2 million men and women have shouldered deployments

A million soldiers deployed since 9/11

By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 18, 2009 14:35:33 EST

Eight years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, American troops have deployed almost 3.3 million times to Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Defense Department data.

The numbers, as of October 2009, show that more than 2 million men and women have shouldered those deployments, with 793,000 of them deploying more than once.

Here’s a look at how the numbers break down, by service.
go here for the numbers
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/12/army_deployments_121809w/

Wise men would still be lost if they had help like this

Three wise men (kings) prayed for a sign the deliverer, the answer to their prayers had finally show up. They checked and rechecked their charts and knew what to look for so that they would be ready when the evidence was there. When the star started to shine in the sky, they knew they had to follow it because it was exactly what they had been waiting for. All the evidence told them they were right so without hesitation, each left their own part of the world, traveled their own road, at their own pace, but managed to get to the place where they would find the answer to their prayers. Christ was born and they had arrived to greet him.

Ever wonder if they didn't have a clue what the star would mean? Ever wonder if they never bothered to look up and see the star? That's the biggest problem of all. It's not that help and the answer to prayers is not out there. It's just that people don't have a clue what to look for or how to get there from here. Sorry the DOD and the VA have yet to figure out how to get up a star to shine the way. What we do have is an archive filled with 30 years of research and news reports, letters to the editor printed in local papers, divorce filings, arrest reports and the conclusion of research papers in most colleges plus a ton of thesis papers. We also have the living veterans from combat going back to WWII, although few of them remain.

So what's the problem? Why are we still doing studies, funding research on what was already done instead of taking what is already known and then taking it all forward? Wouldn't that be the best way to get to where we need to go? Veterans are waiting for what they were promised. Families are waiting for hope and what they need. The facts are waiting to be used so that people stop suffering needlessly. Isn't it time someone gave the road map to the DOD and the VA to get them where they need to be?

NONE OF THIS IS NEW and there are too few new programs to justify the waste of time and money repeating it all over again.

They need medication and I won't argue against it. It cannot be the answer to everything though. They need therapy. They are getting it.

They need their families support as well as being involved in their care. This isn't happening all over the country. It's only available in certain parts of the country. Too many mental health providers think they shouldn't have to waste their time with the families instead of considering the likelihood the veteran is holding back instead of being totally honest and the instead of the family telling the provider what is really going on with them, they trust the person needing help instead. A veteran has a hard time saying they haven't had sex in years when they see Viagra commercials on every program they watch. They will minimize sleeping problems in general just as they will minimize what is being done to the family simply because they are oblivious to it.

They need the support of the community to honor their service but above that, understand what their service did to some of them and not fear it. Crimes in PTSD veterans are not what you think. Considering how few of them are actually involved in crimes, that's pretty obvious. They need jobs and friends that will really listen to them talk and be there for them. They need them to be aware of what PTSD and how they can help.

Most of the time, when people feel lost they just need a little help to get to where they are going. If they pull over on the side of the road and keep getting wrong directions, they are more lost and finding it very hard to find hope enough to ask for help again. That's what we're seeing today. So as we celebrate the day Christ was born, think about the wise men and the star and finally, once and for all, remember the veterans are feeling lost because the signs are not clear showing them were they need to go or how to get there from here.

Patrick Air Force Military Mom under fire for tweet after son's death

I want to be angry with this story, but I can't. No one can ever figure out how someone will react to shock, especially after losing your own child. Maybe she was feeling a need to connect and judging by the numbers of her followers, she must have been very good at it, felt at home doing it and it may have seemed natural to her.

I went the other way when I was feeling grief. For me it was when my Mom died and when my brother died. I did a quick note on the blog before heading off to the airport. Yet when my dog Brandon was dying and I faced the fact he'd have to be put down, I did a huge post the day before. It doesn't mean I loved my Mom or my brother less, it was just different circumstances. I didn't need to share online. I needed to share with the rest of my family back home in Massachusetts. When it was my dog, yet another member of my family, I needed to share what I was going thru as the clock was ticking away and his life was ending. No one responds the same way, so while our knee jerk reaction may be to blame this Mom, we have no way of knowing for sure exactly how we'd respond.

Florida mom under fire for tweet after son's death

MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. (AP) — A Florida mother is being criticized by bloggers and Twitter users for posting a tweet less than an hour after her 2-year-old son drowned in a swimming pool at her home.

Shellie Ross, a 38-year-old stay-at-home mother who lives outside Patrick Air Force Base where her husband serves, posted a message asking that people pray for her son after he had fallen into the family's swimming pool on Monday. Her son, Bryson, died at a hospital less than an hour after paramedics responded.

Ross has more than 5,000 followers on her Twitter account, Military—Mom, and she also maintains a blog, Blog4Mom.
read more here
Florida mom under fire for tweet after son's death

Roy Hallums talks about time in Iraq as hostage

Roy Hallums was abducted and held hostage in Iraq for 311 days until U.S. Special Forces found him buried alive. In an AC360 interview, Hallums recalls how his cell almost became his tomb -- and how his rescue was a "miracle."

Pregnancy in Iraq could mean court-martial

Pregnancy in Iraq could mean court-martial

By Anne Flaherty - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Dec 18, 2009 17:37:58 EST

WASHINGTON — An Army general in northern Iraq has added pregnancy to the list of reasons a soldier under his command could be court-martialed.

The new policy, outlined last month by Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo and released Friday by the Army, would apply to both female soldiers who become pregnant on the battlefield and the male soldiers who impregnate them.

Civilians reporting to Cucolo also could face criminal prosecution under the new guidelines.
read more here
Pregnancy in Iraq could mean court martial