Young man found dead Saturday in Batavia was Iraq War veteran
Posted by Howard Owens on November 10, 2009 - 7:19am
A young man who was found dead outside the Blockbuster store on Lewiston Road on Saturday night was being treated for PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) at the VA Medical Center in Batavia, according to an obituary published in the Albany Times-Union.
The obituary reports that James M. Maher, 27, died of injuries sustained in a fall.
The official cause of death remains under investigation. It has been categorized by Batavia Police as an "unattended death." No foul play is suspected.
Maher was an Iraq war veteran, having served an 11 month tour in Iraq with the U.S. Army 101st Armored Division, earning the Combat Infantry Badge and the Army Achievement Medal.
read more here
Iraq War Vet found dead
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Media keeps missing point after Fort Hood
Lowry is close but he's missing the point too. It seems they all are. Major Hasan was trained by the military to address combat trauma for our troops. Keep that in mind. If he kept getting bad reviews for how he treated soldiers, what was he telling them? Did he even know anything about PTSD considering he was trained around the same time they were still kicking out soldiers for "personality disorders" instead of PTSD? Did he end up involved with any of the soldiers who ended up committing suicide or trying to end their own lives?
Secondary PTSD is real. It comes from living with PTSD veterans and even civilian survivors of traumatic events. It can come from the stress of trying to help them too, but if the responders are trained properly, they understand what PTSD is, where it comes from, what their own symptoms are and usually they know what to do to help themselves heal. (I know because I've been there too many times when I end up with nightmares, depression and burn out under stress.) If they are trained they also end up with an arsenal to protect themselves and distance themselves from what they hear. If Hasan does in fact have secondary PTSD, then why didn't anyone see it and treat him for it? He was in mental health for heaven's sake and surrounded by people who were supposed to know how to spot it. Somehow I doubt they could be so inept they wouldn't have a clue this man was not in any kind of right mind to be treating soldiers if this was the case.
The other issue is why was Hasan being deployed if they were already really concerned about his performance? What were they thinking?
Secondary PTSD is real. It comes from living with PTSD veterans and even civilian survivors of traumatic events. It can come from the stress of trying to help them too, but if the responders are trained properly, they understand what PTSD is, where it comes from, what their own symptoms are and usually they know what to do to help themselves heal. (I know because I've been there too many times when I end up with nightmares, depression and burn out under stress.) If they are trained they also end up with an arsenal to protect themselves and distance themselves from what they hear. If Hasan does in fact have secondary PTSD, then why didn't anyone see it and treat him for it? He was in mental health for heaven's sake and surrounded by people who were supposed to know how to spot it. Somehow I doubt they could be so inept they wouldn't have a clue this man was not in any kind of right mind to be treating soldiers if this was the case.
The other issue is why was Hasan being deployed if they were already really concerned about his performance? What were they thinking?
Fort Hood: The PTSD Evasion
By Syndicated columns
November 10, 2009, 6:08AM
By Rich Lowry
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who killed 13 of his fellow soldiers in a rampage at Fort Hood, is a most unlikely victim of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Rich Lowry He never experienced any combat-related trauma. He had never even been deployed overseas. Yet, he had barely stopped shooting his victims in cold blood, chasing the wounded to finish them off, when the media rushed to their copy of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.”
The New York Times headlined an analysis piece on the incident, “When Soldiers Snap.” It reported that in World War II, military doctors believed “that more than 90 days of continuous combat could turn any soldier into a psychiatric causality.” With Hasan, the paper stipulated, “that point may have come even before he experienced the reality of war.”
Time magazine blamed the stressful environment of Fort Hood, where frequent deployments meant “the kindling was hiding in plain sight.” The Washington Post ran a piece on Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where Hasan had served, as indicative of “the ongoing tensions, frustrations and problems in the military health-care system for (returning) troops.”
The press keeps mistaking Hasan for Private Ryan, when the closest he’d come to combat was counseling sessions with soldiers. Another New York Times piece raised the possibility that Hasan might have acquired PTSD from the very act of treating those patients -- “in contact distress, of a kind.”
The obsession with PTSD serves two purposes. First, it fits the media’s favorite narrative of soldiers as victims. Here was poor Hasan, brought low like so many others by the unbearable burden of Iraq and Afghanistan. Never mind that PTSD usually results in sleeplessness, flashbacks and -- in the extreme -- suicide. Hasan is the first victim of PTSD known to jump on a table and allegedly yell “Allahu Akbar” while slaughtering his fellow troops.
read more here
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/11/fort_hood_the_ptsd_evasion.html
Two VA employees slain, one wounded during shooting at Fort Hood
VA Suffers Losses and Offers Help at Ft. Hood
Two VA Employees Slain, One Wounded during Shooting
WASHINGTON (Nov. 10, 2009) -- In the midst of providing mental health
services and other support to the Ft. Hood community following the
recent shooting, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) learned about
its own losses from the violence. Two VA employees, both serving on
active duty with their Army Reserve units, were among the slain. A
third VA health care worker on reserve duty was seriously wounded.
"Speaking for the entire VA family, I offer heart-felt condolences to
the families of these dedicated VA employees," said Secretary of
Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "They devoted their working lives to
care for our Veterans, and they died in uniform, preparing to safeguard
our Nation's freedom."
Russell G. Seager, Ph.D., a 51-year old nurse practitioner at the
Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee was killed in the
deadly attack. He was a captain in the reserves. In his VA duties, he
led a mental health team treating a wide variety of Veteran patients,
from the youngest combat Veterans just back from deployments to Iraq and
Afghanistan, to World War II Veterans dealing with depression.
Seager signed up for the Army Reserve four years ago. This would have
been his first overseas deployment. Seager was motivated to prevent the
mental health problems of young combat soldiers from occurring in the
first place. He was to be assigned to a Combat Stress Control unit to
watch for warning signs, such as anger and insubordination, among
front-line soldiers.
Seager, who was also a well-respected teacher at Bryant and Stratton
College in Milwaukee, leaves behind a wife and son.
VA's other fatality was Juanita L. Warman, 55, a nurse practitioner at
VA's medical center in Perry Point, Md. She was a lieutenant colonel in
the Maryland National Guard, with two daughters and six grandchildren.
Herself the daughter of a career Air Force member, she held a masters
degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
Warman volunteered for "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon," a program to help
members of the Maryland National Guard readjust after returning from
overseas deployments. She provided mental health counseling and helped
develop a program about the myths and realities of post-traumatic stress
disorder. She was preparing for deployment to Iraq at the time of her
death.
Dorothy Carskadon, 47, a captain in the reserves and a social worker and
team leader at the VA Vet Center in Madison, Wis., was wounded in the
gunfire that brought Ft. Hood activities to a halt. She is currently in
stable condition in the intensive care unit at the Darnall Army Medical
Center at Ft. Hood.
As a VA team leader, Carskadon oversees other social workers in
providing individual and group counseling for combat Veterans
experiencing difficulty readjusting to the civilian community following
military service. A new Army officer, Carskadon was preparing for her
first deployment.
On an average day, more than 850 VA employees don uniforms to serve
military commitments in Reserve and National Guard units across the
country and overseas.
VA has been responding to the Ft. Hood tragedy since shortly after the
sound of gunfire was replaced by the sirens of emergency responders.
Through official agreements and the shared sense of mission to care for
military members and Veterans in the central Texas region, VA has
provided clinical supplies, including pharmaceuticals, and sent mental
health teams from nearby facilities as well as four fully staffed,
portable Vet Centers to aid in counseling military members and families.
Teams of physicians, nurses and other clinical and support personnel
were placed on stand-by for possible deployment to Ft. Hood or to
receive additional patients following the shooting.
VA operates several clinical and benefits processing locations on Ft.
Hood and routinely has about 18 employees working on the post. Initial
actions included confirming the safety and security of those employees.
VA continues to coordinate with the Department of Defense on providing
care and support to all those affected by the tragedy.
Two VA Employees Slain, One Wounded during Shooting
WASHINGTON (Nov. 10, 2009) -- In the midst of providing mental health
services and other support to the Ft. Hood community following the
recent shooting, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) learned about
its own losses from the violence. Two VA employees, both serving on
active duty with their Army Reserve units, were among the slain. A
third VA health care worker on reserve duty was seriously wounded.
"Speaking for the entire VA family, I offer heart-felt condolences to
the families of these dedicated VA employees," said Secretary of
Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "They devoted their working lives to
care for our Veterans, and they died in uniform, preparing to safeguard
our Nation's freedom."
Russell G. Seager, Ph.D., a 51-year old nurse practitioner at the
Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee was killed in the
deadly attack. He was a captain in the reserves. In his VA duties, he
led a mental health team treating a wide variety of Veteran patients,
from the youngest combat Veterans just back from deployments to Iraq and
Afghanistan, to World War II Veterans dealing with depression.
Seager signed up for the Army Reserve four years ago. This would have
been his first overseas deployment. Seager was motivated to prevent the
mental health problems of young combat soldiers from occurring in the
first place. He was to be assigned to a Combat Stress Control unit to
watch for warning signs, such as anger and insubordination, among
front-line soldiers.
Seager, who was also a well-respected teacher at Bryant and Stratton
College in Milwaukee, leaves behind a wife and son.
VA's other fatality was Juanita L. Warman, 55, a nurse practitioner at
VA's medical center in Perry Point, Md. She was a lieutenant colonel in
the Maryland National Guard, with two daughters and six grandchildren.
Herself the daughter of a career Air Force member, she held a masters
degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
Warman volunteered for "Beyond the Yellow Ribbon," a program to help
members of the Maryland National Guard readjust after returning from
overseas deployments. She provided mental health counseling and helped
develop a program about the myths and realities of post-traumatic stress
disorder. She was preparing for deployment to Iraq at the time of her
death.
Dorothy Carskadon, 47, a captain in the reserves and a social worker and
team leader at the VA Vet Center in Madison, Wis., was wounded in the
gunfire that brought Ft. Hood activities to a halt. She is currently in
stable condition in the intensive care unit at the Darnall Army Medical
Center at Ft. Hood.
As a VA team leader, Carskadon oversees other social workers in
providing individual and group counseling for combat Veterans
experiencing difficulty readjusting to the civilian community following
military service. A new Army officer, Carskadon was preparing for her
first deployment.
On an average day, more than 850 VA employees don uniforms to serve
military commitments in Reserve and National Guard units across the
country and overseas.
VA has been responding to the Ft. Hood tragedy since shortly after the
sound of gunfire was replaced by the sirens of emergency responders.
Through official agreements and the shared sense of mission to care for
military members and Veterans in the central Texas region, VA has
provided clinical supplies, including pharmaceuticals, and sent mental
health teams from nearby facilities as well as four fully staffed,
portable Vet Centers to aid in counseling military members and families.
Teams of physicians, nurses and other clinical and support personnel
were placed on stand-by for possible deployment to Ft. Hood or to
receive additional patients following the shooting.
VA operates several clinical and benefits processing locations on Ft.
Hood and routinely has about 18 employees working on the post. Initial
actions included confirming the safety and security of those employees.
VA continues to coordinate with the Department of Defense on providing
care and support to all those affected by the tragedy.
Lt. Col. Juanita Warman killed at Fort Hood wanted to help female soldiers
FORT HOOD SHOOTINGS
Trauma expert wanted to help female soldiers
Highest-ranking person killed in shootings, Lt. Col. Juanita Warman, had husband, two daughters and six grandchildren.
By Patrick George
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Editor's Note: Lt. Col. Juanita Warman was one of 13 people killed Thursday at Fort Hood.
Just a day after Lt. Col. Juanita Warman arrived at Fort Hood, the shooting started.
Warman had arrived in Texas to be processed for her deployment to Iraq at the end of the month. On Thursday, she was at the post's Soldier Readiness Processing Center when a gunman entered and began firing, killing her and a dozen others. She was 55.
Warman is survived by a husband, two daughters and six grandchildren.
"I kept thinking, 'She can't be in the processing center,' " her husband, Philip Warman, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "She had just gotten there; she had more training to undergo. She was not due to leave until the end of November. The base hot line didn't have her on the initial list of casualties."
But a half-hour later, two soldiers arrived in dress uniforms, and Warman immediately knew she had been killed, he told the paper.
read more here
Trauma expert wanted to help female soldiers
Trauma expert wanted to help female soldiers
Highest-ranking person killed in shootings, Lt. Col. Juanita Warman, had husband, two daughters and six grandchildren.
By Patrick George
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Editor's Note: Lt. Col. Juanita Warman was one of 13 people killed Thursday at Fort Hood.
Just a day after Lt. Col. Juanita Warman arrived at Fort Hood, the shooting started.
Warman had arrived in Texas to be processed for her deployment to Iraq at the end of the month. On Thursday, she was at the post's Soldier Readiness Processing Center when a gunman entered and began firing, killing her and a dozen others. She was 55.
Warman is survived by a husband, two daughters and six grandchildren.
"I kept thinking, 'She can't be in the processing center,' " her husband, Philip Warman, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "She had just gotten there; she had more training to undergo. She was not due to leave until the end of November. The base hot line didn't have her on the initial list of casualties."
But a half-hour later, two soldiers arrived in dress uniforms, and Warman immediately knew she had been killed, he told the paper.
read more here
Trauma expert wanted to help female soldiers
Decorated Army Ranger became chaplain to fight differently
A Major and a Chaplain, Jeff Struecker went from fighting as a warrior, taking that experience and fighting a different way to save the lives of others.
Face of Defense: Chaplain Helps Others Fight Stress
By News Editor • on November 9, 2009
By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2009 – Readers of Mark Bowden’s “Black Hawk Down” can put the book aside when they’ve had enough of their mind’s reaction of the brutal 1993 battle of Mogadishu, Somalia.
But Chaplain (Maj.) Jeff Struecker isn’t that lucky. The decorated Army Ranger was charged with leading the ground assault force on all the targets that the task force hit in Somalia.
“I had been shot at and seen many dead warriors [before Mogadishu],” Struecker said. “I never experienced anything like the violence and the overwhelming sense of desperation like I experienced in Somalia. After losing one of my men and having many others wounded around me, I found a great sense of peace and courage through my faith.”
Struecker, who also deployed to Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989 and Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East in 1991, went back and forth into Mogadishu three times during the main firefight.
His experience in the Somalian capital was a turning point for the soldier who’s currently deployed to Afghanistan with the 75th Ranger Regimental Special Troops Battalion.
“My wife, Dawn, and I had a great relationship before Somalia, but after the operation we both understood just how fragile human life is and how valuable our relationship is,” he said. “Somalia helped me put my priorities in order.”
It also led him to consider pursuing a different aspect of his military career.
“After the big firefight was over, I had many men that I work with asking me questions about matters of faith and how to deal with the trauma of an event like this,” Struecker said. “It was this experience — talking with my friends about combat stress and faith in Jesus Christ after the big firefight — that caused me to start thinking about becoming an Army chaplain.”
Since 2001, every time Struecker has deployed, it’s been as a chaplain, drawing on the combat experiences he’s had during his 22-year military career to help servicemembers dealing with the traumatic stress they may be feeling.
read more here
Chaplain Helps Others Fight Stress
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