HDNet World Report Investigates an Alarming String of Murders Committed by Iraq War Veterans
HDNet logo. (PRNewsFoto/HDNet)
DENVER, CO UNITED STATES
Three-part story examines a cluster of 15 murders and attempted homicides committed by current and former soldiers at Ft. Carson, Colorado
'Ft. Carson Killings: The New Casualties of War' airs on HDNet, Tuesday, June 2 at 9:00 p.m. ET
DALLAS, May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- HDNet World Report, HDNet's award-winning weekly news program, presents a dramatic report about a string of 15 murders and attempted homicides committed by soldiers currently (or formerly) based at Fort Carson, CO.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080324/HDNETLOGO)
One base. Four years. Three attempted murders. Twelve murders. Some of the crimes involved loved ones, some were random, but what the murders have in common is that they were all committed by men just back from the war zone. Most of these men are from the same brigade that served in Iraq for a total of 24 months -- the 4th combat team of the 4th Infantry.
But, what is causing these men to kill? Critics say that Iraq veterans are coming home with severe PTSD and other mental problems caused by combat stress, but the Army isn't doing enough to ease them back into civilian life.
HDNet correspondent Carol McKinley, who reported from Iraq while with Fox News, obtained an exclusive jailhouse interview with Kenneth Eastridge, one of the men convicted for his part in a murder. Eastridge served two tours in Iraq, and says he returned from war with PTSD but was offered little if any help by the Army.
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The New Casualties of War =
Friday, May 29, 2009
McCormick Foundation give 2.6 million to Welcome Back Veterans
McCormick Foundation, Major League Baseball Announce $2.6 Million in Additional Grants for "Welcome Back Veterans"
Twelve recipient organizations will use funds to help returning vets and families stabilize lives and re-integrate into communities
CHICAGO, May 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The McCormick Foundation's Board of Directors has approved $2.6 million in 2009 grants as part of Welcome Back Veterans, a national public awareness and fundraising initiative to address the mental health and employment needs of America's veterans and their families. This brings the total amount awarded through Welcome Back Veterans to more than $5.5 million. A complete record of 2009 grants awarded is provided below.
Welcome Back Veterans has raised more than $4.5 million as of April 2009. An additional $2.2 million in matching funds has been provided by the McCormick Foundation (first $4 million raised matched at 50 cents on the dollar). With all administrative costs paid by Major League Baseball and the McCormick Foundation, more than $5.5 million has been distributed over the past year to 24 nonprofit agencies targeting veterans' greatest needs.
Welcome Back Veterans Grants - Mental Health
1. Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, Inc.
(New York) $250,000
For Home Again: Reaching Out, a family-focused outreach, community
education and mental health program offered to Operation Iraqi
Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) veterans and
their families in the Bronx.
2. Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies $135,000
For the Soldiers Project, which offers free, accessible confidential psychological treatment to OIF / OEF military service members and
their families.
3. National Center on Family Homelessness, Inc. (Newton, MA) $250,000
For Community Circles of Support for Veterans' Families, which
provides education, outreach, mental health treatment and
social support.
4. National Veterans Business Development Corporation
(Washington, D.C.) $300,000
For the TROOPS Activator, a Web-based technology that gives
veterans access to mental health treatment via their home computers.
5. North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System Foundation
(Great Neck, NY) $250,000
For PTSD / TBI treatment programs for military families on Long
Island and throughout the New York metro region.
6. Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, Inc.
(Washington, D.C.) $200,000
For suicide prevention for veterans with PTSD including long-term,
peer-based emotional support, crisis response and intervention.
7. USA Cares (Radcliff, KY) $300,000
For the Warrior Treatment Today program, which provides financial
assistance to veterans who enroll in in-patient PTSD and TBI programs.
Mental Health Total $1,685,000
go here for the rest
McCormick Foundation, Major League Baseball
Twelve recipient organizations will use funds to help returning vets and families stabilize lives and re-integrate into communities
CHICAGO, May 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The McCormick Foundation's Board of Directors has approved $2.6 million in 2009 grants as part of Welcome Back Veterans, a national public awareness and fundraising initiative to address the mental health and employment needs of America's veterans and their families. This brings the total amount awarded through Welcome Back Veterans to more than $5.5 million. A complete record of 2009 grants awarded is provided below.
Welcome Back Veterans has raised more than $4.5 million as of April 2009. An additional $2.2 million in matching funds has been provided by the McCormick Foundation (first $4 million raised matched at 50 cents on the dollar). With all administrative costs paid by Major League Baseball and the McCormick Foundation, more than $5.5 million has been distributed over the past year to 24 nonprofit agencies targeting veterans' greatest needs.
Welcome Back Veterans Grants - Mental Health
1. Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, Inc.
(New York) $250,000
For Home Again: Reaching Out, a family-focused outreach, community
education and mental health program offered to Operation Iraqi
Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) veterans and
their families in the Bronx.
2. Los Angeles Institute and Society for Psychoanalytic Studies $135,000
For the Soldiers Project, which offers free, accessible confidential psychological treatment to OIF / OEF military service members and
their families.
3. National Center on Family Homelessness, Inc. (Newton, MA) $250,000
For Community Circles of Support for Veterans' Families, which
provides education, outreach, mental health treatment and
social support.
4. National Veterans Business Development Corporation
(Washington, D.C.) $300,000
For the TROOPS Activator, a Web-based technology that gives
veterans access to mental health treatment via their home computers.
5. North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System Foundation
(Great Neck, NY) $250,000
For PTSD / TBI treatment programs for military families on Long
Island and throughout the New York metro region.
6. Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, Inc.
(Washington, D.C.) $200,000
For suicide prevention for veterans with PTSD including long-term,
peer-based emotional support, crisis response and intervention.
7. USA Cares (Radcliff, KY) $300,000
For the Warrior Treatment Today program, which provides financial
assistance to veterans who enroll in in-patient PTSD and TBI programs.
Mental Health Total $1,685,000
go here for the rest
McCormick Foundation, Major League Baseball
Error left thousands of military retirees out of Retro Pay
Military update:
DFAS: Error left thousands of military retirees out of Retro Pay
By Tom Philpott, Special to Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, May 30, 2009
As many as 39,000 disabled military retirees have been left out of the VA Retro Pay program by mistake, say officials at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service who are calculating the amount of money owed.
This latest and perhaps most serious gaffe in the problem-plagued VA Retro Pay project was uncovered after DFAS received a rising number of complaints from retirees. None had been screened for retroactive payment, but follow-up calculations confirmed that each had been underpaid.
VA Retro payments have ranged from a few hundred dollars to many thousands, depending on individual circumstance. All recipients have served in the military for 20 or more years and all have disabilities that qualified them for one of two relatively new disabled retiree entitlements: Combat-Related Special Compensation, which began in 2003, or Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay, which started in 2004.
The VA Retro Pay project began to identify retirees for lump-sum back payments in September 2006. The project became necessary because of difficulties in calculating initial payments to retirees under CRSC and CRDP, complex plans voted by Congress to begin to lift the ban on concurrent receipt of both military retirement and disability compensation. First up were to be full career retirees with combat-related injuries or severe disabilities.
go here for the rest
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=62992
DFAS: Error left thousands of military retirees out of Retro Pay
By Tom Philpott, Special to Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, May 30, 2009
As many as 39,000 disabled military retirees have been left out of the VA Retro Pay program by mistake, say officials at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service who are calculating the amount of money owed.
This latest and perhaps most serious gaffe in the problem-plagued VA Retro Pay project was uncovered after DFAS received a rising number of complaints from retirees. None had been screened for retroactive payment, but follow-up calculations confirmed that each had been underpaid.
VA Retro payments have ranged from a few hundred dollars to many thousands, depending on individual circumstance. All recipients have served in the military for 20 or more years and all have disabilities that qualified them for one of two relatively new disabled retiree entitlements: Combat-Related Special Compensation, which began in 2003, or Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay, which started in 2004.
The VA Retro Pay project began to identify retirees for lump-sum back payments in September 2006. The project became necessary because of difficulties in calculating initial payments to retirees under CRSC and CRDP, complex plans voted by Congress to begin to lift the ban on concurrent receipt of both military retirement and disability compensation. First up were to be full career retirees with combat-related injuries or severe disabilities.
go here for the rest
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=62992
Long Beach sees upswing in officer-involved shootings
Long Beach sees upswing in officer-involved shootings
Police have shot three people this week alone and nine so far this year. Officials say the incidents involved violent suspects who failed to comply with commands or threatened officers with weapons.
By Andrew Blankstein
May 29, 2009
Long Beach police are grappling with a string of officer-involved shootings in recent months, including three this week alone.
Five people were injured in officer-involved shootings during a seven-hour period from Wednesday afternoon to early Thursday, authorities said. One of the victims was a police officer apparently struck by "friendly fire."
So far this year, Long Beach police officers have shot nine people. By comparison, the Los Angeles Police Department -- with 10 times more officers -- reported nine officer-involved shootings, and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department -- also about 10 times as large -- reported 10 such shootings.
Long Beach police officials acknowledged it was an unusual number for a short period but noted the circumstances were different in each case and involved violent suspects who failed to comply with commands or threatened officers with weapons.
"It's hard to predict when we have these clusters," said department spokeswoman Jackie Bezart. "We are doing the best we can to maintain order like we always do and maintain safety for the citizens like we always do."
Long Beach has seen an increase in homicides so far this year, recording 10 as of May 1 compared to only two during the same period in 2008. But serious crimes overall in the city of 460,000 residents are up more modestly, about 2%.
go here for more
Long Beach sees upswing in officer-involved shootings
Police have shot three people this week alone and nine so far this year. Officials say the incidents involved violent suspects who failed to comply with commands or threatened officers with weapons.
By Andrew Blankstein
May 29, 2009
Long Beach police are grappling with a string of officer-involved shootings in recent months, including three this week alone.
Five people were injured in officer-involved shootings during a seven-hour period from Wednesday afternoon to early Thursday, authorities said. One of the victims was a police officer apparently struck by "friendly fire."
So far this year, Long Beach police officers have shot nine people. By comparison, the Los Angeles Police Department -- with 10 times more officers -- reported nine officer-involved shootings, and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department -- also about 10 times as large -- reported 10 such shootings.
Long Beach police officials acknowledged it was an unusual number for a short period but noted the circumstances were different in each case and involved violent suspects who failed to comply with commands or threatened officers with weapons.
"It's hard to predict when we have these clusters," said department spokeswoman Jackie Bezart. "We are doing the best we can to maintain order like we always do and maintain safety for the citizens like we always do."
Long Beach has seen an increase in homicides so far this year, recording 10 as of May 1 compared to only two during the same period in 2008. But serious crimes overall in the city of 460,000 residents are up more modestly, about 2%.
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Long Beach sees upswing in officer-involved shootings
UK:WWII veteran finally diagnosed with PTSD
Perhaps one of the most troubling things about PTSD is the lack of awareness veterans have. They may not know exactly what is "wrong" with them, the cause of their suffering, but they are acutely aware they are suffering. It is not just that they can remember in detail something that happened years ago, it's that they cannot forget any of it. How can they when nightmares bring it all back? When flashbacks bring it all back triggered by anniversaries of the event, smells, sounds, movies and TV reports?
All you need to do is to go to any of the memorials for the fallen and watch a veteran as he or she spots a name of someone they knew to witness the ravishing pain they carry while they are transported back in time to the days when they lived side by side.
PTSD is not new. It's as ancient as mankind. Throughout the centuries man has gone into combat and survivors have carried the scars within their soul. Read any account of military campaigns from ancient Romans and Greeks and see the wound. Read the Old Testament and the accounts of warriors from Moses, to Judges, Kings and the psalms of David. Read the accounts of Native Americans and see this wound exposed. There is no escaping PTSD unless we can escape being human.
The military is still attempting to train the troops to be "resilient" and toughen their minds to overcome PTSD but in the process they are telling the troops if they are wounded by PTSD, it's their own fault, they were too weak to prepare, they are mentally deficient and not as good as the rest of their company. The basis for this problem is that the military does not seem to have the ability to understand anything about PTSD to know what kind of damage they have been doing with program like Battlemind.
Battlemind begins by telling them they can prevent PTSD as if this is possible. Is it possible to stop being human? To stop being a caring person, sensitive to others? It is no more possible to prevent being wounded by PTSD than it is to repel a bullet headed for exposed body parts. The only thing they can prevent is PTSD claiming so much of the soul of the warrior that it become irreversible. While PTSD comes with different level of cuts, much like an infection eats away until antibiotics are applied, PTSD eats away at the individual until therapy is applied. Between the onslaught of the trauma and the time they begin to talk about it, it is claiming more and more of territory. One traumatic event followed by another cuts deeper into the soul. If the first cut is not treated the open wound allows a pathway for the invader to have free access.
We have to remember that PTSD does not come from within. It comes from an outside force and enters into the soldier. Much like PTSD enters into a police officer, firefighter, victim of crimes, accidents and natural disasters, the difference is the number of strikes received. Warriors are wounded deeper because of the number of times they come into contact with traumatic events. The cuts are more numerous than what a police officer or firefighter encounters but they also suffer from PTSD, yet we are more likely to understand the trauma affecting a civilian following a criminal act than understanding them being exposed to it over and over and over again.
George McMahon's actions 65 years ago were rewarded with the Military Cross and PTSD. He knew there was something wrong but was never treated for the wound he carried away with him. He is a testament to the heart of the warrior, strength to carry on while walking wounded through life and his family is testament to the suffering of families across generations also wounded by the wounded.
McMahon proved courage in battle eliminating any thoughts of the uninformed that PTSD has anything to do with not being courageous enough. He is also an example of it never being too late to seek help. The sooner treatment of this wound begins the better the outcome but even after 65 years there is hope of him healing some of the scars he has carried all these years.
All you need to do is to go to any of the memorials for the fallen and watch a veteran as he or she spots a name of someone they knew to witness the ravishing pain they carry while they are transported back in time to the days when they lived side by side.
PTSD is not new. It's as ancient as mankind. Throughout the centuries man has gone into combat and survivors have carried the scars within their soul. Read any account of military campaigns from ancient Romans and Greeks and see the wound. Read the Old Testament and the accounts of warriors from Moses, to Judges, Kings and the psalms of David. Read the accounts of Native Americans and see this wound exposed. There is no escaping PTSD unless we can escape being human.
The military is still attempting to train the troops to be "resilient" and toughen their minds to overcome PTSD but in the process they are telling the troops if they are wounded by PTSD, it's their own fault, they were too weak to prepare, they are mentally deficient and not as good as the rest of their company. The basis for this problem is that the military does not seem to have the ability to understand anything about PTSD to know what kind of damage they have been doing with program like Battlemind.
Battlemind begins by telling them they can prevent PTSD as if this is possible. Is it possible to stop being human? To stop being a caring person, sensitive to others? It is no more possible to prevent being wounded by PTSD than it is to repel a bullet headed for exposed body parts. The only thing they can prevent is PTSD claiming so much of the soul of the warrior that it become irreversible. While PTSD comes with different level of cuts, much like an infection eats away until antibiotics are applied, PTSD eats away at the individual until therapy is applied. Between the onslaught of the trauma and the time they begin to talk about it, it is claiming more and more of territory. One traumatic event followed by another cuts deeper into the soul. If the first cut is not treated the open wound allows a pathway for the invader to have free access.
We have to remember that PTSD does not come from within. It comes from an outside force and enters into the soldier. Much like PTSD enters into a police officer, firefighter, victim of crimes, accidents and natural disasters, the difference is the number of strikes received. Warriors are wounded deeper because of the number of times they come into contact with traumatic events. The cuts are more numerous than what a police officer or firefighter encounters but they also suffer from PTSD, yet we are more likely to understand the trauma affecting a civilian following a criminal act than understanding them being exposed to it over and over and over again.
George McMahon's actions 65 years ago were rewarded with the Military Cross and PTSD. He knew there was something wrong but was never treated for the wound he carried away with him. He is a testament to the heart of the warrior, strength to carry on while walking wounded through life and his family is testament to the suffering of families across generations also wounded by the wounded.
McMahon proved courage in battle eliminating any thoughts of the uninformed that PTSD has anything to do with not being courageous enough. He is also an example of it never being too late to seek help. The sooner treatment of this wound begins the better the outcome but even after 65 years there is hope of him healing some of the scars he has carried all these years.
Mr McMahon's son-in-law Bill Tyson, 54, said: "They told us George is likely to be suffering from PTSD.
"Personally, I feel guilty that he has suffered for so many years without us realising it.
WWII vet told he has war illness
By STAFF REPORTER
A D-DAY hero has been told he is suffering a stress related illness picked up in battle — 65 years AFTER he was the first Brit to storm an enemy beach.
WWII vet George McMahon, who was the first soldier on Sword Beach in Normandy, France, had revealed he is still suffering terrifying flashbacks from June 6, 1944.
And Army docs have told the 89-year-old war hero he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) picked up during WWII.
Mr McMahon's family first sought help from docs when the ex-soldier talked vividly about the war in the lead-up to the 65th anniversary of D-Day.
Mr McMahon of Kirk Ella, Hull, was then visited by the Service Personnel and Veterans' Agency — part of the Ministry of Defence — who said he was displaying PTSD symptoms.
The Scotland-born Army vet who served with The King's Regiment Army was awarded the Military Cross for storming two machine-guns.
He said of his D-day flashbacks: "It is still so fresh in my mind. It is the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning.
"I was the first man to land. I was not going to wait to be shot, so I jumped off the side of the landing craft into the water and ran."
Although not able to discuss Mr McMahon's case MoD officials said: "Anniversaries tend to trigger an increase in people coming forward for help to deal with their trauma.
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WWII vet told he has war illness
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