Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Soccer star strengthens bond with OEF OIF veteran Dad

Danny Cruz of D.C. United strengthens bonds with his father, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan
By Steven Goff,
(Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post) - D.C. United midfielder Danny Cruz, left, and Montreal midfielder Felipe Martins go for a header during the second half of the game at RFK Stadium.


As he spoke with wounded soldiers last week, his eyes tearing when told of roadside bombs and lost friends, D.C. United’s Danny Cruz thought of his father.

Al Cruz, Army sergeant first class, is stateside these days, preparing for reassignment to Illinois from Arizona. He served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan totaling more than 40 months since 2003 but was never injured.

“When I was listening to them tell their stories, I was thinking, ‘My dad was doing that,’ ” Danny, 22, said the day after a team-sponsored visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. “He was gone so long, it’s remarkable he’s okay.”

With combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, the elder Cruz, 45, doesn’t think he’ll go back. He told Danny he was proud he visited Walter Reed, saying, “You saw the war that most people don’t see.”
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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

“Tell Ashley I love her.”

Soldiers recount 60-second attack that left them reflecting on life and death
By MARTIN KUZ
Stars and Stripes
Published: May 1, 2012

MUCHAI KALAY, Afghanistan -- Staff Sgt. Damian Remijio and Spc. Zachary Fitch lay on the ground as a grenade bounced down a pile of rocks toward them. Metal struck stone with awful clarity.

Ting … ting … ting …

Remijio spoke the words he believed would be his last.

“Tell Ashley I love her.” His girlfriend of a year. “Tell Leiah I love her.” His 3-year-old daughter.

“Tell them I’m sorry.”

The soldiers belong to Company D of the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment stationed at Combat Outpost Sabari in eastern Khost province. Their platoon came under attack during a patrol April 12 near Muchai Kalay, a maze of mud-walled homes 15 miles from Pakistan.

Earlier that afternoon, a mortar round hit 100 feet outside COP Sabari, the fourth time in two weeks that militants had targeted the base. The artillery strikes suggested the so-called fighting season of the Taliban-led insurgency had arrived in a region dominated by the Haqqani network.
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President Obama in Afghanistan to sign security pact

Obama in Afghanistan to sign security pact
By Ben Feller
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 1, 2012

KABUL, Afghanistan — President Obama slipped into Afghanistan Tuesday night on an unannounced visit on the anniversary of the killing of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden. Obama is signing an agreement cementing a U.S. commitment to the nation after the long and unpopular war comes to an end.

The partnership spells out the U.S. relationship with Afghanistan beyond 2014, covering security, economics and governance. The deal is limited in scope and essentially gives both sides political cover: Afghanistan gets its sovereignty and a promise it won’t be abandoned, while the U.S. gets to end its combat mission but keep a foothold in the country.

The deal does not commit the United States to any specific troop presence or spending. But it does allow the U.S. to potentially keep troops in Afghanistan after the war ends for two specific purposes: continued training of Afghan forces and targeted operations against al-Qaida, which is present in neighboring Pakistan but has only a nominal presence inside Afghanistan.
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Soldier wrongly fired by Catholic charity for Iraq service

Jury: Soldier wrongly fired by Catholic charity for Iraq service
BY LEVI PULKKINEN,
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
Tuesday, May 1, 2012

A Washington National Guard sergeant was wrongly fired shortly before she deployed to Iraq, a federal jury in Seattle hearing the soldier’s civil lawsuit has ruled.

Returning its verdict late Monday, the jury found Sgt. Grace Campbell’s former employer Catholic Community Services discriminated against and wrongly fired her after learning Campbell would deploy to Iraq in 2008. The jury awarded her $485,000 in damages following a week-long trial.
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Fort Bragg won't help Staff Sgt. Joshua “Ike” Eisenhauer

Army will not intervene in Bragg shooting case
By Joe Gould
Staff writer
Posted : Monday Apr 30, 201

Fort Bragg’s top general has decided not to assume jurisdiction in the case of a troubled staff sergeant charged with shooting at cops and firefighters he thought were insurgents.

Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, the XVIII Airborne Corps commander, on Friday denied the request from Staff Sgt. Joshua “Ike” Eisenhauer’s attorney to have the Army take over his prosecution, post spokesperson Jacqueline Thomas said in an emailed statement.
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also

Parents say Fort Bragg soldier charged with shooting at firefighters has PTSD

Canadian Forces suicides on the rise in 2011

Canadian Forces suicides on the rise in 2011
Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA

More Canadian soldiers committed suicide last year than at any time since the mid-1990s, according to figures released by the military on Monday.

There were a total of 20 suicides among Canadian Forces personnel in 2011 — 19 males and one female — up from a dozen in 2010.

“One suicide is too many and we have too many every year,” Gen. Walter Natynczyk, chief of the defence staff, said of the increase Monday at a Senate defence committee hearing.

The military said in a news release that while the number for 2011 is higher than in previous years, the variation can be the result of “random patterns or indicate the beginning of an upward trend.”

But Defence Minister Peter MacKay said there is “no question” that the effects of multiple deployments to Afghanistan since 2001 “have had a debilitating effect” on the mental health of Canadian troops.

The military does not release specific details about suicide deaths other than those that occur while a soldier is deployed overseas. There were two “non-hostile” deaths in Afghanistan last year, including that of Master Cpl. Francis Roy last June. Military officials ruled Roy’s death as a possible suicide. A month earlier, Bombadier Karl Manning was killed in a “non-hostile” incident, though it isn’t clear whether it was suicide.

There were also several military suicides last fall that around the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, although it is unknown if the particular date played any role in the soldiers’ decision to take their lives.
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PTSD treatments that work never include Resiliency

Ritchie ran down the list of common "treatments" that have made the headlines but one thing stands out here. Nowhere has "resiliency" shown up in any of the suggestions about what works from articles posted on the subject. Why is that?
PTSD: Treatments That Work
By ELSPETH CAMERON RITCHIE
May 1, 2012

The recently-issued policy on screening and treating PTSD from the Army’s Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) is dense, specific and should be helpful in advancing the field of post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis and treatment.

Last week, I posted on the change in the criteria for diagnosing PTSD. Now we’ll examine a central focus of the policy: evidence-based treatment, including cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT), exposure-based treatment, and medication.

Evidence-based treatments are ones that are proven, in scientific trials, to be effective. The American Psychiatric Association and DoD-VA have published treatment guidelines.

There are other treatments that have not been proven, but show promise. They may be called evidence-informed treatments, or promising new treatments.

A brief description of these treatments follows. More information can be found in a number of forums, including at the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Read more


Last night during a conference call with Point Man International Ministries Resiliency Training came up and I had to control myself from hitting the roof on this. I pointed out that the rise in suicides, attempted suicides, calls to the Suicide Prevention Hotline along with veterans committing suicide can all be tied to this "program" that has done more harm than good.

It was introduced under Battlemind Training. While the program has some great aspects to it, the problem is, the message being delivered from the start is, PTSD is their fault for not training their minds to be tough. Yes, that is what the troops hear.

If someone told you that you could train your brain to be tough, wouldn't you think that meant you had a weak mind and not strong enough to take combat? Wouldn't you then assume after an event like a bomb blowing up some of your friends, and you couldn't get over it, that they were right and you are just not tough enough? Wouldn't you then find that notion stronger if you looked at your buddies after they went through the same thing but seem to be fine?

Would you want to talk to any of the people you were with about how it is effecting you knowing they took the same training you did but feel as if you are weaker than they are or didn't train right?

That happens all the time after the DOD has basically told them and everyone else they are with that PTSD is the fault of a weak mind.

They can claim anything they want but the end result is after over 4 years of the Battlemind approach, under different titles, it has not worked but they continue to push it. What is worse is the VA has been using the same type of response. Look at the number of suicides along with everything else and then you'll be as angry as I am about this.

DOD message has been PTSD is your fault

I've held enough Marines and soldiers in my arms as they cry and apologize for not "training" right. They didn't feel safe to talk to anyone about what they were going through because the others were "stronger" and "able to take it" when they couldn't. No one told them the rate of PTSD after an event is 1 out of 3 (some use 1 out of 5) which means not everyone ends up with PTSD after a horrific event during combat. No one told them that while they needed to heal after it, too many times they were exposed to more events piling on top of the event they just survived.

There is too much they are not being told and told too many times the wrong thing. Resiliency Training is the worst message they can hear!

Communities need to "invest in these soldiers"

Colorado war veteran: Communities need to "invest in these soldiers"
POSTED:05/01/2012
By Nancy Lofholm
The Denver Post

MONTROSE — Tim Kenney is almost in his element behind the counter at Toads Guide Shop. Here, bits of brightly colored fly-tying fluff fill glass bins, and a blue inflatable raft reminds customers — and Kenney — of the promise of future fly-fishing trips. Kenney had been a fishing, rafting and hunting guide and a contract trapper before he, then 41, decided to join the Army National Guard. He was tired of seeing 20-somethings disproportionately losing their lives in faraway wars. He reasoned that if he served, he might be able to keep his own children — two daughters, now 20 and 18, and two younger children — from having to go to war.

So this wiry outdoorsman reported for duty at Fort Benning with a company of fresh-faced youngsters who laughed at his love of Toby Keith's hyper-patriotic songs and who couldn't fathom Kenney's unfamiliarity with iPhones.

Physically, he was strong enough from years of rowing rough waters and tramping miles in big-game tracks to keep up with the younger soldiers, even when he volunteered for a combat unit headed to a mountainous region of Afghanistan.

A few years, several rocket-propelled-grenade hits, a blown-out disc, a torn shoulder, a shrapnel strike to the face, broken teeth and a rattled brain later, he is struggling to figure out whether he will ever be able to do what he did before he became Army Spec. Tim Kenney.
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Greedy colleges target veterans

U.S. Veterans Targeted By Marketers in College Selection Process
By SUSANNA KIM
ABC News
April 30, 2012


The Post-9/11 GI Bill offers financial support for veterans' education, leading some marketers to target vets with deceptive advertising about college opportunities and President Obama to sign an executive order on Friday to curb those abuses.

The bill was an enormous boost to Michael Dakduk, who served in the Marine Corps and is now executive director of Student Veterans of America, an organization whose mission is to provide vets in higher education and following graduation with resources and support.

Dakduk, who left active duty in 2008, said he would not have been able to pursue his bachelor's degree full-time at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"I had such a substantial increase in benefits, I could focus solely on studies," Dakduk said.

The Las Vegas-native had previously attended community college while working part-time, with assistance from the Montgomery GI Bill.

That bill provides a monthly education benefit to active duty military members who pay $100 a month for the financial assistance.
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My life slapped into perspective

Usually I'll offer the "off topic" note for a post like this but in this case, it is far from it.

In all these years I've met stunning heroes I wouldn't have had a chance to meet other than the simple fact I am involved with veterans. Most of the people I meet put me to shame doing far more than I do but without a public voice. Top that off with most of them do not want attention for what they do instead of what they are doing it for. Carol Gambill is one of those quiet heroes.

Most of the time she's out with her husband Russ raising money to build a house for a combat wounded veteran so their lives can be more comfortable. Dedication beyond belief! Carol was at the Veterans Reunion in Melbourne when I made it out there on Saturday, whining about how tired I was from the party the night before. Carol, as usual, stood there with a big smile on her face telling me I needed to have some fun once in a while.

Now I read what else happened while Carol was spending time surrounded by the veterans she loves! The woman she wants to help is not a veteran as you'll read but this goes to show that people who care don't stop caring when someone outside of their "group" needs someone.

Russ and Carol Gambill

Homes for Our Troops Volunteers
Homes For Our Troops
Florida Veterans Network

From: Carol Gambill
Subject: My life slapped into perspective

All right. This weekend I had my life slapped into perspective. Not only did I volunteer in my typical handing out information at events regarding 'Homes for our Troops', which builds and remodels homes for the severely wounded veterans but that is another story in itself and will try to stay focused and tell you about an extraordinary lady with whom I met.

Lois Search hasn't lost the fervor for life even from problems at a very young age. A "little person" as they are called and now for whatever reason in a wheelchair. Whether she was born ridden in wheelchair was never disclosed and I wasn't about to ask. I look past that fact knowing anyone of us could have been born no different. Lois begins to speak to me with her request as I stand with a flyer in my hand in front of the 'Homes for our Troops' booth. For some reason, I quickly hide the flyer behind my back and bend down to her height of two maybe three feet to listen more intently. I realize then that she has a oxygen tube that goes into her nose for her breathing. I focus on her words and lightly swallow back the discomfort of seeing it all. I look into her kind face and can't stop having the compassion that God would want us to have. To love our brother and sister.

As she hands me cards with the information (more like computer paper cut into the size of cards) and with small hands barely able to work effectively, it makes me wonder just how it would be to cut the paper? My mind drifted in thought in how difficult it would be to just get up every morning. The difficulty of taking care of oneself, showering or bathing, dressing then getting yourself into your wheelchair.

I ask her if I could walk around with her to hand them out. She is no doubt an inspiration as we walk around... her in wheelchair and me, feeling a bit guilty because I could. I talk with Lois and ask her how she got to Wickham Park. She tells me she rode the city transit bus from her house just a couple miles away. Crazy, 'cause if it took that much effort every day I would likely be a bit disillusioned with life and become so depressed I wouldn't go anywhere. Yes, she truly made me realize what a weak person I am.

Lois and I continue handing out the pieces of paper and she never once asks for money or any food but simply asked for a one single vote. A vote on the "Mobility Awaeeness Month" link on the internet so she may be able to pursue her independence with chances of winning a new van. Amazing, the humbleness, pride that has to be held and bravery, not to just speak on your behalf but to get up every day to face struggle.

Lois, you're a special Lady!

Take a look at the youtube video Lois Search Video with Lois telling more about herself but says nothing about her spirited independence, honesty, and adversaries--only that she would truly like to win! So please don't forget to vote for Lois Search on this link: Lois Search.

She currently has 1672 votes and deadline is May 13th 2012 so lets get her that van!

Carol Gambill Author of the 'Breaking Out Series'