Grab Them And Save Them

How many times have you wondered why someone didn't ask for help or let you know they needed you?  How many times have you wished that you let them know you were there for them no matter what they needed?

Sometimes people just can't find the words.  Other times they can think of what to say but their buddy just didn't ask.

Remind them that in combat, not asking for help or all the support they could get, ended up getting buddies killed.  Asking for help now is no different and they mean no less to you now than back then.

Send these or upload onto Facebook if you think one of your buddies needs help and you don't know how to offer it. Make sure you put your contact information in it and when they can get a hold of you.

If you have a non-profit and think of using these to raise funds or awareness for yourself, don't try it. These are for veterans to use for their buddies, not for you to use to make money off them.

UPDATE February 18, 2020
add these to them

Military Lacks Ability to Treat PTSD? Dah

Study: Military falls short in treating new cases of war-related stress 
USA TODAY 
Gregg Zoroya 
February 18, 2016

About 70% of those studied were in the Army, more than 90% of those who had PTSD had been deployed and the average deployment was 20 months. The average profile of a patient in the military with PTSD or depression was a soldier 34 years old or younger, white and married.

The U.S. military is struggling to provide adequate therapy sessions for thousands of active-duty troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, a massive study released Thursday concludes. 

The RAND Corp. study of 40,000 cases, the largest ever, found that only a third of troops with PTSD and less than a quarter who are clinically depressed receive the minimum number of therapy sessions after being diagnosed. 

A RAND review of U.S. military and Department of Veterans Affairs treatment guidelines concluded that troops diagnosed with PTSD should receive at least four therapy sessions within eight weeks or at least two sessions to manage newly prescribed medications. read more here

Maine Veteran Family Warns of "Silent Tidal Wave" of PTSD

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

Decorated Marine Veteran Beaten and Robbed Because His Life Didn't Matter?

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

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