'Ward 57' examines psyche
By Bill Hirschman Special Correspondent
March 26, 2008
There is invasive surgery going on inside the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Jessica Goldberg's drama Ward 57, but it's not dissection of the body but of the psyche.
This world premiere is not really about the plight of wounded veterans, although that's certainly examined, and it's not even a tract against the tragedy in Iraq. In fact, the play assiduously respects those who serve and those who dissent.
Ward 57 examines our duty to take responsibility for what we do — and the duty to be intellectually honest about motivations and consequences. Goldberg holds up a mirror and insists we ask the same unsparing questions as her characters.
Her plot sends sincere, if postmodern, screenwriter Wendy Hoffman (Aditi Kapil) to research a film about returning veterans. Her contact at Reed is Capt. Gray Whitrock (Brandon Morris), a prickly counselor who wants to be an example of hope to patients because he lost a leg during his first tour — and then went back for a second.
Whitrock cannot allow Hoffman to visit patients, such as the emotionally tortured Anthony Small (Buddy Haardt), who makes up rap lyrics about his blindness and asks Whitrock to help him commit suicide. So Whitrock and his pregnant wife, Lydia (Bonni Allen), become primary sources for Hoffman's research.
The sparring soldier and screenwriter — opposite poles on the political litmus paper — test each other's sincerity and then the intellectual integrity of their motivations. She sees him as a self-deluded jingoist while he sees her as a parasitic sightseer: " ... we think we lost our limbs for something and you think we lost them for nothing," Whitrock says.
go here for the rest
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/lifestyle/sfl-thwardsbmar26,0,6264311.story
We talk a lot about the death counts, but we don't talk about the wounded in body, mind or spirit. We don't talk about the price they pay after war. Go above and watch the clip of this play.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Shalala: Veterans benefits system is broken
Shalala: Veterans benefits system is broken
26 MAR 2008 • by Juliana Hanson
Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars won't get proper health care until the U.S. government updates and simplifies the bureaucracy strangling benefits and outpatient care.
This is the conclusion of Donna Shalala, former secretary of the U.S. Department Health and Human Services during the Clinton administration. President George W. Bush commissioned Shalala, Bob Dole and several other experts to evaluate the care of wounded veterans after the Washington Post exposed dire conditions at Walter Reed Hospital: deteriorating, rat- and roach-infested housing for family members, neglectful staff, and a mind-numbing bureaucracy. Shalala spoke about their findings to an auditorium packed with students and military personnel Monday, March 10, at N.C. State University.
While deployed, U.S. soldiers have access to world-class health care. But as soon as they leave the hospital bed, Shalala said, "it falls apart ... in the coordination of outpatient care."
This new generation of veterans has different medical needs, yet the dated, convoluted veterans health care system fails many of them. More survivors are returning home with brain injuries and long-term mental health issues, conditions that tend to be more severe and complex. These patients suffer most as they and their families struggle to find continuity among lost records, shuffling caseworkers and miscommunication typical of the military health care system.
go here for the rest
http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A217249
26 MAR 2008 • by Juliana Hanson
Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars won't get proper health care until the U.S. government updates and simplifies the bureaucracy strangling benefits and outpatient care.
This is the conclusion of Donna Shalala, former secretary of the U.S. Department Health and Human Services during the Clinton administration. President George W. Bush commissioned Shalala, Bob Dole and several other experts to evaluate the care of wounded veterans after the Washington Post exposed dire conditions at Walter Reed Hospital: deteriorating, rat- and roach-infested housing for family members, neglectful staff, and a mind-numbing bureaucracy. Shalala spoke about their findings to an auditorium packed with students and military personnel Monday, March 10, at N.C. State University.
While deployed, U.S. soldiers have access to world-class health care. But as soon as they leave the hospital bed, Shalala said, "it falls apart ... in the coordination of outpatient care."
This new generation of veterans has different medical needs, yet the dated, convoluted veterans health care system fails many of them. More survivors are returning home with brain injuries and long-term mental health issues, conditions that tend to be more severe and complex. These patients suffer most as they and their families struggle to find continuity among lost records, shuffling caseworkers and miscommunication typical of the military health care system.
go here for the rest
http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A217249
Anthrax vaccine back in the court again
"For a lot of people, it's too late to go to court," he said. "This is a situation that cries out for congressional intervention."
Judge Advances Anthrax Vaccine Rufusal Case
Elaine M. Grossman
Government Executive
Mar 26, 2008
March 24, 2008 - Washington, DC -- A U.S. federal judge has ruled that the Defense Department must again consider exonerating two military pilots whose Connecticut Air National Guard careers ended after they refused to take compulsory anthrax vaccine shots.
The plaintiffs were among hundreds of service members compelled to leave the military after resisting the inoculations during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Many cited qualms about the vaccine's safety and efficacy in protecting against inhaled anthrax, the form of exposure that Pentagon officials anticipated in the event of a biological weapons attack.
The federal courts have since found that the military's mandatory vaccine program was being conducted illegally for more than six years, beginning with its March 1998 inception. Pending Food and Drug Administration approval for using the drug specifically against inhaled anthrax, the Defense Department could not administer the six-shot series without an individual's informed consent, a federal judge said in an October 2004 decision.
The following year, the drug agency issued its long-awaited approval. The question has remained, though, as to whether those service members who refused the vaccine during the previous six-year period might yet be vindicated.
go here for the rest
Making room for wounded warriors
We argue about why they are where they are. The question is, where are we when they come home?
There have been hundreds of reports on PTSD each and every month. I've read most of them. Within them I find glimmers of hope the government is finally getting it, people are moving past the stigma of it and the military brass is finally addressing it. Yet all these glimmers fade when I get emails or talk to veterans who have fallen through into the valley of despair.
Two nights ago, it was two phone calls from people about someone they love with PTSD. It was not a matter of them not wanting care, but a matter of them not being taken care of. Both are Vietnam Veterans. One other Vietnam veteran I've been helping has no place to go, very little income, unable to work because of PTSD and his claim has been tied up, so he is also getting very little psychiatric help. He is getting no human help from his community.
Reading an article like this makes me want to scream about the fact we, in polite society, are doing so little.
In these years, I've talked to members of the clergy and watch their eyes glaze over when trying to get them to understand their duty is to these veterans as members of the human race. They cannot understand the toll on the veteran, their family or the far reaching affects on the community in general. They simply don't want to take the time to understand.
Last year I presented the documentary When I Came Home at the church I worked for. The turnout was embarrassing. I had invited a past National Commander of the DAV and a representative of Orange County Veterans Services to attend to answer questions I would not be able to answer. Very few members of the church attended. The Pastors did not and most of the elders did not, yet when there was a different kind of function during the week, it drew large groups of people. People couldn't be bothered to attend even though the event was free and lunch was provided. Pretty sickening when you get right down to it.
It isn't that no one cares. I also met with a group of Chaplains training at a local hospital. They asked me to speak to them because they wanted to know more about PTSD so that they could pastor to the patients with better understanding. These Chaplains were committed to addressing the needs of everyone. They wanted to know the causes and the signs to watch for, not just for veterans but for the community fully understanding that PTSD comes from all kinds of trauma.
This is the same thing I've been trying to get through to people for years. With the VA overwhelmed with the demand for services as it is, they are not able to meet that demand. It will take years for the additional funding Congress finally allocated to increase the resources needed for long term care, but they have operated as if they have time to waste instead of taking care of the veterans today. There has to be room for the veterans in our own communities. There will not be unless we make room for them in our hearts.
We can point fingers all we want and say it's the Republican leaderships fault nothing was done to address this years ago, but we have a history of not providing for the veterans we send into combat. We didn't take care of Vietnam veterans even though we saw the need and now we are compounding this atrocity by pushing them aside to make room for the newest generation of combat veterans. The VA says there just isn't enough room for all of them to be taken care of.
Until there is, and we have to make sure the VA and the Congress move the damn mountains out of the way, we need to make sure the local clergy, service organizations founded to "take care of veterans" are all up to speed on the wounds they bring home. We cannot simply say that we have parades and build monuments for them while we do not do all humanly possible to actually take care of them. This isn't just the government's job to do. This is a job we all need to do.
I've been screaming about the fact so many can turn out for protests against the occupation of Iraq and in support of the occupation, but we cannot turn out in the thousands to address the fact that we are losing 120 veterans every week due to suicide, families are falling apart and wounded warriors are ending up homeless.
I am begging you again to call your pastor, minister, priest, rabbi or whatever to make sure they get involved and do something about addressing this. Time is being wasted while they want to only serve at the pulpit. Their duty is to humanity and they fail to acknowledge this. They speak of how the Holy people of God did this and that, tell you that you need to do the same but they are not.
While Chaplains are out in the communities to reach out to all of "God's children" there are not enough to go around. This demands the actions of everyone to really make a difference for the veterans today!
Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington
Among Vietnam vets with post-traumatic stress disorder who sought mental health care, less than a third went to the VA. Sixty-eight percent of those veterans got care elsewhere.
Conference at Fort Monroe touts medical resources for vets
By Kate Wiltrout
The Virginian-Pilot
© March 27, 2008
FORT MONROE
It took one sobering statistic to bring together 200 social service workers at a regional conference Wednesday.
Thirty-seven percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have sought medical care from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
So, where are the other 63 percent?
This is the question Harold Kudler, a physician and VA mental health services manager, asked the group at the Virginia is for Heroes regional conference.
Almost 800,000 veterans of tours in Iraq and Afghanistan are eligible for services through the VA, he said, and more than 40 percent of those who actually use those services – 120,949 – have reported possible mental health problems.
Kudler warned this “silent majority” of recent combat veterans may turn to other sources for help – churches, family doctors, community service boards – that need to be prepared to assist them.
This reality is what brought together local and state mental health providers, pastoral counselors and educators.
The VA is the federal agency dedicated to serving veterans, and it provides health care to 5.5 million vets – about one in five who are eligible. But the government already knows that young combat veterans might be suffering in silence, or self-medicating with alcohol and drugs. They might show up in jail or at a homeless shelter. Or their children might start getting into trouble at school.
“There should be no wrong door to which Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans or their families can come for help,” Kudler said .
go here for the rest
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/03/conference-fort-monroe-touts-medical-resources-vets
There have been hundreds of reports on PTSD each and every month. I've read most of them. Within them I find glimmers of hope the government is finally getting it, people are moving past the stigma of it and the military brass is finally addressing it. Yet all these glimmers fade when I get emails or talk to veterans who have fallen through into the valley of despair.
Two nights ago, it was two phone calls from people about someone they love with PTSD. It was not a matter of them not wanting care, but a matter of them not being taken care of. Both are Vietnam Veterans. One other Vietnam veteran I've been helping has no place to go, very little income, unable to work because of PTSD and his claim has been tied up, so he is also getting very little psychiatric help. He is getting no human help from his community.
Reading an article like this makes me want to scream about the fact we, in polite society, are doing so little.
In these years, I've talked to members of the clergy and watch their eyes glaze over when trying to get them to understand their duty is to these veterans as members of the human race. They cannot understand the toll on the veteran, their family or the far reaching affects on the community in general. They simply don't want to take the time to understand.
Last year I presented the documentary When I Came Home at the church I worked for. The turnout was embarrassing. I had invited a past National Commander of the DAV and a representative of Orange County Veterans Services to attend to answer questions I would not be able to answer. Very few members of the church attended. The Pastors did not and most of the elders did not, yet when there was a different kind of function during the week, it drew large groups of people. People couldn't be bothered to attend even though the event was free and lunch was provided. Pretty sickening when you get right down to it.
It isn't that no one cares. I also met with a group of Chaplains training at a local hospital. They asked me to speak to them because they wanted to know more about PTSD so that they could pastor to the patients with better understanding. These Chaplains were committed to addressing the needs of everyone. They wanted to know the causes and the signs to watch for, not just for veterans but for the community fully understanding that PTSD comes from all kinds of trauma.
Kudler warned this “silent majority” of recent combat veterans may turn to other sources for help – churches, family doctors, community service boards – that need to be prepared to assist them.
This is the same thing I've been trying to get through to people for years. With the VA overwhelmed with the demand for services as it is, they are not able to meet that demand. It will take years for the additional funding Congress finally allocated to increase the resources needed for long term care, but they have operated as if they have time to waste instead of taking care of the veterans today. There has to be room for the veterans in our own communities. There will not be unless we make room for them in our hearts.
We can point fingers all we want and say it's the Republican leaderships fault nothing was done to address this years ago, but we have a history of not providing for the veterans we send into combat. We didn't take care of Vietnam veterans even though we saw the need and now we are compounding this atrocity by pushing them aside to make room for the newest generation of combat veterans. The VA says there just isn't enough room for all of them to be taken care of.
Until there is, and we have to make sure the VA and the Congress move the damn mountains out of the way, we need to make sure the local clergy, service organizations founded to "take care of veterans" are all up to speed on the wounds they bring home. We cannot simply say that we have parades and build monuments for them while we do not do all humanly possible to actually take care of them. This isn't just the government's job to do. This is a job we all need to do.
I've been screaming about the fact so many can turn out for protests against the occupation of Iraq and in support of the occupation, but we cannot turn out in the thousands to address the fact that we are losing 120 veterans every week due to suicide, families are falling apart and wounded warriors are ending up homeless.
I am begging you again to call your pastor, minister, priest, rabbi or whatever to make sure they get involved and do something about addressing this. Time is being wasted while they want to only serve at the pulpit. Their duty is to humanity and they fail to acknowledge this. They speak of how the Holy people of God did this and that, tell you that you need to do the same but they are not.
While Chaplains are out in the communities to reach out to all of "God's children" there are not enough to go around. This demands the actions of everyone to really make a difference for the veterans today!
Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
PTSD Marine, 22 years old, 3 tours accused of murder
Suspect in Saginaw slaying served 3 Iraq tours
By DEANNA BOYD
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
SAGINAW -- A 22-year-old Marine who served three tours of duty in Iraq faces a charge of capital murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of a former live-in girlfriend.
Family members say Eric Acevedo has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Saginaw police believe that Acevedo broke into Mollieann Worden's townhouse in the 300 block of Cambridge Drive through a front window early Saturday. Worden and a neighbor both called 911 but when officers arrived, they found that the 32-year-old woman had been stabbed multiple times with a kitchen knife, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:30 a.m.
Officers saw Acevedo in the parking lot and arrested him. Neighbors say the man was covered in blood and looked dazed.
Andres Acevedo, Eric Acevedo's father, said his son has not been the same since returning from Iraq and would never have harmed anyone if he had been in his right mind.
"I gave him to the government nice and healthy, and the government returned somebody who is capable of doing something like that," Andres Acevedo said.
Eric Acevedo remained in the Saginaw Jail on Monday with bail set at $1 million.
Worden's 10-year-old daughter was spending the night at a friend's house when the attack occurred, police said. The girl is staying with relatives, said officer Kimberly Allison, a Saginaw police spokeswoman.
Attempts Monday to reach relatives of Worden were unsuccessful.
Young recruit
Acevedo joined the Marines just nine days after graduating from Joshua High School.
"He'd always been wanting to join the armed services. I wanted to do that myself but my parents didn't allow me. I wasn't about to tell him he couldn't," Andres Acevedo said.
Master Sgt. Ronald Spencer with the Marine Corps Mobilization Command in Kansas City said records show that Acevedo enlisted in the Marines in June 2003 and ended his active service in June 2007. He then joined the inactive ready reserves, where he was to serve until June 2010, Spencer said.
Andres Acevedo said his son served in Iraq three times over a four-year span, but emerged a very different man.
"I was very proud of him. He served well over there. He never complained," Acevedo said. "But when he did this last tour, he was feeling kind of like he didn't really want to go because of the nightmares and stuff he had had from the second time. My wife tried to stop it over medical issues. They still sent him off."
Since his return last May from the third tour in May, Eric Acevedo had gotten only worse, Andres Acevedo said.
"He was nothing but a good kid. He never caused any problems," said Alicia Rodriguez, Acevedo's aunt. "He was a good son to my brother. I know he was a good soldier. I just don't know what happened. When he went in, he was so proud. When he came out, he had so many problems. I don't know what happened to him."
About six months ago, Acevedo went to see a military doctor and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, Andres Acevedo said. He was placed on medication that seemed to calm him down, but not completely, Andres Acevedo said.
go here for the rest
http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/546116.html
Last night I had two phone calls from people involved with veterans who became frightening. Sometimes this happens. It is not always, they need help are not a danger to anyone. There are times when they are not only a danger to themselves, but to others as well. While we tend to want to help them and do whatever it takes to do it, we need to be careful. If they become extremely angry, violent, threatening, abusive, you need to removed yourself from them. Most of the time it is just talk out of anger. That's most of the time but no one should take a chance. Staying there, confronting a combat vet with PTSD bouncing off the wall will only escalate tension and complicate the situation. Wisest thing is to remove yourself from harm first. Then, while it is the hardest thing to do, you need to consider getting the professionals involved. Get to a safe place and call their doctor. If that is not possible then call the police. As for the Sergeant on duty and explain what is going on making sure they know it is a combat veteran, that they have PTSD if they have been diagnosed, if they have a gun in the house or not and exactly what the police will be dealing with. There have been too many innocent victims in all of this.
We cannot place all the blame on the veteran because they did not ask for this and the government is still not prepared to take care of all of them. We do need to help them but we also need to know what we are dealing with. Many times medications need to be adjusted and that's all it takes but in emergency situations, you cannot stand there and wonder what to do.
Often we need to take a tough love approach. There are times when they have to be forced into getting the help they need. Failing to do so will endanger your life and the lives of others as well as the veteran you are trying to protect.
Don't get me wrong here. The violent ones are rare. The greatest percentage of them are a danger to themselves only. If they are a danger to themselves or others, you need to report this. You know them and what they are like. You will be the first to know when they no longer seem like the same person. Get them evaluated as soon as possible but above all, make sure you are safe.
By DEANNA BOYD
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
SAGINAW -- A 22-year-old Marine who served three tours of duty in Iraq faces a charge of capital murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of a former live-in girlfriend.
Family members say Eric Acevedo has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Saginaw police believe that Acevedo broke into Mollieann Worden's townhouse in the 300 block of Cambridge Drive through a front window early Saturday. Worden and a neighbor both called 911 but when officers arrived, they found that the 32-year-old woman had been stabbed multiple times with a kitchen knife, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:30 a.m.
Officers saw Acevedo in the parking lot and arrested him. Neighbors say the man was covered in blood and looked dazed.
Andres Acevedo, Eric Acevedo's father, said his son has not been the same since returning from Iraq and would never have harmed anyone if he had been in his right mind.
"I gave him to the government nice and healthy, and the government returned somebody who is capable of doing something like that," Andres Acevedo said.
Eric Acevedo remained in the Saginaw Jail on Monday with bail set at $1 million.
Worden's 10-year-old daughter was spending the night at a friend's house when the attack occurred, police said. The girl is staying with relatives, said officer Kimberly Allison, a Saginaw police spokeswoman.
Attempts Monday to reach relatives of Worden were unsuccessful.
Young recruit
Acevedo joined the Marines just nine days after graduating from Joshua High School.
"He'd always been wanting to join the armed services. I wanted to do that myself but my parents didn't allow me. I wasn't about to tell him he couldn't," Andres Acevedo said.
Master Sgt. Ronald Spencer with the Marine Corps Mobilization Command in Kansas City said records show that Acevedo enlisted in the Marines in June 2003 and ended his active service in June 2007. He then joined the inactive ready reserves, where he was to serve until June 2010, Spencer said.
Andres Acevedo said his son served in Iraq three times over a four-year span, but emerged a very different man.
"I was very proud of him. He served well over there. He never complained," Acevedo said. "But when he did this last tour, he was feeling kind of like he didn't really want to go because of the nightmares and stuff he had had from the second time. My wife tried to stop it over medical issues. They still sent him off."
Since his return last May from the third tour in May, Eric Acevedo had gotten only worse, Andres Acevedo said.
"He was nothing but a good kid. He never caused any problems," said Alicia Rodriguez, Acevedo's aunt. "He was a good son to my brother. I know he was a good soldier. I just don't know what happened. When he went in, he was so proud. When he came out, he had so many problems. I don't know what happened to him."
About six months ago, Acevedo went to see a military doctor and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, Andres Acevedo said. He was placed on medication that seemed to calm him down, but not completely, Andres Acevedo said.
go here for the rest
http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/546116.html
Last night I had two phone calls from people involved with veterans who became frightening. Sometimes this happens. It is not always, they need help are not a danger to anyone. There are times when they are not only a danger to themselves, but to others as well. While we tend to want to help them and do whatever it takes to do it, we need to be careful. If they become extremely angry, violent, threatening, abusive, you need to removed yourself from them. Most of the time it is just talk out of anger. That's most of the time but no one should take a chance. Staying there, confronting a combat vet with PTSD bouncing off the wall will only escalate tension and complicate the situation. Wisest thing is to remove yourself from harm first. Then, while it is the hardest thing to do, you need to consider getting the professionals involved. Get to a safe place and call their doctor. If that is not possible then call the police. As for the Sergeant on duty and explain what is going on making sure they know it is a combat veteran, that they have PTSD if they have been diagnosed, if they have a gun in the house or not and exactly what the police will be dealing with. There have been too many innocent victims in all of this.
We cannot place all the blame on the veteran because they did not ask for this and the government is still not prepared to take care of all of them. We do need to help them but we also need to know what we are dealing with. Many times medications need to be adjusted and that's all it takes but in emergency situations, you cannot stand there and wonder what to do.
Often we need to take a tough love approach. There are times when they have to be forced into getting the help they need. Failing to do so will endanger your life and the lives of others as well as the veteran you are trying to protect.
Don't get me wrong here. The violent ones are rare. The greatest percentage of them are a danger to themselves only. If they are a danger to themselves or others, you need to report this. You know them and what they are like. You will be the first to know when they no longer seem like the same person. Get them evaluated as soon as possible but above all, make sure you are safe.
German study, scared to death does happen
Blood-curdling fear linked to heart attack
Published: March 26, 2008 at 10:17 AM
BONN, Germany, March 26 (UPI) -- Scientists in Bonn, Germany, found the saying, "The fear made my blood curdle," may literally be true.
The researchers examined the coagulation in patients with anxiety disorders and compared them to those without such disorders and found intense fear and panic attacks increase blood clotting and may increase the risk of thrombosis or heart attack.
Franziska Geiser of the Clinic and Policlinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy and Ursula Harbrecht of the Institute of Experimental Haematology and Transfusion Medicine matched 31 patients with anxiety disorders to corresponding healthy patients based on age and gender. The blood analysis, which measured various coagulation factors, produced a clear result, the researchers said.
click post title for the rest
Right away the first thing I thought of was the recent reports out about PTSD veterans and the rise in heart problems with them. Ever hear of this many 20 year olds having heart attacks? There are a lot of non-combat deaths that are signed off as "natural causes" that could be linked to something much more. They were scared to death.
Published: March 26, 2008 at 10:17 AM
BONN, Germany, March 26 (UPI) -- Scientists in Bonn, Germany, found the saying, "The fear made my blood curdle," may literally be true.
The researchers examined the coagulation in patients with anxiety disorders and compared them to those without such disorders and found intense fear and panic attacks increase blood clotting and may increase the risk of thrombosis or heart attack.
Franziska Geiser of the Clinic and Policlinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy and Ursula Harbrecht of the Institute of Experimental Haematology and Transfusion Medicine matched 31 patients with anxiety disorders to corresponding healthy patients based on age and gender. The blood analysis, which measured various coagulation factors, produced a clear result, the researchers said.
click post title for the rest
Right away the first thing I thought of was the recent reports out about PTSD veterans and the rise in heart problems with them. Ever hear of this many 20 year olds having heart attacks? There are a lot of non-combat deaths that are signed off as "natural causes" that could be linked to something much more. They were scared to death.
Brain study in depression shows reward painful
Depressed brain shows conflict with reward
Published: March 26, 2008 at 7:52 PM
STANFORD, Calif., March 26 (UPI) -- Some forms of depression may be experienced not as the absence of pleasure but as the presence of emotional pain or disappointment, U.S. researchers said.
Researchers at Stanford University in California recruited both depressed and non-depressed volunteers to undergo brain scans, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, while they participated in an activity in which they won and lost money.
First author Dr. Brian Knutson said when study participants anticipated winning money, both depressed and non-depressed people showed neural activation in the nucleus accumbens, a region implicated in the anticipation of reward.
click post title for the rest
Published: March 26, 2008 at 7:52 PM
STANFORD, Calif., March 26 (UPI) -- Some forms of depression may be experienced not as the absence of pleasure but as the presence of emotional pain or disappointment, U.S. researchers said.
Researchers at Stanford University in California recruited both depressed and non-depressed volunteers to undergo brain scans, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, while they participated in an activity in which they won and lost money.
First author Dr. Brian Knutson said when study participants anticipated winning money, both depressed and non-depressed people showed neural activation in the nucleus accumbens, a region implicated in the anticipation of reward.
click post title for the rest
When wounded in service is not good enough.
Miss. vets arrested over Purple Heart claims
By Nicklaus Lovelady - The Clarion Star-Ledger
Posted : Wednesday Mar 26, 2008 16:28:06 EDT
Federal investigators on Tuesday arrested two Mississippi men who allegedly falsely represented themselves as Purple Heart recipients in order to obtain free vehicle license plates.
John Wayne Lebo, 57, of Tylertown and Christopher Billeaud, 52, of Biloxi are suspected of altering their “official military discharge papers to reflect awards and medals (they) did not receive,” according records filed in federal court.
In doing so, both obtained the Mississippi Purple Heart vehicle license plate, which never expires and is given to Purple Heart recipients at no cost, U.S. Attorney Ruth Morgan said.
Purple Heart medals are given to war veterans wounded in combat by an enemy attack and are posthumously given to family members of those killed in battle by an enemy.
The arrests followed separate investigations by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
John Weber III, the attorney for Lebo, was unavailable for comment.
Kathleen Billeaud, the wife of Christopher Billeaud, an Air Force Veteran of Desert Storm, the first Iraq war, said the U.S. government is making a big mistake.
“My husband did not falsify anything. Sandbags collapsed on his neck during a scud [missile] attack, and his neck was broken. I have the documentation right in front of me to prove it,” she said.
According to court papers, officers with the Air Force Office of Investigations went to the Billeaud home in April 2007, after they say they discovered that Christopher Billeaud said he was a chief master sergeant, although he retired as a master sergeant.
One of the officers noticed that a vehicle parked at his home had a Purple Heart license plate. During the interview, the officer asked Billeaud if he received a Purple Heart, and he told the officer no, court records show.
Kathleen Billeaud said her husband has been recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the head of Keesler Air Force Base hospital as receiving a Purple Heart, but not by the Air Force.
She said the Air Force recognizes his disability but said there was some discrepancy on how he was injured.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/airforce_billeaud_purpleheart_032608w/
I was angry when I saw this headline but I was even more angry when I read the story. When is a wound less worthy when it happened in service? I still think they should give PTSD veterans at least an award like the Purple Heart because had they not been deployed, they wouldn't have been wounded either.
By Nicklaus Lovelady - The Clarion Star-Ledger
Posted : Wednesday Mar 26, 2008 16:28:06 EDT
Federal investigators on Tuesday arrested two Mississippi men who allegedly falsely represented themselves as Purple Heart recipients in order to obtain free vehicle license plates.
John Wayne Lebo, 57, of Tylertown and Christopher Billeaud, 52, of Biloxi are suspected of altering their “official military discharge papers to reflect awards and medals (they) did not receive,” according records filed in federal court.
In doing so, both obtained the Mississippi Purple Heart vehicle license plate, which never expires and is given to Purple Heart recipients at no cost, U.S. Attorney Ruth Morgan said.
Purple Heart medals are given to war veterans wounded in combat by an enemy attack and are posthumously given to family members of those killed in battle by an enemy.
The arrests followed separate investigations by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
John Weber III, the attorney for Lebo, was unavailable for comment.
Kathleen Billeaud, the wife of Christopher Billeaud, an Air Force Veteran of Desert Storm, the first Iraq war, said the U.S. government is making a big mistake.
“My husband did not falsify anything. Sandbags collapsed on his neck during a scud [missile] attack, and his neck was broken. I have the documentation right in front of me to prove it,” she said.
According to court papers, officers with the Air Force Office of Investigations went to the Billeaud home in April 2007, after they say they discovered that Christopher Billeaud said he was a chief master sergeant, although he retired as a master sergeant.
One of the officers noticed that a vehicle parked at his home had a Purple Heart license plate. During the interview, the officer asked Billeaud if he received a Purple Heart, and he told the officer no, court records show.
Kathleen Billeaud said her husband has been recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the head of Keesler Air Force Base hospital as receiving a Purple Heart, but not by the Air Force.
She said the Air Force recognizes his disability but said there was some discrepancy on how he was injured.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/airforce_billeaud_purpleheart_032608w/
I was angry when I saw this headline but I was even more angry when I read the story. When is a wound less worthy when it happened in service? I still think they should give PTSD veterans at least an award like the Purple Heart because had they not been deployed, they wouldn't have been wounded either.
Soldier's widow charged as 2 year old found alone
Mother of tot found wandering is Iraq widow
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Mar 26, 2008 13:09:03 EDT
BELLEVILLE, Ill. — A Belleville woman charged with letting her 2-year-old son wander alone in 40-degree weather wearing only a diaper is the widow of a man killed while serving in Iraq.
Thelma Straughter’s husband, Missouri National Guard Specialist Matthew Straughter, died Jan. 31 when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his vehicle in Iraq, a day before his 28th birthday.
St. Clair County prosecutors charged 28-year-old Thelma Straughter with misdemeanor child endangerment on Monday after a motorist found her toddler walking down a street.
The child had scratches on his feet but was otherwise uninjured.
The boy and his two siblings are staying with grandparents.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_widow_wanderingtoddler_032608/
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Mar 26, 2008 13:09:03 EDT
BELLEVILLE, Ill. — A Belleville woman charged with letting her 2-year-old son wander alone in 40-degree weather wearing only a diaper is the widow of a man killed while serving in Iraq.
Thelma Straughter’s husband, Missouri National Guard Specialist Matthew Straughter, died Jan. 31 when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his vehicle in Iraq, a day before his 28th birthday.
St. Clair County prosecutors charged 28-year-old Thelma Straughter with misdemeanor child endangerment on Monday after a motorist found her toddler walking down a street.
The child had scratches on his feet but was otherwise uninjured.
The boy and his two siblings are staying with grandparents.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_widow_wanderingtoddler_032608/
Cartoonist Garry Trudeau getting award for veterans advocacy
Posted online: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at 2:40:32 PM
Cartoonist to Be Awarded for His Portrayal About War-Related Mental Health
Cartoonist Garry Trudeau will receive the annual Mental Health Research Advocacy Award from Yale School of Medicine April 5 for his outstanding portrayal of the readjustment issues faced by soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Trudeau, a Yale College graduate and creator of the popular comic strip “Doonesbury,” will be honored at the Department of Psychiatry’s Neuroscience 2008 symposium, “Stress, Resilience and Recovery.”
The symposium will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Harkness Auditorium, Sterling Hall of Medicine, 333 Cedar St.
“The Mental Health Research Advocacy Award is given annually by the Department of Psychiatry to someone who has made an important contribution to the effort to advance research designed to improve the lives of people with mental illness,” said John Krystal, M.D., professor of clinical pharmacology and deputy chair for research in psychiatry.
click post title for the rest
Cartoonist to Be Awarded for His Portrayal About War-Related Mental Health
Cartoonist Garry Trudeau will receive the annual Mental Health Research Advocacy Award from Yale School of Medicine April 5 for his outstanding portrayal of the readjustment issues faced by soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Trudeau, a Yale College graduate and creator of the popular comic strip “Doonesbury,” will be honored at the Department of Psychiatry’s Neuroscience 2008 symposium, “Stress, Resilience and Recovery.”
The symposium will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Harkness Auditorium, Sterling Hall of Medicine, 333 Cedar St.
“The Mental Health Research Advocacy Award is given annually by the Department of Psychiatry to someone who has made an important contribution to the effort to advance research designed to improve the lives of people with mental illness,” said John Krystal, M.D., professor of clinical pharmacology and deputy chair for research in psychiatry.
click post title for the rest
More Soldiers Returning From Iraq With PTSD
More Soldiers Returning From Iraq With PTSD
Up To 20 Percent Of Iraq Veterans Have PTSD
By Angela Bettis, Staff Writer
UPDATED: 11:48 am CDT March 26, 2008
MADISON, Wis. -- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports that as many as 20 percent of veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom are also returning home with post-traumatic stress disorder.
VIDEO: Watch The Report
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jeff Ethington returned home to Madison two days before Christmas after serving two back-to-back tours in Iraq. He's humble, but proud of what his unit accomplished.
"During the time that I was there we opened maybe four hospitals, six schools, and built all these parks all with the help of the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division," said Ethington.
Ethington's unit also trained Iraqi National Police and renovated one of the most dangerous boulevards in Baghdad, WISC-TV reported.
"It used to be known as Purple Heart Boulevard," said Ethington. "You'd get out of your truck and get shot at, you'd get out of your truck and someone would throw a grenade at you."
Ethington said he didn't dwell on the fact that he was in constant mortal danger.
"It was always in the back of my mind," he said.
In the back of his mind for the 29 months he served in Iraq.
After returning home in late December, Ethington re-enrolled in classes at the University of Wisconsin, eager to get back to his degree, back to his friends, back to his life.
"Between my first and second deployment, my brother said I didn't seem the same," said Ethington. "It seemed like I wasn't transitioning well. I thought about getting help then and then I got deployed again."
This time, when he re-entered campus, Ethington himself noticed the change.
"One specific day when school was starting, the crowds are bigger, you're always in the crowds, and you're in class. I just started to feel shaky and panicky, like really, really uncomfortable," he said.
Ethington was experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"PTSD looks the same whether you're someone who was tortured in Africa, or if you're a woman who's been raped, or you're a combat veteran," said Veterans Hospital psychologist Dr. Tracey Smith. "It's the body and mind's way to make sense of these terrible events."
go here for the rest
http://www.channel3000.com/news/15708296/detail.html
Up To 20 Percent Of Iraq Veterans Have PTSD
By Angela Bettis, Staff Writer
UPDATED: 11:48 am CDT March 26, 2008
MADISON, Wis. -- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports that as many as 20 percent of veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom are also returning home with post-traumatic stress disorder.
VIDEO: Watch The Report
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jeff Ethington returned home to Madison two days before Christmas after serving two back-to-back tours in Iraq. He's humble, but proud of what his unit accomplished.
"During the time that I was there we opened maybe four hospitals, six schools, and built all these parks all with the help of the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Division," said Ethington.
Ethington's unit also trained Iraqi National Police and renovated one of the most dangerous boulevards in Baghdad, WISC-TV reported.
"It used to be known as Purple Heart Boulevard," said Ethington. "You'd get out of your truck and get shot at, you'd get out of your truck and someone would throw a grenade at you."
Ethington said he didn't dwell on the fact that he was in constant mortal danger.
"It was always in the back of my mind," he said.
In the back of his mind for the 29 months he served in Iraq.
After returning home in late December, Ethington re-enrolled in classes at the University of Wisconsin, eager to get back to his degree, back to his friends, back to his life.
"Between my first and second deployment, my brother said I didn't seem the same," said Ethington. "It seemed like I wasn't transitioning well. I thought about getting help then and then I got deployed again."
This time, when he re-entered campus, Ethington himself noticed the change.
"One specific day when school was starting, the crowds are bigger, you're always in the crowds, and you're in class. I just started to feel shaky and panicky, like really, really uncomfortable," he said.
Ethington was experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"PTSD looks the same whether you're someone who was tortured in Africa, or if you're a woman who's been raped, or you're a combat veteran," said Veterans Hospital psychologist Dr. Tracey Smith. "It's the body and mind's way to make sense of these terrible events."
go here for the rest
http://www.channel3000.com/news/15708296/detail.html
Female Veterans Find Help With Emotional Wounds
Female Veterans Find Help With Emotional Wounds at Batavia Facility
Lou Michel
The Buffalo News
Mar 25, 2008
March 24, 2008 - After the improvised explosive and rifle attacks from the enemy, and after the sexual assaults and harassment from their own comrades, some female veterans find their way to the red brick house in Batavia to heal.
As if the horrors of war were not enough, women in uniform have been under assault for years in a culture that has failed to vanquish sexual attacks and harassment against them. Just last week, the Pentagon released figures indicating that one-third of military women are sexually harassed and many others sexually assaulted.
So the need for the red brick house at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Batavia is well documented.
It is home to a post-traumatic stress program exclusively for female veterans and is one of only four such facilities in the country.
Up to six women can be accommodated at the home, and when discharged, they are expected to continue with rigorous outpatient services. Healing does not come overnight.
“It’s very new for the VA and for the world,” said Dr. Terri F. Julian, manager of the VA’s post-traumatic stress program in Batavia.
Many of the female veterans who enter this cozy two-story house with its “Welcome Home” sign had been attacked by men — and sometimes women — who wore the same uniform and swore the same oath to defend the United States as they did.
go here for the rest
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9668
Lou Michel
The Buffalo News
Mar 25, 2008
March 24, 2008 - After the improvised explosive and rifle attacks from the enemy, and after the sexual assaults and harassment from their own comrades, some female veterans find their way to the red brick house in Batavia to heal.
As if the horrors of war were not enough, women in uniform have been under assault for years in a culture that has failed to vanquish sexual attacks and harassment against them. Just last week, the Pentagon released figures indicating that one-third of military women are sexually harassed and many others sexually assaulted.
So the need for the red brick house at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Batavia is well documented.
It is home to a post-traumatic stress program exclusively for female veterans and is one of only four such facilities in the country.
Up to six women can be accommodated at the home, and when discharged, they are expected to continue with rigorous outpatient services. Healing does not come overnight.
“It’s very new for the VA and for the world,” said Dr. Terri F. Julian, manager of the VA’s post-traumatic stress program in Batavia.
Many of the female veterans who enter this cozy two-story house with its “Welcome Home” sign had been attacked by men — and sometimes women — who wore the same uniform and swore the same oath to defend the United States as they did.
go here for the rest
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9668
VA Chaplain Grapples with the Toll of War
VA Chaplain Grapples with the Toll of War
by Thomas Phillips
Listen Now [2 min 34 sec] add to playlist
Morning Edition, March 25, 2008 · It is being reported that the Iraq war has claimed at least 4,000 American lives. Commentator Thomas Phillips knows firsthand about this number.
Phillips is a Veterans Affairs chaplain who receives computer notification whenever a member of the American armed forces is killed. He wishes for the day when notifications naming the dead will stop appearing on his computer screen.
Iraq
Iraq War Enters Sixth Year with Wave of Violence
Listen Now [4 min 33 sec] add to playlist
Chart military and civilian deaths in Iraq.
In Depth
Read, hear correspondent Anne Garrels' personal observations from five years of covering the Iraq war.
All Things Considered, March 24, 2008 · The war's sixth year begins in Baghdad with rockets falling into the U.S.-protected Green Zone over the weekend, while the overall U.S. military death toll tops 4,000 after a roadside bombing claims more American lives.
Army Maj. Gen. Bob Scales (Ret.) tells Robert Siegel that the enemy in Iraq has evolved, even as U.S. forces have improved their defenses against irregular attackers operating anonymously in small units and employing suicide and roadside bombs.
He says they have built larger bombs, and found more clever ways of hiding explosives and detonating the devices.
As well, Iraqi insurgents often are launching their attacks from densely populated regions, "so even though the point of launch can be determined with great precision, the ability to shoot back is limited," Scales says.
"You simply can't load up artillery guns and throw rounds into a crowded neighborhood. So the enemy has time — while the U.S. forces are clearing the area, putting together a patrol, launching helicopters — to simply fade away into buildings and hide away in alleys."
But Scales says this does not mean that the Iraqis who live in these neighborhoods support or are intimidated into cooperating by the insurgents. He says the hit-and-run attackers usually drive in from miles away and are gone before the populous even knows they are there.
Ultimately, Scales says it is very difficult to respond to suicide bombers, in particular.
"There is so little you can do when you're facing an enemy who is enthusiastic about death. … They want to create an impression among the Iraqis and Arabs in the region that U.S. efforts to build this period of tranquility [are] interrupted by these periodic spikes. And so the more dramatic they can make it, the more deaths that they can cause, that really plays to their ends," Scales says.
Related NPR Stories
March 24, 2008Living in a Wartorn Land, an Iraqi's Perspective
March 24, 2008U.S. War Dead in Iraq Honored
March 24, 20084,000 American Lives Lost in Iraq, AP Reports
Related NPR Stories
Jan. 6, 2008Chaplain Struggles with PTSD from Time in Iraq
Nov. 21, 2007Chaplains Struggle to Protect Monastery in Iraq
Nov. 14, 2007From Chicago to Anbar: A Chaplain's View of War
May 26, 2006Spiritual Soldier: A Chaplain's Life in War
by Thomas Phillips
Listen Now [2 min 34 sec] add to playlist
Morning Edition, March 25, 2008 · It is being reported that the Iraq war has claimed at least 4,000 American lives. Commentator Thomas Phillips knows firsthand about this number.
Phillips is a Veterans Affairs chaplain who receives computer notification whenever a member of the American armed forces is killed. He wishes for the day when notifications naming the dead will stop appearing on his computer screen.
Iraq
Iraq War Enters Sixth Year with Wave of Violence
Listen Now [4 min 33 sec] add to playlist
Chart military and civilian deaths in Iraq.
In Depth
Read, hear correspondent Anne Garrels' personal observations from five years of covering the Iraq war.
All Things Considered, March 24, 2008 · The war's sixth year begins in Baghdad with rockets falling into the U.S.-protected Green Zone over the weekend, while the overall U.S. military death toll tops 4,000 after a roadside bombing claims more American lives.
Army Maj. Gen. Bob Scales (Ret.) tells Robert Siegel that the enemy in Iraq has evolved, even as U.S. forces have improved their defenses against irregular attackers operating anonymously in small units and employing suicide and roadside bombs.
He says they have built larger bombs, and found more clever ways of hiding explosives and detonating the devices.
As well, Iraqi insurgents often are launching their attacks from densely populated regions, "so even though the point of launch can be determined with great precision, the ability to shoot back is limited," Scales says.
"You simply can't load up artillery guns and throw rounds into a crowded neighborhood. So the enemy has time — while the U.S. forces are clearing the area, putting together a patrol, launching helicopters — to simply fade away into buildings and hide away in alleys."
But Scales says this does not mean that the Iraqis who live in these neighborhoods support or are intimidated into cooperating by the insurgents. He says the hit-and-run attackers usually drive in from miles away and are gone before the populous even knows they are there.
Ultimately, Scales says it is very difficult to respond to suicide bombers, in particular.
"There is so little you can do when you're facing an enemy who is enthusiastic about death. … They want to create an impression among the Iraqis and Arabs in the region that U.S. efforts to build this period of tranquility [are] interrupted by these periodic spikes. And so the more dramatic they can make it, the more deaths that they can cause, that really plays to their ends," Scales says.
Related NPR Stories
March 24, 2008Living in a Wartorn Land, an Iraqi's Perspective
March 24, 2008U.S. War Dead in Iraq Honored
March 24, 20084,000 American Lives Lost in Iraq, AP Reports
Related NPR Stories
Jan. 6, 2008Chaplain Struggles with PTSD from Time in Iraq
Nov. 21, 2007Chaplains Struggle to Protect Monastery in Iraq
Nov. 14, 2007From Chicago to Anbar: A Chaplain's View of War
May 26, 2006Spiritual Soldier: A Chaplain's Life in War
More female casualties now than with Korea and Vietnam combined
Photo courtesy of Scott Antoinette Scott at home with her husband and
one of her daughters.
Female Iraq veterans face struggles at home
By NATHALIE LAVILLE
Observer Contributor
March 26, 2008
Sgt. Antoinette V. Scott was born in 1970 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. When she enlisted in the U.S. Army, she didn’t know she would be back at Walter Reed 33 years later, with a brain injury, a hole in the cheek and a broken jaw.
Scott, 37, was injured on Nov. 14, 2003, after being deployed in Iraq for eight months. While driving a five-ton truck in a convoy, Scott suddenly lost control of the vehicle and thought it may be because she ran over a piece of glass or metal.
“I didn’t realize immediately that my vehicle along with myself had been struck by the explosive,” she said.
Time moved quickly after that. Scott said she immediately regained control of the vehicle, and brought the truck to a stop.
“I was kind of dazed so, my assistant driver was like, you know we need to move… we have just been hit, and I am just sitting here and thinking – did this really happen? - not realizing that I have a big hole in my face, I was bleeding profusely and my jaw was broken,” Sgt. Scott said.
She managed to transport the soldiers to their destination before getting medical attention. She was then flown from the Troop Medical Center to Baghdad and ended up in Walter Reed for a 50-stage reconstructive facial surgery.
Equal rights, equal risk
Scott is just one example of the many women in the military who face the same risks as men in the battle ground. In Iraq, almost any military position can be a target and the enemy is not clear. There is no way to hide from roadside and car bombs or from mortars.
Captain Kristin Dabbieri, 30, served as an Army medic in Iraq for one year and said that the Iraq War is different from previous ones in that women are more involved.
“[People] are saying we can’t be in combat roles; we are in combat service support roles. However we are involved in convoy operations, some of our medics are on the front line,” she said.
“So when they say combat, what is considered combat? They need to define a little bit that word, because as much as we were considered combat service, I felt like we were involved in like combat.”
There are currently 95 female U.S. soldiers who have been killed while serving in Iraq and nearly 500 have been wounded. There have already been more female casualties than in the Korean, Vietnam and the first Gulf War combined.
One reason for the larger number of female casualties is that women also make up more of the army. Currently, 15 percent of the military is female; almost double the rate from 25 years ago. Additionally, women make up 20 percent of new military recruits.
Women are now actively engaged in fighting in a way that American women have never been before, said Lory Manning, director of Women in the Military Project of the Women’s Research and Education Institute.
“So there are many of them who have bad wounds, more of them have been killed in combat operations, and they face the same kind of problems as men could with things like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” Manning said.
“I didn’t know I was going through PTSD”
go here for the rest
http://americanobserver.net/2008/03/26/women-vets/
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