Programs For Military Families Untested But Pushed Anyway

Efforts to Help Families With Military Ties Go Untested
Valley News
By Christie Aschwanden
Special to The Washington Post
February 8, 2015

The IOM analysis found that, too often, programs for military personnel and their families are implemented without evidence that they’re effective, and few programs are monitored to track whether they’re making a real difference, says Kenneth Warner, the University of Michigan professor of public health who led the assessment. 

Veteran Jose Perez, right, with his girlfriend, Jahzeel Osejo, and two of his sons, John, front, and Joshua. After he came home from Iraq wounded, Perez felt emotionally distant and detached from his children. He has enrolled in a program that he says has helped him better connect with them.
(Washington Post - Michael Todd)

The military has never been a particularly family-friendly career. (Thus the old saying that if Uncle Sam had wanted you to have a family, he’d have issued you one.) Yet 44 percent of military personnel have children, and families serve, too.

In recognition of the rigors of service, every branch of the military runs programs to support the psychological health of military families. But a report released in 2013 by the Institute of Medicine concluded that these efforts are falling short in many areas.

Even relatively smooth deployments can strain families, says psychologist David Riggs. The person who comes back from war is not the same person who left, but the family that stays behind changes, too. “It’s not like the service member comes back” and family life just returns to normal, says Riggs, executive director of the Center for Deployment Psychology in Bethesda, Md., which trains behavioral health professionals to work with military personnel and their families.

Studies show that partners and children may develop anxiety, depression and other mental health problems while a family member is deployed, Riggs says, and these problems can persist after their loved one has come home.

The departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs have invested billions of dollars to expand their capacity to support veterans and their families, but it’s not clear that those dollars are translating into better results, says Terri Tanielian, a senior research analyst at the Rand Corp. in Arlington, Va.

“When people get care, are they getting the right care? Are they getting better, and if they’re not, is the system able to identify that and adjust accordingly?” Those questions remain unanswered, she says.
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Dallas VA Conference Clergy’s Role in Suicide Prevention

The Dallas Morning News has done it again. They put out a story that shows something that does not work along with the report of what has been working for decades. Spiritual healing for Combat PTSD.

It works so well that Point Man International Ministries, a group I am proud to be associated with, started doing it in 1984. We've been doing it because veterans and their families support each other with a commitment that is measured with love.

I've been living with and working on PTSD since 1982 but back then, without a computer, I didn't know about Point Man. I didn't hear about them until the 90's. After many years of watching what they do, I joined them.

We talk about the stuff in the news but then again, we also talk about the history of where we were and how we got to where we are now. We walked in darkness and confusion feeling lost and alone. We saw our lives fall apart. Then we were found, led to understand, found hope and became part of a family we could turn to.

It isn't about getting butts in the pew. It's about keeping souls here on earth and showing them they are not stuck where they are.

The VA, as you'll read, has been connecting to others but you hardly ever hear about it. Easier for reporters to bash what they got wrong instead of helping veterans find what they do have working right.

Dallas VA conference discusses clergy’s role in suicide prevention
Dallas Morning News
By JASMINE AGUILERA
Staff Writer
Published: 08 February 2015

“Typically, people don’t come to you and say, ‘Hey, doc,’ or ‘Hey, chaps, I have a religious problem, or I have a mental health problem,’” he said. “They come to you because they are suffering; they are in pain. Chaplains [always provide] a safe place to turn to so the healing process can begin.”

Ashley Landis/Staff Photographer
Chaplain Bill Cantrell spoke about suicide prevention efforts aimed at military personnel during a recent Veterans Affairs conference in Dallas. Since 2008, the VA and the U.S. Department of Defense have incorporated spiritual guidance into service members’ mental health care.

Reginald Robertson, an Army veteran, was at the lowest point in his life. He was angry about being homeless and dealing with a divorce, alcoholism, unemployment and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

He tried to commit suicide by swallowing much of his medication. “Anger comes in, because you feel like you’ve just let yourself and your family down,” he said.

The pills weren’t enough to kill him, but were enough to push him to reach out for help — including spiritual guidance.

He is one of thousands of veterans nationwide who have turned to clergy. A 2013 report published by the Journal of Religion and Health found that 12 percent of veterans surveyed sought spiritual consultation. About 47 percent said they were very likely to seek help from spiritual counselors.

With that in mind, since 2008, the VA and the U.S. Department of Defense have been exploring ways to incorporate spiritual guidance into service members’ mental health care. Many soldiers returning from war describe feelings of guilt or an inability to forgive themselves for things they’ve seen or done.

About 59 percent of chaplains in the VA system and 79 percent in the active-duty military said they perceive that veterans and service members commonly seek help from clergy instead of a mental health care provider, according to a 2013 report published by the VA and the Pentagon.

“Typically, people don’t come to you and say, ‘Hey, doc,’ or ‘Hey, chaps, I have a religious problem, or I have a mental health problem,’” he said. “They come to you because they are suffering; they are in pain. Chaplains [always provide] a safe place to turn to so the healing process can begin.”

Latest suicide rates published by the Pentagon show that there has been an increase in the rate of suicides per 100,000 service members in the nation’s reserve component, from 19.3 percent in 2012 to 23.4 percent in 2013.

The rate of suicides in the National Guard has also increased slightly from 28.1 percent in 2012 to 28.9 percent in 2013.
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Suicides went up. Plain, simple and underreported, after "prevention" started in the military. They also went up in the Veterans' population after all the bills on "prevention" and countless charities popped up all over the country at the same time thousands of calls went to suicide prevention hotline.

The best experts say PTSD has to be addressed with a triple play, mind, body and spirit. If you leave out the spiritual part, then they do not heal. Add in that part, they heal, then turn around to make sure others heal too.

SWAT Medic Wounded During Suicide By Cop Standoff

Polk gunman dead after SWAT standoff 
10 News
Emerald Morrow
February 7, 2015

Deputies say Phillips started shooting at them and he hit a SWAT medic in the shoulder. When the SWAT team shot back, the building went up in flames.

Sheriff Judd credit his military vehicles for protecting deputies in the standoff.
(Photo: WTSP)

Winter Haven, Florida -- Authorities confirmed on Saturday that the gunman in a standoff -- that involved more than 200 rounds -- at a plumbing company is dead.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said that during the standoff, Michael Phillips, 39, made it clear he wanted to commit suicide by cop and continually threatened the law enforcement presence.

His mother apparently notified police that he suffered from mental illness. Soon after police got to the scene, a shootout began. More than 200 shots were exchanged between deputies and the suspect.
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Vietnam Veteran Leaves Legacy to Homeless and More

Dying Veteran Gives Away All His Possessions, Wills Retirement Fund to Alma Mater (VIDEO)
BY ALEX HEIGL
02/08/2015

"I've had a good life, so I can't complain at all," Bob Karlstrand tells Minneapolis NBC affiliate KARE 11.

Karlstrand's positive attitude comes in spite of his circumstance: The 65-year-old Vietnam War veteran has battled colon cancer and is currently facing a terminal lung disease.

An only child who never married and never had children, Karlstrand is preparing for the end of his life with a remarkable gesture: He's willing his Maple Grove, Minnesota, home of 38 years to Habitat for Humanity, with the only stipulation being that it has to go to a veteran.

Karlstrand has been giving his things away for some time. Most of his appliances and furnishings are gone, right down to his living room carpet. "Most of the things I can remember having," he said.

"Maybe some pictures I'll keep but in the end it's only material things."
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Disabled Vietnam Veteran Died After Gas Shut Off

Hypothermia a factor in death of Vietnam vet after gas shut off at home 
The Oakland Press
By Dave Phillips
POSTED: 02/06/15

Skelley, a Vietnam veteran, also suffered from throat cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, both of which were listed as issues that contributed to his death, which was ruled to be accidental.

Hypothermia was one of three factors that contributed to the death of a Hazel Park man who was forced to sleep in a bedroom with a space heater after the gas to his home was shut off. John Skelley, 69, was found dead around 8 a.m. Feb. 1.

His roommate made the discovery and called Hazel Park police. The roommate told police that he believed the gas to the home had been shut off a few days earlier.

An investigation revealed the gas was turned off due to nonpayment on Jan. 19, and the roommate had received three notices about the impending shutoff in December.
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