VA issued warning on Lariam in 2004

VA Warns Doctors About Lariam
United Press International
25 June 2004
WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs is warning doctors to watch for long-term mental problems and other health effects from an anti-malaria drug given to soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.The drug is mefloquine, known by the brand name Lariam, which has been given to tens of thousands of soldiers since the war on terrorism began. Some of those soldiers say it has provoked severe mental and physical problems including suicidal and violent behavior, psychosis, convulsions and balance disorders.

Last year the Food and Drug Administration began warning that problems might last "long after" someone stops taking it.

The VA warned its own doctors Wednesday that the drug "may rarely be associated with certain long-term chronic health problems that persist for weeks, months, and even years after the drug is stopped," according to a summary of published studies by a VA panel of experts. The summary accompanies an "information letter" from the VA's acting undersecretary for health, Dr. Jonathan B. Perlin, to healthcare professionals who treat veterans.Veterans' advocates praised the VA but said the Pentagon seems to have lost track of who has taken the drug -- making the size of a potentially serious problem unclear.While little mefloquine was used in the first Gulf War, advocates said a similar dearth of medical data has thwarted efforts to get to the bottom of Gulf War Syndrome for a decade. Investigators simply did not know what drugs or vaccines -- possible contributors to that syndrome -- were given to solders.

"We are pleased that the VA is taking a proactive approach to this situation," said Steve Smithson, assistant director of the American Legion's National Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission."It is no secret that the military did not do a good job of record keeping in the first Gulf War," said Smithson. "Early reports on Lariam make me concerned that we did not learn the lessons from the first Gulf War in that it is not being documented in health records."

http://www.refusingtokill.net/disability/va_warns_doctors_about_lariam.htm

Sgt. Marvin Lee Branch

But last Christmas, only months after the initial wave of killings, Fort Bragg was again the scene of tragedy when another service member, Sgt. Marvin Lee Branch, allegedly tried to murder his wife. How the situation was handled is indicative of the larger problem. Restraining orders protecting Carol Branch were dismissed within weeks of the attack, and she complained of receiving very little support: "I'm trying to save my life and I've got to beg (the Army) for help? I can see how those other mothers died. They were trapped." Branch said her husband had a history of abusive behavior, but he became uncontrollably violent upon returning from duty in Afghanistan. An Army spokesman confirmed that soldiers in Sgt. Branch's unit had taken Lariam, but would not confirm whether Branch had as well.
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles/Wokusch_War-DomesticViolence.htm

Anthony Mertz

Anti-malaria drug cited in Illinois murder
By Mark Benjamin and Dan Olmsted
From the Washington Politics & Policy Desk
Published 2/21/2003 3:33 PM

CHARLESTON, Ill., Feb. 21 (UPI) -- The lawyer for a former Marine convicted of murder will tell an Illinois jury next week that an anti-malaria drug associated with psychotic behavior and aggression triggered the killing, and he should be spared the death penalty.

The case marks the first time that side effects of the drug, called Lariam, have been raised in front of a U.S. jury in a criminal case. Some believe the drug could have played a role in a string of killings by Fort Bragg soldiers last summer, though the Army calls that unlikely.

Anthony Mertz, 26, was convicted Feb. 12 of killing fellow Eastern Illinois University student Shannon McNamara in her Charleston, Ill., apartment on June 12, 2001. The jury is now hearing testimony before deciding whether to sentence him to death.

"When the Marines gave Lariam to my client they set in motion a chain of events that caused the death of Shannon McNamara," defense counsel David Williams told United Press International Friday.

http://www.aaconsult.com/lariam/lariam_news_52.html

This is from Jonathan Shay in his interview with PBS on a Soldier's Heart

Psychiatrist and author, Odysseus in America

And my personal theory of what lay behind those horrible, horrible murder suicides at Fort Bragg a couple of years ago, these were all staff NCOs … and officers in Special Operations, which is the most macho of all the formations. And what's more, they had been deployed repeatedly into very dangerous, very confusing and ambiguous operations, and had come back with injuries that they could not ask for help with, because they were afraid it would end their careers. And just by coincidence, a number of them broke at the same time, and broke in this catastrophic way. That's my thought about what happened there. This is not likely to be happening with junior enlisted people who I think can get help.
from Front Line Soldier's Heart
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/heart/themes/stigma.html

4 Wives Slain In 6 Weeks At Fort Bragg
Husbands Blamed For Deaths, 3 Of The Men Served In Afghanistan


FORT BRAGG, N.C., July 26, 2002

Fayetteville, N.C., police said that was when Sgt. 1st Class Rigoberto Nieves — a soldier in the 3rd Special Forces Group who had been back from Afghanistan just two days — shot his wife, Teresa, and then himself in their bedroom.

Officials said Nieves had requested leave to resolve personal problems

Sheriff's investigators said Jennifer Wright was strangled June 29. Her husband, Master Sgt. William Wright of the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion, reported her missing two days later. Then on July 19, he led investigators to her body in Hoke County and was charged with murder.

Wright, who had been back from Afghanistan about a month, had moved out of his house and was living in the barracks.

The couple met in high school in Mason, Ohio, about 30 miles north of Cincinnati. They married shortly after Jennifer graduated.

Her father, Archie Watson, said the Wrights had talked recently about divorce. Jennifer had grown tired of military life, her father said, but William Wright was reluctant to let her go.


Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Floyd shot his wife, Andrea, a native of Alliance, Ohio, then killed himself in their Stedman home.

The Fayetteville Observer reported Floyd was a member of Delta Force, the secretive anti-terrorism unit based at Fort Bragg. He returned from Afghanistan in January, officials said. The couple's three children were in Ohio visiting relatives at the time of the deaths.


In the fourth case, Army Sgt. Cedric Ramon Griffin, 28, was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree arson in the July 9 death of his wife, Cumberland County Sheriff Moose Butler said.

Marilyn Griffin, 32, was found dead in the burning home. Her two children escaped the fire.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/31/national/main517033.shtml

Third Bragg soldier took malaria drug

By Mark Benjamin and Dan Olmsted
From the Washington Politics & Policy Desk


Published 8/17/2002 3:00 PM



FAYETTEVILLE, N.C., Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Friends of the three Fort Bragg soldiers suspected of killing their wives this summer say the men exhibited unusual anger and incoherence after returning from Afghanistan where they were given an anti-malaria drug associated with aggression and mental problems.

One of the soldiers was "almost incoherent" and visibly shaking while describing marital problems to a neighbor. Another became unable to control his anger at his wife in public, startling those who knew him. A third puzzled his new neighbors with his strange behavior.

http://home.att.net/~kjo/ftbragg2.htm

Read and comment on this story from UPI on the Army's three month study the slayings of four Army wives at Fort Bragg this summer which concluded that Lariam was not a factor in the murders.

The report has sparked claims the military is covering up problems with a drug it invented and licensed. "Our military said there is no problem with (Lariam) because they developed it," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich. "The hardest thing to do is develop a drug and then admit there is a problem."

Lariam is the most effective anti-malarial drug known and has been used by thousands of Peace Corps Volunteers over the past ten years. However, the drug's potential side effects are rarely reported and include agitation, depression and aggression. In July, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., called for an independent medical investigation to protect the health of Peace Corps volunteers, who are routinely prescribed the drug.
Read our ongoing coverage of the Lariam controversy at:
The Lariam Controversy
Read the story about the results of the Fort Bragg study at:
Army Fort Bragg study faces scrutiny*
http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/1010667.html

So why is it still being used?

Malaria Chemoprophylaxis for Coalition Troops in Afghanistan -

Sep 18, 2007

Although mefloquine may be the drug most often selected, Canadian Forces members have the option of using either mefloquine weekly or doxycycline daily, Journal of American Medical Association (subscription),

Military Times reported on homeless veterans problem in 2005

I was going through my on line files, looking for tax stuff and cleaning out old things I didn't really need anymore when I came up with this. It's amazing what was known in 2005 when you think about it. Already back then they were reporting on homeless veterans, over two years before the rest of the media caught on. A wounded gay soldier was discharged. Hazing was reported. Saddam's gold even made the news. When you think of all the things they were reporting on back then, you wonder if it's groundhog day because not much has changed, other than, it's gotten worse.

Military News for the week of 06 JUNE 2005
Veterans Joining the Ranks of the Homeless Advocates for the homeless already are seeing veterans from the war on terror living on the street, and say the government must do more to ease their transition from military to civilian life....More

Wounded Gay Soldier Discharged from Army An Army sergeant from Ohio who was wounded in Iraq and wanted to remain in the military as an openly gay soldier was officially discharged....More


Navy Officer, Seven Sailors Disciplined Seven sailors and the executive officer aboard a Navy ship have been punished in connection with the hazing of six crew members....More

Video: Chinook Gets Grounded Watch as a CH47 Chinook "beats itself to death" on a ground resonance test. (wmv, 1.2Mb)...More

Surviving BRAC Some communities find that a base closure poses huge, costly problems. Others surmount the barriers to success and reap economic gains for their communities....More

Continuing Service Through the Troops to Teachers Program Beginning a second career in public education is an excellent way to serve the community after leaving the military. Just ask Kerry Salmon....More

Honoring Vietnam Veterans Are you a Vietnam veteran who received a Purple Heart for combat injuries? If so, you could be one of 12 veterans chosen for a VFW-sponsored trip to Las Vegas for "Operation Welcome Home," a 4-day celebration honoring Vietnam veterans. ...More

Whistleblower Beating: Details Emerge The men "didn't take his wallet or our car." But they "kept telling him, 'If you know what's good for you, you'll keep your mouth shut.'"...More

Finding Work Is Hard for Troops Although many employers take pride in hiring veterans and make up any pay an employee lost, some are reluctant to hire Reservists and Guard members who might have to deploy again....More

Photo: Truckload O' Gold Here's a photograph documenting a truckload of Saddam's gold in Iraq. Too bad he won't be around to enjoy it. Check this out and more!...More

Family forced to wait too long for answers on son's death in Iraq

Family still in dark on son’s death

Published Sunday, January 27, 2008
CADET (AP) - More than a month after Sgt. Austin David Pratt died in Iraq, his family in Missouri still knows little about the circumstances that led to his death.

Pratt, of Cadet, died Dec. 15 in Baghdad, four days before he would have turned 23. At the time of his death, the Army said only that it was not combat-related. Since then, the Army has said his death is under investigation.

Pratt’s parents, Austin and Monica Pratt, recently issued a statement to the Park Hills Daily Journal that read: "The investigation into the death of our son, Sgt. Austin D. Pratt, is still on going. There is not much we can tell anyone. All we know is his death was an accident and he did not die by means of malice. Hopefully soon we will be informed of what happened at the time of his death."
go here for the rest
http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Jan/20080127News029.asp

It's been over a month since Pratt died. What's taking so long on telling the family how it happened? How many other families are left waiting for answers too?

PTSD on trial: When judges are aware and do the right thing

Treatment helps Ranger with PTSD rise above incident on plane enroute Great Falls
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
Tribune Projects Editor

Federal Magistrate Keith Strong's decision a year ago to offer help instead of punishment may have saved the life of Danny Ray Reed II, an ex-special forces soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder who hit rock bottom at about 20,000 feet in the air.

A former Army Ranger who'd been involved in the rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch from Iraqi insurgents, Reed struggled to adjust to civilian life after three years of combat.


"When you come back, you're either a workaholic or an alcoholic," he said. "If I wasn't working, I was drinking. It helps for the first couple of hours, but then it takes you back into that frame of mind you don't want to be in. I drank so bad I could be on a two-day blackout, and that's dangerous.

"Like that airplane incident, I can't remember a thing," Reed said. "I can't remember getting on that plane, and I can't remember getting off. I don't remember that day at all."
click post title for the rest

War wounded on trial

In More U.S. Court Cases, Combat Trauma Is Taking The Stand



When it came time to sentence James Allen Gregg for his conviction on murder charges, the judge in South Dakota took a moment to reflect on the defendant as an Iraq combat veteran who suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“This is a terrible case, as all here have observed,” said Judge Charles B. Kornmann of United States District Court. “Obviously not all the casualties coming home from Iraq or Afghanistan come home in body bags.”

Judge Kornmann noted that Gregg, a fresh-faced young man who grew up on a cattle ranch, led “an exemplary life until that day, that terrible morning.” With no criminal record or psychiatric history, Gregg had started unraveling in Iraq, growing disillusioned with the war and volunteering for dangerous missions in the hope of getting killed, he testified.

Nonetheless, the judge found that Gregg’s combat trauma had not rendered him incapable of comprehending his actions when he shot an acquaintance in the back, fled the scene, and then pointed the gun at himself as a SWAT team approached - the helmeted officers “low crawling,” Gregg testified, and looking “like my own soldiers turning on me.”


When combat veterans like Gregg stand accused of killings and other offenses on their return from Iraq and Afghanistan, prosecutors, judges and juries are increasingly prodded to assess the role of combat trauma in their crimes and whether they deserve special treatment because of it.

That idea has met with considerable resistance from prosecutors and judges leery of creating any class of offenders with distinct privileges. In Gregg’s case, for instance, Judge Kornmann cautioned the jury that nobody got “a free pass to shoot somebody” because they “went to Iraq or Afghanistan or the moon.”
go here for the rest
http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=15070

Trauma of Iraq too real for vets

That could be a good thing. Every veteran who is treated at the hospital is now screened for PTSD, said Kathy Shaffer Mahood, a program leader in the hospital's behavioral-health department.

"We've gotten a lot better at catching them," Mahood said.

Trauma of Iraq too real for vets
BY ROBB FREDERICK robb.frederick@timesnews.com

The Vietnam War ended with a pen stroke on Jan. 27, 1973.

Not everyone got the message.

Many of the men and women who fought there, and who saw Americans die -- by the end, that figure climbed to 58,000 -- never quite left it behind."It's there every day," said Robert Johnson, who worked a door gun on a Marine Corps helicopter. "It's always been there. It's been there every day for a lot of years."And now, with troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, even more of it comes back. The number of disability cases related to post-traumatic stress disorder has doubled since 2000, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The biggest spike came in 2003, when the Army's 3rd Infantry Division charged into Baghdad."It's always in the air," said Robert Martin, a team leader at the Veterans Affairs Readjustment Counseling Service in Erie. "There's so much media coverage. And some of our Vietnam veterans can't help but watch it. They have kids in the reserves, or in the active service. They need to know what's going on. They need to know where we stand with this conflict.

click post title for the rest

O'Reilly's stance on homeless vets poses questions

O'Reilly's stance on homeless vets poses questions
Tom Hennessy, Staff columnist
Article Launched: 01/26/2008 10:07:45 PM PST


O Reilly Critics of radio and TV commentator Bill O'Reilly find him brash, full of himself and, at times, given to outlandish statements.

Fans see him as super patriotic, unerringly correct, and a champion of the average American.

Whichever view you have of O'Reilly, if either, you may concede he is a flamboyant opinion-molder who does not shy away from publicity, which is precisely what he got earlier this month when he took on one of his current villains, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. The former North Carolina senator had said this:

"Tonight, 200,000 men and women who wore our uniform proudly and served this country courageously as veterans will go to sleep under bridges and on grates."
go here for the rest
http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_8090131

O'Reilly has made his living shooting off his mouth on his radio show and on FOX Cable "No Spin Zone" as well as several books, coming off as if he gave a damn about "the little guy" he began "fighting" for. He missed the point that the "little guy" he should have been fighting for should have included our veterans.

You've read stories about homeless veterans here and on line for years. Face it, if you read this blog, you are aware of the huge problem the veterans have been dealing with and are very informed. If you managed to find me since I'm so low below the radar, you have invested a lot of time researching what's going on. I applaud you! You are dedicated to seeking truth and thus will insure changes will be made in the system designed to help the wounded veterans.

As a reader I'm sure you read the comment that broke my heart from the wife of a National Guardsman, wounded and provided with zero disability rating. They are in fact homeless. They lost everything. You must have read about Sonny Iovino who died of hypothermia.

IOWA CITY - Two days before Sonny Iovino died of exposure, he was released by a Veterans Affairs Medical Center doctor and turned away from the Johnson County Jail after police repeatedly found him behaving erratically and shedding his clothes.
You also know there are two hundred thousand other stories just like their's. What you don't know is that there are many, many more. Families like the National Guard family won't be counted as homeless because they found room in a relatives house.

When O'Reilly had the chance to actually fight for the "little guy" he opted to defend Bush and the GOP. God forbid he say anything against what anyone in the GOP was doing. What O'Reilly missed was the fact this goes beyond politics and gets to the heart of what America is becoming. Homeless veterans, wounded veterans with wounds but zero disability or low ratings, are not new and they were not caused by Bush. They began long ago. After Vietnam there were over 300,000 of them. What happened to over 100,000 of them between then and now is a mystery. There are not enough beds, not enough programs and it's doubtful that they all died in a couple of years. This means that O'Reilly attacked the wrong people even from the standpoint of a "loyal Bushie" which Bush himself coined remarking on his supporters.

O'Reilly keeps proving he doesn't care but this is not the most troubling part to me right now. Over and over again the media proves they are behind the times. This piece just came out and a lot has happened between the "they're all drunks" comment he made. He ended up twisting this all around to being about "he's putting his muscle behind the problem" as Col. Hunt decided he would try to shove it down the throats of O'Reilly flocks. There should be other editorials in a week or so about this, so plan on a lot more reading on O'Reilly. He's trying to cover his ass but it's too late.

Homeless veterans had my heart and still do because my own husband almost became one of them. It was during a time when living with a PTSD veteran out of control we too much to take. It was before he began to get help for PTSD even after being diagnosed with it. The only help he received was from a Vet's Center in Boston. Hopelessness drained me of every rational thought and I wanted the suffering over.

I couldn't live with him at that point in our marriage and I wanted him to live someplace else. I tried to get him into a shelter because we couldn't afford anything and were barely able to support what we had. The shelter was full and there was a waiting list. This was in the early 90's! Today I thank God that shelter was full because a few days later, God hit me over the head with a frying pan and changed my mind on ending it. I give God full credit for my marriage surviving all these years. He gave me the strength and patience to get through the worst times in our life together. He began to be helped by the VA and years later, he was living a life again instead of just existing.

I thought, and still do, about the families out there without the knowledge to support them through this. I knew what PTSD was and what came with it and it was nearly impossible to deal with. Their chances of coping are just about zero if they don't have a clue what it is. This is how at least half of the homeless veterans become homeless.

PTSD marriages are no longer marriages and you end up feeling like you are living with a total stranger who can explode at any minute. You live on a roller coaster ride of emotions never knowing what will cause them to respond with unacceptable behavior or take off for days at a time. If you have kids, you become a single parent, feeling as if your kids were just joined by an adopted child who used to be your spouse. Extreme financial problems come when you are usually missing their income because they can't hold down a job. They add to it when they self-medicate drinking and doing drugs, which adds to the stress level. You're sure every time they walk out the door will be their last and you pray to God they don't hurt anyone else. You know you are helpless to stop them. You try to figure out what you could do differently or what you did wrong to cause all of this. Questions evaporate and you replace them with wondering how to end it.

You watch them die inside on a daily basis, weighing the human compassion you have, the love you used to feel for them, against wanting to just get rid of them.

I went through all of this even knowing what I knew. I didn't go through any of this blindly and it was still hell. You'd think it would have been easier since by this time I was an expert on it, but living with it is a total different story.

Families of PTSD veterans and even regular citizens with it, need all the help they can get to become aware of what this is. They need the tools to help them cope. Will it end the homeless veterans or homeless people living on the streets or in shelters? No but it will cut it all down to a level where it will not be impossible to handle. Knowledge will eliminate a good portion of them. Changes in the system will help with the rest.

The wounds of PTSD begin to heal with treatment. They get worse if you don't treat it just as an infection untreated spreads and causes more damage. Treat the wound and save the family. Get them into treatment even if their claim is tied up. Set up support groups for families so that they can have some tools to cope and finally understand they are not alone.

Next is to get rid of the backlog of claims so that the wounded veterans receive some income to keep a roof over their heads and food in their belly. Added financial stress will only add to PTSD. Stop the nonsense of awarding zero disability or low balling it for veterans who cannot work.

Reevaluate the veterans who were discharged under "personality disorders" and given dishonorable discharges. If they are found to be suffering from PTSD then give them the money they should have had if they had been diagnosed properly in the first place. Never mind the BS of claims not being filed on time. The government knows when PTSD problems surfaced because they were discharged from duty for it. If they were really diagnosed properly as having a personality disorder, then the DOD has a bigger problem with the mental health screening they do before they give them weapons.

Educate the public so that no one ever again slaps a stigma like O'Reilly did out of ignorance. They are nothing to be ashamed of. We have only ourselves to be ashamed of for turning our backs on them when they needed us.

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

A blog comment that will break your heart about National Guard Family

Post a Comment On: Wounded Times"Veterans in rural areas of nation suffer needlessly"3 Comments - Show Original Post


Comment
Thank you for your blog; it was eloquently put. I thought I was alone dealing with getting help for my husband, medically retired National Guardsman, who is not only suffering with depression but severe pain and unimaginable disability. He has undergone five (5) spinal surgeries over a few years, one of which resulted in his spinal cord being damaged. He was on Active Duty-Title 10.

I wrote to the Governor about fixing the problem. I got a call back from someone at Magigan Army Hospital at Ft. Lewis, WA who gave me a number to call. Well, needless to say this led to about a dozen long distance calls which all led to a string of dead-ends and no mental health care for my husband. Glad that fella at Madigan feels he 'fixed' our problem.

Oh, just in case you were wondering what you get at the end of waiting years for the VA to process your claim (even with LOD form).... it's a 0% rating; collections for thousands of dollars; car repossession; $80,000 owed in back child support; living with your mother-in-law because you can't afford a place; suspended driver's license; AND an ex-wife that doesn't let you talk to your children because you 'have to be lying about being disabled or you would be getting a check... Get a job!'

Oh and so many other perks to being an unrecognized (0% rating) disabled veteran of this war.

Yep... it's an 'Army of One'.

January 26, 2008 7:11 PM


Kathie Costos said...
My profound apologies for what you and your family is going through, especially your husband. I wish I could say you were alone but you have way too much company. This is happening all over the country, and the rest of the world. You'd think we would just be better at dealing with all of it but we are as lousy as the rest of the nations when it comes to taking care of those who defend their nations.

The fact is, we were never very good at it. My husband came back in 1971 from Vietnam with mild PTSD he thought he'd get over. Back then they didn't even really know what it was. It took until 1990 to have him diagnosed, and that was when I already fully understood what was wrong with him, another three years to get him to go to a veterans center, followed by the VA. They tied up his claim for 6 years, taking our tax refund every year to pay for his treatment because our health insurance wouldn't cover it once the VA diagnosed it as combat related PTSD. We almost lost everything as well, but you already did. Things have only gotten worse because now there are a lot more needing care and no one was ready for it. That's the part that pisses me off the most. They knew this was coming but took no action to prepare for any of it. There are now less doctors and nurses than there were after the Gulf War. The VA cut staff and their budget in 2005. The list goes on and so does the suffering. Families like your's are known to people who have been staying on top of it, but to the rest of the country, they haven't a single clue.

I have a suggestion. A few weeks ago, Ed Schultz on Air America was ranting about Bill O'Reilly claiming there were no homeless veterans. A Marine called in saying he was a homeless veteran. This caused a woman in Florida to make some calls within minutes to a chain of her friends, all Marine Moms and they ended up getting help for him all the way in Colorado. This was only the first good part of this story.

It brought to light the suffering the men and women who were willing to serve are going through. I don't know if you're a Democrat or Republican or vote at all, but you are a military wife with a wounded husband and suffering family. Call in his show on Monday and tell him your story as well. The point is, you and your family are homeless. Not as bad off as some families who are in fact sleeping in shelters but without your family standing behind you, you would be one of them sleeping under overpasses. You need to get your story out so that people will be just as outraged as I have been all these years. People care but they only do when they know what's happening. The entire country is united behind those who serve no matter how they feel about Iraq and they will stand behind you. Just tell them you need help and you'll get it. They will put the pressure on your congressman to get you some help or they will step up all by themselves if not. Trust the heart of this nation for you and your family and put this into their hands.

If you need to vent in private email me anytime.

Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com

January 26, 2008 7:28 PM

Senator Akaka to DOD, nice try but not good enough

Akaka raps military on assessing injuries
The Associated PressPosted : Saturday Jan 26, 2008 14:10:01 EST

HONOLULU — Sen. Daniel Akaka says the military isn’t doing a good job of assessing the health problems of National Guard and Reserve troops suffering “invisible wounds” from service in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Akaka says the Veterans Affairs Committee he chairs hopes to work to ensure that returning troops with either physical or mental problems get the care they need.
Akaka was responding to a Government Accountability Office report on Pentagon post-deployment health assessments of National Guard and Reserve servicemembers.
He pointed to the report’s finding that fewer than half the returning troops examined for either physical or mental health concerns are referred to VA facilities.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_akaka_080126/

TBI It only hurts when you don't look

When you have a cut, often it doesn't hurt until you see the blood. With TBI it hurts until you find out where the pain came from. If you were near a bomb blast, go and get checked out. You have nothing to lose if you were not wounded by it and a lot of lose if you were but did nothing about it.

TBI task force identifies shortfalls in care

Mild injuries need more attention, experts say
By Gina Cavallaro - gcavallaro@militarytimes.com
Posted : Saturday Jan 26, 2008 7:18:53 EST

An Army report on the cause, diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injuries among soldiers and Marines who have been in combat cited a number of gaps in services and care for those suffering TBI.

One in five soldiers and Marines returning from Iraq and Afghanistan may have suffered mild TBI, the task force estimated, and some may not be aware they need treatment.

“Many of the mild cases are overlooked,” Brig. Gen. Donald Bradshaw, commander of the Southeast Regional Medical Command and chairman of the TBI Task Force, said Jan. 17 at a press conference to release the report.

The task force of 17 medical professionals, writers and researchers from the Army, Marine Corps and Air Force conducted a review of policies governing TBI patient care, including diagnosis, education, research and case management.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/army_TBI.report_080126w/