50th anniversary of the Vietnam War and attacks go on

50th anniversary of the Vietnam War and attacks go on
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
February 23, 2014

Reading a post by Mark Ashwill on Huffington Post was not a good way to wake up this morning.

Jumping on the Vietnam War Commemoration Bandwagon: The Vain Search for Honor

"As we settle into year three of the 13-year Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, which extends from May 28, 2012 to November 11, 2025, Americans from sea to shining sea are joining in events that "recognize the Vietnam Veterans and their families' service, valor, and sacrifice," according to the official Vietnam War Commemoration website. As with any program dreamed up by bureaucrats, objectives are a must, lest the organizers and participants lack focus and taxpayer dollars be wasted."

He ran down the list we've all been subjected to for over 40 years. I read the words until it became clear the agenda was not to honor Vietnam veterans but to subject them to what more talented writers have done to them over all these years. How can some people be so blind to the simple fact that, this is not about politicians or reasons they sent men and women to risk their lives?

This is about them. Men like my husband and families like mine. What about the contributions Vietnam veterans made to society as a whole because they did not give up on the rest of the country even though the rest of the country gave up on them?

Nothing was done on PTSD until they came home and fought for it. Everything that came afterwards, including crisis intervention, happened because of them. Frankly most are tired of people focusing on the reasons they were sent, because when they got there, the only thing that mattered was the guy standing next to them. They were willing to die for each other and that is what this is supposed to be about.

So far the only "vain search" for honor has come because of people would rather focus on everything else but the people who went.

Vietnam veterans are the majority of the veteran suicides, the VA claim backlogs that have gone up and down during every single administration like a roller coaster rising when politicians could get away with it and the press didn't care then suddenly putting all hands on deck to get them down again. During congress after congress complaining about the claims and the delay in honoring them when the report made the top of the fold.

It is all just a political game fed by people with an agenda that has nothing to do with the veterans.

Military solution caused suicides

Military solution caused suicides
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
February 2, 2014

Groundhog Day 2014: Punxsutawney Phil sees shadow, 6 more weeks of winter and the military not seeing shadows of suicides.

Veterans are not the problem. They have problems because they were the solution for troubles this nation decided had to be taken care of. While no war was completely justified in the minds of 100% of the population, the men and women sent took on the 100% of the risk. Not just during combat, but for the rest of their lives.
The suicide deaths of military and veterans have been caused by the military solution to reduce them. How else could we end up with more committing suicide after the DOD started to try to reduce them?

While the military tries to explain that suicides went down in 2013 they are able to avoid the obvious tiger in the room. Reducing suicides has been something the DOD claimed was at the top of their list. Yet when we look at the facts, we see they are far from reaching it even after 5 years of pushing their "resilience" training.

The suicide rate went up after 2009. In the last two years there has been a reduction in the number of troops serving along with one less war and a drawdown of troops in Afghanistan. The military has not had to explain any of this.

Army

2011

As of March 31, 2012

557,780

2012

Total as of December 31, 2012

535,247 (-22,533)

Total as of July 31, 2013

530,382 (-4,865)

(-27,398)

They have not had to explain how the rate of younger veterans, recently discharged, has also increased.

Department of Veterans Affairs recently released a report that shows suicides among young veterans just getting out of the military are three times higher than active-duty soldiers. The report shows that in 2011 the annual suicide rate for young veterans was 80 for every 100,000 of the population.

In 2009, 46 out of 100,000 committed suicide. Suicide rates among Army soldiers peaked in 2012 with 185. However, the overall suicide rate for active-duty soldiers stayed the same at 22 per 100,000 from 2009-2011. (KFOX News January 29, 2014)

Only 1% of the population serve in the military and only 7% are veterans. Both categories have experienced a rise in suicides.

When do we get answers and accountability? When do families get explanations so they stop blaming themselves for what the DOD did not do?

Army Suicides

For 2010, 156 potential active-duty suicides and 145 "among reserve component soldiers."

CY 2011: 166 and 116 (80 Army National Guard and 36 Army Reserve)

For 2012, there have been 182 and 143 potential not on active-duty suicides (96 Army National Guard and 47 Army Reserve) (Revised to 185 in December of 2013)

For calendar year 2013, there have been 139 potential active duty suicides and 139 potential not on active duty suicides (89 Army National Guard and 50 Army Reserve (Up to November Source Department of Defense)

All this ended with the press release of

There were 150 suicides among soldiers on active-duty status last year, down from a record 185 in 2012, according to Army data. The numbers include both confirmed and suspected suicides.

Comprehensive Soldier Fitness was supposed to address combat PTSD. While on one hand they say they are encouraging troops to seek help, that hand came after the slap of telling them they could train their brains to be mentally tough. Nothing the DOD told them afterwards would undo the damage done. They ended up thinking the problems they had were caused by being weak minded and not training right.

They ended up with the same numbers they had in 2009 with less serving.

News site ad in the wrong place at wrong time

This has to be the dumbest ad placement in the history of advertising.

The link to "You've been putting this off too long" opens to doing a will. Yes, a will and it appears right over the report about "Suicide Rate Up Among Young Veterans"


The report is a good one and does honor the men and women serving in the military.

Suicide Rate Up Among Young Veterans
WHSV.com
Garrett Wymer
January 13, 2014

STAUNTON, Va. (WHSV) -- They stepped forward to serve when their country called, but now veterans may be the ones in need of help here at home.

Alarming new numbers show more of our country's young warriors are struggling to heal their invisible wounds.

"Any number of suicides is unacceptable," said Cmdr. Mac McCauley, a U.S. Navy veteran, "We're seeing unparalleled trauma from Afghanistan and those veterans who have been in Iraq."

Trauma that lasts long after soldiers return home which is leaving some young veterans to fight another war.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the number of suicides for male veterans ages 18 to 29 jumped 44 percent in a matter of only three years to a suicide rate of nearly 58 per 100,000 veterans.

"Once these veterans come home, there's a whole different world here for them," said McCauley.

In this fight, McCauley said anyone can make a difference.
read more here

Helping Children Cope with Secondary PTSD

Guest Post

Helping Children Cope with Secondary PTSD

It has been long recognized that family members of combat veterans who develop PTSD may also display the characteristics of the disorder. This has been referred to as vicarious PTSD or secondary PTSD. For children who look to adults for support and care as well as help making sense of what is often already a confusing world, adjusting to the stresses associated with having a parent in the military – in particular one who exhibits PTSD symptoms – is especially difficult to cope with.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children in military families are frequently exposed to a variety of stressors which they have labeled “toxic.” The National Center for Child Traumatic Stress points out that the children of enlisted parents have to cope with unpredictable deployment and issues related to reintegration when the parent returns home. When the parent is career military, this process repeats itself, leading to uncertainty for the child as well as the remaining parent. As this parent can’t provide the ability to better predict when the other parent may be leaving or returning, the child has no foundation to rely upon and may become confused and fearful.

Additionally, the remaining parent is often overwhelmed by the increased responsibility they are required to shoulder or by having to act as a single parent on little to no notice. This can cause the remaining parent to become less accessible to the child as they struggle with the increased burden. The fear of losing the parent due to their repeat absence or to death, decreased attention from the remaining parent, and frequent moves and loss of friends can lead to a sense of abandonment in the child, a sense that they have no one to turn to for answers, and feelings of isolation from other children.

While children are normally excited to have a parent return home after a deployment, this excitement can turn to dismay and distress when this parent is suffering from acute stress or PTSD. When already at increased vulnerability due to the other stressors they’ve encountered as part of a military family, it is not infrequent that these children may begin to exhibit some of the same symptoms as the parent.

How Might Combat Related PTSD Symptoms in a Parent Affect a Child?

Combat veterans suffering from PTSD often exhibit symptoms that can affect or even potentially traumatize their child. Probably the most frightening of these is when the parent re-experiences combat related situations through nightmares, during which they may scream and even enact the dream, or daytime flashbacks during which the individual perceives everything around them as if they are back in combat. This can be terrifying for the child who doesn’t understand what is happening to their parent.

People with PTSD also attempt to avoid anything that might remind them of their experiences and thus trigger a strong memory or flashback. Since almost anything can serve as a trigger – a color matching their uniform, an ad for the brand of cigarette they were smoking at the time of the trauma, the smell of aftershave they were wearing at the time of an attack – they can’t predict when they might come into contact with something that will elicit a flashback or other negative response. This means they stop going places, stop taking their family to the movies, out for pizza, shopping, or practically anywhere else. While they are only attempting to avoid coming into contact with any triggers, the child thinks the parent doesn’t want to spend time with them, eventually coming to believe there must be something wrong with them or else their parent wouldn’t reject them. Those suffering from PTSD also tend to have a high level of arousal and to be extremely irritable. They can unintentionally lash out in anger if startled or feeling anxious without recognizing it, leaving the child wondering what they have done to make their parent no longer love them. Since the child can’t predict when their parent may exhibit any of these behaviors, and over time may come to experience them as traumatic when they do occur, they may go on to develop symptoms of PTSD in reaction to the way they experience their parent’s PTSD.

What Can Parents Do to Help Their Children if they are Display Symptoms of Secondary PTSD?

If you or your partner are experiencing the symptoms of PTSD, the first step is to get treatment so you are able to control your symptoms in front of your child and overtime get rid of them. It’s important for parents to work together to help their child learn to deal with stress and understand the nature of why their parent may display confusing behaviors.

Remember that your child may already be vulnerable to the effects of stress in their life, especially stress related to having a parent in the military. When they see either parent displaying signs of excessive anxiety or stress they will quickly react with an escalation of anxiety in response. Make sure you show your child ways you use to manage your stress levels, even explaining how you are coping with your anxiety to reduce it. This will help them understand there are ways to handle their own stress and they will attempt to imitate you, coming to learn effective coping strategies.

Parents can also show children other ways of working through fears and anxiety, such as talking about them in a way that leads to expectations of a positive result. A lot of the escalation of anxiety that occurs in children and their parents is the result of expectations of negative outcomes. Often we get what we expect, such that if we talk about ways that can lead to positive results we can alter our experiences from being predominantly negative to being predominantly positive.

Parents should also commit to specific blocks of time that will be family time— when the whole family spends time doing fun things together. When children feel like parents are making plans that focus on the things they enjoy doing, they will feel truly cared about and important in their parents’ eyes. This will also strengthen the parent-child bond with each parent as well as increase the bond between parents, which is also important in making children feel safe and able to count on their parents for their needs.

The most important thing  however, is to make sure you seek treatment for your child if the symptoms seem to be extreme, are worsening instead of improving, or your child simply does not appear to be responding to some of these basic family based strategies. Regardless of whether you feel your child needs profession help or not, these tactics will still serve to strengthen the connections between family members and increase the level of trust individuals feel in relation to each other.

Written by a Certified Trauma Therapist from A Healing Place, a leading treatment center near Ocala, FL for PTSD and issues caused by trauma.

Combat veterans share their best shots for charity

At a gun range, combat veterans share their best shots for charity
Charity donors get to try heavy firepower and hear tales from elite combat veterans at Shooters World in Tampa, Fla.
By Ken Dilanian
December 28, 2013

Scott Neil, left, and Tyler Garner, both special forces combat veterans, share their knowledge with donors at Shooters World in Tampa, Fla. Participants also get to fire powerful weapons. Proceeds go to organizations that help veterans.
(Ken Dilanian / Los Angeles Times / November 17, 2013)

Haley Koko shouldered an AK-47 and aimed uncertainly at the human silhouette on a paper target 25 yards away.

Standing next to her, Lt. Col. Chris Robishaw, an active-duty Green Beret, leaned in to offer a word of advice about handling the Russian-designed assault rifle, raising his voice to be heard over the rapid explosions of heavy weaponry in the shooting gallery. Brass shell casings littered the floor, and an acrid whiff of gun smoke sneaked past the air filtration system.

Koko, a 21-year-old bartender, fired off a few rounds — blam! blam! — and then swung around to look at her group with a broad smile.

"That big gun was absolutely insane," she said later.

Here at Shooters World, a Tampa-based temple of American gun culture, Koko and about 50 people took turns on a recent Saturday firing pistols, military assault weapons, an Uzi machine gun and a .50-caliber sniper rifle.

It was a charity event called Shooting With SOF, which stands for special operations forces. Organizers say they have raised $75,000 for military and veterans causes by allowing car dealers, insurance brokers, makeup artists and other ordinary folks to live out fantasies firing some of the world's deadliest guns while being tutored by 20 current and former commandos — seasoned, seen-it-all veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and places they can't talk about.
read more here

Train to heal like you trained to go into combat

You had to be trained to listen

Train your body to do more than you thought you could

Trained to use the weapons

So why is it so hard for you to understand

you need to train to become a veteran?

Don't try to get over it.  Make peace with it instead.

Don't try to fit back in because veterans are only 7% of the population.  

Try to do what you can for others.

Don't shut down.

Don't lock people out.

Don't hide or try to drink your problems away.

Don't stop looking for what it is that will help you and not just numb you.

You survived combat so why is it so hard for you to fight just as hard now?

Home from war should never be a gray area

Home from war should never be a gray area
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 26, 2013

In 1993 I was among the millions discovering the amazing ability to search news reports from all over the country when I got my first PC. (For younger folks, that was a time when there was a freaky noise connecting the PC to the internet as the connection was made thru a phone line.)

I freely admit to being a new junkie but as the years passed, I was frustrated searching for information on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I wondered why these reports were not all in one place. I did what I usually do. I complained. Then I thought about the national news reports I watched faithfully. It became clear that the producers make decisions based on what they think will get the most attention instead of what should have the most attention.

The numbers of veterans taking their own lives proves that it is a national crisis but how many reports have you seen on national news? How many families have you seen begging for someone to do something? How many reports have you seen on what works and how long it has worked for? How many reports on veterans stepping up to make sure more are saved?

Across the nation the best reporting being done on veterans issues has come from local news outlets. Heart tugging stories of suffering, inspiring stories of overcoming and people trying to make a difference, all important stories to the rest of us were ignored by the major news stations. Print was dying a slow death. It has been on life support for years but good reporting has not stopped.

If you read your local paper, tell them what you value. If they write a good story on veterans, thank them and encourage them to do more. Have an event? Make sure they know about it. Have a story to tell? Make sure you tell it. If the story is important enough they will usually do it. If they don't, then tell your story to your friends online and make sure they share it. The more attention it gets online, the more they will be inclined to jump on it and get their share of the attention. If you read a great story, send me the link in case I missed it.

Your lives should never, ever be a gray area. You deserve to know what is going on across your city, your state and the rest of the country. Otherwise, the major news stations will keep telling you what they want you to know instead of what is really going on.

Veterans forever young

Veterans forever young
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 25, 2013

I can't think of a better day than to say what a blessing it is for me to be able to go out and film the events as part of this family. Everywhere I go, I see love. I see arms reaching out to hug and comfort in sad times and I see the same arms reach out to celebrate. I see friends walk away from crowds to share a private conversation as one head bows low and soon a hand touches his shoulder. I see such grace in the actions of leather clad, tattoo covered, long haired bikers too few ever get to know.

You remember the days when you were young and far away from home and those days are as much a part of you as today is. Those days went into who you became. You have always done for others but it is so hard for you to let others do for you. Yet remember when you were in combat and remember you were not alone then to fight those battles. Don't try to go it alone now. Let them know you need someone to talk to and they will be there to listen.

This is my Christmas gift to all of you and my wish for the New Year.

"Forever Young"
The Pretenders
(originally by Bob Dylan)

May God bless you and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder
To the stars
And climb on every rung
And may you stay
Forever young

Forever young
Forever young
May you stay
Forever young

May you grow up
To be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand up right and be strong
And may you stay
Forever young

Forever young
Forever young
May you stay
Forever young

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
May you stay
Forever young

Forever young
Forever young
May you stay
Forever young

Reporters need to learn Afghanistan is not the longest war

Reporters still say that Afghanistan is the longest war, but it isn't. The number of troops killed in Vietnam did not end until 1975. They started dying in 1956.

Vietnam War Statistics National Archives

Hostile or Non Hostile Death Indicator, Number of Records
HOSTILE DEATH 47,434
NON HOSTILE DEATH 10,786
Total Records 58,220

Year of Death, Number of Records
1956 - 1959 4
1960 5
1961 16
1962 53
1963 122
1964 216
1965 1,928
1966 6,350
1967 11,363
1968 16,899
1969 11,780
1970 6,173
1971 2,414
1972 759
1973 68
1974 1
1975 62
1976 - 1979 0
1980 - 1986 0
1987 1
1988 - 1989 0
1990 1
1991 - 1999 0
2000 - 2006 5
Total Records 58,220

Afghanistan from ICasualties.org

2001 12
2002 49
2003 48
2004 52
2005 99
2006 98
2007 117
2008 155
2009 317
2010 499
2011 418
2012 310
2013 119
Total 2293

SWAT Officer Overcoming the Nightmare of Traumatic Stress

"I don't like going to sleep. I'm afraid of what is going to happen once I fall asleep. I don't like what I'm thinking, I don't like my dreams, I haven't liked one of my dreams in 15 years."

On Steve Gordon's first day as a SWAT officer, he was involved in one of the longest and bloodiest shootouts in American police history. Since then he has been on over 1500 SWAT missions.

"In my profession you have to see a lot of death and despair. You have to see those victims of crime. You have to deal with, you know, the families. You have to listen to the screaming parents and it's not something you can just walk away from. And then the problems come. Isolation, substance abuse, shunning others, not trusting anybody. I know more people that have committed suicide than have actually been killed by bad people. Maybe they were dealing with the same things I've had to deal with. No one gives them the solutions to the problems they're having."

In January 2013, Steve learned Transcendental Meditation, along with a group of veterans and first-responders.

"To watch a guy that looked like he was the walking dead to a week later actually see some kind of life in their eyes, to watch them change in front of my eyes, that's what really sold me on it. And then as we did it more and more I felt a calmness. I was transforming with them. That's when I realized it worked. I'm just getting what I always wanted, and that's seeing people get better. If I can help somebody go through the experience that I had, then I want to be there for them. You want to give yourself a gift? Do this. Try to help yourself for a while. Don't poison yourself with alcohol or drugs or thoughts of suicide, just give yourself this one gift. A lot of guys and women are hurting themselves over what they've seen and what they've done and they're not seeing a way out. They're seeing the world black and white and this program can put color in it for them."

For more information please visit David Lynch Foundation

Blessed are the peacemakers

Blessed are the peacemakers
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 28, 2013

"Blessed are the peacemakers" as well they should be. They possess every attribute in the list Christ said would be blessed.

Matthew 5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

He said:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
After you come home it is very hard for you to remember the reason you went. It was to save the lives of the others you were with.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
If you mourn or grieve for the loss and over the horrors you endured, then you shall be comforted for the love you were able to keep alive inside of you. If you did not love, if you did not care, you would not mourn and grieve.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Being meek does not make you weak. You did what you had to do when you had to do it and then, then you fought no more.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
You hunger and thirst for a day when all mankind lives together and wars will be fought no more. You know the price paid all too well.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
You showed mercy to those you were with and even to the people you did not trust.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
No man is pure but some are pure in heart when they do not seek riches and glory for themselves but do what they are compelled to do for the sake of others.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
You are peacemakers and keepers because you were prepared to stop when your job was done and prayed for peace in the land you stood in.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Your actions were for a righteous sake because it was for the sake of the others you were with.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
There are some that want to accuse you. Some want to walk away from you. Some want to ignore you but when you look around you'll see what was inside you the day you decided to serve and that came from a place of love, honor, courage and compassion.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
John 15 13

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

This you were willing to do.
So why do so many veterans feel cursed instead of blessed? Why is it so hard for you to understand the very fact you mourn is a reflection of that same ability to care that allowed them to be able to risk your lives for someone else?

Everything you need to heal is inside of you already. All you need to do is seek help to reconnect to it and see.

Iraq war veteran fights for medals

Munson: Iraq war veteran fights for medals
Des Moines Register
Written by
Kyle Munson
November 23, 2013

Sgt. 1st Class Mark Huss burst into the third-floor apartment, rounded a wall and froze with the barrel of his M4 assault rifle pointed an inch from the forehead of an 11-year-old Iraqi girl in tears.

Once the Army reservist and his fellow soldiers calmed the girl and her family, he sank onto the sofa, on the verge of hyperventilation. His combat boots sloshed with the nervous sweat that had pooled throughout that morning’s deadly car bomb attack, followed by a street firefight and a methodical search through apartment buildings to root out the insurgents who had been trying to kill them.

He has a daughter back in Iowa who’s the same age, Huss thought to himself.

What the hell was going on?

That was just one absurd scene for Huss in a violent, often surreal, deployment.

Huss, 45, still was wrangling with that deployment when I met him this month. The 6-foot, 222-pound Iowan topped by a clean-shaven head had hit a dead end in a frustrating quest to secure two belated Army medals.

He has faced a gantlet of bureaucratic hurdles, including a single, crucial box on a form that was accidentally left blank.
read more here

Patriots to honor veterans and active duty military at Broncos game

Patriots to honor veterans and active duty military at Broncos game
New England Patriots
Posted Nov 23, 2013

Veterans and active military members will be honored in pregame flag ceremony, with several in game tributes from soldiers, and members of the New England Patriots organization.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots will thank and honor veterans and active duty military members with several initiatives at Gillette Stadium in their night game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Nov. 24. The activities are in recognition of Veteran’s Day and a part of the Patriots Charitable Foundation's month-long Salute to Service and "Veteran and Military Volunteerism" in conjunction with the team’s ongoing Celebrate Volunteerism initiative.

"I consider our veterans and active duty soldiers as the true unsung heroes of our country," said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft. "We look forward to honoring our military Sunday night with a Salute to Service that will include representatives from each branch of military. It’s always great to give Patriots fans an opportunity to show their appreciation to these real Patriots."

In a pregame ceremony, the Pats will unfurl a 100-yard flag that covers the entire field. Members of the Patriots organization along with150 veterans and active military members, including Raytheon guests from Wounded Warriors and Student Veterans of America, will hold the flag during the ceremony. Three Army National Guard servicemen will lead the team from the tunnel carrying American flags.

The National Anthem will be sung by Army National Guard Major Jerome “Scott" Loring. Major Loring is a New Hampshire Army National Guardsman with more than 29 years of service. He is currently serving on active duty with the Army National Guard's Operation team at the Army's Cadet Command Headquarters in Fort Knox, KY.

Patriots tackle Nate Solder’s father, Ed, will serve as an honorary captain and participate in the pregame coin toss. Ed is a Naval Academy graduate and served in the Navy for 13 years, including a tour of duty in Vietnam as a helicopter and jet pilot.

During the game, all service men and women will be asked to stand and be recognized. Messages from military members serving overseas will be played on the video boards. Throughout the game there will be live look-ins of a group of military watching and cheering on the Patriots from Afghanistan, as well as several messages recorded by Patriots players thanking the service men and women for their service.

In a special ceremony, the Patriots will honor United States Army Staff Sergeant Travis Mills of the 82nd Airborne, who was injured during his tour of duty in Afghanistan. He is one of only five quadruple amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive his injuries. At the end of the first quarter, there will be a video trailer of his documentary entitled, Travis Mills, A Soldier’s Story.

Mills we be introduced and walk onto the field with his family once the trailer concludes. Sunday’s game is the culmination of the Patriots Charitable Foundation’s month-long focus on veteran and military volunteerism. The Foundation works in cooperation with organizations that support community outreach for veterans and members of the armed services.
read more here

Veteranized Veteranette

Veteranized Veteranette
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 21,2013

After struggling for years to find the right word to describe people fighting for veterans, I think I found it. Veteranize or in this case veteranized. Families didn't decide to join but they do decide to stay. We don't get to decide what wars will be fought but we get to decide to if we are willing to fight their battles when they come home. We can't leave out friends willing to do the same and we sure can't leave out anyone working to take care of them as a career. So how do we figure out that one word to explain the connection we all have to our veterans?

It wasn't easy but then again, nothing is really easy when we are talking about only 7% of the population. We do need a word for a spouse that will fit male or female but so far all I could come up with is "veteranette" and I have a feeling some males won't like that one.

We'll just have to leave that one for now.

Veteranized would also fit what is happening to families all over this country trying to figure out what to do to help their veterans heal and it is pretty traumatic at times for us, just as it is for them.

I really think we deserve our own word. Don't you? If you do then think of one and leave a comment on the Facebook page of Veterans Wounded Times or right here.

Nation’s First Conference On Veterans And Criminal Justice System

Nation’s First Conference On Veterans And Criminal Justice System
WASHINGTON
NEWS.GNOM.ES
Nov. 19, 2013

The first national conference on veterans and the criminal justice system, focusing on those with substance abuse and mental health problems, problems opens Monday, December 2nd, 8AM, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road, NW, Washington, DC. Four-Star Gen. Barry McCaffrey (ret), former U.S. Drug Czar and Chairman of the Veterans Treatment Court Committee of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP), Melissa Fitzgerald, Senior Director of Justice for Vets, a division of NADCP, and West Huddleston, CEO of NADCP and organizer of the conference, announced the event today.

McCaffrey and Fitzgerald pointed to alarming statistics showing:

One in 6 returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan suffers from substance abuse

Since 2004, the number of veterans being treated for mental illness and substance abuse has increased 38%

Over 700,000 veterans are in the corrections system

81% of veterans arrested had a substance abuse problem when arrested

There were 120,000 homeless veterans at some point last year

76% of homeless veterans have a substance abuse or mental health disorder

“Too many veterans are returning home suffering from mental health conditions and substance abuse disorders and becoming involved in the criminal justice system. This is a national crisis of alarming proportions, and it demands that we come together to focus on solutions,” McCaffrey, Fitzgerald, and Huddleston asserted.

“We’ve worked to establish Veterans Treatment Courts, now numbering over 130 and continuing to grow. This critical gathering will explore how we can expand these life-saving programs to every veteran in need,” they stated.

4-Star Gen. Barry McCaffrey (Former Drug Czar), Gen. Eric Shinseki (Sec Of Veterans Affairs), Actress and Justice For Vets Senior Director Melissa Fitzgerald, Iraq-Afghanistan Returning Veterans, Judges Speak

1 in 6 Returning Vets Suffers from Substance Abuse, 1 in 5 a Mental Health Condition; “National Crisis of Alarming Proportions”

8-10 AM, Mon. December 2, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, DC, 2660 Woodley Rd NW; Open to Media

Also Joint Chiefs Of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey To Speak At Closing Session 8 AM December 4 read more here

Multiple military deployments in families may raise teen suicide risk

Multiple military deployments in families may raise teen suicide risk
LA Times
By Alan Zarembo
November 18, 2013

Teens with family members in the military appear more at risk for suicide if those relatives are deployed abroad multiple times, a USC study finds.

Teenagers with family members in the military were more likely to contemplate suicide if their relatives were deployed overseas multiple times, according to researchers from USC.

After analyzing survey data from 14,299 secondary school students in California — including more than 1,900 with parents or siblings in the military — the researchers found a link between a family member's deployment history and a variety of mental health problems, including "suicidal ideation," or thoughts about suicide.

Their study, published online Monday by the Journal of Adolescent Health, joins a growing body of evidence that the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have taken a hefty toll on children in military families.

"The cost of military deployment goes well beyond money and our soldiers' lives," said Stephan Arndt, a University of Iowa psychologist who was not involved in the study. His work has found elevated rates of drug and alcohol use among children whose parents were currently or recently deployed.

Most research on the mental health of military children has focused on those who are already receiving treatment or attending special summer camps. Those kinds of studies don't allow experts to estimate the rates of psychiatric problems among all military children or make comparisons with other children.

So the USC team tried a different approach. The researchers piggybacked on a statewide health survey of public school students in 2011 and added questions for seventh-, ninth- and 11th-graders in four Southern California school districts — all near military bases — about the military status and deployment histories of their parents and siblings.

Students with close relatives serving in the military were no more likely to suffer mental health problems than students with no relatives on active duty, the team found. The key factor was how many times a parent or sibling — currently serving or not — had been deployed during the previous decade.
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Healing war fighters is the next great task remaining before us

Healing war fighters is the next great task remaining before us
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 19, 2013

Today the speech from President Lincoln honoring the fallen in the Gettysburg Address will be repeated, but there is a special section in it that we really need to focus on.

"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion."
(Gettysburg Address)

Historians can figure out how many, or close to it, died on the battlefield in every war this nation has had, but the truth is, none of them can even come close to how many we lost because of the battlefield.

They will never know how many committed suicide because we failed to bind their wounds inside of their bodies.

"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."

Veterans should never be victims of circumstance

Veterans should never be victims of circumstance
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 18, 2013

While the US has 22,328,000 veterans most Americans assume the numbers we read everyday include all of them but they do not. The Department of Veterans Affairs has 827 Outpatient Clinics, 300 Vet Centers, 151 VA Hospitals and 56 Regional Administration Offices. It also operates 131 National Cemeteries. There are 8.76 million veterans in their healthcare system but they only have 3.6 million veterans receiving compensation as of 2012.

There is also the misunderstood figure of 22 suicides among veterans everyday. Those numbers came from a limited group of states researching death certificates where it was indicated the person committing suicide had military service box checked off.

Suicide among Veterans – As Reported on Death Certificates Of the 147,763 suicides reported in 21 states, 27,062 (18.3%) were identified as having history of U.S. military service on death certificates.

However, Veteran status was unknown or not reported for more than 23% (n=34,027) of all suicides during the project period.

Without linking to VA or DoD resources to validate history of U.S. military service, it is necessary to remove those without information on history of military service from estimates of Veteran status among suicide decedents. Among cases where history of U.S. military service was reported, Veterans comprised approximately 22.2% of all suicides reported during the project period. If this prevalence estimate is assumed to be constant across all U.S. states, an estimated 22 Veterans will have died from suicide each day in the calendar year 2010.

Keep in mind that they are only 7% of the population but over 22% of the suicides. They survived combat but cannot find a reason to survive being home?

There is the ignored number of veterans trying to take their own lives as well. This was discovered back in 2010 when a lawsuit was filed against the VA.

But in this e-mail to his top media adviser, written two months ago, Katz appears to be saying something very different, stating: "Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among veterans we see in our medical facilities."

Katz's e-mail was written shortly after the VA provided CBS News data showing there were only 790 attempted suicides in all 2007 - a fraction of Katz's estimate.

"This 12,000 attempted suicides per year shows clearly, without a doubt, that there is an epidemic of suicide among veterans," said Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense.

They key here is "we see in our medical facilities" and not the over 22 million veterans we have in this country. So what's up with the reporting? Do they ever clarify the numbers?

We also know that while all of these veterans served this one nation, they are not being served equally state to state. Why should they be victims of circumstance? Why should it depend on where they live? Why should it depend on which reporter decides they matter enough to report the whole truth?

Wounded Times records their stories and most of their stories are told by their local press but the national news ignores them. Why? Why don't they matter enough for the national press to pay attention to this national crisis?

Commitment to veterans

Veterans always seem to want to "fit back in with society" but the truth is, they never did. There was always something different about them. They were always wanting to do more than others did. The proof of this is in the top five jobs they seek when they come out of the military. Their number on choice is law enforcement to protect society. Number two is firefighting, yet again, to protect society. Then comes emergency responders, medical professions and teaching. All of these are jobs done for the sake of others and not self serving like the rest of us. We depend on people like them everyday.

Yesterday I was talking to a veteran of today's wars. He said how he had a time fitting back in. I asked him why he would want to and then asked him to think about what he was like before he got into the military. Sure enough, he noticed that he was always different from his friends. Oh, by the way, he's still in the Reserves.

Expecting them to be what they are not, it is easy for us to just tell them to get over it and live normal lives. Do we really want them to do that? Isn't that why they were willing to risk their lives in the first place? Do we really expect a National Guardsman to be like the rest of us when a storm destroys everything? Do we expect them to stay home and just take care of their own families and property? No, we expect them to show up and help the rest of us. We never seem to be able to think of them as being like us. Why on earth should we expect it out of them when they come home from combat?

While they are similar to us with their own families and issues, they are not like us because in times of need, they show up.

Column: Commitment to veterans
The Bulletin
By John Costa
Published: November 17. 2013

I don't know another newspaper that has demonstrated a greater commitment to our veterans.

These are the folks who have risked life and limb to defend us, and public recognition is the least we at The Bulletin can do for them.

Last week — the week of Veterans Day — I attended the annual economic forecast breakfast sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.

The moderator asked anyone in the audience of hundreds who had served in the military to stand up.

Very few got to their feet.

That's a product of our times, a product of volunteer services and no draft.

It's also a problem.

There are a lot of pluses to a draft-less society, but the steep downside is that there is a fading attachment between citizen and soldier.

Tuesday is the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg address, the finest commemoration of citizen soldiery in our history.
read more here

I left this comment.

I couldn't agree more. I track veterans news reports around the country because the major news organizations no longer do it. The only reporters interested in telling their stories and covering their events are local, usually small news outlets.

Had I not read this, I would have forgotten about the anniversary of what Lincoln said at Gettysburg even though I use the quote often. Thank you!

Gettysburg Address Bliss Copy
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln
November 19, 1863

Veterans Moving Forward Even Behind Bars

Some of my friends are better than I am because they have prison ministries, healing souls behind bars but you never hear about the wonderful work they do. If it doesn't make sense to you that veterans are different from the rest of us, then you must not know too many of them. If you think they should be forgotten about since they are locked up, you must have forgotten what Christ said.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Matthew 25

Most of these veterans came home with PTSD and self-medicated to numb the pain they felt. The fact is most veterans do not seek help from the government even after all these years. Some commit crimes and were unlucky enough to commit them in states without Veterans Courts offering them help instead of jail. Do we forget about them? Do we just leave them alone so they can do their time and not even try to help them?

Veterans Courts are not a "get out of jail free" way out. They are given the connections they need to begin treatment they should have had all along and they are helped to do what the judge says. If they do not do it, they have to serve their time behind bars. Keep in mind that veterans are only 7% of the population.

VA medical centers recognize the value of partnerships with local justice-system and community treatment partners

Many VA medical centers are engaged with partners in their local criminal justice systems. In response to a June 2008 review, more than one third of medical centers (58 of 153) indicated that they either currently engage with local justice system partners to coordinate services for Veterans, or intend to request resources to support such engagement. Currently, the VA participates in 8 Veterans Court programs located in Santa Ana, CA, Buffalo, NY, Anchorage, AK, San Bernardino, CA, Santa Clara, CA, Chicago, IL, Rochester, NY, and Tulsa, OK. Elsewhere, VA medical centers have established relationships with a range of justice system and community partners, including police and sheriffs’ departments, local jail administrators, judges, prosecutors, public defenders, probation officers, and community mental health providers.

If we did for them when they came home, most wouldn't have ended up behind bars. They commit crimes are were given jail time but that doesn't mean they do not deserve our time and efforts to do the right thing for them.

Vets unite behind bars at Vista jail
Authorities hope they can better rehabilitate service members by housing them together in unit at Vista Jail
UT San Diego
By Pauline Repard
NOV. 16, 2013

A patriotic artwork is displayed on the wall near the telephones in the Vista Jail housing module for military veterans.

Vista — Early this month, 32 veterans in blue jail uniforms filed into a freshly painted, red, white and blue Vista Jail dormitory with walls brightened by patriotic murals.

They dropped their bags of belongings in double-bunk cells, then were officially welcomed to the Veterans Moving Forward program initiated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

By housing the veterans together, authorities hope to encourage camaraderie while helping them kick drug habits, gain job skills, find housing and undergo treatment for mental illness — all factors that could keep them from returning to jail.

“The ultimate goal is transitioning them back to the community,” Sheriff Bill Gore said in an interview.

“Veterans have given so much to this nation.”
read more here