Mom Befriends Wife of PTSD Vet Charged With Murder
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: November 25, 2009 HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (AP) -- When the envelope arrived, Windy Horner was talking with her husband, Nick -- Windy on a cell phone, Nick in the Blair County jail.
Windy did not recognize the return address. She feared hate mail; her husband is charged with killing two men and robbing a sandwich shop, and she blames his actions on post-traumatic stress disorder from his service in Iraq, but others do not agree.
''Just because horner went to iraq,'' read one reader comment on a newspaper Web site, ''doesnt mean he shouldnt get what he deserves!!!!!!!''
Now, she wondered: Should she open the envelope? Go ahead, Nick said.
The note was from a complete stranger, a woman named Laurie Claar. It was written on a card decorated with a rainbow and flowers, bearing the message, ''Caring Thoughts Are With You.''
''I'm not sure what to say to you all except I understand and you all are in my prayers,'' Claar wrote. ''And I don't think bad of Nick as he needs help to deal with PTSD.''
Her words reached a young couple sorely in need of encouragement.
On April 26, Laurie Claar sat in the darkness next to her son's grave, cradling a doll she dressed in the clothes he had worn as a newborn. She was waiting for the clock to strike 11:04 p.m.
Exactly 25 years before, Matthew Claar had been born.
''I just had to be there at that time,'' Claar said tearfully. It comforted her, she said, to remember a time when she could still protect her son.
More than seven months before his mother's vigil, fueled by guilt and PTSD, the Marine Corps veteran had pulled the trigger on the 9mm pistol in his mouth.
Arizona indicts former veteran's chiefPublished: Nov. 20, 2009 at 11:09 AM
PHOENIX, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The former head of Arizona's Department of Veterans' Services has been indicted on felony charges of fraud, misuse of public money and conflict of interest.
The indictment of Patrick Chorpenning Sr., a disabled Vietnam veteran, comes less than three weeks after he was inducted into the state Veterans Hall of Fame, The Arizona Republic reported Friday.
Chorpenning, who led the department from 1999 to 2007, is accused of enriching his friends and family at the same time as he was cutting benefits to the veterans he was hired to serve.
read more here Arizona indicts former veterans chief
WILLIAM COLGIN/SUN HERALD Vietnam veteran, Early Johnson, is no longer homeless after being given an apartment by Pastor Lee Adams who sought out Johnson after reading about his situation in a Sun Herald story on Sunday.
Pastor gives helping hand to homeless veteran Reverend provides apartment By MICHAEL NEWSOM - mmnewsom@sunherald.com GULFPORT — Navy veteran Early Johnson moved into a clean, spacious apartment Thursday in a quiet neighborhood near downtown.
For many South Mississippians, that wouldn’t be very noteworthy, but until he had unpacked his precious few belongings there, Johnson was one of an estimated 131,000 U.S. veterans who are homeless on any given night, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Thanks to the generosity of the Rev. Lee Adams, pastor of Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Gulfport, the veteran of the Vietnam era now has a home. Adams had kept an apartment that he was letting a young couple use until they found a place to live. The couple moved out in August, and at the time, Adams felt he needed to keep the apartment, but he said he really wasn’t sure why.
Adams said it all became clear Sunday night when he read in the Sun Herald about Johnson’s life as a homeless veteran and dialysis patient, who is disabled and on waiting lists for public housing and not able to find a place of his own on the money he makes working part time at the Biloxi VA. It was Johnson’s quote that he was able to survive on the streets by putting his trust in God, whom he said took care of him, which spurred the reverend into action. read more here http://www.sunherald.com/278/story/1757425.html?storylink=omni_popular
One of my rants (among many)has been about this. It has broken the spirits of too many when they were kicked out instead of helped up to heal.
Senators seek review of military's personality-disorder discharges
David Goldstein, Mcclatchy Newspapers – Tue Oct 20, 5:22 pm ET WASHINGTON -- In the Senate , Barack Obama fought for better mental-health care for troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan .
Now that he's president, some of his former colleagues want him to pick up the gauntlet once more and make sure troops are getting the benefits they deserve.
"In 2007, we were partners in the fight against the military's misuse of personality disorder discharges," four senators -- Democrat Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Republicans Charles Grassley of Iowa , Kit Bond of Missouri and Sam Brownback of Kansas -- wrote in a letter this week asking Obama for a report to Congress on the current use of the discharges. "Today we urge you to renew your commitment to address this critical issue facing thousands of returning service members."
Because the military views personality disorders as a pre-existing condition, many service members returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with mental health problems have been unable to receive health benefits. There have been questions, however, about how scrupulous the military has been in making sure that the personality disorder discharges were proper. read more here Senators seek review of military's personality-disorder discharges
'Military doesn't care about people with mental issues' By Nisa Islam Muhammad Staff Writer Last updated: Nov 23, 2009
(FinalCall.com) - Vernelda Taylor-Harris is fighting mad about the tragedies at Ft. Hood, the tragedy that happened in early November with Major Nidal Hassan who is accused of killing 13 people and the tragedy with her daughter, PFC Sophia Taylor, while stationed at Ft. Hood.
“My daughter was diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) while she was deployed in Iraq. She broke down and was medivaced to Ft. Hood for treatment. They did not treat her at all. In fact they just threw her under the bus. The military has no compassion for people with PTSD,” she told The Final Call. read more here http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_6586.shtml
Have you ever gotten the idea in your head that there was help available for whatever you're facing? For our soldiers, that idea is always there but until they start to look for help, they never imagine the help they are seeking cannot be found. It happens all the time.
While we read about the military and the VA trying to play catch up to the long line of combat veterans needing help to heal, they are still trying to figure out why they need the help in the first place. A recent report came out on another study to figure this out. Amazing considering how many years of studies they have already paid for.
If they are still trying to figure it out then why have they been investing millions on "treating" what they do not understand? None of what we're seeing is new in PTSD. There are very few programs treating the whole veteran even though most research has shown treating the mind-body and soul have the best results.
They know PTSD only comes after traumatic events. The term actually means after trauma and trauma is Greek for wound. They know it strikes the part of the brain where emotions live. They know there is survival guilt so deep they are remorseful they "were chosen" and survived when someone else didn't. They know they feel like criminals when they are in positions where they have to decide to take a life or not, take it and then find out the one they killed was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They know the pack reactions after facing extreme events can cause them to forget the body in front of them is not less than human but their minds remind them of the fact constantly.
They know medication alters the way the mind reacts but in most cases, talk therapy with the right fully PTSD educated psychologist, has the best results. Once they are able to talk about what it haunting them, it is no longer allowed to keep control. They also know that reconnecting the spiritual soul back to God, faith, forgiveness, mercy and compassion, restores hope and healing.
There is much they already know but too much they still don't understand. That's frightening. When you consider what is being done in the civilian world addressing the whole person's needs after traumatic events as crisis teams rush in. Some deliver food and water, clothing, shelter, all depending on the need. Some deliver a calming presence to listen to survivors talk and they remind them someone does care. In times when what help is available at that moment is not enough, then they are sent to the help they need. This is not done in the military. It's almost as if they forget the troops are still humans and still have the same reactions and needs as everyone else.
So they come home, after not getting what they need as soon as they need it, try to adjust to life as humans again in their own country, then they must come to terms with the need they have for help. Once this step is taken, then they have to find the help they need. Too often they are being sent to Chaplains without a clue what PTSD is. They are sent to psychologists and psychiatrists without a clue and end up being misdiagnosed leading to being treated for the wrong mental health need. This happens all the time because whatever mental illness the doctors are looking for, they will find it.
If they are looking for bipolar, they'll find it, just as they will find depression, paranoia, schizophrenia and "personality disorder" which caused the erroneous dishonorable discharges of over 22,000 soldiers. Yes, sometimes help does more harm than good.
They will not be able to stop the escalation of suicides and attempted suicides until they finally understand what makes humans human. Otherwise, claiming to be doing everything possible will only lead to more of the same mistakes and mistreatments they have been doing all along.
Military suicides increase as U.S. soldiers struggle with torment of war By Star-Ledger Staff November 22, 2009, 1:30PM
Reported by Tomas Dinges & Mark Mueller Written by Mark Mueller
"His whole body just shut down," said Bean’s older brother, Nick. "He said he felt like he was being strangled by nothing."
The nightmares came back, too. And the rages, so intense they sometimes drove him to look for fights. Bean began drinking again, dulling the anxiety and the memories.
He’d seen women and children reduced to charred husks in a burning bus. He’d shot up a car as it charged a military checkpoint, finding afterward that he and his squad had killed not a suicide bomber but a child. He’d survived mortars and rocket-propelled grenades and snipers.
"The things he saw in Iraq ate at him," said his father, Greg Bean. "He was just drifting. And little by little, bits of hope dropped away."
On the morning of Sept. 6, 2008, after a late-night crash and his second arrest for driving under the influence, Army Sgt. Coleman Bean killed himself with a single shot to the head in his South River apartment. He was 25. read more here http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/11/us_military_suicides_increase.html
Killeen police investigate Sunday murder of Ft. Hood soldier By AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Monday, November 23, 2009, 04:29 PM
According to a statement by the Killeen Police Department:
Killeen Police are investigating the death of a 20 year old Fort Hood soldier that occurred on Sunday, November 22, 2009, just before 5:00am.
The victim, David Lester Middlebrooks, was pronounced deceased by Justice of the Peace Garland Potvin at 6:50am; an autopsy was ordered to be performed at the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas.
Police Chase Leads Reported Iraq War Vet to Jail Suspect facing attempted murder charges By ASHLEY E. BROWN and JANE WATREL Updated 9:41 PM EST, Mon, Nov 23, 2009
A man reported to be an Iraq War veteran is behind bars in Prince George's County for allegedly leading police on a high-speed pursuit on the Beltway, from Prince George's County to Baltimore.
The driving was crazy enough to prompt witnesses to make frantic calls to police Saturday morning.
"If you use the term 'aggressive driver,' this would be it at its absolute worst," said Lt. C.D. Miller of Maryland State Police.
Christopher Miller, 30, weaved between cars for about 30 miles before he slammed his car into the side of a Maryland State Police cruiser on I-495, according to authorities. That cruiser spun out of control and hit another cruiser. The wreck put two troopers and another driver in the hospital. All three were back home recovering by Monday night. read more here Police Chase Leads Reported Iraq War Vet to Jail
Woman awarded $3M in assault claim against KBR By JUAN A. LOZANO (AP) – 3 days ago
HOUSTON — A woman who claimed she was raped in 2005 while working in Iraq for a former Halliburton Co. subsidiary has been awarded nearly $3 million by an arbitrator to settle her case.
Tracy Barker had sued U.S. contractor KBR Inc, its former parent company Halliburton and several affiliates in May 2007, claiming she was sexually attacked by a State Department employee while working as a civilian contractor in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
A federal judge in Houston had dismissed Barker's lawsuit in January 2008, ruling she had to abide by an employment agreement she signed that said any claims she made against the companies would have to be settled through arbitration and not the courts.
Court records filed this week show Barker was awarded a judgment of $2.93 million to settle her arbitration claim against KBR.
The Associated Press doesn't usually identify those who report they were sexually assaulted, but Barker made her identity public in her lawsuit. go here for more Woman awarded 3M in assault claim against KBR
Watching the trailer for The Messenger, two officers arrive to notify families their husbands and wives, their sons and daughters, will not be walking in the door. Death is the end for the Soldier, the Marine, the Sailor, the Airman. It is also the end for the life the family used to have. It's all gone with this knock at the door.
When civilians are notified by a police chaplain someone they love is not coming home, they have to get past the shock, plan a funeral, make phone calls, decide what suit or dress to use for the last image they will ever have of someone they loved. After the funeral, they go back to their homes, deal with insurance polices and social security. Take names off bank accounts, then look at the empty chair in their living room.
Aside from funeral attire for the coffin, pretty much the military families have to go through the same things except when they go home, they have to wonder where they will move to now they are no longer able to live on government property. They have to move out to make room for another soldier's family to move in.
Sound painful? It is. One of the things we never seem to think about when the families live on base or post. With the deaths at Fort Hood recently, maybe this rule will end up being a blessing because they will not have to drive past where their soldier died at the hands of one of their own.
Military messengers do not always come. They do not come when a soldier has been discharged but died as a result of service. When they take their own lives, they are not counted as a war casualty. It doesn't matter that the suicide would not have happened if they had continued to live as a civilian far removed and detached from what few will ever know. The price paid is not paid in full until they are no longer alive. They will never really be a civilian again. They become Veteran. A veteran with a story still being written that few will ever read.
We don't think of what happens to the families after the flag is folded and handed off to the family member on "behalf of a grateful nation" any more than we know what happens to the rest of them after they come home.
If you go to see The Messenger, please keep this in mind as you watch. I have not seen the movie yet so I do not know if they address the fact families have to move away from their friends when they need support from them the most, but in case it does not, we need to think of this.
Synopsis
In his most powerful performance to date, Ben Foster stars as Will Montgomery, a U.S. Army officer who has just returned home from a tour in Iraq and is assigned to the Army's Casualty Notification service. Partnered with fellow officer Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) to bear the bad news to the loved ones of fallen soldiers, Will faces the challenge of completing his mission while seeking to find comfort and healing back on the home front. When he finds himself drawn to Olivia (Samantha Morton), to whom he has just delivered the news of her husband's death, Will's emotional detachment begins to dissolve and the film reveals itself as a surprising, humorous, moving and very human portrait of grief, friendship and survival.
Featuring tour-de-force performances from Foster, Harrelson and Morton, and a brilliant directorial debut by Moverman, 'The Messenger' brings us into the inner lives of these outwardly steely heroes to reveal their fragility with compassion and dignity. http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-messenger/36286/synopsis
