Ex-POW says murder suspect saved his life

Ex-POW says murder suspect saved his life
OCRegister - Santa Ana,CA,USA

Friday, December 5, 2008

MORNING READ: Defense attorney calls retired colonel to talk about the horrors of the Vietnam War. A re-trial related to the case could begin today.
By LARRY WELBORN
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER


He was shot down over Vietnam in May of 1972. He crawled with a broken back and swollen ankle for three days before he was captured by the North Vietnamese.

He was interrogated, tortured and threatened with death.

And then it got bad.

Retired Army Col. William Spencer Reeder told an Orange County jury last year that he was forced to march for three months with a broken back, infected ankle and other injuries up the Ho Chi Minh trail to the infamous Hanoi Hilton prisoner of war camp.

More than three decades have passed since his Vietnam trek, but Reeder still has nightmares.

"I don't like to dwell on that trip," Reeder first told an investigator for the Orange County Public Defender's Office in 2005.

"That trip is about the most horrendous thing that's ever happened to me in my life," Reeder said.

"I mean the other stuff was bad enough. But by many magnitudes, that trip was awful."

Reeder said during the journey he became sick with malaria and dysentery. His ankle infection got worse, swelling three times its normal size. He was cold, fatigued and hungry, about as miserable as one human being could get.

He knew that if he failed to keep up during this three-month-long forced march – if he could not continue – he would be killed, just as he had seen other prisoners get killed when they dropped out.

And that point came.

Le, who had immigrated to Orange County from Vietnam years after the fall of Saigon in 1975, was charged with murdering his brother's live-in girlfriend Tuyet Le, 46, and her 15-year-ol daughter Jennifer Cu in December, 2004.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh argued during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial that Le, who had moved into his elderly parents' Santa Ana home about a month before the shootings, killed Tuyet because he felt she had been repeatedly disrespectful towards him and his parents.

Baytieh said Le armed himself and went on a rampage. He shot Jennifer Cu in the head and chest in the kitchen, and then shot Tuyet Le once in the chest in the back yard, according to evidence,

Le then prepared to shoot it out with police, but was talked out of it by his father, Baytieh contended. Instead, Peter Le phoned 911 and surrendered.
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Policy of torture killed US Forces in Iraq

I've heard all the arguments in support of torture. The one that beats them all is "well they do it" but this one makes no sense at all. They play by their own rules and we used to do the same. That's what made us different. We were also smart enough to know that you cannot convert people into thinking your way by showing them why they should not. That's what torture does.

During the Salem Witchcraft Trials, we saw what this practice does. It gets innocent people to say they are guilty and that's just about it. When you torture someone, you get them to say anything you want them to say because they want you to stop. Innocent people were tortured and killed. No one got the truth out of them. Isn't getting the truth the point of interrogation?

What we managed to do is support all the claims the Al-Qaeda thugs made against the US. Outside people wanted revenge and they got it but they got it by killing our troops. How many would have lived if the administration did not decide that they had the right to do this? Read this and then try to answer that question.

I'm Still Tortured by What I Saw in Iraq - washingtonpost.com
Until we renounce the sorts of abuses that have stained our national honor, al- Qaeda will be winning.

By Matthew Alexander
Sunday, November 30, 2008; Page B01

I should have felt triumphant when I returned from Iraq in August 2006. Instead, I was worried and exhausted. My team of interrogators had successfully hunted down one of the most notorious mass murderers of our generation, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq and the mastermind of the campaign of suicide bombings that had helped plunge Iraq into civil war. But instead of celebrating our success, my mind was consumed with the unfinished business of our mission: fixing the deeply flawed, ineffective and un-American way the U.S. military conducts interrogations in Iraq. I'm still alarmed about that today.

I'm not some ivory-tower type; I served for 14 years in the U.S. Air Force, began my career as a Special Operations pilot flying helicopters, saw combat in Bosnia and Kosovo, became an Air Force counterintelligence agent, then volunteered to go to Iraq to work as a senior interrogator. What I saw in Iraq still rattles me -- both because it betrays our traditions and because it just doesn't work.

Violence was at its peak during my five-month tour in Iraq. In February 2006, the month before I arrived, Zarqawi's forces (members of Iraq's Sunni minority) blew up the golden-domed Askariya mosque in Samarra, a shrine revered by Iraq's majority Shiites, and unleashed a wave of sectarian bloodshed. Reprisal killings became a daily occurrence, and suicide bombings were as common as car accidents. It felt as if the whole country was being blown to bits.

I know the counter-argument well -- that we need the rough stuff for the truly hard cases, such as battle-hardened core leaders of al-Qaeda, not just run-of-the-mill Iraqi insurgents. But that's not always true: We turned several hard cases, including some foreign fighters, by using our new techniques. A few of them never abandoned the jihadist cause but still gave up critical information. One actually told me, "I thought you would torture me, and when you didn't, I decided that everything I was told about Americans was wrong. That's why I decided to cooperate."

Torture and abuse are against my moral fabric. The cliche still bears repeating: Such outrages are inconsistent with American principles. And then there's the pragmatic side: Torture and abuse cost American lives.

I learned in Iraq that the No. 1 reason foreign fighters flocked there to fight were the abuses carried out at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. Our policy of torture was directly and swiftly recruiting fighters for al-Qaeda in Iraq. The large majority of suicide bombings in Iraq are still carried out by these foreigners. They are also involved in most of the attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq. It's no exaggeration to say that at least half of our losses and casualties in that country have come at the hands of foreigners who joined the fray because of our program of detainee abuse. The number of U.S. soldiers who have died because of our torture policy will never be definitively known, but it is fair to say that it is close to the number of lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001. How anyone can say that torture keeps Americans safe is beyond me -- unless you don't count American soldiers as Americans. click link above for more

Ordered stop-loss payouts still undelivered

It's not bad enough they get stop-loss ordered to stay in now they are not even getting what they were promised as far as paying them! First they are promised they will serve a certain amount of time, but we go back on that promise. Then we promise to pay them extra for what they are put through. Then we go back on that promise too? We also promise to take care of them if they get wounded and we all know how that turns out too many times for them. Can't we get anything right when it comes to the men and women serving?

Ordered stop-loss payouts still undelivered
Two months after Congress ordered special pay of up to $500 a month for anyone involuntarily kept on active duty under stop-loss orders, nobody has received a dime.

But the wait may be coming to an end. Senior Army officials are close to issuing a recommendation on whether to pay the full $500 allowance authorized by Congress and when payments might begin, according to Senate aides monitoring the program.

The decision, one of the last military pay actions by the Bush administration, must be cleared by the House and Senate Appropriations committees before payments begin.

Army spokesman Maj. Nathan Banks could not say when an announcement would be made, but he noted that top Army officials are reviewing a payment plan for submittal to Congress.

“Congress authorized the payment, but the amount could be anywhere from zero to $500,” Banks said.

Senate aides, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Banks appears cautious about not overpromising.

“I would be very surprised if the amount was less than $500, especially because we provided full funding for that amount,” one aide said. “The Army would have to make a very strong case why it needs to pay less.”

Anyone who spends even one day of a month in fiscal 2009 under stop-loss orders would be eligible for what the law calls “stop-loss special pay.”
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VA botches appointment scheduling, report says

If you work for the VA understand this;

I post a lot about how the VA fails our veterans. This is just one more case of that but I really feel that occasionally I need to remind the readers that there are great things being done as well.

If you work for the VA,
I appreciate the fact you work for the VA and most of you do a fantastic job for our veterans. Between taking care of my Dad and my husband, I have no complaints about the care they received once their claims were approved. I really respect the work most of you do. That said, I'm very hard on the things the people running the VA do because of things like this. When they fail the veterans, it makes your job harder. Please don't be offended by the reports coming out. If things need to be fixed, helped us out so that they get fixed and the veterans get the care they deserve. Isn't that why you work for the VA?

VA botches appointment scheduling, report says

By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 5, 2008 16:59:32 EST

A new report says Veterans Centers run by the Department of Veterans Affairs could have seen more patients in the past year if they did a better job scheduling and rescheduling visits.

About 4.9 million appointments were not kept in fiscal 2008, with each missed visit costing the VA about $182, according to the report by the VA inspector general, released Dec. 4.

That means VA is both losing money and failing to treat veterans as quickly as possible by keeping a flawed system for making appointments, and by not maintaining waiting lists to fill appointments canceled at the last minute.

A medical facility sometimes may leave an appointment open intentionally because visits can run long, and facilities worry about being able to see everyone.

But the report also found about 3.1 million incidents in fiscal 2008 when patients did not show up for appointments, and 1.8 million appointments that were canceled by the patient and not refilled with other patients.

Having 4.9 million unfilled appointments does not mean VA potentially could see 4.9 million more people, however. Most were seen later, and some of those were multiple appointments for the same person.
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Gift Drive For Homeless Vets Gathers Strength

Gift Drive For Homeless Vets Gathers Strength
Bristol Herald Courier - Bristol,TN,USA

By Gary Gray
Reporter / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: December 5, 2008

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Gift packages are piling up inside the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, which hopes to pass along the holiday spirit by giving the donated items to homeless veterans.

The department is joining forces this year with Bristol’s own recording artist, April Taylor, who on Dec. 12 will help deliver the packages to the Mountain Home Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Currently, nearly 280 homeless veterans reside at the center.

“I want the veterans to know that our community respects them, and we’ve had a great response so far,” said Mallory Cross, a recreational programmer for the parks department. “Some of the boxes delivered here have personalized letters attached to them. And we also have had several high school clubs get involved in the project.”

Cross said there is no “cookie-cutter answer” for why the veterans are homeless.

“Sometimes they come home from Iraq or Afghanistan and have no family to stay with,” she said. “Also, they may have post-traumatic syndrome when they return and they need therapy and medications.”

Ben Spencer, executive director of the Appalachian Regional Coalition on Homelessness, works with the Veterans Administration to transition homeless people, including veterans, from temporary housing to a more secure situation.

“We work together with the Salvation Army in Kingsport, which currently has 15 veterans in temporary housing,” Spencer said. “This enables them to have a place where they can seek jobs or education – but only for a 24-hour period.”
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This is one of my videos. It's about homeless veterans. Watch it if your heart has not already been touched by our veterans. If it has been touched, then do something about it please. Let them know in this season of love, "For God so loved the world that,,,,,,,,," and remeber what His Son came to teach all of us about taking care of each other. My heart is touched by all our homeless but it is tugged by the homeless veterans. These men and women were willing to give their lives for the rest of us.

PTSD:MTV True Life Tries To Save A Vet

Local veteran of Iraq war to be featured on MTV show
Austin American-Statesman - Austin,TX,USA

Adam Coleman, 26, will share his experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder in 'True Life' episode.
By Joshunda Sanders

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF


Saturday, December 06, 2008

Round Rock native Adam Coleman, 26, became a Marine to see the world and "do some good," he said. "I thought it'd be an easy way to be proactive and get something accomplished."

Coleman found himself in Iraq three times after he enlisted in 2002. After what he called increasingly violent deployments, Coleman was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder when he left the Marines. The disorder develops in some war veterans and survivors of other traumatic experiences and can trigger violent episodes and flashbacks. Coleman is one of three war veterans featured tonight in a new episode of MTV's documentary series "True Life."

MTV executives say the show reflects the state of youth culture at any given moment by documenting the lives of young people from myriad perspectives. Coleman agreed to be on the show, in part, to raise awareness about the increasing number of young war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress.

A recent Pentagon study estimates that one in six veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan reports symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The condition affects an estimated 7.7 million adults, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

"PTSD is something that people hear about, but they don't really know what it is," Coleman said. "They imagine Tom Cruise on ('Born on) the Fourth of July' or the crazy Vietnam veteran. But there are a lot of people out there — and new, younger guys coming back — with it. This will give people an opportunity to see what it is and what it's like."

Medication didn't seem to work, though he tried several types, he said. He moved to Alaska for a summer to get away, then tried taking sleeping pills to no avail. In July , he and several other veterans started Save a Vet (saveavet.com ), a charity that raises money to build a treatment center that will not require medication for war veterans suffering from PTSD.
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NY Firefighters Travel for NC Wounded Warriors

NY Firefighters Travel for NC Wounded Warriors
WNCT - Greenville,NC,USA

NY Firefighters Travel for NC Wounded Warriors

By Arthur Mondale
Reporter
Published: December 5, 2008


It’s something many of us will be doing, to support our troops this holiday season: sending care packages.

But what’s better than sending a simple package?

How about hand- delivering tens of thousands of dollars worth of supplies in person.

It seems Santa and his helpers got a new mode of transportation in the form of a flat bed U-Haul truck…the elves, firefighters…but instead of coming from the North Pole, they came from the big apple.

“You can’t put a monetary price on this, said Daniel O’Keefe, a member of NY Nassau County Fire. “People stop working for days to get this done…raised $22,000 in about 4 hours in one night, we raised over $100,000 this year alone.“

Men and women representing all 71 fire stations in New York’s Nassau County brought a truck load of care packages to members of Camp Lejeine’s Wounded Warriors Battalion East.

From the basics like tee’s, and physical-training gear, to the pricier items like lap tops and I-pods, no marine left empty handed.

After all these first responders say these marine’s sacrifices are why they’re here.

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Urine found in ice at senior-living center

Urine found in ice at senior-living center: Owner suspects disgruntled workers
Urine soaked ice was found in an Idaho senior assisted living center. The owner says she thinks it might be disgruntled former employees.


By Meghann M. Cuniff

The Spokesman-Review

Map data ©2008 Tele Atlas - Terms of UseSee more mapped stories
The soda tasted like urine, so she poured a new can into a different ice-filled glass.

After another sip, Kathleen Chmura realized it wasn't the soda that was tainted — it was the ice, taken from a bin at the By the Lake senior assisted living center she owns in Hayden, Idaho.

Chmura suspects the urine-soaked ice bin was the final move by an employee who'd joined two other employees in a September walkout to protest the firing of two employees three days earlier.

Before walking out, the three employees woke up the residents and told them the facility was closing and everyone had been fired, according to a Kootenai County Sheriff's Department report.

Chmura discovered the bin later that day.

She told the story to a Kootenai County deputy Wednesday while reporting suspected theft and fraud by the former employees.

"I won't put up with this crap," Chmura said in an interview Thursday.

Chmura fired two employees Sept. 23 because she suspected they'd been stealing money and prescription drugs from the center, according to the report by Deputy J. D. Brandel.
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Man dies after EMTs suggest antacids

Man dies after EMTs suggest antacids
Authorities investigate emergency workers who misdiagnosed a man's heart attack for acid reflux. WJLA reports.

This one hits close to home. My brother died less than a week after he got laid off of a heart attack. He didn't feel well but didn't want to go to the doctors. He had a job interview coming up and didn't want to go to hospital because he would miss the interview. He died. My father, well we were constantly watching for him to need help and he always asked for it. He always got great care until the night he died. His heart just gave out. He was gone by the time the ambulance arrived. They got his heart to start again but it stopped for the last time.

The man who just died did what he was supposed to do. The family did what they were supposed to do. They called for help. Something was missed and they let him down.

Sailor who worked at Pentagon found dead

Sailor who worked at Pentagon found dead

By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 5, 2008 16:17:00 EST

A sailor who worked in the Pentagon’s Office of the Chief of Naval Operations was found dead in her Virginia apartment Tuesday in an apparent homicide, local police said.

Yeoman 2nd Class (SW/AW) Juantissa Hill, 24, of Detroit, suffered a “violent death,” but the exact cause was not publicly disclosed, said Ashley Hildebrandt, a spokeswoman for police in Alexandria, Va.

At the Pentagon, Hill did secretarial work such as preparing letters from Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead to the Office of Secretary of Defense, members of Congress, and foreign dignitaries.

Hill enlisted in 2004 and was named Junior Sailor of the Year by her previous command, Carrier Strike Group 2 in Norfolk, according to Navy records. She was assigned to the Pentagon in January.

On her MySpace page, Hill said she thought her move to the Pentagon was “a great stepping stone for my career.”
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/navy_homicide_cno_120508w/

Bystander dies in police shootout

Bystander dies in police shootout
Dec 5, 2008


PLANT CITY -- A civilian bystander died from a stray bullet this morning after a murder suspect stopped his vehicle amid a sheriff's pursuit and turned an assault weapon on veteran deputies, firing at least 17 rounds, the Sheriff's Office reported.

No deputies were wounded. The suspect got away.

Scores of law enforcement officers are sweeping Plant City today, going door to door seeking Fransisco Rangel, 25, of 4536 Golfwood Blvd. in Tampa, pictured.

Hillsborough Sheriff's Maj. Harold Winsett identified the shooting victim as Candelario Lagunes, 58, a passenger in a vehicle on J.L Redman Parkway.

It's unclear whether Lagunes was killed by Rangel's weapon or by the rounds returned by deputies, the Sheriff's Office said.
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FDLE: Office affair began spiral that ended in suicide

FDLE: Office affair began spiral that ended in suicide
Rene Stutzman Sentinel Staff Writer
December 5, 2008
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement lawyer who killed himself at his New Smyrna Beach home in September had been having a yearlong affair with a co-worker, the secret got out, and both knew they were in trouble with the agency, according to a newly released state report.

Steve Brady, 58, was found dead in his home Sept. 22. Nearby was the body of his wife, Pamela Brady, 56.

Steve Brady had put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger, according to his autopsy report.

New Smyrna Beach police would not say what killed Pamela Brady. There were no signs of trauma to her body, and that investigation is continuing.


The Florida Department of Law Enforcement released its internal-affairs report on Steve Brady on Wednesday night. The agency did not explain what happened at the Bradys' home or why the longtime husband and wife wound up dead.

But the report made clear that Brady had broken agency rules, as had his lover, Vicki Canter, 45, of Port Orange, an FDLE investigator working in Daytona Beach.

The agency launched its investigation Aug. 15, the day after Canter's husband, Douglas Canter, 48, returned home early from an out-of-state trip. He found Brady in his living room with his wife, who was wearing only a towel.
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Lawrenceburg TN Man Had Mold Growing In His Mouth

How could anyone allow this to happen to another human?

Man Had Mold Growing In His Mouth
TBI Looks Into Neglect Allegations
Reported By Deanna Lambert

POSTED: 10:20 am CST December 5, 2008

LAWRENCEBURG, Tenn. -- Staff at Maury Regional Medical Center allege that an elderly man staying at a local rest home was so neglected he had mold growing out of his mouth.
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http://www.wsmv.com/health/18211695/detail.html
linked from CNN

O.J. Simpson gets 15 years at new address, prison

No one is beyond redemption. I really hope this knocks some of the ego out of him.

Simpson sentenced to at least 15 years
A Las Vegas judge today sentenced fallen gridiron great O.J. Simpson to at least 15 years in prison for leading an armed hotel room confrontation over sports memorabilia in 2007. Earlier, an emotional Simpson apologized to the judge and said he did not know he was doing anything illegal. "I didn't mean to steal anything from anybody." developing story

From WWII to Vietnam, Ret.Command Sgt. Major William G. Bainbridge, passes away at 83

Funeral today for ex-sgt. maj. of the Army

Staff report
Posted : Friday Dec 5, 2008 9:20:52 EST

William G. Bainbridge, the fifth sergeant major of the Army, died Nov. 29 in Palm Bay, Fla.

Bainbridge, 83, was a veteran of two wars, beginning his career in 1943 as a draftee, and retiring in 1979 after four years as the Army’s senior enlisted soldier and primary noncommissioned officer adviser to the chief of staff.

A native of Galesburg, Ill., Bainbridge’s first unit of assignment was with the 423d Infantry Regiment of the 106th Infantry Division, the last Army division organized for service in World War II.

After deploying into the Ardennes region of Belgium in late 1944, Bainbridge’s regiment was overrun by German forces during the Battle of the Bulge.

Bainbridge was captured and would spend the remaining months of the war in a German POW camp before being liberated by the 6th Armored Division.

Upon returning to the United States, Bainbridge left active duty and joined the Army Reserve. He subsequently returned to active service during the mobilization for the Korean Conflict.

After a series of assignments and promotions in the United States and Germany, Bainbridge became a battalion sergeant major with the 1st Infantry Division, and deployed with the division to Vietnam, where he would become sergeant major of II Field Force.

Upon returning from Vietnam, Bainbridge had a series of high-level sergeant major assignments before becoming one of the Army’s first command sergeants major in 1968.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/army_bainbridge_120508w/

Happy Holidays: Military Divorce Numbers On the Rise and why

This is what Paul Rieckhoff of IAVA has to say on this. He talks about the re-deployments, which is part of it. He talks about the economy, again, part of the problem. He also puts in the National Guard and Reservists, again, correct. But he left out the biggest reason for divorces of all.

Happy Holidays: Military Divorce Numbers On the Rise
Paul RieckhoffPosted December 5, 2008 09:08 AM (EST)

The holidays are usually a joyous time to spend with family and friends, sipping eggnog, trading presents, singing carols. But this year given the gloomy economic circumstances and ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I'm reminded of a line from the holiday classic Christmas Vacation: "It's Christmas and we're all in misery."

For some military families, the stress of war has proven to be too much:

While 1st Lt. Mike Robison was serving in Iraq in 2003-04, his wife, Candance, depicted him as a "good, brave man"... But the marriage fell apart after Robison's return home to Texas. Candance said they argued over her role managing the household and how he treated her 10-year old daughter from a previous relationship.

"It absolutely changed him," Candance said of his deployment. "I still struggle every day--that year has affected every single aspect of my life."


Heartbreaking stories like the Robisons' are increasingly common. This week, new numbers from the Department of Defense confirm that the divorce rate among active-duty troops is rising.
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What's the biggest reason people, regular people, have for getting divorced? They say their partner changed. Most of us can put up with the stress of money. After all that happens in just about every marriage. Most of us can put up with a lot if the person we married stays the way they were and we know we are loved. That is the reason we decide to marry the person we marry. We love them and they love us. We want to spend the rest of our lives with them and we expect them to stay just the way they are.

We may allow for slight changes because no one is really totally honest when we are dating. What we don't want to allow for is drastic changes. We don't know how to handle them. We don't know what to expect when the person we thought we knew changes. We end up wondering when the changes will stop happening and if we will even still like them.

This is PTSD. Unexpected drastic changes.

I was watching a video the other day addressing how a National Guardsman came home and was changed by PTSD. He was thinking about committing suicide. The wife was stunned and hurt by the fact her husband, the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, wanted to leave her and wanted to die. She knew he had PTSD but still she didn't know enough to understand where all of that was coming from and it really didn't matter what she meant to him when he was being eaten up alive. The fact is, nothing we do, no matter how much we love them, we cannot get them past PTSD without professional help.

What knowledge does is it helps us to get them to go for help. It helps us help them. With support, they are a lot more likely to seek help. One more thing knowledge does, and this is a big one, it keeps us from making PTSD worse.

How many times have you heard about a wife getting punched out for waking up her husband from a nightmare? It happens a lot more times than you will ever hear about. It happens when they are also having a flashback. In those times, they are in the grips of danger and under tremendous stress, reliving having their lives on the line. If we understand this, we are a lot less likely to make serious mistakes that can escalate into violence. The same thing happens with arguments. They think differently, process things differently, remember differently. If we know what comes with PTSD, we know when to drop a subject and walk away before things get out of hand. We know we can talk about it later when things are calmer.

I've been married for 24 years and made all the mistakes the newer wives are making even knowing what I know. Even with all the knowledge in the world, we're still human emotional people. When those times come we're able to get over without holding a grudge and forgive. There are unacceptable things done that I will not put up with but he knows what they are. If I didn't know what came with PTSD, it would be nearly impossible to not take it personally.

What really gets me is when a wife will tell me they don't want to know what PTSD is, or a husband does not want to know what happened when his wife was deployed. When they refuse to acknowledge life away from them and what the men and women deployed into combat go thru, they are paving the road to disaster. If they have children, it's even worse. The kids end up more upset and pulling away from their parent and resenting both of them.

Until we all take a serious look at what goes into destroying a marriage in the military, we're doomed to see a lot more of them collapse when they could be saved.

We can talk all we want about the usual suspects in wreaking a marriage but there is nothing usual about putting PTSD into a household without acknowledging it. My marriage would have been over and done with within the first four years if I didn't know what was doing it to both of us. Too many marriages have failed when they could have been saved. We have enough problems living with a "normal" spouse that has not been changed by PTSD and the divorce rate in the civilian population proves that. When you add in PTSD, it's the prefection of misery if they don't fully understand it.


Senior Chaplain Kathie "Costos" DiCesare
International Fellowship of Chaplains
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.com
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
www.youtube.com/NamGuardianAngel
"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

PTSD:The difference between "secondary stressor" and "secondary PTSD"

by Chaplain Kathie

If you have PTSD or someone in your family does, you may have heard these two terms. There is a big difference between the two of them. In plain English without all the medical terms no one can understand this is what they are.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Secondary Stressor

First you need to understand there are different levels of PTSD. It's why the VA has different levels of compensation for it. Some can have mild PTSD. They are able to function. They are able to have relationships and work. While they still have nightmares, flashbacks and mood swings, they are able to cope to a certain extent.

They go on believing that "it's not that bad" and they don't seek treatment. They just bury it. They bury it with work and doing things. They stuff it in the back of their minds and focus on other things.

We know that the healing rate for PTSD is higher the sooner they get help but with mild PTSD, it's easier to avoid doing anything about it. It happened to Vietnam veterans.

Because they didn't know what PTSD was when they came home, they thought they would just have to get used to being the way they are. After all, bad things come into everyone's life. Considering they heard all the usual denials from the people they were surrounded by, avoiding it was easier than facing it.

They managed to get by. That is until another traumatic event hit them hard. In our case, I miscarried twins. It was a very traumatic day for me but it was catastrophic for my husband. He had been my best friend. He took time off of work to go to appointments with my doctor. He worried about what I ate, if I was getting enough rest and if my feet were swelling too much. We knew he had PTSD even though he wanted to deny it.

My father, a Korean war veteran was used to seeing veterans like him. My Dad was 100%, well known at the DAV and the VA regional office, as well as with other veterans. The day he met Jack, I asked him what he thought. He said, "He seems like a nice guy, but that guy has shell shock." I told my Dad the new term was PTSD. What I didn't know back then was that it would get worse without being treated.

I was still thinking that when they had PTSD, it was what it was and couldn't get worse. I thought we could just deal with the "quirks" of having to sit in a certain place in our favorite restaurant. That having to leave a party or get-together early because it got too much for him, was no real problem. His twitches didn't bother me or our friends. His memory lapses were not that hard to deal with. I could handle all of it. The problem was, Jack wasn't.

The day I lost the twins, Jack was right there with me. He saw it all and saw me falling apart. Later, after it was over, I had to call Jack to come back to the hospital because I needed him with me. He didn't want to come. I had to beg him to come back. The secondary stressor hit him that hard, that fast. The man I thought I knew as well as myself, was gone. A stranger showed up at the hospital.

The next day as the doctor was explaining the egg just separated wrong, Jack was twitching like crazy, couldn't hear what the doctor was saying and kept talking about Vietnam and Agent Orange.

Our lives fell apart after that. All the symptoms of PTSD grew stronger and I was watching him die inside. I couldn't get him to listen to me about PTSD or that he needed help. My Dad tried to get him to go to the VA but Jack said the VA was for veterans who couldn't work and the veterans without limbs. It was not what he needed. He just needed time to "get over it" and become what he used to be. He saw the changes in himself but was still in denial.

It didn't matter what I knew or how hard I tried to get him to go to the VA. He just didn't want to hear it.

That is what a "secondary stressor" does. It's PTSD on steroids. If they seek help as soon as symptoms begin, PTSD stops getting worse. If they don't, if they bury it, it is storing up the energy to hit them hard. We're seeing it in the older veterans as they reach retirement. When they have nothing to help them bury it with, it all comes seeping out. When they look back at their lives, they are able to see all the signs and how hard they worked at stuffing it all in their minds.


Secondary PTSD

Secondary PTSD is when you live with someone with PTSD.
The way they act.
The way they treat others.
The mood swings.
The unacceptable behavior making you feel as if you don't matter at all. Especially when they don't seem to care about accountability, showing up on time, saying hateful things and taking off for days at a time.
Causing arguments getting out of control.
Their disconnect from their families.
Self-medicating to kill off the feelings they don't want to feel.

The list goes on.

If a child acts like a child and is noisy, they snap. If a child drops a glass and it crashes, they overreact. Any kind of simple commotion sends them over the edge. Nothing a child can do will make the PTSD parent happy. The negativity is extreme. Often the child believes their parent hates them. In turn, the child will begin to hate the parent.

It is all traumatic growing up with a parent and untreated PTSD. Much like the children of alcoholics have to heal from growing up with a "drunk" as a parent, children of PTSD parents also have to heal so they lead happier lives. They also need to have the help of mental health professionals just as their parent does.

When it is a spouse, it is the same because they treat everyone in the family the same way.

My Dad was an alcoholic and I grew up in a household that was under attack. He came home drunk most of the time. My oldest brother was usually his favorite target. He was beaten until he got bigger than our Dad. Then the fights were a two way street. There was a lot of smashing, breaking and punching. When I was 13, my Dad stopped drinking and joined AA. It took a long time for him to begin to change, but the damage was done to my family.

I understood what it was and that helped me to forgive him and come to terms with the way he treated us. There are still issues I have with feeling unloved at times because of the way my Mom ended reacting. She held a lot resentment and so did my two brothers. When it comes to me, nothing is ever good enough. I have a hard time dealing with any acclaim, people appreciating what I do and do not take compliments very well. I get uneasy with any kind of attention finding it more comfortable to sit in the back of the room.

When I was writing without my married name, I excused it by saying my husband wanted to remain private. The stigma of PTSD was still with him. The truth is that I wanted to remain anonymous as well. I wanted to just do what I do and then go sit in the back of the room letting everyone else get attention. I thought they deserved it more than I did anyway. I fight against the way I have been conditioned to respond. I still get sick to my stomach when I have to be the "center of attention" even though part of me believes I've worked very hard to get where I am in all of this, part of me remains the little kid that wanted to be invisible.

Living with my husband and PTSD, it's the same way. I understood what it was and was able to forgive him for the way he acted and sometimes still does. I know when the dark days are overshadowing his character. When those days come, I know when to pretty much stay away from him. I hesitate to say some things to him because I know he will not react appropriately. I stopped feeling attractive, stopped wearing makeup and dress plainly to avoid any attention. That is unless I have to wear the Chaplain's attire to be taken seriously. It is all a constant process and a growing experience but my faith has sustained me. Spiritual connection has been vital to me in all of this.

While I've had traumatic events happen in my life, plus almost dying 5 times, (I'll tell you about that some other time) it has all gone into what I deal with inside of me. I do not have PTSD but it has all gone into the way I feel inside about myself and other people. I think my life has helped me to understand how some people can develop PTSD at a rate of one out of three. Everything in our lives becomes a part of us. The good as well as the bad. We have to fight to overcome the bad and we have to sometimes force ourselves to focus on the good. That's all human nature.

I believe in a way we all have pieces of traumatic events in our lives if we really take an honest look at ourselves. I don't know anyone that has escaped trauma totally. When you lose a job, that's traumatic and the next job you have, you end up acting different until you feel comfortable on the new job. When you have a traumatic relationship, you act differently than you did in that relationship because deep inside you blame yourself for the way it went. Yet when it is a parent, you cannot get new parents to act differently with. When it's a spouse, you can find a new one but again, you will not be the same.

The thing is, in all of this the choice is your's to hang onto the bad, or grab the good. Focus on what is wrong or reach for what is good. I have a hard time trusting people. This goes into my amazement when I meet someone I can trust, when I see the actions that restore my faith in humanity. I may doubt, but I'm willing to believe when I see "fruits of their deeds" and believe in what I see with my own eyes. People can say anything they want but who they are inside, comes out in what they do. I saw my Dad overcome the alcoholism. I saw my Jack fight to heal and keeps fighting to stay level. Both of them could have become enemies in my heart but I saw what was good in them instead. They have made me stronger and gave me the ability to look at the cause of the pain they had within themselves so that I could come to terms with the pain they caused in me.

I hope you have a better understanding now of what the difference is between secondary stressor and secondary PTSD. More, I hope you can forgive the people in your life causing you pain. You need to see what caused the pain within them so that you can forgive them for your own pain.



Senior Chaplain Kathie "Costos" DiCesare
International Fellowship of Chaplains
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
www.youtube.com/NamGuardianAngel
"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

Prosecutor: Trio used bat, knife, belt on shackled teen

Ok I admit it. When I first read this story a couple of days ago, I thought it would turn out to be some kind of a hoax. When I saw the news report on CNN last night, I finally believed this could happen. How it happened and what is wrong with the people who treated this kid like this is still beyond me.

Prosecutor: Trio used bat, knife, belt on shackled teen
Story Highlights
Three alleged abusers tortured teen with a bat, knife and belt, court documents say

Police: Teen escaped year of captivity Monday and walked into a fitness center

Bruised and battered, he wore only boxer shorts and bloody ankle shackle, police say

The 17-year-old had been in a group home but had run away

SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- The three alleged abusers of a 17-year-old teen, who escaped captivity with a shackle on his ankle, tortured him with a bat, knife and belt, court documents released Thursday contend.


Police say a bruised, emaciated teen boy wandered to this gym after being held in a home in Tracy, California.

A 14-page criminal complaint adds more chilling details to the bizarre tale that shocked the central California city of Tracy.

The teen escaped a year of captivity Monday and walked into a fitness center in Tracy, bruised and battered, wearing only boxer shorts and with his bloody ankle shackled, police said.

Police arrested Caren Ramirez, 43; Kelly Layne Lau, 30; and her husband, Michael Luther Schumacher, 34, in the case. Lau and Ramirez did not enter pleas as they made their first court appearances Thursday. Bail was set at $ 2.2 million each, a court official said.

Ramirez is scheduled to appear in court at a later date, the official said.

The judge also issued a gag order for people connected to the case, Tracy police said.

Authorities this week have been trying to piece together how the teen ended up shackled in the home of Lau and Schumacher in Tracy, about 70 miles east of San Francisco
go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/04/shackled.teen.trio/index.html

Report: Mild TBI linked to multiple ailments

Report: Mild TBI linked to multiple ailments

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Dec 4, 2008 13:47:28 EST

A review of about 2,000 studies reveals that service members with mild traumatic brain injuries — or concussions — are more susceptible to depression, aggression, memory problems, dizziness and irritability.

And according to the review by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, those who suffered a moderate or severe brain injury are more likely to have dementia, Parkinson’s disease, endocrine dysfunction, growth hormone insufficiency, long-term social function problems such as unemployment or diminished relationships, and premature death.

The researchers also found evidence suggesting connections between people with moderate or severe head injuries and diabetes, psychosis and neurocognitive issues; and between mild head injuries and seizures, visual deterioration, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s and post-traumatic stress disorder.

There also may be a link between decreased drug and alcohol use and traumatic brain injury, as well as suicides. The scientists said more research needs to be done in those areas.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/military_tbireport_120308w/

FBI: Girls told agent evangelist Alamo abused them

FBI: Girls told agent evangelist Alamo abused them

By PEGGY HARRIS, Associated Press Writer Peggy Harris, Associated Press Writer – Thu Dec 4, 6:19 pm ET

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Before evangelist Tony Alamo's arrest on federal sex charges, three girls who lived at his Arkansas compound told an FBI agent that he had sexually abused them, and one said he had threatened to have "someone take care of you" if she talked, according to a newly unsealed FBI affidavit.

Two of the girls said Alamo married them, one at age 9 and the other at age 11, according to the affidavit unsealed Tuesday. One also allegedly said she saw photos Alamo had taken of naked girls.

Alamo, 74, who heads Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, has pleaded not guilty to 10 federal counts that accuse him of violating the Mann Act, a federal law that bans carrying women or girls across state lines for "prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose." The minister has maintained that "consent is puberty" when it involves sex with young girls.

Thirty-two juveniles associated with Alamo have been taken into protective custody since a Sept. 20 raid on his compound in Fouke. Alamo was arrested in Arizona five days after the raid.

Before the raid, FBI agent M. Randall Harris filed an affidavit describing information he said he received in interviews with three girls who had lived at the compound and from a confidential informant.

One girl, now 17, said Alamo molested her when she was 8 and she and the minister "exchanged wedding vows" May 17, 2000, when she was 9.
go here for more
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081204/ap_on_re_us/evangelist_child_abuse
Linked from RawStory

2 teens shot in Federal Way Washington leaves frightened neighborhood

Two teens found shot at Federal Way park
Two teens were found shot near a small park in a quiet Federal Way neighborhood on Thursday afternoon, police said. Police and medics responding to the scene of the double shooting found a 17-year-old male and a 19-year-old male with gunshot wounds.

By KOMO Staff Watch the story FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Two teens were found shot near a small park in a quiet Federal Way neighborhood on Thursday afternoon, police said.

Police and medics were called to the scene, in the 2800 block of South 340th Place, at about 2:35 p.m.

There they found a 17-year-old male and a 19-year-old male, each with gunshot wounds, at Alderdale Park in Federal Way, officials said. Both victims were rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The 19-year-old reportedly was shot in the head and was rushed to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, officers said.

The 17-year-old has less serious, non-life-threatening injuries. He also is being treated at Harborview.

The double shootings frightened some area residents.
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Shrine Built for NY Starbucks Homeless Man

Fleming may not have had a family to go home to but he sure found one at Starbucks. Once you read what they had to say when Fleming died, you'll know what I mean.

A Shrine for a Friend Who Made a Starbucks a Village
By PETER APPLEBOME
Nyack’s coffee drinkers are still coming to grips with the death of a compulsively affable, flirtatious, apparently homeless man who held court at a local Starbucks.
One by one, people made their own small contributions to the purple velvet shrine for Fleming Logan. Or was it Fleming Taylor? Everyone just called him Fleming, so we will, too.

There were red roses and modest bouquets, letters, cards and trinkets all left on the purple padded chair at the Starbucks on Main Street where he sat, chatted and took in the world every day for more than a year.

Some of the messages had the feel of letters to a child away at camp or a friend off on some long trip.

“Dear Fleming,” began one. “We all love you and miss you. It’s not the same without you here. You are a gem of a person. The joy you brought to our lives is incredible.”

Others were full of regret for words not spoken or things not done.

“Dear Fleming,” began another one. “I wish you were here now because I never got to tell you that I enjoyed our conversation and that you had a warm, funny personality. I liked when you’d see me coming down the street and say, ‘There she is,’ that hilarious voice like I was some famous movie star. I wish I had taken the opportunity to buy you that coat you said you needed and to be a lot kinder.” It was signed, “Love in Jesus, Stephanie.”

They found Fleming’s body in a stairwell just up the street from the Starbucks at 10:45 a.m. on Nov. 26. The Rockland County Medical Examiner’s office determined that he died of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 62. A week later, Nyack’s coffee drinkers are still coming to grips with the apparently homeless man who, it seemed, had found a home, at least from the time Starbucks opened at 6 each morning until it closed at 10 p.m.

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Shackled teen was beaten daily

Shumacher speaks to ABC7 about torture case
Thursday, December 04, 2008 10:14 AM
By Alan Wang and Laura Anthony TRACY, CA (KGO) -- Kelly Shumacher speaks exclusively to ABC7's Alan Wang from jail and the details unravel.

The story gets more disturbing at every turn. On Wednesday night, ABC7's Alan Wang got an exclusive jailhouse interview with Kelly Schumacher, a woman accused in taking part in kidnapping and torture of a teenager.

Kelly Schumacher is being held in a maximum security portion of the San Joaquin County Jail. Wang says they were separated by a glass window and for 45 minutes she answered all of his questions.

Schumacher said the boy was, often times, chained to the coffee table while the family carried on with their daily lives. Then there were times he walked around freely.

Schumacher said they met Caren Ramirez through a mutual friend. They invited her and the boy, who they believed was her son, to live with them. She says Ramirez instructed them to discipline the boy the same way she did. Schumacher admits she hit the boy in the stomach and arm, and used an aluminum bat to hit him in the knee at least five times. She says her husband Mike hit him less than she did. Toward the end of the summer, Schumacher says the beatings were daily.

Wang asked Schumacher what Ramirez did and she said: "She burned him with a bat. She stuck it in the fireplace and pressed it against him ... I knew it was wrong in the back of my head."

But she did it because she was afraid Ramirez would hurt her children. Schumacher says only Ramirez could feed the teenage boy. She, her husband, her four children and Ramirez, would eat at the table while the boy watched in the living room.

She says he got a shower once a week or every other week. Schumacher said Ramirez, "Made him take it outside in the backyard with a hose. Then she took a pitcher of hot water and threw it on him."

On Monday, Schumacher says she was watching TV with her kids, Ramirez was upstairs, and that's when the boy bolted out the door and hopped over the wall. She said Ramirez told her to drop her off at the 99 Cent Store. She said that's the last time she saw her and 20 minutes later the police arrived.
go here for video and the rest
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=6534730

Death of Hernando student touches many

Death of Hernando student touches many
By Joel Anderson, Times Staff Writer
In print: Monday, December 1, 2008


SPRING HILL

A "No Outlet" sign is, quite literally, a big, yellow warning sign. But George and Suzanne Abell never saw it. Eric Millican made sure to hide the sign from his grandparents, sliding it underneath the spare tire in the trunk of his new Saturn Ion. The sign was both a trophy to go on his bedroom wall and proof of a simmering rebellious streak in an honor student who hardly ever broke the rules. "I didn't know he had it in him," said George Abell, chuckling at his grandson's shenanigans.

There are a lot of things the Abells, other family members and friends will never know about Eric. Beneath the smirk and normal schoolboy angst was a teen who lived in a great deal of pain. A 16-year-old student at Nature Coast Technical High School, Eric Millican had already had four open-heart surgeries, with a fifth likely on the way, and a stroke. He also suffered through debilitating migraine headaches and pancreatitis.

One day, for whatever reason, Eric had had enough.

He hanged himself Nov. 13 in the garage of his home in the 2400 block of Dustin Circle, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. He left a note. His grandparents found him a little after 5 p.m. Deputies are calling the death an apparent suicide. The case is open pending a report from the medical examiner.

The night after Eric's death, dozens of his friends made their way over to the Abells' home to pay their respects and sort through their grief. At some point in the evening, one of the boys took the keys to Eric's car, went outside and came back with the "No Outlet" sign.

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http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article921225.ece

Hillsborough Deputy Malachi McCoy wins Medal of Heroism

Hillsborough Deputy Malachi McCoy wins Medal of Heroism
By Rebecca Catalanello, Times staff writer
In print: Wednesday, December 3, 2008


TAMPA — Six months ago on a Saturday morning, Hillsborough sheriff's Deputy Malachi McCoy's bullet ended one man's murderous rampage.

Today, Gov. Charlie Crist will honor McCoy along with 10 other recipients of the Medal of Heroism — an award presented to first responders who knowingly risk their lives in the line of duty.

"It's definitely an honor, getting an award from the governor," said McCoy, 29, as he drove Tuesday to Tallahassee with members of his family.

On June 7, McCoy shot and killed murder suspect Jorge Bello Garcia, 54, as Garcia struggled to wrestle the gun away from a wounded deputy.

At the time, all three deputies said that, while they appreciated the recognition, they could not lose sight of the fact that three others died that day: Gina Marie Lamantia-Bello, 44, Garcia's estranged wife and a mother of two; and two of her friends — Hillsborough Fire Rescue Capt. Chris Artigas, 45, and Regina Ann Coffaro, 44.

go here for more

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article924193.ece

1,811,000 Have Served In Iraq and Afghanistan

Keith Armstrong, Director of Family Therapy Clinic, San Francisco VA, gave that figure just now in a presentation on Treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Military Families.

1,811,000 men and women going into combat and coming back to their families and communities. 662,221 have had more than one tour of duty.

Think about that. With the rate of PTSD in humans calculated at 1 out of 3 exposed to traumatic events, we're already looking at 600,000. If you use the rate of 1 out of 5, which others use, it's still 362,000. Wait, if you think that's bad add in this. 662,221 have a 50% higher risk of developing PTSD with each new redeployment. Some have gone back 5 times.

When you look at the National Guards and the Reservists, their rate of PTSD has been presenting at 50%. Where do they go when the communities are not stepping up? When clergy are not stepping up so they can help the families to heal and stay together?

Three quarters of the American public do not know what PTSD is.

The suicide and attempted suicide rate has gone up every year.

Divorce rates have gone up in Military families.

While programs like the one I was just watching are wonderful, there are not enough of them. Sure they help the therapist become more aware but these programs should have begun in the beginning of sending them into Afghanistan and definitely by the time they were sent to Iraq they should have been well established.

Given the fact that when Vietnam veterans came home, families had no clue what was going on and time was wasted. Now they still don't know what's going on. With the media paying attention we are closer to informing people about it,but these are baby steps when we need Olympian speed skaters taking the message from coast to coast.

So where are the veterans groups? The DAV? The VFW? The American Legion? Why aren't all of them doing programs on this? There are so many people that could be helping but they are no where to be found. If you are a member of any organization or religious group that is not stepping up, get them to. If they are then thank them and praise the daylights out of them so they know it's well worth their time.

One more thing. The above numbers are from Afghanistan and Iraq veterans. They do not include the Gulf War veterans, Vietnam veterans or the Korean veterans. They also don't include the few remaining WWII veterans.

We have adult children of Vietnam veterans with secondary PTSD. They are dealing with the trauma of being raise by a Vietnam veteran with no treatment.

They blame themselves for the way their parent acted. The veteran blames him/herself. The spouse blames her/himself. When they know what PTSD did inside of the veteran, they can forgive but they can't until they understand first.

That's what I've been doing but I can post until my fingers fall off, create videos until I can't stand the sound of music any longer, but none of it will do any good unless people are willing to seek the information.


Senior Chaplain Kathie "Costos" DiCesare
International Fellowship of Chaplains
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
www.youtube.com/NamGuardianAngel
"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

VA Opening 31 New Outpatient Clinics

Recent VA News Releases

To view and download VA news release, please visit the following
Internet address:
http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel


VA Opening 31 New Outpatient Clinics
World-Class Health Care Brought Closer to More Veterans

WASHINGTON (Dec. 4, 2008) - Veterans will have easier access to
world-class health care under a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plan
to open 31 new outpatient clinics in 16 states.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake today announced VA will
establish new clinics in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida,
Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

"VA is committed to providing world-class health care to the men and
women who have served this nation," Peake said. "These new clinics will
bring VA's top-notch care closer to the veterans who have earned it."

With 153 hospitals and about 745 community-based clinics, VA operates
the largest integrated health care system in the country. VA's medical
care budget of more than $41 billion this year will provide health care
to about 5.8 million people during nearly 600,000 hospitalizations and
more than 62 million outpatient visits.

"Community-based medicine is better medicine," said Dr. Michael Kussman,
VA's Under Secretary for Health. "It makes preventative care easier for
patients, helps health care professionals have closer relationships with
their patients and permits easier follow-ups for patients with chronic
health problems."

The community-based outpatient clinics, or CBOCs, will become
operational by late 2010, with some opening in 2009. Local VA officials
will keep communities and their veterans informed of milestones in the
creation of the new CBOCs.

VA's Proposed Sites for New Outpatient Clinics
Alabama - Monroe County (2010)

Arkansas - Faulkner County (2010), Pope County (2010)

California - Lake County (2010), Oakhurst (2010), Susanville (2010),
Yuba County (2010)

Florida - Brandon (2010), Clermont (2010)

Georgia -- Blairsville (2010)

Hawaii - Leeward (Honolulu, 2010)

Illinois - Carbondale (2009), Harrisburg (2010), Sterling (2010)

Iowa -- Decorah (2010)

Maryland - Fort Meade (2010), Montgomery County (2010)

Michigan - Bad Axe (2010), Cadillac (2010), Cheboygan (2010), Grayling
(2010)

Minnesota - Southern central border (2010), Southwest metro area (exact
locations to be determined, 2010)

Mississippi - Pike County (2010)

Missouri - Excelsior Springs (2009), Sikeston (2009), Sedalia (2010)

North Carolina - Edenton-Elizabeth City (2010), Goldsboro (2010)

Pennsylvania - Cranberry Township (2009)

Vermont - Brattleboro (2010)

Judge: Vet was scarred by war

Judge: Vet was scarred by war
Barre Montpelier Times Argus - Barre,VT,USA
By David Delcore Times Argus Staff
Published: December 3, 2008

BARRE – If Thomas Coffey hadn't served his country with distinction during a military career that has spanned nearly two decades, the Waterbury man would almost certainly be serving time in jail today.

But he's not, because Judge Brian Grearson concluded during a Tuesday morning sentencing hearing that if Coffey hadn't served his country, he may never have done anything to deserve jail time in the first place.

Coffey, 40, is a decorated war veteran who was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after returning from his latest tour in Iraq two years ago. His charges stem from an incident where he walked into a crowded barroom in Montpelier last New Year's Eve with a loaded semi-automatic pistol tucked in the waistband of his pants.

Before the night was over an intoxicated Coffey would draw the .45-caliber pistol and place its barrel behind the left ear of another Charlie-O's patron with whom he had exchanged threatening glances.

No shots were fired and by all accounts Coffey left the bar when asked. He was arrested moments later by Montpelier police who were on First Night celebration foot patrol at the time.
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PTSD Continues To Take Toll After Soldiers Return

PTSD Continues To Take Toll After Soldiers Return
OPB News - Portland,OR,USA

BY APRIL BAER

Portland, OR December 4, 2008 6:21 a.m.

For thousands of young men and women coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan, the price exacted by war is obvious.

Anyone can see the evidence left by scars, burns and amputated limbs. But other wounds are invisible.

April Baer profiles one young Army veteran whose life is in pieces after a harrowing tour of duty.

Some guys you look at, and you can just tell they were in the military.

But if you walked past John Blaufus on the street or ran into him in a coffee house, you might never guess this tattooed, shaggy-haired 26-year-old witnessed some of the worst the war had to offer.

But to understand John Blaufus, you first need to know about the coffee.

John Blaufus: "I love Stumptown Coffee -- it’s my favorite coffee. I actually used to get Stumptown coffee sent to me in Iraq. I had a French press I would bring in the Hummer or the Stryker. I’d have one hand on my rifle and one hand with a cup of coffee."

Anne Blaufus: “John and coffee are like peas and carrots.”

This is John's mom, Anne Blaufus.

Coffee even helped her keep tabs on him while he in Iraq, with the Fifth Infantry Regiment Stryker Brigade. On days when he wasn’t able to call, he’d use a debit card she’d sent to buy a coffee. That way she could check the account and know he was alright.

Anne says her son's thoughtfulness was part of the reason she had to send so much coffee.

Anne Blaufus: “John, you know he was constantly giving everything away -- that is John! If he thought you needed it, John just put it forward.”

The coffee helped with a lot of things, the 4 a.m. missions, the uncertainty of what lay behind each door in a house-to-house search.

And Blaufus says what the coffee couldn’t fix, his staff sergeant could.

John Blaufus: "When I got to Ft Lewis, my duty station, I met Staff Sgt Julian Melo. He was just really like a father to me. We really relied on each other."

Norma Melo: "He just was the sweetest, sweetest young man, truly felt like he was an adopted son.”

This is Sgt Melo's wife, Norma Melo.

Norma Melo: "I remember my husband coming home and saying, 'He’s going to be OK, I just need to make sure that I keep him under my wing', and I just started laughing and thought, ‘You could keep him under your wing 'til he’s an old man, you’d still feel the same way’.”

The men's bond became especially important as they moved with their Stryker Brigade through increasingly dangerous areas, from Baghdad, through the Second Invasion of Fallujah, into Mosul.

On December 21st, 2004, a suicide bomber struck the base where Blaufus was assigned, killing twenty-three men, including Julian Melo.
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Some troop deaths in Iraq non-combat related

Some troop deaths in Iraq non-combat related

By Erin McKeon
The Facts

Published December 4, 2008

With more than 800 deaths in Operation Iraqi Freedom attributed to non-hostile accidents or suicide, military personnel said steps are being taken to reduce and eliminate non-combat injuries and deaths.

As of Nov. 29, two deaths of Brazoria County soldiers in Operation Iraqi Freedom were classified as non-hostile.

The Aug. 3 death of Army Spc. Kevin Dickson of Angleton was attributed to a non-combat incident, but autopsy results providing the exact cause have not been disclosed. Army First Lt. Robert Tipp Jr. of Lake Jackson died in an all-terrain vehicle accident on March 27, 2005, three days after arriving home from Iraq.

They are among 74 non-hostile deaths of Texas soldiers and 811 non-hostile deaths nationwide, according to Defense Department statistics.

Army Capt. Charles Calio at the Multi-National Forces Media Operations Center in Baghdad said non-hostile deaths could be anything from vehicle or weaponry accidents to drownings.

“There’s extensive training that the soldiers go through when they deploy on everything,” Calio said. “For example, an accidental discharge would be a non-combat death, but it’s weapons-related, as opposed to a vehicle rollover.”

Statistics connected to Operation Iraqi Freedom include casualties that occurred on or after March 19, 2003, in the Arabian Sea, Bahrain, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Persian Gulf, Qatar, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, according to the Department of Defense Web site.

Of the 811 non-combat deaths, 439 have been Army members, 116 have been Army National Guard and 44 have been Army Reserve. Marines have accounted for 159 of the deaths, Navy for 33 and 20 have been Air Force personnel.
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http://thefacts.com/story.lasso?ewcd=cee8ce09b8799e25

Death of Fort Huachuca soldier called negligent homicide

Death of Fort Huachuca soldier called negligent homicide
Arizona Daily Star - Tucson,AZ,USA

Death of Fort Huachuca soldier called negligent homicide
Pfc. Eli Baker, of California, was given morphine he wasn't prescribed while in a medical barracks at the Army post in Sierra Vista
By Brian J. Pedersen
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona Published: 12.03.2008

An Army investigation has determined the death of a soldier earlier this year in a medical barracks at Fort Huachuca was a negligent homicide.

Pfc. Eli Baker, 22, died as the result of a morphine overdose, said Chris Grey, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.

“We have reason to believe that someone supplied him with that morphine, but he was not prescribed that morphine,” Grey said.
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http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/270035.php

Austrailian Soldier suicide linked to drugs and PTSD

Soldier suicide linked to drugs: inquiry
Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney, New South Wales,Australia

A special forces soldier hanged himself as a result of drug and alcohol dependence, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder caused by his service in Afghanistan, an inquiry has found.

But the Department of Defence inquiry found no evidence that Captain Andrew Paljakka, 27, had experienced a traumatic event during his six weeks in Afghanistan in 2006.

"The inquiry concluded it was the compound effect of all the difficulties Captain Paljakka was experiencing, including alcohol and drug dependence, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), depression, and his personal problems, that led him to take his own life," Defence said.

"Captain Paljakka developed traumatic memories which were an elaboration of what he had heard and been told about during his six-week service in Afghanistan.

"This is a recognised phenomenon suffered by some individuals with PTSD," the inquiry found.
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Capt. Robert J. Yllescas succumbs to wounds suffered in Afghanistan

DoD Identifies Army Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Capt. Robert J. Yllescas, 31, of Lincoln, Neb., died Dec. 1 at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., of wounds suffered Oct. 28 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit at Combat Outpost Keating, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

http://icasualties.org/oef/

Sixteen Indiana National Guard soldiers sue over chemical exposure in Iraq

Ind. soldiers sue over chemical exposure in Iraq
The Associated Press
By CHARLES WILSON – 20 hours ago

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Sixteen Indiana National Guard soldiers sued the big defense contractor KBR Inc. on Wednesday, saying its employees knowingly allowed them to be exposed to a toxic chemical in Iraq five years ago.

The federal suit filed in U.S. District Court alleges the soldiers from a Tell City-based unit were exposed to a carcinogen while protecting an Iraqi water pumping plant shortly after the U.S. invasion in 2003.

The 23-page complaint claims that Houston-based KBR knew at least as early as May 2003 that the plant was contaminated with sodium dichromate, a known carcinogen, but concealed the danger from civilian workers and 139 soldiers from the Indiana Guard's 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry.

"It's not right, what they done," said Mark McManaway, a 55-year-old truck driver from Cannelton who has since retired from the Guard. McManaway, the main plaintiff in the lawsuit, has suffered nosebleeds and rashes he believes are due to the chemical exposure.

The chemical, used to remove pipe corrosion, is especially dangerous because it contains hexavalent chromium, which is known to cause birth defects and cancer, particularly lung cancer, the lawsuit said. The cancer can take years to develop.

Some of the soldiers who served at the site now have respiratory system tumors associated with hexavalent chromium exposure, the lawsuit states.

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Sears Holiday Fundraiser to Grant Wishes for Military Families

Sears Holiday Fundraiser to Grant Wishes for Military Families
MarketWatch - USA
Joint Effort With Rebuilding Together to Improve Lives of Military Families at Home

Last update: 3:36 p.m. EST Dec. 3, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC, Dec 03, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Rebuilding Together is pleased to once again join Sears in supporting America's military veterans and families. Sears customers will be able to turn their shopping into dreams come true for military families and veterans. The retailer recently launched an in store and online fundraising effort to benefit Heroes at Home(SM), a charitable program created in association with the nation's leading non-profit home rehabilitation organization, Rebuilding Together. Through Heroes at Home, the retailer seeks to improve the lives of military families and veterans in need across America by making necessary repairs, improvements or modifications to their homes.
Now through December 28, Sears customers will be able to participate in this initiative by using their Sears card or purchasing a Sears gift card. Sears will make a donation to Heroes at Home for every credit card purchase made at any of its Sears stores from now to December 28 up to $1 million, and for every gift card purchased during that time up to $100,000. Customers can also make a donation at registers or online at www.sears.com. Heroes at Home has raised more than $5 million to help military families in need across America by making necessary repairs, improvements or modifications to their homes.
"We are proud to be partnering with Rebuilding Together to support families through this important initiative," said Richard Gerstein, Chief Marketing Officer, for Sears Holdings Corporation. "Sears has a longstanding commitment to the heroic men and women who serve in the military. We hope our customers will take this opportunity to help grant wishes for military families and veterans while they shop our stores."
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Live Video Teleconference on Treating PTSD in Military Families

Join us this Thursday, Dec. 4th 12-2pm pdt For A Live Video Teleconference
Treating Post Traumatic Stress in Military Families Herbst Hall at UCSF, Mount Zion Campus 1600 Divisadero St. - 2nd floor

The impacts of war-related trauma don't reside solely in the Soldier, Marine, Sailor, Airman or woman. Because humans are wired to connect, the ripples radiate out and affect many, in particular those close to the veteran: including his or her spouse, children, siblings, parents, marital relationship, extended family, and significant others. In this training, two experts on the dynamics of post traumatic stress in military families and their treatment will provide a clear review that will help us understand and treat the impacts on couples and families of PTSD.

If you have questions related to the topic, you can have them addressed on air by sending them to: contact@cominghomeproject.net

Viewing options:
* In Person at UCSF,Mount Zion [NO REGISTRATION NECESSARY]
* Watch live online
or on Dish Network channel 9412.
* To view past programs go to UCTV's website
Part of "Treating the Invisible Wounds of War: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, Families and Care Providers" series, a collaboration among the Coming Home Project, UCSF, and UCTV.

Pfc. Joseph Dwyer to have street named after him

This is Pfc. Joseph Dwyer running to help the child.


This is the famous picture taken after.

Brookhaven Township to Name Street in Honor of PFC Joseph Dwyer
NewsLI - West Babylon,NY,USA

(Brookhaven, N.Y.) Brookhaven Township will dedicate a street to Long Island fallen hero, PFC Joseph Dwyer on Monday, December 8, 2008, at 11:00am. The street which is located at Pipe Stave Hollow Road in Mount Sinai is at the corner of Echo Avenue. PFC Dwyer’s widow Matina and daughter Meagan as well as other family members and local dignitaries will take part in the dedication ceremonies.

PFC Joseph Dwyer enlisted into the Army two days after September 11, 2001. A native of Long Island, New York, he felt it his patriotic duty to defend his country. PFC Dwyer served his country with honor, survived many battles in Iraq, to return home with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This would eventually take his life on June 28, 2008. “Joe was truly a hero deeply devoted to his family and country,” said Christopher Delaney, Founder of Hero Army PFC Joseph Dwyer whose purpose is to set up a fund for PFC Dwyer’s daughter and to assist his wife with any financial difficulties as well as to bring awareness to the public of this disease which is affecting many returning soldiers.
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Group Says Missing Marine 'Has Post-Traumatic Stress'

Group Says Missing Marine 'Has Post-Traumatic Stress'
KRDO - Colorado Springs,CO,USA


BOULDER - An anti-war group says a Boulder Iraq veteran accused of deserting from the Marines two years ago is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Lance Hering was arrested Nov. 16 in Port Angeles, Wash., on charges of desertion and contempt of court.

He disappeared in August 2006 after a staged climbing accident.

Military Families Speak Out, an organization of military families against the Iraq war, said Tuesday Hering is "dealing with the consequences of choices he made in the grips of PTSD."
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Fighting a Parallel War in Iraq, Private Contractors Are Officially Invisible

While we think we know what's going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, we really don't know very much. We know even less when it comes to the contractors and other civilians there. They come home wounded, often having to fight for their wounds to be taken care of through Workman's Comp, expecting the company they were employed by to do the right thing, but all too often, that doesn't happen. They die there and we don't know how many have been killed or died there. This may help to understand when it comes to the two occupations, we know hardly nothing. It would be great if the media would report on some of the contractors coming back and being abandoned by their employers but since very few reporters have bothered to report on the military, that is not very likely to happen.

Soldier of Misfortune
Fighting a Parallel War in Iraq, Private Contractors Are Officially Invisible -- Even in Death
By Steve Fainaru
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, December 1, 2008; Page C01

Adapted from "Big Boy Rules: America's Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq" (Da Capo Press, 2008)


As US Airways Flight 1860 eased into Gate 4 at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, the pilot's voice came over the intercom: "Can I please have your attention? We are carrying with us tonight the remains of a fallen American in Iraq. Please remain seated for the movement of the remains and for the American escorts to deplane."

The cabin fell silent. No one moved as the two men seated in the first row rose to gather their belongings. They were the white-gloved master sergeant who had accompanied Jonathon Coté's body from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and the American drug enforcement agent who, after a 16-month search, had recovered the headless corpse in southern Iraq.

The two men were led down to the tarmac, and the master sergeant climbed up into the belly of the plane. He draped an American flag over the silver casket and made sure that Coté's body was placed feet-first on the conveyor belt.

There was a light drizzle, the temperature at 40 degrees. A bitter wind blew off Lake Erie, snapping a half-dozen flags held by members of the Patriot Guard Riders of New York, a biker group that supports the families of fallen Americans. Police flashers and a Buffalo TV crew's equipment threw light and shadows over the plane. From the ground you could see the passengers, still frozen in their seats in the lighted cabin, and the baggage handlers, waiting off to the side in fluorescent orange vests and knitted caps.

I stood with Jon's family beneath the wing, buffeted by the freezing wind. Five men and one woman from New York's 107th Air National Guard lifted the casket from the belt and slowly marched it across the tarmac to an idling hearse.


Anyone watching might have thought they were witnessing the somber homecoming of an American hero killed in Iraq. That was technically true: Jonathon Coté had fought in the U.S. Army. He was killed in Iraq.

But it was far more complicated than that.
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http://icasualties.org/oif/

Brenden Foster's selfless act empowers cancer patient

When Brenden Foster lived long enough to see the start of his last wish coming true, he had no idea how far this would have gone so fast. Now, he's making a difference for children and a cancer patient who has been earning his own angel wings. Then add in this big hearted man's tumor is now shrinking. Talk about a Christmas miracle~!

Brenden Foster empowers cancer patient
Watch the story
Every year Karr holds a holiday bash for the kids at his farm appropriately named the Farm Ministries. But this year, he considered calling off his annual holiday party for the first time and for good reason. "Nobody knew if I'd still be alive," he said

SNOHOMISH, Wash. -- A beloved angel has come to the aid of hundreds of homeless children who nearly had to skip Christmas this year.

For countless holiday seasons the homeless kids have warmed the heart of youth minister Bruce Karr.

"For the first time in their lives they came to a place that accepted them just the way they were," he said.

Every year Karr holds a holiday bash for the kids at his farm appropriately named the Farm Ministries. But this year, he considered calling off his annual holiday party for the first time and for good reason.

"Nobody knew if I'd still be alive," he said.

A tumor had eaten away at Karr's spine. Chemo wiped out his energy and bank account. Sick and worn by cancer, Karr gave up on the annual celebration, the street kids and his passion.

That is until he heard about Brenden Foster's dying wish to help the homeless.

"I'll never forget that how I thought I was tough compassionate and he made me look so wimpy," he said.

So the Christmas party is back on, but with very little money and time left.

"We've got the stockings covered, dinner covered. I don't think we have enough presents," said Vicki Karr of Farm Ministries.

But the party will go on however it can. Come Sunday hundreds of homeless kids bussed in from three counties will gather for a party.They'll be greeted by hundreds of people in Santa hats, applauding their entry.

"This whole place will be full of children," said Vicki.

The Karrs are hoping for a miracle on 92nd Street.

And things are already looking up. Test results Bruce received on Monday showed his tumor is shrinking.
They're now hoping the party, in turn, will grow before Sunday. To help buy toys for the Farm Ministry, call 425-238-0200.
To help, click on above link and watch the video on KOMO.

Giants put Burress on non-football injury list, ending his season

He had a really bad night. First he shoots himself and no one notices, then he ends up arrested for an illegal gun and now, he's suspended.

SI: Giants end season of player who shot self
Giants put Burress on non-football injury list, ending his season
Story Highlights
Plaxico Burress reported to Giants Stadium today as mandated
Burress shot himself in the thigh at a Manhattan nightclub
Police have charged Burress with illegal gun possession
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress is done for the year.

The New York Giants fined and suspended Burress on Tuesday for four games -- the rest of the regular season -- after he accidentally shot himself in the right thigh over the weekend at a Manhattan nightclub. The team also placed him on the reserve non-football injury list, which means the wide receiver couldn't come back for playoffs, either.

The team punished Burress a day after he was charged with illegal weapons possession, which carries a penalty of 31/2 to 15 years in prison if he's convicted. Burress is due back in court again on March 31, unless he reaches a plea agreement.

Burress arrived Tuesday morning at Giants Stadium, and met individually with Giants president John Mara, general manager Jerry Reese and coach Tom Coughlin. He left for a medical test and returned in the afternoon for another brief session with team officials.
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