VA Investigation: Richard Miles Not Denied Service Before Suicide

Investigation into suicide finds VA did not deny service
Des Moines Register
Brianne Pfannenstiel
June 10, 2015

A federal review found the Veterans Affairs Medical Center did not deny services to a veteran who was found dead in a Des Moines park five days after seeking mental health services there.

However, it noted the hospital should not have discontinued the case management services it had been providing him.

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst called for the investigation in February after a passerby found the frozen body of 41-year-old Richard Miles in Water Works Park.

The Iraq war veteran suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression and had a history of suicide attempts. He had sought care at the center five days before he was found dead. An autopsy later confirmed his suicide.

The report was conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs office of Inspector General. It investigated claims that Miles did not receive services he requested and that he had received a poor quality of care. The investigation also reviewed all aspects of the mental health programs available at VA Central Iowa Health Care System.

The report found that Miles had not requested long-term mental health services and that his clinical condition at the time did not warrant inpatient admission.

Internal policies allow the mental health provider up to seven work days to follow up on a routine requested consult. Those seven days had not elapsed by the time Miles' body was found.

However, the report's authors did note that Miles had previously been assigned a case management worker who should have been checking in with him.
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Not Everyone Who Came Home From War Actually Left There

Veterans Gather To Honor Richard Miles and Call for Change
WHO 13 News
BY STEPHANIE MOORE
MARCH 23, 2015

DES MOINES, Iowa–Iowans are remembering a fallen veteran and in light of his death are calling for change.

Army Veteran Richard Miles was honored Monday evening by fellow veterans and those pushing for change in veteran’s mental health care.

On Monday, Miles was laid to rest and the Veteran’s Cemetery on what would have been his 41st birthday.

“Not everyone who lost their life in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan actually died there.

Also, not everyone who came home from Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan ever left there. Richard Miles was one of those individuals,” says Former Executive Director for the Iowa Department of Veteran Affairs Pat Palmersheim.

The Veterans National Recovery Center hosted the event and say 22 veterans are committing suicide every day and if more isn’t done there will be more cases like Miles.

“There is no doubt the federal VA needs to do more to assist those veterans who have returned and been diagnosed with PTSD, they need their help and not just more medications,” says Palmersheim.
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World War II Experiences Left Him Shattered But Not Broken

VA helps Iowa veterans tell their life stories 
Des Moines Register
Tony Leys
March 23, 2015

"I cleaned out wounds. I patched them. I gave them morphine. I didn't have the stomach for it. I treated German soldiers and U.S. soldiers. They died just like we did. They were just like us, they had to do what they had to do. I felt helpless to alleviate terrible suffering, no matter how much I tried. Then over six years later, I came to realize that the work I did with so many other casualties helped prevent them from developing horrible consequences."

U.S. Army veteran John Gualtier, 89, of Vinton holds a photo of himself from World War II at the VA Outpatient Clinic in Coralville on Tuesday. He served as a medic in the war.
(Photo: David Scrivner/Iowa City Press-Citizen)

CORALVILLE, Ia. –If the Department of Veterans Affairs wants to take down John Gualtier's life story, it's going to take a while.

The Vinton retiree was one of the first to volunteer for a new project in which VA staffers interview veterans and write up short biographies. The resulting essays are to be attached to the veterans' medical charts, to help VA health care providers understand their patients' perspectives.

Gualtier, 89, went decades without discussing the World War II experiences that left him shattered. But he's opened up in the past few years, because he wants younger veterans to avoid the mistake of trying to bury troubling memories.

"During combat, when I was into some really gory stuff, I never gave any thought about the effects it might have on me later," he told Stephanie Henrickson, a nurse who coordinates a mental health program for the regional VA system based in Iowa City.

Henrickson sat across from Gualtier at the VA's Coralville clinic one morning last week, taking notes in pen and capturing his gravelly voice on a digital recorder. She plans to write up his story, go over it with him, then put it in his medical file and give him a copy to share with his family. She has interviewed about 15 veterans so far as part of a pilot project in the Iowa City area and five other U.S. locations.

Most of Henrickson's interviews have taken an hour or so, but Gualtier's has required several sessions. He has so much to say.

In the most recent session, Henrickson asked Gualtier about his childhood in a small Ohio town during the Depression. "It seems like we always had it rough until the war broke out," he said. "It was a very, very hard time."

About the project
The Iowa City VA is one of six sites recently chosen to try the "My Life, My Story" project, which was pioneered in Madison, Wis.

Nurse Stephanie Henrickson said her agency plans to hire a full-time writer to do more such interviews and work up the stories.

Regular medical appointments usually focus on specific ailments, Henrickson explained. If a patient has heart issues, he'll get cardiac tests and questions. If a patient has a dermatology issue, the doctor will ask her about her skin. The storytelling project is an attempt to step back and get a sense of the patients as people and to understand what's important to them.
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Some Say Iraq Veteran Senator is Not Combat Veteran?

Criticism of senator's war record rankles veterans 
Military Times
By Leo Shane III, Staff writer
February 19, 2015

Mark Seavey, new media manager at the American Legion and an an expert in stolen valor cases, said he worries that criticisms like those leveled at Ernst confuse actual cases in which troops or imposters claim military honors they never earned. Ernst has not claimed any medals or campaign awards beyond her record.

Sen. Joni Ernst, on Capitol Hill with other members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been criticized by some veterans for saying she is a combat veteran.
(Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/Getty Images)

No one disputes that Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, served with the National Guard in a combat zone.

So the recent round of questions about whether she counts as a "combat veteran" has made more than a few former service members uncomfortable and upset.

But they aren't necessarily surprised.

"This kind of stuff has been going on for generations," said Phil Carter, director of veterans programs at the Center for a New American Security. "We've seen conversations about peacetime service as opposed to wartime service. We've seen veterans from different wars trade stories about who had it tougher.

"But so few people have an appreciation for what military service is that these arguments start to take on a controversial quality about what 'counts' as service."

Earlier this month, the Huffington Post questioned Ernst's characterization of herself as a "combat veteran," noting she had not been involved in a firefight during her 14-month Middle East deployment.

The Iowa Guard lieutenant colonel commanded the 1168th Transportation Company during the 2003-04 deployment, overseeing transportation runs in Kuwait and southern Iraq and running a protection detail in Kuwait.
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November 7, 2014 2:43 PM Iowa’s new senator-elect has other duties before she heads to Washington. Des Moines — A day after winning one of the most contested Senate seats in the country, Joni Ernst reported for duty at her National Guard base. Ernst, a lieutenant colonel, started two days of training with the 185th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion on Thursday.

Missing Veteran Richard Miles Found Frozen in Park

UPDATE
Discovery of veteran's frozen body leads Ernst to call for review

Friends Question If Veteran’s Death Could Have Been Prevented 
13 News WHO TV
BY JODI WHITWORTH
FEBRUARY 21, 2015

DES MOINES, Iowa –Family, friends and colleagues are mourning the death Richard Miles but they also question whether his death would have been prevented.

On Friday, police discovered the 41 – year – old’s body partially frozen in Water Works Park.

Authorities say his death is not considered suspicious but according to his friends, Miles was suffering from issues that likely lead to him taking his own life.

Miles was in the Army and deployed to the Middle East three times. Friends say he was proud to serve in the military and claimed it only had positive effects on him. However, Aller realizes his friend may have been quietly dealing with severe depression for years.

“According to a text from him a week and a half ago, Richard was looking to spend sometime in the hospital to work things out. That was the last time I spoke to him,” says Allers.

Miles visited the V.A. Hospital numerous times and was treated with medication but he wanted long term hospitalization and evaluation. Allers says, “He [ Miles] did seek out that help and went through the appropriate channels he knew to follow, unfortunately it’s our belief he was let down with the assistance he was given which potentially lead us to where we are today.”

In the midst of his struggle, Miles, was a familiar face the Science Center of Iowa. He developed and presented astronomy exhibits.
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Lost Marine Found New Way Home

What PTSD Drove a Veteran to Before he Disappeared 
13 WHO News
BY DAN WINTERS
FEBRUARY 2, 2015

"It’s a raw, aching description of life 

with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder."

DES MOINES, Iowa — Kate Lay had always been skeptical of love at first sight. She’s practical. She’s a surgical nurse who was born and raised in Iowa. But she says practicality flew out the window the first time she laid eyes on the man she would eventually marry.

“He was a Marine. So, he was big and buff, and beautiful. I fell in love with him right away,” she said.

After proposing, Brandon finished his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. They married, bought a house, and started life on their terms. She said Brandon’s job as a delivery driver wasn’t fulfilling his ambitious dreams of traveling the world and helping people. She could see that he was bored. Still, she never dreamed that one day he would disappear.

Kate said, “Everything that I thought I knew got torn out from underneath me.”

One day, she came home from work and Brandon was gone, along with his Jeep and his dog. Kate called the police. “I didn’t even know if he was alive.”

Several days later, Brandon finally called. He was in a small town in Montana. The secrets were about to be revealed. Kate explained, “Not a single person knew what was going on.”
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Iowa Facing Suicide Increase

Suicide Increase In Iowa
IOWA CITY, IA (CBS2/FOX28)-- Suicide in Iowa is up 17 percent. According to the most recent data released by the Department of Public Health, 445 people took their own life in 2013. That is up from 381 deaths by suicide in 2012.

Glenn Miller "He gave his life when he didn't need to,"

Museum marks Glenn Miller's disappearance
Des Moines Register
Linh Ta
December 14, 2014

"He gave his life when he didn't need to," Yellin said. "The young people have to understand that they have to be up close and personal."

The museum displays items from musician Glenn Miller’s life and World War II service on Sunday.
(Photo: Linh Ta/The Register)

It's been 70 years since musician Glenn Miller disappeared over the English Channel during World War II, but even now, his music lives on.

On Sunday, the Glenn Miller Birthplace Museum in Clarinda remembered the disappearance of the Iowa native, and held a ceremony in honor of not only his musical contributions, but his contributions to the U.S. Army.

Miller, known for leading the Glenn Miller Orchestra to several top hits in the late 1930s and early 1940s, enlisted in the Army at age 38, despite making $15,000 to $20,000 a week in his musical career. After being denied at first because of his age, he was assigned to the Army Air Forces, and used his music to boost troops' morale.

"He felt that the biggest impact he could have was joining the service," said Rick Finch, director of the museum. "I think that we sometimes forget that service now."
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Senator Elect Joni Ernst Reports for National Guard Duty Day After Election

Senator Soldier: A Day After Winning, Joni Ernst Is Back In Fatigues
Iowa’s new senator-elect has other duties before she heads to Washington
National Review
By Benny Johnson
November 7, 2014

Des Moines — A day after winning one of the most contested Senate seats in the country, Joni Ernst reported for duty at her National Guard base. Ernst, a lieutenant colonel, started two days of training with the 185th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion on Thursday.

“Not many folks know she is in uniform on Thursday and Friday,” Ernst’s husband Gail tells National Review Online, “She does it without fanfare.”

A spokesman for the Iowa National Guard, Greg Hapgood, says soldiers don’t “punch the clock.” “We serve regardless of our situations and Colonel Ernst doesn’t want to be treated any differently.”

Ernst, a ferocious campaigner, had just finished a 24-hour straight campaign sweep of Iowa two days before reporting for duty. Her victory in the race also sealed the Senate for the GOP majority.
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PTSD: Iowa National Guardsman Reminds Soldier Americans Care

Iowa soldier organizes a 23-mile march to remind veterans that people care
Omaha.com
By Steve Liewer
World-Herald staff writer
October 24, 2014

AMBER BAESLER/THE WORLD-HERALD
Iowa National Guard Staff Sgt. Patrick Osborn at his home in Council Bluffs. After hearing about a similar event in Minnesota, Osborn organized a 23-mile march from Council Bluffs to Omaha to bring attention to veterans who commit suicide and struggle with post-traumatic stress.

You might say Patrick Osborn wears his passion on his sleeve.

Wrapped around his arm, from triceps to wrist, is an American flag tattoo, emblazoned with the words “American soldier.”

The Iowa National Guardsman and Iraq War veteran from Council Bluffs will again show his commitment to soldiers when he leads more than 200 people on a 23-mile Ruck Up for Life through Council Bluffs and Omaha on Saturday. The 23 miles symbolizes the estimated 22 veterans who committed suicide, on average, each day in 2010 — according to a Department of Veterans Affairs report released last year — plus one representing the average number of active-duty suicides per day in recent years.

“It’s to help other veterans realize they’re not alone with their post-traumatic stress,” Osborn said.
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Iowa VA let SWAT Team train where PTSD are trying to heal!

SWAT Training Conducted Near Veterans With PTSD
13 WHO NBC News
BY AARON BRILBECK
SEPTEMBER 23, 2014

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — Masked Marshalltown police officers, decked out in SWAT gear and carrying realistic looking guns, conducted training last Friday at the Iowa Veterans Home where quite a few residents suffer with post traumatic stress disorder.

“You get somebody with pistols out there violently trying to break into a building, even if it’s an empty building, and if they see it and they’ve been in Fallujah or some of the other places where there has been that kind of combat, you’re gonna have problems,” says Bob Krause with the Veterans National Recovery Center.

The training was conducted at an auditorium and cottages where family members can stay. Commandant Jodi Tymeson says it’s not uncommon for police and firefighters to train on the grounds of the Iowa Veterans Home. She says, staff who need to know are given ample warning, but warning everyone is difficult. “We are a large campus with a lot of staff and a large number of residents so we do our best to notify everyone.”
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ALS: Iowa National Guard Staff Sgt. Troy Musser

Living with ALS: Cedar Rapids veteran in the fight of his life
Ice Bucket Challenge, upcoming walk raise money, awareness of incurable disease
The Gazette
By Alison Gowans
Published: September 12 2014

Musser, 32, lives in Cedar Rapids and was diagnosed with ALS almost three years ago, shortly after returning for a tour of duty in Afghanistan. He says he’s thankful for the strangers who have contributed to the ice bucket challenge — the national ALS Association reports it has raised more than $100 million through the fundraiser.

As a member of the Iowa National Guard, Staff Sgt. Troy Musser earned the nickname, “The Machine,” after he broke multiple Guard physical fitness test records.

In two minutes, he could do 123 pushups or 95 situps.

Today he sits in a wheelchair, unable to move his legs and barely able to move his arms. Musser is living with ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

It’s a disease that’s risen in the public conscience of late, after a fundraising initiative for the ALS Association went viral. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge filled social media with the clips and inspired millions of people to post videos of themselves dumping freezing water on their heads to raise money and awareness for ALS.

Even as the ice bucket challenge has spread awareness, there are thousands of people like Musser, fighting a terminal disease with no known cause and no known cure.

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease after the baseball player who died from it in 1941, is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It progressively robs people of their ability to walk, talk, swallow and breathe on their own. Eventually it leads to total paralysis and death.
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Silver Star Vietnam Veteran may not be after all

UPDATE

Senator Tom Harkin:

"I regret to have learned today that a Silver Star medal presented by a member of my staff to an Iowan earlier this year appears not to have been earned through service," Harkin said, noting records provided to his office by the Navy.

The Navy launched an investigation within hours after a story published Wednesday in The Des Moines Register quoted several military groups or advocates who say Dennis William Myers, 64, of Marshalltown provided Harkin with bogus documentation showing him as a recipient of the Silver Star medal.

As for Meyers,

He additionally said he obtained the certificate from the American War Library, a private business in California that allows people to purchase the certificates for as little as $9.50. Officials from the business declined to outline how they verify military records before issuing the certificates.
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Iowan's Silver Star documents under investigation
Des Moines Register
Jason Clayworth
September 3, 2014

The U.S. Navy has confirmed "unexplained irregularities" in the paperwork of an Iowa military veteran who received one of the nation's highest military honors from Sen. Tom Harkin's office, a spokeswoman for the senator said in a statement Wednesday.

"Senator Harkin intends to ensure that the Navy completes a full investigation, arrives at the true historical record and that appropriate sanctions are issued, if warranted," his spokeswoman Susannah Cernojevich said.

The investigation comes hours after publication of a Des Moines Register article in which several military groups or advocates questioned whether Dennis William Myers, 64, of Marshalltown provided Harkin with bogus documentation showing him as a recipient of the Silver Star medal.

In June, Harkin's office staffers publicly presented Myers with the Silver Star medal after receiving documents from Myers.

Questions surfaced soon after that event when Doug Sterner, the curator of the Military Times Hall of Valor, attempted to fact check Myers' background before adding him to a searchable online directory of military honors.

Sterner said he believes the certificate Myers provided to Harkin was a fake. The certificate is unsigned, undated and does not have an accompanying letter of support. Such certificates are signed by a top-ranking military official or the U.S. president, Sterner noted.
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This is a blank one found online from the Navy

Iowa congressman on VA committee not there half the time

The Gazette fact checked a claim made by the GOP against a Democratic Representative out of Iowa. 

The claim made stated that Representative Bruce Braley missed 74 percent of the hearings. The article went on to point out that Braley is also on a Veterans Affairs Subcommittee. It turned out when they put both duties together, he wasn't there half the time.

We've all seen the VA committees and subcommittee meetings with more empty chairs than interested politicians but with the way things are going most of us think more aren't there half the time and when they are there, the questions they ask seem more like for getting attention for just showing up.

Iowa National Guardsman home for Christmas

Iowa National Guards

Soldier surprises children on Christmas Eve
Quad City Times
By Thomas Geyer
December 24, 2013

For Staff Sgt. Sean Jacobsmeier and the soldiers of Bravo Company of the 248th Aviation Support Battalion out of Boone, Iowa, finding out Monday they had a four-day leave for Christmas was a welcome present.

But Jacobsmeier's surprise became a bigger one for his three children on Christmas Eve when he took the stage in the middle of the Christmas pageant at First Presbyterian Church, Davenport.

Jacobsmeier, 36, and the 40 other members of his Iowa National Guard company have spent the past couple of months training at Fort Hood, Texas, for their assignment in Kosovo.

The aviation support battalion does maintenance on the aircraft, the Davenport man added.

He and his wife, Theresa, 31, talked about a possible Christmas homecoming when he was sent to Fort Hood about the first of November, he said.

“This is my second deployment,” Jacobsmeier said. “I was deployed to Iraq in 2008-2009. I had one child then, Benny, who was just a baby, and who is now 6. I now have a 3-year-old, David, and a 3-month-old girl, Alice.”
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Iowa Veteran died in VA hospital after alarms were just shut off

Veteran died after alarms were shut off
Nurse testifies he disconnected equipment monitoring blood oxygen levels of Vietnam veteran Michael Deal
Des Moines Register
Written by
Clark Kauffman
November 7, 2013

An Iowa veteran died at a Des Moines hospital in March after a nurse deliberately shut off the alarms used to monitor patients’ conditions, newly disclosed state records show.

Michael Deal, a 65-year-old Army veteran from Spirit Lake, died March 29 at the Veterans’ Administration Central Iowa Healthcare System.

Bernard Nesbit, a registered nurse in the hospital’s telemetry unit where patients are kept for continuous monitoring, was subsequently fired for having turned off an array of alarms that were hooked up to all of the patients in that unit.

At a recent public hearing dealing with Nesbit’s request for unemployment benefits, the hospital’s human resources specialist, Greg Smith, testified that due to unspecified past disciplinary issues, Nesbit had been working on a “last chance agreement” with the hospital when the incident took place.

He said an internal investigation showed Nesbit had turned off the alarms, one of which was designed to alert nurses to any drop in the patients’ blood-oxygen levels.
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After suicide, parents want you to remember Dillion

Remembering Dillion
Spencer Daily Reporters
By Dana Larsen
Special to the Daily Reporter
Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Lisa and Jeff Naslund of Galva have an unusual message on their answering machine.

If you are a soldier, it says, talk to us.

The talking still isn't easy, says Lisa, her voice choking with emotion as she speaks of her son Dillion, a decorated veteran of action in Iraq and Afghanistan, who died alone on a gravel road near Storm Lake last December, pulling the trigger on a gunshot crashing through his chest.

He was 25, and had lived a lot of hell in a short time.

Dillion's parents have taken on a war of their own - fighting to connect other troubled veterans and their families with services that can help. They have spoken out about post-traumatic stress disorder being suffered by veterans such as Dillion as they struggle to fit into life back on the home front.

They also worked with a producer to film a 45-minute documentary titled simply "Dillion," which will air for the first time September 11 on Public Television in Kansas. At the moment, Iowa Public TV has not picked the film up, but the family hopes to find ways to get the work seen around the country in the months to come.

Their message is a simple one: Get help.

"We're not counselors or therapists, we're just a family that has been broken and has had to live this nightmare," Lisa says. "We just want to reach out to other soldiers and let them know that there is help available.
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Army Captains renew wedding vows in Afghanistan

Vanguard Couple Renews Their Vows in Afghanistan
DOD Live
Story by Sgt. Sarah Bailey
Posted on August 30, 2013

U.S. Army Capt. Matthew Rorebeck, right, operations officer for 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division and Capt. Crystal Rorebeck, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th IBCT, renew their five year wedding vows, Aug. 16, 2013, on Forward Operating Base Shank, Afghanistan.
(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Sarah Bailey)

Five years ago when U.S. Army Capt. Matthew Rorebeck, a Norwalk, Iowa, native, and the operations officer for 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, married U.S. Army Capt. Crystal Rorebeck, a native of Breckenridge, Texas, and the commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th IBCT, they made a promise to each other to renew their vows every five years on their anniversary.

Neither one could have known that in five years on Aug. 16, 2013, both would be deployed in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Fortunately, both husband and wife were deployed in the same area and were able to uphold the promise they made to one another.

Matthew knew this event was not only a milestone in his marriage but also something important to his wife and coordinated with his battalion chaplain, U.S. Army Capt. Mickey Bashman, 3-7 Inf. Regiment, to ensure his wife’s wishes were met.
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Iowa Mayor-National Guardsman blows whistle on spending

Soldier-mayor blows the whistle on war fraud
The Des Moines Register
By Kyle Munson
July 29, 2013

UNIVERSITY PARK, IOWA — Leave it to a stubborn, small-town Iowa mayor to step up and help Congress thwart fraud in its decade-long, $100 billion reconstruction of war-torn Afghanistan.

George Toubekis, an Iowa Army National Guard sergeant first class, spent most of the last year stationed in the landlocked nation.

Today he’s back home in University Park, an obscure suburban bump on the southeast side of Oskaloosa that occupies less than one square, hilly mile of Iowa soil. Toubekis, 37, is mayor here of fewer than 500 residents and oversees a modest annual budget of about $100,000.

The mini-putt golf course qualifies as a major business. The big issue is the $783,675 reconstruction of a main road that runs eight-tenths of a mile all the way across town, 80 percent of which will be federally funded.
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Iraq veteran running to replace Rep. Steve King

Jim Mowrer
Born and Raised with Iowa Values
Jim Mowrer grew up on a farm in Boone, Iowa. When Jim was just seven, his father was tragically killed in a farming accident, leaving Jim’s mother, Susan, to raise Jim and his sister Ruth Ann, by herself. It wasn’t easy – they had only Susan’s small salary and Social Security survivor benefits to pay the bills.

Jim worked hard and graduated from Boone High School and married his high school sweetheart, Chelsey. Today they have two boys, Carter (4) and Jack (2).

Called to Service for His Country

After the September 11th, attacks Jim wanted to give back and serve his country. So as soon as he graduated high school, Jim joined the Iowa National Guard, where he quickly moved up the ranks and was promoted to Sergeant after just two years of service.

In 2005, Jim’s unit was mobilized and deployed to Iraq. Serving as an Intelligence Analyst, it was Jim's job to help locate IED's or roadside bombs so they could be removed before causing harm. Jim’s unit, the 1-133 Infantry Battalion, served the longest deployment of any unit in the Iraq War – 23 months.

Even while serving in Iraq, Jim finished college in between missions, earning a degree from the American Military University. Jim went on to earn Masters of Public Policy from George Mason University.

Working at the Pentagon to make the military more efficient

Jim returned to Iowa with his National Guard unit in 2007, but he returned to Iraq in 2009 as a civilian analyst and advisor to the Commander of US Forces.

In 2010, Jim was asked to serve as the Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of the Army. At the Pentagon, Jim helped start and oversee the Army’s Office of Business Transformation – tasked with making the Army more effective, while saving tax dollars.

At the Pentagon, Jim also served as the Army’s lead representative to the Council of Governors, where he worked with America’s Governors to help coordinate Army bases and operations in individual states across the country.

Running for Congress

Jim Mowrer's whole life has been about service to our country and protecting what makes America and Iowa great. Now Jim's running for Congress because he sees that Politicians on both sides of the aisle aren't doing anything to protect middle class Iowa families like the one Jim grew up in. Instead of pushing for solutions, too many politicians in Washington are pushing sound bytes to please the extreme parts of their party and score political points for partisan gain.