Friday, August 3, 2018

Lowe's K-9 Employee Charlotte passed away

Texas Vet's Service Dog Who Worked With Him at Lowe's Died
The Golden Retriever was a customer favorite at the store
By Holley Ford
August 3, 2018
Luthy recently posted on his Facebook page that his beloved companion had passed away.
A Texas veteran's service dog who gained fame when she was hired to work at Lowe's has died.
Greg Jaklewicz - Abilene Reporter-News
U.S. Air Force veteran Clay Luthy and his golden retriever, Charlotte, were hired by the home improvement store in Abilene in 2016.
read more here

Original report from 2016

Unclaimed veterans moved from freezer to honor service

Strangers provide military sendoff to veterans unclaimed in death
Michigan Live
By Gus Burns
August 2, 2018

U.S. Airman Second Class Gerald Suttkus, 81, a Detroit native living in Harrison Township, died at home on May 1. He served in the Vietnam War from 1959 until 1965. He later worked as a shipping clerk for a manufacturing company.

Navy Seaman First Class Cyril Brown, 90, of Clinton Township, died Oct. 21, 2017 at Detroit Receiving Hospital. He served during World War II from June 1944 to June 1946.

Thomas Novak, 59, of Warren, died in an area hospital died on April 25. He served as a private first class in the U.S. Army from 1975 to 1976.
Tanya Moutzalias
The Macomb County Council Ritual Team stands in honor of three unclaimed veterans, PV1 Thomas M. Novak (Peacetime), S1 Cyril L. Brown (WWII), A2C Gerald W. Suttkus (Vietnam War), Thursday morning at a memorial service at Harold W. Vick Funeral Home in Mt. Clemens, Aug. 2, 2018. (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)
One survived World War II. Another made it out of Vietnam. The third served his country during peace time.

Most servicemen are sent off with gallant funerals in death, firing line salutes, a trumpet playing "Taps" and U.S. flag pageantry, but it wasn't looking like that would be the case for three Macomb County veterans who died over the last year.

Their bodies instead lay in morgue freezers.
read more here

From Black Hawk Down to Orlando VA, veteran fights to save lives

This ‘Black Hawk Down’ special operator is still fighting, but on a different front
Army Times
By: Neil Fotre
August 2, 2018
“I’ve lost almost as many friends to substance abuse in the form of overdose deaths or death by suicide coupled with substance abuse disorders than those lost in war.” Dr. Norman Hooten

“It’s about the men next to you. And that’s it. That’s all it is.”
Norman Hooten, bottom right, is pictured with other special operations soldiers in Somalia. (Courtesy photo)
That line in Ridley Scott’s acclaimed movie “Black Hawk Down” is holding true for one of the U.S. military’s most fabled special operators.

The real-life Delta Force operator who went by “Hoot,” and who was portrayed by Eric Bana in the movie, today fights a three-pronged enemy that continues to plague troops and veterans: post traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain and substance abuse.

Almost 25 years after the infamous Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia, which led to the “Black Hawk Down” book and movie, retired Master Sgt. Norman Hooten is now Dr. Norman Hooten.

Hooten is a full-time health care provider at the Orlando VA Medical Center. And he has first-hand experience with the effects of war, including a platoon sergeant he had known early in his career who died by suicide after struggling with PTSD and substance abuse.
read more here

Thursday, August 2, 2018

I want you to go away...happier

My job is to get you to go away~happier ever after!
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
August 2, 2018

If you think the message about how veterans are committing suicide is doing any good, then you need to actually pay attention to how this is a massive delusion veterans keep paying for with their lives.

Considering the VA known data on suicides only go up to 2015, there are some saying that there is no proof it does not work. Actually there is. 

The DOD, Department of Defense, is under mandate to report military suicides on a quarterly basis. Usually about 90 days after the fact, but at least we have a better idea of current deaths. It has remained about 500 a year since 2012.

Clearly, proof that raising awareness has not worked out for them, and great indication that it is not working for veterans either.

So what works? 

"There are organizations out there that support the prevention of veteran suicides and if you are a veteran that is struggling, there is hope. I can assure you of that."
That was the message of Chris White after he did this.

Chris White weaves through stadium security while sprinting across the Minute Maid Park outfield last Friday. (Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via AP Images)
You can read more about him here  on Marine Corps Times.

Then there is Kately Miller who said this about what winning a top model spot on Muscle and Fitness Magazine meant to her.

Katelyn says she plans to use the prize money to start a gym dedicated to PTSD veterans. 
"To give them a safe space to go that they know that everybody is going to understand who they are and what they're going through," said Katelyn. "[It's] a way to show people that you can come through so much and come out on top."
You can read more about her on CBS 8 News 

People can pull all the stunts they want but if the message is about other veterans committing suicide, especially when the people doing the talking know very few facts, it fails.

It succeeds at increasing bank accounts and publicity for the people doing interviews, but fails the veterans it was supposed to be about saving.

I was talking with a veteran yesterday and he was having a hard time understanding what my "job" was. I told him, "It is to get you to go away..." but before I could finish the sentence, he gasped. I took a deep breath, hoping to get all the words out, "It is my job to get you to go away happier ever after!"

My job is to get you to understand what PTSD is, why you have it, or whatever else it takes for you to want to heal even more. Basically, it is to clear the road and get you to drive away.

Once you know what you need to know, that your life can be a lot better than the hell you've settled for, then you will take control of the road with pit stops.

After 36 years years, I lose on average $2,000 a year. Last year was a bit rougher and it was over $3,000. Sure I try to do some fund raising online to break even, but not so great at that. I have a regular job and I do OK financially. The point is, I do this 45 hours a week and that is all it costs to do it!

Thousands of reports, hundreds of videos, events, groups, you name it and that is all it costs me. This site, as of right now, has 3,839,083 page views. My other site, PTSD Patrol, has 14,879. So, reaching people is not expensive either.

The thing is, why should I, or anyone else, make money off delivering a message that you have plenty of company suffering? They should be delivering the message about having more company from others who have been where you are, like the two you just read about, but decided they could #TakeBackYourLife and they did!

The power to heal is already in you. My job is just to get it connected again. Plain, simple and basically the same message it was when others went out before I even heard the term PTSD. 

The question is, who are you going to follow? People leading you deeper into the pit, of folks doing whatever it takes to get you to go away happier after ever?




Community builds home with love for wounded veteran

Army Vet gets 'notes of love' written directly on house
KLBK News
By: Emily Harrison
Posted: Aug 01, 2018
LUBBOCK, Texas - A wounded veteran received some uplifting words from the community Wednesday as volunteers left what they call "notes of love" on the walls of the house they're working to build him.

"We recognize the sacrifice the men and women make when they sign their name on that sheet of paper," said Senator Charles Perry. "They have to be willing to lay down their lives, and some are maimed for life, none of them come back unchanged." This includes Army Corporal Michael Vasquez, whose life changed after he was deployed. In 2008, he was sent to Afghanistan, where he was injured from the waist down after a grenade was thrown at his car. Vasquez said accepting the fact that he would never walk again was difficult.

"It was a really dark day," said Vasquez. "I was drinking and doing things I shouldn't. It just brought me down to a spot that I didn't want to be in."

However, he didn't let that keep him down. Vasquez started participating in hand-cycle races and speaking on behalf of other wounded veterans. For better or worse, he said, he's grateful about the opportunities he's been given because of his injuries.
read more here

Fabulous anti-suicide stunt delivered in underwear

Houston, we have a hero: Silkies-clad vet streaks across Astros outfield, into American hearts
Marine Corps Times
By: J.D. Simkins
August 1, 2018
“There are organizations out there that support the prevention of veteran suicides and if you are a veteran that’s struggling, there is hope. I can assure you that.” 
Chris White
The world became a better place last Friday when Chris White made the decision to leap from the outfield stands at Houston’s Minute Maid Park and make his way across the outfield after the final strike of a game between the Astros and the Texas Rangers.
Chris White weaves through stadium security while sprinting across the Minute Maid Park outfield last Friday. (Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

As he touched down on the field, the Marine Corps veteran ditched his restrictive pants, blessing the eyes of the 42,592 in attendance by revealing a pair of freedom-emitting American flag silkies.

Aerodynamically prepared for maximum sprint ability, White then commenced his outfield jaunt, breaking the tackle of the first security guard and making the second look like a shoe-in for Saturday remedial PT. Heisman!

And while White’s excursion concluded with him surrendering to authorities, as most streaking displays do, the incident afforded him a platform to discuss an organization, Freedom Hard, he created to use humor to curb the glaring trend of veteran suicide, according to a Click 2 Houston report.

“If I can make you laugh for at least five minutes, then you’re not thinking about that dark space that you can potentially be in," White told Click 2 Houston. “And if I can gear it toward patriotism, to me, I consider that the holy grail.”
read more here

Now this is something I can fully support! It is delivering the anti-suicide message veterans need to hear! Nothing has to be as bad as it is for any of them!

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Navy Veteran Katelyn Miller winning battles after PTSD

San Diego veteran with PTSD transforms her body and life
CBS 8 News
Video Report By Monique Griego, Reporter
Aug 01, 2018

SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) — A local Navy veteran is using fitness to improve her body and mind all while helping wounded warriors. Katelyn Miller, a former sailor battling PTSD, is competing to become the next cover model for Muscle and Fitness Magazine Hers.
Working out with Katelyn can definitely be a little intimidating, but what's even more impressive than her fit physique is what she overcame to get where she is today.

"I got really out of shape when I was depressed and in my bouts of PTSD," she said.

Katelyn looked much different just five years ago.

"Whenever I look back on that, I see a girl that was lost but I also see a girl that had strength in her somewhere," Katelyn said.

Katelyn was enlisted in the U.S. Navy and, at the same time, was going through the aftermath of an extremely traumatic experience.

"When I was on deployment on 2011, I was sexually assaulted," she said.

The incident sent her spiraling.
"I actually tried to commit suicide and ended up in the ward for four days in Washington," said Katelyn.
read more here

VA Appeal Backlog at 400,000

VA appeals backlog claims at 400,000!
But this is the worst part of all!
Noting the backlog of more than 400,000 appeals, he said,

"Many veterans will end up waiting at least six years just for the decision on their appeal. Veterans and their families deserve better."

Under the RAMP program, veterans can choose to withdraw their existing claim and transfer to two new "lanes" for a quicker decision.
Which means, if they do, the backlog of claims will suddenly decrease while the number of veterans waiting to have their claims approved did not change!
Read it here on Military Times

New VA Secretary Faces 400,000-Case Appeals Backlog, IT Delay

Inspiring National Veterans Wheelchair Games

National Veterans Wheelchair Games brings adaptive sports to Orlando
Orlando Sentinel
Patrick Connolly
August 1, 2018
Over 650 disabled military veterans, including some from Great Britain and Puerto Rico, are expected to compete in 21 events.
The National Veterans Wheelchair Games rolled into Orlando this week, bringing events ranging from wheelchair rugby to archery and table tennis.

The 38th games kicked off at the Orange County Convention Center on Monday with events happening through Saturday. Admission is free except for paid convention center parking.
Josh Burch, a Marine veteran from Virginia, is in his first year of playing wheelchair rugby. Wheelchair rugby isn’t exactly like the rugby other athletes play, he explained.

“It’s not really like rugby at all,” Burch said. “It’s more like basketball and catch.”

For the games, he’s on a team with Mason Symons, an Army veteran from Texas who has dreams of making it to the USA team. He said things can get heated sometimes.

“It’s intense, it’s combative,” Symons said. “It gets pretty brutal.”
read more here

VA finds 'deteriorating' conditions at DC hospital

This is what happens when the President decided that it was a good thing to privatize the VA and then appointed people to make sure that happened.

Too bad when people tried to warn about this, some just passed it off and wanted to "give him a chance" to pull it off!

He is finishing the job the others in Congress started a long time ago. Destroy the VA instead of honoring the fact that veterans, unlike civilians, prepaid for the care they need BY GETTING DISABLED IN THE FIRST PLACE SERVING THIS COUNTRY!


Memo: VA finds 'deteriorating' conditions at DC hospital
STARS AND STRIPES
By NIKKI WENTLING
Published: August 1, 2018
Since then, inspection reports from the Food and Drug Administration and the VA’s National Program Office for Sterile Processing have revealed ongoing problems. The reports, obtained by Stars and Stripes this spring, detailed instances of dirty syringe bottles, unsanitary conditions, rooms in disarray and staff and supply shortages that led to canceled procedures.

WASHINGTON – After being deemed high risk in January, the flagship Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Washington has continued to deteriorate in quality during the first six months of 2018.

The hospital was designated “critical” and its performance is under administrative review, including possible changes of leadership, according to a memorandum sent to the D.C. hospital July 17 from Carolyn Clancy, then executive in charge of the Veterans Health Administration. The memo was obtained Wednesday by Stars and Stripes.

“Unfortunately, we have not seen the amount of improvement desired over the past two quarters and now see benefit in utilizing additional measures to support the facility in stabilizing the hospital’s quality to the extent that it can be sustained,” Clancy wrote.

According to the memo, the hospital isn’t getting better, despite public assertions from VA officials over the past several months that problems there were being fixed.
read more here