Murder witness sues Calif. Army National Guard
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Dec 31, 2012
LOS ANGELES — A sergeant is suing his employer, the California Army National Guard, for alleged retaliation after he testified in the murder trial of a colleague who was later convicted of killing a pregnant recruit.
City News Service reports Sgt. Erik Hein also claims infliction of emotional distress in the lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
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Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Marine Vietnam Veteran on mission to mend others
Marine inspires wave of help
Healing the wounds of war, one quarter at a time
By Dana M. Nichols
Record Staff Writer
January 01, 2013
MURPHYS - Ric Ryan is healing war wounds.
It happens every time someone in a passing car waves at Ryan as he takes his regular walk along Highway 4 between Murphys and Angels Camp.
Ryan always waves back. He keeps a count. For every time he waves, he donates 25 cents to Operation Mend, a University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center charity that surgically rebuilds the disfigured faces of soldiers wounded in the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"He is one of the most amazing human beings I have ever met," said Becky Mancuso-Winding, the UCLA Medical Center staffer who processes Ryan's donations.
"His donations now total $16,000, and he sends checks regularly," Mancuso-Winding wrote in an email.
The wounds Ryan is helping to heal aren't just those of the soldiers whose faces were melted by roadside bombs.
Ryan, 67, served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam. He has a few invisible wounds of his own.
Healing the wounds of war, one quarter at a time
By Dana M. Nichols
Record Staff Writer
January 01, 2013
MURPHYS - Ric Ryan is healing war wounds.
It happens every time someone in a passing car waves at Ryan as he takes his regular walk along Highway 4 between Murphys and Angels Camp.
Ryan always waves back. He keeps a count. For every time he waves, he donates 25 cents to Operation Mend, a University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center charity that surgically rebuilds the disfigured faces of soldiers wounded in the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"He is one of the most amazing human beings I have ever met," said Becky Mancuso-Winding, the UCLA Medical Center staffer who processes Ryan's donations.
"His donations now total $16,000, and he sends checks regularly," Mancuso-Winding wrote in an email.
The wounds Ryan is helping to heal aren't just those of the soldiers whose faces were melted by roadside bombs.
Ryan, 67, served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam. He has a few invisible wounds of his own.
Meanwhile, Ryan is also trying to heal himself. He attends Veterans Administration classes on post-traumatic stress disorder and anger management.
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Oregon State safety's Mom serving in Afghanistan
With his mom in Afghanistan, Oregon State safety Tyrequek Zimmerman shoulders heavy load
By Lindsay Schnell
The Oregonian
December 28, 2012
SAN ANTONIO -- Tyrequek Zimmerman understands it's his job as a big brother to keep an eye on his younger siblings, but the 20-year-old Oregon State safety quietly shoulders more than most college football players.
When he sensed that Wykeyhe Walker was down on Christmas Day, Zimmerman insisted his little brother visit the Beavers' team hotel. When Walker arrived, Zimmerman pressed some money into the 18-year-old's hand, told him to go shopping to cheer up and then to return after team meetings so they could hang out.
Zimmerman, a starter for the No. 15 Beavers, and Walker, a junior college player in Texas, both struggled with being away from family during the holiday. But as the oldest child, Zimmerman buries the pain of missing his mom so he can put on a brave face for his siblings.
He's done it before, but when their mother, Army Sgt. Lovier Miller, deployed from El Paso to Afghanistan on Nov. 30, Zimmerman knew it was time to step up again. In addition to her two sons, Miller left behind a daughter, 10-year-old Yasmine.
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By Lindsay Schnell
The Oregonian
December 28, 2012
SAN ANTONIO -- Tyrequek Zimmerman understands it's his job as a big brother to keep an eye on his younger siblings, but the 20-year-old Oregon State safety quietly shoulders more than most college football players.
When he sensed that Wykeyhe Walker was down on Christmas Day, Zimmerman insisted his little brother visit the Beavers' team hotel. When Walker arrived, Zimmerman pressed some money into the 18-year-old's hand, told him to go shopping to cheer up and then to return after team meetings so they could hang out.
Zimmerman, a starter for the No. 15 Beavers, and Walker, a junior college player in Texas, both struggled with being away from family during the holiday. But as the oldest child, Zimmerman buries the pain of missing his mom so he can put on a brave face for his siblings.
He's done it before, but when their mother, Army Sgt. Lovier Miller, deployed from El Paso to Afghanistan on Nov. 30, Zimmerman knew it was time to step up again. In addition to her two sons, Miller left behind a daughter, 10-year-old Yasmine.
read more here
Connecticut National Guard soldier found dead at home
BY HILDA MUÑOZ
The Hartford Courant
December 31, 2012
The Connecticut National Guard is investigating the untimely death of a specialist at his home in New Milford on Christmas Day.
Authorities are not releasing the soldier's name. The death appears to have been a suicide, but an autopsy has not been conducted, said Col. John Whitford, a spokesman for the Guard.
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Another stupid piece of news about another PTSD study
Another stupid piece of news about another PTSD study
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
January 1, 2013
Sickening how the first post of 2013 has to be about going after another stupid piece of news about another PTSD study.
This report has been passed around the web for a couple of weeks now and I cannot just ignore it any longer.
Click the link to read more if you want to but I am still sitting here wondering how much more money they will waste on rediscovering the same thing.
PTSD comes with a long list of mental health symptoms that can be misdiagnosed as something else unless the mental health professional has been specially trained in trauma. They know what to look for. That is what you really have to know. You can be healed, but not cured. PTSD can be prevented and professionals have been doing that for about 30 years now because of studies done on Vietnam Veterans that began 40 years ago. You should know all of that too.
Actually this is wrong too. It should be after the event itself, before PTSD has a chance to take hold.
That is why there are Crisis Intervention Teams.
My family unknowingly was practicing this all my life. By the time I was in grade school, I almost died plus grew up with a violent alcoholic Dad, and oh by the way, my house had been broken into. By the time I was in Junior High School, all of that was topped off with a two cars burning and another hospital stay. By the time I was in High School, all that came with me but had not claimed me. Then there was my ex-husband tried to kill me, a bad car accident should have killed me but I walked away from it. Then there was being married to this husband, a Vietnam veteran with PTSD, another life threatening situation when I was suffering a miscarriage of twins and hemorrhaged. That was followed by another hospital stay after the birth of my daughter and an infection nearly killed me. So please understand that while I'm reading the load of bullshit about chronic worry, I am shaking my head wondering how much money will keep being wasted.
The difference is, my family talked about everything until there was nothing left to say about any of it. They did what crisis intervention teams have been doing well before there was any "scientific data" to prove it worked.
Chronic worry? Well I guess I had that all my life but didn't end up with PTSD. Just worrying about something before being exposed to a traumatic event does not create PTSD. Not doing the right thing afterwards does. That is part of PTSD when paranoia sets in.
I have plenty of reasons to have PTSD, but only one reason I don't have it. Talking about it to someone I knew cared about me and was willing to listen made all the difference in the world. The rest of these so called "research" projects are a waste of time and money.
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times Blog
January 1, 2013
Sickening how the first post of 2013 has to be about going after another stupid piece of news about another PTSD study.
This report has been passed around the web for a couple of weeks now and I cannot just ignore it any longer.
Chronic worry linked PTSD
Created: Monday, December 31, 2012
Constant worriers are at increased risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a new study.
Many people experience traumatic events - such as witnessing violence, being assaulted or the death of a loved one - but only a few develop PTSD, noted study author Naomi Breslau, a professor of epidemiology at Michigan State University.
People with PTSD feel stressed and fearful after experiencing or seeing a dangerous event long after the danger is over.
"So the question is, 'What's the difference between those who develop PTSD and the majority who don't.' This paper says people who are habitually anxious are more vulnerable. It's an important risk factor," Breslau said in a university news release.
The study included about 1 000 people who answered questions meant to assess their level of neuroticism, which is marked by chronic anxiety, depression and a tendency to overreact to everyday challenges and disappointments.
Click the link to read more if you want to but I am still sitting here wondering how much more money they will waste on rediscovering the same thing.
PTSD comes with a long list of mental health symptoms that can be misdiagnosed as something else unless the mental health professional has been specially trained in trauma. They know what to look for. That is what you really have to know. You can be healed, but not cured. PTSD can be prevented and professionals have been doing that for about 30 years now because of studies done on Vietnam Veterans that began 40 years ago. You should know all of that too.
"Getting treatment as soon as possible after post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms develop may prevent long-term post-traumatic stress disorder."
Actually this is wrong too. It should be after the event itself, before PTSD has a chance to take hold.
That is why there are Crisis Intervention Teams.
My family unknowingly was practicing this all my life. By the time I was in grade school, I almost died plus grew up with a violent alcoholic Dad, and oh by the way, my house had been broken into. By the time I was in Junior High School, all of that was topped off with a two cars burning and another hospital stay. By the time I was in High School, all that came with me but had not claimed me. Then there was my ex-husband tried to kill me, a bad car accident should have killed me but I walked away from it. Then there was being married to this husband, a Vietnam veteran with PTSD, another life threatening situation when I was suffering a miscarriage of twins and hemorrhaged. That was followed by another hospital stay after the birth of my daughter and an infection nearly killed me. So please understand that while I'm reading the load of bullshit about chronic worry, I am shaking my head wondering how much money will keep being wasted.
The difference is, my family talked about everything until there was nothing left to say about any of it. They did what crisis intervention teams have been doing well before there was any "scientific data" to prove it worked.
Chronic worry? Well I guess I had that all my life but didn't end up with PTSD. Just worrying about something before being exposed to a traumatic event does not create PTSD. Not doing the right thing afterwards does. That is part of PTSD when paranoia sets in.
I have plenty of reasons to have PTSD, but only one reason I don't have it. Talking about it to someone I knew cared about me and was willing to listen made all the difference in the world. The rest of these so called "research" projects are a waste of time and money.
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