Received by email
NYAPRS Note: Following is today's piece in the Legislative Gazette
regarding last Tuesday's Albany new conference pressing a top priority
of members of NYAPRS and our state advocacy partners: extension of
Timothy's Law parity protections to include those with post traumatic
stress disorders, most notably returning veterans, victims of sexual
abuse and domestic violence and disasters.
Advocates Want Mandatory Health Insurance Coverage For Posttraumatic
Stress Disorder
By ARAMIS M. GRANT Legislative Gazette April 21, 2008
The number of soldiers returning home from war with mental health
problems is among the reasons advocates in Albany last week were pushing
for an expansion of Timothy's Law.
A coalition of mental health advocacy groups calling themselves the
Timothy's Law Campaign are lobbying the Legislature to broaden the scope
of the legislation, which was signed into law by Gov. George E. Pataki
in December 2006 to mandate parity in the private insurance industry's
coverage of physical and mental health illnesses.
The campaign wants an amendment that would include posttraumatic stress
disorder among the biologically based mental illnesses Timothy's Law
requires insurance companies provide coverage for.
The amendment (A.10078/S.6818) is being sponsored by the chairmen of the
Senate and Assembly's mental health committees: Sen. Thomas Morahan,
R,C,I,WF-New City, and Assemblyman Peter Rivera, D-Bronx, who met with
the coalition in Albany last week to speak about the importance of
coverage for posttraumatic stress disorder.
"Timothy's Law has significantly advanced access to mental health
treatment," said Morohan. "However, the exclusion of posttraumatic
stress disorder negatively impacts returning veterans, children and
adults who have suffered sexual abuse and trauma," he said.
"This is a great first step to expanding Timothy's Law to a population
who needs it," said Rivera. The assemblyman said the amendment could
help society deal with the problems suffered by troops returning home
from Iraq.
Timothy's Law was named for Timothy O'Clair, who in 2001 committed
suicide at the age of 12 after his parents reached the limit on what
their insurance carrier would cover for their son's treatments.
Timothy's Law covers major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia
(psychotic) disorders, delusional disorders, panic disorder,
obsessive-compulsive disorders, anorexia and bulimia. The proposed
amendment would add posttraumatic stress disorder to the list.
The campaign argues that posttraumatic stress disorder was not
originally included into Timothy's Law, even though its inclusion was
proposed, due to the belief that treatment for soldiers would be covered
under benefits they receive from the U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs.
But only 35 percent of veterans seek help from Veterans Affairs,
according to John Javis, chairman of the Veterans Health Alliance of
Long Island.
Javis said veterans are reluctant to seek help from the federal agency
for a number of reasons, including a concern that information about
their mental health problems will wind up on their personal records. And
Javis said there are also problems with access because the agency's
office hours usually conflict with veterans' work schedules and because
they might have to travel long distances to get to an office.
Javis also said women may be reluctant to visit a Veterans Affairs
facility because of sexual abuse experiences that may have taken place
during their time of service, making them fearful of personal
interactions.
The coalition said for individuals in the acute phases of posttraumatic
stress disorder, the base mental health benefit required by Timothy's
Law might not cover all of their treatment needs. The proposed amendment
would cover treatment past the currently mandated 20 outpatient and 30
inpatient visits for insured individuals and cover all treatment for
posttraumatic stress disorder sufferers, even if they are only in an
acute phase of the condition, when more intensive inpatient and
outpatient treatment is medically necessary to help the person reach a
state of stability.
According to Shelly Nortz, deputy executive director for policy at the
Coalition for the Homeless, there are about 20,000 to 25,000 people in
New York who would be covered by the amendment.
Nortz estimated it would cost insurance companies an additional $500,000
annually should the amendment pass. The amount is so small, she
explained, because few people require treatment past the 30 inpatient
visits already covered by Timothy's Law.
But the New York Health Plan Association, which represents 27 managed
care health plans it says provide comprehensive health care services to
nearly 6 million New Yorkers, is opposed to the proposed expansion of
Timothy's Law expansion proposal and said in a press release that the
inclusion of posttraumatic stress disorder would be costly and
unnecessary.
"This bill appears to be a solution in search of a problem," said Paul
Macielak, Health Plan Association president. He said the majority of the
proposed amendment is aimed at helping returning soldiers and survivors
of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, who already have access to services.
In addition to the cost-free health care services provided to veterans,
including reservists and National Guard members, the association pointed
out that in 2005, New York passed the World Trade Center disability law
to "provide that any injury or illness directly related to terrorist
attack on September 11, 2001, be presumptively eligible for an
accidental disability."
Also noted by the association was that in the crafting of Timothy's Law,
posttraumatic stress disorder was ultimately not included in the final
draft because "the Legislature made a decision to limit the scope of
covered conditions specifically so as to not require coverage of every
condition listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental
Disorders-IV" - a section of a handbook for mental health professionals
that lists different categories of mental disorders and the criteria for
diagnosing them.
Also, the association argues that a provision of Timothy's Law requires
the state Department of Insurance and the Office of Mental Health to
study the legislation's effectiveness.
"This study is to encompass two years of experience with the new law and
is not scheduled to be insued until April 1, 2009. Expanding the scope
of the law's coverage to include PTSD undermines the value of a
meaningful analysis," Macielak said.
Dr. Frank Dowling, a professor of psychiatry at the State University of
New York at Stony Brook, said posttraumatic stress disorder is a
treatable illness that develops after being witness to or victim of a
traumatic event. "The event stays with them ... reminders may trigger
thoughts of the event," said Dowling.
Dowling said that just like depression and panic disorders,
posttraumatic stress disorder is a common response to traumatic events.
"It should be covered just the same," Dowling argued. "It's all the same
spectrum and a response to the same types of events," he said.
Pat Purdie, who said she was diagnosed with posttraumatic stress
disorder a year ago after being sexually abused by family members, said
her abuse affected her significantly.
Purdie said she has tried to take her life on more than one occasion and
still experiences flashbacks, frustration and anger. She said treatment
for the illness has given her a "will to live," which Purdie said she
lost after her abuse and after experiencing the symptoms of
posttraumatic stress disorder.
"Who wouldn't want to add PTSD into the Timothy's Law today?" Purdie
asked. "Because without treatment, we couldn't make it out there ... I
wouldn't know where I would be today if I hadn't gotten treatment," she
said.
The Assembly's version of the bill was referred from the Mental Health
Committee to the Ways and Means Committee on March 11, and the Senate
bill advanced to a third reading on Feb. 26.
------- End of forwarded message -------
Monday, June 30, 2008
Women At War with PTSD
Ghosts of war tug them back. It doesn't matter if the ghosts were born out of Vietnam, the Gulf War, or today's combat, the ghosts live on. Male or female, humans are wounded by events. While they are trained to do their jobs, they cannot control events. They can only adapt to them or withdraw from them.
These women brought the ghosts back with them. No safe zones. Iraq horrors are gender neutral. Bombs do not remain intact when a woman drives up to them. Bullets do not change their path when a woman is walking by. Jets and helicopters are not suddenly provided with magic shields because a woman is the pilot. Add in the fact some men still will regard women as objects instead of worthy of respect. They have to worry about the enemy trying to kill them at the same time they have to worry about some of the men they serve with attacking them.
They have to fight for their right to be there, to serve the nation with just as much devotion as the males, doing jobs needing to be done with just as much courage. While men develop with less emotional tendencies as females, women have to fight against their emotions more than males do.
Yet women are the last to be served by the government. They have different physical and mental health care needs than men do but no one bothered to prepare for the increase in their numbers. Women do not want to see male doctors or male psychologists. Too many of them have endured sexual abuse and verbal abuse by men in the military and too many cannot trust a male to provide care to them. As the need to address this grows, they wait. Why?
Did they suddenly enter into the combat zones? Iraq was invaded in 2003 and women were there. Afghanistan was invaded in 2001 and women were there. The Gulf War was in 1991 and they were there. The rest of the combat missions came before that and women were there. Since the beginning of this nation, women were there on the front lines. They were not the last to serve so why are they the last to be served?
Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington
Post-Iraq, veteran moms can't put stress to bed
Darryl E. Owens Sentinel Staff Writer
June 30, 2008
1 2 next Army Spc. Elizabeth Jackson shut down emotionally during her tour in Iraq. It was her way of dealing with the stress and danger.
Coming home, she found it hard to turn her feelings back on and become a mom again.
"I had a lump in my throat holding him, but [I] still couldn't cry yet," said Jackson, 26, of her reunion with Christopher just three days before his first birthday. "He was still my son, but it took me a little while to get the tenderness down. It was like a 'Why are you crying? Suck it up!' kind of thing."
Doctors later diagnosed Jackson with post-traumatic-stress disorder, or PTSD -- an old diagnosis that's finding a new gender to victimize. The Deltona woman is among thousands of female veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with the mental disorder that World War I veterans knew as "shell shock."
As the current war and multiple deployments continue, the numbers will only surge, experts fear.
Women are "being exposed to combat in ways never seen before and are coming in to seek care for PTSD," said Amy Street, a psychologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Trend rises
158: Women the Orlando VA Medical Center treated for post-traumatic-stress disorder during the 6 months ending in March.
143: Treated during the previous 12 months.
3,005: U.S. Army servicewomen diagnosed.
40,000: Troops from all military branches diagnosed.
193,400: Women have served in or near Iraq and Afghanistan -- about 11% of troops deployed.
SOURCES: Pentagon, Veterans Affairs
Darryl E. Owens can be reached at dowens@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5095.
click post title for more
These women brought the ghosts back with them. No safe zones. Iraq horrors are gender neutral. Bombs do not remain intact when a woman drives up to them. Bullets do not change their path when a woman is walking by. Jets and helicopters are not suddenly provided with magic shields because a woman is the pilot. Add in the fact some men still will regard women as objects instead of worthy of respect. They have to worry about the enemy trying to kill them at the same time they have to worry about some of the men they serve with attacking them.
They have to fight for their right to be there, to serve the nation with just as much devotion as the males, doing jobs needing to be done with just as much courage. While men develop with less emotional tendencies as females, women have to fight against their emotions more than males do.
Yet women are the last to be served by the government. They have different physical and mental health care needs than men do but no one bothered to prepare for the increase in their numbers. Women do not want to see male doctors or male psychologists. Too many of them have endured sexual abuse and verbal abuse by men in the military and too many cannot trust a male to provide care to them. As the need to address this grows, they wait. Why?
Did they suddenly enter into the combat zones? Iraq was invaded in 2003 and women were there. Afghanistan was invaded in 2001 and women were there. The Gulf War was in 1991 and they were there. The rest of the combat missions came before that and women were there. Since the beginning of this nation, women were there on the front lines. They were not the last to serve so why are they the last to be served?
Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Canada:Wounded Veterans, Wounded Families
Families of wounded military veterans struggling to cope and make ends meet
6 hours ago
CALGARY — They are the invisible victims of Canada's military efforts around the world.
The families of wounded soldiers released from active duty due to severe disabilities are poorer, less healthy and less socially active, says a study prepared for Veterans Affairs Canada.
It's a growing problem as Canadian soldiers continue to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan and help keep the peace in global hot spots.
Soldiers who can no longer serve in the military receive full pensions, but the University of Alberta study suggests their families still struggle.
A Canada-wide review involved 142 wounded soldiers and 115 of their caretakers and paints a painful picture of what life is like at home.
"I tend to try to be positive, not negative, (but) ... I feel robbed because all our lives he has been ill, can't sit, walk, or stand too long," wrote one of the anonymous respondents.
The soldiers surveyed were between 25 and 65, were suffering full impairment to most of their bodies and were often battling emotional, psychiatric and psychological conditions.
The study found financial pressures and an overwhelming and relentless sense of responsibility for the caregiver.
"You don't dwell on it. You ... try to think of something good every day. You just try to keep going," wrote another woman. A few years ago I had to write a letter to Veterans Affairs and I thought, 'Oh my God. This is my life."'
The report, titled "Wounded Veterans, Wounded Families," revealed high levels of need for the severely disabled veterans and their families, many of whom were also trying to earn a living and raise young children.
"Are they suffering? Absolutely. And suffering in ways that their lives have been changed," said Norah Keating, a professor of human ecology, who co-authored the report with colleague Janet Fast.
click post title for more
6 hours ago
CALGARY — They are the invisible victims of Canada's military efforts around the world.
The families of wounded soldiers released from active duty due to severe disabilities are poorer, less healthy and less socially active, says a study prepared for Veterans Affairs Canada.
It's a growing problem as Canadian soldiers continue to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan and help keep the peace in global hot spots.
Soldiers who can no longer serve in the military receive full pensions, but the University of Alberta study suggests their families still struggle.
A Canada-wide review involved 142 wounded soldiers and 115 of their caretakers and paints a painful picture of what life is like at home.
"I tend to try to be positive, not negative, (but) ... I feel robbed because all our lives he has been ill, can't sit, walk, or stand too long," wrote one of the anonymous respondents.
The soldiers surveyed were between 25 and 65, were suffering full impairment to most of their bodies and were often battling emotional, psychiatric and psychological conditions.
The study found financial pressures and an overwhelming and relentless sense of responsibility for the caregiver.
"You don't dwell on it. You ... try to think of something good every day. You just try to keep going," wrote another woman. A few years ago I had to write a letter to Veterans Affairs and I thought, 'Oh my God. This is my life."'
The report, titled "Wounded Veterans, Wounded Families," revealed high levels of need for the severely disabled veterans and their families, many of whom were also trying to earn a living and raise young children.
"Are they suffering? Absolutely. And suffering in ways that their lives have been changed," said Norah Keating, a professor of human ecology, who co-authored the report with colleague Janet Fast.
click post title for more
Veterans Prayer Project
Lew Poorman sent me a link to his sites about praying for the wounded and for the troops as well as veterans.
Veterans Prayer Project
http://paratrooperprayers.tripod.com and http://veteransprayers.tripod.com
Often we may say that we will pray for someone, but then when we begin to pray, we just don't find the right words. To God, it is not a matter of the words we use as much as it is what is in our hearts. These sites may help you to find the words to begin to pray for yourself or for others.
PTSD:Treating Wounds You Can't See
Treating Wounds You Can't See
By Linda Blum
Sunday, June 29, 2008; Page B01
On the wall in my office at Fort Dix, N.J., hung a row of nature photos and some historical documents for my patients to look at: a land grant signed by James Madison, another signed by Abraham Lincoln's secretary in his name, a Lincoln campaign ballot. The soldier from Ohio studied the wall carefully. It was amazing, he said, how much the layout of those picture frames resembled the layout of the street in Tikrit that was seared in his memory; the similarity had leapt out at him the first time he came in for a session. He traced the linear space between the frames, showing me where his Humvee had turned and traveled down the block, and where the two Iraqi men had been standing, close -- too close -- to the road.
"I knew immediately something was wrong," he said. The explosion threw him out of the vehicle, with his comrades trapped inside, screaming. Lying on the ground, he returned fire until he drove off the insurgents. His fellow soldiers survived, but nearly four years later, their screams still haunted him. "I couldn't go to them," he told me, overwhelmed with guilt and imagined failure. "I couldn't help them."
That soldier from Ohio is one of the nearly 40,000 U.S. troops diagnosed by the military with post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2003 to 2007; the number of diagnoses increased nearly 50 percent in 2007 over the previous year, the military said this spring. I saw a number of soldiers with war trauma while working as a psychologist for the U.S. Army.
In 2006, I went to Fort Dix as a civilian contractor to treat soldiers on their way to and return from those wars. I was drawn by the immediacy of the work and the opportunity to make a difference. What the raw numbers on war trauma can't show is what I saw every day in my office: the individual stories of men and women who have sustained emotional trauma as well as physical injury, people who are still fighting an arduous postwar battle to heal, to understand a mysterious psychological condition and re-enter civilian life.
As I think about the soldiers who will be rotating back home from Iraq this summer as part of the "pause" in the "surge," as well as those who will stay behind, I remember some of the people I met on their long journey back from the war.
click post title for more
By Linda Blum
Sunday, June 29, 2008; Page B01
On the wall in my office at Fort Dix, N.J., hung a row of nature photos and some historical documents for my patients to look at: a land grant signed by James Madison, another signed by Abraham Lincoln's secretary in his name, a Lincoln campaign ballot. The soldier from Ohio studied the wall carefully. It was amazing, he said, how much the layout of those picture frames resembled the layout of the street in Tikrit that was seared in his memory; the similarity had leapt out at him the first time he came in for a session. He traced the linear space between the frames, showing me where his Humvee had turned and traveled down the block, and where the two Iraqi men had been standing, close -- too close -- to the road.
"I knew immediately something was wrong," he said. The explosion threw him out of the vehicle, with his comrades trapped inside, screaming. Lying on the ground, he returned fire until he drove off the insurgents. His fellow soldiers survived, but nearly four years later, their screams still haunted him. "I couldn't go to them," he told me, overwhelmed with guilt and imagined failure. "I couldn't help them."
That soldier from Ohio is one of the nearly 40,000 U.S. troops diagnosed by the military with post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2003 to 2007; the number of diagnoses increased nearly 50 percent in 2007 over the previous year, the military said this spring. I saw a number of soldiers with war trauma while working as a psychologist for the U.S. Army.
In 2006, I went to Fort Dix as a civilian contractor to treat soldiers on their way to and return from those wars. I was drawn by the immediacy of the work and the opportunity to make a difference. What the raw numbers on war trauma can't show is what I saw every day in my office: the individual stories of men and women who have sustained emotional trauma as well as physical injury, people who are still fighting an arduous postwar battle to heal, to understand a mysterious psychological condition and re-enter civilian life.
As I think about the soldiers who will be rotating back home from Iraq this summer as part of the "pause" in the "surge," as well as those who will stay behind, I remember some of the people I met on their long journey back from the war.
click post title for more
Memorial tattoo helps heal after Lake County twisters
After fatal Lake County twisters, families reunite, hearts begin to heal
Stephen Hudak Sentinel Staff Writer
June 29, 2008
LAKE MACK - Becky Nolan said it took a tattoo needle to finally mend her broken heart.The Lake County woman who lost her husband, Billy, and 7-year-old son, Jake, to the tornado that spun into their home on Cooter Pond Road said tattoos of her boy's face have provided her a peace she hadn't felt since the storm hit Feb. 2, 2007."It was so hard just getting through every day. I worried I might lose his pictures or that someday I'd forget what he looked like," she said, her eyes wet with tears. "Now, whenever I look in the mirror, I see his smile."She said the tattoos of Jake near her heart and on her thigh also may have helped to stitch together another tattered family.
click above for more
Six Flags death of teenager may have been caused by lost hat
Cannot imagine the shock of the family and church group as well as the people on the ride when this happened. I hope Six Flags has the wisdom to have trauma workers on staff for when things like this happen.
SC teen struck, killed by Six Flags coaster in Ga.
Associated Press
Published: Saturday June 28, 2008
AUSTELL, Ga. — A teenager was decapitated by a roller coaster after he hopped a pair of fences and entered a restricted area Saturday at Six Flags Over Georgia, authorities said.
Six Flags officials are uncertain why the unidentified 17-year-old from Columbia, S.C. scaled two six-foot fences and passed signs that said the restricted area was both off-limits and dangerous to visitors, spokeswoman Hela Sheth said in a news release.
Authorities were investigating reports from witnesses who said the teenager jumped the fences to retrieve a hat he lost while riding the Batman roller coaster, said Cobb County police Sgt. Dana Pierce. Three security guards were keeping visitors away from the ride on Saturday.
go here for more
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/SC_teen_struck_killed_by_Six_0628.html
Mary's House offers women a chance at recovery, rebirth
Mary's House offers women a chance at recovery, rebirth
By Chandra Broadwater, Times Staff Writer
In print: Sunday, June 29, 2008
BROOKSVILLE
It was early Easter morning in 2006. Wendy Anderson lay in an Ocala field, bloody and battered, while paramedics pushed on her chest to get a heartbeat. Someone had heard her screams in the darkness and called 911. Police arrived to find a man on top of her naked body, raping her. She had been stabbed and hit in the head. Anderson had put herself in the path of danger with another round of crack cocaine and liquor. Home was a seedy motel room. She needed a ride, and got into a car with a strange man. That she survived his brutality is a miracle. That she is now getting her life back together is a testament to a special place many miles from that attack, in a peaceful, tree-shaded renovated farmhouse off Howell Avenue in Brooksville. A place called Mary's House. Anderson, 41, has been here since April. She's sober now and leaves no doubt how she feels about Hernando County's first and only women's shelter.
"I shouldn't be alive," she said. "But for some reason, I am. I know it's God's will that I'm at Mary's House."
go here for more
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article649543.ece
By Chandra Broadwater, Times Staff Writer
In print: Sunday, June 29, 2008
BROOKSVILLE
It was early Easter morning in 2006. Wendy Anderson lay in an Ocala field, bloody and battered, while paramedics pushed on her chest to get a heartbeat. Someone had heard her screams in the darkness and called 911. Police arrived to find a man on top of her naked body, raping her. She had been stabbed and hit in the head. Anderson had put herself in the path of danger with another round of crack cocaine and liquor. Home was a seedy motel room. She needed a ride, and got into a car with a strange man. That she survived his brutality is a miracle. That she is now getting her life back together is a testament to a special place many miles from that attack, in a peaceful, tree-shaded renovated farmhouse off Howell Avenue in Brooksville. A place called Mary's House. Anderson, 41, has been here since April. She's sober now and leaves no doubt how she feels about Hernando County's first and only women's shelter.
"I shouldn't be alive," she said. "But for some reason, I am. I know it's God's will that I'm at Mary's House."
go here for more
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article649543.ece
Orlando's Pathways mental-health center is crumbling, needs a hand
Orlando's Pathways mental-health center is crumbling, needs a hand
Kate Santich Sentinel Staff Writer
June 29, 2008
Edwin Hernandez spent a year and a half living in a tent in the woods, battling clinical depression.Then he found a place where he could eat, wash his clothes, take a shower and connect with people who became like family.It also helped him get on medication, move into an apartment and earn his GED. Hernandez, 24, recently started taking interior-design courses.Pathways, an Orlando drop-in center for the mentally ill, has helped hundreds of people like Hernandez get their lives turned around.
click above for more
Kate Santich Sentinel Staff Writer
June 29, 2008
Edwin Hernandez spent a year and a half living in a tent in the woods, battling clinical depression.Then he found a place where he could eat, wash his clothes, take a shower and connect with people who became like family.It also helped him get on medication, move into an apartment and earn his GED. Hernandez, 24, recently started taking interior-design courses.Pathways, an Orlando drop-in center for the mentally ill, has helped hundreds of people like Hernandez get their lives turned around.
click above for more
Court sides with church in demon case
Court sides with church in demon case
Texas Supreme Court says it can't decide religious doctrine in teen exorcism case.
By Chuck Lindell
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, June 28, 2008
The Texas Supreme Court, showing continued deference to religious practice, on Friday tossed out a $188,000 judgment against members of a Pentecostal church who restrained a teenager they feared had come under demonic influence.
Laura Schubert claimed that rough handling during the hours-long 1996 incident — involving the "laying on of hands" and intensive prayer — left her disabled by post-traumatic stress disorder.
Jurors agreed, finding that Schubert, then 17, was falsely imprisoned and assaulted by a pastor, youth minister and members of Pleasant Glade Assembly of God church in suburban Fort Worth.
However, the state Supreme Court dismissed Schubert's case in a 6-3 ruling, saying her lawsuit violated the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protections on religious expression — the latest in a string of decisions limiting judicial oversight of religious institutions and practice.
"The case, as tried, presents an ecclesiastical dispute over religious conduct that would unconstitutionally entangle the court in matters of church doctrine," said the majority opinion, written by Justice David Medina.
A dissent by Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, joined in part by two other justices, said the Pleasant Glade decision improperly confers sweeping immunity to those who "merely allege a religious motive."
Wrote Jefferson: "The First Amendment guards religious liberty; it does not sanction intentional abuse in religion's name."
go here for more
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/06/28/0628exorcism.html
linked from
http://theapostolicreport.wordpress.com/2008/06/28/
court-sides-with-church-in-demon-case/
Texas Supreme Court says it can't decide religious doctrine in teen exorcism case.
By Chuck Lindell
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, June 28, 2008
The Texas Supreme Court, showing continued deference to religious practice, on Friday tossed out a $188,000 judgment against members of a Pentecostal church who restrained a teenager they feared had come under demonic influence.
Laura Schubert claimed that rough handling during the hours-long 1996 incident — involving the "laying on of hands" and intensive prayer — left her disabled by post-traumatic stress disorder.
Jurors agreed, finding that Schubert, then 17, was falsely imprisoned and assaulted by a pastor, youth minister and members of Pleasant Glade Assembly of God church in suburban Fort Worth.
However, the state Supreme Court dismissed Schubert's case in a 6-3 ruling, saying her lawsuit violated the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protections on religious expression — the latest in a string of decisions limiting judicial oversight of religious institutions and practice.
"The case, as tried, presents an ecclesiastical dispute over religious conduct that would unconstitutionally entangle the court in matters of church doctrine," said the majority opinion, written by Justice David Medina.
A dissent by Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, joined in part by two other justices, said the Pleasant Glade decision improperly confers sweeping immunity to those who "merely allege a religious motive."
Wrote Jefferson: "The First Amendment guards religious liberty; it does not sanction intentional abuse in religion's name."
go here for more
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/06/28/0628exorcism.html
linked from
http://theapostolicreport.wordpress.com/2008/06/28/
court-sides-with-church-in-demon-case/
Amputees:Hero and his Harley
ROBERT CRAIG / THE NEWS JOURNAL VIA GANNETT NEWS SERVICE
Rob Kislow shows off his prosthetic leg while sitting on his motorcycle at Independence Prosthetics Orthotics in Newark, Del., on June 9.
Young amputees put prosthetics to work
By Kristin Harty - The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal
Posted : Sunday Jun 29, 2008 9:33:34 EDT
NEWARK, Del. — Bob Kislow arrived on a Harley, his high-tech prosthetic leg hidden beneath blue jeans and steel-toed boots.
Turning heads with his Mohawk and tattoos, Kislow strode with an even gait into the prostheticist’s office, a visit he’ll make regularly for the rest of his life.
Just 22, the Army veteran lost his lower right leg in 2005 after being shot five times by a sniper during a 10-hour firefight in Afghanistan.
Three years later, he’s back on his feet in earnest. He’s gone skydiving and rock climbing, played paintball, raced motorcycles and golfed.
He changes artificial legs like most people change socks.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/gns_amputees_062808/
Barack Obama quietly visits wounded war veterans
Barack Obama quietly visits wounded war veterans
Published: 6/28/08, 1:25 PM EDT
By SARA KUGLER
WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama stopped by Walter Reed Army Medical Center Saturday to visit wounded war veterans, a group that he has said endures substandard care under the Bush administration.
The presumed Democratic nominee, who was in Washington to speak to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, spent about two hours inside the facility. On his way in and out, he did not speak to the small group of reporters who follow him, and the visit wasn't on his public schedule.
Obama has criticized the Bush administration for its treatment of veterans returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and has suggested Republican rival John McCain would continue Bush policies if elected.
The administration was roundly criticized last year after it was revealed that veterans at Walter Reed were housed in rundown accommodations and suffered neglectful care.
click post title for more
Published: 6/28/08, 1:25 PM EDT
By SARA KUGLER
WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama stopped by Walter Reed Army Medical Center Saturday to visit wounded war veterans, a group that he has said endures substandard care under the Bush administration.
The presumed Democratic nominee, who was in Washington to speak to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, spent about two hours inside the facility. On his way in and out, he did not speak to the small group of reporters who follow him, and the visit wasn't on his public schedule.
Obama has criticized the Bush administration for its treatment of veterans returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and has suggested Republican rival John McCain would continue Bush policies if elected.
The administration was roundly criticized last year after it was revealed that veterans at Walter Reed were housed in rundown accommodations and suffered neglectful care.
click post title for more
Agent Orange:Vietnam veterans urged to seek testing
Vietnam veterans urged to seek testing
By William Johnson • wjohnson@dailyworld.com • June 29, 2008
Link Savoie, a well-known local veteran's advocate, has recently been diagnosed with CLL, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells.
While the diagnosis is scary, Savoie said he is fortunate for several reasons. The first is that CLL is a slow growing form of cancer. Many people with CLL lead normal and active lives for many years - in some cases for decades.
"My doctors tell me if I have to have one, this is the one to have," Savoie said.
But the most important reason is that, after years of court battles by veterans' groups, the disease is now listed as one of 11 that can be caused by exposure to Agent Orange, a herbicide widely used during the Vietnam War.
As a result, the Veteran's Administration offers compensation and disability payments to sufferers in addition to help with its treatment.
go here for more
http://www.dailyworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080629/NEWS01/806290303/1002
By William Johnson • wjohnson@dailyworld.com • June 29, 2008
Link Savoie, a well-known local veteran's advocate, has recently been diagnosed with CLL, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells.
While the diagnosis is scary, Savoie said he is fortunate for several reasons. The first is that CLL is a slow growing form of cancer. Many people with CLL lead normal and active lives for many years - in some cases for decades.
"My doctors tell me if I have to have one, this is the one to have," Savoie said.
But the most important reason is that, after years of court battles by veterans' groups, the disease is now listed as one of 11 that can be caused by exposure to Agent Orange, a herbicide widely used during the Vietnam War.
As a result, the Veteran's Administration offers compensation and disability payments to sufferers in addition to help with its treatment.
go here for more
http://www.dailyworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080629/NEWS01/806290303/1002
Vets Back Expanded Family Mental-Health Care
Vets Back Expanded Family Mental-Health Care
Kelly Kennedy
Army Times
Jun 28, 2008
June 27, 2008 - A bill designed to provide mental-health services to family members of service members with non-service-connected disabilities received full support from veterans’ service organizations, as well as the Veterans Affairs Department.
"Many [veterans] are not rated as service-connected because they have not yet applied for benefits, or because of the length of time it takes VA to produce a decision on a claim," said Christopher Needham, senior legislative associate for Veterans of Foreign Wars. He testified June 26 before the House Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee on health.
He explained that counseling for family members helps them understand their veteran’s health issues, as well as how to support the veteran through it.
"We have seen with this conflict — especially with mental-health issues — that families are at the forefront of providing care and easing the service member’s transition back into civilian life," Needham said.
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10526
Kelly Kennedy
Army Times
Jun 28, 2008
June 27, 2008 - A bill designed to provide mental-health services to family members of service members with non-service-connected disabilities received full support from veterans’ service organizations, as well as the Veterans Affairs Department.
"Many [veterans] are not rated as service-connected because they have not yet applied for benefits, or because of the length of time it takes VA to produce a decision on a claim," said Christopher Needham, senior legislative associate for Veterans of Foreign Wars. He testified June 26 before the House Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee on health.
He explained that counseling for family members helps them understand their veteran’s health issues, as well as how to support the veteran through it.
"We have seen with this conflict — especially with mental-health issues — that families are at the forefront of providing care and easing the service member’s transition back into civilian life," Needham said.
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10526
Military, civilian leaders faulted for Iraq aftermath
While we should be concerned for the welfare of all the men and women deployed into Iraq and Afghanistan, we need to pay more attention to the National Guard forces and Reservists.
What they thought they were getting into when most of them joined.
It also reports that Army National Guard and Reserve soldiers have demonstrated in Iraq and Afghanistan that they "are a fully capable, and indeed, an absolutely essential part of the Army." But it warns that "the price paid by reservists and communities to sustain the long and repetitive mobilizations, however, may not be sustainable in the future."
Army's History of Iraq After Hussein Faults Pentagon
By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 29, 2008; Page A03
A new Army history of the service's performance in Iraq immediately after the fall of Saddam Hussein faults military and civilian leaders for their planning for the war's aftermath, and it suggests that the Pentagon's current way of using troops is breaking the Army National Guard and Army Reserve.
The study, "On Point II: Transition to the New Campaign," is an unclassified and unhindered look at U.S. Army operations in Iraq from May 2003 to January 2005. That critical era of the war has drawn widespread criticism because of a failure to anticipate the rise of an Iraqi insurgency and because policymakers provided too few U.S. troops and no strategy to maintain order after Iraq's decades-old regime was overthrown.
Donald P. Wright and Col. Timothy R. Reese, who authored the report along with the Army's Contemporary Operations Study Team, conclude that U.S. commanders and civilian leaders were too focused on only the military victory and lacked a realistic vision of what Iraq would look like following that triumph.
go here for more of this
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/28/AR2008062802427.html
What they thought they were getting into when most of them joined.
National Guard helps shore up Ottumwa sub-station
With water levels rising rapidly in Ottumwa by the hour, one of the city’s power sub-stations was in danger of being overrun. However, thanks to nearly 100 National Guard Soldiers, this central power supply was rescued through the construction of a three-foot tall levee...June 19, 2008
Air National Guard works to corral Mississippi
The men and women of the 185th Air Refueling Squadron from Sioux City, Iowa, are teaming with local farmers to maintain the 20 miles of levees, keeping the flooded Mississippi from inundating the 14 thousand acres of homes and farmland here...June 19, 2008
Guard ratchets up Missouri mission; tackles floods in five states
Missouri was the latest Midwest state to see increasing numbers of National Guard Citizen-Soldiers and –Airmen on duty in the face of the region’s worst flooding in 15 years...June 20, 2008
Guard aircraft, aircrews battling California wildfires
Army and Air National Guardmembers from California and North Carolina were supporting firefighting efforts in Northern California today following a state active duty call up by Gov. Arnold Schwarznegger and a request for airborne firefighting assets by the Interagency Fire Center...June 24, 2008
North Carolina Air National Guard fights California wildfires
The North Carolina Air National Guard deployed four C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft with flight crews and support personnel to Northern California June 23 to assist the U.S. Forest Service and the governor in firefighting efforts to contain, control, and extinguish wildfires...June 25, 2008
Fighting floods and fires, National Guard on duty from coast-to-coast
National Guard Citizen-Soldiers and –Airmen fought Midwest flooding and California fires Thursday...June 26, 2008
National Guard Bureau chief: Firefighting and flood efforts “outstanding”
Assessing the National Guard’s California fire and Midwest flood-fighting efforts first-hand Thursday and Friday, the chief of the National Guard Bureau visited adjutants general and troops in impacted states....June 27, 2008
These reports are just from the this month. When they are helping the nation deal with natural disasters, they are able to still do their other jobs. Their jobs are what they base their personal budgets on. Often their incomes do not come close to taking care of their financial needs when they are deployed. This adds to the stress they are under when they are deployed into foreign lands. While it may be true they are highly trained to do their assigned jobs while deployed, they are not trained as fully as the regular military for the rest of what they have to go through.
When they come home, they return to family and friends, jobs they had (provided the jobs are still there) and are expected to pick up where they left off. Some return to businesses as craftsmen, offices, laborers, while others return to law enforcement positions and fire departments. They are expected to return the same way as they would if they were simply doing the same kinds of duties they carry out on our own soil, not unlike the reports above. Yet when they come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, the long absences, they also carry with them the traumas of combat.
We have neglected their needs even more than we have neglected the needs of the regular military. At least when their deployment is over, they return with their brothers in arms by their side and have a watchful eye on them if there should be readjustment problems. The citizen soldiers however return to the lives they had before, the extra strain on their finances, families unaware of the wounds they carry within and no one around them able to understand.
Too often they return with PTSD, but as hard as it is to understand what they went through deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, it is nearly impossible for others to understand the signs of wounds they cannot see. VA clinics and hospitals are too far away to get to on a regular basis for many of these soldiers. Civilian mental health providers do not all understand PTSD. Civilian doctors are also lacking knowledge of this wound and the physical illnesses spawned by PTSD. Local clergy are unaware of the wound, the strain on marriages as well as the spiritual wound that needs to be addressed. This is where the communities need to step up for the sake of the citizen soldiers. Why isn't this happening?
Local providers are trained to focus on all the problems civilians endure. While they can address some of the issues these citizen soldiers face, they cannot address the central issue to all of the problems, which is the horrors of war. We cannot keep neglecting their needs. We cannot keep treating them like the rest of the citizens.
This report on the mistakes made regarding Iraq and the increase of the Taliban's capabilities in Afghanistan should raise a red flag warning these occupations will go on much longer than civilians planned on requiring the more deployments of the citizen soldiers as well as their families. National Guard forces are reporting rates of PTSD at around 50%, yet they receive less help than regular military men and women receive. The citizen soldiers only have their communities to depend on in return for us depending upon them.
Even when they are returning to jobs usually associated with traumatic events, law enforcement and emergency responders, often their own commanders are unaware of PTSD at the levels deployments raise the risk of and depth of this wound. Again, they need more attention than civilian forces never deployed receive.
If we do not address the additional needs of the citizen soldiers, they will suffer needlessly. This is a moral duty for all of us as well as a financial one for every community across the nation.
Un-addressed PTSD leads to the break up of families, drug and alcohol use as self-medication, crimes, homelessness and suicides. This puts a strain on the finances of the local governments as they must deal with arrests, drunk driving, accidents, crimes, violence, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, growing need for health services in mental health care as well as the physical illnesses extreme stress causes. Reliance on social services are increased. This also leads to reduced incomes as all too often the citizen soldier's wound is neglected to the point they can no longer function on their jobs. We've already seen evidence of all of this because we still have not come to the awareness of PTSD in the citizen soldiers.
When are we going to do it? When will local officials put out an emergency call to all the people in their communities to address this? When will programs be in place across the nation to take care of them? When will the local clergy and physicians be educated to deal with the burdens the citizen soldiers carry? While the plans for the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq found fault with the military and civilian planners, what is happening to the citizen soldiers is also caused by the same officials and lack of planning.
Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
International Fellowship of Chaplains
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Sen. Kotowski, Alexian Unveil Program Aimed At PTSD
Reaching Out To Veterans
Kotowski, Alexian Unveil Program Aimed At PTSD
By TOM ROBB
Journal Reporter
A new program to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for returning veterans was unveiled at Alexian Brothers Hospital Wednesday.
State Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-33d) of Park Ridge attended. His bill helped fund the program.
Physicians at Wednesday's press conference explained that new state of the art equipment recently brought online at the hospital is helping doctors tell the difference between PTSD and traumatic brain injuries.
"The one thing we can agree on is that we need to honor our veterans in a better way," said Kotowski.
Kotowski said the Pentagon identified 40,000 veterans who have sought treatment for PTSD. He explained that some groups estimate the true number of veterans suffering the condition is closer to 300,000.
Kotowski said through technology PTSD can be detected physically and not just through psychological examination.
go here for more
http://www.journal-topics.com/eg/08/eg080625.1.html
Kotowski, Alexian Unveil Program Aimed At PTSD
By TOM ROBB
Journal Reporter
A new program to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for returning veterans was unveiled at Alexian Brothers Hospital Wednesday.
State Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-33d) of Park Ridge attended. His bill helped fund the program.
Physicians at Wednesday's press conference explained that new state of the art equipment recently brought online at the hospital is helping doctors tell the difference between PTSD and traumatic brain injuries.
"The one thing we can agree on is that we need to honor our veterans in a better way," said Kotowski.
Kotowski said the Pentagon identified 40,000 veterans who have sought treatment for PTSD. He explained that some groups estimate the true number of veterans suffering the condition is closer to 300,000.
Kotowski said through technology PTSD can be detected physically and not just through psychological examination.
go here for more
http://www.journal-topics.com/eg/08/eg080625.1.html
Morning the loss Marine Andrew Whitacre
Morning the loss of our beloved Marine Andrew Whitacre
June 26, 2008
The sun was shining over Jay County on Saturday morning. The sky was a glorious blue.
But there was a cloud over our heart.
Despite all logic, we had hoped that the community could make it through the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq without the loss of local life.
Last week, those hopes were dashed.
With the death of Andrew Whitacre, this community joins hundreds of others across America in mourning.
It is an occasion for solemnity. It is an occasion for dignity. And it is an occasion for honor.
On those three points, every American can agree.
This is not about politics. This is not about policy.
This is about a young man, one of our own, who is lost to us now.
Let us honor him now, with solemnity and with dignity and with enormous respect.
Let us honor and console his family and loved ones. Let us remind them that they are not alone.
They are part of a larger community and a nation that places great value on their sacrifice.
But, most of all, let us honor Andrew, a Marine, but also not much more than a kid.
A young man with the world and all its possibilities in front of him.
A young man so much like so many other young men and women who serve their country.
And let us acknowledge the painful passing of that cloud over our heart
This was found in the Commerical Review, Portland, Indiana
http://www.policelink.com/news/34546-morning-the-loss-
of-our-beloved-marine-andrew-whitacre
Good Lord, how I wish that everyone in this country could remember these exact words.
Community honors fallen Indiana Marine
Posted: June 26, 2008 11:57 AM EDT
Lance Corporal Andrew Whitacre died last Thursday in Afghanistan.
JAY COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) - A community is honoring a fallen Indiana Marine.
The body of Lance Corporal Andrew Whitacre arrived in Jay County Wednesday. Hundreds of people lined the streets.
The 21-year-old, from Bryant, died Thursday in Afghanistan.
Whitacre's visitation is going on now in Portland.
His funeral will be held on Friday at 10 a.m. at the Jay County High School.
http://www.wishtv.com/global/story.asp?s=8559187
Help on Four Legs, Sometimes Followed by Confusion
Help on Four Legs, Sometimes Followed by Confusion
By GREGORY BEYER
Published: June 29, 2008
THE incident occurred about two years ago. Laura Damone, a 56-year-old resident of Gramercy Park who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and panic attacks, walked into the Union Square subway station with Buddy, who was her service dog at the time.
The dog, who wore a vest, attracted the attention of two transit workers, who, Ms. Damone says, humiliated her by backing her into a corner, demanding proof of her disability and giving her a ticket.
The confrontation exemplifies problems that can arise from what Assemblywoman Deborah Glick thinks is a vague city law.
Unlike state and federal law, which explicitly prohibits asking about or demanding proof of a disability, city law declares only that establishments provide “reasonable accommodation” to people with service animals. According to Bethany Jankunis, Ms. Glick’s chief of staff, this subjects people like Ms. Damone, who use service animals and whose disabilities are not plainly evident, to discrimination and embarrassment.
click post title for more
By GREGORY BEYER
Published: June 29, 2008
THE incident occurred about two years ago. Laura Damone, a 56-year-old resident of Gramercy Park who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and panic attacks, walked into the Union Square subway station with Buddy, who was her service dog at the time.
The dog, who wore a vest, attracted the attention of two transit workers, who, Ms. Damone says, humiliated her by backing her into a corner, demanding proof of her disability and giving her a ticket.
The confrontation exemplifies problems that can arise from what Assemblywoman Deborah Glick thinks is a vague city law.
Unlike state and federal law, which explicitly prohibits asking about or demanding proof of a disability, city law declares only that establishments provide “reasonable accommodation” to people with service animals. According to Bethany Jankunis, Ms. Glick’s chief of staff, this subjects people like Ms. Damone, who use service animals and whose disabilities are not plainly evident, to discrimination and embarrassment.
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Veterans for Common Sense fight goes on
From Paul Sullivan
My two cents
Because of this, because of the hard work they all did on this (as well as what they plan to do) things will change. It proved once and for all there are people in this country willing to step up and force the changes so that our veterans receive the care they not only earned but the care they all deserve. We have so many who were willing to lay down their lives for this country that need our help for what should never, ever, have been something they had to fight for. They did their fighting when they were deployed. They shouldn't have to keep fighting for their lives because they made it home.
I’m sure you are aware of Judge Samuel Conti’s detailed 82-page ruling that found VA is in crisis and that he was “troubled” by VA’s delays. Yet he decided that the Court lacks jurisdiction and that VA and Congress should fix VA’s problems. Although we are disappointed the Judge would not order VA to act, we are pleased he found in our favor on many facts of the case. VCS re-states our offer to provide Congressional staff with any information that could be used to reform VA so our veterans receive prompt and high-quality VA healthcare as well as fast, complete, and accurate VA claims decisions.
Attached for your review are four items regarding the U.S. District Court’s ruling in our lawsuit, Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth v. James Peake (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs):
Link to Army Times news article:http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleid/10516
Link to KPIX-TV (CBS News in San Francisco) television broadcast: http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleid/10517
Link to VCS press release:http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleid/10517
Attachment containing the Court’s ruling.
Our lawsuit enjoys broad support from veterans and the public. Here are just a few of the many overwhelmingly positive e-mails VCS received from our members about our landmark lawsuit with our co-plaintiff organization, Veterans United for Truth:
Your efforts will make life better for … veterans.
Thanks for all the hard work.
It was a great effort. The fact you were able to get the VA attitude out in the public, presented as evidence in a federal court, was of critical importance…. KEEP IT UP!
I think you did a terrific job of exposing the tragedy of the veterans with the law suit.
All of you working on this should be proud of yourselves.
You have accomplished a great deal and there still things to do. This is only the beginning of the fight; end of round one.
You are to be commended for your hard work.
You should be very proud of the effort you put into this. Because of you, there was a lot learned that would have remained hidden. You gave it your best as you always do.
It will pay off in the long. It will help.
Our fight is now in Congress.
As of April 2008, VA medical centers have treated 325,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, including 133,000 with a mental health condition, 75,000 of whom are diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. We remain alarmed that VA still has no national policy on what to do when a suicidal patient shows up at a VA medical facility. We remain concerned that veterans such as Jonathan Schulze and Jeffrey Lucey were improperly turned away by an under funded and under staffed VA.
Therefore, VCS plans to appeal the Court’s decision primarily on the grounds that the Judicial Branch must enforce the laws of the Legislative Branch ignored by the Executive Branch. Please contact VCS if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Paul.
Paul Sullivan
Executive Director
Veterans for Common Sense
Post Office Box 15514
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 558-4553
Paul@VeteransForCommonSense.org
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/
My two cents
Because of this, because of the hard work they all did on this (as well as what they plan to do) things will change. It proved once and for all there are people in this country willing to step up and force the changes so that our veterans receive the care they not only earned but the care they all deserve. We have so many who were willing to lay down their lives for this country that need our help for what should never, ever, have been something they had to fight for. They did their fighting when they were deployed. They shouldn't have to keep fighting for their lives because they made it home.
Returning Veterans Conference
Returning Veterans Conference
Paving the Road Home: The National Behavioral Health Conference and Policy Academy on Returning Veterans and Their Families
Conference Date: August 11, 2008
Location: Hyatt Regency in Bethesda, MD
Registration begins June 16, 2008
This national conference and policy academy sponsored by SAMHSA will help Federal, State, and local partners improve and enhance mental health and substance abuse services for returning veterans and their families. The conference/policy academy will facilitate nationwide sharing of information on mental health and substance abuse services and supports across multiple health care delivery systems. Attendees will be provided science-based information to assist veterans and their families in building resiliency and preventing and/or treating complex conditions, including mental disorders (e.g., TBI, PTSD) substance use disorders, suicide, homelessness, domestic violence, and co-occurring disorders.
Visit the Conference Web site and Register
NAMI provides support to those facing PTSD
Group aids troops with combat stress
NAMI provides support to those facing PTSD
BY LILY GORDON - lgordon@ledger-enquirer.com --
Kenneth McDonald was 17 when he joined the Army in 1968. After completing basic training at Fort Benning, he was deployed to the jungles of Thailand where his duties included loading the bodies of dead American soldiers onto airplanes to be transported home.
It was there in the hot, isolated jungle that McDonald says his troubles began.
After two years of active duty service, McDonald was stressed, depressed and worn. In 1971, he left the Army and enrolled in trade school. He was having a hard time adjusting to civilian life, however, and six months later McDonald dropped out of school and went to work at Fort Benning as a mechanic. When he was laid off from that job, he launched a landscaping business, then a catering and florist company, then a small antiques business. Nothing seemed to hold his attention and he spiralled deeper into depression.
It wasn't until 1990, more than two decades later, that a doctor told McDonald he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, schizo-affective disorder and bipolar disorder.
Help available
Some 40,000 troops have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder since 2003, according to Pentagon statistics released in May. It's a growing problem among veterans returning from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and one that is just beginning to get the attention it deserves, said Sue Marlowe, director of the Columbus chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Combatting the stigma surrounding the disease is ostensibly more challenging than treating it, especially when soldiers are the ones effected.
go here for more
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/story/357312.html
NAMI provides support to those facing PTSD
BY LILY GORDON - lgordon@ledger-enquirer.com --
Kenneth McDonald was 17 when he joined the Army in 1968. After completing basic training at Fort Benning, he was deployed to the jungles of Thailand where his duties included loading the bodies of dead American soldiers onto airplanes to be transported home.
It was there in the hot, isolated jungle that McDonald says his troubles began.
After two years of active duty service, McDonald was stressed, depressed and worn. In 1971, he left the Army and enrolled in trade school. He was having a hard time adjusting to civilian life, however, and six months later McDonald dropped out of school and went to work at Fort Benning as a mechanic. When he was laid off from that job, he launched a landscaping business, then a catering and florist company, then a small antiques business. Nothing seemed to hold his attention and he spiralled deeper into depression.
It wasn't until 1990, more than two decades later, that a doctor told McDonald he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, schizo-affective disorder and bipolar disorder.
Help available
Some 40,000 troops have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder since 2003, according to Pentagon statistics released in May. It's a growing problem among veterans returning from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and one that is just beginning to get the attention it deserves, said Sue Marlowe, director of the Columbus chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Combatting the stigma surrounding the disease is ostensibly more challenging than treating it, especially when soldiers are the ones effected.
go here for more
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/story/357312.html
Dr. Loree Sutton, Brigadier General and Psychiatrist
Special to The Press-Enterprise
Loree Sutton says military service “changed my life in ways that I could not have anticipated.”
Loma Linda native is first female psychiatrist to attain rank of brigadier general
By MARK MUCKENFUSS
The Press-Enterprise
When Dr. Loree Sutton was born, Loma Linda did not yet have its university medical center.
"I'm old enough that I was born at the old sanitarium up on the hill," said Sutton, 49.
"The physician that delivered me, Dr. (Herbert) Henken, was actually one of my instructors when I was in medical school. Talk about a small town."
click post title for more
Resident wants support for returning troops
Resident wants support for returning troops
June 26, 2008
By MARCIA SAGENDORPH msagendorph@pioneerlocal.com
Iraq veteran Jim Black, 26, returned home to fight a new war. He, and millions of other veterans, are battling brain injuries and post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
His father-in-law, Tim Corrigan of Mundelein, wants to do something about it.
Black served in Iraq from April 2003 to March 2004. He originally lived in Tempe, Arizona before moving to Lake Villa in 2007. He is married to Jennifer and they have two boys, RJ, 5, and Gavin who will be a year old on Sept. 11.
Black originally joined the Army to get some training and college funding, Corrigan said.
"He didn't hesitate to go to war and he became a Recon Scout and saw lots of action as soon as he stepped foot in Iraq," Corrigan said.
He returned home to Tempe after finishing his active duty in June of 2004. He was called back to active duty but was already diagnosed with PTSD, which kept him from going back.
go here for more
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/grayslake/news/1025267,gr-PTSDgroup-062608-s1.article
June 26, 2008
By MARCIA SAGENDORPH msagendorph@pioneerlocal.com
Iraq veteran Jim Black, 26, returned home to fight a new war. He, and millions of other veterans, are battling brain injuries and post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
His father-in-law, Tim Corrigan of Mundelein, wants to do something about it.
Black served in Iraq from April 2003 to March 2004. He originally lived in Tempe, Arizona before moving to Lake Villa in 2007. He is married to Jennifer and they have two boys, RJ, 5, and Gavin who will be a year old on Sept. 11.
Black originally joined the Army to get some training and college funding, Corrigan said.
"He didn't hesitate to go to war and he became a Recon Scout and saw lots of action as soon as he stepped foot in Iraq," Corrigan said.
He returned home to Tempe after finishing his active duty in June of 2004. He was called back to active duty but was already diagnosed with PTSD, which kept him from going back.
go here for more
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/grayslake/news/1025267,gr-PTSDgroup-062608-s1.article
Goodbye Jim Hinde, Tribute to Vietnam Vet
Goodbye Jim Hinde
Eat the State - USA
by Jim Page
Jim Hinde was the real deal. He was born and raised in Ohio. He was a Vietnam Vet who rambled homeless and broke in the early '70s, lived in the skid road missions, and rode the freights. He settled in Seattle as a father and musician, and wrote a whole bunch of songs. He became such a solid force in the Seattle busking scene that when he died unexpectedly the morning of June 9, the whole city gasped and half of the Pike Place Market went home early.
The wind blew real hard all that day. Jim didn't like the hard winds because they reminded him of the typhoons when he was in the Navy. That was a time that haunted him. It kept him from sleeping and woke him up with night sweats--Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the shadow partner that Uncle Sam gives to his military veterans. Jim would spend the last years of his life pursuing his claim for service-related disability benefits from the Veterans Administration. Not just for himself but for all vets. Maybe it wore him out.
Jim was one of the founders of the Pike Market Performers Guild, an organizing body of Seattle street performers. With his work ethic and background, he was an enormous asset for getting all the nuts and bolts in place to create and produce the annual Pike Market Busker Festival. Organized collectively, the Guild seeks to raise the profile and legitimacy of street performers, who by nature are a little outside the social norm. Jim could bridge that gap. The festival has now become an established part of the city's culture, and busking a celebrated art form.
click above for more
Eat the State - USA
by Jim Page
Jim Hinde was the real deal. He was born and raised in Ohio. He was a Vietnam Vet who rambled homeless and broke in the early '70s, lived in the skid road missions, and rode the freights. He settled in Seattle as a father and musician, and wrote a whole bunch of songs. He became such a solid force in the Seattle busking scene that when he died unexpectedly the morning of June 9, the whole city gasped and half of the Pike Place Market went home early.
The wind blew real hard all that day. Jim didn't like the hard winds because they reminded him of the typhoons when he was in the Navy. That was a time that haunted him. It kept him from sleeping and woke him up with night sweats--Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the shadow partner that Uncle Sam gives to his military veterans. Jim would spend the last years of his life pursuing his claim for service-related disability benefits from the Veterans Administration. Not just for himself but for all vets. Maybe it wore him out.
Jim was one of the founders of the Pike Market Performers Guild, an organizing body of Seattle street performers. With his work ethic and background, he was an enormous asset for getting all the nuts and bolts in place to create and produce the annual Pike Market Busker Festival. Organized collectively, the Guild seeks to raise the profile and legitimacy of street performers, who by nature are a little outside the social norm. Jim could bridge that gap. The festival has now become an established part of the city's culture, and busking a celebrated art form.
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PTSD education is veterans mission
PTSD education is veterans mission
TONY SPINELLI
MILFORD — U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam veteran Charles Trumpower flips open his souvenir Zippo cigarette lighter, the one he carried with him through fields of blood and gore, to reveal its clever slogan. "I'm not here to die for my country," the lighter reads, in words inscribed just below the insignia of the Playboy Bunny with the erect ears and numerals for the year "1969."
"Let that other SOB die for his," it reads.
Trumpower, 61, didn't die for his country. But he did not make it out of the steaming Vietnamese jungle unscathed: in addition to bullet wounds and shrapnel that sent him home wounded in November 1969 after nearly 10 months in combat as a rifleman, Trumpower suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
go here for more
http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_9692485
TONY SPINELLI
MILFORD — U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam veteran Charles Trumpower flips open his souvenir Zippo cigarette lighter, the one he carried with him through fields of blood and gore, to reveal its clever slogan. "I'm not here to die for my country," the lighter reads, in words inscribed just below the insignia of the Playboy Bunny with the erect ears and numerals for the year "1969."
"Let that other SOB die for his," it reads.
Trumpower, 61, didn't die for his country. But he did not make it out of the steaming Vietnamese jungle unscathed: in addition to bullet wounds and shrapnel that sent him home wounded in November 1969 after nearly 10 months in combat as a rifleman, Trumpower suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
go here for more
http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_9692485
CBS Plans To Appeal Ruling On Haditha Interview
CBS Plans To Appeal Ruling On Haditha Interview
Associated Press
June 26, 2008
SAN DIEGO — - CBS News said it plans to appeal a ruling by a military appellate court that ordered a judge to review unaired footage of an interview given by a Marine squad leader from Meriden, Conn., charged in the killings of 24 Iraqis.
The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Appeals said a judge must review the footage to determine the legal basis for the television network's refusal to turn over unaired "60 Minutes" footage of its interview with Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich.
The decision by the appellate court comes after a military prosecutor appealed a judge's decision to throw out a subpoena, saying the unaired footage is vital to the case because it contains admissions by Wuterich of crimes in the attack in Haditha, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2005.
Wuterich "apparently admits in an unaired segment that he did in fact order his men to 'shoot first and ask questions later,'" Marine prosecutor Capt. Nicholas Gannon said in a motion.
go here for more
http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/hc-haditha0626.artjun26,0,5447837.story
Associated Press
June 26, 2008
SAN DIEGO — - CBS News said it plans to appeal a ruling by a military appellate court that ordered a judge to review unaired footage of an interview given by a Marine squad leader from Meriden, Conn., charged in the killings of 24 Iraqis.
The Navy-Marine Corps Court of Appeals said a judge must review the footage to determine the legal basis for the television network's refusal to turn over unaired "60 Minutes" footage of its interview with Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich.
The decision by the appellate court comes after a military prosecutor appealed a judge's decision to throw out a subpoena, saying the unaired footage is vital to the case because it contains admissions by Wuterich of crimes in the attack in Haditha, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2005.
Wuterich "apparently admits in an unaired segment that he did in fact order his men to 'shoot first and ask questions later,'" Marine prosecutor Capt. Nicholas Gannon said in a motion.
go here for more
http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/hc-haditha0626.artjun26,0,5447837.story
Army friend: Stepdad suffered war stress
Army friend: Stepdad suffered war stress
Veteran says PTSD might have played role in boy's death
By RUSS ZIMMER • Advocate Reporter • June 27, 2008
NEWARK -- A few weeks ago, Iraq War veterans Kevin Phelps and Corey Flugga were out on the town in Oklahoma City.
The pair, who had forged a close bond during near-daily firefights near Ramadi, laughed, drank beers and caught up on what each other had missed since their last meeting in summer 2006.
The conversation eventually turned to what mementos both had brought back from the war -- nightmares, irritability and alienation from family and friends. The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
"For the most part, we talked about how people don't understand what we're going through," Phelps, of Oklahoma City, said Thursday morning, one day after learning the man whom he roomed with was to be charged in connection with the death of his stepson, Carson Hanson. "Family, the military, they don't know how to deal with it."
Flugga now is sitting in the Licking County Justice Center, his bond set at $1 million and facing a charge of murder, which could result in a life sentence if convicted.
Investigators allege Flugga, 22, struck his 3-year-old stepson in the stomach Saturday, resulting in internal bleeding that led to his death.
Licking County Assistant Prosecutor Dan Huston said his office has received unconfirmed information about the possible role of PTSD in the death but has no indication any mental condition was a factor in the incident.
Any determination as to the significance of his state of mind during the alleged assault would be made by the grand jury when the case is presented to them July 3, he said.
Phelps, speaking in a phone interview requested by The Advocate, refused to make any comments he felt would incriminate his friend. He said at first he was sure the allegations were false. But after the news sank in, his shock faded.
“I’ll just say this,” he said. “My little girls were shoved down my throat as soon as I got home just like his boys were shoved down his throat. That’s wrong. We weren’t over there baby-sitting. We were killing people and getting shot at.”
go here for more
http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080627/NEWS01/806270304/1002
Veteran says PTSD might have played role in boy's death
By RUSS ZIMMER • Advocate Reporter • June 27, 2008
NEWARK -- A few weeks ago, Iraq War veterans Kevin Phelps and Corey Flugga were out on the town in Oklahoma City.
The pair, who had forged a close bond during near-daily firefights near Ramadi, laughed, drank beers and caught up on what each other had missed since their last meeting in summer 2006.
The conversation eventually turned to what mementos both had brought back from the war -- nightmares, irritability and alienation from family and friends. The symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
"For the most part, we talked about how people don't understand what we're going through," Phelps, of Oklahoma City, said Thursday morning, one day after learning the man whom he roomed with was to be charged in connection with the death of his stepson, Carson Hanson. "Family, the military, they don't know how to deal with it."
Flugga now is sitting in the Licking County Justice Center, his bond set at $1 million and facing a charge of murder, which could result in a life sentence if convicted.
Investigators allege Flugga, 22, struck his 3-year-old stepson in the stomach Saturday, resulting in internal bleeding that led to his death.
Licking County Assistant Prosecutor Dan Huston said his office has received unconfirmed information about the possible role of PTSD in the death but has no indication any mental condition was a factor in the incident.
Any determination as to the significance of his state of mind during the alleged assault would be made by the grand jury when the case is presented to them July 3, he said.
Phelps, speaking in a phone interview requested by The Advocate, refused to make any comments he felt would incriminate his friend. He said at first he was sure the allegations were false. But after the news sank in, his shock faded.
“I’ll just say this,” he said. “My little girls were shoved down my throat as soon as I got home just like his boys were shoved down his throat. That’s wrong. We weren’t over there baby-sitting. We were killing people and getting shot at.”
go here for more
http://www.newarkadvocate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080627/NEWS01/806270304/1002
Get shame out of the way of healing PTSD
I just flew back home from the United Female Veterans Convention in St. Louis. It seems no matter where I go, the main topic of conversation is PTSD. Most of the time I try to just listen thinking that one of these days I'll hear something new, something hopeful, but there is really so little new begin done.
Sitting in the airport waiting for the flight, I sat next to a young man with a very shot hair cut. Not wanting to assume anything I stopped myself from wanting to ask if he was in the military. He saw my Chaplain shirt and we began to talk. My first impression was correct and he was a Marine. He is training for deployment. We sat together on the flight. This was very hopeful. He told me of some of his friends on a 4th deployment and how some people he knew came back changed. The hopeful part is the attitude this young man had. He had knowledge, faith and an abundance of compassion for his brothers in the Marines. This generation is more aware of PTSD and in that there is hope.
Talking to him was a much needed event for me. I had received an email from the wife of a veteran I did a post on, taken from Time magazine online. At least that is what I gathered from her email. It was not filled with much information but she seemed bent out of shape that I posted what was on Time. I can only assume her husband must have PTSD. Given the fact Screaming In An Empty Room blog has almost 10.000 post and this one has over 2.000, it's pretty hard to guess who this person is. My problem is that there are still people out there who don't get it. They don't understand that there is no shame in having PTSD and loving someone who does have it, as I do, should be worn as a badge of honor. Emails like this bother me incredibly.
Let's assume for now that this woman's husband told his PTSD story to Time. Evidently there must be no shame in him or he wouldn't have told his story. How could there be any shame in being wounded? How could there be any shame in serving your country, stepping up and doing what you believe you were called to do and then have the government refuse to take care of you? It's the government that should be ashamed and not the veterans who have been wounded simply because they were willing to serve. How could a wife be so ashamed that she would complain about a post being done taken from a publication the size of Time magazine? This kind of attitude makes me always question the work I do to the point where I wonder if it's worth it or not.
All these years, dedicating my time and energy to do whatever I can for these veterans, for free, and some people would rather attack me for doing it. Everything I post is public information. No email gets posted unless the veteran asks me to make their story public and usually that's done so they can let others know they are not alone. There are only a few veterans I can think of who wanted their story public. It is always up to the veteran. The PTSD veterans going public, to me, are heroes in all of this. They will be the reason the stigma of PTSD vanishes and lives will be saved. Advocates like me across the country have been doing this since veterans came home from Vietnam. I've only been in this for 25 years but others have been in it since early 70's telling their stories and trying to change the minds of the general public. Most of us have very little regret except the fact that there are still too many in this country and around the world still thinking there is a reason to feel any kind of shame. I'm sure the others feel the same way that we will not give up until every veteran and every person with PTSD is treated with the same kind of compassion we would treat any wounded person with. It will be a wonderful day on this planet that every person with any kind of mental illness would be treated properly but we are far from it. NAMI gives me hope that this will happen one day because of all the dedicated people working on this around the country.
I have a lot of posts to catch up on but I wanted to get this out first. I want to ask all of my readers to keep this post in mind the next time they hear anyone with any kind of shame in their voice to address it. We must eliminate any kind of shame from PTSD so that the wounded can be helped as soon as possible without hesitation. The longer they wait because shame is standing in their way is time lost forever. If they are ready this second then this is the second the help should begin and they don't need someone clinging onto shame getting in their way.
Sitting in the airport waiting for the flight, I sat next to a young man with a very shot hair cut. Not wanting to assume anything I stopped myself from wanting to ask if he was in the military. He saw my Chaplain shirt and we began to talk. My first impression was correct and he was a Marine. He is training for deployment. We sat together on the flight. This was very hopeful. He told me of some of his friends on a 4th deployment and how some people he knew came back changed. The hopeful part is the attitude this young man had. He had knowledge, faith and an abundance of compassion for his brothers in the Marines. This generation is more aware of PTSD and in that there is hope.
Talking to him was a much needed event for me. I had received an email from the wife of a veteran I did a post on, taken from Time magazine online. At least that is what I gathered from her email. It was not filled with much information but she seemed bent out of shape that I posted what was on Time. I can only assume her husband must have PTSD. Given the fact Screaming In An Empty Room blog has almost 10.000 post and this one has over 2.000, it's pretty hard to guess who this person is. My problem is that there are still people out there who don't get it. They don't understand that there is no shame in having PTSD and loving someone who does have it, as I do, should be worn as a badge of honor. Emails like this bother me incredibly.
Let's assume for now that this woman's husband told his PTSD story to Time. Evidently there must be no shame in him or he wouldn't have told his story. How could there be any shame in being wounded? How could there be any shame in serving your country, stepping up and doing what you believe you were called to do and then have the government refuse to take care of you? It's the government that should be ashamed and not the veterans who have been wounded simply because they were willing to serve. How could a wife be so ashamed that she would complain about a post being done taken from a publication the size of Time magazine? This kind of attitude makes me always question the work I do to the point where I wonder if it's worth it or not.
All these years, dedicating my time and energy to do whatever I can for these veterans, for free, and some people would rather attack me for doing it. Everything I post is public information. No email gets posted unless the veteran asks me to make their story public and usually that's done so they can let others know they are not alone. There are only a few veterans I can think of who wanted their story public. It is always up to the veteran. The PTSD veterans going public, to me, are heroes in all of this. They will be the reason the stigma of PTSD vanishes and lives will be saved. Advocates like me across the country have been doing this since veterans came home from Vietnam. I've only been in this for 25 years but others have been in it since early 70's telling their stories and trying to change the minds of the general public. Most of us have very little regret except the fact that there are still too many in this country and around the world still thinking there is a reason to feel any kind of shame. I'm sure the others feel the same way that we will not give up until every veteran and every person with PTSD is treated with the same kind of compassion we would treat any wounded person with. It will be a wonderful day on this planet that every person with any kind of mental illness would be treated properly but we are far from it. NAMI gives me hope that this will happen one day because of all the dedicated people working on this around the country.
I have a lot of posts to catch up on but I wanted to get this out first. I want to ask all of my readers to keep this post in mind the next time they hear anyone with any kind of shame in their voice to address it. We must eliminate any kind of shame from PTSD so that the wounded can be helped as soon as possible without hesitation. The longer they wait because shame is standing in their way is time lost forever. If they are ready this second then this is the second the help should begin and they don't need someone clinging onto shame getting in their way.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Committee votes to protect vet gun ownership
Committee votes to protect vet gun ownership
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jun 27, 2008 6:27:14 EDT
Lists of veterans who have been assigned fiduciaries to handle financial matters on their behalf could not be used to prevent gun ownership under an amendment approved by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Thursday.
By voice vote, the committee attached to a veterans’ health care bill an amendment prohibiting the Department of Veterans Affairs from sharing lists of so-called “incompetent” veterans with the FBI. Only if there has been specific ruling that a veteran poses a risk to himself or others could the VA pass a name on to the FBI for inclusion in records used to make instant background checks before gun purchases, under the amendment to S 2969, the Veterans’ Health Care Authorization Act of 2008.
Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, ranking Republican on the veterans’ committee and the chief sponsor of the amendment, said the VA makes a determination of incompetence based, primarily, on whether a veteran is capable of handling his own finances. If he cannot, a fiduciary is appointed to handle their benefits.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/military_veterans_gunownership_062608w/
Not sure on this one at all. A friend is in this postition. What we have to remember is that there is not always a one size fits all answer. Some of these veterans should never have been able to own a gun, just like some people in this country should never be able to own one. But what is the answer? Do we go with this but allow the local law enforcement to make their own rules given the fact they are the ones dealing with whatever happens in the long run? Murphy and Akaka want to side on common sense but Burr wants to take the side of the NRA attitude. Who is right?
When Congress was taking on gun ownership for PTSD veterans, they were very upset wondering if veterans with mild PTSD would have to give up their jobs if they had to give up their guns. some of them decided that they would not seek treatment for PTSD because of this. Would you rather see a veteran with PTSD owning a gun and not getting help or would you rather see them getting help and keeping their jobs? Again there is not a one size fits all answer when it comes to PTSD. After all, we do have thousands of them in Iraq and Afghanistan right now with weapons a lot more dangerous than a hand gun.
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jun 27, 2008 6:27:14 EDT
Lists of veterans who have been assigned fiduciaries to handle financial matters on their behalf could not be used to prevent gun ownership under an amendment approved by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee on Thursday.
By voice vote, the committee attached to a veterans’ health care bill an amendment prohibiting the Department of Veterans Affairs from sharing lists of so-called “incompetent” veterans with the FBI. Only if there has been specific ruling that a veteran poses a risk to himself or others could the VA pass a name on to the FBI for inclusion in records used to make instant background checks before gun purchases, under the amendment to S 2969, the Veterans’ Health Care Authorization Act of 2008.
Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, ranking Republican on the veterans’ committee and the chief sponsor of the amendment, said the VA makes a determination of incompetence based, primarily, on whether a veteran is capable of handling his own finances. If he cannot, a fiduciary is appointed to handle their benefits.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/military_veterans_gunownership_062608w/
Not sure on this one at all. A friend is in this postition. What we have to remember is that there is not always a one size fits all answer. Some of these veterans should never have been able to own a gun, just like some people in this country should never be able to own one. But what is the answer? Do we go with this but allow the local law enforcement to make their own rules given the fact they are the ones dealing with whatever happens in the long run? Murphy and Akaka want to side on common sense but Burr wants to take the side of the NRA attitude. Who is right?
When Congress was taking on gun ownership for PTSD veterans, they were very upset wondering if veterans with mild PTSD would have to give up their jobs if they had to give up their guns. some of them decided that they would not seek treatment for PTSD because of this. Would you rather see a veteran with PTSD owning a gun and not getting help or would you rather see them getting help and keeping their jobs? Again there is not a one size fits all answer when it comes to PTSD. After all, we do have thousands of them in Iraq and Afghanistan right now with weapons a lot more dangerous than a hand gun.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Brain imaging may show PTSD, TBI or both
High-tech testing for war vets with post-traumatic stress disorder
'Magnetic stethoscope' will search for brain injuries in soldiers
By Kristen Kridel Chicago Tribune reporter
11:13 PM CDT, June 25, 2008
An Elk Grove Village hospital plans to use brain-imaging technology to determine whether combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder also might suffer from undiagnosed traumatic brain injuries.
A "magnetic stethoscope" primarily used to study epilepsy and autism will help determine how brain function is altered by PTSD, officials at Alexian Brothers Medical Center said Wednesday.
The MEG technology—short for magnetoencephalography—allows doctors to read magnetic signals produced by the brain when exposed to visual or auditory stimuli, said Jeffrey Lewine, director of the Alexian Center for Brain Research.Those signals appear to differ in a veteran who only has PTSD compared with one who has PTSD and traumatic brain injury, Lewine said.
The combination can be hard to diagnose but critically affect proper treatment, according to Lewine. "You have to know what you're treating to get the right treatment," Lewine said.
"Behavioral testing doesn't always distinguish the different components. We need to look at the biology."
go here for more
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-vets-trauma-center_both_26jun26,0,3069101.story
'Magnetic stethoscope' will search for brain injuries in soldiers
By Kristen Kridel Chicago Tribune reporter
11:13 PM CDT, June 25, 2008
An Elk Grove Village hospital plans to use brain-imaging technology to determine whether combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder also might suffer from undiagnosed traumatic brain injuries.
A "magnetic stethoscope" primarily used to study epilepsy and autism will help determine how brain function is altered by PTSD, officials at Alexian Brothers Medical Center said Wednesday.
The MEG technology—short for magnetoencephalography—allows doctors to read magnetic signals produced by the brain when exposed to visual or auditory stimuli, said Jeffrey Lewine, director of the Alexian Center for Brain Research.Those signals appear to differ in a veteran who only has PTSD compared with one who has PTSD and traumatic brain injury, Lewine said.
The combination can be hard to diagnose but critically affect proper treatment, according to Lewine. "You have to know what you're treating to get the right treatment," Lewine said.
"Behavioral testing doesn't always distinguish the different components. We need to look at the biology."
go here for more
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-vets-trauma-center_both_26jun26,0,3069101.story
Veterans-good enough to serve but not to live next door to Betty?
Neighbors worry about home intended for homeless veterans
Rockford Register Star - Rockford,IL,USA
By Chris Green
RRSTAR.COM
Posted Jun 25, 2008 @ 12:10 PM
Last update Jun 25, 2008 @ 03:16 PM
ROCKFORD — The grass is mowed, the flower beds are weed-free and the scent of freshly painted interior walls lingers throughout the home.
Carpenter’s Place closed Friday on the three-bedroom ranch home at 3426 Ridge Ave. It moved in furniture over the weekend, and on Tuesday, a group of employees and volunteers stood in a circle in the living room, held hands and prayed for the people who will live in the house and the neighbors.
The only thing missing now is the tenants, and that’s what has neighbors worried.
Located in a quiet northwest neighborhood, the home will be used to house three military veterans who are transitioning back into society.
“It’s got the neighbors in an uproar,” next-door neighbor Betty Percey said Tuesday afternoon.
“They’ve been exposed to war. What happens if one night one of them goes off the deep end? All of this looks fine and good now, but is it going to last?”
click above for more
First, not all homeless veterans have PTSD and the majority of PTSD do not "go off the deep end" so both of these notions are absurd. Are there some who commit crimes? Sure but they are rare compared to how many veterans have PTSD. Do some "normal civilian" neighbors commit crimes too? Yes. So why aren't the homeless veterans worried about the neighborhood they are moving into? Anyone can have PTSD if they lived through trauma. So it could be anyone in the neighborhood. Why do they have to single out veterans when it comes to them living in their "nice" neighborhood?
Veterans are just like everyone else surviving trauma, only veterans were willing to lay down their lives for the sake of people who do not want them in their neighborhood because of some ridiculous notion. Homeless veterans were good enough to serve the country but not good enough to move in? Given a choice, I would rather have someone with the character who was willing to serve the country living next door to me. It takes a special person to be able to do that. Does Betty Percey understand that law enforcement officers get PTSD too? Well maybe she'll move and improve the neighborhood these veterans want to move into.
Rockford Register Star - Rockford,IL,USA
By Chris Green
RRSTAR.COM
Posted Jun 25, 2008 @ 12:10 PM
Last update Jun 25, 2008 @ 03:16 PM
ROCKFORD — The grass is mowed, the flower beds are weed-free and the scent of freshly painted interior walls lingers throughout the home.
Carpenter’s Place closed Friday on the three-bedroom ranch home at 3426 Ridge Ave. It moved in furniture over the weekend, and on Tuesday, a group of employees and volunteers stood in a circle in the living room, held hands and prayed for the people who will live in the house and the neighbors.
The only thing missing now is the tenants, and that’s what has neighbors worried.
Located in a quiet northwest neighborhood, the home will be used to house three military veterans who are transitioning back into society.
“It’s got the neighbors in an uproar,” next-door neighbor Betty Percey said Tuesday afternoon.
“They’ve been exposed to war. What happens if one night one of them goes off the deep end? All of this looks fine and good now, but is it going to last?”
click above for more
First, not all homeless veterans have PTSD and the majority of PTSD do not "go off the deep end" so both of these notions are absurd. Are there some who commit crimes? Sure but they are rare compared to how many veterans have PTSD. Do some "normal civilian" neighbors commit crimes too? Yes. So why aren't the homeless veterans worried about the neighborhood they are moving into? Anyone can have PTSD if they lived through trauma. So it could be anyone in the neighborhood. Why do they have to single out veterans when it comes to them living in their "nice" neighborhood?
Veterans are just like everyone else surviving trauma, only veterans were willing to lay down their lives for the sake of people who do not want them in their neighborhood because of some ridiculous notion. Homeless veterans were good enough to serve the country but not good enough to move in? Given a choice, I would rather have someone with the character who was willing to serve the country living next door to me. It takes a special person to be able to do that. Does Betty Percey understand that law enforcement officers get PTSD too? Well maybe she'll move and improve the neighborhood these veterans want to move into.
Iraq Vet Driven by Friend's Death
Iraq Vet Driven by Friend's Death
Daniel W. Reilly
Politico
Jun 25, 2008
June 25, 2008 - On the eve of last month’s Senate vote on Sen. Jim Webb’s GI Bill, Patrick Campbell clicked "send" on one last lobbying e-mail to staffers. Then he broke down and cried.
Campbell, the legislative director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, had started his message by laying out all of the latest developments on Webb’s bill.
In the final paragraphs, the Iraq war veteran shared the news that was foremost in his mind, news that he hadn’t shared with anyone outside his unit.
"Yesterday," he wrote, "one of my buddies from Iraq committed suicide."
It should have been a heady week for Campbell, a week in which the former staffer for Sen. Barbara Boxer (Calif.) and other Democrats shared a rally stage with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), saw the Senate vote overwhelmingly in favor of Webb’s bill and graduated from law school at Catholic University.
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10492
Daniel W. Reilly
Politico
Jun 25, 2008
June 25, 2008 - On the eve of last month’s Senate vote on Sen. Jim Webb’s GI Bill, Patrick Campbell clicked "send" on one last lobbying e-mail to staffers. Then he broke down and cried.
Campbell, the legislative director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, had started his message by laying out all of the latest developments on Webb’s bill.
In the final paragraphs, the Iraq war veteran shared the news that was foremost in his mind, news that he hadn’t shared with anyone outside his unit.
"Yesterday," he wrote, "one of my buddies from Iraq committed suicide."
It should have been a heady week for Campbell, a week in which the former staffer for Sen. Barbara Boxer (Calif.) and other Democrats shared a rally stage with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), saw the Senate vote overwhelmingly in favor of Webb’s bill and graduated from law school at Catholic University.
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10492
VCS thanks Judge for hearing them anyway
June 25, VCS Press Release: Court Rules that Veterans Should Seek Relief from VA and Congress, Veterans to Appeal
VCS thanks Judge Samuel Conti for our day in court. By confirming many of the allegations in our lawsuit, VCS considers the Court’s ruling a very loud and bright warning shot over the bow for Congress and VA to overhaul VA now. VA needs massive reform soon, before the situations becomes worse as hundreds of thousands of wounded, ill, and injured Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans flood into the VA system. VCS stands willing to work with Congress and VA to resolve the many serious problems the Court confirmed. VCS intends to work closely with our attorneys, Morrison & Foerster and Disability Rights Advocates, as we move forward with an appeal.
click above for more
Shingles and PTSD
‘Madness of the trenches” flourishes
I was briefly in the emergency room at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center recently, and the young man who took my history was a former soldier.
When I brought up my experience with shingles, the virulent and terribly painful herpes zoster, grandchild of chickenpox, he told me some interesting information about military medicine.
Shingles, it seems, is very familiar to combat soldiers. It is part of that widely experienced battle wound, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The fact that young people could experience that condition, which I thought of as an old folks ailment, surprised me.
The reason is obvious. Herpes zoster has several triggers. But by far the most common is that well-known but ill-defined thing called stress.
Now, my mother had another name for shingles. She called it “the mad itch,” because it can literally evoke hair-pulling agony during its tenure.
The conversation at the emergency room led me to an unusual topic of military history.
That is, the non-bleeding wounds that war inflicts on its participants.
What one poet has called “the madness of the trenches,” and what World War II soldiers generally referred to by the polite term “battle fatigue.”
The fact that soldiers could literally go mad on the battlefield is an old phenomenon. The armies of Tzarist Russian actually established hospitals for soldiers whose injury was what we would term psychiatric rather than physical.
go here for more
http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=297593
Before I was 5 years old, I was tossed off a very high slide and landed head first on the ground. My scull was cracked. A few months out of the hospital, I had shingles. I have a tiny scar left over. I can tell you, it is not something I would wish on anyone. Later on in my life, I managed to get the hives. Both are terrible and you want to get rid of the skin you are in. Stress makes both of them worse. Having the shingles or hives adds to the stress and makes the conditions worse.
I was briefly in the emergency room at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center recently, and the young man who took my history was a former soldier.
When I brought up my experience with shingles, the virulent and terribly painful herpes zoster, grandchild of chickenpox, he told me some interesting information about military medicine.
Shingles, it seems, is very familiar to combat soldiers. It is part of that widely experienced battle wound, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The fact that young people could experience that condition, which I thought of as an old folks ailment, surprised me.
The reason is obvious. Herpes zoster has several triggers. But by far the most common is that well-known but ill-defined thing called stress.
Now, my mother had another name for shingles. She called it “the mad itch,” because it can literally evoke hair-pulling agony during its tenure.
The conversation at the emergency room led me to an unusual topic of military history.
That is, the non-bleeding wounds that war inflicts on its participants.
What one poet has called “the madness of the trenches,” and what World War II soldiers generally referred to by the polite term “battle fatigue.”
The fact that soldiers could literally go mad on the battlefield is an old phenomenon. The armies of Tzarist Russian actually established hospitals for soldiers whose injury was what we would term psychiatric rather than physical.
go here for more
http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=297593
Shingles
Also known as: Herpes Zoster
What is it?
It is an infection of the skin that causes painful, fluid-filled blisters.
Who gets it?
Shingles can occur in anyone who has had chickenpox. While it can occur at any age, it is more common in people over the age of 50.
What causes it?
Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus, which also causes chickenpox. If you have had chickenpox, the varicella virus remains in a group of nerves in your central nervous system, but doesn't cause any symptoms. This is called a dormant virus. The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord, which are connected to the nerves in the body. When the virus becomes active again, it causes the symptoms of shingles. No one is sure why the virus becomes active. However, it seems to be linked to a weakened immune system, such as in people who are ill (such as with cancer or HIV), have had major surgery, or are taking immunosuppressant medications or drugs with cortisone.
It can also be triggered by skin trauma, such as sunburn or injury, and emotional stress. Although shingles is not contagious, someone who hasn't had chickenpox can develop chickenpox if they have contact with fluid from a shingles blister.
go here for more
http://www.hmc.psu.edu/healthinfo/s/shingles.htm
Before I was 5 years old, I was tossed off a very high slide and landed head first on the ground. My scull was cracked. A few months out of the hospital, I had shingles. I have a tiny scar left over. I can tell you, it is not something I would wish on anyone. Later on in my life, I managed to get the hives. Both are terrible and you want to get rid of the skin you are in. Stress makes both of them worse. Having the shingles or hives adds to the stress and makes the conditions worse.
Marine Eric Hall to be buried at Arlington National Cemetary
Jeffersonville marine to be buried at Arlington National Cemetary
08:27 PM EDT on Wednesday, June 25, 2008
WHAS11) - The Jeffersonville marine found dead in a Florida culvert in March will be laid to rest this Friday. The discovery of Eric Hall's body came after a month-long search.
Hall had been seriously wounded in Iraq and suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. His family is now working to prevent this tragedy from repeating itself.
After combat in Afghanistan in 2004, serious injuries from a bomb in Iraq in 2005, and three years of chronic pain and mental anguish, Hall will finally be able to rest in peace and with honor. Hall's cremated remains will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery
go here for more
http://www.whas11.com/topstories/stories/whas11_topstories_080625_erichall.3bee5d14.html
08:27 PM EDT on Wednesday, June 25, 2008
WHAS11) - The Jeffersonville marine found dead in a Florida culvert in March will be laid to rest this Friday. The discovery of Eric Hall's body came after a month-long search.
Hall had been seriously wounded in Iraq and suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. His family is now working to prevent this tragedy from repeating itself.
After combat in Afghanistan in 2004, serious injuries from a bomb in Iraq in 2005, and three years of chronic pain and mental anguish, Hall will finally be able to rest in peace and with honor. Hall's cremated remains will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery
go here for more
http://www.whas11.com/topstories/stories/whas11_topstories_080625_erichall.3bee5d14.html
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Mom fought TRICARE to Save Daughter
Mom fought TRICARE to Save Daughter
http://www.military.com/news/article/mom-fought-tricare-to-save-daughter.html
June 23, 2008
The Free-Lance Star
STAFFORD, Va. - Four years after she retired from the Marine Corps, Bessie Miller had to fight the same military she was a part of for three decades.
TRICARE Prime, her military insurance, had refused to pay for a procedure for her daughter, Sloan Hunter. Hunter is 18 and suffers from a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
Miller, 57, felt as if she and her daughter were getting "slapped in the face every time we turn around." After she gave the Marines 30 years of her life, she said, she expected its insurance to provide the care her daughter needed.
When it didn't, Miller went to battle.
She fought to get Hunter admitted to VCU Medical Center in Richmond, even though the hospital is not in TRICARE's network.
Then she fought TRICARE when it refused to pay for a bone-marrow transplant for her daughter.
By the time her claim reached the third and final level, Miller had contacted The Free Lance-Star and 1st District Rep. Rob Wittman, whose office lobbied for her.
In addition, Miller called the hospital and insurance company regularly to confirm that each had the needed paperwork.
TRICARE announced on Thursday that it would pay for Hunter's $110,000 operation. Officials said she qualified for care under a rare-disease regulation.
click above for more
http://www.military.com/news/article/mom-fought-tricare-to-save-daughter.html
June 23, 2008
The Free-Lance Star
STAFFORD, Va. - Four years after she retired from the Marine Corps, Bessie Miller had to fight the same military she was a part of for three decades.
TRICARE Prime, her military insurance, had refused to pay for a procedure for her daughter, Sloan Hunter. Hunter is 18 and suffers from a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
Miller, 57, felt as if she and her daughter were getting "slapped in the face every time we turn around." After she gave the Marines 30 years of her life, she said, she expected its insurance to provide the care her daughter needed.
When it didn't, Miller went to battle.
She fought to get Hunter admitted to VCU Medical Center in Richmond, even though the hospital is not in TRICARE's network.
Then she fought TRICARE when it refused to pay for a bone-marrow transplant for her daughter.
By the time her claim reached the third and final level, Miller had contacted The Free Lance-Star and 1st District Rep. Rob Wittman, whose office lobbied for her.
In addition, Miller called the hospital and insurance company regularly to confirm that each had the needed paperwork.
TRICARE announced on Thursday that it would pay for Hunter's $110,000 operation. Officials said she qualified for care under a rare-disease regulation.
click above for more
Returning troops encouraged to seek mental health treatment
Returning troops encouraged to seek mental health treatment
By Senitra Horbrook, Staff Writer
(Created: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 11:06 AM CDT)
Post traumatic stress disorder often afflicts troops returning from war. The United States Army last year had the highest rate of suicide in 30 years, according to published reports.
That’s why, with the help of a half-million dollar grant, the Mental Health America of Greater Dallas has started a free program to help troops returning from Iraq or Afghanistan find appropriate mental health care.
“The main goal is to help the veterans and service members to relieve the stress issues related to post traumatic stress disorder,” said Walter Norris, one of two coordinators of “Operation Healthy Reunions.”
Mental Health America of Greater Dallas and the American Red Cross received a grant in the amount of $553,260 to support mental health care and case management for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and family members. Assistance paying for health services over a two-year period will be provided through the Texas Resources for Iraq-Afghanistan Deployment Fund (TRIAD) of The Dallas Foundation.
“We don’t want to be like Vietnam. Many of them had PTSD and nothing was done,” Norris said.
go here for more
http://www.scntx.com/articles/2008/06/25/carrollton_leader/news/85.txt
By Senitra Horbrook, Staff Writer
(Created: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 11:06 AM CDT)
Post traumatic stress disorder often afflicts troops returning from war. The United States Army last year had the highest rate of suicide in 30 years, according to published reports.
That’s why, with the help of a half-million dollar grant, the Mental Health America of Greater Dallas has started a free program to help troops returning from Iraq or Afghanistan find appropriate mental health care.
“The main goal is to help the veterans and service members to relieve the stress issues related to post traumatic stress disorder,” said Walter Norris, one of two coordinators of “Operation Healthy Reunions.”
Mental Health America of Greater Dallas and the American Red Cross received a grant in the amount of $553,260 to support mental health care and case management for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and family members. Assistance paying for health services over a two-year period will be provided through the Texas Resources for Iraq-Afghanistan Deployment Fund (TRIAD) of The Dallas Foundation.
“We don’t want to be like Vietnam. Many of them had PTSD and nothing was done,” Norris said.
go here for more
http://www.scntx.com/articles/2008/06/25/carrollton_leader/news/85.txt
Blood Brothers of Charlie Company
Eye Witness To The Horrors Of War
Reporter Shares First Person Account Of The Origins of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
June 25, 2008
CBS) CBS News has reported extensively on the mental and physical health of American service members fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and the many veterans who have returned home. We have chronicled the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, an increase in veteran suicides and a VA system grappling to deal with the big issues. We recently had the opportunity to hear first hand from a colleague who is looking to answer one fundamental question about war: what does it actually take to trigger PTSD?
Kelly Kennedy is a health reporter for Army Times. A former soldier who served in the first Gulf War and Mogadishu, Somalia, she embedded last summer as a journalist with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry in Adhamiyah, Iraq - a neighborhood in Baghdad. Even though Kennedy says she doesn’t have post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from her trip, she says she understands how the emotional repercussions of war could develop into a full-blown disorder.
Kennedy is the author of a four-part series called Blood Brothers, a you-are-there account of the daily struggle to hunt insurgents, dodge roadside bombs-- often hitting them-and treat the physical and emotional wounds of the soldiers in the hardest hit unit since Vietnam.
"I was numb," is how Kennedy describes readjusting to life after Iraq. "I remember talking to the guys about how you have to feel things or else things are going to get worse. If you can tell the stories enough times, then the details won't have as much an effect on you as they would the first time you tell the story."
She says in the weeks following her return she was distracted, not paying attention and driving through stop signs and red lights. She says she knows from experience how easy it is for servicemen to return home and "shut down" because communicating those experiences can be too difficult and stressful.
For every one soldier, who leaves Iraq with no PTSD symptoms, there are five soldiers who suffer from PTSD or major depression - according to a study from the Rand Corporation.
Kennedy spoke with CBS News investigative producer Michael Rey and summer intern, Kim Lengle, who produced the video.
By Michael Rey
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
go here to watch this video
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/25/cbsnews_investigates/main4207662.shtml
Reporter Shares First Person Account Of The Origins of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
June 25, 2008
CBS) CBS News has reported extensively on the mental and physical health of American service members fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and the many veterans who have returned home. We have chronicled the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, an increase in veteran suicides and a VA system grappling to deal with the big issues. We recently had the opportunity to hear first hand from a colleague who is looking to answer one fundamental question about war: what does it actually take to trigger PTSD?
Kelly Kennedy is a health reporter for Army Times. A former soldier who served in the first Gulf War and Mogadishu, Somalia, she embedded last summer as a journalist with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry in Adhamiyah, Iraq - a neighborhood in Baghdad. Even though Kennedy says she doesn’t have post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from her trip, she says she understands how the emotional repercussions of war could develop into a full-blown disorder.
Kennedy is the author of a four-part series called Blood Brothers, a you-are-there account of the daily struggle to hunt insurgents, dodge roadside bombs-- often hitting them-and treat the physical and emotional wounds of the soldiers in the hardest hit unit since Vietnam.
"I was numb," is how Kennedy describes readjusting to life after Iraq. "I remember talking to the guys about how you have to feel things or else things are going to get worse. If you can tell the stories enough times, then the details won't have as much an effect on you as they would the first time you tell the story."
She says in the weeks following her return she was distracted, not paying attention and driving through stop signs and red lights. She says she knows from experience how easy it is for servicemen to return home and "shut down" because communicating those experiences can be too difficult and stressful.
For every one soldier, who leaves Iraq with no PTSD symptoms, there are five soldiers who suffer from PTSD or major depression - according to a study from the Rand Corporation.
Kennedy spoke with CBS News investigative producer Michael Rey and summer intern, Kim Lengle, who produced the video.
By Michael Rey
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
go here to watch this video
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/25/cbsnews_investigates/main4207662.shtml
Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at power of prayer
Prayer as healing source 2:41
Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at the effects of faith and prayer on our health.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2008/06/25/gupta.power.of.prayer.cnn
Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at the effects of faith and prayer on our health.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2008/06/25/gupta.power.of.prayer.cnn
State VA leads the world as PTSD info resource
State VA leads the world as PTSD info resource
By BOB AUDETTE, Reformer Staff
Wednesday, June 25
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION -- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder doesn't just affect soldiers and the victims of war. It also strikes the survivors of natural disasters, childhood abuse, rape, assault and genocide.
And in subtle and not-so-subtle ways, it also hurts the families and friends of those suffering from PTSD.
"Living with someone with PTSD affects families in major ways," said Matthew J. Friedman, the executive director of the National Center for PTSD at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction.
Many family members feel they are walking on eggs around loved ones, afraid of sparking an emotional or mental breakdown, rage, depression or even suicidal ideation. Often, it's those wives, husbands and grandparents who turn to organizations such as the VA for help when sufferers fail or refuse to recognize the despair they are subjecting themselves and their families to.
Over the years, PTSD has been called by many names including nostalgia, shell shock and battle fatigue. Those suffering from the disorder were often labeled as cowards or weaklings.
The symptoms of PTSD have been recorded as far back as the 1800s, said Friedman, especially in relation to the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War in Europe. In the late 1970s, researchers of what was then three different fields of study -- the trauma of Nazi atrocities, rape and serving in Vietnam -- realized they were all studying the same syndrome.
go here for more
http://reformer.com/ci_9688618
By BOB AUDETTE, Reformer Staff
Wednesday, June 25
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION -- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder doesn't just affect soldiers and the victims of war. It also strikes the survivors of natural disasters, childhood abuse, rape, assault and genocide.
And in subtle and not-so-subtle ways, it also hurts the families and friends of those suffering from PTSD.
"Living with someone with PTSD affects families in major ways," said Matthew J. Friedman, the executive director of the National Center for PTSD at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction.
Many family members feel they are walking on eggs around loved ones, afraid of sparking an emotional or mental breakdown, rage, depression or even suicidal ideation. Often, it's those wives, husbands and grandparents who turn to organizations such as the VA for help when sufferers fail or refuse to recognize the despair they are subjecting themselves and their families to.
Over the years, PTSD has been called by many names including nostalgia, shell shock and battle fatigue. Those suffering from the disorder were often labeled as cowards or weaklings.
The symptoms of PTSD have been recorded as far back as the 1800s, said Friedman, especially in relation to the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War in Europe. In the late 1970s, researchers of what was then three different fields of study -- the trauma of Nazi atrocities, rape and serving in Vietnam -- realized they were all studying the same syndrome.
go here for more
http://reformer.com/ci_9688618
Judge let down veterans across the country-after government did
Do you think this judge could have figured out he had no power to do anything before he took the case?
It really would have been great if he figured that part out before he let all this time go by and then left the veterans out in the cold still. What's the answer? Who has the power to make sure the veterans are taken care of if the Bush Administration won't, Congress has limited itself on what it is willing to do and the rest of the American people have not taken enough interest in them to fight for them?
Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense, should be proud of the effort he put into this law suit and so should everyone else on the veteran's side. That's really all I have to say on this right now because this whole thing is really sickening. Do we care about our veterans or not? Then when are we going to prove it?
Judge dismisses suit charging VA with shoddy mental health care
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
(06-25) 11:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge in San Francisco dismissed a nationwide lawsuit by veterans groups today that sought major changes in the Department of Veterans Affairs' mental health system because of long waits for treatment and benefits.
Veterans' advocates accused the VA of making mental health care virtually unavailable to thousands of discharged soldiers through perfunctory exams, delays in referrals and treatment, and a prolonged and complex system of awarding medical benefits.
They cited internal department e-mails, released in response to the suit, that reported 18 suicides a day among all veterans and 1,000 suicide attempts a month among those under VA care. About 30 percent of the nation's 24 million veterans receive medical care from the department, which is required to provide care for five years after a veteran is discharged from active duty.
go here for more
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/25/BAB111EUFF.DTL&tsp=1
It really would have been great if he figured that part out before he let all this time go by and then left the veterans out in the cold still. What's the answer? Who has the power to make sure the veterans are taken care of if the Bush Administration won't, Congress has limited itself on what it is willing to do and the rest of the American people have not taken enough interest in them to fight for them?
Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense, should be proud of the effort he put into this law suit and so should everyone else on the veteran's side. That's really all I have to say on this right now because this whole thing is really sickening. Do we care about our veterans or not? Then when are we going to prove it?
Against the Odds, Injured Soldier Returning to Duty
Joseph Shapiro/NPR
Army Spc. Freddy Meyers wants to return to active duty after sustaining a head injury from sniper fire in active combat.
Iraq
Against the Odds, Injured Soldier Returning to Duty
by Joseph Shapiro
Listen Now [5 min 22 sec] add to playlist
All Things Considered, June 24, 2008 · Army Spc. Freddy Meyers wants to return to active duty. The 21-year-old has been living in the outpatient barracks at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., since this May. And he's about to go to a meeting that will determine his future in the Army.
Generally, it isn't even remotely possible for someone who suffered a penetrating head injury to stay on active duty. Last year, while on patrol in Iraq, Freddy Meyers was shot in the head.
He pulls out the PDA he keeps in a pocket on the pant leg of his uniform. Meyers still has problems with his short-term memory. To compensate, he has had to learn to be very organized and write down the things he needs to remember — like questions for the doctor. He reads them from his Palm Pilot: "I'm going to ask him about my physical limitations, protective profile, my jump status, my deployability, what the effect of multiple concussions will be, Ranger school, duty restrictions, Zyrtec and my Red Cross volunteer letter."
click above for more
also on wounded going back
Q and A: Returning to Combat
In June 2003, Army Maj. David Rozelle was leading a convoy west of Baghdad when his vehicle hit a land mine. His right foot had to be amputated. Two years later, with a prosthetic foot, he returned to Iraq as a cavalry troop commander — the first amputee in this war to return to combat.
Henderson, Kentucky Plant shooter kills 5 co-workers, then self
Police: Plant shooter kills 5 co-workers, then self
Story Highlights
NEW: Two people die at scene, four pass away at nearby hospitals, police say
Police say worker "had words" with supervisor before leaving on a break
It's unclear whether the supervisor was among those killed, police say
About 35 people were working overnight shift at plastic plant in Henderson, Kentucky
(CNN) -- A worker at a plastics plant in Henderson, Kentucky, allegedly shot and killed five co-workers, then himself, after an argument with a supervisor Wednesday, police said.
The worker "had words with a supervisor" before going on a half-hour break Tuesday night, Henderson police Sgt. John Nevels said.
"He came back," Nevels said. "Witnesses saw the supervisor and the shooter walk outside together. They heard a gunshot and the shooter come back inside the plant, and he shot numerous people."
Two people died at the scene and four others died at hospitals in Henderson and nearby Evansville, Indiana, said Janet Campbell of the Henderson Police Department.
Another victim is hospitalized and is expected to survive, she said.
It is unclear if the supervisor was among those killed.
Watch authorities respond to the scene »
About 35 people were inside the Atlantis Molded Plastics Inc. plant working the overnight shift when the shooting happened, Nevels said.
Investigators were interviewing witnesses to determine the motive of the shooting and the identity of the victims, another police officer said.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/25/plant.shooting/index.html
Story Highlights
NEW: Two people die at scene, four pass away at nearby hospitals, police say
Police say worker "had words" with supervisor before leaving on a break
It's unclear whether the supervisor was among those killed, police say
About 35 people were working overnight shift at plastic plant in Henderson, Kentucky
(CNN) -- A worker at a plastics plant in Henderson, Kentucky, allegedly shot and killed five co-workers, then himself, after an argument with a supervisor Wednesday, police said.
The worker "had words with a supervisor" before going on a half-hour break Tuesday night, Henderson police Sgt. John Nevels said.
"He came back," Nevels said. "Witnesses saw the supervisor and the shooter walk outside together. They heard a gunshot and the shooter come back inside the plant, and he shot numerous people."
Two people died at the scene and four others died at hospitals in Henderson and nearby Evansville, Indiana, said Janet Campbell of the Henderson Police Department.
Another victim is hospitalized and is expected to survive, she said.
It is unclear if the supervisor was among those killed.
Watch authorities respond to the scene »
About 35 people were inside the Atlantis Molded Plastics Inc. plant working the overnight shift when the shooting happened, Nevels said.
Investigators were interviewing witnesses to determine the motive of the shooting and the identity of the victims, another police officer said.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/25/plant.shooting/index.html
Enterprise Rent-A-Car refused to help find hit and run killer of Marine
Troopers seize car suspected in Marine's death
By Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer
In print: Wednesday, June 25, 2008
PORT RICHEY — The Florida Highway Patrol trooper at the door was looking for a car that killed a motorcyclist on U.S. 19.
The first clue the trooper might be at the right place: Two small children came up and asked him, are you here to see the car that hit the motorcycle?
That's what happened on Saturday, according to an FHP search warrant, before troopers got a court order to seize the vehicle they think was involved in the June 18 hit-and-run crash that killed Nicholas Burns Jr.
The 22-year-old Marine reservist and Citrus County resident was set to deploy to Iraq in December. His funeral was on Tuesday.
After last week's crash, the FHP asked for help in finding the vehicle, described as a gray sedan with a spoiler on the back.
click post title for more
By Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer
In print: Wednesday, June 25, 2008
PORT RICHEY — The Florida Highway Patrol trooper at the door was looking for a car that killed a motorcyclist on U.S. 19.
The first clue the trooper might be at the right place: Two small children came up and asked him, are you here to see the car that hit the motorcycle?
That's what happened on Saturday, according to an FHP search warrant, before troopers got a court order to seize the vehicle they think was involved in the June 18 hit-and-run crash that killed Nicholas Burns Jr.
The 22-year-old Marine reservist and Citrus County resident was set to deploy to Iraq in December. His funeral was on Tuesday.
After last week's crash, the FHP asked for help in finding the vehicle, described as a gray sedan with a spoiler on the back.
click post title for more
Orlando mayor defends regulations for feeding the homeless
Orlando mayor defends regulations for feeding the homeless
Mark Schlueb Sentinel Staff Writer
June 25, 2008
A confident Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer took the stand in federal court Tuesday, defending the city's regulations on feeding the homeless in public parks.
It was the final day of a trial that pitted the rights of the homeless against the city's responsibility to protect its parks and citizens.The homeless advocates who are suing the city over the 2006 rules are the ones who called Dyer to testify. But that decision may have hurt their case.
Attorneys for Orlando Food Not Bombs and First Vagabonds Church of God questioned Dyer for less than five minutes, and he had no problem coming up with answers.
The city's lawyers then questioned the mayor for 20 minutes, discussing his administration's programs to help the homeless and the complaints the city had received about feedings that regularly drew dozens of transients to Lake Eola Park.
16-year-old boy, mother shot in Volusia County FL
16-year-old boy, mother shot in Volusia County
Jun 25, 2008 10:28 -0400
Updated: 10:28 a.m.
Sheriff's deputies are searching for the person who shot a 16-year-old Deltona boy in the chest and his mother in the leg this morning.
16-year-old boy, mother shot in Deltona Photos
Jun 25, 2008 10:28 -0400
Updated: 10:28 a.m.
Sheriff's deputies are searching for the person who shot a 16-year-old Deltona boy in the chest and his mother in the leg this morning.
16-year-old boy, mother shot in Deltona Photos
NH VA hospital unlikely to be made full-service
NH VA hospital unlikely to be made full-service
By Clare Trapasso
Associated Press Writer / June 24, 2008
MANCHESTER, N.H.—Despite requests from members of the congressional delegation, the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs said Tuesday he does not foresee returning the state's VA hospital to full service.
After touring the Manchester VA Medical Center, VA Secretary James Peake also said he is against giving veterans cards to let them receive treatment at non-VA facilities.
"That's called Yellow-Page medicine," Peake said. "I think that potentially is dangerous, because I'm not sure the individual is necessarily the best consumer. It's hard to be an educated consumer of health care."
He said keeping veterans in the system improves care by keeping it coordinated.
Peake commented hours after being asked by Sen. John Sununu, who invited him on the tour, to return the hospital to full service.
"When Granite State veterans are forced to travel out of the state to receive medical care, it can be a hardship for them and their families," Sununu said in a statement.
Reps. Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes also support making the hospital full-service, and Sununu said veterans should be able to use local non-VA hospitals.
click post title for more
By Clare Trapasso
Associated Press Writer / June 24, 2008
MANCHESTER, N.H.—Despite requests from members of the congressional delegation, the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs said Tuesday he does not foresee returning the state's VA hospital to full service.
After touring the Manchester VA Medical Center, VA Secretary James Peake also said he is against giving veterans cards to let them receive treatment at non-VA facilities.
"That's called Yellow-Page medicine," Peake said. "I think that potentially is dangerous, because I'm not sure the individual is necessarily the best consumer. It's hard to be an educated consumer of health care."
He said keeping veterans in the system improves care by keeping it coordinated.
Peake commented hours after being asked by Sen. John Sununu, who invited him on the tour, to return the hospital to full service.
"When Granite State veterans are forced to travel out of the state to receive medical care, it can be a hardship for them and their families," Sununu said in a statement.
Reps. Carol Shea-Porter and Paul Hodes also support making the hospital full-service, and Sununu said veterans should be able to use local non-VA hospitals.
click post title for more
VA Can Help Veterans Avoid Foreclosure
VA Can Help Veterans Avoid Foreclosure
Wednesday June 25, 2008
The Veterans Administration (VA) is making a special effort to assist veterans who are having trouble making their home mortgage payments.
"VA is reaching out to veterans -- both those who use our home-loan guaranty program and those who don’t take advantage of our guaranties -- to keep people in their homes," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake in a press release. "I’m proud of our solid record of success in helping veterans and active-duty personnel deal with financial crises."
By beefing up the staff at its regional loan centers, VA can now provide financial counselors to personally offer advice and even work out special financing arrangements to help veterans and active duty personnel with VA-guarantied loans avoid foreclosure.
The VA can work directly with the lenders on the veteran’s behalf to establish repayment plans, forbearance, and loan modifications that can help veterans keep their homes.
To obtain help from a VA financial counselor, veterans can call VA toll-free at 1-877-827-3702 or visit the VA's home loan guaranty program Web site.
Also See:
VA Releases 2008 Veterans Benefits Booklet
Veteran's Suicide Prevention Hotline Begins Operation
http://usgovinfo.about.com/b/2008/06/25/va-can-help-veterans-avoid-foreclosure.htm
Wednesday June 25, 2008
The Veterans Administration (VA) is making a special effort to assist veterans who are having trouble making their home mortgage payments.
"VA is reaching out to veterans -- both those who use our home-loan guaranty program and those who don’t take advantage of our guaranties -- to keep people in their homes," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake in a press release. "I’m proud of our solid record of success in helping veterans and active-duty personnel deal with financial crises."
By beefing up the staff at its regional loan centers, VA can now provide financial counselors to personally offer advice and even work out special financing arrangements to help veterans and active duty personnel with VA-guarantied loans avoid foreclosure.
The VA can work directly with the lenders on the veteran’s behalf to establish repayment plans, forbearance, and loan modifications that can help veterans keep their homes.
To obtain help from a VA financial counselor, veterans can call VA toll-free at 1-877-827-3702 or visit the VA's home loan guaranty program Web site.
Also See:
VA Releases 2008 Veterans Benefits Booklet
Veteran's Suicide Prevention Hotline Begins Operation
http://usgovinfo.about.com/b/2008/06/25/va-can-help-veterans-avoid-foreclosure.htm
UK: Train crash killer wins compensation case
June 25, 2008
Train crash killer wins compensation case
Hannah Strange
A Paddington train crash survivor who claimed he was turned into a killer by post-traumatic stress disorder stands to receive thousands in compensation after a landmark Appeal Court ruling today.
Judges ruled that Kerrie Gray, 48, is due damages from rail firms after he was incarcarated in a mental hospital for stabbing a pedestrian to death with a kitchen knife in August 2001, two years after the horrific crash in which 31 people died.
The High Court, which had previously rejected the claim, must now decide the level of his payout.
The court heard that Gray was "perfectly normal" until the Ladbroke Grove crash in October 1999 but afterwards underwent a significant personality change, suffering depression, anxiety and uncontrollable anger.
go here for more
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4210869.ece
Train crash killer wins compensation case
Hannah Strange
A Paddington train crash survivor who claimed he was turned into a killer by post-traumatic stress disorder stands to receive thousands in compensation after a landmark Appeal Court ruling today.
Judges ruled that Kerrie Gray, 48, is due damages from rail firms after he was incarcarated in a mental hospital for stabbing a pedestrian to death with a kitchen knife in August 2001, two years after the horrific crash in which 31 people died.
The High Court, which had previously rejected the claim, must now decide the level of his payout.
The court heard that Gray was "perfectly normal" until the Ladbroke Grove crash in October 1999 but afterwards underwent a significant personality change, suffering depression, anxiety and uncontrollable anger.
go here for more
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article4210869.ece
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Fort Bragg pregnant solider found dead
Police: Death of pregnant soldier suspicious
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 24, 2008 19:08:37 EDT
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Authorities are investigating the “suspicious” death of a pregnant soldier after her body was found at a Fayetteville motel just days after she arrived at Fort Bragg from Germany, officials said.
Spc. Megan Lynn Touma was identified Tuesday, two days after her body was found in a motel room identified by an odor. The 23-year-old dental specialist with the 19th Replacement Company was from Cold Springs, Ky., and was born in Seoul, South Korea.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_pregnant_soldier_062408/
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jun 24, 2008 19:08:37 EDT
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Authorities are investigating the “suspicious” death of a pregnant soldier after her body was found at a Fayetteville motel just days after she arrived at Fort Bragg from Germany, officials said.
Spc. Megan Lynn Touma was identified Tuesday, two days after her body was found in a motel room identified by an odor. The 23-year-old dental specialist with the 19th Replacement Company was from Cold Springs, Ky., and was born in Seoul, South Korea.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_pregnant_soldier_062408/
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