10-8: Life on the Line
with Charles Remsberg
Exclusive: Cops back from the war: What problems do they pose?
By Chuck Remsberg, Senior PoliceOne Contributor
Part 1 of a 3-part series
Thousands of American law enforcement officers have been called to military service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and authorities are increasingly focusing attention on how well some of those can reintegrate into domestic policing once they return home.
Isolated instances of serious problems have made headlines, raising concerns about potentially persistent negative effects of combat experience.
• In Texas, an officer recently back from reservist deployment to Iraq, opened fire on a suspect who was running through a crowded shopping center. The rounds narrowly missed the officer’s partner and one lodged in a van occupied by two children. “Everyone believes he should not have fired,” the officer’s attorney told USA Today. “His assessment of the threat level was wrong. He was assessing as if he was back in the military, not [as] a police officer.”
• In Georgia, an officer who’d served in Iraq with the National Guard was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He was part of a misdirected drug raid in which an elderly woman was killed. His lawyer says he was undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition afflicting a significant percentage of returning vets.
• In Nevada, a trooper who’d been in Iraq as an Army Guardsman, pleaded guilty to felony reckless driving and was sentenced to 2 to 12 years. According to the New York Times, he was driving 118 mph when he slammed into another car, killing four people and critically injuring another.
No one claims that all—or even a majority—of post-deployment veterans are menaces to society once they pin a badge back on and resume patrol duties. But by the same token, says Dr. Stephen Curran, a Maryland psychologist who counsels officers, “You can’t just put people back in [law enforcement] jobs, give them their guns and expect that things are going to be fine. Getting back into the flow of things is a challenge.”
Most manage the transition successfully. For others, the struggle can be more problematic.
To explore the issues involved in LEOs returning from combat zones, Dr. Beverly Anderson, clinical director and administrator of the Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Police Employee Assistance Program, convened a unique, invitation-only symposium at the department’s training academy. More than 200 police and mental health professionals representing 73 federal, state, county and city agencies in seven states attended to hear a panel of experts explain the harsh realities of returning to life stateside. PoliceOne was the only communications agency invited.
Drawing on the panel’s presentations, Part 1 of this exclusive series examines the roots of post-deployment adjustment problems. Part 2 will explore the challenges these present to officers, their families and their departments when they come home. In part 3, we’ll look at measures knowledgeable observers believe are necessary to assure a successful transition back to the streets.
click post title for the rest
After 4 days of training to become a Chaplain, one of the biggest things that was made quite clear is the fact police officers are just like the rest of the humans on the planet. They get angry, scared, sad and have the same emotions we all do. What we think sets them apart is that they take most of it and "stuff it inside their brains" instead of dealing with it. They do that because they think they are supposed to always be in control or situations, their actions and their emotions. To be honest, most of us think they are supposed to be a cut above the rest of us. In many ways, they are but they are still human. These men and women are trained to take someone down and many times that will end up killing someone in the line of duty.
Soldiers are not trained to stop someone or take them down. They are trained to kill. What they are not trained to do is to cope with what comes after they do. They are not trained to deal with the carnage, women killed or kids killed. They are not trained to see their friends killed either. You cannot train them for that but what you can do is help them cope with it after.
There is more we'll get into as the weeks go on and I attempt to share what I've learned this week. The test is tomorrow and I pray that I've learned enough to pass. I'm not very good with testing. Check back tomorrow night and I'll let you know if I passed the test. If I do, on Saturday there is a big post in the works to share more of what I've been made more aware of. Working with PTSD veterans all these years gave me some insight to what regular people go through but nothing came close to what I've learned this week.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Eric Hall: Suffering from PTSD
Suffering from PTSD
By Nick Spinetto, WINK News
Story Created: Mar 12, 2008 at 7:44 PM EDT
Story Updated: Mar 12, 2008 at 10:24 PM EDT
LEE COUNTY, Fla. - Eric Hall's family says he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The syndrome makes soldiers think they're still in combat and can be difficult to overcome.
A lot of veterans develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. According to the Department of Veteran Affairs 20 out of every 100 soldiers get the disorder.
WINK News found a Cape Coral man struggling with PTSD. He says fighting this disorder can be a tougher battle than fighting in combat.
"It's extremely difficult," said Pete Nicholsen.
At 24, Nicholsen junior is a war veteran. He's served two tours in Iraq and couldn't wait to come home. Home for almost threes years now, he still can't escape memories of the war.
"You may have palm fronds out by your street. The average person sees it as palm fronds, I see it as a roadside bomb," Nicholsen said.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can occur after experiencing a traumatic event.
For soldiers it can be a number of things.
go here for the rest
http://www.winknews.com/news/local/16626196.html
By Nick Spinetto, WINK News
Story Created: Mar 12, 2008 at 7:44 PM EDT
Story Updated: Mar 12, 2008 at 10:24 PM EDT
LEE COUNTY, Fla. - Eric Hall's family says he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The syndrome makes soldiers think they're still in combat and can be difficult to overcome.
A lot of veterans develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. According to the Department of Veteran Affairs 20 out of every 100 soldiers get the disorder.
WINK News found a Cape Coral man struggling with PTSD. He says fighting this disorder can be a tougher battle than fighting in combat.
"It's extremely difficult," said Pete Nicholsen.
At 24, Nicholsen junior is a war veteran. He's served two tours in Iraq and couldn't wait to come home. Home for almost threes years now, he still can't escape memories of the war.
"You may have palm fronds out by your street. The average person sees it as palm fronds, I see it as a roadside bomb," Nicholsen said.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can occur after experiencing a traumatic event.
For soldiers it can be a number of things.
go here for the rest
http://www.winknews.com/news/local/16626196.html
Marine Eric Hall's family seeks PTSD Awareness
Becky and Kevin Hall, parents of Eric Hall, address the media with Eric's brother Justin, center, and confirm that the human remains found in a culvert on Sunday were those of their son Wednesday, March 12, 2008.Sarasota Herald Tribune photo by JASON MCKIBBEN
Parents Of Marine Found Dead Seek PTSD Awareness
By John Davis
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Published: March 12, 2008
Becky and Kevin Hall addressed the media in front of the Deep Creek home where their son, Eric, was living when he disappeared. The Halls and Eric's brother, Justin, came out at 12:20 p.m. to speak in front of eight television crews and other media.
Kevin Hall talked about his son's injury in Iraq, which required 17 to 20 surgeries, noting that, regardless of their opinion on the war, "it seems like the American people is in favor of the warriors."
"Being his advocate, I tried to do the best that I could do."
Eric Hall
"He was on pain medication for a long time."
"Supposedly when the mind-changing, altering drugs are not there, the bad dreams start to come back."
Kevin Hall talked about a vehicle wreck Eric caused in Indiana when he hallucinated a road block in front of the jeep he was driving.
"I'm almost positive now that there was several other episodes that I'm not aware of.
"It would come and go. He would have real good days. He would have bad days.
"He was hurt in Fallujah. He was carried off the battlefield."
Kevin related how Eric Hall passed through hospitals in Iraq and Germany before returning to the United States.
"PTSD is real. Believe me. Everybody believe me.
"The motorcycle was still running, by the way. It was not wrecked."
Kevin Hall said he thinks his son stopped the motorcycle to smoke a cigarette, and that the cigarette caused a brushfire that Eric tried to escape by crawling into the culvert, where the 24-year-old succumbed to smoke inhalation. Kevin Hall thinks that water pushed his son's body about 60 yards into the culvert, where Eric's Hall remains were found.
"He was overwhelmed by smoke in that pipe.
"When we found a body, we pretty much knew it was him."
To other parents of soldiers returning from Iraq: "Even though your child didn't get hurt, he's traumatized.
click post title for the rest
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Canadian Soldier Bombardier Jeremie Ouellet, 22 Non-combat death
Canadian soldier found dead at air field was non-combat: officials
Matthew Fisher, Canwest News Mideast Correspondent
Published: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Canadian military officials announced the "non-combat" death of a Canadian soldier Tuesday, bringing to 80 the number of soldiers who have died in Afghanistan since the first troops arrived in early 2002. One diplomat has also died.
Bombardier Jeremie Ouellet, 22, was part of the 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery CFB Shilo in Manitoba, and was found in a room at the Kandahar Airfield, said Brig.-Gen Guy Laroche. Ouellet was a native of Matane, Que.
"The soldier's death is not related to combat," said Laroche, saying no other information would be released, but the death is under investigation.
click post title for the rest
Matthew Fisher, Canwest News Mideast Correspondent
Published: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Canadian military officials announced the "non-combat" death of a Canadian soldier Tuesday, bringing to 80 the number of soldiers who have died in Afghanistan since the first troops arrived in early 2002. One diplomat has also died.
Bombardier Jeremie Ouellet, 22, was part of the 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery CFB Shilo in Manitoba, and was found in a room at the Kandahar Airfield, said Brig.-Gen Guy Laroche. Ouellet was a native of Matane, Que.
"The soldier's death is not related to combat," said Laroche, saying no other information would be released, but the death is under investigation.
click post title for the rest
PTSD Ghosts:They sit around his bed and stare at him
Living with the traumas of war
By Matt Precey
BBC News
An increasing number of British servicemen are seeking help
If Corporal John Meighan has not been taking his sleeping pills, the dead Iraqi soldiers come to visit.
They sit around his bed and stare at him.
"One of them used to come up to my face but he had lips and no eyes, just sockets and they were badly burnt", he recalls.
Without the sleeping tablets, the British serviceman would be up several times a night with these nightmares - often waking up screaming.
Cpl Meighan had 10 tours of duty during his 14 years in the army.
He witnessed the consequences of allied bombing on the so-called Highway of Death, the road out of Kuwait City where retreating Iraqi columns were decimated during the first Gulf War.
It was when he returned home from this campaign that the nightmares began.
He is one of the 260 regular clients of retired Sqn Ldr Steve Pettitt, the east of England's Welfare Officer for Combat Stress, the ex-services mental welfare charity.
go here for the rest
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7289564.stm
By Matt Precey
BBC News
An increasing number of British servicemen are seeking help
If Corporal John Meighan has not been taking his sleeping pills, the dead Iraqi soldiers come to visit.
They sit around his bed and stare at him.
"One of them used to come up to my face but he had lips and no eyes, just sockets and they were badly burnt", he recalls.
Without the sleeping tablets, the British serviceman would be up several times a night with these nightmares - often waking up screaming.
Cpl Meighan had 10 tours of duty during his 14 years in the army.
He witnessed the consequences of allied bombing on the so-called Highway of Death, the road out of Kuwait City where retreating Iraqi columns were decimated during the first Gulf War.
It was when he returned home from this campaign that the nightmares began.
He is one of the 260 regular clients of retired Sqn Ldr Steve Pettitt, the east of England's Welfare Officer for Combat Stress, the ex-services mental welfare charity.
go here for the rest
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7289564.stm
Army to Establish 'Warrior Transition Units'
Army to Establish 'Warrior Transition Units'
Army News Service Gary Sheftick and Franz Holzer October 09, 2007
Warrior Transition Units at Center of Army Medical Action Plan
WASHINGTON - The Army is establishing 32 "Warrior Transition Units" at major installations across the force to streamline care for wounded Soldiers.
The new units are the centerpiece of the Army Medical Action Plan headed up by Brig. Gen. Mike Tucker. His AMAP team went to work in June and identified about 150 items in the system that needed improving, he said during a panel presentation today at the annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army.
Better housing for wounded Soldiers was one of the improvements. The Army has allocated $173.5 million in Operations and Maintenance funding and another $1.2 billion in Military Construction funds for Warrior Transition Unit facilities and projects, said Maj. Gen. John MacDonald of the Installation Management Command.
"The Army is putting its money where its mouth is," Maj. Gen. MacDonald said. "...So that we have close to the hospitals a set of barracks that is accessible."
More Wounded Warrior News
The new Warrior Transition Units will do much more than replace Medical Hold Companies, said the Army's acting Surgeon General, Maj. Gen. Gale S. Pollock. She said the units will combine what used to be separate structures for the active and reserve components and bring a new level of care to all patients.
Prior to the creation of the WTUs, most active-component Soldiers requiring complex treatment remained assigned to their parent units or to a rear detachment. Some were assigned or attached to Medical Hold Companies overseen by the Army Medical Command. Reserve Component Soldiers were managed differently, attached to Medical Hold-Over Companies overseen by the Army Installation Management Command.
go here for the rest
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,152058,00.html
Army News Service Gary Sheftick and Franz Holzer October 09, 2007
Warrior Transition Units at Center of Army Medical Action Plan
WASHINGTON - The Army is establishing 32 "Warrior Transition Units" at major installations across the force to streamline care for wounded Soldiers.
The new units are the centerpiece of the Army Medical Action Plan headed up by Brig. Gen. Mike Tucker. His AMAP team went to work in June and identified about 150 items in the system that needed improving, he said during a panel presentation today at the annual meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army.
Better housing for wounded Soldiers was one of the improvements. The Army has allocated $173.5 million in Operations and Maintenance funding and another $1.2 billion in Military Construction funds for Warrior Transition Unit facilities and projects, said Maj. Gen. John MacDonald of the Installation Management Command.
"The Army is putting its money where its mouth is," Maj. Gen. MacDonald said. "...So that we have close to the hospitals a set of barracks that is accessible."
More Wounded Warrior News
The new Warrior Transition Units will do much more than replace Medical Hold Companies, said the Army's acting Surgeon General, Maj. Gen. Gale S. Pollock. She said the units will combine what used to be separate structures for the active and reserve components and bring a new level of care to all patients.
Prior to the creation of the WTUs, most active-component Soldiers requiring complex treatment remained assigned to their parent units or to a rear detachment. Some were assigned or attached to Medical Hold Companies overseen by the Army Medical Command. Reserve Component Soldiers were managed differently, attached to Medical Hold-Over Companies overseen by the Army Installation Management Command.
go here for the rest
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,152058,00.html
Heroes on the Homefront: Overcoming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Heroes on the Homefront: Overcoming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
March 10, 2008 12:17 AM EDT
Heroes on the Homefront: Overcoming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Local service members return from Iraq and Afghanistan with wounds, some, invisible to theeye. We take a look at the silent Post Traumatic Stress Disorder plaguing many men and women in uniform returning from war.
"Everywhere I went for quite a while, I was on edge."
A feeling of hyper-arousal is one of the many signs of the growing anxiety disorder PTSD. One marine wished to remain anonymous, but agreed to talk to us about his battle with post-traumatic stress since returning from Iraq.
"Well I definitely felt like an outsider, not because of the people around me, but because of the experiences I had, I felt out of place."
Doctors say PTSD stems from experiencing life-threatening trauma - a common occurrence for those fighting overseas.
Veterans Affairs psychiatrist Ahsan Naseem said, "Their chances of developing the disorder keep increasing because they've been re-traumatized all the time."
In a report released this week, the Army says one in four soldiers on repeat tours of duty screened positive for anxiety, depression or other mental health issues. The symptoms must persist for more than a month to be considered PTSD, but the signs can take much longer to arise.
Buffalo County Veterans Service Officer William Williams said, "They don't always feel symptoms when they first come home. They're just relieved to be home."
go here for the rest
http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=7989806
March 10, 2008 12:17 AM EDT
Heroes on the Homefront: Overcoming Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Local service members return from Iraq and Afghanistan with wounds, some, invisible to theeye. We take a look at the silent Post Traumatic Stress Disorder plaguing many men and women in uniform returning from war.
"Everywhere I went for quite a while, I was on edge."
A feeling of hyper-arousal is one of the many signs of the growing anxiety disorder PTSD. One marine wished to remain anonymous, but agreed to talk to us about his battle with post-traumatic stress since returning from Iraq.
"Well I definitely felt like an outsider, not because of the people around me, but because of the experiences I had, I felt out of place."
Doctors say PTSD stems from experiencing life-threatening trauma - a common occurrence for those fighting overseas.
Veterans Affairs psychiatrist Ahsan Naseem said, "Their chances of developing the disorder keep increasing because they've been re-traumatized all the time."
In a report released this week, the Army says one in four soldiers on repeat tours of duty screened positive for anxiety, depression or other mental health issues. The symptoms must persist for more than a month to be considered PTSD, but the signs can take much longer to arise.
Buffalo County Veterans Service Officer William Williams said, "They don't always feel symptoms when they first come home. They're just relieved to be home."
go here for the rest
http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=7989806
IAVA Testifies Before HVAC Subcommittee on Health
March 11, 2008
IAVA Testifies Before HVAC Subcommittee on Health
Filed under: Mental Health, IAVA in DC, Testimony — Todd Bowers @ 3:54 pm
Today, I testified before the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health on the issue of substance abuse and co-morbid disorders.
Among the hundreds of thousands of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with a mental health injury, a small but significant percentage is turning to alcohol or drugs in an effort to self-medicate. Veterans’ substance abuse problems, therefore, cannot and should not be viewed as distinct from mental health problems.
According to the VA Special Committee on PTSD, at least 30 to 40% of Iraq veterans, or about half a million people, will face a serious psychological injury, including depression, anxiety, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Data from the military’s own Mental Health Advisory Team shows that multiple tours and inadequate time at home between deployments increase rates of combat stress by 50%.
We are already seeing the impact of these untreated mental health problems. Between 2005 and 2006, the Army saw an almost three-fold increase in “alcohol-related incidents,” according to the DOD Task Force on Mental Health. The VA has reported diagnosing more than 48,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with drug abuse. That’s 16% of all Iraq and Afghanistan veteran patients at the VA. These numbers are only the tip of the iceberg; many veterans do not turn to the VA for help coping with substance abuse, instead relying on private programs or avoiding treatment altogether.
go here for the rest
http://www.iava.org/blog/2008/03/11/iava-testifies-before-hvac-subcommittee-on-health
IAVA Testifies Before HVAC Subcommittee on Health
Filed under: Mental Health, IAVA in DC, Testimony — Todd Bowers @ 3:54 pm
Today, I testified before the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health on the issue of substance abuse and co-morbid disorders.
Among the hundreds of thousands of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with a mental health injury, a small but significant percentage is turning to alcohol or drugs in an effort to self-medicate. Veterans’ substance abuse problems, therefore, cannot and should not be viewed as distinct from mental health problems.
According to the VA Special Committee on PTSD, at least 30 to 40% of Iraq veterans, or about half a million people, will face a serious psychological injury, including depression, anxiety, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Data from the military’s own Mental Health Advisory Team shows that multiple tours and inadequate time at home between deployments increase rates of combat stress by 50%.
We are already seeing the impact of these untreated mental health problems. Between 2005 and 2006, the Army saw an almost three-fold increase in “alcohol-related incidents,” according to the DOD Task Force on Mental Health. The VA has reported diagnosing more than 48,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with drug abuse. That’s 16% of all Iraq and Afghanistan veteran patients at the VA. These numbers are only the tip of the iceberg; many veterans do not turn to the VA for help coping with substance abuse, instead relying on private programs or avoiding treatment altogether.
go here for the rest
http://www.iava.org/blog/2008/03/11/iava-testifies-before-hvac-subcommittee-on-health
VA leaves Pasco Vietnam veterans group feeling abandoned
Marine Charlie Kelley, 64, says it is a slap in the face the way the VA treats Vietnam War vets like him needing care for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
VA leaves Pasco Vietnam veterans group feeling abandoned
Eleven Vietnam vets in group therapy feel abandoned when the VA breaks them up.
By William R. Levesque, Time Staff Writer
Published March 11, 2008
They returned from an unpopular war without band or bunting. Ugly jungle memories followed them home from Vietnam.
In New Port Richey, 11 Vietnam veterans met weekly for three years to help each other cope. They bonded, helping each other live with the war's aftereffects and struggles of everyday life. But in a scene that some veteran advocates say is being played out across the nation, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs counselor abruptly broke up the group in November, leaving the men stunned.
Members - called Group 11 by the VA - say they were told by the counselor that the VA was simply overwhelmed with the ever-increasing numbers of veterans needing care for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
"I feel absolutely betrayed," said Charlie Kelley, a 64-year-old Tampa Bay-area resident, former combat Marine and group member. "When we came back from Vietnam, we were ostracized. We did our duty but instead of gaining respect, we lost it. The same thing is happening again. It's a slap in the face."
VA regional spokesman John Pickens denied the agency was overwhelmed. Instead, he said what happened to Group 11 eventually happens to all therapeutic groups.
"At some point, you move on to other types of therapy," Pickens said. "It's got nothing to do with resources. It's a clinical decision."
Pickens said the 11 veterans were offered options, including different therapy sessions. Some were offered one-on-one therapy, he said.
But Kelley said one of the two groups meets only twice a month, and the other starts at 8 a.m., a bad time for men suffering from sleep disorders. In both cases, he said, other members would have a hard time opening up to strangers, their group bond lost.
Group 11 now meets privately at a Pasco restaurant without a counselor. But some of the men say they feel lost and PTSD symptoms - sleeplessness, depression, anxiety, anger, coping skills, among others - are worse.
"What the VA did is immoral," said Kelley, who hopes publicity will lead a counselor to volunteer services for Group 11.
go here for the rest
http://www.sptimes.com/2008/03/11/Pasco/VA_leaves_Pasco_Vietn.shtml
The VA has to stop pitting veterans against veterans. While they try to find room for the new generation, they are pushing older ones out of the way. Why is this happening? When did one become of more value than the other? I'm not saying they shouldn't be moving heaven and earth to take care of the new veterans but they cannot do it at the cost to the older ones. They need to find room for all of them and the funding to do it.
This group of veterans found what worked for them because they are still alive and still supporting each other. It works for them. Why mess with what is working for them? The goal of treating veterans who are chronic is to keep them stabilized. They will never be cured of it. The Vietnam veterans are the example of why treatment as early as possible is a life and death matter. The sooner they are treated the sooner PTSD stops getting worse. For Vietnam Vets, too much time went by without them getting any help. If we can keep them stabilized, that is a miracle. The fact this group has come to depend on each other needs to be taken seriously.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Fort Bliss nurse accused of giving patients Hepatitis C
Bliss nurse accused of giving patients hepatitis
By Alicia A. Caldwell - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Mar 11, 2008 7:43:02 EDT
EL PASO, Texas — A former Army hospital employee is accused of infecting at least three patients with hepatitis C, federal authorities said Monday.
Jon Dale Jones, a 45-year-old former nurse anesthetist at William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss, was arrested Thursday in Miami. He was indicted last month on three counts each of assault, aggravated assault, and possession of a controlled substance by fraud.
Jones was released from jail after posting 5 percent of his $200,000 bond.
His Miami lawyer, Edward O’Donnell, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Monday.
Federal prosecutors say Jones infected at least three patients with Hepatitis C, a blood-borne disease that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer, while siphoning drugs from them during surgeries at the Army hospital in 2004.
Jones, a civilian, is also accused of stealing the drug fentanyl, a powerful painkiller often used for anesthesia, from the three patients.
It’s not clear how or why he infected them.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_hepatitis_031108/
By Alicia A. Caldwell - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Mar 11, 2008 7:43:02 EDT
EL PASO, Texas — A former Army hospital employee is accused of infecting at least three patients with hepatitis C, federal authorities said Monday.
Jon Dale Jones, a 45-year-old former nurse anesthetist at William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss, was arrested Thursday in Miami. He was indicted last month on three counts each of assault, aggravated assault, and possession of a controlled substance by fraud.
Jones was released from jail after posting 5 percent of his $200,000 bond.
His Miami lawyer, Edward O’Donnell, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Monday.
Federal prosecutors say Jones infected at least three patients with Hepatitis C, a blood-borne disease that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer, while siphoning drugs from them during surgeries at the Army hospital in 2004.
Jones, a civilian, is also accused of stealing the drug fentanyl, a powerful painkiller often used for anesthesia, from the three patients.
It’s not clear how or why he infected them.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_hepatitis_031108/
Cops: Army vet confesses to shooting student Lauren Burk
Cops: Army vet confesses to shooting student
By Desiree Hunter - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Mar 11, 2008 11:05:27 EDT
AUBURN, Ala. — An Iraq war veteran who was given a bad-conduct discharge in 2006 told police he tried to rape an Auburn University student her before he shot her, according to documents read in court Monday as several thousand of her peers gathered for a memorial service.
Suspect Courtney Lockhart, 23, described verbally and in writing how he abducted 18-year-old Lauren Burk from the university, robbed her, drove her around, told her to take her clothes off and shot her with a handgun, according to court documents. He also described driving the car back to campus and setting it on fire.
His attorneys, including Joel Collins, could not be reached for comment after business hours Monday.
At the memorial service, an estimated 6,000 students gathered in the basketball arena to remember Burk, a freshman from Marietta, Ga., who was found on a roadside about 5 miles from the university. Her car was later found ablaze in a campus parking lot.
“Her smile was contagious, all of us know that, and she could brighten a room,” said Alison Penuel, president of the Delta Gamma sorority at Auburn, which Burk joined in August. “She touched all of us in a special way.”
When Penuel began struggling to speak through tears, Auburn President Jay Gogue got up and put his arm around her to help her finish. Sniffles and crying could be heard in the auditorium between speakers.
Lockhart was arrested Friday in Phenix City after a chase. Auburn police said he was linked to the Burk case by a photograph and other evidence that has not been disclosed.
Lockhart served with the Army in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 and was court-martialed, sentenced to confinement and given a bad conduct discharge in December 2006 for charges including assault, military officials have said.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_auburn_031108/
By Desiree Hunter - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Mar 11, 2008 11:05:27 EDT
AUBURN, Ala. — An Iraq war veteran who was given a bad-conduct discharge in 2006 told police he tried to rape an Auburn University student her before he shot her, according to documents read in court Monday as several thousand of her peers gathered for a memorial service.
Suspect Courtney Lockhart, 23, described verbally and in writing how he abducted 18-year-old Lauren Burk from the university, robbed her, drove her around, told her to take her clothes off and shot her with a handgun, according to court documents. He also described driving the car back to campus and setting it on fire.
His attorneys, including Joel Collins, could not be reached for comment after business hours Monday.
At the memorial service, an estimated 6,000 students gathered in the basketball arena to remember Burk, a freshman from Marietta, Ga., who was found on a roadside about 5 miles from the university. Her car was later found ablaze in a campus parking lot.
“Her smile was contagious, all of us know that, and she could brighten a room,” said Alison Penuel, president of the Delta Gamma sorority at Auburn, which Burk joined in August. “She touched all of us in a special way.”
When Penuel began struggling to speak through tears, Auburn President Jay Gogue got up and put his arm around her to help her finish. Sniffles and crying could be heard in the auditorium between speakers.
Lockhart was arrested Friday in Phenix City after a chase. Auburn police said he was linked to the Burk case by a photograph and other evidence that has not been disclosed.
Lockhart served with the Army in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 and was court-martialed, sentenced to confinement and given a bad conduct discharge in December 2006 for charges including assault, military officials have said.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_auburn_031108/
Eric Hall, Missing Marine, Family identifies body
Family identifies body of missing Iraq vet
Kate Spinner
The family of Eric Hall, the 24-year old Iraq war veteran who went missing last month, has stopped searching for him and is ready to take their son home.
Becky Hall, Eric Hall's mother, said she is certain the body found deep within a culvert Sunday at the end of Partin Drive and Highlands Road in Charlotte County was her son's.
The family is still waiting for the medical examiner's confirmation, but is going ahead with plans for a memorial on Thursday.
The Hall family will hold a press conference at noon on Wednesday to allow members of the press to ask questions of the family.
On Thursday at 12 p.m., a memorial for Hall will be held at Faith Lutheran Church in Punta Gorda. The memorial will be open to the public.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080311/BREAKING03/78346665
Pray for his family.
Chaplain training still
Day two of Chaplain training and it's going well. The IFOC, International Fellowship of Chaplains is doing amazing work all over the country. Now I know why.
They are about taking care of hurting people, filling needs in times of crisis and putting the person above all else.
This is what Chaplains are supposed to be doing. This is what I believe I was called to do over 25 years ago when I met my husband Jack. Who knows? Maybe I was called to do this all my life but as a Greek Orthodox, something like this was never even known. Greeks tend to think that women cannot or should not act as any kind spiritual leaders in the communities. Since I've been doing this anyway, it seemed like the next logical step to take.
I know I will learn a lot about what the Chaplains do in general but I plan to stay focused on trauma.
Sorry that I haven't had much time to keep up on the news coming out this week, but Saturday, life goes back to normal for me. The only difference is, if I pass the test, I'll be posting as a Chaplain.
Say a prayer for me that I make it.
They are about taking care of hurting people, filling needs in times of crisis and putting the person above all else.
To see chaplains who are trained professionals providing meaningful, life changing service to the communities in which they live through involvement in every sector of community life, be it health and welfare, education, transitional living, emergency service and governmental support.
We believe that God has called and inspired ministry in the workplace. As Chaplains who minister in the areas of Critical Incident, Grief and Loss, and Trauma as well as the Spiritual needs of those whom we serve, we believe that professionalism is essential in both the religious and secular areas of our ministry. We will endeavor to prepare ourselves Morally, Spiritually, and Educationally in order to present ourselves in the role of professional and compassionate ministers of God .We must, and will, maintain the highest standards and accountability.
http://www.ifoc.org/
This is what Chaplains are supposed to be doing. This is what I believe I was called to do over 25 years ago when I met my husband Jack. Who knows? Maybe I was called to do this all my life but as a Greek Orthodox, something like this was never even known. Greeks tend to think that women cannot or should not act as any kind spiritual leaders in the communities. Since I've been doing this anyway, it seemed like the next logical step to take.
I know I will learn a lot about what the Chaplains do in general but I plan to stay focused on trauma.
Sorry that I haven't had much time to keep up on the news coming out this week, but Saturday, life goes back to normal for me. The only difference is, if I pass the test, I'll be posting as a Chaplain.
Say a prayer for me that I make it.
Pill used to "protect" Gulf War Vets suspected in illness
Pesticides, Nerve-Gas Pills Tied to Gulf War Illness (Update1)
By Rob Waters
March 10 (Bloomberg) -- A pill given to U.S. soldiers to help protect them against nerve gas, and pesticides sprayed in the air and used to treat their clothes, may have triggered the cluster of symptoms known as Gulf War illness, a study found.
Scientists, U.S. government officials and veterans' groups have long debated why tens of thousands of soldiers who served in the Gulf War in 1991 developed a cluster of symptoms that became known as Gulf War illness. The symptoms include chronic fatigue, headaches, dizziness, loss of muscle control, memory and attention problems, and muscle and joint pain.
For many years, U.S. officials contended that Gulf War symptoms were caused by psychological stress, not chemical exposure. Today's review of more than 20 studies, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, led to the ``ineluctable conclusion'' that the high rate of symptoms in the soldiers was due to their exposure to any or all of the toxins, said study author Beatrice Golomb of the University of California, San Diego.
``This provides triangulating evidence from inside and outside the Gulf War arena supporting the causal connection'' of the chemicals to the soldiers' syndrome, Golomb said in a telephone interview on March 7.
The key ingredient is acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, or AChEis, which act in the body to blunt the effect of an enzyme that regulates a brain chemical called acetylcholine. That substance helps neurons to fire. When the enzyme that regulates this chemical is blocked by an inhibitor, it causes the neurons to fire excessively, Golomb says.
go here for the rest
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=ahNEhgssqjkM&refer=home
By Rob Waters
March 10 (Bloomberg) -- A pill given to U.S. soldiers to help protect them against nerve gas, and pesticides sprayed in the air and used to treat their clothes, may have triggered the cluster of symptoms known as Gulf War illness, a study found.
Scientists, U.S. government officials and veterans' groups have long debated why tens of thousands of soldiers who served in the Gulf War in 1991 developed a cluster of symptoms that became known as Gulf War illness. The symptoms include chronic fatigue, headaches, dizziness, loss of muscle control, memory and attention problems, and muscle and joint pain.
For many years, U.S. officials contended that Gulf War symptoms were caused by psychological stress, not chemical exposure. Today's review of more than 20 studies, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, led to the ``ineluctable conclusion'' that the high rate of symptoms in the soldiers was due to their exposure to any or all of the toxins, said study author Beatrice Golomb of the University of California, San Diego.
``This provides triangulating evidence from inside and outside the Gulf War arena supporting the causal connection'' of the chemicals to the soldiers' syndrome, Golomb said in a telephone interview on March 7.
The key ingredient is acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, or AChEis, which act in the body to blunt the effect of an enzyme that regulates a brain chemical called acetylcholine. That substance helps neurons to fire. When the enzyme that regulates this chemical is blocked by an inhibitor, it causes the neurons to fire excessively, Golomb says.
go here for the rest
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=ahNEhgssqjkM&refer=home
Pvt. Ashley Baker's Commander denies knowing he was suicidal
Commanding officer denies knowing soldier was suicidal
Posted Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:50pm AEDT
The commanding officer of the battalion of an Australian soldier who killed himself in East Timor last year has denied the Army knew he was suicidal.
Major Richard Niessl this afternoon told a military inquiry into Private Ashley Baker's death that he displayed no signs of being mentally unstable or depressed.
Major Niessl's comments were in response to earlier evidence that suggested the Army held concerns about Private Baker's state of mind before he was deployed to East Timor.
Major Niessl said Private Baker was not struggling in the Army and was a soldier with potential and was always cheerful.
He said if any soldier showed signs of mental illness they would not be deployed for duty or would be sent home from operations.
The inquiry continues tomorrow.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/11/2186872.htm?section=australia
Posted Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:50pm AEDT
The commanding officer of the battalion of an Australian soldier who killed himself in East Timor last year has denied the Army knew he was suicidal.
Major Richard Niessl this afternoon told a military inquiry into Private Ashley Baker's death that he displayed no signs of being mentally unstable or depressed.
Major Niessl's comments were in response to earlier evidence that suggested the Army held concerns about Private Baker's state of mind before he was deployed to East Timor.
Major Niessl said Private Baker was not struggling in the Army and was a soldier with potential and was always cheerful.
He said if any soldier showed signs of mental illness they would not be deployed for duty or would be sent home from operations.
The inquiry continues tomorrow.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/11/2186872.htm?section=australia
Private Ashley Baker:Inquiry into soldier's death continues
Inquiry into soldier's death continues
March 12, 2008 04:08am
A MILITARY inquiry continues today into the death of an Australian soldier found dead from a gunshot wound in his Dili barracks last year.
Private Ashley Baker, 19, was found dead inside a locked toilet cubicle on November 5 last year.
The inquiry yesterday heard the Australian Defence Force (ADF) had not told the soldier's parents about the details of their son's death almost a month after he shot himself while on duty in East Timor.
The Queenslander was found lying on the floor with his rifle between his legs inside a blood splattered toilet block, but no suicide note or farewell letter was found.
About two hours earlier, the soldier had been reprimanded for leaving his rifle unsecured overnight at the Australian helicopter base in Dili, the ADF commission of inquiry has heard.
Senior Sergeant Virginia Nelson, who coordinated the Queensland Police Inquiry into his death for the state coroner, yesterday told the commission she interviewed the private's family on December 2, almost a month after the shooting.
click post title for the rest
March 12, 2008 04:08am
A MILITARY inquiry continues today into the death of an Australian soldier found dead from a gunshot wound in his Dili barracks last year.
Private Ashley Baker, 19, was found dead inside a locked toilet cubicle on November 5 last year.
The inquiry yesterday heard the Australian Defence Force (ADF) had not told the soldier's parents about the details of their son's death almost a month after he shot himself while on duty in East Timor.
The Queenslander was found lying on the floor with his rifle between his legs inside a blood splattered toilet block, but no suicide note or farewell letter was found.
About two hours earlier, the soldier had been reprimanded for leaving his rifle unsecured overnight at the Australian helicopter base in Dili, the ADF commission of inquiry has heard.
Senior Sergeant Virginia Nelson, who coordinated the Queensland Police Inquiry into his death for the state coroner, yesterday told the commission she interviewed the private's family on December 2, almost a month after the shooting.
click post title for the rest
Monday, March 10, 2008
Body found may be missing Marine Eric Hall
Body may solve missing veteran mystery
Officials awaiting coroner's report STAFF PHOTO / JASON McKIBBEN
A volunteer searching for missing Iraq war veteran Eric Hall Sunday found human remains in this drainage pipe in the Deep Creek area near Sulstone and Partin drives. The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene and removed the remains Sunday evening. The identity of the body has not yet been released. Hall has been missing since Feb. 3 when he left his aunt's home on a motorcycle which was later recovered near the site where the body was found.
By Kate Spinner
DEEP CREEK -- A badly decomposed body found Sunday in a culvert in Charlotte County is suspected to be that of missing Iraq war veteran Eric Hall.
"Everybody's kind of concluded that," said Bob Carpenter, spokesman for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office.
However, he said, a final determination will not be made until the body is analyzed by the county medical examiner.
Hall's mother, Becky Hall, said she wanted to wait for the medical examiner's report before reaching any conclusions or making comments.
Becky Hall also would not say whether such items were found.
Carpenter said he did not know when the medical examiner would make a determination. He also could not say whether shoes, a cell phone, or clothing belonging to Hall were found in the culvert or nearby.
Suspicion is high that the body is Hall's because the culvert was very close to an underground shelter Hall is thought to have built weeks ago.
A volunteer who was searching for signs of Hall contacted the Sheriff's office Sunday morning to report a strong odor coming from the culvert, according to a Sheriff's Office press release.
go here for the rest
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080310/NEWS/803100312
This has to be the one time I prayed someone would turn up with homeless veterans. Pray for his family.
The count's public works department provided a backhoe for investigators to dig to the pipe and cut a hole in it. The body was found 40 to 50 yards inside the pipe.
Officials awaiting coroner's report STAFF PHOTO / JASON McKIBBEN
A volunteer searching for missing Iraq war veteran Eric Hall Sunday found human remains in this drainage pipe in the Deep Creek area near Sulstone and Partin drives. The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene and removed the remains Sunday evening. The identity of the body has not yet been released. Hall has been missing since Feb. 3 when he left his aunt's home on a motorcycle which was later recovered near the site where the body was found.
By Kate Spinner
DEEP CREEK -- A badly decomposed body found Sunday in a culvert in Charlotte County is suspected to be that of missing Iraq war veteran Eric Hall.
"Everybody's kind of concluded that," said Bob Carpenter, spokesman for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office.
However, he said, a final determination will not be made until the body is analyzed by the county medical examiner.
Hall's mother, Becky Hall, said she wanted to wait for the medical examiner's report before reaching any conclusions or making comments.
Becky Hall also would not say whether such items were found.
Carpenter said he did not know when the medical examiner would make a determination. He also could not say whether shoes, a cell phone, or clothing belonging to Hall were found in the culvert or nearby.
Suspicion is high that the body is Hall's because the culvert was very close to an underground shelter Hall is thought to have built weeks ago.
A volunteer who was searching for signs of Hall contacted the Sheriff's office Sunday morning to report a strong odor coming from the culvert, according to a Sheriff's Office press release.
go here for the rest
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080310/NEWS/803100312
This has to be the one time I prayed someone would turn up with homeless veterans. Pray for his family.
The count's public works department provided a backhoe for investigators to dig to the pipe and cut a hole in it. The body was found 40 to 50 yards inside the pipe.
Loss of sons shaped outlook of Fort Carson CO
Loss of sons shaped outlook of Fort Carson CO
By Erin Emery - The Denver Post via AP
Posted : Monday Mar 10, 2008 11:37:43 EDT
FORT CARSON, Colo. — On the underside of the two stars that rest on each shoulder of Fort Carson’s top general, the names “Kevin” and “Jeff” are engraved.
This is one way Maj. Gen. Mark Graham honors his sons, two young men who did not live long enough to see their father pin on those stars.
Second Lt. Jeff Graham, 23, died Feb. 19, 2004, when a roadside bomb exploded in Kalidiyah, Iraq, while the young leader protected his platoon.
Kevin Graham, 21, a top ROTC cadet at the University of Kentucky, hanged himself June 21, 2003, from a ceiling fan in his apartment. No one saw the lethality of his depression.
“They both fought different enemies,” Graham said during a recent interview.
For a man who is not sure why he joined the military more than 30 years ago, no general in today’s Army has a more intimate understanding of war’s hardships and the mental health issues that follow than Fort Carson’s commander.
Not a day goes by that he doesn’t think about his sons. Their loss, he said, has made him a more compassionate officer.
“The easy thing would be to curl up in a corner and do nothing and not get out of bed in the morning,” Graham said. “Getting up some days is real hard, and most people never see it because I put a smile on my face usually. That’s the way I was.
“Happy is different now than it ever was before.”
Back in June 2003, as he and his wife, Carol, drove away from Kevin’s funeral, Graham told her: “We can either let this be the tragic, horrible book of our life, or we can make it one bad chapter in the book of our life.”
When they lost Jeff, they added a second bad chapter.
Now they are trying to change the story.
Carol Graham spends countless hours talking to people about suicide. She is a national board member of Suicide Prevention Action Network.
Commissioned a second lieutenant in 1977, Mark Graham served in Desert Storm and years later led the military’s evacuation effort of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
In 2006 and 2007, Fort Carson had been under fire for its treatment of wounded soldiers. Veterans’ advocacy groups claimed too many soldiers were not receiving good care. They claimed soldiers were being discharged for infractions such as drug use and going AWOL after they were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_markgraham_030908/
This is a great story about Graham and his wife. The problem is, what is really going on at Carson and why is not addressed in this report. Soliders sent back no matter what the wound is, no matter if they have PTSD or not, does not fit into this story of a father who understands depression and loss. So what is it? What is behind the wounded being sent back to Iraq and Afghanistan? Why is this still happening at Carson of all places if Graham understands? I'm sure the investigation will answer these questions. I hope they get answered soon.
By Erin Emery - The Denver Post via AP
Posted : Monday Mar 10, 2008 11:37:43 EDT
FORT CARSON, Colo. — On the underside of the two stars that rest on each shoulder of Fort Carson’s top general, the names “Kevin” and “Jeff” are engraved.
This is one way Maj. Gen. Mark Graham honors his sons, two young men who did not live long enough to see their father pin on those stars.
Second Lt. Jeff Graham, 23, died Feb. 19, 2004, when a roadside bomb exploded in Kalidiyah, Iraq, while the young leader protected his platoon.
Kevin Graham, 21, a top ROTC cadet at the University of Kentucky, hanged himself June 21, 2003, from a ceiling fan in his apartment. No one saw the lethality of his depression.
“They both fought different enemies,” Graham said during a recent interview.
For a man who is not sure why he joined the military more than 30 years ago, no general in today’s Army has a more intimate understanding of war’s hardships and the mental health issues that follow than Fort Carson’s commander.
Not a day goes by that he doesn’t think about his sons. Their loss, he said, has made him a more compassionate officer.
“The easy thing would be to curl up in a corner and do nothing and not get out of bed in the morning,” Graham said. “Getting up some days is real hard, and most people never see it because I put a smile on my face usually. That’s the way I was.
“Happy is different now than it ever was before.”
Back in June 2003, as he and his wife, Carol, drove away from Kevin’s funeral, Graham told her: “We can either let this be the tragic, horrible book of our life, or we can make it one bad chapter in the book of our life.”
When they lost Jeff, they added a second bad chapter.
Now they are trying to change the story.
Carol Graham spends countless hours talking to people about suicide. She is a national board member of Suicide Prevention Action Network.
Commissioned a second lieutenant in 1977, Mark Graham served in Desert Storm and years later led the military’s evacuation effort of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
In 2006 and 2007, Fort Carson had been under fire for its treatment of wounded soldiers. Veterans’ advocacy groups claimed too many soldiers were not receiving good care. They claimed soldiers were being discharged for infractions such as drug use and going AWOL after they were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_markgraham_030908/
This is a great story about Graham and his wife. The problem is, what is really going on at Carson and why is not addressed in this report. Soliders sent back no matter what the wound is, no matter if they have PTSD or not, does not fit into this story of a father who understands depression and loss. So what is it? What is behind the wounded being sent back to Iraq and Afghanistan? Why is this still happening at Carson of all places if Graham understands? I'm sure the investigation will answer these questions. I hope they get answered soon.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Courtney Lockhart "hasn't been the same" since Iraq"
Mom of Auburn Slaying Suspect Apologizes
The Associated Press
Sunday, March 9, 2008; 12:30 PM
COLUMBUS, Ga. -- The mother of the man charged with killing an Auburn University student said her son was an Iraq war veteran who was changed after his service, and offered an apology to the freshman's family.
Catherine Williams, the mother of suspect Courtney Lockhart, made the apology to Lauren Burk's family in an interview with Columbus, Ga., television station WTVM.
"I am sorry that Courtney did that. ... First let me say I'm sorry to the Burk family for Courtney taking, taking their child. ... My heart goes out to her family," Williams said in the tearful interview.
But she also said her son did not confess anything to her.
Lockhart, 23, was arrested Friday in Phenix City, Ala., and was charged with capital murder in Burk's abduction and shooting death. Police would not say what led them to charge him in her death.
The 18-year-old from Marietta, Ga., was found shot on the side of an off-campus road Tuesday night and her car was found burning in a campus parking lot.
Williams told the television station that her son hasn't been the same after serving 16 months in Iraq. She says her son had been living with her in Smiths Station, Ala., since returning from the war.
go here for the rest
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/09/AR2008030900917.html
The Associated Press
Sunday, March 9, 2008; 12:30 PM
COLUMBUS, Ga. -- The mother of the man charged with killing an Auburn University student said her son was an Iraq war veteran who was changed after his service, and offered an apology to the freshman's family.
Catherine Williams, the mother of suspect Courtney Lockhart, made the apology to Lauren Burk's family in an interview with Columbus, Ga., television station WTVM.
"I am sorry that Courtney did that. ... First let me say I'm sorry to the Burk family for Courtney taking, taking their child. ... My heart goes out to her family," Williams said in the tearful interview.
But she also said her son did not confess anything to her.
Lockhart, 23, was arrested Friday in Phenix City, Ala., and was charged with capital murder in Burk's abduction and shooting death. Police would not say what led them to charge him in her death.
The 18-year-old from Marietta, Ga., was found shot on the side of an off-campus road Tuesday night and her car was found burning in a campus parking lot.
Williams told the television station that her son hasn't been the same after serving 16 months in Iraq. She says her son had been living with her in Smiths Station, Ala., since returning from the war.
go here for the rest
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/09/AR2008030900917.html
Chaplain Tranining
For the week of 3-10 to 3-14 I won't be posting much. Chaplain traning is this week and it's a long ride. Please hold emails until the weekend if they can wait. I'll be on line for only a few hours at night. That is if there isn't too much to study. During the week, I'll only be posting the reports few others are posting on and they will be limited.
Wish me luck and keep checking in.
Thanks for reading this blog. It makes the work I do worth the hours I put in.
Wish me luck and keep checking in.
Thanks for reading this blog. It makes the work I do worth the hours I put in.
Australia Geff Gregg's suicide prompts overhaul of system
Suicide prompts call for veteran review
Nick McKenzie
March 10, 2008
THE girlfriend of an Australian soldier who killed himself after serving in Afghanistan has called for an overhaul of the support system for mentally ill veterans.
Geff Gregg killed himself shortly after receiving a letter warning his pension would be cut for failing to attend a medical appointment.
Tobi Barnard said that three days after she informed the Department of Veterans' Affairs about his suicide in September 2006, she was sent a letter demanding the refund of $300 it had overpaid him.
And three days after his suicide, a letter had arrived, saying a decision had been made to give Mr Gregg an increased pension because of his suicidal tendencies and inability to work. It was based on an assessment several months before. "Nothing was done about it. There was no red flag," Ms Barnard said.
Her call for an overhaul of the support system for mentally ill veterans comes amid revelations the Defence Force has conducted eight boards of inquiry into suspected suicides since 2006, but has kept secret the recommendations.
Mr Gregg suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and was medically discharged in May 2004. In 2002, while on secondment with an SAS patrol, he was involved in an intense firefight which left 11 Afghan villagers dead.
A defence spokesman said that between 2001 and 2007 there were 48 suspected suicides of permanent members of the ADF but that no existing evidence linked the number of suicides to operational service.
Another defence source aware of several of the inquiries said it was critical that systemic failings uncovered during the hearings were publicly aired.
go here for the rest
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/suicide-
prompts-call-for-veteran-review/2008/03/09/1204998283802.html
When will the military ever learn? It's not just here. It's every nation. They send them but won't take care of them when they come home wounded by what they were asked to do.
Walter Reed Red Tape And Veterans Care
Red tape blocks returning vets care
PETER URBAN purban@ctpost.com
Article Last Updated: 03/09/2008 12:33:57 AM EST
WASHINGTON — In the year that has passed since Staff Sgt. John Daniel Shannon told Congress of the neglect he suffered at Walter Reed Medical Center, the Army's premier hospital has begun to turn around.
"One of the first things they implemented was the Warrior Transition Unit. That is probably one of the best moves they ever could have made," Shannon said.
The unit provides wounded soldiers with a direct point of contact to help manage their recovery as they pass through the hospital and aftercare. Wounded soldiers now don't have to worry as much that they will be lost in the bureaucracy as he was when he arrived at Walter Reed in November 2004, said Shannon, 44.
"Anyone like me, an individual patient, has a lot more access to people to ask questions of those who have the responsibility to get things done," he said.
Five days after suffering a gunshot wound to the head that cost him an eye, Shannon was handed a photocopied map of Walter Reed's campus and directed to its outpatient Mologne House.
"I was extremely disoriented and wandered around while looking for someone to direct me to the Mologne House. Eventually, I found it. I had been given a couple of weeks' appointments and some other paperwork upon leaving Ward 58, and I went to all my appointments during that time," he told a Congressional panel last year. "After these appointments, I sat in my room for another couple of weeks wondering when someone would contact me about my continuing medical care.
go here for the rest
http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_8507168
PETER URBAN purban@ctpost.com
Article Last Updated: 03/09/2008 12:33:57 AM EST
WASHINGTON — In the year that has passed since Staff Sgt. John Daniel Shannon told Congress of the neglect he suffered at Walter Reed Medical Center, the Army's premier hospital has begun to turn around.
"One of the first things they implemented was the Warrior Transition Unit. That is probably one of the best moves they ever could have made," Shannon said.
The unit provides wounded soldiers with a direct point of contact to help manage their recovery as they pass through the hospital and aftercare. Wounded soldiers now don't have to worry as much that they will be lost in the bureaucracy as he was when he arrived at Walter Reed in November 2004, said Shannon, 44.
"Anyone like me, an individual patient, has a lot more access to people to ask questions of those who have the responsibility to get things done," he said.
Five days after suffering a gunshot wound to the head that cost him an eye, Shannon was handed a photocopied map of Walter Reed's campus and directed to its outpatient Mologne House.
"I was extremely disoriented and wandered around while looking for someone to direct me to the Mologne House. Eventually, I found it. I had been given a couple of weeks' appointments and some other paperwork upon leaving Ward 58, and I went to all my appointments during that time," he told a Congressional panel last year. "After these appointments, I sat in my room for another couple of weeks wondering when someone would contact me about my continuing medical care.
go here for the rest
http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_8507168
Marine in puppy toss video identified
David Motari, Alleged Puppy Killer, Tracked Down
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars
March 4, 2008
It didn’t take long for internet sleuths to track down the perp. David Motari, the Marine accused of pitching a puppy off a cliff for the sheer psychopathic fun of it, is a member of the Bebo social network. Although the network requires registration to view member profiles, an enterprising researcher was able to login and screen capture Motari’s profile
go here for the rest
http://www.infowars.com/?p=582
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars
March 4, 2008
It didn’t take long for internet sleuths to track down the perp. David Motari, the Marine accused of pitching a puppy off a cliff for the sheer psychopathic fun of it, is a member of the Bebo social network. Although the network requires registration to view member profiles, an enterprising researcher was able to login and screen capture Motari’s profile
go here for the rest
http://www.infowars.com/?p=582
Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown Medic Earns Silver Star at 19
Spc. Monica Lin Brown from Lake Jackson Texas of 82 Air borne stands guard at a forwarded operating base in Khost, Afghanistan, Saturday, March 8, 2008. Brown, will be the second female soldier awarded the Silver Star since World War II, for her role in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Woman Earns Silver Star in Afghan WarBy FISNIK ABRASHI – 3 hours ago
CAMP SALERNO, Afghanistan (AP) — A 19-year-old medic from Texas will become the first woman in Afghanistan and only the second female soldier since World War II to receive the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest medal for valor.
Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown saved the lives of fellow soldiers after a roadside bomb tore through a convoy of Humvees in the eastern Paktia province in April 2007, the military said.
After the explosion, which wounded five soldiers in her unit, Brown ran through insurgent gunfire and used her body to shield wounded comrades as mortars fell less than 100 yards away, the military said.
"I did not really think about anything except for getting the guys to a safer location and getting them taken care of and getting them out of there," Brown told The Associated Press on Saturday at a U.S. base in the eastern province of Khost.
Brown, of Lake Jackson, Texas, is scheduled to receive the Silver Star later this month. She was part of a four-vehicle convoy patrolling near Jani Kheil in the eastern province of Paktia on April 25, 2007, when a bomb struck one of the Humvees.
"We stopped the convoy. I opened up my door and grabbed my aid bag," Brown said.
She started running toward the burning vehicle as insurgents opened fire. All five wounded soldiers had scrambled out.
"I assessed the patients to see how bad they were. We tried to move them to a safer location because we were still receiving incoming fire," Brown said.
Pentagon policy prohibits women from serving in front-line combat roles — in the infantry, armor or artillery, for example. But the nature of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, with no real front lines, has seen women soldiers take part in close-quarters combat more than previous conflicts.
Four Army nurses in World War II were the first women to receive the Silver Star, though three nurses serving in World War I were awarded the medal posthumously last year, according to the Army's Web site.
Brown, of the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, said ammunition going off inside the burning Humvee was sending shrapnel in all directions. She said they were sitting in a dangerous spot.
"So we dragged them for 100 or 200 meters, got them away from the Humvee a little bit," she said. "I was in a kind of a robot-mode, did not think about much but getting the guys taken care of."
For Brown, who knew all five wounded soldiers, it became a race to get them all to a safer location. Eventually, they moved the wounded some 500 yards away and treated them on site before putting them on a helicopter for evacuation.
"I did not really have time to be scared," Brown said. "Running back to the vehicle, I was nervous (since) I did not know how badly the guys were injured. That was scary."
The military said Brown's "bravery, unselfish actions and medical aid rendered under fire saved the lives of her comrades and represents the finest traditions of heroism in combat."
Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, of Nashville, Tenn., received the Silver Star in 2005 for gallantry during an insurgent ambush on a convoy in Iraq. Two men from her unit, the 617th Military Police Company of Richmond, Ky., also received the Silver Star for their roles in the same action.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5glkrzVej-PKK8nJR9w7pDvP-eQXQD8VA1ICO0
Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester is the first female soldier since World War II to receive the Silver Star medal for valor in combat.
Photo Credit: By Spec. Jeremy D. Crisp -- Defense Department Via Associated PressRelated Article: Soldier Earns Silver Star for Her Role in Defeating Ambush, page A21
Bill Campbell's Labrador Helps Cope With PTSD
Heading to Iraq
Campbell, 46, was a biologist for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife for 19 years. He served as an executive officer in the National Guard for nearly a decade.
When the war in Iraq broke out, Campbell volunteered to re-enlist. He said he wanted to be involved, even if that meant taking a cut in rank and pay and putting his life on the line.
May 9, 2008
Dog helps heal wounds of war: Veteran suffering from PTSD finds an anchor in canine companion
MASON COUNTY - Bill Campbell took a long pause as he searched for the right words to describe what happened to him in Iraq.
He looked over at his wife, Domenica, who often tackles questions for him, especially when he's struggling to think of the answers.
Then Campbell reached down and brushed his hands against Pax, a specially trained yellow Labrador, whose mission is to help the Army National Guard sergeant heal after serving on the front lines of war, where he witnessed death, destruction and despair.
"It was a car bomb - shrapnel," he said, his voice trailing off. "I was at a place that was just outside the Green Zone."
Pax stays close to Campbell around the clock. He reminds Campbell to take medication. He can sense the onset of panic attacks, hallucinations and other symptoms of the post-traumatic stress disorder that afflicts Campbell.
Pax even sleeps in the same room with Campbell and serves as "a reality check" during his frequent nightmares.
Campbell is the first veteran in the country to receive a companion dog through the Puppies Behind Bars' Dog Tags program. The New York City-based nonprofit organization works with inmates to train service dogs.
Although there are several programs that produce psychiatric service dogs, the Dog Tags program was established last year to raise companions specifically for U.S. servicemen and servicewomen injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We wanted to do something to thank our vets for serving their country," said Gloria Gilbert Stoga, who founded Puppies Behind Bars in 1997.
What: Puppies Behind Bars' Dog Tags program was created to match service dogs with injured veterans who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan.
To qualify: A veteran or service member must be out of the hospital for at least eight months and be able to incorporate a dog into his or her life. After a dog is placed, the recipient is responsible for providing exercise, food, annual veterinarian visits, and love for the dog. "(It's for) somebody who's serious about getting better - somebody who's stable, so they're home life is stable enough to have a dog in it," said Gloria Gilbert Stoga, founder and president of Puppies Behind Bars.
Applying: Veterans are required to fill out an application and go through several interviews. In most cases, those selected will need to travel to New York or Colorado to be matched up with a dog and complete specialized training.
Costs: Puppies Behind Bars pays for all costs associated with raising puppies in prison - including dog supplies, educational supplies for puppy raisers, teachers' salaries and travel. The nonprofit organization, which is funded through private donations, pays for related training and travel expenses for a veteran and a support person if needed.
How to help: For more details about the Puppies Behind Bars and Dog Tags programs, including how to donate, go to www.puppiesbehindbars.com or call 212-680-9562.
go here for the rest
http://www.theolympian.com/living/story/383411.html
Korean War Pvt. Joseph Meyer Jr Finally Going Home
“It’s closure,” she said. “After all these years, now we know.”Remains of soldier come home after 57 years
By Dave Kolpack - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Mar 9, 2008 8:36:18 EDT
WAHPETON, N.D. — Fifty-seven years after Pvt. Joseph Meyer Jr. disappeared while fighting in the Korean War, the Army has told his family his remains will be coming home.
Meyer was 17 when he left Wahpeton to enlist in the Army. He was declared missing in action in 1950, with few clues offered to his family.
His sisters remember their red-haired, freckle-faced brother as straight-laced and well-liked. He liked to play football, but decided to enlist in the Army rather than stay in school.
About 10 years ago, two of his sisters submitted DNA samples to the Army.
“I didn’t think it would do any good,” said one of the sisters, Alice Pausch. “At that point, I had lost hope already.”
They heard little until Alice and her husband, Virgil, received a phone message at their farm home southwest of Wahpeton last week saying the Army had information for them.
They learned Meyer’s remains were found with no identification in a mass grave in North Korea.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_korea_remains_030808/
Ron Koontz Vietnam Vet Still Serving Country
Ron Koontz, program coordinator for the state Department of Veterans’ Services, spent 17 months in a military hospital after shrapnel blew off part of his jaw in Vietnam. (Globe Staff Photo / George Rizer)Guiding veterans with experience won the hard way
Boston Globe - United States
By John Laidler
Globe Correspondent / March 9, 2008
When veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan talk to him about their struggles overcoming the physical and emotional effects of war, Ron Koontz understands.
Koontz, who left his job last month as Amesbury's veterans' services officer to become program coordinator for the state Department of Veterans' Services, knows firsthand the challenges that vets, particularly disabled ones, face in trying to resume normal lives.
Forty years ago, Koontz was serving as a combat infantryman in Vietnam when his platoon's base camp, located west of Saigon near the Cambodian border, came under a nighttime mortar and rocket attack. In the ensuing firefight, shrapnel from an exploding rocket blew off the right side of his jaw.
Koontz spent 17 months in a military hospital in San Francisco. For 13 months, his jaw was wired shut.
Recovering from the wound and rebuilding his life are the experiences Koontz draws on to help other veterans.
"The credibility I bring to the table is that I can identify with some of the issues they bring," he said. "My having been wounded kind of opens up that trust door, so when they come in, they know they are talking to another veteran who has experienced the same trauma they have."
After 15 years of working with veterans at the local level - 10 as Amesbury's veterans' officer and five as a post-traumatic stress disorder counselor at the Veterans Northeast Outreach Center in Haverhill - Koontz is bringing his skills to the statewide level.
In his new job, which he began Feb. 19, Koontz, 61, oversees the Veterans Workforce Investment Program. The federally funded program helps veterans obtain services such as education, job training, and mental health counseling.
The program targets veterans who are disabled, recently discharged, or who have significant barriers to employment. The help comes in the form of direct financial aid, information, and referrals.
"My job is to get these veterans jobs," Koontz said.
While the program has existed for a number of years, the agency is hoping to expand its reach at a time when the number of Massachusetts veterans is growing. Koontz, who was hired to lead that effort, estimates that 30,000 veterans have returned to the state since 2001.
Many are suffering the effects of traumatic brain injuries, which Koontz called "the signature injury" of the Iraq war.
The goal is to assess each veteran, and see that they are "mentally and physically put back together," he said. "Then once we work on those issues, we can start to work on the other issues" needed to land jobs.
click above for the rest
The VA is not a "budget deficit" it's an obligation
Tom Hayes: Congress must extend VA benefits to all combat veterans
Mar 08, 2008 @ 11:35 PM
The Herald-Dispatch
American Legion Post 93 has been working on a bill in Congress (HR 1901) to help veterans of Lebanon, Grenada, Panama and Korea. This bill will make these combat veterans eligible for the VA non-service-connected disability pension. It is only paid when a veteran becomes permanently and totally disabled and has limited or no income.
We commend Rep. Nick Rahall for introducing this bill for us. Congressman Rahall testified in support of HR 1901 on the House floor on April 19, 2007. He again testified before the House subcommittee on veterans affairs on July 31, 2007, along with representatives from the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and the Paralyzed Veterans of America.
We asked Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, to sponsor the bipartisan bill, and her response was, "Should this bill reach the House floor, I will be sure to keep it in mind."
On more than one occasion, we asked Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a member and former chairman of the Senate Veterans Committee, to join Congressman Rahall in introducing a companion bill in the Senate. Sen. Rockefeller's responses were, "HR 1901 is currently pending with the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, and I will certainly keep your concerns in mind if it is brought before the Senate for consideration," and, "The tremendous deficits faced by our country are making it difficult to expand veterans benefits as much as we would all like to see."
go here for the rest
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/opinions/x1084925679
When I read what they say or watch them speak when they are covered by CSPAN, I cannot believe the audacity of these people. While they talk about the great debt we owe those who serve this nation with one breathe they then turn around and speak of deficits in the budget. The only deficit they should be concerned with is the morality they are lacking.
How can they say whatever money Bush asks for to continue the occupation of Iraq without any form of accountability and results, turn around and whine about the money it will cost this nation to care for the wounded they demand the right to keep producing? It makes no sense at all.
Had they not been so inclined to ignore the hundreds of millions of dollars that vanished in Iraq, the cost-plus contracts the defense contractors received or the money Bush keeps asking for aside from the budget on "emergency" spending requests, there wouldn't be such a huge deficit. The wounded are part of the costs of conducting two occupations producing more and more wounded on a daily basis. They are part of the emergency they need to pay for but they cannot see it that way. They would rather see the veterans as a burden to the tax payers while conducting the occupation no one wants has no limit to the amount of money they are willing to pay.
The veterans of today and tomorrow are no less and no more worthy than those of yesterday. They are just in addition to them. It's time to fully fund the VA so that there is no more separation of indebtedness. It cannot be one group of veterans being pushed aside to make room for another group because there is a budget deficit. Why is it that politicians seem to have little problem finding money to wage war and a gigantic problem paying for the results of those wars?
Already we have seen veterans coming back and told they have to wait as their claims fall into a huge pile so deep it depends on the day and the reporter using the data provided on that day. What happens is a report will ask about the number of backlog claims and they are told what the person answering the question wants to tell them. A report came out last month addressing the cut back in IT workers stating the backlog of claims was over 800,000, yet another article will be written days later putting that number back around 400,000. Does Congress ask what that cause of the discrepancy is coming from? Do they even notice the huge difference in what they are being told by different people?
This entire subject is not just absurd, it's disgraceful.
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
Alpha Company hit hard by post-traumatic stress
Both MacDermid and Katz said that PTSD had become a popular shorthand for all sorts of emotional symptoms that veterans experience. These may include depression and anxiety disorders, but not rise to the level of PTSD.
Steven Silver, who recently retired as director of the inpatient PTSD unit at the Coatesville VA hospital, predicted that as time went on, more and more combat veterans would be shown to have the high PTSD rate Alpha now shows.
Posted on Sun, Mar. 9, 2008
Alpha Company: Their War Comes Home
Alpha Company hit hard by post-traumatic stress
In all, 46 percent said they had been treated at clinics or hospitals. “Those are big numbers,” one expert said.
By Tom Infield
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Of all the things that Alpha Company has had to struggle with since it came home from Iraq, the most pervasive may be post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
Of the 126 veterans interviewed or surveyed by The Inquirer, almost half - 46 percent - said they had been treated for PTSD, most at VA hospitals and clinics in the region.
Alpha's rate of PTSD is higher than that of most U.S. troops who served in Iraq or Afghanistan - partly, no doubt, as a result of its being a frontline combat unit that lost six men.
Shelley M. MacDermid, a Purdue University professor who served on a Defense Department mental-health task force last year, said typical PTSD rates among returning veterans were about 14 percent.
"Those are big numbers," she said of The Inquirer's Alpha findings.
National Guard and Reserve units, in general, have shown slightly higher PTSD rates than have regular Army units, she said.
click post title for the rest
Saturday, March 8, 2008
KBR: Water still making troops sick in Iraq
AP: Water Makes US Troops in Iraq Sick
The Associated Press
By LARRY MARGASAK – 3 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of U.S. troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using "unmonitored and potentially unsafe" water supplied by the military and a contractor once owned by Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, the Pentagon's internal watchdog says.
A report obtained by The Associated Press said soldiers experienced skin abscesses, cellulitis, skin infections, diarrhea and other illnesses after using discolored, smelly water for personal hygiene and laundry at five U.S. military sites in Iraq.
The Pentagon's inspector general found water quality problems between March 2004 and February 2006 at three sites run by contractor KBR Inc., and between January 2004 and December 2006 at two military-operated locations.
It was impossible to link the dirty water definitively to all the illnesses, according to the report. But it said KBR's water quality "was not maintained in accordance with field water sanitary standards" and the military-run sites "were not performing all required quality control tests."
"Therefore, water suppliers exposed U.S. forces to unmonitored and potentially unsafe water," the report said.
The problems did not extend to troops' drinking water, but rather to water used for washing, bathing, shaving and cleaning. Water used for hygiene and laundry must meet minimum safety standards under military regulations because of the potential for harmful exposure through the eyes, nose, mouth, cuts and wounds.
KBR said its water treatment "has met or exceeded all applicable military and contract standards." The company took exception to many of the inspector general's assertions. "KBR's commitment to the safety of all of its employees remains unwavering," the company said in a statement to the AP.
KBR is a former subsidiary of Halliburton Co., the oil services conglomerate that Cheney once led.
Is this "supporting the troops" the way Cheney always puts it when it comes to keeping the troops in Iraq? Is this what Bush means when he says it? How can they keep allowing this to go on? The reports of bad water for the troops and the people of Iraq have been going on long enough that someone should have done something about it if they wanted to, but it all boils down to all talk and no proof with deeds. The Democrats haven't done much better on this either. What does it say to the troops everyone is "supporting" when they cannot even depend on the water they are supplied while risking their lives?
UPDATE
Or as NewBusters put it, it's the media's fault.
AP Implicates Vice President Cheney in Iraq Water Problem
By Noel Sheppard March 9, 2008 - 12:59 ET
One of the truly disgraceful media fixations since America invaded Iraq five years ago has been to blame all the world's problems on energy contractor Halliburton while making it clear that Vice President Dick Cheney used to be its Chief Executive Officer.
Despite it being almost eight years since Cheney resigned his position with the contracting giant and sold all of his stock, Halliburton-obsessed press members continue to implicate the Vice President in any bad news concerning his former company.
But then they must not have heard of tax returns and financial reports the elected have to release.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2003
Cheney was chief executive officer of Halliburton from 1995 through August 2000. The company's KBR subsidiary is the main government contractor working to restore Iraq's oil industry in an open-ended contract that was awarded without competitive bidding.
According to Cheney's 2001 financial disclosure report, the vice president's Halliburton benefits include three batches of stock options comprising 433,333 shares. He also has a 401(k) retirement account valued at between $1,001 and $15,000 dollars.
His deferred compensation account was valued at between $500,000 and $1 million, and generated income of $50,000 to $100,000.
In 2002, Cheney's total assets were valued at between $19.1 million and $86.4 million.http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/26/politics/main575356.shtml
From the White House
Vice President Dick Cheney and Mrs. Cheney Release 2002 Income Tax Return
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Terrence O'Donnell
of Williams & Connolly LLP
at (202) 434-5678
Vice President and Mrs. Cheney filed their federal income tax return for 2002 today.
The income tax return shows that the Cheneys owe federal taxes for 2002 of $341,114 on a taxable income of $945,051. During the course of 2002 the Cheneys paid $436,972 in taxes through withholding and estimated tax payments. The Cheneys elected to apply $20,000 of the resulting $95,858 tax overpayment to their 2003 estimated tax payments.
The wage and salary income reported on the tax return includes $190,134 in government salary for the Vice President. In addition, the tax return reports the payment of deferred compensation from Halliburton Company, in the amount of $162,392. In December 1998, the Vice President elected to defer compensation earned in calendar year 1999 for his services as chief executive officer of Halliburton. This amount is to be paid in fixed annual installments (with interest) in the five years after the Vice President's retirement from Halliburton.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/04/20030411-8.html
From the White House
Vice President Dick Cheney and Mrs. Cheney Release 2004 Income Tax Return
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Terrence O'Donnell or James T. Fuller
Williams & Connolly LLP
(202) 434-5000
Vice President and Mrs. Cheney filed their federal income tax return for 2004 today. The income tax return shows that the Cheneys owe federal taxes for 2004 of $393,518 on taxable income of $1,328,678. During the course of 2004 the Cheneys paid $290,855 in taxes through withholding and estimated tax payments. The Cheneys paid $102,663 upon filing their tax return.
The wage and salary income reported on the tax return includes the Vice President's $203,000 government salary. In addition, the tax return reports the payment of deferred compensation from Halliburton Company in the amount of $194,852. In December 1998, the Vice President elected to defer compensation earned in calendar year 1999 for his services as chief executive officer of Halliburton. This amount was required be paid in fixed annual installments (with interest) in the five years after the Vice President's retirement from Halliburton. That election to defer income became final and unalterable before Mr. Cheney left Halliburton. The amount of deferred compensation received by the Vice President is fixed and is not affected in any way by Halliburton's current economic performance or earnings.The tax return also reports Mrs. Cheney's wage and salary income from the American Enterprise Institute and compensation from Reader's Digest, on whose board of directors she served until her retirement in 2003.
The Cheneys donated $303,354 to charity in 2004, primarily from Mrs. Cheney's book royalties from Simon & Schuster on her books America: A Patriotic Primer, A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Woman, and When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots, and the exercise of stock options dedicated to charity pursuant to the Gift Administration Agreement which the Cheneys entered into in January of 2001. The book royalties and the proceeds from the stock options were donated to designated charities on a tax neutral basis.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/04/20050415-3.html
And then we have the Katrina Connection
April 17, 2006
Kirsch: Cheney Tax Return Shows Katrina Tax Benefits for Non-Katrina Charitable Contributions
Michael Kirsch (Notre Dame) points out an interesting aspect of the Vice-President's 2005 tax return:
It appears that the VP is a major beneficiary of the Hurricane Katrina tax relief act. In particular, he claimed $6.8 million of charitable deductions, which is 77% of his AGI -- well in excess of the 50% limitation that would have applied absent the Katrina legislation. The press release indicates that the charitable contribution reflects the amount of net proceeds from an independent administrator's exercise of the VP's Halliburton options -- apparently, the VP had agreed back in 2001 that he would donate the net proceeds from the options to charities once they were exercised.
The press release seems to confirm, at least implicitly, the VP's efforts to take advantage of the Katrina legislation -- it mentions that the Cheneys wrote a personal check of $2.3 million to the administrator in December in order to "maximize the charitable gifts in 2005." Admittedly, I don't know anything about the transactions beyond the info in the press release, but my gut reaction is that the personal check was given in order to make sure the independent administrator had sufficient liquid assets to pay all of the promised charitable contributions before the 50% limit returned on 1/1/06.
Despite the importance of the Katrina legislation to his tax return, it looks like none of the charitable contributions actually went to Katrina-related charities (the press release lists the 3 charitable recipients, all of which were designated in the original 2001 gift agreement). While there's nothing inappropriate about that from a legal perspective, it does demonstrate how the legislation, which was sold to the public as providing relief to Katrina victims, provided significant tax benefits to the VP (and potentially other wealthy individuals) in situations that have nothing to do with Hurricane Katrina.
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2006/04/kirsch_cheney_t.html
Readers of this blog are aware of American Enterprise Institute and their "advice" on PTSD, which boils down to they need to stop whining and go to work. See posts on Sally Satel here and on Screaming In An Empty Room at www.namguardianangel.blogspot.com
Kansas National Guardsmen serving the wounded
Guardsmen volunteer to help wounded soldiers
By John Milburn - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Mar 8, 2008 7:17:35 EST
FORT RILEY, Kan. — They’ve gone to war recently themselves, but a cadre of Kansas National Guard soldiers has volunteered for a year — maybe longer — to help wounded soldiers get back on their feet.
Located in a cluster of tan modular structures adjacent to Irwin Army Community Hospital, the Warrior Transition Battalion is designed to give wounded soldiers a place to get well, while getting services they need to continue their Army career or life as a civilian.
Command Sgt. Maj. Terence Hankerson, a Guard soldier from Topeka, is the senior enlisted soldier at the battalion. He was wounded in Iraq last year and volunteered to serve at Fort Riley.
“Obviously, you want somebody who’s been through the process,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to identify with these guys. I can look them in the eye and go, ‘I know what you’re talking about. Believe me, I had an E-6 dogging me the whole time, too.’
“It doesn’t matter if you are a sergeant or a colonel, you’re still expected to make your appointments and heal, first and foremost.”
The battalion results from last year’s controversy over the quality of care wounded soldiers were receiving at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Over the past year, Congress and the Department of Defense have worked to improve care and put more personnel in contact with the wounded as they move from combat back to their home posts or civilian lives.
Most the 300 soldiers in Fort Riley’s battalion are active-duty Army from units deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, though some are Guard soldiers and Army Reservists.
Sgt. Bonnie Capp previously deployed with a medical detachment out of Lenexa but volunteered to work at Fort Riley. She’s a squad leader, making sure 12 wounded soldiers get to medical appointments on time and their needs addressed at all hours of the day.
It’s a new challenge, she said, calling for skills that aren’t standard for the military.
“You have to be a mother, you have to be a sister, you have to be a friend. You’re everything that these soldiers rely on,” Capp said.
That includes advocating that soldiers get the services they need, even when someone tells them no.
“As for us being National Guard, we have a little more understanding, but military — the uniform — is not all that we know about,” said fellow squad leader Sgt. Voneen Hale. “We have our education; we have our civilian jobs.”
Col. Lee Merritt, the battalion commander, said a new Soldier and Family Assistance Center specifically for the wounded centralizes key services, such as medical, educational, child support or financial.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_wounded_volunteers_030608/
By John Milburn - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Mar 8, 2008 7:17:35 EST
FORT RILEY, Kan. — They’ve gone to war recently themselves, but a cadre of Kansas National Guard soldiers has volunteered for a year — maybe longer — to help wounded soldiers get back on their feet.
Located in a cluster of tan modular structures adjacent to Irwin Army Community Hospital, the Warrior Transition Battalion is designed to give wounded soldiers a place to get well, while getting services they need to continue their Army career or life as a civilian.
Command Sgt. Maj. Terence Hankerson, a Guard soldier from Topeka, is the senior enlisted soldier at the battalion. He was wounded in Iraq last year and volunteered to serve at Fort Riley.
“Obviously, you want somebody who’s been through the process,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to identify with these guys. I can look them in the eye and go, ‘I know what you’re talking about. Believe me, I had an E-6 dogging me the whole time, too.’
“It doesn’t matter if you are a sergeant or a colonel, you’re still expected to make your appointments and heal, first and foremost.”
The battalion results from last year’s controversy over the quality of care wounded soldiers were receiving at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Over the past year, Congress and the Department of Defense have worked to improve care and put more personnel in contact with the wounded as they move from combat back to their home posts or civilian lives.
Most the 300 soldiers in Fort Riley’s battalion are active-duty Army from units deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, though some are Guard soldiers and Army Reservists.
Sgt. Bonnie Capp previously deployed with a medical detachment out of Lenexa but volunteered to work at Fort Riley. She’s a squad leader, making sure 12 wounded soldiers get to medical appointments on time and their needs addressed at all hours of the day.
It’s a new challenge, she said, calling for skills that aren’t standard for the military.
“You have to be a mother, you have to be a sister, you have to be a friend. You’re everything that these soldiers rely on,” Capp said.
That includes advocating that soldiers get the services they need, even when someone tells them no.
“As for us being National Guard, we have a little more understanding, but military — the uniform — is not all that we know about,” said fellow squad leader Sgt. Voneen Hale. “We have our education; we have our civilian jobs.”
Col. Lee Merritt, the battalion commander, said a new Soldier and Family Assistance Center specifically for the wounded centralizes key services, such as medical, educational, child support or financial.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_wounded_volunteers_030608/
Hearing loss is epidemic among combat troops
Hearing loss is epidemic among combat troops
By Chelsea J. Carter - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Mar 7, 2008 22:36:54 EST
SAN DIEGO — Soldiers and Marines caught in roadside bombings and firefights in Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home in epidemic numbers with permanent hearing loss and ringing in their ears, prompting the military to redouble its efforts to protect the troops from noise.
Hearing damage is the No. 1 disability in the fight against terror, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and some experts say the true toll could take decades to become clear. Nearly 70,000 of the more than 1.3 million troops who have served in the two war zones are collecting disability for tinnitus, a potentially debilitating ringing in the ears, and more than 58,000 are on disability for hearing loss, VA said.
“The numbers are staggering,” said Theresa Schulz, a former audiologist with the Air Force, past president of the National Hearing Conservation Association and author of a 2004 report titled “Troops Return With Alarming Rates of Hearing Loss.”
One major explanation given is the insurgency’s use of a fearsome weapon the Pentagon did not fully anticipate: powerful roadside bombs. Their blasts cause violent changes in air pressure that can rupture the eardrum and break bones inside the ear.
Also, much of the fighting consists of ambushes, bombings and firefights, which come suddenly and unexpectedly, giving soldiers no time to use their military-issued hearing protection.
“They can’t say, ‘Wait a minute, let me put my earplugs in,”’ said Dr. Michael E. Hoffer, a Navy captain and one of the country’s leading inner-ear specialists. “They are in the fight of their lives.”
In addition, some servicemen on patrol refuse to wear earplugs for fear of dulling their senses and missing sounds that can make the difference between life and death, Hoffer and others said. Others were not given earplugs or did not take them along when they were sent into the war zone. And some Marines were not told how to use their specialized earplugs and inserted them incorrectly.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_hearingloss_030608/
By Chelsea J. Carter - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Mar 7, 2008 22:36:54 EST
SAN DIEGO — Soldiers and Marines caught in roadside bombings and firefights in Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home in epidemic numbers with permanent hearing loss and ringing in their ears, prompting the military to redouble its efforts to protect the troops from noise.
Hearing damage is the No. 1 disability in the fight against terror, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and some experts say the true toll could take decades to become clear. Nearly 70,000 of the more than 1.3 million troops who have served in the two war zones are collecting disability for tinnitus, a potentially debilitating ringing in the ears, and more than 58,000 are on disability for hearing loss, VA said.
“The numbers are staggering,” said Theresa Schulz, a former audiologist with the Air Force, past president of the National Hearing Conservation Association and author of a 2004 report titled “Troops Return With Alarming Rates of Hearing Loss.”
One major explanation given is the insurgency’s use of a fearsome weapon the Pentagon did not fully anticipate: powerful roadside bombs. Their blasts cause violent changes in air pressure that can rupture the eardrum and break bones inside the ear.
Also, much of the fighting consists of ambushes, bombings and firefights, which come suddenly and unexpectedly, giving soldiers no time to use their military-issued hearing protection.
“They can’t say, ‘Wait a minute, let me put my earplugs in,”’ said Dr. Michael E. Hoffer, a Navy captain and one of the country’s leading inner-ear specialists. “They are in the fight of their lives.”
In addition, some servicemen on patrol refuse to wear earplugs for fear of dulling their senses and missing sounds that can make the difference between life and death, Hoffer and others said. Others were not given earplugs or did not take them along when they were sent into the war zone. And some Marines were not told how to use their specialized earplugs and inserted them incorrectly.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_hearingloss_030608/
Chaplain fired from hospital for being in National Guard?
Military chaplain sues hospital over firing
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Mar 8, 2008 14:31:32 EST
SEATTLE — A Kirkland, Wash., woman is suing Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, accusing the hospital of firing her because she was about to be deployed to Iraq as a military chaplain.
Court documents filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Seattle say Kelly Hansen was fired by the hospital after spending a long weekend with the National Guard in January. She has a master’s degree in divinity from Princeton University and was working as a chaplain at the hospital.
She says her supervisor told her, when she returned to work, that they felt the hospital wasn’t a good fit for her. They said she would be happier in the National Guard or at the veteran’s hospital.
Children’s Hospital told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Friday that its dismissal of Hansen had nothing to do with her obligations to the Guard.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_chaplainlawsuit_030808/
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Mar 8, 2008 14:31:32 EST
SEATTLE — A Kirkland, Wash., woman is suing Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, accusing the hospital of firing her because she was about to be deployed to Iraq as a military chaplain.
Court documents filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Seattle say Kelly Hansen was fired by the hospital after spending a long weekend with the National Guard in January. She has a master’s degree in divinity from Princeton University and was working as a chaplain at the hospital.
She says her supervisor told her, when she returned to work, that they felt the hospital wasn’t a good fit for her. They said she would be happier in the National Guard or at the veteran’s hospital.
Children’s Hospital told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Friday that its dismissal of Hansen had nothing to do with her obligations to the Guard.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_chaplainlawsuit_030808/
Brian Christopher Wothers Not Guilty Due To PTSD
March 08, 2008
Vet using war stress defense found not guilty of murder
By LAUREN SONIS
Staff Writer
BUNNELL -- An Iraq war veteran was found not guilty by reason of insanity Friday after psychiatrists said he was having a flashback when he shot and killed a man.
Brian Christopher Wothers, 26, of Ormond Beach will live in a mental-health treatment facility until he is no longer deemed a threat to himself or others.
He was accused of killing 26-year-old Jeffrey Maxwell, a traveling construction worker from Denison, Texas, who was in Florida on an assignment. Maxwell's body was found May 26, 2006, in a wooded area near Old Kings Road in Palm Coast.
Wothers had a history of post-traumatic stress disorder related to his military duties when he saw piles of bodies and witnessed shootings, his attorneys said.
Prosecutors and Wothers' attorneys agreed to a trial by Circuit Judge Kim C. Hammond -- on charges of robbery and first-degree murder -- instead of by a jury.
"He's likely to suffer from that disorder for the foreseeable future," Hammond said.
Three adults hugged and kissed Wothers after the trial. They declined comment for this story.
"I'll call you," Wothers whispered to a woman as he left the courtroom to return to the Flagler County Inmate Facility, where he has been held pending the outcome of his case.
Wothers will stay there until the paperwork is filed to transport him. His attorneys said while it's not definite, Wothers will likely be moved to the North Florida Evaluation Treatment Center in Gainesville.
Attorney Zachary Stoumbos said in most similar cases, it can take five years before someone is considered safe enough to release.
Jeffrey Maxwell's family did not attend the trial, but they remained close to their phones on a snowy week in northeastern Texas.
His mother, Evelyn Maxwell, said she had hoped Wothers would be forced to stay in a treatment facility for at least 10 years and thought he should be punished.
"I'd prefer if he was in there a lot longer than five years," she said.
She said that while she supports capital punishment in general, she did not want to pursue the death penalty because of Wothers' mental-health problems. The mother said she wanted him to get help.
She later added, "A lot of (veterans) do need help when they come out."
When soldiers return from Iraq and Afghanistan and are accused of killings and other crimes, the justice system has been increasingly impelled to consider the effects of combat trauma in their offenses, according to a January New York Times report.
go here for the rest
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD01030808.htm
Evelyn Maxwell must be an amazing woman. She lost her son but even after that she can see that Wothers was not in his right mind when it happened. How is it that she can understand PTSD but we have so many in the military who cannot?
Vet using war stress defense found not guilty of murder
By LAUREN SONIS
Staff Writer
BUNNELL -- An Iraq war veteran was found not guilty by reason of insanity Friday after psychiatrists said he was having a flashback when he shot and killed a man.
Brian Christopher Wothers, 26, of Ormond Beach will live in a mental-health treatment facility until he is no longer deemed a threat to himself or others.
He was accused of killing 26-year-old Jeffrey Maxwell, a traveling construction worker from Denison, Texas, who was in Florida on an assignment. Maxwell's body was found May 26, 2006, in a wooded area near Old Kings Road in Palm Coast.
Wothers had a history of post-traumatic stress disorder related to his military duties when he saw piles of bodies and witnessed shootings, his attorneys said.
Prosecutors and Wothers' attorneys agreed to a trial by Circuit Judge Kim C. Hammond -- on charges of robbery and first-degree murder -- instead of by a jury.
"He's likely to suffer from that disorder for the foreseeable future," Hammond said.
Three adults hugged and kissed Wothers after the trial. They declined comment for this story.
"I'll call you," Wothers whispered to a woman as he left the courtroom to return to the Flagler County Inmate Facility, where he has been held pending the outcome of his case.
Wothers will stay there until the paperwork is filed to transport him. His attorneys said while it's not definite, Wothers will likely be moved to the North Florida Evaluation Treatment Center in Gainesville.
Attorney Zachary Stoumbos said in most similar cases, it can take five years before someone is considered safe enough to release.
Jeffrey Maxwell's family did not attend the trial, but they remained close to their phones on a snowy week in northeastern Texas.
His mother, Evelyn Maxwell, said she had hoped Wothers would be forced to stay in a treatment facility for at least 10 years and thought he should be punished.
"I'd prefer if he was in there a lot longer than five years," she said.
She said that while she supports capital punishment in general, she did not want to pursue the death penalty because of Wothers' mental-health problems. The mother said she wanted him to get help.
She later added, "A lot of (veterans) do need help when they come out."
When soldiers return from Iraq and Afghanistan and are accused of killings and other crimes, the justice system has been increasingly impelled to consider the effects of combat trauma in their offenses, according to a January New York Times report.
go here for the rest
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD01030808.htm
Evelyn Maxwell must be an amazing woman. She lost her son but even after that she can see that Wothers was not in his right mind when it happened. How is it that she can understand PTSD but we have so many in the military who cannot?
PTSD:Service in Bosnia took a toll
Service in Bosnia took a toll
Now, Fred Doucette helps others with stress disorder
PAUL GESSELL, Freelance; Ottawa Citizen Published
The first disturbing flashback came in the King of Donair restaurant on King St. in Fredericton. Capt. Fred Doucette was feeling tired and miserable, just as he had most every day since returning home July 7, 1996, from a year-long tour of duty as a UN peacekeeper in Bosnia. He closed his eyes for a moment. Suddenly, Doucette was no longer in the fast-food outlet, but back in time many months, in the doorway of a building in the UN Protected Area of Gorazde, "a small island of humanity" surrounded by the Bosnian-Serb Republic of Srpska.
"I can smell the wood smoke, the burning garbage and the sour, overpowering smell of urine and excrement," Doucette would write later of his hallucination on King St.
"My body contracts, my muscles tense in fear of being in a very dangerous place." Doucette was not aware he was experiencing a flashback. He truly believed, while in the grip of the hallucination, that he was back in war-ravaged Bosnia.
"There is the burnt-out tank, the pharmacy with its front covered by logs and a dirty Red Cross flag draped over them in an attempt to play on the humanity of the Serbs who have surrounded the town. I am afraid and terrified. What am I doing here?"
Suddenly, someone entered the King of Donair and banged the door. Doucette snapped out of the flashback. He staggered onto King St., dazed and confused about what had just happened to him.
"The only thing I know for certain is that I will tell no one," he thought at the time. "Only crazy people can travel into the past." Doucette did not know it then, but he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He was not diagnosed and treated for this mental illness until 2001. The disorder was simply a taboo subject in many military circles. Today, Doucette is no longer in the Forces and no longer shy about discussing his illness. In fact, he has written a book about his experiences, Empty Casing: A Soldier's Memoir of Sarajevo Under Siege. Retired general Roméo Dallaire, Canada's most famous soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder, wrote the foreword. Doucette has become experienced discussing what used to be called "battle fatigue," "shell shock" or other, far more pejorative terms. Now, based at Lincoln, N.B., near CFB Gagetown, he has spent the past five years working with the government-funded Operational Stress Injury
go here for the rest
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/books/story.html?id=7dd1f5a7-8a88-45e5-846b-1a7f7c3131e6
When I did the video, Wounded And Waiting, I used the same terms about what they go through during combat and what comes after with a flashback when it all comes back to life. If you want to know what it' like, go to the side bar in the video section and watch Wounded And Waiting.
Now, Fred Doucette helps others with stress disorder
PAUL GESSELL, Freelance; Ottawa Citizen Published
The first disturbing flashback came in the King of Donair restaurant on King St. in Fredericton. Capt. Fred Doucette was feeling tired and miserable, just as he had most every day since returning home July 7, 1996, from a year-long tour of duty as a UN peacekeeper in Bosnia. He closed his eyes for a moment. Suddenly, Doucette was no longer in the fast-food outlet, but back in time many months, in the doorway of a building in the UN Protected Area of Gorazde, "a small island of humanity" surrounded by the Bosnian-Serb Republic of Srpska.
"I can smell the wood smoke, the burning garbage and the sour, overpowering smell of urine and excrement," Doucette would write later of his hallucination on King St.
"My body contracts, my muscles tense in fear of being in a very dangerous place." Doucette was not aware he was experiencing a flashback. He truly believed, while in the grip of the hallucination, that he was back in war-ravaged Bosnia.
"There is the burnt-out tank, the pharmacy with its front covered by logs and a dirty Red Cross flag draped over them in an attempt to play on the humanity of the Serbs who have surrounded the town. I am afraid and terrified. What am I doing here?"
Suddenly, someone entered the King of Donair and banged the door. Doucette snapped out of the flashback. He staggered onto King St., dazed and confused about what had just happened to him.
"The only thing I know for certain is that I will tell no one," he thought at the time. "Only crazy people can travel into the past." Doucette did not know it then, but he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He was not diagnosed and treated for this mental illness until 2001. The disorder was simply a taboo subject in many military circles. Today, Doucette is no longer in the Forces and no longer shy about discussing his illness. In fact, he has written a book about his experiences, Empty Casing: A Soldier's Memoir of Sarajevo Under Siege. Retired general Roméo Dallaire, Canada's most famous soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder, wrote the foreword. Doucette has become experienced discussing what used to be called "battle fatigue," "shell shock" or other, far more pejorative terms. Now, based at Lincoln, N.B., near CFB Gagetown, he has spent the past five years working with the government-funded Operational Stress Injury
go here for the rest
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/books/story.html?id=7dd1f5a7-8a88-45e5-846b-1a7f7c3131e6
When I did the video, Wounded And Waiting, I used the same terms about what they go through during combat and what comes after with a flashback when it all comes back to life. If you want to know what it' like, go to the side bar in the video section and watch Wounded And Waiting.
Friday, March 7, 2008
PTSD Spc. Bryan Currie AWOL-and so was his General
Soldier files deployment probe
Updated: 03/07/2008 05:07 PM
By: Amy Ohler
FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- With his lawyer and family by his side Specialist Bryan Currie spoke out about why he went AWOL.
"There was no care everywhere I looked. There was a lot of hazing from higher-ups. People that should be there to help platoon sergeants and stuff were just not there or didn't care," said Spec Bryan Currie, 10th Mountain Division.
While serving in Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division Currie was hit by a roadside bomb.
"Sustained a broken jaw, broken cheek bone, lost four teeth, burned my hands. I've got shrapnel wounds, PTSD, lacerated my lip I had to get stitches, my knees were swollen, I couldn't walk the dashboard crushed my legs," said Currie.
Currie said he had a hard time receiving care but once he found a doctor that would listen, that doctor wrote in his physical profile, "cannot deploy." It stated that Currie could not run, carry a weapon or wear protective gear.
"The doctor made his opinions and once my chain of command realized they needed one more guy they contacted him and he changed his opinion," said Currie.
Currie says he was told he had to deploy with his unit to Iraq, shortly after that he went AWOL.
click post title for the rest
go here for video
http://news10now.com/Video/video_pop.aspx?vids=68281&sid=1083&rid=1013
When I read stories like this AWOL comes into mind for the commanders giving the orders to the wounded that they have to go no matter what. They are Acting Without Logic. What's next? Sending them back without an arm and expecting them to shoot a rifle? Sending the wounded back to get wounded or killed again is not only appalling, conduct unbecoming an officer, disgraceful and inexcusable, it's dangerous to the rest of the men in the unit. The generals have to be held accountable for the sake of the men and women they order to go.
Updated: 03/07/2008 05:07 PM
By: Amy Ohler
FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- With his lawyer and family by his side Specialist Bryan Currie spoke out about why he went AWOL.
"There was no care everywhere I looked. There was a lot of hazing from higher-ups. People that should be there to help platoon sergeants and stuff were just not there or didn't care," said Spec Bryan Currie, 10th Mountain Division.
While serving in Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division Currie was hit by a roadside bomb.
"Sustained a broken jaw, broken cheek bone, lost four teeth, burned my hands. I've got shrapnel wounds, PTSD, lacerated my lip I had to get stitches, my knees were swollen, I couldn't walk the dashboard crushed my legs," said Currie.
Currie said he had a hard time receiving care but once he found a doctor that would listen, that doctor wrote in his physical profile, "cannot deploy." It stated that Currie could not run, carry a weapon or wear protective gear.
"The doctor made his opinions and once my chain of command realized they needed one more guy they contacted him and he changed his opinion," said Currie.
Currie says he was told he had to deploy with his unit to Iraq, shortly after that he went AWOL.
click post title for the rest
go here for video
http://news10now.com/Video/video_pop.aspx?vids=68281&sid=1083&rid=1013
When I read stories like this AWOL comes into mind for the commanders giving the orders to the wounded that they have to go no matter what. They are Acting Without Logic. What's next? Sending them back without an arm and expecting them to shoot a rifle? Sending the wounded back to get wounded or killed again is not only appalling, conduct unbecoming an officer, disgraceful and inexcusable, it's dangerous to the rest of the men in the unit. The generals have to be held accountable for the sake of the men and women they order to go.
Vietnam veteran, Randy Vest, fixing cars and veterans
WSLS.com - Roanoke,VA,USA
By Lindsey Henley
WSLS10 Reporter
Published: March 7, 2008
Vietnam veteran, Randy Vest, compares life to combat.
“It’s just like combat itself, you don’t quit in the middle of it. You just keep going,” Vest said.
With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he knows first hand sometimes that’s easier said than done.
WSLS10 Reporter
Published: March 7, 2008
Vietnam veteran, Randy Vest, compares life to combat.
“It’s just like combat itself, you don’t quit in the middle of it. You just keep going,” Vest said.
With Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he knows first hand sometimes that’s easier said than done.
“It doesn’t take a whole lot to cause you to have flashbacks, nightmares, things like that at night,” he said.
It took Randy more than 30 years to finally face his problems. He says once he left the combat zone he was back at home within a couple of days. Unfortunately, there were so many negative feelings, as well as stereotypes toward the Vietnam War, he didn’t want to talk about it until the War in Iraq.
That’s when Randy finally admitted he had a problem. With the help of a good friend, David Amos, he went through the long process of applying for compensation from the U.S. Government.
click above for the rest and for video interview
Senator Barbara Boxer needs to read the Hartford Courtant Report
Providers needed for mental health care
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Mar 7, 2008 15:54:54 EST
A nationwide shortage of mental health professionals is hurting — but not preventing — the military’s expansion of counseling and treatment programs for service members and their families, officials say.
Army Col. Loree Sutton, director of the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, said Tricare has added more than 3,000 new mental health providers to its networks in the past few months and is also trying to find non-network providers willing to take on new patients — part of a move to expand treatment options for members of the National Guard and reserve.
Sutton said the Pentagon also is working with the U.S. Public Health Service to get the services up to 200 mental health providers who can augment military counselors and doctors.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who four years ago was one of the toughest critics of military mental health services, said March 5 that she is pleased the military seems to be taking the issue seriously.
But, she said, military medical people cannot rest on their laurels.
“We have a big problem ... that is only going to get worse if we don’t do something big now,” Boxer said as she and military medical officials testified before the Senate Armed Services personnel subcommittee.
“We need to ensure we have adequate numbers of uniformed mental health providers who can train and deploy with our troops and be there when they are needed,” she said, noting that treatment does no good if it is not available quickly.
“When we do this right, it is going to help our military in the long run,” Boxer said.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/military_mentalhealth_030708w/
From what I just posted.
http://woundedtimes.blogspot.com/2008/03/worse-rate-of-mental-health-help-for.html
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Mar 7, 2008 15:54:54 EST
A nationwide shortage of mental health professionals is hurting — but not preventing — the military’s expansion of counseling and treatment programs for service members and their families, officials say.
Army Col. Loree Sutton, director of the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, said Tricare has added more than 3,000 new mental health providers to its networks in the past few months and is also trying to find non-network providers willing to take on new patients — part of a move to expand treatment options for members of the National Guard and reserve.
Sutton said the Pentagon also is working with the U.S. Public Health Service to get the services up to 200 mental health providers who can augment military counselors and doctors.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who four years ago was one of the toughest critics of military mental health services, said March 5 that she is pleased the military seems to be taking the issue seriously.
But, she said, military medical people cannot rest on their laurels.
“We have a big problem ... that is only going to get worse if we don’t do something big now,” Boxer said as she and military medical officials testified before the Senate Armed Services personnel subcommittee.
“We need to ensure we have adequate numbers of uniformed mental health providers who can train and deploy with our troops and be there when they are needed,” she said, noting that treatment does no good if it is not available quickly.
“When we do this right, it is going to help our military in the long run,” Boxer said.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/military_mentalhealth_030708w/
From what I just posted.
The study found that behavioral health providers were also struggling. Despite the Army's repeated emphasis on expanding psychological services to soldiers, the ratio of mental health providers to soldiers in Iraq dropped to one provider for every 734 troops in 2007 — down from one for every 387 in 2004.
http://woundedtimes.blogspot.com/2008/03/worse-rate-of-mental-health-help-for.html
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