Obama promises to rally public behind troops

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / The Associated Press President Barack Obama shakes hands Nov. 12 during a rally at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.

Obama promises to rally public behind troops

By Mark S. Smith - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Nov 13, 2009 13:51:44 EST

ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska — Nearing a decision on sending more troops off to war, President Barack Obama told a military audience Thursday that he will not dispatch them into conflict without proper support — including the backing of the American people.

“That is a promise that I make to you,” Obama told more than 1,000 troops and their families gathered at a hangar here, as the president stopped briefly for refueling en route to a four-country trip to Asia.

The president made no direct mention of Afghanistan or his weeks-long review, now nearing completion, of how to revamp the struggling war effort there. Obama is expected to send in thousands more troops.

In recent days, from a somber memorial for the 13 people shot to death at Fort Hood, Texas, to a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Obama has lauded the determination of the all-volunteer military.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/ap_airforce_obama_elmendorf_111209/

Active-duty suicides almost double from Sept

Active-duty suicides almost double from Sept.

By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Nov 13, 2009 16:14:07 EST

As many as 16 active-duty soldiers committed suicide in October, nine more than reported the month before, the Army announced Nov. 13.

In addition, eight Army National Guard or Army Reserve soldiers who were not on active duty are believed to have killed themselves in October. That’s one more than reported in September.

Each death is still under investigation and pending a determination. Army officials have said that 90 percent of pending cases typically are ruled to be suicides.

Since Jan. 1 there have been 133 reported active-duty soldier deaths. Of those, 90 have been confirmed and 43 are pending a determination.

There were 115 suicides among active-duty soldiers during the same period in 2008.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/army_suicides_111309w/

Army says morale down among troops in Afghanistan

Army says morale down among troops in Afghanistan
By PAULINE JELINEK (AP) – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON — Morale has fallen among soldiers in Afghanistan, where troops are seeing record violence in the 8-year-old war, while those in Iraq show much improved mental health amid much lower violence, the Army said Friday.

Soldier suicides in Iraq did not increase for the first time since 2004, according to a new study.

Though findings of two new battlefield surveys are similar in several ways to the last ones taken in 2007, they come at a time of intense scrutiny on Afghanistan as President Barack Obama struggles to come up with a new war strategy and planned troop buildup. There is also perhaps equal new attention focused on the mental health of the force since a shooting rampage at Fort Hood last week in which an Army psychiatrist is charged.

Both surveys showed that soldiers on their third or fourth tours of duty had lower morale and more mental health problems than those with fewer deployments and an ever-increasing number of troops are having problems with their marriages.

The new survey on Afghanistan found instances of depression, anxiety and other psychological problems are about the same as they were in 2007. But it also said there is a shortage of mental health workers to help soldiers who need it, partly because of the buildup Obama already started this year with the dispatch of more than 20,000 extra troops.

Efforts already under way to get more health workers to the Afghan war could be hampered somewhat by last week's shooting. The psychiatrist charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder was slated to go to Afghanistan. Some of the dead and wounded also were to deploy there to bolster psychological services for soldiers.
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Army says morale down among troops in Afghanistan

Military looking for chaplains

The biggest problem with this is, chaplains trained to respond to traumatic events are not good enough. They want a graduate and not an expert on the number one spiritual issue they face. Chaplains with the International Fellowship of Chaplains are not just trained to respond to traumatic events, (good enough for police and fire departments) but are also living the calling in all aspects of their lives which include extreme trials responding to the events in their own communities. Without enough psychologists in the military you would think they could rely on the chaplains in the military to fill the gaps but most do not understand PTSD. That's my rant on this one.

Now, if you feel God is leading you to take care of those who are "willing to lay down their lives for the sake of their friends" you will find no better place to do it.

A life of religious fulfillment beyond your everyday ministry. A chance to impact lives around the globe. You'll find these inspiring opportunities serving part-time as a faith leader in today's Navy Reserve.


SERVE GOD, COUNTRY AND A COMMUNITY IN NEED
As a Chaplain and Officer, you will bring spiritual guidance to heroes in uniform. Answering the needs of the Sailors, Marines and Coast Guard members who are out there following a higher calling of their own. Gaining invaluable experiences that you can use to strengthen your own beliefs and enlighten those back home. In this role you will:

Serve as few as two days each month and two weeks per year with opportunities for additional service and pay - while remaining devoted to the needs of your existing congregation

Practice all the conventional aspects of a thriving ministry - while adding an exciting new dimension to your vocation

Interact with and learn from those of many faith groups - as you develop insight that can only complement your ability to lead

In the Navy Reserve Chaplain Corps, you will stand in as preacher and teacher. Celebrant and confessor. Counselor and friend. Advising young men and women preparing to deploy overseas. Offering moral and spiritual support to the families they leave behind. Working and praying with fellow members of your own religious group or those from any of over 200 diverse denominations.

You could serve alone or as part of a team. On bases stateside or overseas. In makeshift meeting houses, hospitals or even on ships. In any case, doing your part to secure the sanctity of worship. To ensure the accessibility of religious practice. And to be there for those who protect the basic freedoms we all hold so dear.

BE BLESSED WITH LASTING BENEFITS

For your offering of faith and your service to country, you'll earn a wealth of rewards - spiritually and professionally. That includes supplemental income. Continuing education assistance. Annual opportunities to travel the world. And much more.

All this - while you discover the pride, purpose and satisfaction of serving your country. Enjoy respect as a religious leader and an Officer. And make enduring connections that will last a lifetime.

REFLECT ON THIS IMPORTANT CALLING

To be eligible to join the Navy Reserve Chaplain Corps, you must:

Hold an ecclesiastical endorsement by a religious faith organization recognized by the Department of Defense
Be a graduate of an accredited college or university and theological school or seminary
Be under 39 years of age (waivers may be granted)
Meet specific Navy standards for medical health and physical fitness
Be a U.S. citizen
To learn more about serving part-time as a Chaplain, simply click apply now, fill out the brief form, and download our free Navy Chaplain Corps brochure. Nowhere will you find more rewarding work...a more loyal congregation...or an audience more in need of your support.

The Many Faces of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Vietnam veterans didn't know who the enemy was. Young kids would be sent to pretend to be looking for candy and then toss a grenade. They would go into villages and not know who would then try to kill them. They lost the ability to trust anyone. This was added to the issue of the solitary DEROS. Each soldier was sent into Vietnam on his own schedule. Date of Expected Return from Over Seas was 12 months and they knew if they survived that year, they would be able to go home but it also meant they would have to leave the brothers they served with behind. They spent that year watching others go, wishing they were going to, and seeing more come in, not knowing if they would be able to do their job instead of getting them killed. (FNG, f-ing new guys.) They watched friends die. They watched them get wounded just as in any other war, but the in process of the solitary soldier deployment, they returned alone back to family and neighborhoods where no one had a clue what they just went through.

We do not see the solitary soldier today. We see units of brothers going and coming home together. Yet just as with Vietnam, the enemy is not easy to recognize. They don't know if they can trust the locals or even the military and police they are trying to train. Yet amazingly they do whatever is asked of them. Again, they know how long they will be there risking their lives and when they will be able to come home. They mark off the days. They return knowing they can trust their brothers but not sure about everyone else.

For Fort Hood soldiers, it was supposed to be safe to walk around unarmed. It was supposed to be a safe place for their families. They were supposed to be able to relax at least there. We told them to seek help if they were having a hard time battling Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and sent them to psychiatrists for help. They trusted the doctors when they were given medication and they trusted what they were being told. The problem was, we didn't know what they were being told, who was telling them it or if the medications were going to make PTSD worse or not. Now, all that has been shattered.

One of their own they thought they could trust turned on them, opening fire when they were unarmed and this one was also supposed to be one of the doctors they were supposed to be able to trust.

This is not just an issue with soldiers at Fort Hood. Every soldier will be wondering who they can trust and who the enemy is. The last safe zone has now been removed. Major Hasan was trained on how the mind works but did anyone think he used what he did at Fort Hood to do more damage than any terrorist in Iraq or Afghanistan would ever dream of?

Our soldiers wonder who they can trust when there is no one to talk to back home. They worry about their careers even though the military commanders told them they will not hurt their careers by seeking help. Now they will be wondering if they need to worry about what their own doctors are doing. They are sent back to Afghanistan and Iraq with medications but no monitoring even though most medications warn that they need to be monitored. They are not able to see mental health workers in country where they are needed the most or when they come back because there are not enough of them and most are not even experts on PTSD in the first place.

We don't have enough to take care of them back here either. Not in the DOD on bases or for the National Guards and Reservists, or for the veterans in the VA.

What is saddest about all of this is the knowledge is there and they can heal but getting from here to there is seeming more and more impossible for more and more of them. Families still have no clue what to do or even what PTSD is. Where are they supposed to turn? Where is their safe zone? When will we ever get this right?

The Many Faces of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
The Fort Hood Shooting Puts Spotlight Back on Soldiers Suffering From PTSD
By MATT GUTMAN
Nov. 13, 2009

On Aug. 4, 2009, Master Sgt. Jason Swain says he dumped all his medications into his hand. Cupping the little pile of pills, he flashed back to his brother's attempted suicide, and the image of his mother's pain-distorted face.

Every day, on average, 18 American veterans commit suicide. Through the haze of guilt and pain, Swain realized he didn't want to be one of them.

Swain's voice quivers as he talks, as if sobs are just one random memory away. But the 38-year-old's first words betray the nearly clinical training of the Army intelligence analyst he is.

"I've been here since Aug. 5, suffering from some bad complications from my PTSD, severe depression and suicidal ideations."

In the Miami Veteran's Affairs Hospital's Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ward, Swain is in the middle of a 14-week inpatient program.

In the wake of the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, Nov. 5, that left 13 people dead, allegedly at the hands of a fellow soldier, Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, soldiers who struggle with stress like Swain, have come back into the spotlight.

When he was posted in the 1st Cavalry in Fort Hood, Swain worked across the street from the site of the rampage.
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The Many Faces of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder