Army counselors in short supply in war zones

Army counselors in short supply in war zones

By Gregg Zoroya - USA Today
Posted : Wednesday Apr 2, 2008 7:15:22 EDT

WASHINGTON — Soldiers in hard-to-reach outposts in Iraq and Afghanistan lack timely access to mental health care, according to Pentagon officials and a recent survey. The problem comes as the Army is struggling to hire enough professionals to counsel its troops.

About one-third of soldiers in these areas say they can’t see a counselor when they need to, according to results of a survey conducted last year and released last month.

In Iraq, mental health professionals must travel in armed convoys to reach troops stationed in embattled neighborhoods. In Afghanistan, it can take an average of 40 hours for a psychologist to visit soldiers, the Army study says.

The Army surveyed 3,168 soldiers in its study. Today, there are 157,000 soldiers in Iraq and 31,000 in Afghanistan. As part of President Bush’s troop escalation in Iraq last year, many soldiers were moved to isolated outposts.

“They [mental health counselors] can’t be in every place at the same time,” says Lt. Col. Sharon McBride, an Army psychologist and researcher.

When counselors reach combat troops, they make a difference, says Lt. Col. Jim Carter, chaplain for the 4th Infantry Division in Iraq. In four months, the division has suffered only one suicide, he says. Last year, the Army reported a record number of suicides.

The Army, recognizing the need for more counseling, said nine months ago that it would hire 200 additional mental health professionals by May. It later raised the number to 288, about a 25 percent increase in staff. So far, 158 slots are filled.

Army Capt. Bryan Shea, 41, of Canton, N.Y., is a reservist and psychologist with a state psychiatric facility. He will soon go to Iraq for a third deployment.

Shea says he is eager to help soldiers, but that deployments have shattered his personal life. He says he is in the midst of a bitter divorce and that he lost custody of his two daughters, ages 10 and 15, because of his deployment.

“They got to keep recycling those of us who are in, and it gets tiring pretty fast,” says Shea, whose offer to resign from the Army has not been accepted.

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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/gns_army_counselors_040108/

Endglewood Florida has three heroes today

Two pull man from flaming car while third follows a suspect

By Kate Spinner
Published Wednesday, April 2, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

ENGLEWOOD — Witnesses to a fatal crash on South McCall Road on Monday immediately jumped into the roles of rescue workers and law enforcement, resulting in the arrest of a man now charged with manslaughter, drunken driving and fleeing the scene of an accident.

William Tyson, 77, of Englewood died in the wreck on Monday, but not before Michael McCurry, 22, and Jeff Holland, 19 pulled him out of his burning car.

The accident occurred about 1:05 p.m. -- when Tyson steered his Crown Victoria into the right, westbound land of South McCall Road, near the intersection of Ibis Drive. Behind him, William Solomon, 43, was driving a Ford Taurus at high speed and switching lanes, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.

Solomon slammed on the brakes, leaving skid marks in the roadway and crashing into Tyson's car. The impact was so powerful that Tyson was thrown into the back seat and a streak of fire followed the car, igniting it before it hit a power pole, according to an account by McCurry.

Meanwhile, McCurry and Holland, who had stopped at the nearby Citgo to buy drinks before heading to Englewood Beach, saw Solomon flee, leaving behind his seriously injured passenger, Monica Brown, 47, of North Port, according to the FHP.

McCurry and Holland also noticed that the driver of the burning car was not getting out. They rushed to the car and pulled Tyson from the back seat just as emergency crews arrived.

Tyson later died at Englewood Community Hospital.

Meanwhile, a woman that witnesses said was in her late 50s or early 60s had followed Solomon and used a borrowed cell phone to report that he had entered Oscar's Pizza.

"I'm really thankful that she actually did that," McCurry said, appalled that Solomon left his passenger alone beside a burning car.


go here for the rest
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080402/NEWS/804020322/1018/news02

Wal-Mart sued for not giving job back to Airman

Business briefs

Published Wednesday, April 2, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.

ORLANDO

Wal-Mart sued over former airman

The Department of Justice has sued Wal-Mart Stores on behalf of a former airman, claiming the company did not give him his job back after he was discharged from the military. The lawsuit on behalf of Sean Thornton, a former airman with the U.S. Air Force, alleges Wal-Mart violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act of 1994 by failing to reinstate him as a cashier at an Orange City store after he was discharged. The Justice Department filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Orlando.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080402/BUSINESS/804020315/1537

They did the wrong thing here.

They did the wrong thing here too but pubic pressure got them to do the right thing this time.

Wal-Mart Drops Fight Against Woman
Posted: Wednesday 04/02/08 07:18 AM EDT
Filed Under: Business News, Nation News
'They DidThe Right Thing'
1 of 6
Reversing itself, Wal-Mart has given up its fight against Debbie Shank, a former employee who suffered severe brain damage after a traffic accident. Shank, 52, received about $470,000 from the retailer's health plan for medical expenses, and the the company had sued to get the payout back after she won money in a settlement.

Maj. Gen. Robert Scales Jr:U.S. has “run out of military options”

U.S. must leave Iraq, retired generals say

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Apr 2, 2008 13:53:39 EDT

Setting a withdrawal timetable from Iraq might be a shaky strategic move, but it would provide a morale boost for service members and their families, a former Army War College commandant said Wednesday.

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert Scales Jr., testifying before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee about U.S. military strategy in Iraq, said he has no doubt that a major withdrawal of combat forces is coming because the U.S. has “run out of military options” and cannot indefinitely sustain troop levels.

“Regardless of who wins the election and regardless of conditions on the ground, by summer the troops will begin to come home,” said Scales, who headed the war college in 1997. “The only point of contention is how precipitous will be the withdrawal and whether the schedule of withdrawal should be a matter of administration policy.”

Scales testified along with two other retired Army generals, Gen. Barry McCaffrey and Lt. Gen. William Odom, who also agreed a withdrawal of U.S. combat troops early in the next president’s administration is inevitable.

“We face a deteriorating political situation with an over-extended Army,” said Odom, who served as director of the National Security Agency in the Reagan administration.

“The only sensible strategy is to withdraw rapidly but in good order,” Odom said. “Only that step can break the paralysis now gripping U.S. strategy in the region.”

McCaffrey, a former chief of U.S. Southern Command and commander of the 24th Infantry Division in the 1991 Gulf War, predicted a withdrawal of U.S. forces within three years or less because there is “no U.S. political will to continue” and because allies “have abandoned us.”

“It is over,” McCaffrey said.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/military_iraqwithdrawal_040208w/

Veterans for Common Sense:VA fails at PTSD care

VA fails at PTSD care, lawsuit charges

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Apr 2, 2008 14:06:14 EDT

Veterans for Common Sense is suing the Department of Veterans Affairs because, the group says, VA is so thoroughly bogged down with a backlog of 600,000 benefits claims that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder are not receiving the care they need.

The trial begins April 21 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The lawsuit, which names VA Secretary Dr. James Peake as defendant, — is a class action filed by a large group of veterans who allege “a system-wide breakdown” in the way the government treats veterans with PTSD. They say several suicidal veterans have unsuccessfully sought VA mental health care.

Representatives from veterans service organizations, VA and mental health experts are expected to testify.

According to Gordon Erspamer, an attorney representing the veterans pro bono, the lawsuit challenges a backlog in handling claims, “appellate delays of five to 10 years” for disability ratings, waiting lists and the “inadequacy of VA care for PTSD.”

The suit asks for immediate medical help, as well as screening for suicidal thoughts, for troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
go here for the rest
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/military_veteransaffairs_lawsuit_040208w/

PTSD mind, body and spirit connection

PTSD and Older VeteransFrom the time of Homer's ancient story of the battle between the Trojans and the Greeks, and the times of the Bible and Shakespeare, military personnel have been confronted by the trauma of war. Recent books and movies have highlighted the impact of war trauma on veterans of the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War. However, the traumas faced by veterans of World War II and the Korean conflict have been publicly acknowledged in the media less often and less clearly. The recent movie, "Saving Private Ryan," showed the reality of war trauma during World War II. World War II was terrifying and shocking for hundreds of thousands of American military personnel. For most World War II veterans, memories of the war can still be upsetting more than 50 years later, even if the memories arise only occasionally and for brief periods. For a smaller number of World War II veterans, the war trauma memories still cause severe problems, in the form of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

(UPDATE, the link was updated January 2020)


Each of them go into combat with their past life in their minds. They know the mistakes they've made, sins committed, people they've hurt, words they said and regret. In other words like the rest of us, they have baggage. They may have joined from the most noblest of reasons, defending the nation, or for a combination of that along with selfish reasons of paying for college. Each one enters in with their own purpose and at different levels. I happen to think they were born heroes and would have done something for society no matter what they chose to do with their lives.

They train to kill and in the back of their minds they think it's wrong to kill. This quiet voice is hushed in training and focusing on moment. It reawakens when they are putting their training to use and have to kill someone or come into contact after or even when they see one of their friends killed.

Trauma strikes people. For victims the wound does not cut as deep it seems. For emergency responders, it cuts a bit deeper because they come into contact with traumatic situations often. For police officers, it cuts even deeper because they are participants in it doing their job and are often in a situation where they have to kill someone. For the combat forces, it cuts even deeper than all the others because they participate in it more often.

When a bomb blows up and they survive, they either survive thinking God spared their lives or God judged them for their lives and this was punishment. They may believe that God abandoned them because of what they had done in their lives or judged them because they just killed someone.

Depending on the relationship the warrior has with God and the knowledge of how He forgives, this will predict if the baggage they carry will awaken or remain asleep. What most people do not understand is that war and the traumas of war were in the Bible and throughout recorded history. War is not murder and God did not condemn the warrior. Neither did Christ. When the Roman Centurion went to Christ seeking to have his slave cured, a slave he loved, the Roman was filled with so much faith that Christ could do it, he told Christ he didn't have to go to his house in order to heal his slave. Christ, knowing the Romans were responsible for the hardships on the Hebrews and knowing they would nail Him to the Cross, healed the slave and blessed the Centurion for his faith in Him. Those who know they are forgiven for all they have done wrong, will usually leave the trauma behind them in enough of an amount they do not feel as if it has penetrated their soul. They thank God for watching over them.

For those who do not understand, most of the time they feel God either hates them and they are paying the price with the ravages of what they lived through taking over their mind or God abandoned them and they are on their own.

This is one of the biggest reasons why the healing is so much stronger when the connection between mind/body/spirit are all treated at the same time. Mind is helped by talk therapy and medication. Body is helped with exercises that do not require aggression for most, but for some they find it helps to do something like weight training. Spirit is helped when they speak to others of their faith or a spiritual counselor. Usually with a member of the clergy or a Chaplain with a strong understanding of the spiritual needs of all people. They must be non-judgmental, which is hard for a lot of members of the clergy. Chaplains get into this because they are under no church authority and are allowed to take care of the spiritual needs of all people no matter what faith they have or if they have no faith at all. Most of the time it is the act of human kindness that goes a long way in healing the spirit.

If they feel they have been abandoned by God and then by their country, this cuts the wound even deeper. Not having someone to help them as they see their lives fall apart, cuts even deeper. By they time this happens, they are seeking someone to show some compassion for them and find it very hard to receive. Now think of what it would have been like for them to go through trauma in combat and then have the ability to debrief like police and first responders do with Chaplains. How deep do you think the wound would cut if this happened?

Read the rest from the center.

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

How does war affect "normal," "healthy" military personnel?
War is a life threatening experience that involves witnessing and engaging in terrifying and gruesome acts of violence. Most military personnel also feel that participating in war is their patriotic duty, and they do so to protect and defend their country, their loved ones, their values, and their way of life. The trauma of war is the shocking confrontation with death, devastation, and violence. It is normal for human beings to react to war's psychic trauma with feelings of fear, anger, grief, and horror, as well as with emotional numbness and disbelief.

Many studies have shown that the more prolonged, extensive, and horrifying a soldier's or sailor's exposure to war trauma, the more likely it is that she or he will become emotionally worn down and exhausted. This happens to even the strongest and healthiest of individuals, and often it is precisely these soldiers who are the most psychologically disturbed by war because they endure so much of the trauma. Most war heroes don't feel brave or heroic at the time, but they do their duty, despite often feeling overwhelmed and horrified, in order to protect others.

It is, therefore, no surprise that when military personnel have had severe difficulty recovering from the trauma of war, their psychological difficulties have been described as "soldier's heart" (in the Civil War), "shell shock" (in World War I), or "combat fatigue" (in World War II). After World War II, psychiatrists realized that these problems usually were not an inborn mental illness like schizophrenia or manic depressive illness but were a different form of psychological dis-ease that resulted from too much exposure to war trauma. This form of psychological dis-ease is known as "traumatic war neurosis" or Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Although most war veterans are troubled by war memories, many were fortunate enough either to have not experienced an overwhelming amount of trauma exposure or to have immediate and lasting help from family, friends, and spiritual and psychological counselors so that the memories have become manageable. A smaller number, probably about one in twenty World War II veterans, had so much war trauma and so many readjustment difficulties that they now suffer from PTSD.

How is it possible to have PTSD 50 years after a war?Because most World War II veterans received a hero's welcome and a booming peacetime economy when they returned to the states, many were able to make a successful readjustment to civilian life. They coped, more or less successfully, with their memories of traumatic events. Many had disturbing memories or nightmares, difficulty with work pressure or close relationships, and problems with anger or nervousness, but few sought treatment for their symptoms or discussed the emotional effects of their wartime experiences. Society expected them to put it all behind them, forget the war, and get on with their lives. But as they grew older and went through changes in the patterns of their lives-retirement, the death of spouse and friends, deteriorating health, and declining physical vigor-many experienced more difficulty with war memories or stress reactions. Some had enough trouble to be diagnosed with a delayed onset of PTSD symptoms, sometimes with other disorders like depression and alcohol abuse. Such PTSD often occurs in subtle ways. For example, a World War II veteran who had a long successful career as an attorney and judge and a loving relationship with his wife and family might find upon retiring and having a heart attack that he suddenly felt panicky and trapped when going out in public. Upon closer examination, with a sensitive helpful counselor, he might find that the fear is worst when riding in his car, and this may relate to trauma memories of deaths among his unit when he was a tank commander in World War II.

How can I help an older military veteran who may have PTSD?First, if one feels emotional about past memories or experiences some of the normal changes associated with growing older (such as sleep disturbances, concentration problems, or memory impairment), it does not necessarily mean that person has PTSD. If a World War II or Korean conflict veteran finds it important, but emotionally difficult, to remember and talk about war memories, help him or her by being a good listener, or help find a friend or counselor who can be a good listener.

Second, get information about war trauma and PTSD. The Department of Veterans Affairs' Vet Centers and Medical Center PTSD Teams offer education for veterans and families, and they can provide an in-depth psychological assessment and specialized therapy if a veteran has PTSD. Books such as Aphrodite Matsakis' I Can't Get Over It (Oakland: New Harbinger, 1992) and Patience Mason's Home from the War (High Springs, Florida: Patience Press, 1998) describe PTSD for veterans of all ages and other trauma survivors and PTSD's effect on the family.

Third, learn about the specialized therapies available at Vet Centers and VA Medical Centers. These include medications to help with sleep, bad memories, anxiety, and depression; stress and anger management classes; counseling groups for PTSD and grief (some particularly designed to bring together older war veterans to support one another in healing from war trauma or prisoner of war experiences); and individual counseling. It is important that family members be involved in the veteran's care and in their own individual care.

This fact sheet was based on:
Bonwick, R.J., & Morris, P.L.P. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in elderly war veterans. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 11, 1071-1076.

Hyer, L., Summers, M.N., Braswell, L., & Boyd, S. (1995). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Silent problem among older combat veterans. Psychotherapy 32(2), 348-364.

Schnurr, P.P. (1991).PTSD and Combat-Related Psychiatric Symptoms in Older Veterans. PTSD Research Quarterly 2(1), 1-6.

Snell, F.I. & Padin-Rivera, E. (1997). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the elderly combat veteran. Journal of Gerontological Nursing 23(10), 13-19.
http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/ncdocs/fact_shts/fs_older_veterans.html

Rapists in the Ranks

Rapists in the Ranks

By Jane Harman , Los Angeles Times. Posted April 2, 2008.

Women in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. When will Congress and the DOD take notice?

The stories are shocking in their simplicity and brutality: A female military recruit is pinned down at knifepoint and raped repeatedly in her own barracks. Her attackers hid their faces but she identified them by their uniforms; they were her fellow soldiers. During a routine gynecological exam, a female soldier is attacked and raped by her military physician. Yet another young soldier, still adapting to life in a war zone, is raped by her commanding officer. Afraid for her standing in her unit, she feels she has nowhere to turn.

These are true stories, and, sadly, not isolated incidents. Women serving in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq.

The scope of the problem was brought into acute focus for me during a visit to the West Los Angeles VA Healthcare Center, where I met with female veterans and their doctors. My jaw dropped when the doctors told me that 41% of female veterans seen at the clinic say they were victims of sexual assault while in the military, and 29% report being raped during their military service. They spoke of their continued terror, feelings of helplessness and the downward spirals many of their lives have since taken.

Numbers reported by the Department of Defense show a sickening pattern. In 2006, 2,947 sexual assaults were reported -- 73% more than in 2004. The DOD's newest report, released this month, indicates that 2,688 reports were made in 2007, but a recent shift from calendar-year reporting to fiscal-year reporting makes comparisons with data from previous years much more difficult.
go here for the rest
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/80995/

The men who do this are twisted but the ones who do nothing about it are worse. How could any man not put their sister in arms in an equal place as their own mother or their own sister or their own wife?

House Speaker will listen to veterans

Veterans will get face time with Pelosi
Last update: April 1, 2008 - 10:39 PM
WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will meet with Minnesota veterans in the Twin Cities this month to discuss veterans' legislation, her office announced Tuesday.

Pelosi, D-Calif., accepted an invitation from freshman Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., a 24-year veteran of the Army National Guard and a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.

go here for the rest
http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/17208296.html

Retsil Program Turning Homelessness to Hope

Retsil Program Turning Homelessness to Hope
By Chris Henry (Contact)
Tuesday, April 1, 2008

RETSIL

Evins Wilkerson, a Vietnam veteran, had a good job as mental health counselor in Oregon when he went into the Seattle Veterans Affairs Hospital for a medical procedure.

Wilkerson, 57, expected to be out of commission about two weeks, but two days before his surgery, he had a heart attack. Two weeks later, he had a stroke.

Unable to work and out of funds, he found himself homeless.

Paul Elliott, 47, is a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard. Like Wilkerson, he had always been steadily employed, most recently on a fishing boat in Alaska.

"Through a chain of events, I got myself into trouble," said Elliott. "The scenario was bad choices of mine pushed me into homelessness."

On Tuesday, they and others with similar stories talked about the new Veterans Transitional Housing Program at the Washington State Veterans Home in Retsil, and how it gave them a second chance at life.

"I'm so blessed to be here, this place is a life saver," said Joseph Jackson, a U.S. Army veteran, was homeless as recently as January and has been diagnosed with cancer.

The program, which opened in November at the remodeled Building 9, provides a safe haven for veterans down on their luck and without a roof over their heads. But unlike a typical homeless shelter, the program teaches residents skills they need to regain independence to the best of their ability.

"These are all people who have fallen on hard times. They're not here for a hand out. They're here for a hand up," John Lee, Director of the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs, said at the facility Tuesday.

Also present was Mike Gregoire, husband of Gov. Chris Gregoire, himself a Vietnam vet and a veterans advocate.

"It's a day to celebrate for sure," Gregoire said.

The program currently serves 20 veterans, 19 men and one woman, at a facility that will ultimately serve 75. Since opening, three residents have regained independence and moved out.

Most of the residents, like Wilkerson and Jackson, are Vietnam-era vets age 50 to 65, said program manager Ray Switzer. The youngest is a 21-year-old Iraq War veteran.

click post title for the rest

Camp Algonquin Stand Down For Homeless Vets

St. Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia Speaks to Veterans at Camp Algonquin Stand Down
- posted by Cal Skinner

This may be the last time the Veterans Stand Down sponsored by Crystal Lake's NASA Education may occur at Camp Algonquin.

It's not because yesterday's event, the fourth at Camp Algonquin, was a failure.

Just the opposite.

The over 200 veterans, many homeless, filled the camp on the Fox River.
go here for the rest
http://capitalfax.blogspot.com/2008/04/st-rep-linda-chapa-lavia-speaks-to.html

Some people will read this and think how sad it is, while others will read it and think how wonderful it is that so many people do really care about our homeless veterans. Both would be right. It's sad that in this nation any veteran would be homeless. It is wrong! The goodness of some people offer hope that one day, if enough people care, no one will ever serve this country again and end up homeless.

How "Supportive" Is Internet-Based Supportive Psychotherapy?

How "Supportive" Is Internet-Based Supportive Psychotherapy?
JOHN C. MARKOWITZ, M.D.
New York, N.Y.
To the Editor: In their article, published in the November 2007 issue of the Journal, Brett T. Litz, Ph.D., et al. presented thought-provoking preliminary data on Internet-assisted, cognitive behavioral self-management of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (1). In a report that emphasized technology and downplayed human contact, however, it might have been helpful to clarify certain details pertaining to the control intervention. A randomized study is only as credible as its control intervention, which raises conundrums. What exactly is Internet supportive counseling—the control condition—in this trial? Furthermore, how much therapist contact did subjects actually receive?
go here for the rest
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/165/4/534

I am not a psychologist or a therapist but I can tell you that this is necessary to fill in the gaps. They need to be helped as soon as they want it.

My role has been to provide the knowledge of what PTSD is as simply as possible, get them past the stigma of having it so they don't think it's their fault and then send them to get the help they need. With the VA overloaded and rural area veterans waiting too long for help, this kind of intervention is crucial to saving their lives. As soon as they begin to seek help, PTSD stops getting worse.

If they turn to the clergy, the clergy need to be there to help them. If they turn to suicide prevention phone calls, they better be there to help them and not tell the veteran they need to call back or wait for help. Everyone able to help needs to help them as soon as they can. The role of the online therapist cannot replace seeing someone face to face but given the fact some veterans need the anonymity online help offers, they should do it. We all have to understand that there is just not enough room for everyone needing help to get it and until there is, this will require whatever we can offer all of them.

High numbers of West Virginia PTSD veterans

High number of WV war vets return home with PTSD, depression
By Emily Corio
Last year, West Virginia lawmakers wanted to know how veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan were adjusting to life at home. They commissioned a study to survey these veterans about their mental health, home-life and work. So far, the results show a troubling trend.
Click here for audio
Click here to read story

Heady: Unless the primary care doctor, let’s say five years out, thinks to ask ‘Hey, did you, are you a veteran? Were you in Iraq? Did you see combat?’ Until we can understand all of those kinds of features and make sure that people are trained for that---to ask for it, to look for it, then that gives us a whole other picture to know what this, how to advise this person, how to help them, where to refer them, all of those kinds of things.

If the DOD and the VA did a better job of getting the troops and veterans to understand what PTSD is, they would not have to wait until they go to a private doctor later and take their chances the doctor would be aware of what to ask the veteran about. This is ridiculous!

Are they not doing more outreach work on purpose hoping more don't show up to seek treatment for their wounds and reduce the budget? I know it sounds like a conspiracy but given the fact PTSD has been well known under different names since the beginning of recorded history, you'd think everyone would know what it is, but they don't. I still get emails from veterans and their families trying to understand this. You would also think that since the Vietnam veterans rate of PTSD and astronomical numbers following Korean veterans and WWII veterans, they would have used all these years to be pro-active in addressing this. Then you would also have to think that if it was about saving a buck here and there, they would take advantage of early intervention to make sure that PTSD was stopped from getting worse before they became chronic and before their lives were destroyed to the point they could not work, saw their families fall apart and end up homeless. But, you must be among those who still think that when the administration claims they take care of the wounded, they actually do. We know what works and they are not doing it!

PTSD out of control, under-staffed VA and Akaka wants to know why

Akaka and Sanders Meet with Veterans Affairs Secretary Peake
Urge action on health care eligibility for middle-income vets, National PTSD Center
By Kawika Riley, 4/1/2008 7:45:46 PM
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) and committee member Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT) met with Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake. They discussed funding for the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and a proposal to modify VA’s income threshold to make more middle-income veterans eligible for VA healthcare. Akaka, Sanders and other committee members have pressed Secretary Peake on both issues since his recent confirmation as VA Secretary.

“As we move through the final year of this Administration and this Congress, we must work together to find common ground for the sake of our veterans. I appreciate the Secretary’s willingness to work with us on these issues,” said Akaka. Secretary Peake agreed during the meeting to look more closely into the income threshold for veterans, as well as strengthening support for the National Center for PTSD.

Senators Akaka and Sanders wrote Secretary Peake on January 24, 2008, urging him to dedicate more funds to the National Center for PTSD. The Center has taken on a larger mission and workload in recent years, due in part to the increased number of veterans suffering from PSTD. Already, more than 100,000 servicemembers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have reported mental health disorders, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Meanwhile, the PTSD Center’s budget, adjusted for inflation, has been flat for the past half-decade, and overall staff levels have been reduced since 1999.

click post title for the rest

Now maybe the media will understand why advocates get so angry over all of this! Paul Sullivan of Veterans For Common Sense wouldn't have taken on the enormous task of suing the VA if this was not going on. There would be no need for any legal action if they had taken care of the wounded.

Gen. Petraeus and a High-Level Suicide in Iraq

Gen. Petraeus and a High-Level Suicide in Iraq

Posted April 1, 2008 12:34 PM (EST)

The scourge of suicides among American troops in Iraq is a serious and seriously underreported problem. One of the few high-profile cases involves a much-admired Army colonel named Ted Westhusing -- who, in his 2005 suicide note, pointed a finger at a then little-known U.S. general named David Petraeus. Westhusing's widow, asked by a friend what killed this West Point scholar, had replied simply: "Iraq."

Now there is a disturbing update on this case.

Before putting a bullet through his head, Westhusing had been deeply disturbed by abuses carried out by American contractors in Iraq, including allegations that they had witnessed or even participated in the murder of Iraqis. His suicide note included claims that his two commanders tolerated a mission based on "corruption, human right abuses and liars." One of those commanders: the future leader of the "surge" campaign in Iraq, Gen. Petraeus.

Westhusing, 44, had been found dead in a trailer at a military base near the Baghdad airport in June 2005, a single gunshot wound to the head. At the time, he was the highest-ranking officer to die in Iraq. The Army concluded that he committed suicide with his service pistol. Westhusing was an unusual case: "one of the Army's leading scholars of military ethics, a full professor at West Point who volunteered to serve in Iraq to be able to better teach his students. He had a doctorate in philosophy; his dissertation was an extended meditation on the meaning of honor," as Christian Miller explained in a major Los Angeles Times piece.

"In e-mails to his family," Miller wrote, "Westhusing seemed especially upset by one conclusion he had reached: that traditional military values such as duty, honor and country had been replaced by profit motives in Iraq, where the U.S. had come to rely heavily on contractors for jobs once done by the military." His death followed quickly. "He was sick of money-grubbing contractors," one official recounted. Westhusing said that "he had not come over to Iraq for this." After a three-month inquiry, investigators declared Westhusing's death a suicide.

Mobile law office helping vets get benefits

Low-income guidelines used by Project SALUTE

Project SALUTE qualifies low-income veterans by using 200 percent of the federal poverty level. For 2008, that translates to the following:

$20,800 Single individual

$28,000 Family of two

$35,200 Family of three

$42,400 Family of four

$49,600 Family of five

$56,800 Family of six

$64,000 Family of seven

$71,200 Family of eight

Source: Mark Gordon, UDM School of Law Dean

Mobile law office helping vets get benefits
By Rick Vasquez, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, April 3, 2008


WASHINGTON — The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law has launched a national tour of its Mobile Law Office to provide low-income veterans free assistance or representation on federal benefits issues, and is training local attorneys to continue assisting veterans on a local level.

Project SALUTE, which stands for Students And Lawyers (Assisting) U.S. Troops Everywhere, will make stops in cities across the country, and has just finished touring Florida. Tentative dates for Atlanta have been set and additional dates will be added as the tour continues. Updates are available at www.law.udmercy.edu.

“We have had tremendous success since we began our national tour in February,” said Mark Gordon, the school’s dean. “We have seen more than 500 veterans and have trained well over 100 attorneys to handle their cases pro bono.”

Project SALUTE first offers veterans an informational session on getting federal benefits. Interviews are then conducted, giving veterans a chance to state their case. Local attorneys are also offered the opportunity to obtain continuing legal education credits by attending a training session on handling federal benefit issues.

“Based on the training, we then refer some of the cases,” said Gordon. “We refer cases only to those attorneys who are going to do it pro bono.”

Project SALUTE only provides assistance on cases relating to federal benefit issues.

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