Troops with PTSD Could Merit Purple Heart Award

Troops with PTSD Could Merit Purple Heart Award
posted 6:39 pm Mon May 26, 2008 -

It's one of the nation's highest military honors, but should Purple Hearts be awarded to soldiers suffering post-traumatic stress disorder? That's the question the Department of Defense (web) is looking into.

The Purple Heart is the oldest symbol of military valor now given to the newest of the military's fallen and wounded, like D.C. native Staff Sergeant Charles Parker.

"I was just doing my job," said Sgt. Parker.

And so was Albert Lee, but among all his medals for two tours in Vietnam, there is no Purple Heart, and he thinks there should be. "It's needed! They told me because I didn't lose an arm, I didn't deserve it. I was never wounded physically, but I was devastated," said Lee.

Lee's wife, Francis said, "It would be at least some support for them, someone saying thank you."

At Walter Reed Medical Center, the burden of treating PTSD has only increased. Nearly one in five military members are reporting symptoms. Billy Norwood is an outpatient here and he's asking the Pentagon to reconsider PTSD as an injury that merits the Purple Heart.

"I feel that it should be. It's connected with combat. You were being shot at," said Norwood.

It took just two days after he was injured for John Bauer of Alexandria (webnews) to get his Purple Heart during Vietnam. But he does not think it should be extended to those with PTSD saying, "There should be another category."

Richard Lee is with the Military Order of the Purple Heart, and although, it is his job to help veterans apply for the award, he too, believes it will lessen it's value, making it more difficult to determine who should get it.

"It's very hard to select those who might just be on the fringe of being eligible for the reward, until they actually come out with something new," said Robert Lee.

A Pentagon spokesman says an advisory group is looking into the issue,but there is no time table to provide a recommendation.
http://www.news8.net/news/stories/0508/523055.html

When I posted this in March, it was with the thought that there would be opposition to giving a Purple Heart, symbolizing a wound, to the wounded with PTSD and TBI. I thought it would be worthy to acknowledge these two wounds for what they are, wounds caused by service to this nation, no less honorable than any other wound, but wounds no one can see.

"It's very hard to select those who might just be on the fringe of being eligible for the reward, until they actually come out with something new," said Robert Lee.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Renew Wound Chevron for PTSD and TBI

Wound ChevronFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, searchArmy Wound Chevron

A Wound Chevron was a badge of the United States Army which was authorized for wear on an Army uniform between the years of 1918 and 1932. The Wound Chevron was displayed on the lower right cuff of a military uniform, and denoted wounds which were received in combat against an enemy force. The Wound Chevron was a replacement insignia for the short lived Army Wound Ribbon.

In 1932, with the creation of the Purple Heart, Wound Chevrons were no longer awarded to Army personnel. A directive of the United States War Department permitted soldiers to exchange wound chevrons for the new Purple Heart medal. This was not required, however, and some Army personnel elected to retain wound chevrons for wear on the military uniform instead of the Purple Heart. For those who were subsequently wounded in the Second World War, both the original wound chevrons and the Purple Heart medal were worn simultaneously. It is historically agreed that Army regulations did not permit wearing both the Purple Heart and the Wound Chevron at the same time; however, photographic evidence indicates that this was often done by veterans of both the First World War and Second World War.In the modern military, the Wound Chevron is considered obsolete. The decoration is very similar to the Overseas Service Bar, which in World War I was worn on the left sleeve.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wound_Chevron

As PTSD and TBI wounds caused by combat ravage lives, it's time to do the right thing and end the stigma of being wounded in service to this nation. The Purple Heart is for those who have lost blood for the nation but what is there to honor those who have had their minds wounded? What is there for them?PTSD has been documented throughout history and yet to this day, there are some who consider the wounded as fakers or cowards. We have the most brilliant people in the world working on treating this along with TBI and yet still some want to deny it is real. Hundreds of millions of dollars and many years of research have provided ample evidence that this is a wound caused by combat-trauma. TBI is caused by combat-trauma.

Face it. If they were not exposed to what goes on in combat, suffered PTSD or TBI for any other cause, they would be covered under insurance or workman's comp. These men and women are risking their lives and we tell them their wound is of a lower class of wound, yet when their claims are approved by the DOD or the VA, they are awarded compensation the same way all other "service connected" disabilities are paid out. There is no sub-category. So why do we treat these kinds of wounds as if they are anything less than what they are?

We are not the only nation dealing with TBI and PTSD. England is already working on a medal for these wounds to make sure the wounded are all honored so what's our problem? We already have one that is perfect for PTSD and TBI. The Wound Chevron should be renewed so that any veteran with PTSD or TBI can be seen as a man or woman wounded in service to this nation. They will have this with them the rest of their lives and it's up to us to make sure they know they are honored instead of left alone to feel ashamed for being wounded by the trauma of combat.

Chaplain Kathie Costos

Since then, as the debate began about simply awarding the Purple Heart for PTSD and TBI, I have since changed my mind. These are not wounds to a lesser degree. They are wounds to a greater degree because these wounds are carried over to the rest of the family members and are also afflicting many of the bodily wounded. Do we tell them they have lost a limb and get a Purple Heart for that, but then tell them their TBI and PTSD only count for disability payments but not worthy of any kind of acknowledgment? What if they were shot and were given a Purple Heart, then they were shot again? Do we tell them they already have one Purple Heart and do not deserve another? What if they had already been diagnosed with PTSD, but sent back all the same and then lost a limb? Do we tell them the wound inside their mind is not as worthy as the limb lost?

If it comes between no medal at all because too many still cannot get it into their own mind that PTSD is named that for a reason, because trauma is Greek for wound, then at least award them with the Chevron. Then the bodily wounded can also find the appreciation for their other wound the rest of the military may still regard as a wound to a lesser degree instead of a greater one.

Nadia McCaffrey gets to the point in radio interview

MON MAY 26, 2008
Memorial Day: The Past and the Present

Legacy Player:
Memorial Day originated after the Civil War, but a somber remembrance of fallen soldiers has also become a cheerful greeting of summer. Monday, on To the Point, how well does America honor those who've died for their country? Also, the GI Bill and the presidential campaign.
more…

One Mother's War
Robert Durell / LAT
Nadia McCaffrey, who now operates a nonprofit grief counseling program and has become a leader in the Northern California antiwar movement, has been a lifelong pacifist and opposed her son's enlistment from the beginning.
By Jeff Nachtigal, Special to the Times
January 30, 2005
TRACY, Calif. -- On the day her son Patrick McCaffrey died on a blacktop farm road in northern Iraq, Nadia McCaffrey's war began.

Her first act was to invite the press to the Sacramento Airport when her 34-year-old son's flag draped-coffin was brought home at the end of June 2004.


"Patrick was not a private person. All his life he loved people," Nadia McCaffrey explained. "Why should I hide him when he comes home? He would not have wanted that."

At a time when the Pentagon was attempting to keep photographs of the returning coffins out of the American press, the Sacramento Airport scene attracted international attention.

From the first interviews with newspaper obituary writers, Nadia was outspoken about her own opposition to the war as well as her son's growing reservations at the time he was killed.

"Patrick was overwhelmed by the hatred there for Americans and Europeans," Nadia told a reporter for The Times. "He was so ashamed by the prisoner abuse scandal. He even sent me an e-mail to tell me that not all the soldiers were like that. He said we had no business in Iraq and should not be there. Even so, he wanted to be a good soldier."

go here for more
http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/magazine/la-tm-guard30jan30-sb,1,3668041.story

Published on Saturday, July 3, 2004 by the Independent/UK
The Son Who Came Home for the Fourth of July
Last week Nadia McCaffrey defied President Bush by allowing the media to view the coffin of her son, Patrick, killed in action in Iraq. Andrew Buncombe was invited to attend his funeral in Tracy, California



The photographs of Patrick McCaffrey laid out on the table at the front of the reception hall were the record of a life cut short. There were pictures of Patrick as a young boy, a head of curly brown hair, posing in his judo outfit. There was one of him dressed to play American football and another, taken a few years later, of Patrick wearing a tuxedo and probably heading out to the high school prom. There was one of him with his family - a wife, a little girl and a son so proud that his father was a member of the California National Guard that he had asked for his own set of dog-tags.


Finally there was a photograph of Patrick with his unit in Iraq. It had been taken shortly before the ambush in which Patrick was killed. In the picture he is laughing with his friends. He was 34-years-old and - according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count website - the 848th American soldier to die in Iraq.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0703-04.htm

Veteran's Village
Sgt Patrick R McCaffrey Sr
Foundation for War Veterans
http://www.veteransvillage.org/

IED kills soldier, a 2nd dead in non-combat

IED kills soldier, a 2nd dead in non-combat

The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 27, 2008 8:31:28 EDT

BAGHDAD — A soldier was killed Monday in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad, the military said, a grim Memorial Day reminder of the dangers facing the troops despite recent security gains in Iraq. Two other soldiers were wounded in the blast in Salahuddin province, a mainly Sunni area north of Baghdad, according to a statement.

The military said another U.S. soldier had died of a non-combat-related cause Saturday.

The identities of the soldiers were being withheld pending notification of relatives.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/ap_2dead_052708/

He put his M-4 rifle to his neck and pulled the trigger

S-T/TOM PENNINGTON
Rhonda and Charles McKinney with Jeffrey R. McKinney's medals and dog tags and the flag that covered his coffin.

Death no less a casualty, and no less a tragedy
Sergeant's suicide in Iraq brings home searing pain of war
By CHRIS VAUGHN
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

BEDFORD -- Not long ago, a World War II veteran approached Charles McKinney and asked whether he'd served in the Big Red One.

The 1st Infantry Division's famous icon, affixed to the back of McKinney's pickup, had attracted the old-timer's attention.

"No, my son did," McKinney said.

This happens regularly, one curious and innocently asked question inevitably leading to another. These conversations always end the same way, as it did that morning with the World War II veteran.

"My son didn't come back from Iraq," McKinney said.

They hugged and not many more words came out.

Rarely does McKinney share more of his family's painful saga. It's too complicated, too thorny, too emotionally risky, for a conversation at a garage sale or in a parking lot with a stranger.
On July 11, 2007, in a violent Baghdad neighborhood, Master Sgt. Jeffrey R. McKinney killed himself. He put his M-4 rifle to his neck and pulled the trigger.

There was no Purple Heart, and the Defense Department announced it as a "non-combat-related incident."

But Jeffrey McKinney, 40, a company first sergeant and a 19-year Army veteran, is no less a casualty of the war in Iraq than the thousands of young men and women who have been killed by sniper fire and roadside bombs.

Some injuries just can't be seen.

"We're proud of Jeff," his father said. "He's our hero. Jeff died for his country."
go here for more
http://www.star-telegram.com/189/story/663637.html

also

On Memorial Day: Press Coverage Probes Suicides


By Greg Mitchell

Published: May 26, 2008 11:40 AM ET

NEW YORK On Memorial Day this year, many press reports focus on the fallout from the current war, not past conflicts, as was long typical. Much in evidence, after years of being virtually ignored, is the frightful surge in suicide among Iraq vets both here and in Iraq.

Many newspapers this weekend ran overall assessments of the problem, published editorials calling for the military and the V.A. to take stronger measures to fight post- traumatic stress disorder, or recalled recent suicides in their circulation area.

One suicide just this week involved Chad Oligschlaeger, a Marine who was found at his barracks at Twenty Nine Palms in California. His family said he was on eight medications for PTSD and had been sent back to Iraq for a second tour after asking superiors for help, which he allegedly did not get.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram today profiles the family of another suicide victim, this one in Iraq, who shot himself in front of his troops. Chris Vaughan writes: “On July 11, 2007, in a violent Baghdad neighborhood, Master Sgt. Jeffrey R. McKinney killed himself. He put his M-4 rifle to his neck and pulled the trigger.

“There was no Purple Heart, and the Defense Department announced it as a ‘non-combat-related incident.’ But Jeffrey McKinney, 40, a company first sergeant and a 19-year Army veteran, is no less a casualty of the war in Iraq than the thousands of young men and women who have been killed by sniper fire and roadside bombs.

“Some injuries just can't be seen.”

His father tells the reporter: "I don't mind telling you that I personally hold the company commander responsible. This man made a poor decision. We want to call attention to the military's responsibility and to make sure that people are aware of the signs, because Jeff gave a million signs that he needed help."

“Since the start of the Iraq war, Fort Campbell, a sprawling installation on the Kentucky-Tennessee border, has seen a spike in the number of suicides and soldiers suffering from severe post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. In 2007, nine soldiers from Fort Campbell committed suicide - three during the first few weeks of October, according to a letter sent to base personnel by the 101st Airborne Division's commander, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser."According to the Army, more than 2,000 active-duty soldiers attempted suicide or suffered serious self-inflicted injuries in 2007, compared to fewer than 500 such cases in 2002, the year before the United States invaded Iraq.

A recent study by the nonprofit Rand Corp. found that 300,000 of the nearly 1.7 million soldiers who've served in Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from PTSD or a major mental illness, conditions that are worsened by lengthy deployments and, if left untreated, can lead to suicide."

*Greg Mitchell's new book includes several chapters on Iraq vet suicides. It is So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq.
go here for more
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003808182

Florida:Orange City VA Clinic Gets Rave Reviews

Orange City VA clinic opens to rave reviews
Staff and services also have increased in the move from Sanford to Orange City.
Andrea Stanley Special To The Sentinel
May 25, 2008

World War II veteran Charles Ganoudis lives in Winter Springs. But he likes the new Department of Veterans Affairs' clinic in Orange City so much that he doesn't mind driving from Seminole to Volusia County for medical treatments.The clinic, which opened May 13, is at 2583 S. Volusia Ave.It replaces a smaller clinic in Sanford near Central Florida Regional Hospital on State Road 46. It is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday."I did have some injuries; I did survive them," said 81-year-old Ganoudis. "I don't like to go into it.


"Now I am just glad I get to go to this outstanding clinic. I feel good just going in and coming out."The move from Sanford to Orange City was prompted by the fact that many more veterans in southwest Volusia need services, including those living in DeBary, Deltona and Orange City, according to Dr. Martin S. Schnier, chief medical officer for community-based outpatient clinics for the Orlando VA Center.The new clinic is also expected to draw veterans from north Seminole County and east Lake County, he said.

Nearly three times larger than the Sanford location, the 6,000-square-foot clinic in Orange City also offers a host of new services.The staff of primary-care physicians has been increased from three to five, and new members of the team include a full-time psychiatrist, a social worker and a pharmacist.The clinic also allows access to what Schnier refers to as "telehealth," a service in which patients can consult with specialists at other VA clinics and hospitals via special equipment, including a TV monitor.

"It is really cutting-edge stuff," Schnier said."It is wonderful for the patient. Now they don't necessarily have to travel to Orlando or Tampa to be seen by a specialist."He expects the clinic will begin serving about 2,500 veterans and expand to about 6,000, compared with the Daytona Beach VA outpatient clinic's 18,000 served."We are finding a large number of veterans are coming in already, including a lot of new applicants," he said."

Certainly location, with the cost of gas, plays a factor, and the increased services are a big plus. Even our old patients don't mind the drive. When they see the new clinic, they are amazed with the wow factor."It is a beautiful, spectacular clinic."That's one of the reasons Ganoudis continues to travel."I have been to VA hospitals and clinics all over the country, and this is the best," he said. "The clinic has the finest staff of people, and it is so clean. It isn't laid out like a dungeon.

"The clinic will have a ceremonial opening June 7 with VA officials and others, including U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park.

"The huge growth in population of veterans in southwest Volusia more than warrants this facility," said Mica, whose district includes part of Volusia."It is critical to provide our veterans with convenient services, so this is very exciting.""They [veterans] are coming out, and we are happy to see them," Schnier said. "It is our job to bring services to these veterans."The number for the clinic is 386-456-2080.

Pendleton Marine held in slaying of fellow Marine

Camp Pendleton Marine held in slaying of fellow Marine
VICTIM: Stephen Serrano's body was found in a ditch in San Clemente on May 15.
A second Marine is being sought in the killing of Pvt. Stephen Serrano, whose body was found in a drainage ditch in San Clemente.
By H.G. Reza, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 24, 2008
A Camp Pendleton Marine was arrested Friday and another is sought in the killing of a fellow Marine found shot to death in an Orange County ditch last week, authorities said.

Lance Cpl. Christian Carney, 21, was removed from the camp's brig, where he was jailed Thursday night, and handed over to Orange County Sheriff's Department homicide detectives. He was arrested on suspicion of killing Pvt. Stephen Serrano, 20, a native of El Dorado in Northern California. Serrano was shot once in the torso.

Pvt. Alvin Reed Lovely, a 20-year-old Texas native suspected of being an accomplice, has been AWOL from his unit since April, said sheriff's spokesman John McDonald. He is believed to be driving a 2002 black Nissan Sentra and to still be in Southern California, McDonald said.

go here for more
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-marine24-2008may24,0,2841218.story

Don't forget our homeless Vets...

Looks like someone liked my video A Homeless Veteran's Day.

Monday, May 26, 2008
Don't forget our homeless Vets...

"According to national VA stats, about one-third of the nation’s adult homeless population has served their country in one branch of the Armed Services. Current national population estimates suggest that about 154,000 veterans -- male and female -- are homeless on any given night, twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year.

Many other veterans are considered near homeless or at risk because of their poverty, lack of support from family and friends, and dismal living conditions in cheap hotels or in overcrowded or substandard housing, according to VA stats.

Right now, the number of homeless male and female Vietnam-era veterans is greater than the number of service persons who died during that war -- and a small number of Desert Storm veterans are also appearing in the homeless population.

Although many homeless veterans served in combat in Vietnam and suffer from post- traumatic stress disorder, epidemiologic studies do not suggest that there is a causal connection between military service, service in Vietnam, or exposure to combat and homelessness among veterans, stats show.

Family background, access to support from family and friends, and various personal characteristics -- rather than military service -- seem to be the stronger indicators of risk of homelessness, according to VA statistics.

Almost all homeless veterans are male -- about 3 percent are women -- the vast majority are single, and most come from poor, disadvantaged backgrounds, according to various federal surveys.

Homeless veterans tend to be older and more educated than homeless non-veterans. But, similar to the general population of homeless adult males, about 45 percent of homeless veterans suffer from mental illness and, with considerable overlap, slightly more than 70 percent suffer from alcohol or other drug abuse problems. Roughly 56 percent are African-American or Hispanic.
go here for more
http://greatmindsthinklikemerainlillie.blogspot.com/2008/05/homeless-veterans-day.html

THE WAR COMES HOME: MEMORIAL DAY

Former Army Spc. Ray France wanted to be like his military mentor. Since Sgt. Steven Checo died in Afghanistan, France has remembered him by writing letters that he burns. France later returned to Orlando after an injury in Iraq (Hilda M. Perez, Orlando Sentinel / May 14, 2008)

THE WAR COMES HOME: MEMORIAL DAY

Remembering a soldier: 'I'd like to tell you about your son.'
Enduring memory inspires letters never sent



Darryl E. Owens Sentinel Staff Writer
May 26, 2008


Sometime this morning, former Army Spc. Ray France plans to write a letter that he'll likely never send. As he writes, he'll be surrounded by war memories. a license plate bearing the infantry's crossed muskets. His Purple Heart. Perhaps most precious of all, a photo showing him and his superior, Sgt. Steven Checo. Each Memorial Day, France has penned letters to Checo to keep fresh in his mind the many important things he will never forget about his Army mentor. How Checo saved his career. How Checo became his best friend. How he watched Checo die nearly six years ago in Afghanistan.

But this year he's not writing to his dead comrade. Instead, France will start the letter this way:



Dear Mrs. Checo, I'd like to tell you about your son.Growing up mostly in Orlando, France, 26, always wanted to be in the military. After graduating from Mid Florida Tech, he joined the U.S. Army Airborne Infantry.Soon after arriving at Fort Bragg, N.C., home to the 82nd Airborne Division, France was struggling. With most soldiers on a four-day leave, he was left to complete some unfamiliar chores. As the new guy, he was clueless."I'm freaking out, throwing stuff around the room," he said.Then someone knocked on the barracks' door. It was Sgt. Checo.



They had never spoken. Yet, Checo offered him sage advice: We've all been where you are. Shut your mouth and do what you're told and you'll make it.Checo taught France to assemble his bulletproof vest, tie up his gear and even how to use the commissary.



France listened because he was scared. And he learned."I wanted to be that soldier, be like Sergeant Checo," France says. "He helped me, but as much as we were friends, he'd be mean, at times. But the thing about him was that he would always come back when nobody was around and say, 'I know I had to smoke you . . . but you've got to learn you can't do that.' Even though he was a buddy, he was still a leader. And that's what makes him a good soldier."

go here for more

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-memorialday2608may26,0,3044421.story

War zone trauma hits police in Victoria

War zone trauma hits police in Victoria
Grant McArthur
Melbourne Herald Sun - Australia
May 27, 2008 12:00am


THE trauma of policing Victoria has left more than 100 officers suffering the same illness as soldiers serving in combat zones over the past three years.

In the past year alone 40 Victoria Police officers were struck down with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after attending gruesome homicides, suicides, road crashes and life-threatening situations.

In 2007, 19 WorkCover claims were paid for Victoria Police members suffering the severe stress-related illness. And a specialist war veteran's psychiatric service has taken over the treatment of 40 officers needing help to deal with depression, anxiety, anger and alcoholism in the past three years.

Assoc Prof Mal Hopwood, of Austin Health's Veterans Psychiatry Unit, said the strain of relentless police work could have the same impact as being involved in a war zone.

"What we have found is that many police officers have a very long history of trauma because of the nature of their work, and the trauma that results in them developing PTSD may represent the straw that broke the camel's back," he said.

"Police officers suffer trauma more directly in the line of their employment (than defence force personnel) and that can lead to a differing view about how to best assist police affected by trauma.
go here for more
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23763497-661,00.html

Symbol of the grateful appreciation this nation feels

The flag is folded and is then presented to next of kin, "As a representative of the United States Army, it is my high privilege to present you this flag. Let it be a symbol of the grateful appreciation this nation feels for the distinguished service rendered to our country and our flag by your loved one."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_funeral

"Symbol of the grateful appreciation this nation feels." Can this be measured with a flag? Is it to weigh more than all other ways to show appreciation? Can we, should we, will we honor the living with the same words but into action?

Today I heard how President Bush was upset over the fact he was called on not supporting the GI Bill along with Senator McCain. When you read the words they used to defend the fact they are against this bill, it is apparent they have nothing to complain about. It is in fact their view that the GI Bill is too generous, yet they defend their opposition of it by attacking anyone bringing up what they said. They do not deny they are against it because it is "too generous" and "would hurt retention" but they don't like being attacked for it. Amazing.

When the conditions at Walter Reed were reported to Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, he ignored the conditions and excused them as being more about the fact they were planning on closing Walter Reed. This was supposed to excuse the conditions the wounded were being treated in. Yet it took the Washington Post to present these deplorable conditions to the public. Once this was accomplished, there was such an outrage across the nation, they were forced to react to it. No one was fired in the upper end of the chain of command.

When over 22,000 members of the armed forces were given dishonorable discharges under "personality disorder claims" instead of PTSD, no one was fired for doing this. The men and women who served this nation, were wounded by serving it were still discharged and unable to obtain any VA services or compensation.

When the fact the redeployments of troops already diagnosed with PTSD, were being sent back, again it took the media to bring this to the public's attention. Yet again the practice was defended as "necessity" to retain troop levels.

When the redeployments were found to increase the risk of developing PTSD by 50% for each time back, yet again the practice was defended to "retain" troop levels.

When the lack of rest time in between deployments was found to be a detriment to the mental health of the troops as well as an increased burden on the families, the practice was defended yet again under retaining troop levels.

Over and over again, we read account after account on how the same nation able to present a flag to the families of the fallen, lacks the ability to live up to those words when it comes to them still being alive and risking their lives. Are they less worthy of appreciation when they live to fight another day? Are they less worthy when they are forced to fight that other day the very nation they risked their lives for when they are in need of the nation because of their service?

What kind of symbol does all of this represent in reality to them? If you really want to honor them, then honor them while they live as well as when they gone.

Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
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

For Women Warriors, Deep Wounds, Little Care

For Women Warriors, Deep Wounds, Little Care

By HELEN BENEDICT
Published: May 26, 2008
THIS Memorial Day, as an ever-increasing number of mentally and physically wounded soldiers return from Iraq, the Department of Veterans Affairs faces a pressing crisis: women traumatized not only by combat but also by sexual assault and harassment from their fellow service members. Sadly, the department is failing to fully deal with this problem.


Women make up some 15 percent of the United States active duty forces, and 11 percent of the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nearly a third of female veterans say they were sexually assaulted or raped while in the military, and 71 percent to 90 percent say they were sexually harassed by the men with whom they served.

This sort of abuse drastically increases the risk and intensity of post-traumatic stress disorder. One study found that female soldiers who were sexually assaulted were nine times more likely to show symptoms of this disorder than those who weren’t. Sexual harassment by itself is so destructive, another study revealed, it causes the same rates of post-traumatic stress in women as combat does in men. And rape can lead to other medical crises, including diabetes, asthma, chronic pelvic pain, eating disorders, miscarriages and hypertension.

The threat of post-traumatic stress has risen in recent years as women’s roles in war have changed. More of them now come under fire, suffer battle wounds and kill the enemy, just as men do.

As women return for repeat tours, usually redeploying with their same units, many must go back to war with the same man (or men) who abused them. This leaves these women as threatened by their own comrades as by the war itself. Yet the combination of sexual assault and combat has barely been acknowledged or studied.
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North Carolina:Teaching doctors to spot PTSD

Local mental health group teaching doctors to spot PTSD in veterans
StarNewsOnline.com - Wilmington,NC,USA
By Vicky Eckenrode
Staff Writer


Published: Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 5:46 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 5:46 p.m.


When Dan Hickman left Iraq, there were stark differences from when he came home from Vietnam decades earlier.

There were no critical debriefings like today. No references for counseling services.

"When you came back from Vietnam, nobody asked you how you were," said Hickman, who in Iraq commanded the 30th Heavy Separate Brigade, North Carolina Army National Guard's largest brigade. "It wasn't a topic of conversation. Nobody even heard of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder)."

Hickman, whose civilian job is executive vice president of Cape Fear Community College, said the culture was one that sidestepped discussions about mental health and the stress of returning from combat.

"I call it the John Wayne generation, you just sucked it up and moved on," he said. "Your only refuge was your buddies and for some alcohol and things like that."

Despite the changes, Hickman said more can be done to help soldiers who serve in Iraq, particularly for so-called citizen soldiers who aren't returning to careers on military bases, but are instead thrown back into their civilian jobs and communities.

For some, the transition is jolting.
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It isn't just the doctors needing to know what PTSD and how to spot it. It's everyone. I was involved with training some Chaplains to know what to look for as well as what PTSD is at a local hospital. They wanted to know if there were ways to know what to look for. I gave them several ways, but the number one thing I suggested was that they listen to the family. If they hear the words, "suddenly changed" that should be their first clue what they may be dealing with. PTSD is caused by trauma but there are all different kinds of traumatic events. It's very hard to sit and ask people to think about these things when most will not even be aware of the cause.

Vietnam veterans found that while they thought they came home with problems, they were not aware of what it was. For some, they were able to cope with it while it was mild (as with my husband) until another stressor hit and they could not cope on their own any longer. They dealt with the nightmares and flashbacks, the divorces and job loss, the twitches along with everything else but stuffed it into the back of their minds. A secondary stressor sent them over the edge to the point where their lives were in danger. In this case, the family should be asked if the patient was a veteran. This will open up a series of follow up questions. It is not just Vietnam veterans within the older generation. It is also Korean veterans and the remaining WWII veterans. Gulf War veterans also need to be addressed and then there are the new generation veterans.

Within the population of others, there is a long list of traumatic events that can lead to the development of PTSD. If the doctors and providers pay attention to what the family and the patient are saying, they will have clues of what they are looking at. "Suddenly changed" is classic for PTSD.

Marine Chad Oligschlaeger lost fight against PTSD

At Memorial Day: Another Iraq Vet, With PTSD, Suicide

Posted May 25, 2008 09:01 AM (EST)

On Memorial Day weekend, yet another American family is mourning the death of son who survived the war in Iraq -- only to fall victim at home from post traumatic shock disorder.

The family lives in Corpus Christi, Texas, and the Marine was Chad Oligschlaeger, age 21, who committed suicide this week at the Twenty Nine Palms base in California.

While the cause of his death is still being investigated, family members say he was taking eight different types of medications to deal with post traumatic stress disorder after serving two tours in Iraq.

I've been chronicling these stories for nearly five years, and the surge in such reports in recent weeks is truly troubling.

Byron Smith, Oligschlaeger's uncle, told a local TV outlet, "the first tour he came back and he asked for help, and they sent him back over there. I guess that was their idea of help. He did what a marine does -- he went over there."

His father, Eric, said, "The second tour ... I don't think he was ready to go back. I think he was fighting it. I think he was afraid to go back."

"We sent these kids over there, we're putting them through things that we'll never see in our lifetimes. Things we see in the movies that are not real, it's real to them," said Christine Judan, a family friend of the Oligschlaegers.
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Sgt. Brian Rand worth training but not worth saving

Since the start of the Iraq war, Fort Campbell, a sprawling installation on the Kentucky-Tennessee border, has seen a spike in the number of suicides and soldiers suffering from severe post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Sgt. Brian Rand, shown here grilling chicken in Iraq, killed himself a few months after being discharged from his second tour of duty in Iraq. Rand believe he was being haunted by the ghost of the Iraqi man he killed.

Memories of Iraq haunted soldier until suicide
By HALIMAH ABDULLAH
McClatchy Newspapers

Until the day he died, Sgt. Brian Rand believed he was being haunted by the ghost of the Iraqi man he killed.

The ghost choked Rand while he slept in his bunk, forcing him to wake up gasping for air and clawing at his throat.

He whispered that Rand was a vampire and looked on as the soldier stabbed another member of Fort Campbell's 96th Aviation Support Battalion in the neck with a fork in the mess hall.

Eventually, the ghost told Rand he needed to kill himself.

According to family members and police reports, on Feb. 20, 2007, just a few months after being discharged from his second tour of duty in Iraq, Rand smoked half of a cigarette as he wrote a suicide note, grabbed a gun and went to the Cumberland River Center Pavilion in Clarksville, Tenn. As the predawn dark pressed in, he breathed in the wintry air and stared out at the park where he and his wife, Dena, had married.

Then he placed the gun to his head and silenced his inner ghosts.

"My brother was afraid to ask for help," said April Somdahl. "And when he finally did ask for help the military let him down."

Since the start of the Iraq war, Fort Campbell, a sprawling installation on the Kentucky-Tennessee border, has seen a spike in the number of suicides and soldiers suffering from severe post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

In 2007, nine soldiers from Fort Campbell committed suicide - three during the first few weeks of October, according to a letter sent to base personnel by the 101st Airborne Division's commander, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser.

"As our soldiers fight terrorism, the sacrifices asked of them and their families have increased significantly," Schloesser said in the letter. "... Regrettably, under such circumstances, it is natural for our people to feel the stress of these demands and to be overwhelmed at times. Tragically, these pressures too often end in suicide."

Fort Campbell spokeswoman Cathy Gramling said post officials were unable to track the suicides referred to in the letter and declined to give additional suicide figures. The Pentagon said it does not track suicides by military installation.
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http://www.kansascity.com/440/story/635463.html

It costs a lot of money to get a soldier and even more to train them.

The military spends a fortune on recruitment advertising but relatively little on retention of trained soldiers. Substantially more money needs to be shifted from recruitment to retention. The reasoning: it can cost as much as $250,000 to properly train a soldier for a skilled assignment -- only to have them leave after one term of service.
http://www.politics1.com/jcoc.htm

It costs even more to outfit them.

It Ain't Cheap to Outfit a Soldier
Modern soldiers, with their night-vision goggles and high-tech vests, are starting to look more and more like they might have dropped out of a popular video game. But it's a pretty expensive one:

It now costs 100 times more to outfit a soldier than it did during World War II. Back then, it cost $170, even adjusted for inflation. These days, The Associated Press reports, it costs $17,000 and could reach $28,000 or even $60,000 by 2015.

In the 1940s, a GI went to war with little more than a uniform, weapon, helmet, bedroll and canteen. He carried some 35 pounds of gear that cost $170 in 2006 inflation-adjusted dollars, according to Army figures. That rose to about $1,100 by the 1970s as the military added a flak vest, new weapons and other equipment during the Vietnam War.

Today, troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are outfitted with advanced armor and other protection, including high-tech vests, anti-ballistic eyewear, earplugs and fire-retardant gloves. Night-vision eyewear, thermal weapons sights and other gear makes them more deadly to the adversary.


These days, soldiers are responsible for more than 80 items, weighing a total of 75 pounds. And in the future, their gear could include "a weapon that can shoot around corners so soldiers don't have to expose themselves to their enemy and a helmet-mounted 1.5-inch computer screen showing maps of the battlefield."

All this new technology stands to increase the pressure on the military to retain well-trained personnel because of the cost to train and equip new ones.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/news/2007/10/it_aint_cheap_to_outfit_a_sold.html

When it comes to the price tag on getting them ready for combat, it seems as if the sky is the limit. So where is the money when they are done doing the risking of life? Why are they no longer of value? Sgt. Brian Rand was still the same person the military trained, spent a lot of money on and depended on. He was still the same person who left his family and friends to serve the nation and still the same person they loved. Why is it that when they come back home, no one seems to take what happens seriously enough in the chain of command? Is it because they were willing to risk their lives that the military has taken this long to care what happens to them and felt their deaths by their own hands was no great loss? Aside from the moral question, we have the financial one. Sgt. Rand, along with all the others who took their own lives because of being wounded, have to be replaced. You would think it would be in the financial interest of the military to take care of them and get them help as soon as humanly possible in order to retain the trained and not have to replace them. Think of what kind of symbol taking care of them would provide for those who are contemplating joining the military or not. It would go a long way for them to truly believe their lives were valued. Think about it. It's too late for Sgt. Rand and all the others. But what about the next one?

Honored soldier is plagued by memories of war

Video: Honored soldier is plagued by memories of war
David Edwards
Published: Saturday May 24, 2008


He was honored by President Bush with the second-highest award in the military, but Sgt. Christopher Corriveau does not feel like a hero.

CBS' David Martin reports that after his sniper team was ambushed and outnumbered 10 to one, Corriveau fought his way out. But his two best friends did not make it..

"They were some of the best friends I've ever had," he said. "I almost wanted to die on that roof that day with my brothers."

Corriveau's unit returns to Iraq this fall, but he will be staying in the US to attend college.

This video is from CBS's Evening News, broadcast May 22, 2008.
go here for video
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/CBS_Honored_soldier_plagued_by_memories_0524.html

My friend Jen

My friend Jen passed away between last night and early this morning. Her husband called to tell me a little while ago. Over the last couple of days, it's been very difficult to concentrate on much more than her. Before I go on, please offer a prayer for her family. Jen, well she needs no more prayers because she has returned to where love began. She no longer has to feel cancer trying to take over her life and no longer has to battle for the next breath.

If you ever read AOL Political Conundrum you would have read a lot of what Jen did. She posted there and on a couple of other message boards for a long time. She was a powerhouse! There was not much she didn't know about the government or what was going on in this country. She posted as FloridaBeachBum.

After 9-11, I was fully invested in PTSD and what we were headed for when it came to it in our new veterans that would come. Jen was already up on all the questions that should have been asked but never were by anyone who would have made the answers matter. Both of us ended up focusing on the 2004 election and the rest of what was going on, but it was the way we started that proved what a intelligent woman she was along with a loving one.

Jen had emailed me a very, very long post about 9-11 too soon for us to know each other well enough. I emailed her back and told her that I couldn't use any of it because I had to deal with facts, not speculation. (She should have smacked me) Jen turned around and spent hours upon hours finding what she thought I needed to read and then she opened my eyes to things I didn't want to see, things I didn't want to know or even think were possible. She's probably the reason why it finally dawned on me that either this nation had such a massive failure of all our defense systems, all at the same time, the same day we needed them, or someone made them fail.

Anyway, setting that aside, Jen and I got very close after that. She managed to do the same to people who agreed with her on the PC board as well as people who did not agree with her. No one ignored Jen, that's for sure and she earned their respect.

When she was first diagnosed with cancer, I drove down to Stuart to see her in the hospital. We hadn't met yet. I walked into the hospital room and as soon as I did it was as if she just saw a movie star show up at her doorway. Her face lit up. Believe me, I'm not that big of a deal. When I returned home, I posted on the PC board to let people know what was going on and within a couple of hours, there were a lot of messages from people praying for her, even the people she argued with. Two thought it was inappropriate that I posted "such personal information" on the board, but considering I was doing what Jen asked me to do, I basically told the two people where to go and how to arrive there swiftly.

Time never allows me to go in there anymore. It's too hard to post anything there and then go back over and over again to reply to replies. It just never ends. I do miss most of the people in that group and Jen was responsible for brining a lot of the people there together.

The arrangements have not been made yet. Her parents have to come from California. I don't know when I will have to go back to Stuart. Traveling down there the other day and back took 5 hours, so whenever the day is, I won't post that day or very little if at all. Now think of this. Jen meant a lot to me and to all the people she came into contact with on line. Naturally she meant a lot to her family. Think of all the lives this woman touched. Jen's life ended because of cancer. It ended because she didn't have health insurance and didn't go for check ups until she had problems. We need to do something so that the next time someone like Jen comes into this world with the ability to bring people together, make them think and encourage them to do something about it, we do not let them go through life without the medical care that could save their lives.

We need to make sure that all our troops coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the veterans already here, do not come back to a system designed to help them heal, end up being the reason they die.

This world is filled with too many selfish people who see nothing wrong with making more and more money while other people have to suffer for it. We cannot afford to loose more like Jen so early in life. She had too much more to give. Gifts we will never have because she is no longer here.

Financial reality of ignoring PTSD

American Psychiatric Foundation, Lilly Foundation And Give An Hour Join Forces To Provide Mental Health Care To Iraq And Afghanistan Veterans

Heeding the call of a growing public health crisis -- the unmet mental health needs of returning soldiers and their families -- Give an Hour (GAH) and the American Psychiatric Foundation (APF) announced a major expansion of a nationwide effort to help U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

GAH and APF, the philanthropic and educational arm of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), will be using a $1 million grant from the Lilly Foundation to recruit and educate volunteer mental health professionals, who will become part of a network aiming to bridge the gap in mental health services for soldiers returning from service, as well as their families. Among troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, approximately 40 percent of soldiers, a third of Marines, and half of the National Guard members report psychological problems, but mental health services are in short supply.

Details of today's announcement were made public by the three organizations at the Reserve Officers Association (ROA) building on Capitol Hill -- one week prior to the nation's Memorial Day holiday. The ROA represents the interest of the soldiers of the Army National Guard, who suffer high rates of post-combat psychological problems, exacerbated by repeat deployments, detailed front-line combat positions and little access to the services of military treatment facilities.

"This all-volunteer effort provides badly needed support to help our veterans, many of whom come home with mental health needs," said U.S. Representative Steve Buyer (R-Indiana), Ranking Member, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. "I applaud the hard work of Give an Hour, the American Psychiatric Foundation, and the Lilly Foundation, which are stepping up to help those who have selflessly served."

Efforts will be made to create a large, national, volunteer network over the next three years to address postwar mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), drug abuse, anxiety and depression.

"This grant will allow us to get out the message that help is available. We want to normalize what our military personnel and their families are experiencing and support the sacrifices that they are making by providing critical mental health support at no cost," said Barbara V. Romberg, Ph.D., founder and president of GAH. "We will be educating the military community and broader public about these mental health needs in hope of helping veterans keep their lives and families intact."
go here for more
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/108689.php

Aside from the emotional costs when families fall apart, this is a glimpse of what it costs the nation.

April 15, 2008
Study: Single parents cost taxpayers $112 billion
Story Highlights
New study says divorce, unwed childbearing cost taxpayers

Says $112 billion spent on welfare, healthcare, criminal justice

Study sponsors want more funding for strengthening marriages
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/04/15/fragmented.families.ap/index.html

We cannot save all marriages and some marriages should not be saved. Yet this is not about the rest of the nation. This is about families trying to cope with Post Traumatic Stress. There are too many who have no idea what PTSD is, what the cause of the changes in their family life comes from or why someone they loved suddenly turned into a stranger.

It is nearly impossible to hold a family together when we know what PTSD is and why everything is falling apart, yet when we do not know the cause of it, the veteran is blamed for all of it. Families fall apart, but it does not stop there.

The veteran, still suffering from PTSD, from the wound they brought home with them, is suffering alone because his/her family could not deal with the way they acted any longer. Jobs are very hard to keep when there is no support and they lost their home life. The financial burden on them to support themselves along with child support and financial obligations to their family, adds stress to a veteran trying to survive.

Yet when they know what PTSD is, what is causing the upheaval in the home, the changes in the person they love, they are armed to fight it all. They are given the tools to cope until they get the treatment they desperately need. When anyone says that the price is too high, they should have considered this when the war was planned out. When they say it costs too much money to take care of all the veterans with PTSD, they better reconsider anything they knew about accounting because the money they spend now, early on, is a lot less than they will have to pay for years to come by doing nothing.

Give An Hour volunteers are giving up a lot of money for the time they donate. They understand that failing to act will cost lives, marriages and futures for far too many.

What are you doing?

Vets taking PTSD drugs die in sleep

May 24, 2008
Vets taking PTSD drugs die in sleep
Hurricane man's death the 4th in West Virginia
By Julie Robinson
Staff writer
By Julie Robinson

jul...@wvgazette.com

A Putnam County veteran who was taking medication prescribed for post-traumatic stress disorder died in his sleep earlier this month, in circumstances similar to the deaths of three other area veterans earlier this year.

Derek Johnson, 22, of Hurricane, served in the infantry in the Middle East in 2005, where he was wounded in combat and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder while hospitalized.

Military doctors prescribed Paxil, Klonopin and Seroquel for Johnson, the same combination taken by veterans Andrew White, 23, of Cross Lanes; Eric Layne, 29, of Kanawha City; and Nicholas Endicott of Logan County. All were in apparently good physical health when they died in their sleep.

Johnson was taking Klonopin and Seroquel, as prescribed, at the time of his death, said his grandmother, Georgeann Underwood of Hurricane. Both drugs are frequently used in combination to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Klonopin causes excessive drowsiness in some patients.
go here for more
http://wvgazette.com/News/200805230640

linked from
http://www.paxilprogress.org/forums/showthread.php?t=36129

Personal note on life

Yesterday and today, I haven't been posting much. To tell you the truth it's been very hard to concentrate.

I woke up yesterday planing on finally tackling repainting my office at the house. A few hours later, I received a phone call from one of the daughters of a very close friend. She's been battling cancer for a few years now. It spread into many parts of her body. Jen's daughter told me they were taking her to a hospice because she was not doing well at all and couldn't breathe. I went on painting assured they would keep me informed and planned on heading out to Stuart Florida today to spend some time with Jen and her family. The phone rang again and Jen's daughter told me that she may not make it through the night. I drove down there last night.

Jen is surrounded by her daughters, her son-in-law and her husband. She is in and out of sleep and pain. They have her medicated and are watching over her. The people who work in a hospice are angel sent, that is for sure. To be able to comfort people finishing this part of their journey here, is something very rare. I've seen their compassion many times before.

Today, I half heartedly finished painting. My attention span was not into it. Then my sister-in-law called and told me my brother back in Massachusetts is in the hospital because he had a small stroke. He should be fine. It's just impossible to concentrate on reading everything about PTSD at this moment. I tried to read and pay attention to what I'm reading but it just isn't working.

Please keep Jen in your prayers and my brother. It's a rough time for everyone. I should be posting again more tomorrow, God willing.

Marines:5 deaths in 8 days Pendleton and Twentynine Palms

5 in 8 days worsen 1st MEF's bad year
By Rick Rogers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

May 23, 2008

CAMP PENDLETON – Three servicemen from Camp Pendleton and two from Twentynine Palms have died in the past eight days, and the confirmed or probable causes are homicide, suicide and traffic accidents.

None of the Marine officials interviewed for this story could remember a worse week in terms of noncombat losses.

Camp Pendleton is home to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, commonly called the 1st MEF, which includes troops at Twentynine Palms and Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

At least 13 Marines from the 1st MEF – most of them stationed at Camp Pendleton – have died this year. Most of the causes are believed to have been vehicle crashes, homicides and suicides, although some cases are still being investigated.

By comparison, six Camp Pendleton-based Marines have died from combat in Iraq during the same time period, according to the Defense Department.

Officials for Camp Pendleton and the 1st MEF didn't immediately provide or confirm the death toll for 2008 or past years. They also didn't say whether the recent deaths may have been linked to drug or alcohol abuse, gang activity or suicide.

They said those questions must be submitted as a Freedom of Information Act request or, in the case of gang problems, to Marine Corps headquarters at the Pentagon.

Then Camp Pendleton-based Lance Cpl. Samuel Stucky, 19, died Saturday. A day earlier, he had been found unconscious in his Camp Pendleton barracks with a gunshot wound.

Also on Saturday, Camp Pendleton-based Lance Cpl. Noah Cole, 25, died from injuries suffered in an apparent motorcycle accident. Cole, who was visiting relatives in Grand Rapids, Mich., was scheduled to deploy on his second combat tour early next month.

And again Saturday, Twentynine Palms-based Pfc. Jack Kenner, 22, died in Upland after he tried to maneuver his motorcycle between two vehicles, struck one of them and crashed.

Finally, on Tuesday, Cpl. Chad Oligschlaeger, 21, was found dead in his barracks room at Twentynine Palms. Camp Pendleton officials said the cause of death is under investigation.

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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20080523-9999-1m23marines.html