CALL TO ACTION VOTEVETS.ORG NEEDS YOUR HELP TO FIGHT FOR THE SOLDIERS

Dear Military Family Member,
You know all to well the meaning of sacrifice. Only a small number of people know what it is like to have a loved one serve a combat tour that can last up to fifteen months. The uncertainty that goes along with overseas deployments is a heavy burden to bear. While most of the American people were told to "go shopping," you've made the real sacrifice.


Now, five years later, the Bush Administration and its neoconservative allies are trying to push a war weary nation into another quagmire. This time they want to attack Iran. They also oppose the Webb-Hagel Bill which would have provided troops with adequate rest and recovery time following a deployment to a combat zone. Their inaction on this measure jeopardizes our national security.

CLICK HERE TO GET MORE MILITARY FAMILY MEMBERS SIGNED UP WITH VOTEVETS.ORG


VoteVets.org has been at the forefront of these issues and will continue to be as we approach the 2008 election cycle. Our endorsed candidates did not get multiple deferments or have "other priorities" (in the words of Vice President Cheney). When the time came for them to serve, they suited up and put their lives on the line. Along with helping our candidates, we will also continue to hold anti-troop politicians accountable, as we did in 2006.


To this end, VoteVets.org is seeking more military family members to join our ranks. And for that, we need your help.

HELP SIGN UP MORE MILITARY FAMILY MEMBERS WITH VOTEVETS.ORG

If you can, we would like you to refer five family members to us who you think would be interested in our cause. In this email you are afforded the opportunity to do just that. This will increase our voice in Washington DC and beyond.
Thank you for your support, and the sacrifices you have made.

Sincerely,
Peter Granato

Iraq War Veteran

Vice Chair, VoteVets.org

NOW HERE THIS. THE UK HAS THEIR HANDS FULL WITH PTSD BUT THEY REPORT PROBLEMS WITH KEEPING THEIR TROOPS DEPLOYED LONGER THAT 13 MONTHS OUT OF THREE YEARS!

Troops arrive home from fighting

Corporal Wara with his sons after his return from Afghanistan
About 150 troops have arrived back in the UK after a tour of duty in southern Afghanistan.

Soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade have arrived back in Colchester, Essex, following six months in the Helmand Province trouble spot.

The level of fighting experienced by the unit had been the most intense since the Korean War, some experts say.

Army commanders added that the troops will undergo a normalisation programme on their return to Essex.
go here for the rest
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/6039742.stm

'Stress risk' for British troops
Long deployments increased the risk of PTSDProlonged periods of service in Iraq and Afghanistan are putting the armed forces at risk of psychological problems, UK research has suggested.
A study of 5,500 regular troops found that about 20% were on tour for longer than recommended.And long deployments were found to be associated with an increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the British Medical Journal reported.
The Ministry of Defence said rates of mental illness among troops were low.
"Harmony guidelines" were introduced by the armed forces to make clear the maximum time service personnel should spend away from their families and how long units should rest between operations.
The recommendations are also used to monitor when troops are overstretched.
Health problems
A team at King's College London looked at the effects of the number and lengths of deployment in a random sample of military personnel sent on operations.
They calculated that those deployed for over the average recommended amount of 13 months or more in a three-year period were 20-50% more likely to have symptoms of PTSD.General health and severe alcohol problems were also associated with long periods in a war zone.
And "overstretched" troops were also more likely to have problems at home during and after active service.
go here for the rest
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6927659.stm

Yet we have no problem with our troops doing one full tour at 15 months and then have only 12 months home! What is wrong with us? Then we have a problem when they do develop PTSD! 13 months out of three years for the UK and their studies proved it was asking for more cases of PTSD. Yet our Congress and President have allowed this to keep going on when they should have stopped this practice a long time ago! What makes this all worse is that they do nothing to address the problems their bad decisions are creating! Repeat deployments raise the risk of PTSD by 50% according to the US Army study. Fewer of our troops are beating the odds. This is an emergency people and a battle we cannot afford to lose for them.

'The Army ignored my illness' 03 Aug 07 Health
UK troop reserves 'almost gone' 21 Jul 07 UK
Pain link to post-trauma stress 08 Apr 07 Health
Post-traumatic stress drug hope 17 Sep 06 Health
War trauma 'leaves physical mark' 24 Aug 05 Health
'My war injuries were psychological' 23 Mar 05

Shooting witnesses traumatized

Chaplain: Shooting witnesses traumatized
MLive.com - MI,USA
A Saginaw County police and fire chaplain says that's normal, but parents should watch their children for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
Chaplain: Shooting witnesses traumatized
Posted by LaNIA COLEMAN/THE SAGINAW NEWS
October 25, 2007 07:37AM
The effects could linger for weeks for the 300 people who shared a traumatic experience when a middle school football game erupted into gunfire in Saginaw.
A Saginaw County police and fire chaplain says that's normal, but parents should watch their children for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Some things that parents should watch for and monitor immediately and for about 30 days are sleep disturbances, a fear of returning to school, eating disorders, nausea, nervousness, a lot of extraordinary anxiety, behavior patterns that are not normal for their particular young person," said Richard Popard, a chaplain for Saginaw Township's police and fire departments.
"Parents should reassure children when they have these symptoms that they're not going crazy. Their body is acting normally to an abnormal circumstance. It's not normal for us to see a shooting. It's just not normal."
An Arthur Hill High School student remained in criticial condition this morning at Covenant Medical Center. Bullets struck him and three others -- two parents and another Arthur Hill student -- when a gunman opened fire during a football game at South Middle School, on the city's West Side.
About 300 spectators attended the game; the shots broke out during halftime.
Popard is part of the township's critical incident stress debriefing team, which helps officers and firefighters cope with work-related trauma.

Hannity needs to pay attention to PTSD, his crew is

Soldier Discharges

By SFC(R)L 31 for problems they said resulted not from post-traumatic stress disorder but rather from a personality disorder that pre-dated his military service. Schmidt's mother, Patrice Semtner-Myers, says her son was told that if he agreed to ...

Sean Hannity Discussion - http://forums.hannity.com

I admit I don't listen to Hannity on the radio anymore and I don't watch FOX but since I get most of what is on the net about PTSD and have never seen anything from Hannity or even indicating he has been paying attention to this at all, forgive me if I missed it.

I am so relieved to see that so many care about the way our troops and veterans are being treated on both sides. This is wonderful! There are very few in this country denying this is happening now. Maybe on this we can all come together and take a stand for our troops in a way that will really matter to their lives and their families. After all, both sides claim they are not against the troops. Now is the chance for both sides to prove it!

PTSD in Canada Invisible Injuries

Invisible injuries

Thu, October 25, 2007

A clinic in London's Parkwood Hospital is the only place in Ontario where returning soldiers can get treatment for a range of disorders caused by the stress of serving in the world's hot spots.

By JOHN MINER, SUN MEDIA
It can be triggered by something as simple as a price special at the local grocery store.

People start to crowd together, pushing to get to the front. Then there's a sharp voice in the crowd, ordering everyone to move back.

But the veteran who is barking the orders isn't at the local grocery store in his mind. He's back in Rwanda or Somalia or Afghanistan, dealing with a swarming that could be lethal if he misjudges the crowd.

He's a victim of what Canada's military calls "operational stress injury" and their American counterparts call "combat stress injury."

London is home to Ontario's only clinic set up to treat the increasing number of veterans, armed forces members and RCMP officers who have suffered psychological injuries serving in the Canadian military
click post title for the rest

Brevard County Vets taking on the wounds of PTSD

Our view: Helping our heroes

Improved federal benefits mixed with state proposal can aid Florida vets

The latest numbers on Iraq and Afghanistan veterans needing help for mental-health problems show how extensive the crisis has become:


Mental illness -- including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and drug and alcohol dependency -- is now the second biggest injury for which new vets seek treatment with the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to USA Today.


Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seeking treatment for PTSD jumped by 20,000, or almost 70 percent, in the 12 months ending June 30, the VA reported.


Total mental health cases among those war vets rose from 63,767 on June 30, 2006 to 100,580 a year later, a 58 percent jump.

Those figures don't reflect thousands of other new vets treated at storefront VA centers around the country, or active-duty personnel already diagnosed with PTSD.

PTSD sufferers, along with other wounded troops, can require lengthy and costly aid -- more than overwhelmed federal and state agencies can currently provide.
click post title for the rest

This piece also said that the Brevard county veterans have teamed up with Massachusetts based Home For Our Troops to help a serverly wounded veteran. This is what is best about our veterans. They continue to serve their brothers and sisters!

Military lags on suicide prevention, report says

Military lags on suicide prevention, report says
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, October 21, 2007
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A15


In 2006, 30 soldiers and Marines committed suicide while serving in the war in Iraq, the most in any year since it began in 2003, according to information released by the Defense Manpower Data Center in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by The Bee.

This year is on track to meet or surpass that number with at least 27 suicides so far in 2007.

Soldiers and Marines are being required to serve on the front lines for longer than any time in U.S. military history, according to a report on mental health by the Army's Office of the Surgeon General.
go here for the rest
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/445077.html

The Suicide of Mike Crutchfield, Army soldier

A Soldier's Story: Nowhere to go
Struggling with a sense of rootlessness, a former foster child joins the Army and heads to war
By Gina Kim - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 7:28 am PDT Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1


First of two parts

More service members killed themselves while serving in the Iraq war last year than in any year since the war began, and the suicide count for 2007 is on track to surpass that. The dead are generally junior enlisted soldiers who are single, white and male. They are Mike Crutchfield.

It's two days before Christmas 2006, but it doesn't feel much like the holidays in "The Suck," what soldiers sometimes call Iraq, where the days blend together – broken up only by brilliant sunrises and sunsets.


Michael Crutchfield taps out a final e-mail to his family 7,392 miles away in Stockton. It is a suicide letter – to his mother, brother, sister and nephew. He hits "send" at 12:13 p.m. Then the 21-year-old Army specialist picks up his military-issued M9 Beretta pistol. He presses it to his chest. And he fires.

Two soldiers passing Mike's office in the Balad motor pool hear the gunshot and a shell hit the floor. Then groaning. They kick the door in and there's Mike, sitting in his chair, his arms hanging limp, his head tilted back.
go here for the rest
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/445076.html
MONDAY: Mike discovers his greatest enemy in Iraq. Himself.

We hear numbers but very few of their stories. It took a lot longer than it should have to find about a hundred of their stories for the video I did, Death Because They Served. Each one of their stories need to be told, without shame, without judgment, for the sake of those who may be prevented from coming after.

PTSD is impossible to conquer if it remains in the shadow of all the famous slogans of those who serve. The Few And The Proud, are all of them. The combat veterans are rare in this nation and those serving today in both occupations are even more rare. PTSD has nothing to do with bravery, patriotism, approval of the "mission" or anything other than they are humans exposed to the horrors of combat. The duties they have to perform are a necessary evil when they are sent to fight, kill and defeat the enemy dictated by those who sent them. It is brutal, bloody and gruesome. It is chaotic. It is what they live through and with.

Some will be able to overcome what they participated in, yet none will honestly tell you that they were able to forget any of it. Some will relive it for the rest of their lives. As the horrors of combat claim more and more of their minds, the natural defenses take over. Numbing walls are built to protect emotions from further attacks. What manages to make penetrate them, forcing them to feel anything, is killed off by self-medication quickly. Lives are turned from living into existing.

There are more families willing to talk about the loss, about the lives gone, and about the pain left behind. As this happens, more and more of the wounded will become able to speak of their own pain before it is too late for them as well. Families of the veterans who have committed suicide have to deal with self inflicted shame they feel for not being able to stop it, not being able to be worthy of the wounded wanting to live and blaming themselves. They have to manage to find the rational in the emotional. Once they understand what PTSD is, they can deal with the fact it had nothing to do with them at all. It was the invisible enemy. It was the silent killer determined to claim who got away from the battle field. It is a stalker terrorizing until it wins. It wins by silence. It wins by denial. It wins by default. It wins by a false self imposed stigma fed on ignorance.

The only way to defeat PTSD is kill the infection eating away the wounded. Truth will win. Honesty will win. Compassion will win. Knowledge will prevail. All this can happen as soon as silence is ended. The families need to tell their stories while the media still is willing to listen. This needs to be done for the generations before now and after now as well as now. We are loosing too many after the risk to life has ended but the risk of continuing to live begins.

Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

PTSD and California prove humans suffer from trauma

California Wildfires: Experts, Advice on PTSD, Grieving, and Families Experiencing Sudden Loss
Newswise — In the midst of news stories about the catastrophic wildfires that are destroying southern California homes and businesses, it is easy to downplay both the personal losses inherent to these natural disasters and the profound influence that media can play in the preparation and healing effort. Alliant International University, which has had three of its campuses closed due to fire, announced today that experts from its California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) are ready to assist journalists with pertinent information as to how natural disasters affect people and how they can help educate, inform and inspire those who have lost their homes, as well as potential victims of this wildfire phenomenon.

“Alliant International University has called together leading experts in the field of gentle, post-traumatic stress counseling to assist journalists as to how to reach survivors, witnesses and others in the San Diego area touched by these traumatic events,” said Associate Vice President of Communications Nicolette Toussaint. “The media is where people affected by this natural disaster will go when they need information that helps to make sense of what has happened and how they can move on.”
go here for the rest
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/534618/

We saw it after Katrina. We saw it after 9-11. We saw it over and over again, yet when it comes to the men and women we send into combat, we failed to expect it. PTSD is a human wound, suffered from abnormal events. There is nothing normal about the fires in California, the aftermath of Katrina, the attacks of 9-11 or combat. None of this is part of normal daily life. We ignore this at our own peril. The wounds treated early are wounds healed sooner. Why would anyone have a problem with this?

Dems ask Bush to back wounded warrior bills

Dems ask Bush to back wounded warrior bills

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Oct 23, 2007 17:20:03 EDT

The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman is asking President Bush to rally Republicans in support of pending wounded warrior legislation, rather than pushing the White House’s own plan.

Concerned that the administration’s plan unveiled last week could end up delaying work on the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act already approved by the House and Senate, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and other Democrats on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee sent a letter to Bush on Monday seeking his help in building Republican support for the ongoing negotiations to hammer out a compromise wounded warrior bill instead of allowing debate to take on a partisan tinge.

The letter also asks Bush to nominate someone to be the new secretary of veterans’ affairs, saying that having the position filled will make it easier for the administration to negotiate with Congress on details of the wounded warrior legislation and to push through other improvements in programs for disabled combat veterans that do not require congressional action.
click post title for the rest

Chaplains replacing therapists in combat

In most cases, I do believe the chaplains have crossed the line when it comes to evangelizing, but in this case I think it's a good idea to fill in the gaps. Normally I agree with Veterans For Common Sense and would take issue with this, but it is something I have been pushing for in the communities when they come back and cannot get into the VA for help.

Veterans For Common Sense reported it this way.

Military Improperly Uses Chaplains as Mental Health Counselors
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleid/8656

The reason is a simple one. When trauma strikes, some will thank God they survived but others will feel abandoned by God. (There were two cases in my family alone. You can read about them in my book, For The Love Of Jack for free on the link to the right.) They feel as if God wants nothing to do with them when they go through traumatic events, especially combat and even the police suffer from this. They are not very different from other humans exposed to trauma, but in their case, when trauma strikes, they were also participants in it.

They are forced to kill doing their duty. This leaves a double wound of mind and spirit. Feeling as if God has turned His back on you is one of the most heart wrenching experiences a person of faith can bear.

There have been reports that when the psychological and spiritual wounds are addressed simultaneously the results are remarkable. This should not be a surprising result considering when people go to AA to stop drinking, they recover a lot more than sobriety. We've all heard the expression of "dry drunk" when people stop drinking but become nasty. This happens with the absence of the spiritual healing. Yet when they reconnect with the spiritual they become whole. They do not allow guilt to eat away at them, but use it to remember how much they have changed and healed as they try to rebuild their lives, their families and relationships.

What needs to be honestly addressed is that while the men and women in the military, and to a lesser degree, the police force, have nothing to feel guilty over while doing their duty in order to protect other people, they do in fact feel guilty. They feel guilty they shot someone and wonder what they could have done differently. They feel guilty they survived when a comrade did not. They also feel guilty when an innocent person dies because they feel they did not do enough to save them.

The wounds they carry are not just psychological but spiritual. The combination of healing is the best, however in the absence of psychological, the chaplains in the military and the clergy back home are the next best thing to being healing. With the military unprepared for after trauma wounds, time will be wasted while the soldiers have to wait to talk to someone. As the Veterans Administration was equally unprepared, the clergy in the communities are vital in assisting the wounded veterans to being healing.

I come to this debate as the administrator of Christian Education at a local church and of abundant faith from a lifetime of living it. I am not a casual observer of this. With first hand experience with my own husband, the absence of God, the judgement of God, during traumatic events is the feeder of trauma. It is hell for those who have held the hand of God and even those who have limited faith in God. This is not limited to Christians, but to Muslims, Jewish people along with every other belief base.

Back in the communities, the religious leaders need to step up to address the wounded and begin the healing process as soon as possible. The veteran is not the only one hurting. In most cases there is also a family hurting, trying to understand what is happening. It is a spiritual tug of war in which as time is wasted, the aggressor (PTSD) claims more and more territory. The clergy need to pay attention to this and stop letting their eyes glaze over as PTSD is explained to them. It is not that hard to understand. They need to stop ignoring this if they are truly of the "cloth" and in the business of taking care of the spiritual lives of their congregations and communities.

Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.namguardianangel.blogspot.com/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington




This is how Air Force Times reported it.

DoD, services ramp up mental health support

By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Oct 22, 2007 6:46:38 EDT

When military chaplains look into the faces of military family members, they are beginning to see “the same 100-mile stare that we’re seeing with soldiers with [post-traumatic stress disorder],” the Army chief of chaplains said at a recent family forum. “This is a tough war, a long war.”

There are resources inside the gate and outside, “but sometimes it’s an issue of an individual who is so tired, we must walk them to the help they need,” said Maj. Gen. Doug Carter.

Military chaplains are a central element in the confidential assistance provided to families. They offer counseling as well as education on issues such as maintaining strong relationships during and after deployments.

But with multiple deployments compounding stress on families, defense and service officials have recently ramped up some other confidential counseling options for military families.

As of Sept. 15, active-duty members, mobilized reservists and their families can get free nonmedical professional consultations over the phone, said Mike Hoskins, special assistant in the Pentagon’s office of military community and family policy.

“We asked Military One Source to expand counseling to include telephonic consultation,” he said. “Some can’t make it to face-to-face sessions.”

The call to Military One Source, at (800) 342-9647, is toll-free. Overseas military and family members can call toll-free (800) 3429-6477, or overseas collect 1-484-530-5908. Phones are staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Each person can receive up to six phone consultations per issue, he said. Sessions are confidential and anonymous, unless a counselor has reason to believe the caller could harm himself or others.
go here for the rest
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/10/military_mentalhealth_071019w/