body because of the constant stress.

Adapt to make fit (as for a new use) often by modification

He was modified to fit the challenges of combat but no one attempted to modify him back to being a civilian. He wanted to go back because where he was sent became normal to him. He knew what to expect there but back home, it was all different. At least that was how he felt. It was not that home changed. He did. Life as he knew it before was gone.

Most of us know what it is like to move from the home we always knew. Sometimes it is just a different house in a new neighborhood but other times it is a new state where everything is different. We have to get to know where we are, find stores, doctors, schools, churches and attempt to make new friends. We have to adapt to the new home, finding places to put everything we have and then trying to remember where we put them. Sooner or later we toss out old things and buy new things to fit our new surroundings. Moving is stressful and we end up missing how we used to know where everything was, going to visit friends, seeing friendly faces and the feeling of being home. A lot of changes in us are not noticed until we try to go back home again. We don't have the same feelings we had before. It is not that "home" has changed but we have.

It is the same for them. Home seems different because they are. Their lives changed. Back home they want to go back to the way they were before. This illusion is carried during their deployment and they convince themselves they can pick up where they left off not noticing nothing inside of them is the way it was before.

They need help sorting things out. They need to make peace with the changes and use all of it to adapt back to civilian life. This becomes harder for active duty forces and even harder for National Guards as well as Reservists. They are expected to hang onto the "warrior" at the same time they are expected to release the "warrior" as they spend time back home.

They go back to work with the memories of combat living on. They go back to their families and friends as they are expected to be unchanged. They actually do a good job covering up the changes within them for a while but sooner or later, the changes become noticed. The problem is the people who care about them don't understand what the changes mean. They don't know how to help or how to react.

Awareness will help them adapt back to civilian life and make coming home feel safe again. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can only come after a traumatic event. For combat veterans, there were many of them piled onto others. Their memories are so powerful every part of their body is involved.

In nightmares they are back in combat so vividly their bodies actually have the same reactions as during the event itself. Their hearts beat faster; their muscles tense; they smell it, hear it and fear it all over again. For flashbacks, it is the same way and can be set off by a trigger as simple as a sound or smell of diesel fuel. They become afraid they are going "crazy" and they try to hide it simply because they don't understand it. What makes it worse is when their own families don't understand it. Our reaction to them can make it worse if we react the wrong way.

When they drink too much, we can yell at them and threaten to leave them if they don't stop but this ends up making them want to drink more unless the intervention is coupled with understanding why they drink. They are trying to kill off bad feelings and calm their nerves down to numb.

We can think they are suddenly lazy when another night of terrors has left them emotionally, spiritually and physically drained instead of understanding why they can't get out of bed or make it into work.

We can think they stopped loving us when they seem cold, distant, detached from the people they are supposed to care about when there is just a wall of pain trapping in how they really feel behind it.

We can think they are suddenly nasty when they overreact to common situations that never bothered them before.

Something as simple as going out to eat can set them off if we can't understand they have to sit in a place where they feel safe and usually that means waiting for a table near a wall out of the center of the room. If we understand this, then we won't demand they just take the first available table because we're hungry.

There are so many little things we can do to help them live but far too many discover what they did wrong when it is too late to save the lives of veterans.

We keep reading about hearings in Washington and conferences around the country trying to find answers on military suicides but hearing about the problems and failures doesn't do enough good. They need to start looking at successes in all of this so they stop repeating the same failures. Until they look at what works, uncomplicated and simply stated, we will keep seeing suicides go up and survivals go down along with the families taken with them.

Sgt. Coleman S. Bean Reserve Component Suicide Prevention Act

NJ mom of Iraq vet suicide victim joins Rep. Rush Holt to push prevention act
Published: Wednesday, March 16, 2011

By JOAN GALLER
jgaller@trentonian

East Brunswick resident Linda Bean — the mother of an Iraq combat veteran who committed suicide after being denied treatment for post-traumatic stress — joined Rep. Rush Holt, D-12, to reintroduce legislation that provides “a safety net” for all who serve.

“In 2010, we lost more troops to suicide than to combat in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Bean said yesterday, standing beside Holt outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

“Deaths by suicide among members of National Guard and Reserve units rose from 80 in 2009 to 145 in 2010,” she added. “We don’t know how many members of the IRR fell to suicide; no branch of the service tracks those losses.”

The Sgt. Coleman S. Bean Reserve Component Suicide Prevention Act, co-sponsored by Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), would help close a critical gap in military suicide prevention efforts by requiring treatment, counseling and follow up services for members of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), Inactive National Guard (ING), and Individual Mobilization Augmentees (IMAs).

Bean, who served two tours in Iraq as a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and took his own life in 2008.
read more here
Rush Holt to push prevention act

Marines, sailors hurt in Bragg explosion

Marines, sailors hurt in Bragg explosion
By Brian Shane - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Mar 15, 2011 12:02:13 EDT
Eight Marines and two Navy personnel were hospitalized Monday night following an explosion during artillery training at Fort Bragg, N.C.

The accident happened about 8 p.m., the result of an apparent explosion of an M777A2 round while inside a howitzer, according to public affairs officer Staff Sgt. Jayson Price at Camp Lejeune, N.C. — where the training Marines are based.

The injured service members, all men, are members of Golf Battery, 2nd Battalion, 10th Marines. Their names have not been released. All were hospitalized at Bragg’s Womack Army Medical Center, Price said. He did not have details on the extent of their injuries.
read more here
Marines, sailors hurt in Bragg explosion

Monitor and Care for Our Troops Exposed to Radiation in Japan

Veterans for Common Sense remembers there are US troops stationed in Japan and they are focused on making sure they are taken care of now and tomorrow.

VCS to DoD and VA: Monitor and Care for Our Troops Exposed to Radiation in Japan
Written by VCS
Tuesday, 15 March 2011 09:51

VCS sent the following letter to VA expressing our concerns about caring for our service membes and veterans exposed to harmful radiation while deployed to rescue missions in Japan.
March 14, 2011
The Honorable Eric Shinseki
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
The Honorable Robert Gates
Secretary of Defense
Dear Secretary Shinseki and Secretary Gates:
Veterans for Common Sense writes you regarding the health and welfare of our service members deployed in and around Japan. We support our nation’s military mission to assist Japan in her greatest hour of need in more than six decades.

However, there are new and important developments related to the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011. The situation at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactor facility prompt us to present three salient, significant, and urgent points to you.

1. Widespread Radioactive Contamination is Now Confirmed.
Japan and the U.S. now confirm the radioactive contamination of both air and sea water as well as the exposure of both Japanese civilians and U.S. military service members in Japan and off the coast of Japan. Therefore, the entire nation of Japan, the airspace above, and the waters nearby for at least 100 miles must be designated by the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs as a radioactive and toxic environment. The zone can be expanded as the radioactive contamination spreads.

While there is more to what VCS suggests, this one stood out.

3. Create New Team; Remove Dr. Brix.
The integrity and transparency of VA and DoD on this issue are vital. VCS supports creating a new, joint DoD-VA team to monitor this issue. Independent (non-government) experts should be advising our government, not the current staff assigned. Our U.S. service members, veterans, and the public are not served well with the continued involvement in any manner of Dr. Kelly Brix and her Department of Defense Force Health Protection staff. Specifically, any ties between VA and Dr. Brix on this and related matters must be severed immediately.
Dr. Brix, her staff, and prior DoD efforts on Gulf War illness, Iraq War burn pits, and other toxic exposures are not credible in the eyes of our veterans. This issue of our troops' health after radioactive and toxic exposures is far too urgent and important for her and the same Gulf War illness office to be involved with recent events in and around Japan.
During nearly two decades, she and her staff concealed, delayed, and denied the existence of Gulf War toxic exposures and multi-symptom illness.
read more here
Monitor and Care for Our Troops Exposed to Radiation in Japan

How is this still going on and who will do something about it to make sure our troops are taken care of today and tomorrow when they become veterans?

Bill Would Heavily Restrict Funeral Protests by Westboro Group

Bill Would Heavily Restrict Funeral Protests

March 14, 2011
Stars and Stripes|by Leo Shane III
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger has said that Congress cannot stop groups like the Westboro Baptist Church from picketing military funerals, after the Supreme Court upheld the groups' First Amendment rights last month. But the Maryland Democrat also believes that lawmakers can put restrictions on those protests to protect mourning families.

Last week, Ruppersberger introduced legislation that would prohibit protests five hours before and five hours after military funerals, and force protestors to gather at least 2,500 feet away from the event. He said the rules would preserve the protestors' right to free speech without harassing the military families.
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Bill Would Heavily Restrict Funeral Protests

Homeless children get $5.6 million pledge from Orlando First Baptist

Homeless children get $5.6 million pledge from Orlando First Baptist
March 14, 2011|By Jeff Kunerth and Kate Santich, Orlando Sentinel

CBS News/60 Minutes
Brent Trotter, president and CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless, was in church Saturday evening when a guest preacher began to challenge members of the congregation to open their hearts and wallets to homeless children.

"Finally," Trotter thought, "the church is recognizing that it has a role in solving this problem. I was excited just to hear him address the issue."

That wasn't the half of it. When the preacher took up a special collection for the homeless, the Saturday service alone pitched in $560,000.

And by the time First Baptist of Orlando added its Sunday services into the mix, it had netted an astounding $5.6 million.

Trotter — whose nonprofit agency has been promised a share of the funding — called it "legendary." Others used terms such as "historic" and "phenomenal."
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Homeless children get $5.6 million pledge from Orlando First Baptist

Two Veteran Police Officers Killed Over Weekend

Two Veteran Police Officers Killed Over Weekend
Monday, March 14, 2011 - 02:47 PM
By WNYC Newsroom

Two NYPD officers with more than a decade of experience were killed in the line of duty last weekend. One was pushed over a railing and tumbled to his death on a leafy street in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. The second was fatally shot by an MTA officer on Long Island after a confrontation with a knife-wielding man. The suspect was also killed.

In Brooklyn, officers responded to a domestic violence call early Sunday morning. As officer Alain Schaberger, 42, prepared to take the suspect into custody he was shoved over a railing in front of the brownstone and tumbled down a concrete stairway to the basement. The nine-foot fall broke his neck.

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Two Veteran Police Officers Killed Over Weekend

Is Kaplan University taking advantage of veterans?

Army Veteran: "Kaplan University Even Put Pressure On My Wife"
by Carol Scott · March 14, 2011


A growing number of students are coming forward to share their negative experiences with Kaplan University, the for-profit college owned by the Washington Post Company.

To better tell their stories, Change.org is publishing one Kaplan student’s account every day for one week, starting today. These students are part of a group urging the Washington Post to stop preying on low-income students ( sign their petition here). The below accounts are students' descriptions of their experiences.

Roger Betancourt, Laredo, Texas
Kaplan student from February 2009 to September 2009
U.S. Army veteran; served in Iraq as an Infantry Paratrooper with the 173rd Southern European Task Force (SETAF). Awarded an Army Commendation medal for exceptionally meritorious service in Iraq.

"Kaplan told me that since I was in the military, my G.I. Bill would pay for all of my classes and that I wouldn't pay a cent out of pocket. My advisor gave me all of the instructions and encouraged me to apply.

I told him that I had left the military with a General Discharge (under Honorable conditions) and that I was worried I wouldn't qualify for G.I. Bill benefits. I told him I did not want to start my classes not knowing if I was going to get the benefits.
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Kaplan University Even Put Pressure On My Wife

Military suicides personal for Major's widow

In the 80's and 90's Vietnam veterans were committing suicide by the thousands but their obituaries would read "died suddenly" and somewhere there would be mention of service in Vietnam. No one wanted to talk about a combat veteran surviving combat but unable to survive being back home. The suffering was a well kept secret. But it was not just the veterans suffering. It was their families as well. Keeping it something only the family knew did nothing to help anyone heal.

What changed? Military families did. PTSD was no longer something to hide to some hero families ready to fight this battle. They stood up, got media attention and then the attention of congress. People like this widow shared their pain so that someone would do something to save the lives of other veterans.

Military suicides personal for widow

By Margery Eagan
Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Marine Maj. John Ruocco of Newbury was a real “Top Gun” type. Movie-star handsome, first in his flight-training class, a Cobra-helicopter attack pilot and squadron leader who flew 75 combat missions in Iraq.

Growing up in Lexington, he had close family and friends. He married his college sweetheart. In a family picture taken the day he came home in 2004, his two young sons are waving American flags. Ruocco wears a Red Sox [team stats] nation T-shirt and holds his wife Kim close.

Those who knew him thought John Ruocco had it all. Right up until the night he hanged himself in a California hotel room in February 2005, on Super Bowl Sunday.

“Let’s call Dad,” one of his ecstatic sons said after the Patriots [team stats] won. Then that son got off the phone and told his mother, “Daddy is crying. Daddy is not OK.”

Kim Ruocco said yesterday that, in fact, her husband had not been OK for some time. But she kept his secret: depression that worsened after Iraq.
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Military suicides personal for widow

DAV: Veterans helping veterans

DAV: Veterans helping veterans

March 13, 2011

BY TERRY NAU
veterans@pawtuckettimes.com

Most veterans know that the Disabled American Veterans organization exists. Many of them do not know that the DAV can be their best friend and a major advocate when they seek benefits later on in life from disabilities that can be linked to their time in the U.S. military.

“The sad part is a lot of veterans, especially Vietnam veterans, don’t know what’s available to them (in terms of benefits from the Veterans Administration),” said Rick Vaccari, a DAV supervisor.

The DAV will serve as an advocate for disabled veterans pursuing disability claims through the VA, Vaccari added. Its agents will go to bat for veterans, free of charge, as their claims advance through the governmental bureaucracy.

“The DAV’s mission is to build better lives for America’s disabled veterans,” Vaccari said. “We get involved in the claims and appeal processes for veterans. We do outreach programs where we travel to different locations around the state to meet with veterans in their own hometowns.”

The DAV’s main office in Rhode Island is located in the Federal Building at 380 Westminster Street in Providence, on the same floor as the VA Regional Office. Last Thursday, Vaccari worked out of a regional office in Warwick, meeting individually with veterans as part of the DAV’s outreach program.

“My job is to make sure veterans and their families get the maximum benefits they deserve from the Veterans Administration,” Vaccari said.

Vaccari works frequently with Korean War era veteran Jim Robbins, a Seekonk resident who is commander of Pawtucket’s Lawrence E. Redmond Chapter of the DAV.

“I became interested in helping other veterans about 12 years ago,” Robbins admitted. “I have my own business (Jim’s Auto Sales and Auto Body Works, Inc. on Central Avenue). I wanted to start giving something back to the community. When you get to my age (79), you want to feel like you have accomplished something with your life. I found that helping others through the DAV made me very satisfied.”

Robbins served in the Navy from 1950-52, working on a minesweeper in the Atlantic Ocean.
“I busted my leg and elbow during a hurricane,” he admitted. “I spent four months in a hospital on Guantanamo Bay and my leg got worse over the years. Later on, I applied to the VA for compensation. And then I became a member of DAV. I have been commander of the Redmond Chapter for 12 years.”

Robbins, who is savvy in the auto business, bought a few vans at auction and converted them into DAV vehicles that he uses to transport veterans to doctor’s visits, to the VA, or to the DAV outreach programs throughout the state.
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Veterans helping veterans

Bad move to cut Vermont National Guard program

We didn't step up when we sent them in the first place. Congress didn't get funding flowing into the VA to get ready for what two wars would cost in human terms. Communities around the country didn't have any plans to take care of the National Guards or Reservists or their families when they were deployed. No one was asked to do anything but the men and women we sent.

If sending them into Afghanistan was important enough to ask them to risk their lives, then it should have been important enough to congress to pay for it, then and now. If sending them into Iraq was important enough, then the budget to care for them should have been increased right away. Even if it meant that the US taxpayers had to pay more. This means the rich should have shared in the burden but they got tax cuts.

What did they do with their money? Did they make jobs for the men and women to come home to? No, unemployment went up. Did they step up and fund anything the citizen soldiers or troops needed when they came home wounded? Very few did.

Now there is something the state of Vermont is trying to get right and even it is running out of money. Why? We are not exactly running out of veterans needing it. As a matter of fact, we are increasing the need at the same time we fund greed in this country. This is all messed up.

Expiring Vermont Guard family program gets reprieve
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS • MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2011

COLCHESTER — A Vermont National Guard family outreach program that helps veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is being threatened by the budget dispute in Congress.

The program that provides important services to help veterans deal with issues that arise after they return from service overseas had been due to run out of funding at the end of next month, but officials say it's been given a short reprieve thanks to a $450,000 federal appropriation.

But its long-term future is in doubt.

The program was started a number of few years ago with state money. Last summer Vermont guard chief, Maj. Gen. Michael Dubie, and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders announced that another $2.4 million in federal funds would keep the program running. That money is almost gone.

"We have our veterans outreach specialists (who) are dealing with people with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, with substance abuse issues, with financial issues, with helping them to get their disability benefits, marital issues," Dubie said.
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Expiring Vermont Guard family program gets reprieve

Boston conference to discuss military suicides

Boston conference to discuss military suicides
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Mar 12, 2011 17:06:26 EST
BOSTON — More than 1,000 service members, veterans and caregivers are expected here next week for a conference on preventing military suicides.

The conference, taking place Monday through Thursday at the Sheraton Boston Hotel, will focus on the role of community programs to help active-duty military, National Guard and Reserve members and veterans who are struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts.

Participants will discuss how to recognize suicidal thoughts and behaviors. They’ll also examine various peer support services, including formal programs, self-help groups, online forums and social media.

The conference is sponsored by the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments.
Boston conference to discuss military suicides

Collier Marine wounded in Iraq moves into donated Fort Myers home

Collier Marine wounded in Iraq moves into donated Fort Myers home
By KATY TORRALBAS
Posted March 13, 2011

FORT MYERS — Deep in the belly of the moving truck, Bobby Joseph lifts a military duffel onto his shoulder.

He carries it to the edge and drops it with a thump next to piles of pillows and storage boxes. The duffel is covered in place names written in black Sharpie. First on the list: “Recruiting station — Naples,” and on the bottom it says “Joseph — 3109,” his platoon in the United States Marine Corps.

On this afternoon in early March, Joseph is moving his family into a new house, thanks to a charity called the Military Warriors Support Foundation, created by JP Morgan Chase. After three years in a mentoring program, the home in Fort Myers will be put in Joseph’s name, mortgage-free.

Joseph, 29, signed up for military service six days after Sept. 11, 2001, and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. A roadside bomb exploded into his legs in 2006 and today, about four and a half years later, he has a hitch in his step, a sometimes faulty memory and a Purple Heart.
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Collier Marine wounded in Iraq moves into donated Fort Myers home

National Guard project will share soldiers' stories

National Guard project will share soldiers' stories
Written by
Valerie Zehl
Calling all National Guard soldiers of the Southern Tier who've served in Iraq and Afghanistan since Sept. 11, 2001: The New York Army National Guard wants to tell your stories.

"Remember My Service," a project financed by the National Guard Bureau, is intended to create a digital chronicle of those individuals' roles in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn in Iraq.

"The New York National Guard is the only part of America's military team, and perhaps from our culture, that has literally gone from Ground Zero, to the Sunni Triangle and on to the mountains of Afghanistan," said Lt. Col. Paul Fanning, the RMS Command Project Officer and the guard's state public affairs officer.

"Now we have a project to get the details of their service, as personal as we can possibly make it."
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National Guard project will share soldiers' stories