Australia: Veteran Sent Wife's Attacker to Hospital

Aussie Iraq war vet under investigation for protecting wife from alleged Muslim attacker 
Washington Times
By Kellan Howell
January 30, 2016

“I’m a war veteran and I fought in the Middle East. The main attacker was Muslim and my take is he probably didn’t like being told what to do from a woman,” Mr. Tyrrell told the Herald Sun.

Kyle Tyrrell, 47 and his wife Liana. (Image: the Herald Sun)

Police are investigating a retired Lieutenant-Colonel and Iraq war veteran in Australia after he got into a skirmish with a fisherman who he says attacked his wife.

Kyle Tyrrell, 47, suffered minor injuries and says his wife, Liana, was punched in the face during the fight on Jan. 23 at the Cosy Corner beach at Torqauy, the Herald Sun newspaper reported. At least one of the fishermen was taken to the hospital.
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WWII Veteran Will Meet Old Girlfriend on Valentines Day!

World War II Veteran to Reunite with Wartime Girlfriend 
Military.com
Associated Press
January 21, 2016

In this photo taken Nov. 6, 2015, Norwood Thomas, 93, talks with Joyce Morris via Skype from his home in Virginia Beach, Va. (Bill Tiernan/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)

VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia -- A World War II veteran will travel to Australia to reunite with his wartime girlfriend after more than 70 years. The Virginian-Pilot reports 93-year-old Norwood Thomas will travel to Adelaide, Australia, next month to reunite with 88-year-old Joyce Morris.

Thomas told Morris that he would love to see her again in person when the two recently spoke via Skype. After their story went public two months ago, more than 300 people made donations online to help the two rekindle their romance.

The newspaper reports Air New Zealand has also made arrangements to send Thomas and his son to Australia free of charge. read more here

UK: Double Amputee Funds Own "Legs to Wear"

Afghanistan war veteran has to remortgage home to fund limb surgery
The Telegraph UK
By Tom Whitehead, Security Editor
December 27, 2015

"They are not looking after veterans. I'm stuck in a wheelchair with my life on hold and it's not fair. I want to be out and about but I can't because I've no legs to wear."

War hero Clive Smith, who lost both legs below the knee in a bomb blast, is having to spend £90,000 to go to Australia for pioneering artificial limb surgery

War hero Clive Smith is spending £90,000 flying 10,000 miles to Sydney for a operation which he hopes will transform his life. He said he has been left with no choice because the NHS and the Ministry of Defence have betrayed him, despite pledges that injured veterans would get the best possible care.

Sapper Smith, who stepped on a landmine in Helmand Province in 2010, has been in a wheelchair for 12 months, waiting for new prosthetic limbs.

Clive Smith, sixth right, in a shoot for the Invictus Games

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I was only 19’: Classic Redgum song about Vietnam War PTSD

Brings back a lot of memories. My husband was only 19 in Vietnam. We met in 1982. That was when I started researching PTSD and what has become such a big part of my life. Just got a little weepy after finding the video of the song below so done posting for the day.

I was only 19’: Classic Redgum song about Vietnam War PTSD to be added to 'Sounds of Australia' collection 
International Business
By Alice Hennen
December 15 2015

Australian singer John Schumann performs for Vietnam War veterans from Australia at the greyhound in Vung Tau city, 100 km (62 miles) southeast of Ho Chi Minh city August 17, 2006. The veterans will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Long Tan battle, one of the bloodiest, if not biggest, battles Australia was involved in during the Vietnam War. Reuters/Kham

When folk band Redgum frontman John Schumann penned the classic, “I was only 19 (A walk in the light green)” in 1983, he was writing it for the soldiers who upon returning home, felt disconnected from civilian life and alienated by the government.

This song, written from the perspective of a soldier returned from the Vietnam War, has now been added to “Sounds of Australia”, a collection of historically, culturally and aesthetically significant sounds established by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.

Schumann drew inspiration for the song from his brother-in-law, who served in Vietnam and was a member of the Vietnam Veterans’ Association of Australia.

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Drug Company "PTSD will significantly enhance partnering potential"

So, why are so many doing stuff to "treat" PTSD while it has gotten worse? Here's your answer. FOLLOW THE MONEY!
This is a press release!

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Identified as Major New Market Opportunity for BNC210
PR Newswire
ADELAIDE, Australia
Dec. 8, 2015

It is estimated that approximately 8 million Americans, or 3.5% of the US population, suffer PTSD at any given time. Similarly, an estimated 1 million Australians experience PTSD in any year[1], and 12% of Australians will experience PTSD during their lifetime[1].

A substantial additional market opportunity for BNC210 has been identified and will be developed via a Phase 2 trial funded by a US$12m placement Data supporting the use of BNC210 for PTSD will significantly enhance partnering potential and the value created for BNO shareholders The placement of US$12m, following the Merck and Co. Inc, (MSD) investment, reflects increasing interest from US investors as BNO builds greater visibility in the US

Australian drug development company Bionomics Limited (ASX:BNO, OTCQX:BNOEF) will launch a key Phase 2 trial of its novel anxiety drug BNC210 as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), following a US$12 million private placement to US institutional investors.

The new trial is expected to begin in the first half of 2016, with patients to be recruited at several trial sites in Australia and New Zealand. All patients enrolled will have experienced severe trauma, including war, natural disasters or have been involved in serious accidents.

The program will be funded with a US$12 million Private Placement to four US institutional investors.

Under the placement 40,207,472 shares will be issued at A$0.408 per share with attaching 40,207,472 warrants to purchase shares at A$0.5938 per share (the same price as the MSD investment), of which 16,082,988 warrants will be subject to shareholder approval at a shareholder meeting to be held early in 2016. Roth Capital Partners acted as the sole US Placement Agent in the transaction.

The Board recommends that shareholders vote to approve the issue of the warrants. The Board further advises that individual Board members will vote their shareholdings in favour of the issue of the warrants.

Bionomics CEO and Managing Director Dr Deborah Rathjen said all existing data indicated that BNC210, which is currently in trial to treat Generalised Anxiety Disorder, could be an effective therapy for PTSD patients.
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Stolen Valor in Australia Too

Ex-serviceman Timothy Koch fined for falsely claiming to have served in Afghanistan 
ABC Australia
By court reporter James Hancock
Posted about 3 hours ago

An ex-serviceman from Port Lincoln in South Australia who falsely claimed to have served in Afghanistan has been convicted and fined $1,000.

PHOTO: Port Lincoln man Timothy Koch (left) was fined $1,000 for falsely claiming to have served in Afghanistan after he was pictured in the Port Lincoln Times. (Port Lincoln Times)

Timothy Robert Koch, 25, was too scared to appear in court at Port Lincoln after a website exposed his fraud, the court heard.

Koch enlisted in the Army in March 2008 and completed basic training in Darwin, before being honourably discharged in June 2010 after injuring his wrist during combat drills.

He pleaded guilty through his lawyer to falsely representing himself to be a returned soldier after being photographed by the Port Lincoln Times at a local RSL club on Remembrance Day last year wearing Afghanistan war medals.

His lawyer, Rachael Shaw, said Koch was deeply ashamed of his actions.
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Australia Soldiers Say Mefloquine Left Them Scarred

Soldiers fear drug program has scarred them with depression, anxiety, nightmares
Sydney Morning Herald
Henry Belot
November 29, 2015

"At various times it was like living in a heavily armed lunatic asylum."

ADF veteran prescribed Lariam

Major Stuart McCarthy is calling for a public inquiry into the ADF's use of antimalarial drug mefloquine. Photo: Brendon Thorne

Australian soldiers and veterans are calling for an immediate inquiry into the use of an antimalarial drug they believe scarred them with permanent psychological damage, anxiety attacks, vertigo, nightmares, suicidal thoughts and hallucinations.

The group, which includes commandos and officers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, believe they have been incorrectly diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder or depression and were ignored by the military after raising concerns about the drug.

The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force has launched an internal inquiry into the use of the drug mefloquine, or Lariam, which has been used on up to 2000 personnel since a controversial drug trial in East Timorin 2001-02.

Major Stuart McCarthy was prescribed mefloquine while serving in Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2001 and has since suffered depression, vertigo, hearing and memory problems and cognitive impairment.

Major Stuart McCarthy was prescribed mefloquine while serving in Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2001 and has since suffered depression, vertigo, hearing and memory problems and cognitive impairment. Photo: Brendon Thorne

But documents obtained by Fairfax Media reveal Chief of Army Lieutenant-General Angus Campbell does not support a campaign against the drug because it would deny deployment opportunities, despite acknowledging the side effects.

"I have been an army officer 27 years and I have no trust in the Australian Defence Force's handling of this matter," he said. read more here

PTSD Veterans Turn to ICE in Australia

Young military veterans turn to drugs to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder, Senate inquiry hears
ABC News Australia
By Political Reporter Tom Iggulden
November 17, 2015

Young Australian military veterans struggling with mental illness after active service are increasingly turning to the drug ice to cope, a Senate inquiry will hear on Wednesday.

Homes for Heroes program director Geoff Evans told AM ice had become a problem for returned servicemen.

The Homes for Heroes program offers 79 places to homeless veterans, whose struggle with mental illness on their return from duty usually results in a dependence on drugs or alcohol.

Mr Evans will give evidence to the inquiry into veterans' homelessness.

"It is a very different drug to alcohol, because it involves a degree of psychosis and addiction that we just have not dealt with before," he said.
read more here

Britney Spears' former boyfriend killed in Afghanistan

Britney Spears' former boyfriend killed in Afghanistan 
“It’s heartbreaking – John went there to try to repair the country."
Australian Women's Weekly
by Caroline Overington
November 2, 2015

The Mirror reports that John Sundahl, 44, was shot down flying a helicopter from the capital Kabul where he had been working for several months as a private contractor ferrying officials across the war-torn country.

A pilot and former boyfriend of Britney Spears, who is credited with helping her overcome her addiction to alcohol, has been killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. read more here

Australia Paramedics High Suicide Rate

World first: Guideline to manage post traumatic stress disorder among emergency workers launched in Sydney 
News.com Australia
Benedict Brook
OCTOBER 29, 2015

Sometimes that toll can be devastating. According to the National Coronial Information System, 110 Australian emergency service workers committed suicide between 2002 and 2012 — that’s one police officer, firerie or paramedic every six weeks.

Paramedic is one of the occupations with Australia’s highest suicide rates.

Picture: Marc McCormackSource:News Corp Australia

AS A paramedic, Jordan Emery was used to witnessing people in intense pain and raw grief at the very moment of their most desperate suffering. For the most part, he was able to manage his emotions and remain resolutely professional. But this call out was different.

“A motorcyclist was seriously injured,” Mr Emery told news.com.au.

“He had horrific injuries and he spoke to me a lot on the way to hospital. He had this very strong sense that he was dying, his injuries were consistent with that and he wanted me to tell his mum and brother how sorry he was for what had happened, how much he’d loved them and how good they’d been to him throughout his life.”

“He was the same age as my little brother,” a clearly moved Mr Emery said, “it was a dialogue between me and a complete stranger but it struck me because, in many ways, it felt like my little brother was lying there before me.”

Mr Emery said it was often those cases where the victim reminded them of someone in their own lives which affected emergency personnel the most — parents responding to an injured child, for instance, or an elderly person who had passed away who was the same age as their own parents.

“In the past, there might have been this idea that it’s your job to get over it, that you’re supposed to be tougher than this if you’re a paramedic,” he said, “but for me it’s about honouring the traumas you see rather than the idea that you shouldn’t think about it.”
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Michael Ware Found Healing PTSD in Writing Only the Dead

Michael Ware, war correspondent, relives his Iraq War hell in Only the Dead
The Sydney Morning Herald
Karl Quinn
National Film Editor
October 26, 2015

"One night in Brooklyn I woke and heard somebody screaming blue murder, and suddenly realised it was me." Michael Ware

Only the Dead documents the experiences of Australian war correspondent Michael Ware in the Iraq War, which he covered for almost seven years. Photo: Transmission

As Baghdad bureau chief for CNN, Michael Ware was living a life almost unimaginable to a working-class boy from the suburbs of Brisbane, or to the lawyer he later became before finding his way into journalism.

"I had a private army of 50 people," he says over a few drinks in the bar of the Cinema Nova, where his documentary Only the Dead will screen from Thursday. "I had checkpoints set up at either end of the street because we always knew the car bomb was coming – what we wanted was stand-off, so that when it did come it wouldn't be able to get too close."

"I turned to all sorts of things to try to find some kind of relief. I just wanted the pain to stop, anything that would give me some pause from the demons that surrounded me constantly."

For years, he couldn't sleep, and even when he could it was no better. "One night in Brooklyn I woke and heard somebody screaming blue murder, and suddenly realised it was me." While wrestling with his demons, he had torn his shoulder. "For a period of time there, you had to be very careful how you woke me," he says.

He did the equivalent of seven tours of duty in Iraq – first as a print correspondent for Time, then as the man trying to help American audiences make sense of the war on television every night. He finally left in 2009, but only began to emerge from the darkness in 2012, when he penned a piece for Newsweek after two former colleagues were killed.

A month later, he wrote a piece on post traumatic stress disorder. "It begins: 'I should be dead; I wish I was'," he recalls. It was a major turning point, he says now. In writing it, he rediscovered his will to stay alive.
read more here

Victoria Police Officer Committed Suicide

Suicide of young constable forces Victoria Police to focus on trauma
ABC Australia
Rachael Brown
October 13, 2015

ELEANOR HALL: Lets go now to Victoria where the Police service has announced that it will develop a strategy to deal with suicides in the workplace.

The move comes a day after a senior constable took her own life at work.

The mental health forum, Beyond Blue, says a service needs to be developed for all employees who are confronted with disaster and death as part of their jobs and whose duties can haunt them.

In Melbourne, Rachael Brown reports.

RACHAEL BROWN: A leading senior constable took her own life at work yesterday at the Seaford Multi-Disciplinary Centre, south east of Melbourne.

The Police Association Secretary, Ron Iddles, says the officer used her own gun.

RON IDDLES: Any incident like this that takes place likes this amongst work colleagues is very traumatic for them and those also who are suffering might be depression or anxiety need to reach out to your friends and get professional help.

RACHAEL BROWN: Mr Iddles admits policing is getting more difficult, so Victoria's Chief Commissioner will be reviewing police suicides around Australia to help develop prevention strategies

RON IDDLES: Claims in relation to mental illness, depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress have risen. We know that the pressures of the job around family violence, ice, mental illness to some extent sometimes cause secondary trauma, so they are all issue that would have to be looked at.

RACHAEL BROWN: The suicide rate for police officers is above that of the general population.
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Australian Veterans: "Far too many lock-up their anxieties"

Fighting the hidden toll of war
The West Australian
Graham Edwards AM, State President of the RSL
October 13, 2015

There is also a parallel number of Australian Defence Force (ADF) and veterans suffering anxiety, depression and committing suicide. By September, 22 had died this year and there has been an upward trend in the past six or seven years. Nineteen died in 2014 – and each death cuts deeply in the ADF family.

Talk to a mate. Talk to someone you can trust.

Sometimes the mate or friend may be away or overseas. Pick up the phone!

A former solder and military psychologist of 26 years’ experience in Perth offers this primary advice to anyone contemplating suicide. He knows there are many professionals waiting to help, but his experience is that the very first step is to get people to open up. Far too many lock-up their anxieties.

“We’ve got to convince veterans that it is the nature of what they went through that matters, rather than their concerns about reaching out for support,” he said.

“There is help available; it is never too late. There is a pathway to leading a fulfilling life.”

In WA, help is very near. There are websites like Operation Life and At-Ease and apps. Professional help includes the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service (VVCS), which has counsellors, psychologists and mental health accredited social workers throughout the state and operates a 24/7 helpline (1800 011 046 ). The RSL has trained pension officers, advocates and welfare officers to assist serving and former members of the armed forces. There are suicide prevention services like Lifeline (13 11 14) and BeyondBlue (1300 22 4636) Suicide is a tough subject, but we need to shine a light on it because, according to the Black Dog Institute, more than 2,500 people suicide each year – compared with last year’s road toll of 1,156 – and more than 60,000 attempts to take their life.
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Australian Veterans Suicides Already Higher Than Last Year

Defence chief launches sweeping review to fight spiralling suicide rates in the military
News Corp Australia Network
Ian McPhedran
September 15, 2015

Lost too soon ...
Former navy sailor Stuart Addison committed suicide in February 2012.
Picture: Supplied

Stop the tragedies ...
Former soldier Aaron Gray from Bomaderry, NSW.
Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

EXCLUSIVE

A TRAGIC spike in suicides among serving and former military personnel has prompted Defence Chief Mark Binskin to launch a high-level review of suicide in the defence force.

The sad record of suicides linked to military service has been broken already in 2015 with 22 serving and former military personnel taking their own lives so far surpassing the 19 deaths in 2014. According to the convener of the Australian Veterans Suicide Register former Army Gunner Aaron Gray, three more names were added to the terrible list this week taking the total to at least 218 since 1986.

The 2015 list is divided between the Navy with 12, the Army with seven and the RAAF with three. Mr Gray said there was a definite problem developing in the navy with a dangerous spike in suicide numbers.

A serving sailor who asked not to be named told News Corp that absence from home, marriage breakdown and drug use were key elements of the problem in the Royal Australian Navy. “The high operational tempo takes a toll not just on the sailor but on their family as well,” he said.

At a loss ...
The veteran husband and father of this family attempted suicide four weeks ago
by taking a cocktail of prescription drugs and alcohol.
Picture: Jamie HansonSource:News Corp Australia

The sailor said the CDF’s review, to be conducted by Navy Commodore Paul Kinghorne, should focus on post-deployment psychological screening.

“You cannot properly examine a person’s mental state during a one hour interview,” he said. “Before I was treated for PTSD I thought it was a weakness.

“Because of the defence attitude I denied it for seven years because I did not want to lose my job.
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PTSD in Australia Veterans Double Civilian Population

The scars of war extend into civilian life
Sydney Morning Herald
Ian Hickie
August 13, 2015

However, the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder was almost twice as high in defence personnel at 8 per cent, instead of 4 per cent

49,900 veterans from all conflicts and former serving personnel have a mental health condition, new data shows.

It's clear many of our war veterans are struggling with mental illness.

We are getting better at quantifying the problem; now we need a high-quality mental health system that can deliver the right treatment at the right time, backed by social services and community support that enable a veteran to resume a productive life in the civilian community.

New data from the Department of Veterans' Affairs shows about 49,900 veterans from all conflicts and former serving personnel have a mental health condition, of whom around 31,700 have a stress disorder, including post-traumatic stress disorder. This includes many Vietnam veterans.

These conditions affect not just the individuals involved but also their wider circles of friends and families.

If it is not treated, it can lead to other problems including self-medication with alcohol and other drugs, depression and suicidal behaviour. The disorder can also have a long legacy, with research suggesting children of veterans can develop their own symptoms.

Treatment focuses on resolving the emotional impact of traumatic experiences through cognitive or behavioral therapies.

Recent research suggests other types of treatments, including mindfulness-based therapies, can also help reduce anxiety and depression.

This service is a legacy of the Vietnam War. Veterans lobbied for and won a specialized counseling and support service for themselves and their families.
read more here

Australian Truck Driver Paying Price for Cambodia Mission

Veteran pays the price for secret mission in Cambodia
THE AUSTRALIAN
Brendan Nicholson Defence Editor
Canberra
AUGUST 12, 2015

“All he wants now is recognition of the true nature of his service for Australia in Vietnam and Cambodia.”

At the height of the Vietnam War, John Ali was in a team of truck drivers recruited on the orders of the then army minister Malcolm Fraser for a secret mission delivering military supplies deep into Cambodia where US and Australian forces were officially not supposed to be.

He recalls as a 22-year-old ­diesel mechanic being taken with several other young men to ­Parliament House in Canberra in January 1971 and sitting at a table across from Fraser. The minister asked them to “serve your country on a top-secret mission”.

“At the end of it we had to sign the secrecy act,” Mr Ali said. “Mr Fraser told us that when we left the office we were not to talk to anybody about where we were going or why, except our mothers and ­fathers and our wives if we were married.”

By the end of March the men were in Phnom Penh. Over the next 18 months Mr Ali faced the same risks as the Diggers and traveled with convoys laden with arms, ­ammunition and fuel. But he was not formally part of the Australian Defence Force.

Now he is suffering ailments brought on by his service but he has been told he is not entitled to veterans’ benefits.
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Emergency Responders More Susceptible to PTSD

From 2008 to 2010 I took just about every training offered on Crisis Intervention available in Florida. I was certified as a Chaplain in 2008 by the IFOC. I focused on taking care of first responders since they were like most of the veterans I had experience with. Then it was more training including Disaster and Extreme Event Preparedness.

When I read this and the numbers, I remembered the training and what we knew back then. So why wasn't this training pushed for every group of first responders so they could find the support they needed in time to save their lives?

Fire Fighter Quarterly: Bringing PTSD Out of the Shadows
(The following article appeared in the Winter 2015 edition of the IAFF Fire Fighter Quarterly)

In just an 18-month period from 2008-09, Chicago Local 2 lost seven members to suicide. In 2010, four members of Phoenix, AZ Local 493 took their own lives.

Philadelphia, PA Local 22 has lost at least one member to suicide every year over the past five years. While each situation was different, Local 22 President Joe Schulle believes that work policies played a role.

A 20-year veteran firefighter at an urban fire department, John Smith had responded to every kind of imaginable — and unimaginable — emergency incident over the course of his career.

As a fire fighter, Smith sees people on their worst days, and the incidents he responds to on a daily basis can be truly horrific.

But it wasn’t until he saw a brother fall through the floor of a burning home to his death that the trauma stayed with him, and it seemed it would never get out of his mind. At the most unexpected times, he would relive the tragedy or hear his brother call for help. Every call became a stressful experience, even the most routine.

Smith thought he just needed time to recover, but the anxiety only escalated. Even stepping foot in the firehouse or completing routine tasks became daunting.

But he never told anyone about what he was experiencing. One day, a crew mate took him aside and said, “I think I know what you’re going through, and I think I can help.”

While this is a fictional account, it depicts an all-too-common behavioral health issue in the fire service.

Emergency responders are more susceptible to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) because of the nature of the profession, coupled with the personal demands and challenges fire fighters and paramedics face.

“IAFF members respond to any number of incredible events, many of them tragic,” says General President Harold Schaitberger. “PTSD is a terrible condition that affects fire fighters and paramedics at double the rate of the general population, and we need a better way to deal with it.”

“People with PTSD are six times more likely to attempt suicide compared to demographically matched controls,” says Dr. Suzy Gulliver, who has participated in a number of studies on PTSD, and currently is founding director and chief of the Warriors Research Institute (WRI), which engages in multidisciplinary studies on the traumatic stress experienced by both soldiers and first responders.

Unfortunately, in many departments, even if the stigma is reduced, there are no programs in place for addressing behavioral health issues. Others may offer employee assistance programs (EAPs) but these are simply a referral line to community services.

“We need to do a better job of recognizing the signs and symptoms and providing the tools to help address it,” says Schaitberger. “Behavioral health services need to be embedded in all fire departments.”
read more here

Israel reported that 9 out of 10 firemen suffer from symptoms of psychological trauma, according to an expert who spoke before a session of the Knesset Labor, Social Welfare and Health Committee

Canada lost 23 firefighters to suicide in the first part of 2014

North American Fire Fighter Veteran

" Beyond The Call " Full Length PTSD Training Documentary
London Professional Fire Fighters Association


UPDATE from Australia
Vets, paramedics among jobs with highest suicide rates
SUNDAY HERALD SUN
PETER MICKELBUROUGH FOI EDITOR
AUGUST 02, 2015

VETERINARIANS, paramedics, security guards, truck drivers and engineers share some of the state’s deadliest jobs a new report has found.

One of the starkest contrasts is among emergency workers, with Victoria’s paramedics having an average annual suicide rate of 35.6 per 100,000 workers - more than three-and-a-half times higher than police (10 per 100,000), and fire fighters and other emergency workers (10.5).

Only vets recorded a higher suicide rate at 38.2 per 100,000. And in findings that will surprise many, hairdressers (11.2), real estate agents (13.4) and engineers (21) were all found to have higher rates of suicide than police, fire fighters and other non-paramedic emergency workers.

Security guards (34.6) and truck drivers (23.3) are also professions that appear to need greater support.
read more here

Iraq Veteran Says Vietnam Veterans Support Saved His LIfe

PTSD campaigner Aaron Gray contemplated suicide many times 
Sydney Morning Herald
David Ellery Reporter for The Canberra Times
June 7, 2015

The support of the Vietnam veterans from my local RSL sub-branch (at Woonoona-Bulli in Wollongong) saved my life.

Veteran: Aaron Gray rode shotgun on top of an ASLAV in Iraq.

Aaron Gray, the founder and director of the Australian Veterans' Suicide Register, has first hand knowledge of the dark thoughts that plague many Post Traumatic Stress Disorder sufferers.

Aaron Gray, founder and director of the Australian Veterans' Suicide Register

A veteran of the war in Iraq who rode shotgun on top of an ASLAV with the triggers to a 25 millimetre chain gun and a 7.62mm machine gun at his fingertips, he still carries the scars from one unsuccessful suicide attempt.

"The support of the Vietnam veterans from my local RSL sub-branch [at Woonoona-Bulli in Wollongong] saved my life," he said.

The Nowra resident can't handle large crowds and enclosed spaces such as shopping malls.

"When I began developing symptoms [of PTSD] I decided to leave the army of my own accord," he said. "I didn't want the stigma of a medical discharge; I was told you are treated like a leper [while the medical discharge comes through].

"It took me five years to obtain a TPI pension and that was with the assistance of an advocate."
read more here

The Silent War

When War Comes Home
By Scott Hannaford
IT WAS around midnight when Nicholas Hodge stepped into the middle of the road, lay down on the white line and placed his identity card on his chest. A passing taxi driver was the first to spot him and pulled over. The driver picked up the card on Hodge's chest, reached for his phone and began dialling.

Soon, a police patrol arrived and two officers made their way towards to the large, powerfully built figure lying face-up on the bitumen. One of the officers recognised Hodge: a factor, he says now, that – combined with the way ACT Policing handled him that night – probably saved his life. Under the gaze of nearby diners in the trendy Canberra restaurant district of Kingston, Hodge begins to sob. "I was hoping a car would run me over," he explains. "I just started bawling my eyes out, saying, 'I need help, I need help'."

'Alarming' rise in suicide deaths by former military personnel

Australia Victoria Cross Vietnam Hero Offers Mirror Image To US Treatment of Veterans

What happens to veterans in the US is not much different from what it happening in the UK, Canada and Australia. We managed to send men and women to fight battles but are AWOL on what they need in return afterwards.

We have problems with broken safety nets unable to find a way to make sure troops are not discharged into the abyss waking up suddenly on their own, fighting alone.

We have Medal of Honor recipients talking about their struggles with PTSD and then have to hear from military brass that PTSD is a weakness topped off with the lack of intestinal fortitude as General Ray Odierno said in 2013 interview with the Huffington post.

"Some of it is just personal make-up. Intestinal fortitude. Mental toughness that ensures that people are able to deal with stressful situations."

What we have also seen is this attitude has also been carried on into Warrior Transition Units as reported by NBC and Dallas Morning News out of Texas.

"New Army records uncovered by NBC 5 Investigates show injured soldiers have filed more than 1,100 complaints about mistreatment, abuse and lack of care from their commanders at more than two dozen Warrior Transition Units (WTUs) nationwide, many of those in Texas."

"New Records Show Injured Soldiers Describe Mistreatment Nationwide From Commanders at Army Warrior Transition Units (WTUs)

North Carolina’s Fort Bragg records the most complaints, Texas not far behind"

For all the talk from leaders in the military and congress, this attitude lives on, no matter how much they deny it.

We can just accept what they say or we can actually pay attention to this detestable disgrace.

You'd think that since the US has been the leader in PTSD research we would have been way ahead of other nations. But we aren't. We're far from it. The only difference is, we just have more suffering and more suicides because we sent more men and women to fight in our name.

Defence, Veterans Affairs may contribute to post-traumatic stress suicides says VC recipient
The Age National
David Ellery
April 8, 2015

Former Chief of Army and Soldier On board chairman, Professor Peter Leahy, is concerned psychologically injured soldiers are being dismissed without an adequate safety net

Rob Pickersgill and Keith Payne VC at the launch of the Soldier On, Hand Up program. Photo: Jay Cronan

Defence may be contributing to suicides by war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder by discharging them before their Department of Veterans' Affairs cases are settled, according to Australia's oldest living Victoria Cross recipient, Keith Payne VC.

Mr Payne, a Vietnam War hero who has fought his own battle against PTSD, wants all service personnel with cases before DVA kept on strength until their matters have been resolved.

The 81-year-old Soldier On ambassador was at Crace for the launch of the service charity's Hand Up program by Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Robert Pickersgill, a graduate of the Hand Up pilot program who spent 23 years in uniform and served in Rwanda, East Timor and Iraq, agreed.

"Soldier On is taking up the slack," he said. "It shouldn't need to be here but I am very grateful it is."

It is believed almost 200 Afghanistan war veterans have taken their own lives. Another 2600 have been confirmed as suffering PTSD.
read more here

So we all send them, then betray them, refusing to make sure they have what they need from us in return. Are you ok with that?

Camp Pendleton Marine Going Down Under

Pendleton, K-Bay Marines to deploy to Australia
Marine Corps Times
By Joshua Stewart, Staff writer
March 27, 2015

In 2016, Corps officials hope to send 2,500 Marines — a full Marine air-ground task force — to Australia.

Members of Marine Rotational Force-Darwin conduct a helicopter insert during a live-fire exercise at Bradshaw Field Training Area during Exercise Koolendong in Australia. About 1,170 Marines will deploy to Australia’s Northern Territory in April. (Photo: Cpl. Scott Reel/Marine Corps)

The Corps has identified the third group of Marines to head to Australia for a six month deployment. 

In mid-April, about 1,170 California- and Hawaii-based Marines will deploy Down Under. They'll form Marine Rotational Force-Darwin, and will train alongside the Australian army in the Northern Territory.

Units include 1st Battalion, 4th Marines and a detachment from Combat Logistics Battalion 1 from Camp Pendleton, California, as well as Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, said 2nd Lt. Natalie Poggemeyer, a spokeswoman for Marine Corps Forces Pacific. It's the second time HMH-463 will be a part of the rotation — the squadron was the Corps' first aviation unit to deploy to Darwin during last year's rotation. read more here