Troubled vet journeys back to Vietnam -- to offer help
By Moni Basu, CNN
November 14, 2009 3:31 a.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Veteran who suffered 40 years with nightmares is returning to Vietnam
Kevin Roberts, now 64, will build houses for poor families along the Mekong River
Psychologists who treat trauma say his return could be healing -- or harmful
(CNN) -- He is a former Marine who has lived with battleground nightmares for 40 years and now plans a return to the land that haunts him.
But Kevin Roberts' decision is not fueled by remorse. Nor is it about healing a life defined by 13 stinging months in Vietnam. Rather, late-in-life altruism has led him to volunteer to build houses for poor families residing along Vietnam's Mekong River.
"I wasn't thinking, 'Oh, I blew up half the country and now let me go and build it back," says Roberts, 64, of Pleasantville, New York, a small town 30 minutes north of Manhattan, where he owns a house-painting business.
As for a sense of closure: "I hate that word," he says without hesitation, thinking both about the war and his 13-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, who died in 1995 from a congenital heart problem.
"I was there and did what I did; that's not going to change," he says. "My daughter died and is not coming back. Things like this don't close."
So why, after years of heroin addiction, alcoholism and untreated post-traumatic stress disorder, has Roberts decided to do something good in the land he remembers as bad? And how will it affect him?
go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/13/vietnam.veteran.returns/index.html
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Saving survivors after trauma
Saving survivors after trauma
by
Chaplain Kathie
This is a picture of Max Cleland taken after he was wounded in Vietnam.
This image is of a man, clearly providing evidence we can understand that he lived through something horrible. It would be easy to accept he was severely wounded. The VA had no problem understanding this. It's doubtful he had to fight to have his claim approved for disability. It is doubtful others in his condition have to fight to have their claims approved, go without the ability to pay their bills or go without psychological help.
This image is of a veteran of our newer wars.
Again, it is obvious to everyone that he was clearly wounded in service to this nation. No one would ever doubt he needed help to heal physically or emotionally. It would take a totally heartless individual to dismiss his wounds. When veterans like him return to their home towns, communities line up to help him and his family. They do all they can to make sure he is as comfortable as possible. They make sure his home is able to accommodate his wounds. It is clear his family will need help as well.
This image is of two Iraq veterans needing to heal from burns.
Again the wound is clear. Associating psychological issues is an easy step to make. We can see they were wounded, survived something horrifying. We know they will need help to heal physically as well as emotionally. There would be no problem giving them mental healthcare for the rest of their lives. Should either of them receive the wrong disability other than 100%, the people of this nation would be totally outraged. We would wonder what was wrong with the VA is they were not taken care of so they could pay their bills and live a life as comfortably as possible.
With this image we can clearly see a head wound.
We find it easy to see the scar left behind some traumatic event in this veteran's life. When the scar heals, we then expect him to get on with his life and return to what we consider "normal" then just go back to work but we tend to not look past the scar we can see with our eyes and know there could be something more there needing to be treated. His family would just assume any changes in him would come from what he survived. Should he have nightmares, it would be easy for a family member to react to the nightmare with compassion instead of anger or frustration.
These images are of veterans. They look fine. As if there is nothing wrong with them at all.
But these faces are of happier times. After combat they would have looked almost the same. They may have told a joke or two. They may have been able to laugh with their friends. They would have returned changed to the people closest to them. There would have been changes associated with combat but it would be passed off as "he'll get over it" or "he just needs time then he'll be ok." Veterans like this would have a hard time getting claims approved. There are no obvious wounds of war. They may have trouble getting jobs and keeping them. They may have trouble sleeping. They may have trouble with flashbacks and nightmares draining their energy. When they are waiting for help as well as having to fight for it, they begin to lose hope of getting any better as their condition becomes worse. This is what PTSD looks like. These veterans lost hope of healing and they all committed suicide.
We lost 18 veterans the day we celebrated Veterans' Day. It was not so unusual on that day because it happens every day of the year. There are another 10,000 veterans attempting suicide each year. Those are just the ones the government is aware of. There are more.
We read reports over the years stating clearly suicides in the Army have risen no matter what the Army has attempted to do to address this. We read reports of veterans committing suicide no matter what the VA attempts to do to address this. What we don't read about are the numbers of veterans in between soldier under the Department of Defense and veteran in the VA system. We have no idea how many committed suicide in between. When they are discharged, the military does not know and does not attempt to know. Until they are in the VA system with an approved claim, the VA does not know about them and does not attempt to know. While we may read in the local newspaper about the death of a veteran, most of the obituaries will state "died suddenly" and that is the end of their story. We don't know what they went through after war. Usually the families are not sure what happened either.
Their flesh survived the traumas of war. We assume the rest of "them" did as well.
There is a deep, dark prevalence of "let the VA take care of them" among service organizations. We hear there are more doctors and mental health workers being hired, that the VA and the DOD are doing something about all of this, but what we don't understand is that while these veterans are in clear need of help, what the DOD and the VA have been doing is not enough to meet the needs of the veterans. They are doing the best they can with what they have right now, but with all the years they were not mobilizing to be proactive there were more and more veterans needing help before they could catch up. These veterans end up in a waiting line while they have to fight to have their claims approved, their wounds treated and be able to pay their bills. The rest of us pass all this off as, "If they have a real disability the VA will take care of them." but we never consider what happens between wound and approved claim. We also tend to dismiss the fact there are lower ratings than the veterans wound calls for. They then have to fight for the increase while they see the pressure and stress rise when they cannot pay their bills, find and keep jobs and their lives fall apart.
There is an even darker prevalence of the clergy unable and unwilling to understand what is happening to these veterans. While many churches are more than willing to celebrate Veterans Day with special services, they are the last to respond to the spiritual need of these veterans in need of help healing what the eyes cannot see. PTSD is eating them alive, pulling them away from God as hope erodes. They see their families suffer because of the changes in themselves but they are powerless to do anything about any of it. Knowing they need help but unable to find the help they need, they turn to drugs and alcohol. They sought help of the VA but the VA cannot get them appointments right away and their claim is trapped in the backlog pile as if their entire life is just supposed to go on hold and their financial support is unimportant.
None of them seem to notice all the groups forming to try to fill in the gaps because they are tired of waiting as they watch the death count go up, homeless veterans join more homeless veterans, families fall apart and yes, suicides claim more of the combat survivors.
As much as it is easy to overlook the wound we cannot see, it is just as easy to overlook the veterans without the help they need to heal. While there are some parts of the country with veterans service groups stepping up to help, in other parts of the country more are finding excuses to not get involved. They are content to just sit back and wait for the VA to do it. They simply believe the press releases that the VA and the DOD are taking care of it while ignoring the reports about how the need is getting worse.
What is perhaps the most sickening thing of all of this is that none of it has to happen.
This is what can be done.
Click on the links to read more about what can be done when the rest of the country stops using excuses and steps up to help these veterans heal. They only ask for what they need but were willing to give all they had.
by
Chaplain Kathie
This is a picture of Max Cleland taken after he was wounded in Vietnam.
This image is of a man, clearly providing evidence we can understand that he lived through something horrible. It would be easy to accept he was severely wounded. The VA had no problem understanding this. It's doubtful he had to fight to have his claim approved for disability. It is doubtful others in his condition have to fight to have their claims approved, go without the ability to pay their bills or go without psychological help.
This image is of a veteran of our newer wars.
Again, it is obvious to everyone that he was clearly wounded in service to this nation. No one would ever doubt he needed help to heal physically or emotionally. It would take a totally heartless individual to dismiss his wounds. When veterans like him return to their home towns, communities line up to help him and his family. They do all they can to make sure he is as comfortable as possible. They make sure his home is able to accommodate his wounds. It is clear his family will need help as well.
This image is of two Iraq veterans needing to heal from burns.
Again the wound is clear. Associating psychological issues is an easy step to make. We can see they were wounded, survived something horrifying. We know they will need help to heal physically as well as emotionally. There would be no problem giving them mental healthcare for the rest of their lives. Should either of them receive the wrong disability other than 100%, the people of this nation would be totally outraged. We would wonder what was wrong with the VA is they were not taken care of so they could pay their bills and live a life as comfortably as possible.
With this image we can clearly see a head wound.
We find it easy to see the scar left behind some traumatic event in this veteran's life. When the scar heals, we then expect him to get on with his life and return to what we consider "normal" then just go back to work but we tend to not look past the scar we can see with our eyes and know there could be something more there needing to be treated. His family would just assume any changes in him would come from what he survived. Should he have nightmares, it would be easy for a family member to react to the nightmare with compassion instead of anger or frustration.
These images are of veterans. They look fine. As if there is nothing wrong with them at all.
But these faces are of happier times. After combat they would have looked almost the same. They may have told a joke or two. They may have been able to laugh with their friends. They would have returned changed to the people closest to them. There would have been changes associated with combat but it would be passed off as "he'll get over it" or "he just needs time then he'll be ok." Veterans like this would have a hard time getting claims approved. There are no obvious wounds of war. They may have trouble getting jobs and keeping them. They may have trouble sleeping. They may have trouble with flashbacks and nightmares draining their energy. When they are waiting for help as well as having to fight for it, they begin to lose hope of getting any better as their condition becomes worse. This is what PTSD looks like. These veterans lost hope of healing and they all committed suicide.
We lost 18 veterans the day we celebrated Veterans' Day. It was not so unusual on that day because it happens every day of the year. There are another 10,000 veterans attempting suicide each year. Those are just the ones the government is aware of. There are more.
We read reports over the years stating clearly suicides in the Army have risen no matter what the Army has attempted to do to address this. We read reports of veterans committing suicide no matter what the VA attempts to do to address this. What we don't read about are the numbers of veterans in between soldier under the Department of Defense and veteran in the VA system. We have no idea how many committed suicide in between. When they are discharged, the military does not know and does not attempt to know. Until they are in the VA system with an approved claim, the VA does not know about them and does not attempt to know. While we may read in the local newspaper about the death of a veteran, most of the obituaries will state "died suddenly" and that is the end of their story. We don't know what they went through after war. Usually the families are not sure what happened either.
Their flesh survived the traumas of war. We assume the rest of "them" did as well.
There is a deep, dark prevalence of "let the VA take care of them" among service organizations. We hear there are more doctors and mental health workers being hired, that the VA and the DOD are doing something about all of this, but what we don't understand is that while these veterans are in clear need of help, what the DOD and the VA have been doing is not enough to meet the needs of the veterans. They are doing the best they can with what they have right now, but with all the years they were not mobilizing to be proactive there were more and more veterans needing help before they could catch up. These veterans end up in a waiting line while they have to fight to have their claims approved, their wounds treated and be able to pay their bills. The rest of us pass all this off as, "If they have a real disability the VA will take care of them." but we never consider what happens between wound and approved claim. We also tend to dismiss the fact there are lower ratings than the veterans wound calls for. They then have to fight for the increase while they see the pressure and stress rise when they cannot pay their bills, find and keep jobs and their lives fall apart.
There is an even darker prevalence of the clergy unable and unwilling to understand what is happening to these veterans. While many churches are more than willing to celebrate Veterans Day with special services, they are the last to respond to the spiritual need of these veterans in need of help healing what the eyes cannot see. PTSD is eating them alive, pulling them away from God as hope erodes. They see their families suffer because of the changes in themselves but they are powerless to do anything about any of it. Knowing they need help but unable to find the help they need, they turn to drugs and alcohol. They sought help of the VA but the VA cannot get them appointments right away and their claim is trapped in the backlog pile as if their entire life is just supposed to go on hold and their financial support is unimportant.
None of them seem to notice all the groups forming to try to fill in the gaps because they are tired of waiting as they watch the death count go up, homeless veterans join more homeless veterans, families fall apart and yes, suicides claim more of the combat survivors.
As much as it is easy to overlook the wound we cannot see, it is just as easy to overlook the veterans without the help they need to heal. While there are some parts of the country with veterans service groups stepping up to help, in other parts of the country more are finding excuses to not get involved. They are content to just sit back and wait for the VA to do it. They simply believe the press releases that the VA and the DOD are taking care of it while ignoring the reports about how the need is getting worse.
What is perhaps the most sickening thing of all of this is that none of it has to happen.
This is what can be done.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Veterans Court, A second chance for vets
A second chance for vetsNew program: County Veterans Court helps those in trouble with PTSDCHRISTIAN HILL; The Olympian • Published July 26, 2009A former Army Ranger, he served a combined 18 months in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, and lost his best friend in an attack.Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Harrington, 26, couldn’t hold down any one of a series of eight jobs. Always on edge, he’d binge drink to get a good night’s sleep; otherwise, he’d be up for days. He fired three therapists after exploding in anger when they wanted him to talk about experiences he had locked deep inside.A man who served and lived by the motto “Rangers lead the way,” Harrington had lost his way in civilian life.“I thought I was invincible, and I can’t hold a (expletive) job,” said Harrington, who left the Army more than four years ago.In April 2008, he hit his wife. A neighbor called police, and Harrington was arrested and charged with fourth-degree assault. She has since left him.Harrington will not be locked up as a result of a new Thurston County program that convened for the first time last week.Thurston County Veterans Court offers a second chance to current and retired service members who commit crimes while struggling with war-related psychological wounds, notably PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. Buffalo, N.Y., started the first such court last year, and numerous communities have followed in its footsteps.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Ogden VFW post to host seminar on PTSD
Ogden VFW post to host seminar on PTSDPress ReleaseOGDEN - The Ogden Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1481 will host a free information seminar on Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Tuesday, July 28 from 7 to 9 p.m.Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that some people develop after being exposed to an event that caused or threatened serious harm or death. Although many military men and women returning from a combat area do suffer from PTSD, it is not a disorder exclusive to veterans.So who gets it? Anyone can. PTSD affects children, women, and men of any age; about 5.2 million adults in any year. PTSD can be experienced immediately or have a delayed onset.What causes PTSD? An overload to the nervous system through trauma or torture exposure; an extreme threat or disruption to life; repeated abuse or danger; seeing someone you care about die, near death or having their life threatened, can bring on PTSD. Rape or sexual attack, being shot at, natural disasters, a vehicle crash, kidnapping or having to fight for your life or the life of someone else are just a few potential severe emotional traumas that can bring on symptoms of PTSD.
Ministries pave a spiritual path to help veterans with PTSD
Ministries pave a spiritual path to help veterans with PTSDBy G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Special for USA TODAYHopelessness haunted Tim Pollock for years after an Iraqi insurgent blew off half his skull during a reconnaissance operation in 2004. Back home in Columbiana, Ohio, the retired Army infantryman drank hard, bought a gun and considered suicide.But today Pollock, 30, has a renewed sense of purpose despite his seizures and other war-related disabilities. He visits soldiers in hospitals. He coaches veterans who struggle as he does with agitation, anxiety and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). And he's studying for ministry.Ministries pave a spiritual path to help veterans with PTSDPTSD: Puts veterans at increased risk of dementiaARMY: Monitoring faulted in rise of soldier suicidesCATHARSIS: Stressed troops take cues from ancient plays"I'll always have post-traumatic stress, but I'm learning through God how to control that," says Pollock, who leads a veteran support group through Point Man International Ministries, an independent non-profit. "I'm learning how to change my feelings of anger into feelings of love and help people with their problems."As soldiers return home from Iraq and Afghanistan, congregations are discovering how spirituality can help veterans afflicted with postwar stress. But many pastors remain unsure how to help when veterans contend with chronic nightmares, outbursts and panic attacks.
Click on the links to read more about what can be done when the rest of the country stops using excuses and steps up to help these veterans heal. They only ask for what they need but were willing to give all they had.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Healing after a traumatic crisis
Taking a look at what humans face in our daily lives that involve times of crisis may help us understand why soldiers end up suffering so much more.
Levels of crisis in our own lives.
Loss of a pet, we are told, get a new one
Loss of a friend and feeling totally lonely, we are told, go out and meet someone else.
Loss of parent for an adult child, we are told, at least we had them as long as we did.
Loss of a spouse due to death or divorce, we are told, you are still young enough to find someone else.
Loss of a child, we are told, you can have more.
We lose jobs and are told we are better off and will find a better job, but no one seems to be able to tell us how to pay our bills, find our pride when our identity was connected to the job we did everyday. No one can tell us why it was us getting let go of while others were still on the job no matter if we were better or not at ours. Companies close their doors and everyone is unemployed but no one seems to be able to tell us how we an tell our kids we have to move out of the house because we can't find a job and pay the mortgage anymore.
Illness that comes and we are told we will die soon then we have to decide if we want to fight it, put a financial and emotional burden on our families or if it would hurt them more for us to give up.
Perhaps the worst thing we go through is when we believe we did the best we could, did what we were intended to do, did the right thing and still had to carry a heavy load away while others seem to be able to just go off on their merry way without ever having to pay a price for anything.
Now that it is in more common terms, this is what the go through. They deal with the rest of the crisis we all do but then they get to have to watch their friends die, strangers die all around them and too often have to be the one to take a life to save the lives of those they serve with.
Now maybe you can understand the following a bit better.
Trying to find an eraser.
Trying to dismiss Maj. Hasan as "not one of our own" instead of acknowledging that he was but turned against them is like trying to think of it as a total stranger coming onto the base with weapons and deciding to kill off some soldiers. Having a picture of that in their minds will only make it worse. Hasan was one of their own but not worthy of them, the rank he held or the fact he was put in the care of their mental health. The result after trauma will still be there but without facing the truth behind the suffering, they will be filled with absolutely no reason for the pain they are carrying.
Battle Buddies aid so that soldiers can have someone to talk to and have someone watching their backs. Problem is, are they trained to know what is the right thing to say, the right thing to do, when to call for more help? It would be great if they simply took their own life experiences and then used their hearts to see the need. Then they would automatically know what to do and how to respond. Untrained, they could make things worse. They need to be there to listen, be quiet when needed and speak when needed but they also need to know what to say.
Imagine a well meaning chaplain trying to explain the worst thing possible and come up with a reason for it. While the do not intend to do harm their mouths can do more harm than good simply by a choice of words.
Death of a friend, "God needed them more"
A loss of a friend, breakup of a marriage, death of a family member or severe wounding, "God only gives us what we can handle"
These kinds of statements do as much harm as when they ask "Have you thought about killing yourself?" which may in fact put the idea into their head as a solution to their problems.
There is so much that goes into this and we need to be asking if and how well these battle buddies are trained especially when there was yet another report of the suicide rate going up again.
Young Fort Hood Soldier Reacts: 'I Wanted To Cry, But I Couldn't'
Joshua Chaney Contributor
Posted: 11/10/09
Glen Jolivette, 19, of Coshocton, Ohio, had the day off from his job as an Army signal support systems specialist at Ft. Hood last Thursday when the accused gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, started shooting.
"I found out about everything going on over a public announcement system," Jolivette said. "It said word for word, 'Seek shelter immediately, close all doors and windows, make sure all ventilation is closed.'"
Looking out the window of his room, he saw about a dozen civilian helicopters in the sky. He got on the Internet and found out what had happened. As he refreshed the page, the death toll continued to rise.
Out his window, he saw "the creepiest thing in the world. The busiest post in the world was totally dead, no one in sight. I felt a rock just build up in my chest and I wanted to cry, but I couldn't."
read more here
Young Fort Hood Soldier Reacts
Levels of crisis in our own lives.
Loss of a pet, we are told, get a new one
Loss of a friend and feeling totally lonely, we are told, go out and meet someone else.
Loss of parent for an adult child, we are told, at least we had them as long as we did.
Loss of a spouse due to death or divorce, we are told, you are still young enough to find someone else.
Loss of a child, we are told, you can have more.
We lose jobs and are told we are better off and will find a better job, but no one seems to be able to tell us how to pay our bills, find our pride when our identity was connected to the job we did everyday. No one can tell us why it was us getting let go of while others were still on the job no matter if we were better or not at ours. Companies close their doors and everyone is unemployed but no one seems to be able to tell us how we an tell our kids we have to move out of the house because we can't find a job and pay the mortgage anymore.
Illness that comes and we are told we will die soon then we have to decide if we want to fight it, put a financial and emotional burden on our families or if it would hurt them more for us to give up.
Perhaps the worst thing we go through is when we believe we did the best we could, did what we were intended to do, did the right thing and still had to carry a heavy load away while others seem to be able to just go off on their merry way without ever having to pay a price for anything.
Now that it is in more common terms, this is what the go through. They deal with the rest of the crisis we all do but then they get to have to watch their friends die, strangers die all around them and too often have to be the one to take a life to save the lives of those they serve with.
Now maybe you can understand the following a bit better.
Trying to find an eraser.
Trying to dismiss Maj. Hasan as "not one of our own" instead of acknowledging that he was but turned against them is like trying to think of it as a total stranger coming onto the base with weapons and deciding to kill off some soldiers. Having a picture of that in their minds will only make it worse. Hasan was one of their own but not worthy of them, the rank he held or the fact he was put in the care of their mental health. The result after trauma will still be there but without facing the truth behind the suffering, they will be filled with absolutely no reason for the pain they are carrying.
Hasan "Not One of Our Own," Soldier Says
1st Responder to Scene of Deadly Shooting Says "Soldiers Do Not Do This to Each Other"; Fort Hood Seeks Return to Normalcy
(CBS) Updated 6:48 p.m. EST
Soldiers at Fort Hood continued to display a mix of anger and disbelief at Maj. Nidal Hasan's alleged role in the deadly shooting rampage that left 13 people dead and dozens more wounded.
"I can't really say this was done by one of our own. Soldiers do not do this to each other," said 1st Sgt. James McLeod, a first responder to the scene whose unit suffered three fatalities.
But for the first time in almost a week at Fort Hood, there was a homecoming of troops from war - a bittersweet time for the post still grieving last week's shooting. Nearly 300 members of the 1st Cavalry Division returned home Tuesday night after a year in Iraq - the first such reunion since last Thursday's deadly rampage, reports CBS News correspondent Don Teague.
"It's kind of bittersweet to me," Jennifer Goetz, the wife of returning soldier Specialist Sean Goetz told Teague. "So much loss and then just so much happiness right now and love and joy."
Meanwhile, military officials at the base are focused on ensuring the mental health of soldiers as Fort Hood slowly returns to normal after a fatal shooting rampage last week.
"The mission at Fort Hood continues," Col. John Rossi said Wednesday, a day after President Barack Obama joined other officials in a memorial for the fallen.
Mr. Obama denounced the "twisted logic" of the attack and vowed their "killer will be met with justice - in this world and the next."
Rossi would not address the specifics of the case against Hasan, an Army psychiatrist.
Instead, Rossi said all the units affected must use a combination of "friendship and leadership" to help any comrades psychologically affected by the attack.
"We expect leaders to be invasive. You need to know your soldiers. It's OK to ask them how they're doing," Rossi said, adding that "battle buddies may know each other better than anybody else" and can be a valuable resource for identifying any emotional problems.
"Let's find it from within and then seek help if they need it," Rossi said.
Fifteen wounded in the attack remain in the hospital - four in intensive care - according to Rossi. He could not confirm whether any scheduled deployments would be delayed in the wake of the attack.
read more here
Hasan "Not One of Our Own," Soldier Says
Battle Buddies aid so that soldiers can have someone to talk to and have someone watching their backs. Problem is, are they trained to know what is the right thing to say, the right thing to do, when to call for more help? It would be great if they simply took their own life experiences and then used their hearts to see the need. Then they would automatically know what to do and how to respond. Untrained, they could make things worse. They need to be there to listen, be quiet when needed and speak when needed but they also need to know what to say.
Imagine a well meaning chaplain trying to explain the worst thing possible and come up with a reason for it. While the do not intend to do harm their mouths can do more harm than good simply by a choice of words.
Death of a friend, "God needed them more"
A loss of a friend, breakup of a marriage, death of a family member or severe wounding, "God only gives us what we can handle"
These kinds of statements do as much harm as when they ask "Have you thought about killing yourself?" which may in fact put the idea into their head as a solution to their problems.
There is so much that goes into this and we need to be asking if and how well these battle buddies are trained especially when there was yet another report of the suicide rate going up again.
Young Fort Hood Soldier Reacts: 'I Wanted To Cry, But I Couldn't'
Joshua Chaney Contributor
Posted: 11/10/09
Glen Jolivette, 19, of Coshocton, Ohio, had the day off from his job as an Army signal support systems specialist at Ft. Hood last Thursday when the accused gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, started shooting.
"I found out about everything going on over a public announcement system," Jolivette said. "It said word for word, 'Seek shelter immediately, close all doors and windows, make sure all ventilation is closed.'"
Looking out the window of his room, he saw about a dozen civilian helicopters in the sky. He got on the Internet and found out what had happened. As he refreshed the page, the death toll continued to rise.
Out his window, he saw "the creepiest thing in the world. The busiest post in the world was totally dead, no one in sight. I felt a rock just build up in my chest and I wanted to cry, but I couldn't."
read more here
Young Fort Hood Soldier Reacts
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.
read more here
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.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/army_suicides_111309w/
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/
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