Alabama State Veterans Director Says Veterans Wait 4 Years for VA Claim Appeal
Jane McCardle
Wiregrass Aviator
Apr 24, 2008
April 22, 2008 - Enterprise, AL -- Area veterans took advantage of an opportunity to ask questions about the benefits claims process from a state Veterans Affairs officer during a recent meeting.
Richardo (Rick) F. Randle, director of Alabama Department of Veteran Affairs, was the guest speaker at the April 19 meeting of the Lower Alabama Veterans Alliance Saturday at Ryan’s in Enterprise.
Randle told the filled-to- capacity crowd of LAVA members and guests that staffing is a critical issue with the department, and until more resources become available, staffing will remain a problem.
“We are doing the best we can with the resources available to us,” said Randle.
“Since 2006, the number of claims has grown 15 percent. The amount of time it takes to make decisions on disability claims is two to three year. On an average, it takes four years to get an appeals decision.”
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/9914
In other words, up to 4 years with no income for wounded veterans who cannot work,,,,,up to 4 years of being told they are not worth having their wounds taken care of no matter what happened to them serving this country!
Friday, April 25, 2008
No Evidence that Psychiatric Drugs Work for PTSD
No Evidence that Psychiatric Drugs Work for PTSD
Thursday, April 24, 2008
by: David Gutierrez Key concepts: PTSD, psychiatric drugs and Institute of Medicine
NaturalNews) There is no evidence that drug treatments or the majority of non-drug treatments work on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a major review of the medical literature on the topic.
A committee of the Institute of Medicine reviewed the literature on PTSD treatments upon the request of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Initially, the committee identified 2,771 studies, but eventually reviewed only 90 of these. The trials reviewed included randomized controlled trials, controlled psychotherapy trials and placebo-controlled pharmacotherapy trials.
Of the 90 studies, exposure therapy was the only treatment that was supported by evidence of its effectiveness. All other tested treatments had insufficient evidence to support them.
"These therapies may or may not be effective - we just don't know in the absence of good data," said committee chair Alfred O. Berg.
go here for more
http://www.naturalnews.com/023100.html
Well now this just pisssed me off! "We just don't know" is unacceptable! When the hell will they know? It's not like they haven't studied the hell out of this since Vietnam or that psychology is any kind of new science. You'd think they would know exactly what was working by now but they don't make money if they find what works and end the suffering of millions of people. They can't get funded if they know exactly how to treat it effectively. There is no cure for PTSD but there are ways to lessen the eating away of lives. They do know that as soon as treatment begins, PTSD stops getting worse, no matter what the treatment is. Talk therapy, medications and all the other treatments work but they know it's not a one size fits all. If one treatment doesn't work then move on and offer another kind. If one on one talk therapy doesn't work, then use group therapy or the other way around. They need to stop wasting time studying what has already been studied for over 30 years AND COME UP WITH SOME NEW IDEAS!PTSD is as old as humans are!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
by: David Gutierrez Key concepts: PTSD, psychiatric drugs and Institute of Medicine
NaturalNews) There is no evidence that drug treatments or the majority of non-drug treatments work on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a major review of the medical literature on the topic.
A committee of the Institute of Medicine reviewed the literature on PTSD treatments upon the request of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Initially, the committee identified 2,771 studies, but eventually reviewed only 90 of these. The trials reviewed included randomized controlled trials, controlled psychotherapy trials and placebo-controlled pharmacotherapy trials.
Of the 90 studies, exposure therapy was the only treatment that was supported by evidence of its effectiveness. All other tested treatments had insufficient evidence to support them.
"These therapies may or may not be effective - we just don't know in the absence of good data," said committee chair Alfred O. Berg.
go here for more
http://www.naturalnews.com/023100.html
Well now this just pisssed me off! "We just don't know" is unacceptable! When the hell will they know? It's not like they haven't studied the hell out of this since Vietnam or that psychology is any kind of new science. You'd think they would know exactly what was working by now but they don't make money if they find what works and end the suffering of millions of people. They can't get funded if they know exactly how to treat it effectively. There is no cure for PTSD but there are ways to lessen the eating away of lives. They do know that as soon as treatment begins, PTSD stops getting worse, no matter what the treatment is. Talk therapy, medications and all the other treatments work but they know it's not a one size fits all. If one treatment doesn't work then move on and offer another kind. If one on one talk therapy doesn't work, then use group therapy or the other way around. They need to stop wasting time studying what has already been studied for over 30 years AND COME UP WITH SOME NEW IDEAS!PTSD is as old as humans are!
PTSD visits up at Fort Drum
PTSD visits up at Fort Drum
Behavioral health visits among soldiers on Fort Drum are up by over 250 percent. The reason -- multiple combat tours as well as public awareness. Our Amy Ohler has more on a health summit where military and civilian health care providers, as well as state and local politicians came together to discuss the area's services.
Friday, April 25, 2008
PTSD visits up at Fort Drum
Updated: 04/24/2008 06:34 AM
By: Amy Ohler
FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- As soldiers continue to deploy, the rate of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder increases. Currently, about 200 10th Mountain Division soldiers are being treated by the behavioral health department on Fort Drum.
"Some folks come back stronger. Certainly there's a resilient population, a strong population and you know the data saying 'oh well if there's 30 percent coming back with some sort of mental health concern, that means 70 percent are not' so I would say a lot of them are coming back. I would say stronger, stronger marriages," said Todd Benham, Chief of Behavioral Health Department.
But those who don't come back stronger need adequate care. It's a topic that was discussed Wednesday among area health care providers and politicians.
"I think in the public mind, it often too much focuses on there's an engagement. There's a war. It's over and the problems dissipate. We need to build a system because Fort Drum is located here a system that has that capacity for the longer period of time rather than just time to the particular engagement that is in the forefront of minds," said Dennis Whalen, NYS Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services.
So is the area keeping up with the soldiers' needs?
"Yeah I think we're keeping up with the services adequately. Waiting lists have been reduced in the last year specifically because of an increased attention to staffing and increased capacity in our mental health clinics and inpatient units," said Roger Ambrose, Director of Community Services for Jefferson County.
But some say more still needs to be done, such as attracting additional providers to the area. It's something that will continually need to be assessed as the area continues to change.
Secretary Whalen said he thinks the Doctors Across New York Program that was enacted in the budget will help attract doctors to the North Country. He says also in the budget they decided to start to move dollars from the inpatient side to outpatient service, which will help to provide preventive care.
http://news10now.com/content/top_stories/114750/ptsd-
visits-up-at-fort-drum/Default.aspx
Southeast Missouri State University to sponser PTSD event
PTSD Event
Day to Day Management of Post Traumatic Stress
The program is designed to raise awareness of the symptoms, treatment, and management of traumatic stress.
VFW Hall
1049 N. Kingshighway
Cape Girardeau, MO
6:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 24th
The program will feature and introduction to PTSD through a DVD presentation and followed by a panel of helping and resource professionals as well as those struggling with PTSD.
The event is sponsored by Southeast Missouri State University College of Health and Human Services;southeast Missouri State University Department of Social Work; Southeast Missouri State University Center for Health and Counseling; and Cape Girardeau Community Caring Council.
http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=8216575&nav=menu51_2
Day to Day Management of Post Traumatic Stress
The program is designed to raise awareness of the symptoms, treatment, and management of traumatic stress.
VFW Hall
1049 N. Kingshighway
Cape Girardeau, MO
6:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 24th
The program will feature and introduction to PTSD through a DVD presentation and followed by a panel of helping and resource professionals as well as those struggling with PTSD.
The event is sponsored by Southeast Missouri State University College of Health and Human Services;southeast Missouri State University Department of Social Work; Southeast Missouri State University Center for Health and Counseling; and Cape Girardeau Community Caring Council.
http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=8216575&nav=menu51_2
Invisible Scars Affect 7,000 Birmingham Vets
Invisible Scars Affect 7,000 Birmingham Vets
by Mike McClanahan
CBS 42 News
2008-04-22 23:43:36.0
"We had quite a few Marines that committed suicide or killed their wives,"said Al Murphy. The Veterans Service Advocate knows how memories can bubble to the surface years after an incident and send someones life into a tail spin. He served during the Vietnam War, but was also part of 14 Cold War combat patrols in a submarine.
"Here I sit now and I was in that situation some years ago, that I was able to cock the pistol and pull the trigger, but due to actually to the doctors here at this Birmingham VA hospital are what really saved my life," said Al Murphy.
Medication and group therapy helped Murphy cope with his crisis. Now, he wants to encourage other veterans to seek help.
Dr. Bill Beidleman with the Birmingham VA Medical Center says advances in medical science have dramatically increased a soldier's odds of surviving physical wounds, but they have also increased the number of veterans living with psychological trauma.
"A lot people forget that this is a war where because of medical care and evacuation we're taking horribly injured people with just unbelievably severe injuries to their limbs, to their head, to their necks, to their torsos and they're living. They're going to be in Germany in 24 hours, they can be in the United States in 48 hours, they can be in surgery in a few hours, and they can be stabilized in minutes," said Dr. Beidleman.
Dr. Beidleman is the Assistant Chief of Mental Health at the VA and also Professor of Psychology at UAB. He said PTSD has had many names in its poorly understood past. "It was called war stress, combat neurosis, shell shock, anxiety disorder now it's called post traumatic stress disorder,"said Dr. Beidleman.
And he said for the first time many of the warriors returning from combat with PTSD are women.
(see below on this part)
"Female warriors, these are women who are in combat roles and they are firing weapons every day," said Dr. Bill Beidleman.
On top of that, doctors are also seeing an increase in veterans of other wars.
"They may be exposed to a lot of those stressors.They may see their best friends blown up, but yet they may come out of the service go right to work work for 30 years, some work for 40 years, retire, and at that point we see their PTSD symptoms get dramatically worse. And it's because they have time on their hands," said Dr. Beidleman.
But the good news is more veterans are seeking help.
"I think their is less stigma now. I think people are more likely to come forward and say not only have I been physically damaged by my service in Iraq or Afghanistan, but I've been psychologically damaged," said Dr. Bill Beidleman.
The number of new post traumatic stress disorder cases is expected to keep rising.In response the Birmingham VA Medical Center has tripled its mental health staff from 30 to 90 people. And construction is underway on a new building dedicated solely to mental rehabilitation.
Beidleman adds that today there are off-the-record resources for veterans seeking mental health treatment.
"We do have places called veterans' readjustment centers which are not affiliated with the hospital. Nobody will ever see you walk in the hospital doors. Yet, you can go to these vet centers and you can be treated for PTSD, for depression, for mental health problems without having to officially sign up at this hospital for treatment," said Dr. Beidleman.
http://www.cbs42.com/news/local/18036194.html
Ok, I'm really wondering if Dr. Beidleman is aware of how many females came back from Vietnam with PTSD considering they did.
Am J Public Health. 1997 February; 87(2): 169–175.
Posttraumatic stress disorder among female Vietnam veterans: a causal model of etiology.
A Fontana, L S Schwartz, and R Rosenheck
Veterans Affairs Northeast Program Evaluation Center, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Haven, Conn 06516, USA.
This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.
AbstractOBJECTIVES: The Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars have awakened people to the realization that military service can be traumatizing for women as well as men. This study investigated the etiological roles of both war and sexual trauma in the development of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder among female Vietnam veterans. METHODS: Data from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study for 396 Vietnam theater women and 250 Vietnam era women were analyzed with structural equation modeling. RESULTS: An etiological model with highly satisfactory fit and parsimony was developed. Exposure to war trauma contributed to the probability of posttraumatic stress disorder in theater women, as did sexual trauma in both theater and era women. Lack of social support at the time of homecoming acted as a powerful mediator of trauma for both groups of women. CONCLUSIONS: Within the constraints and assumptions of causal modeling, there is evidence that both war trauma and sexual trauma are powerful contributors to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder among female Vietnam veterans.
Full text
Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Get a printable copy (PDF file) of the complete article (1.5M), or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Links to PubMed are also available for Selected References.
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
Furey JA. Post-traumatic stress disorder in Vietnam veterans. For some the war rages on. Am J Nurs. 1982 Nov;82(11):1694–1696. [PubMed]
Norman EM. Post-traumatic stress disorder in military nurses who served in Vietnam during the war years 1965-1973. Mil Med. 1988 May;153(5):238–242. [PubMed]
Fontana A, Rosenheck R. Posttraumatic stress disorder among Vietnam Theater Veterans. A causal model of etiology in a community sample. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1994 Dec;182(12):677–684. [PubMed]
Kessler RC, Sonnega A, Bromet E, Hughes M, Nelson CB. Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1995 Dec;52(12):1048–1060. [PubMed]
Bentler PM. Comparative fit indexes in structural models. Psychol Bull. 1990 Mar;107(2):238–246. [PubMed]
Lebowitz L, Roth S. "I felt like a slut": the cultural context and women's response to being raped. J Trauma Stress. 1994 Jul;7(3):363–390. [PubMed]
True WR, Rice J, Eisen SA, Heath AC, Goldberg J, Lyons MJ, Nowak J. A twin study of genetic and environmental contributions to liability for posttraumatic stress symptoms. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1993 Apr;50(4):257–264. [PubMed]
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1380789
PTSD in female veterans is not new. It has not changed much since the first days women went to war and if you watched my video The Voice, Women At War, you know what I'm taling about. Is it harder on today's female warriors? No and it is one more reason the "experts" should have been paying attention to all of them! The only difference now is there are a lot more of them serving today. In other words, more to need help but less help for them to receive.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Anti-addiction drugs linked to depression
updated 6:04 p.m. EDT, Wed April 23, 2008
Anti-addiction drugs linked to depression
Story Highlights
"Super pills" intended to curb addiction by blocking brain's pleasure centers
Research indicates drugs may block too much pleasure, risking depression, suicide
Expert: "The door is closing" on this approach to curbing addiction
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Two years ago, scientists had high hopes for new pills that would help people quit smoking, lose weight and maybe kick other tough addictions such as alcohol and cocaine.
The so-called "super pills" worked in a novel way, by blocking pleasure centers in the brain that provide the feel-good response from smoking or eating. Now it seems the drugs may block pleasure too well, possibly raising the risk of depression and suicide.
Margaret Bastian of suburban Rochester, New York, was among patients who reported problems with Chantix, a highly touted quit-smoking pill from Pfizer Inc. that has been linked to dozens of reports of suicides and hundreds of suicidal behaviors.
"I started to get severely depressed and just going down into that hole ... the one you can't crawl out of," said Bastian, whose doctor took her off Chantix after she swallowed too many sleeping pills and other medicines one night.
Side effects also plague two other drugs:
• Rimonabant, an obesity pill sold as Acomplia in Europe, was tied to higher rates of depression and a suicide in a study last month. The maker, Sanofi-Aventis SA, still hopes to win its approval in the United States.
• Taranabant, a similar pill in late-stage testing, led to higher rates of depression and other side effects in a study last month. Its maker, Merck & Co., stopped testing it at middle and high doses.
The makers of the new drugs insist they are safe, although perhaps not for everyone, such as people with a history of depression. Having to restrict the drugs' use would be a big setback because it would deprive the very people who need help the most, since addictions and depression often go hand-in-hand, doctors say.
go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/04/23/super.pills.ap/index.html
Anti-addiction drugs linked to depression
Story Highlights
"Super pills" intended to curb addiction by blocking brain's pleasure centers
Research indicates drugs may block too much pleasure, risking depression, suicide
Expert: "The door is closing" on this approach to curbing addiction
CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Two years ago, scientists had high hopes for new pills that would help people quit smoking, lose weight and maybe kick other tough addictions such as alcohol and cocaine.
The so-called "super pills" worked in a novel way, by blocking pleasure centers in the brain that provide the feel-good response from smoking or eating. Now it seems the drugs may block pleasure too well, possibly raising the risk of depression and suicide.
Margaret Bastian of suburban Rochester, New York, was among patients who reported problems with Chantix, a highly touted quit-smoking pill from Pfizer Inc. that has been linked to dozens of reports of suicides and hundreds of suicidal behaviors.
"I started to get severely depressed and just going down into that hole ... the one you can't crawl out of," said Bastian, whose doctor took her off Chantix after she swallowed too many sleeping pills and other medicines one night.
Side effects also plague two other drugs:
• Rimonabant, an obesity pill sold as Acomplia in Europe, was tied to higher rates of depression and a suicide in a study last month. The maker, Sanofi-Aventis SA, still hopes to win its approval in the United States.
• Taranabant, a similar pill in late-stage testing, led to higher rates of depression and other side effects in a study last month. Its maker, Merck & Co., stopped testing it at middle and high doses.
The makers of the new drugs insist they are safe, although perhaps not for everyone, such as people with a history of depression. Having to restrict the drugs' use would be a big setback because it would deprive the very people who need help the most, since addictions and depression often go hand-in-hand, doctors say.
go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/04/23/super.pills.ap/index.html
Ex-POW was tough, but for a good reason
Epilogue Wallace Marston Sr.
Ex-POW was tough, but for a good reason
Published Wednesday, April 23, 2008 8:03 PM
DUNEDIN — Wallace Marston was friendly, unless you stepped on his toes.
He fished and hunted and stayed to himself. He taught his kids to box. His son knew how to shoot a Winchester rifle by the age of 3.
"He was real wiry, and he could kick the hell out of an elephant," said his son, Wallace Marston Jr. "Nobody messed with him."
Mr. Marston died Monday after a battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 84.
He never backed down from a fight in his life, probably because he spent years surviving one.
• • •
At 16, Mr. Marston was underweight. He ate 5 pounds of bananas to bulk up.
He wanted to join the military. The service was something lasting and permanent in his eyes. He grew up in Dunedin but had moved out of his parents' house at age 12 amid family fighting, his son said.
Mr. Marston's father signed the papers. The teenager became a soldier.
In 1941, his battalion went to Manila, Philippines. Mr. Marston was stationed at Clark Field. One day, he passed the time shooting craps underneath his tank. Bombs started dropping, exploding a mess hall full of soldiers.
"They didn't know it was the beginning of the war," said his son.
Mr. Marston survived the attack, but he wasn't free. In the Bataan Death March, he and about 100,000 other prisoners taken by Japanese forces walked for days without food or water. Later, they were crammed into railroad cars and boats, bound for camps.
He lived in captivity for 3 1/2 years. In 1943, he was shipped to the Hirohata POW camp in Japan, where he hauled coal and iron, and cleaned furnaces.
He ate one bowl of rice and a cup of soup each day, he told his son. He had one canteen of water for both bathing and drinking. He was forced to hit and slap other inmates, he said.
On Aug. 23, 1945, U.S. planes began buzzing overhead outside the camp. Mr. Marston was the first to run to the door to get a glimpse. Guards stabbed him with bamboo spears.
The scars stayed for life.
• • •
In 1945, he found himself on another boat. But this one was bound for San Francisco.
He had been rescued.
The boat sailed through the night. Early in the morning, the soldiers saw city lights. On shore, hundreds of people stood ready to welcome and cheer them.
As Mr. Marston passed under the Golden Gate Bridge, he decided he was going to make it.
Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com
or (727) 893-8857.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/obituaries/article470392.ece
There is so much we don't know about these veterans and we are running out of them. Let's try to not forget them.
Ex-POW was tough, but for a good reason
Published Wednesday, April 23, 2008 8:03 PM
DUNEDIN — Wallace Marston was friendly, unless you stepped on his toes.
He fished and hunted and stayed to himself. He taught his kids to box. His son knew how to shoot a Winchester rifle by the age of 3.
"He was real wiry, and he could kick the hell out of an elephant," said his son, Wallace Marston Jr. "Nobody messed with him."
Mr. Marston died Monday after a battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 84.
He never backed down from a fight in his life, probably because he spent years surviving one.
• • •
At 16, Mr. Marston was underweight. He ate 5 pounds of bananas to bulk up.
He wanted to join the military. The service was something lasting and permanent in his eyes. He grew up in Dunedin but had moved out of his parents' house at age 12 amid family fighting, his son said.
Mr. Marston's father signed the papers. The teenager became a soldier.
In 1941, his battalion went to Manila, Philippines. Mr. Marston was stationed at Clark Field. One day, he passed the time shooting craps underneath his tank. Bombs started dropping, exploding a mess hall full of soldiers.
"They didn't know it was the beginning of the war," said his son.
Mr. Marston survived the attack, but he wasn't free. In the Bataan Death March, he and about 100,000 other prisoners taken by Japanese forces walked for days without food or water. Later, they were crammed into railroad cars and boats, bound for camps.
He lived in captivity for 3 1/2 years. In 1943, he was shipped to the Hirohata POW camp in Japan, where he hauled coal and iron, and cleaned furnaces.
He ate one bowl of rice and a cup of soup each day, he told his son. He had one canteen of water for both bathing and drinking. He was forced to hit and slap other inmates, he said.
On Aug. 23, 1945, U.S. planes began buzzing overhead outside the camp. Mr. Marston was the first to run to the door to get a glimpse. Guards stabbed him with bamboo spears.
The scars stayed for life.
• • •
In 1945, he found himself on another boat. But this one was bound for San Francisco.
He had been rescued.
The boat sailed through the night. Early in the morning, the soldiers saw city lights. On shore, hundreds of people stood ready to welcome and cheer them.
As Mr. Marston passed under the Golden Gate Bridge, he decided he was going to make it.
Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com
or (727) 893-8857.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/obituaries/article470392.ece
There is so much we don't know about these veterans and we are running out of them. Let's try to not forget them.
Lt. Col. Billy Hall's family wishes ignored by Pentagon at Arlington
What the Family Would Let You See, the Pentagon Obstructs
By Dana Milbank
Thursday, April 24, 2008; Page A03
Lt. Col. Billy Hall, one of the most senior officers to be killed in the Iraq war, was laid to rest yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery. It's hard to escape the conclusion that the Pentagon doesn't want you to know that.
The family of 38-year-old Hall, who leaves behind two young daughters and two stepsons, gave their permission for the media to cover his Arlington burial -- a decision many grieving families make so that the nation will learn about their loved ones' sacrifice. But the military had other ideas, and they arranged the Marine's burial yesterday so that no sound, and few images, would make it into the public domain.
That's a shame, because Hall's story is a moving reminder that the war in Iraq, forgotten by much of the nation, remains real and present for some. Among those unlikely to forget the war: 6-year-old Gladys and 3-year-old Tatianna. The rest of the nation, if it remembers Hall at all, will remember him as the 4,011th American service member to die in Iraq, give or take, and the 419th to be buried at Arlington. Gladys and Tatianna will remember him as Dad.
The two girls were there in Section 60 yesterday beside grave 8,672 -- or at least it appeared that they were from a distance. Journalists were held 50 yards from the service, separated from the mourning party by six or seven rows of graves, and staring into the sun and penned in by a yellow rope. Photographers and reporters pleaded with Arlington officials.
"There will be a yellow rope in the face of the next of kin," protested one photographer with a large telephoto lens.
"This is the best shot you're going to get," a man from the cemetery replied.
"We're not going to be able to hear a thing," a reporter argued.
"Mm-hmm," an Arlington official answered.
The distance made it impossible to hear the words of Chaplain Ron Nordan, who, an official news release said, was leading the service. Even a reporter who stood surreptitiously just behind the mourners could make out only the familiar strains of the Lord's Prayer. Whatever Chaplain Nordan had to say about Hall's valor and sacrifice were lost to the drone of airplanes leaving National Airport.
It had the feel of a throwback to Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon, when the military cracked down on photographs of flag-draped caskets returning home from the war. Rumsfeld himself was exposed for failing to sign by hand the condolence letters he sent to the next of kin. His successor, Robert Gates, has brought some glasnost to the Pentagon, but the military funerals remain tightly controlled. Even when families approve media coverage for a funeral, the journalists are held at a distance for the pageantry -- the caisson, the band, the firing party, "Taps," the presenting of the flag -- then whisked away when the service itself begins.
Nor does the blocking of funeral coverage seem to be the work of overzealous bureaucrats. Gina Gray, Arlington's new public affairs director, pushed vigorously to allow the journalists more access to the service yesterday -- but she was apparently shot down by other cemetery officials.
click post title for more
'Warm, Gracious' Marine Laid to Rest
Fifteen-Year Veteran From Seattle Served In Iraq, Afghanistan
By Mark Berman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 24, 2008; Page B03
Marine Lt. Col. William G. Hall was the kind of guy who always visited his family at Christmas and called his mother on Easter, even while serving thousands of miles away.
Hall, 38, of Seattle, died March 30 from wounds he suffered March 29 during combat in Iraq's Anbar province.
"I can't tell you how fine this young man was -- the finest husband, father, son, Marine, individual -- warm, gracious, just our very best," Pat Ward, a longtime family friend, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "My heart breaks."
Yesterday, more than 150 mourners gathered at Arlington National Cemetery to say goodbye to Hall, who was posthumously promoted from major. The father of four was the 419th member of the military killed in Iraq or Afghanistan to be buried at Arlington. He had spent 15 years in the military.
Under a sunny, blue sky, mourners followed the horse-drawn caisson carrying Hall's coffin down Marshall and Bradley drives, two of the roads that border Section 60, where many of the soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried.
Folded flags were presented to his wife, Xiomara, and his mother, Millie. Hall is also survived by daughters Tatianna, 6, and Gladys, 3, and stepsons Xavier, 13, and Xander, 9.
He was assigned to the 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
go here for more of this part
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/23/AR2008042303107.html
By Dana Milbank
Thursday, April 24, 2008; Page A03
Lt. Col. Billy Hall, one of the most senior officers to be killed in the Iraq war, was laid to rest yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery. It's hard to escape the conclusion that the Pentagon doesn't want you to know that.
The family of 38-year-old Hall, who leaves behind two young daughters and two stepsons, gave their permission for the media to cover his Arlington burial -- a decision many grieving families make so that the nation will learn about their loved ones' sacrifice. But the military had other ideas, and they arranged the Marine's burial yesterday so that no sound, and few images, would make it into the public domain.
That's a shame, because Hall's story is a moving reminder that the war in Iraq, forgotten by much of the nation, remains real and present for some. Among those unlikely to forget the war: 6-year-old Gladys and 3-year-old Tatianna. The rest of the nation, if it remembers Hall at all, will remember him as the 4,011th American service member to die in Iraq, give or take, and the 419th to be buried at Arlington. Gladys and Tatianna will remember him as Dad.
The two girls were there in Section 60 yesterday beside grave 8,672 -- or at least it appeared that they were from a distance. Journalists were held 50 yards from the service, separated from the mourning party by six or seven rows of graves, and staring into the sun and penned in by a yellow rope. Photographers and reporters pleaded with Arlington officials.
"There will be a yellow rope in the face of the next of kin," protested one photographer with a large telephoto lens.
"This is the best shot you're going to get," a man from the cemetery replied.
"We're not going to be able to hear a thing," a reporter argued.
"Mm-hmm," an Arlington official answered.
The distance made it impossible to hear the words of Chaplain Ron Nordan, who, an official news release said, was leading the service. Even a reporter who stood surreptitiously just behind the mourners could make out only the familiar strains of the Lord's Prayer. Whatever Chaplain Nordan had to say about Hall's valor and sacrifice were lost to the drone of airplanes leaving National Airport.
It had the feel of a throwback to Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon, when the military cracked down on photographs of flag-draped caskets returning home from the war. Rumsfeld himself was exposed for failing to sign by hand the condolence letters he sent to the next of kin. His successor, Robert Gates, has brought some glasnost to the Pentagon, but the military funerals remain tightly controlled. Even when families approve media coverage for a funeral, the journalists are held at a distance for the pageantry -- the caisson, the band, the firing party, "Taps," the presenting of the flag -- then whisked away when the service itself begins.
Nor does the blocking of funeral coverage seem to be the work of overzealous bureaucrats. Gina Gray, Arlington's new public affairs director, pushed vigorously to allow the journalists more access to the service yesterday -- but she was apparently shot down by other cemetery officials.
click post title for more
A flag is given to Millie Hall, mother of William Hall, who had served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan, California and Georgia since his December 1992 commission. He was fatally wounded in combat in Iraq.
Photo Credit: By Gerald Martineau -- The Washington Post
'Warm, Gracious' Marine Laid to Rest
Fifteen-Year Veteran From Seattle Served In Iraq, Afghanistan
By Mark Berman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 24, 2008; Page B03
Marine Lt. Col. William G. Hall was the kind of guy who always visited his family at Christmas and called his mother on Easter, even while serving thousands of miles away.
Hall, 38, of Seattle, died March 30 from wounds he suffered March 29 during combat in Iraq's Anbar province.
"I can't tell you how fine this young man was -- the finest husband, father, son, Marine, individual -- warm, gracious, just our very best," Pat Ward, a longtime family friend, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "My heart breaks."
Yesterday, more than 150 mourners gathered at Arlington National Cemetery to say goodbye to Hall, who was posthumously promoted from major. The father of four was the 419th member of the military killed in Iraq or Afghanistan to be buried at Arlington. He had spent 15 years in the military.
Under a sunny, blue sky, mourners followed the horse-drawn caisson carrying Hall's coffin down Marshall and Bradley drives, two of the roads that border Section 60, where many of the soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried.
Folded flags were presented to his wife, Xiomara, and his mother, Millie. Hall is also survived by daughters Tatianna, 6, and Gladys, 3, and stepsons Xavier, 13, and Xander, 9.
He was assigned to the 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
go here for more of this part
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/23/AR2008042303107.html
570,000 Iraq and Afghanistan vets to get calls from VA
VA to call Iraq, Afghanistan veterans
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 24, 2008 14:22:55 EDT
WASHINGTON — Iraq and Afghanistan veterans: Get ready for a phone call.
The Department of Veterans Affairs said Thursday that on May 1 it will start calling 570,000 recent combat veterans to make sure they know what services are available to them.
The first calls will go to about 17,000 veterans who were sick or injured while serving in the wars. If they don’t have a care manager, the VA says they will be given one.
The next round of calls will target 555,000 veterans from the wars who have been discharged from active duty, but have not reached out to the VA for services. For five years after their discharge from the military, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have access to health care at the VA.
The effort will cost about $2.7 million and will be handled by a government contractor.
The agency has faced complaints that a backlog in claims and bureaucratic hurdles have prevented some recent veterans from getting proper mental and physical care. Earlier this week, two Democratic senators accused the VA’s top mental health official of trying to cover up the number of veteran suicides and said he should resign.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_va_phonevets_042408/
Gee do you think the Veterans for Common Sense law suit has anything to do with this?
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Apr 24, 2008 14:22:55 EDT
WASHINGTON — Iraq and Afghanistan veterans: Get ready for a phone call.
The Department of Veterans Affairs said Thursday that on May 1 it will start calling 570,000 recent combat veterans to make sure they know what services are available to them.
The first calls will go to about 17,000 veterans who were sick or injured while serving in the wars. If they don’t have a care manager, the VA says they will be given one.
The next round of calls will target 555,000 veterans from the wars who have been discharged from active duty, but have not reached out to the VA for services. For five years after their discharge from the military, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have access to health care at the VA.
The effort will cost about $2.7 million and will be handled by a government contractor.
The agency has faced complaints that a backlog in claims and bureaucratic hurdles have prevented some recent veterans from getting proper mental and physical care. Earlier this week, two Democratic senators accused the VA’s top mental health official of trying to cover up the number of veteran suicides and said he should resign.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_va_phonevets_042408/
Gee do you think the Veterans for Common Sense law suit has anything to do with this?
Law suit message to VA "you can't treat them like crap" after this again
Attorney leading suit a veteran in battling VA
C.W. Nevius
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Gordon Erspamer, the attorney who brought the lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs that went to trial this week in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, is a big, unresponsive government agency's worst nightmare.
He's a rainmaker attorney for a major firm in the city who has set aside time to take legal action that doesn't earn a penny. And besides that, he's got a compelling and personal back story and a chip on his shoulder to prove it.
Erspamer's cause since the late '70s has been the rights of armed forces veterans, and this week's trial has the VA squirming over a shocking rate of suicides among vets and has captured the national spotlight.
The trial led the CBS Evening News this week, and Erspamer says he's getting thousands of e-mails and calls from veterans and media outlets.
Five years ago, he admits, the American public probably couldn't have told you what post-traumatic stress disorder was. Now they are not only aware of the number of vets who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD - Erspamer estimates it will be one-third of the 1.7 million who served - but they are ready to look critically at how they've been treated.
"If you add up the veterans' suicides among those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and compare it to the total combat deaths, the veteran suicides are higher," says Erspamer, who introduced a VA e-mail at the trial that showed an average of 18 vets a day are committing suicide. "The VA doesn't want that out."
Erspamer is working the case pro bono with the support of his employer, the high-powered international law firm Morrison & Foerster. This isn't his area of interest. He's a well-regarded partner in the firm who is considered an expert in energy litigation.
But although the case has already taken him away from his regular practice for almost four months, Erspamer says this is only the beginning of the journey.
"I have no doubt in my mind that this will go to the Supreme Court," he said in an interview this week. "But this is not only legally correct, it is morally correct. For me, this is personal."
go here for more
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/24/BA3K10AIB1.DTL
C.W. Nevius
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Gordon Erspamer, the attorney who brought the lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs that went to trial this week in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, is a big, unresponsive government agency's worst nightmare.
He's a rainmaker attorney for a major firm in the city who has set aside time to take legal action that doesn't earn a penny. And besides that, he's got a compelling and personal back story and a chip on his shoulder to prove it.
Erspamer's cause since the late '70s has been the rights of armed forces veterans, and this week's trial has the VA squirming over a shocking rate of suicides among vets and has captured the national spotlight.
The trial led the CBS Evening News this week, and Erspamer says he's getting thousands of e-mails and calls from veterans and media outlets.
Five years ago, he admits, the American public probably couldn't have told you what post-traumatic stress disorder was. Now they are not only aware of the number of vets who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD - Erspamer estimates it will be one-third of the 1.7 million who served - but they are ready to look critically at how they've been treated.
"If you add up the veterans' suicides among those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and compare it to the total combat deaths, the veteran suicides are higher," says Erspamer, who introduced a VA e-mail at the trial that showed an average of 18 vets a day are committing suicide. "The VA doesn't want that out."
Erspamer is working the case pro bono with the support of his employer, the high-powered international law firm Morrison & Foerster. This isn't his area of interest. He's a well-regarded partner in the firm who is considered an expert in energy litigation.
But although the case has already taken him away from his regular practice for almost four months, Erspamer says this is only the beginning of the journey.
"I have no doubt in my mind that this will go to the Supreme Court," he said in an interview this week. "But this is not only legally correct, it is morally correct. For me, this is personal."
go here for more
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/24/BA3K10AIB1.DTL
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