Many other Veterans suffered the same fate of homelessness

Helping Homeless Vets

Barre, Vermont - March 28, 2008

Under bridges, behind dumpsters, in dark alleys, in cars; they are common places Vermont's homeless veterans sleep when shelters are full.

Richard Schroeder knows. He's been there. The former Vietnam medic-- who earned the nickname "Doc"-- spent six years homeless.

"I've eaten out of dumpsters before. That's where I ate," says Doc. "When I talk to a vet who is struggling, I know where he's coming from. I been there and done that."

Doc suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after what he saw during combat. His marriage fell apart and he became an alcoholic.

Many other Veterans suffered the same fate.

One central Vermont group is working to get homeless vets off the streets and back into society.

"We can provide a transition back into stability so they don't have to wander around," explains Rev. Ralph Howe of the Hedding United Methodist Church.

go here for the rest
http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=8085279&nav=menu183_15_1_4

Bay Area Iraq War Vets Face Possible Blindness

Bay Area Iraq War Vets Face Possible Blindness

KNTV-TV
updated 9:16 a.m. ET, Thurs., March. 27, 2008
Soldiers coming back from the war in Iraq are being treated for many combat-related injuries. But doctors at the VA Hospital in Palo Alto found something they haven't seen before. NBC11's Damian Trujillo investigates why soldiers, with no obvious signs of trauma, are at risk of going blind. It's hard for Army Specialist Jason Kvasnak to remember every single explosion he survived in Iraq.

"We were in several IED (improvised explosive device) blasts throughout the tour," Kvasnak said.

But Kvasnak remember the one that left him with the injuries no one saw coming.


"It was just massive concussive force and it thrust you forward, or whatever. I just felt really dazed afterwards and ringing in the ears and I couldn't really see straight," Kvasnak said.

Kvasnak hasn't been able to see straight since that blast. He sees double, has sensitivity to light and the headaches he gets from trying to read or watch TV are so bad that he sometimes passes out.

Doctors at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Palo Alto are seeing more and more troops returning from Iraq with vision problems from exposure to roadside bombs.

"In this war, blast injuries have become the signature injuries. These can cause damage to the eye. They can also cause damage to the visual system and the visual processing centers in the brain," VA research psychologist Gregory Goodrich said.

Many soldiers don't even realize something's wrong with them. They're returning home with only half their visual field, not knowing that they're missing their entire left field of perception.

Without treatment, blast injuries like Kvasnak's can lead to long-term problems, even blindness

"The things that we're finding are damage to the soft tissue in the eye that can lead to glaucoma at any time in their life. There is a life-long risk, and bear in mind that these people are very young. In general, the median age so far is 28 years old some are as young as 19 when they are injured so that is a long lifetime," VA ophthalmologist Glenn Cockerham said.

The traumatic injury leads to a lifetime of treatment that starts with intense rehabilitation.

A driving simulator like the one at the VA in Palo Alto is an important tool in getting injured soldiers back on the road to recovery.

Soldiers are required to wear protective eye gear but since the vision loss is a result of a closed head injury, goggles and glasses aren't enough to protect the eyes from IED blasts.

Doctors encourage all Iraq veterans to have their eyes checked since many of the symptoms could take years to show up and by then, it could be too late.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23817493/

Ex-homeless Vietnam vet finally gets full benefits

Could someone tell Bill O'Reilly this is how they end up homeless to begin with?

That took Israel's final call to resolve. "It shouldn't take a member of Congress to make phone calls and pester the VA to get him his benefits," Israel said. "I'm proud of what we've done, but I'm not proud that we had to do it."

Ex-homeless Vietnam vet finally gets full benefits

BY MITCHELL FREEDMAN | mitchell.freedman@newsday.com
8:27 PM EDT, March 28, 2008
Valentine's Day will always be important for Joseph Soukup Jr., but not for the reason that most people remember the holiday.

For the former Marine, it was the day his life almost came to an end.

Yesterday, with that day still a vivid memory, Soukup smiled as he held up a big symbolic check for $57,834 -- the benefits owed to him by the Veterans Administration.

"I trust him," Soukop said of Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington), who had fought for those benefits and held a news conference in Hauppauge on Friday.

The benefits were the final chapter of a journey Soukop took back into life, that started on Valentine's Day 2007.

Homeless for three years, he had been living in his red Ford F-150 truck, parked at the Mayfair Shopping Center in Commack. "It was near my post office box," he explained.

The weather report that day was for snow, ice and freezing temperatures. In the past, he would have driven to an underpass for protection from the weather. But, he realized there was not enough gas in his tank to keep warm through the night.

He thought he would freeze to death. So, he made a choice that -- for years -- he had previously rejected. He drove to the Veterans Administration hospital in Northport where he was put into a program for veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. "I said to myself 'I was going to die'. But something inside me said 'go to the VA," Soukop, 61, explained.
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Battling bureaucracy to ensure long term care for veterans

March 28, 2008
Battling bureaucracy to ensure long term care for veterans
I discovered this article surfing military.com the other day and found it emotionally riveting. Many of us who served in the Armed Forces were fortunate enough not to have sustained life altering injuries of the magnitude described during a recent hearing on March 13th reflecting on the Care of Seriously Wounded After In-Patient Care conducted by the House Veterans' Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. The purpose of the hearing was to assess how the Department of Veterans Affairs cares for our nation's most seriously wounded veterans following inpatient treatment.

An opening statement by the Chairman, Representative Harry E. Mitchell, from Arizona set the tone for the hearing:

"We are here today to hear from veterans, their families, and the Department of Veterans Affairs about the long-term care of our most severely wounded Afghanistan and Iraq veterans. We know that DoD and VA provide the excellent inpatient healthcare for these warriors. But many of the most seriously injured require extensive outpatient care, some of them for life. Their families need care and assistance as well. Unfortunately, once these veterans leave the hospital, the care they receive does not seem to be on par with what they received directly following their injury. I think we can do better."

He went on to say:

"...The Department of Defense and the VA are large organizations with an overwhelming bureaucracy. Their care and services often overlap in messy and unpredictable ways. At a time of enormous stress, this bureaucracy only hurts the injured warrior and his family... We are going to hear from people that have been dealing with the difficulties of the system for a long time. On February 14, 2004 Army Sergeant Ted Wade lost his right arm and suffered severed traumatic brain injury, along with many other injuries, in an IED explosion in Iraq. Sgt. Wade is here today with his wife, Sarah."
go here for the rest
http://asmba.typepad.com/veterans/2008/03/battling-bureau.html

Non-combat wounds and "non-service connected" are two terms we need to dispose of. If they are deployed, then it is a combat wound. Doesn't matter if it was because of TBI, vaccines, tainted water, bombs, bullets, accidents or Post Traumatic Stress. If they were not deployed then fine, it's non-combat. If they went, they went into combat zones and came home wounded. What are they afraid of? Too many Purple Hearts to give out? Then let them design another kind of badge of honor for everyone else wounded. How they could even consider PTSD or TBI a non-combat wound is beyond reason.


When you hear "non-service connected" that does not mean it was not connected to service but the Veterans Administration has not yet acknowledged the claim. This happens when they claim is in process of being approved or denied, denied and on appeal or trapped between the two. Until a claim is approved, they call it "non-service connected" even if you are sitting there with two missing legs blown off by an IED. This leaves the wounded veterans SOL and out of income. It adds to the stress they already have to deal with trying to heal when they have bills coming in and no way to pay them because they have a claim that is not approved yet. The answer the VA gives is "Well once your claim is approved it's retroactive and then you'll have your money" but this does not tell them how to pay the bills between wound and approval. It does not tell them how they can find faith in the system of the government they served, were willing to lay down their lives for, were wounded in the service of, when the same government is allowing them to be penalized for the lack of planning to make sure all departments were ramped up in order to take care of them.

Noah’s clause may save lives with mandatory counseling

Around the clock access to trained professional is available for anyone struggling with thoughts of suicide. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. If you are a veteran and would like to speak with someone trained in working with military members, press “1” to reach the VA hotline.

Reporter's Notebook: Soldier Suicides: veterans are killing themselves in record numbers
Filed under: City Pages

As of recently, soldiers killing themselves upon their return to combat have become all too familiar to Cheryl Softich, of Eveleth, Minn. Her son, Army Specialist Noah Pierce, 23, killed himself in July after deployment in Iraq.

He came home and was felt like he was a murderer. He said he killed a doctor while he was there; he mistook the doctor for a suicide bomber, his mother says.


Back home he couldn’t sleep at night. He was drinking all the time and the spark had drained from his eyes, Softich remembers.

“There were very few smiles that were genuine,” she says.

At the time of his death, Pierce, a member of the Army's Third Infantry Division, had plans for a third tour.

Unlike most parents and family members who are stonewalled by their sons and daughters in uniform who don’t want to speak about the trauma they experienced at war, Pierce journaled his experience in war, leaving behind a book of poetry.

"His writing just brings you to Iraq with him," says Softich, who published her son’s work in the California publication Rogue Voice.

In the poem “WTF” Pierce reflects on the accidental killing of the Iraqi doctor. "The investigation said it was done by the books / I ask myself, 'What the fuck kind of war is this?'"

In “Friends” Pierce writes about Iraqi kids who would give him food in exchange for water. "No english / No arabic / Yet we still understand each other."

He wrote about desert sandstorms in “Dust” and called Iraq a “godforgotten country,” where smoking is an imperative and the “girlfriends, the parties, the training /GONE.”

Softich is on a one-woman mission to change the military’s current mental health screening system for returning veterans.

Pierce, like the others in our feature on soldier suicides and PTSD, passed post deployment medical and psychological tests that allowed him to return sooner.

Softich is trying to enact a Noah’s clause, legislation that would require all troops to receive mandatory counseling, at least once every two weeks for a year, upon their return from active duty. Since coming forward, Representatives Jim Oberstar, D-Minnesota and Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii along with Senators Norm Coleman, R-Minnesota, and Amy Klobuchar R-Minnesota, have taken interest her idea, she says.

go here for the rest
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2008/03/reporters_noteb_5.php


Honoring Noah
Current mood: satisfied
Category: News and Politics

HONORING NOAH
Bringing more awareness to PTSD
Linda Tyssen
Last updated: Wednesday, December 26th, 2007 10:07:03 PM



VIRGINIA — Noah Charles Pierce wasn't there to answer roll call. The sounding of taps responded instead, as the new AMVETS Post 33 was named in his honor at a special ceremony Dec. 15.

The 23-year-old Army veteran of the war in Iraq committed suicide in July, following a battle with post-traumatic stress disorder. Spc. Pierce served with the Third Infantry Division in Kuwait and Iraq, driving a Bradley fighting vehicle and serving as a gunner on a Humvee. After his discharge from the military, he had told his family he would have gone back for a third tour of duty.

Shortly after the AMVETS post was chartered in Virginia, Commander Shawn Carr announced his wish to name the post for Pierce. AMVETS, short for American Veterans, is open to all those who served in the military, whether in wartime or peacetime, overseas or at home. Post 33 is headquartered at the Servicemen's Club.

A large group of Pierce's family and friends and military veterans came to the ceremony at the Servicemen's Club. Pierce's parents, Cheryl and Tom Softich of Sparta, and his sister, Sarah Snyder, were among those in attendance.

"In naming this post Noah C. Pierce AMVETS Post 33, we wish to give Noah a fitting memorial, raise community and public awareness of PTSD and in some way help the healing for his family to begin,'' Commander Carr said in his remarks.

go here for the rest of this
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=148938536&blogID=341746064

If you can't talk to your family, then talk to another veteran. If you can't talk to another veteran, then talk to a Chaplain. Talk to someone who will listen and understand that you have been wounded. In a perfect world, the VA would be waiting for you to get there and every military brass would be up to speed on PTSD so the DOD would do the right thing. This isn't a perfect world although the military wants to portray discipline and duty as an organized bunch, they are far from it when it comes to the wounds they cannot see. Anyone still treating PTSD as anything other than a wound should be ashamed of themselves for being so uneducated and uninformed. It's been around a lot longer than they have and documented since the beginning of recorded history. They better hurry up and understand this before they all look like members of the culture that brought us leaches and bleeding a patient to death.

Bail out wounded veterans not Bear Stearns

Reid Calls Bear Stearns `Bailout' Unfair to Taxpayers (Update1)

By Laura Litvan

March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said a decision by the Federal Reserve to provide as much as $30 billion to JPMorgan Chase & Co. to help it buy Bear Stearns Cos. is a ``bailout'' unfair to taxpayers.

``The Federal Reserve's latest actions appear to shift large risks to taxpayers, who may find themselves on the hook for billions in worthless securities,'' Reid said in a prepared statement. ``The public has a right to know why President Bush and his administration believe this bailout is necessary and what steps they are taking to both protect taxpayers and to hold accountable those whose bad decisions led to this crisis.''

Look how fast Bush moved on this. Do you think he could move that fast for the sake of the "troops" he keeps saying we all need to support? What about the wounded veterans and soldiers coming back without income while they have to wait for claims to be approved and still have bills to pay with no income? I'm sure the tax payers would rather their money go to helping the wounded veterans he keeps making than to his rich pals who have been sucking the life out of the rest of us with his tax breaks at the same time he managed to have two occupations killing and wounding the troops he sent then forgot about until he needs more to send. He bails out the jerks who did this to people who are going to end up losing their homes and yes, a lot of them are veterans. Poverty went up with him not caring and so have the numbers of people being homeless. With people paying more for everything and making less to do it with, you'd think we would have someone in charge who cares about doing the right thing for the tax payers of this country, because aside from it being the right thing to do with our money, it's our money! Remember when he said the money needed for the VA was too much money? He had a problem with spending our money then but he has no problem taking care of the rich. If you want to know why the veterans and everyone else in this country is having a hard time, ask them about their bank account and you'll know why. He only cares about rich people. Iraq is still going on because of the contractors and everyone knows it. Peace is just too damn expensive for them. There is no money in peace for any of them. The wounded soldiers are an expense to them they are not willing to pay for. This is why they have no problem coming up with the money to keep Afghansitan and Iraq going on and on without end but always have a hard time taking care of the wounded and the widows.

$30 billion? What would that do to help veterans or any of the people who are going to get kicked out of their homes?

Sgt. Godfrey J. Hurley gets life for murder of Lisa Nossett

Sgt. gets life for killing troop’s wife

The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Mar 28, 2008 16:06:35 EDT

FORT LEWIS, Wash. — A sergeant with 16 years in the Army has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing another soldier’s wife at Fort Lewis.

A panel of officers decided on the sentence Thursday, a day after convicting 40-year-old Godfrey J. Hurley of premeditated murder.

Investigators said Hurley stabbed and beat 28-year-old Lisa R. Nossett, a mother of two daughters, on March 11, 2006.

The attack occurred at Nossett’s living quarters at Fort Lewis, reportedly after she tried to end a two-year affair with Hurley. Her husband, Sgt. Christopher Nossett, was stationed in South Korea at the time.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_sgtsentenced_032808/

At home, but not at peace: A soldier's struggle with PTSD

At home, but not at peace: A soldier's struggle with PTSD
Spc. Brandon Garrison volunteered to deploy and loved putting on his uniform each day. But after watching a mortar attack claim one of his friends in Afghanistan, he joined the thousands of servicemembers battling PTSD.
By Tracy Burton, Special to Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, March 30, 2008

Army Spc. Brandon Garrison looks fine. He pulls his wife, Lily, close. He gives her a quick kiss on the cheek and wraps his hand over her stomach, carrying their first child.

Inside, Garrison fights a rage that consumes most of his days since returning from 17 months of combat in Afghanistan. It’s a demon that shows no mercy and interrupts even simple routines like eating and sleeping. At any moment, halfway through a football game or in the middle of the night, he can lose himself to this evil.

This is his war now. A war that started on a battlefield a half a world away and has now embedded itself in his mind. Through nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety and fear, he battles this beast each day.

Garrison is among thousands of troops experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, as they return from Afghanistan or Iraq. The 21-year-old from northeastern Kansas is also part of a growing number of servicemembers whose well-being has been compromised in a system that’s supposed to take care of them.
go here for the rest
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=53683

PTSD:Can we smell danger? New study says possible

Can we smell danger? Study shows it's possible
The associated press
March 28, 2008

WASHINGTON - Know how a whiff of certain odors can take you back in time, either to a great memory or bad one?

It turns out emotion plays an even bigger role with the nose, and that your sense of smell actually can sharpen when something bad happens.

Northwestern University researchers proved the surprising connection by giving volunteers electric shocks while they sniffed novel odors.

The discovery, reported in today's edition of the journal Science, helps explain how our senses can steer us clear of danger. More intriguing, it could shed light on disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

"This is an incredibly unique study," said Dr. David Zald, a Vanderbilt University neuroscientist who studies how the brain handles sensory and emotional learning. "We're talking about a change in our perceptual abilities based on emotional learning."

Scientists long have known of a strong link between the sense of smell and emotion. A certain perfume or the scent of baking pie, for instance, can raise memories of a long-dead loved one.

Conversely, a whiff of diesel fuel might trigger a flashback for a soldier suffering from PTSD.

Northwestern neuroscientist Jay Gottfried, the study's senior author, says the work illuminates a sense that society too often gives short shrift.

"People really dismiss the sense of smell," said Gottfried, who researches "how the brain can put together perceptions of hundreds of thousands of different smells. . . . Work like this really says that the human sense of smell has much more capacity than people usually give it credit."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/services/newspaper/printedition/friday/orl-smell2808mar28,0,1775496.story

Walter Reed Chaplains Help In Aftermath Of Combat

War's Wounded Find Guidance in Aftermath
Walter Reed Chaplains Help Amputees, Other Soldiers Confront Unpleasant Realities
By Greg Trotter
Religion News Service
Saturday, March 29, 2008; Page B10

Capt. Darrick Gutting is the friendliest guy in Ward 57.

The bald-headed, 40-year-old Pennsylvanian roams the halls, engaging passersby -- soldiers and medical staff -- in conversations that are equal parts jive and heartfelt concern.

"Sorry, man, but this is part of being a chaplain, too," Gutting said after talking with a male nurse for 10 minutes about a favorite hunting store in West Virginia. "You gotta let the people know that you care."

Gutting is one of 10 military chaplains in the pastoral care department at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. They come from Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Charismatic and evangelical churches. There is also a rabbi on contract and two volunteer Muslim and Hindu clerics.

The chaplains at Walter Reed provide spiritual advice and a listening ear to soldiers, staff and families. They also guide many amputee soldiers through the difficult process of coming to terms with a new reality.

As of Feb. 29, the most recent date available, 705 amputees from Iraq and Afghanistan had been treated in Army facilities, including 555 at Walter Reed, according to a Walter Reed spokeswoman. There are about 150 amputee patients in some stage of healing and rehabilitation at Walter Reed. Regardless of religious or cultural background, many of them wake up at some point and ask very similar questions: Why? Why did this happen to me?

"As chaplains, we are not peddlers of religion," said Col. Charles Howell, senior chaplain at Walter Reed and a 52-year-old Mississippi native. "We allow them to ask the questions and then show them a host of answers out there."

The chaplains face a range of emotions among the amputees: anger, sadness, fear and joy, or some mixture thereof, Howell said. Some soldiers become angry at God, or the Army, he said. Others go straight to gratitude and happiness that they are alive at all.
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2 Soldiers missing from Camp Pendleton

US Searches for Missing Indian Soldiers


The Associated Press
Friday, March 28, 2008; 8:31 PM

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- U.S. authorities are searching for two Indian soldiers who disappeared from Camp Pendleton during a military training exercise.

Defense Department officials said Friday that the soldiers have been missing since March 20, the final day of a 30-day training exercise with the Pendleton-based 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

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Why did they have to add in the word Indian instead of just using "soldiers" like they do with all other soldiers?

March 29 declared Vietnam Vets Day in Minnesota

March 29 declared Vietnam Vets Day in Minn.

The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Mar 28, 2008 12:06:05 EDT

ST. PAUL — Minnesota’s Vietnam War veterans are getting a long-awaited “welcome home” from their state government.

Governor Tim Pawlenty has signed a bill designating March 29 as Vietnam Veterans Day in the state. His office says Minnesota follows Tennessee as the only states to carve out a special day for veterans of that war.

At a signing ceremony, Pawlenty told a crowd of veterans and their families that it was “shameful” that soldiers from that conflict didn’t get a warmer reception upon returning from war.

He says the Vietnam Veterans Day — the first of which falls this Saturday — will put the focus on the sacrifices of those veterans.

Roughly 147,000 Minnesotans served in that war and 1,072 died.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_vietnamvetday_032708/

Mainstream Medicine Has Endorsed Medical Marijuana

Former Surgeon General: Mainstream Medicine Has Endorsed Medical Marijuana
Dr. Jocelyn Elders, AlterNet
DrugReporter: A historic document from the 124,000-member American College of Physicians certifies the medical value of marijuana.


Studies have shown good rates with veterans. Ask any Vietnam Vet if it worked for them. Nixon made it against the law. It should be looked at again and I'm glad it is.

Why the troops are dying there and here

Latest Coalition Fatality: Mar 28, 2008

03/28/08 MNF: MND-C Soldier attacked by IED
BAGHDAD - A Multi-National Division - Center Soldier was killed as a result of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device attack south of Baghdad March 28.
03/28/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Spc. Gregory B. Rundell, 21, of Ramsey, Minn., died March 26 in Taji Iraq, of wounds suffered from small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
03/28/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Staff Sgt. Joseph D. Gamboa, 34, of Yigo, Guam, died Mar. 25 of wounds suffered when he came under indirect fire in Baghdad, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.
03/27/08 MNF: MND-B Soldier attacked by IED
A Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldier was killed at approximately 4:30 p.m. March 27 after being struck by an improvised explosive device in eastern Baghdad while conducting a combat patrol.
03/27/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (4 of 4)
Pvt. George Delgado, 21, of Palmdale, Calif...assigned to the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division...died March 24 in Baghdad...from wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an IDE on March 23.
03/27/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (3 of 4)
Staff Sgt. Christopher M. Hake, 26, of Enid, Okla...assigned to the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division...died March 24 in Baghdad...from wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an IDE on March 23.
03/27/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (2 of 4)
Pfc. Andrew J. Habsieger, 22, of Festus, Mo...assigned to the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division...died March 24 in Baghdad...from wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an IDE on March 23.
03/27/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (1 of 4)
Spc. Jose A. Rubio Hernandez, 24, of Mission, Texas...assigned to the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division...died March 24 in Baghdad...from wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an IDE on March 23

.

Slate
What are they fighting about in Basra?
The wars in Iraq (the plural is no typo) are about to expand and possibly explode, so it might be useful to have some notion of what we're in for.
TimesOnline
Areas of Baghdad fall to militias as Iraqi Army falters in Basra
Iraq’s Prime Minister was staring into the abyss today after his operation to crush militia strongholds in Basra stalled, members of his own security forces defected and district after district of his own capital fell to Shia militia gunmen.
Washington Post
U.S. Armor Forces Join Offensive In Baghdad Against Sadr Militia
U.S. forces in armored vehicles battled Mahdi Army fighters Thursday in Sadr City, the vast Shiite stronghold in eastern Baghdad, as an offensive to quell party-backed militias entered its third day. Iraqi army and police units appeared to be largely holding to the outskirts of the area as American troops took the lead in the fighting.

News Current Time in Baghdad: 3:10:27 AM
03/28/08 BBC: Militia battles threaten fragile Iraq
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has extended by 10 days a deadline for Shia militiamen fighting troops in the southern city of Basra to hand over their weapons. Militiamen...show no signs of giving up and fighting continues.

03/28/08 NPR: Can the Basra Situation Be Solved?
Iraq's government continued its crackdown on Shiite militias Friday. U.S. air strikes helped Iraqi security forces fight against militants in Basra. Alex Chadwick talks to Anne Garrels about how American action there could be a step backward...

03/28/08 AP: Case dropped against Haditha defendant
The Marine Corps dropped charges and gave full immunity Friday to a serviceman who was accused of involuntary manslaughter in a squad's killing of 24 Iraqis in Haditha in 2005.

03/28/08 kuwaittimes: Iran cleric calls on Iraqis to end fighting
A hardline Iranian cleric called on Friday for the Iraqi government and a Muslim Shi'ite militia to stop fighting and strike a deal. Ayatollah Ahmad Janati made his appeal in a sermon broadcast on state radio on the fourth day of a crackdown...

03/28/08 BBC: Iraq extends Shia arms deadline
Iraq's government has extended by 10 days a deadline for Shia militiamen fighting troops in the southern city of Basra to hand over their weapons. More than 130 people have been killed and 350 injured since a clampdown on militias began...

03/28/08 Reuters: 13 insurgents killed across Baghdad
U.S. forces killed 13 insurgents during engagements across Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

03/28/08 Reuters: U.S. helicopter fire kills 4 gunmen in Sadr City
A U.S. helicopter fired a hellfire missile at gunmen firing from the roof of a building, killing four of them, in Sadr City, a U.S. military spokesman said. Police said 12 people were killed and 60 wounded in several U.S. air strikes on Sadr City.

03/28/08 Reuters: 7 bodies found in Baghdad
Seven bodies were found in Baghdad on Friday, police said.

03/28/08 Reuters: 7 people killed, 15 wounded in Mahmudiya
Seven people were killed and 15 others wounded in clashes between Mehdi Army fighters and Iraqi security forces in Mahmudiya, 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

03/28/08 Reuters: Iraqi Army Colonel killed in Numaniya
An Army Colonel, Jabar Rashid, was killed in clashes with Mehdi Army fighters in Numaniya, 120 km (72 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

03/28/08 Reuters: 15 people killed, 50 wounded in clashes in Nassiriya
Fifteen people including three policemen were killed and 50 people wounded in clashes between Mehdi Army fighters and Iraqi security forces in Nassiriya, 375 km (235 miles) southwest of Baghdad, a hospital source said.

03/28/08 Reuters: Six policemen killed, 9 wounded in Hamza
Six policeman were killed and nine others wounded in clashes with Mehdi Army fighters in Hamza, 35 km (22 miles) south of Hilla, police said. Sixty-two gunmen were captured in these clashes.

03/28/08 Reuters: 6 policemen killed, 42 peoeple wounded in Hilla
Six policemen have been killed and 42 people including 30 policemen wounded in clashes between Iraqi security forces and Mehdi Army fighters since Tuesday across Hilla...Eighty- five gunmen have been captured during these clashes, they said.

03/28/08 channel4: British jets fire on Basra militia
British jets have unleashed a hail of cannon fire around Basra, forcing militia to take cover as fighting in the city continued for a fourth day. The show of force came after US pilots strafed suspected insurgent positions...

03/28/08 telegraph: Rift between UK diplomats and Army in Basra
Signs of a rift were growing among British officials as diplomats said that UK forces "stand ready to support" Iraqi soldiers as and when requested, contradicting military statements that UK forces would be confined to "niche" roles.

03/28/08 wtkr: Local Soldier Credited With Saving Little Iraqi Girl's Arm
A local National Guard Soldier is being credited with saving a little Iraqi girl's arm. Captain Jon Brillhart is a soldier with a Portsmouth National Guard unit now in Iraq. He helped a little girl who suffered severe burns on her arm...

03/28/08 BBC: Iraq extends militiamen deadline
Iraq's government has extended by 10 days a deadline for Shia militiamen fighting troops in the southern city of Basra to hand over their weapons. More than 130 people have been killed and 350 injured since a clampdown on militias began in Basra...

03/28/08 timesonline: Basra police shed uniforms, kept rifles and switched sides
Abu Iman barely flinched when the Iraqi Government ordered his unit of special police to move against al-Mahdi Army fighters....He and 15 of his comrades took off their uniforms, kept their government-issued rifles and went over to the other side...

03/28/08 Reuters: 3 policemen and 2 civilians killed, 25 wounded in Nassiriya
Three policemen and two civilians were killed and 25 people wounded in clashes between Mehdi Army fighters and Iraqi security forces in Nassiriya, 375 km (235 miles) southwest of Baghdad, a hospital source said.

03/28/08 Reuters: 26 gunmen captured in Hilla
Iraqi security forces captured 26 gunmen across Hilla, 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

03/28/08 Reuters: 3 gunmen killed, 7 captured north of Kerbala
Three gunmen were killed and seven others captured when they attacked an Iraqi army checkpoint in the Husseiniya district north of Kerbala, 110 km (68 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police said.

03/28/08 Reuters: Clashes kill 3 police officers, wounded two militants in Kut
Clashes between Mehdi Army fighters and Iraqi security forces killed three police officers and wounded two militants in Kut, 170 km (105 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police said.

03/28/08 Reuters: Gunmen killed the mayor of Ghmash neighbourhood
Gunmen killed the mayor of the Ghmash neighbourhood in Diwaniya...sparking "very severe" clashes between Iraqi security forces and Mehdi Army fighters, police said. An office of Moqtada al-Sadr's followers was burned in retaliation.

03/28/08 Reuters: Air strike kills 3 people in Baghdad's Kadhimiya neighbourhood
A U.S. air strike in Baghdad's Kadhimiya neighbourhood killed three people and wounded six, police said.

03/28/08 Reuters: 4 people killed in Sadr City air strike
Police said four people were killed and three wounded in a second Sadr City air strike later in the day.

03/28/08 Reuters: U.S. helicopter fire kills 4 gunmen, 5 civilians in Baghdad
A U.S. helicopter fired a hellfire missile at gunmen firing from the roof of a building, killing four of them, a U.S. military spokesman said. Police said five civilians were killed in the strike.

03/28/08 Reuters: At least 120 "enemy" fighters killed in Basra
At least 120 "enemy" fighters have been killed in a four-day-old Iraqi military operation against Shi'ite militias in the southern oil hub of Basra, said Major-General Ali Zaidan, commander of Iraqi ground forces in the operation.

03/28/08 Reuters: Missile hits Iraqi Vice President's office
THE office of Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi was hit in a mortar or rocket strike on Baghdad's Green Zone government and diplomatic compound on Friday, and a security guard was killed, an official in his office said.

03/28/08 NPR: Iraq's Prime Minister Extends Basra Arms Deadline
Iraq's prime minister on Friday extended a deadline for Shiite militants in southern Basra to hand over their weapons. Nouri al-Maliki also said the militants would receive a financial reward if they complied. Renee Montagne talks...

03/28/08 local6: Fla. Husband, Wife Deployed To Iraq Leaving 1-Year-Old For Year
A U.S. Army married couple in Florida being deployed together will serve their country will have to be away from their 1-year-old son for a year. Yvette and William Sims will soon be heading to Iraq as members of the Army Reserve's 345th...

03/28/08 AP: Relatives of 2 contractors hear the worst
After 16 months of hoping and praying, family members of two U.S. contractors kidnapped in Iraq received the news they feared: Their loved ones were not coming home alive

03/28/08 signonsandiego: Amputee going back to battle
The bomb exploded as Marine Lance Cpl. Robert Pofahl turned around to talk with Cpl. Garrett Jones during a foot patrol in Karmah, Iraq. Despite being thrown forward, Pofahl quickly pushed himself off the ground and rushed toward the site...

03/28/08 Reuters: Nine people killed, 95 wounded in clashes in Baghdad
Nine people were killed and 95 others wounded in clashes between Iraqi security forces and Mehdi Army members in different parts of Baghdad, said Major-General Qassim Moussawi, spokesman for Iraqi security forces in Baghdad.

03/28/08 Reuters: Three policen killed in Hamza
Three policemen were killed and three others, including two soldiers, were wounded in clashes with Mehdi Army fighters in Hamza, 35 km (22 miles) south of Hilla, police said.

03/28/08 Reuters: One gunman killed, eight others captured in Diwaniya
One gunman was killed and eight others captured after they attacked a police patrol in central Diwaniya, 180 km (112 miles) south of Baghdad, army Colonel Ghasan Mohammed said. One policeman was wounded in the attack.

go here for the links

http://icasualties.org/oif/

491 killed in Afghanistan which has been forgotten about. All of this adds to the reasons they are dying there and killing themselves back home. If you still don't understand how PTSD strikes them, go there yourself.

Afghanistan And Regional Instability: A Risk Assessment

By Human Security Report Project EXCERPT: "The report offers a stocktaking of Afghanistan’s regional challenges. It finds that domestic instability in Pakistan, strains in Pakistan–Afghanistan relations and insecurities associated with the US–Iran stand-off on Iran’s

Pakistan says US and Afghanistan Behind Al-Qaeda and Taliban

By Yid With Lid(Yid With Lid) The right wing Pakistani Newspaper Roznama Ausaf and its acting interior minister Hamid Nawaz, say the US in conjunction with Afghanistan and India are working with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban to create terrorism and destabilize Pakistan.

Quietly, the UAE deployed their Army in Afghanistan to help the ...

By revolution To sum it up, nobody really knew that the UAE had sent their own army to Afghanistan to give support to the Kuffaar. Clearly, they are Murtadeen and we ask Allah to dishonor these Arabs that have no Islaam.

British Casualties in Afghanistan - Updates for February 2008

By Casualty Monitor(Casualty Monitor) Updates of casualty data for February 2008 have now been published for the casualty monitor projects for British forces in Afghanistan. The trend in combat casualties has remained steady for the last 3 months, with levels at about ...

UAE Forces in Afghanistan

By Silent Hunter BBC NEWS World South Asia Muslim troops help win Afghan minds Suspect Al-Qaeda's not going to be too happy with the UAE

O'Malley, Mikulski seek more funds to help returning troops

More post-deployment aid urged
O'Malley, Mikulski seek more funds to help returning troops
By John Fritze Sun reporter
8:30 PM EDT, March 27, 2008

Gov. Martin O'Malley and Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski told a group of soldiers Thursday that the government must do more to help returning troops by increasing mental health funding and cutting bureaucracy in existing programs.

During a meeting at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore, both officials heard accounts from about a dozen members of the Maryland National Guard who had emotional and financial problems after returning from deployment overseas.

About 1,500 members of the Guard are expected to return to Maryland in the next six months, a wave that is likely to strain state-funded integration programs. Last year, 1,300 members of the Army National Guard and 350 Air National Guard members from Maryland were deployed, according to the governor's office.

"When they come back home, just like they stood by America, America has to stand by them," said Mikulski, who vowed to seek an additional $45 million for integration programs nationwide. "We've got to help these guardsmen."
go here for the rest
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-guard0327,0,4371180.story

Veterans Legislative Updates

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
All links from United Female Veterans Of America http://www.ufva.us/
More Info
March 28, 2008

Reps. Michaud and Miller Introduce Substance Abuse Legislation for Veterans Congressman Mike Michaud (D-Maine), Chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health, joined with Congressman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), the subcommittee’s Ranking Member, to introduce the Veterans Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Treatment Act of 2008. The bill would require the VA to provide a range of solutions for treating substance abuse at every VA medical center. Rep. Michaud penned an op-ed in The Hill on this legislation.

DAV Testifies on Substance Abuse
DAV’s Assistant National Legislative Director, Joy Ilem, testified before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs earlier this month on substance abuse. She urged the Committee to provide veterans with access to a full continuum of care for substance use disorders, including drug screening in all care locations, intensive outpatient treatment and residential care for the most severely addicted. Her testimony can be viewed here.

Members of Congress Encouraged to Sign Pledge
DAV is asking members of Congress to sign a pledge that supports the principle of ensuring veterans receive the comprehensive medical care and support that they deserve The pledge was distributed earlier this month on Capitol Hill by hundreds of DAV members. A copy of the pledge can be viewed here.

Media Coverage
The Boston Globe wrote about the insufficient support for relatives of disabled veterans and others serving as caretakers.
USA Today ran a story on how the Pentagon admitted to delaying screening for mild brain injuries for two years.

About the Stand Up for Veterans Initiative
"Stand Up for Veterans" is a new initiative of the Disabled American Veterans, an organization of 1.3 million disabled veterans who are focused on building better lives for disabled veterans and their families. The initiative seeks to find public policy solutions for all veterans, particularly those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, who have incurred devastating injuries and disabilities, including traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological wounds of war. Please visit http://capwiz.com/dav/utr/1/EIMWIGMALX/INKAIGMAPB/1856948681 to learn more about this effort. Stand up for veterans. They stood up for us.

Rep. Dave Loebsack:More has to be done for veterans

Veterans still need much more support
Loebsack holds discussion at Burlington VFW.

By CHRISTINIA CRIPPES

ccrippes@thehawkeye.com

Even with an additional $3.8 billion in federal funding in 2008, veterans need more money for services.

"I don't know anybody in Congress, and I certainly don't know anyone in the administration, the president included, who thinks we should not be treating veterans better than we have up to this point," District 2 U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack said.

Loebsack, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, came to Burlington's VFW post Wednesday to hold a roundtable discussion with veterans.

Aside from making them aware of the additional funding -- and the push for a $4.9 billion increase in 2009 -- Loebsack agreed with veterans that much more needs to be done.

"Everyone really supports the troops, everyone supports veterans when they come home," Loebsack said. "I think that we're beginning, in Washington, D.C., to understand and fully accept what veterans have done for us in past wars and the current war."

He said as evidenced by the Vietnam War, that has not always been the case.

Loebsack said one area in need of additional attention is caring for veterans of this war effort, as well as of Vietnam, who are experiencing post traumatic stress disorder because of the current conflict.

"We see now either a reoccurrence of PTSD among Vietnam veterans and other vets, or some veterans who've never had PTSD but have been watching the news and seeing what's going on...and now they're suffering from PTSD," Loebsack said. "So, we've seen a rise in a lot of incidents like this because of the most recent war."

Loebsack has traveled to Iraq twice and Afghanistan once in his 15 months in office.

"I think at least veterans are getting a better shake, a more positive shake, when they come back, but this is something that is going to take awhile for us to get right," Loebsack said.

More to be done
go here for the rest
http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/Loebsack-veterans-032708

There is no room for the new veterans. Because there is no room for the new veterans needing help, the older veterans, like Vietnam veterans, are being pushed back out of the way. Go into any VA hospital and ask for an appointment when you are not part of the new generation and see what you get for an answer. At the same time advocacy work is working for the Vietnam veterans gaining information on what is wrong with them when it comes to PTSD, the VA has decided that the older veterans need to wait longer than before. Appointments are being pushed back because they have deadlines on getting new veterans into treatment. As bad as it is for the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, think of what it's like for the older ones.

While the government plays catchup to the reality of the dire need all of our veterans are living with, they need to make sure no veteran has to suffer for the sake of another, either way you look at it. I work with the older veterans as well as the new ones because I totally understand that time is key to healing. The sooner they begin being treated, PTSD stops getting worse. Saving time from being lost, saves more of their lives from being eaten away from them.

We have a golden window in which to address the trauma they go through. Ideally they should be treated the same way police, firefighters and emergency responders are treated, on the spot, as soon as possible and they are debriefed as soon as the situation is under control and they can talk about it all. Otherwise they stuff it into the back walls of their brains thinking they "got over it" but then finding out it is eating them alive. This is not possible in combat unless the DOD manages to deploy one Chaplain for every ten soldiers. That isn't going to happen. The next best thing is to get them to open up as soon as they get home before the trauma begins to eat away at them.

It is the same with older veterans. We cannot undo the damage done before they seek help but we can stop it from getting even worse. They all need to get into treatment as soon as possible. Advocates are working on providing the information they need on what PTSD but it will do them no good to understand it if there isn't any help waiting for them when they finally want it. We cannot keep doing this to any of our veterans. Emergency alarms went off four years ago. It's time they paid attention to them!

Chaplain 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

PTSD:Veterans Affairs offers aid in recognizing signs

I don't know if I want to be happy about this or very sad.

Families learning to spot PTSD
Veterans Affairs offers aid in recognizing signs
By Suzanne Bohan, STAFF WRITER
Article Created: 03/27/2008 02:32:42 AM PDT


Roughly one in five soldiers or Marines serving in Iraq and Afghanistan develop post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that has been plaguing humans through the ages.

"It's been around for thousands of years — as long as there's been war, as long as there's been trauma," said Dr. Byron J. Wittlin, director of mental health services at the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in San Bruno.

In World War II, the condition was called "shell shock," he said. Now it has an official name: post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

Many of its victims remain untreated, so the VA is trying to educate family members.

"I think it's crucial for (military) family members to be aware of the potential mental health problems of their loved ones," Wittlin said.

As part of the emphasis on training family members to spot signs of the disorder, he recently spoke to a group from the Pacifica Military Moms, a chapter of the national organization, The Blue Star Mothers of America.

Debbie Smyser, co-founder of the Pacifica group and a trainer at Genentech in South San Francisco, has a 21-year-old son in Iraq.

A number of the members of the group also have offspring in Iraq or Afghanistan, and Smyser said they wanted to be prepared to help their children should they return in mental distress.

"We need to know what to recognize, in case we need to get them help," she said. "It's just to make us aware and what signs to look for."

However, the disorder is not unique to military personnel who have witnessed or experienced violence from combatants, or other extreme stresses of wartime service, Wittlin said.
go here for the rest
http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_8713495

Why does it always seem the government is the last one to catch up to speed? We've been doing this for years. I've been doing this for 25 years and 10 of it has been online. Two years ago I started doing the videos. Now,,,,now the VA wants to help people understand what PTSD is!!!!!

Boston University report on PTSD

PTSD Associated With More, Longer Hospitalizations, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (Mar. 28, 2008) — Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have found post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with more hospitalizations, longer hospitalizations and greater mental healthcare utilization in urban primary care patients. These findings appear in the current issue of Medical Care.

Prior studies suggest that trauma exposure and PTSD have considerable impact on health care use and costs. Most of this research, however, has focused on male veterans and female sexual assault victims but the impact on healthcare use in other populations is uncertain.

The researchers interviewed a sample of primary care patients to examine overall prevalence of traumatic exposure and select behavioral health outcomes in addition to PTSD, including major depression, substance dependence and chronic pain. The interview included demographic questions, the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (version 2.1 PTSD module), the Chronic Pain Definitional Questionnaire, the Patient Health Questionnaire (to measure depression) and the Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form (for drug and alcohol dependence).

Among the participants, the researchers found that 80 percent had one or more trauma exposures. Compared to participants with no trauma exposure, subjects exposed to trauma were significantly more likely to be males, unmarried, have substance dependence and depression. They also had more mental health visits than those with no trauma exposure.

Among the participants, 22 percent had current PTSD. Compared to participants without PTSD, those with PTSD were significantly more likely to be female, to have an annual income of less than or equal to $20,000, have substance dependence and depression. PTSD participants also had more hospitalizations and mental health visits.

According to the researchers, among urban primary care patients PTSD is associated with greater health care use: both mental health visits and hospitalizations. "Unexpectedly, trauma exposure by itself was not associated with increased healthcare utilization apart from mental health visits, a finding which was attenuated after adjusting for PTSD," said lead author Anand Kartha, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at BUSM. "This may be due to the fact that the non-traumatized to whom we are comparing the traumatized patients, have complex social milieu leading to high utilization," added Kartha.

"PTSD has a cost beyond the specific mental health symptoms," said senior author Jane Liebschutz, MD, an associate professor of medicine and social and behavioral sciences at BUSM and a primary care physician at BMC. "PTSD may be on the causal pathway between trauma experiences and negative health consequences. These findings are relevant in light of the PTSD prevalence not only in our returning veterans, but in areas of urban poor," she added.

This study was supported in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Adapted from materials provided by Boston University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.



http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080327172124.htm

The Pastor's Ass

We all need to laugh every now and then. Just one of the emails I get from one of my Aunts.

The Pastor's Ass


The pastor entered his donkey in a race and it won.

The pastor was so pleased with the donkey that he entered it in the race again, and it won again.

The local paper read:PASTOR'S ASS OUT FRONT.

The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the pastor not to enter the donkey in another race.

The next day, the local paper headline read:

BISHOP SCRATCHES PASTOR'S ASS.


This was too much for the bishop, so he ordered the pastor to get rid of the donkey.

The pastor decided to give it to a nun in a nearby convent.


The local paper, hearing of the news, posted the following headline the next day:

NUN HAS BEST ASS IN TOWN.

The bishop fainted.


He informed the nun that she would have to get rid of the donkey, so she sold it to a farmer for $10.


The next day the paper read:

NUN SELLS ASS FOR $10.

This was too much for the bishop, so he ordered the nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the plains where it could run wild.


The next day the headlines read:

NUN ANNOUNCES HER ASS IS WILD AND FREE.

The bishop was buried the next day.


The moral of the story is. . . being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery .. even shorten your life.


So be yourself and enjoy life.


Stop worrying about everyone else's ass and you'll be a lot happier and live longer!