Remembering a hero Sgt. Coleman Bean

Remembering a hero
Family and friends mourn the loss of Coleman Bean, 25
BY BRIAN DONAHUE Staff Writer
Coleman Bean was a lot of things to a lot of people. He was a son, a brother, a soldier, and to seemingly everyone who knew him, a good friend. He was someone they could count on to be there, in times of need and in happy times.

When he took his life on Sept. 6, he left those who knew him in shock. But he also left them with 25 years of cherished memories, the kind that could only come from a fun and thoughtful kid who became a loving, caring young man. It's Coleman's indelible character, and not the way he left, that his East Brunswick family — his parents Greg and Linda, younger brother Paddy and older brother Nick — will always hold on to.

Greg Bean, who is executive editor of Greater Media Newspapers, knows how he'll recall his middle son. Most prominent in his mind is the memory of Coleman stopping by unannounced the night before he died.

"I was sitting here watching TV, and he poked his face in the dining room window and made a funny face at me," Greg recalled, adding that Coleman, living in South River after returning from his second tour in Iraq, had been dropping over for dinner often, knowing Greg was on leave from work and was cooking a lot.

"He came in and said, 'What'd you make for dinner?' I said, 'I didn't know you were coming, so I didn't make enough for you.' So he made a triple-decker peanut butter sandwich and chips, and sat here and talked baby talk to my new dog, who he had just fallen in love with. … But I'm going to remember that night, because he was just happy and joking, and we made plans to go to the movies the next day and to the gym together on Monday. … I've got a million memories; we went through pictures the other day, and all of them bring back lots and lots of memories, but the one I'm gonna keep with me is just the way he was the day before he died."

In the early hours of the next morning, the family would learn, Coleman got into a one-car accident in West Long Branch, was hospitalized briefly, returned home to his apartment in South River and shot himself. His family and friends would react with shock and sadness, and also with anger that he would leave them this way.

Greg Bean's anger is also directed at the U.S. Army. After Coleman returned from nearly a year in Iraq in 2004, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for issues including extreme anxiety attacks and depression. Despite the diagnosis, the Army sent him back to the war in 2007.

"He had gone to the V.A. and seen a bunch of people [at] the Lyons campus. … He was diagnosed with PTSD and some other troubling issues, just lingering issues from Iraq," his father said. "The problem is that the V.A. doesn't really have anything to do directly with the Army. When he got called back, the Army said, 'Well, we don't care what the V.A. says about you. If you want a deferment from that, you have to get it from an Army psychiatrist.' "

Coleman feared that if he went to an Army psychiatrist, he'd spend the next deployment cleaning latrines or some other unwanted duty.

"The fact that he was diagnosed with [PTSD] didn't have any impact on him being deployed a second time. I think that's wrong. I think that's horrible that a soldier could be seeing a Veterans Administration doctor and that carries no weight with our Army," Greg said.
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http://ems.gmnews.com/news/2008/0917/front_page/015.html

Maryland sending national guard to help after Gustav

Md. Guard members to offer support for Gustav recovery
Gov. Martin O'Malley met with members of the Maryland Army National Guard deploying to Louisiana today to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.
Md. soldiers deploy to Louisiana Photos
Weakened Gustav still causes 'serious damage'
Sep 02, 2008 16:26 -0400


Updated: 15 minutes ago
Hanna lingers, and other storms enter the pipeline

Maryland State Police need help with death of Jodie S. Davis

Body found by a road in Harford is identified
August 1, 2008
A body found in a sleeping bag along a rural Harford County road has been identified as that of an Aberdeen woman who had been shot, Maryland State Police said yesterday.

The body of Jodie S. Davis, 41, was identified through fingerprints, police said. Her body was found Wednesday afternoon in the 400 block of Bush Chapel Road after a passing motorist alerted police after seeing a suspicious bag, police said. The road is near Interstate 95.

An autopsy yesterday determined that Davis' death was a homicide. The body was not by the road Tuesday night, but it may have been dumped as early at 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Anyone with information about Davis or anyone who had seen anything suspicious is asked to call state police at 410-879-2101. Calls may be kept confidential, police said.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/harford/bal-md.ha.body01aug01,0,2024940.story

Operation Homefront moving in wounded and families

Veterans moving in and up
by Shawna Ohm
Jul 30, 2008



Shawna Ohm/MNS




The Woods talk about their experiences and their future



Last week, four veterans and their families moved into new, furnished apartments... for free. The veterans, all severely wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan, had been living with their families in cramped temporary housing at the Walter Reed Army Hospital. Now they will live in Silver Spring, Md. in two-bedroom apartments with views and pool access.

The move was organized by Operation Homefront, a Texas-based non-profit. The organization uses money from corporate sponsors to pay rent and furnish the apartments. The occupying families pay no rent and are allowed to stay for as long as their treatment requires.

Since last week's opening four families have moved in to the 15 available apartments. Housing is meant to be used for three to six months, but can be extended as long as necessary.

For Travis Wood, who is still recovering from severe injuries sustained in Afghanistan, the stay could be as long as two years.

"It's a dream come true," Wood said. "(Here) you feel like you’re living your own life a little bit. I mean, I’ll still have to report to people and I'll still have to keep tabs, but at least I can come home to this."

go here for video
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/washington/news.aspx?id=95775

Maryland National Guard taking coming home as a mission

Peace of mind, body
Veterans Affairs tries to ease soldiers' return by offering five years of free medical care
By Stephanie Desmon Sun reporter
July 14, 2008

At 0800 hours yesterday, the lobby of the Veterans Affairs Baltimore Medical Center was filled with dozens of soldiers recently back from Iraq, dressed in their combat fatigues and reporting for yet another one of their duties - to be sure they are holding up both physically and mentally from what they went through in the war zone.

About 100 Maryland National Guard troops who returned from missions in Iraq in February and March had time to sit down with medical professionals - doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants - to discuss any enduring aches and pains, any war-related stress they might have. They were told they were entitled to five years of free medical treatment from the VA Maryland Health Care System and anyone who felt the need could set up an appointment for a full mental health evaluation.
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James Dean's family sues after killing in standoff

Veteran's Family Sues Police, Counties
Man With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Was Killed by Officer During Standoff

By Megan Greenwell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 9, 2008; Page B06

The family of an Afghanistan combat veteran who was shot by a state trooper after a 14-hour standoff in 2006 has filed a $20 million wrongful death suit against the Maryland State Police and three Southern Maryland counties.

The lawsuit, filed by the wife and parents of James E. Dean, alleges that 16 individual officers, the state and St. Mary's, Charles and Calvert counties showed "malice or callous disregard" for Dean's life during the confrontation at his father's home Dec. 26, 2006.

State Police Sgt. Daniel Weaver killed Dean with a single shot after a tense overnight confrontation in which SWAT teams and armored vehicles surrounded the house in rural St. Mary's and tear gas was repeatedly fired through the windows.

"The actions of the law enforcement officers at the scene . . . needlessly provoked Dean and increased the danger to themselves and to Dean," the lawsuit says.

Roger J. Myerberg, an attorney for the Dean family, said relatives decided to file suit after the state and counties denied liability. His clients' primary goal, he said, is to ensure that the agencies change their tactics and procedures so that similar incidents can be avoided in the future.

"There is a long list of things that shouldn't be done or should be done differently in the future," Myerberg said.

Dean, 29, had received a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression after serving 12 months as a sergeant leading a small infantry division in Afghanistan.

His wife, Muriel, said that he had registered with the Department of Veterans Affairs as disabled but that he nonetheless received a letter instructing him to report for duty in January for a tour in Iraq.

The night before he was killed, Dean drank heavily and began throwing dishes around the home he shared with Muriel. Fearing he might try to harm himself or her, she ordered him out of the house.

"The next time you see me, it's going to be in a body bag," he told her as he left.
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I remember this story well. Think about how little the police are informed about the wounds of war. Pretty amazing how little they know considering a lot of police officers develop PTSD because of their jobs. Even worse considering while they know any day they could have their lives on the line, they do not have to come face to face with traumatic situations on a daily basis. Combat veterans, especially the ones serving in Iraq, and now Afghanistan, face everyday with no time to go home, no time to deal with it and very little help in the zone.

Police officers get to be debriefed with facts and then emotionally debriefed following a traumatic event. Soldiers don't. There are not enough mental health professionals and Chaplains serving with them. Every single law enforcement officer needs to be aware of what PTSD is in order to deal with the hundreds of thousands of veterans with PTSD, as well as the thousands of officers who have it as well. Then they need to be aware of the rest of the citizens with PTSD. Last count it was about 7 million of them.

O'Malley, Mikulski seek more funds to help returning troops

More post-deployment aid urged
O'Malley, Mikulski seek more funds to help returning troops
By John Fritze Sun reporter
8:30 PM EDT, March 27, 2008

Gov. Martin O'Malley and Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski told a group of soldiers Thursday that the government must do more to help returning troops by increasing mental health funding and cutting bureaucracy in existing programs.

During a meeting at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore, both officials heard accounts from about a dozen members of the Maryland National Guard who had emotional and financial problems after returning from deployment overseas.

About 1,500 members of the Guard are expected to return to Maryland in the next six months, a wave that is likely to strain state-funded integration programs. Last year, 1,300 members of the Army National Guard and 350 Air National Guard members from Maryland were deployed, according to the governor's office.

"When they come back home, just like they stood by America, America has to stand by them," said Mikulski, who vowed to seek an additional $45 million for integration programs nationwide. "We've got to help these guardsmen."
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http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-guard0327,0,4371180.story

Edward Robinson tells Maryland lawmakers what it's like to want to die

This is from the post I did earlier today. This is what some of the legislative people think about the veterans.

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Gov. Martin O’Malley’s administration wants $3.5 million to provide short-term mental health services for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

But legislative analysts recommend the funding be cut in half because the services are fundamentally a federal responsibility and the estimates of the veterans needing the treatment are too high.

Now here is from the Washington Post about Maryland and the way we as a nation treat our veterans.

Veterans Share Stories as Work Starts on Mental Health Bills

By Philip Rucker
Friday, February 22, 2008; Page B06


For two years, Edward Robinson was stationed at a Navy hospital in Portsmouth, Va., helping treat wounded troops returning from battle in Iraq. The experience was so emotionally taxing that when Robinson moved home to Annapolis in 2006, his life started unraveling.

Robinson tried to kill himself four times, he said in emotional testimony before a panel of Maryland legislators yesterday. The 35-year-old told lawmakers that he was hospitalized five times, and his mental illnesses grew so bad that his wife recently left him.

"The stigma of having a mental illness . . . people look at you differently. People don't want to hire you," Robinson said. The problem, he said, is that the federal government is not providing adequate care.

Thousands of veterans like Robinson live in Maryland, and state officials say the federal government is failing to connect them to mental health-care providers, a void that became clear last year amid the scandal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) has proposed legislation to close gaps in federal care for returning service members. The measures would establish a $3.5 million pilot program to help veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan navigate the federal system to obtain care for mental and behavioral health problems.

At the start of this week, O'Malley and the General Assembly paid tribute to the 20 Maryland troops who died in Iraq and Afghanistan last year.

"Our hearts go out to them and to our families," O'Malley said in a short speech. "Our promise goes out to them that we will stand by their comrades."

During a poignant ceremony Monday night on the floor of the House of Delegates, each fallen service member was honored. A delegate representing the service member's county read his or her name and date of death into the record. Then on the wooden dais, a bell tolled for each.

Lawmakers began work on the bills this week by hearing testimony from veterans such as Robinson, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D), Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary John M. Colmers and Veterans Affairs Secretary James A. Adkins.

Brown, who served as an Army reservist in Iraq, said the state government should fill the gaps to help a "very fragile cohort of veterans" in Maryland.

"In a perfect world, the federal government would help ensure the welfare and care of veterans," Brown said. But "we don't live in a perfect world."

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Maryland Lt. Gov. Brown fights for Vets because he is one

Analysts propose trimming veterans mental health initiative
Feb 22, 2008 3:00 AM (15 hrs ago) by Len Lazarick, The Examiner
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Gov. Martin O’Malley’s administration wants $3.5 million to provide short-term mental health services for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

But legislative analysts recommend the funding be cut in half because the services are fundamentally a federal responsibility and the estimates of the veterans needing the treatment are too high.

“We still have some work to do” to get the money, said Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, an Iraq war veteran who is the administration’s point man on the veterans mental health initiative. “We’re going to work with the appropriations committees.”



The state health department estimates that there are about 15,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan living in Maryland, and about a third of them could use mental health and substance abuse services. There is a particularly high incidence of post-traumatic stress syndrome.

The Maryland Department of Veteran Affairs said there are about 4,300 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans enrolled with the federal VA health system, and there is no waiting list for services at the VA.

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My guess is there is more that has to be done and until the federal government gets their act in gear, the problem will get worse. Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and Gov. Martin O’Malley want to act now because the federal government did not act in the beginning.


From Maryland Homeless Veterans services

The HVRP program has become an integral part of the continuum of services provided by MCVET. The fundamental approach to homeless services is to provide assistance through a continuum of incremental steps that enable students to rejoin their communities as productive citizens. For the first three months, homeless veterans are placed in emergency housing where case managers help determine their needs and challenges, ensure that all benefit resources are accessed, and help them set education and employment goals. Students who suffer from mental illness or substance abuse issues begin receiving treatment. This is a critical component of the enrollment process because more than 98% of homeless veterans who enter the MCVET program have addiction problems, and more than 80% have mental disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
http://www.nchv.org/hvrp_article.cfm?id=42

Guilty plea in Walter Reed bribery case

Guilty plea in Walter Reed bribery case
Staff reportPosted : Monday Jan 7, 2008 9:19:40 EST

A 42-year-old Maryland resident pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to commit bribery and obstruction of an agency investigation in a scheme to influence contracting at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, according to a Justice Department press release.
Louis Pisani Jr., of Silver Spring, Md., also pleaded guilty to mail fraud in an arson insurance fraud scheme. The two cases are unrelated.
According to the plea agreement, Pisani, who was sole shareholder of Platinum Contractors Inc. in Silver Spring and Hyattsville, Md., conspired to bribe a contract specialist to steer government contracts to his companies. The contract specialist worked for Army Medical Command and was responsible for facilitating the procurement of goods and services for Walter Reed.
One of the contracts Pisani tried to influence was potentially worth up to $1.2 million.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/army_pisani_080106/