One in five West Virginia veterans at risk for suicide

W.Va. veteran health raises flags in survey
By LAWRENCE MESSINA
Associated Press
January 8, 2013

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — One in five West Virginia veterans are at risk for suicide while half show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or both, researchers told lawmakers on Tuesday.

The figures come from a recent survey of more than 1,200 state veterans, which also found higher than normal rates for obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, West Virginia University psychology professor Joseph Scotti said. The study was commissioned by the Legislature.

The findings prompted Scotti and the survey team to recommend a comprehensive plan to provide needed mental health services to veterans. Such a plan should include a public service campaign to alert veterans to available resources, educating health care providers and working more closely with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facilities in the state, Scotti told the House-Senate Select Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

"The VA can't do it alone," Scotti said.

Close to 170,000 West Virginians are veterans, more than one in 10 adults, according to the latest estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau. Just 11 states have a larger segment of veterans among their residents. More than two-thirds of West Virginia's veterans are 55 or older, while around 7 percent have served since the Sept. 11 attacks, according to the estimate.
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Study: Veterans struggle with depression, PTSD
WAJR.com

About half of West Virginia's veterans are facing some type of depression or post traumatic stress disorder, and one in five struggles with suicidal thoughts, according to a study presented to a legislative interim committee Tuesday.

Dr. Joseph Scotti, a West Virginia University professor, on Tuesday presented the results of a survey of 1,200 veterans, to the Select Committee on Veterans Affairs.

The results show widespread mental health issues facing the state's veterans of all ages. About half of younger veterans have post traumatic stress disorder, while a quarter of older veterans have similar obstacles, Scotti said.

"If we look at the information in terms of the number of people who meet the clinical cutoff for depression and or post traumatic stress disorder, we're at 50 percent," Scotti said.

The survey looked at depression symptoms, such as sleeplessness, feelings of guilt, low self worth, lack of appetite, suicidal thoughts and more.
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KBR found guilty wants tax payers to pay again for Iraq veterans

KBR, Guilty In Iraq Negligence, Wants Taxpayers To Foot The Bill
Ryan J. Reilly
Posted: 01/09/2013

WASHINGTON -- Sodium dichromate is an orange-yellowish substance containing hexavalent chromium, an anti-corrosion chemical. To Lt. Col. James Gentry of the Indiana National Guard, who was stationed at the Qarmat Ali water treatment center in Iraq just after the 2003 U.S. invasion, it was “just different-colored sand.” In their first few months at the base, soldiers were told by KBR contractors running the facility the substance was no worse than a mild irritant.

Gentry was one of approximately 830 service members, including active-duty soldiers and members of the National Guard and reserve units from Indiana, South Carolina, West Virginia and Oregon, assigned to secure the water treatment plant, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sodium dichromate is not a mild irritant. It is an extreme carcinogen. In November 2009, at age 52, Gentry died of cancer. The VA affirmed two months later that his death was service-related.

In November, a jury found KBR, the military's largest contractor, guilty of negligence in the poisoning of a dozen soldiers, and ordered the company to pay $85 million in damages. Jurors found KBR knew both of the presence and toxicity of the chemical. Other lawsuits against KBR are pending.

KBR, however, says taxpayers should be on the hook for the verdict, as well as more than $15 million the company has spent in its failed legal defense, according to court documents and attorneys involved with the case.

KBR's contract with the U.S. to rebuild Iraq’s oil infrastructure after the 2003 invasion includes an indemnity agreement protecting the company from legal liability, KBR claims in court filings. That agreement, KBR insists, means the federal government must pay the company's legal expenses plus the verdict won by 12 members of the Oregon National Guard who were exposed to the toxin at the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant.
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Veterans suicides now at 22 a day

Wed Jan 09 2013
Army psychiatrist Christopher Ivany discusses what it being done to combat the high number of suicides by members of the armed forces.
The Fold/ The Washington Post
Veterans Suicides may very well have increased to 22 a day.

PTSD, a Navy SEAL and family left behind

Wed Jan 09 2013
When Navy SEAL Robert Guzzo returned from Iraq, he feared seeking treatment for PTSD would endanger his career. The Fold devotes today’s show to telling his story.

The Fold/ The Washington Post

After Veterans Day, he went to "be with the angels" after he committed suicide.

Wed Jan 09 2013
Army psychiatrist Christopher Ivany discusses what it being done to combat the high number of suicides by members of the armed forces.
The Fold/ The Washington Post
Veterans Suicides may very well have increased to 22 a day.

World War II veteran gets duffel bag back

World War II veteran gets duffel bag back after almost 70 years
By Randi Belisomo
WGN-TV
January 8, 2013

A World War II veteran from Indiana has his duffel bag back almost 70 years after he lost it.

William Kadar was fighting the Germans in France in November of 1944 when he became separated from his trusty sack.

“Well, I finally got it!” Kadar, 92, said today in Merrillville.

He was later captured by the Germans and forced to march across France and Germany to a prisoner of war camp. The camp was liberated, but Kadar did not see his bag again until today.
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