Family support 'vital' for service members being deployed

Marine Corporal Adam Marano hugs his wife Melissa Marano on November 3 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Family support 'vital' for service members being deployed
By Ed Hornick, CNN
December 7, 2009 -- Updated 2338 GMT (0738 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Adm. Mike Mullen speaks to crowd at Camp Lejeune on Monday
Mullen: We could not be the military "we are without extraordinary family support"
Military families struggle when loved ones are serving in the war theater

(CNN) -- "You don't do it alone," Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday to a crowd gathered at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. "You do it with phenomenal family support. And we could not be the Marine Corps we are, the military we are without extraordinary family support."

Mullen's pep talk -- along with a question and answer session -- was geared to the new 30,000-troop surge to Afghanistan that President Obama laid out last week. He also thanked those in the audience -- many of whom will soon be deployed to Afghanistan.

"I am and will be eternally grateful for your service to our country at this very, very critical time," he said. "Everybody makes a difference. This is taking care of each other. This is taking care of all the responsibilities both here for our families as well as moving forward."

Military families struggle when their loved ones are serving in the war theater -- both economically and emotionally.

Teresa Meador offered advice to other Marine wives on what to expect.

"My one piece of advice, and I was given this advice by a Marine wife: 'It [war] makes a weak marriage weaker, and a strong marriage stronger,' " Meador said. "And that's very true. You can take it and run with it, or it can break you down. And it's up to you."
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Family support vital for service members being deployed

also

Marine Unit Comes Home to 77 New Babies!
December 7, 2009 - 10:45 AM by: Caroline Shively
Members of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit out of Camp LeJeune, NC missed a lot during their seven-month deployment at sea -- specifically 77 of their wives giving birth back at home. Lance Corporal Jasen Kratzer figured he'd be one of those dads who learned about his new baby via telegram while he was deployed.

His wife, Madison, was prepared to go it alone as her husband made stops in Kuwait, Greece, Bulgaria, and throughout the Middle East during his deployment at sea.

"It's sad that he has to miss so much," she said. "But it's what he wants to do. He wants to serve so that other people can be with their families all the time."

Then Kratzer's bosses on ship came up with an idea. They knew that about the time Madison was supposed to have her labor induced, Jasen would be training in Kuwait with access to video teleconference equipment. From there, it was up to the baby to be ready in time before the Marines had to head back to the ship.
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Marine Unit Comes Home to 77 New Babies

Saving lives on the front line

When traumatic events happen in our communities, crisis teams rush in because it has been found to be a preventative to PTSD. The availability of having someone to talk to, someone who will not judge or minimize what the survivors are going thru is a Godsend along with opening up with other survivors of the unique event they have in common. There is finally a change coming in the military as they try to approach PTSD in the troops more proactively.

Secretary of Defense Gates said this morning on the Today Show, the role of the Chaplains should not be minimized. This grated on my nerves a bit when the fact is, too many Chaplains do not know what PTSD is.
They know about spiritual crisis but understanding PTSD is out of reach for most of them. They have not lead the kind of lives that will allow them to understand without someone explaining it to them fully.

In yet another attempt to get the local clergy involved in stepping up to help the veterans and their families heal, a minister would not be moved to begin to understand. After all, how could he really? He knew all of his life what he wanted to be. He never drank or smoked, touched drugs or gambled. He never really had his faith tested beyond passing his classes at the seminary. He never had to worry about paying bills because his family provided him with everything he needed. He never had to risk his life for someone else. He never had to see what they see, hear what they hear, smell what they smell or watch so many die as horribly as a soldier after an IED has blown him into pieces or witnessed the blood surrounding the body after a machine gun has pumped bullets into them. While he may care about the veterans, he is not willing to be aware of the kind of care they need from him.

At a Chaplains conference a military Chaplain admitted he knows very little about PTSD but was with the Marines in Iraq. Considering PTSD is an emotional wound and spiritual healing is vital in healing it, the military Chaplains should be fully educated on how to spot it and treat it as soon as they show signs they need help. We know the sooner we respond to the survivors after traumatic events, the lesser PTSD has the ability to invade into the soul. Having someone to talk to works wonders as long as the listener knows what to do with what was just said instead of just being there.

If they understand PTSD then they know they have to listen to what is being said as well as what is not being said. They need to pick up on the tone of voice knowing if the survivor is trying to release a deep, dark secret. They need to take the survivor back over the event and help them to see what happened was not their fault, or as with most of the time, they couldn't have done anything differently. Even in cases where they truly believe they were at fault, they need to be brought back to what happened before so they can stop seeing themselves as monsters.

They need help to see the big picture like suicide car bombers putting them on edge when a car comes too close too fast. They need to see that when an IED has taken out some in their convoy, they are watching for the next one at the same time they are watching for snipers and they react under stress. Their intention at the time is forgotten about and they need to be reminded what compelled them to do what they did.

Addressing PTSD is complicated but if the provider/responder knows what PTSD is, why it strikes some and not others, then most of what comes after is common sense. It would be a wonderful day if all military Chaplains were fully educated on PTSD as well as members of the local clergy. The spiritual wound is so deep that it changes every aspect of the veteran as well as the family, thus the community as well. Chaplains deployed need to know how to help as soon as possible and the clergy need to know how to help as well as possible for the sake of the veteran as well as the family.

Saving lives on the front line
Images: Photographer Erin Trieb spends six weeks with the U.S. Army's busiest trauma center in Afghanistan.

U.S. troops carry Sgt. Maj. Patrick Corcoran of the 10th Mountain Division’s 2-87 Infantry Battalion to a helicopter on Aug. 12, 2009. He suffered extensive spinal cord injuries when the armored vehicle he was traveling in hit an improvised explosive device, or IED, in Wardak province. Corcoran, who is now being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center., had been with the military for about 20 years.

Before being shipped out of Afghanistan, Corcoran received treatment at the 8th Forward Surgical Team trauma center in a remote corner of Logar province.

Made of plywood and housed in a small tent, the center may not look like much, but it became the U.S. Army's busiest trauma center in Afghanistan during photographer Erin Trieb’s six-week visit in mid-2009.

TODAY reports from Afghanistan
Dec. 8: TODAY's Matt Lauer and Al Roker report from Afghanistan as part of a two day special titled TODAY in Afghanistan and travel with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Increases in PTSD Rate Outpace Growth of Services

Increases in PTSD Rate Outpace Growth of Services
By Bob Gordon

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not new. Ninety years ago it was known as 'shell shock'. Sixty years ago, 'Battle Exhaustion.' The rate that is surging amongst US military personnel today is.
It was only slightly more than thirty years ago, in the wake of the Vietnam War, that the roots of the syndrome, simply trauma and stress as a consequence, began to be understood.
In both the US and Canadian military awareness of it has increased significantly over the last decade. They have been compelled to subsequent to very public evidence.
In Canada General (ret.) Romeo Dallaire, a national hero who had commanded the NATO forces in Rwanda, was found incoherent and intoxicated on a park bench in the National Capital Region.
In the United States it first emerged in relation to escalating domestic violence reports amongst returned veterans of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Similar if less significant trends became apparent in other crime statistics also. The stakes from grown quickly recently.
It was only slightly more than a month ago that that Major Nidal Hassan went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood in Texas. He attacked the Soldier Readiness Processing Center shortly after it opened on Nov. 5, killing 13 and wounding 29. Hassan was a psychiatrist, employed to treat troops with PTSD.
A psychiatrist who also has worked with returnees suffering from PTSD, boldly suggests that incidents of this nature, soldier-on-soldier violence will become increasingly common. Dr. Kernan Manion, a psychiatrist worked for a personnel-recruiting company contracted by the Defense Department at Camp Lejeune, told ipsnews.net,

If not more Fort Hoods, Camp Liberties, soldier fratricide, spousal homicide, we’ll see it individually in suicides, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, family dysfunction. That’s what we’re going to have. Broken, not contributing, not functional, members of society.

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http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/283429

Veterans’ transition not always smooth

Veterans’ transition not always smooth
By Anna Archibald

Wednesday, December 9, 2009


Underneath his blankets, a cold sweat interrupts his sleep. That single, life-altering day two years ago still haunts his dreams — well, nightmares.

The Marine unit was on a routine mission in Fallujah, Iraq, at 2 a.m. Everything seemed normal. Matt Stroh was on top of the Humvee keeping a lookout with his M240G machine gun, which was attached to the top of the vehicle. He sat down. Not a second later, he heard a loud bang, followed by a bright flash of light. Stroh’s head slammed against the side of the vehicle. His body twisted and he landed in pain. They’d been hit.
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Veterans transition not always smooth

N.C. Marine dies in argument over Texas game

SPORTS DIGEST

N.C. Marine dies in argument over Texas game
COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS


Tuesday, December 08, 2009

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

North Carolina Marine dies in argument over Big 12 title game

Police in North Carolina are saying a Marine was accidentally shot to death when he got into an argument with a friend over the Texas-Nebraska Big 12 title game.

Police say 21-year-old Johnathan Clinton Rodriguez was shot after banter escalated into a scuffle with a fellow Marine, Lionel Loya, 23, at a home. Loya had a gun that went off during the struggle. Loya has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
N C Marine dies in argument over Texas game