Hundreds pay last respects to Amesbury soldier who died in Iraq

Hundreds lined the route as the funeral procession, led by thundering motorcyclists, rolled under an American flag stretched across the road in Amesbury.

Hundreds pay last respects to Amesbury soldier who died in Iraq
September 12, 2009 01:40 PM


By Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff

Hundreds of people lined the route from a Newburyport funeral home to an Amesbury church today, despite the pouring, cold rain, to pay their last respects to a soldier from the area who died last week in Iraq.

In the funeral service, which filled the church to capacity, Sergeant Jordan M. Shay was remembered as "a true and steady friend to all who crossed his path" by his mother, Holly.
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Hundreds pay last respects to Amesbury soldier who died in Iraq

Iraq veteran training dog for disabled

Iraq veteran training dog for disabled

By Bridget DiCosmo - Southeast Missourian via Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Sep 12, 2009 10:32:00 EDT

BENTON, Mo. — Five years ago, before the arrival of a chocolate Lab named L.T., Phillip D. Sturgeon Jr.'s life was very different.

In 2004, Sturgeon, originally of Vanduser, Mo., was stationed near Baghdad as an Army medic with the 458th Engineer Battalion when a rocket-propelled grenade struck the vehicle he was in. Four of Sturgeon's patrol were killed in the blast, and he suffered broken ribs, facial fractures, serious knee and shoulder injuries and brain trauma. In addition to extensive and ongoing physical therapy required to repair his body, Sturgeon was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"I was just basically learning how to live life over again," said Sturgeon, 35.

It was through reconnecting with an old friend with whom he used to serve, Chris Amacker, that Sturgeon learned about Mission Continues, a St. Louis-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping returning war veterans discover new ways of giving back to their communities.

Sturgeon said Mission Continues staff suggested the idea of training support dogs for the disabled, and it struck a chord with him. His father had been confined to a wheelchair, and Sturgeon had also spent some time in the military working with service dogs.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/09/ap_vet_trains_dog_091209/

Gertrude Noone dies at 110; world's oldest known living military veteran

Gertrude Noone joined the Women's Army Corps in 1943. She rose to the rank of sergeant first class and was chief clerk of the large dispensary at Ft. Myer, Va., by the time she left the Army in 1949.

Gertrude Noone dies at 110; world's oldest known living military veteran

By Dennis McLellan

September 12, 2009


Gertrude Noone was a 44-year-old insurance policy clerk for Travelers in Hartford, Conn., in 1943 when she enlisted in the Women's Army Corps.

When she died peacefully Thursday morning at age 110 at an assisted-living facility in Milford, Conn., she was the oldest known living military veteran in the world -- a fact that made her proud.

"Oh, she loved it," Deborah Woods, a grandniece, said Friday. "She felt it was important to serve when she did during World War II."

Noone, who rose to the rank of sergeant first class, was chief clerk of the large dispensary at Ft. Myer, Va., by the time she left the Army in 1949. She then worked as an administrative assistant at a private psychiatric hospital in Stamford, Conn., until retiring in 1962.
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Gertrude Noone dies at 110

Newman’s Own Award winners honored for helping military community

Newman’s Own Award winners honored

By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Sep 11, 2009 15:33:12 EDT

Groups helping wounded troops in a variety of ways — sewing adaptive clothing, providing trained service dogs, connecting them with donors, establishing peer support groups, building new homes — are at the forefront of this year’s winners of the Newman’s Own Awards.

Eleven organizations received a total of $75,000 in grants, ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 apiece, for their efforts to improve the quality of life for the military community.

USA Together, a Web site that links wounded service members with donors, was the overall winner, receiving a $15,000 grant and a bust of Paul Newman, provided by Newman’s Own, which sponsored the competition, along with the Fisher House Foundation and the Military Times Media Group, which publishes Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps Times.

Newman’s Own makes sauces, salsas, dressings and other foods, many of which are sold in commissaries. Founded by the late actor Paul Newman more than 26 years ago, the company has given all its profits — about $270 million to date — to charities, including military charities.

“My overwhelming message is to say thanks to all of you for doing this and for meeting the needs,” said Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, speaking to the charities during the awards ceremony Sept. 10.
read more here
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/09/military_newmansown_awards_091109w/

Navy SEAL Daniel Cnossen to receive Bronze Star for Valor

Mom hopeful for SEAL son

By Mike Hall
Created September 11, 2009 at 11:59am

Updated September 12, 2009 at 1:29am
The message of 9/11 was made more personal Friday for students at Shawnee Heights High School as they learned a graduate of the school had been seriously injured in Afghanistan this week.

Even before receiving the news that Navy SEAL Daniel Cnossen, a 1998 SHHS graduate, had been injured, the mood of the 1,200 students was somber and respectful at a memorial ceremony in the school gym for 9/11 victims.

Students filed quietly into the darkened gym, illuminated only by three spotlights at floor level and a projector screen that was to display an audio-visual presentation created by Matthew Rinehart, a senior at the school and a lieutenant commander in the school's Navy Junior ROTC program.

The message of the ceremony, repeated frequently, was "We will not forget."

Cnossen, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was expected to arrive in Washington, D.C., about 8 p.m. Friday to continue his treatment and rehabilitation for his injuries.

His mother, Alice Landers, was reached by telephone Friday morning en route to Washington to see Cnossen when he arrived at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

"He's progressing wonderfully," she said. "We get more positive reports every day. We're very hopeful."

Information pieced together by The Capital-Journal Friday indicates Cnossen, a platoon leader, was injured by a land mine and has had both legs amputated at the knees. He also suffered other internal injuries.

Because of his bravery in the situation, he will be presented a Purple Heart and Bronze Star with V (for valor) from the Secretary of the Navy on Tuesday.
read more here
http://www.cjonline.com/news/local/2009-09-11/mom_hopeful_for_seal_son

The New Walter Reed: Less Than 'World Class'?

The New Walter Reed: Less Than 'World Class'?
By Stephen Schimpff
Columbia


We Americans owe our servicemen and women, especially our wounded warriors, the very best in medical care. With the construction of a “new Walter Reed” in Bethesda, we have a unique opportunity to ensure that they get such world-class care. But for that to happen, much more needs to be done.

Care for military personnel in the Washington area has long been provided by Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. But in 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) mandated consolidation into a new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on the grounds of the naval hospital. This facility will provide primary and more complex care to all military personnel who live in the northern half of the capital area, as well as tertiary care — high-level specialty care — to those from the entire region, including complete care for wounded service members.

About a year ago, following reports that the new facility was not on track to meet a stated requirement of “world class,” Congress passed legislation calling for a review by a subcommittee of the Defense Health Board. I was nominated to join this 15-member group by Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.).

There is much to commend in the work that has been done so far. For example, the view of the facility from Wisconsin Avenue will be very pleasing, with the iconic 1930s tower flanked by a new outpatient building and a revamped, extended inpatient building — and these will provide not only good but excellent care. But a master facility plan has never been done for the campus, which currently serves multiple functions and includes many older buildings that, over time, should be replaced in an orderly manner. During our review, we were told that such a plan was not within the scope of the BRAC budget.

Similarly, no analysis has been performed to determine future needs based on local demographic changes (the number of retired military personnel in the area is increasing), changing types of wounds (such as from improvised explosive devices) or advances in the delivery of medical care. Instead, the consolidation was planned using a static approach, whereby the functions performed at Walter Reed were simply shifted to the future facilities. Again, the rationale we were given for this was that the BRAC law did not allow for any other approach.
read more here
The New Walter Reed

Troops’ kin protest personal effects policy

Troops’ kin protest personal effects policy

By Trista Talton - Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Sep 12, 2009 9:02:24 EDT

Elaine Farren was given the American flag draped over her Marine son’s coffin.

She was handed his Purple Heart. And as Lance Cpl. Roger Hager’s primary beneficiary, she’s getting his life insurance payout, too, worth about $400,000.

But Farren did not receive what she wanted most: her son’s personal effects.

Hager, a small arms repairman assigned to 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., was killed July 8 along with Master Sgt. John Hayes in a roadside bomb blast in southern Afghanistan. He did not have a will — and he did not identify Farren as his primary next of kin before he deployed in April — so the Defense Department sent the 20-year-old’s clothing and other belongings to his father, from whom his mother has been estranged for years.

Under Pentagon policy, personal effects go to the oldest parent if the deceased service member has no spouse or children. In Hager’s case, that’s his dad.

Farren was outraged — but not alone. She joins other parents whose anguish over the loss of their loved ones has been exacerbated by a policy they deem cruel and unfair.

“It destroyed me,” said Farren, of Gibsonville, N.C.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/09/army_property_091209w/

DOD Suicide Prevention Task Force Includes Vientnam Vet POW

DoD stands up task force for suicide prevention
By Gerry J. Gilmore American Forces Press Service
Published: Thursday, September 10, 2009 9:06 AM CDT
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - A Defense Department-sponsored task force will examine the military's suicide-prevention programs to ascertain what works and what doesn't, a senior health official said Sept. 3.

The military services provide a plethora of programs designed to help service members and families cope with the stresses associated with wartime conflict and overseas deployments, said Mark Bates, clinical psychologist and interim director for the Resilience and Prevention Directorate at the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

The congressionally-directed task force was established recently to provide the department "the best level of guidance on how to improve our suicide-prevention programs," Bates told reporters from American Forces Press Service and the Pentagon Channel.


The task force's 14 members were selected to represent a cross-section of military and civilian experts in policy, research, and clinical practices for suicide prevention, Bates said. Panel members, he added, will work closely with the services.

Robert G. Certain
Robert G. Certain is currently an Interim Rector at St. Peter & St. Paul Episcopal Church in Marietta, Georgia. His past position included: St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church and School in Palm Desert, California (1998-2007); Priest in Charge, St. Barnabas on the Desert Episcopal Church, Scottsdale, Arizona (1998-2007); Rector, St. Alban’s Parish, Harlingen, Texas (1989-1994); Rector, Holy Apostles Parish, Memphis, Tennessee (1985-1989); Rector, Trinity Parish,Yazoo City, Mississippi (1978-1985); Assistant Rector, St. Peter’s Parish, Kerrville, Texas (1977-1976); and Assistant Rector, Christ Episcopal Church, South Pittsburg, Tennessee (1974-
1976).
Reverend Certain’s education and professional training began at Emory University, Atlanta,Georgia with a BA (1969), The School of Theology—The University of the South, Sewanee,Tennessee with a Master of Divinity (1976) and a Doctor of Ministry (1990). He was ordained a Deacon in 1975 and a Priest in 1976. In addition, Reverend Certain has been published in many publications. He was most recently published in “Salvation Through Christ Alone: Not a Question for Debate,” The Living Church, October 1, 2006.
Reverend Certain’s military career began in 1969 as a Navigator/Bombardier Squadron and Wing. From 1972 to 1973 he was a prisoner of war in Hanoi, North Vietnam. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star (Valor), Meritorious Service Medal, Prisoner of War Medal,Vietnam Service Medal, Distinguished Fly Cross (Heroism), Purple Heart (1 OLC), Air Medal (4 OLC), Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Representative of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry.
He left active duty in 1977 and retired as a Chaplain, in the United States Air Force Reserves at the USAF Academy on July 8, 1999.

DHB Subcommittees
Department of Defense Task Force on the Prevention of Suicide by Members of the Armed Forces
Alan Berman, PhD

John C. Bradley, MD, COL, MC, US Army

Bonnie Carroll

Robert Glenn Certain, PhD

SgtMaj Ronald Green

Marjan Holloway, PhD

David Jobes, PhD

Janet Kemp, RN, PhD

David Litts, OD, FAAO

CMSgt Troy McIntosh

Richard McKeon, PhD, MPH

MGySgt Peter Proietto

MG Philip Volpe

CDR Aaron Werbel, PhD
for more of article go here
http://www.ftleavenworthlamp.com/articles/2009/09/10/dod_news/dod6.txt

Fighting PTSD, the inside war

"Stress is a universal component of the human experience. But nowhere is it so predictable, so intense and so persistent as in a war zone, where constant risk of death or injury, frequent loss of comrades and long separations from home are accepted as the norm."

Fighting PTSD, the inside war
By BENJAMIN M. IANZITO
September 11, 2009
It wasn't until 1980 that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) became a recognized psychiatric diagnosis with a disabling symptom profile seen widely in both civilian and military life. Before then, psychiatric problems caused by military action were recognized as serious but transient consequences of combat. "Soldier's heart," "shell shock" or "battle fatigue" were older terms referring to the physical manifestations of combat stress. The symptoms were considered rare, were often covered up or dismissed, and usually stigmatized the victim as either weak or cowardly.

During the Vietnam War, when I served in the Air Force as a psychiatrist, servicemen and -women with psychiatric disorders were deemed either "mad or bad" and were usually discharged during training or when they got into trouble during their one-year tour of duty in Vietnam. Trauma-related symptoms were lumped together in a diagnostic wastebasket called "situational disorders" and viewed as impediments to the mission.


Our contemporary engagements, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, have also been taking their toll on the psychological health of our servicemen and -women. But the attitude in the Pentagon and throughout the Department of Veterans Affairs toward psychiatry is much different from what it was during and before Vietnam.

The government is investing heavily in time, money and personnel to provide mental health treatment and benefits to troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as to older veterans of prior wars. I have been fortunate to help in a small way by performing psychiatric evaluations on some of our newer veterans and have learned firsthand how much things have changed in the 35 years since Vietnam.

PTSD TALK
"Soldier's Heart - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Armed Services" will be the topic at the Cape Lyceum at 7 p.m. Sept. 14 at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod, 307 Old Main St., South Yarmouth.
We now know that failure to adequately address combat stress and its consequences probably played a crucial role in the development of disabling, and often lethal, psychiatric illness in a large number of Vietnam veterans.

read more here

Fighting PTSD, the inside war

Lawmakers seek ways to help returning vets, too bad media isn't

One paragraph! That's it? This is a report about "they're concerned about a rise in the number of returning military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder - or PTSD" but it rates one lousy paragraph. Gee do you think they could care enough to maybe write two or three paragraphs on this? Shouldn't it merit at least that?

News sites do a great job when they are reporting a story on one of them doing something terrible but one paragraph when terrible things are happening to them. Stunning!

We're going to be facing them needing us for twenty years? Wonder where they came up with that number from? We're still not able to take care of Vietnam veterans but they come up with 20 years and the media doesn't think to ask?

If they are going to bother to write anything like this maybe it would really help if they had some clue exactly how serious this is before they waste the space of one lousy paragraph.

Lawmakers seek ways to help returning vets
posted 09/10/09 12:55 pm

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Members of a state House committee say they're concerned about a rise in the number of returning military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder - or PTSD. The House Veterans and Military Affairs Committee is looking at ways to make sure help is available. On Thursday it conducted an interim study on how state officials can prepare for an increase in soldiers seeking treatment for PTSD. The programs administrator for the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, Mike Walters, predicts dealing with those suffering from the disorder will be a challenge for the state for the next 20 years. While there are federal programs available to those who experience symptoms, Walters says many veterans are hesitant to seek treatment for fear of being stigmatized.
http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0909/658039.html

Sept. 11 galvanizes US troops in Afghanistan

When you talk to veterans, especially Vietnam veterans, there is always this sense of remorse. Great sadness over the lives lost, for the wounded, for their innocence lost and for the fact that their lives were committed to combat while being taken from granted by the rest of the country.

There used to be morality even in war. Decisions to send men into combat were never supposed to be taken lightly. When you read about the history of war, there was a time when the people deciding to go to war, went with their troops, also risking their own lives. When our Revolution was losing support and the troops were losing hope, there was General Washington, right there on the front lines and enduring everything he was asking others to endure.

You can't help but wonder how much faster it would have ended had they received everything they needed when they needed it.

Just as then, we complain about how much money it costs, how long it takes, lose interest in it. Just as then, there are still men and now more women, risking their lives while we complain.

Why do we keep making the same mistakes? Why do we take such timid interest in the decision to send them? Why don't we ever demand true reasons about the necessity? Our interests should never stop there. We should always have assurances that the plans are equal to the lives we are sending and the sacrifices they are willing to make for what we ask of them. We should always make sure they have the best equipment they need along with everything else they need up to proper troop levels. We should always make sure all the plans are in place to take care of the wounded, the widows and the orphans, especially when you have fathers and mothers deploying into combat. The truth though is much different.

We don't make sure any of this is done. They pay while the rest of us complain and want to move on. We can't stand a long battle. We want it quick and painless. We don't want to see coffins covered with flags. We don't want to see the wounded at Walter Reed or any of the other hospitals. We don't want to hear them suffering, waiting for care or wanting anything from us. We want it over.

The problem goes much deeper than our ambivalence. Taking care of them, never seems to translated into our own brains that it should have been part of the deal all along.

So while we debated having troops in Iraq. While protestors on both sides fought over it, no one was fighting over them. No one was forming groups to get permits to protest the lack of care they were receiving. No one was marching thru the streets or making speeches about the fact they needed so much more than what they were getting and no one was screaming that they were killing themselves when they came home. The shame was on all of us and still is.

We now hear calls for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Yet while they are there, this is how they spent their day. They remember why they are there and what was behind their reason to join the military. The rest of us, well, we not only forgot about it, we forgot about them.

At 5:16 p.m., the time in Afghanistan when the first of two planes hit the World Trade Center in New York City, a ceremony began at Bagram with an officer reading a minute-by-minute timeline of events on that day. The base's flag fluttered at half-staff as 200 soldiers and other military personnel sang "America the Beautiful" and the national anthem as the sun set.

Sept. 11 galvanizes US troops in Afghanistan
By HEIDI VOGT (AP) – 11 hours ago

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — The Sept. 11 attacks were both a tragedy and a call to arms for many of the soldiers at this sprawling military air base — although few would have guessed that eight years on, the war in Afghanistan would still be raging.

Many of the troops now fighting here were high school students at the time. Some saw the attacks on TV during class, and vowed to sign up when they were old enough.

Army Sgt. Joshua Applegate of Springfield, Mississippi, was in high school when the planes hit the towers, and enlisted two years later, though he said he had wanted to do it right away.

"I like my country too much not to," said Applegate, who arrived in Afghanistan in April and now facilitates transport and other logistics at Bagram Air Field, the main U.S. base in the country, located just north of the capital, Kabul.

It's nearly eight years since U.S. forces invaded to oust the Taliban and hunt for al-Qaida leaders, including Osama bin Laden, who remains at large. Now soldiers like Applegate are fighting a war that is shifting its focus amid waning public support.

Many troops called Friday's anniversary a galvanizing event, and said marking the day reminds them that the U.S. mission here is important.

read more here

Sept. 11 galvanizes US troops in Afghanistan

DAV Virtual March for better care

I received this email and think it's a great idea. My problem with it is that it really should have been going on every year instead of just now. How long have you been reading about the problems for our veterans on this blog, the other blog and from other online sites? It is not as if they suddenly found out about all of this. The veterans have been suffering while groups were silent. I didn't sign up for it, and I may not only because I think this has a lot to do with politics than anything else. Where were things like this for the last eight years? I need to think about it because the end result could be of great help to veterans waiting for the care they earned already. Even if this is political "get them" season, it could do a lot of good.

Dear Virtual Marchers,

Thank you for registering to be "there" when history in veterans' advocacy is made next week.

The DAV is putting the finishing touches on the first-ever "Virtual March on Washington for Veterans." With more than 15,000 other "marchers" registered all over the Web, we are expecting this exclusively online event to be a big success. But we still need your help to make that happen.

One of the major goals to the virtual march is to discuss the VA's outdated and overwhelmed claims process and the resulting backlog of nearly 1 million claims. It is a terrible problem that will affect every veteran if not fixed now. A detailed proposal intended to eliminate the backlog, save millions of taxpayers' dollars and drastically cut the time in which veterans are now left in limbo will be rolled out during the virtual march.

In fact, the virtual march has recently been dubbed the "Million Claims March."

You are receiving this e-mail because you have already signed up, so thank you! Your participation will make a real difference.

But we also really need your help today. Please, tell everyone you know about this virtual march. It is very important we let our government know just how many people care about veterans, their families and their survivors. There are some tools on the virtual march's Web site you can use to spread the word, but personal messages, emails, calls and letters often work the best to effectively encourage others to also stand up for veterans.

The virtual march's official Web site is at http://www.DAV.org/VirtualMarch


So, please join with us and bring along everyone you know. It has never been easier or more important to stand up for veterans.

Florida Marine dies after parachute doesn't deploy

Marine dies after parachute doesn't deploy

The Associated Press

3:34 p.m. EDT, September 11, 2009


WAUCHULA, Fla. - Authorities say a Marine has died from injuries sustained when his parachute didn't open during a training exercise in Hardee County.

According to a release Thursday from the sheriff's office, the Marines were jumping from a C130 aircraft when someone called 911 to report that a Marine's parachute didn't deploy.

The unidentified Marine was taken to Florida Hospital Wauchula. Marine Forces Reserve spokesman Capt. Paul Greenberg confirmed Friday that the Marine was killed in the accident, but would not release further information.

A joint investigation is being conducted by military personnel and the Hardee County Sheriff's Office.

The training exercise was being held in the Peace River town of Wauchula.
Marine dies after parachute did not deploy

400 pound Python "Biggest we've ever seen" caught in Apopka Florida

Officials capture snake in Apopka Friday.


Wildlife Officials: Biggest Python We've Ever Seen
Owner Apparently Does Not Have Permit
POSTED: 4:40 pm EDT September 11, 2009



APOPKA, Fla. -- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials were at a home in Apopka to remove "a very large Burmese python" on Friday afternoon,


Officials on the scene said it was the biggest snake they had seen in 15 years -- measuring more than 20 feet and weighing more than 400 pounds.

Its name is Delila.

The owner told a neighbor the snake was 34 inches around, said commission spokeswoman Joy Hill
read more here
http://www.wesh.com/news/20859357/detail.html

Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer Becoming Internet Hero

In a tiny way, the woman driver was right. No one knew where she was going or what she had to do, but she missed the point that she knew full well where the car with the flag covered coffin was going along with all the other cars there and what they had to do. That's the point she missed! They were thinking of the loss and of taking care of each other in this day of sadness while she was thinking of herself and her "inconvenience" because she had to wait.

Soldier's Procession Angers Driver, Local Sheriff Sets Her Straight
Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer Becoming Internet Hero After Response Letter
By Paul Schankman FOX2now.com
September 10, 2009

Related links
Read the Complete Letter From the Complaining Resident and Sheriff Boyer's Response
HIGH RIDGE, MO (KTVI - FOX2now.com) - An angry letter from a driver complaining about having to stop as a military funeral passed by has been met with dozens of even angrier responses. And the one written by the Jefferson County Sheriff has people cheering. That story begins near the intersection of I-270 and Gravois. On August 28th about 70 Patriot Guard riders were escorting the body of a local soldier from Lambert Airport to a funeral home in Cedar Hill.

The soldier was Sgt. Brian Woods, 32, who was shot and killed in Afghanistan. As has become a custom, the Patriot Guard motorcyclists helped law enforcement block intersections along the route for a few minutes so the casket and family could pass by.

But apparently one driver unhappy to be stopped, got into a loud argument with one of the motorcyclists blocking the way. And it did not stop there.
read more here
http://www.fox2now.com/ktvi-boyer-letter-to-driver-091009,0,3635460.story

Shadow of the Sword: A Marine’s Journey

Shadow of the Sword: A Marine’s Journey - Jeremiah Workman Interview
Gerald D. Swick September 09, 2009



On December 23, 2004, in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, then-Corporal Jeremiah Workman led a squad of U.S. Marines into an enemy-occupied building where other Marines had been cut off and isolated. For hours, he and his men made repeated attacks under heavy fire. Three Marines died that day, including two of those they were trying to rescue. Workman personally dragged one wounded man to safety as a sniper’s bullets ricocheted off the street.

For his actions, he was awarded the Navy Cross and was told his commander had recommended him for the Medal of Honor. Everyone would say Jeremiah Workman was an American hero.

Everyone except Jeremiah Workman.

Wracked by survivor’s guilt and suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after returning home, he ran up a $3,000 bar tab self-medicating with alcohol. He fought frequently with his wife and engaged in self-destructive behavior that culminated in a suicide attempt.

He’s not alone. In 2008, the U.S. Marine Corps reported 22 confirmed and suspected post-deployment suicides and eight in-theater, plus 13 more among Marines with no deployment history; an additional 146 suicides were attempted. For the first time, this rate of 19.5 per 100,000 nearly equaled the civilian suicide rate of 19.9 per 100,000. Marine suicide rates in 2002, the last year before deployment to the Mideast began, were 23 known and suspected, or 12.5 per 100,000. Other military branches are also reporting a similar rise in suicides and suicide attempts.

It is, Workman says, "The eight-thousand-mile sniper shot."

After confronting his own demons, Workman now is a public speaker about PTSD and a consultant to the Marines Corps’ suicide prevention program. With his writing collaborator, John R. Bruning, he tells his story in Shadow of the Sword: A Marine’s Journey of War, Heroism, and Redemption, a soul-searing, nothing-held-back memoir due for publication by Presidio Press in September 2009.

On September 1, Jeremiah Workman, now a staff sergeant serving with the Wounded Warrior Regiment at Quantico, Virginia, talked in an exclusive interview with ArmchairGeneral.com.
read more here
Shadow of the Sword: A Marines Journey

Anniversary of September 11th, normal Americans back in news

by
Chaplain Kathie

We all remember where we were eight years ago when that beautiful morning in America was shattered. We all remember what it felt like to all be Americans with flags flying from almost every house, flags attached to car windows and bumper stickers with patriotic slogans covering cars on the highways. We remember all gathered together in prayer in religious sanctuaries across the nation. We we all Americans. How could we not be when we saw what happened after the Twin Towers fell? We saw the police and firefighters rush to into the burning buildings and we saw them after when they went to recover their dead. We saw heroes that day out of the ashes created by hatred and we saw the love they had for the fallen.

For all the news we've heard over the past eight years, it seems that this nation is in crisis, but that's only if you just watch the news instead of watching normal Americans.

When you see reports about the Town Hall meetings, the camera will focus on the angry people, screaming for attention. If you look behind them, you see disgusted people shaking their heads because the Town Hall was taken over. If you go to any political event, you see the same thing. Hot heads from both sides get the attention of the camera and the microphone, while normal Americans are right behind them wondering what the hell is wrong with them.

We are a nation of over 300 million people, yet the attention is always on minority groups, filled with anger and rage on both sides. Normal Americans, well, not much news to cover there. They are the people going to work everyday as police officers, firefighters, emergency responders and our military. They are the men and women going on with their lives, trying to do right for their families, doing the best they can to hang onto hope of a better nation to leave to their kids, while they hear so much rage on TV everyday. They wonder if there are any normal people interested in the truth, fixing problems and getting politics out of every aspect of their lives.

No longer can they go gatherings without someone starting some kind of political rant. It stopped being about the greater good to too many, but the majority you don't hear about on the news are working for the greater good, the good of the nation and for answers to the problems we all face.

The response from Americans on September 11th was not a freak of our nature. It was the camera being focused on people working together as Americans and as humans. They worked together with other groups with common lives. It was our better nature you saw on your TV sets and in your newspapers. Because of the media coverage, focused on people doing good, we all felt good and united. Since then the focus has been on what divides us and we all feel bad.

I have to read constantly to do this blog. I read about the real problems we face from across the country but what I hear on the TV is pretty much nonsense and fueling the division in this country spotlighting minority political interest views. What I don't see is what the rest of Americans are doing everyday to make a difference. I don't see reports on how normal Americans rise above their own pain to help others. I don't see how they don't care what political party someone belongs to when they need help. I don't see how they put others first everyday of the year and make a difference in their own communities.

If a tenth of what I have on this blog were on the news about normal Americans working for the greater good, were shown, we'd all be a lot happier because there would be the same inspiring stories about what we can do when we are all Americans again instead of members of a political party with an agenda.

CNN reminds us of 8 years ago and remembrances this morning. Try to remember than when you see reports during the year and some hot head is talking or shouting, there are normal Americans right behind them wondering what's wrong with them.

Ceremonies to honor September 11 victims
Memorial services in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania today will mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Eight years ago, al Qaeda terrorists hijacked airplanes to crash them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Another hijacked plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania -- its intended target was the White House or the Capitol. full story
Eight years after 9/11
Time: The challenge of memorializing 9/11
iReport.com: 9/11 in New York, New Jersey

Flagging down support

Flagging down support

“No one should be homeless. But on top of that, there’s no reason for a veteran to be homeless,” he said. “I might as well do something that can make a difference.”

Disabled veteran flies basketball court-sized Stars and Stripes at various American Legion posts to raise awareness about troops who return but become homeless.

By Joseph Serna
Updated: Wednesday, September 9, 2009 8:30 PM PDT
There are 2 comment(s) View Comments

It was a scene that made people stop and stare.

Some parked their cars and snapped a quick picture. Others, like one man on a motorcycle, pulled up to the curb alone in a quiet, personal moment and just stared for a couple of minutes before leaving.

No one who passed by 15th Street on the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach on Wednesday missed the 80-foot American flag flapping in the wind above the American Legion Yacht Club Post No. 291.

“It’s awesome!” said Robin Thoraldson of Orange, who passed the flag as she returned kayaking equipment. “It makes you proud to be an American.”
read more here
http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2009/09/09/topstory/dpt-giantflag091009.txt

OPRAH INVESTIGATING PTSD, SUICIDE, HOMICIDE

Linked from VAWatchdog

OPRAH INVESTIGATING PTSD, SUICIDE, HOMICIDE
Have you personally experienced a suicide, homicide or physical abuse caused by combat-related PTSD? Are you fearful your loved one may have PTSD?

NOTE from Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org ... Oprah is going to be taking a look at combat-related PTSD ... and suicide, homicide and abuse.
To share your story, go to this link on ...
Oprah.com
SHARE YOUR STORY
PTSD: Suicide and Homicide in the Armed Forces

Former Marine alerts police to veterans’ stress, problems

Former Marine alerts police to veterans’ stress, problems
by Special to Your TIMES
John Bennett, a former U.S. Marine, recently taught a class for the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) in Ada. The class was on veterans’ issues and the kinds of trauma veterans may suffer after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bennett said he reviewed the signs and symptoms of trauma, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) signs and symptoms, common PTSD reactions and how to recognize and respond to the symptoms, how PTSD is related to criminal behavior, related problems such as suicides, court issues and resources available.

Bennett, who is working to establish veterans’ courts, which deal with these behaviors, said the training is open to criminal justice practitioners such as judges, prosecutors, public defenders, probation, and law enforcement through CLEET, and veteran service providers and agencies.

“The purpose of this training is to educate the criminal justice community about the challenges facing returning veterans involved in the criminal justice system, effective treatment services available to veterans, and the development of a coordinated response to the particular problems presented,” Bennett said.
read more here
Former Marine alerts police to veterans stress problems

Canine reports for duty at Kane'ohe base

Marine Staff Sgt. Karlo Salgado gets to know Finn at the Kane'ohe base. Lance Cpl. Zachary Kemp and Cpl. Masato Takaki, standing, also enjoyed the dog's company.
Photos by JEFF WIDENER The Honolulu Advertiser

Canine reports for duty at Kane'ohe base
Service dog lifting spirits of Marines recovering at Wounded Warrior barracks
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Writer

KANE'OHE — Marine Corps Base Hawaii's latest recruit breaks the mold with his laid-back attitude and nonregulation hairstyle. But he's highly trained and devoted to his unit.

Pressed into service about a month ago, Finn, a yellow Labrador retriever, is stationed at the Wounded Warrior Battalion at the Kane'ohe base. His duty is simple — bring joy to the people around him — but his ability to carry it out took two years of rigorous training that's expected of any Marine.

A highly trained service dog, Finn spends his days in a comfortable air conditioned lounge filled with brown leather sofas, computers, a television and game table. The people there are recuperating and Finn brings a touch of home and a sense of calm to a sometimes alien or depressing situation.

read more here
Canine reports for duty at Kaneohe base

Mother of MacDill airman killed in Iraq says son was "very, very dedicated"

[Photo by ANTHONY LACHICA]
In Iraq, 1st Lt. Joe Helton’s job was to help train Iraqi police. In a blog post, he wrote that Iraqis were “just like us on a basic, human level.” He was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad.

Mother of MacDill airman killed in Iraq says son was "very, very dedicated"
By Michael Kruse, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Thursday, September 10, 2009
TAMPA — Back when he was a senior in high school in Monroe, Ga., Joe Helton told his mother he thought the Air Force Academy in Colorado was too far away. He had three sisters. His parents were divorced.

"He felt like he had to stay around home and take care of the girls and me," his mother, Jiffy Helton, said Wednesday night on the phone from Georgia. "He felt like he was the man of the house."

She said go.

"I told him," she said, "he had a life to lead."

Helton, 24, died Tuesday in Iraq while on patrol when a roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday. He was in the 6th Security Forces Squadron out of MacDill Air Force Base. He had been stationed at MacDill since 2007, base spokeswoman Rebecca Heyse said.

This was his first tour in Iraq. He volunteered to go.

Col. Lawrence Martin of the 6th Air Mobility Wing called Helton "an amazing airman," saying in a statement: "We are deeply saddened by his loss and very proud of his service."
read more here
MacDill airman killed in Iraq

Firefighter's stolen 9/11 pins replaced with help from Tampa congresswoman

Firefighter's stolen 9/11 pins replaced with help from Tampa congresswoman
By Rebecca Catalanello, Times Staff Writer
Posted: Sep 10, 2009 10:25 AM


TAMPA — The local family of a firefighter who died at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, has gotten good news.

Two 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor pins stolen from the family six months ago have been replaced with new ones, thanks to the help of a local congresswoman.

In March, Anne Muldowney, mother of New York firefighter Richie Muldowney, returned to her Tampa apartment to find her sliding glass door had been pried open and several valuables gone, including items from the jewelry box in her bedroom.

Among the stolen items: two 9/11 Heroes Medal of Valor pins bestowed on the family by U.S. Congress four years after the terrorist attacks.

Though deputies arrested two people in connection with the break-in, law enforcement has not been able to find the missing pins.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said Castor saw media coverage of the stolen pins and decided to reach out to the Department of Justice to see if they might be replaced.
read more here
Firefighters stolen 9 11 pins replaced

Clermont police officer killed in motorcycle crash

Clermont police officer killed in motorcycle crash
By Martin E. Comas

Sentinel Staff Writers

5:07 p.m. EDT, September 10, 2009
CLERMONT - Police this morning had fond memories of Officer Robert Sayers, who was killed Wednesday in a motorcycle crash in Sumter County while riding home from work.

"He always had a positive attitude," police Chief Steve Graham said. "He was one of the most pleasant fellows. He was never in a bad mood."

Sayers, 39, lived in Spring Hill with his wife, Sarah, and two young boys.

He was driving home from work, heading west on State Road 50 at about 4:30 pm on his 2006 Triumph motorcycle when the crash happened. A 2004 Volkswagen Golf in front of Sayers stopped behind a school bus at a sharp bend of the road near County Road 757, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Sayers' motorcycle then struck the rear of the Volkswagen.
read more here
Clermont police officer killed in motorcycle crash

DoD IDs 3 Marines, corpsman killed in ambush

DoD IDs 3 Marines, corpsman killed in ambush

Staff report
Posted : Thursday Sep 10, 2009 20:29:58 EDT

Three Marines and a corpsman were killed early Tuesday during an hours-long shootout in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. military officials said.

Killed in the attack were
Gunnery Sgt. Edwin W. Johnson Jr., 31;
1st Lt. Michael E. Johnson, 25;
Staff Sgt. Aaron M. Kenefick, 30; and
Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class James Ray Layton, 22,
according to the Pentagon. Johnson and Kenefick were assigned to 3rd Combat Assault Battalion, based at Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Japan. Johnson was assigned to 7th Communications Battalion, based at Camp Hansen, Okinawa. Layton deployed with the Marines as part of the Okinawa-based 3rd Marine Division.

read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/09/marine_attacked_091009w/

Report: Marines killed in ambush denied support

Capitol site chosen for female veteran statue

September 9, 2009
Capitol site chosen for female veteran statue
With approval Wednesday from the Capitol Building Commission, the director of the state Division of Veterans Affairs said he hopes to have a long-delayed, much-debated statue to honor female military veterans in place on the Capitol grounds by Nov. 11.
By Phil Kabler
Staff writer
Advertiser
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- With approval Wednesday from the Capitol Building Commission, the director of the state Division of Veterans Affairs said he hopes to have a long-delayed, much-debated statue to honor female military veterans in place on the Capitol grounds by Nov. 11.

"We're hoping for a dedication on Veterans Day," Keith Gwinn said, shortly after the commission approved the location for the 7 1/2-foot tall statue of a female soldier.


"We have everything ready. The statue itself is ready," he said.
read more here
http://wvgazette.com/News/200909090168

Vandals destroy Veteran's Park shelter

Vandals destroy Veteran's Park shelter using 4-wheel drive
Chris Williams 8 On Your Side Reporter
4:03 PM CDT, September 9, 2009

MOLINE, Illinois - A night of drinking and mischief is going to leave Moline taxpayers with a hangover. Investigators are looking for vandals who did tens of thousands in dollars of damage to a landmark park. News 8's Chris Williams has the story from the banks of the Rock River in Veteran's Park.

For years this was the site of the 30 feet wide by 64 feet long park shelter. Part of it came crashing down over the weekend. City crews feared someone would get hurt so they finished the vandals work today.

American Legion Volunteers built the shelter years ago when they hosted baseball games here. When the city took over the property, they kept the name Veteran's Park out of respect. But it appears respect was the last thing on the minds of whoever came here Friday night.
read more here
Vandals destroy Veterans Park shelter

BUSH ERA "PLANTS" SABOTAGING MEDICAL CARE AND COMPENSATION

What we know for a fact is, two active military campaigns but there were less doctors and nurses working for the VA than after the Gulf War. They wanted to privatize the VA by getting sub-contractors to replace VA workers. This was done in a lot of departments including IT and claims processing.

The rest, well you've read most of it here but even I didn't know how low they would sink when it came to veterans. The real issue here is that this is life and death for our veterans. Now you can end up getting ten or twenty emails from your "Republican friends" about the non-existent death book of doom, but I doubt you'll ever receive what was going on that was really hurting our veterans. As I said many times, when you get emails wonder what the motive is behind it and check it out. It is a fact the VA budget was not even close to where it needed to be and it is a fact that money was returned unspent while veterans were committing suicide. There are a lot of facts we do know about but what was behind all of this will come out in law suits which I bet are being put together right now if this article is true. Don't forget that most of the people working for the VA are in it because they love veterans. They could make a lot more money working some place else. If there are plants in the VA trying to destroy it, they need to be found out and let justice handle the rest.

What I know has happened, but not sure what was behind it, will be in bold. The rest, well, not sure right now. If this is all true, then every veteran suffered because of this.

SHENSIKI TOLD BUSH ERA "PLANTS" SABOTAGING MEDICAL CARE AND COMPENSATION

CRIPPLING REFORMS TO KEEP VET VOTES FOR GOP

By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER

Information was leaked to Veterans Today that General Shensiki, Veterans Affairs Secretary, has been briefed on the source of the scandals plaguing his department.

Months into his tenure, late by our standards, staffers have finally revealed the depth of a Bush era plan to maintain control of the DVA and sabotage its medical and compensation programs in order to embarass the Obama administration.

Shensiki was informed that key administrators and regional directors, some long term employees and all promoted based on willingness to undermine veterans medical care and other programs have been working, not only to hold up implementation of needed reforms but to cause public scandals and embarassment.

The series of recent scandals where VA directors and legal staff have operated directly outside Shensiki policies have seriously undermined confidence in the VA and its current leadership. We are told that a program to purge the VA of Bush "moles" is underway. This is some of the activities of this "holdover" group:

REFUSAL TO USE ALLOCATED FUNDS TO END THE MASSIVE CLAIMS BACKLOG

SPREADING FALSE RUMORS OF "DEATH PANELS" AND ORGAN HARVESTING TO THE PRESS

REFUSAL TO IMPLEMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAMS IN PTSD CARE

SABOTAGE OF GULF WAR ILLNESS STUDIES AND IMPLEMENTATION OF TREATMENT

INCREASING REPRISALS AGAINST "WHISTLEBLOWERS" TRYING TO REFORM VA PRACTICES

CONTINUED DENIAL OF NEW PTSD THERAPIES NOT TIED TO DRUGS NOW PROVEN DANGEROUS AND INEFFECTIVE

ALTERATION AND DESTRUCTION OF MEDICAL RECORDS USED IN COMPENSATION CLAIMS

RETENTION AND PROMOTION OF UNQUALIFIED MEDICAL SUPERVISORY PERSONNEL

CONTINUED OPEN RECRUITMENT OF UNQUALIFED TEMPORARY STAFF, DOCTORS AND NURSES

CONTINUED TRAINING AND ORIENTATION PROGRAMS STRESSING "PATIENT LAST" ETHIC

MISUSE OF VA FUNDING FOR COVERT SURVEILLANCE OF EMPLOYEES AND PATIENTS TAGGED AS "ACTIVIST" TROUBLEMAKERS

USE OF ARMED VA POLICE IN EMBARASSING CONFRONTATIONS WITH WHEEL CHAIR WW2 VETS SEEN IN NEWS MEDIA AROUND THE WORLD

REFUSAL TO PROCESS VA EDUATION CLAIMS OR ISSUE CHECKS IN TIMELY FASHION

ENGINEERING INVENTORY "SHORTAGES" AT VA PHARMACIES

SABOTOGING PROCESSING OF GRANTS FOR STATE VETERANS HOMES

REFUSING TO SPEND FUNDS EARMARKED FOR SURGE OF RECENT WAR VETS

MILLIONS PAID IN QUESTIONABLE BONUSES IN MIDST OF SCANDALS

VETS PROSECUTED BASED ON VA MISCONDUCT, RECORD ALTERATION

VA LAWYERS TELL JUDGES ONLY 4% OF CLAIMS NOT PROCESSED IN TIMELY WAY, LIE SEEN AND READ ACROSS THE COUNTRY

BILLIONS IN VETERAN LAND AT RISK, BEING "LEASED" OR GIVEN TO POLITICAL INSIDERS
read more here
http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=8516

Vietnam Veterans Appreciation Event

Vietnam Veterans Appreciation Event Truman Presidential Library Sept. 12th, 2009

Call to Ride Kansas City!!!

Now is the time for all patriotic riders to show respect, honor, and appreciation for the service and sacrifice of their Vietnam service brothren.

This Saturday, September 12th, 2009 KC Metro area bikers will indeed let the thunder roll, as they motor from Hub Cycle to the Truman Presidential Library in a show of gratitude for nearly 1000 veterans of the armed conflict in Vietnam and attend the Vietnam Veterans Appreciation Event.
read more here
Vietnam Veterans Appreciation Event

Service to country finished, Vietnam vets now help others

Veterans making a difference

Service to country finished, Vietnam vets now help others

By Deanna Brown

It has been nearly a year since the Vietnam Veterans of America Navarro County Chapter 1009 — Navarro Rifles — received its charter.

Since Oct. 14, 2008, the group has seen an increase in membership, helped fellow veterans and their families, and made a positive difference in the community.

“This is a group of men and women who have fought and served their country, and come back to a situation where they weren’t accepted very well,” said president Alvin McClure. “This went on for years. Finally we have a situation where we can be accepted and do something good. The good side of the Vietnam vet is not always noticed.”

A fund-raiser dance will be held at the VFW on State Highway 31 from 8:30 p.m. to midnight Oct. 31. Costumes are encouraged, and there will be a prize for the best costume. Door prizes will be awarded, and separate tickets are being sold to raffle a Remington 700 BDL, the caliber to be chosen by the winner. Tickets for the dance are $10 each.

The Navarro Rifles has raised $500 which they will donate to the Navarro County Food Pantry, and another $500 for the House of Refuge.

As they did last year, the VVA members will meet the Sunday afternoon prior to Veteran’s Day in order to put as many American flags on the graves of servicemen and women as possible.
read more here
http://www.corsicanadailysun.com/news/local_story_252230604.html

Waning war interest frustrates wounded troops

Waning war interest frustrates wounded troops

By Michelle Roberts - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Sep 10, 2009 7:11:47 EDT

SAN ANTONIO — A year after Capt. Sam Brown was set ablaze when a bomb blew up his Humvee in Afghanistan, the 25-year-old West Point graduate endures a steady schedule of painful surgery and stretching to break up knotty burn scars.

He also has another routine: checking a Web site that counts U.S. and coalition troop deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For Brown, it’s one more regular reminder that the wars have not ended — something he says many Americans seem to have forgotten.

With the timetable set for withdrawal from Iraq and the fighting in Afghanistan nearing its ninth year, U.S. war coverage has waned, often pushed off the front page by the economy, health care and celebrity deaths.

But for severely wounded soldiers — those with huge burn scars and amputated limbs — the wars are no distant memory. Their long and painful recovery battles are a constant reminder.

“Unless you see it all the time, it’s just kind of easy not to remember,” Brown said. “The war is definitely not over.”
read more here
Waning war interest frustrates wounded troops

"Innovation Competition" Begins at Veterans Affairs

Recent VA News Releases


http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel

"Innovation Competition" Begins at Veterans Affairs


VA Employees Asked to Submit Recommendations for Transforming Service to
Veterans

WASHINGTON (Sept. 10, 2009) - To speed its transformation into a 21st
Century organization that is Veteran-centric, results-oriented and
forward-looking, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has launched
one of the largest innovation competitions in the agency's history. The
competition solicits ideas from VA employees and co-located Veterans
Service Organizations who are on the front lines of the Veterans
Benefits Administration (VBA) and encourages them to submit entries
addressing everything from claims processing times to better process
transparency.




"The men and women of VA know that many Veterans are often asked to wait
too long for the critical services they have earned while defending our
Nation," Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki said. "These
employees who grapple with the claims process every day have the first
hand knowledge and experience necessary to help us understand
inefficiencies and improve the system. We are confident that our team
will come forward with many creative and original ways to accelerate
processes and better deliver services for our nation's Veterans."



The on-line proposal period began on Tuesday, Sept, 8, and will conclude
after Veterans Day. Employees from the agency's 57 regional offices
have been encouraged by the Secretary to submit entries via a secure
online platform. At the close of the competition, VA administrators
from each regional office will select the winning ideas, which will be
reviewed by a team chaired by Patrick W. Dunne, the VA Under Secretary
for Benefits. The final selections will receive full funding for
project development and execution at the Regional Offices submitting the
idea.



President Obama announced the innovation competition while speaking to
the Veterans of Foreign Wars in August. "We're going to fund the best
ideas and put them into action, all with a simple mission: cut those
backlogs, slash those wait times, deliver your benefits sooner," said
Obama.



VA and the White House will share the winning entries with the public
after selection.

Suicide numbers still on pace to top last year

With this, the usual press release will follow about how hard they are trying to get ahead of suicides, about what wondrous new program they will begin and plenty of statements about how they are doing everything possible. This has happened every time there has been a suicide report with negative news. The truth is, until they really understand what is behind all of this and stop finding excuses, they will keep going up and more, more will keep trying to commit suicide.

Reminder 18 veterans a day commit suicide and over 10,000 attempt it. Those are only the ones we know about but there are more the system just never seems to catch up with.

Suicide numbers still on pace to top last year

By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Sep 10, 2009 14:00:14 EDT

As many as 17 soldiers killed themselves in August, one fewer than in July, the Army announced Thursday.

Of the 17 deaths, 11 were active duty soldiers and six were Army National Guard or Army Reserve soldiers who were not on active duty at the time of their deaths.

All 17 cases remained under investigation and none have been confirmed as suicides. However, Army officials have said that about 90 percent of these cases typically are confirmed to be suicides.

In July, the Army reported eight possible suicides among active duty soldiers and six among those who were not on active duty. Since then, four additional active duty deaths have been reported as suspected suicides, bringing the total for July to 18.

Two of the 12 active duty deaths in July have been confirmed to be suicides. The other 10 are still being investigated.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/09/army_suicides_091009w/

Videos Notice to viewers

Great Americans had a redesign issue and all of my videos are gone. I have to reload all of them. This will take some time. They will back up as soon as possible. This also means that if you linked to my videos, any of the over 25 of them, you will have to re-embed them as well. I am so sorry about this and really appreciate your patience in this. We need to get the information about PTSD out to the people who need it the most.

To say this totally sucks is putting it mildly, but I'm sure you know I'm thinking something much harsher right now,.,,,,,,it will take me at least most of the day to get them all reloaded. There won't be much posting done today because of this.

Chaplain Kathie

UPDATE

So far I have seven of them back up.

Posted Hero After War
When it comes to the wound of war that leaves a scar on the soul, Vietnam veterans have been there fighting to make sure it is treated and helping to heal all generations of veterans. Brothers taking care of brothers and...

Posted Women at War
First part in series of women at war. They have been going to where they have been needed since this nation began. They are heroes most forget and they suffer from PTSD at higher rates.

Posted The Voice, Women at War
Part of a series on women at war. This video has part of a rich history of women during combat, usually forgotten by most Americans. It also show how they too end up wounded by PTSD

Posted Women at War, Sisters After War
Part of a series of videos on women at war. This one is a tribute to my friend Capt. Agnes "Irish" Breneahan, a Vietnam era veteran from Fort McClellan. She suffered from PTSD and Agent Orange, but never stopped fighting...

Posted Women at War, Hardest Times
Part of a series of videos on wmen at war. Hardest Times You Could Imagine, are forgotten by most when we think about women in combat and what they go through. This video uses Wildflower by Skylark with the help and...

Posted Coming Out of the Dark of PTSD
Having PTSD and not knowing what it is, is like living in darkness. Nothing seems the same. When you know what it is, you can begin to heal the wounds you brought back home with you.

Posted PTSD Final Battle After War
When the boots come off, when the uniform is put away, sometimes the last battle to fight is healing from all you went through. With the knowledge you need to understand it, you can heal. It is never too late to begin to...

About 20 more to go. The other problem is that Great Americans changed their player and I cannot embed all the videos on this blog at the same time. Hero After War starts to play when the blog is opened. I'll keep changing which one plays when opened as time permits.

Check back later for links to the rest of the videos. I'll put the links in here and on the side bar.

Crucial time, crucial work for military chaplains

Crucial time, crucial work
Posted By Scott Fontaine on September 8, 2009


They often are too injured to serve with their unit by the time they arrive at Fort Lewis. Their war wounds from Iraq and Afghanistan have inevitably left them with lots of questions: about life, about morality, about spirituality.

Many go to Maj. Dale Forrester, the unit's chaplain since 2008.

"When you have a traumatic experience, questions about faith naturally pop up," said Forrester, who turns 63 this month. "The first one is always: Where is God in this? Is there a God?

"Now we're starting to talk about great, overarching issues, and they're all rational questions: If there is a God, does He care? If He cares, why me? How do I interpret what's happened? What is the meaning of life? Why is there death and injury if there's a good God out there? Why did my buddy die? And why was I spared?"

Forrester is the first to admit he doesn't have all the answers. But the north California native, who describes himself as a "moderately conservative evangelical Protestant," tries to help the unit's soldiers work through their issues.

A big one is the guilt of waging war.

"I've had soldiers tell me, ‘Chaplain, I can never go to heaven," he said. "You have no idea the things I've seen, the things I've done.' And to be able to talk to that soldier, and help him understand God better, they are then able to forgive themselves."
read more here
Crucial time crucial work

Nam Guardian Angel multi-media PTSD educational source

Nam Guardian Angel multi-media PTSD educational source
NamGuardianAngel.com

Website with videos to provide education and support for veterans and their families living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Developed from over 25 years of research and personal experience as well as working with veterans.

Free self-published book For the Love of Jack, His War My Battle, about life with my husband, a Vietnam Veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This book offers first hand knowledge about PTSD from the veteran’s point of view and the affects on the family. It also offers coping skills and the tools to alleviate escalation of turmoil.

This reduces domestic violence, divorce, adverse affects on children, homelessness, secondary PTSD, reduces stigma of PTSD, raises awareness of symptoms, explains the difference between self-medicating and addictions, above all, puts it all into plain simple English.

Power Points that can be used by educators taken from two videos.
Wounded Minds, Veterans and PTSD walks the viewer from start to finish of PTSD with all the life altering damages unaddressed PTSD can cause.
Death Because They Served, shines a spotlight on suicides taken from news reports on verified suicides so these deaths are not forgotten. There are over 100 of them on this Power Point.

Wounded Times Blog www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com
Blog with news taken from online news reports from across the country and internationally focused on

Veterans
Military
Police officers
Firefighters
Traumatic events
Editorials composed as issues arise backed by extensive research and over 17,000 posts online with two blogs.
Nam Guardian Angel’s videos are also available on this site.
Links to support
Links to groups
Links to Veterans Centers

Nam Guardian Angel is a multi media resource providing education and support for veterans and their families living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Because of my work with veterans, police officers, firefighters and emergency responders have sought out my assistance.

I have been on the front lines of PTSD since 1982, created educational support videos before anyone else was doing them. These videos are used all over the country by therapists, service organizations and people with a hunger to learn more about PTSD.

The following are some of the emails I received on the videos

2-27-05
We were posting today on aol. this morning. I would like to thank you for your support for the vet's that were in country. I spent 28 day's in the VA hospital in Menlo Park Ca. for PTSD. Our views my differ in some things but your support for us speaks volumes. I salute you! If only there were a few more like yourself what a great world this would be.Have a real good day.
deleted for confidentiality

Cam Ranh Bay Air Base
South Vietnam

3-24-06
I work as a psychologist at the faculty of psychology of the Erasmus
University Rotterdam (The Netherlands).

On the internet I stumbled upon your video about PTSD. I would like to
ask your permission to use this video on our website for strictly
educational purposes.

Kind regards,
deleted for confidentiality
University Rotterdam
Institute of Psychology

7-9-06
Thanks for your presentation on PTSD. This is an issue of interest to me as my father served in Vietnam, and I have two sons who are Marines... one of whom is getting ready to return to Iraq.

This is excellent and well-needed information... thank you for your work to help others not have to go thru what you & your husband have.
deleted for confidentiality

7-17-06
Katherine ~ I saw your PTSD presentation online and want to share it with our Sailors returning from Iraq/Afghanistan. Thanks for providing this much needed information,

deleted for confidentiality

9-12-06
Beautiful work in your video presentation. I’ve been looking for songs to introduce physicians to the impact of post traumatic stress disorder. I may use some of you work if you grant permission.
(deleted for confidentiality) Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Psychiatry
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

12-4-06
I wanted to write and tell you what a wonderful video this is. I emailed (deleted for confidentiality) to find out how to get a copy and she sent back the message you sent her. I really want to thank you for doing this, it helps all with PTSD, from WWII to Iraq War. I have quite a few women and men here in Maryland that will really appreciate this video.
Thank you again!
(deleted for confidentiality)
National Commander

2-4-07
God Bless You for your work. I just found your site and watched the first video. I’ll be back for more, as I need more.
Warm Regards and Thank You,
(deleted for confidentiality) (with the Love and Help of my wife of 10 years) a recovering PTSD guy
Class of ‘67

2-25-07

Hi - I am a nursing student at a southern university. I am to give a presentation on PTSD, fitting really since I've had the disorder! I came across your video while I was researching films/video clips/images to use in my powerpoint presentation. I liked your 4 or so minute video regarding PTSD. You started out with images from 9/11 and moved to thing such as domestic violence and other tragedies not just here, but wordlwide. Is it possible to get a copy of the video to incorporate into my presentation? Your vid said free use for all but I need to download it.

Thank you!

3-5-07
My name is (deleted for confidentiality) , a Vietnam Veteran, and manager of a web group called (deleted for confidentiality) .

I recently viewed your google video and it was so very informative, and I have posted a link to it on my group message board for all to watch.

The resolution is a little less than desirable in certain frames, and I would like to get yoru permission to copy each frame and send it to my members for them to use in their ongoing help for our Brothers.

We are very much intune to the problems of our returning veterans from Iraq and Aftanistan, and your information would be a big help in us helping them and their family members.

Thank you for all you are doing,

3-12-07
I just saw your touching video on youtube. WOW does that hit a spot.
We seem to both be advocates for those suffering from PTSD. I would like to place your video on the web site for a group I am Lt Commander of. (deleted for confidentiality)
I know you have given permission for the vedio to be used the problem is I cannot get a good file of the flash swf. can you send one to me at this address? I would greatly appreciate it.

3-13-07

I am the clinical director of the (deleted for confidentiality) for Homeless Veterans in (deleted for confidentiality) . I am a veteran of Vietnam where I served as a hospital corpsman with a Marine Corps rifle platoon in 1968 - 2nd Batt. 1st Marines.

I would like a copy of you video to use in our program. It is a beautiful, powerful piece of work.

I am an Australian Veteran still serving in the Royal Australian Navy. I have watched both your movies on the net and have had some uncany resemblence to my life within the details you have posted.,,,,,, I see that you have offered a free copy of your book to those who write to you. I would be very interested in reading it and hope it may help me and my problems.

Thankyou for your support of us VETERANS and I await your reply and look forward to reading your book.

Recent emails

8-18-09 (sent from a phone)
your videos have been received quite well by
all who i've shown them to. i haven't got any formal feedback, but the
stunned silence, transfixed faces, and teary eyes tell me a lot.

i think it's especially meaningful that i'm able to show them to groups
of young people who will be tomorrow's leaders. i think many of them are
unaware of the unseen emotional ravages of war and the sacrifice and
burden borne by the troops. i will have another class of 60 students
this fall, and will show one or two of your videos. i have no doubt that
it will change the way some of them look at and think about veterans and
war.

7/24/09
I am trying to get my son in law who is the Firechief in (deleted for confidentiality) to look at this great video. I viewed it myself and as a social worker found it very helpful and inspiring. Symptoms of PTSD were well explained and you made it clear that such symptoms were caused by trauma , not craziness or punishment from God. The photos were outstanding and not something we see on everyday TV. Thank you Chaplain Kathie! I hope that you can get someone to help you with the videos so that you can get some time for your family and yourself. I will share this video with other social workers at our community health center. Thank you again.(deleted for confidentiality) MSW, LICSW

6/22/09
Great work, NamGuardianAngel, on the PTSD videos. I'm a mental health provider working with those who have PTSD. Great Work.

There are many more emails on the videos as well as the self-published book. I have more than enough proof that what I’m doing is reaching veterans and their families from all generations and giving them what they need to know from someone who has been where they are. That is my mission. To provide the education I gained by reading clinical books and news reports for over half my life, living with my own veteran and talking to these other veterans since 1982.

There are now over 25 videos on Great Americans and my website.

What I need is financial support to keep this work going. I need help with publicizing what my work and more exposure online.

I want to take these videos to service groups and provide educational presentations, which means more travel. I need a new car and have the travel expenses covered by donations. I also need a new video camera along with a computer with higher memory and more powerful operating system.

Since I carry my own insurance and license (which is very expensive), I also need help with covering the cost of training so that I can continue to learn the latest programs to address responding to traumatic events so that less people develop PTSD, and those who do, know what to watch out for so they get help as soon as possible.

Since I spend an average of 70 hours a week online doing this, I need help with what I am really no good at. Promoting my work, which I'm the type of person that would rather promote the work of others, and especially fund raising. I've been in financial trouble for a long time now and have been torn between looking for work again in the business world and doing what I do for our veterans. Yesterday I went to a job fair in Orlando, attempting to find a job. I can't even do that right. I worked my way through the crowds of job seekers and ended up talking to military recruiters and law enforcement people about PTSD and the work I do, instead of spending time looking for a paying job.

All I keep thinking about is if I go back to work, which veteran or family do I not help? Who do I say no to? What videos do I get the idea to make and not make because there isn't enough time in the day? What service group do I not talk to and help with the work they are trying to do? So I'm leaving this in God's hands. If He really called me to do this work the way I believe He did, then He will touch your hearts so that you help me continue this work.

The other way you can help is to join me at Brave-Aid, Warrior Support.
This is a member supported site and will cost you $20.00 per month and is tax deductible. Your membership supports veterans in need. It also supports me if you come in under my link-in. What this also does is allows you to get others to join and you get some of their membership fee, plus they help veterans. What can be better than that? You get to deduct your membership fee and you can make some money at the same time you are helping veterans.
http://chaplainkathie.warriorsupport.us/

If you are reading this blog then you love veterans as much as I do so bring in your friends into Brave-aid and let's get this group funded faster so they help more veterans quicker. We know what their problems are and we know it will take an army to get them the help they're waiting for.

The other problem is that for all the time I take trying to find a way to pay my bills, there are veterans waiting for help. Right now there are ten more emails I need to get through, but had to put together this so that my family does not keep having to suffer financially for what I do. I would much rather be working on the emails, the websites and videos than doing this. I really hate this part because I am just not good at it at all.

Anderson Cooper:Marines don't know when last step will be their last

Marines look for IEDs 4:35
CNN's Anderson Cooper travels with U.S. Marines in Afghanistan as they look for IEDs.

Parental Suicide: The child left behind.

Parental Suicide: The child left behind.
September 9, 3:39 PMEast LA Child Care ExaminerRosemary Akhavan

David’s mother committed suicide. David found his mother lying on the kitchen floor, dead from an intentional drug overdose. As an adult, David is still traumatized by the event. He drinks and takes drugs to help ease his emotional pain. David also has problems with interpersonal relationships, and is now divorced. He suffers from depression, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (PTSD) David does not realize it, but without treatment, David is at risk becoming another suicide statistic.

Studies have shown that there is an increased risk of suicide in people whose parent(s) committed suicide, and if the individual is dealing with a mental health disorder. When a parent commits suicide, the child feels helpless and abandoned. Quite often, they also feel guilty. The child may feel that they were responsible for the suicide, and believes that if they were a better child, this would not have happened. Sometimes the child may be aware of problems in the home, but was powerless to change the situation. A parent’s suicide may convince the child that their parent was also powerless to change their life.
read more here
The child left behind

Victim hacked nine times with hatchet

Victim hacked nine times with hatchet; Suspect says he 'blacked out'

Walter Pacheco and Willoughby Mariano

Sentinel Staff Writers

1:59 p.m. EDT, September 9, 2009
A Winter Park-area man arrested in a bloody attack with a hatchet told deputies he blacked out and couldn't remember any of it, according to a sheriff's report released this afternoon.

Glenard Paul Williams, 50, faces one count of attempted first-degree murder after his roommate Andrea Lea Dinos, 56, was found hacked nine times in the head at their home near Fairbanks Avenue and Interstate 4. She remains in critical condition this afternoon.

Orange County deputy sheriffs were called to a house in the 800 block of Driver Avenue about 11:10 p.m. Tuesday. They found Williams sitting on his bed, with a hatchet at his feet.

"She had been bugging me all day, I blacked out and when I woke up I had the ax in my hand and she was hurt," Williams told a deputy, according to a report.

But deputies think otherwise.
go here for more and video report
Victim hacked nine times with hatchet

'We're pinned down:' 4 U.S. Marines die in Afghan ambush

'We're pinned down:' 4 U.S. Marines die in Afghan ambush

By Jonathan S. Landay McClatchy Newspapers
GANJGAL, Afghanistan — We walked into a trap, a killing zone of relentless gunfire and rocket barrages from Afghan insurgents hidden in the mountainsides and in a fortress-like village where women and children were replenishing their ammunition.

"We will do to you what we did to the Russians," the insurgent's leader boasted over the radio, referring to the failure of Soviet troops to capture Ganjgal during the 1979-89 Soviet occupation.

Dashing from boulder to boulder, diving into trenches and ducking behind stone walls as the insurgents maneuvered to outflank us, we waited more than an hour for U.S. helicopters to arrive, despite earlier assurances that air cover would be five minutes away.

U.S. commanders, citing new rules to avoid civilian casualties, rejected repeated calls to unleash artillery rounds at attackers dug into the slopes and tree lines — despite being told repeatedly that they weren't near the village.

"We are pinned down. We are running low on ammo. We have no air. We've lost today," Marine Maj. Kevin Williams, 37, said through his translator to his Afghan counterpart, responding to the latter's repeated demands for helicopters.

Four U.S. Marines were killed Tuesday, the most U.S. service members assigned as trainers to the Afghan National Army to be lost in a single incident since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

The Marines were cut down as they sought cover in a trench at the base of the village's first layer cake-style stone house. Much of their ammunition was gone.
One Marine was bending over a second, tending his wounds, when both were killed, said Marine Cpl. Dakota Meyer, 21, of Greensburg, Ky., who retrieved their bodies.

read more here
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/75036.html
linked from http://www.icasualties.org/OEF/index.aspx