War won’t let go: PTSD bedevils Maine family Bangor Daily News Midcoast By Beth Brogan, BDN Staff
Posted Feb. 16, 2016
The 94th Military Police Company in Ramadi, Iraq, Christmas 2003.
Darcie said she worries that Scott is one drop in “a silent tidal wave” of Mainers who served in Iraq, then came home to find that the services they need aren’t there.
“I don’t think people recognize the full measure of the cost that veterans have paid and their families and us,” she said.
BRUNSWICK, Maine — Scott Couture joined the Army Reserves in 1999 because it was the right thing to do for his country — and for his family. With one young son and another on the way, enlisting in a military police unit seemed like both “a good deal” and a relatively safe way to get serious about supporting a growing family. At the time, the 94th Military Police Company hadn’t been deployed since the first Gulf War. But after the fall of Baghdad three years later, everything changed.
Scott, a Maine Marine Patrol officer, kissed his wife, Darcie, and their two boys, then headed for war. The 94th arrived in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, in April 2003 for what would become the second-longest deployment of any unit since World War II, including 15 months in combat zones such as the notoriously violent “Sunni Triangle.”
After returning from Iraq, Scott suffered from irritability, depression and insomnia and was eventually diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. It cost him his job as an officer for the Maine Marine Patrol, which enforces laws and leads search-and-rescue missions on the state’s waters. PTSD also has caused perhaps irreparable damage to Scott’s relationship with Darcie and their two teenage sons. It may still cost the family their beloved farmhouse on the outskirts of Brunswick — depending on whether the Maine Public Employees Retirement System overturns an initial decision to deny Scott disability retirement benefits
They battled dysentery from open latrines, dehydration because of rationed water, 132-degree heat and the maddening sandflies. Reservists drove unarmored Humvees and wore regular flak vests rather than full ballistic vests issued to special forces soldiers.
read more here
TEENS ALLEGEDLY ASSAULT IRAQ WAR VETERAN OVER 'BLACK LIVES MATTERS' ABC 13 News Updated 1 hr 13 mins ago WASHINGTON (KTRK) -- A decorated Marine veteran was attacked in the last place he expected, a McDonald's in Washington D.C.
Chris Marquez says a group of rowdy teenagers started taunting him while he was eating. "They asked me if I believe that black lives matter," Marquez says. "I felt threatened and thought they were trying to intimidate me, so I figured I'm just going to keep to my food, eat my food, and hopefully they'll leave me alone."
"And because I wasn't respond back to them, they were calling me a racist."
read more here
Donald Trump’s Trolls Unleash Hell on Veterans The Daily Beast Tim Mak February 16, 2016
Veterans who have passed on being the GOP frontrunner’s props have found themselves targeted by his legion of trolls.
Veterans groups who stood up to Donald Trump’s pandering to their ranks are now routinely bombarded with nasty messages from the mogul’s supporters, who want to punish them for daring to challenge their leader. Paul Rieckhoff, the CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, learned this firsthand when he stood up to the Republican presidential frontrunner in late January, saying he would decline any donations from Trump’s charitable foundation if offered. “We’ve gotten a flood of nasty attacks… many scary and threatening emails, [the] worst social media trolling I’ve ever seen,” Rieckhoff told The Daily Beast. “Showing what happens when you simply say no. This is the climate he’s created with his followers.”
So when Rieckhoff said he didn’t want his organization to be used as a political prop, and pre-emptively declined any proceeds from Trump’s fundraiser, the businessman’s fans directed wave after wave of viciousness against IAVA and its CEO on Twitter and Facebook. Rieckhoff was called a “fucking scumbag” by one commenter, then told by another to “get off your ass and get the funding or get fired.” “Keep your mouth shut and take the money,” another Trump fan said. Added a tax-conscious individual: “I hope your asses get audited.” read more here
Linked from Opposing Views
Donald Trump’s Hotline For Veterans No Longer Accepting Calls By Jordan Smith February 16, 2016 A hotline set up by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in July 2015 is reportedly no longer taking calls.
Attempts to reach the number resulted in an automated voice message requesting the caller to send an email, The Blaze reported.
Trump announced the creation of the hotline in the wake of a controversial exchange with Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, when the business mogul said the military veteran was not a hero.
“Mr. Trump has established a hotline (855-VETS-352) and email address (veterans@donaldtrump.com) for Veterans to share their stories about the need to reform our Veterans Administration,” a statement from the Trump campaign read at the time, according to Mediaite. “If he is elected President he will take care of these and all Veterans complaints very quickly and efficiently like a world-class businessman can do, but a politician has no clue.”
The automated message asked callers to use the email address because they “are working hard for our country’s veterans,” according to The Blaze. read more here
You may think that you lost everything but remember you were surrounded by people who care about you and love you. That, that is the greatest thing all of us need. To know we do matter in this world. Possessions are not always something that you buy but they still belong to you.
Cambridge Dictionary defines possessions this way.
You carry the good wishes of everyone surrounding you and that is priceless. You carry some bad memories, like all of us do, but you also carry good memories, again, priceless, yet you seem to be in so much pain, the bad memories and what you have lost make you grieve. Try to see what you have in your life and let them gain strength over the bad memories. They are limited to what you are willing to surrender to them. If you believe in Christ and that is important especially when you consider His worth was not based on what He had possessed but what He was willing to give. After all, most folks tend to forget He was homeless, possessed nothing of material value and had to rely on the kindness of others for basic needs. Food, shelter, even clean clothes to wear. Yet with what He lacked, He was willing to surrender His own life for the sake of others. That is something veterans have in common with Christ. You were willing to endure hardships in the military as well as sacrifice your own life for the sake of others. Again, something that is priceless along with being very rare in this world. We are a nation of over 321,368,864 people. Yet there are only 21,369,602 veterans among the rest. Think of how rare you actually are.
It is hard to lose things but as you already know, it is much harder to lose someone very close to you. You are left with a lot of questions. Some of them can be answered but some cannot. Why did you survive and others are gone? Why didn't someone you cared about ask for help? Actually that is an easier question to answer for you because you were the same way at one time or another. When you are the person people turn to in need, you do for them but find it hard to ask them for help in return. Why? Ever wonder about that one? Think of all the times you were in combat. When the enemy forces were too great for you to fight, did you think you could just do it alone or did you ask for all the help you could get? If ground troops were not enough to defeat the enemy, did you just settle for what you got for help or did you call in for more help? Safe bet you got everything you could and didn't give up until you were able to walk away with as many lives as you could save. That is what you need to do now. Call in for as much help as possible until you get what you need to defeat this enemy. I know it isn't a popular notion right now when there are so many vultures raising awareness off your suffering, but the only thing you need to be actually aware of is that from this moment on, you could have actually experienced your last worst day. It doesn't have to end with your life, just the life you're living changing for the better. That's right! You can change for the better. First know that PTSD is something that happened to you, not the other way around. Not something you were born with other than the fact your emotional core is so strong you just felt the wound deeper than others. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder actually means, after wound you were stressed and things got out of order. Trauma is Greek for wound. Now you get it? It hit you! Your life was on the line and that tends to change things. Change the way you feel about your life, the way you think and the way you believe in God or not. If you walked away thinking God spared you, then it isn't as bad as if you think God did it to you. How can you believe in a loving God you can ask for help if you think He did it all too you? He didn't. He did send people to help you and to show you that you do in fact matter.
More tomorrow. Update February 17, 2016 There were people in your life while you were in the military, just as there were folks in your life before you joined. The difference between being home and coming back is usually not that obvious. They pretty much stayed the same because their lives did. Your life changed when you went from civilian to service member. It changed again when you went from service member to veteran. Notice you didn't go back to taking the title of civilian again? That's how it works. Honestly makes a lot of sense considering you really couldn't go back to being just one of "them" again. You still have the regular problems everyone else has. Work, food, shelter, family, relationships and dealing with selfish folks along the way. Hearing folks whine about lack of this, or complaining about stuff you think is total BS makes you want to scream "You have no idea what a real problem is!" but you hold your peace and walk away. After all, you know they'd just never understand what it was like for you then anymore than they can have a clue what it is like for you now. That is the biggest reason why veterans do not do very well in civilian groups, feeling as if they just don't belong, but you do belong somewhere. You'll fit in perfectly with other veterans. Not that you have to spend all your time with them, but it does give you a sense of belonging again. You understand them and they understand you no matter which generation they belong to, they are also among the rarity-minority. Find a group of them you feel comfortable with. Soon you'll figure out that you are far from alone. The only reason you feel as if no one understands you is that you've surrounded yourself with folks who can't understand something they never experienced. More tomorrow but leaving you with this video to help make tomorrow a bit better. At least you'll understand what I've been saying this far.
UPDATE February 18, 2016 If you are in crisis The Veterans Crisis Line connects Veterans in crisis and their families and friends with qualified, caring Department of Veterans Affairs responders through a confidential toll-free hotline, online chat, or text. Veterans and their loved ones can call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, chat online, or send a text message to 838255 If that doesn't work, then use the same number but don't use the "1" and see if they answer there. If that doesn't work then call 911 and ask for fire response. Explain what is going on and that you are a veteran in crisis. Then lock up whatever weapons you have. Put your dog in a cage or in another room. If you can't then go out of the house so that firefighters or emergency responders are not in danger. If you are in crisis, your dog can sense that and may want to protect you. I talked to a firefighter to double check on that one. Sometimes they do have police officers as backup but they will wave them off if they are not needed and will get you to the emergency room where you can get help. If you just need someone to talk to, you can still call those numbers, but you can also call family, friends, other veterans and folks like at Point Man International Ministries (no matter where you live) and this is one of the groups I belong to.
Hotline: 1-800-877-VETS (8387) If you don't know how to ask a buddy for help or let them know you need some help, then try to send them this or put in on Facebook.
Joe Biden's eldest son Beau Biden returned home from his deployment to Iraq after serving two years in the U.S. military's occupation of the country. In a few months' time following his return, he began to experience an onset of illnesses, including a stroke that lead to brain cancer, which killed him in less than two years from that point. Beau Biden's case is not unlike many other veterans who have served overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan, as a recent study has linked service in those countries to various cancers and bronchial illnesses. The common trait between the two is believed to lie within the open air burn pits, of which their are over 250 between the two countries, set up atop Saddam Hussein's chemical weapons program.
