Thursday, July 3, 2014

Wells Fargo to donate $30 million worth of property to veterans and their families

Veteran receives mortgage-free home in Harford
Joppatowne condo donated by Wells Fargo to Operation Homefront organization
Baltimore Sun
BY DAVID ANDERSON
July 3, 2014

John Laursen, an Army veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his wife Casey have spent about a year handling his recovery after being medically evacuated from Afghanistan, but they are able to begin moving forward, with the first steps being across the threshold of their new home in Harford County Wednesday.

The Laursens and their dog, a Labrador mix named Bailey, will live in a mortgage-free condominium in Joppatowne, which they obtained through the nonprofit organization Operation Homefront.

Wells Fargo owns the property, and the San Francisco-based banking firm, one of the largest in the nation, donated it to Operation Homefront.

The property donation is part of a commitment by Wells Fargo to donate $30 million worth of property to veterans and their families; the financial institution committed $35 million over three years to assist veterans beginning in 2012.

The Laursens moved into the condominium, in the 500 block of Cider Press Court, Wednesday morning.

As part of the "key ceremony," they received a surprise greeting from representatives of Operation Homefront, as well as family members they have not seen in a year, including Casey's older sister, Stephanie Young, her mother Cindy Young and grandmother Kathy Hallsworth, all of Watertown, N.Y.

The couple had been living in an apartment in Woodbridge, Va., since July 2013 as John recovered at Ft. Belvoir Community Hospital from injuries sustained in Afghanistan that year.
read more here

Veterans need to think of needing help in a different way

A friend on Facebook had this picture up.
It home with me for more than one reason. I am a "helper" and so are most of the people I know. Strange how that works. People tend to find their "own kind" because their "own kind" understand them. I spend my free time with veterans. My vocation is helping them and their families with PTSD since I am among their number as well. My husband is a Vietnam veteran.
Vocation and calling are literally the same words, one Latin and one Greek, and mean the deeper, longer story of one’s life, the commitments and passions, the gifts and skills, the loves and longings that make us “us.”
On Vocation and Occupation
, Dr. Steven Garber, Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation and Culture

When I work for a paycheck, it comes from being a temp and at this time, the assignment is to do research for a title company. I have had many jobs over the years but for over 30 years, my vocation has been working on PTSD, especially Combat PTSD, trying to help veterans and their families learn the easy way what over half my life has taught me. But it goes even deeper than that.

Whenever I am asked what got me into this, I tell them simply "I am helping myself." In the beginning there was nothing available for veterans and families like mine. I remember what it felt like like and it was a very lonely place to be.

I have also discovered that having a helper nature makes it hard to ask for help when I need it. Right now I have been dealing with some health issues which awakened this avoidance to accept help. Long story short, I had a double infection (sinus and abscess tooth) requiring strong antibiotics. The medication ended up killing off the bad bacteria as well as the good. My body fought off what was wrong as long as it could until I gave up and went to the doctor yesterday. It is gross so I won't go into detail. Basically there is nothing inside of me besides air. Now I am on another round of antibiotic to fight off another infection and probiotics to counter that.

I prefer to spend the day in bed, away from everyone, so that I don't bother anyone. My family has been fabulous but it has been very hard to let them know what I need. I used to drag myself out of bed and get it myself most of the time.

You are the ones accustomed to doing for others to the point where you could pay for it with your life. That is your vocation. Being in the military is not just an occupation because it requires so much more than that. No matter what you do for a paycheck now, that desire to make a difference is still within you. Asking for help is just about as hard as admitting you need it.

Over the years, it has become easier to ask for help because I thought about it this way. When I help someone in need, I am fulfilling my vocation and I feel wonderful helping someone else. When I allow them to help me, I am passing on that blessing of sharing what that feels like. Allowing someone to help a helper is actually a greater blessing for them.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Quadruple Amputee Iraq Veteran Gets New Limbs at Walter Reed

With transplanted arms and Army grit, a quadruple amputee soldiers on
Washington Post
Michael E Ruane
June 30, 2014
Marrocco, at occupational therapy at the Military Advanced Training Center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. At the time of his injury, he was the first service member from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive the loss of four limbs.
(Michel du Cille/The Washington Post)

Brendan Marrocco sits at a table in the occupational therapy room and with the help of his teeth straps the exercise hooks to his wrists.

His new flesh-and-blood hands are not yet strong enough to grip the pull-up bar, so the hooks must do for now.

He slides out of his wheelchair, walks a few steps on the stumps of his legs and looks up at the bar.

“I have to prepare myself to do this,” he says. He reaches up, latches the wrist hooks to the bar and curses. “I’m so not ready right now.”

His occupational therapist, Joe Butkus, who is watching, says: “You got it. This is easy.”

Then the retired Army sergeant, who has no legs and has transplanted arms joined with plates and screws, begins.

One, two, three . . .
read more here

To families of PTSD Veterans, it is not an invisible wound

It is fine for civilian families to say that PTSD is an "invisible" wound of war. After all, they really can't see it as much as we can. While we cannot see the cuts on the surface, we see what PTSD is doing to them. The family of Cody Watson also know what it is like to be a part of a group not counted. The press uses the "22 a day" number when discussing suicides tied to veterans but no one has tried to count the families. Even if they did, they would never know the true number of people grieving for a veteran who survived combat risking their lives for someone else, but couldn't survive back home when the battle was for themselves.

My husband's nephew was one of the years ago when no one was paying much attention. He was a Vietnam veteran with PTSD. If anyone counted the families, they would have counted his ex-wife and son but not the woman he was living with. They would have counted his Mom, brother and sister, but not the rest of his family.

Families are bigger for the troops and veterans because this bond goes beyond blood ties.

Cody Watson came home, sought help for PTSD.
"In late March of this year, he walked away from a voluntary residential treatment housing downtown. On March 25, he jumped to his death from the Monroe Street Bridge. Like every one of the epidemic number of suicides among veterans returning from war, he left a wake of pain and questions behind."
Shawn Vestal: Army veteran survived battle, but not its aftermath
The Spokesman-Review
Shawn Vestal
July 2, 2014
“You could see the change,” Todd Watson said. “He wasn’t smiling anymore. He wasn’t happy. He was obviously depressed. I remember telling my wife, this isn’t going to end well.”


Pictures cover the refrigerator in the kitchen at Todd and Renee Watson’s North Side home.

In one of them, their son, Cody, smiles out at a camera in 2009. “This is before he deployed,” Todd Watson said. “He looks like he’s 14 years old. And then you look at him here” – Watson points to another photo of Cody, bearded and looking hard, and his voice breaks – “he looks 15 years older.”

Cody came back from Iraq in 2010, struggling with the demons so many veterans do. Depression. Anger. All the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. Alcoholism and addiction – efforts to erase the pain.

He returned to Spokane in February 2012 after his separation from the Army. He was treated at the VA for behavioral health and substance abuse problems.

In late March of this year, he walked away from a voluntary residential treatment housing downtown. On March 25, he jumped to his death from the Monroe Street Bridge. Like every one of the epidemic number of suicides among veterans returning from war, he left a wake of pain and questions behind.

“You see this kind of stuff,” Todd Watson said. “You read about it. You think, ‘That could never be my child. We were good parents. He was a happy kid. How did my son, who was so happy, how did he get so sick with depression?’ ”

Suicides among veterans and active-duty servicemen and women are tragically common. A VA analysis of suicides between 1999 and 2011 concluded that 22 veterans a day take their own lives. As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have wound down, suicide has overtaken combat as the leading cause of death for active-duty soldiers.
read more here


To families of PTSD Veterans, it is not an invisible wound and they are not just numbers.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Vietnam Veteran stole valor then corrupted justice

Former Marine's 'bogus as hell' service record used in trial
Stars and Stripes
By Jon Harper
Published: July 1, 2014

WASHINGTON — Former Marine Charles Allen Chavous was facing prison for his role in a decades-old murder. His attorney portrayed him as a Vietnam War hero who deserved leniency, telling the court he was a POW who escaped captivity and was awarded numerous combat valor medals, including the prestigious Navy Cross.

When the judge handed down his sentence, Chavous, 63, walked away a free man.

But in a case of stolen valor, none of the claims turned out to be true.

The proceedings in Augusta, Ga., were first reported by The Augusta Chronicle. After Chronicle readers expressed skepticism about the alleged war record, Stars and Stripes tried to verify attorney Scott Connell’s unchallenged claims.

Stars and Stripes sent the DD-214 to Doug Sterner, a leading military records expert and the chief archivist for the Military Times Hall of Valor website. Sterner is a Vietnam veteran who has spearheaded efforts to protect the integrity of the military awards system, including the Stolen Valor Act, which would have made it a crime to falsely take credit for unearned medals. The Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional, saying it violated the right to free speech.

Sterner noted “very serious discrepancies” that suggested the DD-214 was phony, including:

Parts of Block 24 (Awards) and Block 25 (Education and Training) clearly are in a different font than the rest of the DD-214.
The word “Gallantry” is misspelled “Gallentry” in Block 25.
The “Navy Cross Medal” and the “Silver Star Medal” — as they appear in the document — are referred to simply as “Navy Cross” and “Silver Star,” without the word “Medal” appearing after them.
Block 30 (Remarks) states that Chavous served in Vietnam 30 Jan 1970-1 December 1970 and then again from 15 Jan 1971-6 July 1971. But the font listing the second tour is different from the text above it, which indicates it came from a different typewriter.
Block 30 (Remarks) states that Chavous was “(Missing in Action) November 21-24, 1970,” but the (month/day/year) date format is different from the date format used just above it, and it is not the proper (date/month/year) format used by the military. This suggests the “Missing in Action” part was added later by someone else.
In Block 5a and 6 (Rank), his rank is shown as “Sgt.” with a date of rank of Jan. 3, 1970, but the “g” in “Sgt” is in a different font than the “g” in “Augusta,” which indicates that “Sgt” was written with a different typewriter.
“That DD-214 is BOGUS AS HELL,” Sterner said in an email.
read more here

Tampa Sunset Apartments kicking out disabled veterans over management change

Veterans living near VA kicked out of apartments
FOX 13 News - MyFoxTampaBay.com

TAMPA (FOX 13)
Residents at Sunset Plaza said they aren't asking for much.

Saulo Soriao-Brito chose Sunset Plaza because it is right next to the V.A. Hospital, but life for the Vietnam veteran has been disrupted by a letter.

"I don't know what I am going to do. That is what worries me. What am I going to do what am I going to do?" he said.

The letter is from the new property managers. It gives residents 30 days to get out.

"I'm thinking that I will just take my clothes and papers and just get out of here," he said.

A few doors down, Vietnam vet James Valentine is not sure what to do.

"Give us some time realistic time. Not just 30 day notice then, you are out of here," he said.

After the war, he lost both of his legs.

"I have had numerous surgeries and rehabilitations," he said.

He relies on the V.A. and needs to be close. He is worried because he does not have any help to leave.
read more here

VA appointment 2 years after Vietnam Vet died

In all fairness, this veteran was being treated by the VA but the veteran and his wife wanted care closer to home and that is what they were waiting for. It wasn't a case of waiting to be seen. Just goes to show what you can do with a title,,,,,,
Veteran finally gets VA appointment 2 years after his death
The Washington Times
By Jessica Chasmar
Tuesday, July 1, 2014

The Department of Veterans Affairs has issued an apology after a Massachusetts widow received a letter offering her husband an appointment almost two years after he died.

Doug Chase, a Vietnam veteran, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2011, his widow Suzanne, of Acton, told a CBS affiliate in Boston.

In 2012, Mrs. Chase said she tried to move her husband’s medical care from Boston to the VA hospital in Bedford, so they could be closer to home, but they waited four months and never heard anything. He died in August 2012.

Ms. Chase said she received a letter in the mail two weeks ago that was addressed to her husband, saying he could call to make an appointment.

“It was 22 months too late, I kind of thought I was in the twilight zone when I opened this letter and read it,” she told the news station.
read more here

Welfare check on veteran ends with him being tasered and arrested?

Former soldier tased, arrested after Phenix City standoff
WRBL News 3
By David Hurst
Posted: Jun 30, 2014

PHENIX CITY, Ala.
News 3 cameras were rolling when a Phenix City man was tased and arrested outside his home Monday afternoon after an hour-long standoff with Phenix City Police.

Jonathan Russ was arrested outside his Phenix City home on Maggy Court in the Silver Leaf subdivision.

Police initially went to the home for a welfare check on a child. Russ answered the door with a gun and wouldn't let the officer inside, Phenix City Police Lt. Jason Whitten tells News 3.

Authorities say as the officer was calling for backup, a child ran out of the house. The child was staying at the home with Russ, according to police. Authorities would not comment on the relation of the child to Russ.
read more here

PTSD Brain Game Big Money

When will Americans get it? When do they finally understand that PTSD "research" is a brain game that is costing us millions while veterans get worse? How many more years do they need to "invest" in something that has been occurring since the beginning of time? Now we have another $30 million going into putting implants into brains? When will enough be enough? This is yet one more attempt to revert back to the days of electroshock therapy.
Mass General Awarded Grant to Design Device for PTSD Treatment
The first of its kind device may reduce symptoms of neuropsychiatric disorders like PTSD.
Boston Magazine
By Andrea Timpano
Hub Health
June 30, 2014

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded a $30 million grant to researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General) to design an implantable deep brain stimulation device to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders. The device will be used specifically to reduce symptoms of debilitating conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

The National Institute of Mental Health reports that PTSD affects more than 7 million American adults. The CDC reports that TBI was diagnosed in more than 2 million emergency room patients in 2010. That’s why this device could be a true game changer because there is nothing else like it.

In partnership with engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Draper Laboratories, researchers plan to build a device that monitors brain signals in real time and stimulates key areas in order to manage troublesome symptoms.
read more here

Congress:inaction on veterans care, "nauseating"

This is a good article but Coburn does not get a pass on this as if he had nothing to do with the problem. None of them do. So when is it they actually apologize to veterans and fix the VA once and for all veterans?
Congress knew of VA problems -- and did nothing
AZ Central
EJ Montini, columnist
June 30, 2014

So, it turns out they knew, all of the people we elected and all of the people the elected people appointed, and the bureaucrats, and the investigators. Essentially, everyone.

They knew that things at the Veterans Affairs hospitals were a mess. That veterans were going untreated. That wait times and appointments were a joke.

They knew.

There were dozens of hearings. There were more than 20 reports by the VA's inspector general and others.

It's all laid out in an article by The Arizona Republic's Paul Giblin.

Boiled down to the basics, it can be summed up by something Sen. Tom Coburn, the Republican from Oklahoma and a physician, said, which was: "The reason vets' care has suffered for so long is Congress has failed to hold the VA accountable. Despite years of warnings from government investigators about efforts to cook the books, it took the unnecessary deaths of veterans denied care from Atlanta to Phoenix to prompt Congress to take action."

It's nauseating.

read more here

Coburn isn't the only one. None of them have apologized to veterans. Not even to the veterans calling their offices over all these years.
In a statement, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), usually an administration critic, hailed McDonald’s experience as a veteran and as a leader in the private sector, calling him the “kind of person who is capable of implementing the kind of dramatic systemic change that is badly needed and long overdue at the VA. But the next VA secretary can only succeed in implementing that type of change if his boss, the president, first commits to doing whatever it takes to give our veterans the world class health care system they deserve.”

How the hell does Boehner have the nerve to talk about what is "overdue" at the VA?
From John Boehner's website Elected to Congress in 1990


Congress played shell game with veterans

Senator Coburn wants to pretend he just got to Washington

Countdown Top Ten VA Scandals from 2008