Family: Oil disaster devastated captain who committed suicide
By Rich Phillips, CNN
June 25, 2010 1:49 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Authorities: 55-year-old boat captain committed suicide
Allen Kruse had been helping with BP cleanup for past two weeks
Captain did not leave note, but relatives say oil disaster devastated him
Orange Beach, Alabama (CNN) -- On Thursday evening, a boat returned to its dock without its captain -- his vibrant personality and smile gone. On the dock was a wreath memorializing the Gulf fisherman known as "Rookie."
His family and friends say "Rookie," whose real name was Allen Kruse, was stressed beyond belief by the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf. On Thursday, a coroner ruled his sudden, tragic death a suicide.
Kruse, 55, a charter boat captain who had been hired by BP to help clean Gulf waterways and render them safe, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Wednesday on board one of his own vessels.
"Most definitely a suicide," said Rod Steade Sr., deputy coroner for Baldwin County, Alabama. "No question about it."
Kruse shot himself with his own gun, kept on board his boat, which was also named "Rookie." He sent two of his deckhands on an errand before killing himself. He did not leave a note, and none of his friends suspected he would do something so extreme.
read more here
Oil disaster devastated captain who committed suicide
Friday, June 25, 2010
June 27 National Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day
Senate passes PTSD Awareness Day resolution
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jun 25, 2010 11:04:53 EDT
BISMARCK, N.D. — The Senate has passed a resolution designating June 27 as National Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day.
The resolution was authored by Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
Conrad said the stress of war might create wounds for soldiers that are less visible than others but are no less real. PTSD symptoms include anxiety, anger and depression.
Conrad said more must be done to educate troops, veterans, families and communities about the disorder and the resources and treatments available.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/06/ap_ptsd_awareness_day_062510/
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jun 25, 2010 11:04:53 EDT
BISMARCK, N.D. — The Senate has passed a resolution designating June 27 as National Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day.
The resolution was authored by Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
Conrad said the stress of war might create wounds for soldiers that are less visible than others but are no less real. PTSD symptoms include anxiety, anger and depression.
Conrad said more must be done to educate troops, veterans, families and communities about the disorder and the resources and treatments available.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/06/ap_ptsd_awareness_day_062510/
Researchers delve into neural roots of courage
Snakes on the Brain
Researchers delve into neural roots of courage.
Posted: June 24, 2010
By Laura Sanders, Science News
Researchers now can say what would happen in Samuel L. Jackson’s brain if he really were to confront snakes on a plane. In a terrifying sequel to that movie scenario, researchers convinced volunteers to bring a slithery serpent within centimeters of their heads while they lay trapped in a brain scanner.
The experiment, published June 24 in Neuron, allowed researchers to watch brain activity as people chose to quell their fear and bring the snake closer to their heads, offering a glimpse into the courageous brain. Understanding how the brain chooses to overcome fearful impulses may help scientists treat people with phobias, panic disorders or PTSD.
“This is a breakthrough study that will set the stage for a whole new area of work related to the brain and fear,” says neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux of New York University, who was not involved in the research.
Scientists have figured out much of what happens in the brain during fear, LeDoux says, but almost nothing is known about the ability to overcome the reaction.
read more here
Snakes on the Brain
Researchers delve into neural roots of courage.
Posted: June 24, 2010
By Laura Sanders, Science News
Researchers now can say what would happen in Samuel L. Jackson’s brain if he really were to confront snakes on a plane. In a terrifying sequel to that movie scenario, researchers convinced volunteers to bring a slithery serpent within centimeters of their heads while they lay trapped in a brain scanner.
The experiment, published June 24 in Neuron, allowed researchers to watch brain activity as people chose to quell their fear and bring the snake closer to their heads, offering a glimpse into the courageous brain. Understanding how the brain chooses to overcome fearful impulses may help scientists treat people with phobias, panic disorders or PTSD.
“This is a breakthrough study that will set the stage for a whole new area of work related to the brain and fear,” says neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux of New York University, who was not involved in the research.
Scientists have figured out much of what happens in the brain during fear, LeDoux says, but almost nothing is known about the ability to overcome the reaction.
read more here
Snakes on the Brain
Share Your Story
Our story with this has been out there for too many years to be able to tell it in a few words. My husband ended up beating it by getting help for the right problem. When he was treated for PTSD, he began to heal but first he needed to be able to understand what was happening to him. Then he had the power to heal.
This is a great idea and if you want to tell your story, please share it with About.com. I use a lot of their information on my videos and this site. Share your story so that someone going through the same thing across the country will be helped by reading your story and how you healed.
This is a great idea and if you want to tell your story, please share it with About.com. I use a lot of their information on my videos and this site. Share your story so that someone going through the same thing across the country will be helped by reading your story and how you healed.
PTSD Blog
By Matthew Tull, PhD, About.com Guide to PTSDShare Your Story
Thursday June 24, 2010
It is common for people with PTSD to develop substance use problems, including alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and smoking. This is not incredibly surprising given the high level of distress that coincides with the experience of PTSD symptoms . As a result, people with PTSD may seek out ways to "self-medicate" their symptoms. Substance use may work well in the short-term, but in the end, substance use leads to a whole host of problems and the addiction can be very difficult to overcome.
If you have suffered from and overcome a substance use problem, share your story with others on how you overcame your addiction. If you still suffer from substance use, you may find the help you need in this article by reading the stories of others who found their way out of their addiction.
Five Missouri National Guard Troops Committed Suicide In Six Months
The fact this has happened in the first six months of this year should be an awakening for the military and communities around the nation that what they've been doing has not worked. All the reports of what they've been trying has been a series of repeated mistakes. It is not that they don't care but more a case of being ill advised. They keep asking the same people to come up with solutions when that stopped making sense a long time ago. To think the same group of people would have anything new to suggest would mean they were holding back before this. It's like trying to get blood out of a stone.
Here's a suggestion that has worked in a lot of parts of the country in the civilian world. Crisis teams fully trained to deal with trauma and the aftermath. Some communities have enlisted the experts from mental health, Chaplains to take care of the spiritual aspects and therapist offering help thru programs like yoga and martial arts to help them learn how to calm anxiety, relieve stress and reduce anger. All of them have to be trained in their professions and receive more training on trauma. Without the specialized training on trauma, there isn't much they can really do to help.
The other thing they have to do is to train the families. It's gotten past the point when simply understanding the problem is sufficient. They need to understand but above that, they need to know what to look for and how to respond to it.
This is not impossible. In 1982 I learned the hard way. I married into the world of a Vietnam veteran at a time when no one was talking about PTSD. I faced having to learn all of this on my own with virtually no support in doing so simply because my family didn't understand. I was constantly advised to get a divorce just because they didn't have any knowledge on the subject. They were limited to the term "crazy Nam vet" and that was the end of what they were willing to understand. They were not alone but I was.
Time went on and little by little they understood more and supported me more in the process. We can do it today. The simple fact you're reading this blog proves how far we've come since those lonely days of searching for information in clinical books. We have hundreds of thousands of reports online to find what we need to know, yet there are countless families with absolutely no idea what it is they need to find. Support groups are vital but there are simply not enough of them. Families are on the front lines but when it comes to information and understanding, they are unarmed. The citizen soldiers pay for this instead of receiving what they need to heal. It's simply not enough to just point the finger at the military and the VA.
They need what the VA has to offer but unless they reinstate support groups for families along with providing them with the tools to help the veteran heal, we will continue to see numbers of suicides, attempted suicides, homelessness and divorces rise.
Holding a marriage together is hard enough but when you add in combat and PTSD, it becomes nearly impossible to stay together. I know for a fact if I didn't know what I knew, I wouldn't have been able to get past the dark days into better days. We've been married almost 26 years! They do not have to die because they've lost hope of healing. They do not have to become so despondent the end seems to be the only solution. They do need the rest of us to find reasons to stay. We can get there but only if the military and the VA listens to what really needs to be done and these steps are not nearly as expensive as what they've been trying to do.
They've paid out millions of dollars for programs that are repeated mistakes wasting money and more troubling, wasting lives. Maybe this report of the five suicides in six months will wake them up. After all, we're talking about the numbers from the Missouri National Guard alone and that is a very troubling piece of news.
Here's a video I made for the National Guard troops. Our citizen soldiers need more help and support and they are waiting.
And then we have this from Florida
Here's a suggestion that has worked in a lot of parts of the country in the civilian world. Crisis teams fully trained to deal with trauma and the aftermath. Some communities have enlisted the experts from mental health, Chaplains to take care of the spiritual aspects and therapist offering help thru programs like yoga and martial arts to help them learn how to calm anxiety, relieve stress and reduce anger. All of them have to be trained in their professions and receive more training on trauma. Without the specialized training on trauma, there isn't much they can really do to help.
The other thing they have to do is to train the families. It's gotten past the point when simply understanding the problem is sufficient. They need to understand but above that, they need to know what to look for and how to respond to it.
This is not impossible. In 1982 I learned the hard way. I married into the world of a Vietnam veteran at a time when no one was talking about PTSD. I faced having to learn all of this on my own with virtually no support in doing so simply because my family didn't understand. I was constantly advised to get a divorce just because they didn't have any knowledge on the subject. They were limited to the term "crazy Nam vet" and that was the end of what they were willing to understand. They were not alone but I was.
Time went on and little by little they understood more and supported me more in the process. We can do it today. The simple fact you're reading this blog proves how far we've come since those lonely days of searching for information in clinical books. We have hundreds of thousands of reports online to find what we need to know, yet there are countless families with absolutely no idea what it is they need to find. Support groups are vital but there are simply not enough of them. Families are on the front lines but when it comes to information and understanding, they are unarmed. The citizen soldiers pay for this instead of receiving what they need to heal. It's simply not enough to just point the finger at the military and the VA.
They need what the VA has to offer but unless they reinstate support groups for families along with providing them with the tools to help the veteran heal, we will continue to see numbers of suicides, attempted suicides, homelessness and divorces rise.
Holding a marriage together is hard enough but when you add in combat and PTSD, it becomes nearly impossible to stay together. I know for a fact if I didn't know what I knew, I wouldn't have been able to get past the dark days into better days. We've been married almost 26 years! They do not have to die because they've lost hope of healing. They do not have to become so despondent the end seems to be the only solution. They do need the rest of us to find reasons to stay. We can get there but only if the military and the VA listens to what really needs to be done and these steps are not nearly as expensive as what they've been trying to do.
They've paid out millions of dollars for programs that are repeated mistakes wasting money and more troubling, wasting lives. Maybe this report of the five suicides in six months will wake them up. After all, we're talking about the numbers from the Missouri National Guard alone and that is a very troubling piece of news.
Five Missouri National Guard Troops Commit Suicide So Far This Year
Written by Jennifer Moore
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, sits on the US Armed Services Committee. She says already this year, five soldiers in the Missouri National Guard have taken their own lives—that’s a record high, she says.
On Tuesday, the Armed Services Committee talked about the shortfall of mental health professionals in the military. McCaskill says one solution is to hire licensed mental health counselors without supervision.
“The military is moving forward on that, and they are working to fill 225 vacancies across the military with very-much needed mental health professionals,” she says.
McCaskill also talked about protecting a soldier’s confidentiality if he or she comes forward seeking mental health treatment, and embedding a mental health counselor in each National Guard unit across the state.
go here for more
http://www.ksmu.org/content/view/6869/66/
Here's a video I made for the National Guard troops. Our citizen soldiers need more help and support and they are waiting.
And then we have this from Florida
Community Leaders Say Listening to Military, Soldiers' Stories is Key to Prevent Suicide
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Nearly as many American troops have committed suicide this year as have been killed in combat in Afghanistan, according to published reports.
The U.S. government's top psychiatric researcher said that's because of inadequate mental health care for soldiers.
Last month, a study was published that found about 20 percent of returning U.S. soldiers have post traumatic stress disorder.
The military said so far this year, roughly 60 soldiers have committed suicide, and about 50 other deaths are still under investigation but have not been confirmed as suicides.
Jacksonville doctor, Justin D'Arienzo said while military suicides are shocking, they are for the most part on track with civilian suicide rates.
Judy Edwards, the president and founder of the Florida Blue Stars Mom, Chapter 1, said her son, 24-year old Army Spt. Nicholas Edwards is on his third deployment to Iraq.
"He has never really exhibited (suicidal thoughts) but it has been in the back of my mind because you hear so much about it here at home," said Edwards.
read more here
Community Leaders Say Listening to Military
Thursday, June 24, 2010
USS Cowpens sailor dies after fall from ship
USS Cowpens sailor dies after fall from ship
Stars and Stripes
Published: June 24, 2010
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A USS Cowpens sailor who fell roughly 100 feet off the ship and into a dry dock Thursday morning at Yokosuka Naval Base died from his injuries, 7th Fleet officials said.
The death is being investigated as a possible suicide, 7th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Jeff Davis said on Thursday.
read more here
USS Cowpens sailor dies after fall from ship
Stars and Stripes
Published: June 24, 2010
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A USS Cowpens sailor who fell roughly 100 feet off the ship and into a dry dock Thursday morning at Yokosuka Naval Base died from his injuries, 7th Fleet officials said.
The death is being investigated as a possible suicide, 7th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Jeff Davis said on Thursday.
read more here
USS Cowpens sailor dies after fall from ship
Last South Dakota code talker from World War II laid to rest
Last South Dakota code talker from World War II laid to rest
By Associated Press
June 23, 2010
STURGIS, S.D. (AP) — The last of the American Indian code talkers of South Dakota who served during World War II has been laid to rest.
Clarence Wolf Guts of Wanblee was buried Tuesday in Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis. The 86-year-old Wolf Guts died June 16 at the South Dakota Veterans Home in Hot Springs.
Wolf Guts was one of 11 Lakota, Nakota and Dakota code talkers from South Dakota. During the war, they transmitted messages from an Army general to his chief of staff in the field using their native language, which the Germans and the Japanese could not translate.
read more here
South Dakota code talker laid to rest
By Associated Press
June 23, 2010
STURGIS, S.D. (AP) — The last of the American Indian code talkers of South Dakota who served during World War II has been laid to rest.
Clarence Wolf Guts of Wanblee was buried Tuesday in Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis. The 86-year-old Wolf Guts died June 16 at the South Dakota Veterans Home in Hot Springs.
Wolf Guts was one of 11 Lakota, Nakota and Dakota code talkers from South Dakota. During the war, they transmitted messages from an Army general to his chief of staff in the field using their native language, which the Germans and the Japanese could not translate.
read more here
South Dakota code talker laid to rest
McChrystal firing necessary to preserve integrity
DOD leaders: McChrystal firing necessary to preserve integrity
By Kevin Baron
Stars and Stripes
Published: June 24, 2010
ARLINGTON, Va. — The top military officer in the country, Adm. Mike Mullen, said he felt sick the very moment he read the Rolling Stone article that led to the swift dismissal of Afghanistan war commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates said they strongly supported President Barack Obama’s decision to remove McChrystal, who offered his resignation at the White House on Wednesday.
At a somber Pentagon press conference, Gates said the “poor judgment” of the former International Security Forces Afghanistan commander, “has made his continued service in that post and as a member of the national security team untenable.”
“The statements and attitudes reported in the news media are unacceptable under our form of government and inconsistent with the high standards expected of military leaders,” he said, also citing the general’s off-color quips made last September in London about an alternative war strategy backed by Vice President Joe Biden.
read more here
McChrystal firing necessary to preserve integrity
By Kevin Baron
Stars and Stripes
Published: June 24, 2010
ARLINGTON, Va. — The top military officer in the country, Adm. Mike Mullen, said he felt sick the very moment he read the Rolling Stone article that led to the swift dismissal of Afghanistan war commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates said they strongly supported President Barack Obama’s decision to remove McChrystal, who offered his resignation at the White House on Wednesday.
At a somber Pentagon press conference, Gates said the “poor judgment” of the former International Security Forces Afghanistan commander, “has made his continued service in that post and as a member of the national security team untenable.”
“The statements and attitudes reported in the news media are unacceptable under our form of government and inconsistent with the high standards expected of military leaders,” he said, also citing the general’s off-color quips made last September in London about an alternative war strategy backed by Vice President Joe Biden.
read more here
McChrystal firing necessary to preserve integrity
Pentagon ignored payments to warlords
Congress: Pentagon ignored payments to warlords
By Richard Lardner - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 22, 2010 23:16:19 EDT
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers on Tuesday criticized military officials for failing to heed warnings about the role they say a Pentagon transportation contract plays in fueling extortion and corruption in Afghanistan.
Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., said at a hearing that the trucking companies hired to move food, water, fuel and ammunition to American troops stationed at bases across Afghanistan are forced to pay warlords millions of dollars to ensure safe passage through dangerous areas.
The spoils may then be funneled to the Taliban and insurgent forces with ties to the warlords, potentially making the U.S. an unwitting financier of the enemy.
“U.S. taxpayer dollars are feeding a protection racket in Afghanistan that would make Tony Soprano proud,” Tierney said, referring to the fictional mob leader in the TV series “The Sopranos.”
read more here
Pentagon ignored payments to warlords
By Richard Lardner - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 22, 2010 23:16:19 EDT
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers on Tuesday criticized military officials for failing to heed warnings about the role they say a Pentagon transportation contract plays in fueling extortion and corruption in Afghanistan.
Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., said at a hearing that the trucking companies hired to move food, water, fuel and ammunition to American troops stationed at bases across Afghanistan are forced to pay warlords millions of dollars to ensure safe passage through dangerous areas.
The spoils may then be funneled to the Taliban and insurgent forces with ties to the warlords, potentially making the U.S. an unwitting financier of the enemy.
“U.S. taxpayer dollars are feeding a protection racket in Afghanistan that would make Tony Soprano proud,” Tierney said, referring to the fictional mob leader in the TV series “The Sopranos.”
read more here
Pentagon ignored payments to warlords
American casualties total 500,000
Yes it is true they hide the real numbers, but even these numbers are low. Many people working with the troops know we're already past the million mark. Very sad.
IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN: American casualties total 500,000, counting injury and disease, writer claims
June 24, 2010 10:07 am
Here's an eye-popping number:
A blogger and writer claims American military casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan now exceed 500,000.
That's if you count certain injuries and diseases including mental illness that he alleges the Department of Defense doesn't include in its official combat-related casualty toll in an effort to soften U.S. military losses in the wars and win funding for them from the Congress.
For example, cases of traumatic brain injury and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, as a result of serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are excluded from the official list of casualties.
"Under this scheme, chronic injuries and many acute internal injuries such as hearing impairment, back injuries, mild traumatic brain injuries, mental health problems and a host of diseases suffered by personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan are usually not counted as being war-related regardless of how debilitating they are," writes Matthew Nasuti in an article published on the Afghan news site and media organization Kabul Press. "They are either generally lumped into the category of 'non-hostile wounded' or simply not counted at all."
Masuti is a former Air Force captain and Los Angeles deputy city attorney who worked for the State Department in Iraq for a spell. He's now a critic of the U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The writer claims that 95% of injured soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen were not reported as casualties due to what he refers to as the Pentagon's "fudging the numbers" in a bid to win funding from American lawmakers to finance the wars.
read more here
American casualties total 500,000
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