"We want to knock that 23 veterans dying of suicide daily down by helping to get things in a more positive direction for them," Souters said, whose husband, David, helped found the organization.
When will folks ever get the number right?
Wounded Warrior Anglers open new facility
Cape Coral Daily Breeze
By CHUCK BALLARO
February 12, 2016
CHUCK BALLARO Judy Souders, center, co-founder of the Wounded Warriors Anglers, cuts the ribbon on the organization’s new facility during a grand opening and open house Tuesday.
An idea that started as a dream years ago and not long ago became a reality now has a home to call its very own, thanks to the benevolence of others.
The Wounded Warrior Anglers cut the ribbon and held an open house on its new brick-and-mortar location at 1490 Pine Island Road, Unit 5, on Tuesday.
The event featured a color guard, many of the Wounded Warrior Anglers, friends, dignitaries and donors who surprised the group with more funding.
Judy Souders, vice president and co-founder of the group, said the WWA did its work at her house for the first 5-plus years of its existence.
"It's something we had a dream about since we formed it, it's always been there. It's taken us a while to get the funds to get this location," Souders said. "Now that it's come to fruition, we're excited we can help veterans and families."
The Wounded Warrior Anglers is a group that caters to veterans through alternative therapies by getting them on the water fishing and teaching them to build their own rods to give them self-worth. read more here
FOX28 Special Report: HOVER Vets Katherine Duchame February 10, 2016
The first visit to a veteran took place on January 5 last year. The total of visits to vets so far, over 1,300.
A local Vietnam veterans dream to continue serving after duty, is now a reality. One that touches the hearts of dozens of veterans every week in Michiana.
It started as what was thought to be a "simple" idea, a program to help veterans hospitalized get back on their feet. Now, a realization that the program does so much more as we learned in a special report from FOX 28's Katherine Ducharme.
The program is called HOVER, it stands for Honoring Our Veterans and Encouraging Recovery. HOVER ensures that every veteran hospitalized at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, is thanked for their service. A gesture many of us view as "normal" in today's world, but for some veterans who never received that recognition, it means so much more.
Bern McGrane, a Vietnam veteran and coordinator of HOVER, has a routine day of delivering an American flag and some company to hospitalized veterans. It became McGrane's mission in life just over a year ago."I was in the army in 1967, and as funny as it may seem that was me in 1967, I was 19 I believe," said McGrane.He served as a combat infantry soldier in Vietnam for 14 months.
"During the time that I was there, there was a uniqueness to being in a squad or a platoon, because it's not like you're going to do an eight to five job, you live with your fellow soldiers 24/7 under every imaginable kind of circumstance," said McGrane. read more here Fox 28: South Bend, Elkhart IN News, Weather, Sports
In the early 90's several VA hospitals and clinics were discovering the benefits of spiritual healing for PTSD. That's when they researched what Point Man International Ministries did, how they did it, but above all, why they did it.
They did it because it worked for them as veterans themselves as well as their families.
Point Man started in 1984 and by the 90's had enough years of proving it works as peers.
While some want to think that "peer support" is new, it isn't new at all. Nothing on what combat does to those we send is new especially to those veterans on the frontline of actually doing something about it.
"The case study from new research on religion and veterans reveals the potential powerful impact faith can have on the lives of service members."
Korean and Vietnam War veteran prays during ceremonies at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Hmm,,,new? Seriously?
Take a look at this.
That is the back of my motorcycle vest. It is for Point Man International Ministries.
It was a new group BACK IN 1984!
"And just how much the right type of spiritual support matters.
Veterans who are able to find a resource in faith in a loving God who cares for them appear to be better able to work through the stresses of combat.
Those who continue to struggle with images of a judgmental God who is responsible for senseless suffering are more likely to take their own lives, research indicates."
Over and over again it never fails to surprise me of exactly how little research is done on something as serious as life and death for those willing to put their lives on the line for someone else, yet fall when they cannot find a reason to live back at home.
If you live in Florida I'd love to talk to you about joining this fabulous group of dedicated leaders in restoring lives. Call me at 407-754-7525. We need leaders to step up and run small groups so if you are more interested in making a meaningful difference than you are jumping on the "awareness raisers" we need you.
Fighting the hidden toll of war
The West Australian
Graham Edwards AM, State President of the RSL
October 13, 2015
There is also a parallel number of Australian Defence Force (ADF) and veterans suffering anxiety, depression and committing suicide. By September, 22 had died this year and there has been an upward trend in the past six or seven years. Nineteen died in 2014 – and each death cuts deeply in the ADF family.
Talk to a mate. Talk to someone you can trust.
Sometimes the mate or friend may be away or overseas. Pick up the phone!
A former solder and military psychologist of 26 years’ experience in Perth offers this primary advice to anyone contemplating suicide. He knows there are many professionals waiting to help, but his experience is that the very first step is to get people to open up. Far too many lock-up their anxieties.
“We’ve got to convince veterans that it is the nature of what they went through that matters, rather than their concerns about reaching out for support,” he said.
“There is help available; it is never too late. There is a pathway to leading a fulfilling life.”
In WA, help is very near. There are websites like Operation Life and At-Ease and apps. Professional help includes the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service (VVCS), which has counsellors, psychologists and mental health accredited social workers throughout the state and operates a 24/7 helpline (1800 011 046 ). The RSL has trained pension officers, advocates and welfare officers to assist serving and former members of the armed forces. There are suicide prevention services like Lifeline (13 11 14) and BeyondBlue (1300 22 4636) Suicide is a tough subject, but we need to shine a light on it because, according to the Black Dog Institute, more than 2,500 people suicide each year – compared with last year’s road toll of 1,156 – and more than 60,000 attempts to take their life. read more here
Peer Support Only Fails If You Don't Ask
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
September 23, 2015
I've had the conversation more times than I can remember but on the way home from work today, I had to have it again. A veteran was upset because he just found out a buddy of his committed suicide.
He wanted to know why his buddy didn't call him and just ask for help.
We talk a lot about suicides but don't talk enough about the one thing veterans should do before they give up. Call for support and ask for help.
Often that is all it takes. Just hearing a caring voice on the other end of the line makes enough of a difference to restore just enough of what has been lost long enough to remember the truth. That truth is, those you were with were prepared to die for you, just as you were for them.
Why the hell would you think they wouldn't be willing to give you their time for you to live?
Think about it because while pain may make you think of pulling the trigger your pride is putting the bullet in the gun. That is the only thing keeping you from asking for help and your life is far from hopeless.
So lets just get honest here.
Take a good look at this picture.
In combat you must have seen something like that plenty of times. What did you think of the wounded? Did you think it was only natural for the wounded soldier to be picked up and carried to the Chopper to get the help he needed to stay alive? Or did you think he should have just stayed in combat bleeding all over the place so he wouldn't bother anyone? Safe bet you didn't think less of him getting help then so why think less of yourself because you have a wound and need help too?
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a WOUND. The word TRAUMA is Greek meaning WOUND.
trauma
1690s, "physical wound," medical Latin, from Greek trauma "a wound, a hurt; a defeat," from PIE *trau-, extended form of root *tere- (1) "to rub, turn," with derivatives referring to twisting, piercing, etc. (see throw (v.)). Sense of "psychic wound, unpleasant experience which causes abnormal stress" is from 1894
It was something that hit you but all this time you've been playing pingpong with your brain cells. Memories on one side trying to get you to make sense out of them while you try to destroy them with alcohol and drugs. Ya, I get it. You don't want to feel the bad shit anymore even if it means blocking anything good out. How's that working for you so far? Bet it hasn't been good.
This ain't rocket science! It is just about being human.
See it's really hard for any person inclined to be the "helper" to ask for help from anyone. So think of it this way. How do you feel about the person you help? Do you think they should have just figured it out or thought less of them because they needed you? Bet it felt good to be needed and even better to be able to help afterwards.
In combat, did you think it was weak or bad for you to call in air support? Hell no! You expected them to show up when they were called and when they didn't come, you were pissed off wondering where they were.
Did you think for one second, "Oh no lets not bother them. They may be busy." or did you listen carefully for the sound of the rotors? As soon as you heard that sound you knew you guys were not alone and someone was watching over you.
Ok, so say you call your buddy and he sounds busy or you get his voice mail. Do you give up? Nope, you leave a message and tell him it is really important. You don't know what he's doing or if he is even near the phone, so don't give up on him. Wait for a little while and then call someone else.
Believe me, he'll be a lot more than angry if you decided to not bother him and then left him along with everyone else who cared about you.
Yes, it may feel as if no one cares right now. That's only because your life has been so messed up no one can figure out what is going on with you or how to help you. You got only yourself to blame for that one because you didn't tell them anything! How can they know you need help if you are just acting like a jerk?
Not a bright idea to have command on the radio and then not tell them where you are or what you need.
Give them a chance to understand. You don't have to get all gory and explain everything to them. All you have to do is tell them you need help.
They've done a lot of good but there have been some issues with it so if you run into trouble, then call 9-11.
I was at an event Saturday and we were discussing police response. It was suggested that to calm things down a bit, ask for fire emergency so they can get you to the hospital. Best bet is probably to just explain to the operator what you need for help.
It took you a long time to reach out for help so don't take no for an answer. If you go to the VA and they tell you there is a long wait, then pull up a chair and wait as long as it takes. If you call someone and don't get help, then call someone else. Keep calling and trying until you get the help you need.
After all, you didn't give up fighting the battles in combat or you wouldn't be here struggling to heal from them now. You're not a victim and you're not defective or whatever else you tried to blame all this on. You are a survivor, so survive so you can help another veteran fight this battle he thinks he has to fight alone because he was just as confused as you are right now.
Bet he doesn't know he isn't stuck suffering either. He just needs to hear someone tell him that help is on the way and he can recover/heal to live a better life. You didn't want to be called a hero because you went where you were sent. How about you earn the title now by saving the life of someone else?
Luciano: Former Marine reservist launches Buddy Check 22 effort to wish a vet well
Journal Star
By Phil Luciano
Journal Star columnist
Posted Aug. 19, 2015
One particular post pointed directly at the goal of Buddy Check 22: “Lost a great Marine, husband and father 14 days ago to the demons of PTSD. He was 26. The VA is trying, but they are losing this battle. WE ARE OUR BROTHER’S KEEPER.”
Like machine-gun fire, the number kept jolting Zach Ziegel
Story after story, the news astounded him: An average of 22 veterans kill themselves every day, a rate more than double that of the general population. This week, after long brainstorming tactics, the Marine veteran attacked the enemy of suicide.
Ziegel has launched Buddy Check 22, which simply urges people — military and civilian alike — to contact at least one veteran on the 22nd of each month and ask how things are going. The suggestion has exploded: Within a half-day after he posted Buddy Check 22 as a Facebook “event,” invites spread to nearly 180,000 users, with 22,000 saying they’d participate.
“It just took off,” Ziegel, 29, says in pleasant surprise. “We don’t want to let veterans down. They were there for us, to protect us. And now we need to be there for them, when they need us.”
Ziegel saw such challenges during a decade while active in the military, perhaps even more so afterward.
“That might make a buddy mad for a while,” Ziegel says. “But I’d rather that a buddy be mad at me. I don’t want to go to his funeral.” read more here
REMINDER
It is not 22 a day but veterans commit suicide double the civilian population with 78% veterans over the age of 50. For younger veterans (Afghanistan and Iraq) it is triple their peer rate.
This leaves a lot of questions.
"Why did the DOD fund a college for current military members? What about all the money they received from Congress to reduce military suicides? Why would they do this when they have 900 other programs?
Veterans Hotline Tries to Survive Without Pentagon Funds
New York Times
By DAVE PHILIPPS
JULY 4, 2015
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — In a row of beige cubicles in a suburban office park, a hulking former Army sergeant hunched over his phone next to a photo taken in Afghanistan, a few days before he was hurt by a roadside bomb.
“Look, man, sometimes you’re dealt a raw deal and you’ve got to play it,” the former sergeant, Adriel Gonzalez, said into his headset. Big as a bouncer, he wielded his gruff voice tenderly. “I’ve known you long enough that you’re ready to hear this: It’s not going to be all sunshine and rainbows. You might be in for a lifelong struggle, but it is a doable one. This I can tell you, my friend.”
The idea of using veterans to help peers grew out of a hotline set up by the State of New Jersey in 1999 to make retired police officers available to offer anonymous support to other officers, said Christopher Kosseff, the president of Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, which hosts the police peer line and Vets4Warriors.
Today, the 40 peers at Vets4Warriors come from all branches. A bank of clocks on the wall showing the time in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea and Germany serves as a reminder of the array of troops who seek help. A recent call came from a ship in the Persian Gulf, where a young sailor had concerns about finding a job after leaving the Navy. read more here
Since 2010, thousands of Service members have found confidential assistance using our Peer Support Line. Who better to understand the challenges of military life than someone who has lived it? Veterans provide support to military members, engaging them in a personal, non-threatening way. Our peer support network is confidential and caller information will not be shared with the military or the VA.
Sometimes, the issues will require specific expertise, such as financial resources, legal advice or medical services. Our Veteran Peers will work to find the best options for the caller and help make the connection in their local communities.
The Vets4Warriors Peer Support Line is staffed entirely by Veterans with funding from the Defense Suicide Prevention Office.
We found that DoD is the largest funder of suicide prevention research having recently funded 61 studies at the cost of more than $100 million. This figure does not include the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (known as Army STARRS), a $65 million study funded jointly by the U.S. Army and the National Institute of Mental Health.
It doesn't matter how much money they spent or how many years they have been spending it since the numbers kept going up even as the number of military service members were reduced.
UPDATE ON MILITARY SUICIDE PREVENTION PROGRAMS HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON MILITARY PERSONNEL OF THE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION HEARING HELD MARCH 21, 2013
DSPO [Defense Suicide Prevention Office] program evaluation approach tracks requirements, funding, and will unite efficiency measures with effectiveness for continuous process improvement reporting on shortfalls and duplications. We are evaluating training to develop core competencies for peer, command, clinical, and pastoral requirements.
A critical aspect of preventing suicide is eliminating stigma that prevents service members or families from seeking help. DOD and V.A. are implementing President Obama’s executive order and have a 12-month help-seeking ‘‘Stand By Them’’ campaign to encourage servicemembers, veterans, and their families to contact the military crisis line by phone or online.
We are expanding it in Europe and we are expanding it to Japan and Korea. It is at larger bases in Afghanistan, and where it is not available we have trained medics to initiate a peer support call line, similar to the Guard’s Vets4Warriors program.
I am not about to release a single tear over Rutgers losing funding for this from the DOD. I am sure they'll find money elsewhere however, the lives lost while the DOD refused to stop outsourcing care of the troops, they also failed to hold anyone accountable for the rise in the number of lives lost.
That is part of the problem with all this suicide awareness running amok across the country. No one is ever held accountable for what they do or do not do.
PTSD campaigner Aaron Gray contemplated suicide many times
Sydney Morning Herald
David Ellery
Reporter for The Canberra Times
June 7, 2015
The support of the Vietnam veterans from my local RSL sub-branch (at Woonoona-Bulli in Wollongong) saved my life.
Veteran: Aaron Gray rode shotgun on top of an ASLAV in Iraq.
Aaron Gray, the founder and director of the Australian Veterans' Suicide Register, has first hand knowledge of the dark thoughts that plague many Post Traumatic Stress Disorder sufferers.
Aaron Gray, founder and director of the Australian Veterans' Suicide Register
A veteran of the war in Iraq who rode shotgun on top of an ASLAV with the triggers to a 25 millimetre chain gun and a 7.62mm machine gun at his fingertips, he still carries the scars from one unsuccessful suicide attempt.
"The support of the Vietnam veterans from my local RSL sub-branch [at Woonoona-Bulli in Wollongong] saved my life," he said.
The Nowra resident can't handle large crowds and enclosed spaces such as shopping malls.
"When I began developing symptoms [of PTSD] I decided to leave the army of my own accord," he said. "I didn't want the stigma of a medical discharge; I was told you are treated like a leper [while the medical discharge comes through].
"It took me five years to obtain a TPI pension and that was with the assistance of an advocate."
read more here
When War Comes Home
By Scott Hannaford
IT WAS around midnight when Nicholas Hodge stepped into the middle of the road, lay down on the white line and placed his identity card on his chest. A passing taxi driver was the first to spot him and pulled over. The driver picked up the card on Hodge's chest, reached for his phone and began dialling.
Soon, a police patrol arrived and two officers made their way towards to the large, powerfully built figure lying face-up on the bitumen. One of the officers recognised Hodge: a factor, he says now, that – combined with the way ACT Policing handled him that night – probably saved his life.
Under the gaze of nearby diners in the trendy Canberra restaurant district of Kingston, Hodge begins to sob. "I was hoping a car would run me over," he explains. "I just started bawling my eyes out, saying, 'I need help, I need help'."
There are too many Marines thinking they should not ask for help after combat.
They forget that they always had help to fight each battle during war.
They are no less of a Marine when they need help because of it.
Just imagine if this Marine wanted to do this alone.
His buddies came and helped him.
And this picture would have looked a lot different if they did not work together.
The battles fought at home should not be fought alone.
Yesterday I was talking to a buddy of mine and I said that it just didn't make sense for veterans to think that asking for help is a sign of weakness. After all, during combat it wasn't seen as weakness to call in reinforcements when needed.
Asking for help saved lives.
So why is it that some have decided the enemy inside of them should be fought alone?
PTSD is the enemy of your future. You can defeat it and survive as long as you stop fighting this battle alone. Ask for help and if you don't find the right kind of help, keep looking until you find what works for you.
The number of veterans committing suicide keeps going up because they gave up. The good news is more veterans are not just healing, they are thriving and making sure they help others survive this battle as well.
During PTSD Awareness Month, talking about the problem has not worked since they started doing this years ago. It is time to talk about what works and what you need to know.
Begin with the simple fact you are not a victim. You are a survivor or combat trauma. Most of you have survived many events.
You are not weak but the strength of your emotional core is so strong you felt it all more deeply.
PTSD is not new. Many generations of veterans have experienced the same inner turmoils you are going through including recipients of the Medal of Honor.
PTSD cannot be cured but it can be treated and you are not stuck suffering the way you are right now. You can heal and live a better life.
It is never too late to seek help and you are not frozen the way you are today. As soon as you admit you need help and start to seek it, PTSD loses power and you start taking back control.
It is only harder to fight back home if you choose to fight alone.
"Col. Jay R. Vargas, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, waves at the camera after speaking to service members about the importance of finding help for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder May 12, 2015, at the Chaplain Joseph W. Estabrook Chapel aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Harley Thomas/Released)
The retired colonel, now a mental health advocate, spoke to the Marine Corps Base Hawaii community about the importance of seeking help for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, May 12, 2015, at the Chaplain Joseph W. Estabrook Chapel.
Col. Timothy Winand, the commanding officer for 3rd Marine Regiment, said it was a great privilege to have a Medal of Honor recipient speak to the Marines about such an
important topic.
“(It was) a great opportunity in the realm of professional military education,” Winand said. “Col. Vargas has commanded Marines at every level, from platoon to infantry regiment, and his great story is one of courage, dedication, honor, commitment and valor. This is a message we should all listen to and take away from.”
Vargas, a Winslow, Ariz., native, said it took him 37 years to talk about his experiences and once he let it all out, it felt good. He said he held it in because it’s what his brothers did. His brothers, Angelo and Frank, were at the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa during World War II, and his brother Joseph was in the Korean War. Vargas said they never spoke about it.
“The night after I received the medal, the four of us got together at supper and that was the first time I had heard what they did in WWII,” Vargas said. “They held it in, like I did. I had just assumed that once you came home, you didn’t talk about it, like that’s the way it was supposed to be. To those of you who are coming out of a combat zone, don’t hold it in and, if you might have a problem, seek help.”
Vargas said there isn’t a Marine in this world that’s not tough, but there’s ongoing issue in the military called fatigue. He said it causes mental problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder or suicidal thoughts.
“I’ve found this stigma between all of us,” he said. “Nobody wants to admit they have a problem because of the things they’ve seen in combat, but most people don’t understand what effect combat fatigue — that was the term we used in WWII — has on Marines. If you need help, contact your chain of command. PTSD is vicious and some people might not be aware they have it; after coming home, I didn’t.”"
MOH Sammy Davis said the same thing. "Talk about it" but what makes it a more powerful statement is that Sammy was wounded saving lives and then, after getting out of the hospital, he was beaten at the San Francisco Airport.
In this video, Sammy tells the story of what happened when he came home. At the same time, Wimpy, member of Orlando Nam Knights reads the MOH Citation of what Sammy did to save lives. Sammy spent more time talking about how the crew of the plane treated them with kindness and respect than the protestors treated them with hatred.
I asked Sammy and his wife Dixie if they wanted to share a message of hope to the newer generation. They gave the same message of "talk about it" during this video. Truly remarkable is when Dixie is speaking and Sammy is called to the stage.
He is so humble, he didn't want interrupt Dixie as she added a message to families.
Really fabulous couple and have been a pleasure to know.
"The bill’s pilot program could cost $3.6 million" but why would that bother anyone? After all, it is just the latest in a very long line of things being done for veterans. It bothers folks paying attention simply being we understand that doing "something" is what caused more suffering to veterans. It would have been much better if these "something" doing bills came from a clear understanding of what was needed and what would actually help veterans and families.
If peer support is costing $3.6 million then someone is making a lot of money. Veterans and families usually volunteer to do it for free. Just as the members of a long list of organizations begun long before this, citizens stepped up and the cost of training was coffee and donuts. Lucky ones got lunch.
Bill to lend preventative hand to military families, veterans passes Texas House
Standard Times
Matthew Waller
May 11, 2015
AUSTIN — A high priority bill to aid veterans and military families with state help made its way to the Texas Senate after passing the House.
State Rep. Susan King, R-Abilene, passed House Bill 19 when the legislation got its final House vote Monday.
King is the chairwoman of the House Defense and Veterans Affairs Committee.
The bill would have the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services put together a veterans and military families preventive services program, which could address abuse, neglect, mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder.
A pilot program would go to the three largest military cities: Killeen, El Paso and San Antonio.
HB 19 would also add coordination between the Texas Veterans Commission and the Texas Department of State Health Services, which would include training volunteer coordinators and managing a peer-to-peer program where veterans could help veterans.
The legislation would also have an initiative for encouraging communities to make committees to develop plans to help veterans and military families.
read more here
Veterans more likely to volunteer, vote, serve community than civilians
The Washington Times
By Jacqueline Klimas
Thursday, April 30, 2015
“They have learned to put service before self, to bridge differences to accomplish shared goals. “What they now need is a new purpose. At a time when our country faces so many challenges, we need to make the most of what veterans have to offer.”
Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald
Veterans are more likely than similar civilians to volunteer more hours, to vote consistently and to serve in civic organizations, according to a report released Thursday that advocates hope will counteract the perception of veterans as “broken heroes.”
The report found that veterans, even those who may be struggling with issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, are eager to contribute to their communities and can make neighborhoods safer and friendlier.
“For years, we’ve been working to make sure veterans are perceived as leaders and assets. Now we have empirical evidence,” said Chris Marvin, managing director of Got Your 6, a veterans group that sponsored the report. “The statement that veterans are civic assets is no longer an opinion; it’s a fact, and it’s backed up by data.”
In addition to volunteering more hours annually — 160 for an average veteran volunteer compared with 120 for a civilian — veterans are more likely to trust most of their neighbors, the report found.
Veterans also are more likely to vote in local elections, contact their public officials and discuss politics frequently with families and friends.
Former service members came under fire this week after a CNN anchorwoman suggested that veterans who left the service and became police officers may be partly to blame for law-enforcement violence against minority communities around the country.
“I love our nation’s veterans, but some of them are coming back from war, they don’t know the communities and they’re ready to do battle,” Brooke Baldwin said live on air while reporting on the riots in Baltimore.
John W. Stroud, national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, called Ms. Baldwin’s comments insulting to those who served the country in the military and urged others to contact CNN to voice their disgust. Ms. Baldwin has since issued an on-air apology. read more here
The Long Shadow of PTSD
Decades after Vietnam, retired veterans reunite and seek help
AARP Bulletin
by Brian Mockenhaupt
May 2015
After two tours as an infantryman in Vietnam, Dave Dillard came home to a country that he felt didn't understand where he'd been, or how the war had affected him. The Army discharged him with no advice about the lingering mental strains of combat. His family told him to get on with his life.
Some of the World War II veterans he met at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post weren't much help, either. "Just forget it," they told him.
Dave Dillard, 66, of the 101st Airborne Division. — Brent Humphreys
He couldn't forget, but he moved on. He studied theater arts in San Francisco and later taught elementary school. But he gradually withdrew from friends and family. He avoided crowds and standing in lines. While mowing the lawn one afternoon, a loud noise sent him diving under a bush. Sleep was tortured. He dreamed that he'd been sent back to Vietnam for a third tour, and always he saw the same North Vietnamese soldier, his face lit up in the darkness by a rifle's muzzle flash.
In the mid-1980s he started searching for the men with whom he'd fought. He found them one by one over the next three decades. Many of them, he discovered, had been suffering as he had, and most hadn't gotten help until years later, if they'd sought help at all.
This is a common story among older combat veterans, who have contended with both the stigma of appearing weak and the lack of knowledge about the mental effects of combat. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — characterized by hypervigilance, intrusive thoughts, nightmares and avoidance — wasn't a formal diagnosis until 1980, and effective treatments weren't widely available until the 1990s.
"They came home, stayed quiet and tried to muddle on as best they could," says Steven Thorp, a San Diego psychologist with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. "They worked really hard as a distraction, 70, 80 hours a week, so PTSD didn't really hit them full force until they retired, or the kids left the house, or they're reminded of loss through the deaths of their friends."
"What they do know is that they're different," Thorp says. "But they don't know why it happened, and they don't know how to change it."
Dillard didn't know how to right himself, but he knew exactly what had changed him: one long, terrible night in the jungles north of Saigon during his first tour, when Delta Company, his unit from the 101st Airborne Division, was nearly overrun by hundreds of North Vietnamese soldiers. That night he witnessed heroics by his captain, Paul Bucha, and waited with Delta Company buddies like Calvin Heath and Bill Heaney for a dawn they feared would never come.
"That night marked all of us," says Dillard, 66, who now lives on a ranch in Livingston, Texas, and assists other veterans with their disability claims. "It's been the source of lots of nightmares." read more here
Navy SEALS help veterans and have an island renamed
SEAL event will be part of Spring Fling
Charlotte Observer
BY LISA DAIDONE CORRESPONDENT
04/09/2015
Retired Navy SEALs Rich Graham, lback left, Rusch, in front and Troy Pusateri, right, participate in the 2014 LKN Navy SEAL Swim. TIM DOYLE COURTESY SEAL SWIM CHARITIES
The best part of Spring Fling, which will be held April 18 at LangTree Lake Norman, won’t be the exhibits from nurseries, landscapers, outdoor-specialty stores and outdoor-themed organizations.
Nor will it be the music, food, beverages or nature crafts.
The best part of the Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists Spring Fling in Mooresville will be a dedication ceremony. LKN SEAL Swim charities, which holds the annual SEAL Swim, will rename a Lake Norman island, currently called Whale Island, as Navy SEAL Island, said Chris Durant, of the charity group.
Eventually, the group will hold a dedication ceremony on the island and a plant a Navy SEAL flag there.
The dedication is a result of the LKN SEAL Swim, created three years ago to raise awareness and funds to help veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Combat Related Stress.
Three former Navy SEALs – Rich Graham, Shannon Rusch and Troy Pusateri – swim 13.6 miles, beginning at McCray Creek access in Mooresville and ending at the Rusty Rudder in Cornelius with a huge party. The swim this year will be held July 24. read more here
Breakfast, camaraderie helping to heal local vets
Sentinel and Enterprise
By Cliff Clark
04/03/2015
"For me, I like getting to hang out with other vets. It feels good to be around these guys, and I've made a lot of new friends,"
FITCHBURG -- As the group of veterans were sitting down for breakfast Friday morning at the Airport Diner, they exchanged handshakes, pleasant greetings and the warm, knowing smiles of men who shared the common bond of fighting for our country's freedom.
They were there to spend a few minutes having a hot meal and to quietly discuss the daily challenges they face coping with life after the military.
"They're here to talk about the serious issues they can all relate to," said John Churcher, a U.S. Army veteran and founder of Vet Together, a support group he created to provide an outlet for vets to get together and talk out their challenges.
The breakfast, sponsored by IC Federal Credit Union, was one of many events Churcher provides to veterans to give them a chance to blow off a little steam and have some fun while reconnecting with their comrades in arms.
For one veteran of the Iraqi War, Vet Together is a place for him re-experience the strong bonds created when a unit of soldiers work together to accomplish a mission.
"After I got out of the military one of the big things I missed was the camaraderie and the brotherhood. Putting these guys together gives them a piece of what they might be missing from their active duty," said Gabe Nutter, a U.S. Army veteran who saw combat in Iraq in 2005-06, and struggled with post traumatic stress disorder when he returned home.
Leominster Firefighter Ryan Young, a U.S. Army veteran, attends the Vet Together events to spend time with other veterans.
"For me, I like getting to hang out with other vets. It feels good to be around these guys, and I've made a lot of new friends," said Young.
Young, like all the veterans at Friday's event, thanked Churcher and Mike Cooley, who hosts the local cable talk show Cool Talk, for putting together the monthly breakfast at the Airport Diner, which is owned by Gene Collette and Steve Shank.
read more here
Veterans' PTSD cases up a quarter in a year charity warns
The Telegraph
Ben Farmer
Defence Correspondent
March 31, 2015
Britain is seeing a "very concerning" surge in veterans looking for help with PTSD and other mental health problems after the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the charity Combat Stress warns, after it has seen its cases jump 26 percent in a year
The number of veterans seeking help for PTSD and other mental health problems has jumped more than a quarter in the past year alone with a surge of cases from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, a leading military charity has warned.
Combat Stress says it is now deals with six new veterans asking for help each day and is at its busiest in its 96-year-history.
The 26 per cent increase in the past year is more than double the rise seen the year before and is mainly due to a “marked rise” in Afghanistan and Iraq veterans coming forward.
The latest rise follows a string of annual increases and the toll of cases from the wars of the past decade will continue to increase, the charity believes. It is calling on the Government to spend more on NHS treatment for them.
Walter Busuttil, director of medical services, said: “We are very concerned at the significant rise in those coming forward with military PTSD. read more here
Veterans, active duty military, tap social media network for support
FoxNews.com
By Brian Mastroianni
Published March 02, 2015
Around last April, LinkedIn co-founder Konstantin Guericke was approached by Yinon Weiss about supporting an interesting twist on the social media networking model that he helped introduce back in 2003.
Weiss, who served for 10 years on active duty as a Marine Corps scout and sniper platoon commander as well as an Army Special Forces officer, met with Guericke to discuss RallyPoint, a professional network for active duty members of the military and veterans alike.
Weiss founded the site back in 2012 alongside Aaron Kletzing, another veteran, when they were both students at Harvard Business School. In fact, the idea literally was formed on the back of a napkin in a Cambridge, Mass. restaurant.
The two men saw their project as filling a big void for military personnel – both veterans transitioning to civilian life and individuals serving on active duty often express frustration at not having guidance and networking in navigating life in and outside of the military.
Flash forward three years, and the site has grown beyond networking.
It is a social forum that has become an online community, sounding board, and professional guide for over 500,000 veterans and active duty men and women serving in the military.
The site’s growth has made it an indispensable resource for individuals hailing from a very specialized career who didn’t necessarily find the guidance and social connections they needed from sites like LinkedIn or Facebook. With the announcement last week that Guericke was joining RallyPoint’s board of directors the site has further established itself as a go-to social networking venue.
“One of the big problems for people from the military is that they don’t build a strong network,” Weiss told FoxNews.com. “It’s not really part of the culture of the military – you don’t have a resume, you don’t practice job interviews, you typically get assigned to places, and you don’t have much influence over that. So, when you transition to civilian life, it leads to intense frustration.” read more here
If you are stunned by this report, don't be. It shows how the military has not been doing a very good job getting servicemen and women to understand what PTSD is and what it does, anymore than they explain to them how to heal. It shows how all these years of Congress passing bills claiming they understand how to do it, actually boils down to they don't have a clue.
When a veteran is a "helper" and tries to help others, you pay a price emotionally if you do not have the strength to begin doing it. If you want to help others, get stronger first the way you had to train to go into combat in the first place, preparing your body as well as your mind.
Next, don't be afraid to ask for help no matter how others seem to think you know it all. They will actually look up to you more considering you have more knowledge than they do but still need help from time to time.
We've lost too many advocates in this battle after war. Remember to be good to yourself so you can help even more veterans just like you.
How veterans are helping other vets fight against suicide
KTBC News
Mike Warren
Posted: Feb 26, 2015
This week the Central Texas community lost another veteran.
On Monday Brett Aycock, a U.S. Army sniper veteran, killed himself.
This is especially hard for the community because Aycock was actively involved in raising awareness about veteran suicides.
He'd recently been working with the WYSH Project, a group we have profiled several times on the Care Gorce that fights against military suicide.
We want to extend our condolences to Aycock's family and friends.
The WYSH project isn't the only group fighting against vet suicide. There is also a state-wide organization called the Military Veterans Peer Network.
Mike Warren caught up with Christopher Araujo to learn more about the organization.
Araujo is one of about 36 area coordinators with the Military Veterans Peer Network.
The group's formula to help struggling vets is simple: they are veterans too.
"I'm a combat vet, you're a combat vet, I understand what you're going through, I can help with what you're going through because I've been there. I've done it," Araujo said.
He says that method works in Central Texas because the rate of veteran suicides here is far less than the national average of about 22 a day.
He says he's never lost anybody, and he's sure not going to lose Darrell Garrett, despite his PTSD.
Garrett served in Iraq and it was his parents who contacted the peer network because Garrett was isolating himself and they were worried.
"There've been days where I'm sad I woke up but I've never made a plan. You feel alone. Nobody understands what you're going through," he said. read more here
Lyrics
Hello,
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me.
Is there anyone at home?
Come on now
I hear you're feeling down
Well, I can ease your pain
And get you on your feet again
Relax
I'll need some information first
Just the basic facts
Can you show me where it hurts?
There is no pain, you are receding
A distant ship smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying
When I was a child I had a fever
My hands felt just like two balloons
Now I've got that feeling once again I can't explain, you would not understand This is not how I am I have become comfortably numb
I have become comfortably numb
O.K.
Just a little pin prick
There'll be no more aaaaaaaah!
But you may feel a little sick
Can you stand up?
I do believe it's working, good
That'll keep you going through the show
Come on, it's time to go.
There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying
When I was a child
I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown
The dream is gone
Stop being comfortably numb and start healing! You can get better. You are not trapped as you are today and yes, tomorrow can be better than today. PTSD is caused by something that happened to you, not something wrong with you. You just feel things more deeply and got hit harder.
While there is no cure for PTSD, that doesn't mean you are stuck suffering the way you are right now. You can change again and live a better quality of life.
I've seen the worst of what PTSD can do but on the flip side, I've seen the best veterans can do and usually it has been about doing something for others. Amazing how that works!
I go all over Central Florida for veterans events. There is always something going on for veterans in this state however, there is something going on that isn't good for veterans. Why weren't we ready for them?
No doubt the 10 men who were booted out of the Veterans Administration Healthcare Center in Cape Coral were treated shabbily. These guys are combat veterans who fought in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. They all suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, a mental disorder that can develops following a terrifying events like those that happen in war.
Every Friday for the past 18 months the men have held their support group at the VA Clinic offices. And they wanted to continue those meetings there with their current group leaders.
The VA has a different idea. It wants one of two peer specialists, employees who are certified mental health professionals, to help run the group; something the members of this PTSD support group have refused to allow.
The current group leader is a trained volunteer, Luis Casilla. A 63-year-old Vietnam vet, Casilla is a trained peer specialist with more than a decade of experience.
According to the report there were 21 volunteer-led mental health groups in the Bay Pines alone. Nice work taking away something that was working for our veterans.
"Veterans commit suicide at double and sometimes triple the rates of civilian suicides, with the rates varying from state to state. The veteran suicide rate has grown annually at more than double the percentage of the civilian rate." Florida veteran suicides, as far as they know, are one out of four.
“12 percent of everyone over 18 years of age in Florida is a veteran,” said Leifman. “And, because of these last two very difficult conflicts, we’re looking at possibly 51,000 veterans in Florida with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or traumatic brain injury, which puts them at very high risk of criminal justice activity.”
While it is wonderful that motorcycle veterans groups always managed to support each other,it is all about brotherhood for them, the same cannot be said about other groups working on veterans issues. They end up being all about themselves instead of sharing their strengths and learning how to fix their weaknesses.
(Washington, DC) With respect to the Jacksonville VA clinic, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller and House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Corrine Brown issued the following statements:
Chairman Miller said: “After the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs fought hard to uncover systemic problems with accessing care at VA facilities across the nation, Congress and President Obama moved quickly to provide the department with more than $15 billion in emergency funds to fix these issues. The Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act, which became law last August, gave VA $10 billion to pay for non-VA medical care for veterans facing long waits and $5 billion to increase access to VA care through the hiring of physicians and other medical staff and by improving the department’s physical infrastructure. Yet even as veterans confront treatment delays to this day, VA has left the vast majority of this money unspent. It’s well past time for the department to begin using this money the way Congress and the president intended: to get veterans the care they have earned in a timely fashion.”
Ranking Member Brown added: “When I first proposed the Jacksonville clinic to Under Secretary of Health, Dr. Jonathan Perlin, in 2006, he promised that a new clinic would be built in Jacksonville’s Northside. Prior to the opening of the clinic, Jacksonville area veterans had to travel to as many as a dozen separate locations to get treated for their service connected disabilities.
Yet by working with Shands-Jacksonville Hospital, the University of Florida, and the city of Jacksonville, the VA was able to build a facility that would bring all of these specialties together.
The clinic broke ground in 2011 and opened to the public in April of 2013, and because of the large number of underserved veterans in the Jacksonville area, the clinic, ironically, has been a victim of its own success, and is now at full capacity.
The Jacksonville Out-Patient Clinic, in fact, is a state of the art health care center. Its roughly 300,000 square feet makes it one of the largest clinics in the country; and it brings under one roof many of the existing services that were previously spread out around the city. Moreover, it adds new services that were not previously available; including primary medical care and mental health care, audiology, optometry, orthopedics, cardiology, dental, dermatology, nutrition, physical therapy, podiatry, pharmacy, dialysis, pain management, otolaryngology, TBI Rehabilitation and 5 new outpatient surgical procedure rooms.
Last November, I met with the leadership of the Jacksonville Outpatient Clinic to learn about the details behind the recent reports regarding the wait times for new patients. And at the present time, the Jacksonville clinic is working to address the unexpected increase in VA patients by hiring more doctors, authorizing leases for additional space for the Jacksonville clinic, and expanding hours of operation. Along with my colleagues on the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, I will remain vigilant to ensure that the Jacksonville VA clinic; as well as all VA health clinics across the nation, are receiving the necessary funding to fully serve our veterans and make sure that the Choice Program is operating effectively and efficiently.”
