Agency says Camp Lejeune water tainted for 30 years

From 1957 to 1987, according to the agency, residents and employees at Lejeune were drinking, showering in and washing dishes with water coursing with contaminants.

Agency says military base water tainted
Sunday, February 21, 2010
By Daniel Malloy, Post-Gazette Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- Cliff Armstrong started getting migraines about 15 years ago.

Then, he felt disoriented and suffered from memory loss. Respiratory infections and adult-onset asthma came next, before Mr. Armstrong was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis, a disease with no known cure that attacked his spine and organs.

"It just seems like everything is falling apart," said Mr. Armstrong of Cabot. "And I'm only 46 years old. I don't smoke. I don't have a risky lifestyle. I'm a pretty safe person. So where's all this coming from?"

In October 2008, he received a letter from his former employer: the U.S. Marine Corps. The Corps wanted him to register for a study on water contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune on the North Carolina coast.

Mr. Armstrong, who lived on the base on and off between 1981 and 1985, signed up. In July, he got another letter, accompanied by research from the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry -- part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.



Read more: Agency says military base water tainted

In war, you learn to shut out such horror

As much as there is reason to complain about the fact so many do not receive help for PTSD, stories like this are stunning. Thirty years ago, reading something like this was impossible even though this kind of story was being repeated in every town, every city, across America. They went to where we sent them. They became veterans of WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. No story was new but all were hidden from the news aside from a report of a veteran charged with a crime, there was very little being reported on any of them.

No one wanted to talk almost as if they remained silent, they wouldn't expose their "secret" lives and it would all go away. As they waited for it to go away, along with their families, it got worse. No one was healing but all were fighting because of combat. "Dad was too much of everything. He was quiet too much when he was not barking out orders. He was working too much, never around to go to ball games or do anything with the family. He was drinking too much when he wasn't working too much. Parents fought too much." All of these have been reported by children of veterans, including me, but then I got to repeat all of this as a spouse.

I wanted to keep my life a secret. It was easier that way. People knew a little about my life but considering my family couldn't understand it no matter how hard I tried to explain it to them, it was a sure bet others would judge me as well and tell me to divorce my husband. I knew they couldn't understand it because no one was talking about any of it even though all my uncles and my father were veterans. I helped my husband's friends and then some others I found online, but as far as online work went, I kept my name private using my Mom's maiden name just as I had with the newspaper pieces I wrote. No one was talking including my husband as if he had something to feel ashamed of.

Now it is a blessing that so many are talking. Because of their courage, telling their stories will touch another veteran feeling alone, hanging onto thoughts getting in the way of healing and above all, offer hope that healing is possible instead of suffering in silence.

In war, you learn to shut out such horror. It’s called “survival mode.”

Fighting the War at Home

New America Media, Commentary, Jeremy P., Posted: Feb 21, 2010

Editor’s Note: A soldier returns safely after surviving sniper fire and roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the hypervigilance and suppressed emotions that kept him alive have taken a heavy toll. Jeremy P. wrote this for the Veterans Workshop, a New America Media writing project for military veterans.

I came home from Iraq in March 2004, yet I’m still fighting a war, a war here at home. It’s a war of shadows, one that no one seems to really understand. A war of anger and anxiety, fought in the recesses of my mind.

Just like in the two wars I fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, I don’t know who the enemy is. There, insurgents take pot shots at you, then go back into hiding. Combating post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, is the same. Some days I feel as if I have the enemy on the run; other days it has me pinned down.

I am a former military policeman. I was among the first soldiers to move into Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks. For nine months, my company provided support for Rangers and special operations forces. We returned home in September 2002. Four months later, in January 2003, we were in Kuwait preparing for another war.

It took me a long time to learn that asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but an act of courage. Post-traumatic stress doesn’t mean you’re crazy. It’s a natural reaction to trauma. With help, you learn to understand it and how to cope with it.

read more here

Fighting the War at Home

US Marine, shot in the head but Taliban bullet bounced off

WSJ.com – U.S. Marine Walks Away From Shot to Helmet in Afghanistan
February 20th, 2010
By MICHAEL M. PHILLIPS

MARJAH, Afghanistan—It is hard to know whether Monday was a very bad day or a very good day for Lance Cpl. Andrew Koenig.

On the one hand, he was shot in the head. on the other, the bullet bounced off him.

In one of those rare battlefield miracles, an insurgent sniper hit Lance Cpl. Koenig dead on in the front of his helmet, and he walked away from it with a smile on his face.

Bryan Denton for the Wall Street Journal

Lance Cpl. Andrew Koenig shows the spot on his helmet where a Taliban bullet struck, almost centered, between the eyes.

“I don’t think I could be any luckier than this,” Lance Cpl. Koenig said two hours after the shooting.

Lance Cpl. Koenig’s brush with death came during a day of intense fighting for the Marines of Company B, 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment.

The company had landed by helicopter in the predawn dark on Saturday, launching a major coalition offensive to take Marjah from the Taliban.

The Marines set up an outpost in a former drug lab and roadside-bomb factory and soon found themselves under near-constant attack.
read more here
US Marine Walks Away From Shot to Helmet

Police Investigate Death Of Marine's Baby As Homicide

Police Investigate Death Of Marine's Baby As Homicide

POSTED: 7:51 pm PST February 20, 2010

The San Diego Medical Examiner's Office released new information about a four month old baby who died Thursday.

The medical examiner says Andru Bixby died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head.

Police are now investigating his death as a homicide.

A local foster care agency told 10 News they've seen a 30% increase in the number of child abuse cases since the beginning of the year.

read more here

Police Investigate Death Of Marine Baby As Homicide

Veterans with wrong PTSD rate need to opt in for lawsuit

Shelia over at Agent Orange Quilt of Tears sent this. Veterans need to pay attention to this so they finally get what they should have gotten all along! It is not a hand out! They earned it when they ended up wounded because of combat.

News Releases

http://www.lawyersservingwarriors.com/news_releases-10-0125.html


CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT TO YIELD BETTER BENEFITS FOR THOUSANDS OF
VETERANS SUFFERING FROM PTSD AND THEIR FAMILIES

Veterans must opt-in by July 24 for disability rating upgrade and expedited
review of benefits, NVLSP and Morgan Lewis available to counsel veterans on
their rights as class members

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 25, 2010

WASHINGTON-Following an order issued by the judge overseeing Sabo v. United
States, legal notices are being mailed this week to more than 4,300 veterans
who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom and were
diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The court's notice invites them to join a class action lawsuit filed in
December 2008 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims by signing and submitting
an "opt-in" form no later than July 24, 2010. Submitting this form will
allow these veterans to take advantage of a negotiated resolution that
guarantees an upgrade in the veteran's disability rating and an expedited
review by a military correction board to determine the full extent of the
rating improvement.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of seven veterans by the non-profit National
Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) and pro bono counsel Morgan Lewis &
Bockius LLP, alleges that between December 17, 2002 and October 14, 2008,
the military illegally denied benefits to an entire class of service members
who returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD and were discharged from
service.

As a result of the suit, the military has agreed to expedite a review of
records to increase the disability ratings previously issued to all class
members. To help affected veterans navigate the process of seeking the
benefits to which they are entitled, NVLSP and Morgan Lewis are bringing
together approximately 100 volunteer lawyers to offer free counseling to all
class members.

The disability ratings which are the subject of the lawsuit are critically
important to veterans with PTSD. A permanent disability rating of 30% or
more entitles a veteran to monthly disability benefits for the rest of the
veteran's life, to free health care for the veteran and his or her spouse
for life, and to free health care for their minor children.

"For years, the law has required the military to assign a disability rating
of at least 50% to all veterans discharged for PTSD. This rating (above
30%) would give them the medical benefits they need. And, in October 2008,
the Department of Defense in fact ordered the military to assign a 50%
rating for PTSD going forward," said Bart Stichman, co-executive director of
NVLSP. "Yet, each of the seven named plaintiffs in our lawsuit received a
rating of 10% or less. We believe there are thousands more who were
likewise shortchanged."

Eligible veterans who join the suit will be entitled to expedited review of
their disability rating, a correction of military records to show their
rating for PTSD was at least 50% for the six-month period following the date
of release from military service, as well as a determination of whether the
new rating should be permanently increased, decreased, or remain the same.

After their rating is increased, class members may receive back pay of
disability benefits, reimbursement for health care expenses the military
should have covered, as well as future benefits to which they and their
families are entitled-potentially millions of dollars in benefits over time.

"Even if the military board does not end up permanently raising a veteran's
PTSD disability rating, the veteran retains the right to ask the court to do
so," added Stichman. "In short, they cannot end up worse off by virtue of
joining the lawsuit and agreeing to a board review."

WHO CAN BE A CLASS MEMBER IN THIS CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT?
All individuals who (a) served on active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine
Corps, or Air Force, (b) were found by a Physical Evaluation Board to be
unfit for continued service due, at least in part, to the individual's PTSD,
(c) were assigned a disability rating for PTSD of less than 50%, and, as a
result, (d) were released, separated, retired, or discharged from active
duty after December 17, 2002, and prior to October 14, 2008 (regardless
whether such release, separation, retirement, or discharge resulted in the
individual's placement on the Temporary Disability Retirement List).

Veterans who do not receive the legal notice, but who believe they may
qualify as a class member in Sabo vs. United States, should go to
www.ptsdlawsuit.com to obtain information
about their rights in the lawsuit.

http://www.lawyersservingwarriors.com/news_releases-10-0125.html


Go to Web site: http://www.ptsdlawsuit.com/index.html

It only involves veterans who

(a) served on active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Air
Force, (b) were found by a Physical Evaluation Board to be unfit for
continued service due, at least in part, to the individual's PTSD, (c) were
assigned a disability rating for PTSD of less than 50%, and, as a result,
(d) were released, separated, retired, or discharged from active duty after
December 17, 2002, and prior to October 14, 2008 (regardless whether such
release, separation, retirement, or discharge resulted in the individual's
placement on the Temporary Disability Retirement List).

Key Facts Regarding Sabo, et al., v. United States

* On December 18, 2009, the United States Court of Federal Claims
ordered that a legal notice be sent to you and all other veterans of the
U.S. Armed Services who may be eligible to join the lawsuit known as Sabo,
et al. v. United States.
* The Sabo lawsuit was brought by seven veterans from the U.S. Army,
Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. The seven veterans were discharged from
military service as a result of a finding by a Physical Evaluation Board
("PEB") that they were unfit for continued active duty service due, at least
in part, to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ("PTSD"), and were assigned a
disability rating for PTSD of less than 50%. You received the Court-approved
legal notice because government records indicate that you -- like the seven
veterans who filed the Sabo lawsuit --were discharged from the Armed
Services between December 17, 2002 and October 14, 2008, were found unfit
for continued active service due, at least in part, to PTSD, but were
assigned a disability rating for PTSD of less than 50%.
* The seven veterans in the Sabo lawsuit claim that the PEBs violated
their legal rights, as well as yours, by assigning a disability rating for
PTSD below 50%. The seven veterans have asked the Court to order the
military services to give them - and to give you if you join the lawsuit -
all of the military retirement benefits to which a veteran with at least a
50% PTSD rating would be entitled.
* The military services deny that they have done anything wrong, and
the Court has not yet decided that issue. For those who "opt-in" to the
class, the military services agreed to prioritize applications to the
records corrections boards requesting an increase of their PTSD ratings.
* The Court approved the legal notice that was sent to you and other
eligible veterans to inform you of your rights to either join or not join
this lawsuit, and what you would need to do to join this lawsuit, if that is
what you decide to do.
* Under the Rules of United States Court of Federal Claims, the Court
has allowed the lawsuit to be a class action on behalf of the following
individuals:

All individuals who (a) served on active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine
Corps, or Air Force, (b) were found by a Physical Evaluation Board to be
unfit for continued service due, at least in part, to the individual's PTSD,
(c) were assigned a disability rating for PTSD of less than 50%, and, as a
result, (d) were released, separated, retired, or discharged from active
duty after December 17, 2002, and prior to October 14, 2008 (regardless
whether such release, separation, retirement, or discharge resulted in the
individual's placement on the Temporary Disability Retirement List).

* If you fit this definition, you may choose to join (or "opt-in" to)
this lawsuit as a Class Member.
* Even though you may have a right to join this lawsuit, there is no
obligation to join and you do not lose any legal rights by declining to
join.
* The lawyers who represent the veterans in the Sabo lawsuit are not
charging the veterans a fee for their services. These lawyers have agreed
not to charge you or other class members a fee if you choose to join the
lawsuit.
* If you join this lawsuit, neither the Court nor a military records
correction board can reduce the PTSD rating(s) that the PEB assigned to you
absent fraud or unusual circumstances.
* The FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and Summary of Rights and
Options provide more detailed information regarding this lawsuit.

Poll shows sailors think seeking help hurts career

One of the strongest messages given by an Iraq veteran regarding suicide prevention is that it should not be when a life is on the line but there needs to be a PTSD hotline they can call before it reaches the point where suicide is even thought about.

There is much discussion about the number of calls the suicide prevention hotline receives but there should be more discussion on how it has gotten so bad that there are so many on the verge of suicide in the first place!

Now we read that even after all these years, along with millions of dollars, they still think seeking help will harm their career.

Navy Leadership Focuses on Suicide Prevention
Posted February 20th, 2010 by USNavySeals
In a previous post, we talked about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and shared a feature on Time.com on the experiences of Retired Navy SEAL Commander Mark Waddell, where PTSD was described as “an invisible wound of war.” And in yet another previous post, we shared with you a Navy Times editorial that talked about the apparent lack of sympathy and support for the families of service members who are victims of suicide.

In a Poll, Sailors expect that seeking help for stress reactions and suicidal thoughts may have a negative impact to their career.

read more here

Navy Leadership Focuses on Suicide Prevention

The Hurt Locker's Mark Boal talks about PTSD

Mark Boal seems to get it when it comes to PTSD but above that, he knows how we have failed in coming up with healing as fast as the VA and DOD and can hand out pills.

That is the biggest problem of all. Pills, drugs and alcohol are chemicals working with or against the brain. If medication is prescribed for the wrong diagnosis, it can mask the symptoms but it does not cure them. Just as street drugs and alcohol cover up what is there, it does more damage than good.

To this day the servicemen and women are redeployed with medications to help them get through their day, help them sleep and help them wake up, but they are not given any therapy. What good does this do when every expert states clearly PTSD is an emotional wound coming after trauma? Do they really think medication alone will solve anything or is it more they want the boots in action at any price?

We also do a lousy job of helping them when they come home and let them suffer for months or years fighting the government to have their claims approved, which means, no income in most cases when a combat veteran cannot work because of their wound. How would you feel after serving your county, being sent into combat until you are at the point where you can give no more, then finding yourself without income to pay your own bills because of your willingness to be of service?

Scene Dissection: Screenwriter Mark Boal breaks down one of 'The Hurt Locker's' most pivotal moments
Boal's script, like the film itself, has received considerable praise from critics and audiences alike. It's currently among the nominees for original screenplay at the 82nd Academy Awards.

By Paul Gaita

February 20, 2010


Mark Boal's experience as a journalist in Iraq yielded "Death and Dishonor," a 2004 feature for "Playboy" about a veteran who was murdered by fellow soldiers after his deployment, and the effects of war-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on returning military personnel. The story was later adapted by Paul Haggis for the Oscar-nominated feature "In the Valley of Elah."

Q: Can you talk a bit about how the scene was personal to you?

A: I was only in Baghdad for about five seconds, but I felt enough of the sense of dislocation that it was meaningful to me. And I also thought it represented the guys that I knew and the statement that I wanted to make with the film, which is that people pay a price, and it's a very grave one. Not to be didactic about it, but it bears repeating that war is hell. If it's a cliché, it's still true. And some of the deepest scars are psychological ones.

I've been writing about this conflict since it started in Afghanistan in 2001 and I did a lot of coverage of PTSD as an investigative reporter. And the great tragedy that has yet to be fully absorbed into the culture of this war is the psychological toll taken on these guys who keep having repeated combat exposure. To me, it's unprecedented in the history of warfare that you have a small group that continually goes in, year and year after year. And it's going to be a mental health disaster -- the Veterans Affairs Administration has no idea of how to deal with it, the DoD (Department of Defense) has no idea, and the psychiatric community really doesn't know, because the disease, or trauma isn't easily managed. It's not something that psychologists and psychiatrists really know how to fix. And there isn't even a good pharmacological fix for it -- it's not like depression, which is also hard to fix, but at least they can medicate you to put a smile on your face. Not to get on my soapbox, but it's really an important point that I wanted to make with this film.
read more here
Scene Dissection Hurt Locker

Selfishness of Tiger Woods is news but real hero isn't?

Selfishness of Tiger Woods is news but real hero isn't?
by
Chaplain Kathie

Tiger Woods making a speech yesterday about cheating on his wife, carried on every channel in the country, came a day after another human committed a selfish act and flew his plane into a building after setting his house on fire with his wife and step-daughter inside. While both stories dominated the news, it seemed as if the celebrity of Tiger Woods meant more than anything else. Why? He plays golf!

While Tiger is a great golfer, apparently he was also very selfish in his personal life and that's the part we seem to be missing. His personal life. This was not about something he did that was heroic, wonderful or helped a single human on the planet. It was about his sex life. Did he feel ashamed enough to want to keep his family out of the spotlight while he tried to stop acting like he was "entitled" in his own words? No, he called a press conference and reporters from around the world showed up, glued to monitors, writing down every single word he spoke. Should we really care that much? Or is it that the media want us to care about this?

What is wrong with their sense of values these days?

At the same time every station carried Tiger, they are repeating what he said today but a story that is really touching, shows a real hero's actions following the plane crash in Texas, is not carried on the national news.

Robin DeHaven, an Iraq veteran saved 5 people. It should be obvious to all that this man was not selfish in the first place or he wouldn't have joined. Then he made it even more clear that other people mattered to him enough that he would risk his life to help instead of just driving by the burning building. This is what's wrong when the national news decides that the real actions of regular people doing something for someone else don't matter as much as a celebrity cheating on his wife.

After crash, Iraq war veteran sprang to action with ladder to help 5 get out of building

12:00 AM CST on Saturday, February 20, 2010
Kelley Shannon and Jay Root, The Associated Press

AUSTIN – Robin De Haven was driving his truck to another job for the glass company he works for when he saw it – a small plane, flying low over a heavily congested area.

De Haven, a 28-year-old Iraq war veteran, recalled Friday that he then saw black smoke billowing from the office building and rushed to the scene. A pilot furious at the Internal Revenue Service had slammed his plane into the building Thursday morning, killing himself and one other person.

At the building, De Haven said, he hurled his 17-foot ladder off his truck, helping to rescue people peeking through broken windows as thick smoke poured into the air.

"I don't feel like a hero. I was just trying to help," he said.

De Haven retold his rescue efforts outside the Echelon 1 building as investigators picked through the wreckage. About six miles away, arson crews also inspected pilot Andrew Joseph Stack III's red brick home – which Stack apparently set on fire before taking off in his single-engine plane from Georgetown.
read more here
Iraq war veteran sprang to action

How many months has the Tiger Woods story taken over the TV coverage? How many times have we turned on a program to hear from some woman about the number of times she had sex with Tiger even though everyone in the world knew he was married with kids? How many times did we have to channel surf to get some other news when Tiger was spotted somewhere only to discover every station was looking for him? Two wars on but Tiger matters more.

I don't blame Tiger for what producers send reporters to cover. I blame the producers and the advertisers for this. How can they totally avoid coverage of Afghanistan and Iraq as easily as they avoid coverage of what is happening to the wounded when they come home and face financial ruin, waiting for months and years to have claims approved as they live with their wounds? How can they avoid the suicide rate going up every year as if none of them matter? As if the families don't matter?

The nation is ill served by a media consumed with celebrity coverage instead of news coverage. Everyday heroes putting their lives on the line just don't matter as much as someone like Tiger putting his own life and lust above all others.

Dog prescribed by doctor may get couple evicted from mobile home

Dog prescribed by doctor may get couple evicted from mobile home
Spunky dog Lucy has eased Tavares owner’s depression, doctor says, but mobile-home park says pup must go

By Stephen Hudak, Orlando Sentinel

6:13 p.m. EST, February 18, 2010


TAVARES — Little Lucy could mean big trouble for Kenny and Verdie Cook.

The spunky chihuahua and Boston terrier mix that the elderly couple adopted on doctor's orders about four months ago could lead to the Cooks' eviction from their mobile-home park.

The park has a strict "no- dogs" policy, but the Cooks' legal-aid attorney argued that it is obliged to accommodate the couple — and Lucy — under a provision of the federal Fair Housing Act.

Though aware of the park's rule, the couple said they brought Lucy home from a Sanford animal shelter because Verdie Cook's neurologist and two other physicians thought that an emotional support animal would help the 78-year-old woman cope with anxiety, depression and early stages of Alzheimer's disease, which have interfered with her daily life.

"We weren't interested in breaking the rules, but if it could help Verdie, well, I'd do anything," Kenny Cook said while the pup gnawed a chew toy. "That dog has helped her where pills and the therapist really didn't."
read more here
Dog prescribed by doctor may get couple evicted from mobile home

Navy reviewing Murtha’s medical care

Navy reviewing Murtha’s medical care

By Lance M. Bacon - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Feb 18, 2010 19:43:57 EST

The National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., is reviewing the medical care provided to Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., during gallbladder surgery on Jan. 28. Murtha died Feb. 8.

The “in-depth standardized quality assurance review” of the care Murtha received is required when a patient dies at the facility or if there is an adverse event during that care, Navy spokesman Cmdr. Danny Hernandez said Thursday.

Hernandez said he had no information on how long the review would take or how many reviews of this type are done annually.

After Murtha died, his close friend and fellow congressman, Rep. Robert Brady, D-Pa., told Navy Times that Murtha’s death was likely the result of an inadvertent cut to his intestine during laparoscopic surgery. Brady said he had been told by Murtha’s staff that the small nick caused an infection.
read more here
Navy reviewing Murtha medical care