Survivor Guilt Related to PTSD
River Journal
By Michael Harmelin
08/07/2012
There are all kinds of trauma for veterans.... even for those who didn't serve in a combat zone
With the latest information in the news stating that more veterans have committed suicide than have died in Afghanistan this year, it raises some interesting questions/thoughts.
According to the June 8, 2012, article on page A4 of The Spokesman-Review, “154 suicides for active-duty troops in the first 155 days of the year far outdistance the U.S. forces killed in action in Afghanistan—by about 50 percent more—according to Pentagon statistics obtained by the Associated Press.” And further in the article, “Army data suggest soldiers with multiple combat tours are at greater risk of committing suicide, although a substantial proportion of Army suicides are committed by soldiers who never deployed.”
I suggest that perhaps the military needs to look at the effect that Survivor Guilt for non-deployed members of the military has on them, as it relates to this apparent upswing in suicides in the military. For instance, hypothetically, a male or female member of the military trains with the same personnel through Basic Training and then on through Advanced Individual Training.
When it comes time for deployment to a “combat zone,” one or more of the group is not sent into a “combat zone,” and as a matter of fact, is not deployed outside of the U.S. (CONUS). The individual(s) then receives reports from the “combat zone” that a number of his/her close friends/comrades have been killed and/or have lost limbs, while he/she is safely out of harm’s way. Sure, he/she could have been deployed, but they weren’t. Now, after hearing the aforementioned report, he/she begins to feel guilty; guilty that they not only survived, but didn’t even have to go anywhere near a war zone.
This “Survivor Guilt” intensifies to the point where the non combat veteran believes that if he/she had been with their buddies, perhaps they could have prevented some or all of the deaths of their friends.
read more here
Saturday, August 11, 2012
New Little Rock VA Director shocked by conditions at VA Home
While this report is well written, it doesn't come close to what it actually looks like to the veterans living with all of this. I urge you to go to the link and watch the video for yourself.
Dilapidated Veterans Home Will Not Be Repaired
Aug 09, 2012
By Janelle Lilley
Reporter
KATV
"When I saw the plumbing I thought, my gosh how have we been able to function? How has it lasted as long as it has? You saw it and it's disgusting," said Veterans Affairs Director Cissy Rucker.
When Rucker came to the VA two months ago, she knew she had inherited problems, but even she was shocked at the extent.
White debris of toilet paper covers the floor of the boiler room, left over from the countless times sewage has overflowed. The 60-year-old plumbing is barely working and heating and air are in poor condition according to a building inspectors report.
"You know the people who live here deserve better, and if we can bring this to light and do something about it then it's worth it," said Rucker.
Mike Hampton of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association saw the problems for himself Tuesday while touring the facility.
"What it drives home to me is our government the legislators, the governor, people that actually control the money here haven't taken care of them," said Hampton.
There is no doubt that VA funds have been mismanaged in the past.
read more here
Another Afghan police officer kills 3 U.S. Marines
UPDATES August 12, 2012
Son of Santa Clara County judge killed in action in Afghanistan
By Tracey Kaplan
Mercury News
Posted:08/11/2012
Five years ago, a blast from an improvised explosive device slammed into Capt. Matt Manoukian. Even with a debilitating concussion, the Marine leader scrambled to the aid of one of his men, quickly applying a tourniquet to his leg that saved the soldier's life.
But Manoukian's bravery and resourcefulness couldn't save him this week from a surprise attack in southern Afghanistan by an insurgent disguised as an Afghan policeman.
Manoukian, the 29-year-old son of a Santa Clara County judge and state appellate court justice, and two other Marines were fatally shot after a pre-dawn meal and security meeting at a police checkpoint. It was the third attack on coalition forces by their Afghan counterparts in a week.
The meal took place before dawn because of Ramadan, the month in which Muslims abstain from food during daylight hours. Manoukian's father, Judge Socrates "Pete" Manoukian, said Friday that his son was observing the holiday out of profound respect for the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, whom he made a point to get to know during his four tours of duty.
"He was very into their culture," the judge said. "He managed to learn Arabic and worked on opening up a school and setting up a police station and got a courthouse running with some of his people. He even taught little kids to play baseball after one of our friends sent baseballs and bats.
read more here
Son of Santa Clara County judge killed in action in Afghanistan
By Tracey Kaplan
Mercury News
Posted:08/11/2012
Five years ago, a blast from an improvised explosive device slammed into Capt. Matt Manoukian. Even with a debilitating concussion, the Marine leader scrambled to the aid of one of his men, quickly applying a tourniquet to his leg that saved the soldier's life.
But Manoukian's bravery and resourcefulness couldn't save him this week from a surprise attack in southern Afghanistan by an insurgent disguised as an Afghan policeman.
Manoukian, the 29-year-old son of a Santa Clara County judge and state appellate court justice, and two other Marines were fatally shot after a pre-dawn meal and security meeting at a police checkpoint. It was the third attack on coalition forces by their Afghan counterparts in a week.
The meal took place before dawn because of Ramadan, the month in which Muslims abstain from food during daylight hours. Manoukian's father, Judge Socrates "Pete" Manoukian, said Friday that his son was observing the holiday out of profound respect for the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, whom he made a point to get to know during his four tours of duty.
"He was very into their culture," the judge said. "He managed to learn Arabic and worked on opening up a school and setting up a police station and got a courthouse running with some of his people. He even taught little kids to play baseball after one of our friends sent baseballs and bats.
read more here
6 Americans killed in one day in Afghanistan
By Deb Riechmann
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Aug 11, 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan working on an installation shared by Afghan and foreign forces shot to death three U.S. service members, raising to six the number of Americans killed by their Afghan partners in a single day, officials said Saturday.
The newly announced killings took place Friday, the same day that an Afghan policeman gunned down three U.S. Marines in a separate attack in southern Afghanistan.
Such assaults are on the rise and have heightened mistrust between foreign forces and the Afghan soldiers, police and others they are training and mentoring.
Four of the attacks occurred in the past week, raising questions about the safety of international trainers more than 10 years into the war. The U.S.-led coalition insists the attacks do not represent the overall security situation in Afghanistan and that they have not impeded ongoing work to hand over security to Afghan forces by the end of 2014.
Most of the attacks have been carried out by Afghan police and soldiers or militants wearing their uniforms. There have been 26 such attacks so far this year, resulting in 34 deaths, according to the U.S.-led coalition.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks on Friday in Helmand province — an area of the south where insurgents have wielded their greatest influence.
read more here
Afghan police officer kills 3 U.S. Marines
By Kay Johnson
Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan police officer shot and killed three U.S. Marines after sharing a meal with them before dawn Friday and then fled into the desolate darkness of southern Afghanistan, the third attack on coalition forces by their Afghan counterparts in a week.
Thirty-one coalition service members have now died this year at the hands of Afghan forces or insurgents disguised in Afghan uniforms, according to NATO— a dramatic rise from previous years.
The assaults have cast a shadow of fear and mistrust over U.S. efforts to train Afghan soldiers and police more than 10 years after the U.S.-led invasion to topple the Taliban's hardline Islamist regime for sheltering al-Qaeda's leadership. The attacks also raise further doubts about the quality of the Afghan forces taking over in many areas before most international troops leave the country in 2014.
read more here
also
Afghanistan Sacks Its Security Chiefs: How Will That Affect U.S. Forces?
The parliamentary denoucement of the ministers of defense and the interior may be a sign of Afghan democracy at work but it makes the security situation much more volatile for U.S. forces preparing to withdraw
Spc. Jacob Andrews who died of suicide to receive long-sought combat recognition
GI who died of suicide to receive long-sought combat recognition
By JENNIFER HLAD
Stars and Stripes
Published: August 10, 2012
WASHINGTON — Spc. Jacob Andrews was the only soldier in his platoon who wasn’t awarded the combat infantryman badge, though his unit mates insisted he earned it.
Now, two years after Andrews was discharged from the Army and more than a year after he committed suicide, his family will finally be able to pin the treasured CIB on his Class A service uniform — thanks to the perseverance of an Army officer who never met him.
Andrews suffered a traumatic brain injury during his 2009 deployment to Afghanistan and struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after he returned, though neither was diagnosed until he was discharged in Sept. 2010 after a string of alcohol-related incidents and arguments with his superiors. He hanged himself with a climbing rope in the woods near his childhood home seven months later. He was 22.
His girlfriend, Ashley Mercante, gave birth to his son, whom they call Baby Jake, on Oct. 31, 2011.
Friends and family members contend that the Army, rather than ushering Andrews out of the service, should have seen that his behavior was caused by the unseen wounds he brought home from Afghanistan.
read more here
By JENNIFER HLAD
Stars and Stripes
Published: August 10, 2012
Former Army Spc. Jacob Andrews in a photo taken during his deployment to Afghanistan during 2009. Andrews committed suicide in April 2011 shortly after he was kicked out of the Army amid a confluence of mental health issues and behavioral problems.
COURTESY OF LAURI TURNER
WASHINGTON — Spc. Jacob Andrews was the only soldier in his platoon who wasn’t awarded the combat infantryman badge, though his unit mates insisted he earned it.
Now, two years after Andrews was discharged from the Army and more than a year after he committed suicide, his family will finally be able to pin the treasured CIB on his Class A service uniform — thanks to the perseverance of an Army officer who never met him.
Andrews suffered a traumatic brain injury during his 2009 deployment to Afghanistan and struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after he returned, though neither was diagnosed until he was discharged in Sept. 2010 after a string of alcohol-related incidents and arguments with his superiors. He hanged himself with a climbing rope in the woods near his childhood home seven months later. He was 22.
His girlfriend, Ashley Mercante, gave birth to his son, whom they call Baby Jake, on Oct. 31, 2011.
Friends and family members contend that the Army, rather than ushering Andrews out of the service, should have seen that his behavior was caused by the unseen wounds he brought home from Afghanistan.
read more here
Friday, August 10, 2012
Veterans all decided to surrender the "civilian"
Veterans all decided to surrender the "civilian"
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
August 10, 2012
When ACLU defended Westboro hate group against military families, I said what I had to say then moved onto something else. At least I thought I did. It really got to me.
I sat and thought about how much veterans gave up so that others could keep the rights they have. Gave up? Yes, they did. I think that is what has this issue so stuck in my head that I even thought about it taking a shower just now. (You all know I'm odd like that.)
Westboro wants the right to say whatever they want and scream free speech. That's fine with everyone. No one is trying to stop them for proving what a bunch of hateful, anti-Christians they really are and no one can stop me from saying that but the right to say whatever we want in something the veterans gave up when they served in the military. They couldn't say whatever they wanted. They had to follow orders and do what they were told. They ate what they were given, wore the clothes they were issued, slept where they were told to sleep and go where they were told to go for however long they were told to be there and doing whatever they were told to do.
They all decided to surrender the "civilian" the day they joined or were drafted. Yes, one more thing we can't seem to understand is the men drafted into the military during a time of war had the choice to serve or take off to another country or hide. The day they entered into the military, their civilian life was over. They would never again be civilian. They all became "Veteran" and only 8% of the population know what that is like.
We hear about the 1% of the population (the richest) needing so much protection from the congress but we don't hear about the 8% of the population being held in such high esteem folks on FOX, MSNBC and CNN spend countless hours reporting on them. We do hear a lot about politicians but no one seems to understand they are among the richest in this country and part of the 1% they are all talking about. Ok, so a few are not making over $250,000 but when you think about their salaries from congress alone, you see what I'm getting at.
Here is the pay scale for soldiers
But while congressmen can go back home and use their "jobs" as leverage for connections and power, more money and better retirement package, a soldier goes back home and his life is forever changed, yet they are the last ones to complain about it.
They have a hard time finding jobs, getting into college and staying there, just like everyone else but the difference is, they are the only people who really know what price is paid for every history report they have to read.
8% of the population at one time or another, gave up all rights they had so that others would never lose theirs. Pretty incredible when you think about it.
But in this day and age, the ACLU comes out and says that a group of hateful people have the right to protest at a military funeral and they have as much right to do it as the family burying someone who died to defend that right but have the right to force the family to hear them.
God Bless Patriot Guard Riders!
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
August 10, 2012
I sat and thought about how much veterans gave up so that others could keep the rights they have. Gave up? Yes, they did. I think that is what has this issue so stuck in my head that I even thought about it taking a shower just now. (You all know I'm odd like that.)
Westboro wants the right to say whatever they want and scream free speech. That's fine with everyone. No one is trying to stop them for proving what a bunch of hateful, anti-Christians they really are and no one can stop me from saying that but the right to say whatever we want in something the veterans gave up when they served in the military. They couldn't say whatever they wanted. They had to follow orders and do what they were told. They ate what they were given, wore the clothes they were issued, slept where they were told to sleep and go where they were told to go for however long they were told to be there and doing whatever they were told to do.
They all decided to surrender the "civilian" the day they joined or were drafted. Yes, one more thing we can't seem to understand is the men drafted into the military during a time of war had the choice to serve or take off to another country or hide. The day they entered into the military, their civilian life was over. They would never again be civilian. They all became "Veteran" and only 8% of the population know what that is like.
We hear about the 1% of the population (the richest) needing so much protection from the congress but we don't hear about the 8% of the population being held in such high esteem folks on FOX, MSNBC and CNN spend countless hours reporting on them. We do hear a lot about politicians but no one seems to understand they are among the richest in this country and part of the 1% they are all talking about. Ok, so a few are not making over $250,000 but when you think about their salaries from congress alone, you see what I'm getting at.
The Average Joe of Congress (there are 529 of them) gets paid $174,000 per year. But not everyone is average; the Speaker of the House gets $223,500 a year, while the majority and minority leaders of both the Senate and the House, along with the President Pro Tempore, get paid $193,400 per year. Not bad, huh?
Here is the pay scale for soldiers
But while congressmen can go back home and use their "jobs" as leverage for connections and power, more money and better retirement package, a soldier goes back home and his life is forever changed, yet they are the last ones to complain about it.
They have a hard time finding jobs, getting into college and staying there, just like everyone else but the difference is, they are the only people who really know what price is paid for every history report they have to read.
8% of the population at one time or another, gave up all rights they had so that others would never lose theirs. Pretty incredible when you think about it.
But in this day and age, the ACLU comes out and says that a group of hateful people have the right to protest at a military funeral and they have as much right to do it as the family burying someone who died to defend that right but have the right to force the family to hear them.
God Bless Patriot Guard Riders!
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