VA Seeks Temporary Contractor to Help Process Education Claims
WASHINGTON (Oct. 28, 2009) - On Oct. 21, the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) issued a solicitation for temporary contractor support to
assist in processing the increased volume of education claims received
since implementing the new Post-9/11 GI Bill.
"This contract will assist VA in delivering education benefits to our
Veterans as quickly as possible," said Under Secretary for Benefits
Patrick W. Dunne. "Veterans are depending on VA to provide the benefits
they earned through their service to our nation. We will do everything
in our power to minimize delays for our Veteran-students."
The Post-9/11 GI Bill, which went into effect on August 1, 2009, has
generated an unprecedented number of new applications. When combined
with the standard high volume of school enrollment claims in August and
September (normally, the busiest months for education claims), the
number of claims has exceeded anticipated levels.
The contractor will provide its own work site and personnel to perform
claims processing tasks. Contract staff will validate enrollment
information provided by schools and provide recommendations on claim
status to VA personnel, who will finalize claims decisions and generate
payments (if applicable).
All work will be reviewed and authorized by VA personnel. VA will
provide training on security and claims processing procedures. The
contract personnel will assist in handling the least complex cases,
which allows for rapid implementation of this initiative.
Information about the Post-9/11 GI Bill, as well as VA's other
educational benefit programs, is available at VA's Web site,
www.gibill.va.gov
or by calling
1-888-GIBILL-1 (or 1-888-442-4551).
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Groundbreaking Court Decision for Vets With PTSD
A Groundbreaking Court Decision for Vets With PTSD
Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:02am
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- A groundbreaking verdict for accused
Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was decided in Canyon
City, Oregon on October 19 when former soldier Jesse Bratcher, on trial for
murder, was found guilty by reason of insanity. It was the first trial in the
U.S. where a Veteran's PTSD was successfully considered to mitigate the
circumstances of a crime.
Dr. William Brown and Dr. Robert Stanulis from The Bunker Project, who work on
Veteran defense cases throughout Oregon and Washington, provided research and
testimony for Bratcher's attorney who argued that his PTSD and the influence
of the Military Total Institution shaped his actions in the killing of Jose
Ceja Medina. Bratcher believed his girlfriend had been raped by the man he
shot to death. Bratcher is VA rated as 100% disabled due to PTSD he developed
while deployed in Iraq. Bratcher was a model citizen before joining the Army,
with no criminal or juvenile history.
Bratcher strictly adhered to the rules of engagement in Iraq, twice refusing
to fire on civilians. There, he witnessed the death of a friend from an IED
explosion, which commanders reported drastically changed Bratcher's mental
state.
read more here
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS147712+28-Oct-2009+PRN20091028
Fort Wainwright soldier recalls saving medic
Fort Wainwright soldier recalls saving medic from insurgent grenade
by Chris Freiberg
FAIRBANKS — Sgt. Ricardo Montoya didn’t feel anything as the grenade blew up at his feet.
It was May 18, and the 31-year-old father of six was on patrol in Mosul, Iraq, as part of his second deployment to the country.
While most of Fort Wainwright’s 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team was stationed in Iraq’s northeastern Diyala province, Montoya and the rest of Alpha Company from the 1-5 Infantry were attached to another brigade several months earlier and sent further north to Mosul.
read more here
Fort Wainwright soldier recalls saving medic
by Chris Freiberg
FAIRBANKS — Sgt. Ricardo Montoya didn’t feel anything as the grenade blew up at his feet.
It was May 18, and the 31-year-old father of six was on patrol in Mosul, Iraq, as part of his second deployment to the country.
While most of Fort Wainwright’s 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team was stationed in Iraq’s northeastern Diyala province, Montoya and the rest of Alpha Company from the 1-5 Infantry were attached to another brigade several months earlier and sent further north to Mosul.
read more here
Fort Wainwright soldier recalls saving medic
Girl gang raped at Richmond High School as 20 just watched
I wonder if they would have wanted others to help if it was happening to them?
I wonder if they would have wanted others to help if it was a sister of their's or their own girlfriend?
They were talking about it after as if they were talking about some kind of TV show while she was left alone and unconscious!
I wonder if they would have wanted others to help if it was a sister of their's or their own girlfriend?
They were talking about it after as if they were talking about some kind of TV show while she was left alone and unconscious!
The victim was found unconscious under a bench shortly before midnight Saturday, after police received a call from someone in the area who had overheard people at the assault scene "reminiscing about the incident," Richmond Police Lt. Mark Gagan said.
Police: As many as 20 present at gang rape outside school dance
October 28, 2009 9:03 a.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
10 people involved in assault, 10 others watched and offered no help, police say
Richmond, California, police say student was gang raped for over two hours
Former student, 19, and 15-year-old arrested
Victim, 15, remains in the hospital in stable condition
Richmond, California (CNN) -- Investigators say as many as 20 people were involved in or stood and watched the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl outside a California high school homecoming dance Saturday night.
Police posted a $20,000 reward Tuesday for anyone who comes to them with information that helps arrest and convict those involved in what authorities describe as a 2½-hour assault on the Richmond High School campus in suburban San Francisco.
Two teenage suspects have been jailed, but more arrests, as many as 20 total, are expected, according to a police detective.
read more here
As many as 20 present at gang rape outside school dance
Gunmen storm UN guest house in Kabul, 12 dead
Gunmen storm UN guest house in Kabul, 12 dead
By RAHIM FAIEZ and AMIR SHAH, AP
KABUL -Taliban militants wearing suicide vests and police uniforms stormed a guest house used by U.N. staff in the heart of the Afghan capital early Wednesday, killing 12 people — including six U.N. staff. It was the biggest in a series of attacks intended to undermine next month's presidential runoff election.
A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the early morning assaults, which also included rocket attacks at the presidential palace and the city's main luxury hotel.
The chief of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said the attack "will not deter the U.N. from continuing all its work" in the country. One of the six U.N. dead was an American, the U.S. Embassy said.
The two-hour attack on the guest house where some 20 U.N. election workers were staying sent people running and screaming outside, with some jumping out upper-story windows to escape a fire that broke out. One American man said he held off the assailants with a Kalashnikov rifle until guests were able to escape.
read more here
Gunmen storm UN guest house in Kabul
By RAHIM FAIEZ and AMIR SHAH, AP
KABUL -Taliban militants wearing suicide vests and police uniforms stormed a guest house used by U.N. staff in the heart of the Afghan capital early Wednesday, killing 12 people — including six U.N. staff. It was the biggest in a series of attacks intended to undermine next month's presidential runoff election.
A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the early morning assaults, which also included rocket attacks at the presidential palace and the city's main luxury hotel.
The chief of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said the attack "will not deter the U.N. from continuing all its work" in the country. One of the six U.N. dead was an American, the U.S. Embassy said.
The two-hour attack on the guest house where some 20 U.N. election workers were staying sent people running and screaming outside, with some jumping out upper-story windows to escape a fire that broke out. One American man said he held off the assailants with a Kalashnikov rifle until guests were able to escape.
read more here
Gunmen storm UN guest house in Kabul
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
8 U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan
8 U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan
October 27, 2009 4:26 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Seven soldiers killed were inside armored vehicles, military official says
October 2009 is deadliest month for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since war began
Afghan civilian working with NATO also killed in attacks
Several other U.S. service members wounded, U.S. military says
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The U.S. military suffered another day of heavy losses in Afghanistan on Tuesday as roadside bombs killed eight soldiers, two military officials told CNN.
An Afghan civilian working with NATO troops also was killed in the attacks in southern Afghanistan, the military said. The officials said that, according to initial reports, one blast took place just outside Kandahar and the other was in neighboring Zabul province.
Seven of the soldiers who died were traveling together in one vehicle, said Sgt. Jerome Baysmore with the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/27/afghan.deaths/index.html
October 27, 2009 4:26 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Seven soldiers killed were inside armored vehicles, military official says
October 2009 is deadliest month for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since war began
Afghan civilian working with NATO also killed in attacks
Several other U.S. service members wounded, U.S. military says
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The U.S. military suffered another day of heavy losses in Afghanistan on Tuesday as roadside bombs killed eight soldiers, two military officials told CNN.
An Afghan civilian working with NATO troops also was killed in the attacks in southern Afghanistan, the military said. The officials said that, according to initial reports, one blast took place just outside Kandahar and the other was in neighboring Zabul province.
Seven of the soldiers who died were traveling together in one vehicle, said Sgt. Jerome Baysmore with the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/27/afghan.deaths/index.html
Military suicides not worthy of condolences from President?
This is not about Democrat or Republican. This is about the hundreds of military suicides we've already seen along with those that will surly follow. It has been assumed that when a man or woman dies while serving the nation the very least this nation can do is deliver a letter from the President with the condolences of the nation, but that has not been happening.
This is wrong and has left hundreds of grieving families without an acknowledgment from this nation their family member's service was appreciated.
Suicide comes most of the time because the help they needed was not there for them. Most of the suicides in the military could have been prevented but even knowing that we have decided they do not deserve to have their service honored just because their lives ended by the enemy inside of them?
If you really want to get rid of the stigma of needing help here's the chance to do it. Honor all their lives by honoring all their deaths.
This is wrong and has left hundreds of grieving families without an acknowledgment from this nation their family member's service was appreciated.
Suicide comes most of the time because the help they needed was not there for them. Most of the suicides in the military could have been prevented but even knowing that we have decided they do not deserve to have their service honored just because their lives ended by the enemy inside of them?
If you really want to get rid of the stigma of needing help here's the chance to do it. Honor all their lives by honoring all their deaths.
Exclusive: Parents of Soldier Who Killed Himself in Iraq Speak Out
Gregg and Jannett Keesling are the parents of Chancellor Keesling, a US soldier who took his own life on June 19th of this year. Chancellor was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. During his first deployment, he suffered mental health issues so severe he was placed on suicide watch. After getting back to the United States, Chancellor had turned down a bonus offer to return to Iraq in the hopes he wouldn’t be redeployed. But he was called back in May. One month later, he took his own life. Since Chancellor’s death, Gregg and Jannett Keesling have yet to receive a letter of condolence from President Obama. After making inquiries, they discovered that this was not because of an oversight. Instead, it’s because of a longstanding US policy to deny presidential condolence letters to the families of soldiers who take their own lives. [includes rush transcript]
AMY GOODMAN: Since Chancellor’s death, Gregg and Jannett Keesling have yet to receive a letter of condolence from President Obama. After making inquiries, they discovered this was not because of an oversight. Instead, it’s because of a longstanding US policy to deny presidential condolence letters to the families of soldiers who have committed suicide.go here for more
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/27/exclusive_parents_of_soldier_who_killed
Vietnam Vet returns to Vietnam to heal
Vet will be among 20 people, including seven other veterans, who will be in the country on Veterans Day
By Paul Fattig
Mail Tribune
MEDFORD — When Michael Phillips returned from Vietnam in 1971, the Army veteran didn't exactly march back into society.
"When I got back, I didn't associate with my family, I didn't join the VFW or anything," said the Medford resident. "I came close to getting married several times but each time managed to mess it up. I partied a lot but it was very hard for me to get close to anybody.
"I thought I was invincible because I had survived the war," said the former Army specialist fourth class who drove in a combat convoy in Vietnam and into Cambodia. "But my PTSD was causing severe depression."
His diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder, which he and counselors say led to drug abuse and homelessness over the years, also is the reason he is returning to Vietnam on Nov. 3.
"I'm not going back there with a lot of feelings of guilt or anger," he stressed. "I'm going back there to learn how to help other veterans heal, although I anticipate there will be moments when I have my issues."
Phillips will be among 20 people on the trip, including eight veterans, their spouses and several others with ties to Vietnam or the war.
The trip is the result of Phillips attending a Soldier's Heart presentation by noted psychotherapist Ed Tick in Medford in February of this year. Phillips later attended a retreat for veterans on Orca Island in Puget Sound conducted by Tick, who is known nationally for helping veterans with PTSD. He leads groups of veterans back to Vietnam each year as part of the healing process.
read more here
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091027/NEWS/910270312
By Paul Fattig
Mail Tribune
MEDFORD — When Michael Phillips returned from Vietnam in 1971, the Army veteran didn't exactly march back into society.
"When I got back, I didn't associate with my family, I didn't join the VFW or anything," said the Medford resident. "I came close to getting married several times but each time managed to mess it up. I partied a lot but it was very hard for me to get close to anybody.
"I thought I was invincible because I had survived the war," said the former Army specialist fourth class who drove in a combat convoy in Vietnam and into Cambodia. "But my PTSD was causing severe depression."
His diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder, which he and counselors say led to drug abuse and homelessness over the years, also is the reason he is returning to Vietnam on Nov. 3.
"I'm not going back there with a lot of feelings of guilt or anger," he stressed. "I'm going back there to learn how to help other veterans heal, although I anticipate there will be moments when I have my issues."
Phillips will be among 20 people on the trip, including eight veterans, their spouses and several others with ties to Vietnam or the war.
The trip is the result of Phillips attending a Soldier's Heart presentation by noted psychotherapist Ed Tick in Medford in February of this year. Phillips later attended a retreat for veterans on Orca Island in Puget Sound conducted by Tick, who is known nationally for helping veterans with PTSD. He leads groups of veterans back to Vietnam each year as part of the healing process.
read more here
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091027/NEWS/910270312
Murdered Vietnam Vet finds honor too late from VA
VA Takes Back Slain Military Vet's Benefits
Families Of Vets Without Spouse, Children Can't Petition Takeback
POSTED: 3:18 pm EDT October 26, 2009
BALTIMORE -- Next month, Americans will pause to honor our nation's veterans, but the day will be tough for a Dundalk family who is mourning a slain Vietnam veteran while fighting the system that was designed to take care of him.
At 17, Daniel Hoeck needed his parent's permission to drop out of high school and fight a war in Vietnam. Two tours of duty later, he made it home safely with a Purple Heart and a deep conviction, according to his sister, Marie Davidson.
"My brother always loved his country. It didn't stop," she told 11 News I-Team reporter Deborah Weiner.
His love for country didn't stop as his body wore down from Agent Orange exposure and disease.
Daniel Hoeck was slain in his Westfield home during a burglary in February.
read more here
http://www.wbaltv.com/11investigates/21429584/detail.html
Families Of Vets Without Spouse, Children Can't Petition Takeback
POSTED: 3:18 pm EDT October 26, 2009
BALTIMORE -- Next month, Americans will pause to honor our nation's veterans, but the day will be tough for a Dundalk family who is mourning a slain Vietnam veteran while fighting the system that was designed to take care of him.
At 17, Daniel Hoeck needed his parent's permission to drop out of high school and fight a war in Vietnam. Two tours of duty later, he made it home safely with a Purple Heart and a deep conviction, according to his sister, Marie Davidson.
"My brother always loved his country. It didn't stop," she told 11 News I-Team reporter Deborah Weiner.
His love for country didn't stop as his body wore down from Agent Orange exposure and disease.
Daniel Hoeck was slain in his Westfield home during a burglary in February.
read more here
http://www.wbaltv.com/11investigates/21429584/detail.html
Before you were born He set you apart
Have you ever wondered what makes people go into the line of work they do? What makes a neurosurgeon decide they want to understand and operate of the human brain? What makes a member of the clergy decide to take care of other people? What makes a cop decide they are willing to go through what they do? The answer is, they listen to the calling of their soul.
If they hear it correctly instead of based on being pushed into it or out of their own ego, then they equipped to do whatever it was they were intended to do. Doing what they were designed for, they find their bliss. It does not mean they will have an easy time doing it because the rest of the world does not listen to their own calling, but they will find the courage, strength and ability to do it.
Jeremiah's mission was something he was well prepared for because God put it all into his soul. He was too afraid of what the world put into him to find it but God reassured him it was all there inside of him.
Each one of us are called to do something in this life. Most do what they do because they have a passion for it and they are pretty happy doing it. Some are forced into it and they are pretty miserable doing it. That is because what they are doing is not what God intended for them to do and they are missing what they need to do it with bliss.
What we all need to understand when it comes to PTSD is that what we need to heal is already inside each of us but first we need to understand what makes us all different.
When people decide to enter into the National Guards or become firefighters, usually there is great compassion within them and they want to help others in times of need. They have the courage within them to be willing to act, risking their own lives for the sake of someone else.
It is the same way when people decide to enter into the military or law enforcement. They have the same compassion and courage but they also have the additional knowledge they may have to take lives in order to save lives.
What we get wrong is when they are forced to do something they were not intended to do. This is one of the biggest reasons the National Guards are coming in with higher PTSD rates. They were sent to do something God did not intend for them to be doing. Yet even with this, there is still the ability to heal within them.
Just as with the military and law enforcement, the citizen soldiers or protector warriors, risk their lives and are often wounded emotionally by what they have to endure and they need help to heal from it. First they have to face it instead of denying it. To get them past that we need to make sure no one is still telling them or expecting them to "get over it."
We have to acknowledge what they were like most of their lives to begin to understand the changes in them are out of character, like a stranger inhabiting the body. That should be our first clue there is something much deeper than them simply changing. Look back in your history with them and know if they were compassionate and how deeply their compassion was. The deeper the ability to feel for others, the deeper PTSD will cut into them. Caring for others opens the door to feeling pain for others. The expression "it comes with the territory" applies well here.
If we understand where we all came from and what we enter into this world with, we end up doing what we were intended to do. The problem is getting from there to where we are now and then to where we need to go.
People will assume all kinds of things but among the long list is that they should have known better once they discover they got something wrong. They need to ask how they should have known better if no one ever told them. How would we understand anything about faith itself if no one ever bothered to write it down? How would we know anything about history if no one ever wrote anything? We all need to start looking at what we do know about people in general if we are every going to understand what makes some hurt more than others.
Veterans beat themselves up over suffering when they hear the truth, but no one ever told them the truth before.
Families beat themselves up over doing wrong things or making wrong judgments because they didn't know any better once they hear the truth.
We as a nation have an obligation to make sure every veteran, every police officer, every firefighter and emergency responder along with survivors, know what makes them so different they end up wounded by the events out of their control while others walk away. It begins with the level of compassion they have inside of them in the first place because they walk away with their own pain plus the pain others felt as well. It also comes from going through something abnormal they were not intended to experience and not equipped to endure. It comes from being in the wrong place too many times for the right reason. Above all, it comes from being a human just as imperfect as Jeremiah.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart" so that you can do what you are supposed to do and when you need help, it is there inside of you and all around you.
If they hear it correctly instead of based on being pushed into it or out of their own ego, then they equipped to do whatever it was they were intended to do. Doing what they were designed for, they find their bliss. It does not mean they will have an easy time doing it because the rest of the world does not listen to their own calling, but they will find the courage, strength and ability to do it.
Jeremiah's mission was something he was well prepared for because God put it all into his soul. He was too afraid of what the world put into him to find it but God reassured him it was all there inside of him.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
6 "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."
7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.
8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.
9 Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant." (www.biblegateway)
Each one of us are called to do something in this life. Most do what they do because they have a passion for it and they are pretty happy doing it. Some are forced into it and they are pretty miserable doing it. That is because what they are doing is not what God intended for them to do and they are missing what they need to do it with bliss.
What we all need to understand when it comes to PTSD is that what we need to heal is already inside each of us but first we need to understand what makes us all different.
When people decide to enter into the National Guards or become firefighters, usually there is great compassion within them and they want to help others in times of need. They have the courage within them to be willing to act, risking their own lives for the sake of someone else.
It is the same way when people decide to enter into the military or law enforcement. They have the same compassion and courage but they also have the additional knowledge they may have to take lives in order to save lives.
What we get wrong is when they are forced to do something they were not intended to do. This is one of the biggest reasons the National Guards are coming in with higher PTSD rates. They were sent to do something God did not intend for them to be doing. Yet even with this, there is still the ability to heal within them.
Just as with the military and law enforcement, the citizen soldiers or protector warriors, risk their lives and are often wounded emotionally by what they have to endure and they need help to heal from it. First they have to face it instead of denying it. To get them past that we need to make sure no one is still telling them or expecting them to "get over it."
We have to acknowledge what they were like most of their lives to begin to understand the changes in them are out of character, like a stranger inhabiting the body. That should be our first clue there is something much deeper than them simply changing. Look back in your history with them and know if they were compassionate and how deeply their compassion was. The deeper the ability to feel for others, the deeper PTSD will cut into them. Caring for others opens the door to feeling pain for others. The expression "it comes with the territory" applies well here.
If we understand where we all came from and what we enter into this world with, we end up doing what we were intended to do. The problem is getting from there to where we are now and then to where we need to go.
People will assume all kinds of things but among the long list is that they should have known better once they discover they got something wrong. They need to ask how they should have known better if no one ever told them. How would we understand anything about faith itself if no one ever bothered to write it down? How would we know anything about history if no one ever wrote anything? We all need to start looking at what we do know about people in general if we are every going to understand what makes some hurt more than others.
Veterans beat themselves up over suffering when they hear the truth, but no one ever told them the truth before.
Families beat themselves up over doing wrong things or making wrong judgments because they didn't know any better once they hear the truth.
We as a nation have an obligation to make sure every veteran, every police officer, every firefighter and emergency responder along with survivors, know what makes them so different they end up wounded by the events out of their control while others walk away. It begins with the level of compassion they have inside of them in the first place because they walk away with their own pain plus the pain others felt as well. It also comes from going through something abnormal they were not intended to experience and not equipped to endure. It comes from being in the wrong place too many times for the right reason. Above all, it comes from being a human just as imperfect as Jeremiah.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart" so that you can do what you are supposed to do and when you need help, it is there inside of you and all around you.
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