Thursday, May 29, 2008
Capt. Luis Montalvan PTSD for 17 years of service
After returning from two tours of duty in Iraq, Capt. Luis Montalvan is the highest ranking member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Despite post-traumatic stress disorder, he is campaigning to expose the Iraq War's grim realities. He has been branded a coward and traitor, but this recipient of the Purple Heart is on a mission to expose what he calls "incompetent" leadership in the highest ranks of the military.
Watch the video below on the side bar of this blog.
Capt. Luis Montalvan's site
This site is created to chronicle my experiences, both in Iraq and in the United States, ever since the Iraq War began. It's also part of an ongoing effort, including recent articles in The New York Times and The Washington Post, to distinguish the truths about the War in Iraq from the demoralizing and damaging illusions that obscure its realities. Those realities include a significant number of American leaders who have compromised our national security to further their own self-serving agendas. The resources here are dedicated to the memories of Iraqi and American patriots who sacrificed all for duty, honor and country and for the many civilians who have suffered.
May we never forget that for virtue and humanism to prevail, deeds must follow thoughts and words. Citizens must stand and speak their minds to hold those leaders accountable for their actions. Indeed, that is the only way we will ever hope to have a society that reflects our principles and ideals.
http://luiscarlosmontalvan.com/
17 Years of service, medals and now he's called traitor.
VA retaliated against employees who did not comply with denials
CREW and VoteVets to VA Inspector General: Investigate PTSD Misdiagnoses; "This practice is widespread and systemic."
Submitted by crew on 28 May 2008 - 11:42am. PTSD Veterans Affairs
CREW and VoteVets.org requested that the Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) open an investigation into the process and manner by which the VA makes a diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans. The letter to the VA, which we sent today, can be found here.
In the wake of the disclosure by CREW and VoteVets.org of an internal VA e-mail advising VA mental health staff in Texas to consider a diagnosis of adjustment disorder in place of a PTSD diagnosis as a cost-cutting measure, both organizations have received new information from VA employees and veterans attesting to the fact that this practice is widespread and systemic. VA Secretary James Peake has repudiated the email as not reflecting VA policy.
The VA has adopted incentive programs that, by rewarding those employees and hospitals that distribute lower levels of compensation to veterans, encourage adjustment disorder diagnoses rather than the most appropriate but also more costly diagnosis of PTSD.
In addition, the VA's internal computer system permits medical files to be changed by health professionals who did not conduct the initial examinations, a practice that appears to have resulted in changed diagnoses from PTSD to adjustment disorder, even where there is no additional medical evidence to support the downgraded diagnoses.
CREW and VoteVets.org also heard from VA employees who suffered retaliation for their failure to support these practices.
Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, said:It is unconscionable that the VA would actively encourage its staff, through monetary incentives, to misdiagnose our veterans’ mental health. Add to that the mind-boggling disclosure that medical files can be altered to downgrade service members’ conditions, and we have a VA that is betraying those it is supposed to serve. The VA Inspector General must spearhead an investigation into these abhorrent practices immediately.
Jon Soltz, Iraq War vet and Chair of VoteVets.org, added this statement:Despite what Secretary Peake said, the misdiagnoses being encouraged at the Temple, TX VA Center were not an isolated incident. The only question now is: How widespread is this, and how high up does the problem go? Those of us who served this nation in war deserve to have full confidence in the programs set up to help transition us back to civilian life. These new revelations personally give me zero confidence in the mental health screening and care system the VA oversees.
On May 14th, CREW also sent a Freedom of Information Act request to the VA asking for all records pertaining to any guidance given regarding the diagnosis of PTSD.
http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/31847
While it sickens me greatly reading this from CREW and Vote Vets, I have to admit it does not shock me. How could it? Given the fact the DOD is still using Battlemind, which has been proven to be of little good if at all, along with everything else going on, it appears to have been lip service in support of the wound and then sharpening the knife to stab them in the back.
According to the BBC report, the new arrivals in Iraq and Afghanistan are shown Battlemind for "11 1/2 minutes to learn about the psychological impact" as if that is supposed to prepare them for anything. Why is this not working? Simply because it is no good. The rate of suicides has gone up since they began to use it, not only while actively deployed, but the suicide rate has gone up back home as well. What they are doing is not working. If it was, then the rates would drop, not go higher.
Now we learn from the investigations like this one from CREW and Vote Vets, the law suit filed by Veterans For Common Sense, this has all be a fraudulent claim of care. How dare they not only deceive the American people, but further damage the troops as well?
Female veterans are told they will not receive the treatment they need because "they cannot afford the money" when the senate said they would have funded even more if they had known there was a problem.
Dominic DiNatale did the report for the BBC from Afghanistan. He interviewed Sgt. Bruce Cantral, a medic on his 4th deployment between Iraq and Afghanistan, at Bagram Air Base. The Sgt. has already been diagnosed with PTSD and is on a mix of medication and therapy.
Back to Battlemind, again, while only in country a few hours, the new arrivals have to spend two days worth of briefings, which include a lousy 11 1/2 minutes of Battlemind, to prepare them for the psychological impact of war. A very lame attempt to prepare them for the fact 1 in 5 will develop PTSD in theater and later half of those deployed will develop it later.
There are now combat stress teams being airlifted in to try to face this crisis. Yet there are not enough of them. A case in point comes from Fort Warrior.
At a chapel in Afghanistan's Fort Warrior, Chaplain Hill recounts a unit that had been through a terrible fight and arrived at the chapel still covered in blood.
While many will have to live with PTSD, there is also combat stress that is immediate and happens under extreme stress. How is 11 1/2 minute going to prepare them for any of this?
Physical and psychological conditions do not seem to matter as long as they can get them back into combat. This again will only harm them further. The "relentless deployments" and stop loss add to the development of PTSD. This the Army knew years ago, yet the warning fell on deaf ears.
DiNatale tried to interviews at FOB Warrior, but the commander told him that he thought it would harm the careers of anyone he interviewed. Imagine that a commander still thinks it will harm the careers of his men if they talked about being human. Yes, this still exists and give the above report from CREW, it is alive and well no matter how much reassurance the public is given that this attitude no longer lives in the minds of those in charge.
One last thing came in the last few minutes of this report. Congressman Filner was interviewed. He stated that 1/3 of the already diagnosed have committed felonies and there have been 200 homicides, mostly committed against family members.
Go here and watch the interview for yourself and see how seriously this all needs to be taken.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/7422853.stm
Now you can see that the troops are not getting what they need while deployed and then are greeted with more of the same from the VA afterward. Yet they seem so surprised there is such a huge problem. The right-wing bloggers are attacking the media and Peake is telling them that the problems reported are overblown!
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
Miracle Drug, Poison or Placebo?
Miracle Drug, Poison or Placebo?
Do antidepressants work?
Effectiveness may vary from person to person
By Maia Szalavitz for MSN Health & Fitness
Modern antidepressants have been blamed for deadly shooting rampages and violent suicides. At the same time, they’ve been hailed as miracle drugs that transform baleful Eeyore-types into bouncing Tiggers.
Now the latest review of the research claims that the effects of the drugs are only marginally different from those of placebos or sugar pills.
It seems impossible that the same substances in the same dosage ranges could simultaneously be poison, miracle drug and placebo. But the diversity of responses is remarkable—and it points to the possibilities and pitfalls of personalized medicine.
For example, Stacy*, a 48-year-old woman who works in public relations in Ohio, describes her experience with Zoloft like this: “It felt like water after being in the desert. It wasn't an experience of elation or anything bi-polar … I'm far happier, more confident, far more relaxed.”
Lisa*, a 33-year-old business consultant from Maryland, had experienced severe suicidal thoughts as early as kindergarten. She says of taking Effexor, “My entire life is different and I finally feel like a normal person with normal emotions. These days I can honestly say I am a happy, well adjusted person.”
But JoAnne*, a 35 year-old educator and dancer living in the Washington, D.C. area, reported that both Zoloft and Prozac produced muscle weakness and excessive sweating—and no benefits.
And Bernice*, a 53-year-old science journalist in California, described her experience with a Prozac-like antidepressant this way: “It made me feel disconnected from myself and my family, so that I no longer felt any empathy and did not really care what happened to them or to me. It was a terrifying sensation of flatness and I definitely felt depressed and hostile in a way that I had never felt before.”
Bizarre experiences abound as well: Bernice had “a vivid nightmare of being shot in the head,” and the sensation she felt of dripping blood did not immediately disappear on awakening. Others report elimination of sexual desire, weight loss, weight gain, heart palpitations and elevated blood pressure.go here for more
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/depression/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100202836>1=31009
Lip service for PTSD From Peake and Stevens
VA: PTSD and TBI "Overblown"; Like "Football" Injuries
by Brandon Friedman
Tue May 27, 2008 at 03:38:47 PM PDT
VA Secretary James Peake continued to show little respect for the service of America’s newest veterans yesterday by dismissing concerns about the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) in troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Speaking alongside Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) in a remote Alaskan village, Peake first used the word "overblown" when discussing PTSD and TBI and then made a "football" comparison.
go here for more
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/27/182653/350/999/523775
Maybe Peake thinks this is a game, like high school football, and maybe he thinks it's overblown but what he fails to see is that THIS IS HIS JOB! It's his job to take care of the men and women who are risking their lives, and I don't mean just in Iraq and Afghanistan, but still risking them when they come home. What the hell is wrong with this administration? How can they take such a callous attitude when they could be saving lives? What about getting ahead of the curve instead of being stuck out waiting behind the opponents goal post? That is what they have been doing. They are supporting the enemy by ignoring PTSD and TBI, attempting to minimize this crisis instead of doing something about it. Sure they can say they take all of this very seriously when they are in front of congress with the cameras rolling, pretending to really give a crap about what's going on, but when you get right down to it, they have a totally different attitude when they are in front of their base. It shows!
It shows when the suicide rate goes up instead of down this long into all the reports of what they have supposedly been doing to address the crisis. It shows when there are still far too many waiting for appointments, for claims to be processed and approved, when workers have not all been hired, when psychologist have to donate their time to address this without pay because the VA is not able to deal with any of this. Given the tone from Peake it's obvious why all the problems are still ongoing. Overblown!!!! He called it overblown and the right wing bloggers have jumped on board this fantasy flight claiming the media is playing it all up instead of looking at the facts. This is a national disgrace but they take it as a slam against their hero Bush when the real heroes are dying for their attention.
Tim Bowman's boots painted white for battle he fought at home
Parents of National Guard Soldier Trying to Open Eyes to Iraq and Afghanistan War Veteran Suicides
Mark Brown
Chicago Sun-Times
May 28, 2008
May 25, 2008 - Timothy Bowman, 23, had been back from Illinois National Guard duty in Iraq for eight months when he drove to his father's electrical contracting business on Thanksgiving Day 2005, got a gun and shot himself in the head.
Last week, his parents, Mike and Kim Bowman, made the 85-mile drive to Chicago from their home in Downstate Forreston to try to save other military families from experiencing the pain they have endured every day since.
Nobody can tell you definitively how many men and women have committed suicide since returning home from our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the Bowmans can tell you for a dead certainty that it is too many and that we're not doing enough to prevent the next one.
On Friday, the Bowmans added a pair of their son's combat boots to the American Friends Service Committee's "Eyes Wide Open" exhibit, which already displayed 144 pairs of boots representing Illinois' official war dead.
Timothy Bowman's boots were painted white to symbolize a too-often-overlooked group of casualties from the war -- those who have taken their own lives.
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10226
Feb. 2007
The worst thing about all of this is that there have been too many put into a grave with wounds they received in combat and the lack of help they received back home. None of them are counted in the official death count.
Mark Brown
Chicago Sun-Times
May 28, 2008
May 25, 2008 - Timothy Bowman, 23, had been back from Illinois National Guard duty in Iraq for eight months when he drove to his father's electrical contracting business on Thanksgiving Day 2005, got a gun and shot himself in the head.
Last week, his parents, Mike and Kim Bowman, made the 85-mile drive to Chicago from their home in Downstate Forreston to try to save other military families from experiencing the pain they have endured every day since.
Nobody can tell you definitively how many men and women have committed suicide since returning home from our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the Bowmans can tell you for a dead certainty that it is too many and that we're not doing enough to prevent the next one.
On Friday, the Bowmans added a pair of their son's combat boots to the American Friends Service Committee's "Eyes Wide Open" exhibit, which already displayed 144 pairs of boots representing Illinois' official war dead.
Timothy Bowman's boots were painted white to symbolize a too-often-overlooked group of casualties from the war -- those who have taken their own lives.
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10226
Feb. 2007
BLOGGERS-SAVE OUR TROOPS AND VETERANS WITH PTSD
Timothy Bowman committed suicide during Thanksgiving 2005 after returning from Iraq.
When Timothy Bowman committed suicide, or Jonathan Schulze committed suicide, or any of the others including this un-named one, it is easy to understand there are a lot more we will never hear about.Un-named storyUS Marine commits suicide in ‘Amiriyat al-Fallujah Sunday.The Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that a US Marine took his own life by putting a bullet through his head on Sunday morning near the city of al-Fallujah, according to a local police source.“Early in the morning, a marine took the pistol of an Iraq policeman in the police station of ‘Amriyat al-Fallujah, just south of al-Fallujah, and put a bullet in his head,’ the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
“The soldier uttered words saying he was sad and miserable,” the source said.We didn't' hear most of the stories when they came home from Vietnam. We didn't hear the stories of how they could not get into the VA or the ones who did not know they brought the war back home with them. The difference is the net.
When you think of the word "net" wouldn't it be wonderful if it actually worked like one?I don't know that much about how this all works but there has to be someone out there with the knowledge, talent and time to put the resources together in one place. They should be able to find the information in one place and this place should be well advertised. I have a long list of links and sites I go into all the time and still too much gets missed.I get emails all the time from veterans and families dealing with PTSD finding my site by accident. There are a lot better sites than mine with a lot more information on them. So why do they have to find help on accident?
Would Tim Bowman have committed suicide if he knew where to get help? We know Jonathan knew where to get help but couldn't get to it. What if they knew right were to go to fill in the gaps until they could get to the VA?
We have the Army, Marines bearing most of the PTSD burden, but we also have the National Guard in large percentages all needing help. We have the Navy and the Air Force dealing with it as well. So why can't they all just go to one place for help?So come on bloggers! Come to the rescue here! Isn't that why we do what we do? To share information, to change the world into a better place, to help? Don't look to me to do it because I know very little about doing something like this other than I know it can be done and needs to be done. Bloggers have been doing the work of journalists for a very long time now so let's do it all the way. Turn the net into a safety net for our troops and veterans dealing with PTSD! They are dying for our attention!
The worst thing about all of this is that there have been too many put into a grave with wounds they received in combat and the lack of help they received back home. None of them are counted in the official death count.
War Illnesses Fester
War Illnesses Fester
By Thomas D. Williams
The Public Record
May 29, 2008
Favoured : 2
Published in : Nation/World
"The most shocking fact about war is that its victims and its instruments are individual human beings, and that these individual beings are condemned by the monstrous conventions of politics to murder or be murdered in quarrels not their own." - Aldous Huxley, English Writer
Ever since the Persian Gulf War 15 years ago, countless spokespersons for the US Department of Defense and the US Department of Veterans Affairs have insisted they are intent upon giving hundreds of thousands of soldiers, veterans and war veterans the best medical care available.
Meanwhile, scores of US, United Nations and foreign politicians and military officials have constantly expressed immense concern for potentially millions of innocent civilian victims of the wars in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet, relatively little has been done worldwide to track their deaths, console family survivors or obtain health care for the wounded, maimed and sick. The combined ill and the dead from those four wars are estimated in the millions with no exacting figures available. Knowledge about sicknesses caused by the war in Bosnia-Serbia is scarce.
And, what makes US and allied officials far more culpable is this. The environmental hazards foreign civilians and US and allied service members have been exposed to and sickened by are largely generated by US and allied bombings, munitions and even medicines aimed at protecting service members. They include: radioactive dust from depleted uranium munitions, deadly chemical warfare gases released by US bombings of Iraqi bunkers, oil well fires during the first Gulf War, pollution of European and Middle Eastern foreign air and water supplies from wartime explosions and fires, pesticides, fumes from specialized military vehicle paint, and disease carrying insects.
The air and water hazards have had untold deadly impacts on innocent civilians in both Europe and the Middle East for more than the past decade.
Here is but one lone example of the lack of emphasis on care for wounded or sick wartime civilians: "A survey of Medline (a database of medical and health-related research articles) for articles on the Gulf War revealed 368 articles that covered the health-related issues. Only 4 out of these 368 articles were on how the 1991 Gulf War affected the health of Iraqi people."
Yet, the International Red Cross reports these realities: "[Iraqi] Medical-legal facilities are struggling to cope with the rising influx of bodies, contending with insufficient capacity to store them properly or to systematically gather data on unidentified bodies in order to allow families to be informed of a relative's death. In 2006, an estimated 100 civilians were killed every day. Half of them remained unclaimed or unidentified. Thousands of unidentified bodies have thus been buried in designated cemeteries in Iraq. Meanwhile tens of thousands are being held in the custody of the Iraqi authorities and the multinational forces in Iraq. At the same time, tens of thousands of families remain without news of relatives who went missing during past and recent conflicts."
By Thomas D. Williams
The Public Record
May 29, 2008
Favoured : 2
Published in : Nation/World
"The most shocking fact about war is that its victims and its instruments are individual human beings, and that these individual beings are condemned by the monstrous conventions of politics to murder or be murdered in quarrels not their own." - Aldous Huxley, English Writer
Ever since the Persian Gulf War 15 years ago, countless spokespersons for the US Department of Defense and the US Department of Veterans Affairs have insisted they are intent upon giving hundreds of thousands of soldiers, veterans and war veterans the best medical care available.
Meanwhile, scores of US, United Nations and foreign politicians and military officials have constantly expressed immense concern for potentially millions of innocent civilian victims of the wars in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet, relatively little has been done worldwide to track their deaths, console family survivors or obtain health care for the wounded, maimed and sick. The combined ill and the dead from those four wars are estimated in the millions with no exacting figures available. Knowledge about sicknesses caused by the war in Bosnia-Serbia is scarce.
And, what makes US and allied officials far more culpable is this. The environmental hazards foreign civilians and US and allied service members have been exposed to and sickened by are largely generated by US and allied bombings, munitions and even medicines aimed at protecting service members. They include: radioactive dust from depleted uranium munitions, deadly chemical warfare gases released by US bombings of Iraqi bunkers, oil well fires during the first Gulf War, pollution of European and Middle Eastern foreign air and water supplies from wartime explosions and fires, pesticides, fumes from specialized military vehicle paint, and disease carrying insects.
The Pentagon's and the British military's mandatory use of the controversial anthrax vaccine and other experimental drugs, including US use of pyridostigmine bromide pills to protect against gas attacks, on troops have resulted in thousands of adverse reactions, many serious ones, some even listed on drug labels as possible but not provable fatal reactions.
The air and water hazards have had untold deadly impacts on innocent civilians in both Europe and the Middle East for more than the past decade.
Here is but one lone example of the lack of emphasis on care for wounded or sick wartime civilians: "A survey of Medline (a database of medical and health-related research articles) for articles on the Gulf War revealed 368 articles that covered the health-related issues. Only 4 out of these 368 articles were on how the 1991 Gulf War affected the health of Iraqi people."
Yet, the International Red Cross reports these realities: "[Iraqi] Medical-legal facilities are struggling to cope with the rising influx of bodies, contending with insufficient capacity to store them properly or to systematically gather data on unidentified bodies in order to allow families to be informed of a relative's death. In 2006, an estimated 100 civilians were killed every day. Half of them remained unclaimed or unidentified. Thousands of unidentified bodies have thus been buried in designated cemeteries in Iraq. Meanwhile tens of thousands are being held in the custody of the Iraqi authorities and the multinational forces in Iraq. At the same time, tens of thousands of families remain without news of relatives who went missing during past and recent conflicts."
Today, after two wars in Iraq, one in Bosnia and another in Afghanistan, involving hundreds of thousands of US troops, neither the Pentagon nor the VA, by their own admissions, are close to giving thousands of soldiers and veterans even adequate health care for potentially deadly illnesses.
click post title for more
Soldiers' fight persists post-war
Soldiers' fight persists post-war
BBC
Nearly half the US soldiers who serve in Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer some form of post-traumatic stress, according to the US military.
Now there are efforts to find new ways to deal with the 60,000 cases of combat-related stress diagnosed since the conflicts began.
Dominic Di-Natale reports from Afghanistan.
go here for video
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/7422853.stm
They are still using BattleMind training when it does not work. It has not changed anything. More suicides and still too many do not seek treatment and when they do, some are still being told to "suck it up" and get over it.
BBC
Nearly half the US soldiers who serve in Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer some form of post-traumatic stress, according to the US military.
Now there are efforts to find new ways to deal with the 60,000 cases of combat-related stress diagnosed since the conflicts began.
Dominic Di-Natale reports from Afghanistan.
go here for video
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/7422853.stm
They are still using BattleMind training when it does not work. It has not changed anything. More suicides and still too many do not seek treatment and when they do, some are still being told to "suck it up" and get over it.
War’s Stresses Take Toll on Military’s Chaplains
War’s Stresses Take Toll on Military’s Chaplains
By SARAH ABRUZZESE
Published: May 29, 2008
KILLEEN, Tex. — On a recent morning, an Army chaplain, Lt. Col. Richard E. Brunk Jr., met with a suicidal soldier who had served in Iraq, drove across Fort Hood to greet 70 activated reservists, attended meetings on future deployments and then retreated to his computer to counsel members of his military flock around the world.
Finally, just before 4 a.m. the next day, after stealing an hour’s sleep, Chaplain Brunk stood on a tarmac shaking hands with soldiers bound for Iraq, murmuring words of encouragement and offering an occasional hug.
As a casualty of war himself, he knows what soldiers can experience. Injured in Iraq in January 2005, Chaplain Brunk suffers from moderate brain trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. “I’ve been really pushed to my limits and beyond,” he said. “At times, I’ve really wondered if I could get through.”
Just as it has claimed so many other members of the military, the war in Iraq has taken a toll on chaplains. Although they do not engage in combat, chaplains face the perils of war as they move around Iraq to visit troops. None have been killed, but some, like Chaplain Brunk, have been wounded. Many report post-traumatic stress disorder and other stress problems.
In the past year, the Army has begun to recognize those problems among chaplains and is ensuring that those suffering from stress disorders receive medical treatment at military hospitals.
The Army’s chief of chaplains, Maj. Gen. Douglas L. Carver, has mandated that every military installation offer programs to ensure the mental well being of its chaplains. A spiritual center will open this summer at the chaplain training headquarters at Fort Jackson, S.C., and chaplains will be invited to retreats.
“We are doing more for the chaplains because the chaplains are doing more,” said Lt. Col. Ran Dolinger, a spokesman for the chief of chaplains. Because of multiple deployments to combat zones, Colonel Dolinger said, “they just needed more help.”
go here for more
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/washington/29chaplains.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin
Benjamin Sklar for The New York Times
Chaplain Richard Brunk watching as soldiers enter a briefing at Fort Hood, Tex., before they are sent to the Persian Gulf.
By SARAH ABRUZZESE
Published: May 29, 2008
KILLEEN, Tex. — On a recent morning, an Army chaplain, Lt. Col. Richard E. Brunk Jr., met with a suicidal soldier who had served in Iraq, drove across Fort Hood to greet 70 activated reservists, attended meetings on future deployments and then retreated to his computer to counsel members of his military flock around the world.
Finally, just before 4 a.m. the next day, after stealing an hour’s sleep, Chaplain Brunk stood on a tarmac shaking hands with soldiers bound for Iraq, murmuring words of encouragement and offering an occasional hug.
As a casualty of war himself, he knows what soldiers can experience. Injured in Iraq in January 2005, Chaplain Brunk suffers from moderate brain trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. “I’ve been really pushed to my limits and beyond,” he said. “At times, I’ve really wondered if I could get through.”
Just as it has claimed so many other members of the military, the war in Iraq has taken a toll on chaplains. Although they do not engage in combat, chaplains face the perils of war as they move around Iraq to visit troops. None have been killed, but some, like Chaplain Brunk, have been wounded. Many report post-traumatic stress disorder and other stress problems.
In the past year, the Army has begun to recognize those problems among chaplains and is ensuring that those suffering from stress disorders receive medical treatment at military hospitals.
The Army’s chief of chaplains, Maj. Gen. Douglas L. Carver, has mandated that every military installation offer programs to ensure the mental well being of its chaplains. A spiritual center will open this summer at the chaplain training headquarters at Fort Jackson, S.C., and chaplains will be invited to retreats.
“We are doing more for the chaplains because the chaplains are doing more,” said Lt. Col. Ran Dolinger, a spokesman for the chief of chaplains. Because of multiple deployments to combat zones, Colonel Dolinger said, “they just needed more help.”
go here for more
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/washington/29chaplains.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin
Rep. Dan Boren: Helped soldier being deployed after tornado
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 9:32 AM CDT
Veterans Meeting Slated
By Wanda Freeman
TIMES RECORD • WFREEMAN@SWTIMES.COM
A veterans advisory meeting open to U.S. military veterans in LeFlore, Latimer, Haskell and surrounding counties is scheduled Thursday in Poteau, with Oklahoma’s 2nd District congressman as one of the hosts and speakers.
The meeting will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Bob Lee Kidd Civic Center. From 10 a.m. to noon, veterans administrative personnel and case workers from Muskogee and Tulsa will be available to meet veterans and discuss their individual needs privately.
During a free lunch period, U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, will update attendees on current veterans legislation.
Boren, who has a veterans advisory panel that meets quarterly in Washington, said the Poteau event is a bipartisan meeting focused on area veterans and their needs. His office is working with Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., as well as the U.S. and Oklahoma departments of veterans affairs, the U.S. National Cemetery at Fort Gibson and AES Shady Point.
In a telephone interview last week, Boren said the advisory meetings don’t focus exclusively on medical benefits.
“All sorts of issues come up,” he said. “Someone feels like they’re not getting the exact benefits they deserve ... or sometimes people didn’t get their medals that they earned all the way back in World War II ... or a family has someone serving in Iraq and they want to send them things or feel they’re not being treated right. Last week, we had someone who lost his home in the tornado in Picher, and he was being deployed two days later to Afghanistan, so we were asked to help give him some extra time to help his family.”
click post title for more
Veterans Meeting Slated
By Wanda Freeman
TIMES RECORD • WFREEMAN@SWTIMES.COM
A veterans advisory meeting open to U.S. military veterans in LeFlore, Latimer, Haskell and surrounding counties is scheduled Thursday in Poteau, with Oklahoma’s 2nd District congressman as one of the hosts and speakers.
The meeting will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Bob Lee Kidd Civic Center. From 10 a.m. to noon, veterans administrative personnel and case workers from Muskogee and Tulsa will be available to meet veterans and discuss their individual needs privately.
During a free lunch period, U.S. Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, will update attendees on current veterans legislation.
Boren, who has a veterans advisory panel that meets quarterly in Washington, said the Poteau event is a bipartisan meeting focused on area veterans and their needs. His office is working with Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., as well as the U.S. and Oklahoma departments of veterans affairs, the U.S. National Cemetery at Fort Gibson and AES Shady Point.
In a telephone interview last week, Boren said the advisory meetings don’t focus exclusively on medical benefits.
“All sorts of issues come up,” he said. “Someone feels like they’re not getting the exact benefits they deserve ... or sometimes people didn’t get their medals that they earned all the way back in World War II ... or a family has someone serving in Iraq and they want to send them things or feel they’re not being treated right. Last week, we had someone who lost his home in the tornado in Picher, and he was being deployed two days later to Afghanistan, so we were asked to help give him some extra time to help his family.”
click post title for more
Australia: Compensation for suicide soldiers prolonged agony
Compo claims drag on for families of suicide soldiers
Posted Thu May 29, 2008 10:04am AEST
David Hayward committed suicide in 2004 (ABC TV: 7.30 Report)
Video: Army failed suicidal soldiers (7.30 Report) It seemed that David Hayward was a young man with everything to live for. In 2003, he completed his Army training and he topped his class.
"We actually came from England 11 years ago and David absolutely loved Australia and he said he wanted to fight for the country he so dearly loved," mother Wendy Hayward said.
But if this young soldier loved the Defence Force, it now appears that love was not fully returned.
In January 2004, after allegedly being bullied, David Hayward went AWOL from his barracks near Darwin. Two months later he was found dead at a backpacker hostel in Perth.
He had taken his own life.
For his family, the first hint of trouble came when a policeman turned up in their front yard.
"[The policeman said] Mrs Hayward, I've got some really bad news for you. Your son, he's been found dead in Perth," Mrs Hayward said.
"That was it. [The policeman said:] 'I've had a phone call from the Army to come and tell you he's been found dead'.
"To be quite honest I can't remember a lot after that."
The Haywards had every reason to be shocked. Although their son had been on the run for two months, the Army had told them nothing.
This was a clear breach of regulations that demand the family should be informed if a soldier goes AWOL.
Mrs Hayward says she has no doubt her son could have been saved if the Army had told them he was AWOL, and her husband Adrian agrees.
"I am just very annoyed," Mr Hayward said. "I just cannot believe that an organisation like that do have protocols in place and they didn't follow it."
But this was not the end of their torment. Had their son been working for a civilian employer, the Haywards would have been entitled to sue or to seek compensation.
But as they soon discovered, despite the Army's failure to follow its own rules, they had no grounds to make any claim against the Defence Department.
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Posted Thu May 29, 2008 10:04am AEST
David Hayward committed suicide in 2004 (ABC TV: 7.30 Report)
Video: Army failed suicidal soldiers (7.30 Report) It seemed that David Hayward was a young man with everything to live for. In 2003, he completed his Army training and he topped his class.
"We actually came from England 11 years ago and David absolutely loved Australia and he said he wanted to fight for the country he so dearly loved," mother Wendy Hayward said.
But if this young soldier loved the Defence Force, it now appears that love was not fully returned.
In January 2004, after allegedly being bullied, David Hayward went AWOL from his barracks near Darwin. Two months later he was found dead at a backpacker hostel in Perth.
He had taken his own life.
For his family, the first hint of trouble came when a policeman turned up in their front yard.
"[The policeman said] Mrs Hayward, I've got some really bad news for you. Your son, he's been found dead in Perth," Mrs Hayward said.
"That was it. [The policeman said:] 'I've had a phone call from the Army to come and tell you he's been found dead'.
"To be quite honest I can't remember a lot after that."
The Haywards had every reason to be shocked. Although their son had been on the run for two months, the Army had told them nothing.
This was a clear breach of regulations that demand the family should be informed if a soldier goes AWOL.
Mrs Hayward says she has no doubt her son could have been saved if the Army had told them he was AWOL, and her husband Adrian agrees.
"I am just very annoyed," Mr Hayward said. "I just cannot believe that an organisation like that do have protocols in place and they didn't follow it."
But this was not the end of their torment. Had their son been working for a civilian employer, the Haywards would have been entitled to sue or to seek compensation.
But as they soon discovered, despite the Army's failure to follow its own rules, they had no grounds to make any claim against the Defence Department.
go here for more
PTSD:Montana National Guard doing what needs to be done
PTSD discussed in Helena, Butte
KPAX-TV - Missoula,MT,USA
Posted: May 27, 2008 10:15 AM EDT
The Montana National Guard is taking steps to help returning and deploying soldiers and airmen deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The Guard hopes to equip citizens with the tools to reach out to friends, family members and neighbors who could be suffering from PTSD through statewide meetings.
The meetings outline symptoms of both PTSD and mild traumatic brain injuries and how to get help.
Col. Jeff Ireland: "We want to do everything we can to most importantly take care of our soldiers, our airmen and their families and if we have someone suffering from PTSD, helping them to get into a program that will help to get them better so that we can continue them as a resource for the guard and also be a productive citizen."
There were two PTSD meetings Wednesday -- one in Helena at the Armed Forces Reserve Center and the other in Butte at the National Guard Armory.
When will the rest of the country do the same?
Spc. Justin Buxbaum non-combat death in Afghanistan
Maine Native Killed In Afghanistan
Web Editor: John Blunda, Associate Producer
Created: 5/27/2008 1:38:33 PM
Updated: 5/28/2008 3:50:44 PM
SOUTH PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER) -- A soldier from South Portland has been killed while serving with the military in Afghanistan. According to family members, Justin Buxbaum died after being shot in a non-combat related incident.
Buxbaum's grandfather says Justin was shot in the stomach. He says the Army is looking into what happened, and says his grandson's death may have been caused by friendly fire.
He says Justin was serving his third tour overseas. He had already served two tours of duty in Iraq.
Justin Buxbaum graduated from South Portland High School in 2004. His aunt is a teacher there.
Two other South Portland graduates have died in fighting in Iraq. Marine Lance Cpl. Angel Rosa and Army Sgt. Jason Swiger were killed within two weeks of each other in March 2007.
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=87986
Justin Buxbaum was interviewed in 2005
Web Editor: John Blunda, Associate Producer
Created: 5/27/2008 1:38:33 PM
Updated: 5/28/2008 3:50:44 PM
SOUTH PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER) -- A soldier from South Portland has been killed while serving with the military in Afghanistan. According to family members, Justin Buxbaum died after being shot in a non-combat related incident.
Buxbaum's grandfather says Justin was shot in the stomach. He says the Army is looking into what happened, and says his grandson's death may have been caused by friendly fire.
He says Justin was serving his third tour overseas. He had already served two tours of duty in Iraq.
Justin Buxbaum graduated from South Portland High School in 2004. His aunt is a teacher there.
Two other South Portland graduates have died in fighting in Iraq. Marine Lance Cpl. Angel Rosa and Army Sgt. Jason Swiger were killed within two weeks of each other in March 2007.
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=87986
Justin Buxbaum was interviewed in 2005
Troops Comb Streets of Iraq for IEDs
Soldiers work to ensure roads are safe for convoys, civilians.
By U.S. Army Master Sgt. Lek Mateo
56th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office
Texas Army National Guard
TIKRIT, Iraq, July 8, 2005 — The improvised explosive device, or IED, is the greatest casualty producer in Iraq, and the three-letter acronym has found its place in the military vocabulary.
Department of Defense statistics show that IEDs have killed almost 20 percent of service members in Iraq and wounded many more. The official figure does not show the numbers of innocent civilians who were killed or wounded by these crude devices.
"You are always going to be scared . and I have been. But I have a lot of faith in my equipment and training," Pfc. Justin L. Buxbaum, combat engineer of Company B, 467th Engineer Battalion.
To help combat the problem, specially trained military combat engineers and explosive ordnance disposal teams have joined forces to hunt and remove the IEDs that are hidden in tons of trash and debris that litter Iraq's highways and roads.
The job is very tedious and dangerous as the teams employ their high-tech equipment to scour the endless miles of roadway looking for any telltale signs that may reveal the location of the low-tech threat. Many compare the daunting tasks to looking for a needle in a haystack.
To help the soldiers in their search, IED hunters use their keen eyesight and experience to spot an IED and then verify its exact location by using specially designed armored vehicles before calling in the EOD team to destroy it.
The soldiers hope that their strong commitment to their work and attention to detail will ultimately help save other soldiers and innocent civilian lives.
Pfc. Justin L. Buxbaum, of South Portland, Maine, and a combat engineer of Company B, 467th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Reserves, said he knew very little about IEDs before he was deployed to Iraq with his unit.
Now the private, who has been in the service for only six months, finds himself face to face with the deadly device as he drives a heavily armored truck called the Buffalo to a suspected IED location. He goes there to make visual identification of an IED before calling in the EOD team.
Buxbaum said driving the Buffalo is like driving a big bus. The vehicle has an armored V-shaped hull undercarriage designed to deflect the explosion and shrapnel from an IED outwards, away from the crew.
The private said he believes in the reliability of the Buffalo after having seen firsthand the amount of punishment it can take, but he still respects the IEDs.
"You are always going to be scared . and I have been," Buxbaum said. "But I have a lot of faith in my equipment and training."
He added that the work is slow and meticulous. He and his crew never lose focus as they clear the routes because they have people's lives to think about and can't afford any doubts in what they are doing.
"It is a very rewarding feeling knowing that the job that we perform may save someone's life so that they can go back home to their families."
Spc. Randall S. Bollinger, of Clarksville, Ind., and also a combat engineer of the 467th Engineer Battalion, is on the security team that travels ahead of the lumbering Buffalo in more mobile armored HMMWVs to look for the IEDs.
Bollinger emphasized that this is a type of job in which everyone has to pay attention to detail and be very cognizant of the environment to know what is out of place.
The specialist said the people who are placing the IEDs are very insensitive because they endanger everyone's lives with their indiscriminate attacks. But helping to find an IED before it can do any harm gives him and his team a sense of satisfaction.
"I think we are doing something good for our soldiers and the public when we locate and remove the IEDs -- especially for the children," said Bollinger.
No one appreciates the job that the engineers do more than Staff Sgt. Arthur M. Ruiz, of Leander, Texas, and a Texas National Guardsman in the 56th Brigade Combat Team, 36th Infantry Division. He has traveled thousands of miles on the main supply routes with his security team protecting supply convoys.
Ruiz said that it makes him feel good knowing engineers are out there trying to find IEDs and that, even if they find only one, then that is one less that they will have to come into contact with during their journey.
"I respect the combat engineers and the EOD team for the dangerous job that they do," Ruiz said. "They put their life on the line to protect ours."
http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/jul2005/a070705dg3.html
Sgt. 1st Class Jason F. Dene non-combat death in Iraq
Mia Farrow's nephew dies of non-combat causes in Iraq
By John Curran
Associated Press Writer / May 28, 2008
MONTPELIER, Vt.—A U.S. Army sergeant originally from Castleton has died in Iraq, but of injuries not related to combat, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.
Sgt. 1st Class Jason F. Dene, 37, a nephew of actress Mia Farrow, died Sunday of injuries suffered in an incident in Baghdad on Saturday, according to the Department of Defense, which gave no other details about his death except to say it was under investigation.
The Pentagon referred questions to Fort Stewart, Ga., where Dene -- an infantry paratrooper -- was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. A spokesman there did not immediately return a phone call Wednesday evening.
Dene's mother is Tisa Farrow, of Castleton, whose famous sister is a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq.
On Mia Farrow's web site, a posting under the title "What For?" read, in part: "Jason loved his parents and sister, his wife Judi and their three small children. He also loved his country and he was proud to serve it. But I honestly don't know why Jason died."
click post title for more
By John Curran
Associated Press Writer / May 28, 2008
MONTPELIER, Vt.—A U.S. Army sergeant originally from Castleton has died in Iraq, but of injuries not related to combat, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.
Sgt. 1st Class Jason F. Dene, 37, a nephew of actress Mia Farrow, died Sunday of injuries suffered in an incident in Baghdad on Saturday, according to the Department of Defense, which gave no other details about his death except to say it was under investigation.
The Pentagon referred questions to Fort Stewart, Ga., where Dene -- an infantry paratrooper -- was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. A spokesman there did not immediately return a phone call Wednesday evening.
Dene's mother is Tisa Farrow, of Castleton, whose famous sister is a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq.
On Mia Farrow's web site, a posting under the title "What For?" read, in part: "Jason loved his parents and sister, his wife Judi and their three small children. He also loved his country and he was proud to serve it. But I honestly don't know why Jason died."
click post title for more
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Staff Sgt. Matthew Ritenour awarded Silver Star
Staff sergeant receives the Silver Star at Hohenfels ceremony
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, May 29, 2008
HOHENFELS, Germany — His combat boots thumping with each step, Staff Sgt. Matthew Ritenour climbed on stage at Hohenfels’ Community Activity Center to accept a Silver Star medal on Tuesday.
Ritenour’s lumbering gait and a scar on his shaved head are reminders of the battle he and 2nd Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment fought against 180 Taliban fighters who attacked Forward Operating Base (FOB) Baylough, in southern Afghanistan on Sept. 4 last year. The 32-year-old Chicago native was shot in the head and partially paralyzed during the battle but fought on, encouraging nearby soldiers and using a radio to call in mortar fire on the enemy.
But the ceremony isn’t the end of Ritenour’s journey.
The Army has given him a year to heal, after which he will go before a board that will decide his future career. His goal is to return to the infantry.
After spending time at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Ritenour and his family returned to Hohenfels to welcome Company A back from its deployment in February.
Now, he’s headed to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., so he can receive therapy not available in Bavaria, he said.
go here for more
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=55171
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, May 29, 2008
HOHENFELS, Germany — His combat boots thumping with each step, Staff Sgt. Matthew Ritenour climbed on stage at Hohenfels’ Community Activity Center to accept a Silver Star medal on Tuesday.
Ritenour’s lumbering gait and a scar on his shaved head are reminders of the battle he and 2nd Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment fought against 180 Taliban fighters who attacked Forward Operating Base (FOB) Baylough, in southern Afghanistan on Sept. 4 last year. The 32-year-old Chicago native was shot in the head and partially paralyzed during the battle but fought on, encouraging nearby soldiers and using a radio to call in mortar fire on the enemy.
But the ceremony isn’t the end of Ritenour’s journey.
The Army has given him a year to heal, after which he will go before a board that will decide his future career. His goal is to return to the infantry.
After spending time at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Ritenour and his family returned to Hohenfels to welcome Company A back from its deployment in February.
Now, he’s headed to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., so he can receive therapy not available in Bavaria, he said.
go here for more
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=55171
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