Moving beyond PTSD: help is available!
Holloman Air Force Base Public Affairs Office
Story by Staff Sgt. Carolyn Herrick
May 8, 2013
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. - An estimated 11 to 20 percent of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, 10 percent of veterans of the Gulf War, and 30 percent of Vietnam veterans suffer from PTSD, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Those percentages represent hundreds of thousands of military service members like Master Sgt. James Haskell, a former aerial gunner now stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., who was diagnosed with the disorder in October 2012.
"Different people respond to trauma different ways, so some things that may not be traumatic to one person, for someone else may be traumatic - it depends upon the person," said Maj. Phillip Howell, clinical psychologist and 49th Medical Operations Squadron mental health flight commander.
The basic indicators of PTSD, according to Howell, include a traumatic event and then either re-experiencing that event, avoiding things which remind them of the event, or hyper arousal. If they meet a certain number of criteria for those three symptoms, they are diagnosed with PTSD.
"The sooner you come in and get treated, the better the chances of you recovering," he said.
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Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Tim Lambesis arrested over alleged murder-for-hire plot
Christian heavy metal star Tim Lambesis arrested over alleged murder-for-hire plot
Ian Johnston
NBC News
May 8, 2013
Tim Lambesis, lead singer of the Grammy-nominated, Christian heavy metal band As I Lay Dying, has been arrested for allegedly trying to hire someone to kill his estranged wife, officials said Tuesday.
San Diego County Sheriff's Department said in a statement that it had received information Lambesis was “soliciting another individual” to murder his wife, Meggan.
According to court records, Meggan, filed for divorce in North County last September, NBCSanDiego.com reported.
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Ian Johnston
NBC News
May 8, 2013
Tim Lambesis, lead singer of the Grammy-nominated, Christian heavy metal band As I Lay Dying, has been arrested for allegedly trying to hire someone to kill his estranged wife, officials said Tuesday.
San Diego County Sheriff's Department said in a statement that it had received information Lambesis was “soliciting another individual” to murder his wife, Meggan.
According to court records, Meggan, filed for divorce in North County last September, NBCSanDiego.com reported.
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Lawmakers push to have Fort Hood massacre classified as Terror Attack
Lawmakers seek to reclassify Fort Hood shootings as terror attack
UPI
Published: May 7, 2013
WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- Three members of Congress asked the U.S. Defense Department again to classify the 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, a terrorist attack.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel this week, Reps Tom Rooney, R-Fla.; Chaka Fattah, D-Pa.; and Frank Wolf, R-Va., said the decision soon after the attack to treat it as workplace violence rather than a terrorist attack "has since resulted in an embarrassing lack of care and treatment by our military for the victims and their families," Stars and Stripes reported Monday.
Lawmakers and officials of the Obama administration have been at odds over the designation of the incident in which 14 people were killed and 32 more were wounded.
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UPI
Published: May 7, 2013
WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- Three members of Congress asked the U.S. Defense Department again to classify the 2009 shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, a terrorist attack.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel this week, Reps Tom Rooney, R-Fla.; Chaka Fattah, D-Pa.; and Frank Wolf, R-Va., said the decision soon after the attack to treat it as workplace violence rather than a terrorist attack "has since resulted in an embarrassing lack of care and treatment by our military for the victims and their families," Stars and Stripes reported Monday.
Lawmakers and officials of the Obama administration have been at odds over the designation of the incident in which 14 people were killed and 32 more were wounded.
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Green on Blue attack leaves two Marines dead along with dog that tried to save them
Parker Marine killed in action in Afghanistan, dog tried to save him
POSTED: 05/06/2013
By Ryan Parker
The Denver Post
A 23-year-old Marine from Parker — and the Military Working Dog that was trying to save him — were killed during a combat operation in Afghanistan's Farah province Saturday, Major Jeff Landis of the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command told The Denver Post on Monday.
Cpl. David Sonka and his dog, Flex, were killed during an alleged insider attack, the Marine Corps Times reported Monday.
Staff Sgt. Eric Christian, 39, of Warwick, N.Y., also was killed, Landis said.
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POSTED: 05/06/2013
By Ryan Parker
The Denver Post
A 23-year-old Marine from Parker — and the Military Working Dog that was trying to save him — were killed during a combat operation in Afghanistan's Farah province Saturday, Major Jeff Landis of the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command told The Denver Post on Monday.
Cpl. David Sonka and his dog, Flex, were killed during an alleged insider attack, the Marine Corps Times reported Monday.
Staff Sgt. Eric Christian, 39, of Warwick, N.Y., also was killed, Landis said.
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Marine Mom pleads for respect for families like her's after suicide
There are almost 500 families from last year alone with the same pain this Mom of a Marine had.
When the news reports came out, the National Guards and Reservists were not in the total of the numbers they released but I can assure you, the families included them.
Military suicide victims deserve respectTake a look at the numbers for last year for the Army, Army National Guards and Army Reserves.
I am a Gold Star mother. For those of you who do not know what that is, a Gold Star mother has a child who died in combat. There are many Gold Star mothers in the Lehigh Valley. Many of their children's names are engraved on military monuments, except for those who committed suicide. That means my son.
I am very upset that he gave his life to protect the USA and that this is how he is being treated. There have been more deaths among soldiers and Marines from suicide in the last year than fatalities in battle zones. What makes one death different from the other? My son did things and saw things that he should not have seen. He was buried with military honors. He deserves to be honored and acknowledged that his sacrifices stood for something. Marine Sgt. Christopher Scott Thomas was born Aug. 12, 1986, and died Dec. 15, 2008. How would you like to read your 22-year-old son's name instead of my son's name in that sentence?
Lynda Gehris
Springfield Township
Army Releases December 2012 and Calendar Year 2012 Suicide Information
The Army released suicide data today for the month of December and calendar year 2012. During December, among active-duty soldiers, there were seven potential suicides: three have been confirmed as suicides and four remain under investigation. For November, the Army reported 12 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers: four have been confirmed as suicides and eight remain under investigation. For 2012, there have been 182 potential active-duty suicides: 130 have been confirmed as suicides and 52 remain under investigation. Active-duty suicide number for 2011: 165 confirmed as suicides and no cases under investigation.
During December, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 15 potential suicides (10 Army National Guard and five Army Reserve): four have been confirmed as suicides and 11 remain under investigation. For November, among that same group, the Army reported 15 potential suicides (12 Army National Guard and three Army Reserve): 10 have been confirmed as suicides and five remain under investigation. For 2012, there have been 143 potential not on active-duty suicides (96 Army National Guard and 47 Army Reserve): 117 have been confirmed as suicides and 26 remain under investigation. Not on active-duty suicide numbers for 2011: 118 (82 Army National Guard and 36 Army Reserve) confirmed as suicides and no cases under investigation.
When the news reports came out, the National Guards and Reservists were not in the total of the numbers they released but I can assure you, the families included them.
Military Suicides Hit Record
During 2012, there also were 60 suicides among active-duty members of the Navy, 59 in the Air Force and 48 in the Marine Corps. Throughout the U.S. military, suicides increased by nearly 16 percent from 2011 to 2012, figures show. The Department of Defense has been issuing annual reports that track suicides since 2008, said spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith.
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