Returning veterans ending up on streets

Returning veterans ending up on streets
Many Iraq, Afghanistan GIs already homeless, suffering
mcclatchy newspapers
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.13.2007

ORLANDO, Fla. — Often, when Ryan Svolto manages to sleep, he finds himself back in Iraq, preparing for triage, awash in blood and bodies. But he can't find his medical kit, and, helpless, he thrashes awake, damp with sweat.

As an infantry medic, he patched up soldiers wounded in combat in Iraq. Now, Svolto, 24, is trying to fix his own wounded life after a recent stint at a Daytona Beach, Fla., homeless shelter.

Svolto is one of a growing number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who joined the ranks of the homeless after returning home. Experts say a system already buckling under one of the nation's largest homeless populations might collapse under the weight of a new wave of veterans, many saddled with mental-health issues and crippling brain injuries.

For Svolto, it's yet another battle — one he believes he won't be fighting alone.
"That's the scary part, when they get out of the Army and realize they're not who they used to be," he said. "It seems easier to disappear in the woods and live that way. A lot of these kids aren't going to be prepared. I wasn't prepared."

Nearly half of all homeless veterans served in Vietnam. Hamstrung by a lack of job skills, drug addictions and psychological issues, they became homeless 12 to 15 years after discharge.

But veterans of the latest war are hitting the streets much sooner.

"I wake up screaming" a Vietnam Vet and PTSD

"I Wake Up Screaming--Vietnam and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder"

By Henry See(Laura Knight Jadczyk)

An exerpt from "I Wake Up Screaming--Vietnam and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" by Lucian J. La Joie describing his experiences in Vietnam:

Feds Ridicule Vet Diagnosed with PTSD

Feds Ridicule Vet Diagnosed with PTSD
At the US Dept for Federal Veterans Affairs, National Center for PTSD website, a veteran is given information on whom to contact for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) problems:

You can contact your local VA Hospital or Veterans Center located in your telephone book, or call the VA Health Benefits Service Center toll free at 1-877-222-VETS. In addition to its medical centers, VA also has many CBOCs (Community Based Outpatient Clinics) around each state so you can look for one in your community.

But as Vietnam-era Air Force veteran Keith Roberts found out, that doesn't mean you should actually file for PTSD-related benefits.In an appellate brief filed with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on July 29, the US Atty's office mocks Roberts for seeking help with his diagnosed mental health and other medical ailments.

Reads the brief filed by Steven Biskupic's office:

A layperson can gather information about PTSD's causes and symptoms from public libraries, the Internet, and the VA's National Center for PTSD ... After Roberts' personality disorder claim failed, he changed course. In February 1994, Roberts notified the VA for the first time that he suffered from PTSD, and that it was connected to his military service. His claim, however, did not say what his in-service stressor was, and he offered no PTSD diagnosis.

So, this veteran did not fill out the complex VA forms properly. But after jumping through hoop after hoop, Roberts was eventually diagnosed with PTSD by several medical professionals and began receiving PTSD-related benefits in 1999.

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Wounded Wives veterans care lacking, wives care missing

PTSD
Name: Josie Salzman
Posting date: 8/13/07
Husband: returned from Iraq
Hometown: Menomenie, WI
Milblog url: lifeinacrackerbox.blogspot.com

I sit tonight in the kitchen of the Fisher House just staring at the TV while trying to collect my thoughts. The country has been informed that the Army has realized there is a need for more mental health professionals to aid soldiers returning from war with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). They claim to be adding two hundred new employees to help combat the never-ending war that remains in our loved ones' minds. I wish more than anything that tonight I could take a deep breath, relax, and fall asleep with the confidence that our military is taking the proper steps to ensure my family is able to heal from the violence we have encountered.

Unfortunately, that's not an option.

One of the first nights I had with my husband after his injury will forever be burned into my mind. He had been in an excruciating amount of pain the entire evening. It was still early in his hospital stay so the doctors had yet to find a pain cocktail that his body responded to. Just like the evening before, the nurse entered the room and handed J.R. a cup filled to the top with pills. Desperate to make the pain subside for a few hours, J.R. swallowed them in one giant mouthful. An hour later he was drifting off to sleep.

I started making my bed for the night after I was sure he was sleeping. This would be my second night of sleeping in the foldout chair that I would soon learn to hate. I had no more than crawled under the covers when J.R. sat bolt upright in bed. "Get them off me. Get them off me now. The bugs, they're all over me, get them off. They're in the bed. Make them go away."

Unsure of what he was talking about, I jumped out of bed and rushed to calm him down. After a grueling twenty minutes he was able to once again close his eyes. It didn't last. Again his mind took over in his sleep. This time he felt as if someone was in the room and he was under attack. He awoke panicked and sweat-soaked. I sat on his bed and held him in my arms. I promised him that if he just closed his eyes he would be able to sleep and that everything would be fine. I was in the room and I was going nowhere. But everything wasn't fine. No more than an hour after he closed his eyes the terror began. On this night J.R. would relive the entire accident.

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Diagnosis: PTSD. He got help and says, "It was like pulling a raw scab off my heart."

August 11, 2007

Vet looking for helicopter to help Iraq soldiers recover

By AUDREY PARENTE
Staff Writer

DELAND -- Dallas Wittgenfeld's life after Vietnam travels two paths -- one exhilarating, the other somber.

He wisecracks about leaping out of airplanes, helicopters and hot-air balloons into mall parking lots, speedways and even the Cayman Islands -- as Thunder Chicken or Sky Pirate.

"I wore out two hot-air balloons, and the first time Volusia County ever saw Thunder Chicken was flying Grand National Winston Cup champion Donnie Allison off a hotel roof," says Wittgenfeld of Orange City.

But the two-time Purple Heart Vietnam veteran Airborne Ranger nearly cries if you ask him about his military service.

"When I came home from Vietnam, I was 20 years old, on leave. I wore my uniform with my friends and went out drinking, but I couldn't vote or buy booze anywhere -- and they made fun of me, so I got up and left," Wittgenfeld recalls.

"I was proud of what I had done, and when I came back, I thought I was a hero -- but no one else did."
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Wittgenfeld said that,

Diagnosis: PTSD. He got help and says, "It was like pulling a raw scab off my heart."

When they discover the wound of war is causing them the harm, that they will not get over it on their own, time will not wear away the memories, and they are in fact suffering from a combat wound, it is not easy to accept.

The wound is there unhealed and the infection of PTSD has set in attacking the emotions.

Their bodies, their emotions, go into a process of buidling walls in defense. There is a survival chain working together to protect them from more harm. The human body is truly amazing. While some parts of the body are going into defense mode, other parts of the body are in destroy mode because PTSD has invaded the territory. In between the time the trauma strikes and the day they finally understand what it is, defenses are strengthened. Emotions turn numb. The walls trap emotions in isolation and keep out new ones from coming in, good ones along with bad ones. The day they know, is the day a wrecking ball whacks that defensive wall and a flood of emotions flow out. Usually, they cry.

Kathie Costos
email Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com

The Aftermath of Horror

The Aftermath of Horror: A Lieutenant’s Story of Her Struggle to Overcome Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Denver, CO, August 12, 2007 --(PR.com)-- On October 23, 1983, two hundred forty-one Marines were killed in their sleep in the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. Lt. Bonnie J. Tierney was the Mass Casualty Officer at Rhein Main Air Base in Frankfurt, Germany, assigned to identify and process the decaying body parts. For 30 days, she did her duty. Then for the next twenty years, she suffered from depression, nightmares, panic attacks, and thoughts of suicide—until she was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Locked in Time offers a vivid portrait of one who, like so many veterans, is not able to leave behind the atrocities of war, whose mind burns with dreadful, noxious memories that have prevented her from living a normal life. Through Locked in Time, author Bonnie Tierney describes her early years of growing up poor in a dysfunctional family, her relationship struggles, her challenges as a woman in the military, the devastating effects of the marine killings that forever altered her life, and her hopes and dreams for the future of America.

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After Iraq: Guardsman finds it hard to put horrors behind him

Published Sunday | August 12, 2007
After Iraq: Guardsman finds it hard to put horrors behind him
BY C. DAVID KOTOK
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER


Snipers, mortar attacks, roadside bombings. The soldiers from the Nebraska Army National Guard's Troop A, 1st Squadron, 167th Cavalry survived it all during a year in the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi, Iraq. Last summer, the soldiers came home. After a quick round of medical exams and paperwork, they were back with families, back to regular jobs. But scars remain as some soldiers struggle with problems afflicting thousands of Iraq vets. They fight post-traumatic stress and lingering brain injuries. Some abuse alcohol. Others seek out danger to revive the excitement of combat. For the past year, The World-Herald has chronicled seven soldiers' return to civilian life. This week, we're sharing their stories.

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Fort Carson answers PTSD alarm bell finally

Army to teach ways to spot psychiatric injuries

By Robert Weller - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Aug 11, 2007 15:33:22 EDT

DENVER — The Army has launched a nationwide program to teach soldiers and their families how to identify signs of possible psychiatric injuries suffered in the war on terrorism that may have gone unnoticed.

The Army is responding to widespread reports that soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with mild brain damage and post-traumatic stress disorder were treated as malingerers or unfairly dismissed from the service.

The training program, called “chain-teaching,” was implemented last week at the Pentagon and is intended to reach all active-duty soldiers and reservists within 90 days.

Fort Carson officials plan to discuss the program with media Tuesday, base spokesman Capt. Gregory Dorman said.

"When you get blown up, or something happens to you, it sticks with you,"

August 11th, 2007 11:43 am
Lawsuit claims veterans need better care


KTUU

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A class action lawsuit was filed today on behalf of U.S. soldiers and marines, charging that the active duty military and veterans systems are still denying Iraq and Afghan War veterans the care and benefits they deserve.

This lawsuit charges that the system is still broken, despite all the changes promised after the Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal. Many veterans agree with the charges.

Army Sgt. Charles Eggleston, who was injured in Iraq, said he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, particularly symptoms like insomnia and hyper alertness.

"When you get blown up, or something happens to you, it sticks with you," Eggleston said.

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Haunter by war, Iraq vet smashes police station

06:50 - 11 August 2007

FORMER SOLDIER HAUNTED BY WAR SMASHED POLICE STATION

CAROL SAUNDERS COURT REPORTER



A former soldier said to be haunted by the horrors he saw while serving in Iraq couldn't remember smashing numerous doors and windows at Plymouth's Charles Cross police station, a court heard.

Adam Wood, aged 21, caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage when he smashed four windows in a shelter near the building, two door panels and a telephone box outside on November 9 last year.

Wood, of Redhill Close, Ernesettle, believed he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following his "horrific" experiences in Iraq, and had turned to drink to try and forget his troubles, said his solicitor Graham Kinchin at Plymouth Magistrates Court.

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If you go back to read this report, you will find the comments depressing. They were of the opinion this veteran had a bad temper, drank too much and then tried to hide behind PTSD. Easy to assume if you know nothing about PTSD.

Wood is only 21. Could you imagine the thought of being diagnosed with what most people think is a mental illness and therefore would label him as crazy at that age? It is one thing to think you have a problem and quite another to hear the words coming out of psychologists mouth.

Some of them do end up with drinking problems because they are alcoholics but most drink to kill off feelings they have and don't want to feel. They are self-medicating. Some of them do have anger problems as rage builds inside of them, while others use anger to cover up for the fact they don't want to allow anyone to get too close to them.

They are humans. We all tend to build our own walls to protect ourselves until we can trust someone. A lot of people marry thinking the really know the person, only to find out when they feel comfortable to show what is really inside of them they are totally different. Check the divorce rates lately?

We get angry beyond what is considered to be a normal reaction and we blow things out of proportion. I have one hell of a temper myself. I'm slow to angry and end up exploding when I finally do, then I calm down and I'm over it. Grudges are not style. Yet when it comes to people with PTSD, anger is the only emotion they will allow to come out.

As they begin to heal and understand what PTSD, they cry a lot. The walls begin to come down and emotions they were afraid to feel are beginning to wake up. Maybe this is what Woods was going through. I don't know for sure and only a psychologist sitting in front of him running tests would be able to know that. It sounds as if he may have it. What I do know is that there are too many people who would rather look at someone with PTSD and think they are anything but wounded.

Kathie Costos

email Namguardianangel@aol.com

www.Namguardianangel.org

Vets center healing invisible wounds from different wars

East Valley Tribune
August 10, 2007
New Mesa Vets center healing invisible wounds
Mary K. Reinhart, Tribune

For Mike Saye and Daryl Cox, it was the Iraq War that unearthed the horrors of combat. The Vietnam veterans struggled for nearly 30 years with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, but never sought help until young Americans started fighting, and dying, in the Middle East.

They were gathered Thursday at a new Veterans Readjustment Center near Fiesta Mall in Mesa, getting help for their own demons and hoping to give younger veterans the benefit of their experience.

“It triggered everything in me. I started dreaming about it again,” Saye, of Mesa, said of the Iraq War.

“I was a candidate for PTSD for years and years, but I thought I could handle it,” he said, even as he struggled through four marriages and some 30 jobs.

“But I can’t, and they can’t either. I don’t want them to wait as long as I did to get help.”

Though a trickle of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are finding their way to the new center, team leader Patrick Ryan knows many more are out there.

“We’re certainly trying to do outreach, but we’d like to see more of them,” Ryan said. “The stigma is not what it used to be, but it’s still there.”

New PTSD blog

Wounded Times Blog There are so many reports coming out on Post Traumatic Stress from all over the world, so I decided to put up a blog just for them.

If you want to read the reports about the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq, veterans and the way they are treated along with other military news, Nam Guardian Angel blog spot is still up and I will be posting there as well. This is strictly for PTSD. It will not be only from military causes, but I tend to focus more on that.

As I go along I will move some of the posts from the other blog. There are over seven thousand post to go through so that will take a lot of time.




Kathie Costos DiCesare