Army recruiter suicides finding, nope, no PTSD connection

The Army claims that none of the soldiers were diagnosed with PTSD. The key word here is "diagnosed" and we need to keep in mind that this does not mean they did not have PTSD. Sgt. Henderson did not have flashbacks because of "other issues" but had them from combat.

Recruiter Suicides Lead To Army Probe
Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Henderson in her home in Henderson, Texas, Nov. 20, 2008. Patrick Henderson, afflicted by flashbacks and sleeplessness after a tour in Iraq, hanged himself in a shed behind his house as his wife and her son slept.
He became, at age 35, the fourth member of the Army's Houston Recruiting Battalion to commit suicide in the past three years — something Henderson's widow and others blame on the psychological scars of combat, combined with the pressure-cooker job of trying to sell the war. click link for more

Do people commit suicide when they do not have PTSD? Regular people commit suicide for all kinds of reasons but these are not "regular people" they are a rarity. It's time for the military to acknowledge the difference between those willing to lay down their lives in defense of this nation, serving this nation and what it asks of them and the majority of the American people who depend on them. They do not take their personal lives above everything else. For them, their families, their friends, their outside lives come secondary to service. They know they can be deployed, sent away from their families and their "regular lives" at a moments notice. It doesn't matter if their wife is pregnant and they will miss the birth because they have to go. It doesn't stop them from going when adult children get married and they will not be able to walk their daughter down the isle because they are deployed into combat. This is their life and it's high time the military acknowledges that fact and pays tribute to it. They fail the men and women willing to lay down their lives if they do not understand the basis of these lives.

Army completes recruiter suicide investigation
Jan 21

By Catherine Abbott (Media Relations Division, OCPA)
The U.S. Army concluded a two and a half month investigation into the suicides of four Soldiers assigned to the Houston Recruiting Battalion.

Lt. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, commander, U.S. Army Accessions Command, directed Brig. Gen. Frank D. Turner III, deputy commanding general and chief of staff for the U.S. Army Accessions Command, to investigate the unit that experienced the four suicides that occurred between January 2005 and September 2008.

"Each of these deaths is an absolute tragedy and our sympathies and prayers go out to their families and friends, as well as their fellow brothers and sisters with whom they served so honorably," said Freakley. "Every leader, every Soldier, at every level of our Army, must help our institution reduce the stigma associated with seeking mental health care and raise the level of awareness of suicide risk factors. Neither our nation nor our Army can accept another needless loss of life."

The investigation concluded that there was no single cause for these deaths. Relevant factors included the command climate, stress, personal matters, and medical problems. None were diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

As a result of the findings, Secretary of the Army directed a USAREC command-wide "stand down" day focused on leadership training, suicide prevention / resiliency training and recruiter wellness. Additionally, the Commanding General of Army Accessions Command has requested that the Army's Inspector General lead an external assessment of the command climate across the U.S. Army Recruiting Command (USAREC), to which the Houston Recruiting Battalion belongs.

The Army is also reviewing recruiter screening and selection processes, the provisions of care for Soldiers who need mental health care, Army-wide suicide prevention training, and access to care and peer support networks for geographically dispersed Soldiers. It will review the current policy that allows Soldiers to waive their mandatory 90 days of stabilization after returning from deployment to ensure any personal or professional concerns are addressed prior to the recently redeployed Soldier moving into new and different work environments.

The Army will continue to focus its efforts on helping Soldiers get the assistance they need wherever they serve. For more information contact COL Michael Negard at TRADOC Public Affairs, (757) 788-3385; michael.negard@us.army.mil

The DOD and the VA cannot keep denying the connection between known symptoms of PTSD because their is not an approved claim for it. Flashbacks of combat do not come from anything other than being in combat!

Wounded honored at ‘Heroes’ ball

Wounded honored at ‘Heroes’ ball

By Karen Jowers - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jan 21, 2009 17:36:05 EST

From folk singers “Peter, Paul and Ben Vereen,” to funk icon George Clinton with Sly Stone, to Latin American Idol Carlos Pena — and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs — the thanks rolled in Tuesday night to wounded troops and their families honored at the Heroes Red, White and Blue Inaugural Ball.

About 300 troops from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and the National Naval Medical Center in nearby Bethesda, Md., were VIPs at the event, held at the Warner Theatre in downtown Washington.

Peter and Paul didn’t bring Mary, who is recuperating from an illness, so actor Ben Vereen filled in for her on the songs “Blowing in the Wind” and “This Land is Your Land.”

George Clinton brought on rarely seen Sly Stone with his group, and was a big hit with the troops, many of whom flocked forward to the stage.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/01/military_heroes_ball_012109w/

Shinseki Sworn In, Vows 21st Century Service to Veterans

Recent VA News Releases



To view and download VA news release, please visit the following
Internet address:

http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel


Shinseki Sworn In, Vows 21st Century Service to Veterans



WASHINGTON (Jan. 21, 2009) - Retired Army Gen. Eric K. Shinseki took the
oath of office today as the Nation's seventh Secretary of Veterans
Affairs, assuming the leadership of the Department of Veterans Affairs
following Tuesday's confirmation by the Senate.



"The overriding challenge I am addressing from my first day in office is
to make the Department of Veterans Affairs a 21st century organization
focused on the Nation's Veterans as its clients," Shinseki said.



Shinseki plans to develop a 2010 budget within his first 90 days that
realizes the vision of President Obama to transform VA into an
organization that is people-centric, results-driven and forward-looking.



Key issues on his agenda include smooth activation of an enhanced GI
Bill education benefit that eligible Veterans can begin using next fall,
streamlining the disability claims system, leveraging information
technology to accelerate and modernize services, and opening VA's health
care system to Veterans previously unable to enroll in it, while
facilitating access for returning Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans.



Shinseki, a former Army Chief of Staff, takes the reins of a
284,000-employee organization delivering health care and financial
benefits to millions of Veterans and survivors under a $98 billion
budget authorized this year through networks of regional benefits
offices and health care facilities from coast to coast.



Born in 1942 on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, Shinseki graduated from the
U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in 1965. He served two
combat tours and was wounded in action in Vietnam. He served with
distinction in Europe, the Pacific and stateside, eventually becoming
the Army's senior leader from June 1999 to June 2003.



Retired from military service in August 2003, Shinseki's military
decorations include three Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts.



Shinseki succeeds Dr. James B. Peake as Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Critics hit Army's treatment of drug abuse

Critics hit Army's treatment of drug abuse
Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA
By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- Spec. Jeremiah Thomson didn't know what was worse: excruciating back pain from a combat explosion in Baghdad or the prescription drug addiction he developed trying to ease the suffering once home.

The Army was quick to prescribe Percocet, Vicodin, Oxycontin and similarly powerful painkillers to Thomson and other injured soldiers at Fort Leonard Wood, Thomson testified in a court-martial hearing. He's now serving a three-year sentence for illegally buying prescription drugs - the sellers included a former commanding officer in Iraq - and selling the pills to eight other soldiers.

As more troops return home with war injuries, the Army is prescribing more pain medication to treat those wounds. But a military system that relies on discipline as well as treatment is drawing fire from some prominent critics, including those inside the system.

"It's a terrible problem," said Barbara McDonald, a civilian social worker and Army drug abuse counselor, describing a recent surge in prescription drug abuse and the Army's handling of the problem.

Legal painkiller use by injured troops has increased nearly 70 percent since the start of the Iraq war six years ago, according to Army records. Surveys show that more soldiers are struggling with prescription drug addiction - and seeking help from Army doctors and counselors.
click link for more

Memorial for fallen Iraq soldier stolen in Jones Creek Texas

Bronzed memorial to soldier stolen
Houston Chronicle - United States
JONES CREEK, Texas — A memorial that topped the grave of a 21-year-old soldier killed in Iraq two years ago has been stolen.

Thieves last week hauled away a battle cross created for Cody Ford's grave — his bronzed jump boots, bronzed assault rife and a bronzed helmet like the one he wore in Iraq. Authorities said even the bronzed base that supported the battle cross in Gulf Prairie Cemetery was stolen.

"I don't know if they hated the family that much, or if they hated Cody that much — why would you do something like that?" said Ford's father, Philip Ford.

The bronzed boots are the same jump boots that Cody Ford, a U.S. Army specialist and member of the 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry (Airborne), wore when he graduated from paratrooper school. The boots were filled with concrete before they were mounted on his grave.

The thieves also kicked around flowers and other items at the grave and stole the soldier's dog tags.
click link for more

Florida 81-year-old community theater actor was shot in the head

Sarasota actor injured by loaded gun during rehersal
Reported by: Sunde Farquhar
Email: sfarquhar@abcactionnews.com
Last Update: 9:30 am
BRADENTON, FL -- An actor with the Sarasota Senior Theater was hospitalized Monday night, after a bullet grazed his ear during a play rehearsal.

Bradenton police say Bill Bordy had borrowed a .32-caliber Smith and Wesson from a cast member to use in a scene of "Of Mice and Men." Bordy was following the play's script when he pointed the gun at the back of the head of another actor.

He pulled the trigger and a bullet flew out of the gun, grazing actor, Fred Kellerman in the left ear.

Kellerman was taken to Manatee Memorial Hospital and was in stable condition Monday night.

click link for more

KBR, Indiana National Guard and Lung Cancer?

Iraq Veterans Poisoned: War Contractors Knew But Concealed
Dr. Phillip Leveque Salem-News.com
Phillip Leveque has spent his life as a Combat Infantryman, Physician, Pharmacologist and Toxicologist.

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - The Oregonian Newspaper headlined Oregon Troops exposed to toxic chemicals by Julie Sullivan January 9th 2009. She wrote that KBR, a Haliburton company, disregarded and downplayed the extreme danger especially of lung cancer.

The chemical was Hexavalent Chromium Salts best exemplified by various Dichromate salts usually used to remove ALL traces of organic material by chemically burning them from any other material.

This corrosive action also acts on human skin where it causes severe irritation and especially the nose, trachea and lungs where it causes nosebleeds, coughing, pain on breathing and headaches, but especially lung cancer.
click link for more

Suicide prevention bill prevents veterans from getting help

by
Chaplain Kathie

I did a presentation the other day for a group of veterans about PTSD. After I was done talking there was plenty of time for questions. The question most on their minds was the right to carry a gun at the same time they were getting help.

The Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Bill is a wonderful thing, but yet again Congress was not thinking. What this ended up doing is raise the awareness PTSD veterans need help at the same time they were begin deterred from getting it.

Would you want a PTSD veteran needing help with a gun and getting it, or would you want one with a gun and not getting it? Seems to be the question our elected should have been asking before they wrote it the way they did.

While guns are the means of choice when it comes to suicide, and there is the domestic violence issue, they can and do find other ways. When they are trained to go into combat, they are trained to rely on their weapon as their friend. When they come home with the war inside of them, many want that friend right by their side. Many veterans with PTSD go into police and defense jobs. Taking away their gun is taking away their incomes. This leaves us with a huge problem on top of the one we've had for too many years. At the same time they hear, "go for help to heal" they are told "your right to carry a gun will go away" if you do. Ever tell a combat veteran they are no longer able to carry a gun when they did it in combat?

There is no easy answer on this when it comes to preventing suicides and domestic violence when the root cause is PTSD. Awareness is wonderful and much more of it needs to be done when two thirds of the American public have no clue what it is. Educating the communities around the nation is wonderful as well as opening Veterans' Centers but if you do not get them to go for help, none of it will do much good at all.

If this part of the bill is not removed then we will keep losing more and more veterans to suicide and see their lives slip away. One more thing if you still don't understand what this did. Some troops deployed into Iraq and Afghanistan have PTSD. They have guns. Some police officers have PTSD and serve on the streets everyday. They have guns. Do you think they could do their jobs without them? Do you see them all committing suicide or domestic violence with them? Taking away guns when they seek help is an easy answer to a very complex problem and was in fact the wrong answer.

I was worried about this and heard from a lot of veterans when the bill was signed. It took a good friend of mine to point this issue out when I was thinking the other way. Then more and more veterans contacted me with this concern. Now, I know for sure, it has kept them from getting help. Most of the veterans said it was their number one reason for not going for help. They've come to terms with the stigma being stupid now they have to deal with a catch in a bill to help them being stupid.

Write to your congressmen and have them get this right right now please. They've already waited long enough to begin the healing.

Oregon moves to curb veterans' suicides

State moves to curb veterans' suicides
Associated Press - January 20, 2009 1:15 PM ET

ALBANY, Ore. (AP) - Oregon is moving to curb the rising number of suicides among the state's veterans. The director of the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs, Jim Willis, says his agency was launching a television and print campaign to publicize a suicide-prevention lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK.

Willis said anyone should call who suspects a veteran is considering suicide.

Oregon ranks 13th in the nation for calls on the nationally run help line but is 37th in population.
click link for more

Decorated Iraq Veteran dies in standoff after sheriff's deputies

One more case of not enough being done fast enough to save their lives.

Suicide victim in standoff was vet, soldier at Carson
January 20, 2009 - 8:16 PM
TOM ROEDER and CARLYN RAY MITCHELL
THE GAZETTE
The man who shot himself to death during a standoff with El Paso County sheriff's deputies early Saturday was identified Tuesday as Army Spc. Larry Applegate, 27, a decorated Iraq war veteran stationed at Fort Carson.

Deputies responded to a domestic violence call at Applegate's home, 6830 Harding Drive, late Friday and found Applegate's wife outside saying her husband was in the house firing rifles.

The gunfire continued for the better part of an hour and when it ended, the SWAT team found Applegate dead inside.

Applegate, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., was a twice-deployed Iraq war veteran awarded the Purple Heart and Army Commendation Medal with Valor.

He joined the Army in 2004.

The suicide left Fort Carson officials grieving and looking for answers, the post's commander, Maj. Gen. Mark Graham said Tuesday night.

Graham, who lost a son to suicide has been a leading proponent of Army suicide-prevention efforts and is hosting a pilot program for prevention training at the post this week.

"We have to let them know that it's a sign of strength not weakness to come forward and seek help," he said.

The soldier was in the post's Warrior Transition Unit, which is designed to assist soldiers with war-related medical or mental health problems.

"He was a good, young soldier," Graham said. "Just a good young soldier. It's tragic. We're all taking it hard." click link for more

In Afghanistan, Illinois Guard troops soak up historic moment

In Afghanistan, Illinois Guard troops soak up historic moment
By Kim Barker Tribune correspondent
3:57 PM CST, January 20, 2009
KABUL, Afghanistan - For two hours Tuesday night, the war on terror paused here, a brief moment when most soldiers in the Camp Phoenix cafeteria watched TV, ate cake decorated with a presidential seal and gave a standing ovation to their new commander in chief.

President Barack Obama was, after all, one of them, a man who had made Illinois his home, even if he wasn't born there. And so the room of 200 people, mostly soldiers from the recently deployed Illinois National Guard, erupted several times during the special inauguration viewing, shown on a large TV in the mess hall.

They are at the center of one of the biggest foreign policy challenges facing the new administration. Obama has said the real front line of the war on terror is in Afghanistan and Pakistan, not Iraq, and as many as 30,000 new U.S. troops will be sent to Afghanistan in the coming months, almost doubling the U.S. forces in the country.

"We've been excited all day," said Spec. Tiffany Givens, 22, a college student from Chicago's West Side, who shouted "Go-Bama, Go-Bama" when Obama first appeared on TV. "It's even better being in Afghanistan, because at least here, we're doing something positive."


In recent years, Taliban-led insurgents have gained strength in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Last year was the deadliest for U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan since the 2001 ouster of the Taliban, who are blamed for sheltering Al Qaeda leaders after the Sept. 11 attacks.

About 3,000 National Guard troops from Illinois, the largest deployment since World War II, arrived in Afghanistan recently to train Afghan police and soldiers.

Already, there have been casualties. Two soldiers died in a September blast; another died in an October suicide bombing. On Saturday, a suicide attacker injured five Illinois soldiers near a base in Kabul, one seriously. Another U.S. service member was killed; another injured.
click link for more

Troops in Iraq cry, cheer for inauguration

Maya Alleruzzo / The Associated Press Command Sgt. Maj. Julia Kelley, left, of the 229th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, weeps as she watches the inauguration of President Barack Obama at Camp Liberty in Baghdad on Jan. 20.

Troops in Iraq cry, cheer for inauguration
By Maya Alleruzzo - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jan 20, 2009 18:51:00 EST

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq — Army Sgt. James Bishop wiped away tears while he watched Barack Obama take the presidential oath Tuesday and wished his mother had lived to see a fellow black assume their nation’s highest office.

“My mother always wanted to be here,” said Bishop, 39, from Washington, D.C., who watched the ceremony on TV at Camp Liberty on the western edge of Baghdad.

“She always wanted this to happen, and she said it was going to happen one day,” he added. “Unfortunately, she passed before this time came.”

Across Iraq, many of the 140,000 U.S. military personnel watched the inaugural ceremony on television sets in dining halls and break rooms or over the Web at large installations with Internet service.
click link for more

Non-combat death in Afghanistan

DoD Identifies Army Casualty


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

Staff SSgt. Joshua R. Townsend, 30, of Solvang , Calif. , died Jan. 16 in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan , of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg , N.C.

The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.

http://icasualties.org/oef/

Marines buy cows for widows in Fallujah

Marines trying dairy diplomacy around war-torn Fallujah
Cow purchases may help rebuild industry in Iraq
By Tony Perry
Los Angeles Times / January 18, 2009
ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq - As US forces work to revive Iraq's tattered farming economy, they seem to have found an effective new weapon: cows.

At the suggestion of an Iraqi women's group, the Marine Corps recently bought 50 cows for 50 Iraqi widows in the farm belt around Fallujah, once the insurgent capital of war-torn Anbar province.

The cow purchase is seen as a small step toward reestablishing Iraq's once-thriving dairy industry, as well as a way to help women and children hurt by the frequent failure of the Iraqi government to provide the pensions that Iraqi law promises to widows.

The early sign is that the program is working.
click link for more
linked from
http://icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx

Airman from MacDill Air Force Base dies in Iraq

DoD Identifies Air Force Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of an Airman who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Senior Airman Omar J. McKnight, 22, of Marrero, La., died Jan 17 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Balad, Iraq. He was assigned to the 6th Security Forces Squadron, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.

http://icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx

President Barack Obama invoked a spirit of confidence

Obama promises bold action on economy
Story Highlights
Obama pledges "bold, swift action" on the economy

"On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances," he says

Obama pledges an eventual return to fiscal responsibility

He renews promise to withdraw from Iraq and forge a peace in Afghanistan


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama invoked a spirit of confidence and renewal Tuesday, proclaiming to hundreds of thousands of people on the National Mall that the country would ultimately thrive despite hard economic times.


The new president pledged both "bold, swift action" and a willingness to make tough choices in the name of economic recovery and eventual victory in the global war on terror.

"Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real," Obama said. "They are serious, and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America -- they will be met."

The president called for an end to vitriol in the political process, declaring that Americans chose "hope over fear [and] unity of purpose over conflict and discord" in the 2008 election. Watch President Obama's inauguration speech »

"On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics," Obama declared. Read speech transcript

"We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things."

click links for more

Shinseki confirmed as new VA secretary

Shinseki confirmed as new VA secretary
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jan 20, 2009 16:29:22 EST

Retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki was confirmed Tuesday to be secretary of veterans’ affairs in President Obama’s Cabinet.

The Senate confirmed Shinseki by voice vote and without debate just hours after Obama was sworn in as the 44th president. The Senate also approved the Cabinet appointments for the energy, education, interior, agriculture and education departments and Obama’s choice to head the White House Office of Management and Budget.

click link for more

Michelle Obama, Cyrus entertain military kids

Michelle Obama, Cyrus entertain military kids
By Samantha Critchell - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jan 20, 2009 6:46:42 EST

WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama challenged the audience at Monday night’s teen- and tween-filled “Kids’ Inaugural: We Are the Future” concert to serve their country.

She got a response from the audience at the Verizon Center that surpassed even the appearance of teen star Miley Cyrus.

“You kids are the future of this great nation,” Obama said to the crowd largely made up of military families and their charged-up children.

“We need every American to serve their community including our young people,” she added.

What can kids do? she wondered aloud: Volunteer in a homeless shelter, visit an elderly person or write letters to U.S. troops.

“For many of you, they’re you’re moms and dads, right?” Obama said. “Barack, Malia, Sasha and I are so grateful for the service and sacrifice all our military families make to help keep this nation safe.”

Cyrus, who performed for the first time her inspirational song “The Climb,” returned the compliment to the Obamas’ daughters, well-known fans of Cyrus’ Disney TV alter ego “Hannah Montana.”
click link for more

Tonight's Veterans ball canceled, organizer missing

Veterans ball canceled, organizer missing
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jan 19, 2009 14:15:20 EST

If you bought tickets to the Veterans’ Inaugural Ball, plan on staying home.

The ball, which was to be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C., has been canceled and the promoter, Dante Hayes of the nonprofit Congressional Education Foundation for Public Policy, cannot be located for an explanation.

As of 1:30 p.m. Monday, the links on the foundation’s Web site where tickets were sold — at prices topping $385 apiece — no longer work.

The St. Regis referred questions about the canceled ball to a phone number they had for Hayes, whom they identified as the sponsor and promoter. No one returned voice mails left for the foundation.

The Commander-in-Chief’s Ball at the National Building Museum and Heroes Red, White and Blue Ball at the Warner Theater are separate events and are still scheduled take place Tuesday night.

Performance artist Michael Israel, who paints large murals to hard-pounding music in front of crowds, said he had been scheduled to appear at the Veterans’ Inaugural Ball but was notified last week by the hotel that the
click link for more

New Day In America and a clean PC

I haven't been posting since two days ago because my PC crashed. Part of doing what I do when emails come in from strangers and I happen to trust a wrong email from the wrong place. So the system is totally clean, fresh and most of my files are gone. For the most part, the really important files are restored, like my book, my videos and most of my pictures. The rest, well, I'll just have to start all over again.

Pretty ironic the entire nation is doing the same today. The really important things are held dearly to the people of this nation. The rest, well, we'll just have to start all over again with a fresh new look at what we value, what we need and what we hope to become.

During the time we work on computers, we have to decide what is valuable and what we need to save. We know it's part of who we are and we may never be able to replace what was lost along the way. There are several things I know are gone forever from my PC but I will carry on moving forward and finding new things to add into what I have. We're all about to do the same from coast to coast.

We just said good-bye to one president and most of us are glad his term in office has ended. We have a new President and President Obama has already restored some files we thought could have been lost forever. He brought back hope and optimism. He brought back the idea that we are one nation, rise or fall, together and it's not about the rich and powerful taking while the poor give. It's about all of us giving, learning, thinking, growing and contributing. It's about sharing as well.

One of the amazing things about President Obama is that he made a promise to the veterans of this nation. A promise most of them don't even know was made because the media didn't broadcast it. He promised to take care of the veterans and the veterans wounded by PTSD. Obama made a trip to the Montana National Guard because a soldier committed suicide. His name was Chris Dana. Because of his death, the commanders of the National Guard decided to take action. They developed their own program for PTSD called Picking Up The Pieces. Obama heard about this program and while he was running for the presidency, he went to find out more about it. He promised Dana's family that if he were elected, he would take this program across the entire nation to address the PTSD crisis.

Obama did a lot of things quietly. I know a lot of veterans on the Republican side. They are shocked when I tell them how hopeful I am with Obama as president. He had the opportunity to go onto any committee he wanted but made the choice to go onto the Veterans Affairs committee because he said that was where his heart was. The veterans now have a friend in the Oval office. As for what took place before, they need only to Google Bush and the VA to get their answers. It was a deplorable record from start to finish.

We have a lot to be very hopeful now. I'll keep my eyes on President Obama and the congress, just as I have before, but I can tell you that there has not been another man like Obama entering into the presidency since the Truman years. He had over 9% of his budget dedicated to veterans. Every other president since has reduced it. Bush, well, he butchered it and was forced to do anything for veterans. All the increases were done no matter how hard he objected.

Not posting today, computer crashed

Sorry that there are no posts for today. My PC crashed and I lost all my files. Should be back up and back to normal tomorrow.

PTSD: deciding to stay or leave when they change

by
Chaplain Kathie

I don't know the rest of this story. I don't know if this wife knows what PTSD is or what it does, but I hope she decides with the knowledge and wisdom her husband and children deserve along with the woman she will be in the future.

I hate my husband and I want to leave but.... - Talk About Marriage


I don't know where to start. My husband came home from Iraq for the second time last November. When he came home from his first deployment he had horrible PTSD and drank a bottle of hard alcohol daily. I dealt with it and knew he was going to redeploy and I thought that would magically fix him.

Before he deployed we had our only child and he left when he was 6 months old.
We don't agree on parenting at all, he thinks I am too easy on our son. I think he needs to spend more time with him and make a bond.

Anyway he said he was done drinking and wants to work on our marriage when he gets home and rebuild the trust he broke. click link for more

Deciding is the problem we all face when the people we planed on spending the rest of our lives with suddenly become more like strangers than the friends we married.

I had to decide as well. Four years into our marriage, it was nearly over. I had what I needed to know what PTSD was to make an informed decision but even having to face making it knowing what came with PTSD says a lot about how it changes our lives. It was a decision I would have to face over and over and over again. We've been married 24 years and to tell you the truth sometimes I wonder how we got here. That is how dark some of our life together was.

Newer veterans, unlike the Vietnam veterans, get to decide if they join or not. Some Vietnam veterans, as with generations before, did not have a choice and it's important to remember that when addressing any of this. The veterans drafted and sent into combat had a harder time coping with PTSD because aside from all the other problems the rest of the veteran's population face, at least it was their decision to go. Imagine being forced to go then having to fight the government because you were wounded by body or by trauma. Doesn't exactly leave you feeling too warm and fuzzy about the government. Still these men and women when asked do not regret serving in the military no matter how they got there, what they did or what they had to face after coming home. Remarkable individuals!

Setting that aside, these newer veterans decide to serve in the military or National Guards/Reservist but we, the spouse, have to decide what to do after if they come home with the changes of PTSD taking the people we loved away. It's hard to see they are still in there under all we see on the surface. It all becomes pretty hopeless when they won't go for help or are turned away from the help they need. We end up looking at them wondering if we really want to live the rest of our lives living walking on "broken glass" wondering what we did wrong or what we will say that sets them off. It's hard even knowing all the facts!

My advice is keep looking for answers. Keep looking for someone they will talk to. Keep trying to get them the help they need because if you are the type of person that would do all of it if they had cancer or any other illness, then you owe it to them and yourself to do it when it's PTSD.

I am not saying that you have to stay married when you feel you absolutely cannot. I am saying that caring about them does not have to end just because they are carrying around the weight of the world on their shoulders and being eaten alive by this wound. If you have to leave, do it honorably.

For those who decide to stay (as long as there isn't any domestic violence because this changes everything) you will discover that it was so worth it. Even with the problems we still have in our marriage, I don't regret staying. We care deeply for each other, still hold hands and we still even have a weekly date on Friday's when we have a play day for at least 5 hours to get away by ourselves and enjoy each other's company. While my husband is not the same man I married, he's still the man I loved when we got married. All I loved about him came back. PTSD just added into it some things that aggravate and frustrate me, but we consider all of this normal for us. What came with PTSD is all the usual symptoms but also some that no one really talks about and some of them are charming. While he's quick to anger and makes rash decisions, he's also very quick to realize he was wrong and his attitude turns into "a cute kid" trying to make up for doing something wrong. He gets adorable. This came with therapy and medication but it also came with the way I react to him and that came with understanding what all of this is.

He has short term memory loss, paranoia, goes on "patrol of the perimeter" checking doors and windows and jumps with every sound. He twitches and has some pretty bad days still but he gets back to normal for him faster. Yes, he still has nightmares and flashbacks, but again, we know what they are and we know what to do when they come. We found what works for us. So can anyone else if they really want to.

When you are faced with having to decide if you should stay and fight for them or leave them, just know what you need to know and will be able to cope with what comes next if you leave.

They could end up worse.
They could end up homeless.
They could end up committing suicide.
But, they also could end up getting the help they need and healing and then you would have missed the way they come out on the other side.

Speaking for myself, there is no way I would want to miss the way he came out on this side. A man that was dying a slow death now finds joy in the smallest things. He screams from the deck of our pool so that I can go out and see the sunset with him. He calls our dog all kinds of names, some not so kind but most of the time he calls him "brother" and the dog responds. He's a reformed smoker and doesn't like the fact I still smoke but comes home with adorable lighters because he thinks I'll enjoy them. He goes out and calls me when he gets to where he's going to tell me he got there ok so that I won't have to worry and calls me when I'm on the road to tell me he loves me. Nope, there is no way I would ever want to miss any of this. A man like my husband is very rare. As a matter of fact, they all are considering we're a nation of over 300 million people and only 24 million are veterans. Think about it.

17 days into new year, 16 soldiers killed in Afghanistan

I've been doing what I've faulted other people for in the past. Being too busy to check on ICasualties.org. I feel really ashamed of myself.

2001 12 US, 0 Coalition
2002 49 US, 20 Coalition
2003 48 US, 9 Coalition
2004 52 US, 6 Coalition
2005 99 US, 31 Coalition
2006 98 US, 93 Coalition
2007 117 US, 155 Coalition
2008 155 US, 139 Coalition
2009 10 US, 6 Coalition 16 killed in 17 days.
http://icasualties.org/oef/

6 US have also died in Iraq since Jan. 1, 2009

Total killed in Iraq for US is 4,227 with two waiting for confirmation.
http://icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx

Wounded Veterans Treated as an Afterthought and the world notices

"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

This is the quote I use on all of my emails. Washington would have never imagined a day would come when the treatment of the veterans would be worse than what they were in his day. Back then the troops/patriots/volunteer/militia farmers took up arms in order to provide freedom for these lands yet were not supplied with enough food or clothing, or boots for the feet. It was pretty terrible the way they were treated added onto by their own countrymen wanting to kill them because the loyalists liked the way they lived under England's King George. Washington knew that if the veterans were not treated properly when they were willing to risk their lives for the sake of the country, the likelihood of generations to come being equally willing was pretty abysmal. After all, who wants to risk their life, survive wounded and then have to suffer the rest of their lives unable to support themselves and their families? Picture a patriot losing a limb returning to a farm trying to run it with while balancing on a crutch.

What Washington never thought about was the impression this nation would leave on the rest of the world with technology spreading news around the globe within minutes. Wouldn't he be disgusted knowing a book review like this showed up in Italy? Imagine this man, the first President of this nation, one so dedicated and appreciative of those who serve he created a medal so that low ranking patriots would feel someone cared about all they were willing to endure. He created the Purple Heart, which was an award of merit. This award was later taken over by the congress and offered to the wounded only. In Washington's time some of his men had to have their feet amputated because of frostbite but under the rules of congress and the view of some people that a wound is only considered when deliberately caused by the enemy, these men would receive nothing but a half price sale on shoes since they only needed one. A wound in Washington's eyes was anything that happened while they were serving under his command. Now that's a General! He was the kind of General that would not allow his men to go into battle while he stayed safely behind in an office but often went with them taking a place ahead of them.

So as we debate the worthiness of the Purple Heart being awarded to a wound caused by being terrorized by the traumatic events of combat (in other words what the enemy causes) the rest of the world waits to see what we will do for our own. They wait to see if we really honor them and treat them with the dignity and respect they earned just as they wait to see if we will take care of all of them. They wait and then read a book like this clearly proving the point that this government did not honor any of them by neglecting too many of them. It is no longer possible for this nation to hide the shame and humiliation we've brought on ourselves by not taking the wise advice of Washington to heart. (Pun intended)

BOOKS-US: Wounded Veterans Treated as an Afterthought
Inter Press Service - Rome,Italy

By Dahr Jamail

MARFA, Texas, Jan 16 (IPS) - "But the [George W.] Bush administration was never seriously interested in helping veterans. The sorry state of care for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans is not an accident. It's on purpose."

Journalist Aaron Glantz makes this stunning statement in his recently released book, "The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans" (UC Press).

And his controversial claim is backed up by an extremely well-researched overview of the dismal state of care provided by the government for this new generation of war veterans.

Glantz, an IPS correspondent who has been covering the U.S. occupation of Iraq for years, including several months of reportage from inside Iraq, provides a devastating overview of the plight of war veterans.

From reporting on Bush administration funding cuts to the Veterans Administration (VA), to how key Republican senators like John McCain consistently vote against veteran's benefits and supporting legislation, "The War Comes Home" makes the case.

Glantz documents what happens when veterans from the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan return home with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), their battles with the Pentagon and VA to obtain benefits, and the psychological, mental, and physical toll this is taking on the hundreds of thousands of veterans, making "The War Comes Home" a must read for anyone wanting a clear understanding of what these occupations are truly costing those in the military.

The story of Patrick Resta, an Iraq war veteran, brings the reader into the world of a returning veteran. Resta's wife Melissa tells Glantz that upon Patrick's return from Iraq, "Over the course of just two or three weeks, I started to notice that if I came into a room, he would just leave," she said, "If I said something to him, he would just snap. He didn't want to talk to me, he didn't want to talk to really anybody, and when I confronted him with us having problems I would get let into."

Patrick ended up going to the VA, where he was diagnosed with PTSD. By March 2008, Glantz points out, Patrick joined over 130,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans as having been diagnosed with a psychological illness by the VA's mental health services.

While he still suffers from his illness, Patrick has gone on to make progress with the help he deserved from the VA. His story is, however, a best-case scenario. click link above for more

Will Sgt. Adam Boyle receive justice for PTSD case?

Lt. Gen. John Mulholland must not have thought about doing the right thing when it came to Sgt. Boyle. I bet he didn't think that anything he did would become a national story as well as a national disgrace. He didn't count on Adam's mother either. Laura has a deep commitment to her son but also to the wounded by PTSD. She's seen it first hand. She knows what this wound does to the warriors as well as their families. While military brass like Mulholland may think these men and women are worthy of not only tossing away but penalizing as well, there is a nation willing to step up and tell them, no way in hell will we allow this to happen.

Sgt. Boyle's life is not over, his worthiness is not gone nor is his ability to make a contribution to the nation, no matter what Mulholland thinks. Sgt. Boyle can be healed to the point where he's able to serve, if that's what he wants and this has been proven by three other generals that publicly came out with their own struggles to heal. While there is a vast difference between healing and cure, the healing is enough to restore a life while curing the wound is not possible. Sgt. Boyle, like hundreds of thousands of other veterans, did not return to the way they were before. The damage had been done but the human spirit they carry within them ended up seeing a better person after they come out on the other side.

The men and women willing to lay down there lives in this nation are a small minority. With over 300 million people there are only 24 million veterans and even less combat veterans, yet Mulholland finds no value in Sgt. Boyle? Maybe Mulholland believes the generals that sought help should have been tossed out as well? After all, he's apparently immune to feeling lost, alone, seeing his own life fall apart as PTSD walls all that is hopeful, possible, joyous and wonderful. He's never had to feel so hopeless that he was forced to reach for alcohol or a drug to kill off the feelings he could no longer tolerate. He's never had to face deciding to seek help, face being belittled, ostracized and having his career threatened. He's never had to worry about being turned away from having his own wound treated by the DOD or faced the possibility of being denied help from the VA because some lunk head decided that he was suddenly unworthy to wear the uniform or be treated honorably. To him the fact he lacks any and all ability to learn about this wound, documented since the beginning of time, what it causes and what comes with it, is not seen as anything for him to feel ashamed of, but something the wounded warriors should be brought to suffer for. All generations of PTSD veterans, wounded because they served this nation, should be outraged in this day and age, people like Mulholland live in the dark ages of bleeding the patient to cure them and putting leaches on wounds.

Laura sent me this about her son's case and wants it to be made public. His story, unfortunately, is being repeated far too often but no one knows about them. Now, you'll know exactly how some commanders betray the men and women serving under them. It's up to us to make sure he receives justice, not just for his own sake but for all the other veterans faced with the same treatment.

ISSUES IN ADMINISTRATIVE DISHARGE CASE OF SGT ADAM BOYLE
SGT Boyle’s administrative separation violated his Constitutional Due Process rights, Army Regulations, and was patently illegal.

Legal Errors
1. The Army failed to refer SGT Boyle’s case to the Physical Evaluation Board
SGT Boyle’s administrative separation is prohibited by AR 635-200, Paragraph 14–17, g., which states that in cases where a separation for misconduct is recommended by an administrative board, disposition through medical channels is required if the “Soldier has an incapacitating physical or mental illness that was the direct or substantial contributing cause of the conduct, and action under the UCMJ is not initiated. A copy of the signed decision by the GCMCA will be included with the records.” (Emphasis added). The Administrative Separation Board did not address this issue and the General Court-Martial Convening Authority (GCMCA) failed to make findings about the impact of SGT Boyle’s condition on his conduct. No signed decision by the GCMCA was included with the records.

2. The findings of the Administrative Separation Board were based on an incomplete record

The Administrative Separation Board denied SGT Boyle’s assigned military counsel’s request for a delay until records from his Medical Evaluation Board (MEB) could be submitted. The separation board convened on October 29, 2008, and the MEB was approved on the same day. The Narrative Summary, which contains the detailed findings of the MEB physician, was completed on October 23, 2008, well before the hearing. The Narrative Summary stated that SGT Boyle has Chronic PTSD, “a severe psychiatric condition,” and that his condition fails retention standards under AR 40-501. The MEB further recommended that the “Service member should be referred to the Physical Evaluation Board for further adjudication and requires the duty limitations specified on the attached DA Form 3349.” This information should have been considered by the Administrative Separation Board. It was required to have been considered by the GCMCA.

In addition, SGT Boyle’s Enlisted Record Brief (ERB) considered by the board was more than 6 months old and was incomplete. Specifically, his latest Army Achievement Medal was not listed on his brief. An updated ERB was requested by military defense counsel. This was not provided, even though this record is readily available to the command via a Department of the Army web based computer application. This failure meant that the Administrative Separation Board and the GCMCA did not have an accurate basis to make findings regarding the proper discharge characterization.

3. The Army failed to give SGT Boyle the required rehabilitative transfer
Army Regulation 635-200, Paragraph 1-16,c. requires that prior to initiating an administrative separation for a pattern of misconduct, the Soldier must be transferred to a new unit for at least 3 months to provide him an opportunity to rehabilitate.

The GCMCA may waive the rehabilitation requirements “where common sense and sound judgment indicate that such transfer will serve no useful purpose or produce a quality soldier.” Id. However, in SGT Boyle’s case, no such rehabilitation or waiver was made. Furthermore, Dr. George Krolick, Ph.D.,Clinical Psychologist, stated in his May 8, 2008 evaluation that “it is likely that efforts to rehabilitate or develop this individual into a satisfactory member of the military will be successful.” Note that SGT Boyle was not alleged to have engaged in misconduct after this date and in the 9 months preceding his discharge. This shows that not only was rehabilitation likely to succeed, but that even in the absence of a rehabilitative transfer, he was actually rehabilitated.

Compounding the failure to transfer SGT Boyle prior to initiating a separation, the Administrative Separation Board found that his chain of command failed to properly address the pattern of misconduct (“what helped mitigate this was the testimony from your chain of command. We felt they could have done a better job of putting a plan of action into effect that might have prevented a pattern.” (Page 28).

4. The Administrative Separation was illegal punishment

SGT Boyle’s Commander, who initiated the separation action, testified at the separation hearing that, “The Chapter was paperwork was started because of an incident in Georgia…The Chapter is his punishment for the incident.” (Page 11, Administrative Separation Board). Since the separation action was administrative in nature and non-judicial, the procedures used to punish SGT Boyle violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), Article 15 (Non-Judicial Punishment). Furthermore, the punishment imposed, separation, exceeded the authorized punishment under UCMJ, Article 15.

5. The Army failed to consider military defense counsel's appeal
AR 635-200,

Paragraph 2-6., requires that any legal errors identified by the respondent must be reviewed by an officer of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps prior to approval of the case by the GCMCA. The Administrative Separation Board hearing occurred on October 29, 2008. On November 6, 2008, SGT Boyle’s military defense counsel submitted an appeal requesting retention and referral to a Physical Evaluation Board. The appeal raised the legal error in not referring SGT Boyle to a Physical Evaluation Board. It detailed his honorable service, combat service, the findings of the Medical Evaluation Board, and pointed out that all of the alleged misconduct found by the Separation Board occurred after his return from Iraq. It also detailed the proactive treatment and intervention that SGT Boyle sought to address his conditions. The defense counsel states that she was told that the case had already been approved by the GCMCA and that the appeal could not be considered. This is in spite of the fact that the GCMCA did not approve the case until December 16, approximately 5 weeks later.

6. The Administrative Separation Board and the General Court-Martial Convening Authority failed to consider SGT Boyle’s complete service record in determining his discharge characterization

AR 635-200, Paragraph 3-5 e., requires that the characterization of service “must accurately reflect the nature of service performed…The Soldier’s performance of duty and conduct must be accurately evaluated.” Paragraph 3-7 a.(2)(d), states, “Unless otherwise ineligible, a soldier may receive an honorable discharge if he/she has, during his/her current enlistment, period of obligated service, or any extensions thereof, received a personal decoration.” The ERB that was considered by the Administrative Separation Board was more than 6 months old and did not list his third award of the Army Achievement Medal, earned for his meritorious service in Iraq and during his current enlistment. To have an accurate picture of his military service, SGT Boyle earned two Army Commendation Medals, three Army Achievement Medals, and two Army Good Conduct Medals.

The dated and inaccurate ERB deprived the Administrative Separation Board and the GCMCA of the whole picture of SGT Boyle’s honorable military service. This error was a violation of his Constitutional Due Process rights and Army Regulations.

The Illegal Separation Violated SGT Boyle’s Constitutional Due Process Rights and Army Regulations

The illegal discharge was stigmatizing and therefore requires the Army to respect SGT Boyle’s Constitutional Due Process rights. Federal case law states that these rights include notice of the action and an opportunity for a hearing. Casey v. United States, 8 Cl. Ct. 234 (1985). Without going into the details, the notice given SGT Boyle was defective because the findings by the Administrative Separation Board and the GCMCA included allegations of misconduct that he was not notified of prior to his hearing. This issue aside, the hearing was defective because it did not consider the available findings of the Medical Evaluation Board, violated Army Regulations, was based on incomplete information, and failed to offer SGT Boyle an opportunity to submit matters in his defense after the findings were announced.

As discussed previously, the hearing also, separately, violated Army Regulations.

Consequences of the Illegal Discharge

As a result of his illegal discharge with a General Discharge certificate, SGT Boyle was required to repay his re-enlistment bonus of $18,500. Because he outprocessed with a debt to the Army, SGT Boyle’s last paycheck was withheld. He was stripped of his accrued leave, which he could have otherwise taken or sold back to the Army. Without an honorable discharge characterization, he is ineligible for remission of indebtedness (which would cancel his debt), and is disqualified from the federal Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers program. His rights to healthcare, compensation, and educational benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs are now in doubt. He was denied his rights to a Physical Evaluation Board, which could have resulted in military retirement, health care benefits, and other retiree benefits due to his PTSD and migraine-like headaches.

SGT Boyle is a decorated twice deployed veteran of the Iraq war. As a result of his combat service he was injured and developed PTSD. Instead of giving him the benefits due to him under the law, the Army illegally separated him with a stigmatizing misconduct discharge. Instead of focusing on recovering from his injuries, he now must figure out where he is going to live, what he is going to do for work, and where he is going to get the treatment he deserves. The United States Army should have helped him. It should have given him the rights due under the Constitution and Army Regulations. Unfortunately, the Army has instead pushed him out without resources and he is left to fend for himself. This is not how we are supposed to treat our Wounded Warriors.

for more on Sgt. Boyle go here

http://woundedtimes.blogspot.com/search?q=adam+boyle

Welcome to the Law Office of Jason Perry

My law practice is devoted to military disability law and I provide professional legal representation before all Physical Evaluation Boards.

The practice of law at the PEB is complex. There are many laws and regulations that the military uses to determine your benefits. My experience can maximize your chances for a correct award and protect your rights. When I take a case, I seek to do three things. First, I will help you identify the evidence needed to get the result you want. Next, I present your case in the strongest way possible, arguing the facts and the law. Finally, I identify legal errors made in your case that may mean a higher award on appeal. This three pronged approach is designed to get you the best result as early as possible. If you want to discuss how to get the best results possible, call me at 800-576-5648. I look forward to helping you get the benefits you and your family deserve.

Now think of this. There are psychologists and psychiatrists and mental health professionals, donating their time as part of Give An Hour because the VA and the DOD are not doing what is needed. There are advocates testifying over and over again in Congress plus trying to raise funds and awareness to help the veterans, again because the DOD and the VA are not doing it right. There are lawyers running to help because of cases like Sgt. Boyle's. Would any this be necessary if America actually lived up to the tag line of being "a grateful nation" we claim when a flag is removed from a coffin and neatly folded for the families of the fallen? What do you think would mean more to them, a flag and a piece of paper or actually taking care of the men and women that managed to make it back home?

PTSD Advocates or Mercenaries?

by Chaplain Kathie

In all the years I've been doing this work, I've been amazed by the people stepping up to help veterans from coast to coast. Their reward for endless hours of heart tugging, often heartbreaking work, has not been financial or fame, but a deep spiritual reward they receive knowing that today, they made a difference in someone's life. This is what has kept me going. Often I'm asked if I get burnt out. I can't remember how many times this has happened, but God seems to have an endless supply of matches to light the fire over and over again. Most of the people in this do it quietly instead of blogging endlessly screaming at the top of their fingers on the keyboard. I get to blast my "mouth" off as often as my blood pressure rises to the point of exploding.

Most of the others amaze me because I wonder how they relieve their pressure because they stay so calm in this tsunami of pain. The percentage of advocates doing it out of the goodness of their hearts far outweighs the people who see dollar signs instead. With the media focused on PTSD finally it's a good time to offer a warning to anyone with some spare funds in their pockets and everyone trying to get whatever they can out of you.

I get Google Alerts on many topics. What I've noticed is a lot of groups popping up I've never seen before. Some of them are very worthy of support (without mentioning any by name) but some seem to have their own finances top of the agenda. Here's what you need to watch out for.

Read what they write, how often they write and if they offer email contacts. If they do, then they are open to request for help by the people they appear to be helping. If no email is available, think twice before donating any money at all. You have to wonder how they are supposed to be helping anyone if no one can contact them directly. Even if they supply a phone number, you need to call it to make sure someone is there or calls you back. Some use phone numbers and answering machinery but never bother to return any calls. This is a clear sign the "advocate" is only advocating for their own bank account.

If the advocate posts when it seems they feel like it instead of dedicated to it, again, think twice because more often than not, they are also helping when they feel like it and not when someone is in dire need.

If the advocate boasts about what they do too much, publish emails they receive except in rare circumstances, think twice. Emails should always be private especially when the topic is PTSD. The rare circumstance is when the author of the email is seeking media attention on certain cases. (One of them is coming later today on this blog)

If they say they are a 501c3, make sure they are before you donate a dime and see how much they donate to the causes they say they are supporting. Do not avoid sites that are not 501c3 because more often than not, they are simply not tax deductible but are doing great work. You'll find people so dedicated to this work they are doing it full time and their only income is what you donate to keep them going. In this case, use PayPal or checks so that there is a paper trail forcing them to claim the income on their taxes.

There are going to be more and more people with their hands out as the economy gets worse, which experts say will happen for a long time. They see an easy way to make some money without really doing the work they claim to be doing. A bad economy and heartbreaking stories will always soften the hearts of charitable people. When you trust someone enough to make a donation and you find out later on they were using the cause you care about to make a fast buck, it ends up hurting the chance you'll donate to legitimate advocates.

Real advocates are not in this for glory but usually because they have "skin in the game" and a real reason to be doing this. This is why it's very important to read what they write so you'll know where their heart really is.

On the side bar of this blog are some great places to donate to. Keep checking to see more sites added in the future.

VA diagnosing higher rates of PTSD

VA diagnosing higher rates of PTSD
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jan 16, 2009 16:18:25 EST

More than 44 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who have sought treatment at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility have been diagnosed with one or more possible mental disorders, according to the agency’s most recent summary of veteran health care.

All told, a total of 178,483 veterans who came to VA for help were diagnosed with possible mental disorders from fiscal 2002 through September 2008, according to the January report of the VHA Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards.

Of that total, 92,998 service members, or 23 percent, were diagnosed with possible post-traumatic stress disorder, while 63,009, or 16 percent, were found to have possible depressive disorders.

The VA figures overlap to an unknown extent because officials say a veteran may have been diagnosed with more than one disorder.

In addition, the total of those who have come to VA for health care is a limited sample of the 1.7 million service members who have served in the two wars — as of Sept. 30, 2008, 400,304 war veterans had sought such treatment over the past seven years, or about 24 percent of the totals number of troops who have served in the conflicts.
click link above for more

Veterans explain why they give up on the VA

When you know you do not leave the service the same way you went into it, it's easy to know it happened because you went in. You know you have health problems and then you read about chemicals being used where you were and you know why you're sick. This happened to veterans exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and the veterans exposed while processing it, loading it and delivering it. Veterans that never set foot in Vietnam were exposed to it along with other chemical contaminations on bases like Fort McClellan .

Fort McClellan
Home to the US Army Military Police and US Army Chemical Schools (Chemical Defense Training Facility - CDTF).

They filed claims for what was caused by their willingness to serve, but the claims were denied. They tried to fight but sooner or later, they figured they couldn't fight anymore something they shouldn't have had to fight at all for. Some of my friends are still fighting.

When women were sexually assaulted, again because they were willing to serve, they were rebuffed and denied justice for the criminal actions of someone else and the results of the attacks when they ended up with PTSD. They fought to have claims approved and then gave up.

When will this country ever get this right? People working with claims get all defensive about denying claims stating that it's up to the veteran to prove the claim. The veterans' view is the VA should have to prove their disability was not caused by service to the country. After all, when VA doctors, trained by the VA to know what they're talking about link the illness with the service, it's only logical that they are not making baseless claims.

Take a veteran with PTSD. They have flashbacks. They are not having flashbacks of life outside of Vietnam, but of events during their time in Vietnam. When they have nightmares, it's about Vietnam not of things that have nothing to do with Vietnam. Same thing with the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. It's always about the events causing the traumatic reactions. The VA tells them they have to prove it. The last thing on the minds of the troops is getting names and phone numbers in case they needed to have claims substantiated years in the future. Most Vietnam veterans never saw the people they were with again because they were deployed alone under DEROS. (Date Expected Return From Over Seas) They would get orders to go, catch a plane from the states and end up in Vietnam in with a bunch of strangers they would end up bonding with for their year and then never see them again.

If you go onto the Lost and Found site, you'll read about Vietnam veterans still looking for people they were with online.

Army Lost and Found

Some are trying to just find friends they used to have but most of them are trying to find someone that can tell the VA what they say happened really happened. In a perfect world you'd assume the military has records of all of it and who was there at the time, but they don't. Records get lost and paperwork ends up in someone else's file because of clerical errors and wrong social security numbers. This happened to my husband when his social security number was typed on documents about six different ways. Yet when veterans file claims, the VA doesn't care if they have all the paperwork they were handed or not. It's not the fault of the processors because they cannot just approve claims. They have to back up their decisions. If they decide wrongly in favor of the veteran, there is hell to pay but if they decide wrongly in favor of the VA, well then, that's a different story. They have to make sure all the "i" are dotted and the "t" are crossed. If not, then the claim is denied and then the veteran has to file an appeal.

There are over 800,000 cases waiting to be processed and over 300,000 appeals waiting. It's not a matter of a one shot appeal because often there are multiple appeals filed. The veteran is given so much time to respond and if they do not within the time the VA gives them, the claim begins fresh. In other words, the claim, if approved finally, does not go back to the original filing unless they meet every deadline. The veteran keeps going to the VA seeking treatment but without an approved claim and an act by Congress, they have to pay for the treatment because in the eyes of the VA, it's not service connected until the claim is approved. Imagine having a disability you and your doctor know is connected to your service, then finding out you have to pay for the treatment! Would you be angry? Would you want to give up?

Read the following and find out why they feel the way they do.

Veterans testify about health problems
By MIKE BARBER
P-I REPORTER

A special Veterans Affairs panel aiming to do justice for the long-neglected veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War convened in Seattle on Wednesday -- at the same time retired Gen. Eric Shinseki was testifying at a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday to be the new VA secretary.

While Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., spoke at Shinseki's hearing about the need to change the current culture of the VA, several veterans in Seattle told the 14-member Advisory Committee about problems they had after returning from Operation Desert Storm 18 years ago.

Each veteran had fallen ill in the 1990s and never recovered from similar, mysterious symptoms they said they were discouraged from reporting or treating after returning from war:

"I felt kicked out, humiliated ... I looked elsewhere for answers" and dropped all contact with the VA in 1996, said Mark Nieves, 38, of Seattle. He came home ill displaying a variety of mysterious symptoms after serving as a cavalry scout with the 1st Armored Division in the 1991 Iraq invasion.

Lee Christopherson, 47, of Seattle, a former Coast Guard commander who also served in the Iraq war in 2003, was urged to attend the meeting by his mom, who said she wanted him to share what she had seen him bottle up over the years, including multiple strokes, blood clotting, vascular dementia, severe joint pain, fatigue, sweats, and involuntary muscle spasms all over his body.

"I had significant medical issues but I avoided recording them due to the fear of repercussions to my career," said Christopherson, who has been waiting since 2004 for a decision on his disability claim.

Beckie Wilson, a retired enlisted sailor and veteran of Desert Storm in 1991, said she gave up seeking VA treatment 10 years ago, opting for private doctors, in part from feeling vulnerable as a woman and made to feel "crazy."

"I didn't feel like the VA is changing so why bother? Is it truly changing? Are you truly trying to do something for us?" she asked. click link above for more

Someone needs to reclaim Army Standards

This goes with what I wrote the other day about problems in the military.

Reclaiming Army Standards
by: Brandon Friedman
Tue Jan 13, 2009 at 18:20:54 PM EST
The fact is, while the Army has been lowering its entrance standards with regard to education, physical fitness, and crime since the end of the Cold War, that process has accelerated since the invasion of Iraq. And this is something that the incoming Army Secretary should address.
The numbers are shocking when you actually see the scope of the issue:
Dr. Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army officer, points out that in 1992 98 percent of recruits had a high school diploma. By 2004, that number had fallen to 86 percent. In 2007, only 79 percent of Army recruits had completed high school. Whereas nearly everyone in the Army had a diploma 15 years earlier, by 2007, fewer than four out five soldiers did.





Standards
by: Brandon Friedman
Fri May 23, 2008 at 12:54:34 PM EDT
WTF is this?

This is a full-blown, four-alarm, Army-wide emergency as far as I'm concerned. I swear to God somebody needs to answer for this on Capitol Hill. The Defense Department, the Army, the generals. . .I don't care. Just somebody. This is a failure in leadership from top to bottom.

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Memorial for Lance Cpl. Robert "Robby" Johnson

Memorial for local Marine set for Saturday
Mail Tribune - Medford,OR,USA
The event honors the serviceman who died in Iraq's Anbar province Dec. 20
By Paul Fattig
Mail Tribune
Family and friends of Lance Cpl. Robert "Robby" Johnson, 21, of Central Point, a Marine who died in Iraq on Dec. 20, are invited to a memorial honoring him on Saturday.

The memorial will begin at 11 a.m. at the Table Rock Fellowship, 3610 N. Pacific Highway, Medford.


Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, a former Marine who has made a point of attending every funeral or memorial service of the roughly 110 in the military with Oregon ties who died in Iraq or Afghanistan, will attend Johnson's memorial, according to his spokeswoman, Jillian Schoene.

Johnson's father, Brad Johnson, and stepmother, Marie Johnson, of Central Point asked that no media be present at the private ceremony. They requested the privacy because of their continued grieving over his death, they said.

"I keep expecting that he will come walking through that door," his father said Tuesday. "We're trying to remember all the positive things."

His son's religious convictions gave him great comfort, Brad Johnson said. The Marine attended Table Rock Fellowship when he was home. Friends say he was an avid outdoorsman who loved to fish, hunt and camp.

A 2005 graduate of Crater High School who joined the service in September of that year, he died in what the Marine Corps described as a non-hostile incident in Anbar province. He was assigned to the 5th Combat Logistics Battalion, 1st Combat Logistics Regiment, 1st Marine Logistics Group, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

An investigation into his death is under way, according to the Marine Corps.
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Panel finds vets not seeking help

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Panel finds vets not seeking help

‘Hidden wounds’ unreported

By John J. Monahan TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
jmonahan@telegram.com


BOSTON — A state commission has concluded that high numbers of veterans returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not receiving adequate treatment and readjustment assistance for what they called the hidden wounds of war — mental health conditions from battlefield brain injuries and post-traumatic stress.

The commission, which described failures to provide needed mental health services to veterans of past wars as “despicable,” today is issuing a series of recommendations for new government and community efforts to provide a range of key readjustment resources and programs to fill unmet needs.

“These warriors did not obtain these wounds on the golf course. They obtained these wounds, physical and mental, or both, on the field of battle,” said state Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, who is co-chairman of the commission. “If they have mental distress, we the citizens of this country must help them get over that. It is our obligation to help them.”


Besides a variety of new direct services to complement federal veterans programs, Mr. Brewer said, the commission is recommending broader social efforts, including an educational advertising campaign and training of police, emergency responders, corrections officers and court officials, to raise public awareness of special problems many veterans face.

“It is vital to ensure that service members, their families, and the public at large are educated about the warning signs, treatment options and societal effects of mental health issues left untreated,” the report concluded.

“If they have mental distress, we as citizens of this country must help them get over that. It is our obligation to them,” Mr. Brewer said of the urgency to expand special assistance in the form of medical transportation, free psychological counseling, career assistance, outreach initiatives and other support for veterans and family members as recommended by the commission.

Darrell P. Keating, executive director of the Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center, said over the last two years only a couple of veterans have come to that program to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder problems, and he said it is obvious to him many suffer without help.
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Soldier awarded VC for Afghanistan bravery

Soldier awarded VC for Afghanistan bravery
By Online parliamentary correspondent Emma Rodgers
A special forces soldier who braved enemy fire to save the life of an interpreter caught in a Taliban ambush has become the first Australian in 40 years to be presented with the Victoria Cross.

The Special Operations Task Group member dashed 80 metres under heavy enemy fire to rescue an injured Afghan interpreter and carry him to safety.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Trooper Donaldson deliberately drew enemy fire away from his wounded comrades during the ambush on Australian, US and Afghan forces in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province on September 2 last year.

He also administered first aid to others who were wounded before rejoining his patrol to continue fighting

Nine Australian soldiers were wounded in the ambush, the highest in one incident since the Vietnam War.
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Veterans exposed to incorrect drug doses

Just keeps getting worse and worse for our veterans at the same time they tell us they are finally getting things right.

Veterans exposed to incorrect drug doses
San Diego Union Tribune -
San Diego,CA,USA
By HOPE YEN, The Associated Press 11:37 a.m. January 14, 2009

WASHINGTON — The top Republican on the House Veterans Affairs Committee demanded Wednesday that the VA explain how it allowed software glitches to put the medical care of patients at its health centers nationwide at risk.
"I am deeply concerned about the consequences on patient care that could have resulted from this 'software glitch' and that mistakes were not disclosed to patients who were directly affected," said Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind. "I have asked VA for a forensic analysis of all pertinent records to determine if any veterans were harmed, and I would like to know who was responsible for the testing and authorized the release of the new application."
Patients at VA health centers were given incorrect doses of drugs, had needed treatments delayed and may have been exposed to other medical errors due to the glitches that showed faulty displays of their electronic health records, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act.
The glitches, which began in August and lingered until last month, were not disclosed to patients by the VA even though they sometimes involved prolonged infusions for drugs such as blood-thinning heparin, which can be life-threatening in excessive doses.
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Marine Reserve Cpl. Jeffrey Lucey's family wins law suit

Family of Iraq vet gets settlement after his suicide
U.S. loses wrongful death suit
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Friday, January 16, 2009
ARLINGTON, Va. — Marine Reserve Cpl. Jeffrey Lucey hanged himself on June 22, 2004, about three weeks after being released as an inpatient from the Northampton Veterans Medical Center in Leeds, Mass.

His parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. government, claiming the VA initially refused to treat him for post-traumatic stress disorder because they required him to be sober first.

Now they will receive $350,000 under a settlement with the U.S. government that was announced Thursday by Military Families Speak Out, an anti-war group to which they both belong.

"The Government killed my son," Lucey’s father, Kevin, said in Thursday’s news release. "It sent him into an illegal and reckless war and then, when he returned home, it denied him the basic health care he needed."
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Ann Coulter misses the point as usual

Ann Coulter does it again. First she goes after President Elect Obama, then attacks, you guessed it, single mothers.

RedStatesUSA.com - The Majority, Silent No LongerAfter Vietnam, every returning veteran was a psycho killer or a homeless bum. Until the VFW did a report showing we were less likely than the general population to be either, it was an accepted fact thanks to the media and Hollywood

I was really hoping for something different when this came in Google Alerts. As soon as I saw Ann Coulter's name, I buzzed through it because I knew I'd regret reading all of it. If you feel the need to read it click the link above.

As for the claim of the VFW standing up for the Vietnam veterans when they came back, she really needs to talk to some Vietnam veterans to find out that the older veterans and the service organizations already established treated the Vietnam veterans as if they didn't deserve to walk in the front door. They were treated as if they were "not even veterans" but what they turned around to do was fight for all veterans. Their credo, never again will one generation leave behind another. Because of what they did and how hard they fought PTSD is recognized by the DOD and the VA as a combat related disability. Veterans from other wars were also wounded. The same ones that turned their backs on Vietnam veterans, were helped by Vietnam veterans. It's because of their work that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are being treated better but it's far from what needs to be done. People like Coulter didn't want to hear what the Vietnam veterans were saying, how they ended up homeless or ended up in jail because too many came home with PTSD and were not treated for it. Same thing happens today but Coulter was just too busy attacking President Obama and single Moms instead of actually trying to address the needs of veterans.

Jena 6's Bell: 'I just couldn't take it anymore'

Jena 6's Bell: 'I just couldn't take it anymore'
After being part of Louisiana's racially charged "Jena 6" assault case, Mychal Bell wanted to be the perfect citizen. In late December, the pressure became too much to bear. He aimed a gun at his chest and pulled the trigger. "It just got to the point where I just couldn't take it anymore," said Bell, a former all-state running back for Jena High's football team. full story

New DoD center offers help for PTSD

New DoD center offers help for PTSD
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jan 15, 2009 12:11:52 EST

The Defense Department has created a new outreach center for troops and family members who need help understanding post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, as well as to help them get the resources they need.

Army Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton, director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, said that while the Defense Department has created many existing resources for service members, the new outreach center grew out of focus groups that were conducted to see what else might be done.

“They said, ‘We want a place where we call and know the folks who answer the phones know our concerns,’” Sutton said. “We knew we had to get the right kind of professionals.”

People who access existing programs — Military OneSource, the Wounded Warrior Resource Center or the National Resource Directory — might find that their first contact was not necessarily with someone who understands that traumatic brain injury may make it harder for victims to quickly make a point or understand an answer, or that a person with PTSD might quickly become frustrated and angry if asked an insensitive question.

The new center was designed with that in mind, Sutton said. It is also hoped that the center will help the military better reach National Guard and reserve members who live in rural areas.

The new Outreach Center for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury opened Jan. 15 and will feature 21 clinicians, most with master’s degrees, who are specially trained to understand and help those with TBI and PTSD. Clinicians will take calls and answer e-mails 24 hours a day, Sutton said.

To contact the Outreach Center, call (866) 966-1020 or e-mail resources@dcoeoutreach.org

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Suicide of GI spotlights mental care issues

Suicide of GI spotlights mental care issues
By Kimberly Hefling - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jan 15, 2009 11:22:21 EST

WASHINGTON — In 2005, an Army captain in Iraq asked for a mental health evaluation for one of his soldiers, a private first class from North Carolina who was known to put the muzzle of his weapon in his mouth.

The case was assigned to a psychologist who was unlicensed — a common practice in the early years of the war, when the Army rushed mental health counselors to the combat zone even if some weren’t certified or fully qualified.

The psychologist reported that a screening indicated the 20-year-old private, Jason Scheuerman, was “capable of claiming mental illness” to manipulate his superiors and did not have a mental disorder. Three weeks later, Scheuerman stepped into a barracks closet and shot himself to death. He had nailed a note to the closet that said, “Maybe finaly I can get some peace.”

His death, the subject of an internal Army investigation exposed to The Associated Press by his family, casts light on the armed forces’ reliance on unlicensed counselors before the Army policy was changed to exclude them in 2006.

At the time of Scheuerman’s suicide, unlicensed psychologists and other counselors were allowed to examine soldiers provided they were supervised by licensed professionals. The same rules are common in civilian evaluations.
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DOD suicide prevention conference under way

DOD suicide prevention conference under way
by Michael Tolzmann
Defense Media Activity-San Antonio

1/13/2009 - SAN ANTONIO (AFNS) -- An Army staff sergeant who had lost Soldiers in the war zone was called a coward, a wimp and a wuss from a leader when he mentioned he might need psychological help.

It is this type of stigma from toxic leadership that can kill, and that is being examined by scientists, clinicians and specialists in an attempt to eliminate it, said Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Loree K. Sutton, who is the Army's highest ranking psychiatrist.

Dr. Sutton described the staff sergeant's real experience during her opening remarks of the 2009 Department of Defense/Veterans Affairs Annual Suicide Prevention Conference being held Jan. 12 through 15 in San Antonio. More than 750 people -- specialists from the military, VA, and civilian social workers, chaplains, researchers, and family members effected by suicide -- gathered with a common goal of finding ways to reduce suicide.

"The secretary of Defense and chairman of the joint chiefs have both emphasized, 'seeking help is a sign of profound courage and strength. Truly, psychological and spiritual health are just as important for readiness as one's physical health,'" said Dr. Sutton, who is the special assistant to the assistant secretary of Defense for Health Affairs and Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury director.

Dr. Sutton said a Soldier's ethos of never leaving a fallen comrade behind applies to those with wounds you can't see. She encouraged others to be kinder than necessary, because everyone is battling some kind of problem, and to reach out and intervene early. She said she is concerned with a recent rise in suicide in the Army and Marine Corps.

The four-day conference is filled with breakout session workshops and training focusing on a myriad of suicide-related topics such as crisis negotiation of a suicide in progress, resilience as it relates to suicide prevention, or overall VA suicide prevention strategies and mental health strategic initiatives.
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