The Millennial Who Uses Comedy to Help Veterans Heal Politico By DEREK ROBERTSON July 26, 2018
“Until I joined the class, I talked about [that experience] two times, and each time I had full breakdowns about it,” Croghan told me afterward. “I hate to use the word ‘safe,’ but that’s what [the class] was. I felt comfortable discussing it with the group we had. … Until that point, I’d never done that before.”
A millennial-run nonprofit is bridging a divide between the military and civilians by giving veterans a chance to tell their stories—and their jokes—in public.
For the better part of a decade, Christopher Croghan was at war.
He deployed to Iraq for the first time in 2007 at the height of the conflict. Returning home, he found it no more peaceful than the desert. Like many in his generation of post-9/11 veterans, Croghan found it almost impossible to speak candidly about what he had lived through—particularly with those closest to him. When faced with the choice between returning to the battlefield and processing at home the trauma he brought back, he repeatedly volunteered for redeployment, even as a soldier for hire after leaving the Marines.
“The only stuff my family knew about the war and me is that every once in a while we would have a celebration, and I would get way too drunk,” Croghan said. “And I’d say, ‘Well, you’ve never shot at a fucking kid, so shut the fuck up.’”
Croghan’s drinking led to a DUI. Both the judge and his therapist at the VA encouraged him to pursue writing, his personal outlet of choice. One day, however, a slightly adjacent program crossed the desk of Croghan’s therapist—the Armed Services Arts Partnership, a nonprofit that teaches creative- and performing-arts classes for veterans and military families. ASAP’s mission is to forge “a new path for veterans to reintegrate into civilian life, and for our communities to welcome them home.”
Which is how, on a warm evening in May, Croghan came to be standing on a stage at the Drafthouse Comedy Theater on Washington, D.C.’s K Street, just a few blocks north of the White House, preparing to deliver a monologue that he had spent the previous six weeks perfecting in a storytelling class with nine other men and women. read more here
There is something that Sgt. 1st. Class James Spraggins understands very well. He understands what his choice of profession caused, but he understands a lot more than that! It takes a lot of courage to choose a career that could kill you. It takes a lot of courage to put your life on the line for the sake of others. It takes a lot of courage to admit that sometimes, you need help too. What takes even more courage, is to speak out publicly so that others are inspired to ask for help too!
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A Platoon Sergeant receives the gift of hope, strength and life U.S. Army Warrior Care and Transition By MaryTherese Griffin Courtesy Story 07.27.2018
"...this would be the start of my new life; the gift of hope, strength, and most importantly the gift of life.” Sgt. 1st. Class James Spraggins
Courtesy Photo | Sgt. 1st. Class James Spraggins Iraq 2008, (Photo courtesy James Spraggins)
ARLINGTON, Va. - “I was a disaster who was proficient at hiding the fact that I needed help. I was very confused on what was going on with myself and feared for the future.”
Those courageous words are from Sgt. 1st Class James Spraggins. The former Infantryman turned Army Sniper has deployed multiple times over his 15 year Army career and wants to let other Soldiers know a few things about his journey.
The events of September 11th encouraged Spraggins to enlist; he felt like he was honoring his family name by taking it overseas to defend the nation’s freedoms. However, after his last two deployments, Spraggins says he was a different person. “I no longer had the same mentality towards human kind when I returned,” and that included himself Spraggins said.
Spraggins suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He was assigned as a Platoon Sergeant to the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Knox, Kentucky. This was the first time, he says, he was away from his comfort zone. “I can remember feeling on top of the world (before PTSD), but then I lost who I was, I lost all hope. This began the complete spiral and destruction of Sgt. 1st Class Spraggins,” Spraggins recalled. “Those moments were some of the darkest moments of my life. I began neglecting everyone close to me so that I didn’t have to visit them or talk to anyone.”
Spraggins says he even began neglecting his basic human needs, like hygiene, for weeks and would skip meals for days to the point of complete exhaustion and he didn’t sleep. After suffering multiple panic attacks daily for several months he started thinking to himself that living was no longer an option. He sat with a loaded pistol in a church parking lot, thought about it, prayed about it, then he called his sister. “After failing in every direction, I turned for help. I made the choice to walk into Building 1480, the Behavioral Health Clinic on Fort Knox, this would be the start of my new life; the gift of hope, strength, and most importantly the gift of life.” read more here
North Dakota Veterans’ personal information at risk, audit says Bismark Tribune James B. Miller, Jr. Forum News Service Jul 24, 2018
Most notably, the audit found that the Veteran Aid Loan System was outsourced to a vendor without the department receiving an exemption from the Information Technology Department, meaning that, since 2005, information from veterans including credit history, debt-to-income ratio, discretionary income, spousal income, discharge information and more were hosted by an unvetted vendor.
In an extensive report, the Office of the State Auditor recently expressed concerns with the North Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs’ handling of the veteran aid loan, hardship assistance grant, impact grant and highly rural transportation grant programs.
The report stems from a performance audit conducted on the NDDVA beginning in October 2017 and concluding on March 28, 2018. The effort was headed by Rep. Chet Pollert, R-Carrington, and the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee.
The Veterans Aid Loan Program is a permanent revolving fund for eligible veterans and surviving spouses to receive funds for relief or assistance. The audit found that to obtain a loan, the Administrative Committee on Veterans Affairs required applicants to have the financial ability to repay the loan. However, neither ACOVA or the NDDVA had established underwriting guidelines to use when determining an applicant’s financial ability to repay the loan.
Attempts to reach North Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Lonnie Wangen and Administrative Committee on Veterans Affairs Chairman Dean Overby for comment went unanswered. read more here
Bride-To-Be Accused Of Killing Fiancé In Fight Over Wedding Guest CBS 4 Denver Brandon Watkins July 25, 2018
A friend of Watkins told KKTV the couple served together in the Army at Fort Carson.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) — A bride-to-be is accused of killing her fiancé while they were planning their wedding.
Jacqueline Souza, 31, told investigators she thought her fiancé, Brandon Watkins, was having an affair – and that he wanted to invite that woman to their wedding in Las Vegas, KKTV reports.
The couple reportedly got into a fight about the invitation when they got home late Friday night after celebrating their upcoming wedding and Watkins’ new job. read more here
How much louder do they have to scream? That was the question a couple of weeks ago when we posted about veterans committing suicides in very public ways. Last year, veterans were facing off with law enforcement officers every week. Now there are three within 3 days.
Man taken to hospital after barricading himself inside Byron hotel The standoff began when police went to do a welfare check and found the man had barricaded himself inside the room Author: WMAZ Staff July 24, 2018
When police arrived, they found the door barricaded with all the furniture inside the room.
The SWAT team was called in after family members and police were not able to make contact.
The man inside was confirmed as a military veteran, and police are saying he is under intense mental and physical stress.
No weapon was found and police say he never threatened anyone or himself. read more here
Man charged with Domestic Battery after Cape Coral standoff FOX 4 News Jul 24, 2018
CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- A several-hour long standoff with deputies ended safely Monday with the suspect in jail for Domestic Battery.
Cape Coral Police responded to a welfare check in the 900 block of SW 47th Terrace after a wife called the VA clinic to report her husband was having combat flashbacks and threatened to harm himself.
Deputies responded and attempted to contact the resident, 48-year-old Michael DeArmas, who refused to come out or cooperate with deputies. He later walked out and was taken into custody without incident.
DeArmas' wife spoke to detectives and told them that DeArmas is a combat veteran who has flashbacks and becomes delusional, especially when drinking, as the couple had been doing last weekend.
She said he had access to guns and had threatened to kill himself and their dog. read more here
Deadly officer involved shooting after standoff in West Central Fresno July 21, 2018 FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- With Action News cameras recording from a distance and witnesses hiding out in neighboring hotel rooms, Fresno Police officers shot a man in the parking lot of the Parkway Inn.
"Officers fired two rounds. One of those rounds struck the suspect at which point he dove right in through a broken window into the hotel room," said Deputy Chief Pat Farmer.
Officers knew they'd hit him and paramedics rushed in, but they could not save the suspect and a standoff ended.
Action News talked to some of Maya's family members, including a woman who was with him at the motel.
They say he was a good man who once served in the army.
They called him a family man who had turned his life around over the last ten years and state records show he also owned his own business.
Both weapons turned out to be pellet guns, but police say they looked very realistic, especially from a distance. read more here
