Iraq Veteran's Journey From Silver Star to Veterans Court to Healing

Iraq Vet From NC Gets A Fighting Chance
CBS News
WFMY 2 News
Mark Strassmann
May 24, 2015

A FIGHTING CHANCE to make things right is what many veterans in trouble with the law say they want most. And in some cases, they're finding that chance in a special kind of courtroom. Our Cover Story is reported now by Mark Strassmann:

Staff Sgt. Tommy Reiman in Iraq(Photo: CBS News)

"Everybody coming here for one specific reason, and that's to give a second chance for every veteran." Staff Sgt. Tommy Rieman is a certified American hero, a recipient of the Silver Star for valor in Iraq. But the bravest thing he ever did was fight to get his life back.

To appreciate the significance of the ceremony held in Harnett County in North Carolina, you first have to learn Rieman's story -- all of it, its remarkable highs and sorrowful lows.

"I think I came out the womb with a uniform on," Rieman laughed. "For me, there was nothing greatest than the honor to put on the uniform and represent this country."

In December of 2003, Rieman was on his first deployment in Iraq when his three-vehicle convoy drove into a death trap.

"We were ambushed by 35 guys. Got hit with three RPGs, three IEDs and a bunch a small gun fire," he said. "And I used my body as a shield to protect my gunner, and took a shot in the arm and the chest and shrapnel to my legs.

"All eight of us survived. And for that I received the Silver Star and a Purple Heart."
read more here

Lincoln Awards Concert for Veterans and Military Families

A Concert for Veterans and The Military Family
PBS
May 22, 2015
Lincoln Awards
Enjoy a concert in celebration of the Lincoln Awards, which recognize outstanding achievement and excellence in providing opportunities and support to veterans and military families.

Therapist Says PTSD Can Be Cured?

I was just reading a report on an Iraq veteran with PTSD, Iraq veteran Gabriel Perez now in battle with PTSD, Lubbock Online by Karen Michael. Most of the article is pretty good and worth reading however this part left me flabbergasted.

Andy Young works with Lubbock police officers after incidents that could lead to PTSD. He also has a private therapy practice and teaches a semester-long class at Lubbock Christian University on identifying and treating PTSD.

Post-traumatic stress disorder can be cured, Young said, noting as a therapist, he is always optimistic.

I really hope that was just a typo but it wasn't been the first time some said PTSD can be cured. It is something other doctors have claimed in the last 40 years right along with some denying it is real.

Ok then why haven't they cured it? Why have there been so many suffering all these years with PTSD and losing so much hope after surviving combat they end their own lives? Why haven't they cured it when suicides among veterans are double the civilian rate and most of them are over 50? Why do they spend billions a year on lifetime disability claims, prevention that has only prevented them from seeking help, awareness that has only spread word veterans kill themselves but remain silent on what helps them heal and even more money going to charities as more and more veterans end up in veterans courts along with facing off with police officers?

If PTSD can be cured then why are so many families still falling apart and blaming themselves? The list goes on showing that it cannot be cured as much as the list grows on how they can heal and live better lives. Saying PTSD can be cured makes about as much sense as the Three Stooges giving a class lesson on speech.
The veteran in the interview said,

"You come home and it's like, 'I missed so much. Where do I fit in? Where do I want to be?' "

Start with the Three Stooges and how it didn't matter to them they didn't fit in with anyone other than each other. They were understood perfectly and free to be themselves.

Veterans are not strange to other veterans. They are not some kind of oddity or freak to others. They are not someone to be dismissed or ignored. They do not hear "get over it" said to them by other veterans.

In the veterans community they are reassured that while the civilian population does not, or will not understand them, they are among their own kind with them. Other veterans know what it is like to attempt to assimilate into civilian life. They gave up as soon as they discovered the simple fact they never really fit in before they served since civilians were not interested in doing anything they did.

Everyone screams about their rights when they believe someone tries to take them away but no one screams about the servicemembers risking their lives everyday to retain that right. Everyone screams about useless wars but no one seems to remember they actually had the ability to change things all along when they refused to even show up to vote.

The conversations we have a a lot different than the ones going on in the civilian world where a claim of curing PTSD can be accepted but to us, it is more in line with the Three Stooges teaching the class.

Memorial Day Remembering Those Who Also Paid Price

This Memorial Day, let's also remember those who nearly made 'the ultimate sacrifice' 
The Star-Ledger
By Mark Di Ionno
May 24, 2015

And now for a Memorial Day history lesson.

The American tradition of treating veterans badly started right here in New Jersey. The Pennsylvania Line of Continental Army --- with their enlistments up -- were forced to stay in service. When they walked off the job at Jockey Hollow in 1781, citing deplorable conditions and lousy pay, it was called a mutiny.

When the New Jersey Line tried it a few weeks later in Pequannock, two mutineers where shot by firing squad.

Nationwide, Civil War veterans suffering from "Soldier's Heart," known today as post-traumatic stress disorder, or "Soldier's Disease" which was addiction to pain-killing heroin, went untreated. They spent their lives in jails, asylums or run-down soldiers' homes.

A large group of unemployed World War I veterans called the "Bonus Army" marched on Washington in 1932. Two were shot and killed by police, and their camp was routed by Army troops led by two famous names in American military history: Douglas MacArthur and George Patton.

In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge vetoed a bill giving those veterans benefits, saying "Patriotism bought and paid for is not patriotism." Easy for him to say; he wasn't a veteran. Neither was Herbert Hoover, who ordered the attack on the camp.

"So here are guys, who can't stay in the military, and can't return to their civilian jobs. They have that warrior ethos – some have actually said 'I don't want to disobey orders' when I've tried to get them better benefits -- just so they don't slip out of the middle-class life they had before they got injured.

"I think the military takes advantage of their warrior ethos. They (the wounded) are afraid to say 'I'm more screwed up than you say I am.' To them it's weakness. So somebody has to fight for them."
read more here

They’re crying out for help. But will anyone listen?

He Cries Alone: Black Men and PTSD
The Root
BY: ERICKA BLOUNT DANOIS
Posted: May 24 2015

Whether they are veterans or victims of violence, black men are less likely to seek the help they need when they have post-traumatic stress disorder.

They’re crying out for help. But will anyone listen?

They are African-American men, struggling with mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder—many are veterans, but many more are civilians struggling in secret, ashamed.

These are men like 26-year-old James Brown. Brown served two tours in Iraq. When he returned home he was diagnosed with PTSD. He ended up going to jail for a court-appointed sentence in 2012 in El Paso, Texas. That’s where several guards reportedly detained him in riot gear and forced him to the ground. He began bleeding through the ears, nose and mouth and his kidneys shut down. According to media reports, the guards did not order medical attention for him. He went into the jail on a Friday. By Sunday, he was dead.

Brown’s case, which is still pending investigation, points to many issues surrounding PTSD, the criminalization of mental health as it relates to black communities and disparities in treatment. PTSD severely affects people’s chances of gaining and maintaining steady employment. According to the National Coalition of Homeless Veterans, on any given night, nearly 50,000 veterans are homeless and roughly 40 percent of those homeless veterans are African American or Hispanic.

“It wasn’t until 1979, that PTSD became a legitimate mental health diagnosis,” Ron Armstead tells The Root. Armstead works with the Black Caucus Veterans Brain Trust to level disparities for black veterans. “Prior to 1979, there were problems targeting PTSD as a legitimate diagnosis. There still isn’t a silver bullet treatment for it. But there are a variety of treatment modalities that people are using.”

The issues surrounding PTSD and diagnosis are compounded by health disparities in African-American communities. Many African-American men are reluctant to go to the doctor because of misdiagnosis or mistreatment. There is also the perceived weakness surrounding asking for help for men. Armstead says many men may not see PTSD as something for which one even go to the doctor.
read more here

Here is the story of Sgt. James Brown and as you just read, he did seek help for PTSD.

As for the claim of 1979 and the "legitimate mental health diagnosis" that is wrong. It happened before that year and there were already established efforts to address it.

The Etiology of Combat-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders
In its efforts to help these veterans, the 700,000-member Disabled American Veterans (DAV) funded the FORGOTTEN WARRIOR PROJECT research on Vietnam veterans by John P. Wilson, Ph.D. at Cleveland State University. That research resulted in formation of the DAV Vietnam Veterans Outreach Program to provide counseling to these veterans in 1978. With 70 outreach offices across the United States, this DAV program served as a model for the Veterans Administration (VA) Operation Outreach program for Vietnam era veterans, which was established approximately a year later.

Clinically, the readjustment problems these veterans suffer were designated as Post Traumatic Stress Disorders in the American Psychiatric Association's DIAGNOSTIC and STATISTICAL MANUAL III (DSM III).

Counseling psychologists working with Vietnam veterans in the DAV and VA outreach programs emphasize that these disorders are not mental illnesses. Rather, they are delayed reactions to the stress these veterans--particularly combat veterans--underwent during the war in Southeast Asia.

The nature of post-traumatic stress disorders among Vietnam veterans is described in this paper by Jim Goodwin, Psy.D. Himself a Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam combat, Dr. Goodwin worked as a volunteer counselor in the DAV Vietnam Veterans Outreach Program while doing graduate work at the University of Denver's School of Professional Psychology. Following these studies, Dr. Goodwin rejoined the Armed Forces and is now a captain on active duty with the U.S. Army.

I have a copy of this hanging on my wall.

With all these years passing between what they knew and when they knew it, no one seems to care even more are suffering instead of healing. Here's a link to the book Forgotten Warrior Project: Identity, Ideology and Crisis - The Vietnam Veteran in Transition Paperback – 1977 by John P. Ph.D. Wilson

Military Civilian World America's Great Divide

There is a great article on LA Times exploring the separation between those who serve and those who ignore them.

SPECIAL REPORT U.S. MILITARY AND CIVILIANS ARE INCREASINGLY DIVIDED 
LA Times
By DAVID ZUCCHINO AND DAVID S. CLOUD
Reporting from Fort Bragg
May 3, 2015

Soldiers including Spc. Aaron Schade, center left, wait at Pope Field in North Carolina to see their families after returning from deployment in July 2014. (James Robinson / For the Los Angeles Times)

Jovano Graves' parents begged him not to join the Army right out of high school in 2003, when U.S. troops were fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But their son refused his parents' pleas to try college. He followed them both into the Army instead.

Last June, 11 years later, Staff Sgt. Jovano Graves returned home from Afghanistan, joining his mother, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Sonia Graves-Rivers, for duty here at Ft. Bragg.

"My family, going way, way back, has always felt so proud to be Americans," said Graves-Rivers, who comes from a family in which military service spans six generations, starting with her great-great-grandfather, Pfc. Marion Peeples, who served in a segregated black unit during World War I.

Her father, Cpl. Harvey Lee Peeples, fought in the Vietnam War. Her uncle, Henry Jones, was career Air Force. Another uncle, Sgt. 1st Class Robert Graves, spent 22 years in the Army. Her sister, Janice, served 24 years.
read more here
Here are some highlights to think about

Despite civilians' widespread admiration for troops, there's little overlap between their worlds

Congress with lowest rate of military service authorized today's wars, led by 3 presidents with no active duty

One-half of 1% of U.S. population enlisted — lowest rate since between World War I and II

The highest-rate contributors were Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Virginia and South Carolina. The District of Columbia was last.

The previous school year was a grim one here in Fayetteville, where the Cumberland County school district serves the communities outside Ft. Bragg. Between the beginning of the term in September 2013 and the following spring, six students committed suicide.

Five of them — four boys and a girl — were from Army families, with a parent deployed overseas. Two shot themselves with military weapons.

And this is why so many just don't care about any of them,

Yet only a 65-mile drive north of Ft. Bragg, in the college town of Carrboro near Durham, the military is a universe away. Many there have no connection save for the brief moment of gratitude and embarrassment they feel when they see a man in uniform at the airport, missing a leg.

"We glorify the military in this country in a way that's really weird," said Eric Harmeling, 21, a Carrboro-area resident who often argues with his father, a politically conservative minister, about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "It's like the Roman legions.... It's like we're being told to kneel down and worship our heroes."

For me it was strange when I was growing up and my friends said their parents never served. Then the older I got, the more I realized it was odd that my Dad and uncles did. Much later after I met my husband, and he came from a military family as well, it no longer mattered what non-military families thought because we spoke a different language and live in different worlds. I didn't expect them to be willing to understand anything. While they were perfectly able to do it, they just didn't want to. We hang out with other veteran families.

Even More Central Florida Memorial Day Events

Even more to do for veterans and families for Memorial Day weekend

From Cathy Haynes

May #3, Memorial Day/weekend “Us too!” second list and updated events in Central Florida thru mid-June.  

Please share with others.   Post where appropriate.   Attend when able.

These are additional Memorial Day/weekend events that were shared after the May 19 was sent, and after the general event list that was sent out on May 1.   If you need the lists resent to you, just let me know.

If you receive this list at work – after the fact – please consider providing me your ‘home’ email address.

 

Sunday, May 24

Remembering and Honoring Our Heroes Day – 10:30 am.   Military and First Responders honored.  First Baptist Sweetwater, 3800 Wekiva Spgs Road, Longwood.   (Notice courtesy of Bob Jordan, USMC (ret.)

 

Tribute to Local Fallen Soldier – 2pm - Unveiling of a memorial to Oviedo fallen warrior Army Spc. Brenden N. Salazar, KIA 2012 Afgh., age 20.   Rock and Brews Restaurant, 7131 Red Bug Lake Rd. Oviedo, 32765. 407-956-4124.   Sponsored by NeverForgottenMemorials.org and Rock & Brews, Oviedo Salute Veterans. Info:   Dave Matthews   407-535-1728   Never Forgotten Memorials.org  NeverForgottenMemorials.org@ gmail.com

 

Memorial Day – Monday, May 25

 

9am – Ormond Beach - Memorial Remembrance Service – Music will be provided by Daytona Beach Concert Band.   Parking at the Casements, Fortunato Park and the Ormond Memorial Art Museum.  Rockefeller Gardens, 25 Riverside Drive, Ormond Beach.   Free. 386-676-3241. (Notice courtesy of Joe Rassel, Orlando Sentinel.)

 

9:30am – Brevard County Veterans Memorial Center – Traditional and touching ceremony.   Keynote speaker is Army MG John Cleland (ret.)   Viera High School Band and Rockledge JROTC will perform.  Veterans Memorial Center, 400 S. Sykes Creek Pkwy, Merritt Island, 32952.   Free picnic afterwards courtesy of Chic-fil-a of Merritt Square Mall.

 

10am - Zellwood ceremony at Conquest Cemetery near the intersection of Yothers Road and U.S. Highway 441 near the entrance to Zellwood Station. The theme this year will be "Remember the Maine.” This was the battle cry during the Spanish-American war. As is traditional, the grave of each veteran buried at Conquest Cemetery will receive a flag and flowers. The Rev. Edwin Rose will deliver the message and music will be by the Rev. Darrell Reid. (Courtesy of John Peery, Apopka Chief newspaper.)

 

10am – Deltona – Memorial Day service sponsored by Veterans Community Education Partnership and Deltona Memorial Funeral Home and Cemetery.   Memorial wreaths at the Memorial, presentation of colors by area veterans and affiliated community organizations.   Deltona Mem. Funeral Home, 1295 Saxon Blvd., Orange City.   Free.   386-775-4260.   (Notice courtesy of Joe Rassel, Orlando Sentinel.)

 

10am – Port Orange – VFW Post 3282 host the ceremony.   Veterans Park across the lake from Port Orange City Hall, 1000 City Center Circle.   Free.  386-506-5936. (Notice courtesy of Joe Rassel, Orlando Sentinel.)

 

11am - The city of Apopka and VFW Post 10147 will host a ceremony at Edgewood-Greenwood Cemetery off Highland Avenue and Monroe Avenue. Food and refreshments will follow at the Apopka Community Center/VFW, 519 S Central Avenue.    Speakers will be Steven R. Deviese, Mayor Joe Kilsheimer.   Special music provided by Pastors Doug and Roger Bankson.   Traditional cerelony with wreath, patriotic songs, color guard, release of doves, and Boy Scout Troop 211 will present the flags.

(Courtesy of John Peery, Apopka Chief newspaper.)

 

11am – Melbourne – Ceremony with the Massing of the Colors, music provided by the Melbourne Municipal Band and others.   Liberty Bell Memorial Museum, 1601 Oak St., Melbourne.   Free.   321-727-1776.   (Notice courtesy of Joe Rassel, Orlando Sentinel.)

 

6:30pm – “One Nation Under God” Christian patriotic program with live music, video presentation, and meal.   Free but donations gratefully accepted.   Presented by “By your Side Ministries” in Winter Garden.    Tickets at www .byyoursideministries.com

 

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Television - Highlighted patriotic programs

·        PBS - 5 pm - Sunday, May 24 - Silver Wings, Flying Dreams: The Complete Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII.   The documentary tells the story of the first women to pilot American military aircraft and their 66 year struggle to receive recognition for their service.  They finally received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010.   (Thank you, Bill Suchy, for bringing attention to this!)

·        PBS – 8pm – Sunday, May 24 - National ‪ ‎Memorial Day Concert -   On our local PBS TV station – WUCF   This concert is from Washington DC and is hosted by Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna.   One of the most watched programs, and repeated at 9pm.

·        HBO-E – 6:30pm – Monday May 25 - “ Taking Chance” – True story, award winning movie of a Lt. Col. who escorts the body of Marine P1C Chance Phelps, killed in 2004 Iraq, to his family.

 

Support Blue Star Families by shopping – NOW EXTENDED TO SUNDAY, MAY 31.   Macy’s offers 15%-20% discount in return for a $3 donation made at the register.   Proceeds benefit “Got Your Six” and “Blue Star Families” programs and events for military families.   Your donation will support the work of “Got Your 6” and empower our country’s military veterans and families.

 

Lake Nona VA Hospital dedication – Tues May 26 – HURRAY!   This long awaited Ceremony starts at 10am and VA Secretary Bob McDonald will be attending to provide the keynote address.   Ceremony includes music from the local VFW band.   Plan on arriving early to allow for time.   The dedication will culminate a week of special events, including a day for Veterans, the media, and our stakeholders as well.  Lake Nona Campus of Orlando VA Medical Center – 13800 Veterans Way, Orlando, 32827.   Public Affairs office – 407-599-1301.

 

Florida Governor’s Veterans Service Award Presentation – Wed May 27 - Florida National Guard Armory, 2809 South Ferncreek Avenue, Orlando, 32806.   9:30am ceremony.   Monthly medal ceremonies in other Florida cities are planned, but the schedule for the remainder of the year has not been released.   ARRIVE EARLY and REGISTER TO RECEIVE A MEDAL ON SITE - BRING PROOF OF YOUR MILITARY SERVICE (ie: DD214).   For more information, visit the FDVA website at    floridavets.org/gvsa/     Info:   Steve Murray at murrayr@fdva.state.fl.us       (Thank you Charley Price!)

 

Greeters needed!   Honor Flight Welcome Home –Wed. May 27 – Orlando Int’l Airport –After a day spent in Washington DC, 35 veterans of WWII and Korean War veterans – including 1 Tuskegee airman and one petite woman who is a WWII Marine Sgt - return home thru Orlando Int’l Airport.  The hub of the nation-wide organization will take veterans on a single day trip to our nation’s capital where they visit the WWII, Korea, and Vietnam War Memorials, Marine Corps Iwo Jima and the Air Force Monuments, and witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.   This group will return at about 9:45pm and enter the terminal area at about 10:15 – 10:30pm. Come welcome these former warriors home!   “Welcome Home” receptions at the airports makes a difference!   Bring your flags, banners and signs! – Southwest Airlines # 2950 from Baltimore-Washington (BWI), Terminal A, Airside 2 (hotel area in front of Starbucks.) Before leaving home, check online to see if the flight is on time because there may be delays due to weather, mechanical or medical issues.  

Free parking has been arranged at an off airport property – FastPark and Relax – who has been very generous to Honor Flights with free parking and shuttles to the airport (tips welcomed by drivers!) - Contact Cathy Haynes for those details NLT 7pm   -   chaynes11629@yahoo.com    407-239-8468.

New:   Vouchers are available for airport garage parking from a GOAA rep. in the terminal for this event – maximum of 3 hours – BUT you have to take a paper/card upon entering the airport garage.   The vouchers will not work if you use the SunPass transponders – we cannot credit the charge back.

For the Early Birds - you can wave these veterans off in the morning no later than 5am – same location.  They process thru Security early and quickly.   Wave them off for a wonderful day!

 

Pars & Stripes Forever Golf Tournament - Fri, May 29.   Disney’s Palm Golf Course is the site for this 5th annual event sponsored by Camaraderie Foundation. The Foundation provides counseling resources for warriors (past and present) and their families – especially for those experiencing Post Traumatic Stress.   The proceeds of this tournament assist with those resources.   CENTRAL FLORIDA LIVES HAVE BEEN SAVED, and more can be helped with YOUR help.   Sponsorships (corporate and private) are VERY welcomed.   8am Shotgun Start.   Info online or to register at www   ParsandStripes2015.kintera.org   or contact Jackie Nelson at 407.841.0071jnelson@camaraderiefoundation.org

 

South Central Florida Stand Down – Sat. May 30 – open to all veterans of Brevard, Osceola and Indian River counties.   8am – 2pm at American Legion Post 117, 189 Veterans Dr., Palm Bay, 32909.   Services provided will include medical, dental, legal, chiro, PTS/TBI/MST screening and counseling, haircuts, mani/pedis, dog grooming, food stamp and housing assistance, food, much more.   Transportation can be provided.   To volunteer, donate or info contact Dorothy Walsh, 321-426-6736   standown2015@aol.com 

 

VN3KT’s Spring Charity Ball – Sat. May 30 – This not-for-profit group within the local Vietnamese Community sponsors this event as this year marks the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration, the 40th Anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War.   They are very appreciative of the American forces who served in their former country.   All proceeds go toward funding for Engraving Fallen Heroes' Names on Brick project – goal of 40 bricks from this event.  7pm to 12mn.   $15/pp.   Dance to live music, food, cash bar. Orlando Moose Lodge #766, 5001 N. Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, 32810 – just north of Lee Road on OBT – west of I-4.   Info:   Jen at   jm_vn3kt@yahoo.com

 

Greeters needed!   Honor Flight Welcome Home –Sat. May 30 – Orlando Int’l Airport –After a day spent in Washington DC, 19 veterans of WWII, including 3 women,  and 6 Korean War veteransreturn home thru Orlando Int’l Airport.   8 vets are over 90!   The hub of the nation-wide organization will take veterans on a single day trip to our nation’s capital where they visit the WWII, Korea, and Vietnam War Memorials, Marine Corps Iwo Jima and the Air Force Monuments, and witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.   This group will return at about 9:00pm and enter the terminal area at about 9:30 - 10pm. Come welcome these former warriors home!   “Welcome Home” receptions at the airports makes a difference!   Bring your flags, banners and signs! – Southwest Airlines # 2642 from Baltimore-Washington (BWI), Terminal A, Airside 2 (hotel area in front of Starbucks.) Before leaving home, check online to see if the flight is on time because there may be delays due to weather, mechanical or medical issues.  

Free parking has been arranged at an off airport property – FastPark and Relax – who has been very generous to Honor Flights with free parking and shuttles to the airport (tips welcomed by drivers!) - Contact Cathy Haynes for those details NLT 7pm   -   chaynes11629@yahoo.com    407-239-8468.

New:   Vouchers are available for airport garage parking from a GOAA rep. in the terminal for this event – maximum of 3 hours – BUT you have to take a paper/card upon entering the airport garage.   The vouchers will not work if you use the SunPass transponders – we cannot credit the charge back.

For the Early Birds - you can wave these veterans off in the morning no later than 5am – same location.  They process thru Security early and quickly.   Wave them off for a wonderful day!

 

American Legion Post 112 Memorial Day Commemoration - Sun. May 31 – 11am – The Post members along with Sea Cadets, Fleet Reserve, and Boy Scouts assist with ceremony.   Public invited.  407-671-6404. 4490 N. Goldenrod Rd., Winter Park, 32792 (btwn Aloma Blvd and University Blvd.)  

 

Flag Retirement ceremony – Sat. June 13, 12 noon at the Orlando Scottish Rite Center, 1485 Grand Rd., Winter Park, 32792.   Sponsored by the Knights of St. Andrews with participation by scouts and veteran groups.   Gather your neighborhood retired flags, those that are torn, tattered and faded.   Bring them for proper retirement and disposal.   Or call for pickup – 407-657-4550. Past years have had over 4000 flags respectfully retired.   Alternatively, any American Legion or VFW Post will welcome flags for retirement.

 

Battle of Midway Commemorative Dinner – Sat. Jun 13 in St. Augustine.   The Battle of Midway was a crucial and decisive naval battle in the Pacific Theatre of World War II.   Contact the Navy Leagues in Mayport or St. Augustine for info. 904-806-4712 anuday00@aol.com   (Note date correction.)  

 

240th Army Birthday Ball – Sat. June 20 – The local Sunshine Chapter of AUSA (Association of the United States Army) planning committee is working diligently to ensure we recognize our Government Civilians and Soldiers with a grand celebration.   Special invitations to Wounded Warriors, Soldiers, Gold Star families and our senior war veterans from Central Florida.   All interested persons are welcomed to attend with RSVP.   6pm – 11pm at Rosen Centre, 9840 International Drive, Orlando, 32819.  Sponsorships welcomed.   Info:   Mike Flanagan or Tony Krogh at armyball@ausa-sunshine.org   407.277.8069, x 304, (c) 717.609.9665

AUSA - Interested in becoming an AUSA member?   Sunshine Chapter has flexible general meeting dates.   See the website or contact   john.reams@zeltech.com   407.571.9920

 

 

Compiled by Cathy Haynes

chaynes11629@yahoo.com

Member/supporter of numerous veterans and military organizations in Central Florida

407-239-8468

Aurora VA Hospital Construction Back On, For Now

Senate passes stop-gap VA bill to continue work at Aurora hospital
The Denver Post
By Mark K. Matthews
POSTED: 05/22/2015

WASHINGTON — The VA hospital project in Aurora got a small reprieve Friday after the U.S. Senate passed a stopgap spending bill that keeps work going at the troubled site for about three weeks.

Its passage comes a day after the House agreed to a similar measure, which allows the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Kiewit-Turner, the project's prime contractor, to spend about $20 million more and avoid a shutdown next week at the site.

The measure now heads to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign it.

Veterans Administration hospital in Aurora

An aerial view of the VA hospital construction site

April 24, 2015. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

The extra time — and money — are needed to give the VA and Congress extra breathing room to negotiate a long-term funding deal for the estimated $1.73 billion facility.

"Much hard work remains to be done to deliver the world-class medical facility that veterans deserve and were promised," U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican, said in a statement.

The project has seen its price tag skyrocket since the hospital was first conceived, and the VA said recently it needs $830 million more to finish the facility.
read more here

Open House at Lake Nona Orlando VA Hosptial

Today was the Open House for veterans and families at the Lake Nona VA in Orlando so that veterans could see their hospital. This hospital was built after hearing from veterans what they wanted.

The parking garage for veterans is attached to the hospital, so no getting caught in the rain or blistering heat.  There is a separate garage for employees.

There is a state of the art outpatient pharmacy with several windows instead of just two you're used to seeing at Lake Baldwin. They are geared to handle 1,600 prescriptions a day.

Coming in July is the Patriot Cafe projected to serve 3,000 a day. Plus there will be a Starbucks on the main floor.

Women veterans will have their own area on the 4th floor along with the library, auditorium, simulation labs, medical and educational services.

There will be two mental health units.

Everything other hospitals have, this one has it all but unlike other hospitals, this one is for veterans.

Florida Department Veterans Affairs

Radiology Department with several different X-Ray machines

MRI Suites

One with view of the stars

Another with view of the sky

Emergency Department

Nurses area

Emergency room

View from ICU

As the morning went on, more and more veterans came to see their hospital.

Mobile Veterans Center

According to the VA everything should be in place and fully operational by the end of this year but they have already moved in many different departments.  More coming soon.

Why Is Army Shutting Down River Hospital When It Works Wonders?

UPDATE
PTSD Program Will Continue At River Hospital - At Least For Now

‘It saved my life and my marriage’: Soldiers object to Army cutting River Hospital PTSD program
Watertown Daily Times
By ELI ANDERSON TIMES STAFF WRITER
PUBLISHED: SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015

“Ever since I left the River Hospital, my life has turned around amazingly,” he said. “I would stand on top of a building and yell it for that place.”

ALEXANDRIA BAY — When Charles R. “Chuck” Wilkerson graduated from River Hospital’s Community Wellness Program in the summer of 2013, he was a changed man.

Mr. Wilkerson, who served in the 10th Mountain Division for 11 years, had spent about 100 days in the program to be treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. He said his healing process took slightly longer than those of others in the program, but his transformation was incredible.

“If it wasn’t for the River Hospital,” he said, “I would be dead today.”

On Thursday, River Hospital CEO Ben Moore III announced that the Army was pulling the program from the hospital to create a similar program on post at Fort Drum.

The announcement, which came in a letter from Fort Drum Medical Activity Commander Col. Matthew E. Mattner, shocked River Hospital officials, Mr. Wilkerson and other members of the program and community.

“How can they take away something that saves people’s lives?” Mr. Wilkerson said over the phone from his home in Lexington, Ky.

Mr. Wilkerson said the River Hospital program was able to provide him care that the Army could not.

The River Community Wellness Program, which is the only civilian institution in the country to offer an outpatient treatment program for soldiers with PTSD, came to River Hospital in February 2013 at the request of the Army.
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Unban VA Doctors From Talking About Medical Marijuana

This is one more thing that needs to be fixed. VA doctors have said for years they would rather prescribe medical pot over most of the medications they are supposed to write for veterans but they can't even if it is legal in the state. They need their hands untied to help veterans feel better and be allowed to stop numbing them.

The Fight to Get Medical Marijuana to Veterans Just Got a Big Boost in the Senate
Policy.Mic
By Gregory Krieg
May 22, 2015

"Is medical marijuana right for me?"

American war veterans can ask that question, but doctors with the Department of Veterans Affairs are banned by the federal government from answering — even in states where the drug is legal. But that could soon change, thanks to a historic vote Thursday in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

By an 18-to-12 margin, senators approved an amendment to a massive military spending bill that would allow VA physicians to recommend the use of marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and other serious injuries and conditions.

According to the Hill, co-sponsors Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) tacked the provision on to a $77.6 billion construction and veterans benefits bill. A similar measure was narrowly defeated in the House of Representatives on April 30. Negotiators from both chambers will have to hammer out a compromise to reconcile the difference.
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PTSD on Trial: Iraq Veteran Gets 5 Years in Jail After Standoff?

Hamilton man suffering from PTSD gets five years in standoff that injured two 
Press Of Atlantic City
By LYNDA COHEN, Staff Writer
Posted: Friday, May 22, 2015

MAYS LANDING — A Hamilton Township man whose untreated post-traumatic stress disorder led to a standoff with police and the shooting of a patrol car was sentenced to five years in prison Friday.

Vincent Hamburg Sr., 31, at one time faced a charge of attempted murder for shooting at an unmanned police car during the incident that began late Nov. 14, 2013 at his father's Hamilton Township home.

The standoff began when he says he blacked out as a result of alcohol-treated anxiety brought on by his PTSD. His father and then-fiancee were assaulted in the incident.

After police were called, the two victims came outside, but Hamburg -- armed with a rifle owned by his father -- kept police at bay for hours. Just before surrendering, he shot into a police car that was parked in the driveway.

"My service in Iraq is a highlight in my life," Hamburg wrote in a letter to U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo about his PTSD. "I expected sad memories of lost comrade from a war setting, yet had no idea my service overseas would have a lifelong effect on my daily living. More importantly, I am sad at what my PTSD has done to the lives of those I care deeply for and am closest to in my life." read more here

Veteran Reminds Others No "Happy" Memorial Day

I’m a veteran and I hate ‘Happy Memorial Day.’ Here’s why.
Washington Post
By Jennie Haskamp
May 22, 2015

I’m frustrated by people all over the country who view the day as anything but a day to remember our WAR DEAD. I hate hearing “Happy Memorial Day.”

I have friends buried in a small corner of a rolling green field just down the road from the Pentagon. They’re permanently assigned to Section 60. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it’s 14 acres in the southeast corner of Arlington National Cemetery that serves as a burial ground for many military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are fresh graves there.

I spent my formative years in combat boots and all of my friends are in the military, were in the military, or married into the military. I have several friends buried at Arlington, and know of dozens more men and women interred in that hallowed ground.

Section 60 is a place I visit often.

I toyed with the idea of making the trip south from New York City this weekend to spend some time, reflect and sit quietly but decided against it. Some friend, huh?

Nearly 150 years ago, Memorial Day— first called Decoration Day— was set aside to decorate the graves of the men who’d recently died in battle. America was still reeling from the Civil War when Gen. John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued a proclamation in 1868, according to a PBS account of his decision. “The 30th of May,” he declared, “would be an occasion to honor those who died in the conflict.”

Wednesday night, sitting in a pizza joint in the Bronx, watching the world go by, I was upset and couldn’t put my finger on why.

A friend said “Hey! Do you want to go to Fleet Week? It’s this weekend here in the city.”

What? No? Absolutely not. I don’t want to be in the midst of tens of thousands of people clamoring for a chance to look at a static display of Marine Corps and Navy equipment. I don’t want to see Marines and sailors dressed up, paraded around for community relations and recruiting purposes. I don’t want to watch any parades.

As I said it (barked it, really), my friend’s eyes widened and I recognized the frustration in my tone. I didn’t know why I was upset, at first. I paused, and while I was sitting there contemplating my outburst, I heard a commercial on the radio screaming through the tinny speakers.

“Beaches, beats and BBQs!” it said. “We’re your Memorial Day station with everything you need to kick off the summer in style!”
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Wounded Times Shadow Salute

Staff Sgt. Cole Van Dorn Laid to Rest at Arlington

MARINE COLE VAN DORN BURIED AT ARLINGTON, FUELING PTSD FIGHT 
ABC 7 News
By Chuck Goudie
May 21, 2015

WASHINGTON (WLS) -- On Capitol Hill there is movement in both houses of congress on new legislation that would help thousands of service members suffering from PTSD - although it is too late for Marine veteran Cole Van Dorn, who was buried Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery.

In the shadow of the Pentagon, at this resting place for American heroes, a rifle salute to the latest serviceman who died while fighting a hidden enemy in a private war: PTSD.
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WARNING I just put my Chaplain vest in the closet because of what I am going to write and not feeling very "Christian" at the moment. Don't worry because I'll pray to be forgiven and I am sure He'll understand why. The trouble is, no member of Congress will ever get a fucking clue!

The sadness that hits me hard this time of year just turned into full-blown-head-exploding-outrage!

I have been getting sadder around Memorial Day for over 3 decades because every year there are more and more graves filled by veterans who should be marching in parades, not being followed by cars in a funeral procession. The majority of the country is all about having fun but in the veterans community, it is all about what this day was intended to be. Remembering generations of those who paid the price for what we have the other days of the year.

Too many of us remember how many we lost to suicide since last Memorial Day. The rest of the country, if they pay attention at all, keep spouting off with a fictitious 22 a day when the rest of us are fully aware veterans are committing suicide double the civilian rate and even with that fact, we also know we will never, ever know exactly how many decided that one day was the best day to die after surviving combat. Did you get that? Did you notice that they did everything they could to survive combat, make it back home and then gave up? That should tell you something right there and for most of us, it was a message we got years ago.

We've been listening to politicians and profiteers finagle these veterans out of their lives for far too long. It has been going on for as long as the Patriots took a stand against the best military in the world at the time, defeated them and then had to take care of their own wounded. None of them want you to remember that back then when the warfighters were paying the price with their minds because of combat, they were shot as cowards. Today politicians save the bullets and push veterans over the edge to kill themselves. Hey why bother to remind folks that the psychological price of serving was studied during every war and full blown research started over 40 years ago?

There is a special place in hell for all of them and for all the charities out there claiming they are taking care of veterans when clearly, most of them are taking care of themselves. There are some good ones and I am proudly associated in one way or another with them. Then there are the bottom dwellers screaming about "raising awareness" when they don't want anyone to be aware of the basic fact they never say what the fuck they are doing with the money or have to give one single, simple explanation as to why they haven't changed anything for anyone.

Ever wonder why these new groups pop up, get press attention and get swollen bank accounts instead of taking new ideas to older established groups? Here's a clue, they want to keep the money for themselves and have all the attention focused on them, not the veterans needing help.

Members of Congress have had the luxury of lazy reporters failing to ask them why things have gotten worse after decades of spending billions of dollars to make things better for veterans. They got to just blame the VA for the mess instead of having to answer for a single dime of feeding donors pockets with drugs instead of therapy and then their latest pull-the-wool shenanigans of letting veterans see outside doctors. Ya, right, that will work. Ever see a waiting line in an emergency room or long waits at a doctor's office? Ever see a hospital shut down?

The hospital I was born in and my daughter, was torn down. It is now a supermarket. Ever see a VA Hospital shut down?

Tomorrow is the opening of the new Lake Nona VA here in Florida. The groundbreaking was in 2008 and they handed out shovels as momentos. We didn't them considering all the crap we've all had to deal with all these years we needed this instead.

House and Senate members (but not their families) also are eligible to receive care at military hospitals. For outpatient care, there is no charge at the Washington, D.C., area hospitals (Walter Reed Army Medical Center and National Naval Medical Center). Inpatient care is billed at rates set by the Department of Defense. That was from AARP.

Politicians write the rules. They extended the time the troops can get free healthcare from the VA but didn't think to make sure they also hired enough doctors and nurses to take care of those entering in line behind combat wounded veterans.

Enhanced Eligibility For Health Care Benefits
Veterans who served in a theater of combat operations after November 11, 1998 are eligible for an extended period of eligibility for health care for 5 years post discharge.

Under the "Combat Veteran" authority, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides health care services and community living care for any condition possibly related to the Veterans’s service in the theater of operations and enrollment in Priority Group 6, unless eligible for enrollment in a higher priority group to:

Combat Veterans who were discharged or released from active service on or after January 28, 2003, are eligible to enroll in the VA health care system for 5 years from the date of discharge or release.

What they don't tell you is that older veterans were put to the back of the line as well and they are also the majority of the suicides. But hey, why remind anyone they suffered longer and waited longer for promised changes they fought for in the first place?

We are watching them not getting the help they need from politicians hoping we don't remember and from profiteers hoping we don't notice what they are not doing. We are watching them die remembering and noticing everything, but reporters can't even remember what they wrote last week about facts destroying what some yahoo just claimed and never nailing them on it.

Ever wonder what suicides of younger veterans does to older ones? It reminds them of all the bullshit they've heard over and over and over again followed by more and more empty speeches blaming everyone but themselves and not one single hearing asking for accountability from anyone other than who they think will make an easy target of the day.

Too bad it is all on record and everyone can read who did what and when they did it. We know about all the stupid questions being asked during "hearings" but not one question that made any difference to anyone.

The reports about medications replacing therapy have been out for years but nothing has changed. They keep talking about doing something but then the drug companies will lose money. Why bother to do what was proven to be the most effective, which is peer support and talk therapy? After all, why fund the best when the most expensive is acceptable?

The question is how long do they think it will take until they reach the "one too many" they keep talking about? How many more have to die before someone does something real to change all this?

This is what it all boils down to. Congress knew about all this but after hearings, nothing was really done to change the outcome.

VA doctors tell House lawmakers of pressure to prescribe veterans opiates
The Center for Investigative Reporting
By Aaron Glantz
Published: October 10, 2013

The hearing marked the first time VA officials have spoken publicly about the skyrocketing number of painkiller prescriptions since The Center for Investigative Reporting revealed the trend last month.

"There are multiple instances when I have been coerced or even ordered to write for Schedule II narcotics when it was against my medical judgment," said Dr. Pamela Gray, a physician who formerly worked at the VA hospital in Hampton, Va.

Primary care doctors who don't want to prescribe large amounts of opiates may resign, do as they are told or be terminated, Gray said. Gray was fired.

read more of this report here

You can find more about what Congress had hoped we'd all forget with Veteran Suicides Apocalypse Now because it was all happening before the internet and the general public had the ability to learn.

They hoped we'd forget that the VA has 1,000 veterans a month attempting suicide, even though there is the Veterans Crisis Line taking in thousands of calls every month and there is an ever growing number outside the VA system they admit they have no clear count of.

Vietnam veterans were trained to fight and kill but no one ever claimed they were trained to heal afterwards. For Gulf War veterans, it is the same story but no one talks about them. For OEF and OIF veterans, they are triple their peer rate after they had been trained in "prevention" and given all the attention of the new charities only interested in them.

It happened before the DOD spent billions a year on "prevention" that didn't work as they refused to change anything. It happened before the umteenth chairity begged for your money but didn't think they had to explain what they were doing with the money.

It all happened long before this generation and that is the saddest part of all. It is all still happening.

Family Searching for Missing Fort Carson Soldier

Family asks for help in search for AWOL soldier 
KRDO News
Greg Miller, Multimedia Journalist
May 22, 2015

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.
A Chicago-area father is in Colorado Springs, desperately searching for his son.

Pvt. Daniel Domres is listed as AWOL from Fort Carson. His family is afraid his disappearance may be the result of a form of PTSD. And they're not the only ones with that concern.

“Just something happened, I don't know what it is” said Tom Domres, Daniel’s father. “I made a promise, said if something bad happens, I'd find him... that's why I'm here.”

Domres was stationed at Fort Carson after his nine-month tour in Afghanistan ended last year.

During his training and initial tour, he had a spotless record.

“He got along with leadership extremely well. They asked him to go Ranger 12 times asked him to go sniper scout,” Tom Domres said.

But then he deployed and the 20-year-old started acting differently.

“He withdrew from the guys in the unit,” he said. “He spent some time alone, there were a couple of incidents and I think he made some bad choices.”
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