When it comes to PTSD, how many times can Congress get it wrong?

If they understood why a lot of the domestic violence issues even begin, they would know this is not the answer. While Veterans' Courts are wonderful, it's awareness that is the real answer.

Take a PTSD vet with a wife and neither of them having a clue what it is. Toss in a flashback and a screaming wife in arms distance. You have a domestic violence case waiting to happen. Take a PTSD veteran in the middle of a nightmare and a wife, yet again, not having a clue what PTSD is, yet again in striking distance, yet again an angry wife tired of being woken up in the middle of the night, and yet again, you have a domestic violence case that did not need to happen. Congress can do whatever they want but unless and until they actually know what needs to be done, none of it will work and may in fact do more harm than good. This is an attempt to provide the support needed but they need to fund the original problem before they can try to fix it.

Domestic abuse bill brings men's rights to light
Filed Under: Civil Rights, General Assembly, Local Government, State Government
Topics: Beth McCann, John Morse

February 5, 2009
Face the State Staff Report

A bill proposing to increase fees in order to support domestic violence service agencies was heard Wednesday in the Senate Judiciary Committee. If passed, the bill would designate a percentage of funds specifically for organizations that provide domestic abuse services for military members and veterans.

Senate bill 68, sponsored by Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, and Rep. Beth McCann, D-Denver, seeks a fee increase on all applications for marriage or divorce. The bill specifies a percentage of the money collected would fund domestic abuse services provided by nongovernmental agencies or units of local government and specifically designates a percentage of the money to organizations that provide domestic abuse services to military families.

The bill's language regarding funding for military domestic abuse organizations was a source of dispute. Frequently soldiers returning from war are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, and as a result have abusive tendencies that may not have existed previous to their service.

"It is a disgrace to incarcerate more of our veterans for injuries sustained defending our country," testified military veteran and practicing psychotherapist Victor Alvarez. "Expanding these laws is not working. We're simply wasting time. If you really want to fix the problem, get people in counseling. We can't just continue to single out the accused perpetrators."

Opponents of the bill voiced concerns the current funding for domestic abuse services has done little to prevent abuse. Many of the men who testified also thought the proposed legislation would promote a misconception that men cannot be victims of abuse.

According to Dr. Charles Corry, president of the Equal Justice Foundation, domestic violence cases have nearly doubled over the last decade, meanwhile the state's population has grown by just 23 percent during this same time period. Corry maintains this disproportionate increase proves current funding is not being used effectively. click link for more

Veterans service officer is coming to a location near you Bronson FL

Veterans service officer is coming to a location near you

By Lou Elliott Jones

BRONSON — If you are a military veteran Mike Engle wants to meet you.

He’s recruiting, but not to send folks back into military service, he’s looking for veterans to help them claim any services they are entitled to from the Veterans Administration.

Engle is the Levy County Veterans Service Officer and with his staff of two he helps veterans file claims and get transportation to the VA Clinic in Gainesville.

And with economic hardship hitting many veterans, Engle has seen an uptick in a request for services.

“We are seeing some veterans who would not have filed a claim before saying give it to someone else who is worse off than me, come in to file a claim,” Engle said.

The Veterans Administration says there are 5,000 veterans living in Levy County, and there are those snowbirds who are also veterans living here part of the year. Engle has made contact with about 2,500 veterans. He said the VA, while telling him how many veterans live here does not provide him with names and addresses so he can contact them.

That’s part of the challenge of his job, finding the other 2,500 or so veterans
click link for more

Army sees significant rise in January suicides

Do I really need to say anything more than I've said before?

Army sees significant rise in January suicides
By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Feb 5, 2009 15:57:13 EST

Seven soldiers committed suicide in January and the cause of death in 17 other cases is still pending, Army officials announced Thursday, marking a significant increase in soldier suicides from the same time period in previous years.

Last month’s numbers are six times higher than those from January 2008 and eight times higher than in 2004. click link for more

Army official: Suicides in January 'terrifying'
CNN - USAStory Highlights
Two dozen soldiers believed to have killed themselves in January, official says

The number of likely suicides more than those killed in combat last month

Army psychologist says long, cold months of winter might have contributed to spike

Army takes rare step of releasing figures for month rather than waiting till end of year

From Barbara Starr and Mike Mount
CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One week after the U.S. Army announced record suicide rates among its soldiers last year, the service is worried about a spike in possible suicides in the new year.

The Army said 24 soldiers are believed to have committed suicide in January alone -- six times as many as killed themselves in January 2008, according to statistics released Thursday.

The Army said it already has confirmed seven suicides, with 17 additional cases pending that it believes investigators will confirm as suicides for January.

If those prove true, more soldiers will have killed themselves than died in combat last month. According to Pentagon statistics, there were 16 U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq in January.

"This is terrifying," an Army official said. "We do not know what is going on."

Col. Kathy Platoni, chief clinical psychologist for the Army Reserve and National Guard, said that the long, cold months of winter could be a major contributor to the January spike.

"There is more hopelessness and helplessness because everything is so dreary and cold," she said.

click link for more

Notice to Organizations

While I've been doing a lot of work for free helping organizations across the country, I can no longer keep donating my time. Financially it's placed an impossible burden on my family. We just got back from doing our taxes and there is too much money going out but not enough money coming in.

Groups have turned to me for advice, my videos and Power Points but have not thought to donated any funds in return for the work I do. This has to stop. Some groups have been very generous and they are not included in on this notice. Yes, I do know who you are and you have appreciated the help I've given enough to think of donating. Our relationship will not change. For all other groups, the fee is $50.00 per hour subject to change with notice and mutual agreement. You will need to discuss using my videos for presentations from now on. I put a lot of time and research into making these videos, thus saving you work. The same applies to the Power Points.

For all veterans and their families, I made a commitment to you 26 years ago and will not charge you ever for the help I give. This will not change. My frustration is with people making a living doing what I do and expecting me to just keep helping them for free.

MySpace hero stops web suicide

Sane MySpace user prevents Webcam suicide
Posted by Chris Matyszczyk
Not everyone can hope to meet someone like Jesse Coltrane online.

Coltrane, a 22-year-old from New Jersey, befriended a teenager from the Sacramento area on MySpace. About a month later, the teen revealed in a Webcam chat that he was cutting himself and intended to take his own life.

Perhaps some of you might remember the case of Abraham Biggs, the Florida teen who made a similar statement last November and went through with his suicide, while being egged on by many pleasant little worms, staring at their Webcams as if this was entertainment.
click link for more

A reporter finally gets it on VA PTSD numbers

A reporter finally gets it on VA PTSD numbers
by
Chaplain Kathie

Jo Hartley gets it! With all the reports coming out on the numbers of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans coming home with PTSD, very few reporters actually get what the real numbers are and what they mean for the future. While I've slammed reporters in the past, it feels wonderful to pat one on the back.

It disgusts me that the VA is unable to keep up with the veterans seeking treatment for PTSD at the same time they claim to be doing outreach efforts to reach the veterans that have been living with PTSD but did not know what it was. Again, one more case of bureaucracy gone insane. What were they thinking when it came to providing the information veterans need about this wound if there is no one there to take care of them? Did they think the veterans they finally reached would say, "Hey great! I know what's wrong with me." and then do absolutely nothing to have it treated and compensated for? The natural outcome is an influx of veterans seeking treatment and compensation! Their lives were damaged by this wound!

They saw they could no longer keep jobs when nightmares and flashbacks, twitches and overreactions to what co-workers did made working impossible.

They saw their kids turn away from them. Some were even hated by their kids because of what unknown PTSD was doing to them. They saw these same kids end up with secondary PTSD because of the traumatic stress of living with a PTSD veteran and not knowing what it was.

They saw the love of their life turning away from them, avoiding them, being angry and crying because of what PTSD did in the household and to their relationship. They saw divorce lawyers and wondered how things ever got so bad.

Then they wondered if they would ever be able to actually feel love ever again. Would they ever feel joy? Would they ever wake up happy to be alive? Would they ever have hopes for better days when they could laugh the way they used to without being drunk? Would they ever be able to enjoy the things the used to like going to a movie or eating in a restaurant without having to fear where they would be seated? Would they ever have a night when they were not afraid to fall asleep because they didn't want the nightmares to take them back into combat? Would they ever be able to drive down the street without having a flashback spawn from a trash bag left behind?

These are just some of the things PTSD veterans live with. When it comes to female veterans they have all of this but even more. For those that survived sexual assaults it's even worse. They end up wondering if they will ever be able to view the hands of a man without fear ever again.

To think that there would not be a wave of veterans turning to the VA, that prides itself on having the best PTSD programs, is the definition of incompetence.

Outreach work is reaching them. Not just the tiny efforts the VA has been producing but by people like me all across the nation. The Internet has blessed us with the opportunity to share what we know and provide vital information that was not available when Vietnam veterans came home. For all the hours I put in on a daily basis, all the stories I read, all the heartbreaking emails I receive, I am profoundly hopeful because the older veterans are reaching out for help instead of suffering in silence. I have never seen it this bad but in a way, it's a good thing. They would still be suffering but now they have hope. Hope of healing to the point where they find their own kind of normal and a peaceful coexistence with this ghost of combat. Yet because of the ineptitude of the past leaders in the VA coupled with the past ambivalence of Congress, no one has been there to sustain the hope.

Ever wonder what it's like for them to finally discover why their lives have been sent on some kind of trip from hell, knowing it was all because they served this nation, when the same nation turns them away? Add to that the fact the VA tells them to seek help for PTSD and then turns down their claims then charges them for their treatment because their claim has not been approved and Congress gave them the right to collect for any non-service connected treatment. That's right! No approved claim means even if PTSD is linked to combat by their own doctors, it's considered non-service connected until that claim is approved by the same VA. Nice twist on honoring the veterans isn't it?

What makes this all worse is that for all the claims approved and all the backlogged claims that have even more PTSD veterans within those claims waiting for help, are even more not seeking help from the VA. They gave up. It just wasn't worth being tortured even more than they already were. Then there is the issue of the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Bill that says they cannot keep their guns if they are found to have PTSD. This Bill was supposed to be about saving lives but ended up keeping veterans from seeking help. No one thought about the veterans that have jobs requiring guns. No one thought about the veterans that are not dangerous to themselves or others but have relied on their guns for protection and to help them feel safer. Did anyone think that while they were in combat, their weapon was their protection? Take flashbacks and all that comes with PTSD and then tell them they are back home safe now and don't need their guns anymore. Did anyone think that it would be better to have a PTSD veteran in treatment, getting help while they had guns than it would be to have PTSD veterans with guns and not getting help? Well that's exactly what happened.

I did a presentation for a group of veterans on PTSD. During the time for questions and answers, the only question they had was about this bill and the fact they would have to surrender their guns. Often talking about PTSD will cause a flashback and an emotional tsunami flooding over them. I was standing in a room filled with armed veterans talking to them about PTSD and had absolutely no fear at all.

I am not stupid and I know the means of choice for suicide is a weapon. But I'm also very, very aware of the fact if they do not have a weapon, they find another way of doing it. What causes someone to commit suicide is the loss of hope and not the wound itself. When they lose hope of healing, snatched away from them at the same time they seek help with the DOD or the VA, they lose the reason to live another day. Taking away their guns does more harm than good when the obvious answer to the suicide epidemic is to treat the wound and stop torturing the wounded.

Six months without compensation to live on, being charged for treatment and being tortured! Would you feel this was a grateful nation?

VA Strains to Meet the Needs of our Veterans
Natural News.com - Phoenix,AZ,USA
Thursday, February 05, 2009 by: Jo Hartley, citizen journalist
(NaturalNews) The number of veterans needing health care is rising, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is having difficulty meeting the needs of our veterans.

New statistics released from the Department of Defense and the VA reveal that US casualties are rising. Injuries and deaths connected to Iraq and Afghanistan assignments are at 81,361 now. This is an increase from 72,043 from one year ago.

Veteran patients increased from 263,909 in December 2007 to 400,304 currently.

Mental illness is the number one ailment for the soldiers inundating the VA. Forty-five percent of the current VA patients have mental health diagnoses. This includes 105,000 diagnoses of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These numbers do not include the unknown number of veterans who are mentally ill but have not sought treatment through the VA.

Thanks to legislative changes and funding increases, health care for our veterans has improved over the last year. Recently, the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act was passed. This act entitles veterans to up to five years of free health care for all military-related health conditions. Additionally, there have also been significant improvements to VA facilities, increased health care research, and improvements to the existing claims processing system.

Despite these improvements, however, there remain problems that prevent adequate care and compensation for veterans. This is particularly true for veterans who need disability benefits. It is commonplace for these benefits to be either delayed or denied. For veterans diagnosed with PTSD, 59 percent are awaiting approval for benefits. This means that they are still waiting for their claims to be processed or they have not filed a claim because of the many deterrents that exist within the system.

Over 809,000 veterans are awaiting claim decisions at this time. The average processing time for veteran claims is over six months. PTSD patients typically have longer delays. Current economic woes are making this waiting period even more difficult for veterans. Often veterans are not able to work due to their disabilities and for this reason, their financial circumstances become crises.

Fort Carson Female Solider died of illness

Local Soldier Dies of Illness

Posted: 3:51 PM Feb 4, 2009
Last Updated: 3:51 PM Feb 4, 2009
Reporter: KKTV




A Colorado National Guard Soldier who was stationed at Fort Carson died has died from an unspecified illness.

Spc. Callie A. Rader, 32, of Fort Carson, a nuclear, biological and chemical specialist was assigned to the 1158th Space Support Company, 117th Space Battalion. Rader was not in a military status when she died on February 2.

"Callie Rader had a friendly nature and a contagious happiness," said 1158th 1st Sgt. Ken Noland. "She lifted the spirits of those around her and appeared to genuinely enjoy coming to drill."
click link for more

WWII vet frozen to death leaves $$$ to hospital

WWII vet frozen to death leaves $$$ to hospital
Story Highlights
Martin Schur, 93, froze to death in his home last month; leaves estate to hospital

Attorney won't disclose amount; relative says it's likely in excess of $500,000

"Hopefully his death is not in vain and we can learn from this," nephew says

The death has prompted a state investigation into the manner in which he died

By Wayne Drash
CNN

(CNN) -- A 93-year-old World War II medic who froze to death last month in his Bay City, Michigan, home left his entire estate to a local hospital, an estate attorney told CNN Wednesday.

The attorney would not disclose the exact amount left behind by Martin Schur. But his nephew said his uncle indicated to family members two years ago that he had saved up more than a half-million dollars over the years. Schur and his wife, Marian, who died more than a year ago, did not have any children.

"I just know at one time he said he had over $600,000 in savings," said William Walworth. "That's what he told me and my brother, and he was proud that he was able to save and build his estate up to that."

Cathy Reder, an attorney negotiating on behalf of Bay Regional Medical Center and the Schur family, said she was filing paperwork in probate court Wednesday for the court to determine the validity of the will. A hearing has been set for March 17.
click link for more

Lawmakers call for action on burn pits

Lawmakers call for action on burn pits
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Feb 4, 2009 10:43:53 EST

Seven members of Congress have added their names to a growing list of legislators concerned about service members who say burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan have made them sick.

“It has come to our attention that a growing number of veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan are becoming sick and dying from what appears to be overexposure to dangerous toxins produced by burn pits used to destroy waste,” reads a letter from Rep. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y., to Eric Shinseki, the new secretary of veterans affairs. “Further conversations with other veterans have revealed that the armed forces have not investigated this threat adequately.”

Bishop’s office sent the letter Monday. It was also signed by Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.; Bill Delahunt, D-Mass.; Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y.; Keith Ellison, D-Minn.; Sander Levin, D-Mich.; and Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa.


Congress first heard about the issue, the letter states, after a series of stories came out in Military Times showing that service members were exposed to everything from burning petroleum products to plastics to batteries in burn pits used to dispose of waste at every base in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Army Maj. Gen. David Blackledge's courage getting troops to seek help for PTSD

Reduce Mental Health Stigma
Army.com - Huntsville,Al,USA
Feb. 4, 2009
By John J. Kruzel

WASHINGTON (American Forces Press Service) – Army Maj. Gen. David Blackledge is doing his part to reduce the social stigma attached to seeking mental health treatment for war-related stress.

The general suffered from post-traumatic stress after surviving a near-death experience during his first deployment to Iraq in 2004. Now he willingly shares his tale of recovery and hopes his example will help others in dealing with war’s invisible wounds.

“I felt it was critical that we had senior leaders experiencing [post-traumatic stress] come forward,” Blackledge, the Army’s assistant deputy chief of staff for mobilization and reserve issues, said in an interview at the Pentagon last week.

The wife of a military member suffering from war trauma used Blackledge’s story to spur on her spouse to seek treatment, Blackledge said.

“She said, ‘My husband was suffering from this, and when I showed him the article in the paper about you coming forward, he said that if a two-star general can get help, then maybe I can too,’” he said.

Blackledge’s story begins in Iraq in February 2004, when he was working there as a civil affairs commander. He was leading a team to Iskandariyah to meet with tribal sheiks when their convoy was ambushed with smalls-arms fire. The attack killed the interpreter sitting near Blackledge and blew out a tire on their vehicle, causing it to roll.

The survivors of the attack regrouped and escaped to a nearby checkpoint. Blackledge suffered a broken back and ribs, and other physical injuries. He was put in a body cast at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, and remained there for several days before arriving at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here.

“Within a day of me being at Walter Reed, a psychiatrist came to me … and talked to me about what was going on. He also told me what to expect,” Blackledge recalled. “I told him at the time that the ambush kept replaying in my mind.”

The psychiatrist told Blackledge his re-experiencing of the incident was normal, and he provided the general with mental techniques to help gain control of his memories.
click link for more

Troops died in Humvee hits because of "careers" in the Pentagon?

The Pentagon didn’t develop such a fleet because championing the vehicles wasn’t seen in the ‘90s as a “good career move,” said John Pike of Globalsecurity.org.

Please tell me I didn't read this right! Please tell me that no one in the Pentagon thought more about their careers than the lives of the troops! They knew about this in the 90's but "thought" ground war was a thing of the past? How stupid are they? The Cold War ended. What did they think the "enemy" would do considering the biggest threat this nation faced was terrorism? Did the Pentagon actually think that rag tag terrorists would come up with an Air Force? Maybe they thought they would just use unmanned drones to hit the people they wanted to kill? We got hit by civilian aircraft and what was the response the Pentagon came up with? Ground wars! They sent these Humvees into Afghanistan and Iraq knowing about the fact they were seen as "deathtraps" and did nothing to adapt them first or come up with something better.
If they use the excuse that Afghanistan was a rush job, they've had years to correct the problem after. There was no need to rush to hit Iraq and they have no excuse for not doing the right thing before they sent in the first Humvee into Iraq. Neither nation had an active military. The only weapons they had were guns and bombs. Did the Pentagon think they were up against people that would place nice and follow the rules of engagement? How many lives were lost because of this? How many limbs were blown off because of this?

Who has been put on trial for any of this?

Humvee vulnerabilities were long known
By Tom Vanden Brook - USA TODAY
Posted : Wednesday Feb 4, 2009 6:22:35 EST

WASHINGTON — Army and Marine Corps officials knew nearly a decade before the invasion of Iraq that its workhorse Humvee vehicle, was a “deathtrap” even with armor added to protect it against roadside bombs, according to an inspector general’s report.

Reports distributed throughout the Army and Marine Corps after the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the Somalia conflict in 1994 urged the development of armored vehicles to avoid the devastating effects of roadside bombs and land mines, but the Pentagon failed to act, the report says.

The Pentagon didn’t field significant numbers of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles until 2007, more than three years after roadside bombings began to escalate in the Iraq war. The conclusions of the 1991 and 1994 reports were not included in the one-page summary of the inspector general’s findings released in December.

The inspector general’s full report was later posted on a Web site by the Center for Public Integrity, a government watchdog group.
click link for more and prepare to scream.

Utah National Guards lost 2 soldiers in combat, but ten more because of it.

This is not new because people lost track of how many we lost after Vietnam. Two studies put their numbers between 150,000 and 200,000 of suicide deaths. Then you can add in the numbers of the Agent Orange deaths to get a better understanding of how large the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington would really have to be to honor all the lives lost because of Vietnam. While losing more after combat than during it, is not new, the numbers are early can coming faster. The worst part about this is that Army Secretary Pete Geren doesn't have a clue why. How many years do the people in charge need before they understand what we already know?

Suicide claiming more Utah Guard members than combat
Rising numbers » Military responding with increased social workers, counselors.
By Matthew D. LaPlante

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 02/03/2009 06:18:20 PM MST


Since 2005, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost the lives of two soldiers from the Utah National Guard.

Suicide has claimed 10.

In response to an alarming increase of suicide in its ranks, the military has hired a virtual army of social workers, mental health professionals and suicide-prevention counselors to work with its members. But for the fourth consecutive year, the Army has reported an increase in the number of soldiers it has lost to suicide. At least 128 soldiers took their own lives in 2008 - - --- and that number could rise, as 15 other deaths remain under investigation.

"Why do the numbers keep going up? We cannot tell you," said Army Secretary Pete Geren. "But we can tell you that across the Army, we're committed to doing everything we can to address the problem."

In response to the rising numbers, the Army will conduct a 30-day "stand-down" starting Feb. 15, which will include training for members to recognize behaviors among their peers that may lead to suicide.

Utah National Guard officials said they are awaiting guidance on how to conduct that program, but will continue education and training efforts that seem to have helped to decrease suicide among their ranks in the past four years.

The Utah guard lost three soldiers to suicide in 2005, four in 2006, one in 2007 and two in 2008. Officials said statistics from prior years were unavailable because the Guard's personnel officers didn't track suicides separately from other deaths until 2005, but at least one soldier killed himself in 2004 while on duty in Afghanistan with the 211th Aviation Battalion.
click link for more

WBBM Chicago reports on War DejaVu

War Deja Vu
A suburban hospital is helping war veterans cope with post traumatic stress disorder, by recreating the battlefield. WBBM Suburban Bureau Chief Julie Mann reports.

German Soldiers Reporting Increase In PTSD

Bundeswehr 03.02.2009

Afghanistan Increasing Number of Traumatized German Troops
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Many soldiers have difficulty re-adjusting to civilian lifeA film recently aired by public broadcaster ARD is helping draw attention to a little-discussed problem: the increasing number of German soldiers returning from Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder.


The film, which aired on Monday, Feb. 2, is called "Wilkommen Zuhause" (Welcome Home). In it, director Andreas Senn tells the story of Ben, a Bundeswehr soldier who sets off for Afghanistan to participate in a humanitarian mission.

But when one of his colleagues is killed in a militant attack, Ben is no longer the same. Back home, he tries to convince his friends and family that he's fine, but even they notice the change. The sound of breaking glass is enough to send Ben hurtling to the floor in search of cover.

According to the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, the number of German soldiers returning from Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder is on the rise. The paper reported on Tuesday that the number of known PTSD cases for Bundeswehr soldiers has risen from 55 in 2006 to 226 in 2008. Experts say that, in reality, the number of cases is likely much higher due to the cases that go unreported.
click link for more

AWOL Soldier Requested Treatment for PTSD and was Denied/Refused/Threatened

How many more stories do we have to read to understand the DOD still does not get it?

Press Release
AWOL Soldier Requested Treatment for PTSD and was Denied/Refused/Threatened


VETWOW

Enumclaw, Washington, February 3, 2009

Two OIF soldiers from different units at Ft. Lewis, Washington have gone AWOL multiple times after each had multiple requests for mental health care with regards to their "undiagnosed" PTSD. Panic attacks, hypervigilance and inability to sleep are just a few of the symptoms these soldiers are experiencing. Not being allowed to obtain treatment, leaves them without a Diagnosis, which traps them in a Catch-22 situation.

After calling Ft. Lewis Inspector General as well as their AWOL Apprehension Team, Susan Avila-Smith discovered that the only way Fort Lewis officials will "approach this" is to have the soldiers return to base, be taken into custody by Ft. Lewis Military Police, and release them to their prospective units, the very Commanders that would not listen to their plea for treatment in the first place.

"While I understand that there are military rules and regulations, there comes a point when the best interests of the Military, the Soldiers and taxpayers need to step up to the plate and give medical and mental health care to those who need it, and who know enough to ask for help. Throwing them into the stockade and having their Command punish them, and possibly kicking them out of service when they have a valid medical issue is no way to treat our American Soldiers who have fought for our Freedom."

We encourage people to contact Fort Lewis officials to make sure that any soldier have complete access to Mental Health care, and hold Command accountable for their actions, rather than the soldier for their illness.

Susan Avila-Smith,
Director,
VETWOW

DoD Confirms Role Combat Plays in Suicide Epidemic

DoD Confirms Role Combat Plays in Suicide Epidemic

Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden


U.S. Department of Defense

Feb 02, 2009

January 29, 2009, Washington, DC - The Army is committed to finding out why more soldiers committed suicide in 2008 than ever recorded, Army officials told reporters during a media roundtable today at the Pentagon.

"[Suicide] is not just an Army problem," Army Secretary Pete Geren said. "It's a national problem - we're committed to doing everything we can to address [the issues] better [and] put programs in place."

In past years, the Army, which consists of 1.1 million active and reserve troops, has been just below or on par with the national suicide rate, Geren said.

But this year, with 128 confirmed and 15 pending, an estimated 20.2 suicides occurred per 100,000 soldiers, the highest since the Army began recording the figure in 1980. The figure is higher than the national suicide rate, which is less than 20 victims per 100,000 people.

Also, the number of Army suicides increased for the fourth consecutive year, according to the Army's 2008 Suicide Data report released today.

Army researchers admitted that at least 90 percent of pending suicide cases turns out to be actual suicides. But they explained that there's no one cause or consistent formula for suicide prevention.

Multiple factors make up the risks and no two reasons are the same, Geren said.

A high mission tempo clearly can place strain on a military, and with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 12 months or longer deployment rotations and 12 months or less downtime at home, the Army certainly has been busy, Army Vice Chief Of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli said.

"We all come to the table believing stress is a factor," Chiarelli told reporters. But he added that 2008 statistics show 30 percent of suicide victims this year were deployed, 35 percent had recently redeployed and 35 percent had no deployment experience at all.

"I think those statistics have to be looked at, and more questions have to be asked," he said. "But there's no doubt in my mind that stress is a factor in this trend we're seeing."

Chiarelli said it's important to take a step backward to evaluate what the Army and research facilities already know about suicide and prevention and review them.

Army researchers have come together with the National Institute of Mental Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs to increase the nation's awareness and understanding in suicide prevention, Dr. Philip S. Wang, director of the Division of Services and Intervention Research at the National Institute of Mental Health, said.

The five-year partnership is the largest research initiative on suicide ever conducted in the civilian and military sectors, Wang added.

"The National Institute of Mental Health is honored and committed to working with the Army to understand the urgency, to identify risks and prevention factors, to develop new and better intervention," he said. "The knowledge will not only extend to soldiers and their families, but to the civilian population as well."

Army leaders and researchers agree that reducing the number of suicide victims is a long-term goal, but in the near term, they've initiated an Armywide "stand-down" to take place on a day between Feb. 15 and March 15, Col. Thomas Languirand, Army deputy chief of staff for personnel, said.

The stand-down day will offer an opportunity for individual units and soldiers to address problems head on, and will include the latest training videos, materials and methods to identify symptoms and prevent suicide, Languirand explained.

The stand-down will be followed by another 120 days of a "chain-teaching" program, which is intended to be leader-led suicide prevention training, cascaded across the entire Army, he said. The stand-down period and chain-teaching program are mandated training in addition to quarterly and other suicide awareness and prevention training that may occur at the unit level already.

"The Army is concerned regarding where we are with our numbers," he said. "Any loss of life, especially by suicide, is a tragedy. That tragedy impacts the unit, it impacts morale on that unit - and it impacts the families. It's extremely important that we get out in front of this - nobody in the Army is satisfied as to where we are with our [past] programs."

The Army will conduct its next suicide update in April.

Suicide Rate Reflects Toll of Army Life

Feb 2, Rachel Martin
Consequences of Iraq and Afghanistan Wars: Suicide Rate Reflects Toll of Army Life

ABC News

Feb 02, 2009

January 31, 2009 - Three months into his first deployment to Iraq, in November 2003, Army Specialist TJ Sweet was having a hard time -- working intense 18-hour shifts, battling sandstorms and bouts of anxiety.

On Thanksgiving Day, Sweet exchanged some harsh words with his commanding officer. As punishment he was told to do five push-ups and he was dropped from the promotions list.

Not long after that, his fellow soldiers heard gunshots and found Sweet's body under the stairway of the barracks. He had shot himself in the head.

The news devastated his mother, Liz Sweet. She had never wanted her son to join the military because of his health problems: a heart condition and Attention Deficit Syndrome.

She had thought the Army would turn down his application to enlist, but when she told the recruiter about her son's conditions, she said the recruiter told her they could get waivers that would still allow him to serve.

Now her son is gone and she blames the Army, in part, for failing to recognize the signs of his despair and for accepting him in the first place.

"It could have been different," she said.

TJ Sweet is just one of the hundreds of soldiers who have committed suicide since the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Soap Operas and PTSD

Soap Operas and PTSD
by Chaplain Kathie

Women across the nation watch their soap operas everyday. When they can't watch them, they tape them. They end up being so enthralled with the characters, they know everything about them as if they were friends. These are made up people with made up problems! The shows are filed with issues, sex, marriages in trouble, love gone bad and tragedy. What soap opera fans do not understand is that there are real life stories of real people happening all over the country on a daily basis and they can be even more tragic, heart tugging, tear evoking and infuriating than any script a writer could ever dream up. What makes these stories even more compelling is the fact they are occurring in right in the same neighborhoods as the soap opera fans live in but they don't even know these people exist in real life, real time so they don't have to wait for the next days episode or to find out what happened when they get home from work.

All My Children? Well I have to tell you that if every Mom across the country felt as if all the men and women serving in the military, National Guards and Reserves were their children, the DOD and the VA wouldn't be anywhere near the mess they are in right now. We talk a great deal about how freedom is not free, but we ignore the people doing the serving, the people we depend on as if they weren't even there.

Take a look at this

What remains the strory of the year is how low CBS' "Guiding Light" can fall as it fights to survive and retain its title as broadcasting's longest running program. With numbers so low (a 1.4 HH rating on Thursday), it would make "Port Charles" look like a ratings winner. Sadly, "Port Charles" was cancelled in 2003 with higher ratings than this despite airing in the wee-hours of the night. While NBC's "Days of our Lives" loses 40% of its budget in the upcoming year and a loss of its two stars (Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn), three out of its five weekly episodes (Friday, Tuesday, and Monday) outranked every episode of ABC's "All My Children" and "One Life to Live." The highest episode was its Friday broadcast with 2.9 million viewers. For the week, "DAYS" averaged 2.7 million viewers. "DAYS" is also the only soap to increase viewers year-over-year, gaining 120,000 viewers from the same point last year. "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful" remain daytime's most watched programs as they hold the 1-5 and 6-10 positions. "Restless," however has lost the most audience year-over-year with a decline of 630,000 viewers. It's Women 18-49 ranking, however, remains on par with its year-ago and up a point week-to-week.
http://soapoperanetwork.com/news/ratings/586-daytimes-40-most-popular-shows.html

Days of Our Life? I bet they would love the complications of living with PTSD in the house and all that comes with it. PTSD veterans households have these twists and turns:
Sexual problems, cheating spouses, unrequited passion
Drugs and alcohol problems because they are self-medicating
Tension because of financial problems, emotional problems, kids under stress, wives under stress, anger, forgiveness and anger again.
We also have nightmares and flashbacks that can compete with any horror movie.
We have love stories and revenge stories
We even have deep dark secrets we try to keep as we find excuses for why our spouse is not at the party or didn't go to work or why we have a black eye because we decided to wake them up from a nightmare while in striking distance. We hold back when others talk about a wild sex night because we can't remember when the last time was we even slept in the same bed.
Oh and then there are also the stories about them being tortured by the VA when claims are denied when they should have been approved had it not been for the fact they didn't think to take down names and phone numbers of the people they served with in case they needed it later.

Millions of people watch the soap operas but they don't pay attention to sites like this or news reports coming out of their own communities. There was a time when I would wonder why anyone would want to read a blog like this unless they were living with it and then it dawned on me one day when I was having my car serviced and I saw daytime TV. All the talk shows and soap operas can't compete with what we have going on. Salacious? Yep, we got that too. Crimes and innocent people being charged with crimes? Got that too. Heck, we even have stories of faith and redemption. As a matter of fact, households across the nation have all these TV dramas topped!

Bold and Beautiful? Ever see the young men and women in the military after they've been trained and every muscle in their body has been conditioned to carry the loads they have to in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Young and Restless? Got that too!

What really gets me is that if people would read this type of blog, they could not only end up helping veterans and the troops, they could very well save their own marriages and their kids lives since millions of households across the country live with this all everyday but even more don't know they are. They know something is wrong with their family but they don't have a clue what it is. As a matter of fact, two thirds of the American public don't have the slightest clue what PTSD is. It's not just military families and veterans' families living with this. Oh no. We also have police officers, firefighters, emergency responders and survivors of other traumatic events. Not only do we have the issues of the soap operas topped, we have the demographics to wipe them into the dust. I'd like to see advertisers trying to capture this un-served audience!

West Point, 2 suicides, 2 attempts in just 2 months

West Point reacting to 2 suicides in as many months
Times Herald-Record - Middletown,NY,USA
By Alexa James
February 02, 2009
WEST POINT — As the Army reels from record-high suicide rates, officials at the U.S. Military Academy are responding to tragedies of their own.

Two West Point cadets killed themselves and at least two others made suicide “attempts or gestures,” in the past two months, prompting Academy officials to summon an Army surgeon general’s suicide team to campus last week.

The team’s investigation left West Point feeling confident that its mental health programs are robust and active, but Brig. Gen. Michael Linnington, the Commandant of Cadets, said there is still room for improvement.



“We have to remove all the stigma that’s attached with going to seek help,” he said.

Hundreds of suicide prevention posters and wallet-sized help cards were doled out across campus last month, and Army brass met with every class to remind them about the confidential mental health resources at their disposal.

West Point’s 4,400 cadets have access to counselors and doctors around the clock, Linnington said, both through an on-site office called the Center for Professional Development (CPD) and also a manned telephone help-line.

“The numbers of cadets that have gone to seek help at the CPD are triple what they were just five years ago,” he said. “Some people would say ‘Oh my God, that’s bad. That means cadets are stressed,’” but Linnington takes it as a good sign, saying the programs are popular because cadets aren’t ashamed to use them anymore.

More than 200 cadets sought help last year, including the two who committed suicide: A junior from Tennessee suffocated on helium gas in a hotel room in Highland Falls on Dec. 8, and a freshman shot and killed himself Jan. 2 while on leave in North Carolina. He was home to get mental help.
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Is this anyway to treat a soldier? One of the worst stories I've read

If this were made into a movie, no one would believe it, but it's not a movie. It's the story of a soldier's life and how he was treated because someone does not know what the hell they are doing and too many others don't care. At the age of 20, Dominic Meyer had seen the horrors of war, the death of his father, injured by a hit and run and then labeled AWOL because of it. Then topping off all of this was being pulled over as the newspaper reported AWOL soldier nabbed with weapons leading to his arrest and pending trial. Why? Because he was hit by someone that didn't care and then no one in the chain of command at Fort Hood bothered to notice why he wasn't back on base from his leave.
Meyer did his duty. He went where he was sent, risked his life and had his life at risk in Iraq.

Two months ago, before he was released from jail, a court-appointed psychologist interviewed Dominic to do a risk assessment.

"The (inmate) does appear to have some reactions to his combat experience in Iraq," the psychologist wrote. He doesn't spell it out as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) but that's clearly what he's talking about.

Just think about that the next time you read a story and ask yourself what if it happened to you or someone you love? How can he not feel as if he was betrayed for his loyalty to the country? How could he not feel as if this is one bad nightmare followed by more?

Soldier's wartime furlough offers no respite from trouble
Asbury Park Press - Asbury Park,NJ,USA
February 1, 2009


EATONTOWN — Last winter his father died. Two weeks later Dominic Meyer was on his way to Iraq. Soon he would be pulling another soldier out of a burning Humvee. The man was returned to his family a triple-amputee, blind and deaf.


Four times in the space of four months, the unit was jarred by the sound and the fury of a roadside bomb. Jangled nerves are evidently part of the bargain. Sometimes adrenaline is your only friend in Iraq.

Meyer was shot three times while he was there. His flak jacket may have saved his life. His buddy wasn't so lucky. He was killed by sniper fire.

There is no emotion in Meyer's voice. There's something in the way he looks at you, though. His eyes tell you they have seen far too much. "He has an old soul," says his mother, Dana Spencer.

Dominic Meyer is 20.

The Army sent him home in July, 18-day leave. On the 17th day of his furlough he was hit by a car in Sayreville, late at night. The driver didn't stop. Six months later his knee still bothers him. He walks with a cane.

After the hit-and-run accident, there was some mix-up. "In the confusion of having him formally transferred back to Fort Hood (Texas) for treatment, he was designated AWOL," his mother wrote in a letter to the Press. It's complicated. The doctor at Fort Monmouth has to talk to the commanding officer at Fort Hood who has to talk to the commanding officer in Iraq. Lot of paperwork, maybe a letter doesn't get stamped somewhere along the line, who knows.

By Sept. 29, Meyer was ready to report for duty. He was anxious to rejoin his unit in Iraq. He packed up his gear and loaded it into his 2003 Ford F-150. He would drive through the night, less traffic.

But before he got on the road, he was pulled over by the police, around 11:15 p.m. Someone called complaining about a pickup truck and a motorcycle racing up and down the street.

Meyer's registration was expired and he had no insurance. Then the officer saw the butt of a bayonet sticking out of the defroster vent.

The next day there was a story in the local paper: "Man AWOL from Army found in Sayreville with cache of weapons." In addition to the bayonet, the story went on to say that police had found two handguns, several magazines of ammunition, several knives, a hatchet and an unspent hollow-point bullet.

Meyer spent the next 57 days in the Middlesex County Jail. His bail originally was set at $100,000, with no 10 percent option. Under New Jersey's tough new gun law, enacted last year as a means to combat gang violence, Meyer could be facing mandatory prison time.
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