Is Battlemind just better than nothing?

Does it work or is it just better than nothing?

'Battlemind' is the Soldier's inner strength to face fear and adversity with courage. Key components include: - Self confidence: taking calculated risks and handling challenges. - Mental toughness: overcoming obstacles or setbacks and maintaining positive thoughts during times of adversity and challenge.

Battlemind skills helped you survive in combat, but may cause you problems if not adapted when you get home.

http://www.behavioralhealth.army.mil/battlemind/index.html

This is the warning that came with Battlemind.

It may be the key as to why they suicide and attempted suicide rate has gone up. Honestly I don't know. The numbers don't seem to support it but trying to keep an open mind here considering I found very few complaints about the program. I tried very hard to find them only because there is something here that is not making sense with this program. How can it help when troops deployed into Afghanistan arrive still jet lagged, get two days of briefings and only 11 1/2 minutes of Battlemind "training" with all of that going on?

They had to do something but is Battlemind the best they could come up with or is it just better than nothing? This term I've heard from different people. It's better than nothing but why can't they give the troops the best possible with all seriousness?

This is what they were up against.

Summary of Key Findings (2 of 2)
• 2003-2006 OIF (Iraq only) Soldier suicide rates are higher than
the average Army rate, 16.1 vs. 11.6 Soldier suicides per year
per 100,000.
• The current Army suicide prevention program is not designed for
a combat/deployed environment.
• Approximately 10% of Soldiers and Marines report mistreating
non-combatants (damaged/destroyed property when not
necessary or hit/kicked non-combatant when not necessary).
• Soldiers with high levels of combat, high levels of anger or that
screened positive for a mental health problem were twice as
likely to mistreat non-combatants.
• Transition Team Soldiers have lower rates of mental health
problems compared to Brigade Combat Team Soldiers.
• Behavioral health providers require additional Combat and
Operational Stress Control (COSC) training prior to deploying to
Iraq; very few attended the AMEDD C&S COSC Course.
• There is no standardized in-theatre joint reporting system for
monitoring mental health status and suicide surveillance of
service members in a combat/deployed environment.

OIF 05-07 Army Suicide Rates
*Poisson, p < .01 OIF Confirmed 18.8* 9.6 19.9* 17.3* Adjusted Rate OIF Pending 0 0 0 0 OIF Confirmed 25 11 22 22 SUICIDE 2003 2004 2005 2006 UPDATE OIF Soldier Suicides: 2003-2006 • There have been 80 confirmed (as of 31 DEC 06) OIF Soldier suicides since the beginning of OIF. • The 2006 OIF adjusted suicide rate is 17.3 Soldier suicides per year per 100,000 Soldiers, which is higher than the average Army rate of 11.6 (Poisson, p < .05). • Although 89% of Soldiers report receiving suicide prevention training, only 52% of Soldiers reported the training to be sufficient, indicating the need to revise the suicide prevention training so that it is applicable in a combat environment.

Conclusions
• Multiple deployments and longer deployments are
linked to more mental health and marital problems.
• Good NCO leadership is related to better Soldier/Marine
mental health and adherence to good battlefield ethics.
• Good officer leadership results in Soldiers/Marines
following ROE.
• Soldiers/Marines with mental health problems were
more likely to mistreat non-combatants, highlighting the
importance of getting them help early.
• Mental health services are most needed during the last
six months of a year-long deployment since this is when
Soldiers experience the most problems.
http://militarytimes.com/static/projects/pages/mhativ18apr07.pdf

They had to do something but wouldn't the numbers go down instead of up? How high would they have gone given what they were up against if they had done nothing? Has anyone really looked at this program to see if it is effective or not?

There are some great things going on right now. The Montana National Guard has been doing fantastic things with PTSD.

Montana National Guard, Picking Up The Pieces
Picking up the Pieces (PDHRA)
This is the link to the video the Montana National Guard is showing. I've been posting about it for a couple of days now and it is very important that it not only be seen, but duplicated across the country.
Guard stresses PTSD symptoms at meetings

By ERIC NEWHOUSE • Tribune Projects Editor • May 21, 2008
LEWISTOWN — Montana's National Guard expanded its PTSD outreach efforts this week, hosting a series of 20 public meetings in armories across the state.As part of its effort to familiarize the public — and veterans in particular — with post-traumatic stress disorder, it played a video produced at Fort Harrison entitled "Picking Up the Pieces." That had Tiffany Kolar wiping her eyes."It raised a lot of questions for me," Kolar said after Monday night's meeting.

"I have a brother who served with the Idaho National Guard and who later committed suicide. Now I'm learning a lot about what must have been happening."Kolar's husband is currently serving his second tour of duty in Iraq, and she and her mother-in-law need to understand the danger signs, she said."There were some things we didn't recognize the last time he came home, so we want to be better informed this time," said Darlene Kolar, his mother.

Only a handful of people showed up for the meeting here, but the Guard's personnel officer, Col. Jeff Ireland, said he was happy for any attention."If these meeting are able to help even one person, for all the time and effort we've expended, it's been worth it," Ireland said.The Guard has sent out personal invitations and videos to 2,000 behavioral health care specialists in Montana, as well as to all the veterans' organizations, he said. Next on the list is a mass mailing to all ministers and religious leaders in the state, he added.

The meetings are the result of the suicide of Spec. Chris Dana of Helena, who shot himself in March 2007 after returning from combat with the 163rd Infantry. He was not able to handle weekend guard drills, and was given a less-than-honorable discharge as a result.

As a direct result, Ireland said, Montana is now providing longer mental health assessments after return from combat, strengthening its family support units, creating crisis readiness teams to investigate abnormal behavior, requiring a personal investigation by the adjutant general before any soldier is discharged less than honorably, and producing and promoting its own video. go here for more
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080521/NEWS01/805210309

It seems to me that when you let people who have been there do these kinds of videos, they hold a lot more information and do a better job delivering the message.

Montana National Guard, Picking Up The Pieces

Picking up the Pieces (PDHRA)

This is the link to the video the Montana National Guard is showing. I've been posting about it for a couple of days now and it is very important that it not only be seen, but duplicated across the country.

Guard stresses PTSD symptoms at meetings
By ERIC NEWHOUSE • Tribune Projects Editor • May 21, 2008

LEWISTOWN — Montana's National Guard expanded its PTSD outreach efforts this week, hosting a series of 20 public meetings in armories across the state.


As part of its effort to familiarize the public — and veterans in particular — with post-traumatic stress disorder, it played a video produced at Fort Harrison entitled "Picking Up the Pieces." That had Tiffany Kolar wiping her eyes.

"It raised a lot of questions for me," Kolar said after Monday night's meeting. "I have a brother who served with the Idaho National Guard and who later committed suicide. Now I'm learning a lot about what must have been happening."

Kolar's husband is currently serving his second tour of duty in Iraq, and she and her mother-in-law need to understand the danger signs, she said.

"There were some things we didn't recognize the last time he came home, so we want to be better informed this time," said Darlene Kolar, his mother.

Only a handful of people showed up for the meeting here, but the Guard's personnel officer, Col. Jeff Ireland, said he was happy for any attention.

"If these meeting are able to help even one person, for all the time and effort we've expended, it's been worth it," Ireland said.

The Guard has sent out personal invitations and videos to 2,000 behavioral health care specialists in Montana, as well as to all the veterans' organizations, he said. Next on the list is a mass mailing to all ministers and religious leaders in the state, he added.

The meetings are the result of the suicide of Spec. Chris Dana of Helena, who shot himself in March 2007 after returning from combat with the 163rd Infantry. He was not able to handle weekend guard drills, and was given a less-than-honorable discharge as a result.

As a direct result, Ireland said, Montana is now providing longer mental health assessments after return from combat, strengthening its family support units, creating crisis readiness teams to investigate abnormal behavior, requiring a personal investigation by the adjutant general before any soldier is discharged less than honorably, and producing and promoting its own video. go here for more

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080521/NEWS01/805210309

The video interviews hit all the points. Getting the clergy involved, how it hits the members of the family trying to understand and be supportive, what goes on inside of the veteran, how it's not their fault. The beginning of the video, I have to say I was no impressed. The graphics moved too fast and blurred when on full screen but as soon as the interviews began, I knew they hit the mark. Get passed the beginning and pay attention to the value in the interviews. It's a shame more people did not attend this.

Obama win also means PTSD work gets new hero

This is one of the biggest reasons I am so delighted that Senator Obama will be President Obama. In August, he visited the Montana National Guard because he heard about the great work they were doing on PTSD. He was so impressed that he promised to take their program nationally.

Up until now, PTSD has only recently become a hot topic. President Bush surrounded himself with people who either had no clue what PTSD was or denied it was real. This prevented years of research not being done and programs that could have been created sooner, to not even be dreamt of. Thousands of our veterans and troops, guardsmen and reservists died as a result, not by enemy hands but because of the enemy within them.

Military families and veteran families have a new hero coming to fight for them and I'm sure when you get to know exactly how much he does care, plans to act, you will feel the same way too. He's been on the Veterans Affairs Committee and has paid attention to all that is going on

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Obama promises to repeat Montana's National Guard PTSD work nation wide
Obama Pledges Nationwide Use of PTSD Program
Eric Newhouse
Great Falls Tribune
Aug 28, 2008
August 28, 2008 - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama promised Wednesday to expand Montana's pilot program to assess the mental health of combat vets nationwide, if elected.The Montana National Guard has developed a program to check its soldiers and airmen for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder every six months for the first two years after returning from combat, then once a year thereafter. The program exceeds national standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense.

The pilot program was created in response to the suicide of former Army Spc. Chris Dana of Helena, who shot himself on March 4, 2007, days after being given a less-than-honorable discharge because he could no longer handle attending drills following a tour in Iraq."He (Obama) told me he understood why we need to have additional screenings for PTSD," said Matt Kuntz, Dana's stepbrother, who was among a small group invited to meet with Obama on Wednesday in Billings. "And he told me when he is elected president, he will implement Montana's pilot program nationwide."

Kuntz, who recently gave up his job as a lawyer in Helena to advocate for the mentally ill and their families, said he was invited to brief Obama on how Montana had become a national model for assessing the mental health of its combat vets.

Besides the additional screenings, the Montana National Guard has developed crisis response teams that include a chaplain to investigate behavioral problems among its troops, and TriWest Healthcare pays to have four part-time counselors on hand to talk with soldiers and airmen during weekend drills.After the briefing, Obama spent about 20 minutes telling several hundred veterans and their families that, if elected as president, he will be committed to meeting their needs.

go here for morehttp://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/11028

PTSD is a huge trust test that we have failed

PTSD is a huge trust test that we have failed
by
Chaplain Kathie

There are many things being done to address PTSD that were not being done when other veterans came home from combat. What it took to accomplish this is someone had to care about doing something about it instead of watching them suffer. PTSD is not new. It's what happens to one out of three humans after traumatic events. It has been around as long as man has walked this planet and will be around until the end of our existence here. We cannot control other people. We cannot control nature. We cannot stop all wars any more than we can stop all criminals from deciding they are of more value than anyone else. We cannot prevent all fires, car accidents, plane crashes, drowning deaths or anything else that has been proven to induce PTSD. What we can do is prevent what comes after. For what we cannot prevent, we can alleviate the hell after the trauma.

First look at the different types of trauma. Some are caused by nature and survivors have a little easier time making peace with it because there is no one to blame for it. They thank God they survived as they mourn the loss of those who did not. Some will walk away thinking God did it to them as some sort of punishment and they will have a harder time healing from it. It also gets harder to heal if what came after trauma was more suffering. As with Katrina, they survived the hurricane but then saw help delayed, bodies in the streets, families separated into different states and the list goes on. Much of what is happening in Haiti since the earthquake is worse for them than the earthquake itself. It will take much longer time to heal and a lot more effort to help them heal because of the aftermath.

A survivor of fires caused by nature will recover more easily than one caused by the acts of a person. The list goes on. What is harder to recover from is when someone else caused the traumatic event or made it worse.

This is why combat takes such a heavy toll on the men and women we send. Wars are all caused by man and they witness what man is capable of doing to man. The goal of war is to defeat and destroy what cannot be defeated. The terrorists actions we've seen have been done in order to cause as much suffering as possible because they know the survivors will suffer after constantly looking over their shoulder wondering when the next act of violence will strike. They have no control over what other people do. They operate under no rules. Civilians are their favorite target, men, women and children. The military has rules and while they train to take out "bad guys" they do not intend to take out civilians. With Iraq and Afghanistan, much like Vietnam, there were no clear targets to take out. Someone can appear to be just minding their own business only to turn around and blow themselves up. These unbelievable actions take hold. The soldiers know they cannot trust what they see and are forever changed by their experiences.

When they come home, if there is more suffering inflicted because there is only judgment against them, belittling when try to open up about what is going on inside of them or they are handed pills instead of help, it adds to their loss of trust. When their families, the people they are supposed to be able to trust, turn against them because they don't understand why they act the way they do, it adds to their loss of trust. When they turn to the government, the DOD or the VA, for help, are responded with delayed claims being processed or a series of denials and appeals, this adds to the loss of trust. When they do end up going to a mental health provider with no idea what PTSD is, this makes PTSD worse and they lose trust yet again.

PTSD is a huge trust test that we have failed.

There is also the spiritual aspect involved when some will survive traumatic events, especially in combat, then believe God has abandoned them, judged them and have left them on their own to suffer. With little ability to trust another human, the loss of ability to trust God removes hope. If a soldier turns to a military Chaplain with no understanding of what PTSD is, then it makes it all worse, yet if they have a full knowledge, there is great healing possible, restoring faith in God's compassion and also restoring faith in man knowing someone cares enough to help.

Friday I attended a conference, Clinical Issues for Clinicians Working With OEF and OIF Veterans and their Families. The people attending were from all walks, psychiatrists, psychologist, social workers, veterans and me. All of us trying to make lives better for our veterans. Some of the questions came from psychologists addressing the issue of patients saying they do not believe in God. When people survive combat, or any other traumatic event, most of the time it is not a matter of they never believed in God, but lost the ability to believe. Mental health providers need to ask if the patient believe in God before or never had reason to believe and then take it from there instead of just assuming they never did. The spiritual aspect is vital to healing PTSD especially if the patient had faith before because they are now dealing with the loss of the faith they always had before.

There are conferences all over the country trying to get ahead of what combat is doing to our veterans so that finally the suicide rate will go down instead of up because we know it will take buddies, the chain of command, chaplains and the mental health workers while they are still enlisted, but it will also take the VA, doctors, social workers, nurses, claims processors, communities, clergy and especially families to help these veterans heal. The knowledge gained by all will help restore trust in the combat veteran and thus, help them heal.

This is what the Montana National Guard is doing with their Yellow Ribbon Program. They are putting together an army of people to help these veterans heal. They understand it is not just a matter of welcoming them back home and then assume they are finally safe. We lose more after combat than during it. The Montana National Guard managed to think outside the box and it appears to be working.

Coming home is the moment that troops deployed abroad dream about, but it's also a traumatic moment because soldiers are changed by combat. The Montana National Guard's Yellow Ribbon program is designed in part to help soldiers reintegrate into their families, their jobs and their communities. (PHOTO COURTESY OF MONTANA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD)

Montana model for PTSD detection to face first major test
By ERIC NEWHOUSE • Tribune Projects Editor • January 24, 2010
One of the largest troop deployments in the state since World War II will test the Montana model for combat stress assessment and treatment over the next couple of years.

It is a particularly important test because Montana's model of preparing families for deployment, assessing soldiers for post-traumatic stress disorder and mobilizing crisis response teams to help traumatized soldiers has become the nation's model.

"This would have been great stuff to have had on my first deployment," said Lt. Col. Ryck Cayer, commander of the 219th RED HORSE, who is facing his fourth tour of duty abroad. "I wish I'd had this kind of knowledge going in the first time."

The National Guard's determination to take better care of its soldiers who deploy was a result of the suicide of a former infantryman, Chris Dana from Helena, in March 2007.

Dana was one of approximately 700 soldiers from the 163rd Infantry who served in Iraq in 2004-05. Once he returned home, he began isolating himself. When he could no longer handle Guard drills, he received a less-than-honorable discharge and shot himself a few days later.

In a state with one of the nation's highest percentages of veterans per capita, Dana's death spurred calls for reform, which the Guard responded to immediately.

Among the Yellow Ribbon briefings are several on PTSD, alerting soldiers and their families of the danger signs such as hyper-vigilance, irritability, nightmares, flashbacks and excessive reliance on alcohol or drugs, as well as how to seek help if a service member displays those signs.

To make sure service members don't drop through the cracks, the Montana National Guard set up a system under which all service members returning from combat receive a mental health assessment — not just a self-report questionnaire — every six months for the first two years after their return.

"We've had problems with suicide and depression previously," Reiman said. "Combat is a new thing for many of these soldiers, and there's a lot of stress. It's a great benefit for returning airmen to provide an avenue to get them help.

"We can't judge them," he added. "We just have to give them help."

"Of the hundreds of guys that I talked with, every one of them had symptoms, things like hypersensitivity and irritability," he said. "And we had policemen and firemen and EMTs (emergency medical technicians) whose previous experiences may have contributed to their PTSD."
read more here
Montana model for PTSD detection to face first major test

So far with the suicides of veterans as well as active duty, we have failed this test of trust. The good news is, at least many are trying to change what has been done wrong with knowledge and a true understanding of how to help.

President wins praise of veterans

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Barack Obama Hosts Roundtable Discussion with South Carolina Veterans
Obama noted that his commitment to veterans is grounded in his experience being raised in part by his grandfather, who served during World War II.“I will never forget that everyone who wears the uniform deserves the opportunities that my grandfather got – to have a Commander-in-Chief who is accountable, and to have a grateful nation that helps you live the American Dream that you have defended,” Obama said.

And he didn't forget. The problem is, not many knew about any of this. When he was Senator Obama, he did a lot of things no one really paid attention to and that was what made me admire him more.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Obama, Hagel, and Harkin Address GI Suicides
Obama, Hagel, and Harkin Address GI Suicidesby Piuma, Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 11:36:08 PM EST
The following is excerpted from a diary on the Think On These Things blog:As news reports reveal growing numbers of suicide among soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, U.S. Senators Tom Harkin, Chuck Hagel, and Barack Obama on January 31, introduced major legislation aimed at preventing suicide among active duty members of the military.

The Senators' bill, the Armed Forces Suicide Prevention Act, would direct the Department of Defense (DoD) to create a comprehensive suicide prevention program including annual training for soldiers, improved instruction for field medics and post deployment assistance. The legislation authorizes six million dollars for implementation of the programs. A companion measure will be introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Leonard Boswell (D-IA).

Today's Washington Post reported that Army statistics show that 121 soldiers committee suicide last year - a 20 percent increase from 2006. This is the highest rate of Army suicides recorded since the Army started collecting this data in 1980. The Post also reported that last year about 2,100 soldiers "injured themselves or attempted suicide, compared with about 350 in 2002.""These startling statistics should serve as a wakeup call that suicide among soldiers and veterans is more than a problem, it is an epidemic," said Senator Harkin. "Thankfully, our push to provide America's veterans with a suicide prevention program was heard last year, when the President signed the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act into law. But there is more work ahead - especially in serving our active duty military personnel. We can and must act quickly to save our soldiers who are so bravely fighting for our country."

But that was just the start. When no one was looking, he was paying attention to what programs were in the country for veterans.

Obama: Real patriotism is treating veterans right
Obama: Real patriotism is treating veterans right
Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor May 12, 2008 12:35 PM
Barack Obama told West Virginia voters today that a test of real patriotism is giving veterans the care and services they need -- a test he argued that the Bush administration has sorely failed in a "betrayal of the ideals that we ask our troops to risk their lives for.""We must never forget that honoring this service and upholding these ideals requires more than saluting our veterans as they march by on Veterans Day or Memorial Day," he said, according to prepared remarks. "It requires marching with them for the care and benefits they have earned It requires standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our veterans and their families after the guns fall silent and the cameras are turned off.
At a time when we’re facing the largest homecoming since the Second World War, the true test of our patriotism is whether we will serve our returning heroes as well as they’ve served us," said Obama, who has been criticized for not wearing a flag lapel pin.The Democratic front-runner renewed his call for creating a "21st century VA," for expanding treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, and for a new GI bill for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.In calling for expanding services and benefits, Obama also talked at length of personal memories of his grandfather, Stanley Dunham, who enlisted after the Pearl Harbor attacks, fought with General George Patton during World War II, and is buried in a national cemetery in Hawaii with Pearl Harbor victims

At the time, the one I thought did the most good was the Montana National Guards Program.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Obama talks about Montana National Guard at Columbia University
Columbia University Presidential ForumLIVE VIDEO: Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain make a joint appearance at Columbia University to discuss civic engagement in the post 9/11 world.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/22886841#22886841
At about half way through Senator Obama's question and answer session, he brings up the Montana National Guard and their PTSD program. I know I must be boring some readers with this but it is one of the best programs in the country.

Obama promises to repeat Montana's National Guard PTSD work nation wide

Obama Pledges Nationwide Use of PTSD Program
Eric Newhouse
Great Falls Tribune
Aug 28, 2008 - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama promised Wednesday to expand Montana's pilot program to assess the mental health of combat vets nationwide, if elected.The Montana National Guard has developed a program to check its soldiers and airmen for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder every six months for the first two years after returning from combat, then once a year thereafter. The program exceeds national standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense.The pilot program was created in response to the suicide of former Army Spc. Chris Dana of Helena, who shot himself on March 4, 2007, days after being given a less-than-honorable discharge because he could no longer handle attending drills following a tour in Iraq.
"He (Obama) told me he understood why we need to have additional screenings for PTSD," said Matt Kuntz, Dana's stepbrother, who was among a small group invited to meet with Obama on Wednesday in Billings. "And he told me when he is elected president, he will implement Montana's pilot program nationwide."Kuntz, who recently gave up his job as a lawyer in Helena to advocate for the mentally ill and their families, said he was invited to brief Obama on how Montana had become a national model for assessing the mental health of its combat vets.

How else would he have known about this program if he didn't care? I do this as my job (unpaid but hey, it's my mission in life) and he had a lot of other things he had to learn at the time he was trying to become the president. He knew this was the best program out there at the time simply because he bothered to pay attention. Things have changed a lot for the veterans in this country and the way the troops are treated when they have PTSD. We have a long way to go but he's part of the reason we've come this far. The proof is there but too few have bothered to pay attention. As for me, I believe he earned praise from veteran a long time ago but few in the media will even talk about any of this. It's the reason so many at the DAV Convention were shocked by what he knew and how much he cared. No one ever told them.

President wins praise of veterans
By Walter C. Jones
Morris News Service
Tuesday, Aug 3, 2010
ATLANTA --- The big news from President Obama's speech to disabled veterans Monday was that the Iraq pullout is on schedule.


But the commander in chief's words about the veterans themselves were what stuck with Augustan Willie Davis Jr.

"He really surprised me," the Vietnam veteran said. "We had everybody from World War II to current war veterans here, and everybody said the same thing. They were surprised that the president was so knowledgeable and cared so much for the veterans."

They responded with a standing ovation as the president finished, said Davis, who is the chief of staff in the Georgia Disabled American Veterans.

"Most presidents or politicians will tell you anything, but hearing him speak, you could tell it came from his heart," he said.

Obama told the veterans that the planned troop drawdown from Iraq will be completed this month, with more than 90,000 troops returned. Not all troops will be home until the end of 2011.
read more here
President wins praise of veterans

By the way, he's the third President to go to speak to the DAV. First Ford, then Clinton and now Obama.

Montana National Guard taking Yellow Ribbon Program to the streets

National Guard support-campaign helps vets, families
By MARTIN J. KIDSTON - Independent Record - 05/10/09
A team of soldiers and airmen with the Montana National Guard will take their message to the streets over the next few weeks to let their fellow service members know that help is available if needed.

For the second consecutive year, members of the Guard will cross the state to promote the Yellow Ribbon Program, which aims to improve the post-deployment process and the care soldiers and families receive when returning from battle.

Col. Jeff Ireland, director of personnel and manpower, said four teams of soldiers and airmen will conduct the meetings over the next few weeks.

The public push continues the Guard’s efforts to change its deployment culture and raise awareness on the programs available around the clock to those who need help.

“We want to take this information to the people of Montana so they understand what levels and types of support are available to service members and their families before, during and after a deployment,” Ireland said.

The Guard made a similar effort last May when it sent similar teams to Libby, Glasgow, Lewistown, Great Falls and Belgrade.
go here for more
National Guard support-campaign helps vets, families

President Obama, Still Clueless on Service Members and Veteran Suicides

As always, no one had to explain anything. No explanation on how suicides went up after all this "awareness" or the other, all too often avoided fact, that most of the veterans committing suicide are over the age of 50. Then add in the other avoided topic of all the awareness raisers repeat a non-existent number from a report they didn't bother to read. As if that wasn't bad enough, add in the news reports on this infamous group and you have a sham-grand-slam hit out of the park by our Commander-in-Chief.
Wounds don’t end service for US military members

"Some participants in the annual Wounded Warrior Ride who were welcomed at the White House on Thursday are working through less visible wounds, like post-traumatic stress disorder. The ride was established to raise awareness of U.S. service members who suffer the physical and psychological effects of combat."

As you can hear in the video, there are sirens from emergency responders but they were ignored by the President and the group. Seems most politicians have a hard time paying attention to any of the emergency sirens replaced by the anguished cried from families after they had to bury a veteran they loved.

Am I too harsh? Hardly harsh enough because every time I read about more suicides, the words of President Obama reverberate in my had like a bad dream. The words came in 2008 when he was still a Senator serving on the Veterans Affairs Committee.

On January 24, 2008 Senator Obama said this in Beaufort South Carolina.

“I will never forget that everyone who wears the uniform deserves the opportunities that my grandfather got – to have a Commander-in-Chief who is accountable, and to have a grateful nation that helps you live the American Dream that you have defended,”

On February 7, 2008 then Senator Obama, Chuck Hagel and Tom Harkin were answering a group of veterans about suicides when the Washington Post reported this.

Army statistics show that 121 soldiers committee suicide last year - a 20 percent increase from 2006. This is the highest rate of Army suicides recorded since the Army started collecting this data in 1980. The Post also reported that last year about 2,100 soldiers "injured themselves or attempted suicide, compared with about 350 in 2002."

and Tom Harkin had this to add

"These startling statistics should serve as a wakeup call that suicide among soldiers and veterans is more than a problem, it is an epidemic. Thankfully, our push to provide America's veterans with a suicide prevention program was heard last year, when the President signed the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act into law. But there is more work ahead - especially in serving our active duty military personnel. We can and must act quickly to save our soldiers who are so bravely fighting for our country."

But as we've seen, there hasn't been any accountability from anyone as more speeches were made.

Obama promises to repeat Montana's National Guard PTSD work nation wide
Obama Pledges Nationwide Use of PTSD Program
Eric Newhouse
Great Falls Tribune
Aug 28, 2008 - 
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama promised Wednesday to expand Montana's pilot program to assess the mental health of combat vets nationwide, if elected.The Montana National Guard has developed a program to check its soldiers and airmen for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder every six months for the first two years after returning from combat, then once a year thereafter. The program exceeds national standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense.The pilot program was created in response to the suicide of former Army Spc. Chris Dana of Helena, who shot himself on March 4, 2007, days after being given a less-than-honorable discharge because he could no longer handle attending drills following a tour in Iraq.
"He (Obama) told me he understood why we need to have additional screenings for PTSD," said Matt Kuntz, Dana's stepbrother, who was among a small group invited to meet with Obama on Wednesday in Billings. "And he told me when he is elected president, he will implement Montana's pilot program nationwide."Kuntz, who recently gave up his job as a lawyer in Helena to advocate for the mentally ill and their families, said he was invited to brief Obama on how Montana had become a national model for assessing the mental health of its combat vets.
click above for more
I've done a lot of posts on the Montana National Guards program.
http://woundedtimes.blogspot.com/search?q=Montana+National+Guard 

As you can see, it isn't that Obama didn't know what was happening all along. He just hasn't taken much time to notice the change we got was more dead veterans and a lot more families grieving. The number of suicides went up but no one has done anything to hold anyone accountable for anything.


UPDATE:
Just got word some viewed this as a political statement.  In a way it is because after all these years, no politician has held anyone accountable for any of this. As with most things, this crossed over 2 administrations and will be carried over into the next one.  So no, not just about President Obama but he is in fact still Commander-in-Chief.

Suicide of Spec. Chris Dana causes Montana to change

''The federal government does a remarkable job of converting a citizen to a warrior,'' said Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat. ''I think they have an equal responsibility converting a warrior back to a citizen.''


Suicide shocks Montana into assessing vets' care
Chris Adams



December 28, 2007 1:25 PM

McClatchy Newspapers

(MCT)

HELENA, Mont. - Chris Dana came home from the war in Iraq in 2005 and slipped into a mental abyss so quietly that neither his family nor the Montana Army National Guard noticed.

He returned to his former life: a job at a Target store, nights in a trailer across the road from his father's house.

When he started to isolate himself, missing family events and football games, his father urged him to get counseling. When the National Guard called his father to say that he'd missed weekend duty, Gary Dana pushed his son to get in touch with his unit.

''I can't go back. I can't do it,'' Chris Dana responded.

Things went downhill from there. He blew though all his money, and last March 4, he shot himself in the head with a .22-caliber rifle. He was 23 years old.



As Gary Dana was collecting his dead son's belongings, he found a letter indicating that the National Guard was discharging his son under what are known as other-than-honorable conditions. The move was due to his skipping drills, which his family said was brought on by the mental strain of his service in Iraq.

The letter was in the trash, near a Wal-Mart receipt for .22-caliber rifle shells.

All across America, veterans such as Chris Dana are slipping through the cracks, left to languish by their military units and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The VA's ability to provide adequate care for veterans with mental ailments has come under increasing scrutiny, and the agency says it's scrambling to boost its resources to help treat post-traumatic stress disorder, prevent suicides and help veterans cope. It's added more mental health counselors and started more suicide-prevention programs.

But the experience in Montana, which by some measures does more than any other state to support America's wars, shows how far the military and the VA have to go.

click post title for the rest
Linked from ICasualties.org



Also on this

When the battalion's tour of duty ended in late 2005 after 18 months away from home, Specialist Dana was rapidly processed through Department of Defense demobilization facilities to expedite his return home and reintegration into civilian environment. This expedited approach is standard operational procedure for Reserve Component (National Guard and Reserve) units whose tour of duty supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom has ended.

However. Chris Dana's suicide-as well as the many others that have occurred nationwide in the aftermath of National Guard and Reserve combat veterans' return to mainstream civilian life-has prompted Montana's critical assessment of the PDHRA program's effectiveness in reintegrating combat veterans into civilian society.
go here for the rest
http://dma.mt.gov/mvad/documents/PDHRA.pdf

Montana National Guard's PTSD Testing Program Going National

Montana National Guard's PTSD Testing Program Going National

By KFBB News Team
Story Published: Jun 26, 2009 at 5:50 PM MDT



Story Updated: Jun 26, 2009 at 5:50 PM MDT

A program that started in Montana to help soldiers cope with the stress of war is now going national.

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) says legislation modeled after the Montana National Guard's screenings for post-combat stress injuries and suicidal tendencies in returning troops has been included in this year's defense authorization bill.

"We in Montana have raised the bar very high and we have set very high standards for in-person interviews for men and women when they come home to make sure they are okay," said Baucus. "This legislation gets the rest of the nation up to Montana's high standards so that our men and women when they come home are treated with the very best care."

An estimated 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders and the Army's suicide rate has increased every year since the Iraq War began in 2003.
go here for video
http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/49254727.html

"Why didn't they know what would make all this suffering grow?"

Lives on the line, Congress writes more bills but veterans keep paying the price

Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
March 14, 2019

"Tester introduces veterans' mental health bill named after Helena man" was the headline for yet one more bill named after another veteran/service member who were also failed by previous ones. 

The bill carries Hannon's name because of his service as a Navy SEAL and as an advocate for the National Alliance of Mental Illness in Helena, where he retired after 23 years of military service. Hannon was dealing with post-traumatic stress, a traumatic brain injury, depression and bipolar disorder after he ended his military service. He was active in veterans' issues and helped develop a group therapy for veterans involving rehabilitating birds of prey at Montana Wild. Hannon died by suicide in 2018.

Maybe I have been watching all of this for far too long? I have become so jaded by them that the evaporation of hope forces me to ask, "Why didn't they know what would make all this suffering grow?"

Who was Commander John Scott Hannon?

Scott was open about his invisible wounds of war, and found solace and recovery in many of the causes that also allowed him to give back to his fellow veterans and his community. He was passionate about improving veterans’ access to mental health care and integrating service animals into mental health care. Scott worked closely with Montana Wild and VA Montana to develop a group therapy program for veterans that involved birds of prey. Scott was embraced on his journey to recovery by his family, friends, and community. He died from his invisible wounds of war February 25, 2018.

Ranking Member Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., speaks during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C. in September 2018.

A handout from Tester's office said expanding rural veterans' access to telehealth care and investment in "gender-specific specialists, services, and research" were part of the bill's overarching goals. If passed, the bill would also fund a study to see if there is a higher risk of suicide for veterans living at high altitude. Funding would also provide alternative treatment paths for veterans, including agricultural and animal therapy, yoga, acupuncture and meditation.

While we knew decades ago what works, it seems as if no one bothered to learn any history. It also seems that Senator Tester has not explained why the outcome is still devastating families across the country, especially when in 2009, the Montana National Guard program was touted as the best thing going and pushed across the same nation to address the same problem...veterans and military members killing themselves.

The Montana Guard's Yellow Ribbon program has become a model that the rest of America should adopt, said U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. 

"We're getting terrific responses to the program from the families of our soldiers, but also some great suggestions," said Col. Jeff Ireland, chief of manpower and personnel for the Montana Guard. "For instance, we were told it would be useful to have a special breakout session for spouses.
Ireland said officials believe the session was a great idea. 

"We plan to act on it and other suggestions until we meet all the needs we're aware of," he added. 

With the approval and funding of the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C., the Montana National Guard is adding five positions and spending approximately $500,000 to fund the Yellow Ribbon program, Ireland said. 

The core of the program is twofold: mental health assessments every six months after deployment and crisis response teams that can be activated immediately to check out concerns about the emotional wellbeing of a soldier. 

"The genius of the Montana screening model is that it happens every six months," Matt Kuntz, Dana's stepbrother, told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee last week during testimony in Washington.

Current suicides within the military have also increased...but hey, why bother about reviewing the failures of the past?

So why do we know that suicides in the Veterans' Community have gone up, but even as more members of Congress use the names on more bills, they remain disconnected to what the result of their other efforts produced?

Apparently they have not been notified that current military suicides have also risen.

Rep. Don Young wrote to Lt. Gen. Nadja West requesting an inquiry into suicides at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, The Daily News Miner reported Tuesday. "As the number of military suicides continues to climb in Alaska, it is clear that the battle is far from over."

Advocates, like me, continue to fight to educate them and families, but it is a constant battle because members of Congress have failed to listen to us.

As we watch suicides in every branch and in every state, claim more lives, they have eviscerated all hope we placed upon their shoulders. 


As more and more members of Congress are taking about what they are doing, we are watching to see what they keep repeating and, honestly, we are fed up!

WASHINGTON — A Department of Veterans Affairs analysis of its suicide prevention programs touted mostly “positive outcomes” of the efforts even though they didn’t translate into fewer veterans dying by their own hand. Now, as the White House launches a new year-long effort to find solutions to the problem, outside advocates want to make sure that bureaucrats aren’t going to repeat the same mistakes in how they look for those answers.“We’ve already seen four years of wasted time. It’s not a partisan mistake or problem. We’ve see this across administrations. But we seem to be doing the same things over and over again.”  Joe Chenelly, executive director at AMVETS.

But perhaps the most damning part of all of this came with this statement.

“More than 24,000 veterans have died by suicide since the passage of the Clay Hunt Act,” said group National Commander Rege Riley in a statement. “God willing, we won’t be stuck with the same system we have not in 2023, with a new report that highlights only that what (they) keep doing continues not to work.” 

People like me have advising them to do everything that veterans like Clay Hunt did in order to heal, like Scott Hannon, but lost his battle too.

The Senate voted 99-0 to pass the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act on Feb. 3, while the House voted 403-0 in favor of it last month. Obama signed the bill on Thursday...The bill is named after a Marine Corps veteran who killed himself in 2011 after he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder following deployments to Iraq and in Afghanistan. After his service, Hunt volunteered in Haiti to offer relief following the 2010 earthquake, and worked with other veterans who were dealing with the physical and mental tolls of war. He worked to address his own difficulties coping, but lacked adequate resources – he reportedly waited months to see a psychiatrist, and an appeal of his disability rating did not come through until five weeks after his death."By the time the severity of his condition was recognized, it was too late," Obama said. 

One of the first bills was the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act 

Specifically, this Act requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop a program that includes screening for suicide risk factors for veterans receiving medical care at all Department facilities, referral services for at-risk veterans for counseling and treatment, designation of a suicide prevention counselor at each Department facility, a 24-hour veterans' mental health care availability, peer support counseling, and mental health counseling program for veterans who have experienced sexual trauma while in military service.

They made all kinds of speeches back then too...but it was signed by President Bush in 2007~

How long will it take before anyone cares that while lives are on the line, more and more members of Congress get applauded for naming bills after the dead they already failed...but veterans keep paying the price with their lives on the line? 

Montana lets National Guards know they are really welcomed home

National Guard soldiers honored in Missoula
Posted: Mar 6, 2011 5:55 PM by Allyson Weller (KPAX News)

MISSOULA- The Montana National Guard honored more than 30 soldiers from the 230th Vertical Engineer Company based out of Hamilton at the Freedom Salute Ceremony.

The event took place at the Hilton Garden Inn in Missoula and welcomed back Montana soldiers who returned from combat in Afghanistan in January. The purpose of the ceremony was not only to honor them, but to help with the transition from soldier to civilian.

"This event is actually the capstone for the last two years that we have trained, were deployed, were re-deployed, and we've started to integrate back into the community and with our families," said Captain Candice Griffith.

"This is pretty important because they've had a lot of problems in the past where they have had suicide and they've had divorcees and problems within families," said Specialist Farrah Warner.

The Montana National Guard holds events 30 days, 60 days and 90 days after soldiers return home to help them integrate back into civilian life.
read more here
National Guard soldiers honored in Missoula

Support the The Post Deployment Health Assessment Act of 2009

This is the moment it happened. Most of the media was not around but that was not what was important to then, Senator Obama. What he wanted to know, was what was working to help the warriors wounded by PTSD to heal and get the help they needed. After all, he was serving on the Veterans Affairs Committee, one more thing the media didn't seem too interested in. But you dear reader are smarter than the media and you care a lot more than far too many of them do. No, I'm not slamming everyone in the media because some have been doing some fantastic reports because they care. Right now though I feel I should point out something about this day in Montana when Obama promised to take the guard's program national if he ended up being elected.

I've tracked all of this since 1982. Over the last few years, spare time has turned into a 70 hour or more work week for free. I've read some of the most horrible stories you could imagine and lost too many people in my life. I take all of this very personally because of my own husband and too many of his friends, but above all, his nephew, another Vietnam veteran out of hope, so deeply in pain that he took his own life. The Montana National Guards program is one that I had been very hopeful with and you can read most of the posts I've done on this since they first began it. I am also a member of NAMI, on the Veterans' Council. There were programs all over the country when they came up with this, so Obama had plenty of programs to support if he only wanted to appear to care. When he decided that this program was so vital he wanted to focus on it and take it national, he did it because he not only cared, but the man paid attention. PTSD was no passing thought in his mind. He made sure he knew what he was talking about. He did not try to support programs that were not working. Had he done so, that would have shown us that he really didn't think it was important enough to pay attention.

With all the horrible posts I've done, even with them, I have more hope than ever that we will someday soon get to where the troops and veterans need us to be.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Support the The Post Deployment Health Assessment Act of 2009
Matt Kuntz, the keynote speaker at our upcoming Annual Education Conference, has asked us to take a few minutes to contact our Congressional Representatives and Senators to ask them to support comprehensive mental health screenings for our returning soldiers.
Two years ago, Matt, the Executive Director of NAMI Montana and one of President Obama's "18 Ordinary Americans Making an Extraordinary Difference," lost his step-brother Chris Dana to a post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) induced suicide sixteen months after he returned from Iraq.
The events around Chris’s death led Governor Brian Schweitzer and the Montana National Guard to develop the premier program in the country for caring for National Guard members suffering from PTSD. Matt says, "The foundation of this successful system is a series of five face-to-face mental health screenings that every returning service member must complete upon their return home from combat."
This broad screening program overcomes the traditional barriers that have kept service members from receiving treatment for PTSD. Over forty percent of the individuals that have completed the screening asked for help in dealing with their combat stress injuries.
Senator Max Baucus introduced “The Post Deployment Health Assessment Act of 2009” to implement this common sense screening program throughout our fighting force. The Act would require face-to-face screening before deployment, upon return home, and then every six months for two years. This basic and effective program will help safeguard the mental health of our entire fighting force for approximately the same price tag as a single F-22 Fighter. The Act is supported by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the National Guard Association, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW).
Please take a few minutes out of your day to contact your Congressional Representatives and Senators to ask them to support this critical legislation. Our military suicide rates are at record levels and climbing. We can’t afford to wait any longer to help our heroes get the care they deserve. You can follow this link to find your Representatives’ and Senators’ contact information: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/.

Suicide death of Spc. Chris Dana causes change in Montana National Guard

Montana Guard confronts post-combat stress head-on in wake of suicide
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
Tribune Projects Editor

HELENA — Montana's National Guard is becoming a model of how to help service members adjust to post-combat stress.

"Montana has gone beyond the level of other states in the country, and I applaud that," said Capt. Joan Hunter, a U.S. Public Service officer who was recently designated the director of psychological health for the National Guard Bureau in Washington, D.C.



"They saw an emergency need, studied the problems and make some significant improvements," Hunter said Friday.

State Adjutant General Randy Mosley said that the effort stems from a former Montana soldier who didn't get the help he needed and who killed himself a year ago.

"We want to make sure we're doing everything we can to help our people and their families pick up the pieces for the problems that may have begun during their deployment in Iraq," Mosley said last week.

"The Guard has done an unbelievable job in changing," said Matt Kuntz, a Helena attorney and stepbrother of the late Spc. Chris Dana, who killed himself March 4, 2007. At the time, Dana was having trouble handling weekend drills after returning from combat in Iraq. He was given a less-than-honorable discharge and then shot himself a few days later.

"It takes a lot for a big organization that does a lot of things right to look for what they did wrong and address those flaws," Kuntz said. "I'm really impressed with what they've done."
click post title for more

Obama promises to repeat Montana's National Guard PTSD work nation wide

Obama Pledges Nationwide Use of PTSD Program
Eric Newhouse


Great Falls Tribune

Aug 28, 2008
August 28, 2008 - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama promised Wednesday to expand Montana's pilot program to assess the mental health of combat vets nationwide, if elected.

The Montana National Guard has developed a program to check its soldiers and airmen for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder every six months for the first two years after returning from combat, then once a year thereafter. The program exceeds national standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense.

The pilot program was created in response to the suicide of former Army Spc. Chris Dana of Helena, who shot himself on March 4, 2007, days after being given a less-than-honorable discharge because he could no longer handle attending drills following a tour in Iraq.

"He (Obama) told me he understood why we need to have additional screenings for PTSD," said Matt Kuntz, Dana's stepbrother, who was among a small group invited to meet with Obama on Wednesday in Billings. "And he told me when he is elected president, he will implement Montana's pilot program nationwide."

Kuntz, who recently gave up his job as a lawyer in Helena to advocate for the mentally ill and their families, said he was invited to brief Obama on how Montana had become a national model for assessing the mental health of its combat vets.

Besides the additional screenings, the Montana National Guard has developed crisis response teams that include a chaplain to investigate behavioral problems among its troops, and TriWest Healthcare pays to have four part-time counselors on hand to talk with soldiers and airmen during weekend drills.

After the briefing, Obama spent about 20 minutes telling several hundred veterans and their families that, if elected as president, he will be committed to meeting their needs.
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/11028

TriWest And Montana Veterans Administration Launch PTSD Video Conference

TriWest And Montana Veterans Administration Launch PTSD Video Conference To Reach Rural Health Care Providers

Published 09-21-2007

Community providers learn to recognize combat stress symptoms in returning troops

PHOENIX,AZ (CompNewsNetwork) - As part of their continuing efforts to address the needs of returning Guard members, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, the Department of Defense's TRICARE contractor in Montana and the VA Montana Health Care System have partnered to launch the first Combat Stress Video Conference. The conference, being held from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sept. 19, 2007, will bring together nearly 150 community-based health care providers that care for the thousands of returning Montana National Guard troops throughout the state.

The conference will be broadcast simultaneously to providers in nine locations including Billings, Culbertson, Glasgow, Glendive, Great Falls, Havre, Helena, Kalispell and Lewistown. It is intended to help rural providers identify deployment-related symptoms such as combat stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD and traumatic brain injury, as well as providing treatment methods.

The Montana National Guard consists of more than 3,700 members who live in nearly every corner of the state. Since 2001, more than 80 percent have been mobilized for active duty.

"Family practitioners and community-based health care providers are integral in helping Montana's returning National Guard troops cope with the emotional and mental health issues resulting from serving in combat," explained David J. McIntyre, President and Chief Executive Officer of TriWest Healthcare Alliance. "This video conference is the first of its kind to combine the resources of the VA and TriWest to reach rural providers caring for these service members as they reintegrate into mainstream civilian life."

"The onset of emotional or mental health symptoms is unpredictable.
click post title for the rest

Members of National Guards Hit By Budget Cuts

Federal budget crunch idles Guard units across US 
The Associated Press
By Russ Bynum and Dan Sewell
Published: September 6, 2014

A member of the Ohio Air National Guard carries a bag of water to a nearby car at Woodward High School in Toledo, Ohio, on Aug. 3, 2014. Tens of thousands of Army National Guard members from New Hampshire to Hawaii have been idled because of a $101 million gap in a federal funding shortfall.
HARAZ N. GHANBARI/AP

"When you're a young college student and working hard to make ends meet and trying to serve your country right now, it's not good," said Robbie McGalliard, a 27-year-old artillery gunner in the Georgia National Guard. He would have been at Fort Stewart this weekend firing 105mm howitzer shells in his training, earning about $350.

CINCINNATI — Many of the nation's citizen-soldiers, whose motto is "Always Ready, Always There," won't be at regular training drills this weekend because of a federal funding shortfall.

Tens of thousands of Army National Guard members from New Hampshire to Hawaii have been idled because of a $101 million gap that has led to drills being postponed and travel being suspended, National Guard spokesman Capt. John Fesler said. Meanwhile, there are efforts underway in Congress to get funding reallocated so drills can be held later this month and so Guard members will get pay they were counting on.

Decisions to postpone or cancel drills were being made by state Guard leaders. Among states that announced they put off training exercises are Alabama, California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Montana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Utah. Some, including Alaska, New Jersey, Oregon and Vermont, planned to go ahead as scheduled. Texas authorities said Guard members already on border missions won't be affected by the training delay.

Among reasons for the shortfall are fewer Guard deployments overseas that are funded separately and higher-than-expected attendance for training paid by the Guard.
read more here

Why Montana National Guard is taking PTSD head on

Post traumatic stress disorder claims soldiers life
Staff

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer tells the Joint Economic Committee the story of Iraqi War veteran Chris Dana who through post traumatic stress disorder shot and killed himself.

Schweitzer was on hand to testify before the committee on the high costs states like Montana are facing due to the Iraq War. (1:45)
go here to listen
http://talkradionews.com/2008/06/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-claims-soldiers-life/


And the man behind the work being done,

On Mosley's watch, Montana Guard sets the pace
May 15, 2008
Maj. Gen. Randy Mosley, Montana's adjutant general, has been on hand when nearly every Montana Guard unit leaves for or returns from Iraq or Afghanistan or stateside duties. He usually declines press interviews, saying he's there to thank the troops, not for personal publicity.

More sadly, Mosley has attended 27 funerals for Montana military members.

Those actions are appropriate, and Mosley did whatever it took to clear his schedule to attend.
He commanded the Montana Guard during its largest mobilization since World War II. Units sometimes left or returned in different cities the same day, often in wee hours of the morning.

Four-fifths of Montana Guard members have deployed for several months to a year during the nation's five years of fighting terrorism, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. These are civilian folks who previously pulled Guard drills one weekend a month.

Mosley, who is retiring in September, has done much for the state military.

He put Montana in the vanguard of states helping soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder.
He created a Post Deployment Health Reassessment Task Force to look at what was wrong with the system and implemented the solutions it recommended.

Mosley created crisis response teams to meet regularly with troubled soldiers, including those who abruptly stop going to drills.

He got a Pentagon grant to do mental health evaluations every six months for two years after deployments. That's vital, he said, because problems can rise slowly.

Mosley also decided not to break up combat units that had gone overseas together, realizing that keeping on-going ties among buddies helps. He pledged not to discharge any soldier without personally investigating.

"We want to make sure we're doing everything we can to help our people and their families pick up the pieces for problems that may have begun during their deployment," he said.
Mosley said his effort stems from a Montana soldier who didn't get help and killed himself.

Army Guard Spc. Chris Dana of Helena skipped weekend drills after returning from combat in Iraq. He was given an "other than honorable" discharge and then shot himself on March 4, 2007.

go here for more
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/OPINION01/805150306

See, Chris Dana died from his wound, no matter if you could see it or not. Chris Dana touched the lives of people who knew him and because of him, many lives will be saved because his life meant something and they wanted to make sure his death taught them what they needed to do to make sure others did not die of the same wound no one else could see with their own eyes. PTSD is a wound but it is a wound you have to look at with your heart.

PTSD:Montana National Guard doing what needs to be done

PTSD discussed in Helena, Butte
KPAX-TV - Missoula,MT,USA

Posted: May 27, 2008 10:15 AM EDT


The Montana National Guard is taking steps to help returning and deploying soldiers and airmen deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The Guard hopes to equip citizens with the tools to reach out to friends, family members and neighbors who could be suffering from PTSD through statewide meetings.

The meetings outline symptoms of both PTSD and mild traumatic brain injuries and how to get help.

Col. Jeff Ireland: "We want to do everything we can to most importantly take care of our soldiers, our airmen and their families and if we have someone suffering from PTSD, helping them to get into a program that will help to get them better so that we can continue them as a resource for the guard and also be a productive citizen."

There were two PTSD meetings Wednesday -- one in Helena at the Armed Forces Reserve Center and the other in Butte at the National Guard Armory.

When will the rest of the country do the same?

Veteran Suicide Awareness Not Even Close To Being Aware

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
October 26, 2014

I have grown weary of reading about suicides and PTSD tied to military service. Few have gotten it right. It seems as if everyone has become an instant expert popping up on Facebook and writing opinions with very little based on facts. Veterans end up with information overload not knowing what is opinion and what is truth.

The truth is, most awareness being raised is not even close to what is needed to be known and it is inexcusable!

I was reading an opinion piece on Triblive and my head exploded to the point where I had to leave a comment. I hate to leave comments because it takes too much time considering I read up to 50 articles a day and would be impossible to leave comments on all of them. I have to be emotionally tied to it before I type the first word.

This is the comment I left.

On the suicides tied to military service, it is worse than you may know. When President Obama was a Senator, he served on the Veterans Affairs Committee and was very aware of suicides. So much so, he escaped the national press in 2008 while running for office to go to the Montana National Guards after the suicide of Spec. Chris Dana.

He knew about them then yet when suicides went up he held no one accountable. As congress continued to spend more and more money on failed programs, he let them instead of demanding accountability. Combat PTSD has been researched for 40 years, yet the outcome is worse than ever. When do we hold politicians accountable to the men and women they send into combat?

Obama got an earful while in Montana.

Before speaking, the candidate met for several minutes with the family of Spec. Chris Dana, a Montana National Guard veteran suffering from PTSD who committed suicide in March 2007, several months after returning from Iraq. Dana's stepbrother, Matt Kuntz, became a vocal advocate for better treatment of PTSD after Dana's death.

Jess Bahr, a Vietnam veteran, drove more than 200 miles from Great Falls to hear Obama. Before being bused to the event with a veteran-heavy crowd, Bahr said the number of homeless U.S. veterans was inexcusable and that the needs of retired warriors across the country were being ignored by communities.

“In Great Falls, they're building a $6.5 million animal shelter and we don't have a shelter for veterans. What does that tell you about priorities?” asked Bahr, a 1967 Army draftee who survived the Tet Offensive, a nine-month series of battles that resulted in more than 6,000 deaths and 24,000 injuries among American and allied troops during the Vietnam War.

Then Senator Obama made a promise that if he became President he would expand what the Montana National Guards started on screenings for PTSD.

The Montana National Guard has developed a program to check its soldiers and airmen for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder every six months for the first two years after returning from combat, then once a year thereafter. The program exceeds national standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense.

He kept that promise however when the Joint Chiefs of Staff testified they were not doing all the screenings they were supposed to be doing during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, no one was held accountable.

There is no doubt in my mind that President Obama is very aware of military suicides and PTSD as well as the dysfunctional congressional politicians inability to actually learn what works instead of writing checks supporting what has failed. After the repugnant Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program was instituted based on a research project to give school aged children a better sense of self-worth was pushed on our servicemen and women, suicides went up.

This farce of teaching soldiers to be "resilient" with this program increased suicides. It isn't that all of this was not predicted far ahead of thousands of graves being filled. Even I saw it coming back in 2009 when I stated this.

Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Will Make It Worse

"If you promote this program the way Battlemind was promoted, count on the numbers of suicides and attempted suicides to go up instead of down. It's just one more deadly mistake after another and just as dangerous as sending them into Iraq without the armor needed to protect them."

We let them get away with it! It isn't as if they didn't know what was going on. So what is their excuse for all of this now?

White House callous toward American lives
Trib Live
By Diana West
Friday, Oct. 24, 2014

At a time when our military has been at war for 13 years, suicide is at an all-time high, (post-traumatic stress disorder) is out of control and families are being destroyed as a result of 13 years of war, the last thing the president should be doing is sending people into West Africa to fight Ebola.”

Do you get the feeling that the United States government is trying to get us all killed?

OK, not all of us. Some of us.

I almost don't know how else to interpret the headlines, whether the issue is the 167,000 convicted criminal aliens who, despite deportation orders, remain “currently at large” or the U.S. consulates in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea that are still issuing travel visas to citizens from these Ebola-stricken nations at a rate of 100 a day.

The White House refusal to exercise elementary precautions to prevent an Ebola outbreak in the United States has become another notorious hallmark of the Obama years. I refer to the administration's failure to prohibit travel from the Ebola-stricken region into our formerly Ebola-free nation for the duration of the horrific epidemic.

Even now, the Obama administration continues to permit 150 travelers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea to land every day, their unimpeded ease of movement our government's top priority. The rest of us take our chances. To date, we are looking at “only” two infected nurses. From the globalist perspective, this mean Obama's policies are working. The golf course beckons.
read more here

How about we stop talking about suicide awareness, since they have increased faster than when we were not talking about them and start talking about raising awareness on how to live on after combat and heal? How about we give these veterans and military folks some actual weapons to defeat PTSD and stop trying to find excuses for not doing it? How about we raise awareness that most veterans with PTSD do not commit suicide? How about we talk about how they heal better and faster when they stop trying to fit back in with people who can't understand but start to join other groups of veterans who do understand?

We've been at this for far too long to accept any excuses for the good that works to be ignored and the bad to be allowed to continue.

Romney has a "specific" problem

Romney has a "specific" problem
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
August 21, 2012


I don't like political emails from either side. I usually hit delete unless it involves veterans.

At first I thought this was some kind of yet another political attack against Romney coming from the opposition but I followed where the article came from and found it on USA Today.

Linked from Daily Kos is this.

Romney, Ryan fault Obama on Afghanistan
By Jackie Kucinich
USA TODAY
Aug 20, 2012

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and his running mate, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, criticized President Obama Monday for his handling of the war in Afghanistan during a town hall-style event here that offered a rare opportunity during this campaign season to talk about the ongoing conflict.

"I have a very pressing question to ask you," the man said. "If you guys take over Washington, what are you going to do about this damn mess in Afghanistan?"

Romney, who has been critical of the president for not defining the mission of the war in Afghanistan, pledged to "communicate to the American people" about the cause and goals of any conflict while troops are in harm's way.

"I can tell you this, when I become commander in chief if I'm so lucky, I will address the American people about these issues," which Obama has not done, Romney said. "With regards to Afghanistan, I will do everything in my power to transition from our military to their military as soon as possible, bring our men and women home and do so in a way consistent with our mission, which is to keep Afghanistan from being overrun by a new entity that would allow Afghanistan to be a launching point for terror again like it was on 9/11."
read more here

Let's get honest here. No one running for office of any kind knows everything about everything. Romney isn't even aware that Obama does have plans for Afghanistan and even has a date to get the troops back home. While it would be wonderful if he also had a plan to stop Afghans from pretending to be on the troops side then blowing them away would be a great thing to do, Romney either lied or didn't know. That is why they hire experts on every subject to advise them. Case in point is when President Obama was running for office, he was well aware of military suicides because he had an advisor telling him what was going on. He traveled very quietly to the Montana National Guard because of what they were doing to address suicides.

Spc. Chris Dana's story told to Obama by step brother
August 28, 2008

Stepbrother tells guardsman's story to Obama
Helena soldier took his own life after tour of duty in Iraq
By LAURA TODE
Of The Gazette Staff

Montana National Guard Spc. Chris Dana will never know the impact his life and ultimately his death may someday have on the lives of veterans nationwide.

Dana took his life in March 2007, less than two years after returning from a tour in Iraq. His family believes he was a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder, brought on by his combat experience.

Since Dana's death, his stepbrother Matt Kuntz has campaigned for more awareness of the costs of untreated post-traumatic stress syndrome in Iraq war veterans.

Wednesday, he was invited to meet with Sen. Barack Obama to share the message he's been spreading statewide for more than a year. At a quiet picnic table at Riverfront Park, Obama sat across from Kuntz, his wife, Sandy, and their infant daughter, Fiona.

I was very impressed he knew that at the time, the Montana National Guard had the best program going on. It was my job to know since I track all of this across the country focusing on Combat PTSD and military suicides. I couldn't figure out how Obama knew. Then it dawned on me that he had found the right experts to find out what was going on. He was also on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee proving he did care. After all his Grandfather was a veteran.

There is no way anyone could know without getting the right advice. That seems to be Romney's biggest problem. He isn't specific about anything. He is smart of he wouldn't have made so much money. So how can this smart guy with a lot of money fail when it comes to getting advice on what he should do to straighten out all the problems this country has. It is not that Romney is new to how things get done since he's been running for President over and over again. Does he even know Ryan's budget calls for the VA budget to be cut by $11 billion? Or that it also calls for privatizing it?

If he does have a plan then the voters need to know what it is specifically! If he doesn't have plans for all of this mess, then voters need to know especially this close to the day they have to decide who should run this country next. If Romney hasn't hired the right people to advise him after all this time, who will he hire if he gets the job he's going after? Will it be more of the same of either bad advice or no advice at all?