3rd Graders At Tussing Elementary School.
Music Thank Our Troops and Veterans
Michael Souders
Tussing Elementary School Music
www.tussingmusic.com
Thursday, December 10, 2009
War Damaged Vets Should Not Be Executed By the State
Vietnam veterans didn't have the luxury of Veterans Courts and understanding judges more interested in providing real justice than the ruthless abandonment of gratefulness for service. Given the fact many Vietnam veterans, like others before, were drafted into serving, one fact remains constant, they chose to serve instead of run away. Some enlisted willingly and they served side by side taking the same risks, watching over each other with courage and commitment to do their best with the soldiers who were chosen to go. Even now communities around the country are not acknowledging the uniqueness of the men and women serving in the military. Their desire to be of service does not suddenly become obsolete when they come home. It takes a unique individual to be able to put their lives on the line for the sake of strangers in the first place. When you think about the fact they face being deployed for a year or more over and over again, leaving their families and friends, to enter into a strange country for the sake of this country, it should be obvious they are not your average "Joe" and never will be. They do not suddenly change from hero to criminal without reason.
If it is PTSD, they do not and should not get a get out of jail free card but what the Veterans Courts are doing is measuring justice with appreciation for the uniqueness of their lives. It would be a wonderful day if every incarcerated veteran's case were reviewed with what we know now about PTSD so they could be provided with the same kind of justice that service those who serve as well as the citizens.
If it is PTSD, they do not and should not get a get out of jail free card but what the Veterans Courts are doing is measuring justice with appreciation for the uniqueness of their lives. It would be a wonderful day if every incarcerated veteran's case were reviewed with what we know now about PTSD so they could be provided with the same kind of justice that service those who serve as well as the citizens.
Purple Hearts On Death Row: War Damaged Vets Should Not Be Executed By the State
By Karl R. Keys and Bill Pelke, AlterNet. Posted December 4, 2009.
Soldiers are coming home traumatized by the carnage they've seen. As veterans, we believe those who commit crimes due to severe mental problems should be treated, not killed.
Mental exhaustion. Battle fatigue. PTSD. Whatever it's called, many of our soldiers who served in wars over the years came home with combat-related mental illness, traumatized by the carnage and destruction they saw and experienced.
Unfortunately, too many veterans' mental conditions have fueled criminal behavior resulting in their imprisonment. Dating back to the Civil War, veteran incarceration rates increased after each conflict.
This is not a small, marginal problem. Government statistics for the 1980s show that 21 percent of state prison inmates then were Vietnam veterans. The U.S. Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration estimate that two of every five of the 800,000 new Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans exhibit post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.
The stories of two such veterans illustrate this tragedy. This fall, Vietnam veteran James Floyd Davis was finally presented the awards due to him -- a Purple Heart and a Good Conduct medal -- in a small ceremony held in a hearing room in a North Carolina prison. Davis, now 62, was not permitted to keep his medals after the ceremony.What wasn't introduced at trial was that Davis, who attained the rank of sergeant in Vietnam, fought on a Central Highlands firebase during the Tet Offensive, where he lost his hearing, was hit with shrapnel, some of which remains in his leg, and went home with depression, paranoid schizophrenia and PTSD. His marriage fell apart, and he attempted suicide. It isn't certain if Davis will be executed, but he has given up his legal appeals. North Carolina's Center for Death Penalty Appeals and one of its attorneys, Ken Rose, continues to advocate for him.
Manny Babbitt, another Vietnam War veteran and a Marine, earned his Purple Heart for courage under fire in the battle of Khe Sanh, where 737 Americans died and more than 2,500 soldiers were wounded. Hit by rocket shrapnel that opened his skull, Babbitt lost consciousness and was thought to be dead. He was loaded onto a pile of corpses by helicopter operators where he regained consciousness surrounded by severed limbs and bodies.read more here
Ending homelessness among returning war veterans
Step one would be to respond to the soldiers in country as soon as possible following traumatic events. We manage to do it for police officers and firefighters plus survivors and witnesses but we don't seem to be able to do it for them. We know that intervention cuts down on the ravages of PTSD.
Step two would be to respond as soon as possible with help to a veteran because he is fully aware of what PTSD is and seeks it fast. Big problem here because too many still don't know what PTSD is, have a twisted idea of it given the fact the stigma lives on and too many still are not hearing what they need to know. PTSD stops getting worse as soon as it is treated.
Step three would be to make sure every community around the country had support set up to help the veterans. No more excuses. Stop pointing to the change in the rules for VA free care. While they can received medical help free of charge for five years instead of two now, this does not mean an approved claim and it sure doesn't mean they get financial support while they heal until they have an approved claim. Top that off with the fact too many claims are given a less than real disability rating but they are expected to live off of it.
Step four, would be to get the heads of the service groups to get the facts and stop making baseless claims that most of them are fakers. Yes, some officers still believe this. They don't have a clue that it takes a lot of work to get these veterans to seek help in the first place. While there are some looking for an easy ride the rest of their lives, they are the minority. There are more not seeking help who need it and deserve it than there are those who don't.
Step five, would be to make sure all family members know what PTSD is. As we reach families with the knowledge they need to help the veteran, more and more families are provided with the coping tools they need to hold the family together as well as help the veteran to heal. If they don't understand it, then they become an adversary and make situations impossible to live with.
What we see is a continuation of more of the same problem we saw after Vietnam. Homelessness is a part of it because the majority have PTSD while others have duel issues going on like addiction coupled with PTSD instead of simply self-medicating. We have complex problems even when veterans only have mild PTSD because they cannot find jobs and this extra stress adds to the issues with PTSD. Self-medicating usually leads to crimes; violence, domestic abuse, drunk driving, drug deals, the list goes on. Not all self-medicating veterans will commit crimes but face committing suicide instead.
None of this has to happen at all and that is the saddest part of all. Every time we see a homeless veteran, there is a family that fell apart before it happened. Want to reduce the number of homeless veterans? Then reduce the number of shattered families with giving them the knowledge they need to stay together and help each other.
Chaplain Kathie
Step two would be to respond as soon as possible with help to a veteran because he is fully aware of what PTSD is and seeks it fast. Big problem here because too many still don't know what PTSD is, have a twisted idea of it given the fact the stigma lives on and too many still are not hearing what they need to know. PTSD stops getting worse as soon as it is treated.
Step three would be to make sure every community around the country had support set up to help the veterans. No more excuses. Stop pointing to the change in the rules for VA free care. While they can received medical help free of charge for five years instead of two now, this does not mean an approved claim and it sure doesn't mean they get financial support while they heal until they have an approved claim. Top that off with the fact too many claims are given a less than real disability rating but they are expected to live off of it.
Step four, would be to get the heads of the service groups to get the facts and stop making baseless claims that most of them are fakers. Yes, some officers still believe this. They don't have a clue that it takes a lot of work to get these veterans to seek help in the first place. While there are some looking for an easy ride the rest of their lives, they are the minority. There are more not seeking help who need it and deserve it than there are those who don't.
Step five, would be to make sure all family members know what PTSD is. As we reach families with the knowledge they need to help the veteran, more and more families are provided with the coping tools they need to hold the family together as well as help the veteran to heal. If they don't understand it, then they become an adversary and make situations impossible to live with.
What we see is a continuation of more of the same problem we saw after Vietnam. Homelessness is a part of it because the majority have PTSD while others have duel issues going on like addiction coupled with PTSD instead of simply self-medicating. We have complex problems even when veterans only have mild PTSD because they cannot find jobs and this extra stress adds to the issues with PTSD. Self-medicating usually leads to crimes; violence, domestic abuse, drunk driving, drug deals, the list goes on. Not all self-medicating veterans will commit crimes but face committing suicide instead.
None of this has to happen at all and that is the saddest part of all. Every time we see a homeless veteran, there is a family that fell apart before it happened. Want to reduce the number of homeless veterans? Then reduce the number of shattered families with giving them the knowledge they need to stay together and help each other.
Chaplain Kathie
SOLUTIONS/BASSUK:
Ending homelessness among returning war veterans
By Dr. Ellen L. Bassuk
In a country as affluent as ours, no one should be homeless. Yet veterans who have served their country account for one-third of adult individuals who are homeless in America.
On any night, more than 130,000 veterans find themselves with no place to call home. Seven percent are women. Ending veteran homelessness starts with understanding why they become homeless.
At its core, homelessness is caused by a gap between income and the cost of housing. Given the diminished stock of affordable housing, people at the bottom of the wage scale are at greatest risk for homelessness. A minimum-wage worker cannot earn enough to pay for a two-bedroom dwelling anywhere in the United States.
Despite greater opportunities for education and training that arise from their military service, many veterans also struggle to make ends meet. Researchers report that nearly half a million veterans pay more than 50 percent of their income for rent.
read more here
Ending homelessness among returning war veterans
VETERANS MIDWEST WRITING WORKSHOP
Emma Rainy (MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop) is gathering several writers, poets and play writes to put on a workshop for emerging writers over the winter break at Iowa. We want to spread the word that this course is free and hope to supplement the food and accommodations of the students over the weekend.
Any assistance you can provide in getting the word out to veterans who want to write would be great! We are on a very short timeline
Registration is online at the site below
VETERANS MIDWEST WRITING WORKSHOP
@ The University of IOWA
January 15-17, 2010
Open to all current and former military personal
Midwest writing workshop
We each have a story to tell. And this free weekend writing workshop will help you learn how to tell it well. By using writing exercises to explore wartime experiences-the fear, the boredom, anxieties, thrills, brutality and tears-we learn how to write a story and make it compelling. Workshop participants will explore the many approaches one can take to writing about the self and will produce personnel stories by the end of the weekend. Opportunities to read each other's work (both as a class "workshop" and one-on-one with professional writers) as well as a two-week online follow up, will help continue the writing and revising process. No writing experience is needed to attend this workshop.
Where: University of Iowa campus, Iowa City, Iowa
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, January 15-17
starting at 7:00pm
This workshop is FREE! (Free lunches will be provided Saturday and Sunday)
What you'll need: A pen, pad of paper (or laptop)
Contact information:
Emma Rainey, MFA Nonfiction Writing Program
641-919-2654
John D. Mikelson, Veterans Advisor
University of Iowa Veterans Center
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Suicide may be tied to James Arthur Ray Event
CNN's Gary Tuchman reports on a death at a James Arthur Ray event ten weeks before the sweat lodge.
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