Michael McNeil's family attends funeral that should not have happened

Families prepare themselves for the knock at the door when someone they love is deployed. They know it can happen at any time. Yet when they come home, the worrying is supposed to stop. They are not supposed to have to worry about losing them after they were supposed to be out of danger.

The US has a bigger problem but that is because of the size of the military but we are no better at taking care of our veterans than Canada is.

The question most of us have is, "Why is it more dangerous to try surviving after combat than it is during it?"

These are funerals that never should have happened.

Michael McNeil's family says goodbye to Afghan war vet
Warrant officer's apparent suicide, 4th in 2 weeks involving military personnel, spotlights PTSD
CBC News
Posted: Dec 05, 2013

He was known to the world as Warrant Officer Michael Robert McNeil, but to his family he was just Little Mike.

Military personnel and civilians from the area packed into the Truro Armoury for the funeral. (CBC)

Loved ones gathered in Truro, N.S., on Thursday to say goodbye to the Afghanistan war veteran after his body was found at CFB Petawawa on Nov. 27.

McNeil was 39. His was one of four apparent military suicides in two weeks.

Barry Mellish said his nephew was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after his last tour in Afghanistan, but his death came as a shock.

Warrant Officer Michael McNeil, was found dead at CFB Petawawa on Nov. 27. (Inmemoriam.ca)

"He seemed to be a very strong individual. He was always there to help anybody else who was down or worried. He was the first one to stand up," he said. "Michael was a helper.

"I never once dreamed he'd do something like this."

McNeil is survived by three children and one stepson.

Military personnel and civilians from the area packed into the Truro Armoury for the funeral around 11 a.m. AT.

McNeil grew up in the Nova Scotia town, about an hour outside of Halifax, where he joined the cadets as a teen before eventually starting a career in the military.
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The US military loves to point out that the majority of members of the military committing suicide had never been deployed, yet they fail to explain a very important factor. If their prevention and resilience training was so good then why didn't it even work on the troops that never faced combat?

It is because this approach has not worked and will never work. Now as the number of suicides has gone down except for the National Guards and Reservists, they fail to point out one more important fact. There are less serving this year compared to last year.

Canadian Ret. General talks about his own battle with PTSD

Military grapples with attempted suicide
North Bay Nipissing
December 4, 2013

It was drawn in especially sharp relief Tuesday when Liberal Sen. Romeo Dallaire, arguably Canada's highest-profile military victim of post-traumatic stress, nodded off at the wheel and crashed into a traffic barrier on Parliament Hill.

The retired general later admitted that the news last week that three Canadian soldiers had killed themselves, coupled with the coming 20th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, have left him unable to sleep, even with medication.

OTTAWA - The moment the Canadian military told him he was being discharged because of his post-traumatic stress disorder, Master Cpl. Kristian Wolowidnyk felt his life was over.

Two days later, on Nov. 21, Wolowidnyk — a former combat engineer who survived the desolation of Kandahar in 2009 and 2010 — tried to take his own life, but survived.

Veterans advocates say a number of suicides within the military in recent days may only hint at the magnitude of the problem.

For every death by suicide, they warn, as many as 12 others may have sought the same fate.

Defence officials confirmed Tuesday that military police are investigating the death of a member of the Royal 22e Regiment at CFB Valcartier in Quebec as the fourth apparent Canadian Forces suicide in a week.
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Former soldier suffering from PTSD says he got no support behind bars

Former soldier suffering from PTSD says he got no support behind bars
NATIONAL BREAKING NEWS
The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION
By: The Canadian Press
Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. - A British war veteran recently held in the same Alberta jail where a Canadian soldier killed himself says the justice system doesn't properly deal with people who have post-traumatic stress disorder.

John Collins, diagnosed with PTSD about six years ago, was arrested last month at his home in Lethbridge on various charges, including assault.

He said he sat alone in a cell for six days until he was released on bail.

"I mentally shut down," said Collins, 61. "I prayed to die."

"You are on automatic, back in the wars. Once the adrenalin is gone, there is no hope."

Collins believes no one took into account his mental health. He said he should have received support and instead he felt abandoned.

Then, last week, he learned about the suicide of the artillery soldier at the same Lethbridge Correctional Centre.

The man, identified by friends as Travis Halmrast, was being held on charges of domestic assault. He was found in distress at the jail and later died in hospital.

The Defence Department is looking into the death and investigations are also underway into the recent suicides of two other Canadian soldiers. All three men had served in Afghanistan.

It's not clear if any of them suffered from PTSD, but their suicides have put a spotlight on supports available for people dealing with the effects of the disorder.

Collins didn't know Halmrast and doesn't know the circumstances of his death, but has strong feelings about the case.

"He shouldn't have been there," he said. "From the moment they found out he was ex-military, alarm bells should have been ringing."
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Forth suicide in Canadian Military within a week

Another Canadian soldier dies of apparent suicide
CTV News Canada
December 3, 2013

Another Canadian soldier has died of an apparent suicide, after three veterans were found dead last week.

Master Cpl. Sylvain Lelievre, 46, was a member of the Royal 22e Regiment at CFB Valcartier in Quebec. Friends say he was a decorated soldier who served in Bosnia and Afghanistan. His body was discovered Monday near the base.

One friend said Lelievre was “an outstanding soldier, always proud to serve his country.”

Alain Brunet, who served with Lelievre in Germany more than two decades ago, told CTV News his friend was known for his “contagious” smile.

“The guy just wanted to please everybody. Will do anything for any friends or anything that needs help,” he said. Brunet’s wife, Tracy, said she wanted Lelievre to be remembered as “somebody that had a huge heart, a heart of gold."

She said he was loved by everyone who knew him.
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Also on this

Soldier attempts suicide after being told PTSD will end military career
The Canadian Press and Murray Brewster
Dec 3, 2013

OTTAWA – The moment the Canadian military told him he was being discharged because of his post-traumatic stress disorder, Master Cpl. Kristian Wolowidnyk felt his life was over.

Two days later, on Nov. 21, Wolowidnyk — a former combat engineer who survived the desolation of Kandahar in 2009 and 2010 — tried to take his own life, but survived.

Veterans advocates say a number of suicides within the military in recent days may only hint at the magnitude of the problem. For every death by suicide, they warn, as many as 12 others may have sought the same fate.

Defence officials confirmed Tuesday that military police are investigating the death of a member of the Royal 22e Regiment at CFB Valcartier in Quebec as the fourth apparent Canadian Forces suicide in a week.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Wolowidnyk — a husband and father to a two-year-old child — said he was desperate to stay in the military and re-qualify for another military trade.

Not only was he denied, but he was told that his psychological injuries, including anxiety and serious depression, did not qualify him to remain in the military as part of a prolonged release process for injured soldiers.

He spent a week in the mental health wing of the civilian Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton before being released to his family — and to confront the reality of his military career coming to an abrupt end sometime within the next year.
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Grieving family says military drops the ball on wounded veterans

Grieving family says military drops the ball on wounded veterans
CTV Atlantic
Published Friday, November 29, 2013

A family from Truro, N.S. is dealing with shock and anguish over the death of a family member serving in the military.

They say warrant officer Michael McNeil struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and never got over the death of a his cousin, who was also a soldier.

McNeil died Wednesday at the Canadian Forces Base Petawawa in Ontario and his family says he committed suicide.

McNeil is one of three Canadian soldiers believed to have committed suicide this week and his family is calling on the military to take better care of its veterans.

“The support that they get when they get home is almost nil,” says his uncle, Frank McNeil. “I mean, they’ve got an illness and they’re not looking after it.”

He says his nephew, a 19-year war veteran, suffered from PTSD after serving overseas in Kosovo and Bosnia.

“I’m hurt to think that there wouldn’t be someone to help these young guys.

read more here

Canadian Military Investigating Three Deaths

Canadian Military investigating two suicides tied to Shilo Base

UPDATE and then there were three
Trio of suicides by Canadian soldiers leaves military, minister reeling
The Canadian Press
By: Murray Brewster

OTTAWA - Beyond expressions of sympathy, the Harper government and the Canadian Forces appeared at a loss Thursday to explain a number of suicides this week among veterans of the war in Afghanistan.

The latest case, which occurred within the last couple of days, involved a senior non-commissioned officer at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, northwest of Ottawa. Military police are investigating and have not released any details, including the officer's name.

A Defence Department investigation into two other deaths in Western Canada is currently underway, a sombre and visibly moved Defence Minister Rob Nicholson told the House of Commons.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, friends and colleagues of these departed individuals, and I wish all those associated with those individuals peace during this difficult time," Nicholson said.

Earlier in the day, Nicholson called the deaths "very troubling," but noted that since 2011, the Conservative government has poured millions of extra dollars into the treatment and counselling of returning soldiers.
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Military investigating suicides of two soldiers with ties to Shilo base
Winnipeg Free Press
By: Mike McIntyre
November 27, 2013

Two Canadian soldiers with links to CFB Shilo died by suicide this week in separate incidents, the Manitoba military base has confirmed.

Lori Truscott, director of public affairs, told the Free Press on Wednesday that both deaths are now under investigation.

SUICIDE HELP
If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide or dealing with a suicide loss, call the Manitoba Suicide Line -- a free, confidential, 24-hour service -- at 1-877-435-7170.

The first occurred earlier this week when a soldier posted at CFB Shilo took his own life in a private residence off-base, she said. Hours later, another soldier who had been posted at the western Manitoba base until this past summer died by suicide in Alberta. That incident also happened away from his new posting in Lethbridge.

No other details are being released, including the names or hometowns of the two men. Truscott said there is no apparent link between the men or their deaths, other than the fact they both had been posted at CFB Shilo and ended their lives within a 24-hour period of each other.

The soldier who died off the base in Shilo was with the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

A national organization which advocates on behalf of Canadian soldiers first reported the suicides on Wednesday morning.
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Canadian wounded troops face discharge before pension

Military boots injured soldiers before they qualify for pension
OTTAWA — The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, Oct. 29 2013

Gravely injured troops are being booted from the military before they qualify for a pension, despite assurances to the contrary from the federal government.

A former reserve combat engineer was let go last Friday on a medical discharge after begging for months to remain until hitting the 10-year mark.

Corporal David Hawkins is about a year shy of being eligible for an indexed pension, but was released because his post-traumatic stress means he is unable to deploy overseas.

Cpl. Glen Kirkland is also among those leaving. His plea to remain in the army last June was answered by former defence minister Peter MacKay with a pledge he could stay until September, 2015 – and that no members are released until they are ready.

But the offer turned out to be exclusive to Cpl. Kirkland, who chose within the last few days to leave rather than be given special treatment.

“I joined as a member of a team, as a family,” Cpl. Kirkland said in an interview from Shilo, Man. “So, when I was offered an opportunity when no one else was, it just goes against everything I joined for.”
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Combat PTSD:You can't take out a tube of Krazy glue and fill the cracks

Combat PTSD:You can't take out a tube of Krazy glue and fill the cracks
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 8, 2013

This is a good example of being careful about what you say.

This was a good thing to say,

Dr Nash says post-traumatic stress disorder is not a sign of weakness, it's a psychological injury.

Followed by a bad thing to say,

BILL NASH: Of all of the ways I've talked about post-traumatic stress with especially marines and other warriors, the thing that gives them the most relief is to explain to them - and not in a way that's untrue, but based on science - this isn't you, it's your brain; you blew a fuse.

Followed by a good thing,

BILL NASH: They're the same kind of neurones that are in the inner ear that can be damaged by too much sound; the same kind of neurones in the retina of the eye that can be damaged by too much light. So these parts of the brain can be damaged by exposure to overwhelming experiences, but you can't turn away from, you can't close your eyes to these things.

Followed by yet another bad thing,

So it's not you, it's not a weakness of you - you're a fragile being, you're breakable, and you were broken.

This is from a report on Combat and PTSD.

As the UN commander in Kigali in 1994, Romeo Dallaire was left powerless to intervene as between half a million and a million people were slaughtered in the Rwandan genocide.

He returned home from the horrific deployment with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

General Dallaire is now a senator in the Canadian Parliament. He says politicians, bureaucrats and military brass have failed veterans with PTSD and their families.

This article is about three nations trying to come to terms with Combat and PTSD. A good place for them to start would be to actually understand there is a huge difference between Combat PTSD and the other types. The only one that comes close is the type of PTSD members of law enforcement are hit by.

This is a good thing for me to say,

They are not broken.

This is sort of a bad thing to say,

You can't take out a tube of Krazy glue and fill the cracks.

They just don't understand that it is the fact their emotions are so strong, they feel pain more strongly than others do. We need to face the fact that civilians end up with PTSD from natural disasters. In other words, nothing they did other than picking the place they lived in. Then there are veterans that decided they were willing to risk their lives to save a bunch of strangers, go away from family and friends they had in civilian life, push their bodies and their minds past where anyone else would bother with to enter into the one of the tiniest minority groups this country has. Veterans are only 7% of the population. Ignoring the fact they are that rare forces people to find words like they are "broken" instead of grieving.

They are not victims. They are survivors.

PTSD and Combat Doctors "I think his soul left on the tarmac in Afghanistan"

This is happening with doctors right here in America. Think about how these doctors face trying to save lives everyday yet seeing so many die on the operating table. Think of what they put themselves through and then think about the fact they are suffering from PTSD as well as taking their own lives.

Returning combat doctors suffering from PTSD
Australia
ABC News
Sally Sara
1 Oct 2013

As thousands of foreign troops withdraw from Afghanistan, many soldiers are returning home with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Much of the attention has been focused on infantry troops. But PTSD has also taken a heavy toll on those who were sent to Afghanistan to save lives.

MARK COLVIN: As thousands of foreign troops withdraw from Afghanistan, many soldiers are returning home with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

Much of the attention has been focused on infantry troops, but PTSD has also taken a heavy toll on those who were sent to Afghanistan to save lives.

Sally Sara went to Canada for the Foreign Correspondent program on ABC TV to spend time with a trauma doctor haunted by war.

SALLY SARA: The ABC doesn't usually send me to peaceful places like this. I'm driving to a little town called Coaticook in Quebec. I'm here to meet up with a trauma doctor I first met in Afghanistan.
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Canadian Nurse with Combat PTSD talks about falling through the cracks

Stigma of mental health disorders in the military remains
Veterans with PTSD falling through the cracks might not be the ones you’d expect
OTTAWA CITIZEN
BY DRAKE FENTON
AUGUST 5, 2013

“I’m an ICU nurse. I couldn’t just be sitting behind a desk.”

Despite showing signs of what would later result in a medical discharge for post-traumatic stress disorder, McDowell says, she “sucked it up” and returned to Kandahar for another six-month tour in 2008.

OTTAWA — There is a small framed photo of the Canadian War Memorial hanging in an office at the Royal Ottawa’s Operational Stress Injury clinic. Christine McDowell points to it and begins to cry.

“It hurts. Looking at that picture hurts,” she says. “When I see that and when I see people in uniform, I feel a loss. That was a big part of who I was.”

For an hour and a half she talks about her past life in the military, her three tours in Afghanistan and the thousands of casualties she treated as an Intensive Care Unit trauma nurse.

She can remember with striking clarity who she was and what she went through. She says those memories don’t fade.

They’re ever-present.

“I wouldn’t even call them flashbacks. I would call them ghosts,” she says.

It’s a slide show of faces: Canadian, America, Afghan, and even Romanian. At a base in Kandahar, in a hospital constructed of plywood, she looked down at all of them as they laid injured on one of the six ICU beds in the facility.

“We’re seeing hundreds and thousands of casualties,” she says. “I don’t know any civilian environment where one staff member would see as many amputated limbs as anyone who worked with us for six months.”
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Multi-nation veterans come together to heal body and mind

Saskatchewan Wounded Warriors Weekend helps war veterans heal
August 4, 2013

War veterans from Canada, the U.S., Britain and Australia have gathered for a special weekend retreat – Saskatchewan style.

Nearly 200 soldiers from the four countries are in Nipawin for the second annual Wounded Warriors Weekend. The soldiers spent time fishing on Tobin Lake and golfing, but above of all, building relationships.

Fishing was among the activities war veterans participated in during the Wounded Warriors Weekend in Nipawin, Sask.

The event aims to provide support and help with rehabilitation from the effects of war.

It also opens up conversation about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – something many of the attendees silently suffer from.
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Canadian soldier faces murder charge after wife's body found

Cops: Soldier faces murder charge
The Windsor Star
Chris Cobb and Andrew Seymour
Postmedia News Aug 03, 2013

A Canadian soldier and the wife he is now accused of murdering were facing serious financial pressures when she went missing, the Ottawa Citizen has learned.

Melissa Richmond, 28, went missing on July 24. Around that time, her husband Howard, 50, posted numerous messages on an online forum created to help mentally injured soldiers, sometimes referring to his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The couple were briefly being sued by their bank over the nonpayment of a loan. The Bank of Nova Scotia filed a statement of claim against the Richmonds after they allegedly defaulted on a $139,700 line of credit, according to court documents obtained by the Citizen.

The lawsuit was discontinued shortly after it was filed on July 15 and before anything happened to Melissa Richmond, the Bank of Nova Scotia's lawyer, John Hamilton, said Friday. Hamilton wouldn't comment further on why the lawsuit was discontinued.

Melissa Richmond was reported missing on July 24 by her husband, who is a warrant officer with the Canadian military. Her car was found two days later in a parking lot at the South Keys Shopping Centre. Richmond's body, partially clothed and stabbed several times, was discovered on July 27 in a ravine next to the parking lot.

On Friday, Ottawa police arrested Howard Richmond. Police say he is to be charged with murder and is expected to appear in court by video Saturday.
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MacEachern planning a second long walk other veterans

MacEachern planning a second walk
The Casket
Richard MacKenzie
Posted on July 23, 2013
(Canada)

In June of 2012, Cpl. Kate MacEachern thrilled a large crowd in her hometown, and helped many others, when she completed her more than 560 km, 19-day The Long Way Home walk, benefitting Soldier On, by arriving in downtown Antigonish.

MacEachern is now planning a second walk and while it’s benefitting another military support group, Military Minds, it may mean she’ll have to walk away from her own career in the Canadian forces.

It’s being reported that MacEachern’s proposed walk, from the Canso Causeway to Ottawa, can’t be done while maintaining her current job and while she is unavailable to comment at the present time, John Wright from Military Minds talked about the difference between the two ventures.

“She was actually on leave for a short period of time so she could do what she did (previous walk),” Wright said. “While she is still in uniform, it’s a difficult situation for her to talk freely about. We’re waiting for her schedule to free up.”

Wright said the proposed roughly 1,600 km walk hasn’t been scheduled yet but sponsors and other arrangements have been lined up.
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Experts say Canadian military underplaying scope of mental injury

Experts say military underplaying scope of mental injury
The Star Post
By Chris Cobb
Postmedia News
July 3, 2013

A new Department of National Defence study that says 13.5 per cent of Canadian soldiers who served in Afghanistan returned home with mental illness severely underestimates the problem, say specialists in military mental health.

Of the soldiers who deployed, eight per cent have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), says the study by David Boulos and Mark A. Zamorski titled Deployment-related Mental Disorders Among Canadian Forces Personnel Deployed in Support of the Mission in Afghanistan, 2001-2008.

The DND study, drawn from a pool of 30,513 troops who served in Afghanistan up to 2009 - two years before the final combat deployment ended - was published Tuesday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

But in the confusing numbers game surrounding posttraumatic stress and other war-induced mental injury, the DND study appears to undercut some of the department's previous estimates. The real number of mentally injured Afghan veterans is likely twice the number reported in the study, says retired Brig. Gen. Joe Sharpe, one of Canada's foremost authorities on operational stress injury in the Canadian Forces.
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Canada messing up troops as much as the US is

Vancouver Sun Online seems to have been very busy lately on PTSD. It is good way to take a look at what Canada is dealing with as well as the US. They are doing the same things we are including making a huge mistake on this first video.

They have up a video on Virtual Reality. In other words a computer game not unlike what most of these young men and women have been playing with for years. It is designed to simulate combat, which would be fine for mission training, but lousy at "preventing" PTSD and "defeating the enemy from within."

These are among the claims you will hear in this video.

Helps them "get over it" is not a good thing to say. This also claims "the program is also intended to prevent trauma" which is another big mistake. Topped off with "virtual taste of the terrors that await them and learn the ways to cope." It gives them a "sense of purpose and pride in the mission." said Dr. Buckwalter. It "tempers the body chemistry as they head into the mission."

Pure BS! If I had a PhD after my name I could say that if they dropped and did twenty pushups after they saw a buddy blown up it wouldn't bother them so much because exercise releases more endorphins!

Living with PTSD -- nine tours of duty
VancouverSunOnline

Apr 13, 2013
Jamie and Cyndi Teather -- both veterans of numerous tours of duty. Jamie served in five tours -- everywhere from Croatia and Bosnia to Afghanistan. He suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, but fears sounding like a whiner. Soldiers just don't do that. However, he is "broken," says Cyndi. She says they can live together happily as long as one of them is medicated.

Living with PTSD -- a wife misses her husband
VancouverSunOnline
Apr 13, 2013
Nicola Thom misses her husband. He isn't the same man she married. A soldier who served 22 years in the military and saw seven tours of duty, he came home changed after the last two tours. However, "I tell him we'll find a new normal," she says.

K9 Bravo
VancouverSunOnline
Apr 13, 2013
Richard Yuill, with his dog Halo, was diagnosed with PTSD after serving in Bosnia in 2000. He's part of the K9 Bravo program started by Hope Heels, a non-profit group established to help people with mental health issues. Video by Rick MacWilliam, edmontonjournal.com
Pte. Ted Patrick
VancouverSunOnline
Apr 13, 2013
Now 91, Ottawa-born and raised Pte. Ted Patrick was a signalman (radio operator) in the Irish Regiment of Canada. He served in Italy, Belgium and Holland during the war. Like many who served in the slow advance through Italy, he has terrible memories of being shelled by German mortars. In fact, he has lived with PTSD for much of his life.

Combat PTSD, the "psychomoral" wound around the world

The UK has been working on Combat PTSD and suicides. So has Australia and Canada. The truth is, it is a human issue that has been documented throughout the centuries. As long as there have been wars and war fighters, there has been the psychomoral wound. I didn't spell it wrong. I didn't just made it up. It is actually a great way to explain the difference between Combat PTSD and Law Enforcement PTSD. There is a huge difference between what these groups suffer from and what "victim survivors" have to overcome.

This isn't from the USA. It is from India.

Definitions This Conference on “Urban Catharsis: The Psycho-Moral Cleansing Effects of the Literatures in English” has a dual purpose: First of all it is a sincere attempt to encourage research and aesthetic study of literatures in English rediscovering or focusing the elements /situations or characters or incidents that bring out the moral, spiritual or emotional cleansing of the reader resulting into a certain positive change. The equally important second purpose is to appreciate the value of those literary creations that employ this therapeutic modality and to acknowledge and honour their creators for their conscious or unconscious contribution towards the human welfare. For the very purpose, join our venture to dive into the depths of the ocean of Literatures in English to pick up the pearls of humanitarian values of Literature.

This isn't from the USA. It is from Turkey.

The General Staff has launched a training program designed to provide psychological support in a bid to tackle the increasing number of suicide cases within the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).

Based on a protocol between the Ministry of Defense and the Rector’s Office of Ankara University, the newly commissioned and non-commissioned officers are being trained in areas such as “skills in interpersonal communication and assistance, noticing a soldier with problems and providing the relevant guidance,” Anatolia news agency reported April 8.

The move by the General Staff apparently comes as part of a recently launched campaign in response to growing public awareness of the high number of suicides and controversial deaths occurring among conscripts engaged in compulsory military service.

Canadian soldier threatened partygoers and had bombs

SOLDIER THREATENED PARTYGOERS, KEPT MILITARY BOMBS AT HOME
Sun News
JAMES TURNER
QMI AGENCY

WINNIPEG - A Canadian Forces soldier arrested after a violent party scuffle pleaded guilty to illegal possession of several military training explosives, which cops found scattered around in a room in his Winnipeg home.

Mitchell Wilson, 20, pleaded guilty Tuesday to offences including assault causing bodily harm, possession of property obtained by crime, four counts of possession of goods obtained by crime, unsafe storage and possession of an explosive without lawful excuse.

Winnipeg police, called to an early-morning disturbance at a house party on May 27, 2012, saw their investigation transform into a much larger weapons-related probe requiring the expertise of the bomb unit.

No facts of the odd case were disclosed Tuesday and sentencing was adjourned until later this year. Wilson remains free in the community having been released on a promise to appear after his arrest. The Crown did not state what sentence it will seek.
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Military Chaplains need healing too

"Despite never seeing combat" was pointed out in this article as if it was an important factor. This Chaplain ended up with PTSD after being sent to Afghanistan. He was already haunted by the suicide of a soldier he was taking care of before he was sent there.

Post-Traumatic Stress: Looking For A Place To Rest
UPDATED News Canada
February 24, 2013


A Canadian Armed Forces chaplain who was sent to Afghanistan to give spiritual support to the troops came home with post-traumatic stress disorder himself, despite never seeing combat.

Maj. Michel Martin takes listeners to his dark corner of reality, describing a heart-wrenching descent into anguish, depression and anger in a CBC Radio documentary entitled Looking for a Place to Rest. It was produced by John Chipman for The Sunday Edition with Michael Enright.

Martin, who moved into the armed forces after acting as a civilian pastor, was on the front line dealing with the mental suffering of the troops.

The sudden suicide of a soldier under his care, before his deployment to Afghanistan, began his spiral of emotional stress.

“I had a burden on me, I felt guilty,” Martin says.
read more here

Chaplains do not fight in combat but they fight what combat does to others. If you can't understand how Chaplains can need help to, then you don't understand PTSD.

Canadian soldier's suicide subject of major hearing

Canadian soldier’s suicide should spur change, lawyer argues
Published on Wednesday January 09, 2013
Stephanie Levitz
The Canadian Press

OTTAWA—The pain and suffering endured by the family of an Edmonton soldier who killed himself should be used a springboard for systemic changes to the treatment of veterans and their loved ones, the family’s lawyer said Wednesday.

The investigation into the 2008 suicide of Cpl. Stuart Langridge was handled in an inept and inexperienced manner, retired colonel Michel Drapeau told the Military Police Complaints Commission hearing.

“It has created an extra layer of pain and turmoil that was preventable and correctable, had a modicum of transparency, accountability and basic compassion been displayed from senior military leaders,” Drapeau said.

After eight months of work and 92 witnesses, the hearing was on its final day Wednesday, with Drapeau and lawyers for the government pressing their case for a final time.

Langridge, a veteran of Afghanistan and Bosnia, hanged himself in March 2008 after being ordered back to base following treatment for drug and alcohol addiction in a civilian hospital.

His family contends the military treated him as a malcontent, and that helped drive him over the edge.

Langridge’s reasons for taking his own life aren’t for the hearing to decide, said Drapeau. What matters, he argued, is how the investigation was carried out.
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Not enough military staff to fight PTSD for Canadian troops

Not enough military staff to fight PTSD among returning soldiers: ombudsman
MURRAY BREWSTER
The Canadian Press
Published Monday, Sep. 17 2012

The military ombudsman says National Defence has not hired enough psychiatrists and other mental-health professionals to deal with a cresting tide of post-traumatic stress cases.

Pierre Daigle released a report Monday that challenges many of the reassurances the Harper government has given about the treatment of soldiers returning from the Afghan war.

He said there is a big gap between what the system can deliver and what it actually does for troops who’ve witnessed horrors overseas, and for their families.

“This gap is primarily the result of a chronic inability to achieve, or come close to achieving, the established manning level of the mental-health function,” said the 99-page report, tabled Monday just as Parliament resumed after its summer recess.

It said this shortfall has a profound impact on the front line delivery of care, treatment and support to military members with post-traumatic stress disorder and other stress injuries and to their families.

In some instances, the system is operating with 15 to 22 per cent fewer caregivers than needed.
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