Is the VA lying? Is the DOD lying? Are reporters lying? Or is it all of them?

Is the Department of Defense lying about suicides or are reporters?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 17, 2019

First came the number "22" from limited data from just "21" states. Not that most people bothered to read the report itself, or noticed any real facts. Why should they when reporters were able to grab a headline with "22 a day" and got away with it.

Now they are getting away with reporting the number is no longer "22" or even the "20" the VA used in the follow up report. Now they are getting away with saying that the number is actually "17" and the rest are from those serving now.

"We note that a prior report indicated that there were on average 20 suicide deaths per day in 2014 when combining three groups who died from suicide: Veterans, current service members, and former National Guard or Reserve members who were never federally activated."

HUH?

The Department of Defense has been reporting on suicides among all the branches, including National Guard and Reservists. The reports show an average of 500 per year since 2012, or about 1.5 per day. This is the last report they issued. You need to combine the "Active Component" with the "Reserve Component" totals.

And this is from other years.

While the DOD is counting the "Reserve Components" it seems the VA is using a different number while counting them as well

•In addition to the aforementioned Veteran suicides, there were 919 suicides among never federally activated former National Guard and Reserve members in 2017, an average 2.5 suicide deaths per day.

Yet according to the DOD, it was a total of 219 in 2017.

As damming as all of that is, the latest report from the VA, claiming they had changed how they calculate "suicides" makes it worse.

This chart shows that the majority of the veterans they know about, and admit are still committing suicide, are over the age of 35!

This shows the percentage of veterans committing suicide they know about has gone up.

And this one shows how the number of living veterans has gone down.

Is the VA lying? Is the DOD lying? Are reporters lying? Or is it all of them?

In order to defeat suicide, spread hope instead

How can anyone care about something they do not know?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 17, 2019

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” ― Albert Einstein

I no longer cry when someone tells me to give up. I actually feel sorry for the person who will not listen. They believe they are right because they heard something someone else told them. OK, then if they were willing to listen to someone telling them a lie, why are they not willing to listen to someone telling them the truth? It must be easier to admit they did not know anything, than admitting they were lied to, believed it and then spread the lie out to more people.

“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.” ― Isaac Asimov

It happened again! I was contacted by yet another person who said they were raising awareness about veterans committing suicide. It was easy to figure out the person knew nothing about my work or what I knew. He just found me online and wanted to take advantage of someone who may be willing to give him free publicity.

I asked him, "What is the point of telling veterans they are killing themselves?" He responded with, "How can anyone care about something they do not know is happening?" I replied with, "Apparently it happens all the time since you know nothing about what you are raising awareness of."

What can be expected when the news media still supports the notion that talking about what they hear is the truth? In this case, NBC News in Nevada came out with this mind blower!

This anchor says "In Nevada 20 veterans a day are committing suicide, believe it or not." He must have read that on Facebook somewhere!

So we end up with the wrong information getting all the publicity while the truth, that could set them free from misery, is something they never hear. PTSD is a wound and survivors can heal, but someone has to tell them it is possible!

Here is the chart that was mentioned in this video.

And this chart shows how the percentage of suicides went up while people were out there spreading the lie of how many made the choice to die instead of learning how to heal!

They need to hear messages that will empower them to seek healing, #BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife

South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs bosses told whistler blower to "pull up (her) big girl panties"

Woman alleges retaliation for whistleblowing on S.D. Department of Veterans Affairs

Sioux Falls Argus Leader
Lisa Kaczke
Dec. 16, 2019

In 2016 and July through October 2017, the defendants asked her to overlook "forgery issues" on Veterans Affairs forms completed by state Department of Veterans Affairs employees. Supervisors in the state department told Davidson to "pull up (her) big girl panties," which she believed was an offensive comment that was related to offensive statements she heard and reported at a state Department of Veterans Affairs conference in Pierre in May 2016.

A Mitchell woman is alleging she was fired as a county veteran service officer in retaliation for whistleblowing on forgery and reporting sexual harassment in the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs.

Jessica Davidson filed the lawsuit last week in the First Circuit Court against the state of South Dakota, the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs, Davison County, the Davison County Commission and Davison County Commissioners Brenda Bode and Dennis Kiner.

She is alleging in the lawsuit that the defendants violated her Title VII civil rights, her 14th Amendment and First Amendment rights, and her rights under the South Dakota whistleblower law.

The defendants haven't yet filed a response to Davidson's lawsuit complaint.

Davidson also filed two complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which issued a letter in September 2019 stating she had a right to sue.

According to her lawsuit complaint:

Davidson, a U.S. Army veteran, was hired as the first female Davison County veteran service officer in December 2014 at a rate of pay that was $2.47 less per hour than her male predecessors. She was formally appointed to a four-year term as VSO in December 2015.

In August 2016, she was found to "exceed expectations" in all 14 performance factors on a job evaluation by the state Department of Veterans Affairs.
read it here

Congress did not invite Point Man to PTSD round table?

One of the first groups working on spiritual healing of veterans, was not invited to table?

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 16, 2019

Definition of point man 1: a soldier who goes ahead of a patrol 2: one who is in the forefront

Any idea how many people will read Congress Holds Forum Discussing Potentials of Faith-Based Programs Helping Veterans Suffering PTSD and actually believe it is something new?

To say I am disappointed right now, would cause God to smack me in the head. He knows how angry I am about reading Congress has yet again, held a meeting with "faith base" groups working on PTDS. Why? Because on of the first groups to do this work, proved it worked back in 1984 and has been proving it every day since then!

Point Man International Ministries

Since 1984, when Seattle Police Officer and Vietnam Veteran Bill Landreth noticed he was arresting the same people each night, he discovered most were Vietnam vets like himself that just never seemed to have quite made it home. He began to meet with them in coffee shops and on a regular basis for fellowship and prayer. Soon, Point Man Ministries was conceived and became a staple of the Seattle area. Bills untimely death soon after put the future of Point Man in jeopardy.
However, Chuck Dean, publisher of a Veterans self help newspaper, Reveille, had a vision for the ministry and developed it into a system of small groups across the USA for the purpose of mutual support and fellowship. These groups are known as Outposts. Worldwide there are hundreds of Outposts and Homefront groups serving the families of veterans.
PMIM is run by veterans from all conflicts, nationalities and backgrounds. Although, the primary focus of Point Man has always been to offer spiritual healing from PTSD, Point Man today is involved in group meetings, publishing, hospital visits, conferences, supplying speakers for churches and veteran groups, welcome home projects and community support. Just about any where there are Vets there is a Point Man presence. All services offered by Point Man are free of charge.

We started working with Vietnam veterans and their families but did not shut the door to older veterans dealing with the same spiritual battle caused by war. We did not cut off the newer veterans from entering into our groups. The current President of Point Man, Paul Sluznis is an Iraq veteran.

Many of us had no idea where to go or who to talk to when we came home from our different conflicts. We had no clue we had PTSD or anxiety. Who thought they would still be clearing their own home 15 years after getting out of the military. I had no idea how to deal with any of these issues till my Bride found out about Point Man Ministries and I haven't looked back since.

Yet during the roundtable, this was said.

“We have been throwing millions of dollars into the military suicide issue, and many other military behavior health issues. The statistics keep getting worse and worse. We are not doing something right. We need to integrate faith-based solutions,” commented retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Bob Dees after the forum. Dees was also the former vice director for operational plans and interoperability for the Department of Defense (DOD). He also asserted that the faith-based solutions are incredibly important to veterans and the military. “I have found as a senior military commander over the many years that is what really works. We have got to heal not just heart and soul, but the very spirit of each one of our men and women wearing our nation’s uniform,” he stated.

They would not have had to throw "millions of dollars" as he mentioned had they actually looked to find groups that were not doing it for money or fame. As for the "millions" it is actually billions per year when you factor in all the groups taking in huge sums of donations.

Three faith-based veteran PTSD programs with successful track records were invited to present their stories and past experiences to the forum. They were Mighty Oaks Foundation, Reboot Recovery, and Operation Restored Warrior.

“A spiritual wound of a war needs a spiritual solution,” said Chad Robichaux, the founder of Mighty Oaks Foundation. He expressed after the forum that “I walked away very encouraged seeing that we have Congressional leaders who share our passion for our warriors, and also share our ideas.”

We don't just have the knowledge and plans in place to do this work, but have proven it all along. Any idea what the outcome would have been if anyone asked us to the table when the reports first came out?

Vietnam veterans who found that the only way for them to move forward, was to go back

Healing the spiritual wounds of war

WITF PBS
Merideth Bucher
December 16, 2019

War wounds are not always physical.

Psychological wounds caused by the traumas of war can be equally debilitating. And because the injury is not visible to friends and loved ones, those suffering often deal with it in silence or behave out of character.

A mental health condition caused by trauma is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, frightening or dangerous event or experiences. PTSD can affect anyone, not only veterans. First responders, and even abused children, can suffer from PTSD.

In past wars, PTSD was called shell shock or combat stress. Symptoms of the disorder can be characterized as heightened anxiety, feeling constantly on edge or experiencing extreme or unreasonable anger during routine situations. PTSD can manifest itself in different ways, for different people. It might affect a person for a few months, or their entire life. It doesn’t always go away entirely; like the tide, it may ebb and flow.

There are local Vietnam veterans who found that the only way for them to move forward, was to go back. Back to Vietnam.

Former Army Capt. Aaron Lax served in the U.S. Army for nine years. During that time, he served with the 1st of the 26th Infantry regiment “Blue Spaders,” part of the 1st Infantry Division, from 2010-2012 and deployed with them to eastern Afghanistan. Lax next served with 1st battalion of the 320th Field Artillery Regiment “Top Guns,” part of the 101st Airborne Division, from 2012-2017.

Bob Smoker was drafted into the U.S. Army in May 1969.  After basic and then infantry training, he arrived in Vietnam in early October 1969 and turned 20-years- old later that month. Smoker was assigned to Charlie Company 2nd Battalion of the 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.

Former Air Force Staff Sergeant Ed Hardesty was the non-commissioned officer in charge of weapons and munitions for the 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, an air rescue helicopter squadron out of Danang Air Force Base, Vietnam, from 1968 through 1969.

Former U.S. Army soldier Charles Lee deployed to Vietnam in 1970 at the age of 19, right after marrying his first wife. In Vietnam, Lee was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 2nd Air Defense Artillery, on a track vehicle known as a Duster.
read it here