Families need education if they live with PTSD veterans
by
Chaplain Kathie
A National Guardsman's mom contacted me a while back. She was at her wits end. By the time she found me, her son had tried to commit suicide twice. His young family had fallen apart and he was divorced with two young children growing up without their Dad at home. He was being treated for PTSD, or should I say medicated for it because he did not receive therapy, had very little understanding of what was happening inside of him, living on the couch of a friend and wondering why he ended up the way he did. His wife couldn't understand either.
His Mom was lost, feeling confused finding out her son, the son she knew all of his life, was more like a stranger to her. She felt helpless, hopeless and alone not knowing where to turn or why she needed to do anything above worrying about her son.
She understands what PTSD is and he is now healing from the burden he's been trying to heal from. They have a long way to go but at least they are on the right track now.
This happens all the time. They leave home with one personality and return as strangers. War changes everyone. Being away in a strange land changes people but add in the chaos of combat, losing friends, seeing civilians die, no one returns exactly the same way they left.
Some recover from it, changed ever so slightly. Others lose their identity, their faith, their trust and hope of recovering. As time passes, their condition worsens, they are turned away from everyone in their family, the government will not provide them with what they need to recover, whatever is left evaporates to the point where only anger lives.
Had this Guardsman's family knew what was happening inside of him, the possibility of the family staying together would have been there but without the right kind of support the family needed, it all fell apart.
The Mom was able to understand PTSD and what she need to do to help her son. She was filled with regret because of all the years she didn't know what was happening to her son, but the truth was, she didn't know because no one ever told her.
We read blogs like this and assume everyone knows what PTSD is and that it is a wound to the soul. Yet when you talk to people about it, they don't have the slightest clue what it is.
I was talking to two women over Christmas weekend. One had a relative who acted strangely and the other woman worked with seniors in a hospital encountering many veterans. They said families don't understand it, turn their backs on the veterans or blame the veterans for how they act. None of this has to happen.
The families are key to all of this. From the time when the veteran comes home changed, they are the first to notice it but too many don't understand what they are seeing. They are the first to see the symptoms but if they don't understand what is behind the symptoms, they think the worst. From self-medicating with drugs and alcohol, to withdrawing from the family and avoidance of any kind of activities they used to enjoy, they also deal with the nightmares and flashbacks.
If they don't understand they blame the veteran instead of PTSD. They think they need to get rid of the veteran from their home instead of heal the veteran to save the veteran.
When they understand the love they have for their veteran turns them into an advocate fighting for what the veteran needs to heal and they demand it. The veteran loses the ability to fight for themselves, so they take over. They get doctors to listen. They get the service organizations to make sure VA claims are honored to the level appropriate to the wound. They make sure their kids understand what is going on and why their parent is acting the way they do and anyone getting in the way of their veteran healing had better be prepared for the wrath of a veteran's spouse.
We can keep talking about the rise in divorce, the rise in homelessness, the rise in suicides and attempted suicides but until we talk about the fact most families have no clue what PTSD is, we will keep seeing these numbers rise instead of going down.
Monday, December 28, 2009
“I thought, give me a couple days, I’ll be alright. I’m a Soldier,”
This is what most of them are like. They don't complain. Most of them do not ask for any help at all and this is what should upset us the most. If it is a physical wound, the thought of getting medical attention to help them heal faster offers them hope of getting back on duty faster. They tough it out as much as they can, most of the time far beyond where an average person would attempt to do. Yet when it is PTSD, they are the last to ask for help. When report after report came out that less than half of the servicemen and women with PTSD sought help, the rest of the nation should have noticed. Even today, there are people in this country under the delusion that "half of PTSD claims are bogus" because they failed to pay attention.
They are human like the rest of us but they are willing to do what few of us will do, yet we stand in judgment of them. We convince ourselves that the DOD and the VA are doing everything possible to take care of the wounded, as long as we don't have to lift a finger or heaven forbid, pay a few extra dollars on our taxes to make sure we take care of the men and women we send to risk their lives.
When you read this story, think about the type of people we're talking about while the rest of us whine, moan and complain about how hard our lives are, because for all the problems we have, they do as well, but we don't have to worry about getting wounded doing our duty because we let them do it all.
They are human like the rest of us but they are willing to do what few of us will do, yet we stand in judgment of them. We convince ourselves that the DOD and the VA are doing everything possible to take care of the wounded, as long as we don't have to lift a finger or heaven forbid, pay a few extra dollars on our taxes to make sure we take care of the men and women we send to risk their lives.
When you read this story, think about the type of people we're talking about while the rest of us whine, moan and complain about how hard our lives are, because for all the problems we have, they do as well, but we don't have to worry about getting wounded doing our duty because we let them do it all.
Wounded warriors receive food, cheer this season
By Joy Pariante, Sentinel Leisure Editor
December 24, 2009 News
He traveled within Iraq’s most volatile areas, but Sgt. 1st Class Robert Walker never thought he would be in even more danger on his own flight line.
Walker inspected attack helicopters to ensure they were safe to fly and prepared to fight. Following a mortar attack at Balad Air Base in August of 2005, Walker went out to determine if his aircraft had been damaged. Attack helicopters are used to protect other aircraft, military equipment and, most importantly, personnel.
While crossing the flight line, Walker’s vehicle was hit by a mortar. The non-commissioned officer was injured, but it would be years before he knew how severely his injuries would affect him. Despite continuous and intense pain in his neck and back, Walker served three consecutive tours in Iraq He wasn’t diagnosed or treated until June 2008.
“I thought, give me a couple days, I’ll be alright. I’m a Soldier,” Walker said.
Three years after the blast that left him in constant pain, Walker discovered he had a compression fracture of his neck, which would require surgery. After he was evacuated from Iraq, he underwent spinal fusion surgery, which left him with limited mobility and a metal plate in his neck. Any wrong moves before surgery could have left Walker paralyzed from the neck down.
read more here
http://www.forthoodsentinel.com/story.php?id=2777
Clayton M. Rankin Colorado Army National Guard, Bronze Star with Valor
Clayton M. Rankin Colorado Army National Guard, Bronze Star with Valor
Northern Kuwait
By Kris Antonelli © Stephens Media LLC 2009 www.americanvalor.net
Clay Rankin, a police officer in suburban Denver, knew what it was like to kill even before he was sent to the Middle East in the first Gulf War. He and a fellow officer fatally shot a man who had taken a pharmacy clerk hostage in 1990.
But a year later, the military police officer returned to his job as a civilian police officer with the Northglenn, Colo., Police Department with grim scenes of burning oil fields and charred bodies stuck in his mind. Old haunts, familiar streets and routine police work were distorted by the memories of war. He had nightmares, anxiety and flashbacks. He un-holstered his gun during routine traffic stops. One night, while sitting in his cruiser in a parking lot and completing paperwork, he heard a noise behind him.
“I opened the door, rolled out on my stomach and took my gun out,” Rankin said. “It was a just a kid walking across the parking lot.”
The department’s psychologist diagnosed him with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Rankin didn’t believe it. His symptoms had to be a reaction to the toxin gases he was exposed to during his tour.
“I just chalked it all up — the nightmares, the flashbacks, my over-reactions — to the change, because you never come back the same,” he said.
Although the police chief tried to find an assignment that would take Rankin off the street, it was not possible in a small agency such as Northglenn’s. He had no choice but to retire.
Finally, in 1995, his marriage and family life strained by his recurring symptoms, he went to a veterans administration hospital looking specifically for PTSD treatment. In therapy, he learned techniques to manage his symptoms. His health and personal life improved. He started a private investigation business, which became successful.
But at the start of the second Gulf War, Rankin’s passion for law enforcement led him to join the National Guard as a military police officer. He believed he was well enough to handle redeploying with his old unit to Iraq. He landed at Camp Udairi, in northern Kuwait at the Iraqi border, just as the ground war began. Standing in line at the PX in March, Rankin waited to get supplies needed to push north when a terrorist in a white pick-up truck plowed through the line.
read more here
Clayton M. Rankin Colorado Army National Guard, Bronze Star with Valor
Northern Kuwait
By Kris Antonelli © Stephens Media LLC 2009 www.americanvalor.net
Clay Rankin, a police officer in suburban Denver, knew what it was like to kill even before he was sent to the Middle East in the first Gulf War. He and a fellow officer fatally shot a man who had taken a pharmacy clerk hostage in 1990.
But a year later, the military police officer returned to his job as a civilian police officer with the Northglenn, Colo., Police Department with grim scenes of burning oil fields and charred bodies stuck in his mind. Old haunts, familiar streets and routine police work were distorted by the memories of war. He had nightmares, anxiety and flashbacks. He un-holstered his gun during routine traffic stops. One night, while sitting in his cruiser in a parking lot and completing paperwork, he heard a noise behind him.
“I opened the door, rolled out on my stomach and took my gun out,” Rankin said. “It was a just a kid walking across the parking lot.”
The department’s psychologist diagnosed him with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Rankin didn’t believe it. His symptoms had to be a reaction to the toxin gases he was exposed to during his tour.
“I just chalked it all up — the nightmares, the flashbacks, my over-reactions — to the change, because you never come back the same,” he said.
Although the police chief tried to find an assignment that would take Rankin off the street, it was not possible in a small agency such as Northglenn’s. He had no choice but to retire.
Finally, in 1995, his marriage and family life strained by his recurring symptoms, he went to a veterans administration hospital looking specifically for PTSD treatment. In therapy, he learned techniques to manage his symptoms. His health and personal life improved. He started a private investigation business, which became successful.
But at the start of the second Gulf War, Rankin’s passion for law enforcement led him to join the National Guard as a military police officer. He believed he was well enough to handle redeploying with his old unit to Iraq. He landed at Camp Udairi, in northern Kuwait at the Iraqi border, just as the ground war began. Standing in line at the PX in March, Rankin waited to get supplies needed to push north when a terrorist in a white pick-up truck plowed through the line.
read more here
Clayton M. Rankin Colorado Army National Guard, Bronze Star with Valor
Donation saves memorial for Vietnam War fallen
Donation saves memorial for slain vets
Updated: Sunday, 27 Dec 2009, 11:53 PM MST
Published : Sunday, 27 Dec 2009, 11:25 PM MST
Reporter: Crystal Gutierrez
Web Producer: Devon Armijo
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Thanks to a generous donation, a new traveling memorial to honor New Mexicans killed in the Vietnam War will be built.
Many New Mexican families will never get to make the trip to Washington’s Vietnam Memorial, and that's why many say the new memorial means so much.
399 soldiers will soon be memorialized on a traveling wall.
“This wall will designate that they are from New Mexico,” Vietnam Veteran Sardo Sanchez. “We want all New Mexicans to be able to see it.”
The plan was to unveil the wall in March, but just weeks ago those spearheading the idea thought the dream would fail.
Organizers were short about half the $20,000 needed to build it, until Daniel's Funeral Home stepped up and paid the rest.
read more here
Donation saves memorial for slain vets
Updated: Sunday, 27 Dec 2009, 11:53 PM MST
Published : Sunday, 27 Dec 2009, 11:25 PM MST
Reporter: Crystal Gutierrez
Web Producer: Devon Armijo
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Thanks to a generous donation, a new traveling memorial to honor New Mexicans killed in the Vietnam War will be built.
Many New Mexican families will never get to make the trip to Washington’s Vietnam Memorial, and that's why many say the new memorial means so much.
399 soldiers will soon be memorialized on a traveling wall.
“This wall will designate that they are from New Mexico,” Vietnam Veteran Sardo Sanchez. “We want all New Mexicans to be able to see it.”
The plan was to unveil the wall in March, but just weeks ago those spearheading the idea thought the dream would fail.
Organizers were short about half the $20,000 needed to build it, until Daniel's Funeral Home stepped up and paid the rest.
read more here
Donation saves memorial for slain vets
Ross Perot pledge of 6.1 million causes military rethink on ethics
Army rethinks how it teaches ethics to soldiers
By John Milburn - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Dec 28, 2009 7:44:45 EST
FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — Army leaders who’ve been prompted to rethink tactics and war-fighting doctrines because of Iraq and Afghanistan also see a need to re-examine how they educate soldiers about ethics.
Some of the interest in ethics is tied to the wars: the black eye of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, concerns that stress from unconventional conflict leads to bad decisions, and, for at least one retired general, the sense that the military lost the public’s trust in Iraq. But some leaders also say the Army has worried for a while that it hasn’t been doing a good enough job of instilling strong ethics.
Officials at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and at Fort Leavenworth, home to the Army’s Command and General Staff College, are still in the early stages of developing the material they’ll blend into handbooks, papers, online presentations and videos they use to train soldiers. Officers involved in the effort say that eventually a soldier’s grounding in ethics — strong or weak — will become a factor in promotions.
The Army’s efforts to rethink its training on ethics received a boost this fall, when Texas billionaire and two-time presidential candidate Ross Perot pledged $6.1 million to a private foundation supporting programs at Fort Leavenworth’s command college. One result is a new chairmanship in ethics — the kind of post universities set up for academic areas they deem important.
read more here
Army rethinks how it teaches ethics to soldiers
By John Milburn - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Dec 28, 2009 7:44:45 EST
FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — Army leaders who’ve been prompted to rethink tactics and war-fighting doctrines because of Iraq and Afghanistan also see a need to re-examine how they educate soldiers about ethics.
Some of the interest in ethics is tied to the wars: the black eye of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, concerns that stress from unconventional conflict leads to bad decisions, and, for at least one retired general, the sense that the military lost the public’s trust in Iraq. But some leaders also say the Army has worried for a while that it hasn’t been doing a good enough job of instilling strong ethics.
Officials at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and at Fort Leavenworth, home to the Army’s Command and General Staff College, are still in the early stages of developing the material they’ll blend into handbooks, papers, online presentations and videos they use to train soldiers. Officers involved in the effort say that eventually a soldier’s grounding in ethics — strong or weak — will become a factor in promotions.
The Army’s efforts to rethink its training on ethics received a boost this fall, when Texas billionaire and two-time presidential candidate Ross Perot pledged $6.1 million to a private foundation supporting programs at Fort Leavenworth’s command college. One result is a new chairmanship in ethics — the kind of post universities set up for academic areas they deem important.
read more here
Army rethinks how it teaches ethics to soldiers
Texas couple designs tribute coin for veterans
Texas couple designs tribute coin for veterans
By Celinda Emison - Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News via AP
Posted : Monday Dec 28, 2009 12:07:32 EST
ABILENE, Texas — Larry and Sue Farr are on a mission to make sure all military men and women know they are appreciated for their sacrifices made in the service to their country.
The Farrs have designed and developed the “Not Forgotten” coin to distribute among veterans, service members, and friends and family who want to hand them out to their loved ones.
The coins are made of copper and have a flag and a cross on both sides, with the phrases “In God We Trust” and “You Are Not Forgotten,” on each face.
The idea came to Larry Farr back in January, during a meeting of his church group. Initially, he thought of a coin that airmen at Dyess Air Force Base could use on base to get a cup of coffee.
“That was not enough,” said Larry Farr, who is on the Military Affairs Committee of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce.
read more here
Texas couple designs tribute coin for veterans
By Celinda Emison - Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News via AP
Posted : Monday Dec 28, 2009 12:07:32 EST
ABILENE, Texas — Larry and Sue Farr are on a mission to make sure all military men and women know they are appreciated for their sacrifices made in the service to their country.
The Farrs have designed and developed the “Not Forgotten” coin to distribute among veterans, service members, and friends and family who want to hand them out to their loved ones.
The coins are made of copper and have a flag and a cross on both sides, with the phrases “In God We Trust” and “You Are Not Forgotten,” on each face.
The idea came to Larry Farr back in January, during a meeting of his church group. Initially, he thought of a coin that airmen at Dyess Air Force Base could use on base to get a cup of coffee.
“That was not enough,” said Larry Farr, who is on the Military Affairs Committee of the Abilene Chamber of Commerce.
read more here
Texas couple designs tribute coin for veterans
Fires claims lives in Mississippi and Massachusetts
Mysterious Fires in Massachusetts Town Kill 2
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (Dec. 28) -- Local and state authorities in Northampton, Mass., are investigating a string of suspicious fires that killed two people and left residents shaken, officials said Sunday.
In just more than an hour early Sunday, five structures -- including a single-family residence -- burned, in addition to "numerous cars," district attorney Betsy Scheibel told a news conference that included fire and police officials and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
Two people were found dead on the first floor of the residence, Scheibel said. Identities of the victims are being withheld pending autopsy results.
read more here
Mysterious Fires in Massachusetts Town Kill 2
Apartment Blaze Kills 9; Kids Among the Dead
STARKVILLE, Miss. (Dec. 28) -- Nine people, including at least six children, died early Monday in an apartment fire, officials said.
The blaze was reported around 4 a.m., according to Oktibbeha County Coroner Michael Hunt. He and state Fire Marshal Mike Chaney confirmed the deaths.
Firefighters were still at the scene more than six hours later, and there was no word on how the blaze started.
"All I can tell you is we had a fire in one of the older apartment buildings," Starkville Fire Chief Rodger Mann said. "That's about all I can say. When a fatality is involved, things move a lot slower."
read more here
Apartment Blaze Kills 9
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (Dec. 28) -- Local and state authorities in Northampton, Mass., are investigating a string of suspicious fires that killed two people and left residents shaken, officials said Sunday.
In just more than an hour early Sunday, five structures -- including a single-family residence -- burned, in addition to "numerous cars," district attorney Betsy Scheibel told a news conference that included fire and police officials and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
Two people were found dead on the first floor of the residence, Scheibel said. Identities of the victims are being withheld pending autopsy results.
read more here
Mysterious Fires in Massachusetts Town Kill 2
Apartment Blaze Kills 9; Kids Among the Dead
STARKVILLE, Miss. (Dec. 28) -- Nine people, including at least six children, died early Monday in an apartment fire, officials said.
The blaze was reported around 4 a.m., according to Oktibbeha County Coroner Michael Hunt. He and state Fire Marshal Mike Chaney confirmed the deaths.
Firefighters were still at the scene more than six hours later, and there was no word on how the blaze started.
"All I can tell you is we had a fire in one of the older apartment buildings," Starkville Fire Chief Rodger Mann said. "That's about all I can say. When a fatality is involved, things move a lot slower."
read more here
Apartment Blaze Kills 9
At Fort Hood, Reaching Out to Soldiers at Risk
At Fort Hood, Reaching Out to Soldiers at Risk
By JAMES DAO
Published: December 23, 2009
FORT HOOD, Tex. — The day after a gunman killed 13 people here last month, Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, the post’s commander, fired off an e-mail message to an unusual audience: local advocates for disaffected soldiers, deserters and war resisters. “I am told you may be able to help me understand where some of the gaps are in our system,” he wrote.
Last week, those advocates put General Cone’s offer to a test. A specialist who had deserted last year wanted to turn himself in. Would the general help the soldier, who has post-traumatic stress disorder, get care?
The general said yes.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said James Branum, a lawyer representing the specialist, Eric Jasinski. “It is very unusual for the commanding general to get involved.”
For years, Fort Hood has been an emblem of an overstretched military, with long deployments and combat-related stress contributing to rising numbers of suicides, divorces, spousal abuse and crime, mental health experts say.
Now, after the Nov. 5 shootings, the post is trying to show that it has another side, one that can care for its frailest and most battle-weary soldiers.
For the last month, the Pentagon has dispatched scores of psychologists, therapists and chaplains to counsel soldiers and their families, and bolster the post’s chronically understaffed mental health network. It has overseen the creation of a new system of trauma counseling. And it has pledged to speed the hiring of dozens of permanent new mental health specialists.
But the stepped-up efforts, while welcomed even by critics of the Army’s record in dealing with combat-related stress, are also seen as a test of its resolve to break with the past. Making change stick remains a challenge not just for Fort Hood, but the entire Army, as it struggles to improve care for its rising tide of deployment-strained soldiers.
read more here
At Fort Hood Reaching Out to Soldiers at Risk
By JAMES DAO
Published: December 23, 2009
FORT HOOD, Tex. — The day after a gunman killed 13 people here last month, Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, the post’s commander, fired off an e-mail message to an unusual audience: local advocates for disaffected soldiers, deserters and war resisters. “I am told you may be able to help me understand where some of the gaps are in our system,” he wrote.
Last week, those advocates put General Cone’s offer to a test. A specialist who had deserted last year wanted to turn himself in. Would the general help the soldier, who has post-traumatic stress disorder, get care?
The general said yes.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said James Branum, a lawyer representing the specialist, Eric Jasinski. “It is very unusual for the commanding general to get involved.”
For years, Fort Hood has been an emblem of an overstretched military, with long deployments and combat-related stress contributing to rising numbers of suicides, divorces, spousal abuse and crime, mental health experts say.
Now, after the Nov. 5 shootings, the post is trying to show that it has another side, one that can care for its frailest and most battle-weary soldiers.
For the last month, the Pentagon has dispatched scores of psychologists, therapists and chaplains to counsel soldiers and their families, and bolster the post’s chronically understaffed mental health network. It has overseen the creation of a new system of trauma counseling. And it has pledged to speed the hiring of dozens of permanent new mental health specialists.
But the stepped-up efforts, while welcomed even by critics of the Army’s record in dealing with combat-related stress, are also seen as a test of its resolve to break with the past. Making change stick remains a challenge not just for Fort Hood, but the entire Army, as it struggles to improve care for its rising tide of deployment-strained soldiers.
read more here
At Fort Hood Reaching Out to Soldiers at Risk
Sunday, December 27, 2009
FDNY firefighter Jason Brezler spends Christmas in Afghanistan
Lombard for News
Firefighters of Ladder 58 hold a photo of Jason Brezler who is fighting in Afghanistan
FDNY firefighter Jason Brezler spends Christmas in Afghanistan fighting Taliban not fires
BY Stephanie Gaskell AND Barry Paddock
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Sunday, December 27th 2009, 12:20 PM
Bronx firefighter Jason Brezler usually volunteers at the firehouse on Christmas, but this year he spent the holiday fighting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.
"If I wasn't here, 90 percent I'd probably be filling in for someone who has kids," Brezler told the Daily News from his combat outpost in Helmand province. "Those guys are all away from their families, too."
Brezler, 31, is a captain with the Marine Reserves, serving with the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines.
He's been deployed four times since Sept. 11.
"I'm actually proud to be here," he said. "We all volunteered for this deployment. All of us wanted to come here and contribute to the fight in Afghanistan."
go here for more
FDNY firefighter Jason Brezler spends Christmas in Afghanistan
Troops' Return Can Be Challenge For Whole Family
Troops' Return Can Be Challenge For Whole Family
By JESSE LEAVENWORTH
The Hartford Courant
December 27, 2009
ENFIELD — - A woman at Jessica Keller's church — the wife of a Vietnam veteran and mother of their four children — told Keller that she spoke to her husband only once during his yearlong tour of duty.
Keller said that made her see how fortunate she has been.
While Maj. James "Jake" Keller served in Afghanistan last year, he and Jessica e-mailed each other every day. They also spoke every week by phone and even had a few video conversations over the Internet. Through regular mail, Jessica Keller sent her husband drawings from their two young daughters and sent pressed leaves in the fall to remind him of his Connecticut home.
"It's good just to hear that life is actually normal back in the real world," Jake Keller, a National Guard soldier, said, "knowing that you've got something to look forward to once you get out of there."
The Kellers say that constant contact helped them adjust and carry on when Jake Keller returned from his yearlong tour two days after Christmas in 2008. People who counsel returning service members and their families say that the ease and variety of modern communications have helped with the homecoming adjustment.
"Overall, more communication tends to be better than less communication," said Joseph Bobrow, executive director of the nonprofit Coming Home Project (cominghomeproject.net), which provides counseling and support for service members and their families.
Still, communication can't smooth every jagged patch caused by long separation and the brutality of war. Keller had a relatively easy return to family and work, but some service members travel a tougher road home.
"There are many, many challenges," Bobrow said. "The first is that the service member may be home physically, but they're not home emotionally, spiritually, mentally. They haven't begun to process all that they've been through. Getting home takes quite a bit of time."
read more here
Return Can Be Challenge For Whole Family
By JESSE LEAVENWORTH
The Hartford Courant
December 27, 2009
ENFIELD — - A woman at Jessica Keller's church — the wife of a Vietnam veteran and mother of their four children — told Keller that she spoke to her husband only once during his yearlong tour of duty.
Keller said that made her see how fortunate she has been.
While Maj. James "Jake" Keller served in Afghanistan last year, he and Jessica e-mailed each other every day. They also spoke every week by phone and even had a few video conversations over the Internet. Through regular mail, Jessica Keller sent her husband drawings from their two young daughters and sent pressed leaves in the fall to remind him of his Connecticut home.
"It's good just to hear that life is actually normal back in the real world," Jake Keller, a National Guard soldier, said, "knowing that you've got something to look forward to once you get out of there."
The Kellers say that constant contact helped them adjust and carry on when Jake Keller returned from his yearlong tour two days after Christmas in 2008. People who counsel returning service members and their families say that the ease and variety of modern communications have helped with the homecoming adjustment.
"Overall, more communication tends to be better than less communication," said Joseph Bobrow, executive director of the nonprofit Coming Home Project (cominghomeproject.net), which provides counseling and support for service members and their families.
Still, communication can't smooth every jagged patch caused by long separation and the brutality of war. Keller had a relatively easy return to family and work, but some service members travel a tougher road home.
"There are many, many challenges," Bobrow said. "The first is that the service member may be home physically, but they're not home emotionally, spiritually, mentally. They haven't begun to process all that they've been through. Getting home takes quite a bit of time."
read more here
Return Can Be Challenge For Whole Family
Thruway crash kills N. Tonawanda officer set to deploy to Iraq
Thruway crash kills N. Tonawanda officer set to deploy to Iraq
By Dan Herbeck and Jay Tokasz
NEWS STAFF REPORTERS
December 27, 2009
An Army lieutenant from North Tonawanda who expected to be deployed to Iraq within a few months was killed Saturday morning in a car crash on the Thruway in Chautauqua County.
Jordan A. Bunker, 24, a University at Buffalo graduate who was a former co-captain of the North Tonawanda High School football team, died after he lost control of the car at about 10:10 a. m. and hit a guardrail in the Town of Hanover.
State police said Bunker’s girlfriend — Audrey Brackett, 25, of Fort Knox, Ky. — was taken to Lake Shore Hospital in Irving for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening.
Bunker, a second lieutenant stationed at Fort Knox, had spent Christmas week in North Tonawanda, visiting family and friends, according to his father, Daniel Bunker of North Tonawanda.
“I’ve never seen him happier in his entire life. I think it was because he was in love with [Brackett],” Bunker said. “Jordan arrived here on [Dec. 19] and had the most wonderful week visiting with his family and friends. There were about 70 people who stopped by to see him Wednesday night. On Christmas night, I never saw him stop smiling.”
By Dan Herbeck and Jay Tokasz
NEWS STAFF REPORTERS
December 27, 2009
An Army lieutenant from North Tonawanda who expected to be deployed to Iraq within a few months was killed Saturday morning in a car crash on the Thruway in Chautauqua County.
Jordan A. Bunker, 24, a University at Buffalo graduate who was a former co-captain of the North Tonawanda High School football team, died after he lost control of the car at about 10:10 a. m. and hit a guardrail in the Town of Hanover.
State police said Bunker’s girlfriend — Audrey Brackett, 25, of Fort Knox, Ky. — was taken to Lake Shore Hospital in Irving for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening.
Bunker, a second lieutenant stationed at Fort Knox, had spent Christmas week in North Tonawanda, visiting family and friends, according to his father, Daniel Bunker of North Tonawanda.
“I’ve never seen him happier in his entire life. I think it was because he was in love with [Brackett],” Bunker said. “Jordan arrived here on [Dec. 19] and had the most wonderful week visiting with his family and friends. There were about 70 people who stopped by to see him Wednesday night. On Christmas night, I never saw him stop smiling.”
“He joined the Army last year because the job market here isn’t so good,” Bunker said. “He made a three-year commitment. He was in an armored unit. He told me he expected to be sent to the Middle East and was willing to take that risk to serve his country. My son was a great kid. . . . He touched a lot of lives.”
read more here
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/otherwny/story/905864.html?imw=Y
Mall solicitors dressed like soldiers irk local veterans groups
Mall solicitors dressed like soldiers irk local veterans groups
Richard Liebson and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon • GANNETT / rliebson@lohud.com • December 27, 2009
WESTCHESTER, N.Y. — They kind of look like soldiers, standing in The Westchester mall in their store-bought camouflage fatigues. But they aren't.
The first hint that they have nothing to do with the military is that their "uniforms" bear no rank, insignia or unit patches. The dead giveaway comes when they ask you for a cash donation to help veterans — active-duty service members are prohibited from panhandling.
For the past several weeks, members of the Veterans Service Organization have been soliciting money at The Westchester and other Lower Hudson Valley sites, claiming that they're providing holiday meals for local homeless veterans and making donations to veterans hospitals and other local programs to help veterans.
The fact is, 25 percent to 30 percent of what they collect goes into their pockets, as part of what the VSO describes as a "work program." The group's founder admits that many members have never served in the armed forces and could not provide proof that the VSO has made any contributions to local veterans.
Financial records obtained by The Journal News show that about 31 percent of the more than $1 million they took in annually nationwide in 2007 and 2008 went to veterans assistance and services. Much of the rest is listed as "programs" expenses used to pay for rent and office supplies, travel costs, subcontractors and compensation for VSO executives.
read more here
http://www.app.com/article/20091227/NEWS06/91227010/Mall-solicitors-dressed-like-soldiers-irk-local-veterans-groups
Richard Liebson and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon • GANNETT / rliebson@lohud.com • December 27, 2009
WESTCHESTER, N.Y. — They kind of look like soldiers, standing in The Westchester mall in their store-bought camouflage fatigues. But they aren't.
The first hint that they have nothing to do with the military is that their "uniforms" bear no rank, insignia or unit patches. The dead giveaway comes when they ask you for a cash donation to help veterans — active-duty service members are prohibited from panhandling.
For the past several weeks, members of the Veterans Service Organization have been soliciting money at The Westchester and other Lower Hudson Valley sites, claiming that they're providing holiday meals for local homeless veterans and making donations to veterans hospitals and other local programs to help veterans.
The fact is, 25 percent to 30 percent of what they collect goes into their pockets, as part of what the VSO describes as a "work program." The group's founder admits that many members have never served in the armed forces and could not provide proof that the VSO has made any contributions to local veterans.
Financial records obtained by The Journal News show that about 31 percent of the more than $1 million they took in annually nationwide in 2007 and 2008 went to veterans assistance and services. Much of the rest is listed as "programs" expenses used to pay for rent and office supplies, travel costs, subcontractors and compensation for VSO executives.
read more here
http://www.app.com/article/20091227/NEWS06/91227010/Mall-solicitors-dressed-like-soldiers-irk-local-veterans-groups
Studies find breakthrough in PTSD treatment
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Studies find breakthrough in PTSD treatment
Submitted by admin on Sun, 12/27/2009 - 07:40
Two new studies seem to provide more evidence that post-traumatic stress disorder is a chemical change in the brain caused by trauma — and that it might be possible to diagnose, treat and predict which troops are most susceptible to it using brain scans or blood tests.In one study, Christine Marx of the Duke University Medical Center and Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center wondered why PTSD, depression and pain often occur together.
Researchers already knew that people with PTSD show changes in their neurosteroids, which are brain chemicals thought to play a role in how the body responds to stress. Previous animal studies showed that blood neurosteroid levels correlated to brain neurosteroid levels, so Marx measured the blood neurosteroid levels of 90 male Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. She found that the neurosteroid levels correlated to symptom severity in PTSD, depression and pain issues, and that those levels might be used to predict how a person reacts to therapy, as well as to help develop new therapies.
Marx is researching treatment for people with traumatic brain injuries using the same kind of brain chemical, and early results show that increasing a person’s neurosteroid level decreases his PTSD symptoms. Marx’s work was funded by the Veterans Affairs Department, National Institutes of Health, Defense Department and NARSAD, an organization that funds brain and behavior research.A second study, conducted by Alexander Neumeister of Yale University School of Medicine, found that veterans diagnosed with PTSD along with another syndrome, such as depression, alcohol abuse, substance abuse or suicidal ideation, had different brain images on a CT scan than did those who had been diagnosed only with PTSD.Neumeister became curious after realizing that veterans dealing only with PTSD responded differently to treatment than did those with PTSD and another diagnosis.
go here for more
http://navyexperience.com/navy-news/studies-find-breakthrough-ptsd-treatment
Studies find breakthrough in PTSD treatment
Submitted by admin on Sun, 12/27/2009 - 07:40
Two new studies seem to provide more evidence that post-traumatic stress disorder is a chemical change in the brain caused by trauma — and that it might be possible to diagnose, treat and predict which troops are most susceptible to it using brain scans or blood tests.In one study, Christine Marx of the Duke University Medical Center and Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center wondered why PTSD, depression and pain often occur together.
Researchers already knew that people with PTSD show changes in their neurosteroids, which are brain chemicals thought to play a role in how the body responds to stress. Previous animal studies showed that blood neurosteroid levels correlated to brain neurosteroid levels, so Marx measured the blood neurosteroid levels of 90 male Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. She found that the neurosteroid levels correlated to symptom severity in PTSD, depression and pain issues, and that those levels might be used to predict how a person reacts to therapy, as well as to help develop new therapies.
Marx is researching treatment for people with traumatic brain injuries using the same kind of brain chemical, and early results show that increasing a person’s neurosteroid level decreases his PTSD symptoms. Marx’s work was funded by the Veterans Affairs Department, National Institutes of Health, Defense Department and NARSAD, an organization that funds brain and behavior research.A second study, conducted by Alexander Neumeister of Yale University School of Medicine, found that veterans diagnosed with PTSD along with another syndrome, such as depression, alcohol abuse, substance abuse or suicidal ideation, had different brain images on a CT scan than did those who had been diagnosed only with PTSD.Neumeister became curious after realizing that veterans dealing only with PTSD responded differently to treatment than did those with PTSD and another diagnosis.
go here for more
http://navyexperience.com/navy-news/studies-find-breakthrough-ptsd-treatment
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Passenger stops terrorist on plane
Device was on fire in terror suspect's lap, plane passenger says
December 26, 2009 7:46 a.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Passenger says he grabbed device, subdued suspect
Nigerian in custody "talking a lot," U.S. official says after incident
Flight crew put out small fire on plane with extinguishers
Obama orders "all appropriate measures" to increase security
Romulus, Michigan (CNN) -- A Nigerian man is "talking a lot" to the FBI, said a senior U.S. official, after what the United States believes was an attempted terrorist attack on an inbound international flight.
The initial impression is that the suspect was acting alone and did not have any formal connections to organized terrorist groups, said the official, who is familiar with the investigation.
The suspect, identified by a U.S. government official as 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, ignited a small explosive device Friday, shortly before a Northwest flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, landed at Detroit Metro Airport in Michigan.
Passenger Jasper Schuringa told CNN that with the aid of the cabin crew, he helped subdue and isolate Abdulmutallab.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/26/airline.attack/index.html
December 26, 2009 7:46 a.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Passenger says he grabbed device, subdued suspect
Nigerian in custody "talking a lot," U.S. official says after incident
Flight crew put out small fire on plane with extinguishers
Obama orders "all appropriate measures" to increase security
Romulus, Michigan (CNN) -- A Nigerian man is "talking a lot" to the FBI, said a senior U.S. official, after what the United States believes was an attempted terrorist attack on an inbound international flight.
The initial impression is that the suspect was acting alone and did not have any formal connections to organized terrorist groups, said the official, who is familiar with the investigation.
The suspect, identified by a U.S. government official as 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, ignited a small explosive device Friday, shortly before a Northwest flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, landed at Detroit Metro Airport in Michigan.
Passenger Jasper Schuringa told CNN that with the aid of the cabin crew, he helped subdue and isolate Abdulmutallab.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/26/airline.attack/index.html
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