Vets sound off about VA at forum with Murray
By LEAH BETH WARD
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
Brett Wachsmith of Ellensburg was nearing the end of the semester at Central Washington University in 2004 when his Army National Guard unit was activated to Iraq. His professors did not make it easy for him to finish his credits before he left, he said, and he didn't complete the courses and lost his tuition.
"Nobody was watching out for you," U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash, observed Friday after hearing the tall young soldier's story at a hearing in Yakima.
Wachsmith, 24, is back in college now, after laying ambushes and conducting raids in Iraq. But his Army unit was just alerted that it will be redeployed. Though he didn't plan to re-enlist when his contract expires in January, he may be forced to return to combat in Iraq due to the Army's "stop-loss" program to address the shortage of forces.
A number of his Army buddies are suffering symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, he said. He called the military's screening for the problem inadequate. It's limited, he said, to a perfunctory question about "needing to talk to someone" in Iraq and a questionnaire when the soldiers return home.
PTSD is a common, debilitating anxiety disorder that can afflict anyone exposed to grave physical danger and prolonged fear.
go here for the rest
http://www.yakima-herald.com/page/dis/290419668468094
They lived up to their promise and it is high time we did the same. We need to take care of the wounded and stop abusing them. We need to stop the stop loss policy that makes them stay in longer than they agreed to. Give them back the lives they were promised when they have done their duty.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
PTSD Getting help, getting well
PTSD from sexual trauma in UK
Here is a look at PTSD from a fireman
Compo man's ordeal by fire Australia
December 02, 2007 12:15am
A FORMER fireman has won a major court victory by successfully suing for workers compensation based on post traumatic stress disorders from the 1960s.
Tom Schwerdt, 61, of Christies Beach, won the victory in the Workers Compensation Tribunal after a seven-year legal battle, but the payout was limited to the period before 1986, when a new Act with a tougher test came into force.
Mr Schwerdt is now appealing that part of the verdict with a view to obtaining backpay to 1991, when he left the Metropolitan Fire Service.
"There are 28 other firemen with similar circumstances lined up behind me to see what happens with this case so I'm sure the powers-that-be are watching it very closely," he said.
Mr Schwerdt served from 1963, when he signed up as a 17-year-old, until 1991 when he was forced to leave after a lengthy period on sick leave.
In later years he found himself bursting into tears when watching news bulletins showing accident scenes, and in 1999 was diagnosed with PTSD.
He lodged a claim in April 2000 under the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1986, and a second claim in April last year under the Workers Compensation Act 1971.
Mr Schwerdt said he received no counselling during his career despite repeatedly being involved in situations where he saw terrible deaths or injuries, and being in events where he feared for his life.
go here for the rest
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/
story/0,22606,22854878-2682,00.html
It doesn't matter what country you live in. It doesn't matter what kind of trauma caused it. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is after trauma. It is a human illness.
Saturday, December 1, 2007 3:06 PM US/Western
Getting help, getting well
By MIKE JOHNSTON
If the same thing had happened two years ago, Monie, a 49-year-old woman living in rural Kittitas County, doesn't know what she would have done. It possibly could have sent her into a self-destructive spiral of depression.
A flood of hurting emotions and memories of a childhood lost rushed in earlier this week when she heard the tinkling of Christmas bells on a television movie.
The sound of the bells was something connected to Monie's experience of 14 years of physical and sexual abuse from her late father, an alcoholic.
In the past, such a strong tug of emotions drawing her into her former life would put her into her "own private hell," as she puts it. She would revisit the loss of self-esteem and personal value as a victim of abuse and remember past, poor choices in failed personal relationships.
But this time Monie used techniques and "wise mind" responses learned from two years of counseling and classes at Central Washington Comprehensive Mental Health, or CWCMH. They kept her from sliding into a deep depression and overwhelming anxiety from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
Monie "graduated" from her program with CWCMH in October.
go here for the rest
http://www.kvnews.com/articles/2007/
12/01/news/doc47510ec2e7bfc612072316.txt
Here is a look at PTSD from a fireman
Compo man's ordeal by fire Australia
December 02, 2007 12:15am
A FORMER fireman has won a major court victory by successfully suing for workers compensation based on post traumatic stress disorders from the 1960s.
Tom Schwerdt, 61, of Christies Beach, won the victory in the Workers Compensation Tribunal after a seven-year legal battle, but the payout was limited to the period before 1986, when a new Act with a tougher test came into force.
Mr Schwerdt is now appealing that part of the verdict with a view to obtaining backpay to 1991, when he left the Metropolitan Fire Service.
"There are 28 other firemen with similar circumstances lined up behind me to see what happens with this case so I'm sure the powers-that-be are watching it very closely," he said.
Mr Schwerdt served from 1963, when he signed up as a 17-year-old, until 1991 when he was forced to leave after a lengthy period on sick leave.
In later years he found himself bursting into tears when watching news bulletins showing accident scenes, and in 1999 was diagnosed with PTSD.
He lodged a claim in April 2000 under the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1986, and a second claim in April last year under the Workers Compensation Act 1971.
Mr Schwerdt said he received no counselling during his career despite repeatedly being involved in situations where he saw terrible deaths or injuries, and being in events where he feared for his life.
go here for the rest
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/
story/0,22606,22854878-2682,00.html
It doesn't matter what country you live in. It doesn't matter what kind of trauma caused it. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is after trauma. It is a human illness.
Paul Sullivan on 20/20 last night
It's very hard to not see Paul Rieckhoff of IAVA, Jon Solz of VoteVets on TV whenever the veterans or the troops are being talked about. I think it's wonderful. I really wish people like them were getting so much attention when men and women were coming home from Vietnam. I doubt we would have half the problems we have today if that generation of veterans were taken care of.
Another advocate finally getting more attention is Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense. He did a fantastic job in the 20/20 report on drug use in the military, especially with those deployed into the combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan. He's been out there a long time and doing a great job fighting for our veterans.
If you missed the report last night I'm sure you can catch it somewhere on YouTube. This is not a new problem and this country needs to face what they do and why they do it. This is not about doing drugs just because you want to. In these cases, it is about having to because the government does not take the wounded out of combat and does not treat the wound.
Another advocate finally getting more attention is Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense. He did a fantastic job in the 20/20 report on drug use in the military, especially with those deployed into the combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan. He's been out there a long time and doing a great job fighting for our veterans.
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/index.cfm/Page/Article/ID/8863
Paul Sullivan, Executive Director, VCS
Nov 28, 2007
Nov. 29 Update: VCS on ABC's '20/20' This Friday
Dear VCS Friends:
Veterans for Common Sense has two items for you in this week's update.
First, VCS will be featured on the news program '20/20' this Friday, Nov. 30. ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross interviewed VCS's Paul Sullivan about the growing drug abuse problem in our military and among our veterans, especially our returning Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.
Second, we are launching our End of Year fundraising drive. Your generous tax deductible donations to VCS make a big difference in the lives of the 1.7 million U.S. service members deployed into combat for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
With your financial support, this year VCS scored several major policy and public relations victories. Here is a partial list of our VCS accomplishments:
On the policy side:
* In May, our VCS expertise helped add $1.8 billion in new funds so VA could hire thousands of more doctors and claims processors that our veterans desperately need.
* VCS helped craft and push for S 1606, the Wounded Warrior bill that will streamline healthcare and benefits for veterans, approved by both the House and Senate. Final passage of a revised bill is expected soon.
* VCS fought hard to remove VA Secretary Jim Nicholson, who eventually quit in July as VA’s funding, planning, and capacity crises became public and America became outraged at the Walter Reed and VA scandals.
* All year, VCS used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain VA documents that were used by Harvard University to estimate the human and financial costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars: 700,000 patients with a price tag of $700 billion.
* In July VCS filed a major class action law suit against VA to force VA to provide prompt medical care and benefits, especially for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
* VCS testified twice before Congress. We called for an end to the illegal military practice of discharging wounded soldiers suffering from traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder on trumped-up claims of a personality disorder. VCS called for the automatic approval of PSTD claims by VA, and for a national anti-stigma campaign so veterans want to seek VA treatment.
On the public relations side, VCS put a human face on the difficulties facing our veterans by working with both local and national reporters:
* In February, in a major cover story, Newsweek magazine and VCS highlighted VA’s failure to plan for the 264,000 new Afghanistan and Iraq War veterans already treated at VA.
* In February, ABC Evening News anchor Bob Woodruff interviewed VCS Executive Director Paul Sullivan about the hundreds of thousands of veterans already being treated at VA - the first time the public knew about the enormous scope of battlefield casualties.
* In March, the Boston Globe profiled our VCS efforts to publicize the growing casualties from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
* In October, the Charlotte Observer, working with VCS, highlighted the endless wait for many veterans to see doctors at some VA hospitals - 93 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans with traumatic brain injury waited longer than 30 days to see a VA doctor.
* Two weeks ago, CBS News interviewed VCS and publicized the growing epidemic of veteran suicides. Working with the University of Georgia, CBS News reported that veterans aged 20 to 24 are four times more likely to commit suicide than non-veterans of the same age group.
* This Friday, ABC News interviews VCS and highlights the growing drug abuse crisis among our veterans. Left without screening and treatment, combat veterans turn to self-medication for the physical and mental pain from war.
Because of your support, the world knows that the alarms are sounding and the lights are flashing red for our veterans. The impact of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars is devastating. Record divorces and broken homes. Unemployment and job discrimination. Rising alcoholism and drug abuse. Homelessness. Suicides.
We are a Nation at war. That means we have a collective duty to care for our service members, our veterans, and our freedoms. VCS asks you to please make a donation so that we can continue our publicity efforts to highlight veterans’ needs and concerns and our policy efforts that bring real change at the national level.
Next year Congress and the press will be focused on elections, and VCS will work hard to make sure that national security, civil liberties, and veterans needs remain front and center in the discussion. Will you help VCS today?
Thank you,
Paul Sullivan
Executive Director
Veterans for Common Sense
If you missed the report last night I'm sure you can catch it somewhere on YouTube. This is not a new problem and this country needs to face what they do and why they do it. This is not about doing drugs just because you want to. In these cases, it is about having to because the government does not take the wounded out of combat and does not treat the wound.
High at the Mountain Post
Fort Carson soldiers were prepared for war, but not their own war with drugs.
I talked to Paul yesterday. I'm sure you saw the silly post I put up. I told him how much I loved him and his group. Up until the last few years, there were very few fighting for our veterans. Oh sure, you can think of the American Legion, VFW and DAV, but these groups are more involved in political bending than they are with fighting for the veterans. Today's groups are not interested in playing political sucking up. They are interested in getting what is needed done.
Veterans For Common Sense is having a fund raiser. They are doing great work and we need to support them. Think of giving a gift this Christmas that will make a difference in our wounded veterans' lives. If you have a family member who was a veteran, like most of our father's were, and they are no longer here, donate in their memory. Let them know you have not forgotten them or the sacrifices they made for this nation.
For those of you who are wondering what to do for the homeless veterans, think of the fact Christ had no place to call home when he was born in a manger in Bethlehem. Then look over to the right side of this blog. Read what Christ had to say about how he wanted us all to care for the needy. Donate to a shelter. You'd be surprised how far even a small donation can go.
If you have a couple of dollars and appreciate the videos I do, I could use a donation myself. I'm already in the hole for the DVDs. I don't mind working as hard as I do for free. That was my decision long ago. What I cannot do is go broke doing sending out the DVD. I don't turn anyone away but it's getting expensive and frankly I don't know how many more I can send out without donations coming in. Use the PayPal button and kick in a few dollars if you can.
I know how hard it is this time of the year to find extra money, but if you have a family member who has everything they could want, think of making donations in their name and then taking the tax write off. You can't write it off on your taxes for donating to me, but the shelters and Veterans for Common Sense are tax deductible.
Kathie Costos
www.Namguardianangel.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
Friday, November 30, 2007
To Paul Sullivan, play day report as promised
Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense was worried about me today. He thinks I don't take time to relax. I assured him that every Friday, my husband and I go to one of the parks or attractions around the Orlando area. It's the one time during the week Jack knows he can get me away from the PC. It's something we don't give up. Once in a while we have to go later on in the day but we go.
It's very important for anyone doing this kind of work to go out and have some fun. It keeps you grounded and able to take on some very hard work the rest of the week.
For me, there are several good things that keep me going. One of them is Jack. The man does not stop amazing me. The other day, he took our dog for a walk. About a half mile from home, he had to call me. He wanted to make sure I didn't miss the sunset. He had to share it with me. The sunsets in Florida are magnificent. This is the same man who was just existing. Because of the help he is getting from the VA, he is alive, living a life again. Sure there are a lot of problems in all of this we still have to face, but we face them together.
Working for the church as the administrator of Christian Education is a joy too. Twice a week we have chapel with the pre-school kids. I get to get up in front of them along with the youth pastor, act like a nut, singing and making the kids laugh. They are a joy. So are the Sunday school kids of all ages. I keep telling everyone my kids are from 3-93.
If we fail to enjoy blessings, enjoy being alive, how can we communicate that there is hope, joy, love and life beyond PTSD? If we fail to take care of ourselves, how can we take care of the people who turn to us for help?
So Paul, this is where we went today. Gee I really love these yearly passes. Saves a ton of money.
Sorry that I didn't take my camera but the weather wasn't the greatest and I don't take it in this kind of weather. I thought you'd enjoy this though. It was taken on one of our play days.
It is my face but I'm sure you can tell that isn't my body,,,and no that isn't Arnold next to me.
It's very important for anyone doing this kind of work to go out and have some fun. It keeps you grounded and able to take on some very hard work the rest of the week.
For me, there are several good things that keep me going. One of them is Jack. The man does not stop amazing me. The other day, he took our dog for a walk. About a half mile from home, he had to call me. He wanted to make sure I didn't miss the sunset. He had to share it with me. The sunsets in Florida are magnificent. This is the same man who was just existing. Because of the help he is getting from the VA, he is alive, living a life again. Sure there are a lot of problems in all of this we still have to face, but we face them together.
Working for the church as the administrator of Christian Education is a joy too. Twice a week we have chapel with the pre-school kids. I get to get up in front of them along with the youth pastor, act like a nut, singing and making the kids laugh. They are a joy. So are the Sunday school kids of all ages. I keep telling everyone my kids are from 3-93.
If we fail to enjoy blessings, enjoy being alive, how can we communicate that there is hope, joy, love and life beyond PTSD? If we fail to take care of ourselves, how can we take care of the people who turn to us for help?
So Paul, this is where we went today. Gee I really love these yearly passes. Saves a ton of money.
The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad®It's at Universal Studios and was a great show. We also did some Christmas shopping there.
A Stunt Show of Heroic Proportions! Cheer on the heroes and boo the villains in this spectacular live adventure. See death-defying stunts and heart-stopping feats as the mighty Sindbad and his faithful sidekick Kabob attempt to rescue the beautiful Princess Amoura from the evil witch Miseria.
Sorry that I didn't take my camera but the weather wasn't the greatest and I don't take it in this kind of weather. I thought you'd enjoy this though. It was taken on one of our play days.
It is my face but I'm sure you can tell that isn't my body,,,and no that isn't Arnold next to me.
Military OneSource offers telephonic consultation
Military OneSource is available anytime worldwide to all active duty, Reserve, National Guard members, their families, as well as deployed civilians and their families.
To find out more, call Military OneSource at 1-800-342-9647. A consultant can provide more details on STSF-T and discuss your options with you.
Military OneSource offers telephonic consultation
Friday, November 30, 2007
Military OneSource is pleased to announce a new extension of specialty consultation services available by phone: Short-Term Solution-Focused Telephonic Consultation.
Whether it’s help with child care, money matters, emotional support during deployments, relocation information, or referrals to helpful resources both on and off an installation, Military OneSource is there for military personnel and their families 24/7. In an effort to further increase access to support, Military OneSource now offers Short-term Solution-Focused Telephonic (STSF-T) Consultation.
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