Veteran shares hidden wounds of Iraq war

Denita Hartfield in Iraq. She survived a roadside bomb attack in Iraq in 2005 that has caused traumatic brain injury, now considered a signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Veteran shares hidden wounds of Iraq war
BY STACEY SHEPARD, Californian staff writer
sshepard@bakersfield.com Thursday, Nov 20 2008 7:07 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Nov 21 2008 7:34 AM

Denita Hartfield’s broken ribs are whole again.

The gunshot wound to her arm is now a scar.

From the outside, the injuries she suffered when her Army convoy came under attack in Iraq in 2005 seem to be healed. But inside, it’s a different story.

“I tried to go back to school when I got home ... and I failed my first class ever,” said the 34-year-old Bakersfield resident, who has her masters degree and is now enrolled in Ph.D. courses.

“I’d read a whole page of text and I couldn’t remember one sentence. I couldn’t read my own writing.”

The 17-year Army veteran had constant headaches and chest pain. It was hard to walk straight. Her memory was poor, her speech slurred and she sometimes fumbled when trying to do a task as simple as picking up a pen.

Earlier this year Hartfield was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, a series of physical, behavioral and cognitive impairments caused by shaking of the brain, which often occurs during a roadside bomb or rocket-propelled mortar blast.

ABOUT TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY
Who is at-risk:

The condition is most common among veterans who survived a blast, explosion or head injury, especially those who don’t remember events before or after the incident, suffered symptoms of a concussion or who lost consciousness.

Symptoms specific to traumatic brain injury:

• headaches

• dizziness

• ringing in the ears

• fatigue

• intolerance to light and noise

Common behavioral and emotional changes:

• irritability

• apathy

• agitation, aggression

• anxiety

For more information or to seek help for a veteran who may have traumatic brain injury, contact the Kern County Veterans Service Department at 868-7300.
go here for more of this story
http://www.bakersfield.com/102/story/616174.html

Man crushed by 5,000 pound pole at high school

Man crushed by 5,000 pound pole at high school
The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, Nov 20 2008 12:39 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Nov 21 2008 7:21 AM

A construction worker died Thursday when a 5,000 pound concrete pole fell on him at Frontier High School.

David Krogman, 57, was helping to unload the cylinders from a big rig onto the school’s football field, according to Sean Collins with the Kern County Fire Department. The school is at 6401 Allen Road in northwest Bakersfield.

go here for more

http://www.bakersfield.com/hourly_news/story/615756.html

Wounded Warrior Awareness Day of terrible treatment

Wounded Warrior awareness day was one of reports of terrible treatment. It should make us all aware of aspects we don't pay enough attention to.

Is this anyway to treat the wounded?

This Captain had to wait a month for a primary care doctor and a year for surgery. Think about that. He is a member of the National Guard. While he said things have changed since the scandal of Walter Reed, this had happened to our wounded. If they didn't come out and tell their stories, no one would even be aware of any of this. Why should they have to? Who is watching over the wounded? Anyone?

I remember when the story of Walter Reed came out in the Washington Post. There was a great uproar across the nation but not all of it was upset over the way the wounded were treated. Some of it was directed at the Washington Post instead for reporting on it. Imagine that!

We ask so much of the men and women serving this nation in uniform, especially the members of the National Guards. We ask they to leave their families, their regular jobs, businesses, give it all up so they can deploy and then if they have the bad luck to get wounded, they are put thru hell even more. When you think about Capt. Perez waiting a year for surgery, think about what that did to him and his family.

Capt. Adrian Perez collects his thoughts while recounting his story of recovering from wounds sustained in Iraq. Perez, of the Army National Guard's Manpower Analysis section, spoke at the Army National Guard Readiness Centeras part of Wounded Warrior Awareness Day, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy)(Released)

Wounded warrior shares his experiences with Army Guard audience
By Army Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy
National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va., (Nov. 20, 2008) - Education was the goal of Wounded Warrior Awareness Day held here at the Army National Guard Readiness Center yesterday.

“What we want to do today is educate ourselves,” so we can take action, said Brig. Gen. Leodis Jennings, special assistant to the director of the Army National Guard. “It doesn’t have to be a real overt action.

“It can be something as simple as sitting down and talking with them and asking if they need help and how you can assist,” he said.

During the event, which featured several speakers and information booths and was hosted by the ARNG’s Soldier/Family Support Service Division, Capt. Adrian Perez of the Army National Guard’s Manpower Analysis section, and his wife Sara, spoke about their experiences when Perez was wounded in 2006 while serving in Iraq with the 1st Armored Division’s 16th Engineer Battalion.

For the Perezes, the experience proved frustrating.

Injured during a patrol by an Improvised Explosive Device that left him partially blind and with wounds to his shoulders and back, Perez was evacuated first to a hospital in Mosul, then to Landsthul, Germany, and finally ended up at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

Once at Walter Reed, that’s “where it almost gets comical,” said Perez, who said he had to find his own way to Walter Reed after flying into Washington with six other wounded Soldiers.
go here for more
http://www.ngb.army.mil/news/archives/2008/11/112008-Wounded.aspx

VA worker, 13 others charged in fraud scheme

If they are found guilty, they should have to face the families of the disabled veterans who had their claims denied and ended up killing themselves. Face the veterans who ended up homeless because their claims were not taken care of. Face the kids who waited for help for their parent and none came in time to save the family. If they are guilty of this, they should have to travel across the country handcuffed to chairs so they have to listen to the veterans who trusted them. Then they can go to jail!

VA worker, 13 others charged in fraud scheme

By Brett Barrouquere - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Nov 20, 2008 16:37:08 EST

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Veterans Administration employee and 13 other people have been charged with conspiring to steal nearly $2 million in disability claims.

Veterans Affairs service representative Jeffrey Allan McGill and Daniel Ryan Parker, a veteran and officer with the Disabled American Veterans, were among the 14 charged Wednesday by a federal grand jury with conspiring to defraud the U.S. of $1.9 million through the submission of false veterans disability claims to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The indictment outlines an alleged scheme for veterans to falsely claim to have suffered from bipolar disorder, hearing loss, frostbite, back injuries and other ailments and disabilities.

The indictment says veterans received lump-sum payments for back pay and then kick backed as much as two-thirds of it to Parker and McGill.

“They’re all veterans,” U.S. Attorney David Huber said at a news conference Thursday. “That’s what’s sad about all of this.”

Parker, 37, of Crestwood, is free on $25,000 bond. He is also charged with stealing $47,000 from Disabled American Veterans. His attorney, Brian Butler of Louisville, said his client plans to plead not guilty.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_vafraudscheme_112008/

Did House chaplain once hide clergy sex crimes?

Survivors group: Did House chaplain once hide clergy sex crimes?
David Edwards and Muriel Kane
Published: Thursday November 20, 2008


Roll Call revealed Wednesday that the Catholic priest who currently serves as chaplain for the House of Representatives formerly oversaw a retreat outside Chicago where troubled priests were sent, including those accused of sexual misconduct.

The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) has issued a statement concerning these revelations about Rev. Daniel Coughlin. "Sadly, this is a familiar pattern in the Chicago archdiocese: a priest who successfully keeps quiet about clergy sex crimes wins a promotion. ... Among other questions, Coughlin needs to be asked, 'Did you ever call the police about any of these known or alleged crimes and if not, why not?'"

What Hastert's staffers did not ask, and Coughlin did not volunteer, was that he had spent the previous ten years, from 1990 to 2000, first directing a retreat for troubled priests and then serving as their vicar. A dozen of the priests Coughlin was responsible for were ultimately forced out of the priesthood and at least ten were alleged sexual abusers.
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A Soldier's Story Tonight on 13WHAM News at 5

A Soldier's Story Tonight on 13WHAM News at 5
13WHAM-TV - Rochester,NY,USA


Related Links
Learn More About Gianforte's Story
(Caledonia, N.Y)-Shawn Gianforte was a local hero, serving two years of duty in Iraq. Then, he served two years in prison.

The Caledonia native is now home. 13WHAM brought you his story last year when we interviewed him behind bars as he served time for an assault in Virginia that he doesn’t remember.

Gianforte, who accepted full responsibility for his crime, was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But he says he never got the help he needed when he returned home from Iraq.

Thursday night, beginning at 5, 13WHAM’s Sean Carroll will bring us the story of Sergeant Gianforte’s recovery and road home.

Lawyer says AWOL Marine planned to surrender

Lawyer: AWOL Marine planned to surrender
Denver Post - Denver,CO,USA

By Tom McGhee
The Denver Post


Lance Hering says he was headed to Virginia where a psychiatrist was to evaluate him for the attorney who planned to defend him from U.S. Marine desertion charges when he was arrested, according to a police report.

The Boulder resident's case was being handled by James Culp, an Austin, Texas, attorney who specializes in military law, according to a report made by Port Angeles Washington police detective Jesse Winfield.

Culp didn't immediately return a call.

Hering, 23, is accused of deserting the Marine Corps after faking his disappearance in Eldorado Canyon in 2006 to avoid service in Iraq.
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GOP image goes from bad to worse, even Lincoln would have switched

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan - to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865.
http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln78.html

Republicans, for the most part, have honored this kind of attitude. The problem is, the elected have not. Thanks to CSPAN and their coverage of the floor speeches, we have an enormous record of exactly where the elected Republicans have been on every issue. It has not been with the kind of morality Abe Lincoln was talking about. It has been with corporations and watching out for the rich. While they had absolutely no issue at all in funding the two occupations, these same people had a huge problem with funding the men and women who participated in both of them and then needed the nation to tend to their wounds of body and mind.

Think of this. In 2005, with two military campaigns producing more and more wounded, there were less doctors and nurses working for the VA than there were after the Gulf War. Where was the planning for them? Why wasn't the GOP demanding increases for the VA when they held all the power? Why weren't they holding the same kind of hearings the Democrats were holding in the basement rooms, also covered by CSPAN? When the Democrats were holding up charts about the increases in the wounded and the need to take care of our veterans, the GOP were arguing against the increases and President Bush said they would have to find the funding to do anything. One more point to contemplate here is that none of the GOP elected were asking for any accountability at all no matter what the news papers were reporting or the GAO.

It was not until the following year when the Democrats took control in the November election that things began to change. In January of 2007, the Democrats took control over the committees and moved mountains out of the way. The biggest increase in VA funding in the history of the USA. The GI Bill was passed. Hearings were held on how to best take care of the veterans and programs were started that were needed since 2001. Think of where we could have been had the GOP been as interested in doing the right thing the way Lincoln talked about as they were in doing what was just perceived to be "right" attacking the morality of other people.

Think about how many veterans would still be alive today had they been taken care of when it came to PTSD. Had they received the help they needed when they needed it, it would have saved the 18 veterans committing suicide each day and the 12,000 attempted suicides each year would not have happened if they had the treatment and hope they needed to want to go on.

Read it here. I'm not making these numbers up.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/21/
cbsnews_investigates/main4032921.shtml

This should have never been morally acceptable to any of them but they were too busy just agreeing with Bush and disagreeing with the Democrats instead of working with them to do the right thing. Why didn't they take the lead when they had control? Most of them managed to vote in favor of the changes once the Democrats wrote the bills but they didn't do any of it when they had the chance.

These are the senators who received lower than a C, which we all know is just average.

Alabama
Senator Jeff Sessions F
Senator Richard C. Shelby D


Alaska
Senator Lisa Murkowski D
Senator Ted Stevens D

Arizona
Senator Jon L. Kyl D-
Senator John McCain D

Colorado
Senator Wayne Allard D

Florida
Senator Mel Martinez D

Georgia
Senator Saxby Chambliss D-
Senator Johnny Isakson F

Idaho
Senator Larry E. Craig D-
Senator Mike Crapo D

Indiana
Senator Richard G. Lugar D+

Iowa
Senator Charles E. Grassley D

Kansas
Senator Sam Brownback D
Senator Pat Roberts D

Kentucky
Senator Jim Bunning D-
Senator Mitch McConnell D

Louisiana
Senator David Vitter F

Minnesota
Senator Norm Coleman D

Mississippi
Senator Thad Cochran D
Senator Trent Lott D

Missouri
Senator Christopher S. Bond D
Senator Jim Talent D+

Montana
Senator Conrad Burns D+

Nebraska
Senator Chuck Hagel D+


Nevada
Senator John Ensign D-

New Hampshire
Senator Judd Gregg D
Senator John E. Sununu D

New Mexico
Senator Pete V. Domenici D

North Carolina
Senator Richard Burr F
Senator Elizabeth Dole D-

Ohio
Senator Mike DeWine D+
Senator George V. Voinovich D

Oklahoma
Senator Tom Coburn F
Senator James M. Inhofe D-

Pennsylvania
Senator Rick Santorum D-

South Carolina
Senator Jim DeMint F
Senator Lindsey O. Graham D-


South Dakota
Senator John R. Thune D+


Tennessee
Senator Lamar Alexander D
Senator Bill Frist D


Texas
Senator John Cornyn D-
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison D+


Utah
Senator Robert Bennett D
Senator Orrin G. Hatch D


Virginia
Senator George Allen D+
Senator John W. Warner D+

Wyoming
Senator Michael B. Enzi D-
Senator Craig Thomas D

If you really want to know how many voted against veterans, go here and see the members of the House and how bad they are.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f86_1217015024
Care to guess what party these senators belong to? They make great speeches when they know we're listening but what they say when they do when they think we aren't watching is totally different.

Now maybe you may have a better idea of what the GOP really need to do from here on.

Senior Chaplain Kathie "Costos" DiCesare
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
www.youtube.com/NamGuardianAngel
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

Poll: GOP image goes from bad to worse
Posted: 02:09 PM ET
From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby

A new poll out Thursday paints a bleak picture for the GOP.
WASHINGTON (CNN) – The Republican Party has hit a new low.
Just 34 percent of Americans in a Gallup Poll released Thursday say they have a favorable view of the party, down 40 percent from a month ago, before the election.
What’s worse: 61 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of the Republican Party.
According to Gallup, that unfavorable rating is the highest the polling organization has recorded for the GOP since the measure was established in 1992.
The poll of national adults was conducted on November 13-16 with a three percent margin of error.
The numbers are slightly up from a CNN poll released last week that indicated a 54 percent unfavorable rating for Republicans. Only 38 percent of those polled had a favorable rating for the party.
Meanwhile, Democrats continue to bask in the glow of President-elect Barack Obama’s historic victory on November 4. The Gallup poll suggests that 55 percent of Americans hold a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, with 39 percent saying they have an unfavorable view. Those numbers are mostly unchanged from a mid-October survey.
Read the rest of this entry »

After 63 years, vet learns of brother's death in Nazi slave camp because of story on CNN

Bernard "Jack" Vogel died in a Nazi slave camp in the arms of fellow U.S. soldier, Anthony Acevedo, in 1945.

After 63 years, vet learns of brother's death in Nazi slave camp
Story Highlights

U.S. soldier, Bernard "Jack" Vogel, died at a Nazi slave camp in April 1945

His younger brother, Martin, had long sought details about his final moments

With CNN's help, Martin was put in touch with the medic who held his brother

The U.S. Army has never officially recognized the 350 soldiers held at the slave camp

By Wayne Drash
CNN.com Senior Producer


ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- For 63 years, Martin Vogel longed for information about how his only brother -- his best friend and a fellow U.S. soldier -- died in World War II.


He knew that Bernard "Jack" Vogel had tried to escape from a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp, but the details were sketchy. Martin was so devastated after the war, he didn't ask too many questions. But as time passed, his thoughts often drifted to his brother.

"A month doesn't go by that it doesn't come up in the course of my own thoughts," said Martin Vogel, now 82. "But to me, it's always there: What if this? Why didn't he do this? And what happened to him? And that's what bothered me."

The Boston resident read an article last week on CNN.com about Anthony Acevedo, a World War II medic who was among 350 U.S. soldiers held in a Nazi slave camp called Berga an der Elster, where dozens of soldiers were beaten, starved and killed. Less than half survived captivity.
In the piece, Acevedo mentioned a soldier by the name of Vogel who died in his arms.
Listen as Acevedo tells Martin Vogel: "I had him in my arms" »

For the first time in his life, Martin Vogel was about to learn the truth about his brother's death.

By week's end, he would also learn about his uncle's undying love for his brother -- and what he believes is the ultimate betrayal by the country his brother died for, the United States of America.

"You don't know how much this means," Martin Vogel said between sobs. "You don't know how much this means."
go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/11/20/worldwar.two.folo/index.html

Listen as Acevedo tells Martin Vogel: "I had him in my arms" »
The story
For 63 years, Martin Vogel longed for information about how his only brother -- his best friend and a fellow U.S. soldier -- died in World War II.

He knew that Bernard "Jack" Vogel had tried to escape from a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp, but the details were sketchy. Martin was so devastated after the war, he didn't ask too many questions. But as time passed, his thoughts often drifted to his brother.
"A month doesn't go by that it doesn't come up in the course of my own thoughts," said Martin Vogel, now 82. "But to me, it's always there: What if this? Why didn't he do this? And what happened to him? And that's what bothered me."

Read full article »

India:Teenage boy thrown under train by mob over love letter

Teen thrown under train for writing love letter
Mom begs for mercy, watches 'helplessly' as India boy dies in caste conflict

PATNA, India - A teenage Indian boy was thrashed, paraded through the streets with his head shaved and then thrown under a train for daring to write a love letter to a girl from a different caste, police said Thursday.

Manish Kumar, 15, was kidnapped by members of the rival caste on his way to school and was killed as his mother begged for mercy, police in the impoverished eastern state of Bihar said.

One man has been arrested and a policeman suspended.
go here for more
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27821172/

Undercover officers use Taser on pallbearer at father's funeral

Undercover officers use Taser on pallbearer
Sheriff apologizes; other pallbearers thought it was 'a drug deal gone bad'
updated 22 minutes ago
WILMINGTON, N.C. - Five sheriff's deputies will be disciplined after they used a Taser while serving an arrest warrant on a man at his father's funeral.

Gladwyn Taft Russ III was serving as a pallbearer at the service last Saturday and was loading his father's casket into a hearse when the undercover deputies approached him.

Relatives said two deputies dressed in coats and ties grabbed Russ and kneed him in his back before using a Taser on him. One deputy's gun fell out of its holster.

Russ, 42, had failed to surrender after being charged with threatening his ex-wife, who lives in another state. After his father died on Nov. 11, Russ agreed to surrender to authorities after the funeral.

go here for more
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27822770/

Extreme Makeover for Spc. Patrick Tutwiller after Iraq and tornado

Makeover: Stars descend on community
Carla Strand
City-County Editor
Thursday, Nov 20, 2008

CHAPMAN -- Before a crowd of thousands of people and with TV cameras rolling, the Patrick Tutwiler family was introduced to their new home built by volunteers working with the television show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

Many of those thousands waited four to five hours through a sunny, chilly and often breezy Tuesday, after e-mail messages sent out by the show Monday night stated the family would be home early to avoid the potential for bad weather late Tuesday.

Joy Burton, who teaches grades 1-8 at the Enterprise Academy, said students from the school attended about two hours of classes Tuesday morning before buses headed to Chapman to watch events unfold.

“This is a once in a lifetime experience,” she said. “There are some things you can’t teach them about. They have to see it for themselves.”

Spc. Tutwiler, who joined the Army following 9/11, was wounded in the neck by a sniper’s bullet while serving in Iraq in 2007, and was back home in Chapman recovering from a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, when the tornado occurred.

Within a matter of months, the family would have been forced to leave after Tutwiler is medically discharged from the Army.

“It was fitting that we named a veteran on Veteran’s Day to receive a home,” said Diane Korman, senior producer, Lock and Key Productions, which produces “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
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Food bank begs religious leaders to help feed hungry

Food bank begs religious leaders to help feed hungry
Jay Hamburg and Kate Santich | Sentinel Staff Writers
November 20, 2008
Unable to keep up with the growing ranks of hungry people, a Central Florida food bank turned to a group of local religious leaders to issue an interfaith plea to the community: Give before the cupboards go bare.

As the economy declines, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida has struggled to keep up with unprecedented demands. The nonprofit agency distributed 2 million pounds of food last month. That compares with 1 million in October 2007.

And the gap between supply and demand keeps growing, said Dave Krepcho, the food bank's president and chief executive officer.

"We need to close that gap, not only with food, but we need to close it with faith," Krepcho said Wednesday at the agency's first multi-faith forum on hunger.


During the event at Lake Eola Park, the group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders all declared it is the faithful's duty to the help the poor and hungry.

"What we need to do is issue a clarion call to the greater faith-based community to take responsibility," the Rev. Joel Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, a Church Distributed in Longwood.
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Senior military spouses offer lessons learned

Good Lord! I feel like I should be posting this on my other blog, Screaming In An Empty Room because it feels like that's what I've been doing for 26 years! Is anyone listening to anything I have to say? Can't an advocate some attention by someone who can actually do something with what I've been screaming about?

We have IFOC Chaplains all across this country and they are fully trained, licensed, insured, FBI background checks done, and most of us are ordained. We're good enough for the police and fire departments but not good enough for the military or the VA to turn to in this crisis. What's wrong here?

I am not only a Senior Chaplain, but I belong to NAMI, on the veteran's council and I'm also a lifetime member of the DAV Auxiliary. I've passed the test with the IFOC and passed the test on Military Cultural Competence. Everything I say about veterans with PTSD comes from living with one and studying them for 26 years as well as talking to them, emailing with them and holding them when they crash. I haven't just talked to the wives of PTSD veterans, I am one!

Here we have General Casey' wife saying there is a shortage of mental health help and no one is asking us to help. This is a crisis and has been for a long time. Families are falling apart, kids are suffering and veterans are committing suicide. Domestic violence is going up and most of it does not need to happen if the wives know what PTSD is, understand it and then they can prevent the escalation of arguments turning into life or death situations. Who's in charge here and how do you get past people who do not want to listen?

Senior military spouses offer lessons learned

By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 16:02:09 EST

Prolonged, continuous deployments and their effects on military families need to be seriously addressed in the coming year, said the wife of the Chief of Naval Operations, the wife of the Army chief of staff, and other senior spouses who participated in a panel discussion Nov. 18.

“It’s also long-term effects — we do not know the effects of these deployments on our children,” said Sheila Casey, wife of Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, noting that little research has been done to date in that area.

“You do a study, and you are already there. The effects are already there,” she said.

“The Air Force is the newer service to commit to longer deployments,” said Bev Fraser, wife of Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. William Fraser. “We’ve learned from our sister services, but we’ve learned it’s still difficult.”

One things the Air Force is beginning to see, she said, is that retention is not always a positive thing these days. For some, it’s about “being bitter because you have to stay in” due to the faltering economy and civilian job market.

One thing Casey said she hears everywhere she travels to talk to Army families is difficulty in getting access to medical and mental health care.

“Doctors are deployed, and staff levels are down. It’s hard to get appointments. And you have to get an appointment to get a referral,” she said.

The military has been working to get more mental health doctors in its network, she said, but there is a shortage of mental health providers nationwide.
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VA document-shredding no shock to vets

VA document-shredding no shock to vets
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Nov 19, 2008 17:14:41 EST

Doubts were raised Wednesday about whether the Bush administration can do anything to restore confidence in the Veterans Affairs Department following the discovery last month of almost 500 key benefits claims documents in shredding bins at regional offices.

But the problem, initially discovered by teams of auditors from the VA inspector general’s office, didn’t exactly shock the veterans’ community. Veterans have complained for decades about VA losing or destroying claims documents, making an already complicated process even more difficult to deal with.

Veterans’ advocates attending a roundtable discussion arranged by the House Veterans Affairs Committee said VA’s admission of mishandling documents is a sign of the fundamental problems that veterans have seen for years.

Rick Weidman, executive director for government affairs of Vietnam Veterans of America, said the only real news is that VA now acknowledged the problem.

“Shredding is not the issue,” he said, calling instead for focus on “the integrity of the process.”

Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., said he is worried that leaving key documents to be shredded is a sign of a larger workload problem and pressure to meet production quotas. Mitchell said it has led him to wonder whether VA officials have been completely honest when they said they had all of the resources they needed to handle claims.
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Fort Carson:Army shreds documents on friendly fire deaths

Army shreds documents on friendly fire deaths
John Byrne
Published: Thursday November 20, 2008


In late 2006, two American soldiers from Fort Carson died in Iraq. The army said the privates were killed by enemy action. But in October of this year, Salon revealed that the two men had in fact been killed by friendly tank fire.

Now, Salon has found that the documents related to the men's deaths were shredded just hours after the story was published.

"Three soldiers at Fort Carson, Colo. including two who were present in Ramadi during the friendly fire incident, one of them just feet from where Nelson and Suarez died were ordered to shred two boxes full of documents about [Albert] Nelson and [Roger] Suarez," reporter Mark Benjamin writes. "One of the soldiers preserved some of the documents as proof that the shredding occurred and provided them to Salon. All three soldiers, with the assistance of a U.S. senator's office, have since been relocated for their safety."

The night the Salon story ran, Oct. 14, 2008, a staff sergeant told three soldiers to shred two boxes of documents relating to the privates' deaths.
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Brigadier General Anthony Cucolo, right, presents Jean Feggins the American flag that draped the casket of Pfc. Albert M. Nelson, of Philadelphia, during funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery

NEWS RELEASES from the United States Department of Defense
No. 1285-06 IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2006
Media Contact: (703) 697-5131/697-5132
Public/Industry(703) 428-0711
DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died December 4, 2006, in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, of injuries suffered from small arms fire while conducting security and observation operations. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.

Killed were:

Private First Class Albert M. Nelson, 31, of Philadelphia.

Private First Class Roger A. Suarez-Gonzalez, 21 of Miami.

The incident is under investigation.
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/amnelson.htm

Filner advocates 'de-boot camp' for returning GIs

I've sent Congressman Filner and Senator Akaka letters about the suffering the veterans are going thru as well as their families. All of them have been ignored. After all, since I'm not an important person, a well connected person, they probably feel as if they just don't have the time to listen to someone like me or even respond. I have a feeling their aids never even showed them the letters. Why should they?

I'm just a wife of a veteran out of millions of others. I'm glad someone managed to get thru to Congressman Filner so that he came up with this idea. It's long overdue. I've been trying to do what I can to open their eyes to know that most of the suffering going on does not have to happen. Filner bought up how the troops get a boring information program and most of them are either not paying attention or fall asleep. They are in a hurry to get out there. After looking at what the government had to offer, I came up with the videos I make but powerful people don't want to bother with them. The difference between people like me and the "professionals" is this is all we focus on. This is also what we live with everyday of the year. It's all personal to us and we know these veterans very well. Research is not done just by reading books and having a few interviews or spending an hour a day with a veteran. It's living lives with them, learning from them, listening to them, watching for the signs, studying what works and doing it right by their side instead of above them.

Maybe the powerful people in Washington could have saved a lot of time if they bothered to listen to people like me when Vietnam veterans came home. We've had all these years to know what works and what doesn't.

Filner advocates 'de-boot camp' for returning GIs
Washington Times - Washington,DC,USA

EXCLUSIVE: Filner advocates 'de-boot camp' for returning GIs
Urges wide trauma screening
Audrey Hudson (Contact)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
EXCLUSIVE:

A key House leader is proposing to establish a "de-boot camp," where returning service members would undergo mandatory diagnosis for brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in order to reduce instances of domestic violence and suicide.


JOSEPH SILVERMAN/THE WASHINGTON TIMES HELPING VETS: Rep. Bob Filner, California Democrat, says new veterans need public support.

Rep. Bob Filner, chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, said Wednesday he will lobby the Obama administration for the de-boot camp and other new initiatives for service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as veterans from the Vietnam era.

"There were more suicides [postwar] by Vietnam veterans than those who died in the war. We cannot make the same mistakes again. Mental illness is an injury that has to be dealt with," Mr. Filner said during an editorial board at The Washington Times. "We all have to understand what they are facing. We all have to understand PTSD."

The California Democrat said he wants the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reduce a backlog of claims by granting all claims made by Vietnam veterans who say they suffer illnesses from exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange.

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Support for Troops, After Combat

Support for Troops, After Combat
SSW gets $1.5 million to help military families
By Caleb Daniloff

BU’s School of Social Work, the only school of social work tapped to tackle post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) issues stemming from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has won a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to study the impact of war-related stress on military families.

Ellen DeVoe and Ruth Paris, SSW assistant professors, have teamed up with Betsy McAlister Groves, director of the Child Witness to Violence Project at Boston Medical Center, to examine the impact of deployment stress and combat trauma on military families with young children and to develop sustainable programs to deal with issues such as separation and reassimilation. The four-year collaborative effort also involves experts from the School of Public Health and the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System.
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http://www.bu.edu/today/2008/11/19/support-troops-after-combat

California:Autistic boy seeks hope in wildfire's ashes

Autistic boy seeks hope in wildfire's ashes
Seven-year-old Jonathan Reyes whimpered softly as he and his parents approached what was left of their house, one of more than than 500 structures destroyed by wildfires in Los Angeles County. The Reyeses were anguished about explaining the loss to their son. Any child would find such loss devastating, but Jonathan is even more fragile. He has autism. full story
Family says goodbye to burned home
Bonfire sparked wildfire, authorities say

FBI Agent Slain In Drug Raid

FBI Agent Slain In Drug Raid
Rookie Agent In Pittsburgh, 33, Was Former Cop, Teacher

GLENSHAW, Pa., Nov. 19, 2008


(CBS/AP) A former Baltimore police officer who had been an FBI agent for less than two years was shot and killed Wednesday while serving a warrant at a home near Pittsburgh, and an alleged cocaine dealer who lived there was taken into custody.

Special Agent Samuel Hicks, who was taking part in a drug-ring roundup, was shot around 6 a.m. in Indiana Township, a middle-class community about 10 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

The home's owner, Robert Korbe, was in federal custody in connection with the shooting, said a person familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity pending an official announcement.

Hicks, 33, had been with the FBI since March 2007, and was assigned to the Pittsburgh office in August 2007, said Michael Rodriguez, special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh FBI office. A former Baltimore police officer and school teacher, Hicks graduated from Southmoreland High School in Alverton and from the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown with a degree in chemistry in 1999. He leaves behind a wife, Brooke, and a 3-year-old son.

"Special Agent Hicks made the ultimate sacrifice that any law enforcement officer makes for his country," Rodriguez said in a statement read to reporters. "He served with honor and bravery and will be greatly missed by his colleagues here in Pittsburgh and throughout the FBI."
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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/19/national/
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