Retired Army chaplain still ministering for veterans

Retired Army chaplain still ministering for veterans
By Melissa Bower
Fort Leavenworth Lamp
Posted Aug 23, 2012

Chaplain Gary “Sam” Sanford feels strongly for veterans coping with post-combat issues and wounded warriors.

After all, he’s dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder himself as well as ministered to Soldiers for more than 30 years as an Army chaplain.

“Stuff from the past, you can never completely bury it, you never completely get rid of it, and that’s why I’ve got a heart for these guys dealing with PTSD, because I deal with some stuff myself,” he said.

Sporting his unit insignia-covered “God Rod” at military ceremonies, funerals and events, the 6-foot-4 chaplain is hard to miss. Although he has a couple of “God Rods,” the original was carved by a Soldier from the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Polk, La., in 1989. It began as a long wooden walking stick with a vine wrapped around it — originally a snake. The 5th were called the “Red Devils.” Over the years, military friends and Soldiers to whom he’s ministered have given him so many unit insignias that his original staff, like the chaplain himself, is coated in U.S. military history.

A retired colonel, Sanford served as an Army Reserve medic for six years before joining the Army chaplaincy. Wanting to be a youth minister, Sanford realized he could serve the largest youth group in the country — the U.S. Army. He served as an active-duty Army chaplain for 30 years.
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Expert says PTSD not sign of weakness

The latest news in PTSD is that prior life has more to do with ending up with PTSD. I haven't posted the "news" everyone else in the blog world seems to think is so important it needs to be spread around the world, because it is pure nonsense that has come up at least once a year since experts started to study PTSD. It is along the same line as the so called "experts" saying that TBI causes PTSD, which is something else that is pure BS. TBI is caused by a traumatic injury to the brain like being near an IED blowing up. PTSD comes from the traumatic event itself like surviving it when friends did not. Two different "wounds" from the same event.

This article sets the record straight.

Expert says PTSD not sign of weakness
By Melissa Bower
Fort Leavenworth Lamp
Posted Aug 23, 2012
Fort Leavenworth, Kan

A nationally renowned expert in post-traumatic stress disorder stands by her belief that PTSD is not a mental illness.

“Having issues with PTSD is not a sign of weakness,” Dr. Bridget Cantrell told members of the Fort Leavenworth community Aug. 20.

“It’s not a personality flaw, it’s not based on education, culture, rank … it’s not a mental illness, and I stand by that.”

Cantrell has her doctorate of philosophy in clinical psychology, works as a private mental health provider and also runs a nonprofit group, Hearts Toward Home International. Through her nonprofit group, Cantrell conducts mental health awareness seminars for the military. She visited Fort Leavenworth Aug. 20-21 to conduct a series of seminars for the Family Advocacy Program on post.
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130 Division Marines, Sailors Return from Afghanistan

130 Division Marines, Sailors Return from Afghanistan
The 1st Marine Division's headquarters battalion served seven months as the command element for NATO ground forces in Helman province.
August 22, 2012
By Sgt. Jacob Harrer, 1st Marine Division

First Lt. Christopher Mcquade, the tactical movement control center officer-in-charge with 1st Marine Division, holds his one-year-old son Landon. Credit: Lance Corporal Corey Dabney

Hours before sunrise, Amanda Saul waited at the barracks for her husband to return from Afghanistan. She had been awake for four days with excitement—the deployment was ending early.

Amanda, a 22-year-old native of Grand Junction, Colo., moved back to Colorado for the deployment and said she received much support from her family in the absence of her husband, Cpl. Jeremy K. Saul, an embarkation specialist with the 1st Marine Division's Headquarters Battalion. Though close to family, she appreciated her husband’s help with chores and was happy to finally have him back home.

“Being able to come home to someone every day makes a huge difference,” she explained.

Amanda is one of dozens of friends and families who gathered to welcome home more than 130 Marines and sailors of the unit. After serving for seven months as the command element for NATO ground forces in Helmand province, the Division returned during a homecoming event on base Wednesday.
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Making a federal case out of Hassan's beard is stupid

Shave him since he used to do it himself with no problem at all! All of a sudden he has a reason to have a beard?

Court Weighs Whether Fort Hood Shooting Suspect Should Be Forcibly Shaved
August 22, 2012
NPR
by EYDER PERALTA

During a hearing in front of a military appeals court, a panel of judges considered arguments on whether Fort Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Hassan should be forcibly shaved.

Hassan's murder trial has been put on hold while the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces decides on what to do about Hasan's beard. Hasan is charged with killing 13 people and wounding more than two dozen others in a shooting spree in November of 2009 at the Fort Hood Army post.

Lawyers for military judge Col. Gregory Gross made the argument that forced shavings are not unusual in the military.
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Making a federal case out of this is delaying justice for the families of the dead and the wounded he is accused shooting.

Cops find decapitated head of 2 year old in freezer

If you have a problem understanding why cops end up with PTSD too, read this and then think about what it was like for the cops to see it.

NJ mom who once lost custody decapitates son, 2
Posted: August 22, 2012
By KATHY MATHESON
Associated Press

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) - The 911 call from Chevonne Thomas was rambling and incoherent, but authorities said she made one thing clear: Her 2-year-old son had been stabbed, and "I did it."

What police found at her Camden rowhouse early Wednesday was even more horrifying.

Thomas had decapitated her son and placed his head in the freezer.

The 33-year-old mother later fatally stabbed herself after hanging up on emergency dispatchers, a violent end to a troubled life.

Thomas only recently regained custody of son Zahree after allegedly leaving the boy unattended in a car, telling police she had smoked marijuana laced with the hallucinogenic drug PCP and blacked out in a nearby park.

Distraught family members who arrived at the scene late Wednesday morning, shocked expressions on their faces, declined to comment. Some neighbors described strange behavior by Thomas, who had just moved to the street from elsewhere in the city. Others saw no evidence of problems.

"Because, had we known something was up, I'm quite sure all the neighbors on this block would have talked to her," said Tayari Horcey, who lives a few doors from Thomas. "But, you know, people hold stuff in. You don't know what's going on."

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