Heal the Healer
As a medic on a medevac helicopter crew, Andrea saw non-stop action during OIF, and felt that she was using her medical training for it's best purpose. When she returned home, the full range of PTSD symptoms hit her like a bomb. She was so triggered that she had to give up her medical career and live with intense isolation and anger. Therapy and a friendship with a caring family has helped her to heal and to begin to trust.
You can listen to Andrea's story on our story site here. Heal the Healer
For the iTunes version, click here. If you'd like to hear a quick sample of any of our podcasts, click here for iTunes
Thursday, July 16, 2009
The Army denies that combat stress causes homicide
The Army denies that combat stress causes homicide
An Army report seems to confirm a Salon investigation linking battle stress to murder. But the Army begs to differ
Editor's note: Read excerpts from the Army's report on homicides at Fort Carson here or download the full study here. Read Salon's Coming Home series about preventable deaths at Fort Carson here.
By Michael de Yoanna and Mark Benjamin
July 16, 2009 FORT CARSON, Colo. -- The harsh combat in Iraq, including potential war crimes that were witnessed by soldiers, contributed to a series of brutal murders by soldiers based at this Army post near Colorado Springs after they returned home, according to a hard-hitting Army study released Wednesday. Many of the findings in the study, which was announced by senior Army brass at a press conference on the post, mirror those in Salon's Coming Home series, which identified a pattern of preventable homicides and suicides at Fort Carson among soldiers who served in Iraq with combat stress and failed to receive proper medical treatment.
According to the report, "Survey data from this investigation suggest a possible association between increasing levels of combat exposure and risk for negative behavioral outcomes." The study also says that "combat intensity/exposure . . . may have increased the risk for violent behaviors" and that its "findings are consistent with recent research on combat exposure and subsequent behavior outcomes among Soldiers."
Salon's Coming Home series showed that soldiers who returned from combat duty with symptoms of stress were often ridiculed or otherwise discouraged from seeking help, were overmedicated or misdiagnosed, or chose to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol. Many had been deployed even though they were already displaying signs of combat stress. Additionally, some of the soldiers involved in violence against themselves or others had preexisting conditions that should have disqualified them from service, but were allowed into a military hard-pressed for new recruits via waivers.
read more here
The Army denies that combat stress causes homicide
An Army report seems to confirm a Salon investigation linking battle stress to murder. But the Army begs to differ
Editor's note: Read excerpts from the Army's report on homicides at Fort Carson here or download the full study here. Read Salon's Coming Home series about preventable deaths at Fort Carson here.
By Michael de Yoanna and Mark Benjamin
July 16, 2009 FORT CARSON, Colo. -- The harsh combat in Iraq, including potential war crimes that were witnessed by soldiers, contributed to a series of brutal murders by soldiers based at this Army post near Colorado Springs after they returned home, according to a hard-hitting Army study released Wednesday. Many of the findings in the study, which was announced by senior Army brass at a press conference on the post, mirror those in Salon's Coming Home series, which identified a pattern of preventable homicides and suicides at Fort Carson among soldiers who served in Iraq with combat stress and failed to receive proper medical treatment.
According to the report, "Survey data from this investigation suggest a possible association between increasing levels of combat exposure and risk for negative behavioral outcomes." The study also says that "combat intensity/exposure . . . may have increased the risk for violent behaviors" and that its "findings are consistent with recent research on combat exposure and subsequent behavior outcomes among Soldiers."
Salon's Coming Home series showed that soldiers who returned from combat duty with symptoms of stress were often ridiculed or otherwise discouraged from seeking help, were overmedicated or misdiagnosed, or chose to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol. Many had been deployed even though they were already displaying signs of combat stress. Additionally, some of the soldiers involved in violence against themselves or others had preexisting conditions that should have disqualified them from service, but were allowed into a military hard-pressed for new recruits via waivers.
read more here
The Army denies that combat stress causes homicide
Percentage of veterans with mental health problems jumps dramatically
This is stunning! Not that the numbers have increased this high, but that the VA still to this day does not understand it! That's the most stunning part of all.
The pamphlet I always refer to (over on the side bar of this blog) states clearly that most veterans will not seek help, realize they have a problem needing to be addressed until a year after they came home. This was about information known in 1978. For Heaven's sake will these people ever get it?
It has nothing to do with support or lack of support for the campaign itself. The troops are supported by the American public. This is clear and in direct response to the deplorable mistakes we made with the Vietnam veterans. The other known factor is the redeployments, which according to the Army's study, increases the risk of PTSD by 50%. Then you have the fact of the rate of traumatic events in Iraq and now being repeated in Afghanistan.
Think of it this way. I have no degree in mental health. I've just been paying attention for longer than most others have. If I could figure out in 2001 the number of Vietnam veterans needing help would increase after 9-11, they should have been able to as well. The trauma of 9-11 caused a secondary stressor to the extreme for Vietnam veterans to the point where even if they didn't understand what PTSD was, they would not be able to deny they needed help. They knew the flashbacks and nightmares were all about Vietnam so they sought help. The Internet played a role in all of this as well as more and more reports about PTSD came out. This was only the beginning of what I saw coming. After Afghanistan was invaded followed by Iraq, it was obvious that the numbers would mimic what we saw after Vietnam. Then came the Army study about redeployments and it was not that hard to figure out what the numbers would be. This is no surprise. Within the next two years were going to be seeing a million new veterans needing help with PTSD, that is if too many more don't commit suicide before the VA helps them.
I have a feeling we're very close to seeing those numbers sooner instead of later because of how little has been done to treat it right after they're involved in the events that will change their lives.
Now think of this,,,,
The pamphlet I always refer to (over on the side bar of this blog) states clearly that most veterans will not seek help, realize they have a problem needing to be addressed until a year after they came home. This was about information known in 1978. For Heaven's sake will these people ever get it?
It has nothing to do with support or lack of support for the campaign itself. The troops are supported by the American public. This is clear and in direct response to the deplorable mistakes we made with the Vietnam veterans. The other known factor is the redeployments, which according to the Army's study, increases the risk of PTSD by 50%. Then you have the fact of the rate of traumatic events in Iraq and now being repeated in Afghanistan.
Think of it this way. I have no degree in mental health. I've just been paying attention for longer than most others have. If I could figure out in 2001 the number of Vietnam veterans needing help would increase after 9-11, they should have been able to as well. The trauma of 9-11 caused a secondary stressor to the extreme for Vietnam veterans to the point where even if they didn't understand what PTSD was, they would not be able to deny they needed help. They knew the flashbacks and nightmares were all about Vietnam so they sought help. The Internet played a role in all of this as well as more and more reports about PTSD came out. This was only the beginning of what I saw coming. After Afghanistan was invaded followed by Iraq, it was obvious that the numbers would mimic what we saw after Vietnam. Then came the Army study about redeployments and it was not that hard to figure out what the numbers would be. This is no surprise. Within the next two years were going to be seeing a million new veterans needing help with PTSD, that is if too many more don't commit suicide before the VA helps them.
I have a feeling we're very close to seeing those numbers sooner instead of later because of how little has been done to treat it right after they're involved in the events that will change their lives.
Percentage of veterans with mental health problems jumps dramatically
1:00 PM, July 16, 2009
Jia-Rui Chong
About 37% of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have mental health problems, a nearly 50% increase from the last time the prevalence was calculated, according to a new study published today analyzing national Department of Veterans Affairs data.
The study, which examined the records of about 289,000 veterans who sought care at the VA between 2002 and 2008, also found higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
“What’s really striking is the dramatic acceleration in mental health diagnoses, particularly PTSD, after the beginning of the conflict in Iraq,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Karen Seal, a staff physician at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and an assistant professor at UC San Francisco.
The researchers said they could not pinpoint the exact causes of the increase, but suggested: “Waning public support and lower morale among troops may predispose returning veterans to mental health problems, as occurred during the Vietnam era.”
click link for more
Now think of this,,,,
Post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD (P-T-S-D), is an acquired mental condition that manifests itself following a psychologically distressing event outside the range of normal human experience. This disorder presumes that the person experienced a traumatic event or events involving actual or threatened death or injury to themselves or others, such as violence, abuse, or during a war.
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Bag of medals left at traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall in Bellingham
Bag of medals left at traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall in Bellingham
ISABELLE DILLS - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
BELLINGHAM — No one would have guessed the contents of a brown plastic bag with a camouflage design laid against the Veterans Traveling Tribute, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
The bag sat untouched, as are some other items left at the memorial, for almost two days before Shelley Prentice, the coordinator of the memorial’s visit, finally opened it. When she did, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
The bag contained five medals, including an Army Distinguished Service Cross — the nation’s second-highest military honor — and a Purple Heart, in their original blue tin cases.
“That’s just amazing,” Prentice said. “These are the highest medals you can get, short of the … Medal of Honor.”
Medals are occasionally left beside the traveling wall, a smaller replica of the memorial in Washington, D.C. The tradition of leaving items is believed to have begun in 1982 at The Wall in D.C. when someone put a Purple Heart in the concrete being poured during the memorial's construction, according to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Web site.
go here for more
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/top/story/990077.html
ISABELLE DILLS - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
BELLINGHAM — No one would have guessed the contents of a brown plastic bag with a camouflage design laid against the Veterans Traveling Tribute, a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
The bag sat untouched, as are some other items left at the memorial, for almost two days before Shelley Prentice, the coordinator of the memorial’s visit, finally opened it. When she did, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
The bag contained five medals, including an Army Distinguished Service Cross — the nation’s second-highest military honor — and a Purple Heart, in their original blue tin cases.
“That’s just amazing,” Prentice said. “These are the highest medals you can get, short of the … Medal of Honor.”
Medals are occasionally left beside the traveling wall, a smaller replica of the memorial in Washington, D.C. The tradition of leaving items is believed to have begun in 1982 at The Wall in D.C. when someone put a Purple Heart in the concrete being poured during the memorial's construction, according to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Web site.
go here for more
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/top/story/990077.html
Former POW speaks to Vietnam veterans
Former POW speaks to Vietnam veterans
By Jenny Wagner, Times Staff
Published: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 11:06 PM EDT
“The war is not over for many of us.”
Fred Elbert
U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran and former prisoner of war
ROCHESTER — Those who know Lance Cpl. Fred Elbert describe him as quiet and sincere, but the Vietnam veteran and former prisoner of war began his speech at the Vietnam Veterans of America meeting Wednesday with a proud, strong “Semper Fi.”
Elbert, 62, of East Liverpool, Ohio, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in October 1966, when he was 19.
“I was gung-ho,” he said. “I was trying to get into the National Guard.”
Elbert said the Army was sending troops directly to Vietnam after basic training, and when a recruiter told him he could use his aviation mechanics training in the Marine Corps, Elbert signed up. It didn’t turn out the was he expected, though.
read more here
http://www.timesonline.com/articles/2009/07/15/news/doc4a5e99227317c664590185.txt
By Jenny Wagner, Times Staff
Published: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 11:06 PM EDT
“The war is not over for many of us.”
Fred Elbert
U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran and former prisoner of war
ROCHESTER — Those who know Lance Cpl. Fred Elbert describe him as quiet and sincere, but the Vietnam veteran and former prisoner of war began his speech at the Vietnam Veterans of America meeting Wednesday with a proud, strong “Semper Fi.”
Elbert, 62, of East Liverpool, Ohio, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in October 1966, when he was 19.
“I was gung-ho,” he said. “I was trying to get into the National Guard.”
Elbert said the Army was sending troops directly to Vietnam after basic training, and when a recruiter told him he could use his aviation mechanics training in the Marine Corps, Elbert signed up. It didn’t turn out the was he expected, though.
read more here
http://www.timesonline.com/articles/2009/07/15/news/doc4a5e99227317c664590185.txt
Philadelphia V.A. hospital sued by Vietnam Vet
Philadelphia V.A. hospital sued!
July 15, 2009 (NewYorkInjuryNews.com - Injury News)
New Source: JusticeNewsFlash.com
Legal news for Pennsylvania Veteran’s Affairs medical malpractice lawyers.
Attorneys representing a Vietnam veteran sue Department of Veteran’s Affairs
Philadelphia, PA–The Philadelphia Inquirer reported a medical malpractice claim was filed against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by a Vietnam veteran. The veteran, 59 year-old Barry Lackro, filed the lawsuit after news broke about a certain Veterans Administration medical facility executing botched cancer treatments. There have been 92 cases in which the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, in Pennsylvania, admitted to administering an insufficient, or excessive, amount of radiation. Lackro was one of the 92 patient’s who received negligent care.
go here for more
Philadelphia V.A. hospital sued
July 15, 2009 (NewYorkInjuryNews.com - Injury News)
New Source: JusticeNewsFlash.com
Legal news for Pennsylvania Veteran’s Affairs medical malpractice lawyers.
Attorneys representing a Vietnam veteran sue Department of Veteran’s Affairs
Philadelphia, PA–The Philadelphia Inquirer reported a medical malpractice claim was filed against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by a Vietnam veteran. The veteran, 59 year-old Barry Lackro, filed the lawsuit after news broke about a certain Veterans Administration medical facility executing botched cancer treatments. There have been 92 cases in which the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, in Pennsylvania, admitted to administering an insufficient, or excessive, amount of radiation. Lackro was one of the 92 patient’s who received negligent care.
go here for more
Philadelphia V.A. hospital sued
Army vet killed in late night motorcycle crash
Army vet killed in late night motorcycle crash
Motorcyclist dies in crash 7-16-09
Slideshow
Danny Facto was killed Wednesday night in a motorcycle crash. This photo is from a 2006 story we did with Facto on PTSD. (NewsChannel 9, WSYR-TV) Cicero (WSYR-TV) - Sheriff's deputies are investigating a deadly motorcycle accident that happened late Wednesday night along East Taft Road in Cicero. 29-year-old Danny Facto, who lived on Areopagitica Avenue in Bridgeport, was killed. We're told Facto was traveling east on East Taft Road around 11:30 on Wednesday night when he lost control of his 2006 Harley Davidson motorcycle. The motorcycle skidded for about an eighth of a mile before coming to a rest. Deputies say the man suffered a massive head injury when his helmet shattered.
Motorcyclist dies in crash 7-16-09
Slideshow
Danny Facto was killed Wednesday night in a motorcycle crash. This photo is from a 2006 story we did with Facto on PTSD. (NewsChannel 9, WSYR-TV) Cicero (WSYR-TV) - Sheriff's deputies are investigating a deadly motorcycle accident that happened late Wednesday night along East Taft Road in Cicero. 29-year-old Danny Facto, who lived on Areopagitica Avenue in Bridgeport, was killed. We're told Facto was traveling east on East Taft Road around 11:30 on Wednesday night when he lost control of his 2006 Harley Davidson motorcycle. The motorcycle skidded for about an eighth of a mile before coming to a rest. Deputies say the man suffered a massive head injury when his helmet shattered.
Facto was an advocate for better treatment of veterans suffering from PTSD. NewsChannel 9's Dan Cummings did a story with Facto in 2006.
Danny's struggles with PTSD prompted his father to create a resource for veterans and families seeking help. To learn more about it, head here: http://www.veteransandfamilies.org/home.html
Army Times has some explaining to do
Nye is a Democrat and Rick Maze got it part right when he wrote
Just checked back and it looks like it was fixed,,,,
I've read Maze for a long time and frankly I'm a bit stunned he wrote "Republican" instead of Democrat on something as important as this is.Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Va.,
(but got it wrong here)
one of the Republicans trying to round up support to prevent the military and veterans benefits from being taxed
Rep. Glenn Nye (D-VA 2nd District)Now back to this article, we need to think that we've made it bad enough for our veterans when they have to wait so long to have claims approved, this would be appalling. Isn't it bad enough they don't receive a dime to live on until they get an approved claim? Isn't it bad enough most claims are low-balled instead of given a rating they truly deserve so they don't have to pay all the pro-rated back pay they really should pay? Isn't it bad enough that our veterans end up getting wounded serving the country then have to wonder how the hell they can pay their bills because of it while the VA figures out if they are "worthy" or not of paying? Well if that's all not bad enough, think of the slam this will do to them. Are our congress members out of their minds?
1st term Democrat from Virginia 2nd District.
Residence: Norfolk
Marital Status: Single
Prev. Occupation: Foreign Service Officer
Prev. Political Exp.: no prior elected office
Education: BS Georgetown University, 1996
Birthdate: 09/09/1974
Birthplace: Philadelphia, PA
Religion: Presbyterian
Percentage in Last Election: 52%
Major Opponent: Thelma Drake
http://congress.org/congressorg/bio/id/20157
Fight looms on military, VA health care taxes
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jul 16, 2009 11:28:50 EDT
A handful of House Republicans are gearing up for a fight to largely exempt military and veterans benefits from the broader health care reform movement.
Two issues are involved. One has to do with whether military and veterans benefits could be taxed in the same fashion as employer-provided health benefits, a proposal included in the 1,018-page health care bill being taken up by the House Education and Labor Committee.
A second question involves potential federally imposed limits on the types and cost of care covered by health insurance, limits that could apply to both direct care from military hospitals and clinics and from the Tricare health plan, as well as to direct care from the veterans health care system.
Republican aides, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they expect amendments will be offered to protect the military and veterans health plans. Exactly who will offer the amendments and what those amendments might say has not been determined.
This will pose a problem for Democrats, who fear that allowing any exemptions from the overall health reform effort opens the door for other changes that could undermine the legislation
“We believe that any health reform legislation must be fully paid for. However, it is untenable to put these costs on the backs of the men and women who are serving their country in the Armed Forces,” said Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Va., one of the Republicans trying to round up support to prevent the military and veterans benefits from being taxed.
go here for more
Fight looms on military, VA health care taxes
Just checked back and it looks like it was fixed,,,,
“We believe that any health reform legislation must be fully paid for. However, it is untenable to put these costs on the backs of the men and women who are serving their country in the Armed Forces,” said Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Va., one of the lawmakers trying to round up support to prevent the military and veterans benefits from being taxed.
Nam Guardian Angel now a Charter of the IFOC
Nam Guardian Angel now a Charter of the IFOC
It's official. Nam Guardian Angel is now a Charter of the International Fellowship of Chaplains and I could not be happier! I am so proud to be a Charter holder of this great organization.
As of July 1st, any donations made to me are tax deductible. Your support will keep my ministry going. To tell you the truth, this couldn't have come at a better time. It would be great to finally be able to at least break even on what it costs me to operate this site and Namguardianangel.com as well as what it costs me to be a Chaplain. It would be even better to be able to depend on some kind of a salary considering I work about 70 hours a week. But let's face it. Times are tough and no one has money right now.
If you can spare even $10.00 to donate it will help me pay down my debt since all this time, my expenses have been out of pocket. Donations have come in to cover the cost of sending out videos when I have to burn them, but have not come close to the other expenses. If you value having all these reports I track all in one place, please consider making a donation. If you can't make a donation, then please say a prayer for me that someone able to afford donating is touched enough to do it.
It's official. Nam Guardian Angel is now a Charter of the International Fellowship of Chaplains and I could not be happier! I am so proud to be a Charter holder of this great organization.
As of July 1st, any donations made to me are tax deductible. Your support will keep my ministry going. To tell you the truth, this couldn't have come at a better time. It would be great to finally be able to at least break even on what it costs me to operate this site and Namguardianangel.com as well as what it costs me to be a Chaplain. It would be even better to be able to depend on some kind of a salary considering I work about 70 hours a week. But let's face it. Times are tough and no one has money right now.
If you can spare even $10.00 to donate it will help me pay down my debt since all this time, my expenses have been out of pocket. Donations have come in to cover the cost of sending out videos when I have to burn them, but have not come close to the other expenses. If you value having all these reports I track all in one place, please consider making a donation. If you can't make a donation, then please say a prayer for me that someone able to afford donating is touched enough to do it.
Post-traumatic stress disorder hitting World War II vets
Yesterday's veterans are the same as today's veterans. It's not that they didn't know they had PTSD from combat. They just didn't know what it was. For anyone still out there saying that PTSD is an excuse for getting government money from the VA, explain why it is that so many veterans never sought money all these years while they were suffering! It blows that theory away. Talk to any family member of a WWII veteran, Korean War veteran or Vietnam veteran and you'll be able to understand how much they suffered, just as today's combat veterans are suffering. Now think what could be accomplished today if they receive the help they need to heal. Do you think for a second they would not want to return to as close to "normal" as possible even though they will receive either no disability checks or very low ones? They would take it in a heartbeat as long as they were being treated instead of suffering in silence the way the older veterans did.
For older veterans, it's too late to undo all they have carried but it's not too late to heal and restore "life" back into living. My husband did. Medication and therapy have helped him greatly and he went without help from 1971 when he came home until 1993. All those years lost even though I knew what PTSD was and was helping other veterans since 1982, he wouldn't listen. There were too few seeking help and no one he knew was going to the VA. That is, that he knew of. It turned out there were a lot more than he ever imagined because they just wouldn't talk about it. It took a trip to the Veteran's Center in Boston before he understood that what he was carrying in him was a wound from Vietnam. It happened to his nephew as well. He was a Vietnam veteran with PTSD but ended up committing suicide.
Read this report and please watch the video. If you have never seen Ken Burns, The War, try to find it on PBS and understand this wound is not about what they can gain from VA compensation, it's about what they lost because they didn't get the help they needed when they came home.
For older veterans, it's too late to undo all they have carried but it's not too late to heal and restore "life" back into living. My husband did. Medication and therapy have helped him greatly and he went without help from 1971 when he came home until 1993. All those years lost even though I knew what PTSD was and was helping other veterans since 1982, he wouldn't listen. There were too few seeking help and no one he knew was going to the VA. That is, that he knew of. It turned out there were a lot more than he ever imagined because they just wouldn't talk about it. It took a trip to the Veteran's Center in Boston before he understood that what he was carrying in him was a wound from Vietnam. It happened to his nephew as well. He was a Vietnam veteran with PTSD but ended up committing suicide.
Read this report and please watch the video. If you have never seen Ken Burns, The War, try to find it on PBS and understand this wound is not about what they can gain from VA compensation, it's about what they lost because they didn't get the help they needed when they came home.
Post-traumatic stress disorder hitting World War II vets
Posted by Brian Albrecht/Plain Dealer Reporter July 15, 2009 22:07PM
VIDEO: Peter Carnabuci, of Maple Heights, recalls scenes of combat and concentration camps during World War II that have troubled him in recent years.
World War II vet talks about post-traumatic stress disorder
They thought they had locked up the memories and thrown away the key.
Talking meant remembering, so many veterans of World War II didn't speak about the scenes of carnage and combat they saw more than 60 years ago. Not even to their wives or children.
Suck it up, lock it away.
Problem was, there was more than one key.
Decades later those visions of horror have seeped to the surface in nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety and emotional numbness -- symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
PTSD, more commonly associated with the war in Vietnam and the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, is showing up in veterans whose fighting days may be long gone but are far from forgotten.
The Department of Veterans Affairs' National Center for PTSD estimated that 1 in 20 of the nation's 2.5 million surviving World War II vets suffers from the disorder.
read more here
Post-traumatic stress disorder hitting World War II vets
Green Beret gets award for noncombat heroism
Green Beret gets award for noncombat heroism
By KEVIN MAURER
Associated Press Writer
Posted: 07/15/2009
FORT BRAGG, N.C.—In the final minutes of Sgt. James Treber's life, frigid water filling his armored truck, the 24-year-old freed a pinned comrade and shoved the man into the small air pocket he'd been using to breathe.
Treber didn't make it out of the canal in Afghanistan alive, but he saved another Special Forces soldier.
The Army presented his family with a Soldier's Medal—an award for heroism performed while not in combat.
"It is the beginning of the healing process," his father, Gordon Treber of Astoria, Ore., said Wednesday. He said earlier this week that he was proud of his son.
About 130 Soldier's Medals have been awarded since late 2001, according to military records.
Treber's father, stepmother, Nicole, and widow, Tamila attended the ceremony Wednesday at Fort Bragg in the memorial rock garden outside the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group's headquarters where 17 stones memorialize the members of the battalion killed in Afghanistan.
For Sgt. 1st Class Joseph A. Serna, the June 2008 day is a painful memory.
read more here
Green Beret gets award for noncombat heroism
By KEVIN MAURER
Associated Press Writer
Posted: 07/15/2009
FORT BRAGG, N.C.—In the final minutes of Sgt. James Treber's life, frigid water filling his armored truck, the 24-year-old freed a pinned comrade and shoved the man into the small air pocket he'd been using to breathe.
Treber didn't make it out of the canal in Afghanistan alive, but he saved another Special Forces soldier.
The Army presented his family with a Soldier's Medal—an award for heroism performed while not in combat.
"It is the beginning of the healing process," his father, Gordon Treber of Astoria, Ore., said Wednesday. He said earlier this week that he was proud of his son.
About 130 Soldier's Medals have been awarded since late 2001, according to military records.
Treber's father, stepmother, Nicole, and widow, Tamila attended the ceremony Wednesday at Fort Bragg in the memorial rock garden outside the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group's headquarters where 17 stones memorialize the members of the battalion killed in Afghanistan.
For Sgt. 1st Class Joseph A. Serna, the June 2008 day is a painful memory.
read more here
Green Beret gets award for noncombat heroism
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Getting worse before it gets better
On Sunday I did a post about my dog and the need for all of us to keep talking to our doctors, communicating with them so they get it right.
My dog has a serious disease and I promised to update on his condition. Brandon is his Vet's office and is staying there until he can walk again. He had to go there on Monday because he couldn't walk. His dizziness caused his head to move a lot while we were trying everything to carry him outside to relieve himself and we ended up dropping him. Plus at almost 90 pounds (huge Golden) he did a number on my already bad back. Monday he was in really bad shape. The Vet gave him medication to calm him down and get him more comfortable. Tuesday we went to visit him and he was still in bad shape.
Idiopathic vestibular disease gets worse before it gets better. The Vet told us that it usually lasts about two weeks.
Aside from missing him like crazy, it's really breaking my heart to know he is away from us and suffering right now. Well, today we went to visit him and he was a lot more alert. He was licking us the way he normally does, had a spark back in his eyes and they were not moving out of control the way they had been. He kept trying to give my husband his paw to high five while he was laying on the floor. I tried a few times to get him to stand up, but he couldn't. Now we're worried that we won't be able to bring him home tomorrow the way we thought we'd be able to. I know he's in the best place possible for him because the staff and the Vet adore him and will be able to take care of him better than we can, but he's my baby after all.
Sometimes illnesses have to get worse before they get better. It's very hard when this happens. Somehow we all manage to convince ourselves that once an illness is treated people turn the corner right away. That is not always the case. As with Brandon, he got worse even after treatment began because it is the nature of what he has. It's really the same thing with PTSD and it really frightens people. We all just expect treatment to take care of the symptoms and everything will be fine right away. We don't expect what comes.
As PTSD begins to gain control, emotions are frozen, trapped behind a wall to protect the person from feeling any more pain. The walls get thicker as time goes on. They become detached emotionally from everyone they once loved. When they begin to heal, there is a crack in their barrier wall. First emotions are trickling out and then comes the flood as the walls begin to come down once the soul knows it no longer has to defend itself. It seems like PTSD is getting worse at the same time the reality is it's getting better.
They cry a lot. They wonder why they can't seem to stop crying. In this case, crying is good. They are healing. Bruises look worse when they are getting better. They change color and spread out covering a larger area. Cuts end up looking really bad when infections are coming out and most of the time flesh gets itchy. Appearances of getting worse, when there is a lot of healing going on. It is the way the human body was created to work things out. The key is getting the right kind of help to make it all work the way it's supposed to.
There was a time when many of the illnesses we see today were not treated simply because they just didn't know how to. People died from what we can cure today. The body hasn't changed but treatment has simply because we know more about how it all fits and works. We got here because people were not willing to just settle for the way things were. They set out to change the outcome.
That's what healing is all about. Without help to heal PTSD, it gets worse. People died because they did not get the help they needed, ended up finding their hearts couldn't take the depression, lack of sleep, stress and endless flashbacks as real as the moments of trauma happening repeatedly. They drank themselves to death causing their livers to fail or causing fatal car accidents. They did drugs and died of overdoses or failures of their bodies to deal with the drugs. They also committed suicide. People found ways to understand and treat PTSD because they were not willing to simply settle for the same outcome. They ended up saving lives. Still there are many hard at work because the outcomes for far too many is not where it should be. Unacceptable outcomes have left too many suffering when they could be getting help.
The key is knowledge and knowing the person suffering when it's someone you love or knowing yourself when you know you are no longer the same. Communicate with the doctors so they find the right diagnosis and if your medication is not working, let them know. Don't feel as if you've had a set back if you find yourself with uncontrollable tears. There are years worth of pain that need to come out and be honored. Those walls didn't go up in a day and won't be fully pulled down that fast either.
Remember that sometimes healing is painful but the other side of the pain is waiting for you. It's a great place to be. My husband went from being a man dying a slow death to one alive again and feeling the beauty of a sunset and the excitement of seeing a shuttle launch cutting across the sky. Treatment and medication works to restore a lot of what you've been missing.
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but moments that take our breath away" I don't know who wrote this quote but I have it hanging in my house to remind me that it is not how long we're here, it's what we do when we're here that really matters. Why spend your days building the walls to protect your soul from pain when it ends up trapping out the joys as well? That is a life in existence and not one being lived.
Our dog Brandon, for non-dog owners, it's hard to understand that they are a part of the family. I call him my baby and he's 13. I know he doesn't have too much time left with us but the quality of his days matters more than the number of them. Once this illness has passed, he will be on the right medication for his spine and compressed discs and should be back to his old self. As long as I know he is enjoying his life, that's all that matters. Can any of us really ask for anything more than that? Enjoying our lives and living with the moments of pain so that we can feel joy as well?
Sunday, July 12, 2009
When doctors get it wrong, keep looking and talking
My dog has a serious disease and I promised to update on his condition. Brandon is his Vet's office and is staying there until he can walk again. He had to go there on Monday because he couldn't walk. His dizziness caused his head to move a lot while we were trying everything to carry him outside to relieve himself and we ended up dropping him. Plus at almost 90 pounds (huge Golden) he did a number on my already bad back. Monday he was in really bad shape. The Vet gave him medication to calm him down and get him more comfortable. Tuesday we went to visit him and he was still in bad shape.
Idiopathic vestibular disease gets worse before it gets better. The Vet told us that it usually lasts about two weeks.
Aside from missing him like crazy, it's really breaking my heart to know he is away from us and suffering right now. Well, today we went to visit him and he was a lot more alert. He was licking us the way he normally does, had a spark back in his eyes and they were not moving out of control the way they had been. He kept trying to give my husband his paw to high five while he was laying on the floor. I tried a few times to get him to stand up, but he couldn't. Now we're worried that we won't be able to bring him home tomorrow the way we thought we'd be able to. I know he's in the best place possible for him because the staff and the Vet adore him and will be able to take care of him better than we can, but he's my baby after all.
Sometimes illnesses have to get worse before they get better. It's very hard when this happens. Somehow we all manage to convince ourselves that once an illness is treated people turn the corner right away. That is not always the case. As with Brandon, he got worse even after treatment began because it is the nature of what he has. It's really the same thing with PTSD and it really frightens people. We all just expect treatment to take care of the symptoms and everything will be fine right away. We don't expect what comes.
As PTSD begins to gain control, emotions are frozen, trapped behind a wall to protect the person from feeling any more pain. The walls get thicker as time goes on. They become detached emotionally from everyone they once loved. When they begin to heal, there is a crack in their barrier wall. First emotions are trickling out and then comes the flood as the walls begin to come down once the soul knows it no longer has to defend itself. It seems like PTSD is getting worse at the same time the reality is it's getting better.
They cry a lot. They wonder why they can't seem to stop crying. In this case, crying is good. They are healing. Bruises look worse when they are getting better. They change color and spread out covering a larger area. Cuts end up looking really bad when infections are coming out and most of the time flesh gets itchy. Appearances of getting worse, when there is a lot of healing going on. It is the way the human body was created to work things out. The key is getting the right kind of help to make it all work the way it's supposed to.
There was a time when many of the illnesses we see today were not treated simply because they just didn't know how to. People died from what we can cure today. The body hasn't changed but treatment has simply because we know more about how it all fits and works. We got here because people were not willing to just settle for the way things were. They set out to change the outcome.
That's what healing is all about. Without help to heal PTSD, it gets worse. People died because they did not get the help they needed, ended up finding their hearts couldn't take the depression, lack of sleep, stress and endless flashbacks as real as the moments of trauma happening repeatedly. They drank themselves to death causing their livers to fail or causing fatal car accidents. They did drugs and died of overdoses or failures of their bodies to deal with the drugs. They also committed suicide. People found ways to understand and treat PTSD because they were not willing to simply settle for the same outcome. They ended up saving lives. Still there are many hard at work because the outcomes for far too many is not where it should be. Unacceptable outcomes have left too many suffering when they could be getting help.
The key is knowledge and knowing the person suffering when it's someone you love or knowing yourself when you know you are no longer the same. Communicate with the doctors so they find the right diagnosis and if your medication is not working, let them know. Don't feel as if you've had a set back if you find yourself with uncontrollable tears. There are years worth of pain that need to come out and be honored. Those walls didn't go up in a day and won't be fully pulled down that fast either.
Remember that sometimes healing is painful but the other side of the pain is waiting for you. It's a great place to be. My husband went from being a man dying a slow death to one alive again and feeling the beauty of a sunset and the excitement of seeing a shuttle launch cutting across the sky. Treatment and medication works to restore a lot of what you've been missing.
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but moments that take our breath away" I don't know who wrote this quote but I have it hanging in my house to remind me that it is not how long we're here, it's what we do when we're here that really matters. Why spend your days building the walls to protect your soul from pain when it ends up trapping out the joys as well? That is a life in existence and not one being lived.
Our dog Brandon, for non-dog owners, it's hard to understand that they are a part of the family. I call him my baby and he's 13. I know he doesn't have too much time left with us but the quality of his days matters more than the number of them. Once this illness has passed, he will be on the right medication for his spine and compressed discs and should be back to his old self. As long as I know he is enjoying his life, that's all that matters. Can any of us really ask for anything more than that? Enjoying our lives and living with the moments of pain so that we can feel joy as well?
Gates won’t ban tobacco on front lines
Gates won’t ban tobacco on front lines
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jul 15, 2009 18:00:32 EDT
Smokers on the front lines need not fear any effort to ban the habit — as long as Defense Secretary Robert Gates is on the job.
A recent report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, called for eliminating tobacco sales at all military installations and setting a “specific, mandatory date by which the military will be tobacco-free.”
But while Gates “shares [the report authors’] concern about the health and well-being of the force,” Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters Wednesday, “you should not expect him to take any action which would restrict the use of tobacco products by … our service members in conflict zones.”
read more here
Gates will not ban tobacco on front lines
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jul 15, 2009 18:00:32 EDT
Smokers on the front lines need not fear any effort to ban the habit — as long as Defense Secretary Robert Gates is on the job.
A recent report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, called for eliminating tobacco sales at all military installations and setting a “specific, mandatory date by which the military will be tobacco-free.”
But while Gates “shares [the report authors’] concern about the health and well-being of the force,” Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters Wednesday, “you should not expect him to take any action which would restrict the use of tobacco products by … our service members in conflict zones.”
read more here
Gates will not ban tobacco on front lines
Orlando 3rd 'meanest' city for homeless, study finds
Orlando 3rd 'meanest' city for homeless, study finds
Advocacy groups rank Top 10 cities that 'criminalize' homelessness
Kate Santich
Sentinel Staff Writer
July 14, 2009
The City Beautiful? How about "The City Mean"?
Two national advocacy groups for the homeless ranked Orlando as the third "meanest" city in the nation Tuesday, citing a trend toward criminalizing activities that come with living on the streets, such as sleeping in parks or panhandling.
In a report from the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty and the National Coalition for the Homeless, Orlando ranked behind Los Angeles and St. Petersburg on a Top 10 "meanest cities" list, which also included Gainesville (No. 5) and Bradenton (No. 9).
Although a city of Orlando spokeswoman called the label unfair, Tulin Ozdeger, the law center's civil-rights program director, said: "We're definitely seeing a prevalent attitude among many cities in Florida that encourages these ... criminalization measures. We think there needs to be a political shift in attitudes to move toward solutions instead of penalizing people."
read more here
Orlando 3rd meanest city for homeless, study finds
Just a reminder
FL 430 funded beds but 18,910 homeless veterans as of 2006 report
http://www.nchv.org/page.cfm?id=81
One of the biggest factors in Vietnam veterans becoming homeless was the fact that when they came home, there was a timeline to file claims of a year. With PTSD issues increasing since the time many of them came home, it took longer in too many cases for them to understand that what was "wrong" with them was connected to their service. To this day, we're still seeing Vietnam veterans seeking help from the VA for the first time. It's not that they suddenly found themselves needing help. It's because they didn't know what they needed help for or how to get it. I still have them asking what PTSD is. We did a lousy job getting Vietnam veterans help even though they were responsible for all the research and programs the VA and mental health community have right now. Let's not make the same mistake again because we're already seeing homeless Iraq and Afghanistan veterans needing help to heal. Not healing does lead to homelessness in too many of them.
The other issues on homelessness is the economy and lack of jobs. People in need of mental healthcare are also a factor. For all the reasons we can find for why people end up homeless, there are very few excuses we can come up to justify not helping them.
Wednesday's child is full of woe?
Wednesday's child is full of woe? Was Mother Goose right?
MONDAY'S CHILD IS FAIR OF FACE
by Mother Goose
Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go.
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child born on the Sabbath Day,
Is fair and wise and good and gay.
http://www.bethanyroberts.com/MondaysChildIsFairofFace.htm
For Suicide, Why Wednesday?
What is it about Wednesday?
Intriguing new research shows that Wednesday is the day of the week on which most suicides occur. That contradicts earlier, long-standing findings that Monday was the most common day for people to commit suicide.
The study looked at data about suicides nationwide among people over age 18; that number totaled 131,636 over five years. Almost a quarter of those suicides happened on Wednesdays, while only about 14 percent took place on Mondays. The fewest -- just over 11 percent -- occurred on Thursdays.
In keeping with previous research, this study showed that men were about three times as likely as women to attempt suicide and about three times as likely to succeed in their attempt.
It's very hard for a person not inclined to consider suicide to get inside the head of one who does contemplate killing him- or herself. So it's hard to know why people would choose Wednesday above all other days to commit such an act. The paper suggests that perhaps life's stresses build up by mid-week and seem most insurmountable on that day.The study suggests more research is needed; it would of course be good to figure this out. Because maybe if we understood their thinking, we could better help dissuade people from taking their own lives.
What do you think? What makes Wednesday stand out in this grim regard?
(Here's information about a nationwide network of suicide prevention hotlines.)
MONDAY'S CHILD IS FAIR OF FACE
by Mother Goose
Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go.
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child born on the Sabbath Day,
Is fair and wise and good and gay.
http://www.bethanyroberts.com/MondaysChildIsFairofFace.htm
Wounded Times was right about Michael Jackson before US Magazine
It's nice to be right before "reporters" are. I do suggest you go to the site to watch the video. It's better than the one I found online and posted on the original post. I still think that this accident could have set off PTSD and that would account for the changes in him.
linked from RawStory
How Michael Jackson's Pill Addiction Began
Wednesday July 15, 2009
The harrowing, never-before-seen footage of the singer's 1984 Pepsi commercial accident
Wednesday July 15, 2009
The harrowing, never-before-seen footage of the singer's 1984 Pepsi commercial accident
Usmagazine.com has exclusive, never-before-seen footage of Michael Jackson's Pepsi commercial accident, filmed in L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium on Jan. 27, 1984.
Look back at Michael Jackson's most unforgettable moments.
The clip (watch above) shows one take where the pyrotechnics exploded as planned -- after Jackson descended the stairs and began performing with his brothers.
See Michael Jackson's life in photos.
On the sixth take, though, things went horribly wrong: The fireworks erupted too early, igniting Jackson's head in flames. Jackson is at first unaware he's on fire, and continues dancing.
See 32 photos from inside Michel Jackson's Staples Center memorial.
He was never the same after the accident, reports the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands today.
How Michael Jackson's Pill Addiction Began
linked from RawStory
Monday, June 29, 2009
Is this the minute that changed Michael Jackson's life?
DOD:Non-comat death in Iraq
07/14/09 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Chief Warrant Officer Rodney A. Jarvis, 34, of Akron, Ohio, died July 13 in Baghdad of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 46th Engineer Battalion, 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Fort Polk, La.
Area soldier stricken by heart attack
By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 07:34 p.m. EDT, Jul 15, 2009
A heart attack Monday claimed the life of Akron native Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rodney A. Jarvis who was on his third tour in Iraq, his family said.
''He is a casualty of war,'' his sister, Robin Bacola of Munroe Falls said Wednesday. ''He gave his life just as if he were hit by a bullet.''
Jarvis was scheduled to come home to his wife and two daughters in Louisiana in September.
read more here
http://www.ohio.com/news/50897502.html
Congress turns up heat on burn pits
Congress turns up heat on burn pits
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jul 15, 2009 13:33:14 EDT
Two lawmakers have called upon the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, to determine if open-air burn pits for waste disposal in Iraq and Afghanistan are exposing troops to harm, as well as if there are any alternatives.
“Preliminary reports have indicated that fumes from these burn pits produce a considerable amount of contaminants that may cause short- and long-term harm to our service members serving in proximity to these operations,” wrote Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., in a letter dated July 9.
And on Tuesday, Feingold and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., proposed an amendment to the 2010 defense authorization bill that would “prohibit the disposal of covered waste in an open-air burn pit during a contingency operation lasting longer than one year” and would direct the secretary of defense to submit a report about what is burned in the pits and a plan for alternative options. The House has already passed a similar amendment in its version of the defense policy bill.
read more here
Congress turns up heat on burn pits
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jul 15, 2009 13:33:14 EDT
Two lawmakers have called upon the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, to determine if open-air burn pits for waste disposal in Iraq and Afghanistan are exposing troops to harm, as well as if there are any alternatives.
“Preliminary reports have indicated that fumes from these burn pits produce a considerable amount of contaminants that may cause short- and long-term harm to our service members serving in proximity to these operations,” wrote Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., in a letter dated July 9.
And on Tuesday, Feingold and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., proposed an amendment to the 2010 defense authorization bill that would “prohibit the disposal of covered waste in an open-air burn pit during a contingency operation lasting longer than one year” and would direct the secretary of defense to submit a report about what is burned in the pits and a plan for alternative options. The House has already passed a similar amendment in its version of the defense policy bill.
read more here
Congress turns up heat on burn pits
Mom of GI killed in Camp Liberty clinic shooting seeks info
Mom of GI killed in clinic shooting seeks info
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jul 15, 2009 14:05:38 EDT
FEDERALSBURG, Md. — The mother of a Maryland soldier killed with four others in a shooting at a mental health clinic in Iraq says she wants to know more about how her son died.
Shawna Machlinski says she filed a Freedom of Information Act request last month to get more details about the May shooting in which her son, 19-year-old Pfc. Michael Yates Jr. of Federalsburg, was killed.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/07/ap_mom_soldier_death_071509/
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jul 15, 2009 14:05:38 EDT
FEDERALSBURG, Md. — The mother of a Maryland soldier killed with four others in a shooting at a mental health clinic in Iraq says she wants to know more about how her son died.
Shawna Machlinski says she filed a Freedom of Information Act request last month to get more details about the May shooting in which her son, 19-year-old Pfc. Michael Yates Jr. of Federalsburg, was killed.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/07/ap_mom_soldier_death_071509/
Army: Accused Carson GIs faced intense combat
Army: Accused Carson GIs faced intense combat
P. Solomon Banda - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jul 15, 2009 13:30:36 EDT
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Soldiers from a Colorado unit accused in nearly a dozen slayings since returning home — including a couple gunned down as they put up a garage sale sign — could be showing a hostility fueled by intense combat in Iraq, where the troops suffered heavy losses and told of witnessing war crimes, the military said Wednesday.
The Army launched an investigation after soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division — nicknamed the Lethal Warriors — were accused in a spate of five killings around Colorado Springs, home to Fort Carson, in 2007 and 2008.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/07/ap_carson_study_071509/
P. Solomon Banda - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jul 15, 2009 13:30:36 EDT
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Soldiers from a Colorado unit accused in nearly a dozen slayings since returning home — including a couple gunned down as they put up a garage sale sign — could be showing a hostility fueled by intense combat in Iraq, where the troops suffered heavy losses and told of witnessing war crimes, the military said Wednesday.
The Army launched an investigation after soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division — nicknamed the Lethal Warriors — were accused in a spate of five killings around Colorado Springs, home to Fort Carson, in 2007 and 2008.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/07/ap_carson_study_071509/
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