Soldiers struggling with undiagnosed brain injury

Soldiers struggling with undiagnosed brain injury
Web producer: Sheryl Kornman

The American Forces Press Service covered a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday exploring how the services are dealing with brain injuries and mental health problems. Here is its report:


WASHINGTON, D.C. (American Forces Press Service/KGUN9-TV) - Post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury and suicides among service members are interrelated problems requiring holistic prevention methods and more scientific study, military leaders told a Senate panel Tuesday.

"The reality is, the study of the brain is an emerging science, and there still is much to be learned," Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, Army vice chief of staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee during a hearing about how the services are dealing with brain injuries and mental health problems.

The vice chiefs of the Navy and Air Force, the Marine Corps' assistant commandant and a Veterans Affairs Department health official also spoke before the committee. All agreed with Chiarelli that the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments are coordinating better than ever to diagnose and treat brain injuries and mental disorders, and that much more is known about such conditions today than when combat operations began after Sept. 11, 2001.

Still, they acknowledged, much more needs to be done. They noted that suicides are highest among ground forces. The Army reported 162 confirmed suicides last year, up from 140 in 2008 and 115 in 2007. The Marine Corps reported 52 suicides last year – more per capita than the Army, and up from 42 in 2008 and 33 in 2007. Last year's numbers are expected to rise as more investigations are completed, they said.

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Soldiers struggling with undiagnosed brain injury

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, top commander in Afghanistan, ordered back home

UPDATE

Updated at 6:04 p.m. Gen. Stanley McChrystal has "offered to resign," according to a Twitter post from Time magazine's Joe Klein on Tuesday. Earlier, Klein, citing "a very reliable source," told CNN that McChrystal had already submitted his resignation.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/22/latest-mcchrystal-developments/?hpt=T1

The people I usually agree with on most things think McChrystal should be fired, or at least forced to resign. On this one, I have to disagree only because when we were waiting for Generals to tell the truth about Iraq, they were silenced and forced to resign. They put their men and women first and cared about what was happening to them as well as why. The same people saying McChrystal should go, used to support the free speech rights of the others. So why not now?

Was his choice of words wrong? I think so. Was he grinding some kind of ax? Probably. Did he publicly insult elected officials and the President's cabinet? Yes and his words have power since the rest of the world is listening. The problem comes from voices calling for him to pay with losing his career. He should be busted in rank but stay in the military if that's what he wants to do but I don't think he should have to give up the military. We can't just want them to speak out on what they think only when we agree with it. After all, too many generals had to leave the military for telling the truth and that was wrong.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, top commander in Afghanistan, ordered home over Rolling Stone comments
BY Sean Alfano
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tuesday, June 22nd 2010, 8:51 AM

Gen. Stanley McChrystal apologized from overseas Tuesday for ripping the administration in a magazine article.

Now, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan will have a chance to say sorry in person.

McChyrstal has been ordered to Washington to explain why he and his staff criticized the White House in a recent Rolling Stone interview, administration officials said Tuesday.

Earlier, McChrystal had attempted to defuse the backlash over his comments in the piece, titled "The Runaway General."

"I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened," he said.

"Throughout my career, I have lived by the principles of personal honor and professional integrity. What is reflected in this article falls far short of that standard," McChrystal added.

Instead of attending the monthly White House meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan via teleconference, the general will be there in person Wednesday, the officials told The Associated Press.

The first casualty from the article appears to be a civilian member of McChyrstal's staff who allegedly arranged the Rolling Stone interview.

NBC News reported that Duncan Boothby quit his role on the general's public relations team. According to a senior military official, he was "asked to resign."
go here for the rest
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, top commander in Afghanistan
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, top commander in Afghanistan
New York Daily News

Fremont medic fatally wounded in Afghanistan

Fremont medic fatally wounded in Afghanistan
Chronicle staff report

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

(06-21) 14:38 PDT FREMONT -- A soldier from Fremont has died after being wounded in fighting in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said Monday.

Army Spc. Nathan W. Cox, 27, was wounded by small arms fire when insurgents attacked a forward operating base at Khogyani in eastern Afghanistan on June 14, the Defense Department said. He died two days later at a hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.

Cox was a combat medic with the HHC, 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Read more: Fremont medic fatally wounded in Afghanistan

Labor of love builds memorial for soldiers who died in Vietnam

Memorial Honors Area Soldiers Who Died In Vietnam
originally posted on: 6/19/2010 6:00:13 PM
Fifty-one servicemen from Richland County who died in Vietnam were honored over the weekend during the dedication ceremony of the Richland County Vietnam Veteran's Memorial.

The polished black granite wall erected on the front lawn of the Richland County Administration Building, displays the names of all 51 service members who fought in the Vietnam War.

Richland County Vietnam Veteran's Memorial committee member Larry Moore, said the monument was made possible through the generous support of area veterans and their families. He said the $35,000 memorial was a labor of love for the Richland County Joint Veterans Council who spearheaded the project which began in March 2009.
read more here
http://www.wmfd.com/newsboard/single.asp?Story=41733

Soldier injured in Iraq becomes LMPD officer

Soldier injured in Iraq becomes LMPD officer

By Janelle MacDonald

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - LMPD graduated its newest class of officers Friday and one of them has already led an amazing life in the U.S. Military.

Twenty men and women are beginning new lives, putting their own lives at risk as LMPD officers

New officer Dexter Pitts is just hoping for a calmer life than the one he led before.

"When I was in the Army, I served with the 10th Mountain Division in Iraq," Pitts said.

Two years in, insurgents struck.

"I got wounded in action by a 300 pound bomb on January 2nd of 2005," Pitts said. "I just had this bad feeling. I just knew something wasn't right. You know, you can feel when somebody's watching you. I just knew somebody was watching us."

He was right.

"The next thing I know, I wake up and I'm looking at the sky," said Pitts. "I looked down at my left arm and my bones were trying to come through my skin ... I remember waking up in the Humvee and my lieutenant was like, 'You're good man. You're alive man.' He pulled me out the Humvee and it hurt so bad."

He went through six months of rehabilitation at Walter Reed Medical Center.

"I had 12 operations," said Pitts. "I had radiation therapy. I constantly battle with sickness, PTSD, nightmares."
go here for the rest and video
http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=12673974

Westboro Baptist protestors want protection to protest at military funeral?

They hold up signs saying God hates the troops as they show up while a line of cars escorts the families of the fallen while they bury their son, daughter, husband, wife or child. While Westboro can in fact use their free speech rights to do this, the family does not have the right to not listen to them. The families have to be there, but Westboro Baptist protestors do not have to be there. It is one thing to hate this much, to be filled with so much anger they feel the need to travel around the country holding signs and spouting their message of hate, but yet another to expect the police departments to protect them instead of protecting the families they came to emotionally assault.

Patriot Guard Riders formed just because of these people showing up to attack the fallen and their families. Imagine having to do something like that because these people want to be able to say whatever they want, wherever they want with a captive audience. Think of going to a funeral for your own family member and then being forced to see these signs. How would that make you feel? If they are allowed to do this whenever and wherever they want, then what's to stop someone else from doing it to another group of people? They hold up signs saying God hates gay people, so what is to stop them from showing up at funerals for civilians they believe are gay? This isn't about being gay or not. They show up for military funerals and that is because they know they will get attention for it. The families should not have to pay the price for their lusting after attention.

Westboro Baptists announce plan to protest soldier's funeral
Friday, Jun 18, 2010 - 05:28:19 pm CDT
Westboro Baptist Church members have notified Plattsmouth Police Department they will be protesting at the funeral of Sgt. Blaine Edward Redding Tuesday, June 22.

Redding was killed June 7 while serving in the United States Army in Afghanistan.

Formerly from Plattsmouth and Elmwood, Sgt. Redding will be placed to rest in Oak Hill Cemetery in Plattsmouth.

Funeral services are planned at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, at Church of the Holy Spirit.

Plattsmouth Police Chief Dave Murdoch said he received a letter from Westboro legal counsel asking for protection while members protest from 9:45 to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

“They know that their group is not looked upon favorably,” Murdoch said. “They are concerned for their safety.”
read more here
Westboro Baptists announce plan to protest

Helicopter crash in Afghanistan claims lives of US service member and three Australians

1 American, 3 NATO troops die in helo crash

By Robert H. Reid - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jun 21, 2010 17:18:28 EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan — A helicopter crash killed three Australian commandos and a U.S. service member before dawn Monday in a rugged area of southern Afghanistan where fighting has raged for days.

Five other international service members, including four Americans, died in separate attacks in the east and south, officials said. The latest deaths brought the number of international service members killed in Afghanistan this month to at least 62, including 41 Americans.

NATO and Australian officials said there was no evidence that hostile fire was responsible for the crash, although Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi claimed the insurgents shot down the helicopter with a rocket.
read more here
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/06/ap_helicopter_crash_afghanistan_062110/

Family Mourns Soldier Killed At Ft. Gillem

Family Mourns Soldier Killed At Ft. Gillem
Sgt. Pedro Mercado's Family Said He Loved Army, Family
By Katie Brace, CBS Atlanta Reporter

STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. -- This Father's Day is difficult for the family of Master Sgt. Pedro Mercado. Mercado was shot and killed at Ft. Gillem on Thursday.

His family will not talk about the accused shooter or the circumstances surrounding the shooting.

Mercado was 47-years-old. He left behind a wife, two sons, a daughter and two grandchildren. His wife and two sons are in the military.

read more here
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/23970930/detail.html

Virtual Reality Systems to Fight PTSD

Not sure what to make out of this considering how many other programs they've already tried without that much success. At least they are getting the number rights on how many in fact do need help to recover from combat.

Cutting-Edge Virtual Reality Systems to Fight PTSD Being Rolled Out at New Maryland Facility

By Clay Dillow

Nearly half the soldiers returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are diagnosed with some kind of psychological condition, like post-traumatic stress disorder, brought on by specific battlefield experiences or traumatic brain injuries sustained during combat.

To treat these mental battle scars, the new National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) will introduce state-of-the-art virtual reality technology that will help gently reintroduce soldiers to their experiences.

The $500,000 CAREN -- the Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment -- consists of a treadmill, a massive curved screen, and various projectors and cameras that allow the subject six degrees of freedom in moving about his virtual environment. For those learning to use an artificial limb or recovering from a brain injury, that means the ability to relearn how to drive, walk, or navigate an environment from the safety of the hospital.
read more here
Virtual Reality Systems to Fight PTSD

Do we support machines of war or warriors?

Do we support machines of war or warriors?
by
Chaplain Kathie

Americans love to say we have the best military in the world, but I was just wondering exactly what part of the military most people really mean. After all, there are the machines used in war and then there are the men and women we send. Big difference.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Military Budget


Part of a series on:
U.S. Budget & Debt Topics
Major dimensions[show]
United States public debt
United States federal budget
Health care reform in the United States
Social Security debate (United States)
Military budget of the United States
Economy of the United States
Subprime mortgage crisis
Taxation in the United States

Mandatory Programs[show]
Medicare (United States)
Social Security (United States)

Terminology[show]
Cumulative deficit = Debt
Inflation
Balance of payments

v • d • e
The military budget is that portion of the United States discretionary federal budget that is allocated to the Department of Defense, or more broadly, the portion of the budget that goes to any defense-related expenditures. This military budget pays the salaries, training, and health care of uniformed and civilian personnel, maintains arms, equipment and facilities, funds operations, and develops and buys new equipment. The budget funds all branches of the U.S. military: Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.

Contents [hide]
1 Budget for 2010
1.1 Emergency and supplemental spending
1.2 By title
1.3 By service
1.4 Programs spending more than $1 billion
1.5 Other defense-related expenditures
2 Budget Breakdown for 2011
3 Support service contractors
4 Military budget and total US federal spending
5 Comparison with other countries
6 Recent commentary on military budget
7 See also
8 References
9 External links


[edit] Budget for 2010
For the 2010 fiscal year, the president's base budget of the Department of Defense rose to $533.8 billion. Adding spending on "overseas contingency operations" brings the sum to $663.8 billion.[1][2]

When the budget was signed into law on October 28, 2009, the final size of the Department of Defense's budget was $680 billion, $16 billion more than President Obama had requested.[3][4] An additional $33 billion supplemental bill to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was expected to pass in the spring of 2010, but has been delayed by the House of Representatives after passing the Senate.[5][6] Defense-related expenditures outside of the Department of Defense constitute between $216 billion and $361 billion in additional spending, bringing the total for defense spending to between $880 billion and $1.03 trillion in fiscal year 2010.[7]

[edit] Emergency and supplemental spending
The recent invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan were largely funded through supplementary spending bills outside the Federal Budget, so they are not included in the military budget figures listed below.[8] In addition, the Pentagon has access to black budget military spending for special programs which is not listed as Federal spending and is not included in published military spending figures. Starting in the fiscal year 2010 budget however, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are categorized as "Overseas Contingency Operations" and included in the budget.

By the end of 2008, the U.S. had spent approximately $900 billion in direct costs on the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. Indirect costs such as interest on the additional debt and incremental costs of caring for the more than 33,000 wounded borne by the Veterans Administration are additional. Some experts estimate these indirect costs will eventually exceed the direct costs.[9]

[edit] By title
The federally budgeted (see below) military expenditure of the United States Department of Defense for fiscal year 2010, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is[10]:

Components Funding Change, 2009 to 2010
Operations and maintenance $283.3 billion +4.2%
Military Personnel $154.2 billion +5.0%
Procurement $140.1 billion −1.8%
Research, Development, Testing & Evaluation $79.1 billion +1.3%
Military Construction $23.9 billion +19.0%
Family Housing $3.1 billion −20.2%
Total Spending $685.1 billion +3.0%

By service
Service 2010 Budget request[11] Percentage of Total
Army $225.2 billion 33.9%
Navy/Marine Corps $171.7 billion 25.9%
Air Force $160.5 billion 24.2%
Defense Wide $106.4 billion 16.0%

Programs spending more than $1 billion
The FY 2009 $104.2 billion procurement and $79.6 billion RDT&E budgets appropriated several programs with more than $1 billion.

Program 2009 Budget request[12][13] Change, 2008 to 2009
Missile Defense $9.4 billion +8.0%
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter $6.9 billion +6.2%
Carrier Replacement Program $4.2 billion +23.5%
F-22 Raptor $4.1 billion −6.8%
Virginia class submarine $3.9 billion +14.7%
Future Combat System $3.3 billion −2.9%
DDG 1000 Destroyer $3.2 billion −8.6%
C-17 $3.0 billion
V-22 Osprey $2.7 billion +3.8%
Space-Based Infrared System $2.3 billion +130.0%
F/A-18E/F Hornet $2.0 billion −4.8%
MH-60R/S $1.9 billion +72.7%
EA-18G Growler $1.8 billion +12.5%
Chemical Demilitarization $1.6 billion +0.0%
Stryker $1.3 billion +18.2%
Littoral combat ship $1.3 billion +116.7%
CH-47 Chinook $1.2 billion +9.1%
P-8A Poseidon $1.2 billion +33.3%
Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle $1.2 billion +9.1%
UH-60 Black Hawk $1.1 billion −26.7%
E-2C/D Hawkeye $1.1 billion +22.2%
Trident II Ballistic Missile $1.1 billion +0.0%
Mobile User Objective System $1.0 billion +25.0%

As you can see, there is the money we spend to wage war and then there is the money that goes to train and supply the needs of the troops. When we say we have the best Air Force, are we talking about the jets or the pilots flying them? Are we talking about helicopters like the Black Hawk or the pilots? When we say we have the best Marines, are we talking about the equipment they use and the weapons they use or are we talking about the Marines? How about the Army? Are we talking about what they use or are we talking about them? When it comes to the Navy, are we talking about the sailors or the ships? We should always be talking about both and holding them equally in value because one does not work without the other.

When it comes to the men and women wounded doing their jobs, can there be any excuse on this earth to explain not taking care of them? We wouldn't complain about maintaining their equipment but we can't seem to manage to maintain them properly. When a machine needs repair, we don't cast it into the dump. We fix it but we don't seem willing to fix them when they are wounded but still want to stay in. When they are so severely wounded they cannot stay in the military, we can't seem to rationalize the need to be supported financially would not have happened if they were not wounded serving the rest of us. There is so much that we don't do but most of the people in this country seem to just assume all is being done simply because we do have the best military in the world. The problem is, we really never specify what part we are talking about. The budget seems to have most of the money going to the machines but it is the men and women the rest of the country usually means. Just thought I'd point that out so that the next time you hear someone say "best military" ask them what part they are talking about.
(You guessed it. I had another odd conversation today.

Family The Best Father's Day Gift For NJ Soldier

Family The Best Father's Day Gift For NJ Soldier
Severely Injured Veteran Says His Greatest Joy Is The Time He Spends With His 5-Year-Old Daughter
MANCHESTER, N.J. (CBS) ― For one New Jersey dad, Father's Day wasn't just about presents. Just getting to spend time with his kids is gift enough for the military veteran.

Jim Mylott was injured in Iraq in 2003. He now suffers from severe memory loss and post-traumatic stress disorder. His support system begins with five-year-old daughter Megan.

"She's the best counselor I've had, she's the toughest physical therapist I've had," Mylott says.
read more here
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/soldier.fathers.day.2.1762774.html

Vietnam vet and former Mayor committed suicide after years of PTSD

Wife: Post Traumatic Stress caused former mayor to commit suicide

By Harve Jacobs

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) -The wife of former North Charleston Mayor Bobby Kinard said post-traumatic stress syndrome from the Vietnam War caused Kinard to shoot her friend and then take his own life Thursday night.

Susan Kinard said her husband had been very depressed in the past year and was on strong medication for the disorder. He was a helicopter gunner in Vietnam from 1966-1969.

Just before midnight Thursday, Kinard shot and wounded his wife's friend at her Mt. Pleasant apartment and then killed himself when police pulled his car over.

Charleston psychiatrist Dr. Peter Sukin said that if the former mayor was suffering from PTSD, he could have felt the effects 20, 30 even 40 years later.

"The brain doesn't have an emotional paper shredder," Sukin said. "So, if you've gone through severe trauma it's not as if you forget it."

Kinard often talked publicly about his years in Vietnam. He served as chairman of the effort to create a Lowcountry monument for Vietnam veterans. But according to his wife, he couldn't put his Vietnam past behind him.
read more here
http://www.live5news.com/Global/story.asp?S=12684379

Divorce veteran

Divorce veteran
by
Chaplain Kathie

A conversation I had last night with a young wife ended with thoughts of how many Vietnam veterans ended up with multiple marriages. Just as with today's young veterans, being married into the world of combat, has not been easy, it was especially hard on the Vietnam generation of veterans. While PTSD has not changed, the ability to communicate and find support has. Now we are able to reach out to other people going through the same difficulties and hardships all over the country. We are able to connect to people around the world if we can't find someone else right here. We can find information and inspiration but perhaps the most important gift is the knowledge we are not alone.

The Vietnam War brought about 2 million combat veterans home. Perhaps the most shocking piece of news is that we've reached almost as many serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as we did with all those years in Vietnam. This means that there were just as many families adopted by combat and living with the results of it. We've already seen the increased rates of suicides and attempted suicides just as we've seen the increase rates of divorces. Many families are facing year of regrets because they do not know what to do to help their veteran heal or even know the right questions to want to have answered.

Information is available all over the web for them to learn if they want to. What about the veteran's spouse from the Vietnam generation with marriages that ended long ago? Divorce under any circumstances is hard. It's heartbreaking to see a marriage end and being left with an unknown future when you thought you had it all planned. They fell in love with one person only to discover all too often they were really married to a stranger.

For the spouse of a combat veteran with a marriage that ended long ago, the fact remains that you were married into the results of combat, but you just didn't know it. You simple assumed that you were married to someone who changed, or wasn't what you thought they were and you're still living with the pain of a shocking situation. Don't blame yourself. You didn't know what the newer generation of spouses know today. No one told you that it all came back with them. The support wasn't there. Knowledge was not available to you or to your well meaning friends giving you advice to end the marriage. Your kids didn't know why their parent acted the way they did and most blamed themselves just as you blame yourself. The veteran blames himself/herself just as much because they didn't know any better.

There are jobs for all of you to do and that is to first understand what happened by know why it happened. Learn what PTSD is and what it does to survivors of combat and what makes them so unique. You didn't have a common marriage with just the usual problems everyone else faces, but you had a combat marriage with all the other problems that came with it. Once you have a great understanding, first forgive yourself for not knowing and for making mistakes because you didn't know. You did the best you could with what you knew at the time, so forgive yourself. Explain it to the kids because they have to forgive their parent too. It was not the fault of the veteran because while they knew there was something wrong, they didn't know what it was or what they could do to stop feeling pain so deeply. It was not that they didn't love you enough, it was more that they couldn't stop feeling pain enough to feel the blessings that come with love.

Many veterans ended up homeless because you had no support to be able to live together.  Some committed suicide because they had no hope of being happy again.  Remember, you did the best you could for them at the time.  You just didn't know what else to do.  You cannot change your past but you can learn why it all happened and this will give you some peace.

If you are a veteran, make peace with that part of your life. There was a lot of damage done to people you loved even though you didn't mean it. Learn what was behind the way you acted and then explain it to your ex-spouse and your kids. Even if nothing comes out of it, at least give them the chance to forgive because in the process you will give them the chance to stop thinking it was their fault. No one was to blame for what no one knew. Many veterans have had three, four or even five marriages. Each one the result of hoping to find happiness thru someone else but doomed to end because the pain lived stronger than hope. Making peace with your past has to involve them as well. This way, there is hope for a fresh start in your life and healing the life you had after combat just as much as it's about healing the life you lived during combat.

Find the knowledge you need on the web and in support groups. It's not too late for you so stop wishing you knew all of it long ago and begin to use what you learn today. To heal your future you must first heal your past and then even you can find happiness in a loving relationship. It is not uncommon for an aware veteran to restore relationships with their kids once they understand why things were the way they were. Give them a chance to heal the pain they carry. It was no one's fault but the pain was no less real to everyone involved. Life is hard enough just as a human but when you're a human with combat in your life, it makes it all the more harder to find peace in your life but it is not impossible. Learn and act on what you finally understand for the sake of people you loved.

Jack Nicklaus is helping combat veterans

Jack Nicklaus donates design for VA course

By Gregg Bell - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jun 20, 2010 15:07:09 EDT

LAKEWOOD, Wash. — Jack Nicklaus takes the wrapping off another in his signature line of hybrid clubs and hands it to Danny Dudek.

The Army lieutenant colonel, paralyzed below both knees, is propped up inside a “SoloRider,” a specially designed cart with a seat that tilts up to support disabled golfers when they swing. He takes the new club, leans over the ball and follows the legend’s instructions.

THWACK! The white ball soars into the sunny Northwest sky, past lush evergreens and lands about 150 yards down the driving range.

Dudek’s drive — specifically the dedication and promise for renewal it represents — is why Nicklaus is here outside Tacoma. The golf great is donating his expertise to design what will perhaps be the most appreciated course he’ll ever build.

Nicklaus is helping combat veterans by redesigning and expanding the American Lake Veterans Golf Course. It’s going to be a one-of-a-kind, 18-hole layout geared specifically for disabled golfers.
read more here
Jack Nicklaus donates design for VA course