Parents of dead GI sue anti-war shirt maker

NOTE: I am not sure if this is the same T-shirt or not but it gives you some idea.




Parents of dead GI sue anti-war shirt maker

By Paul Davenport - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 24, 2008 9:24:11 EDT

PHOENIX — The parents of a Tennessee soldier killed in Iraq are suing an Arizona online merchant who included their son’s name on anti-war shirts that list names of troops killed in the war.

The lawsuit filed by Robin and Michael Read of Greeneville, Tenn., accuses Dan Frazier of Flagstaff of intentionally inflicting emotional harm by including Spc. Brandon Michael Read’s name on casualty lists printed on “Bush lied — They died” T-shirts without permission and by ignoring a demand to remove their son’s name.

The suit seeks $10 million in compensatory and punitive damages. It also asks that Frazier be permanently barred from using Brandon Read’s name.

Frazier’s free-speech rights ended when he used Brandon Read’s name for profit and any reasonable person would consider Frazier’s actions outrageous, said the lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Tennessee.

Read, a 21-year-old member of the Army Reserve, was killed by a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq on Sept. 6, 2004.

The family’s attorney, Francis X. Santore Jr. of Greeneville, said local court rules prohibited him and his clients from discussing the case beyond a statement in which the parents discussed their son and asked to be left alone while they let the courts “resolve this highly personal situation.”

Frazier did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

However, his company’s Web site says it continues to sell the shirts despite laws passed by Arizona and other states “because we believe the message is important.”

The Arizona law was enacted last year, making it a misdemeanor to use dead soldiers’ names for commercial purposes without permission.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_antiwar_shirt_042408/

I have to agree with the parents on this one. Sorry but I really don't think anyone should be making money off any of this. If the parents do not support the view of the T-shirt, it's their right to also enjoy free speech and have the name of their son removed for the sale of the T-shirts. It would be equally wrong for someone on the other side to do this. No matter which side, making money off this no matter what the family thinks, is wrong. Given the size of the print, how big of a deal can it be to the maker of the T-shirt to fight to keep the name on?

Non-combat death at Fort Knox

Knox soldier dies by apparent gunshot wound

The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 24, 2008 9:31:12 EDT

FORT KNOX, Ky. — The Army is investigating a Fort Knox soldier’s death Wednesday afternoon from an apparent gunshot wound. He was an Army specialist in the 16th Cavalry Regiment, which includes the Army’s Armor School, officials said.

The soldier’s name has not been released pending notification of family. A Defense Department policy prohibits releasing names until 24 hours after next of kin is informed.

A Fort Knox spokesman declined to say whether the death was a result of a training accident. Officials say the soldier received care from an on-site medic and then was flown to University Hospital in Louisville.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_knoxdeath_042408/

Three more non-combat deaths

04/23/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Pvt. Ronald R. Harrison, 25, of Morris Plains, N.J., died April 22 at Forward Operating Base Falcon near Baghdad, Iraq, of a non-combat related injury. He was assigned to the 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team...

04/23/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (part 2 of 2)
Spc. Steven J. Christofferson, 20, of Cudahy, Wis...died April 21 in Bayji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry ...

04/23/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (part 1 of 2)
Sgt. Adam J. Kohlhaas, 26, of Perryville, Mo...died April 21 in Bayji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team...

04/23/08 MNF: MND-B Soldier attacked by small-arms fire Multi-National Division A Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldier was killed when he was attacked by small-arms fire while his patrol was conducting operations in eastern Baghdad at approximately 2:20 p.m. April 23.

04/22/08 DoD Identifies Navy Casualty
Petty Officer 1st Class Cherie L. Morton, 40, of Bakersfield, Calif., died April 20 in Galali, Muharraq, Bahrain. She was assigned to Naval Security Force, Naval Support Activity Bahrain.

04/22/08 DoD Identifies Navy Casualty
Airman Apprentice Adrian M. Campos, 22, of El Paso, Texas, was found dead in Dubai on April 21 due to a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Support Squadron 22, which was attached to the USNS Arctic.

04/22/08 MNF: Marines attacked by SVBIED near Ramadi - 2 killed, 3 wounded
Two MNF-West Marines were killed when a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated at an entry control point in the vicinity of Ramadi, Iraq, at approximately 7:30 a.m. April 22. The SVBIED attack wounded three other Marines.

04/22/08 MNF: Marines attacked by IED - 1 killed, 1 wounded
A Multi-National Force – West Marine was killed by an improvised explosive device in Basra, Iraq, April 21. Additionally, one Marine was injured in the attack.

http://icasualties.org/oif/

US auditor says Iraqi oil windfall growing even bigger than expected

US auditor says Iraqi oil windfall growing even bigger than expected — maybe up to $70 billion
WASHINGTON: New data on Iraq oil revenues suggests that country's government will reap an even larger than expected windfall this year — as much as $70 billion (€43.9 billion) — according to the special U.S. auditor for Iraq.

The previously undisclosed information is likely to strengthen the hand of U.S. lawmakers complaining that Iraqis are not footing enough of the bill for rebuilding their nation — particularly in light of rising oil production and world prices.

Oil prices Wednesday hovered near $120 (€75) a barrel.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates met privately Tuesday night with Senate Armed Forces Committee Chairman Carl Levin, where the Democrat said he would raise the issue of spending in Iraq.

New figures from Iraq's government show revenue from exports hit $5.83 billion (€3.6 billion) in December — more than $1 billion (€630 million) over what was previously reported by the government, said Stuart Bowen, special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, in an interview with The Associated Press.
go here for more
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/23/america/NA-GEN-US-Iraq-Oil.php
Linked from ICasualties.org

But we're still paying for everything and can't manage to take care of the wounded without some people in Washington saying taking care of the wounded the right way will cost too much money.

House panels pass 13 veterans’ bills

House panels pass 13 veterans’ bills

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Apr 23, 2008 16:59:21 EDT

Thirteen veterans’ bills, including landmark legislation updating GI Bill benefits and home loan programs, passed two House subcommittees Wednesday — a display of activity that stands is in sharp contrast to the deadlock in the Senate on veterans’ legislation.

House lawmakers passed seven benefits and five health care bills on a bipartisan basis, a sign that compromise is still possible despite an increasingly bitter and partisan split in the Senate over veterans’ legislation.

Among the benefits bills passed by the House Veterans’ Affairs economic opportunity panel is HR 5684, the Veterans’ Education Improvement Act.

That bill would increase GI Bill payments, provide $500 a month to cover living expenses for full-time students, and allow benefits to be used to repay student loans or cover a wider variety of vocational and business training.

It also would change the way service members buy into the GI Bill program, allowing the $1,200 contribution to be collected over two years instead of one, and would allow service members to enroll in the GI Bill at any time in their career, not just during basic training.

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., chairwoman of the economic opportunity panel, said the bipartisan bill is part of an overdue modernization “to make benefits more flexible and meet the rapidly escalating costs of higher education and training.”

The Defense Department raised objections last week to some parts of the bill, but accepted the proposed increase in basic GI Bill payments from the current $1,101 a month for people who have three or more years of active service and are full-time students, to a new monthly maximum of $1,450.

Defense officials did not support the $500 in monthly living expenses called for by the bill.

Herseth Sandlin said the education bill does not cut as wide a swath as some other GI Bill proposals, such as two competing measures introduced in the Senate that are creating a partisan divide. But limiting the bill to specific issues makes it relatively affordable — $595 million in the first year, compared to a $2 billion estimate on the Senate bills — and also allows her subcommittee to pass a measure while everyone else is still talking.

The House bill is more limited than other proposals. It does not address National Guard and reserve issues because they do not fall under jurisdiction of the veterans’ committee, and the bill does not include any proposal to transfer benefits to family members, something many troops say they want but that Herseth Sandlin said she is not ready to support.

The economic opportunity panel also passed bills that would make it both easier and less costly for veterans to refinance home loans by reducing administrative fees and increasing the maximum loan amount. It would also impose a one-year moratorium after release from active duty on the sale, foreclosure or seizure of property that was purchased by a service member before they began active service.

Some of the other benefits bills passed by the committee would:

• Transfer responsibility for GI Bill benefits for Guard and reserve members from the Pentagon to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

• Update VA’s program for providing grants to veterans who need housing adapted to their service-connected disabilities.

• Order a 20-year study of vocational rehabilitation programs to see how specific groups of veterans are helped by current programs.

• Allow VA to purchase national advertising to tell veterans about benefits available to them.

The House Veterans’ Affairs health subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Michael Michaud, D-Maine, approved bills that would establish a director of physician assistant services within VA; expand spina bifida health care programs for children of Vietnam veterans who were exposed to the herbicide Agent Orange; expand prevention and treatment programs for substance abuse; and expand circumstances under which veterans are reimbursed for emergency treatment in non-VA facilities.

Also approved was a bill authorizing leases and construction of veterans’ medical facilities.

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/military_veteransbenefits_bills_050508w/

Fort Drum has 253 percent increase in PTSD

Feedback: More Fort Drum Soldiers Seek Help For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Over a two year period, Fort Drum saw a 253 percent increase in the number of soldiers seeking treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The local post says more troops are coming back from war in Iraq and Afghanistan with mental and emotional scars because of their exposure to combat.
“We think because our outreach is good, and because we’re aggressive at getting folks in the door, that the numbers are increasing…that given the fact that the conflict has been extended, we’re having more soldiers that have been deployed multiple times,” said clinical psychologist Dr. Todd Benham of Fort Drum’s Behavioral Health Department.
In the past, PTSD was called by other names including ’shell shock’ and ‘traumatic war neurosis’.
Thousands of soldiers suffered in silence from the anxiety disorder, which can cause depression as well as problems with sleep, concentration and behavior.
“Suicide is a huge concern for us and it’s something we’re actively addressing. It’s part of the reason that we partner with our local inpatient facilities to make sure we have a place to send soldiers that are suicidal,” said Dr. Benham.
Over the years, thousands of PTSD sufferers never sought treatment because of the fear that their military careers would be destroyed.
“Because of the stigma associated with mental health and accessing mental health services, that in some ways is a challenge - creates a barrier for those who need treatment from perhaps recognizing a problem and then accessing treatment,” said Dennis Whalen, deputy secretary for New York State Health and Human Services.
Since 2000, every soldier assigned to Fort Drum receives mental health screenings.
Since 2005, every soldier meets with a clinical social worker.
As a result, the stigma associated with PTSD appears to be diminishing - as reflected in the data provided by Fort Drum.
In 2004, the local post says it had 1,048 visits for PTSD.
Two years later, there were 2,269 visits - a 253 percent increase.
Fewer than 1 percent of soldiers leave Fort Drum due to PTSD.
Approximately 7 percent of soldiers with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team have sought some type of mental health treatment.
For more information about the causes, symptoms and treatment for PTSD, click here.
See Jeff Nelson’s report:
click post title for link

This is not a bad thing because they are getting more to seek help. It is also good that 1 percent are discharged because of it. Do they catch it early enough to get them treatment before it becomes too bad to deal with? Lots of questions here but it's not all bad.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Takes Center Stage

Cape Girardeau, MO
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Takes Center Stage
Posted: April 23, 2008 06:16 PM EDT

By: Crystal Britt
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder affects more people than you might think, not just those coming home from combat. Thursday in Cape Girardeau there's an opportunity for people to learn more about PTSD and how you or someone you know can get help.

Chris Amacker doesn't know if life will ever be the same. In 2006 he returned from Iraq, where he says he saw a lot.

"Several people died. Soldiers got killed while we were there," said Amacker.

He says, IED's were everywhere.

"I probably got hit by six or seven, but when you get hit, you drive through them. It's just one that took my spine out," said Amacker.

He has a spinal injury, a brain injury, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

"The PTSD actually ran my ex-wife off. I don't leave the yard. It's real tough for me to go to public places, my roommate goes into grocery stores for me," said Amacker.

He suffers from anxiety, depression and anger, all symptoms Army Sergeant Lucky Sands knows quite well. She's also an Iraq war veteran.

"When we come back mentally and physically broken, where's the help?" she asked?

She works as an instructor, educating other soldiers about PTSD. She still struggles with not just the illness, but the stigma.

"(They say) You're just crazy. Some people can't hold a job. It affects families. You're angry all the time. You're suspicious all the time, always tense. You hear a little noise and what's that?" said Sands.
go here for more
http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=8217300

Iraq: Two Vermont Soldiers Can't Get Here From There

Vt. soldiers can’t get home from Iraq

By Erin Kelly - Gannett News Service
Posted : Wednesday Apr 23, 2008 17:09:08 EDT

WASHINGTON — Vermont soldiers who have completed their tours of duty in Iraq cannot get home because of flight delays caused in part by the recent bankruptcy of ATA Airlines, the Vermont congressional delegation said Wednesday.

Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch wrote to the Pentagon this week to try to help two Vermont soldiers whose parents contacted the lawmakers about their sons’ plight. The soldiers, whose names the lawmakers did not disclose for privacy reasons, are stuck in Baghdad.

“After completing their service to our country overseas, our men and women deserve a safe return home without delays,” the delegation wrote Tuesday in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The delays are partly the result of ATA Airlines’ announcement early this month that it was discontinuing service and filing for bankruptcy. The military had hired ATA Airlines to ferry troops between the U.S. and overseas bases. The Indianapolis-based airline had been contracted to fly 70 military charters through September, which Air Force Times reported earlier this month.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_vermontsoldiers_ata_042308/

VA faulted in diagnosing suicide candidates

VA faulted in diagnosing suicide candidates
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Former soldiers are killing themselves at three to seven times the rate of the general population and the Department of Veterans Affairs is failing to diagnose or treat them effectively, a suicide expert testified Tuesday in a lawsuit challenging the VA's mental health system.

Department personnel aren't asking enough questions to determine whether veterans are suicidal, aren't sharing information about suicide risks with the VA's network of hospitals and clinics and aren't implementing their own plans to improve the system, Ronald Maris, a University of South Carolina sociology professor, told U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti in San Francisco.

A majority of the VA's counselors, doctors, social workers and psychologists "don't have the tools and the information that they need to intervene effectively with suicidal vets," said Maris, a former president of the American Association of Suicidology who has been a consultant to the Army on suicide prevention.

He was particularly critical of the VA's top health care administrator, William Feeley, who said in a pretrial deposition April 9 that the agency has no systematic national plan for suicide prevention. Feeley also said he was unaware of any methods of tracking veterans at risk of suicide and that suicide rates "are not a metric we are measuring."

"I would say he was singularly uninformed about suicide," Maris said.
go here for more
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/23/BADL10A15L.DTL

Depleted uranium to be monitored at Schofield

Depleted uranium to be monitored at Schofield

The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Apr 23, 2008 16:51:30 EDT

HONOLULU — The Army says depleted uranium at Schofield Barracks poses no health risk.

It’s decided it won’t try to remove Cold War munitions discovered in 2005.

But the Pentagon is going to spend $2.5 million to monitor the training range at Schofield for any danger from the weaponry, as well as ranges at Makua Military Reservation and Pohakuloa on the Big Island.

Army radiation safety officer Greg Komp says federal and state radiation experts have determined the Schofield area is safe for soldiers who live near the site and for workers.

Depleted uranium is twice as dense as lead and has been used as part of the armor to protect tanks. It’s also been used in projectiles designed to penetrate enemy armored vehicles.

The uranium was found on a 400-acre impact area of the Schofield training range.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_depleted_uranium_042308/