Man claiming to be Iraq Veteran got past Secret Service and into White House

“The family’s hope is that this sad event brings awareness to the issue of post-traumatic stress disorder,” he said, “and the need for proper treatment.”

“Omar is not some maniac,” he added. “He’s a veteran who needs help.”

He is a two tour Iraq veteran diagnosed with PTSD on his first tour but sent back. Then had became an amputee. Then he was discharged to become a homeless veteran!

How safe are we when someone can hop the White House fence, run across the lawn and make it into the White House?

White House Intruder Had Knife, Claims to Be Iraq Vet
ABC News
Arlette Saenz
Digital Journalist
WASHINGTON — Sep 20, 2014

Gonzalez was arrested just after going through the North Portico doors of the White House.

The man who jumped over a White House fence and made it all the way inside the executive mansion before being caught was carrying a 3 1/2-inch knife and told officials he was a veteran of three tours in Iraq, according to the complaint released today.

In the wake of the incident Friday night, the Secret Service announced it is stepping up its security procedures at the White House complex.

Secret Service Director Julia Pierson ordered an immediate increase in "officer patrols and surveillance capabilities along the Pennsylvania Avenue fence line" of the White House complex, the Secret Service said Saturday.

The steps went into effect Friday night after Omar Gonzalez, 42, scaled the White House fence, sprinted across the North Lawn, and entered the White House.

The Secret Service dealt with a second security incident in as many days on Saturday after a man was arrested at the White House after trying to enter a barricaded entrance to the White House complex with his car.

Gonzalez was carrying a three and a half inch Spyderco VG-10 black serrated folding knife in his front pants pocket when he was arrested, according to a police affidavit.

On Friday, Secret Service Spokesman Ed Donovan had initially said Gonzalez was unarmed at the time of his arrest.

The affidavit says after he was apprehended, Gonzalez, of Copperas Cove, Texas, told a Secret Service agent "he was concerned that the atmosphere was collapsing and need to get the information to the President of the United States so that he could get the word out to people."

He told officials he served 18 years in the military and did three tours in Iraq, according to the affidavit. He said he lived in Washington, D.C., for three months but has no known address.
read more here

National Guards, First to Fight, Last to Rest

WHATEVER IS NEEDED, WHEREVER IT IS NEEDED
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 20, 2014

WHATEVER IS NEEDED, WHEREVER IT IS NEEDED

National Guards

OUR HISTORY
The National Guard is a unique and essential element of the U.S. military. Founded in 1636 as a citizen force organized to protect families and towns from hostile attacks, today’s National Guard Soldiers hold civilian jobs or attend college while maintaining their military training part time, always ready to defend the American way of life in the event of an emergency.

OUR MISSION
National Guard Soldiers serve both community and country. Our versatility enables us to respond to domestic emergencies, overseas combat missions, counterdrug efforts, reconstruction missions and more. The Guard always responds with speed, strength and efficiency, helping to defend American freedom and ideals.

Army History

What is the oldest part of our Army?
The Army National Guard (In December 1636, the Massachusetts Bay Colony organized America’s first militia regiments, some of which still serve today in the Army National Guard.)
What did the U.S. Army begin?
June 14, 1775
Who was the first commander in Chief of the Continental Army?
George Washington
When was the start of the Revolutionary War?
19 April, 1775
When was the Declaration of Independence signed?
July 04, 1776
The Army received it's first real training from what former Prussian Officer at Valley Forge in the winter of 1778?
Baron Fredreich von Steuben

Next came the US Navy

Navy Birthday Information - 13 October 1775
Benjamin Stoddert, 1st Secretary of the Navy
The Chief of Naval Operations has stated that the Navy Birthday is one of the two Navy-wide dates to be celebrated annually. This page provides historical information on the birth and early years of the Navy, including bibliographies, lists of the ships, and information on the first officers of the Continental Navy, as well as texts of original documents relating to Congress and the Continental Navy, 1775-1783.

Next came the Marine Corps

"On November 10, 1775, the Continental Congress approved the resolution to establish two battalions of Marines able to fight for independence at sea and on shore. This date marks the official formation of the Continental Marines."
1st Commandant: Major Samuel Nicholas (1775-1783)

Then came the Air Force

The Army Reorganization Act of 1920 made the Air Service a combat arm of the Army, and the Air Corps Act of 1926 changed its name to the Air Corps on July 2 of that year. On March 1, 1935, General Headquarters Air Force (GHQ AF) assumed command of U.S.-based Air Corps tactical units, which previously had been parceled out to regional Army corps commands. Yet even after Germany, Japan and Italy began to build up their armed forces, the Air Corps (as well as the rest of the Army) remained a small, peacetime establishment with only limited funds for growth or modernization.

Maybe some really smart reader will explain to me how it is that the national media never really pays attention to any of this.
Suicide Rates Increase In National Guard, Reserves

Fighting suicide is Sgt. Maj. Bill Davidson’s full-time job.

“We just had a soldier a couple weeks ago that was suicidal,” Davidson said. “He was on Facebook. I got on with him on Facebook — not only me, but there was a team effort — you know, talked to him through Facebook and explained to him that it’s not worth sacrificing your life for something that time will heal.”

The program Davidson heads, called Resilience, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention, was started in 2010 in response to a dramatic national increase in suicides among active duty soldiers.

Since then, the number of active duty soldiers killing themselves has dropped while suicides have increased in the Reserves and National Guard. The Department of Defense recently reported the Army National Guard now has the highest suicide rate of any part of the military.  There have been almost 700 suicides in the last six years.

Not a good outcome considering they went up after this program started.

Overwhelmed by life
“One of the theories might suggest that coping strategies haven’t fully developed,” said Richard Doss, Ph.D., 416th Theater Engineer Command suicide prevention program manager, and a licensed clinical psychologist. “They haven’t had an opportunity to experience adversity and realize that they can overcome adversity.”

Doss also cited that in many cases, a sound financial system and personal support system hadn’t been established.

“They recently left home and are establishing themselves as adults so that transition period into early adulthood is challenging,” he said.

Doss said part of that transition happens when they return home and try to return to life as a civilian.

“They come from a military environment where many decisions are made them and now they have to make their own decisions,” he said. "It can be overwhelming.”

“Soldiers come back from making life and death decisions to ‘clean up on Aisle Nine,’” he said.

The truth is, no matter how tough you think the "regular" Army has it, or any other branch, the fact is the National Guard is the oldest branch. They were the first to fight and will be the last to rest.

Why? Because when the regulars leave the military, they don't have to put their lives on the line anymore. When a National Guardsman leaves combat deployments, they continue to risk their lives in their own communities.

Their "support system" is basically us, but we're too busy doing other things and watching Reality TV shows instead of paying attention to real life.

Next time a natural disaster hits your community, and you wonder when help is coming for your sake, you won't have to wonder long because they'll be there no matter how much you ignored them when they needed you.

Kitchen Commandos Debate War Again Ignoring Cost

War Computer Games vs Real Call of Duty
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 20, 2014

The debates about sending troops back into Iraq, keeping them in Afghanistan and spreading them out into other countries leaves most of us sick because they never manage to consider the cost. Hell, they never really do while they show their knowledge, or lack of it, defending their opinions on the options never thinking beyond their limited view. Kitchen Commandos think they understand because more Americans play computer war games than actually go to do it for real.

The New Yorker has an article about "Isis's Call of Duty" computer game "In a recruitment video for the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS (also known as ISIL or I.S.), that has been making the rounds of some uglier parts of the Internet"

The real Call of Duty on Google Plus has this many followers

3,522,318 followers 57,054,760 views

More people are paying attention to computer war games than the real battles being fought as the politicians push for more. The real price paid is what they ignore the most.

ICYMI: WITH A VETERAN COMMITTING SUICIDE EVERY HOUR
U.S. REP. RON BARBER SAYS THEY MUST NOT ‘FACE THE GHOSTS OF WAR ALONE’
Sep 18, 2014

Press Release

Congressman calls for ‘well-funded, well-planned campaign’ to halt epidemic WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Ron Barber, noting that a veteran commits suicide every 65 minutes, called for increased attention to the issue, saying that soldiers and veterans “are left to face the ghosts of war alone.”

“The suicide rate among our country’s brave service men and women and veterans is at a frightening level,” Barber said yesterday on the floor of the House. “Some estimates have shown that as many as 22 veterans take their own lives every day.”

Barber, who represents 85,000 veterans in Southern Arizona, called for an increased focus on identifying members of the armed forces and veterans who may be at risk of taking their own lives and increased attention to preventing that from happening.

“We must combat military and veteran suicide with the same conviction that we take on an enemy of war – because it is killing our men and women in and out of uniform,” Barber said. “We must wage a well-funded, well-planned campaign to fight this heartbreaking epidemic.”

Video of Barber’s entire remarks can be seen by clicking on the photo below:
Published on Sep 18, 2014
Rep. Ron Barber spoke on the floor of the House on veterans suicide prevention. "The suicide rate among our country’s brave service members and veterans is at a frightening level. Some estimates have shown that as many as 22 veterans take their own lives every day.

“We must combat military and veteran suicide with the same conviction that we take on an enemy of war. Because it is killing our men and women in and out of uniform. We must wage a well-funded, well planned campaign to fight this heartbreaking epidemic. we must do more for those who have borne the brunt of war. We must come together, Congress, the administration, the health care community, mental health experts and build upon a plan to help the veterans who served this nation proudly, yet may be suffering." September 17, 2014.

I left this comment

Kathie Costos DiCesare
Being appalled is one thing, knowing how long it has been going on is inexcusable. By 1978 there were 500,000 Vietnam veterans with PTSD. Their suicides were 200,000 many years ago and today, today veterans over 50 are 78% of the suicides no one talks about. How many more years does it take to stop being home more deadly than being in combat?

For military families, the wars never end, fighting to keep them alive

How do you explain this to the rest of the citizens of this country? How do you get them to understand that when our husbands, wives, daughters and sons return from combat, the war isn't really over?

It does not really matter to us which war in what decade because the fact is, veterans risked their lives in service to this country, but being home with us is still more dangerous that combat was. More die after combat than during it. Not much has changed since this country began.

We keep hearing about the "price" of war and know the numbers will never show the true total. We keep hearing promises from politicians about fixing what went wrong and wonder what they mean. We wonder what "one" suicide will actually be the "too many" they keep claiming year after year while we wait for them to actually reach the point where they stop what they are doing, fix what is wrong and live up to what they claim.

How many more years will the public let us keep paying the price for those they choose to ignore until they decide another war has to be fought and they remember those willing to pay the price with their lives?

‘They’re Still At War When They Come Home’: Soldier’s Mother Struggles With His Suicide
WBUR News
By Lynn Jolicoeur
September 19, 2014

Tammy Sprague Gallagher, whose son, a Massachusetts National Guard soldier, died by suicide last October, stands among tributes to him in her Raynham home.
(Jesse Costa/WBUR)

“I only have a picture now, a frozen piece of time, to (remind) me of how it was when you were here and mine. I see your smiling eyes each morning when I wake. I talk to you and place a kiss upon your lovely face.”

For Tammy Sprague Gallagher of Raynham, this has become a daily ritual. She spends a few moments in front of her dresser, which is covered with pictures of her son, Joaquin Pereira Jr., and his military medals. She talks to him, or reads this poem to him.

“How much I miss you being here I really cannot say. The ache is deep inside my heart and never goes away. I need to feel you constantly to get me through the day. I love you so very much. Why did you go away?”

Pereira was 25 when he died by suicide last October.

He was a Massachusetts National Guard soldier and did two tours overseas in war zones. He’s one of eight Massachusetts Guard soldiers who’ve killed themselves since August 2012. That’s a big increase in the suicide rate for the Guard, and it happened despite the Guard instituting widespread suicide prevention programs over the last several years.
read more here

Watchfires lead the way out of PTSD darkness

Watchfires Lead The Way
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 19, 2014

Watchfires lighting the way out of the darkness of PTSD

Wisdom, compassion and courage
are the three universally recognized
moral qualities of men. Confucius

Why do you have PTSD? Why you and not someone else?

I am sure you've heard some kind of nonsense like it has something to do with you being mentally weak but that kind of rumor will always start with someone with very weak emotions. The stronger you feel love, happiness, joy and empathy, the stronger you will feel the sadness, grief, loss and regret.

When you risked your life for someone else, it meant you cared and so did the others you were with but some cared less while others cared more. Compassion is a gift the rest of the world depends on when things go wrong for them, but they are the last to understand what it does to the compassionate ones when they give all they have.

“But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.”
Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

Had you not left your home, family and friends, you would not have experienced the conditions closer to hell than any other place on earth. You wouldn't have seen with your own eyes what horrors man is capable of or abundance of compassion spawn by the pain. You wouldn't be hurting if you were not there.

Today is POW MIA Day. Most people have seen the flag, the table ceremony honoring the memory of those who did not come home but there is another service that remembers the lost.

In the The Battle Hymn of the Republic Julia Ward Howe wrote "I have seen Him in the watchfires of a hundred circling camps" yet while the tradition was carried on by Vietnam veterans, it goes back to the beginning of this country.

Vietnam veterans have come together to build such fires according to the military regulations and specifications of the 1700s, when fires were used to help guide stray Soldiers home from battle.

Vietnam veterans have been lighting the watchfires for decades on helping other veterans find their way back from combat to living as a veteran. While what we call PTSD now may seem new to you, it is as old as the Bible itself. Anyone reading the spiritual struggles of David in the Book of Psalms can see it clearly.

Psalm 144
Of David.
1 Praise be to the Lord my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
2 He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples[a] under me.
3 Lord, what are human beings that you care for them,
mere mortals that you think of them?
4 They are like a breath;
their days are like a fleeting shadow.
5 Part your heavens, Lord, and come down;
touch the mountains, so that they smoke.
6 Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy;
shoot your arrows and rout them.
7 Reach down your hand from on high;
deliver me and rescue me
from the mighty waters,

In Vietnam, much like in Afghanistan and Iraq, the enemy hides within "friendlies" and they are hard to see but what is harder to see is the enemy hiding within you. More deadly than any weapon in the enemy hands, this is embedded within you. More veterans die by their own hands than have been killed in those wars. Why? Because you have not been trained to use the weapon you were born with.

It is your soul. Some call it the spirit. It holds everything you need to do with what you were sent to their earth to do.

Did you feel as if there was nothing else you wanted to do than join the military? Then that is what you were sent here for. The courage was paired with your compassion and both joined forces with your determination to endure whatever came your way.

The answer is within you as well.

You are not alone. There are other veterans all across the country waiting for you, watching for you appearing in the distance so you stop feeling lost and alone. They are waiting for your families too so that they can be helped to help you heal.

Members of Point Man International Ministries have been standing watch since 1984. They can help you find your way all the way back home so you can stand for others when their time has come to return to the One Who sent them here.

I am Florida State Coordinator looking for leaders right here doing what I cannot do. These OutPosts are run by veterans and are in small groups, much like a unit in combat. Home Fronts are for the families, like mine, so that families receive the support and knowledge they need for the sake of their veterans.

My husband and I are celebrating our 30th this month so it is not impossible.

You can get out of the darkness if you look for the light to show you the way.

Massachusetts National Guard Fighting Suicides

Massachusetts Army National Guard Is Fighting A War Against Suicide
WBUR
By Lynn Jolicoeur
September 18, 2014

The clanging and hissing noises of cars being repaired are a welcome change from the sounds of war for 31-year-old Nate Radke.

Radke’s business, Gardner Auto Sales, though a little grimy inside the garage, is a shining example of how this Massachusetts National Guard sergeant has turned his life around in a short time.

Two years ago, Radke was living with his wife and two young children in the moldy basement of his parents’ house. He had recently returned from 2 1/2 years of training, deployment to Afghanistan and post-deployment treatment. He was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury — with mood swings, massive headaches, dizziness and sleep problems. He had missed the birth of his first son, who was now a toddler and barely recognized him. His wife was upset he had been gone so long. He says he had been denied Social Security disability benefits and had long waiting periods for medical appointments at the VA hospital.

“I felt left behind. I felt betrayed,” Radke reflected. “I felt that nothing was working no matter what I did.”
read more here

Researchers find no "one size fits all" treatment of PTSD

Research shows possible neurological patterns for PTSD symptoms
MYFOXPhilly

The study, published online Sept. 17 in JAMA Psychiatry, represents a shift within the field of psychiatry away from a "one-size-fits-all" approach to more individualized treatments for mental health issues that target specific areas of the brain.

THURSDAY, Sept. 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Imaging technology has shed new light on how certain symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) manifest in the brain, according to a new study.

PTSD is a mental health condition that can cause a wide range of debilitating symptoms, such as flashbacks to a traumatic event, being in a constant state of stress and avoiding certain situation and people, according to background information from the study.

Researchers identified a specific opioid receptor in the brain linked to emotion that is also associated with a specific group of PTSD symptoms, including listlessness and emotional detachment. They suggested their findings could help doctors develop targeted, or personalized treatments for the condition.

"Our study points toward a more personalized treatment approach for people with a specific symptom profile that's been linked to a particular neurobiological abnormality," explained the study's lead author, Dr. Alexander Neumeister, co-director of NYU Langone Medical Center's Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center for the Study of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury, in an NYU news release.

"Understanding more about where and how symptoms of PTSD manifest in the brain is a critical part of research efforts to develop more effective medications and treatment modalities."

"People with cancer have a variety of different treatment options available based on the type of cancer that they have," noted Neumeister. "We aim to do the same thing in psychiatry. We're deconstructing PTSD symptoms, linking them to different brain dysfunction, and then developing treatments that target those symptoms. It's really a revolutionary step forward that has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) over the past few years in their Research Domain Criteria Project."
read more here

Canadian Veteran Released Early After Standoff, Attempted Suicide, Committed Suicide

How much more had to go wrong for this veteran? He survived a standoff with police. He was taken to the hospital for help. Sounds good until the 72 hours he was supposed to be there turned out to be only 24. Early discharge came after he tried to kill himself in the hospital. Two tours of duty in Afghanistan yet this is how his life ended?

Canadian soldier involved in standoff with police dies by suicide
CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Tuesday, September 16, 2014

A few days after the standoff, Demers attempted suicide and was taken to a psychiatric ward. He was supposed to be on a 72-hour-hold, but was released after 24 hours.

A Canadian soldier who was involved in a 40-hour standoff with Ontario Provincial Police last month has died by suicide.

Master Cpl. Denis Demers, a Canadian Forces medical technician who served two tours in Afghanistan, was found dead on Sept. 12, CTV’s Mercedes Stephenson reported Tuesday.

Demers, 44, was involved in a lengthy standoff with police in Petawawa, Ont., at the end of August. The standoff ended peacefully and Demers was taken to a local hospital.
read more here

Search widens for missing Iraq veteran in Texas

UPDATE
Texas EquuSearch: Missing Iraq War veteran found at hospital

Texas Equusearch looking for 27-year-old Iraq war veteran
Click2Houston.com
Author: Sara Fatima Dhanji, Content Editor
Published On: Sep 17 2014

HOUSTON
A Texas search and rescue organization is looking for a U.S. Army veteran in North Houston.

Texas Equusearch said 27-year-old Erica Odom disappeared in Houston on Saturday. Volunteers began a search for her Wednesday morning near The Lighthouse Church at 6650 Rankin Road in Humble.

Odom is a veteran of the war in Iraq. She was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with black sleeves and black shorts. She has a large brown birthmark on the upper part of her left arm. She also has the name "Sheila Gayle" tattooed on her lower back.

Texas Equusearch asks anyone with information about Odom's whereabouts or disappearance to call Houston police at 713-731-5223.
Check back here for updates

Healing Combat PTSD Spiritually Is Decades Old, Not New

Seriously? The article says “But only recently has their been a movement to address it not just as a psycho-medical condition but also as a spiritual phenomenon.” Too bad that isn't true. Point Man International Ministries started in 1984 working to heal veterans as well as families. Healing combat PTSD by spirit, mind and body is far from new. Just because someone makes a claim like that does not make it true but the truth behind this kind of healing is very true.

Combat trauma group aims to help vets heal spiritually together

Posted: Tuesday, Sep 16th, 2014
By Jon Stinnett The Cottage Grove Sentinel

courtesy photo Chaplain Jonathan Landon and the Combat Trauma Healing Manual he uses to help veterans heal.

Over the years, it's gone by many names — combat fatigue, shell shock, combat trauma, to name a few. But recently the perspective on treating the condition commonly known as post traumatic stress disorder in combat veterans has started to shift, according to a military chaplain who has lately begun gathering vets together to share their experiences at Cottage Grove Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 3473.

“Psychology has been trying to wrap its arms around PTSD since before World War II,” said Chaplain Jonathan Landon. “But only recently has their been a movement to address it not just as a psycho-medical condition but also as a spiritual phenomenon.”

For the complete article see the 09-17-2014 issue.

Army National Guard Iraq Veteran PTSD Calmed by K9

Watch service dog calm war vet's PTSD reaction
USA TODAY
Elissa Koehl
September 16, 2014

Erick Scott knows first-hand how it feels to suffer from PTSD. A veteran who served in Iraq, this husband and father came home from the fighting only to be confronted by his own demons. Refusing at first to believe the PTSD diagnosis from his doctor, it wasn't until he heard about K9s for Warriors that he began to feel some hope.

Scott was paired with a dog whose main role was to notify him when he started showing symptoms of PTSD. Watch the video above to see the dog's amazing reaction when Scott gets agitated on camera.

K9's for Warriors is a non-profit program that works to train service dogs for veterans with diagnoses like PTSD, TBI (traumatic brain injury) and MST (military sexual trauma). Veterans come to Florida from all over the country to be paired with a service dog. In fact, the need is so great that the wait list is over a year long.

In an effort to handle the growing needs of veterans, a new facility is under construction in Nocatee, Florida. This facility will be able to house up to 16 veterans at a time.

K9s for Warriors founder Shari Duval says the new complex will be the "leading PTSD recovery center" in the nation using certified service dogs. The idea is to help them find their "reset button," Duval explains. The warriors need time to relax, but not too much idle time which can throw them into bad memories and anxiety.
read more here

Military Suicide Awareness Month Makes Us Aware They Suck At Preventing Them

Awareness of the wrong results
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 16, 2014

Wounded Times

The numbers are bad yet after years of "prevention" along with "awareness" topped off with billions of dollars spent, most of the people I know are feeling the loss at an unbearable level. Why? Because we've been doing this for so long now that we know what works actually works.

We have to get the facts right first. Tired of reading all the wrong data being used over and over again.

Veteran suicides and military suicides are two separated groups. The DOD counts active duty while the VA is responsible for veterans. Stop blending them together.

Military suicides reported average was less than 1 a day but here is the truth on that one.

According to the Pentagon, 74 active-duty personnel died by suicide in the first quarter: 19 airmen, 28 soldiers, 11 Marines and 16 sailors.

Sure it is less than one a day until National Guards and Reservists manage to matter.

From January to March, 120 active-duty, reserve and National Guard members died by suicide.

The total number of days between Tuesday, January 1st, 2013 and Monday, April 1st, 2013 is 90 days.

How does 120 end up being equal to 90? Do you think they are missing a month somewhere?

Veteran suicides reported at 22 a day. Not even close. The number used came from 21 states and then they took the average of those states excluding California with the most veterans, followed by Texas with the second highest and then Florida with the 3rd highest.

Veteran suicides are mostly Afghanistan and Iraq veterans but again, not even close. 78% of the suicides within the VA system are 50 and over. One more thing that keeps getting missed is that while we have about 22 million veterans the VA is only compensating less than 4 million for disabilities.

"Veterans over the age of 50 who had entered the VA healthcare system made up about 78 percent of the total number of veterans who committed suicide"

(You do the math on that one because I already have a headache.) Then there are the attempted suicides in the military and among veterans. DOD reported for 2012

2012 Reported Suicide Attempts As of 31 March 2013, there were 869 submitted suicide attempt DoDSERs among Active duty Service members for all services in calendar year 2012. Active duty includes members of the Active component and members of the Reserve components who were in a Title 10 status at the time of the event. Since Service members could have had more than one suicide attempt during the year, the number of unique Service members and the number of DoDSERs differ. The DoDSERs described suicide attempts for 841 unique Service members: 815 with one DoDSER, 24 with two, and 2 with three. The distribution of suicide attempt DoDSERs across the services was as follows: Air Force – 26.4%, Army – 42.0%, Marine Corps – 19.4%, and Navy – 12.2%. All DoDSERs were included in the tables, figures, and summary text.

The wrong "reduction in suicides" information is out there.

“With an 18 percent drop in 2013, something is going right,” the general said. “One suicide is always too many, but we have to focus our efforts now where we think they are most needed.”

Why, because they didn't think a little detail like reduction of military folks serving also went down. According to the DOD these are the numbers from 2012 to 2014 just for an example.

2012 1,393,948
2013 1,372,336
2014 1,347,187

The myth of deployment not connected to deployments

The five-year study was undertaken in 2009, in response to the rising rate of military suicides. It's the largest study ever attempted on mental health risk and resilience among service members, and it involves an expansive partnership between the Army, the National Institute of Mental Health and several universities.

The coalition of researchers found a statistically significant rise in suicides following initial deployments. This finding contrasts sharply with a study featured in the Journal of the American Medical Association's Aug. 7 edition. Led by personnel at the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego, that study found no association between deployments and increased suicide risk.

That's just not the case for the Army, as depicted by Army STARRS data, said Dr. Michael Schoenbaum, collaborating scientist at NIMH.

"Soldiers who have deployed at least once do have an elevated suicide rate compared with Soldiers who never deployed," Schoenbaum said.

The AMA Journal article was based on analysis of data from the DOD Millennium Cohort Study that sampled all service members, Schoenbaum said, surmising at least half of the participants were Sailors and Airmen. In contrast, Army STARRS examines only Soldiers.

PTSD connected to military is NOT NEW and it is high time we all got that. WWI studies began on what war does to the men we send to fight.

"English Professor at Dickinson College, Wendy Moffat is writing the biography of Doctor Thomas Salmon, a civilian psychiatrist who voluntarily went to the front during WWI to study, diagnose and treat mentally broken soldiers. He's the first U.S. Army psychiatrist and the first to recognize PTSD."

Less than honorable discharges are not new. As a matter of fact they have been doing it all along however unlike the other wars when they were simply shot. Oh, don't forget the UK shot their own too. Vietnam veterans were kicked out and left with nothing.

According to the suit, approximately 250,000 Vietnam-era veterans received less-than-honorable discharges, and as many as 80,000 of those service members could be eligible for PTSD-related benefits.

As Paul Harvey used to end his radio show, "now you know the rest of the story" and it is about time they stopped trying to cover up for the fact what they have done failed the men and women with their lives in the hands of people they trusted.

Soldier of Fortune "We knew he was suffering but no one expected this"

Sister blames SA soldier's suicide on PTSD
Jayme Pohovey remembered as a hero, 'a soldier’s soldier'
KSAT
By Paul Venema
Reporter
September 16, 2014

SAN ANTONIO - The sister of Army Spc. Jayme Pohovey said his family was devastated upon learning that Pohovey had taken his own life Monday morning.

"We knew he was suffering but no one expected this," Jessica Baker said as she talked about her older brother’s death.

Pohovey was stationed at San Antonio Military Medical Center, where he worked as an emergency room medic.

Baker said her brother had served several tours in Afghanistan and was a decorated hero who was once featured on the cover of Soldier of Fortune magazine for acts of heroism while serving in Afghanistan.
read more here

‘Hero’ receives welcome home
IndeOnline
By Matthew Rink
Posted Aug. 8, 2008
AKRON

Spc. Jayme Pohovey hugged mom and dad, grandma and grandpa.
The soft-spoken soldier looked over the group that turned out to welcome him home.
“Everyone’s here,” he said.

Glenn B. Dettman
Army Spc. Jayme Pohovey, center, is greeted by his grandmother Dorothy Pohovey, left, as his wife Svetlana holds daughter Selene Thursday evening at the Akron-Canton Regional Airport. Pohovey has spent all but 30 days in the past 3 1/2 years overseas.

Pohovey’s work that day would later earn him a nickname: the Soldier of Fortune.

“It was surprising when I found out,” he said, noting that fellow soldiers were expected to grace the cover. “I got ragged on the whole time. They kept calling me ‘Soldier of Fortune.’”

“We were just out on a normal patrol with the Afghan National Army in the lead,” he recalled Thursday.

“We were going to give the national blankets and all kinds of things.”

But the Army officers were ambushed, facing heavy fire from the Taliban.

“We heard there were casualties and they were still shooting at us,” he said.

From his Humvee, Pohovey could see an ANA truck in flames with the commander lying on the ground behind it.

“He was pretty heavily injured,” Pohovey said.

The medic pulled out his aid kit and radioed for a helicopter, reassuring the bloodied ANA commander he would be OK, the Army reported.

“The training took over,” he said. “I didn’t even think about it until the next day. I got him a a helicopter and he survived.”
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U.S., Afghan Soldiers Fight Their Way Out of an Ambush

80,000 Vietnam Veterans Wrongly Discharged May Get Benefits for PTSD

Defense Department opens door for Vietnam vets seeking PTSD-related VA benefits
Jacksonville
Times Union Staff
Posted: September 15, 2014

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has made the path to PTSD treatment easier for some Vietnam-era veterans. In response to a lawsuit filed earlier this year by a group of Vietnam War veterans, the Department of Defense issued new guidelines governing the review of PTSD-related discharge upgrade requests.

Most of the 3.4 million Americans who deployed to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam conflict left the military before 1980, the year post-traumatic stress disorder became a recognized medical condition.

The new directive is aimed at helping military officials who consider petitions from veterans seeking to have their less-than-honorable discharges upgraded, which would allow them access to medical benefits from the VA not available at the time of their discharge.

The change was sparked by a March lawsuit brought by five Vietnam veterans and three organizations representing veterans. It alleged the military systematically avoided requests for discharge upgrades even when they included evidence of a PTSD diagnosis.

According to the suit, approximately 250,000 Vietnam-era veterans received less-than-honorable discharges, and as many as 80,000 of those service members could be eligible for PTSD-related benefits.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said review boards have been advised to give “liberal consideration” to petitions that cite PTSD.
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Family grieves after PTSD Marine veteran lost battle

Family mourns after local marine falls to PTSD
WECT News
By: Stacey Pinno
Posted: Sep 15, 2014

Kalitz held a memorial for her older brother James on Sunday to honor both his life and spread awareness of this common sickness. (Source: WECT)

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WECT)
Nearly 10 percent of Americans will suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. It is a deadly sickness that has claimed the lives of countless military members -- it's most recent victim was a 32-year-old marine veteran from Pender County.

James "Jimmy" Salvatore Kalitz went missing on August 27, and left a note saying that he planned to hurt himself.

There was an extensive search for him until his body was found on August 31, by officials in a wooden area near his home in Pender County.

Kalitz was a member of the United States Marine Corps and was stationed in Jacksonville, NC.

"Some of these pictures really capture his personality," smiled his sister Michelle Kalitz, as she pointed to the dozens of pictures that showed the happy and joyful life her brother had before PTSD took over.

Kalitz held a memorial for her older brother on Sunday to honor both his life and spread awareness of this common sickness.
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PTSD Iraq Veteran Killed By Police After Wife Called For Help

Jeffrey Johnson ran out of medication moving from one place to another so he self-medicated with alcohol. His wife blames herself. When do we get that? When do we understand that the families left behind don't just suffer while their veterans struggle, but suffer more after the battle for life is lost?

Wife of Suspect Killed in Officer-Involved Shooting Says He Had PTSD
Big Country
Matthew Torres
09/14/2014

The wife of Jeffrey Johnson, the 33-year-old father and veteran killed during an officer-involved shooting last Friday, says he was dealing with post traumatic stress disorder.

Police first contacted Jeffrey at Best Western in north Abilene after receiving a welfare call indicating he may have been suicidal. Upon arrival, Johnson slammed and barricaded the door, and fired two shots from inside which nearly hit an officer, according to police.

The SWAT team arrived trying to make contact, but Jeffrey jumped out of the window and drove away. He was later found and followed until he entered Texas State Veteran's Cemetery on FM 600. That's when police say he drove and crashed into an officer's car.

The Abilene Police Department said the officer shot Jeffrey after he was seen pulling out a handgun.

The call was first made by Jeffrey's wife, Barbie Johnson, after receiving concerning messages from him. Prior to that, the couple got into a fight and Jeff stayed somewhere else. With suspicion that he was staying at a motel in Abilene, Barbie asked police to search for him.
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Combat Medic-Afghanistan Veteran Gets Care from Home Depot Volunteers

Watch: Hundreds of volunteers renovate wounded veteran's damaged home
NJ.Com
By Justin Zaremba
September 12, 2014

HAMBURG — For George Alakpa, Sept. 11s have served as bookends to a harsh chapter in his life.

It was the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 that inspired him, a Nigerian immigrant, to join the U.S. Army. It was while serving as a medic in Afghanistan that he was severely injured and suffered a traumatic spinal cord injury when a roadside bomb exploded.

After returning from Afghanistan nearly two years ago, Alakpa, who also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, hit a new low when he nearly lost his home in Hamburg. The sum of these events — including his isolation at the time — caused him to contemplate suicide, he said.
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Veteran Committed Suicide in Texas Traffic

UPDATE

East Texas veteran who took own life ‘just couldn’t go on’
Longview News Journal
By Bridget Ortigo
Sep 17, 2014

Sederick Hill, a 14-year U.S. Army veteran who suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, had expressed his frustration to family members about the lengthy process he was going through to receive help before he took his own life Friday.

Hill’s younger sister, Shakorey Kelley, said she had pleaded with her brother to seek help before Hill left the family’s home by foot Friday night and walked into an oncoming car on Texas 149 in Lakeport. Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace Talyna Carlson ruled the death a suicide.

“He talked about how much of a hassle it was to cross state lines and go fill out paperwork at the VA (Veterans Affairs) clinic in Louisiana, and then come back to Longview and fill out more paperwork before seeing a doctor,” Kelley said.

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, about 20 percent of veterans, including those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the Gulf and Vietnam wars, have been diagnosed with PTSD.

“We lose 22 veterans every day to suicide. That’s one person every 65 minutes,” Veteran Outreach Coordinator Lori Thomas with East Texas Veteran’s Resource Center said. “We have supported them while they were deployed, and we need to support them when they come home.”

September is observed as National Suicide Prevention Month, Thomas said.
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Police: Veteran suffering from PTSD jumps into traffic, dies on Texas 149
News Journal Longview Texas
September 14, 2014

Authorities say a 34-year-old military veteran was killed when he walked into traffic late Friday on Texas 149 south of Lakeport.

Lakeport police and Gregg County sheriff’s deputies were called earlier Friday to check on the welfare of a man walking along Texas 149, said Lt. Kirk Haddix of the Gregg County Sheriff's Office.

The man was in a car with family members along Texas 149 when he began threatening to commit suicide.

The car pulled over, and the man left the car as his family called 911, Haddix said.

A few minutes after two police units and deputies arrived, officers tried to calm the man down.

The man then jumped in the way of an oncoming car and was killed instantly, Haddix said.
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UPDATE

U.S. Army veteran struggling with PTSD struck by car along Highway 149
By KLTV Digital Media Staff
Posted: Sep 12, 2014
GREGG COUNTY, TX (KLTV)

A horrifying scene as a former serviceman, believed to be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), threw himself into oncoming traffic right in front of family and law enforcement officers.

It happened around 10 p.m. Friday night south of Longview on Highway 149, near the Ned Williams Elementary School in Lakeport. It was a scene investigators say no one could have possibly foreseen.

Detectives say 34-year-old Cederick Hill, of Killeen, was traveling with family members along Highway 149, when he began threatening to commit suicide.

Pulling onto the roadside, Hill exited the vehicle and his family called 9-1-1.

"Family members had called in and said that Cederick was having some issues threatening suicide, possibly issues related to PTSD when he was in the war," said Lieutenant Kirk Haddix of the Gregg County Sheriff's Office.
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Veterans Heard at Sioux Falls VA Medical Center Town Hall

Guess the reporter doesn't know that Vietnam Veterans suffering from PTSD too, that it is "tours" and not "terms" or that it is the Veterans Administration and not the "Association"

Veterans Speak Out At VA Town Hall
KDLT News
by Caiti Blase, Reporter
September 12, 2014

Rick Barg and Donald A. Dahlin sat in their chairs, waiting patiently for their turn to speak.

Though it’s been many years since serving in Vietnam, Barg and Dahlin haven’t forgotten the vivid memories of war.

Today, at the Sioux Falls VA Medical Center, both men had the opportunity to speak out and ask questions about benefits issues for the men and women who have served the United States.

"God didn't make your body to kill people and after you've done it three times in five years, you're going to have a different way of looking at things,” said Barg.

Vietnam veterans, like Barg and Dahlin, are nearing retirement, and some are dealing with the effects of Agent Orange.

Meanwhile, younger veterans who've served multiple terms may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Dahlin, commander for the South Dakota VFW, commented on returning home from Vietnam: "I didn't seek any assistance. I didn't seek anything. I just made a living and did my work."

But the Veterans Association is making new strides to help those who've served and protected the United States.

Today, the town hall meeting opened the floor to veterans.

"We just wanted to open up that door and make sure that they knew that that service was available and is always available for them,” said Shawn Bohn, Veterans Service Center manager to the Sioux Falls Regional Office.
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Untold truth behind Military-Veteran Suicides

First the bad news, then the good
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 13, 2014

A veteran is sitting in the VA Doc's office with his wife. He was told to bring her. The Doc walks in with a folder. Pulls his glassed to the tip of his nose and says, "I wanted your wife with you because I have some bad news." The Vet squeezed his wife's trembling hand. "The test came back and you're going to die." The Vet asks how long he has to live. The Doc replies, "Judging by the results, probably when your grandkids get married." The Vet looks at him and says, "But I'm only 26!" Doc smiles and says "Exactly! Now don't you feel better?"

Everything in life depends on how you learn it. What you hear may not always be what it actually turns out to be.

Borrowing a line from Joan Rivers, "Can we Talk?" Military Suicide Prevention has not worked, clearly, but what does prevent them is never really talked about.  Starting with the bad news.

They set aside September to address suicides connected to military life. Military Suicide Prevention Month report from 2010 pretty much sums up the untold truth.

What is it?
The Army will demonstrate our ongoing commitment to enhancing Health Promotion / Risk Reduction / Suicide Prevention (HP/RR/SP) programs for Soldiers, Department of the Army (DA) civilians, and families by observing Army Suicide Prevention Month, Sept. 1 - 30, 2010, in conjunction with National Suicide Prevention Week, Sept. 5 - 11, 2010. Suicide Prevention Month is an Army-wide opportunity to raise awareness, understanding, and use of Army HP/RR/SP programs among our key internal and external audiences.

What has the Army done?
Over 160 Active-duty Soldiers committed suicide during 2009, continuing a five-year trend of increasing suicides in the Army. In response, the Army instituted a multi-level, holistic approach to HP/RR/SP that recognizes the many challenges our Soldiers, families and Army civilians face.

When the DOD started to "prevent suicides" 160 soldiers committed suicide.

DOD reports showed reduced enlisted from 2012 to 2014

2012 1,393,948
2013 1,372,336
2014 1,347,187

For the first quarter of 2014 they reported these suicides

The Department of Defense reported this week that 120 members of the military had taken their lives in the first quarter of calendar year 2014.

The number of first-quarter 2014 military suicides included 74 active-duty personnel, 24 Reservists and 22 members of the National Guard.

As for the Department of Veterans Affairs,

"Veterans over the age of 50 who had entered the VA healthcare system made up about 78 percent of the total number of veterans who committed suicide"

The number of younger veterans committing suicide have also increased.

Yet, suicides by veterans from 18 to 29 have jumped from 40.3 to 57.9 per 100,000 from 2009 to 2011, a 44 percent increase, the VA announced earlier this year.

California, Texas and Florida have the most veterans but were not part of the data collected on veteran suicides. Florida is among the top states with the highest number of veterans committing suicide. Rates of Combat PTSD are sky high but while real experts talk about how combat PTSD is different from other types of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, we are allowing them to be lumped in with all other causes of PTSD leaving too many failed by "prevention" that does not work.

In Florida, the numbers are staggering.

Although veterans make up only 8 percent of the state’s population, they accounted for more than 25 percent of its suicides, according to the report.

Between 1999 and 2011, 31,885 suicides were reported in the state, according to the Florida Department of Health. That would mean more than 8,000 Florida veterans took their lives during those 13 years, according to the VA.

The numbers put Florida among states with the highest percentage of veteran suicides — but the numbers don't explain why.

So when do we actually get honest? When do we get past what has not worked and start doing what does work? When do they stop taking their own lives after risking them for someone else?

When do we talk about how the other 22 million veterans live, heal, love and find hope again? When do we talk about how they need to stop trying to fit in with people who will never understand them and start to tell them there are millions of other veterans who not only understand them, but prove they do belong with them?

Suicide Prevention is a nice title but clearly the numbers show talking about them hasn't worked on preventing them from happening. We need to start talking about healing them instead!

Can't fit in? That depends on who you want to fit in with. Expecting to fit in with civilians after the military is like me thinking I can fit in with models when my favorite food is dessert. It ain't gonna happen! I can't understand them and they sure won't understand me. Same way with expecting civilians to understand someone deciding to join the military with all you know you'll have to put up with, let go of and endue to prepare you to risk your life for others. Think about it. Did your friends understand you wanting to join? Did they join with you?

Bet they didn't get it. Bet they tried to talk you out of it. So if you didn't fit in then, what makes you think you can fit in with them after you put your life on the line. After you sacrificed years of brutal conditions, endless hours on edge, watching friends get shot, blown up, wounded and gone in a second? All of this while they stayed here working for more money, less hours, time to party, go to movies, watch reality TV shows and the only danger they faced was their commute to work?

You do fit in with others like you. Other veterans who have been there and done that. They are the only ones knowing exactly what you're talking about when you don't even say a word. They know when you need to sit and when it is time to walk you away from a crowd. They know when you need to laugh again and they know how to do it. They also know how important it is that you find a place where you don't have to explain for the hundredth time where you were.

They won't force you to talk but make you feel comfortable when you need to.

Above all, when it comes to healing, the answer is alway right in front of you. They do it all the time. They do it with their own kind and for their own kind. They can tell you what it was like when they came home, what didn't work as much as they can tell you what did work.

You won't find what they have to give you if you don't go where they are.

If you live in Central Florida, every month there is at least one post up about veterans events right here and there are plenty of them. Take a look at what is going on in the veterans community and plan to spend some time with other veterans. There are many groups of veterans all over the state and patriotic folks for your families.

You have the DAV, VFW motorcycle bikers groups like the Orlando Nam Knights and the Green Swamp Chapter and groups like Semper Fidelis America

You are part of a group that represents 7% of the population but there are 22 million of you. You won't find them sitting alone on the computer but keep in mind, they found each other without any computers at all. Vietnam veterans managed to do it before the internet. The key is, they wanted to. What's your excuse? Want to stay stuck where you are or do you want to heal and live a better life?