Ministry of Defence admits to taking secret pictures of every soldier's body killed in Afghanistan and Iraq
By ROB PREECE
26 August 2012
The Ministry of Defence has admitted secretly taking photographs of the bodies of all British servicemen killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Soldiers' families have not been informed of the practice, which involves military police photographers opening body bags and taking pictures to be stored on a database.
The remains of more than 600 servicemen are believed to have been photographed, with many pictures showing severed body parts.
Read more
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Why am I worth less?
Why am I worth less?
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
August 26, 2012
I would really like to know why I am worth less than the people getting paid a lot of money to do what I do. I have reporters calling me all the time so they can write an article about what is going on with our troops and veterans. They don't have a clue so they turn to me for an easy way out. I have psychologists reading what I track and using my videos in their therapy sessions. Not one of them ever thinks to donate to the work I do. They work 5 days a week and get a pay check. I work on average 70 hours a week and do it every day.
Family members contact me all the time because they are not being told what they need to know more than veterans contact me because they are feeling hopeless as well. A great case to point out is there was a Mom contacting me a couple of years ago to help her and her son. He had already tried to commit suicide twice. I worked with her and her son for several months. She said I saved his life. Considering how it all turned out, she was right. Last I heard, he is happy and living a pretty good life. Once their crisis was long over with, I was in financial crisis and asked her for a donation. I guess she didn't think I deserved it because she wouldn't donate. Months of heartbreaking work, late night phone calls doing what paid therapists couldn't do for her and I wasn't worth anything to her.
This is Sunday morning and I am doing what I do instead of going to church. Most Sundays it is like this but this Sunday there is an extra burden on my shoulders. Friday I put out a call for help because I am in desperate need of donations. So far there have been two donations that total $45.00. I am over $3,500 in the hole right now.
Does this blog matter? Well considering how many read it, it must. Over 40,000 page views in the last month is a bit higher than normal. It is usually about 35,000, yet what you see on this blog is only part of what I do. There are emails, phone calls, meetings and filming events. Countless hours considering I end up working even when I am grocery shopping. There are bills to pay like my car, insurance, gas, tolls, computer expenses including the Internet, phone bills and the list goes on but somehow what I do is worth less.
What I do is not that expensive but while I do it for free, it is not free for me to do. There are ads on this blog but right now they bring in about $30.00 a month.
There are 80 followers on this blog and about 200 subscribers. If everyone donated $10.00 that would get me pretty close to breaking even.
That's it. That's all and I can't stop crying. If I helped you in the past, why won't you help me?
Point Man International Ministries IRS for
DBA Point Man of Winter Park #90-0749457
For Florida CH36936
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
August 26, 2012
I would really like to know why I am worth less than the people getting paid a lot of money to do what I do. I have reporters calling me all the time so they can write an article about what is going on with our troops and veterans. They don't have a clue so they turn to me for an easy way out. I have psychologists reading what I track and using my videos in their therapy sessions. Not one of them ever thinks to donate to the work I do. They work 5 days a week and get a pay check. I work on average 70 hours a week and do it every day.
Family members contact me all the time because they are not being told what they need to know more than veterans contact me because they are feeling hopeless as well. A great case to point out is there was a Mom contacting me a couple of years ago to help her and her son. He had already tried to commit suicide twice. I worked with her and her son for several months. She said I saved his life. Considering how it all turned out, she was right. Last I heard, he is happy and living a pretty good life. Once their crisis was long over with, I was in financial crisis and asked her for a donation. I guess she didn't think I deserved it because she wouldn't donate. Months of heartbreaking work, late night phone calls doing what paid therapists couldn't do for her and I wasn't worth anything to her.
This is Sunday morning and I am doing what I do instead of going to church. Most Sundays it is like this but this Sunday there is an extra burden on my shoulders. Friday I put out a call for help because I am in desperate need of donations. So far there have been two donations that total $45.00. I am over $3,500 in the hole right now.
Does this blog matter? Well considering how many read it, it must. Over 40,000 page views in the last month is a bit higher than normal. It is usually about 35,000, yet what you see on this blog is only part of what I do. There are emails, phone calls, meetings and filming events. Countless hours considering I end up working even when I am grocery shopping. There are bills to pay like my car, insurance, gas, tolls, computer expenses including the Internet, phone bills and the list goes on but somehow what I do is worth less.
What I do is not that expensive but while I do it for free, it is not free for me to do. There are ads on this blog but right now they bring in about $30.00 a month.
There are 80 followers on this blog and about 200 subscribers. If everyone donated $10.00 that would get me pretty close to breaking even.
That's it. That's all and I can't stop crying. If I helped you in the past, why won't you help me?
Point Man International Ministries IRS for
DBA Point Man of Winter Park #90-0749457
For Florida CH36936
Fort Carson Stepfather Arrested In Baby's Death
18th Homicide For Colorado Springs This Year
KRDO.com
Marie Madden
Aug 25, 2012
FORT CARSON, Colo
A stepfather was arrested in the death of a 10-month-old boy, according to Colorado Springs police.
The boy's parents called 911 Friday night when the baby went unconscious, officials said. Hospital officials noticed numerous bruises on the baby's torso and face.
Officials said the baby also suffered a fractured skull and a bleeding near the brain.
He was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit where he was pronounced dead, officials said.
read more here
The whys of military suicides and why we shouldn't still be asking why
The whys of military suicides and why we shouldn't still be asking why.
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
August 26, 2012
We can pretend all we want that military suicides are some kind of new manifestation but in doing so we fail all of them. I keep reading how the military has no clue what to do each time the monthly report shows more and more committed suicide the month before. While there are many attempts to prevent this hopelessness, none of them have worked.
They set up a suicide prevention hotline getting thousands of calls a month yet there are hundreds of attempted suicides. Who is asking why so many feel so desperate suicide seems to be the only way out?
The VA keeps one set of numbers. The DOD keeps another set of numbers with each branch keeping their own. Reporters think they have the whole truth, get up in arms over the ever increasing numbers and make headlines. Anyone reading these numbers believing they have a clue how bad it really is, is not doing their job.
This leaves us with people still having to write about what they know hoping and praying someone will finally listen.
The first step is to either end "resiliency training" or totally rework it because telling them they can train their brains to be mentally tough is part of the reasons there is still the stigma attached to Combat PTSD.
This is from Fort Bragg, the base with the most suicides this year. The catch is that this is from two years ago. It came out in 2010.
Piece by piece let's take a look at what they got wrong.
Substance abuse is yet another issue they do not understand. Sometimes they are actually addicted to the chemicals in alcohol and drugs. A rehab will help them along with a support program. However, while some also have PTSD with the addiction, they need to have both treated or neither attempt will work. Others are using drugs and alcohol so they can get numb, stop feeling, pass out at night and convince themselves they have fallen asleep instead of passing out.
This is true as far as they know. What is not factored in are the "unknown" attempts and successful suicides. Car "accidents" when only their vehicle is involved. Motorcycle "accidents" when their bike hits a tree or goes over a cliff or when they speed thru intersections. Do they know for sure it was an accident? No, they don't. Drug overdoses are never clear. Did they take too much because they forgot they already took their meds or did they take too many on purpose?
Again, this article came out two years ago clearly proving that what they are doing is not working.
You can click the link above for the rest of this report but I think you have the idea. As long as they are still pushing what has been proven to be a failure, we will keep seeing more and more suicides in the military and back home. We will keep hearing people ask "why" as long as reporters do not invest the time to look back and see if what they claim is true or not.
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
August 26, 2012
We can pretend all we want that military suicides are some kind of new manifestation but in doing so we fail all of them. I keep reading how the military has no clue what to do each time the monthly report shows more and more committed suicide the month before. While there are many attempts to prevent this hopelessness, none of them have worked.
They set up a suicide prevention hotline getting thousands of calls a month yet there are hundreds of attempted suicides. Who is asking why so many feel so desperate suicide seems to be the only way out?
The VA keeps one set of numbers. The DOD keeps another set of numbers with each branch keeping their own. Reporters think they have the whole truth, get up in arms over the ever increasing numbers and make headlines. Anyone reading these numbers believing they have a clue how bad it really is, is not doing their job.
This leaves us with people still having to write about what they know hoping and praying someone will finally listen.
Community Advisory Board: Henry - The whys of military suicides
Fay Observer
By Kelly Henry
Aug 24, 2012
Remove stigma of help Destigmatizing behavioral health treatment is essential as well. It does not matter how many resources are available if those who need them will not seek help for fear of being seen as weak.
Our force is at risk - our families, our friends, our neighbors and our community. Fort Bragg leads the Army this year in deaths by suicide. Physical rehabilitation following an injury is seen as essential to healing. Conditioning for a physically demanding task is essential as well. Both preventive and rehabilitative behavioral health must get the same emphasis, through all phases of the deployment cycle.
The headline on the Associated Press story, "July is deadliest month of 2012 for U.S. troops," didn't tell the whole story - July was deadly in more ways than one. In addition to the 40 killed in Afghanistan, another 38 are dead as a result of suspected or confirmed suicide. Why so many? How do we turn the tide? The Army's suicide rate is 22 percent higher this year than last. Could it be that the trauma of repeated combat exposure makes increased suicide risk an unavoidable artifact of war?
Three elements are necessary to complete suicide, according to a study, "Overcoming the fear of lethal injury: Evaluating suicidal behavior in the military through the lens of the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide," first published in Clinical Psychology Review. These include feeling that one does not belong with other people, feeling that one is a burden on others and an acquired capability to overcome the fear and pain associated with suicide. The authors postulate that combat exposure and military training give service members that acquired ability to a degree greater than their civilian counterparts.
read more here
The first step is to either end "resiliency training" or totally rework it because telling them they can train their brains to be mentally tough is part of the reasons there is still the stigma attached to Combat PTSD.
This is from Fort Bragg, the base with the most suicides this year. The catch is that this is from two years ago. It came out in 2010.
Piece by piece let's take a look at what they got wrong.
Fort Bragg officials discuss suicide preventionBattlemind Training began in 2008, the same idea of training their brains to be mentally tough. At issue here is when a soldier hears he can train his brain to be tough, he thinks PTSD is a sign of being mentally weak. If you have to train your brain to prevent PTSD, then they didn't train right if they end up "getting it" thus blocking any dialog with others they view as being tougher than they are. Whatever else this training had to offer went in one ear and out the other. They already got the message the DOD thinks PTSD is their fault.
July 30, 2010
By Tina Ray
FORT BRAGG, N.C. - With the number of suicides and attempted suicides on the rise Army-wide, officials got together for a roundtable discussion July 21, at the Soldier Support Center to address the issue.
According to the latest Army figures, there were 32 confirmed or suspected suicides in June alone, an increase of 22 from the previous month.
On Fort Bragg, there have been four confirmed suicides since Jan. 2, said Larry Holland, suicide prevention program manager with the Army Substance Abuse Program. Holland joined four others at the roundtable discussion.
Substance abuse is yet another issue they do not understand. Sometimes they are actually addicted to the chemicals in alcohol and drugs. A rehab will help them along with a support program. However, while some also have PTSD with the addiction, they need to have both treated or neither attempt will work. Others are using drugs and alcohol so they can get numb, stop feeling, pass out at night and convince themselves they have fallen asleep instead of passing out.
Statistically, for every suicide, there are 10 suicide attempts, Holland said.
This is true as far as they know. What is not factored in are the "unknown" attempts and successful suicides. Car "accidents" when only their vehicle is involved. Motorcycle "accidents" when their bike hits a tree or goes over a cliff or when they speed thru intersections. Do they know for sure it was an accident? No, they don't. Drug overdoses are never clear. Did they take too much because they forgot they already took their meds or did they take too many on purpose?
But, Fort Bragg is full of agencies and people willing to step in to deter the increasing number of suicides.
Again, this article came out two years ago clearly proving that what they are doing is not working.
From ASAP to primary health providers, from behavioral health and social work professionals to military Family life consultants, the help is there for Soldiers and Families who need it.Here is yet one more example. The "family" consultants may be able to talk to a spouse but not the parents. The unmarried soldier does not have someone to go to talk the therapist to help them know what to do. The therapist usually does not have a clue what combat PTSD really is and only studied it in a text book. Too many give limited advice and even more give the wrong information. Every week I am contacted by someone when it is too late to save someone they loved or a veteran on the verge. The common complaint is "no one told me" what they needed to know. Hint here, aside from living with PTSD for 30 years, I studied what the experts had to say and listened to other veterans for just as long. The information is all out there if they bothered to find it.
"The wonderful thing about Fort Bragg is that we have everything here that we need as a helping agency," said Emilee Owens, also a suicide prevention program manager at ASAP.This one shows yet again "what they have" not based on evidence. Fort Bragg has most Army suicides this year so for all of the claims they have "everything" the result has been deadly.
You can click the link above for the rest of this report but I think you have the idea. As long as they are still pushing what has been proven to be a failure, we will keep seeing more and more suicides in the military and back home. We will keep hearing people ask "why" as long as reporters do not invest the time to look back and see if what they claim is true or not.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Florida Veterans Charity Watchdog Committee
Vets group takes aim at sketchy solicitors
Panel works on guide to aid host retailers
Written by
R. Norman Moody
FLORIDA TODAY
MERRITT ISLAND — Former military-service members — determined to make sure that groups collecting money in the name of veterans are operating transparently — have formed a watchdog committee to come up with guidelines for soliciting in Brevard County.
The first meeting on Friday of the Veterans Charity Watchdog Committee came in the wake of a FLORIDA TODAY investigation that found some groups collecting money for veterans do not meet standard charity guidelines for how much actually goes toward veterans programs.
Skip Bateman, the committee chairman, said he has received calls inquiring about organizations that come from out of the area to solicit in Brevard. He said the FLORIDA TODAY stories propelled him and others at the Brevard Veterans Council to begin looking at what could be done to make sure money collected for veterans is going to veterans. They were joined by the Indian River Veterans Council president and others. read more here
Skip Bateman, left, chairs the Brevard Veterans Council. Bill Vagianos is vice-chair. / RIK JESSE/FLORIDA TODAY
Panel works on guide to aid host retailers
Written by
R. Norman Moody
FLORIDA TODAY
MERRITT ISLAND — Former military-service members — determined to make sure that groups collecting money in the name of veterans are operating transparently — have formed a watchdog committee to come up with guidelines for soliciting in Brevard County.
The first meeting on Friday of the Veterans Charity Watchdog Committee came in the wake of a FLORIDA TODAY investigation that found some groups collecting money for veterans do not meet standard charity guidelines for how much actually goes toward veterans programs.
Skip Bateman, the committee chairman, said he has received calls inquiring about organizations that come from out of the area to solicit in Brevard. He said the FLORIDA TODAY stories propelled him and others at the Brevard Veterans Council to begin looking at what could be done to make sure money collected for veterans is going to veterans. They were joined by the Indian River Veterans Council president and others. read more here
Skip Bateman, left, chairs the Brevard Veterans Council. Bill Vagianos is vice-chair. / RIK JESSE/FLORIDA TODAY
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