PTSD Soldier Says "Only Way to Beat That Enemy Is Ask For Help"

Benning soldier says battling suicidal feelings is tougher than combat
The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Tribune)
By Chuck Williams
Published: September 9, 2016

“You realize that you are truly facing an enemy that you cannot defeat by yourself — an enemy that knows every secret, every weak point and every ounce of guilt inside you. The only way to beat that enemy is to call for help.”
Staff Sgt. David Mensink

As an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team leader, Army Staff Sgt. David Mensink was trained to deal with volatile situations.

Staff Sgt. David Mensink is shown in this 2010 file photo. U.S. ARMY PHOTO

But the 28-year-old Missouri native assigned to Fort Benning wasn’t trained to deal with the demons that led him to take 57 sleeping pills nearly three months ago in an attempt to end his life.

Thursday, Mensink received the Soldier’s Medal, the highest honor a soldier can receive for an act of valor in a non-combat situation, for his actions at a Birmingham, Ala., hospital when he removed a live grenade from a man’s leg.

Instead of talking about those actions nearly two years ago, Mensink used what should have been his moment of glory to talk about his darkest hour and what has become an urgent military issue: suicide.

“I have personally been pinned down by enemy fire, blown up, have had buddies die in front of me, and I have never felt more embattled than those days I sat alone in my driveway, hours on end, wishing I could do better and wishing I could ask for help,” Mensink told about 75 soldiers at the Maneuver Center of Excellence’s Derby Hall. “At the same time, my pride and my shame and guilt kept me from doing so.”

Mensink, by his count, is no stranger to death. Over his 11-year career, he’s had 13 close friends or colleagues killed in combat — and 11 more who have taken their own lives, he said.
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PTSD Veterans Healing Past Demons of War

Veterans share their stories to help others fight PTSD
CBS News
By JIM AXELROD
September 7, 2016

After two tours in Iraq, after trying to drink himself past the demons that darkened his mind, and after a second member of his old platoon committed suicide, Frank Lesnefsky got help. Finally.

In his therapist’s office, he can talk about his post-traumatic stress instead of being haunted by it.

“I was immobilized,” Lesnefsky said. “It’s like being frozen, just watching time pass. It’s crazy.”

Lesnefsky, a retired Army staff sergeant, hit his own bottom and contemplated taking his own life.

In 2014, Lesnefsky found help through Headstrong, a non-profit whose mission is helping any vet who needs it deal with their hidden wounds. No cost, no wait.

Now, Lesnefsky is leading by a very public example. He is sharing his struggle with the 20 million followers of the popular blog Humans of New York.

More than a dozen stories have been published. CBS News asked a few of the bloggers to share what they posted.

Lesnefsky shared the story of how he was drawn to serving in the military, and detailed some of the horrors he witnessed in Iraq.

“There was an old man who fished in the same spot every single day. ... And one day this fifteen-year-old kid rides by on a scooter and drops a bomb behind him. ... I always honored the human form and now I’ve come to a place where the human body is shredded and stomped and blown to bits. And that just wasn’t me. I used to be jokey. I used to be goofy. I was Frank from North Scranton. And now i won’t ever be that again,” Lesnefsky wrote.
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The Quiet Man Award-winning video on veteran suicide

Numbers are wrong but still a good story

Award-winning video on veteran suicide aims to save more lives
WSLS 10 News
By Erin Brookshier - Virginia Today Reporter
Published: September 8, 2016

ROANOKE (WSLS 10)– It’s a topic that can be difficult or uncomfortable to talk about, but one that’s in the national spotlight this month–suicide.

For the military, the issue is very real, with an estimated 22 veterans taking their own life each day. Burdened with the stigma associated with mental health issues and the military shame that surrounds Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), many veterans turn to suicide instead of reaching out for help.

John Koelsch, a local veteran, says he knows how they feel– he almost took his own life nearly two decades ago. Now he’s working to help those in the same position he was, suffering in silence.

He created a short film centered on veteran suicide, called The Quiet Man, that will soon be played in VA Hospital waiting rooms. The award-winning video features two veterans talking. One of them shows signs of depression and feelings of unworthiness before taking his own life.

Koelsch says he hopes this video will be able to break through to veterans considering suicide.
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Virginia Iraq Veteran's New Home Comes With Many Blessings

Messages of love posted on Iraq war veteran's new smart home in Virginia
ABC7
BY RICHARD REEVE
SEPTEMBER 7TH 2016

STAFFORD, Va. (ABC7) — The laughter of children, a barking black lab, and animated snippets of conversation:

It was almost as if Marine Corps veteran Garrett Jones and his family had already moved in to their new smart home.

“It's filled with love,” says Chris Kuban, a spokesperson for the Gary Sinise Foundation. “It's filled with love from the community.”

On a sunny Wednesday morning, Jones, his wife Allison, and their three children attended a ‘wall of honor’ event at the specially-built home in Stafford.

“A lot of good has come from an unfortunate circumstance,” Jones says.

On July 23, 2007, just two weeks before he was scheduled to return home from Iraq, Jones, a Marine corporal, stepped on an IED.
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"Disabled Veteran" Convicted of Stealing Over $1.6 Million From the VA

Man Convicted of Disability Fraud Claims He’s Actually Disabled
ABC News
By ASHLEY LOUSZKOALEXA VALIENTE
September 7, 2016

Paulsen was convicted of stealing more than $1.6 million from the VA and the Social Security Administration this January. He was ordered to pay back the $1.6 million in addition to a fine, and was sentenced to 41 months behind bars. Sep 7, 2016

Dennis Paulsen was convicted of stealing more than 1.6 million dollars from the department of Veteran's Affairs and the Social Security Administration in January of 2016.

Is it possible to be completely physically disabled one day and fully active the next?

That was the million dollar question for Dennis Paulsen.

From 1993 on, Paulsen, who served two years in the Navy, convinced the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that he was unable to use his hands or feet.

“[He said he was] not only too sick to work but too sick to get out of bed most days,” Assistant U.S. attorney Jay Richardson told ABC News’ “Nightline.”

Paulsen said he wasn’t able to walk or work. But throughout the years, that didn’t always seem like the case.

“He lived a very active lifestyle,” Richardson said. “He lived a life that changed depending on who he was around. So when he was around doctors and people that would provide him benefits, he gave the impression that he was wheelchair bound.”

Paulsen was seen on surveillance videos arriving at the VA for a checkup in his wheelchair, yet other times, he was on his feet walking just fine.
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