Secret Service helps crack Florida hit-and-run case
Agency analyzed cell phone records for Porsche owner, friend
By Mike Clary and Jon Burstein, Tribune Newspapers
8:12 a.m. CDT, March 22, 2010
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — To crack the hit-and-run case of the speeding Porsche that killed two men, Fort Lauderdale police turned to a crime-fighting ally: the U.S. Secret Service.
The government agency that protects the president and zealously pursues counterfeiters played a role in the investigation by analyzing cell phone records for the car's owner and one of his friends, police records show.
The analysis helped lead to vehicular homicide charges last week against the Porsche's owner, Ryan LeVin, of Hoffman Estates, Ill., who is now in the Broward County Jail in Florida without bond.
What got the Secret Service involved? Neither the federal agency nor Fort Lauderdale police would say. The local head of the Secret Service declined to discuss how often his agency is asked to analyze such cell phone records.
read more here
Secret Service helps crack Florida hit and run case
Monday, March 22, 2010
Vietnam vet in Haiti eager to share war experiences
Vietnam vet in Haiti eager to share war experiences
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Sunday, March 21, 2010
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — When soldiers working in Haiti see Giles Pace coming, they often do a double take.
A typical outfit for the 66-year-old father of six, who’s in Haiti working as a contractor in support of the U.S. State Department, is an Army combat uniform top, worn unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled up, and a tattered green beret that marks him as a former member of the U.S. Army’s elite Special Forces.
Soldiers who get close enough might glimpse his tattoo, with the SF emblem and the numbers of the 1st, 5th and 7th SF Groups that Pace served with during the Vietnam War.
The Chicago native did two tours of duty in Vietnam after joining the Army straight out of high school in 1961 and being assigned to 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Sunday, March 21, 2010
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — When soldiers working in Haiti see Giles Pace coming, they often do a double take.
A typical outfit for the 66-year-old father of six, who’s in Haiti working as a contractor in support of the U.S. State Department, is an Army combat uniform top, worn unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled up, and a tattered green beret that marks him as a former member of the U.S. Army’s elite Special Forces.
Soldiers who get close enough might glimpse his tattoo, with the SF emblem and the numbers of the 1st, 5th and 7th SF Groups that Pace served with during the Vietnam War.
The Chicago native did two tours of duty in Vietnam after joining the Army straight out of high school in 1961 and being assigned to 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.
Some Vietnam War veterans are reluctant to talk about the war, but Pace isn’t one of them. He said he’s eager to share his experiences to inspire today’s soldiers and show them that Vietnam War veterans are still supporting them. He’s also eager to tell them how much easier they have it.
“These guys don’t know what war is,” Pace said of modern soldiers. “We didn’t look like robo-cops. All we had were soft caps and our weapons and we’d go chasing [the enemy] in the jungle.”read more here
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=68803
Survivor shows sexual abuse victims how to reclaim their lives
Vacaville man showing other sexual abuse victims how to reclaim their lives
By David Deerfeeder
Posted: 03/21/2010 12:02:56 PM PDT
I attended a Roman Catholic elementary school, high school and university. I knew many dedicated priests and nuns who lived in integrity. Early on, I also met the priest who molested me repeatedly as a child. He was a sick and twisted individual. With the emerging news of sex abuse scandals concerning Roman Catholic schools in Europe, I am reminded of my own abuse experiences and the long road of reaction and recovery that followed them. Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, head of the German Bishops Conference, is quoted as saying, "Sexual abuse of children ... has neither to do with celibacy, nor with homosexuality, nor with Catholic sexual doctrine."
I am relieved to hear a Roman Catholic prelate who understands that the sexual abuse of a child by an adult is not about sexual orientation. It is about power. Recovering from sexual abuse is also about power. Breaking the silence about what happened is the start of reclaiming the power that was surrendered -- not lost -- during the abuse. It may be decades before that silence can be approached, much less broken. It requires attaining a moment that feels safe and mustering enough courage to feel strong.
It can be a long and difficult road from the abuse to that moment of coinciding strength and safety. Our society portrays the ideal man as the strong, silent type, expected to rise to any challenge in a world where "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." Even a boy knows this expectation. When he is sexually abused, he knows he was not the winner in the encounter. Shame over his powerlessness will hold him in silence for as long as he keeps the secret.
go here for more
http://www.thereporter.com/features/ci_14725285
By David Deerfeeder
Posted: 03/21/2010 12:02:56 PM PDT
I attended a Roman Catholic elementary school, high school and university. I knew many dedicated priests and nuns who lived in integrity. Early on, I also met the priest who molested me repeatedly as a child. He was a sick and twisted individual. With the emerging news of sex abuse scandals concerning Roman Catholic schools in Europe, I am reminded of my own abuse experiences and the long road of reaction and recovery that followed them. Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, head of the German Bishops Conference, is quoted as saying, "Sexual abuse of children ... has neither to do with celibacy, nor with homosexuality, nor with Catholic sexual doctrine."
I am relieved to hear a Roman Catholic prelate who understands that the sexual abuse of a child by an adult is not about sexual orientation. It is about power. Recovering from sexual abuse is also about power. Breaking the silence about what happened is the start of reclaiming the power that was surrendered -- not lost -- during the abuse. It may be decades before that silence can be approached, much less broken. It requires attaining a moment that feels safe and mustering enough courage to feel strong.
It can be a long and difficult road from the abuse to that moment of coinciding strength and safety. Our society portrays the ideal man as the strong, silent type, expected to rise to any challenge in a world where "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." Even a boy knows this expectation. When he is sexually abused, he knows he was not the winner in the encounter. Shame over his powerlessness will hold him in silence for as long as he keeps the secret.
go here for more
http://www.thereporter.com/features/ci_14725285
Yoga Helps Veterans Heal Physical, Emotional Wounds
Hendrickson is 55 years old, but can stretch and pose like someone half his age. He says he practiced yoga on and off starting in college, but it became a regular part of his routine when he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2003. He was in charge of a medical team that treated soldiers and civilians injured by bombs and land mines.
Yoga Helps Veterans Heal Physical, Emotional Wounds
By Erin Toner
March 22, 2010 WUWM Milwaukee, WI
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken a heavy toll on military families. There’s a high rate of divorce, depression and substance abuse among people who’ve served. Some suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Doctors often treat PTSD with medication and psychotherapy, but WUWM’s Erin Toner met a group of veterans who also practice yoga as part of their healing process.
In the daytime, the VA Medical Center in Milwaukee is a hectic place. You can drive around for 15 minutes just to find a parking spot. It’s a different scene at night, when the appointments are finished and much of the staff has gone home. But even in the calm, the care continues.
“Good evening, welcome to session seven of the Battle Body Relaxation Yoga Sessions.” That’s Andy Hendrickson, a registered nurse at the VA. He also leads yoga classes here a few nights a week.
go here for more
http://www.wuwm.com/programs/news/view_news.php?articleid=5926
New veterans court aims to help soldiers struggling at home
If this Marine had been treated for PTSD instead of forced to use alcohol and drugs to cope, then he wouldn't have been discharged. There would have been one more Marine receiving treatment and sent back to the job he loved but instead, there is one less Marine, without help and a less than honorable discharge.
While Veterans Courts acknowledge the fact there are complicated issues tied to service, service organizations have yet to adapt. They will still not allow anyone without an honorable discharge into their groups. It doesn't matter what the circumstances were. It doesn't matter that for too many, legal issues can be tied to their service. Remember the years when it was reported soldiers were being diagnosed with "preexisting personality disorders" instead of PTSD? They were discharged under less than honorable as well and they received nothing.
While Veterans Courts acknowledge the fact there are complicated issues tied to service, service organizations have yet to adapt. They will still not allow anyone without an honorable discharge into their groups. It doesn't matter what the circumstances were. It doesn't matter that for too many, legal issues can be tied to their service. Remember the years when it was reported soldiers were being diagnosed with "preexisting personality disorders" instead of PTSD? They were discharged under less than honorable as well and they received nothing.
Wheeler's trouble started on his way back to Minnesota. Like the other Marines in his unit, he used alcohol and marijuana to numb his memories. He failed a drug test one month before his discharge and spent 30 days in the brig.
New veterans court aims to help soldiers struggling at home
by Jessica Mador, Minnesota Public Radio
March 22, 2010
Chaska, Minn. — The Pentagon estimates that as many as one in five veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer from mental health problems as a result of their military service.
Many returning veterans with conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder get in trouble with the law. Some wind up in the criminal justice system for years while their PTSD goes untreated.
This summer, a new court opens in Hennepin County to divert these veterans from prison, and get them the services they need to recover.
Veterans Treatment Court aims to help veterans like former Marine Jonathan Wheeler.
With his two children napping upstairs, Wheeler's townhouse in Chaska is quiet. But until recently, things weren't so peaceful.
Wheeler pulls open a sliding closet door he ripped out of the frame, in one of many violent rages.
"Pictures that used to be hanging here are gone, because I broke them," said Wheeler. "I broke a lot of pictures of my wife and I. I don't know why I was so mad at her. I wasn't. I think I was just taking it out on her. But I broke a lot of pictures and ripped up a lot of stuff that was memorable, because of how angry I was. I took my anger towards something else, an object or something."read more here
Shot policewoman quits force due to stress
This report is from the UK but it speaks loudly about the fact the dangerous job of police work sometimes leaves wounds no one can see.
The men and women entering into law enforcement, no matter what nation they live in, are much like the men and women entering into the military. They know the job is dangerous but they know it has to be done.
The men and women entering into law enforcement, no matter what nation they live in, are much like the men and women entering into the military. They know the job is dangerous but they know it has to be done.
"Policing is a vocation and attracts a certain calibre of person. Those who feel an overwhelming sense of wanting to serve, to help others, and believe strongly in the principles of upholding the law to protect the law-abiding majority and keep people safe. Rachael Bown is one of those people."
Shot policewoman quits force due to stress
By Theo Usherwood, PA
A police officer shot in the stomach by an illegal immigrant announced today that she was leaving her force because of post-traumatic stress.
Pc Rachael Bown, now 27, said she still suffered flashbacks and panic attacks after being shot by Trevon Thomas while investigating a burglary in Lenton, Nottingham, in February 2006.
She needed emergency surgery and spent several days in intensive care after the bullet passed through her stomach.
Pc Bown, a trainee at the time of the shooting, went back to work after 12 months. But she could not return to frontline policing and was restricted to desk duties.
Today she said she was leaving Nottinghamshire Police.
In an open letter to the force, she said: "People think you can get over it or simply move on.
"But the reality is so very different. I have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and suffer from panic attacks, nightmares and anxiety flashbacks. I have developed phobias about hospitals and the dark.
"Being shot changes you as a person. You see things differently. You also know that no-one can ever truly understand what you are going through."
read more here
Shot policewoman quits force due to stress
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Iraq War's 7th Anniversary Came and Went
Iraq War's 7th Anniversary Came and Went
Bob Schieffer Reflects on the Conflict's Impact Upon All of Us, Especially the Men and Women Who've Fought It
By Bob Schieffer
Play CBS Video Video An Anniversary Forgotten
As the news cycle revolves around health care, Friday marked an important anniversary that received little attention. As Bob Schieffer explain, it was the 7th anniversary of the Iraq war.
(CBS) Washington has always been a one-story town. And for the last few weeks - months, really - the story has been health care reform. It's all we've been talking about.
Which is probably one reason a rather important anniversary passed almost without notice: March 19.
Ring a bell? Probably not. But March 19 was the seventh anniversary of the Iraq invasion, which began our longest war.
A heavy news cycle was not the only reason it went unnoticed. We remember the wars and events that had an impact on our daily lives - December 7, or Sept. 11.
But in the age of the all-volunteer military, few of us remember much about a war that had so little effect on our day-to-day lives - especially a war where questions still exist over whether it should have been fought at all.
read more here
Iraq War 7th Anniversary Came and Went
Iraq War Anniversary Quietly Passes
As thousands more soldiers from The Mountain Post are heading to Iraq, there was little mention that Friday was the seventh anniversary since the start of the war in Iraq.
From fighters to fixers
From fighters to fixers: Marines woo villagers
Yesterday I wrote a piece for Afghanistan Crossroads touching on the main challenge facing the coalition now that the fighting in Marjah has come to an end: winning over the local population.
Today, Monday, we saw first hand what that means. We went to the rough base of the Charlie Company to join a patrol heading to the village of Nasiri, outside Marjah. Mad-dogs, Englishmen and the Marines go out in the midday sun.
The purpose of the patrol was not to engage in combat with the Taliban, however. It was essentially a social call, intended to build relationships between the Marines and the people around Marjah. (Watch the video of troops practicing diplomacy in the village)
Yesterday I wrote a piece for Afghanistan Crossroads touching on the main challenge facing the coalition now that the fighting in Marjah has come to an end: winning over the local population.
Today, Monday, we saw first hand what that means. We went to the rough base of the Charlie Company to join a patrol heading to the village of Nasiri, outside Marjah. Mad-dogs, Englishmen and the Marines go out in the midday sun.
The purpose of the patrol was not to engage in combat with the Taliban, however. It was essentially a social call, intended to build relationships between the Marines and the people around Marjah. (Watch the video of troops practicing diplomacy in the village)
GI killed in Vietnam 1965 to be buried at Arlington
GI killed in 1965 to be buried at Arlington
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Mar 21, 2010 13:18:18 EDT
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — A soldier who died more than 40 years ago in a Vietnam jungle will be buried next month at Arlington National Cemetery.
The remains of Army Spc. Thomas Rice Jr. will be buried April 9 after a memorial service for him and three others who were aboard a helicopter that went missing in 1965, Rice’s sister Faye Smith told the Herald-Journal of Spartanburg.
“This is the final goodbye because now we know we’re actually fixing to bury his remains,” Smith said.
Rice’s family held a memorial service for the 23-year-old soldier after he was officially declared dead in 1966. Family members still wondered whether he had died or was being held prisoner.
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Mar 21, 2010 13:18:18 EDT
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — A soldier who died more than 40 years ago in a Vietnam jungle will be buried next month at Arlington National Cemetery.
The remains of Army Spc. Thomas Rice Jr. will be buried April 9 after a memorial service for him and three others who were aboard a helicopter that went missing in 1965, Rice’s sister Faye Smith told the Herald-Journal of Spartanburg.
“This is the final goodbye because now we know we’re actually fixing to bury his remains,” Smith said.
Rice’s family held a memorial service for the 23-year-old soldier after he was officially declared dead in 1966. Family members still wondered whether he had died or was being held prisoner.
Also aboard the chopper were Army Spc. 5th Class Donald C. Grella, Chief Warrant Officer Jessie D. Phelps and Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth L. Stancil.
read more here
Multimillion-dollar nonprofit charity for Navy veterans steeped in secrecy
The Times also searched LexisNexis, an online full-text database of news and periodical articles and broadcast news transcripts. Nimitz, the head of a nonprofit that boasts 66,000 members and millions in annual revenue, was never profiled or quoted.
Multimillion-dollar nonprofit charity for Navy veterans steeped in secrecy
By Jeff Testerman and John Martin, Times Staff Writers
In Print: Sunday, March 21, 2010
First of two parts
Suppertime on a Sunday evening, a phone rings in suburban Tampa. Some 1,200 miles away, in a call center in Michigan, a cheerful telemarketer starts his pitch for a donation to the U.S. Navy Veterans Association.
Our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan need your help, he says. Any donation, even $20, would help pay for care packages.
He says the Navy Vets group has a long history. "They have a main office right there in Tampa. They really are on the up and up.''
How much of the donation gets to the Navy veterans, the homeowner asks, and how much goes to the telemarketer?
"That's a good question, I'm glad you asked. Hold the line and I'll get a supervisor.''
The supervisor says 20 percent goes to the charity. When the homeowner presses for more details, the line goes dead.
Other questions about the nonprofit went unanswered as well. In a six-month investigation, the St. Petersburg Times could find only one officer in the entire organization, and the nonprofit declined to reveal where its millions of dollars of income went.
read more here
It’s never too late to act
It’s never too late to act
Theater class allows seniors to be any age and anyone
For one hour on Monday evenings, Sheri Womach can be someone else.
She doesn’t have to be Sheri Womach, a retiree since 2005 after working for the prosecuting attorney’s office for 30 years. Or Sheri Womach, the primary caretaker of her brother, a Vietnam War veteran suffering from PTSD. On this Monday, she is going to be Marie, a female version of Murray the policeman in Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple.” And Marie is going to play poker and have a few laughs.
It’s all part of a new acting class, “Act Your Age,” designed for budding actors age 55 and up. Students meet once a week to learn the process of creative dramatics and stage development while also learning about theater and how to build a character.
read more here
http://www.stjoenews.net/news/2010/mar/21/its-never-too-late-act/
Theater class allows seniors to be any age and anyone
For one hour on Monday evenings, Sheri Womach can be someone else.
She doesn’t have to be Sheri Womach, a retiree since 2005 after working for the prosecuting attorney’s office for 30 years. Or Sheri Womach, the primary caretaker of her brother, a Vietnam War veteran suffering from PTSD. On this Monday, she is going to be Marie, a female version of Murray the policeman in Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple.” And Marie is going to play poker and have a few laughs.
It’s all part of a new acting class, “Act Your Age,” designed for budding actors age 55 and up. Students meet once a week to learn the process of creative dramatics and stage development while also learning about theater and how to build a character.
read more here
http://www.stjoenews.net/news/2010/mar/21/its-never-too-late-act/
Soldier healing after Iraq explosion
Soldier healing after Iraq explosion
By KIM SCHMIDT Hub Staff Writer
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jeff Burton was a career soldier.
He enlisted with the U.S. Army in 2000 shortly after graduating from Norton, Kan., Community High School. He served in Afghanistan, Egypt and Iraq twice. In 2002, he had a six-month stint providing security at the Pentagon.
He joined the Nebraska National Guard in 2007, and joined Kearney’s 1195th Transportation Company. When he wasn’t training, Burton, 27, worked as a security officer at the Norton Correctional Facility.
When his National Guard commitment ends in October, Burton planned to re-enlist as a full-time soldier.
But Feb. 18 changed all that.
At 2 a.m. that day in Baghdad, the military vehicle Burton and three other 1195th soldiers were heading out on a convoy in was hit by an explosively formed penetrator in northeast Baghdad. EFPs are made of copper heated up to 2,000 degrees and move at about 2,000 feet per second.
read more here
Soldier healing after Iraq explosion
By KIM SCHMIDT Hub Staff Writer
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jeff Burton was a career soldier.
He enlisted with the U.S. Army in 2000 shortly after graduating from Norton, Kan., Community High School. He served in Afghanistan, Egypt and Iraq twice. In 2002, he had a six-month stint providing security at the Pentagon.
He joined the Nebraska National Guard in 2007, and joined Kearney’s 1195th Transportation Company. When he wasn’t training, Burton, 27, worked as a security officer at the Norton Correctional Facility.
When his National Guard commitment ends in October, Burton planned to re-enlist as a full-time soldier.
But Feb. 18 changed all that.
At 2 a.m. that day in Baghdad, the military vehicle Burton and three other 1195th soldiers were heading out on a convoy in was hit by an explosively formed penetrator in northeast Baghdad. EFPs are made of copper heated up to 2,000 degrees and move at about 2,000 feet per second.
read more here
Soldier healing after Iraq explosion
Tough enough to be touched
by
Chaplain Kathie
Yesterday I was on a motorcycle charity ride for a wounded Iraq veteran. During lunch I was talking to the Mom of Marine. He had been deployed to Haiti. I asked her what tugged at his heart more, combat or deployments like Haiti. She said humanitarian missions. They see so much suffering on these missions, people in need, lost, shocked, afraid and driven by desperation to do unreasonable things. They are there to obviously help the survivors but these are the same people we send into combat yet we wonder why what they see touches them so much some end up with PTSD.
They train to be tough and ready to pull the trigger. One moment they will kill an enemy fighter, filled with rage and the next fall to the ground, hold a fallen brother in their arms and weep. They allow themselves a few moments of acknowledging their grief and then snap back to being tough all over again so they can do their jobs.
We hear someone we know has passed away. We order flowers and make some phone calls. We pay a visit to the family. Then we show up at the wake to comfort them. We show up at the funeral if we can and then we may even pay the family more attention for a week or so after knowing how hard it must be for them to lose someone they love. For at least a week, the family is comforted, allowed to cry as much as they need to, provided with a caring ear to listen and hugs whenever they need it. For servicemen and women, they get a few moments to grieve for someone in their military family after the shooting ends and then they have to stand up and get back to the mission.
Do you think that would take a "tough as nails" person to be able to do that? We just assume a tough Marine or Soldier will just recover after brothers and sisters have died right before their eyes. When others are wounded right in front of them and they see what can happen to the human body. Someone they care about has just been killed. Someone they care about has just been wounded. They have just been shocked. They have just experienced trauma so severe it would leave the rest of us unable to go to work for days afterward, surrounded by family and friends and bosses allowing us time to grieve. They have to push themselves to pick up their weapons and return to duty after only moments to grieve.
We pass off what they are able to do as just part of their job, part of their training never once acknowledging the fact they are still just humans filled with the same emotions the rest of us have. When we lose a sibling, a husband or wife, a child or a parent, it takes months, sometimes years to recover to the point when it no longer hurts to think about them and how much we miss them. We will look at the chair they used to sit in and cry. We will do things we used to do with them by our side and feel empty because they are no longer there. Other people fully understand that we need time to heal from the loss but we expect the men and women in the military to "get over it" deal with it.
They cannot simply allow themselves the luxury of healing with time off. They cannot leave Iraq or Afghanistan just because someone they cared about has died and they want to go to the funeral any more than they could have left Vietnam to bury a friend, or Korea or any other nation during WWI or WWII. They have to put the mission before themselves and their human need.
For weeks and months, they carry around that pain. They do their duty with that pain. They see others die and others wounded while they still have that pain inside their skin. When they come home, it is all still there and they are finally allowed time to grieve but other people can't seem to understand why so longer after the loss, they are acting as if it just happened.
For them, it is worse than a recent death because the pain has been added onto by other events they had to endure. Imagine if someone you loved died and you were not allowed to acknowledge it for a year. By the time you were allowed to grieve, it would be like it just happened for you but the time between the loss and the time you were allowed to feel it, those emotions have gotten stronger.
Now think of how strong these men and women are that they were able to wait until they could grieve the loss. It is not that they couldn't care about the loss but that they were able to put others before their own grief, their own self.
They return home and carry it all back with them. For some, they are able to recover sooner than others just as some of us recover from our own losses sooner than others do. Some of them need help to recover just as some of us have to go through grief counseling and others have to go on medication to ease the emotional pain. We don't seem to understand that they are just as human as the rest of us, but unlike the rest of us, their healing is always put on hold until the demands on them have ended.
This is how PTSD takes hold. The doorway is the emotional part of their brain. The same quality of their level of caring tugging at their hearts on humanitarian missions is the same one touched by loss in battle. The same quality within them allowing them to put others before their own life is the same one touched by loss.
When they think of PTSD as a sign of weakness they fail to see just how tough they were that they went on doing their duty, fighting off the pain they felt, pushing themselves to the back of the list of things to do, worrying about their brothers and doing their duty no matter what it cost them. They cannot see the difference between what they are allowed to do back home as a person and what they are unable to do as a human when they are deployed into combat.
PTSD is a sign they were able to care deeply but strong enough to overcome the pain long enough to finish the mission. They have a hard time seeing that makes them as tough as they come because while carrying around that depth of pain, they did not give in when they were needed. They had that much strength within them they were able to put others first because they cared that deeply about their brothers.
Want to see a tough veteran? Talk to a veteran with PTSD and you'll find one as tough as they come because their "hearts" were caring enough to feel but their courage pushed on despite that pain.
Chaplain Kathie
Yesterday I was on a motorcycle charity ride for a wounded Iraq veteran. During lunch I was talking to the Mom of Marine. He had been deployed to Haiti. I asked her what tugged at his heart more, combat or deployments like Haiti. She said humanitarian missions. They see so much suffering on these missions, people in need, lost, shocked, afraid and driven by desperation to do unreasonable things. They are there to obviously help the survivors but these are the same people we send into combat yet we wonder why what they see touches them so much some end up with PTSD.
They train to be tough and ready to pull the trigger. One moment they will kill an enemy fighter, filled with rage and the next fall to the ground, hold a fallen brother in their arms and weep. They allow themselves a few moments of acknowledging their grief and then snap back to being tough all over again so they can do their jobs.
We hear someone we know has passed away. We order flowers and make some phone calls. We pay a visit to the family. Then we show up at the wake to comfort them. We show up at the funeral if we can and then we may even pay the family more attention for a week or so after knowing how hard it must be for them to lose someone they love. For at least a week, the family is comforted, allowed to cry as much as they need to, provided with a caring ear to listen and hugs whenever they need it. For servicemen and women, they get a few moments to grieve for someone in their military family after the shooting ends and then they have to stand up and get back to the mission.
Do you think that would take a "tough as nails" person to be able to do that? We just assume a tough Marine or Soldier will just recover after brothers and sisters have died right before their eyes. When others are wounded right in front of them and they see what can happen to the human body. Someone they care about has just been killed. Someone they care about has just been wounded. They have just been shocked. They have just experienced trauma so severe it would leave the rest of us unable to go to work for days afterward, surrounded by family and friends and bosses allowing us time to grieve. They have to push themselves to pick up their weapons and return to duty after only moments to grieve.
We pass off what they are able to do as just part of their job, part of their training never once acknowledging the fact they are still just humans filled with the same emotions the rest of us have. When we lose a sibling, a husband or wife, a child or a parent, it takes months, sometimes years to recover to the point when it no longer hurts to think about them and how much we miss them. We will look at the chair they used to sit in and cry. We will do things we used to do with them by our side and feel empty because they are no longer there. Other people fully understand that we need time to heal from the loss but we expect the men and women in the military to "get over it" deal with it.
They cannot simply allow themselves the luxury of healing with time off. They cannot leave Iraq or Afghanistan just because someone they cared about has died and they want to go to the funeral any more than they could have left Vietnam to bury a friend, or Korea or any other nation during WWI or WWII. They have to put the mission before themselves and their human need.
For weeks and months, they carry around that pain. They do their duty with that pain. They see others die and others wounded while they still have that pain inside their skin. When they come home, it is all still there and they are finally allowed time to grieve but other people can't seem to understand why so longer after the loss, they are acting as if it just happened.
For them, it is worse than a recent death because the pain has been added onto by other events they had to endure. Imagine if someone you loved died and you were not allowed to acknowledge it for a year. By the time you were allowed to grieve, it would be like it just happened for you but the time between the loss and the time you were allowed to feel it, those emotions have gotten stronger.
Now think of how strong these men and women are that they were able to wait until they could grieve the loss. It is not that they couldn't care about the loss but that they were able to put others before their own grief, their own self.
They return home and carry it all back with them. For some, they are able to recover sooner than others just as some of us recover from our own losses sooner than others do. Some of them need help to recover just as some of us have to go through grief counseling and others have to go on medication to ease the emotional pain. We don't seem to understand that they are just as human as the rest of us, but unlike the rest of us, their healing is always put on hold until the demands on them have ended.
This is how PTSD takes hold. The doorway is the emotional part of their brain. The same quality of their level of caring tugging at their hearts on humanitarian missions is the same one touched by loss in battle. The same quality within them allowing them to put others before their own life is the same one touched by loss.
When they think of PTSD as a sign of weakness they fail to see just how tough they were that they went on doing their duty, fighting off the pain they felt, pushing themselves to the back of the list of things to do, worrying about their brothers and doing their duty no matter what it cost them. They cannot see the difference between what they are allowed to do back home as a person and what they are unable to do as a human when they are deployed into combat.
PTSD is a sign they were able to care deeply but strong enough to overcome the pain long enough to finish the mission. They have a hard time seeing that makes them as tough as they come because while carrying around that depth of pain, they did not give in when they were needed. They had that much strength within them they were able to put others first because they cared that deeply about their brothers.
Want to see a tough veteran? Talk to a veteran with PTSD and you'll find one as tough as they come because their "hearts" were caring enough to feel but their courage pushed on despite that pain.
Two veterans dead after double murder and suicide
Man shoots himself after killing wife, son
By Ariel Barkhurst and Valentinio Lucio
San Antonio Express-News
Three people are dead after a double murder-suicide Saturday morning in which an elderly man shot and killed his wife and adult son before turning the gun on himself at the breakfast table of their Monte Vista home, authorities said.
Police Chief William McManus said that the man, who was in his late 70s to early 80s, called police dispatch at around 9:15 a.m. to report the shootings.
“He told the dispatcher, ‘There's been two homicides and there's about to be a suicide,'” McManus said.
Before the man hung up, he told the dispatcher he was going to “finish himself off,” according to a police report.
Police found the man, along with his elderly wife and 53-year-old son, in the kitchen of their home on the 200 block of East Summit Avenue. The son was lying face down on the floor and it appeared he was shot in the back of his head, while his mother was found slumped over in a chair at the breakfast table with a gunshot wound to the mouth, the police report states. The father was found on the floor with a black revolver nearby.
By Ariel Barkhurst and Valentinio Lucio
San Antonio Express-News
Three people are dead after a double murder-suicide Saturday morning in which an elderly man shot and killed his wife and adult son before turning the gun on himself at the breakfast table of their Monte Vista home, authorities said.
Police Chief William McManus said that the man, who was in his late 70s to early 80s, called police dispatch at around 9:15 a.m. to report the shootings.
“He told the dispatcher, ‘There's been two homicides and there's about to be a suicide,'” McManus said.
Before the man hung up, he told the dispatcher he was going to “finish himself off,” according to a police report.
Police found the man, along with his elderly wife and 53-year-old son, in the kitchen of their home on the 200 block of East Summit Avenue. The son was lying face down on the floor and it appeared he was shot in the back of his head, while his mother was found slumped over in a chair at the breakfast table with a gunshot wound to the mouth, the police report states. The father was found on the floor with a black revolver nearby.
Other neighbors said the father was a retired Air Force colonel and that the son also retired from the military.
read more here
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Why don't people protest for what the warriors need?
Today we went on a ride along with a lot of other bikers for a young soldier. Sergeant Joel Tavera is that one young soldier.
There are more and more everyday needing to be taken care of, needing to know that people care about the fact they are willing to serve this country no matter what even though when they come home, they have to fight another battle to have their wounds taken care of.
Oh, the physical wounds are easy to understand because we are reminded of what combat does to those we send but it is the wounds we can't see that also need to be taken care of. Not just for the soldiers coming back but for the entire family.
Spouse Calls has a post up with conversations between spouses over PTSD. Well worth the read if you know little about PTSD and what it does to the families.
I wasn't planning on posting today because it's been a long day but as I was catching up on some emails, I came across the articles about protests against the war in Iraq. Stunning when you think of the fact the troops are being pulled out at the same time they are being sent into Afghanistan instead. People have a right to speak out against what they think is wrong. It is better than sitting back complaining while they do nothing. If they feel strongly about it, let them protest but over the last few years, after tracking what is happening to our veterans across the nation, it still puzzles me what they are motivated by.
Are they out for peace? Then why haven't they included the combat in Afghanistan all these years? Are they really fighting for the troops? Then why aren't they fighting for the troops to be taken care of when they come home and face a mountain of red tape along with endless lines at the VA?
I have friends on both sides and I know they care deeply but when they are done arguing over politics, done trying to prove their own points, is it possible for them to at least come together and start really fighting for the troops and the wounded veterans these wars have produced? When you think that both military campaigns are still going on producing more wounded, don't you think it would make a stronger point to fight for them?
Joel Tavera at the Tampa Polytrauma Center gets a visit from J.R. Martinez and Andy Pujol Building Homes for Heroes, in conjunction with The Windermere Country Club Foundation, will be holding a Golf Outing to benefit Joel.. ...Click here for Event Details
Sergeant Joel Tavera
Army Sergeant Joel Tavera of Havelock, North Carolina (originally from Queens, NY) was deployed to Iraq in the fall of 2007. He was just 19 years of age. Prior to enlisting in the Army, Joel first fulfilled one of his lifelong dreams; he became an active member of the brotherhood of volunteer firefighters. He spent over two years serving as a volunteer fireman, before following in his father’s footsteps by serving the country in the military. Joel’s father served the country in the United States Marine Corps.
In March of 2008, the Humvee that Joel was riding in was hit by five rockets. The blasts killed three men. Joel was thought to be dead as well. Tragically, Sgt. Tavera lost sight in both of his eyes, his right leg, four fingers on his left hand, and suffered very serious head trauma and critical burns to 60 percent of his body. His parents, Jose and Maritza, have been told that their son is the second most severely injured Army soldier to survive since the war in Iraq began. Joel received The Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
read more herehttp://buildinghomesforheroes.org/hero-stories/joel-tavera.htm
There are more and more everyday needing to be taken care of, needing to know that people care about the fact they are willing to serve this country no matter what even though when they come home, they have to fight another battle to have their wounds taken care of.
Oh, the physical wounds are easy to understand because we are reminded of what combat does to those we send but it is the wounds we can't see that also need to be taken care of. Not just for the soldiers coming back but for the entire family.
Spouse Calls has a post up with conversations between spouses over PTSD. Well worth the read if you know little about PTSD and what it does to the families.
I wasn't planning on posting today because it's been a long day but as I was catching up on some emails, I came across the articles about protests against the war in Iraq. Stunning when you think of the fact the troops are being pulled out at the same time they are being sent into Afghanistan instead. People have a right to speak out against what they think is wrong. It is better than sitting back complaining while they do nothing. If they feel strongly about it, let them protest but over the last few years, after tracking what is happening to our veterans across the nation, it still puzzles me what they are motivated by.
Are they out for peace? Then why haven't they included the combat in Afghanistan all these years? Are they really fighting for the troops? Then why aren't they fighting for the troops to be taken care of when they come home and face a mountain of red tape along with endless lines at the VA?
I have friends on both sides and I know they care deeply but when they are done arguing over politics, done trying to prove their own points, is it possible for them to at least come together and start really fighting for the troops and the wounded veterans these wars have produced? When you think that both military campaigns are still going on producing more wounded, don't you think it would make a stronger point to fight for them?
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