Why are we not talking about attempted veteran suicides?

Why are we not talking about attempted veteran suicides?
Wounded Times Blog
Kathie Costos
June 19, 2013

Most of people working on researching combat related PTSD are growing more and more concerned with the delay of releasing the Department of Defense Suicide Event Report for 2012. Given what we have seen with the 2011 report, the numbers will be a nightmare further indicating that attempts to prevent suicide, while well meaning, have produced the opposite result. We have the data from 2011 to show that attempts have not worked.

The AFMES indicates that 301 Service Members died by suicide in 2011 (Air Force = 50, Army = 167, Marine Corps = 32, Navy = 52). This number includes deaths strongly suspected to be suicides that are pending final determination. DoDSER Points of Contact (POCs) submitted reports for 100% of AFMES confirmed 2011 suicides (Air Force = 46, Army = 159, Marine Corps = 31, Navy = 51) as of the data extraction date (26 April 2012). A total of 915 Service Members attempted suicide in 2011 (Air Force = 241, Army = 432, Marine Corps = 156, Navy = 86). DoDSERs were submitted for 935 suicide attempts (Air Force = 251, Army = 440, Marine Corps = 157, Navy = 87).

Within the same report, the data of attempted suicides is further proof that these programs have not worked.

Of the 915 Service Members who attempted suicide, 896 had one attempt, 18 had two attempts, and 1 had three attempts.

Still there is another report that we fail to acknowledge because the number of successful suicides had been so high. Just as the headlines across the country were focused on 349 military suicides for 2012, they ignored National Guards and Reservist, just as much as they ignored the stunning statement of predicted rise in the numbers of military members committing suicide in 2012 when the DOD had time to enter in all the data collected. Six months into 2013, the numbers have still not been released.

The LA Times reports the true number of military suicides for 2012 are 524. As we have seen in previous reports, there are also attempted suicides tied to military service. While yet again we read headline after headline with 22 veterans committing suicide, we did not read about how many attempted it.

Within the study of veterans committing suicide, there is a section addressing attempted suicides.

Between 2009 and 2012 the numbers are pretty shocking.

24,058 survivors of suicide attempted it with poisoning

5,425 Intentional self-harm by unspecified means

5,148 firearms

4,842 with sharp object

3,045 hanging, strangulation and suffocation

1,106 jumped off moving object

970 sequelae of attempts

As some VHA utilizing Veterans experience multiple reported events, this corresponds to nearly 15,000 suicide suicide events reported in FY2012 compared to more than 16,000 in FY2011.

(80%) of non-fatal events occur within four weeks of recieving VHA services.

An additional 10% of events occur in the second month following last VHA service visit. These findings have important implications for treatment and prevention efforts as the majority of those with report of a suicide event are active, recent VHA users.

Furthermore, nearly 50% of the individuals with a VHA service visit in the year preeceeding the suicide event were last seen in the outpatient primary care setting. This implies that primary care should be an integral component of VHA suicide prevention programs and primary care clinicians should continue to receive support and training on the identification and management of those experiencing distress.

Another 40% of those with report of one or more suicide events were last seen for mental health services indicating a need for continued assessment and risk management following use of VHA services among those with known risk factors (i.e. mental health diagnosis).

In 2012, non-fatal suicide events were reported for almost 11,000 VHA users. As some VHA utilizing Veterans experience multiple reported events, this corresponds to nearly 15,000 suicide suicide events reported in FY2012 compared to more than 16,000 in FY2011. This is unique data and cannot be compared to non-veteran data since population level non-fatal event data on the general population does not exist.

When we think of all the money congress spent on "prevention" as the numbers went higher, we also have to factor in the number of attempted suicides for further proof what they are doing has not worked and will in fact increase the numbers of successful suicides as well as attempted suicides. No one has been held accountable. Congress has not answered to the families left behind after a successful suicide or to the veteran survivors. The Department of Defense answers to no one. The VA answers to no one. The White House answers to no one. Why? Because reporters are not asking the questions that need to be answered.

How does doing more for veterans produce these results?

How does doing more for veterans produce these results?
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
June 13, 2013

There are things about President Obama we should have issues with. One of them is the fact that he promised to do something about suicides connected to military service before he was elected the first time. Since his election, what has been done has increased the number of men and women taking their own lives while serving and as veterans back home.

President Obama traveled to Montana during campaigning in 2008 because they started their own program after Spc. Chris Dana committed suicide.

During the visit in 2008, then Senator Obama blamed the GOP for veterans troubles. He heard from a Vietnam veteran.

“In Great Falls, they're building a $6.5 million animal shelter and we don't have a shelter for veterans. What does that tell you about priorities?” asked Bahr, a 1967 Army draftee who survived the Tet Offensive, a nine-month series of battles that resulted in more than 6,000 deaths and 24,000 injuries among American and allied troops during the Vietnam War.

As President, Obama has tried to make it right for Vietnam veterans when he told the VA to fix what was broken in their PTSD and Agent Orange claims. Thousands of Vietnam veterans ended up jumping into the already overloaded system. Vietnam veterans are the majority of claims in the backlog but the media, yet again, doesn't seem too interested in them. They also happen to be the highest percentage of suicides.

Since taking office in 2009 congress has increased spending by billions a year pushing "resilience" refusing to address the fact that after all this money, the results are more deadly than doing nothing. This attempt actually prevents the troops from seeking help as soon as they start to have problems. Congress has not been interested in very much when it comes to military suicides or they would have used common sense to end what has not been working instead of just expanding the "effort" that is a huge part of the problem.

In THE WARRIOR SAW, SUICIDES AFTER WAR, the money, what could be found online, is listed by year along with what the results were. More suicides followed and psychiatrist warning against this approach were ignored. Congress didn't pay attention and President Obama hasn't been informed by his aids what is really going on. The national media won't tell the public what the truth really is.

President Obama should be screaming about the fact that no one has been held accountable for any of this. Where are the congressional hearings on who is responsible? Hearings on the wasted money producing deadly results? No one has been held accountable as program after program has been funded to the point where there are over 900 suicide prevention programs producing more suicides.

The VA budget has been increased and the number of homeless veterans living on the street have been going down. More veterans are finding work because of the tax incentives. Vietnam veterans feeling left out of the debt this nation owed to them to take care of their wounds now have hope again. Why does it have to be a double edged sword hanging over their heads when they have to wait so long to have their claims approved?

There are good things happening but if you read the news reports, it is almost as if none of these problems happened before. Military sexual assaults happened before Obama. Veterans felt betrayed before Obama. There were homeless veterans before Obama. National Guards and Reservist families were suffering before Obama. The list of issues tied to those who serve all happened before Obama and that is something we all need to acknowledge. If we don't, nothing will change when the next President takes office.

We cannot trust the national media simply because most stopped paying attention. CNN has been more interested in reporting on world news than news that is happening right here. Other than spending hours on storms how much have you seen on CNN that has to do with what is happening here? As for MSNBC and FOX, they have been more interested in political news and taking sides than the truth.

If you read Wounded Times then you know what they are not telling you simply because small news outlets are paying attention to what is happening right in their own communities. These reports are about veterans and veterans serve the whole nation but the whole nation is not being informed.

Unless people know what is going on, nothing tangible will be done to fix what has been happening to them and that, that is the saddest piece of news you will read today. Everything we are reading today is directly tied back to what was not fixed in the last generation. What does that say about this generation?

The national media can report on scandal after scandal but they ignore the biggest one of all. Tomorrow is Flag Day but few will think about the fact this nation was formed by men and yes, women, risking their lives to obtain freedom and generations of Americans stepping up to risk their lives to retain it. This is the one subject that should never, ever be political. So why are politicians failing to honor the people who risked their lives for all of it?

Umbrella-gate Marine's family thinks the whole thing is a hoot

Marine holding umbrella for Obama is from Apopka
Beth Kassab
Orlando Sentinel Columnist
May 20, 2013

It's true that Marines are not supposed to carry umbrellas in certain uniforms. But Nathan Previti is assigned to a special unit in the White House that handles all kinds of ceremonial duties.

Every now and then a photo of something relatively mundane takes on a life of its own.

Such is the case for the picture of a frowning President Obama looking up at a rainy sky (how's that for a metaphor about recent White House missteps?) while a young Marine stands by with an umbrella.

The kerfluffle has even taken on its own name. Or several. "Umbrella Marine." "Umbrella Scandal." Yes, even "Umbrella-gate."

Well, the Marine has a name too. He's Cpl. Nathan Previti from Apopka.

And while Sarah Palin and Sean Hannity are using the photo of Previti's white-gloved hand dutifully shielding Obama from rain as more "proof" that the president is aloof (can't hold his own umbrella) and disrespectful of the military (doesn't he know Marines aren't supposed to hold umbrellas?), the Previti family thinks the whole thing is a hoot.
read more here

Has President Obama seen Senator Obama lately?

Has President Obama seen Senator Obama lately?
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
April 11, 2013

I am finishing up THE WARRIOR SAW, SUICIDES AFTER WAR and the last six months have been hell. It wasn't bad enough reading all the reports collected since 2007 on this blog or reading the heartbreaking emails sent. It was remembering what I thought back when I published my first book FOR THE LOVE OF JACK HIS WAR MY BATTLE. I thought all that had to be done was for people to know what was happening, why it was happening and then we could prevent a lot of suffering.

The original book was published ten years ago and I am sitting here stunned writing a book on military suicides because people have forgotten what happened yet again so all the mistakes have been repeated over and over again. I am also wondering if President Obama remembers what he was doing eight years ago? Does he even remember what he thought way back then when he was paying close attention to what servicemen and women were going through?


When he was Senator Obama somehow he managed to get away from the press covering his campaign and traveled to meet Matt Kuntz because he was taking action after his step-brother Chris Dana committed suicide. He was with the Montana National Guards.

Montana National Guard Spec. Chris Dana will never know the impact his life and ultimately his death may someday have on the lives of veterans nationwide.

Dana took his life in March 2007, less than two years after returning from a tour in Iraq. His family believes he was a victim of post traumatic stress disorder, brought on by his combat experience.

Since Dana’s death, his stepbrother Matt Kuntz has campaigned for more awareness of the costs of untreated post traumatic stress syndrome in Iraq war veterans. Wednesday, he was invited to meet with Sen. Barack Obama to share the message he’s been spreading statewide for more than a year. At a quiet picnic table at Riverfront Park Obama sat across from Kuntz, his wife Sandy and their infant daughter Fiona.

Kuntz was heavy with emotion, but hopeful and eager to share Dana’s story, and tell the senator about his work to ensure other Montana veterans aren’t suffering from the same condition that made his step-brother take his life.

Most people back then were not talking about military suicides or PTSD but Senator Obama was not only talking about them, he was trying to do something about them as a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. I didn't expect less from him considering he was fighting for our veterans and troops hard in 2005.

In 2005 it was Senator Obama sitting on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee talking about the VA billion-dollar budget shortfall when Jim Nicholson was Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Obama Says $1 Billion Shortfall in VA Health Care Budget Requires Emergency Funding "I don't think anyone wants to look a returning soldier in the eye who fought and bled for our country and say 'Sorry, but when it comes to getting health care, you're on your own,'" said Obama. "We recently passed a budget where we had no problem finding billions and billions of dollars to give away in tax cuts, but when it comes to health care for veterans, the VA is forced to scrape for dollars by pilfering their rainy day funds."

“On March 26, 2005, Senator Obama voted to add an additional $2.85 billion to the VA health care budget, but the amendment was defeated.”

Fast forward to this year and reading about the billions of dollars spent every year on the failed programs the military has pushed leading up to the deadliest suicide rate of all has me wondering where that guy went.

I understand he has a lot on his mind and has a been elected twice to get things done while having to put up with Congress no longer interested in what the majority of the American people wanted him to do, but this, this is something that can't get fixed with more money. It has to be fixed with knowledge, the same kind of knowledge he had back in 2005 before these programs began. They all happened while he was President and I am sure he thought he was doing the right thing but he stopped paying attention or he would have seen these programs are the problem.

On April 15th you'll know what has been happening and you will understand we need the President and the Senator to meet again. I don't want to keep looking into the eyes of veterans that didn't get the help they needed or more Moms when they are blaming themselves for the suicides of their children.

White House proposes another budget increase for VA in 2014

UPDATE
VA budget has $63.5B for care, benefits

OK, I read the article again this morning and it looks like I was not seeing things last night.

This is the part I can't believe.

Currently, the backlog hovers around 600,000 cases, up dramatically from around 80,000 just four years ago. The average wait for completion of a claim is almost nine months.

This was in a report from April 2, 2012 and addresses what the claims looked like in 2009. Shinseki noted the monumental challenge VA has been up against. During 2009, VA produced 900,000 claims decisions, but also received 1 million new claims. The next year, VA increased its claims decisions to 1 million, but received 1.2 million new claims. “Last year, we produced another 1 million claims decisions and got 1.3 million claims in,” Shinseki said. “So the backlog isn’t static. The backlog is a bigger number than we would like, but it is not the same number as three years ago.”

I am getting really tired of correcting what reporters get wrong and beginning to wonder if they all have an agenda that is not in the best interests of our veterans. For Heaven's sake they should be important enough to get the story straight.

Researching THE WARRIOR SAW, SUICIDES AFTER WAR, has opened the door to a whole new world the press has not dared to enter into. All these years I thought they were getting the story straight and letting the public know what was going on. WOW! I was wrong to trust them because the searches are all available for anyone to find if they take the time and actually care beyond getting today's story out.

VA Claims as of December 31, 2012

Post-9/11 (Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts) claims make up 21% of the total inventory and 22% of the backlog

Gulf War (definition) claims make up 23% of the total inventory and 21% of the backlog Peacetime (period between end of Vietnam and Gulf War) claims make up 11% of the total inventory and 11% of the backlog

Vietnam claims make up 37% of the total inventory and 38% of the backlog

Korean War claims make 4% of the total inventory and 4% of the backlog

World War II claims make up 3% of the total inventory and 3% of the backlog

Other era claims make up 1% of the total inventory and 1% of the backlog

Original vs. Supplemental Claims

40% were first time claims and 60% were Supplemental as of March 29, 2013

VA’s current Inventory of compensation claims contains both "original" claims—those submitted by Veterans of all eras who are claiming disability compensation from VA for the first time, and “supplemental” claims—those submitted by Veterans of all eras who have previously filed for disability compensation with VA. Below is a breakout of the original and supplemental claims in the current VA inventory:

60% of pending claims are supplemental, 40% are original.

77% of Veterans filing supplemental claims are receiving some level of monetary benefit from VA.

11% of Veterans filing supplemental claims already have a 100% disability rating (receive $2800 or more per month) or qualify for Individual Unemployability (compensated at the 100% disabled rate).

40% of Veterans filing supplemental claims are already rated at 50% disability or higher.

43% of supplemental claims are from Vietnam-era Veterans; 19% are from Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Considering it is almost 10:00 and I've been working since 7:00 this morning, my brain is tired. Check back tomorrow morning on this because I can't believe what I am reading in the rest of the report so I really think I need to go to bed because I must be delusional or the rest of this report it totally out of whack.

White House proposes another budget increase for VA in 2014
By Leo Shane III
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 5, 2013

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs would receive a 4 percent funding increase for its fiscal 2014 discretionary budget and a $2.5 billion infusion to battle the growing claims backlog under White House budget plans to be announced next week.

The funding boost comes as most government departments face steep cuts as the president and lawmakers search for ways to rein in the national debt. It still must be approved by Congress before it becomes law.

But White House and VA officials said the extra money for veterans programs shows President Barack Obama’s commitment to help servicemembers returning from combat with their transition to civilian life, and to make sure the lifelong war wounds aren’t forgotten.

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said the budget emphasizes “the president’s commitment to our veterans and their families” but also acknowledged that more money doesn’t promise immediate results for veterans impatient with the VA bureaucracy.

“At the end of the day, it’s not the inputs or investments, but the outputs: questions being answered, tax credits being utilized, jobs being created,” he said. “That’s going to prove to people whether the system is working.”
read more here

Veterans face paying more for America's debt?

Veterans say they wrote a blank check to Uncle Sam the day they signed up to serve. Our first President was a General named George Washington and pretty much felt the same way.

“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation.”

I have that quote at the bottom of my emails for this reason. They are the first people we thank in November on Veterans Day and their families are the ones we think about on Memorial Day. Too bad too many have such a short memory of the price these men and women paid for the sake of the rest of the country.

Mine is a military family. We don't ask for much and as a matter of fact, wish we didn't have to. The price we are paying everyday for my husband enlisting to go to Vietnam is something we would rather do without. Since he came home so long ago, the war came with him in his body and his mind. He's the reason I do what I do everyday.

Since I read so many reports from across the country for this site, I read some things I wish I didn't ever see. Comments like the VA is a free ride for fakers and they just want the money. Politicians saying that the VA should be privatized and give the disabled vouchers. These same people line up to slam the VA and complain about how much they are messing up, but all of them have very short memories.

It doesn't matter what year they served, or what political party was in charge at the time they were sent. It doesn't matter what nation they were sent to. It shouldn't matter if the American people agreed with it or not because the people they elected sent them. Sent them to do a job and risk their lives to get it done.

We read about the contaminated bases they lived on along with their families. We read about the weapons used that caused their illnesses like Agent Orange. Over and over again we read about the dangers they face for our country from one generation to the next. We also read about people talk about how grateful they are and the debt they owe to the men and women getting the job done but when the rest of this country decides this group is not worth taking care of as much as it was when there was more money in the budget is sickening.

22 million veterans are not being taken care of because they are not all wounded, ill, poor, needy, elderly or receiving a dime from the government. Think about that for a second. We can't even properly take care of a smaller percentage than 7% of the population after they signed their lives over?

Veterans fight changes to disability payments
By Kevin Freking
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Mar 30, 2013

WASHINGTON — Veterans groups are rallying to fight any proposal to change disability payments as the federal government attempts to address its long-term debt problem. They say they've sacrificed already.

Government benefits are adjusted according to inflation, and President Barack Obama has endorsed using a slightly different measure of inflation to calculate Social Security benefits. Benefits would still grow but at a slower rate.

Advocates for the nation's 22 million veterans fear that the alternative inflation measure would also apply to disability payments to nearly 4 million veterans as well as pension payments for an additional 500,000 low-income veterans and surviving families.

"I think veterans have already paid their fair share to support this nation," said the American Legion's Louis Celli. "They've paid it in lower wages while serving, they've paid it through their wounds and sacrifices on the battlefield and they're paying it now as they try to recover from those wounds."

Economists generally agree that projected long-term debt increases stemming largely from the growth in federal health care programs pose a threat to the country's economic competitiveness. Addressing the threat means difficult decisions for lawmakers and pain for many constituents in the decades ahead.
read more here

Joe Klein just noticed veterans are suffering?

UPDATE

Paul Rieckhoff just wrote a good piece on CNN about the backlog but again, all of this was missed in that report too.
U.S. shamefully slow to help vets

Joe Klein just noticed veterans are suffering?
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
March 16, 2013

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day but Klein must have thought the Blarney stone would save him. After all it has become the cause of many "reporters" coming out and jumping all over the administration because veterans are suffering.

Klein wants to blame Eric Shinseki and the Obama Administration. Why are they such an easy target? Simple, Klein like too many other reports don't have a single clue what has been going on. First take a look and the budget President Obama submitted for the VA 2010 budget for 2011 for 2012 and for 2013

Joe Klein should really know better than to say Eric Shinseki should be a public advocate since when he does talk, no one in the press covers it. How many times has he testified at hearings saying what is needed and has been needed since he took over as Secretary of Veterans Affairs in 2009? How much coverage did they give him when he was speaking out against what was done in Iraq? The truth is Congress is in control over what does or does not get done at the VA just like they do with the Department of Defense. If they don't do their jobs, they get to pass the buck literally. What the Congress does or does not do is supposed to be reported by the press so the people know what the hell is going on. Taking care of our veterans has never, ever, been fully done and the press has been lousy at reporting on it. They cant' even get straight the number of servicemen and women who committed suicide last year!

Battleland
Latest Column: The VA Mess
By Joe Klein
March 16, 2013

Eric Shinseki is a fine man, and a courageous one. He spoke truth to power at the beginning of the Iraq war. But he has not been an effective Sercretary of Veterans Affairs and it is time for him to go.

I’m sorry I didn’t post this column several days ago, when it first went online. It has caused a fair amount of controversy in the veterans’ community. There are many other details I could have added. For example, Bob Kerrey told me that when he moved from New York to Nebraska to run for the U.S. Senate, he had to actually go to the local VA hospital several times over the course of several weeks to get his disability records transferred (he was able to get his bank accounts transferred, electronically, overnight). The hassles aren’t limited to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans; they are multifarious.
read more here

Guys like Klein crack me up. It is as if all this started yesterday! They get away with pretending PTSD is new and that the billions being spent on "research" is a step in the right direction and they also forgot how to actually do interviews with people while knowing what the real answer should fit with. How about they start with the claims made by military brass about addressing suicides? How do they explain the numbers going up after all these years of hearing they have a plan, program, addressed it and fixed it only to have to be interviewed a month later by someone else letting them get away with making all the same claims again because reporters are too lazy to look up the facts? Answer that one.

That's the biggest scam of all. We read all the reports from across the country so we know what is going on and the power of the press when someone in their local communities are getting screwed and need help from their communities. How many times have you read on this blog a veteran got justice because a reporter gave a damn and went to work to make sure the public knew what was going on? These big boys can't even get straight what is going on day to day. Did they even mention over all these years that while President Obama has been doing budgets the congress has not passed a doable budget in what, four years? The majority of the American people elect the President and he is supposed to set the agenda for the whole country. Members of the Senate and House are elected by their areas of their states. They are supposed to figure out how to do what the majority of the American people want, not figure out how to stop the President. Then they are supposed to make sure that all the parts of the government work since they are responsible for funding them. When there are problems, like the massive problems with the VA, they are supposed to figure out how to fix them.

I'm going to be very clear here and break this down since Klien doesn't seem to know what the hell has been going on under Shineski.

AGENT ORANGE AND VIETNAM VETERANS 40 YEARS OF AGONY.

"Last October, based on the requirements of the Agent Orange Act of 1991 and the Institute of Medicine’s report, “Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2008,” I determined that the evidence provided was sufficient to support presumptions of service connection for three additional diseases: Parkinson’s Disease, Hairy Cell and other Chronic B-Cell Leukemia, and Ischemic Heart Disease. After a public rulemaking process, we are now issuing a final regulation creating these new presumptions.

This action means that Veterans who were exposed to herbicides in service and who suffer from one of the “presumed” illnesses do not have to prove an association between their medical problems and their military service. This action helps Veterans to overcome the evidentiary requirements that might otherwise make it difficult for them to establish such an association in order to qualify for healthcare and other benefits needed as a result of their diseases. The “Presumption” simplifies and accelerates the application process and ensures that Veterans will receive the benefits they deserve.

As many as 150,000 Veterans may submit Agent Orange claims in the next 12 to 18 months. Additionally, VA will review approximately 90,000 previously denied claims from Vietnam Veterans for service connection for these three new diseases. All those who are awarded service-connection, and who are not currently enrolled in the VA health care system, will become eligible for enrollment." (Agent Orange and Veterans: A 40-Year Wait, Secretary Eric K. Shinseki August 30, 2010 White House Blog)

VIETNAM VETERANS AND PTSD CLAIMS

V.A. Is Easing Rules to Cover Stress Disorder
New York Times
By JAMES DAO
Published: July 7, 2010

The government is preparing to issue new rules that will make it substantially easier for veterans who have been found to have post-traumatic stress disorder to receive disability benefits, a change that could affect hundreds of thousands of veterans from the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam.

The regulations from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which will take effect as early as Monday and cost as much as $5 billion over several years according to Congressional analysts, will essentially eliminate a requirement that veterans document specific events like bomb blasts, firefights or mortar attacks that might have caused P.T.S.D., an illness characterized by emotional numbness, irritability and flashbacks.

For decades, veterans have complained that finding such records was extremely time consuming and sometimes impossible. And in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, veterans groups assert that the current rules discriminate against tens of thousands of service members — many of them women — who did not serve in combat roles but nevertheless suffered traumatic experiences.

HOMELESS VETERANS

Shinseki cites plight, plan to help homeless veterans
Washington Post
By Ed O'Keefe and Garance Franke-Ruta
November 04, 2009

The Department of Veterans Affairs laid out Tuesday an ambitious five-year goal of curbing the number of homeless veterans, pledging $3.2 billion to an issue that is more rapidly affecting those who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars than by any from past conflicts.

"No one who has served this nation as veterans should ever be living on the streets," VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said.

"In the past, VA focused largely on getting homeless veterans off the streets," Shinseki said. "This plan is different. It aims as much, if not more, on preventing as it does on rescuing those who live on the streets."

Roughly 131,000 of the nation's 24 million veterans may be homeless on any given night, and about twice as many are homeless each year, according to VA estimates. About 3 percent of homeless vets served in Iraq or Afghanistan, but a 2007 study by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America found that they become homeless faster than do other veterans.

While homeless Vietnam veterans first spent, on average, five to 10 years trying to readjust to society, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans can end up homeless within 18 months, the study said.

Now lets take a look at what Congress ended up doing.

AGENT ORANGE

Pass Agent Orange Act
Published: Wednesday, November 14, 2012, 8:53 p.m.
Updated: Tuesday, February 19, 2013

With the elections over, the new House and Senate will have their first session in early 2013. They will be faced with many issues — old and new. It is time for the new Congress to put aside politics and become legislators. There are still two major bills in committee of interest to Vietnam veterans, HR 3612 and SB 1629. These bills would restore Veterans Affairs benefits for Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War.

The current House and Senate still have time to act upon these bills before January. These bills must come out of committee and go to the floor of both houses.

I ask the American people to urge our legislators to act on these bills. The Vietnam veterans who are sick from Agent Orange dioxin exposure need these bills to be passed into law before the new Congress convenes.

A new legislative session will require us advocates for Vietnam veterans to start again. This means longer delays for veterans' VA approval and thousands won't be approved because they did not have boots on ground, even though they were awarded the Vietnam Service Medal.

Many sailors, airmen and Fleet Marines who served during that war are sick from exposure to the deadly herbicide. The passage of these bills means these members of the armed forces will receive equality for VA benefits. John J. Bury
Media, Delaware County
The writer is retired from the U.S. Navy and is a Vietnam veteran.

HOMELESS VETERANS

April 8, 2011
Congressman Filner Introduces Legislation to Eliminate Veteran Homelessness

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Bob Filner, Ranking Democratic Member (D-CA) of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, reintroduced legislation that would further the goal of ending veteran homelessness in five years.

"We know the Department of Veterans Affairs has many programs to address currently homeless veterans, and they do a great job. However, the most important piece to ending homelessness among the nation's veteran population is to prevent it in the first place. It is unacceptable that even one of our veterans sleep on the streets or in shelters after risking their lives on behalf of this country. H.R. 806 will go a long way in strengthening our efforts to ultimately end homelessness," said Congressman Filner.

According to recent reports, approximately one-third of the adult homeless population served in the Armed Services. Population estimates also suggest that about 131,000 veterans are homeless on any given night and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year.

This bill increases funding to successful programs for homeless veterans; requires each VA medical center that provides supporting housing services to provide housing counselors; requires housing counselors to conduct landlord research; strengthens permanent housing programs, and pays special interest to the needs of homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children.

H.R.806
Latest Title: End Veteran Homelessness Act of 2011
Sponsor: Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] (introduced 2/18/2011) Cosponsors (3)
Related Bills: S.1060
Latest Major Action: 3/15/2011 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

Policy and Legislative Update: Contentious Issues Remain for the 112th Congress
Nov. 2, 2012

The second session of the 112th Congress is coming to a close, and a number of contentious legislative issues remain: among them, the imminent "sequestration" and scheduled expiration of the 2001 and 2003 (“Bush-era”) tax cuts. The former issue is of particular concern to homeless veteran service providers because of its potential impact on the Department of Labor-Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (DOL-VETS), which administers the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP).

A report released by the Office of Management and Budget on Sept. 14 details the impact of sequestration – that is, $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts that are scheduled to begin taking effect in January 2013, unless Congress intervenes. While this report confirmed that the entire Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) budget as well as all HUD-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) vouchers are exempt from these cuts, HVRP remains at risk.

If sequestration takes effect as planned, the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program could be subject to a $4.346 million spending cut. At present, the program is only funded at $38.185 million.

Leadership from both parties oppose these indiscriminate spending cuts, yet an alternative to sequestration has not yet been reached. Congress will be back in session on Nov. 13 to potentially decide on this issue.

On PTSD claims we see what happened there as well with all the reporters suddenly waking up to these issues as if they just happened under President Obama. They got worse under him for several reasons but the biggest one is too many other President took a pass on actually doing something for the veterans waiting longer in line for some kind of justice as reporters slept!

Yes, that means you too Klien!

Huffington Post blames Obama instead of Congress

WOW this sounds really bad.

 

The problem is, this report fails so miserably.

Veterans Often Wait Over A Year For Benefits, Some Wait Up To 642 Days As VA Struggles To Handle Claims
The Huffington Post
By Nick Wing
Posted: 03/14/2013

The Department of Veterans Affairs is failing to keep up with a torrent of benefits claims, and the backlog leaves many service members high and dry for well over a year after first filing their forms, a new report from the Center for Investigative Reporting finds.

From the CIR report:

The agency tracks and widely reports the average wait time: 273 days. But the internal data indicates that veterans filing their first claim, including those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, wait nearly two months longer, between 316 and 327 days. Those filing for the first time in America’s major population centers wait up to twice as long -- 642 days in New York, 619 days in Los Angeles and 542 days in Chicago.

The ranks of veterans waiting more than a year for their benefits grew from 11,000 in 2009, the first year of Obama’s presidency, to 245,000 in December -- an increase of more than 2,000 percent.

And the VA is predicting that the situation will get worse, as the number of veterans waiting on the department to process their claims is expected to surge past the current 900,000 and toward a million by the end of March. A spokesman for the VA told the CIR that the department is being inundated by a nearly 50-percent increase in the number of filed claims. He said the growth was due to a combination of increasing numbers of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans returning home, broadening claims for PTSD and Gulf War illness, and new guidelines allowing Vietnam vets to request compensation for complications due to exposure to Agent Orange.
read more here

I read the article and while waiting to find what he failed at doing, I reached the end of the article without discovering what this earth shaking news was.

Are things screwed up for veterans? You bet. Are they waiting too long for claims to be approved? Hell ya! But since President Obama made it easier for veterans to apply for benefits under Agent Orange, PTSD and Gulf War Syndrome, congress has not come thru with the necessary funding to do it. It takes two years to hire and train claims processors but this is also an issue for the states as well. Veterans Affairs Benefits has links to all the budgets and what Congress ended up doing, which is a fascinating read and I used part of it yesterday pointing out what was in President Obama's VA Budget request.

Here is something else you need to know. All areas of the country are not the same. One state may process claims faster than others while one state may have more errors than others. If you read this blog, you'd already know that.

The Veterans Benefits Administration As one of three administrations within VA, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), in partnership with the Veterans Health Administration and the National Cemetery Administration, provides benefits and services to Servicemembers, Veterans, and their families in recognition of their service to the Nation.

VBA has been undergoing a major transformation that is people-centric, results-oriented, and a forward-looking integration of solutions that will ensure total lifelong engagement with Servicemembers, Veterans, their families and survivors.

Within VBA, there are three Deputy Under Secretaries led by the Under Secretary for Benefits. Their organizations provide oversight for Disability Assistance, Economic Opportunity, and Field Operations. Additionally, there are four program offices including Strategic Planning, Management, Resource Management and Performance Analysis and Integrity. To help you better understand the services VBA offers, a brief summary of some the offices that directly support benefit delivery is as follows:

There are four business lines under the Office of Disability Assistance:
Compensation Service: Oversees the delivery of disability compensation to Veterans disabled by an injury or disease incurred or aggravated during active military service.

Pension and Fiduciary Service: Provides program oversight that helps wartime Veterans, their families, and survivors with financial challenges by providing supplemental income through Veterans Pension, Death Pension, and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.

Insurance Service: Maintains life insurance programs that give financial security and peace of mind for Servicemembers, Veterans, and their families.

Benefits Assistance Service: Facilitates Client Services and Outreach, Web Communications, and ensures Quality and Training for VBA employees who engage Servicemembers, Veterans, and their families through services such as the National Call Center.

As for the long wait times in having claims approved, that's been going on since the 90's. My husband's claim took six years while his buddy's claim took even longer. A Vietnam veteran's claim was just settled after six years of waiting and suffering. There have always been terrible problems with veterans having to wait, so because President Obama made it easier for older veterans waiting even longer for justice, they ended up adding to the already overloaded system because two wars were started without congress fully funding the VA when they should have in order to take care of all our veterans.

If this article had been honest, they would have reported the historical data and not just picked out who they wanted to blame.

I blame congress first and the President Obama but for a much different reason. He has not ordered his Joint Chiefs to hold anyone accountable for Military Suicides, Sexual Assaults, Wrongful Discharges and inadequate PTSD programs. Has not held them accountable for the deplorable outcomes including Congress! He has done a lot for veterans but with what they have been up against even before he took office the first time, he just hasn't done enough and congress hasn't either.

But they sure got a lot of comments.  Over a thousand of them and most attacking Obama.

Fort Hood cuts could hit training and operations

Fort Hood cuts could hit training and operations, lead to civilian furloughs
By Juan Castillo
American-Statesman Staff
March 1, 2013

FORT HOOD — More than 5,200 civilian workers at Fort Hood face possible furloughs, and operations and training would be reduced at the Army post under deep, across-the-board federal spending cuts that President Barack Obama authorized Friday night.

The spending cuts won’t affect uniformed soldiers, however, because military personnel are exempt, as are Social Security and Medicare.

The realities of the cuts, known as sequestration, came into focus as the president, who opposed the spending cuts, signed the order putting them into effect Friday night after Congress failed to reach a deal to stave them off.
read more here

Governor Scott finally does right thing and takes Medicaid deal

Scott proposes three-year expansion of Medicaid to add 1 million uninsured
Orlando Sentinel
By Kathleen Hughes and William E. Gibson
6:08 p.m. EST, February 20, 2013

TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Rick Scott announced Wednesday a proposed three-year expansion of Florida's Medicaid program – enrolling an additional one million poor and disabled Floridians beginning next year – after the Obama administration gave the state tentative approval to privatize Medicaid services.

If the Legislature approves, Scott's announcement means the state will extend eligibility in the federal-state program to single people and families earning up to 138 percent of poverty. The state plans to enroll almost all of them, along with the 3.3 million people currently being served by Medicaid, in private HMOs or other doctor-operated networks.

"While the federal government is committed to paying 100 percent of the cost of new people in Medicaid, I cannot, in good conscience, deny the uninsured access to care," Scott said at a press conference. He added that the expansion would have to be renewed in three years.
read more here

Obama to announce 34,000 troops to come home

Obama to announce 34,000 troops to come home
From Jake Tapper
CNN
February 12, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Sources: Obama to announce that by February 2014, 34,000 U.S. forces will be home
80% of registered voters support president's policy to end the Afghanistan war, poll shows
The White House has been considering a range of troop levels to remain in Afghanistan

(CNN) -- In his State of the Union speech Tuesday, President Obama will announce that by this time next year, 34,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan will have returned home, according to sources with knowledge of the president's speech.

The move will reduce the number of U.S. forces in the country by more than half. There are now about 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

A Washington Post poll out Tuesday morning shows that 80% of registered voters support the president's policy to end the war in Afghanistan.

In January, Obama met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Washington, where they agreed to accelerate the military transition in Afghanistan. Afghan forces will take the lead in combat missions throughout the country starting in spring, instead of midyear as was previously expected.

The White House has been considering a range of troop levels to remain in Afghanistan once the combat mission officially ends at the end of 2014, from as many as 15,000 troops to none at all.
read more here

State of Union Address Honoring Many Heroes

Medal of Honor recipient to be first lady’s guest at State of the Union
By Justin Sink
02/10/13

Former Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha, an Army veteran who will become only the fourth living service member from the Afghanistan conflict to be awarded the Medal of Honor, will be the guest of first lady Michelle Obama at Tuesday's State of the Union.

Fort Bliss soldier to be U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego's guest at State of the Union
By David Burge
El Paso Times
Posted: 02/12/2013
A Fort Bliss soldier who was wounded in Afghanistan will get to be an eyewitness to history and see President Obama's State of the Union address in person tonight.
It's a small way to thank Capt. Joshua Leone for his service, said U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Texas.

Wounded Army soldier from Oswego County to attend State of the Union address
By Mark Weiner
on February 12, 2013
Washington -- When President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address tonight, Donna Wilcox will watch it on TV with her family in Oswego County.
Her son will have an even better view: Army Spc. Ryan Wilcox, 24, will be among a special group of invitees watching the president speak in person at the U.S. Capitol.
Wilcox plans to attend the State of the Union address as a guest of Rep. Dan Maffei, D-DeWitt, who tracked down and offered his only guest ticket to the wounded veteran from New Haven in Oswego County.

Wounded Illinois soldier to be guest for State of Union address
Feb 12, 2013
Darin Copeland
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - A Purple Heart recipient from Illinois will be the guest of Assistant U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Dick Durbin at the State of the Union address.
Sgt. 1st Class Pedro Ortiz-Roman from Chicago will join the Illinois Democrat for President Barack Obama's fifth annual address before Congress.

Who is really to blame for sequestration?

Who is really to blame for sequestration?

Army offers more budget crunch guidance
Army Times
By Paul McLeary
Staff writer
Posted : Friday Feb 8, 2013

Today is the deadline for the services to submit their sequestration and continuing resolution (CR) implementation plans to the secretary of Defense, and according to an internal Army document obtained by Defense News, the service has identified more potential operational impacts if Congress and the White House don’t get the nation’s fiscal house in order by March 1 (sequestration deadline) and March 27 (the end of the current CR).

In the Wednesday memo titled “Operating Under Uncertain Budgets,” the Army estimates that it will take as long as 150 days to restart any contract that has been shut down due to budget pressure, and that “this considerable time lag creates a FY14 problem. Workload to renegotiate contracts will over burden an already taxed acquisition workforce and likely increase costs in the short term.”

Some of those contracts are significant. Other documents have already reported that 21 of the service’s 26 major acquisition priorities would be at risk to incur significant Nunn-McCurdy breaches, which would in turn impact 300 contractors and 1,000 suppliers in 40 states.
read more here

That would be John Boehner


But what does he say now?


The other truth is that President Bush did not have Afghanistan and Iraq in the Budget but President Obama put them in it.
Total outlays in recent budget submissions
Annual U.S. spending 1930-2014 alongside U.S. GDP for comparison.
2013 United States federal budget - $3.8 trillion (submitted 2012 by President Obama)[122]
2012 United States federal budget - $3.7 trillion (submitted 2011 by President Obama)
2011 United States federal budget - $3.8 trillion (submitted 2010 by President Obama)
2010 United States federal budget - $3.6 trillion (submitted 2009 by President Obama)

Washington, DC — President Obama today submitted to the Congress a Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 supplemental appropriations request totaling $83.4 billion to fund ongoing military, diplomatic, and intelligence operations.

Oct 22, 2009
"For 500,000 priority 8 veterans" benefits were restored.
"Biggest increase in more than 30 years."
"Post 9-11 GI Bill"
The President speaks at the signing of a bill that will increase the VA budget, help fund the post 9/11 GI Bill, and dramatically increase funding for veterans health care. October 22, 2009.

2009 United States federal budget - $3.1 trillion (submitted 2008 by President Bush)
2008 United States federal budget - $2.9 trillion (submitted 2007 by President Bush)
2007 United States federal budget - $2.8 trillion (submitted 2006 by President Bush)
2006 United States federal budget - $2.7 trillion (submitted 2005 by President Bush)
2005 United States federal budget - $2.4 trillion (submitted 2004 by President Bush)
2004 United States federal budget - $2.3 trillion (submitted 2003 by President Bush)
2003 United States federal budget - $2.2 trillion (submitted 2002 by President Bush)
2002 United States federal budget - $2.0 trillion (submitted 2001 by President Bush)
2001 United States federal budget - $1.9 trillion (submitted 2000 by President Clinton)

Commander-in-Chief's Ball Salute to Troops

Commander-in-Chief's Ball Salute to Troops
Jan 21, 2013
President Obama addressed the attendees at his first ball of the night, the Commander-in-Chief's Ball, then shared a dance with his wife Michelle Obama to a performance by Jennifer Hudson. The couple also let two military service-people cut in for a dance.

Local soldier picked to attend inaugural ball
By SHELLEY TERRY
Star Beacon
January 21, 2013

An Ashtabula soldier was among those with a front-row seat at the inaugural festivities Monday.

Army Sgt. Jonathan Roberts, 32, was one of two soldiers stationed in Fort Meade, who attended the Commander-in-Chief Ball at Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

Roberts said he knows it’s a great and rare honor to represent the U.S. Army.
read more here

Tuskegee Airmen Honored Guests at Inaugural
Jan 21, 2013
Associated Press
by Larry Margasak

WASHINGTON - They sat in wheelchairs as honored guests at President Barack Obama's second inaugural, attended to almost minute-by-minute by active duty members of the military. For these Tuskegee Airmen, members of the famed all-black unit of World War II and several years beyond, the tables surely turned.

From the terrace of the Capitol, they watched an African-American president being sworn in for his second term. And they were cared for reverently by many whites in uniform, who more than six decades ago would have had no contact with these two dozen veterans now sitting with green Army blankets across their laps. Several of them said they were at Obama's first inaugural but were just as excited to attend his second.
read more here

President Obama address nation after oath

I spent the last few hours watching history and right now watching CNN on my computer. It was a remarkable morning considering all that has happened in the last two years in Washington has been far from being out us and more about what some people wanted to do. The last time President Obama took the oath, it was all about hope and change but some in Washington just hoped the nation would change to their way of thinking no matter how many voiced their wishes in the election that made Obama the President the first time. This morning it was more about hoping they changed and can finally work together for the good of this nation and nothing more than that.

President Obama address nation after oath

Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:
Each time we gather to inaugurate a President we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional - what makes us American - is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Today we continue a never-ending journey to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they’ve never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. (Applause.)

The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.

And for more than two hundred years, we have.

Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.

Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce, schools and colleges to train our workers.

Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.

Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.

Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise, our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, these are constants in our character.

But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action. For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation and one people. (Applause.)

This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. (Applause.) An economic recovery has begun. (Applause.) America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it - so long as we seize it together. (Applause.)

For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. (Applause.) We believe that America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American; she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own. (Applause.)

We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. So we must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, reach higher. But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American. That is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to our creed.

We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. (Applause.) For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn.

We do not believe that in this country freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us at any time may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other through Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security, these things do not sap our initiative, they strengthen us. (Applause.) They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great. (Applause.)

We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. (Applause.) Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms.

The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition, we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries, we must claim its promise. That’s how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure - our forests and waterways, our crop lands and snow-capped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.

We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war. (Applause.) Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage. (Applause.) Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty. The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm. But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war; who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends - and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.

We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law. We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully –- not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. (Applause.)

America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe. And we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will support democracy from Asia to Africa, from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice –- not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity, human dignity and justice.

We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths –- that all of us are created equal –- is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth. (Applause.)

It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. (Applause.) Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law –- (applause) - for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. (Applause.) Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. (Applause.) Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity - (applause) - until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. (Applause.) Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia, to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for and cherished and always safe from harm.

That is our generation’s task - to make these words, these rights, these values of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness real for every American. Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life. It does not mean we all define liberty in exactly the same way or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time, but it does require us to act in our time. (Applause.)

For now decisions are upon us and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. (Applause.) We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years and 40 years and 400 years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.

My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction. And we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service. But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty or an immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.

They are the words of citizens and they represent our greatest hope. You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course. You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time - not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals. (Applause.)

Let us, each of us, now embrace with solemn duty and awesome joy what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.

Thank you. God bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America.
(Applause.)

Check back tomorrow for coverage (I hope) on the Commander-in-Chief's Ball. There are only two tonight so this one should be special.

President Has Quiet Swearing-In Ceremony At White House

Obama Oath Of Office: President Has Quiet Swearing-In Ceremony At White House
Huffington Post
Posted: 01/20/2013

President Barack Obama has been sworn in to his second term in office.

During a quiet ceremony in the Blue Room of the White House, Obama took the official oath of office at approximately 11:55 a.m. Obama's family attended, along with several members of the media.

The ceremony occurred because of a Constitutional requirement that the president begins his second term by noon on Jan. 20. Obama will be sworn in a second time on Monday, when he takes the oath of office in front of thousands of people at the U.S. Capitol.
read more here

Seven of the men who deployed to Iraq with Ryan Ranalli have committed suicide

Right now I'm struggling trying to figure out the best post title to do this report justice. Too many parts of this story that need to be paid attention to and yet I'm wondering why we still have to read stories like this after all these years.

Veteran: 'You're taught in the military that you don't ask for help'
Billings Gazette
8 hours ago
By Cindy Uken

“You’re taught in the military that you don’t ask for help,” Ranalli said. “If you do, it’s a sign of weakness, especially in the infantry, to talk to somebody or to ask for help. You’re looked down upon. It’s just kind of beat into you. You’re supposed to be self-sufficient.”

HELENA — Seven of the men who deployed to Iraq with Ryan Ranalli have committed suicide. The latest killed himself in August.

Ranalli, a retired U.S. Army sergeant, saw how the deaths gutted family members.

Despite struggling with the demons of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, Ranalli, 33, vowed that suicide would never be an option.

Yet about 9 p.m. on April 8, an angry and drunken Ranalli mumbled something to his wife, “I love you,” or “You know I will always love you” and sought refuge in the family’s garage.

There, the 200-pound, 6-foot, 3-inch veteran grabbed a parachute cord, wrapped it around his neck and slung it over a beam.

His horrified wife, Jamie, placed a frantic call to his parents who live two minutes away and then went to the garage to be with her husband of two years.

“I thought if I was standing there he wasn’t going to do anything,” Jamie said, choking back tears.

Ranalli’s father cut the cord to rescue his son.

He was transported immediately to the VA hospital.

The drunken episode was the first in about two years.

“I didn’t ever expect that to happen,” Jamie said. “That’s never been him. In my heart I don’t believe it was a serious attempt. I believe it was a cry for help. I believe he was just so overloaded with the feelings and the emotions. Of course, the drinking didn’t help any of that. I believe he was screaming to get him somewhere where he could unload all of this.”

Ranalli remembers nothing of that night, but recalls with precision the events that led to his alcohol-fueled decision.

He was a squad leader with the 502nd Infantry Brigade in March 2003 when it headed the 101st Airborne’s combat air assault into Iraq. The ninth anniversary of the invasion triggered memories of dates when comrades were killed and of defining firefights and battles. He recalled vivid images of combat, images he had suppressed and never discussed.
read more here

In 2007 I asked Why Isn't the Press on a Suicide Watch? Within the list of names was Spc. Chris Dana of the Montana National Guard. His death caused people to take action. Before President Obama was elected the first time, he met with Dana's stepbrother.

August 28, 2008

Spc. Chris Dana's story told to Obama by step brother Stepbrother tells guardsman's story to Obama
Helena soldier took his own life after tour of duty in Iraq
By LAURA TODE
Of The Gazette Staff

Montana National Guard Spc. Chris Dana will never know the impact his life and ultimately his death may someday have on the lives of veterans nationwide.

Dana took his life in March 2007, less than two years after returning from a tour in Iraq. His family believes he was a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder, brought on by his combat experience.

Since Dana's death, his stepbrother Matt Kuntz has campaigned for more awareness of the costs of untreated post-traumatic stress syndrome in Iraq war veterans.

Wednesday, he was invited to meet with Sen. Barack Obama to share the message he's been spreading statewide for more than a year. At a quiet picnic table at Riverfront Park, Obama sat across from Kuntz, his wife, Sandy, and their infant daughter, Fiona.

All these later, I am still collecting stories of deaths that didn't need to happen and still asking why the press in not on suicide watch. If I can find these stories in small press outlets, so can they but they just don't bother to.

There is another report from the Billings Gazette released today.

Montana National Guard non-existing suicide prevention plan

President Obamas visited Marines in Hawaii on Christmas

Obamas visited Marines in Hawaii on Christmas
By David Jackson
USA Today
Posted : Wednesday Dec 26, 2012

After spending most of Christmas Day with their family, President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama observed what has become one of their holiday traditions: Visiting troops and their families at Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

“This looks like it was a nice rather than naughty crowd,” Obama joked to the crowd. “So I’m sure Santa treated you well.”

Obama is also cutting his vacation short, planning to be back at the White House on Thursday to deal with fiscal cliff issues; his family will remain in Hawaii.
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Obamas Urges Nation to Thank Veterans

Obamas Urges Nation to Thank Veterans
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are wishing Americans a Merry Christmas and happy holidays in the president's weekly radio and Internet address.
Dec 22, 2012

Walter Reed patients get pre-holiday VIP visits

Walter Reed patients get pre-holiday VIP visits
Marine Corps Times
By Patricia Kime
Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Dec 20, 2012

President Obama dropped in on wounded troops at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., on Thursday, spending an hour with service members during a day that included a House vote on Speaker John Boehner’s proposal to avert the pending budget crisis.

Few details emerged on the president’s visit; the event was closed to the press. But he reportedly spent time with 10 combat injured personnel — nine soldiers and one Marine.

The president frequently visits the hospital, where many of the nation’s most injured personnel are treated.

In September, he spoke with 28 soldiers and eight Marines at the medical center, awarding two Purple Hearts during that trip.
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