Education key to overcome PTSD stigma

Not that it's done as much good as I would like, but this is what I've been trying to get across to everyone. If you know what PTSD, where it comes from and why it "picks" on one person but not another, then there is nothing to hang us up on. Stigma? No need to have one when you understand anyone trying to hang a stigma or any type of shame on you is doing it out of ignorance,

Knowledge is why I've been married for 25 years. Knowledge is why I've been able to help veterans and their families along with everyone else that has come into my life, one way or another, but the lack of knowledge has been deadly. Imagine if researchers knew what PTSD was 30 years ago but no one talked about it. Not that hard to do because that is exactly what did happen. They knew, possibly more than they know now, but no one is talking about it. Why? Because the responsibility of the government was to assure that everything was in place before troops were sent to risk their lives, but they did not do their duty. Now they are shocked, trying to figure out how all of this got so bad. The problem is, they should have known because none of this came as a shock to anyone paying attention. The only shocker was that the people who were supposed to be paying attention were not doing anything to get ahead of any of this until it was too late for too many.

Look over on the side bar and see the pamphlet the Veterans Centers were handing out in the early 80's and know, we had all the evidence in 1978 but none of it was used when it came time to plan on the new generation to go to war. Hell, they weren't even really trying to play catch up with the Vietnam veterans either. They were just ready to keep adding them on.

Education key to overcome PTSD stigma
Army News — By Army News Service on October 12, 2009 at 5:14 am

WASHINGTON: All Soldiers need to receive standard training about mental-health issues if the Army is to overcome the stigma of seeking treatment, according a white paper rolled out Wednesday at the Association of the U.S. Army's annual meeting.

The author of "Collateral Damage: How Can the Army Best Serve a Soldier with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," spoke about the recommendations he made in his paper that he hopes will aid in better understanding how to treat mental-health problems for Soldiers and their families.

A 32-year veteran, Col. Rich B. O'Connor spent three years researching PTSD with three objectives in mind. First, as a squadron commander with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Iraq from 2005 to 2006, he was responsible for the health and welfare of more than 1,000 Soldiers of which more than half were on their second tours. He needed to learn more about PTSD and traumatic brain injury because he had no training in what it really was.
read more here
Education key to overcome PTSD stigma

Solider found dead at Fort Riley

Soldier found dead at Fort Riley

The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Oct 12, 2009 12:11:12 EDT

CHICKASHA, Okla. — The family of a from Chickasha soldier says he was found dead at his home near Fort Riley, Kan., where he was stationed.

The sister of 28-year-old Pfc. Dale Tyler says he was found unresponsive just after 5 a.m. last Wednesday and was pronounced dead at 5:33 a.m.

The sister — Traci Casler — told The Express-Star in Chickasha that Tyler had no known illness other than sleep apnea. Casler says her brother went to sleep and never awoke.

An autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death.

His family says Tyler was married and had three stepsons.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/10/ap_riley_death_101209/

Living with PTSD

Is it hard to live with PTSD? Yes, but it is harder than it should be for far too many veterans and their families. The problem is everyone is pretending this is a new problem instead of something that got this bad because no one was paying attention. Correction, very few were paying attention, and the few were the families of the veterans living with PTSD since Vietnam. Ask us if you can live with it, learn to laugh, find dreams to reach for again, find reasons to hope and inspiration to heal and you'll know what is possible. Keep asking the others just getting involved in this and you'll find reasons to want to just give up. Don't give up because when you look at a Vietnam veteran walking by you with his Vietnam Vet hat on, you are looking at a survivor. More than likely, his wife is still right by his side.

Sgt. Loyd Sawyer saw the faces of a lot of those who died in Afghanistan and Iraq. After working in the Army mortuary, those faces stuck with Loyd. Now his family tries to reach out to a man that is different from the one who left.
Read more »
PTSD: An Army colonel’s quest for answersArmy Col. Rich O’Connor does not mince words when he talks about the amount of mental health training he had before he took a squadron in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment to war in Iraq’s Diyalah province in 2006.Read more »
No combat necessaryThe Department of Veterans Affairs is moving closer to simplifying the process for many veterans to link post-traumatic stress disorder to their military service, whether in a war zone or not, which opens the door for disability benefits. Read more »
Obama: Fixing VA could take yearsPresident Barack Obama not only wants to improve the treatment of America’s veterans, but also to reach out to homeless veterans, as well as those who have turned their backs on — or are unaware of — the benefits they’ve earned. Read more »
If they want adrenaline, let's give them adrenalineSoldiers who are used to life in a war zone can suddenly find life at home to be moving at a glacial pace. Extreme experiences such as thrill sports may help troops overcome what one soldier called "the Rambo syndrome." Read more »
Change would streamline PTSD claims for vets
True stories of PTSD, brain-injury victims and those who try to help
VA works to stop vets from repeating crimes

DJ Am's 'Gone Too Far' premieres tonight on MTV

DJ Am's 'Gone Too Far' premieres tonight on MTV:
Watch the trailer and decide if you will tune in
October 12, 10:13 AM
The show that many people believe will be DJ Am's lasting legacy premieres tonight on MTV. 'Gone Too Far' is a special series that features the late DJ AM (also known as Davind Goldstein) helping eight drug addicts across the country get their lives back.

DJ AM tragically died of an accidental drug overdose on August 25. During his adult life, he had battled drug addiction. He survived a plane crash in September of 2008 that took the lives of four of his friends, which led to DJ AM experiencing Survivor's Guilt as well as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He began using drugs again after the plane crash, starting with painkillers and then moving on to stronger drugs until it ultimately killed him.

'Gone Too Far' is not for the faint at heart. It is dark, it is filled with a real look at how drug addicts think and act. There is graphic drug use in the show ranging from shooting heroin to smoking a crack pipe. The addicts are high. Viewers will see the destruction that comes along with drug addiction as families plead with their loved ones to seek help.
read more here
DJ Ams Gone Too Far premieres tonight on MTV

Operation Warrior Support

Daytona Beach Area Briefing

Special Guest:
Author Bill Cummins
"The Forgotten"



Date / Time: Mon, October 12, 7:30pm – 8:30pm

Location: Daytona Beach Association of Realtors
Address:‎

1716 Ridgewood Ave,
Holly Hill, Fl 32117


It will be a great honor to have Bill Cummins as our guest speaker who is the author of the book "The Forgotten". His book should be standard curriculum in every class room in America. It is a compilation of real stories of the real "Forgotten" heroes in the Korean war. You will not want to miss the testimony of this man who witness first hand why these heroes are not to be forgotten..

While writing "THE FORGOTTEN" the big question was... How do you honor a veteran?

We did it by turning each veteran into a witness, because a witness can legally put a first hand account on the record.
That's why each story in the book is written; 'In Their Own Words...'
The book in turn becomes a written witness to the veteran's sacrifices and the war.

Take a look at this site and find some more information on this group.
Warrior Support

Fake veteran faces 'stolen valor' charge

Fake veteran faces 'stolen valor' charge
Story Highlights
Richard Strandlof said he survived 9/11 Pentagon attack, Iraq bombing

In June, Strandlof admitted he lied

Penalty for stolen valor is up to one year in jail, up to $100,000 fine

Strandlof formed Colorado Veterans Alliance

(CNN) -- Richard Strandlof said he survived the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon. He said he survived again when a roadside bomb went off in Iraq, killing four fellow Marines. He'd point to his head and tell people he had a metal plate, collateral damage from the explosion.

None of it was true. On Friday, the FBI arrested him on the rare charge of "stolen valor."

Strandlof, 32, was held "for false claims about receipt of military decorations or medals," an FBI news release said. Charges had been filed in Denver, Colorado, the week before, the bureau.

"The penalty for his crime is up to one year incarceration and a $100,000 fine," it said.

Before his deception was revealed, crowds ate up his story. He canvassed Colorado appearing at the sides of politicians. Inspiring and seemingly authentic, he spoke on behalf of veterans at the state Capitol.

He formed a group called the Colorado Veterans Alliance.

The whole thing was a lie, he admitted to CNN's Anderson Cooper earlier this year. Watch Strandlof discuss case in June. »

He wasn't at the Pentagon. He was never a Marine. He never served his country. He never graduated from the Naval Academy. He claimed his real name was Rick Duncan.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/12/fake.veteran/

Hazing in the Navy

Hazing in the Navy 4:12
CNN's Carol Costello reports on Navy hazing and examines why a commanding officer was promoted
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/10/12/am.costello.navy.hazing.cnn

Time to be first for now

by
Chaplain Kathie

When God sent your soul to live here with us, He prepared you for what it was you were intended to do. You chose to be a servant, risking your life for the sake of others, as a fireman, National Guardsman, emergency responder and the courage you need is within you. When you chose to be a police officer or enter into the military, again, you are equipped with what you need to do what you were intended to do. Yet just as you were given tools, education and prepared to do it, you did it all as a human with the same needs, the same emotions and compassion as the people you were prepared to help.

You made up your mind to be last on your list of people to take care of. Anyone in danger came first, no matter what you had going on in your own life. You became last. Yet when you have gone through too much, too much pain inside of you, too much weight on your shoulders, you find it very hard to stop being last to be helped.

Do you look at the people you help any differently? Do they become less than you because they need you? Are they less worthy of your help? So how is it that you suddenly think that you are less worthy of someone helping you now? Do you think you can keep helping people as your own life falls apart? Do you think that you are in any position to help anyone as you want to scream, run, cry or hide? You can't help anyone. Neither can I.

I am going though a very difficult time right now. It's very hard to hang onto hope that tomorrow will be better, that miracles can still happen, that someone will be there to pick me up when I fall. I am drained of hope, my self worth is about as low as it can get and yes, I'm tired of feeling as if I'm supposed to have all the answers when apparently, since I ended up in the state I'm in, I certainly don't know as much as I thought I was supposed to know. What I do know is that if I expect people to come to me and let me help them, then I should be able to let them help me when I need it. Otherwise, I cannot ever return to helping anyone else again.

When you are a warrior, you act as if your life does not matter. For seconds, facing danger, it doesn't matter as much as someone else's life. When you are a caregiver, again, your life, needs and wants, are secondary. We keep thinking about what we can do or should be doing for someone else, even though we are in need. Without getting the help we need, what we end up giving to others is just not our best. We are not as much good to them as we would be if we healed ourselves first.

Knowing the pain we carry will help us to understand the pain others are in. It doesn't matter what kind of pain it is, but it does matter how we deal with it, experience it and share it. We could experience the death of someone we love, but still understand the pain someone feels going through a divorce. We could find ourselves out of a job but still be able to understand someone that was rich facing bankruptcy. How we react to their need depends on where we are spiritually and emotionally at that moment.

In crisis intervention we are trained to take care of our own families first and make sure we had what we need to sustain us for several days. This is done so that we are not torn between our responsibility and our families. It is also so that we do not suffer in need at the time we are needed. We are responding mostly to emergency responders to be there to take care of them because they are taking care of others first. It is the same thing when we are dealing with our own lives. Being prepared to do what is asked of us is great but first we have to acknowledge that we are in need of things too.

Trust me, the hardest thing to do when you are a servant is to take care of yourself. I keep wanting to rush back onto the computer the way I am right now instead of resting and taking care of what I am going through, but I'm sure you've noticed the lower postings here. I know that if I do not take care of myself, get past all of this, then I won't be any good to anyone else.

Be normal first and stop putting yourself last all the time or you won't be any good to anyone else.

Iraq veteran dies of cancer after lung transplant from heavy smoker

October 12, 2009

Iraq veteran dies of cancer after lung transplant from heavy smoker
Anil Dawar

An Iraq war veteran died after receiving cancerous lungs from a heavy smoker in a transplant.

Matthew Millington, 31, a corporal in the Queen’s Royal Lancers, had the operation to save him from an incurable respiratory condition.

But the organs were from a donor who was believed to have smoked 30 to 50 roll-up cigarettes a day. A tumour was found after the transplant, and its growth was accelerated by the drugs that Mr Millington took to prevent his body rejecting the organs.

Because he was a cancer patient, he was not allowed to receive a further pair of lungs, under hospital rules. The soldier had radiotherapy but died at home in Stoke-on-Trent in February last year.
read more here
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6870424.ece

Iraq War veteran opens fire on police in Indiana

Iraq War veteran opens fire on police in Indiana
The Associated Press
LYNN, Ind. — An ex-Marine who served in Iraq has been charged with three counts of attempted murder of a police officer after firing on police.

Authorities say 26-year-old Andrew Ward of rural Lynn fired four shotgun blasts at three officers Friday night at a rural farm house. No officers were hurt.
read more here
Iraq War veteran opens fire on police in Indiana

2 Dead 19 taken to hospital in "sweat lodge" tragedy

Lodge Victim Was in Shape, Family Says
By FELICIA FONSECA, AP

PHOENIX (Oct. 10) -- A 38-year-old New York woman who died after sitting in a sauna-like sweat lodge at a scenic Arizona resort was an avid surfer and hiker who was "in top shape," took self-improvement seriously and had a passion for art, a family spokesman said.

Kirby Brown of Westtown, N.Y., was one of two people who died Thursday evening after being overcome in the crudely built hut during a spiritual cleansing ceremony. Authorities on Saturday identified the other victim as 40-year-old James Shore of Milwaukee, who served as director of business development at an Internet marketing company in his hometown.

Nineteen other people were taken to hospitals, suffering from burns, dehydration, respiratory arrest, kidney failure or elevated body temperature. Most were soon released, but one remained in critical condition Saturday.

Brown had no pre-existing health conditions that would have kept her from participating in an otherwise safe activity, said cousin and family spokesman Tom McFeeley. That two people died and 19 others became ill at the Angel Valley Retreat Center indicates that "something went horribly wrong."
go here for more
Lodge Victim Was in Shape, Family Says

Victims trapped in domestic violence

E.V. victims trapped in domestic violence
Sonu Munshi, Tribune

October 8, 2009

The 27-year-old woman could have continued endlessly the constant war of words with her longtime boyfriend. But his physical punches, blows and beatings - especially in front of her three young sons - wore her down.

"We'd keep arguing," she said. "He thought I was talking to guys, looking at guys, but he was just jealous for no reason."

His insecurity led to nights when he'd punch her in the back of the head, even as she held her baby in her arms.

"Boom, boom, boom, he hit me, for wearing tight clothes," she remembers. She'd get kicked in her legs and on her sides "as hard as kicking a football for a field goal." Then, after months of abuse, one night she got choked so bad, she couldn't speak, felt the room spin around her and staggered about in a daze.

"My chest hurt, my sides hurt, my throat was out of control and I just told myself 'I cannot do it anymore,'" she said, choking up as she recalled her 8-year-old son's insistence on staying away from his dad.

That was the moment she decided she had to get out. She had nothing on her, not even her purse, but a kindly woman saw the mother and her children wandering by themselves and gave them shelter for the night. The next day, she called A New Leaf's Autumn House, a Mesa domestic violence shelter, which took her in a month ago.
read more herehttp://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/145575

Brain injuries plague returning veterans

Brain injuries plague returning veterans

Andre Bowser, Tribune

October 10, 2009 - 3:17PM

When the dust cleared, after an improvised explosive device ripped through a military patrol vehicle on a road in Iraq, one East Valley soldier’s only thought was to save his fallen comrade, even as he slipped in and out of consciousness.

The fallen comrade was a Marine who had lost his arm after the vehicle triggered an explosive-laden booby trap.

U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Kevin Ivory, meanwhile, suffered injuries to his brain, which were unseen and apparently not as urgent as the fallen Marine’s wounds during that 2006 incident.

Like many veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan plagued by injuries that can’t be seen by the naked eye, Ivory today receives care locally for his traumatic brain injuries, or TBI.
read more here
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/145654

If you love them, talk to them

by Chaplain Kathie

What's stopping you from talking about what is inside of you? Do you think someone you care about will think differently of you if they knew? Too late, they already think differently of you but not the way you deserve them to. They are thinking either you don't love them anymore or, you changed into a jerk they don't know anymore.

Are you thinking they will think you are weak? Too late on that one too because while they could be seeing the strength you have inside, they are seeing you reach for another drink, another pill, another joint. They see you running away from them and trying to run away from yourself. You are really not fooling anyone the way you think you are.

They loved you when before you began to hurt inside and you are still the same person. Let them know you are in pain. Let them know where the pain is coming from. Let them know you need their help and understanding. You didn't change but the events you lived through ended up changing how you are feeling toward every aspect of your life.

When you become a veteran, you are not like anyone else. You did not do a job like anyone else. As a matter of fact, you are very rare. Over three hundred million people in this country and there are less than 30 million veterans. When you become a police officer, you are rare, just as you are when you become a firefighter. Emergency responders and National Guards, all rare. Do you expect to react to any part of life the same as anyone else does? Your perception of every aspect of life is no longer the same. Add in when you have PTSD and need help, then you know how important it is to speak up, speak out and be helped up to heal.

If you trusted them before you ended up with PTSD, you need to trust them now. Talk to them and tell them you are hurting.

The other problem is when there is an event with well meaning people, out of a good time. They may care about veterans, may want to know what is really going on, but no one knows what to do, how to start a conversation. For those who are really interested, usually they have someone in their own family needing help because the rest are just there to have a good time.

Most service groups are made up of different types of people. Some of them just go for fellowship, others go to become a part of something bigger than themselves. Each group needs to have some people of courage within them, able to listen when someone needs to talk. It isn't that hard to listen. You just need to care first and the rest comes. You begin to look to understand better, find answers and learn more so you can help them. This way, you will also be able to help other veterans. The key is listening when someone wants to talk, being for them, hearing them, instead of judging them. We can take care of a lot more people if we are only willing to talk, take down the emotional walls and others are ready to listen.

Man strangles pet rat, grabs wife after she smokes last cigarette

I quit a month ago and while it's still very hard, this story really goes over the top.

Rats, no smokes! Man strangles pet rat, grabs wife after she smokes last cigarette

From Staff and Wire Reports

3:35 p.m. EDT, October 10, 2009


Rats, no smokes!

What did a 22-year-old man do when he found out his wife used the last cigarette? Open a pack? Buy a pack?

No, Volusia County authorities say.

Records show Darren Daniels of DeLand became angry, bashed and strangled a pet white rat and grabbed his 20-year-old wife during a confrontation early Thursday.
read more hereMan strangles pet rat, grabs wife after she smokes last cigarette

Jacksonville woman found dead in home under 8 feet of trash

Woman found dead in home under 8 feet of trash

By Associated Press Watch the story JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Authorities have found the body of a 71-year-old woman after wading through a Jacksonville, Florida home filled with garbage piled eight feet high.

The Florida Times-Union reports that officers were checking on Carina E. Decampo late Tuesday, after worried family members called to say they hadn't heard from her in weeks.

They were met with what police called "unbelievable squalor" and a stench that made officers ill.

After trying to search for about 20 minutes, they had to call in help.

The fire department arrived, using breathing gear and search dogs to find Decampo.

No cause of death was immediately released.
go here for video
found dead in home under 8 feet of trash

Woman dies after shooting in Winter Springs a day before wedding

Woman dies after shooting in Winter Springs -- a day before wedding

Rene Stutzman and Willoughby Mariano

Sentinel Staff Writers

4:29 p.m. EDT, October 9, 2009
WINTER SPRINGS - A 62-year-old woman died after a shooting at her home before dawn today -- one day before she was to get married.

Killed was Nancy Lynne Dinsmore, a retiree who lived at the house with John J. Tabbutt, her husband-to-be, also 62.

They were to be married Saturday at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Winter Springs, according to friends and family.

It was to be a small ceremony, said Dinsmore's son-in-law, Scott Sposato, 39, of Vero Beach. It was to include mostly family, he said.

"They loved each other. It was quite apparent," he said.

Dinsmore and Tabbutt had lived together for about a year, he said, but had known each other for much longer. The couple has a summer home in Maine and had recently returned from there to Tabbutt's gray-and-white stucco home near Tuscawilla, he said.
read more here
Woman dies after shooting in Winter Springs

American troops in Afghanistan losing heart, say army chaplains

So what is the answer now? Leave? Then what is left behind? Stay? What is the end goal? I don't know the answers but I do know the fact remains more of our troops end up wounded by body and mind increasing the need of those who need care. More will die increasing the need of families trying to cope. More has to be done for them when they are back at home or there won't be enough to send anywhere.

October 8, 2009

American troops in Afghanistan losing heart, say army chaplains
Martin Fletcher at Forward Operating Base in Wardak province

Picture: Peter Nicholls
American soldiers serving in Afghanistan are depressed and deeply disillusioned, according to the chaplains of two US battalions that have spent nine months on the front line in the war against the Taleban.

Many feel that they are risking their lives — and that colleagues have died — for a futile mission and an Afghan population that does nothing to help them, the chaplains told The Times in their makeshift chapel on this fortress-like base in a dusty, brown valley southwest of Kabul.

“The many soldiers who come to see us have a sense of futility and anger about being here. They are really in a state of depression and despair and just want to get back to their families,” said Captain Jeff Masengale, of the 10th Mountain Division’s 2-87 Infantry Battalion.

“They feel they are risking their lives for progress that’s hard to discern,” said Captain Sam Rico, of the Division’s 4-25 Field Artillery Battalion. “They are tired, strained, confused and just want to get through.” The chaplains said that they were speaking out because the men could not.
read more here
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/Afghanistan/article6865359.ece

Another suicide from Cold Spring bridge makes 5 for year

Another suicide from Cold Spring bridge

Staff report Posted: Thursday, October 8, 2009 4:55 pm
A Santa Paula woman died early this morning after she jumped from the Cold Spring Canyon Bridge on Highway 154 in the Santa Ynez Valley, said Drew Sugars, spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department.

The woman has been identified as Nancy Bright, 59.

Today's death at the bridge marks there second apparent suicide at the Cold Spring Canyon Bridge in just over a week, and the fifth suicide at the bridge for the year, according to Sugars.

On Sept. 30, 28-year-old Robert Silva of Santa Barbara apparently jumped off the bridge to his death.

Earlier in the day on Sept. 30, deputies were able to convince a person not to jump off the bridge, Sugars said.
Another suicide from Cold Spring bridge

Civilian therapists urged to get training in PTSD and TBI

Start in the right direction but they are still not hiring people already trained when they are needed the most.

Civilian therapists urged to get training in veterans' needs
Knowledge is vital for civilians practicing in small towns, official says
By Will Higgins
Posted: October 9, 2009
A top Indiana National Guard mental health professional reached out Thursday to civilian mental health workers and urged them to learn more about returning soldiers' common afflictions so they could counsel them.

"We need more therapists trained in PTSD and TBI," Sydney H. Davidson, director of psychological health for the Indiana National Guard, told a gathering of nearly 100 managers of the Indiana Council of Community Mental Health Centers in Indianapolis.

Post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury often make for rocky transitions for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. Nearly one in five returning veterans suffers from one or the other, or both.

So far, a handful of community mental health organizations have trained staffers to treat returning vets.

Last spring, Four County Counseling Center in Logansport received an $85,000 grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to better serve veterans in four Northern Indiana counties. Four of the group's 25 therapists have received training in PTSD and TBI, with six more scheduled for training later this year.
read more hereCivilian therapists urged to get training