A Captain’s Experience With PTSD

More Than a Memory: A Captain’s Experience With PTSD

From www.DCoE.health.mil
Posted by Robyn Mincher, DCoE Strategic Communications


After a patrol in Baghdad. From L to R: Army Sgt. Jonathan Kindem, Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Robbins, Army Capt. Adrian Veseth-Nelson and Lucas Lewis. (Courtesy photo)
Army Capt. Adrian Veseth-Nelson was 24-years-old when he received the U.S. Army Bronze Star for Valor for his efforts that stopped a group of insurgents in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“After securing a convoy that was ambushed, my guys got hit by a drive-by shooting. My wingman spotted the shooters in a black sedan. They parked on the side of a school yard and started shooting machine guns. We had to do something,” said Veseth-Nelson. “We chased them onto a crowded entrance to a highway at 65 miles per hour, and I told my driver to ram them. It was out of a movie.”

A survivor, who they pulled out of the wreckage of the insurgent’s vehicle, threw a grenade at them. Fortunately, it didn’t detonate; it was the only one of the 15 grenades later found in the car without a fuse. Veseth-Nelson’s unit was safe, and the sole surviving, injured insurgent was taken away by police.

Once he returned to the states, Veseth-Nelson was considered a home-town hero — respected by family, friends and fans. Celebrations were in abundance, but for Veseth-Nelson, the indulgence didn’t end.

“I was easily drinking two six-packs a day and sometimes would come to work with alcohol on my breath,” he said. “Just like everyone else, I was happy that I was alive. I didn’t know the line between that and self-medicating.”

What Veseth-Nelson didn’t know was that he was self-medicating to cope with symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He developed behavioral and physiological symptoms like disturbed sleep, fluctuating weight, extreme road rage and general anger.

“My first response to any threat was to fight. I even flashed my gun at my colleague,” he said. “My boss pulled me aside and said I needed to change things. He knew the Adrian who he used to see wasn’t the one he was seeing right now.”

Veseth-Nelson took a proactive approach to treatment; he sought out a psychologist on base.

“My psychologist saw my PTSD for what it was,” he said. “She recommended the Specialized Care Program.”
read more here
A Captain’s Experience With PTSD

Patriot Guard Riders escorting wounded soldier

The Patriot Guard Riders do a lot more than just show up to keep the Westboro Group from attacking military families. They are escorting Spc. Austin Burchard to see his new home built by Homes for Our Troops.

101st Airborne Vietnam Hamburger Hill Veterans return to Fort Campbell

Hamburger Hill Veterans return to Fort Campbell
May 10, 2011
Fort Campbell, KY – Dozens of Vietnam-era, 101st Airborne Division Veterans will return to Fort Campbell, May 12th – 13th, to commemorate the 42nd anniversary of the Battle of Hamburger Hill.
The 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, “Iron Rakkasans” will welcome the Veterans back to Fort Campbell and will host several events in their honor.

Two generations of Rakkasan war-fighters will participate in a memorial run in the early morning hours of May 12th that will be followed by a visit to the Sabalauski Air Assault School, where Veterans will witness a demonstration of 21st Century combat insertion techniques and Air Assault operations. The Vietnam-era “Iron Rakkasans” will also get a chance to rappel off of the famed Air Assault tower here.

On May 13th, a memorial ceremony will be held in honor of the “Iron Rakkasans” who gave their lives assaulting up Hill 937 and will be followed by an open house at the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment Headquarters.

go here to read about Hamburger Hill and these veterans of the 101st.
Hamburger Hill Veterans return to Fort Campbell

Pennsylvania pastor said he was a Navy SEAL and Vietnam Vet

After Bin Laden Raid, Fake Navy SEALs Are 'Coming Out of the Woodwork,' Says Watchdog

By CHRIS JAMES
May 9, 2011
A central Pennsylvania pastor who said he was a Navy SEAL and Vietnam vet has been exposed as a fraud – and the man who caught him says the number of wannabes falsely claiming to be veterans of the elite force has "skyrocketed" since the May 1 SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

For five years, parishioners of the Christian Bible Fellowship Church in Newville, Pennsylvania believed that their pastor, Rev. Jim Moats, was an ex-SEAL who'd seen combat during the Vietnam War.

In the wake of the bin Laden raid last week, the Harrisburg Patriot-News decided to profile Central Pennsylvania residents who'd served in the SEALs. On Saturday, the paper published a glowing profile of Moats, who reminisced about being waterboarded and about being reassigned to kitchen duty for bad behavior.

"I had almost no discipline," said Moats. "I was as wild as they came. That was my nemesis."

The story soon landed in the email inbox of Don Shipley, a real ex-SEAL in Chesapeake, Virginia who is among the small group of people with access to a database listing all current and former SEALs. Shipley, who has taken it upon himself to expose frauds, has a Google Alert set up to notify him by email whenever someone's claim of having been a Navy SEAL is published on-line.
read more here
Fake Navy SEALs Are Coming Out of the Woodwork

Vietnam Veteran's daughter with spina bifida still seeks justice

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Daughter of Vietnam Vet Seeks Benefits From VA

By Phil Parker
Of the Journal
Gina Montoya believes she is owed benefits by the federal government because of debilitating deformities that might be a direct result of her father's service in Vietnam.

Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., thinks so, too. But officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs disagree.

With Udall's help, Montoya is appealing to get the benefits she has so far been denied, but the process could take months.

"I can't live like this anymore," the 32-year-old Chimayó woman told the Journal, crying. "It's not my fault I was born this way."

The VA says a neurologist who reviewed Montoya's case file found that, while she has a severe congenital problems, she doesn't have spina bifida — a finding in conflict with that of Montoya's current New Mexico doctors. And the VA says rules prohibit giving her benefits, because she wasn't diagnosed with spina bifida at birth.

Meanwhile, Montoya struggles day to day at home in Chimayó. She's low on butane, and her medical bills are piling up. Montoya lives in the house she once shared with her mother, who died 2 1/2 years ago.

Her mother's death, Montoya said, spurred her to apply once again for spina bifida benefits under the Veterans' Benefits Act of 1997. She had been denied previously, in 2004, and gave up until last year.

Gina's father, Ray, was a soldier in Vietnam. He remembers loading barrels into trucks during his service, and remembers an orange band around the drums, from which the chemical inside got its name: Agent Orange.

Read more: ABQJOURNAL UPFRONT: Daughter of Vietnam Vet Seeks Benefits From VA Daughter of Vietnam Vet Seeks Benefits From VA
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Veterans for Common Sense scores legal win for veterans

Thirty years ago I was probably like most Americans when it came to our veterans. I didn't really think that much about them. I'm ashamed to admit that, but it is the truth even though my Dad was a Korean Vet and my uncles were WWII veterans. Pretty pathetic when you think with all of these veterans, they were all first generation Americans but other than listening to some of their stories when I had to, my thoughts about what they did, where they went and what came home with them ended quickly after I left the room.

That all changed in 1982, thirty years ago as of next year for the math impaired. That was when I met a Vietnam Vet, fell in love and then became a Vietnam War statistic to over come. I married a wonderful man with a very big heart and a very deep pain.

Back then PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was talked about in clinical circles. Those were the only books I could find on PTSD. Then there were the untitled whispers in homes all over the country. PTSD back then was a secret. Now all of that has changed but the pain hasn't changed. The help they need to heal has not changed any more than the help the families need has. When I started this work way back then, there was a driving force behind me and that was my husband. Not because he supported what I was doing but because I saw this wonderful man suffering and there are still too many going through hell waiting to finally find their service along with the wounds they carried home are acknowledged. They want to have their wounds treated no matter if they are wounds to their body or to their heads or even their souls. They want to make sure they can pay the rent and feed their families if they are unable to work because of their disabilities. Is that too much to ask in return for asking them to lay down their lives? Isn't that exactly what we asked of them when we sent them to war?

All these years later and so much hope of getting where we need to be on helping them but then we still have to read stories like this one and Veterans for Common Sense still having to fight a legal battle for those we sent into combat. All I can say is thank God they are there!

Major VCS Legal Victory in New York Times
Written by James Dao
Wednesday, 11 May 2011 10:43

Federal Appeals Court Backs Veterans’ Complaints on Mental Health Services

May 11, 2011 (New York Times) - In a sweeping decision released Tuesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that “unchecked incompetence” by the Department of Veterans Affairs had led to poor mental health care and slow processing of disability claims for veterans.

“The United States Constitution confers upon veterans and their surviving relatives a right to the effective provision of mental health care and to the just and timely adjudication of their claims for health care and service-connected death and disability,” Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote for the majority.

In its 2-1 decision in the case, Veterans for Common Sense v. Eric K. Shinseki, the court agreed with the plaintiffs’ claims that the department must put mental health initiatives into effect “systemwide” and alter the disability adjudication process in its regional office.

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by Veterans United for Truth and Veterans for Common Sense, two nonprofit organizations that are seeking to force the department to make systemic changes to the way it treats veterans with mental health problems and handles compensation claims for injured veterans.

The veterans groups asserted that the department was unprepared for the flood of psychologically troubled or physically injured troops returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, had inadequate services at veterans clinics and had allowed a huge backlog of compensation applications to grow.

In a statement released after the ruling, Veterans for Common Sense said that recent war veterans had filed more than 550,000 disability claims.
read more here
Major VCS Legal Victory in New York Times

OEF and OIF veterans come home but not everyone cares

We've read hundreds of stories about troops coming home and being thanked for their service. Some people wait for hours at an airport to welcome them back from Iraq and Afghanistan. Other people show up to make sure wounded have a home adapted for disabilities. Really wonderful, heartwarming stories that make it seem as if this nation really cares about them but then we read about stories that happened in Gloucester when the VFW wanted to hold and event to honor them and no one came.

Low turnout to thank our veterans
Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2011, 3:00 AM
By Letters to the Editor/Gloucester County Times


I am an Army veteran and captain of the Mantua Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7679 Color Guard.

On May 1, our color guard was invited to Williamstown VFW Post 1616 for a loyalty day to thank our veterans for their efforts in protecting us. The ladies auxiliary had prepared food for everyone. Present were the Williamstown Color Guard and their officers, our color guard and Air Force ROTC representatives. Also present were the Monroe Township mayor, and county and state officials.

They had the hall set up with 16 tables of eight each. The event was open to the public, and a sign posted out front welcomed everyone to attend.

There was only one problem. Nobody from the general community showed up.
read more here
Low turnout to thank our veterans

But this is not just one case of one community not showing up to even say thank you. It happens more than it should. It isn't just the government letting these men and women down, it is town after town and city after city, which is really terrible considering they are deployed from all over the country. It should never depend on where they live when they come back if they feel appreciated or not.

Iraq Veteran Comes Home to Warm Welcome Then Apathy!
May 10, 2011 posted
by Robert L. Hanafin

Iraq and Afghanistan Vets Come Home to War
We’ve done a series of stories here at Veterans Today (VT) dealing with the shocking scandals that tend to plague the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) system. My last update on the Dayton VA Medical Center scandal was on 25 April, also back in late April VT was contacted by a young Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Wounded Warrior asking us to tell his story.

Although this is the story of only ONE Iraq and Afghanistan War Veteran, we at VT know enough about the flaws of the VA system, most recently a VA admitted failure of leadership that we believe is system wide and fixable.

However, one only need go to young Veteran blogs regardless of their own personal political views on the war(s) to find one thing they all have in common – far too many young Veterans (well old Vets too) are still falling through the cracks of a broken VA system.

OIF Veteran David Kendrick contacted our senior editor Gordon Duff noting that he came across our website looking for military friendly news sites. David told VT that he made a short documentary on You Tube that he was trying to bring some media attention to. David was shot in both legs in 2007 and now he feels as if he has nowhere to turn. He asked us to view the video and consider posting it on Veterans Today.

We have decided to do just that, because we believe David is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to young Veterans falling through the VA cracks, not getting the word about VA benefits (despite in all fairness VA outreach efforts now appearing to include excellent TV ads outreaching to younger Veterans at least here in SW Ohio).
read more here
Iraq Veteran Comes Home to Warm Welcome Then Apathy

OIF Vet Cry for Help!

Was Marine killed for living in the wrong neighborhood?

SWAT officers go to the home of a veteran Marine to search the house for drugs with a "narcotics conspiracy search warrant" but found nothing.

Authorities tell us three other neighborhood homes were targeted Thursday, all tied to a narcotics conspiracy.

but this Marine came home from work, went to sleep and was woken up by screams, smashing glass and bullets. Did they know anything about this veteran or his family? Did they have any clue if he was involved with drugs or if he just lived in the wrong neighborhood? It looks like they didn't know very much at all.

Marine killed by SWAT was acting in defense, says family


Posted: May 10, 2011 9:14 PM

Reporter: Joel Waldman

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN9-TV) - A smashed window and a barrage of bullet holes might be the type of scene a battle-hardened marine finds in a war zone; not the Tucson home he shares with his two children and wife, "I saw this guy pointing me at the window. So, I got scared. And, I got like, ‘Please don't shoot, I have a baby. I put my baby (down). (And I) put bag in window. And, I yell ‘Jose! Jose! Wake up!" explained wife Vanessa Guerena.

Husband Jose had just come home from working at the mine. His wife Vanessa said he had just slept two hours, only to wake up to chaos in his house. It was Pima County SWAT executing a narcotics conspiracy search warrant.

SWAT gunned Jose down with 71-rounds fired in just about 7-seconds; officials say they did not expect Vanessa to be home with four year old son Joel, who has questions like so many others, "The only thing he asked me, "Mom, my dad a bad guy? They killed my dad! Police killed my dad? Why? What did my dad do?" explained Guerena.

read more here
Marine killed by SWAT was acting in defense

Budget cuts by GOP would hurt veterans

This reminds me of a conversation I had last night after class. A fellow student and I were talking about being our age in Digital Media classes and one thing lead to another. We started talking about what I do when she told me she was Republican for a lot of reasons but one of them was that they supported the troops. I told her what the truth was and she was shocked. The only part of the military the Republican elected support are contractors. When it comes to the troops, just as when it comes to veterans, they seem to have a huge problem with paying them back for their service. When you look up their voting records along with their lack of bills written for the sake of the men and women risking their lives, you see their "support" is not even close to how much the support defense contractors. If you are shocked with what they are doing to veterans instead of for veterans around the country, you just didn't pay enough attention to them.

State VA chief: Budget cuts by GOP would hurt veterans
Article by: RACHEL E. STASSEN-BERGER , Star Tribune Updated: May 5, 2011 - 11:18 PM
Republican committee chairman in the House called Shellito's analysis "a complete overreaction."


Republican budget cuts could trigger the closure of at least one veterans' home, higher burial fees for veterans' families and elimination of the Bronze Star grave marker program, according to state Veterans Affairs Commissioner Larry Shellito.

Shellito, who led the state National Guard under former Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, said the budget as it stands would result in layoffs and other cuts, even though Republicans had pledged to protect veterans from spending reductions. "I'm very concerned," Shellito said.

Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, the House State Government Finance chair, said the administration's estimates are a "worse, worse, worse case scenario." He called Shellito's analysis "a complete overreaction."

Sen. Mike Parry, R-Waseca, Lanning's counterpart in the Senate, was not available for comment, despite repeated requests.

Although rhetoric at the Capitol has heated up as the budget process grinds toward a May 23 adjournment, Shellito said his projections are not part of that fight. "I don't play games," said Shellito, a major general in the Guard. "It's really serious."

In a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton on Thursday, Shellito said the budget proposals for his department would result in layoffs for more than 100 employees.
read more here
Budget cuts by GOP would hurt veterans

Nationwide 2K Event Will Support Homeless Veterans and

Nationwide 2K Event Will Support Homeless Veterans and

Promote Employee Wellness



WASHINGTON (April 22, 2011) - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is
hosting a nationwide 2K Walk and Roll event at more than 130 VA
facilities on June 2 in support of employee wellness month. The event
will also encourage employee and local community support of homeless
Veterans.



"Worksite wellness activities enhance employee engagement and contribute
to a more productive and healthy workforce," said Secretary of Veterans
Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "These 2K Walk and Roll events are an
excellent way to involve the entire VA community, highlight the
importance of physical activity in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and
help homeless Veterans get the assistance they need."



VA facilities across the Nation will be holding individual 2K events on
June 2 in each of their respective locations. While there is no
registration fee, employees and volunteers participating in the event
are asked to donate to support homeless Veterans. Participation is open
to the community; donations are optional.



VA's employee wellness program is known as WIN (Wellness Is Now). WIN
empowers employees with the knowledge, skills and tools they need to
create a culture of health and wellness. Further, the group encourages
employees to use their appreciation of wellness to inspire Veterans to
live healthier lifestyles.



WIN integrates traditional occupational safety and health programs with
health promotion activities, addressing both workplace and worker
health. Through this program staff find opportunities to embrace healthy
and positive lifestyle choices that sustain and improve their own
health, reduce preventable injuries and illnesses, reduce absenteeism
and enable them to do their important work of serving the Nation's
Veterans.



Email AskVHAEmployeewellness@va.gov to find out if your VA facility is
hosting a 2K event. VA facilities can be located by visiting
www.va.gov/directory.

Wounded Marine has tomorrow in his power after loss of all limbs

‘He’s just a great guy’
By Diana Kuyper Special to The News-Sun May 10, 2011 2:19AM

ANTIOCH — Marine Sgt. John Peck wheeled into the VFW on Monday morning in his motorized wheelchair and was inundated with attention from area residents and officials. They wanted to thank him for his service and the sacrifice he made when he lost four limbs in an IED explosion in Afghanistan almost a year ago.

Peck arrived in a motorcade escorted by police and fire vehicles and a Patriot Guard motorcycle contingent. More than 2,500 supporters, including hundreds of grade and high school students, lined the sidewalks on Main Street and waved American flags as he passed by in a van donated by the Semper Fi Fund.

With parents Zenio and Lisa Krutyholowa by his side and his Siberian husky puppy, Mischa, on his lap, he at times looked overwhelmed, wiping tears from his face on his dad’s shirtfront. But then he playfully flexed the muscles in his upper left arm after someone mentioned the hours he’s spent in physical therapy over the past year.

“My arrival home this week was different than I expected. It is nice that people genuinely care, but all of this is overwhelming,” said Peck, who since arriving home a week ago has had several television interviews, was center court at a Bulls game and was treated to a weekend in Chicago courtesy of the Semper Fi Fund. “It is amazing to me how much effort people have made on my behalf.”

He readily admits at times he is down and depressed, “but I can’t do anything about what happened. I can’t get in a time machine and go back and change anything. But I have found out I can overcome a lot and still have a smile on my face. My goal is to wake up every morning and just do what I have to do. It’s not like I have a choice.”
read more here
‘He’s just a great guy’

"It's not unusual" for soldiers to dance but this one did it to rocket!

Eat your heart out Tom Jones. Even you couldn't pull off a performance like this in your prime.
Soldier Does 'The Carlton'
Soldier Does 'The Carlton' Dance While Rocket Launches Behind Him (VIDEO)

4 Kansas National Guardsmen save 2 Liberians

4 Kansas National Guardsmen save 2 Liberians
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 10, 2011 9:32:24 EDT
TOPEKA, Kan. — Four Kansas Army National Guard soldiers are credited with saving two Liberian soldiers who got caught in a riptide while swimming in the Atlantic Ocean.

The soldiers are members of the 1st Battalion, 161st Field Artillery. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports they rescued the two Liberians on April 16 while swimming at a beach in Monrovia.

The guardsmen are Sgt. Michael Eicher, of Topeka; Sgt. Joseph Johns, of Great Bend; Sgt. Chad Kuker, of Spearville; and Sgt. Rich Miles, of Topeka.

Kuker told the Capital-Journal that the soldiers and two other Liberian soldiers formed a human chain and waded into the surf to rescue the two swimmers.

The soldiers were recognized in a ceremony led by U.S. Army General Carter F. Ham, who was visiting Monrovia at the time.
4 Kansas National Guardsmen save 2 Liberians

SWAT team stand off ends when veteran takes his own life

New concerns about veterans and PTSD

May 9, 2011
By Bryan Navarro



WHITE CITY, Ore. -- A SWAT team stand off with a veteran has health experts concerned about PTSD, or "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder."

The stand-off happened Sunday evening in Rogue River and ended with the subject committing suicide.

Police officials did not return calls regarding the incident and could not comment whether post-traumatic stress disorder played a role.

Veteran psychologists say it may be easy to categorize actions as PTSD symptoms, but it can be harmful to do so.

Officials with the V.A. Dom in White City say the percentage of veterans who are diagnosed with PTSD is between 30 and 40% of all vets.

They believe the number of veterans diagnosed with the disorder has increased during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
go here for video report
New concerns about veterans and PTSD

Homeless Veterans displaced by Alabama tornados find refuge in Midlands

Vets displaced by Alabama tornados find refuge in Midlands

By Taylor Kearns - bio | email

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - It has been almost two weeks since the deadly tornado outbreak that ravaged seven different states. More than 300 people died in the storm, and hundreds more are now homeless. Some of the displaced are finding shelter in the Midlands.

The Central Midlands Transitional Retreat has opened its doors to 24 homeless veterans displaced by those tornadoes. "We were blessed to make it out of there alive," said Calvin Gates.

Gates, Donald Crenshaw and James Williams saw a lot during their time in the military, though nothing quite like the devastation they saw in Tuscaloosa. "It looked like when they dropped the bomb on Hiroshima," said Williams.
read more here
Vets displaced by Alabama tornados

At VA, a blogger criticizes from the inside

At VA, a blogger criticizes from the inside

By Lisa Rein, Published: May 9

Back from a 15-month deployment to Iraq, Alex Horton penned a 1,000-word rant against the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“How many obscene scandals, misappropriations and misdiagnoses does it take to see there’s a rotten core at the center?” the 23-year-old soldier wrote on his war blog from Austin in 2009. He was in his fourth semester at community college, and VA was holding up money he needed for rent and schoolbooks under the new GI Bill.


His unsympathetic VA counselor “provides the same level of care you would expect from a Tijuana back alley vasectomy,” Horton wrote, expressing a frustration felt by generations of veterans.

What happened next was a watershed for one of the government’s most maligned bureaucracies.

Veterans Affairs hired Horton to keep blogging — about itself.

The agency hopes to use the Internet — and a critic operating from the inside — to help turn around its reputation as obstructionist, antiquated and overwhelmed. The goal is not just to answer veterans’ questions faster and in real time but also to open the bureaucracy to scrutiny. Although they’ve gotten a slower start than the private sector, federal agencies are interacting with citizens on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, a big change for many used to more-controlled communication.

At first Horton said no when the department’s new-media director tried to recruit him last spring. “Then I thought, this might be an opportunity,” he said.

He quit school and a part-time job corralling grocery carts at Costco and drove his Ford Ranger to the District, where he rents an English basement on Capitol Hill.

Instead of blogging without pay in a dusty Internet cafe in Mosul, Horton makes $47,500 a year to write full time from a ninth-floor cubicle at VA headquarters on Vermont Avenue NW. Now 25, he arrived with instant credibility with veterans, who followed his must-read war blog, Army of Dude, during the U.S. troop surge for its unvarnished, eloquent dispatches.

But his job has an inherently awkward dynamic — work for “The Man” and risk selling out (“Now I suppose he will be busy spewing government propaganda,” one military blogger wrote after his hiring); become too critical and irk your bosses.

Brandon Friedman, who oversees the five-member new-media team created last fall, said: “I told everyone upfront, Alex is not here to flack for the agency but to help facilitate our communication with our clients.”
read more here
At VA, a blogger criticizes from the inside

Returning U.S. troops insulted again by ignorance

First, considering how few views PTSD Foundation for America has on their videos, this is not huge news. Had the person posting this knew what was really going on, they would have joined the fight to save the lives of our heroes a very long time ago. While he/she may think it is patriotic to turn deaf, dumb and blind to the anguish of thousands of our troops and even more veterans, it insults them to have an article like this.

Returning U.S. troops insulted again
seeingredaz.wordpress.com

Under the guise of supporting our troops, the PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) Foundation of America is running commercials that depict returning American service personnel as “ticking time bombs.”

The organization appears to have gotten it’s marching orders from Homeland INsecurity chieftain Janet Napolitano who issued a similarly insulting report in April 2009 titled “Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.” It stated “Returning veterans possess combat skills and experience that are attractive to right-wing extremists.” Napolitano’s report continued, “Proposed imposition of firearms restrictions and weapons bans likely would attract new members into the ranks of right-wing extremist groups as well as potentially spur some of them to begin planning and training for violence against the government.”

If you missed her left-wing drift, she further warned against the possibility of violence by unnamed “right-wing extremists” concerned about illegal immigration, increasing federal power, restrictions on firearms, abortion and the loss of U.S. sovereignty and singles out returning war veterans as particular threats.

PTSD cites soaring divorce rates, suicides and homelessness. And to facilitate their efforts to marginalize our military troops, the site hucksters tee shirts sales and requests credit card donations via PayPal.

This is how the PTSD site describes our American military heroes: “There are thousands of active, guard, and reserve troops and families in our local communities who are silently hurting – bruised and bleeding on our behalf. Men and women returning from service who face difficulty with the transition back to ‘normal’ life, experiencing relationship or financial struggles and even post traumatic stress syndrome, ‘a ticking time bomb in this generation of returning warriors.‘ The personal and societal effect of these burdens is dramatic, as seen in the rising military divorce rates and in the increased potential for substance abuse, domestic abuse, criminality and suicide.”

This portrayal of service personnel as emotionally sick and criminally inclined is offensive to those of us who respect and value our patriots. That this site attempts to raise money as it denigrates loyal defenders of freedom is inexcusable.

Could they have found a better way to convey the seriousness of the situation for our veterans than "time bomb?" Absolutely. The situation for them coming home is a "time bomb" but not in the way this article represents it. As time passes, PTSD gains more control over the veteran's life. The sooner they get help, the more the symptoms can be healed. The longer it is unaddressed, the more it eats away at their lives and yes, destroys the lives of their families along the way. And that is the bad news. The good news is that even Vietnam Veterans without help for 40 years are finding it is not too late for them to live better lives.

When it comes to the men and women serving in the military and our veterans, we should be ashamed we ever let things get so bad for them that as survivors, they would find hope so elusive they want to die back home. They survived combat, watched the backs of their brothers, did their duty, endured hardship after hardship, separations from families and friends, came home and found themselves fighting another battle to have their claims honored and receive the help they were promised.

This article is nothing more than political spin in the guise of supporting the troops. It insults all veterans with PTSD and adds to the stigma from fools acting as if they should be ashamed.

If the site really respected or honored the service of all heroes, they would have learned something over the last ten years regarding what had happened to veterans of all other wars they didn't pay attention to either.

But don't believe just me. Listen to this about one of the lives lost and know what the facts really are.
Marine's Suicide Renews Focus On Military Families

Mother's devotion to son helps him wake from coma

Mother's devotion to son helps him wake from coma

May 08, 2011 3:33 PM
ANIESA HOLMES
Ramona Walters has dedicated many years to improving the lives of helping injured patients through her career in physical therapy.

“I just let them do what they can do, because I’m just letting them inspire themselves — I love what I do,” she said.

She had become passionate about improving the quality of lives of others several years ago after studying physical fitness and eventually working as a physical therapy assistant at Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune for 11 years. However, a tragic accident in her own family last year would test her own faith in the power of healing.

Her 26-year-old son Enrique Vargas had been an avid motorcycle fan since he was 16 and graduated from Motorcycle Mechanics University in 2009. The proud father of a 2-year-old son had just joined the United States Air Force Reserves and was awaiting orders to leave for boot camp on May 15.

“We all ride motorcycles and we’ve always taught him about safety,” Joe said. “There’s time when he and I rode together just to make sure that he was safe.”

Enrique was riding his motorcycle on the afternoon of Sept. 18, 2010 with a group of fellow bikers. While traveling on N.C. 24 towards Jacksonville he collided with car after the driver pulled out in front of him, throwing him from his bike onto the highway. Dr. Darryl Williams, an emergency room doctor at Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune was on his way to Swansboro with his wife when he noticed the accident. He stayed with Enrique until an ambulance arrived to take him to Onslow Memorial Hospital. Ramona and her husband Joe were traveling to Wilmington when they received the news of Enrique’s accident.
read more here
Mother's devotion to son helps him wake from coma

Veterans Disabled, but not unable

Disabled, but not unable
Lodge offers injured veterans, survivors of natural disasters experience of hunting, fishing
By Erin Rhoda erhoda@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

PLEASANT RIDGE PLANTATION -- The air seemed to get colder as the woods outside the camouflaged tent slowly brightened.

One bird called and another responded, as the forest, occupied by a Vietnam veteran, a volunteer hunting guide and a shotgun, woke up.

Waking up. Rejuvenation. That may be what is happening in a free program at Pine Grove Lodge in Pleasant Ridge Plantation that brings injured veterans and survivors of natural disasters into the woods to hunt and fish.

The program "has gotten me out of myself," whispered veteran Joe Baker, of Winslow, as he sat inside the hunting blind at the edge of a field in Concord Township at 4 a.m. He spoke softly so he wouldn't disturb the turkeys he hoped were perched on nearby tree limbs.

Doctors at Togus VA Medical Center in Augusta suggested Baker participate in outings like the one organized by Pine Grove Lodge, he said. They were concerned about how he was isolating himself.

Baker has post traumatic stress disorder and in 1968 suffered a traumatic brain injury on a Navy destroyer off the coast of Vietnam when a man closed a hatch door on his head and knocked him to the deck below. During his civilian career, he worked in the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service, which is now part of the Department of Homeland Security.
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Disabled, but not unable

State College of Florida organization helps in transition back to civilian life

Website helps vets 'come home'
SCF organization helps in transition back to civilian life

By SARA KENNEDY - skennedy@bradenton.com


MANATEE -- When Jason Collins returned to college after military service, he was suffering from flashbacks of faces of people he had seen in Afghanistan.

Thoughts of his time overseas, which included being hit by a homemade explosive device, plagued him, and he was treated for post traumatic stress disorder.

“The PTSD thing -- it really does eat you up,” he said between classes at State College of Florida.

“The good thing about getting involved in school is it allows you to meet people that understand; it gives you somebody to talk to. Veterans really look for that sense of camaraderie.”

Collins, 28, of Bradenton, struggled to adjust to civilian life. So did fellow student Scott Waite, 31, of Sarasota.

Out of their struggle came a campus vets’ organization and a new website, www.MyRebootCamp.com.

The two men and others appear in videos on the website, an effort to help smooth the transition for their fellow military vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to the United States and college.


Read more: Website helps vets 'come home'

Fort Carson soldier dies after getting out of moving truck

Soldier, 22, dies after getting out of moving truck

May 08, 2011 2:33 PM
JAKOB RODGERS
THE GAZETTE
A 22-year-old Fort Carson soldier died early Sunday when he got out of a moving pickup in Fountain.

Andrew Dalenko, of North Carolina, died shortly after 1:15 a.m. on the roadway where he landed, said Fountian police spokesman Cmdr. Mike Haley.

A woman was driving a red pickup west on Mesa Ridge Parkway on the bridge over Highway 85/87 when Dalenko exited on the passenger side, Haley said.

Police are still trying to find out how fast the vehicle was going when he got out of it.

It is not known why Dalenko got out of the pickup.

“That’s yet to be determined,” Haley said. “We believe that alcohol was a significant factor.”



Read more: Soldier, 22, dies after getting out of moving truck

Strain on US forces in Afghanistan at a five-year high

Strain on US forces in Afghanistan at a five-year high
Stars and Stripes

U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan are experiencing some of the greatest psychological stress and lowest morale in five years of fighting, reports a military study according to USA Today.

"We're an Army that's in uncharted territory here," says Gen. Peter Chiarelli, Army vice chief of staff, according to the report. "We have never fought for this long with an all-volunteer force that's 1% of the population."

Mental health strain was most severe among veterans of three or more deployments, with a third of those showing signs of psychological problems defined as either stress, depression or anxiety, the report obtained by USA Today says.

The research, based on a survey of soldiers and Marines in 2010, also found that the praise the troops have for their unit sergeants has never been higher as the United States approaches the 10th year of its longest war, according to the article.
read more here
Strain on US forces in Afghanistan at a five-year high

Robin Hood Foundation helping veterans with Lady Gaga

These folks make it easy to like rich people again.

Lady Gaga, Afghan, Iraqi War Veterans Take Center Stage at Robin Hood Gala
By Patrick Cole - May 9, 2011
When the Robin Hood Foundation was searching for a big-name performer to lure hedge-fund executives to its gala tonight, board member Doug Morris had the perfect bait.

Morris, who left Universal Music Group’s chief executive post in January and will join Sony Music Entertainment as chairman in July, put in a call to Lady Gaga, who was on his artists roster. She immediately accepted the invitation to perform free at Manhattan’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

The foundation sold all of its 4,100 tickets last month at prices ranging from $3,000 for individuals to $30,000 to $250,000 for a table of 10.

“We were thrilled when she accepted,” David Saltzman, Robin Hood’s executive director, said in a phone interview. “She’s the biggest solo performer in the world, and she’s a native New Yorker who cares deeply about the city.”

The charity will also ask attendees to support a new fundraising initiative to assist U.S. veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, reservists and national guardsmen living in poverty in New York.

Former NBC “Nightly News” anchor Tom Brokaw will moderate a discussion with Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, to talk about the problems veterans face.

Table Drive

Saltzman said the nonprofit wanted to highlight struggling U.S. service personnel because it’s seeing an increase in veterans at food pantries, homeless shelters and health clinics funded by Robin Hood. He met earlier this year with Mullen, who said that dozens of war veterans are committing suicide each week and suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome and depression after serving on the battlefield.

“Admiral Mullen told us that our country is pretty good at fighting wars, but we’re not as good at taking care of our veterans,” Saltzman said. “It’s now time to serve those who serve us.”
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Lady Gaga, Afghan, Iraqi War Veterans

When a soldier has to question the worth of the sacrifices made

There are names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington millions of people will see this month when they travel there for Memorial Day. Looking at all the names we know they all paid the price with their lives but we don't know how any of them felt about the worth of the Vietnam War. There are names of some who died believing in the cause right next to names of some who died believing it was wrong. Just as veterans cannot agree on the worth of that war, the newer veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan will not agree on the worth of these wars. What they will agree on is that in the end, after all the political balls had been played out and most politicians behind sending them have left office, they served for each other.

After 9-11 high school kids joined older men and women in showing up at recruitment offices around the country. They wanted revenge just as much as they wanted to do whatever it took to prevent it from happening again. Pat Tillman was one of them.



His death was due to friendly fire and this was finally owned up to in 2009


Did it change the value of Tillman's sacrifice? No. No matter what happened with the propaganda that followed his death, it didn't change the fact that Tillman gave up millions of dollars as a football player because of 9-11 and the fact this nation needed him along with the thousands joining him because of what happened that September morning. Are these Medal of Honor heroes worth more than heroes from Iraq?

Medal of Honor, Afghanistan

MURPHY, MICHAEL P.

Rank and Organization: Lieutenant, United States Navy
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as the leader of a special reconnaissance element with Naval Special Warfare Task Unit Afghanistan on 27 and 28 June 2005.

MONTI, JARED C.

Rank and Organization: Sergeant First Class, United States Army.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Staff Sergeant Jared C. Monti distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a team leader with Headquarters and Headquarters troop, 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, in connection with combat operations against an enemy in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan, on June 21st, 2006.

GIUNTA, SALVATORE A.

Rank and Organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Battle Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry,173d Airborne Brigade. Place and date: Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, 25 October 2007. Entered service at: Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Born: 25 January 1985, Clinton, Iowa. Citation: Specialist Salvatore A. Giunta distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, on October 25, 2007.

MILLER, ROBERT J.

Rank and Organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 3312, Special Operations Task Force 33. Place and date: Konar Province, Afghanistan. Entered service at: Oviedo, Florida. Born: 14 October 1983. Citation: Robert J. Miller distinguished himself by extraordinary acts of heroism while serving as the Weapons Sergeant in Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 3312, Special Operations Task Force-33, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan during combat operations against an armed enemy in Konar Province, Afghanistan on January 25, 2008.

Medal of Honor Iraq
SMITH, PAUL R.

Rank and Organization: Sergeant First Class, United States Army
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on 4 April 2003.

DUNHAM, JASON L.

Rank and Organization: Corporal, United States Marine Corps
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Rifle Squad Leader, 4th Platoon, Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines (Reinforced), Regimental Combat Team 7, First Marine Division (Reinforced), on 14 April 2004.

MONSOOR, MICHAEL, A.

Rank and Organization: Master-At-Arms Second Class (Sea, Air And Land), United States Navy
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as automatic weapons gunner for Naval Special Warfare Task Group Arabian Peninsula, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM on 29 September 2006.

McGINNIS, ROSS A.

Rank and Organization: Private First Class, United States Army
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:
Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an M2 .50-caliber Machine Gunner, 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy in Adhamiyah, Northeast Baghdad, Iraq, on 4 December 2006.

What about the soldiers deployed into both countries? What kind of thoughts do they have about being wounded in Iraq when they joined because of Osama and wanted to go into Afghanistan? Does it hurt more because they were wounded in Iraq instead?

Apparently, emotionally, being in the "wrong place" has put a heavier burden on their shoulders.

A soldier learns he fought the wrong war

The consensus on Iraq has hardened, and it's a painful one for its veterans.

By Shannon P. Meehan

My initial reaction to the news of Osama bin Laden's death last week was similar to that of many Americans: relief, pride in our country and those serving it, and a sense of closure for those who lost loved ones on that September day many years ago. But I also have other, more troubling feelings that linger.

As a veteran who was injured in combat in Iraq, I wanted to feel a sense of accomplishment and finality. I wanted to feel that bin Laden's death demonstrated the worth of my sacrifice. But I couldn't. And somehow I felt I was on the outside of all of this.

As I sifted through the reactions of my friends on social networks, I read comments like, "Great news. If only we hadn't gotten off course with Iraq for so long," or, "Could have gotten him earlier if we hadn't wasted our time in the illegal war in Iraq."

Reading such comments made me realize just how disconnected I was from the killing of bin Laden. The more I reflect on it, the less I feel part of it or of the war against terrorism, at least in the public's eye.

My war - the Iraq war - is being remembered as quite different from the "war on terror." Its narrative, as shaped by the media and the public, breaks dramatically from that of the war in Afghanistan and the pursuit of terrorists around the globe.

The Iraq war has become the mistaken war, the one that so many Americans believe we never should have waged. I have come to realize that, regardless of my personal beliefs and opinions, this is how the Iraq war will be remembered - as an unfortunate error increasingly divorced from the country's valiant fight against terrorism.
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A soldier learns he fought the wrong war

When you look back at the number of troops in Afghanistan before the Bush Administration decided invading Iraq was more important, you realize this soldier is probably right.
Troop Levels in the Afghan and Iraq Wars
FY2001-FY2012: Cost and Other Potential Issues
Amy Belasco
Specialist in U.S. Defense Policy and Budget July 2, 2009

Experts will debate Iraq for many years just as they have been searching for answers as to what could have been accomplished in Afghanistan had the focus been getting Osama, but the men and women sent will question it for the rest of their lives.

When the memorials are built for Iraq and Afghanistan, they will walk to it, stand in front of it, see a name they know, and they will wonder as much as they will miss their friend. What will we be doing? Will we help them to see that in the end they fought for each other? Is there is nothing more worthy than that?

Father of captured Idaho National Guard Private silent no more

Father makes heartbreaking YouTube to Taliban who have held his soldier son hostage for two years
By OLIVER PICKUP

The father of an American soldier who was captured by the Taliban nearly two years ago has made a heartbreaking plea to his captors in the hope that they will release his son.

Bowe Bergdahl from Sun Valley, Idaho, went missing in June 2009 while on duty in Afghanistan's Paktika province, and now Robert has politely asked whether Pakistan - where he thinks his son is - forces will let him go.

The 25-year-old has been in the captivity of the Taliban supporting Haqqani network and four videos have been released showing the soldier begging for help - and being 'exploited' in the eyes of his father.

In the 23 months since their son went missing his parents have remained out of the public eye, until now, following the death of Osama Bin Laden.

Robert Bergdahl has posted the humble and respectful three-minute appeal on YouTube in the hope that 'this video may be played to our only son'.

From the family in Hailey, Idaho, he addresses the Taliban and the Haqqani network, and begins the film - posted on May 6 - by saying: 'These are my thoughts - I can remain silent no longer.


Read more: Father makes heartbreaking YouTube to Taliban

Soldier who suffered cardiac arrest saved by staying "cool"

‘Cool’ therapy saves life of soldier in Iraq
By Jill Laster - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday May 8, 2011 9:16:56 EDT
It was an incredible task: Take a patient whose condition usually means slim odds of survival, perform an unconventional medical procedure in Iraq and conduct a cross-continental flight to help save his life.

But what’s perhaps more incredible is that the patient — a soldier who suffered cardiac arrest outside Ramadi, Iraq — survived and is now recovering at home after only a short stay at Brooke Army Medical Center, Texas, according to the medics who treated him.

The Air Force Theater Hospital emergency staff used a procedure called therapeutic hypothermia — the body of the patient is cooled from the normal 98.6 degrees to between 89 and 93 degrees — to save the soldier at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.

At a stateside hospital, doctors have high-tech equipment and cooling blankets to drop a patient’s body temperature. At the theater hospital, the medical staff had to rely on their resourcefulness and determination.

The doctors used the University of Pennsylvania’s website to find more information on post-cardiac resuscitation care. And virtually everyone on the medical staff pitched in wherever they could: blending ice that had come from the hospital cafeteria, packing ice-filled baggies around the soldier and hauling a fan from the basement gym to help keep him cool.
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‘Cool’ therapy saves life of soldier in Iraq

USS Michael Murphy named for Medal of Honor recipient

Navy ship dedicated to fallen SEAL
From Susan Candiotti and Ross Levitt, CNN
May 8, 2011 1:48 p.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
USS Michael Murphy named for Medal of Honor recipient
Murphy, a Navy SEAL lieutenant, was killed in 2005 in Afghanistan
His namesake destroyer was christened by his mother at a shipyard in Maine

Bath, Maine (CNN) -- Under clear, blue skies, a ship dedicated to fallen Medal of Honor recipient and Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy was christened Saturday by his mother, Maureen, at Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine.

"I feel not only Michael's presence, but that ship embodies the spirits of Michael and his teammates," Murphy's father, Daniel, told CNN.

Following tradition, Murphy's mother cracked a bottle of champagne against the hull of the USS Michael Murphy.

"Happy Birthday, son!" Murphy's mom said on what would have been her son's 35th birthday. His life was cut short in the mountains of Afghanistan in 2005.

Dr. Josh Appel, an Air Force Reserve flight surgeon, helped retrieve Murphy's body after a firefight that claimed the lives of 18 other troops, including 2 SEALs from Murphy's team.
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Navy ship dedicated to fallen SEAL

Family adamant about colonel's 2008 death: It was not suicide

Family adamant about colonel's 2008 death: It was not suicide
By HOWARD ALTMAN | The Tampa Tribune
Published: May 08, 2011

HUDSON --
At the kitchen table of their Heritage Pines home, filled with treasures collected over a lifetime of service to the country, John and Mary Lou Stahlman look through pictures of their youngest child, the highest-ranking Marine casualty in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Michael Stahlman as a Marine Corps fighter pilot. As a Judge Advocate General Corps lawyer who investigated civilian killings. As a Marine colonel going on the jogs he loved.

The pictures bring back memories, but the most vivid is the one that came from their daughter-in-law Kimberly Stahlman on July 31, 2008. The news was shocking: The Marines said her husband had been found in his bunk in Ramadi, Iraq, with a single gunshot wound to the left temple.

Michael Stahlman survived for several months but succumbed to infections Oct. 5, 2008. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

To the military, the case is open-and-shut. The Marines ruled his death a suicide, saying Stahlman shot himself with his Marine-issued Beretta 9 mm.

Stahlman's parents, though, don't believe the Marines' version of what happened half a world away.

"He was murdered," John Stahlman says steadfastly.

"I could scream," Mary Lou Stahlman says. "He was making plans to come home. He would never kill himself."
read more here

Family adamant about colonel's 2008 death: It was not suicide

Vietnam Veterans Memorial will have 5 more names this Memorial Day

Vietnam Veterans Memorial adds 5 more names in DC
TAGS: Veterans

By: The Associated Press 05/08/11 2:17 AM
The Associated Press
The names of five U.S. soldiers are being added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.

A ceremony will be held Sunday morning to honor Army Spec. Charles Sabatier of Galveston, Texas, whose name is being added. He was wounded in the Tet Offensive in 1968 when a bullet pierced his spinal column and left him paralyzed. He died in 2009 as a result of his condition.

The names of four other service members will be added over the next week.

They are: Army Spec. Charles Vest of Lynchburg, Ohio, who remained in a coma for years before he died; Army Sgt. Henry Aderholt of Birmingham, Ala.; Richard Daniels of Washougal, Wash., who served in the Navy; and Peter Holcomb of Grandy, Minn.



Read more at the Washington Examiner: Vietnam Veterans Memorial adds 5 more names in DC

Vietnam Vets thanked for service and sacrifice

Vietnam Vets thanked for service and sacrifice
Sunday, May 8, 2011
BY KAREN ROUSE
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER
HOLMDEL — Joe Piacenti felt like Americans had gone on with life, forgetting him and all the other soldiers at war in Vietnam, when he returned to the United States in 1969.


LESLIE BARBARO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

"Only your family and friends cared about you," he said Saturday, following a ceremony at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial where he was awarded the New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal.

"We weren’t really appreciated," the River Vale resident recalled.

On Saturday, those feelings were behind him. Piacenti beamed as bright as the blue skies and warm sun that seemed to shine in approval of the dozens of war veterans and about 300 of their supporters participating in the Vietnam Veterans’ Remembrance Day ceremony.
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Vietnam Vets thanked for service and sacrifice

Because they cared so much

You may hear a Marine say they joined to kill some bad guys, and you can walk away believing all they wanted to do was kill without ever wondering what would make them want to risk their lives to do it. If you wonder, you'll find the answer soon enough. They wanted to "kill the bad guys" to save others.

The talk now is about Osama and how he was killed. If Osama had not ordered the deaths of as many people as possible, innocent people just showing up for work, the day he was killed would not have been an issue. Osama was not satisfied with what he had done. He wanted more innocent people to die. The SEALS stopped him from being able to kill more. The evidence found with Osama told a story of more attacks planned. Not on military targets but on civilians.

The troops were sent into Afghanistan because of him. They were sent into Iraq for? It didn't matter to the men and women sent because most of them joined because of September 11th. They were told it was because of our security. In other words, to save the lives of us.

The National Guards sent are another example of why they do what they do. When a natural disaster hits their community, they are the among the first people showing up to help.

Some people can't understand why so many of these men and women end up with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. What they see, what they have to do, what hardships they have to endure, stays with them. These are not selfish people. They do what they do because they care. It is because they care so much they end up paying a price for the rest of their lives.

A soldier deployed for a year becomes a veteran for their lifetime. They come home profoundly changed even if they are not haunted by PTSD. This is very clear when you listen to older veterans, especially Vietnam Veterans.

At the Veterans Reunion in Melbourne FL, yesterday it was more clear listening to these veterans talk. They walked around looking at patches on vest and hats telling a story. They'd stop, reach out a hand and say "welcome home" as memories took them back 40 years. Where were you? When were you in? They knew what happened and when it happened just as they remembered what happened to them.

They came home, returned to the world the rest of us live in. Working jobs, having families and carry the same worries the rest of us have, but these men and women carried the burden the nation put on their shoulders everyday. Just because they were back home, it didn't mean they were back home all the way. Too many came home so changed by what they had to do they find a piece of themselves is still back there. It comes back to them in their dreams and flashbacks, in the hearing of a name or reading it on the Wall.

How you see them depends on what you know of them. If you honor what they did for us, then make sure they have what they need because veterans carry the burden for the rest of us all their lives. Some carry it deeper because they cared so much.

Father Of Miramar Marine Found Dead Talks To 10News

Father Of Miramar Marine Found Dead Talks To 10News

Cpl. Alan R. Bays Jr. Pronounced Dead En Route To Hospital

SAN DIEGO -- The father of a Miramar-based Marine who was found unconscious in his barracks spoke to 10News on Friday.

Cpl. Alan R. Bays Jr. of Cincinnati was found unconscious in his barracks on April 28, according to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar's public affairs office. Bays was pronounced dead en route to the hospital.

Bays was recovering from a head injury at Miramar after he was critically injured in Yuma, Ariz.

Bays' father, Alan Bays Sr., believes his son was training in Arizona to prepare for his second deployment to Afghanistan.

"They told me basically that my son had died as a result of injuries while training for redeployment to Afghanistan," said Bays Sr.

Bays was a flight equipment technician with the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 462, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in October 2007.

After Bays was injured on April 16, he first went to Yuma Regional Medical Center. Then, he was airlifted to Phoenix Memorial Hospital where he stayed for four days. On April 20, Bays was driven back to Miramar where he stayed until April 28, the day he died.

"I don't see how you could discharge somebody from the hospital after four days… and then eight days later he dies," said Bays Sr.
read more here
Father Of Miramar Marine Found Dead Talks To 10News

Missing sailor found and is getting help

Found Navy Sailor Was "Disoriented and Confused"
Sunday, May 8, 2011


Source: Missing Sailor Found "Confused" | NBC San Diego

By Artie Ojeda

A Navy sailor missing since last Tuesday had been living underneath a bridge for the past four days before he was found Saturday afternoon "disoriented and confused" at a friend's house in La Mesa.

Petty Officer Second Class Nicholas Hamilton, 31, had been missing since he failed to check in at Naval Base San Diego. His wife said he suffered from depression and PTSD and had tried to kill himself while aboard USS Ronald Reagan.
Missing Sailor Found

Missing Sailor Found
San Diego 6

UPDATE - A San Diego sailor suffering from post traumatic stress disorder who had been missing for five days was located on Saturday.

Amanda Hamilton told San Diego 6 News her husband turned himself into police and is now receiving treatment at Balboa Naval Hospital.

Missing sailor found

Navy wife begs for return

Veteran of Beirut bombing remembered after drowning death

Drowning victim remembered as a good man, former Marine by friends

By Don Lehman--dlehman@poststar.com

GLENS FALLS -- The Glens Falls man who drowned in a stream near Hovey Pond Park last weekend was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Beirut in the 1980s, with friends saying he survived the 1983 barracks bombing there that killed hundreds.

Jeffrey Miswell was a disabled veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from his time overseas, according to his roommate, Randy Mlenar. Miswell was honorably discharged, he said.

Mlenar and a former neighbor of Miswell's said he was in the Marine Corps barracks that was bombed in October 1983, killing 241 U.S. servicemen and women. A 1983 Post-Star article confirmed he was in Beirut as a U.S. Marine at the time.

Miswell, 47, died Saturday night after he fell into a stream that drains Hovey Pond while fishing. He fell several feet off a concrete wall, and police don't know what caused him to fall.

Mlenar, a former Marine with whom Miswell lived in an apartment on Bay Street, fought back tears as he talked about his longtime friend.
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Drowning victim remembered as a good man, former Marine by friends

Terminally ill Vietnam Vet shot by police in Seattle

Armed man shot by Kent cops was ill and wanted to be killed, family says
The family of a Kent man thinks he intended to be killed when he armed himself and confronted police Wednesday near the Kent Transit Center.
By Sara Jean Green
Seattle Times staff reporter

The armed man fatally shot Wednesday by Kent police was a terminally ill Vietnam veteran who had been deeply depressed, according to his adult daughters.

The three women and their mother, who had been married to the man for more than 20 years before they divorced a few years ago, cried and held each other soon after arriving near the Kent Transit Center, where the shooting occurred.

"I believe he came down here with the intent to be killed by police. He wouldn't hurt anybody," said the man's youngest daughter, declining to give her name or the name of her father.

The man, whose name has not been released by authorities, had been depressed and frustrated with his declining health, medical care and the amount of medication he was required to take, said his daughters. They said he was terminally ill and suffered from diabetes, hepatitis C and cirrhosis of the liver.

"He's the type that would give you the shirt off his back. He wouldn't threaten anybody," said his eldest daughter. "He's always just been so strong. I don't understand how this could be the end of it."

At 9:10 a.m., Kent police received a 911 call from a Far West cabdriver who was concerned about his passenger, said Cathy Schrock, spokeswoman for the Federal Way Police Department, which is investigating the shooting. The cabbie, who pulled over at the transit center and was able to get out of the cab, told the 911 operator his passenger held a rifle or shotgun across his knees, she said.
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Armed man shot by Kent cops was ill

Dryhootch: Using Coffee and Conversation to Prevent Veteran Suicides

Dryhootch: Using Coffee and Conversation to Prevent Veteran Suicides
Non-profit Helps Veterans and Families "Survive the Peace"
Studies show 18 vets commit suicide in America each day, and more Wisconsin National Guard members are dying from suicide than in battle. A Milwaukee non-profit is working to prevent those deaths, through coffee and conversation.
Reporter: John Stofflet

Posted May 5, 2011--10:00 p.m.

Heather Morales' story is all too common. Mental combat wounds sustained in the Iraq War led her ex-husband to kill himself.

During an interview in her La Crosse home, Morales said, "I never in a million years thought he'd take his own life. The toughest part is him not being here for our daughter Katherine".

Heather's is a story Bob Curry has heard far too often. Curry, a Vietnam veteran, who has post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) says, "They don't train you to come back to civilian life. We need to take care of them when they get home."

Curry is co-founder of Dryhootch--a Milwaukee non-profit coffeehouse that serves much more than coffee. "The mission is, we say, to help the veteran and their family who survived the war to survive the peace. When you're in the military, your brother is the person next to you, or your sister, and so we want to create that bond here and help the veteran, who gets back and their family members, by being their
battle buddy here."

Veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan facing addiction or mental health issues can talk to other vets in counseling sessions, or they can just talk informally over coffee.

Iraq War veteran Manuel "Manny" Mora also has PTSD, and has found it therapeutic to talk to fellow vets at Dryhootch and, "have people to connect to, and let me know that I'm not the only one out there. There are other people in the same situation as I was."

Mora says he saw comrades severely wounded next to him in Iraq, and was under constant pressure there. "Just that constant paranoia of not knowing if you're going to get killed one day....kind of that worst feeling to go out of the gate and not know if you're going to come back or not. I imploded from the inside, and once that happened, I pretty much exploded on everything else outside, which left me homeless, pretty much sleeping in my car."

Curry says, "When I first met Manny a year and a half ago, Manny didn't talk." Thanks to Dryhootch, Manny's not only talking now...he's leading veterans counseling sessions there. Mora says, "My way of paying back is just helping other veterans in any way I can."
read more here
Using Coffee and Conversation to Prevent Veteran Suicides

Soldier found dead at home on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

Soldier found dead at home on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Military officials in Alaska say a soldier has been found dead at Join Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage.

Officials say the soldier's name will not be released until the family notification process is complete.

According to officials, the soldier was found dead in his family quarters at the base early Friday.
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Soldier found dead at home on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

Hundreds show up to honor fallen soldier against Westboro groups hatred

Hundreds Pay Respects to Soldier, Ward Off Protesters

The whole town of Jamestown, Pa., has 600 to 700 residents.

But Friday, there were several times that many people in the small community for the funeral services of Army Capt. Joshua McClimans, 30, who died last month in Afghanistan.

They took their places along Liberty Street, waiting to see if a threatened protest against McClimans by members of the controversial Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church would ever materialize.

"We will not stand back quietly while someone tries to disrupt the memory of a man who lived and breathed and died for our rights and our freedom," said Tammy Hodge, of Jamestown.

McClimans was killed April 22 as he was on his way to work at Forward Operating Base Salerno, in Khost province near Kabul. He was a member of the 848th Forward Surgical Team based in Twinsburg, Ohio. He would have turned 31 next week and had a young son, Max.

The Westboro Church has become known for sending members to military funerals, carrying obscene signs and shouting that the deaths of servicemen and women are God's way of punishing us for accepting homosexuality. After learning the church had listed McClimans' services on its list of demonstration sites, Hodge went online herself using Facebook to encourage others to support the Captain's family and friends. The effort drew hundreds from surrounding communities and even other states.
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Hundreds Pay Respects to Soldier, Ward Off Protesters

A mother’s love fans son’s will to survive

A mother’s love fans son’s will to survive

By ERIC ADLER

The Kansas City Star

On the fifth floor of the University of Kansas Hospital, in a corner room in the burn unit, a mother leans close to her son’s right ear.

He lies on the bed, eyes closed. Burns cover 90 percent of his body. Tubes snake from veins and his throat into humming machines.

“Josh?” Lisa Ott Battagliola whispers.

Whether her boy, Josh Langton, 27, can hear her, she doesn’t know. Even if he can, the memory of her presence may be lost in the fog of pain medication.

It doesn’t matter.

“Josh?” she says again.

Because if there’s one simple Mother’s Day lesson that Battagliola — a 4-foot-11-inch mom given to form-fitting jeans and high heels, born 50 years ago to a tough Las Vegas construction family — has learned through years of family hardships, through ups and down with her eldest son, it’s this:

“At the end of the day, tell your child, no matter how old they are, that you love them. Because no matter how old they are, they’re your child. Make sure they know you love them. One day you may get that 4 o’clock in the morning phone call.”

Josh has a wife, Jamie, and a 3-year-old daughter, Lilly, to live for. He was a soldier who survived Iraq and the PTSD nightmares that later haunted him.

Read more: A mother’s love fans son’s will to survive

US Military Suicidal Thoughts Up 7,000%

Why does it ever have to get so bad suicide seems to be better than living?

Suicidal Thoughts Up 7,000% As Reason For U.S. Military Hospitalizations Over Past Five Years
Posted by MARK THOMPSON Friday, May 6, 2011

This surprising chart is contained in a new Pentagon report. "Annual numbers of hospitalizations with primary (first-listed) diagnoses of suicidal ideation at discharge have steadily and sharply increased (from 5 in 2006 to 355 in 2010)," the Pentagon notes. That's a 7,000% increase in patients who reported thinking of killing themselves.



Read more: Suicidal Thoughts up 7,000 percent

Because they don't know how to heal? Or because no one ever told them what they needed to understand?
This is where the healing begins

Benjamin Campione’s decades-long struggle ends with shooting by police

Man details brother's struggle with mental illness before Thursday's fatal shooting by police
Published: Friday, May 06, 2011, 8:42 PM
By Charles McChesney / The Post-Standard

Syracuse, NY -- Victor Campione said he’d been to police three times in the past year, alerting them that his younger brother wasn’t taking his medication and was slipping deeper into paranoid schizophrenia.

On Thursday, two sheriff’s deputies and one Syracuse police officer ended Benjamin Campione’s decades-long struggle with mental illness by shooting him dead when he pointed a pellet gun at them in the parking lot of the Regional Transportation Center.

“This wasn’t suicide by cop,” said Campione, of Jordan, it was a mentally ill person reacting to what he thought was a threat.

Campione said his brother, who he calls “Benny,” was first diagnosed while serving in the Army in the late 1970s. He was discharged from the service after a year and a half of peacetime service as a medic. After that he came home and lived with or near family.
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Benjamin Campione

A warrior’s toughest battle: getting some help for the veterans

A warrior’s toughest battle: getting some help for the veterans
A military man and support expert outlines problems in a meeting with area care providers.
MATT HUGHES mhughes@timesleader.com

NANTICOKE – When U.S. Army Col. David W. Sutherland enters a building, part of him can’t help but think how he and a team of armed soldiers might take it over.


Standing telephone poles and working street lights sometimes leave him bewildered.

Sutherland, a veteran of both Iraq wars, has been shot at, bombed and not long ago witnessed a suicide bomber kill 20 people before his eyes, less than 10 feet away. Normal life isn’t quite normal for him any more.

At Luzerne County Community College on Friday, Sutherland commanded the attention of more than 80 representatives of organizations and agencies in Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming counties about how they can better aid returning military and veterans’ transition to civilian life.

The symposium was part of a new collaborative initiative called the Tri-Vets Community Task Force aimed at doing just that.

Sutherland is now the special assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with the principal focus on Warrior and Family Support. He has served in the military for 28 years and in 2008 and 2009 was regional division chief in the J5 Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate, making him responsible for strategic planning and advising the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on issues relating to the Middle East.
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A warrior’s toughest battle: getting some help for the veterans

Father of captured Idaho National Guard Private asks for son's freedom

Father of captured U.S. soldier asks for son's freedom
By Laura Zuckerman
SALMON, Idaho | Sat May 7, 2011 12:00am EDT
(Reuters) - The father of a U.S. soldier who was captured in Afghanistan two years ago on Friday posted an online appeal asking the government of Pakistan and its armed forces to help free his son.

"Our family is counting on your professional integrity and honor to secure the safe return of our son and we thank you," Robert Bergdahl says about his son, Idaho National Guard Private Bowe Bergdahl, in a video posted on YouTube.

Bowe Bergdahl, of Hailey, Idaho, was a member of the 1st Battalion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment in Afghanistan when he went missing June 30, 2009, and was declared captured by the Taliban three days later by the U.S. military. The Army specialist was 23 at the time.

The branch of the Taliban suspected to be holding Bowe Bergdahl operates on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and may be based in tribal lands in Pakistan, according to 2009 statements by the U.S. Department of Defense.
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Father of captured U.S. soldier asks for son's freedom

Vietnam veteran finally faces the wall at Melbourne Reunion

Vietnam veteran finally faces the wall
Written by
R. NORMAN MOODY
FLORIDA TODAY
MELBOURNE — George Taylor stretched his left hand out, his fingers touching the name of a fellow soldier killed in the Vietnam War more than 40 years ago and engraved on the Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall.

It was the first time Taylor could emotionally bring himself to face the wall at the Florida Vietnam and All Veterans Reunion at Wickham Park. The wall, which will be on display through Sunday, bears the names of more than 58,000 Americans who died in the war.

Taylor, who turned 61 on Friday, took off his ever-present cowboy hat, bowed his head with his forehead touching the wall, and he paused for a moment of silence as he touched the name of Rafael Colon-Santos.

Turning away from the wall, Taylor faced fellow veterans and supporters who gathered behind him. Some held a banner that said "Happy Birthday, Cowboy George." They shook his hand and hugged him.

"I had to try to lay 41 years of nightmares to rest," Taylor said, lips quivering as he choked back tears.

Taylor, founder and president of the National Veterans Homeless Support, which helps local homeless veterans, some from the Vietnam War, with supplies and helps to get them out of homelessness.
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Vietnam veteran finally faces the wall

PTSD veteran told to leave Hooters because of his service dog!

Veteran says restaurant refused to serve him with his service animal
Posted at: 05/06/2011 10:52 PM
By: Eddie Garcia, KOB Eyewitness News 4


Justin Jordan says a Hooters refused to serve him and tried to kick him out with his licensed service dog Dallas.

A Rio Rancho man says an Albuquerque Hooters violated his rights after trying to kick him and his dog out.

He is a war veteran and is still actively serving; his dog is a licensed service animal and is protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Air Force Master Sergeant Justin Jordan has served his country all over the world for 18 years but post traumatic stress disorder began creeping up on him making every aspect of his life seem like torture.

That was until he met a specially trained English bulldog named Dallas.

"So many of our veterans are stuck in their homes, not being able to go out in public. She gives me the ability to go out in public and participate in things I haven't done in a while - go to the park with my kids," said Jordan.

Last week, Jordan wanted to see a syndicated radio host who was in town and meeting fans at the Hooters on Alameda and Coors.

All was going well until management told Jordan to leave because of his dog, Dallas.
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Veteran says restaurant refused to serve him

Wounded vet makes progress in recovery

Wounded vet makes progress in recovery

By Anna Krejci, Dells Events | Posted: Friday, May 6, 2011

A little over a year ago, Army Spc. Michael Gawel, serving in Afghanistan, received injuries to his spine from an improvised explosive device that tore apart his vehicle.

In that span of time he recuperated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. where he was wheelchair bound most of the time, to walking with a cane at his Wisconsin Dells home.

As for what's happening in Afghanistan now, Gawel said he follows the news. Sunday night President Barack Obama announced that Navy SEALs had killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. Bin Laden is blamed for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"It was a good job to the soldiers for doing what we were over there for. I'm not going to say I'm glad about anybody getting killed. I guess it brings us one step closer to the win on the war on terrorism in my mind," he said.

Now he is on his feet and walking without a cane while he performs office work for the Army National Guard in Reedsburg.
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Wounded vet makes progress in recovery

Army, charity save ailing Afghan boy

Army, charity save ailing Afghan boy
Child recovers from bladder surgery
6:57 AM, May. 7, 2011
Written by
Matt Manochio | Staff Writer

Livingston, May 6, 2011---US Army Major Glenn Battschinger of Mays Landing, NJ meets with six-year-old Muslam Hagigshah , a boy from Afghanistan that Battschinger met while on combat patrol and helped to arrange for medical help for the child who was born with his bladder outside his body.
BOB KARP/STAFF PHOTO / Staff Photo/staff photo

LIVINGSTON — Muslam Hagigshah didn’t stand much of a chance.

Born in poverty in Afghanistan with his bladder literally hanging over his groin outside of his body, he was unable to properly function, and could only walk bow-legged.

Then one day his mother brought the 6-year-old boy to an Army base in Jalalabad City, where she met Army Maj. Glenn Battschinger of Mays Landing.

Fast-forward one year to the John and Jacqueline McMullen Children’s Center at St. Barnabas Medical Center, where the Army major, the little boy, and his Egyptian-born pediatric urologist met Friday to celebrate the child’s recovery.

Many things had to happen in the 12 months that elapsed from when Muslam met Battschinger, whose mission in Afghanistan was government mentorship, acting as an outreach to the locals.
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Army, charity save ailing Afghan boy